This is the last fic I'm going to be sending for the next three days, 
since I'm taking time off to go the Hershey Pen. (Beware the Special 
Dark side of the chocolate! [Yes, any RRMLers in attendance and 
SKJAM!, I've used that joke twice... but so what!] ^_^)

HOWEVER, I DO expect my mailbox to be overflowing with comments on 
this, when I come back.  (It was a joke... please put the 
flamethrowers down. ^_^;;;)

Anyway, enjoy... and I STILL find it ironic that he chose to name 
himself after Jay Sherman.

To my Pre-readers: You didn't get an advanced copy of this because I 
wanted to get this to the list before I had to leave.

The Flashman
(Proud member of The Church of Tsukino Usagi)
Loyal G-Fan
UPDATED WEB PAGE
www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/3105/
May The Spirit Preserve You!
_______________________

	My helmet.
	It's a bit of a touchy point with me.
	You see, I almost never take it off.  I even eat with it on. (I just 
release the clamps that hold the left side of the silver "face guard" 
part of the helmet, and swing it open.)  The number of people in the 
FFML who have seen my naked face, are barely enough to count on two 
hands... and I have every intention of keeping it that way.
	It's not because I'm hidiously scarred or anything. (That's the 
problem of a different version of Flashman.  You see, he's involved 
with this war on a planet called Fred against this being called (?) 
and... sorry.)  Yet... I still hate it.

	I hate it so much, that I don't want to look at it as much as 
possible.

				  FFML SENTAI
				   FIVEMAN
(Chapter 3: The Mask I Wear)

	How it all began, was shortly after Space Sailor Moon and I left the 
office of FFML Boss.
	I kept looking myself over as we went on our way, unable to get over 
the change that had happened to me.  I felt like, to use an old 
saying, a million bucks.  It was if someone had supercharged my 
batteries.  Like I'd been given a new lease on life.  I looked over 
at my companion and noticed something else that was new.
	I was looking at her at eye level.  Before, I had found it necessary 
to tilt my head down slightly, since I was slightly taller than Space 
Sailor Moon's 5'6 1/2".  Now, I didn't need to do so at all.  I could 
look straight ahead and look her dead in the eye.
	She was a bit surprised when I stopped, asked her to stand back-to-
back with me, and checked to confirm what I thought.  When I stepped 
away, holding my hand at the possition that I had it at after I had 
run it along the top of my head, I found out that I was right.
	I had shrunk three inches.
	It wasn't a major deal.  It wasn't as if I was suddenly going to be 
the brunt of short jokes, however, I had become small enough (as I 
would learn in the future) that most males had to tilt their heads in 
a fashion that made them all look at if they were being haughty, if 
they wanted to look at me.
	I would soon discover that it was damn annoying when people looked 
at you that way.
	A sick feeling rising in my stomach, I looked around for a mirror, 
and settled for the reflective surface of the glass walls of the 
hallway leading to and from FFML Boss's office.  My hands shaking 
like someone had touched them with electrical wires, I fumbled for 
the latches on the gold helmet, with the black visor that covered the 
front of my face from the top of my forehead to the bridge of my nose.
  It took me several tries before my numb fingers succeded at the 
task.  I slowly removed the helmet...

	And blacked out for two days.
	What had stared back at me had been so radically different from what 
I had been used to.  It had been too lacking of baby fat and more 
angular.  It had been too clean of acne.  The eyes had been a 
brighter shade of blue and far too big.  The hair had been the same 
shade of brown and done in the same style, but it had held it's shape 
too well, without the memorable frizzes that needed to be constantly 
brushed back in a light wind.  It was a face women would have swooned 
at.  A face that had changed from mearly "cute" to downright "lady 
killer-ish"... but it wasn't my face.  I hated it.
	At times like this, you remember that line about never going home 
again.  Whoever had said that, hit it right on the head.  No one I 
had know from my previous life would ever recognize me.  My height, 
my body... my face.  It had changed far too much for me to ever fit 
in again.
	At the time, I also wished that whoever had written that, had been 
dragged out into the street and shot... repeatedly... then hanged and 
then burned at the stake.
	Not because I had any hatred for the man... but because I was in a 
"shoot the messanger" mood.

	What's even worse is that I learned that, when I had been 
transformed into my Avatar, my previous life had been totaly erased.  
There wouldn't have been anything there for me, even if I had tried 
to go back.  I met my new mother once but that comes later and it's a 
doozy of a story in it's own right.

	Anyway.  When I was aware of my surroundings again, I found myself 
in a simple room.  Even with the single bed side lamp turned off, I 
could see that the walls were a metalic grey and had no deceration.  
There was a small bathroom with a mini-showerstall, sink and toilet.  
The bed I was sitting on was built for only a single person and had 
plain white sheets.
	I also noticed Space Sailor Moon sitting in the corner, but I wanted 
to make sure I was seeing all of the sparce quaters before I said 
anything.  She broke the ice however, by saying, "You're moving your 
head, so you must be awake.  The only time you've moved in the last 
two days was when a nurse would come in to feed you, or when you went 
to the bathroom."
	I looked at her and replied, "So you've been sitting here the whole 
time?"
	She shrugged and said as she indicated the manila folder in her 
hands, "I can't find anyone who can explain this stuff in here about 
me, without using twenty letter words.  So I was kindda hoping you 
might."
	I smirked slighty, checked to see if my helmet was on, which it was 
and replied, "I guess I could try."
	I flicked on the bed side lamp and we both winced from the sudden 
increase of the light level.  Space Sailor Moon walked over and sat 
on the corner of the bed as she handed the folder to me.  I took it 
and began to leaf through it.
	Most of it left my head spinning, however, I was able to get the 
gist of it and asked, "I assume they've been giving you a lot of 
stuff like candy bars and soda, right?"
	"Yes," she replied, "Why?"
	"Well, if I'm reading this right, which I can't guarentee I am, 
they're doing that because your body's unique chemestry needs all the 
chemicals and sugar in that stuff to regulate itself.  You take the 
main amount of your power through the energy your shoulder crystals 
gather, but the chemicals in junk food help you... 'digest' it."
	"Oh.  Why didn't anyone just say that in the first place?"	
	"Well, you know how those scientific types are, always need to be as 
fancy as possible."
	"Oh.  How are you?  Are you really feeling okay now?"
	The sudden shift in conversation threw me and I used one of the 
words I use the most, "Huh?"
	I could feel... something, in those golden eyes as she looked at me 
and continued to speak, "I mean, you're acting like everything's fine 
all of a sudden."
	"I guess I'm still in a bit of shock," I replied, "I still can't get 
my mind around how much I've changed."
	"Are you ready for more?"
	"More?"
	"FFML Boss called me a few hours ago and said that, when you snapped 
out of it, that I should get back to him and set up training to get 
ready for future missions," her voice dropped an octave to imitate 
FFML Boss's low bass rumble, "'After all, you knew that is what you 
would be doing when you joined with us.'"
	"That's true," I replied with a laugh, "Doesn't mean I have to like 
it."
	"I'm going back to my room now," Space Sailor Moon said, "I'm gonna 
call FFML Boss from there and let you get some sleep.  The control 
pad on the far wall controls the video screen.  Hit 144 for the 
dirrections.  Goodnight."
	"'Night," I called back absentmindedly, already letting thoughts 
settle on me like a wet cloak.
	I heard the door hiss open and then hiss closed, leaving me alone.  
I felt as if I hadn't moved my muscles at all for a long time, which 
was true and I stood and paced the twenty three steps from one side 
of the room to the other, working the stiffness out as I pondered 
what was going to happen.
	What kind of fool had I been to even THINK I could do this?  I 
wasn't a hero!  For God sake, I got scared when someone smaller and 
weaker than me tried to challange me to a fight.  If my expectations 
were anything like the real thing, I was going to be going up against 
things that were bigger than me, nastier than me, uglier than me, and 
ready, willing and able to turn me into a puddle of gold, silver and 
blue goo if I so much as looked at them funny.
	The answer came to me as I yawned.  I was the White Knight kind of 
fool.  I couldn't let that poor girl (if calling Space Sailor Moon a 
girl was the right term) be all alone.  I felt some kind of 
connection to her and I didn't want to lose it in these strange 
circumstances.
	Besides, FFML Boss had said he's given me powers to deal with 
whatever I came up against, so maybe things wouldn't be so bad.
	I realize that phrase is a VERY dangerous thing to say, but that's 
what I was thinking at the time and I hadn't yet learned just how 
dangerous those six words could be.
	Realizing that it was time for me to try and get some good old REM 
state sleep, I flicked off the bed side lamp, got into bed, took off 
my helmet (making sure my eyes didn't come into contact with any 
reflective surfaces as I put the helmet on the table along side the 
lamp), made myself comfortable, and waited for sleep to come for me.

	I'm not the kind of guy, even when I'm utterly exausted, who falls 
asleep imediatly.  It takes me time to drift off and, until the last 
second, my mind is still fully active.  Trying to avoid thinking 
about what was to come, and thus make sleep impossible, I tried to 
concentrate on the sounds around me, trying to find something that 
would sooth me into the realm of dreams.
	In my former life, I would have used the sound of my airconditioner 
or my electric air filter (I had always been alergic to dust).  
However, since the former was unecissary because of the always cool 
temperatures of the Nexus (what we call the area between realites) 
and the latter was also unecissary due to the fact that my body was 
no longer alergic, I had to settle for the sound of my next door 
neighbors arguing.
	The sound drifted thought the incredibly thin (yet surprisingly 
strong) walls between our domiciles and I heard the names "Fuu" and 
"Ami" used by the two participants (although, they called each other 
"Miss Magic Knight" and "Miss Senshi" respectivly when they were 
really angry) as they verbaly dueled about something called Frequency 
Altered Quarks. (Wait a minute.  Doesn't that also stand for... never 
mind.)
	After what I estimated to be ten or fifteen minutes, the argument 
wound down and was replaced by something softer.  The quiet, intimate 
talk of lovers in a low heat. (Stop looking at me like that!  
Remember, most of the people working for the FFML are from alternate 
realities.  Besides, like I said, the walls were REALLY thin.) The 
way their soft, love filled words made the wall behind me hum, was 
enough for me to relax fully and fall into a deep sleep.

	The next morning... or what passed for morning in the Nexus, I was 
awakened by an incesent beeping coming from the far wall.  Still 
somewhat groggy, I sat up, blinked, rubbed sleep gunk out of my eyes, 
grabbed my helmet, put it on, then got up to inspect the noise.  The 
high pitched beeping was in tandom with a blinking red button that 
was on the key pad that Space Sailor Moon had said was for some some 
kind of video wall.
	Still not fully awake, I looked at it dumbly for a second before 
deciding that it would probably be a good idea to press the flashing 
button and see what happened.  I did so.
	The whole upper half of the wall suddenly became a video monitor as 
the cheerful face of a blonde version of Nene (a character from an 
Anime series called Bubble Gum Crisis.  And I didn't figure that out 
until I was more awake, as I had only seen one ep of BGC and... I 
know, I know) looked at me and said in a voice too cheerful and 
sugary for the time of day it felt like, "Good morning, Mr Flashman.  
This is your 0700 wake-up call."
	"Ungle," I grumbled.
	Apparently, the blonde Nene had previous experience with Morning 
Speak and answered, "Your special trainer was the one who sent me 
this time and also gave me the responsibility of telling you that you 
and your partner are to meet him in training room five in at 0835."
	"Muhmem."
	"When you exit your room, there will be a blue light strip on the 
ground, follow it and you will find your way there."
	"Fehmehemm."
	"And you have a good morning too.  Bye bye."
	The image winked out of existance and left me alone to try and get 
myself presentable for whatever was going to happen next.  I could 
hardly wait.  (You do realize I was being sarcastic when I said that 
last line, right?)

	An hour later, after a quick showering, brushing of my teeth and 
combing of my hair, which is a bit difficult while trying to not look 
at your face in the mirror, I went up to the door, which opened 
autmaticaly and looked down.  Seeing the blue strip heading in a 
westerly dirrection, I followed it through the maze that was the FFML 
headquaters until I came to a metalic double door that said, 
<Training Room 5>.
	I tried to go in, but found that the doors were either locked or I 
just didn't know how to open them.  About two minutes later, I saw 
Space Sailor Moon, who was also following a blue strip, walk towards 
me.  "Hiya," I said in greeting, "Together again, it seems."
	She looked up at me, a slightly Usagi-ish "I got woken up too early 
so I'm grumpy" look on her face and answered with a non-comital grunt.

	As soon as she was standing next to me, the doors to Training Room 5 
swung inward of their own accord and a voice inside said, "Come in."
	"It's deja vu all over again." I muttered to myself as the two of us 
walked in.
	It was a gymnasium.  A standard, high school gymnasium.  Space 
Sailor Moon, now more awake because of the unusualness of the 
situation, called out to the empty gym, "Hello?"
	The whole place looked empty.  All the metal spectator bleachers had 
been pushed back to their closed possition, there wasn't any sort of 
mats or equipment set up... nothing.
	Perhaps if one of us had tried looking up... but that's hindsight 
talking.
	A green blur landed between us with a savage bellow and, before 
either of us could register what it was, it leveled Space Sailor Moon 
with a vicious blow and sent her flying.  The thing I still couldn't 
identify, rushed forward and grabbed me around the neck with it's 
left hand.
	The suddeness of the attack didn't give me time to think, but my 
body seemed to know what it was doing and I grabbed the hand of my 
attacker with both of my own, and used the offending arm to lift my 
feet off the ground and bring them around into my opponent's gut.
	The other guy grunted and let go of my throat, but I was too stunned 
that I had been able to do the manuver I had just performed to follow 
up.
	My attacker wasn't so gracious as it... no, he... performed a 
handstand, and grabbed me with his left leg on my chest and his right 
leg on the small of my back.  From the possition, he tossed me across 
the room and into the stacked bleachers with ease.  "Ow..." I moaned.

	As I slid down the bleachers, upside down and totaly trashed in two 
seconds, I got a good look.  He was a humanoid figure with green, 
scaled skin.  He wore gold bikini briefs and a golden, roman style 
helemt.  He had no right hand.  In it's place was a three pronged 
trident.  His golden eyes with black slits turned to where I assumed 
Space Sailor Moon had been knocked down, then back at me, as he said, 
"So this is what I must prepare for combat?  I can see that there 
will be the need for much work."
	Ladies and Gentlemen... meet Trident.

TO BE CONTINUED IN...
(Part 4: How Do You Get To Carnogey Hall?)