Match 116: C-Rex vs. Ebirah

Match 116: C-Rex vs. Ebirah is the 116th Match of the KWC and is written by Christian Salabert.

## Story

A pair of slaves ran across the sandy shores of Letchi Island, trying desperately to escape their terrorist captors. As they reached the waves, they realized they were left with no other choice and leapt into the water, swimming as hard and as fast as their bodies could handle. Catching up too late to stop them, the soldiers chasing them fired their machine guns at the fleeing duo, but they were already out of range.

But despite the potential escape of the two slaves, the Red Bamboo Captain grinned evilly. "They may have escaped from us, but they won't escape from Ebirah!" he cackled. He quickly redirected his men to the base's dock to get a better view of the slaves' fate.

Just as the group of soldiers reached the dock, the water began to churn and bubble. The Captain's grin got wider as a huge, shelled form began to rise up out of the ocean. But his look of evil glee soon turned into a look of shock and confusion when, instead of Ebirah, out of the sea rose the tentacled beast Crustaceous Rex!

Opening his floweresque face, C-Rex let loose with a whale-like cry. Looking downward, he spotted the fleeing slaves, who noticed the mammoth creature too late. Before they could even begin to turn and try to swim back to shore, they were ensnared by Crustaceous Rex's tentacles, hoisted high into the air, and stuffed into the sea creature's mouth. The mutation swallowed the two a moment later, but their meager size failed to sate his hunger. Looking for more food, C-Rex began making his way towards the island.

Crustaceous Rex had barely taken two steps towards the island, however, when the ocean waves once again began to churn behind him. One dark red claw pierced the surface, then another. Pulling the rest of his mass up out from beneath the waves, Ebirah let out a high-pitched screech, quickly grabbing C-Rex's attention. The yellowish mutation turned to face the new arrival, letting out a battle cry and flexing his tentacles. Ebirah began waving his arms around, snapping his pincers open and shut, ready to drive this strange beast out of his waters. Both sea monsters immediately went on the attack, lunging towards each other. Ebirah's claws clamped down on Crustaceous Rex's powerful legs, but the mutant's tentacles lashed out, wrapping around Ebirah's arms. As Ebirah tried snapping his foe's legs in half, C-Rex began pulling on the lobster's arms, trying to wrench Ebirah's limbs out of his sockets. The overgrown shrimp's claws began cutting into C-Rex's flesh, leaking green blood into the water. Groaning in pain, Crustaceous Rex opened his face once again and unleashed a thick torrent of tar from his mouth, covering Ebirah's face. The mighty crustacean released his opponent's legs and shrieked as the boiling, black gunk covered his face. As C-Rex righted himself and readied to attack, Ebirah plunged under the waves, trying to wipe the tar off his face. Flipping around, he swatted Crustaceous Rex's legs with his tail, sweeping them out from under him and sending him crashing beneath the surface.

Sinking to the ocean floor, Crustaceous Rex managed to get back to his feet and spotted Ebirah, who had succeeded in getting the tar away from his eyes, allowing him to zero in on the tentacled monster. Moving his tail up and down, Ebirah made a beeline for C-Rex, his arms outstretched and his pincers open. But Crustaceous Rex was ready for him, raising one of his legs up and smashing one of his large feet into Ebirah's face, stopping the lobster's charge cold. The Red Bamboo's watchdog was quick to respond, however, backhanding C-Rex with his large pincer, staggering the mutation. With the yellow beast reeling from that blow, Ebirah raised both his arms and brought them down hard onto Crustaceous Rex's back, sending a thunderous crack reverberating through the water as their bony armor collided against each other. Crustaceous Rex reacted quickly, snatching Ebirah's right arm and legs with his tentacles. With a mighty heave, Crustaceous Rex brought Ebirah down and smashed him into the rocky ground, stunning the oversized shrimp.

As Ebirah tried to regain his wits, C-Rex raised his leg and stomped down on his foe, trying to crush him underfoot. Ebirah's shell started to crack before the lobster even realized what was happening, and he began writhing about, trying to get a hold on his foe, but he was too far out of reach. It was then that he realized that Crustaceous Rex's leg, the one he was standing on, was not too far away from him. Pulling his arm back, Ebirah stabbed his smaller pincer directly into Crustaceous Rex's foot, just as a large crack broke across the main section of his shell. Crustaceous Rex staggered back, wailing in pain as his foot leaked blood, while Ebirah climbed onto a nearby rock and came up with his next move.

The pain in his foot subsiding, C-Rex turned to face Ebirah, moaning angrily. The mammoth lobster shook his pincers at his foe and screeched, taunting the mutation. Furious, Crustaceous Rex charged, extending his tentacles. Ebirah leapt off the rock, opening his pincers. They met violently, their impact sending a shockwave through the sea. Their clash was brief but fierce, each creature trying to end the other as fast as possible. Screams of agony suddenly echoed throughout the waves, and both monsters quickly backed away from the other.

Three of Crustaceous Rex's tentacles fell to the ocean floor.

Ebirah's large pincer similarly hit the rocky bottom.

The two underwater behemoths glared daggers at each other as they momentarily licked their wounds, formulating their next move. Their main weapons had been weakened severely, and they both knew they had to be careful with their next attack. Ebirah soon climbed back onto the rock he had leapt from before, eyeing C-Rex, whose own eyes hadn't left the crimson crustacean. He quickly glanced at the ocean floor, spotting a weapon he could use, then returned his vision to Ebirah. He stepped forward, ready to attack.

Once his foe was close enough, Ebirah leapt towards Crustaceous Rex again, aiming his one remaining pincer at the mutation's face, planning on spearing his head with it. Crustaceous Rex was quick to react, however, and his one last tentacle reached down to the ground, ensnaring Ebirah's dismembered claw. As soon as the enormous shrimp was close enough, C-Rex thrust his tentacle upward.

Ebirah's pained screech was cut short as his own pincer sliced into his soft underbelly and burst out the broken shell covering his back. C-Rex released his grip on the claw and stepped back, allowing Ebirah to sink to the bottom floor, twitching and bleeding. Writhing about in the mud and rocks, Ebirah tried to strike back at Crustaceous Rex, but his life was ebbing away too rapidly. Within moments, Ebirah lay still.

C-Rex stepped up to his kill and, using his sole tentacle, started to peel away Ebirah's shattered shell. Ripping out a chunk of meat and stuffing it into his mouth, the mutation wailed contently. This was far more satisfying than squid.