Once we got back to Fossil Park Asia, we reported immediately to Captain Stryker's office. Stryker was sitting behind his desk as usual, his arms crossed and his face troubled. Professor Little was standing next to the Captain's desk, fidgeting slightly.

"I've received the reports from Liu Ren and Drake." Stryker said when I stood in front of him, "As you know, the BR Brigade's top brass stole the trophies from both tournaments."

"Yes, sir." I confirmed, knowing that an apology would be worthless.

"However," he continued, looking up at me, "It turns out there's something you didn't know about the trophies." He turned to Professor Little, nodding for him to take over.

"Um, yes. Of course. Let me just get my notes here…" the child-genius replied, holding up some papers filled with pictures and wordy passages. "As I'm sure you realized, both tournaments shared the same name." When I nodded, he continued, "That's because they were sponsored by a company called Parsec Industries. Parsec is famous for its deep-space engineering technologies. And the trophies they created for the tournaments are most unusual. Both of them, you see, contained a very rare metal called Cosmonium, an ore found only in meteors and other deep-space rocks."

"I thought there was something odd about those trophies." I muttered.

"We think the BR Brigade is after the Cosmonium in those trophies." Captain Stryker stated, "First the Mega Electrominite, and now Cosmonium? The BR Brigade is up to no good. But as to their ultimate goal, I'm afraid we just don't know."

"Cosmonium is an extremely rare metal." Professor Little said, leaning against Stryker's desk and crossing his arms in a way that mirrored the Captain himself, "However, it doesn't have any known practical use. The only thing it's known for, actually, is its unusual color, which is why Parsec uses it to make trophies. So why would the BR Brigade want it?" The young professor pinched the bridge of his nose. "As a man of science, I must say that I am utterly baffled…"

I crossed my arms, too, looking down at the floor as I tried to figure out the solution to this puzzle. Suddenly, I remembered my meeting with Elric and the cryptic advice he gave me before we parted.

"When you feel lost and don't know where to go, check that man's cell."

"Wait…" I gasped in realization.

"Hmm?" Stryker said as he and Little looked at me, "What is it, Tria?"

"Have you checked Dr. Blackraven's cell lately?" I asked them. Their eyes widened.

"Not since several months before his escape." Stryker said, "You think he might have left something behind there?" When I nodded, he and Little exchanged glances. "It's worth a try. I'll look into it at once!"

"I'll go, too!" Little declared.

"All right." Stryker said, turning back to me, "We'll go check out Dr. Blackraven's cell. You should get some rest. You've done very well today."

"Thank you, sir." I replied, bowing before heading into the elevator. As soon as I stepped out into the lobby, I was greeted by a cheerful female voice.

"Hey, Tria." Penny said, walking over and smiling at me, "How did the tournaments go? I heard about what happened to Mei Lian. I hope she'll be okay."

"She should be." I replied, "I won both tournaments, but the BR lieutenants stole the trophies and escaped. Captain Stryker and Professor Little are trying to figure why the BR Brigade wanted the trophies so badly."

"I see…" Penny muttered, still nervous at the thought of the BR Brigade, "I hope they find out soon."

"So do I." I replied, sounding calm and confident in an attempt to reassure the girl, "How did the tour you and Roland were in charge of go?"

Penny brightened at the mention of her own mission. "It was so much fun! We led them around Paradise Beach and watched the tournament. By the way…" she said, leaning closer to me, "You got a new fanbase. The kids saw your tournament battles, and now they want to be like you. Especially when we told them the story of how you got the Gorgo you were using." She then laughed nervously. "Minus the part about how you were injured in the process."

I smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of my head. I was just thankful no one asked me who my teammates actually were.

Penny turned to Nibbles, leaning down, although she still kept her distance.

"Aw, hey there, Nibbles. How are you doing?" she asked him in a friendly, hopeful tone, "You mind if I pet you? Pleeeeeease?"

I looked at Nibbles, expecting him to snap at the blond, but he didn't seem to hear her. He swayed on his feet, his eyes losing focus, before collapsing into my arms as I moved to catch him.

"Murr…" he groaned, sounding pained.

"Oh my gosh! What happened?!" Penny screamed.

"I don't know!" I replied, a sickening feeling falling over me, "But he's burning up!"

"We gotta get him to the hospital!" Penny declared, before gasping in shock and horror, "Wait a second, we don't HAVE a vivosaur hospital! Ooooh! What are we gonna do?!"

"I have an idea." I said, trying to calm myself down as I picked up my partner, "We need to get him to Professor Little's lab. The Professor is out, but there might still be someone who can help us!"

"Good idea! Let's go!" Penny agreed, and together we rushed Nibbles to the Professor's lab.

"Mmm…This looks bad." Yamamoto said gravely as he examined Nibbles, adjusting his glasses as he always did when he was thinking, "But the Professor is out right now, so maybe we can wai-"

"Then it's up to YOU, Yamamoto!" Penny interrupted, glaring at Little's assistant, "You have to help poor Nibbles!"

"Professor Little won't be back until tomorrow." I added, looking at Nibbles with concern, "It may be too late by then."

Yamamoto glanced between us, adjusting his glasses once more before nodding.

"Y-You're right…" he muttered, turning his attention back to Nibbles, "The Professor would be horrified if I didn't at least try!" He placed his hands on the table, still wary of touching Nibbles. "We'll start with an examination. Hm…high fever…swollen throat…minor tremors throughout the body…extremely runny nose…"

As Yamamoto said this, Nibbles suddenly sneezed loudly, startling all of us.

"…and a sneeze that probably registered on the Richter scale." Yamamoto concluded, looking at us, "There's no doubt about it…he's got vivosauritis!"

I shuddered, looking down at Nibbles with concern and pity. Penny tilted her head in confusion.

"Vivosauritis? What's that?" she asked, sounding vaguely incredulous.

"It's a rare viral disease that only strikes vivosaurs." Yamamoto explained, "But luckily, there's an easy fix." He then clenched his fists, eyes hardening with confidence. "If we just increase his fossil power, he'll be as good as new in no time!"

"That's great!" Penny said, smiling with relief. Then she frowned. "Um…how do we do that?"

"Well," Yamamoto said, looking at Nibbles thoughtfully, "There are a couple of ways to increase a vivosaur's fossil power, but only one is recommended by 9 out of 10 lab assistants!"

"And where exactly did you get that statistic?" I thought as Yamamoto turned to us, smiling.

"One bite, and he'll be brimming with mega fossil power!" he said excitedly, throwing his fist in the air, "I'm talking about an Ancient Eel fossil!" He then lowered his fist, smile faltering. "There's just one little problem. Ancient Eel fossils are quite rare. And based on the size of your vivosaur, you're gonna need three of them." Yamamoto looked at us, his face grim. "I'm not sure if we can procure them in time."

Penny and I looked at each other, panicking.

"What are we going to do?!"

"I don't know!" I replied, gritting my teeth as I went over the other options in my head.

"Leave it to us!" a voice said from the doorway. We all looked up to see Roland approaching us, Leon and Dahlia following close behind.

"Dahlia! Leon! What are you doing here?" Penny asked, eyes wide surprise. I looked at them with curiosity.

"I called them!" Roland proclaimed, "When I saw you come running in here, I figured it was pretty serious, so I decided to get some help!"

"Thank you, Roland!" I said, smiling gratefully.

"You were right, Roland. It is serious." Penny said gravely.

"I asked Nate to come too, but he just turned pale and ran off." Roland added, sounding disappointed, "He screamed something about how he couldn't risk losing his buns this time? I have no idea what that's about…"

I sighed, closing my eyes sadly. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked up at Leon, who was smiling sympathetically at me.

"We don't need that rookie. We've got enough manpower right here." he declared, his confidence reassuring me slightly, "Did I hear you right, Doc? We need three Ancient Eel to make this guy right again?"

"Where are these fossil buried, exactly?" Dahlia asked impatiently.

Yamamoto hummed thoughtfully, walking over to one of the computers. "There should be one each in America, Europe, and Asia." he said, "And as for their specific whereabouts…" He typed something, and several pictures appeared on the screen. "Goldrush Canyon, Yodel Hills, and Lantern Lake."

We all nodded.

"America's my beat. Leave it to me." Leon said. He then looked at me, conflicted, before placing a hand on Roland's shoulder, startling the other boy. "Hey, Roland! You wanna be my backup?"

"Huh?" Roland gasped, "M-Me?"

"Yeah." Leon confirmed, "I'd go alone, but I'm allergic to seafood." He winked at me, and I smiled at him.

"Huh? But it's a fossil!" Roland argued, but one look into my pleading eyes quieted his protests.

"I'll take care of Europe!" Dahlia declared, "I've spent so much time racing around there, finding one little fossil should be easy." She then placed a hand on her hip. "Um, so what does an Ancient Eel fossil look like, anyway?"

"It's long and wriggly." Yamamoto explained, "But be sure to look for the specific pattern of-"

"Yeah, yeah. Long and wriggly. Got it!" Dahlia said, her impatient nature taking over.

"Looks like Asia is all you, Penny." Leon said to the blond girl.

"Got it." she said, turning to me, "Tria, you should probably stay with Nibbles to keep him calm."

"Roger." I agreed. That was my plan anyway. "Thanks, everyone."

"You don't have to thank us. We're friends!" Dahlia said, smiling at me. The others nodded in agreement.

"Let's do this for Nibbles!" Penny declared, and everyone cheered, heading out to find the Ancient Eel fossil.

"I'll be here if you need anything, Tria." Yamamoto told me.

"Thank you, Yamamoto. You're a lifesaver." I told him, making him blush slightly.

"Anytime, Tria." he said, patting my shoulder and smiling at me before heading to the computers to help guide the others.

Meanwhile, I sat next to Nibbles, gently stroking my hand over his head. He opened one of his green eyes, looking at me tiredly.

"I-I'm sorry…" he gasped, struggling to speak. I lowered my head closer to his, keeping my voice quiet so that Yamamoto couldn't hear me.

"Relax, Nibbles." I whispered to him, "Our friends are searching for a cure for you right now, and I'm here, too."

"You can't…" Nibbles' voice was getting weaker.

"I can." I whispered back, keeping one hand on his head to comfort him while my other rested on his side, moving with his labored breathing. Nibbles laid his head back down on the table, closing his eyes as he relaxed into my touch. I smiled, glad that I could provide some comfort. I turned back to the lab's radio when I heard Penny's panicked voice through it.

"Tria! Yamamoto! We have a problem!" she cried. We could hear rapid stomping in the background.

"What is it, Penny?" Yamamoto asked.

"There's a huge Titano rampaging here! I think it ate an Ancient Eel fossil!" she replied, and we heard a crash, "Titano's a Water-type, so Hypsi's having some trouble!"

"I see…" Yamamoto muttered, looking at the screen, "There still seems to be an Ancient Eel fossil in that area, so you need to get past that Titano!"

"But how?" I wondered, maintaining contact with Nibbles, "Hypsi doesn't stand a chance on her own against a hyper Titano. She could call for backup, but everyone else is busy, and I can't leave Nibbles. What to do?"

Suddenly, the lab doors opened to reveal an excited Mei Lian, who only just narrowly avoided breaking down the doors in her rush.

"Tria!" she yelled, nearly running into me as she skidded to a halt, "I heard Nibbles was sick!"

"He is. Two Asian Wardens, as well as an American and European Warden, are out looking for a cure for him." I replied, lifting a hand to stabilize the senior Warden, "I'm glad you're feeling better, Mei Lian."

"Heck yeah! I'm good as new!" Mei Lian replied, grinning confidently, "Please, let me help, too!"

My eyes widened as I turned to face the girl.

"As will I!" a voice added from nowhere. A brief burst of white smoke filled the room, and there was Hanzo, eyes hard with determination.

"You too, Hanzo?!" I exclaimed, surprised to see the two veteran Asian Wardens, "Where is all this coming from? You two barely know Nibbles."

"I battled your little vivosaur!" Mei Lian replied, glaring at me, "And I want to battle him again someday!"

"And I still have to make amends with you, Tria." Hanzo said, looking at me seriously, "After all, it was I who let Kowloon escape when you had worked so hard to thwart his plans."

"And besides…" Mei Lian added, "You're our Paleo Pal! Of course we want to help you!" Hanzo nodded in agreement.

I smiled in gratitude, about to reply, but I then heard Penny's voice, giving desperate commands to her Hypsi as she battled with the powered-up Titano. My eyes widened again.

"Actually…" I said, "Penny's having trouble. She's trying to get an Ancient Eel fossil, which is buried in Lanturn Lake, but there's a wild Titano blocking her path. Her Hypsi's a Fire-type, which means she's not doing so well against it." I looked at my friends pleadingly. "Can you two help her?"

"Of course! A Titano's no match for me!" Mei Lian declared proudly, dashing back out of the lab.

"Consider it done." Hanzo assured me, disappearing the way he appeared.

"Wow, Tria." Yamamoto murmured after letting Penny know that help was on the way, "Those two were Hanzo and Mei Lian, right? Senior Wardens of Fossil Park Asia? And they were following your orders like you were their leader or something!"

"They're my Paleo Pals." I responded, turning my attention back to Nibbles, "Paleo Pals help one another. It's what we do."

Yamamoto smiled at me. "They also respect you. You're really making a name for yourself."

I shook my head, looking up at him with a wry smile. "If you have so much time for gossip, maybe I should let Professor Little know. I'm sure he'll find something for you to do."

Yamamoto threw his hands up, stammering protests as he ran back to the computer, tripping and almost falling on his face in the process. I felt Nibbles giggle under my hand, and I hid a small smile. Nibbles then coughed again, and I gently stroked his head.

"Relax." I whispered gently, "Our friends will be back with the Ancient Eel fossils soon."

"Your friends." Nibbles growled cynically, although he was too weak for his glare to hold any power.

"No, Nibbles. Our friends." I corrected the small vivosaur, "They're fighting for you."

Nibbles huffed, relaxing under my hands. I smiled, concentrating on helping my small partner. After a few more minutes, the doors opened, revealing an excited Penny, followed closely by Mei Lian and Hanzo. Penny was holding a fossil of what looked like a snake-like creature. Penny was grinning from ear-to-ear, and the other two looked pleased with themselves.

"We got it! We got the Ancient Eel fossil!" Penny announced, bringing it over to us.

"Excellent!" Yamamoto exclaimed, "Give it to Nibbles! It'll buy more time for the others."

"Here, Tria." Penny said, handing me the fossil, "I think you should give this to Nibbles. He trusts you more than any of us."

"Yeah." I agreed, taking the fossil. The moment I touched it, I felt the fossil energy surge down my arms, causing me to shudder. Before I dropped the fossil, I opened Nibbles' mouth and placed the energy-filled rock on his tongue. He opened his eyes and looked at me before closing his jaws around the fossil, chewing slowly. After he swallowed it, he opened his eyes a little bit wider and lifted his head.

"How do you feel?" I asked him. He tilted his head, a contemplative look on his face, before replying.

"Better." he growled, although he still sounded weak, "It really packs a punch."

"That's the idea." I replied, earning me some confused glances from the humans in the room. Before any of them could question me, however, the doors opened again, admitting Leon and Roland, who were carrying another Eel fossil.

"We're back!" Roland announced, smiling proudly, "We got the Ancient Eel fossil!"

"Hmph." Leon huffed, handing me the fossil, "Too easy." His grin was smug.

"Thank you Leon, Roland." I told them gratefully, giving the Eel fossil to Nibbles, who chewed and swallowed it a little bit more enthusiastically.

"He's looking better already!" Mei Lian exclaimed, a mix of excitement and relief in her voice.

"And who exactly are you two?" Leon asked, annoyed by Mei Lian's hyperactive nature.

Everyone in the room jolted, glancing between the Asian and American Warden nervously.

"Uh, Leon." Penny muttered, holding her hands up as she cautiously approached the American Warden.

"They are Mei Lian and Hanzo." Roland explained, standing on Leon's other side, "They are strong veteran Wardens here in Fossil Park Asia. Surely you've heard of them?"

"Nope." Leon replied, unintimidated by the fuming kung-fu girl, "Never. I'm an American Warden. Why should I have?"

Hanzo had to physically restrain Mei Lian to keep her from ripping Leon to pieces. I shook my head, looking back at Nibbles. He sighed, sounding annoyed. I smiled.

"You really do look better." I told him, to which he simply snorted, "Now we just have to wait for Dahlia."

As if on cue, the lab doors opened, revealing the excited redhead, carrying a fossil rock. The fossil seemed different from the others I had received, but she looked very proud of herself, so I didn't comment.

"Hey! I'm back!" she declared to us, "I got the Ancient Eel fossil!"

Everyone smiled and began cheering happily. However, I knew something was wrong the moment Dahlia handed the fossil to me. My arms didn't start tingling when I touched it, which meant that it didn't have much fossil energy like the Ancient Eel fossil did. Yamamoto seemed to notice that something was wrong as well, because he approached me.

"Tria, may I see that for a second?" he asked me. I nodded, handing him the fossil. He took one look at it before his eyes widened.

"Um…is something wrong?" Dahlia asked. Everyone turned to look at the lab assistant, whose expression had gone from confusion to panicked frustration.

"Dahlia!" he cried, "This isn't an Ancient Eel fossil!"

Everyone gasped, except Dahlia, who narrowed her eyes angrily.

"What?! Come on, look at it!" she exclaimed indignantly, "It doesn't get more long and wriggly than that!"

"It's long and wriggly all right." Yamamoto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "But this is the fossil of an Ancient Conger!"

"Oh, come on!" Dahlia continued to argue, "It totally looks like the others."

Yamamoto shook his head. "Yes, but the striations in the-" he began.

"It's not an Ancient Eel fossil." I said, catching everyone's attention.

"What?!" Dahlia exclaimed, clearly thinking that I would've taken her side.

"How do you know that, Tria?" Roland asked. He couldn't seem to tell the fossil apart from the one he had brought.

"Because the other two fossil held immense fossil energy." I replied, "I could feel it when I touched them. The energy made my arms shake. I could barely keep a hold on them."

"Really?" several voices sounded.

"I didn't notice anything like that when I held it." Penny said, confused, "Did you, Leon?"

"No." he replied, looking at me curiously, "I didn't."

"I didn't think either of you did." I stated, keeping my attention on Nibbles, "There's still time to search for the Ancient Eel fossil. Nibbles has already eaten the other two, so you all can go to Europe to search."

"No need." a voice said from the doorway. We all turned to see Nate enter the room. He was carrying a familiar fossil. "Hey, guys. Look what I found…"

"Wow, Nate! You found one!" Penny exclaimed, running up to the pink-haired male.

"Tria." Yamamoto whispered to me, "It looks like an Ancient Eel fossil. What do you think?"

I held out my hands, silently asking for the fossil. As soon as I touched it, I knew it was the real deal as the electric sensation shot up my arms. I smiled at Nate, placing the fossil on Nibbles' tongue, just as I had done with the other two.

"Hey, Nate." Roland addressed his comrade, "How come you're helping us? I thought you didn't want any part in this mission because Nibbles kept biting you right in the-"

"DON'T say it." Nate snapped defensively, "I didn't really do this for the vivosaur, especially after what he did to me. Twice."

"You DID ask for it. Both times." I muttered under my breath.

"But…" Nate continued, looking at me guiltily, "When I saw all you guys pitching in, it made me feel like a real loser."

"You are a loser." Mei Lian growled under her breath, earning a smack from Hanzo.

"Heh. Rookie." Leon chuckled.

"Thank you, Nate!" Roland said happily, patting him on the back. Penny hugged him excitedly.

"…Gurr…" Nibbles groaned. Everyone looked at the table where Nibbles was lying. He groaned again, staggering to his feet and hopping to the floor.

"Nibbles?" Penny asked uncertainly.

"How are you feeling now?" I added, smiling at my vivosaur partner.

Nibbles looked around, flexing his arm and leg muscles. He then roared happily and faced the group. "Graw-ooo!"

"Yay! He's back!" Penny cheered.

"I can't believe he ate three whole fossils! Wouldn't that hurt?" Roland asked, shocked.

"Not with those teeth!" Nate replied, shuddering, "It's a miracle my poor booty is still in one piece!"

"Aren't you happy, Nibbles?" Penny asked him, still smiling, "We all chipped in to cure you!"

"Grrr!" Nibbles growled at her.

"You're wasting your breath." Nate snarled bitterly, "It's not like he can understand you."

"Grah!" Nibbles barked, snapping at Nate.

"I dunno. He seems to really like us now!" Penny argued.

"Yeah, well, we'll see how you feel after he sinks his teeth in you!" Nate replied, turning away.

Nibbles turned to Nate, snapping his jaws playfully and causing the boy to fall backward. Everyone started laughing and cheering as Nibbles jumped around joyfully. I smiled, glad that he was finally starting to warm up to people, before collapsing back into my chair, only just realizing how tired I really was. Nibbles noticed this and trotted up to me.

"Grr?" he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine." I assured the little vivosaur, my voice just above a whisper, "Just a little tired."

"What's wrong, Tria?" Penny asked me, her eyes shifting quickly from happy to worried.

I looked up to see everyone now gathered around me. I tried to smile reassuringly, but even I could tell it looked strained.

"You look like you're about to pass out!" Roland cried.

"I probably am." I muttered, standing shakily, "I just need to get to my room. It's been a long day…"

"That's right!" Nate exclaimed, as if in sudden realization, "You competed in two tournaments today!"

"And chased down the two BR Brigade lieutenants!" Mei Lian added, still sounding guilty at being unable to defeat Kowloon.

"No wonder you can barely stand." Leon stated, whistling in sympathy and awe at the amount of work I had done in one day. He then picked me up bridal-style, too quickly for me to object, and addressed the group.

"Dahlia and I will take Tria to her room. Yamamoto, try to report to Professor Little." Leon commanded, his bossy nature coming out.

"Right!" Yamamoto affirmed, moving back to the radio.

"You couldn't keep me away if you tried!" Dahlia informed the purple-haired male, placing a warm hand on my arm.

"I'll work on fixing Tria dinner!" Penny declared, grabbing Nate and Roland by the arms, "You two will help me!"

"Huh?!"

"Eh?!"

"We will report to Liu Ren." Hanzo said, grabbing Mei Lian again, a burst of white smoke almost drowning out Mei Lian's protests.

"Wait! I want to stay with Tria!"

As Leon carried me to my room, Nibbles and Dahlia following closely, I began to drift off, leaning my head against the American Warden's chest. I opened my eyes when I felt him chuckle.

"What are we gonna do with you, Tria?" he affectionately chided me.

"Exactly what you're doing now." I muttered, but Dahlia spoke over me.

"Do you even have to ask? We're going to help her, obviously!" she stated, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Which, in a way, it was. After all, it is natural for friends to help each other, right?

Once in my room, Leon put me down and left to check on dinner preparations, which was good, because it gave me a chance to change into my pajamas. Dahlia and Nibbles were still there, but I didn't mind, especially if I started feeling faint.

"Hey…Tria?" Dahlia mumbled, sounding as if she was half-hoping I wouldn't hear her. Having finished changing, I turned to her, disturbed by her unusually-subdued tone.

"I'm…I'm sorry." she mumbled, looking away. I titled my head questioningly.

"For what?" I asked, too tired to figure out what the redhead meant.

"For not bringing back the Ancient Eel fossil." Dahlia replied sadly, "I promised I'd help you. I still owe you for covering for me after the Speed Fiends incident, but I just let you down. I'm sorry."

I smiled in understanding, placing a hand on my friend's shoulder. "Hey, don't talk like that. It's not like you." I said, continuing when she looked up at me, "We all make mistakes. It's nothing to be ashamed of, and everything worked out in the end, so cheer up! Use this as a learning experience and continue to grow as a Warden!"

Dahlia smiled at me, still not entirely convinced, but relieved that I wasn't mad. As she helped me sit up in my bed, a thoughtful look crossed her face. I arched an eyebrow as she looked at me in confusion.

"By the way, Tria." she said, sitting on the bed so that she was facing me, "When you touched the Ancient Eel fossils, you said you felt the fossil energy in them, but Penny and Leon didn't feel anything when they touched them." She tilted her head. "Do you have any idea why?"

Nibbles growled suddenly, dangerously, and Dahlia jumped, startled by the lethal intent in the small vivosaur's voice.

"Whoa!" she cried, more surprised than scared, "What's his problem?!"

I placed a hand on Nibbles' head, trying to calm him. "He's very protective." I explained, "He doesn't like when people confront or interrogate me. He sees it as a challenge."

"Oh." Dahlia muttered, sounding kind of guilty, "I wasn't…challenging you. I was just curious…"

"I know." I said, smiling at her while stroking the still-growling vivosaur's head. A moment later, he stopped growling and lifted his head, sniffing the air. I followed his lead, smelling the air before smiling at the confused redhead. "Dinner's here."

Sure enough, a second later, the door opened, revealing Leon, followed by the five Asian Wardens. They were all carrying trays and plates of food.

"Hey, Tria!" Mei Lian greeted me, "We finished reporting to Liu Ren, so we decided to join you for dinner!"

"We brought enough food for everyone!" Penny stated proudly.

"Thanks, guys." I said, smiling gratefully at the group. My smile widened when I noticed that Nibbles, although looking uncomfortable at the large group of humans, had not tried to hide or attack (excluding a playful snap at Nate. I don't think he'll ever get tired of teasing the poor boy.)

"Hey. What are friends for?" Leon pointed out, earning happy cheers of agreement from the others.

I continued to smile at my friends, thankful for their support. We ate in my room, laughing and sharing stories and having a good time. The question of the Ancient Eel fossils never came up, which I was grateful for. After dinner, everyone cleared out, or rather, were chased out by Penny when she noticed that I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. With the room quiet once more, Nibbles curled up against my side, looking at me with his large green eyes.

"You didn't have to do that, you know?" he rumbled quietly, more felt than heard. I looked down at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused by his out-of-context statement.

"You didn't have to give me energy like that." he elaborated, "I would've been fine."

I snorted, gripping his head in silent scolding. "Don't lie to me, Nibbles. If I hadn't given you energy, you would've been gone before the first Ancient Eel fossil got to you."

Nibbles snorted, as if in denial, but nuzzled closer to me regardless. "You still didn't have to give me yours."

I laughed softly, hugging the little vivosaur closer as I fell asleep, the activities and fatigue of the day finally catching up to me.