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