Terra Monstrum

Chapter 16: Future Shock

A distant tremor rumbled through the dirt, shaking tall green grass and the leaves of the baobab trees. Just beyond their tall, thick trunks lumbered the earthen form of a massive prehistoric beast, an awe inspiring sight not seen for 11,700 years. It marched along the horizon with a slow and steady gait, dragging its colossal, armored body on only two limbs. Not much more than sturdy flippers, they hit the ground with heavy, rhythmic beats as it moved ponderously along.

The Shobijin watched from a safe distance on top of a boulder, their hands held to their brows to stop the harsh Madagascan sun. Their aquatics specialists were just about to make contact. The plan was to drive the monster peacefully back to the sea where it came from, but they had a feeling things wouldn't go that smoothly. It had sunk quite a few ships in the short time since it crossed here from Antarctica.

Slowing to a halt, the renegade monster Vagnosaurus stopped and looked around. Her beady eyes surveyed a land that was somewhat familiar, but mostly alien. It felt so much more barren than before. Where were all the giant birds she remembered? She couldn't see anything like that, on the land or in the air. No tortoises crawled about her feet, no hairy beasts hung from the trees. The water seemed still, devoid of all the little hippos and crocodiles she had grown fond of. And then there were those strange things in the distance... what on Earth were those?

Vagnosaurus took another step closer, furrowing her leathery brows and puffing mist from her blowhole. The structures in the distance were very odd indeed, not like anything else in nature. They looked to be made of wood, but weren't shaped anything like trees. Tiny specks moved around on the ground around them: life. Finally, she thought, something with a heartbeat! She lifted a flipper and slapped it back down only to be accosted by some loud, weird sound close by.

The fin-eared kaiju Titanosaurus stepped foot onto the loose African soil with a wet, squishy footfall that was every bit as thunderous as her own. The two monsters locked eyes in an instant of primal recognition, one predator to another. The energy in the air changed instantly, charged with a pregnant electricity. Vagnosaurus made no sound but craned her neck as high as it could possibly go, staring the crimson creature down with a threatening glare. Her body stiffened and lifted off the ground, all held high save for her plated tail which beat the ground like a giant drum. She was in no mood to be trifled with, not by some rival carnivore. Not today.

Titanosaurus called out again, trying to be more quiet. She only wanted to initiate contact. The grunts and hisses she heard in response were not promising, though. The gold-brown monster postured defensively and roared, parting her smooth, neat lips to reveal a set of ferocious looking teeth nestled in her gums. The gurgling, rage filled sound shook the baobab trees down to their roots and reverberated through Titano's ears, a clear and ominous declaration of war.

Meekly, the red titan backed away from where she was and tried one last tactic. Bowing her head down low, she spat a stream of water diagonally at the ground and blasted a shallow trench ahead of her. Vagnosaurus looked down at the line she had drawn and deliberately stepped past it, wiping it from the earth as her long and heavy body dragged behind her. Titano took another step back, hesitant to start the fight but seeing the inevitability in it. She couldn't let her keep going this way, not with people still in her path.

Before the standoff could escalate any further, a third monster rose from the ground nearby. Manda, grunting and lifting her long neck high into the air, came into the fray from the far right and slithered over to Titanosaurus' side. Now confronted with two opponents, Vagno stopped and rethought her approach. Unfortunately, she came to the conclusion opposite of what they had hoped for. Opting for an even more aggressive stance, she dug her claws into the dirt and hurled her whole back half sideways.