SPINNERS

By DARK DAY FOR ANIME

Story One - Sailor Python's
FLYING DEAD MOON CIRCUS

Chapter 2 - "The Gathering Storm" or "Unless I'm Very Much Mistaken....  
Yes, I'm Very Much Mistaken"




What has gone before....
In an attempt to realign the proper course of reality, the Guardian of 
Universal Reality Protocols, Jyoserin Tepukataya, has possessed the body 
of Osaka Naru in the hope her presence will not be spotted.  However, 
even before she has started to influence events, Jyoserin has discovered 
a girl who is an anchronism to the universe which she has been 
operating, Ayanami Rei.  Jyoserin confronts Rei, and demands to know who 
she really is, but before Rei can tell her anything, they are attacked 
by a mysterious, clown-like figure, who calls himself Ronaldite....



	In the centuries following his successful takeover of the Baagakin 
Empire, his sacking of the Pizaha'at Republic and his wanton pissling 
over of the Khe'Efscie Kingdom, Ronaldite became steadily bored.  The 
Makdonord Empire had conquered all there was worth fighting in this 
universe, and it had all been due to the clown-like Emperor's charisma, 
power and cheap meal deals, not to mention the extra fat and sugar used 
in his recipes.

	He had sat for so long in his castle, playing with the hearts and 
minds of his well-dominated subjects through his propaganda campaigns 
and advertisements (many found it hard to define which was which), but 
it was not enough.  The Emperor needed a new challenge, new worlds to 
conquer.  But there were no more to conquer, and he slowly sank into an 
increasing torpor from which he never thought he would escape.

	Then one day, whilst in his royal chamber, forcing some of his 
subjects to eat a new flavour of sundae, rancid halibut giblets, a woman 
appeared before him.  A strangely attractive woman with long, wavy red 
hair and a dark gleam in her eyes.  He was about to suggest that she get 
her eyes tested for glaucoma when she spoke.

	"Are you Ronaldite, Emperor of the Makdonord?" Ronaldite looked 
down at the woman from his raised dais.  With one sweep of his hand, his 
chamber was emptied of subjects.  In their place appeared Ronaldite's 
two subordinates, Hanbagura and Gurimasu.
	"You dare make demands upon I, woman?"
	The woman smiled.  "I merely asked if you are the one I seek."

	Ronaldite squinted darkly at the woman.  Both Hanbagura and 
Gurimasu were now standing either side of her, in case she might do 
something untoward.  Yet there was no sign that the woman was even in 
the slightest concerned by their close presence.  Such arrogant 
confidence, thought the Emperor.

	"And what if I am?"  Ronaldite asked cautiously.  The woman 
chuckled.
	"I require a man of great power to aid me in my conquest.  Are you 
such a man?"  The woman stared aside at Ronaldite.  He rubbed his chin 
thoughtfully.
	"Hmm..  I am indeed a man of great power.  But what is this place 
you wish to conquer?  I have already succeeded in conquering all the 
known worlds."
	"Ah, but what of the unknown worlds beyond the borders of this 
universe?"  This caught Ronaldite's interest.
	""Unknown worlds?  Beyond this universe?"
	"Indeed.  There are many universes.  This is merely but one, 
Emperor Ronaldite."  The woman watched as Ronaldite's eyes began to 
shine with excitement.
	"More worlds to conquer...."  He shook with anticipation, then 
brought himself back under control as he turned to the woman.  "You can 
confirm this, of course, Madam....  Uhhhh...."
	"You may call me Beryal.  But many know me as Queen Burial."
	"Burial?"  Ronaldite stared at Beryal.
	"The fate of my many enemies."  Beryal stepped forward, putting 
out her hand.  "Come, Ronaldite.  I shall give you proof of my words."

	Before Ronaldite could step down from his dais, Hanbagura took 
Beryal by the shoulder and motioned his emperor to stop.  "My master, 
this may be a trap."  Hanbagura turned to look at Beryal, who stared 
back at him, smiling beatifically.

	"You may bring your subordinates, if you do not trust me, Emperor 
Ronaldite."  She turned back to Ronaldite, who nodded.  Hanbagura let 
Beryal go, allowing her to step forward towards his master.  Ronaldite 
took Beryal's hand, and both they and Ronaldite's two subordinates 
disappeared from the chamber.

	It was to be several days before they returned.  Fortunate, 
really, that the jouney was of much satisfaction to Ronaldite, because 
the smell of Rancid Halibut Giblet sundaes after being left out of 
storage for several days had caused most of the castle's inhabitants to 
die of Ecolli 1-11.


	In another place, another time, Ronaldite fired beams of energy at 
two young girls, standing beside a wall in a Tokyo street, dressed in 
sailorfuku....  What happened next wasn't entirely expected.

	"DINSDALE!!!"  The voice was that of a girl, younger than the two 
he had been attacking.  And she was carrying what appeared to be a large 
can-opener.  Ronaldite was bowled over as the young girl flew through 
the air after jumping off the nearest tall building, his attacks fizzing 
out before the other two girls were struck.

	The two girls watched as their saviour continued on her way, 
disappearing around a street corner, then turned back to Ronaldite, now 
lying flat on the road, unconcious.  The first of the girls, who had 
medium-length brown hair tied in a ribbon, turned to her light-blue 
haired companion.

	"What the fuck was THAT about?"
	"I dunno.  I've never seen the guy before."

	Jyoserin was starting to get annoyed.  "Now listen here, you 
bitch, I want to know just who the hell you are, and who the hell he is.  
Neither of you are in the Universal Program!"  Jyoserin now had Ayanami 
up against the wall, holding her collar violently.  Ayanami's expression 
was close to non-existent.

	"Calm yourself.  I shall tell you everything."
	Jyoserin lightened her grip, and Ayanami smiled.  For a moment, 
Jyoserin thouht Ayanami's face was going to fall off under the strain of 
the action.
	"Everything?"  Jyoserin stared at Ayanami darkly.
	"Of course.  In fact, I could take you to my master.  She will 
explain evrything to you.  If you so wish, of course."
	"Your master?"  Jyoserin's head began to spin.  Just how ingrained 
was this reality breach now?
	"Indeed.  It was she who sent me here to keep a watch over 
events."
	"And who might this 'master' of yours be?"
	"She goes by the name of Tsukino Usagi."
	Jyoserin's jaw hit the ground.  It required Ayanami's assistance 
to reposition it in its rightful place.  "Tsukino Usagi????  You don't 
mean that girl...."
	Ayanami shook her head.  "No, not THAT Tsukino Usagi.  I'm talking 
about her daughter, from the future.  The one who is referred to in this 
time as Chibiusa."
	Jyoserin nodded, understanding now.  It didn't make things any 
better, however.  "The girl who was sent back in time to 'learn' from 
her elders...."  
	Jyoserin rubbed her chin and thought for a few moments....  Time 
travel wasn't possible.  At least, not in this corner of the universe 
for quite a few thousand years.  There were other races who had the 
ability of time travel in other parts of the universe, and were quite 
adept at manipulating the affairs and histories of other people.  It was 
possible that one of these groups had begun to manipulate the history of 
this planet, but their efforts caused the reality breach....

	Before Jyoserin could think further about things, she heard a 
groaning noise behind her.  Both she and Ayanami looked back at 
Ronaldite, who was regaining conciousness, lifting himself onto all 
fours.  Jyoserin turned to Ayanami.
	"At once.  Take me to your master before that idiot gets up."
	Ayanami nodded.  Suddenly, a large, open phone box appeared around 
the pair of them, and the door rapidly slammed shut, just as Ronaldite 
got to his feet.  The phone box faded away as he watched, rubbing his 
head.

	"Are wa TAIHEN!"  Ronaldite gritted his teeth.  He pulled a valve 
open on his thumb and began to blow himself up like a balloon.  Slowly, 
he floated into the sky.  "I must tell Queen Burial of this turn of 
events."  He then vanished into a cloud of smoke....



	Makoto stood alone in her house.  Alone.  It was beginning to 
annoy her.  She had charged all the way home after running off in a fit 
of pointless pique from the shrine.  She didn't even know why she'd done 
it.  There just seemed to be an enormous anger building up inside her.  
She shivered and realized she'd left the door open.  Taking a few deep 
breaths, she turned and shut the door.

	She stood there for several moments, staring at the back of the 
door.  Alone, she thought.  The anger began to build up again, and she 
clenched her fists.  No, dammit, you can't let it get a hold of you....  
It was then that she realized she was digging her fingernails into the 
palm of her hands.  Blood dripped freely as she opened her hands up and 
jumped around the room to various strains and verses of "itaaaiiiiii..."

	Eventually, she'd gone to the bathroom to wash her hands off.  It 
was only there that she realized how fascinating the way the blood ran 
with the water down the sink really was....



	Rei now sat in her bedroom against her bed.  Most of the others 
had left after the less-than-successful get together they had planned in 
the hope of studying something....  Anything....  But it was not to be.  
Usagi was sick after eating a container of snails and subsequently 
coating one of her walls with them (cleaned up thanks to the efforts of 
a swamp thing that still sat in the corner of her room, staring off into 
space).  Ami, having had her snail collection consumed in front of her, 
had left in a state of extreme depression and aphasia.  Rei was a little 
concerned about her state of mind, but not a great deal.  Everyone's 
state of mind seemed to have gone a little astray over the past few 
days, and Rei couldn't work out why.

	Now Rei's only companion was a girl she didn't entirely know or 
trust.  CereCere, the asteroid senshi, had at one stage been an enemy of 
the planetary senshi when under the control of the Dead Moon Circus.  
She and her three companions, JunJun, VesVes and ParaPara, were known 
then as the Amazoness Quartet.  And all four were quite incurably 
insane.  What else would one expect from girls whose hairstyles required 
a small construction company to maintain?

	Now CereCere sat at the recently, and quickly, repaired table, 
swivelling her head around in an attempt to relieve the boredom her ten-
second attention span engendered.

	"So...  So....  What are we going to do?"  CereCere asked Rei 
abruptly.  Rei shrugged.
	"What can we do.  Unless ParaPara does something stupid, we're not 
likely to find her until she returns home.  By the way, where is your 
home, anyway?"

	CereCere smiled knowingly.  "Ah, you'd just like to know the 
answer to that, wouldn't you, eh?  Eh?  Eh?  Well, I'm not going to tell 
you, yes, I'm not.  So there, nyah boo."

	Rei sighed.  "Can you please explain what is going on with 
ParaPara again?"  Rei leaned her head back against the bed.  She was 
feeling seriously bored, and the medication she was on to control her 
disorder wasn't making her feel particularly good, either.

	"Ah, yes.  Well.  I woke up this morning and was getting ready to 
go to school, when VesVes popped her head into my bedroom and asked me 
to pick it up.  You know what her neck's like, always coming loose and 
all.  So, after handing her head back to her, I asked her what she 
wanted, and she told me that ParaPara had already left for school, which 
is most unusual as ParaPara hates school.  It requires too much 
intelligence and thats not a lot of what ParaPara is made of."

	Rei listened quietly and began to wonder what kind of school it 
was that would accept four girls like the asteroid senshi.  "Go on..."  
She said when she realized CereCere had stopped for dramatic effect.

	"Well, I then asked VesVes to check if ParaPara had taken her 
medication this morning.  She has a complex multiple psychotic and 
personality disorder, you know..."

	"Yes, you have mentioned it in passing...."

	"Well, VesVes came back and told me that her pillbox was 
untouched.  We then stared at each other for several minutes as the 
truth of what was going on sank in...  And then we freaked.  You know 
what VesVes looks like when she freaks?  Its not pretty, I tell you.  It 
took JunJun at least three hours to get her head out of the ceiling...."

	"And then?"

	"And then we raced to school.  Late as usual, but then we've never 
been early.  I mean, who wants to be early, school is there to simply 
disseminate disinformation anyway....  Its all a conspiracy, you 
see.....  Backed by the CIA, MI5 and Mossad.  We've been keeping an eye 
on them for years, now...."

	"So says the girl with the hairstyle like spaghetti 
architecture...."

	"Well, anyways, when we gets there, she's not there.  So we really 
freaks out, y'see, cos that means she's gone stark staring bonkers on 
her ways there.  And ya never know what might happen if she's a gonna 
transform herself into Sailorpallas....  She could use her powers to do 
anything...."

	Rei began to understand CereCere's concerns.  "Indeed.  But then, 
none of the senshi have been in their right minds for a while....  Ami's 
gotten all depressed and strange, Usagi's been eating weird things, 
Mako-chan keeps losing her thread all the time, having tantrums, and 
Minako's off with the birdies....  Well, that last one requires not too 
much a stretch of imagination to believe...."

	"What about that girl with the big can-opener?"  CereCere stared 
at Rei as she sat up.  Rei sighed.
	"I'm not sure what's gotten into her.  And it isn't a can-opener, 
that's the Silence Glaive.  Its considerably more dangerous a weapon 
than any other we senshi have in our possession...."
	"So why is she running around town with it?  Looks likes to me 
she's after somethings really bad."
	"Yes, indeed.  Something called 'Dinsdale'.  I wonder what, or 
who, this Dinsdale really is."
	"I feels kinda sorry for hims, if she's after hims wiv dat big 
thing."  CereCere sniffed.  "Maybes its got something ta do wiv 
ParaPara.  Her power's got a tendency to go hands in hands wiv her 
mental state.  Maybes she's affecting everyone else?"

	Rei stared at CereCere.  "Wh....  What did you say?"
	"I said maybe she's affecting everyone else...."
	
	Rei stood quickly.  "You may be right.  How long has she been 
missing?"
	"Uh, pretty much all day...."
	"Hmm...." Rei rubbed her chin.  "I wonder.  It doesn't seem long 
enough a period of time for her to have affected our states of mind, 
yet....."
	"Yeah, but its possibles she ain't been takin' er medication for a 
while, see?  She's pretty irresponsible."
	"So why weren't you making sure of it, you stupid cow?"

	CereCere looked hurt.  "I can't watch over her all the time.  Like 
the doctor said, we all gotta take responsibility fer our own lives, 
see."

	Rei sighed.  "Well, there's only one way I can think of finding 
her...."

	CereCere stared at Rei for a few moments.  "You're not going to 
set fire to the shrine again, are you?"

	"Baka."



	Jyoserin and Ayanami slowly walked down the darkened time passage.  
For some reason, there seemed to be a distinctive pattern to the walls 
of the tunnel, like bone.  Jyoserin shivered...  Even with the worst 
nightmares of creation at her disposal, she still felt chill at the 
thought of being so close to something that resembled life, yet wasn't.  
Ayanami, for her part, didn't say anything or look like she felt 
anything.  Well, that was pretty much par for the course.

	It had been something of a surprise to Jyoserin when the phone 
booth slammed shut in her face.  One moment she could see Ronaldite 
standing outside, staring at them through the windows of the booth, the 
next, she was standing at the entrance of what appeared to be a long, 
dark tunnel....  Ayanami had beckoned her to follow, and so, here they 
were.

	"How much farther do we have to go?"  Jyoserin stared at Ayanami.  
The girl looked aside at her.
	"Not far now."  She pointed ahead.  "You can see the exit."  
Surely enough, there appeared a light at the end of the tunnel.  
Suddenly, Ayanami grabbed Jyoserin and threw the both of them against 
the wall.
	"What the fuck?"  Was all Jyoserin could get out as a large 
freight train went roaring past....  The two of them watched as each 
carriage rumbled through with great speed, then relaxed as the last went 
through....  "Hmm....  The light at the end of the tunnel WAS the train 
coming the other way..."  Jyoserin mumbled.
	"That was not possible."  Ayanami said flatly, now having let go 
of Jyoserin and brushing herself down.
	"Yes, well, I should have thought that was pretty obvious."  
Jyoserin moved about as far from the wall as was possible.  The bit she 
had been pushed against had a formation that looked suspiciously like a 
grinning skull.
	"No.  I mean look...."  Ayanami pointed down the tunnel.  There, 
in the light of the exit, stood a figure.  She looked a tad old to be 
wearing the senshi sailorfuku, but in this reality everyone seemed to be 
exactly ten years behind in their intellectual development.  The woman 
had long dark green hair and carried a staff.

	"That's Meiou Setsuna...."  Jyoserin scratched her head.  She went 
over the stats of those caught in the reality breach.  Meiou Setsuna, a 
university student, majoring in History, Classics and Temporal 
Philosophy....  And here she was wearing a sailorfuku, carrying a big 
stick, standing at the exit of a time tunnel that shouldn't exist that 
lead to a future that shouldn't exist....
	"Hai.  It is her,"  Ayanami stepped forward towards the oldest of 
the senshi, followed at a distance by Jyoserin.  As they came within two 
metres of Setsuna, she thrust out her staff in a manner that meant for 
them to stop.
	"It is I, Pluto, Ayanami Rei, messenger of the Small Lady."  
Ayanami stared at Setsuna, who seemed to be in the mood for a staring 
contest with the unmistakeable champion.  Jyoserin wasn't in the mood 
for it.

	"Stand aside, Meiou!  We must speak with the young Tsukino Usagi!"

	"None shall pass!"  Setsuna's voice was flat, but threatening.

	"What?"  Jyoserin looked at Ayanami, who looked back at her and 
shrugged.

	"None shall pass."  Setsuna repeated.  She took a step forward.

	"Look, we don't have any argument with you, alright?  This girl 
here was sent by the....  uhh...  'Small Lady', to check up on events in 
the past.  Surely, as the Guardian of the Time Gate, you can understand 
the importance of preserving the flow of time?"

	"It is my duty to guard the time gate.  None shall pass."  Setsuna 
set them with a steely glare.  Jyoserin was getting pretty pissed off 
now.

	"Then we shall have to force our way through..."

	"Then you shall die."  Setsuna was suddenly surrounded by a flare 
of energy.  "Deddo Sukariimo...."  From the top of her staff, a huge 
ball of energy flew at the two girls.  Ayanami put up her hand, and the 
energy shattered against an invisible barrier.  She then flung her hand 
in a cutting manner towards Setsuna.  There was a spray of blood as the 
energy fields created by the two dissipated.

	Setsuna stared at where her left arm used to connect to her 
shoulder, and found nothing more than a bleeding stump.  She looked up 
at the pair defiantly.

	"Alright!  I'll 'ave you for that!"  Setsuna waved the staff at 
them with her remaining arm.  They ignored her.

	"Get out of our way, Pluto."  Ayanami pointed at her.  "You have 
been defeated."  Jyoserin looked from Setsuna to Ayanami, trying to hold 
onto some semblence of normality.

	"No I'm not!"

	"Yes you are.  I've wounded you."

	Setsuna gave the missing arm a cursory glance.  "Its just a 
fleshwound."

	Ayanami's face twisted.  "But I've taken your arm off."

	"I've had worse."

	"You bloody liar."

	"C'mon then.  Are you chicken or something?"  Setsuna began 
prodding them with the staff in an attempt to provoke some reaction.  
"Chicken...  Chicken..."  She succeeded, but this time from Jyoserin.

	"Oh, I really don't have time for this."  Jyoserin whipped up a 
large pull-cord from out of thin air.  "Petanko puressu", she said as 
she pulled the cord.  A large 10 ton weight dropped on top of Setsuna.  
Ayanami stared at Jyoserin.
	"I thought you said, before we entered the tunnel, that it was 
important for everything to be set to rights?"
	"So?"
	Ayanami pointed to the large weight sitting in a pool of blood.  
"Well, it'd be hard to achieve that with Setsuna dead."
	"Oh bugger it.  I'll just resurrect her later, after all this is 
done with."
	"I must say, that's a very cavalier attitude to take."
	"So sue me."  Jyoserin sniffed.  "Its not every day one gets to 
use some of the fringe benefits of the job."

	Jyoserin and Ayanami moved past the weight, trying not to step in 
the mess that leaked out from the small space below it.
	"By the way..."  Jyoserin asked.  "What was that you used against 
her?  you know, to cut off her arm and all..."
	"Ah, just an AT Field.  They come in handy at times like this."
	"AT Field?"  Jyoserin queried.  "Isn't that a soccer stadium in 
England?"
	"Baaaaka!"
	"Now you're sounding like Hoshino Ruri."
	"Who's she?"
	"Oh, just this girl I know.  Has blue hair and says very little."
	"....."
	"Aww, stop sulking.  You know she's just a clone of you, 
really...."
	"What?  You mean another?"

	As the pair exited the tunnel, the weight moved, and a slightly 
squished, but rapidly regenerating figure emerged from underneath.
	"Ah, I see.  Running away are ya?  You COWARDS!"  Setsuna said, 
shaking half a fist at them.  She spent the next ten minutes looking for 
the other half....



	Makoto attempted to relax herself by cooking.  Well, it always 
worked before, but making cookies in the shape of guns, knives and 
dismembered bodies didn't seem to smack her as being entirely normal.

	This is insane, she thought.  What the hell is going on with my 
mind?  Then she heard her neighbours arguing.

	A young couple, recently married, had only moved into the place 
next door a matter of weeks ago, and almost immediately were at each 
other's throats.  Makoto had put up with it all this time but enough was 
enough.  She decided it was time to put things to rights.  She grabbed a 
large kitchen knife and stormed out through her front door.  After a few 
minutes of horrified death screams, she returned with a bloody knife and 
blood all over her apron.  She stretched, yawning.

	"Ah, that feels so much better."  She looked down at the mess on 
the apron.  "Whoops...  Better get that cleaned off."  She took off the 
apron and walked into her small laundry, humming a tune....



	Beryal was expecting Ronaldite to return as quickly as he had.  
Well, that's what it looked like to him, anyway.  

	The court of her castle was big, dark and empty.  Ronaldite 
wondered who she had called in to do the interior decorating as he 
floated down from the ceiling, where he had appeared.  As he touched the 
floor, he returned to his normal size.

	"So, Ronaldite....  You return empty-handed."  Beryal smiled, 
leaning back in her throne.  Ronaldite said nothing, merely turning away 
from her.  "Did we bump into one of our much-industrious enemies, the 
Sailor Senshi?"

	"I cannot tell."  Ronaldite said, eventually.  "I was about to 
drain two young girls of their energy when I was knocked down by a 
third.  A young girl carrying what looked to me to be a large can-
opener...."

	"Hmmm...."  Beryal said silkily.

	"Then, when I came to, the other two girls disappeared into what 
appeared to be an old phone booth....  It vanished before my eyes...."

	Beryal sat up in her throne.  "A phone booth?"
	"Indeed.  It appeared from nowhere and whisked them away."
	"Hmm....  I didn't know telecommunication carriers provided that 
good a service.  They must be paying through the nose for that...."
	"Umm, I think one of them used it as a transportation vehicle.  It 
appeared to be a metaphor for her power....."
	Beryal chuckled.  "And here I was, thinking of negotiating a new 
payment plan.  Oh well.  So, it appears we have a new kind of enemy."
	"What makes you say that."

	Beryal shrugged.  "This does not appear to be a method of 
transportation used by our enemy.  Certainly not one I have encountered 
before.  But then, their powers change every time there is a crisis...."
	"Like?"
	"Oh...  New seasons.  Replacement directors.  Flagging ratings, 
etc etc..."

	Ronaldite sniffed contemptuously.  He had become somewhat less 
impressed by Beryal over the last few months.  Although their campaign 
had been successful until now, Beryal's treatment of their campaign on 
this little fringe world had been a tad circumspect....  He came to a 
decision.

	"I am going to follow the trail of power left by those two girls, 
and find out just who and what they are."

	"Why didn't you do that before?"
	"I didn't think it necessary at the time.  But now, looking 
back....  The possibility that these two could represent some other 
conspiring force....  It intrigues me..."
	"Very well.  But please be back by dinner time."
	"Hmph."  Ronaldite threw up his hand, and a sphere of energy 
appeared.  "Biggu Makku Transportation!"  He shouted, and he disappeared 
in a flash.  Beryal stood from her throne a stepped forward, rubbing her 
chin a moment.

	"This should be interesting...."  She said as she turned, her 
figure transforming into an equally tall, slender woman with pink hair.  
Beryal, or the woman who had been Beryal, wandered into the shadows, 
laughing to herself.


	Rei sat in front of the flame chanting, dressed in the full 
regalia of a Miko, watched over by a half-interested CereCere.
	"Abura Kadabura Aburamu...  Abura Kadabura Aburamu...  Abura 
Kadabura Aburamu...  Abura Kadabura Aburamu...  Abura Kadabura 
Aburamu...  Abura Kadabura Aburamu...  Abura Kadabura Aburamu..."  Rei's 
voice became more insistent as she went along.  CereCere picked her 
nose.  Suddenly, an image appeared in the flame.  So powerful, even 
CereCere could see it.  Rei opened her eyes when she heard the other 
girl gasp.

	"Thats it.  Thats ParaPara for sure."  CereCere knelt next to Rei.  
"What is she doing?"
	The image showed ParaPara, sitting at a park bench, staring up at 
the clouds.  There were people walking past her, staring at the girl's 
hairstyle.  ParaPara seemed to be ignoring them.
	"At least she's not doing anything untoward at the moment."  Rei 
sighed.  "It'd be a disaster if she was."
	"Where is she?  What park is that?"
	"It looks like that one thats a couple of blocks away, just past 
the shopping mall."  Rei rubbed her chin and was surprised when she 
heard CereCere hiss.  "What?  What is it?"
	"Shopping malls.  Very bad."
	"Why?"
	"They send her loopy.  Even on the medication, they send her 
loopy."
	"Send me pretty loopy as well."  Rei stood as the vision slowly 
dissipated.  CereCere followed her example.  "We're going to have to get 
over there straight away.  She may move in the meantime."
	"Maybe we should transform?  We'll be able to get there faster as 
senshi...."
	Rei nodded.  The two girls went through their transformation 
routine and left the shrine grounds as Mars and Ceres.


	Usagi lay on her bed, face forward.  Well, she thought, she really 
had nobody else to blame for her misfortune.  Whatever possessed her to 
eat a container of live snails?  She shivered at the thought.  For some 
reason, she began to feel hungry again.  Well, that really shouldn't be 
a surprise, as she had emptied the contents of her stomach all over 
Rei's wall.  Rei'll be at her about that for months, she could see it 
now.

	There was a knock on her bedroom door and she turned and sat up.  
"Come in."  She waited, but whoever it was was intent on getting her to 
answer it.  She stepped over and opened the door, and got hit in the 
face by a small flour bomb, thrown by her brother, Shingo.  He stood at 
the end of the corridor, laughing his head off at her distress.  Their 
mother came up the stairs and took Shingo by the scruff of the neck.

	"What are you up to now, you little squirt?"  She asked.
	"Aww, I was just having fun with Usagi, thass all...."
	"You can do it after you finish dinner."  She looked up at Usagi.  
"And you!  Clean your face up.  What the hell are you doing putting 
flour on your face?"  Dragging Shingo, she made her way back down the 
stairs.

	Neither of them noticed the strange expression Usagi had.  All she 
could do was stand there and watch them go, muttering to herself about 
'dinner'.  Then she licked her lips.


	Ami sat at the kitchen table in her home.  She was alone.  As 
usual.  On the table sat the container that once held her precious 
collection of snails.  She began to feel exceedingly depressed.

	Books no longer seemed to excite her as they used to.  She'd read 
just about all that had been published in human history, anyway.  
Ultimately, she'd come to the conclusion that the entire font of human 
knowledge was summed up with the following statement....  "The Butler 
did it."  And who was she to argue?

	She stared at the tray for a very long time.  It most certainly 
wasn't going away by itself.  She ran a hand through her hair and 
gritted her teeth.  She decided that she was having an attack of 
existentialist angst and quickly stood from her chair, clenching her 
fists.  I've got to do something before I go mad, she thought.

	She was still standing there, five minutes later, staring at the 
container, only from a higher vantage point.  Its no good, she thought, 
I'm completely lost, now.  I don't have a worthy family life, and my 
friends appear to be going about as funny in the head as I am.  She ran 
her hands over her face as tears came to her eyes.  Maybe if I try and 
kill myself, she thought, then people will show me more attention.  
Maybe.  Maybe not.

	Ami turned to the medicine cabinet and shivered.  What if I 
succeed, she thought.  Get a lot of attention then, for a very short 
period of time.  Then its pretty much boredom for a very long time.

	Pretty much forever.

	 She steeled herself and walked over to the cabinet, opening it.  
She grabbed the first bottle she found and opened it.  It was half-
filled with tiny white tablets.  She didn't recognise them.

	"Oh stuff it", she said to herself, momentarily forgetting she was 
supposed to be aphasic, "Down the hatch."  She tipped the contents into 
her mouth and swallowed them all.  They were bitter to taste, which made 
her heave a couple of times, but they all went down.  Dramatically, she 
slammed the jar down onto the counter, and feigned tragedy.

	"Oh woe is me."  She said, placing the back of her hand to her 
forehead.  Then she wiggled her nose and sniffed.  For some reason, she 
suddenly felt congested.  Then her nose blasted mucus, and herself, 
around the room like a soda tap.  This went on for roughly five minutes, 
coating absolutely everything.  Eventually she stopped when she grabbed 
hold of the table.  Her nose let out a couple of final jets, then shut 
down for the night.  She sniffed, and breathed better than she ever had 
in her entire life.

	"Aww jeez", she said to herself, "Of all the medicines I should 
try and overdose on, I chose a bottle of decogestants...."  She rubbed 
her nose.  "I won't have to blow this thing until I'm fifty."


	Makoto stepped out of the laundry, where the sound of the washing 
machine in action could be heard.  She entered the kitchen and tasted 
one of her severed arm cookies.  Hmmmm, lipsmacking stuff, she thought.  
Suddenly she became angry, and flung the baking tray across the kitchen.  
It hit the wall, smashing her freshly made cookies.  She stormed out of 
the kitchen and into the lounge.

	"Dammit, dammit, dammit!"  She cried out at the top of her voice.  
"What the FUCK is wrong with me?"  She stormed around the lounge, almost 
jumping out of her skin.  She could hear kids playing in the courtyard 
outside.  She trembled with rage, a short sharp squeal coming to her 
throat.  "No, please, not that...."  She charged into the kitchen where 
she grabbed the knife she had used on her neighbours and a meat cleaver.  
Then she charged out again towards the front door, where she flung the 
meat cleaver into its back.  She backed herself against the wall.  "I 
won't.  I won't kill them.  Get out of my mind!  I know you're trying to 
control me.  I won't let it happen!  Get out of my mind now!"  Makoto 
flung herself to the opposite wall and began to bang her head.  "Please, 
stop, I'm not going to do that, pleeeeease."


	Crystal Tokyo was one of the more incredible sights Jyoserin had 
seen in her universe.  Even more incredible was the fact that it 
shouldn't even vaguely exist.

	Every single building was made from a crystalline substance.  
There were huge hanging gardens everywhere.  Everyone was smiling, or at 
least didn't look miserable.  In short, Jyoserin thought, it all looked 
like a load of utopian crap.

	The time gate exit had lead to a small park in the northern 
outskirts of Crystal Tokyo.  Whatever the suburbs there had once been, 
they were most certainly no longer.  Beautifully sculptured edifices, 
all of them unique, housed the generally multicultural population.  
There were halls of religious worship everywhere, regardless of religion 
of denomination.  And all of this existing in perfect harmony.  It was 
scary, to say the least, especially to someone who had gone out of her 
way to incite religious intolerance out of sheer boredom.

	Ayanami had guided Jyoserin through a couple of the streets and 
laneways, as unaffected by her surroundings as she had been in the Tokyo 
of the past.  Jyoserin wondered what it could be that made someone so 
distanced from her experiences.  In truth, Jyoserin knew what it was....  
But that was a program within another universe.  Ayanami Rei was not 
meant to exist within this universe.  At least, not this version, and 
not in these times.

	Eventually they arrived at what appeared to be a railway station, 
crafted of the finest pink crystal.  As soon as they stepped onto the 
platform, an empty train carriage arrived.

	"Line to Central Palace now arrived.  Please keep clear of the 
doors.  Please keep clear of the doors."  A soft, angelic voice wafted 
from the p.a. system.  The carriage came to a stop, and its doors 
opened.  Ayanami guided Jyoserin into the carriage and they sat in seats 
made of the finest fabric.  Beautiful music played over the internal 
sound system of the carriage as the doors closed and it started to 
move.

	Jyoserin turned to the silent Ayanami as she stared out of the 
window.  "You know I'm here to bring all of this to an end, don't you?"  
Ayanami didn't answer.  Jyoserin sighed.  "All this shouldn't exist, you 
know that?"
	"Hai."
	"And neither should you.  You know that?"
	"Hai."
	"So why are you so meekly taking me to your mistress?  Regardless 
of my threat, I would have expected a little more resistance on your 
part."
	Ayanami turned to face Jyoserin, then looked down.  "There's no 
reason, really.  We must all accept out fate.  If I cease to exist, then 
that is the way it should be."
	"Aww shit, don't start pulling a Hideaki Anno on me."  Jyoserin 
snorted.  "I can deal with mindless philosophising, but not when it is 
backed by passive acceptance."

	"I don't WANT to cease to exist, but I'm afraid you give me no 
choice."  Ayanami stared hard at Jyoserin.  "I LIKE this world.  I LIKE 
the people in it.  I would DIE to defend this future.  But can I defend 
it against someone who is the controller of the universe?"
	Jyoserin was taken aback.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to..."
	"I know."  Ayanami turned back to the window.

	The carriage stopped for a moment, a tree outside the window.  
Both Jyoserin and Rei looked at each other for a moment as a voice came 
over the speakers.
	"This is the Larch.  The Larch."  The carriage continued.


	The rope was well tied to the shower rail as Ami tied the other 
end around her neck.  She then kicked away the chair.  The shower rail 
collapsed.  She was unconcious for about half an hour after the rail had 
brained her one.  She was most distressed to find out she had screwed up 
killing herself again when she came to.


	ParaPara had wandered the streets for hours now.  They looked so 
pretty to her.  She wondered why she'd never noticed their beauty 
before.  The way they meandered.  Their little nooks and crannies.  The 
people that would walk along them.  The tiny little nick-nack shops that 
lined them.

	As she created several blocks of traffic chaos by simply crossing 
the street wherever she felt like it, the buildings began to do a 
rendition of "Spanish Flea".  Strange, really.  She hated that song.  Oh 
well, each to their own artistic licence.

	"Hello."  A voice from behind her caught her attention as she 
giggled at a shop window display.  The little cat statue that was close 
to compulsory for such establishments was taking dirty pictures of a 
kimono-clad doll.  She turned to see a female Elvis impersonator with a 
four-piece orchestra behind her.
	"Is that you, ParaPara?"  The impersonator asked.
	"Mmmmaybe.  Why do you wear your ribbon like that?"
	"It helps to keep the flies away."
	"Must be Tuesday."
	"About half past three."
	"Then we must be off before the shops close."
	"Indeed.  We are late, we are late, for a very important date."
	"Mmmmhmmm, I can smell that food now."

	And so ParaPara and the female Elvis Impersonator walked away, arm 
in arm, down the street, followed by the four-piece orchestra, which was 
doing its best to play Chopin.  But it lost.


	From a building above, Mars and Ceres watched as ParaPara and 
Minako wandered off.  "Ano baka!"  Mars spat.
	"What's wrong?"  Ceres inquired.
	"Of all the people she HAD to meet up with....  It had to be the 
Blond Special!"  Mars sniffed and turned to Ceres.  "We had better 
follow them.  It would appear they're feeding off each others' 
psychosis."
	"But how?  I means, is that possible?"  Ceres looked confused.  
Mars worked this out by counting the large number of little question 
marks that surreally appeared over her head.
	"I'm not sure.  Maybe the problems we've all been experiencing is 
due to ParaPara's powers, and her fragile state of mind.  She could be 
feeding us all, bit by bit, aspects of that psychosis, tempered by 
things we're contributing.  Our own fears, paranoias and neurosis."
	It took several minutes for Mars to rouse Ceres after she suffered 
intellectual overload.  It didn't appear to Mars that her newfound 
companion was much used to such specious concepts like intelligence.


	Usagi sat at the kitchen table, eating her dinner.  Eating it 
alone.  The house was very quiet, she thought.  It was a nice meal, 
although there was a lot of meat in it.  Oh well, her mother made a good 
meal and that was all that mattered.

	It had taken twenty minutes to wash the flour off her face.  Some 
of it had gotten into her hair as well, so she had to wash that out.  
Then it took a further half an hour to....  to....  She couldn't 
remember now.  Whatever it had been was important, but for some reason 
she couldn't remember.

	Then the phone rang.  Usagi looked around, hoping that someone 
would answer it, but nobody did.  She sighed.  "Why is it that I have to 
do everything around here?"  She got up and answered the phone.
	"Moshi moshi?"
	"U....  Usagi-chan..."  A choked voice came from the other end.
	"Mako-chan?  Whats wrong?"  Usagi sounded concerned as she heard 
Makoto sobbing softly.
	"Usagi....  Get stuffed."  Makoto hung up.  Usagi stared at the 
phone for several minutes.  What a strange call, she thought.  She was 
sure Mako was upset.  But about what, she couldn't think.  Maybe Mako 
wanted to apologise for her behaviour at Rei's shrine.  Whatever the 
case, she failed.
	"Get stuffed indeed."  She said as she hung up the phone.  
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.  Usagi, who was about to sit down, growled 
impatiently.  "Will someone please answer the door?"  She called out.  
There was no response.  Usagi gritted her teeth and marched to the front 
door, opening it roughly.

	"YES?  WHAT DO YOU oh Mamo-chan."  Usagi's expression turned sweet 
all of a sudden as Mamoru took twenty steps back from the door.
	"Um, I could come over later if now's a bad time."
	"No no no no, you're always welcome here, Mamo-chan."  Usagi 
giggled inanely, hand behind her head, large sweat beads running down 
the side of her face.  Mamoru smiled and stepped forward into the house 
as Usagi ripped the sweatbeads off and trampled them into the ground.
	"Sorry for the intrusion."  Mamoru called out to no-one in 
particular, hoping to get some response.  There was none, however, as 
Usagi closed the door behind 
them.
	"Is your family out, Usako?"  Mamoru turned to her.  She shrugged.
	"I don't know.  Things went pretty quiet about half an hour ago.  
I was up in the bathroom, washing out flour that Shingo had dumped in my 
hair."  She sniffed.  "When I came down, everything was quiet as a 
mouse, with dinner laid out on the table for me.  I just thought they 
were elsewhere in the house.  Maybe they did go out...."
	"Oh well...."  Mamoru shrugged.  "I hope they don't think we're up 
to anything untoward with me in here whilst they're out."
	Usagi giggled.  "Mamo-chan no ecchi...."  He went red in the face.  
Then he remembered the box he had been carrying under his arm.
	"Ah, now I remember.  I came over to give you this."  He handed 
her the box.  She took it and looked at the label.
	"Chocolates.  Oh Mamo-chan, you shouldn't have...."
	"Well, its coming up to our third anniversary.  You know, of when 
we first met each other.  So I thought it may be worth a little 
something."
	"Mamo-chan...."  Usagi hugged Mamoru, which made him smile with a 
little embarassment.  He placed his arms around her, gently, until they 
eventually let go and continued on their way down the main passageway.

	Mamoru sniffed the air.  "Hmm....  Dinner smells good.  What is 
it?"  Usagi smiled.
	"Oh, just a little some I whipped up from my mother, I mean Mom 
whipped up.  The usual."
	"Hmmm.  Can I have some?"
	"Sure, I'll see if there's any left over.  Sit down for a bit, 
will you?"  Usagi pointed to the lounge.  Mamoru obliged as Usagi 
continued on into the kitchen.  He found himself a lounge chair and sat 
back in it, feeling a little uncomfortable as something had been jammed 
between the seat cushion and the side of the chair.  He found the remote 
control and turned on the tv, and was absent-mindedly switching channels 
with one hand as he reached down for the object with the other.  It felt 
a little strange, like a damp cloth.  He pulled his hand away and was 
shocked to see his fingers covered in blood.  He stared at the blood for 
a few moments, then looked down at the gap in the seat.  Gently, he 
pulled out what appeared to be a blood-covered shirt.  A small shirt, 
about the same size as Shingo's.

	He held the shirt out in front of his face for a moment, frozen, 
not believing what it was that he'd found.  Slowly, he stood, dropping 
the remote control, and wandered over towards the door leading to the 
kitchen area.  On the vinyl floor of the hallway between the lounge and 
the kitchen were streaks of blood.  Slowly, he began pacing down the 
hallway.  To his left, the partially open door that lead to the laundry 
was open.  There were bloodstains on the door.  Gently, he pushed it 
open, and fell back against the opposite wall.

	The bodies of the Tsukinos were piled, partially hatcheted and cut 
up, in the middle of the floor, their blood still running down the 
overflow drain.  Mamoru put a hand to his mouth, more to stop himself 
puking than anything else.

	"U....  U....  Usak...."  he began to stutter.
	"Hmm?  What is it, Mamo-chan?"  Came her response from the kitchen 
as she ladled some of her mother's soup into a bowl.
	"Usako....  I think....  you should...  come here...  for a 
moment."
	Usagi sighed and put the bowl on the kitchen table.  "What is it?  
What?"  She trotted out to where Mamoru was standing, pale as a ghost.  
She looked at him concernedly.  "Mamo-chan?  Is there something wrong?  
You look ill...."
	Mamoru pointed towards the laundry, and Usagi turned.
	It took roughly sixty seconds of silence before Usagi fell to the 
floor.

	Mamoru leaned down to her and found she'd fainted clean away.  He 
picked her up and carried her as far as the lounge when the phone began 
to ring.  He suddenly felt confused as to what to do next, and placed 
Usagi in the seat he'd vacated.  He then made his way back into the 
kitchen and answered the phone.

	"M...  M...  Moshi....
	"CHIIIIIIIIIIBA MAMORUUUUUUU....." The voice sounded somewhat 
demented.  But it was clearly Makoto's.
	"Ma....  Mako-chan?"
	"Chiba Mamoru.  You BASTARD!"
	"Wh...  What have I...?"
	"You BASTARD!  You remind me of my long lost senpai, you piece of 
SHIT!"  She growled.  "You just WAIT.  I'm coming for you, CHIBA, and 
I'm gonna KILL you, you PIECE OF SHIT."
	Mamoru was beside himself.  "What the BLOODY HELL has got into 
YOU?  I've just found Usagi's family, all dead.  Someone killed them."  
Then a thought occurred to him.  "Did you do it, Kino-san?  Did you kill 
them?"
	Makoto's voice suddenly went panicky.  "No....  No....  I didn't.  
Oh GOD.  What happened?  Is Usagi alright?  Oh GOD, Mamoru, you've got 
to help me.  Something's happening to my mind...  To all our minds, and 
its getting worse, getting out of control YOU BASTARD, PIECE OF SCUM 
SUCKING SHIT oh I'm sorry, Mamoru, I didn't mean to say that BULLSHIT I 
DIDN'T, don't worry, I'm coming round, if you need any help, I'll be 
there AND I'M GONNA CUT YOU INTO PIECES AND FINGER YOUR ENTRAILS seeya 
then, bye."  Makoto hung up.

	Well, Mamoru thought, at least she sounds altogether today.
	"M...  Mamo-chan..."  Mamoru turned to see Usagi wander dazedly 
into the kitchen.  "They're all dead...  Mom, Dad and Shingo....  
They're all dead.  They're all...."  Mamoru caught Usagi as she 
collapsed and held her as she sobbed.

	Usagi licked her lips.


	Ami sat in the bath of water and held the hair-dryer high in the 
air.
	"Two, four, six, eight, bog in, don't wait."
	She dropped the hair-dryer into the bath.
	The electrical safety switch went into action.
	About the most Ami got out of this little exercise was an amazing 
new hairstyle.  She then tried to drown herself after cursing her bad 
luck for several minutes, holding herself underwater.  She then 
remembered that she was a senshi with water powers, due to the fact that 
she found herself breathing underwater.
	Slowly she raised herself from the bath, dripping wet.  She stood 
in the middle of the bathroom, a miserable, pathetic, damp creature, and 
wondered what next could go wrong.
	She stepped on an errant bar of soap, and spent the next half an 
hour lying on her back, seeing stars.

	
	The carriage passed through some of the finest real estate Crystal 
Tokyo had to offer.  As they moved further and further into the city, 
the buildings became more intricate, more elaborate, and more 
individual.  Whatever this crystalline substance was that the buildings 
were made of, it had certainly given the architects more than a free 
hand.

	They flew through stations lined with people who didn't bat an 
eyelid that the carriage did not stop for them.  This was one heck of an 
express route, Jyoserin thought.

	Eventually, the carriage entered an underground section, and began 
to slow.  Jyoserin stared at Ayanami, who appeared unconcerned.  The 
carriage pulled up at a station, a rather officious looking one at that.  
There were senshi galore, lined up in military fashion, standing 
alongside the platform.  Behind them, Jyoserin could see an office.  As 
the carriage came to a stop, the door slid open, and there was silence.  
Total silence.  The senshi didn't move, didn't bat an eyelid.  Neither 
did Ayanami.  In her case, Jyoserin could forgive.
	"What's happening?"  Jyoserin had become impatient.
	"Shh."  Rei cut her to the quick.  "This is where we must meet 
with the Grand Marshal of the Palace Guard."  Jyoserin stared at her 
blankly.
	"The what?"
	"Shh...  Here she comes."

	True to her word, the senshi lining the platform parted like the 
waters of the red sea, and Jyoserin felt her throat constrict.  Here was 
trouble coming.

	From the office came the Grand Marshal of the Palace Guard, decked 
out in full senshi regalia, only more elaborate and ornate.

	Osaka Naru.

	Yes, Jyoserin thought to herself, you have great taste in who you 
possess.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Is Jyoserin in for it now?  Is Makoto a psychotic serial killer?  
Is Usagi a raving cannibal?  Will Rei and CereCere stop Minako and 
ParaPara from doing anything likely to level a small city?  Will Ami 
ever succeed in killing herself?  Will Ronaldite break into Crystal 
Tokyo?

	Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  No.  No.  Yes.  In that order.  You'll just have 
to read how in the next exciting (hyperbole) chapter of SPINNERS - 
Sailor Python's Flying Dead Moon Circus.  Where the buffalo roam, and 
the bodycount rises.


PREVIEW OF CHAPTER 3

	Jyoserin found herself being bundled into the Court Chamber.  
Sitting atop the judge's dais was Mars.  Older, more grizzled....  She'd 
aged a lot faster than Jyoserin had expected her to, considering most of 
the senshi were supposed to have their aging processes brought back to 
near zero.  Whatever it was that had happened to Mars during her life, 
it was extremely crappy.

	"So, you are the one they call Jyoserin Tepukataya?"  There was a 
lot of spit emanating from Mars's mouth as she said that.  Jyoserin and 
her two guards did their best to avoid it.
	"Umm, yeah, you could say that."
	"And you admit to, wilfully, and with malice aforethought, 
possessing the body of the young Osaka Naru, for purposes criminal?"
	"No."
	"Oh.  Alright then.  You're free to go."

	Jyoserin and her two guards stared at Mars with their mouths on 
the floor.  It seemed that they had learnt a lesson or two from her in 
their short time together, Jyoserin thought.

	After several moments of readjusting their jaws, another old 
senshi entered the Court Chamber.  "May I approach the bench?"  Said 
Venus, standing regally in her orange and gold cloak.  She hadn't aged 
that much better than Mars, Jyoserin thought,

	Mars nodded her agreement and Venus stepped up towards the dais.  
She then addressed Mars formally.  "I have been chosen by the good Queen 
Serenity to act as the Prosecutor in this case,"
	"Well you're too bloody late.  I've already let her off."  Mars 
poked her tongue out at Venus.  Venus fumed.
	"Ya can't do that without there being a proper bloody trial, 
dickhead."
	"Yes I can, this is MY court."
	"May I remind you of Rule 233, subsection C of the Holy Lawbook of 
Crystal Tokyo?"  Venus sneered smugly at Mars.  Mars huffed.
	"Alright, alright.  Have it ya own way then.  Spoilsport."

	Venus spun extravigantly and waved a hand in Jyoserin's direction.
	"According to the testimony of Agent AR107, Codename Ayanami Rei, 
you possessed the body of Osaka Naru with the intention of corrupting 
the timelines in the hope of preventing the existence of Crystal Tokyo.  
Is this not true?"
	"Yes."
	"And in the process of your actions, you threatened the said 
officer with...  ahem... 'non-existence'... if she did not comply with 
your stated desire to be brought to Crystal Tokyo to meet with the Small 
Lady Serenity?"
	"No."
	"No?"
	"No, that came after.  I only threatened her with non-existence 
when she wouldn't tell me who she was and what she was doing in Tokyo 
during the last decade of the 20th century.  She was an anachronism, you 
see."
	"She's got you there, Venus."  Mars chuckled.
	"Oh shutup."  Venus hit back.  She continued.  "But, you admit to 
threatening her with non-existence..."
	"Oh that, yes, of course I do."
	"Ah, that makes things easier, then."
	"Can I go now?"  Jyoserin stared at Venus for a second.  Venus 
cleared her throat and wagged a finger.
	"Now now, don't be impatient.  We've got quite a few questions to 
ask you yet.  Like, what is a GURP?  What is your real name?  What is 
your intention in trying to stop the existence of Crystal Tokyo?"
	"Jeez, I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition."

	"AHA, NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!"  Jyoserin, Venus, 
Mars and the two guards turned as three figures bounded into the 
courtroom, all dressed in religious garb.  The first was a bishounen 
type with hair of a dark greenish tinge and the mark of the oni on his 
forehead.  The second was a light-blue haired man, wearing a smiley mask 
and a pilot's cap with goggles on his forehead.  The third was a 
redheaded firebrand with fangs that stuck well out of his mouth, 
carrying a metallic fan.
	"Aha!"  Said the leader.  "Surprised you, eh?  Yes indeed, our 
weapons are surprise, fear... and....  um...  Oh bugger, I forgot."
	"Why don't we try that again no daa?"  Said the smiley one.
	"Can I use the fan this time.  I wanna really burn something."  
Said the fanged one.  The leader sighed.
	"Alright, alright, lets try again."  And with that, they exited 
the Court Chamber....


Next time on

SPINNERS



If you've bothered to read this far, please mail all responses, 
comments, criticisms and abuse to ayanami@merlin.net.au.