Chapter 8: Where the Real Fight Begins
"Rise and shine," Duna said as Hunter rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He looked over to see her making omelets on the stove.
"Morning," Hunter said groggily, stepping out onto the small terrace outside the room. He hadn't realized it was there before while it was dark, and it had a white wicker table with a glass top and two matching chairs and some room to move around. Not as elaborate as the one back home, but it was nice.
Duna stepped out with two plates, placing them on the table and taking a seat across from Hunter. None of the rooms adjacent to theirs had anyone in them, though Rupert of course had the luxury suite a floor above, so Duna was in her dinaurian form still. As long as no birdwatchers looked their way, she'd be fine. She also had the courage to only be in her undergarments, Hunter himself only wearing plaid boxers.
"Eat up," she said. "We just got word on who we're up against."
"Who?" Hunter asked, taking a bite out of the omelet. It was stuffed with cheese and bacon bits, making his mouth water at the savory though simplistic breakfast.
"I'm against some random fighter called Joe Bob," Duna said. Hunter snickered at the ridiculous name. "You're up against that guy Phil." Hunter grinned at the idea of taking him down, first round. Duna smiled back at him. "I figured you might like to hear that."
"Looks like he's not even going to make it through the first round," Hunter said.
Duna pulled out a piece of paper from seemingly nowhere. "I did a bit of research on him on our computer—"
"We have a computer?"
"—and found a little bit of information about him and his fighting style. He's an aggressive fighter, using a Tarbo as his primary attacking vivosaur and usually backing it up with a Guan and Compso."
"He's gonna be a bitch," Hunter thought aloud. Guan would give a ninety percent Attack boost to the already powerful Tarbo, and Compso would run about the feet of the enemy team, causing them to lower their guard in an attempt to get rid of the buzzing fly, reducing the enemy AZ vivosaur's Defense and Attack by ninety percent.
"He has two weaknesses though," Duna said. "One is actually in his trump card, Tarbo. Because of the Cup rules, all of his vivosaurs will be low in Rank, and a Tarbo lower than Rank 8 could be beat by a baby Shanshan."
"Oh, did you know Joe Wildwest actually discovered all Shanshans are babies," Hunter said. "They're young Tarbos."
"Fascinating," Duna said, genuinely impressed by the fact. "His second is pretty obvious with his personality. He loves to show off, and his moves will be sloppy since he focuses more on appeal than power."
"Because Tarbo will be so weak already, Guan's power up won't do much. But what am I supposed to do about his Compso?"
"Two new rules to Fossil Battles in the cup that will save your life," Duna said. "One is that supporting vivosaurs can now directly attack each other. Because of that, I suggest you break in Menchi, since its great size will make it effective at the long range. Second is that you can have two of your vivosaurs as your primary attackers, and, as such, Compso's negative status effects will be halved and split between the both of them."
"That's amazing. Previously indestructible walls of iron now crushed with single blows." He sat back in his chair, designing a team in his head.
Tarbo was an air type, so a good earth vivosaur would be a good pick to keep it busy. And Guan a fire type, weak to water, and Menchi would handle the earth type Compso with its fire type attacks.
"How about a Raja and Tricera in the AZ?" Hunter said. "Once Menchi handles Compso, I can rotate so that Raja will receive the significant power boosts from both Menchi and Tricera to wipe out his Tarbo, and Guan are so weak physically that its type advantage won't matter."
Duna played out the battle in her mind. His plan was solid, and if it went well, he could end the Fossil Battle in three turns, tops.
"Sounds like a great plan," she said.
Hunter smiled, this time pulling his own magic act, producing two cans of Dr. Pepper. He cracked their lids and passed one over to Duna.
"A toast," she said, "to a great plan."
"And to one hell of a dinaurian," Hunter added.
meanwhile, one floor above
A dinaurian? Rupert thought.
He hated to admit that he'd been eavesdropping on his neighbors below, even if they were his enemies in this tournament. But he found it almost entertaining as they discussed ways to take down even what he would call a considerable force.
But where did the dinaurian fit in?
roughly an hour later
Hunter and Duna were dressed now as they sat in the reception room of the station with Holt and Rosie. Dina was also there, but Dino and Todd were the first battle of the day, and they were each other's opponents. Holt had been unfortunate enough to be paired with Rupert, and Rosie was going up against Dina.
"What are the odds?" Rosie said. "I knew they were going to tear us down from the inside."
"Looks like all the good battles are going to be done and over with day one," Hunter said.
"Grudge match between Hunter and Phil, Holt versus prince of fossils Rupert, Dino on Todd, and me against Dina," Rosie said. "Sorry I have to knock you out first round, Dina."
"Don't underestimate me and my team," Dina said. "You may have been battling longer, but I've been battling harder. I got all of my vivosaurs to Rank up twice yesterday."
"Same," Holt said.
"Three times," Hunter said, topping everyone. They all looked at Rosie.
"Zero," she said meekly.
Everyone laughed right up until Todd and Dino came through the arena doors to them.
"Dino totally crushed me," Todd said, defeated.
"I'll admit I was kind of disappointed," Dino said. "Sorry, buddy."
"It's no problem," Todd said, seemingly genuinely okay but still upset. "I was hoping that we wouldn't be up against each other until the finals, though." He smiled and laughed. "Ah, well."
"By the way, how did that Fossil Battle with Rupert go?" Hunter asked.
Todd's face turned beet red and he quickly realized he shouldn't have brought it up.
"That guy's a total jerk!" he shouted in frustration.
"As if it wasn't good enough to beat him," Dino said, "he continued on to totally humiliate him."
"What a jackass," Rosie said.
"Rosetta 'Rosie' Richmond and Dina Fortissimus, please enter the arena," the receptionist announced over the speakers.
"Wish me luck guys," Dina said as she headed for the arena.
"I'm gonna get crushed," Rosie said.
"Not as bad as me," Holt said, earning a glare from his girlfriend.
some time later
Hunter's battle was announced to start. Dina had beat Rosie, though it was a close match. A few other random matchups went by, and Duna totally creamed the Joe Bob guy. Right after words, Hunter and Phil's battle was a go.
"Which vivosaurs will you be entering with?" the receptionist asked Hunter.
"Raja, Tricera, and Menchi, Jurassic formation, Menchi in the SZ, and Spinax and Nychus in the EZ," Hunter said. They'd discovered in Holt's guidebook that the act of placing two vivosaurs in the AZ was called the Jurassic formation.
"Okay. Head through the doors to your right and you'll find your opponent."
Hunter picked up his Dino Medals and ID from the counter and headed through the door. He went down the hall, lined with reporters, cameramen, and newspaper and magazine photographers all sending the two fighters' image around the world.
"Long time no see," Phil greeted Hunter at the second door that would open into the arena. "Can you believe how many news crews are here for this?"
"Actually, I can," Hunter said. "This is about the normal amount that shows up when I'm up against Saurhead or some other giant in the vivosaur world."
"Way to go, hotshot," he said. "Mind if I ask what your strategy is?"
"My strategy? Why, it's the perfect counter to your strategy."
Phil didn't say anything, instead looking straight ahead. When the doors opened, he walked stiffly into the arena.
Part one: the scare tactic, Hunter thought. Check.
"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen," one of the announcers said. "This is Ty Ranno and with me as always is Trip Cera."
"Alright, Ty, I can't wait to see this match get underway!" Trip said excitedly. "Right now we've got a grudge match going on between Master Fossil Fighter Hunter and local legend Phil Anderson. Apparently it's based around that pretty girl Trinity who was in last battle."
"Yep, nothing quite like the smell of romantic struggles while the sun is high," Ty agreed. "Look, the fighters are sending out their vivosaurs!"
Bruce threw his medals, the same three vivosaurs Duna said he would in the exact formation. Hunter summoned his own vivosaurs, Jurassic formation with Tricera and Raja in the front and the titanic Menchi bringing up the rear.
"Hey, Hunter," Bruce called. "The feeling of crushing you will be reward enough, but how abut we spice things up a bit? Winner gets the girl."
"You're too predictable, Phil," Hunter said back, reinforcing the scare tactic. Philanderers were such chicken shits.
"Okay, the Speed sum is higher on Phil's side, so it looks like he's first," Ty said.
"Excellent," Phil said. "Tarbo, take out Tricera!"
The great purple tyrannosaur roared, charging at the blue vivosaur. It clamped its jaws around its neck, the type advantage combined with Guan's Attack boost and Compso's ability to lower Tricera's Defense dealing an unexpected amount of hurt, but Tricera held in there.
"You okay, Tricera?" Hunter asked his vivosaur. It shook its head and roared powerfully, enraged with Tarbo.
Part two: negative effect distribution. Check.
"Tell you what," Phil said. "I'll be generous and at least let your Tricera live to see its first turn. I end."
Part three: cocky bastard. Check.
"My turn then," Hunter said. "Menchi, crush his Compso!"
"What?" Phil exclaimed, confused at how an SZ vivosaur could attack another SZ vivosaur.
"Ooh, looks like someone's been studying, and it certainly wasn't Phil," Ty said. "New rules in the Caliosteo Cup state that SZ vivosaurs can attack any other opposing vivosaur."
"Yeah, and at that range, Menchi will be performing maximum impact," Trip said.
Menchi groan-roared, charging Compso before crushing it back into its Medal form.
Part four: the biting fly. Check.
"Now, rotate so that Raja is in the AZ!" Hunter commanded. The vivosaurs followed their master's orders. Now, Raja was a brick wall thanks to its Attack boost from Tricera and Defense boost from Menchi, not to mention the perfect range and its type advantage.
"Now, Raja, eliminate his Tarbo!"
The tyrannosaur roared, charging at Tarbo. It bit hard into its neck, ripping out a huge chunk so fast that Tarbo still stood, alive and in shock. Raja proceeded to uppercut Tarbo with its bony skull, knocking the sense back into it and letting it know it was dead and causing it to revert back into its medal.
Part five: the giant. Check.
"I end," Hunter said, going along with his plan.
"No, I end," Phil said, smirking wickedly. "Guan, rotate to the front and center and use Great Unmasking."
The little tyrannosaur hopped over to its new AZ position before it was cloaked in red flames. When the inferno died away, a red and black vivosaur with thick muscles and a fiery crown stood where Guan once did. It was a plain old T-Rex, but it looked unbelievably powerful.
Part six: victory. Critical failure.
"Unbelievable counter!" Trip shouted in excitement.
"Using the retaliation bonus FP, Phil has just transformed his Guan into the mighty T-Rex!" Ty shouted in excitement. "This is where the real fight begins."
Phil laughed. "You aren't the only one to have done research on your opponents, Hunter. I looked you up as well. Turns out, you don't have a clear strategy, you change with your opponent." He gestured to the T-Rex. "So, as you can see, I came up with my own backup plan. Ever since I'd seen that you'd be here, I knew that I'd have to place layer after layer of defenses against your team. So, I've been training my Guan almost obsessively so that it could use its Great Unmasking. Now, it's already at Rank 10."
"Every plan has a flaw," Hunter said. "You can only attack or use a skill once per turn, which means it's my turn, and I plan to use it to eliminate that T-Rex."
He shrugged. "Whatever. You just try and stop me!"
Hunter looked at his formation of vivosaurs. Raja would probably be the first to go, since it had a bad type matchup and the range was perfect for a T-Rex. Menchi didn't have power enough to stop it even from the back row. Tricera was his best hope against it, the mid-ranged vivosaur also having a type advantage. It was his new trump card.
"Tricera, wreak havoc on his T-Rex!" Hunter ordered.
"HROO!" it roared, charging at the enemy vivosaur. It smashed headlong into the T-Rex, knocking it off balance but not doing much harm to it otherwise. It proceeded to jump up, its nose horn ripping up the bottom of the T-Rex's jaw before it rocketed back down, spiraling like a blue bullet and tearing into the T-Rex. Sad to say, as Tricera retreated to its position, T-Rex looked bloodied up but unfazed.
Hunter ended his turn, his FP all spent on that one move.
"Looks like it's my turn," Phil said. "One by one, they all fall down. Crush Raja, T-Rex!"
"GRRAAA!" the tyrant roared, shaking the earth beneath Hunter's feet as it rushed the smaller tyrannosaur.
As it reached Raja, a flash of light emanating from the vivosaur blinded any who watched the battle, and by the time it had died down, a huge monstrosity with bony extrusions stood in its place, T-Rex clinging desperately to its long arm.
"My god, I can't believe what I'm seeing," Ty said in total astonishment.
"I don't know what I'm seeing," Trip said.
"Trip, it would appear as though Raja has just transformed into its Super Revived form, the Giga Raja! This may turn the tides of the entire battle!"
"An Elder," Duna silently gasped in the reception room, standing up and taking a step towards the wall-mounted television.
Hunter stared at the immense vivosaur before him. It had just matured before his eyes. Duna had said that it was nearly impossible for a red bone to mature into an Elder.
"Hrr-RAHRRR!" the creature screamed, flinging the T-Rex off its arm and nearly landing it right on top of Phil.
A chant started up around the arena. At first, Hunter didn't understand what they were saying, but as more voices joined in, the people's words were made clear as they chanted: "Giga Raja! Giga Raja! Giga Raja!"
"Now's the right time to end it if I've seen such a time," Trip said.
Ty agreed, "It's going to be a tall order for Phil to win this one."
"I made a tall order once," Trip said. "It was a cheeseburger on stilts."
Ty facepalmed himself with his two fingered claw.
"Let's finish this!" Hunter said, all fired up from the cheers. "End it Giga Raja! Strike down his T-Rex!"
"HRAAAHRR!" the Elder roared with the strength to create a magnitude twenty earthquake.
It dropped down to all-fours, an orb of energy and power forming in its gaping maw. As it was fully charged with power, a beam rocketed from the energy orb, traveling with the speed and force to leave a long and deep trail along the ground. It smashed into the T-Rex, penetrating its heart and still having the force to exit the other side of the vivosaur, arcing and racing to the air with a scream of energy and power before exploding in the clouds above the arena. The T-Rex was left still, a gaping hole in its chest.
Giga Raja stomped over to the other vivosaur, slow and deliberate. When it reached it, it raised a huge claw and swiped at its head, sending the vivosaur's head flying before it crumpled into its medal.
Recalculating… Part six: victory. Check.
The audience went wild as a band stepped out onto the field. The announcers were screaming with excitement, but all the noise was canceled out by Hunter as he stared at the Elder before him. It returned to him, bending over so that it was eye level with him.
It's a vicious monster, Hunter thought. But then, why was it purring?
Hunter looked over to the glass boxes where the richer spectators were. In one of them, he could see the familiar silver-haired form of Rupert staring down at him through the window. He stared back, and Giga Raja stood, roaring in challenge.
30 minutes later
"I can't believe our luck," Duna said, back in their apartment with Hunter. She was in her dinaurian form, pacing around the room. "You have two Elders."
Hunter's match was long over. The two had quickly left the arena, apologizing to Holt that they couldn't wait for his match and promised they'd keep the TV on. His match was next.
"Isn't it a good thing?" Hunter asked. "I mean, at least it isn't Raptin who has them."
"Yes, but an Elder is an Elder," Duna said. "All of them are monsters."
"Maybe not," Hunter said. "After that Fossil Battle, it came over and looked at me. And it made this purring noise, like it was showing affection of some sort."
"Don't be ridiculous." Even as she said it, Duna seemed unsure.
"Everything has a good and a bad side," Hunter insisted. "I think that the revival process probably impacts them somehow, as well as their master. Like with the normal vivosaurs. As long as they have a good master, they're good. But with evil masters, like the BB Bandits, they turn evil. Frigi is a prime example." Duna didn't say anything. "How about this: as long as we have Elders, we might as well use them. Who knows how many Raptin has already collected by this point? We may as well fight fire with fire."
She shook her head. "Fine, I suppose you're right. But we use them to take down other Elders only. Given a little bit of experience, they might prove better off against them than what our original plan will."
Hunter nodded his head when their Paleopagers went off.
"All Fossil Fighters please report to the main part of town," a staff's voice said over the pager. "Joe Wildwest has an announcement for the victors of the Caliosteo Cup's round one and any others who may be interested."
"Guess we missed Holt's match," Hunter said.
"We know how it was going to turn out anyway," Duna said. "Come on, let's see what Joe wants."
She pressed the gemstone on her necklace, transforming into her human guise, and they headed for the square.
roughly 15 minutes later
"There you are, guys," hunter said as he approached Holt and Rosie with Duna. Dino, Dina, and Todd were there as well. "Sorry, we didn't catch your match, Holt."
"I figured," he said. "I was called up soon as the two of you left. Rupert practically had me beat before we even entered the arena. He must've been really grinding it with his training; his entire team was already Rank 7!"
"And the skill," Dino said. "He must have been Fossil Battling since he was two."
"I noticed a crucial weakness though," Dina said. "He doesn't battle with his heart. Everything he does is systematic and without any sort of passion. If it meant victory, I wouldn't put it past him to sacrifice his entire team."
"Hey, what's that?" Rosie asked, pointing off in the distance.
"Oh my gosh!" Todd exclaimed. "That's a Mammoth Vision!"
"A what vision?"
"It's like a Jumbotron, but mammoth!" Todd said, not really clearing things up any.
Holt produced his guidebook. "Says here that… It's basically just a giant, flying TV."
"I want one," Hunter said as the yellow shelled television came into view. It was truly mammoth, and the only thing that seemed to be holding it up were some helicopter blades on top of the screen.
A face popped up on the screen. It was a cowboy, a microphone in his hand and a grin on his face.
"Howdy, y'all," the cowboy on the big screen said. "My name's Joe Wildwest, and I'd like to officially welcome y'all to Caliosteo Fossil Park!"
Everyone cheered wildly.
"As I'm sure yer all well aware of, today was also the first round of the first-ever Caliosteo Cup." More cheering. "My congrats to the round one victors by the way. But I figured now might be good a time as any to tell you that the reward for winning this here tournament—" he paused for effect "—is all of Caliosteo Fossil Park!"
The cheering was deafening. Even Hunter almost felt compelled to shout in excitement, but was a little too shocked. The entire park? That was a tremendous reward.
"That's right; you'll own 'er free 'n clear." He pointed. "Now y'all get out there and dig up some fossils and lead some good clean Fossil Battles. Tomorrow will be the opening of the site Jungle Labyrinth, and in three days, round two of the cup will begin! Bye, y'all! See ya soon!"
The screen blacked out and the Mammoth Vision floated away. Everyone turned to face friends and strangers, chattering excitedly.
"Wow, the entire park?!" Todd exclaimed. "I was expecting something big a guy like Joe Wildwest, but this is just amazing!"
"It almost seems too good to be true," Dina said.
"Too bad I was out round one," Rosie said. "I'd love to own my own island!"
"Technically, you kind of do," Holt said, Rosie glaring at him through the corner of her eye.
"Hey, Dino," Hunter said, earning the kid's attention. "See you at the top, alright?"
He looked at him in confusion at first, but smiled as Hunter gave him a thumbs-up.
several hours later
The four friends sat on top of the roof once again, drinking Dr. Pepper and Diet Coke as they watched the sunset, their new tradition it seemed. It wasn't long before Holt and Rosie went back down to their room.
"Did you really mean that?" Duna asked Hunter. "What you said to Dino back there."
Hunter nodded his head. "There's some quality about him, something special. The way he gets along with his Aeros and Tricera… He says he's only been a fighter two years now, but he's a champion. His sister, too."
"Sure you aren't just tired?" Duna asked him. "Come on, let's get to bed."
She stood up, waiting for Hunter to stand before they headed down side by side to their shared room.
End Chapter