Author: Matthew Freese | Banner: Matthew Williams

It was a calm and peaceful day on Monster Island. Wind blew through the dense forests, and the bright sun shone down on the beautiful lands. Well, it was mostly peaceful. One small section of the island was filled with the sounds of pain, the source being Minilla, the younger son of Godzilla. He was being bullied by the ugly, green, warty, and petty ogre, Gabara. Gabara took a sadistic joy in torturing kaiju weaker than him, which were few and far between, and Minilla was definitely easy to pick on.

The pained groans and screeches of the child monster mixed with Gabara’s laughter echoed through the air in a demented cacophony, which attracted the attention of another kaiju, one more than capable of defending itself and its brother.

A thin, blue beam of nuclear energy struck Gabara in the arm, knocking him away from his victim. Arriving from the forests was Godzilla Junior, the perfect smaller image of his mighty father, to stop the bully from harming his little brother any further. Minilla ran to hide behind his older brother, making joyful noises that sounded like a donkey’s brays, while Gabara tried to make himself look intimidating before an actual foe.

Junior’s spines flashed blue, signaling another blast of his miniature atomic ray, this time blasting the evil toad right in the face. Gabara squealed in anguish, pressing his hands over his smoking and sizzling face. Dropping his arms with a scowl on his charred features, he charged forward with a war cry, slamming his fist into Junior’s stomach. The monster prince gasped for breath, lashing out with a swipe of his claws and drawing trickles of blood from the ugly toad’s leg. Gabara slapped the palm of his hand on top of the reptile’s head, transferring massive amounts of electricity into the saurian’s head, drawing grunts of pain from Junior. The monster prince’s spines flashed azure, but the surges of lightning made it hard to focus on a specific target, forcing him to release the beam at the first opportunity. The ray struck Gabara in the crotch, sending the ogre reeling back in agony. As Gabara held back tears, the indomitable prince turned around and slapped the ogre in the face with his tail, knocking the bully to the ground.

The young saurian walked up to his downed foe and began kicking the toad in the chest. Doing his best to endure and ignore the pain, Gabara grabbed a close boulder, then slammed it into Junior’s face, knocking the monster prince away. The ogre stood up to his full height, swinging out his arm and backhanding the juvenile Godzilla across the face, following up with a kick to the nuclear dinosaur’s chest. Godzilla Junior managed to recover quickly and stand back up, and the two combatants stared each other down, daring the other to make the first move.

But something else attacked first. Minilla ran past the two combatants, calling for help, as loud chirps sounded throughout the battlefield. Gabara and Junior turned to face the calls, only for both to be face-to-face with two giant mantises. It was a pair of Kamacuras, but that wasn’t all. Leaping in from seemingly nowhere was a colossal, yellow-and-black spider, the horrid beast known as Kumonga.

Both bully and brother expected Kumonga and the Kamacuras to immediately begin fighting each other, only to be horrified when the colossal arachnid charged straight towards the ogre and the saurian, while both massive mantids darted off in opposite directions and flanked the two former foes. The Kamacuras charged in and tackled the two, bashing their scythe-like claws into the two’s bodies. When the bully and monster prince tried to swing at the mantids, the two insects dashed away, allowing Kumonga to rush forward and slam both of his front legs into the pair’s sides. Gabara and Junior were knocked to the ground, allowing the Kamacuras to land onto their stomachs and resume bashing them with their claws.

Recovering from the initial shock of the new attackers, Gabara reached out and grabbed both of the mantis’ claws, pumping the predators full of electricity. Junior followed this by grabbing the claws of the Kamacuras atop him, holding it still while he blasted his atomic breath at the mantid’s face. Both insects screeched loudly at the overwhelming agony, but the duo’s plan was cut short as Kumonga slammed his front legs down onto his prey’s feet, piercing their skin and forcing Junior and Gabara to relinquish their grips on the Kamacuras.

The two giant mantises flew behind the gargantuan spider, waiting for their moment to strike, while Kumonga began attacking the ogre and the saurian. A thick spray of off-white webbing jetted out of the spider’s mouth, spraying Gabara and Junior with strong silk. The pair quickly began to be ensnared in the webbing, unable to break through it no matter how hard they struggled. Both knew they would have to think of something quickly, or else they would both be the deadly alliance’s next dinner.

Junior’s spines flashed azure while lightning danced around Gabara’s horns. A cocoon had almost formed around the two, but a blue ray broke through the study casing and caught the silk on fire, while the other side also began combusting from the heat generated by the toad’s electric hands. Junior and Gabara burst from the blazing cocoon and charged towards Kumonga, the monster prince firing another atomic ray which lanced into the spider’s face, distracting it long enough for Gabara to grip the creature’s legs and blast it with insane amounts of electricity. Kumonga tried lashing out, but the lightning was burning his legs, stopping her from fighting back.

Coming to their ally’s defense, the Kamacuras cloaked themselves, moving next to the distracted Gabara. The two mantids dashed forward, carving two trenches into the rotten ogre’s back, forcing a shriek of pain from the lips of the ogre and causing him to relinquish his electric grip. Kumonga immediately threw his front legs up, sending the bully flipping over the spider’s back. As Gabara landed with a thud, Kumonga shot a toxic barb from his mouth, piercing the scales of Junior’s stomach.

The young Godzilla stumbled back, overcome by shock, pain and numbness all at once. He turned around and smashed his tail into the arachnid’s face. A Kamacuras dashed in front of Junior and began slicing at the saurian with his claws, forcing trickles of blood to run down the monster prince’s abdomen. Junior lashed out with his claws, striking the mantid’s thorax with his fist, then stomping one of the Kamacuras’ fragile front legs, and finally head-butting the large mantis. The Kamacuras stumbled back, but had served its purpose of distracting Junior as Kumonga shot out another stinger into the young Godzilla’s back. Junior had regeneration which could allow him to survive this poison, but it wasn’t strong enough to stop him from collapsing to the ground. Just before he fell, he managed to fire a weak atomic ray which pierced the Kamacuras’ eye, frying the mantid’s brain instantly. Its corpse fell to the earth, smoke pouring from the hole in its head.

The other Kamacuras came back with a bloodied but living Minilla, callously tossing the infant next to his brother. Across the field, Gabara came to and noticed the scene before. His mind immediately began racing about how to proceed. Should he let the two brothers be devoured? If he ran away and they died, he’d have no one left to torment. But if he charged in, Kumonga and Kamacuras could possibly kill him. As he brainstormed, the bully was suddenly overcome by a vision…

Gabara was huddled in a crevice, sweat pouring down his face, when a loud screech sounded out. Suddenly two clawed feet closed around his shoulders. He was being carried through the air by Rodan, and was dropped before he could fight back. The ogre landed to the ground, and when he recovered, he was face to face with a nightmare. Godzilla stood before him, a rage in his eyes that would terrify gods. The ogre looked behind Godzilla to see a green puddle, and resting in its center was a Kamacuras head with its scythe stabbed through its skull. Next to it was the smoking silhouette of a colossal spider.

Gabara turned and ran, but a purple-and-blue beam adorned with white spirals speared into his right calf and blasted the whole leg away. As Gabara lay on the ground, his mind blazing with agony, Godzilla came up and broke the ogre’s remaining leg with a brutal stomp. An azure glow built up in Godzilla’s spines and mouth, then the light slowly turned red, and then the red blaze soon changed to…

Gabara cried out as the vision passed. What had he just witnessed? A glimpse of his future if he fled here and now? Abandoning the sons of the monster king like some lowly coward?

He picked up a boulder and tossed it towards Kumonga’s back. The spider turned to face his attacker, only to be surprised when the toad grabbed him by the face and shocked the arachnid with every volt of electricity he could muster. Smoke began rising from Kumonga’s head, prompting the Kamacuras to stop trying to bite off Minilla’s arm and help the mighty Spiega, only to be surprised when Junior reached out and grabbed its leg.

Gabara didn’t have a long term plan for dealing with Kumonga, in fact he had no plan at all. He just hoped the spider’s head would eventually explode. Junior weakly swiped at the Kamacuras’ eye, which the mantis easily dodged. The oversized mantid lashed out with its jaws and began biting Junior’s muzzle, but the young kaiju hardly had the strength to cry out. The spider’s venom and blood loss were taking their toll, bringing Junior slowly into unconsciousness…

Suddenly, the Kamacuras recoiled back with a screech. Minilla had dropped a boulder on his own tail, forcing out an atomic breath which knocked the giant mantis away from his brother.

Kumonga was flailing and thrashing as Gabara blasted it with as much electricity as possible. Four of Kumonga’s eyes had burst, and most of the hair closest to Gabara had burned away. But the smoke began to fade, and so did the electricity as Gabara’s energy reserves ran dry. The ogre’s heart nearly exploded as panic and horror flooded his mind, then began beating much slower as the horrible spider’s venom filled his system.

The primal insectoid shrieked out in rage as the miniature atomic blast struck its body, dashing upwards out of the beam’s path. It flew forward, scythes outstretched towards the youngest Godzilla. The organic daggers sliced through Minilla’s neck, killing the poor creature instantly. Junior had been fading in and out of consciousness before this, but the moment the claws pierced his brother’s neck, all grogginess disappeared immediately. Junior cried out in sadness and rage, and charged towards his brother’s killer.

The Kamacuras slapped the sharp end of its claw into the monster prince’s neck, causing blood to spray out. Junior grabbed the claw, then the mantid’s other claw, and began squeezing with all his might. Adrenaline coursed through the saurian’s veins, increasing his strength and allowing him to crush the scythes with a sickening crack. Yellow blood spilled all over him and soaked the ground, and the Kamacuras shrieked out in agony. The mantis lashed out with its jaws, but Junior responded by slamming his mouth shut over the mantid’s mandibles, tearing its jaws out. The Kamacuras tried to scream in horror, but all that came out was a wet gurgle, before it fell limply to the ground.

Junior crushed the mantis’ head with a stomp, coating the nearby ground and his feet with brain matter. He let out a triumphant roar, then turned to face Kumonga and Gabara. He heard wet crunches, telling him all he needed to know about Gabara’s fate. He stepped forward, but stumbled as the adrenaline wore off and his injuries caught up to him. Junior knew he couldn’t beat the territorial spider, but he could at least live for another day. The young Godzilla turned to face his brother’s corpse, and with a heavy heart and teary eyes, he ran as fast as his weary legs could carry him away from Kumonga. He promised that he would avenge his brother one day, but the taste of defeat was still bitter for Junior, and the taste of victory, and flesh, was sweet for Kumonga.

Winner: Kumonga (Universal)