| Match 21: |
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| By: Christian Salabert |
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The benevolent deity of Infant Island, Mothra, lightly
lifted her wings, then let them settle back to the ground. She rested
upon her massive temple and listened to the songs of the Cosmos.
It wasn't often that the mighty lepidopteran could slumber peacefully
without interruption. Many a time her attempts at rest were interrupted
by a call to battle.
Unfortunately, this attempt wouldn't last very long,
either.
The serene silence was suddenly pierced by the Cosmos
screaming in terror. Mothra's eyes lit up as she looked down upon
her priestesses and saw that they were being menaced by a tentacle
of greenish-black sludge. Mothra chirped angrily and fired a blast
from her antennae, striking the tentacle and vaporizing a large
portion of it. Suddenly, a shrill scream, not unlike a telephone
ring, was heard directly outside the cave. The cave began to shake,
and Mothra watched as the infuriated Hedorah came smashing through
the wall. Mothra chirped at Hedorah, who raised its arms in anger
and let out a reverberating shriek of its own. Flapping her mighty
wings, Mothra took to the air and smashed face-first into Hedorah,
knocking the Smog Monster over backwards and out of the cave as
Mothra readied herself to attack.
Hedorah was back on its feet faster than expected,
and fired a jagged bolt of energy from its eye. Mothra reacted quickly,
and was able to avoid the blast. She returned in kind, unleashing
twin golden beams from her antennae. The beams hit their target,
but punched right through him, blasting the ground behind him. Hedorah
gargled in pain and took a step forward at the same time Mothra
began to advance as well. Hedorah began to raise its arms to attack,
but Mothra began flapping her wings. The powerful gusts of wind
were too much for Hedorah and it was quickly forced back. More and
more Mothra flapped, trying to put as much distance between Hedorah
and her cave as possible. Just at the right time, Mothra fired her
energy beams again, this time at Hedorah's feet. The blast sent
the beast tumbling to the ground and careening down a hill.
The Smog Monster rolled down the hill for what seemed
like forever until it eventually hit the ground with an earth-shaking
crash, landing on the beach. As Hedorah began to regain its wits
and rise to its feet Mothra hovered down from the hilltop, flapping
her wings wildly. She began striking the invader with her mighty
wings, stunning the slimey beast as she rained blow after blow upon
its head. Suddenly, Hedorah reared its head back and fired an energy
bolt from its eye. The bolt ripped through Mothra's wing like paper,
blowing a hole through the orange circle on her wing. Mothra cried
out in pain and swerved away from Hedorah, momentarily retreating
as her wing smoked. Hedorah let out another echoing sound that sounded
eerily like laughter.
Mothra turned to face Hedorah again, and this time
flew directly at him. Before Hedorah could make a move, Mothra fired
her golden beams again, but this time fired them again and again.
They blasted through Hedorah's chest, legs, and face as the mighty
moth neared her foe. Her last beam punctured Hedorah's left eye,
effectively blinding the Smog Monster on that side. Hedorah stumbled
from the blow and screamed in pain. With Hedorah now turned away
from her, Mothra moved in even closer and began shedding her electric
scales. Hedorah turned around just in time to receive a large cloud
of scales in the face, and started waving its arms around wildly
in an attempt to strike its foe. Mothra fluttered her wings, gaining
more altitude and evading Hedorah's reach. More and more electricity
enveloped Hedorah's body as Mothra continued her attack. Hedorah's
eye flashed as it fired another energy bolt to strike its opponent,
but it was not prepared to have its bolt reflected all around him
by Mothra's energy vortex until it hit him in the chest, knocking
him flat onto its back. Hedorah shrieked in fear; it could already
feel its body starting to dry up...
In a desperate attempt, Hedorah fired a blob of acidic
sludge from its chest. The corrosive sphere struck Mothra in the
chest and immediately ceased her electric scale attack. Mothra cried
out in pain as she felt the slime dissolve her fur and begin to
eat away at her flesh. As Mothra struggled to dislodge the sludge,
Hedorah returned to its feet and fired another bolt of lightning
from its eye. This blast struck Mothra right in the chest and sent
her flying back. Hedorah fired again and held the bolt, sending
Mothra careening backwards until she smashed into a mountain and
fell to the ground, landing on her back.
As Mothra flapped her wings, trying to get back to
the air, Hedorah advanced. Just as it seemed that Mothra would return
to the sky, Hedorah stepped on her wings, instantly grounding her.
It began stomping on her wings and thorax, each blow drawing a pained
shriek from the colorful deity. The slimey demon suddenly stopped
and Mothra thought that perhaps it had decided to give up. Unfortunately,
that was not the case, a glowing red bump began to emerge from Hedorah's
head. Mothra suddenly felt very cold and wet. Hedorah began pouring
sludge onto its victim, covering most of Mothra's body with the
vile liquid. Mothra tried to escape, but it was in vain. Hedorah
was still atop her wings, and each time she was able to move them,
they merely splashed in the toxic goo.
Finally, Mothra had had enough. Her eyes flashed
a bright blue, and golden lightning bolts fired forth from the underside
of her wings, electrifying the Smog Monster and sending him crashing
to the ground. With a mighty flap, Mothra managed to right herself
and take to the air. She may have been weak and stained with Hedorah's
slime, but she wasn't out yet. She was determined to drive this
vile beast from her home. With an angry cry, she flapped her wings
and dove in to attack Hedorah.
Unfortunately, the attack was in vain, as Hedorah
responded with another burst of corrosive sludge from its chest.
The ball hit Mothra directly in the face, completely covering her
right eye. Mothra immediately turned straight up into the air and
flew erratically as she felt the sludge doing its job. Her small
legs unable to reach her face, she could do nothing as the slime
ate away at her eye. Hedorah watched its foe flew around the beach,
spinning and shaking in a vain attempt to dislodge the sludge.
Suddenly, Mothra stopped moving, save for the flapping
of her wings. Burned, battered, blinded, and covered in slime, Mothra
was beaten, and she knew it. Any more punishment and she would surely
perish. Rearing her head back, she called out to the cave. A golden
sparkle of light emerged from the cave, flew past Hedorah, and attatched
itself to one of Mothra's lower feelers. The Cosmos. Slowly turning
away, Mothra flapped her wings and began to leave Infant Island.
She would return to fight another day.
Hedorah would not allow this. Raising its arms, Hedorah
fired another bolt of energy from its eye. The beam reached out
over the ocean and struck Mothra in the thorax, engulfing the insect
in a burst of fire. Spewing flame and smoke, Mothra plummeted from
of the sky and crashed into the ocean, sending tidal waves in every
direction.
Hedorah watched Mothra strike the sea, and hunched
over. In bright pink flashes, the Smog Monster transformed into
its swimming stage and stepped into the ocean. Now it would finish
her...
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