Hedorah Against Mothra

Mothra, Earth's guardian protector, is about to fight the battle of her life against the evil smog monster Hedorah, enemy of the planet!

A breeze as soft as eiderdown eased itself gently across the lush greenery of the island. The winds carried with it the tantalizing aromas of the garden blossoms, perfuming the air with its rich cloying cologne as it swept along.

The thousand year-old trees swayed slightly to the breeze as if dancing quietly to nature’s song. And indeed, there was a song here. The wind carried another precious thing with it, which it delivered to the whole island. The pricelessly powerful vocalization of two tiny twin girls, hardly more than a foot tall, filled the hollow of the ancient temple in which a sacred monster deity slumbered peacefully with the singing of her cherished friends ringing softly in her dreams. The harmony of it all was contenting.

The breezes ever so gently whispering the song of nature and its beauty to her as they caressed her fuzzy golden fur tenderly.

The cheery chirping of the songbirds and the animated way the dragonflies danced over shallow crystal pools...

Yes, this was Infant Island, the sacred land of the glories of Mother Nature and the admirable treasures her Highness had to bestow upon the world. It was a grand place, truly spectacular, and it was the idiosyncratic location Mothra, the great butterfly-like goddess, wished for for her most flawless gem;

Her egg.

Mothra had been keeping watch over this cherishable bundle for weeks now, eagerly anticipating the day her progeny would come into the world. And that would be a celebratory day, I tell you.

Still, there was a darker, more unfortunate side to this optimism. The same day her baby, Mothra larvae, was born, mother Mothra’s goddess spirit would depart her and rise up to the heavens to reunite with her angelic ancestors. Yes, for this generation of Mothra had long since been for-cursed. It was written that

With New Life will come Death.

That is what was prophesied by the Shobijin, the small beauties whose celestial voices enlightened Mothra’s good soul, made her insect heart swell with an overwhelming and inexplicable sensation of hope and gladness.

Mothra was dozing when it happened.

The skies grew dark, clouds clustering together to conceal the invigorating light of the sun in the form of one massive smoky gray stormcloud. It was truly ominous, petrifying. The Shobijin gasped, gazing up with mortified eyes at the thing that was to come. The first sister collapsed to the ground in an episode of spasms. It was like a seizure, and her eyes rolled up into her head as her body convulsed madly. Mothra was alarmed and was squawking fearfully, while the second sister laid her hands on the first and generated a calming light from her soul. Immediately the first of the Shobijin calmed down.

“It’s coming,” she breathed, hand fluttering at her chest.

“What is!? Tell me sister, I have to know!” Demanded the other one. But her sister just kept looking up, the terror reflected in her dreamy, glassy-eyed stare.

That’s when Mothra saw it; She quivered in her very exoskeleton.

Blood-red eyes that gleamed maliciously and sparked with sinister pleasure illuminated the skies, the enormous stormcloud swirling treacherously above. There was the sound of what Mothra took to be a laugh-like gurgle of malice as the red eyes beamed overhead. Then they disappeared from view. There was another gurgling cackle, at which Mothra defensively shielded her egg from the rains that began to pelt the island in a violent torrent, lashing down from the offended heavens furiously. The girls ran for cover into the temple cave where they took refuge, while Mothra’s dim blue eyes lit up in wariness as she cautiously observed the sky. This was not good; not good at all.

As Mothra gazed down apprehensively at her unborn child, a shadow even darker than the grave blackness of the sky swooped overhead. Mothra lifted her eyes to the sky, scanning it with her slow but accurate vision, when something heavy and powerful struck her square in the back of the wings.

Mothra screeched as she rolled over her egg. Something stinky and slimy smacked her coldly across the face, and it burned like...like acid. Mothra’s head was spinning from the jolting slap, her vision flickering wildly. She felt her fuzzy fur burning away, the flesh sizzling as the acid ate it away. The gurgling sound came again from behind her, and the stench of sulfur was irritating the breathing orifices on her body. Mothra turned her massive wing-backed body around to face her perpetrator, but when she did, she froze in her tracks.

Her insect juices ran cold inside her, she was paralyzed with consternation.

Bulging, ruby-red eyes, like the flaming scarlet of Hell and doom, flared before her. A radically ugly mammoth beast with a soft, slimy, amorphous body towered in front of her, its droopy sludge mouth contorted into what resembled a grin. Mothra trembled; the devilish incarnation was Hedorah!

Long ago, soon to be a half-century, the Smog Monster claimed the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of human being’s lives, utterly suffocating the very life out of them. Hedorah was a dangerous brute, not to be underestimated, and would happily annihilate every living thing with its toxic body if only it got the chance.

But Hedorah was a sludge-brain; it had no nerve structure as Earth-creatures do. Therefore, it could be conjectured that the beast was rather stupid.

But there was something new in this Hedorah’s eyes. There was more to the mad opaque glitter that suggested emotions and feelings in the poisonous demon.

Mothra didn’t have time to analyze the smog monster any more. Hedorah quickly expelled a rolling, inky black cloud of noxious gas, which attacked Mothra’s respiratory system and clouded her already weak vision. Mothra felt faint, light-headed, like the feeling of having one’s brain space pumped full of helium. Her eyes dimmed as she lifted herself off the ground and, turning towards Hedorah, relinquished a rainbow cloud at it. The rainbow cloud had protective properties in which no hazardous beam or gas of any kind could filter through, and defended the one who went behind it. But Mothra wasn’t merely trying to protect herself; those gases would leak in through the microscopic pores in the larvae egg and contaminate the unborn creature. The rainbow cloud repelled the gases, and also seemed to momentarily stun Hedorah. The beast blinked stupidly for a moment, then regained the malevolent glint in its gem-like eyes.

Roaring in irritation, Hedorah threw himself on top of Mothra like a cannon. He wrapped his slimy extremities around her head and shoved it in the ground. Mothra screeched for mercy, struggling under the anchor-heavy sludge that was starting to erode her flesh. Hedorah cackled with glee. He was causing a living thing pain, and, like his relative monster Destoroyah, he liked it. The sheer thrill and exhilaration of being the purpose of agony and death gave an electric jolt through his body. Having power over something boosted one’s ego, and this new, intelligent smog monster was taking advantage of the feeling.

Mothra could feel the the creature’s sinister lust for death emanating from its toxic core. The wave of blood-lust made her sick. Hedorah smacked her in the head again, but Mothra surprised the beast by retaliating with an equal blow from one of her powerful wings. Summoning her thorax strength, the lepidopteran kaiju managed to shove the heavy smog monster off her body. Splotches of sludge were biting at her flesh painfully. Mothra batted her wings heavily to lift herself off the ground and fly forward in front of her egg. She saw Hedorah’s glassy-eyed stare brighten at the sight of the egg. It was a sign of life, a symbol of hope for the continued existence of humankind, indeed, the whole Earth, and it gave the smog monster titillating sensations just at the thought of suffocating the precious, innocent unborn…

The more Hedorah killed, the more life energy that became his. Every time something died because of his slimy hands, he obtained the energy that was theirs, and someday, he would possess so much spiritual energy he may very well reach the climax of immortality. Mother Mothra was weak, a frail old insect that was not far from reaching her grave. Still, her energy was worthwhile to obtain, for it was divine, supernal, and it was hope to the world that it would remain in peace so long as she was there to protect it. But the baby...The child was pure innocence, a fresh, gleaming soul not exposed to the draining wear and tear of the world, not yet even brand new for it was not hatched, and its newness was lustrous, it promised the glorious fulfillment of near-invincibility...Hedorah was rudely interrupted from his reverie when a jade stream of lightning struck him squarely in the face. The smog monster roared, incensed, as his sulfurous flesh sizzled and sparked. Before he could regenerate his sludgy skin, Mothra’s turquoise eyes glittered with renewed power, power derived from the maternal nature that defined her. A crackle of golden energy beamed from the antennae on her forehead and released into Hedorah’s ruby eyeball.

Hedorah shrieked in fury and turbulence as his eye exploded. Thick streams of virulent gunge streaked down his deformed, repugnant face. Mothra flew forward and bowled Hedorah over, the thing gurgling in vexation. Another yellow beam afflicted him and this time a huge shower of crystallines sparks rained down on his wounded maw. Mothra was feeling more triumphant now. She was finally starting to get somewhere in this fight. The Shobijin cheered her on, little fists outstretched in the air, rooting for their goddess.

Mothra felt her eyes glowing brightly, illuminating the foggy darkness encircling around her. Her wings felt warm and strong as her newly empowered blood swam through her old veins, delivering the restoration of rejuvenation. She was no spring chicken, or moth, in this case, but the love she felt for her little one welled up inside her and transmogrified into sheer power and an unbreakable will.

Mothra would devote her life energy to the larvae at all costs.

It was imperative her offspring carry on the battle to protect the planet, no matter what may happen to Mothra. She was old, she had lived her life.

Hedorah rose up from the ground, dripping steamy sludge. The beast’s eyes burned with hatred as it glared with absolute loathsome at its greatest enemy. This pitiful, abysmal creature which thought itself the guardian of the Earth was the weakest, most pathetic thing it had ever laid eyes on. Though he could feel the power flowing through her and slowly rising, she was still quite an abhorrent sight to see. Her tattered, raggedy wings, the tips worn and singed...The once-golden fuzz that had lightly coated her soft body was scorched to the flesh and smelled of sulfur...And her frail, dying body reeked of the stench of near-death which made Hedorah’s acid heart swoon.

Firing the crimson energy beam from his head apparatus, Hedorah struck Mothra in the face. Green and yellow insect blood spurted from the gruesome facial wound, while Mothra screeched god-awfully and tried to crawl away from the searing energy. Hedorah laughed with sadistic pleasure as a ball of steaming sludge smacked the sorry bug on what was left of her wings. The wingtips sizzled and fell off as the smog monster expelled an inky cloud of carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide that made Mothra’s dizzy brain spin. Her vision was flickering, the dark spots threatening to blank her entire eyesight, and the guardian of the galaxy fell unconscious.

Hedorah did his deplorable gurgle-laugh, taking delight at seeing the kaiju deity fall.

She was hopeless now, a lost cause. Hedorah felt a wave of power wash over him at the realization that he had fallen one of the greatest and most reliable monsters of all time. The kaiju of death laughed at the sad sight of dying Mothra. How wonderful it was to kill, he thought. Death was on his side. He was death, death in the form of living poisons and destructive toxins. Hedorah knew that killing Mothra was a huge accomplishment; With the brat out of the way, the smog monster could move up the last step of the mutant hierarchy and finish off the final menace that jeopardized his existence; The King himself.

As Hedorah was gloating gleefully over his victory which he dangled over Mothra, he did not notice what was taking place with the egg. Hedorah had returned his attention to finalizing his murder of Mothra when a glistening white substance like sticky string clung to his body. Hedorah bellowed in vexation, swung around and faced his distractor. His scarlet ruby-like eyes widened in disbelief; The egg had hatched?

Mothra was smiling inside as her life energy fled her; Her little one had come into the world to continue the role of Earth’s divine preserver, and he was so beautiful. Mothra never remembered being so precious and lovely…

Then fear gripped the insect’s heart like a pair of cold tongs. Hedorah was going to murder the little guy if his mama didn’t do something and fast. Already the ugly brute was charging his red eye laser.

Mothra chirped softly to the skies.

The Shobijin sobbed as they were about to witness the execution of baby Mothra.

Oh Earth, I call to you in times of peril…

Hedorah chortled as he loaded his beam…

As your guardian and divine protector, I beg for your mercy, Mother Nature…

Mothra’s energy was draining from her body at a rapid rate…

May your celestial powers guide my little one in his time of need, as I have done for you, O Earth…

Hedorah’s energy beam crackled, his cruel eyes glittering nefariously as he locked gazes with his tiny, weak-eyed infant opponent…

Mosura...Mosura…

Hedorah hissed as he spotted the two little girls, arms outstretched in a posture of desperation, trilling to their moribund goddess as her spirit flickered away in a thin wisp of silvery white mist. Mothra’s once brilliant crystalline, cornflower blue eyes were dark now, lacking the fervor of life that once possessed them. Hedorah roared in delight; Finally, that nasty menace was dead, gone, and gone forever.

That’s when the larvae chirped, reminding him that she was, in fact, still very much alive.

The little one’s weak blue gaze strengthened and hardened into a look of fury as the eyes changed color from soft blue to fiery red. A thick rope of silk substance wrapped around Hedorah and pulled him to the ground, as more of the silk blanketed over him like a death tarp. Hedorah screeched and expelled noxious gas, which the larvae quickly rebounded with a flash of jade glitter that irritated the smog monster’s eyes. Lightning crepitated from the heavens, which were a deep, twilight violet color, and lashed against Hedorah’s amorphous body. Hedorah felt so weak, so drowsy, the angry lightning lashing him like a furious whip…

In his last throes of death, Hedorah fired his wicked crimson plasma beam and struck Mothra larvae in the face, melting the young mutant’s flesh and bursting his right eyeball. The larvae squealed like a pig and shook his head vigorously, yellow liquid streaming down his marred face. The trauma from the damage seemed to be sucking the creature’s energy from him rapidly, the life power flowing instead into Hedorah.

The malignant monster’s gray eyelids fluttered open, his eyes radiating a lustrous red color. The beast was rejuvenated, and in his rage he exploded the entrapping silk ropes off of him and lumbered over to the dying Mothra larvae.

Hedorah would not die. He was an alien brute of sheer will and awesome power, and no infant insect would defeat him. The smog monster was enraged by the audacity of the puny thing, which very much resembled a giant steaming piece of fecal matter. He would prevail, after all, his closest relative was the Destoroyer himself. Hedorah was destined to inherit the Earth and to rid it of the plaguing menace that was humankind, and he would stop at absolutely nothing to achieve ultimate power.

That is, until a final, incandescent zigzag of lightning, neon-blue colored, erupted from the skies and vanquished the thing with a deafening roar.

There was silence...It was peaceful, contenting, and the Shobijin sung quietly to baby Mothra, who lay dead at the foot of the sacred temple.

Mosura ya, Mosura…

A soft white glow entered the temple.

Mosura ya, Mosura…

The light of the love of the fairies lifted the little creature off the dusty, muck-littered ground, higher and higher…

Mosura ya, Mosura!

The larvae’s dead eyes blinked to life as he was set gently on the ground. Before him the shadowy, angelic holograph of his mother, Mothra appeared.

Little one...My precious youth, you are the sign of hope for all the Earth…

May your light shine and may it guide those who are lost and need it most…

You are the holy guardian now, my predecessor. Then the holograph disappeared inside the larvae’s body, making the creature glow bright orange for a moment when it entered him.

The Shobijin smiled at the enlightened caterpillar.

Hope was still there for the world…

The world had a guardian and it would stop at nothing to defend what it loved and cherished the most.

And just beneath the surface of the sea at Infant Island was a threat to the planet’s existence.

The sea life was asphyxiated as the seawater went black with sludge…

The larvae saw it, anger building up inside of him.

The Earth needed a protector who would defend its preciousness to the death.

The caterpillar would do it, he knew.

He knew what it meant to die for someone you loved;

After all, his mother who shared his soul, did it for him.

Love is the most divine and moving power in all the world. It shows in unexpected ways to bless and sanctify our lives, and its galvanizing effects enlighten us and lift us to greater heights. The cherishable, sacred love of motherhood between a mama and her child is nonpareil, and it is the sole reason Mothra larvae endured, so that his mother could survive within him. The larvae knew that one day, the power of his mother would bloom and take shape inside him, changing him in pertinent ways, and that he, too, would have to sacrifice his life for the good of the Earth someday.

But it was in his cards to do that. Yes, love is insurmountable, and what it does for others could determine their destinies, just like it did for little Mothra.

Love is the capacity that drives us all.

And it has the fundamental power to change the world.

Just ask Mothra.

To Be Continued…