I apologize for the length it took to get this one out. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 12: To the Next Island, After this Parting Blow

"She really seemed mad." I nodded, as we headed for the lake. Primacron and Candyse were a little bit behind Thea and me, as we discussed what had just occurred minutes before.

I had checked up on Carno after the slew of status ailments it had been afflicted with earlier, and it seemed fine despite being relatively quiet. I decided to let it rest some more and go into the Wiki chat. But what I found was not what I expected…

~Welcome to the Dig Site! Happy Fossil Hunting!~

LadySepette: WILL YOU STOP!

Krona123: what? All i want to do is battle.

LadySepette: THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO BUG US CONSTANTLY. YOU WANT A BATTLE? I'LL GIVE YOU A BATTLE.

Autis21XT: The caps locks… _

LadySepette: TREASURE LAKE IN 10 MINUTES. YOU BETTER BE THERE.

~ LadySepette has left the Dig Site~

TDD25: Uhh… what did I just walk in on…

Proraptor715: Oh, hey! Yeah, the caps flood has been going on for the past minute.

Autis21XT: Hey!

TDD25: Hello!

~Krona123 has left the Dig Site~

TDD25: Okay… Well, if there's a battle, who's announcing? I'll be one, if you guys want. XD

DinonerdDC: OH, YOU SHOULD TOTALLY DO THAT E!

E4439Qv5: … Fine.

TDD25: Alright then! Guess we should get down there before they start, huh?

Proraptor715: Yep!

I shut off the computer before grabbing my bag and heading for the door.

"Hey, Thea, Primacron, Candyse, you guys wanna come?"

"Where?" Thea asked, popping her head out of her room.

"Just down to Treasure Lake. Azalea challenged that Krona guy after he bugged them for a while, I guess."

"… Alright, sure. Why not?"

When we got to the lake, I saw that an entire announce podium had been set up, complete with microphones and speakers.

"How did…" Celestial just looked at me, shook her head, and jerked her thumb towards Rubicon, who was already seated. I took the other seat next to him, and rested my arms on the table.

"So… you got all this stuff?" I asked Rubicon, noting the extensive amount of portable equipment.

"Yeah."

"Did you just have all of it lying around?"

"Nah, I built most of it. I build a lot of things, actually. Whatever I can't, I'll just… buy."

"And how long have those two been there?"

"Eh, only a few minutes before you arrived."

"Ah, okay."

Azalea held her medals in one hand, her glare set straight on Brandon, who seemed to be ignoring her out of sheer glee from finally getting his challenge accepted.

I adjusted the microphone before speaking. "Alright then, we seem to be ready! Well, today's the first official Fossil Battle of the Fossil Fighters Wiki, between Azalea and Brandon! Fighters, choose your Vivosaurs, and begin!"

The medals flew, and Azalea's favored Tsintao stood with her Tricera and Nycto, the later having a red coloration rather than the normal green, a result of a Silver Fossil, which could be used to change a Vivosaur's color and increase their powers, although not as effective as a Gold Fossil. So far, the only Vivosaur I'd seen with one was Primacron's Zanth.

Brandon's Dimorph hovered next to a large Water Vivosaur that everyone in the Cup had come to know as Mapo, as one belonged to Rupert, one of the favorites to win the Cup. Next to him was a lizard-like Vivosaur with a long neck, Tanstro.

"Well, they're certainly well matched in speed; both Nycto and Dimorph are extremely quick. However, Azalea gets the first move here."

"Alright, then, what about their other choices?"

"Mapo is a powerhouse, easily able to best opponents from the AZ. In comparison, Tsintao's more support-like despite its effectiveness at Close Range."

I was brought back to the battle when Tricera battered Mapo with a Running Smash. "Well, looks like Azalea's got her own powerhouse."

Her Nycto then dived for Tanstro, causing quite a bit of wear on the lizard.

Brandon then yelled out his orders. "Conqueror Fang and Fiery Dive to Tsintao!" Azalea went wide-eyed when she saw the attacks cause her orange Vivosaur to stumble.

"Get back! Tricera, go for Dimorph! Tricera Combo!"

The flying Vivosaur fell out of the sky when it was hit by the ceratopsian's horns. When Tricera landed from its jump, it was assaulted by Tanstro, who Brandon had told to use Creepy Lick. His Mapo then spun around for a Conqueror Fang, but nearly grabbed Tanstro instead.

"Tricera's Speed's not too bad either, it seems."

"It is relatively high, but that's not the only reason Tricera was out of there so fast."

"Really?"

"Yep. Creepy Lick tends to cause Vivosaurs to become scared." True to his point, when Azalea's turn came, she couldn't get Tricera to pull off another Tricera Combo, only a Running Smash. However, her Nycto was still diving at Tanstro, the lizard trying to bat it away with its tail.

"Looks like Azalea's Nycto is going to be taking out Tanstro if Brandon doesn't do something soon."

Brandon wasn't paying attention, though, and instead set his Mapo against Tricera. While he was preoccupied with Mapo's struggle with the frightened Vivosaur, Nycto struck Tanstro a final time, and the medal appeared the floor.

"Looks like a bad case of battle fever, eh Rubicon?" I looked towards him to see his response.

"Perhaps, but he seems to be pulling through on the other half of the battle."

I could tell he was right, as Mapo was beginning to tire Tricera. "He'd better finish it quick, though."

"Indeed. Parting Blow might kick in and raise Tricera's power." His Paleopager beeped, and he excused himself. I overheard his complaining, but in the end, he hung up and came back to the table. "I have something I need to go do. Once everything's over, ask Celestial bring all the stuff to my house. I nodded and watched him walk off towards town. I looked back towards the field when I heard a collective gasp. I took a final glance back and swore that I saw his grey windbreaker traveling through the trees the opposite direction of town. I shook the thought off though, and began my commentary again.

"Well it seems that Rubicon had to leave, but true to his words, Tricera has Parting Blow active. Mapo's got to pull through the next attack to have a shot."

It didn't, however, and was struck down by Tricera. Tricera itself was wobbling, and Azalea's other two Vivosaurs were a bit battered.

"And it seems Azalea is the winner!" Everyone present went to congratulate her and give Brandon a pat on the back before leaving. I called Celestial over, and she mentioned that I could just leave the boxes in front of his door. She handed me a piece of paper with directions and then walked back to Azalea.

"Oh, and don't worry about something like this happening again. She was kinda sore over her cup loss, so she was really on edge." I chuckled. She was right, though, as when Brandon went up to her with an apology, Azalea accepted without any sort of anger or irritation. I smiled before tossing out Toba.

"Hey, you mind helping me carry a few of these?"

Toba nodded, and its tail swung around to grab some boxes. We walked off to the entrance and followed the hastily drawn map, which led us to the opposite side of town, near a road block and a sign that read "Petrified Woods". Oddly enough, I could hear the sounds of digging from down the path. But I assumed it was probably just the staff working to get the place ready, so I placed the boxes on his doorstep and walked off with Toba in tow. After shrinking in size to allow itself into the doorway, Toba headed straight for the elevator and sat down in front. I just laughed.

"Don't feel like taking the stairs, eh?" I sat on the bench set up in front of the elevator and watched Toba repeatedly jab the elevator button with its tail. "Careful." Toba looked at me as if to say "What could possibly happen?" when the elevator dinged and Bob walked out. Toba's tail smacked his sunglasses off his face, and he gasped and covered his eyes.

"I told you so, Toba." Toba only gave me a glare. "You're alright, Bob?" I asked him, grabbing his sunglasses from the floor.

"Yeah, the sunglasses aren't as necessary anymore. I'm gonna keep them on until my eyes fully heal."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's a smart idea."

"Oh, by the way, I was passing your room, and there was a package outside your door."

"Cool, thanks for letting me know! I'd better go get it before someone else does. See ya!" I hopped in the elevator with Toba, who gave Bob an apologetic look.

He just squatted down and patted Toba on the head. "It's alright." He waved bye as the elevator doors closed.

"Wow. Sometimes that guy acts like he has multiple personalities." Toba looked at me, and I smiled. "I'll tell you about it in the room." It nodded.

When I got through the door and shut it behind me, I sat on my bed and opened the cardboard box. Underneath a few plastic bags full of air was a yellow, cloth belt that had five semi-circles attached to it. I checked the buckle and compared it to the design on my jacket. To my satisfaction, they were exactly the same.

I dropped the belt, startled as I heard a loud pop. I jerked my head to the right and saw Toba sheepishly standing with one foot on the plastic bags. I just sighed and chuckled. "So, you wanted to hear about Bob, eh?"

A couple of hours later, I ran up to the helipad. I saw Thea there waiting with about five bags.

"Do you mind me asking what those are for?"

"My games, my archery set…" She continued to point at each bag and I sighed.

"Primacron and Candyse go on ahead?"

"…my systems, and – oh, yeah, they did."

"Need help with those?"

"Sure."

I reached for my belt, and a female voice popped into my head.

"Don't you even think about it."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm tired."

"From what, lying in front of an elevator?"

However, I grabbed two of the bags myself and just laughed. We boarded the helicopter as Toba still grumbled in my mind.

"Got a belt now, I see." Thea motioned towards my waist.

"Oh yeah. It's for my Dino Medals. Where do you think they're going to open when we get to Cranial Island?"

"I dunno, probably a volcano or something."

I just raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?"

"You can obviously see the future." I pointed down to the island we were approaching. People were heading towards an oddly shaped mountain on the south side of the island. As we were landing, a message popped up on the Paleopagers that read "Mt. Krakanak is now open to all fighters."

I got out from the helicopter after Thea, and saw a staff member approaching.

"Hello, would you like me to take your belongings to your room?"

"Wait, we have another room?" I looked at Thea, and she replied.

"You didn't hear? We get one on each of the islands."

I groaned and heard a few snickers in my head. Glaring down at my belt, I sighed. "Well, guess I'll be needing to make a return trip to Ribular sometime.

Thea put the final bag on the cart before the staff member wheeled it off. "Oh, you can go back later. Why don't you check out Mt. Krakanak first?"

I just shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I didn't leave anything too important behind. As for the volcano… eh, maybe there might be something there. I mean, it's probably even less likely than the Jungle Labyrinth to have Water-Types, but –" I was cut off as Thea grabbed me by my hood and started to pull me towards the crowd.

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