Mundus, 99,000 light-years from Earth
The monstrous form of Typhon rises from the shattered remains of the planetoid, looming large in front of the Destiny-One.
The shields are barely able to withstand the sheer radiation emitted by this creature made of snakes and tentacles that only vaguely resemble a winged humanoid.
<We have to go. NOW.> Vesta pleads; Noriko has heard so much fear in her voice when they faced Tiamat and Baal.
<I’ve never backed down from fighting a god.> Noriko replies, her silver eyes shining.
<You should. His soul is overwhelming, crushing your own even if you don’t realize it.> Torn echoes Vesta’s sentiment.
<We don’t have much time to decide! He’s coming for us!> Kari yells, as five tentacles approximating the shape of a hand reach for the ship.
<If he can catch us. Activating dimensional phase shift.> Noriko announces, and at the press of a button the ship becomes completely intangible.
For anything in the universe except Typhon, who still manages to physically grab the ship.
<That… shouldn’t be possible.> Noriko admits.
<Turn on the Negative Drive!!!> her sister Nalani urges her.
<I’d have to make us tangible again first, and jumping to full speed too fast could easily break the ship in half.> Noriko points out.
The hull begins cracking, sending loud noises that reverberate on the bridge.
<How’s that different from now!?> Quantum comments.
<Alright, everyone hold tight… engaging the Negative Drive, full power.> Noriko announces.
The ship’s main engine almost roars from the effort of a cold start: it’s the most powerful engine in the known universe, capable of warping space around it so thoroughly that it can propel the ship at four hundred million times the speed of light.
In Typhon’s hand, it stands completely still.
<Dammit, the ship can’t take this for long, we have to…> Noriko announces, interrupted by the sound of the ship crumbling under the pressure.
For a moment that seems to last ages, thousands of possible scenarios play in her head, all of which end with her death. When a blinding light encompasses the bridge, she closes her eyes by reflex.
To her surprise, she’s able to open them again.
<This is quite a mess.>
The comments come from a shirtless white-haired god wearing only a piece of fabric wrapped around his waist. His unnaturally bright blue eyes shine so much they are noticeable even against the walls of pure lightning that are surrounding what is left of the bridge.
<Took you long enough to show up, Zeus.> Noriko chastises him.
<Yeah, well, I had decided to let you and Athena figure things out among yourselves. I didn’t expect Typhon’s multiple ugly heads to show up again!>
<Can you beat Typhon?> Vesta asks her brother.
Zeus takes a worryingly long time to respond, pondering on the situation while staring past the lightning shield keeping his hands over his hips.
<It’s tough. He’s not as strong as the last time we fought. But I had Hades, Poseidon and Demeter at my side back then.>
<How long can you keep this barrier up?> Kari asks, more worried about the imminent danger to her family than the course of the war.
<A few years if Typhon stays at this level. I don’t think he has recognized my energy yet, so he’s not really trying. But once he does? Perhaps a couple of minutes.>
<Wait wait wait. He managed to hold the ship and break it even with the Negative Drive on full blast, and he’s not even trying!?> Quantum points out.
<You fail to understand that Typhon is not just a god. He’s a living weapon. Gaea gave birth to him as retaliation for Zeus killing her offspring, the Giants.> Vesta explains.
<They were throwing planets at Olympus! What was I supposed to do, talk to them!?> Zeus complains, and he visibly twitches in pain.
<What’s wrong?> his sister asks.
<His frustration is making him angry. Which is bad for everyone, because the angrier Typhon gets, the stronger he becomes.> Zeus explains.
<Just like…> Quantum starts to comment, his face lightning up.
<Not. Now.> Noriko chastises him.
<If he’s so tough, how did you defeat this thing the first time?> Nalani wonders.
<I ganged up on him with my brothers, while Demeter sprung the trap.>
<What trap? Demeter never told me she was involved in the fight!> Vesta says.
<She wasn’t, our sister was too weak. But she had access to a Drylon device, the Infinite Abyss, which could create a dimensional pocket from which not even Typhon could break free. That’s where we imprisoned him.> Zeus reveals.
<That’s it. That’s why Athena brought me here! We have to leave Zeus, FAST.> Noriko orders.
<Why such a rush?> the god wonders.
<If Athena still has that device, she could trap us into that dimension at any moment. I’m assuming the only reason she didn’t is that this Infinite Abyss requires some time to recharge itself, but there’s no telling how long that could take!>
<Fine then. I will take you home and give a stern talk to Athena!>
<Wait! Take me and the rest of the Vanguard with you; send everyone else home.>
<But I wanna help!> Nalani complains.
<This is very noble of you, Noriko, but I don’t need protection.> Gilgamesh protests.
<Yeah, I’m fine with it. You guys can fight the super-god of death and destruction on your own.> Kayla Black is quick to jump in.
<C’mon sis, don’t embarrass me in front of the others.> Quantum whispers to his sister.
<Done.> Zeus follows Noriko’s instructions, completely ignoring everyone else, and with a snap of his fingers everyone except the Vanguard vanishes.
<Great. Just lemme recover the Genesis Armor and the ship’s logs; won’t take a second.> Noriko adds, retrieving a small cartridge from a hidden access port on the captain’s chair.
<Shouldn’t we do something about Athena’s army too?> Kari asks.
<Already took care of that before we even left.> Noriko answers with a smile.
Boreas, 30,000 light-years from Earth
A duplicate of Rei Null is observing the planet from her personal ship, a heavily modified Amazon shuttle. Boreas is no longer semi-transparent: the dimensional shift has failed, and the planet is solid again. Which means vulnerable.
<This is going to be good.> Rei tells herself, watching the Athenian fleet approaching.
It would be an overwhelming force even if the planet had enough ships to defend itself; by her calculations, Boreas will no longer be able to sustain life within the next minute.
A dozen ships open fire, releasing superheated charges of plasma traveling at nearly the speed of light… right into a hexagram of darkness.
Once the plasma disappears into the portal, a blast of radiant green energy emerges from it.
The first ship to be hit explodes immediately; a second one maneuvers in time to avoid it, but this sends the fleet into disarray, breaking formation.
A goddess surrounded by the same green energy flies out of the portal, followed by hundreds of warriors protected from the rigors of space by an aura of black Ichor.
<That’s right, b##ches! The Queen of the Motherf##king Dark Galaxy is back!!!>
Rei watches the former Queen of the Underworld lead her army of Ekronites, tearing up ship after ship in an impressive display of both power and ferocity, before setting a course to leave the system.
Myridia, 50 light-years from Earth
Ganos Lal looks at the sky. The shield phasing the planet out of reality is no longer working, and the orbital bombardment has just begun. It won’t take long before the surface of the whole world is melted into glass.
<Lady Null, hallowed be your name, protect us all.> Ganos prays, clasping her hand as tightly as she can. She kneels and closes her eyes, finding solace in the idea that she will spend her afterlife in the company of her goddess.
But instead of death, she finds a pleasant smell of roses and a gentle hand on her shoulder.
<I’m sorry, your goddess is a little busy. But you have an upgrade.> Aphrodite tells her.
Ganos Lal looks up: instead of a fiery inferno, the sky is raining rose petals. And the bodies of the crewmen warships that have been transmuted into perfume.
Washington D.C., Earth
Todd Slate has been on the phone non-stop for the past six hours, and that’s just because he managed to squeeze some sleep into his schedule.
He’s only the Vice President, but he’s been coordinating a global effort to assemble Earth’s first spaceship fleet, fast-tracked by Noriko’s nanotechnology revolution.
<What do you mean it’s gone!? We’re vulnerable without the shield!> he shouts into the phone… only to realize he’s suddenly holding a glass of wine.
<You know what’s the problem with mortals?> is the question coming from a man wearing an extremely disheveled toga, right before he burps loudly.
<Who are you? How did you get here?> Todd asks him, approaching Dionysus.
<Always asking questions. You need to learn how to relax.> the god tells Todd, conjuring up a whole glass pitcher of wine and guzzling it down continuously.
<You’re… Bacchus, right? Did you take away our shield? We need to…>
<Drink. I promised the girl with silver eyes I’d give everyone a good time, and I am good with promises of stuff I already wanted to do.> Dionysus exclaims, looking at the pitcher that is magically replenishing itself.
Reflected inside the wine, Todd can see images of what is happening in orbit: the Athenian ships are crashing onto each other, now that every single crew member is stone drunk.
<Yes, I think I’ll drink to that.> Todd shrugs.
Argos, 100 light-years from Earth
Not every world is protected by Noriko’s phasing technology; those might have been the primary targets, but Athena ordered the destruction of all rebel worlds… including the former capital of the defunct Mortal Republic.
But despite the hundred ships approaching the planet, an overwhelming force compared to the defensive capabilities of Argos, nobody is firing a single shot.
The reason lies in the demigoddess sitting on what used to be the chair of her ambassador to the Republic. She has taken off her marble mask, and she’s conversing with a minotaur-looking alien in military uniform.
<I am proud to report that the ships still answering to Athena have decided to join our rebellion, Your Majesty.> General Kamos kneels.
In front of him, the most beautiful woman in the universe smiles; that’s enough to make the heart of this beast melt, just as it was enough to convince countless officers.
<You served me well, Kamos. I’m a long way from home, but it’s not every day that I get to stop a thousand ships from waging war.> Helen of Troy says, noting the irony given her history.
Praetor Warship One, 99,000 light-years from Earth
Still unaware of how many of her followers are betraying her, Athena is watching Typhon use all of his might to crush a sphere of pure lightning.
<Lady Athena, the Infinite Abyss is fully charged.> Nike informs her.
<Activate it. Enjoy spending the rest of your pathetically short life fighting a monster that not even my father could defeat alone, Noriko.> the Goddess of Wisdom says, visualizing a galaxy finally under her complete control.
<It’s not working!> Nike breaks her fantasy.
<What!? Impossible! I tested the device thoroughly!> Athena exclaims.
<You mean this device?> Rei Null asks: she’s holding in her hand a cylinder made of grey stone with a single hole running through it. Unlike the decoy that Nike is holding, it’s the real deal.
Athena immediately thrusts her lance to murder Rei, and four separate crew members open fire on the mortal. Her personal forcefield deflects all attacks, as she amusedly juggles the device between her hands.
<I think I’m through with this. I already stole everything I came to take from your precious vault on Mundus, and I have this as a bonus.>
<I will have your head for this betrayal, doppelganger.> Athena swears.
<No, you won’t. You have bigger problems than me.> Rei warns her, activating her personal teleporter and vanishing in a flash of light.
<I want. Her signal. Tracked. NOW!!!> Athena shouts. It’s the first time any mortal member of the crew has ever seen her lose her cool.
Nike has seen her angry before, and the memory is making her sweat.
<We… can’t. There is too much interference from the ships slowing below lightspeed.>
<What ships? I didn’t call for any reinforcements!>
<They’re not ours. We are being surrounded.> Nike informs her, switching the visual on the main viewscreen. Which is showing dozens and dozens of ships positioning themselves in a sphere around the Praetor warship, leaving no clear path of escape.
Their design doesn’t match any fleet Athena is aware of, but she does recognize the inspiration. The ships clearly integrate Lar, Olympian and even Amazon technology… surrounding the same framework as the Ragnarok series.
<Earth.> Athena mutters with hatred, when an announcement comes through:
<This is Kylon of Megacles, captain of the Destiny-II, capital ship of the Defiance Fleet. You are completely surrounded: attempt to escape and we will open fire.>
<A hastily built fleet will be no match for my monster.> Athena boasts, soon before Typhon’s booming voice echoes through the air:
<I KNOW YOU ARE HERE, ZEUS!!! STOP HIDING BEHIND MORTALS AND SHOW YOUR FACE SO THAT I MAY TEAR IT APART!!!>
<That’s neat. But we have a Null.> Kylon announces.
With a thunderous bolt of light, the Vanguard materializes on the bridge… and Noriko Null is wearing the Genesis Armor again, with her helmet open to show her face.
<It’s over, Athena. Your invasion has failed, my allies are dismantling your fleet, and you are out of trump cards. This is your final chance to get out of this with dignity if you surrender.> she warns.
The helmet drops. The armor begins to hum as it powers up.
<Please say no.> Noriko tells the goddess.