Beyond The Impossible

The battle above the skies of Eden is complicated, to say the least.

There are currently three ships under Null’s command, while ten are controlled by the artificial intelligence calling itself Emissary. The two fleets are fighting each other while also engaging in battle with the forces of Anubis, which are composed by pyramid ships and cyborg Demons.

Adding the swarm of F.E.N.R.I.S. robots controlled by Emissary, it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything.

<This is a mess. Is Emissary on our side or what!?> Kari Zel asks; she’s piloting the N01-Ragnarok, while several of her duplicates are manning all the ship’s stations. Now that the ship’s artificial intelligence L.O.K.I has been shut down, taking care of the Ragnarok… especially during a space battle… takes a much bigger effort.

<I don’t know, but we can’t let them keep firing at the planet, not while the rest of the team is down there.> Noriko Null replies from the captain’s chair; she’s fidgeting with the ship’s computer, until she stops and unleashes her frustration by hitting the armrest.

<Dammit, the ship can’t generate enough anti-neutrinos to interfere with the necrobot signal! I told you Amaterasu and Torn were needed on the ship, but did anyone listen to me!?> she complains.

<Isn’t there another way to stop the cyborgs?> Kari asks.

<I don’t know, I’m working on it. Did we manage to destroy any ships?>

<A few from the Anubis fleet, yes. As for the Emissary fleet… you built them a little too well.>

<Well they are supposed to repair themselves even after taking hits. At least our ship has a hull of Neutral Matter, and no Surtur class ship has anything that can penetrate it.> Noriko boasts.

Just then, the bridge is filled with seven pentagram-shaped portals, releasing just as many bloodthirsty and armed cyborg Demons.

<Look out!> Kari warns her. The Myridian girl’s body glows with a purple aura as her 10K Rise technique increases her speed and strength by ten thousand, allowing her to easily subdue all the Demons before Noriko can even blink.

<Sh#t. Without Torn’s protection, those things can get inside! Are you alright?> Kari asks; the Demons need a few seconds before launching the next attack, which is enough time for Noriko to take her Genius Gun and shoot in rapid succession the next five Demons.

<Peachy. Can you deal with these guys?>

<Sure, no problem. Can you deal with that?> Kari asks, pointing at the confusing space battle shown on the screen.

<Maybe. I have an idea.> Noriko answers, opening a channel while her friend is busy beating up the additional cyborg Demons that keep showing up.

<Hey Emissary, you wanna take out Anubis? Here’s how we do it…>

 

Eden

Quantum emerges from the ground, reaching the surface and changing his body from radio waves to flesh and blood. What he sees is a strange sight: Anubis is fighting his own cybernetic army, seemingly struggling to make progress, while a couple of Eden observe in silence.

<I think I’m gonna stay away from that.> he tells himself, rushing towards the two unconscious members of the Vanguard he sees in the distance. Much to his surprise, next to Vesta and Torn he also finds an unexpected goddess.

<Oh come on! Amaterasu? Really? I leave for a few days and you guys replace me with Amaterasu, of all people!?> he complains, noticing that his friends are regaining consciousness.

<Ugh, maybe charging him wasn’t the best of… Max, is that you!?> Vesta asks, rushing to hug him.

Quantum knows he risks a couple of broken bones, but he lets her do it: he genuinely missed meeting a friendly face. Having it belong to a gorgeous woman doesn’t hurt either.

<I’m so glad you’re safe! We were so worried, we weren’t even sure you were still alive!!!>

<Indeed.> Torn comments, pointing an energy sword at Quantum; specifically, at the cybernetic implants glowing beneath his skin.

<Uhm, Torn, what are you doing?> Vesta asks.

<He has been infected. Anubis might still be controlling him.>

<Dude, it’s me, I swear!> Quantum replies.

<Prove it.>

<Come on, is this really the time? If Anubis were controlling him, he’d be trying to kill us right now!> Vesta argues.

<Yeah! I’m still me, but I’m a cyborg now! That is so cool, right guys?>

Torn looks at Vesta, then at Quantum again, then he makes his sword disappear.

<It’s him. Let’s take the child goddess and leave.>

<Uhm, aren’t we going to do anything about Anubis?> Vesta asks, pointing at the raging battle: it’s clear that Anubis isn’t doing very well against his own army. And what’s more concerning, his circuits are slowly becoming golden.

<I don’t like the idea of helping him, but the Eden might actually be worse.> Quantum says.

<Maybe they will kill each other.> Torn suggests.

<I dunno, the Eden are very persistent.>

<We are eternal> is the response coming from the Eden woman who just emerged from the golden sand, only to find herself facing Vesta’s fire and a dozen Blood swords.

<Don’t come any closer, missy. You can’t assimilate us, and your power of intangibility won’t keep you safe forever.> Vesta threatens her.

<Gods and Demons. The only beings capable of renouncing Eden…> the Eden acknowledges.

<Uhm, miss Vesta? Mister Just Torn?> Amaterasu calls them.

When they turn to watch her, they see the Japanese goddess is shaking in fear looking at her hands: the skin has turned golden.

<I don’t feel so good.>

<…until today.> the Eden concludes, gesturing towards Anubis.

The jackal god has stopped fighting. His cybernetic implants are golden now, and the same color is slowly creeping into his skin and fur.

<What did you do!?> Vesta asks, rushing to check on Amaterasu: she can feel her divine essence being corrupted by something she can’t sense.

<This shouldn’t be possible! Gods are immune from your power!> she notes.

<But not from necrobots. Which we have now assimilated.> the Eden replies, just as a Blood sword comes within a fraction of an inch from severing her head.

But no matter how much effort he puts into his attack, Torn can’t bring himself to hurt her now that his red skin is rapidly becoming golden.

Quantum shooting a million volts into the Eden’s brain doesn’t work either: as he has seen time and time again, once an Eden becomes intangible he has no way to hurt them.

<You are an anomaly, Maximilian Black of Earth: you are not just resisting the necrobots, you are resisting Eden. Why do you refuse to join infinity with us?>

<I don’t care for your bulls#it! Leave my friends alone!>

<Your friends are Eden now.> Torn answers.

<And we no longer have any use for you.> Vesta adds, being the first to attack Quantum.

 

N01-Ragnarok

Typically Kari Zel is the ship’s pilot, but right now she’s a little busy: there are so many cyborg Demons showing up on the bridge that all of her duplicates need to focus on stopping them.

<At this rate we’re going to run out of space soon!> one of them shouts: there are piles of dead Demons everywhere.

Noriko Null is sitting at the pilot’s chair, inserting new coordinates with her left hand, while her right hand is busy working on a separate holographic interface.

<Don’t worry, we’re going to defeat them with space. Alright, Emissary, I’m sending you a patch for the communications array, run it and stay within reach. Try not to burn my ships, okay?>

<We’re moving again?> Kari asks, noticing through the viewscreen that the ship is now leaving the planet’s orbit. Since Demons have trouble creating portals to a moving target, the assault stops.

<I have a feeling this isn’t a retreat. What did you do?>

<I modified the ship’s communications to send a command to the Anubis ships: once they receive it, they will be compelled to follow us.>

<But I thought we didn’t have enough neutrinos without Amaterasu!> Kari recalls, then she has to shield her eyes: there’s an extremely bright source of light just outside the viewscreen, now that the Ragnarok is headed straight for the nearest star.

<Don’t worry. I found a source.>

 

Above Eden

The Anubis fleet is having trouble dealing with the F.E.N.R.I.S: the robotic wolves have dismantled a great number of ships, running interference allowing the Surtur ships to keep the pace despite the huge disparity in numbers and firepower.

Then all the F.E.N.R.I.S. leave at once, retreating inside the ships that now fly away from Eden. Since Anubis himself is on Eden, he has little interest to have his forces deal with the planet: the objective is to kill Null and her allies once and for all.

Because of this, the entire battle becomes a chase, with the Anubis forces pursuing the other fleet. Only when they come within a certain distance from the star they receive a new instruction: follow the Ragnarok no matter what.

All the other ships stop well before the star’s gravity becomes inescapable, but the Ragnarok doesn’t show signs of slowing down. Not even when it plunges into the star’s outer layer.

All the Anubis ships are atomized, while the Neutral Matter in the Ragnarok’s hull remains intact.

 

Eden

At first, Quantum isn’t too worried. Transforming into light is typically an easy strategy to get some distance from his enemies and get some time to think, but this is far from a typical situation.

It’s easy to dodge Vesta’s fire, but Amaterasu’s solar bursts and Anubis’ eye blasts are also moving at the speed of light. To make things worse, Torn has created a maze of swords to cover any possible path to escape.

Since they are all thinking with a single mind, they are able to coordinate their attacks perfectly. He hesitates to transforming into neutrinos, fearing it might expose him to the necrobots again, so he turns to his last resort: tachyons. The world around him becomes a freeze frame, with only Anubis slowly turning his jackal head towards him.

<Did you really think such tricks would stop us? We are Eden. As you said, we are persistent.>

<Oh come on, gimme a break!> Quantum laments, dodging the claws of the possessed death god.

 

Bridge of the Ragnarok

The viewscreen is off, since letting inside even a miniscule percentage of the star’s light would instantly blind any mortal.

Noriko Null awkwardly walks back to the captain’s chair by stepping on the dead Demons, which are slowly being carried away by the Kari duplicates.

<Well that’s one way of getting rid of a fleet.> one of them jokes.

<Are we still inside the star? How are we not dead!?> another one asks.

<The hull would survive the star’s core, let alone the outer layers where we are now. And I used the same Freezing Field Generator that I created to fight the Winter King to keep the bridge at room temperature. Think twice before going anywhere else on the ship… it’s literally as hot as Hell right now.> Noriko explains.

<Too bad we can’t do this to Anubis.> Kari comments.

<Yeah. Considering what he has survived so far, it wouldn’t hurt him much.> Noriko shrugs. She works on the ship’s controls, then pauses. There’s a spark in her silver eyes.

<Unless…>