Authors: Tyler Trieschock, Vincent Rodger, Harley Jameson & Andrew Sudomerski | Banner: Andrew Sudomerski

Twas the afternoon before Christmas, when all across the pacific,
A bitter cold took hold, making life for all creatures horrific;

Once bustling waters lay still and devoid,
Now black, and nearly lifeless like a dark, shifting void;

A bitter hunger grasped all on one particular isle,
An island home to the world’s monstrous exiles;

Baragon, Gorosaurus and Varan searched for food to no avail,
The island hearing of their failure in repetitive, unending wails;

Kumonga, Manda and Rodan slept in ravenous yearning,
Biding their time until their prey came returning;

Standing proud yet alone in a valley surrounded by isolated hills,
Anguirus endured the cold and hunger with his immeasurable will;

The two exceptions to gluttony were son and father,
A pair of beasts that only needed to eat if they cared to bother;

Junior and Godzilla truly only needed to consume nuclear power,
But the two knew the island was sinking into chaos with every passing hour;

While Godzilla ignorantly slept atop his fracturing kingdom,
Junior began a trek across the isle to help his dominion;

He could gather food from the darkest depths of the now frigid sea,
It would at least satiate the monsters from committing a murderous spree;

Before the young saurian made it, a trumpet like call echoed from afar,
Not recognizing the screech, Junior found the echo quite bizarre;

Without hesitation, Junior tracked the panicked sound,
Junior walked to the beach where an ally was found;

The dependable ankylosaur, Anguirus, scanned the still waters with precision,
Whatever caused the call would not escape his curious vision;

Both Junior and Anguirus then spun from a thunderous crash,
The dinosaur, Gorosaurus, emerged from the jungle with a titanic smash;

No care or empathy expressed itself from the newly arrived allosaur,
All the green reptilian wished was to consume whatever emitted the roar;

In unison, the trio wandered tirelessly across the deserted beach,
Yet their search discovered no creature that let loose the mysterious screech;

But then, from the sea, a wave of water violently uplifted,
Every monster’s sight in response immediately shifted;

A lumpy orange creature arose with a trumpet like chorus,
A deep sea saurian which had fought Godzilla, the mighty Titanosaurus;

Anguirus, Gorosaurus and Junior readied for a hasty clash,
While Junior echoed a roar of deterrence, Gorosaurus bore his teeth to gnash;

But as blood gradually turned the surrounding salt water red,
The monsters noticed across Titanosaurus an unmistakable dread;

The wounds were many, so grisly it rattled Junior’s core,
He wondered what could have done this to the powerful dinosaur;

The waters swirled behind Titanosaurus, sending him fleeing onto dry land,
Behind him in his wake, an emerald devil strode onto the sand;

Malicious and old, this draconic leviathan showed no remorse,
Dagahra let loose a growl at the trio, inquiring the whereabouts of his fleeing main course;

Gorosaurus nearly turned his head to help, but a foot struck the dirt,
Junior roared at the devil to flee or it would feel unparalleled hurt;

Sensing the hostility, Dagahra let loose a breath of irritation,
He wished not a battle, but his eternal hunger fueled his determination;

The emerald leviathan called forth for the beast’s surrender,
Yet the young king roared in defiance of this new contender;

Eyes narrowed with bloodlust, Dagahra partially enraged,
And with a mighty blast from the dragon’s maw, the battle engaged;

Indigo energy spat from Dagahra’s jaws in every direction,
The draconic being would not stomach this pathetic attempt at protection;

With the devil distracted, Titanosaurus continued to flee,
His form faded into nothing as he flattened dozens of trees;

Anguirus, Junior and Gorosaurus cried in horrendous pain,
Their enemy was powerful, but they could withstand the strain;

Anguirus burst forth first, his maw held wide in rage,
Shocking Dagahra at the durability of this creature from an ancient age;

Teeth pierced flesh and warm blood splattered all over the earth,
Anguirus would remove this draconic evil from his turf;

The ankylosaur would not relent no matter how much Dagahra tried,
A grim smile formed on the leviathan as he prepared to turn the tide;

Energy surrounded his maw and the devil’s wing cones parted,
Dagahra was now ready to end what the ankylosaur foolishly started;

Overwhelming thunderous energy blasted Anguirus backward,
Even with the shocking display, Junior boldly pressed onward;

Dagahra smiled as he watched Anguirus plummet and howl in pain,
Surely now the monsters would realize this fight was in vain;

The youngster’s fins flashed a sun-bright cerulean blue,
A fiery beam scorched the sand but then it struck true;

Dagahra retreated, howling in agony from the scorching attack,
Enraged eyes fell upon Junior, while the devil’s head scales shined black;

The beach shook with ravenous fury, intentions entirely unmasked,
Gorosaurus charged with such ferocity, to stop him would be a foolhardy task;

A two-pronged kangaroo kick smashed against Dagahra’s head,
The leviathan soared into the ocean, crashing violently onto the sea bed;

Devilish eyes parted in rage from under the dark sea,
No more pride, no more hesitation, he would silence these pathetic enemies;

The open ocean exploded from Dagahra’s immeasurable rage,
His wing canons blasted Barem as the emerald devil began to engage;

Parasitic starfish coated monster island’s allosaur,
Acid like ooze coating his skin causing him to painfully roar;

Dagahra focused on Gorosaurus’ maw, taking advantage of his jaws parting,
Bubbles began to form, the allosaur was unmistakably frothing;

Green scales struck sand from the dinosaur’s titanic fall,
With only one creature remaining, Dagahra readied to end the brawl;

A flap of his draconic wings allowed Dagahra to fly,
His jaws clasped Junior’s neck causing the creature to utter a cry;

Higher and higher, the monsters violently ascended,
Dagahra’ final destination open ended;

For the draconic monster, he needed no destination,
Gravity would be the factor to end the altercation;

Jaws parted allowing Junior to begin his fall,
His cataclysmic return ending in Monster island’s jungle sprawl;

Thoroughly beaten, bludgeoned and bleeding profusely,
The monster king’s son held on to consciousness loosely;

Next to him, in terror, Titanosaurus looked on in fright,
Hearing a haunting bellow which announced it won the fight;

The ground trembled as Dagahra confidently landed nearby,
Titanosaurus spun in horror, the end was unmistakably nigh;

Rustling in the trees attracted both monsters in surprise,
From all directions the inhabitants of Monster Island began to rise;

Baragon upheaved the soil, Rodan set forest aflame,
Manda slithered into sight, Varan glided into frame,

Long, jagged legs pierced the earth marking Kumonga’s entrance,
To Dagahra irritation, all of the monsters of the island were now in attendance;

From behind the devil, Anguirus stumbled on the field,
His head held low, his burn wounds freshly sealed;

With a weak, yet determined screech Anguirus rallied his brethren,
Dagahra vented a breath of agitation, it seemed he would have to kill all seven;

Indigo energy struck Baragon and floored the dinosaur,
With an ally downed, the others moved to even the score;

Varan charged first with his claws sharp and bare,
A devastating tail swipe smashed the sacred god with little fanfare;

But Dagahra could not react to Rodan in time as it neared,
The fiery Titan’s talons skewered while its volcanic wings seared;

Manda snapped forward, encircling the devil’s back thighs,
Anguirus closed the distance, allowing Baragon and Varan to arise;

The reptilian pair jumped atop Dagahra, a planning forming fast,
They could not match the devil in power, for the difference was too vast;

But what they lacked in power, Kumonga displayed with intimidation,
A stinger which held a poison that ensured any opponent’s annihilation;

Surrounded by monsters, Dagahra scorched and clawed,
Battering his foe’s until he felt a strange prod;

Within seconds, Dagahra fell stagnant without uttering a single roar,
The monsters fell back while Kumonga continued to impale its stinger more;

Six strikes pierced flesh, six doses of poison ensured the kill,
Six monsters emitted a cry of victory then felt a startling chill;

A menacing laugh echoed, shocking every creature within sight,
Dagahra arose amused, finding pleasure in the looks of fright;

He was a creature made to consume the vilest toxins and pollution,
Kumonga’s poison was nothing to such a creature of his evolution;

Lifting onto his back legs, Dagahra let loose a mocking screech,
If the monsters wished to experience death, it was a lesson he would happily teach;

The brawl ended before it restarted with a roar which silenced all motion,
To go against the bellow would result in complete destruction;

From the edge of the battlefield, all looked toward the setting sun,
A mighty monstrous king stood over his badly beaten son;

Enraged eyes looked across the jungle toward the emerald titan,
Spines channeled nuclear power and began to eerily brighten;

Dagahra for the first time felt a shiver of terror take hold of his form,
To fight against the King of the Monsters would be like a creature fighting a storm;

The devil let loose his intention to the behemoth which was king,
To consume Titanosaurus, not his allies or offspring;

With overwhelming presence, Godzilla looked to the undersea dinosaur,
Titanosaurus felt death grip him, he would surely be no more;

As Godzilla pondered how the situation would unfold,
His oldest ally, Anguirus, attracted his gaze which was cold;

The ankylosaur looked on with a defiant stare,
Without a sound thought, Godzilla understood how to end the affair;

An order roared out to all the monsters which could listen,
Titanosaurus would go unharmed, it was the king’s final decision;

With a ferocious bellow, the toxic devil ignored his better judgment,
And charged on all fours toward a battle that would be utter torment;

The other monsters readied to assist but a thunderous roar stopped all in their stride,
Godzilla would end this renegade, not out of necessity but pride;

Nuclear behemoth and emerald leviathan crashed with immense force,
Dagahra clamped his jaws on black hide as dense as it was coarse;

Before Godzilla’s blood could fall upon the shaking frozen soil,
Atomic fire burned from his jaws causing Dagahra’s blood to boil;

Dagahra retreated backward but countered with his own volley of fire,
Thunderous toxic beams struck Godzilla until both creatures began to tire;

Their beam war ended and Dagahra jettisoned upward,
Slamming his bulk into Godzilla with such force the King fell backward;

Emerald claws pressed down upon the King’s throat,
Barem blasted onto the behemoth who could not roar but emote;

Cat like eyes narrowed, crimson energy began to flash,
Godzilla’s arms swung upward launching Dagahra away with a mighty crash;

With an earth-shattering stomp, Godzilla recovered and roared a request,
The emerald leviathan would unleash all its power, a simple test;

Dagahra bellowed in rage and parted his maw in spite,
A mighty indigo ray burst forth to wipe Godzilla out of sight;

The ray flew forth vaporizing all shrubbery it grazed,
Yet the determined King awaited the indigo ray, unfazed;

With his jaws burning crimson and spines flashing the brightest light,
A spray heat ray burst forth to finally remove the draconic blight;

The two rays collided yet the winner proved quite clear,
Dagahra’s indigo beam vanished and within the dragon surged fear;

Godzilla’s fiery ray burned down Dagahra’s gullet, his body filling with flame,
The ravenous appetite of Dagahra replaced with anguish and pain;

A great inferno swallowed Dagahra’s rotting corpse in a flash,
His flesh and bone gradually reduced to nothing but fine ash;

The monsters roared in celebration of their hard-fought victories,
Allowing the moment to overshadow their wide-ranging injuries;

But soon the monsters of the island discovered one enraging truth,
Titanosaurus, the cause of the brawl, was now aloof;

No traceable sign remained of the undersea dinosaur,
Causing the monsters of the island to mock him as a coward in roar;

Hunger silenced their calls and soon the monsters angrily returned to their dens,
The frigid air and snow flurries of the night acting as their unwanted friends;

With morning the chilled breeze remained, yet something filled the air,
A putrid, horrendous smell that shockingly began to ensnare;

The creatures of the island gradually made their way to the eastern shore,
Where the sand was stained crimson in a display of true horror;

Rotting corpses of whales and squids covered the beach from end to end,
To the monsters of the island the sight was nearly too much to comprehend;

Teeth shredded open flesh, beak shattered bone,
Mandibles siphoned fluid, the dead began to groan;

Watching the ravenous feast in the far-off tide,
Titanosaurus looked with a lingering sense of pride;

The gift had been tedious but it seemed to take,
Soon nothing would remain from the monsters’ ravenous wake;

Rising on a nearby mountain, Titanosaurus spotted a new creature,
It’s identity apparent from the dorsal spines, its most defining feature;

Godzilla’s presence loomed over all within his domain,
Striking fear into the very core of the undersea creature’s brain;

The nuclear leviathan’s head turned with his glare aimed out toward the sea,
His stare apparent sparking Titanosaurus to flee;

But Titanosaurus heard him roar as he dove out of sight,
He could return one day, with or without a fight.

Winner: Anguirus (Universal), Baragon (Universal), Godzilla (Heisei), Kumonga (Universal), Manda (Universal), Rodan (Legendary), Varan (Universal)