Two years later…
Dina sat in a helicopter across from Todd, her Aero, Mayrah, lay next to her in a much smaller form, about the size of a cat. Her head was on Dina's lap and she was snoozing peacefully. Todd, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of the vivosaur; he couldn't stop grinning and his hands were shaking in excitement.
"I can't believe it's finally gonna happen, Dina!" He squealed. "My heart is beating like a jackhammer! We're gonna be in Joe's very own tournament, the Caliosteo Cup! All the cool Fighters just all it the Cup for short."
Dina raised a brow, as if questioning if he was really cool enough to be calling it that himself.
"Hey, don't give me that look, I'm very cool!" Todd laughed. He looked outside at the ocean below them. "Joe would be amazed to know we made it through the preliminaries and came all the way here! Hey! I can see Caliosteo Fossil Park! That's where the Cup's going to be!" Dina hurried over to look outside the window as well, spotting the island on the horizon. Mayrah yawned and raised her head, woken by the excitement of the two kids. She smiled at them.
The helicopter landed and the two hopped off, looking around the small town. Dina called Mayrah back to Dino Medal form. An attendant walked over to greet them, welcoming them to the park. An announcement rang out before the two could begin to explore, saying that registration for the Caliosteo Cup would be ending soon and that all Fighters should hurry if they wished to participate.
Panicked, Todd grabbed Dina's hand and rushed to the Fighter Station. They hurried to the receptionist and Todd quickly introduced himself and Dina. The receptionist nodded and pressed a button on the desk, calling someone down to help. A brown haired woman walked into the room through a door.
"Hey there," she greeted. "I'm Stella, the Staff Leader here on Ribular Island. You guys made it just in time!" She took the two on a quick tour of the island, explaining how everything worked and giving them helpful tips and advice along the way. During the tour, Dina got to revive a Tricera. She decided to call him Riptide. Todd, meanwhile, got a Stego.
Stella then took them to the Fossil Stadium and introduced them to Devon Strait who gave them a lesson in how the battles within the Cup would work. Dina listened, nodding in understanding and trying to take quick mental notes of everything.
Don't worry if you forget, dear, Mayrah assured her. If you ever need anything, just ask.
After the tour, Dina and Todd were officially entered within the Cup. She handed them some Paleopagers so they would receive news and notices. Just as they put their Paleopagers away an announcement came on to tell everyone the opening ceremony would be beginning.
Todd and Dina smiled and turned, heading out of the Fighter Station. They pushed their way through the crowd to get the best view possible. A screen flew in and hovered above the crowd and the excited roar of the crowd grew quieter as Joe's face appeared on the screen, welcoming everyone to the Park. He talked about the Park and the Cup, explaining that the grand prize of the Cup was the entire Park itself. He gave everyone a quick speech and wished everyone luck. The crowd, chatting excitedly, quickly dispersed.
"The Cup's grand prize is this entire Fossil Park!" Todd jumped for joy, tugging at Dina's sleeve. "My mind is completely blown here! This is huge, Dina! We have to find a way to win, no matter what!" Dina nodded in agreement, smiling at her friend.
"Hello, Todd and Dina," Stella greeted as she walked over to them. "The Cup is finally under way."
"Oh, hey, Stella!" Todd smiled up at the staff member.
"Why aren't you two off digging fossil rocks yet?" Stella asked. "You should have received a message on your Paleopagers by now…" As if on cue, their Paleopagers went off, letting them know that the first digsite, Treasure Lake, was open.
"Come on Dina, let's go!" Todd raced away to the dig site before Dina could even reply.
"You know, I'm actually shocked Joe would do something like that," Stella said softly. Dina turned to her, tilting her head as she gave the Staff Leader a confused look.
"None of the staff knew he was putting up the park as a prize," Stella continued. "Not even me. But I suppose you have bigger things to worry about, huh? Good luck with the Cup, Dina." She smiled and headed back into the Fighter Station. Dina wanted a few more answers, but at the same time she knew better than to leave Todd to run around on his own for too long. Putting her questions aside for the time being, she raced off after her childhood friend.
As it turned out, Dina's intuition was right; Todd had raced off before getting his Fossil Sonar and the staff member at the entrance to the dig site asked Dina to bring one to him. Dina happily agreed.
Todd was racing around, trying to find the fossil rocks without the use of a sonar which was going absolutely terribly for him. Dina handed him the Fossil Sonar and gave him a brief scolding for running off without it. Todd smiled sheepishly and thanked her.
The two explored the dig site together, digging up fossil rocks. Once her bag was full, Dina turned to go back to clean the fossils and hopefully revive some new teammates.
When she got to the cleaning room she was introduced to KL-33N and the VMM. Dina decided to let Mayrah and Riptide out in their smaller forms so they could run around and stretch their legs as she cleaned the fossils. She revived Raja that she decided to keep on her team and renamed him to Peak. She called Riptide back into his Dino Medal and let Mayrah stay out as she headed back to the dig site. Having her vivosaur walk beside her definitely helped with the anxiety she was beginning to feel.
Upon arriving at the dig site she saw a large crowd gathered around what seemed to be a camera crew. They were whispering things about whoever the reporter was interviewing-all positive-and seemed very excited. Some looked a little worried about having the person in the cup, leading Dina to believe they would be a difficult opponent in battle. Todd noticed her and waved her over.
"Hey, Dina, did you hear?" he asked softly. "Rupert is entered in the Cup! That's right. The Rupert! They're starting an interview with him now." Dina managed to squeeze through the crowd and froze as she saw the boy.
He looked to be around her age, with white hair and intelligent golden eyes. He held his head high, an aura of power radiating off him. Dina had heard of Rupert and seen brief glimpses of him on the news, but she'd never gotten a good look at him until this moment, nor had she ever seen him in person.
The phrase 'oh no, he's hot,' was not far from what she was thinking in this moment.
The reporter asked Rupert a few questions that he answered with an air of unwavering self-confidence. Rupert paused in the middle of answering one of the questions, spotting the Aero standing loyally by Dina's side. He turned his gaze to Dina, a brow raised.
"It seems I have some competition that's not afraid to show off what they have to offer," he stated. As the camera turned to her, Dina stiffened and gave a brief, nervous wave. Rupert walked over to her and gazed down at her. He was at least an inch taller than her, and Dina was intimidated to say the least.
"And who are you, may I ask?" his voice held no warmth.
"This is my best friend, Dina," Todd stood beside his childhood friend, grinning as he gave her a nudge. "She's going to win the Cup if I don't beat her to it!" Dina shyly lowered her gaze for a moment.
"Is that so?" Dina was surprised by the sudden gentleness within his gaze. He even smiled at her. She gave a small shrug. She wasn't even sure she would make it past the first round.
"It's good to know that there are Fighters out there who aren't letting this whole thing go to their head," he stated. "I look forward to fighting Dina here in the Cup. I'll even watch a few of her matches so I know what I'm up against. However, I'm sad to say that I will not lose to her, nor will I go easy on her." He took her hand and kissed the back of it. Dina's face turned bright red in a blush and Mayrah growled at Rupert. The crowd around them went wild. Some sounded happy happy, while others did not sound so happy. The reporter quickly wrapped up the interview and the crowd dispersed, some shooting Dina a bitter glare. Rupert quickly scowled and turned away from Dina, walking away and muttering to himself. Clearly, that kindness he had shown was an act in front of the camera so he would be more popular.
"That was...something." Todd was clearly not happy with what had just happened. "I'm going to hunt him down and see if he's really all that!" Dina was snapped out of her daze by her friend's rash decision. She gave him a disapproving stare.
"Yeah, yeah, they said not to bother him, but they didn't say we couldn't challenge him to a battle," Todd said with a grin. "I'm going for it! Wish me luck!" He ran off before Dina could stop him. She let out a long, slow sigh and walked after him, shaking her head. Mayrah followed, still growling.
How dare that brat kiss your hand like that! She snapped at a dragonfly as it fluttered by. And to do that just for the camera and attention! I'll bite him if he ever does that to you again!
Don't worry, Mayrah, Dina thought to her vivosaur. If he does try that again I'll smack him myself. Besides, I don't think he can be that cold. His dad is a CEO of a big company; he's probably got a lot of pressure weighing on his shoulders, not to mention all those fangirls. He's around my age, so I think he's just stressed out. I'm sure he'll be nicer once he's calmed down.
That's no excuse for him to act like a prat, Mayrah huffed.
She spotted Todd with Rupert and walked over to them. Todd was in the middle of challenging the child prodigy to a battle when she caught up, and she managed to catch the last bit of what Rupert was saying.
"...I don't have time to waste on the likes of you," Rupert spat. He turned to Dina, a brow raised as he spoke to her, "'Let's have fun'? 'Excited feeling'? Such disgusting treacle is enough to make my porridge come up! Frankly. I abhor having to associate with Fighters such as him. Can you believe your friend right now, Dina?"
Dina shrugged and stood beside Todd, refusing to leave him alone with the rich boy.
"Your loyalty is admirable, but you really should know when to stop your friend," Rupert said to her. "He's making a fool of himself." Dina gently tugged on Todd's shirt and he shook his head.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, you want us to go back and leave him alone," he said. "But I want that battle."
"I think you should listen to Dina," Rupert stated. "She clearly has more sense than you, though I'm quite sure she can speak for herself." He looked to her. Dina glanced between him and Todd and took a step back, looking away from them.
"Hey, be nice!" Todd snapped, reaching over to pat Dina on the back. "She's nervous, okay?"
"Nervous or not, she can still speak," Rupert huffed. "Well? Come on then, Dina, no need to be shy about your opinion. I'm curious to hear what you have to say." When Dina didn't answer he frowned, his gaze growing colder. "What's wrong with you?"
"Don't speak to her like that!" Todd snapped, stepping in front of his childhood friend. "Battle me and we'll leave you alone!"
"Fine, if it will keep you from stalking me in the future," he muttered. His Raja made short work of Todd's Stego, sadly. Rupert then gave them a quick lecture about type advantages and disadvantages. He then turned back to Dina.
"Now that that mess is over, I will take my leave," he hissed. "It was nice chatting with you." He gasped and scrambled back as Todd aimed a punch at him, only missing the prodigy because Dina had grabbed him and pulled him back, her eyes wide.
"Shut the hell up!" Todd roared at him. "She's not saying anything because she can't! Dina's mute!"
After apologizing profusely to Dina, Rupert had decided it was best for him to head back to the Fossil Station. Todd was still furious and had begun pacing, grumbling to himself.
"That's it, Dina!" He stopped and looked at her, his blue eyes blazing in determination. "We have to win our way through the Cup together! We have to take down that Rupert jerk, no matter what!" Dina giggled silently.
[I think I already vowed to do that,] she signed to him. [Hopefully you'll get to do that too, though.]
It seemed, however, fate had other plans for them. Their Paleopagers then announced that Round 1 would be starting and Todd and Dina would be fighting each other. The two friends stared at each other in dismay.
[Well that puts a dent into that plan,] Dina tried to joke. Todd forced a smile.
"I was hoping to face you in the final," he admitted. "Stupid computer! Well, there's nothing we can do about it. We'll have to fight as hard as we can. Until our Round 1 match is done, I'm going to think of you as an enemy! I'm going to Fossil Battle you hard! I mean, crazy hard!"
[Todd, that sounded a little wrong,] Dina signed. The two giggled for a moment before they raced away to the Fossil Stadium.