Gamera was horrified.

It had been several weeks since his battle with Legion. The insectoid alien had been a deadly foe, her cold cunning and emotionless determination nearly slaying the Guardian of the Universe. It was only through the desperate, last minute use of his ultimate weapon - the Mana Beam - that he was able to save both himself and the planet. But it was a double-edged blade. Although the all-mighty attack had allowed Gamera to prevail over Legion, it had also left the Earth in a weakened state, deprived of Mana, creating the perfect environment for his mortal enemy - Gyaos, the Shadow of Evil and the very creatures he had been created to wipe out.

But it appeared something far worse had arisen.

The corpse of countless Gyaos littered the plains of Africa. Gamera soared overhead, propelled by two columns of blue flames. The terrapin's noble green eyes were grim with duty. Whatever had killed the flying demons had to be found and stopped immediately. What unnerved Gamera most was not simply that the Gyaos were dead or even the how many of them had fallen. It was how they were killed. The reptilian vultures were... melted, their cadavers burnt and half-dissolved, coated with a vile slime. The landscape below the airborne turtle was just as ominous. The usually life-filled savannas were dead and brown, the pure white color of skeletonized animals dotting the dark earth. The same foul black sludge blanketed the ground, its eye-watering scent hanging loftily in the air and making Gamera nauseous. The Atlantian champion wanted more than anything to turn back and soak himself in cold seawater, but he couldn't. He had a mission - to protect the Earth. And that was something had no intention of failing at.

Even against the horror that was waited for him.

There. Gamera angled himself downward, roaring towards the thing that had decimated the Gyaos. The twin jets of azure fire that powered the shelled protector's flight ceased with a sputter of smoke. The flaps of skin that transformed the reptile's arms into organic rudders retracted. As the turtle dropped from the sky, his strong legs swiftly emerged from their sockets and broke his fall. Gamera grumbled in surprise, nearly slipping on the acidic muck on the ground. The poisonous sludge dully burned the soles of his feet, leaving a painful tingling seeping into his thick skin. Regaining his footing, Gamera stared ahead, eyes like two hard emeralds. From a heap of corrosive slime that composed its body, the glowing crimson eyes of his unearthly foe gazed back. Gamera threw back his head in a roar of challenge. A fit of croaking laughter ringing out from the tower of living minerals he faced.

At end of a broad trail of death and destruction, Gamera prepared to do battle with Hedorah, the Smog Monster.

Gamera made the first move. Three fireballs erupted from the turtle's mouth in quick succession. The unstable spheres of plasma detonated on contact with Hedorah, throwing sludge from the decomposing creature's body. Gurgling, the pollution-based lifeform stumbled back, dripping arms flailing in distress. Encouraged, Gamera strode forward, more fireballs ripping from his throat. Several explosions bloomed from Hedorah's torso in response, pushing the corrosive creature back further. With one final round of fireballs, Hedorah disappeared behind a curtain of smoke, body sizzling as it was flash-dried. Gamera tensed, scanning the smoke for any sign of movement. Just how effective had his fireballs been? Hedorah gave a bitter response in the form of a bolt of crimson energy that cut through the smoke and struck Gamera's neck. The terrapin clenched his jaws to hold pack a pained cry as pale green blood gushed from his unprotected skin. Croaking, Hedorah emerged from the smoke screen, arms stretched forward. Taking Gamera off-guard, the hideous giant grabbed the guardian's armored shoulders in his acidic mitts. Gamera shrieked in pain as the deadly muck ate away at his shell, slowly revealing vulnerable flesh. The creature's chest was dusty and cracked from the fireballs. But even as he writhed under Hedorah's grip, Gamera could see that the dried layer of sludge was flaking away, revealing that the slime beneath that was unharmed, still wet, oily and dangerous. Gamera gritted his teeth. That wasn't good. Staring Hedorah directly in the face, the turtle launched a fireball, blowing the Smog Monster's scalp open and pushing the horrible thing away from him. Leaping back, Gamera growled and suspiciously eyed the now mutilated Hedorah as it stumbled back. The filthy molted brown behemoth's head began to reform, the ooze stitching itself back together. Having no real brain - or many other organs for that matter - Hedorah could recover from injuries that would undoubtably be mortal to any other creature.

Gamera was in shock at this discovery. How could he possibly defeat such a monstrosity? The guardian's round eyes hardened. Even if this was a loosing battle, it was one he'd see through to the end.

Throat filling with plasma, Gamera launched a fireball. But the burning sphere barely left his tusked maw before being another red energy bolt detonated it. As the fire and smoke cleared, the turtle found himself glaring at a cackling Hedorah. Gamera lip twitched in anger. Hedorah's laughter stopped when a fireball exploded into its body, toppling it. Gamera rushed forward, another fireball forming in his jaws. As the terrapin prepared to blast it again, a corrosive loogie flew from Hedorah. The deadly spitball plopped onto Gamera's plastron with a dull sizzle. Before the champion could stop himself, the turtle slapped his hand over the acidic sludge. Big mistake. Gamera jerked his hand back with a wail, the white gleam of bones peaking out from underneath dark flesh. As the Atlantian relic gripped his wrist in agony, Hedorah got to his feet and fired a crimson streak of might from just above his eye. The potent bolt struck the ground at Gamera's feet, throwing up a cloud of sulfuric gas. The reptile released his hand and began pawing desperately at his eyes with his good hand. Cackling, Hedorah spat another another sludge ball at the choking guardian. The lethal slime spattered over Gamera's forehead, immediately eating away at flesh. Acting swiftly, the noble giant used his already damaged hand to wipe the ooze from his head. Knowing he was in deep trouble, Gamera went on the offensive.

The turtle's legs vanished beneath a curtain of azure fire. Roaring from the ground at an almost vertical trajectory, Gamera made a wild charge at Hedorah. The polluted being reeled back in shock. Just before he careened into the monstrosity, Gamera launched a fireball directly into Hedorah's face and pulled up sharply. As the guardian rocketed straight up, the flames that powered his flight seared Hedorah's falling shape with a great burst of steam.

Fire erupted from Gamera arm socket as he leveled off to a hover. The turtle gazed intently down at Hedorah's still body. The alien beast was now just a dry husk. Gamera nodded in satisfaction. Moisture seemed to be this thing's lifeblood, so he had taken that away. This battle was over.

Hedorah stirred, causing Gamera to narrow his eyes. Or was it?

Hedorah's shriveled body split open, a dark form flying from the dusty shell. Gamera snarled in hate as he recognized the creature. Although in a different shape, there was no doubt to the airborne object's identity - Hedorah. The Smog Monster had abandoned its vaguely humanoid form in favor of a UFO shape, lead by his oblong red eyes and leaving behind a sulfuric trail. Withdrawing his head into his armored shell, Gamera launched into a fiery pinwheel and gave chase. Hedorah tried desperately to shake the terrapin, pulling sharp turns, steep dives and sudden climbs, but Gamera was constantly behind him. The vile being finally settled on allowing the turtle to stay in his wake, hoping that the sulfuric gas it emitted would knock the guardian from the sky. A wet hiss escaped from the general area that a mouth would usually be located. Gamera's rapid rotation easily cut through the dangerous gas, dispersing it. The living flying saucer gave a warbling squawk of annoyance. Time for a change of plan. Banking, the foul creature spun around to rush at Gamera head on. A bolt of crimson destruction shot from above an equally red eye. The attack simply bounced off Gamera's spinning carapace. Hedorah's eyes widened in horror as it realized it was going to collide with the turtle and its dehydrating flames. The Smog Monster dropped quickly, trying to duck under the guardian. But Gamera did the same. Jagged edges of his shell acting as the teeth on a saw disk, Gamera cleaved Hedorah in two, flames negating its acidic quality. With a gurgling howl, the two halves of Hedorah's body plummeting to the ground, landing with synchronized dull, wet thuds.

Spiraling downward, Gamera slowly spun to a halt, landing a safe distance from both the pieces of Hedorah. The reptilian protector was still suspicious. The monstrosity had proved extremely hard to kill before, so why should it be so easy now? Gamera caution proved justified as the halves of Hedorah's body disappeared in two bright flashes of pink light. As the light faded, identical frog-like beings were revealed - Hedorah's initial terrestrial form. The two alien beasts were almost half of Gamera's size, but they proved just as full of surprises as Hedorah's final form as one pounced with speed that defied its mass. Gamera quickly blasted it from the air with a fireball. The slimy quadruped fell with a shower of sparks and a wet squeal. The second creature also leapt, catching Gamera off guard. It crashed it his chest, sending both giants sharply to the ground. Gamera took a moment to decide - and give thanks - that this form apparently wasn't as toxic as the ones he had faced before. This conclusion was based in the fact that his flesh wasn't burning from his bones.

At least for now.

The second Hedorah had recovered, ashed and soot falling from its body. It sprung forward with a croaking cry, meeting its twin with a pink flash that drove a blinding whiteness deep into Gamera's eyes. The weight on the turtle's armored chest suddenly doubled. As Gamera slowly regained his vision, he could make out the cackling shape of Hedorah's final form towering above him. An agonizing tingle was spreading across his scaly skin from simple contact with the Smog Monster. As croaking laughter filled the air, corrosive sludge began to ooze from Hedorah's body. Gamera's emerald eyes filled with fear. The deadly muck slowly slide down, small drips of it landing on the guardian's shell with soft hisses. The Atlantian protector threw back his head with a scream as some of the acidic slime fell on his arm, eating through straight to the bone. Fiery energy boiled in his core from a spike of pure adrenaline. A fireball began forming in Gamera's maw. But the sphere of unstable power exploded in the terrapin's jaws, courtesy of a red energy bolt from Hedorah. Gamera grunted in pain as his head was slammed into the ground, flames washing over him. Licks of fire now clung to both the dueling giants. Both were unaffected, Hedorah because of his great endurance and Gamera beast of his status as a beast powered by heat and flames.

Heat...

Trapped under a titan of poisonous sludge threatening to skeletonize him, Gamera suddenly found himself staring at small billow of steam as a tongue of flame dried Hedorah's outermost layer of slime.

More acidic ooze dropped onto Gamera's shoulder, dissolving flesh.

Heat was this monstrosity's weakness. Gamera had known this very early on in the fight. But he had gone about dehydrating the alien creature in the wrong way.

Deadly slime drizzled over Gamera's neck, opening his throat to the dirty air.

He had targeted Hedorah's exterior. What he should have gone for is the interior.

Burning muck spattered across Gamera's plastron, dangerously close to wearing way the armor and reaching soft flesh.

He had to dry out the pollution-fueled beast's core.

Lethal sludge dripped onto Gamera's head, revealing the turtle's skull.

And he knew just how to do it.

Focusing what remained of his power, Gamera forced all his energy into a single raised fist. Willing the fire that dotted Hedorah's body as well as his own around his closed hand, the noble champion compressed the the flames, enveloping his fist in in a coating of pure, concentrated plasma. Eyes hardening, Gamera raised his fist - armed with a "plasma glove" of sorts - and plunged it into Hedorah's body. Plasma guarding his bare flesh, the turtle drove his arm into the very heart of the Smog Monster. Arms flailing in panic, the vile leviathan fired his energy beam frantically. The red barrage raked Gamera's face, laying open his cheek and scalp. The reptilian guardian gritted his teeth. The pain was intense.

But his determination was even more intense.

Hedorah's center was was totally devoid of water. Gamera forced the plasma outwards, his will now carrying him farther than his stamina ever could. The Smog Monster was thrashing madly, a pale brown dust spilling from around Gamera's arm. Hedorah began to creak and crackle with every move, its body falling away in dry sheets. Finally, with one last warped scream, the polluted lifeform crumbled away, disintegrating into nothing more than a dusty, gritty gust of wind.

Hedorah was no more.

Gamera collapsed, totally drained. He was exhausted beyond all belief. He was struggling to even keep his eyes open. His foe was vanquished and his energy gone. All he could do now was rest. He would usually travel to the nearest body of rejuvenating water to sleep and regain his energy, but he didn't have the strength to do so. So be it.

Under the warm African sun, Gamera closed his eyes and entered a deep, deep, slumber.