Hi all,
Flashman here.  I'll skip the blabbing and get right to TRIO 11.

				TRIO:
			BATTLE WITH THE INNER FOUR!

	Morning at Trio Central. (As the three residents had begun to 
jokingly call it.)  Usagi had actually gotten up early and she sat at 
the kitchen table, sipping on a glass of orange juice as she looked 
at her broach.  She remembered how she had reacted when the 
possibility came that she might have lost it for good.  She hoped 
Ranma would forgive her for her actions.

	Thinking of the devil, Ranma-chan walked down the stairs and seeing 
Usagi at the table, sat down next to her.  Usagi looked up and said, 
"Morning."

	"Morning," was the reply.

	Usagi took a deep breath and said, "Ranma.... sorry about... kicking 
you in.... well... you know."

	Ranma-chan smiled and replied, "It's okay.  If I'd learned that I 
was totally powerless I'd probably act the same way too."

	"Yeah I.... hey wait a second!  What do you mean totally powerless?! 
 I showed that Scarab Demon a thing or two didn't I?"

	"True, but you needed somebody to bail you out."

	"Details, details."

	The two girls giggled and Usagi said, "I'm just glad Gohan got it 
back.  I feel almost naked without it."

	"Now THERE'S an image I'll have in my mind for the rest of the day.
"

	Usagi lightly rapped Ranma-chan on the arm as she said, "Sicko," in 
a not too serious voice.

	Ranma-chan replied, "Getting kicked in the groin has that effect on 
me.  That's why I decided to be a girl today.  If the ailing part 
doesn't exist, then it can't hurt."

	"That's unusually intelligent for you."

	"Look who's talking."

	"Don't go there Ranma," Usagis tone suddenly dropped out of joking 
mode.

	Fortunately, before any hostilities could begin, the phone rang.  
Usagi picked it up and said, "Hello?  Yes, he's here.  Can I ask 
who's calling?  Okay, I'll get him."

	"What's up?" Ranma-chan asked.

	"Call for Gohan."

	"I'll get him," Ranma-chan said.

	Ranma-chan stood up and suddenly shouted, "HEY GOHAN!  WAKE UP!  
PHONE!"

	Usagi fell over and as she got up she exclaimed, "Here's an original 
idea!  Why not just go to his room and go GET him instead of YELLING 
THE HOUSE DOWN!!!"

	"As I said before, look who's talking!"

	"Creep!"

	"Long Ears!"

	"Jerk!"

	"Bubble Brain!"

	"Two Sex Wonder!"

	"Flat Chest!"

	"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!"

	Ranma-chan felt the sweat forming on his neck as Usagi suddenly 
started to bawl, "You didn't have to say that!  I can't help the way 
I am!  Why do you always have to pick on meeeeee?!!  
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

	Naturally, this was the moment that Gohan entered the kitchen.  He 
looked at the bawling Usagi and the totally flustered Ranma-chan and 
said to Ranma with raised eyebrows, "Getting an early start today?"

	Ranma-chan lowered her head while Gohan went and picked up the phone.
  "Hello?" he asked

	"That was certainly better then any old tape recording of music to 
listen to while on hold," the voice on the other end of the line said 
in greeting.

	Gohan smiled and replied into the receiver as Usagis wails started 
to end, "They do put on quite a floor show don't they?"

	Usagi had stopped crying mainly because she was curious as to who 
had called Gohan at this hour and why.  Ranma-chan was also curious 
and the two of them leaned in closer.  "What?!!" Gohan exclaimed, 
"Your kidding!  I'll be right over!  Good bye."

	Gohan raced to his room and got dressed quickly.  He grabbed his 
ring and placed it on his finger.  As he opened the door, he was 
surprised to see Ranma-chan and Usagi standing right outside.  "Gohan,
" Usagi asked, "where are you going?"

	"Sorry, can't talk now.  Gottagobye!" was the hurried reply as he 
raced out the door.

	Gohan ran down the street and when he was sure no one was watching, 
hit his ring and became Great Sayaman.  Then he flew up into the air 
and raced for the city.

	Later in the city.........

	Sayaman landed in the alley and waited for his contact.  A few 
minutes later, a car pulled out and two men stepped out.  One was the 
very definition of the word slob.  He had messy black hair, a large...
 rounded figure, a grey trench coat and a cigar clamped firmly 
between his teeth.  His partner was the polar opposite.  Thin to the 
point of being gaunt, round rimmed glasses on his face, wearing an 
impeccable suit and not even the cigar smoke seemed to cling to him.  
The only thing the two had in common was that the second mans hair 
was a short blond mess.

	Sayaman regarded the larger of the two men as he said, "Your late 
Burke.  I beat you by a full two minutes.  What's the matter," he 
smiled to take any malice out of his next comment, "getting soft in 
your old age?"

	Detective Sam Burke grumbled in response and said, "Funny.  You're a 
regular comedian you know that.  Now, do you want to earn your pay or 
what?"

	Burke turned to his partner and said, "Fill him in Twitch."

	"Yes sir," Twitch said in his perminant dead pan and proceeded to 
tell Sayaman what he was needed for.

	But what that is will have to be told later, for at that moment at 
Eclipse Tower...........

	Eclipse Lord materialized on his throne and nodded as the Inner Four 
knelt before him.  He looked at Lujane and said, "Report."

	Lujane replied, "Yes master.  The story has been planted and by now 
Sayaman must know of it.  By this time tommorow the Trio shall be no 
more."

	Eclipse Lord let out a dark chuckle as he said, "You are confident 
of yourselves?"

	"You bet master," Blade Bot exclaimed, "When I get my hands on that 
flying freak, I'm going to cut him to pieces!"

	"So you want to battle Sayaman eh?" Seer said, "I will take part in 
this affair as well.  However, I have different plans for Sailor Moon.
"

	"And I," Samaron said, "shall have the honor of battling Yin Yang in 
honorable combat."

	"What of you Lujane?" Eclipse Lord asked.

	"I?" Lujane stated, "I will be supervising the mission and shall 
join who ever is need of any help.  In short my lord, we are ready to 
destroy.... eh?"

	At that point Brunt and Bombard stormed into the room and after 
kneeling to Eclipse Lord, Brunt said, "Master.  We want to be allowed 
to help with this mission."

	"Why should you be allowed to do so?" Eclipse Lord said as he eyed 
the two brash liutenents, "As I remember it, you did not fair well at 
all in your last encounter."

	"But maaaaster," Bombard whined, "We want to get even.  They got 
lucky last time.  We can take 'em."

	"SILENCE!" Eclipse Lord roared, "You shall go.  If we appear to have 
a bigger presence at the trap, then the Trio will fall into it that 
much easier."

	That night.....

	The three heros gathered outside of a rundown parking garage in the 
city.  "This is the place," Sayaman said to his friends.

	"You sure?" Sailor Moon asked as she looked at the rundown area, 
"This place seems deserted."

	"I'm certain this is the place my contact told me about."

	Yin Yang-chan raised an eyebrow as she said, "An underground 
chemical weapons plant?  In this place?  I don't think so.  And who 
is this contact of yours anyway?"

	"I'm not at liberty to say."

	Yin Yang stuck a finger in Sayamans face and said, "We are going to 
have to have a LONG talk about this SOON."

	A loud metallic footstep got the groups attention and they hid in 
the nearby bushes.  Bombard shuffled into view and his movements 
suggested that he was guarding something.  Soon, Brunt came into view 
from the other direction and she too had the look of guarding 
something.  "Guess you were right," Sailor Moon whispered, "the 
Eclipse Syndicate wouldn't call out such high up help if this wasn't 
something big."

	"Right," Sayaman whispered back, "We don't want to call any 
attention to us yet, so the door is out.  Let's try the roof."

	When Brunt and Bombard marched out of sight, Sailor Moon did a very 
high leap, while Sayaman grabbed onto the waist of Yin Yang-chan and 
carried her to the roof.  The Trio looked around at their 
surroundings and found no one on the roof.  "You'd think," Yin Yang-
chan said, "that they would have something on the roof.  A guard, a 
hidden camera, SOMETHING.  This feels too much like a trap."

	"Agreed," Sayaman said.

	"Same here," Sailor Moon gulped.

	"That," a womans voice from behind them said, "is because it is."

	They turned to see a woman with long purple hair and a black uniform 
regarding them.  In the center of her forehead was the black circle 
with the white outline that was the mark of the Eclipse Syndicate.  
"Who the hell are you?!" Yin Yang-chan yelled.

	"I am Lujane," the woman said with a bow, "I already know who you 
are so let us get to business."

	With that, Lujane pressed a button on a pad in her hand and three 
trap doors opened up underneath the Trio.  Each of them falling down 
different paths.  Sayaman stopped his fall and looked around.  "I'm a 
world class sucker," he thought, "I should have known better then 
that."

	Looking around, Sayaman decided he had two paths.  He could burst up 
and out or he could follow the path down and see where it lead.  
Going up, he decided, was pointless.  He hadn't seen the trap doors 
when they had been up there so he guessed he wouldn't be able to see 
them if he went back up.  Going down however, he had a better chance 
of finding his friends.  He slowly lowered himself through the path 
and when he reached the end, he saw it came out on the fifth level of 
the parking garage.

	The place was totally deserted, not a single car or living being in 
sight.  Sayaman was on his guard and heard someone behind him say, 
"Life form.  Terminate."

	He turned to see a large silver robot shuffling towards him in a 
stiff leg fashion.  Of course, Sayaman thought, "You've GOT to be 
kidding me.  Give me five seconds."

	He raced forward, threw a fist at the machine and got the shock of 
his life as the robot suddenly gained a new speed and grabbed his 
fist in mid-punch.  Sayaman attempted to pull his fist away and grew 
concerned when he saw that he couldn't.  The robot let out an evil 
laugh and said, "Fool you didn't I?  Now feel the power of Blade Bot.
"

	Blade Bot increased the pressure on Sayamans fist and the hero grit 
his teeth as he felt several bones start to pop.  Blade Bot then 
flicked his wrist and threw Sayaman into a pillar.  Sayaman left an 
imprint in the pillar and slumped to the ground.  Blade Bot extended 
his wrist blades, one on each palm "snick"ed out, then one on each of 
his knees popped out, then his nail claws sharpened, then shorter 
ones on each foot extended.  When Sayaman looked up, he saw his 
opponent covered in blades.  "I guess," he thought to himself, 
"that's how he got his name."

	Meanwhile..........

	Yin Yang-chan fell through the hole and when she reached the end, 
she rolled out the momentum and got to her feet.  She saw what she 
could only describe as a dragon in samurai armor, with the mark of 
the Eclipse Syndicate on its forehead.  "Greetings," the dragon said, 
"I am Samaron.  I challenge you to combat."

	"Direct aren't you," Yin Yang-chan quipped, "I like that."

	"The best warrior talks only after the battle is won."

	"Very well.  I accept," Yin Yang got into a fighting stance as 
Samaron drew his sword, "your challenge."

	The two warriors stood in ready stances.  Neither of them moved for 
what seemed like eternity as they measured each other up.  "She is 
good," Samaron thought, "I see no openings in her defence.  This will 
take much of my skill to win."

	Yin Yang-chan meanwhile, was having similar thoughts.  "He's good.  
I don't see anything I can use to my advantage... at least, not yet.
"

	The two slowly circled each other and then charged at the same time. 
 They both leaped into the air and Samaron swung his katana as Yin 
Yang-chan swung her fist.  The two passed in midair and landed on 
opposite sides.  They paused again, neither of them seeming to have 
taken any damage at all.

	Suddenly, the cloth on Yin Yang-chans right arm split from Samaron's 
slash as Samaron grasped his left arm as the force of Yin Yang-chan's 
blow finally took affect.  The two martial artists turned to face 
each other and Samaron said, "It seems we are almost equal.  Shall we 
see who is truly the stronger?  Or will you surrender now and forfeit 
your honor?"

	Yin Yang-chan replied with a small grin, "You don't know me very 
well if you'd ask me that question," then she added under her breath, 
"Come to think of it *I* don't know me very well either."

	"I am glad you have decided to continue.  I have not had a proper 
challenge for quite some time."

	"It will have to wait," Lujane suddenly said as she leaped into view.


	"Hey!" Yin Yang-chan yelled, "What happened to 'a proper challenge'?
"

	"My love," Samaron turned to Lujane, "Though it makes my heart glad 
you are here, why have you come?"

	"Eclipse Lord ordered me to assist you," Lujane explained as she 
drew her broad sword, "He said that Seer and Blade Bot have the other 
members of the Trio in serious straights and that you are the one who 
needs the most help."

	"Very well," Samaron sighed.

	"HEY!" Yin Yang-chan exclaimed, "Whatever happened to your honor?"

	"The Eclipse Lord saved me from a life of agony and loneliness," 
Samaron said by way of explanation, "Due to my nature as a mutant I 
was an outcast.  A freak.  Thanks to Eclipse Lord however I now know 
the honorable ways of a samurai and I now know love," he looked at 
Lujane, "thus I now serve him and would lay down all things for him.  
Even, on occasion, my honor."

	Lujane and Samaron charged Yin Yang-chan and she thought, "This is 
NOT a good thing."

	Also meanwhile........

	Sailor Moon fell down the hole and when she got to the bottom she 
landed right on HER bottom.  "Ouch," she exclaimed as she stood and 
rubbed her hind quarters.  Then she looked at her surroundings and 
thought, "Now where am I?"

	It was dark wherever she was, probably the basement.  Figured, 
that's just where she felt her life had been lately.  Suddenly, slow 
even clapping came from all directions at once.  Sailor Moon looked 
around for the source and she cried, "Who's there?  Where are you?"

	A shadow with red eyes stepped out of the shadows and said, "I am 
here.  My name is Seer.  Congratulations Usagi Tsukino, you have 
passed your test with flying colors."

	"'Test'?  What test?"

	Seer looked at Sailor Moon incredulously, slapped his forehead and 
said, "Oh that's right.  Snatcher must have hit you in the head 
harder then I thought and shook something loose.  Don't you remember?
"

	"Remember what?"

	"Your initiation training?  Your field training?"

	"Training for what?"

	Seer smacked his forehead again, this time in frustration and said 
very slowly, "Listen to me very carefully.  I've told you that you've 
had initiation training.  Right?"

	"Uh huh."

	"I've said that your battle with Snatcher and even your other 
battles after that were a test.  Got it?"

	"Uh huh."

	"Now, what group do you think I'm a part of?"

	"The Eclipse Syndicate."

	"Correct.  Now apply a little logic to the evidence."

	"Are... are you trying to say," Sailor Moon gasped in horror as what 
Seer was trying to say finally hit her, "I'm... I'm one of you."

	"Exactly," Seer replied as he nodded, "You are not as dumb as some 
people think you are."

	"All of it a test," Sailor Moon muttered as she ran the information 
through her brain and then she said aloud, "Hey, wait a minute!  What 
about Gohan and Ranma?"

	"They are... going through their own initiations."

	"What about the time my broach was stolen?"

	"A test to see how you could function without your powers.  I must 
admit, I was rather impressed."

	"As well as I was impressed," Seer thought to himself, "with the 
power her gem contains.  If she is the only one who can use it, then 
to have her on my side would be a great asset indeed."

	"I... I," Sailor Moon didn't know how to answer.

	Was he telling the truth?  Was he lying?  It would explain why the 
Eclipse Syndicate kept attacking them for seemingly no reason.  Still,
 something felt wrong.  As she tried to think, Seer said as he held 
out his hand, "You have earned the right to wear the mark of the 
Eclipse.  Come forward and accept it.  It is your destiny."

	Sailor Moon looked at his hand and saw a glowing white circle.  
Sitting in his shadowy hand, it completed the mark of the Eclipse 
Syndicate.  Was this her destiny?  To become a member of the Eclipse 
Syndicate.  She stood still, on the razors edge.  Two paths crying 
out to her... or for her.

	At Eclipse Tower.......

	Eclipse Lord watched the battles unfolding before him on his view 
screen.  Brunt and Bombard shuffled in and kneeled before him.  "You 
summoned us master?" Brunt asked.

	"Yes," was the slightly distracted reply, "observe the monitor."

	The two liutenents turned their eyes and watched the three battles 
as they began.  "I wanted," Eclipse Lord explained, "for you to see 
true masters in the field, work.  Observe this well and some day you 
may have a fraction of their skills.

	"Each of them battles in their own way.  Blade Bot with his 
overwhelming power.  Lujane and Samaron with their unstoppable 
teamwork and Seer with his skills at deception and seduction.  Three 
battles and soon.... three victories for the Eclipse Syndicate."

	Eclipse Lords laughter rang through the room.

TO BE CONTINUED.......