Match 5
GODZILLA VS. GAMERA VS. HYPER GYAOS: ENEMIES UNITED
Tokyo had gone to Hell.
Buildings were leveled, structures crushed, and skyscrapers toppled. Blinding columns of fire rose to the sky, lighting the terrible night with a demonic red tint. Thousands lay dead in the street, trampled underfoot or claimed victim by the flames. Those who still lived sobbed helplessly, knowing they too were doomed to die in this corpse of a city. And in the center of the sea of destruction that threatened to completely flood the once beautiful place-
Godzilla, child of the atomic bomb.
A tower of charcoal-grey scales, the dinosaurian juggernaut of skin, flesh, and bones made his way through the heart of city, all attempts to stop him left behind in the form of a smoldering shrapnel. Not caring that he would leave a path of death and chaos in his wake, the King of the Monsters had risen from Tokyo Bay to feed from Japan's nuclear reactors. His thirst for atomic energy dulled, Godzilla now made his way back to the sea and his new home of Skull Island. He was a beast of both great majesty and fear. A hundred meters tall, his back was lined with rows of irregular dorsal plates, a place for the great heat produced the atomic fission that powered him to escape. Huge, muscular legs held his great mass upright and sharp claws tipped his relatively short, but powerful arms. A long tail waved about behind him, half his overall length. His jaws were framed by three rows of ivory teeth, one on the bottom and two at the top. His orange, burning eyes glowed from their perch on his fierce face, two evil spotlights shining high in the dark sky. Firelight danced on the scales of the towering figure, giving a strange, terrifying beauty to the world's most infamous creature. As Godzilla halted his march through the city he had single-handedly slain, a high, scratching bellow escaped the victimized dinosaur, letting the whole world know of his furry.
His cry was answered by a warped, trumpeting roar.
Cutting through the night sky like a huge saw blade, a dark, jet-powered shape descended upon Godzilla. Its rapid rotation slowing, the thing came to a hovering stop in front of the saurian beast, its blue flames stabilizing it. As the strange object came to a complete stop, a fearsome head, armed with sharp teeth and twin tusks, emerged from a gap between the creature's armored shoulder. The four jets of flame roaring from its sockets vanished and four clawed limbs quickly replaced them. The now recognizably reptilian shape fell to the ground and landed bipedally, two legs sinking into the concrete below. Most of the mysterious being's body was protected by an thick shell. The creature's emerald eyes shone with determination.
It was Gamera, the huge turtle known as the Guardian of the Universe.
As Godzilla flashed his fangs at the terrapin in a vicious snarl, Gamera cried a warning to the dinosaur. He did not wish to fight, and neither did he hate Godzilla. In fact, he held great respect for the King of the Monsters. The beast had saved the world from far less hospitable monsters many times before. But, regretfully, Gamera could not let the nuclear saurian continued to kill innocent people. Godzilla ignored the other reptile's warning and continued to advance with a roar of challenge to the turtle. In Godzilla's eyes, no human was innocent. Gamera gritted his teeth. Deciding to give the prehistoric titan one last chance to back down, the Atlantian creation fire a fireball at the Monster King's feet. The plasma projectile exploded upon impact, creating a blossom of flames and smoke. Godzilla snorted, unimpressed with the display of power. Gamera shoulders sagged in a silent sigh. Godzilla insisted on fighting. So be it.
Godzilla made the first move.
The dinosaur's spines crackled with light, a neon blue glow battling the firelight for dominance over the black sky. The burning energy that powered the titan focussed, leaving Godzilla's maw in the form of a solid stream of power. Gamera raised up his arm defensively. The stream of superheated energy struck the turtle's arm, violently pushing it against the reptile's plastron. A beast fueled by flames, the intense heat of the weapon had no effect on the turtle. But the ray's physical strength was a different story. The brute force of the beam pushed Gamera back and toppled him over with a scream of pain. Godzilla spine's flashed again. Atomic fire filled the ancient beast's mouth, ready to be unleashed on the fallen guardian. But Gamera was quicker. Before Godzilla could launch his superheated breathe, a fireball slammed into his face and exploded on contact. Godzilla gave a roar of outrage as flames rushed over his upper body. As the smoke clear, the saurian's keen eyes narrowed in search of Gamera. He found the terrapin rushing at him. Giving a roar of effort, the giant turtle delivered a bone-jarring swipe to the size of the dinosaur's head. As he drew back his arm, Gamera used his elbow spike to carve a deep gash into Godzilla's hide. The wound began knitting up instantly, but that did nothing to dull the atomic dragon's rage. As a fireball formed in Gamera's open jaws, a quick flash of nuclear breathe was used to ignite it early. Gamera wailed as the sphere of plasma exploded, burning his mouth and scolding his face. Anger giving him strength, Godzilla sunk his claws deep into the guardian's shoulders. The furious reptile shoved the turtle to the ground and placed a heavy foot on his protected chest. Godzilla's spines crackled with atomic vengeance. Gamera eyes widened in horror. The guardian quickly pulled his legs into their sockets. Just as Godzilla unleashed the deadly energies within him, two fountains of flames sent Gamera soaring from underneath the dinosaur's foot. The atomic ray struck the street below, creating a bloom of destruction. To Godzilla's growing anger, a small crater had taken the place of Gamera's charred carcass. Howling with fury, the grimacing giant found his opponent in the skies. Arms flattened into organic stabilizers, the turtle flew circles around the land-bound beast. Ivory spines flashed. An nuclear blast was released, aiming to bring Gamera down from the air. The airborne reptile easily avoided the ray.
Mobility on his side, Gamera took the offensive.
Fireball after fireball slammed into Godzilla and exploded against the helpless saurian. The irradiated dinosaur wailed in pain, arms and tail flailing. His rapid regeneration was struggling to keep up with the damage being done by the vicious assault. But Gamera was not a merciless creature. Ceasing his onslaught, the good-natured monster gave Godzilla a chance to retreat. Unfortunately for the Atlantian beast, the Monster King never stopped coming, no matter what was thrown at him. Concentrating, the unbreakable titan manipulated the superpowers in his atomic heart. As Gamera circled above, Godzilla fired a narrow ray of nuclear energy. Several building were cut in two as the prehistoric creature swung the tight beam to intercept the terrapin's flightpath. The powerful stream of atomic heat collided with the terrapin. Gamera was thrown through the night, the powerful projectile sending the guardian spiraling back down to Earth. Quickly stabilizing himself with two additional streams of fire, Gamera manged to stop his fall just before crashing into the cold earth below. Godzilla snarled at the turtle's recovery. Ready to finish the job, the larger monster charged. The whole city shuddered under thunderous footfall and a broad path of building fell to the one-beast stampede. Gamera struggled to gain altitude. As the terrapin tried to escape to the skies, Godzilla's powerful tail cut a high arc in the air and was brought down on Gamera's head. The turtle fell, face buried into a thousand tons of rubble by the savage blow. The guardian slowly rose to his feet, only to have Godzilla's sharp claws slash his face open, splattering pale green blood across the city. White-hot agony explode into Gamera's body. As the wounded reptile stumbled back, Godzilla sunk his fangs into his exposed neck, spilling more of the turtle's blood. The shelled giant threw his back in a scream of pain. Gamera mind hardened, ready to do anything. While he was usually a honorable creature, he had to play dirty.
This was a fight he couldn't afford to lose.
While Godzilla continued to rip at his throat, Gamera thrust his claws into the berserk beast's face. With a single motion, both of the dinosaur's orange eyes were gouged out. Godzilla released the turtle with a high wail. Fortunately for the saurian, his regenerative powers would knit the vital organ back together. Unfortunately, in the time it takes could end up loosing the battle. Taking advantage of the Godzilla's temporary blindness, gamer took to the skies. All four columns of flames spinning him like a living UFO, the guardian dove at the sightless dinosaur. The fiery pinwheel collided with the nuclear dragon, pushing him back. The serrated bridge of the turtle's shell acted like a huge saw disc, hacking into the mutated reptile's pebbled skin. Breaching the thick hide, Gamera laid Godzilla's stomach open, exposing the goliath's innards. The dinosaur gave a pained bellow. Breaking away from the maimed beast, leaving Godzilla crashed to the ground bellow. Despite his horrific injuries, the Monster King immediately rose back up with a mighty roar. The last reminisce of Atlantis made a wide turn to attack again. As the spinning guardian approached the mutilated reptile, two bloody eye socket narrowed. Unbeknownst to the terrapin, Godzilla spine's began to glow. As the triphibian closed in, the glow became a blaze. Just before Gamera's rotating shell loped the dinosaur's head off, a huge, powerful blast of atomic energy was released from Godzilla's jaws. Engulfing the turtle's entire body, the wide beam immediately halted Gamera's flight. Focussing the ray, Godzilla pushed the terrapin back. The beam cutting deep into Gamera's shell, the surprised guardian was send smashing into a large skyscraper. Godzilla purred in satisfaction as the human structure collapsed on the lighter reptile. His victory was short-lived. Gamera bursted from the rubble of the crash, injured but still ready to fight. The guardian began absorbing the walls of flames that surrounded the area. Using the fire resulting from Godzilla's own rampage against him, the turtle fired a huge plasma fireball. Flying with amazing accuracy, the projectile travelled directly into Godzilla's open belly. The muffled explosion cooked the the saurian's insides. With a low gurgle, Godzilla went limp.
Gamera stood perfectly still. His skin was burt from the powerful blasts he had taken and his body bloody from the onslaught of tooth and claw. The battle had taken its tolls on him, but that wan't the reason for his motionlessness. He was trying to digest what he had just done. After a few minutes, it finally struck home. He had beaten Godzilla, the King of the Monsters himself. But was the dinosaur dead? Gamera doubted that. However destructive he was, Godzilla was a force of nature and that was something that couldn't be killed. In many minds, the nuclear titan was immortal. Then again, Gamera grumbled regretfully to himself while casting an emerald eye over the beast before him, maybe he had slain the Monster King. It did seem hard to believe that any beast could survive injuries like those. Moving slowly out of a mixture of pain and sorrow, the remorseful turtle strode to stand in front of Godzilla's still standing body. He had never meant for the duel to become lethal, but he supposed it had become unavoidable. Lowing his head and closing his eyes, the Guardian of the Universe paid his silent respects to Godzilla.
This noble act was repaid with a nuclear beam to the face. The shocked terrapin was thrown to the ground. Dazed by the blow, Gamera slow raised his head. Another ray came, blasting a chunk out of his shoulder. The fallen reptile screamed in pain and shock. Despite the blood dripping into his eyes, the guardian could still see the titan standing before hims in all his horrible glory.
It was Godzilla. Two eyes glittered dangerously, hungry for revenge. A large scar stretched across the dinosaur's stomach. Two rows of fangs were revealed in a furious snarl. Gamera had spilled his precious blood and he was going to repay the favor tenfold. Eyes glowing with hatred, Godzilla roared, bitterly stating his intent to flood Tokyo with green blood. Gamera knew he was defeated. If this beast had survived and recovered so quickly from the terrible damage done earlier, what else could he possible hope to do? Closing his eyes once again, the triphibian waited for the final blow. The broken beast felt a huge pressure on his chest as Godzilla placed his foot back on the turtle's plastron. The dinosaur lingered a few moments, simply enjoying this moment of triumph, the corner of his mouth pulling into a twisted grin. His enjoyment was broken by a distinctive screech. As Godzilla's head pulled sharply up in search of the thing that dare interrupt his kill, Gamera's eyes snapped open in alarm. The eyes of both were met by the same foreboding sight.
Hyper Gyaos.
Thousand of the reptilian buzzards emerged from the clouds, their crimson skin darkened by condensation. The air was filled with a chorus of hungry shrieks. Feral eyes focussed on the two giants below. Strands of saliva slowly dripped from jaws lined with stained teeth. A dark mass of ravenous reptiles blocked the moon and stars. Grudgingly, Godzilla removed his foot from Gamera's chest with a growl of irritation. He wasn't sparing the turtle out of respect, nor compassion. He was doing it out of necessity. It would take both of them to have a whisper of a chance against the swarm of loathsome creatures above. As Gamera rose painfully to his feet, the two beasts, once enemies, prepared to fight together. It was all or nothing now. Victory or death. The Shadow of Evil had descended upon Tokyo and only Earth's two greatest monsters could have any hope of defeating it.
After a few tense moments, the battle for the fate of Mankind erupted.
Golden sonic beams rained down from the sky. Acting fast, Gamera withdrew into his shell. Although the cutting rays carved deep gashes in his carapace, not a drop of the goliath turtle's green blood was spilled. Godzilla was not so fortunate. The yellow streams of vibrating energy sliced his skin to ribbons. The end of his tail dropped to the ground. His scalp was spilt open. Both his arms went limp. Many of of his spines were diced to bits. Blood seeped into the ground below the Monster King, black and wet. Crying out in sick delight the Gyaos began to spiral around Godzilla in a vortex of hunger. As the dinosaurs's regeneration began to knit his wounds back together, the eager scavengers struck. Piling on top of Godzilla's body, the flying demons began to eat the atomic saurian alive. Thin wails of agony rose pitifully to the sky. The Gyaos were in a frenzy, not caring if it were Godzilla or even their own that they were tearing at. Not even the King of the Monsters himself could survive the brutal punishment much longer.
A plasma fireball blasted a large number of Gyaos apart. Gamera cried a challenge to the vile things, coming to the aide of his temporary ally. About half the Gyaos rose into the air to meet their old foe's challenge. The Atlantian monsters clashed. Gamera launched a unceasing barrage of fireballs into the swarm of Gyaos, but no matter how many of the demons he destroyed, more just took their place. Before long, the huge bats were upon him. As the Gyaos attempted to rip him to shreds, Gamera did the best he could to fend them off. A quick swipe broke one's neck. His tusks tore another throat out. An elbow spike to the forehead brought another down. Growing desperate, the terrapin pulled in his legs and took to the skies. Gamera rocketed into the air, higher and higher by the second, the Gyaos close behind him. Several came too close and were set aflame. As the great turtle reached the upper layers of the atmosphere, he stopped. Falling back down through the swarm of carrion-eaters, the rest of Gamera's appendages disappeared and he blasted into a flurry of spinning. Countless Gyaos were ripped in half as the triphibian pinwheeled back down to the city below. But there were still too many of the giant buzzards. Claws dug deep into hi shell as multiple Gyaos clung to him, throwing his flight off-balance. The demons picking at the sockets that hide his limbs and head, the turtle plummeted towards the streets of Tokyo.
CRASH!
The guardian had crashed through the street and landed in the subway system below. The mangled bodies of two Gyaos laid crushed beneath him. Green blood stained the concrete. Gamera's limbs slowly oozed from its shell. As the turtle tried weakly to get back up, a group of Gyaos floated down to the deep crater he sat in. The biggest individual among them perched on his chest, a sinister grin warping its foul face. The Gyaos screeched a taunt to the terrapin. The air around its open mouth began to vibrate ominously. Gamera glared angrily at the creature he had been created to annihilate. Just before the demon bird split his head in two, an atomic blast vaporized the beast. Panicking, the rest of the Gyaos tried to flee but were quickly stopped by a fireball from the injured turtle. Slowly raising to his feet, Gamera was immediately met by Godzilla. Amazed that the dinosaur was still alive, the turtle examined the nuclear titan. Dozens of long, vertical scars covered his body and his chest heaved heavily. Behind him were hundreds of dead Gyaos, their bodies burt and broken. Gamera grumbled his admiration to the larger monster. Godzilla growled a warning in response. Just because he was fighting alongside the turtle, did not mean they were friends. Their were purely allies of the need for survival. The survival of themselves and the entire world. Gamera backed off and bowed his head in respect of Godzilla's wishes. United by the shared desire to protect the Earth- Gamera because of design and Godzilla because of his territorial nature- the guardian and the Monster King turned to face their foes. Striding in pace, the two giants were met by the remaining Gyaos, still hundreds strong. Godzilla and Gamera declared their defiance together with a duet of roars. Both were tired, but that wouldn't stop them. If they were to die, they'd die fighting. If this was the end, then the most they could do was take as many Gyaos down with them as they possibly could. Moving in perfect synch, the noble warrior and the atomic berserker charged, side by side. While even the mightiest of wicked beast would tremble in terror of the combined power of the two monsters, the Gyaos rushed to meet them. Alone, Gyaos were cowardly scavengers. But, when surrounded by their fellow demons, they were fearless. Number gave them power. And right now, they had all the power in the world. And Godzilla and Gamera were going to do everything they could to combat that power.
Gamera launched three fireballs in quick succession as he ran. The initial rows of approaching Gyaos were obliterated. As the flying goblins were pushed back by the explosion, Godzilla fire an atomic ray and swung it through the tight group of carrion-eaters. The beam of superheated plasma carved a path of death through the Gyaos. The airborne demons retaliated by launching a barrage of sonic rays. Gamera quickly stepped ahead of Godzilla and retracted all his limbs into his thick shell. Godzilla pulled himself in a tight ball, hiding behind his companion. Godzilla snarled in irritation. Why did his temporary partner have to be so small? The volley of cutting beams struck Gamera's protected chest. The oral weapons damaged the surface of the organic armor, but not penetrating it. Most of the sonic projectiles were blocked by Gamera's shell. The others cut through the air around Godzilla's barely hid form. The dinosaur barred his teeth in a grimace of agony as one of the golden rays sliced into an exposed part of his tail. The would healed almost instantly, but it still caused excruciating pain. Realizing their attack was useless, the Gyaos stopped firing their deadly beams. All screeching in unison, the scavengers bolted forward, leathery wings pounding the night air. The vile beasts propelled themselves at the two giants who opposed them. Raising from behind Gamera, Godzilla let the world know of his fury. He funneled all the pain that these abominations had caused him into a complete, uncontrollable rage. With a roar that shatter any windows in the entire city that still remained intact, the Monster King clashed with the Gyaos. Emerging from his shell, Gamera did likewise, joining the brawl. Godzilla crushed a Gyaos's skull between his hands. A Gyaos bite down on Gamera's arm. Gamera vaporized several Gyaos with a well-timed fireball. A Gyaos slashed at Godzilla's throat. Godzilla blew the offending Gyaos's head off with a blast of his nuclear breathe. Gyaos after Gyaos were destroyed, the fragile creatures claimed victim to the combined might of Godzilla and Gamera. But another Gyaos would just take the place of every one that fell and the battle was beginning to take its toll on the two defenders. Gamera was exhausted, his wounds slowing him down. With a glance at his berserk companion, the guardian found that Godzilla's regeneration was successfully combating the injuries caused by the Gyaos. But not even the prehistoric titan could last forever against the swarm of demons. Gamera gritted his teeth. He was a efficient warrior, but he doubted he could defeat the mass of carnivores. The turtles eyes widened as something occurred to him. He didn't have the raw power required to slay the huge number of Gyaos they faced.
But Godzilla does.
Eyes hard in determination, Gamera fought his way to Godzilla. The huge turtle placed his hand on the dinosaur's arm. The atomic dragon whipped around with a snarl. Gamera didn't respond. Gathering and concentrating all the mana within his body, the guardian began to channel his energy into Godzilla. Ivory spines flashed with golden power. Injuries disappeared. A heartbeat increased, driven by a flood of newfound strength. Red lightning danced across two orange eyes. Claws clenched in anticipation. An earth-and-air-shaking roar was uttered from between yellow fangs. The surrounding Gyaos froze in horror.
The King of the Monsters was ready to fight! Gamera fell to the ground, too tired to do anything but watch. He silently prayed that Godzilla would prevail.
Godzilla's dorsal plates burst into a blaze of crimson furry. The irradiated beast unleashed a blood-red ray of pure destruction upon the Gyaos. The spiral ray drove straight through the swarm of demons. Several of the carrion-eaters were vaporized instantly, countless others left falling from the sky in burnt piece. Giving a nasty grin at the death he was dealing, Godzilla fired another spiral ray. As the Gyaos tried to escape the beam, the superpowered dinosaur below swung it through them, burning more of the reptilian bats to a crisp. Several more spiral rays hacked at the writhing mass of scavengers. The Gyaos's numbers were falling fast. With Godzilla slashing his red atomic flames through their dwindling numbers, they'd soon be gone. The winged goblins were desperate. Diving, Gyaos descended upon Godzilla in a last ditch effort to slay the dinosaur. The nuclear powerhouse roared in outrage as the vile creatures covered his body. With slashed claws, ripping teeth, and flailing tail, Godzilla managed to bring down a good number of Gyaos, but they they were still overwhelming him. Gamera watched in horror as the demons began to tear Godzilla apart. The dinosaur wailed his agony as the Gyaos nipped, tore, and bit at his flesh. His spines flashed with red anger. A Gyaos clamped his jaws around Godzilla's windpipe, shutting it off and preventing the released of the dinosaur's spiral ray. With no where to go, the superheated energy began to build up. Godzilla's whole body began to heat up, burning the Gyaos covering his body. The demonic birds panicked. Lifting away from the glowing saurian, the Gyaos attempted to flee. It was too late. The incredible power welling up in Godzilla violently escaped. An orb of crimson fire rapidly expanded around the ancient giant. All the fleeing Gyaos were vaporized in mid-flight. In an instant, the Shadow of Evil was erased from the Earth.
As the blinding sphere of light faded, Godzilla appeared at its center, his new energy gone and his body tired. The sun was now rising over the horizon. Gamera gave a sigh of relief. The Gyaos were gone. They had succeeded. The guardian closed his eyes in weariness. He needed to recover his strength. Thunderous footfall interrupted his well-needed rest. Emerald eyes opened and were met by the sight of a looming Godzilla. A hard look was mounted of his feral features. Dread suddenly filled Gamera. He was now at Godzilla's mercy. And as far as he knew, the dinosaur had no mercy. Perhaps this was fair. He had failed where Godzilla had not. Perhaps Godzilla was now destined to protect the world from the threat of the Gyaos. Whatever fate had in store for the atomic beast, it was now the end of the line for Gamera. As Godzilla stooped down to finish him off, the Guardian of the Universe closed his eyes in registration. To the turtle's great surprised, it was not Death's hand that touched him, but Godzilla's. The dinosaur gently tapped his claws against Gamera's carapace. In that touch, a small amount of the titan's energy flowed into the Atlantian reptile. As Gamera used the strength Godzilla had gifted upon him to stand up, Godzilla turned around and began to head back to sea. Confused by this unexpected act of compassion, Gamera called out to the modern dragon. Godzilla turned to face the turtle. Looking into the Monster King's savage face, Gamera now understood. Pulling his legs into his shell, Gamera took off in a bloom of blue flame. Godzilla watched the guardian leave intently. Only when the noble defender soared out of sight, the dinosaur turn to leave once again. Stomping through the ruins of Tokyo, the nuclear behemoth growled. He didn't like the turtle. In fact, he loathed the the stupid thing. His sparing of the shelled creature had not been an act of kindness or gratitude. There was only one reason he had let Gamera live.
So that they could fight again.
Entering the sea, Godzilla grinning at the prospect. The other reptile had made quite a fun sparring partner. And next time they met, there'd be no holding back, no interruptions. There was only room for one of them in this world. And Godzilla had no intentions of surrendering this planet to the likes of the shelled nuisance. As Gamera cut threw the sky, he was also thinking of their next meeting. He sincerely hoped that the could fight together again one day. He truly wished to become friends with the dinosaur. Not only did he hold a even greater respect of the King of the Monsters now, but he didn't exactly cherish the thought of having such a powerful beast as an enemy.
As the two monster, one a defender and one a destroyer, parted ways, both now held the other in a special place in their mind. Whether good or bad, neither of them could wait to cross paths again.
