Author: Declan Coughlin | Banner: Landon Soto

A giant octopus swam through the ocean in a good mood, as he had just downed a fishing vessel and it had been so long since he had eaten something as tasty as a human. He wasn’t even worried about the many other kaiju that called the sea their home. All he was worried about was his next meal.

Seeing the shoreline, the octopus began to crawl up the sandy beach. However, just before his entire body could surface, a blue ray of death reminded him that there’s always a bigger fish in the sea.

As the second the beam slammed into the cephalopod, he felt its destructive heat wash over him, and his last sight on earth was a king long forgotten to time.

With the giant octopus in his jaws, Godzilla rose from the ocean, letting out a horrifying bellow, an announcement of his arrival to all kaiju nearby. After years of confinement on Monster Island, the aptly named “King of Monsters” had finally broken through the fields surrounding the islands and the scientists at Monster Island tracking his location were stunned when they saw that Godzilla had gone to Mondo Island.

The nuclear menace seemed to have taken up residence in the nearby waters and islands, and from the signal, it looked like he was there to stay.

The leviathan who usually stayed in the waters that surrounded the island, would occasionally come to the island to find some quiet, or to vent his frustrations. But besides some resistance from an overgrown allosaurus, the monster had faced little challenge in his new home.

The monster king walked up the shoreline, ripping apart chunks out of the boiled octopus. As he dropped the creature to the ground, Godzilla grunted in disappointment. He didn’t want to leave Monster Island, but he also didn’t want to be confined by the humans.

He had remembered what they did to his son.

As he remembered these horrors, the monster king roared with fury and Godzilla’s dorsal plates glowed blue, and his mouth catapulted a blue atomic ray. The lancing beam struck a line of trees, causing a huge explosion and starting the surrounding environment ablaze. Seeing nothing but the island to take his rage out on, he decided to raze it to the ground. Nothing would be left and he let out a guttural roar that echoed through the island.

Miles away, in an unmarked village, the elder chief watched on in sadness. His very home was being attacked, and there was nothing he could do.

Or so he thought.

Several native women, each dressed in garbs, began to dance in a circle. The chief saw this and, knowing what it was, soon summoned several more villagers to join the dance. In just a few minutes, every man, woman, and child were dancing and chanting, hoping their protector would save them like he had so many times before.

The music caused Godzilla to temporarily halt his rampage. As the giant looked over behind him he saw the villagers dancing and singing and was confused. Were they dancing for him? Did they want their own destruction so badly? If so then he would give it to them and began trekking over to the village, trees splintering in his strut.

The chief saw that Godzilla was getting closer and told everyone to keep going. Their god would come, he had to! Just as the chief gave the order to evacuate, he realized it was too late: Godzilla was already here!

Godzilla stopped walking at the outskirts of the village, the natives too horrified to continue dancing and instead scattered in every direction. Some ran to find their families and try to escape, others stood paralyzed as statues, accepting their terrifying fate. Godzilla on the other hand was amused, it seems that these people knew he was to be respected and feared.

But perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to make sure.

With glowing spines, the nuclear menace spat his atomic breath at several huts further away. The beam hit the structures, vaporizing them and the people inside in an instant.

The villagers cried in grieving horror as all that was left of their huts were reduced to fine ash. After the atomic display, Godzilla began walking once more and stepped into the village. His massive steps crushing people and huts under his massive feet as he moved forward. Looking up, the village chief saw his massive claw, closed his eyes and began to accept his fate. If this was how he was to die, then so be it.

Just before Godzilla’s foot could come down upon the elder, a furious howl traveled through the land. The elder, the remaining villagers, and even Godzilla stopped and turned, looking for the source of the roar. From the mountains, a creature with brown fur adorning most of its body except its face, jumped to the ground. It had noticeable biceps on its chest, with long arms supporting the sides and a face sporting a look that could kill, aimed directly at Godzilla with utmost hatred. To most, the creature simply looked like a giant gorilla, but the villagers knew him for who he really was…

The God of Mondo Island, King Kong, had arrived.

He let out a loud grunt, indicating to his surviving subjects to clear the area. As the villagers ran, King Kong looked at this monster before him, this being had shown up to his home, destroyed it, and murdered his people. He would make the leviathan pay for his actions.

Likewise, Godzilla stared back with the same intense hatred. How dare this pathetic creature not only rob him of his fun but also challenge him, did he not know his place? He would make this overgrown ape regret his decision.

The two circled each other, waiting to see who would throw the first attack. Suddenly King Kong charged forward. Godzilla was shocked and found himself tackled to the ground. As the ground shook upon impact, Godzilla cried out as King Kong ruthlessly punched the creature in the chest, each hit echoing like gunshots in the wind. As Kong was ready to throw another punch to the face, Godzilla’s expression changed from shock to fury.

Seeing a blue light beginning to emit from Godzilla’s mouth, Kong hurriedly jumped off his chest just as the atomic fire shot into the sky. The large primate looked at his chest. Even though the attack had just missed him, the heat of it had singed some of his fur. As the charcoal tyrant returned to his feet, Kong charged once again. He slammed into Godzilla again, but this time the beast was ready for the impact. As Kong tried to wrestle the leviathan to the ground, Godzilla began to claw at the ape’s chest.

The ape king cried out in pain and backed away, and looking at his chest, saw claw marks running down his stomach. Luckily the claws didn’t dig deep enough to draw too much blood. Before Kong could launch a counterattack, Godzilla was already charging in. The giant ape threw a punch with his left hand, only for Godzilla to grab it with his own clawed hand. The nuclear menace tried to scratch him with his right hand, but this time Kong countered it with his own grab. The two kings stood, locked in a contest of strength, each trying to push back the other.

Eventually, fatigue favored Godzilla who started to win the contest.

King Kong looked in fear as he realized he was being pushed back by the leviathan. With one final shove, Godzilla knocked the ape to the ground. As King Kong struggled to stand, Godzilla turned his back to him and the irradiated monster began to assault his foe with his tail, each hit causing the ape to roar in pain with the seemingly never ending blows.

Just as Godzilla’s tail went in for another hit, Kong grabbed it, holding it in place. Godzilla struggled as he tried to free his appendage from King Kong’s mighty grip, but the ape didn’t show any signs of letting go. Godzilla swung his tail from side to side, dragging Kong on the ground, but he refused to let go, and he began twisting the tail.

A loud snap rang out.

Godzilla cried out in agony, the pain giving Kong the chance to rise to his feet. He had successfully broken the monster’s tail.

As he turned towards the towering simian, Godzilla’s eyes were red with rage. The limb would heal, but it still infuriated him that this furry beast dared challenge his power. This creature was not only comparable to him in strength, but he had the speed and stamina to back it up. If he couldn’t beat the ape up close, then he would try an alternate approach.

The spines on his back began to glow, each one charged with a bright light. Atomic fire gathered in Godzilla’s maw. Kong saw this and attempted to charge him once more.

It was too late.

Just before King Kong could reach him, Godzilla fired his atomic ray, striking the ape with immense power. Fire and sparks flew as the beam struck King Kong’s chest. The true King of Mondo island roared in pain as the azure lance disintegrated fur and burnt flesh. Before Kong could recover, a second atomic breath hit him in his right leg, bringing him to the ground. He rolled low, dodging a third beam and rose to his feet, a tree in hand.

Godzilla shot one more blast but Kong charged forward. Even when the beam hit the 8th wonder, he refused to fall and continued his sprint through the beam. Just as the nuclear menace cut off his breath weapon, Kong charged through and shoved the tree straight into the kaiju’s open maw, the plank slowly making its way down deep in his opponent’s throat. Godzilla panicked, and began to flail and stagger, desperately trying to remove the object from his jaw. As the charcoal giant struggled, King Kong rushed forward, grabbing Godzilla by the neck, trying to either choke him out, or just plain break it. He didn’t care, he just wanted the monster dead.

Reptilian vision started to darken and his breathing slowed. Kong grinned, his victory was drawing ever so close, just one final push. His grin disappeared when he noticed Godzilla’s dorsal plates beginning to glow. The ape was confused. Why would his opponent try to fire his beam with the tree still in his mouth? Did he really wish to hurt himself just to be free of his grasp? But Kong noticed something different, the blue glow was spreading out through his entire body. Noticing his foe’s determined eyes, he felt a slight sliver of fear.

With his whole body a bright blue, Godzilla released the power.

In a glorious flash of light, the nuclear pulse erupted from Godzilla’s body, launching both him and Kong back. The blast threw the mighty ape backwards, with the force being enough to lift the beastly gorilla off his feet and into the air. Kong flew at least a mile before slamming into the ground. Godzilla fell back as well, but although it was his attack, he still felt the burning. A good amount of Kong’s hair and flesh had been disintegrated by the attack, some areas even having exposed bones. Godzilla, likewise, was in a similar predicament.

Burning skin was hanging off his chest, tail, and face, but, unlike King Kong, the charcoal terror had his regeneration to heal the injuries. The attack did have an additional upside, as the tree trapped in his maw had been disintegrated. As Godzilla rose to his feet, King Kong was struggling to breathe. His lungs felt as though they were on fire. As he lay on the ground, his vision began to blur as unconsciousness took hold. It looked like the god of Mondo Island was finally dead. Godzilla howled into the sky to announce his victory.

Dark clouds planned to change that.

Godzilla was confused. Just a few seconds ago, the sky had been a clear blue, but now the dark clouds blotted out the sun, plunging Mondo Island into darkness. Before Godzilla could make sense of it, he heard the humans chanting once again, only this time it was different. It was an aggressive, demanding tune, almost like a war cry.

Below the brawling titans, the village elder and his people chanted as loud as they could. After so many years of their God saving them, it was time to return the favor.

As the clouds started to roll in, lightning made itself known, striking the ground around both King Kong and Godzilla. After a few seconds though, the bolts started to strike the fallen beast, as if they were drawn to him like a conductor. One, then two, then three. The bolts continued to strike the prone ape, each one lighting his face a bright blue. As one last bolt struck, Kong’s eyes shot open. The towering god jumped to his feet, seemingly unaffected by the gruesome injuries he had received from his enemy. As King Kong locked eyes with Godzilla, he let out a terrifying howl which made even Godzilla hesitate to attack.

Godzilla growled, he could tell his opponent had just powered up from the storm, but he wasn’t afraid. He’s faced some of the most powerful kaiju in the world, and even the universe. He wasn’t about to be toppled by some giant monkey. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried.

A bolt of lightning struck between them, acting like a bell for their final battle.

The two kings, as different as could be, let out their respective calls and charged. Godzilla threw his hand forward, only for Kong to bash it away and slam his fist straight into his lower jaw, dislocating it. Godzilla howled in pain, not just from his foe’s immense strength, but also taking damage from the electricity that now flowed through his foe’s veins. He went for another blow, only to recoil as his hand was jolted as soon as he touched his opponent’s fur. Before he could find a work-around, Kong jumped forward and landed a clean blow on Godzilla’s ribs, actually breaking a few in the process.

As the atomic brute backed away, Kong threw another series of punches, each one shocking and causing immense agony to the monster king as each blow earned Godzilla cracked bones and torn flesh. Kong knocked Godzilla to the ground, intending to finish the fight. He tried to find a weapon, but couldn’t, until he noticed one of the ribs protruding from the reptile’s body. Godzilla let out an agonizing cry as Kong ripped the rib out of his body, before aiming it at his heart.

The island shook as the bone pierced Godzilla’s heart.

At first, Godzilla didn’t feel anything. Death was not a new concept to him. He had died several times before, but he had always come back, albeit through unconventional means. But for once, he was truly fearing for his life. He didn’t know if he would return to the living. As he started to black out, he thought to himself, was this it? All of his hardships and struggles just to lead to his death?

No, this was not it! He was the King of the Monsters. He’s been through more than any other creature on the planet. He’s even escaped the depths of Hell itself. He wasn’t going to allow some damn dirty ape to take his life away from him, and if he did, then he would make sure the ape was dragged to Hell with him.

Just as Kong began to walk away from him, Godzilla slowly rose to his feet and bellowed a bloodcurdling roar, his heart healing the damage it had once sustained. The brown-furred beast spun around in shock. How? How could this creature survive something like that? There was no plausible explanation to it. As the ruler of monsters began to step forward, Kong began stepping back. Like Godzilla had moments before, Kong was fearing for his survival. The charcoal behemoth was quick to notice this and decided to make his move. His spines began to glow with atomic energy, but this time it was different. Instead of being a vibrant blue, his spines were glowing a chaotic red. As sharp orange eyes locked eyes with Kong, he saw the ape’s face twisted in fear. He wanted mercy. Godzilla wouldn’t grant him that luxury.

Digging his feet into the ground, Godzilla heralded a crimson, more powerful atomic ray at Kong. The blast struck Kong’s arm, erupting in a violent showing of sparks and fire and causing him untold amounts of agony. The arm had been completely destroyed, all of the flesh up to the elbow being completely atomized. Before Godzilla could capitalize on the injury he had inflicted, Kong struck Godzilla with his remaining arm in one of his eyes, the electricity channeled directly into the pupil, destroying it with a loud POP.

While Godzilla tried to recover, Kong climbed onto his back and began trying to tear off the monster’s dorsal plates, specifically the big one centered in the middle of his back. As the towering ape began to tear at the dorsal plate, Godzilla swung back and forth furiously, desperately trying to rid himself of colossus. Unfortunately, it was too late, as cracks began to sound before Kong, in an immense show of strength, ripped the dorsal fin straight out of the tyrant’s back, the area where it used to be bubbling with atomic energy. The revered King of the Monsters finally threw Kong off of him, the ape falling forward with his prize. Godzilla and Kong both paused to get their bearings as each stared into the other with animosity. Each of them was in immense pain, fatigue finally beginning to set in and both kaiju barely able to stand. Despite this, they still wished to send the other to hell.

As Kong held the severed dorsal plate in his remaining arm, he realized that while Godzilla’s heart had regenerated, the hole from the wound had not. Noticing this, Kong let out one last call. Godzilla, likewise, responded with his infamous deep bellow. They both knew one of them was going to die tonight.

Kong charged the atomic dinosaur as fast as he could, ignoring the faint red glow he saw coming from his opponent. Despite the pain of channeling his atomic energy with the loss of his biggest dorsal plate, he was still successful in firing a series of beams. Kong dodged and weaved around each one before he was finally in range. With all of his remaining strength, he plunged the dorsal plate directly into Godzilla’s heart. The animalistic brute then began to expand the space around the dorsal plate, tearing flesh and bone as Godzilla cried in anguish. Once Kong finally had a good grip, he began to crush Godzilla’s heart.

Time once again began slowing down for Godzilla. He struggled to stand as King Kong continued to squeeze his heart. As his vision started to go black for the final time, Godzilla’s spines once again began to glow.

King Kong continued to squeeze his opponent’s heart, slowly crushing it and killing the tormented beast. He looked directly into Godzilla’s eyes, not seeing sadness or regret, but acceptance. Godzilla opened his mouth, and Kong saw crimson energy begin to build in his jaws. Kong locked eyes one more time and his eyes only said one thing.

See you in hell.

A final crimson atomic blast struck King Kong directly in his face, vaporizing flesh and bone at an astounding rate. Kong’s grip began to loosen on the atomic creations beating heart. As the beam subsided, all that was left was a headless, burnt corpse of a god.

As the body of the once king of Mondo Island fell to the ground, Godzilla roared one last time, proving once again that a king could never beat a god.

Unfortunately, the damage had been done. Godzilla’s heart had been crushed almost completely, to the point that regeneration would not be able to heal it. The atomic beast groaned in misery as his body fell right next to the beheaded King Kong’s. Godzilla managed to roll over on his back, watching as the sun began to shine once more. Despite his imminent death, Godzilla felt content, even with almost no chance of coming back. As his eyes began to close, his only regret was that his son would not be able to continue his legacy. The King of the Monsters then took his last breath…

—

The ancient relic Gorosaurus had come out from the forest, waiting for the battle to come to an end. The allosaur walked over to the corpses of the two kings. He let out a roar of sadness for King Kong. While the two had not been friends, they both had a rivalry with each other. Along with that, despite King Kong winning the majority of their brawls, he had never finished Gorosaurus off, and he respected that. With one last roar, Gorosaurus began to head back into the thicket.

However, a third party made itself known.

A bizarre alien craft descended from the clouds, its two boosters on each side emitting smoke as it descended to the ground. As it brought itself to the ground, it noticed the giant dinosaur.

Gorosaurus noticed it too, and it wasn’t long before he was running as fast as he could, trampling trees and mountains under his bulk. He didn’t know why this thing had made him so fearful, but he wasn’t going to stick around to find out.

As the allosaur fled, the spacecraft suddenly revealed a port, to which the opening expanded with a blue balloon. Gorosaurus turned to look before letting out a grunt of relief. Unfortunately, it seemed the craft was not done yet.

Suddenly, an explosive burst ruptured from the spherical balloon, covering the area with burning flames. In the midst of the fire, a new monster rose to its feet, directly in front of the bodies of Godzilla and King Kong. The being was made of geometric shapes, loosely connected together in a humanoid structure. Ebony pieces made up its armor, hands, and feet, with gray stalks acting as its arms and legs. A pulsating orange orbs decorated its chest and face, with its head topped with two antennae-shaped horns.

It emitted a strange beeping sound as it looked at the two corpses. It then began to let out a laugh. Its two biggest obstacles had been eliminated. The ‘crevice’ in its face began to pulsate as it let out several powerful fireballs, dousing the corpses in flames that began to burn away. It began to turn away before speaking its name, not just to the island, but to the entire world.

“Zetton…”

Draw: Godzilla (Heisei), King Kong (Showa)