The Megaplot That Wasn't

This is no mere plot retrospective. This is... a plot retrospective of some cutting room floor! I've got a megaplot in the works, as you all know, with Cardholders slated for Season 12. And that's all well and good! But before Cardholders was in my mind, I had a different concept for a megaplot. One that would have been all the way off in Season 14!

This is the story.. of the Anti-House League.

Two Tales Told in Turn

Out among the stars, in a far-flung part of the Milky Way, one of the locations best situated for rapid hyperspace and subspace transit, is a large space station. The headquarters of the Space Police. The organization wasn't very large for what it wanted to do, the scale and scope of their jurisdiction far larger than the members of the Space Police themselves could ever handle. Usually, they worked with locals, providing needed assistance. 

Thanks to that, the Space Police had established connections with plenty of locations, and they'd sometimes receive new recruits. Nowhere near enough to keep up with the size of the galaxy, but enough to help them in their pursuit of cosmic justice. And for that reason, a new recruit was currently meeting one of the most well known Space Police officers.

The World's Greatest Kaiju (Part 3) (Collab with Draco)

 “So.” Kanade Amou stretches and looks around, the pendant still dangling around her neck, as she examines the massive temple that she’s arrived at with Suwako Moriya and Wriggle. “This is the place? It sure looks like the kind of place for it.”

Suwako ribbits out a laugh. “This is the place for it. It was built so that many of my kind could be in her at the same time in order to observe the ritual. It’s a lot less impressive when Gojira is here though, I assure you.”

Wriggle, currently a giant moth, fidgets a bit. “Are you sure we’re protected here, Lady Suwako? I, um, I feel a bit warm.”

The frog goddess scoffs. “Yes, I’m certain. Unlike your clan, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to interact with radioactive power and come up with magic counters to it. The goal at the time was, well, WE thought we were doing Gensokyo a favor, but other residents thought otherwise.”

“...Sounds like an experience.” Kanade raises her eyebrow. “I’ll have to ask for the full story later.” Looking up at the temple, Kanade nods. “Well… I’ll take your word for it. Though I won’t have to in a bit, will I?”

Suwako looked up as the ground trembled. “Nope. No more waiting! Brace yourself, my children, for here comes our guest of honor.”

The World's Greatest Kaiju (Part 2) (Collab with Draco)

 Lessons on how to pilot the minisub took no more than a few hours, the controls simple enough that a child could do it. Kanade had basically been told to think of it like a flight simulator type of video game; the sub had been upgraded over the years and the onboard computers would handle most of the technical details of handling the sub as it dove deeper and deeper. After a rough start, Kanade had mastered the little vessel enough to keep it moving straight; assuming they didn’t need to flee from an enemy, Kanade would be able to handle it for this trip for sure.

The World's Greatest Kaiju (Part 1) (Collaboration with Draco)

<I feel like I’ve asked you this before, but are you REALLY sure you want to do this?> Wriggle Nightbug, youngest child of Mothra, apprentice guardian of the Earth, and currently a giant, winged insect, asks her associate yet again. <You’re talking about the biggest, most dangerous thing the world has ever come up with! He...he makes Utsuho Reiuji look like a firecracker!>

“C’mooon, we gotta give it a shot!” Kanade Amou grins. In the freeing and lightweight outfit she currently has on, the redhead looks nothing like the famous idol who stands on the stage, having chosen to throw off a focus on that in order to pursue her current goal. Namely, solving the mysteries of kaiju bonding. “No pain, no gain, right? If we don’t try, we’ll never find out!”

<Alright, alright, I’m going!> Wriggle sighs, flapping her giant moth wings as they approached their first lead.

The exploration and research vessel Calico was getting on in years, having been sailing the seas in search of the superorganisms known as kaiju or titans for over a decade, even before the crew’s brief encounter with the Kobbers in Zoofights City, but her crew remained one of the most experienced authorities in kaiju research, thanks in no small part to the two kaiju they had formed a partnership with. Godzooky might have been deceased for years, but the crew was still sailing the seas for new kaiju. Not that anyone in the field was lacking research topics after a strange event in September of 2019 caused kaiju new and known to awaken. As the giant moth and her passenger approached, Kanade’s phone began to ring.

Small Town Business (Collaboration with Hooded Pitohui)

AGAMA

Across the river, past a large section of forest, and lying in a small nook of empty clearing was a village. One of several small villages around the major core city of the Agama region, Wilno was a small, tight-knit community, and its inhabitants would stand out any time they went to the central cities. 

Today, though, one of said inhabitants is sprawled across a counter. She stretches her arms out and flexes her fingers, sighing as another day goes by.

"I'm booooored."

Small Gifts

In a small apartment, a man groans as he gets up from his couch. It was getting to be a pretty regular narrative for him - ever since he'd quit his job, he'd been waiting for another one to fall into his lap, occasionally sending something out but mostly waiting and seeing. He hadn't had any luck yet, and as he exits his apartment, he doesn't notice the mysterious figure watching nearby. 

The man heads down a couple of streets, before arriving at a gym. The place he always worked off his frustrations, he'd started visiting a lot more in the past few months. Jamming his hands into his pockets and nodding to the receptionist, he heads for one of the back rooms, noticing to his pleasure that the punching bag is currently open.

Walking over to the bag and stretching his arms for warmups, he starts boxing the bag, taking out his current anger at the world. He's so focused on this that he doesn't even notice the mysterious figure from earlier approach, until they clear their throat. With one more punch, he leaves the bag to swing and turns to the strange figure, hidden beneath a full body cloak.

"Who are you, and what do you want?"

"Mr. Marcus Stone, correct? Recently of the city's police force, until you were pushed out. A traffic cop, found to be issuing false tickets, and subsequently barred from advancement-"

"Shut up!"

Marcus Stone grits his teeth, his anger at this subject apparent. Even months later, he was still furious about what had happened. His racket wasn't even that important, it was just an extra fifty bucks here and there!

"So you did your homework about me. What's all this damn stalking about, then?"

"Well, you see. I have a proposition for you. I believe you have a skillset that could come in handy, and it would make you far more money than you could ever spend."

Despite his initial reaction, Stone starts to untense at the suggestion of a large profit.

"...Go on. But if this is a scam, or I don't like what you're selling, then get out."

"Ho ho ho. I think you'll find this very appealing..."

-----------------------------------------------------------

In an out of the way alleyway, a confrontation is happening, a woman pointing a crowbar at a trembling, nervous man in a suit.

"Please, don't hurt me! I'll give you my money!"

"Good. Take all your cash out of your wallet and throw it on the ground. Then run."

The scared man quickly moves to comply, opening his wallet and tossing nearly a hundred dollars on the ground. He then turns and flees, while the woman with the crowbar waits to confirm that he's gone and nobody else is preparing to ambush her. Reaching down, she scoops up the cash and laughs. Cards were more trouble than they were worth, with too much of a trail. Cash was easy to grab, and all she really had to do was find the ones easy to intimidate.

With her money put away, she grabs the crowbar and turns around, heading out of the alley with no real concern... until, on her way out, she passes by a strange cloaked figure.

"Ms. Saiko Tsuchiya, correct?"

That's enough for the woman to stop in her tracks.

"What the hell do you want?"

"You are slightly known in this town. Arrested twice for mugging, though charges were dropped the second time-"

The crowbar swings, nearly hitting the cloaked figure. They don't react at all as Tsuchiya pulls it back.

"Yeah, and what of it?"

"I simply have an offer to make. One that could be greatly profitable for you."

"...Huh. Yeah, right. But I'm feeling nice today. Tell me this nonsense you've got, and I'll see if I want to crack your skull open afterwards."

"Ho ho ho. Then, just listen..."

-----------------------------------------------------------

Sitting at a bench in a public park, an older man sighs as he picks through his lunch. A simple food cart order, it was tasty enough, but it merely reminds him of when he could afford to visit high-end restaurants every single day.

"Hmph."

If only that young doctor hadn't panicked and exposed the entire scheme... 

As he continues to mull over his food, he looks up to notice that a strange cloaked figure is sitting across from him now. He tries to ignore them, but then they speak.

"Mr. Rodrigo Ramirez, correct?"

Eyeing the figure suspiciously, Ramirez thinks about how to reply.

"Who's asking?"

"Stripped of your pharmaceutical license and jailed for six months after your involvement in a prescription drug racket was made known-"

Ramirez slams his fist on the table, furious. "What, so now random people know this? Can't I have a moment's peace?"

"Do not worry, I do not bring it up simply to mock you. I know you need a new opportunity, a new chance to get ahead in life. So I bring you an offer, if you wish to hear it. Or I can be on my way, if you do not."

The ex-pharmacist looks at the figure, before nodding once.

"Ho ho ho. Now, the reason I reached out to you..."

-----------------------------------------------------------

In a shared apartment, a young man groans and gets up, looking once again at the empty desk that he'd once had a computer sitting at. The fines hadn't been that much of a hassle, but the prohibition of not using a computer or internet-capable phone for the next year... he'd almost rather have taken prison time. Deciding to do something more than just waste the day inside, he throws on a coat.

"I'm going out." "Alright, stay safe."

Leaving the apartment, the young man starts walking through the brisk winter air, no particular destination in his mind. A strange cloaked figure approaches him, but he ignores it - after all, the big city had plenty of odd sights, what was another?

"Mr. Jamal Kingston, correct?" That, however, was enough to make the young man stop in his tracks.

"...Yeah?"

"Convinced of online fraud recently. Small-time scams, though, no critical hacks. Do I have the right person?"

"Nah. You've got the wrong guy."

The cloaked figure and Kingston look at each other, the former's face unreadable behind that cloak and the latter doing his best to hold on to his composure. 

"I was attempting to be polite, but I know who you are. Which is why..."

The cloaked figure extends one clenched fist from their robes. Kingston takes a step back, only for the hand to open up, revealing a strange object. 

"I'm offering you a chance. Nothing will happen if you turn me down - I have no need to force you into this. But if you take this opportunity, I can make you rich beyond your wildest dreams."

"What's the catch?" he asks, still suspicious. 

"Ho ho ho. I'm glad you're interested. Now, listen closely..."

And as the cloaked figure starts to explain their plan, Kingston grins. This was a lot more than he was expecting. It'd be dangerous, but he could do danger.

Still, the odd stone... as he looks down at it again, that's the most interesting part. If it could really do all it said, he wanted that more than just the cash.

"Hey, what'd you say those are called again?"

"Oh, these?

They are known as Asterisks."

COMING SPRING 2021

ASTERISK WAR