Alright, time to get back to work. Life's been almost insane to keep up with as of late, with my father out of the hospital from getting an operation to fix his back( his spine was damaged and was putting pressure on his spinal cord) and to remove the bone spurs on his spine, his back is now haled together with bits of metal , he needs a lot of help to do things around the house, he can't even get up to go to the bathroom without being in pain, so he depends on me heavily because mom isn't home because she's working. I'm revamping, like really revamping, the first version of the first chapter is roughly six pages in Microsoft Word™ this one is roughly eight. The second chapter was a full twenty pages before I started cracking on it, and I have absolutely no clue how long it's going to be now, but rest assured, it is coming out eventually.
I do not own Fossil Fighters Champions™ or any of the references you may read in this fic.
Birds flew overhead, drawing the attention of warm hazel eyes. The girl, who looked to be about thirteen years old, was perched high on a cliff, overlooking a sea of green pine trees. The wind was blowing slightly, stirring through the wave of honey-gold hair, or at least the part of it that wasn't tethered back in a slightly messy ponytail.
She quietly sighed, the cool of the breeze keeping her temperature down despite the summer sun bearing down hotly on her.
"Hey Victoria! How long are you going to stand around and stare at the scenery, huh?" Todd called from down the path. The boy was her childhood friend, and he was rather mischievous, despite his taste for trouble, he was quite the fearful type, however, that didn't stop him from being a loyal, supportive friend. "Quit stalling and get over here!" Todd yelled, chomping at the metaphorical bit.
Victoria glanced around, amused at Todd's enthusiasm before leisurely strolling over to where he stood. The blonde loved Todd like one would care for a younger brother, albeit a loud, overly excitable brother, but a brother nevertheless.
Upon arriving at Todd's side, Victoria glanced up the side of the mountain, briefly musing how tall the pile of rock and dirt was.
Todd followed her gaze, his royal blue eyes twinkling with joy and excitement "People say wild Vivosaurs live at the top of this mountain..."
Victoria gave him a slightly disbelieving look though she now understood why Todd had found the up and go to drag her out of bed well before her usual time of waking up, instead of her alarm waking her with 'Do the Dinosaur' at nine thirty, she had Todd jumping on her bed at seven sharp, yelling about going on an adventure.
The blonde listened intently to Todd's little spiel on what a Vivosaur is, as though she hadn't heard it a ten dozen timed already today.
"Man, I never thought I'd have the chance to see one with my own eyes... Now come on! We're not leaving until we get Vivosaurs of own!" Todd declared, his chest puffing out in mock-pride. "Race you to the top!"
"You're on!" Both of them tore off up the rocky trail, laughing the entire time.
Upon reaching the summit, a once over of the area revealed not a trace of even a mouse never mind something as colossal as a Vivosaur.
Todd, who took being lied to very personally, was enraged. "Hey! I don't see any Vivosaurs anywhere! Somebody must have been lying to me!"
As soon as the last syllable left his lips, two heavy crunches in the dirt had both teen's attention drawn to a wall of greenery, the thick plant life hiding the cause of the sounds.
Todd's anger vanished, being replaced by dread that settled in his stomach like a ball of ice. "Wh-What was that, what's going on?!" Todd's voice was shaky and his eyes were wide, showing his fear."I think there's something over there..."
The boy took a step back while Victoria took a step forwards, shooting her friend a semi-amused look. "Well, that sound definitely wasn't the wind so, yeah, there has to be something there Todd"
Before she could say anything more, a large, blue and white scaled animal crashed through the thicket with a roar that made the hair on the back of Victoria's neck stand on end.
"T-That's" Todd had gone deathly pale in the face and his eyes shone with horror "That's an Allosaurus!"
"Todd quiet down!" Victoria attempted to stop Todd but before she could get a solid hold on his wrist the boy bolted. If she wasn't in such a dangerous situation, Victoria would have remarked that she'd never seen Todd move so fast before.
But as the Allosaurus saw the sudden movement and took off towards Todd, she followed her friend's nonverbal advice and jetted after him. Both teens, however, were jammed to a halt when they came to the edge of the cliff.
Todd made a sound like a wounded dog. "It's going to eat us!" Victoria let out a shaky breath and put herself into a protective stance in front of her friend, death glaring the wild Vivosaur.
The Allosaurus stalked forwards, knowing that there was no chance of its prey escaping it. Its orange eyes glinted with rage and hunger.
Todd let out a frightened squawk as he glanced skywards when a shrill caw sounded; a bright yellow Vivosaur was flying their way "It's a Petranodon!" he clung to Victoria, wishing he's never come up here. Victoria glimpsed back at the winged creature.
Hazel met baby blue as the teen and cowboy astride the Petra locked eyes. The man spoke, his voice filled with urgency as he offered his hand to the adolescents "Jump on!" he urged "The both of ya'!" Victoria held his gaze, not sure that she should listen to the stranger. "Get a move on now, come on!" his eyes softened although he could sense her reluctance. "It'll be alright!"
Victoria looked between the Allo and the cowboy, slightly unsure of herself. But when Todd whimpered into the fabric of her blue sweater, she made up her mind.
Gripping Todd's wrist firmly in hand, Victoria took a couple of steps back and dragged her friend into a sprint towards the cliff of the edge and jumped into the air.
The cowboy's leather glove and Victoria's bare palm met and the stranger pulled them to safety onto the back of the airborne Vivosaur. "Yeehaw! Hold on pards!" the cowboy yelled as his Petra made a quick getaway from the Allo.
The earthbound Vivosaur shrieked out in fury, its meal having been stolen right out from under its nose.
The second that they were out of immediate danger the cowboy glanced back at the two to the best of his ability, having a slightly shaking Victoria's arms wrapped firmly around his midsection. "Whew! You folks alright?" his voice was soft despite the fact that he had to half yell to be heard over the Petra's wings buffeting the air.
Victoria hesitantly unwound herself from the man's jacket and looked back to Todd who offered her a small smile and a nod "We're alright, sir"
After a few moments of the Petra easing its self downwards, the flying reptile landed gently on the ground, allowing its rider and the two tagalongs dismount before turning into a little disk in a flash of light.
The cowboy caught the metal and tucked it away while hazel eyes scrutinized his face, trying to figure out why he seemed familiar.
Todd, however, beat her to the punch "OH MY GOSH!" the boy's voice was unusually shrill. "Y-You're Joe!"
It clicked in Victoria's memory; the cowboy was Joe Wildwest, Fossil Fighter extraordinaire and roughrider.
"Yep" Joe chortled, amused at Todd's enthusiasm "That's me. Surprised you know my handle, kid."
Todd seemed like he was going to squeal and pass out, though he managed an indignant sound fairly well. "Of course I know you! You're the greatest Fossil Fighter in the whole world! Your Fossil Battle skills are legendary! You're Joe Wildwest!" The boy announced Joe's full title with a look of awe on his face before jumping up and down on spot, stage whispering "I can't believe that I'm really talking to you! This is amazing!" Todd froze in place with a grimace "I must sound like a real nerd, huh?"
Victoria gave a wry chuckle "Took you long enough"
"That wasn't nice!"
"Who said I was nice?"
Before Todd could argue back, a tree was bowled over and fell to its side with a heavy crunch. The Allosaurus was glaring at the trio, its orange eyes glinting maliciously, the large animal let out a terrifying roar before tearing another tree up by its roots and biting clean through it.
Todd made a sound like a choking cat and ducked behind Joe, while the cowboy, absolutely unfazed by the Allosaurus's display of rage, stepped forwards to study the rampaging Vivosaur.
"That Allosaurus is madder than a sack full'a hornets" Joe deemed "We can't let it leave the mountain all riled up like that, or folks'll be in a heap'a trouble" he paused for a moment to think before continuing "Ain't no other choice. We gotta subdue the critter in a Fossil Battle. How's about it, small fry?" he asked "Think you're up for it?" Victoria and Todd gave each other Identical looks of 'is he messing with us?' before returning their eyes to Joe "I'll even loan ya one'a my Dino Medals for the fight" he offered "So how 'bout it?"
Todd suddenly keeled over, his arms wrapping around his stomach like he was in pain while letting out a drawn out groan. "Oh, my stomach!" his face twisted in a grimace "It hurts real bad..." Todd paused in thought "It must have been that rotten banana I ate this morning...Yeah that's it."
Victoria shot Todd a doubtful look, knowing that he'd been over at her house for breakfast and that he had a bowl of oatmeal and a blueberry yogurt with a glass of apple juice, not a banana, never mind a rotten one, in sight. However, Victoria decided it would be best to let Todd be, knowing that he was just scared of the Allosaurus.
Another pained groan tore through Todd's throat "I'd really like to fight, but I don't think I can" a slightly disappointed look crossed Todd's face, though Victoria knew that he just didn't want to do it "So you'll have to fight in my place, Victoria!"
Victoria, despite the fact that she knew Todd was acting, was mildly concerned, he was rather pale around the face and his knees were shaking, she gently rested the back of her hand on his forehead, checking his temperature "You feel fine to me, but if you really think you're not well enough I suppose I don't mind fighting"
Joe, who quietly watching the pair, stepped forwards. "Well fair enough. Guess I'll be lending you my Dino Medal instead. I got four of them so just take whichever one strikes yer fancy." Joe sifted through a pocket on the inside of his cowhide jacket before showing off the four metals in the palm of his large hand. "That there's an Areosteon. He's a power type that overwhelms foes with his sharp claws." Joe pointed to the little green-rimmed disk, a bipedal blue and yellow Vivosaur on its front.
"That's a fast growing, well balanced Vivosaur called Toba Titanosaur, it's one of your more fashionable types" the Toba was in a blue rimmed metal with a brachiosaurus style, light purple-pink Vivosaur on it.
"Now that there's a Tsintaosaurus. It's a backup-type Vivosaur that has great support skills." Joe indicated to a brown rimmed metal with what looked like an orange duck-billed Vivosaur with a single horn protruding from its forehead.
"And finally we got a Dimetrodon. It's a tricky technical type that confounds foes with special skills" the red rimmed metal had what appeared to be a red, sail-backed Vivosaur on it. "And that's all she wrote. So dive in and pick yerself a Vivosaur!"
Victoria thoroughly studied the disks before reaching out, her fingertips an inch from the Areos's metal "Areos has good LP and Attack, so it would be the best choice because it can take hits as well as give them." She carefully plucked the green disk from Joe's palm, and much to her surprise, it was pleasantly warm to the touch instead of cold like she's assumed it would be. Lighter too, weighing about as much as the latest IPod NaNo .
"Well grease my pants an' call me slick! That's a fine choice there, small fry."Joe praised "Now remember, once ya throw that Dino Metal at the Allosaurus, yer Vivosaur will be unleashed, the strength of a Fossil Fighter depends on how much of a bond they build with their Vivosaurs. So make sure ya'll trust each other and try to have some fun. All right?"
"Gotcha Joe" Victoria agreed, nodding at the cowboy before starting towards the Allo who was still rampaging out of control, crunching through trees like toothpicks.
"I don't really know much about you, and this is my first Fossil Battle so I'm kinda nervous about it" Victoria whispered glancing at the Areos's metal "But I trust you completely" the metal heated slightly under her fingers, although the creature within was trying to reassure her that everything was alright and she tightened her grip on it a little "I just hope a dumb mistake on my part doesn't get you hurt" The Allo twisted to look at Victoria, murder in its tangerine eyes. The monster bellowed and began to plod over. "Alright..." the teen took a deep breath "Here we go!"
Victoria coiled back before throwing Areos's metal towards the Allosaurus like a baseball. The large carnivore materialized with a bright flare of white light and a roar. The Areos was rippling with muscle underneath blue scales, black scales made up the creature's lower jaw and underbelly with lemon yellow feathers framing the back of Areos's head and stood like a ridge over his shoulders. His blue eyes death glared the Allo and a snarl rose through his throat as his hackles rose, teeth bearing. The two black-clawed fingers on each of the Vivosaur's forelimbs flexing, his muscular tail swished through the air aggressively. The two Vivosaurs were almost eyelevel with each other.
"Wow" Victoria gasped at the Areos, her eyes the size of dinner plates "You're beautiful" the Areos glanced back at her, snorting softly although he was laughing quietly at her wonder. Snapping out of her slight stupor, Victoria remembered that she had a job to do. "Areos, Wind Blast!"
The winds picked up and surged in green pulses around Areos as he threw his head back and roared, the green waves of air violently slammed into the Allo, cutting it down to about half its LP. The Allo struck back with Allo Bite "Areos sidestep!"
The Areosteon agilely avoided the attack, as opposed to the Allo, who got a mouthful of hard rock and sand, Victoria cringed when she heard the Allo's teeth crack on the stone.
Whap!
Areos's tail whipped around and hit the Allo soundly across the muzzle in retaliation, sending the wild Vivosaur stumbling back and away with a surprised yelp, the blow disorientating the Vivosaur.
"Alright, let's finish this Areos Wind Blast!" Victoria shouted encouragingly "You got this!" The attack landed critical and sent the Allo reeling back, orange eyes wide with shock as it fell to the side before reverting to a white-rimmed metal.
Areos walked over to Victoria, bending down to sniff her curiously. The teen laughed "You did great Areos that was an awesome battle!" Victoria praised, resting her hands on the Vivosaur's scaly snout.
The Vivosaur purred out, the sound rolling smoothly through his throat, akin to the purr of a motorcycle, before there was a flash of white light and the Dino Metal sat squarely in the palm of Victoria's hand and the youth grinned down at the disk.
"Nice job, small fry!" Joe praised, clapping a gloved down on Victoria's shoulder in congratulation "Ya did real good."
Todd tackled Victoria in a hug "You ran that Fossil Battle like a pro! You're awesome!"
Victoria chortled returning her friend's embrace before giving Todd a bemused look once the two released each other "How's that 'stomach ache' going there, bud?"
Todd froze, looking like a deer caught in the headlights "...Huh, my stomach doesn't hurt anymore" he nervously rubbed the back of his neck "Yeah, well, who cares about that now am, I right?"
Victoria chuckled and Joe spoke up, the cowboy having stooped to pick up the Allo's metal, stood back up "This here Allosaurus was abandoned by some cruel Fighter. Reckon that's why he had his shorts in a bunch" Joe's grasp on the white metal tightened slightly, looking solemnly at Victoria and Todd "Vivosaurs need to be with a Fighter that they know that they can trust. If they're abandoned, they go feral and their true nature emerges."
Joe sighed before shrugging slightly "That's why I'm here actually, the Fighters Association asked me to round up rogue Vivosaurs" the cowboy glanced between the two teens, trying to recall their names only to remember that he hadn't the time to ask them "Well, shucks. Where are my manners?" he scolded himself "Ya'll know this already, but I'm Joe Wildwest, and I'm a Fossil Fighter"
"I'm Victoria"
"I'm Todd, Victoria is my best friend. We always cheer for you on TV, Joe!" Todd grinned up at the cowboy, his and Victoria's idol "Our dream is to become great Fossil Fighters, just like you!"
"Well shucks! You small fries are going to make me blush!" A light rosy pink was smeared across Joe's cheeks "But y'all ought to aim a little higher, don't try to be as good as me; try to be better!" He received two nods and two bright smiles in return "Well s'pose, I should think about seeing you two home; but I ain't quite done with my job yet. I've still got one Vivosaur that needs rescuin', ya see?" Two understanding nods, and the cowboy chuckles "But y'all seem pretty capable, so I trust ya can make it home."
Victoria felt a warm sensation in the palm of her hand, glancing down at the Dino-Metal; she realized that Joe had yet to ask for the creature back. As much as the teen wanted to, the beautiful Areos was not hers, and she could not keep him. "hey Joe?" She stepped up to the cowboy and the male glanced down at her "Thanks for letting me borrow Areos, he's absolutely a fantastic Vivosaur and I loved battling with him" With a sigh, the youth offered the disk to the fighter to which it belonged.
"Aw Bacon I durn near forgot that Dino-Medal I loaned ya!" Joe paused for a second before he extended his hands and gently sealed Victoria's fingers around the Metal, having picked up on the subtle pulse of sorrow that washed over him upon his exclamation, having emanated from the Dino-Metal in the teen's palm. "Tell ya what Victoria. What say you keep it as my way of sayin' thanks for all the help? And besides, that Areos's taken a liking to ya, he never stops in wit' me after a battle, he'd be happier with you."
Hazel eyes widen in surprise "Really?" Joe nodded, chuckling at the teen's awe as she looked down at the disk in her hand although she was seeing it for the first time, recalling that he had probably looked like that upon receiving his first Vivosaur from his father, his Petra had become his most trusted partner. Victoria grinned "Thank you, I'll take great care of him, I promise" She nodded solemnly, as she met Joe's eye evenly. The cowboy could tell that she meant her words, and the Areos was contented with his new fighter.
Next to her Todd heaved an envious huff before mumbling "Aw man, if only my stupid stomach hadn't started to hurt…." he whined.
"Listen up, small fries!" Joe announced, smiling down at the young teens who immediately gave him their undivided attention "If you love yer Vivosaurs and share their passion for Fossil Battles, than y'all can accomplish anything! I look forward to the day you both become proper Fossil Fighters." A slight pause where both of the teens glanced at each other grinning ridiculously. Before returning their focus to the cowboy. "But for now, I gotta mosey on down the trail. Adios!"
Baby blue blinked owlishly as Joe was hugged by Victoria. After a soft chuckle, the cowboy returned the embrace, though he had to bend over slightly to do so. "bye Joe! I'll take great care of Areos, so you don't need to worry about him!" The young teen promised into the male's leather jacket, the material muffling her voice slightly.
The cowboy chuckled, putting a gloved hand on the top of the girl's head in a playful way. "I know ya will pard'"
The two parted and Joe trekked off, headed in the direction that the Allo had come from, waving at the teens over his shoulder, Todd enthusiastically returned his gesture until the cowboy had completely disappeared from view, hidden by thick plants and foliage.
"Wow." Todd breathed softly, listening to Joe's footsteps and the crack of twigs under cowboy boots fade away. "We just got advice from Joe Wildwest himself!" his smile widened to an almost insane grin as he turned to Victoria who was quietly studying the Dino-Metal in her hand, looking it over with undisguised, surprised intrigue. "No choice now, Victoria" the boy said, raising his voice slightly to draw the other teen's attention from the Areos in her palm. Once she looked up at him he continues his sentence although he hadn't paused at all "We have to become Fighters!"
"I've always wanted to be a Fossil Fighter" Victoria grinned at the disk that heated in her hand at her words "I want it more than anything in this world! And with my new Areos, nothing can stop me from living the dream!"
Todd looked at the metal, partially envious and partially sad, but he knew that it was his choice that had resulted in this, so he couldn't exactly complain. "Yeah, I know you want it bad." Todd agreed before a challenging glint sparked to life in his royal blue eyes, Victoria's success at getting a Vivosaur and her battle with the Allo charging his want to become a Fighter into a need. "But not as bad as I do! Next time I see Joe, I'm gonna be a full-fledged Fighter!"
Both of the teens joyously sprang high off the ground and punched the air, both of them feeling inspired and both eager to fulfill their dreams of being great Fossil Fighters.
Hello again, we met at the beginning of the original first chapter and, yeah. But seriously, I AM NOT ANOTHER DEAD ACCOUNT. Just because I have a hard time getting some time to myself to write because life's gotten cray-cray to the max, and haven't updated in a while, doesn't mean I won't. I'm still here, and will be here until I lose my writing prowess, which I'm hoping I retain until I die so, Ya know, I'll be here for a while yet.