Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the video game franchise Fossil Fighters by Nintendo, Red Entertainment, and Artdink nor am in any way associated with them or their affiliates.

Author's Note: You know that cliffhanger last chapter? Well, that same cliffhanger is here this chapter, just to let you know. This is pretty much what all was going on with Duna during the previous chapter. And, sad to say, I never actually got to explain that last "Fun Fact" last chapter in this chapter, either. Sorry, I figured it made a little more sense to end it the same way. But, trust me, it's gonna be good.

Chapter 3: Inheritance

"I need to go," Duna said, fully dressed now.

"Do you have to?" Hunter said without thinking. Hurriedly, he added, "I mean, if you've gotta go, it's okay, but…"

"Sorry," she said. "My dad needs me."

"Dad?"

Duna realized her mistake and quickly corrected herself. "I meant King Dynal."

"Pretty unique words aren't they? How'd you mix them up?"

"Bad luck?"

Duna produced her portable warp device and punched a few buttons and warped away before Hunter could say anything more to her.

Back on the dinaurian starship, Duna sighed disbelievingly. What was wrong with her? She was becoming too human. She was a trained warrior and scientist, with no time for love. Maybe how much time she'd spent amongst humans was beginning to soften her up… She'd need to go a few millicycles in the simulator before she did something stupid.

"Hello, sweetheart," a cold, all too familiar voice hissed. "Dad's been waiting for you all night. Why, he's nearly worried himself to the grave a few days ahead of schedule."

"Go away, Raptin," Duna said, not giving him the pleasure of looking at him. "I'm just here to see my father and I'm gone."

"Duna?" another voice, a brave voice, said unexpectedly. She looked over her shoulder, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the bluenette Hunter behind her.

"Hunter, how did you—" she stopped, realizing she'd been tricked as he started morphing into a more reptilian form. Still not wanting to see him, Duna turned away from Raptin.

"That Fossil Fighter boy is so simple, it was easy to reengineer my holographic disguiser to look like him." She could feel a smirk burning into her back. "And now for some mind games: How do you know, now that you know, that the Hunter you've been seeing lately is actually your blue-haired human friend?"

Duna turned her head over her shoulder, but didn't actually look at Raptin. "Burn away, snake. Maybe then I'll enjoy the thought of you."

She hurried off down the hall, ignoring the other dinaurian elite's cackling. Her father's room was far from the warp machine hall, but her long legs could carry her quickly. It took only minutes before she stood in front of the automatic sliding door of his room.

She stepped through the door, letting it slide shut behind her. Her father was at the back of the room, under the covers in his bed, asleep. She walked over to him, seeing his normally pale flesh to have become chalky and beaded with sweat. It wouldn't be long now.

"I was worried for you, Duna," he said without opening his eyes.

"I apologize, Father," she said, unsurprised. Her father never actually slept much these days. "I had been distracted."

"Keep your apologies, my daughter," he rasped. "But next time, at least send a message."

"It will not happen again, I swear."

"You are right that it will not. For today will be my last."

"Father?" Duna's voice cracked.

"I suppose Raptin has already told you of your engagement," Duna's father sighed. "Know that I do not wish you to wed the ancestor of the gigantophis, but some things simply must be done."

"I know father. You wish to be certain that the princess will be able to carry on the bloodline."

King Dynal frowned, his eyes still glued shut. "Far from, my dear. I never actually approved of the marriage. Raptin has been plotting behind my back for years now, trying to usurp the throne."

He opened his eyes, revealing them to be the color of a dead man. He'd gone blind three years ago.

"I fear that you may have found another love somewhere on Earth."

Duna said nothing as a tear slid down her cheek, but she made no move to stop it. It quivered at the bottom of her jaw before dropping, but her father reached out a hand and caught it.

"I thought so," he said, his sad voice like grinding boulders. "May I ask who it is that you've determined that you shall share your love with?"

"I am not truly certain, Father," Duna said. "He is a human, and though we've had several…intimate…moments together, I doubt he could truly love a dinaurian."

"It's that boy who had slain the titan Guhnash, isn't it," Dynal said more as a statement than question. "I should tell you something, Duna. When the two of you went into hibernation to survive after defeating Guhnash the Devourer, things didn't go entirely as planned. When your bodies were discovered, reviving Hunter was of no difficulty. But there was a malfunction with you."

"I've heard this story," Duna said. "Then the Digadig Chieftain came along and had Hunter perform their sacred hip-shaker dance to revive me."

"That is not all there is to the story," the king sighed. "When it was discovered that you would not awaken, none were sadder than me. None, but the hero who had saved the world. It was his tears, filled with love and sorrow as he hung from your petrified form that washed away the stone."

Duna turned her head in thought. "I don't remember that."

"The shock from the abnormal awakening had left you still unconscious when the stone was dissolved. The story we told you was the story we told everyone."

There was a knock on the locked doors and Raptin's muffled voice slivered in. "King Dynal? Princess Duna? Is everything alright in there?"

"We do not have much time, my daughter," Dynal said hurriedly. "Here, take these medals, child. They contain the three brains of Guhnash. They alone can stop Raptin's plans to end all mammalian life on Earth!"

The doors slid open, revealing Raptin standing with his hands behind his behind his back. He was oddly reptilian, even for a dinaurian. His indigo hair was greased and spiked to look like a crown of spikes atop his head. Little of his ice blue hide was visible beneath his standard issue blue, purple, and yellow soldier's uniform, and his thick tail swished about. Unlike most dinaurians, who were lithe and relied on speed for combat, his limbs were thick with muscles.

"Pardon my intrusion," he said. "But I wasn't receiving any answer, and I took it upon myself to override the lock for fear our king and future queen were in danger of some sort."

"Who would attack us, Raptin," Duna said.

He shrugged. "Those rats on the surface are none too fond of us. Who's to say they wouldn't send an assassin to eliminate our leaders?"

"Yes," Dynal said, playing along, "you are right, Raptin. But as you see, we are quite alright."

"I see," Raptin said, ducking his head. "Duna, you may return to play with your toys on Earth now. I can handle King Dynal for now."

She turned to face her father, fear and understanding in her eyes. Was this what he'd meant by his final day? Did he somehow know Raptin was here to kill him himself?

"You may go now, Duna," Dynal said. He slipped the medals into her hand. "Remember your lessons."

Duna bowed to her father and headed for the door. As she passed Raptin, he gripped her arm, stopping her.

"What does he mean, 'your lessons'?"

Duna looked away from him. "He's becoming senile, and believes I am still going through my training. His time is coming."

She broke from his hold and headed back to the warp machine hall. As she reached it, Raptin's voice could be heard, announcing the king's death. Tears stinging her eyes, Duna put on her disguise and activated the warp machine, knowing where she could find Hunter.

FFAFFAFFA

When Duna arrived at the coliseum, she found a Fossil Battle to already be well underway, and she easily melted into the crowd, just another pretty face. She arrived just in time to see an all too familiar creature crushing the skull of a Shanshan under its foot as P.A. Leon called foul play.

An intermission began, and she recognized Hunter's form in the Purple Hero mask retreating for a private break room. She activated her warp device, teleporting to the room, finding him staring at his large spread of Dino Medals on a table.

"Is Guhnash himself?" Duna said, standing behind Hunter, sensing his thoughts as to what could slay the vivosaur in the arena.

Hunter spun around and saw the dinaurian girl in her human disguise. She had a fist at her left side.

"Glad you could make it," Hunter said, "just in time to see two giants slain with one abomination."

"You mean T-Rex Lord," Duna said knowingly. "He's the sort of thing the dinaurians had tried to create millennia ago. The only thing that can stop it is the might of Guhnash or his three brains, Guhvorn, Guhweep, and Guhlith."

"Both of which I killed five years ago," Hunter groaned.

Duna held out her hand that had been closed in a fist before, opening it to reveal three Dine Medals with three very familiar looking grey creatures painted and engraved onto it.

"Are those…?"

"Guhnash's three brains," Duna said. "Winning this Fossil Battle means more than you could imagine, Hunter. Take these medals, and use them to slay the T-Rex Lord."

End Chapter

Author's Note: If I didn't make this clear enough, yes, Raptin killed Dynal. It's not important how he did it, exactly, but he probably just poisoned him or something. I might explain it a little more next chapter. Anyways, Fun Fact time!

Fun Fact: Raptin, in the end of the actual game Fossil Fighters, had actually become a Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes. But for the purposes of this story, he plays the role as the major villain.