Chapter 3:
After I bunked down for the night, I ended up turning in my sleep for a good hour and a half, trying to sleep, but finding it nearly impossible... Especially since I hadn't taken my medication since I'd gotten to this world. And I had no access to it at all.
"Ugh... I can't sleep like this... I'm gonna be ultra-mega hyper tomorrow, too, if I can't get my pills..." I groaned to myself. Yeah, I had a autism, but that made it so that I was extremely smart, but I tended to be extremely hyper and one to overreact to literally everything if I didn't take them. And I needed a specific pill to help me to sleep at night... and then another one needed to be taken in the morning to help me keep a cool head. And I also had to take an acne and allergy medication, too! "How the hell can I have gotten into this situation?... I just wanted to play a game to get my sorrows gone, not get Isekei'd all the way to a different universe! UGH! Please, wake up, me! I want this dream to be over by now!" I complained in extreme arrogance and annoyance. I couldn't think straight. I really wanted this to not be a dream, but I never felt the after-effects of being not being medicated in my sleep. I knew I was awake, I knew this was too real to be fake. It only made it even more impossible to sleep! I then heard something on the window next to me and I gasped while also falling out of the bed, me groaning in annoyance.
I then looked at the window and... well, I was surprised. I had to think logically now, because, outside my window, was none other than Duna! But she was in her human form, me simply looking at her in shock.
"Um..." I frowned as I then opened my window just a tiny bit so I could talk to her. "Do you mind? I'm trying to fall asleep so I can wake up from this nasty dream I'm having. And I can't do that when strange women are watching me from the window," I said to her with annoyance in my voice as Duna then simply smiled.
"I actually wanted to help you out," Duna said as she then simply grabbed a small pill bottle and gave it to me.
"What's this?" I asked after I held it.
"It's a cure-all pill. It can help you sleep, wake up, keep in control, and many other things. Forever," Duna said, me looking at her with a frown.
"And why would I believe a random girl I've never met? You sound like a drug dealer," I frowned, her sighing.
"Listen, I've been watching you toss and turn for nearly 2 hours now. Just, take the pills in there. There's only 3. All of them at once and you'll be good. I can't deal drugs if I'm not asking for any money," Duna said, me simply groaning as I took the pills and chugged them down my throat, just to make her shut up!... Yeah, I wasn't thinking good right now. I only realized that I took them after a few seconds passed by, me then looking at Duna and wondering why she just gave me these things... as well as why she was appearing to me NOW and not in Chapter 4!
"What's your name and why do you care so much about a nobody like me?" I asked her, Duna frowning at me.
"My name is Duna... and I care so much about you because... I want to help you learn how to control your feral side," she said, me being confused at that before I then gasped.
"Y-You saw me transform, too?!" I asked in shock, her nodding. "And why would I trust you? I don't know who you are, yet you say you can help me control my powers? How can you do that if you're not the same as I am?" I asked, Duna stammering at that before then sighing.
"I can't tell you why... b-but..." Duna was about to say before I saw something happen with her. "Oh, come on! Not now!" she growled as her appearance then turned into her Dinaurian looks, me being fake-surprised at it and her then simply frowning with an annoyed look.
"Oh... uh... that's why..." I said, her sighing afterwards.
"Yes... do you want help or not?" Duna asked as I simply sighed.
"How about tomorrow at some point? I need to get some sleep and I've already been under quite a lot of stress for tonight... just knock on my window and I'll let you in so you can help out," I said, her nodding at me.
"Very well... I'll see you tomorrow night then, Zina Zori," Duna said before rushing off into the distance, her appearance turning into her human form as she ran. And out of nowhere, I suddenly felt... free. And I also felt like I could sleep. So I laid on the bed, pulled up the sweaty covers, and... slept... yes... sleep...
When I woke up the next morning, I saw that it was 8 AM and that I felt rejuvenated! Not only that, but I felt... calm? At ease? It made me so confused... but then I remembered what had happened last night. Duna arrived and gave me some pills... most likely Dinaurian ones... but it did answer me one question. For some reason, when I was Isekei'd to this world, I'd turned into a strange hybrid of human and Dinaurian. Even to the point that Duna wanted to help me learn to control my battle form... which was basically me in Zino appearance.
I sighed as I then put on my glasses, got my equipment together, and then proceeded out of the hotel. And when I was actually out of it the whole way, I saw that Rosie was actually waiting for me outside and she looked pretty excited to see me.
"Hey there, sleepyhead! I wanted to know if you wanted to get going to Knotwood Forest together? Kind of like a first date?" Rosie asked, me smiling at her.
"Yeah, I'd like that a lot. But can we possibly stop by the shop, first? I want to see what they might have in stock," I said, Rosie smiling widely at that.
"Good thinking! I got enough money to buy a Hyper Hammer, after all!" Rosie smirked as we then proceeded to the west until we got to the guild, us going into it and going to the shopkeeper, who looked at us with a smile. He looked an awful lot like Beedle from the Legend of Zelda, but he had a full attire of clothing on.
"OH! Hi there, customers! What would you like?" he asked, him even sounding like Beedle from Wind Waker.
"I'd like to purchase a Hyper Hammer, please!" Rosie smiled as she forked over the necessary funds to do so, it being up to 25 thousand gold. After the exchange was complete, I then gave him the gems I wanted to sell and he smirked at me.
"OOOH! These gems are mint quality! Here, you can take these for these wondrous jewels!" the shopkeeper exclaimed as he gave me a total of 40 thousand gold, which shocked me at the price.
"Thanks!... So, do you happen to have a bigger backpack or case for Fossil Rock storage?" I asked, him then showing off the largest case available, which could hold up to 64 (WHAT?!) fossils total! And it cost 30 K. "I'll take it!" I smirked widely as we did the exchange and I got a the bag, me smirking at how, even though it was the same size as the one I had on my back as of current, the internal space was actually bigger than the outside made it appear! "Wow! The inside of this bag is big enough for me to sleep in... and one other person, too!" I giggled.
"You sound pretty excited," Rosie smirked as I simply giggled.
"Maybe we could test it one day?" I asked, Rosie gasping and blushing, which I smiled at.
"You cheeky little Pterodactyl! Maybe, but how about we get going to the forest now?" Rosie asked, me giggling as we then went back to the pier to go to the forest in question. We then went to Beth at the docks and we then asked if we could go to the Knotwood Forest.
"Well, good luck there! A quick bit of information, the Knotwood Forest is home to an ancient tribe of people as well as an ancient pyramid of sorts. Interesting, isn't it?" Beth asked, me smirking and nodding at that.
"Indeed, it does," I smiled as the boat arrived and Rosie and I boarded it. And when we were finally alone, I decided to tell Rosie something.
"So... last night, I found it hard to sleep because I was unable to take the medication I need to keep my calm, as it was still in my world," I said, Rosie gawking at that.
"That sounds like what I have to go through. I have a bit of a crazy side too, but I take a couple pills for it," Rosie said, me being surprised at that.
"Well, after I spent three hours of tossing and turning, I noticed this strange person outside my window. They gave me some pills that they claimed was a cure-all... and then they showed that they were like me. Able to change into a dinosaur form or a human form," I said, Rosie gawking at that.
"Really?! There are more like you out there?" she asked, me shrugging at that.
"I don't really know. It looked like she was using some kind of machine to hide her dinosaur appearance... a-" I was about to say before Rosie caught something.
"Whoa, she?! It was a girl?" Rosie asked, me nodding.
"Don't worry, she's a stranger to me. She just offered to train me in how to control my dinosaur state if I were to transform again. She said she'd train me at night, but she's just an acquaintance, since I know almost nothing about her," I said, Rosie nodding at me.
"So long as you don't do anything funny without my knowledge, I'm fine with it," Rosie said as I simply smiled.
"But I did want to ask something... would you be mad if either one of us had more than one relationship? You know, like a harem?" I asked, Rosie tilting her head at that.
"Um... why do you ask that?" Rosie asked as I simply smiled.
"Well... I kinda wanted to know if you'd be okay if other girls or boys could join our little clique. You know, like we share the love?" I said, Rosie smiling at that.
"So what you're saying is that you're a horn dog?" she asked, me sighing and simply nodding. "Well, at least you felt the need to ask me before doing something stupid. And just for that, I think I'll allow that, but we have to tell each other about if we like someone romantically or not," Rosie said, me smirking at that.
"Fine with me," I smiled. YES! I'll be able to date all the cute and hot girls now! My dream is gonna be reality! I thought to myself as we then arrived at our destination, us getting off and getting to the fossils immediately. I, of course, got all of the dirt off of them in a snap, which Rosie smiled at me.
"That's a pretty handy trick! I wish I could do that," Rosie smiled as I simply gave her a smile.
"Maybe you could ask me and I could clean them for you with my magic touch?" I asked, her smiling at me and shaking her head no.
"No, I need to practice cleaning with my own hands. But I appreciate the offer, hon," Rosie smiled before pecking me on the cheek, me giggling at that... but then we came across the guy blocking the path further down.
"Excuse me sir, but we'd like to go further so we can get more fossils?" I asked, the guy frowning and shaking his head.
"Sorry, but I've been ordered to stand guard. An incident has occurred up ahead, you see. Only authorized Fossil Fighters are allowed through," he said as I then decided to grill him.
"Could you at least tell me why that is the case?" I asked.
"A group of criminals are inside of the tribal peoples' pyramid. We sent in a high-ranking Fossil Fighter yesterday to take care of them, but we haven't heard anything from her," he said as I then simply smiled.
"A group of criminals? How about you let me through, then? I handled a Dino Medal thief in Greenhorn Plains just yesterday with just my bare hands! I didn't even have to use my Vivosaurs," I boasted proudly.
"Wait... you're that new Fossil Fighter that beat and apprehended Medal Dealer Joe? Zina Zori?" he asked as I then showed him my license and he then smiled at me after handing it back. "My apologies, miss. You're welcome to go through and help out, but only if you can manage to defeat me in a Fossil Fight," he said, me nodding as we then proceeded to have our battle, me sending out my main team in the form of Spinax, Goyle, and Shanshan. And he was using Venator and Alectro, just like in the game. Of course, he went first. He had Venator attack Spinax, it being super effective, but then it was my turn. I had Spinax use his bite on Venator, me smirking at how it was not only a critical hit, but it managed to knock out the Earth type in one shot! I then simply let my foe have the next turn, him using the extra FP to have Alectro use a combo attack which did manage to scare Spinax, but I answered back by switching to Shanshan and attacking with a combo attack of my own, it managing to defeat Alectro and giving me the win!
"Impressive, newbie! You're allowed access... but what of your female companion?" he asked as I simply smiled.
"She's the granddaughter of Mister Richmond. She can fend for herself just as much as I can," I said.
"Really? Because I heard she had to get rescued by you," the guy said, me groaning at that as Rosie simply pouted at him.
"How about, I'll protect the natives while Zina goes after the criminals? Does that work out?" Rosie asked as the guy then nodded.
"That works out, but make sure they stay safe. And try not to use your Vivosaurs. They're scared of them," he said, me nodding as I then led Rosie through the forest as well as get some more fossils and jewels that were cleaned just by touching them. Now I had all of the body parts of all the different Vivosaurs in the outside area as well as four diamonds and 1 Ruby!
"So, are you ever gonna keep one of those gems? Maybe put it into a ring or something?" Rosie asked me with a giggle.
"Maybe when I get married to someone," I said, playing coy with her.
"Hmph! You're sly too," Rosie pouted as we then saw the Digadig tribesmen and they looked at us with a combination of confusion and fear.
"Huh?... Who are you, digadig?" the one on the left asked, me seeing that they looked different in build, but that was it.
"We're hoping to help out with the recent events that unfolded in your village. We're good guys," I said with a smile.
"Oh! You're here to help, digadig?" the guy on the right asked.
"Yeah," Rosie smiled.
"Come with us, digadig! Meet with the chief, he will tell you what to diga-do, digadig!" We then followed after them and were in the middle of the village of the Digadig people, me seeing that most of them chose to wear the masks, and some did not... and among them, I was surprised to see a particular girl around 16 years old that had a very cute face while also wearing her trademark outfit from the next game. It was Pauline in every way, shape and form!
"O-Oh... h-hi... um..." she said shyly, me smiling at her.
"Hi... it's okay to be shy, miss. I used to be like that, too," I admitted, her then blushing profusely and running into the main chief's tent... which caused the chief himself to emerge from it.
"Ah... visitors... digadig. What can I diga-do... for you?" he asked as I then spoke.
"We came to help out with getting the issue with your pyramid handled. Rosie will protect the village from any further bandit intrusion while I handle the bandits currently in the complex," I said, the chief laughing happily at that.
"Ah, a great friend to the Digadig tribe, you are, digadig... the bandits are seeking the main treasure... room at the diga-deepest parts... of the Digadigamid... stop them and we will reward your generosity," the chief said as Rosie smiled.
"Ooh! Sounds great! And I promise to protect you guys. You can count on me!" Rosie smiled... but then the chief did the dance. And I knew I had to stop that.
"Uh... what are you doing?" I asked. But he didn't listen. He then cast the spell directly on Rosie and she gasped as she had to take a bit to recuperate.
"Hey! What'd you diga-do that for?! That hurt really diga-damn much!... Wait... why am I saying diga for all of my diga-d words?... AUGH! I diga-don't want to be like this!" Rosie complained before she then started to stomp her feet.
"Mister chief guy?" I said, getting his attention. "I want you to remove the spell from Rosie, or at the very least, make it so that it can only happen if she's in the Knotwood Forest. If you can't do that, I'm not helping," I said, Rosie then looking at me with a smile as the chief then sighed.
"Very well, then... I shall make the spell different so that it can only apply to this general area of the forest..." the chief frowned as he then shook his hips and Rosie then got hit by the second spell, her not getting hurt by this one, and her sighing as she then spoke to the guy.
"That better have diga-done the trick, jerk!" Rosie frowned as the digadig chief simply nodded.
"It did, digadig... now, you said you'd save our treasures, now please do so," he said, me nodding. I proceeded to walk towards the large pyramid before then going inside of it. And when I did, I was surprised that the normal BB bandit wasn't around to stop me at point A. But I did go forward a bit and get some more fossils while going forward... until I saw man's worst nightmare in the form of Rex. And as in the games, he stood on two legs and he had a nasty look on his pink face.
"Rgggrowf rowf!" the dog growled as I had to wonder what he was saying.
"Listen, poochy. I want to protect the ancient artifacts of the temple and you're ruining this place with your tinkering. Now I suggest you do your business and leave before I enact some animal cruelty on you," I said, the dog growling at me and getting ready for a fight. And it was then that I felt it. My dinosaur side wanting to come out. And since no one but me and the dog were around, I felt I could do so.
"Alright then, you asked for it," I growled as I then slammed my foot into the ground as I felt my body changing. My neck got longer, my tail grew out of my skirt, my skin turned red with black stripes, and my fingers reduced to 3 and became long and sharp. And when Rex saw me? He was so scared that he hightailed it further into the Digadigamid, me following after him while getting more fossils... and it was then that I saw that, while in dino form, they couldn't be cleaned by me holding them. I proceeded further until I got to the next bad guy in mister schnozz, him gasping when he saw me as he looked pretty scared.
"W-WHOA?! What the hell is that thing?!" he asked as I simply growled at him angrily. I then roared like a Zino could to intimidate him and Snivels immediately pushed the button for the trapdoor... but it was too small for me to fall down in my transformed state!
"ACK! Retreat, boy! We need to get Vivian!" Snivels shouted as he and the dog then ran for the hills again. And I then heard a voice from below me.
"Hey! Whoever's up there, I could use a bit of a hand, please!" said a voice that sounded an awful lot like a female Indiana Jones, just without the gruffness in voice. It had to be Nevada Montecarlo.
"Don't worry, I'll get you out of there," I said as I then did something that I didn't know if it'd work. I stretched my neck down... and saw that it actually worked! Now I was just a few inches away from Nevada's head and she looked shocked at me doing this and my appearance.
"HOLY FUCK! What the fuck are you?" she asked in shock.
"No time to explain, just grab onto my neck and don't let go. We got to get after those bandits," I said, her being dumbfounded that I could speak, but doing as I said regardless, even using her whip to wrap around my teeth so she couldn't fall off. I then retracted my head back and we were out of the trap door, Nevada then boarding it up with a piece of wood she grabbed from nearby so no one could fall down it again.
"Thanks miss... so... what's with the look?" she asked as I then calmed myself and I sighed at how I returned to normal.
"Not a word of my transformation powers, ma'am. We need to get those guys before they make off with the treasure," I said, Nevada nodding.
"Yeah, you're right. We need to focus on the job now. Though do tell, what are you? Tell me on the way," Nevada said as I simply smiled.
"Well, I'm not really sure myself. I actually was warped here from a different reality with the power to clean any fossil to mint condition just by touching it... and I can turn into a Zino anytime I get mad enough. I want to go after those bad guys to save the treasure," I said, Nevada nodding at that.
"Okay, and what Rank are you? You're clearly a Fossil Fighter," Nevada said as I smirked.
"Rank 2. Leveled up just yesterday," I smiled as she chuckled.
"Impressive!" Nevada smiled as we then finally got to the baddies and we saw that the duo were trying to get their female friend to help.
"Ugh, what is it, Snivels?" none other than Vivian asked.
"I.. we... a monster! A monster appeared and tried to eat us!" Snivels said with fear.
"Arrooo ruff rarf!" Rex howled in fear as I then simply snapped my fingers and got the duo to look at me. And Rex immediately hid behind Snivels in response as he should have. "Rrgg... rooff!"
"What? You're kidding. This tiny girl here is that monster?" Vivian asked when she arrived. And when she said that, it made me mad.
"Tiny?... TINY?!" I exclaimed. That was something I was very mad at, considering that I was only 4 foot 8 as an adult, which made me look like a teenager at all times. But it was also the size of my chest, very tiny.
"Heh, I'm just speaking the truth. No need to get mad at your obviously tiny assets. Compared to me, you're just a kid," she said. And it was then that I felt my body start to turn again. And when it finally finished, the trio looked at me in absolute fear as I now stood at least a foot over Vivian, who was the tallest of the bunch.
"TELL ME I'M TINY AGAIN! AND WE'LL SEE WHO'S TALKING!" I growled angrily as Vivian then gulped and looked at me and Nevada, who simply readied her whip.
"Ready to give up the treasure, bandits?" she asked.
"Uh... think fast!" Vivian shouted as she then threw the item of importance at Nevada, it being the green tacky idol. "Let's cheese it, guys!" Vivian shouted as they then used the secret escape hatch to leave the place immediately, me and Nevada following after them after I calmed myself and turned to normal, as the hole was too small for me to go down in Zino form. And after we did so, we then saw that they left the key on the floor of the entrance, us procuring it and going back to the chief, who looked surprised at us emerging so quickly as we then handed him the key.
"Your Digadigamid is now free of all bandit intrusions, chief. And here's your key back," Nevada said as she gave him the key.
"Thanks to both of you... you have done good... deed for Digadig tribe," the chief smiled at us.
"We also found this. It was in the treasure chamber and they gave it to us after I scared them off," I said as I showed off the idol. "Just out of curiosity, what is this thing?" I asked.
"That... I do not know... I was digging a hole to put... food scraps, and found this thing... it intrigued me, so I put it... in the treasure chamber," he said as Rosie looked at it in confusion.
"I diga-don't get it... that place was sure to have tons more expensive treasures, so why diga-did those bandits bother getting something so tacky and weird as opposed to everything else, digadig?" Rosie asked, still sounding annoyed at her speaking habits in this village.
"... Maybe the true nature of this treasure is... hidden from us?... Oh, I know! Brave heroine, please take this idol as thanks for saving our Digadigamid, digadig," the chief said happily as he gave me the idol and I then looked in his hut and saw that Pauline was watching in secrecy.
"Um... by the way, who's the pink-haired girl in your hut?" I asked, causing her to make an "eep!" before hiding her face behind the curtain.
"That is my granddaughter, digadig... she is very shy around strangers... extremely, so," the chief said as I then simply put my hand into the door and looked at Pauline with a smile, even though she looked terrified.
"Hey, it's okay, girl. I know what it's like to be as shy as a mouse. I just want to know your name... could you at least tell me that?" I asked, her shuddering, but still being soothed slightly from my voice, as I was speaking calmly and respectfully. Pauline then finally came out of the curtain as she then slowly and cautiously approached me.
"P-Pauline... m-my name... is Pauline... digadig..." she said shyly, blushing the whole time.
"My name is Zina... it's nice to meet you, Pauline," I said, her sighing, but still being a shaking mess.
"I-It's... n-nice to meet you... t-to... digadig..." Pauline managed to say as she then simply stayed put and I then left the hut, but I did leave something behind for her. One of the diamonds I got from the trip. She looked shocked at it, but I simply smiled.
"I'm not really going to need that. Just a bit of a reward for being a good girl," I said, her smirking at that as I then saw that she had a couple tears come out of her eyes. I then emerged from the hut and the chief looked at me in surprise.
"Hmm... amazing... you're the first outsider that Pauline has ever spoken to... digadig," he said before then looking me up and down all over and then smirking. "May I ask what your name is, female Fossil Fighter?" he asked.
"Zina Zori is my name," I smiled.
"Forgive me for asking this... but should you ever return to this forest for anything... would I trouble you to... speak to my Pauline some more?..." he asked, me smiling at that.
"Only if she'd want to speak to me. I'm not going to force it onto her," I said, that getting Pauline to poke her head out of the hut and look at me with a blush and twinkling eyes.
"I-I diga-do... I want... to speak... without fear... digadig," she said as I simply smiled at her.
"Then that's exactly what I'll do. Anytime I come back here, I'll come around to talk to you. Stay safe, Pauline," I smiled, her nodding with a blush before poking her head back in the hut. And Rosie looked at me with a smug smirk as we then proceeded to go back to the VMM machine that could warp us back to town. And when we were back, she asked me a question.
"Seems like you were being very cutesy with her, huh?" Rosie asked, me shaking my head no.
"Not a chance. She's not old enough to be my girlfriend. She looked like a young teenager, so I'm not gonna-" I was going to say before Rosie spoke.
"What are you talking about? The age of consent on this planet is 13 for everyone," she said, me gawking at that before then facepalming.
"Oi... where I come from, it was 18... with the exception of one country, where it was 13... okay, fine, I do like her in that sense now that I know it's legal... but I'm not gonna try anything with her when she's as shy as a mute kitten. I only want to try and help her learn how to get over her shyness, not as a potential girlfriend. I'll let you know when I want to ask her, okay?" I said, Rosie nodding at that.
"Very well. I can tell that you're being honest," Rosie smirked as Nevada then got back with the VMM next and she looked at me with a smile.
"Hey, Zina?" she said, me looking at her with a smile. "I wanted to let you know, what you did at the Digadigamid? I was pretty impressed... I wanted to know, are you available... for uh, girls?" she asked, me gasping at that and looking at Rosie and her simply smiling and giving a thumbs-up.
"Uh, sure, I am. Just so long as you're okay with being shared with Rosie here," I said, Nevada smirking at that.
"The reason I wanted to ask is... well, I never would've gotten out of that mess without your help. I want to be your girlfriend... but I only accept tough cookies to be my partner. So before that happens, you'll need to get up to Rank 3. And you should probably hurry, because the Level-Up battles will be happening in only an hour," she said, me smiling at that as Rosie gawked.
"Oh crap! That's right! I gotta get to cleaning my fossils! I'll see you guys later!" Rosie said as she then rushed towards the Guild area, which confused me at first before Nevada spoke.
"She's going to her grandfather's place to revive her fossils. He's got a personal machine just for her... I didn't expect that her grandfather would be a good role model, despite spoiling her numerous times," Nevada smiled as I simply looked at her with a smile.
"Oh, and just to clarify something, Nevada... never make fun of my being small or tiny, okay? Because it caused a lot of issues for me while I was growing up back home," I said, Nevada nodding at me.
"I decided against that the moment you lost it at the BB Bandits. They looked like they crapped their pants because of you... and not gonna lie, I peed a little at your roar," she said, me smirking at that.
"I only use my anger to hurt evil-doers. You're safe so long as you don't make fun of my short stature or my tiny chest," I smiled.
"Understood... good luck, Zina. I'm hoping you do good in those battles," she said, me nodding at that.