| Match 63: |
 |
| By: Eugene Tan |
|
King Kong walked down the beach of Monster Island,
creating bathtub-sized footprints in the grungy black mud. The
giant ape stood by the vast sea as he gnawed on his stick of
bamboo. He watched the giant sea serpents cause splashes in
the dark waters while making quick work of the strong stem.
As he relaxed, the giant snakes suddenly disappeared. Kong's
eyes widened in surprise. The primate got to his feet and moved
in closer, looking around, when he was suddenly smacked in the
face, instantly bowling the big ape over.
The massive lobster, Ebirah, emerged from the
waves, waving the offending pincer in laughter. This sea monster
was hungry. All he had at sea were fish and the occasional turtle.
Today, the mammoth shrimp was hungry for bigger fare.
Kong quickly leapt to his feet, his serenity
ruined by this new enemy. He would teach this little shrimp
a lesson, or at least relieve some of his newfound stress. He
waved his arms into the air as a form of display, before charging
towards the giant shrimp. Ebirah waved his arms wildly, eager
for a battle. Before Ebirah could even strike out at Kong, the
giant ape bashed the crustacean in the face with one powerful
fist, splintering Ebirah's armor. Ebirah reeled back, waving
his pincers in surprise and anger. His prey was incredibly powerful.
The giant shrimp quickly splashed his face with the wet mud
to lessen his extreme pain. Kong watched his enemy back off,
slowly staggering back to the ocean. Clearly, the shrimp had
gotten more than he had bargained for. However, King Kong was
no longer in a good mood. Neither was Ebirah, in any case, but
Kong did not care. The big ape picked up a large rock from the
muddy gray beach and stormed towards Ebirah. The big ape hoisted
the rock above his head, preparing to swing it down at his foe...
Ebirah swiftly got back to action. As Kong prepared
to send the rock crashing down on his head, Ebirah suddenly
lashed out with both of his pincers, grabbing the giant ape's
legs with the slicing claws. The dreadful weapons sank into
Kong's flesh. The gorilla groaned in pain and struggled to keep
his balance. However, as primitive as Ebirah's brain was, it
was persistent. As the ape struggled to keep his balance, Ebirah
suddenly pulled his twisted his pincers to the side. Kong's
eyes widened as he fell over onto his back, of which the heavy
rock that Kong held was not entirely blameless. King Kong fell
hard. His immense weight sent several tons of sticky sea mud
to splash where he had fallen. Kong shook his head in a daze
as he hoisted himself off the ground. Shaking the gray dirt
off him, Kong clenched his fists. He never got a break. Every
one of his rests always ended in disaster or battle. Kong was
getting weary.
As Kong rolled over, the mighty shrimp suddenly
performed an amazing leap, landing on the mighty ape's back.
Kong roared, taken by surprise, and began to struggle to get
the several thousand tons of crustacean off his back. Ebirah
clung on tight with his many legs, much to Kong's anger. As
Kong raged at his rider, Ebirah smashed him on the head repeatedly
with his huge claws, much to Kong's alarm. Each blow jarred
Kong's thick skull, and Kong's eyes began to fill with blood.
The mighty ape gasped in shock as concussion sank in, and he
struggled to remain conscious.
Kong quickly came up with a plan. The mighty
ape straightened himself up, ignoring Ebirah's shattering blows.
Reaching around and placing his powerful arms on Ebirah's back,
he pressed down with incredible force. Ebirah shrieked in shock
as Kong's arms gave his shell massive stress. Slowly, the armor
began to give way, the sounds of creaking shell growing louder
and louder. Kong straightened further and pressed with all his
might...
CRACK!
Ebirah stumbled off Kong's back as two of his
back plates shattered into pieces, sinking into the grayish
mud. Wriggling and writhing on the ground, Ebirah had little
time to deal with Kong's onslaught as the gorilla repeatedly
bashed the crustacean's chest with his huge arms. Not even Ebirah's
powerful armor could stand to the ape's mighty fists and the
shell was quickly smashed. Ebirah continued to struggle, so
Kong pressed his foot down onto his chest. Ebirah screeched
and gurgled as yet more pressure was placed onto his chest.
This only prompted Kong to press harder. Ebirah struggled for
a while, waving his huge pincers wildly, before finally lying
still.
Kong relaxed his powerful leg as his enemy ceased
moving. Ebirah's sticky bodily fluids dripped off his foot as
he lifted it up. Hopping away from the body, Kong placed some
of the fluids on his fingers and twirled the sticky muck around
his fingers. Then, he gave it a lick. Ugh. Kong grimaced at
the somewhat radioactive substance and spat the mixture out
back onto Ebirah's body... Or rather, where Ebirah once was.
Kong quickly turned around. Where was his enemy? As he turned,
a dead tree slammed right into his face. As Kong reeled back,
Ebirah burst from the mud. Ebirah may not have been much of
a burrower, but his powerful pincers had made short work of
the soft muck as he made away. Normally, Ebirah would have burrowed
back to the open sea, but by this point, it was not about getting
a meal, but about pride. Both combatants refused to be considered
weaker than the other. Both would fight to prove it.
Kong roared in anger and charged towards the
damned lobster. Ebirah merged fully from the mud and swiped
his pincers, which Kong quickly blocked with his huge gorilla
arms. The two engaged in a brief exchange of fists and pincers,
with both parties blocking the other's blows until Ebirah broke
the stalemate by ramming Kong with his huge body. While stumbling
back, Kong's foot found the rock he had previously tried to
bash Ebirah with and kicked it like a massive football at the
giant shrimp. Ebirah caught the rock in midair within his giant
claws. Seeing his enemy's pincers preoccupied, Kong quickly
grabbed onto Ebirah's arms and, hoisting him up, smashed his
kneecap into Ebirah's upper chest. The giant shrimp quickly
counterattacked by smashing the rock onto Kong's head, knocking
the ape over.
Kong clutched his head in pain as he recovered
from the impact. Ebirah snuck up to him and seized his chance,
jumping onto the great ape's chest. This time, Kong was ready,
and kicked Ebirah in the chest, sending the lobster flying against
a cliff. A huge lobster-shaped impact would forever remain on
that cliff. Ebirah quickly recovered and observed his injuries.
Bodily fluids flowed down his sides and back. All his plates
had by now been tarnished with cracks and gashes. However, Ebirah
still had some strength left in him. The crustacean lumbered
towards the gorilla, who had suffered some nasty wounds to the
head himself. The sea monster lumbered towards the ape, this
time aiming his pincers at Kong's throat, hoping to rip it out
of his neck! The ape's eyes widened in horror as the pincers
closed in.
Kong bashed the two pincers aside, barely avoiding
them clamping onto his throat. Giving a loud battle cry, Kong
grabbed onto Ebirah's underbelly, hoisting the entire crustacean
up with his incredible strength. As Kong lifted him higher,
Ebirah struggled wildly. Under Ebirah's weight, the ape's feet
began to sink into the wet gray mud of the beach. Still, Kong
persevered, and tensing his muscles, threw Ebirah over three
hundred feet into the air!
Ebirah hit the ground hard, a shockwave of mud
and tiny bits of armor signifying his landing. The lobster struggled
to get back up, this time with great difficulty. His body was
weak and his agony incredible. When he finally managed to balance
on all eight legs, one of those legs fell off, much to the shrimp's
extreme displeasure. This ape was too strong. Much too strong.
Ebirah knew he stood little chance in this environment, but
perhaps in the water...
Kong lumbered towards the crustacean, all ready
to deliver the killing blow. As he raised his fists, his face
was suddenly splashed with wet mud, clouding his vision under
the grayish substance. As Kong began wiping the dirt off, Ebirah
jabbed Kong repeatedly with his claws before dragging him as
Kong tried to wipe the muck off while defending against Ebirah's
vicious strikes. Kong didn't feel the dull waters until he fell
onto his back with a mighty splash. Kong shook the mud off his
face and opened his sore eyes. His surroundings were unfamiliar.
He certainly wasn't anywhere on Monster Island; this place was
entirely unfamiliar to him. His lower body was also experiencing
a strange sensation. Kong's visions suddenly cleared, and the
giant ape gasped in shock. He was hundreds of meters away from
Monster Island, out in the open sea. Kong immediately began
paddling back to the island, against the powerful undercurrents
which had sent dozens of curious ships to their doom.
As Kong changed to freestyle, his foot made contact
with something. Something hard, cracked and familiar. Kong began
to paddle faster. His enemy was persistent. The greenish-gray
murky waters concealed even the gigantic shape of Ebirah. Kong
had no idea where his foe was from the surface. The big ape
quickened his pace, waiting in anticipation for the lobster
to rise.
Instead, there was only silence.
Above him, scores of Meganulons waited for either
combatant to die. Kong ignored their cries and struggled on
against his invisible enemy. Only a few meters to wading level
now...
Suddenly, Kong gulped in pain. Ebirah's pincer
had clamped onto his leg. Kong struggled, but the current was
against him and assisting Ebirah in dragging his mighty body
downward. Kong eventually gave up trying to keep above the surface,
instead swallowing a massive amount of oxygen to keep himself
alive for the next few minutes. The battle would continue underwater.
Kong's eyes were not suited for underwater combat.
But they were certainly able to see Ebirah's colossal shape.
However, it was far more difficult to make out his enemy's movements.
Ebirah was definitely moving around swiftly, but just what the
shrimp was doing was hard to make out. Kong attempted to get
a better glimpse of his foe's pincers when they smashed him
right in the face. Kong choked on a mouthful of water as Ebirah's
claws connected with his face. Kong's vision was now hindered
by his own blood. Ebirah came in for a second strike, this time
attacking from behind the giant gorilla. A direct blow to Kong's
spine caused the ape to stop struggling for a few seconds, allowing
Ebirah to drag him down into the ocean trench...
The two went deeper.
Kong regained his composure. If his sight was
not proving useful, he would have to make do with his ears.
Kong closed his bleeding, stinging eyes and waited. Ebirah charged,
swimming from beneath his enemy this time. The colossal shrimp
swung his claws again, this time making contact with... Kong's
fist. Ebirah reeled back and screamed in pain as one of his
pincers was smashed beyond recognition by Kong's powerful attack.
An explosion of scattered armor plates and an oily film that
was Ebirah's blood surrounded the two titans as the battle continued.
Kong grabbed Ebirah's other pincer as the shrimp attempted to
get away. Something was pressing onto him, but he did not know
what. But Kong was determined to finish this. As Ebirah struggled
and squealed, Kong slammed his powerful arms onto Ebirah's other
pincer. Another explosion of armor plates stained the deep blue
waters, but this time, when they sank, they went down with Ebirah's
pincer, joining the snow of microorganisms below.
The two went even deeper.
Ebirah wailed like a banshee as he mourned the
loss of the pincer that had served him for so long. He was beginning
to lose morale. Perhaps continuing this battle was not such
a wise idea. Ebirah began making away towards the deepest point
of Monster Island's waters. But Kong was not letting this pesky
predator get away so easily. The big ape grabbed onto Ebirah's
tail, and latched on ferociously. Ebirah struggled, but his
overall ability to fight back was lost with his pincers. Continuing
this battle with his enemy behind him and only his weak legs
to fight with would be futile. Kong raised his arm, noticing
that his opponent had lost his fighting spirit. It would be
boring to continue fighting with an opponent who had given up.
He might as well end it here. Kong swung his fist down at the
back of his foe's head.
Ebirah let his stalk-like eyes sink back into
their sockets. He curved himself and braced for the sudden painful
shock...
CLUNK!
Ebirah let his eyes emerge. His enemy was...
gone. Ebirah turned to see a brownish, compressed lump, which
had whitish bits of bone ripping out from its sides. The lump
was sinking away into the depths of the sea. Ebirah suddenly
noticed the lump was covered in fur. Realization dawned onto
his surprisingly intelligent brain. His foe had been destroyed
by the amazing pressure of the ocean's depths!
The lump that was once the Eighth Wonder of the
World disappeared completely as Ebirah's surprise was quickly
replaced by a wave of relief, followed by the grand feeling
of triumph. Victory was his! The giant shrimp swiftly surfaced,
and as his big red body poked out of the waves, Ebirah waved
his remaining pincer in triumph.
|
