Chapter 10: Demon of the Wood
"Ugh, I hate you guys," Rosie complained the next morning. "It was so hot and muggy in the Jungle Labyrinth, and I got lost, and there were bugs, and…and… Ugh!"
"Like us being there would have made it any better," Hunter said.
"Whatever," Rosie said, then, remembering Duna and Hunter's promise the day before, asked, "Wait, where's our share of the profits?"
"Oh, right," Hunter said, fishing Holt and Rosie's share of the money from the cleaning request. Split up between the seven friends, each of them only got about 700 Gs.
"I just remembered," Duna said, "what'd you guys get for the quiz show?"
"Just some vivosaur action figures," Dina said. "You guys can have mine, if you want."
"I'm good," Duna said.
"I'll take them," Hunter said. Duna glared at him, but he only shrugged. Vivosaur action figures were cool. Dina passed them over, and Hunter looked them over before putting them in his bag, finding a skeletal T-Rex, a skeletal Tricera, an Archaeo, a Krona, a Dimetro, a Parapu, and a cleaning drill replica amongst them.
"What do you plan on doing with those?"
Hunter shrugged, stuffing them in with his medals. He'd probably place them on an empty shelf.
"Are we headed for the Jungle Labyrinth now, then?" he asked.
Holt nodded his head. "We should hurry, though. A thunderstorm has been forecasted later today. Unless, of course, you guys want to get soaked and caked in mud."
"I don't think they have any problems with the mud," Dino snickered, his sister and best friend laughing at the memory from the previous day. Holt and Rosie were left hopelessly confused as Hunter and Duna shuffled nervously.
a few minutes later
When the friends stepped into the new Dig Site, they were shocked by the sound of a man calling for help. After a few seconds of looking around, they found a short, plump old man lying on the ground.
"Oh, thank goodness you found me," he said. "I'd near thought I'd die here, yes quite."
"What's wrong, sir?" Dino asked.
"Only the most embarrassing of things," the old man said. "I've come out here digging for artifacts for my museum on Cranial Isle, but it would seem as though I forgot my lunch on the counter, and I've collapsed of hunger. Perhaps, if you could find me a melon spud, it would get me on my feet again. They're quite common here in Jungle Labyrinth; I believe I saw one not to far from here, yes? Perhaps if you could dig one up for me…"
"No worries, sir," Dina said. "We'll help you."
The friends began searching about in the tall grass outside the jungle. It wasn't too long before Dino dug up a spud and it was brought it over to the fallen old man, who was reciting poetry. Evidently he was looking for a poetic death.
Dino popped the melon spud into the man's mouth, silencing him as he crunched and munched at the seed.
"That satisfying crunch, that sweet nectar," he mumbled. "Yes, yes it is. It's a perfectly delectable melon spud!"
He suddenly leaped up, wild-eyed as he looked at the friends who had brought him the spud, looking as though he'd downed a whole gallon of black coffee.
"Oh, my deepest, thanks, my young friends," he said quickly. "Yes, yes, thank you very much. I fear what may have happened had I not had that sweet, delectable melon spud. May I ask your names?"
Dino nodded his head. "My name's Dino."
Dina did a little fist pump. "Call me Dina."
"I'm Todd," the boy said, looking excited as the old man.
"The name's Holt," Holt said.
"I'm Rosie Richmond," the pink-haired girl said, obviously expecting him to recognize the name, though he didn't seem to.
"Hunter," the bluenette said.
"And I'm Trinity," Duna finished off.
"Dino, Dina, Todd, Holt, Rosie, Hunter, and Trinity," the man recited. He seemed to have calmed down. "I recognize many of your names, particularly that of Hunter, but Trinity, you are quite unfamiliar to me."
"I'm Hunter's girlfriend," she said, waiting to hear who he'd bet Hunter was going to be with.
"Not many put money in the 'other' pool," the man said excitedly. "It would seem as though I'm to collect quite the amount of money from my friends."
"Well, here's a change of pace," Hunter muttered.
The old man cleared his throat. "Hm, well, my name is Professor Scatterly. I run the museum on Cranial Isle. I was just here digging for new artifacts. Well, one in particular…" Something began beeping in Scatterly's coat pocket, and he produced an odd sonar-like device. "And that something would appear to be right in front of me. But, alas, it would seem as though I've forgot my shovel along with my lunch. Perhaps one of you children may be willing to do an old man yet another favor?"
"I've got it," Hunter said, hoisting his pickaxe.
The professor scratched a space in the dirt with his pointy dress shoe, instructing Hunter to swing his pickaxe there. He brought the tool down, digging out the earth to reveal an odd stone tablet shaped like a bone with runes and tribal drawings gouged into its surface.
"Yes, this is an excellent find!" Scatterly exclaimed, taking the tablet. He read over it. "Yes, this would be number three of the Caliosteo Slablets." He held the tablet up for the friends to see. "This here is a record of ancient life in Caliosteo Fossil Park. I've already discovered the first slablet, and this seems to be the third. Allow me to translate what it says: 'Once every several decades, Zongazonga compelled his people to hold a tournament. Participants in the tournament were given revived dinosaurs and made to command them in battle. These brave warriors traveled to and fro across the islands, waging battles of gargantuan ferocity. The tournament's sole reason for being was to choose a new Majestic Vessel. And when only one warrior was left standing, he or she would become the new Majestic Vessel.'"
Scatterly held up the slablet, looking quite excited by the find. "Can you believe this? It would seem as though the inhabitants of Caliosteo Fossil Park thousands of years ago even waged Fossil Battles in their own sort of way!"
"Okay," Rosie said, "but what does the rest mean? Zongazonga? Majestic Vessels? And how could they have had Fossil Battles?"
"I second that," Duna said. "There's no way they could have had Fossil Battles without modern technology. It's totally illogical."
"Even so, it's an excellent find," the professor said. "As for your questions… Zongazonga was the emperor of these ancient peoples. I'm not sure of what a Majestic Vessel is exactly, but it may be safe to assume that they are potentially new leaders of the ancients. As for how exactly they could revive fossilized dinosaurs, it would seem as though that their leader Zongazonga was a sorcerer of sorts with power over the dead."
"That makes a lot of sense," Duna said sarcastically.
"So does the idea of aliens," Scatterly countered, "but then the dinaurians came along. Who's to say that the ancients may have had their magicians?" The old man looked to the sky. "Well, I should get going so I can catch my flight back to Cranial City before the storm rolls in. Farewell, young fighters. Perhaps if you come to Cranial Isle sometime, you should visit my museum. I'm sure you'll find it quite fascinating."
The old man took off, his little legs carrying him surprisingly quickly.
"Come on, guys," Holt said. "Let's hurry up and grab some fossils and get back to the Fighter Station. Stego, Coatlus, Krypto, Nigo, Nycto, Parapu, and Anomalo are all known to be found here. Jungle Labyrinth is also known to have quite the emerald and diamond deposit, so keep sharp a sharp eye for any jewel rocks."
The friends headed into the trees, but not before nearly running into two panicked looking adult fighters.
"D-don't go in there, kids," one of them stuttered.
"Y-yeah!" the other agreed. "There's a m-m-MONSTER in there!"
"Who cares about them?" the first man asked. "Run!"
The men took off, making a mad dash for the exit of the Dig Site.
"That was…odd," Hunter commented.
"Gee, you d-don't think there's actually a monster i-in here, do you?" Todd said, looking like he was about to wet himself. "I-I mean, of course there isn't. T-there's n-no such thing, right?"
"Sorry, kiddo, but I doubt two grown men would make the same mistake, unh-hunh," a man sounding like an Elvis impressionist said deeper in the jungle. He stepped out from the shadows, revealing himself to be such.
"O-oh," Todd said. "Well, oh well, too bad. C-come on, Dino, Dina. It looks like r-rain anyhow."
"Todd, grow up," Dino said, unfazed. "They probably just saw some branches in the wind. Let's go."
"Suit yourselves, but I know I'm not about to tangle with some monster, unh-hunh." He waved, heading off. "Good luck."
Todd suddenly doubled over. "Oh, I'm not feeling so good. Must have been that green tuna fish sandwich… Yeah that's it."
"He's allergic to seafood," Dina whispered to the others, implying that he wouldn't have eaten tuna regardless.
"Sorry, guys, but looks like I'm going to have to turn back now." He smiled. "So, uh, see you!"
Todd took off in such a hurry that no one really sick to their stomach could.
"Oh well," Rosie said. "More fossils for us."
about half an hour later
The rain had started coming down, Holt and Rosie deciding it was time to retreat themselves since they'd already found most of Jungle Labyrinth's fossils the day before. Duna, Hunter, Dino, and Dina however continued digging on when Todd came running over up to them.
"Hey, guys," Todd said, panting slightly. "I saw Holt and Rosie come back, but I didn't see you, and I got worried that maybe the monster got you, and I came running to see if you guys were okay."
"No monsters so far," Dino assured him. "But you're missing out on the fossil rocks, though. There are all kinds of them!"
Todd nodded his head when the bushes started rustling off to the side.
"M-monster!" he cried before running off.
A girl popped up out of the bushes wearing a very monster-like mask and strutted over to where Todd had been standing.
"Monster? Who are you calling a monster?" she said. "I happen to be very beautiful!"
"What's up with the mask?" Dino asked, leaning forward to get a better look at it. It looked like a replica of some tribal demon's face.
"I happen to have very personal, very private reasons to wear this mask!" she said. "But, trust me, I'm very young, and beautiful, and…and…and young!"
"Can't prove a thing with your face all covered up like that," Dina commented. "Sorry, but until I see what's underneath, I'm just assuming that you're even uglier than that mask."
"Who are you?" Hunter said, recognizing her accent, but unable to place it.
"Why I'm none other than the teen idol—" she twirled "—Pauleen!"
"Well, what are you doing here, Pauleen?" Dino asked. "This isn't the kind of weather I'd picture a beautiful young teen idol in."
"Why, I'm here hunting for that monster everyone's been screaming about," she said. "I'm going to prove I'm the world's most beautiful and strong Fossil Fighter and teen idol by taking out that monster. Right before winning the Cup."
"Long line to the winner's circle at the Cup," Hunter commented. "But, why don't you tag along? I seem to have bad luck when it comes to things like monsters."
"Okay, sounds great!" she sang. Hunter shook his head. Points for enthusiasm.
After looking around a bit, the friends came to the depths of the jungle, looking into a dark patch of trees. Hunter could feel something sinister in the air, something in the depths making an odd growling, grating noise.
"I don't like this," Dino said.
Hunter summoned U-Raptor, Nychus, and V-Raptor from their medals, prepared for a fight. Their small size would make it easy to maneuver through the trees.
"Let's go," he said, taking the lead with his vivosaurs.
They didn't have to go far before something could be heard roaring, and in the cracks of thunder and lightning, the silhouette of something big and menacing could be seen.
"U-Raptor, Nychus, V-Raptor, take it out!" Hunter ordered, the three raptors charging forth, tearing into the demon hidden in shadows. There was an explosion and blast of fire which knocked the three vivosaurs back to the friends, turning them into medals.
"My turn," Pauleen said, preparing to throw a medal, but the clouds began to disperse, and no monster could be seen. All the friends could see was a backhoe which looked as though it'd seen the bad side of a trio of raptors.
"Our monster!" a pair of men's voices cried as the two men from before came running up from behind them.
"You stupid kids!" one of them said. "We spent forever building this thing!"
"Wait, you guys built this thing?" Pauleen said. "Why would you do that?"
"Well, isn't it obvious?" the first man said. "Why, we had plans to take all the rare fossil rocks here for our selves, which would give us a real nice upper hand in the Cup."
"But now that you know, looks like we've gotta take you kids out," the second man said. "Breme, Dilopho, devour them!"
He threw two Dino Medals, both transforming into a pair of small vivosaurs that Hunter recognized well. Breme was a fire type, with the ability to steal LP and even FP in official arena battles. Dilopho was a water type, good with poison skills. Neither one was otherwise too threatening if quickly taken out.
"You too, Delta, Epidex!" the first man shouted, summoning his vivosaurs. Hunter didn't recognize the one he assumed to be Epidex, though it seemed as though it might be related to Aopteryx.
"I promised to stop a monster, but you two are close enough," Pauleen said. "U-Raptor, Amargo, Nychus, let's go!"
Amargo, a small sauropod, appeared. It was crimson in show of its fire type, and had two rows of spikes down the back of its neck.
"I'll take the other one," Dino said. "Aeros! Tricera! Thalasso! You're on the guy with Breme and Dilopho!"
Aeros and Tricera proved to be a somewhat bad choice, the two bulky vivosaurs quickly filling up the space between the trees, but tiny Thalasso flew freely about. It wasn't very strong, but Hunter recognized it as a simple diversion for his enemies.
"Please, as if rules apply anymore," Dina said. "Tsintao! Goyo! Goyle! Back them up where they need it!"
"Dina, call your vivosaurs back," Hunter said. "There's not going to be enough space for them to maneuver properly!"
"Our sacrifice harms them as well," she said. Hunter looked, seeing the larger vivosaurs forming a solid wall as Goyo, Thalasso, and Nychus stood in challenge of Breme, Delta, Dilopho, and Epidex. They were boxed in. They'd have to fight head on or be crushed trying to escape.
"Dilopho, spread your poison spray!" one of the crooks ordered.
A discolored mist emitted from the creature's mouth, but Thalasso vigorously pumped its wings, blowing the mist back at its sender.
"Good job, Thalasso!" Dino said. "Now, you handle Breme!"
"Goyo, it's up to you to take care of Dilopho and Delta," Dina said, her voice suggesting she knew even the elemental advantage might not be good against the number disadvantage.
"That leaves Epidex to you, Nychus," Pauleen said. Hunter realized her mask was unnerving the men. It might come in handy to keep them off their game.
The vivosaurs began fighting, tooth and nail. Little Goyo proved a match for Dilopho and Delta, even managing to trick Delta into attacking Aeros, which promptly killed it. Between Goyo and Dilopho, Goyo proved superior.
Thalasso and Breme had a very back-and-forth contest of speed. Thalasso tried simply diving and pecking, but when that was only succeeding to irritate Breme, it tried a more brutal assault, but Breme captured it and absorbed all of its energy, restoring what little LP it had lost.
Nychus had a good time dancing with the flighty Epidex, but the foe was careless about where it dodged, mistakenly fluttering right under Amargo's shifting feet.
"Our turn, Breme," the second man said. "Attack with all you've got!"
"Crush it, Tricera," Dino said, the friendly vivosaurs stepping aside as the blue tank rolled past, goring the poor little Breme. It clattered to the ground in its medal.
"It's over," one of them said, the two collapsing onto their rears, looking shocked.
"Dino, Dina, are you guys okay?" Todd's voice exclaimed, the friends turning to see Todd come running up behind them with Stella and a few other staff members following him. When he saw Pauleen, he cried out and screamed, "AH! IT'S THE MONSTER!"
"I am not!" she exclaimed. "How rude! I happen to be the very beautiful teen idol Pauleen."
"Then what's up with the mask?" Todd asked, Pauleen growling at him in irritation. Stella approached the others.
"Hey Hunter, Dino, and all the rest of you," she said. "Todd came running to the Fighter Station shouting something about a monster that was going to eat all of you."
"More like a beat-up tractor," Hunter said. Dino proceeded to explain what had transpired.
"These two, eh?" Stella asked. "Jerry and Lee… They've proven to be troublemakers since day one, but this is intolerable. They will promptly be disqualified from the Cup and banished from Caliosteo Fossil Park. Thanks, kids." She turned to Hunter, twirling one of her strawberry blonde locks. "And could I ask for dinner with you tonight?"
Duna promptly pressed her body against Hunter's, wrapping his arm around her waist as she rested a hand on his chest.
"Sorry, we've got plans," she said, causing Stella's eyes to go wide as she quickly stumbled for words. Jerry and lee snickered, and she seemed to remember what she was there for.
"Seize them!" she ordered.
"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin', Jerry?" Lee asked.
"Yeah, Lee." The two leapt to their feet and cried out simultaneously, "RUN!"
"Hey, stop!" one of the staff members shouted, the group of five men running after Jerry and Lee.
"Thanks for your help, kids," Stella said, too embarrassed to look at Hunter. "Thanks for your help. We'll be sending more staff up here later to collect the 'monster' as proof of their actions. Rest up; round three in the Cup is tomorrow."
The staff came back, Jerry and Lee handcuffed and with a staff member holding both of their arms.
"Got 'em, Stella," one of the staff informed her. "Storm blew some trees down and blocked their escape route."
She nodded her head. "Good. Let's get back to the station."
a couple hours later
Like at Treasure Lake, the friends managed to score every vivosaur the Dig Site had to offer. Duna had also gotten a gold boned Nycto along with her normal one, which resembled a green dragon and was called Nycto Ace. She'd insisted that, since she already had a Nycto, she just donate its fossil, but the staff informed them that they could have up to three vivosaurs of a kind in Caliosteo Fossil Park; one for each variation of the vivosaurs.
They sat on top of the hotel now, as was tradition, drinking various Coke products. Rosie and Holt were having a debate as to whether Coke or Pepsi was better, though both were in favor of Coke, making it a difficult one to be had. Hunter and Duna sat quietly, the first to notice when Dino, Dina, and Todd came up on the roof.
"What are you guys doing up here?" Duna asked them.
"Nothing," Dino said. "We just figured we'd come up here and watch the sunset."
"We can go if it's any trouble," Dina said, starting back to the door that led to the stairwell that wound down into the building.
"It's fine," Hunter said. "We do this as friends. You guys are our friends, right?"
They looked at him quizzically, but Dino nodded his head, making his blue spikes bob.
"Holt," Hunter said, "we got any extra Cokes?"
"I like Pepsi," Todd admitted.
"Ew," Rosie said, everyone else not saying much before laughing.
"Can you live with a Coke for now?" Holt asked, tossing Dino and Dina two Dr. Peppers. Stupidly, they tried opening them right away, causing half the cans' contents to spray out all over them. "We can bring you a Pepsi or two tomorrow."
"Nah, that's okay," Todd said, plopping down on the ground and grabbing a Diet from him.
"How often do you guys come up here?" Dina asked, leaning on the edge of the roof and inspecting the red orb of light on the horizon.
"Every evening since day one," Duna said. "Just a good way to wind down and get ready for bed."
They stood in silence for a moment. Deciding to spruce up the scenery a bit, Hunter called out his Coatlus and Ptera, the two great pterosaurs dark silhouettes against the setting sun as they danced in the air.
Finally, the last bit of red vanished away into darkness, and Holt and Rosie went to bed. Dino, Dina, and Todd went after, Hunter and Duna left alone up on the roof, always the last to leave.
"Hello, children," a voice hissed.
Hunter and Duna looked casually over their shoulders before nearly leaping out of their skins.
It was Raptin in his full dinaurian form behind them. He leaned to one side, a clawed hand on his hip as his tail swished like a cat ready to pounce. Fortunately, he didn't recognize Duna in her disguise; she'd swiped a standard issue holo device that wouldn't have been missed.
"What do you want, Raptin?" Hunter demanded, Ptera and Coatlus soaring over to land on the hotel roof, the red bricks crackling but not buckling under their weight.
"Just figured I'd say hello," he said casually. He produced a Dino Medal. "And, perhaps, ask for a Fossil Battle."
"If I say no?" Hunter challenged.
Raptin looked at Duna. "Who is this pretty little creature? Your girlfriend, perhaps?"
He threw his medal, Nycto Ace transforming from it. It swooped over to Duna, picking her up in its talons and lifting her above Hunter's reach.
"Put her down, Raptin!" he demanded.
The Elder dropped Duna, and she collapsed onto the roof, crumpling and smashing her head but her disguise maintained. Ptera and Coatlus started hissing angrily, awaiting their master's order.
Hunter was about to accept the challenge, but realized how futile it would be. He scarcely had any Elders to take Raptin on with. The few he had he wouldn't be able to use up there on the roof, since they were so large they would with scary legitimacy bring the roof down.
"Go fuck your little space princess," he growled.
Raptin raised an eyebrow. "Ah, yes. You wouldn't happen to know what happened to her now, would you? She seems to have vanished."
Hunter didn't say anything. He took Duna's hand and led her by Raptin, barely remembering to take his medals on his way down.
meanwhile
Rupert had witnessed the whole exchange between Hunter, Duna, and Raptin. He didn't understand what their connection was to the dinaurian, but he believed it brought him a step closer to solving the mystery of the dinaurian Hunter had toasted.
The alien chuckled to himself before returning his vivosaur to its medal and warping away.
"Curious," Rupert thought, stepping into the open. "Could this be the dinaurian that they mentioned on that night? Every time I'm about to quit listening in on those two, I get surprised with another tidbit."
He examined his prized Dino Medal in his hand, then clenched it and decided he would retire as well.
End Chapter