Author: Kenneth James | Banner: Dao Zang Moua

The Amazon was a dense, vibrant thicket of life. Home to a huge range of wildlife, covering over five million and a half kilometers of land, it was little wonder this place would be a target for the demonic Desghidorah’s hunger for life energy. The planet-killing space dragon descended on the land and quickly began to siphon energy out of his surroundings, causing plants and trees to wither and die in seconds. The hellfire hydra relished the meal, but even consuming this entire rainforest, even the entire planet’s life energy, wouldn’t be enough for him. His hunger was endless. The quadruped kaiju flew low over the rainforest, allowing more and more life force to be drained into his body. However, before his meal could finish, the space monster was sent spiraling from the sky and crashing hard into the ground with tremendous force, shaking the ground for miles. The death bringer roared in pain, shaking his three heads to clear them from the impact, then looking up as he got back to his feet, expecting to see his ancient nemesis Mothra but instead finding a very different sight.

Ultraman descended from the sky, landing before the cosmic terror. 

“SHIAH!” he bellowed, taking his battle stance. 

For centuries, the Ultras had sought to put an end to the cosmic horror and his equally destructive fellow Ghidorahs that had so long ravaged the universe. He wouldn’t allow this ancient evil to drain life on Earth if he had a choice in the matter. He slowly circled the demonic hydra, which kept all six of his sinister eyes on the Ultra Hero, each waiting for the other to make the first move. The hellfire beast wasn’t known for patience and he was the one to shoot first, letting loose a hailstorm of burning energy blasts from his mouth. The Giant of Light was quick to roll forwards, dodging the assault and closing the distance, quickly grabbing hold of one of the plant killer’s necks and delivering a barrage of chops to it. He saw one of the other heads attempt to snake around and bite him, but he managed to catch it under the jaw and force its head up as it tried to let loose an energy bolt, sending the deadly attack flying into the sky. However, the third head, exploiting the heroic envoy’s vulnerable state, bit down on his shoulder, discharging energy into him and causing the Ultra Brother to roar in pain. The attack forced the cosmic hero into releasing the other two heads, allowing each of them to take hold of one of each silver arm, discharging energy of their own before all three lifted him off the ground and slammed him back down into it with great force. They lifted once again and threw the humanoid, sending him crashing into the ground a good distance away.

As the sizeshifting superhero struggled to get back up, the devil dragon stampeded towards him, rearing up on his hind legs and crashing down with his full weight on his foe’s chest, driving him deeper into the wet ground. The dark Ghidorah was quickly on the assault again, trying to bite down on the Land of Lighter as he was pinned beneath him. Man-Ni-San barely managed to move his head out of the way enough to dodge the nearest vicious fangs, causing the earth around his head to be uprooted by the space dragon’s powerful jaws. 

Ultraman took the first opportunity he got and crossed his arms in a ‘plus’ shape, letting loose the Specium Beam from his upright hand. The burning beam of energy tore into the space demon’s chest and sent him backpedaling. He finally stopped the beam, but to his shock, the monster still stood! The alien dragon had received a rather nasty burn to his chest that was clearly extremely painful, but it hadn’t been nearly enough to finish him. The seasoned fighter looked down as he heard a distinctive high pitched noise, his Color Timer flashing red. The fight had only just begun and already his energy ran short! He had to change strategy quickly.

The cosmic defender saw Desghidorah’s central head let loose a powerful stream of flames and leapt into the air, taking flight and landing on his finned back. He quickly sent blow after blow into the hydra’s necks, trying to make a dent. However, before he could make much headway, the extraterrestrial  let loose a powerful pulse of energy, blasting the silver hero off and to the ground with a cry of pain. The world destroyer quickly turned as the shining protector got back to his feet and bombarded the Ultra with bolts of energy, sending blasts of earth and blazing trees flying high into the sky. When the dust cleared, the wounded hero fell to his knees in pain, his Color Timer flashing rapidly. The hellfire dragon bellowed and let loose another volley of energy blasts, intending to finish it.

Ultraman awaited his demise, regretting his failure… but the hit never came. Orb-like eyes looked up to see another giant hero standing between him and his foe. Zone Fighter formed the outline of a shield with his hands as they glowed, forming the Hyper Barrier. The powerful energy field not only intercepted the fiery onslaught, but reflected it back at it’s originator, sending the space monster staggering backwards, roaring in agony. The Peacelander turned and helped his ally to his feet, the two alien heroes exchanging a nod. The blue hero looked at the blinking timer, knowing the Ultra was in dire straits. He pointed up and gave his friend a nod, then pointed to himself, telling the Ultra to go recharge and he’d keep their enemy busy in the meantime.

Man-Ni-San was hesitant, but fairly certain the Meteor Man was capable of keeping the destroyer occupied until he could return. He gave a nod and spread his arms. 

“SHUWATCH!”

The battle cry barked from the Ultra as he took off to leave Earth’s atmosphere and recharge to continue the fight. The Hurricane of Justice nodded as he saw this and turned back to the dark super beast as the space monster recovered from the last attack, the hero of justice taking a battle stance of his own.

Desghidorah roared in surprise at this second similar being, not sure what to make of him. Nonetheless, the hellish hydra roared and charged the antennaed being, who was quick to meet his charge, delivering a barrage of punches to his chest. The demon from the stars was quick to attempt a bite, but the eldest Sakimori sidestepped it and gave a powerful kick to the back of his spiked knee, taking the titan off balance and nearly toppling him. Before the drake could regain his footing, the Champion of The Universe sent a rapid barrage of punches into his chest, quickly causing his fists to move at blinding speed. The Uzi Punch managed to force back the evil creature a few meters before he lunged over the physical assault and bit the Peacelander by the throat, discharging energy into the space man. Zone Fighter struggled in pain, trying to free himself. He saw the other heads lunge towards him to clamp down as well, and managed to pull open the jaws head he was presently locked in, allowing him to duck and causing the two heads to crash into one another. Taking advantage of the momentary daze the collision left the two heads in, the Meteor Man leapt back and did a series of hand poses.

“Meteor Missile Might!” shouted the young hero, summoning missile-filled gauntlets to his wrists.

 He quickly let loose a punishing barrage of missiles from one of the bracelets into the thick hide of the space hydra, tearing into his flesh and earning roars of pain. The Earth defender continued this onslaught until his first bracelet ran out and quickly brought the other one forwards, giving another barrage. By the time the bracelets were empty, the cosmic demon was surrounded by a pillar of thick smoke from the explosions and impacts. Zone slowly rose up, waiting in suspense to see if that’d done the job. When the smoke cleared, the star hero saw that the super monster was still quite alive, though badly hurt and looking worse for wear as a result. The Champion prepared to follow up with another attack to finish the space demon, only to see plants surrounding him wilting and dying as energy drained out of them. Hikaru then looked up at the charcoal devil, seeing him regain his strength as he sucked it out of the surroundings.

Shocked, Zone took a step back, leaving him open to a blast of the central head’s fire stream, staggering him back before a pair of energy bolts from the other two heads blasted him clear off his feet and sent him crashing hard to the ground, his head falling with a splash into the Amazon River. The young Sakimori groaned as he tried to rise again, only to see the quadruped rear up and slam his entire weight down onto his chest, earning a bellow of pain. The horned outer heads lunged down and clamped their teeth into the Meteor Man’s shoulders, discharging energy into his body and burning into his flesh. The center head lunged back and launched forwards, aiming to sink into a silver throat. However, before the malicious monster could land the finishing blow, a circular blade of blue energy flew in. The titan reared up, causing the blade to only leave a gash in his chest instead of beheading him as it was intended.

Desghidorah looked up and saw Ultraman flying back down, fully recharged and ready to assist Zone Fighter in the battle. Having a short attention span, the space demon took flight to resume his battle with the hero from the Land of Light, quickly opening fire with a barrage of energy bolts. The envoy from the stars dodged and retaliated with a Specium Beam, with the demonic hydra barely flying above it. Flaming plasma continued to fire, the onslaught forcing the Ultra to dodge and put him on the defensive. Finally, the death beast managed to get in close and clamp his mouths down on his foe’s shoulders, burning into his flesh. The evil creature took the opportunity and flew straight down, slamming the Giant of Light into the ground with great force and maintaining his grip.

Zone Fighter, his own meter turning yellow, stood back up and saw the danger his partner was in. He threw his hand forwards, letting loose a stream of arrow-like energy blasts. The cutting beam flew through the blood red right wing, cutting it off at the base. The Ghidorah roared in fury and pain as his severed wing fell to the ground before he quickly turned his attention towards the blue protector. With a snarl, he began preparing another gout of flames. However, Man-Ni-San had different thoughts and quickly got back to his feet, throwing an Ultra Cutter and severing the other wing. The dragon’s attack was cut off by his own roar of pain and he swung his tail around, trying to hit the Specium master, only for him to jump over it and grab his right neck, pounding away at the head. 

Zone quickly closed the distance and did the same with the left, trying to doubleteam the tyrant. The space demon screeched in fury and let loose his energy shockwave, blasting both heroes off him and to the ground. The two managed to get back to their feet and stood side by side. They rushed the multi headed devil, dodging energy bolts shot their way by the demonic hydra, huge explosions going off around them, until they reached him and both sent fists and chops into his front, managing to drive him back. They quickly saw the demon beginning to charge another energy pulse and jumped back to dodge it. However, as surprising as it was, the lava spewer had tricked them! The space monster reared up, driving his weight into the ground, causing it to split open and towers of burning flame to swell up from the molten depths of the earth, burning and wounding the twin heroes.

The two protectors crashed, wounded to the ground, Sakimori’s meter turning red and Hayata’s own timer flashing. The two heroes managed to get to their feet in time to evade another onslaught of energy, the Peacelander going left, the Land of Lighter right. When they landed, they expected to be under attack, but saw their target seemed confused as to which one to attack first. Both heroes noticed that the belligerent monster kept focusing on the one who attacked him last. The two gave each other a nod of agreement and decided to use that to their advantage. 

The Ultra Brother charged the life devourer, getting his attention and forming a barrier of energy to block an onslaught of energy bolts, allowing the Meteor Man to close in and grab the horns on the  right head in one hand and the jaws in the other. He pulled them in separate directions, earning a resounding crack and roar of agony. He leapt back, watching as the head’s separated jaw hung limply, the towering hydra quickly turning and firing a stream of flames from his center head. Hikaru quickly formed a weaker energy barrier, the Zone-Barrier, to block it. The cosmic defender took advantage and formed an Ultra Cutter, throwing it and sending the severed tail of the dragon flying into the air. The hellfire monster roared in agony and turned left and right frustrated, not knowing who to attack. His fury overriding his mind, the cosmic demon fired his energy weapons in all directions.

The two heroes managed to avoid the berserk rage their tactics had sent the hellfire beast into and got close, Zone Fighter wrapping his hands around the left neck of the monster and Ultraman around the right. The two lifted with all their strength, managing to tear the towering alien off his feet and send him hurling overhead to the ground a distance away. The twin alien heroes nodded to one another, the Ultra crossing his hands in Specium Beam preparation.

“Meteor Proton Beam!” announced Zone with a series of poses, firing a beam of dark blue energy from his crest, which collided with Ultraman’s newly fired Specium Beam. 

The two finishing beams collided and combined into a single beam that tore into the cosmic monster’s scaled body, tearing into and  burning his hide, sending bits of blazing flesh and explosions into the air. Desghidorah tried to remain standing, but the force and pain inflicted by the combined assault forced him backwards, even trying to drain energy from his surroundings failed him and he knew his time was done. He let out one last agony filled roar before finally, he went up in a fireball, the infamous dragon vaporized in a humongous explosion.

The two heroes panted, watching the shockwave of the blast as trees’ limbs blew in its wake, allowing them to follow it visually. They looked over at the massive crater that used to be the devourer of forests as chunks of rock and trees rained down from the explosion, the terrible space monster finally dead, though at the cost of a large section of the Amazon Rainforest. Man-Ni-San looked around at the still-burning flames and put his hands together, letting loose a spray of water and putting out the flames. While he did that, Hikaru looked at the Ghidorah’s severed tail. Realizing a relative of Grand King Ghidorah may share his kin’s regenerative abilities, he piled it and the severed wings together and stepped back.

“Meteor Proton Beam!” The Champion of The Universe called, doing the set up and firing the finishing beam once again, wisely vaporizing the last remaining pieces of the hellfire evil to ensure he wouldn’t regenerate and plague the world again.

The two alien heroes walked slowly over to each other, both physically exhausted. The two looked at each other for a few seconds before taking each other’s hands and shaking them, both glad to have this opportunity to fight by each other’s side.

“SHUWATCH!” shouted the Giant of Light, taking flight and disappearing into the sky, the Hurricane of Justice following suit. 

As long as they stood to defend it, Earth would never fall to evil.

Winner: Ultraman (Universal), Zone Fighter