Author: Christian Salabert | Banner: Christian Salabert

Godzilla was tired as he surfaced from the sea and climbed onto the sandy shores of Monster Island. Water poured from his scaley hide as he shook himself off and made his way inland. The King of the Monsters was at peace, enjoying the serenity of the island. Even he occasionally tired of all the fights he found himself in, and enjoyed the quiet when he could. Today, he had decided to take a break from his aquatic slumber and check in on Minya.

As the mighty reptile traversed through the thick jungle, he heard a strange crunching sound. He suddenly came to a clearing, and his eyes fell upon the source of the noise.

There was Gorosaurus, feasting on what appeared to be the remains of a giant condor. The dinosaur had apparently been devouring his kill and had just now noticed the approaching Godzilla. Gorosaurus immediately stood and rose up to his full height. Glaring straight at Godzilla, the reptile let out an ear-splitting roar. A warning to back off and stay away.

Godzilla snarled and growled in response. He had no desire to fight, but he wasn’t about to let Gorosaurus forget his place. Godzilla let out with a roar of his own, posing his arms in a threatening position. Gorosaurus clenched his own claws, flexed his jaws, and let out a low growl. The two saurians glared at each other, each commanding the other to back down with their eyes. But neither would budge, not wanting to let the other think they were superior.

Hoping to intimidate Gorosaurus into backing down, Godzilla made the first move, and took a single step forward.

Gorosaurus raised his head and let loose a cry of war into the skies.

He charged.

Godzilla reared back in surprise as Gorosaurus attacked. He had thought the dinosaur would’ve been frightened by his tactic, but it instead sent the reptilian creature into a rage. Godzilla flexed his arms as he prepared to meet Gorosaurus in battle. In mid-step, the charcoal reptile spun around, swinging his tail in low in an attempt to knock Gorosaurus’ legs out from under him. Instead, the prehistoric allosaur leapt clear over Godzilla’s tail and landed safely on his feet. As the Monster King completed his turn, nearly facing Gorosaurus, the dinosaur lashed out and clamped his jaws down onto Godzilla’s right arm. Godzilla cried out as Gorosaurus’ teeth sank into his flesh and tried pulling his arm out, but that only worsened the attack, sinking Gorosaurus’ teeth in deeper. Swinging his left hand as hard as he could, Godzilla delivered a punch to the side of Gorosaurus’ head, dazing the beast and causing him to release his toothy grasp.

Godzilla roared angrily and charged forward, preparing to retaliate, when Gorosaurus suddenly reared up onto his tail and lashed out with both legs. The move caught Godzilla by surprise, and he was sent tumbling through the air, crashing down onto his back. Godzilla roared in anger at himself for falling to his opponent and quickly returned to his feet, but Gorosaurus had closed the gap between the two and once again rose onto his tail. The allosaur’s feet made contact with Godzilla’s chest, and again sent him crashing to the ground.

Gorosaurus roared at Godzilla, telling him to stay down. Gorosaurus had no desire to fight either, but he warned Godzilla to stay away from his meal, a warning that the Monster King had ignored. Gorosaurus had no intention of giving a warning he couldn’t back up. Godzilla, meanwhile, had rolled onto his stomach in an attempt to get back to his feet. Just as he began to rise, his tail flicked upwards. Gorosaurus took the opportunity, seizing the end of Godzilla’s tail in his jaws.

Now on his feet, Godzilla roared furiously. He tried to turn to face Gorosaurus, but the dinosaur simply held his bite, and disappeared behind Godzilla. The King of the Monsters roared in frustration as he realized that Gorosaurus was out of reach, and was biting down even harder. Not satisfied with his clamping jaws alone, Gorosaurus reached out and began to claw at Godzilla’s tail with his hands.

Knowing that the end of his tail would be lost anyway, Godzilla strained the muscles within his tail. With a mighty tug, he pulled his tail clear from his opponent’s jaws, shredding his own flesh in the process. Roaring furiously, Godzilla spun around and lunged towards Gorosaurus. The oversized allosaurus immediately reared back onto his tail, but Godzilla was quick to counter. His dorsal fins flashing with bluish light, Godzilla opened his jaws and fired forth a radioactive blast. The beam struck Gorosaurus square in the chest and carried him off his tail and into the air, shrieking as he went. Gorosaurus struck the ground with a thunderous crash.

Godzilla walked over to investigate the prone form of Gorosaurus. He took note of the burn mark on the dinosaur’s chest and watched him, waiting for Gorosaurus to make a move. When he didn’t, Godzilla growled approvingly.

With no warning at all, Gorosaurus flipped up onto his feet and began clawing at Godzilla with his stubby arms. Godzilla responded in kind, only to soon discover they weren’t going to get anywhere. Godzilla had the better reach, but Gorosaurus’ claws were sharper.

Before Godzilla could change tactics, Gorosaurus lunged forward and clamped his jaws around Godzilla’s throat. Godzilla cried out in surprise, a cry which was cut short as Gorosaurus applied more pressure to his bite, closing Godzilla’s windpipe. Godzilla began pounding on Gorosaurus’ head, but this time the prehistoric beast was not to be deterred. Harder and harder Gorosaurus bit, his teeth almost fully hidden within Godzilla’s neck. The mighty saurian tried to summon his atomic ray, but couldn’t fire it with his throat closing up. Blood dripped down Godzilla’s neck.

Godzilla’s dorsal fins suddenly flashed with light again, but this time the light spread to Godzilla’s entire body. The energy coursed through him for a moment before a powerful blue shockwave exploded from his body. The nuclear pulse ripped Gorosaurus from Godzilla’s throat and sent him flying back a considerable distance, sending him crashing into the jungle. Godzilla rasped out a weak roar as his throat already began to heal.

Making his way to the motionless Gorosaurus, Godzilla once again investigated his foe’s body, making sure to keep his distance. Godzilla’s lip curled as he took in the smell of burnt flesh, watching Gorosaurus’ body smoke and sizzle. Despite some occasional twitching, Gorosaurus wasn’t moving. No surprise attacks were coming this time. Rearing his head back, Godzilla let out a roar of victory. The title of King of the Monsters was still his. He turned away, and renewed his search for Minya.

Gorosaurus felt as if his entire body was on fire, it hurt to even breathe. The defeated predator doubted he would die from his wounds, but knew it would take ages for him to fully heal. At the moment, however, he was engulfed in a level of pain he didn’t even know existed. Gorosaurus closed his eyes and let unconsciousness claim him…

Winner: Godzilla (Heisei)