Match 104: Baragon (Showa) vs. Gaira

Match 104: Baragon (Showa) vs. Gaira is the 104th Match of the KWC and is written by Eugene Tan.

## Story

There was only silence.

Once a great tourist resort and place of geographical interest, Yellowstone National Park lay deserted. Not a soul walked within its valleys and forests. Even the animals were gone, and the birds feared to emerge from where they hid. A gigantic monster had arrived and called this place home. And unlike most others, it simply stayed there, at the foot of the legendary Mount Yellowstone.

Baragon awoke to a new morning, roaring to announce his arrival. The crimson creature shook his head a little, waving his dog-like ears. The kaiju then began his futile search for food. While Baragon persistently stayed in this sanctuary, he starved constantly. All the large animals had long been consumed by his enormous appetite or killed in his forest fires, and the geologists never seemed to come anymore.

As Baragon wandered on aimlessly, he suddenly felt powerful vibrations. Something was here. At this moment, the dog-eared kaiju didn't know exactly what. But he knew it was big. Very big...

The monstrous humanoid Gaira lumbered through the forest of Yellowstone Park, crushing trees in his nomadic expedition for sustenance. The titanic mutant growled as he surveyed the landscape before him. It was all lush and green, but it was useless to him when it came to satisfying his hunger. Gaira turned to leave, snarling in discontentment. As he stormed off, he was suddenly slammed off his feet.

Baragon crashed into the huge newcomer, sending the big green humanoid flying into a lake not too far away. The prehistoric kaiju was highly territorial. He wouldn't allow another kaiju to claim the park. Although this newcomer looked far more powerful than he was, and looked like the stuff of nightmares, Baragon would not back down.

Gaira shook himself off as he rose to his feet. In a show of power, the mighty humanoid punched the ancient earth of Yellowstone Park, forming a crater where it had impacted. He - unlike what the weakling reptile had imagined - had no plans of taking over this territory, but he was furious! This pest would pay for his sneak attack. Cracking his powerful fists as he looked down at the kaiju before him, the humanoid came to a horrific new decision: Baragon would be his meal!

Baragon snarled stubbornly, refusing to back down even as the intimidating brute lumbered towards him. The spawn of Frankenstein took his time. After all, this creature probably was not going to retreat. Baragon would use this time well. As Gaira walked closer, Baragon suddenly charged, once again taking the humanoid by surprise. Gaira roared in anger as the subterranean monster clamped his jaws onto his arm, sinking his fangs into it. Gaira struggled to get the persistent little reptile off, but Baragon clung on! Gaira stumbled back, gritting his teeth in pain, giving Baragon the opening to slam his front legs into Gaira's muscular chest, actually pushing the huge humanoid to the ground. He could win this! He could take down this new---

Baragon's ideas of victory, along with the air in his lungs, were knocked out of him when Gaira's fist connected with his lower jaw, causing the dog-like beast to spin into the air, crashing near his home at Mount Yellowstone!

Baragon struggled to his feet and shook his head in a daze, ignoring the nasty throb in his lower jaw. His jawbone must have been cracked by the impact of the punch. But Gaira was not a merciful opponent. The subterranean monster would get no opportunity to fully return to his senses. From behind the reptile, he raised a boulder and smashed it hard upon Baragon's skull. Baragon yelped in pain as he stumbled forward and fell onto his side, seeing stars from the force of the blow.

Gaira smirked as he watched Baragon groan in pain. This was going to be easier than he had initially thought. Perhaps he would bash this little pest up first before killing him. With that, Gaira tossed the boulder in his hand towards Baragon, snickering as he did so.

Baragon's eyes widened in surprise as the boulder flew towards the downed reptile. Swiftly, the ancient dragon lashed his tail out, deflecting the boulder at Gaira, who quickly bashed it away with his arm, shattering the projectile. Gaira sneered. It looked like Baragon still had fight in him.

He would get rid of that spirit.

Baragon was wise to quickly leap to his feet as Gaira went onto the attack. Baragon swiftly gave himself some distance from the raging menace, before charging on his hind legs! The two titans clashed next to the great dormant super volcano, the earth shuddering as they met.

Baragon squealed in pain and Gaira's sheer strength overwhelmed his. The bastard spawn of Frankenstein clobbered Baragon as he drove the reptile to the ground. Soon, the Green Gargantua's fists were stained with blood as he kept smashing Baragon's face. But Baragon refused to lose without a fight. As Gaira swung his fist down again, the subterranean monster suddenly spun around, lashing his powerful tail at his foe's feet, knocking Gaira over.

Before Gaira could get up, Baragon leapt into the air and body slammed him. The humanoid snarled, making sure Baragon would lose this advantage. As the little beast moved in again, Gaira's legs collided with his chest, throwing Baragon a good distance away. Gaira smirked as Baragon crashed onto a large rock, making the smaller creature cry out in pain.

As Gaira lumbered closer, something began to build up from Baragon's maw. Gaira swore he saw the light glow of flame as Baragon turned his attention back to his foe. Before Gaira could guess what was going on, an powerful stream of fire blasted from Baragon's mouth and struck Gaira in the chest. The giant roared in pain and Baragon kept firing his projectile weapon at his enemy.

Gaira backed off slowly as the flames licked at his chest and refused to die! Gaira groaned, forced to his knees by the agony. But the human ingenuity within Gaira's skull would not let him lose so easily. As Baragon confidently surged his fire forth, Gaira suddenly uprooted a redwood and put it in the way of the heat ray, letting the tree catch fire. Baragon blinked in surprise as Gaira used it as a shield to the projectile weapon and swiped it like a mace. Within seconds, he had covered the distance between the two adversaries, striking Baragon repeatedly with his new flaming weapon, causing the reptile to momentarily stop the release of his signature weapon. The humanoid then continued striking Baragon, using the redwood as one would a club. Baragon's cries of pain only encouraged Gaira to further attack the beast that had so humiliated him!

Baragon quickly fired off his heat ray again, but this time, his enemy dodged it, instead placing his arms under the crimson reptile and lifting him into the air, before smashing him right back with an explosion of dirt and plant matter. Baragon waved his stubby legs in the air as he launched forth another heat ray in self defense. Now, this one did hit Gaira, but the humanoid quickly jumped to the side once the blast hit him. Gaira grinned as Baragon began to panic, backing off slowly. To magnify his foe's fears, the titan struck the ancient super volcano this park was named after, and picked up a large slab of volcanic rock, before tossing it right at his foe.

Baragon's teeth chattered as the chunk loomed closer. Perhaps it was time to call it quits. He needed to recuperate. After this, he could plan how to defeat this monster. As Baragon finished his thoughts, the massive slab of rock hit Baragon's location with deadly accuracy.

To Gaira's surprise, as the dust cleared, his enemy was nowhere to be seen. Shoving the slab aside, Gaira saw only a large hole in the ground. Cursing, Gaira began walking around Baragon's old home. He was still angry, and he still wanted his meal. Gaira lumbered across the landscape in fury, causing the ground to shake as he stormed across the area.

As Gaira looked around, hoping his enemy would just emerge already and continue the battle, the ground beneath him began to tremble. It wasn't from Gaira's footsteps, and neither was it from Baragon.

Old Faithful, well, faithfully, shot its contents into the air, propelling the steaming liquid 20 meters into the air, striking Gaira between the legs...

Gaira roared in pain as the incredibly hot water struck. His cries of agony could be heard from miles away, continuing even as the great geyser went back to rest. Tears formed in his normally cold eyes and the great Gaira crashed to his knees.

He was in agony. Not even Baragon's heat ray had brought him such pain. Breathing heavily and screaming in pain between intervals, Gaira's cries had attracted the attention of another… About a hundred yards away, a familiar head poked out of the earth. It grinned goofily. Then its upper body emerged as well. Baragon had returned just to laugh at his foe's plight. And he did. Baragon shivered in hilarity, inciting Gaira's rage!

Gaira got to his feet, grimacing in rage, his eyes like fire. He hobbled slowly towards Baragon, inciting further laughter from his adversary. As Baragon chuckled, the Gargantua's fury exploded! Baragon's eyes widened in horror as Gaira suddenly sprinted towards him, charging like a mad bull. Baragon did not have time to retreat back under as the Green Gargantua grabbed his neck and tossed him against the side of Mount Yellowstone. Baragon lay there stunned, his body racked with pain. But Gaira was now truly out to kill, and his foe would get no mercy.

Before Baragon could get up, Gaira kicked him hard, snapping one of Baragon's ribs upon impact. Baragon groaned in agony, spitting out blood, much to Gaira's satisfaction. As Gaira kicked again, the subterranean kaiju managed to withstand his pain and roll out of the way, where's Gaira smashed a large chunk out of the mountain. Baragon desperately thought of a plan to get out of his mess alive, quickly leaping back as his adversary stormed forth, kicking trees aside as he pursued the red dragon. As the Green Gargantua loomed ever closer, Baragon mustered up his courage and charged, leaping into the air! However, for his efforts, Gaira simply bashed him away in mid-air with a powerful swipe of his arm, temporarily knocking the subterranean monster out cold.

As Baragon lay still on the ground, Gaira moved in slowly. It would give him no pleasure to kill the imbecile while it was still unconscious. So Gaira took his time. And unfortunately for Baragon, he woke up too soon.

Baragon's eyes flashed open. He did not know how long he had been unconscious, but he was glad to be alive. The dog-like kaiju hoped Gaira had left while he had been in dreamland. The side of his head still hurt from the brute's strike. As the kaiju got to his stubby legs, he was suddenly grabbed by the neck by a powerful pair of arms, which quickly started work at strangling the screaming reptile to death! Baragon had, in reality, only been out for a minute or so. And Gaira was glad for it, as he sadistically continued preventing air from entering Baragon's lungs. Baragon had to act fast if he was to survive this offense. Flames began to build up at the back of his throat.

Gaira grinned as he came face to face with his adversary. His hideous mug would be the last thing the reptile would ever see. Gaira stared coldly as Baragon struggled in vain. He hoped to see fear in the pesky little dragon's face, but now, he only saw a tenacious grimace on the dog-like kaiju's face. Gaira did not take such stubbornness lightly and moved Baragon's face even closer to his own and squeezed ever harder. Unfortunately, that also put him in perfect position for Baragon's heat ray, which struck him point-blank!

Gaira roared in rage as he fell backwards momentarily, releasing Baragon as he patted out the flames on his face. Baragon landed on his feet, catching his breath. This turn of events had given Baragon a mental boost. He no longer felt like running away. A new resolve burned within him.

He would finish this.

Gaira rose to both legs, still in pain. The skin on his face had been burnt beyond recognition. One of his eyes had been destroyed and steam still rose from his face. However, he was laughing madly. It looked like a true fight could begin right now. Baragon showed no signs of fear as Gaira closed in. He did not take a step back. As Gaira lumbered forward, the subterranean monster charged and leapt into the air.

Gaira prepared to swipe Baragon aside again, but this time, a heat ray blasted him in the chest, stunning Gaira for a second. Baragon used that second well, slashing Gaira across the chest with his razor-sharp claws and body slamming Gaira to the ground. As Gaira prepared to knock the pesky beast off, Baragon landed on his chest and lunged down, ripping onto the monster's throat! Gaira roared in rage, punching his adversary repeatedly on the sides. Baragon refused to relinquish his grip despite the force of the blows, until Gaira forcefully placed his foot onto the red dragon's chest and forcefully kicked him, losing some of his neck in the process.

Baragon crashed onto his behind, the air knocked out of his lungs. As Baragon prepared to continue fighting, his enemy leapt back to action and grabbed onto his foe's red tail and with incredible strength, swung him like a mace of sorts, bashing him onto Mount Yellowstone again and again. Baragon roared in pain he was smashed with such impact that a few of his teeth flew off and his lower jaw suffered a severe fracture. But Gaira really hoped he could just smash his foe's skull in!

The subterranean monster would not let him do so easily.

As Gaira swung Baragon again, the lizard-like kaiju, instead of letting himself smash against the mountain once again, sank his claws into the geographical structure, gaining leverage. Much to the gargantua's surprise, Baragon suddenly kicked with his back legs, knocking Gaira back. It didn't do much to hurt the gargantuan, but it made him let go of the red reptile, who swiftly turned around and struck like a vicious cobra nipping onto Gaira's hand!

Gaira roared in pain as Baragon's teeth sank in, and the red dragon began shaking his head from side to side. Gaira quickly wrenched the reptile off, but not without a loss. Gaira grimaced in horror as where once were three fingers, were, well, nothing. Gaira's limited regeneration would allow him to regain these appendages eventually, but it nonetheless filled him with rage and pain! Baragon swiftly swallowed the three fingers, them being his first meal in days. Gaira took the gesture as an insult. He was certainly stronger than Baragon, but the loss of his fingers had cost him massively. He was now without the use of one hand. But that did not matter. He swore that even if one of his hands was now useless, he would finish this pest! He would finish him even if he had no hands at all!

As Baragon and Gaira continued grappling, the former noticed something was wrong. He could not breathe. In fact, it seemed as though his throat was being clawed apart. Baragon gasped and gagged and even spat blood. Something was in his throat, and trying to claw out! Much to his horror, he realized there were three objects doing the job. In fact, Gaira's body parts had a mysterious ability to take a life of their own, and they had, right where Baragon's claws could not reach them! Baragon suddenly stopped attacking, gagging and gasping.

Gaira noted that soon enough. He did not know why Baragon had suddenly ended his assault, but he was quick to take advantage of it. Swiftly, the Green Gargantua kicked the red reptile over and stomped onto Baragon's chest viciously, as the primitive reptile struggled against the forces both both outside and inside him! Baragon blasted his heat ray in an attempt to get rid of the fingers inside his gullet, gagging as he did so. Simultaneously, he attempted to ward off Gaira's attacks, but to little avail. Gaira laughed as he tossed Baragon against Mount Yellowstone, the reptile weakly kicking back.

Finally, with one last blast of flame, the fingers were shot out of Baragon's mouth. By then, Gaira had already too much of an upper hand. Before the subterranean monster could even return to the combat, Gaira had already planned his next attack. He leapt into the air, and with this momentum smashed Baragon's head into the ground with his one good hand! Baragon groaned weakly. His lower jaw had been dislodged by the impact. He had to pull off a masterstroke to defeat Gaira at this point.

For Gaira, it was time to end this little charade. It was fun while it lasted, but he really wanted to satisfy his appetite soon. Gaira readied his battle-lusting fist for one last blow.

Then, there was an explosion of earth. Gaira covered his eyes as sand and dust was thrown everywhere. When the dust cleared, the crimson dragon was gone.

Gaira cursed in whatever way giant monsters do. That little creature had run away again! However, this time, he was wrong. Baragon had not run away. He was just getting a new vantage point.

In this case, the peak of Mount Yellowstone.

Gaira looked up. Baragon stood over three thousand meters above him. That was a great height, even by kaiju standards. Gaira rolled his eyes. It seemed he had to make the ascent up Mount Yellowstone to kill his enemy. With little choice, the Green Gargantua begin to climb after his target.

But Baragon had other other plans.

Suddenly, the subterranean monster charged down the steep slopes of the legendary volcano, and after a brief charge, let himself plunge. Gaira swiftly began backing down from the mountain, but it was too late. For Baragon, it was exhilarating. He had never felt like this before. It felt as though the whole world was a blur. Everything was flowing around him and Gaira was getting bigger and bigger and...

CRASH!

Baragon awoke in a massive crater. Then impact had been larger than even Baragon had conceived. And he hadn't predicted that he himself would have been knocked out cold either. Gaira, having been sent flying by the collision, lay about a hundred yards away, sprawled and broken. Unfortunately, the Gargantua too was stirring, and the green brute got up slowly, and Baragon quickly followed suit.

The two enemies glared at each other. Both were too weak to make another blow. They just locked their eyes, waiting for one to attack. They kept resolutely still for a whole minute.

Then, Gaira fell.

The once-great titan smashed the earth with an explosion of dust and dirt. Baragon soon saw why. Embedded deep into Gaira's skull was Baragon's own translucent horn which had dislodged from the impact. Baragon crept slowly towards Gaira, and kicked him lightly to make sure he was down. True enough, the Green Gargantua lay motionless. He appeared to be dead, or at least unconscious.

Baragon reared up on his hind legs, roaring in triumph despite his many wounds. He had won. He had saved his territory. The subterranean monster wanted the world to know about his victory against all odds. So he roared even louder. Battered, bruised and bleeding, Baragon had prevailed!