This didn't seem to go through completely the first time, so I'm going to
give it another try and add a few things while I'm at it. Apologies if you
got this twice.
To recap: Linna met a guy and they've taken a liking to each other.
Meanwhile, the Knight Sabers are tracking an African legend known as "The
Phantom, the Ghost who walks" (Yes, *That* Phantom) who made an appearance in
Mega-Tokyo during a boomer rampage.
The next day after the attack, Linna and Kit meet and go on a date, get
drunk, sing karaoke, and the next thing Linna can remember, she's waking up
in bed next to Kit and on the third finger of her left hand is a gold band. .
.
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Keep/5268/Fanfic/fanfic.html
Agreeable Komodo
He who buys it, uses it.
Just say yes to prophylactics.
"From now on, I shoot my dinner salad before I eat it."
-Dinobot, Beast Wars "Gorilla Warfare"
****************
Disclaimer: The following was written for the enjoyment of the writer and
those who read it. No money has been or is intended to be made off of this
story and all characters are the property of their owners.
****************
Room 303, Worshowski Hotel, Tokyo, 9am
Waking up with a hangover was not an entirely new sensation to Kit. Hangovers
in college, were, after all, regarded as a rite of passage, and compared to
some of the stories he had heard, he was eternally grateful that in the
three-now four times he had gotten drunk, he had woken up in his own bed.
What made this time unusual was that he was not alone. Next to him, Linna,
naked as the day she was born was staring at her left hand in absolute horror.
"Linna?" He asked, trying to ignore the drums in his head, "what's wrong?"
She held out her hand to him to show him the band of gold on her finger. It
took him a moment to focus on it and then he gasped and looked at his hand. A
matching band of wrought gold encircled the third finger of his left hand.
He was quite positive that they weren't there yesterday.
**************
Room 303, Worshowski Hotel, Tokyo, 915am
They sat on the edge of the bed, not quite out of arm's reach of one another,
but not so close that you could mistake them for lovers.
"Well. . ." Kit said before trailing off. It was then he noticed Linna was
making soft sounds and her shoulders were shaking. "Linna?" He asked,
reaching out to touch her shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" She gasped, recoiling as though she had been shot.
"I-I'm sorry." He said, yanking his hand back.
"N-no," she said, turning to look at him. "I. . ." she held her face in her
hands and cried.
"Look. . .Linna. . .I. . ." Kit started, but was saved by the ringing of the
phone. Reaching over, Kit keyed for audio only.
"Hello?"
"Mister Walker? This is the front desk, I'm sorry to disturb you but I have a
call for you from a Nene Romanov. I wouldn't even be calling up since you
left instructions not to be disturbed, it's just that she claims to be a
police officer and is threatening me with arrest."
"How the hell did she-" Kit started to ask and stopped. It wasn't important.
"Put her through," Linna said quietly.
"Are you-"
"I said put her through!" Linna snapped and then her expression softened.
"Please."
"I'll take it," Kit told the phone.
"Yes sir." There was a clicking noise and then Nene's voice came through.
"Okay, Walker! Where's Linna?"
"Hello, Nene," Linna said before Kit could speak.
"Linna? You okay?"
"Hangover. Could you swing by my apartment and grab some fresh clothes and
some Sober-Up from the drugstore?"
"No prob. You sure you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks, Nene," Linna said as Kit turned off the phone.
**************
Room 303, Worshowski Hotel, Tokyo, 10am
Linna wrapped in a soft robe, all but pulled Nene into the room.
"Do you have it?"
"Yeah," Nene held up the bag. Quickly, Linna ripped opened the package and
popped the red pill into her mouth, washing it down with a cup of coffee
before staggering over to the bed and sinking down onto it.
"Where's Kit?" Nene asked.
"Out getting breakfast," Linna said and sighed appreciatively as the Sober-Up
went to work, dispatching her headache with a minimum of fuss. "God, I needed
that. Thank you, Nene."
"No problem," Nene said and then took in Linna's appearance. "Wait. You and
Kit-" Her eyes lit up like twin suns again. "You did! Okay, I want details,
was there any food involved?"
"I don't really remember."
"Don't remember? I thought you and Kit spent the night together."
"We did," Linna said. "Among other things. . ."
"Among what other things?" Nene asked suspiciously.
Linna held up her left hand.
For the second time, a scream echoed from room 303
**************
Knight Sabers HQ, 1030am
Sylia was only faintly aware of Nigel, Priss, and Mackie gathered behind her
as she stared at the wall phone in astonishment.
"They what?"
"Got married," Nene said. "I think she's still in shock. She doesn't even
remember the ceremony. All she remembers from last night is a Karaoke bar and
a few scattered images of her and Kit. . ." Nene made a circling gesture with
her finger. "When she woke up, she was a married woman."
"How original," Priss murmured. Sylia pinched the bridge of her nose. This
was a headache she did not need.
"Where is she now?"
"I made her take a shower," Nene said glancing at something that they
couldn't see. "She said she sent Walker out for breakfast, that was like,
forty-five minutes ago and he isn't back yet."
"Nene, I want you to stick to her like glue, find an excuse to get her out
and about, go shopping or whatever you feel is nessacary, try and find out
how much she may have told him. Keep her at home afterwards if you can."
"Told him about what-" Nene started to ask and then broke off as
understanding dawned. "Oooohhh. Right." She averted her eyes from the screen.
"Whoops! She's out! Talk to ya later." The image winked out.
"Does this mean we have to send gifts?" Priss asked.
Nobody said anything for a few moments, and then Sylia turned to face them,
her expression one of business.
"Nigel," said Sylia, "you saw the records from the boomer attack right?" He
nodded. "Do you think you can modify the systems on the hardsuits to
compensate for the Phantom's jamming field?"
"I can try," Nigel said after a moment's thought. "If that's how he's doing
it."
"Don't tell me you think he's a ghost too," Sylia groaned.
"Seen to much to just dismiss it," Nigel said as he lit a fresh cigarette and
headed back towards the work area, trailed by Mackie.
Priss and Sylia traded looks, and then shrugged and went about their bisnuess.
**************
Tokyo Airport Hanger 5, 1130am
"I don't believe this," Guran said, shaking his head. "You're not even
completely trained and already you're married."
"It wasn't even my idea!" Kit yelled. "Hell, maybe it was! I can barely
remember the honeymoon!" The air echoed the slamming of Kit's fist against
the side of the plane. "I'm sorry, Guran, I shouldn't be yelling."
"It's all right, Kit," Guran said as he handed the younger man some coffee,
"I shouldn't have spoken like that." He gestured to a set of nearby stools.
"What's important now is if anything else happened last night."
"Anything else?" Kit asked, earning him a flat look from his mentor. "Oh,
right," he said as he took out his portacom.
"Hello?" Linna said as her face appeared on screen.
"Can we talk?" Kit asked.
"Now?" Linna asked and then her face disappeared to be replaced by Nene's.
"She doesn't have anything to say to you!" Nene snapped.
"Nene!" Linna shouted and her face replaced Nene's. "Now's not a good time,
Kit."
"Yeah. I was hoping we could talk over dinner tonight." He held up his hand.
"No alcohol, I promise." She smiled.
"Sure," She said. "Crown Cafe at six?"
"I'll be there," Kit promised as her image winked out.
"Well that's settled," Kit sighed. "Now what?"
"I suggest lunch," Guran said and escorted the younger man out of the hanger.
**************
The Crown Cafe, 630pm
The meal had been very low key, the conversation centering mostly around
academic matters. Glancing at her hand, he noticed that Linna was still
wearing her ring, a fact which pleased him for some reason.
"Linna," She looked up.
"Hm?"
"Linna, if there's. . .I mean. . .I swear I'll do right by him!" She gave him
a wan smile.
"Relax," She said, taking his hand. "I'm not pregnant, Nene dragged me to the
doctor already."
Kit's let out a long breath, he hadn't realized that he had been holding it.
"Oh, good, I like kids, but I'm not-I mean, eventually. . ."
"Shush," she said gently, "you're babbling." Kit shushed.
Time passed and eventually, Kit spoke again.
"Linna," He tapped his ring against hers, "about these." She looked down at
the rings then back up at him. "I know what they mean to you, and I. . ."
Sighing, he took out a small folder. "These are annulment of marriage papers.
Say yes, we sign them and you'll never hear from Kit Walker again. Say no,
they go into the nearest trash can and we try to make the best of what's
happened."
Linna stared into his eyes. He was serious she realized, all she had to do
was sign the papers and no one, except for the Sabers, was the wiser. He was
going back to America in four more days and she would never hear from him
again.
Her thoughts turned to the disc she and Nene had found while cleaning up. It
had been in a leather bound folder and contained the certificate of marriage,
and a video recording which quite clearly showed her and Kit, drunk as could
be, saying their vows before a justice of the peace and a few witnesses. It
wasn't the kind of wedding she hoped for but drunk or not, she had taken a
vow to love, honor, and cherish the man sitting across from her and she had
always kept her promises. But did she love him?
The Kamis only knew. She wasn't sure. She only knew that having Kit around
seemed to fill something inside her, satisfying a need she didn't know had
been there until she met him. 'Who are you?' She wondered silently. 'You who
bumped into my life and would die for me even as I would die for-where the
hell did that come from?!' Linna was so shaken, that it took her a moment to
realize that he was shaking her by the arm.
"Linna?!" His voice was low, but filled with alarm.
"Huh?"
"You zoned out there and then turned white as a sheet. What's wrong?"
'Wrong?' She thought sarcastically. 'No, nothing, unless you count the fact
that a total stranger who I met barely forty-eight hours ago has already
somehow managed to worm his way into the center of my being. And if I say
yes, I'll never see him again. . .' A wave of cold anger suddenly surged
within her, fueled by her frustration at why she was thinking such thoughts.
"Linna?" Kit asked. The color had returned to her face and there was
something flickering in her eyes. He suddenly felt a slight wave of fear.
"Who the hell are you?" She asked softly, faintly aware, and yet uncaring as
a red haze began to fill her vision, the beating of jungle drums filled her
ears.
"Wha?" Kit managed.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Linna asked, her voice akin to a growl.
"You come sweeping into my life, you stir up all sorts of feelings in me and
then just oh so casually offer to leave?!" Linna's voice had risen to a shout
and people were staring.
'Who am I?' Kit thought ironically. 'God, what a loaded question.'
"That's a complicated question," Kit began and then his ears rang and stars
exploded in front of his eyes as her fist connected with his head.
When he could think again, he was lying on the floor, staring up at the face
of their waiter.
"You okay?" The waiter asked proffering a hand.
"Y-yeah," Kit said, accepting the offered hand and getting to his feet. The
world was still shaking slightly and he staggered to an empty chair.
"Jeez buddy, what did you say to her?" The waiter asked, handing him a bag of
ice.
"I wish I knew," Kit groaned, pressing the ice to his face.
"Must've been pretty bad," The waiter noted, sitting down across from him.
"The was the best right cross I've seen since the thirty-two Olympics." He
shook his head. "Want some free advice?"'
"Sure."
"Whatever you said, better find out what it is and fast. With a body like
that and from what I overheard while bringing the food, brains to match,
she's not one you want to let get away." Kit nodded in agreement.
"I know, and I'll go after her, as soon as the world stops spinning."
**************
Saber HQ, 645pm
Nene looked up from where she, Nigel, and Mackie had been gathered around the
Moto-slave as the elevator opened, revealing the scowling face of Linna, who
entered the room almost before the doors finished opening.
Within the male gender of the human race, there is a deep rooted instinct for
self-preservation that awakens only in the presence of a human female angry
at the male gender.
"I need. . . to get a power wrench," Nigel said, standing up quickly.
"Let me. . .help you," Mackie said and both men left the room.
"Linna?" Nene asked, placing herself in the other woman's path. "Something
wrong?"
Linna, quite literally, growled and until her dying day, Nene would swear she
saw her friend's eyes glow.
"Right," Nene said, a big grin on her face. "My mistake!" She stepped to the
side and let Linna storm past.
**************
755pm
As the red haze and sound of the drums faded, Linna found herself on her
hands and knees, hyperventilating, rivers of sweat pouring off her. Looking
around, she realized she was in the middle of the Sabers training gym.
Or at least, it looked like it had been the Sabers training Gym.
The remains of exercise equipment lay scattered along the walls and in a few
cases, half out of the wall.
Groaning, she tried to stand and settled for falling over as every muscle in
her body loudly protested at the thought of moving.
"What, happened?" She asked herself.
"Worst tantrum I've ever seen," replied a voice. "Rogue boomers are less
destructive then you were." Turning her head, Linna saw a man standing in the
doorway. He was slightly shorter then Nigel, with brown hair and a bushy
beard. He wore a beat up old coverall and a long coat. His face however, was
open and friendly.
"Who?" Linna asked.
"Name's Raven, all my friends call me Doc," he said easily as he knelt next
to her. "Can you stand?"
"I think so," Linna said, and tried to sit up, only to fall back with a groan
of pain.
"I'll take that as a no," Raven said quietly as he pulled her to her feet and
half carried her out.
His destination as turned out to be a hot tub, and Linna didn't resist until
he started undoing her blouse.
"Lady," he said gruffly. "I'm a doctor. If there's anything under those
clothes that I haven't seen in both thirty-five years of medical practice, as
well as on the bodies of my ex-wives, I'm going to be very surprised."
Reassured by his manner, and by the thought that he had to be a friend of
Sylia's if he was in the Pit at all, Linna stopped fighting and allowed Raven
to undress her and help her into the tub.
"Sake?" Raven asked.
"No thanks," Linna said, sighing in gratitude as the heat seeped into her
tired body. "I don't drink. . .anymore."
"Smart girl," Raven said, handing her a bottle of water. "You're in no
condition to be drinking alcohol anyway." Linna drank deep as Raven flicked a
switch and she felt sonic pulses impact her body, both relaxing her tired
muscles and stripping away the dirt and sweat.
"Sonic bath, designed for people with mobility problems," Raven said, taking
a drink of Sake as he pulled a chair over and sat. "It's not quite the same
as a relaxing shower, but in your case, I think it might cure several
problems at once."
"It does feel nice," Linna said, tossing the now empty bottle away and
sinking into the water until it lapped at her chin.
"That's the idea," Raven said, leaning back in his chair and putting his feet
up on the tub's rim. "So if you don't mind my asking, why were you so angry?"
After a moment's hesitation, Linna told him the condensed version of events
over the last two or three days.
". . .and the next thing I know, I'm in the training room feeling like I had
just been through a decathlon," Linna finished.
"So you don't remember anything between suddenly getting mad at Kit and then
here?" Raven asked.
"No, nothing except. . ." Linna trailed off, frowning. "Well, there was those
drums."
"Drums?"
"Yeah. Like the natives would play in all those jungle movies from the
mid-twentieth century."
"What did they sound like?"
"Well," Linna said thoughtfully. "Kinda like this." She tapped out a simple
rhythm on the tub rim.
"Just like that?" Raven asked. Linna nodded. "Well, I can't be sure, but it
sounds like an African war dance."
"Great," Linna sighed, laying her head back and closing her eyes, "Just
great."
What seemed like a few moments later, she was shaken awake and saw Sylia
standing over her.
"S-Sylia?" Linna asked. The older woman nodded, her eyes traveling the length
of the tub and Linna resisted the urge to cover herself with her hands that
always seemed to crop up when Sylia looked at her.
"Feeling better?" She asked.
"Yes," Linna said happily. "Especially after talking with Raven."
"Who?" Sylia's face matched her white hair.
"Raven. Doc. He's a friend of yours, isn't he?"
"He was," Sylia said very softly. "He died two years ago." Before Linna could
reply, Henderson was standing in the doorway.
"Pardon me, m'lady," the white-haired man said respectfully. "But we've
detected multiple reactions and I've taken the liberty of summoning Ms
Agulari."
"Thank you, Henderson," Sylia said. The butler nodded and left.
"When you're done," Sylia said, turning to leave. "Go right to bed, Henderson
will have a room prepared."
"But you might need me," Linna protested.
"You need rest, Linna," Sylia said in a tone that brooked no argument. "The
girls and I can handle this."
"Yes, ma'am," Linna said, sliding back into the water.
Sylia gave her one last smile and left the room.
**************
Sadom District, 8pm
Hollywood had Felix and Oscar, the A.D. Police had Leon MacNicol and Daley
Wong.
Leon looked more like a biker then a cop. He was tall, with closely cropped
hair and shoulders that bulked ominously under his leather jacket. Wong, on
the other hand, had longer hair that was parted carefully and wore a clean,
neatly pressed suit. Both feet were up on the dashboard and his eyes were
closed behind his wire rimmed glasses.
Rumor had it that they had been partnered together on the assumption that
Wong, who always seemed to be six steps ahead of anyone else, would either
straighten MacNichol out or get killed due to Leon's "in your face" approach
to law enforcement.
So far neither had happened, but there was a great many people who were
hoping that would change, and soon.
"I'm bored," Leon announced as though it was a great philosophical truth.
"Well we could always try and find Priss," Wong said without opening his eyes.
"Aw shut up!"
"It would give us something to do," Wong pressed, clearly enjoying Leon's
discomfort.
"I said shut up!" Leon snapped, his hand tightening around the control stick.
"Damnit! I need coffee!" The com picked that moment to crackle to life.
"All units, all units, this is dispatch, we have four rogue boomers in the
Shinjuku district."
"Dispatch, MacNichols and Wong responding," Wong said as he took his feet off
of the dash and hit the siren.
"Roger."
**************
Sylia's guest room. 830pm
Linna sat bolt upright, the vision of the jungle and the great black jungle
cat fading away, the sound of the jungle drums becoming the beating of her
heart.
'They need me,' was the thought that burned in her brain and she threw back
the covers, suddenly filled to bursting with energy.
Throwing on a robe, she left the room and took the elevator down to the Pit
and headed for the changing room. Nobody seemed to be around, which suited
her purposes nicely.
Slipping on her softsuit, she moved to the controls for the launcher and
stopped when she realized she had no idea how to operate it. She knew Sylia
used the joystick to aim it towards wherever the boomers were rampaging, but
she had no idea how it worked.
"Allow me, Miss Linna."
"Yah!" Linna yelped and spun to see Henderson standing behind her, a blank
expression on his face. "Don't do that!"
"Apologies, Miss Linna," Henderson replied with a short bow. "But an alarm
sounds whenever someone is in the launch room, I was simply investigating."
Linna nodded.
"Do you know how to work this?"
"Of course, Miss Linna. Signal when you're ready." Linna nodded and darted
into the launcher and slipped into her hardsuit.
"Okay, I'm ready," she said, activating her suit seals.
"Five seconds Miss Linna," Henderson said. "Your destiny awaits."
"What?"
"Good Luck," Henderson replied and the channel clicked off as energy began to
build up around her.
'What did he mean by that?' Linna wondered and then she was rocketing upwards
and out over the towers of Mega-Tokyo.
**************
835pm, Shinjuku
The Knight Sabers were surrounded. Nene guessed that they had been
construction boomers. Now they were ten foot tall beasts, their four fingered
hands flexing slowly as they regarded their prey.
The moto-slave lay at the Sabers' feet, broken in several places. Linna's
intervention had turned the tide for a few moments and then the Boomer's had
regrouped and pressed their attack.
"Well, I can't say it hasn't been interesting," Priss said.
"It can't end like this," Sylia said. "I haven't found it yet!" Nene was
about to ask what Sylia hadn't found when something roared overhead, causing
the question to die on her lips as one of the boomers suddenly shook, sparks
flying as the air was filled with the chattering roar of high-powered
projectile weapons.
The overhead object continued it's sweep moving down to the far end of the
street before coming back at a slower speed. It was a jet, painted purple and
black with wicked looking swept-back wings that reminded her of a bat's.
Continuing to slow, the jet finally stopped at a hover perhaps twenty yards
away and a few feet above the street.
"Down!" Priss barked as flaps on the jet's sides opened up. The Sabers hit
the ground as the howl of missile engines and explosions filled their ears.
When they looked up, two of the four boomers had been totaled.
"I don't who they are, but I like their style," Priss said, as she moved into
a crouch. The boomers however, were watching the newcomer. "Nene!" Priss
exclaimed. But the computer expert had already had the same idea, raising her
arm and taking aim at the back of the boomer's skull. But before she could
fire, the boomers let out a roar and charged the jet, tendrils whipping out
from their hands.
"They're going to try and absorb the jet?" Linna gasped.
"Apparently," Priss said dryly.
The jet's pilot however, didn't seem to like the idea and with a roar of VTOL
engines, it rocketed skywards, the tendrils missing by mere inches. Something
on the jet's underside opened and the Sabers saw something fall out.
"Bomb!" Priss yelled as the street was lit by the blinding flash of yet
another explosion.
**************
Leon frowned as the street shook yet again.
"I don't like this," he muttered. "Who's that yahoo in the jet?"
"I think we have bigger concerns," Wong noted, pointing at one of the nearby
buildings. "Judging from those cracks, the buildings can't take much more of
these. . .aggressive tatics."
"Detective MacNichols!" Came a shout from behind them. "The Kay suits are
here!"
"Alright!" Leon's grin was savage. "Payback!"
**************
The Sabers were pinned. On one side, the A.D. Police Kay suits were slowly
advancing, guns blazing. On the other, their mysterious savior in the jet was
playing two on one tag with the other two boomers, one leaking fluids due to
damage from the jet's missile fire, the other still going strong.
Suddenly, the jet lifted into the air with a roar of it's engines, the sheer
force of the thrust exhaust sending the rogues flying.
As the boomers got to their feet, the nose of the jet seemed to split,
launching a cycle-shaped blur, if it was a cycle.
Whatever it was, they could hear the roar of it's engine as it weaved between
the boomers and thundered down the street, darting into the police lines. The
Kay suits turned to follow it, guns blazing, and shot each other in the
process.
"Damnit!" Leon yelled into the com as the cycle headed back up the street
towards the boomers. "Can't you morons do anything right?"
Grabbing a rifle from one of the nearby officers, Wong fitted the butt to his
shoulder and began tracking the cycle.
"Wong?"
"I'm concentrating, Leon," Wong said absently, his finger curling around the
trigger. It was like following mist, he thought as he watched, letting
instinct take over. There! He squeezed the trigger once, the sharp crack of
the report, the jerk of the butt against his shoulder, and the blur flipped
into the air, propelled not by the exploding of it's tires or engine, but by
street under it as the asphalt exploded upwards, fueled by the rupture of the
gas line exposed by the boomers' earlier rampage.
High in the sky, there was a tiny flash of light and then a rope was flying
to side, snagging a still standing street lamp as a rippling in the air came
down in a wide, semi-horizontal arc.
"Fire in the hole!" Wong yelled, as he ran away from the car, Leon close
behind, both men sensing, rather then seeing the gun in the blur's hand. T
here was a flash of heat and then the shockwave of the exploding car threw
them both to the ground.
"You okay, Wong?" Leon asked, ears ringing, Wong didn't answer. Looking up,
Leon thought he saw the Blue Knight Saber standing over them, and then he
slipped into blackness.
**************
"I don't like the way she's acting," Nene muttered to Sylia as they watched
Linna stand victorious on top of the battered boomer, arms raised, letting
out a cry of victory that seemed almost like an animalistic howl.
"I know Nene, a lot about today isn't making any sense. I intend to have a
long talk with Linna about her recent behavior," Sylia said as she looked
over to where Priss and the Phantom were double teaming the other boomer, and
doing a good job of teamwork.
Priss leapt straight up, intending to drive her knuckle bombs into it's head
when the Boomer whipped around, it's outstretched arm slamming into the
Phantom, launching him off his feet.
"NOOOOO!" Linna shrieked as her jets roared, sending her across the battered
street and past the Phantom, getting behind him and using her armored body to
shield him as both hit the wall of the building and then tumbled down to land
on the sidewalk.
"Priss!" Sylia barked over the com.
But the blue-armored musician was already tearing aside the last vestiges of
the boomer's biomechanical armor and crushing it's core.
"It's over!"
"Then grab Linna and let's get out of here."
"What about the Phantom?" Nene asked.
"Grab him too," Sylia said. "Something tells me he's the reason Linna's
acting the way she is."
Priss scooped up Linna and Sylia grabbed the Phantom and they leapt away,
shots from surviving A.D.P. officers whistling past them.
**************
Genom Tokyo, 1030pm
"And in other news, the A.D.P. was routed again, with an unprecedented four
rogue boomers tearing up a residential section of sixth street in the
Shinjuku district.
The incident, marking the first verified rogue boomer attack, has sent City
Hall into a frenzy with various watchdog groups coming down on both sides of
the incident. In a statement released by Genom, the company denied any
possibility that Boomers could mutate into such monstrosities and hinted that
various terrorist groups might instead be responsible for constructing the
beasts. As of this hour, no one has claimed responsibility. Ji Chang, BBC
news, Mega Tokyo."
A single mental command from Rosencruz and the TV shut off, leaving the
elderly man alone with his thoughts and the machines that kept him alive.
The board had changed with the introduction of this human shaped blur who had
powerful weapons and moved with grace and speed. Even more interesting, he or
she seemed to be on the side of the four ladies who had been plaguing him for
so long and who Mason had been so eager to find.
Mason. . .
Mason, he decided, was no longer an asset. His greed, ambition and madness
had blinded him. The man was a genius at business, but otherwise useless. It
seemed the scales would have to be tipped.
Closing his eyes, Rosencruz immersed himself into VR and called up a CAD
program. He did so abhor taking a personal hand in matters, but the things he
had done to make his dream a reality already would condemn him to eternal
damnation as it was. A comforting thought was that Mason would be there with
him and he felt a smile play across his virtual features.
To work then.
**************
Saber HQ, 1155pm
Linna and Nene looked up as Sylia and Nigel exited the medical room. Nigel
looked tired, Sylia's lips were pursed thoughtfully.
"So who is he?" Nene asked impatiently. Sylia said nothing instead she
crossed to the room to where Priss was sitting and began quietly talking to
her.
"Well that was helpful," Nene said sourly. "C'mon Linna, let's go see."
"You go," Linna said, "my ribs. . ."
Nene nodded and went into the medical room. After a few minutes, curiosity
got the better of Linna and she too, went inside.
The medical room smelled of antiseptic and blood. Nene stood by one of the
beds, her posture stiff and rigid.
"Nene?" Linna asked. "Who is it?" For a moment, there was silence, and then
Nene moved aside.
It was Kit, and strangely, Linna was not surprised. It was like she had
always known. In fact, all she felt was a sort of relief that wasn't quite
her own. Relief that the knowledge she had could now take it's proper place
in her mind, rather then lying, buried at the back of her subconscious.
"Linna?" Nene asked.
"I know now," Linna said to the prone form on the bed, reaching over and
touching his pallid face. "In a way, I've always known who you are in my
heart, but now it's concious." She paused as an exhausted shudder ran through
her. "I have to go now," she whispered. "I'll be back in the morning, my
jungle prince." Turning away, she found Nene staring at her with wide eyes
and a translation device in her hands.
"Nene?"
"Linna, what did you say to him?" Linna stared at her blankly.
"What are you talking about?"
"You spoke to him in West African. You've never left Japan in your life!"
"I was? Oh God." Linna ran a hand through her hair. "What's happening to me
Nene?"
"Let's talk about it outside," Nene said, grabbing her friend's elbow.
"Right, outside, good idea," Linna said and allowed herself to be pulled to
the door.
However, when they exited, they found themselves staring at the sight of a
dark-skinned man dressed in all black holding Priss, Sylia, and Nigel at
gunpoint.
It was too much for Linna to take and she fainted.
"Who are you?" Nene demanded.
"My name is Guran," the man replied. I am here for the Phantom and his
Chosen. Where is he?"
TBC. . .
****************************
NOTES: I know the Sylia of 2040 has more of a flirty manner then the Sylia of
2032, but no matter how hard I tried, except for when she was talking to
Linna in the tub, I couldn't seem to capture it and she came out like the
Sylia of 2032.
Until next time, I remain,
The Agreeable Komodo
****
About the Author:
Komdo is the pen name of an uberchocolate chip cookie eater who has spent
the past 23 years and some odd days attempting to take over the world with
paper napkins. Unfortunutly, paper napkins keeps rejecting his ideas as
"silly".
When not plotting world domination, he spends his time writing fanfics,
watching Anime, WWF wrestling and pretending he can actually draw.
He lives at home.