The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

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"the last bottle...!" Bage muttered quietly as the contents spoke aloud before retreating back. He listened to the questions and hypotheses about the abandoned mansion and the reason for it being here. "it's pretty complex to think about. Especially when our situation makes about as much sense as your teams. An invisible woman who made Zenta act the way he did... It's really hard to believe. But at this point anything is possible."


He pondered with Berserk for a bit all while keeping an eye on Spina and his condition. But soon his focus shifted, turning to Spawn as he mentioned a detective he hadn't met before. "Detective Williams... So it was one of our own leaving these for us. Spawn, do you think you could tell me a little about him, so I can get an idea of what he could be planning for us? He'll appear to us when we open the last bottle? Does he have some kind of ability that can allow him to do that?"
 
Mysterious Manor – The Room of Eden

“Not much…” Detective Spawn answered. “He’s the type of person who really gets into his work, so he’s hardly around. But from what I understand, he has the ability to make portals and take him anywhere. Considering the contents of those letters in the bottles… it makes sense that he was able to get around so quickly.” The detective pondered why Williams didn’t bothered escaping; it was foolish to risk it on for detective work. However, he soon recalled the strange reporter trio back in Reflection City. “His dedication to the job got the better of him…”

“Foolish? I would say admirable.” Lucifer praised the detective. He has no favorable views of the Detective Agency; they weren’t a party that interested in documenting the concept of Reality Vortex. Instead, in Lucifer’s eyes, the organization as simply a means to exert their interpretation of “protection”. Regardless, Lucifer pondered May’s suggestion that the hive is just more than a simple base. Based on the current information known, experimenting with Black Crystals is extremely dangerous. It can level cities in an instant, and even the strongest of persons will be swept in it. So, it stems to reason that May’s theory had some weight. Considering that Bara sense endless killing instinct…

Another point that needs to be take into consideration is how the Xy’phers managed to enter the manor in the first place. As Berserk stated, it was pure chance that they managed to get in thanks to Spina, whom unknowingly did it without explicit reason. “Our lovely, possible potential mole, Detective here stated that they never surveyed this part of town. At least, Williams failed to deliver this information to the Agency. So, I wonder how did the Xy’phers know about this location? And why chose this, riddled with supernatural elements that includes these… behemoths,” Lucifer said, “and an invisible woman that wrapped this poor soul’s mind, as a means of operation?” The angel turns to Nia, thinking that she could shed some light onto this question. “It’s common sense that… someone once lived there.” Lucifer observed the room, tying back to the content of the letters. “Perhaps whatever this beyond force is… maybe it’s that invisible woman that Zenta supposedly saw? At the very least… something is adamant on protecting this relic from intruders.” To the average person, one can become frustrated with this. But to Lucifer, who travel Reality Vortex solely on gathering information on the world, he was filled with excitement of this new development.

Throughout the conversation, and Nia hadn’t brought up any indication that the hive was nearby, Spina stood up on his feet. “Hmph…. I’m fine.” He answered Bernkastel, assuring that he didn’t need a rest and they should move forward. “I’ll need just a couple of seconds… and I’ll be good to go.” The wound on his right shoulder was still agonizing, but Bage managed to suppress a lot, so he bears with it for now. His main focus, before speaking for their next course of action, was investigating this room they were in; especially the trail of Xy’pher scratches that reached the portrait. Slightly wobbling to side-to-side, the old Saiyan walked towards the portrait.

The first thing that truly caught his eye was the bed underneath, and it was gigantic upon closer inspection. More, it seems that someone had slept in it, as the impression was “still fresh”; as if the body had been moved recently. Beneath his boots, the tremors continued on; it was incredibly noticeable that cracks were expanding in size.

After Berserk questioned on who lives on the moon, Spina turned as he stood by the portrait of this strange person. “The voice.” He said with scorned in his voice. “That bastard lives there… that his creation.” He stared at the picture some more. “No wonder this place makes me feel sick… it similar to his energy.” He narrowed his eyes.

A name that hadn’t been uttered in a while. Notably, the new ones, such as Lucifer, will be unfamiliar, at least, on a personal level. “The voice…? The one on the moon? That’s its name?” Lucifer asked, raising a brow.
 
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The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

As the roar of the fierce battle died down, Vegetto remained standing with his arm extended next Clark. He panted lightly; the extensive energy having taking a toll on the Potara fusion but his reserves still intact from the immense surge of energy. The silver fire swirling around his body dissipated away into the air; his silver eyes and hair reverting to their normal shade while Vegetto turned his attention onto the struggling Clark.

He looked over the Kryptonian with a concerned stare; the level of strain that Clark had placed on his body in a technique Vegetto had never seen before intensely crippling Clark. His gloved arms reached down, helping Clark keep his upper body upright in gripping his shoulders. Vegetto half chuckled in helping Clark up a bit, his usual taunting tone behind the dual voice for the first time in years as a playful tease.

"What's the matter? Kryptonians aren't supposed to have limits...especially not at stage one."

Yet Vegetto turned his eyes up at the sound of footsteps, his eyebrows sharpening immediately at the strange instance of Wordplay's resolute and poised posture. Moments before, he had been afraid and weary from the Xy'pher attack, now standing tall with the Air Dancer coin in his hand.

Vegetto kept a frown once Wordplay spoke, his eyes only drifting a bit towards Clark to check on his state. The Potara fusion thought for a few moments in silence, his mind racing on the presentation of a potential new threat. The Red King...the Voice...or whatever toxic presence he felt moments before, he couldn't decide who it might be. Instead, Vegetto's concern for another aspect came forward first, his tone strong in the demand.

"What have you done with Wordplay?"
 
Bernkastel's eyes tracked Spina as he swayed in his stride towards the portrait, furrowing her brows in slight concern whether or not he was telling the truth or simply unerestimating his own physical health. She outstretched a hand towards him as if to offer healing the wound, but withdrew it knowing he would only deny needing it for the time being.

Likewise with Lucifer, Berserk gave a puzzled expression at Spina's answer. Because he was always so literal the punk wasn't sure whether he was being sarcastic. "As in... the moon is alive? I feel like I'm missing something here. How do you know there's someone on the moon? Were you guys astronauts in space or something?"

"Because we knew him." Bern glanced back at the group, briefly hesitating to reply since her expression looked somewhere between morose and scornful to match the old Saiyan's response. "Not someone we particularly like. When we first met, he was disembodied. Never gave us a real name, so just Voice sufficed. Originally he was the keeper of the first Vortex but was weak and powerless without a body. In order to have any real power, he needed the Tools... which Doom had taken from Spina long ago...." Bern stopped, staring up at the portrait as her dull eyes lit up. "The Voice... I see now."

Berserk leaned over Bern's shoulder, trying to follow where she stared off, not looking any less annoyed about her confusion. "...Uh-huh? See what?"

"We were never in the absolute center of the Red King's plans this whole time. What he wants is far beyond whatever we could possibly give him even if he turned us into Xy'phers. If I'm correct, then he's far more ingenious than I gave him credit for... what a cunning bastard he is," she said maliciously to no one in particular.

"Still lost here... huh. Now that I think about it, the Xy'phers said something similar to us in Reflection City. Like how the trap they set in the city yesterday wasn't meant for us. I thought they were just talking out their ass seeing how hard they fought us, but why him? Who is he to you guys?"

The Witch didn't immediately answer, giving it deep thought before giving a half shrug. "Well, mole or no mole, I suppose it doesn't make a big difference whether they know I'm onto him. They're still going to come after us, may as well fill all of you new guys in with Nia. "

"The Tools include a pair of orbs, white and black. They powered the Voice up to a machine body and allowed him to manipulate the material realm as he saw fit. It cost him nothing, but for us it went from a simple game to a gauntlet of sudden death. We thought things would be restored since he swore the Tools were too powerful for anyone else to handle... we thought those who died fighting Doom would be resurrected."

"Resurrected?" Berserk looked puzzled. "But they'd just come back on their own."

"Usually. But Doom used a Black Orb to erase them outright-- no trace left behind. Seven were erased: only Bara and Zenta were revived," Bern's dull eyes rested on the floor at her feet. "He said at full power it was reversible but two were all he was willing to revive. After all that... would you like to know what the Voice said next? I'll show you a front-row seat." Bernkastel gave an empty smile, pulling out a piece of sea glass from behind Berserk's ear like a magic trick. Broadcasting Bern's memory, the fuzzy memory could be seen by peeking through the glass, but the words were her main point.

"Just because I gained a little respect for you Breakers, doesn't change my position. You’re lucky I didn’t just outright erase you all, revive none of them, or reverse the damage he'd done. But the more battles I saw, and the fact Doom brought tons of new people into my domain… how could I pass up this chance?

“This is the new world beaming with life— far more than the original Reality Vortex, where I had to wait for the off chance of some people being erased from existence… but when Doom built that machine, he was bringing in people left and right...Then you lot came along; someone desperate enough to listen to my pleas and dumb enough to get your hopes up. Do you know how long, how many eons, I waited just to get back to my machine body, ever since those fools took me out of it? But at the end, your hopes gave me hope, so I thank you for that. That’s why I won’t be perishing you… and gave them a mercy revival.

“The rest were erased far beyond your strength; you can never hope to reverse it. Your friends, your family, your loved ones—all of them perished. Once they are erased by the essence of dark-energy, MY ENERGY, their existence is gone—no trace.

"But don’t be alarmed Breakers. There is one more reward I am willing to give." He slowly lifted his finger towards the new world. “The wasteland is now overpopulated. So, I’m gifting you, whether you like it or not, to clean up the mess down there and straighten things out. Do that and you could find me on Vortex Moon."

While it played, Bern turned to the portrait of Jinaira and idly ran a free hand over it. Her dull gaze lifted to study the reactions of those who hadn't been there.

"And there you have it. Strung along and left as a cleanup crew to deal with the colossal mess he let happen in the first place. As a reward." She broke into a gleeful smile as she spoke.

"Isn't that hilarious? Doesn't it make you laugh?" The last word was strewn out by hatred as her smile flatlined.

Berserk flinched, rubbing her arm awkwardly after all that she had just heard. "Um... no? I'm real sorry he did that to you guys. That's not fair at all-- what a jerk!"

"A complete understatement. If I just had the chance right then and there to snatch the Tools myself, I'd--" She cut herself off and took a sharp breath; the memory clearly aggravated her to where she needed to stop herself from tipping over into a rage. "...I'm sorry. Excuse my outburst. Our history with Voice isn't the reason I showed that. He lives on the Moon now, and if we want any hope of facing that lying, conniving bastard again, we'd have to do what he told us to. We do not swear allegiance to him, and even if we slaughtered every single vermin from this realm, we'd just be honoring his orders. We aren't that naive. I believe the King is going this far for the express purpose of bringing down the Voice... to fight him next. He is the closest thing to a God the Vortex has. I can't say who Jinaira could possibly be, but if Spina's hunch is right, this manor may have been here since the original Vortex. The Dark Xy'phers might have been able to bypass the barrier in order to infiltrate the manor and turn it into some kind of hive lab."

the barrier has to be made of the Dark Energy. Spina must have been harboring it in his aura til now just to get in... There's no other way he could have made an opening. Could Brutality be an Overseer who can control dark energy too? Or does his own power circumvent all other systems... And what if the Voice is Jinaira? Voice using the orb's black energy... Jinaira's own power being the point of creation for the Tools... it can't be pure coincidence. But I need more hard evidence than that to prove it.

"I think Hart... the Coin Hunter... also had a goal to force the Voice's hand and come down from the moon. But we were at the center of her plans. She still aimed to take our lives even if she satisfied her personal vendetta by killing me first. Since she failed, he never had reason to come down. If you turn the entire Reality Vortex into a hivemind, perhaps build upon a tower that scrapes the borders of the sky, reach the Vortex Moon... you will certainly face the Voice regardless of whether he comes down. Unlike Doctor Doom, who couldn't handle the power of the Tools, the King would only need to overwhelm the Voice with an utterly innumerable barrage of cannon fodder at every level imaginable. You turn a god into a Xy'pher, perhaps you yourself become something above a God. It's so beautifully absurd for a plan only a hivemind could achieve something that outlandish."

Berserk's expression turned grave upon the revelation Bernkastel presented; it was bad enough to know the King was plotting to turn everyone into brainwashed crystallized zombies, but as only a means to an end for some Godlike being to come down? It was insane. She turned to Nia. "Does... does that sound like a goal the Red King would set out to do?"
 
Majin Bara meanwhile remained silent as she listened to all the banter, yet when Bernkastel mentioned that the Voice had done, she clenched her fists tightly, clearly agitated as she remembered what Doom did to her and Gervene and the effect it had on her bestie Brachi.

"The Voice may have claimed we can never hope to revive them," she said, "but he forgot one thing: neither Brachi nor myself believe in a no-win scenario. We believe that there IS a way to bring everyone we care about back one way or the other, even if we must go beyond the impossible to do so. We just need to do what we can to prove that he was wrong all the time, and make him see things our way for once. Perhaps then he can restore the damage done and send us all back home where we truly belong and then stay out of our lives forever."
 
For May what Bren did say was more expanding on facts she known already. May thinks "Way do think that this just some fucked game devised by this Voice thing. At point this subject is above my pay grade; besides the hole hivemind wishing to overwhelm some divine tools."

May says in her normal flat tone "Spawn and this is one reason way I don't trust your boss' intelligence."

May asks "Brachi you do know that there is a large number of people that live in the vertex that been here longer than out of the vertex?"
 
Avalon listened intently to Bernkastel and was impressed at her Detective skills. Everything was so chaotic, but it made sense. Although he did not know who the Voice was, he always wondered why there was a Moon constantly 'watching' Vortex. With the information Bernkastel gave out, he slowly put the pieces together. There were still many questions he had, but he thought it'd be best to leave them for later.

So The Voice is an actual person? Sounds like there was a bunch of stuff that happened waaaay before I arrived here. This Voice dude has a ton of history with the Breakers, bad history. Avalon silently pondered as his eyes traced over the main portrait in front of them. And this... Jinaira dude. Is he connected to the Voice in some way? What's his connection in all this nonsense?

Avalon continued to think until his attention was taken by Zenta who balled his hands into fists yet held an incredibly calm expression on his face. When Bernkastel mentioned that seven perished and two being revived, Zenta grew uneasy, almost as if he feels an incredible burden on his shoulders. In a way, Avalon almost understood how Zenta felt. Being the only one alive when others perished is a guilty feeling that is probably eating Zenta alive.

But it was not guilt, at least, not entirely. Zenta let out a long sigh, his depression showing its face upon hearing the history the Breakers had with the Voice.

"I was one of the few revived, yet, I am not worth being here, truthfully." Zenta said in a very low whisper to himself as he carefully walked past Bernkastel towards the portrait. He rose his hand to touch the portrait and lowered his head. "If I can have but one wish," His nails dug into the frame of the portrait. "It would be to fade away from existence."

"Wait... you mean, like, to die?" Avalon tilted his head.

Zenta turned his head to Avalon and gave him a true, sincere smile. There was no mistaking it, he was serious.

"W-Whoa, hey Zenta why would you wish for something like that--"

"Let us not derail, Avalon." Zenta turned his back to the Breakers once again. "Focus on what Lady Bernkastel said."

"A lab... that doesn't sound too far off from what he usually does to his victims." Nia said before placing a hand on her chin. "But a lab would not be necessaryfor him. The Red King has the power to turn people to Xy'phers on his own using his psychic powers. He compresses your body into the size of an atom and encases you into a crystal. Death is quick and painless, actually."

"Well, that doesn't sound that bad--"

"But the King likes to play with his victims. So slow and painful is usually how he rolls. He typically likes to stretch or figure out new contortions for his playthings. I once saw him fold a dude like a Rubik's Cube. He isn't aware if they die or not, but the lack of screaming gives it away..."

Nia took a moment to listen to Bernkastel's theory, as well as pause when Berserk asked her a question about how the Red King's possible plan.

"It sounds about right... The Red King is all about having all possible forms of power at his disposal, yet, something doesn't seem right..."

Nia floated closer to the dimly lit portrait in the room before turning her head to Bernkastel upon hearing a familiar name.

"Hart? Did you say Hart? I remember the Xy'phers mentioning that name often. I thought they were talking about the human heart..." The Xy'pher's face lit up with a realization. "That is why they attacked Reflection City! Hart lives in Reflection City, right? They said that they are after this 'Hart' lady because of her connections to a... Vortexman? What it all means is beyond my reasoning... The whole attack on Reflection City was to drive out Hart, so they can swarm and take her..."

"That explains why the Xy'phers were not after us." Avalon added. "Probably explains why they disguised themselves as citizens so we would't spot them. But then... why would they be kidnapping people from the city ad sending them back?"

"To reduce suspicion or a trail, no doubt. They didn't want Hart to catch on to their plan. Chances are, the city was already lost when we got there. That was their plan all along; to attack the City internally by catching Hart off guard with the smiles of her own people." Nia bit her lip. "Hart would have never known until it was too late..."

"But what does that have to do with Vortexman?"

"I'm not sure... I assume the King is after his abilities for the same reasons Bernkastel mentioned. Whatever his reason may be, we were lucky to be there to stop the plan." Nia frowned slightly before floating up to get a closer look at the portrait. "But that doesn't explain how or why the King picked this mansion to create a hive... I can definitely sense a hive, but this manor messes with my ability to pinpoint it... How did the Xy'phers get in here and why?"

"This all hurts my brain, but I think I'm gettin' it," Avalon commented. "If Bernkastel is right about her theory, then we're in a lot bigger trouble than we thought. Reality Vortex is huge, so the Red King is literally gonna to have a mega-army by the time he's done with this place."
 
Mysterious Manor – The Room of Eden

After the recording ended, Spina went silent. He was irritated, and equally sickened upon hearing the voice again after all this time. Regardless, the old Saiyan set aside his feelings for now, and focused on Bernkastel’s theory: that the Breakers were nothing more than spoils; his true aim is the Vortex Moon.

Detective Spawn listened to the banter that came about based on the recording. Just as the rest of the newcomers, this was explicitly the first time they heard the voice. He was present during the final bout that was screen across Vortex, but the feed failed to capture the voice entirely. There were some things that he knew: that the Breakers were seemingly tasked with something regarding the newcomers that came 3 years ago. But this new kind of information was far more sinister—it was outright demeaning and condescending.

“So, the Red King is gathering forces in Vortex as an attempt to break out of this realm. Tch. Tough luck. I’ve been seen plenty of powerful individuals here and none can even scratch the barrier. At best one could shake the realm a little bit.” Detective Spawn, deep down, almost wanted the Red King to somewhat succeed if that his plan; he truly detests those kinds of deities. That recording message from the voice had sickened him. “The source of all Madness… what a twisted son of a bitch.” More, Detective Spawn thought that their action in Reflection City was a failure. However, with the new evidence, and Nia’s stating that Hart and possibly Vortex Man were the actual target and it failed, they did manage to do something right. This put him more at ease with himself above all else.

Once Avalon uttered that Reality Vortex was in trouble, a snickering laugh followed. Detective Spawn turned, realizing that the fallen angel also witnessed the memory recording of the closet thing to a God of this world. His eyes narrowed, seeing a twisted smile and skewed eyes.

“Marvelous.” Lucifer’s tone shifted to malicious tone. His voice deepened greatly. “Not only we have a creature that seeks to eradicated free will; the god of the moon is far more despicable than I assumed he’ll be. Even more so than YHWH.” He let out another round of a hearty laughter. “Hilarious! I might even say, that is absolutely divine comedy! An arrogant god… oh, how I praise you Breakers for not appeasing such foolery!”

His eyes darted towards Bara, claiming that they simply need to “prove” something to the voice, and hopefully he’ll do what they asked. “Don’t be daft. For even mentioning the mere thought of doing anything makes me want to vomit. Gods are shaped by arrogance—they’ll rather died than do what you asked. That is their true nature, and you’ll be a fool to believe otherwise. Dare to devalue your own self-worth again, I’ll not hesitate to turn you into a familiar, Bara.”

Lucifer turned to the rest of the Breakers. His deep voice slowly lightened up. “The Mad King wish to seek beyond the stars and meet God,” the angel held a devilish smile. “And daresay, there might be even more revelations to come. So, he’s hunting down various people strong enough to overwhelm him, hmm? And seek to uphold the throne for himself, hmm? Whatever his reasons for seeking this dreadful voice, I’m sure we’ll find the bottom of this once we find this hive-lab. I don’t see it as trouble, Avalon. As in, it would be trouble to become puppets to appease one’s arrogance. And that, I say, we make haste of destroying every single aspect of its production and rid the world of fools that seeks only for their own pleasures, hmm? Isn’t that great, Bernkastel? Spina?” His eyes narrowed. “Zenta?”

“Hmph…” Spina said. “My kind of language.” He was taken aback from Lucifer’s demeanor. He’s usually calmer and more collective compared to everyone else in the group; he never really saw him snapped like that before. “I ain’t gonna be a puppet to settle scores for anyone. I make my own choices.” The old Saiyan said with pride.

The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

“Nothing. I’m simply using this body as means to observed you.” Wordplay said. “But it is rather cute that you actually thought of others. Though, if that sticks… that remains to be unseen.”

Clark, hoisted up by Vegetto, struggle to form a sentence. He was able to let out just a few words. “Who… are you?”

“My identity is of no concern of you at this moment. And the rate you’re going, most likely never. You won’t live long enough anyways.” Wordplay turned his back against them. “I failed to see what he sees in you. You hardly grow at all to me, but he’s insisting that you did. I don’t know if he’s messing with me or putting me some kind of trial. How can I witness growth like this?”

Shaking his head, Wordplay faced Vegetto and Clark. “I wonder what would you do next after all this happen, hmm? Your brother perished right before your eyes, and Clark is clearly at a disadvantaged. Especially after he insulted you and show no remorse for doing so.”

Clark turned to Vegetto; he was too weak to do anything at the moment. His body needed to recover after using such a powerful ability.

Wordplay clenched onto the Vortex Coin and repeated the question: “What will you do…. hmm?”
 
Mysterious Manor – The Room of Eden

Standing mostly in silence throughout the explanations given, Cayde's mechanical eyes wandered around the room in search of any details he may have missed. His mind wandered at the mention of the Voice; the title had resonated ever so briefly in his mind Yet his eyes soon wandered slowly back to the Witch of Miracles; the mention of the Tools perking his attention not of the devices themselves, but at the presentation. His eyes sharpened and he listened intently; he had heard the mention of the devices long ago by Vegetto but the Breakers' legendary beginnings had never once been fully explained to him by his friend. Information had always been withheld; Vegetto's own recounting of the battle particular and withdrawn.

His frown formed at Bernkastel's melancholy mention of the fallen, seeing through her empty smile. The android had seen it plenty of times before, the emptiness left in the wake of devastating loss. The few times he managed to coax out the limited story from Vegetto had borne the same reaction; empty eyes turned down due to the mind digging deep for a memory that had left a hole in their heart. Empty smiles and reassuring words attempting to dissuade concern because the loss no longer hurt, yet still missing a huge part of themselves. Cayde stared on at Bernkastel, frowning intently until the sound of the Voice rung out in the room.

The intensity of the situation was beyond anything the android could imagine; Cayde's anger building steadily throughout the scene playing in the orb. He knew the Breakers had suffered great loss, but at the revelation of the being denying their salvation, the android inhaled deeply through his nostrils while he shook his head. His eyes lifted to the side, tucking his gun into its holster and glancing between the Breakers after Spina's agreement.

"So, kill the hive, kill the King...and then we go after this Voice guy? Eh?"



The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Vegetto stared on at Wordplay with narrowed and sharp eyes, an expression unshaking in his determination. Whatever the being was, it prompted Vegetto's natural defense: ignore whatever trickery it planned. The Potara fusion stood ready and resolute; listening only to see if this being would threaten both himself and Clark directly.

Yet at the mention of Gogeta's death, Vegetto's entire defense crumbled as his expression immediately softened. The cycle of destruction began again in an instant; Vegetto's mind lamenting on the fallen fusion at the hands of his supposed friend in Clark. The ruthless murder of Gogeta came despite Vegetto's pleas, and the Potara fusion instinctively began to blame Clark for killing Gogeta.

Vegetto's eyes darted down, shaking a bit from side to side. The arm lifting Clark up by the armpit began to tense and tighten; a noticeable pressure in strength mounting unintentionally in Vegetto's frustrated state that the Kryptonian could feel. His mind raced back to the promise he made to protect the Breakers during the Hart crisis, and began to venomously rage at the notion of Clark ruining his chance to redeem Gogeta by killing the fusion.

How could he kill him? Gogeta wasn't out for blood this time...he only wanted to support me.

The shame bore fruit immediately at such a thought; Vegetto's eyes turning down once again at the fresh guilt that his own desire to dominate the Vortex had inspired Gogeta to side with him, and thus, his ambition had been the real killer of his brother. His pride and inability to relinquish it had cost the Breakers in total more than he had helped. The twisted thoughts in Reflection City to silence the city, the destruction left in his wake in an attempt to kill the offspring of Doom, all of it had been at his command and decision. The fallen left in the wake of destruction were clearly his debts to pay.

His eyes remained forward, locking with Wordplay's directly with an intense glare. From the outward perspective, Vegetto now held onto Clark with an intense grip; there was no hope for escape if the weakened Kryptonian attempted to flee. An ominous sensation emitted from the Potara fusion; the eyes never once leaving Wordplay's while Vegetto spoke with a firm, yet scared dual voice as Clark looked up to him.

"Clark...there's something I need to know. After all of this...even after the things I said...will you still be my friend?"

Vegetto's eye visible to Clark twitched only once; the only tell in his stone-like facial expression. The sentence was spoken in carefully constructed concern, as if Vegetto already knew the answer Clark was about to give and was afraid to hear it. The overwhelming threat of death resonated behind Vegetto's question; the Kryptonian's answer potentially being his last.
 
May says "Lest consternate on dealing with the Xy'phers first at this point the Voice is something we can't reach. I should note that odds are good that even after this battle the brakers will have more battles before the voice." May not trying to damper the group desire to fight the voice but trying to get them too constate on the task at hand.

May thinks "They may be fools but all that are counted as true heroes tend to be fools."
 
Mysterious Manor – The Room of Eden
"Considering how much we had to bust our asses so Detective Goku didn't kill us, it had better have been for something," Berserk grumbled. "At least we have a better grasp of their plan now. We were already thinking of taking the King down, but now stopping him is way more urgent than before."

"Hart isn't as much of a threat without her Coin Gauntlet, so I could see her being a prime target... that's if she hasn't gotten a replica." Bernkastel wondered who Vortex Man was since she had never come across the superhero in person at Reflection City; just someone in armor from the hero group he was leader of and they didn't seem all that chatty. "Not that I'd worry over her well-being that much, but if having gotten her evacuated ruined their plans, I can live with it. The rest of the answers we need so far eludes me still..." she placed a hand over her mouth in deep thought with the other mysteries surrounding the Red King's primary objective, among other matters. When Lucifer offered his opinion on what she had shown everyone, her empty eyes flickered up at him with a vengeful glint.

"If there is anyone in this realm that is going to drag the Voice down from his disgraceful throne, that glory shall be ours. Forget negotiations; I'm going to get what I seek by force if I have to. Looks like this is going to be an arms race of interference after all; it just won't do if the King beats us to him," Bern said with a contemptuous half-smirk. "It may not be for centuries, but we'll surely reach the moon our own way. But we can't even think of how to go about that until we survive this whole ordeal, and fix the mess that has become our reputations." Making a tight fist around the sea glass, she pressed her lips into a thin line, clearly fighting off something at the edge of her mind. Bernkastel's voice remained defiant if yet bordering on a resigned exhaustion. "I won't stop moving forward... I can't. Not until that day is reached."

"Hmph, guess there's always going to be someone vying to be at the top of the food chain. But where's the fun in that if it only goes to one person? I wanna take on all kinds of fighters-- just one guy ain't enough!" Berserk stated. "Maybe you'll be counting me in on fighting that Voice guy someday. But if the King's going after Vortex Man, that's troublesome for me since I intend on getting a good fight outta the hero groups around here. So, if you (Nia) can't pinpoint the hive as well down here, whaddo we do?"

"Perhaps splitting up again would be a bad idea... but we haven't much time to debate on what to do. See?" Bern pointed towards the widening cracks on the floor before glancing back up at Spina. "Something is getting closer to us."
 
All this information was a lot for the Senior Detective to take in. The Red King hoping to use the entire vortex population to take on this Voice deity, and not only that this god was an enemy of the Breakers? Just the agency's luck. This mission was starting to get crazier and crazier by the second. As the others conversed about the King and Voice, he too was deep in thought about the group's next steps. It was clear that they were getting nowhere fast with this mansion, and it seemed all the information gathered here gave them their goal. Find the last bottle. Find the Red King. That was all that mattered to Bage right now.

He began to remember why this investigation was had in the first place. Arrogant god or not, innocent lives were taken by the Red king. They were able to find some normality within this mixed-up realm and he took it away from them just so he can fight some crazy entity that lives on the moon? It was sickening to think about. And Bage couldn't care less about this Voice character. As far as he was concerned, that was a Breaker problem. His job was to return these possessed masses back to their normal lives, at least what normal lives they were able to create in all this mess of a reality. Anything else would have to come after.

After Bernkastel pointed out the growing cracks in the floorboards, he quickly went to formulating something. "Well, in any case, if we've gotten all we need from this place and Nia can't think straight to get the hive's location, I think it would be best to leave while we can and re-evaluate our next steps somewhere safe. I've got a hunch that that last bottle will have just what we need." He prepared to exit the room, but not before taking a few notes about the room and their encounters in his trusty little journal. "Any objections, let's hear 'em now because as Bern has said, we don't have a lot of time."
 
Avalon was oddly quiet the entire time, taking notes as each of the Breakers spoke, making sure to record every bit he could for future reference. The Voice's history with the Breakers was new to him, and it explained certain behaviors from them. Even the scars that the Breakers had, Bernkastel's short raggy hair, Spina's missing arm, the hole in Brachi's stomach... it all started to make sense to him. In a way, he almost felt bad he barged in their lives unexpected. The harsh and somewhat rude way they handled outsiders shows the pain they have gone through.

Sheesh, these guys have been through a lot, huh? Avalon bit his lip. They just want to be left alone...

"If I remember correctly, there should be only three hives. The small one that consumed Metropolis in order to capture you, the one here, and the Central Hive the King resides in." Nia said before her head shot down towards the cracking floor. "Oh no..."

"What? What's wrong?" Avalon said as the cracks under his feet started to part away and nearly breaking the room in half.

As the cracks started to get wider and wider, the light from within them shined brightly under their feet. The gravity that the group felt earlier was back, this time far stronger than before. The way the room shook felt like a powerful earthquake, and the damage was very similar. Zenta was hopping from spot to spot, avoiding falling into one of the large cracks. He had no choice but to cling on to the wall using his short claws, but it was clearly not enough for him to hold on. He struggled to get a proper footing or grip and with the increasing gravity. Avalon was the same, desperately trying to keep his footing to keep from falling. The floor began to crumble into what seemed like an endless abyss of crystals, and as the gravity grew stronger, the Breakers were being pulled in to what looked like a crystallized black hole, unable to escape.

"T-The main entrance..!" Nia grunted. "That's it!"

Scampering up the hole and along the walls of the room were Xy'phers that launched themselves towards the Breakers in an attempt to pull them into the hole. Nia was quick to put up a dome barrier to stop the Xy'phers from pummeling them. However, the barrier was slowly withering away due to Nia's lack of concentration. The constant onslaught of Xy'pher and Debris distracting her and the overwhelming gravity were all disrupting her focus. The gravitational force had almost reduced the floor to nothing, and those who cannot fly were desperately trying to find something to stand on. The only place that still had floor left was around Nia's barrier. Avalon rushed to Berserk's side, but before he could make it, he was tackled into the void by a sneaky Xy'pher, disappearing within the debris.

"Waaaaaaaaahhh!!!"

"Holy crud..!" Nia watched Avalon fall and dropped her focus for just a moment. Unfortunately, that moment was when a large piece of the roof slammed against the barrier, breaking it in half, exposing some of the Breakers.

The wall climbing Xy'phers took this chance to attack the few that were exposed. One launched itself towards Spina like a missile, hitting him right in his chest. It grabbed on to him, trying to pull him down. Another Xy'pher flung at May from behind, wrapping itself around her wait and flipping backwards into the pit, taking her with it. Finally, a pile of Xy'phers landed on Lucifer's wings, making it heavier for him to stay afloat. They scratched his wings and plucked at the feathers as the Fallen Angel started to feel the immense weight on him, more so thanks to the gravity pulling them in. One last Xy'pher fell on top of Lucifer's head, giving the Angel the push to fall and spiral into the pit. Nia's barrier was being piled up with more and more rubbish, making it heavier than what Nia can support. Cracks were seen visible on the barrier, ready to break at any moment.

"Not good..! I can't..!"

Nia's barrier finally collapsed thanks to the lack of focus she had. The debris fell directly on top of Bara and Berserk, pushing them down into the entrance at lightning speed. The Xy'phers picked off any stragglers. Three Xy'phers launched themselves at Bernkastel, Bage, and Spawn, aiming to take them down. Zenta launched himself from the wall he held on to tackle the Xy'phers aiming for the trio before falling into the void since he was unable to fly. The small opening gave Nia a chance to create a new barrier to block a Xy'pher from attacking Spawn's backside. The barrier enclosed Bernkastel, Spawn, and Bage in a dome, protecting them for the meanwhile, and since it was smaller, Nia was able to maintain her focus longer.

The gravity grew stronger and stronger, so strong that the entire room collapsed in on itself, taking the Xy'phers and the remaining Breakers with it. The bubble barrier Nia placed herself and the remaining Breakers in sank like a rock, bumping and rolling down the pit for what seemed like hours. Bernkastel, Spawn, and Bage were tossed around inside the barrier as it crashed through hundreds of feet deep into the ground. Only when it began to hit crystals would it begin to crack. The farther down they fell, the more crystals they saw, but with more crystals around, the barrier would hit each one making the ride worse for the Breakers. Finally, after minutes of feeling like they were in a sick game of pinball, the barrier finally broke; luckily for Bernkastel, Spawn, and Bage, they were already close to the ground near all the rubble. The landing was still rough.

"W-We made it..." Nia panted as she looked up the hole they fell in. They were so far down that she could not see the light at the top. "We fell quite a way... Ah! Your friends!"

From the pile there were the crystallized coins of the weaker Xy'phers that killed themselves to take the Breakers. Nia removed the rubble bit by bit in hopes that they can spot the remaining Breakers. Zenta's tail was the first to be spotted, jutting out from the side of the rubble, motionless. As Nia continued to lift rubble away, she exposed more of the Breakers.
 
Bara simply grunted as she was hit and sent down into the entrance, however her unique physical make-up enabled her to survive, but it DID made her angry, so much so that she was now emitting steam from the holes in her body akin to Majin Buu, and was now doing her best to lift up whatever debris was on top of her, which would also allow Nia to find her right away because of her unique pink skin. That and while lifting the rubble up, she was also reassembling herself along the way.
 
May takes out a pistol and shoots the Xy'pher that grabbed her. May grabs its arm and starts to use its body as a way to protect herself from the fall and token out a large shield to protect herself from the rubble. May thinks "well that was surprising."

May gets up by using the shield to blast away the rubble holding her down. May puts away the shield and asks, "who is a live and with me?" May takes out a pill and consumes it. May thinks "that should cover any harm I may incurred on my way down."
 
The Hive

Although it may come across as insignificant in a grand scheme of things, but the memory of the voice somewhat revitalized the Breakers’ morale. In the continuous onslaught of vicious emotions that the individual Breaker had against one another, this moment was like a breath of fresh air.

Spina, in particular, felt more relaxed than ever. His mind, voids of paranoia, destructive thoughts, felt a sense of pride of oneself. Berserk mentioning that fighting Voice isn’t enough… she wants to fight all sorts of people sparked a memory in him. No longer scattered or manipulated, one memory, restored fully, came to his mind.

“Good or evil… doesn’t factor in it… what matters to a Saiyan’s pride… is their strength.” A comrade that ventured with him long ago. “Once you beat that prince, you’re just gonna seek new heights in battle, huh?”

Crossing his arms, Spina held a smirk to showcase his excitement. He turns to Bernkastel and Bage, both of them gave warnings to the cracks that became more apparent. “There’s nothing here then, so let’s just go—”

Before the conversation can go any further, the floor collapsed underneath them. The old Saiyan lost his balance from the sudden event and tried to stay afloat with little energy he held. However, he was unable to dodge the Xy’pher slamming itself against his chest. His arms flailed outward and he cough up saliva. His decreased power, strong gravitational force and the Xy’pher holding him down, it come to no surprise that he was unable to escape from their grasp.

As opposed to the others that either fought or at the very least, resisted, Lucifer simply let himself be struck and pulled around. As white feathers scattered around briefly before falling straight down, the angel slammed against the pile of rocks below, more falling on top of him.

“S-shit!!” Detective Spawn said as he was bounced around the barrier multiple times. It felt like eternity since it was an unexpected attack, but thanks to Nia somehow minimizing the damage, it wasn’t too gruesome for the trio within the barrier. For the others, it was hard to say.

Upon the rough landing, Detective Spawn looked around to see the endless field of crystals sticking out of the walls. “Guess we’ve found the entrance then…” He turned to the pile of debris, and the first thing he saw May rising from the ground. “No doubt she’ll survive this. She trained for things like that…” He turns and spotted Zenta’s tail. “Tch…” quite easily, the Detective grabbed it and pulled him out of the debris towards the floor. “Found one. Where’s the others?”


The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Silence fell over where they stood. It was a reasonable question to ask Vegetto. The man had killed Gogeta; whether or not his reasons were justified have no bearing in this discussion. The deed was done, and this is the reality that Vegetto had to confront. Since their reputation was tainted; this would mean that Gogeta will remain was a coin for a long, long time.

Clark was not surprised that Vegetto would feel some type of way about this. In fact, e fully expected the fusion to not forgive, but also seek vengeance against him. He was in no position to move; his lanky body provided no type of resistance to break out of Vegetto’s grasp if things spelled danger for him. But that did not deter him nor made him fearful of his life. Instead, he’d simply accept whatever actions Vegetto will take—because he completely understands.

However, what truly caught him off guard is when Vegetto asked the question of their friendship. Clark’s eyes widened; even Wordplay seems put off by this response.

It was almost amusing. Not because he was mocking Vegetto for asking the question. But rather, it was a question that he should have never asked. Whether Clark’s action during this quarrel was justified or not, the main thing was that Clark felt sympathy. Despite his serious stance, deep down, he knew Vegetto was hurt. In ways that possibly no one could understand, except for himself.

Taking on a serious expression, Clark didn’t need to think about it. Once again, such question was met with a light chuckle: not out of mockery, but that Vegetto didn’t need to say it—he already knew the answer. “No matter what happens,” Clark said, making a feeble, weak smile. “Always.”
 
In the very short time that Bernkastel was floating out in the open, she clearly was trying to fight against the sudden pull of gravity. She grit her teeth and visibly strained while the flowing parts of her hair and clothing seemed to be sucked downwards with the rest of the 'black hole'--- it took all her might just to put up a good enough resistance against it to not fall down with the others.

She collapsed onto one knee once she saw the dome form under Nia's control, panting heavily. "We have to get them off us!"

"Not if you want this barrier to stay intact!" Berserk fired shorts bursts of eye beams to try and engage the Xy'phers in a skirmish while assisting May. "Shit, feels like I'm underwater...! What the hell is this?!" Turning her head, Berserks eyes widened having seen Avalon tumble down into the abyss below, reaching an arm out. "NO! AVALON!" She attempted to extend the sword so the final segment could reach him and grab onto it, shifting her focus off anything going on above her. Noticing a growing shadow over herself, Berserk quirked a brow before looking up... proceeding to stare wide-eyed at the slab of debris headed straight for her and Bara. "Oh shi--" the sound of her shouts was drowned out by the rumbling earthquake-like chaos going on around them.

Bernkastel didn't know what to do, pressing her hands and face to the walls of the psionic dome as she helplessly watched Zenta and Spina fall beneath the safety bubble. And before she could open her mouth and call out to them, the bubble itself was sucked in and rolled down along the tunnel; she only uttered a series of shouts while getting tossed about in the bubble between the other three inside it.

Since she was of petite size she essentially ricocheted between the brawny built Spawn and Bage or bumping into Nia and the earth debris within a very cramped space. Once it popped, Bern scraped her elbows and knees along the jagged crystals of the crevasse's bottom. "Ow... is it... over?" By the end of their long dive down the hole, the poor Witch was practically green with dizziness.

"Hey, easy, he just fell..." Bern scolded Spawn for roughly handling Zenta's tail. "For however long we fell."

"Officer down...." Berserk's disoriented and muffled voice weakly drifted into the cavern's air under a pile of debris. The sword was strewn about but presumably pulling on the segment like a long string of handkerchiefs would lead back to the Powerpunk.
 
Once the Breakers were in the hive, they were completely surrounded by crystals of all shapes and sizes. The color, shine, and delicacy of all the crystals was very beautiful. Despite being in the hive of the enemy, the hive was incredibly gorgeous with the countless crystals that surrounded them. It was quiet after the rubble settled and nothing else seemed to be stirring, at least for now. The moment of peace was what Nia needed to help unearth the trapped Breakers. She was still very careful not to hurt them.

“This is a Xy'pher hive, a small one…” Nia said. “I sense Xy'phers nearby, so we must be careful. It's odd though... I sense only a few when I thought there would be a lot more in this hive considering what happened in Reflection City...”

As Zenta was roughly pulled from the debris by his tail, he scoffed towards Spawn for rough-handling him, but ignored him for the time being. His attention went to the Breakers who were pushing themselves out of the rubble. As more and more Breakers started to come out, only one was still stuck under the mess, and that was Avalon. Nia and Zenta continued to push away piles of rock until Nia noticed Avalon's arm sticking out from between two huge boulders. There was blood tickling down his arm and as Nia went over to help him out, his arm fell off from where it was wedged by the rocks. Oddly enough, there was no blood, but water instead.

Without hesitating, Nia lifted more boulders off the ninja until his body was finally visible. His lower half was entirely crushed and pinned beneath a piece of the roof. He, miraculously, was still alive, although for how long was to be determined. Nia dared not to move the piece of rubble pinning Avalon down, not wishing to see his guts or the damage from the fall. The ninja's breathing was incredibly labored, and it was obvious he was not going to make it. Nia slowly turned to the other Breakers, parting away, so they can talk with the dying Ninja. All she could do was bow her head to show some sympathy.

“Hey guys... are you al...right?” Avalon said with a slight gargle before turning to eye the Breakers emerging from the rubble, followed by the group near Nia. “Heh, barely a scratch on ya'... Go figure... You guys are just too tough.”

“You should... avoid talking a lot, Avalon. You need to save your strength...” Nia said, trying to ease the situation somehow.

“Nah... I know what's happenin'...” Avalon coughed violently. “I messed up, didn't I..? Aww shucks, I knew I couldn't keep up... I never can...”

During the moment in which Avalon was talking to the Breakers, down one of the halls hopped a small toad with a single horn. It was an odd looking toad with sting-like hairs that seemed to constantly flow in an 'invisible breeze'. It was also purple and had an odd flap of skin on its back that oddly resembled a scarf in some way. It eyed Bernkastel for a brief moment before slipping into the room, closer to the dying Avalon.

“I'm sorry guys, I let ya' down...” Avalon slowly began to show the lifelessness in his body. “I'm totally... useless...”

As Avalon's eyes glazed over, he ceased to move and his entire body went limp, yet, something unexpected happened. His body burst into water! This Avalon was a clone the entire time! While the water dripped to the bottom, the little toad made its way to the Breakers, slipping in between the cracks of where the Avalon clone died.

“A clone..?” Zenta gasped, caught off guard. “Avalon managed to... fool me? I must have been... negligent.”

“Uhh... a clone?” Nia stared at the Breakers for a moment. “So... he fakes his death often? I'm confused...”

“It means that this Avalon was a clone the entire time.” Zenta smiled, almost impressed by Avalon. “My, my, I wonder where our little ninja has gone. Seems he is true to his name and being stealthy is his forte.”

The toad croaked once and poked its head out of a small crack, holding the infamous Scroll of Truths in its mouth. He wiggled free from the tight pinch and hopped over to Bernkastel, where it stared directly at her and let out a muffled croak. It hopped in place multiple times, trying to get her attention, before jumping back towards the hall in which it came from. It croaked once again, desperately trying to get the attention of the Breakers, almost as if urging them to follow it. It would take a few hops before looking back to see if they followed it.

“It wants us to follow it?” Nia scratched her head. “Earthling frogs are not this smart...”

“Is it a Xy'pher?” Zenta questioned.

“No, definitely not. It's just... a dumb toad. A weird looking frog.”

The toad croaked in defiance towards Nia's comment, but it certainly was trying to get the group to follow it.
 
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May says "Someone use that scroll in the frog's mouth." Pointing right at the Scroll of Truths. May thinks "If my hunch is on the mark on whom this frog then we should trust it."

May says "someone get Lucifer and confirm he not a coin." May starts to make a mental check lest of those that down hear.
 
Bage turned toward the door, his eyes still on the notes he had just taken. However as the cracks began to grow and snap through the floor boards, he could feel the gravity in the room gradually getting heavier. He turned to the others and gasped seeing the floor open up into a portal trying to drag the group. In an attempt to escape with everyone, the head detective reached out toward the others to keep them from falling into the black hole. But suddenly a Xy'phers had flung itself and latched onto his face.

He struggled in a muffled panic, grunting as Bernkastel was flung against him, all while trying to repel himself away from the gravitational pull of the hole. His attempt failing miserably before everything suddenly went quiet.

The detective opened his eyes seeing Spawn and Bernkastel first, then Zenta as he was hoisted up. "What the hell was all that...?" Bage scanned the beautifully constructed crystal walls, taking no time at all to understand where they were. "I looked away for a second and then we were falling...."

After Nia explained that this was in fact the hive, it confirmed his suspicions. "So we made it! That's perfect! Well... It might not be for the plan if we can't find our way back out... But if it's a small hive we can use that to our advantage-?" Bage began enthusiastically before hearing Zenta and Nia rummaging through the rubble to find Avalon's horrifically dismembered and crushed body.

"A-Avalon..." Was all the Detective could muster before rushing to aid the both of them. No, they were supposed to be stronger than this! They couldn't afford to lose anymore people. It was already bad enough he dropped the ball with Spina, but now Avalon would...

"Don't say that. Don't go blaming yourself for something like this, got it..!" Bage agreed with Nia, if they were going to save him... Could they? Bage's frown relaxed slightly in surprise as Avalon's lifeless body burst into a puddle of water. After a moment of hesitation, Bage blinked a few times in disbelief, almost as if to check and make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. He couldn't say anything as the toad appeared before them, oddly requesting they follow. Bage had shook his head, giving himself no more time to process the cruel joke played on the group before walking toward the toad.

"It must be Avalon's if it has his scroll... Right?" He turned back to the others questioningly.
 
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