Disclaimer: The Phantom is the property of King Features Syndicate and 
Bubblegum Crisis 2040 is the property of JVC. No money is being made from 
this and no such intent should be inferred.

C&C,, public or private is welcome. I respond to all C&C....eventually

************************
Five Miles over Central Africa, 4:10 pm (Local Time)

"The first Phantom," Guran said, "was a young boy named Kit. A cabin boy on a 
British Warship that was sunk off the coast of Africa by pirates." The Bandar 
paused to gaze around the cabin. Kit was sitting in the pilot seat, Guran in 
the co-pilot's seat, which he had turned back to face the cabin. Before him, 
three of the Knight Sabers sat, helmets off. Nene was staring at him, totally 
absorbed, but the other two wore unreadable expressions. The Chosen was 
asleep on one of the bunks and on the other, the one called Nigel sat, 
tending to his tools.

"As the ship sank," Guran continued. "The boy swam for shore and nearly 
didn't make it. My people found him laying on the shore. At first, they 
wanted to kill him, but then, Nekoaluri, the Jungle Cat God who rules the 
forest instructed them otherwise. 'This boy's line will be my champion,' He 
said. 'For now and for all time. Teach him my children, teach him the twin 
values of Justice and Mercy and send him forth into the world.'

'But, Great One,' the people said. 'How do we know he will not betray us?'

'Because he will have a reason not to.' And with that, Great Nekoaluri 
pointed at two warriors. 'Your daughter,' He said to one, 'is the same age as 
the boy, and when the time comes, they shall be joined to wed, for their 
souls are the same.' And to the other warrior, He said, 'and you, and your 
son and their sons for all time shall be the Watcher, who will train this 
champion, and this champion, shall henceforth be called the Phantom. For he 
will move throughout the world like a ghost, leaving defeats of evil in his 
path. This is the task I assign to you, my children. For in each generation, 
there shall be a Phantom, and for each Phantom, he shall have a bride. And I 
will bind them to each other, and to this land, so that he can never betray 
you.' And so it was thus, and for five hundred years, we have faithfully 
served the Phantom and his cause as we were directed so long ago."

"And how did Walker International come into being?" Sylia asked.

"That would be the second through seventh Phantom's doing," Guran said 
quietly. "A ship anchored and the crew, exploring, found my people and living 
amongst them, the first Phantom, his infant son, and his wife. Among the crew 
was a distant relative and he insisted that the Phantom return to England. 
Missing his homeland, the Phantom agreed. Taking some gold and jewels, they 
sailed for England and stayed for fifteen years. During that first week, the 
Phantom saved the life of the king and was rewarded with a baronetcy, and 
lands of his own. When asked for a name, the Phantom said simply, Walkerton, 
which the fifth Phantom's second son changed to Walker, and then later 
assumed the role as the seventh Phantom."

"You have a title?" Nene said to Kit.

"I don't want to talk about it," Kit grumbled as Guran continued his story.

"Shrewdly, the Phantom claimed my people's tribal lands as a way to protect 
them. As the years passed, and his son grew up, he became interested in 
business and invested the gold and jewels his father had brought with them, 
earning a fortune, founding what would eventually become Walker 
International. The third Phantom, building upon his father's economic plans, 
taught my people about business and was the first to use the guise of a bu
sinessman to travel around the world." Guran's expression became one of 
pride. "We're currently the oldest company in the world and consistently stay 
within the top forty of the five hundred most successful companies in the 
world."

"Impressive," Sylia said without any real emotion. But that does not explain 
Linna's condition."

"As I said, the Phantom, the Cho--Linna, and Nekoaluri are bound together in 
a Trinity. When Kit and Linna wed, the uniting of their souls called the 
spirit of Nekoaluri to them and the consummation of the marriage bound Him to 
them. But, certain rituals were not performed. There is no balance and the 
Cat is running rampant."

"So she's in heat," Priss said flatly.

"Yes."

"And there is a way to undo all this, or at least restore some semblance of 
balance to this...Trinity."

"That is for the tribal Elders to determine. A Phantom has never been married 
in a civil ceremony away from Africa and the ancient lands. This is new to 
us."

"Great," Priss said with heavy sarcasm.

******************
Walker International proved to be a complex of multi story buildings and 
warehouses. As the jet flew low over the complex, the Sabers could see people 
moving back and forth, trucks ferrying boxes to hovertransports and, 
everything else one would expect to see in a company. They could even see 
what looked like a tour group.

After landing, the jet taxied into a massive hanger and the doors shut behind 
them. Then the walls began to move and they realized that the floor was 
lowering, the entire hanger floor was a huge hydraulic lift and it was 
perhaps a minute later, they emerged into a huge cavern far larger then any 
would have dreamed possible. In the center of the cavern, rising from floor 
to ceiling was a huge cyndrical tower that seemed to be half wood, and half 
steel, almost as though it was grown. From it, a web of wood and steel vines, 
some as large as a highway, crisscrossed the cavern, and far below, they 
could see additional buildings and trees and a shiny blue body of water. 
There was also what looked like mountains, a desert, and other landscapes. It 
took them a minute to realize that the "vines" were in some cases, buildings 
in their own right, or from them hung huge towers. Hovertrucks moved between 
the vines or up towards the cavern roof. 

"Woah," Nene breathed. "What is this place?"

"Doctor Yui Ikari called them 'Geo Fronts', very rare, but there's at least 
one on every continent, or so she theorized before being committed to an 
asylum in twenty oh five for her claims that mankind would have to battle 
Angels for it's survival. This one, and one in Japan are the only two known. 
It is here that the Phantom trains. Every type of environment is replicated 
on the cavern floor and in these structures."

"It must have cost a fortune."

"No, merely time. All the wood you see is the roots from the Ghost Jungle on 
the surface and the rock around us is full of raw materials with which we can 
forge into whatever type of metal we choose. Nekoaluri's gift to His 
children, which we use to aid His champion."

At that moment, the jet stopped and then they began to move forwards towards 
the main tower, which as they got closer, loomed in their vision, which in 
turn made them realize just how big the cavern really was. Finally parked 
inside the hanger, they woke up Linna and exited the jet, where they were 
greeted by twelve men and women dressed in traditional african garb.

"Is this the one you spoke of, Watcher?" Asked one of the men in a deep, 
booming voice. With a start, Sylia realized she was looking at Walker 
International's board of Directors. But the faces staring at her with blank 
expressions seemed eerily unlike the ones in the company's PR section of 
their Internet Site. Those pictures showed them smiling, dressed in suits. 
These people were...the word that immediately came to her mind was "spooky". 

"Yes, Elder. She is the Chosen." Guran indicated the Sabers. "And these are 
her compatriots. They demanded to accompany her and the Phantom agreed."

"We didn't have time to argue," Kit said. "Linna needs help." One of the 
women stepped forward and placed her hand on Linna's head.

"Yes," she intoned. "There is no Balance, but her spirit is strong. Brothers 
and Sisters, I suggest we perform the Tok Rmra. It is the only way to 
preserve what has been wrought so far." She looked Linna in the eye. "Hear 
me, Child. We can calm the chaos in your soul, but we can not take it away. 
You are bonded to the Phantom, bonds which cannot be broken. You will bear 
the next Phantom, that will not change, but the Tok Rmra will enable you to 
prepare." She raised a finger. "However, there is a price to be paid. If you 
choose the TokRmra, you must complete the rites of marriage to the Phantom 
and bear his son before the fortieth season from the season in which the 
ritual is performed comes to pass or you both will perish."

"Say what?" Nene asked.

"She has ten years to marry Kit and have a kid or they both die," Nigel said, 
lighting a cigarette.

"Oh...WHAT?"

"Isn't there any other way?" Linna asked.

"If you were not the Chosen, then yes. But since you are, unless you wish to 
go through the marriage rites right now, there is no other way," was the 
reply. "This is very old magic, Linna Yamazaki, and the rules which it 
follows are as inflexible as the mighty oak."

"And if I do nothing?"

"Then you will both become like rabid dogs, beasts with minds inflamed by 
madness."

The words hit her in the gut like a rampaging boomer and she felt herself go 
pale. "I need to think about it," Linna said and walked by towards the hanger 
entrance. There she stood, staring out over the Geo-Front. After a moment, 
Kit joined her.

"Tough decision, huh?" He was silent for a moment. "Linna, do you hate me?"

"I need to be alone," Linna said mechanically and walked away.

*******
 "Linna, do you hate me?"

The question echoed in her mind over and over as she made her way through the 
strange underground structure. 

Did she? Did she hate him? Kami knew that it was...no, that wasn't it. Her 
memories of that night, at least before they faded into a drunken haze were 
of them matching each other bowl for bowl of sake. So much had happened in 
the past few days that she hadn't had time to sort out.

Well, no time like the present.

She found a bench and sat down on it. First and foremost on her mind was Kit. 
Part of her wanted to blame him. If he had been...well, normal, then what had 
happened would have simply been a real life drama, emotionally draining to be 
sure, but in the end, an example of human folly.

But it wasn't that simple, was it? No. Kit wasn't normal, he was the Phantom, 
a costumed identity passed down from generation to the next like her family's 
katana. 'God, Linna, you sure can pick them,' she thought acidly to herself. 
'Billions of people in the world and you just had to get the one that leaves 
you a choice between madness, death, or sanity.'   Part of her wanted to 
thumb her nose at the whole deal. Maybe if she went mad she'd take all the 
rogue boomers with her.

But that would let the other Sabers down and she couldn't do that.

'It's not like Kit's a bad choice,' whispered her inner voice. 'He's cute, 
rich, and most importantly, he understands your reasons for joining the 
Knight Sabers.' An image passed through her mind of her in her Saber Armor, 
him in his Phantom costume bounding over the rooftops. 'Hell of a way to 
spend a honeymoon.' She giggled to herself.

"All right." She said to herself, walking to the railing. "You're an 
engineer, or will be, so look at it scientifically. Do you want to die?"

The answer to that was a flat no. She wasn't afraid to die if it meant 
something worthwhile, but for something like this...no.

"So next question. Do you want to go mad?"

That was a little more difficult. She had already accepted that she was 
probably slightly nuts already. She had to be to want to wear a hardsuit in 
the first place and to continue wearing it even after her suit malfunctioned 
the first time out. But there was mad, and then there was foaming at the 
mouth, growling like an animal mad. And that was a fate nearly as bad as 
death.

She looked down at her ring finger. It wasn't that she didn't want to get 
married, she did, eventually. But it was with the knowledge that her parents 
would pick someone who was in line with their own traditional views. Views 
that expected Linna to set her career aside and become a housewife while her 
husband went to work. At first, Linna had no problem with that, but before 
she did, she was determined that she would do something. Something if nothing 
else, she could look back on and say, "I was a part of that. I made a 
difference." And the letters from her parents were starting to hint that they 
were looking at possibles for her.

But meeting Priss and Sylia and Nene had begun to shake that loose. None of 
them had parents looming over their head and answered only to themselves. 
Even Nene, boy crazy as she was, would never set aside her career because 
some man or her family asked her too. For perhaps the first time in her life, 
her destiny was truly in her hands and she found herself hesitating.

'Kit won't ask,' whispered her inner voice. 'He wouldn't want you to quit.'

Kit...

And there was another problem, wasn't it? She wasn't just deciding her fate, 
but Kit's as well. If she went mad or died, so would he.

And that really left her no choice at all, did it? It was one thing to stand 
on her principals when it was just her, but she had no right to decide for 
Kit. Which left just one question.

Now, or later?

****************
 It was impossible to sneak in a Hardsuit, so Nene didn't bother trying. 
Instead, she clanked up to Kit, unlatched her Hardsuit, and sat on the angled 
back.

"She really does like you, you know. I could see it in her eyes when she 
first met you, and she still does," Nene said quietly. She didn't like Kit, 
but he was obviously upset and Nene simply could not let anyone be upset 
without at least trying to cheer them up. "It's just a lot to take in 
y'know?"

"All I ever wanted was to be an Ecological Engineer," Kit said quietly. "I 
would've been happy spending my days down in the Brazilian Eco-preserves." He 
sighed and gripped the hanger's door. "And then the dreams started. At first 
I chalked it up to all the studying I was doing. But then they started while 
I was awake. Then Guran showed up and told me my destiny, That was a year 
ago."

"You didn't know?"

Kit shook his head. "My parents are dead, I was never trained. I've been sort 
of picking it up as I went along. Guran's been a big help, but I still have 
so many questions."

"As do I." They both looked up. Linna was standing nearby, her expression 
clearly saying that she had made up her mind about something.

"Linna?" Nene asked.

"Could you excuse us, Nene?" Linna asked.

"Sure thing," Nene replied, sliding into her suit and moving back towards the 
jet. Stopping by the landing gear, she watched them talk animatedly, or maybe 
they were arguing. Then, they seemed to reach a decision, she handed him 
something and then they shook hands, and walked back to the jet.

"We have decided to undergo the Tok Rmra," Linna said as Kit walked over to 
Guran and began speaking quietly to him.

"Of course," said the same woman who had laid her hand on Linna's head when 
they arrived. If you will follow us?"

As they left the hanger, Nene fell into step next to Linna. "Linna, are you 
sure?"

"I can't lie to my parents, Nene," Linna said. "But if I tell them I got 
married without observing the formalities, they'll hit the roof, maybe even 
disown me. And I will have to tell them, just to keep them from setting me 
up." She sighed. "So we decided to annul the marriage, Kit says he knows 
someone who can wipe any record of the wedding from the record. He's just my 
boyfriend now. Five years gives us enough time to win my parents over and 
then we'll do it right."

"Five, but I thought it was-"

"There still has to be a child, Nene. Five years is time enough to do that." 
She did not add "I hope". She didn't need to. They both knew what would 
happen if no child came.

"I suppose you're--" Nene started and then nearly fell over as the entire 
room shook and alarms wailed.

"What the hell was that?" Priss yelled. One of the elders had a phone pressed 
to his ear.

"Boomers," he yelled. "Genom dropped a kinetic warhead on the complex. We're 
under attack!"

*************
Steve "Komodo" T.
"Great," Nabiki said, getting up to pace as her voice began to climb in 
volume with every word. "Kasumi gets a man who worships the ground she walks 
on, Akane has three different rich lunatics, or kings, or Demigods fall in 
love with her nearly every day--and that's just before breakfast, mind 
you--and what do I get?" She glared at SETCOM's burnished black metal shell, 
her voice soft, but her tone as cold as ice. "A computer."



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