Beyond The Impossible

Atlantis, Aegian Galaxy

With Ulysses reduced to ashes by the Eternal Eraser and Noriko Null exhausted by her own attack, the air bubble that isolated their fight collapses and will soon be replaced by water.

Quantum and Vesta are next to her in the blink of an eye, with him checking her vitals and with the goddess creating a wall of fire around them to keep the water away.

<She’s still breathing.> Quantum reassures her.

<We have to get her out of here!> Vesta adds, taking her friend into her arms.

Poseidon gets their attention by slamming the bottom of his trident against the floor, which creates a thunderous pressure wave.

<You will stay. You have trespassed on Atlantean waters, and you must be punished.>

<Seriously, dude? I’m pretty sure Noriko saved your butt from Ulysses.> Quantum reminds him.

<Utter nonsense. But she did rid me of that pest.> Poseidon concedes, pensively caressing his green beard as he considers his next move.

<Very well. You may return to Olympus; I have a better prize now.> Poseidon concedes, looking towards his wife: Amphitrite is holding the still unconscious Roxiana at her feet.

<No.> Vesta says.

<What do you mean “no”, little sister?>

<Noriko wouldn’t want you to hold Roxiana. She’s coming with us.>

<The Angel of Death is guilty of countless crimes in my realm, and she was born in this galaxy. I have a right to punish her.>

Vesta doesn’t have a retort on that, but Kari Zel has dealt with enough bureaucracy to have an idea on how to solve this.

<She was born here the first time, yes, but she was reborn on Aquilia… that makes her a citizen of the Olympian Empire. Do you have a treaty of extradition for that?>

<He doesn’t.> Kestral answers for Poseidon; as the leader of what the god considers a terrorist organization, he’s taken a keen interest on the subject.

<What is an extradition, my love?> Amphitrite asks her husband.

<I don’t know and I don’t care! Don’t try to confuse me with words, mortals, I don’t follow the petty rules of your so-called Mortal Empress: I am supreme in this Galaxy.>

<I suppose that was inevitable. Will you do the honors, Skorpios?> Kari asks.

<With pleasure.> the Drylon user nods. Her power warps the space around Roxiana, removing the woman from the Throne Room.

<What did you just do!?> Poseidon shouts, standing up from his throne.

<I took her to a place where you won’t find her. I don’t understand why you want her, but all enemies of the gods are my allies. Including her.> Skorpios answers.

<Then you have chosen death.> Poseidon declares, raising a hand; presumably he’s about to unleash a blast of pressurized water, but instead he’s encased in a solid block of diamond.

<That’s not going to hold him for long! We should leave!> Kestral urges Skorpios.

<I said enemies of gods are my allies. I will never follow those who compromise with Olympus.> she dismisses him, then she teleports away without much ceremony.

<Guys, this is bad. Like really, REALLY bad.> Quantum voices everyone’s thought.

The diamond cage begins to show cracks caused by Poseidon flexing his muscles, and the water of the Throne Room starts to bubble with rage.

<Quick question: can we take this guy?> Kari asks Vesta.

<No. Take Noriko to safety and save yourselves.> the goddess replies, handing over the body of the her comatose friend.

<Torn, portals, NOW.> Kari orders the Demon.

<I WILL MOUNT YOUR HEADS ON MY TRIDENT!!!> Poseidon shouts once the diamond cage has been completely shattered.

<I’ll catch up if I’m still alive. Soul Fusion!!!> she powers up, with the energies of the Blood mixing with divine power in her veins.

The wave unleashed by Poseidon should hit the Vanguard with enough pressure to pulverize them, but Vesta pushes back with a fire that burns so hot it doesn’t just vaporize the water: it atomizes it.

Her friends have barely enough time to escape through a pentagram portal; she would have plenty of time to follow them… if the Soul Fusion didn’t increase her aggressiveness along with her power.

<You’re not used to people fighting back, isn’t it?> she asks, flying towards her.

It’s a good thing there are no longer any mortals in the Throne Room, because considering how much heat she’s radiating they would have been boiled alive.

She punches her brother’s jaw, and much to his surprise he actually felt the blow.

<You keep your galaxy too primitive to rise against you! You choose vassals too weak to oppose you! Does it make you feel strong, little god!?>

The floor melts beneath their feet, with Vesta pushing him out of the Throne Room. They crash through the walls that isolate the Inner Ring of Atlantis, vaporizing several feet of metal as they pass through it. All the way, Vesta’s temperature keeps increasing.

<You’re nothing but a bully! And it’s about time someone stands up to you!>

Vesta uppercuts him with enough strength to throw him out of Atlantis and into the star ocean that surrounds the capital of this Galaxy.

<Here’s what you’ve been missing by fleeing Olympus! HELLFIRE INFERNO!!!>

She puts everything she has into her most powerful attack; there’s still enough Vesta in her to have taken into consideration the distance from Atlantis, getting to the edge of the star ocean.

She’s used this attack to match Apollo’s hypernova: only her supreme control over heat gives her any chance to avoid destroying an entire solar system with it.

She watches the white hot plasma engulf Poseidon. But then it gets smaller and smaller, until all that energy can fit into his hand… which he closes into a fist, dissipating it harmlessly.

<Are you done?>

<That… that was my best…> she mumbles, not even seeing Poseidon fly towards her faster than her mind can process and stabbing her in the stomach with his trident.

<You’re the one who surrounds herself with weaklings. In this galaxy, I am SUPREME.> her reminds her, retracting the trident and spilling divine blood in space.

<The rules of the Nine Gods prevent me from taking over Olympus. But send this message to your pet Empress: if she acts like she’s the biggest fish, she WILL be eaten.>

The punch she takes in her already bleeding stomach is the last thing Vesta remembers.

 

Olympus, 28,000 light-years from Earth

Ever since it was transmuted by Gaea from a white dwarf star into an actual planet, Olympus has been incredibly busy.

Midgard City on Earth still acts as the administrative capital of the Olympian Empire, but Olympus itself is still the cultural capital. Every day there’s a new museum opening, or a new religious festival, and the refugees from the Aegian Galaxy dwelling in its oceans are opening up to the rest of the galaxy.

It’s a very peaceful planet, so its inhabitants are shocked by what feels like an attack: something drops from outer space at incredible speed, unleashing an incredibly powerful earthquake.

The buildings built by the gods during the Zeus reign are fine: nothing can damage their walls of Neutral Matter. But everything built by mortal hands crumbles in half the continent hit by the attack: whatever crashed did so with such force that the day on Olympus is now a few fractions of a second shorter.

Speculation runs rampant in the first few hours following the attack, until the authorities find something in the middle of a crater large enough to be visible from space.

A badly bruised Vesta, having been punched into another galaxy by unfathomable power.

 

Eir General Hospital, Midgard City, Earth

Vesta opens her eyes, feeling a sharp pain in her abdomen. It doesn’t take her long to figure out she’s in a hospital bed, and with some effort she’s able to sit down.

She’s not even in her regular clothes, wearing instead what looks like a white pajama.

<Finally. Don’t you ever scare me like that again, okay?> Kari Zell tells her; only now Vesta notices she’s been sitting in the room, reading a book.

<What happened?>

<You got cocky. You tried to fight Poseidon alone and he kicked you to the curb; you’re lucky to be alive.>

<I’m immortal.>

<Yeah, well, even Asclepius wasn’t sure you’d pull through. You lost control over the Soul Fusion again, didn’t you?>

<I was so angry at Poseidon. I couldn’t think straight. Why does it still hurt?> Vesta wonders, lifting her shirt enough to expose her abdomen… and the three scars.

<You were stabbed by a trident.>

<I’ve been stabbed by worse. It should’ve healed.> Vesta comments, picking at one of the scars.

<Asclepius thinks you eventually will. You might want to consider avoiding tube tops for a while, though.>

<At least you guys were able to leave before anyone else could get hurt.>

Kari sighs, putting the book aside. She doesn’t want to tell her friend, but as the leader of the Vanguard it’s her duty to keep her under control.

<Vesta… Poseidon punched you into Olympus. Over three thousand people died; twice as many have been wounded.>

<Oh my Gaea!>

<It’s honestly a miracle it wasn’t much, much worse. You hit an unpopulated area, the earthquake did most of the damages.>

<I didn’t want to… I should probably talk to the families of the victims. Help rebuild.>

<No, you shouldn’t. The Prime Minister doesn’t want people to know Poseidon is responsible, or people would demand a war. The official story blames an out-of-control Hephaestus ship.>

<That’s ridiculous! Poseidon should pay for it… and I should pay for it. At least honor the dead.>

<The funeral rites are over.>

<Already!?>

<Vesta… the fight was almost two months ago.>

<Oh. I don’t think I’ve ever lost consciousness for that long. What about Noriko? Did she make it through?>

<She’s still in a coma. Torn reassures me that her soul is fine, but Asclepius doesn’t want to risk waking her up until the Nexus has completed self-repairing. And he has no idea how long that is going to take.>

<What about the others?>

<Kestral has gone back to the Aegian Galaxy. We have no idea where Skorpios or Roxiana are, or even how to find them.>

There’s an awkward silence between the two friends that seems to last an eternity.

<Did we win?> the goddess eventually asks.

<Ulysses is dead for good, and I don’t think his organization will last. So that’s a win. But other than that, Poseidon is still a tyrant and all we managed to gain fighting him was hurting ourselves. So no, I don’t think we’ve won, Vesta. Let’s just hope Noriko pulls through, because we need her more than ever.>

 

The Mindscape

It took a long time for Noriko Null’s construct to rebuild itself. She finds herself in a completely white room, filled with a thick fog.

And she’s not alone: there’s a dozen figures lurking in the fog, too distorted to be seen.

<Thanks for giving me clothes. That’s not always a guarantee.> she says, looking at her self-image: she’s wearing her usual black T-shirt and green leather jacket.

<You are the first host of a different species to access hyperclocking.> one voice says.

<But still too primitive to continue using it.> another replies.

<The host is not like us. But close enough to warrant investigation.> a third adds.

<Wait a minute. I’ve seen you guys before… you’re the original Drylon hosts of the Nexus.>

<This one does sound almost intelligent.> a fourth voice concurs.

<How come I can now understand everything you’re saying?>

<Your mind is now almost sufficiently evolved to understand.> a fifth voice answers.

<Almost.> a sixth repeats.

<Let us never forget this host is not Drylon.> a seventh points out.

<I’m “evolved” enough to understand… what, exactly?>

<The secrets of the Drylon. The ultimate purpose of the Nexus.>

<Sounds too good to be true. There’s a catch, isn’t it? There’s always a catch.>

<There is no catch. You will learn everything there is to learn from us, once you agree to stay here forever and leave the Nexus to the next host.>

<You see, where I come from that’s definitely considered a catch…>