The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

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May thinks as she moves with the stealth team "I guess that question was not reverent." May takes out inferred specks in order to see without light.

May asks so only her team can hear "I can lone out some inferred specks if anyone want them?" May dos does not know if anyone in the group but her have an idea what she is offering. Oddly May is unaffected by the since of dared but this seems mostly because she is more focused completing the mission and what comes next.
 
The Mysterious Manor

With Spina’s ill-attempted reasoning of bypassing the invisible barrier and allowed accessed to the manor, the Breakers split into their respective groups and head inside this strange, mysterious manor. Although their initial plan was quickly shelved in light of new information, Spina remain focused.

“There’s a strong possibility that things won’t go as plan, though. We could be walking into a trap as this rock bastard intends to, and if that were to happen, don’t freaked out. Follow our lead, don’t abandoned your teammates, and adapt to any changes in situation.”

“Right. Stranger things happened.” Detective Spawn was clearly unsatisfied with that explanation, but considering his current situation, he left it at that. Turning to Detective Bage, he patted him on the back. “Stay alive, boss. Not interested with having Battler as the new leader. Once this is over, I’ll go over everything I have.” He left to joined Team Stealth towards their respective tower.

“That’ll be ideal; ensure that everyone can see what’s going on, and I doubt it’ll triggered anything.” Detective Spawn commented on May’s suggestion. He was not surprised that May wasn’t all that affected by appearance of the manor. She did survive the harsh environment of Reality Vortex prior of the reboot. Spawn, however, noted a different feel of this place compared to the outside. He initially assumed that this was the castle of Doctor Doom, but soon realized that it was improbable due to the lack of advanced technology presented here. Aside from the faintly dark energy and the increased gravity, it seems that they were stepping through the distant past of this world. “It this a relic of Reality Vortex before we got dragged out here?” He whispered to himself.

“Well, I wish you luck, Team Distraction. While I, unfortunately, won’t be accompanying you, Lilith adamantly insisted on joining you.” Lucifer smiled devilishly, the maiden already departing and hidden herself within Zenta's shadow. “Zenta,” immediately after stating that Lilith will join, “Do try to stay out of trouble, my boy. Make sure you’re at the front, rather than chasing tail from behind. Otherwise, you might have another “moment” and lose your eternal composure.” Lucifer lightly chuckled. His eyes trailed over to Bernkastel, seeing her covering her mouth suddenly, although he did not catch anything she said. But as previously stated: none are unable to see, feel, touch, nor sense in any way of what Bernkastel is experiencing. “I’m confident that Spina will finally undergo conception throughout this objective.” A minor phrasing, a coincidental phrasing to the Witch of Miracles, but in reality, Lucifer himself is not aware of these of what goes on. Bowing once, the angel departed to Team Stealth and headed inside the manor to their respective tower.

Guardian tightened her arms around Bernkastel, like a mother cradling her child. “It was inevitable,” She spoke softly, yet it held an apathetic tone as she formulates her words. “The moment he was killed, Dark Energy fuels him. His reasonings collapsed and his isolationist heart opens. He became disinterested in relationships, wary of others, and increasingly becoming more violent. The moment you offered him friendship; his progression was stunned.”

Spina, leading Team Distraction towards the doorway to the tower, noticed Bernkastel didn’t move from her spot. He turned to face the Witch of Miracles, confused that she was idly by. “What are you doing?” Spina said, taking on a withered appearance once more in the eyes of Bernkastel only, lasting more than a few seconds than usual. “Don’t stand there. Get a move on; I ain’t getting any younger.”

The mysterious woman pressed her face firmly against the Witch, twirling one of Bernkastel’s bangs around with her index finger. “But it seems that Brutality likes a challenge in this game…and playing unfairly to achieve his goal of turning him into a Behemoth.” Her eyes zeroed in on Bernkastel’s expression, her smile bordering on the verge of uncanny. “I wonder if he’ll succeed this time.”



The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

As a massive explosion resulted a wall of smoke that formed in between the trio and the hordes of Xy’phers, Clark did not hesitate once when Vegetto demanded to save Wordplay and take him out of here. Whether or not this was the beginning of Vegetto’s new direction, the Kryptonian doesn’t have enough information for it; perhaps, it doesn’t even matter. At the end, all of it is fruitless and won’t be settled until the issue with the Xy’phers is resolved. Nodding with a silent acknowledgement, Clark quickly dashed off in time to grabbed Wordplay before he crashes against the gigantic crater.

“Thank you…!” Wordplay attempted to catch his breath. “I can’t believe they followed me here somehow!”

“Just remain calm, alright?” Clark said. “I’m getting you out of here, and Vegetto and I can deal with—” Clark widened his eyes in response to Wordplay’s face changing from relieved to panic suddenly. Turning his head slightly to the right, his eyes narrowed and eyebrows raised to see Xy’pher Air Dancer appearing above them.

The Air Dancer, upon first appearing in this land, was red. Yet, the Xy’pher’s body had taken on a new color once he was behind the Kryptonian: green. In a rush of rapid blows, the Air Dancer brutally struck Clark with devastating attacks. He grunted, cringed in pain, hollowing before being flung back, along with Wordplay and crashed against the crater beneath them in separate areas.

“Arghh!!!” Clark coughed out blood when his back slammed against the rigged terrain. It was a strange phenomenon: in any normal instance, Clark wasn’t the type to be hurt so easily—at least, not at this level. Yet, Clark was cringing in pain and unable to move from the back as if some force was weighing him down. Surviving Xy’phers jumped out of the billow of smoke that generated from Vegetto’s attack, jumping on Clark to attack him, as the Air Dancer remain stationary in its position in the sky.
 
Bernkastel's stony gaze rested on Lucifer after he made his remark about Spina, staring but otherwise remaining silent while Guardian explained the nature of what was going on. After he left with team Stealth, she turned her eyes back onto the woman with an increasing look of disdain.

She considered if this was purely her imagination still, but everything Guardian said made sense with respect to Spina. For a delusion, it was more informed than it should be but In Bern's mind that wasn't a good thing. 

Figures. And here I thought that wouldn't chase after me once I'd left that life behind. Bernkastel thought with a disgruntled expression, reflexively pushing unnerving feelings down before they had a chance to surface.  "... Tch. Fine, I'll play along." She knew what to do anyhow: it all boiled down to making good choices at the right time. Only problem was Bern was on her own; trying to be direct about this was asking to be called insane-- she didn't disagree, but in reality nobody would be able to help anyhow.

Shutting her eyes and twisting her torso as if to break out of the woman's hold on her, she started walking hurriedly. "It's nothing," Bern muttered as she walked past Spina without looking him in the face. "Let's just go-- and don't touch anything strange while we're in there."

========
[Inside the manor]

Bernkastel and Berserk had taken to hovering just barely above the floor so that there were less footsteps to potentially echo off the walls. Bern kept a small crystal the size of a marble in her palm to use as a low-light torch in case they'd need it.

"It feels like we've been walking forever, but I don't see any stairs," Berserk whispered. Although she wasn't cold, she hugged her arms and shivered occasionally.

"Down might be a bad idea." Bern said, glancing down at the cracks and hairline fractures below them. "But no point wandering on the same floor. Up or down."
 
Bage turned to Spawn as he gave him a farewell as they prepared to part their separate ways. He nodded with a determined smile, "Right. You stay alive too." He replied before turning and following the distraction team. His smile softly turned to a frown, now focused and ready for anything that may try to jump out and surprise the group. But the disappointment from basically being thrown for a loop by Spawn was still prevalent in his mind. As He walked on in silence the senior detective took this time to regroup with himself in his own brain. silently he looked down at his right hand and the glove encasing it, surprised it had survived all the fighting he put it through. There were still a few bottles to collect if he remembered correctly. The mystery was already nearly uncovered, but he still knew there was something greater within those bottles. Someone left them for a reason, and he couldn't just let their hard work go to waste. Maybe there was information on how to stop the Red king. 

The detective turned his head up toward the group at Brserks voice breaking the silence. He looked around at the gigantic manor, the ceiling almost completely concealed in darkness. "My vote is for up. It'll give us some extra space if we can blow a hole in the ceiling and bring the distraction outside the manor to keep as many Xy'phers away from the stealth team.
 
Bara turned to Spawn.
"If necessary, I can take us up in a jiffy using my body manipulation. Should save you lot some energy once we go through there." She offered, while keeping an eye out for danger.

Her main head tentacle was moving slowly to and fro, acting like a radar and using it to keep track of the miniscule particles she had spread around, some of which laid dormant, others moving about slowly, almost as if Bara was using them as trip wires, similar to how tarantulas use their silk as trip wires to alert them if anything was close or approaching their burrow, with said trip wires also being invisible to the naked eye due to the nature of spider silk in general.
 
The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Vegetto braced himself once Clark bolted off, his silver eyes turning to scan the smoke horizon. His fists launched forward once a few of the Xy'phers had lept through the smoke; pummeling the crystalized grunts into pieces with heavy yet pointed strikes to their bodies. Yet the pressure of Air Dancer's power and the familiar sensation of a material that weakens Superman caught Vegetto's wide eyed stare. The Potara fusion turned around, gasping at the sight of the pinned Kryptonian and Wordplay.

"Clark!"

Vegetto took only a moment to scan the entirety of the situation: Air Dancer floating above over the two, and the growing presence of Xy'phers rushing towards the pair. Vegetto tensed, the irony of being ignored lost on the fusion and the Potara fusion taking advantage of the anonymity. Silver fire and heat radiated dramatically in the sudden output, Vegetto's eyes widening without a deafening roar or scream per the usual Saiyan powerups. Instead, the ominous and overbearing roar of the energy mounting served as the deafening blast of sound, followed shortly by the appearance of two silver dragons snaking their way up and coiling around Vegetto's legs.

Vegetto straightened his posture, bringing his fists up and bending his elbows while the silver Shenron-like dragons of pure energy soon coiled their way up to his muscular arms; wrapping tightly around them in a similar fashion to Kassava's original technique. However, the white gloves disappeared into the energy inside; his knuckles only visible in the maw of the dragons as he crouched down slowly and the dragons slowly expanding a bit in size.

In a sudden twirl, Vegetto shot out both arms with a thunderous roar. The silver dragons shot out like deadly whips; a circular swipe of destructive energy incinerating any Xy'pher's around him in an instant. As ash and soot from the broken crystals rained down towards the snow, Vegetto bolted forward in the murky air and zipped back and forth. His fists shot forward only as far as they could, but the reach of the silver dragons shot forward as deadly extensions of his arms and smashed through each advancing Xy'pher. Closing the gap into the three after the destructive display that occured in less than a second, Vegetto shot upwards into the air with the determined steely glare trained on the Air Dancer.

Once Vegetto was in range, the silver dragons themselves raised up off of his arms ever so slightly; both having eyes of their own in staring down Air Dancer. Vegetto's fists shot forward in a heavy barrage; an attempt to overwhelm the leader of the attacking Xy'phers in a blitz. Yet as his fists sailed forward, the dragons themselves sailed through the air and lashed out at Air Dancer independent of the fists; as if the energy creatures had minds of their own. The energy extensions remained coiled around the Potara fusion's forearms, however, limiting their range to simply striking in tandem with the fists to create an overwhelming blitz of punches across Air Dancer's entire torso and upper body.
 
The Mysterious Manor – Team Distraction

Zenta listened to Lucifer momentarily and turned to face him as he walked away. A piece of him felt excited about the challenge the Angel issued, and it was clear that he enjoyed himself. Like Lucifer, the beast bowed and parted ways, heading towards the tower Spina assigned them to. However, as he turned his back to the others, he held a wicked and toothy grin, his tongue moving over his teeth and lips as if unable to contain his excitement of what is to come. A gentle chuckle slipped past his maw as he turned to where he sensed Lilith within his shadow, almost as if talking to her directly.

"The silent eyes of Lucifer watch me through you, Lilith. Heh, I welcome it."

Thanks to Bernkastel, the light from the crystal ball provided just barely enough to see the various things that were completely shrouded in darkness. Firstly, there were windows covered by pitch black blinds; it makes it incredibly hard for anyone from the outside to see what goes on in here, even if they somehow managed to bypass its barrier. Secondly, there were various portraits of figures framed on the walls; however, due to their age, it was impossible to make out their appearance due to its crumbling appearance. Each portrait looked very important, having golden frames with odd markings on it that resembled eyes. Even though the portraits had no faces, it felt as if they were watching the Breaker's every move from beyond the frame.

The freezing cold started to settle, and the howling winds blew by, there was an unsettling nature of how oddly silence and incredible it can be at times. Never mind that their footsteps, those who decided to walk and didn’t levitate off the ground, echoed loudly throughout the halls as if to go on forever. Even Zenta, whose footsteps were unable to normally be heard, thumped like thunder through the halls. He was unable to properly maintain his sly posture and move discreetly, given that's how he normally moved. The darkness did not bother him, given that he was blind, so he moved through the hall as if there was a bright light before him. His mind; however, was elsewhere.

Moving ahead of the Breakers, Zenta walked, his mind was preoccupied with several things. The devastating information from the Xy’pher that a “Breaker” they’ve captured was killed and now working for the Red King. Worrying over his student’s safety caused him a few moments of grief, then hints of anger of what he remembered afterwards: the callous disregard from Vegetto forgetting about Cuki. It was one thing that perhaps one didn’t remember such a person after a long time; it had been a long time if they never made contact for three years. From what he understands, Vegetto admitted to spying on the Breakers this entire time, making his callous remarks even more revolting to his stomach.

He acts as if he does not know who gave him a roof and food... Ungrateful gnat.

Suddenly, once he remembered the intense feeling of anger boiling from within, the words of Lucifer eroded in his mind. His expression contorted to show his sharp canine teeth and exposed gums as he turned his hand into a fist. His wicked smirk hidden entirely within the darkness. As he traveled away from Bernkastel’s light, the darkness swallowed him to the point that even his pristine white fur faded within the deep darkness and was out of sight from the others. However, Lucifer's words remain heavy within his head:

Do try to stay out of trouble, my boy... Make sure you’re at the front, rather than chasing tail from behind.... Otherwise, you might have another “moment” and lose your eternal composure...

As Lucifer's words echoed within Zenta's head, he turned around to gaze at the Breakers. They could not see him but he could eye them down easily, clear as day. His tails swayed harmoniously behind him, silently watching the Breakers from the confines of the darkness, like a predator watching its prey.

I will not have another moment; I will make sure of it...

Just as he finished his train of thought, he sensed the strange energy from this specific door. It wasn’t the source of tremors nor the increased levels of gravity; it was completely alien to him.

The rest of the doors, broken through brute force, had rooms that were disorganized, robbed, or ransacked. Inside the rooms, were leftovers relics and artifacts that were completely strange and alien—even to their world’s unusual standard. But the door Zenta noticed was different. It wasn’t locked, but rather stuck; scratch and claw marks on the edges of the doors were visible as if something tried to escape, but clearly failed to pry it opened. Next to the door was a picture frame of an unknown person. The photo was torn apart, but it showed traces of what appeared to be a woman. Under the frame was a small solid gold plaque that had most of the name corroded away, with only the letter Y visible near the end.

Examining closer, he can see the energy leak and ooze from the door but dared not to touch it. Yet, for some reason, it was enticing him to enter this room. "This energy... it is not of Xy'phers... But what is it?" Zenta clenched his fists and step away from the door and turned to the others. “Ah…” He realized he went too ahead of the group.

As Zenta emerged from the darkness to rejoin the group, the way he returns was rather unsettling. Since the darkness and Zenta mingled into one, it looked and felt as if a monster was approaching the group. Something with a massive murderous intent unlike the Breakers have ever felt. Razor sharp teeth glistened in the dim light to show a wild beast holding a hand out in what looked like an attempt to grab Bernkastel. However, once the enormous beast came into view of Bernkastel's light crystal, it was none other than Zenta who held his hand to the Witch. In that mere instant, the murderous intent instantly disappeared, as if scared away from the light and coming near the Breakers. Zenta turned to the Breakers, giving them his toothy grin, which obvious looked much scarier in the dark than in the light. He seemed a little bashful from going on ahead without the Breakers.

“My apologies… I went off ahead without thinking.” He said to Spina. “But I found a very suspicious door a bit further down this hallway. I do not know if it is the Xy’phers, but I sensed a very strange energy behind that door and it was very intense. Perhaps the hive's entrance is there?”


The Mysterious Manor – Team Stealth

On this side of the tower, there was a plain main area that was filled with vegetation and other foliage. Green mosses pierced through walls and covered everything in plain sight, making the inside look like a jungle of some sorts. There were no other doorways aside from the entrance, and seemingly no stairs for Team Stealth to safely move onto the second floor. There were plenty of windows, but most were covered with black blinds like the ones with Team Distraction. There were portraits everywhere, and the increased pressure of gravity was growing far heavier here than in the other tower. One particular photo showcased multiple figures, but all their faces and bodies were scratched out. There was a mysterious energy at play that prevented them from flying. Those who were capable of natural flight (Bara and Lucifer) could not fly, no matter what they tried. Bara's energy would not allow her to fly or stretch her body, and Lucifer's wings refused to listen to him. Those who were unable to fly would not feel this force (Avalon, Spawn, and May) but instead, felt a heavy air, no doubt from the increased gravity.

"Infrared specks? Sounds pretty cool if you ask me! It's way too dark to see, so if these help with that, I could use one for sure." Avalon said to May, whispering. "We should be extra careful around here... Things just feel off. ...And breezy?"

As Bara tried to sense the surrounding area, she would feel humidity and a draft within the room thanks to the open hole above them. There were no traps, at least none she could sense or feel, making the room safe, for now. While all the windows were covered with blinds, only one stood out and it was one that was not covered with blinds. There was a clear full view of the Vortex Moon from afar watching down on them from the window on the second floor. If they were to look up towards the ceiling, there were glittering pieces falling from a hole to the second floor: crystals that formed for a while. At first glance, it seems to be Black Crystals due to the darkness, but upon hitting the floor and exposed to the moon's light, it was crystals from the Xy’phers. The crystal pieces were dismembered body pieces from previous Xy'phers who were stuck together in a disturbing cluster. Hands and legs jutted out awkwardly while some faces were frozen in time. Unlike the usual way Xy'phers died, these did not revert to coins, almost as if they were prevented from being 'Coin'ed'.

The only way to reach the second floor is to climb the dismembered pieces of the dead Xy'phers because they formed a way up to the second floor. A ladder of Xy'phers forcfully combined into a cluster, all reaching out to end their misery, never to revert to Coins or return to their King. They were truly dead in their petrified statue-like state.
 
May whispers back to Avalon as she hands him an inferred speck "Hear, that was a given." May hands them out to anyone else that wants/needs one.

May thinks "this is a process, or the person that owns this tower we entered has one fucked artistic sense." May whispers to Nia "Nia are any of these grim art exhibits feel like Xy'pher to you?" indicating the crystalized people.
 
Guardian’s eyes soften when Bernkastel broke free from her grasp, hurrying inside the manor without a second glance. She pinched her dress, lifting it up slightly, as an indication that she will follow her. “Marvelous. This will be a thrilling game to play, little one.”

The Mysterious Manor – Team Distraction

Spina looked around the manor, the increased levels of gravity and the sudden cold doing very little to slow him down. Rather, it was a way of training his body to withstand such a force. The old Saiyan examined the portraits on the walls. Although they were deteriorating at such a state that it was impossible to fully assemble what they were, the old Saiyan felt that were something oddly familiar with some of them. As if he saw them before but couldn’t remembered well enough for anything conclusive.

It was apparent that they were going nowhere if they continue to walk around aimlessly. There were no stairs in sight, not help by the darkness and crystal ball barely illumining what’s in front of them. “Yeah, we’ll just go up instead of trying to find the damn stairs. Bage, you and Zenta—” He noticed that Zenta had walked too far ahead of the group. “Where’s the hell is that damn beast—”

But Zenta remerges from the darkness suddenly, and apologies for going on ahead. “You’re already on thin ice.” Spina warned. He felt a strange intent from him, but it vanished before it can truly settle on him. “Don’t make it a damn habit.” Moving passed Zenta, the old Saiyan narrowed his eyes. “You sensed strange energy? I’ll check it out.” He instinctively scratches his neck after seeing Zenta appeared monstrous for a brief moment but stopped after doing it once and headed towards the door Zenta referred too.

Guardian walked very closely behind Bernkastel to the point that she causally played with her hair, locking it in between her fingers. It is comical to see the differences of sizes between the two, Bernkastel barely reaching her abdomen: but of course, the Witch can see the Guardian, whom she allows herself to be shown to only her. “Ah,” Her tone was apathetic despite it was a way of warning the Witch of Miracles. “Allowing Spina to enter that room would spell disaster. Ahhh…. The game will be short lived, and you’ll lose.”

----

The Mysterious Manor – Team Stealth

“Ah, it seems that I’m unable to flap my wings.” Lucifer noted the strange phenomenon that seems to prevent him from taking flight. “Bodes well for the path ahead…” The angel looks up, studying the way the Xy’phers were clumped together in an unusual fashion. Getting closer, Lucifer touched it and confirmed that they’re dead; no Vortex Coin or anything. “Curious….”

“Guess you’re climbing like the rest of us, then.” Detective Spawn pointed to the ceiling, indicating that’s there way up there. Initially, it was hard to see what was on the other side, but thanks to May’s infrared technology, they can at least see what’s up there. Just like May, Spawn felt that there some strangeness of how the Xy’phers died, as if they were either escaping or trying to get to something and died before they reached it. Waiting for Nia’s answer on this, the Detective turns to Bara and declined her offer. “Save your strength. This air is… strange and weird. Feels like I’m in hell… well, this feeling is worse than that. I can’t move freely as I want too.”



The Snowy Mountains of Rouge City

As dozens of Xy’phers were smashed, incinerated, or otherwise destroyed in the process of Vegetto’s attacks, the Air Dancer did not react to their imminent destruction. Rather, it didn’t react at all as it stay stationary in the air as the attacking Xy’phers were flung away from Clark.
Clark, bloodied and battered from the attacks, rolled over to his side in pain. Clenching his teeth and attempting to pull himself up from the ground, still feeling the effects of the kryptonite, Clark stared at the Air Dancer as Vegetto approached him rapidly. “Wait! Don’t engage him directly!!”

The moment Vegetto shifted his attention to the Air Dancer, with energy dragons independently attacking on their own, is where its second nature is shown. In the barrage of onslaught, each blow was parry brilliantly away and successfully forced the energy dragons away at different directions.

The Air Dancer lacks what one would call a mind, or at the very least a conscience. A mindless entity that does not move freely, only in reactions to emotions or bursts in hostility, especially towards oneself.

HIGH STREAM AEROJET

A series of highly concentrated jets of air fired suddenly from the Air Dancer, instantaneously striking Vegetto. It contains so much force that it can easily pierced through even the toughest of minerals. Pushing the potara fusion back significantly into a horde of Xy’phers that seemingly increased in numbers; a particular large Xy’pher clenched its arm back, coiling its fist to unleash an onslaught of blows.

Completely bruised from his fall, Wordplay quickly rose to his feet and saw Clark in such a state. Hurrying over there, he looked up to see Air Dancer in action. “An entity that effectively has no mind… simply acting purely on animalistic guile. Clark. Let’s bail and leave. That Vegetto guy seems like a pain in the ass based on that broadcast. Let him figure it out and we save our asses until we find out—"

Clark coughed bits of blood, instantly rejecting Wordplay’s suggestion with a handwave. “Heh. I cannot do that. Regardless of Vegetto, and my purpose here, I cannot just run tail and leave him be. It just isn’t in my nature to do that. That isn’t my nature. Now help me on onto my feet, would you?” He said, still feeling the effects of the kryptonite. “There’s a fight going on.”
 
"Up? Isn't the hive supposed to be underground or somethin'? What's going up gonna do?" Berserk inquired, mild confusion on her features as she tried to see if her vision would let her find any traces of a ceiling.

Bernkastel didn't take note of Zenta walking further away from the group as she was more distracted by trying to determine what sort of people lived in this insanely large manor before the Xy'phers had taken it over. Not a lot of good hints were around. For a moment she wondered if they were inside Doom's abandoned castle but she didn't remember it being in the middle of some bustling town. The mansion also looked decrepit for no discernible reason, and seemed too large a scale for a man that was of regular human size.

After Spina noted Zenta's disappearance, Bern's dead eyes flickered around in search of the man-beast; under the mint-green glow cast by her little crystal ball, her eyes reflected brightly in the darkness as a cat's would. Seeing the vague shape of a hand reaching toward her, she tensed in anticipation she would be attacked until Zenta re-emerged in the light.

She didn't give an immediate reply, eyeing him head to toe as she floated in place with a blank stare before she relaxed a bit. "... don't wander off," was her curt response. Bern tilted her head very slightly to peer over her shoulder at Guardian following her, vexation on her face.

Again? Is this place full of this weird energy that draws him in? Damn! Of all the places to pick for a hive, those damn things had to choose this one?! Bern silently seethed, the idea that she'd spend the whole mission looking after not one but two people at every turn was rousing her irritation. It's fine, it's fine... remember, you're doing this because they're your friends. It's good to be a friend. You're their friend. she repeated this to herself as she followed Spina, floating past him in a beeline to reach the door first to examine it.

Holding the ball up to the door, Bern squinted at it with scrutiny. "... if it were the entrance, the door wouldn't be stuck... busting it open would alert the entire mansion we're here. In fact," she paused to illuminate the claw marks in clear search of a justification not to open it. "Whatever is inside this room probably is something not meant to get out. This smells of a trap." the Witch concluded before glancing at the other expectantly, awaiting a response that hopefully agreed to leave the door alone. Or at least, only one person should venture into it who wasn't Spina. Regardless she was trying to heed Guardian's warning.

"..." Berserk eyed the floor and then behind them, listening for the pitter patter noises. She tried to figure out where the sound of wind was coming from if all the windows were clearly inaccessible from the outside. Something in this manor was letting in quite the draft. "We could have Mr. Zenta follow the sound of the wind blowing instead? What do you think?" The Powerpunk turned to Detective Bage.
 
"True, the rest of the hive should be underground. But the plan is for the stealth group to find the elite Xy'pher to destroy its core and in turn, dispose of the hive and dwindle the numbers of the whole army. And if we're assuming the elite might be somewhere underground, that should be where the stealth team should be heading should they be successful at finding an entrance." Bage explained to Berserk as the group continued walking. "Since we'll be the ones causing a distraction, if we travel down into the hive, the distraction wouldn't be successful. Because we'll all be gathered in the same area with a bunch of agitated enemies. So us traveling upward will cause the bulk of them to follow us, leaving team stealth less susceptible to being spotted and taken out. Make sense?"

Bage smiled softly before turning his attention back to the others as he noticed the shadowy figure approaching them in the dark. The intensity of the moment faded as Zenta approached the group with a bashful smile.

"Don't go scaring us like that Zenta," Bage chuckled slightly, trying to alleviate the fear he felt at that moment. Overhearing Bernkastel's thoughts on the clawed up and jammed door, he paused for a moment, then looked back at where the unusual breeze had been blowing at them before answering Berserk. "I think the wind may be a better bet than the door. Bern is right, this door looks a lot worse than these others that have been beaten up. There could be something inside just waiting for the opportunity to attack. It's best if we leave that door alone."
 
Mysterious Manor - Team Distraction

"I apologize... perhaps I am getting a little overzealous." Zenta frowned. "But I did not sense anyone inside, just an odd energy I am not entirely familiar with. I also did not hear anyone inside either, so it could be entirely empty."

Zenta guided the Breakers to the door, following closely behind Spina.

"I can see in the dark, so I think I should peek inside to assure the safety of the room." Zenta suggested. "If there is no danger, then you can enter with no worries, and even if there is danger, you will not be hurt in the process."

The closer the Breakers got to the room, the stronger the quakes got. Just like before, cracks were forming under their feet, causing the manor to creak and groan. The energy from the room felt nostalgic to the Breakers, as if they were reliving memories, and, in a way, they felt calm. A complete contrast to the claw marks and struggle on the door. It was enticing, but nothing the Breakers could not push through.

The pitter-patter would echo through the walls before disappearing through the dark halls and moving upwards within the manor. They came and went, but it definitely sounded as if there was someone, or something, running just on the floor above them, or even through the walls. However, the Breakers felt no danger, at least not yet. Oddly enough, the pitter-patter would avoid the odd room entirely. Was it from fear or other reasons?

"You hear that?" Zenta said as he perked his ears. "The noise of scattering feet around us..." Zenta pointed in the direction the noise ran before stopping his attention at the mysterious door. "They vehemently avoid this room... Maybe there is something they consider a threat? Any threat to the Xy'phers can be an asset to us. It is risky, but what do you suppose we do, Mr. Spina?"


Mysterious Manor - Team Stealth

Nia leaned closer to the Xy'phers suck in their petrified state before carefully touching one of their hands. She showed no emotion for her fallen kin, and, instead, nodded to confirm to May.

"Yes, these are most definitely Xy'phers. It's odd though..." Nia said as she examined the Xy'pher bodies closer. "This is... not normal Xy'pher behavior. They would never cluster up like this. Moreover, they have not reverted to the 'Coin State' and appear entirely dead."

"Was this the Red King's doin'? He's known to kill Xy'phers by rippin' their heads off..." Avalon said.

"This is not the King's doing, he only disposes of traitors... Something killed these Xy'phers and made them suffer a cruel death." Nia said looking up the hole the Xy'phers fell from. "Their deaths resonated from upstairs."

"You sayin' we gotta go up there?! Are you nuts?!" Avalon grunted while putting on the specks May gave him. " All while climbin' these creepy things? What if we end up like those Xy'phers?"

"Whatever is up there bypassed the King's Eye."

"What do you mean..?"

"The King is aware of all the Xy'phers who die, seeing through their eyes briefly, and gathering intelligence. I have yet to hear of any Xy'pher mentioning anything of this sort... Whatever is up there is beyond the King's capabilities to connect to these Xy'phers, meaning he's completely unaware that these Xy'phers are even gone. It's hard to explain, but think of it like a severed connection... a true death."

As Nia explained, she took a hold of one of the arms of her fallen Xy'phers, beginning to climb up slowly. The gravity was passing in and out, growing stronger and weaker at some points. However, the gravity would be entirely null in the room upstairs, as if it has no effect on it. As the group climbed up the bodies, it would begin to get colder and colder, so cold that they would be able to see their own breath. The windows up on that room were iced off by how cold the entire room was. There was a sensation of dread and paranoid, but there was nothing in the room to agitate them. They felt suddenly felt urges to turn against the other Breakers and the sense of paranoia grew. An innate primal instinct activated within each of the Breakers against their will, making them feel more savage and cruel. It was entirely out of their control but it came in waves, giving them some form of control. It was incredibly uneasy for them to be around each other, feeling as if they would betray each other. There was an immense pressure on their chests, almost as if their hearts were going to burst. Yet, no matter how high they climbed, there was no danger, nothing to hurt them.

It was fear.

"T-This place is... givin' me bad vibes." Avalon said under his frosted breath, beginning his climb after Nia. These guys... I... I should watch my back with 'em. Should I just... kill them? Kill them now..? Should I kill Nia? She could be a traitor...

"I agree..." Nia sighed. They are ready to kill me at any moment... I must keep my guard up at all times. Will my psychic powers be enough to stop them if they bone rush me?
 
Bara strangely however kept her composure, as if this primal surge had activated some form of fight or flight mode within her. 

"This pressure is overwhelming... I feel that I can only trust my most cherished friends... why do I feel that the others are being so hypocritical, ready to turn on me the moment they get the chance... no matter, it's THEIR fault if they end up making a mess out of this, yet I would be the one to fix in the end... let's not hope it will come to that; I know my friends better than them, let's see if the other... 'Breakers'... can earn my trust... otherwise they will find out the hard way not to mess with a Majin..." She thought to herself and herself alone, the language set in a tone only she could understand, as if having created mental barriers that would prevent anyone from reading her mind...

Bara felt more frustrated at being unable to use any of her special, physical abilities like her Body Manipulation as that was something that in general did NOT require energy or magic at all, but she could compensate for that, her microscopic eyes and ears still about to keep watch on anything around her.
 
May asks as the feeling of paranoia affects her "What happens wend a Xy'pher kills one its one?" May thinks "I hope I wrong on the reason way these Xy'phers or I am going need to be ready to disable some of them." 

May looks at the dead Xy'phers to see what each of the Xy'phers are doing as she bates the others to come at her. May thinks slightly worried "This may be a little much of a trust building excise but it's better than nothing."
 
The Mysterious Manor – Team Distraction

It was apparent that Spina was captivated by this strange sensation of energy behind that particular door. If Zenta was merely enticed by the limitless energy, Spina indulged on it. It spoke to his instincts that what lies behind the door will scratch that itch he was seeking—whatever he was seeking about. He extended his left arm forward with an open hand, the black spots flaring up once more.

From anyone’s point of view, it was clear that Spina was attempting to disregard the warnings from the others and reached for the door itself. In Bernkastel’s view in particular, the withered beast was in plain view, and became distorted to the point of uncanny. In reality, Spina closed his left hand tightly, letting it drop to his left side as if reason had come to his senses.

“Not worth it.” Spina told Zenta. “Stay on the path we’re assigned on and not make any unnecessary obstacles for ourselves. Whatever’s in there, let it stay there.” Spina turned his back away from the door. It was clear; however, that Spina was fighting the urge to do otherwise.
Guardian, in particular, was impressed that Bernkastel managed to convinced Spina to avoid the door. He even ordered Zenta to step away from it as well; she assumed at the very least, Spina would have him do it in his place to resonate his urges. Nevertheless, Guardian petted Bernkastel’s head. “Well done, little one.” Guardian’s tone was an apathetic as ever, but this time, there was a slight hint of happiness. “I can hear him cursed in vain; no doubt that I’ve correctly chosen you as my next pawn after Goku.”

Approaching the Detective, Spina raised his right hand towards the ceiling above them. “We’re going up, right?” The old Saiyan was aware that they won’t be able to fully utilize their powers without consequences—and whatever he did to bypass it the first place still remains unanswered. “We’re going have to jump. I’m sure all of you can managed to do that?” No doubt that Berserk, Zenta, Bage and himself are capable to leaping long distances and floorboards aren’t particularly sturdy enough to warranted serious injury. But Cayde and Bernkastel aren’t, at least, the physical types. “You.” Spina called out Zena. “You’re the biggest, you jumped up and make a hole, and we’ve followed you right after that.”

----

The Mysterious Manor – Team Stealth

As Team Stealth climbed on the corpses of petrified Xy’phers, Detective Spawn felt aggression forming in his thoughts. “Shit…” He exhales rapidly; it was so cold that the vapor in his breath turned into water droplets and ice. He was behind Avalon and Nia as they were talking amongst themselves, and the Detective became extremely suspicious of them. “Ever since last night, Avalon been acting strange. Could he be the spy that Nia talked about? Had Spina never stopped him…” The Detective tried to shake off such mindset, but they were increasingly invaded his head. Paranoia. Distrust. Anger. Apparent emotions and state of mind that were so overbearing that he could no longer think straight. With the inability to use his powers, it only added to his increased aggression. “Damn them…” He cursed under his icy breath. “I bet they’re simply using us as bait to get rid of the Detective Agency.” A strange thought ran through his mind; he turned to May, who was next to them as they climbed. “I should forgo Battler’s task and simply end it all here. With May here, it’s doable… Then I can save Wanda…”

Once again, the Detective shook his head. “What is this? Is this place messing with me?” Spawn turned his head slightly; the first person he eyed was Bara, who’d held pure frustration on her face. “I bet… she told her friends to stay behind so she can create an opening to leave us for dead.”

Then Spawn’s eyes landed on the fallen angel of grace, Lucifer Morningstar, whom was oddly not talkative. His eyes widened upon seeing the angel’s face: not anger nor frustration, but pure, untamed malice. His eyes were like black holes that pulls anyone that dared look at his direction near and shook them with terror. Spawn had face Satan before, but that incarnation was merely a temper child with a spoiled attitude. This Lucifer, with that expression alone, represents pure chaos.

Lucifer, without making his usual smile and his demeanor lost, locked eyes with Spawn. “Keep your eyes forward, friends. We’re nearly there.” He spoke in such a deep, flat tone without any hint of wit. Something that Spawn shook with terror upon hearing it.

Upon reaching the top, they were in a strange room, where all the Xy’phers barely reached the edge of the hold before perishing. There were few flickers of light sparingly; and the coldness was even more apparent that it was hard to move around. No windows, no portraits, no artifacts; at least, not visible to the naked eye. There, however, exist a door on the other side of the room—visible thanks to the flickering lights. 

“The hell killed these Xy’phers?” Detective Spawn questioned, but nothing was particularly out there. The only thing they can see ahead is the door on the other side. “Whatever… fuck this. Let’s just go.” Taking just one step forward, Spawn’s instincts were firing off warnings of death in this room, forcing him to pause his movements. “May… what do you see in this room with those infrared tech?”
 
As Zenta stepped away from the door, he watched Spina and nodded in agreement, not wanting to fight whatever may lie behind the door. Traveling upwards within the tower sounded like a better idea than mindlessly opening all the doors, especially the odd one they found. While Spina mentioned they should keep moving up, he pointed out Zenta's height. The beast knew he was tall, but compared to the current group, he felt massive, even more than usual since Lucifer was not around to match him. A cute pink tint formed on his cheeks while Spina pointed out the obvious.

"W-Well... I certainly am the tallest right now." Zenta said bashfully. "But very well, I will make a hole in the ceiling."

The beast squatted on the floor and prepared some energy to his feet so it can boost him through the ceiling. With a mighty hop, Zenta smashed through the ceiling above them, leaving rubble and debris to crumble down below them. From the hole was a tiny glimmer of light, but it was enough to hide Zenta from view as he plopped himself gracefully within the room above them. There was only one thing that caught his attention, and it was the soft sound of scratchy classic music playing from a record player. Zenta was still careful nonetheless, keeping his senses on full alert should anything try to attack him.
 
"When you put it that way, it does seem a bit hasty for us to try and be the ones who find the hive first," Berserk sheepishly smiled. "They're hard to shake off in a chase too. Better we don't go in there, then." Although she went along with Bage's analysis without much trouble, she stared at the door like she wanted to do more than just guess what was behind it. The noises deliberately avoiding the door didn't seem to shake her concentration on it.

Bernkastel on the other hand, started to feel disgruntled at the prospect she'd be moved aside by either Spina or Zenta to see what was inside the room. She did her best to keep a straight face over it but stared intently at Spina's hand. Part of her felt silly because there wasn't any inherent fear when she actually stood just outside the frame of the door...

No, it's a trick! This was a setup! Bern's hand twitched reflexively, feeling the urge to swat the man's hand away or push him across the hall rising. The seconds felt impassably long-- Bern's body tensed up like she was intending to block Spina from passing the doorway. Only when he pulled away and order them to keep moving did she release the breath she was holding, glancing up only to briefly eye Guardian for the comments she made. For all she knew there would surely be more 'traps' she'd have to make Spina avoid.

But one thing was strange-- why was Guardian talking about a man named Goku? The Detective? Bern furrowed her brows with confusion until she looked back over to the hole Zenta made. "Yes, let's just get going." She said before floating up onto the next floor, quietly tuning an ear to the odd music playing.

"Upsy-daisy then, Tin-Man," Berserk said before wrapping her hair ribbons around Cayde's waist to help lift him up the hole in case he wasn't one of the flying sort. "I'd carry you up but I've got a bunch of explosives on me. Wouldn't want to set them off by accident see."
 
The Mysterious Manor – Team Distraction

As Spina ordered, Zenta jumped through the ceiling above and created an entrance for them to enter. Of course, Spina took precaution that with any loud thud, will likely attract the Xy’phers to come to their direction in search of the noise’s origin. Per Bage’s analysis, this was a good moment to steer danger away from Team Stealth.

“What the hell is that sound?” Spina raised a brow upon, hearing an unfamiliar musical arrangement. “What a dreadful sound….” He instantly covered his ears, expressing his disgust with this genre. It was an unnatural response to a rather soft melody, even if it the record player is clearly showing its age.

The entirely of the next floor, as Team Distraction jumped through, is just a single, enormous room with two doors on opposite sides. There were no hallways, rooms, or anything of that sort. Just a single room packed with strange artifacts, old portraits, etc. Record players; old televisions; Tube Radios were common and in abundance. With closer examination, there were artifacts that clearly belong to those from different worlds; sets of inactive Dragon Balls; fractured chaos emeralds; Fenton Thermos, etc. Even in their upmost perfect conditions, they will still fail upon activation due to the complexities of this odd world. Instead, they laid as mere knickknacks.

Upon even further examination, hidden in the ancient artifacts was a basket of purely dark orbs. Dark orbs that few of the Breakers have encountered before during their final bout against Doctor Victor von Doom. Just as everything else in this room, they are not active—even the “dark energy” that emits from it are non-existence. Next to the dark orbs, of course, was a strange bottle that emitted a galaxy-like appearance. Every corner of this room, from the bed-frame to the windows, illustrated a preservation mindset. In other words, it was a museum of all things history of other worlds and this one.

As it was a preservation room with the intention of hoarding all objects and keeping them at least in good condition, the temperature dropped dramatically. So much that one can clearly see every breath they took. Another is ensuring that these objects aren’t to be in harm’s way, and when Zenta smashed through the ceiling sparked an immediate event when an ancient vase was knocked from the table and smashed into tiny pieces.

As Zenta looked around with his guard up in response to the classical music, a flowing dress brushed against his snout. Right away, the environment he was in strange dramatically; a light blue hue flooded the room around him. A woman of enormous size with an impeccable dress appeared before Zenta. Taking several hits from the churchwarden pipe. Exhaling once, letting out a ring of smoke from her mouth, she stared down at Zenta with curiosity in her eyes. “Ah, who broke my precious vase?” she spoke slowly before disappearing from his sight. A strange contradiction: Zenta, despite being blind, was able to clearly see what she looks like. What’s even more strange: no one will have any knowledge of this person because this woman *only* appears to Zenta and Zenta only—and Guardian, standing behind Bernkastel, who chose to not disclose this information to her at this moment.

Spina jumped through the hole and rushed towards the record player. “I can’t stand this damn sound!!” Spina raised his left arm, his right hand on his head, and smashed it with his bare hand in one blow. “That was the worst sound I’ve ever heard.”
 
Bage smiled at Berserk, nodding in confirmation as she came to understand the plan in more detail. His eyes came to the strange door once again, seeing Spina close it shut before ordering for them to travel up. With a nod and a leap, the Saiyan detective was off, following behind the group as the last to enter through the opening in the ceiling.

The air caused a shiver to go up the detective's spine. It was strange just how drastic the air had changed from the lower floor, like they had leaped into the earth's outer atmosphere. And that soft music only added to the mysterious and paranormal mood. Bage observed the room, noting all the inactive objects in the room. Maybe the temperature had to do with preserving these artifacts since they looked to be inactive. His attention then found itself on the galaxy-colored bottle. Yes! He knew one had to be here! Without hesitation, he headed over to it and carefully scooped it up with his hand. Though at the sound of the soft music suddenly cracking against Spina's fist, the detective was startled. The bottle leaped out of Bage's arms and back down into them, nearly falling to the ground.

"Spina!" Bage snapped, trying to preserve the quiet in the room. "Someone could've turned off the music if it was bothering you that much...! Let's not attract the Xy'phers while we're investigating. Besides, I think we've got a little more information to go off of now."

Bage raised the bottle up to show the others, hoping to rally them to him so they could examine the contents before continuing on.
 
Bara kept her eyes and ears open, using her headtentacle to sway about as a radar, keeping track of the miniscule particles she had around, when her eyes narrowed, looking around with a bit more suspicion than the others. She appeared to meticulously scan the room with her eyes, as if trying to pick up any form of signatures she could recognize, or some that stood out to her from everything else within the room... while at the same time feeling shivers down her spine as if she had the distinct feeling that she, May and any of the others present were being watched by one or more individuals... she couldn't identify who it was or where it came from so far, as if whoever else was present were hiding within the shadows, but Bara was no fool; sure she was one of the most innocent Majins around compared to similar beings like Buu, but even she knew to look 'outside the box' when pitted with unknowns, a lesson Brachi had taught her after the latter saved her from the clutches of a hostile starbase in which Bara had been held captive for years, which was one of the reasons why the female Majin was looking up to Brachi a lot and rarely left her side under any normal circumstances.

This however proved to be a different situation than what she usually used to deal with, like a complete unknown in a place she had no prior knowledge of, but had to brave through even though she didn't like what she was sensing around her and within the others one bit... she suspected that they were being manipulated somehow, but she couldn't detect any traces of any form of magical mind control like what wizards like Babidi were capable of doing, having been informed about this by Mr. Buu in her previous interactions with the only male Majin she had known after coming to Earth. Heck, she didn't even know if there were any Martians responsible for it, being physically primitive but mental giants compared to the likes of a Human for once. Picking up some hostile intentions nearby she had only seen on a few occasions before, she decided to be open for once thanks to the particles, and seeing if she could make the others pick up what she had just sensed, and keep them prepared for any type of attack.

"Keep your guard up everyone," she then said, "I'm picking up killing intent emerging around the room."
 
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