The Reality Vortex: Shadow Games

During the exchange, the Announcer tracked their movements brilliantly to relay accurate information to the spectators. “Turles launched a destructive ring of energy at his opponent, but it has a flaw! It was risky, but Asher managed to time his jump through the hole!!”

Turles narrowed his eyes after Asher closed the distance between them. Unable to react in time, the Saiyan was kicked in the air slightly. “Argh!” He grunted.

“What an amazing kick!” The Announcer shouted.

The Saiyan felt his muscles constricted to the point that they felt numb when Asher followed up on his kick. As the young warrior backed off, Turles stood there for a moment as the paralyzing sensation gradually became more apparent.

“Oh! I have seen those types of techniques before! Targeting pressure points can rendered any opponent useless!” The announcer turns to Turles. “Is this the end of him!? But the battle barely started!”

Turles grunted a bit at the intensity increasingly against his chest and shoulders. It was difficult to breathe, and the numbness started to settle. However, the numbness started to wane just as quickly. “He targets pressure points…. He’s a point of a novice though. Regardless, with some training…” An impish look of self-satisfaction appeared on Turles’ face.

“A smirk?!” The Announcer caught on.

“You got some skill, brat. That was an interesting move you did, yeah?” Turles praised Asher. The numbness gone, the Saiyan tightened his fists. “But aren’t you getting ahead of yourself? Overconfidence will be your downfall…” Taking a stance, there was a rise of intensity started to form around him and the tiles of the arena rattled.

“I was saving this for last… but I can make an exception here. The real fight starts now.” Turles smirked as his power shot up rapidly. “Hope you can keep up.”

===

“You just can’t help yourself, can you? Plenty of foods and you defile it with disgusting spices.” Lucifer cringed when Cayde offered a serving to him, but he didn't slap his hand away since Cayde did pay for his food. Even if he destroyed the authenticity of the popcorn in its grace. “No thanks—” The grease slipped in between the android’s fingers into the angel’s shirt. “Oh dear… Clark’s hard earned fortunate wasted.”

Clark scratched his head when Vegetto dismissed the battle as dull. “Hey, let’s try to be positive! No battle is a waste of time—"

The tiny white do on Spina’s left eye expanded greatly in conjunction with the rising anger. The hellish view of determining one’s worth tipped the old Saiyan over brought forth his foul memories of Vegeta standing over him with that same philosophy. “You bas—” Before Spina finished his sentence, he turned back to the arena. As if his instincts; no, his Saiyan blood was reacting to something.

===

Turles roared; his burgundy aura flourished outward like a raging flame. Tiles ripped from their floorboard and sent flying outwards across the arena. The Saiyan’s muscle mass and height increased significantly. His black hair became wild as it grew dramatically, nearly reaching his knees while having a single forehead lock of hair. The immense evil energy spilled across the arena—instincts of anyone with Saiyan blood in the vicinity override any action they had and reacted solely to such a transformation. The evil nature of Saiyans was spilling from this sole warrior.

The Announcer hops a little bit seeing Turles’ aura flooding the arena. “Whoa! I hop this doesn’t ruin my shoes!”

“Been a while since I let loose like this. Don’t fall over too quickly, yeah?”

Taking a stance, Turles quickly dashed at full speed, leaving behind a dust storm in his wake. He struck Asher in the stomach with a powerful punch, then followed up with an elbow strike to the jaw. He then jumped and kicked Asher in the chest, sending him flying back. The impact from those three blows easily created a crater below them. Turles held out his right hand and fired multiple energy blasts; each of them hurling around indiscriminately, hitting and exploding at anything it touches like grenades.

===

Waiting Room of Other Fighters

All the remaining fighters were able to watch the fights on the Television screen made available.

"Whoa... maybe I should rethink of fighting in this tournament..." He said, having second thoughts.
 
Asher was caught off guard from the hard punch to his stomach. Saliva spat everywhere as his vision blurred for a moment. Then came the hit to his jaw before flying out of the arena. For a moment, it seemed as if he was going to fall out of bounds, but Asher’s eyes shot open. Moments before he touched the ground, the young man was swept up by a small yellow cloud that floated above the arena. As Turles fired a barrage of energy blasts, Asher used his Ruyi Bang as a bat, flinging them back at Turles as well as keeping the audience safe from any stray ones.

“Hey! Pay attention! You’ll hurt someone!” Asher yelled at Turles.

Asher growled under his breath as he flew around the arena with his little cloud, dodging and deflecting Turles’s energy blasts until he hopped off. He fell and slammed the Ruyi Bang on top of Turles’s head, forcing him to slam against the floor. Asher kicked Turles’s body up in the air and spun his Ruyi Bang expertly.

“Tiger Ruyi Bang! 100 Jabs!”

As Turles was in the air, Asher’s hands began to glow with white energy, which, in turn, coated his staff. He began to hit Turles with the steel end of his pole at blinding speeds, specifically targeting his power points. It was all so fast, that all 100 jabs were unable to be seen with the naked eye. Turles’s body remained still for a moment until it reacted to every hit all at once. As the Saiyan was distracted, Asher jumped high into the air and aimed his Ruyi Bang at Turles.

“Extend!”

The pole extended rapidly, hitting Turles right in the chest and slamming him against the floor, creating a crater in the process. Asher held on to the Ruyi Bang, slowly sliding down, looking at Turles.

“You alright there, buddy?” Asher said, tapping Turles’s cheek. “Yooohoo~?”

Tiger Ruyi Bang…? It’s like he mixed both the energy canceling properties of the Tiger Palm with his stick… What the hell? Who taught him that? Avalon narrowed his eyes.

“Hey, Zenta, don’t you think it’s weird that this kid knows Tiger Palm? I mean, aren’t you and Cuki the only ones who know that technique?”

“Cuki owned a Dojo and had several students… perhaps this is one of them…” Zenta sighed. “I did not particularly talk to her students.”
 
The announcer jumped off the arena to avoid the rapid fire of energy blasts. “Whoa! Turles isn’t showing any constraints! How would Asher respond to this!?”

Turles narrowed his eyes upon seeing a strange cloud dashing around in an active series of explosions. “A cloud…?” Upon several of his energy blasts being deflected, the Saiyan showed no concern. Easily enduring his own attacks, Turles continued firing discriminatory across the arena. “Heh…” He let out a malicious chuckle. “Should you be concerned about that? This is a battle, after all.” However, during the explosion, Turles had seemingly lost sight of the young warrior. He tried sensing him, but he was thrown off by it. “Wh-what—"

A sudden strike to the head rocked Turles as he crashed against the ground. “Argh!” He cringed in pain. After being kicked in the air and took damage from the brilliant speed of jabs, Turles remained on the ground.

“Despite Turles’ disposition, Asher managed to perform some excellent moves!” The announcer praised. “Is this it for the Turles…?”

===

“Avalon, my boy. Zenta doesn’t seem to be interested since he’s in such a sour mood and probably going to sulk for a while. While I personally find that absolutely hilarious, your constant questioning is very much less so. You, of all people, should be keen on observing your opponents since your current skills won’t cut it. And your reliance on a god bailing you out will soon run its course. Be quiet and focus on the match; perhaps you’ll find the incentive to become a leader of a team that doesn’t respect you.”

The angel continued to examine the two fighters. Turles’ transformation was different from that of a Super Saiyan from what he saw. It was oozing of what Lucifer considered as “evil energy”; and was similar in concept to that of Vegetto’s rampant toxic influence he usually displays. Maybe this was a case for Spina’s ever evolving strength and emotions. He slightly turned to Vortex Man, who’s seemingly glued to the fight.

“Is this what Hart meant…?” Vortex Man thought to himself.

However, Lucifer’s interest peaked upon seeing Asher as the battle continues to unfold. “No doubt about it,” He thought the more the youngster shows off his skills. “More importantly, his energy signature… no, signatures.”

===

After a moment, Turles suddenly roared, and his power increased exponentially. His aura flourishes violently as it rips and tears the rocks around the area. Pushing Asher back, the Saiyan held onto his Ruyi Bang. “Curious weapon…” He tossed it aside and it stuck onto the wall near the entrance.

“That stung…” Turles smirks. “Let’s continue since you ain’t all talk.” He clenches his fist. In a blink of an eye, the Saiyan disappeared from Asher’s view before reappearing to his right side. A powerful right hook against the youngster’s jaw, he sent Asher flying back. Giving chase, Turles ran towards him to give himself a bit of momentum. Catching up to Asher easily, the Saiyan grabbed onto his leg and repeatedly slammed him back and forth before tossing him in the air.

Turles disappeared once again before reappearing above Asher as he flew. With an extended hand, the Saiyan struck Asher in the stomach with a powerful chop to send him back flying down to the ground. The impact of the strike was so violent that it tossed what remains of the arena to lift from its ground briefly.

“Let me show you… the power of an Evil Saiyan!” Cocking both hands back, the aura increased in size as it took shape. Forming into hands, it extends from its fiery aura and sends a series of rapid heavy blows towards Asher.
 
“Oh hush, Lucifer.” Avalon rolled his eyes. “And I am watchin’ the fight! No need to bring up stuff that doesn’t add to anythin’! Seilong has nothing to do with this.”

However, deep down inside, Avalon knew he had to improve his skills one way or another. He felt like he could never lift a finger next to the other Breakers without relying on Seilong’s help in some way. Even as he watched the fight, his fingers twitched with anticipation.

“And stop callin’ me a leader!”



Asher was pushed back and watched Turles toss his Ruyi Bang towards the entrance, where it stabbed the wall. Before he could retaliate, he felt a powerful punch to his jaw and slammed against the ground. The punch to his gut for a second time caused him to cough out blood and cringe in pain, and as he fell to the ground, he gasped at seeing Turles’s energy form into giant hands.

“Oh crap…!”

Asher’s body was assaulted by the punches until he held up his arms to block and protect himself. He was getting hurt, and a crack formed on his sunglasses. In the middle of Turles’s onslaught, Asher took a deep breath and focused entirely on his Ruyi Bang.

“Ruyi Bang, come!”

The pole started to violently jiggle free from the wall before rushing towards Turles, slamming him directly in the face. In the moment of pause, Asher pushed himself out of the crater Turles created. He looked in rough shape, but an odd smile showed on Asher’s face. He seemed to be enjoying the fight!

“You’re strong! I was hoping to save this for the final match, but I guess I can show off a bit!” Asher laughed loudly as the Ruyi Bang floated towards his open hand. “Get ready!”

Asher slammed her Ruyi Bang on the floor next to him before clapping his hands together.

“Forbidden Technique! 72 Transformations! Flaming Horns!”

Asher took a deep breath as he began to concentrate his energy. A rainbow energy swirl started to come from his feet and unleash up in the air and it was obvious that it was not normal. The rainbow energy then turned into flames that quickly engulfed his body. The flames got bigger and bigger until wisps of it grazed the audience. Soon, out of the flames, an Ox came out. It had the same colors as Asher, and it had flames coming out of its nose. Asher-Ox snorted before rushing at Turles, trying to throw him out of bounds with its flaming horns.
 
Last edited:
Vegetto immediately grunted in annoyance, his head turning slightly towards Clark with a small frown. Yet the discussion regarding the Tiger Palm technique prompted Vegetto to remain silent, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly back down towards the fight. He sat for a moment; one ear listening in on the revelation that Asher was potentially a student under Cuki and Zenta, but offer no more reaction at the demonstration in the fight. Eventually, unsure of what to even study, Vegetto pulled his eyes off the fight and back to Clark, his frown remaining.

"Clark...if you knew the things this rat did, you'd say the same thing. He is no warrior; he's just a mindless brute. A worthless-"

The swelling dark power from the arena cut the Potara fusion off, his eyes snapping back towards the arena. The all too familiar intensity alone was enough to make Vegetto tremble; the toxic nature within mounting and growing without reason. All of the negative thoughts from before, unreasonable and illogical, built upwards at just the presence of Turles' new powerup. Vegetto shook and trembled, his arms tensing dramatically and his muscles bulging as whatever effect the Evil Saiyan form seemed to magnify in the Potara fusion's case.

No...I'm...past...this...

Vegetto's pupils drifted slightly, first landing on Avalon. The gaze alone, if met, held a clear and intoxicating murderous intent; unwarranted and unprovoked. Yet through extensive force of will, Vegetto pulled his stare off the ninja; his head turning awkwardly and twitching violently in a desperate attempt to avoid looking directly at Lucifer and Bernkastel specifically. He clenched his forearms tightly in his struggled grunting, the red veins along his eyes bulging outward while he stared down at the fight.

The momentous struggle capped at the suddenly explosive surge of red lightning around Vegetto's body; swirling and spiraling upwards into the air just as quickly as it arrived. A single, lone explusion of air in a heavy snarl escaped Vegetto's lips shortly after, and his body ceased all of its trembling. Fixated and forward, Vegetto's pupils glinted a devilish and tainted red; different than any form or powerup used before. Yet no energy or massive pressure resonated within the man; only the toxic energy mounted in a still, controlled presence.

Vegetto sat like a stone figure, his now red pupils fixated solely on the arena below. Cayde blinked at the sudden display, glancing back between Vegetto momentarily and then to the team.

"What the hell was that?"

The android turned his gaze onto Spina next, curiously eyeing the older Saiyan.

"Spina...you ok?"
 
"This is harder than I thought, I'm having trouble just keeping up with all the zippin' around they're doing..." Berserk broke her stare away to rub at her eyes. "Maybe I should've grabbed some sunglasses before we left. That rainbow light hurts my eyes."

"Rainbow... I wonder..." Bernkastel had slumped back in her seat in mild disappointment from Vegetto's remark about Turles. Not that she was expecting something radically different-- as far as costume changes for transformations she had her fill and wasn't welcoming to see more of it. Asher's counterattacks and nimble movements across the arena floor at least maintained her interest in the match but she didn't find imbalanced-seeming battles particularly entertaining to spectate. Cuki having a dojo did raise a brow from her; at first glance of her and Zenta's relationship she didn't fit the image in Bernkastel's mind.

Could be her lack of memories, but I wonder if the old realm running on nonlinear time caused a few oddities? The Witch's absentminded thoughts were halted, sensing a sudden change in the air. She could practically smell it-- the bloodlust. Though Vegetto struggled to keep his eyes diverted from herself and Lucifer, Bernkastel stared in waiting of a sudden move. Akin to Gogeta's violent, barely-restrained fits of rage, yet there was that venom she'd been bitten with before. Cautiously breathing in measured small breaths, Bern's gaze slid to peer at Spina through her peripheral vision on cue with Cayde's.

Indeed-- what the hell is this?

Berserk stared around in confusion, munching popcorn cluelessly at the silence. "Er... did I mish somefing?"
 
“This is crazy!” The Announcer shouted at the barrage of blows Turles delivered at Asher. “He can make his aura morph into any shape!? But Asher isn’t backing down either!”

Turles wiped away the blood from his face after getting struck by Ruyi Bang. “Tch…” He smirks. “I’m getting excited, you know? Asher, wasn’t it?”

Upon seeing the rainbow fire engulfing the young warrior’s body, Turles jumped out of the crater to the other side. He stood in position and braced himself the moment an Ox emerged from the flames. “Come at me!” The Saiyan shouted.

“Asher has transformed into an Ox!” The announcer shouted. “How will Turles handle this?!”

Turles held out his arm forward as Asher-Ox rushed towards him and grabbed his horns. “Arhh!” His hands burn from the horn’s extreme temperatures. The Saiyan was being dragged across the arena until they reached the end; anymore, he’ll be out of bounds.

“Asher is going to force him out of bounds! This is it for Turles!” The announcer hops on the destroyed arena.

Turles roared and stomped his left foot against the ground, forcing Asher-Ox to a full-stop. The Saiyan pulled his head back and headbutted Asher-Ox, pushing him away. Despite the severe burns on his hands, the Saiyan charges an energy sphere with both hands behind his neck. Thrusting forward, he fires an energy wave at Asher; upon impact it creates an explosion that reaches sky high.

“Hmph…” Turles tightened his right hand, balling into a fist. His aura exploded violently like a hurricane, sucking in every aspect of smoke, debris and cloud around it to a singular point of the Saiyan’s palm. It bursts violently as Turles laugh maliciously. “Time for the final curtains, Asher!”

===

Spina didn’t respond to anything from Vegetto nor Cayde. Instead, he was fixated solely on the battle. Every move that both Asher and Turles did, the old Saiyan studied them extensively. He did not blink; not even once.

“Vegetto, are you okay?” Clark noticed a change in demeanor in the Potara fusion.

“Okay? Something is wrong here. What the hell is that?” Vortex Man followed Cayde’s comment. “Why is there a sudden increased of bloodlust?!”

Lucifer turned his head slightly, seeing that Vegetto and Spina seemingly changed, though in completely different ways. At the end, he paid no attention to it. “It seems that the Saiyans are reacting to this fellow down there. I don’t know what he did, but whatever it was, it caught their attention.” The angel offered an explanation.
 
Being part Saiyan herself, Brachi was of course somewhat affected by the sudden transformation and increase of power within Turles, but her Human side, as well as having her Majin bestie beside her, helped in containing it.

"What is this energy I'm feeling from... Turles, was it? I've never met this Saiyan before in my timeline, and yet here he is, complete with a form that is unfamilair to me... and yet seems to have some kind of effect on me and other Saiyans alike... something's fishy going on..." Brachi thought as she remained at alert, wondering what has given Turles this kind of power boost and the sudden side effect it was having on any other Saiyan present.
 
As Asher-Ox was stopped and headbutted, he took a step back, shaking his head to rid himself of the pain. However, he could not avoid the massive energy blast that Turles fired, causing a massive explosion that reached the sky. Asher-Ox fell down, yet, found the strength to keep getting back up. Finally, once on his feet, Asher-Ox snorted, flames and smoke came from his nostrils as he stomped on the ground with his hoof, ready to charge Turles once again.

“That’s what you think…!” Asher-Ox shouted. He huffed before jumping into the air and clapping his hands (or rather hooves) together. “The only one who will lose here is you!”

Suddenly, Asher-Ox’s body started to emit an orange energy that grew larger and larger until it barely fit in the arena. Asher separated himself from the Ox, leaving behind only its energy. The energy was like an apparition. He held out his hand to call his Ruyi Bang and jumped high in the air, landing on the head of the Ox made of energy. The youngster grinned mischievously as he pointed his Ruyi Bang at Turles.

From the center of the ox’s chest, a literal fiery aura flowed through the beast, pumping it with vigor and life. Soon, the entire Ox was engulfed in flames as Asher gripped his Ruyi Bang as hard as he could.

“Ruyi Bang, expand!

The Ruyi Bang quickly expanded to become this massive staff that rested on the top of the Ox’s head, like a third horn. He let out a battle cry, as did the Ox, and rushed to Turles. The Ox stomped across the arena before jumping high in the air and spiraling down towards Turles. The Ox's energy quickly engulfed Asher so that he, and his Ruyi Bang, were covered in flames. To the audience, it looked like a giant fiery drill, ready to slam on Turles.
 
The sudden burst of power twirling around Asher led to strong, repetitive winds constantly blowing everywhere. The announcer held a tight grip on a damaged utility pole to prevent himself from flying all over the place. “W-whoa nelly! This battle is becoming explosive!” He tried his best to make sure his voice was audible through the raging storm of winds. “T-this is what I’m talking about! The blood-pumping battle that will get everyone on their feet! Asher! Turles! Bring it home and make an epic conclusion! I won’t settle for anything less!”

“Huh...” Turles widened his eyes upon seeing the Ox expanded massively that it eclipses not just the arena, but the entire stadium. The Saiyan felt like his entire body was being weighed down by an enormous amount of pressure of Asher’s attack.

The rising temperatures made it very difficult for the Saiyan to breathe and caused him to sweat a lot. Yet, despite the harsh conditions, Turles had a determined look on his face. He pulled his right hand back as he roared, slamming his fist against Asher’s fiery attack. The impact created such a destructive whiplash of power; first came the shockwave that destroyed a majority of the arena. Second came the firestorm of energy form from the collision.

Lucifer narrowed his eyes as if he had discovered something. “Fluctuation of that child’s strength. No doubt about it.”

Turles was pushed back by Asher’s attack and the flames completely engulfed him. “Haaa… Arghh!” He cringed at first, then roared with great might.

“Turles is engulfed in flames!” The announcer shouted.

Turles fell on his right knee, succumbing to the pressure. “Tch…! His strength spikes up and down at random…” He narrowed his eyes. “But that’s fine…! The more challenging a battle is… the stronger a Saiyan becomes!” Turles forced himself to stand and pushed Asher’s Ruyi Bang back.

“Take this! Crusher Annihilation Fist!” Turles, using all his strength, swiped the Ruyi Bang to the side and leapt towards Asher. The Saiyan, being caught on fire, pushes on until he closes the gap between the two of them. Without hesitation, Turles launched his fist forward and slammed against Asher’s stomach. Spiral of evil aura whipped around and smashed everything in sight. Once again, the impact generated a massive explosion, engulfing both warriors.
 
As the explosion engulfed the two warriors, the entire arena was covered in fire, black and red energy, and rainbow energy. As the smoke began to billow out, a figure shot out from it, slamming hard against the wall of the arena. They left their body’s imprint on the wall before falling flat on the floor, out of bounds from what remained of the arena. When all the smoke finally cleared out, Asher was the one who was on the floor. He did not move for a few seconds before wrapping his arms around his stomach and curling in pain.

“Arrgh… Why do you always go for the gut…?!” Asher cried in pain. “Ugh…”

Asher moved up to sit on his knees, coughing out blood from the hit Turles gave him. His tail twitched and curled in agony as the youngster took deep breaths to release himself from the pain. He knew he lost, but he was not mad or upset. Instead, a smile grew on Asher’s face as he slowly rose to his feet, clutching his stomach.


“Those two sure rocked the house…” Avalon said to himself. “But that bigger guy won. Turles, right? That kid put up a good fight tho'. Huh…”

Avalon zipped out his scroll and began to jot down some notes, specifically about Turles’s ‘Evil Aura’ and Asher’s ‘Rainbow Aura.’ As he scribbled, more of the scroll rolled out, showing that he has meticulously written down everything he has seen, down to every detail, from the moment he arrived and joined the Breakers. His eyes quickly scanned his notes, as if to piece together something.

Zenta rose from his seat and let out a small sigh as he carefully stepped between the Breakers, heading to the exit.

“Hey, hey! Where ya’ goin’, Zenta?” Avalon noticed the beast trying to leave. “Hold on, where are—"

“I am just going to get some air to clear my head.” Zenta said, turning his head to the floor. “I will return shortly…”

Before Avalon had a moment to protest, Zenta jumped into the air, where his body disappeared in an instant. Avalon frowned before shaking his head, deciding it would be best to give Zenta a bit of space.

Well... let's hope he's back before the end of the tournament... If not, I'll go look for him.
 
Turles landed on what remains of the arena. As the blazes soared wildly like a storm, the Saiyan looks ahead at Asher that fell out-of-bounds. His body was covered in dirt, scratches and bruises, yet his condition never once daunted his excitement of the battle. He’d simply powered down and the evil aura coating his body disappeared.

The announcer slid down the pole and jumped back onto the destroyed arena. Seeing Asher out-of-bounds, he raised his hand and pointed at Turles. “Match settled! Asher is out of bounds, thereby making Turles the winner!”

The entire stadium erupted into uproar of delight. There was applause; over-the-top cheering and thrills all around. The spectators could barely contain themselves after seeing an exciting match between two contestants. Near the Breakers, there was food and beverages being flung around; some spilled all over Lucifer and Berserk.

Due to the commotion, it was easy that Zenta would slip through the roaring audience without much notice. Lucifer took notice but left it as that, but he was slightly annoyed that his clothes were now drench with food and sticky beverages. “Great, now I’ll need another pair of clothes. Oh, what a waste of Clark’s money!” He turns to Berserk. "We should get some new clothes before the next match."

Clark chuckled, but still showed some concern over Vegetto. “Great battle, right?”

Vortex Man tightened his fist since he felt something was wrong. His eyes turned to Spina as well, but the latter simply sat back down without a word.

After Turles returned to his base, Spina seemingly relaxed somewhat. “Who is that man?” He thought to himself. He hardly took Vegetto’s descriptions with any benefit of the doubt. Rather, the old Saiyan would like to confront Turles himself. “The other fighter put up a fight.” He acknowledged Asher’s efforts in his own way.

===

“Hmph…” Turles walked over to Asher. “You fought well, Asher.” The Saiyan offered the youngster a handshake. “Been a long time since I’ve been this pumped. Keep training hard, and I’ll fight you again.”
 
Elsewhere, in a more secluded and quiet area up above the nosebleeds, there was a small party watching the fighting from a window. Some were happy to have betted correctly on the previous match, while others groaned as their credits went to waste on betting for Asher. Sitting front and center at the glass, legs crossed and chin resting on the palm of her left hand, a mysteriously cheerful woman with colorful yellow witchy attire watched with a cute smile. But even so, she seemed a bit bored.

“Even a little tike could’ve guessed the outcome of that fight.” The woman stated as the rabbit ears protruding through her hat twitched. “That’s another 150,000 credits to me~! And bankruptcy to the newbies.”

“You’re being especially kind to the house, miss Coella.” A waiter came over with a drink for the witch and placed it on the small table next to her.

“Yeah well, there’s only so much they can give away, right?” Coella giggled. “Throw it back in, I think I’ll triple it this time.”

“Hey, come on, Bunny, why not humor us and tell who you’re bettin’ on next!” One of the women gamblers asked, while a few others kept an ear out for an answer. Some however knew this would be hopeless, having heard this all before.

Coella’s smile grew cheekily as she sipped her drink, pausing a moment before answering, “I wish I could, but I don’t know either.”

The newly established gamblers gave a look of confusion, none having the courage to whisper to ask what she meant. But just then Coella showed two scraps of paper with names for the upcoming match and folded them. She then removed her hat and dropped the papers into it before swiveling it to the waiter, who calmly picked a paper at random and walked away.

”It wouldn’t be a gamble if I didn't let luck decide, now would it? That's where all the fun is at!”
 
Perhaps I shouldn't have made him come along to such a noisy place in that state, Bernkastel thought as she saw Zenta excuse himself from the setting, clapping politely from her seat after deeming it an all-clear to lower her cautions. Her expression was still somewhat perturbed but she decided to act like normal anyway. "The boy's creativity was quite refreshing," Bern added onto Spina's comment. "Polishing that technique up, and maybe he would have won out in the end... a shame, cut short right when it started getting good." She still was baffled by Turles' supposed effect on the Saiyans yet did not praise him, looking ever slightly unsatisfied by something. "Is the boundary line rule meant to keep things nonlethal? Those aren't ever in a real fight," she asked Clark.

"That Goku-lookin' dweeb would be easy pickings for me! He wouldn't stand a chance against properly crafted explosives detonated one behind the other to make a kaleidoscope of-- wa, HEY!" Berserk exclaimed in surprise from having food and drink spilt on her from behind. As Lucifer lamented the ruination of their new clothes, the drink on Berserk's head evaporated as she hunched over stewing in rage. "Watch where you dipshits throw your crap!!" she barked, the ribbons in her hair rising to snap at the air like snakes with a crackling sound. "I'll throw YOU next right out this stadium! Dammit I liked these pants too... fine, let's go. Be right back," Berserk told Avalon gruffly before starting to fly up in the air. "Let's take the air route Lucifer! I don't feel like walking."
=====
The Waiting Room

"Starting to get nervous?" a woman's voice came from behind the young man watching Asher's match as she approached. The first thing he'd see was a fluffy head of snow-white hair with a fairly grown-out undercut. Behind her pink rimless glasses was a pair of red eyes, one dotted by a beauty mark at the far end. Wearing a strange shoulder crop hoodie over a leotard and joggers, she was rubbing her head as though freshly out of an odd fugue state. "I'm feelin' a little high strung. Think I'm gonna sneak out and grab a few snacks to calm down. Wanna come with me? We're going up at the tail-end of the tournament, so we've got some time." She offered him a friendly kitty-like smile.
 
Asher walked over to Turles and stared at his hand, thinking about what Turles said. Soon, his own hand clasped Turles’s hand tightly, shaking it confidently and with a bright smile.

“Thanks! I’ll get stronger one day and we’ll fight again!” Asher smirked. “So, you better be prepared, because next time I won’t lose! I’ll master the Tiger Palm when I find my grandpa, and you won’t be so lucky, haha!”


As the crowd grew wild, Zenta managed to zip away and appear outside the arena. He did not go too far, gracefully weaving between the crowd as he walked silently on the streets nearby. A lonely sigh escaped his lips as he quickly jumped up and landed elegantly on the top of a building. He skipped between the top of buildings, letting the wind blow through his fur. His mind was still clouded as he thought about Cuki, barely even registering the fight in his head. Not even the fact that someone else knew the Tiger Palm fazed him.

Was I right to stay and not follow Cuki…? She was hurt, so why did she… why did I stay? Zenta thought to himself. Maybe… I did not change as much as I thought I did… Cuki, please… no matter what, just survive… I cannot lose you a third time…


Avalon continued to scribble in his notes before turning to see Berserk’s rage on the poor lad that poured soda on her. He tried to hold back his laugh, but when Berserk said she would be back soon, Avalon nodded to her, giving her a thumbs up.

“Alright! Just be careful, Berserk!” Avalon laughed. “And bring me back a snack!”

The ninja waved Berserk goodbye and turned his attention back to the scroll before scooting over to Bernkastel. His notes are so incredibly detailed, all organized beautifully.

“Uhh, hey, Miss Bernkastel…” Avalon tried to grab her attention from the roaring crowd. “Did you see that rainbow energy come out from the youngster? Asher? Have you ever seen anything like that before?”
 
"Ah, taking your notes I see," Bernkastel tilted her head to gaze at the intricate notes Avalon had already amassed on his scroll. "Yes... come to think of it, I did get a feeling of deja vu. Before you joined us, while we were dealing with the Coin Hunter-- well, the woman at the Supers' house? Hart Kimber." The Witch casually gestured to Vortex Man and Clark. "When she used her gauntlets to switch Coins, I remember those gleaming a similar color. A lot of that battle was a blur but at one point she performed an attack where tons of silhouettes with different colors flew across the field. Hart is a... unique denizen that Lucifer calls an Alter Being. Hard to describe what she is other than a freak accident-- she's her whole universe if you will. This boy having the same energy color as her gauntlets strikes me very odd."
 
The Tournament

“Hmph. I’ll be waiting then.” Turles smirks. Seeing that he was victorious, the Saiyan headed back to the waiting room for his next match.

“What a splendid match, right everyone?!” The announcer shouted at his mic. “We’ll be taking a short break! The heavy toll from the battle had slowed the arena’s restoration, so it’ll be just a bit longer until we resumed the next battle. If you want to get more snacks, this is the time!”

The announcer turns to Asher. “Since you lost, report to the medical tent and get treated. We don’t want the responsibility of you getting into those weird coins!”

===

While the rest of the spectators calmed down and left to stretch their bodies and find more snacks; the whole surrounding the Breakers backed away. They immediately jumped after Berserk snapped at them for dirtying them with sticky foods and beverages.

“Oh shit, it’s the Breakers!” One of them muttered underneath their breath. The excitement of the battle distracted them, but they’re fully aware that Breakers is now here. Having feelings to avoid being caught in possible scenarios they might bring, they forced away their seats just enough, so they aren’t a bother. From an outsider perspective, it was explicitly cartoony how they shoved all the seats away from the Breakers.

“Well, at least they aren’t running away. The tournament is exciting for them.” Clark scratches his head. “I mean, they can go for the kill, but I think some people don’t want to do that. Besides, you can’t test your skills if your opponent is dead, you know!” He answered Bernkastel. He’s not the type to think the battle ends when the opponent dies. Where’s the sportsmanship?

Lucifer wanted to stay just a bit after hearing Avalon question the strange rainbow-like energy, but his wardrobe was far more important. He’s not going to attend any events looking like a slob. Nodded once, the angel followed Berserk.

Both Kryptonians stared at each other when Bernkastel brought up Hart and Alter beings. Clark didn’t know too much about the subject since he was ambushed when he fought Hart. Vortex Man on the other hand.

“You’re suspecting him as an Alter being?” Vortex Man asked.

===

Waiting Room

“Huh!?” The young man jumped when she approached him suddenly. Catching his breath and relaxed, he nodded out of panic. “S-sure. I’m feeling a bit hungry… But where should we go? There’s a lot of people out there…” He started to sweat.

All the remaining fighters were present in this room. Omegamon, Dielec, Victor and a strange hat that was sitting on a chair.

The announcer and Turles entered the room. Omegamon immediately stood up.

“You’re not Goku, aren’t you?”

“Goku?” Turles paused for a second. “Oh, you meant him. No, I’m not. You got business with him?”

Omegamon sat back down. “It’s nothing. Sorry for bothering you.”

The announcer looked around and noticed that Spider-Chaos wasn’t there. “Hey, where’s Spider-Chaos?”

“That bouncy guy? He said that now he defeated that “Michael Myers”, he ran off to fight some other evil-looking people. Don’t know what that means though.”

“He left… Okay, I can fix this.” The announcer ensures the fighters. “Might have to switch some fights around, but we can do this!!”

Tournament Souvenir Stands

Lucifer landed and looked around. “There are some decent shops. Not to my taste, but its better than nothing.” The angel turns to Berserk. “Oh, I suppose it is time…”
 
The old man leaves the waiting room in order to head to grab a quick bite to eat before his hatch. He summons a small Imp and orders it to go to the arena.

The old man thinks "I can't deny the convince that swapping with a summon can bring. Sounds good for a snack." As he looks for something to eat.
 
“Coins?” Asher tilted his head at the announcer, however, he shrugged, paying no mind to it. He turned to the audience and waved to them as he left the arena for the medical tent.


Avalon listened intently to Bernkastel and was confused at what she was talking about. This was the first time he heard the term ‘Alter Being’ and what they are. Avalon slowly turned his head to glance at Clark and Vortex Man before remembering he briefly saw a woman in the house with the two. He never questioned it, but he didn’t have time to.

“Alter Being?” Avalon repeated the term before writing it down. Everything Bernkastel told him he wrote down with extreme detail. “So, Hart Kimber is an Alter Being? She’s… her whole universe? How’s that possible? Weren’t our universes destroyed?”

Avalon kept his voice low, not wanting to have Clark or Vortex Man interfere. It seems he wanted to hear Bernkastel's interpretation of it before he went around asking the others.
 
Last edited:
The Tournament

Vortex Man crossed his arms when Avalon lowered his voice when speaking to Bernkastel. The topic of Alter Beings and Hart… the Kryptonian wasn’t going to let that slip on by without his input.

“Avalon… right?” Vortex Man spoke to the ninja. “I’ve been watching you. I don’t know your connection with the Breakers, but you have this… aura that bothers me. But I’ll give you some insight into us Kryptonians. Whispers or keeping your voice low doesn’t work—we can hear even the faintest of sounds. Maybe that’s how you do things in your world—but this isn’t your world.”

The Kryptonian felt the need to comment on this situation since he knew Hart Kimber. “Universes were destroyed, yes. But there were certain scenarios where the people managed to survive the destruction of their worlds by forcing a merger. A fusion between every single person in that universe to become one, singular being. However, it’s… a painful existence. After someone becomes the dominant one to control the body, they are constantly bombarded by their endless sea of thoughts and emotions. Their powers staggered and inconsistent. You can tell they’re Alter beings by the color of their aura and rainbow eyes.”

Spina remained silent throughout Vortex Man’s explanation.

“I don’t know the origins of how and why Alter beings came into existence, but its most likely not the information Hart was fed—” Vortex Man stopped himself from finishing the sentence. “It doesn’t matter. But that is what an Alter being and their entire, painful existence.”
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom