[continued from Match 153]

The earth's greatest allies had fallen. Once Mothra Leo died, other protectors of Earth rose to fight for their planet, but all fell before the unstoppable might of the Dogoras. Utsuno Ikusagami was the first to be defeated by the carbon eating creature's might, then Gamera fell next, then Ultraman, and finally Zone Fighter. Earth's own creatures hadn't shown up, or some like Godzilla, disappeared entirely. Earth's defenders had failed to defend their home, to stop the threat that was going to consume the whole planet, maybe even the universe.

Mothra had not been seen since her son died, although few know that Mothra actually passed away before Leo's demise, some swore that she was alive to this day. But Mothra was dead, and the earth was still defenseless to the threat of Dogora

Or so they thought. While the populace were sending their prayers to the heavens, it was the depths of hell that answered the call. Three unlikely challengers rose from their slumber, to be the next wave of opposition to fight the Dogora threat, now doubled since the adage of a second one. The Dogoras hovered over Mt. Fuji, the sky booming with thunder and lightning as the two descended down toward the ground. The only thing they needed was sustenance.

Suddenly, lava began spewing out of the top of Mt. Fuji, the once dead volcano springing to life as black smoke rolled into the sky. Two clawed hands gripped the edge of the mountain top and slowly a monster rose from the depths of the volcano, lava spewing over its demonic form as if Hell itself was releasing its guard dog. Kumasogami roared at the Dogoras, its bright yellow eyes narrowed at the two space creatures loomed over him, his people had prayed for him to protect the Earth, offering him mass sacrifices to do so. He would show them why their faith would not be misplaced.

With a loud screech, the clouds parted and the second champion of Earth descended above the Dogoras. In his Imago form, Battra flapped his powerful wings, glaring down at the two space creatures. These abominations dare attack his home and try to destroy it? Battra was once considered a holy guardian of the planet, and while disgraced, he still took his duty seriously. Earth would not fall on his watch.

The final monster, the final champion and the leader of the trio, broke through the thick forest, giving a loud bellowing roar of fury at the Dogoras. This was a creature who supposedly knew no good, its heart and blood were as black as its soul. Similar to Battra, this creature was once regarded as the sacred protector of the forests of Earth, and yet it turned into a destroyer of life. Not today. Bagan gave another furious bellow, where somewhere deep inside, it knew Dogora was the biggest threat of its life, and it had to stop it. At any cost.

The champions were here, the unlikely trio ready to defend the Earth from the Dogoras, and they would not stop fighting until there was nothing left. Bagan gave a war cry, shooting a white hot plasma beam at one of them, causing a chunk of the mighty space creature to be blown off. Seeing the start of the battle, Kumasogami morphed his hands into a bow and arrow, firing off a few at the already damaged Dogora, causing explosions to go up and down the space monster. The gelatinous-like creature descended slowly, lashing out a long tentacle at Bagan, sending him skidding along the ground. Battra flew circles around the second Dogora, screeching as it fired off prism beam after prism beam at the monster, causing bits of it to fly off or char away, but it just as quickly healed the damage. Kumasogami charged down Mt. Fuji, firing off more arrows at Dogora and giving its own hellish cry. The Dogora lowered itself to the ground more, moving toward Kumasogami, until a giant gash was cleaved into it by Bagan's plasma breath, the fallen being roaring in fury.

That's when the unthinkable happened. Dogora was not a smart creature, it possessed no brain or so called intelligence, but it could adapt. Instead of healing up the damage, the Dogora split apart, and now it was an even playing field. The third Dogora floated after Bagan, while Battra lured the second one away from the two, performing a neat barrel roll to avoid a tentacle. All three monsters reacted with shock as they now had an even larger threat to deal with, and they knew that this needed to end quickly or else there would be more than just three.

Kumasogami gave a cry as Dogora loomed closer, morphing its hands into a battle axe and shield. When a tentacle came down to attack, the hell creature reacted in kind by chopping the thing off. The tentacle writhed on the ground until being stomped out by the hell creature, who gave a gloating cackle.

Dogora was unrelenting, and sent even more tentacles after Kumasogami, who lifted up its shield to protect itself. Dogora's tentacles slowly wrapped around the construct, and instead of being burned off, it seemed to have the opposite effect! Kumasogami screeched in surprise, then in pain as he felt his hand being melted away, and he lashed out with his axe-hand, severing the tentacles and putting some much needed distance between the two.

The hell creature inspected its now missing hand, before it concentrated and forced the stump to make a new one. He flexed it a bit, before giving a war cry at the space creature. It would have to do more than that to hurt the God of Kumaso.

Bagan had decided to take the fight more personally, and was far closer to the Dogora than it should've been, firing off another Plasma breath that carved through the Dogora with ease. Dogora easily repaired up the damage, and began lashing out, slapping and bashing Bagan with its tentacles. This caused burning scars to appear in Bagan's thick armor, although the damage was already healing thanks to his super regeneration. It was a war of endurance. Both monsters had the ability to regenerate their wounds within seconds. Bagan grunted as it felt the corrosive tentacles wrap around his arms, slowly burning away the thick hide that was combating the space creature's touch with its own regeneration factor. Bagan just snarled, and gripped the tentacle, ignoring the agonizing pain in his hands. He had an idea.

In the sky, Battra had again done a roll to avoid the touch of Dogora, sending out even more prism beams. Battra swiveled around, firing more and more prism beams at Dogora. The bits slowly falling away and being replaced. Battra knew that at this rate, the creature could simply just outlast him and wait for Battra to tire out, then wait for the right moment to strike. Battra gave a mighty flap, and broke the sound barrier as it shot past Dogora, a sonic boom erupting right beside it and causing Dogora's body to rock as it was assaulted by the insane winds. Seeing that it threw creature a little off balance, Battra wheeled around and flew toward Dogora, firing more prism beams to get its attention, then sonic booming again, this time causing bits to fly off. Battra had turned around for a third time when Dogora's tentacles lashed out, wrapping around his abdomen and finally crying out in pain. His flesh was being eaten away by the creature, and he tried flapping his wings, but Dogora's grip tightened, and began slowly dragging the black moth to its body. Battra's eyes widened in horror, and gave a panicked cry, shooting more prism beams at Dogora, writhing harder as it was slowly drawn into the space creature's body.

Kumasogami fired off more arrows at Dogora, watching with satisfaction as they blew apart the space creature in chunks, then snarling as the creature instantly began healing itself. Kumasogami gave a low growl, aiming his arrows one more time. Unfortunately, Dogora had enough of the annoying arrows, and two tentacles lashed out and wrapped around the hell beast's arm. Screeching in surprise, Kumasogami tried to tug its arm free and slash with his other hand, but Dogora's acidic grip tightened, and then with a loud, sick crack, Dogora ripped off Kumasogami's arm.

Kumasogami howled in pain, its lava blood spurting out of the stump as its other hand morphed back into a proper hand, holding the stump. It had never felt pain like this before, and it was in unending agony. This caused Kumasogami to give a loud screeching cry of fury, morphing his other hand into a sword, watching as his precious arm was disintegrated into nothing, and the hell creature leaped from the mountain, and instead of slashing through, Dogora instead caught the deity, causing Kumasogami to shriek in panic as he found himself slowly drawing up at Dogora's body, his back and front burning from Dogora's corrosive touch. Thinking fast, Kumasogami morphed a few fingers into arrows and jammed them in Dogora, causing an explosion that flung him back down to earth, where he landed with a groan.

Bagan's grip on Dogora's tentacle tightened, gritting his teeth and trying his best to ignore the fact his hands were slowly being eaten away. Bagan roared and gave a sharp yank, pouring his mighty strength and actually pulling Dogora down toward the earth. Bagan gave a furious howl and with a mighty tug, slammed Dogora on the ground, causing a massive dust cloud to rise up. Bagan wasted no time, firing Plasma Breath after Plasma Breath at the dust cloud, hoping to exterminate Dogora right there. After a while, Bagan's attack ceased. It watched the dust cloud warily, seeing no sign of movement from it. Had it actually won his battle? His question was answered when Dogora's tentacles burst from the dust cloud, seizing his legs and forcing the mighty dragon on his back. Bagan screeched in alarm as Dogora rose slowly from the ground, dragging Bagan up with it and pulling him closer to his body. Bagan writhed, firing streams of plasma into the air, trying to get even a single hit on Dogora. It was no use, and Bagan was slowly encased in Dogora's form, giving a silent scream of pain as it felt everything on its body being eaten away. Dogora's form swelling a bit from the nutrients. Thinking fast, Bagan's form flashed and a cocoon took his place, Bagan tucked safely away inside.

He knew the cocoon wouldn't last long though, so he began channeling his awesome power for his second attack. The clouds above the battlefield began stirring, swirling around the 6 monsters as thunder and lightning cracked the sky. Through the clouds, Bagan's Diamond Storm thundered down on the Dogoras, causing them to let go of Battra and Bagan, letting the monsters fall to the earth as the third one was torn to shreds, although Bagan noted with disdain how his attack couldn't kill even one of the creatures, even if they were severely wounded. This only served to make him even more mad.

Bagan released the cocoon, and gave a cry, letting the trio of monsters regroup. The Dogora were weakened, this was their chance to win! Of course, fate always has other plans. The three Dogoras began moving closer to another, and Earth's fallen champions watched in a mixture of confusion and distaste, then in horror as the three Dogora began blending together. Separately, the three were weak, barely able to take out a single one of the champions. Now they were more massive than ever before, even bigger than the Dogora that fought Leo. Dogora was one again, and it would eat all.

Undisturbed, Bagan gave a commanding bellow. Battra, taking to the skies, began raining prism beams from above, using every aerial tactic it could to avoid the mass of tentacles being shot at it. Kumasogami lifted his one arm, the hand morphing into a long broadsword like blade. The hell beast roared as he began slashing wildly at Dogora, carving off bits and pieces while being slapped by its tentacles, ignoring the pain. Bagan fired off his plasma breath again the beam cutting through a piece of the massive Dogora and creating a gaping hole, which instantly healed. Battra screeched in pain as Dogora's tentacles slapped his wing, forcing Battra to swerve off to the side, now struggling just to stay in the air. He teetered dangerously, giving a surprised cry as he forced himself to pull up just to get more air, he had to stay alive, he had to fight.

Seeing his comrade in danger, Bagan fired his plasma breath at the tentacles attacking Battra, completely disintegrating them and giving Battra some much needed breathing room, the guardian of earth screeching in thanks. Dogora switched tactics, instead forming a mass of tentacles down at Kumasogami and Bagan. The two creatures slashed and fought off the tentacles as best they could, but Dogora knew no limit. It felt no pain. The tentacles kept coming, and slowly embraced the two and began dragging them up, much to their surprise, and to Kumasogami's terror. Bagan tried firing his plasma breath again, he knew the cocoon and Diamond Storm combination wouldn't work again, not this time. Kumasogami howled as it vainly slashed with its sword hand, slashing bits and pieces off Dogora but not able to cut himself free. The two monsters began howling in pain as they were slowly brought into Dogora's massive body, Battra watching as his two comrades were consumed.

He had to think of something to free them, he knew that they were the last shot of saving the planet. Battra flew back a bit, he had one idea. It was suicidal, he was almost certain he'd die doing it. But he had no choice. Battra charged at Dogora, his body starting to glow with his purple energy, sparks flying out of his eyes as he charged into the heart of Dogora, using everything he had to conduct as much energy as it possibly could, Dogora's form sizzling as Battra gave a cry as he felt his body deteriorate at a rapid pace, but he kept up his energy channeling, small explosions started rocking Dogora's form. Eventually, the energy was able to make Dogora drop Kumasogami and Bagan, the two falling to the earth with a mighty crash.

Bleeding and wounded, the two monsters slowly stood up, watching in awe and horror as Battra sacrificed himself for them, Dogora cocooning the black moth in its body. Bagan snarled in fury, now one of his own has died. This was personal. The dragon gave another furious bellow, the sky starting to stir as Bagan poured everything he had into his next attack, and he would avenge Battra. While Bagan was charging, Kumasogami morphed fingers into spears, chucking them at Dogora and causing them to explode off of the space monster's frame, blowing chunks off the space monster. Battra was nearly gone now, but the two monsters on the ground would not make his sacrifice go in vain. Bagan gave a thundering roar, using his powered up Diamond Storm to rain absolute hell on Dogora. The enlarged ionized gasses began shredding Dogora like a fire on paper, Kumasogami adding to the mix and hurling more finger spears at Dogora, blowing off even more chunks.

While it managed to grow a bit with the added nutrients of Battra, it wasn't able to keep up with the combined assault of Kumasogami's spears and Bagan's diamond storm, and it was now an eighth of its former size, which was still very impressive. But this signaled the end.

Bagan stepped forward, giving a loud bellowing cry, firing his Plasma Breath, cutting through Dogora and reducing its size even more. Kumasogami threw another finger spear, blowing off a massive chunk of the once mighty space creature. Dogora vainly tried to lash out with a tentacle, but again Bagan grabbed it and forced it down to the earth. The thunder boomed as he concentrated his diamond storm purely where Dogora was put, the ionized gasses slamming into the earth and Dogora's form. Bagan fired his searing white ray at the foul creature and giving a mighty bellowing roar while doing so. Kumasogami hurled more exploding spears at the spot, the combined triple attack causing a massive explosion.

Once the dust cleared, the two tired and weary warriors walked over to the crater. They had to make sure Dogora was dead, they would not allow even a single piece of it live as long as they drew breath. The smoking crater revealed nothing to them, and the two monsters gave a victorious bellow to the sky. Although battle weary and tired, they oddly felt at peace. As if a great evil had finally been vanquished from the universe.

Kumasogami walked slowly toward Mt. Fuji, climbing all the way to the top and stepping in at the mouth, turning around and giving a cry at Bagan, who responded in kind. Once Kumasogami had returned back to the depths, Bagan turned and started walking back to his own home. His duty was done, the earth was saved. Although they had lost one of their own, it was a sacrifice needed to protect the planet.

When word got around to the earth that Dogora's threat was gone, a mass celebration was formed. People partied in the streets, it was one of the happiest days on earth. The only thing the people couldn't do, however, was figuring out who finally stopped Dogora. The story of how Dogora's threat ended would forever be untold, but all could rest easy again with the knowledge the earth was safe for another day.