Author: Tyler Trieschock | Banner: Jackson Morris

A Japanese Self Defense Force Base overlooked the ocean from the massive hill it was built on. Massive slopes were on all of its sides except for a large cliff that protected its right flank. A vehicle depot and a helicopter pad added to the already impressive base. Many who worked inside of the base considered it a small fortress to any who dare attack it, as well as a warning of Japan’s might. Day in and day out, dozens of workers entered the building to keep the station operational. A continuous downpour over the last few days had not been able to stop the daily personnel’s duties, but then everyone suddenly came to a halt to get a view of the two beings that had walked to the gate. Everyone on base stared at the two guests as they seemed out of place. One of the two beings was an old Japanese man with a large suitcase, but everyone seemed more focused on his companion, whom was a smiling, multicolored robot.

Goro Ibuki, after gaining clearance from the perimeter guards, walked into the base and found the nearest clerk. The lady put on her usual plastic smile and welcomed the guest but her smile soon dissipated when she noticed the robot enter behind the man.

“Can… I… help you?” the clerk asked Goro in confusion.

“Yes my dear,” Goro replied with a smirk on his face. “I am here to meet with Tokumitsu Yuhara.”

Still shocked to see Goro’s companion, the clerk took a few seconds to reply. “He is expecting you in room five down the main hallway.”

“Thank you,” replied Goro before the duo walked toward and entered the room.

Inside of the office, Yuhara was working on his computer before he noticed Goro and waved him in along with his companion.

“Hello my good friend, I see you are still wearing that old 70s medallion of yours and I also see you brought your assistant,” proclaimed Yuhara.

“Yes and it is good to see you too,” responded Ibuki before he sat down. “You too have not changed since we last met.”

“Well let’s get down to why you came shall we,” remarked Yuhara. “Did you bring those processors and components I asked for?”

Goro lifted the suitcase onto the desk before showing Tokumitsu the equipment.

“Built to your specifications,” Goro replied. “Though I must ask why you needed these parts so quickly. I may be retired and have a lot of free time, but these components were quite complex and time consuming even for me. They also don’t work with many systems other than large complex ones like Jet Jaguar.”

Yuhara just shuddered and apologetically said, “I can’t say much or anything for that matter because it is highly classified but I will tell you that it will help save lives. I must thank you for completing these parts in record time even though you will be paid for all of your hard work.”

“Anything for a long time companion and besides, with this pay I can afford to take Jet Jaguar and me on a nice vacation,” Goro proclaimed. “Do you have any suggestions?”

Yuhara was about to answer but the base’s sirens cut him off. Both men sat in their seats, perplexed at what was going on, until a military officer opened the door.

“Time to move, the both of you. Ebirah has just emerged from the ocean and is headed this way,” the military officer yelled before exiting the room.

“Ebirah?” questioned Yuhara. “What is it doing on land and why is it coming here?”

“I don’t know but I do know that it won’t have a chance to cause harm,” Goro asserted before he turned to Jet Jaguar. “My friend. Will you stop this foe?”

Jet Jaguar nodded his head in approval before Yuhara, Goro as well as the robot exited the base and found the nearest military personnel.

“What do you want?” yelled the officer as he was trying to move to his garrison.

“Go on the radio and tell your commanding officer that you are about to get a lot of support and not to shoot the giant robot,” Yuhara ordered.

“What?” the officer yelled dumbfounded at the statement.

Goro pointed to Jet Jaguar, who had positioned himself in the middle of the bases’ courtyard, before saying, “He is going to stop Ebirah.”

“Are you two insane?” the officer in a loud tone asked before watching in shock as Jet Jaguar grew in size.

The massive crustacean slowly made its way up the hillside and toward the base. Its infamous dual pincers were usually a deadly omen to fisherman, yet they seemed just as terrifying on solid ground. It could feel the tingling of human gunfire but the weaponry proved useless against the sea creature’s carapace as it closed in on the base. As Ebirah was two hundred meters away from the compound the crustacean heard something. A sonic cry filled the air before a large figure rose from the base. The sea creature did not understand what it was until a few bolts of lightning revealed the figure to him. A large human with a pointed head, shining skin and a confident smile now stood in its way. Ebirah’s head could only think of one thing now and that was lunch.

The lobster suddenly dashed toward the base as Jet Jaguar jumped out of the facility and sprinted toward Ebirah. The arthropod slashed at the robot with its pincers only for the robot to duck under the blow and slide directly into the crustacean’s face. The foot impacted Ebirah’s forehead and caused the creature to slide down the water soaked hill. The lobster came to a stop at the bottom of the hill with mud as well as other debris covering its abdomen. After lifting itself back up, the creature found Jet Jaguar waiting for him on the level ground. Angered by the previous attack, Ebirah charged again at the smiling machine. The robot jumped over the crustacean with ease before grabbing its tail. In a show of strength, Jet Jaguar lifted the lobster off the ground and tossed him at the hillside.

Ebirah recovered with ease as its hard carapace had absorbed the full impact but a sense of anger overtook the crustacean. His lunch was proving to be a large hassle. Ebirah then noticed the ocean and an idea sprang forth in its head. If it could get his foe into the water then he would easily kill and consume him. With this strategy in mind, Ebirah turned to face Jet Jaguar.

Jet Jaguar scanned Ebirah in an attempt to find any weaknesses in his thick armor, only for none to show. His scans did show however that Ebirah’s hard carapace and large pincers were its greatest assets and defeating the crustacean would be a challenge. Not helpful information but either way, the man made machine would not allow the lobster to get to his creator. That information he knew was a fact.

Jet Jaguar made the first move as the robot dashed toward Ebirah. The crustacean swiped at the fast moving being only to miss. Using the momentum in addition to dodging to the right of Ebirah, Jet Jaguar then combined his hands and smashed them onto the lobster’s backside. The impact zone cracked from the blow and Ebirah screeched in pain but the lobster had a high tolerance and did not allow the agony to stop it from sending the giant robot flying toward the beach with a pincer swipe.

Jet Jaguar skidded across the land and started raising itself up only for Ebirah to slam its bulk into the robot. Jet Jaguar, after the impact, quickly rose back to its feet only to realize that he was on the beach. A warning displayed this fact and the mechanical warrior was about to dash out of the area, only for Ebirah to cut him off.

The deadly crustacean started snapping its pincers in an attempt to scare Jet Jaguar further back toward its domain, but fear was something Jet Jaguar could not compute. Knowing he had to escape the situation, the silver hero dashed forward and jumped over Ebirah’s claws only for the lobster’s tail to smash into the robot. Water exploded around the robot as Jet Jaguar landed in the ocean. Wasting little time, Ebirah entered the water as well as disappeared under the waves.

Goro in addition to Tokumitsu, along with every other non-combat personnel, were being evacuated from the base. The dozen jeeps in the bases’ vehicle depot had finally shown to be useful as they roared to life and carried away base personnel. As the two were about to enter one of the escape vehicles, a man in military uniform ran toward them.

“Mr. Yuhara, wait!” the man yelled.

Tokumitsu looked at the person before he asked, “What do you need?”

“My name is Takashi and the commander wants to see you now,” answered the unflinching and unblinking officer.

“Why does he want me?” Tokumitsu inquired.

“I do not know,” the attentive Takashi replied. “I was ordered by him in person to take you to him.”

“Well okay I will join you,” Tokumitsu responded but not before Goro grabbed him by the shoulder.

With Yuhara in his grasp, Goro stated, “I shall come to.”

“Sorry, but the commander just wanted Mr. Yuhara, so you can’t come,” the officer asserted.

“He is my friend,” Goro replied. “I am sure your commander will make an exception for me considering my assistant is currently fighting the giant lobster.”

“Look as I said earlier you can’t come,” yelled Takashi.

“I am not leaving my friend behind so I go where he goes,” Goro boldly stated before examining the man’s uniform in detail.

A vein appeared on Takashi’s head and seeing how he could not convince Goro to leave he stated, “Fine! You can come along just the both of you move now!”

The officer then led both Goro and Tokumitsu back into the base. As they made their way through the structure, Tokumitsu kept an attentive eye on where they were going until finally his suspicions overwhelmed him.

“Where are we going?” asked Yuhara.

“The commander is at the helicopter pad along with a helicopter awaiting your arrival,” asserted Takashi.

“He is leaving his men behind?” Tokumitsu questioned. “That does not seem like the Commander. Also, is it not dangerous to fly a chopper in this type of weather?”

“Look, I am just taking you to where he told me over the radio,” the officer proclaimed.

Goro stopped and grabbed his friend by the arm before asking Takashi, “Did you not say that he told you in person?”

The messenger turned around and retorted, “Yes, he told me in person before confirming over the radio so if you don’t mind we are in a hurry.”

“Where is your radio?” inquired Goro.

The man patted himself down before replying, “It appears I dropped it but in any case we need to hurry and meet up with the Commander.”

“I think we will confirm your story with another military officer if you don’t mind,” declared Tokumitsu as he and Goro started walking away.

“Wait, I found the radio!” yelled the annoyed officer.

Goro and Tokumitsu turned around to see the man not holding a radio but a strange looking handgun.

“Move and I shoot,” Takashi stated before he started laughing. “You two just had to ask questions. Couldn’t just follow orders, especially you,” the officer stated as he pointed his gun at Goro. “You just had to come with your friend.”

Yuhara moved in front of Goro and said reassuringly, “We will come with you without any resistance, just don’t shoot my friend or me.”

“Fine, but you two move in front of me and get rid of your phones,” the man demanded.

Goro and Tokumitsu slowly walked in front of their captor after emptying their pockets. With their captor satisfied that they were helpless, he let them continue their walk to the helicopter pad. Sweat started pouring from Yuhara’s face until Goro edged closer to him and whispered, “Don’t worry my friend, I have a plan. Just trust me.”

Yuhara shook his head in approval as he as well as Goro then exited the interior of the building, stepped onto the helicopter pad and into the stormy weather. The landing strip was at the far back of the building, had only one entrance or exit and, excluding the side of the building, was surrounded by a tall fence. The fence on the right wall was all that stopped someone or something from falling down the cliff side and into the water below.

At his destination Takashi ordered, “You two. Get to the middle of the pad now!”

Goro and Tokumitsu made their way to the center before Goro asked, “So what now?”

“We wait for our pick up,” the impersonator replied before looking up into rain, lightning and cloud filled sky.

Yuhara, drenched along with his adrenaline pumping, exclaimed “No chopper is going to fly in with this type of weather and even if they did, how do you expect it to arrive and depart undetected?”

The captor scolded Tokumitsu before replying, “Shut up and wait. Are you forgetting who has the gun around here?”

Tokumitsu then went mute but Goro asked Takashi, “Would you mind if I pray?”

“What?” the officer asked, confused over what Ibuki had said.

“May I get on my knees and pray with my religious medallion?” inquired Goro.

A burst of laughter erupted from Takashi before he said, “Sure, go right ahead and worship your false deity.”

Tokumitsu then understood what Goro’s plan was as he watched the inventor kneel to the ground and grab hold of his medallion. He was not calling for the help of a god. No, the scientist was calling a friend.

Warnings went off in the android’s interior computers as they alerted him of his current situation of being under the water. Luckily, his outer armor had not been breached so the salt water could do no harm as long as his armor stayed intact, though the robot was not going to test its theory. Jet Jaguar broke the surface of the water and realized that he was not far from shore as the water level only came to his waist. As Jet Jaguar was about to head toward the beach, a red blur swam past the metallic warrior and alerted him that he was not the only thing in the sea. With little time to waste, Jet Jaguar started his journey toward the beach only for his feet to be pulled out from under him. The robot dug his hands into the soft, sandy ground as the machine tried to stop its descent into the ocean’s depths, but the attempt proved useless. Then his descent stopped as Ebirah released its grip and disappeared into the darkness of the ocean.

Jet Jaguar regained his footing and realized that even standing up; he was nowhere near breaking the surface of the ocean. Realizing he could not win in his enemies’ territory, Jet Jaguar prepared to activate his foot thrusters when a warning came to his attention. With little oxygen in reserve and at the bottom of the sea, the robot would only have a single burst of thrust before his flight systems would fail. To the robot, this meant he would only have one chance to escape and he would have to be extremely close to the surface. With this in mind, Jet Jaguar slowly started walking toward the beach but not without being completely ready for Ebirah to strike.

Ebirah watched from the cold depths of the ocean and waited patiently for his prey to make a break for the surface. It was a simple tactic. Pull the prey under the water, wait for them to panic, and then strike, but Jet Jaguar was not following this pattern at all. Tired of waiting and hungry, Ebirah swam at full speed at his foe.

Jet Jaguar had no time to react as Ebirah rammed its body into the machine as well as pinned the robot to the ground with its claws. One claw clamped around the robot’s neck while the other stabbed his shoulder. Jet Jaguar grabbed the pincer around his neck with both of his hands and held it open with all the power he could muster so as not to let Ebirah decapitate him. A few seconds later, the robot’s sensors were alerting him to a greater threat than decapitation. Salt water was slowly but gradually entering his body through his shoulder breach. The robot would have to act fast or risk total system failure due to water exposure.

Ebirah, seeing the shoulder wound, moved its mouth close to get a taste of his enemy merely to come to a horrific discovery. His enemy was not edible! A horrific taste filled his mandibles, which caused the lobster to release its grip on the robot. Jet Jaguar sprang into action with this opportunity as it delivered a powerful punch to the lobster’s face. Ebirah backed away from the robot in surprise, but Jet Jaguar then seized another opportunity to latch onto the crustacean’s backside.

The movements of the crimson arthropod then went into a frenzy as it tried to dislodge Jet Jaguar. Unable to reach the robot with its claws or tail, Ebirah started slamming its body into anything it could find. Massive underwater hills shattered as the crustacean tried to dislodge its foe, but the mechanical warrior’s resolve was unshakeable. The lobster then made a dash for the surface, hoping the massive pressure shift would cause Jet Jaguar to release his grip. In seconds, Ebirah and Jet Jaguar had burst through the ocean’s chaotic surface. At his destination, he let go of Ebirah, used the lobster to jump into the air, and then activated his thrusters. The crustacean looked into the atmosphere and watched his enemy disappear into the lightning filled sky.

Thinking it had won, Ebirah raised its body out of the water and sent a screech into the sky. A few seconds then passed and a sonic cry replied to Ebirah’s insult, but its source came from behind the crustacean. The sea monster turned around only to see Jet Jaguar’s two fists.

Ebirah’s under belly armor shattered from the blow, but Jet Jaguar did not stop as it grabbed hold of the lobster’s underarms and flew upwards into the sky, with Ebirah in its grasp. For the first time in its life, the horror of the deep now had a feeling other than hunger, and that sensation was fear. Flying straight into the sky at over Mach three, Ebirah clawed as well as swatted at Jet Jaguar in an attempt to get the robot to release it. The pair burst into and then out of the storm clouds before coming to a stop about twenty kilometers above the Earth’s surface. The lobster did not know where it was but it knew it did not want to be there. The little oxygen, the bone cracking cold and the sea of clouds below only intensified its primal frenzy. Its many legs and two claws battered Jet Jaguar until the metallic warrior finally released its grip.

Ebirah started its descent back to the ocean and fell through the sea of clouds. Jet Jaguar prepared to follow the lobster until his sensors went haywire. The robot looked at his feet to see that his lower legs were expanding at an alarming rate before his thrusters suddenly deactivated. The water in the robot’s body had drained into its legs and the temperature, which at the height was about -50 degrees Fahrenheit, had frozen all of the fluid. Jet Jaguar found himself in the same predicament as Ebirah as he too fell into the sea of clouds.

Time to Jet Jaguar was unlike man, animal or anything else that existed. Complex equations and calculations were done by the thousands in the time it took most people to blink. A few seconds after Jet Jaguar’s descent, the machine knew there was nothing it could do. Every option at his disposal ended with his eventual plummeting into the ocean or his potential destruction. Then a message came and played in the robot’s head.

It was from his creator, his friend, Goro Ibuki. It said, “My friend, please come to the helicopter pad on the military base as my friend and I have been taken hostage. You are our only hope.”

The message repeated inside of the android’s mind a dozen times before Jet Jaguar decided to go against his warnings. He could and would not fail. In that instance, Jet Jaguar learned of an age-old conundrum of man and its name was Luck. Power surged to his core as the machine started building up power. Warning signs appeared as his core’s limits were put to the test. Then as Jet Jaguar fell through the final layer of clouds, the robot readied to discharge all of his power as the water neared. The robot waited patiently until it was but meters above the water.

In that instant, a massive power surge funneled into Jet Jaguar’s foot thrusters. The robot’s wiring fried as well as the ice that had built up melted before evaporating. The once dead thrusters roared to life as they fired a massive shockwave and stopped Jet Jaguar’s descent just a meter over the ocean. The shockwave from the thrusters caused the water underneath Jet Jaguar to become a massive crater before the ocean swallowed the void. The flight would not last long since his internal wiring had been damaged but it would give the robot enough time to save his creator. With this on the robot’s mind, Jet Jaguar fired up its thrusters and flew at top speed through the roaring storm around him toward the military fortress on the hill.

Ebirah rose from the depths of the chaotic sea and watched his foe fly toward land. Hunger had disappeared from its mind and two things had filled its place. Agony as well as vengeance was all that Ebirah could think of. The lobster did not know why as it wanted to retreat but something else was driving it to attack. Like a forced instinct had taken over its being. Unable to overpower the force, Ebirah swam at full speed toward the coast after his enemy.

“Okay that’s enough,” Takashi ordered Goro before the hostage taker smiled into the sky. “Finally it’s here.”

Goro rose from the ground before he in addition to Tokumitsu both looked into the cloud and rain filled sky, expecting to see a chopper of some sorts, only to see a fast, highly illuminated diamond.

Yuhara, in disbelief, yelled, “What is that thing?”

Takashi chuckled before he replied, “Our ride of course.”

Tokumitsu and Goro then realized the gravity of their situation as the flying diamond landed at the edge of the helicopter pad. They were not being kidnapped by a terrorist or even by someone human, but an alien and more specifically a Xilien.

“I can guess by now that you have deduced my true identity and that you are being taken into the care of the Xiliens,” stated Takashi as he walked toward the two men. “My orders though are only to take Yuhara, so goodbye Mr. Ibuki,” proclaimed the Xilien.

Tokumitsu rushed in front of his friend as the alien in human disguise raised its energy weapon to kill Goro. Yuhara defended his friend by pleading, “He can be of great help to you just don’t kill my…” but before Tokumitsu could continue, the Xilien grabbed the scientist by the throat and tossed him closer to the Xilien fighter.

“Any last words Mr. Ibuki,” questioned Takashi as he raised the gun to Goro’s temple.

Goro just stared in the eyes of his soon-to-be killer before a large smirk lit up the scientist’s face with confidence. “Is the hearing of a Xilien more delicate than that of a human?” asked Goro.

“No begging or pleading, just a random question,” chuckled Takashi as he prepared to shoot Goro. “You must be losing your sanity, old man.”

A massive fist then smashed into Takashi, just a few inches in front of Goro.

As the large hand rose from the fresh crater, Goro looked into the hole.

“I am going to guess worse than a human,” Goro yelled down the massive crater Jet Jaguar’s fist had just created.

Jet Jaguar, satisfied the attacker was dead, then grabbed the Xilien craft and crushed it in its grasp. With both of the possible threats gone, Jet Jaguar shrunk back to his normal size and landed next to Goro. His creator smiled at his creation before resting his hand on the robot’s shoulder and saying, “Good job my friend.”

Tokumitsu then re-entered Goro’s mind and the scientist rushed over to his fallen friend. Yuhara was unconscious from an apparent head injury he had sustained on impact from the throw, but he was alive. Jet Jaguar lifted Tokumitsu over its shoulder and carried the man, after avoiding the massive crater it had created, inside the base.

The robot would have continued further in the structure, but a familiar screech caused Jet Jaguar to set down Tokumitsu, as well as exit the base. The robot looked at his creator, and Goro just said, “Go finish Ebirah and I will get Tokumitsu help.” Jet Jaguar nodded before activating his thrusters in addition to flying toward the screech. Jet Jaguar’s flight only lasted a few seconds as his thruster’s deactivated due to the robot’s extreme overuse, but Jet Jaguar continued his charge toward the crustacean’s screech origin after growing to his enlarged size.

Ebirah slowly climbed the hill, the same path it had originally taken to attack the base, to find and kill the inedible foe. Then his challenging shrieks showed their value as Jet Jaguar came into view. Each monster stopped their respective movements and just stared at the other. No more running, no retreat; the two beings knew that this was their third and final round. A bolt of lightning then crashed into the background in front of the two which acted as battle’s starting bell.

Ebirah charged at Jet Jaguar and started jabbing as well as swiping its pincers in an attempt to finish the robot off, but the attacks proved useless as the autonomous unit simultaneously calculated and dodged each blow before delivering a jab of his own. Ebirah’s frenzy intensified every second the robot dodged the crustacean’s blows until the lobster’s movements became uncalculable. Ebirah sent a powerful and unpredicted jab right at where Jet Jaguar had jumped in order to dodge the crustacean’s movements. The large top claw of the pincer punctured the robot’s chest armor before protruding out of the robot’s backside. With Jet Jaguar in its grasp, Ebirah then tossed the robot to the ground.

With his internal computers as well as his systems severely damaged, Jet Jaguar rolled over to see what his foe was doing only to see Ebirah dashing towards him. A powerful two pronged kick met Ebirah’s face sending the lobster skidding backwards on the wet ground. With his enemy occupied, Jet Jaguar rose back to his feet as quickly as he could but the movement was too slow as Ebirah was on the android in an instant.

Behind the robot, Ebirah sent its long top claw through Jet Jaguar’s freshly made injury before raising the machine into the air. The robot gripped the claw that was through its mechanical abdomen as the sea monster started crushing Jet Jaguar in his grasp. Unable to stop the claw from closing, the heroic robot decided to try another strategy. A show of strength by the automaton, Jet Jaguar clutched the claw and twisted it until a loud snap occurred. Ebirah threw the silver humanoid to the ground in response to the severe agony, but the pain only fueled its anger as it charged at the robot to finish it off.

With pincer claw in hand, Jet Jaguar calculated a way to finish the fight. The robot stood back up, waiting for the lobster to come into striking distance before Jet Jaguar dodged the crustacean’s strike and slammed the claw into Ebirah’s head. The carapace broke easily as the claw sunk into Ebirah’s skull like it was clay. The crustacean’s entire body then became stagnant. The sea monster stood limp, silent and immobile until a harsh wind knocked the lobster down. Jet Jaguar scanned his foe and with his scans showing Ebirah dead, he turned around. The robot was dented, punctured as well as suffering severe programming complications but those things did not get in the way of Jet Jaguar feeling victorious.

* * * * *

Prime Minister Hayato Igarashi strolled through the halls of the Japanese Self Defense Force Headquarters until he came to his office. He opened the door to find Goro Ibuki in addition to Jet Jaguar waiting patiently for him in the chairs in front of his desk. “I am sorry for making you wait,” stated Hayato apologetically.

“It is an honor for us to be here,” Goro responded.

The Prime Minister smiled before sitting at his desk and saying, “Well let’s get down to why you two are here. The incident, a week ago today, has been covered up to be another monster attack. Ebirah attacked and Jet Jaguar stopped it but the part of you as well as Mr. Yuhara being held hostage by a person named Takashi, and seeing an alien ship come down did not happen,” Hayato continued. “You two have been told this before but I was asked to tell you personally because if word spreads that the Xiliens are back, then the panic will be worse than their next attack.”

“Don’t worry, I understand,” Goro proclaimed before he pointed to Jet Jaguar and jokingly stated, “He is the one to worry about.”

The Prime Minister grinned at the scientist’s joke before he reached into his desk and pulled out two tickets.

“What are those?” inquired Goro.

“Yuhara told me that you were interested in going on vacation, so here are two tickets to the best resort in the Pacific,” Hayato stated. “Consider it a thank you for Jet Jaguar killing Ebirah and payment for keeping what happened at the base a secret.”

“Thank you Prime Minister,” Goro said before bowing in front of him. “We both will enjoy our trip to the Crimson Twilight.” Goro and Jet Jaguar disappeared out the door.

With the creator and his assistant gone, Prime Minister Igarashi then ordered his next meeting in which was Tokumitsu Yuhara. Yuhara was quick to enter the office and sat down in front of the leader of Japan.

“You wanted to see me,” Tokumitsu inquired with worry in his voice.

“I wanted to discuss how Project: REVENANT is going?” the high official asked.

“With Goro’s components we should have it up and running in a week,” Tokumitsu replied.

“What about absolute…” questioned Igarashi, only for Tokumitsu to interrupt him and reply, “The Americans have the object and say they will give it to us at no charge, but they have to install it in their own country.”

“Why?” the Prime Minister inquired.

“Apparently they need it for a problem developing on their border,” answered Tokumitsu.

Hayato exhaled at the reasoning before he ordered, “Fine, ship it to the U.S. so they can install it. Send Ms. Yashiro as well so she can readjust with its controls. She was the best pilot we had and they are a good combination. Lastly, with the Xiliens showing up, it will be good for the defense force to have it back up and running when we have it back in our country,” Prime Minister Igarashi proclaimed as Yuhara stared at him with uncertain eyes.

“What if she does not want to?” inquired Tokumitsu.

“Under the circumstances of its discovery I highly doubt she will refuse,” countered the Prime Minister before he dismissed Tokumitsu from his sight.

* * * * *

For a month, a new object had been orbiting the Earth, undetected by mankind. Its goal was simple yet extremely difficult. The task was the complete and utter conquest of the planet under the reign of the Xiliens.

The new Xilien leader, a Keizer named X, a name all leaders were given in power, watched the planet slowly rotate before he was interrupted by a Xilien official bursting into his command room. With a similar build, personality and appearance as the last young leader, many Xiliens believed X was the reincarnation of the dead Keizer of the same name.

“What do you want?” X inquired.

“Sir, Ebirah is dead and our agent failed to capture Tokumitsu Yu…” the official said before the Keizer, in the blink of an eye, moved across the room and grabbed the Xilien’s neck.

“Could you repeat that,” X whispered into the official’s ear.

“We failed to acquire Tokumitsu and Ebirah was killed,” the Xilien stated before X started tightening his grip.

“Ebirah is dead,” whined X. “We were lucky to find it alive and still with the M base in its body from the last invasion. It was our only creature that we could use without arousing suspicion.”

“We have found… the crash site though,” gasped the choking Xilien before X stopped his rant as well as dropped him to the ground.

The Xilien took deep, long breaths before he looked up to see X smiling.

“We have also found another scientist who could create what we need at the same location as the site,” the official pleaded.

“Where?” demanded X.

“It is at Latitude N 40.474234, Longitude W 73. 917927,” stated the official before X tossed him aside and turned on the main screens of the room. A picture of the location suddenly appeared and X smiled a grim smile. “The scientist we need is here as well?” X asked.

“Yes my leader,” the official responded.

“Plan the scientist’s removal and find out exactly where the ship crashed,” X ordered. “Once we have what is buried at this site under our control, there is nothing that will be able to stop us.”

“Anything else?” the Xilien cautiously asked in fear.

“One last thing that I want you to tell everyone,” X stated before he turned around and stared at the official. Before the Xilien could ask, the Keizer had him by the throat and off his feet again.

“Do not fail me!” X yelled before he tossed the Xilien at the door.

Winner: Jet Jaguar (Showa)

Author: Kenneth James | Banner: Jackson Morris

“So the creature has matured after all this time?” asked the female who’d been directing the invasion.

“Yes,” replied X over the monitor. “Our sensors confirmed it, SpaceGodzilla’s spawn has fully matured and is ready to be unleashed.”

“Good,” replied the other alien. “Send your ships to awaken him, our mind control devices will take matters from there.”

“And tell me, when can we set loose our new pet?” asked X, smiling at the thought of setting loose the monster his ally had so kindly provided the Xiliens.

“Soon, my friend, let’s just concentrate on awakening Krystalak from his slumber for the time being.”

* * * * *

Quite some time before, the city of Fukuoka fell under siege by the intergalactic demon called SpaceGodzilla, who’d turned the city into his own personal fortress, seeding it with a powerful cluster of crystals from which to draw power. What no one knew is the crystal cluster hidden underground hadn’t just become dormant and died. Over the years that crystal had become something else.

The city was thrown into panic when a group of Xilien ships appeared in the skies over the city, hovering above what had once been the center of SpaceGodzilla’s crystal palace. They soon fired on the ground below, tearing open the earth with their powerful weapons and revealing a pulsating crystal core deep below the crust. They then launched energy beams into it, slowly cracking its surface until it finally split open like an egg. Energy crackled about it until a crystalline claw burst forth, the crystal-borne monstrosity known as Krystalak tearing his way out of his ‘egg.’ Bellowing to the heavens, his crystal mane lit up purple and he let loose a beam of energy and crystal shards from his mouth, blasting several of the ships who had awakened him from the sky before a trio of flying saucers appeared above him and managed to subdue him with mind control. 

The order was then given to the crystal titan: destroy.

Roaring in fury, the mutant monster slashed a building to bits with his sharp claws, following up by bisecting a skyscraper in two with his long tail. The military was quick to arrive, but missiles did nothing to his crystal hide, masers even less. Another energy beam was all it took to silence his opposition. However, this was merely a distraction to allow his real challenge to arrive. As the crystalline berserker finished off the last of the military sent to assault him, a robotic foot was planted in his back, managing to stagger him forwards. The crystal abomination spun around to see the humanoid robot Jet Jaguar standing before him, ready for battle. Furious, SpaceGodzilla’s spawn roared in fury and slashed the air to threaten him but the electric hero refused to back down. 

The fight was on.

The living android was first to attack, charging forwards and trying a spinning kick to the spiked skull of his foe but the surprisingly agile kaiju leapt over him and swung his tail around, smashing the super machine in the back with his tail and toppling him to the ground. Jet quickly rolled out of the way to avoid getting impaled on the monster’s tail and managed to kick the looming beast in the gut, forcing him back slightly. The martial arts mecha got back to his feet and sent a barrage of punches into the gemstone monster’s stomach, but his crystal hide protected him from harm. 

Krystalak counterattacked with a slash of his fierce claws, cutting a deep gash in the colored chest of the android and leaving a sparking wound. Realizing he was in trouble, Jet Jaguar backpedaled as the mineral monster viciously slashed at him, missing by mere inches. The warrior of justice managed to grab the mutant’s wrists and managed a barrage of chops and kicks, managing to chip the gleaming hide but doing little otherwise. The crystal creature suddenly did a backflip to dodge a spinning kick, swinging his tail up and firing a blast of crystal energy from his tail. The attack collided with the mecha’s chest, blasting the humanoid defender clear off his feet and through the rebuilt Fukuoka Tower, toppling it on top of him.

The cruel creature leapt atop the rubble almost feral-like, looking it over as his tail lashed wildly behind him. He lifted his tail and drove it into the rubble repeatedly, trying to impale his opponent. However, as he focused on the rubble, a human-sized Jet snuck out of the rubble and got behind him, quickly growing back to full size and grabbing him by the tail, attempting to pull the spawn of SpaceGodzilla off his feet. Roaring in fury, the berserker beast tried to dislodge the stubborn robot but couldn’t. However, the crystal demon’s face suddenly got a sadistic grin. He got down on all fours and ran in full sprint, pulling the android off his feet and dragging him along behind him, finally swinging around, carrying the colorful robot with his tail and slamming him through a building, forcing him to release. The savage golem leapt atop the electric hero and slashed away with his claws, cutting deep gashes in the body of the machine. Realizing he was in danger, the defender brought a leg up and kicked the raging monster off him.

Quickly getting up, Jet Jaguar did a series of hand signs and doubled his size, now towering over the crystalline creature. Swinging his arm down, the towering machine tried to smash the now smaller kaiju but was swiftly dodged by the faster creature. Annoyed, the size shifter swung a leg around, but once more was dodged. Realizing his mistake of growing larger to deal with a faster opponent, the living mecha prepared to return to normal size but was cut off by something strange happening with his opponent. 

Krystalak reared his head back and bellowed, his body destabilizing momentarily before a massive shockwave of energy radiated out from his heart, blowing the titanic android clear off his feet and leveling buildings around the two combatants. Critically damaged, Jet laid in the rubble and barely had the power to look up as the mutant jumped over to him, an almost sadistic expression on the crystal titan’s face. Spikes lighting up purple, the gemstone horror let loose with his energy beam, striking the shoulder joint of Jaguar’s left arm, blowing it clean off. 

Looking over to the right, the mineral beast let loose another energy beam and blew it off as well. Now left defenseless, the warrior of justice was helpless as the crystal creature rose his tail up and drove the spiked tip clear through his chest and out his back. Malfunctioning, Jet Jaguar twitched and sparked as the sneering spawn of SpaceGodzilla lifted him up face to face with his tail. With a roar of what sounded almost like pleasure, the deadly monster grabbed his pointed cranium and wrenched repeatedly until finally the robot’s head was torn clean off.

Clenching the robot’s decapitated skull in his hands, Krystalak threw the lifeless body aside and roared in victory before spiking the head on a remaining tower, almost as a sick trophy of his victory. As the crystal titan roared in triumph, an Xilien craft hovered overhead and sucked him up with an energy beam, preparing to take him to his next destination.

Winner: Krystalak

Author: Tyler Trieschock | Banner: Jackson Morris

Deep in the bowels of a private Japanese research institute, scientists were trying to discover any weaknesses against the Gyaos. Such knowledge would gain them massive capital to rich nations trying to fight off the dreaded beasts. Their numbers had been growing drastically over the years, and it had been projected that by 2025 the entire planet could face a massive extinction from the beast’s insatiable hunger. Unfortunately, the researchers had hit a dead end as the DNA of the Gyaos had resisted or become immune to all forms of poison, or viruses. Their only hope was to find DNA of an ancient Gyaos which also would have to be alive, and use its flaws to destroy its descendants. However, with no live ancient Gyaos flying around the scientists were left with only one option: Iris. It was easy to find its remains, and before long a cloned Iris had been accomplished deep in the bowels of the institute.

Iris awakened to find itself in a liquid filled pod, back to its small form, and more importantly alive. The last thing it remembered was Gamera thrusting its fiery arm into its abdomen. With clear glass in front of him, Iris looked through to see a room filled with people staring at him, and realized he had been brought back to life by mankind. He tried to sense Ayana, but their mental connection had been broken. Anger, vengeance, and the image of Gamera filled its head, and with those things, he knew what he had to do. He might have lost connection with Ayana, but the Gyaos were still under his control.

The scientists only had a day to study the DNA of a living ancient Gyaos before dozens of its descendants attacked, and destroyed the building. While the structure was under siege, Iris escaped and drained the life out of everyone in the building. Their energy was plentiful, and soon the tentacled creature was back to its monstrous size. After achieving freedom, Iris first fled to the forests of Japan for rest while he sent the Gyaos in all directions to find the turtle. Its reasoning was simple. If multiple Gyaos died at the same time, then Gamera would have to be their killer. Iris would know the location of his mortal enemy before he would come and finally have his vengeance on Gamera.

Iris waited for days, but then some good luck occurred for him. He could sense the sudden deaths of dozens of Gyaos in one location which meant Gamera had to be there. His goal within his grasp; Iris took to the skies, and flew off toward his destination. Unaware that the deaths were not related to Gamera at all, but a group of monsters defending themselves on an island called Ogasawara.

* * * * *

Carcasses of Gyaos littered the island known to humanity as Monster Island, and their killers were the island’s inhabitants. The only monsters left on the island after its creation were Anguirus, Godzilla, Godzilla Junior, and Gabara. They had stayed on the island for various reasons; Anguirus from stubbornness, Godzilla and Junior because it was their home, and Gabara from being unable to swim.

After the recent incursion of Gyaos, which had stopped only a couple hours earlier, Junior was being taught how to defend itself from Anguirus because of his poor fighting in the attack. Godzilla was taking a rest in his den because of his low power levels which were from destroying most of the Gyaos, and Gabara was watching them from the tree line, hiding in the dense shrubbery so the two monsters would not see him. Then from the sky, a massive shadow appeared overhead, all three of the monsters looking up to see a large figure land in the distance. Curious, Anguirus and Junior moved to investigate, all the while Gabara trekked behind them slowly in the trees.

Iris landed on the island and then started his movement inland. He could see the burnt corpses of his minions from the sky, so Gamera had to be close by. As he started inland, he noticed two figures in the distance headed his way. He could tell they were not Gamera, but the more energy he could absorb, the better he would be against his foe, so he headed toward his future meals.

The monsters met up and Iris was intrigued to find what he saw. One was a dinosaur with back spines and walked on two legs, while the other was a four-legged armored creature with a horn and spiked tail. With a large easy lunch in front of him, Iris launched his tentacles at the two monsters.

Junior did not see the attack coming and was sideswiped, but the monstrous ankylosaur dodged the attack. Then in response, Anguirus clamped down on one of the tentacles with its razor sharp fangs. Iris shrieked in pain and lifted the ankylosaur high into the sky before slamming the shelled beast down on the ground. A crater formed around the impact, but Anguirus did not stay there long as he was lifted again. Iris continued to slam the dinosaur but the valiant stubbornness of the spiked quadruped kept it from letting go. Tired of this tactic, the three other tentacles opened and fired their sonic beams at the dinosaur, three sonic rays cut into scaly flesh with ease before the dinosaur released its grip to bellow in agony. Anguirus landed on its armored back, but the tentacled invader was not done attacking as he launched one of his tentacles down and impaled the tenacious beast in the abdomen. Blood ejected from the impalement as the animal shrieked in pain. Iris pulled the tentacle out, and with his enemy down, he headed toward his meal. Anguirus was now covered in blood from the barrage of attacks and after flipping himself upright, the dinosaur dashed at Iris.

The phoenix knight was shocked at the torture this beast could endure, but he was growing hungry for energy, and this was going to end. All four of its tentacles wrapped around Anguirus’ legs and lifted him off the ground. The stubborn creature tried to claw or bite his way free, but he could feel his strength disappearing due to severe blood loss. The tentacles carrying Anguirus then stopped directly in front of the armored Gyaos as well as turned the reptile so his abdomen was facing the squid-like monster. Iris then thrusted his right arm blade deep into the abdomen and started absorbing its life energy. Anguirus’ arms, legs and tail suddenly went limp and before long the ankylosaur was unable to move anything. Iris felt the energy flow through him and recharge him. But then a blast of energy impacted one of its tentacles from behind causing it to blow apart. Anguirus fell to the ground, unconscious from the blood and energy loss, as Iris screeched in pain. The demon turned around to find the other saurian creature.

Junior had snuck around the fiend when Iris was fighting Anguirus to attack him from behind, because he would never have survived a frontal attack. Though with Anguirus unconscious and Iris, now fully focused on the reptile, his plan had backfired.

The false prophet jabbed Junior in the shoulder causing the monster to stumble back before its tentacles wrapped around the young Godzilla’s throat, arms, and legs. The young saurian bellowed in agony before the screech was cut short by the tentacles starting to constrict him and his windpipe. Iris readied to drain its energy like Anguirus, but something grabbed the demon from behind. Before the cloned phoenix could react, electricity flowed through his body, causing Iris to drop Junior before the fiend was kicked in the back. Iris fell to the ground, but quickly recovered and rose back up to see a giant green monster.

Gabara had watched the battle from afar, and was going to run, but seeing Junior in pain made him reconsider. Only the ogre could cause the dinosaur pain and no giant squid monster was going to take that pleasure from him.

Junior looked to the mutant ogre with confusion, but after watching Iris recover to his feet, the young Godzilla realized Gabara was helping him. Then as both monsters stood side by side, they shared a nod before they turned their attention back on Iris.

Both monsters charged and headbutted the fiend causing Iris to skid backwards. Junior unleashed an atomic ray that detonated against the glowing chest of the intruder, while Gabara moved in closer to start punching in addition to clawing at the squid’s face. Iris though had enough of this pathetic attack, and brought one of his knee spikes up which impaled Gabara through the chest. The ogre shrieked in pain and backed away from his enemy, only to be jabbed in the chest by the bladed left arm. Junior moved in and chomped down on the free right arm, allowing Gabara to stagger back and recover from his wounds.

Gabara then looked down his body to see the two bloody puncture wounds before he realized something. What was he thinking? Was he going to kill himself fighting this creature just so he could torment Junior?

Junior fell to the ground as Iris hammered the reptile’s head with his free left arm. Still on the ground, the young warrior looked around the area for his ally only to see he was in full retreat. Iris followed Junior’s gaze and watched as the ogre was in a full sprint away from him. It almost pitied the pathetic creature at its foolhardy attempt to flee. Gabara should have known it was as good as dead after confronting the demon. To finish off the retreating ogre, Iris fired three sonic rays with its remaining tentacles.

Gabara never saw the attack coming and was hit with all three rays. They cleanly sliced through the armorless ogre and Gabara fell to the ground with his head no longer attached to his body.

Satisfied the ogre was dead by the decapitation, Iris returned his attention to the fallen dinosaur. First he sent his right leg-like spear through Junior‘s arm, pinning it to the ground, before sending his left arm blade through the reptile’s abdomen. Both spikes went completely through the dinosaur and into the dirt below. Iris’ arm-like blade though had cut into Junior’s internal organs, and sliced them to pieces. Unfortunately, this included the second brain, which meant he could no longer control anything below his waist. Junior emitted an anguish-filled screech into the air as Iris began to absorb his energy. The young Godzilla tried to fire an atomic ray, but the energy was no longer his to use.

Iris could not believe the amount of energy the reptile contained as he absorbed it as well as condensed the energy to his tentacles. With most of the monster’s power gone, Iris removed his limbs from Junior to test his new ability. Iris’ tentacles opened releasing three atomic rays that impacted Junior and caused the dinosaur to slide across the island before a massive rock formation stopped his movements.

Junior could not move his legs or anything below his waist, he was bleeding profusely and his regeneration was unable to cope with the severe damage he had sustained. Junior helplessly watched as Iris’ tentacles prepared to fire again. The young saurian closed his eyes, realizing this was the end, but then a massive screech exploded into the air. The dinosaur opened his eyes to see a blue flash explode behind Iris before a new, familiar as well as fatherly roar filled the air. Godzilla had arrived.

Iris was going to turn to face his newest attacker only to be slammed in the side by his new enemy. He put his arms in a defensive form as he prepared for a secondary assault merely for it to never come. Iris recovered to his feet and looked over to see a much larger, in addition to mature, dinosaur standing above the smaller one.

Godzilla had heard Junior’s screams and had come to assist his son, only to find the harsh reality that he was too late. Junior was covered in puncture wounds, unable to stand and his energy was depleted. Dorsal spines flashed blue as he tried to give his son power to stay alive but Junior’s eyes closed. Under the grieving eyes of his father, the young dinosaur perished. His sadness then turned to an unstoppable rage and he turned to face his son’s killer. His energy levels, that were originally low from the previous Gyaos encounter, suddenly refilled thanks to his rage. Godzilla bellowed an earth-shattering roar toward Iris. The demon would die; there was no other possibility in Godzilla’s mindset.

Iris though would start the fight first as it fired three atomic rays while the monster king fired his own. The beams were surprisingly equal before the energy blasts erupted and a massive explosion rocked the island. Out of the smoke, the furious king charged forth towards the Gyaos prodigy. Iris swung his left arm at Godzilla, only for the reptile to dodge it and counter by slashing at the glowing chest. Three large claws dug into the orbed abdomen before the atomic leviathan fired a heat ray at the right shoulder spike. Iris screeched in agony as his shoulder blew to pieces, quickly countering by sending a powerful jab at Godzilla, which penetrated his shoulder. But the wound stayed shockingly shallow as his tough hide refused to give in to the fiend’s strike. Iris sent his other arm to jab Godzilla merely for the beast to grab it, stop it with one arm, and remove the other arm from his shoulder with its other free hand. Then as a show of his intense strength, the dinosaur tossed the cruel phoenix into the air like a ragdoll. The fiend, after a short flight, came crashing down hundreds of meters from where he launched from and after he regained his footing, a thought occurred in his demonic mind.

The monster he was battling was just as strong as Gamera, he could fire something that burned his enemies like Gamera, and he was as resilient as Gamera if not more so. This creature could have killed all the Gyaos with ease and if that was true then his trip to the island had been for nothing. Iris was no closer to his vengeance and in a worse state than when he arrived. Iris realized it would have to cut his losses or end up in a severely weakened state after defeating the creature so the demon opened up his remaining tentacles and prepared to leave the miserable island he was on. With only three tentacles whole though, he could barely fly. That is, if Godzilla let it leave.

Iris started levitating into the air before he felt something grab his destroyed tentacle. The mutated Gyaos looked down to see Godzilla, holding onto his tentacle and stopping his escape. Iris fired three continuous atomic rays with his three other tentacles, trying to force the nuclear menace to let go, but Godzilla’s rage subsided his pain. Iris’ beams continued and rough scales started to burn and peel. But the powerful titan retaliated, his spines flickering before discharging an atomic ray of his own. The blast of energy detonated on one of the demon’s tentacles before blowing the end of it to pieces. The demon afterwards came crashing down to the ground as his means of flight were now permanently stopped.

Iris landed on his feet, but he realized now the situation he was faced with. He would have to kill the monster, or this island would become his grave.

Both monsters stared at the other, waiting for the other to make their move, but Godzilla’s anger ended the stalemate. An atomic ray fired away, which detonated at the fiend’s feet before the charcoal grey titan charged at his enemy. Iris put his arm-like blades in a defensive pattern and took in the full force of the charge, sliding in the dirt before counter attacking with an arm jab. Godzilla dodged the blow and swiped Iris off his feet with his tail swipe, and immediately followed up his assault by slamming his tail, like a hammer, off of the armored head multiple times; each blow followed by an insidious crack. Godzilla’s attack came to a sudden halt though as a tentacle wrapped around his bulky feet and pulled. The nuclear leviathan collapsed to the ground with a thud while the demon rose its feet. The King of the Monsters rolled onto his back and watched Iris approach his location, bringing his arm down upon his head. Godzilla moved his head at the last second, barely dodging the blade, retaliating with an atomic ray to Iris’ face. The demon stumbled as fire washed over its face which gave the atomic titan enough time to recover.

Iris turned his burned face to see the nuclear menace coming at him again. The mutated Gyaos waited until the last second before firing dual sonic beams at Godzilla’s legs. They could not cut through his hide, but the rays did cause the dinosaur to fall right onto the lance-like right arm. He might not have had enough power on his own, but with Godzilla’s momentum, his arm would go through the dinosaur with ease. Godzilla came crashing down and then Iris thrusted his arm upward. The charcoal beast roared in agony as the blade was thrust deeply into his chest. With the blade still in him, the monster king thrust his own right hand into his foe’s chest. Both monsters sent their respective limbs deeper into the other, trying to get the other to back down, but neither showed signs of retreating. Then Iris decided to further his enemy’s pain.

The demon jabbed his left arm blade into Godzilla‘s shoulder and wrapped one of his destroyed tentacles around the left arm. With movements subdued, Iris began to drain the monster of his energy. Blue lights traveled into Iris from his arm like blades and his two remaining spear tipped tentacles opened to reveal they were each charging a powerful atomic ray.

Iris readied to fire his new, stolen atomic power when Godzilla’s spines started to glow blue. He could not count on using his remaining power in an atomic ray, but he had an alternative solution. The blue glow continued until the entire dinosaur’s entire body was pulsating. Iris stared at his enemy confused at what was happening and where the dinosaur was channeling all of this power from until the monster king roared. The blue glow quickly transferred to energy that was released all over the reptile’s body. Godzilla had just unleashed a nuclear pulse on his shocked foe. The pulse shattered the bladed right arm, destroyed the already hurt tentacle, and created a hole in Iris where Godzilla’s right arm was jabbed into the creature. Both monsters were sent hurtling away from each other before slamming into the ground, the nuclear pulse had proven to be a devastating move for both Iris as well as Godzilla.

Minutes went by as both monsters remained stagnant until Iris finally stood back on his bladed legs. He looked over at Godzilla, who was slowly trying to get back on his feet. But his wounds, in addition to his severe energy depletion, had finally taken a toll on the beast which no rage could overwhelm. Though the fiend was physically depleted as well, Iris’ power was now fully recharged thanks to Godzilla. Iris fired dual atomic rays and put all the power he had left to fuel his attack. Godzilla’s skin burned as the rays scorched his hide, but the dinosaur’s spines started flickering with energy as Iris continued the blasts.

Unknown to Iris, the mutated Gyaos was making the same mistake as he did when he originally fought Gamera. The rays were helping Godzilla more than hurting him as the dinosaur absorbed the massive amounts of radiation.

Iris watched as Godzilla started to get up even though he was under constant fire from the dual atomic rays. The demon then stopped his attack, confused at what was happening, only to have Godzilla roar in defiance at him. Iris could not believe this monster’s endurance merely to witness his true power.

Dorsal spines condensed all the power absorbed from Iris’ rays and started to flash red. Godzilla was charging his most powerful attack, the Spiral Heat Ray, and he only had enough power to fire one shot.

Godzilla opened his maw and unleashed his ultimate weapon at Iris who countered with his own dual atomic rays. The beams collided and it appeared for a few seconds that it was a draw, but then Iris’ rays started diminishing. He had used most of his energy prior, so his rays were literally being fueled by reserves that were being depleted fast. As the mutated Gyaos’ rays dissipated, he was hit with the full power of the spiral heat ray. The column of rage impacted Iris’ weakened chest before it burned right through the mutated Gyaos. As the atomic spiral heat ray subsided, Godzilla watched as Iris stubbornly slumped to his knees and then finally to the ground. In celebration of his victory, Godzilla roared triumphantly into the sky before he began to stumble away.

Iris just stared at Godzilla’s disappearing figure as he lay on the ground, beaten, battered, burned, and with a massive hole through his chest. Iris’ hopes of revenge had been dashed yet again, but he knew he would return one way or another in the future. He would have vengeance on Gamera and this damned dinosaur. Then Iris’ body lights went dark as the monster re-entered death‘s door.

Godzilla weakly returned to Junior, and scanned his dead son. He would live from this battle, and his wounds would heal, but the loss of his son would be with him forever. He had achieved his vengeance, but the victory was bittersweet. Godzilla then fell to the ground next to his son, and sunk into a deep sleep.

The island for the first time all day had a moment of pure silence and then an object from the sky crashed where Iris lay dead. Arms, legs, a head, and finally a tail erupted from the sphere revealing its identity as Gamera.

The powerful guardian walked over to the now deceased Iris, and unleashed a fireball at the creature to make sure it was dead. Humankind had brought it back, and he had come to kill the abomination only to find it already killed in battle. There was only one monster on Earth he could think of that could kill Iris, and he noticed that monster on the ground in the far distance. Gamera made his way over to Godzilla and discovered Junior, whom he could tell had been killed by Iris, beside him. Gamera, seeing this, decided to repay Godzilla for his help ending Iris, and for the turtle’s own personal reasons. It might cause some imbalance in the world, but in the end, Gamera knew his actions would be worth the cost. Gamera then began to do to the fallen what he had done to Ayana all those years ago.

The sky filled with clouds and Junior’s spines started flashing yellow; in kind, so too did Gabara start to glow. Flesh began to knit together, but quickly died out. Gabara’s spirit was too weak to reconstitute what was lost. The young Godzilla’s wounds, however, started healing and his organs began regenerating. Then after a few seconds of healing, Junior opened his eyes and let out a faint roar. The young dinosaur stood up and stared at Gamera in curiosity. The turtle had revived him from death, but for what reason.

Gamera’s reasoning was that everyone needed someone. He had Asagi, Mothra had the Shobijin, even Iris had Ayana at one point, but if Junior died then Godzilla might turn back to the chaotic dinosaur that wanted to destroy the world, and he could not let that happen. Then as fast as he had arrived, Gamera flew into the air, and away from Monster Island.

Winner: Godzilla (Heisei), Godzilla Junior

Author: Lucas Salabert | Banner: Christian Salabert

Blaze from the sun is what warms every plant and animal on this earth. The same can be said for kaiju.

The snoring of the dreaded beast known as Red King could be heard from miles around. Luckily, at his location, there were no humans around to hear. Tucked in with the bedrock of a mountainous region he called home, the Skull Monster rested in the glow of the light. His massive torso raised up and down- up and down- with each breath he took, happily dreaming of ripping off bat wings and taunting small pygmies.  

Just then, a dot rising over the sun cast an annoying shadow over the resting tyrant. The sleepy monster raised his eyelid, barely even a foot, to stare at what had interrupted his sun bathing. With a snarl, he slowly rose to his feet, his glare filled with enough anger to fill the canyon he rested in. Still furious, he roared. To a kaiju, this roar was likely one of the most profane phrases imaginable. The tiny dot glinted against the sun, causing the saurian to blink. Determined to see this annoyance, the malicious monster pushed back the rays of the sun to catch a glimpse of this shadow. With a shocking swiftness in the blink of an eye, the dot sharply dove to the ground in front of the berserker kaiju with swoosh, a tower of dust rose up in front of him. He raised his arm to keep his eyes from being buffeted by the sandstorm. It would take almost ten minutes for the smoke and dirt to completely reside, but it had cleared enough for the ridged creature to see what the tiny dot was; the cyborg known as Gigan.

The exotic alien clashed its glistening scythes with his answer to this Earth pest’s backhanded comment and squawked a war cry. But before he could even stop roaring, Red King rushed him. The Xillien war machine was tackled into a large boulder, falling forward into a slump. His segmented tail began lashing out with its spiked tip, searching for the Skull Monster while he dug his face out of the rubble. The scaly brute reached for the thrashing tail, but the spiked tip sliced his hand. Blood spilling out, he really was a ‘Red’ King now. The alien assassain, now standing, looked his foe directly in the eyes and shot his eye beam at him. The tyrant fell back, shaking the ground. The fowl fiend moved over him, to see if in fact it had killed the obnoxious creature. Pleased with himself, he turned to leave.

Opportunity showing itself, the “dead” monster launched forward and snatched the swinging tail. The monster monarch began to yank, but the cyborg creature pulled back as he took off with a shriek.  The extraterrestrial began flying through the air with the reptilian bully still holding on, the Earth kaiju screeching. With a great effort, he pulled himself up the spiked appendage of his hooked harrasser. The duo began jerking through the air, the space ninja unable to hold both their weight. So the brutal beast did the only thing he could do. He raised his right arm and brought it down on his own tail!

Ichor ran down and out of the bloody stump as the brute took a header into the dirt. Gigan flew back down to the ground next to the crying king. The merciless android turned his eye to his leaking stump and shot his cluster beam at it. The cauterized stump immediately ceased its bleeding, while the cyclopeon terror now turned back to the savage “king”. Red King had gotten up and was beating his chest, not unlike another certain King. The ridged beast bent over to grab himself the boulders scattered by the impact.. He bombarded the cyborg  with the heavy rocks, but the buzzsaw beast simply sliced through them. When the tyrant went to pick up more boulders, the Xillien jumped and swung his scythe into his opponent’s chest. The wound sprayed like a hose onto his sneering beak, as the cyborg wrapped his arms around the squealing bully and started up his chest saw. Gritting his fangs, the Skull Monster inched closer towards his foe, then stomped his foot, jabbed the ruthless alien  in the face with a haymaker – hard enough to turn him around – and punted him down the mountain.

The war machine tumbled all the way down for what seemed like miles, his green foe charging close behind. When his dented body finally slowed at the edge of a cliff, he looked up at the speeding tyrant, who had picked up so much speed that he could not stop. His claws dug into the dirt as he tried to slow but kept rushing on. The buzzsaw beast shrieked as the monster tripped over him and went flailing through the air, just managing to swing his blade and catch a hold of the edge. Red King swirled around in the air and hit the ground with an enormous thud. The cyclopeon cyborg climbed back up to the edge and looked down on the scene. Clouds of dust and rock rose from the spot the other monster hadlanded. When everything had cleared all that remained was a vast crater, dashed with blood, and in the very middle lay the mighty monarch himself.

Before he dared to fly down, Gigan shot down a cluster ray from his eye down into the center of the hole. The injured devil stirred, but did not move. Within seconds, the fowl fiend flew down to the hole next to his fallen adversary. The cruel creature then did something he rarely did for himself; he had a thought. Of course it was not for himself, but for his creators. Why not make use of this Earth creature to help defeat the more formidable ones? He did not know how the Xiliens would achieve this, he just knew they could. He shot out both grappling cables from his arms and wrapped them around the dazed Red King. The space monster  turned and was about to fly when his arms were pulled along with the rest of him into the canyon wall.

 The Lawless Monster Zone’s king had not yet been finished! 

The raging berserker tore the cables from his flesh and swung the cybernetic menace back into the side of the cliff, causing a cry of pain as his shoulder shattered into hundreds of bone fragments. The bloody brute then charged headfirst into the other shoulder, pushing the metallic menace’s  body further into the mountainside. Sickening cracks of enhanced ribs echoed all over the battleground. The fowl fiend again cried in agony, choking up blood. In desperation, he swung out with his good arm to prevent further damage from the insane organic. By sheer chance, he got lucky and slashed vertically through his chest. Again, the gore sprayed against his armor. The beast backed off long enough for the assassin from the stars  to fly away. The monster monarch jumped to snatch at his fleeing prey but could not reach his desperate ascent. The cyclopeon cyborg flew up and out of the canyon, looked back down on the fuming beast, then flew out of sight. The tyrant stopped bouncing for a moment. 

Did the alien seriously just fly off? Did this foe really just fly up and run off? Really?!

This sent Red King into fits of rage. He roared, howled, he bashed rocks into little pebbles, he broke gigantic holes into the mountain. Gigan, the supposed scourge of the galaxy, had just chickened out of a fight and left him bleeding in a hole. The mad king slowed his breathing, like a tired child after a tantrum. But then, out of the corner of his eye, the prehistoric savage caught a glint in the sky. Sure enough, there was his foe hovering, like the annoying sleep-disturber he was. But he had something in his arms. A slab of stone, almost twice his size, cut out of the mountain with his light ray. Which he sped down to crash onto his head!

With the collision of a desperately swung fist and the Mach 1 speed of the gigantic boulder, it would seem like hours before the dust would clear. It was a dusty day. But it did not take that long for both monsters to recover. The brutal beast crawled out of the shattered stones as the alien assassin floated to the ground. Gigan and Red King stood there, battered and bloody, glaring at each other. The saurian practically leaking from his cross-cuts across his chest, his left forearm useless from being shattered by the incredible boulder and his back stiff from the fall. The cyborg could no longer feel or move his left shoulder, his tail was cut off and most of his ribs were fractured in half. Both of them heaved and panted. They inched forward to each other with death stares fixated to each other. 

Then they were off.

Red swung his fist at the hooked horror, but the cyborg was a learning creature. Even though he was slowed by his ribs, he ducked and as he turned, slashed his scaly thighs. The beast bent at the knees and felt the blood pour down his legs, snarling but steeling his resolve. He turned and bashed the screeching sadist in the beak, bending it back into his face. The cyclopeon creature flew back into the dirt while the isolated tyrant ran towards him. He stopped, however, when his visor shot him in the chest wounds with his cluster light ray. The monster monarch jumped back at the burning in his chest, the cross wound opened more to the point of exposing his sternum. The Xillien war machine got up and flew at the reptile, who stopped flinching and snorted before he  headbutted the alien right in the stomach. Now his ribs were practically dust, the enhanced killer fell onto his fins. 

The cyborg slowly sat up and judged the situation. He could not defeat Red King. He may not even have enough strength to get back home. The ancient berserker leaped at him once more, while the mechanical monster shot his cables one last time. They caught the Skull Monster by the shoulders and pulled him to the side. The cybernetic claw monster could practically saw the glowing exit sign, or whatever kaiju would see in such a case.

His dented and oil coated form rose out of the crater. It was over. He could be repaired back on the home world.

Red King tore out of the cables too late. The alien was rising out of the crater. It was over. But then he looked around the crater. Maybe…

The alien beast felt broken. No tail, no shoulder, no ribs, no dignity. He looked back down at the mighty beast. What he saw put him on edge. No… No, surely he couldn’t. But, maybe…

The Lawless Monster Zone’s terror  picked up a stalagmite from one of the caves he dug. He rose it in his good arm and aimed it at his hovering target. He had one shot.

Gigan watched the spear slowly hurtle towards him. He had to hurry. The cyborg turned to pick up speed. He turned to look at how close it was.

The savage brute watched the javelin slice right through Gigan’s lone eye. The alien hovered for a moment – then fell. He hit the edge of the canyon and spun towards the Earth. He felt his heart fill full of pride.

The beast thought back to the pride he felt in the spars he had with the “space human.” But this walking weapon had been more of a challenge than that. The tenacious reptile walked to the spot where Gigan had fallen. But his walk soon turned into a grovel, then a crawl. When he had reached the war machine, he toppled over. His blood had run dry. The mighty Red King’s wounds had finally caught up with him. Both monsters  lay dead at the bottom of a large crater in the middle of nowhere. No one would mourn, no kaiju would think twice about them. But that’s what the alien got for interrupting a berserker’s beauty sleep.

The tyrant looked up into the sky just one last time. He looked at the sun, felt the warmth it gave the earth. On top of his last prey, he entered the eternal slumber.

Somewhere in space, as Red King closed his eyes, so did another being. An angry being. The Xilien leader closed his eyes and sighed.

“Sir? Is something the matter?” his yes-man inquired.

The man-child thought for a moment, then rose from his seat, pushing back tears of anger.

“Know what? Screw it! I’m done! I don’t even know what the hell that thing was and it still killed my cyborg!” 

The Xilien leader stormed down the hallway. 

“Let’s go conquer Venus or something! They’re all a bunch of girls anyway!”

Draw: Gigan (Universal), Red King

Author: Kenneth James | Banner: Christian Salabert

[Continued from Match 95]

Godzilla led Rodan, Anguirus, and Gabara – against the ogre’s will – towards Tokyo. Already visible above the city was the Vortaak Mothership, the Xilien Mothership floating nearby as well, much to Godzilla’s surprise. The King of the Monsters hadn’t expected such an alliance to ever occur. The aliens who invaded the Earth, his territory, were often solo attacks with no connections between them. Before he could march forwards, the sea floor before him burst open, sending the Monster King falling backwards into the surf. He quickly arose from the water to see the colossal form of Megalon make himself known. The huge cockroach-like being clashed his drills together in threat and let out a loud roar of challenge. (more…)

Author: Christian Salabert | Banner: Christian Salabert

Screams rang out as Krystalak pulled himself up from the watery depths and stepped foot upon Honolulu’s sandy shores. The crystalline demon sensed something on the island, something familiar. Whatever it was, it had to be eradicated. Nearing two tall buildings by the beach, he placed his clawed hands on them, pushing through them and reducing them to rubble as he marched past them. His ears having been assaulted long enough by the cries of the people fleeing beneath him, the berserker pointed his head downward and let out an annoyed growl. Opening his maw, the crystal mutant incinerated the crowds with a blast of his Prism Beam.

Further and further the creature marched, trampling structures and humans alike underfoot. Soon his destination became clear: Puowaina – Otherwise known as the Punchbowl Crater – a massive volcanic mark on the Earth’s surface. Just as the gemstone devil approached the rim of the crater, the ground began to shake. Spacegodzilla’s spawn held his footing and watched as the earth’s crust began to buckle. It was obvious that something was starting to push itself out from underneath. Glittering eyes narrowed as the soil exploded and a hulking form pulled itself out of the crater.

Rearing his head back, Obsidius bellowed into the sky.

It was the golem that the cruel beast had come to destroy. Flexing his crystal claws, the spiked beast got ready to attack and slay his ‘brother.’ But the magma menace had other plans. Curling himself up into a large stone ball, the molten monster rolled forward, slamming into his ‘brother’s chest and hurtling him through the air, crashing back into the city. As the crystal creature shook his head, regaining his wits, the living rock rolled down the side of the Hill of Sacrifice, rapidly approaching the other kaiju.

If Krystalak wanted a fight, then he’d get one.

Just as the rolling monster was about to slam into him again, the gem berserker suddenly leapt into the air, letting the rocky creature pass harmlessly underneath him. As the nimble fiend landed back on his feet, the stone titan unfurled himself and turned to face the crystal beast. Letting out a roar of defiance, the burning brute was cut off as Krystalak nailed him square in the chest with his Prism Beam, sending the golem crashing into the sea. An immense cloud of steam burst from the waves as the cool waters came into contact with his scalding hot body. 

Before the titan could pull himself up off his back, his crystalline brother leapt onto his chest and began slashing away with his razor-sharp claws, drawing sparks with each blow against the rocky hide. As his foe raised his hand to land another fierce slash, the living volcano belched forth a torrent of molten lava, covering his snarling face in it. With his “brother” distracted, clutching his scalded face, Obsidius swiped at him with his powerful arm, knocking the white and purple beast into the waves. As the radiant demon crashed into the water, the stone brute stood and left the water, marching back onto dry land. The water wasn’t lethal to him, but he didn’t need it dampening his molten powers.

Scraping enough of the lava off his face, Krystalak growled furiously and lunged towards the molten monster, sending the two toppling to the ground. Rolling across the sand, they hit another building, bringing it down on top of them. The two creatures roared as the debris rained down upon them until the elemental  planted his feet on the berserker’s gut, kicking him off and sending him through the air, landing atop a structure that was quickly leveled underneath the monster. But the crystal creature was back on his feet in an instant, quickly turning himself around and unleashing shards of crystal from his tail at his larger foe. 

The lava golem brought his arms up in front of him, shielding his face as the shards shattered against his armored skin. As he brought his arms down, the sentient stone was bodyslammed by his “brother”, sending him crashing through another building. Before the rocky beast could rise, clear creature nailed him with another blast of his Prism Beam, then another. The molten monster cried out with each blast, but finally managed to pull away and roll himself into his ball-like form once again. He once more began heading towards Krystalak, but the evil abomination was ready for him. He leapt into the air, ready to let the barreling brute pass underneath him as he had before, but the volcanic creature was expecting the move this time. The moving boulder bounced into the air, striking the nimble fiend and knocking him from the sky. The prismatic beast hit the ground with a thud, groaning in pain. Obsidius landed and unfurled himself, glaring at his fallen foe.

The two crystal-born beasts glared silently at one another, each waiting for the other to make the next move. For a while, it seemed as if neither creature was going to be the first to attack. The berserk lifeform suddenly broke the lull as he spun around, firing more crystal shards from his tail. The titan of stone blocked these with his arms as he had before, but this time, when he lowered his arms, even more shards struck, hitting deep within his open ‘mouth’ and shattering within. The living volcano staggered and clutched at his throat, obviously hurt by the attack. Molten blood gurgled and spilled from his maw. His foe hurt, the radiant monster leapt into the air, ready to strike. But to his surprise, the wounded giant was still able to defend himself despite his injury. Swinging his fist around, the lava beast backhanded the leaping mutant hard, cracking his armored face and sending him crashing onto his back, barely conscious. His opponent taken care of for the moment, the spawn of Spacegodzilla collapsed, the crystal shards within him taking their toll.

For a time, it seemed as if the fight was over. Both creatures were down for the count and didn’t seem as if they’d be getting back up any time soon. Unfortunately, before the remaining population of Honolulu could breathe a collective sigh of relief, the sky began to darken. Thick, black stormclouds began to gather, lightning occasionally crackling through the darkened sky. The black clouds slowly began to part as a large mass started to lower itself down from the sky. It was a grotesque sight and could only be described as a gigantic ball of flesh, its color that of blood. It began to slow down as it approached the ground, finally setting itself down in the middle of the Punchbowl Crater, sending tremors throughout the surrounding area.

The quaking as the mysterious thing landed was enough to stir Krystalak out of unconsciousness. Shaking his head as he regained his wits, he quickly took notice of the strange orb and pulled himself to his feet. He started making his way towards it, ignoring his former quarry’s’ motionless form. Trudging through the remains of a destroyed building, the prismatic menace let out a low growl, flexing his claws as he approached the fleshy sphere, his mind filled with a sinister curiosity.

Behind him, the golem began to recover, the crystal shards within him having been incinerated by his body’s intense internal temperatures. The molten beast roared weakly as he felt his strength returning to him, slowly bringing himself back to his feet. He saw his rival spawn marching through the city and looked forward to see where he was headed, instantly spotting the mysterious orb. Unlike his ‘brother,’ however, the living volcano stayed back, receiving an ominous vibe from the strange ball.

The crystal creature took another step towards the sphere, growling as he felt pure evil emanating from within. But he also felt power. And the aspiring tyrant liked power. Just as he began to raise his clawed hand, the orb began to quake, shaking the entire area. Suddenly, the massive ball of flesh exploded into a blinding burst of light. The berserker raised his arms, shielding his eyes from the intense light as the ground shook violently. Far behind him, his molten “brother” did the same. Amazingly, neither creature was knocked off their feet by the blast and the light finally began to fade. But as the two monsters lowered their arms, they found the entirety of Honolulu completely pulverized by the explosion. Not a building remained intact. Every tree was reduced to ash. The city was covered in dark smoke and fire.

Despite the carnage around him, Krystalak was certain he spotted a figure standing in the crater, obscured by the smoke. Roaring an immediate challenge, the crystalline monster charged, throwing his arms open wide, ready to attack. Instantly, a powerful white beam pierced the black fumes, catching him square in the chest and sending the radiant demon careening backwards through the air until he crashed into the sea. Watching his ‘brother’ crash into the waves, Obsidius instantly curled up into his rolling form and made a beeline for the new being. Rolling over the remains of Honolulu, the magma mutant was seconds away from slamming into the beast before it turned itself around, swatting the rolling villain with its tail and sending the molten monster flying through the air, nearly to the other side of the island, his landing heralded with a distant thud.

In the smoke, Bagan’s eyes narrowed. He waited for the creatures to attack again.

Groggily, the berserker pulled himself up and shook his head. He glared at the ancient god and roared furiously, breaking into a charge once again. Energy built up in the Super Monster’s mouth as he charged his plasma breath, preparing to once more strike the spiked beast with it. He fired, but this time the speedy mutant dodged the blast, leaping to the side as he continued to run forward. The forgotten evil briefly considered grinning. 

The creature was learning. Perhaps it would prove to be a decent challenge after all. 

The prehistoric scourge fired another blast of plasma, only for the spawn of Spacegodzilla to leap into the air and slash his claws downward, leaving diagonal slices across his scaled face. The grey beast growled as the wounds began to heal, snarling at his crystal foe. He lashed out, clutching the smaller monster by the throat and tossing him aside. Rolling across the ground, the radiant monster quickly got back to his feet and fired his Prism Beam. The God of Darkness immediately retaliated with his plasma breath and the two energies exploded on contact. 

The two beasts recoiled from the explosion and the unnatural borne recovered first, lunging at the demon. The Super Monster spun around, intent on battering the gemstone beast with his mighty tail, but the white and purple monster leapt up onto his finned back. The horned demon roared as it tried to dislodge the crystal beast, but Krystalak would have none of it, repeatedly stabbing into the legendary monster’s back with his razor-sharp claws. The evolved deity howled in pain and fury as the empowered claws started drawing blood. His horns crackling with energy, Bagan summoned a star-like projectile from the sky, blasting Krystalak and knocking him clear. Laying on his back, the berserker lifted his head to glare at his foe, only to have the dragon’s tail smash across his face.

The forgotten demon watched as the gemstone beast crumpled to the ground, hurt by the blow. His lips curled in satisfaction. He was enjoying watching Krystalak in pain. Taking a step forward, he prepared to finish the lower life form, when suddenly something hard smashed into his back. The God of Darkness cried out, feeling his spine crack as he toppled to the charred earth. Furiously, the three horned devil raised his head, trying to spot what dared to attack him. 

He received his answer as Obsidius’ foot kicked him in the face, sending him skidding across the dirt. Lightning dancing across his horns, the Super Monster pulled himself to his feet and let out a blast of his plasma breath, catching the magma monster in the shoulder. The golem howled as the energy assaulted his rocky hide, distracting him long enough for the unstoppable dragon to reach him. The Super Monster smashed his snout horn into the side of his molten head, staggering the beast. The divine destroyer quickly bent down, catching his head horns on  craggily skin. Hoisting himself back up, the ancient terror sent the lava monster soaring over his head, only to smack him with his tail, forcing him to the ground with a violent crash.

The forest demon shrieked as he suddenly felt something sharp stab into his throat. Krystalak withdrew his tail, having shot off another round of crystal shards from its tip. Before the fallen god could recover, the spiky creature spat out another blast of his Prism Beam, nailing him in the face and scorching his flesh. The golem pulled himself to his feet and watched his counterpart blast the mighty dragon. Stepping forward, the volcanic mutant unleashed his Inferno, spewing molten lava onto their foe’s horned face. The assault finally became too much for the Super Monster, who toppled over onto his back.

The “sons” of Spacegodzilla glared at each other. Even though they hated one another, they knew that neither of them could beat this monster on their own, especially with them already worn out from their own battle beforehand. Reluctantly, the two came to an understanding, turning to face the grey creature together. 

Just as they turned, however, the dragon slammed his clawed hands into their guts. Sparks flew as the ancient titan’s claws collided with their armor-like skin, knocking them through the air and onto their backs. The Super Monster reached up and took hold of the crystal shards in his neck, wrenching them free of his flesh and tossing them to the ground. Angrily, he unleashed his plasma breath, but the malicious mutants were already out of the way, the beam exploding against the dirt. They came at him from both sides. Each time the forest god managed to defend himself from the crystal berserker’s slicing claws, the molten brute would hit him with his mighty fists. Finally, the legendary demon had had enough and summoned the Diamond Storm once again, bringing down a hail of destructive energy. The star-like blasts toppled the two mutants, but they groggily managed to rise again.

The God of Darkness eyed his opponents, waiting for them to make the next move. The radiant demon leapt into the air, outstretching his clawed fingers. As the horned horror raised his head, ready to blast the crystal beast out of the sky, the molten mutant curled up and rumbled forward, smashing hard into his stomach. Krystalak landed, raking his claws across divine flesh. The dragon tumbled back, groaning in pain. As he staggered, Obsidius stood upright while his “brother” took his place next to him. The two immediately opened fire with their oral weapons. The demonic dragon cried out as the Prism Beam and stream of lava burned into his chest, forcing him backwards. The pair held their blasts, eventually bringing the evolved horror down to one knee. Cutting off their attacks, they watched their downed foe for a moment, his chest smoking.

They both shrank back as Bagan lifted his head to look at them, fury in his eyes.

The Super Monster suddenly shot forward, clutching both mutant creatures by the throats. He smashed them together, then tossed them aside. Just as they got back to their feet, the dragon unleashed a powerful plasma blast. The living volcano managed to roll out of the way, but the beam hit the crystal creature dead in the center, striking his crystalline heart. The blast instantly overloaded the gem and its ability to store power within. Energy crackling over his body, his entire upper torso exploded in a burst of flames, scattering tiny bits of crystal all over the island. His lifeless bottom half tipped to the side, crashing to the ground. The molten monster  swerved around and aimed directly for the forgotten horror, intent on smashing into his legs. But the Super Monster was ready, and just as the golem was within reach, unleashed his plasma breath. The impact of the blast uncoiled the stone giant and sent him hurtling out to open sea. Further and further he flew, until the forest demon cut off his beam. The mutant groaned as he skidded across the surface of the ocean, then finally began to sink to the bottom of the Pacific. His rocky hide superheated by the blast, the stone brute boiled the sea as he sank, letting out a weak cry of defeat.

Bagan growled as he took a moment to recuperate. He waited for Obsidius to rise up out of the water, but the molten creature did not appear again. The two beasts had proven to be a greater challenge than he had expected. He had come to the island, hoping to feed off their crystal energies in an attempt to regain his legendary strength, but now that was no longer possible. The God of Darkness reared his head back, roaring in fury. Marching past Krystalak’s charred remains, he took a step into the once serene waters. Leaving Honolulu behind him, he decided on the perfect target to vent his frustration on:

Mankind.

Winner: Bagan

Author: Christian Salabert | Banner: Andrew Sudomerski

[Continued from Match 18]

Clanging his blood-stained scythes together, Gigan reared his head back and let loose an unmistakable cry of victory. His foe was slain. His mission was complete.

Sparks erupted from the alien  as the ray struck his back. The blue beam sent the fowl fiend toppling into his face, causing him to squawk out in surprise. The cyborg quickly returned to his feet to see who had attacked it. A large, dinosaur-like creature was approaching it. The beast was charcoal grey in color and had ivory fins on its back. A powerful tail swung behind it. The reptile bellowed a challenge.

* * * * *

“Oh, so there’s another one,” the young man, the Xilien Controller muttered with interest. “Gigan? Attack.”

* * * * *

With a loud cry, the cybernetic assassin struck a battle pose with his scythes and immediately charged, leaving the massacred body of King Ghidorah behind him. The dinosaur reared back in surprise at the sudden advance of his opponent, but reacted just as suddenly, unleashing another atomic ray. The scythed saurian swatted at the beam with his arm this time, dispersing it in a minor explosion. Before the reptile could react, the living weapon slashed at its side with his scythes as it ran past, gashing open its flesh. As the dinosaur cried out while its blood spilled, the Xillien beast reached up with his tail, snatching the reptile’s snout within the clawed clamp at the end. With a powerful flick of his tail, the invader sent the creature crashing to the ground.

Godzilla grunted in pain as he toppled onto his chest. He wasn’t quite sure what this strange, bladed creature was, but he did know that he was going to put an end to it. Pulling himself to his feet, the monster king opened his jaws and belched forth an atomic blast. But Gigan was quicker than expected and was in the air in an instant, letting the beam explode harmlessly against the ground in a cloud of fire and dust. 

The irradiated reptile craned his head upward to see the cyborg and growled angrily as he spotted it circling above him. The radioactive monarch spat another atomic ray into the sky, but the nimble alien effortlessly avoided it and returned fire with a blast of his Cluster Light Ray. The vengeful beast  grunted as the beam exploded all around him, throwing him off balance. Before he could recover, the bioweapon flew in behind him, gashing his torso’s saw across his foe’s skull. With a shriek, the Monster King crashed back to the pavement, blood trickling from his head. The bladed monster landed nearby and chirped in laughter as he watched the stunned saurian struggle to get back to his feet. The alien clashed his scythes together as he taunted the reptile.

A mistake.

Wrenching his head upward, the King of the Monsters unleashed a nuclear beam that smashed into the beaked face of his tormenter, knocking the space beast onto his back in a shower of sparks. Pulling himself to his feet, the mutated Godzillasaur made his way over to the fallen fowl as the cyborg writhed about on the ground, holding his face as best he could with his scythes. Reaching down, his clawed fist took hold of a spiked tail claw and hoisted the creature into the air, bringing him back down hard. The Xillien monster’s back smashed down hard into the pavement, dazing the cyborg, only for the titan to once again lift him into the air and slam him into the ground.

 Thrice more the royal reptile repeated the maneuver before twisting his body around and hurtling the sadistic extraterrestrial through the air, sending him crashing head-first through the nearest building, bringing the structure down on his spiked head, burying him under thousands of tons of debris. Turning his attention to the nearby skyscrapers, Godzilla cleaved them in half with his atomic ray, sending their charred remains crashing down onto the helpless pawn as well.

The radioactive saurian’s orange eyes narrowed as he watched the pile of wreckage closely for a moment. Not a single sign of movement came. Rearing his head back and flexing his arms, the atomic dragon let loose a roar of triumph.

His victory was short-lived, however. A mysterious hissing noise filled the air, causing him to cut his roar short and look into the sky, trying to pinpoint the source of the strange sound. Suddenly, in a brilliant flash of light a vortex of energy, a new being came into existence, soaring high in the air.

Mecha-King Ghidorah had arrived!

* * * * *

The Xilien Controller reared his head back in surprise as he watched the events unfold on his viewscreen.

“Wait, what?” he asked no one in particular. “Didn’t Gigan already kill that monster?”

* * * * *

“It’s King Ghidorah!” Gurenchiko declared.

“No,” Wilson replied, shaking his head as he closely watched the scene unfold on the viewscreen. “This is something different.”

* * * * *

With an earth-shaking thud, the upgraded monster landed not too far away from the baffled Monster King, the creature’s two living heads letting out a series of cackling shrieks. The mechanized left head opened its maw, unleashing a cybernetic, synthesized cry. Godzilla’s head reared back as he was taken by surprise by the sudden arrival of this new creature, letting loose with a roar of confusion and anger. He heard the beast’s cackles for what they truly were: a challenge. And the Strongest Monster On Earth was not about to let any challenge go unanswered. Roaring loudly, he advanced.

The Strongest Monster Of The Future immediately opened fire with a barrage of Gravity Beams and Triple Beam Lasers. The blasts slammed into the dreaded god, halting him in his tracks and showering him with sparks. The mighty reptile snarled in pain as the lightning-like blasts scorched his flesh and immediately retaliated in kind, unleashing his atomic breath at the three-headed monster, only for the azure beam to wash over his armored opponent’s chest plate. Sparks flew, but the reborn super monster  barely seemed bothered by the attack, and indeed resumed firing energy bolt after energy bolt from his trio of mouths. The invincible terror shrieked as they tore into him.

In the leviathan’s cockpit, Emmy Kano scrambled to keep the future weapon active.

“Emmy, the shields are holding, but we need to avoid direct hits like that!” The voice of the android M-11 guided her over the intercom.

“I know that!” Emmy snapped. 

Moving the main control stick forward, she directed the three-headed destroyer towards Godzilla, who appeared to be surprised by the sudden move. Capitalizing on his surprise, Emmy turned the advanced defender’s firepower onto a nearby skyscraper, cutting the structure in half. The King of the Monsters was completely unaware of the toppling building until it was too late, crushed underneath. As the smoke began to clear, Emmy spotted a charcoal tail sticking out of the wreckage, still showing signs of life. The reborn King of Terror immediately opened fire, blasting the pile of debris with gold, white and purple energy.

Suddenly, a shockwave of blue energy erupted from the rubble, vaporizing the wreckage and allowing the titanic tyrant  to rise back to his feet, roaring furiously. His mouth still open, the Monster King unleashed a powerful atomic blast, a smaller stream of energy swirling around the ray. The spiral blast struck Mecha-King Ghidorah in the chest, and this time the cyborg felt it, stumbling backwards. The furious saurian stepped forward, flexing his claws as he prepared to strike the cyborg’s chest plate. Emmy reacted quickly, though, punching a command into the controls that caused the mechanized hydra to leap into the air, towards its foe. The living nuclear weapon reared back, once again taken by surprise. Unable to react fast enough, he was helpless to stop the multi-headed cyborg’s feet from smashing into his face, flooring the reptile. As the infamous monster lay stunned on the ground, the custom made creature landed and turned back to face him. Emmy kept her hand on the joystick as she decided her next move.

Her strategizing was cut short when another pile of debris exploded nearby, a large scythe emerging from the ruins. Emmy quickly turned her mecha to face the disturbance just in time to see Gigan emerge from the rubble, shrieking in fury. The Xilien cyborg quickly saw his target lying on the street and what appeared to be King Ghidorah standing over him.

Inside the three-headed monster’s cockpit, Emmy was suddenly having trouble controlling the mech. She tried a systems check, trying to pinpoint exactly what the problem was.

“Emmy, what’s wrong?” M-11 asked.

“I don’t know, Mecha-King Ghidorah is barely responding,” she said as she hurriedly worked the controls.

Unbeknownst to either of the cyborg’s pilots, the cybernetic revenant’s sluggishness was due to a memory. A memory sparking deep within the minds of the two remaining heads of the Dorat mutant. A memory of being slain by the very same bladed creature they saw before them. Soon, the two minds were trying to break free of the Futurian technology that had been grafted upon them.

Swinging his scythes around, the armored assassin decided to attack and charged. In a panic, Emmy pulled the trigger to fire the super monster’s breath weapons, but only the mechanical head responded, firing the Triple Beam Laser. The bolt hit in the bladed chest, slowing the fowl fiend’s advance but not stopping it completely. Emmy aimed the weapon up, strafing against her foe’s neck until it hit him in the face, exploding against his visor. The Xillien beast shrieked, clutching his face with his scythes. The reborn hydra fired again, but this time their target shot up into the air, avoiding the blast. Circling overhead, the cyberclaw terror shot off his Cluster Light Ray. As the crimson beam exploded all around him, the cyborg dragon’s live heads suddenly snapped to attention, instantly pinpointing their foe above him. Flapping his gigantic solar panel wings, the rebuilt menace took to the sky, cackling at his old foe.

“Emmy, what are you doing?!” M-11 cried.

“I’m not doing anything!” she cried. “Mecha-King Ghidorah is doing this on his own!”

* * * * *

Wilson watched the scene with interest, his hand on his chin.

“Hmm… I wonder…”

* * * * *

Turning around, Gigan flew directly at the approaching android, firing off another cluster blast. The Futurian cyborg zoomed right through the ensuing explosions, though, and the two organic heads immediately opened fire with their Gravity Beams. While unsure of her current predicament, Emmy noted that the malfunctioning monster seemed to share her goal, and so she too opened fire, adding the Triple Beam Laser to the multi-headed cyborg’s assault. Blasted repeatedly by the three bolts, the space monster was forced to swerve away. Before Emmy could do so, the revived terror began to give chase, following the scythed speedster as fast as he could. Though the alien beast was much faster, it couldn’t outrun the rebuilt hydra’s energy bolts, and another volley of blasts forced the buzzsaw brute  to the ground.

Landing on his feet, the beaked beast turned around and prepared to fire his razor discs at his opponent, only for his larger foe to plant his feet into the Xillien weapon’s face, knocking him to the ground. Just as the draconic cyborg prepared to attack, he was hit by an atomic blast, showering his armor with sparks. He turned just in time for Godzilla to slam his shoulder into him, causing the cyborg to stagger back. A red beam exploded all around the raging reptile, which was soon followed by a metallic blow to the head as the alien weapon slammed the side of his left scythe into the back of the reptile’s  skull. Righting itself, Mecha-King Ghidorah opened fire with all three of its beams, blasting his two opponents.

“I don’t understand it!” Emmy cried as she worked every control she could find. “With Godzilla, he’ll respond to my commands, but with Gigan, Mecha-King Ghidorah is attacking all on his own!”

“Emmy, get out of there!” M-11 said hurriedly. “Bring Mecha-King Ghidorah back to base!”

She quickly punched in the necessary command code to activate the time warp into the panel in front of her, only to get nothing in response. 

It was then that Emmy finally panicked.

 “I can’t!”

* * * * *

“So, you’re telling me we can control that cyborg King Ghidorah as easily as we could our own?” Gurenchiko asked, his head tilted with uncertainty.

“That King Ghidorah is ours,” Wilson said. “But it won’t be as easy as before. This Ghidorah is damaged and has other control devices planted within its neural pathways now. We’ll have to move MOTHER closer if we’re to take control of it.”

“But why?” Gurenchiko asked. “What good is a damaged King Ghidorah?”

“Don’t you see?” Wilson asked. “That robot Ghidorah is stronger and has more weapons in its arsenal. If we can take control of it, we can destroy Godzilla and that alien beast, and then resume our mission of putting those foolish Japanese in their place!”

“Of course!” Gurenchiko laughed. He turned to the twin M10 android pilots sitting at the control panel. “Get us in the air!”

* * * * *

The King of the Monsters cried out as he crashed to the ground, overwhelmed by Mecha-King Ghidorah’s unending assault of energy blasts. The bladed bully quickly ran up and kicked his spiked foot into Godzilla’s face, only to be blasted by the gravity beams as well. The Xilien cyborg quickly turned and attacked his three-headed foe, crashing into him and activating his buzzsaw. Sparks flew as the saw tore into Mechaghidorah’s armor, only for the two to be separated as the nuclear dragon lifted his head and fired an atomic blast that exploded between them.

“Emmy, focus your attacks on Gigan,” M-11 suggested. “It’s the one causing all the problems with Mecha-King Ghidorah. Maybe once he’s destroyed, he’ll start functioning properly again.”

“Right!” Emmy nodded as she prepared to unleash their ultimate weapon: the Machine Hand.

High overhead, the MOTHER time ship made its presence known, though it went unnoticed by any of the three warring beasts.

* * * * *

“I have to give Emmy this,” Wilson said as he watched the cybernetic dragon in action. “She truly went all-out in upgrading our monster.”

“That she did,” Gurenchiko agreed. “It’s a pity we’ll have to relieve it of its mechanical head; it’s quite nice-looking.”

“We can replace it once we have it under our control,” Wilson replied. “Until then, as long as Emmy can control it, it’s an obstacle between us and total conquest of Japan.”

“Sir.” The two Futurians looked down to the M10 that had spoken. “The control device is ready.”

Wilson nodded and gave the order. “Do it.”

* * * * *

Just before Emmy could press the button to launch the Machine Hand, the reborn terror stopped in his tracks. Before she had a chance to even wonder what was happening, the cyborg’s two live heads began to shake and writhe as electricity crackled over their skulls.

“Emmy!” M-11 cried. “Someone is trying to take control of Mecha-King Ghidorah!”

“What?!” she screamed.

Indeed, Wilson and Gurenchiko’s control was all but complete as the mindcontrolled mutant began to pour blast after blast into Godzilla and Gigan, putting both creatures on the defensive. The nuclear saurian was forced face-first to the ground and the Xillien weapon was sent careening backwards into a building, bringing it down on top of him.

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Emmy declared and quickly brought the mechanical revenant’s cybernetic head into action. It swung around and punched its metallic snout into the central head’s face, knocking it back. It then opened its mouth and spat out a Triple Beam Laser that exploded against the right head.

* * * * *

Wilson sneered. “Foolish girl.”

* * * * *

Mecha-King Ghidorah’s two organic heads quickly turned their Gravity Beams onto their mechanical brother, scorching its plating and blasting pieces out of it. The robotic head was quickly overwhelmed by the other two, which bent down and began to bite and snap at its base, which was quickly shredded and ripped apart. Emmy watched in horror as the two live heads bit down on the mechanical neck and tore it completely out of its socket, sparks spraying from the mangled end of the neck. Cackling triumphantly, the two heads tossed the metallic neck to the ground, bouncing it off the Monster King’s head. Lifting his head up, Godzilla angrily got to his feet and snatched the lifeless robot neck off the ground. Gigan quickly got to his feet and chirped furiously at his towering foe, only for the radioactive reptile to turn around and clock him across the face with the mechanized head, sending the Xilien monster tumbling back to the streets.

Still holding the metallic neck in his claws, the nuclear tyrant turned his attention back to the Futrurian cyborg.

“Emmy, enough! Get out of there!” M-11 pleaded. “Abandon ship!”

“I think you’re right…” Emmy said as she watched the dreaded god approach. She hit another button and within moments, the KIDS timeship burst out of the mecha’s back and took off into the sky.

Luckily for Emmy, the furious saurian hadn’t noticed the small craft emerge from his prey. He swung his arm around, clobbering the central head with the robotic neck. It was then that the two heads began to fight fully under the control of Wilson and Gurenchiko, blasting at their nuclear target with Gravity Beam after Gravity Beam. 

The monster monarch cried out as he felt a slicing pain sink into his back as the extraterrestrial assassin’s razor discs planted themselves into his flesh. Horned golden heads bent down and swatted the radioactive monster away, turning his attention back to the space beast. The Futurian cyborg unleashed his Gravity Beams once again, but this time Gigan ignored the blasts, running through the surrounding explosions. Swinging his right arm up, the cyberclaw scythe cleaved cleanly through Mecha-King Ghidorah’s right wing, slicing off the top third. Next, the weapon of the invaders thrust his left arm forward, impaling the three-headed monster’s left wing.

* * * * *

“Damn cyborg!” Wilson snarled. “Finish it!”

* * * * *

As the fowl fiend was in the process of extracting his blade from the solar powered wing, the draconic cyborg’s chest plate opened up. Before the bladed beast could react, the Machine Hand emerged and clamped down around his torso. Shrieking wildly, the terror from the stars began to slam his scythes against the weapon, only for the weapon to begin to hum and glow.

The revived King of Terror’s heads cackled as he began to pump millions of volts of electricity through the Machine Hand and into their killer’s body. The alien creature reared his head back, shrieking and throwing his arms into the air as he felt the charges surge throughout his body, frying circuits everywhere. More and more electricity was poured into the android’s form until smoke began to emanate from his armored hide. Finally, the cyborg’s visor burst in a shower of sparks and glass-like material, and the ninja monster went completely limp in the Machine Hand’s grip. Glaring at his lifeless foe and growling, Mechaghidorah tightened the clamp’s grip until the sound of wrenching metal was heard, crushing the sawed torso within the clamp.

Godzilla rose to his feet just in time to watch the draconic mecha open the Machine Hand, letting Gigan’s dead, crumpled form topple to the ground with a thud.

* * * * *

“AAARRGH!!” The Xilien Controller reared his head back as he screamed in fury, throwing his arms into the air. “Those damn humans! They’ll pay for this!”

Noticing a trio of his soldiers standing nearby, the Controller decided to vent his anger and whipped out his pistol, shooting one of them in the head. The other two quickly fled the room as their comrade’s corpse hit the floor.

* * * * *

Roaring in fury at the mechanized Ghidorah, Godzilla only succeeded in turning the cyborg’s attention on him.

* * * * *

Wilson glared at the screen.

“Kill it, King Ghidorah!”

* * * * *

Mecha-King Ghidorah immediately resumed his assault on the nuclear saurian, but with the mechanical head gone, the King of the Monsters only had two Gravity Beams to contend with. Opening his jaws, the atomic monarch unleashed a radioactive blast that slammed into the central head’s face, knocking it back. Ignoring the golden blasts that assaulted his flesh, the Godzillasaur stepped forward, striking at the chest plate with his claws and throwing sparks. The King of Terror’s right head swooped in and sank its teeth into his throat, causing a gurgled cry to escape the mutant dinosaur’s lips. Before the invincible monster could wrench himself free, the center head joined in, biting down on the other side of his neck. The titan grasped at the heads in an attempt to free himself, but failed to get a grip on them.

Overhead, MOTHER lowered itself towards the two beasts in order to gain a better view of the monster’s demise.

* * * * *

“Poor Godzilla,” Gurenchiko laughed. “Brought back to life just in time to be destroyed once again.”

* * * * *

As the Futurian super weapon’s fangs sank deeper and deeper into his flesh, the determined reptile’s struggles weakened and weakened. Just as it seemed as if his motions were about to cease entirely, the atomic dragon’s eyes and dorsal fins flashed blue. A second later, a blinding shockwave of energy erupted from his entire body, blowing the draconic cyborg backwards in a burst of fire! Shrieking in agony, the three-headed monster crashed onto his back and writhed about, missing large chunks of his wings and portions of his faces.

As his throat began to heal itself, Godzilla looked down at the fallen cyborg, hatred burning in his eyes. Opening his mouth, the Strongest Monster on Earth unleashed an atomic ray that cleaved Mechaghidorah’s left wing in half. Another ray exploded against his chest plate, sending shards of metal flying everywhere.

Above them, MOTHER began to falter.

* * * * *

“Sir, we’re losing altitude… Godzilla’s pulse shorted out our systems…”

Wilson’s eyes went wide. “What?! No!”

* * * * *

The King Of The Monsters raised his head upwards, the motions of the wavering MOTHER catching his attention. 

Another of Man’s flying warships? 

With a snarl, the Monster King spat forth another radioactive blast. The beam clipped the time ship, crippling it and sending it plummeting out of the sky. The dreaded god watched as it fell down upon his fallen foe, striking the cyborg in the chest and engulfing his torso in a huge explosion. The living heads cackled in agony as the flames washed over them, but the mechanized dragon refused to give in.

The right neck pulled itself up and quickly unleashed a golden blast at the looming titan, who roared in fury and instantly responded in kind. The rebuilt hydra’s central head cried out as the blazing ray struck the right head and detonated its skull. The monster monarch quickly charged up another atomic blast and let it loose, rupturing the cyborg’s fuel cells and finally destroying Mecha-King Ghidorah in a brilliant ball of fire.

For a moment, the invincible king watched his opponent burn. Soon, though, he raised his snout, sniffing the air. He sensed something, far off in the distance. Another intruder? Turning his back to his fallen foes, the victorious monster  began to make his way towards the unknown presence.

* * * * *

In the Xilien Mothership, the Controller looked at the results on the viewscreen and slumped his shoulders. 

Godzilla was heading directly for his ship.

“Oh, hell.”

Winner: Godzilla (Heisei)

Author: Joshua Reynolds | Banner: Christian Salabert

Planet X. It had been a host for thousands of battles. Over a dozen races had laid a claim on the world in the past, the latest being the treacherous Xiliens. No doubt the planet would continue to be a hotspot for alien wars, but today, there would be no battle for ownership of the planet. The resources had long since run dry, the last drop of water gone years ago. However, the planet was still useful. It was a perfect spot for an alien base to be used as a headquarters during the next invasion attempt of Earth.

Year after year, aliens returned here to lick their wounds. First there were the Xiliens. Then the surviving Kilaakians followed suit. After their failure, the Nebulans retreated here, and soon helped the Seatopians flee the Earth and regroup there as well. Those dastardly Third Planet Aliens were the next in the never-ending line. It repeated like this for decades, race after race sent packing from the Earth.

What was stopping their high-tech weapons and ruthless, galactic demons? A single creature: Godzilla.

The Leviathans would fail in the late 1990’s. The Millennians tried in 2000 and were sent packing. The Xiliens tried again in 2004, but failed once more. Nothing could seemingly stop this endless line of failure. Many races now believed the Earth was being protected not just by Godzilla, but an even higher power. Some races, the most feared of the universe, were afraid to even enter the Milky Way galaxy. It was now said to be cursed. Any race beyond human to set foot on Earth would fall into obliteration.

But the Xilien warlord had one last beacon of hope. They sent word out to any party who wished the Earth would be theirs. It was no longer a matter of simple invasion, but pride. How could such a weakly armed, small planet defeat the most powerful races in the universe, even with the aid of Godzilla? No, it couldn’t be allowed. So the leader summoned them all. To any race that would listen, he proposed a final assault on the Earth! Combine their technologies! Put their differences aside! Kill Godzilla! Destroy human civilization!

And it was here that they had already made their mistake, for the Xiliens had enslaved a monster beyond their scope of power. Their ancestors may have been able to tame a lesser of its kind, but today they were playing with more than just fire. Its long lost brother, god rest its soul, may have been known as a planet killer, but he was a galaxy killer. But a time of hibernation allowed it to be captured and “controlled.”

The three-headed serpent perched on top of a massive cliff, his six eyes looking down at the series of bubble-like structures sitting on the surface like blisters. It blinked and wanted to attack, but couldn’t. In all three of his serpentine heads, Grand King Ghidorah housed a brain. The Xiliens controlled his body only. They couldn’t tame the raging, angry mind of the serpent. For too long he was forced to watch what they wanted, attack what they disliked and destroy victims far too fast than he liked. Unable to move, the King of Terror could only look at the other space monsters summoned to Planet X for this grand meeting of vile minds.

He saw Gigan and Megalon, respective representatives of the Nebulans and Seatopians. He somehow had memories of his fallen brethren joining forces with a cyborg much like this one. Then there was Orga, a hulking brute of unbridled power and pawn of the Millennians. And who could forget Cyber Godzilla. The dumb Leviathans actually believed their resurrected iguana was the true Monster King. And then his six, crimson eyes saw the last creature: A skeletal warrior, sitting in solitude. It looked like an undead fiend, body entirely black with skeletal armor.

Unable to move of his own will, Ghidorah could only think and dream up the ways he’d slaughter every one of them and their masters. It would only be a matter of time.

The hydra was taken from his thoughts by the arrival of more alien craft. The Simeons, or Aliens from the Third Planet of the Black Hole, offered no new monster to the party, just their high-tech weaponry which was beyond that of the other races. They were even the source of the control device implanted in Ghidorah’s central brain that allowed the Xiliens control. The monster felt himself stand up and move, being controlled like a child’s toy. It was something he hated more than life itself.

His body turned, looking in the distance. He could feel the muscles in his wings start to move, he was preparing to fly. Then he heard the sounds of the other space monsters. Their assault was soon to begin. This enraged the monster monarch even more. He focused his mind, trying his best to free himself of this godforsaken slavery. His feet left the ground and he was soon flying against his will.

Then it happened. His eyes closed! He controlled them! His rage was building every passing second, and with his rage, his psychic powers. He focused them even more. It took every ounce of his ancient, powerful mind, but something broke. His body fell from the air, falling against the hard surface like a rock. He did it. Somehow, he did it. He had freed himself of alien slavery! The ground shattered like glass underneath his golden body, but the hydra stood up. The space beast’s demonic cackle rang in the ears of alien and kaiju alike. The Demon of Destruction, the God of Devastation, was pissed!

* * * * *

“WHAT!? IMPOSSIBLE!”

Inside the meeting, the young Xilien leader looked on in shock. His eyes open wide, he spun around as he whipped out his laser gun. He pulled the trigger. A strand of orange fired, shooting a Simeon ambassador. 

“This is your fault! Your technology failed!” he cried as the alien ape fell to a heap.

The other green-faced, ape-like humanoids pulled out their weapons from their silver jumpsuits. In a second, the alien factions were pointing weapons at one another. 

The Kilaakian Queen sighed, looking at the screen. “Do you not see? Ghidorah is a space monster. But no match for the rest of our monsters.”

A human-sized Millennian bobbed its head up and down. Slowly the Simeons lowered their weapons. One of the aliens leaned over the corpse of the fallen monkey, grabbing its weapon.

“You’re a fool if you think your M-powers are a match for us,” Mugal, the lord of the Third Planet, declared, holstering the weapon on the left side of his belt.

Suddenly the orange suited Nebulan spoke up, watching as Mugal stepped away from the Xilien leader. “Perfect peace can not be acquired for any of us until Ghidorah is stopped. He will be the only one who gets peace should we fail.”

The Leviathan warlord’s eyes flashed green. “We agree with the cockroach people.” His comment made the Nebulan cast a dirty glance. “We must fight this Ghidorah.”

The Xilien leader began to laugh hysterically. “Says the guy who thought an oversized iguana was Godzilla!”

The hovering inhuman made his way close to the latex-clad young leader. Before he could close the distance, the Millennian outstretched a tentacle to block his path.

“Time for fighting between us will come later after humanity is crushed and Godzilla is killed. Until then, we must fight together, and start with this Ghidorah!” the Kilaakian Queen whispered.

The Seatopian Emperor Antonio had remained quiet during the whole situation. He stood back, dressed only in a white robe. Suddenly he shouted, catching the group of invaders off guard. He threw his fist into the air. “MEGALON!”

In response to the Seatopian, the Xilien shouted even louder. “MONSTER X!”

Mugal rolled his eyes and sighed. “Damn morons.”

* * * * *

Grand King Ghidorah wasted no time. He steadily approached the series of dome structures which housed dozens of invasion fleets. This time, they’d be destroyed. But suddenly, he found himself against an army. Appearing from the opposite side of the structure came the legion of alien kaiju bred for the destruction of Godzilla and humanity. The space demon cackled, his calls sounding as if laughter.

In a surprising move, Cyber Godzilla attacked first! The cyborg charged forward, rockets launching from its spine-mounted cannons. The explosives detonated against the galactic demon’s beautiful body, showering it with smokes and sparks. Through the destruction, the living cataclysm still marched undeterred. The hydra’s triple maws opened up, firing beams of swirling energy. The revenant leaped to the side, but the blasts hit Megalon. The insect god was thrust back, landing with a thud and kicking out in every direction. Orga retaliated, lowering his hulking form. His shoulder cannon charged with energy and fired, blasting the assaulting alien with a thunderous beam of death. The dragon’s clawed feet dug trenches in the rocks as he was pushed back by the incredible force of the assault.

As the assault ended and Ghidorah staggered, Gigan charged in from the side. The red-eyed mechanical nightmare swung wildly with his frightening blades. One slice tore a gash in flawless wings while another slashed into his golden chest. The apocalyptic dragon fired back instantly, red lightning surging from the clawed tips of each wing. The bolts smashed against the space dinosaur, engulfing the nightmare machine in sparks and smoke. As his ally stumbled back, Megalon leapt overhead! The drill-armed insect came down with his metal limbs and, like a hammer, they smashed into his foe’s crowned left head. A loud clang followed, but the unfazed space monster again fired his wing lightning. The guardian deity cried in pain, backing away before the center head fired his almighty Gravity Beam! The beam struck the burrower in the face, making the Seatopian God fall back again.

As Ghidorah stood tall, golden beams washed over his body. Not far away, Monster X stood. The warrior’s eyes burned with hatred before firing again. The bolts, however, never landed their mark. The demon of the star’s light barrier protected him from such attacks, especially ones as pathetic as these. They reminded the King of Terror of his own, just much more inferior. The hydra smirked before cackling in glee. All three of his maws snapped open and fired back, shooting the Xillien vanguard in the face and shoulders with all three beams made famous for the destruction of worlds. The skeletal creature fell to a knee, crying aloud. As the assault stopped, Grand Ghidorah suddenly cried in pain. Behind him, the Nebulan cyborg had managed to drive both blades into his back!

Struggling, the planet destroyer lifted into the air. Before he could get too high, the Seatopian scarab suddenly smashed into his front side, driving his back deeper into the metal blades of Gigan. Megalon came back down, landing on his feet while his ally and target landed in a heap. The golden menace managed to separate himself from the scythe alien while firing his three Gravity Beams in every direction, forcing the insectoid to back off.

As the galactic terror stood up, Cyber Godzilla again came from the side. A blue beam of atomic fury launched from the beast’s maw. The beam washed over Ghidorah like water, unable to penetrate his shield. Before the cyborg could retreat again, the monster monarch fired his beams once more. In a flash, the three streams combined into one jagged beam of destruction! The beam ripped into the revenant’s head, splitting it like an orange. Flesh and Leviathan armor flew in every direction as the headless corpse fell uselessly to the side, gore spilling from where its skull once sat.

* * * * *

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” the Leviathan overlord cursed.

“Hey… that’s my line,” the Xilien leader complained, turning his gaze to the Leviathan’s outburst.

* * * * *

Orga looked at the mutant’s remains curiously. The hunchbacked freak groaned before stepping over the remains. The creature debated feeding on them to enhance his physical powers, but realized that such a frail monster had nothing to offer. As he slowly approached the three headed monster, a golden beam lanced through his shoulder and detonated, blowing off massive chunks. The malformed Millenian fell to the side, crying aloud.

By now, Monster X had recovered. The warrior shook his head angrily. As his lumpy ally fell, he ran through. He caught the King of Terror off guard and slammed two massive fists into his muscular chest. Not surprised, the hydra didn’t even humor the monster with a response. As another flurry of punches bounced off his golden scales, Grand King Ghidorah’s middle neck came down, wrapping around the hybrid demon’s throat like an anaconda.

The warrior began to struggle, but as the hold continued, his blows got weaker as his bonymaw began to foam. The alien kaiju had one last option and his eyes flashed, firing point blank. The beams sparked against his captor’s face. At this range, they were able to penetrate the barrier! This, however, only enraged the destroyer.

As the asteroid monster gasped and opened his maw for air, a horned right head shot down. The alien drake’s jaws locked around his foe’s in a sort of grotesque kiss. Before X could do anything, a Gravity Beam was catapulted down his throat and into his body! Ghidorah’s center neck loosened the hold so the beam ripped into his stomach, tearing it apart. Smoke and blood began to spew from the corners of the humanoid’s jaws before the jagged beam erupted from his groin.

The golden destroyer  separated his heads from the part-Ghidorah. The monster’s burning red eyes had dimmed into soulless orbs. He fell back, smoke spewing from his maw and burning groin. The once mighty Monster X was dead.

* * * * *

The Xilien leader’s brow twitched and a vein on his forehead pulsated like an overgrown tumor. Tears swelled in his eyes and his face darkened to a fiery red. The other aliens took a few steps away as his fists dropped. He lowered his pretty face, taking a deep breath. 

“Why…?” he asked, sorrowfully. “WHYYY DOES HE KEEP DYING?! WHYYY?!“

Mugal leaned over to the Nebulan Chairman, whispering into his ear. 

“Probably ’cause Monster X sucks.” 

The Chairman simply nodded in agreement.

* * * * *

Standing above the corpse of the skeletal demon,  Grand King Ghidorah cackled in glee, but his victory was short lived. Gigan and Megalon charged in from the side. The burrower’s mouth launched burning orbs of napalm, each one exploding on the dragon’s  side. The titan was bathed in fire, but a beat of his wings dispelled the deadly blaze. The alien assassin suddenly stopped and fired his cluster beam, but like many beams before, it failed to penetrate the gleaming shield. As sparks fell to their foe’s feet, the divine defender smashed his drills into his chest, making a drum-like sound. The mad king  lashed out with his left and right heads, clamping his jaws on twitching antennae. The insect squealed in pain, but was helpless as Ghidorah tore them off. Strands of green and yellow goo spilled from the antennae as the Seatopian beast fell away.

The cyborg  saw his old friend fall and shrieked in rage. His abdomen saw activated as he charged forward. Thrusting himself at the larger monster, the rotating blades cut a gash from  chest to groin. The hydra screamed in fury and jumped up. As the space dinosaur prepared to bring his huge blades down, two thrashing tails launched up between his legs. The spiked, mace-like tips whipped around his green neck like ropes. The cyborg cried aloud, but his body was dragged down as the monster monarch landed. 

Suddenly, the underground’s champion cried in pain. His friend’s body had fallen directly on him, his saw still revving! The blades cut through the insect’s head and chest like a hot knife through butter. Exoskeleton was shred like tissue paper as the sharp teeth cut his top half into two pieces.

As  flailing arms ceased, the Nebulan war machine  realized what had happened as the piked tails released his neck. The cyborg pushed himself off the ground, looking down at Megalon’s head, which was now split into two pieces. The avian alien’s entire torso was now painted with green and yellow gore, along with bits and pieces of his ally’s brain.

* * * * *

Emperor Antonio took a step toward the screen. He reached up, grasping at the air as the screens showed what remained of his God. The man suddenly fell to his knees, sobbing. 

“Megalon… Rise… Megalon… Plea–“

Suddenly a laser blast sounded and the Emperor of Seatopia fell to the tiled floor, headless. Mugal spun his weapon in his hand before holstering it again. 

“Humans.”

The Nebulan looked over at Simeon.

 “Shame, I kind of liked him.”

* * * * *

The cyborg screeched to the heavens before he looked up at the snarling Ghidorah. The dreaded demon made him kill his longtime best friend and ally. Gigan suddenly stood up, his rage burning. The hydra’s three maws opened fire, but the Nebulan braced himself and protected his face with both mighty blades. Sparks and fire flew in every direction, and through the smoke, the ninja monster charged! Closing the distance again, the cyborg began to spin, swinging each arm out and whirling like a top. The demon of the stars was taken by surprise and cried in pain as the blades made short work of his majestic wings and flesh, fountains of crimson lifting from his build as enhanced blades tore into him like a can opener. The clawed tips of his wings fired again, but the purple lightning didn’t hamper the infuriated assassin this time.

Being pushed back by the rotating assault, the King of Terror finally jumped away. The upgraded killer stopped his spinning assault and examined his gory blades. Ghidorah’s entire upper body was covered in cuts of various size and depth, the biggest being a massive wound across his chest that actually exposed a few ribs. The dragon cried in pain, his left head coming down to lick the bleeding wound.

Gigan saw his chance and leaped forward, his right blade coming down like a guillotine on the left neck! The blade cut through the mid-section, cutting through muscle and bone with ease. The head was severed and fell to the rocky surface, flopping like a fish out of water. The other two heads golden cried in pain. The cyborg chicken cackled in glee, stomping the severed head into pulp underfoot.

As blood continued to spill from the star eater’s stump, the hydra’s eyes surged with malice. He cried in uncontrollable rage, meeting the avian in combat again. The cyborg swung with his deadly blades, but the  remaining heads came down. The terror’s center head clamped down on his visor. Applying pressure, the hydra made a crack form within the thought-to-be-unbreakable material. The cyborg cried, trying to pull away but suddenly Grand King Ghidorah fired his bolt directly into the cyclopean creature’s eye!

The red visor exploded into shards. The cyborg screamed in pain, falling away as sparks and flames spewed from his forehead. Blinded, the Nebulan weapon continued to flail about on the ground. His buzz saw activated instantly, but it was futile now. Ghidorah lifted his remaining heads and fired his Gravity Bolts again, combining them into one beam of destruction. The beam smashed against his foe’s spiked head, decapitating the pride of the Nebulans.

His body went limp and his saw turned off. The maniacal monster looked at the remains with disgust. Thankfully his stump had stopped bleeding, but he was growing tired. 

Then he remembered he had forgotten one! 

The hydra turned around, but what he saw wasn’t just Orga in the distance, but an abomination.

The brute didn’t attack him like the others had for a reason. He must have already devoured the remains of Monster X. His body was now void of any color, turned entirely black where his flesh was exposed. The Keizer’s armor, however, now adorned him head to toe. Huge, draconic skulls protected each shoulder and his head had sprouted skeletal horns. His tail had thinned and forked, turning into whip-like appendages. But this Orga monstrosity wasn’t done. Now it was feeding on the remains of Megalon. The destroyer of worlds couldn’t help but watch in awe. Only half of the insect’s gory remains had been devoured and changes were already coming. As the malformed mutant’s massive maw swallowed the guardian of the underground, the horns he had sprouted combined and elongated. They formed a single horn with a star-shaped tip and then two antennae sprouted from each side. His red eyes enlarged, turning into bulbous, blood-red eyes. The armor on his back began to change colors, becoming black and yellow like the fallen god’s.

Larger versions of Megalon’s mandibles formed on each side of his gapping maw. The deity’s feet vanished into the Millenian’s huge maw and his jaws clamped shut. The final change came at last as his massive arms began to change. They widened and became metallic, transforming into gigantic versions of the burrower’s drills!

* * * * *

The aliens watching the battle unfold dropped their jaws. It was an awe-inspiring sight. The Xilien leader stepped forward, looking at the screen.

“Orgalon X…”

* * * * *

The chimera of three kaiju released a roar louder than that of any other. A howl unheard of, it would send fear through any other monster, but not Ghidorah. Not the King of Terror! The now two-headed titan stepped forward. This was the last of the alien’s slave weapons and then he’d kill them for trying to tame his might!

The hybrid fired first, but not with just a single attack. His bulbous eyes fired bolts of alien energy at his gigantic foe while the star-tipped horn launched a jagged beam of electrical bliss! The two attacks swirled around one another before striking the mad king, strong enough to penetrate the shield! The hydra stumbled back, crackling with energy. As the attacks ceased, the planet killer unleashed his own Gravity Beams.

The freak lifted its mighty, metallic arm. The drill protected his snaggletoothed face, breaking the beam into splinters. As sparks rained to the rocky ground, the chimera moved forward. Its forked tails beat the ground as brilliance came from its armored shoulder. Just as the powerful concussion beam fired, the golden demise leaped into the air. Even with shredded wings, he was still able to fly!

He flew over the alien and rained death down upon it, the beams breaking through the bone armor, beetle-like shell and dark flesh. Orga screamed in pain, but as the demon of the stars landed a distance away, the gapping wounds already started to close. The ultimate alien looked at his prey and its mouth belched out a shower of small, car-sized red orbs. The napalm bomb assault pounded Ghidorah, exploding on contact and sticking to his golden flesh. The golden dragon stumbled away, his flesh caught aflame. 

The evolved alien moved forward, his horn firing another jagged bolt of electricity. The bolt shot through the tattered left wing membrane, punching another hole big enough to birth a whale. The two headed monster screamed in agony again, but did the only thing he could: trade beams. He launched his Gravity Beams again, targeting the star tipped horn. The beams hit their mark, blowing off the star-shaped weapon. The chimera cried in pain as the horn fell from his skull, disintegrating into dust as it fell. The bloody wound closed, but the horn didn’t grow back.

The drake realized this as the smoke cleared. The hydra charged forward, but beams began to leap from the red compound eyes. The beams, no longer combined with the electrical bolt, failed to penetrate the barrier this time and splintered against it. The hydra closed the distance, but suddenly the massive freak lifted both arms. The huge arms combined, turning into a huge, rotating drill. The sound of its spinning was louder than thunder and the behemoth thrust it forward. The super dragon  just managed to dodge, leaping to the side. His wings fired their purple lightning, ripping the energy into mutated flesh. Just as the space monster’s feet stomped the ground, the grotesque creature’s shell lifted apart to reveal huge, insect wings.

With a quick flap, Orga leapt into the air. The abomination flew slowly before coming down, unable to attain flight for long. Like a falling rock, the mismatched menace smashed the ground from several hundred feet up. He came down facing the King of Terror and again spat a volley of napalm bombs. Grand King Ghidorah quickly reacted, flapping his gargantuan wings as hard as he could to generate hurricane-force winds.

 The winds caught the bombs and flung them back onto their creator! They detonated on contact, covering the brute with a blanket of fire. The giant stumbled about, patting out the flames licking its armored body. As it did so, the golden demise fired another volley of his Gravity Beams. The beams struck the right shoulder piece, shattering the draconic skull ornament.

The bone exploded, spewing alien blood and fire into the air as the former Millenian cried in pain, stumbling away. Its eyes fired again, but the bolts failed to pierce the barrier once again. The scourge of the stars  pressed the assault, marching forward as his jaws and wings showered the abomination with firepower. Pushed back by the assault, Orga found himself against a massive cliff face. With a thunderous cry, the beast leaped forward and pointed his gigantic drill into the rocky ground. The drill began to spin, chewing up the rock and catapulting it at the advancing monster. The quick attack worked in making the space beast cease fire. Closing his wings to protect his faces from the shower of debris, the hydra left himself open to attack. As the drills chewed up the ground, the shoulder cannon fired again!

The beam, this time much closer to Ghidorah when firing, knocked the King of Terror off his feet! The dragon’s back smashed against the ground, his body skidding across the uneven surface. As he finally began to stop, the hydra’s remaining heads shook, clearing the cobwebs before looking back at the mutation, now several hundred meters away. The two headed monster managed to recover and stand, his heads cackling with hatred. The hulking abomination before him roared, banging its metal hands together. As the hydra stood up weakly, the behemoth charged in as fast as its bone-clad legs could carry him.

Grand King Ghidorah suddenly cackled in fury and lifted his heads. He charged forward, firing bolts from his maw and wings. The attacks exploded on the chimera’s armored hide, each strike blowing off chunks of flesh and chipping the boney armor. The two eventually collided, but the incomplete abomination’s huge maw sprang open, over triple its original size! The creature bit down on the crowned right head. Quickly, the exposed black flesh began to change to golden, overlapping scales! Trying to devour the monster monarch,, the abomination began to drag in more of the head until he was down to the base of the neck. The center head kept firing, blasting at the beetle-like shell and breaking it in numerous places. Suddenly, from the abomination’s shell, replicas of Ghidorah’s wings sprang forth.

The dragonic devil realized what was happening and bit down on the side of the DNA mimic’s face. He ripped at the bulbous eye, making the jaws open to scream, before pulling away, tearing with him the creature’s huge eye. The features the Millenian had adopted from Ghidorah began to wither, returning to black flesh and beetle-like armor. The chimera screamed in frustration and waded forward, reaching out with its huge arms to try and grasp his prey.

As its jaw hung wide open, the King of Terror offered it a different type of meal. His maws opened fire, firing their Gravity Beams. The beams combined into one and were aided by the hydra’s wing lightning. The assault speared into Orga’s massive mouth and the creature screamed in agony as the blast ripped through its body. The monster stumbled back, but its gapping maw was unable to close as a ball of fire raced up.

Suddenly, its back exploded, tearing apart as Ghidorah’s attack ripped through it!  The expanding fireball ripped through the grotesque alien and, finally, a secondary explosion tore it in half. A tremendous shockwave made the planet destroyer stumble back as the napalm bomb stored deep within its body detonated! The chimera whined, flailing about but its body was self-destructing. Another explosion tore out what remained of its belly, making it fall forward. Remaining upright only because of its huge drills stabbing into the ground, the creature’s skull finally exploded.

Chunks of flesh and armor rained down upon the golden monster as he watched the horrifying thing collapse, its entire body slowly disintegrating into ash. What remained of Orga burned in a blaze caused by its very own napalm, but the demon of the stars wasn’t finished. Tired and angry, he turned around, his crimson eyes narrowing in on the alien domes a short distance away.

* * * * *

Inside the base, the extraterrestrials felt a shiver run down their spines. 

They were doomed. 

“This is your fault.” Mugal declared, pointing his weapon at the Xilien and firing, killing the youthful alien instantly. “Wanted to make sure I got to do that before him.”

As the others looked at the remains of the Xilien, several began to flee for the exit. The Nebulan Chairman and Kilaakian Queen remained behind, knowing full well that an enraged Ghidorah was something no mortal soul, alien or Earthborn, could escape.

“Perfect peace, here we come,” the Chairman declared, closing his eyes.

* * * * *

Without remorse, the super dragon monster launched a Gravity Beam at the structures. The alien buildings were obliterated in less than a second, thousands of lives ended in a brilliant flash of light. Nothing was left after the golden bolt was cast down upon it, just a blazing inferno of twisted ruins. The hydra was tired. He cackled in wicked glee, having a strange feeling of satisfaction. It was a day of carnage unlike any other.

And most importantly, he was free. And once again he could destroy the galaxies that dared spawn him. The King of Terror, the Galaxy Obliterator, the Planet Destroyer… Grand King Ghidorah was back!

Winner: Grand King Ghidorah

Author: Blake Davis | Banner: Stephanie Hughes

Despair.

That is what one feels when torn from the angelic grace of hope. That is what one feels when cornered by the hulking essence of death. That is what one feels when the realization of no survival, no chance and no possibilities sink into the soul. Most tend to avoid such a dark disease at all cost and they succeed. Unfortunately, like death itself, it cannot be avoided forever. And when the time comes, an unholy fate awaits.

Peaceful, yet soothing chants were sung softly throughout the sacred land of Infant Island. Such heavenly songs echoed out from gentle vocals. These vocals belonged to the Cosmos. They sang for their graceful lepidopteran deity, Mothra, who wearingly rested upon her massive egg within her temple. The cool gentle breeze of the wind flowing through the air, the beautiful divine white glow cast the moon above from a clear sky, the sensation of peace and harmony… It was everything the deity could ever want, one final peaceful night. Life was slowly robbing the goddess, honorably discharging her of her duties and leaving them to the Earth’s next hope. With complete acceptance, the deity calmly waited to leave the world, knowing that her time would end very soon.

Though life is gentle and patient when taking, death, however, is not.

An unholy screeching quickly crushed the heavenly chanting, silencing the Cosmos with layers of fear in mere moments. Alert, dimmed blue eyes lit up brightly as the peace that was prized so dearly to the goddess was stolen away. Silence had fallen onto the island, an eerie silence that quietly promised death. Chirping angrily, the holy moth gave forth a challenge to the source. And without hesitation, the source gladly accepted with a unique reply.

Massive crimson explosions of micro-oxygen tainted the island, leaving chaotic destruction upon the sacred land. The island trembled greatly from the force of each explosion. Natural land formations crumbled, plant life vaporized and flamed craters slashed the ground. Thick smoke and dust clouds swallowed the floating mass of rock, with the eerie silence slowly washing over once more. Flapping her mighty wings softly, Mothra took flight through the skyward opening of her temple and headed toward the location of her challenger. As the screen of dust and smoke faded, the goddess halted her advancements, surges of terror stabbed throughout her entire body as the identity of the source was revealed.

Hellish bat wings stretched out widely from the corners of an armored devilish back. Pulsing in a molten glow was an amber hue horn that was attached to the forehead. Ghoulish jaws filled with numerous needle pointed teeth slowly opened, releasing a thick mist of micro-oxygen from its blood-hued fortress body. An evil devil-like, axe-structured head slowly reared back, unleashing another unholy cry. The source was none other than the taker of life itself…

Destoroyah.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, the protector of peace shook off the paralyzing fear that had captivated her and begun flapping her wings greatly. Powerful gusts of wind rammed against the towering abomination with heavy applied force, causing the devil to actually stagger back from its standing. Given the chance to land a strong blow, twin golden beams quickly struck home upon the target’s chest. Screeching cries of pain raged loudly as the Oxygen Destroyer personified fell to the ground. The Queen of Monsters, however, continued to rain down her antenna beams heavily on to the fallen beast. Due to the power of the divine moth’s never ending assault, dust slowly consumed the visual sight of the colony creature in mere moments. After a minute of attacking, the lepidopteran brought her beam shower to an end.

Watching from a safe distance were the Cosmos. A slight warmth of relief softly comforted them, feeling that the threat was defeated. With no cries of pain, or any attacks coming from the slowly dissolving screen of dust, Mothra as well was beginning to feel at ease.

A haunting cackle lowly hiss broke the silence, as if mocking the moth goddess and her recent efforts. Destoroyah was standing with no hints of pain or any visual evidence of wounds. The supersonic flyer  felt herself edging back as cold shivers crawled down her exoskeleton. The Cosmos were stunned to see the creature standing as if everything their god had done was nothing but mere child’s play to it!

A chilling hiss crawled from the demon’s maw; it could taste the very essence of despair and death slowly overflowing from the deity. Oh it was such a delicious joy to bear, to make even a deity quake in terror. Although the Perfect Lifeform wanted to dine into such a feast, it had an objective in mind. It was to completely dominate and destroy life, to wipe out everything in existence. That included hope, for hope was one of life’s greatest traits. The vanguard of extinction sensed this hope and it was right within the cave behind the insect. That was its primary target to send into oblivion.

Flashes and sparks of molten energy slithered across the demon’s axe shaped skull; the crimson scourge was not going to let a dying goddess stand in the way of its objective.

A monstrous lavender-hued beam hellishly lashed out from its twisted  maw, tearing into Mothra’s right wing. Howls of agony reached the heavens as the mammoth moth felt her wing shredded away by micro-oxygen properties. Falling out of the sky, the radiant defender crashed heavily into one of the craters made from the devil’s earlier attacks. A hole he planned on turning into a grave.

The ground trembled and cracked from each step the hellish fortress took, advancing toward the weakened moth with a mind filled with dark intent. Molten energy crackled and sparked from the demon as it unleashed multiple strikes of its Oxygen Destroyer Beam. Fur burned. Flesh eroded slowly on a microscopic level. Blood gushed and spilled onto the ground. Cries and shrieks of pain and suffering clawed the skies above; the goddess could feel her life being ripped out of her gravely injured body. The bloody sounds of a life being crushed into extinction… It was the most beautiful music that had ever fallen upon the cruel crustacean’s ears. 

Gargled chirps weakly sound, almost as if choking, struggling for air, for life. Clamping down around the moth’s neck with its massive demonic tail, Destoroyah sadistically smashed and flung the divine emissary around like a child’s toy. It flung her against the scorched ground. It flung her against massive piles of stoned rubble. Over and over, heartlessly cackling from the mass enjoyment of her pain, Serizawa’s nightmare would make the holy beast understand that no form of life would escape its wrath.

Ten minutes passed.

The loud impact flooded the air as a heavily injured and bloodied Mothra lifelessly laid upon the cracked and crumbled land. Tattered wings spread out in a jerked form. Missing legs tainted the damaged island widely. A gashed-in, dim blue eye rested roughly on the ground, soaking in a mildly small puddle of spilled blood. Gazing coldly over its shoulder, the living Oxygen Destroyer  looked onto the creature. No movements presented itself; nor were signs of life displayed. A part of it felt disappointed. It was having so much fun, though knowing that the moth was dying, the microbial monstrosity  thought that the ancient god would put up a better fight. Slowly, the demon turned its sights back on its objective. A lavender-hued Oxygen Destroyer Beam discharged from the fiend’s foul maw, blasting through the cave that had hidden the temple. Ancient formations that held paintings of the Cosmos and Mothra’s history were reduced to rubble, with the dust settling from the attack. It came into view…

There it was… The egg.

Hope. Life.

The Cosmos could only watch helplessly as the taker of life marched forth unchallenged. Sparks and flashes of molten energy crackled and surged out. Needle jaws slowly opened, revealing death’s lavender power brimming over as a thick mist of micro-oxygen streamed from both sides of the demon’s maw. But before the demon could unleash its destructive weapon, a heavy pressure slammed against its right side. Unable to calculate what was going on; the monster was already down on the ground! A low groan hissed from its maw, the destructive devil couldn’t understand what had hit it. Either he was focusing on its target too much to pay attention, or whatever had struck it was too quick. All in all, it did not matter. 

Destoroyah had already decided to erase whatever had struck it from the realm of existence.

Shaking off the sluggish daze that surrounded its vision, a heavy breeze brushed against him carrying millions of golden scales along with it. With its vision settling back, cold eyes opened widely in shock. Such a thing was impossible: Mothra was still alive! A heartless screech filled with hatred raged out from the hellish beast as it felt a grand greeting of pain pierce its body repeatedly. Bolts of lightning lashed out from the angelic protector’s  tattered wings, surging through her golden scales and guided straight upon the downed fiend. The bolts tore and drove through the nightmarish creature, blasting through its chest with extreme intensity. The goddess was willing to die for her offspring; she had already understood that once her assault ended, she would then forever leave the world. But if anything else, she would deny death as long as she could if it meant saving her unborn child’s life.

Dark cumulonimbus clouds drowned the once heavenly night sky, flashes of lightning snaking through the massive abyss over the damaged island. Winds whirled and whipped aggressively, a blinding fury of heavy rain pouring down. It was a typhoon.

Bloodcurdling shrieks of pain continued to scream out from the demonic crustacean as the divine moth turned up her assault, launching her antennae beams into fray to increase the damage output. Blood spouted and sprayed from the massive bloody hole that was once an encased chest. The grueling agony, the monstrous pain, such sensations were overwhelming! Molten sparks of energy coursed around the devil’s head furiously. It refused to be beaten, especially by a weak deity who was already at death’s door! Crimson energy burst from the devil’s horn, slashing across the mammoth moth’s upper body in a hideous display of raw power. Thrashing through the harsh rejection of the reflective scales, crimson energy compressed itself into the form of a katana. And with a mighty heave, the living weapon  thrust the blade through the exoskeleton of the goddess completely through.

Wing movements slowed down. The seemingly drowning waves of scales and bolts of golden lightning came to a halt.

Rising up, the nightmarish fortress stood from the now drenched and muddy ground, sensing no extreme danger. The crimson katana faded, allowing the impaled lepidopteran to rest onto the monster’s horn, bloody gargling pants groaning out wearingly from its throat. The nightmarish beast couldn’t believe what had taken place. It hadn’t seen such ferocity in many years. The only monster that had ever presented such power was… 

Godzilla.

Taking one step forward, the colony creature felt its body stumble slightly downward before catching itself. The grave chest wound was too deep and painful to make any physical advancement. It spent most of its strength enduring the punishment and keeping its complete form intact. But with a handful of reserved energy left, one hit of its Oxygen Destroyer Beam would be enough to send the egg into oblivion. Molten sparks once more summoned around the demon’s skull, the cruel creature was ready to take another life. Before releasing its attack, scales lightly fluttered around the monster.  The terrifying titan quickly disarmed its attack, discharging the energy down to its tail which swayed against a nearby boulder, causing a mildly large explosion. 

He noticed that the scales reflected energy properties; if he had released its beam, he wasn’t sure how the outcome would unfold. But in some part of its corrupted mind, he knew that it would have worsened its situation somehow. Destoroyah felt an inner rage boil hotly down within its empty soul, how could a dying creature withstand so much?! It was the taker of life! The physical manifestation of death! The nightmarish symbol and embodiment of despair! If there was life, it would crush it. If there was resistance, it would send it into the depths of the eternal inferno. If there was hope, it would drown it into despair. Its attacks should have killed that pathetic weakling of an insect by now!

In the beginning, Serizawa’s nightmare planned on destroying the egg and leaving. Realizing Mothra was rejecting its will, the devil decided to forge a new will…

Its will demanded that everything on Infant Island be annihilated!

A weak chirp softly echoed. The goddess knew that this time she couldn’t deny death. Her monstrous foe stood there puzzled, enraged, confused beyond all reason as to why the goddess continued to fight back against it. It knew that she had nothing left; it knew that she was going under.

So why? Why continue to fight, when the battle has already been lost?

Gazing upward at the dark thunderous clouds, the Queen of Monsters watched as her scales carried with the powerful winds of the typhoon. She had given everything she had to protect her egg… Not as Earth’s protector, but as a loving mother. In the end, she accepted that it sadly wasn’t enough. With her last moments of life, the divine moth peacefully looked into the heavens, knowing that it was going to end her suffering and protect her egg. Nature’s angelic whip flashed across the dark skies, diving straight down with the guidance of the deity’s scales and devoured both the Goddess and the Devil in a bright eruption of lightning. The grand explosion forcefully tore through the entire island, pressing the egg back into a low ditch, having it land on a soft mass of dirt, rubble and fallen trees. Spreading for nearly a mile in length, anything within the radius was engulfed and blasted.

In minutes, the explosion faded. The mixture of smoke and dust lightly died down, revealing a giant hole bathed in small flames and ashes within the middle of the island. The Cosmos, hiding within a lower chamber of the island for safety, went out and looked upon the results of the battle. 

Everything that once looked so beautiful now looked dead and ghastly, like a graveyard. Tears shed from their eyes, lamenting at the loss of their beloved Mothra. And with no sight of the egg, their tears had flown greatly with the assumption of the egg’s demise. Clearing away, the typhoon came to an end, releasing the beautiful night sky and its moon back into the world. The winds blew softly; the roar of the ocean became settled and calm. A loud crack quickly fell upon the ears of the weeping Cosmos. The flowing of tears stopped as they heard the sound continue and form into the noises of something hatching.

Their tear filled eyes opened widely with happiness as they both heard the loud lively chirps of a Mothra Larva. Their goddess’ legacy was safe and had become the new beacon of hope.

Elsewhere…

Beneath the island, lay a dark murky world. A shark suddenly dies, its body eroding away at a haunting pace, showing bone and dying flesh. Slowly, small swarms of microorganism crustaceans swim through the watery void, away from its corpse.

Despair may never die in this world…

But as long as there’s hope, despair’s defeat is most certain.

Draw: Destoroyah, Mothra (Heisei)

Author: Hayes A. Jones | Banner: Matthew Williams

“So… Monique. Wanna go to the Radicals concert tonight?”

Monique, currently practicing her martial art stances, didn’t even look at Randy as she answered in an emotionless voice. “No.”

“Please? I mean, after all the adventures we’ve had with the others and Godzilla, I can’t believe you still don’t want to–“

“The beast’s name is Zilla.”

Randy shrugged the comment off. “Zilla… Godzilla… What does it matter?”

Dr. Niko “Nick” Tatopoulos allowed himself a small smirk from where he stood watching his “son” frolic in New York Harbor, snapping at passing flocks of gulls. It had been a full six years since the Humanitarian Environmental Analysis Team – or H.E.A.T. – had realized that the creature they had been calling “Godzilla” for years wasn’t the real deal and Randy still hadn’t absorbed it. Unsurprisingly, that did nothing to improve Monique’s opinion of him.

Randy threw his hands up in frustration. “Why do you care so much? I don’t think anyone is going to be offended if we call our lizard by the wrong name!”

Monique allowed herself a gentle sneer. “Then I don’t suppose you will mind if I call you by the wrong name, no?”

As Randy continued on his rather futile quest for a date, Nick’s thoughts were drawn back to 2004, when they had discovered Zilla’s true identity. After a worldwide alien invasion and the battle that had stopped it (something Randy had been sorely disappointed they hadn’t taken part in), it was reported that Godzilla was the leading force behind the destruction of the aliens and their army of monsters. So naturally, H.E.A.T. was stunned to see amateur footage of a much larger dinosaurian juggernaut easily slay a beast identical to their ally. During a brief period of depression for Nick, his adoptive son had appeared, and very much alive to boot. Of course, H.E.A.T. had gotten to the bottom of things. 

After some persistent investigation, they discovered that for the last fifty-six years, Japan had been plagued by giant monsters – including Godzilla, King of the Monsters. The government had somehow managed to keep the whole thing under wraps until recently. A whole section of the Defense Force was even solely dedicated to combatting these giants. By now, due to the event in 2004, the truth had come out and Japan was now unofficially known as “land of the Giant Monsters.” These ‘kaiju,’ as the Japanese called them, had actually turned out to be surprisingly good for tourism. Japanese scientists had dubbed the creature that attacked New York City in 1998 and its offspring ‘Zilla,’ in reference to the species’ constant misidentification as Godzilla. This knowledge now widespread, everyone now called the infamous mascot of H.E.A.T. by his true name.

Everyone but Randy, that was.

As Monique continued her deadpan rejection of Randy’s offer, a snarky female voice interrupted Nick’s thoughts.

“He’s still going after the French Fry, huh?”

Elsie and Craven walked from the lab, N.I.G.E.L. trailing close behind.

“As always.”

Elsie snorted. “I’m telling you, we should start videoing those two. It’s only a matter of time before she snaps and hurts him. I mean, really hurts him.”

Craven nodded in agreement. “It’d probably be for the better anyway.”

N.I.G.E.L. also agreed, apparently. “One of these days! Bam! Straight to the moon!” the robot blurted out in a warped voice.

Craven sighed, shoulders slumping. “And that’s exactly why he needs a good smack…”

Of course, Randy still hadn’t stopped hitting on Monique during this whole exchange and the French Secret Service agent was seriously considering hitting him back. But even his cheesiest pick-up line and her vilest of thoughts were drowned out by a familiar screech. Immediately, everyone stopped and turned their attention to the harbor. Zilla had gone feral. Reared to his full height, the mutant’s lip was pulled into a vicious snarl. The great lizard was regarding the harbor’s surface with narrowed eyes, his pupils mere pinpoints. Nick had never seen his “son” like this. The look that passed over the radioactive reptile’s  angular face was one of pure, primeval alarm. 

And going back to all the adventures they had had, Nick had a pretty good hunch about the cause. 

The water in front of Zilla began to boil, flashes of bright blue light illuminating the bay and revealing a massive shape rising from its depths. Breaking the churning surface of the water, the dark shape proved to be an enormous animal, dinosaurian in nature and fierce in looks. Seawater dripping from its emerald scales, the beast bellowed a challenge, its shrill roar almost identical to Zilla’s. H.E.A.T.’s largest member answered the cry with a low growl, dropping into a defensive position. The creature observed the irradiated iguana with a look of contempt, its brilliant orange eyes shining hard and proud.

Nick was stunned. The giant now sizing up their own monster was the mirror image of the one they – and most of the world – had once watched obliterate another of Zilla’s species in a shaky, grainy video

“It’s Godzilla!” Elsie exclaimed, stepping back in horror.

“The real Godzilla!” Craven added in a voice high, girlish from fear.

“No,” said Nick with his usual air of authority. “That’s not Godzilla. It’s too small. And the spines are underdeveloped… That’s Godzilla’s son, Godzilla Junior!”

Indeed, it was Godzilla Junior. Aside from a smaller stature, stubbier spines and more vibrant skin, the subadult Godzillasaur was the spitting image of his father. But perhaps the greatest similarity was the feeling of awe and intimidation both summoned. Junior was seeking new territory, a kingdom of his own. While he was still only the Prince of the Monsters, he would soon become a king, maturity just on the horizon. Although he cared for his father deeply, two kings, however close, simply can’t share the same home. So he had migrated to the Atlantic on a quest for a new residence. 

But there were too many people in this ocean. Back in the endless vastness of the Pacific, Junior could enjoy sweet solitude for days without end. Here, humans were everywhere, making horrible rackets and awful stenches from their cities, beaches and boats. Sometimes the heir to the throne cursed his incredible senses. Now, he had much more tolerance towards humans than his father, but his temper was just as explosive. So, when he had sensed another giant in the immediate area, he had decided to make a quick detour to vent his frustration. And the soon-to-be victim of his anger didn’t look too weak. It was a bit scrawny, but this only made it seem fast and lithe. And there was… something else, an aura of power about it that couldn’t quite be placed. Whatever it was, Junior could only hope this beast would at least put up a decent face.

Zilla didn’t share his challenger’s enthusiasm. He could tell he was about to tangle with one seriously tough customer. If he had a glow of power, then the teenage mutation shone with it, something else the irradiated dinosaur shared with his father. If New York’s savior was going to survive – let alone win – he needed to rely on his speed, agility and cunning.

As the two titans – both the offspring of infamous creatures – circled one another in a dangerous dance, exchanging roars and snarls, H.E.A.T. stood by in grim silence.

“Woo-hoo! Fight!”

Expect for Randy.

“Idiot, this is serious,” Monique said, the deadly softness of her voice vaguely directed towards the young computer whizz. “If their struggle leaves the bay, the damage would be unimaginable. Not to mention the loss of life.”

Nick nodded in agreement. “Plus, this may be a fight Zilla can’t win. There’s no doubt in my mind that Godzilla himself is more powerful. I’m not as sure about the son, but either way this is gonna be the fight of his life.”

Elsie sided with Nick. “Face it Randy; the Lizard King may have just met his match.”

“Hey,” snorted Randy, crossing his arms. “Never bet against the G–” Monique’s eyes began burning holes in his back. “…Uh, Z-man.”

Nick only stared ahead. “We’ll see about that.” He paused. “Is the Heatseeker’s motor working yet?”

“Nope,” replied Randy frankly. “It’s still shot from when we were chased by that humongo flying squirrel.”

“What about the mini-sub?”

“Still trashed from the fight with the sea snake mutation,” the computer expert shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “Sorry, jefe.”

Nick gritted his teeth.

Elsie, sensing his distress, reached for her cell phone. “I’ll call General Hicks.”

“No!” The sudden outburst from Nick made everyone – Monique excluded – jump. “If there’s one thing we know about Godzillas, it’s that they do not respond well to military fire. Provoking Junior would be the worst possible thing to do.”

Elsie frowned. “Then… what do we do?”

Nick remained silent for a moment. “Nothing. Zilla’s on his own this time.”

Back in the bay, the American monster was having similar thoughts. Sometimes he saved his human family. Sometimes they saved him. But it was different now. Now it was just him and Junior. This was his fight. His chance to prove himself as his own monster, not just H.E.A.T.’s slightly-larger-than-average pet. And he had no intentions of letting that chance go without a fight.

Elsie put a comforting hand on Nick’s tense shoulder, looking more somber than usual. “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.”

Both combatants ready, the clash between the Prince of the Monsters and the world’s most accomplished guard dog began.

Zilla struck first. Powerful tail propelling him forward, the swift giant rushed at Godzilla Junior, water gathering at his waist in a great wave. The wave pulled ahead of its source and slapped into the emerald titan, sending water spraying up his body. The seawater struck his eyes with stinging force, blinding him for a split second. That was all the time the atomic animal needed to make his move. The mutant iguana slammed his square skull into Junior’s gut, pushing the young dinosaur underwater as he doubled over in pain. With an encouraged wail, the mutant monarch dove after his downed opponent…

…only to be blown back out of the water by a burst of atomic flames.

As the seared reptile splashed back down several hundred yards away, Godzilla’s heir erupted from the water with high bellow, barring his twin rows of teeth viciously. How dare his foe resort to such a cheap shot this early! Snarling, the Monster Prince fixed his glare at the water before him, burning eyes willing the lithe lizard to appear. The saurian’s grimace was soon replaced by a look of puzzled disappointment. 

Had the mutant beast already perished? Or had it fled after the first blow, like a coward? 

Both standing theories were proven false when the young Godzillasaur threw his head back in a scream of pain. As the dinosaur thrashed about, an invisible force yanked him underwater. Junior’s eyes opened – their orange glow easily cutting through the murky depths – and were immediately greeted by the sight of the spined squamate, bold eyes locked with his and teeth sunk into his thigh. Bony spines crackled with nuclear power. A neon blue glow was visible in the back of the irradiated dinosaur’s throat. Eyes widening in recognition, the nimble mutant released his bite and darted to the side, arms and legs held straight to reduce drag. As the hydrodynamic reptile jetted to the side, a stream of white-hot plasma roared from his foe’s maw. The beam barely missed the tip of the fleeing beast’s tail, blasting the brittle seabed to bits instead. Making a wide turn, Zilla charged at an exposed green back. 

Feral eyes narrowed knowingly.

 In the same moment HEAT’s ally outstretched his talons to shred scaled hide, the Monster Prince swung his hefty tail down, catching the iguana’s back. The “imposter” king was slammed into the harbor’s bottom with a silent yelp of shock. Pushing himself up to a kneel, the great lizard stretched his jaws open in a roar. Junior gazed down upon his foe in a new light, smiling inwardly. Although the water muffled any sound, the message was clear enough: Bring it.

Flexing his claws eagerly, Godzilla Junior happily complied.

Kicking off the rocky bottom, the last of the species bolted towards the ruin reborn at an explosive velocity. Lungs shifting forward to throw his great mass into motion, Junior lurched from the seafloor with a grand sweep of his tail. Effortlessly outmaneuvering his slower, clumsier adversary, Zilla twisted himself around to straddle his larger foe’s back. The mutant bit down on the Godzillasaurus’ neck, dug his claws into emerald scales, and wrapped his tail around one of the struggling saurian’s ankles. The saurian’s tail wove through the water violently in a fit of outrage, sending both irradiated giants into a wild tumble. As the dueling reptiles spun through the chilled water of New York Bay, the two smashed into the seabed, the thinner of the two taking the brunt of the blow. 

Crushed beneath Junior’s greater girth, the world-class guard dog involuntarily released the Prince of Monsters, a pained stream of bubbles bursting from his mouth. Twisting himself upright, Godzilla’s child slashed at his counterpart’s chest with his clawed mitts. The lithe giant was pushed downward, striking the bottom with a dull thud. Both a plume of sediment and a stream of blood billowed into the water. Eyes hard and unforgiving, the irradiated juvenile unleashed his nuclear breath. The atomic dragon vomited up a column of raw might, pushing the radioactive reptile even further into the seabed with its great force. The great lizard went limp, eyes falling shut and head lolling to the side. Letting loose a muted bellow of triumph, Godzilla Junior pushed off the bottom and began his ascent to the surface.

Back at their headquarters, H.E.A.T. waited, watching the harbor intently for movement. The suspense in the air was high enough to match any horror movie, so tight it could be strummed like a guitar string, the tension so thick it could be cut with a–

“Come on!”

Randy paced impatiently. “When is that fight gonna come back topside? I wanna see some action!”

Before anyone could open their mouth to tell the computer whizz to shut up again, something broke the surface of the bay, causing five pairs of eyes – and one red, electronic camera lens – to snap back to their positions as anxious sentries. The kaiju heir was rising from the harbor, water running down his body through the many channels created by his scales. Eyes flaring, the nuclear beast threw back his head in a tremendous roar, shaking the air and sea.

H.E.A.T. was stunned. Even Randy could only manage a stunned “No way…”

Nick almost staggered. His adopted son had lost. He might even be dead. Although he still stood strong, something inside him broke.

“Zilla… no…” Nick’s grip on the handrail he leaned upon tightened. Then, the biologist began screaming at the top of his lungs. “Zilla! Zilla you can’t give up! Come on!”

On the bottom of the harbor, a pair of glowing eyes snapped open.

Elsie grabbed onto Nick’s arm urgently. “Are you crazy?” she whispered fiercely. “We don’t wanna attract that thing’s attention!”

Unfortunately, it was too late to prevent that. More curiosity in his eyes than anything else, the son of a god incarnate turned to face the tiny humans that seemed to be the source of the desperate voice that had pierced the air just moments before. Humans were a very strange beast, but they never had been sufficiently unafraid to make such a noise in his presence. Maybe they were different, like the female he had known so long ago…

Junior would never get a chance to investigate this possibility.

Exploding from the water like a ship-launched torpedo in reverse, Zilla returned from the dead and became airborne, an arc of an impromptu rainfall marking his path. With a mighty screech, the agile mutant assumed the position of a hawk about to snatch up unsuspecting prey and landed right on his mark – on top of the ruin reborn. Feet sitting squarely on the Monster Prince’s shoulders, the atomic beast cemented himself to his perch by way of claw and tooth, ripping into the saurian’s neck with a newfound vigor.

H.E.A.T. erupted into happy yelling.

“Yee-ha! Get him, big guy!” screamed Randy, punching his fist into the air enthusiastically.

Nick cracked a huge grin, his broken spirit mending instantly. Even the usually stoic Monique allowed herself to be carried away, sternly commanding the reptile to fight harder with clenched fists. Elsie jumped up with an excited whoop. Craven and N.I.G.E.L. celebrated together, taking one another hand-in-clamp.

Given strength by his surrogate family’s cheering, the American defender threw his weight to the side, sending both himself and the saurian toppling into the water with an enormous splash! As the two behemoths grappled for dominance, the harbor churned, as if stirred by a great, unseen hand. The occasional burst of blue light briefly lit up the water, but besides that, nothing was seen of either combatants. As H.E.A.T. slowly fell silent, so did the water. A few tense moments passed.

Craven spoke up. “So… what happened? Who won?”

The robotics expert’s question was soon answered, when Junior and Zilla surfaced. The two reptilian giants were much worse for wear, both breathing heavily. Watery blood ran down the lizard’s sides and severe burns blotted his body. The heir’s regenerative abilities spared him from any serious, lasting injuries, but his outermost layer of skin was torn to ribbons and several gashes too deep to heal right away crisscrossed his hide. The outcome of the battle was now clear.

A deadlock.

“…So what now?”

 It was Elsie, crossing her arms with a clouded look on her face. Nick bit his lip. She was right. If the two were evenly matched, this fight could go on until either on or both giants became totally exhausted and dropped unconscious. Or dead. And by that point, New York could be completely demolished. We need a solution, Nick thought. And fast.

As if by divine intervention, a solution did present itself, even if Nick had preferred that it hadn’t been in the form of a second atomic leviathan.

H.E.A.T., Zilla and Junior alike were stunned when a third beast rose from the bay. Junior the most, because the newest arrival was his father.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters himself, eyed the scene before him with a strange intensity, towering above even his fellow giants. While Junior was a beast of great power and majesty, his father vastly surpassed him in both categories. Where Junior’s spines were small and immature, really just exaggerated scutes, the atomic dragon’s spines were fully-formed, lining his back like an ivory forest. The Monster King’s skin was also much darker and more uneven, a coat of charcoal grey warts compared to his son’s sleek, emerald scales. The Godzillasaurs did share the same burning orange eyes though.

HEAT’s protector growled defensively. Had his foe summoned assistance? A very similar thought was passing through Nick’s mind. If his “son” had experienced so much trouble against a younger, less developed Godzilla, what chance did he stand against an adult? The dreaded god moved forward. Nick flinched, expecting him to blow his counterpart to bits. But the irradiated saurian didn’t even glance at the iguana. Instead, the Monster King waded to face his son. The two irradiated saurians grumbled to each other, conversing, perhaps even arguing. After a deafening roar from his father, Junior gave in. Together, as father and son, king and prince, the two atomic dragons turned and headed back out to sea.

Randy scratched his head in confusion. “Huh? Uh… would anyone mind explaining what just happened to me?”

Monique gave him a rough shove with her elbow. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Nick nodded, having realized that very thing himself. “They’re going home. Godzilla just came to bring his son home.”

Randy still wasn’t convinced. “But our Godzilla just ripped up his son,” the young hacker said, ignoring Monique screaming “Zilla!” at him. “Why didn’t he blast him?”

Nick put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. “I’m not quite sure, but maybe out of respect.”

“Sure,” Elsie piped in. “If there is one thing the King of the Monsters appreciates, it’s a good fight. And that’s exactly what Zilla gave Junior.”

As if to prove that point, Godzilla’s child paused, turning back for just a moment. At that moment, he and his former foe locked eyes. The look that passed between them wasn’t one of dislike or scorn as one might expect. No… it was a look of companionship.

“So… the big guy wins by default then?”

Nick, Elsie, Monique and Craven all turned to glare at him.

Randy held out his hands defensively. “Just kidding…”

Craven smiled, realizing something with an incredible impact. “N.I.G.E.L. survived! Can you believe that?” The roboticist clapped his hand together in a child-like glee. “He wasn’t crushed or stomped or blown up or–“

Before the deliriously happy scientist could finish his thought, the mutated lizard dove into the bay, a massive wall of water roaring up from the harbor. The great wave crashed over the railing Craven was leaning against, sweeping him off his feet and smashing N.I.G.E.L. to bits against the wall.

Craven, sprawled and soaked, sighed in defeat. “Never mind…”

A choppy roar suddenly filled the air. Descending towards H.E.A.T. headquarters, a navy green military helicopter let down a rope ladder, a man with a grave face hanging from it.

Nick was quickly able to identify the man. “General Hicks.”

Jumping off, Hicks greeted Nick rather gruffly. “Hey, Worm Guy, I got several calls about Zilla and another mutation duking it out right here. What happened? Where are they now?”

Randy chuckled. “Missed the whole thing, dude.”

“What?”

Nick cut in, taking command of the situation. “He’s right. The other monster – it wasn’t a mutation, or at least not one of ours – just left.”

Hicks sighed, pinching the crease of his nose. This was gonna be a nightmare back at the office. “Mind filling me in then?”

Nick only smiled in response.

The American monster descended to his lair, in desperate need of rest and recovery. Even if it very nearly cost him his life, he was glad to have his clash today. Otherwise, he may have never met Junior. Were they friends? No. Were they allies? Not quite. They were one, not by genetics or appearance, but in spirit. After all, looking past their outward differences, they were really very similar, right down to the adopted families. Whatever had formed between them, neither of them would ever forget it, even if they never met again.

And for that, Zilla was grateful.

Draw: Godzilla Junior, Zilla

Author: Kristian Zatkoff | Banner: Stephanie Hughes

Ultraman yelled out as he delivered a powerful jump kick to Grand King Ghidorah’s chest. The vile space demon staggered back but did not fall. It let out a sound that sounded eerily like a laugh. The Ultra Brother  felt fear but quickly turned it into anger. It wouldn’t do him any good to fight while doubting his own abilities. But the Ultimate Hero couldn’t help it; after their unresolved battle back in Washington D.C. he learned just how mortal he was first hand. Shortly after that, he found out Zone Fighter had disappeared. The last anyone heard, he had killed Monster X and the Russian government had joined forces with him to fight off Hedorah before all communication had been lost with the city. New York City was infested with a forest of SpaceGodzilla’s crystals. Finally, one of G-Force’s underground docking bays for their mechs was attacked by an unlikely invader. The monster Baragon had accidentally dug its way into the Mechagodzilla hanger in search of food before being driven off. Now here the Land of Light’s emissary was, still no clue where the Peacelander was, if he was even alive, his allies at G-Force still trying to repair the heavy damages caused by the burrower, and now having a rematch in the Boxing Ring with one of the most dangerous predators to have been born in the far, cold reaches of space.

The “Boxing Ring” was just as the name implied: A giant boxing ring big enough to hold several giant monsters, though high tension wires were used as ropes and giant metal towers acted the giant turnbuckles. The ring was located just outside of New York City with a giant pit dug around it, reinforced with steel walls. The ring was made by G-Force to teach future pilots how to make mechs like Mechagodzilla and Moguera fight in a tooth and claw battle. Many monsters liked to get up close and personal, some had defenses that made many, if not all long range weapons useless, and it wouldn’t pay to have pilots not know how to use their mechs in melee combat. In fact, Ultraman and Zone Fighter often volunteered to be the “monsters” in the ring. After their battle in D.C., the King of Terror flew to the Boxing Ring almost as if drawn to it. The creature would would fly up into the sky and fire at the city in the distance, often causing more of New York’s buildings that weren’t already destroyed by SpaceGodzilla’s crystals to crumble and even sometimes destroy the crystals themselves but every time it landed it would not land anywhere except for in the ring. It was almost as if he was challenging the world.

The giant hero had to wonder where the Crystal Sultan wasn’t anywhere near his crystal fortress. What would cause him to leave? Was he making more around the world? He’d have to find out later, but for now he had to deal with the nightmare hellbeast in front of him. It was the dark of night and seeing this creature stand in front of him in the dark, its golden scales reflecting the light of the city’s fire in the distance, made it look like something out of a horror film.

The world ender unleashed a barrage of Gravity Beams but the red and silver hero backflipped out of the way. Ultraman ran forward as the golden dragon fired red lightning from its wings. The Earth’s defender saw this but took no action to defend himself. It was a mistake he would come to regret right away. The Ultra was shocked and fell to the ground. He may have been resistant to electricity, which is partly why he didn’t defend himself, but this electricity the devil fired was strange. Different. Alien. The silver champion managed to get up to his knee before a mighty force from above crushed him. He  couldn’t see it but he knew that the space monster was on his back. The weight went away only to come right back. The living cataclysm jumped up and down on his foe  again and again like a trampoline, trying to crush the alien hero.

The three-headed monster lifted the Giant of Light in his jaws before throwing him into one of the four corners of the arena. The righteous warrior jumped straight back up, forming his hands into a ‘plus’ and fired his Specium Ray, the bizarre blue energy blast coming out not as a single beam but as a stream of many particles that moved so fast that to the human eye it looked like many incomplete tiny lines flying forward. The golden horror just stood there with a bored expression on his many faces as the Specium Ray was blocked off by a flashing light barrier. Hayata cursed his bad luck. He knew about this power but was hoping he was close enough to hit the demon before its scales had enough time to capture the ray’s light and convert it into a shield.

The Specium master planned to try again at a closer range but he needed a distraction. He charged up energy into the form of a saw on his right arm and threw it. Horned heads snarled as they all focused on the incoming projectile. The Ultra Slash hit the light shield and, to the King of Terror’s shock, broke it. The dragonic destroyer’s reflex saved it, at the last second it jumped up before the blade could reach its lighter armored necks and cut them in half. Instead the saw blade of light hit its much more heavily armored chest, sparks flying before it exploded. The golden monster was about to take to the sky when it felt a powerful force knock it out of the air. Man-Ni San had flown to the dragon at Mach 5, slamming it into one of the pillars in the corner. The Ultra Brother smacked at the heinous hydra’s chest and heads with several chops, hitting him in a blind fury before leaping back.

The evil entity was disoriented, using the power of anti-gravity to float back to its feet as it regained its senses. There, right in front of it, less than fifty meters away, stood the being that mocked its power with its foolish efforts, its arms again crossed into a ‘plus’ shape. Ultraman let out a yell as another blast of the Specium Ray flew out of his hands. At this range, Grand King Ghidorah could not bring his light barrier up and the destructive stream hit him dead in the chest, its searing heat burning him. The hero from a distant star kept up the stream as long as he could but even through the smoke and screams of pain, it was clear to him that it was not enough. Sure enough, as soon as he had to stop to recharge his energy reserves, the King of Terror stopped screaming and stared at him. Other than a small black burn mark on its once golden chest scales, it seemed to have little effect. To any other monster the attack would have been a one hit kill attack and they would become a living time bomb, blowing up mere seconds later. But to the hydra it was merely a painful annoyance, like a bug bite.

A rumble was heard off in the distance. Dark clouds were moving in. It was going to storm.

The look the gleaming destroyer was giving the hero standing against it had now changed from boredom to one of minor annoyance. The Ultra Brother threw another Ultra Slash, but the energy saw exploded when a Gravity Beam crashed into it. He then ran up to the golden tyrant, grabbing one of its heads and kneeing its neck, then punching it in the stomach several times. Each blow was rewarded with a shriek before the alien hero delivered a powerful round house kick to its chest, causing it to once more stagger back. The interplanetary destroyer recovered quickly, advancing on the red and silver hero, headbutting his face, shoulder and stomach. The silver sentinel fell on his back but quickly got back to his feet before doing a flying kick. But King Ghidorah’s mouths grabbed him in midair, biting as hard as they could. Ultraman struggled to get free, hitting the heads and necks but the God of Death and Destruction would not relent. Finally, the monster monarch threw him to the ground. One foot stomped right onto his chest, holding him in place, as Gravity Beams rained down upon him.

The alien hero let out a cry of agony as the death rays danced over his body. The space monster took his foot off of his suffering victim, allowing the beams to push him away, the mighty warrior of light rolling around like a tumbleweed before the devil stopped to let loose with an insane cackle. Man-Ni San’s hands glowed as he formed a rectangle with his hands. The world ender fired more Gravity Beams but they were blocked by the invisible barrier that had formed. The three-headed monster ceased his attack and charged up, his entire body glowing before he fired Super Gravity Beams, shattering the barrier like it was nothing. The emissary tried to block the deadly blast with his Specium Ray but the death beams were too strong and easily overwhelmed his own, sending him flying back.

Ultraman crashed into the high tension wires acting as the Ring’s ropes and ended up bouncing off of them and staggering forward, only for Ghidorah to step to the side and stick its left neck out, cackling as The Land of Lighter fell from the clothesline. The golden tyrant blasted several of the buildings in the distance as he slowly walked towards the fallen guardian, then kicked him into one of the arena’s corners. The space demon laughed even more cackles of insanity.The mad monarch watched the alien defender climb up one of the turnbuckles, thinking he was trying to escape. The villain went to reach him with one of his mouths when he got his face kicked in. As the beast recoiled from such a blow, the Ultra  jumped off the turnbuckle and elbow dropped the gold monster, knocking him onto his stomach. The legendary warrior grabbed the Super Space Monster by the necks and threw him into the ropes before he could react, quickly dropkicking him in the stomach before he fell. The hero from a distant star was not going to give up and picked the beast up by its serpent-like necks again, throwing him out of the ring and into the pit. But before he even hit the ground, the space monster used its anti-gravity flight to float back into the air.

It finally started to rain. With the water, death fell.

Golden death rays rained down from the sky into the arena, the nearby city and its buildings and his challenger. Every time the defender  tried to get to his feet, the golden monster would send another volley down upon him as he circled around the ring. King Ghidorah landed in the Ring roaring at his foe, daring him to attack. The Color Timer was blinking red, the warning that Ultraman had to either end this fight soon or recharge soon. It seemed like he was going to lose this fight. Suddenly, the hero lunged at the three-headed freak of nature, knocking him on his back. Hayata’s alter ego hit as fast and as hard as he could with several chops and punches over the monster’s body. He lifted the writhing demon’s body up and then slammed it into the metal arena floor several times.

The devil’s red eyes stared into his foe’s gleaming white despite his heads being bashed into the ground. Before the warrior of light could question why, a quick bright flash emitted from the dragon’s crimson eyes. Suddenly, the Ultra Brother stopped attacking. Something was wrong, very wrong. He couldn’t control his body, he could feel his body but he had no say in what it was doing as it moved on its own. The possessed warrior climbed off of King Ghidorah and started to punch himself. The terror of the stars got up and cackled in delight as his mind control worked. The defender stopped punching himself and felt his legs move of their own accord as he ran head-first into one of the turnbuckles, then took off into a running start before he did it again. He finished the humiliating torture as he did a forward flip and fell on his back.

Ultraman was helpless as the maniac monster’s mind control forced him to walk to the planet killer and stand there defenseless. The golden monster rammed his left head into his gut, then stomped on his feet. The protector of the planet was in so much pain but the mind control was so great he wasn’t even allowed to hold his stomach or hop on his feet. He couldn’t even scream out in pain as the heinous hydra bashed him with all three heads, sending him flying back to the other end of the Boxing Ring. King Ghidorah forced him to walk up to him once more and blast him in the face at point blank range. Now his timer was going off like crazy. It wouldn’t be much longer until the hero ran out of power.

The alien defender  felt terror like he never knew before as he flew high up into the sky, higher and higher above the arena until it was too small to see. Then, he skydived as fast as he could, his stomach dropping when he saw the G-Force logo on the ring’s floor get bigger and bigger until he slammed into it head-first. The sadistic space beast let out what seemed like a sigh or the closest thing to a sigh that a vile being such as itself could muster. This stopped being fun and had become boring once more. The planet killer wanted to find someone more challenging to fight. Time to end this. The battered protector’s arm created another Ultra Slash. Slowly, his arm brought the energy saw to his neck, closer and closer. Suddenly, something amazing happened. By sheer free will, the legendary hero managed to break free of the control, and not a minute too soon as the blade had made a small cut on his neck, making it bleed.

Ultraman threw the deadly weapon right at his former tormenter and took to the sky. The devil of the star’s reflexes saved it once again as it fired a Gravity Beam blast to destroy the deadly projectile. When the smoke cleared, it saw that his foe was missing. He looked around, but all he saw was the empty ring, what few buildings were left of New York on fire, some flashes of lighting in the sky and the glowing of the crystals in the distance. He heard the crackle of fire in the distance, the patter of rain hitting the ground, the hum of energy being sapped into Spacegodzilla’s crystals and the rumble of thunder. But no sign of the defender. The living apocalypse looked up at the sky, seeing his target flying high into the clouds. Now he was angry. No one escaped his wrath! No one! All that encountered him die! Death! DEATH TO ALL WHO STAND IN HIS WAY!

Higher and higher, the Giant of Light flew. It seemed there would be no end to the rain that fell on him or the lighting that danced all around him in the sky when suddenly, he broke through the clouds and was in the vastness of space. The sun’s rays shined onto him, refilling him with much needed energy. For a second, he was at peace. Even if this mission failed, even if he died, there would always be others to challenge this tyrant and end its reign of terror. The planet below him looked beautiful, as the rays of hope shone on him. The future looked bright even in this dark hour. All this in a second and then, dread returned as he dove back down.

Whether he lived or died didn’t matter. He would kill this threat from beyond the stars even if it was the last thing he ever did. He didn’t have to wait long. As soon as he was back in the storm clouds, Grand King Ghidorah fired several rays at him, searing his flesh. The joined hope of man and Ultra yelled out but still managed to remain in control of his flight. He fired another Ultra Slash but the gold dragon dodged it with ease. The fuming tyrant fired red bolts of lighting from his bat-like wings but the much faster being was too quick, outmaneuvering him at every turn. To its confusion, the planet killer lost track of his darting form in the storm. Suddenly, it felt a powerful blow to its side as the Ultra slammed into him. The two titans continued to punch, kick, bite, headbutt and blast each other as they fell and tumbled through the sky.

Before they knew it, the two fell right into the Boxing Ring, creating a large crater in the floor. A loud metal clang was heard for miles. The Ultra Brother got up and kicked the living extinction  in the side so hard the super monster was sent flying several meters before falling to the other side of the arena. Ghidorah got back up only to have the determined defender dropkick him in the stomach. The wounded drake stumbled into a turnbuckle, as his foe lunged. The protector of Earth then kicked the dreadful beast so hard in the stomach, crushing him between his leg and the turnbuckle behind him that the horror of the stars retched, his bile coming out of all mouths and coating his leg in it. The golden monster fell to the ground but the silver warrior grabbed him by the tails and slammed the beast into the turnbuckles several times before throwing him down to the ground. The maniac monster was an animal but it still had problem solving skills. It didn’t know how, but his foe’s sudden renewal of power and the object on his chest turning back to blue were somehow connected to him flying up in the sky. Somehow, this knave was getting his power from up there.

So how was it going to stop him from doing it again when he was running low on power? He had a solution to that problem already. Ultraman was ready to deliver the next series of attacks when he heard a strange noise. All of a sudden, a strange dome formed around the Boxing Ring. There was enough room to take off and fly but not enough to reach into space where the hero needed to be if he needed the sun’s rays to recharge again. Rain was being allowed to come in but Hayata knew that the galactic horror was merely taunting him. If he tried leaving, he would be burned by the dome’s acidic walls. King Ghidorah took advantage of the  distraction and got back up, bodyslamming the baffled alien. The giant defender went to punch him, but the hydra grabbed his arms with its toothy maws. Then, they lifted him into the air and then slammed his back right into a raised knee. The planet’s protector had the air knocked out of him as he couldn’t breath for a few seconds.

Ghidorah jumped up and landed on him, stomping on him, smacking his face with his spiky tails. The wounded warrior feebly tried to get up, but King Ghidorah picked him up and threw him into the air. On the way down, all three heads smacked into him, sending him right into the ropes. The Ultra cried out. The golden demise moved in for the kill when his prey suddenly turned around lighting fast, grabbing his right leg and pulling. The terror beast stumbled forward as it tried to keep its balance. The beacon of hope delivered a powerful punch to the leg, causing it to bend the wrong way, broken. The sadistic dragon howled in agony as the silver defender threw him down to the ground.

Man-Ni San stomped on the necks, grabbing and twisting them. Bones creaked but it still wasn’t enough. The three-headed monster blasted him off again. It got back to its feet and bit down on the Ultra’s neck. The warrior of light’s neck was slowly but surely breaking, and unlike this demon, he could not survive such an injury. He had to do something quickly. The other two heads fired their Gravity Beams at point blank range on the helpless hero. Already, the timer on Ultraman’s chest had turned red again and was beeping at a frantic pace. The struggling Ultra Brother  elbowed Ghidorah several times in the chest but the planet killer refused to let go. In a desperate move, he fired a point blank Ultra Slash right into one of the swooped wings and in a splatter of ichor, the right wing was cut off! The King of Terror roared out in agony as it let go, but the determined hero  felt no sympathy for the demon.

Ultraman ran to Grand King Ghidorah and jumped up, slamming his elbow right into the left head’s jaw, breaking it. The Specium master then spun around quickly until energy rings shot off of him and formed around the monster monarch. The light barrier was of no use as they tightened to the point of shattering it and restraining the planet killer. The Ultra had a plan but it was a desperate one, and it would cost him so much energy that he had to fully charge to pull it off or else he would die. He grabbed the still­-restrained dragon and flew up into the sky. The titanic superhero braced himself as he flew through the dome walls, the acid burning him severely. When they reached space, the sun’s rays once again charged the Giant of Light to the max and he nose dived once more, this time with the screeching destroyer in front of him. The alien encased his body into the fireball he would normally use for space travel. The flames burned at the helpless space monster’s back as they entered the dome and crashed into the Boxing Ring floor at mach 5.

The intense crash of the two giants caused the floor to give way and they fell many meters down the elevator shaft that brought the mechs up to the ring. They crashed to the bottom, inside one of G-Force’s docking bays. The hero must have blacked out for a few seconds because when he came to, Ghidorah was missing. The move had almost killed him, his timer was already beeping and flashing at an insane rate when he had just recharged! He heard screams and got up. Several maintenance workers were running for their lives trying to get out. King Ghidorah was blasting everything in sight. The galactic warrior got up and fired his Specium Ray at point blank, hoping that the beast was weakened enough to finally be killed by the ray.

It still wasn’t enough. The beam caused a mighty explosion but the devil of the stars still stood. Despite its broken leg, the Super Space Monster ran at the Ultra Brother and headbutted him away. The heinous hydra then ripped Moguera out of its docking bay and with its awesome might, threw the mech right at the hero. The defender was crushed beneath the mighty machine. He struggled to push the robot off of him and stumbled back to his feet. The three headed monster’s body glowed a bright golden before unleashing his most deadly attack once more. The Super Gravity Beams slammed into Man Ni-San, breaking several of his ribs and burning him.

Hayata let out the loudest scream of his life, and then, he fell on his back. His timer was going off like crazy now, it informed him that he was almost out of power. It wouldn’t be long before he reverted back to his human form and was powerless. So this is how it would end. He would die at the hands of Grand King Ghidorah. He stared at the big hole in the ceiling, stared at the stormy night sky, letting the rain fall onto him.

Rain…

Water! That’s it!

Ultraman had a sudden idea that might be crazy enough to work. He had the power to rapidly lower his body temperature and make the water in the air condense onto his hands as a high pressure stream. He remembered learning that the Earthlings would sometimes use high pressure water streams to cut through metal. But he had only used this power to put out fires, never as a cutting weapon. He wasn’t sure if he could make the pressure high enough to even push a monster, let alone cut them, but at this point he had tried everything else. This had to work or else he would die. The damned beast had defenses built around defending it from energy based attacks but nothing like water.

The dreaded dragon slowly walked towards his sprawled foe, ready to crush him in his jaws and feast on his corpse. He was nearly on top of the motionless warrior when suddenly the alien hero jumped up to his feet. Before the planet killer could react, he pressed his hands together and fired off a huge stream of water, the force like a giant fire hose as it sent Grand King Ghidorah flying back into the wall. Ultraman spotted the nearby Mechagodzilla and with his ungodly strength, ripped the robotic double of Godzilla off of its docking arms and threw it at the sopping space beast. The machine slammed into the planet killer, crushing him between it and the walls. The stunned giant pushed the robot to the side and removed himself from the crater in the wall, stumbling in place, clearly knocked senseless.

The hero from the stars  ran up to the being that had caused so much death and destruction and shoved his hands down the middle head’s mouth, letting a powerful blast of water loose. The dreaded space monster’s chest and stomach expanded until there was a sudden explosion of gore as his stomach exploded. The space beast shrieked out in unbearable pain. For the first and last time, Hayata felt sorry for the creature and decided to make his next attack quick to put it out of its misery. How sad, that only in its final moments would it understand the pain it had brought to countless worlds for countless eons and die before it got a chance to redeem itself. The giant superhero held his hands together one more time, forming a powerful stream of water that got thinner and thinner as he increased the pressure to the highest he could make it. Then he made a swift cutting motion with it as if he was welding a giant sword.

The devil of the stars let out a quick yelp of pain, then was stiff. Behind him and the shut down Mechagodzilla, a large long line cut into the steel wall. The mecha’s head fell off, and all three of the dragon’s horned heads followed in a shower of golden blood before both the mech and monster fell over. Its master now dead, the acidic dome slowly vanished. As if by some sick prank by the universe, the Boxing Ring’s bell malfunctioned, ringing right at the same time the headless body fell to the ground.

The King of Terror was finally dead. Ultraman fell on his back, exhausted. His energy finally depleted as he turned back into his human host. Hayata smiled to himself. He’d been through hell and back. The multiverse could rest knowing there was one less planet killer around. Sure, he ruined the Boxing Ring, caused untold amounts of damage to one of G-Force’s bases and the mechanical saurian’s repairs would take even longer now then before because of him. But hey, now the eggheads at G-Force finally had a specimen worth studying, one that may allow development of weapons capable of killing the world’s most dangerous monsters.

Yeah, he did pretty good and that was more than worthy of a hero’s rest in his eyes.

And then he passed out.

Winner: Ultraman (Universal)

Author: Christian Salabert | Banner: Christian Salabert

Baragon didn’t quite know what to make of the strange object.

A few moments earlier, the subterranean reptile had emerged from the rich soil of Monster Island in search of sustenance. But he had barely gotten his floppy-eared head out of the ground when he spotted a large, green orb. Pulling himself all the way out of the dirt, the underground king moved in to investigate, cautiously approaching the ball-like object. As he looked it over, he noted that it wasn’t very large. In fact, he could easily pick it up in his hands if he wished. He leaned in and gave it a sniff. It didn’t smell like food, but nevertheless  it still intrigued the predator’s simple mind. He moved in again, lightly nudging the orb with his horn.

A high-pitched sound caught the magma monster’s attention, who lifted his head in time to see Varan drop from the air and land nearby. The spiked lizard roared at his neighbor, then noticed the sphere he was examining at. Joining the underground monster, the massive monitor began to look the orb over as well. Neither reptile could make heads or tails of the odd item. For a moment, they thought it might be an egg of some kind, but the texture was wrong. Just then, the pair heard footsteps behind them, and they turned to see Gorosaurus emerging from the jungle. The oversized allosaur roared at the two smaller creatures to get out of his way, when he too noticed the dark green ball. Tilting his head in curiosity, the saurian approached the orb and investigated it as well. Together the three monsters looked over the sphere, trying to figure out just what the thing was.

Snorting in frustration, the Mondo predator walked up and stomped down on the orb, tired of wasting his time with it.

Instantly, a large number of spines emerged from the ball with a “snikt!” They stabbed into his taloned’ foot, causing him to stumble backward and crash to the ground, shrieking in pain. Baragon and Varan watched as their ally fell, then turned their attention back to the orb, just in time to see a pair of devious yellow eyes open.

The reptilian trio had disturbed Gororin’s slumber. And the plant monster was none too pleased.

The Xillien alien immediately began spraying its needles in all directions, striking the two quadrupeds with them. The two beasts toppled to the ground, squealing in pain as they clawed at the spines, trying to dislodge them. The prehistoric survivor was quickly back on his feet, roaring furiously. He marched at the colossal cactus, ready to tear the plant apart, but it quickly rolled out of the way, avoiding the dinosaur’s attack. Gorosaurus quickly skidded to a stop and turned around, only to receive a series of needles fired into his neck. 

As the beast cried in pain, his compatriots had recovered and were ready to go on the attack again. Baragon charged on all fours, only for Gororin to roll out of the way once more. Roaring in annoyance, the underground predator turned around and advanced again, only to again be dodged by the rolling monster. Screaming in frustration, the horned monster reared up on his hind legs and spat out his heat ray. The orange beam scored a direct hit on the cactus creature, but if the malicious vegetation was harmed by the blast, it most certainly didn’t show it. It instead fired another stream of spines at the burrower, but the floppy-eared beast managed to dodge the projectiles, disappearing into the ground. Just then, a boulder shattered against the bioweapon’s circular body. The plant monster turned to see Varan kicking and throwing rock after rock at it. The cactus fired more needles, but these were avoided as well, as the triphibiain extended his arms and lifted himself up into the sky.

Hearing the angry cry of Gorosaurus, the rolling menace turned to see the reptile approaching fast. The spherical plant had no time to react before the theropod  lashed out with his clawed foot, kicking him like the ball he was and sending him hurtling through the air. Reacting quickly, the unbelievable beast swooped down and smacked down with his tail, forcibly knocking the cacti back to the ground. The plant beast crashed hard against the dirt, causing the teal dinosaur to rear his head back and roar a taunt.

Yellow eyes narrowed as the needly monster’s anger grew. It began to roll forward, towards the allosaur. The dinosaur prepared to kick the evil ball-beast again, only for the orb to suddenly rush forward and slam into his legs, gashing open scaled’ skin and bringing him to the ground with a shriek. Varan dove in to attack once again, but the vile vegetable responded by firing its needles at the Obaki, piercing his left flight membrane and causing him to plummet, crashing onto Baragon, who had just emerged from the ground. The two reptiles cried out as they collided, allowing the alien plant  to return his attention to the Mondo Island expat. Spotting the allosaur, the alien monster  rolled towards him and leapt into the air, ready to smash its spines into the creature’s torso. 

But Gorosaurus was quick to react, rearing up onto his tail and slamming his foot into the evil orb, sending him smashing into a nearby rock sticking out of the ground. Dazed by the blow, the cactus didn’t notice as the other two reptiles attacked next, having untangled each other from their unexpected collision. Getting onto his hind legs and spinning around, the beast worshipped as Baradagi whipped Gororin with his tail, sending him back through the air towards his larger ally. As the extraterrestrial plant soared through the air, Baragon unleashed his heat ray, keeping it on the plant until it reached the dinosaur, who also smacked the evil sphere with his tail. The magma monster blasted the singed plant  again as it sailed through the winds until it crashed to the ground.

For a moment, Gororin didn’t move. The reptilian trio watched it for a moment, waiting for it to make a move. Eventually, though, it became obvious that the beast was not going to move again. The three of them let loose cries of victory, declaring themselves the winner of the battle. Marching up to his slain foe on all fours, the horned burrower roared victoriously again.

But the plant monster was not dead yet.

While the horned hunter’s mouth was still open, the Xillien plant fired a series of needles down his throat. The ravenous monster’s scream came out a weak, gurgled cry as he toppled onto his back, clutching at his mouth and neck. Varan and Gorosaurus reared back in surprise as the villainous yellow eyes of their foe glared at them before the cactus began to roll forward. Before they could make a move, the rolling terror leapt into the air and smashed into them, gashing their flesh with its spines. The orb repeated the maneuver, this time slamming into the Jurassic survivor head-on, knocking him to the dirt. 

The varanopode moved in, but Gororin fired more needles, piercing his skin and eliciting a shriek of pain. A brief trembling of the ground grabbed the plant’s attention, only for it to see the wounded burrower disappearing into the earth, this time for good. Turning back to his other victims, the Xillien plant wasn’t quite sure it wanted to let them escape just yet. Their flesh cut and bleeding, the two reptiles were quite ready to leave this fight behind them. Quickly scanning the area, the Mondo Island saurian spotted a nearby boulder. Giving it a good kick, the apex predator distracted his tormentor long enough for him to disappear among the trees. As the rock broke against its tough hide, the cactus watched as the triphibian took off into the sky and disappeared to the other side of the island.

The villainous vegetable looked around and realized that all its opponents had fled. It was disappointed it hadn’t been able to finish the job, but still, it was certain that they had gotten the message.

Winner: Gororin

Author: Lucas Salabert | Banner: Christian Salabert

Gabara yawned as he awoke from a deep slumber, a slumber filled with bullying little kids and lizards. He looked around for a small morsel for a pre-breakfast snack, but all he saw were palm trees and little animals. No, he wanted some real meat. He stumbled down towards the bay of his small cove and found nothing but washed-up carcasses of several whales and sharks. The electric bully would have gladly eaten them if they weren’t already feasted on. The size of the bites told the mutant toad that he wasn’t the only daikaiju on the island. The ogre snarled. This new creature would have to learn the hard way that he gets his way first in his domain. He followed the trail of carcasses to a clearing in the center of the island leading to a huge lake, where he found what he was looking for: A giant, squid-like monster. This creature could be easily taken care of.

Gezora was finishing the pleasant meal from the fish he had found in the ocean, his large tentacles having repeatedly dove into the water and snatched up any undersea creature he could fit into his beak. The cuttlefish wriggled his arm ever so slightly as it kept its grip around a great white’s tail. The predatory fish didn’t even have a chance to be frozen to death by the icy touch when the beast gulped it down in a single bite. The sea monster and his stomach together growled with satisfaction as he finished the last of his meal. The cephalopod was done for now and was about to return to his peaceful grotto when… it showed up. Some hideous, ogre-like monster stood in the abyssal hunter’s way. Not being smart enough to recognize the threat standing in front of it, the amphibious kaiju simply walked past the monster.

That was his first mistake.

Gabara let out a war cry just before he struck, slamming his fist into the mottled head of the ocean beast, knocking him to the ground. He got in closer to the squid and started raining down a series of punches. The deep sea monster cried out in agony as the hideous ogre punched him again and again and again, until he reached up and wrapped some of his tentacles around his assaulter’s neck. Though it took a moment, the heinous toad eventually started to have a hard time breathing. He started squirming, trying to pull the cephalopod’s tentacles away. Monster Island’s menace was choking, feeling the strong tendrils crush his windpipe as the amount of air going in and out of his lungs grew smaller with each breath. Finally, he grabbed hold of one of the constricting tentacles and released his electric shocks into it. 

With a shriek, his captor released the shocking tormentor, badly burnt. The oni stood there a moment, trying to catch his breath as the freezing squid started to retreat. This angered the ogre even further – the coward wasn’t even standing his ground! The bully advanced quickly and hoisted the sea monster high into the air, tossing him onto the beach. The tentacled terror got up slowly, stunned by the crash. The warty monster rushed at the legend of Sergio Island, but Gezora lashed out, yanking his feet out from under him. Gabara tried to reach towards his tentacles to shock the giant cuttlefish, but he was just out of reach. The cephalopod yanked him into the water, holding his head down. The toxic beast struggled to reach the giant sea creature, but found an easier solution. Though it would injure him, it would also devastate the aquatic beast. He put his hands back in the water and let his own currents join the water’s. It started to singe him, then it hurt like hell… but the squid was catching fire.

The deep sea monster rushed out of the water as fast as he could, back onto land. If he wanted to win, he would have to do it in the ogre’s territory. Once the heinous bully was within striking distance, the freezing beast started bombarding him with his tentacles. Though not very powerful, the crack-of-the-whip speed the extremities had was enough to give the beast a fair amount of pain. The horned monster put up his left arm to try and defend his head, but as he swung it up, the squid swung his tentacles down, nearly dislocating his arm. The cowardly cephalopod started to feel lucky as this new method seemed to be working. Just then, he realized that one of his tentacles seemed to be stuck on the beast’s head, just as he started to feel a great amount of pain coming from his arm. With a start, the abyssal predator realized that the tip of his tentacle had become caught on the bright orange horn on Gabara’s head! Seeing the opening he was waiting for, the tormenting toad lashed out and grabbed the tentacle. With a tug, the ogre tore the limb completely away from his foe’s body.

Gezora let out a high-pitched screech of agony as he watched his extremity being yanked out of its socket. This ogre was too strong, he had to retreat. As the green beast tried to grab at the stump where his arm once was, the cuttlefish began to retreat. Amazingly, the awkward amphibian got a good head start, keeping a good distance from Gabara as he approached his grotto. The cruel creature wouldn’t let that stop him, however, picking up a nearby boulder and throwing it, hitting the squid in the back. It hurt the cephalopod to even breathe, which was a problem for him on land in better circumstances anyway. He looked up and saw a familiar sight. His grotto! He was only a skip-and-a-hop away from the water. If he could just crawl forward a little more, he would escape to safety. But his foe had a different agenda. Advancing quickly, the warted beast snatched the cephalopod in his claws and hoisted him into the air. The bully was taken by surprise by the squid’s heft and, tired and sore, sent the creature hurtling into the lake. Though stunned, the legend of Sergio Island began to move further into the waves. He thought perhaps the ogre was giving him a break, thinking the squid had learned his lesson.

Panting angrily, the Monster Island menace watched as the cephalopod swam away. Then the ogre realized something: that squid had shamed him. Such a weak creature, able to hold his own against the great Gabara?! This was unacceptable. The toad’s eyes filled with fire as his body let off static shocks of anger. The mutated bully was not done with the sea creature and dove into the water. Though injured and exhausted, the cold cephalopod was sure the ogre would not be a match for him. After all, the water was his domain. Just as the oni reached him and prepared to strike, the cuttlefish lashed out with what tentacles he had left, clobbering him across the face. Taken by surprise, the toxic monster allowed the squid to hit him again and again, knocking him back towards the shore. One more blow sent his emerald body toppling onto the sand. Gezora watched the fallen ogre and let out a victory cry before turning back and heading out into the water.

As he lay there on his back, the heinous mutant cried out into the air in frustration at his loss, slamming his fists onto the ground. But then he realized where the squid was. Rolling over onto his stomach, the tormenter sneered. 

He never was a good loser. 

Reaching out, Gabara placed his hand in the water and let the electricity leave his body.

The electric menace watched as the smoke and fire came from the now bronzed, crisped cephalopod. He stood there and watched in glory at the sight of his deep fried enemy… and breakfast.

Winner: Gabara (Showa)

Author: Christian Salabert | Banner: Christian Salabert

San Francisco was under attack.

The people of the City by the Bay fled in terror as buildings crumbled under the might of the alien monstrosities that were invading their hometown. The Earth’s military had done their best to repel the evil creatures, but Spyler and Wargilgar were not to be denied. The two Terror Beasts were cutting a path of destruction through the city, slowly making their way towards the city’s famous Golden Gate Bridge. The evil duo were intent on destroying the landmark and weren’t about to let anything get in their way.

Fortunately for the citizens of San Francisco, fate had other plans.

The clouds suddenly parted, allowing the sunlight to shine brightly through. The light grew more intense, forcing the Terror Beasts to shield their eyes. Just as the sun threatened to blind every living thing in the city, it just as suddenly faded. Left standing in its place was a mighty armored figure, its arms held down at its sides. Turning around, the space monsters took note of the new arrival and screeched eagerly; was this their accursed nemesis, Zone Fighter? Their eyes still a little sensitive from the blinding light, they started making their way towards the silver being.

Utsuno Ikusagami glared at them with disgust.

The mighty Sun God was not about to tolerate such evil deeds. He was about to show the alien empire attacking the Earth just what a mistake they had made by wiping out their two living weapons. If that was not enough, he would turn his wrath on the Garoga themselves. Either way, the countless innocents that had lost their lives due to the monsters’ attack would be avenged. Clenching his fists, Ikusagami charged.

Spyler and Wargilgar slammed into him at the same time, halting his advance. The two Terror Beasts pushed against the armored warrior, but he pushed back, and his strength was great. They continued to shove the holy warrior, trying to get him to fall, but the knight stood fast. Pulling his arms back, Yamato’s divine form suddenly threw them forward, slamming his fists into the alien creatures’ stomachs, knocking them flat onto their backs. They quickly got back to their feet and attacked again, swinging their clawed arms at the warrior’s face. But the mighty god thwarted this as well, blocking their hits with his arms. 

Acting quickly, the sun god  snatched their wrists in his hands, skillfully flipping them to the ground. The gold and silver warrior looked down at the two monsters as they scrambled to get back to their feet. Surely the champions of an invading alien race would prove a better challenge than this. As if reading his mind, the Laser Beast was back on his feet in an instant, throwing his arms open. The knobs on his chest erupted with flashes of light, forcing the legendary hero  to shield his face with his arms. With the ancient warrior distracted, his ant-like ally opened his mandibles and spewed forth a stream of searing fire, engulfing the armored guardian. Ikusagami stumbled back, trying to get away from the flames. The alien bioweapon suddenly cut off his inferno attack, only for the transformed Garoga to lunge forward, bodyslamming their foe and sending him crashing through the Transamerica Pyramid, bringing it and the surrounding buildings down around him. The devilish duo shrieked with evil glee as their opponent was buried under thousands of tons of concrete rubble.

But the Sun God wasn’t out yet.

The pile of debris exploded as Utsuno  emerged, his back now housing twin gold, bladed wings. Vibrating rapidly, they cut through the rubble, allowing the holy warrior to escape and continue the fight. Disappointed that their foe was still alive, the Terror Beasts were nevertheless glad the battle wasn’t over yet and charged. The golden guardian had other plans, however, and leapt high into the air, his wings carrying him high over his alien opponents. Landing behind the two and turning around, he unleashed a golden beam from his forehead and washed it across the ground in front of them, knocking them off their feet in a series of explosions. Wargilgar was back on his feet in an instant, unleashing another torrent of flame at the god. But the divine was ready this time, generating a shield of energy that stopped the fire cold. The crustacean continued spitting fire at Ikusagami, but despite the intense heat, it could not break through the warrior’s shield. Spyler screeched as he charged, ready to tackle the armored god once again. Just as he was within reach, the god lashed out, clutching the warty beast  by the neck and tossing him through the air, causing him to smash into the ground with a thunderous crash. Behind Utsuno, his shield exploded as it was finally overwhelmed by the Garogan creature’s fire. He turned to face the oncoming Terror Beast, stopping his pincers before they made contact with his face. Spyler attacked next, slamming his large claws against the silver wings. The knight was finding it harder to defend himself, and so he unleashed a shockwave of his holy power, knocking both monsters to the ground.

The two creatures quickly rose to their feet, their skin smoking from the blast. Ikusagami flexed his arms as he prepared for their next attack. But much to the guardian’s surprise, they didn’t attack again – they turned and fled! The ancient knight watched as they trampled several smaller structures underfoot as they ran, apparently trying to escape from the Sun God’s wrath. Utsuno was about to let them flee, when he suddenly realized where they were headed – directly to the Golden Gate Bridge! Ikusagami would not allow them to destroy the bridge and took to the air, quickly overtaking the two beasts and landing between them and the bridge. The two monsters screeched in frustration as they found themselves faced with the holy warrior once again. 

Wargilgar attacked first, swinging his clawed arms at Ikusagami, but the paladin skillfully deflected the blow. He then planted his fist into the alien’s  stomach, knocking him to the pavement. Spyler attacked, shrieking wildly, assaulting the holy armor with his claws. The silver-plated warrior knocked the chimera away with a backhand, then unleashed his medallion ray. The golden beam exploded against his chest, slamming the Terror Beast to the ground as it charred his blue and orange flesh. As his partner squealed in pain, his chest smoking, Wargilgar attacked again, firing a cannon blast from his mouth. The projectile threw sparks as it exploded against Ikusagami’s torso, causing him to stagger back. 

Utsuno put his foot down behind him to keep from skidding any further back, as his wings were threatening to slice into the bridge. Opening his pincers, the alien pounced towards the mythic warrior, but the god knight opened fire with his golden ray once again, blasting the Terro-Beast square in the chest and sending him sailing through the air, crashing down with a thud. Stepping forward, Ikusagami took hold of Spyler and hoisted him high into the air, then tossed him towards his ally. The two evil creatures cried out in pain as they crashed atop one another.

For a moment, they writhed about, obviously hurt. But their pain lasted for only a moment. Utsuno watched in frustration as the Terror Beasts pulled themselves back up, still willing to continue their battle. He decided it was time to finish this and held out his hand. In a burst of energy, his sword appeared. Striking a brief pose with it, he took a step forward before his wings carried him towards the two extraterrestrials. His pincers snapping open and shut, The Destruction Terror Beast paid no attention as the blade of the defender’s sword began to glow a bright blue.

This was a mistake.

Swinging the sword horizontally, the Sun God cleaved the energized blade cleanly through Wargilgar’s body. Immediately coming to a halt, the body of the beast toppled to the ground and exploded into a ball of fire. His feet skidding across the pavement, Utsuno turned and prepared to repeat the maneuver with Spyler, only for the bulbous creature to blind him with another series of flashing lights. Before the guardian’s vision could completely return to him, the Laser Terror Beast swiped at him with his claw, knocking the sword from his hand. But despite the loss of his main weapon, Yamato Takeru was nowhere near helpless. With a mighty shove, the armored warrior sent the pudgy creature stumbling backward. While his foe was distracted, the knight once again extended his arm, a shining spear of light appearing in his hand. Taking aim, he hurled the spear at Spyler, plunging it deep into the Terror Beast’s gut. Clutching at the spear, the transformed Garoga cried out as he too fell to the ground, erupting into a fireball.

Reclaiming his sword, the divine hero scanned the shattered remains of San Francisco. The damage was bad, but it could have been much, much worse. Still, he decided that the alien overlords who had sent the two monsters needed to be dealt with, lest they try something like this again. Bracing his legs, Utsuno Ikusagami leapt high into the stratosphere, making a beeline for the Garoga Fortress…

Winner: Utsuno Ikusagami

Author: Kenneth James | Banner: Stephanie Hughes

Hedorah was enjoying his new status as King of the Monsters. Ever since she’d melted Godzilla to a skeleton, life had been good for the Smog Monster. Humans were too terrified to deploy any of their mecha against her, knowing if they couldn’t beat Godzilla, they’d be no match for the one that slayed him. With little to no threat to him, they traveled freely, descending on cities and feeding on whatever he pleased. Today’s menu: car exhaust. The alien glutton sucked cars, drivers and all, into her body. Her simple mind knew that they had little challenge to their awesome might anymore, so he could occupy himself with more important things, like eating.

However, the kaiju’s thoughts were soon drawn from his meal to the sky by the roar of jet engines. He turned his blob-like frame around to see several massive jets lower mankind’s latest creation before him, Kiryu. The nebula invader was surprised, not by the similarity it had to the beast he’d slain in appearance, but in how he felt to his senses. He FELT like the former King of the Monsters.

Mankind had understood one simple fact: Godzilla was their protector and despite past attempts at killing him, without him, they’d realized how much they needed him. So they did the only thing they could – build a cybernetic body around his skeleton, making his DNA into the bio-computer driving it. In essence, their King of Monsters was reborn as a mechanical savior. And in this battle, they decided to do something they’d rarely do otherwise… cut the cybog loose. They didn’t need to direct his actions, the bio-computer knew its new powers, and the saurian’s memory knew he was facing his killer. Surely, he would seek his revenge.

The mecha’s eyes lit up. They had been momentarily yellow before, but without the restraining program, they turned red, the tear line down the side glowing the same blood color. The multi-system fighting type reared his head back and let out a mechanical imitation of his old self’s roar, driving the ninja monster back in shock and surprise, dumbfounded that somehow her old enemy had come back to life.  The mecha, Godzilla’s soul begging for retribution and vengeance from within the cybernetic shell, quickly opened its maw, letting loose a swirling stream of thunder from his maser canons, striking the pollution beast in the shoulder and discharging a high voltage shock.

 Hedorah screeched in agony as his amorphous form met the one of the few things it had no defense against, electricity. When the beam finally ended, dehydrated and dead flesh fell from the alien’s body. Startled by his rival’s new power, the Smog Monster quickly regained their composure and let loose their red eye beams at the Mechagodzila, only for the cyborg to launch high into the air with his rockets and evade them. The triphibian looked up quickly, trying to catch sight of her now airborne opponent… only to receive a flying kick to the face, toppling her to the ground with a surprised gurgling screech. 

Kiryu flew back to a safe distance and his missile pods sprung to life, sending an onslaught of missiles into the sky. The living poison was pelted with explosives, blowing chunks of blazing flesh from their  body, but rage more than pain filled his mind as they rose to their feet, sludge trickling in to replace the missing flesh. The spore alien rose up and fired a ball of sludge at the superweapon, striking his shoulder, but to his surprise, the revenant merely marched forwards, swiping it off his metal skin, leaving a discolored spot, but nothing more than that. Godzilla’s mind found itself grateful for one fact: he no longer felt pain. It’d make claiming his vengeance all the easier.

As the machine marched forwards, more blobs of sludge were launched, only to, just as before, be wiped off the metallic defender’s skin. Finally getting in range, the bioorganic defender extended a blade from his wrist, electricity crackling across it before plunging it into his killer’s gut, discharging its energy into the Smog Monster. The inorganic menace screamed in agony, her body convulsing with electricity as it surged through them, drying out and killing several million of the microorganisms that comprised their body.

 In desperation, the gluttonous alien unleashed his eye beams into Kiryu’s chest, sending him crashing to the ground. He was quickly bombarded by more beams, sending shrapnel flying high into the air and exposing wires. The perfect form realized their position and fell on top of the super weapon, trying to dissolve the mechanical titan with his acidic body. The reborn kaiju struggled, trying to free himself. Alarms were going off throughout his body as systems were put in jeopardy of being dissolved, memories of his previous death flashing through him. The mechanical being  finally managed to maneuver his tail around and drive it forwards, its tip penetrating a beady red eye. The ninja monster screeched in agony and staggered off of the smoking body, his eye slowly closing as thousands of gallons of sludge poured out.

The JSDF’s last hope rose to his feet, parts of his armor melted down to exposed wire and machinery. His tail tip was corroded down to the skeleton used as its framework and his electrifying blade was now reduced to an unrecognizable hunk of slag. But still, he could function, and that was enough. The cyborg armed his shoulder missile pods and sent them sailing through the air, plowing into his foe’s chest and driving her backwards through several buildings with great force before they exploded, blowing a gaping hole in their chest. The toxic titan, being merely a pile of sentient sludge, rarely felt pain from such attacks and transformed into his flying form, his eye still sealed shot from the damage. 

The Smog Monster took to the sky and rained down energy rays at the mecha, blowing off large chunks of armor while trying to suffocate the armored titan with his sulfuric mist, but while it corroded his metal armor, the revenant did not choke, for he had no lungs. Using the speed gained from shedding his missile pods, the mechanical dragon launched into the air and roundhouse kicked the hovering creature  from the sky, sending him through a building. Screeching in surprise, the blob switched back to her adult form in time for Kiryu to land on top of him and rain blows down into his face. The cyborg took great pleasure in enacting his vengeance on his murderer, not caring that his hands sustained mild burns from contact with the corrosive kaiju. The walking pollutant finally managed a counterattack with a swipe of his arm, toppling the multipurpose fighting system  to the ground before standing up and swiping at his  head repeatedly, discoloring metal as he pummeled the cyborg’s cranium. The living machine roared out in rage before firing his Maser Cannon, catching the looming alien  in the shoulder and staggering him back, gurgling in agony. The steel beast’s leg rockets powered up, launching out of the toxic monster’s way.

The poisonous titan managed to recover from the Maser Cannon attack and blasted the superweapon out of the sky with his eye beams, refusing to let up. He followed up with another barrage of eye lasers, burning into reinforced armor and exposing more sparking circuitry. The monster usurper lumbered over and grabbed their  foe’s pronged head, trying to force it into their acidic body, only for the Mechagodzilla to counter by driving his fist clean through his sludgey body, but accomplishing nothing more than burning the armor off to the bone. But, as in life, he was still capable of moving it, allowing him to try and fight the  hands off his head, but leverage on the part of the larger monster  prevented this from being possible. Kiryu soon realized this, and tried firing his Maser Cannon, only for Hedorah to clutch his mouth and clamp it shut, still trying to force him inside his body.

Hedorah gurgled in victory as the mechanical monster’s cranium was forced into her chest, metal beginning to burn away in the acid at a rapid rate. But her victorious roar soon turned to one of shock as she felt a cold sensation below him. The super machine’s paneled chest had opened, blue energy gathering in the Absolute Zero Cannon. The corrosive beast realized he was in trouble, and struggled, trying quickly to get the mecha  out of his body and evade, only for the cyborg to use the opportunity to get his feet underneath him and get upright, holding the Smog Monster in place. With a blinding flash of blue light, the Absolute Zero Cannon was fired, plowing into the blob point blank. The living sludge  let out a loud screech of agony which was cut short as they were flash frozen by the cyborg’s ultimate weapon, leaving the mighty tyrant nothing more but a hunk of ice.

Kiryu tore his head out of the flash frozen body, scattering icy sludge in all directions. His head was badly burned, skull visible in some places. The left eye was burned away entirely, circuitry revealed almost everywhere around it. But within the skull, the bio-computer was still functioning completely, despite having sustained cracks in its form from the discharge of the Absolute Zero Cannon. The cyborg looked over to the frozen body before he swung his tail around, shattering the corrosive beast to millions of pieces. He quickly looked through the rubble, making certain the colonial creature was dead for good, knowing not to take them lightly. Sure enough, some wet sludge still lived inside, uniting into a much smaller flying form, which tore free from the rubble, trying with all her might to get away to fight another day… 

The Mechagodzilla wouldn’t let it be so easy. Unleashing his Maser Cannon, he struck Hedorah in the back, near the jets keeping them aloft, drying them out and sending him plummeting to the ground. Hedorah landed on the Space Needle, the point of the structure driving through the soft body of the toxic titan, impaling him.

Hedorah screeched in agony, trying to free himself, only to fall silent when the reborn Monster King stomped over. The trapped alien  looked up into the face of the cyborg to find a terrifying sight. Through the eye of the skull, she saw flesh had emerged from the bio-computer, a pulsating brain beginning to form. Like any part of his body, Godzilla’s brain was able to regenerate, and the cells grown to serve as the bio-computer’s biological component were no exception. Slowly, those cells had begun to regenerate once air got in from the cracks in the casing of the shell surrounding them. Despite all odds and biological possibilities, Godzilla was regrowing inside Kiryu! But the dreaded polluter wouldn’t live to see the King of the Monster’s return. Kiryu let loose a Maser Cannon blast into the Space Needle, using it like a conductor, sending thousands of volts coursing through her sludgy body. The terror from a distant nebula fell into a flurry of screams and convulsions until finally, the Smog Monster was nothing more than dust, finally dead for good.

The revenant reared back his head, letting out a fierce, Godzilla-like roar. Slowly looking off into the distance where Monster Island was, an organic eye regenerated in place of Kiryu’s lost one, his arm too beginning to show muscle and blood vessels, organs regrowing and forcing internal robotics out of their way. It’d take weeks for him to regenerate, but it was clear there was no stopping it now. Hedorah was dead, and Godzilla had reclaimed his throne, and soon, his body as well.

Winner: Kiryu

Author: Christian Salabert | Banner: Christian Salabert

Haneda Airport. The airfield had just acted as the battlefield for an epic struggle between Godzilla – his radioactive power finally gone critical – and Destoroyah – the living embodiment of the Oxygen Destroyer. Both titans had now been wiped from existence and Godzilla Junior, having been fully mutated into adult form by the radiation given off by his father’s meltdown, was currently being escorted back out to sea by the Super-X3. Despite the war between the monsters and the potential global disaster they had faced, it seemed that G-Force’s job was now over. The emergency had passed.

Or so they thought.

The battalion of freezing Masers had remained behind, just in case the colony creature was not as dead as they had thought. After all, the precambrian beast had seemed to be dead several times before. Unfortunately, they got exactly what they were preparing for. The ground shook and exploded upward, sending debris everywhere as the final form of the crustacean devil reared his head back and howled, spreading his wings into the night sky. The defense forces instantly opened fire, assaulting his twisted carapace with their freezing beams and missiles. This immediately got the demon’s attention as the bitter cold tore into his flesh. His yellow eyes narrowing, Serizawa’s bastard spat out his Micro-Oxygen Beam, sweeping it across the tanks and masers and destroying them in a series of explosions.

Miles away, the Super-X3 received news of the monster’s reappearance. The crew immediately turned the warship around, but even at the craft’s top speed, it would take some time before it reached Haneda Airport.

Destoroyah watched as what was left of the Self Defense Forces burned. He was about to take to the air when the ground began to rumble. The titanic creature turned around, trying to see what was causing the quake. He got his answer when the ground erupted once again, another large form pulling itself up out of the earth. The personification of extinction snarled angrily as the subterranean dinosaur Gomora rose to his full height, screeching a challenge!

Punching his fists together, the prehistoric monster charged the Perfect Lifeform, ready to pummel the living Oxygen Destroyer into submission. Just as he was within reach, however, the colossal creature lashed out with an almost lazy swing from his arm, decking the horned saurian and sending him crashing to the ground. Undeterred, the saurian  got back to his feet in an instant and charged again, only to be once again knocked off his feet. Woozy from the blows, the Monster Prince pulled back as crimson energy began crackling over his head horns. Bracing himself, Gomora unleashed his Super Oscillatory Wave, letting pulse after pulse smash into the ridged chest of his foes. The micro-oxygen monster cried out as the wave exploded against his torso again and again, driving him backwards. 

After a moment, the burrower cut off his attack, watching as the puckered chest smoked. Satisfied with the damage he inflicted, the brash monster charged a third time, but this time the bane of life returned in kind, spewing his Micro-Oxygen Beam at his dirty scales. The purple energy bolt slammed into the reptile’s chest, blasting him clean off his feet and into one of the few buildings that had survived the devil’s  fight with Godzilla. As the determined saurian struggled to pull himself up out of the rubble, The micro-oxygen menace swung  around, sending his tail towards the dinosaur. The clawed extremity wrapped around his thick neck and began zapping the ancient beast with micro-oxygen. Kicking and screaming, the monster of the Johnson Islands tried to loosen the tail’s grip around his throat, to no avail. Swinging his tail back and forth, the titan of death dragged the horned monster  across the airfield before lifting his tail into the air and sending his captive hurtling into the terminal, leveling Haneda Airport.

Destoroyah cackled evilly as he approached the destroyed terminal, the burrowing creature laying motionless within the rubble. He strafed the saurian’s body with his Micro-Oxygen Beam, sending sparks and debris into the air and eliciting a pained cry from the reptile. Now standing next to his prone form, the precambrian monster looked down at his fallen foe, ready to finish him off. The sadistic terror was taken completely off guard as the horned monster suddenly leapt up to his feet and lunged forward, thrusting the spike on his nose deep into his  armored chest. The Perfect Lifeform cried out as Gomora began pumping him full of oscillatory energies, coursing them through his entire body. Thrashing, Serizawa’s bastard tried to dislodge his opponent’s horn, but the steadfast fighter  poured even more energy into the demon, a bright glow emanating from his body. With a shriek, the mutated horror exploded into a ball of fire, completely destroyed.

The prehistoric survivor  groaned as he stepped back, feeling the blows the twisted terror had inflicted. He was glad the fight ended when it did. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could’ve taken getting hit by the armored beast. He turned around and started to make his way back towards the crater in the ground he had emerged from. Before he could reach it, though, the earth began to shake. The determined dinosaur quickly turned and scanned the area, but saw nothing. Suddenly, the Monster Price cried out as two aggregate Destoroyahs began to crawl onto his tail, spraying him with micro-oxygen. Before he could deal with them, three more approached from the front, attacking his legs. The saurian kicked at the trio in front as he tried to shake the first two off his back.

 Even more aggregates appeared and charged, surrounding the dinosaur. The ancient monster screeched as they continued spraying micro-oxygen into his legs and neck. Suddenly, the reptile dropped to the ground and rolled, dislodging the two on his back. Getting back to his feet, Gomora spun around, swiping his tail through the swarm of crustaceans and knocking them back. When that failed to deter them, he unleashed his Super Oscillatory Wave, striking one of the creeping horrors and obliterating it in a burst of flame. Instead of cutting off his ray, he swung his head around, washing the oscillatory wave over them and blasting them backwards in sparks and fire. Realizing that their foe was too strong for them, the aggregates quickly pulled back, disappearing into the night.

Weakly, the Johnson Island’s beast growled. This time, he was ready for another sneak attack. His eyes narrowed as he quickly turned his head from side to side, awaiting a move. After a few minutes of nothing, tensed claws relaxed. It seemed that the battle was finally over.

The saurian shrieked in pain as the Micro-Oxygen Beam blasted him in the base of his spine. Clutching at his back, Gomora turned around only to have the mutated devil fly by, smashing his massive legs into his foe’s beaked face, knocking him flat on the runway. Destoroyah landed not too far away and turned to watch as the downed dinosaur struggled to get back to his feet, cackling at the smaller monster’s obvious pain and taking a step forward. The precambrian monstrosity was taken by surprise when the brash beast suddenly leapt upward, firing off his Super Oscillatory Wave and blasting him in the face. The evil beast howled as the crimson energy exploded against his head, causing him to take a step back. Despite the pain wracking his body, the ancient fighter charged and attacked the distracted demon, slamming his fists into the monster’s chest again and again. The titan felt the blows land, cracking the armor covering his chest. Flicking his arm upward, the living extinction sent the horned dinosaur crashing to the ground. Rolling onto his back to face his foe, his lidded eyes widened as he saw the living extinction swinging his head down, his horn glowing a bright yellow. Gomora quickly rolled out of the way, allowing the energized blade to cleave into the pavement. Getting back to his feet, the experienced defender noticed the large gash left in the ground by the horn. He realized that he could not allow himself to be hit by this attack. The prehistoric reptile leapt into battle again, punching and kicking at his foe. Driving his opponent backwards, the nimble brute spun around, whipping his tail across his foe’s face. He quickly spun around in the opposite direction, ready to strike with his tail again, just as the merciless monster reactivated his Laser Horn and slashed downward.

His tail hit the ground with a thud.

Crashing to the ground and clutching at the stump where his tail once was, the ancient beast squealed in agony. Destoroyah cackled with evil glee as he watched his foe writhe in pain. He turned around, clamping his tail down around the squealing snout and sending his foe hurtling through the air again. The prehistoric beast tried to push himself up, only to be put back down by a blast of Micro-Oxygen. The dogged fighter crumpled against the ground, motionless. The twisted terror shrieked evilly as he approached his fallen foe, ready to finish him off. His horn flashed yellow as he prepared to slice him in half. The reptile tried to move, but barely had the strength to breathe. Suddenly, something smashed into the back of the evil’s horned head. The crustacean-like beast cried out in surprise and turned to see what had attacked him, only to be uppercut by something, knocking him back. The demon shook his head as he tried to get a good look at his assailant, only for his eyes to widen in surprise once he did so.

Moving about on the ground, Gomora’s tail was still alive!

Leaping up into the air, the animated tail smashed its stump end into the destroyer’s face, causing him to stagger. It followed up by spinning around, striking the malicious monster’s legs. Before it could make another move, the titan of death placed his foot down on top of it. Shrieking angrily, the precambrian horror pressed down, crushing the  tail underneath his massive foot. Turning his attention back to the downed dinosaur, Destoroyah flexed his claws as he approached his still prone form, ready to destroy the subterranean reptile once and for all. He raised his leg, ready to crush his head as he had his tail, when he suddenly felt a complete and utter cold blast into him from behind. Screeching in pain and surprise, the living Oxygen Destroyer turned back around and found himself under attack by the Super-X3!

“Let’s finish this freak off permanently,” Major Kuroki said to his crew. “Fire all weapons!”

The sadistic beast howled as he was pelted by the warship’s Freezer Beam and cadmium missiles, causing bone-chilling explosions to erupt against his armored hide. He tried to snatch the ship out of the air as it approached, only for it to swerve away and circle around, continuing its assault. The personification of extinction spat out his Micro-Oxygen Beam, but the purple blast merely bounced off the Super-X3’s nose, causing little damage. The craft’s weapons quickly began to take effect; ice began to form all over his armored body. The creature struggled as he tried to break the ice. It was obvious that if he didn’t escape now, he would succumb to the ship’s freezing arsenal. Shrieking angrily, the mutated devil spread his wings, lifting them into the air. 

Just as he started to make his first flap, he cried out as he felt something sharp plunge into his back before he felt his body being scorched inside and out by a familiar power. Gomora poured every ounce of energy he had into his Super Oscillatory Wave, pumping it throughout the colonial body. The evil beast screeched as his entire body felt like it was on fire, the glow emanating from within growing brighter and brighter. Once it was obvious that sufficient damage was done, the prehistoric dinosaur used what little strength he had left and hoisted Serizawa’s bastard into the sky, sending the massive demon hurtling through the air. The titanic demon hit hard as he collided with the earth, and in a brilliant ball of fire, Destoroyah was gone. 

This time, it was for good.

Beyond exhausted, the saurian collapsed face-first to the ground, panting heavily. Tired, hurt and missing his once mighty tail, this was indeed a great victory for the reptile. Extending his claws, the burrower managed to pull himself across the ground to the tunnel he had arrived in. Pulling himself in, the determined monster toppled into the cavern, the movement closing the hole in the process. Unable to move any further, Gomora lay in his tunnel and let his eyes close, falling into a well-deserved sleep.

Winner: Gomora

Author: Kenneth James | Banner: Jackson Morris

Gorosaurus lay sleeping in front of the Eiffel Tower. In truth, he had no anger in his mind and meant no harm, he’d just been looking for a new territory to stake claim to, seeing as he had no hope of toppling Kong’s reign over their home island or Godzilla’s over Monsterland, it was the most obvious thing to do. But Paris just wasn’t for him. Too many humans. The annoying little things were bad enough with mere spears like back home, let alone with modern weapons. He was merely taking a snooze.

Thanks to various authorities on kaiju, the people of Paris knew that fact as well. In fact, they were actually glad the huge dinosaur was present, as they had another problem that WAS harmful they needed dealt with, and the titanic theropod was just the one for the job. The allosaur was awakened when his predatory senses detected the odor of blood. Rising his head over the buildings, he discovered a large pile of meat had been laid out near him, but stranger still, was the fact humans were opening an entrance to the underground of Paris around it. Mondo Island’s top predator was confused, but humans did pretty much the same thing back on Monsterland to feed the residents and keep them happy, so he thought nothing else of it. Besides, why leave perfectly good food to go to waste?

The dinosaur rose to his feet and walked over to the buffet seemingly laid out for him, sniffing it with some degree of caution and finding it not tainted in any way he could detect. As he took some in his massive jaws to eat, his eyes found a strange sight awaiting him, the ground in front of him bursting open to reveal a smaller, red kaiju: Baragon. He could tell by scent this wasn’t the same one he’d known back on Monsterland, another of his species, and by scent, he could tell this one was more aggressive. The subterranean kaiju quickly stuck his face in the meat Gorosaurus had already claimed as his own, inciting the kaiju’s wraith and earning a tail whip to the side of the face. The subterranean terror bellowed in rage at this attack, refusing to give up a feast such as this to the larger beast, and a tenacious one in his own right. Burrowing claws scratched teal jaws, drawing a light trickle of blood and a fierce roar from the saurian monster.

The military watched approvingly, this was what they’d hoped would happen. The primeval dragon was no real threat, but the monster that had taken up residence under Paris had been making a meal of the locals, and his burrowing was a major source of property damage, not to mention threatening the Catacombs of Paris. But the military hadn’t been able to smoke him out or kill him when they got him into the open, that was until the ancient dinosaur decided to make a pit stop. Having already evacuated the area of the city and putting aside a little battle-based property damage, Gorosaurus’ arrival was just what the doctor ordered. And it didn’t escape them that it was rather ironic that they were using the same creature they’d once mistaken for the horned horror to fight him now.

Gorosaurus  struck first, swinging his tail around, only for the nimble creature  to duck under it and counterattack by leaping through the air and slamming horn first into his chest, driving him backwards and drawing blood. Baragon followed up with another leap, this time landing with his jaws clamped down on his scaled  shoulder, drawing a roar of pain from the dinosaur’s mouth. As the underground king shook his head like a dog, trying to tear out a chunk of flesh, his foe bit down on his ridged shoulder himself, picking the smaller monster off and throwing him through a row of houses. Now angry, the theropod charged and swung around as the burrower stood up, smacking the smaller kaiju in the side with his tail, knocking him to the ground flat on his back. The saurian quickly lunged down and sunk his teeth into shoulder flesh, drawing blood quickly.

The subterranean hunter roared out in pain as the razor-edged teeth of his adversary tore into his shoulder and lit up his horn right beside the baleful eye, causing the prehistoric predator to rear back in pain, releasing his prey. The fierce dragon struggled to see out of his temporarily blinded eye, allowing the burrowing menace to get back to his feet and let loose a torrent of flames from his maw into the dinosaur’s face; the conflagration sent him recoiling and roaring in pain, his face receiving second degree burns from the flames. Before the primeval predator could recover, the ravenous reptile did a running leap, jumping clear over the burnt beast and, upon landing, sunk his teeth into his spiked tail, inciting a roar of pain from the dinosaur kaiju. 

Gorosaurus flailed his tail wildly, trying to throw the fierce burrower  off but the tenacious kaiju hung tight, even as he was torn from the ground and swung through the air, slamming back down onto a small building. The saurian spun around, trying to snap at the persistent little kaiju, only to be evaded every time. Starting to get frustrated at this annoying pest for making a fool of him, the teal theropod reared back on his tail, using his ability to support his body weight by his tail to press the offending cretin’s bottom jaw hard against the ground. The smaller monster flailed in surprise and pain as his lower jaw was sandwiched between his target’s entire body weight and the ground. Desperate to free himself, the underground dragon let loose his flames, causing the allosaur to jump back to his feet, trying to make the burning pain in his tail stop while the subterranean kaiju received a burn to the face from the backwash of fire caused by blasting something in his mouth. 

However, Baragon managed to recover quickly enough to leap into the air, slamming down hard on his foe’s spiked back, driving the dinosaur to the ground hard before raining claw slashes into his back, drawing blood and causing quite a few lacerations. Gorosaurus let out a bellow of pain and fury at this attack, managing to get to his feet, but the ravenous predator, once more showing his tenacity, clung on tight, biting into the back of his shoulder. The primeval predator once more found himself struggling to get free from powerful jaws, though he was more annoyed by this than anything else. He finally decided to rear back on his tail again, this time letting the extra weight of the canine-esque terror send both crashing backwards through a small building, crushing his opponent under his weight. The underground beast yelped loudly on impact, allowing the Mondo apex to free himself and get to his feet. He spun around to find a ridged tail disappearing beneath the earth.

The prehistoric throwback scanned his surroundings carefully, trying to find out where his rival had gone. Finally deciding the smaller creature had fled, he turned back towards the meat to eat his hard earned meal… only for his foot to fall into a hole dug beneath, sending him toppling to his side with a roar of surprise. The allosaur groaned as he struggled to stand, only for the underground dragon to poke out of the ground next to him and breathe a torrent of fire into his chest, causing him to roar in pain and leaving a blackened patch of skin in its place. Triangular jaws quickly snapped in retaliation, only for the subterranean kaiju to pop back into his hole and dodge him. Growling, King Kong’s rival quickly made it to his feet and glared at the hole, knowing now the burrowing  kaiju hadn’t fled, he’d merely changed how he was fighting the battle. The theropod held his ground, looking around for any sign of the ravenous hunter, but ultimately, that sign came from behind in the form of a blast of fire, staggering him forwards and getting a cry of surprise and pain from the kaiju. The primeval creature spun around, only to once again find his attacker gone, and moments later, receiving a blast of fire to the back. This same exchange repeated twice more, causing ancient fury and frustration to grow, the harassed dinosaur feeling like a dog stuck at the end of his leash with a cat taunting him a few inches out of his grasp. It was then he had an idea…

The horned horror popped out of the ground once more to fire, only to find his foe gone. The subterranean kaiju looked around in confusion, wondering how his rival had disappeared so quickly. The answer came when the allosaur erupted from behind, the burrowing glutton’s tail clinched in his jaws. The underground king roared in surprise and pain as Gorosaurus’ jaws crushed down on his tail, drawing blood. The dinosaur shook his head, lacerating Baragon’s flesh, taking pleasure in the realization this Baragon didn’t know he could burrow as well, one of the reasons he’d been mistaken for the burrowing monster the last time he was here. The teal theropod flung the ravenous hunter through the air, sending him crashing into a clearing nearby. Enraged, the underground predator charged once again and leapt through the air at his foe. But that was a well he had gone to once too often, the primeval monster was ready and reared back on his tail. The burrower  barely had time to give a roar of shock before the apex of Mondo Island let loose a kangaroo kick, striking him right in the chest and sending him soaring through the air for several hundred yards and into the Arch De Triumph, crushing the structure under his now limp body.

The allosaur cautiously made his way over to Baragon, checking the subterranean creature over, finding him coughing up blood and in agony, his chest having practically been imploded by the kick. Taking pity on the little kaiju and deciding to put him out of his misery, the Jurassic survivor lunged forwards and clamped his jaws around the smaller monster’s throat, shaking it until he tore it out. Blood pouring from his neck, the once king of the underground quickly went limp in death. Swallowing the hunk of flesh, Gorosaurus licked his lips, now having two big meals to eat, unknowing that the French military had used him for pest control. He honestly didn’t care, so long as they left him be. The prehistoric predator quickly set to work, eating Baragon’s corpse, enjoying a well-earned meal.

Winner: Gorosaurus (Showa)

Author: Christian Salabert | Banner: Christian Salabert

The ground began to buckle as something underneath it began to unearth itself.  A long, spindly leg suddenly erupted from the soil. It was shortly followed by another. Soon, eight of the appendages had emerged from the ground, and together they hoisted something out from the subterranean depths. With a chittering cry, the mighty predator known as Kumonga exploded from the dirt. As the soil fell from his bumped back, the massive spider began making his way through Monster Island’s jungles. A large meal after his long nap would do quite nicely.

Sea water poured from Titanosaurus’ scales as he lifted himself out of the ocean and stepped onto Monster Island’s sandy shores. The aquatic beast had grown tired of swimming for the time being and decided it was time to roam about on land. Leaving his footprints across the beach, the towering saurian soon disappeared into the foliage, crushing trees beneath his feet as he went.

On and on, the arachnid forged as he continued to look for food. He came across Minya, but that plan was quickly laid to rest when Godzilla took notice and stepped in between his son and the giant spider. Undeterred, the top predator of Solgell continued to look for a meal that would sate his considerable hunger. He began to climb upwards as he entered the mountainous region of the island. He could sense another creature nearby, one that would hopefully prove not as much of a challenge as the King of the Monsters, but would provide just as much sustenance.

Red nostrils snorted in annoyance as the aquatic creature came across a mountain of considerable size, even for him. Unwilling to walk around it, the crimson reptile began to trek up the towering slope, his antennae twitching as he went. He could feel that another of the island’s residents was nearby, but hoped that it would keep its distance. He was in no mood for a fight today.

The two monsters continued to move forward, both only vaguely aware of the other’s presence. As they came closer and closer to the mountain’s peak, they started to hear each other in motion, the sounds of their thunderous footsteps and crushing trees underfoot echoing through the air. Titanosaurus growled in frustration as he trudged on, but Kumonga merely twitched his mandibles in silent anticipation. Their encounter was inevitable now.

Reaching the very top of the mountain, the sail-backed dinosaur quickly turned his head from side to side, trying to spot the other beast he knew was there before it saw him. But to his surprise and confusion, he found nothing. He didn’t like this. He knew he had heard something on the other side of the mountain. His ear-like fins twitched as he tried to hear even a hint of another monster’s presence. The titanic tarantula thanked the fates for his luck; in his attempt to locate the other creature, the amphibian had inadvertently turned his back to the spider. Taking advantage of his position, the arachnid immediately began to unleash a torrent of webbing, which soon began to rain down onto the reptile. Looking up, the primeval predator stared at the white strands covering his upper torso in momentary confusion, confusion which quickly ended as he spun around, instantly spotting his attacker. Trumpeting angrily, the normally gentle giant marched forward, ready to punt the eight-legged freak off the top of the mountain.

Seeing his intended prey quickly approaching, the hunter from Solgell ceased firing his web and began to back away. He could most certainly handle himself in combat, but he knew the dinosaur was not an opponent to take lightly, especially in close quarters. Just as he got within reach, the larger monster reared his foot back and went to kick the spider in the face, but the multilegged menace countered with a tactic of his own. Using his legs to lift himself high into the air, a fanged face headbutted the kyoru in the neck, causing the reptile to choke and stagger back, toppling off his feet. Lowering himself down into his usual stance, Kumonga watched as Titanosaurus rolled down the slope, cackling as he went. The warty saurian’s descent down the side was brought to a sudden end as he hit a rocky ledge sticking out of the side. Dazed, the underwater beast moved about drunkenly, unable to even get up to his feet. Seeing that his foe was vulnerable, the methodical hunter began to climb down after him.

The arachnid came closer and closer to his prey, tauntingly exposing the poison stinger within his mouth. Just as he was about to strike, the prehistoric relic suddenly pulled himself upright, taking the spider by surprise. Spinning around, the deep sea dinosaur flipped his tail open, revealing the membrane within. Bending over, he began to flap his tail from side to side, almost instantly generating a hurricane wind that stopped the arachnid dead in his tracks. Thanks to his body being so low to the ground, the giant spider was safe from being blown away by the gale, but he couldn’t get any closer to his opponent. The uprooted trees and rocks bouncing off his face didn’t help either. He tried spraying Titanosaurus with his web, but it was instantly dispersed in the winds. Unable to do much else, the titanic tarantula decided to put some distance between the two of them and took a careful step backward. For an instant, he lost his footing and stumbled back, pushed forcefully by the typhoon assault. Thankfully, he regained his footing before he was sent sprawling down the opposite side of the mountain.

Standing upright and folding his tail back up, the warty titan  turned around and spotted Kumonga at the peak once again. Trumpeting angrily, the dinosaur marched up, flexing his arms as he got ready to attack. By the time the venomous monster had recovered his wits, the prehistoric giant was already upon him. The sea monster outstretched his arms just as the spider raised his two front legs. With a crash, the monsters slammed into each other. Locked in combat, the two grappled with each other, trying to inflict as much damage as they could to their opponent. The eight legged beast moved to strike the saurian with his front legs, but the reptile easily grabbed them and kept them away from him. Each time a taloned foot tried to kick Kumonga in the face, the spider extended his poisonous stinger, threatening to stab into the foot with it. For the longest time, it seemed that the two beasts were stuck in a stalemate.

The two creatures stayed like that for some time before the larger kaiju decided to end their shoving match, releasing one of the striped legs. Just as the limb shot towards him, ready to strike, the primeval giant twisted his head around and caught it within his jaws, biting down on it. Kumonga cried out as he felt thick teeth pierce his skin, but the reptile wasn’t done yet. Utilizing his impressive strength, the amphibious saurian spun himself around, lifting the thrashing tarantula up into the air with only his jaws. Continuing to build momentum, Titanosaurus eventually opened his mouth, releasing the arachnid and sending the spider soaring through the sky, down the mountain, until his flight was abruptly and violently ended by the ground. The deep sea monster nodded satisfactorily as he saw his foe  lay there at the base of the mountain, twitching in agony, one of his legs broken by the crash.

Keeping his eye on the spider, the titanic dinosaur  finally made his way down the other side of the mountain, occasionally letting out trumpeting sounds to herald his victory. He eventually made it to the bottom, glowering at the mammoth arachnid as he went. Suddenly, Kumonga lifted his head and spat out his stinger, which instantly embedded itself into the base of his stretched neck. The reptile’s eyes widened as he could already feel the area going numb. Without any hesitation, the nimble aquatic leapt up from where he stood and into the air. Seconds later, he came down hard, crushing a multi eyed head underneath his feet. The spider’s body spasmed violently, then went limp.

The kyoryu could already feel the stinger’s poison getting stronger. Wiping the arachnid’s  brains off the bottoms of his feet and onto the jungle grass, he continued his trek across the island. Hopefully he would make it back to the ocean before the spider’s sting rendered him unconscious.

Winner: Titanosaurus

Author: Kenneth James | Banner: Jackson Morris

Monster X descended from the sky above the famous volcano, landing gently near its top. The demon of the stars had orders from his master; while having a kaiju destroy a city was fine, a volcanic eruption was very destructive in its own right, and more enjoyable to watch. He stood back and let loose an onslaught of powerful energy beams from his four eyes, blowing huge chunks of rock and debris from Mt. Saint Helens in all directions as he attempted to trigger the blast.

Deep below, the shockwaves from the blast shook and ravaged the area. Years ago, the volcanic eruption had failed to awaken it, but the gravity bombardment would do just that. A glowing red eye lit up, glimpsing out of the ancient cavern with an unearthly screech.

The Xillien vanguard continued his assault until finally, the earth began shaking. He stopped, awaiting the eruption… before realizing the shaking wasn’t the volcano itself. Suddenly, the earth exploded outwards, a massive form erupting from the depths of the volcano for the first time in several million years. Megaguirus hovered in the air in front of Monster X, ready to reclaim what belonged to her after so long in hibernation below the Earth’s crust, and finding her first victim. She didn’t care how long she’d been gone, the skeletal hybrid was in her territory, that was all that mattered, and the Meganula Queen would destroy any threat to her turf. On top of that, the proto-Ghidorah reeked of energy. The amount was tantalizing and the prehistoric predator hungered for it after her long slumber. She screeched and dove at the alien, jaws wide as she prepared to clamp her powerful maw down on his throat.

The Controller watched from the mothership as Monster X roared in surprise, leaping out of the fast kaiju’s path. 

“A monster was sleeping in the volcano?” he asked, surprised.  “Well well, Earth has no shortage of these giant pests it seems… It doesn’t have the M-Base like the others. So, Monster X…” 

He gave an evil smirk. 

“Kill it.”

The Keizer roared in response, more than happy to oblige his master’s command. He threw his arms out, letting loose his Gravity Beams at the insect. However, the flying predator evaded nimbly, weaving through the rays and dashing forwards through the air, slamming her sharp wings into the cosmic terror’s chest, toppling him to the ground hard. The space monster groaned, having no idea she was that fast. He quickly got to his feet and slowly circled the ancient killer, Megaguirus doing the same. The draconic flier was first to charge, flying straight at the demon, claws ready to strike and tear his flesh. However, Monster X managed to catch her pincers and swung her around, slamming her to the ground. He swung around, bringing his whip-like tail into the side of her fanged face, leaving a welt in her exoskeleton and earning a roar of pain. He then prepared to fire his Gravity Rays, only for the Carboniferous creature to swing her own tail around and trip an armored leg, knocking him to the ground and allowing her to take flight and return to her element.

The Xillien weapon groaned, slowly returning to his feet as his foe buzzed around him. The Dragon Queen watched her rival, waiting for the right moment to strike, a predator on the hunt. The Super Space Monster watched her closely, waiting… when suddenly he felt a scolding burn in his foot and jumped to the side, looking down to see molten lava begin pouring up from the depths of the volcano. This, however, allowed the hovering horror  to finally see her opening and shoot forward, swinging her tail up, aiming for the black sinewy stomach. However, the space monster managed to turn back in time and leapt into the air, spinning around and roundhouse kicking the prehistoric terror in the side of the head, sending her spiraling to the ground with a huge crash. Monster X took advantage and leapt on top of her spiked back, raining blows into her face, each earning a sharp roar of pain. 

Megaguirus felt hot lava seep under her body and panicked, swinging her stinger up and digging into his back, drawing a spurt of blood and a roar of agony. The cadaverous monster  jumped off before the parasite could siphon energy, but the Meganula Queen took flight once again, glad to be out of the lava. She flapped her wings at blinding speeds and took off so fast she was just a blur. The bioweapon zenith found himself bombarded from every direction, staggering as super sonic strikes landed, the blitzing beast zooming past him so quickly he barely caught sight of her. Finally, the arthropod clamped her pincers down on bony shoulders and flew up with her momentum, carrying him off into the air and dropping him several hundred feet to the base of Mt. Saint Helens.

Monster X groaned, looking up in pain, searching for the damned insect. He noticed the superspeed creature had stopped her high speed assault, probably to conserve energy. He also noticed the ground below him was starting to shake. This time, he knew it was a sign the volcano was going to erupt soon. Megaguirus, however, refused to cease her advantage and dove straight at the cosmic terror, intending to impale him on her stinger. However, the space-born kaiju waited for her to get close and let loose his Gravity Beams, blasting her and sending her crashing to the ground, screeching in pain. The gravity master groaned and stood back up, charging over and slashing away at her face and chest, earning streaks of blood in the ancient queen’s armor. He remembered last time and quickly leapt out of the way as she attempted to sting him in the back again. He swiftly grabbed her tail before it could be lowered and swung around, slamming her hard into the side of the volcano. He leapt up and followed up with a flying back hand, only to find his arm clenched in her crushing jaws. He roared and tried to free his arm, only for the infernal insect to fly up and continue to shake her head rapidly, trying to tear deeper into his interstellar arm. The celestial demon felt his bony armor give way to the strong jaws and responded in turn, driving his claws into her right eye and tearing it out. The monster monarch roared in agony as blood spurted from her now missing eye, as the space demon followed up by grabbing her by the shoulders and throwing her off.

The ancient terror quickly caught herself in midair and took flight once again, intending to exact revenge for her destroyed eye. She saw the Keizer of monsters prepare his Gravity Bolts and charged forwards, driving her stinger into his gut, earning a roar of agony. The energy devourer grabbed him by the arms with her pincers to hold them in place. The extraterrestrial roared out in pain as he felt his energy being drained into the giant insect queen’s body and struggled. He attempted his beams, but discovered, to his horror, that the’ energy drain robbed him of his weapon for the time being. The Meganula Queen finally had her fill and retreated, X quickly attempting his Gravity Rays to counterattack, only for the prehistoric killer to dodge and get in close. Much to the warrior of the cosmos’ shock, he saw a sphere of yellow energy form before her pincer before she unleashed a blast of his own energy, sending him flying back and crashing hard to the ground, sending bits of his armor flying into the air.

 The ravenous predator quickly descended on him and slashed his face repeatedly with her pincers, each earning a shower of sparks. Finally, Monster X regained his senses and let off a blast of Gravity Rays. The parasitic pest didn’t have time to dodge and raised her pincer up to defend her frail body from further damage, the limb taking the full fury of the attack and blowing the pincer off into burning bits of flesh. As she roared in pain, the Super Space Monster sprang up and did a leaping spin, smashing his tail into the side of her head, continuing as he came down, driving his fist into the side of her jaw, toppling her hard to the ground. The humanoid quickly pounced on her and grabbed her by the throat, trying to choke her. However, being an insect, the bug didn’t breath through her mouth, but instead external openings on their body, thus, the choking had little effect and she was able to counter attack, driving her pincer straight into his crimson eye, earning herself a roar of agony from her opponent as she tore it out of his face, forcing him back. The energy devourer then looked up at the volcano and saw something frightening, taking off at blinding speeds

The Kezier looked around in confusion. Why had she left so suddenly? He sensed something behind him and swung around… too late. 

A pyroclastic flow from the eruption he himself had triggered washed down the mountain, slamming into him with great force.

Megaguirus watched from safety as the alien was engulfed by the scolding hot current of rock, toxic gas and ash. If he somehow survived such a fate, she’d be on him in a moment to finish the job. And sure enough, when the flow ended, the Xillien champion still stood, badly burned to the point some of his bone armor plates flaked and fell off and wheezing on the toxic, burning hot gases that had nearly incinerated his lungs. Having adapted to the hot, poisonous gases of a volcano after living inside one for several million years, the monster monarch fearlessly dove down and put him out of his misery, stabbing the suffering bioweapon in the chest with her stinger, forcing it deeper until it erupted out his back in a shower of blood and gore. Not finished, the Meganula Queen, with Monster X impaled on her tail, lunged forwards and tore out his throat. The infernal insect allowed the dying humanoid to fall limp to the ground and die. She let out a victorious roar, before dragging her kill off to find a safe place to eat it.

The Controller jumped around in a fury, yelling at the top of his lungs, cursing out the bug.

Winner: Megaguirus

Author: Christian Salabert | Banner: Jackson Morris

A pair of slaves ran across the sandy shores of Letchi Island, trying desperately to escape their terrorist captors. As they reached the waves, they realized they were left with no other choice and leapt into the water, swimming as hard and as fast as their bodies could handle. Catching up too late to stop them, the soldiers chasing them fired their machine guns at the fleeing duo, but they were already out of range.

But despite the potential escape of the two slaves, the Red Bamboo Captain grinned evilly. 

“They may have escaped from us, but they won’t escape from Ebirah!” he cackled. 

He quickly redirected his men to the base’s dock to get a better view of the slaves’ fate.

Just as the group of soldiers reached the dock, the water began to churn and bubble. The Captain’s grin got wider as a huge, shelled form began to rise up out of the ocean. But his look of evil glee soon turned into a look of shock and confusion when, instead of their captive beast, out of the sea rose the tentacled beast Crustaceous Rex!

Opening his floweresque face, C-Rex let loose with a whale-like cry. Looking downward, he spotted the fleeing slaves, who noticed the mammoth creature too late. Before they could even begin to turn and try to swim back to shore, they were ensnared by thrashing tentacles, hoisted high into the air, and stuffed into the sea creature’s mouth. The mutation swallowed the two a moment later, but their meager size failed to sate his hunger. Looking for more food, the abyssal predator began making his way towards the island.

The interloper had barely taken two steps towards the island, however, when the ocean waves once again began to churn behind him. One dark red claw pierced the surface, then another. Pulling the rest of his mass up out from beneath the waves, Lecithi’s devil let out a high-pitched screech, quickly grabbing the attention of the split-jawed beast. The yellowish mutation turned to face the new arrival, letting out a battle cry and flexing his tentacles. The super shrimp began waving his arms around, snapping his pincers open and shut, ready to drive this strange beast out of his waters. Both sea monsters immediately went on the attack, lunging towards each other. 

Thick claws clamped down on the Jamaican monster’s powerful legs, but the mutant’s tentacles lashed out, wrapping around armored arms. As the Red Bamboo’s guard dog tried snapping his foe’s legs in half, the deep sea monster began pulling on the lobster’s arms, trying to wrench the limbs out of their sockets. The overgrown shrimp’s claws began cutting into abyssal flesh, leaking green blood into the water. Groaning in pain, the tentacled terror opened his face once again and unleashed a thick torrent of tar from his mouth, covering his foe’s face. The mighty crustacean released his opponent’s legs and shrieked as the boiling, black gunk covered his face. As the unnatural predator righted himself and readied to attack, the Horror of the Deep plunged under the waves, trying to wipe the tar off his face. Flipping around, he swatted the biped’s legs with his tail, sweeping them out from under him and sending him crashing beneath the surface.

Sinking to the ocean floor, Crustaceous Rex managed to get back to his feet and spotted Ebirah, who had succeeded in getting the tar away from his eyes, allowing him to zero in on the tentacled monster. Moving his tail up and down, the gigantic arthropod made a beeline for C-Rex, his arms outstretched and his pincers open. But the deep sea monster was ready for him, raising one of his legs up and smashing one of his large feet into his pointed face, stopping the lobster’s charge cold. The decapod was quick to respond, however, backhanding the larger creature with his left pincer, staggering the mutation. With the yellow beast reeling from that blow, Ebirah raised both his arms and brought them down hard onto the sloped back, sending a thunderous crack reverberating through the water as their bony armor collided against each other. The bipedal beast reacted quickly, snatching the crustacean’s right arm and legs with his tentacles. With a mighty heave, the arthropod monarch brought his heinous foe down and smashed him into the rocky ground, stunning the oversized shrimp.

As the sea monster tried to regain his wits, the mutation raised his leg and stomped down on his foe, trying to crush him underfoot. The ridged shell started to crack before the lobster even realized what was happening, and he began writhing about, trying to get a hold on his foe, but he was too far out of reach. It was then that he realized that the giant’s leg, the one he was standing on, was not too far away from him. Pulling his arm back, the Red Bamboo’s watchdog stabbed his smaller pincer directly into the three taloned foot, just as a large crack broke across the main section of his shell. The oil eater staggered back, wailing in pain as his foot leaked blood, while the shrimp monster climbed onto a nearby rock and came up with his next move.

The pain in his foot subsiding, the flower faced fiend turned to face Ebirah, moaning angrily. The mammoth lobster shook his pincers at his foe and screeched, taunting the mutation. Furious, Crustaceous Rex charged, extending his tentacles. The Horror of The Deep leapt off the rock, opening his pincers. They met violently, their impact sending a shockwave through the sea. Their clash was brief but fierce, each creature trying to end the other as fast as possible. Screams of agony suddenly echoed throughout the waves, and both monsters quickly backed away from the other.

Three of the C-Rex’s tentacles fell to the ocean floor.

The Letchi devil’s large pincer similarly hit the rocky bottom.

The two underwater behemoths glared daggers at each other as they momentarily licked their wounds, formulating their next move. Their main weapons had been weakened severely, and they both knew they had to be careful with their next attack. The decapod soon climbed back onto the rock he had leapt from before, eyeing the tentacled terror, whose own eyes hadn’t left the crimson crustacean. He quickly glanced at the ocean floor, spotting a weapon he could use, then returned his vision to his foe. He stepped forward, ready to attack.

Once his foe was close enough, Ebirah leapt towards the mutant predator again, aiming his one remaining pincer at the mutation’s face, planning on spearing his head with it. The larger beast was quick to react, however, and his last tentacle reached down to the ground, ensnaring the dismembered claw. As soon as the enormous shrimp was close enough, C-Rex thrust his tentacle upward.

The lobster’s pained screech was cut short as his own pincer sliced into his soft underbelly and burst out the broken shell covering his back. The tar eater released his grip on the claw and stepped back, allowing the sea monster to sink to the bottom floor, twitching and bleeding. Writhing about in the mud and rocks, the crimson creature tried to strike back at Crustaceous Rex, but his life was ebbing away too rapidly. Within moments, the Horror of The Deep lay still.

C-Rex stepped up to his kill and, using his sole tentacle, started to peel away the shattered shell. Ripping out a chunk of meat and stuffing it into his mouth, the mutation wailed contently. This was far more satisfying than squid.

Winner: C-Rex