You people asked for it...

You people demanded for it...

YOU PEOPLE THREATENED MY LIFE FOR IT!!!

(Deep breaths.  Calming breaths)

So here it is, the next chapter of TRIO.

As always, C&C is appreciated and if anyone can tell me how to beat 
Sigmas third stage form in Mega Man X 4, I'll be greatful.

The Flashman
(Proud member of The Church Of Tsukino Usagi)

May The Spirit Preserve You!
___________________________

				TRIO:
			     FIRST DATE:
			 CONFIDENCE RETURNED:
			   MOKO TAKIBASHIA

	Ranma-chan turned on the faucet and splashed the warm water on her 
face, causing the change.  Ranma grabbed a paper towel and wiped his 
face.  As he was doing so, he heard a loud commotion come from 
outside the bathroom and, as he got what was known as A Bad Feeling, 
cautiously opened the door a crack and looked out.

	He went wide eyed as he saw Savior, standing over the people he and 
his men held hostage and saying, "I'm here to help.  Help this world 
be tempered in the fire of God and be free again."

	"Why don't you start in the Porno District." a particularly brave 
African American teen said, "They ain't even servin' booze here!"

	Savior lowered his head and sighed as he replied, "True.  However," 
Savior suddenly pulled out a pistol from his pocket and shot the boy 
who had objected in the shoulder, "you have proven my point."

	The boy screamed in pain as Savior continued, "This is where it all 
begins.  A nightclub, it seems safe enough.  However, it mearly draws 
you in for the time when you become adults, where you return to a 
place that serves alcohol and is the meeting place where drugs are 
sold and whores sell themselves.  However, because of the positive 
experience now, you care not and thus, the Devil is able to sink his 
claws into your souls."

	As Savior rambled on, Ranma thought, "What a nutcase."

	Then, as he scanned the room as much as he was able to, he gasped as 
he saw a familiar blonde sprawled on the floor.  Ranma closed the 
door all the way and thought, "No... Usagi.  Usagi's HURT!  I gotta 
do something."

	Suddenly, a loud sound from the outside window drew the panicking 
boys attention and he looked out to see Sayaman and Juggernaught 
engaged in a pitched battle.  "Gohan's not doing so good," Ranma 
thought as he watched the fight, "Not surprising, considering how 
sick he is.  I guess," Ranma gulped at the prospect, "that leaves 
only... me."

	Outside...

	Sayaman was sent into another wall as Juggernaught bashed his ribs 
with an oversized right fist.  Sayaman pulled himself out of the 
wreckage of the wall and leaped forward again.  Juggernaught 
attempted another punch but Sayaman managed to stop it.  When he 
tried to capitalize on his block however....

	"AHCHOO!  AHCHOO!  AHCHOO!!!"

	Juggernaught was caught in the face by the full spray of Sayamans 
sneezes and he exclaimed as he fell back, wiping off his face, 
"That's disgustin'!  Doncha carry a hankie or somethin'?!"

	"(Siff) A dirty, super powered mercenary like you," Sayaman replied 
as he ran a finger across his nose, "worried about germs from me?"

	"HEY!  If a merc. don't have his health, he ain't got nothin'!"

	Juggernaught slammed his fists to the street and send a wave of 
cement at the sick super hero.  Sayaman managed to get himself into 
the air and pelted Juggernaught with a few ki balls, before Juggy 
pulled a lamp post out of the ground and flung it at him.

	Sayaman, in his weakened state, wasn't able to move out of the way 
in time and was clobbered by the post.  The hero fell to the ground 
and he stood as he prepared for Juggernaughts next charge.

	Inside....

	Ranma took a deep breath.  This was the moment of truth, could he do 
it?  Could he be a hero again?

	Ranma absently went to press the ring on his finger when he realized 
something.

	The ring wasn't there.

	He panicked and went searching in his pockets.  After the disaster 
that had been his battle with Broli, Ranma had once again handed over 
his ring to Usagi.  If he knew her at all...

	As he had suspected, in his left side pants pocket, inbetween a 
folded note, was the familiar black and white ring that was his 
compressed costume.  The note read,

<You don't give up THAT easy.
-Usagi (a little picture of a bunny head was drawn next to the 
name)>

	Ranma smiled and put on the ring.  He pressed the jewel and in his 
place, Yin Yang was ready... or so he hoped.

	First order of business, take another check to see who was where.  
Yin Yang opened the door a crack once again and took another peek.  
What he could see was all the people huddled in one area on the dance 
floor, most likely where they could all be taken out at once if 
things went sour.  He could also see Savior, standing a short ways 
away from the crowd, still babbling on about "saving the children 
from the nights horrors."

	What caught his attention most however, was the fact that Usagi had 
been dragged from where she had ben KOed and was now sprawled out in 
front of Savior.  "If that animal lays a hand on her, I'll..." Yin 
Yang cut off that thought quickly as he tried to stop himself from 
either bolting out and beating up the bad guys or losing what 
remained of his courage and bolting for the nearest exit.

	Next order of business, several times as he had watched the 
proceedings, a guard had passed by the door to the bathroom.  
Obviously, he was there to deal with situations where rescue crews 
tried to sneak in through the bathroom window.  Had to deal with him 
first.

	Yin Yang flicked off the lights, stood away from the door, making 
sure that no one from outside would be able to see him, opened it 
slightly and called out just loud enough for only the guard to hear 
him, "Can someone tell the management they need more toilet paper?"

	The guard rushed into the bathroom and was greeted by a snap kick to 
the face.  An open hand chop to the side of the neck and he went down 
for good, his jaw crunching on the floor as he crashed to the ground. 
 Yin Yang quickly, and quietly, closed the door again.

	Yin Yang was just starting to look for something he could use as 
rope to tie up the guard when, without warning, the guard suddenly 
spazamed a few times, gagged on the foam that had suddenly gathered 
around his mouth and died.  "What the..." Yin Yang thought.

	Reaching down and opening the guards mouth, he noticed that one of 
the mans teeth was false and that his fall must have crushed it.  
"Must have put a poison under the false tooth," the hero thought 
sourly, "Probably cyanide.  These guys play for keeps."

	Looking around, Yin Yang noticed an air vent and, seeing it was 
large enough for him to crawl into, removed the panel and went inside.


	Outside the building....

	Sayaman was losing.

	He hated to admit it, but it was true.  He was just too sick to get 
by Juggernaught.  The only choice he had was to power up.  "Maybe," 
Sayaman thought, "my powering up will be able to make me ignore my 
flu long enough to beat this guy and save my friends."

	Sayaman balled his fists and concentrated as he tried to reach his 
higher state of being.  However, as he tried, he broke into a 
coughing fit and his concentration was broken.  He tried again, but 
this time, a wave of vertigo overcame him and he stumbled back 
slightly as he fought off the nausea.  Finally, Juggernaught punched 
him in the stomach and said, "If yer quite finished tryin' ta pass 
gas, there's a little thing called a fight that ya might want ta pay 
attention to."

	Sayaman doubled over and then straightened as he sent an upper cut 
that struck the villain in the jaw.  Juggernaught was actually 
staggered by the blow and as he rubbed his jaw, he said, "Ya know kid,
 I gotta say, yer one a the few people who've ever been able ta go 
toe ta toe with me..."

	Juggernaught charged again and hit Sayaman with a running punch that 
sent the hero flying down the street.  Sayaman landed and skidded 
down the street even farther, digging a long and deep trench in the 
concrete.  "But yer just out classed!" Juggernaught finished.

	Inside the building, in an air duct...

	Yin Yangs hands gripped the grating over the duct opening tightly.  
He looked down and went over his plan again.  "Okay," he thought, 
"First, I rip this off and then drop down on this Savior guy who's 
below me.  I knock him out fast and then move on to the others.  
Seeing their leader taken out should stun them and I'm fast enough 
that I should be able to take them all out before they realize what 
happened."

	He wished he could convince the Mothra sized butterflies in his 
stomach of that.

	Below him, he heard Savior say, "Soon, we shall send our message to 
the world...  In blood."

	This made the people whimper and Savior continued, "Do not worry 
yourselves.  The one I have chosen is already in front of me.  She 
dared to partake in the holiest of embraces with one who was the same 
as her."

	At the blank looks of the captive audience, the soldier standing 
next to him translated, "She lip wrestled with another woman."

	Yin Yang repositioned himself so that he could get a better look at 
what the leader of the terrorists was talking about and saw as Savior 
drew a knife out of his coat pocket and traced the sharp edge of it 
against the still unconscious Usagis face.  "Sad," Savior said, "that 
one so young has been so severely corrupted.  However, I have faith 
that God shall have mercy on her soul."

	The fear grew in Yin Yangs stomach.  Then, all thoughts of fear were 
temporarily banished as he saw what was going to happen to Usagi if 
he didn't act NOW.

	Savior gripped his knife with both hands and raised it over his head,
 preparing to strike.  He stopped as he heard a rage filled voice 
shout, "NO!"

	Yin Yang kicked out the grate that coved the air vent and dropped to 
the floor.  He quickly kicked the knife out of Saviors' hand and then 
put him down with a right cross to the face.  Savior cried out in 
pain and then dropped to the floor.  As Yin Yang started to move in 
on the others, the part of his mind that was still frightened yelled 
at him, "YOU IDIOT!  You're not ready for this yet!  You can't win!"

	However, another part of his mind and his heart, replied in the 
voice of an old woman that Yin Yang could not remember, "You're 
confidence has always been your greatest weapon.  Use it!"

	As Yin Yang knocked out the soldier that stood next to where Savior 
had fallen, he felt his confidence rise and that wasn't all.  A blue 
glow started to envelope him and he thought, "My confidence as a 
weapon.  YES!  THAT'S IT!  I *CAN* DO THIS!!!"

	The other soldiers, both stunned that their leader had been taken 
out so quickly and that this strange person was actually glowing, 
found themselves quickly being taken out as Yin Yang moved from one 
to the next with a speed that was almost super natural.

	Soon, only one remained and he was able to shake out his head and 
aim his gun at Yin Yang.  Yin Yang, his glow growing until it almost 
became blinding, said, "You have a gun.  I don't need one.  My 
confidence is the only weapon I need!"

	Then, he placed his hands in front of him and shouted, "MOKO 
TAKIBASHIA!!!"

	The glow channeled into his hands and before the soldier could pull 
the trigger, it was unleashed in a ki blast that flung him into the 
far wall and knocked him out cold with several broken ribs.

	In Ranmas mind, the ghost of Woe Bringer let out one last earth 
shaking roar and died.

	Outside...

	The SWAT teams had finally arrived and Juggernaught was having the 
time of his life as he threw them around like rag dolls.  They fired 
their rifles at him to no effect.  Someone even had a rocket launcher 
but the rockets did nothing to him as well.

	Juggernaught laughed and picked up one of the SWAT vans and hurled 
it at the officers, who fled from its path as quickly as they were 
able to.  "Ya know," he quipped, "I'm actually startin ta miss that 
kid.  He was kinda fun."

	As if in answer to his remark, the area where he had knocked Sayaman 
into suddenly exploded in a blast of yellow light.  A loud wordless 
yell emanated from the center of the blast and before it started to 
fade, Sayaman, his hair now golden blond and spiked up, flew forward 
and sent Juggernaught skidding back several yards with a double punch 
to the gut.

	"Thanks for being easy to distract," Sayaman said to Juggernaught 
sarcastically, "because you took your attention off me, I was finally 
able to concentrate long enough to power up."

	"Power up, shmower up,"  Juggernaught replied, "Yer still not gonna 
beat me."

	Juggernaught reared back his fist and struck Sayaman in the face 
with his most powerful haymaker.  The ground around them shook from 
the force and the windows on the buildings behind them shattered from 
the shock wave.

	Sayaman, whos head had been knocked to the side, just rolled his 
eyes so they stared at Juggernaught and he asked coldly, "Is that all?
"

	Juggernaught didn't have time to reply as Sayaman unleashed punch 
after punch anfter punch into his larger opponents body.  Suddenly, 
and without any warning, the golden haired hero let go with an upper 
cut so powerful that the brutes head was separated from his neck.

	The head went flying down the street but Sayaman paid it no notice 
as a new head was in place of the old one.  "Oh man," the womans head 
that had been covered by the Juggernaught "mask" said, "if the master 
ever finds out about this, I'm dead."

	"BRUNT?!" Sayaman asked, confused.

	To himself, he added, "It must be some kind of battle suit that 
imitates Juggernaught so the Eclipse Syndicate can cover their 
activities."

	Brunt had ignored him as she continued to fret, "Oh, I hope Lord 
Samaron can get this repaired like he promised.  I don't wanna die."

	With that, she and the suit teleported away.

	Sayaman had no time to wonder about it further as he rushed for the 
front door and bashed it in.

	He would have said something heroic and attention getting, but he 
found it difficult as his jaw had hit the floor.

	For in front of him, all the terrorists were out cold, while the 
citizens were slowly starting to rise to their feet as several of 
them let out sobs of relief.  Yin Yang was there too, looking at his 
hands as he murrmered under his breath, "My confidence did this?"

	Then he grinned as he clenched his hands into fists and said, "Cool.
"

	"Y..Yin Yang," Sayaman asked as he walked over to his friend, "What 
happened?"

	"I'm back Sayaman," Yin Yang said simply, "I'm really back this time.
"

	"I can see that, but what happened HERE?"

	"It was incredible.  I just trusted in myself and..."

	Suddenly, Yin Yang remembered something important and rushed over to 
where Usagi lay.  Sayaman grumbled, "Nobody tells me anything."

	Usagi groaned slightly as she tried to open her eyes.  The first 
thing she saw when her vision started to clear somewhat was a very 
looking concerned Yin Yang who asked, "Are you okay Usa..." Yin Yang 
caught himself, "miss?"

	"A movie," Usagi groaned as she sat up, "Next time, my boyfriend and 
I go to a nice, safe movie."

	A movement out of the corner of his eye caught Yin Yangs attention 
and he turned as he saw Savior trying to sneak off for the stairs 
that lead to the roof.  "'Scuse me," Yin Yang said, "I've got some 
business to finish up."

	Yin Yang then ran to the stairs and went up them as he chased the 
zealot to the roof.  Yin Yang through open the door to the roof and 
ran out side.  Standing right in front of him, making no attempt to 
escape, was Savior.  Suddenly, Savior laughed and in a bright flash 
of light, he was gone.  In his place stood a man in a classic ninja 
outfit with a small, green, snake like dragon on his chest.  "Ninjax,
" he said, "Servant of the Warriors Department."

	"What the hell?!" Yin Yang growled.

	Ninjax laughed again and replied, "Lord Samaron was impressed when 
the two of you first battled.  He wants the honor of killing you 
himself but he prefers when his foes stand tall and resolute and not 
when they cower in fear, so my mission was to make sure that you 
regained your courage."

	Yin Yang replied, "Something tells me your leader won't like that."

	"What he does not know will not upset him.  And now, I must bid you 
a fond farewell."

	Ninjax disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

	Later....

	The medical team had finally let Usagi go with a strict warning to 
take it easy for a few days and that she would need quite a few 
aspirins in the morning.

	"I hope this isn't any sort of omen," she moaned as she and Ranma 
walked back home.

	Gohan, after making sure it was really over, quickly flew back home 
to lay down and rest, leaving the couple to walk back home alone.  
"What do you mean?" Ranma replied.

	"I mean," Usagi said as she adjusted the cold pack that she held on 
the back of her head, "our first date and it falls to pieces."

	"I wouldn't say that," Ranma replied, "I mean, I've got my 
confidence back."

	Usagi looked up at him and asked, "Are you sure you're one hundred 
percent again?"

	Ranma, seeing the glum look on Usagis face, gave in to a mischievous 
impulse and grabbed her in his arms, lifted her off the ground and 
said, "You tell me."

	"Ranma, what are y... MMMPPPHHH!"

	Ranma had kissed her full on the lips.  Usagi was laughing so hard 
that she could barely pucker but it was still sweet.

END OF EPISODE

NEXT:  The Eclipse Syndicate is back in business and that can only 
mean trouble for our heros.  Samaron is looking for an ancient and 
powerful sword and nothing will stop him from finding it.  Can the 
Trio stop him and the Eclipse Syndicate from adding this powerful 
weapon to their arsenal?

Find out in... TRIO: SEARCH FOR EXCALIBER!