The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

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Once Bage arrived at the end of the tunnel, he saw Avalon standing in on spot, almost paralyzed with fear. All the positivity he had earlier vanished in an instant and his skin was pale. So pale that he wasn't even blue anymore. They did appear by the edge of the city, as he promised, however, not everything went according to plan. Even when Bage arrived to check on him,, the ninja barely even noticed him as he stared ahead.

In front of them was the horde of Xy'phers that was originally chasing them, seemingly waiting for the Breakers to pop out of the tunnel. They all stood patiently as if already expecting them to appear. Some of them even had paper bits stuck to their arms from when they no doubt tore the paper bird apart. Everywhere Bage and Avalon looked, the horde would be watching back. They did not move an inch and continued to stare, almost as if waiting for something. The rain continued to pour down on the horde and as the lightning above flashed, the light reflected against each and every Xy'pher in the vicinity.

"I... I'm sorry..." Avalon said in a low whisper, primarily to himself. "I... let everyone...down... We're going to die because... of...me..."

The ninja lowered his head and the spark of life in his eye vanished, turning them into a dull color. He had given up. His shoulders slumped as he stared blankly at the ground.

"Maaaaan, you guys must think I'm stupid, eh?" A voice cried out from the tunnel. Footsteps were heard approaching the group. A low hum of electricity was heard behind Berserk, Brachi, Bara, Jize, and Lucifer. "You think your lil' distraction worked, did'ja? I ain't as dumb as the others."

As the hum of electricity grew louder, Eleki's body would finally be seen from the darkness as a skeleton made of crackling electricity inside a black crystalized body. All the electricity that made his skeleton rushed to his palms before he fired it towards the Breakers. A bright flash and electrical bolt escaped the tunnel's exit as the Breakers were forced out into the open. As soon as the Breakers were out of the tunnel, the horde rushed to cover the exit, preventing any more escapes. No matter where they looked, no matter where they fly, they could not escape. Not anymore.

"I'm an elite for a reason and if you look down on me, you'll be a huge trouble," Eleki said as he exited the tunnel. The thunder grew louder and the lightning started to strike the ground close to his location. "I managed to corner you guys again, so that means I win the game. I should get a reward, right? But..."

He paused before tilting his head at the Breakers.

"I ain't done playin' yet."

The Elite snapped his fingers and the Xy'pher horde immediately went on the move. They pushed and shoved the Breakers to keep them apart from one another before ripping apart the unconscious folk from the arms of those holding them. Bernkastel and Zenta were swallowed up by the mob, and, eventually, so were the other Breakers. Any punch, any kick, any sort of technique they did would be met with another wave of Xy'phers. Soon, they were unable to move their arms and legs, being pinned to the ground. The conscious ones would find themselves on their knees, held down by hundreds, if not thousands of Xy'phers. Bernkastel and Zenta would be placed to the side as Eleki approached them. He prodded their unconscious bodies with his finger and sent a sudden shock of electricity through their bodies without warning. Their bodies jolted and their hair frizzed. Eleki giggled as he continued to shock them. It wasn't enough to kill them, but it was enough to hurt.

"Heehee, I didn't know that they can move with a few shocks! They ain't even awake but they can still dance! Cool, eh? But anyway, I think I should get my reward for winning this game! I wonder what it is...~" Eleki turned to the Breakers on their knees and held out a palm towards them. A large amount of electricity began to gather in his hand as he charged up an attack. His face contorted into a wicked smile as lightning struck the ground around him. "What do you guys want?" He addressed his Xy'phers.

"Coins! Coins! Coins for the Red King!" The Xy'phers chanted. "Kill them!"

"Whelp, can't disappoint my people! I wonder who you'll be workin' for. Me or my sister! Oh, it doesn't matter, you'll obey the King either way!" Eleki cackled. "Well, goodbye, Breakers. This game was fun but I gotta get back to my job!"

As a final bolt of lightning struck the Elite-Xy'pher directly, the electricity flowed from his body and shot out of his hand directly to the Breakers. This attack was too powerful for them to survive. It was rushing towards them at blazing speeds and all around them, the Xy'phers chanted and cheered in an unknown language, almost as if celebrating their incoming death.
 
Reality Metropolis 

Lucifer narrowed his eyes, seeing that he was drag back and forth by the Xy’phers overwhelming them. “Last chance to say your final words…” The angel clenched fist tightly. 

Outside of Reality Metropolis

Spina’s eyes stared into the shattering energy blast coming at this direction. The old Saiyan could only chuckle as Gogeta responding on his irrational claim that freedom can only come if he himself perished right before his eyes. The blast burrowing against the ground as hot streams scoured across the area they were standing on; Spina raise his head towards the sky as rain quickly evaporated as consequence. His eyes flicker, showcasing a man who had a can realization on his own discourse and actions, in straight contrast of Gogeta who is consumed by his own desires and addictive rage.

Each passing second the blast hurled towards Spina, the old Saiyan seen images of those in his life once more.

His crewmates during his world—he remembers them fondly. When he was not dragging them to hell across the cosmos for his own selfish desires, there were moments where he considered them as fondly.

Gogeta’s attack came closer.

Kai… the one person he did considered as a friend. She was the only one who never turned her back despite his issues and attitude towards life.

Gogeta’s attack came closer.

The Breakers, even Avalon and Berserk. The fact that they were so willingly to remain the group despite the hardships they went through. Hardships, Spina realized, he had created because of his actions. He wanted to save them, he wanted to right now. Will Bernkastel and the others even look at him as someone they could trust?

Gogeta’s attack came closer.

Cuki… Spina never thought about her as anything more than a naïve child. Yet, he thought about her and realized that he could have been supportive. No, he should have. Her words ring across his head after their last confrontation, and the fact that he may never get the chance to properly apologize to her.

As Gogeta’s attack was mere inches away, Spina lowered his head towards the blast with Cuki in mind. By instinct, he tightened his grasp onto the attack with a smile on his face; his eyes on the verge of losing color. “I’m pretty terrible…” He said before the blast completely engulfed in entirely, resulting everything in a flash of white light from the explosion. Yet, from Gogeta’s perspective, Spina was walking through the beam with full intention to destroy his adversary before his body vanished within the light moments later.

Suddenly, Spina emerges from the blast, towering over Gogeta as he held his Mizu Atomic Star Blade overhead. His eyes were narrowed to the brim, with a grim expression on his face—the face of a warrior Gogeta had previously saw in their prior fights. Not giving the fused warrior the move out of way, Spina dropped his attack towards him rapidly with a thunderous roar—it seems that the intent was to completely cut him in half.

Yet, the attack simply touches the bridge of Gogeta’s nose before the star blade completely shattered into millions of pieces of disappearing into fickle lights around. Lowering his right arm, Spina smiles with an intent to respond to Gogeta’s proclamation. With a humble smile, tired eyes and his pale body riddled with battered wounds., the Saiyan opened his mouth, with these words that left his lips. “Then be free…” There was a pause after Spina’s final words—his eyes shifted slightly elsewhere. His body slump towards the sideway, and within seconds, he collapsed.

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Landing on the burnt ground left from Gogeta’s final attack. The red fur around his body had vanished; his body shrunk in size, coming out of his Super Saiyan 4 state—and after tanking the final blast from Gogeta, several gaping holes was scattered across. As the rain resume, the scorched earth was drench in wetness and muddy ground quickly came as Spina’s body laid there. His life energy was practically near zero and his heartbeat was no longer detected. The colors in his eyes had vanished, resulting a white pipuls as his limp body lay defeated, staring towards the direction of the Breakers in the horde of Breakers.
 
Outside of Reality Metropolis

Gogeta's eyes widened, staring up at Spina's attack that touched the bridge of his nose in shock. He blinked hard in confusion; the goofy and light hearted stare of the fusion peeking through a bit while Spina slowly collapsed to the ground, the final words he uttered ringing in his mind.

With narrowed eyes, Gogeta slowly straightened himself out and rose to his feet. The pinkish fire had disappeared entirely from his aura, allowing the downpour to drench him. He flicked his hand to the side, sparkling energy dust left in the wake of his Kamehameha floating away while the fusion stared down at him. The rushing sound of water and potentially any Xy'phers left in the area did little to garner his attention; Gogeta's narrowed eyes firmly locked on Spina's fallen body.

The victory had come at last; the fruits of his labor realized, and while Gogeta's pride had been satisfied, he found himself with the same feeling. The accomplishment did little to inspire him further, and in its wake, he felt nothing. An emptiness filled the man now that his goal had finally been realized, his arms at his side.

However, in his eyes, now was not the time for regrets. Gogeta turned his attention forward, staring out into the abyss of a wasteland in front of him. He tried to call upon the memories of the others in a last ditch effort to validate his choice; to hear the voices of those he had risen above, and to deny them once again for purpose in his choice. Yet nothing rung out in his mind, and his view before him consisted of nothing but darkness and rain.

Gogeta glanced down for a moment, thinking to himself in the rain.

Maybe he doesn't have to die. I can just put him near the others...and when he gets better, I'll fight him again.

However, a sudden spike in energy prompted a small gasp from the fusion, Gogeta's head whipping around towards the direction of the Breakers.



Reality Metropolis

With a loud "fzzt" that rung out louder than the thunderous crackle of the lightning heading towards the Breakers, a sudden pair of men appeared directly in its path in front of the trapped Breakers. Clark Kent lowered his arm down to his side, but both him and the newly arrived Cayde stared wide eyed at the impending attack. The android threw up his arms, the long cloak of his hood wisping backwards from the sheer force of the incoming energy.

"Woah nelly!!"

Clark Kent rapidly threw up his right arm, the entire lightning cascading around and engulfing his body in an instant. He cried out in pain for a brief second, his eyes fully narrowing into a stern scowl in slowly regaining control over the energy. His left arm pointed out to the sky, the intense energy of lightning spiralling out into the rain to leave the group behind.

Cayde blinked hard, peeking over the arm he hid behind once the attack had vanished. He glanced around for a brief moment, seeing the other Breakers caught under the Xy'phers yet in clear view of both men now standing in the way of Eleki. However, his bright orange eyes trailed down to see Clark Kent's iconic glasses broken and shattered in the mud next to his feet.

With his glasses shattered, the man standing in the rain suddenly became more recognizable. Absolutely nothing else had changed about his appearance, but with his clever disguise now destroyed, his distinct features were now more recognizable. The white Saiyan boots planted firmly in the mud, the blue baggy gi pants that fed into them. His orange undershirt underneath the navy blue top; a pair of white gloves covering his hands. Glinting in the small light given off by the crackling lightning were the Potara earrings dangling from his ears.

As the rain continued to poar down, Vegetto slowly straightened out his stance and clenched his fists together, his narrowed eyes turning up to Eleki with a confident smirk.

"Alright!!"

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A sudden explosion of wind erupted from around Vegetto's body, blasting everything. Cayde yelped, nearly tumbling over as the storm force winds worked to knock the massive piles of Xy'phers piling over the Breakers. Shockwaves of unseen telekinetic power erupted forth from the man, and the nearest crowd of over a hundred Xy'phers took in the force of devastating punches to propel them backwards into the crowds surrounding them to create disorienting chaos for the minions.

In the immediate aftermath, Vegetto rocketed forward on the ground, closing the gap to Eleki in a second and hurling his fists in a rapid set of jabs aimed at his chest. A lack of energy or an aura was clear in his sudden surge forth; the power behind his fists massively superior to any of his previous transformations and ki massively rising even as he began the fight with the Elite Xy'pher.​
 
"Ava.... Lon..." Bage froze in place when he looked passed Avalon to see the swarm surrounding them just as they had done the first time. His jaw clenched in utter fear, his face completely void of any other emotion. The detective turned to try and warn the others to get away somehow, only to be thrown out into the open near Avalon. How could he be so careless!? There was nowhere to go and nothing to do but listen to the Xy'pher toy with them. Until the snap activated another assault.

"No..!"​

He gasped, desperately trying to fight back with what little energy he had, trying to cling to some bit of hope that they could escape. He watched each of the Breakers disappear in the attacking hoard one by one, his voice growing louder and louder in desperation. He wasn't quick enough. "NO! AVALON, BERSERK, BRACH-" His shouts were soon drowned out by his own body being pulled and dragged down to the pavement, nearly being crushed under the weight of the crystalized beings. All he could do now was helplessly struggle against the hoard while Eleki prepared to end their lives.​
This was it. They were going to die here and be taken to the Red King. Damn it this wasn't how it was supposed to go! The detective couldn't help but blame himself for this mess. This was his investigation. His mission! He should have been prepared for anything and now he was alongside the breakers about to be annihilated. He should have been more serious, more thorough, and cautious! If only hindsight could save them. He shut his eyes and braced himself as the lightning trailed to them at an accelerating speed to deliver a painful death.​
Bage then opened his eye to see a man taking the damage meant for the rest of them. By a miracle, they were still alive. The detective's eyes widened in disbelief as, in a matter of seconds, they were all freed from the grasp of the hoard.
 
Berserk narrowed her eyes sharply, gritting her teeth with anger as she fruitlessly struggled to try and free herself from the Xy'phers pinning her down and separating her from the ones she had been carrying the whole time. She watched Bernkastel's face twist with pain from Eleki tormenting her and Zenta, though even in sleep Bern looked to be restraining herself from making noise. Her body slumped over due to the uncontrolled jitters of the electric shocks.

Bastard... picking on 'em while they're down...! Berserk grunted against the painful bending and straining her sore muscles were put under; she'd been holding two people for so long her arms were painfully numb. As Eleki gloated in his apparent victory, she glanced over to Lucifer and back to the Elite Xy'pher. She had no chance to ask what the angel meant by 1000 years, but if this was how it would end for them...

"Yeah... I got some last words. No matter what you damned Xy'phers are all dumb as the shitty rocks you're made out of!" Berserk shouted as a last form of dediance with Eleki's lightning bolt headed right for them, shutting her eyes as she waited to be hit. Only an instant later, did the strange noise drown out everything around her. Peeking with one eye, she blinked in shock-- two people she'd never seen before-- standing between them and Eleki. "H...huh?" 

To add to her surprise, Kent's appearance changed to someone else just seconds later once the lightning hit him. Berserk's look of stunned silence didn't change even as she watched Vegetto start exchanging hits with Eleki. He looks familiar... No... this guy's different. Everything about him is totally different! Who the hell is this guy?! What is he? And what's he doing here!
 
There was absolutely no dignified way to describe Brachi's feelings right now as she, Bara and Jize heard Bage call to the former and the others, only to be suddenly overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of Xy'phers, merely seconds before the same thing happened to them too. Bara tried to shield Zenta as best as she could, but used up the last of her energy in this last defense, Jize initially tried to strike some down with her trident, only to get overwhelmed seconds later, fighting to the end.

Using her body to shield Lilith, Brachi on her turn tried to fight back on her terms in any way possible as much as her body could permit without the use of her ki as her reserves had been depleted before, just as the Xy'phers were suddenly blasted off of them right as things has almost turned for the worst, having braced themselves for the potential fatal impact of the lightning attack from Eleki, with Brachi noting that the impact never came, except the weight from the Xy'phers being suddenly lifted from their shoulders.

While Bara and Brachi were recovering and tending to Lilith and Zenta, Jize looked up to see whoever pulled this Big Damn Heroes act, making her blink and rendering her speechless, while nursing her right arm.

"Who helped us out like this?" Brachi asked, managing to stand up while holding Lilith bridal style in her arms, before spotting the two figures, which made her blink as she recognized one of them...
 
"Huh..? Did I miss--" Before Eleki could finish his statement, he flew back from Vegetto's punches. As the Xy'phers were blown away by the powerful gusts of wind as well as the punches the unknown man shot towards them. The Xy'phers scurried around the area, releasing and moving away from the Breakers in the process.

Eleki, both surprised and shocked to see someone touch him. In a quick motion, the Elite crossed his arms in front of him, blocking off any punches that Vegetto delivered to him as best he could. While he was not fond of physical contact, he was not to be taken lightly. Lightning crashed all around him and when one bolt struck his body, he shot his arms out, releasing an electrical forcefield to send Vegetto flying back a few feet. The Xy'pher locked eyes on to Vegetto, examining everything about the man. Nothing about him rang any bells. His expression changed from sadistic to confused. The Elite-Xy'pher never saw Vegetto before.

"Eh? Who are you? Some sort of helper or somethin'?" Eleki scoffed. "Maybe this is part of the game we were playin'? Well, since you got in my way, I gotta kill you now. Oh well." He turned to the Xy'phers and snapped his fingers. Almost in an instant, they all stopped their panicked running and looked up at their commander. "Don't let those Breakers escape. I'll handle this guy."

All the Xy'phers instantly turned to the Breakers as their arms morphed into javelins. While there were not as many as them thanks to Vegetto destroying a few, their numbers were still nothing to take lightly, especially in their condition. They Xy'phers rushed towards the Breakers again.

"So you wanna protect the Breakers, huh? Alright, let's make things interesting, Spiky-Hair![Vegetto] Think you can help them and fight me off at the same time? You're just one guy, what can you do?"

Avalon, during the whole scenario, remained dull-eyed as he did before. Whatever emotion he was going through had a serious effect on him and his ability to react to anything. He refused to move, almost accepting death as it came. Even when he and the others were saved, he barely changed his expression. The thought of his idea leading the Breakers to their doom ate him up inside. All he saw and heard were the screaming and crying voices of his siblings.

I... let them down. I failed... I... We're going to die... and it's my... fault...

In the middle of his thoughts, the charging Xy'phers attacked Avalon first. Even as he was being stabbed, he refused to fight back, his mind already left his body. All he could do was place his arms in front of him in a weak attempt to protect himself.

Eleki turned back to Vegetto as his Xy'pher horde refused to let up on the weakened Breakers. He was curious to see what this new man would do to help the others. Since his body was made of Black Crystals, any healing would be nulled as well as any energy gathering. On top of that, his aura was heavy and made it difficult for those around him to breathe. Lightning continued to crash around him and Vegetto as he floated in the air. He notably kept some distance between him and the Saiyan before holding out his arms, electricity surging around them.

"Now then, I don't like being bored, so you better make sure to entertain me, Spiky-hair!"

He clenched his fingers so that only his index and thumb stuck out. With his hands mimicking guns, the tip of his index fingers started to charge with electricity. The Elite smirked as thin bolts of lightning flew out from his fingertips at incredible speeds. They continued to fire continuously and rapidly, like a machine gun. Several bolts of lightning rushed towards Vegetto, appearing like bullets with an electric tail.

"Machine Gun Bolts!"
 
Vegetto kept a stern stare, the confident smirk remaining until Eleki's orders to swarm the remaining Breakers rung out. His narrowed eyes followed the Elite, but soon turned to the edges of his eyes when he looked back with an authoritative shout.

"Cayde!! You're up!"



Cayde grumbled in rising slowly to his feet, shaking his head and gripping the side of his head. The orange lights in his mouth and neck illuminated with each noise he made, as well as words spoken throughout his recovery from Vegetto's sudden explosion of wind and energy. He blinked hard, his white lights for eyes widely glancing around at Vegetto's call. He gasped at the sight of the Xy'phers charging in on the Breakers and him, the momentary reprieve gone. He gasped at the sight of the Breakers rushing down Avalon, reaching for his hip and knocking his cape from his hood back a bit.

"Damn damn damn!"

Spinning up an ornately decorated hand cannon of a revolver from his holster, Cayde rapidly drew aim. A bright golden fire exploded outwards from his body, engulfing his entire form with a similar flame to that of Ultra Instinct. The distinct nuances and bright little flittering orbs floating up around him were identical to the form despite the golden hue, and in fanning the hammer pin of the large revolver, Cayde unleashed twelve golden shots that instantly fired and struck the Xy'phers swarming Avalon. Each shot resonated with the extensive power lacing it into a golden beam, smashing into the Xy'phers with ease. However, as soon as he emptied his clip, Cayde's entire energy and golden fire completely vanished into thin air while he ran up to Avalon, trying to hoist the man up.

"Hey man, it's gonna be alright. Team Yosha is here to help."

Cayde gasped in the sight of the remaining Xy'phers coming into view, fumbling with his revolver in desperately attempting to reload.

"Gonna need some help here Breakers!! There's a lot of these damn things; that power you guys used to beat Doom would be really helpful right about now!"



Having remained on the ground as Eleki rose above, Vegetto's narrowed eyes turned back forward once he saw Cayde spring into action. His arms remained at his sides, seeing the lightning mounting around the elite's body and slowly breathing in a deep breath through his nose.

Focus....

His arms peeled back, and neatly tucked behind his back in the similar mannerisms of the gods from his former universe. His eyes remained shut while a small smirk formed on his face; a more cocky rendition of his former teacher's demeanor. His body swayed from side to side, the rapid fire of lightning missing him in his elegant dodging from side to side. He moved towards his left in his graceful flipping, the arms never once leaving the small of his back. Rock and debris shattered in every direction, and in his movements, Vegetto swayed in the new need to not only dodge the lightning, but the extensive rubble blasting outwards in every direction. A massive boulder eventually kicked up from the explosion of another lightning blast hitting the ground, and Vegetto elegantly flipped up to land on it.

He suddenly rocketed forward, smashing the rock to pieces in the output of sudden energy to blast towards Eleki. However, the immense speed behind his flight and the trajectory of the final lightning bolt from Eleki's attack made it completely impossible to dodge the incoming fire. Yet despite the inability to dodge it, Vegetto simply leaned to the side slightly and his body rapidly split in half as if a sword had slashed through his torso. The lightning bolt shot through the new open space while his body simply moved around it, and once it had passed, Vegetto's torso immediately morphed back into its normal shape and appearance.

Arriving in front of Eleki, Vegetto slowly opened his eyes. The entire shine of his pupils was identical to the shape and gleam of Ultra Instinct, only that instead of the brilliant metallic platinum glow was the shine of a bright, pure white glow. The eye color change was the only aspect of his appearance that had been altered and the gleam in his eye slowly vanished in leaving Vegetto's appearance back to normal once again. Vegetto's smirk remained as he gently raised his left elbow.

"Easy now."

His arm shot forward, slamming the elbow into the center of Eleki's chest to knock him back a few meters. A bright white glow surrounding Vegetto's elbow became visible once striking Eleki's chest; the energy itself seemingly to fluctuate in size like a force field being disrupted before it slowly vanished from sight. Upon sensing the man's combat, those who could sense energy would feel a very similar aspect of Vegetto's signature to that of Zenta: a massive energy that was simply in the shape of the man, and steadily rising as he fought. Barreling forth, Vegetto dashed forward in preparation to unleash another melee brawl with the elite Xy'pher; the calculated offense a clear contrast to his counterpart's unyielding and overwhelming assault.
 
Upon two men arriving at the scene, Lucifer loosen the grip on his palms. “Huh…” He responded, narrowing examining the back of Vegetto’s head. At first, Lucifer thought it was Gogeta, but the clothing was different, and the person carried himself a bit more different. It was more confident, authoritative and seemingly left an impressive on the others still conscious to see it through. In fact, even the attacks unleashed at his arrival was far more precise, reasonable and under control.

Narrowing his eyes to the brim, the angel examined the man a little as he emits powerful shockwaves to blow them back and dashed off to fight against Eleki. “Ah, Vegetto…” He said as his name left his lips.

As the horde of Xy’phers rushed in, only to be stopped by another man that accompanied Vegetto, Lucifer raised a brow at the name. “Team… Yosha? Isn’t that basically saying, “Team Alright”?” He questioned at the name as Cayde suggest the Breakers to use their full strength. “Unfortunately, they are running low on energy at the moment.” Lucifer said. “You’ll have to carry us through this. I prefer to be held at the top so I don’t have to continue dirtying my shoes with this mud.”
 
Bage's focus had soon came back as Eleki ordered the Xy'phers to subdue them once more. His newfound hope gave him a reason to struggle much more than before. This time with the last bit of his ki, he created a small barrier that exploded outward to push the crystal beings away. He would really have to thank Lilith after this. But for right now, the detective had to figure out a way to get the others out before the Xy'phers could do any serious harm. He was exhausted now but he was determined to hold out a little longer with brute force.
 
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