The Alone Champion

by Starry's Light

Dina has escaped her amnesiac past and hateful foster parents. Now she and her foster brother Todd are off to the Caliosteo Isles, in hope for a new beginning as fossil fighters with vivosaurs. But when more and more mysterious upcomings threaten the islands, the thought dawns on her that she should know more about this than she does. She is connected to it, and there is no escape.

11. Nightmare in Dreamland

Me: Todd! I'm ashamed of you!

Todd: Because I'm wearing a dress? ;-;

Me: BECAUSE NOBODY SAW IT! .n.

Todd: Yeah... -sniffle- It's a really cute one too...

Me: As author, I'm doing something about this.

Todd: You're gonna be nice to me?

Me: If you call humiliating you in front of every single character in the story nice, then yes.

Todd: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE -runs into a wall-

Me: … -scoops over and collects his teeth-

Toddasaurus. Activate.

...yes. It was a pain to put in that chapter title. ;v; Kirby for the win.

Alssoooo. When you see the name Di66-R, I pronounce it as Dee-Ie-six-six-are. x3

The Alone Champion

Chapter 11: Nightmare in Dreamland

The hallway is long and trembling with a purple, sluggish fluid. There is something at the end... at the very end... it is white. It is always white. My inner conscience plucks at me, as it always does when I enter this room, as I encounter that feeling to stop. To run away. I should not move closer. I must step back.

But the feeling is always surpassed by an urge. Such an urge to run after the white something at the very end. This is the double-edged sword that I tend to wrestle against throughout... throughout my life. This is why I tend to skip sleeping; it stands in front of me, steps away.

Because the compulsion drives me, because this strange feeling is what fuels me in the dark of night, I walk. I step closer, at the speed of a crawl in this warped atmosphere, to the beast as pins and needles bounce in my toes. The thought of this- again. Memories flash before my eyes in flesh and color that I have to pull off like a rock driven in my foot in order to move closer to the white, dainty creature with the smoldering eyes and web-like features. She seems to call me towards and away; to and fro; up and down and up again with no break. The compulsion drives me now to reach out through the sluggish, distant world and attempt at breaching the figure. A color, a figure, a smile, a face, and nothing. I am held back again by myself. By this ghastly thing. Those memories are gone. They have been for years.

Eyes flaring like a monster, the creature emits a cry of dashed hope and smashed joy before leaving me with a sense of missing. Something is gone. The sights in front of me grow dim. Life evaporates until I am alone besides the screaming of hopelessness and fear; of loss and hate; of nothing. Utter nothing is left.

Until chills erupt within me and try to take me down. My breath evaporates with the liveliness of... anything. Everything. My insides squeeze and my mouth turns to a breathless cry out. A plea. But there is nothing. There is always nothing to grab onto but the sinking feeling inside of me and the breath of giving up. Air does not fill me. Life does not fill me. Nothing fills me but the sense of loss as I stumble in a breathless tizzy, in a deathly smoke of darkness, in a world of Nothing. Nothing but me and this terrible, cold numbness.

There is Nothing. I am Nothing. The sticky, hot liquid that drains from my body wishes to differ, but instead I fall onto my knees in this dark emptiness and do Nothing. I am a suffocated bag of bones. I am an unfinished rag doll. But there is nothing left. There is Nothing there to grab onto me. The howling cry fills my entire existence again. Dilapidated, broken pieces of warmth and Life latch at me and cover my body in aches and pains and that still, cold numbness evermore.

Silence will continue for... for forever. Nothing is there for me. No one will ever come back. No one ever does. No one can wake me from this lucid dream of Nothing.

A face of contorted anger lights up in front of me. Her prim and proper features are full again. I am back at that house. In that... in that room...

I would cry. I would scream. But I cannot. Something gives me air. Something breaks the smug from Mrs. Hurican and she is gone with nothing.

Nothing.

With a gasp, my eyes flash open. The blankets that were originally curled about my frame have been removed. My struggling most-likely pulled them into a pooling heap on the floor. That must also be where my pillow disappeared to, for my head currently rests on a lump of springy mattress. But I cannot explain the small spark of yellow eyes staring straight at me. "...Rupert?" I whisper, hushed further than my normal voice. Remembering how quiet and socially-impossible I apparently am, I heighten the voice level to one near my usual tone. "R-Ru...pert?"

The eyes close for a moment and reopen. "I heard you the first time. You don't have to repeat yourself." My cheeks feel warm again. His voice is quiet, similar to mine. I adjust myself to see Rupert -more so his eyes than anything else-, getting up and sitting with my back to the wall of my bed. "You had an... explosive dream again."

He does not catch my shrug, so I mumble, "I have... u-um... R-rupert... I p-pertain to f-f-...ffffrequent night...m-mmmares." My voice manages to lower even further. "It is a... b-bit unusual, but I... um... I find it nothing to... to worrya-ab... about." I wince on the tail of my stutter. He does not have to know what the nightmares are. He also does not have to know that Todd used to slink into the cellar to attempt and wake me with fail. But that could always be from the fact that he is not the best at waking others up, as his method is sit-upon-the-other-person-until-they-wake. Although it is strange to wake so early from the schemes in my head. Mrs. Hurican had not even gotten to do anything besides throw a disgusted look before that "Nothing" had. Smashing like pieces of glass is another unusual aspect of the... what one calls nightmares in every sleeping moment.

It is not weird. It cannot be weird. I am sure that other people -or those whirring creatures, or that one, furry species, or vivosaurs- have nightly nightmares.

In all honestly, I am alone. At least, that is what my weak heart tells me. But what does my heart know... ? I do not even know anymore...

A minute passes. Two. I wait for a moment after before whispering into the dark room, "Are you still awake?" If not, he will not be wakened by my voice. If so, I think he should be able to hear me, if he heard me before. Rupert responds, though. Easily, quick enough to not have been asleep.

"Yes." There is a slight hesitation in his wintry voice. What could possibly be on his mind besides the fact that his roommate has nightmares? Well, there must be a lot. Rupert is a celebrity. I hear off-handed comments when walking about over him or his hair or how "the prince of Vivaldi-Isles, he is" which always confused me since we do not actually have rulers but are somewhat consoled under the more experienced people like Joe Wildwest, I think, as he is called to be quite knowledgeable by others. I have no such experience with these populous fighters, so I simply hear what the crows speaks and pretend to understand. Or stare back at them, blinking once or twice as I zone out, but that usually scares them more than shows my unknowing.

The hesitation breaks in Rupert. "I was... I was wondering: what are your odds with that Todd character?"

I nearly laugh out loud at that. But the thought strikes me: I cannot tell Rupert, or anyone else- not including my vivosaurs, who practically are me, that I was adopted. He could get suspicious or figure out exactly what is wrong with my family. But he did not ask for the status of my whole family. He only wishes to know of... of Todd. "He is my brother," I answer with my heart. "Younger by... almost a year, I think. H-he is.. um... loud. Y-yes... and... w-we diff-ff-ffer some... but it... it is okay." I hesitate, also, unsure whether to ask him the question in turn. But I decide to. "Why do you... a-ask?"

He slowly blinks, thinking. I can tell he is wondering whether to give in or not. How could my relation to Todd be of importance? I did not see him at the tournament; Rupert could not think I was hanging out with a deranged boy in a dress, though I do not mind how Todd expresses himself. "It's a silly reason," Rupert responds coolly in an attempt to end this conversation.

"A-ah... Y-you do not... have tosay..." My face reddens.

"That is the question," he murmurs thoughtfully. I do not mean to pester but truly, of all things that happened today, why Todd? He is my friend; my foster brother. Is there anything odd about that? He did not prance around town in that dress and declare another battle with Rupert, did he? But from what I heard, Todd had told me he was going to get on the dress. Maybe... the zipper was stuck? I would rather not ponder in that area, honestly.

He abruptly continues. "Don't laugh." O-of course not, Rupert. "I was curious about how... far, your relation to that boy had gone. He is a bit of a..."

Cheeks losing their hot tinge, I finish for him. "A... ch-change... in... c-compari...sss-son... to me..?" I wince again. I apologize for the painful stutter.

"Yes. That." It is a new struggle, to not smile at this. He has always been a bit of a nuisance, I know. Rupert struggling to admit that is, for some reason, slightly laughable. Maybe because he is of high, what is it, standards? Well, Todd has always acted as such a silly boy for two reasons as far as I know: because he has always been that kind of person, and to quote something he uses often, "without my idiocy you'd be a dried piece of Dina. You'd be like all boring and stuff and ugh!" I am not sure if I would be a dried piece of Dina without his uplifting spirit, but that may have helped.

If only I could see the face of my roommate. Then maybe I could tell what he was thinking. It is a struggle to not only be off at socializing but to not even see the person I am speaking too. I will have to live with this. "Are you still awake, Dina?" His voice breaks me out from my thoughts.

"I tend to not... um... sleep, when... wh-wh..." I stutter. Nipping my lip, I continue unsteadily. "...when... if I... y-you... know... wake up earlier than m-orning. I can live with... stayingawake." Curiously, I wait for a response. The dankness of the room is quite dark and foreboding without any sights inside. The musty scent of elder tree and hearty oak fills the room with the black. It reminds me of the dark coldness I had felt in the dream, but I am not exactly alone in this, as Rupert is somewhere further in the dark midst. I am also not cold. Ilium Village is not as cold on the inside, which counteracts the frigid snow outside.

As the time stretches, so does my hope. I let the feeling of a friend being there in the dark break and lean over to collect my fallen blankets. At least the soft breaths of sleep my three vivosaurs emit ensures me of their staying. Especially Torn. I always have to be careful when I am awake to make sure he is not alerted out of rest also. He nearly set me on fire once, before I knew to be quieter with my thoughts and movements. Trikko and Nyra are easier because they are newer and not as used to me.

After my bed is set into a neater place, I lean upon the walls and stare through the dark for of night. "Anyone th-there..." I mumble to myself. No one will respond, and no one does. How foolish of me to think that Rupert and I could have something between us after a single night. I need to stick to less people. Pauleen, I am sure, will forget about me soon enough. To Rupert, I must be a simple peasant. Nothing that will stick out. Dinu hates me anyways; I will not fret on her forgetting. Before, I would dwell on the idea of being able to rely on someone. That voice has been silenced long ago, back to when Todd and I had barely met and I was only just recovering from that curve ball of amnesia that had socked me in the head with such ferocity.

Sometimes, I strain to reach out and feel someone else to be there with me, but I never try to let my hopes rise. The endings are stacked in my head, one after the other, marked with simple failures. Todd is still the only one to even get to becoming my friend, and yet he is the one that forgets me the most. It is better than being alone, yes. I wish to find someone one day that I can entrust my life to, though. Impossible as it sounds for a girl that merely wanted to escape a few weeks ago, I can always try.

Night eventually tires from the dark and shining rays start to poke through the field of black. I watch soft, pastel colors flit through the window and infest onto the floor and ceiling. They rain over the balcony outside, covering the cool, white stone-and-wood with dazzling colors. Now that the sun has returned, I think I will find my foster brother and see what he is doing. As much as I want to try and socialize with Rupert again, as hard as it is for me, I would rather experience some time with a person that I do not have to focus upon. The dress topic worries me, but if it comes down to that I can tell Todd that he probably looked great in it. I am annoyed with myself to not have seen him in it, as he had wanted to show me badly, but maybe I will see it for the next round. Or not.

It does not take particularly long this time for my trip from Ilium to Ribular Island. The rays of sun are still soaking into Vivaldi-Isles, so not many people are awake yet, not counting the staff members who apparently have day and night shifts, if I had heard the blue-haired teenager in her blue getup correctly. While waiting, I pull out my small, green Paleopager and scroll to a list of dig sites of the ones that have opened, and is located on Cranial Isle. The name of it is... "Mount Krakanak." The Paleopager reminds me helpfully that this is where the volcano that protrudes from the back of Cranial Isle resides. Well, at least my jumpsuit is not thick and heavy like Todd has- his mother insisted on one with hard, hard insulation packed within the green fabrics, while not particularly caring on the state of mine. That came back to haunt her when the holes broke out like hives in the blue folds.

When the large, bulky vehicle lands, I hop out, a small snowflake managing to stick on my skin before melting into a cool slush on my forehead. A kiss from the frozen heart, I amuse myself with the thought.

Did I just... FUCK! DID I JUST HEAR THE FUCKING K-WORD? What does this MEAN, DAMMIT? The great, fire reptile has awoken. I never knew the word "kiss" would intrigue his mind, but that does make sense to a measure. If he heard of me getting kissed he would throw his own red medal onto the dirt and attack the person. Death is a higher-weighted option to that situation, or so thinks Torn. Dina, KEEP ANY DIRTY SMUT MAN'S LI-

Mortified, my cheeks spring into another burst of red. Torn, no. You misunderstand. I was only referencing a snowflake on my face to-

A kiss, Dina? Really? Why, of all hellish creations?

Because... I shrug. One person of the three that are also outside at this time glances at me, but I can bother to ignore them. Because I wanted to. There is nothing wrong with-

Torn flares his nostrils, small tendrils of smoke curling from his snout. Yeah. Whatever. Ice prince. Damn sick... Rupert... fucking... too close man...

It is not an ice prince. I was only pretending- I cut off when the weight of Torn in my head collapses. He is leaving the disagreement while still in thought of... Torn, no. My dear vivosaur: as much as I love him...

This wakens my other, two vivosaurs. Thankfully, they detect the storm brewing inside my dimetro and do not question what happened or anything related to a "kiss." I should be carefuller in the future to what I call snowflakes. But truly, what has put Torn on such an edge. I should ask, but not when this boy ambles towards me in a knee-length, frilly, pink dress, a pink bow tied around his head. His tan skin is dotted with freckles, and I trust that blush on his face is not makeup.

My eyes widen. "Hi, Dina! Looks great, doesn't it? Like I said, it took forever to get on, so I didn't make it to the tournament, but instead I decided to sleep in it so I could wear it today! Now you see how wonderful it is?" Todd squeaks loudly. He leans up to me and whispers, "Just don't tell Pauleen, cause, this is her dress." Todd... you stole a dress from your roommate..? From your disliked Pauleen? T-todd... My head bows.

"It looks... fitting... to you," I mumble. He merely throws a wide-toothed grin back and twirls in the fluffy, pink fabric. I did not lie about the dress; the frame does fit him and those dark curls well. But does he have to embarrass himself in front of the whole Caliosteo Islands for me? I take a step towards my foster brother and wince when the rough brick underneath my feet connects with a swelling skin. My feet. And I am going back there. Biting my lip, pushing past the raw rips in my soft flesh, I stand next to Todd.

He does not glimpse my feet, which is relieving. When I swipe a glance to the floor, the pale skin is charred and scratched. I must have not noticed on the cushioned snow powder in Ilium Village or the somewhat soft carpet in the dank helicopter, so the burnt skin could only return to haunt me on the brick of Ribular Town. While Todd stares at a light, bright pink ribbon that had flown in front of his brown eyes, I leap into one of the fountains for my feet to cool off. I am not looking forward to that mountain of fire...

"C'mon, Dina!" Todd lifts his dress at the hems even though it is already short enough. "Let's go take a trip to Mount Krakanak!" He lets go of the pink fabric and pokes my pale skin until I start to move back towards the same helicopter I had just gotten off of. My feet protest with every, small step. I resort to pushing their pain into the back of my head, trying to focus as my moving feet more than the aches. "I'm so excited!" My friend continues. "Yeah. Totally ready to run around on hot-" My feet slip and I nearly trip onto brick courtyard. "-dry ground in search of fossils! And the volcano, Dina. There's a volcano. Ancients. I'm so excited! Yay!" He jumps into the helicopter, earning a stare from one of the staff members that stands on the white-marked circle that holds the "H" for landing.

Todd babbles like a brook throughout our trip to Cranial Isle. I try to lose myself in his voice and forget about the heat that emits from the island like a stench, which helps my tense feet slowly relax. The rough carpets also help. They are not hard stone. A downsize to the constant noise in my ears is that I find it easy to zone out from the conversation. I have never been the best at speaking, as my foster brother knows best, and even though I would prefer to listen to his wayward stories, my mind never seems to cooperate. Half of the time on this helicopter is spent staring at crooked toes. But the trip finishes soon enough, and I have to hop towards a wet stream my feet can become further blistered. It does not help when Todd laughs throughout this. I think he has forgotten my shoeless problem.

While I rest with the water in my feet, the low, dull voice of my water vivosaur interrupts. Ugh... I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but maybe you could, like, ride... ride on me or something? Trikko is starting to warm up to me now in his usual, monotone-like way, I see. This improves my burnt spirits, at least.

That could work, I respond quietly to him. I do feel ashamed to a level that I have to resort to riding atop a water vivosaur, but at least I will not have third-degree burns by the end of the day. If my feet had turned soft and ripped-into with only a few minutes of standing on this strange dirt, I think I should not walk on the ground today. Although... I believe that a handful of streams run behind the buildings and towards that giant, menacing, volcanic dig site, and more to other locations that must be settled around other water sources, but I am a fossil fighter. We do not stick to the safe, river path. Trikko, right now I feel my heart thaw slightly for a spot to him. If he will accept me, then I can accept him.

My foster brother butts in. "Hey Dina, ever heard of a master fighter?" ...Master fighter? What could that possibly- "Yeah! The winner of the Cup becomes one! Since I lost in the first round, I'm called a level-one fighter, but you've gotten past round one, so... for losing round two, that Billy guy's level-one still, but you're two. If you beat the last round, which is the seventh, you'll be level-six, or what all the cool people call a master fighter!" If I win the Caliosteo Cup, I will be a master? Not only that, but Joe Wildwest had promised the whole Islands to whomever wins the tournament. I doubt the original locals will like seeing someone holding the keys to this place, but they should not mind too much. Still... this is much to take in. I trust that I win.

I trust that we win.

"Do you even know where the Joe Wildwest -and whoever wins- lives?" I shake my head no. Todd turns around on his green-shoe heels to point at a tall tower in the midst of the waters. It appears to sit on an island. If I were to guess, that little island must be in the middle of all three Caliosteo Islands. What a view that penthouse must be- at the direct middle of three, different, glorious islands. The small flame in my heart seems to ignite at the thought of all of the fossil battles and digging I would do if I won.

Before Todd dashes to that pathway curling around the Caliosteo Museum and leading somewhere past molten boulders to the right, I want to let him know a few things. "Todd, I... I will ride Trikko around the Mount Krakanak," I murmur, tossing the blue disc onto a small puddle. "Since my feet are... um... a bit banged up from standing on the ground... and... eve-ry-thing..." It also is simply nice to sit atop the sweet though stout and not-admitting-to-his-sweetness tricera.

He nods understandingly for a moment, brown curls and pink ribbon bouncing. But his eyes quickly mix in a confused motion. "Wait- why are you- oh, oh right!" Like that my foster brother dashes to the path that coils to the right of the brown-rock museum. When I think about it, I did not have much sleep last night. But then again, Todd was already awake when I encountered him in Ribular Town and I believe I heard from one of the officials at Ilium Island that the time appears off since the days are short there, most lasting a few hours and edged with rainbow-like colors, called a northern light, I think, that show up only in cold places. Ah, are the Islands of Caliosteo not in such color? Besides the fact that Cranial Isle is steamy and smoky, even at the time of afternoon. I guess this means I waited for "morning" with no reason, but I do not mind. I had enough time to meet Todd, of whom is usually quite a heavy sleeper himself.

Trikko stares back at me, his quadrupled figure tapping a tan-and-blue foot on the ground pallidly. So, are we searching for fossils or waiting for this Ancient-forsaken island to freeze over? There is the Trikko I know- with his sarcastic comments and all-knowing atmosphere. Carefully, I step lightly over a few, hot rock and leap onto a scaled, blue-and-tan hide. It is not too hard to sit upon a tricera, as they are mid-sized and therefore gives me enough room to sit on my feet and hold onto a few horns on his back.

He smirks in my head, since I cannot see his face. I feel like a really awesome rebel out here.

I nod back to him. If only I was a monster everyone wanted to shoot, my friend. He grunts back at this, a rule-follower at heart, but a loud, dimetro laugh escapes from the back of my mind. Count on Torn to try and humiliate my tricera, even when no one else is around. The embarrassment pooling off of him is extreme enough for me own cheeks to alight in a trickle of flame. The question now is how I get the two of them to stop. Before Torn can try at an insult, my tricera abruptly starts off at a run to the right, where the path to Mount Krakanak lays.

A wooden, bent sign sits further along the road, reading "Caution: Active Volcano Nearby! Fighters Aware." I can only imagine how Mrs. Hurican would react to this sign. How peculiar for this almighty Joe Wildwest to have lead this Caliosteo Cup on the island of an active volcano. But I still want to search the fossils, so Trikko, knowing my slight unease, continues at more a brisk walk than hearty jog. We do not encounter Todd again, but I tell Trikko to stop near fossils so that I can get down again and dig them up.

Truly, I never thought that a smoky, smoldering, flaming, hot landscape could be, at best, nice-looking. Yet the smokes of grays and blues and reds and even small purples or whites appear as streaky marks on paintings: colors that bind together and smear into the eye of the beholder with their own ways of beauty. Not only that, but the orange-brown-red ground is sandy and pieced together naturally with a warming feel. Not that I wish to walk on the ground, since the rock would be too hot for my feet to ever wish handling, but I can watch the earth pass by. Sometimes, the warm-colored, black-touched mass of volcanic action far ahead appears nice, but I cannot tell for sure. Streams of water cut through this sweltering land, which Trikko and I sometimes dip into as a refuge from this heat. The paths are narrow and cut-into like a riveted ravine plus the warmth.

The rocks in my bag vary in bright or dull mixtures of burning red and choppy white. I believe there are earth-typed fossils in this area too, but my case is already crammed with fire and neutral typed ones, not to mention a few, sparkly jewel rocks. A dark fossil should come up eventually, as Professor Scatterly had instructed, but it will not solve the problem of my case being so tightly-filled. I will have to see those shopkeepers later and ask about the expansion of my case and whatever else they can give me, for this sonar is ticking strangely in the heat and I am almost weighted down by these rocks.

The beads of sweat on my forehead stop streaming so strongly after I notice someone with white hair and... and this purple creature in front of Trikko and I. Carefully, I lower myself into the center of this throbbing stream bed and take slow, cautious steps over to whom I believe be Rupert. How he got here before me I do not know, but I would like to know what that purple being is, and why Todd has ambled towards it with a wide-open mouth and wide-stretched, brown eyes.

"Um... excuse me, you two," I mumble when I see yellow eyes flash angrily upon a pink dress. The two boys I know are going at a fight again, are they? Maybe I will see more of that raja Rupert had used, too. Especially after the tearing it had... committed. "How do and your vivosaurs... f-fare? W-well... maybe?" The first thing both of my acquaintances do is take a stare at my burnt, black feet. Though Trikko helped, stepping onto the ground for fossils and sitting down for minutes to do so did not. My feet still protest and ache and burn and scream with blisters and streaming flames when I walk in the water. I will be... impossible... when on land, then. At least I can rely more-so on this tricera, and maybe even Nyra could help me too.

Seeing their eyes dart to me, my cheeks flare. But I try and continue. "...what... what is that?" Their gazes flicker onto where I point at- the purple, oval-shaped being. I have a feeling I have seen them before... somewhere, but I am not sure where or what. The thing emits clicking noises and turns to stare at me blankly. A purple, metallic body floats underneath and a yellow horn protrudes from the head. Coiling, wiry, long arms reach out to me with yellow claws. It blinks with golden yellow eyes.

"I am -BEEP, a tabula rasa," the creature responds with a chirpy, off-handed voice. "Di66-R, that is my name. WHIRR." What a being. I knew there were others than humans and vivosaurs on Vivaldi-Isles, but to meet one of these is... different. Extraordinary? I am not sure, but this is new. I wish I could tell which gender it is.

Seeing the slight panic in my voice and face, Rupert takes over. "She is a well-known tabula rasa for her digging," he explains coolly. "Most take for the strange technology we have here, as fighters take to digging and fighting, but Di66-R prefers to, well, dig." This creature, this tabula rasa, takes over after that.

"And you are? CLIK-CLIK?"

My face heats up again. The tabula rasa does not have flaring cheeks. I wish I did not have flaring cheeks. "My name is Dina..." Cheeka raging hotter, I decide to ask her anyways, "Would you mind if I called you 'Dixer?' I find Di66-R a nice name, but I found Dixer as a... um, nickname..?" I could as well need Trikko to shoot me with water, which he proceeds to do now. Shaking my wet hair, I continue to watch the tabula rasa stare back at me, her yellow eyes bright with mirth.

"Nick-name... WHIRR..." Di66-R clicks for a moment. "Dixer! Dixer Dixer Dixer! BEEP-BOOP!" My chest releases a knot I had not realized was there. I let out a puff of breath, relaxing. For a moment, I was worried whether or not she would respond.

Rupert continues. "My father paid for a ticket to let Di66-R come. We are trying an experiment to see whether or not tabula rasas could team up with fossil fighters and have them do the digging for us, if they enjoy it like she." Did he just tell me that his father wants to rid us of digging? Is it supposed to be a burden for fossil fighters, for I enjoy the searching into earth and that... that feeling of uncovering the vivosaurs and seeing what I could do with these creatures is truly... different. And naturally getting coated in dirt. That too. If we have to pay for tabula rasas to come and dig for us, I doubt I will do such a thing, even in a place like Mount Krakanak.

My tongue was twisted enough when I tried to speak with Dixer. I will not try to converse with Rupert about this. But I do not even have a chance to do so, if I had planned to, for the whirring and clicking coming from the feminine tabula rasa has sped to what sounds like Todd on a regular basis and the golden eyes are... dimming? "ERROR. ERROR." She abruptly turns to face my roommate, yellow upon yellow. "A WINNER IS YOU- NO. ERROR."

Di66-R proceeds to spin like a top, flashing in mad directions and clawing at the air in front of her. Without enough time to react properly, a metallic claw yanks at Rupert and shoves him into the earth further out. I squeak loudly at this, which surprises me and thus leaves me to do nothing but stare. Todd, having to hike up his small skirts, crawls over to my fallen roommate and starts tugging at his red, blue-tinged sleeves.

"CONTROL ALT DELETE. CONTROL ALT DELETE." The words grow, spinning faster with the purple tabula rasa.

"CONTROL ALT DELETE! CONTROL ALT DELETE!" And somehow... she spins even faster, and with a ferocious yank, slams at me, shoving my body down. I land on the hot terrain. Hard.

"CONTROL! ALT! DELETE! CONTROL! ALT! DELETE!" She dashes past our fallen figures and runs towards the volcano, uttering loud screeches like "GOOD COFFEE SIR" or "GO AWAY LADY" and even stranger comments.

Torn suddenly cries: HOLY FUCKING SHIT WHAT JUST HAPPENED.

Dixer is a mere, purple smudge at the molten, black craters ahead. The flames from the rocks catch up to me and I have to fumble for my lip to bite when a moan attempts to escape. Slowly situating myself, I crawl into the chamber of water in front of me and limply slither in there. After a moment, I force myself into a standing motion and proudly realize that I can stand. I also notice the fact that my pocket is missing a fiery figure.

Torn! Torn! Where are you, Torn? No response. Nothing. The tie between us is stretched far north, to where the volcano stands, to where Di66-R had ran off. He just... he had...

To where Di66-R had ran off. No. She must have gotten hold of Torn. She must have accidentally swiped him. But either way, now I must go after her and take them back. Although... I would feel a bit stronger if I did not have two vivosaurs. Great as they are, the standard amount of vivosaurs for one to use in a fossil battle is three, and if I run into someone, three would give me a much safer place. But if I have to, I will go alone for my Torn. I would do so for any-

I have to go.

"Dina, dude!" I turn to face my foster brother. "Dina! Dixer came and swiped two of Rupert's medals! He's only got that one mapo left. He's gonna go and try to get them back!" Todd, already using that new nickname. But besides that- Rupert has been robbed too? We... we could team up, but I thought I did not want to get too close to anyone. Yet I do. But I should not. And... that is it. He has one vivosaur. I have two. Two plus one is three. If anything happens, we could fight.

Sighing, my brown eyes stare into Todd. "She got... she...T-T-Torn..." It stabs me to be separated from him, but I do have his exact location and placement. We will return him soon.

"What. The. Ancients?" His tan face brightens angrily. "We gotta go and- ack!" My foster brother collapses into the pool of water, his dress soaking immediately and growing thick and wet. "Ugh... my stomach..." Oh... oh no. Todd has gotten his stomach hurt? "Blagh... ow... why... why did I buy the jumbo-slush from that one guy?" Moaning, Todd stares up to me, and with his eyes flickering to Rupert, who has gotten onto his feet, mouths the word 'go.'

Our eyes meet. I glimpse down at my feet: embarrassed and worried for skin problems. Honestly, my feet have grown numb. Trikko had already shrunk into his medal after Dixer acted so rash, which means I am ready. My eyes reach up to face him again, and I dash up to my roommate.

Once I get there, Rupert eyes me with an emotion I cannot quite see. "What?"

"Todd told me that two of your medals had been robbed, and, well, Dixer had taken one of mine, so I thought we could try and... team up?" I inwardly wince at how defeated my voice had relayed out. But maybe we could still-

"Fine."

That worked relatively well.

My numb, blackened feet still working to a degree, we start to the volcano. Smoke coils around us, making the surroundings slowly haze, but we can still find the bulging, shifting shape ahead of us. The cold silence between us stays untouched by the relentless rays of heat waves and warmth. But we silently trudge on, the coldness continuing with us. The walk is long and tiring and without water. We are both quite tired and scraped. I trust it was not me that made him this... cold. I remember Rupert being this way when Todd declared to fight him back at Treasure Lake... and again when those people swamped him. Maybe he does not like others? I can relate to that feeling. I can relate.

Eventually, he tires of this silent act and, after a quick glance to the sides, talks again. "I am not the most... approachable person," Rupert murmurs. In response, I nod silently. I have never been quite the talker, either. Ask Todd- ask Pauleen. Ask Torn. "Well, um, how about we start with an easier question- what was that dimetro you had earlier?"

A smile envelops my heart on the inside, warming me without overheating my systems, thankfully. "He is... Torn. I have had him for as long as I remember-" My sentence abruptly stops, but I decide that "as long as I remember" will not make Rupert think of myself having amnesia but of years with this red reptile. "He and I... he is the better talker, he sometimes curses like a madman, but somehow... we Bond. We fit together..." Oh, and, I suppose I should ask as well, newfangled curiosity spiking me: "What about you? Who is your... signature vivosaur?"

His yellow eyes shine a slightly brighter yellow when I face him. This must be a moment to remember for Rupert, also. "She was the one Di66-R missed." This one is... female. How odd, considering that my own vivosaur is Torn, who is a male. And then Todd first unearthed Gren, another female to a male fighter. Interesting how that tends to work. "Her name is Mistress. I always saw it as... like a sorceress, but with less of the force..." He notices me looking. His cheeks are similar to the color mine currently display. "I don't know. But she is, yes, the one I have had for as long as I can remember. She is the mapo you saw beat your... foster brother." I do not blame Rupert for hesitating. Todd is wearing a pink dress. Males tend to avoid pink dresses.

"Yes... vivosaurs t-tend to grow on you, no?"

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that question yet... maybe one day."

"Yes. And maybe one day I can tell you more about how that relates to Torn." This loop of our words. Why do I allow myself to be pulled inside? Why does Rupert, the cold celebrity that Todd has grown to love yet hate, agree to even get into this somewhat-friendship with me? I do not understand these ways of ours. But as we had been, with that one word, maybe I will eventually. Maybe I will know more of Rupert. Maybe he will know more of me.

"Maybe," he responds quietly, the coolness of his voice not with the hard edge he had shown Todd. Before we could continue on anything, a shape emerges from the large, hulking figure above us. We are at the bottom of the beast. Though I cannot see much from this volcanic monster, there is this shape. This giant, dark, heat-filled shape that is big and black and red.

Dixer, her small, purple figure hovering limply and tottering deeply, shows herself in our field of vision. "errors," she squeaks, voice dropping. "control... alt... delete..." Her golden eyes linger over us. Her claws are clamped over two medals- one, blue medal in her left, and a shining, red medal in the right. One that Rupert had is missing, for a voice screams into my head now so loudly that I falter and fall a step back. Dina what the -Trikko yells to block out a word- took you so long I mean seriously I've been stuck, clamped like this fucking position man while you and your ice price go and wander around like idiots I mean seriously Dina we're A TEAM HERE- His voice breaks off, and a toothy smile overcomes my senses. Hah. No, I'm not mad. That is Torn for me: spitting anger one minute and proving that he was using a ploy the next. Luckily, Rupert did not hear this. Unfortunately, Nyra is curled into an upset, green ball of emotion now.

Rupert and I exchange glances. His red jacket is battered from the fall. His white-and-red, puffy pants are slightly burnt and dirtied. I am sure I look worse, especially since I am the one that came in close contact to the hot, steamy ground. I can hardly hobble as it is. But my roommate appears miffed, also. This is when our combined, three vivosaurs must come in handy, to catch the rogue tabula rasa.

Three, small discs sail through the air and land on the steaming, sand-like ground. The shapes morph into their creatures. The one in the middle, overcome of her emotional pit of feverish worry and shame, Nyra flicks her green wings open, the orange veins pulsing slightly. She caws into the air, her orange beak pointed up like an arrow, and flies straight towards the purple tabula rasa. Di66-R, realizing what is about to happen, swerves awkwardly, two medals still clamped in her yellow claws fiercely, and darts to the right.

My stout, tan-and-blue tricera snorts unhappily and looks up at Di66-R strangely. Tittering, she swarms to the left, only to meet... Mistress. She is a graying biped, and not from age. A black thorn cloaks over her left eye like a curl of dark hair, and long, dark, thin spines flank her back. She has intriguing, black markings over her gray scales that pulsate a watery blue. When she snaps, the teeth are a blood-red. I see why her name was chosen to be Mistress by the mother-like-yet-mystic air that surrounds her. With an elegant yowl, she stomps a gray, hind leg into the ground and hunches over to see Dixer clearly.

The poor tabula rasa screeches to this and, flailing her coiling arms, flings the two medals onto the ground before getting surrounded by three vivosaurs. Two more spring to life- one a turquoise quadruped whose name rings into my ears as "sucho," and my blazing, red Torn, now free from claws. He growls happily and angrily at the same time, forcing the emotions to pool over the overthrown tabula rasa. With a sigh, Dixer closes her eyes. Torn whips her with his red tail. She blinks back open again.

Hello, Dina. Rupert. Ugly vivosaurs. BEEP." Tabula rasas are known for their strange humor skills, which is not exactly laughable but a raw version of such. It appears our vivosaurs have everything under control, though, and Di66-R has recovered. This must have to do with the extreme temperatures- I have heard from Todd that these tend to collapse in strange weather. Tabula rasas are used to their lukewarm rooms of technology, as that is what they usually do, though there are quite a few fighters. "Heat...CLIC...wave..."

A loud beeping emits from one of those Paleopagers. But mine is not buzzing, so I expectantly turn my head to Rupert. White bangs sweep over his eyes as he pulls out the green mechanism and his eyes scroll over a message left by someone. He clicks a few keys in response and puts away the Paleopager. I will admit, looking over his shoulder -he did not try to stop me, if that is anything- told me that he responded with "mission is a failure. Tabula rasas will not work as diggers, talented as Di66-R is."

"But I thought that..."

His eyes catch mine. "Maybe the tabula rasas would enjoy digging. But I saw how you reacted when I mentioned this. Even... even Todd had a similar feeling to this. He even blathered about how you would never agree to having others dig for you and that he always sees you covered in dirt... and wow. He can talk." Rupert clears his throat lightly. "And I am sure the tabula rasas could do that, but maybe it would be better to let them do as they wish instead."

I nod in response to him. No, I do not wish to become friends with someone here and now... I did not want to indulge in what I was before. But maybe I will have to. And if that day ever shows, then I will perhaps be ready. From what I see, Rupert and Pauleen are people too, and though they each have their own flaws, mine are... there... too. I can overcome this. Eventually.

Me: My nose is on a bleeding roll from all this freaking Rupert Dina. Yes. I know very well they're not dating or anything. BUT DO YOU THINK III CAARE?

Di66-R: NO!

Me: YOU THINK I'LL LET THIS STOP MY DREAMS?

Di66-R: NOOOOOO!

Me: YOU THINK THIS WILL KEEP ME FROM PUTTING TODD AND RUPERT IN MATCHING, PINK DRESSES?

Di66-R: No. BOop...

Me: Yup.

Di66-R: ERROR. ERROR. I AM ERROR. YOU IS ERROR. DIXXXEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! -explodes into colorful birthday candles-

Me: ...-scoops up the colorful birthday candles- TODDASAURUS!

Toddasaurus: GRAAWRR! -eats candles-