Author's Note: If you wish to comment on my story, either positively or negatively, don't hesitate to contact me at treetop@voicenet.com. Sailor Moon and all related characters are the property of Takeuchi Naoko, Toei Animation and DIC. So, please, don't sue me because I haven't any money. I do this strictly for entertainment purposes, not copyright infringement. In addition, the incident on Okinawa in 1995 related by the fictional Lieutenant Fukoda later in this chapter was, unfortunately, a very real and shameful event.
The Frankenstein Syndrome
by Jeffrey C. Branch
Part Five: The Search Is On
Rating: PG-13
Standing on the edge of a dilapidated, seldom used wharf, Lieutenant Fukoda stared out at Tokyo Bay and scratched his head.
"Sailor Mercury, are you sure that ape-beast came this way?" he asked.
Mercury, tapping keys on her mini-computer nodded. "Yes, Lieutenant. The plutonium readings are quite strong here. According to my directional finder, the readings lead right out into the Bay, heading, due south."
"What did that brute do? Swim off into the sunset?" Patrolman Hiyata wondered aloud.
"Highly unlikely. Primates, especially gorillas are incapable of swimming," answered Mercury. "And since you weren't able to find our teammates at the site of this morning's battle, we have to assume the creature carried them off."
"So how'd he get away?" Hiyata asked.
"Maybe Kong had a boat waiting for him," Sailor Moon suggested.
"Makes sense to me," said Fukoda. "From what you girls told us about the creature you fought yesterday, and about the radiation and drugs you discovered it was shot up with, someone's obviously creating these monsters. Sort of like a modern day Dr. Frankenstein, only this nutcase is using live subjects instead of dead ones. Taking that into consideration, we have to assume that this mystery wacko hauled that brute here, and then back to his hidey hole, with your friends."
Mercury nodded. "My conclusion exactly. Your deductive skills are most impressive, Lieutenant."
Fukoda shrugged. "It's what I get paid for. If we're gonna follow Kong, we'll need transportation."
"I don't think the department will help us there, sir," Hiyata pointed out. "We'll never get authorization for a boat or a chopper, not without firm proof, which we don't have. And Captain Mura's angry enough with us as it is for running off."
"Well, what about that?" asked Moon, pointing at a cabin cruiser several piers away.
The detective nodded, but didn't look too terribly happy. "Looks like a winner. Let's go boating, people."
The last thing Isaki Goro expected, or wanted while trying to sleep off a monstrous hangover from a bachelor party he attended last night was to have intruders boarding his boat.
Goro, stirred awake by footsteps on the deck reached for a large silver revolver he kept under his pillow. Just as he was about to get out of bed, two men, one in a turtleneck and slacks, the other in a Tokyo police department uniform burst in. When the men saw the gun Goro had, they drew their own firearms, leading to a Mexican standoff. The man in civvies slowly reached into his back pocket and produced his badge, identifying him as a detective. Goro, satisfied they were cops lowered his weapon which the patrolman took and gave to the detective.
"Hmm. Nice piece. Colt Python, isn't it?" asked Fukoda.
"Uhh, yeah," Goro answered, looking pensive.
"Got a license for it?"
Goro went silent.
Fukoda nodded. "I thought so. Probably bought it on the black market. Maybe from some Yakuza lowlife?"
"Maybe," Goro grumbled.
"Well, maybe I should just haul your sorry ass downtown and throw you in a cell for possessing a firearm without a license!" Fukoda snapped. "That'll buy you some serious prison time, not to mention losing your boat! You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
Goro's jaw dropped. "Now wait one damn minute..."
"Shut up! I'm not finished! Fortunately for you I'm feeling magnanimous today. I'll let this infraction slide if you'll take us on a little trip."
Now Goro was wary. "A trip? Where?"
Fukoda turned towards the open doorway. "Ladies?"
As Goro looked on, the Scouts came inside. "She," said, Fukoda, motioning his head at Mercury, "Will tell you where."
"Do I have a choice?" Goro asked, feeling backed into a corner.
Fukoda shook his head, his expression stony. "None."
"And you promise not to bust me?"
"You have my word. And my word is my bond. Now start this thing up! We have places to go!"
"Okay! Okay! But the chippies will have to wait outside! I ain't dressed!"
The Scouts nodded and went back out on deck.
"I hope this works," said an apprehensive Moon.
"I'm sure it will. If anything, being on this particular boat might well be a good omen," said Mercury.
"What do you mean?"
"Because of its name: 'Moon Princess'."
Moon sighed. "Just so long as we don't get eclipsed."
Somewhere else....
"Hey, Mars. You in the mood for an apology?" Sailor Venus asked her teammate. Her head was still throbbing, badly, she was disoriented, had trouble staying awake and felt unusually weak. That worried her. "I'm sorry for chewing you out awhile ago."
"Don't be. I had that coming," said a downcast Sailor Mars. "You were right, Venus. I had no business bad-mouthing Sailor Moon. Especially since she's the only thing standing between us and the grave right now."
"Maybe not, Mars. We might just be able to help ourselves," said Sailor Jupiter.
The others looked her way. "You've got an idea?" Venus asked.
"Yup. Not being a fast thinker like Mercury, it took awhile for me to figure this out. Remember what Keiko Mitsumo said about taking my strength into consideration? Just my strength? That got me to thinking she and her brother never saw me use my powers. That could be our ticket out of here."
"What do you have in mind?" Mars asked.
"A lightning strike."
"That's crazy! These chairs are hooked up to fifty thousand volts!"
Jupiter snorted. "Big freaking deal! What's fifty thousand volts to me when I can summon up a million? Look, the antenna on my tiara isn't just for show. It acts as a ground wire, keeps me from frying like bacon when I channel lightning through my body. A lightning strike should knock out the power and give us a chance to escape."
"Or it could kill us all!" a worried Venus grumbled.
"So what? We're dead anyway once those crackpots get their hands on us!" Jupiter argued. "We can't afford to wait for Sailor Moon to come to our rescue! We have to act now! Or not at all!"
"Jupiter's right. We either die here, or at the hands of the Mitsumos when they do God only knows what to us," said Mars. "This is probably suicide, but I don't care. Better to go down fighting than wind up a monster."
Venus sighed, giving in to the inevitable. She was too tired to argue. "I guess you're right. Okay, Jupe, it's your show."
Shunting back the fear in her heart, unsure if her scheme will work, Jupiter used a mental command to raise the antenna on her tiara. "Guys, if I do screw up, I just want you to know that you've been more than just my friends. You've been my family. And I love you with all my heart."
Venus laughed nervously, but tears glistened in her eyes. "Don't get so maudlin, Lita. It doesn't suit you. We've died before and were brought back to life. Twice. Who's to say it won't happen a third time?"
Mars nodded, her throat raw and tight from emotion. "Yeah! Think positive, girlfriend! Do it!"
Jupiter nodded and took a deep breath. In the back of her mind, she wondered if it was her last. "Well, here's goes nothing! Jupiter Thunder....CRASH!"
For the last two hours, the Moon Princess headed south at a swift and steady 30 knots, leaving behind Tokyo and any vestiges of civilization. On the bridge, Goro scowled as he guided the sleek cabin cruiser through the choppy waters, feeling like he had been shanghaied, not knowing where he was going or what he had gotten himself into. And having the uniformed cop and the blue haired girl in the sailor suit standing just behind him didn't help his already sour disposition in the slightest.
"We've been gone quite awhile, Goro. Do you have enough fuel to take us where we need to go?" Hiyata asked.
"Don't get your boxers in a bunch. The Princess can cover eight hundred nautical miles on a full tank. And I just gassed her up yesterday," Goro growled. "Look, friend, I've got a charter in two days. A damn good paying one. I gotta know, we ain't huntin' drug runners or anything, are we? I mean, this trip isn't gonna get me killed, will it?"
Hiyata turned to Mercury, studying her computer. The Scout of Water, her face impassive looked up at him and shrugged.
"Nah. With any luck, you'll be home by dark," replied Hiyata, not feeling quite as confident as he sounded.
Out on deck, Fukoda's stomach roiled and churned with a vengeance as he sat with his head down in a bench chair near the stern. Every wave the boat either crashed through or leaped over threatened to make him lose his greasy breakfast of fried eggs and ham, a meal he now wished he hadn't eaten. He thought that being outside in the fresh air would help him feel better, but it wasn't working. So distracted was he from seasickness, he barely heard the sharp rap of a woman's high heels on the deck. He looked up to see a concerned looking Moon staring at him.
"Lieutenant? Is anything the matter? You look pale," she said.
Fukoda gave Moon a lopsided grin. "Motion sickness. I've never been the seafaring type. I guess this must shatter your illusion of my being a rough, tough, take no prisoners cop, huh?"
"Nobody's perfect. God knows I'm not," said Moon. She then sat next to the detective, her expression forlorn. "Sir, I want to apologize for what happened at the hospital earlier. I've never lost control like that before. Never been so crazy from anger. I....I could have killed you."
"Don't sweat it, Miss Moon. Like you said, you were having a bad day, and I made the mistake of pushing your mad button. I just hope Hiyata doesn't blab to the guys at headquarters that I was nearly throttled by a girl. I'd never live that down." Fukoda tried to chuckle, but his stomach wouldn't allow him the pleasure. "Seriously, I know you've got a lot on your mind, namely your friends. You really care for them, don't you?"
Moon nodded. "I do. If need be, I'd die for them."
Fukoda frowned. He heard nothing but sincerity and conviction in Moon's voice. It unnerved him to hear such words from such a young girl. "Forgive for saying this, but you don't look to be any older than my daughter who just turned fourteen last month. And the others are probably the same age. Tell me something, why do you do this?"
"Because no one else can. There are powerful forces at work out there who want to destroy our world. Suck it dry of energy for their own twisted schemes. The Scouts and I beat them back once before, but at a terrible cost."
"What cost?"
Moon's face clouded from sadness, memories of that frightening day at the North Pole creeping into her already troubled mind. "My friends were killed, protecting me in the final battle against our enemies."
Fukoda's eyes widened. "Killed? My God. But, how were they....?"
"Brought back to life? Don't ask. I couldn't tell you if I tried. But that doesn't matter now. The only thing that does is finding them. My friends mean the world to me. Without them, I couldn't go on. I wouldn't want to go on."
Seeing how distraught Moon was, Fukoda, for a brief moment stopped being a cop and became a parent. He put an arm around Moon's shoulders and held her close like he would his own daughter, Hiromi when she was upset. And Moon, tears pouring down her cheeks, forgot she was a bold and courageous warrior and became a scared and anguished little girl who huddled against the cop for strength. Just then, the stillness was shattered by a loud crack of thunder. Moon and Fukoda separated and stared as a huge lightning bolt pierced the midday sky from just ahead. Their faces hardened and, without saying a word, they raced for the bridge.
"Goro! What's happening? Are we running into a storm?" Fukoda demanded. The absolute last thing he wanted was to wind up lost at sea.
"No way! There isn't a hint of bad weather in the marine forecast!" snapped Goro. "I checked before we left port! It's supposed to be clear out here for a week!"
Moon and Mercury, wide eyed, looked at each other, then gasped. "Jupiter!" they both cried.
"Who?" Hiyata asked.
"Sailor Jupiter! She has the power to summon lightning!" said an excited Mercury. She then checked her computer. "And the plutonium readings are stronger than ever! That means we're getting close to source of the radiation! Captain Goro! What's just ahead?"
"A series of small islands some three hundred klicks from the mainland called the Izu-Shoto chain," said Goro, checking a large chart near his controls. "I've been through these waters back when I was in the Navy. As far as I know, those islands are uninhabited."
"Looks like things have changed! Gun it, mister!" ordered Fukoda.
Somewhere else....
When Jupiter summoned the lightning, all three Scouts closed their eyes and braced themselves for either a chance at freedom, or a brutally pain filled death. What happened was that billowing sparks of electricity cascaded all over the chamber as stray shafts of arc lightning danced throughout the enclosure, causing the tube on the monitor to explode, then the lights went out.
"It worked!" Mars cried.
"I told you it would!" growled Jupiter, who breathed a sigh of relief. But, with time at a premium, fearing a backup generator might kick in any moment, she put her great strength to work and strained against her bonds. With a screeching of metal, they snapped. Feeling more desperate by the minute, she broke the shackles on her ankles then wasted no time freeing Mars and Venus who looked shaky on her feet.
"Jupiter! You're beautiful! I could kiss you!" a grateful Venus cried.
"Later! Let's get out of here! Mars! The door!"
"With pleasure! Mars Fire....IGNITE!" At Mars' command, a fireball blew the door off it's hinges and the Scouts raced out into a semi-darkened hallway, illuminated by emergency lights near the ceiling.
"What's the call, girls? Wanna slip out while the power's off? Or find the Mitsumos and get medieval on their rear ends?" asked Jupiter.
"I'm surprised you even bothered to ask!" growled Mars, her pent up fury rising. "Let's shut down those psychos and their freak factory!"
As Mars and Jupiter pushed off, Venus, her face deathly pale staggered a few steps, then, her eyes rolling back in her head, she let out a long, pain filled moan and collapsed.
"Venus!" cried the girls, horrified to see their teammate face down on the floor. Dropping to Venus' side, Jupiter, with a mother's gentleness cradled her stricken friend. "Venus! Mina! What is it? What's wrong?"
"Feel....so weak....dizzy....and my head....it hurts!" Venus said in a slurred voice, her eyes glassed over.
"Uh-oh. This is bad. I think Mina has a concussion," said an openly worried Mars. "Probably from when the ape beast clobbered us."
"Hey, don't worry....'bout me, guys. You go ahead....find the Mitsumos. I'll stay here....rest a little," said Venus, valiantly trying to smile through her misery.
"Over my dead body!" rumbled Jupiter. "There's no telling what those lunatics might have crawling around in here! We won't leave you alone while you're unable to protect yourself!"
"Yeah! The Mitsumos can wait! Right now, we've gotta get you out of here and to a doctor!" said Mars.
Nodding, Jupiter picked up the injured Venus in her powerful arms and the Scouts raced down the corridor, looking for a way out. Suddenly, the lights snapped on, temporarily blinding the girls whose eyes had become used to the semi-darkness. In the distance, they could hear the whine of a diesel generator roaring. They paused momentarily as their eyes adjusted to the now brightly lighted hall, then continued on their search for an exit. Rounding a corner the Scouts stopped short and gasped in shock at what was before them, not believing what they saw.
An instant later, gunfire erupted.
The island, called Aogo-Shima on Goro's chart, the southern most of the Izu-Shoto chain was small, mostly hilly and thick with trees and a rocky beach. But, human touches were present, namely a long pier on the shore where a cabin cruiser was moored and, off in the distance, on the highest spot on the island, sat a large, square, windowless building.
Sitting at anchor a quarter mile from land, the Moon Princess gently bobbed in the water while Goro and Fukoda scanned the island through binoculars. Hiyata, Moon and Mercury stood nearby.
"Hmm. That building looks fairly new. I'd say it hasn't been there very long," said Fukoda, intently studying the structure. "Miss Mercury, how's the plutonium readings?"
"Off the dial, Lieutenant. This is definitely the place," Mercury replied, staring at the screen on her computer.
"Hey! Fukoda! Look over to the east! Down from the building! Found something real interesting," said Goro.
Fukoda did so and frowned at what he saw. Sitting some one hundred yards down a dirt roadway from the building were two dark green helicopters with large, single bladed main rotors. Their color almost enabled the aircraft to blend in with their surroundings.
"Hueys," the detective growled. "And judging from the markings on each fuselage, they're U.S. Army choppers."
"U.S. Army? Could this be some kind of military installation?" Hiyata wondered.
"Not bloody likely, son. After that mess on Okinawa, Tokyo wouldn't give the U.S. the time of day, let alone any more of our land to it's military," Goro grumbled.
"What sort of mess are you talking about?" Moon asked.
"In September of '95, three U.S. servicemen abducted and raped a 12 year old Okinawan schoolgirl. The incident raised an unholy stink that strained Japan's relationship with America to the breaking point," said Fukoda, lowering his glasses. "The perps were eventually tried, convicted, court-martialed and jailed, but not before a lot bad blood flowed and a serious distrust of the U.S. military set in. Things have been touchy between Tokyo and Washington ever since. Given the situation, I'd bet my pension neither government knows that place exists."
"Which means we could be dealing with a rogue force of who knows how many men," said a noticeably apprehensive Hiyata. "And if they're mixed up with whoever's creating monsters on that rock, they'll be all too willing to kill to keep this place a secret."
"More than likely. Well, Shiro, I did offer you a chance to stay behind," Fukoda quipped.
Hiyata frowned. "I'm beginning to wish I had. What now?"
The detective scowled. Between he and Hiyata, they had two handguns and only fifty rounds of ammunition. Even factoring in the Scouts and their powers, he figured their chances of going up against an unknown force of highly trained soldiers and surviving the encounter were slim to non-existent. Fukoda stared at his Browning Hi-Power automatic in shoulder leather and sighed.
"I don't have a clue. I feel naked."
Goro cracked a crooked grin. "Don't worry, pal. I got something inside that'll cover you better than a fur coat."
The cops and the Scouts followed Goro back inside where, in the boat's spacious living area, he knelt down near a bulkhead on the port side and pushed aside a chair, revealing what looked like a door built into the bulkhead, complete with a lock and a handle. Removing a ring of keys from his pocket, Goro unlocked the door and opened it. The eyes of the cops and the Scouts widened when Goro pulled out two well oiled M-16 assault rifles and two bulky, olive green satchels filled with magazines for the weapons. Smirking, Goro handed the rifles to the cops. "I assume you guys know how to use these babies?"
Fukoda, his face grim, hefted the rifle and nodded. It looked brand new. "We do. Tell me, Goro, were these gifts from your Yakuza gunrunning friend too?"
Goro broke out in a loud, braying laugh. "Are you kidding? I am a Yakuza gunrunner! And you promised not to bust me, remember?"
The detective's expression grew cold as an iceberg. While nothing would please him more than to strangle the laughter in Goro's throat, Fukoda never went back on a promise in his life, nor was he about to bite the hand that just fed him a badly needed equalizer. Still, he hated having to accept gifts from a criminal, lethal gifts he figured would later be used on the streets of his city. Fukoda made a mental note to himself that if he survived whatever awaited him on the island, he'd make sure these guns won't return to Goro's boat.
"I remember. Like I said, my word is my bond."
"Glad to hear that." Smiling like the Chesire Cat, Goro turned to the Scouts. "I got a couple of Uzis for you chippies if you want 'em."
"No thank you. We don't need weapons," said Mercury in a frost filled tone, not bothering to hide her disgust for Goro.
"Yeah! We ARE weapons!" snarled Moon, no less happy with the criminal. "Why are we wasting time sitting here? Take us in!"
Goro, a smirk on his face, gave Moon a snappy salute. "Aye-aye, Captain!" Chuckling, he left for the forecastle to raise the anchor.
"Why do I get the feeling we just made a deal with the devil?" asked Hiyata, checking the receiver on his rifle.
"Because we're going straight into hell, Shiro," grumbled Fukoda, ramming a cartridge into his weapon and chambering a round. "And I have no intention facing Satan and his buddies without plenty of firepower!"
After Goro brought Moon Princess alongside the pier and moored her behind the other boat, Moon and Mercury hopped off, followed by Fukoda and Hiyata, their weapons loaded and at the ready, the satchels of spare clips slung over their shoulders. Goro, saying he had no intention of facing renegade soldiers on what he called a suicide mission stayed behind. But, Fukoda, distrustful of the gangster's promise to wait for the party to return ordered him to come along, using his rifle as a persuasive tool. Grudgingly, Goro grabbed one of the Uzis and followed the others.
"This is weird," said Hiyata, bothered by the pervasive quietness. "You'd think this place would be guarded like Fort Knox."
"When you're practically in the middle of nowhere, I guess security isn't all that much of a concern," Fukoda replied. "And with no windows on that building up there, I'm sure they didn't see us coming."
"You'll forgive me if I don't feel comforted by that," Goro growled. He felt choked from paranoia.
"I hate this place," said Moon, feeling nervous and scared "The sooner we find the others, stop this madness and get off this rock, the better I'll feel."
"Amen to that," said Mercury, her VR visor in place as she scanned the other boat for clues to the missing Scouts. Although the boat was older looking than Goro's craft, it appeared to be well maintained. Suddenly, she gasped and her mouth fell open.
"No! Oh, no!" she cried.
"Mercury! What is it?" Moon asked.
The Scout of Water didn't reply. Instead she broke into a desperate run for the boat and hopped aboard. When the others caught up, they found Mercury on her knees near the stern. Boarding the boat, Moon, the cops and Goro ran up to her and saw she held a shiny object in her hand while tears poured down her face in rivers.
"What did you find?" Fukoda asked.
Unable to speak, Mercury gave the object to Moon. It was a golden tiara with a cracked, amber colored gem in the middle. A terrible chill ran down the length of her spine because it was stained with blood.
"Oh, God," Moon whispered. "Venus."
"One of the Scouts?" asked Goro.
Moon didn't respond. Her heart shattered, she sank to her knees and huddled against Mercury. The girls then embraced and sobbed. Fukoda and Hiyata respectfully bowed their heads, allowing the Scouts all the time they needed to grieve for their lost friend. Goro turned away. He hated to see women cry.
After a couple of minutes, Moon slowly stood up, but the men saw that any and all signs of grief were gone from her tear streaked face which was now hardened and twisted into an animalistic snarl.
"I'm sorry about your friend," said a sorrowful Fukoda.
"Yeah! But not as sorry as those scumbags up there are gonna be when I get my hands on them!" hissed Moon, helping Mercury to her feet.
"Wrong! When WE get OUR hands on them!" growled Mercury. "They're going to pay for what they did to Sailor Venus!"
Fukoda, Hiyata and Goro instinctively took a step back out of fear as they saw something come over the Scouts, something menacing, something terrifying. Something Fukoda himself had seen close up and personal not too long ago. What they saw in the eyes of both Moon and Mercury was monstrous, uncontrollable rage, that same, all-consuming fury that nearly led Moon to kill the detective back at the hospital. Only this time, it looked to be much worse.
Without saying a word, the Scouts leaped off the boat, and before the men could blink, Moon and Mercury were already a good fifty yards away and disappearing through the trees in the direction of the building on top of the hill.
"Lieutenant! D-did you see that look on their faces?" said a rattled Hiyata. "It....it wasn't human!"
Fukoda, completely unnerved for the first time in years shuddered. "I know. All too well. I pity anyone, or anything foolish enough to get in their way. Remember what I said on the boat about us going into hell? I'm afraid we've just stepped out of the frying pan and into the inferno. C'mon!"
Next: Nightmare Island