VS.
Arena:
Author: GodzillavsRayquaza
Word Count: 2,496 words
Posted: December 25th, 2020
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Somewhere in the vast, arid country of Mexico, there was a valley which hid a secret. Any who ventured into it never returned, earning it the colloquial name of the Forbidden Valley. Not a particularly creative name, but it accomplished its goal. No one entered unless they were adventure seekers or adrenaline junkies.
All it earned them every time was a swift death by dinosaur attack. Time had forgotten this place, somehow hiding from the mass extinctions that claimed the rest of the great lizards. The herbivorous and carnivorous still did their dance of the food chain as if it were nothing had changed. As nature shifted and morphed with the eons, they remained the same. The world had once been theirs, but now, dinosaurs were confined to a single space. Had there ever been a greater fall from grace?
Perhaps this was why the unseen machinations of reality compelled him towards it.
Hurtling through the endless black of the cosmos, encased in stone, Earth was in his sights. Most would marvel at its splendor, regarding it like one would a gemstone. But not him. He had visited countless worlds, witnessed things that would steal one’s breath with their beauty. It was all dull to him regardless.
For he saw seas of roaring fire swallowing the masses in the same way most would see a tranquil, sparkling ocean. Why this was the way his mind worked, he knew not, for his memories were but fog when he attempted to recall his origin.
Monster X had long since stopped caring about the why. Only about how to satisfy this horrid urge.
It was a glowing streak in the sky, first looking like an ember, only particularly noticeable due to being nighttime. It soon grew, until it became a great sphere of flames. In mere seconds, the forbidden valley was cast into chaos as the meteor crashed into it. Waves of fire and concussive force rippled out, devastating the ground itself and everything atop it. Dinosaurs, so imposing compared to the other beasts of Earth, were like insects before the fireball. Many became ash, scattered into nothingness.
The entire valley felt the effects. Those not incinerated panicked, crying out in terror and fleeing for safety. Chaos filled the land forgotten by time. Peace only fell further away when a mighty roar pierced the air.
Standing tall, a colossal, purple Allosaurus marched through his territory. King of these lands, he was far grander in scale than any dinosaur had ever been. He bent down, scooping several fleeing Styracosaurs up into his mouth. The fearsome herbivores were mashed into a crimson paste by his jaws, before being swallowed down to fill his cavernous stomach.
Gwangi roared once more, towards where the meteor had landed. As the rest of the valley’s inhabitants ran past him, he marched forwards. He cared not as he trod upon those too slow to get out of his way.
Something new was dwelling within the devastated landscape, he knew it. Gwangi’s simple mind sensed another colossus, and he would not back down. Especially if it had done this to his territory.
His feet trampled the burnt earth, his predatory eyes searching. The scent of this place was foul, reeking of death. Corpses reduced to charred husks decorated the disaster’s site. The will to survive urged him to ignore it, find a new home and claim that as his own. Gwangi obeyed it, turning to walk away. The entity could have his lands, it was nothing he’d throw his life away for.
A horrendous howl echoed through the valley. It originated behind Gwangi, prompting him to run faster. His thick legs carried him as fast as they could, but the rapid beat of heavy footfalls behind him told Gwangi that it was nowhere near fast enough.
The pounding against the ground ceased with a heavy thud, and immediately afterwards, the top of the allosaur’s vision was filled with a humanoid figure. It crashed before him in a crouch, stopping him on the spot.
Its skin was black, with most of its torso covered by bones. The invader stood tall, over a head above the allosaurus, then turned to face Gwangi. Its head was covered by bone plating, or perhaps nothing covered the strange creature’s skull. On either side, between the skull and shoulder, were the halves of a head. It was as if that head had been split in two, pulled apart, and had a second head placed in the center.
Four eyes of solid scarlet met Gwangi’s own. Opening his maw, mist poured from Monster X’s mouth as he bellowed. The dinosaur backed away, simple mind attempting to figure out just what he was looking at. He had seen nothing like it, not even the apes bore resemblance to it beyond the most basic of stance.
Monster X lunged forward, driving a fist across the theropod’s face. Gwangi cried out, stumbling back. Stepping forward, the draconic humanoid thrust a knee into the dinosaur’s chest, bruising ribs. Gwangi doubled over, allowing the alien to leap into the air, twisting as he rose. A tail splitting into two at the end whipped around, slapping against the dinosaur’s jaw. As Gwangi stumbled away, blood trickling down his chin, Monster X landed before him. Still the alien stared.
Lashing his leg out, the allosaurus attempted to fight back. The theropod’s foot crashed against the space demon’s hip, staggering him slightly. Gwangi lunged forward, mouth opened wide and aimed towards the throat of the invader. Monster X sidestepped the attack, leaving the dinosaur to clack his teeth together. Swiftly, the invader gripped his foe’s tail. Ignoring the struggles of the dinosaur, the invader twisted his body, bringing Gwangi’s feet off the ground.
Leaping into the air, the destroyer spun twice before releasing his foe. All of the Forbidden Valley’s residents could hear the sound of their king smashing into the dirt. Gwangi rolled when he landed, crying out even once he had stopped tumbling.
Monster X touched down before the allosaurus, sending up a plume of dust. A foul laughter rose from the destroyer’s mouth, shaking Gwangi to his core. The roars of predators had haunted him during his vulnerable youth, but he had grown used to their song. This, however, was no animal’s call. A human would have various creatures from folklore and myth to compare the grinding, harsh rumbling of the destroyer’s laughter with. But Gwangi had no such coping mechanism, unable to wrap his mind around such a horrendous cry.
Raising a foot, Monster X intended to crush his victim’s windpipe. His laughter continued, sending mist flowing from his maw.
Gwangi needed it to stop, anything to stop that cruel song of demise!
The allosaurus sprang up, clamping his jaws around the leg keeping Monster X standing. Caught off by the sudden attack, the ebony invader was powerless to stop himself from being thrown onto his back. Standing to his full height, Gwangi placed a foot on his foe as he bit down hard. He began pulling back, attempting to break bone. A far cry from his previous laughter, Monster X grunted in pain as he grabbed onto the limb pinning him. The theropod felt liquid begin to stain his teeth, compelling him to continue his assault. Thrashing his head back and forth, the dinosaur tried everything he could to cripple the alien.
With a push, the alien imbalanced his foe, leaving Gwangi fighting to stand. He supported himself with the invader’s leg, only for the humanoid to roll over. The allosaur landed on his side, and was soon forced off the invader with a kick to the jaw. Monster X winced, having accidentally dug his foe’s teeth deeper into his calf, but was still able to get to his feet quickly. Pain shot through the damaged leg when he put his weight on it, black blood oozing from ripped open wounds and an ache settled into the bone itself.
A mere beast from a meager planet such as this had bruised one of his bones? He was torn between being impressed and outraged.
Gwangi got to his feet, before rushing forward in a tackle. Slamming into the alien, the theropod began shoving his foe back. Monster X’s feet pushed aside dirt and stone as he dug them in. His arms came forth, hands gripping Gwangi’s shoulders and pushing back. The dinosaur staggered back, only to bite down on the outstretched right arm. He failed to draw blood before two swift punches to the skull made him recoil, matching splotches of darkened skin rising from beneath his scales.
The allosaurus swung his head down and then up, crashing it against Monster X’s gut. Stumbling back, the alien was kept on the defensive as the theropod quickly turned, sending his tail swinging low to the ground. Leaping into the air, the destroyer avoided the tail swipe. Gwangi turned back around, only to be met with a rising kick from the alien. Monster X stayed suspended in the air, throwing another strike with his undamaged leg. It crashed against his chest, making the allosaurus double over.
Spinning like a top, the invader lashed his tail against Gwangi’s face several times. The dinosaur cried out as bleeding streaks on his face were flayed open. Sensing an opportunity at the same time, however, he did not back away. Another slash, more blood staining his hide. He opened his jaws as soon as it had passed. He snapped them shut a moment later onto the limb.
It sent pain spearing into his teeth as the momentum nearly dislodged them, but his jaws designed to crush prey held firm. Monster X cried out as his tail was sliced into by jagged fangs, his roar growing louder as Gwangi slammed him against the ground. He chewed upon the tail, trying to work through the thick flesh.
Planting his hands flat on the ground, the destroyer pulled himself forward with one powerful movement, ripping his tail free and leaving the allosaurus to stumble forward. Quickly hopping to his feet, the alien turned in place to face his foe. He moved his tail forward to look at, seeing the gashes left in the limb.
By the time Gwangi had recovered from the sudden motion, he was set upon once more. Monster X gripped his small arms, the alien’s hands nearly obscuring the saurian’s forelimbs. The destroyer lifted the theropod into the air, above his head. Gwangi screamed as Monster X squeezed his arms tightly, quickly twisting them. The subtle crack of the bone hit the destroyer’s ears, causing him to shake with laughter. He then thrust his arms down, sending Gwangi crashing to the ground feet first. Monster X relinquished his grip, revealing the broken limbs, before slamming a punch into the sternum of the theropod.
With eyes screwed shut, the allosaur staggered backwards. Pain searing through his body, he breathed in and out rapidly to try and alleviate his fear. Even with the world shut out of his vision, he could still see those crimson orbs glaring into him. Somehow they were as frigid as a winter’s night and as intense as a roaring fire.
A switch flipped in his brain. He needed to survive no matter what, and running away had already been proven to be no option. Turning his back would get him killed. He had no strategy. But he had to do something.
Monster X, who had been basking in the fear practically rolling off his victim, began to step forward. He cracked his knuckles.
Gwangi lunged forward, roaring madly. He crashed against his foe bodily, trying to bring him to the ground. The destroyer merely dug his feet into the ground, pushing back. Opening his eyes, the theropod realized this was not working. He saw his foe’s exposed neck just above the saurian’s head, and went for it without a second thought.
Teeth sank into black flesh, the crushing jaws of a predator pressing against the windpipe of an alien. Monster X’s footing slipped up, allowing Gwangi to push him further back. Bravado left the alien immediately as he grabbed at the theropod’s jaws, panicking for the first time in a long time. He could not slip his fingers between his own flesh and vice currently wearing at his skin. The destroyer felt his own blood stain his fingertips as he tried this.
Gwangi moved his head like he was a rabid dog, being rewarded by the subtle feeling of his teeth being worked in deeper. Monster X stopped trying to pry the jaws off, moving his hands away from them. Time was running out. His lack of a need for oxygen meant he was able to think clearly even with this event, meaning when he looked down at the beast threatening his life, a plan quickly formed.
He slapped his palm onto the side of Gwangi’s head, behind the eye. Then, he dragged his hand forward, claws against the skin. For a second, he felt his talons scrape against the thick, coarse hide of the saurian.
Then he was rewarded with a squelch, accompanied by the shriek of the allosaurus.
Gwangi released, half the world going dark. Monster X watched as blood sprayed from the opened cavity, before looking down at his own hand to see a clump of gelatinous substance covered in veins impaled at the end of a talon. Flicking the remains of the eye away, Monster X’s eyes began to glow a brilliant gold.
Gwangi could only watch in horror as the living mass extinction thrust his arms backwards, unleashing a stream of harsh, solid light from each eye. The four beams cut through the air too fast for the allosaurus to duck or dodge.
The Forbidden Valley shuddered as they tore into his skull, shattering the upper jaw in an instant. Then, they detonated, rupturing Gwangi’s head. Shards of bone flew like shrapnel, embedding themselves in stone and soil. Monster X held an arm before his throat as the shards pelted him, letting them plink off his hide and armor. Flash boiled globules of brain splattered against the scorched earth.
Gwangi’s body hit the ground next, unmoving aside from post mortem twitches.
Monster X stepped up to the corpse, placing a foot upon the still back. Applying pressure, he put his full weight on it until a torrent of blood poured from the hole where the head had once been. Most would have found the saurian’s tenacity admirable, but not the destroyer. All he saw, as he let the warm blood soak his feet, was a wretch that had wasted his time with its arrogance.
Rising into the sky, he left the fallen theropod for whatever scavengers would venture into the blackened landscape first. There was still a world to burn, and if it had more creatures as stubborn as that one had been, perhaps he would have to assume his true form and expedite the process…
Spoiler:
