Beyond The Impossible

Aquilia, 25.000 light-years from Earth

Most building on Aquilia are not particularly tall. Even the Prytaneion, the seat of the planet’s government, is only a dozen stories high.

Situated near the top of Mount Aetos, it provides an unparalleled view of the valley beneath, overseeing the various small communities.

Vesta is on its balcony, watched over by a flock of white eagles that circle the Prytaneion. Like every other creature of Aquilia the birds have the ability to summon electricity at will, leading to Mount Aetos being under a constant barrage of lightning bolts.

One of the eagles lands on the ledge of the balcony, right next to Vesta; perhaps it sensed her sadness, and it leans its head against her.

<It’s beautiful in here, isn’t it? Beautiful and boring.> the goddess says, sighing.

<I’d be careful with that thing if I were you.> someone behind Vesta notes, filling the goddess with utter joy: it feels like ages since she has seen a friendly face.

<Kari!!! Oh my Gaea am I glad to see you!!!> Vesta shouts; just the speed at which she moves towards Kari to embrace her would be enough to knock the wind out of the Myridia, but in addition to that her hug is not far away from breaking her bones.

<I missed you too, please don’t kill me.> Kari replies with a whimper, barely able to survive her friend’s joy.

<Sorry!!! It’s been a while since I’ve touched anyone. Are you alright?> Vesta asks, gesturing towards the eagle to get away. The bird obeys, taking flight leaving behind a trail of electricity.

<I’ve been worse. Just tell your priestesses to stop electrocuting me.>

<How about everyone else? Did we beat Ares?>

<Yeah, Noriko killed him. She was dead for a while as well, but now she’s fine. But what happened to you, Vesta? Finding you wasn’t easy!>

<I just remember fighting Ares, then I woke up here. My mother said I was in such a bad shape that she decided life for me was too dangerous out there.>

<Ares really did a number on you.> Kari nods.

<I’ve never been that close to dying. It took me three days to heal from that fight and twice as much to get back to full strength.>

<To get from almost dead to just fine, uh? Must’ve been awful.> Kari comments, rolling her eyes… sometimes gods don’t get how privileged they are.

<I’m sorry, that must sound insensitive.> Vesta realizes.

<It’s alright. So… if you’re fine, we can leave at any moment, right?>

<I wish it was that easy, Kari, I really do. But there is no way to leave Aquilia.>

<Don’t worry, the Ragnarok is in this solar system. You just need to fly us into space.>

<Kari, I can’t. We literally cannot leave the planet.>

<You’re kidding me, right?>

<Don’t you think I tried leaving? There’s an invisible barrier just above the atmosphere. I’m not strong enough to break through it.>

<I thought you said you were back to full power. Last I checked you could go toe-to-toe with Apollo when he was throwing supernovas at you!>

<I punched the barrier with enough force to shatter a mountain, then threw a 300 million degree fireball. They both did absolutely nothing. Anything more and I risk burning the planet to a crisp.>

<Who put up that barrier? Your mother?>

<My grandmother, Gaea. By her decree, nobody can leave Aquilia. Ever.>

As if trying to emphasize the situation, a lightning bolt coming from the flock of eagles strikes the mountain with unusual force.

<What’s up with the eagles? And the electric powers, and the temples… what is this place, Vesta?>

<It’s a, uhm, it’s a long story.>

<Well apparently I’m not going anywhere.> Kari replies, leaning against the balcony’s rail.

<I used to rule this planet for a couple centuries, after the Trojan War. Actually it was the first planet I ever got to rule, once Zeus assigned me my sector.> Vesta recalls.

<And somehow you never thought about mentioning it? First Themiscyra, now Aquilia, we really need you to write down a list of the planets you’ve ruled. And honestly I still have a hard time picturing you ruling a planet… no offense.> Kari says.

<It was a different time and I was a different goddess. When I first got here… it was a real mess. It didn’t have a real civilization to speak of: Zeus just used it to hide his most, well, recognizable offspring.>

<What do you mean?>

<When a child is born from a god and a mortal, there’s a chance the offspring can inherit something from the god. So whenever Zeus had a kid, there was the possibility of the kid having electrical powers. Something like a thousand to one chance, but… well… Zeus is Zeus.>

<Then everyone on Aquilia descends from Zeus? Including…> Kari realizes, lifting her eyes to look at the eagles.

<Zeus is Zeus. He always liked animals. If it’s white and it’s on Aquilia, it descends from Zeus.>

<I’ve seen white horses, cats and dogs… honestly, Vesta, is there anything with at least two legs that your brother won’t f##k!?>

<There are trees on Aquilia that are related to him, so…>

<I’m surprised Hera didn’t blow up the place.>

<She never knew about it. That’s why Zeus gave it to me: he hid most of his offspring on Aquilia and expected me to turn it into a civilization, while keeping its existence a secret. With what he left behind, all things considered I did a pretty good job: there has never been a single war on this planet, and from what I’ve been told they kept everything as I left it.>

<Except they tase anyone who doesn’t worship you.> Kari replies. There’s an anger in her voice that Vesta has never heard her use… unless when she talks about the regime of Demeter.

<It’s not like that! My cult is the state religion, yes, but I’ve always told Aquilians that they can worship whoever they like! It’s my mother’s doing… she’s afraid one of my siblings is going to force me to leave Aquilia, so she has decreed that anyone from a planet from one of my brothers and sisters is to be captured at once.>

<But Demeter is dead!>

<Try telling that to my mother. She’s still convinced that Demeter is just hiding somewhere.>

<Yeah, your mother is a real piece of work. No offense.>

<None taken, Kari.>

<So… now what? How do we leave the planet before Noriko shows up?>

<You mean she’s coming here!?>

<She sent me on a mission to retrieve you and I haven’t been able to report. How long do you think it’ll take before she decides to see the place on her own?>

<Fair point. Since the barrier was created by Gaea, she is the only one who can remove it. But not only I don’t know why she put up the barrier… it wasn’t there when I ruled… I don’t even know where she is.>

<Would your mother know it?>

<Possibly. But you’ll never be able to get her to tell you… believe me, I’ve known her for a million years and she’s one of the most stubborn gods in the entire universe.>

<I can be pretty persuasive.> Kari smiles.

 

Millions of miles away, in the same solar system

When he first learned how to turn his body into energy, Quantum didn’t have much use for traveling at the speed of light: everything became too blurry to give him any information.

Over the years he’s had enough time to attune his senses to this form, but still moving around as a beam of light tends to give him little insight into whatever he’s exploring.

The green planet is a different story. At fifty time the diameter of Jupiter, it’s so massive that Quantum does have the time to understand some of it… and what he sees makes no sense.

<I can confirm the sensors are right, Nori. The entire planet is covered in vegetation.> he says, converting his words into signals transmitted by the Soul Relay.

<I’m telling you that’s impossible. The planet is big enough to be a brown dwarf star!> she replies.

<Whatever it is, it’s definitely green. And it looks solid… I should probably land and have a look.>

<Just be careful. I have a bad feeling about that place.>

<A gigantic physics-breaking planet, yeah, that’s not suspicious at all.> Quantum says sarcastically, changing into a human looking hologram when he reaches the ground.

<I wish you could see this place, Noriko, ‘cause it’s pretty damn wild.>

<Yeah, sorry, the Soul Relay can transmit video only when you’re human.>

<I still can’t understand how it works while my brain is entirely made on photons, but then again the last time you tried to explain me how I can see you just gave me a migraine.>

<How’s the planet like? Can you describe it?>

<It’s plants. Everywhere, like regular Earth plants, not weird alien ones like on Lampyria. Those here look regular ones, but that’s because I didn’t feel like getting closer to the real big trees.>

<What, you fought Anubis and you’re scared of plants now!?>

<Some of those things have trunks larger than a mile, Nori. I’m not getting anywhere near one of those until I’m sure there aren’t any giant bugs around!>

<That planet keeps getting more confusing. No organism that big would be able to evolve on a planet with Earth’s gravity, let alone what you must have there.>

Noriko’s comment gives Quantum an idea. He changes form again, rotating through multiple different particles in a quick cycle.

<You’re not gonna believe this, Nori, but the gravity here is not much different from Earth’s.>

<Max, sometimes I speak with the ghost of a world-conquering Egyptian vizir that lives in my brain, there is almost nothing I’m not willing to believe at this point. I still don’t think it’s safe for you to turn human out there, but I’m sending you backup.>

<I don’t really need…> he objects, but desists when a pentagram of fire appears in the thick jungle.

Torn steps out of the portal, surrounded by an aura of Blood energy that envelops his body. He looks around, and by the time the pentagram disappears his aura does the same.

<I have things under control, Null. I shall take over the survey.> he announces.

<Wait, what?> Quantum asks.

<Fantastic. Look guys, I have a lot of things on my plate at the moment, so I’ll leave things to you; keep me posted if you find anything.> Noriko says, disconnecting her Soul Relay.

<Hm. Hopefully her plate is full enough, she would benefit from some additional weight.> the Demon comments.

<Torn, what the heck is going on?> Quantum wonders.

<Humans tend to get fatter when they get older. Null is young even by human standards, but…>

<I’m talking about that “I shall take over” business. You’re not seriously thinking you’re going to lead the mission, right?>

<I am the leader of Hell’s military forces.> Torn reminds his teammate.

<But this is a Vanguard mission. I don’t remember Null making you second-in-command!>

<No, Kari has that position, but she is not here. That makes me the highest ranking Vanguard.>

<Based on what!? I have higher seniority.>

<I’m older than you. I’m 146 years old.>

<I meant that I’ve been a Vanguard member longer than you. By like six months, yes, but still… hey, is something wrong?> Quantum asks, forgetting all about his argument and focusing on the Demon bringing his hand to his chest and grimacing in pain.

Perhaps more worryingly, the plants around them rapidly change from green to red.

<That’s never a good sign. You okay, Torn?> Quantum asks his teammate.

<The Blood reacts strongly to hostile life. This planet is an angry one.> Torn answers.

As if to confirm his words, the plants begin to grow sharp spines and to glow red… and more importantly, they begin to move to surround the two invaders.

<The one time we find a planet with no people trying to kill us, it’s the plants.> Quantum comments, just in time before needing to evade the first thorns shot towards him at the speed of a bullet.