Chapter 2: America

We arrive in the lobby of the American branch. We look around the place a little bit.

"You must be Jura!" I look to the right where the voice came from.

"The captain told us all about you." Says a girl around my age dressed in an open long sleeved grey cowboy (or is it cowgirl in this case?) jacket over a grey shirt tied into a makeshift bra leaving her stomach open, grey short-shorts, and brown cowboy boots, she has light brown hair tied back into a ponytail, and grey eyes, "He also filled us in on that cute little vivosaur friend of yours!"

"Rrrrrr…" growls nibbles.

"I'm Becky, one of the staff members here at Fossil Park America. Nice to meet you!"

"A pleasure."

"Grrrrr."

"My, how polite, unlike the other new recruit…" Becky mumbles.

"You mean Leon, right?" I ask.

"You heard me!?"

"Yep!"

"Wow… Now if you follow me, I'll introduce you to my brother, Sean. He's the boss here. …Do NOT ask me how that happened." She takes us into the Leaders Office where I see a man in his mid-twenties wearing a similar outfit to Becky except he has a brown un-tied shirt, brown pants red shoes and a red bandana, short light brown hair, and grey eyes.

"Yo, Jura!" he says, "How's it going?! I'm Sean! I'm the big cheese here at Fossil Park America. Nice to finally meet ya!"

"A pleasure."

"Grrrrr."

"My, how polite, unlike the other new recruit…" Sean mumbles.

"You mean Leon, right?" I ask.

"You heard me!?"

"Defiantly brother and sister." I say.

"Anyway… You taken a stroll around our park yet?" he asks, "If not, you should check it out. It's pretty killer. Oh, man, I almost spaced! The captain wanted me to give you something." Sean gave me a Fossil Sonar V2. "Equipping a higher-level sonar like that will totally buff up your fossil-finding capabilities. We also got some new Support Shots for sale down in the Garage. Totally gnarly stuff. You're gonna love it. Hey, and if you do buy any Support Shots, don't forget to equip them before leaving the Garage! With all that new gear, you're gonna be shreddin' up dig sites like nobody's business. Good times! All right, I'm gonna open Goldrush Canyon. I can't recommend the place enough. Your mind's gonna be BLOWN! It's got all kinds of rad fossils like T-Rex and other huge dinos. Total trip, man. Trust me."

"You'll find lots of people here who know about vivosaurs and fossils." Becky tells me, "They're usually pretty happy to chat, so make sure to talk to everyone."

"Dig site first, yo! Totally gotta pound that sweet fossil dirt, you know?" Sean says, "But first, why don't you tell us what's bummin' you out, Jura?

"Huh?"

"Something gots you bummed out. It's not healthy to keep stuff like that in so why don't you tell me what's wrong." I tell him about what happened before I came to Fossil Park America. "Bummer dude!"

"I can't believe he would talk about such a sweet little vivosaur like that!" Becky exclaims.

"Thanks Becks, you don't mind me calling you tha-HUH!?" I turn around to see Becky holding Nibbles like one would a baby.

"No I don't mind." She says, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"…You're really good with vivosaurs aren't you?" I say.

"AHAHAHAHAHA! Of course she is! She and I did live on a vivosaur ranch before becoming Wardens after all! Now Becks why don't you let the little guy down so he can join Jura."

"Alright…" Becky says, "I wanted to cuddle with him more…"

"You can cuddle with him when I'm off duty…don't know when that will be!"

"YAY! Bye Jura!"

"Later!" Sean says.

"See ya you two!"

I head to Goldrush Canyon but before I get there I'm stopped by one of the Garage Crew.

"Jura! We just got the coolest new Bone Buggy in!" she says, "Ta-daaaaaah! Here it is! The EV-405517! I parked it in the Garage for you. Be sure to go take it for a spin!" she runs off. I head off when I'm stopped by one of the Warden Guides.

"A pretty strong-looking set of vivosaur fossils showed up with your name on it." She says, "How 'bout we revive it right here and have a look? Let's see… Looks like an Aero Yutie! Have at it, VR-00M!"

"Specimen: Aero Yutie…?! This specimen has full skill integration! Commencing revival!" says VR-00M, "A new vivosaur is now available. Oh! You've integrated both standard and rare types of the same fossil! You can choose which skill to take into battle at the Garage before departing."

"Let's see… Looks like a Geo Yutie! Take it away, VR-00M!"

"Specimen: Geo Yutie…?! This specimen has full skill integration! Commencing revival! A new vivosaur is now available!"

"Let's see… Looks like a Hydro Yutie! It's all yours, VR-00M!"

"Specimen: Hydro Yutie…?! This specimen has full skill integration! Commencing revival! A new vivosaur is now available!"

Let's see… Oh. This…is a Zinodious. Well, then! Er, VR-00M?

"Specimen: Zinodious…?! This specimen has full skill integration! Commencing revival! A new vivosaur is now available."

"Let's see… Oh. Wow. That's a first. It's…a Gorgostroika. VR-00M?"

"Specimen: Gorgostroika…?! This specimen has full skill integration! Commencing revival! A new vivosaur is now available."

"Let's see… Whoa! It's a Tyrannosaurus from ancient times! How majestic! VR-00M, you know what to do, right?"

"Specimen: Tyrannosaurus…?! This specimen has full skill integration! Commencing revival! A new vivosaur is now available."

"Let's see… Wow! It's a Sauroposeidon from ancient times! I think I'm in shock! VR-00M, you gonna do this, or what?"

"Specimen: Sauroposeidon…?! This specimen has full skill integration! Commencing revival! A new vivosaur is now available."

"Let's see… Huh?! It's a Triceratops from ancient times! Not Tricera-an actual Triceratops! VR-00M, show us the goods!"

"Specimen: Triceratops…?! This specimen has full skill integration! Commencing revival! A new vivosaur is now available."

"You can start using it immediately. Take good care of it, all right?" she leaves and I go to the Garage to see my new Bone Buggy. It is mostly silver with a special kind of blue, is modeled after the Digger's Rig, has two Support Guns, and a shovel hanging off the front bumper for destroying rocks, and on its hood is a G.U.N. symbol. I invite Penny and Roland to go digging in Goldrush Canyon. When we are done we head back to the American branch. I head up to the Leaders Office and see Sean and Becky. Becky comes and picks up Nibbles again.

"The brave explorer and little dino dude have returned from Goldrush Canyon!" Sean says, "Although, it looks like the little dino dude got captured by the Cuddle Monster…"

"It's not my fault he's so cute!"

"Anyway, was it totes wicked or what?" says Sean, "If you're still not impressed, I could maybe open other dig sites for you?"

"No way, mister!" snaps Becky, "This is not the time to go opening up new dig sites, and you know it!"

"Whoa! Easy, Becks! Don't flip your lid." Says Sean, "My head just gets all spinny when I start thinking about dig sites, you know? Anyway, Jura, I've actually got, like, a problem I'm hoping you can help me with. It's kind of a team effort and stuff, so I'm gonna have you partner up with the new guy on this one."

"You mean Leon, right?"

"Are you psychic or something?" they both ask. Before I can answer Leon walks in.

"You called, Chief?" asks Leon, he then sees me, "Jura? What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, Jura's, like, working for the captain now." Sean explains, "You know, shreddin' it up on top-secret Warden missions all across the globe. Pretty rad, huh?"

"…Yeah. 'Rad.'" Says Leon, "Look, Chief, you got a job for me or what?"

"Sure do. I need you two to escort some little dude on a dig." Sean explains, again, "He's waiting over at the Fossil Stadium. You can't miss him. Oh, and I'm totally counting on you and stuff, so don't face plant. Cool?"

"You gotta be kiddin' me." Says Leon, "Listen, rookie. I don't care who sent you or why you're here-I work alone. Got it? Good." He leaves after that.

"That dude is seriously harshing my mellow." Sean says, "He won't even TRY to work with other people! Even if I ask nice!"

"I don't care how skilled this Leon character is. He can't keep behaving like this." Becky says, "You have to work with your allies if you want to be a Warden!"

"Listen, Jura…" Sean says, "I know this is totally grody, but can you maybe talk Leon into working with you? That kid in the Fossil Stadium needs a pair of escorts, and I totally don't have anyone else to spare. Anyway, head over there and give it your best, all right? Now go rock my world!"

"Okay… Hey Becky, can I have Nibbles back please?" I ask.

"At this rate I won't be able to cuddle with him…" she mumbles.

"You can cuddle with him after the mission is over okay." I tell her.

"YAY!"

"Are you a Vulcan or something?" before I can answer Nibbles tackles me out of the office. I then head to Fossil Stadium. When I reach it I enter and walk up to Leon.

"Thought I told you to get lost, rookie." Leon says, he then sees Nibbles, "Hey, hold on a tick. What's with the vivosaur?"

"Grrrrr!" Nibbles growls and approaches Leon looking ready to attack.

"Well, here's a surly fella. You wanna go? 'Cause I'll throw down right here!" replies Leon getting ready to fight.

"Please don't fight!" I say. Luckily someone interrupts by saying something.

"Oh, THERE you are!" a small kid in a red t-shirt, black shorts, red shoes, short brownish-red hair, brown eyes, and a birth mark on his forehead walks up, "You guys must be my escort, huh? What took you so long?!"

"Who's this mope?" asks Leon.

"I'm no mope! I'm Lucky! I'm the VIP you're SUPPOSED to be escorting!" Lucky says, "Don't tell me you forgot already."

"Hey, Jura? Lemme ask you something, one professional to another…" Leon whispers, "Think anyone would mind if I smacked this mope upside the head?"

"Of course someone would mind!" I shout.

"Heh heh. Just kiddin', kid." Snickers Leon.

"Oh dear…" I say.

"All right, Lucky. I'll be your escort." Says Leon, "C'mon. Let's beat feet for the dig site."

"Um, what about your friend there? And the little vivosaur?" asks Lucky.

"Them? Just baggage. I'm all the escort you need." Remarks Leon.

"Hmm… Well, I guess you seem strong enough to handle it." Says Lucky, "But if anything terrible happens to me, there's going to be heck to pay!" they leave after that passing Becky.

"Well, that could have gone better." Comments Becky, "I take it Leon left you behind?"

"Uh-huh." I say.

"I thought for sure a member of his graduating class could get through to him…" Becky says, "Look, I know this is a bit awkward, but would you mind going after him?"

"Sure."

"Thanks. It means a lot." Becky says, "I think they were heading to Goldrush Canyon. I'm sure you can catch them if you hurry."

"See ya, Becks!" I say as I run past her. When I reach Goldrush Canyon Sean contacts me.

"Hey, Jura!" Sean says, "Becks told me what happened. That's rough. Sorry the new guy's being such a buzzkill. But yeah, I'm actually calling because I totally spaced on something. It's about that Lucky kid you're supposed to be escorting. See, thing is, he's kind of a big deal here in America. Mostly 'cause he's got, like, psychic powers."

"He has what?"

"Yeah, I know. It's totally nuts." Says Sean, "Little dude uses ESP to find rare fossils that don't show up on sonar. That's why his old man asked us to escort him around the park. He's afraid someone's going to kidnap him and, like, use his powers for evil or whatever. Seems a little far fetched, if you ask me, but whatever. Anyway, that's it. Catch ya later!" when the connection severs I rush to find them only to find them in the first valley.

"Lucky's vehicle is over there!" VR-00M informs me, "Oh no! Leon is out of commission! What are we going to do?"

"Save him!" I say.

"Hurry!" VR-00M says.

"Wonderful." Leon mutters.

"Heh heh heh. Looks like the psychic wonder is all ours now!"

"No hard feelings, OK? It's strictly business. Still, who would have thought they'd send him with just a single escort? I guess we got…LUCKY! Bwaaa ha ha!"

"Wh-what's going on? What do you want with me?!" Lucky cries.

"We want you to find rare fossils for us! Whaddya THINK we want?! Should be easy enough for a famous psychic squirt like you, eh?" that's when I drive up.

"Uh-oh, boss… It's another Warden!"

"You shoulda driven past us, Warden. Now we're gonna make you pay!"

"Keep an eye on the kid!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Eeeek!" screeches Lucky.

After the battle

"You think you're good? I wouldn't get too cozy if I were you!"

"Those vivosaurs were just the ones we use for battle practice."

"Our REAL vivosaurs won't be nearly such pushovers!"

"So if you wanna save this so-called psychic wonder boy…you and that Warden with the bad haircut are gonna have to chase us down!" they drive off after that dragging Lucky with them.

"Hey! Get back here! …And my hair is AWESOME!" shouts Leon, "Grrr! Stupid Bone Buggy! Move! Man, the chief's gonna bust me down to a grunt for this…" I tow his Bone Buggy back to the Garage. When we get their he kicks the door off his Bone Buggy and jumps out ranting.

"Those chumps won't get away with this! As soon as my Bone Buggy's up and running, I'm gonna track 'em down! It's payback time! You hear me? PAYBACK TIME! I'll take you all on myself! I'll burn your little gang to the ground!"

"Not alone, you won't!" I say.

"Zip it, Jura! This is MY job! I made this mess, and I'm the one who's gonna clean it up! So I'm going after 'em ALONE! Got it? And don't try to follow me!"

"NOW YOU LISTEN TO ME, LEON, AND YOU LISTEN GOOD!" I roar causing Leon to jump two feet into the air, "You weren't up to the task last time, and I had to bail you out. The only way this is going to work is if you cooperate with you allies!" Leon says nothing so I continue, "The kidnappers said we would have to challenge them together, right? So if we don't work as a team, we'll never get Lucky back! And yet you STILL want to go out there on your own? Is your head made of marshmallows or something?!"

"Hey, it's not… Hrm. Guess I don't have a choice. You and that vivosaur sure are stubborn. You know that? Kinda reminds me of me. All right. I think I cleared my head. Heck, my runnin' off is what got us into this mess in the first place. And here I was, ready to go and make the same mistake again. What a sap. Sounds like I need a partner on this one, Jura. Think you're up to it?"

"You know it!"

"Good enough…partner." One of the mechanics walks ups.

"Thanks for waiting. Your Bone Buggy is all ready to go."

"'Bout time!"

"Well, it seems like you two have this all under control." Says Becky appearing out of nowhere.

"GYAH, Becks! Where did you come from?!" I say.

"Keep an eye on Leon for us, all right, Jura?" she says ignoring my question.

"I don't need a babysitter!" shouts Leon.

"And good luck! I know you can do it!" she says ignoring Leon. She then heads back to the office.

"She totally ignored us." States Leon.

"Yep."

"Grrr."

"Anyway, Jura. Let's saddle up and move out. We're gonna make those kidnappers wish they'd never been BORN!"

"Let's go!"

"That's what I like to hear." We head to Goldrush Canyon. Along the way Leon says he might know where the thugs took Lucky. "Those mopes want Lucky to help 'em find rare fossils, right? Well, I know an area of Goldrush Canyon that's crammed to the gills with all kinds of rare fossils! It's called Mt. Dinomore, and I'll bet my badge it's where those kidnappers are heading. So let's burn rubber and beat 'em to the punch!" we head to the summit of Mt. Dinomore and find our query.

"There they are!" Leon exclaims.

"All right, kid. Let's see how much of a psychic you really are. Get out there and find us some rare fossils!"

"And don't be wastin' our time with no second-rate garbage, either!"

"Eeeeek!" Lucky cries.

"They're really puttin' the screws to the poor kid." Leon says, "You ready for a Fossil Battle beatdown, Jura?!"

"Ready!"

"Let's do this thing."

"Bring 'em on!"

"Grrrr!" With that we drive up to the thugs.

"All right, you sad sacks! Hand Lucky over or else!" Leon demands.

"Y-you came back for me!"

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

"Looks like our Warden friends didn't learn their lesson last time."

"I thought I told you to make like a bakery truck and haul buns!"

"Come on, Jura. It's go time!"

"Ready!"

"Grrrrr!"

After the battle

"They're s-so strong!"

"Not even our REAL vivosaurs were enough to stop 'em!"

"Come on, boys! Let's make like my pants and SPLIT!" the drive off in a panic leaving us with Lucky.

"Oh, thank you! I was so scared!" Lucky cries, "I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come for me!" we head back to the Fossil Park and report to Sean.

"Duuuude! You guys totally KILLED IT!" exclaims Sean, "It's a shame people have to be so unrighteous in a sweet park like this, you know? But I guess there's, like, evil lurking around every corner in this old world. Anyway, now Fossil Park America can be totally chill again, thanks to you! Yeah, so I think you're more than ready for me to open up the Goldrush Canyon Challenge Routes."

"Challenge Routes?" I ask.

"Oh, man! I totally spaced telling you about Challenge Routes, didn't I?" Sean says, "If you cruise through dig sites, you can find areas sealed off with these, like, huge gates. The areas behind those gates are called Challenge Routes. You can find some mondo rare fossils in there, but also these bogus rogue vivosaurs we call Fossil Eaters. Those guys aren't just mean-they sometimes destroy fossils just for kicks! That's why we gotta have the gates. And we only open up the gates to folks who prove they can handle it. Got it? Groovy."

"You guys really are amazing. I couldn't be more impressed!" praises Becky, "Oh, I almost forgot-the captain called. He has a new assignment for you. Sounds like he's sending you off to Fossil Park Europe! The European branch is pretty great. I'm sure you'll meet lots of new and interesting friends there. Anyway, you should probably head over to Europe as soon as you can, OK?"

"Things got heavy today, Jura, but you nailed every trick. If we ever need help, I am totalling calling you!" Sean says, "Later!"

"See ya later, Sean! You too Becks!" me and Leon leave the office and enter the lobby.

"So look. I'm not very good at this kind of thing, but…" begins Leon, "thanks for the help. If not for you, those perps woulda mopped the floor with me. I used to think Fossil Battles were all about individual strength, you know? But now I see that's not all there is. Anyway, what do you say you and me become Paleo Pals? I mean…you know. If you want."

"I'm a lone wolf." I say.

"Yeah, I suppose I had that coming. Still, even a lone wolf needs to run with the pack sometimes, yeah? So how about it? You wanna be Paleo Pals?"

"I'd love to!" I say.

"Nice."

Leon became my Paleo Pal.

Paleo Pal Rank: 10

Digging Level: 3

Vivosaur: Ptera

Vivosaur Rank: 8

A loner who views me as his rival.

Support Shots: Attack UP+ and Accuracy Up

"You can always count on me, partner. Just say the word and I'm there!" Leon says, "Catch you on the flip side." He leaves and when I turn around Lucky sees me.

"Oh, there you are!" he shouts, "You guys really pulled me out of a tight spot back there. Thanks again! And sorry if I sounded a little full of myself when we first met. It's just… Well, as long as I can remember, everyone's been making a huge deal out of my psychic powers. I guess I kinda let it go to my head. But I've thought about it, and I decided I just want to be a normal kid from now on! All this fame-and-fortune stuff just causes trouble in the end. And since I'm a normal kid now, you wanna be my Paleo Pal?"

"Sure!"

Lucky became my Paleo Pal.

Paleo Pal Rank: 7

Digging Level: 1

Vivosaur: Ajka

Vivosaur Rank: 6

A cheeky boy with psychic powers. Cries easily.

Support Shots: Defense Up+ and Evasion Up

"To be honest, my psychic abilities aren't all that powerful." Lucky whispers, "But if I'm with you, you might find fossils in places you never found them before. So I guess that's cool, huh? Oh, but don't tell anyone about that, OK? I wouldn't want to disappoint my fans!" and with that he leaves and I head to Europe.

To be continued

Current vivosaurs in my party:

Rank 4 T-Rex Sue

Rank 4 U-Raptor

Rank 4 Dilopho US

Rank 4 Pachy

Rank 2 Alxas

Rank 5 Titano AR

Rank 4 Lophus MN

Rank 5 Peltas

Rank 3 Proto

Rank 4 Ptera

Rank 3 Sungari

Rank 4 Thalasso

Rank 2 Edapho

Rank 16 Aero Yutie

Rank 12 Geo Yutie

Rank 12 Hydro Yutie

Rank 10 Nibbles

Rank 12 Tyrannosaurus

Rank 12 Sauroposeidon

Rank 12 Triceratops

Rank 12 Zinodious

Rank 12 Gorgostroika