Me: The suspense is over! Dina's battle with Don Boneyard starts now!

Akuro: People hate suspense..

Me: And I hate you! :D Now get out of my story!

Mapo: *kicks Akuro, if that's possible*

Me: Disclaimer: I do not own Fossil Fighters or Akuro the idiot Gastly (acctually, he's a boss from OkamiDen)

Akuro: ...imbeciles.
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With his back to me, all the way at the end, I could see Don Boneyard. I tried my very best to hide my intimidation. Noticing my presence, he began to speak.

"Bwa ha ha!" he cackled, "You have done well to make it to my inner sanctum. But playtime is over. Let's see if you have the guts to beat me!"

I readied my Dino Medals in my hand and got into a battle stance. Don Boneyard turned around and faced me, but was silent for a moment.

"...Wait. Do I.. know you?" I glared at him in reply.

He continued to stare at me, thinking. "...Never mind! I'll have time to bone up on such things later. Until the Caliosteo Cup is cancelled, I will not allow myself to be defeated!"

Chilling, hollow roars came from Don Boneyard's boenysaurs. B-Rex, B-Brachio, and a stealthy pterosaur: B-Ptera. With me having the first move, I aimed right for B-Ptera.

"Use Lugmos Tail!"

Lugmos ran at B-Ptera, but he flew higher. Leaping, Lugmos caught him by the wing and drug him back down, smacking his tail across his face with huge force. A thin crack had formed over B-Petra's eye socket.

B-Ptera flew forward, enraged, but Don Boneyard haulted him, "Let her go."

Confused, I kept attacking. What is he plotting?I thought.

Coatlus used Diving Trust on B-Rex, ramming his beak into B-Rex's chest and pushing him backwards. Claw marks were scratched on the ground as the boneysaur attempted to stand his ground. Nycto came up behind with a second attack, spinning B-Rex around in a gust of gale-force winds. Lugmos ended with a Charge for good measure.

B-Rex charged at Lugmos and hit him forcefully to the side. He was airborne for a few moments before B-Rex scooped him up in his jaws and slammed him onto the ground. B-Ptera went after Coatlus, tackling him to the ground with Boney Swirl.

Lugmos flashed a cold glare at B-Brachio, who stood unscathed. He took a deep breath, building fire in his throat, then unleashed a huge fireball in his direction. B-Brachio reared up to counter it with a stomp, but was too slow and got hit in the ribs. He fell onto his back, struggling to get up, then stood still as his form faded to white.

B-Rex came at Lugmos head-first, then Lugmos ran at him with a counter attack. The two rammed into each other, trying to throw the other backwards, until B-Rex swept Lugmos off his feet and pushed him backwards. He weakly pushed himself off the ground and got back up.

Meanwhile, B-Ptera had sliced through the air and temporarily stunned Nycto. Just as he was about to regain his bearings, the flying Boneysaur caught him by the wing and threw him upward in a spiral, then knocked him back to the ground with a headbutt.

Angered with the heartless attacks dealt to Nycto, Coatlus flew up to B-Ptera. Winds swirled around him as if he was a hurricane, then he stopped and the winds hurtled forward, blowing back B-Ptera until he hit the wall. He glowed briefly, then disappeared and turned back into a medal.

By now, my Vivosaurs were exhausted. Lugmos, who had been hit the hardest, was on his last leg.

Don Boneyard cackled, "Alright, B-Rex.." he motioned forward, "Bare Tactics!"

For the last time, Lugmos was hit, hard. He stumbled back and forth, his eyes weary, and he collapsed onto the ground and reverted into a Dino Medal. As I caught him, my heart sank.

One Vivosaur left on his side, barely any of his LP gone. My most powerful Vivosaur's been defeated, and the others barely have enough stamina to stand.. or fly.I took a deep breath, my hands trembling.

'You will pay for this!' Nycto's shrill voice yelled, 'No one hurts Lugmos to the point of defeat.. and succeeds..'

Screeching, Nycto flew forward until he was just a blur. B-Rex suddenly roared as Nycto hit him. The Boneysaur held his ground, slipping back a few inches as Nycto tried to push him back.

Coatlus copied Nycto, flying forward and blurring against the air. Within seconds, a cry of defeat was uttered from B-Rex's jaws. He fell backwards, then hit the ground with a force equal to a small tremor. As he disappeared, Nycto and Coatlus collapsed to the ground, panting, then turned back into their Dino Medal forms.

Don Boneyard was in disbelief, "M-My Boneysaurs were defeated? But it would take a Fighter of such unbelievable skill to..." he suddenly paused again, "I knew I had met you before... Dina."

I suddenly realized the voice was familiar to me, but I couldn't tell who it belonged to. Surely I'd never met this person, or skeleton, before... or had I..?

"Of course. It really is you, isn't it, Dina? I had no idea you were in the Cup." he said with surprise.

"I.. I don't know who you are..." I murmured.

He continued, frantic, "You must listen to me, Dina. The Caliosteo Cup must not be allowed to continue! Do not trust anything the present Joe Wildwest says, because he is-"

"Are you alright, Dina?!" I turned to see Rupert rush in, followed by Pauleen.

"We will meet again, Dina!"

As I turned back, Don Boneyard had disappeared and all that remained was a fading wisp of smoke. I sighed, then turned to Rupert. He stared at me with worry, then looked up at Don Boneyard's podium.

"...Where is Don Boneyard?" he asked.

"He... escaped.." I dropped my head.

Pauleen growled, "He got away?! Aw, digadig it all!"

"I wouldn't worry yer pretty little head 'bout that, now." Joe walked into the room, "Thanks to y'all, we captured the three commanders and all their BareBones lackeys. Without them, ol' Don Boneyard can't do much more'n stamp his feet and twiddle his thumbs."

All of us nodded. The BB Brigade was no more. Even if their leader was on the loose, he was still extremely vulnerable.

"Now we can hold the final like we've always wanted! I can't wait to see which one's you two emerges as the champ!" Joe gave us a salute, then exited the room.

"Yeah! The BareBones Brigade is finished!" Pauleen exclaimed, "This is the ultimate victory for the Caliosteo Patrol Team!" she ran off, skipping and jumped happily. Rupert turned to me, smiling.

"..I'm across this is where our era of cooperation ends, Dina. The next time we meet, we'll be rivals in the Fossil Stadium." he hugged me, "Best of luck to you."

"You too, Rupert." he pulled back and nodded to me, the ran out of the base as well. Just as I was about to leave, Todd came running up to me.

We high-fived, "Dina, you are awesome! You pretty much took out the entire BB Brigade by yourself!"

As I thought of it, Don Boneyard's conversation came to my mind. What did he mean by "don't trust the current Joe Wildwest"? And where did we meet before?

Todd gave me a boggled look, "Uh.. Dina? What's wrong?" I explained everything.

"He knew who you were? ...Well, I wouldn't let it bother you! You're in the finals, so you're pretty famous already! Now come on!" he grabbed my hand and drug me out the door, "You gotta get ready for the final!"

"Todd..? Didn't we talk about the dragging-me-around-thing?" I laughed.

He laughed, too, "Oh, who cares! You're gonna win this thing and I'll be cheering for you all the way!"


This was it. The final battle. I'd been waiting for this day my entire life. Not only was I a finalist, but I was also sharing this battle with Rupert. The alert rang on my Paleopager and I squealed with excitement. I ran into the Cranial Fossil Station, but there was one last thing I had to do before my match.

"Are you ready for this, buddy?" I asked.

'Absolutely.'

I quickly, but carefully, cleaned the Miraculous Fossil Rock. It shined bright gold like the rays of the sun. I excitedly laid it in the revival machine and placed my chosen Dino Medal beside it.

A flash of lights and sparks engulfed the room, but after a moment it all began to dim. I looked up as the door opened and out stepped my newest, more powerful addition to my team...

..Nycto Ace.

'Wow, this is awesome!' he admired his wings, which were now attached to his arms, 'We are gonna own the competition!'

"Let me remind you that the competition is Rupert, Nycto Ace." I looked at him with bright eyes.

'He's still going down.' he stated, crossing his arms, 'Well? What're we waiting for?' he leapt up, spinning mid-air, then transformed back into a Dino Medal, 'Let's go fight Rupert!'

I walked nervously to the Common Room door. The attendant stood there, waiting, but Rupert was no where in sight.

"Are you Dina?" the attendant asked.

I nodded, "Yep! That's me!"

"Okay. Well, once Rupert arrives you may head straight into battle.."

A male attendant walked up to the attendant waiting for Rupert and whispered something to her. She jumped back, "Rupert did what?!"

I gave her a suspicious look, "Umm..."

She turned to me, disappointed, "I.. I don't know how to tell you this, but Rupert... Well.. his father just came and took him away."

My heart shattered, "H-He what?!"

"Dina!" Pauleen ran up to me, frantic.

"Pauleen!" I was deeply worried, "Where is Rupert? Do you know if they're still on the island?"

"Yes, diga! Follow me!" she ran off, and I quickly followed behind.


"Do not make me repeat myself. You willwithdraw from the Cup, and you will do so now." Rupert's father was stern, and he didn't seem to want to change that decision.

Rupert glared at him, "No, father! I've come so far already, and I cannot leave now!"

He crossed his arms and turned away, "I've analyzed the Fossil Battle data of your opponent, this "Dina" person. I used that data to run simulations against your team..." he sighed and turned back to face his son, "The results were disheartening. Your chance of victory is only fifty percent. This event will be seen worldwide. If you lose, it will cause irreparable harm to FossilDig, Inc. We cannot take that risk, for the sake of the company.."

"You know what, father?! Screw the company!" he snapped, "You will never understand Fossil Battles. There is no way to tell who will win until you get into the Stadium, and it's fun! I've been looking forward to this battle for a long time, and I'm not going to let you ruin my chance to fight Dina."

His father shook his head, "I expect that kind of meaningless tripe from third-rate Fighters, but not from you! I never should have let you enter this tournament. It is a mistake I will not repeat again." he turned, ready to leave, "We will address the issue of your self petulance later. The company helicopter is waiting. Let's go."

"Father, wait!" Rupert ran forward.

Just as his father was about to leave, Pauleen and I walked in front of him, arms crossed.

He growled, turning back to his son, "Are there your "friends", Rupert? The ones who have filled your head with nonsense?"

He nodded, eyes looking at his father defiantly, "They aremy friends, and they have taught me valuable lessons about the joys of battling."

"Rupert cannot leave, Mr. Kaseki." I flashed him a glare, "You have no idea how important this battle is to him, or how important it is to me."

He paused looking at the both of us, "...Very well. If it is fun you desire, I will simply remove that from the equation.." held up his wrist, which had a mechanical gauntlet on it, "Rupert, I challenge you and one of your friend's to a Fossil Battle! There is no place for fun in battles, and it's time for you to remember that!"

Rupert gasped, "Th-That..! That thing is a Fossil Battle computer developed by FossilDig, Inc. A Fighter can use it to control two Vivosaur teams at the same time!" he looked at me with pleading eyes, "Please, Dina! I need your help! You have to join me in this battle against my father!"

I smirked and nodded, "Gladly."

"Ha!" Pauleen smirked, "The team of Rupert and Dina is the best ever, digadig! You will never win against them, diga!"

"I have run the numbers. The odds of you winning are below five percent. My victory is assured!" he flashed his gauntlet, and then six Vivosaurs appeared on the field. Three were against me, and three were against Rupert.

"We've got this, Rupert." I assured him.

He nodded, "I trust you."

He sent out Giga Raja, Mapo King, and Giganoto. I sent out Lugmos, Nycto Ace, and Coatlus. Threatening glares were cast from both sides, claws scraping the floor impatiently while the Vivosaurs waited for the first command.

I began to concentrate on my half of Mr. Kasaki's dual teams. It was composed of a Super Evolver named Ryden, Seismo, and Perso. Two Earth types going against Lugmos was a piece of cake.

Finally, I broke the silence, "Lugmos, use Lugmos Sphere!"

Concentrating harder than ever before, a roaring fire built up within Lugmos's jaws, flaring towards Ryden. It hit, but barely fazed the powerful Vivosaur. He brushed it off and gave me a look that said 'Is that all you got?'

Nycto Ace swirled upward, curving backwards and into a head-first dive, then launched himself forward with a huge amount of speed. The air whirled around him like he was a shooting star, and he rammed right into Seismo with a huge critical hit. We waited for a second, but none of our opponents moved.

No power attacks... Not now! I thought with a sudden fear.

Lugmos once again attacked, this time with Lugmos Tail hitting Perso. The Vivosaur stumbled to the side after impact, hitting the ground, but slowly rose back onto his feet. His LP was already depleted greatly.

Costlus followed up with Diving Trust, but despite a direct hit, Ryden still stood strong. His menacing, fanged smile sparkled high above me.

Finally, Perso attacked. He went at Nycto Ace with his front feet reared into the air, then slammed the stealthy Super Evolver down. He screeched, and as Perso redrew his feet, Nycto Ace struggled to rise back up. Despite his extra strength, he was just as fragile as before.

Angered, Lugmos felt a power awaken within him. His entire body radiated a fire, shining like an inferno, then he launched forward, butting into Seismo and knocking him out. As he withdrew and landed safely back on his side, the fire abruptly faded. Coatlus followed up with Diving Trust on Perso, but didn't cause too much damage.

Ryden finally stepped up to attack. He rose onto his back legs, concentrating hard on the force he was going to use, then slammed down, hard, on the earth. A large crack formed and rocks flew everywhere. Lugmos was smashed with several of them, though he only suffered a few scratches.

Perso, ready to finish off Nycto Ace, ran forward and slammed him down. He gasped, and with a final look at me, faded. I caught his Dino Medal as it came back to me.

"Coatlus, use Blow Away!"

Spinning the Vivosaurs out of order, Costlus's windy attack caused Ryden to come right within Lugmos's range. With a Charge for his next attack, Lugmos happily smirked at his opponent.

Once again, the opponent's side didn't attack.

"Lugmos, use Lugmos Tail on Ryden!"

He aimed several blows at him, hitting directly every time. Battered and finally defeated, Ryden fell to the ground and turned back to Medal form. And just as quickly as the fight started, Coatlus had ended it with an attack on Perso, and victory never tasted sweeter.

"I... I-I don't understand! My simulations assured me of victory!" Rupert's father stammered, the shock of losing weighing down on his mind.

Rupert looked him in the eyes, "Listen to me, Father. I want to face Dina in the finals." his voice was stern, "I want to battle without any restrictions. Even if I lose, I'll never regret that I tried."

His father sighed, "Oh, Rupert... It's time I told you the truth." he turned away, "I wasn't trying to keep you shackled for the sake of the company." All of us looked at him with surprise

"..What?" Rupert asked.

"You were always skilled at battling." he explained, "Even as an infant, the joy on your face when you won a battle was something to behold. I vowed early on that you would never know the bitter sting of defeat."

He turned back to face Rupert, "I only wanted you to be happy... but now I see I was wrong."

"Father..."

"I look forward to seeing you battle in the final." he stated.

Without hesitation, Rupert hugged him, "Thank you, Father..."

He patted his head, "Well, you have a battle to fight, so you'd better go do so." he turned and walked off to the stadium seats.

Pauleen smiled, "Yay! All the problems are solved again! Now you can final battle in the finals!" Pauleen ran to the seating area as well, and Rupert began to walk off as well.

Rupert cleared his throat, "I'll be waiting for you in the Common Room, Dina." I nodded to him, and began to follow when Todd sudden jumped in front of me.

"You beat the FossilDig CEO, Dina! I can't believe it!" he squealed.

"Aw, Todd... it was nothing..." I blushed.

"You've really got guts! Unlike me..." he trailed off.

He saw me giving him a worried look, but he said, "It's nothing! I'm gonna cheer for you harder than ever! I wanna see the AWESOMEST Fossil Battle ever, too!" he ran off, jumping excitedly.

As I headed for the Common Room, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nervousness, the same nervousness I felt in my first match. I thought of all the battles I'd fought to get here, and I thought of all the great people I'd met.

But one thing's for sure, win or lose, this day is going to be one to remember.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Okay guys, the long wait's up again! This time Dina's heading into the final round (finally! XD) And it'll be a day to remember alright, but not how she would've hoped...

And let me just get something clear: I can't rush updates! Between school work, after-school lessons, and just life in general, I can't get chapters done very quickly right now. So wether the updates take 2 days, 2 weeks, or 2 months THEY WILL BE UPDATED. So please stop asking when the next chapter will be up, because I really don't know and I'm sorry that it takes so long each time.

Please review!