Ultraman X: Radio Silence

Embers of the Burning Mountain

X landed where he sensed the Devil Splinter stop. The trees on this island were gigantic, and X looked around. "It doesn't seem to be affecting the plant life or anything... D-" Before he could converse with his partner, he sensed some rustling behind a tree. "Who's there?!" He approached where he heard the sound, bracing himself for what he thought would be the culprit behind the Devil Splinter stopping... however, a giant monkey stepped out from behind the tree and imitated X's pose.

"I... I've never seen a primate kaiju like that, X. Look, it wants to play!" He took control of X's body and stood in the Xanadium Ray pose. The giant monkey walked over and did the same pose, reminding Daichi of Gomora. He reached his hand over to pat the giant monkey's head, rubbing it a bit. When he finished rubbing the monkey's head, it jumped up and down and clapped excitedly. Daichi chose to shrink back down since he didn't want to wear X down too much for this. He took out his Devizer and activated the Gaodection function. Joy. Happiness. "This is a nice change of pace, actually. It's almost been nonstop trouble since we've come back here- whoa!" The giant monkey picked up Daichi and put him on its shoulder. It began walking in another direction, with noticeably gentle footsteps. Curiosity. Wonder. Daichi was glad that this kaiju was able to live peacefully with someone coming into its space. But something was a bit unusual about that fact. It took a while for Xio to be able to communicate with Gomora, and this big monkey hit it off with X and Daichi right off the bat.

Then, the explanation for the monkey's friendly behavior appeared. "Hey! Goro! It looks like you found some new friends! Why not put them down here?" It seemed the monkey had a companion. Goro let Daichi down, and the person who was friends with the monkey extended his hand, offering a handshake to Daichi. "My name's Honda. What's yours?"

"Daichi. Nice to meet you." Daichi smiled, gladly shaking this person's hand. "Incredible... You've managed to coexist with a kaiju, but not only that, you did it in secret! I'm amazed, I want to take you here as an example." He then clipped X back onto his belt and held his hands on his waist, looking back up at the monkey. "So, Honda... is it just you and Goro on this island?"

"Oh, definitely not! I know Goro likes to wander, but he always comes back to the village. It seems that he smelled something off this time, though..." Honda turned serious and closed his eyes. "My grandparents told me of several stories of a horned dragon that terrorized the people of this island. No matter what they did, the dragon always kept coming back, but they at least got a break between the attacks."

Daichi nodded, politely listening. He suspected that there was a reason Honda was telling this story right after mentioning the fact that Goro liked wandering around the island, and the fact that Goro sensed something wrong. It must've been the Devil Splinter that launched itself here. "What happened to the dragon? And how does it connect to Goro?"

Honda continued the story. "One day during one of those break periods, it was the 60's I think... Goro was causing trouble for a population somewhere else, and so he was brought here as a solution, since he had a lot more open space to act. But... the dragon reawakened and sensed that it had competition. In short, Goro helped defend us. He threw the dragon in that volcano, and they've both been dormant ever since. Goro is living proof that it had happened, and the very reason I can even tell you this story now. So... what brings you here?"

Daichi turned serious. "The dragon inside the volcano... I fear it's going to reawaken soon, for reasons I can't yet disclose. We're going to need all the help we can get." Daichi paused, then considering what he said. "...my team and I. Can we ask you and Goro to help us... get rid of the dragon? It seems that he's a little wary too."