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. The Tokyo subway gas attack in 1995 mentioned by the fictional General Bullinger in this chapter was also a very real and frightening incident.

The Frankenstein Syndrome
by Jeffrey C. Branch
Part Six: Nightmare Island
Rating: PG-13

Walking down a well lighted corridor, their hands high above their heads, Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter seethed from anger and frustration. While the scowls on their faces spoke volumes, the two Scouts considered themselves lucky to be alive.

They remembered what happened only a few minutes ago when they rounded a corner in the corridor and encountered a squad of eight armed, grim faced American men in combat fatigues some thirty feet away. The girls saw the surprised expressions of the faces of the men, and, anticipating the worst, they threw themselves on the floor and scampered back the way they came, just as the soldiers opened fire. Had the Scouts hesitated for just a split second, they would've been cut to pieces. While the Scouts possessed incredible powers, they were still only flesh and blood and could be killed just as easily as any human being.

Snarling, Mars tensed to unleash a return attack but was stopped short by Jupiter who angrily shook her head and motioned towards Sailor Venus who lay beside her, barely conscious from the concussion she suffered from. Mars, staring at her injured teammate relented, realizing a battle, even a defensive one would cost Venus her life since she was in no shape to fight. When one of the soldiers shouted at the Scouts to surrender, Mars and Jupiter reluctantly complied. Roughly hoisted to their feet, the girls were marched down the hall, gun barrels jabbed into their backs while one of the soldiers picked up the helpless Venus in a fireman's carry like she was a sack of potatoes and carried her along.

The journey ended at a set of tall, stainless steel double doors. One of the soldiers, a wiry, sandy blond with wire rim glasses pulled down a lever on the wall and the doors opened inward, allowing his comrades and the Scouts to enter. Mars and Jupiter were marched to their left and ordered to stand against the wall while Venus was callously dumped beside them. Jupiter reached for her partner, but was stopped by a rifle barrel leveled on her. Taking in their surroundings, the two Scouts were left breathless at what they saw. They were inside a huge laboratory with a thirty foot high ceiling, crammed with computers, sophisticated electronic equipment, a generator along one wall and two long metal tables filled with beakers, microscopes, books and papers. To the right of the door were a long line of cages sporting thick, plexiglass walls.

In those cages were six creatures, hideously grotesque abominations that were a bizarre cross between men and animals. One was half-bear, another half-lion, a third looked like a man sized bald eagle, complete with feathers and wings while another had all the features of a bat, also with wings. A fifth beast was covered with scales and had the head of a gila monster while the creature in the sixth cage, the powerful man-ape the Scouts fought earlier in the day looked like a shriveled husk and was barely breathing as it lay on the floor. Upon seeing the Scouts, the creatures, save for the man-ape jumped about and let out a cacophony of roars, shouts, hisses and screeches that echoed throughout the cavernous room. Then, a bluish gas filled each enclosure, quieting them. The sight left Mars and Jupiter slack jawed and petrified.

"Dear Lord," a wide eyed Mars croaked, her heart in her throat. "What kind of horror is this?"

"Horror? I beg to differ, my dear. You are looking at our life's work," said a smiling Kenji Mitsumo who stood next to his sister in the center of the room where a huge, glass chamber stood. Inside the chamber, protruding from the ceiling was a large, oval shaped device that resembled a gun barrel but had a metal globe on the end. Lights and diodes on the barrel winked on and off while it was pointed at a metal gurney in the center of the chamber. Strapped to the gurney was a naked, rail thin man who looked to be frightened out of his mind.

"Are these the meddlers you told me about, Kenji?" asked the man who stood next to the Mitsumos. An American like the soldiers, he was tall, broad shouldered and dressed in a spotless, dark green military dress uniform replete with bars and ribbons. His dark brown hair was gray at the temples and his piercing, bright blue eyes made the Scouts uncomfortable. Flanking him and the Mitsumos were eight more soldiers, looking nervous, weapons at the ready. He looked at Mars and Jupiter with undisguised contempt. "These children don't look old enough to drive, let alone be a threat to us. Especially in those ridiculous costumes they're wearing."

"Turn us loose, asshole, and you'll see just how ridiculous we are!" snarled Jupiter.

The tall man chuckled. "Feisty, aren't we?"

"Don't underestimate these 'meddlers' as you call them, General," Keiko Mitsumo warned. "Their having fought two of our subjects, one of which they actually killed proved that they are dangerous. No doubt they were also responsible for the power outage that allowed them to escape."

The tall man walked up to the Scouts. "I see. Ladies, allow me to introduce myself. I'm General James K. Bullinger, United States Army. Welcome to 'Project Shapeshifter'. The most ambitious experiment in modern day guerilla warfare ever conceived by the mind of man."

Bullinger then grinned, but his smile left Mars and Jupiter feeling naked and cold. "I strongly suggest you relax and make yourselves at home, because you won't be leaving here alive."

Outside the building, one hundred yards away sat the Army helicopters. Standing near one of the aircraft were it's pilots, one nervously smoking while the other casually stared up at the facility.

"What do you think's going on up there?" asked the nervous soldier. He didn't like being on this island one bit and couldn't wait to leave.

His partner, openly bored shrugged from indifference. "Who knows? Who cares? I just do as I'm told, fly where I'm told. Whatever's happening up there is way beyond my pay grade, so I'm not gonna worry over it."

Before the nervous soldier could respond, a rustle of brush caught his attention. He started to remove his sidearm when two blurs sprang out of the woods with lightning fast speed. One blur, sporting long, twin blond pigtails slammed into him like a runaway train and he crashed into the fuselage of the Huey. White gloved hands grabbed him by his shirt, lifted him off his feet and pounded him against the aircraft several times with brutal force until the fuselage had caved in and he was unmoving.

The bored pilot fared no better than his partner as the other blur, one with short blue hair planted a booted foot into his chest from a flying kick, knocking him to the ground. Dazed, barely conscious and in pain from ribs he knew were either cracked or broken, he was unable to defend himself as he was savagely kicked in the head, then, lifted high in the air and hurled against the windshield of the other Huey some fifty feet away, spidering the glass as he crashed into it.

Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury, their eyes blazing with anger stared contemptuously at the pilots they ruthlessly pummeled. They then turned their vengeful gaze upon the building at the top of the hill. Without saying a word, the rage possessed Scouts sped off. Moments later, Lieutenant Fukoda, Patrolman Hiyata and Yakuza gunrunner Isaki Goro, huffing and puffing from running at full speed uphill to keep up with the Scouts came into the clearing.

"Lord almighty! Talk about a major league butt kicking!" said Goro, more impressed than shocked. "Man, I'd love to have those Sailor chippies for legbreakers!"

"Shut up, Goro!" Fukoda snapped. "Shiro! Check them out!"

"They're alive, sir, but badly hurt," said Hiyata after quickly examining both pilots. "I've seen hit and run victims in better shape than these two. Looks like the Scouts are playing for keeps."

"Can't say I blame them. You saw that bloody tiara they found on the dock," said Fukoda. "One of their friends was murdered by whoever's up on that hill. God forbid if someone killed my wife, and I knew who did it, I'd be just as crazed for payback as Moon and Mercury are."

"But, sir, what if they go too far and kill?" Hiyata asked. "We may be out of our jurisdiction, but we're still supposed to enforce the law. Can we just stand by and let that happen?"

Fukoda frowned. That very thing had been worrying him ever since the Scouts left the dock. Hiyata's right, he thought. We can't allow Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury to kill, not even for revenge. But we're just human, they're superhuman. And out of control. How in hell can we stop the Scouts without killing them ourselves?

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it! C'mon!" he growled.

"'Project Shapeshifter'? What's that?" Mars wanted to know.

"A long cherished dream of mine," said Bullinger. "Thanks to the genius of the Mitsumos, they've created ferocious, living weapons capable of unleashing untold death and destruction against any enemy that threatens peace and democracy."

"What enemy? The Russians? Get real! The Cold War's been over for years!" Jupiter growled. "The U.S. doesn't have an enemy to fight any longer!"

Bullinger chuckled, but the sound was pure evil. "I beg to differ. While it's true that the Soviets are no longer a threat, we still face enormous danger from terrorist groups who conduct campaigns of violence in every corner of the globe. Bombings, assassinations, blood soaked coups and the wholesale slaughter of helpless innocents from Beirut to Oklahoma City to Uganda. Even your own country isn't safe after that incident in 1995 when members of a fanatical doomsday cult released poison gas in a Tokyo subway tunnel, killing a dozen people and injuring thousands. Project Shapeshifter will put an end to all this madness."

"How?" asked Mars. Inspite of herself, she was curious.

"The Mitsumos' creatures, under my control will be deployed to various hot spots to covertly defuse terrorist operations. Never again will brave soldiers be sent in to do that sort of dirty work," Bullinger explained. "As to how the process works, Doctors?"

Kenji Mitsumo nodded. "Of course, General. My sister and I are geneticists who, some fifteen years ago developed a means of using radiation from plutonium in conjunction with certain drugs and faunal DNA to create hybrids, combining the best traits of both man, and whatever animal genes we exposed them to. The radiation greatly accelerates the properties of the drug and DNA compounds in our subjects, the more radiation we use, the more powerful the subjects became, thus the 'living weapons' as General Bullinger calls them."

"Despite our breakthrough, no one would give us the funding we needed to continue our experiments. Universities, scientific facilities, even our own government turned us down!" said Keiko. "They ridiculed us, said we were playing God! Bah! It wasn't about morality! It was about science! It was then that we met the General who heard of what we were doing and provided us with the funding we required. He helped us build our facility and gave us everything we needed to continue our research."

"And in return, Bullinger uses your 'subjects' as human weapons to fight terrorism," added Jupiter.

"Correct. We were conducting our first field test with a delightfully psychotic subject the General recently provided us, monitoring his activity under stress when you ladies interfered," Kenji replied.

"The attack at the zoo!" said Mars. "Why there?"

Kenji's face soured. "Twenty years ago, I worked there after college, but was fired for stealing animals during the formative years of our research. I never forgot, or forgave them for that base humiliation."

"My God. You are crazy," said Jupiter, her blood chilled.

Kenji chuckled. "Sanity, my dear, is in the eye of the beholder. Now, would you like to see our process in action?"

"Do we have a choice?" growled Mars.

"No," said Keiko. The Mitsumos then walked over to a control panel near the huge glass enclosure and busied themselves turning dials and flicking switches. Inside the enclosure, the massive machine hummed to life, it's many diodes winking on and off. As the man on the gurney struggled futilely against his bonds, the hum grew louder and louder and the metal globe glowed with a strange, greenish light. Suddenly, the man was bathed in the light and he screamed for dear life.

As everyone looked on, the man began to undergo a fantastic transformation. Dark fur grew from every pore on his body which cracked and blistered as it grew in size. His feet mutated into hooves and his face metamorphed into a bizarre resemblance to that of a bull, complete with horns that grew out of his forehead. Moments later, the man-bull roared from rage. The soldiers, openly frightened backed away, Mars and Jupiter were numb from shock but Bullinger, wide eyed from fascination approached the enclosure as gas filled it, subduing the creature.

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!" he said.

Kenji smiled from satisfaction. "We know. So far, the only drawback is that the radiation greatly shortens a subject's lifespan as it incinerates his organs and destroys his nervous system. At best, we've only been able to keep a subject alive for a maximum of forty eight hours, far less, if we infuse it with more radiation, as was the case with the ape beast. And the others you see are nearing their termination point."

Bullinger nodded. "For the purpose the creatures will be used for, that will be more than enough time. A perfect safeguard in a covert operation. And you've perfected the remote control system?"

"Yes. Through microchips implanted in the subject's brain, we can now monitor and control all motor activity," Keiko replied. She then turned her gaze on the Scouts and grinned. To them it was demonic. "Now, let's see what happens when we expose these ladies here to the process. That should prove most illuminating."

Just then, a klaxon sounded, startling everyone. Even Venus stirred from the racket it made. "What's that?" one of the soldiers asked.

Kenji switched off the alarm and checked a nearby video monitor. He frowned at what he saw. "The front doors have been forced. Violently. It would appear we have guests."

Bullinger scowled while Mars and Jupiter exchanged knowing looks. "Captain Conway! Take six men and investigate!' the General ordered.

Conway, the wiry blond saluted his superior. "Yes, sir!"

The seven soldiers, rifles at the ready hustled out of the lab. Moments later, came the chilling sounds of shouts, cries, screams of pain and weapons being fired. Then, after the ear piercing shriek of metal being broken and snapped, all was quiet. The air in the lab was thick with tension and no one dared speak as footsteps echoed in the hall outside, coming closer and closer. Finally, Moon and Mercury appeared in the doorway, their eyes hard and flinty. Each Scout held a rifle, bent double in their hands which they casually tossed inside. Mars and Jupiter, at first relieved to see their teammates were taken aback at the fury etched on their faces. The Mitsumos gasped from shock.

"It's you!" Kenji cried.

"That's right, scumbag. I'm Sailor Moon, the champion of vengeance," said Moon in a menacing, low throated growl. "I've come a very long way to find you. In the name of the moon, you're dead meat!"

Bullinger was unimpressed. "Kill them!"

The soldiers, unprepared for the appearance of the Scouts hesitated, and that cost them dearly as Mercury took the offensive.

"Mercury Ice Bubbles....FREEZE!"

Suddenly, a freezing cold mist descended. The soldiers cried out from pain as their weapons froze to the unprotected flesh of their hands. Like jungle cats hot for blood, the Scouts sprang into action. While Moon and Mercury tore into the soldiers like rabid animals, Mars and Jupiter, seeing an opening, overpowered the distracted soldiers who guarded them and Venus before joining their teammates in the fray. Unarmed against the angry Scouts, the battle was as brief as it was one sided as the soldiers were beaten senseless and their weapons smashed like toys. By the time the fog dissipated, and the cops and Goro rushed into the lab, guided by the sounds of the fight, it was all over. The soldiers, battered and disarmed were crowded against a wall by the Scouts with a scowling Bullinger while the Mitsumos, looking unusually calm stood by the enclosure.

"Freeze!" Fukoda shouted, and immediately felt stupid for saying it.

Mars spun around and prepared to pounce, but was held back by Moon. "Ease off, Mars! They're with us!" she snapped. It was only then that she saw Venus struggling to sit up in a corner. Moon's rage dissipated and waves of relief washed over her at seeing her friend alive. Both she and Mercury, tears streaming from their eyes rushed over to Venus and hugged her while she wondered what the fuss was all about.

While the Scouts enjoyed a brief but joyous reunion, Hiyata and a reluctant Goro kept an eye on the demoralized soldiers. Fukoda stared in revulsion at the creatures, then at the Mitsumos. "Are these the lunatics who created the monsters you ladies fought?"

"They sure are," said Mars with a nod. "Those loons are working for the creep in the uniform over there who wants monsters to use as weapons in a war against terrorism. They're all crazy."

Fukoda, his face hardened glared at the mad scientists. "I don't know who you are, and, frankly speaking, I don't care. This nightmare you've created is over! You're under arrest!"

Kenji surprised the Scouts and their allies by chuckling. "No. I don't think so. Shall we show them why, Doctor?"

Keiko grinned. "By all means. It should prove most entertaining."

"What are you babbling about?" Fukoda demanded.

Smiling like a shark, Kenji cleared his throat. "Authorization code: Mitsumo-1A. Open sesame."

As the soldiers, Scouts and cops looked on, the glass doors to the cages slid down and the monsters, save for the ape beast, snarling and growling, their faces masks of rage lumbered out. The bat and eagle creatures spread their wings and awkwardly took to the air.

"Oh, hell!" Goro whispered.

"Damnation!" Fukoda grumbled.

"Terrific!" snarled Jupiter.

"Fascinating!" said a gleeful Bullinger.

"Scatter, everyone!" ordered Moon as the creatures charged, inciting a full scale panic as they attacked anything that moved. As the weaponless soldiers ran for their lives and the Mitsumos dove under a table, Fukoda and Hiyata opened up on the monsters with their M-16's while Goro blasted away with his Uzi, yet they barely slowed down the monsters. Bullinger, grinning from ear to ear was elated with what he saw, but his happiness was short lived as the lion creature, looking for something to kill pounced on the General and ripped him to shreds. Bullinger never even had time to scream before he and his dream died at the hands of a monster he sought to use for his own ends.

"At ease, pal!" growled Goro, his stomach roiling from the butchery. He backed away from the lion beast and riddled it with bullets, but with little effect.

"Somebody! Protect Venus! She's helpless!" a hysterical Mars yelled, separated from her injured friend by the fleeing soldiers.

"I....don't....do....helpless!" Venus growled. Her face taut as she struggled to her knees, The Scout of Love lifted her hands and pointed shakily at the airborne monsters. "Venus....Crescent....Beam....SMASH!"

Twin crescents of light enveloped Venus' hands and her powerful energy beam knifed through the air, scoring a direct hit on the chest of the eagle creature, igniting its feathers and, shrieking from agony, it crashed to the floor in a flaming heap. It thrashed for a few moments then died.

"Gotcha!" Venus cried. She smiled weakly as she was helped to her feet by Jupiter. "See, Jupe...told ya. All I needed....was to rest a little."

Jupiter warmly returned her friend's smile. "You go, girl." She then stared at the young cop, standing nearby. "Can you take Venus out of here? She's got a concussion, and this is no place for her right now!"

Hiyata was about to protest, then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the lizard beast closing in on them. "Look out!" he yelled, pumping rounds into it at almost point blank range.

The beast, shrieking, was knocked off its feet, green blood pouring from wounds in its torso. With a snarl on her lips, Jupiter pounced on the thing and bludgeoned it with sledgehammer blows, but the beast retaliated by sinking its teeth into her left arm and slashing her midsection with it's claws, easily tearing both fabric and flesh. Hissing in pain through clenched teeth, Jupiter stunned the beast by ramming a fist into it's face and grinned from the sickening crunch of bone. She then grabbed the thing by its head in a vice like grip and, with a mighty twist, snapped the thing's neck. Grunting from satisfaction, Jupiter dropped the dead beast.

"Good God!" Hiyata whispered in awe at the amazon, the front of her shredded uniform drenched with both the thing's blood and her own.

"Two down," Jupiter said in a hoarse rasp. Standing on braced legs, she took off her gloves and used them to wrap her gashed arm. She then glared at Hiyata. "What are you standing there for? Get Venus out of here!"

"Okay! I'm gone! Good luck!" said Hiyata, helping Venus to her feet. A now panicky Goro, looking for an excuse to get out of this chamber of horrors helped the young cop rush the injured Scout out of the lab.

Breathing deeply to shunt aside the pain of her injures, Jupiter allowed herself a brief little smile as she stared at the retreating Hiyata. Hmm. He reminds me of my old boyfriend! Then, she cleared her mind and looked for another opponent.

In another area of the lab, Fukoda dived to the floor as the bear-thing swiped at the cop with it's razor sharp claws, barely missing him.

Way too close! The department doesn't pay me enough to deal with this kind of shit, he thought, taking aim with his rifle and blasting away at the beast when it came after him. The bear-thing, hit a dozen times screamed and fell to the floor. The detective grinned smugly at having downed it, but his smile faded when the creature started to rise.

"Oh, boy."

"Fukoda! Fire at it's head!" Mercury shouted, remembering how Moon killed the wolf-beast at the zoo. "Destroy it's brain and you destroy it!"

"Works for me!" the detective growled, emptying the remainder of his clip into the bear-thing's skull which exploded like a balloon. The body twitched for a few moments, then went still. "Three down!"

Moon, her eyes narrowed to slits had her back to the generator as the lion-beast stalked her, it's fangs bared. Yet, despite the danger, Moon wasn't afraid, she turned off her emotions and locked eyes with the beast, trying to determine the exact moment when it would charge.

"C'mon, Simba. Come and get me," she whispered, feeling like the warrior she was born to be. The creature obliged and, with a roar, leaped, covering the ten feet between them in an instant. With perfect timing, Moon jumped high into the air, and over the beast as it crashed head first into the generator. Dropping lightly to the floor behind the monster, Moon watched dispassionately as the beast electrocuted itself.

The creature cried out in agony as hundreds of volts cascaded through it's body. After about a minute, it wobbled, then fell. Sparks flew from the generator which caught fire.

"Four down!" Moon said.

Suddenly, the bat-thing swooped down from the ceiling with a angry shriek and knocked Moon and Mercury off their feet like a living dive bomber. Mars, seeing her teammates strafed by the flying beast, leaped on its back when it made another pass. Twenty feet in the air, the furious bat-thing plowed backward against a wall with crushing force in an attempt to dislodge Mars, but she refused to let go. After a second attempt, Mars felt ribs crack, yet she hung on, despite nearly blacking out from the searing pain, she dug her fingers into the beast's neck.

"Time....to fry....sucker! Mars....Fire....IGNITE!"

At her command, flames erupted from Mars' hands, enveloping the beast. Mars leaped off the beast, now a flying torch as it crashed to the floor in a fiery heap of flesh and bone.

"Mars! Go limp! I've got you!" cried Jupiter, standing beneath the falling Mars who fell into Jupiter's arms.

"Thanks! Jeez! You're a mess!" Mars croaked, staring at her friend's blood soaked uniform.

"You're welcome!" Jupiter growled. Noticing Mars' suit was scorched and her eyebrows singed off, she smirked. "You look great too!"

The fire was now starting to build as the Scouts and Fukoda approached the Mitsumos who had crawled out from under the table and stood calmly near the enclosure.

"Game, set and match! Like the Lieutenant said, it's all over!" Moon growled at the scientists. "Give it up!"

Despite being outnumbered, the Mitsumos smiled.

"Out of the question," said Keiko. Before the Scouts could act, she whirled around and turned a dial on the console behind her. Suddenly, the device emitted a sharp, piercing whine, and green light filled the enclosure bathing the man-bull on the gurney. As everyone looked on, the man-bull roared from fury while it grew and grew with astonishing speed. Still roaring, the thing easily snapped it's bonds and, standing well over twelve feet tall, it raised it's powerful arms over it's head.

"Everyone! Move!" yelled Fukoda who knew what was coming next, and everyone did, an instant before the behemoth plowed its fists through the glass walls of the enclosure, freeing itself.

"It just gets worse by the minute," Mars muttered, every breath she took a misery filled experience from her damaged ribs.

"An excellent move, sister. Now who is going to give up?" asked a smirking Kenji, standing next to the towering beast with Keiko. He then looked up at his creation. "Kill them! Kill them all! I command you!"

The huge beast glared at the Mitsumos with blazing red eyes, eyes filled with bottomless, murderous hate, almost as if it remembered what had been done to it. With a guttural snarl, the creature hit the scientists with a sweeping forearm that carried such force, it flung the siblings against a far wall at such terrible speed, they were reduced to bloody pulp on impact. Growling, the beast then turned it's attention to the Scouts and Fukoda.

"Guess who's next, kids?" Jupiter grumbled.

"Don't just stand there! Run!" cried Mercury, the left side of her face bloody from a slashed cheek. "Mercury Ice Bubbles....BLAST!"

All at once, Mercury's chilling fog descended into the lab which, mixed with the smoke from the fire doubled the lack of visibility for the beast who helplessly flailed away.

The Scouts and Fukoda made a mad dash out of the lab. Once everyone was in the hall, Mars hit the lever on the wall and the heavy doors swung shut. A second later came a booming sound from within the lab as the man-bull slammed against the doors which buckled.

"Think that'll hold it?" Fukoda asked.

"I'm not staying to find out! Let's get out of here!" shouted Moon. And they fled, following Mercury through the empty, smoke filled corridor to freedom. Once outside, the Scouts and Fukoda found themselves staring down the remainder of Bullinger's soldiers, re-armed with spare weapons from the choppers. Standing nearby were Goro, Hiyata and a groggy Venus.

"What happened?" Conway demanded. "Did you kill those creatures?"

"All but one," said Jupiter. Almost as if on cue came more pounding from inside the building, followed by the terrible sound of steel being torn asunder. Then came a frightening bellow. "And here he comes now!"

A moment later, the man-bull charged out of the building. It stared at the puny creatures in front of it and roared it's fury.

"Hell's Bells!" cried a shocked Conway. "Open fire! Blast it!"

The soldiers did, cutting loose on the monster with M-16's, M-60 machine guns and grenade launchers. Yet, against the deafening noise of the assault, all they could do was stagger the beast as it slowly, relentlessly pushed it's way towards them. Gaping wounds repaired themselves almost as quickly as they appeared while the pain the monster sustained made it even madder, and more determined to kill.

"Mars! Jupiter! Give 'em a hand! Everything you've got!" ordered Moon, removing her tiara. Knowing her friends were running on fumes from their injuries, she knew this final attack would have to be all or nothing.

"Mars Firebird...."

"Jupiter Thunder...."

"STRIKE!"

"DRAGON!"

Using their last reserves of strength, Mars and Jupiter unleashed the full force of their powers. Surrounded by a glowing nimbus of flame, a monstrous firebird construct, not unlike a phoenix erupted from Mars' body while lightning descended from above, danced about Jupiter's body for an instant, then streaked towards the creature in the shape of a huge dragon at terrific speed. Both blasts hit the monster simultaneously with a deafening explosion that blew everyone off their feet and covered the war zone in a thick, choking dust cloud.

When the dust cleared, only Moon, tiara in hand was standing while the monster, a charred, smoking ruin lay on the ground. Moon watched as the monster, growling low in it's throat began to heal from its massive wounds and slowly rose to it's feet. Just like yesterday, thought Moon, reliving the hellish events at the zoo. Just like an eternity ago.

Pushing the grim memories of the last twenty four hours to the furthest corner of her mind along with the ever present feelings of fear lurking near the surface of her psyche that made her body tremble, the Sailor Scout leader took a deep breath and willed her tiara into her powerful energy disc. It was time to end it the nightmare. Once and for all.

"You're history," Moon snarled. "Moon Tiara....MAGIC!"

With inhumanly precise aim, Moon hurled the energy disc at the monster who never had time to react before it was beheaded. The body tumbled backward onto the ground and was still. Moments later, the hulking body began to change.

The scene took on an eerie stillness as the Scouts, the soldiers and the cops watched the once menacing man-bull revert to what was left of its human origins. Then, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief, knowing that the ordeal was at last over.

Fukoda walked up to Moon who was on her knees, her head down. God, he thought, that poor girl looked like she aged twenty years today. He knelt beside Moon and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, it looks like we've won," he said softly.

Moon, thoroughly exhausted, looked around her at her injured friends, sprawled on the ground, totally and completely spent, the tattered remains of the soldiers, finally at the headless body that was once a rampaging monster out to kill them all. She then thought about the incredible horror that the Mitsumos and Bullinger had wrought, a horror that cost who knew many lives along with their own, and would haunt the dreams of the survivors for a long time to come, including hers. Too tired even to cry, Moon let out a long, mournful sigh.

"Funny. It doesn't feel like we won," she said. With a painful slowness, Moon stood up and walked away.

Next: The Aftermath

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