THE SECRET COLONY OF YAKUSHIMA
Chapter 11: "Showdown"
A Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.


"Venus, is this another one of your stories?" Artemis sighed. He and Luna were in the Crystal Palace, in their command room, monitoring the situations in both Yakushima and Darwin. Gratefully they had accepted the in-coming communication from Sailor Venus and the news that Haruka Tenoh was alive and well. After Venus explained the situation fully, they were a little less than grateful.

"I'm telling you, they're trying to start 'Planet of the Apes' down here, Fuzz Ball!" Venus shouted back. "Have I ever jumped to conclusions before?"

"Well, there was the time you thought the golf course attack was Rodan," Artemis related wearily. "And the time you thought the meteor that landed in the countryside was Gamera. And the time you thought people were being replaced by android duplicates."

"Hey, I was right about that one!" Venus shot back.

"One in a row is not a batting streak," Artemis concluded.

"When I get home, I'm going to punt you across the room, cat!" Venus fumed.

"Where are Uranus and Neptune now, Venus?" Luna interjected.

"They went out to track down that rogue monkey," Venus told her. "I just loaded the doctor on a Self-Defense Force helicopter."

"I thought you said it was a macaque," Artemis asked.

"There's a difference?"

"I'll contact Sailor Neptune to see if she needs any assistance," Luna stated. "Then I'll relay what's happened to the other Senshi."

"Uh," Venus began, "Uranus kind of wanted this kept quiet. She promised the monkeys she wouldn't reveal they exist - - assuming any of them are still alive."

"That is not Sailor Uranus's decision to make," Luna replied imperiously. "I shall inform His and Her Majesty and they will make that decision."

"Oh, loosen you girdle," they heard Venus mutter.

"Continue on as planned," Artemis said quickly. "Be ready for anything. Palace out." He looked over at Luna, both to gauge her mood and her receptiveness. "She's got a point - - Uranus, I mean. I'm not sure how the public would react to the news of gun-toting macaques, especially so soon after the Ice Giants. And invasions from space. And dream-stealing circuses."

"I understand, Artemis, for all of the reasons you cite," Luna replied. "But it must be the decision of His and Her Majesty. The cornerstone of this monarchy is that they decide. I will, of course, suggest courses of action that they may accept if they deem it fit to do so." She sighed. "Although I'm not certain how much can be done at this point. News of the helicopter crash itself and moreover why it crashed are already a matter of public record. The public will have to be told something."

With that, the little black cat began establishing communication with Sailor Neptune, leaving Artemis to wonder just what they could tell Japan and the world at large.


Bungah wrapped both paws around the pistol, squeezing the trigger with two fingers. Being a macaque, the weapon was heavy in his hands, despite its size, and wasn't easy to trigger. It had taken two macaques to fire the rifle that had downed the helicopter. If his firearm had been a standard revolver and not an automatic, he wouldn't have been able to fire it. That's why Bungah had chosen the weapon. It was the optimal balance of firing ease and stopping power.

And right now, from a tree above them, the gun was aimed as Sailor Uranus's head. There was a thrill of anticipation welling in Bungah's chest. Sailor Uranus had caused him so much distress. He wanted to enjoy the anticipation just a little bit more, but caution told him to fire.

Uranus, though, fired first, spinning suddenly and throwing energy arcs up at him from the sword she held in her hand. Bungah shoved himself from the tree, making his shot go wild. As the energy arcs severed the upper trunk of the tree and sent it falling against its neighbors, Bungah grasped for one of the neighboring trees with acrobatic grace that belied the desperation of his actions. That had been close. The arcs had almost gotten him, and he'd almost dropped his pistol as he caught the neighboring tree. Bungah looked down at Uranus with venomous hatred.

"Good thing you spotted him with your mirror, Neptune," Uranus said. "Space Sword Blaster!"

The attack was narrowly evaded again. Uranus wasn't fast enough to hit him, but Bungah wasn't able to pause long enough to aim and fire.

"I lost him in the trees," Uranus told Neptune, the sword in her hand and ready. "Can you get a fix on him again?"

"Wait," Neptune breathed, going into a trance again as she stared into the mirror. It was only through the glow given off by the Space Sword that she was able to see anything in the dark jungle night. "He's circling back toward his ammunition stash." With that, the mirror disappeared so both of her hands were free. "Deep Submerge!"

A tidal wave of water crashed into the rock formation covering Bungah's ammunition stash. Bungah could only hang on to the tree he was in, the tree buffeted by the force of the wave, as the water swept over the rocks and dislodged them just enough. Water poured into the ammunition cache and uprooted the stored clips. They floated up to the top of the wave and were carried away.

"Now he's down to nine shots," Neptune whispered. "Still dangerous, but he can't reload and prolong this, so our odds are better."

"We don't have to keep this up, Bungah!" Uranus yelled from cover. "There's still time to end this peacefully!"

"You? Offering amnesty?" came a shrill call from the trees. "You insult me with so obvious a lie!"

"I'm not lying!" Uranus shouted back. "If it were up to me, I'd wring your scrawny little neck for killing those research scientists! But I know Queen Serenity! And she'd be willing to forgive you! Offer you a sanctuary, away from humans, where you could live in peace!"

"Is that what you call a genetics lab? Where I can live my days being peacefully prodded and tested and experimented on? Tortured and maimed and eventually dissected?"

"Not a genetics lab!" Uranus yelled. "Here! In the jungle in Yakushima! The place you want to live in! The place you've been fighting to protect! Right here!"

"And she'll do this out of the goodness of her human heart?" Bungah screeched back. "Is that what you expect me to believe?"

"Oh, there'll be a catch!" Uranus shot back. "You gotta stop killing! You kill one human and the deal's off! And we hunt you down! And if you think I'm tough, you try taking on six Senshi, plus Serenity, plus Endymion!"

Knowing Neptune had been using the mirror to track Bungah as they spoke, Uranus turned to her with an inquiring glance. Neptune, as if sensing this, came out of her trance.

"He's stalking us," Neptune reported softly. "He's over there right now with the pistol out and ready."

"Space Sword Blaster!" Uranus shouted, throwing energy arcs at the point Neptune indicated. A shriek of alarm followed, along with panicked movement in the upper branches.

"HOW DO YOU SEE ME?" howled Bungah.

"Now who's the liar?" Uranus charged. "Talking truce while you snuck up on me to shoot me!"

"I made no promises!" Bungah bellowed. "Tell your queen that I will see her dead! I will see all humans dead! Dead if I have to kill them all myself! Dead, do you hear? Dead like my mother!"

Uranus and Neptune looked questioningly at each other.

"What about your mother?" Uranus called out.

Bungah's reply was three shots into the brush Uranus and Neptune hid behind. The shots missed, narrowly, but were way too close for comfort. Uranus responded by lobbing energy arcs from her Space Sword into the general area from where the shots came from. A cry to her right stopped Uranus. Neptune was holding her right hand and the mirror was nowhere in sight. One of Bungah's shots had creased the back of Neptune's hand, causing her to drop the mirror onto the inky jungle floor. Uranus saw a streak of blood on Neptune's white glove and moved for her. Neptune, though, waved her off and pointed emphatically toward Bungah's last position.

"Six shots left," Uranus murmured. "But we've got to move from this spot. We're sitting ducks here and sooner or later he's going to get lucky."

"If we move, we're going to draw his fire," Neptune warned. "The same cover that's protecting us will move and alert him if we shift position."

Uranus grew silent, scowling in frustration that a macaque with a pistol could hold off two Senshi. A sudden rain began to fall, hard and heavy in the already humid atmosphere. The rain was one more advantage for Bungah. The heavy rain would obscure his movements and sounds, allowing him to sneak up on them.

"What if we move in different directions?" Uranus suggested. "He can't shoot at both of us if we're going different . . ."

Then Uranus grew silent when she caught the expression on Neptune's face, illuminated by the faint glow of the Space Sword. Neptune hadn't meant to betray her fright over the thought of Uranus possibly taking the fire. And Uranus remembered that for Neptune they had just been reunited after a too long period of wondering and worrying about whether Uranus was dead or alive. The lanky Senshi in blue and white silently cursed herself for hurting the woman she loved, even for a moment.

"I mean," Uranus forced herself on. "If one of us draws his fire, the other one can home in on him and take him out."

Neptune emitted a heavy sigh and Uranus felt the emotion of it to her core.

"I suppose it's best," Neptune replied, her emotions under rein. "Just - - stay low."

"Back at you," Uranus nodded.

Crouching to move, Uranus held up three fingers. Bending each finger into her palm, she counted down to two and then one. As one, the two Outers burst from the bush in opposite directions, their movement causing the thick foliage to rustle. As she moved, Uranus heard two shots ring out and the bullets whiz over her. Bungah was tracking her by the movement of the bushes. Her first thought was to kneel and protect herself. But Uranus kept going, hoping to give Neptune a better chance. Three move shots rang out, one so close that Uranus seemed to sense it fly just millimeters above her upper back.

"Deep Submerge!" Neptune shouted.

Uranus immediately knelt and looked back. A torrential flood of water swept over the dark jungle, shaking trees, bending bushes and sweeping away anything not anchored. For a moment the Senshi allowed herself to hope. But a shadowy figure could just be made out scaling one of the thrashing trees, out of the reach of the cascade. And he had one shot left.

Desperately Uranus rose up out of the brush and launched another Space Sword Blaster attack. The energy arcs momentarily lit up the jungle as they spun along their deadly path. Bungah could be seen for just a moment, staring at the arcs, his black and brown face wide-eyed. Then at the last moment the macaque leaped for a neighboring tree. The energy arcs spun past him and severed the top of the tree he had been on.

She almost made another attempt, but movement in the darkness stopped her hand. Straining to see in the darkness, Uranus could only detect another shape on the tree. What she heard, though, stayed her hand. The screeching of a second macaque as the shape moved with purpose up the tree.

It was Cheegah. And from the sound of her, she was just as angry with Bungah as they were.

Lightning struck and momentarily lit up the area like a powerful spotlight. Bungah and Cheegah were clinging to the tree about ten feet apart. The pistol was still in Bungah's right paw. Cheegah was angrily chattering at him. Uranus heard a noise to her right, but saw it was Neptune circling back to her.

"You had a shot," Neptune questioned.

"Cheegah's up there," Uranus responded.

"That's the macaque from the opposing side?"

"Yeah," Uranus nodded. "They're the only two augmented macaques left."

"That we know of," Neptune suggested.

Bungah now was angrily chittering at Cheegah. It was difficult to tell the difference as both macaques' fur was plastered to their bodies. Cheegah was the smaller of the two - - and the one without the gun.

Back and forth they chattered, their strange speech growing more angry and animated with every exchange. Seeing Cheegah this animated, Uranus wondered how much the other macaques had meant to her. She wished Cheegah would move away so Uranus could make another attempt at Bungah.

Unexpectedly, Cheegah lunged for the gun. Bungah drew back defensively. Another lightning bolt flashed, bathing the area in brilliant white light. As was the custom of primates, if an attack lunge was unsuccessful, the attacker drew back to a defensive position. Cheegah, having missed the gun, pulled back to regroup and make a second try. Bungah, though, countered with an offensive move, bringing up the pistol and leveling it at the female macaque. The scene winked back to dark for just a moment, before another brilliant lightning bolt sizzled in the sky, drenching the wet scene in a blue-white hue. Uranus could see Cheegah's eyes widen as she stared her own death in the face.

Concluded in Chapter 12