When the group of Wardens entered the darkened chamber in the deepest section of the Neo Black Whale, they were faced with the modified Heavy Hauler of Dr. Blackraven.
"Ah. You're finally here, Tria. And you brought your little Warden friends with you." the mad doctor said smugly, not even turning his Bone Buggy to face them, "I'm impressed you made it this far, being so young and all. Or rather, I would be, but knowing you were sent from the past specifically to defeat me makes that a lot less surprising. In fact, I'm honored that I'm considered such a threat that the Wardens need help from warriors of the past just to stop me."
"Don't flatter yourself." Tria growled. Dr. Blackraven ignored her.
"But if you think you can arrest me as Stryker did, you are sorely mistaken!" he declared, "Because THIS time I have a secret weapon! And all shall tremble in fear at the might of my ultimate dark vivosaur!" The madman then drove over to the far wall of his chamber, commanding confidently, "Dreadsaurus! Come forth!"
The Wardens gasped as the zigzag pattered in the wall opened, revealing the corrupted form of Nibbles. His normally-red body was dark purple in color, and it had lost its metallic gleam. The teal gems on his neck were a brighter shade of purple. His claws, stomach, and lower jaw were yellow, and his hateful eyes were bloody red. The Dreadsaurus roared at its designated opponents, stalking forward.
"Oh no…" Nate whimpered, his terror mixed with sadness as he remembered how the vivosaur had saved him in the ancient past.
"Poor Nibbles…" Penny sobbed.
"What are we going to do?" Roland asked fearfully.
"What else can we do?" Leon replied, "We're gonna fight!"
"Yeah! Let's go!" Dahlia yelled confidently, readying her Pachy for battle. Before any of the Wardens could release their vivosaurs, however, Elric drove in front of them, Tria once again perched on the front of his Speed Demon.
"Sorry, Wardens." Elric told them through the radio, "But this isn't your fight."
"Please forgive me, guys." Tria said over her friends' angry protests. She jumped onto Penny's pink Digger's Rig, addressing them, "But as the one assigned to take care of Nibbles, it's my responsibility to get him back. So please, leave this battle to me."
The group looked at each other through their screens, then at the image of the Captain, who they knew could hear what Tria had said.
"…As much as I don't like the thought of leaving one of my Wardens to fight alone, especially against an opponent as powerful as the Dreadsaurus, I think this is probably our best bet. Nibbles is closest to Tria, so facing her is more likely to bring him back." the Captain said, increasing the volume of his voice as he addressed Tria directly, "Tria. Will Nibbles recognize you in your true form?"
"He will." Tria answered just as loudly, "He's seen my true form before, and he could sense it even before then."
Captain Stryker nodded, ordering the dinaurian Warden, "Then go, Tria, and bring Nibbles back to us!"
"Sir!" Tria replied, giving the Captain a final salute before flying over to stand in front of the ultimate dark vivosaur.
"It was so kind of Stryker to leave the dark energy crystallized inside him." Dr. Blackraven continued to brag, "But I've managed to fill him with more…and more…and MORE! Soon his heart will be gone altogether! Kindness? Compassion? All these pathetic traits will be eliminated! He will be the ultimate weapon!" He laughed maniacally. "Now strike, Dreadsaurus! Show this pitiful creature that the friendship you once shared means nothing in the face of my power!"
Tria snorted at the man's arrogance. "Power? What would someone like you know about power?" She began glowing with an opalescent light as she roared, "I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT TRUE POWER IS!"
"Hey, Elric." Leon said to the enigmatic boy, "Are you sure Tria can handle this? I mean, she's strong, but this in on a whole 'nother level from the other dark vivosaurs we've faced."
"Of course." Elric replied, looking back at the Wardens confidently, "I told you; Tria trained herself by facing the strongest vivosaur teams of the past. Teams of vivosaurs commanded by some of the best fighters the world has ever known, each fighter controlling three. Tria's not going to fall easily."
"Yeah…" Roland muttered, "But…"
"This is Nibbles!" Penny cried, "Tria can't hurt Nibbles!"
"I thought you would've figured this out by now…" Elric sighed in disappointment, "Tria's enemy isn't Nibbles. She isn't attacking him."
"But then how is she supposed to win?!" Dahlia exclaimed, starting to panic, "Nibbles is attacking her! How is she going to win if she doesn't fight back?!"
"That's where you're wrong, my friend." Elric responded calmly, "Tria's going to fight back, but not against Nibbles."
"Then…" Nate squeaked in confusion, "How…?"
"Because Nibbles isn't attacking her." Elric explained, tone bordering on frustration, "The dark energy is."
The Wardens gawked at the silver-haired male as he continued to explain, "When dark energy enters a creature's body, it corrupts that body and takes control of it. So basically, the dark energy takes possession of the body it's injected into and uses that body for its own purposes." He looked at all of the Wardens and nodded, his gaze hardening in determination. "That is our mission, mine and Tria's. Our enemy isn't Dr. Blackraven or the Dreadsaurus, but the dark energy itself. That's what we're here to destroy."
The Wardens 'oh'ed in amazement. Captain Stryker spoke up.
"Even so." he said, "The Dreadsaurus is stronger than any other dark vivosaur ever created. Zinodious and Gorgostroika are nothing compared to it, and Tria still needed the help of those mechanical vivosaurs to take them down."
Elric laughed. "Tria was just showing off, using those machines. She didn't really need them. Although…" he continued before the Captain could interrupt him, "You are right that Tria doesn't stand a chance against the dark energy in her current form."
"Then what are we just sitting here for?!" Leon exclaimed, "We have to help Tria!"
"Did you not hear what I just said?!" Elric yelled, startling the other humans, "You Wardens need to work on your listening skills. I said Tria doesn't stand a chance in her current form."
"Tria has another form?" Penny voiced everyone's question, "I thought this was her true form."
"It is." Elric assured her and the other Wardens, "But Tria's among the caste of dinaurians that has a third form."
"Caste?" Leader Liu Ren asked through the radio. Elric nodded.
"Dinaurians are broken up into castes. The lowest castes, like civilians or even regular soldiers, fight using their own strength and, in the case of the soldiers, Dinomatons. But the higher castes, the royalty, have a specific bloodline that allows a third form, and Tria's mother is of this caste."
"And that form can save Nibbles?" Penny asked hopefully, looking at Tria's glowing form.
"That form can save the world." Elric replied confidently as the light seemed to get brighter, "This is the form in which Tria trained against the powerful vivosaur teams of our age. Tria's battle form: the Dragon of Light."
The humans, on both sides, stared at the brightening light that enveloped the half-dinaurian. No, it wasn't brightening; it was growing! Her head and neck elongated, resembling a Coelophysis, with thick, dark blue fur travelling down her neck, back, and tail. Her arms lengthened so that they almost touched the floor, razor-sharp black talons gleaming. Her powerful back legs raised her lean, agile body to tower over the humans and their vehicles. Her long, whip-like tail thrashed in anger, the dark blue tip even cracking like a whip. Her snow-white scales seemed to sparkle with the light of her transformation, her dark blue stomach and black claws looking even darker in comparison. Her massive blue wings extended over even the Dreadsaurus, despite her body only being half its size. The Dragon of Light roared at her adversary, declaring her resolve to eliminate the monster from this world. The Dreadsaurus roared back, the will of the dark energy challenging the dinaurian directly.
Tria flapped her wings and leapt into the air, the massive chamber allowing her to soar over the corrupted vivosaur. She landed on its back, skillfully evading the large spines, and sank her claws into its neck.
"Shake her off, Dreadsaurus!" Dr. Blackraven commanded, "You are the ultimate dark vivosaur! You can't fall to this half-human!"
The Dreadsaurus roared, thrashing about wildly. It swung its claws over its head, forcing Tria to jump to evade it. Her golden eyes narrowed as the light blue iris focused on her opponent. With the grace and agility brought about by years of training and experience, she twisted mid-air and opened her jaws, firing a blast of white fire at the dark vivosaur. The flames consumed it, causing it to scream in pain.
"Whoa…" the watching Wardens chorused.
"Angel's Fire." Elric said fondly. At the confused looks he received, he elaborated, "That's the name of the move she just used. Tria has an entire moveset, like vivosaurs." He chuckled at the gawking expressions of the other humans. "She even has a Boost Skill."
Tria roared, ignoring the humans. In the primal narrow-mindedness of her battle form, she was only focused on her opponent. She launched herself forward, dodging the dark vivosaur's claws again and landing a solid kick to its exposed flank. However, before she could jump back, the Dreadsaurus, in a sudden burst of speed fueled by the dark energy, slashed his claws across her chest, spilling her blood on the chamber floor.
"Tria!" the Wardens cried in concern. Elric looked on curiously.
Tria roared, too experienced a fighter to let such a shallow wound faze her. She flew up and opened her jaws again, this time releasing a sparkling white mist that blanketed the battlefield.
"What's this?" Dahlia asked, reaching to roll her window down so she could feel the mist.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Dahlia." Elric said, stopping her, "That's Tria's Divine Mist. It's a move that throws anyone who inhales it into a dizzy confusion. It can bring even giant sauropods like my Toba to their knees, and look what it's done to the Dreadsaurus."
The dark vivosaur in question was staggering around the chamber, seeming to no longer know what its target was supposed to be. It focused its reddened eyes on the Wardens and stalked toward them. It swung its claws at the American and European Wardens, along with their guide, but Tria shielded them, earning her another gash on her leg, followed by one on her opposite arm when she protected the Asian Wardens. The dinaurian slammed into the dark vivosaur, an effort made easier by his dizziness, and as it staggered backward, she roared again, this time taking on the familiar sound of the super predator in Dusty Steppes, the same roar that drove the Wardens' vivosaurs fleeing into the their Dino Gears in terror.
"Is that…" Leon and Becky almost squeaked in unison.
"That's the sound that scared all our vivosaurs away!" Nate cried.
"That's Heaven's Call." Elric replied simply, "It's when Tria gathers all of her natural intimidation and authority and projects it in a roar. Most vivosaurs become scared and will do whatever she tells them to, which is usually to go away or stand down." He then smirked. "It seems to not be very effective against dark vivosaurs, though. Will you grace us with a view of that move, Tria?"
Tria growled, almost as if replying to the human's question, as her scales began to glow. The light quickly brightened to become blinding, forcing the humans to shield their eyes.
Elric laughed in thrilled excitement at the memories of battling with Tria, because whether as opponent or ally, she always brought a rush to the battlefield. He put on the pair of sunglasses he had taken to carrying with him as he said, "And now for the last attack in Tria's moveset: Blinding Strike."
Tria roared again, her eyes fully golden with the light of her power, and lunged at the Dreadsaurus, striking at it multiple times and sending it crashing to the chamber floor. The Dreadsaurus struggled to get to its feet, shaking its head as it roared in distress. Dr. Blackraven drove forward as the light from Tria's scales faded.
"What is the meaning of this? Finish that fool already!" he yelled, "Curse you, Dreadsaurus! Your master is speaking! Obey my command and destroy that pathetic dinaurian, or I will destroy YOU!"
Tria bellowed at that, the ancient phrase translating to, "No way, rodent!" She placed herself between the madman and his Dreadsaurus, growling at him threateningly.
"Tria! Look out!" Roland cried as the Dreadsaurus approached the dinaurian. However, instead of attacking, the vivosaur stopped and tilted its head, growling with some kind of familiarity.
"Wh-What are you doing?! Get out of my way!" Dr. Blackraven commanded the dinaurian. The dinaurian simply snapped at him, continuing the defiance that defined her nature in so many ways. The Dreadsaurus shook its head and roared again, as if fighting an unseen enemy. Dr. Blackraven glared at the dinaurian that had caused him so much trouble and loaded a Dino Gear into his Heavy Hauler. "Shame. I remember a time when a crazed despot could rely on his creations. But perhaps the old ways are still best in some cases." He launched the Dino Gear. "Go, Giganto! Destroy that dinaurian!"
The large darkened carnivore roared, eager for a chance to fight again. His time on the field was short-lived, however, when he was defeated and sent back to his Dino Gear by the rolling form of the Dreadsaurus.
"Wha-?" several of the Wardens gasped.
"The Dreadsaurus protected Tria?!" others cried in shock.
"How dare you defy me?!" Dr. Blackraven yelled, enraged, "You were to have been my triumph!"
The Dreadsaurus ignored him and turned around to face Tria, looking conflicted. Tria growled gently to it, and the Dreadsaurus growled back, sounding more and more like Nibbles. Tria roared, sounding hopeful and desperate at the same time, and the Dreadsaurus roared in response, beginning to glow. His form grew even larger, transforming into a completely new and unrecognizable vivosaur.
He had a large head that was metallically red and armored. His stomach and lower jaw were silver, he had long forearms that could easily touch the ground with long golden claws and a golden nosehorn, and he had ice-blue crystals on his head, arms, legs, and tail. His green eyes widened in recognition when he looked at Tria before he turned around and spat out a dark crystal that was overflowing with dark energy.
"What happened?!" Nate cried.
"I think Nibbles came back to us." Captain Stryker said, smiling at the screen, "Tria did it."
"That's the crystallized dark energy!" Professor Little exclaimed.
"I don't believe this…" Dr. Blackraven muttered disbelievingly, "That stupid lizard had crystallized the dark energy in his body and has abandoned it on his own! The power of my evil science is losing to…to FRIENDSHIP! This disgusting treacle is enough to make my breakfast hit the wall!" He then grabbed the crystallized dark energy with the claw on his Bone Buggy and drove through a portal, proclaiming, "But I'm not done yet!"
"Nibbles?" Penny squeaked as she and the other humans stepped forward, "Is it…you?"
"Graw-ooo!" the massive carnivore howled, shrinking into his normal from. He ran over to Tria as she reverted back to her normal form as well, jumping enthusiastically into her arms.
"Hey there, buddy. It's good to see you again." she growled gently, stroking his head as the humans gathered around them.
"You're hurt!" Nibbles whined in distress, "I hurt you! I'm so sorry!" His large green eyes filled with tears as he licked the wound on her arm.
"No, little one." Tria purred, embracing her small friend, "The dark energy hurt me. You were merely the tool it used to do so. You are not at fault."
"We're glad to have you back, Nibbles!" Penny cried happily, smiling through her own tears.
"We were worried about you!" Roland added.
"And don't worry, we won't let them take you again." Leon assured the small vivosaur.
"Yeah! We're gonna finish this together!" Dahlia declared.
Nate stared down at the little red vivosaur, who had been such a big pain in his behind since the day they'd found him. "Yeah…" he muttered hesitantly, "Welcome back, can-chomper."
Nibbles looked around at the humans around him, growling happily at them. Tria smiled at the spectacle, Nibbles dancing around joyfully in the middle of the group of humans he'd once hated. Elric walked over to his childhood friend, helping her stand shakily. The wound on her leg hurt her, but she hid her pain well.
"Are you okay, Tria?" the silver-haired male asked, eyeing the half-dinaurian in concern. Tria snorted.
"Elric…" Tria sighed, putting her uninjured arm around his shoulders and following with her wing, "You know better than to worry about my condition. It'll just make things harder for you in the finale."
Elric smiled sadly. "I know, but I can't help it. We've known each other for so long. It's hard to believe that our time together will soon be ending."
"Hard to believe?" Tria asked knowingly, "Or hard to accept?"
Elric laughed, though it sounded strained. "Both." he replied, "We need to hurry, before I lose my resolve."
"I agree." Tria said, approaching the other Wardens, "Come on, guys. We need to chase after Blackraven."
"We'll show him what happens when you mess with the Wardens!" Leon declared, getting into his Turf Shredder while Dahlia climbed into her Speed Demon.
"We can do it!" Roland said confidently, exchanging a grin with Nate.
"As long as Tria's here, we can do anything!" Nate agreed whole-heartedly, not noticing Tria and Elric cringe.
"Are you all right, Tria?" Penny asked, having noticed the girl's pained expression, but misinterpreting it, "You're still hurt."
"I'm fine, Penny." Tria insisted, patting the other girl's back, "These wounds won't trouble me for long." She then jumped into Elric's Speed Demon, speaking quickly into the radio before any of the Wardens could take notice of her actions. Elric exchanged a look with Tria, not entirely knowing what she was planning but trusting her enough not to question her. Tria then grabbed Nibbles and hovered in front of her friends, speaking so that they could hear her through the windows of their Bone Buggies.
"All right, guys. This is the final battle. We're ending this evil plot once and for all! Are you ready?"
"Yeah!" her friends cheered. Tria smiled.
"Good. I'm counting on you."
She then flew into the portal that Dr. Blackraven had escaped through, her friends following close behind. Nibbles looked up at his best friend's face, unable to shake the feeling of unease and dread at the cold, hardened determination and resolve shown there, resolve reflected in the eyes of her childhood friend.