Sailor Moon Expanded : Paved With Good Intentions [Very rough draft]
An untold story of Crystal Tokyo
by Mark Latus
The dreams have started again but this time they're different somehow.
As before on some level I knew it was a dream but I accepted my surroundings
without question. I found myself standing in a chamber I didn't recognise
before a vast mirror that filled one of the walls. Within the mirror another
me stood staring back. If not for the scar crossing one cheek I would have
thought him my reflection. But that mark set us apart in so many ways than
the merely physical. The man in the mirror grinned back and waved at me.
"Long time no see, brother."
"I'm no brother of yours, Overlord."
He just shrugged. "That's no way to talk Calcite. We're closer than
you'll ever admit." Familiar enough so far, all our talks started like that
but then things veered off in a new direction. In all the other imaginary
conversations with my late sociopathic counterpart he would rant on and on
about how I must inevitably become him, how the seeds of him were already
inside me. Not this time. Instead he produced a book from somewhere and
settled down in a chair to read. For some reason this irritated me. While I
had no desire to see him since we were both here anyway why was he ignoring
me? Where was the "Come to the dark side!" spiel? Tjis had to be a ploy of
some sort but what was he up to? I thumped on the mirror and he looked up.
"You still here?"
"Yes, as you well know. What's your game?"
He smiled at me. "No games, not this time." Things started getting
fussy around the edges as he stood up and walked neared. The scene was
fading as he tapped on his side of the mirror but I heard it clearly along
with his last words.
"This is only glass. It's not that thick."
Then sound and sight vanished into the light and I woke up.
I woke with a start but Mina didn't even stir. Not surprising, she's
never been a morning person. Besides she didn't have any reason to rush
this morning. I looked at the clock and considered trying to get back to
sleep but gave up. I'd have to get up soon enough, there was plenty left to
do before tonight.
I got up without waking Mina. Not exactly difficult, even with that
megadecibel alarm clock Ami built and gave us on our fiftieth anniversary it's
a struggle rousing her before she's ready. As both I and several generations
of longsuffering managers can testify. Despite admirable self control her
latest one, Yusake Yamato, is regularly having ulcers healed. His condition isn't
being helped by Mina's insistence that Megumi's coming with her on her latest
tour. Unfortunately for him our hyperkinetic ten year old's decided she's
going to be an idol singer just like mommy and Mina thinks that's a great idea.
So with the school break coinciding with the new disk's tour despite his best
efforts he's stuck with both of them on the road.
Too bad for him but lucky for me as otherwise I'd have to worry about
arranging someone to take care of Megumi while I'm busy. Not that it would be
a problem to find volunteers but I don't want anyone wondering what's
occupying my time. After all if things weren't quiet Mina wouldn't have time
for her singing career, contrary to what some say she has always put Crystal
Tokyo's welfare before her own. But all's quiet so Japan's number one idol
can put aside her palace duties and take some personal time. Funny, in her
circumstances some people would worry constantly that their popularity hinges
solely on their rank and position. Not Minako, she always knew she would be
a star someday. She's never doubted her talent (nor should she), far as she's
concerned all the exposure of Sailor Venus's identity meant was she finally
got the foot in the entertainment business's door she had been waiting for.
Once she had that she had every music company clamouring for her and milked it
for everything it was worth. She's settled down a bit since the initial rush
but she's still topping the charts with every new release and boasting a
multi-generational fanbase. She's credited with reviving the whole idol
singer industry singlehanded. This has also lead to a few assassination
attempts but nothing she can't handle. Still the logisitics of these tours
give Rei nightmares. Ordinarily I'd be coming along to provide additional
security just in case but I managed to beg off because of pressing business.
Which wasn't entirely a lie but the external affairs I'll be dealing with are
nothing like the ones Mina believes I'm staying to handle.
I'd rather not lie to my wife, okay apart from the white lies all husbands
think we should be allowed to get away with. But never about anything
important and it this wasn't a matter of national security I wouldn't. But it
is and I'm afraid she just wouldn't understand. I don't like doing it but I
have and if all goes well she will never find out about this. Nor will anyone
at the court who isn't on the striketeam.
I suppose that disquieting dream was a product of my qualms filtering
through my subconscious. I used to dream about the Overlord a lot. I suppose
that was inevitable, finding out you could have grown up to become the
Antichrist is bound to make an impression. Nothing like meeting another
version yourself who became evil incarnate to undermine your self confidence.
A close friend told me to never forget that it was a two way street and
the Overlord could have become me. I did my best but it was always there
gnawing at the back of my mind. I could hardly forget it while we lived on
a world that bore his mark everywhere you turned. I wonder sometimes if
that's why I started longing for commitment and family in my life. Two things
Margrave had no interest in and drove her from me. I can hardly blame her,
she never lied to me about her feelings. She had a measure of affection for
me but our relationship was purely built on passion. It was just that
eventually that wasn't enough for me anymore. But Margrave didn't, couldn't
love me. She just didn't have those emotions. All of which lead me into a
foredoomed relationship with Sailor Zeus who I should never have gotten
involved with. With both of us emotional walking wounded it was bound to end
in disaster and sure enough that's what happened. Thankfully Makoto doesn't
know about that mess, could have opened up a whole can of worms. Mina knows
[Internal note - Doesn't know Ti spilled the beans in "Starting Over"]
but she's kept it to herself. Said she wasn't about to risk losing me because
I once made a fool of myself with a lookalike. Anyway my emotional life was
a disaster area when we left Beta. Tormented by dreams about becoming my own
worst nightmare and search for I don't know who I was all jagged glass behind
my stoic facade.
Until Minako.
Funny how things change. When we left she was an annoying girl with a
grudge against me. When I came back she was a woman, thanks to a glitch in
space and time a woman about the same age as me. Maybe even a little older.
Despite our old animosity we each found the other intriguing and decided to
see how things went from there. As we've been married 73 years as of two
months ago it seems the intrigue was very deep indeed.
[Breakfast]
[Kids in residence -Rumiko 22 (moved back after lonmgtime relationship fell
apart), Hiro 17, Megumi 10]
[Rumiko asks if ha can meet her new boyfriend but Cal apologises and pleads
work]
I try to avoid lying to my children. Apart from the traditional parental
lies about Santa Claus, tooth fairies and their ilk, those don't count.
Besides these days who is to say they'll stay fictional? In fact from what
Minako's told me fairies are very, very real. Except they wouldn't wait
for kids to put teeth under their pillows, they'd come in the window with
pliers. A nasty lot by all accounts. But that really had no bearing on the
current situation. No, I don't like lying to my kids but I could hardly tell
them the truth about my plans for the night. "Sorry but I'm going to be busy
assassinating a foreign head of state" is something they neither need nor
want to know.
Gallows humour, I must be more on edge than I thought. Definitelty
softening around the edges. Once I'd have just thought "necessity" and done
what I had to without agonizing over it. It's not like I've never done this
sort of thing and the cause is a lot better. But it's been awhile, not since
Beta and that was war. No, not since our little trip to MegaTokyo to take
down whoever was sending those biomechs have I run a mission like this.
Ironic, back then it was to keep the Senshi finding out we were responsible
for that whole mess. Today it's to keep the world from finding out Serenity's
inadvertantly responsible for the nightmare that's going to engulf Africa.
Or could have if it isn't nipped in the bud which is what we have to do. The
stakes are too high, failure is not an option.
Realistically there is no way Serenity can be blamed for what's happening
but in the realm of global politics realism is in short supply.
[Brief summary ID & Endymion - Covert ops necessity]
[Briefing, final wetwork meeting. Mike & OS. Tom not included, moral code
wouldn't condone this.]
[Haruka and Calcite bicker over Pax Serenity and his blocking of same (would
have prevent this!), Michiru as peacekeeper]
[Day passes slow. Rationalizations. Goodbye to Mina and Megumi though he'll
be meeting them regularly via tteleport]
[The teleport - Serenity redirects]
[The confrontation & coverup. Motivation fine but methods are a big no-no]
[Mike furious, matter of conscience takes presidence over oath of fealty.
Calcite diasgrees]
[Second dream sequence "Who are you?" - Hints Helios using Overlord guise]
[Epilogue - The Deathlord war, brief summary of subsequent events]
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geocities.com/tokyo/temple) (
geocities.com/tokyo)