Chapter 1
The Missing Medals I

The sun rose above the horizon. Its rays touched over the veranda of a hotel room, turning the immediate area a warm blend of yellows and golds.

This is nice.

Creed leaned back in a chair, taking in the rays of Vitamin D.

A warm updraft caressing a muted rainbow of content yellows and pinks. Warm.

Aquamarine glanced at the Dino Medal resting in the light on the table beside her. Even it its Dino Medal, the vivosaur could feel the same warm rays.

Or is it that he feels echoes of what I'm feeling? Creed wondered lazily. I'll have to remember to ask Dr. Diggins.

*Knock-knock*

A glance back through the open sliding glass door towards the solid door leading to the hotel corridor.

"Hello? Anyone home? Creed? I forgot a few things. I do that sometimes."

Speak of the devil. A wry smirk.

Scooping up the Dino Medal, Creed went and opened the door.

"Good morning." Dr. Diggins said brightly as Creed stepped back to let him in.

"Morning." Creed returned with a polite nod.

Dr. Diggins extended leather-bound book. "This is your Fighter's Journal." He explained. "It's useful for keeping track of events and for taking down notes."

That does sound useful. And it's small enough I can carry it in my sleeve…oh! It even comes with a pen, how convenient.

"And here are your tools for Fossil Hunting." He extended a sling backpack, also made of leather. "There's a sonar system for locating the fossil rocks, and a pickaxe for digging them up, and a fossil case for holding carrying them."

Pretty straight forward. Creed examined the pack curiously.

"It's just the bare basics, and not the best quality. You can upgrade your sonar and fossil case at the supply and items store, but it can be pretty pricy."

"How does the Fossil Case work?" The case wasn't all that large and certainly didn't seem like it could hold even the small fossil rock Travers had given her.

"Open it up."

Doing so, Creed found eight uniformly spaced indents, each about the size of a Dino Medal.

As she examined them, trying to discern their purpose Dr. Diggins moved to the shelves and picked up the fossil rock Travers had given her.

"It works like this." He held the fossil over one of the indents.

A flash, and then—

A shrill whistle escaped Creed's lips as she examined the miniature fossil snuggly fitted in the space.

"Impressive."

"It follows the same principle as what lets vivosaurs be converted into Dino Medals, just not quite as efficient. You should practice with the tools to get used to them. I'd suggest the trial dig site. Go talk to Bea Ginner in the Park Area. She'll show you the ropes. Anyway," a glance at his watch, "I've got to get back to the Fossil Center."

He turned and walked out of the room at a brisk pace.

Creed examined the case one more time before putting it back. Grabbing her coat, she slipped it on before strapping the sling backpack to her back and leaving her room.

/\/\

"Excuse me, are you Bea Ginner? I was told to come to you to learn how to use my gear."

Bea Ginner, oh how she hated her name, turned at the voice.

Japanese and medieval-ish taste in clothing. She observed with a blink, taking in the long tunic and jacket that looked like it had pockets on the inside of the sleeve lining.

"Yes, that's right. No jokes, please. I teach all the rookies who come here for the basics of digging up fossils." According to the reports, you were the only one of yesterday's group to qualify as a fighter on your first attempt. And with almost perfect marks too. "Shall we go to the trial dig site and get some hands-on experience?"

A nod and Bea led the novice, Creed, to a small roped off portion of the Park Area known as the trial dig site.

"I've buried three rocks in this area. I want you to use your sonar to find them and your pickaxe to dig them up."

A nod, and Bea watched as Creed pulled the sonar out her sleeve. Hah! I thought so!

The novice studied the sonar for a moment before experimentally activating it. The following three pings were not unexpected to Bea, who already knew what to expect, but seemed to surprise Creed slightly before she walked to where the nearest Ping had originated from. She pulled her collapsible pickaxe from its place in her sash and quickly dug up the first fossil.

It was a large one, not easily carried by hand.

"Now take out your case and put it in." Bea instructed.

Creed did so, pulling the case from one of the front pockets of her backpack and opening it up. She held it out at a downward angle and let the case do the rest.

"Spinax (Head)."

Bea had to bite her tongue to keep from giggling as Creed jumped at the voice that resonated from the case.

"The case remembers all the fossils you get and have cleaned in its databanks. You can take fossils you've cleaned before and clean them again to try and get a higher score. With a better-quality fossil, we can integrate more genetic data into your vivosaur to make it stronger. You can also either donate for credit or sell it at the Item's Store for a fair price." She explained as Creed looked at her with somewhat annoyed aquamarine eyes. "If you don't want it, I'll take it for later."

It's always good to have uncleaned Fossil Rocks on hand for when I teach new Fossil Hunters.

Seeing the consenting nod, Bea pulled out her own Fossil Case and held it open over the spinax Fossil Rock. A brief flash and it was moved from one case to the other.

"The case will tell you when you have a new fossil in addition to identifying the ones you've found and cleaned before." She continued, putting her case away, "It'll even let you know when you find a Jewel Rock."

"Jewel Rock?"

A nod. "A Fossil Rock with a precious gem inside. They're worth a lot of gold at the Item's Store. But you should know that other Fighters will challenge you for them, even if you found it first. If you don't fight, they'll take it from you."

Creed hummed thoughtfully before closing the case and slipping it back in the bag and pulling out the sonar again. A moment later she unearthed a big piece of graphite rock. She gave it a bemused stare before looking questioningly at Bea.

"Unfortunately you will dig up those rocks from time to time. For some reason the minerals in those types of rocks confuse the basic sonar. But you can get upgrades to deal with that quirk."

A nod, and then Creed located and dug up the final Fossil Rock.

"New Fossil Rock."

"As it suggests, that's a Fossil Rock you haven't cleaned yet. You won't know what it is until it has been cleaned." A pause. "If you're done here, you'll want to take it over to the Fossil Center for cleaning." A laugh. "Dig, clean, revive! That's the path to a large stable of powerful vivosaurs and success in battle."

"You can leave now if you want, but I'm pretty sure there are a couple more Fossil Rocks buried around here somewhere."

"I'll look for the extra fossils first." Creed decided, before turning away to do so.

She's a natural. Bea noted as she watched Creed. The novice was obviously familiar with the use of a pickaxe, or at least similar tools, because she didn't have any of the unbalanced stutters most new Fossil Fighters had. Her unearthing of the Fossil Rocks was also done with apparently little effort on Creed's part. This actually made Bea a little jealous.

Digging up fossils was a very physically taxing endeavor, and it sometimes took Fossil Fighters several long minutes before they work it free. Creed made it look easy.

I wonder what she does that leaves her so physically fit, Bea wondered and then frowned thoughtfully. Maybe some kind of martial arts? That looks like one of the forms I've seen in the competitions that plays on TV sometimes.

"I'm ready to leave now."

Bea jumped, having been too busy with her thoughts to notice Creed walk back up to her. Flustered, she nodded.

"When you're done cleaning, feel free to come back and continue practicing."

"Alright." The novice turned and left without another word, leaving various questions in Bea's mind.

/\/\

That was rather fun. Creed thought as she walked through the lobby of the Fossil Center and to the door to the cleaning room.

"Hello!"

Ow… Creed grimaced trying to blink past explosions of white.

The sound of amused laughter reached her ears.

"Oh sure, laugh at the fact that I almost brained myself." She drawled sarcastically, fighting a blush and tenderly massaging the growing lump on her head, courtesy of an intimate encounter with cold metal.

Do not blush, do not blush, everyone gets startled some time.

Dr. Diggins tried, unsuccessfully, to curb his laughter, but instead almost fell to the floor.

"I'm sorry Creed." He managed, "That wasn't supposed to scare you." The laughter gradually calmed to a series of sniggers.

As the last of the stars faded, Creed looked at what had startled her in the first place.

She blinked in surprise. Hovering before her was a small silvery robot with spindly arms and an extending horn that closely resembled a drill.

"What's this…?" Creed trailed off, shooting a dark look at Dr. Diggins, who was finally managing to get his laughter under control.

"Creed, let me introduce you to KL-33N." he walked over to stand next to the robot.

"Pleased to meet you." KL-33N chittered cheerfully. "KL-33N at your service."

Are its optics shining with admiration? Creed thought incredulously, somewhat taken aback.

"KL-33N is here to manage your fossil rocks and cleaned fossils." Dr. Diggins explained. "He'll help you get everything cleaned and revived the way they should be."

KL-33N spun around energetically.

"I am unrivaled when it comes to revival!" he chirped proudly with a military-esque salute. "Ready to serve!"

A disbelieving blink.

"KL-33N is also programmed to observe your cleaning and learn over time." Dr. Diggins continued, not noticing Creed's expression. "When he's watched you long enough, you may well be able to let him handle all your cleaning for you."

That…sounds quite useful and convenient. Creed thought practically, forcing back the sense of incredulity.

"I will do my best!" KL-33N declared as he clasped metallic arms in front of him. His optics shone brightly, like an excited puppy. "And I will certainly learn faster by watching the master!"

He really means it. Creed realized. That's honest belief, not flattery. She blinked as an odd warmth spread in her sternum. Is this what having a younger sibling feels like?

"You've got to give him credit for his eagerness, eh?" a laugh, "I'm sure you guys will get along great!" A quick wave, and the scientist promptly exited the room with a farewell shout of "See you!"

For a long moment, there was an awkward silence, then—

"I have some fossils to clean." Creed began somewhat lamely.

KL-33N's optics lit up. "Oh, please do, Master!" He exclaimed. "And I will watch, then help you move the fossil afterwards!"

"Um, okay." Creed walked over to the cleaning chamber and pulled out her fossil kit before setting to work.

It didn't take long before she became aware of a consistent whirring near her ear, sending uncomfortable shivers down her spine. Pausing in her work, she glanced back.

"Please don't hover by my ear," she requested politely, "It's distracting."

"Oh! My deepest apologies, Master!" The machine whirred contritely and backed off to a more respectful distance.

Creed watched him a moment before turning back to her work.

Loosen rock with hammer, find and expose perimeter of the fossil, use drill to free the rest.

Before she knew it, she was finished the fossil, an oval shaped skull.

"That's a goyle skull." A perplexed whir. "That's odd, according to my databanks, the fossils found at the trial dig site are usually shanshan skulls."

"Maybe they changed it for variation?" Creed suggested.

"Possibly…"

Then, with an ease belaying his small size, KL-33N gently lifted the fossil and moved it to the revival chamber.

Motion behind her made Creed turn.

What is that supposed to be?

"Oh, you're about to revive another vivosaur?" Dr. Diggins inquired, pushing a large machine roughly the size of a vending machine, "Mind if I watch and take notes?"

"Not at all." Creed answered, eyeing the machine as Dr. Diggins placed it next to the main computer console. "What is that?"

"Oh, this?" A gesturing wave to the machine, to which Creed nodded. "It's a Vivosaur Management Machine—or VMM—that holds your vivosaurs as medals for storage and organization. People tend to prefer carrying only five vivosaurs at a time, for easy access. Too many Dino Metals at once and it can be hard to keep track of them all!"

"So it's optional to use?"

A nod. "Yes, but it's strongly advised."

"I'll keep that in mind." Creed assured.

"The fossil is ready for revival, Master!" KL-33N called from in front of the revival chamber.

/\/\

A walking tank. Creed thought with some amusement. The goyle was an ankylosauria-type vivosaur, ankylosauria meaning "Fused Lizards", and was a little over three meters long, predominately violet in color with complementing reddish spikes. Its low body and armored back made it ideal for defense, though that wide spade-tipped tail wasn't anything to laugh at.

Sleepy black eyes stared at them somewhat balefully before the goyle was converted to Dino Medal form.

This time when she took it, Creed was braced for the sudden surge of colors. She needn't have worried.

A lazily drifting warm updraft skating over a near solid wave of lazy muted colors.

Creed frowned, this felt nothing like the spinax with the exception of the wind affinity. No eagerness, now enthusiasm, just a constant sense of drowsiness.

"Is something wrong, Creed?" Dr. Diggins asked, notebook in hand, "Did you feel anything? What happened?"

"I think I'm going to have trouble with this one." Creed commented, eyeing the medal, "This one just wants to sleep, no drive at all."

"No panic?"

A negative shake, "No, for one, it had a longer chance to wake up, for another, I think it's too lazy to panic or lash out."

"Interesting…" soft scratching of pen across paper, "Do you think it's because it's a herbivore rather than a carnivore?"

"No, I think that it's just lazy by nature."

"Nature? So you think they have different natures?"

A nod. "Yes, my Spinax enjoys a good fight, a chance to stretch out and test its skills. Goyle, however, well…I doubt I'll get much from it without a lot of effort on my part."

"I see," more scribbling, "Thank-you, Creed, that was most informative. Now, how does the nature of the vivosaur effect their skills, what range of natures are there? Hm…"

Creed shook her head with a wry grin as Dr. Diggins wandered away, still muttering under his breath.

"Will you be doing the other fossils, Master?" Spoke up KL-33N, having been silent until then.

"Yes." Best deal with them now, I don't have much need for doubles and I might get something out of donating them, like Bea mentioned.

/\/\

There's nothing but Goyle heads… Creed noted, somewhat put out as she reburied the fossil she had just found. There was no need to take up space in her case, after all.

Motion behind her made her glance back.

"Hey there." A boy about her age greeted cheerfully.

Charcoal and flame. Creed noted, taking in the colors of the boys outfit, Probably acts like fire too.

"I'm Holt. Good to meetcha."

"Creed."

"You've only fought one-on-one battles, right?"

"I only got my second vivosaur a couple hours ago."

"Then why don't I show you the deal with two-on-two battles?" Holt grinned, "You're a rookie, right? You could probably use the experience."

Mildly amused at the boy's somewhat haughty tone, Creed quirked an eyebrow and smirked.

"Why not? I need to test my goyle out anyway."

"Betcha realize this is gonna be fun!" A cocky grin. "Alright, time to test out your skills! Don't think I'm gonna take it easy on you, rookie!"

They leapt back away from each other, both tossing their Dino Medals.

"Go, igua and V-raptor!" Holt yelled.

So that's a V-raptor. Creed noticed as her own vivosaurs materialized in front of her. Derived from velociraptors the "Swift Thief" the v-raptor was tiny, hardly two meters, with blue and white fur and large gold eyes.

Its partner, the igno, was an ornithopod, or "Bird-footed" dinosaur, or to be more specific, the Iguanodon, was even larger than spinax's nine meters, topping eleven meters. Predominately green, it moved back and forth on the toes of its feet in a loose martial arts stance.

Careful. Creed sent. New opponent.

Warm and cold currents winding together in a growing storm. Clouds of eager orange blended with splashes of cautious green. Careful. It agreed.

"Um…Creed?" Holt called somewhat hesitantly from behind his vivosaurs. "Your goyle fell asleep."

A blink. Creed looked at the aforementioned vivosaur and was hard pressed to restrain a rising groan.

I knew it. She thought with some annoyance. Wake up! She commanded sharply.

An annoyed whisper of wind accented lazy washed out blue-greens. No.

Creed felt a muscle over her brow twitch involuntarily at the brush off. She looked at the spinax, who was studying her from the corner of its eye.

Sharp gusts of annoyance among questioning pale orange and sharp flashes of violet-red contempt.

Creed raised a hand and snapped her fingers. Wake it up. She ordered.

The spinax did so all too readily. Its heavy head lowered until it was directly beside the sleeping goyle's head. It then opened its mouth and let loose an earsplitting roar.

A dizzy swirl of wind among a startled starburst of blended greens and reds.

The goyle actually jumped several feet straight up, quite a feat considering its short legs. It shot a reproachful look at the spinax before actually trying to settle down again.

Stop! Creed sent loudly and was met with resistance.

The spinax growled and inhaled to roar again. The goyle got the message and broodingly straightened up again.

"Alright!" Creed called, "We can start now."

Hands slowly pulled away from pained ears as Holt shot them an incredulous look before nodding.

"V-raptor: Veloci-Claw on Spinax! Igua: Fist Jab on Goyle!"

Duck and sidestep. Creed sent to the spinax and the goyle respectively.

The spinax did as ordered right away, dropping down until its belly scrapped the ground. The v-raptor overshot its strike, having been aiming for the eyes, and instead went soaring right into the spinax's largest crest spike.

The goyle, on the other hand, stubbornly remained stolidly in place and was solidly struck by a one-two combo jab from the igno's powerful forelimbs.

Creed smirked somewhat vindictively at the astonished splashes of bright blue that came from the ankylosaur as it made a deep indent in the ground. The smirk broadened as turbulence began to speed up amidst warming reds of anger.

A laughing gale amidst exploding pinks and yellows. Serves right!

The theropod seemed hard pressed not to give a voracious roar of mirth, his large bulk shook like a drum and his eyes shown with laughter.

When did I start thinking of the spinax as a 'he'? Creed wondered

A flustered breeze escorting quick flecks of embarrassed pink over the background of growing anger.

The goyle regally straightened up, dirt on its head, trying to look as dignified as possible.

Creed snickered and Holt guffawed loudly so hard he almost fell over.

Ready to listen now? Creed sent.

A scoff of wind, grudging swirls of submitting light greens. Fine.

Good.

"Spinax Fang and Body Axe!"

The spinax shot forward at the igua, teeth barred, the goyle right behind it.

"V-raptor: Veloci-Claw on Spinax! Quickly! " Holt quickly countered.

Deflect it, act like a scattering wind. Creed sent to the spinax, acknowledging wisps of stray colors answered her.

As the v-raptor shot forward and leapt, lower this time, spinax reacted. One of his arms, surprisingly long for a theropod, shot out under the swift thief's body as it flew. A quick flick, and it was flung off course, over the spinax's shoulder and right into the path of the goyle's spade tail.

With a cry, it vanished in a flash.

The spinax descended on the igua, teeth bared.

"Fist Jab, quick! Don't let it get close!" Holt shouted.

Evade it. Creed sent.

With a partial swing of his heavy head, the spinax altered trajectory just enough to avoid the blow and scrape against the igua's side as he passed.

Like an arrow. Creed noted. Hm…in more ways than one.

The igua trumpeted loudly as its attack struck nothing but air. It overbalanced and the spinax immediately capitalized on the opportunity. As he passed the igua's haunches he swung his head sharply. It slammed heavily into the igua's back, serrated teeth cutting deep before being roughly torn away. An alarmed bugle sounded as the bird-footed vivosaur was sent sprawling forward.

A roaring gale of aggressive red-oranges and vindictive violet-reds.

The goyle spun sharply on one of its forelimbs in a 180, spaded tail catching the fallen igua directly across the face.

The now blinded vivosaur crashed heavily on its side.

Gotchya. "Spinax Fang!"

Teeth sunk deeply into the junction of neck and shoulders.

A pained wail echoed as the vivosaur returned to hid Dino Medal.

"Wow!" Holt gaped in shock. "That's some good battling there." A pause as he went to retrieve his medals. "You beat me and I'm pretty good! I guess I'll see you later."

With a wave, the other fighter walked away.

He seems a bit frustrated. Creed observed before looking at her own vivosaurs. Oh for the love of—

The lazy goyle had gone back to sleep.

"Lazy lizard, isn't he, Aero?" Creed looked at the spinax. She didn't need the transmitted colors to recognize the question in his green eyes. "Your new name."

A thoughtful breeze winding through questioning pale orange. Aero?

It means wind. Creed explained. It is also an object that moves very fast in a straight line and can cause a lot of damage. Like when you evaded the igua's attack.

Aero seemed to swell up slightly at the praise.

Dancing winds singing through bright yellow joy and splashes of light-green admiration. Aero…like it.

He paused and glanced at the sleeping goyle, his question plain in his posture. Creed thought about it for a moment before answering.

Lethar, short for 'lethargic', another word for 'lazy. She sent. Aero blinked before a starburst of yellow-orange laughter accompanied a deep belly roar.

Lethar stirred slightly and sent a reproachful look at the spinax before closing his eyes again.

You are Lethar. Creed sent before he fell asleep completely.

Still air and a placid background of sleepy dull pinks and browns. Fine. So what? And he was asleep again.

Exasperated, Creed sighed heavily before returning the pair to their Dino Medals. Movement made her turn.

Everyone comes up from behind… she noted with slight annoyance, giving Dr. Diggins a wave of greeting.

"Hey there, Creed!" the scientist called cheerfully. "I saw that battle. I didn't notice until now just how a vivosaur's personality can affect their fighting until I saw the difference between your spinax and goyle."

A blink. "Hadn't you noticed before when you were studying vivosaurs?"

A negative shake. "Not at all, I thought it was simply their own skill levels that affected how they fought. You know, how some, let's say spinax just for the heck of it, have different physical statistics. One may be really physically strong, but may be slow to evade an attack, another might have strong evasion and attacking skills but low endurance and defense. That kind of thing."

A pause, and then, "Then there's the matter of how many fossils were integrated into them and how well the fossils were cleaned. That's another major factor with Vivosaurs. " his voice gradually rose in volume, "A poorly cleaned fossil makes for a badly inhibited vivosaur, that's why we don't let anyone revive a fossil that's badly damaged or less than fifty percent clean, it's for the vivosaur's own sake! Not many Fossil Fighters can clean their fossils as quickly and thoroughly as you can, so most vivosaurs tend to act a bit—" he trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"Robotic?" Creed offered, following the scientist's train of thought, "Mentally impeded?"

"A bit robotic, yes." Dr. Diggins nodded. "Looking back, I realize how many vivosaurs seem to get smarter as they go through more fossil battles and have more fossils integrated with them…oh! There I go again, I've completely lost track of what I was doing here in the first place!"

Creed snickered behind a politely raised hand as Dr. Diggins quickly searched through several pockets in his lab coat.

"Here!" he handed a rectangular pass to Creed, "You've learned all you can at the trial dig site! I'm giving you permission to travel to an honest-to-goodness dig site—Greenhorn Plains!" He grinned brightly, eyes alight. "Talk to Beth at the harbor to go to the dig sites. Good luck, alright?" He waved and started walking away, calling over his shoulder, "Don't excavate anything I wouldn't excavate!"

/\/\/\

Okay, seeing as I accidently erased the original (and better) AN when I edited this chapter-

A/N: In the game you work to raise your vivosaurs to be as strong as possible. However, they stop growing after reaching level 12. With four well cleaned fossils you can automatically boost their level to 7 right from the get-go. So that means that in a realistic setting there would have to be more to the process than what is suggested. Here's what I've come up with:

Intelligence: The better cleaned the fossil, the stronger your vivosaur and the smarter it is. Capable of more advanced plans and the stronger the link between fighter and vivosaur becomes. A weaker vivosaur can only do the basic attacks it learns when it acquires fossils, a stronger vivosaur with better quality fossils can adapt and improvise their attacks to fit the situation. Example: A vivosaur with poor quality fossils can only follow simple orders such as: "bite him". A vivosaur with higher quality fossils can do more complex orders, such as Aero's: "Duck under strike, then swing up when it's over you and flip it into the air. Bite when it comes down into range". That's quite a difference, no?

Natures: The smarter the vivosaur becomes the more individual personality traits and quirks can come into light. In the story thus far there are two examples: Aero, who is eager and loyal; and Lethar, who is lazy and vindictive. While it can greatly affect how the vivosaur can fight, having individual natures is mainly a sign of a healthy and well-developed vivosaur.

Now, the reason why Diggins didn't know about this, even though he's the leading expert on vivosaurs, is because most vivosaurs have poorly cleaned fossils, and the few people who have well cleaned fossils either aren't letting him near them or haven't made a big show of it. The common vivosaur acts little better than a computer program, just barely capable of following basic, generic commands in a fight. So of course he's surprised.