Godzilla Warriors 8: Zenith

Chapter 4: An Old Friend

Rodan was in shock. It had been 14 years since he had seen Radon's face. And now, his best friend was standing in front of him again. She was beautiful, just like she was before, but being older, Rodan was able to notice it more now. But he wasn't focussed on that. He said absolutely nothing as his mind pieced together the information in front of him.
"I... I know." Radon sighed. "I completely understand your surprise. But I promise, there is a logical explanation for this..."
"All these years... I thought you were dead..." Rodan said.
"I was, but something brought me back." Radon explained. "And that something is the same reason Godzilla and the others are in danger."
"But... but I watched you die." Rodan stammered.
"Rodan, I need to you listen to me." Radon pleaded. "I promise I'll explain everything. You might want to sit down..."
Rodan didn't say anything. He just ran over and hugged Radon as tight as he could. She couldn't resist, and hugged him back just as tight.
"I missed you so much..." Rodan said, as tears began to run down his face.
"I... I missed you too." Radon replied. She broke out into a full on sob. "I'm so sorry I didn't find you sooner. But I had to keep myself hidden. Revealing myself to you would put you and everyone else in danger."
Rodan didn't care. He held onto his best friend as tight as he could, as if he was scared of losing her again. But he knew that he needed answers more than anything.
"How is this even possible?" He asked, wiping his eyes. Radon let go of him and looked him in the eye. She chuckled as more tears fell down her face.
"You... got a lot taller." She said. "I remember we used to be the same height, but now I'm tiny compared to you."
"Radon, answer my question." Rodan insisted. Radon hesitated as she tried to search for the right words.
"I... it's a long story." She muttered. She couldn't look Rodan in the eyes. He gripped her hands and held them in his.
"Please, you can tell me." He said.
Radon inhaled deeply before taking a long breath. "It's not something I like to think about. Let me make some tea and we can..." She attempted to leave the room, but Rodan gripped her shoulder.
"There's no time!" He insisted. "Just tell me what happened to you. You said it yourself, Godzilla and the others are in danger!"
"... Fine." Radon breathed. She knelt down on the floor, and Rodan followed, sitting in front of her. Finally, Radon began her story.
"When I died, you and the others gave me a burial at sea." She explained. "But what none of us knew was that day was... special, for lack of a better word. Every year, a portal opens on that day."
"That's right, today was the anniversary of your death." Rodan remembered.
"Yes. That portal leads to an alternate dimension." She continued. "It's a lot like our world, but there's one major difference; that world is ruled by a demon."
"A what?" Rodan asked. All of this was hard to believe, but judging by the fact that Radon was alive in front of him, he was willing to believe anything.
"Well, I don't know if he actually was a demon, but he may as well have been." She continued. She began shaking in fear as tears began welling in her eyes. "He... he brought me back to life, but kept me in his world. He tortured me endlessly for years until I finally escaped. I've been hiding out here so he couldn't find me."
"Wait, he can find you in our world too?" Rodan asked.
"I don't know how, but the portal stays open for three days after it appears, and during those three days he has the ability to influence this world." Radon explained. "I managed to escape one of those three days, and he hasn't found me since."
"Wait... so Godzilla, Mothra, and Anguirus are stuck down there with that demon?!" Rodan asked.
Radon winced as she heard Mothra's name. Other than Rodan, Mothra was her best friend.
"Yes." She replied.
"Well then we need to go there ourselves and get them back!" Rodan said. He grabbed for  Radon's wrist, but she pulled away right before he could.
"N-no! I am never going back there." She said.
"What?" Rodan asked, in complete disbelief. Radon turned around, her shame and cowardice causing her to be unable to face her friend.
"You have no idea what I went through in that hell. Day after day, I went through endless torture  of all kinds at the hands of that monster. The only break I got was when he couldn't think of any new forms of torture to try on me, on those were extremely rare. I couldn't handle going back there."
Rodan couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So you're going to let them get tortured instead?"
"You're welcome to try and save them, but I will not go with you." Radon said, a tear running down her face. "You don't know what it's like down there..." Rodan's fists clenched. He was beginning to get angry at Radon for her unwillingness to help him.
"They're your friends too!" He shouted. Radon said nothing. Her mix of shame and fear prevented her from speaking. Rodan sighed angrily, realizing he wasn't going to get through to her. He turned towards a window, seeing the dark sky outside. It was night now.
"We still have three days until the portal closes, right?" He asked. Radon nodded. "Good." Rodan replied. "I'm heading out there tomorrow. You're welcome to join me if you change your mind."
As Rodan began to head for the door, he felt a hand on his arm. He turned to see Radon's tear streaked face looking up at him.
"Wait... where are you going to sleep?" She asked through her sniffles.
"... I guess I don't know." Rodan replied.
"Well... I only have one bed, so... maybe we could share it." Radon suggested. Rodan didn't reply. He knew Radon was only speaking out of necessity, but she had no idea how long he had been waiting to hear her say that. He couldn't help himself. He turned around, gently grasped her face, leaned in, and kissed her. It only lasted a moment, and he quickly pulled away. Her eyes were wide in surprise.
"...Sorry." Rodan muttered. He was about to turn away, until Radon grabbed his face and pulled him back into another kiss. This one lasted much longer. Finally, the two pulled away. They wrapped their arms around each other, with Rodan's arms around Radon's waist, and her arms around the back of his neck.
"I missed you so much, Rodan." Radon whispered into his ear. "I... I love you."
That was enough to send Rodan over the edge. He kissed her again, much more fierce than before. She began to moan into the kiss as he held her back against the wall. She held onto him tighter and wrapped her legs around his waist as she began to move her hips against his body. Her fingernails dug into his back, almost ripping his shirt. Rodan guessed what was about to happen, and pulled away one more time.
"I love you too." He finally said. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to say that."
"My bed is just in the other room." Radon whispered into his ear. Rodan didn't have to be told twice. He kissed her again and picked her up as the two made their way to the bedroom.