I woke up to the sun shining through the window. Penny was still asleep, smiling gently at whatever she was dreaming about. I sat up, yawning and stretching. I felt refreshed and ready for whatever the day would bring. As I got up and got dressed, Nibbles woke up and yawned, stretching his body before walking over to me so I could put his bandana on him. I looked at the clock next to my bed. 9:30a.m. I looked over at the sleeping blond.

"Leave her." Nibbles growled, heading for the door. I sighed.

"You've really got to get over that attitude of yours. Penny's right, you're too cute for it."

"I am NOT cute!" Nibbles barked at me, huffing and turning away.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to Penny, gently shaking her shoulder. "Penny. It's time to wake up." I sang softly. Penny groaned and turned over, muttering something about 'five more minutes, Mom'. I smiled, shaking her with a little more force. "Come on, Penny. You don't want to be late for your next assignment, do ya?"

Penny groaned again, louder this time, and rolled over, opening her eyes to look at me blearily. "Mm…Tria?" she mumbled, still out of it.

I laughed, "Good morning, sleepy-head. Welcome to the waking world."

Penny sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She ran her fingers through her long blond hair, swaying slightly as she stood up.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that you're not a morning person, eh?" I said, grinning as I caught her when she swayed a little too much.

"Meh." she mumbled, grabbing her clothes and heading to the bathroom.

After Penny left, I gathered my own supplies, sparing a look at the Gorgo's Dino Gear. As I was about to sit back down to wait for Penny, my phone started ringing.

"Hello. Tria here." I answered it.

"Tria? This is Sean. We need your help with something. After you check in with the Captain, please report to Fossil Park America." the American Leader ordered. It didn't sound incredibly urgent, but I knew I'd better get moving. The American Leader wasn't known for his patience. As I headed out of my room, I knocked on the bathroom door.

"Penny? I just received my orders, so I'm gonna go on ahead." I said through the door. I heard a muffled "okay" from the other side, so I continued my trek to the Captain's office, stopping by the kitchen to grab a granola bar on the way.

"Good morning, Captain!" I said as I got off the elevator.

"Good morning, Tria." Stryker greeted me, "I've gotten Sean's message. I didn't expect you to be needed in America right away, but I didn't expect it to take long, either. Head to America and see what Sean needs your help with. Dismissed."

"Yes sir!" I said, saluting and heading back down the elevator. As I looked into the kitchen, I saw my friends sitting at the table, eating breakfast. I debated going in to eat with them, but Sean's impatience, combined with Nibbles' glare, convinced me otherwise, so I turned around and headed through the World Gate.

"Ah, Tria! Sup?" Sean greeted me when I entered his office, "Wasn't Goldrush Canyon totes awesome or what? How 'bout I open up another dig site for ya?"

I arched my eyebrow. "You called me here to go to another dig site?" I asked.

"No way, mister!" I heard Becky call from the elevator, "This is no time to be opening more dig sites, and you know it!"

"All right, all right. Chill, Becks. My head gets all spinny whenever I start thinking about dig sites, ya know?" Sean groaned, rubbing his temple before turning back to me. "Anyway, Tria, I actually called you here because I've 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."

"New guy?" I asked, before my eyes widened in horror, "Wait, you don't mean…?!"

"You called, Chief?" a familiarly-arrogant voice said from the elevator. I turned to face the punk with the purple hair.

"Leon?!" I exclaimed, backing away from my fellow graduate. Nibbles snarled viciously.

"Tria?!" Leon yelled, clearly not expecting me to be there, "What are YOU doing here?!"

"Tria's, like, working for the Captain now." Sean answered for me, "You know, shreddin' it up on top-secret Warden missions all across the globe. Pretty rad, huh?"

Leon glared at me, looking more than a little jealous. "…Yeah. Rad." He then turned back to the American Leader. "Look, Chief, you got a job for me or what?"

Sean leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Sure do. I need you two to escort some little dude on a dig. He's waiting over at the Fossil Stadium. You can't miss him." He looked at both me and Leon, adding sternly, "Oh, and I'm, like, totally counting on you and stuff, so don't face-plant. Cool?"

"Yes sir!" I said, standing up straighter. Nibbles growled, not pleased with the idea of dealing with another human. Leon wasn't pleased, either, for a similar reason.

"You gotta be kiddin' me." he growled, facing me, "Listen, rookie. I don't care who sent you or why you're here. I work alone. Got it?" He then spun on his heel and began to head back to the elevator.

"Look, Leon." I barked harshly, making him stop in his tracks, "I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of working with YOU, either, but our orders state that we need to work together, and I intend to follow those orders, whether you like it or not!" Nibbles roared aggressively to emphasize my point. Leon spun back around and stood right in front of me, staring down at me.

"Listen, Tria. You may think you're a hotshot just because you got a 'rad' gig from the Captain, but that doesn't mean you can boss me around! I'm gonna complete this mission alone and that's FINAL!" He then stormed out of Sean's office without giving any of us a chance to respond. Sean groaned exasperatedly, resting his elbows on his desk and closing his eyes, rubbing both of his temples.

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

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

"I'll handle Leon." I declared, making the sibling Wardens look at me.

"You sure, Tria?" Sean asked me uncertainly, "He's pretty hard-headed."

"I'll manage." I insisted, a sly grin spreading across my face, "I have this talent for getting through to people."

"All right!" Sean said happily, "I'm, like, totally counting on you!" He then gave me his signature gleaming grin and a thumbs-up. "Now go rock my world!"

"Will do!" I responded, saluting, and marched into the elevator, Nibbles close behind.

"What are you planning to do, Tria?" he asked, "The purple one is very stubborn."

"To be honest, I have no idea. The only thing I know that's gonna get through that guy's thick skull is for him to see for himself that he can't do everything on his own." I replied, rubbing my hand down my face as a headache began to develop, "For now, let's just see who it is we're supposed to be escorting." Nibbles snorted apprehensively, but he didn't argue. He wanted to see how this little face-off between me and the lone wolf would play out.

The American Fossil Stadium was easy enough to find. It was right across from the store (which was closed for maintenance), and the building was covered with flame patterns. The lobby was a large room with a wide red carpet leading to the reception counter. Leon was standing in front of said reception counter, tapping his foot impatiently as he looked around. When he saw me, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I told you to get lost, rookie." he snarled, crossing his arms and glaring at me.

"Who are you calling a rookie, punk?" I barked back, "You and I became Wardens at the same time, and while you took the planned Warden Test, I was faced with a real-life situation! So if anything, YOU'RE the rookie here!"

His eyes narrowed further, if that was possible, and he stepped in front of me. "Now listen here, Tria. I. Work. Alone! You'd only get in my way, especially with that injured arm."

Nibbles growled in my defense, making Leon look at him. "And what's with this little vivosaur, anyway? Why were you chosen to look after him? What makes you so special?"

Nibbles roared at him and charged, snapping at his legs. Leon jumped back and took a fighting stance.

"Well, you're a surly fellow. You wanna go? 'Cause I'll throw down right here!" he yelled confidently. Nibbles jumped at him, ready to tear the other Warden to shreds, but I grabbed him, holding him back.

"THERE you are!" a young, childish voice called out suddenly.

All three of us turned to see a little boy of about eight or nine years of age approach us. He was wearing a dark red shirt that was the same color as his hair. He also had a strange symbol on his forehead and bronze-colored eyes. There was something not-quite-right about him.

"You guys must be the escorts, huh? What took you so long?" the kid asked in an obnoxious tone that implied he was used to being spoiled rotten.

"Who's this mope?" Leon asked, not liking this kid's tone any more than I did.

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

"VIP?" I thought to myself, "Yep. Definitely spoiled. This kid must have rich parents or something." Nibbles growled in annoyance.

Leon leaned over to me, whispering in my ear, "Hey, Tria? Lemme ask you something, one professional to another…" He glanced sideways at the Lucky kid, "Think anyone would mind if I smacked this mope upside the head?"

"So I'm a professional now?" I thought as I replied, "Unfortunately, yes. He's clearly spoiled rotten, which means that he probably has rich or important parents, and they'd definitely mind someone hitting him."

"What are you guys talking about?" Lucky asked in annoyance, putting his hands on his hips.

Leon chuckled. "Heh. Nothing, kid. All right, Lucky. I'll be your escort. C'mon, let's go."

"Oh dear…" I sighed sadly, "Not again…"

"Um…" Lucky muttered in confusion, "What about your friend there? And the little vivosaur?" He seemed to take a particular interest in Nibbles, which was understandable.

Leon sneered at Lucky's description of me as a 'friend'. "Them? Just baggage. I'm all the escort you need." He grabbed Lucky's arm, dragging him out of the Fossil Stadium. "Let's go."

"Um…okay. I guess you look strong enough to handle it." Lucky agreed reluctantly, glancing at me one more time before following Leon to the Garage, "But if something terrible happens to me, there's gonna be hell to pay!"

Leon ignored Lucky's last comment, shoving past Becky as he left with the kid. I sighed as Becky walked over to me.

"Well, that could've gone better." she said, looking back at the Stadium's entrance, "I take it Leon left you behind."

"Yeah…" I sighed again, "Sorry, Becky." Nibbles snorted.

"No reason to apologize." she said, waving it off, "It's not your fault he's such a stubborn mule. I thought a member of his graduating class might get through to him…" She trailed off.

"Don't worry, Becky." I said, determination returning to my eyes, "I'll go after him."

Becky perked up. "Really? You'd really do that?"

"Of course." I replied, "If something bad happened to either of them because of Leon's stubbornness, there's no way I could just stand idly by."

"Thanks, Tria," Becky said, smiling with relief, "It means a lot."

"Don't mention it." I said, smiling in return, "It IS my mission too, after all." And with that, I took off toward the Garage, Nibbles just barely keeping pace. As I got in my Digger's Rig and headed out, I saw some commotion going on a short ways from the Goldrush Canyon's entrance.

"Oh, that can't be good." I thought, squinting as I headed for the energetic area. My eyes then widened as I saw a purple Turf Shredder. "Is that Leon's Bone Buggy?! Why is it smoking?!"

As I got closer, I saw Leon standing in front of his busted vehicle, facing off against two large, burly men. Actually, he was backing away from them. His nose was bleeding. Further away, a third man was carrying Lucky to his Bone Buggy, completely unfazed by the young boy's struggling. The sight of Leon's beat-up form and Lucky's tearful screaming caused anger to flare up in my chest. I don't care how insufferable either of them are, I still see them as my friends, and NOBODY hurts my friends!

"Ha ha! The psychic wonder's all ours now!" the man carrying Lucky laughed, grinning, "No hard feelings, right? It's strictly business."

"Yeah!" one of the guys restraining Leon crowed, "Who would've thought they'd send him with only a single escort? Guess we got…LUCKY! Ha ha ha ha!"

"Psychic wonder?" I thought in confusion. That's when I heard Sean's voice over the radio.

"Yo, Tria! I heard what happened. That's rough…" he said, sighing in frustration. He then noticed my alarmed expression. "What's wrong, Tria?"

"Leon and Lucky are being attacked by some guys! They're calling Lucky a 'psychic wonder'! What are they talking about?"

"Oh man. This blows!" Sean groaned loudly, "This is why he needs TWO escorts! Lucky's a big deal here in America! He has psychic powers that let him find rare fossils that don't appear on sonar!" He looked at me in desperation. "Hurry, Tria! You have to help them!"

"I'm already on it!" I yelled, turning my rage into adrenaline as I floored my Bone Buggy's accelerator, speeding towards Leon. The guys restraining him jumped away as I drove between them and Leon.

"Oh crap! Boss! Another Warden!" one of the guys cried.

"You should've driven past us, Warden! Now you're gonna pay!" the other threatened confidently.

I got out of my Digger's Rig and ran to Leon's side, kneeling beside him as Nibbles charged at the two men. They scrambled back toward their Bone Buggies, their eyes wide as they stared at the angry little vivosaur snarling at them.

"Grrr! We don't have time for this!" the boss yelled, shoving Lucky into his Bone Buggy, "You two! Take care of that little pipsqueak!"

"Yes sir!" they replied, sending out a duo of armor-plated Goyle. The tank-like herbivores glared at us from under their armored eyelids and roared.

"Leon!" I yelled to the traumatized male next to me, "Leon! Can you stand?!"

Leon didn't answer. He just remained on his knees, staring at the ground. "I…I failed…" he muttered to no one.

I looked at the defeated lone wolf worriedly as I pressed a cloth from the first-aid kit in my Bone Buggy to his still-bleeding nose, moving his hand up so that he held it in place. He seemed completely unaware that he was even injured. I stood up to face the two Air-type vivosaurs. Nibbles moved up, ready to fight, but I ordered him to stay back and look after Leon. I knew who this job called for.

"You're gonna regret this!" I roared at my adversaries, throwing my own Dino Gear, "Gorgo! Show these losers what real power looks like!"

A bright flash of light signaled the giant carnivore's appearance on the battlefield. He roared in rage, eager to find an enemy to vent his anger on. He then turned to me grudgingly, knowing by habit that he was supposed to follow my orders, but I simply gestured to the two herbivores with a wave of my hand.

"Have fun!" I sang to him, letting him decide his method of attack. I knew he would fight violently if I let him, but he wasn't the only one who had anger that needed venting.

Gorgo's eyes widened, and he almost seemed to smile back before charging at one of the Goyles. The herbivore attempted to side-step the Fire-type vivosaur, but Gorgo's battle experience showed through as he followed its movement with ease. He grabbed the smaller vivosaur in his jaws and lifted it into the air, shaking it like a dog would a chew toy. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the second Goyle attempting to ram Gorgo while he wasn't looking.

"Gorgo! Behind you!" I yelled to my vivosaur.

The carnivore, suddenly remembering his second adversary, pivoted on the spot and threw the first Goyle into the second, sending them both flying. Unsatisfied, he chased after them and jumped, using the technique I had ordered Lophus MN to use on him during our first battle. He brought his feet down on the two herbivores, driving them into the ground. He then jumped back to me as the two vivosaurs' Dino Gears flew back to their fighters' Bone Buggies.

"Y-You think you're good?!" one of the guys yelled, backing up his Bone Buggy, "I wouldn't get too cozy if I were you! Those vivosaurs were just the ones we use for battle practice!"

"Yeah!" the other added pointlessly, "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!" And with that, they drove away.

"Hey! Get back here!" Leon yelled suddenly, disregarding the bloody cloth, which Nibbles caught, "…And my hair is AWESOME!"

"Leon! Calm down!" I scolded him, placing the cloth back on his nose,
"You're hurt! You need medical attention!"

Leon growled, staring at the ground again, not even trying to fight me, "Man, the Chief's gonna bust me down to a grunt for this…"

"Worry about your ranking AFTER you get your injuries treated!" I told him sternly, leading him to my Bone Buggy, "Get in. I'll take you back to the Park."

Leon looked at me like he was about to protest, but he went silent as the shadow of my Gorgo loomed over us. I pushed him in, ordering Nibbles in behind him before I turned to face the large carnivore.

"Good work, my friend." I said to him, holding out my uninjured arm to him. He looked at me apprehensively, still not trusting me. I sighed, lowering my arm. "I'm sorry, Gorgo, but I need you to return to your Dino Gear. My friend is hurt and needs treatment, and they don't let large vivosaurs wander around the Fossil Parks. Please?"

Gorgo looked from me to my Bone Buggy, focusing on the two beings looking out the window, then turned back to me and nodded, transforming back into a Dino Gear and falling into my palm. I could sense that he still wasn't very trusting, but I could tell that his hatred and resentment were starting to wane. I smiled at him before climbing into the driver's seat, heading back to the Fossil Park. One the way back, I contacted Sean.

"Yo, Tria! Sup?" he asked as he usually did, but his tone was grave, "What's the situation?"

"Lucky was kidnapped by a group of thugs, who intend to use him to find rare fossils. I managed to save Leon, but he has a bloody nose. Could you send someone to meet us at the Garage with a first-aid kit?" I reported, making note of the fact that Leon was sliding down in his seat, as if to disappear from sight.

"Roger that. We'll form a plan to rescue Lucky when you two return." Sean replied, nodding. He then looked over to Leon's seat. "Is that you, Leon?" he asked.

I looked over at Leon. He had gone silent, so I answered for him.

"It is, sir. Leon's Bone Buggy was damaged in the attack, so he's riding with me. We'll need someone to retrieve it, since mine doesn't have towing capacity."

"Roger. We'll handle it." Sean replied, turning back to look again at the Warden next to me, "Leon…"

Leon flinched, looking away in shame. I was about to intervene, to ask Sean to hold off scolding him until after his injuries had been treated, but the American Leader just smiled kindly.

"I'm glad you're safe." he said, and with that, he signed off.

Leon looked at the now-blank screen with wide eyes, not knowing how to handle this kindness. I didn't say anything, but when he looked down at his hands, which were folded in his lap, I reached over to lay my hand on his arm. He flinched again and looked at me with wary eyes, but I just smiled at him, radiating as much kindness as I could. His eyes began shining, and he turned away again, gritting his teeth as a single tear fell down his cheek. I just kept driving.

Once we got back, we were met by Becky, who had a first-aid kit in her hands. While she treated Leon, I stood back, watching with a blank look on my face.

"Those chumps won't get away with this!" he yelled, his shame fueling his rage, "As soon as my Bone Buggy's up and running, I'm gonna track him down! It's payback time! You hear me?! PAYBACK TIME!"

"Leon! Stop moving around so much!" Becky commanded the younger Warden, "How am I supposed to treat your injuries if you keep moving?!"

"I'll take you all on myself! I'll burn your little gang to the ground!" he yelled, not registering Becky's words.

"Not alone, you're not." I said sternly, not moving from my spot leaning against the wall of the Garage.

Leon turned to me, shaking off Becky as he approached. "Zip it, Tria! This is MY job! I made this mess, and I'm gonna be the one who's gonna clean it up!"

"You never learn, Leon." I said, my cold, unsympathetic tone unwavering as I stared at him directly in the eye, "The reason this occurred in the first place is because you weren't up to the task. If I hadn't shown up to bail you out, who knows what those thugs would've done to you?"

Leon growled at me. "I work alone! I've always worked alone! Other people only get in the way!"

Becky, having finally heard enough, grabbed Leon's shoulders and turned him forcefully to face her.

"Now listen here, Leon, and you listen good!" she yelled, "You can't take this on your own! You and Tria were BOTH given this job, and you BOTH have to work together to see it through! The only way this is gonna work is if you cooperate with your allies! With your friends!"

At the mention of friends, Leon finally snapped.

"I DON'T HAVE FRIENDS!" he roared, startling everyone, including the mechanics repairing his Bone Buggy, "I don't have friends! I don't have allies! I! Work! ALONE!" He then stormed out of the Garage, heading toward a deserted area of the Park.

"What do you think you can do by yourself, Leon?!" Becky screamed after him, "Is your head made of marshmallows or something?!"

"That's enough, Becky." I said calmly, placing a hand on her shoulder. When she looked at me, I continued, "I'm going after him."

"Forget it, Tria." she said cynically, her shoulders drooping, "He's never gonna listen to reason. He's just too damn stubborn."

"I don't think that's the main problem." I replied, turning to my little vivosaur partner, "Nibbles, I want you to go with Becky to report this occurrence to Sean." Nibbles protested, but I insisted, "I need to be gentle with this, and I know how you growl whenever something upsets you."

"What are you gonna do, Tria?" Becky asked me nervously.

"Just talk." I answered. At the confused expressions that both the Warden and the vivosaur were giving me, I elaborated, "I may not know exactly what's going on here, but I do know that this problem is a lot more complicated than mere stubbornness."

Becky and Nibbles still didn't look convinced, but Nibbles, remembering how well I had handled Nate's panic, eased Roland's guilt, and comforted Penny during her breakdown, finally relented and headed for Sean's office, with Becky following reluctantly. With them finally accepting my response, I headed after Leon, knowing what I had to do.