AN: I came up with a frustratingly high concept piece completely unrelated to everything…let's see if I can execute this thing.
Who? Crossover of sorts. Venus x Eames (Kunzite) SM / Inception.
M-ish rating.
The Looking Glass
In an instant Crystal Tokyo freezes – locking its inhabitants into a deep sleep which they are powerless to stop or awake from. Some move to a place in between the Galaxy Cauldron and the next, others enter the world of dreams – slipping into worlds never previously possible.
The landscape changes dramatically. She faces a foe familiar to her in a scene she never wants to see again and yet keeps reoccurring.
As the Silver Millennium comes to its final and terrible end around them, he parries as she lunges.
They go through actions she has long remembered. Slide, jump, whip, punch. In every dream she's ever had, it always ends the same.
The blow of energy – the electric blue heat which comes from his fingertips doesn't surprise her, however, the death blow this time throws her into another place…
She doesn't wake up in her bed. She is not safely tucked into the East Wing of the Crystal Palace. Instead she is very much alive in another place. Where she was once the leader of the Inner Scouts, now she is herself…circa a much younger version. Somehow transported to London, a city which still exists in the 30th century, this metropolis belongs to the early twenty-first century. Her instincts, honed through the centuries, keep her on edge.
And yet, people pass by her, busy, uninterested – going about their normal lives. Realizing she is breathing heavily, she slowly calms herself by concentrating on each breath as it moves in and out of her lungs. While she regains her composure, she focuses on her surroundings. Gone is the pristine skyline of Crystal Tokyo, absent are the remains of her past - all replaced by gritty streets, bracing cold, and overcast skies. In the future, Neo-Queen Serenity's powers extend to the stratosphere, and nearly every day appears with clear skies and temperate conditions.
As she looks down, gone is her fuku, replaced by ordinary clothes she forgot existed. Here, there is no familiar weight of her sword, but she moves a hand to her waist and notes a decorative chain. Relieved by its presence, she feels grounded for the first time since arriving to this strange place.
She stands on the Millennium Bridge. A man approaches her. She knows him instantly – once upon a dream they were something without definition. In the previous reality, he killed her and she murdered him. What has changed between this place and the last? Fingering the chain at her waist, she watches him closely. In his hands, she sees he carries flat pink stone which he flips over his knuckles.
"You're here…"
"So are you."
She knows she should be angry with him, but doesn't see the point of it. Whatever spell he had been under previously is broken. Like the waters of the Thames rushing below them, she lets those feelings go.
"Why?"
"Does it matter? We're together. We have another chance."
Another chance for you to betray me? Another chance for you to end my life? She doesn't ask these questions because she's distracted by him. He is more charming than she remembers. There is something about him that is a fraction off – but any soul reborn thousands of years later would change, wouldn't it? Although his suit has changed his face is the same – stoic, handsome, with perfectly sculpted lips.
He reaches out and clasps her hand. The vague need for her to be somewhere else slips away. They walk silently through the crowded city. Without asking, he leads her to a posh hotel, through the ornate lobby and up to a deluxe suite. Producing a key, he opens the door. She enters the room. In what reality would this scene have ever been possible? The remnants of her previous dream keep her wary.
The Kunzite-not Kunzite man helps her out of her jacket and removes his own immaculate suit coat, revealing a custom fitted shirt stretched across his broad frame.
The slow burn which started when she first glimpsed him on the bridge is now a full flame.
The rest of their clothes are quickly discarded.
If this is a dream, she may as well enjoy herself. There are many things she would like to discuss with him, but the conversation can wait.
On muscular forearms, he holds himself above her. She feels the long hard length of him against her inner thigh and holds her breath, ready, anxious for him to join her. At the exact moment he moves forward, she is roughly shaken from her dream world. The space is suddenly too bright, shining around her, blocking out the dim lighting of the hotel room. Everything is as it should be – Crystal Tokyo sparkles with incandescent light blotting out the fading images of London.
While the other senshi gather around their Queen, Venus remains still…yearning to go back into the dream.