Beyond The Impossible

Takama, 45,000 light-years from Earth

Before Viper and Amaterasu took over, this planet was more interested in the worship of Artemis than in its own security: with the sector swarming with space pirates, it relied more on the usefulness of its status as a safe haven rather creating its own army.

Now the planet’s security depends entirely on Viper’s technology and on the former pirates who have pledged their allegiance to Amaterasu.

This makeshift alliance approaches the remains of the Ragnarok, seemingly defenseless after its crash. The balance of power, however, changes rapidly when hundreds and hundreds of duplicates of Kari Zel appear in the span of a few seconds: seen from above, it looks like the shore of the Tiresian Sea is turning purple just because of her hair.

The drones should be able to turn the battle in favor of the planet’s forces, but before they can do anything a flurry of red energy daggers and other assorted blades takes care of them with ruthless efficiency. Torn makes his entrance landing next to the Ragnarok after jumping out of a pentagram.

<Sorry I’m late. Somebody forgot to dye sooner> he says, looking at Vesta who has followed him through the portal. Instead of her usual red hair, she’s now a brunette.

<You’re not going to let that go, aren’t you?> she comments.

<You guys deal with the army. I’m going after Viper> Noriko orders them.

<Shouldn’t I come with you?> Vesta asks.

<Viper and I are the only mortals who can kill you; it’s too risky. Help Kari and Torn; everybody else, stay in the Ragnarok.>

<Do you really want to take on Viper alone? Athena went out of her way to prevent that, maybe you should listen to the Goddess of Wisdom> Liosthenes reminds her.

<Maybe if she told me why, instead of going behind my back…>

<I’m coming with you. I have a score to settle with Viper> Torn tells her.

<Not a chance. If anyone has to deal with her, it’s got to be…>

<Coming. With. You> Torn insists, with a tone that even the Slayer of Gods has to respect.

As the battle begins, the sky darkens: black clouds are gathering definitely faster than normal.

 

The Divine Palace

If Eris had any doubts about Viper’s mental stability, the way she reacts when the screen in front of her shows Torn and Vesta joining the fight is final nail in the coffin.

<What the f##k are they doing!? Why isn’t she dead!? Why isn’t he in the dungeon? What the f##k happened out there!? AMATERASU!!!> she screams.

The goddess appears in a flash of sunlight, bowing in front of Viper.

<Yes, Mother?>

<Where were you!? I told you to kill Vesta! Why is she still alive!? And how did Torn escape!?>

<Don’t be mad at me! I was looking for the goddess with red hair, and I thought I found her, but it wasn’t her, and the Demon was broken and these nice girls told me not to tell you> Amaterasu explains frantically; she’s on the verge of crying.

<You’re an idiot! Why can’t ever do as you’re told!?>

<I don’t see the problem. You still have the Oni and nine other fully functional warships, just order them to vaporize the Vanguard> Eris calmly explains her.

<Shut up! I have to do EVERYTHING around here! Oni!!!>

<Yes, mistress?> the robot answers.

<Bring me the Orochi Armor> Viper orders, clenching her teeth with her silver iris outshining the blackness of her eyes.

 

On the battlefield

Unsurprisingly, the fight is going exceedingly well for the Vanguard: compared to what they’ve faced in the past, Viper’s army is nothing. Even with Quantum still missing, since reassembling his body after causing an antimatter explosion takes time.

<Is it just me, or is this way too easy?> one of Kari’s duplicates asks, using her Shotgun Bracelet to punch an enemy soldier so hard that his helmet shatters on impact.

<I agree. Viper should’ve sent an army of Oni by now, what’s keeping her?> Noriko Null asks, protected by her forcefield as she looks at the sky: the black clouds now cover the entire battlefield.

A flash of green light signals the use of a teleporter, and soon there’s a new figure standing between the two opposing factions.

It’s a woman wearing a high-tech armor, jade plates connected by neon green circuitry; she’s holding a helmet in her hands, leaving her head the only part exposed. Most of the defending army has never seen her in person, but they know who she is: the symbol on her chest, a snake twisting itself in the symbol for infinity, has rapidly become synonymous with terror.

<Sorry I’m late, guys. I couldn’t decide what to wear> Viper jokes, just in time for a shot of the Genius Gun to be deflected by her personal forcefield.

<Seriously, Noriko? I’m sure your father didn’t teach you what it means, but it’s called wearing protection> she mocks her.

<Let me guess: it’s made of neutral matter. Is that supposed to scare me?>

<You tell me>– Viper responds, putting on the helmet. She spreads her arms, and the armor releases eight separate tendrils of green electricity. They move around quickly, touching dozens of her soldiers at a time; as soon as they’re touched by the energy, they shake uncontrollably and then unceremoniously drop to the ground. Judging by their panicked reaction, they didn’t expect this any more than the Kari duplicates, which dissolve into nothingness without warning.

<Torn! Can your blades go through her shield?> Noriko asks.

<No. She’s closing herself to the Blood. She may be trying to… Don’t move!!!> the Demon warns his teammates, jumping in front of them to intercept one of the tendrils.

<Soul Survivor!> he shouts, stretching his arm and showing the palm of his hand to the tendril: when the limb tries to attack him, it’s repelled by a pentagram of fire acting as a shield. The electricity then moves to the side, slithering like a snake and trying to attack Torn’s allies, but a different pentagram appears every time it tries to get closer.

<She’s getting stronger. I can’t keep this up for long> Torn admits.

<How fast can these thing move?> Vesta asks.

<I don’t even know what they are, but if they’re controlled by Viper they’re limited by the reflexes of an average human female: you have about 250 milliseconds before she can react> Lily explains.

<You forget she has my brain. It’s more like 100 milliseconds> Noriko corrects her.

<I can deal with that> Vesta says, flying faster than the eye can see towards Viper.

Before she can reach her target, however, Vesta is intercepted by someone moving as fast as her; someone who grabs her leg, completely stopping her. Vesta turns towards her, expecting to see Amaterasu, but before she can throw a fireball she recognizes the red eyes watching her.

<Eris!? What are you…>

It’s enough of a distraction to give Viper an opening: the electrical tendrils hit Vesta from behind.

There is no physical injury, but Vesta screams in pain and collapses, still alive but catatonic.

<Typical. Does she ever win a fight?> Viper mocks her, retracting the tendrils to about three feet from her position.

Alexer Syzar has seen the Vanguard lose before; when he was the Mist, they even lost to him. But this time they seem out of their depth: Null is having trouble adjusting her strategy to her clone.

<We need to retreat! If she can stop a goddess…>

<Take. Her. Down> Noriko orders her team, her silver eyes shining with anger.

<I’m with Syzar on this one; we shouldn’t…> Lily protests, interrupted by Kari and Torn’s words:

<10K Rise!>

<Instinct. Killer.>

They both run at superhuman speed towards Viper in their powered-up forms, but she’s ready for them: the tendrils take care of the swords that Torn creates to attack her from every direction, and they force Kari to keep her distance, negating her speed advantage.

<Face it guys: you’re outclassed> Viper tells them, surprising both when the electricity concentrates in her hands to create what look like swords made of lightning.

Helped by the armor, she moves faster than humanly possible and manages to stab Kari. Just like Vesta, she’s not physically hurt but instantly falls into a catatonic state; Torn proves to be a more challenging opponent, and the two engage in an intense duel with energy swords.

The armor allows Viper to match Torn’s speed and strength, and to move her tendrils to stop any other weapon he creates, but she has one advantage: she cheats.

Her eyes suddenly shine bright enough to blind a Demon, distracting Torn for the moment she needs to easily win the fight with a thrust of her lightning sword.

Standing before three members of the Vanguard defeated in just about the same number of minutes, with eight tendrils extending from her body. Under the helmet, she smiles.

<Am I scary enough NOW!?> she yells.

Staring at Viper, Noriko stands her ground and goes through every possible option available. Reinforcements are out of the question: Quantum needs time to reassemble himself, and even at lightspeed he won’t be here soon enough. The Ragnarok is busted and she’s in enemy territory. The Oni aren’t in sight, so she can’t hack them. Her only three remaining allies… Syzar, Lily and Liosthenes… are dead weight. Considering how she equipped her ships, Viper is likely prepared to deal with the Gravity Gauntlets and she’s immune from the Genius Guns.

Out of her arsenal, that leaves the God Eraser, which obviously would be useless against a mortal, and the Final Abyss… the move that killed Artemis at the Strongest Under The Heavens tournament. Does Viper know about it? Would it even work on her?

Then two thoughts hit her: first, Eris is here, but Amaterasu is not. Second, Viper isn’t attacking.

<Of course. Everything makes sense now> she realizes.

<What’s your plan, boring me to death!? Just fight already!!!> Viper encourages her.

<It was a good idea. But I’ll be honest, I didn’t think Eris would be stupid enough to fall for it.>

<What is she talking about?> Eris asks Viper.

<You know about the Final Abyss, don’t you Viper? That’s why you ordered Amaterasu to stay away from me, you know it would kill her. And that’s why you haven’t tried to kill me: you need me to use the Final Abyss. And it explains why Eris is here when you clearly don’t need her.>

<You are just determined to ruin this for me, aren’t you?> Viper sighs, then hits Null with one of her tendrils. And the world goes dark.

 

Somewhere

Noriko Null wakes up with one thought: she’s drowning. Feeling the water trying to get inside her lungs, she swims towards the surface as fast as she can… something that isn’t easy with just one arm, since the prosthetic replacement of the left one has disappeared. Along with her clothes.

She sticks her head out of the water, taking a deep breath and trying to understand where she is.

She immediately regrets it. The sky is on fire, the water is infested with tentacles full of thorns that make it impossible to move without cutting her, and there are multiple screens floating in the air showing various moments of her life. Worst of all, someone is watching her: a woman with black hair and red eyes sits cross-legged on a golden throne, eating a golden apple.

<We seriously need to talk> Eris says, taking another bite.

<Like my day didn’t suck enough?> Noriko asks, carefully swimming towards what looks like solid ground; as a reward, she receives multiple cuts on her naked skin.

<We’re inside your mind> Eris explains.

<I seriously need redecorating. What’s up with the show?>

<Viper is forcing you to relive your greatest regrets. I’m taking advantage of your brain’s ability to have simultaneous trains of thought to have this conversation.>

<And you just had to have me naked and bleeding to do that?>

<Payback for ruining my plans back on Earth. I hope you appreciate the details of this mental projection; that’s salt water, by the way. Does it hurt?>

<Talking to you? Oh yes. What do you really want, Eris?>

<I want to help you defeat Viper. In exchange, I want immunity.>

<You’ve got to be kidding me… ruining alliances is literally your job! Why would I ally myself with a treacherous mass murderer!?>

<Because despite of how much we despise each other, we both know that Viper is far more dangerous than me right now. So, what do you say? Do I have the word of the Slayer of Gods that she won’t kill me?> Eris asks, extending her hand towards Noriko as she steps out of the water… where the thorns have suddenly disappeared and where she’s already clothed again.

<Deal. Tell me everything you know about Viper and Amaterasu> Noriko answers, shaking the hand responsible for innumerable deaths.