Digadig Village III

"Hey, are you alright?"

Her head throbbed, her neck felt strained, and the rest of her body didn't feel much better.

Sharp gusts of icy wind amidst jagged bolts of aggressive red-oranges. A ferocious hiss sounded.

A yelp. "Hey! I'm trying to help her!"

Chicane?

Warm air brushed against her face as something soft tickled her skin.

Eyes still closed, Creed reached up and scratched the swift thief's muzzle.

Sharp gusts soften to a gentle breeze, aggression melts to questioning oranges with wisps of apprehensive pale green. Are you…alright, Creed?

I'll be fine. Creed assured.

A soft grunt, she sat up stiffly and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Chicane's big yellow eyes. Blinking, she gently pushed the overprotective raptor out of her line of immediate sight.

"Good—you're awake. Guess you're not dead, then."

Chicane snarled at the bad joke, turning and hissing at the speaker.

Carrot top. Were Creed's first observations upon seeing the woman, followed by, Seems like an adventuring archeologist, like Indiana Jones.

Placing a finger to her temple, the woman hummed. "My psychic powers tell me that your name is Creed and you're a Level 2 Fighter. Am I right?" behind dark sunglasses, dark blue eyes curled upwards in a smile.

Creed blinked, then noticed her license in the woman's hand. Quirking an eyebrow, she gave the woman an amused look.

"I'm just kidding about the psychic powers." A laugh. "Here, as you might have noticed, you lost your Fighter's License when you fell."

Taking back the license, Creed slipped it back into her sleeve. How did it fall out but nothing else?

"I'm Nevada Montecarlo." Creed restrained a sudden snigger that threatened to break out. "I'm a Fighter specializing in expeditions to dangerous locales." The snap of a leather whip emphasized the declaration.

"You look like it." Creed quipped.

"Just don't make any Indiana Jones comparisons, okay?"

An agreeable nod.

"The Fossil Center hired me to infiltrate the Digadigamid and investigate an incident."

"The theft of the ancestral key, right?"

Nevada nodded. "Those BB Bandit jerks tricked me down that stupid trapdoor." a harsh glare was directed at the ground. "I assume the same thing happened to you."

"Unfortunately." Creed nodded. "Though I should have known what he was planning when he made for the wall rather than the exit."

"Ah well," a shrug, "They say hindsight is 20-20. Anyway, do you know about the BB Bandits?"

Creed shook her head.

"They're a secret organization that just can't seem to stop making trouble." She held up her fingers and counted off, "Illegal fossil trading, destruction of dig sites…you name it. They're just a bad bunch."

"No kidding." Creed tenderly ran her fingers across the growing bruise under her eye.

"What happened to you, anyway?"

"I got kicked." Was the simple answer, accompanied by a shrug. "Anyway, you were saying—?"

"Oh, right. Right now, they're here to steal the Digadigmid treasure, but I'm finally going to stop them." She strode over to an elaborate door with a large, oddly shaped keyhole in the center.

Looking back at Creed, Nevada ran her fingers over several hieroglyphs carved into the stone. "I've been reading on the carvings on the wall here," she explained, motioning to one glyph in particular. "They mention a key? No, better!" a grin, "Keymonite! Fantastic!"

"Keymonite?" Creed echoed, "I'm not familiar with it."

"It's an ancient creature, kind of like an ammonite, but acts like a natural skeleton key." She sniggered at the pun. "If we can find one, we're free. But," a sheepish expression crossed her face, "my sonar's busted. Think you can dig one up, Creed?"

Though toned as a question, the crack of her whip made Creed wonder if it was actually more of an order. All the same…

"Start searching the room! If I'm reading the carvings right, we should be able to find a keymonite fossil.

With a shrug, Creed pulled out her sonar to seek out the keymonite. With her upgraded sonar screen, it was simple to find and then dig up the needed fossil rock. Oddly enough, it showed up as a red dot on her sonar.

"Great," Nevada grinned, "You found one!" a frown, "The only problem is that we can't get it into a keyhole like that. You'll need to clean that thing. Then we can get out of here."

"How?" Creed queried. "I don't have any of my cleaning tools—"

She blinked as Nevada grinned and suddenly held up a hammer and drill, miniature versions to those found in the Fossil Center.

"That's handy." She commented.

"Isn't it?" Nevada grinned, handing the tools over. "Here you go."

"Why do I—never mind…" Creed knelt down over the fossil rock and carefully removed the soft shell of dirt encasing the fossil. Chicane wandered over and leaned his jaw against Creed's shoulder, watching curiously.

Wow, it really does look like a key. Creed thought when she was done.

"Nice work!" Nevada praised as Creed handed her the fossil. "All right," she turned back to the locked door. "Let's see if these things really can open any lock…"

A click from above, once the key was put in place, made Creed and Chicane dive forward. Just in time, for a wooden ladder dropped down from the hole above, just barely missing them.

"Great!" Nevada grinned. "Not what I was expecting, but we should be able to sue this ladder to get out of here." A pause, "Uh, that means you'll have to call back your V-raptor."

Chicane whined. Creed scratched his neck. "I'll let you out later." She promised.

/\/\

"The door to the treasure chamber is already open." Nevada hissed from where she and Creed hid in the wall's shadows. "Let's hope we're not too late!"

The whip snapped out as Nevada leapt into the chamber.

The dog let out a startled yip. As it and the man spun around at the shout, both visibly startled.

"Hey, check it out." Hawk-nose laughed, regaining his composure. "The adventure dame teamed up with the pip-squeak Fighter to fight crime. Adorable."

I wonder if I can push him down the stairs and claim it was an accident. Creed thought, eye twitching.

"Wait," the man frowned, "how'd you two even get out of that underground trap? That thing was escape proof!"

Nevada scoffed. "Hardly." A snort. "Turns out a Level 2 Fighter could break out of there." A gesture towards Creed. "This Level 2 Fighter next to me. Now," an unnerving smile as she stepped forward, "since you needed a trapdoor to beat either of us before, how will you beat both of us together?"

Hawk-nose paled and the dog whimpered slightly. Both took anxious steps back.

"Do you two slackers think you can drag your feet a little more?"

Everyone jumped at the woman's voice, coming from the back of the chamber.

The man and dog glanced back anxiously. "Uh-oh," the man breathed, "She's back! Quick, look busy!"

She looks rather dangerous. Creed noticed as a turquoise haired woman walked up. Even with that ridiculous suit.

"Oh," the woman sneered, eyeing the pair, "don't you two look…adventurey." A scornful look. "Quite the duo—Ranger Red and Fossil Girl! I'm trembling with fear." A pause, then a frown, "Wait a minute!"

Dog and man cringed under the turquoise glare.

"Are you two loafers telling me you lost to this kid?" she demanded incredulously.

"Uh…" the man shifted sheepishly, running a hand through bright blond hair, "technically, yeah…" a pause, "But…"

The dog whined.

"Actually," the woman mused, ignoring the pair, "that's pretty impressive for a girl your age."

Creed shrugged nonchalantly and the woman stepped closer.

"I suppose if you're going to be a real opponent, we'll have to introduce ourselves." A gesture to the dog, "Man's best friend here is Rex." A pause followed by a sideways glance towards Creed and Nevada. "If you happen to know what he is or where he's from, please do let me know."

Rex barked.

…at least I'm not the only one out of the loop…

A gesture to the hawk-nosed man. "The gent with the long nose is Snivels." Creed barely suppressed a snigger. "The nose isn't just for show—he can smell better than Rex."

Snivels laughed and stepped up, puffing up his chest proudly. "Oh yeah," he agreed, "I can smell what flavor gum you have in your pocket right now…" he sniffed the air. "…It's strawberry."

Well I'll be. "Impressive." Creed conceded.

"And me?" the woman continued. "I'm the one stuck leading this bunch, Vivian. But you can call me 'archenemy'."

An eye roll. Let's not get ahead of ourselves now. She thought in annoyance. I still don't know if you're any better than your lackeys there.

"Vivian…" Nevada echoed. "I've heard of you. You're pretty high up in the BB Bandits organization."

Vivian smirked. "How flattering." Head cocked slightly, "I'd love to chat, but we have what we came for, so we'll be leaving. Rex? Snivels? Time to go."

The pair stood at a sudden attention.

A crack of a whip made them all twitch.

"Only if you think you can beat both of us, Vivian. Ready, Creed?"

A sharp nod.

"So sorry," was the insincere response, "but I'm afraid my battling schedule is all full up." A jeering grin, "No time to play with you two, I'm afraid." A glance at Rex. "Rex!"

What the—?

Head met stone floor. Creed blinked owlishly at the ceiling.

Oww…

"Stop! I won't let you escape!" Nevada yelled.

The grinding of heavy stone.

A frustrated snarl. "They locked the door from the outside."

"Don't worry heroes." Came Vivian's muffled voice. "I'm sure someone will dig you out…in a few million years when you're fossils yourselves!" a laugh. "Toodle-loo!"

Nevada swore.

Creed, still dizzy, sat up wondering how something so small could hit so hard.

"She said they got what they came for," Nevada muttered, pacing furiously in front of the closed passageway, "so they must have the treasure." An aggravated hiss. "Everything in here is an important artifact of the Digadig culture, dating back thousands of years!" The crack of a whip. "We can't let the BB Bandits get away with stealing any of it!"

"Well, if you have an idea of how to get past that door," Creed drawled, climbing to her feet, "I'm all ears."

A thoughtful hum, then a surprised cry. "What's this?" Nevada walked up to the stone door. "There's some ancient script written on the door!"

Curious, Creed moved to stand next to her.

"Wait." Nevada frowned. "This doesn't make any sense. What language is this even written in?" a glance at Creed. "Creed, this might be some sort of puzzle. Would you take a look?"

Creed studied the Roman Lettering curiously, and then cocked her head.

"It's English," she announced after a moment. "Only written top-to-bottom, left-to-right. Look, it reads 'A secret tunnel hides between the two unbreakable bones', followed by 'DIG' with an exclamation mark."

"Good eye!" Nevada praised as Creed moved to the aforementioned unbreakable bones.

Glancing between them, she pulled out her pickaxe and slammed it hard into the ground roughly center between the two piles.

Ground gave way. Creed yelped as she dropped for a second time that day.

/\/\

Creed dropped from the other end of the tunnel, landing lightly on the balls of her feet. She glanced up, and quickly sidestepped to avoid having Nevada drop on her.

"We're at the entrance!" the elder Fighter praised. "Good work." She turned and frowned down the corridor. "The BB's are still inside." An anticipatory grin. "From here, we can force them into a Fossil Battle. I think I can take them," a sideways glance at Creed, "But I'm glad I can count on you to back me up, Creed."

The two quickly hid in wait just outside the first chamber.

Within moments they heard the three villains running down the passage.

"You're not getting out of here with that stolen property, BB Bandits!" Nevada yelled as she stepped into view, mirrored by Creed.

The astonished trio slid to an abrupt stop and gaped at the duo.

Vivian recovered first. "Well," she began, "I have to admit that I'm a little impressed." A curious look, "However did you escape from there?"

Nevada smirked arrogantly. "Sorry, Vivian. Trade secret." A step forward, "Tell you what, though. I'll let you in on it if you hand over the treasure you're trying to steal." A snap of her whip emphasized her words.

The trio just glared at her.

"No?" the fake surprise was poorly done, "Can't say I'm too surprised. Oh well. I hope you're ready to take on Nevada Montecarlo, dino duelist!"

She reached into her pocket and froze. "Wait!" frantically she searched the other pockets in her pants. "Where did my Dino Medals go?"

Rex gave a barking laugh, echoed by Snivels. The latter of whom held up several Dino Medals.

"Surprised, Red?"

Oh, Hoinigen. Creed thought with a mental groan. I know where this is going…

"Sorry, Creed!" Nevada called apologetically, suddenly several feet behind Creed. "It's all up to you! You can take her! Show them what you're made of!"

What an unpleasant sense of déjà vu… Creed gave a long suffering sigh.

"So you're going to step in and fight me in her place, huh?" Vivian hummed, fingering her Dino Medals. "As you wish, but you should know that my vivosaurs are FAR more powerful than Rex's and Snivels's."

"I'll believe that when I see it." Creed drawled, rolling her eyes. Vivian frowned.

"I hope you're ready for a thrashing, child."

Medals flew.

First was a raptor-like vivosaur, derived from a deinonychus, meaning 'Terrible Claw', and was over four meters long with pink and white coloring. The second was a predominately red 'bird-footed' dinosaur, called a lambeo and similar in build to an igua, only more like duck-billed dinosaurs such as the parasaurolophus , and was the largest vivosaur Creed had seen to date, stretching at over sixteen meters.

Its size will work against it in these tight spaces. Creed analyzed, drawing her vivosaurs.

Sharp bursts of cold wind amidst aggressive waves of red-orange and contemptuous streaks of violet-reds. I will fight, I and Lethar. Chicane sent. Creed could feel his Medal warming up through the mechanism on her wrist.

She hesitated for a moment, before deciding to trust him and releasing the two Dino Medals.

Chicane appeared at point, with Lethar on at his starboard flank.

All at once, he seemed to sag slightly.

Wha—? And then Creed felt it as well. A kind of pressure in the air around her, hindering her movement, making it harder to focus on her target.

Blinking, she shook her head and forced the feeling to the back of her mind.

A flurry of annoyed reds with splashes of focused greens. Alright, watch, learn, plan. Lambeo is the hindrance, Nychus is the threat.

A sharp bark at Lethar, who seemed to nod in response and brace himself.

"Nychus Venom on V-Raptor!" Vivian yelled.

Show it why you're wind aligned. Creed sent.

Chicane remained still until the last possible moment before moving.

The nychus's claw came down on empty dirt as Chicane rolled to the side.

"Toxic Combo!" Creed yelled.

The nychus howled as the smaller raptor latched on and kicked its sides viciously before backing away. It cause damage but, unfortunately, did not cause poisoning.

"Don't let it do that again!" Vivian shouted. "Nychus Venom on Goyle!"

The terrible claw lunged towards the motionless Lethar.

Watch out! Creed warned. Only faint wisps of helplessness responded. "Body Axe!"

Nychus ducked the oncoming spade tail and sunk its claws into Lethar's vulnerable side. Unlike with Chicane's prior attack, this one left poison.

Blast it! Creed gritted her teeth. "Chicane!"

"Watch it!" Vivian warned.

The larger raptor leapt up to avoid the smaller one. It landed lightly in front of the lambeo.

Creed looked between Chicane and the quickly weakening Lethar.

We haven't tried this before, but we don't have a choice. She gritted her teeth. "Lethar: your tail! Chicane: Toxic Combo!" Then use Lethal Poison.

Two affirmative wisps of color answered her.

Chicane leapt back onto Lethar's tail.

"What are you doing?" Vivian demanded, frowning. Creed ignored her.

Lethar swung his tail sharply, sending Chicane flying at high speeds.

The nychus didn't have a chance to respond this time as twin sickle claws sunk into its chest. Chicane flipped back, leaving a large dose of poison behind.

A snarl, the swift thief braced and inhaled sharply. He exhaled, hard.

A cyclone of greenish wind shot out, striking both the nychus and the lambeo. The nychus howled and returned to its Dino Medal, defeated, and the lambeo took heavy poisoning.

A surge of vertigo washed over Creed, making her sway a moment before forcing the warning symptoms away. At the same time, the hindering pressure that had been over her and Chicane vanished as the lambeo slammed a forepaw into the ground in an attempt to strike Chicane.

What…happened? Creed wondered, feeling torn with fatigue and relief. She shook her head sharply.

"Toxic Combo! Finish it off!"

"Lambeo Combo!" Vivian countered. "Don't let it touch you!"

Chicane lunged, the lambeo swung down—

"What?" Vivian cried. Creed smirked.

Strong forepaws smashed into stone, completely missing the intended target. Chicane's leap carried him over the duck-bill's head. Sharp claws sunk deeply into the base of the skull.

With a cry, the lambeo vanished.

"H-how?" Vivian sputtered in disbelief, eyes wide as she stepped back. "How did you do that?" she demanded. "I've never lost before!"

"First time…for everything." Creed answered between deep breathes.

"Time to hand over the stolen goods." Nevada declared, suddenly in front of Vivian.

Creed silently called back her vivosaurs, and this time did fall to her knees as the vitality loss caught up with her. Doubled over, she focused on breathing deeply and fighting to stay conscious.

In. Out. In. Out.

"Here."

Blinking wearily, Creed quickly accepted the offered granola bar. After several bites she began to feel better.

"Creed, you were amazing." Nevada said in amazement, kneeling next to her. "I couldn't have asked for a better partner in the field."

"Happy to help." Creed murmured softly.

"We need to take this back to Digadig Village and give the chieftain the good news. Think you can walk?"

"So long as we don't run, sure."

/\/\

"Ohhh!" The chieftain grinned brightly, accepting the small key Nevada handed him. "This is definitely the stolen key to the treasure chamber, Digadig! Young Fighter girl, you have done a great service for the Digadigs, and for that I thank you, digadig."

"Don't mention it." Creed spoke softly.

She tuned out the following conversation, feeling the fatigue creeping up on her again. It was all she could do to stand without swaying. Why was she so tired? The fight hadn't been as taxing as the one with Medal-Dealer Joe…maybe it was because of the third tier technique Chicane had used, coupled with the poisoning Lethar had experienced? She'd have to ask Diggins.

A gasp from the Chieftain broke Creed out of her musings.

"This idol should be a suitable reward for returning our key to us, digadig."

She was rather surprised when an eighteen inch figurine was put into her hand. Blinking owlishly, she stared at it.

It's smiling, she observed with a blink, and rather cheerful looking with that bright green lining…if a little tacky.

She didn't realize she had zoned out again until a flash and a bang snapped her back to the present. Blinking, she watched Rosie—when had she come up?—dizzily return to her feet.

"The spell has been…removed, digadig."

"Finally!" Rosie cried in relief, "I can speak like my old self again…digadig."

Creed couldn't quite smother the snicker that escaped her. Rosie's expression didn't help.

"Wait, did I just say 'digadig'? …Digadig." She howled angrily. "No, no, no! Not only is the spell still on me…now it's even worse! …Digadig!"

Creed and Nevada both smothered snorts and snickers of laughter behind politely raised hands.

Actually, Creed thought, I think it's a little better now.

The Chieftain had no such restraint as a great guffaw left him. "There are sometimes…" he sniggered, "complications in spell removal, digadig. Just go about your business and it will go away. For now, you will have to…diga-deal with it." Another snicker.

Rosie burst into tears. "Nooooo!"

Next time:

"Remember what I told you before, about vivosaurs?"

"About the symbiosis they share with their Fighters?" A nod. "Yes."

"What I told you was the bare basics." A pause. "There's a bit more to it that centralizes around the 3rd Tier abilities." Cyan met aquamarine. "They're extremely dangerous for weak or novice fighters, possibly even lethal."