A:/N Howdy. New chapter time! I just want to make one thing clear; I don't like this part of the game…like…at all. Now, the part after this, I luuuuuuuuurve them! Make the connection here. This doesn't have Rosie, or relationship building chances, the others, oh yeah. Now some things to take care of;
Tumbleweed: Thanks for reviewing! Question though; What Don't you like about her personality? I'm still developing it more, but I'm curious.
Anon dude: Thanks for the review! Even if it was kinda creepy…
xXxJayPOVxXx
I looked at Holt and Rosie, smirking to myself. Rosie looked confident, while Holt looked a little scared.
"Alright. So we all understand the rules?" I asked, and they nodded in response. We were playing one of my favorite games; Tag. If it sounds lame, you've never played the way I play; there a no rules, which makes it much better.
"Okay then." I grin and tag Holt before bolting. I hear Holt yell in protest, and Rosie's laugh fade in the other direction. I duck behind a short wall, trying not to be found. As I wait, Holt ducks down next to me, completely out of breath.
"Got…Rosie. Gunna' die." He panted. I clapped a hand over his shoulder and smiled at him but felt a hand touch my head.
"You're it." Rosie said triumphantly. I simply tagged Holt and bolt once again. Rosie and I ran for some trees. While I hid behind a tree, she climbed one.
I have a feeling, this won't end well. Naxis thought to me, sounding smug and worried.
What could go wrong? I thought back to him. There was a snap of a branch, a scream, followed by a thudding noise, more snapping, and finally; lots, and lots of cursing. I ran from my place behind the tree to see Rosie yelling curses on the ground. I knelt next to her smiling despite my concern.
"THIS IS NOT FUNNY!" She shrieked half in agony, half in annoyance. I simply rolled me eyes and lift her onto my back grabbing her arms and holding them around my neck.
"I know it's not. Which leg did you break?"
"Uhhh…I think both…."
"You think? How can you not know?"
"Ever broken both legs?
"Yes…and I was damn sure I broke both of them!" She scoffed in response as we walked through the doors to the Fossil Center. Wendy looked up from her desk and raised an eyebrow at us before walking over.
"Do I want to know?" she asked with a sigh.
"Rosie fell out of a tree."
"Rosie…again? What have we told you about climbing trees?" I craned my neck to look at Rosie. She blushed and buried her head into my shoulder blade.
"I'm guessing she's not supposed to climb trees?"
"No. So much that Mr. Richmond almost cut down all the trees." I couldn't help but laugh, but I stopped when Rosie bit my shoulder sharply.
"Owww…didn't they teach you biting is impolite?" She responded by biting me again(1). I followed Wendy through the doors to the hospital wing. Dr. Doctor scurried over to us, a smile on his face but concern in his eyes.
"Ah Jayson, how are you today?" he asked, eyes studying me.
"Fine, thank you sir. But it's Rosie this time…again." He smiled ruefully.
"Climbing trees again, Ms. Richmond?"
"Maybe…" she mumbled into my shoulder. Dr. Doctor shook his head and motioned for me to follow him. He led me to small rooms that had a bed, and a few various machines.
"Please set Ms. Richmond down on the bed. I must go and find my assistant." He ordered, scurrying out the door. I obediently set her on the bed, and gave her a soft smile. She smiled back weakly.
"I wish I could pass-out…" she whined, lightly hitting the bed in frustration. My soft smile turned wry as I shook my head.
"Uh, uh, uh. You can pass-out, I've seen it." I said matter-of-factly. She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at me.
"How about you use some of your magic on me?" she muttered. I froze, trying to keep a calm look on my face. How could she know? I-I don't think I've said anything that would give it away. I mean, maybe I did bu-
Kid. Naxis growled inside my head.
What?! I thought back franticly.
She's joking.
Oh. I smiled at her; even in this predicament she made jokes.
Someone's got a crush. Naxis mocked in a sing-songy voice. I felt myself blush and made a mental note to yell at him later.
"Well…I better get going before Dr. Doctor comes back." I announced shyly. Rosie looked over at me with a small smile, and I crossed over to her bed and sat on the side.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that Dr. D would be miffed if you were still here." She said simply. I chuckled a bit and nodded, standing up.
"Yup." I muttered and, before I could stop myself, leaned down and kissed her forehead. The action surprised me as much as it did her. I slowly stood up again, and gave her a genuinely soft smile.
"Feel better." I said as I walked out. I glued myself to the wall next to the door, and reached out to hear Rosie's thoughts.
He…kissed me…Well, he is pretty cute. I did the world's smallest mental victory party after hearing that, but kept listening. I'll let it slide since it wasn't on the lips. And I get to live…that's always good.
What'd I tell you kid. You're attractive; you can get away with anything! Naxis thought to me with a laugh.
Shut up.
^ LATER THAT DAY ^
I stepped off the boat to the new dig site; Rivet Ravine. It lived up to its name, that's for sure: the whole place was a huge ravine, islands ranging in sizes connected by narrow bridges. In awe I moved from island to island and dug for fossils along the way. Before long I came to an opening, probably to an old mine and walked inside. I saw a man leaning over a busted mine cart. He was wearing a miner's helmet over his snow white hair, and he rubbed the scruffy beard on his face. His green jeans and blue shirt had various oil stains on them, and he kept running a gloved hand over the broken cart. When I took a step, his head snapped up and he glared at me. \
"Here to finish the job? You no good, cart destroying hooligan!" he roared, raising a pick-axe above his head. I held my hands up defensively, knowing it wouldn't stop any sharp metal objects wielded by large, angry men, but he stopped. "Wait you're just a kid?"
"Uh-huh. Does that mean you won't kill me?" I asked, slowly lowering my hands. The man smiled sadly and put the pick-axe down.
"I suppose not. Just a bit busted up over my mine cart is all," he muttered, gesturing to the cart. I looked at it, although it was hard to tell what it used to be, as it was just wood and metal now. "That cart goes to my own private dig site to boot; rare fossils there, only accessible to people with my permission, and my cart. To top it all off, they stole my tools, so I can't even fix it!"
"Well, I can find your tools if you want?" I offered to him, I don't like seeing old men cry, no one does. He smiled and nodded enthusiastically.
"Thanks kid. I'm McJunker by the way," he introduced, stretching a hand out to me; I smiled and grasped his hand.
"Jayson," I said, shaking his hand.
"Good to meet you. Now, I'll upgrade your sonar to find my tools; a mega-wrench, and some multi-purpose pliers," he offered. My eyes widened, but I handed him my pick-axe with the sonar imbedded in the handle. McJunker gave me a dismal look as he noticed the sonar's position. He shook his head and pried it out before doing something so fast I couldn't even figure it out and popped the sonar back in and tossed it to me. I nodded and went down on of the two tunnels, plunging me into a temporary darkness. I eventually came to a BB kneeling down, burying something.
Great. I growled to Naxis, who growled back to me. Those BB idiots were nothing but trouble.
"Watcha' got there?" I asked, my arms crossed over my chest as I glared. The BB jumped and dropped a pair of rusted pliers.
"Y-Y-You're the one like Vivian! Take the pliers, just don't eat me!" he yelled before standing and bolting pat me out of the tunnel. I picked up the pliers and smirked to myself.
So, what's the deal with that Vivian chick? Any idea? I asked as I walked out of the tunnel.
Dunno kid. She's like you, but I don't think she understands why.
How does one become like me anyway?
Born like that is most common, another way is to be blessed by another like yourself, sometimes when you die it happens, but that usually takes someone else giving a good recommendation.
That's it?
Well, no. See, you, by all accounts thus far, are neutral, chaotic neutral, but neutral none the less.
And?
Most like you are good, real stand up guys and gals, fighting to protect the weaker ones.
So?
Some are bad, real bad. So bad, that they siphon the power from someone else.
They can do that?
There's only one way to do that…and it ain't pretty kiddo.
Murder?
Look, kid, I don't want to tell you, you'll just get angry. Vivian was born the same as you, okay kid? I don't really want to talk about it, maybe some other time. I sighed, but understood his reasoning for it. I'm easy to tick off if you say the right thing, and the last thing I need is to be ticked off. I saw another BB holding a rusted old wrench, walking leisurely to the end of the tunnel. I barreled towards him and tackled him to the ground. He was surprised and in pain as I tore the wrench from his hands before helping him up. He darted off, as fast as a man who was tackled can.
"That was easy," I thought aloud, holding both tools in my hand as I returned to McJunker. He nearly jumped for joy when he saw me.
"You found them!" he cheered, taking the tools from me and looking them over.
"Yeah, some BB Bandits were trying to bury them," I said, gesturing to the tunnel behind me.
"BB Bandits? What would they want with my tools?"
"They probably want to hide them for the same reason you want them back," I guessed, putting the pieces together in my head. He nodded and looked his tools over before turning back to me.
"I ain't fixing anything with all this rust. Think you can help?" he asked, holding to tools out to me. I nodded and began to carefully clean the rust off with my drill. As I cleaned, my mind wandered to Rosie, how she was doing with broken legs. I tried to reach out, but couldn't make contact with her thoughts. I took a deep breath and focused on my favorite memory of her; when she came to see me after the incident with Ethan. The way she looked at me, gawking at me though she tried to hide it, the way she grabbed my hand to look at my ring, the contact making me shiver. How we almost kissed…
I hope he's okay. Knowing him he's probably in worse condition with me by now. I almost jumped when I heard her thought bouncing around in my head. Here I was, 30 miles away, and I could still hear what she was thinking. I was surprised, and it brought a smile to my face, knowing she was worried about me. I had finished cleaning the tools, and, with a smile, returned them to McJunker.
"Golly good! I'll get to fixing the cart!" he said as he crouched near the cart, but then frowned and smacked the wrench against his helmet. "Right! Could you go and get me an electrominite? I could tinker with this all day, but it needs a battery to work."
"Sure, where can I get one?"
"My apprentice in my junk depot should be able to get you one. You'll need a V-Raptor to prove I sent you though. Common in Greenhorn Plain if you don't have one," he responded, beginning to fix the cart as he spoke. I nodded and went to a nearby VMM and teleported back to the island. I headed over to clean my fossils and get my V-Raptor medal. When I walked in the building I walked into someone, and we both fell on our asses because of it. I rubbed my head, where I must have smacked into the other person.
"Owwww…you okay?" I asked, opening my eyes to see I had run into Rosie, who had crutches with two broken legs; because fuck logic. I jumped to my feet and helped her up as well as handed her the crutches.
"I'm fine, thanks," she replied bitterly. I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment.
"Didn't see you there, sorry," I apologized. She rolled her eyes and smacked me, a smile on her face.
"How's the new dig site? My grandpa says I can't go today; one for climbing trees when I'm not allowed too, and two because I broke my legs."
"It's fine. I've got a new fossil to clean, but I didn't dig much."
"Why not?"
"Oh, the usual. People with problems who need my help, BB Bandits, fetch quests," Rosie laughed, which made me smile a bit.
"BB's again?"
"Meh, underlings is all."
"Too easy for you, eh tough guy?" I smirked and made a muscle, which actually turned out to look like someone making a muscle, instead of just my arm.
"Yup. They can't handle all this." She laughed again, and I felt like my day got brighter. I could have stood there and joked with her all day, but I remembered I had something to do. I said a goodbye and we could talk later and cleaned my fossil. It was a Coatlus, a large bird air type that he added to his team in place of Venator, and switched Shan to the V-Raptor. I exited the building and followed my map to the Junk Depot. Inside stood McJunkers apprentice, Holt.
"Howdy Holt," I greeted happily. He turned, a grin on his face and something in his hands.
"Hey man. McJunker put me to work as his apprentice, figured I'd learn about battling and uh…tools," he explained, tossing the object back and forth. "Why are you here anyway?"
"An uh…electrominite. McJunker needs one for the mine cart."
"Sounds fishy…got a V-Raptor seal of approval?"
"Don't call it that," I muttered, pulling the leather cord from under my shirt to show him. He nodded and held the object he'd been holding out. When I tried to grab it, he held it behind his back.
"Uh, uh, uh. We have to battle first," he said, pulling medal from his pocket. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Holt, I would win," I stated. He frowned.
"I know, but I'm booooooooooored," he whined, handing me the object and pouting.
"Go hang out with Rosie then."
"I thought she was with you?"
"No, she broke her legs. You two can hang out, she's bored also. Just contact me if Ethan gets near her," I reasoned, holding the electrominite in my hands. He nodded and jogged off, leaving me in the depot. I sighed and walked back to the boat to go to Rivet Ravine.
^AT RIVET RAVINE, BECAUSE THE AUTHOR IS TOO LAZY FOR FILLER^
"Here you go McJunker," I said, handing him the electrominite. He grinned and took it from me.
"Thanks my boy, this will work perfectly," he replied, wiring it to the cart. "She's all ready to go! I'll let you go down there first for all the help to given me." he clapped me on the back and I got into the cart. After a short ride I exited and heard voices ahead.
"Where do you suppose the idol is anyway?" I recognized the voice; it was Snivels, the BB Bandit in Vivian's gang. "Dig here boy!" there was a bark of affirmation, signaling Rex was here as well. I looked out of the darkness of the tunnel to see Rex had knocked Snivels to the ground and they were wrestling.
"Would you two stop clowning around?" Vivian spat, glaring at the two.
"I think you mean you three," I growled back at them. They froze as I emerged from the tunnel, sneering at the trio.
"Snivels!" Vivian shrieked, making the man cower, "What is going on here, you were supposed to bust the carts!"
"I did! And then I had Rex bury them to hid 'em!" he defended, Rex barked in affirmation to the statement. Vivian sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"On an island full of people trained to find buried items, you bury something?!" she thundered, making the two jump and hug each-other. Watching the three I came to a conclusion that made me smile.
"Ooooooh…I get it now…" I breathed, the revelation making me chuckle. They seemed to have forgotten I was there, because the turned skeptically to me. "You guys are like Team Rocket! I can't believe I didn't see it earlier." The trio face-palmed at what I said and glared at me.
"Whatever. I trust you're here to interfere with our plans?" Vivian questioned, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Naturally," I replied, a smirk crossing my face.
"Geet 'im," she ordered, harshly. Rex barked and released two medals: Nodo and Zino, a red and black dinosaur that stood on two feet. I grabbed my own medals and sent out Naxis, Venator and Coatlus. My speed was higher, so I went first.
"Naxis! Alpha mode!" I called, adrenaline overtaking me. I find using alternate names confuses my opponent, giving me an edge. Naxis ran forward, and turned into a backward slide, spikes out right into Nodo. He then turned back and bit down on the small creatures, making it flash back to its medal. "Venator Combo on Zino!" the attack was successful, but Zino was still up. Rex barked and order and the Zino charged forward, his claws making and X shape and slashed Naxis.
"Naxis, combo time!" I called. It looked like he nodded and he charged forward, biting and smashing into the opponent, reverting him to a medal. Rex whimpered and backed away, Snivels taking his place.
"Looks like I'm next!" he called, tossing out Carchar and Cerato, and medium sized blue dino with orange marking and three horns. He got to attack first, which was not good.
"Carchar combo on Spinax! Cerato combo on Coatlus!" he called. Carchar ran forwad, as did Cerato.
"Coatlus, up high! Naxis make it hurt!" I ordered. Coatlus flapped his wings and flew out of Cerato's attack, and Naxis growled before curling into a ball. Carchar not only head-butted Naxis' spikes, but got a mouthful of them as well.
Screw you! That hurt! Naxis thought angrily to me. I rolled my eye and thought for a moment.
"Venator combo on Carchar! Wing Cutter on Cerato!" I yelled. Venator combed Carchar easily, and Coatlus sent a red X of pain into Cerato, making him go down. "Naxis, bring the pain to finish!"
You got it boss. He roared and charged the Earth type closing his jaws around the opponent, sending a Dino Medal clattering to the ground. The trio stepped back, angry about their loss.
"Now's the part where you blast off again, isn't it?" I asked, smirking to myself. They rolled their eyes, but Vivian stepped forward.
"You don't know what you're getting into kid," she hissed before snapping, her colleges following yelling, "We're outta heeeere!" I shook my head and picked up and idol, much like the first one. This one was round and had pink markings, with a swirl on the stomach.
"Huh, you're actually kind of cute," I said to it, before exiting tunnel number five.
"Good job my boy! Three of those punks in purple tights just ran through here, afraid of something. Were those the hooligans who wrecked my cart?" McJunker questioned as I approached. I nodded and he grinned at me. "Well I'll be. You sent them scurrying back to their holes. Why you're twice the Fighter and half the size of most folks here."
"Thanks," I replied, a grin stretching across my own face.
"Thanks for your help junior. You should be getting back, Level-Up battles will be starting soon, and you're more than ready. I have to get back to my Junk Depot, I'll be seeing you," he said, clapping me on the shoulder before exiting the tunnels.
^ LATER, BACK AT THE ISALND ^
"Jayson Tyrana, Level Three," I muttered, trying to get the license from my wallet. After some trouble, I showed it to Tiffany.
"Great. Like your other battles there will be a cleaning test, and the Master battle, but this time you have a preliminary battle to fight," she explained, typing my name into the roster. I nodded and waited for my prelim opponent.
"Howdy Jay!" Holt called, trotting over to where I sat. I grinned at my friend and stood.
"Hey man, you wouldn't happen to be my opponent, would you?" I asked. He beamed at me and nodded.
"Yup, looks like I'll get that battle after all!"
"Just be ready to get spanked kid," I replied, clapping him on the shoulder. We entered the stadium.
"Favorite to win this round is that sprat new fighter, Jay," P.A. Leon said over the intercom, filling the stadium with cheers. I had no idea I was that popular.
"Yup, that kid is ten types of crazy, but he fights like a champ," Slate responded, causing more cheers to flare up.
"Ready Jay?" Holt called opposite me.
"Always," I answered, tossing my medals out. Holt tossed out a Tricera, a Pachy and a Coatlus. I smirked, not a good team choice on his part. I went first, and was going to have fun with this.
"Naxis, go for Tricera! Verantor, go for Coatlus!" I ordered, taking my type advantage into play. Naxis bit down in the Water-type, sending a one shot knock-out into Holt's court, Venator did the same to his Coatlus, making an immediate swing in my favor.
"Pachy, Iron Headbutt on Coatlus! Take him out!" Holt called, the shy kid I knew him to be, gone from his voice in the heat of battle. Pachy roared and sprinted toward Coatlus, knocking the bird out of the air, and back into a medal.
"Venator Combo! Naxis, finish it after that!"
Gotcha kiddo! Naxis called as Venator charged toward the Pachy, doing his move flawlessly. Naxis then charged in, a battle cry erupting from him as he slammed into the opposition, ending the battle in my favor. I shook hands with Holt after the match.
"Good fight you put up man," I congratulated. He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.
"You too buddy, and I'll be cheering you on during your Master battle!" he replied before heading toward the fan stands. McJunker came up behind me and set a hand on my shoulder.
"Good going my boy, though I'm not surprised from what I've heard," he admired. I nodded and faced him.
"You're the Master, aren't you?" I asked, having the hunch due to previous events. He grinned at me and nodded.
"I am, but don't think I'll go easy on you or anything!" He challenged I scoffed at him.
"Bring it on!" I challenged back. He threw out a Stygi, Cerato, and Kentro, a vivosaur that stood on all fours and was multicolored. I threw my team out and the fans cheered as we began.
"Fiendish Ram on Spinax!"
"Try to dodge! Then Spinax Fang!"
"Intercept with Cerato combo! Fiendish Ram on Coatlus!
"Coatlus, up high then diving thrust! Naxis, Bowser him if he gets close!" a roar and one down as Stygi went down.
"Cerato Combo on Coatlus! Whirling Dash on Spinax!"
"Counter with Wing Cutter! Naxis, combo him!" A shrill cry as Coatlus went down on my side, making it two on two, with Venator untouched.
"Venator Combo on Kentro! Spinax Fang on Cerato!" Cerato went down under the fangs of my lead Vivosaur.
"Whirling Dash on Spinax!"
"Venator, intercept with a Combo! Naxis, you know what to do!" Venator intercepted with his Combo, and Naxis slammed his back into the weakened opponent, making him fade into a medal. The fans cheered as my face appeared on the Jumbotron, and I beamed and waved, pride filling me. I exited, McJunker close behind me.
"Good fight there junior, I'm impressed with you. You're there in your own league kid, keep it up," he congratulated, handing me my Level Four license.
"Thank you sir," I replied. E nodded and walked to talk to Holt. Rosie popped up next to me, still on crutches.
"Nice job out there," she muttered, "not like I expected anything les from you."
"Thanks for that. I assume you're stuck at Three?"
"Haha," she spat sarcastically, "I was first fight out, and I won, thank you very much."
"Touchy. When you off those crutches?"
"When I can feel my legs."
"Wow, I would have never guessed," I returned laughing at her answer.
"I know, you're a bit slow. Anyway, there's a karaoke thing tonight, want to come along?"
"Are you asking me out?"
"Gross." I laughed and smiled at her, although she was blushing furiously.
"Sure, I could use a break."
A:/N HOLY LORD ABOVE! REMEMBER WHEN I SAID I'D UPDATE? I FINALLY DID! THE FOSSIL GODS SMILE UPON MY HARD WORK!