Author: Landon Soto | Banner: Vincent Rodger
Slow, loud, and clunky footsteps echoed across the rocky landscape as mechanical feet crashed against burnt orange stone. A silver behemoth marched stiffly towards a circular platform. Intricate markings decorated the disk, however what was most intriguing was the large stone statue in the center of the structure. It appeared to be a caricature of a person with an enlarged head, the face looking as if the person was wailing in anguish. Its head was adorned with a crest that wrapped around the sculpted cranium.
The steel giant resembled an ape, a mechanical replica of the 8th wonder of the world, King Kong. Right now it stared intently at the large statue with its soulless glass eyes, its sensors detecting a faint hum that a normal human could barely hear. The silver machine was barrel chested, with large shoulder pads and a blocky sagittal crest that housed a light within. From within its steel skull a voice commanded it. Elderly in nature, the shrewd voice instructed the monolithic robot to remove the statue from its resting place.
Far away in the cold dreary regions of the Arctic, a large military-esque base braved the frigid and harsh elements. Within the base were long halls where the lights occasionally flickered as the power was rocked by the dangerous might of the winds. Within a spacious control room, with large monitors and numerous computers occupied by workers, sat a much older man right in the center of it all.
Crooked yellow teeth exposed themselves as cracked lips curled into a smile, Dr. Who watching on in delight at the events that unfolded on the big screen. His metal marvel, Mechani-Kong, bent its knees slightly as it wrapped its cold metal fingers around the stone monolith. The time had finally come for his rise to prominence. Months of research had led him to Wester Island, home to this bizarre statue.
However, all was not as it seemed. Who’s cronies had conversed with the locals about the statue as his researchers looked into its history. Both teams came to the same conclusion, that the statue known as the Devil’s Whistle was bad news. Of course, Who and his band of crooks dismissed these tales as glorified bedtime stories or wives’ tales. Despite their doubts, one name did stay in the back of their minds, Jiger.
Supposedly, a demon had been sealed beneath the statue, and to remove the statue would free the legendary monster and bring great destruction to the world. The doctor scoffed at the idea. Yes, back in the day when people used primitive weapons and traps this creature may have seemed nigh unstoppable, but with today’s weapons, and certainly with his advanced technology, this thing would submit to his rule.
“Mechani-Kong, lift the statue and reveal to us the supposed demon that rests within this sarcophagus!” Dr. Who bellowed as he and his men watched with anticipation.
Mechani-Kong let out a harsh screech imbued with static as it complied. The rough sound of stone grinding against stone filled the silent landscape as the Kong of Steel raised the statue upwards, revealing a large spike underneath it. Dark clouds conveniently rolled in as the sound of thunder boomed in the distance, the ground beginning to tremble slightly beneath the machine’s feet. Mechani-Kong unleashed another robotic screech as it hoisted the statue high with one hand and beat its metal chest with the other.
The sound from the Devil’s Whistle fluctuated as the mechanical doppelganger waved the stone around before letting it drop to the ground with a thud. Almost instantly, a nearby volcano began to awaken as pillars of smoke billowed out from the top. Bolts of lightning ripped apart rock as they slammed into the ground. A deep growl could be heard as the seal that previously held the statue began to crack and bulge upwards.
Massive chunks of rock were pushed aside as a large white cranial horn rose up from the ground, followed by a massive reptilian head that reared upwards. Javelin-like tusks jutted outwards from the beast’s round face, large canines pointed downwards from the ends of the reptilian creature’s mouth. Two sets of five fat fingers gripped the rim of the cracked seal as the newcomer hoisted itself out from its hole.
The entity was quadrupedal and beer orange in color, almond-shaped eyes with dark pupils lazily stared down the broad shouldered silver behemoth before it. The demon’s face was bumpy yet sagged and wrinkled, a persimmon orange serrated dorsal fin akin to a sailfish ran down the back of the ceratopsian-esque beast’s back. Octopus sucker-shaped patterns decorated the body of the titanic lizard, and finally, a large tail dragged itself along the ground.
Crawling out from the hole she came from, Jiger, for the first time in decades, possibly centuries, inhaled the fresh air as she smacked her lips, her mouth feeling sticky and dry. Despite the smoke and dust, the demon couldn’t care less, she was finally free and yet, she began to feel afflicted by a splitting headache. She knew exactly where it was coming from, the statue behind her liberator. She did not feel indebted to the gigantopithecus before her, she would gladly trounce the humanoid into paste to destroy that whistle.
From the comfort of his warm control room, Dr. Who watched with great interest as the legendary Jiger stared down his creation. The doctor was confident that this creature wouldn’t fare well against an advanced automaton like his Mechani-Kong. “I admit this creature has impressive stature, but if the primitive minds of those who sealed it away could accomplish such a feat, then my superior mind and war machine will put this monster in its place. Mechani-Kong, wear down that so-called demon and put it under my control! Our future depends on it!” Dr. Who bellowed as he watched the situation unfold on the big screen.
Mechani-Kong unleashed a crackling, synthetic roar that mimicked the mighty roar of the living King Kong. Without haste, the doppelganger began to speed walk towards the horned lizard who bellowed a gruff roar in response. The mechanical ape reared its right fist back as Jiger charged like a rhino. Once the two colossal brawlers were mere meters away from each other, Mechani-Kong swung its arm down like a sledgehammer.
Cold steel slammed into the side of Jiger’s large head, leaving the charging beast stunned before fumbling forward. Mechani-Kong sidestepped out of the quadrupedal saurian’s path, another metallic cry escaping its internal speaker as the machine raised both hands up and clasped them together. Another swift swing dragged Mechani-Kong’s unified fists down like a silver mallet upon Jiger’s back.
Jiger’s chin was dashed against the rocky ground, a strained groan escaping from the saber toothed jaws of the demon. She shook her head lazily as her eyes glanced to the side, barely able to make out the strange colossus behind her. Once more Mechani-Kong raised its iron clad fists, however, this time a girthy appendage blindsided the mechanical doppelganger in the head.
A static screech blared out of the Kong of Steel’s mouth, the artificial ape fumbling forward. Jiger seized this moment as she thrust her head forward, mouth open wide. The large mouth of Jiger clamped down onto Mechani-Kong’s ankle, however she winced in discomfort as her teeth grinded against steel, immediately followed by an unpleasant scraping sound. She was shocked that her opponent was not of flesh and blood but almost like the stone that surrounded them. Nevertheless, she jerked her head to the side and dragged the artificial being to the ground.
With a loud clang, Mechani-Kong fell face first into the burnt orange stones below as umber dirt was sent flying into the air in a large dust cloud. Pistons pumped and gears grinded as the automaton began to push itself up from the ground. Jiger however, was quicker as she was already on all fours, charging at the recovering machine. Her horned head crashed into Mechani-Kong and forced it to roll along the ground.
Jiger noticed small dents begin to form in the armor that her liberator was composed of, a good sign that this thing could be destroyed. The demon kicked up dirt and expelled hot air from her nostrils as she prepared another charge. The silver behemoth once again rose up, but this time its head twisted to the side and stared blankly at Jiger. Undeterred, the beer-colored ceratopsian-like beast was about to charge when suddenly, Mechani-Kong’s glass eyes lit up with an intense light aimed directly at Jiger’s eyes.
The bright beams of light burned and blinded the tusked demon as she shut her now watery eyes. She fumbled about for a moment before suddenly feeling a metal fist uppercut her chin. Jiger yelped in pain as she stumbled backwards, shaking her head in annoyance as she forced her eyes open. Her opponent stood before her with its arm raised up as well as the other hand reaching for one of the cylindrical objects wrapped around its waist.
With an underhand toss, the barrel chested machine tossed the metal object Jiger’s way, numerous clinks and clanks filling the air as the odd little thing rolled between the demon’s fore legs. Jiger cocked her head to the side slightly, but ultimately paid it no mind. Meanwhile, Mechani-Kong lowered its arms as it stared blankly back at the quadruped, waiting. Jiger had only taken a few steps forward, as she dismissed the rolling object, before suddenly, a large explosion from below completely capsized the bulky lizard.
A pain laced screech was forced out of Jiger as she landed on her back, her pudgy fingers clawing at the air as she struggled to fix her posture, smoke rolled off her burnt underside. Mechani-Kong let out another metallic shriek as it began to march slowly and ominously towards the seemingly helpless lizard. However, before Mechani-Kong could capitalize on this development, its audio censors picked up the sound of suction, much like a vacuum cleaner.
Upon closer inspection, the mechanical ape noticed strange suckers on the palms of all four of Jiger’s legs, the automaton’s acute vision detecting the air warp around the palms. Immediately upon discovering this, Mechani-Kong felt an invisible force drag itself towards Jiger, in response the doppelganger planted its metal feet into the stony floor. Nevertheless, the silver behemoth was still forcefully being dragged towards the seemingly prone demon.
Large trenches were carved into the mud and rock as Mechani-Kong’s steel feet tried to grip the ground, meanwhile Jiger scrunched her chunky fingers as she drew in the metal ape. Mechani-Kong was now only a few dozen meters away from the orange demon before said beast unexpectedly lunged forward as she curled her body toward the Kong of Steel. The distance was just enough for Jiger’s suckers to latch onto Mechani-Kong’s cold frame, her momentum shifting and dragging the faux ape to the ground.
Now the situation had reversed, Jiger suddenly found herself upright with Mechani-Kong pinned beneath her. Quickly she began to smack the doppelganger’s metal head with balled up fists, forcing it to swerve side to side. Sparks spat from the nooks and crannies of the machine as a digitized shriek blared out in response. Happy with some punishment being dealt, Jiger had one more trick up her non-existent sleeve.
The horned beast backed off of the machine and aimed her head downwards, the large white spikes that jutted out from Jiger’s face twitched as she fired her iconic Solid Saliva Missiles at Mechani-Kong. The sharp solidified saliva found their marks as the twin needles embedded themselves into the palms of the automaton and into the ground, now effectively pinned down for good.
Finally, Jiger could do what she wanted to do ever since she clawed and scraped her way out from her temporary tomb. With a nod of her head and a sharp huff, the quadruped lumbered towards a large river nearby, just a couple dozen meters away. The demon dipped her jaws into the drink and lapped up the frigid yet refreshing liquid. The saber toothed lizard exhaled with satisfaction as a new sense of vigor coursed through her veins.
Turning like a tank, Jiger noticed the pinned Mechani-Kong begin to slide its wrists upward, clearly not bothered by the fact that it had been skewered. Inky black oil dripped down the solidified saliva spikes as Mechani-Kong freed itself, the silver behemoth sat up before rising up to its full height. The metal primate reached for its belt and grabbed another grenade, this time Jiger was painfully aware of what those little objects were capable of.
Before Mechani-Kong could lob the grenade, the monolithic robot’s advanced audio receptors picked up the sound of what seemed like rockets. Curious, the machine scanned the vicinity for enemy aircraft, this momentary distraction allowing Jiger to spring into the air. Instead of falling to the ground however, the demon defied logic and glided through the air like a jet fighter.
Jiger’s pudgy body collided with the mechanical ape as copious amounts of sparks spilled off the doppelganger’s body. Now flat on the floor, Mechani-Kong made the effort to immediately get back on its feet. Making a U-turn in midair, the demon closed the gap between herself and the automaton, her forelegs and large head slamming into Mechani-Kong once again. More sparks spewed from the armored hide of the robot as it fell onto its back yet again, this time sizable dents were visible on its chest and midsection.
Dr. Who was almost dumbfounded at the bizarre powers on display. As far as he knew, according to all known laws of aviation, there was now way Jiger should have been able to fly. “This creature has quite the arsenal, that much is true. But no matter, Mechani-Kong, employ the lights!” The doctor commanded the robot.
Mechani-Kong rose up as it noticed Jiger finally descend upon the ground, the saber-toothed lizard then kicked up dirt like a bull before charging forth once more, hoping to rip a hole into her opponent. However, as the quadruped closed in, the dome shaped head of Mechani-Kong began to shine brightly as the machine stuck its arms out. Jiger slowed to a halt as she stared at the hypnotic light before her.
The vision of the demon was slowly but surely becoming fuzzy and shaky as the light lulled Jiger’s senses, not to mention that subtle yet irritating sound that emanated from that discarded whistle. Both noise and light worked in tandem to soothe the horned lizard, Mechani-Kong meanwhile continued to move its metal hands in circular motions as it slowly moved closer toward Jiger. The hope being to put the demon to sleep and simply wait for transportation to arrive and take this beast to the creator.
Standing just a few dozen meters away from Jiger, the doppelganger saw its foe’s knees become weak, the demon shaking her head in order to stay awake. Jiger realized that her ambitions would be severely hindered should she fall here, she needed to land a swift and decisive blow, and she knew just how to do it. However, she needed to play her cards right in order to prevail.
Jiger suddenly twisted her body to the side as if she was going to slam into Mechani-Kong’s midsection, however, her tail shot upwards as a sharp needle protrusion revealed itself. Mechani-Kong’s jaw dropped as it barely registered the maneuver, a loud clang echoing through the air as the lights atop the automaton’s head dimmed. Mechanical arms were frozen in place as the metal ape’s movements ceased. A moment of thick silence permeated across the land.
The needle that protruded from Jiger’s tail was jabbed into the left eye of the machine, its glass casing shattered as motor oil and the occasional spark spilled out from the puncture wound. It was a gamble, but Jiger hoped she had hit something that resembled a brain in that metal head of her opponent. The tail wiggled around as the stinger got a feel for the inside of Mechani-Kong’s head, as expected, the inorganic properties of her opponent would render her ability to inject a parasitic offspring inside the robot useless.
Nevertheless, Jiger’s senses returned to normal. She yanked the stinger out from the automaton’s head as the mechanical faker tipped over and hit the ground with a thud. With that out of the way, Jiger began her search for the accursed whistle, then she would be free from that mental torture that had subdued for far too long. Unbeknownst to her, Mechani-Kong had landed awkwardly on something and had begun to reach beneath its back. Jiger was too focused on finding the statue as she pawed at the ground, oblivious to the metal ape slowly rising up behind her.
Unfortunately for the machine, its own body betrayed it. Gears and dented joints scraped against each other, the cacophony of steel alerted the devil who snarled at her opponent. Anger turned to shock as Jiger noticed the stone whistle within Mechani-Kong’s grasp. The automaton lunged forward with a sudden burst of speed that belied its damaged appearance. The Devil’s Whistle was swiftly brought down upon Jiger’s skull, however, the quadruped swung her head up so that her cranial horn smashed against the stone.
Jiger groaned as the Kong of Steel reared its arm back before swinging it forward once more, the sharp stone leaving a cut on the cheek of the horned lizard as she tried to dodge each strike. Mechani-Kong was relentless, pushing back Jiger as it swung like a slasher villain. The horned lizard tried to parry the statue once more, however, the automaton managed to swerve its arm just enough to bypass Jiger’s natural defenses.
The sharpened stone left a few sizable cuts on Jiger’s face as she tried to back away from the mad machine. She quickly remembered that the whistle was in the doppelganger’s possession, and suddenly, any fears in her mind were replaced with fury. Solidified saliva shot forth from the beer-colored demon and stabbed into the silver exterior of the robot, slowing its assault considerably.
More sparks and oil spilled from the puncture wounds and scrapes as that familiar ear splitting screech escaped from its mouth. Jiger bellowed out as her cranial horn glowed a vibrant orange, the air beginning to warp and sizzle as a hum similar to a microwave could be heard, slowly growing in intensity. Mechani-Kong tried to move, but its punctured hull and damaged joints clearly hindered it. A smile began to form as Jiger unleashed her final gambit.
Dr. Who noticed the bizarre phenomena and ordered his creation to move. “Mechani-Kong, you must dodge now!” The doctor spat, the message was received but Mechani-Kong could not comply, although it tried its hardest.
From the demon’s cranial horn came forth an arched ray of fiery orange energy, the wave of intense heat hit Mechani-Kong. The automaton’s body began to glow orange as parts of its body began to droop and sag, however the biggest problem for the machine was the grenade belt wrapped around its waist. The bombs strapped to the silver behemoth began to glow as well, the intense heat and high frequency creating a violent chain reaction.
One final metallic screech escaped the iron jaws of the robot as the superheated metal shell that was Mechani-Kong’s body bulged and peeled open. Plumes of flames burst forth from within and around the doppelganger, large chunks of metal were ripped apart and propelled through the air in various directions at deadly speeds. The now severed, melted head of the automaton blasted off into the sky as the rest of the robot’s body was engulfed in the massive explosion.
Molten metal rained down upon the rocky terrain as violent loud crashes and bangs echoed for miles, the once mighty Mechani-Kong had been reduced to nothing but scrap. Jiger reared her head up as she bellowed a roar that signified victory, then glanced around to find the burnt and cracked whistle still relatively intact. Without any intrusions she marched up to the stone structure and placed a fore paw on the whistle, cracks beginning to form as the horned lizard put her weight on the accursed stone.
The Devil’s Whistle shattered as it could no longer withstand the pressure, and Jiger was freed from the numbing melody that tormented her for ages. Jiger promptly went to the nearby stream and began to have her fill of refreshing water once more, no longer hindered by this island and its monuments. Suddenly, a loud crash spooked Jiger, her body jolting like a cat as she looked for the source.
Jiger noticed the charred and melted head of Mechani-Kong roll along the burnt orange stones, her almond eyes narrowing as she groaned in disdain. With a swift flick of her tail, she sent the severed head flying like a baseball and straight into the ocean. Jiger watched as a large splash signified the end of her unlucky liberator. Good riddance, now she was free to cause destruction to the tiny whelps who dared to imprison her.
Meanwhile, Dr. Who sat in his comfortable chair as he watched the monitor with a sneer. Perhaps he should have equipped Mechani-Kong with the submachine gun. Despite this setback, this endeavor did yield valuable results. The iron weapon’s audio receptors had picked up the frequency that the Devil’s Whistle emitted. With a little time he could replicate the sound and thus be better equipped for their next encounter, after all, he was a brilliant scientist.
“You may have destroyed Mechani-Kong, but no matter, he is easily rebuildable. So enjoy your fleeting moments of freedom, Jiger, because I promise you that soon, you will be working for me.” Dr. Who said coldly as he immediately began to plan for the future.
Dr. Who commanded one of his cronies to pull up the video feed for a certain mine, when the video was ready, he could see his miners on the job. A large gray theropod with protective gear on its claws carefully mined away the blue radioactive ore as an equally large pinniped wearing protective gear over its tusks did the same. Both wore strange headwear that allowed Dr. Who to command them as he saw fit, who currently smiled at the steady flow of production.
His goals to expand his criminal enterprise and obtain more knowledge, control, and power were still in motion, and patience was the key here. In the meantime, his men could construct a control apparatus for Jiger to control the beast so he could have it mine Element X for him. With such rare ore on his land and powerful beasts as his muscle, he would be a nigh unstoppable force that the Earth had never seen before!
Winner: Jiger
