J. Edgar Hoover Building
Washington, D.C.
May 17, 8:33 A.M.

Fox Mulder expected the knock on the door to his basement office, signaling the arrival of his partner Dana Scully. "Ah, you're here."

Scully entered the room, closing the door with apparent agitation. "You brought me in to discuss something that happened, over in Japan? That's not even our jurisdiction, Mulder."

"Actually, it is," Mulder replied, getting up. "The incident I called you about happened near an island jointly held by the United States and Japan. And, there are elements that make this case a potential X-File."

Mulder turned on the projector, which displayed the photograph of a man with severe burns. "What happened to this man?" Scully asked.

"I want your opinion first."

Walking up to the gruesome image, Scully studied it for a few moments. "Looks to me like radiation burns. Almost like he got too close to an atomic explosion." Turning back to Mulder, she asked, "How did it happen?"

"We don't know, but there are a few others who survived." Mulder clicked through some similar images. "All these men were onboard a fishing boat, of which very little wreckage has been found. Very little is known about what happened as well, other than some offhand stories in the news that downplay what happened. Unfortunately, their conditions are such that we might not be able to find out anything else." He picked up a printout and handed it to Scully. "There is a lead. Something I received in an anonymous e-mail."

As she began to scan through the document, Scully's eyes were drawn to a sentence marked with yellow highlighter. "A sea dragon?"

"That's what one of the fishermen claimed to have seen. What makes it even more interesting is the name of the closest island, which you will also see highlighted."

"I only know German," Scully said, finding the name in another part of the document. With some hesitation, she finally attempted to say it. "Day… Daykay…"

"Daikaiju Island," Mulder said. "In that case it's like German. Pronounce the second vowel."

"So, what is your theory about what happened to the fishermen, and its relation to this Daikaiju Island?"

"The alleged sighting of this sea dragon apparently happened a little over 10 miles due east of Daikaiju Island. Translated into English, daikaiju means 'giant monster.'"

Expecting the familiar Scully stare of incredulity, Mulder was not disappointed.

"Giant monster," Scully finally repeated, almost as a question. "So, what you're saying is that a giant monster… a dragon from this conveniently-named island, destroyed a fishing vessel and somehow caused the radiation burns we're seeing in these photographs."

"Occam's Razor," Mulder replied.

"That's not a good, or even accurate, way of putting it."

"After what you've seen in the six years we've been together, working on cases that have no rational explanation? That can't be explained by present-day science?"

"A dragon? Mulder, how can you expect me to believe in that, or to investigate this case with that as one of the few leads? That's out of old legends. Fairy tales. Besides which, the witness is very sick, and is likely delirious. Maybe he thought he saw a dragon, when it was actually something else."

"That's how the fisherman described what he saw. It might not even be a dragon as we know them. 'Dragon' might be the best term for describing whatever he saw. An unknown creature that somehow has radioactive properties."

"A 'dragon,' with radioactive properties."

"Look. All I want to do is get ourselves to Japan and find out where I can get to these remaining fishermen before they pass away. Considering how the story has been downplayed in the mainstream media, and how both the United States and Japan have remained quiet, it might be sooner than we think."

"And what if you don't get to them in time?"

"That's why I want you along. As a medical professional, you'll be able to get the answers I can't… or maybe even ask the questions I can't. Whether they're alive or dead. Assuming, of course, that they don't conveniently 'disappear' before we can learn anything."

Leaning against Mulder's file cabinet, Scully coolly folded her arms and looked directly at him. "All right. I'm convinced that we can and should investigate this. And that I can aid in learning the truth about what happened, whether there is a sea dragon or not."

Mulder smiled, reaching out to Scully and touching her shoulder. "You don't know how much I appreciate this. Whatever you find out will help us figure out what really happened, whatever the answer is."

"When do we go?"

"We're on a 7:30 flight to San Francisco, with a connecting flight to Tokyo. But before that, I'm going to see if a couple of wild and crazy guys can get us a closer view of Daikaiju Island."