Chapter VII: Alice

Outside the Safe-Zone, Manhattan, USA. October 31 2203, 1:37 P.M.

NIX personnel, Stargazers, soldiers, and law enforcement firing their Phasers at the Voids. Some, inexperienced and ignorant, meet a swift demise, butchered and devoured, while others valiantly defend the formation for survivors.

The world shuffles, the scene transitioning to Tetsuo navigating the twisted city blocks with unparalleled speed. Clutching his M.J.O.L.N.I.R, fashioned into a chokutō, he spins it at a breathtaking pace, resembling a helicopter rotor and generating both friction and electricity. Leaping from the precipice where city blocks end, he descends towards the street below. A swarm of Voids, akin to ants, engulfs the scene, feasting on hapless victims.

With precision, Tetsuo thrusts his chokutō like a spear into the mass of Voids, electrocuting them as they converge, disintegrating some in the process. His landing point, the epicentre of the strike, becomes a field of smouldering remnants. Retrieving his chokutō, he prepares to eradicate the remaining Voids with a focused determination.

Once more, the world shifts its focus as Lucy phase-shift to rescue a trapped family inside their car, accompanied by a handful of NIX personnel. A dozen Voids, similar to Battleaxes, menacingly approach the rescue party. Lucy, wielding her M.J.O.L.N.I.R transformed into a claymore. However, an unsettling realization washes over her as the blade strikes one of the Battleaxes without inflicting any damage, yet their seemingly impenetrable skin conceals a millimetre-thin layer, revealing crimson flesh beneath as explosions suddenly erupt nearby, a few city blocks away.

Undeterred, Lucy strides towards them, willingly engaging in close combat as the Battleaxes adopt defensive stances. With a swift motion, her claymore dematerializes, transforming into strings of blood-red energy dancing within her grasp. Folding her hands together, she compresses the energy. In a fleeting moment, the claymore rematerializes, a blur moving at the speed of sound. In a single, sweep, Lucy dismembers all dozen Battleaxes, bringing a swift end to the battle.

On the other side of the city blocks, the colossal serpentine Wrym, now officially designated by NIX as Apophis, has entrenched itself within the ruins of NIX Polytechnic. Eva manoeuvres skilfully on Apophis's massive body, her eyes fixed on its head—the epicentre of a concentrated cosmos energy, identified as the source she seeks to extinguish. Her mission is clear: to put an end to the terror that looms.

Yet, her progress is hindered by a horde of parasitic Voids, clinging tenaciously to the creature's sinuous form. With the lethal grace of her M.J.O.L.N.I.R, Eva slices through the parasites, a dance of precision and power. Dodging with remarkable finesse, she navigates the onslaught, determined to save time and effort in her relentless pursuit.

Suddenly, Apophis erupts from its subterranean refuge explosively, soaring skyward and violently shaking off debris and parasites alike. Fortunately, Eva has firmly embedded her M.J.O.L.N.I.R into the worm's body, preventing her from being cast aside entirely. Yet, she dangles like a rag doll from the whiplash effect as Apophis collides with buildings and devastated streets, heading towards the specific area where is least unaffected by its path of destruction.

In a landscape teeming with survivors and a multitude of military and NIX personnel, all eyes remain fixated on the looming threat of Apophis inching closer. The soldiers and NIX operatives stand resolute, their rail-gun artillery poised along the front-line, ready to intercept the monstrous entity as it hurtles towards the safe zone, leaving a wake of destruction in its path.

Eva fights to maintain her grip on her M.J.O.L.N.I.R, but the defence line at the safe zone begins firing their rail-gun artillery at the impending threat. The hypersonic piercing impacts and her sweat-slicked handle cause her grip on the weapon to slip through her fingers, plunging her into a harrowing descent toward what seems like certain demise several meters below. Time slows as she hurtles downward until a hand clasps hers just in the nick of time, preventing her from falling, before she is nearly unreachable.

Tetsuo gazes down, his expression a tumultuous blend of panic gradually yielding to relief as he secures Eva's safety. With a strained effort, he hauls her back up, his own M.J.O.L.N.I.R digging into the flesh of Apophis. "Damn, Eva, how much do you weigh?" he asks, rubbing his sore arm from the effort of lifting her.

"170.4 pounds and stabilizing," Eva responds, her tone devoid of embarrassment, though her heart hammers in her chest as relief washes over her. She notices Lucy, Captain Newt, and the remaining NIX personnel rescue teams emerging from the other side, latching onto the gargantuan slithering body of Apophis. The group approaches Eva and Tetsuo to inform them of their new mandate and plan.

"Our superiors are forcing us to complete the mission to exterminate Apophis within five minutes. If we fail, they will immediately release a Magnetar bomb that will annihilate Apophis and the entire New York City, regardless of casualties," Captain Newt informs the team gravely.

"They can't do that! A Magnetar bomb won't just destroy New York City—it will devastate the entire world!" Tetsuo protests, defiant against their superiors' plan.

"It doesn't matter, and we don't have much time! They are willing to execute their contingency plan because we are expendable to them!" Newt's words jolt Tetsuo, making him realize how morality is discarded when survival is at stake, even if other solutions are nearly within reach.

"We have three minutes left. While you were arguing, Eva and I noticed that no matter how much damage Apophis takes, it instantly heals—unless we attack its weak points simultaneously," Lucy informs the team, pointing at the five amputated limbs that were hit by the rail-gun artillery moments earlier, now flailing in the air.

"Lucy's right. Earlier, I kept cutting off its limbs, but they grew back even after I cauterized them. When the rail-gun hit the tendrils at the same time, it was like their system crashed before they could reboot," Eva agrees, supporting Lucy's observation.

"Alright! We have a plan! Everyone, line up at your designated phase-shifting spots that lead to its weak points! We're going to destroy it simultaneously!" Newt commands the team.

"Roger!" The team replies over the gushing wind, anchoring themselves with their SDN Equipment to avoid being blown away.

"We phase-shift on the count of three! One… Two… Three!" Newt shouts. In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears from their spots, all aiming at Apophis's weak points. Tetsuo, Eva, and Lucy feel time momentarily pause as the rail-gun's projectiles vibrates around them, hitting its target.

The distances suddenly shrink from several meters to a few feet in nanoseconds. As their phase-shifting process ends and their feet touch the slippery ground of its nape, their perception of the world is swallowed. Apophis swirls into itself, disappearing like a giant explosive firestorm dissipating into thin air.

***

Inside the Safe-Zone, Manhattan, USA. October 31 2203, 1:29 P.M.

Among the hundreds of survivors of the Voids Incursion, in one of many temporary bases established by the military and NIX in one of the large buildings, Sasha hugs Fenrir tightly, nuzzling her face into his fur. Fenrir turns and licks her face, making her giggle. Sasha notices a peculiar overweight man, another survivor, rushing to the restroom at the far corner of the hall, and locking himself in. His skin appears to sag, nearly falling from his face. She dismiss her observation when her mother, Dani, having placed herself beside them, wraps her arms around them, providing a sense of safety.

Military personnel rush left and right, their tele-coms buzzing, commands being shouted. The chaos outside—buildings collapsing and rail-gun artillery firing—momentarily cancels out the rumbling noise. Sasha looks at her mother with apprehension. "I wish Felix was here. He always knows what to do." She thought longingly, Sasha has always looked up to Felix, knowing he worked various jobs to provide for and help her family live a comfortable life, especially after her father passed away many years ago.

Dani puts on a brave face for her daughter. "Everything's going to be okay, Sasha," she reassures her with a warm smile, even though she too is scared of what will happen if the Stargazers fail to neutralize the giant serpent engulfing the world.

A pair of military guards, accompanied by a middle-aged woman and a young adult, likely the family of the overweight man, walk past Dani and Sasha and head to the restroom where the man has locked himself in. The guards knock on the door to check on the occupant. "Sir! Are you alright in there?" one of the guards asks, but there is no response. Their knocking earns the attention of everyone nearby, including Dani and Sasha. The guards begin knocking frantically on the door, voicing their concerns into their tele-coms.

Suddenly, Fenrir stands up and starts growling aggressively, taking a defensive stance. "Mom, I think we should leave!" Sasha rises from her seat, imploring her mother as she notices Fenrir's strange behavior.

"If we leave, then where will we go? Outside is dangerous!" Dani questions her daughter, looking at her with apprehension, yet inclined to agree as she senses the danger lurking nearby. The guards start ramming themselves against the restroom door. On the third attempt, the door unexpectedly swings open, revealing that the restroom lights have gone out, concealing the man's face except for his swollen belly.

"Emil!" the woman calls out behind the two guards, just as the boy beside her calls, "Dad!" The overweight man, Emil, slowly steps out from the darkened room. The woman and the boy gasp in horror, and the guards stare in terrified shock. Emil's face is sagging, his eyes roll unnaturally upward, and his swollen belly writhes underneath the skin. His mouth gapes open wide like a fish as he lurches forward, regurgitating a bloodied fleshy blob. The grotesque mass hits the guards, Emil's family, and nearby civilians, sprouting multiple limbs and faces from the contents of his swollen belly. Emil's body then flips inside out, revealing flesh, bones, and guts, while the blob continues to grow and mutate grotesquely.

The guards fire projectiles from their Phasers at "the Growth." While the blasts inflict some damage, the creature dodges similar to those of a spiders and one of its many appendages lashes out, ensnaring a guard like a frog's tongue catching an insect. The Growth then turns its attention to a group of survivors trying to hide in a room. The door does little to hinder the creature as it squeezes through the gap below, flooding the room and eliciting screams of horror. It bursts out like an overwhelming floodgate, crawling on the ceiling and chasing other survivors down the hallway.

Dani, trusting her intuition, agrees with Sasha to flee before the overweight man begins to regurgitate the nightmarish monster. However, the Growth rapidly increases in size, absorbing those fleeing behind them, while ahead of them, panicked survivors push each other in a desperate bid to get outside first, causing to obstructing the main exit path. Sasha tugs at her mother's hand, signalling to follow her as she follows Fenrir to the other end of the hallway where the fire exit is located. In a split second, the Growth lashes out, swallowing the survivors behind them and destroying the main exit. If Sasha hadn't pulled her mother along and followed Fenrir, they would have been among the pile of flesh.

Nearing the fire exit, Sasha holds her mother's hand tightly. As she bursts open the door and crosses the threshold to safety, she looks back at her mother, who is just about to pass through. Suddenly, Dani's hand slips out of hers as she is blown away like a dandelion. The building, along with the Growth, is completely obliterated by the gargantuan serpent, Apophis, which has burst from thin air, as the Stargazers attempt to eliminate it. Sasha is nearly lifted off her feet, but Fenrir, unusually strong, digs his paws into the ground and bites into the fabric of her denim overalls, preventing her from being swept away. Once the shock is over, she falls to the ground like a rag doll.

"I should have held her hand tighter," Sasha thinks, as grief rips through her heart and tears threaten to spill. She watches helplessly as Apophis begins to ascend, pulling all the rail-gun artillery along with it and covering Manhattan anew.

***

Eva felt disoriented. Apophis, a city-sized entity extending across continents, had the phase-shift ability and could execute it milliseconds faster than their SDN Equipment. Glancing at her visor, she saw her battery was at 1.33%. She scanned for her team and discovered that only Tetsuo, Lucy, Newt, and she remained alive. Although their SDN Equipment's Cosmos batteries had more reserve than hers, Newt signaled for them to continue with their plan.

"One more time. I can finally end this," Eva thought as she stepped forward. Suddenly, pieces of rail-gun artillery, building rubble, and vehicles were hurled into the air. She dropped to the ground, avoiding the debris. To her horror, she realized Apophis had phase-shifted inside the safe zone.

A sudden yelp of pain from a canine and a familiar voice calling a familiar name drew her attention. Looking down, she saw Fenrir trapped by debris from a destroyed building, with Sasha desperately trying to free him. The ground beneath them began to fissure, light emanating from the gaps ready to burst like a volcano.

Eva looked left and right, torn between continuing the mission to save billions, or saving Sasha, who unknowingly stepped on a landmine, a single life she held dear. In the corner of her eye, she saw Tetsuo, Lucy, and Newt phase-shift to Apophis's weak points, executing their plan to save the world.

Survival instinct kicked in. Eva set her SDN Equipment to channel its phase-shift system to her M.J.O.L.N.I.R. She activated the emergency grappling hook, latching it onto Apophis, and planned to jump towards Sasha to grab her and bring her to the safety of Apophis's body.

Taking a leap of faith, Eva threw her M.J.O.L.N.I.R at Apophis's weak point with all her might. The SDN Equipment phase-shifted, propelling it at the speed of light, striking Apophis with missile-like force. Simultaneously, Eva jumped towards Sasha, her hand extended. Sasha, while trying to free Fenrir, had noticed the ground cracking beneath her and realized they were on a ticking time bomb. Fenrir barked, drawing her attention to the sky where Eva leaped, her hand extended towards her. Sensing hesitation, Fenrir barked again, urging Sasha to save herself.

As Tetsuo, Lucy, and Newt stabbed Apophis's weak points, Sasha reached out to Eva. Just as their hands almost met, Sasha vanished in a blinding light. Eva watched, unable to process what had happened. Multiple beams of light erupted from the ground as the world exploded. The scene turned black, and only silence remained, until it was broken by the sound of a finger snapping in the darkness.

***

In a collective expanse of consciousness, vivid events unfold, penetrating the minds of scattered individuals across the planet. The present unravels, each thread weaving a unique perspective on the world. Gradually, focus shifts beyond the present. Time loses its linear nature as consciousness extends into the past, revealing historical events, from pivotal moments to mundane daily lives. A silent observer navigates these currents, reaching into the future to glimpse potential outcomes and diverging paths.

The consequences of choices yet to be made, the ripples of actions spreading through the fabric of time, unfold like a vast, branching tree. Each decision creates new branches and possibilities. Observing this interconnected web of lives and events, the observer witnesses both the beauty and tragedy of existence. Suddenly, the world cracks and distorts, the view blocked by moving and shuffling shattered pieces. The distortion spreads, consuming everything and overwhelming the observer, forcing a retreat back into reality.

Alice's eyes were closed, moving as if she was dreaming, until they shot open and her awareness was restored, as if waking from a long nightmare, when her name was screamed into the air. "Alice! Alice! ALICE!" The man in the lab coat shook her shoulder.

"Apologies, Bugs. I got carried away," Alice said, looking at Dr. Bartholomew Buchanan.

"What's up, Doc? You only use my nickname when you're confused or lost," Bart noted, as she sensing his concern.

"I guess it's been a while since I've been back in reality. I must have forgotten…" she trailed off, and Bart filled in, "...what is real and what is a dream." He gave her a knowing smile and hugged her in consolation.

The tower began to quake. Bart rummaged in his duffel bag, procured before Alice's return, and took out a pair of badges, SDN Equipment. Handing one to Alice, she raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"These badges are SDN Equipment, a prototype teleportation device. They're not as functional as the manufactured ones, so please use this only once to teleport to the designated spot I've plotted in the GPS system," Bart explained.

Alice hummed in acknowledgement. "Can you hand me both badges?" Examining them curiously, she handed the one in her left hand back to Bart and kept the other for herself. Bart mirrored her earlier expression but didn't question her decision.

"You'll have to wait at the designated spot, okay? I'll find a transport and come to get you," Bart stated his plan. Alice nodded in understanding. Bart removed his lab coat, placed the badge on his silver-coloured NIX Medic uniform, and phase-shifted, disappearing from her sight. Alice turned to watch the now chaotic and distorted world.

"Why don't you follow him?" a voice broke the silence. Alice glanced to her side. A demonic-like humanoid stood beside her, staring attentively. It had light-grey, almost blue-ish skin, crowned with spiky horns, and long black hair grazing its shoulders. Its tongue and ears were elongated, and its hooked nose and thin blue-grey lips gave it a terrifying smile. The being's mouth was jagged, exposing sharp teeth, and its abnormally long limbs wore rings on each finger. Large, round yellow eyes, with bright heterochromia (blue in the right, green in the left), had mechanical gears moving and ticking in their irises, with nictitating membranes blinking.

"I wanted to give Bart a head start," Alice explained calmly, unflinching at the infernal aura emanating from the Monster beside her.

"It's a shame you were released too late. The tragedies could have been spared. Alas, everything is now in ruins, the world like a series of difficult math problems for you to solve, to restore it," the Monster said, its lips moving grotesquely.

"Hmmm…No, too early. I should have been released much later. Now I have to solve all of this, when I shouldn't have to solve anything at all," Alice replied nonchalantly.

"Ironically, you freed yourself sooner than you said. Your dear friend would have died otherwise, but you knew that, didn't you?" the Monster observed, still looking at the landscape.

Alice smiled mischievously. "Well, I may have tons of math problems to solve, but they aren't infinite, are they, Schrödinger?" She walked to the edge and looked down, gauging the height to be 541 meters. She removed her burnt lab coat and tossed it aside.

"It seems Bart can't distinguish between dream and reality," Alice spoke darkly. "He doesn't remember the 'me' from before, that is why he never questioned why I am different since we reunited—the 'me' who wouldn't have taken a shortcut and would have found a long way down instead, whether I succeeded or failed. Or maybe he does remember, even now that I am the 'me' after..."

Alice said no more and plunged into a freefall, landing gracefully and unharmed.

Schrödinger watched as Alice began walking to the designated zone and chuckled. "Of course, Alice, the math problems aren't infinite, but humanity's problems are, if they continue to exists. Yet you remain curious and hopeful to solve them, even if they are unsolvable. Maybe that's why I follow you," Schrödinger smiled widely and vanished as the tower collapsed.