Ch.4-Digadig Village
This is the Digadig chapter. ^^
Two men glanced up to see two outsiders walking toward them. The men wore blue shorts, a cape-like contraption wrapped around their necks to cover their bare backs that was made of some kind of beige grass, and a blue mask covered their faces; they both held wooden spears in their hands.
"Who goes there, Digadig?" The one on the left questioned, as the two teenagers stopped in front of them.
"These must be members of the Digadig tribe!" Rosie said in awe.
"What brings you here, Digadig?" The second Digadig asked, taking a step toward Rosie and Toshi.
"Maybe we should say hello?" Rosie suggested, giving a brief glance at Toshi before looking back at the two Digadigs. "Greetings, Digadigs! How do you do? We are here to check on a Fossil Fighter who is said to have come to your village."
"The two of you…" The first Digadig gasped. "You are both Fossil Fighters, Digadig?"
"Yes, that's right!" Rosie nodded.
"You have come at a good time, Digadig." The first Digadig said.
"We are faced with a problem, Digadig." The second Digadig continued.
"We must ask for your help, Digadig."
"…A….a problem?" Rosie questioned. "Of course! Leave it to us!"
The first Digadig motioned for the two Fighters to follow him. He led them into the small village filled with teepees and to a large teepee standing in them idle of the village before leaving the two.
"Halloo…Digadig." A man in his early thirties emerged from the tent. He wore the same clothes as the other Digadigs, but he held a scepter made of animal bone and a skull of a wild cat donned his head instead of the blue mask. "I am the chieftain of Digadig village…which is…this place here, Digadig. We are faced with a very, very hard difficulty, Digadig."
"What's wrong?" Rosie asked.
"The Digadigamid behind our village is our sacred place." The chieftain swept his scepter behind him where a large pyramid stood a few yards away. "Many treasures are hidden inside, Digadig." The chieftain placed the bottom tip of his scepter on the ground again. "Deep inside the Digadigamid, we have our treasure room. The ancestral key to that room was stolen. Also, the Fighter who came to help has not come out of the Digadigamid for days, Digadig. I ask you now, young Fighter boy, young Fighter girl…will you recover the key and keep our Digadigamid safe? Digadig?"
"We'd be happy to help, Chieftain." Rosie chirped. "But why does it have to be us? Wouldn't one of your people be better?"
"The thieves are able to fight Fossil Battles, Digadig." The chieftain explained. "We Digadigs cannot use your…Dino Medals…so we have no way to fight these thieves, Digadig. To be honest, these Vivosaurs of yours scare my people, Digadig."
"In that case, leave everything to us!" Rosie grinned, nodding eagerly. "Isn't that right, Toshi?" She glanced hopefully at the boy.
Toshi sighed. "I'm dragged into anything you do."
"Digadig gratitude is as large as a T-rex with a full belly!" The chieftain laughed. "We will make this task worth your while! Digadig!"
"Worth our while?" Rosie questioned excitedly. "Like a reward or something?" She started to shake Toshi enthusiastically. "Sounds exciting, doesn't it, Toshi?"
"Yes." Toshi replied curtly. "Now let go."
Rosie immediately released Toshi with a quick, "Sorry!"
The chieftain raised his scepter above his head and suddenly started to do the strangest thing; he began shaking his hips from side to side like some sort of dance, all the while muttering, "Digadig," to himself like a chant. He pointed his scepter at Rosie with a final, loud, "Digadig!"
A bolt of lightning abruptly sparked from the sky, striking Rosie.
Toshi took a step back from the sudden surprise as the lightning vanished.
Rosie shook her head, startled, but unharmed and snapped, "What do you think you're diga-doing? That really hurt!" She rubbed her head with a groan. "Oh…I fell a little diga-dizzy." Rosie swiftly placed both hands over her mouth. "Did I just say, 'Diga,' Diga?"
Toshi gave a tiny smirk as he resisted laughing at Rosie's furious expression as she glared at the chieftain.
"I don't want to say, "Diga," but I keep diga-doing it anyway. Argh!"
"You are now blessed with a bond between you and the Digadigs." The chieftain explained. "This will bring you eternal joy, Digadig!"
"Eternal joy?" Rosie angrily grabbed the chieftain and started to furiously shake him. "How diga-dare you! How am I supposed to have a d-d…" Rosie hesitated, trying not to say the word 'diga' as she released the chieftain. "D-d-diga-discussion without saying 'diga'?" Rosie gave a frustrated wail as she turned her back on the chieftain and Toshi. "I feel like I'm going to have to stay in this diga-dang village forever!" She suddenly bolted, crying. "No! I can't stay here…diga!"
"You are diga-displeased?" The chieftain questioned. "Forgive me. I only intended to show my thanks form the diga-depths of my heart."
Rosie yelled at the chieftain incoherently as she entered a random teepee.
The chieftain sighed as he looked at Toshi. "Young Fighter boy, we will watch over your friend, Digadig. Please do whatever is in your power to recover our ancestral key, Digadig."
"Just don't show your gratitude." Toshi said. "And I'll do what I can."
"Many, many thanks, young Fighter boy!" The chieftain grabbed Toshi's hands and started to vigorously shake them. "Digadig!"
"Yes. All right."
Toshi waited for the chieftain to release him, but when he didn't, Toshi growled, "Okay, you can let go now."
"Sorry, Digadig." The chieftain released Toshi, who headed toward the Digadigamid and entered the large architecture.
A man wearing a purple suit stood a few feet inside like some sort of guard.
What is he supposed to be…? Toshi wondered idly. An eggplant?
"I've been given strict orders to stop anyone who tries to get into these ruins." The man said. "Am I going to have to stop you?"
"What do you think, buddy?" Toshi questioned, reaching into his pocket for his Dino Medals.
"You asked for it!" The man snapped, quickly taking out two Dino Medals. "I'll try to destroy you quickly and painlessly. Goyo and Stygi!" He tossed up his Dino Medals. "You're up!"
Toshi released Spinax, Goyle, and Shanshan.
Stygi was red with blue stripes crossing its body and sharp blue spikes along the back of its head.
"Stygi, Fiendish Headbutt on Shanshan! Goyo, Rock Head on Goyle!"
"Goyle Combo on Stygi!" Toshi ordered as Stygi charged at Shanshan. "Shan Fang on Goyo!"
Goyle protected Shanshan and Stygi slammed his head into the quadruped's side, knocking him onto his back. Spinax helped Goyle to his feet as Shanshan ran at Goyo. Spinax attacked Stygi with Spinax Fang, holding the two-legged plant eater still as Goyle struck. He released the Vivosaur as Stygi vanished, then he and Goyle attacked Goyo, defeating the Vivosaur.
"Aw, man! You're too much of a Fossil Fighter for me!" The man fled past Toshi, whimpering.
Toshi continued to walk until he came up to something that looked like a dog. The dog stood on two feet with the same purple suit as the guy Toshi met before and also donned a purple cap; two green, backwards B's were printed on the suit.
The dog, which looked like a brown bulldog with black eyes and almost half Toshi's size or less, barked at Toshi, baring razor-sharp lower canines.
Toshi stared at the strange dog, then tried to go past the creature, but the dog snarled viciously, pulling out two Dino Medals.
Now I've seen everything…Toshi thought as the dog released the two Vivosaurs; a Nodo and a Megath.
Nodo stood on four feet like Goyle, had dark brown skin with a round, vegetarian face. The Vivosaur was of medium height.
Megath looked like a sloth of large height and stood on two feet. The mysterious Vivosaur had white fur, sharp front and back claws, and a thick tail that lazily swung back and forth as he stared ahead of him with dull, pink eyes.
Toshi called on his three Vivosaurs, wondering idly when he'd call on Nychus to battle.
The dog barked an order and Nodo charged at Shanshan, ready to tackle the Vivosaur.
"Shan Combo to counter! Then Shan Fang! Spinax Fang Megath! Goyle Combo Megath as well!"
The attacks easily and quickly defeated the two Vivosaurs.
The dog gave a weak growl as he backed up, then turned and abruptly fled with a whine.
Toshi smirked and continued to walk. He halted when he came upon a room where the dog he had fought before stood in front of a man wearing the same purple outfit, but free of a cap. The man had blonde hair, black eyes, and a freakishly long nose that looked like a hawk's beak. He continued to talk to the dog, not noticing that Toshi stood nearby.
"Heh. Check out the adventurous little Fighter sniffing around other people's business!"
The dog gave a bark.
"No worries." The long-nosed man said nonchalantly. "I'll have him stomped into a pancake in a minute."
"Oh, really?" Toshi questioned, stepping closer to the two strange people.
The long-nosed man turned to face Toshi, obviously startled, but he quickly recovered.
"All right, little Fighter." He smiled confidently. "If you knew what you were in for, you'd have turned tail already. Guess I'll just have to show you your big mistake." The long-nosed man pulled out two Dino Medals. "When I'm done with you, you're going to be more ruined than this Digadigamid." He smirked at his joke as he thought, I'm so clever, before releasing his two Vivosaurs; a Charchar and a Goyle.
Charchar was large with sandy brown scales, thick, heavyset jaws and a heavyset body.
Toshi called on Spinax, Shanshan, and Goyle.
"Massive Jaws on Shanshan!" The long-nosed man ordered.
Charchar clamped his jaws securely around the smaller Vivosaur, defeating the tiny carnivore.
"Spinax Fang on Charchar!" Toshi growled. "Goyle Combo on Charchar!"
"Massive Jaws on Spinax!"
"Goyle Combo to defend Spinax!"
Goyle intercepted Charchar's attack, slamming the large Vivosaur into a nearby wall and Charchar vanished.
"Spinax Fang!"
"Goyle Combo on Spinax to counter!"
Spianx snapped his teeth around the enemy Goyle's leg, but the squat Vivosaur shook the large carnivore off and counterattacked.
"Spinax Fang! Body Axe!"
Goyle swiftly spun around, scraping the spikes covering his body harshly against his counterpart as Spinax attacked as well, defeating their adversary.
"Wha-? You beat me! But you're just a kid!"
The dog growled, then gave a bark.
"I was thinking the same thing." The man nodded, grinning. "Time to break out the good stuff-my surefire knockout punch! You won't believe the special move I've been holding back." The man took a step back. "Just wait right there for it." He took another step. "Here it comes!"
Toshi sighed, folding his arms across his chest as the man shifted to the side; was the coward going to run away or not?
"Better get ready! Here it comes!" The man halted next to a wall. "You won't see it coming!" He pushed in a brick near his head.
Toshi raised an eyebrow; what was that for?
The dog snickered and pointed below Toshi, who glanced down to see only a gaping hole beneath him.
"No one ever sees that coming!" The man laughed as Toshi vanished into the darkness.
"Hey, are you alright?" A voice questioned, shaking him. "Hey! Can you hear me?"
Toshi sat up with a low grunt and blinked, staring at the girl that crouched in front of him.
The girl was in her early twenties and just two inches taller than Toshi. She had red hair tied in a ponytail, blue eyes hidden behind the sunglasses she wore and donned blue Capri's and a white tank top.
"Good-you're awake." The girl sighed. "Guess you're not dead, then." She smiled. "My psychic powers tell me that our name is Toshi and you're a level-two Fighter. Am I right?"
"You're psychic?" Toshi asked.
"I'm just kidding about the psychic powers." The girl laughed, reaching into her pocket. "You lost your Fighter's License in your fall." She held out Toshi's license. "Here."
Toshi retrieved his license from the girl and placed it in his pocket.
"I'm Nevada Montecarlo. I'm a Fighter specializing in expeditions to dangerous locations. The Fossil Center hired me to infiltrate the Digadigamid and investigate an incident. Those BB Bandit jerks tricked me down the stupid trap door. I assume the same thing happened to you."
Toshi gave an annoyed growl. "I never get tricked; I thought he would run. Who are these BB Bandits?"
"The BB Bandits are a secret organization that can't seem to stop making trouble. Illegal fossil trading, destruction of dig sites…you name it. They're just a bad bunch." Nevada placed her hands on her hips with an exhale of breath. "Right now, they're here to steal the Digadigamid treasure, but I'm finally going to stop them. I've been reading the carvings on the wall here…" Nevada strode to a nearby wall and placed a finger against the several drawings scratched into the rock. "They mention…a key? No…better! A keymonite! Fantastic!"
"I've never heard of a keymonite." Toshi stepped up to Nevada. "What is it?"
"Keymonite is an ancient creature, kind of like an ammonite, but acts like a skeleton key. I few can find one, we're free. But my sonar's busted." Nevada revealed her sonar, which emitted smoke and fizzled slightly. "Think you can dig one up, Toshi?"
"I'll try." Toshi shrugged as he pulled out his sonar and began his search for the keymonite. After a few minutes of looking, his sonar finally pinged and he used his pickaxe to dig up a fossil rock.
"Great, you found one." Nevada said as Toshi walked toward her. "The only problem is that we can't get it into that hole like that." She glanced back at the hole imbedded din the wall behind her before looking back at Toshi. "Toshi, you'll need to clean that thing. Then we can get out of here."
"It's not like I have anything to clean this thing with." Toshi said. "So why do you expect me to-"
Nevada abruptly produced a small hammer and drill.
"…Why do you have those?"
"A good Fighter is always prepared!" Nevada explained as she handed Toshi the two tools. "Now, get crackin'!" She lashed out a red handled whip.
I think this girl's crazier than the rich girl. Toshi concluded as he started to clean the keymonite. After a few minutes, he held up a small, shell-covered creature with a hard, jagged beak-like appendage.
"Great work!" Nevada took the keymonite from Toshi. "All right, let me see if these tings really can open any lock…" She placed the creature into the keyhole as Toshi stood up from his sitting position.
A ladder unexpectedly dropped down from above.
"Great! Now what I was expecting, but we can use the ladder to get out of here." Nevada trotted up the ladder like it was a staircase and Toshi followed behind her. Nevada stretched once she and Toshi came into the room where the trapdoor had been activated. "We finally made it out! I couldn't have done it without you, Toshi!" She clapped the boy on the shoulder as she walked past him. "Those BB jerks'll be in the treasure room at the top of this Digadigamid by now. Let's hurry!" Nevada broke into a run.
"Hey, wait!" Toshi chased after the hyper girl, who had already climbed a set of stairs and was leaning against a wall close to two open double doors.
Nevada grabbed Toshi before he rushed into the room and pushed him beside her.
"What was that-"
"Shh." Nevada warned, peering around the corner of the room. "The door to the treasure chamber is already open. Let's hope we're not too late!" She inched toward the door before abruptly jumping out into the room, dragging out her whip. "All right, nobody move!"
She's gonna threaten them with her whip? Toshi wondered as he walked up beside Nevada.
"Hey, check it out." The long-nosed man laughed. "The adventure dame teamed up the pipsqueak Fighter to fight crime. Adorable."
Nevada looked ready to actually whip the member of BB Bandits as he continued laughing before he suddenly stopped when he thought of something.
"Wait, how'd you two even get out of that underground trap? It was fool-proof!"
"Hardly." Nevada snorted. "Turns out a level-two Fighter could break out of there. This level-two Fighter next to me." Nevada smiled, her whip ready to use. "Now, since you need a trapdoor to beat either of us before, how will you beat both of us together?"
"Do you two slackers think you can drag your feet a little more?" A woman questioned as footsteps approached the group from another room next to the treasure room.
"Uh-oh! She's back!" The long-nosed man yelped. "Quick, look busy!"
He and the dog swiftly 'hopped to it' as a woman in her early twenties strode in, wearing the BB Bandit uniform. She had long dark turquoise hair reaching to her shoulder and equally dark turquoise eyes that seemed to rival Toshi's own cold stare. She halted and gazed at the two Fighters calmly.
"Oh, don't you two look...adventurey?" the woman sneered. "Quiet the duo-Red Ranger and Fossil boy. I'm trembling with fear." She let a graceful shudder run down her body before she frowned. "Wait a minute!" She looked at the long-nosed man and dog standing on either side of her. "Are you two loafers telling me you lost to this kid?"
"Uh…technically, yeah…." The long-nosed man embarrassedly rubbed the back of his neck. "But…"
"Hm." The woman loosely crossed her arms over her chest. "That's actually pretty impressive for a boy your age. I suppose if you're goin to be a real opponent, we'll have to introduce ourselves." She lightly waved her hand toward the dog. "Man's best friend here is Rex. If you happen to know what he is or where he's from, please do let me know." She then gestured to the man next to her. "The gent with the long nose is Snivels. The nose isn't just for show, he can smell better than Rex."
"Oh, yeah." Snivels nodded proudly. "I can smell what flavor of gum you have in your pocket right now…" He sniffed the air, then smiled. "It's strawberry…"
Nevada took a step away from Snivels with a slightly creeped out look on her face.
The woman placed a hand to her chest. "And me? I'm the one stuck leading this bunch, Vivian. But you can call me 'Archenemy.'"
"Vivian…" Nevada muttered. "I've heard of you. You're pretty high up in the BB Bandits organization."
"How flattering. I'd love to chat, but we have what we came for, so we'll be leaving. Rex? Snivels? Time to go."
"Only if you think you can beat both of us, Vivian." Nevada growled, brandishing three Dino Medals. "Ready, Toshi?"
"So sorry, but I'm afraid my battling schedule is all full up." Vivian said. "No time to play with you two, I'm afraid. Rex!"
Rex barked and leaped between both Fighters with Vivian and Snivels close behind him.
"Stop!" Nevada turned around as the three crooks exited the room. "I won't let you escape!" She chased after the trio, but they swiftly shut the door. Nevada tugged on the doors before giving them a good bang with a frustrated growl. "They locked the door from the outside."
"Don't worry, heroes." Vivian called from the other side of the door. "I'm sure someone will dig you out….in a few million years when you're fossils yourselves! Toodle-loo!" She strode away, laughing, with her two cohorts behind her.
Toshi glanced around as Nevada began to pace, obviously thinking.
"She said they got what they came for, so they must have the treasure." She murmured. "Everything in here is an important artifact of Digadig culture, dating back thousands of years!" She paused, tapping her left fist into the palm of her right hand. "We can't let the BB Bandits get away with stealing any of it!" Nevada looked at the door. "First things first. We need to find a way to get the door open…hm?" She stepped closer to the door and inspected it. "What's this? There's some ancient script written on the door!" Nevada ran her fingers over the words as Toshi stepped closer to inspect it as well. "Wait. This doesn't even make any sense. What language is this written in?"
"It's written in English. Don't worry."
Nevada glanced at Toshi, who stepped closer to the door and placed his finger against it as she shifted away.
"And look, if you read it going upwards, you can read it. It reads, 'A secret tunnel hides between the two unbreakable bones. Dig.'" Toshi looked at Nevada with emotionless eyes. "It's a pretty easy puzzle."
"I've never seen you talk so much." Nevada said as Toshi searched for the two bones. "Well, I mean, since we've met."
"Not a people person." Toshi responded, taking out his foldable pickaxe as he halted between a pile of dinosaur bones. He raised it above his head and slammed the pickaxe into the ground. He repeated his motion until a hole big enough for a human to fit through appeared.
"You did it!" Nevada cheered, popping up beside Toshi. "A secret tunnel! It looks like this goes straight to the exit! It might even get us ahead of the BB's! Let's get that treasure back!" She hopped down the hold, landing on the slide as if she were skateboarding. "Let's get slidin'."
"I don't like your jokes." Toshi said following after Nevada and sliding down the metal slide- "It's so modern!" Nevada cried happily.-much like the Fighter. "They're kinda corny."
Yeah. Nevada kinda scares me. She reminds me of Rosie a lot of times.
