It was a week before my next assignment. In that week, I took part in some tournaments and upgraded my Warden license, developing a fanbase along the way. I also took on the Challenge Routes with Leon, Lucky, and one of my friends from Fossil Park Asia (after a little squabble about who would accompany us, they decided to take turns). Leon was against the idea at first, claiming that he and I could take on anything our own, but I eventually talked him into it. What if he had a mission he couldn't handle alone, but I was busy? It all worked out in the end, and I even got a new addition to my team: a Stego. She was a bit lazy, but after some encouragement from me, Nibbles, and Gorgo, she proved to be a valuable ally.

During breakfast, a week after my mission in America, I got a call from Captain Stryker, who ordered me to his office once I had finished eating. I finished quickly, excited about another assignment. I had been getting bored. I put my dishes in the sink and rushed out the door, ignoring the murmurs from my friends about how lucky I was to get special assignments straight from the Captain.

"Good morning, Tria." Stryker greeted me, "I trust you had a restful week?"

I laughed, "That's one word for it."

He laughed as well, "I thought so. You never struck me as one who likes to relax for too long."

"Guilty as charged." I replied.

Stryker nodded. "Well, as for why I called you here." I perked up. "Last week, you met with the American Wardens, gaining their respect almost immediately. This week, I want you to see if you can do the same thing with the European Wardens."

"I shall do my best, sir!" I said, eager to get started, "That's where Dahlia is stationed, right?"

"Correct." Stryker replied, "Now go introduce yourself to the European leader and check on Dahlia."

My expression became one of confusion. "Check on Dahlia? Why can't you just ask the European leader about her directly?"

"Because she's apparently gone AWOL." Stryker said gravely, "She almost never reports in for missions, and no one knows her whereabouts during the day OR night."

"I see." I said worriedly, "I hope she's all right."

"That's one of the reasons I'm sending you, in addition to having you meet with the Wardens stationed there. Now go. They're expecting you."

"Yes sir!" I saluted, leaving his office with Nibbles in tow.

"I wonder what's happened to Dahlia." I said to myself in the elevator.

"From what you've told me, it likely has something to do with the wheeled things humans use to get around." Nibbles said. His time around everyone during the previous week didn't completely alleviate his hatred of humans, but it did seem to have lessened it. My Gorgo was starting to calm down, too.

"You mean the Bone Buggies?" I said, tapping my chin thoughtfully as I stepped through the World Gate, "That does sound plausible."

The European Fossil Center looked nothing like the Fossil Centers in Asia or America. For one thing, it was a lot bigger. The desks of the staff weren't crammed together like they were in the other Centers (there were also fewer of them), and there was a large red carpet in the center of the room, leading to a door that I assumed led to the leader's office.

"Welcome!" a cheerful female voice rang out in the large room. I turned to see a woman dressed as a witch approaching us. She had curly lavender hair and a dark purple witch's hat with a matching robe. She was also holding a wand with a pink heart-shaped gem at the end.

"You're Tria, right?" she asked, continuing without waiting for me to answer, "My fortune-telling ability accurately predicted you were coming! I do so love when that happens!"

"Fortune-telling?" I muttered, looking at Nibbles in confusion. He just shook his head, growling low in his throat. "I thought Captain Stryker told you we were coming."

The woman didn't seem to hear me. "Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Violet, and I'm one of the staff members here at Fossil Park Europe. Personally, I think it's the finest of all the Fossil Parks. It's been meticulously crafted to look just like classical Europe!"

"It is really nice." I said, looking around the Fossil Center.

"I knew you'd agree!" Violet said happily, "Anyway, let me show you around. I PREDICT you'll love it! Ha ha ha!...Little fortune-teller joke there." She then started to walk out of the Fossil Center, but I called out to her.

"Um…excuse me, Violet." I said, gaining her attention, "I was ordered to introduce myself to the leader here, so could you show me to where the leader is?"

"Oh my! I had totally forgotten about that!" she exclaimed, heading for the door in the center of the room, "Come on. I'll introduce you to Drake. Follow me!" And with that, we entered the room at the end of the red carpet.

Unlike the other two Fossil Parks, this Fossil Center didn't have an elevator. Instead, the door opened and led us directly into an office. The office had dark red wallpaper and a dark gray sofa against the left wall. In the center of the room was a desk, and sitting behind that desk was…a viking.

"Hello, Drake! This is the new Warden the Captain told us about." Violet said to the viking.

The viking looked up at me. He had light orange hair that flowed from under a blue horned helmet. He was also wearing a leather coat with a fur collar. His dark blue eyes held a strangely fearful look that stood in stark contrast with the rest of his appearance. My skepticism turned to shock when I heard him speak.

"Oh!" he gasped, his voice surprisingly quiet and…timid, "Um…hello. I'm Drake. I'm the leader of the European Branch. Um, I guess. Not sure how that happened…"

An awkward silence fell over the room as Drake stopped talking and I scrambled for what to say in response. Luckily, Violet came to my rescue.

"Aw, don't mind Drake. He's pretty shy. But all that nervousness melts away when he's in the heat of battle!" she assured me, glancing at Drake, who flinched, "Anyway, I suppose you'll see that for yourself eventually."

"If you say so…" I said, slightly suspicious about that claim. Still, I could sense that this nervousness wasn't his true self, so I didn't argue. I looked back at Drake when he spoke up again.

"Yeah, so, um…I think we should have these two learn more about Fossil Park Europe." he stuttered, looking at me nervously, "I mean, if that's okay…"

"Uh…sure!" I agreed, putting on my friendliest smile. Violet seemed to agree.

"I KNEW you'd say that!...Because I'm psychic! Get it?" When she didn't get a response, she sighed, "Anyway, sure. What do you want 'em to do? We should probably send them out to a dig site or something, right?" When Drake nodded shyly, she continued her suggestions, "How about Yodel Hills?"

Drake nodded again. "O-Okay…"

Violet smiled. "Great! It's settled, then!" She then turned back to me. "I'll take you on a tour through Yodel Hills. Yodel Hills is great, if I do say so myself! You'll love it!" She then dragged me out of Drake's office, toward the Garage.

"Um…excuse me? Violet?" I asked her as we prepared our Bone Buggies.

"Hm?" Violet hummed in acknowledgement.

"What's the situation with Dahlia?" I asked her, looking at her seriously. She returned my gaze, her face losing its joyful expression.

"She only reports in on occasion, and disappears the rest of the time. She seems happy when she does report in, but it still makes it difficult to rely on her for anything. Even the simplest missions take her hours. She's only been here for a little over a week, so we're still waiting to see what happens before actively pursuing her." she explained.

"I see." I muttered, driving through the portal after Violet, "The Captain had ordered me to check on her, but I need to find her first."

"Well, maybe you'll see her in Yodel Hills!" Violet suggested suddenly, her optimism returning as we drove around the stone roads of Yodel Hills, "Come on! Relax a bit and enjoy the beauties of Fossil Park Europe!"

I reluctantly agreed, diving around with Violet. I often caught her practicing her psychic abilities on my excavations (she had an accuracy rate of about 50%), but I didn't comment. We battled the rogues together, except for a battle with a Carchar, a large Earth-type carnivore. At his insistence, I allowed Gorgo to battle it himself, and he, in return, let me use my Support Shots to help him. After driving around for about an hour, Violet got a message on her radio from Drake, calling both of us back to his office. Apparently, there was a problem they needed my help with. On our way back, I looked around for the red Bone Buggy I remembered Dahlia having. I didn't see her, and I was getting worried. However, on our way back, I couldn't help but notice a group of three Bone Buggies speeding down the road further into the dig site, not even slowing down for rogue vivosaurs, and the memory of Dahlia rose to the front of my mind as I followed Violet back to the Fossil Center.