Disclaimer: I do not own Fossil Fighters, any of the vivosaurs or characters (Except for Creed), and am simply writing this for my own amusement.

A/N: As the sequel to my previous fic, Dark Horse Gambit, this story will continue building up on the foundation I have already laid down. It shall detail the adventures of novice Fossil Fighter Vestello Leoncor as he competes in the infamous Caliosteo Cup. What sort of troubles will he face? You are welcome to read and find out.

Acknowledgments: Firstly, I would like to thank Devaro Ayanami for his wonderful help as both my Beta and my sounding-board. Secondly, I would like to thank Tempest Bound for encouraging me to post this story now, rather than later. Thirdly, I would like to thank Vathara for all the wonderful stories -which I highly recommend you read- she has posted. Reading them has helped me find ways of expanding my own writing style.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 7
For Want of a Spine I

From: Leveche
Subject: Re-re-re Food Chain

A whale that size actually exists? Huh, learn something new every day I suppose.

Ah, the wonderful smell of post-escaped-from-ingestion. I recall the nurses and doctors over seeing my care after my own stint of being 'eaten' complaining loudly about the smell. Though, to be honest, I couldn't smell a thing. According to them it took a week to wash off, give or take.

A hipster, a rocker, and a hippie, what a crew this Don Boneyard has drawn to himself. From what you say they are much better people than the BB Brigade were. In that case they were criminals who later reformed into fairly decent people. In this case the people seem decent but are following orders to act in a criminal manner. I wonder what this implies about Boneyard…

Don Boneyard knows sign language? Well things are just getting curiouser and curiouser, to quote Caroll. It's not actually a very common ability for those who are not deaf, well, at least not common for someone to be able to understand it fluently. I only personally know of a handful of people who know Sign fluently. Myself-naturally-, you, Rupert, and Joe.

/\

From: Leveche
Subject: Re-Victory! Victory for Me!

Something like a Fighter's Aura? Interesting, Dr. Diggins will be very interested to hear of this. He may even want to borrow that mask to figure out what it could be. I'll let you know if anything gets found out.

Congratulations on your victory and good luck on your upcoming final match.

What's with the Invader Zim reference?

/\/\/\

"I lost the Fossil Battle, digadig." Bright blue fixed on the icy ground for a long moment before Pauleen glanced up with a smile. "But I didn't lose to myself!"

Returning the smile, Vestello clapped a hand on the other Fighter's shoulder.

With a grin, Pauleen stood proud, her fists planted on her hips. "All those people were watching me, but I never got nervous or flustered! Not once! And best of all, my face diga-didn't turn red! This is a pretty special day for me…"

Vestello clapped and dipped his head. Started has Pauleen took his hands in hers, now standing much closer.

"Thank you, Vestello. Thank you for everything. I'm looking forward to seeing you in the final, digadig."

Mere inches apart, surprised amber locked with grateful blue. Then amber flickered down to admire the slow spread of cute pink.

"Daaah!" The pinkette jerked back, mortified. "Why am I turning red now, digadig?!"

Raising one hand, Vestello hid a snicker.

Footsteps on ice made both Fighter's turn.

"Oh, wow."

Uh-oh, fan alert. Fan alert!

"It's Pauleen!" Vestello could almost see a heart floating over the first Fighter. "You became my favorite Fighter the moment you took off that mask!"

"I love you!"

Pauleen recoiled from the sudden advance of the second Fighter, blue eyes wide.

"Uh…I mean…" Blushing, the over exuberant fan coughed and backed off a pace. "Maybe we can be friends or something? Heh…"

Poor Pauleen, she didn't seem to know what to make of the sudden attention.

A snicker escaped even as Vestello tried to smother it.

"I can't deal with this right now, digadig!"

Amber blinked. That's fast.

"Waaaait! Pauleeeeen!"

"I'm sorry! Am I moving too fast?!"

At paces nowhere near matching Pauleen's sound-barrier-breaking one, the two newly-made fans took off in hot pursuit.

Now alone, Vestello snickered freely. His blue mane shook back and forth with wry amusement. Then the roar from the stadium drew his attention. The twin doors swished open.

"I won." Immaculate as ever, Rupert drew level with Vestello. Gold met amber, the former glinting with hesitant anticipation. "So I guess that means we'll be facing each other in the final." A polite dip of silver hair. "Good luck, Vestello. I'm looking forward to it."

The bluenette returned the bow as Rupert walked away.

"Nice work, little dude." Vestello looked up at Kent. "That was some epic ownage you dealt out there." A smile. "Anyway, here's a prize for winning your semifinal match."

A dark brow quirked as Vestello spotted the words 'limited edition', but he accepted the package.

"Just one more match to go! I know you'll totally shred it, dude. I have faith."

Vestello cocked his head as the staff leader headed back towards his office.

"Hey, Vestello!"

Smiling, Vestello turned to face his friend.

"If I missed your semifinal battle, I'd never forgive myself! So I used my willpower to beat that cold! Yeah, what now, cold?! Hah!"

Both brows arching towards his hairline, the bluenete gave Todd a once over. Though still a little grey, the other Fighter did seem to look quite a bit better than he had the other day.

"Yeah, so I heard about how you went into the Bonehemoth's belly and fought Pauleen's mask!"

Amber blinked. Just who had Todd heard that from? The Bonehemoth made sense, but Pauleen's mask?

"It's just crazy!" You're a world-class Fighter now."

The warmth creeping up the back of his neck and across his nose did nothing to help Vestello's composure after hearing that left-field declaration.

"And I guess you'll be facing Rupert in the final, huh?"

Shaking off the blush, Vestello nodded.

A fist cut air. "Well, don't worry. You're my best friend, and I'll cheer you on with everything I've got!"

Grin spreading across his face, Vestello felt, for some unknown reason, touched by his friend's words. He nodded, returning the fist-bump.

"Okay, I'm gonna go dig up a ton of fossil rocks and make up for lost time. See ya!"

Blinking at the sudden empty space, Vestello honestly had to wonder if Todd had, impossibly, gotten even faster. It was almost teleportation now. Here one moment, long-gone the next.

A snicker escaped him as he shook his head. Always on the move, that's Todd—

The paleopager bleeped to life.

"A new dig site is now open: Dusty Dunes! Dusty Dunes is a desert dig site scorched by the glare of the tropical sun. You are urged to travel there and prepare for the final."

A desert? Vestello mused, a slow grin working its way across his face. Great! I've had enough of this cold. Spinning on the ball of his foot, he bee-lined towards the door. I wonder what kind of fossils are there…

/\/\/\

Lola quivered under the heaviness, and the blended sense of shame-disappointment. Suddenly, she had a whole lot more sympathy for Cole and Lester. And never before had she been so glad that Don Boneyard was a talking skull. Looking up at those empty black sockets was a whole lot better than seeing disappointment in flesh-and-blood eyes.

Though not by much.

"Soooo-" the Hippie began. "-Operation Lights Out was kind of a bummer, huh?" The weak smile, an attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere, fell flat as Don Boneyard didn't so much as twitch.

Uh-oh. Lola shrank back. He's, like, toootally mad.

It was like watching a volcano. Silent one moment, spewing hell's fires the next, complete with high-magnitude shakes.

"That's your explanation?! It was 'a bummer'?!"

The pain in her knees only registered after the shakes stopped. That, and the cold from the stone floor seeping through her pant legs.

"Idiots!"

The venomous hiss was accented by anchor-worthy weight slamming down on her shoulders.

"Perhaps you're not aware that the Caliosteo Cup final is about to take place!"

Odd, that wasn't anger in his voice but…

"I want Fighters slinking away from the island in disgrace, not sticking around and building excitement!"

Fear? Lola could hardly breathe. Like, what's Don B. got to be scared of? What's so bad about the finals?

Determined amber flashed through her mind's eye, accompanied by the phantom-sensation of the warmth of a Healing Song. Fingers strayed and brushed the healed joint.

She didn't regret giving the electromite back. Regretted disappointing Don B., sure, but not paying Vestello back.

That pressure on her shoulders suddenly didn't seem so crushing. That hasn't happened before.

Heavy fabric dragged across stone as Don Boneyard turned away.

"No bones about it… It seems I must take matters into my own hands." An almost unnoticeable sigh. "There is but one course of action left to me now, though I did not wish to take it…"

Breath caught in her throat.

"Well, no matter." Did Don Boneyard even remember they were there? "My plan is all that can save us now."

That lack of regret about giving the electromites back? Not so 'lacking' now. Whatever Don Boneyard knew, and wouldn't share no matter how much she pestered him, was obviously a lot more intense than she had assumed.

Did I do the right thing? She wasn't so sure anymore.

"Uh…" Cole's low whisper drifted from behind her. "I'm not sure I like the thought of a plan that even Don Boneyard finds unappealing."

Lola glanced over her shoulder—

They're so pale!

They looked even worse than the last time Lester had messed up.

"That's not cool, man." Though just which thing she meant as 'not cool' was debatable. "It sounds bad. Liiike, bad bad, you know?"

And if past events meant anything, then Vestello would definitely try to stop him. Only this time…this time he'd be up against Don Boneyard in person. Not even she, Cole, and Lester together could beat him, not even with three-to-one odds vivosaur-wise-

"Get your tibias in gear, fools!"

More resembling terrified cats than veteran Fighters, the trio stared wide-eyed at their boss.

"And understand this:" Don Boneyard's voice dropped to a malevolent whisper. "Dissent or failure on your part will be dealt with most harshly."

He was staring at Lola as he said it.

A dog's whine filled the air and it took a moment for the hippie to realize it was coming from her.

Movement on either side of her made the hippie start. Cole and Lester pressed close, their warmth driving away the icy fear and doubt. In its place, a sense of purpose as Don Boneyard seemed to calm down again.

"It's time to bury the Caliosteo Fossil Park once and for all!"

If Vestello decided to interfere, that would be his problem, not hers.

/\/\/\

From: Harmattan
Subject: Re-re-re-re- Food Chain

Joe knows Sign Language? That's odd, he's never even hinted that he could. I've always had to use my tablet to communicate whenever I had to meet with him.

/\/\/\

From behind protective goggle-lenses, Vestello surveyed the stark, rolling dunes around him. Amber blinked at the odd cactus scattered here and there. The name 'Dusty Dunes' was certainly an appropriate place for this dig site.

Definitely an improvement to Illum Island. He decided. Give me hot and dry any day. A stray thought gave him pause. Three islands, at least nine unique different terrains, ranging from below freezing, to fry-egg-on-sidewalk hot… I wonder how that works, what, with them all so close together.

He pondered the thought for a moment, then shrugged it off and took another step forward—

Yuck. Grimacing, he spat out a mouthful of sand. What tripped me?

A moan by his feet made him freeze. Oh you can't be serious. With some reluctance, he glanced back.

"Good heavens." A dry rasp. "It seems I've bungled things up well and good this time!" Glassy blue met startled amber. "I meant to bring my water bottle, you see, but instead I grabbed a flyswatter!"

This guy is a menace to himself. Yet, despite that, Vestello couldn't quite help a fond smile as he reached for his backpack.

"That will do me little good in this heat!" Professor Scatterly moaned. A pitiful sound. "Oh dear me, no…" Behind his glasses, Scatterly's eyes slid mostly shut. "My legs are weak… My eyes grow dim… My mustache withers…" As he spoke his voice seemed to grow quieter. "Yes, it seems death stalks me once more, old bean." A cough. "I need…w-water…" Another painful moan. "T-tell science…I love her…"

My kingdom for some melodrama. Amber eyes rolled as Vestello unscrewed his canteen. Crouching, one hand supporting the aged head, he carefully poured some water into Scatterly's mouth.

Startled, the older man coughed, then sputtered. "W-water! It's water!"

Tear off my hands, why don't you? Vestello tucked his arms close as Scatterly tipped the whole canteen and inhaled it's contents with such gusto that, by all rights, he should have choked. Or at the very least sent more water to the sand below than his mouth where it was aimed. Yet he didn't spill a single drop.

Passing back the noticeably lighter canteen, Scatterly leaned back with a contented sigh.

Yikes! His back briefly met sand as Vestello threw himself back, rolled, then returned to his feet as the professor, as with previous meetings that required unexpected rescue, suddenly snapped up. The skin around the bluenette's hairline prickled with phantom what-if pain at the narrow avoidance of skull-meeting-skull.

"I say, but that hit the spot! Thank you for pulling me back from the jaws of oblivion, eh wot?" Scatterly blinked, then grinned. "What's this then? You're Vestello! Oh, it seems you have rescued me yet again, old chum!"

Smile tugging at his lips, Vestello gave performance-worthy bow.

"Well, you can trust that I'll not forget my water in such a place again!"

Vestello snickered. Paused. Then affixed a puzzled expression on his face, gesturing first to the area around them, then to Scatterly.

"Eh? You wish to know why I'm here?" He didn't really wait for Vestello's confirming nod. "Why, to track down a Calio Slablet, of course! My sonar detected one of the fair beasties nearby, so I grabbed my shovel and made to dig. Er…" A pause. Was that the hints of a blush Vestello detected? "But the soil is quite loose here, you see? So as quickly as I dig, it fills in my hole."

Sympathetic, Vestello bobbed his head.

"I've buckled my garter trying to think of a solution, but alas! I have nothing." Silence, then Scatterly fixed Vestello with a rather odd look. "Say now! I heard you battled your way to the Cup final, yes?"

Bemusement replaced sympathy and Vestello nodded.

"I wager excavating here at Dusty Dunes should be little trouble for one of your caliber!"

Amber blinked, then Vestello snickered, shaking his head as he did so. Why not simply ask, professor?

"I say, what's so funny?"

First waving off the question, Vestello next gestured around them.

[Dig, where?]

Scatterly pulled out and consulted his stylized sonar.

"According to my sonar, the Calio Slablet should be just in front of me. I say, do your thing!"

Vestello reached for his pickaxe, paused, then flashed Professor Scatterly a smirk full of mischief.

A yellow-rimmed Dino Medal flashed under the sun, then vanished as the proteins in the air drew together and condensed into a familiar form.

Rumbling loudly, Savage glanced down at his Fighter, his dark eyes glinting curiously. In response, Vestello gestured to the ground in front of the professor. The princely lizard glanced from the bluenette to the ground, then back again, rolled his eyes, then slammed his head forward.

The soft sand muffled the sound of impact.

Not quite what I had in mind. Vestello eyed the sand streams trickling down his vivosaur's jaws as said vivosaur lifted his head out of the freshly made hole.

Judging from the smug eye-glint that had been exactly why Savage had done it.

Broad chin scrapping sand, Savage opened his maw. Then he simply remained like that, eyes and posture expectant. Vestello eyed the impressive mound within the damp cavern, then sighed before stepping forward.

Good thing I don't have long sleeves. He drove his hands into shaded sand. Let's see…rock, rock, Jewel Rock, another roc-yikes! A reflexive wrist-snap sent the equally startled scorpion tumbling. Hope that's the only one…okay, rock, rock, r—wait, not a rock.

Prize in hand, Vestello drew back and looked it over. Eyeing the indistinct sandstone-like appearance dubiously, he scratched at it. Under his fingers great clumps of sand broke apart, revealing the aged bone underneath. So it was the slablet—

A shadow fell over him.

The teenager looked up. Froze, wide-eyed.

::Savage, don't you da-::

For the second time inside of five minutes, Vestello felt the gritty taste of sand on his tongue. Annoyed, the bluenette sent a mental lance of reproach in the direction of the culprit. From beyond his sudden and impromptu burial mound, Vestello heard—and felt via: tremors in the sand—deep, rumbling laughter.

Feeling a tic develop in one brow, the teenager wriggled free of the vivosaur-sized mouthful of sand and sent the offender a baleful glare.

Not-in-the-least remorseful and looking all together smug, Savage let out another chortle before returning to his Dino Medal with all the air of the cat-who-ate-the-canary.

Shaking sand off his person, and expelling the darned stuff from his mouth, Vestello caught the medal as it dropped. For a long moment he simply glared at it. Then he sighed and returned it to its place and, brushing more itchy sand from his dusty blue mane while feeling grateful for his goggle's presence, returned his attention to Professor Scatterly. The good professor, the teenager observed, seemed entirely too amused by the whole situation.

Expression carefully deadpan, Vestello handed the slablet over.

"Excelsior!" The professor couldn't have been grinning any wider even if he had been given the Glasgow treatment. "That's Calio Slablet #4!" With a mixture of reverence and impatience, Scatterly dislodged the remaining sand clots. "Now we'll learn what happened to Zongazonga and the bodies that he seized! We'll finally know what happened to the ancient Kingdom of Caliosteo!" Scatterly noticed the look Vestello was sending him and coughed. "Well then. Let us decipher…"

Squinting at the worn hieroglyphs, Scatterly began to translate.

"The people finally rose up as one against Zongazonga's reign of terror. Though the struggle was long and difficult, they ultimately succeeded in defeating Zongazonga. To prevent him from stealing a body again, his skull was sealed away in a stone chest. They then constructed the giant stone pyramid and locked the chest deep inside."

Sealed away, not stopped permanently. Why does that make me so edgy? Vestello frowned. Maybe Leveche will know.

"Fascinating!"

Vestello's head snapped up again.

"So Zongazonga was overthrown by how own people, eh?" A smile. "It does this old man good to see people taking it to a despot!" Humming, he looked the slablet over once more. "And then there's this bit about sealing his skull inside the 'Stone Pyramid'. Quite odd, that."

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that.

"I don't know what it is, but my scientific curiosity is quite piqued!" Leather rustled as the slablet was put away. "Well then, now that I have all four Slablets, I suppose I should search out this Stone Pyramid place! Tallyhoooooo!"

The sudden localized sandstorm provoked a yelp from Vestello. Eyes wide, he spun around and stared after the rapidly vanishing archaeologist.

That was faster than Todd!

Who knew the old man had that much still in him?

/\/\/\

From: Harmattan
Subject: Zongazonga

I just ran into Professor Scatterly again and helped him find the last Slablet. I've sent the contents in the following attachment. What do you make out of it? Is it simply me being overly paranoid when hearing about it made me think about a bad B-rated movie where a monster-from-the-past returns to haunt the present?

Ack! I just realized I never sent you the information on the third Slablet! Attaching it now…

Sorry about that.

/\/\/\

This has to be one of the most difficult dig sites yet. Vestello mused, abandoning all trace of dignity in order to shove his arms deep into the sand so as to retrieve the fossil, which his pickaxe and shovel had failed to unearth.

Failing at that, he straightened with a huff.

I wonder… A Dino Medal flashed and the Japanese lizard materialized.

::Sorry for not letting you out before now, Dynamo.::

A croon answered his apology, followed by a gentle nudge from the large muzzle.

::Think you could help me get the fossils?::

Dark eyes surveyed the area thoughtfully before Dynamo nodded. The bird-footed vivosaur shifted, one leg sliding back in tandem with an opposing forepaw. Paused. Then slammed forward, sinking almost elbow deep in the loose sand.

The fossil in question flopped at Vestello's feet a moment later. Smiling, the bluenette looked up at the looming vivosaur. ::Think you'd be willing to do more of that?::

A snort, then a nod, the 'of course, why would you ever doubt that?' plain to see.

So, putting the fossil rock away, the duo continued on in a similar manner. Eventually they found themselves entering a box canyon at the dig site's border.

I wonder if there any fossils in the walls—

The sand trembled, a few dune tops collapsed like broken waves. A roar collapsed them further.

What on earth is—Vestello spun around towards the rocky inclines of the canyon. Froze; eyes wide. No way…

One of his Dino Medal's grew warm, then a shadow fell over him. Dynamo bugled, alarmed and uncertain, then slid in front of Vestello, posture protective.

::Vicious, what're you doing?::

The air bone vivosaur roared, then charged towards the source of the tremors.

Why can't I move? It wasn't fear, it wasn't an opposing Fighter's Aura. Vestello just couldn't move. Shock maybe? Perhaps even a fair amount of disbelief. Yes, that sounded like a probably cause of his sudden paralysis.

Ahead, Vicious slid to a halt where sand became gravel and let out another roar. Before him, also sliding to a halt, the allo roared back. The two theropods glared at each other, hackles all on edge as their growls maintained a constant tremor through the immediate area.

Then the feathers on Vicious's shoulders settled and he backed up as if to allow the allo free pass. Yellow-gold eyes narrowed, thoughtful, then the allo moved forward at a much more sedate pace. Turning with him, Vicious flanked the different lizard, teeth bared in warning.

Dynamo mewled, glancing between the two approaching vivosaurs, then back at Vestello. Eyes bright with concerned question.

::Come back, it's alright.:: Hand upraised, he caught the Dino Medal as it returned to him. Warm, damp air ruffled his hair and Vestello stared up at the allo. The all too familiar allo.

His palm met the large muzzle before his mind processed the movement. The large beast above him leaned into the contact, a low rumble—almost a purr if he didn't know any better—sounding in response.

::You're the same allo from the mountains.:: Vestello continued stroking blue-and-white hide. ::I thought Joe took you in.::

The rumble became a growl as turmoil swam in yellow-gold. Vestello's chest ached, longing could be identified, and he wasn't pretty sure those weren't his feelings—

Oomph!

Sand pushed against his back as strong hide pressed against his chest. A low whine sounded. Puzzled, Vestello continued petting the allo as the different lizard nuzzled him and inhaled deeply, eyes half closed.

So…something happened, something traumatic, after Joe left. Enough so that the allo became wild again… A frown. No, not wild…but how…?

The pressure on his chest suddenly vanished. Blinking, Vestello sat up in time to watch Vicious slam the allo into the sand.

::Vicious: Settle!::

A growl, a hiss, a rigid posture revealing the fight against the command, then Vicious stepped back. The allo did not return to its feet, however, instead simply remaining in the sandy indent. It did, however, twist its head around to stare at Vestello.

Frown deepening, the bluenette moved over to the fallen vivosaur. Stroking the thick hide, Vestello felt the allo tremble.

Déjà vu.
::It's alright…Do you…wish to stay with me?::

The Dino Medal suddenly resting in his hand was all the answer he needed. Gripping it close to his chest, Vestello felt something in his chest clench.

::I'm sorry, I'm sorry I can't connect with you as I should, Valorous.::

/\/\/\

From: Harmattan
Subject: Catholicism –vs- Christianity

Whoo-boy, way to go picking a controversial minefield. Anyway I put it will undoubtedly step on someone's toes somewhere. So, in case this message goes viral, somehow or another, I will give this disclaimer: The contents of this letter are from my personal perspective and in no-way to be used as a majority representation or a deliberate insult.

Now that that's out of the way…

I think the keyword in your question is 'religion'. A religion is a bunch of habits, rituals, and what not. Something to do at a specific time in a particular way, but otherwise could be set aside on a day-to-day basis. That's not what God wants us to do. He wants us to live for him at every moment of every day, letting our lives be an example for those around us. This does not allow for the hypocrisy that those who follow 'religion' may sometimes utilize in a 'do as I say, not as I do' fashion. Does that make sense?

However, if you want to get technical about the differences…and I probably should have put this first… those who follow Catholicism DO NOT BELIEVE THAT CHRIST'S SACRIFICE WAS ENOUGH TO GIVE US PASSAGE TO HEAVEN! They follow this strange doctrine of having to constantly confess your sins, pray to Mary, Jesus' mother, to try and get on her good side so that she would speak to Jesus on your behalf and so-on-and-so-forth. It doesn't really make sense to me and I'm probably missing some things there, but that's what I've managed to get when the topic comes up.

I wouldn't recommend getting into a debate about the topic. It's one of those things that's a ticking-time bomb. People can get into some nasty fights over it. What I put above is how I see it. I'm not trying to make you believe the same thing or put down Catholicism, or anything like that. You asked a question and I tried to answer it the best I could.

((Ack! Look at how defensive I'm being! That alone should tell you how dangerous this topic can be. I think I'll stop now before I tie myself into verbal knots. Let me know if something I said didn't make sense))

/\/\/\/\

Reviews are always appreciated. They let me know my story is not simply collecting virtual dust. And by reviews I mean something a bit more than 'awesome story' or the like. Tell me what you enjoyed, and even what you did not (though please refrain from going on a tangent).

/\/\/\

Sneak Peak:

"Er, yes." Scatterly shifted in discomfort. "Well, you see, I fear that stopping further erosion will not be sufficient. There's already been too much damage to the Spinal Pillar, wot wot?" Another frown. "We have to find a way to reinforce it and repair the damage."

Vestello cocked his head.

[Milk: lots-and-lots
Us-give-to-pillar?]

Rupert snorted, then looked rather flustered, while Professor Scatterly guffawed outright.

"By jove, you've hit the nail on the head, dear boy."

I did?