AN- Ninja of Night, Skyrim is a RPG where you oh, do WHAT EVER YOU WANT! IT IS THA COOLEST GAME EVER! (besides the Fossil Fighter games) It got a 10/10 rating, and is one of the most popular games ever. If you want to know how awesome it is, take Joe's hat, multiply it's awesomeness by ten, and that's how awesome Skyrim is. And yeah, I just had another geek moment.
Chapter Thirty-seven- Masks and Monsters
I lazily open my eyes and look at Todd's bunk above me. I pull the blanket around me tighter, enjoying the softness and warmth. I look at a digital atomic clock in the wall on the inside wall next to my bunk to see it's 10 a.m. I roll on my side and close my eyes.
Wait... My mind process what time it is, and I throw the blanket off and hit the bottom of my foot against Todd's bunk.
"GAH!" I hear him exclaim with surprise as Stanly falls to the floor. I jump onto the floor and to my feet, then look at him to see he's wide awake from my foot hitting his bunk.
"It's ten!" I tell him.
"Oh man, WE OVER SLEPT!" Todd says. He scrambles down the ladder while I start throwing on my clothes. He gets his, runs into the bathroom to change, while I grab a bunch of fruit for our breakfast. We run out the door, eating the fruit as fast as we can without choking. As we run into the square, I run towards the walk way to the lower left of the helicopter pad while Todd runs towards the Fossil Guild. "I'm going to get some sonar upgrades."
"Okay." I tell him. "I'll meet you in the Jungle Labyrinth." I run down the walkway, then come to a natural rock bridge with grass covering the top. I stop, worried that I could somehow manage to fall over the side.
"What's the matter?" I hear a man ask. I turn to see a staff member standing next to a thick metallic colored pillar.
"I won't fall over the edge... right?" I ask.
"Don't worry." He says putting a hand on the pillar. "This has a special devise that creates an invisible shield around the edge. There's no danger whatsoever."
"Ah... Thank you!" I run across the rock bridge, and onto the dig site. There's a large clearing with two sides that drop off, and the far side is lined with a thick jungle. The clearing has plants throughout it, and I look for a spot to start digging, when I see a man laying on the ground on his side. I quickly run over to him. He's about my height, is round in the middle, is somewhere in his seventy's, has white hair, blue eyes behind round glasses, white side burns, beard on his chin and mustache, a white dress shirt, red bow tie, brown vest, light brown coat, tan archaeologist's helmet, brown pants and brown shoes. He's clutching his stomach, and I hear it growl as I crouch next to him.
"Oh, right" He says with a British accent. "Hello there. So sorry to bother you, but I appear to be in a bit of a pickle. Hunger gnaws at my belly, you see, and I fear the only cure is a delectable melon spud. A single one of these subterranean spuds would have me up and about in no time. Ah, but the melon spud is a cleaver beastie. Where could it be hiding...?" I look up and around, then back at the man. "I say, I sense a melon spud buried right near this spot... You'll spy a vibrant green sprout that marks the location of the precious melon spud. Now be a good egg and find it for me won't you? Else I fear the end is nigh for this old codger..."
"Don't worry sir." I tell him. I jump up, and start looking for it. All of the plants in the clearing make it difficult though. I spot a green stem with two green leaves at the top, and I run over to it. I grab it, pull on it, but to no avail. I take out my pick, and dig up the stem. I hold it up, and at the bottom is a small watermelon that's blue and green. I pull it off the stem, then run back to the man.
"My vision grows dim..." He says. "I hear angels... Good heavens, I think this is the end for me! Ah, if only my last wish had been granted, and a sweet melon spud had been..."
'He's being a BIT dramatic, ya know?' Air Strike asks.
'Wouldn't YOU be if you thought you were going to die?' I ask him. I crouch down next to the man, and hold the melon spud up to his mouth. He sighs, I put it in his mouth, and he takes a bit out of it.
"Th-that succulent aroma..." He says. He takes another bite. "Th-those crunchy seeds..." He takes another bite. "By my knickers, it's a melon spud!" He eat the rest of it in one bite, then suddenly jumps seven feet in the air, making me jump back. He lands with no problem.
'Old man power!' Flamethrower says. Me and my vivosaurs mentally laugh.
"Ho ho! Well done old bean!" The man says. "That melon spud has given me an injection of youthful vim and vigor!" I take a step towards him. "You went through great trouble to dig up that melon spud for me, yes?"
"No sir... not really..." I tell him.
"Well, either way, I would humbly request the pleasure of your name."
"I'm Red Hart Broke." I tell him. "I'm a Fossil Fighter."
"Well then Red, it appears that I am in your debt." He tells me.
"It's okay Mister...uh..."
"I am Professor Nigel Scatterly, man of science and curator of the Caliosteo Museum on Cranial Isle."
"It's okay Professor Scatterly. I'm happy to help." I tell him. "But... what were you doing here?"
"I'd come here in search of the Calio Slablets, but somehow managed to get hopelessly lost." He explains. "Also, I forgot my lunch on the counter this morning, so it's quite good that you came along!"
'Something tells me this guy isn't the best at focusing...' Cloud Cover says. 'After all, the exits right behind us.'
'Well, his name IS Scatterly...' I tell her. "What are Calio Slablets?" I ask him.
"You wish for me to explain?" He asks. I nod, and he cheerfully smiles. "Capitol idea! There's little I enjoy more than discussing the wonders of science after all! Yes, well." He thinks. "Where to begin?" He looks back at me. "Calio Slablets, you see, are a curious set of tablets hewn from dinosaur bones. I discovered one of these tablets a fair while back, and found that it contained a history of these islands. This tablet claimed that the long lost Kingdom of Caliosteo actually existed on this very spot! Can you imagine?"
"Well, I guess..." I tell him.
"I also determined that this ancient kingdom was led by a mighty ruler named Zongazonga. Now, it seems this Zongazonga fellow was some manner of a sorcerer who wielded spells of great power. He even had the power to resurrect dinosaurs from fossils." I let out a small gasp.
"I say, can you imagine?" Prof. Scatterly asks. "Such a thing means they were reviving vivosaurs in prehistoric times!"
"That... That's CRAZY!" I tell him.
"Naturally, I burned to know more of these ancient people, but I had only Calio Slablet 1 in my possession." He tells me. "However, since they bothered to number the one I found, logic demanded that there must be others! So knowing this, I fashioned a special CS Sonar to search them out." I hear a beeping noise, and the Professor take out a sonar. "Hello, what's this then? It seems the CS Sonar has detected another Slablet!" He steps forward, and move me aside. "Stand aside! I must excavate it with all due speed!" He takes another step forward, and reaches into his coat. He gets a look of surprise, then looks in the other side. "Oh fish and chips! It seems I forgot more than my lunch today. My poor shovel has been left behind as well!"
"I can get the Slablet for you." I tell him. He looks at me.
"Why, thank you my dear boy!" He tells me. "Step lively now, for you need to unearth this buried Slablet. Do it! Do it for science!" He turns, and takes a step forward, then points at the ground. I look at where he's pointing. "Oh ho! The CS Sonar claims that the Slablet lies buried at my feet! Just under the nose if you will. Perhaps that pick of yours is the key to unlocking the mysteries of the Kingdom of Caliosteo if you will. Quickly now! Unearth that Calio Slablet with all speed!" I take out my pick, take a few steps forward, and throw it down where Prof. Scatterly said it is. I reach down into the hole I just dug, and pull out a tablet of a rock like material that's a sandy-gold color, one inch thick, and eleven inches long and nine inches wide with a strange, unfamiliar writing on the front and back.
"Got it." I tell Prof. Scatterly holding it up. I hand it to him, and he smiles.
"It IS a Calio Slablet!" He says cheerfully. He looks at it, then points at an unfamiliar marking. "And look! It's marked with the number three!"
"..." I say nothing. "...I can't read that..." He blinks.
"Oh... Oh yes quite right." He says. "I forgot that you would be unable to read Caliostenise... But, I suppose the prudent thing would be to set this Slablet aside until I find the second Slablet... Well posh to that! My scientific curiosity will not be contained! Come old bean! Let us free whatever wisdom waits to be heard!" I stand next to the Professor and look at the Slablet. He straightens his glasses. "Ahem! Let's see now... Ah, yes, quiet. Here we are." The Slablet has some writing, then an image of two vivosaurs fighting, then more writing.
"'Once every several decades, Zongazonga compelled his people to hold a tournament.'" Prof. Scatterly reads. "'Participants in the tournament were given revived dinosaurs and made to command them in battle. These brave warriors traveled to and fro across the islands, waging battles of gargantuan ferocity.'" He turns it over, and there's more writing and an image of a person in a victorious stance. "'The tournament's sole reason for being was to choose a new Majestic Vessel.'" He looks at me. "I say! A contest in which dinosaurs are made to fight across the three islands... The similarity to our own Caliosteo Cup is remarkable."
"Maybe it was... based off it or something?" I ask.
"Capitol idea that is, but I am however at a loss to explain the meaning the Majestic Vessel."
"The king's right hand man or woman maybe?" I ask. We both think for a second.
"Well then!" Prof. Scatterly says. "I suppose the mystery will have to wait until the other Calio Slablets are discovered, yes? I shall make for Cranial Isle with this new Slablet posthaste." He puts the Slablet in his coat, then looks back at me. "You've been of remarkable assistance to me Red. Both myself and science owe you a great deal." He takes a step forward. "If you ever find yourself upon the shores of Cranial Isle, you must stop by my museum! It is a gallery and depository of items both rare and wonderful, and I promise it will not disappoint! And of course, I will put this Calio Slablet 3 on display next to the first one I found. Safe travel now. Tallyho!"
"Bye?" I ask. He turns and goes towards a path into the labyrinth. "Wait, Professor!" I call. He stops a turns towards me.
"I beg your pardon?" He asks.
"That'll take you FARTHER into the jungle!" I tell him. I point towards the rock bridge. "That's the way out!" Prof. Scatterly looks at the way he was going, then back at me.
"Yes, well that wouldn't do at all now would it?" He laughs. "It seem I am in your debt yet again Red. This time, farewell for sure. Tallyhoooo!" He runs past me, then towards the rock bridge.
'...' Me and my vivosaur say nothing for a second.
'Well... He's a bit out there, but he's not that bad...' I say.
'I think we found a non-crazy Nick Nack.' Flamethrower says.
'Most defiantly...' I say in agreement. I do some digging, then go down the path deeper into the dig site. The trees form natural arches over me, making it darker and vines hang down while vibrant plants grow on the jungle floor.
"Hey!" I hear Todd call. "Hey, hey, hey!" I turn to see Todd running down the path towards me.
"Hey Red." He says. "Are you digging hard, or hardly digging?" We laugh.
"I think I'm doing both." I tell him. He looks at me with confusion, and I tell him about Professor Scatterly.
"Oh." He says. "Well, I just wanted to tell you something I heard at the Guild! If we go deeper into the Jungle Labyrinth, there's a ton of cool fossil rocks!"
"Sweet!" I say.
"And since were both here, I figured we could go digging together!
"Yeah dawg! Let's go!" We start to run down the path.
"WHAAAAAAA!" We hear a man scream like bloody murder. We stop and jump with surprise. Two men running for their lives come speeding up the path. They're both wearing miner helmets, yellow gloves and shoes, and one has a gray mining jumpsuit and the other had a pale orange one. I recognize them from the battles me and Todd saw yesterday while waiting for ours.
"Wh-what's wrong?" Todd asks, his voice cracking with fear.
"B-b-back there!" The man in the gray jumpsuit, Howard, says looking at us. "In the b-b-back! It's a horrible monster!"
"It was chasing us like it was going to eat us whole!" The man in the pale orange jumpsuit, Cary, says stepping forward. "...Or maybe it wanted to chew us first. But either way, that's not something I'm interested in!" Howard looks at him.
"Wh-what if it keeps chasing us?" He asks. "What if it comes HERE?" They both sprint past us.
"RUN AWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Cary shrieks at the top of his lungs.
A monster eh? I wonder.
"M-m-monster?" Todd stammers. "... Heh heh! Yeah, there's no such thing as monsters right? They uh... They must have been mistaken! Yeah, that's it..."
"Now see here folks," A man's voice with a country accent says. "but I gotta disagree. Ain't no way two grown men make the same mistake, unh-hunh?" Me and Todd turn to see a man walking towards us from up the path. I remember seeing him battle. He has black hair, side burns, and his hair is in done to where it sticks forward above his forehead into a dull point as long as my arm. He has a white shirt with ruffles on the chest, a gold colored coat with a large collar, and that comes down to the middle of his lower legs. He has a brown belt, black pants and shoes, as well as a quizzical look on his face. "Way I hear it, we got a big ol' monster lurking in this here jungle. Monster's got a mean ol' face, and a personality to match. And if it happens to find ya, it'll bite yer little head clean off." I see Todd's face go pale and he raises his hand to his neck. The man, whose name is Rockin' Billy, looks at Todd. "I'd avoid goin' any deeper into this ol' jungle unless you wanna get yourself hurt, unh-hunh?" He looks at me. "Fossil rocks don't mean nothin' if some monster gets to chewin' on you." He walks past us up the path.
If there IS a monster, and he knows it's in there, then why was he in there and walked out so calmly? I wonder. Todd looks at me.
"Um, say Red." He says. "Maybe we should just stop for today. What do you think? I mean, it's not because I'm scared or anything! My vivosaurs could stomp that monster into a pancake! But there's probably tons of good fossil rocks right here!"
"Todd, if there's a monster in there, then it's my job to make sure it doesn't hurt anyone." I tell him.
"...Oh." He says. "You... you still want to go in, huh? Yeah, of course you do."
"Let's go." I say.
"Yeah, well, all right." Todd says a hint of fear in his voice. "I'll g-go with you. B-b-but it's just that..." He suddenly clutches his stomach. "Ooooooh! Oh, my stomach! It's killing me!" I frown. "I shouldn't eaten that green tuna-fish sandwich for lunch!"
Ew.
"S-sorry, but can you go on by yourself?" He asks. He sit down on a rock under a tree. "I'll catch up soon, I promise."
"Okay..." I tell him. "I hope you feel better." I head up the path deeper into the jungle. I come to a large area with a ground littered with ferns, and a large tree buried under grass and soil, making it a mound with arched branches sticking out of it. I start searching, and I dig up some fossils in the process. I look up at the sun to see it's lunch time, so I take out a sandwich I made and eat it, and drink some water from my canteen. I go down a path, and into an area with a cluster of trees in the middle of the small clearing.
"Heeeeey!" I hear Todd call. I turn and see him running towards me. "Sorry I took so long I bet you were pretty lonely without me huh?"
"Sort of." I tell him.
"But look Red, maybe we should just stop here, you know?" He asks. "And it's not because I'm scared! It's just because... Well, we've gone a long way already, you know?"
"Well, we need to stop that monster before-" A sudden rustling in the bushes cuts me off.
"GYA!" Todd exclaims jumping. "What's that? Who's there?" We look around. "J-just the wind!" Todd says with fear in wide eyes. "Yeah, that's it. It's the wind. ...Or a wild boar. That would be okay too."
"In that case, we're having bacon for breakfast tomorrow." I tell Todd. She smiles nervously and jerkily nods. I notice something in a bush, and turn to look at it. I take a few steps towards it, with Todd right beside me. Suddenly, a person jumps out of the bush. She has pink hair with yellow at the tips pulled up into pigtails on the top of her head, and they look puffy. Around her neck is a gold necklace that covers her neck and another necklace with feathers and wooden beads. She's wearing a sleeveless red shirt with large white polk-a-dots that stops at the middle of her rib cage, red cut off gloves, yellow bands tied around the lower have of her lower arms, a gold bracelet around each wrist, she's very thin with slender limbs, a green skirt that looks like a grass skirt that falls to the middle of her upper legs, yellow shorts that comfortably hug her legs hat comes down to her knees under her skirt, a brown leather satchel, and brown sandals on her feet. What really surprises me is the mask she's wearing. It's pink with two white horns on the top edge, yellow around the eyes, which are turquoise, white on the forehead, two spikes coming out of the edge near the mouth, bared teeth and two tusks, making it look like the face of an angry boar war lord or something.
"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Todd yells. "M-M-MOOOOONSTER!" The girl takes a few steps forward and looks in the direction Todd just ran.
"Did he just call me a monster?" She asks with offence. "'Cause that kind of insulting. I don't think you noticed, but I happen to be amazingly beautiful and charming.
"Yes. He did just call you a monster." I tell her. "Now, who the vivo are you?" She looks at me.
"Who am I?" She asks. "...Are you for real? Do you live in a cave or something?"
"No, I-"
"All right, dig the wax out of your ears and listen up!"
"Well, I-"
"I'm the girl who'd going to win the Caliosteo Cup," She says standing up straighter and putting her fists on her hips. "and the biggest teen idol in the whole world..."
"You're the-"
"I'm..." She twirls around on one foot, then puts on foot behind the other like how a girl curtsies, but she raises on hand to the side of her head and the other one is out away from her body and at the middle of her rib cage. "Pauleen!"
'...' My vivosaurs say nothing while I give her a quizzical look.
'She's eleven just like you and Todd...' Flamethrower says.
'I was about to tell her I live in the Fighter's camp, my ears are very clean and clear, and that she's the same age as me, yet she interrupts me.' I tell him.
'How is she a teen idol if she's just eleven?' Cloud Cover asks.
'She's just saying that no doubt.' Air Strike says.
"...What?" Pauleen asks. "What's with the quizzical look?"
"What's with-"
"Is it the mask?" She ask, interrupting me yet again. "It's the mask right? Look, there's a very good reason I can't take this mask off."
"What's the-"
"But trust me, I am totally beautiful underneath it. People faint when I walk by. I'm serious."
"How can I-"
"You're a Fighter too right? Well then, you should introduce yourself. It's only far, you know?"
"..." I give her a flat look of irritation. "I'm Red. I-"
"So your name's Red? Yes, well, it must be a real thrill for you to finally meet me."
"Not really."
"What?"
"I've never heard of you and in the past three minutes, you've interrupted me seven times."
"..."
"I live in the Fighter's camp, my ears have no wax in them, you're the same age as me, what's with your mask, why do you wear it, and how can I trust you're beautiful if you won't take it off?" I say finishing my sentences. I stand there with my arms crossed, an eyebrow raised, and waiting.
"..." Pauleen just stands there. "Well enough about you. Did you hear about the monster that's running around the jungle? Well, I'm going to fight it, and I'm going to win." She gets an idea. "Oh, hey. I just had a great idea. You should come along Red. That way you can see how awesome I am and then tell everyone about your new favorite teen-idol Fighter!"
"I already-"
"That's a great idea. I'm so glad I'm around to think of these things."
"Look, I-"
"Well? Come on! I don't have all day!" She walks past me, and I put my hand on her shoulder, stopping her.
"I already have an idol, Joe Wildwest, and I'm going to defeat that monster. It's my job." I tell her finishing my sentences.
"Not after I beat it!" She say brushing my hand off her shoulder and continues walking towards a path that leads deeper in. We come to a tree that forms part of an arch, and I can feel a sinister mood in the air. I stop, and Pauleen looks at me.
"What's with you? Building your bravery?" I let out an irritated sigh, and roll my eyes.
"You mean you don't have a bad feeling?"
"No. Why should I? I'm going to beat that monster."
"You shouldn't-"
"Let's go!" She says continuing down the path. I sigh and roll my eyes again then continue walking.
She shouldn't be so overconfident... I think.
"I'm actually excited to see what this monster looks like." Pauleen tells me. "And I KNOW it's excited to see me."
I know that monster's never heard of her. We come to a large clearing with fallen trees, stumps, a carpet of ferns and bushes, and some young trees in the arch shaped clearing. I walk over a fallen tree, and Pauleen hops on top of it, looking around, then hops down and catches up to me.
"Well, this is the deepest part of the jungle, but I don't see a monster anywhere.
"GRAAAAAAAAH!" We hear something roar. We turn to see a monster that's a dark greenish yellow with orange streaked all over it, and is the same height as a small T-Rex.
'HOLY DINO!' I say. 'That's the most horrible fake monster I've EVER SEEN!'
'I KNOW!' Cloud Cover says. 'You can see the wheels and the speaker it's mouth!'
'Whoever made this, monster status: EPIC. FAIL.' Air Strike says. Pauleen runs up to it.
"Prepare to meet your doom at the most beautiful Fighter in the land!" She says. I smack my hand against my forehead and my vivosaurs mentally face palm
'...' Me and my vivosaurs say nothing.
'I think her mask blocks out some of her sight...' Flamethrower says.
"That monster's fake you know." I tell Pauleen. She looks at me.
"What?" She asks. I sigh and roll my eyes, then walk over to the fake monster, and kick it. One of the wheels blows off, making it jerk backwards, another wheel blows off, making it jerk backwards again, then the head blows off, the remaining wheels fall of, along with the tail.
"See?" I ask Pauleen. Suddenly, two men appear. They have on miner's helmets, yellow gloves and shoes, and one has a blue miner's jumpsuit, and the other one has on an amber miner's jumpsuit with white below the waist. I recognize them from their matches. They walk over to it, and the one with the amber jumpsuit, Lee, has a tool box.
"Aw, man." The one with the blue jumpsuit, Jerry, says. "The darn thing broke."
"Well it's been scaring off Fighters twenty-four seven." Lee says. "I'm surprised it lasted this long. "Come on. Let's see if we can fix it. Pauleen steps forward.
"Hold the phone!" She says. "What's going on? You're saying this monster is a FAKE?" Jerry looks at her.
"Heh heh! You're not as smart as you look." He says. "It's a big old fake. Me and Lee here built it ourselves." Lee looks at us.
"Yeah, but it was a really good fake!" He says. "All the Fighters were too scared to come to this part of the jungle. And that meant we could take all the fossil rocks we wanted! Pretty smart, huh?" Jerry looks at me and takes a threatening step forward, making me step back.
"Yep, ol' Mr. Monster here did his job real well." He says. "But now you know our little secret... And we can't be having that, now can we?" Lee takes a threatening step towards Pauleen, making her take a step back.
"Let's lock 'em up somewhere until they forget, eh Jerry?" He asks.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Pauleen says with anger. "I can deal with your fake monster, and I can even deal with your dumb names, but no one locks me up!" I pull out my team.
"I'll show you what happens when you scare people for selfish reasons..." I tell Jerry.
"I got this Fighter Red!" Pauleen say taking some medals out of her satchel's side pocket. Jerry and Lee call out their vivosaurs, and the battles start. Jerry has a Nycto and a Anomalo. The Nycto is a winged vivosaur with a sail on his head, is light green with brown on his face, and brown on his arm bones and the bones in the sail, as well as a brown swirl on the sail. The Anomalo is the strangest I've ever seen. It looks like a giant centipede, but with much less legs. It's about three feet long, has pale baby blue layered armor like skin, giant solid pink eye, light brown dots between its eyes, on its body and legs, and has two curled mandibles.
"Air Strike, Spinax Fang on Nycto!" He attack doing sixty-two damage, sending Nycto into his medal.
'End your turn!' Flamethrower tells me.
'What? Why?' I ask him.
'Anomalo's evasion is increased! It'll doge whatever attack you use next!' He tell me.
He's right... I realize.
"Anomalo, Anomalo Twist on Shanshan!" He attacks doing twenty-two damage.
"Air Strike, Spinax Fang on Anomalo!" He attacks doing fifty-five damage. "Cloud Cover, Shan Fang on Anomalo!" She attacks doing twenty-three damage, putting Anomalo in his medal. I look to see Pauleen defeat Lee's last vivosaur. Jerry takes a step back.
"Aw, man." He says. "We got beat by a couple of punks."
"You're the punks!" I tell him. Lee takes a step back.
"Th-they're too tough!" He says.
"Are you all right Red?" I hear a familiar voice ask. I look over my shoulder to see Stella running this way with two staff members.
"Stella!" I exclaim. Me and Pauleen run to her, the staff members get next to me and Pauleen, and Stella steps forward and looks at the broken monster.
"Hmm, a homemade monster, eh?" She asks. "Now what could this be for?" Lee and Jerry exchange nervous looks.
"They were using that thing to scare all the Fighters off so they could have all the fossils here!" I tell Stella.
"Interesting." She says. She looks at Lee and Jerry with anger. "Seize them!" She says pointing at the two nervous men. The staff members run towards them, and Jerry and Lee turn and run. Stella looks at me.
"You have Todd to thank for my being here Red." She tells me. "He came running to me in a panic, wailing about how some monster was going to swallow you whole." I smile awkwardly and scratch the back of my head.
That's Todd for you. I think. Stella looks at the fake monster.
"I was expecting some kind of trouble, but... Well, not this." She says. She looks back at me. "Still, Fighters are now free to dig for fossil rocks here, so I suppose it all turned out all right. We owe the two of you our thanks." The staff members come back over with Lee and Jerry in their custody.
"We rounded up these two ruffians Stella. What do you want us to do with them?" One of them asks. We look at them.
"They're disqualified from the Caliosteo Cup, so you can throw them out of the park." Stella tells them. "We'll send someone to collect the fake monster as evidence of their actions." Me and Pauleen step out of the way as the two staff members take Lee and Jerry back towards Ribular Town. "See you later Red." Stella tells me. "You too Pauleen." She turns and walks back towards town.
"Ha! Serves them right!" Pauleen says.
"Yep. Scaring people of to take fossils..." I say. "It's sickening."
"Hey, so thanks for helping me out Red." Pauleen says. "You're pretty good at this. Not as good as me of course. ...But pretty good."
Would she be saying that if she knew who I really am? I wonder as I stand there with a flat face.
"Hey Red! You're alive!" I look to see Todd running towards me.
"Course I'm alive!" I tell him. "It'll take more than a monster to take ME down!" Todd looks at Pauleen, then jumps back.
"GAAAAAAAH! The monster's right there!" He says. I snicker.
She kinda deserved that... I think.
"Stop calling me a monster!" Pauleen snaps taking a step forward. "I'm a teen idol! And a Fighter! ...And my name is Pauleen!"
"And you're eleven just like us." I tell her flatly. She ignores me.
"So if you ever call me a monster again, I'll knock you out!" Pauleen tells him. I step forward.
"If you try to lay a finger on Todd, I'll beat the snot out of you." I tell her. She looks at me.
"You his bodyguard or something?" She asks. Todd looks at me.
"... I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to him." I tell her.
"Really?" Todd asks. I nod. "..." Todd smiles. "You're a true friend."
"Was there ever any doubt?" I ask with a smile. Todd looks back at Pauleen.
"If you don't want to be called a monster, you shouldn't wear that mask." He tells her. "Why don't you take it off?" Pauleen looks up some, raises her hands to her chest, and nervously taps her finger tips together.
"Nope! Sorry. Can't do it." She tells him. Todd takes a few steps forward, making her take a few steps back.
"So we're just suppose to believe you're beautiful? Whatever!" He says.
"How dare you!" Pauleen says with anger. "I'm beautiful! And young! And... and beautiful! I wear this mask for personal reasons that have nothing to do with you, and that's the end of it! Now good-bye!" She heads back towards town, and me and Todd look at each other.
"What kind of weirdo wears a mask for personal reasons?" He asks.
"Her apparently." I tell him. We laugh.
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP
We take out our Paleopagers, and there's a picture of a staff member on the screen. "The Caliosteo Cup Round 2 matches will now begin. Rockin' Billy has been selected as Red's Round 2 opponent. Please get ready, then check in at Ribular Town's Fossil Stadium." She says. we put the pagers away.
"Yes! Round two is finally starting!" Todd says. "I'll meet you back at the Fossil Stadium, all right?"
"Sounds good to me!" I tell him.
"You're gonna be awesome! I know it!"
"Thank man..."
"No problem!"
"I shall win and be awesome! For you my number one fan!"
"Yay!" We laugh, and head back to town. I clean the fossil rocks I dug up, and then head to the Commons Room while Todd heads out to the stands to watch. I go into the Commons Room to see Rockin' Billy sitting on the bench closest to the door. He looks up to see me walking over, and stands up.
"You remember me there, babaloo?" He asks.
What did he just call me? "Yes sir... You're that guy..." I say.
"That's right." He says. "I'm the cat that told you 'bout the vicious monster back in the jungle. Seems you proved that monster was just a big ol' pussycat. That's some fine work there, unh-hunh."
... "All in a day's work!" I tell him.
"Well, I only got one more thing to say..." He looks around at everyone, whose either not paying attention to us, or out of ear shot. He looks back at me with obvious anger, and takes a threatening step towards me. "Why'd you have to go and do that? I had a plan to take all them rare fossils, and now it's ruined!"
"YOU planned that?" I ask. Well, that WOULD explain why he didn't run out of the jungle screaming bloody murder.
"Yeah that's right." He says. "I'm in cahoots with them two boys that ended up coolin' their heels in the hoosegow." He smiles evilly. "So now I got a chance for revenge, and it's gonna taste sweeter than Aunt Mable's pecan pie." My face hardens.
"Well I'm gonna force that down your throat when I win this battle." I tell him. He scowls.
"You ready for some heartbreak, kid?" He asks.
My heart's already broken.
"'Cause I'm gonna boogie-woogie all over your bad self!"
"Dude, that sounded WRONG!" I tell him with a look of bewilderment and disgust.
"Out next match pits Rockin' Billy against Red." The announcer says. "Combatants should enter the stadium immediately."
"I'm gonna play you like a fiddle in a jug band, babaloo." Rockin' Billy says as we walk up to the door. I smile with a mixture of smugness and slyness.
"I'm going to cut you and your hair cut short." I tell him. He looks down at me with an angry, hard face, and I look up at him with the smile. The doors open, and we walk out. Our teams come out, and I look at Rockin' Billy's to see he has a Raja, Nigo, and Parapu. The Nigo is built like a long neck, has silver-white skin, big, derpish eyes, a weird yellow pattern on its sides that looks almost like a giant flower, short gray spines the back of its neck, and...something... green hanging down from its chin. The Parapu is a squid-like creature with an ammonite shell which is turquoise with white dots and navy blue waves on it, and the tips of its tentacles while the rest of it is white.
"Flamethrower, get in the AZ, Air Strike take his place." I tell them before the battle starts. I get first turn. "Flamethrower, S-Fang on Raja!" He attacks doing fifty-eight damage.
"Raja, Raja Fang on Spinax!" He attacks doing fourteen damage.
"Flamethrower, S-Fang on Raja!" He attacks doing fifty-eight damage, sending Raja into his medal. Rockin' Billy scowls, while I smile.
"Nigo, Nigo Stomp on Spinax!" He attacks doing twenty-eight damage. "Now Parapu, use Bewilder Beam on S-Raptor!" He attacks doing fifteen damage, and confusing Flamethrower.
'No! Flamethrower, snap out of it!' I try to touch his mind, but I hit a solid wall of confusion, preventing me from entering. I look to see Rockin' Billy smirking. 'Grrrrr... I'll show you!' "Air Strike, AZ!" They rotate. "Now use Spinax Fang on Parapu!" He attacks doing thirty-four damage. "Cloud Cover, AZ!" They rotate. "Cloud cover, Shan Combo on Parapu!" She attacks doing forty damage. "Flamethrower, AZ!" They rotate, and Flamethrower just goes with it.
"Parapu, Bewilder Beam on Spinax!" He attacks, but Air Strike jumps into the air, causing him to miss.
'Flamethrower! You need to straighten out your mind!' He's too confused to understand me. 'RRRRRRRRR!' I slam my conscious against the wall of confusion, and I batter away at it. It shatters, my mind rushes into his, and I sort everything out.
"Holy smokes folks!" One of the commentators says. "Red's somehow broken through the confusion in his vivosaur's mind, and it's no longer confused!"
"Now this kid's showing promise!" The other one says.
"Flamethrower, S-Combo on Nigo!" He attacks doing eighty-six damage, making Nigo go into his medal. Rockin' Billy has a worried look, while I smile triumphantly. "Cloud Cover, AZ!" They rotate. "Now use Shan Fang on Parapu!" She attacks doing nineteen damage.
"Parapu, Bewilder Beam on Spinax!" He attacks doing twenty-seven damage and confusing him. He then uses harden on himself, boosting his defence.
"Cloud Cover, Shan Combo on Parapu!" She attacks doing forty damage.
"Parapu, Bewilder Beam on S-Raptor!" He attacks doing twenty-nine damage. Air Strike uses harden on himself again.
'ARGH! I HATE MY VIVOSAUR BEING CONFUSED!' I mentally yell.
'Don't we all?' Flamethrower asks.
"Cloud Cover, Shan Combo on Parapu!" She attacks doing twenty-six damage.
"Parapu, Bewilder Beam on S-Raptor!" He attacks doing forty-four damage and confusing him.
'FLAMETHROWER!' He uses Enflame on Cloud Cover, booting her attack power. 'Hey, that's gonna come in handy!' I think happily. "Cloud Cover, Shan Combo on Parapu!" She attacks doing sixty-four damage, putting Parapu in his medal.
"RED WINS!" The announcer says. My vivosaurs roar with victory while Rockin' Billy falls to his knees.
How's that pecan pie taste now? I think.
A minute later...
"Aw, possum spit!" Rockin' Billy says in the lobby.
Ew. I think. I'm stand across from him in front of the sofa area.
"That ain't how the plan was suppose to go at all!"
"Well I hope you enjoy that pecan pie." I tell him smugly. He gets an angry look.
"I ain't gonna forget this babaloo! I got my eye on you now, and I'll see you fall if it's the last thing I do!" He says. "Nobody messes with Rockin' Billy! You hear me? I'm gonna get you but good, unh-hunh!" He takes a threatening step towards me, and cracks his knuckles, making me take a step back as worry spreads across my face.
"That's enough Rockin' Billy!" I hear Stella say. Rockin' Billy whirls to the side to see Stella heading straight for us. "That pair of fools we caught in the jungle couldn't wait to implicate you in their scheme!" Rockin' Billy takes a step back, nervousness and worry obvious on his face.
"Time to go, unh-hunh!" He turns and makes a break for the door.
"There's no escape for you!" Stella tells him. As if on cue, four staff member run out, and two grab his hands and pin them behind Rockin' Billy's back. He struggles and squirms, trying to get free.
"S-stop struggling!" One of the staff members holding him says.
"Lemme go!" Rockin' Billy says. "Don't be cruel now, just let me go!" They hold his hands behind his back, and he gives up, then hangs his head. They take him away, and as they do, he looks at me. I pull down my lower eye lid on my left eye and stick my tongue out at him. He scowls, and they get him outside. I put my hand back at my side and pull my tongue back in my mouth, then look at Stella.
"Don't worry Red," She tells me. "I'll personally see to it that he's banished from the islands. You just sit back and concentrate on the Cup, okay?"
"Yes ma'am!" I tell her. She smiles.
"Good luck on clearing Round 2 by the way. Here's your prize." She hands me a fossil rock.
"Thank you Stella." I tell her. I hear a beeping noise, and take out my Fighter's License. I open it to see that I've been promoted to Fighter Level 3. "Yeah dawg!" I say jump in the air and spinning around.
"Good Luck in Round 3!" Stella tells me. She turns and walks towards the exit, and Todd runs up to me.
"Way to go Red!" He tells me with excitement. "You're through two rounds now!"
"And I'll keep going until the very end!" I tell him with a smile.
"I know you can do this! I'm counting on you!"
"And I shall never let you down my wingman!"
"Thank you my best bro!" We laugh, and stop when we hear the crowd erupt into cheers. We look at the door to the Commons Room. "Oh wow. The battle after yours must be done already... I can't believe how fast that was! The winning Fighter must be really good."
"Fast Fossil Battles aren't fun." I tell him. "You don't get the feeling of excitement and suspense."
"True..." He says with agreement.
"The mysterious masked Fighter, Pauleen, has won in a masterful performance!" The announcer says. Me and Todd look at each other.
"Pauleen? That's the weird girl from the jungle!" Todd says.
"Oh no..." I moan. "Now she's going to brag about that." The door to the Commons Room opens, and out steps Pauleen. She looks around, sees us, and runs over.
"So Red!" She says. "Sounds like you got through Round 2 as well."
"Yeah, I-"
"Of course, you didn't win as fast as I did." She says interrupting me yet again. "Or with as much panache. But congratulations anyway!"
"At least I gave the audience a longer, more enjoyable show..." I tell her finishing my sentence.
"Well, don't get any crazy ideas about winning, though." She say standing up straighter and putting her hands on her hips in a victorious pose. "Because I'm going to be the champ." My face hardens. "The most beautiful champion there ever was! Oh, and humble too!" I smack my palm against my forehead, sigh, and roll my eyes.
"Cram it sister!" Todd says stepping forward. "Red isn't going to lose to some braggart like you! HE'S going to be the best looking champ that there ever will be, and he's not going to self-centered about it either!"
"You tell 'er Todd!" I say.
"Yeah!" Todd says. "And if you're so pretty, then you should take off your mask and prove it!"
"..." Pauleen stands there for a second, then waves her fists around angrily. "I TOLD you already! I have a personal reason for keeping this mask on! Anyways, I'm sure I have legions of adoring fans clamoring for my autograph, so...bye!" She runs between me and Todd, then outside. Me and Todd look back at each other, and Todd takes a step towards me.
"She's not going to take that mask off, is she?" Todd asks.
"Nope." I tell him.
"You know what? I don't think she's pretty at all." Todd says. "In fact, I bet she's a total woofer under that thing!"
"Self-confidence is a personal reason," I say. "So it makes sense."
"Yeah." Todd says.
"Hey, thanks for sticking up for me."
"No problem Red!"
"But still, thanks."
"Hey, you never let your wingman down."
"Heh. Yeah..."
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP
We take out our Paleopagers, and there's a picture of a staff member on the screen. "All Round 2 matches of the Caliosteo Cup are now complete. Tomorrow, a new dig site will open: Mt. Krakanak! Mt. Krakanak is a volcano filled with sheer cliffs and bubbling lava. There is no danger however, for there are special devises that create shields, making it so you cannot fall, or be injured b the heat of the lava. It's located on neighboring Cranial Isle. Flights to the island are available from the heliport." She says. We put our pager away, and look at each other.
"Yay!" Todd says. "We finally get to go to Cranial Isle! I've always wanted to go there! I'm gonna be the first Fighter to set foot there! No one's gonna beat me!"
"Then let's go!" I say. We run out to the heliport, only to find out that Cranial Isle will be open tomorrow. We head back to our bungalow in the Fighter's Camp, eat supper, Todd showers, then I shower, and we go to bed, exhausted from today. I lie there in the dark, and fall asleep into a dream of Rosie.
AN- FINALLY! I got this chapter done! I would've gotten this done sooner, but my brother's been making me play Skyrim so he can watch while he makes some chain links for chain mail armor he's working on, then a friend of mine wanted to hang out, so I had to do that, then I was gone all weekend, and I've just been having a bad motivation block.
Red: I can't believe that girl interrupted me ELEVEN times...
Me: Could be worse.
Red: How?
Me: It could've been twelve.
Red: *face palms and groans*
Me: Does anyone else see Pauleen as a person that constantly interrupts someone? Leave a review!