I know this chapter is a little shorter then normal, but there wasn't 
really that much to say.
We'll be going back to our regular cast after this so I hope you 
stick around.

The Flashman

May The Spirit Preserve You!
________________________________

				 TRIO:
			     THE HOME FRONT:
			      DRAGON ALONG

	Piccolo, his arms folded across his chest, stood with his classic 
frown on his face as he waited for the last two Dragon Balls to be 
gathered.  He didn't turn as the two little children landed behind 
him and he asked, "Did you get it?"

	The two boys nodded in perfect unison and said as one, "You bet we 
did!"

	The boy on the left, who could have been no older then eight, was 
attired in a orange karate gi.  His hair was black and spiky, his 
black colored eyes sparkled with the same thrill for life that had 
been in his fathers and in fact, many said that he was a dead ringer 
for Goku when he had been the same age.  The boy turned to his 
companion and asked, "It was easy, wasn't it Trunks?"

	The other boy who was named Trunks nodded and smiled, the same age 
at his friend, he wore a blue tank top with blue sweat pants and his 
short, bowl style, purplish grey hairdo bobbed as he regarded his 
friend and replied, "You said it Goten."

	"Now," Piccolo continued as the two youths handed him the little 
orange ball with three stars on it, "all we have to wait for is...."

	"AHEM!"

	Piccolo simply held up a hand at the sound of the throat clearing 
and he caught the Four Star Dragon Ball as it fell.  Still without 
turning around, Piccolo said, "Good work Vegita."

	Vegita, in his own, larger version of Trunks outfit, his jet black 
hair sticking straight up and having one of the largest widows peak 
in the galaxy, simply nodded once and replied as he floated down, "I 
am only doing this because my son asked nicely.  Besides, that wife 
of Kakarotos..." Vegita shuddered.

	"She can be pretty scary when she wants to be," Goten added.

	Vegita glared at the small boy.

	Piccolo sighed in annoyance as he placed the Four Star Dragon Ball 
into the circle with the other Dragon Balls and when all seven of 
them glowed, Piccolo shouted to the sky, "SHENRON!  COME FORTH!"

	A golden pillar of light exploded from the assembled Dragon Balls, 
blinding the sight of all who looked upon it.  The light rose from 
the Dragon Balls, eventually taking a long snake like shape as thick 
dark storm clouds filled the sky.  The light solidified into green 
scales and a long winding body, followed by a loud howl as the head 
of Shenron The Eternal Dragon, was fully formed.

	"WHO HAS SUMMONED ME?" Shenron asked in his booming voice.

	"I have," Piccolo stated as he stepped forward.

	"SPEAK YOUR WISH," Shenron replied, "AND IT SHALL BE GRANTED."

	"I wish for Son Gohan to be brought back to life."

	"SO BE IT!"

	There was a long pause and after two minutes, Vegita exclaimed, 
"Hey!  What's the damn hold up?!  Some of us have other things to 
do!"

	Shenron did his aprocimation of a frown and said, "IT IS NO GOOD.  I 
CAN NOT GRANT THE WISH YOU HAVE ASKED OF ME.  THE ONE YOU CALL SON 
GOHAN IS NOT DEAD.  HE IS MEARLY MISSING FROM THIS PORTION OF THE 
TIME STREAM."

	"So?" Vegita snarled, "Why not do your fancy hocus pocus and bring 
him back?"

	"THE ABILITY TO EFFECT TIME ITSELF IS BEYOND MY CAPABILITIES.  YOU 
WILL HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER WAY TO RETRIEVE YOUR FRIEND."

	"Very well," Piccolo sighed, "leave if you wish to."

	Shenron bobbed his head once and in another bright burst of light, 
clearing the storm clouds away, he vanished.  Then the Dragon Balls 
lifted up into the air and were scattered across the globe, awaiting 
the next one who would try to seek them out and ask for a wish to be 
granted.

	"Big bother isn't coming back?" Goten asked worriedly.

	Piccolos frown deepened as he replied, "Not unless we can find a way 
to travel to the past."

	As if on cue, a multicolored vortex of light opened and a single 
form stepped out.  "If I may," the form said as the portal winked out 
of existence, "I can be of some assistance to you."

	The four people looked at the new comer and Vegita rudely asked, 
"And just who the hell are you?"

	The woman in the sailor uniform with black highlights replied, "Ask 
Piccolo, the part of him that is Kami knows."

	Piccolo replied, "It has been a while..." then he grinned an evil 
smirk, "...Settie."

	Sailor Pluto grimaced slightly and replied, "You know I hate it when 
you call me that."

	Piccolo chuckled, "Which is the only way Kami knew how to get an 
emotional response out of you."

	Vegita suddenly cut in with, "If you two plan to reminisce on old 
times, I'll be leaving," before he suited action to words.

	Goten walked over to Pluto and asked, "Can you get my brother back?
"

	Pluto looked down at the small child and smiled softly as she said, 
"Yes, but to do so, I'll need to use your Room of Spirit and Time."

	Piccolo nodded and before anymore questions could be asked, the time 
traveling Senshi walked past them and into the palace.

	A few hours later....

	Goten complained, "I'm hungry."

	Trunks replied, "Just a little longer.  I wanna find out what she's 
doing."

	Piccolo said, "She is attempting to use her Time Rods powers, along 
with the powers of the Room of Spirit and Time to form a very special 
kind of Time Vortex.  The kind that can bridge different Time Streams.
"

	"Exactly," Sailor Pluto said as she stepped out of the palace.

	"Okay lady," the person behind her said as he adjusted his large 
backpack and sword, "can you tell me why I'm back here again, instead 
of this past you need my help to save?"

	Piccolo let out a small grin as he saw who the person was and Goten 
whispered to his friend, "Trunks, his hair's a lot longer... but 
doesn't he look like an older version of you?"

	"As a matter of fact," Future Trunks said, as he had overheard the 
boys whispered comment, "I am."

	"Wow!" Trunks exclaimed, "You're me?"

	"Sort of," Future Trunks replied, "Except I'm from an alternate time 
line."

	As Trunks and Goten went over to talk with Future Trunks, Piccolo 
pulled Pluto aside and asked, "So why did you do this?  What's the 
emergency?"

	Pluto sighed, "Your friend Gohan is trapped in the past, fighting 
for the survival of this future along with Ranma Saotome and my 
future Queen.  I will have need of that particular Trunks," she 
indicated the older one, "to help with some of the more powerful foes 
we will face."

	"So am I REALLY powerful?" Trunks asked.

	His future counterpart replied, "Well, I know I am, but you might 
become even stronger, this isn't my reality."

	"Trunks," Pluto called, "time is of the utmost importance, we must 
go."

	"See ya around kid," Future Trunks said as he walked into the portal 
that Sailor Pluto had formed.

	"Bye!" The little Trunks called out as he waved.

	On the other side of the portal....

	Pluto landed in the alley on her feet.  Trunks landed in a pile of 
garbage, on his head.  The time traveling Senshi looked at her 
companion as he got back up to his feet, shrugged and said, "So I'm 
not used to your way of traveling.  Sue me."

	Sailor Pluto powered down and became Setsuna again as she said, 
"Come along, we have much to do.  And to answer your earlier question,
 it was necessary to exit the Room of Spirit and Time to reach this 
particular past."

	"Huh?"

	"Did you not ask before about..."

	"Oh, that."

	The two of them walked out of the alley and across the New York City 
street to the antique shop.  "This is our cover," Setsuna explained 
as she lead Trunks to the back and to the computer that sat on the 
desk, "We will wait here for our friends to arrive.  First, we will 
need alternate identities.  For that, we will need to... hack, I 
believe the term is, our way into the City Records."

	"Let me guess," Trunks said with a smile, "You need me to do that 
because you're computer illiterate."

	Setsuna actually became flustered as she replied, "Yes.  Please do 
not bring that up again."

	Trunks chuckled as he started to type away on the keyboard, 
muttering something about primitive but useable technology, before he 
slipped a disk his mother had given him before he left his Time Line 
into the disk drive.  "Now," Setsuna said, "when you are..."

	"Finished."

	Setsuna once again felt her emotional control slip as she stared at 
Trunks in wide eyed shock.  "It seems," she thought, "I have chosen 
well."

	"You," Trunks said, "are Susan Michelson."

	"Susan," Setsuan thought, "why does that sound so... apt?"

	"I, am Troy Robbins.  We're business partners who immigrated to 
America from Okinawa in 1985 and set up this shop in 1988.  We have 
our full Green Cards, so we don't have Immigration Services to worry 
about."

	"Impressive..."

	Trunks shrugged, "It's a thing I do."

	"... but what about identification."

	Trunks smiled, "I also added a report to the Police Department that 
all our credit cards, drivers licenses and just about all our other 
major forms of ID were stolen when we met a group of muggers in 
Central Park.  We can expect 'replacements' in about a week.  I hope 
you like Visa."

	Setsuna replied, "We won't be needing credit cards but they will be 
good for cover."

	"Right.  Now what?"

	"Now, we wait for our friends to arrive.  Some of the finer details, 
like the cancelation of welfare checks and thus, making them search 
out for work, where they will come into contact with us, can only be 
dealt with when they are here.

	"A word of warning," Setsuna added, "To help our friends effectively 
win this struggle, for the most part, we must work in the shadows.  
They must not know that Susan and Troy, are really Setsuna and Trunks.
"

	"I understand," Trunks said as he frowned, "I don't like it, but I 
understand.  Just one question though, probably a stupid one, but why 
do these three have to fight this Eclipse Syndicate?  I mean, I know 
Gohan can take care of himself quite well, even if he will have 
amnesia as you say he will, but these other two... I don't know..."

	Setsuna explained, "Sailor Moon, while clumsy and perhaps not the 
smartest person in the world, IS a very powerful warrior and this 
experience, if she can survive, will be of great aid to her in future 
battles.

	"Ranma Saotome is a highly skilled martial artist who, while lacking 
Gohans Saya-jin birthright powers, is equal to or perhaps even 
greater than your friend in pure fighting ability.  He has the 
ability to learn fast and it is quite possible that he will be able 
to hold his own against even your father one day."

	"A normal human?  Holding their own against VEGITA?" Trunks asked 
with a soft chuckle, "I might want to see that someday."

	"Perhaps you will.  Now, please check to see the equipment we have 
is in working order.  They will come tommorow night."

	"TOMMOROW?!!  That's one heck of a deadline Setsuna."

	"I believe in punctuality."

	Trunks grumbled under his breath, "Figures."

	Setsuna pretended not to hear him, or perhaps she didn't care, and 
said, "After you check the equipment, I suggest you get some sleep, 
we will have long days ahead."

	"What about you?"

	"I shall teleport back to Tokyo, for I am needed to make an 
appearance in a battle with a monster.  Then, I shall be in need of 
rest.  For contrary to how I appear, I have spent a great deal of 
energy this day."

	Trunks gave an offhanded grunt of understanding as he rummaged 
through the backpack, checking the equipment.  Setsuna raised her 
transformation stick to the air and whispered, "Pluto Planet Power.  
Make Up."

	With a flash of light, Sailor Pluto opened a Time Portal and was 
whisked away.

	Trunks went through the contents of the bag.  Seeing if all the 
equipment that the female time traveler had asked Bulma to pack was 
in there.

	Two compression rings?  Check.
	A pouch of Senzu beans?  Check.
	The Dragon Radar?  Check.
	An English Translator device for him?  Check.
	Capsules with changes of clothes for him?  Check.
	A few Capsule vehicles for emergencies?  Check.

	There was one last thing to check.  He removed the scabbard from his 
back and unsheathed his sword.  He took a few practice swings and was 
satisfied that it was an exact duplication of his old one, which had 
been broken in battle with the Androids that had destroyed his time.  
"Check," he said aloud as he grinned at the way the sword seemed to 
glow in the moonlight.

	Putting the sword back in its scabbard, he yawned and went to find 
his room.  "Of course," he thought, "it would have been nice if she 
had told me which one was..."

	He looked up and noticed the little note that read <This room is 
yours> taped to one of the doors.

	"Oh great," he grumbled, "I'm working with a blasted know it all."

	As he entered the simply furnished, but functional, bed room, he 
thought as he flopped down on the bed, "Gohan, you helped me in my 
time of greatest need.  Looks like I finally get to return the favor.
"

END OF EPISODE

Next: Okay, for the grand 30th chapter celebration of TRIO, we go 
back to our main heros.

Usagi and Ranma go out on their first date, but a bunch of terrorists 
and Gohans coming down with the flu puts a crimp in their plans to 
say the least.

Now, with a weakened Gohan trying to fight his way past Juggernaut 
and Usagi knocked senseless, the only one who can save the day is Yin 
Yang.  But can Ranma overcome his fear and be a hero once more?

Next time on TRIO: FIRST DATE: THE BATTLE WITH JUGGERNAUT AND THE 
FLU!