I know this isn't REALLY the next chapter, but I after seeing a 
certain movie for the second time, I felt that I had to write this.

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

2 Months till I-Con

May The Spirit Preserve You!
_________________________

				 TRIO:
			      JUST A MOVIE?

	It was a late Saturday afternoon and Gohan, Ranma and Usagi were 
sitting around the house, bored to tears.

	Gohan tried reading a book, but found that he had already read every 
book in the house.  Ranma channel surfed, but all he could find were 
infomercials and really bad movies.  Usagi was reading a comic book, 
but she found it to be REALLY stupid.

	Finally, in frustration, Ranma thrust his hands skyward and roared, 
"ARRRGH!!!  There's gotta be something to do!!!  I'm going CRAZY!!!"

	"Join the club," Usagi replied, looking up from her comic.

	"Same here," Gohan added as he placed a Sci-Fi novel back onto the 
shelf.

	"So are we gonna just sit around here and moan about it or are we 
gonna do something?" Ranma grumbled.

	"How about," Gohan suggested, "we go see a movie?"

	"Yeah," Usagi exclaimed as she leapt to her feet, "Spice World!"

	"NO!" The two males yelled as one.

	"Awww..."

	"How about," Ranma asked, "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation?"

	"NO!" Gohan and Usagi yelled as one.

	"Midnight in the Garden of Eden?"

	Ranma and Usagi gave Gohan a look that said, "You've GOT to be 
kidding."

	Finally, Gohan and Usagi suggested at the same time, "Titanic?"

	Ranma grumbled, "No way."

	The Sayan and the Senshi both grinned at each other and each threw 
an arm around Ranmas shoulders as Usagi said, "You know, I doubt the 
three of us could ever agree on a single movie that we should all go 
see.  So that means..."

	Gohan added as he and Usagi pulled Ranma to his feet, "The majority 
wins!"

	"HEY!" Ranma yelled as they dragged him to the door, "No fair!  Okay,
 okay!  I'll go!  Just lemme go!"

	Later....

	The man who was behind the snack bar couldn't believe his ears.  
"Let me get this straight," he said, "You want three large popcorns, 
three extra large sodas AND three king sized chocolate bars?"

	The Trio nodded.  The server shrugged and replied, "Just checking."

	Soon, when they had their snacks, which could have fed a family of 
nine, Ranma, Gohan and Usagi made their way into the theater that was 
showing Titanic.  They stopped short and looked on in amazement at 
the pure number of people.  At best, they could only find two seats 
together and close to the screen Usagi and Ranma turned to look at 
Gohan and the Saya-jin protested, "Come on guys.  The only other seat 
is way in the back."

	The young couple smirked and did a bye-bye wave as they replied, 
"Enjoy the show."

	Gohan, head down, overdramaticaly slinked to the back of the theater 
and took the only seat available.  "Sometimes you're the fly," Ranma 
thought as he and Usagi sat down next to each other and 
enthusiastically dug into their popcorn, "and sometimes you're the 
windshield."

	Soon, the lights dimmed and the trailers for Primary Colors, 
Godzilla and Dark City danced across the screen.  Then, the lights 
went out completely and the movie began.

	The audience watched as the two small subs and their probe explored 
the ancient and ominous wreckage of the gigantic cruise ship.  
Admitidly, the trio was more involved in their treats but somehow 
they managed to keep along with the movie as the discovery of the 
picture, the old lady who was in the picture's arrival to the 
research ship and the start of her story was shown.

	As soon as the lady, named Rose, began to talk about how both she 
and a man named Jack Dawson had arrived onto Titanic, Ranma, who had 
finished his sweats not too long ago, felt a hand on his and turned 
his head to notice Usagi was the one who had done it.  She looked up 
at him, smiled, and then turned back to enjoy the movie.  Ranma 
couldn't help himself from grinning slightly as he also turned his 
attention back to the screen.

	Even far back in the theater, Gohan could still feel the grandness 
and majesty of the crown jewel of the White Star Line's fleet as it 
chugged out of the harbor on its maiden voyage.

	They watched, along with everyone else in the theater, as Rose and 
Jack, after a rather unusual meeting, began to develop a friendship, 
despite the prejudice of wealth, that soon bloomed into romance.  
They watched as Jack sketched the portrait that had been found by the 
search team in the movie's opening and they all laughed as the time 
switched to the present and showed an image of the research crew with 
goofy grins on their faces as Rose told them about it.

	Usagi suddenly felt the need to look at her boyfriend and noticed 
that HE had the same goofy grin on his face.  Ranma felt the open 
palm that smacked against the back of his head, turned to Usagi and 
whispered as he rubbed his head, "What was THAT for?!"

	"Why were you grinning like that?!" was the whispered reply.

	"Aw come on.  Don't tell me you're jealous of a movie character."

	"Should I be?!"

	"Jeez!" Ranma snapped a bit too loudly and earned a collective, 
"SHHHH" from the audience as he clamped his hands over his mouth.

	As the two continued to argue under their breaths, Gohan watched as 
Jack and Rose ran from those who pursued them.  Watched as they 
consummated their relationship in the back of the car and felt the 
ominous presence of the iceberg as Titanic approached it and was 
about to meet its destiny.

	The arguing couple stopped arguing as they heard the loud screech 
when metal and ice collided and jumped in their seats, their 
attention now fully on the screen.

	They watched as the ship began to go down.  Watched as both Jack and 
Rose were forced to escape near death encounters with the cold waters 
of the Atlantic.  Ranma wasn't sure if he liked it or not, because, 
during those sequences, Usagi would inch a little bit closer, which 
he liked, but would grip his hand like a vice, which was slightly 
painful.

	Then came the scene where the musicians played their final, mournful 
song and the images of those who had accepted the fact that they were 
going to die were displayed.  Gohan felt a tightness in his throat 
and could not help it as several tears welled up in his eyes.

	Usagi had lost it and softly sobbed on Ranmas chest as he said, 
"It's okay.  It's just a movie."

	However, the huskiness of his voice told Usagi that Ranma was 
fighting his own battle with his tears.  Everyone in the theater was 
affected by that scene on various levels from all out bawling to the 
lame excuse of, "I must have gotten something in my eye."

	An author sitting in the front row thought, "If I can ever write a 
scene that has even half the power of this sequence, I'll know that 
I've truly matured as a writer."

	Then the song ended and the band leader said, "Gentlemen... it has 
been a privalage to perform with you."

	The crying over for the moment, the people went back to watching the 
horror of the grand ship being pulled below the sea.  They gasped as 
it split in two and many people winced, the sound of sharp intakes of 
breath filling the theater, as they watched those who fell and 
collided with the rudders, the railing and several other outcropings.


	Finally, the ship slipped beneath the waves and the people silently 
cheered on Jack and Rose as they swam for the surface.  However, the 
final horror of the life boats refusing to return and the people, 
Jack among them, who died of hypothermia, brought about another wave 
of crying from the audience, especially when the one boat did come 
back and the ship mate who held the light shinned it on the frozen to 
death father, who held his equally frozen baby to his chest.

	Soon, Rose let Jacks body sink into the dark depths of the sea and 
found a way to get the boat to pick her up and let her live a long 
life.

	Then, a few scenes later, the movie was over.

	The lights came up as the credits played and Celine Dion sang "My 
Heart Will Go On."

	Ranma just sat their a while.  He stayed partially from the fact 
that he couldn't believe that a movie could have touched him so 
deeply and partially due to the fact that Usagi was still weeping on 
his chest.

	Gohan made his way through the crowd and went over to his friends.  
"Did you like it?" he asked as he cleared away the last of his own 
tears.

	Usagi managed to get her sobbing under control and, looking up, 
nodded as she said, "Yeah.  It was sad, but still good.  You know 
what I mean?  What did you think Ranma?"

	Ranma tried to act nonchalant as he replied, "Eh.  Not bad."

	"Not bad?!" the others exclaimed, "How can you SAY that?!"

	There were times that Ranma realized that his tough guy act was the 
wrong way to go and this was one of them as he said in a near whisper,
 "I liked it... a lot."

	The three of them left the theater, leaving the two who had sat 
unnoticed in the far back corner alone.

	Trunks thought as he fought back his tears, "If only Dad could see 
me now.  He'd probably say, 'What's your problem?!  It's just a 
stupid movie about some idiotic humans.'"

	He turned to his partner and got a large shock as he saw Setsuna 
with her face buried in her hands and great sobs shook her frame.  
"Man," he said, "I never knew you were so emotional at movies.  Hell, 
I never knew you were emotional, period."

	Setsuna looked up at him and replied, "It is not what you think.  I 
only cry because it was so close to how it really happened."

	Trunks's mouth fell open as he gawked, "You were there?!  How?!"

	Setsuna nodded and replied, "It is a long story... and suffice it to 
say that sometimes, being the Guardian of Time can be a heavy burden 
to bear."

	Outside the theater....

	While they had enjoyed the movie, the Trio were still feeling gloomy.


	"I don't want to go home yet," Usagi whined.

	"Me too," Gohan added.

	"Same here," Ranma agreed.

	"The arcade is right down the street," Gohan suggested, "how about 
we go there for a little bit?  And THIS time, I will beat you Ranma.
"

	The somber look faded from Ranma's face as he replied, "Yeah right.  
I could pick Dan and Shugma Gorath for my team and STILL whip your 
butt."

	Suddenly, all three of them squirmed slightly and Usagi said, "But 
first..."

	All three raced for the bathrooms as over three hours of sitting 
still and letting the snacks digest had caught up with them.

END OF SIDE STORY