"I hate that kid!" Lester flopped down onto the couch, fuming from his recent loss. Cole and Lola sat nearby. Cole stared at him, sympathy flashing in his eyes for a moment.

"I told you that kid was strong," he said. Lester glared at him before his shoulders slumped.

"Yeah, I guess," he sighed. "That rich kid friend of hers is just as bad."

"Don't worry you two," Lola assured them. "We'll, like, get them back in my plan. We'll show them what the BareBones Brigade is made of." The two boys laughed and cheered in agreement.

"I can't wait to see the look on that kid's face when we smash her vivosaurs to pieces!" Lester sneered. Cole nodded and got up.

"Where are you goin'?" Lester asked him.

"Oh, back to my room," Cole answered. "I've got some stuff to do. Things to work on."

"Like, what?" Lola raised a brow. "Since when did you work, man?"

"Since a couple days ago." Cole headed off to his room, humming a soft tune to himself. He sat down on his bed and opened up his laptop, smiling to himself.

Oh, she's in for a surprise when she sees this, he thought, letting a soft chuckle escape his throat.

~...~

The next morning Dina headed to the Stadium. If her vivosaurs had tried to say anything to her, she didn't hear them. She barely even had the strength to sign anything and even then it was weak and shaky. Still, she had to go through the Round and shoved her emotions aside long enough to focus on the battle. She didn't hear much of what Joanie and Madame Pooch said to her before they started the battle.

She kept Mayrah out in front. The ice under their feet was slippery and the Vivosaurs slid around. Riptide slammed into the Marple in front, sending it skidding across the ice. The yellow Gomp slammed its trunk into Riptide and Mayrah quickly flicked a few scales at it, defeating it instantly. The Marple send a powerful wave of water towards Peak as the the blue Gomp went after Riptide. Mayrah quickly took it out with a few scales. The Marple managed to defeat Riptide, but Mayrah ended the battle by slamming it to the wall.

Todd met them in the lobby and congratulated Dina as always. She just nodded silently. He frowned and turned to Joanie and Madame Pooch, saying something to them. Minister Pomposa then approached, allowing Madame Pooch to stay on the island. Todd grinned, happy for the pup. He turned to Dina, but his face fell when he realized she wasn't smiling.

"Come on, Dina, don't worry," he said softly. "I'm sure we'll be fine without Rupert…! Dina, please sign something...Come on, he'll come to his senses and realize he's being an idiot. I'm sure he was just upset about his dad, he'll come back." Before he could say anything else they were notified of a new dig site being open. "Hey, some fossil digging ought to take you mind off this! Let's go!" He raced away. After a few minutes, Dina slowly began to follow.

When she got there she noticed that Pauleen was practicing speaking again, this time to an ice sculpture. She noticed Dina approaching and quickly rushed to put her mask back on.

"You were spying on me, weren't you, Dina?" She asked. Dina nodded. "Y-you're a terrible person! Do you know what? You don't spy on people when they're embarrassing themselves!" Her anger vanished when she noticed Dina flinch. "I'm sorry. I guess it's not really your fault. So, um...I guess you want to know what I was doing just now, huh? Well, I'll tell you, Dina, but only because it's you...I was...practicing how to talk to people. Oh, I admit it! I'm a fraud! I act boastful and snobby, but I'm actually totally shy and terrified! I can't even talk to people! I get all nervous and jittery and then everything just...falls apart. Whenever I meet someone I don't know, my face gets all red and my tongue starts tripping on itself. Anyway, the only way I can get around it is by wearing this mask. It's a magical mask, see? It gives whoever wears it a cheerful, sunny personality. It's one of my village's greatest treasures."

I wouldn't quite say that personality is 'sunny', Peak joked. Dina ignored him.

"And yet, I want nothing more than to be free of this mask forever," Pauleen continued. "I want to talk with my own voice and see with my own eyes, but...I'm too scared to do it. So that's why I was practicing. So, um, what do you think, Dina?"

Dina stayed silent.

"Ugh, sorry!" Pauleen groaned. "I keep forgetting...wait. You spoke earlier. You snapped at Rupert's dad. How? Why? I thought you couldn't speak! You didn't lie, did you…!? Then again, it did seem to hurt...did it hurt to talk?"

Dina nodded.

"Oh, I guess that explains that...Sorry. So, um, do you think I'll ever be able to take off this mask?"

Another nod.

"R-really?" Pauleen smiled. "You really think so? Heh. It's kinda funny. But when you said that, I actually felt a little more brave. I'm going to keep trying, and I'm going to fight with everything I have. And before the Cup ends, I'm going to take off this mask for good! I swear it, Dina. I'm not going to let myself fail. Just...maybe you can cheer me on when I do, okay? I'm glad it was you who saw me, Dina. I think I would have died if it was anyone else. Still, I should probably find someplace even more secret to practice, huh? See ya, Dina. And thanks for listening. I'll be sure to talk to Todd about teaching me sign language, too!" she rushed away, leaving Dina alone to wander the plateau.

She came across Professor Scatterly again who was fast asleep on the ice. She immediately knew that was not a good sign and rushed to wake him. Todd joined her within moments and helped her in waking the Professor. The Professor gave Todd a lecture on the Calio Slablets and Dina stopped paying attention. She was snapped back to focus by Joe, who contacted them.

"Howdy there, pards," he greeted. "It's me, Joe, and I'm afraid we got a problem on our hands. I need the Patrol Team to mount up and gather in my suite immediately."

"Joe sounded worried," Todd observed. "We better get over there right away! A-achoo!" Unfortunately, Todd had gotten sick and would not be able to help. Professor Scatterly told Dina to go on and that he would help her childhood friend. Dina nodded and headed back to Cranial City.

Once she joined Joe and Pauleen, she signed a quick explanation of what had happened to Todd.

"Well then, I reckon that's all we have of the Patrol Team today," Joe sighed.

"Actually, Rupert should be here, too," Pauleen said. "He-" she stopped when she noticed the pained look on Dina's face. "Anyway, what's this about, Joe? You said it was serious."

"Keep this under yer hat, but some varmint went and stole our Super Electrominites," Joe said. "They're extremely rare fossils that put out a near preposterous amount of energy. In fact, this entire fossil park runs on just three of 'em. A little while ago, three intruders busted into all the park's Fighter Stations. They went straight to the generator rooms and made off with the Super Electrominites. We're runnin' on regular Electrominites right now, but I reckon them boys ain't gonna last much longer."

"Wh-what happens then?" Pauleen asked.

"Nothin' good, I'm afraid," Joe sighed. "Lights'll go out...Auto-doors won't open...KL-33n and all them VMMs will fail...We'll pretty much be sittin' in the dark, I reckon. And forget about cleanin' or revivin' yer fossil rocks!"

"That's terrible!" Pauleen gasped. "It would be the end of the entire Caliosteo Fossil Park!"

"I know," Joe said. "That's why we gotta recover them Super Electrominites as soon as possible. I've heard rumors that the culprits are hidin' out at one'a the dig sites. I sent Stella, Terry, and Kent out to try and track 'em down, and I'm hopin ya'll can join the search."

"Of course!" Pauleen replied. "Dina and I won't stand by while a bunch of jerks shut down this park!"

Joe sent them back to Icegrip Plateau. Pauleen tried to strike up a chat with Dina on the way there, but the Fighter remained still and silent. They almost ran right into Rupert on the way out of the Fighter Station.

"Rupert!" Pauleen's eyes brightened.

"What?" he spat, trying to avoid looking at them. "I told you I wanted nothing to do with you people. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"You shut the hell up right now!" Pauleen snapped back. Rupert blinked, taken aback by her harsh tone. "Just shut up! We need your help, okay? Todd's sick and Dina's barely functioning since you just up and left us like that! I get that you were upset, but you can't keep ignoring us! You need us and we need you!" Rupert glanced over at Dina for a moment.

"Help you?" He questioned. "I'm sorry, but what part of 'leave me alone' do you fail to understand?"

"All of it!" Pauleen huffed. "Listen, Rupert, someone stole the Super Electrominites that power this park. If we don't get them back, no one will be able to clean or revive fossils. The park will lose all power and shutdown. Joe asked Dina and I to search Icegrip Plateau, so that's where we're headed. Come on, Rupert! We need you, especially Dina! I can't understand sign language-and even if I could that wouldn't change anything! She's just been emotionally numb since yesterday! Not even Todd could get her to smile and she hasn't signed a single word to us all day!" He looked back to Dina, who stared at him with a pleading look in her eyes. He frowned and tore his gaze away from her.

"This is none of my concern," he said. "Excuse me." He turned and began to walk away. Pauleen took a step forward.

"You say that, but I know it's a lie!" She called to Rupert, stopping him. "Deep down, you love battling, Rupert. I know you do. And you'd be heartbroken if they canceled the Cup! And you care a lot about Dina! It's time to be honest with your feelings! It's time to show some backbone and stop being your father's puppet!" Rupert said nothing in response. He took off running to the cleaning room. Dina started to follow, but then stopped herself.

"I can't believe I told him to show some backbone," Pauleen sighed. Dina turned back to her. "I'm not even brave enough to take this stupid mask off. I don't have the right to yell at anyone...Well, this is no time to be feeling sorry for myself. We've got to hurry."

They rushed to the dig site and skidded to a halt as they were greeted by a girl their age.

"Oh, heeey," she said to them. "You made it. Cool. I kinda thought you'd be here sooner but...yeah. Yeah, like, this is a pretty big deal and all, so I was expecting someone to find us sooner."

"You're with the BareBones Brigade!" Pauleen growled.

"Toootally," the girl confirmed. "Although actually, I'm one of the three BareBones Brigade commanders. I'm the gooooovy chick, Lola. Soooo, did you dig my plan to steal the Super Electrominites? 'Cause I thought it was tooootally wicked. See, 'cause if you can't clean or revive, then, like, there's not going to be a Cup, man. It's gonna tooootally harsh the mellow of every Fighter in this park, man. I can't waaait."

"You won't get away with this, hippie!" Pauleen snapped. "Give back those Super Electrominites!"

"Yeaaah, but noooo. I don't think you were listening to me." Lola rolled her eyes. "Remember the part where I, like, said I wanted the Fighters to be all sad about the Cup? So then, I'm prooobably not gonna give the Super Electrominites back."

"Fine then," Pauleen huffed. "We'll just settle this with a Fossil Battle!"

"Oh, man," Lola laughed. "That's, like, tooo funny." She snapped her fingers and Cole and Lester walked in to stand beside her.

"Well, well," Cole sneered. "If it isn't the Fighter who ruined my awesome plan! I am very excited to see you again, kiddo. You have no idea." Lester took a few threatening steps towards Dina.

"I'm going to thrash you good for what you did to me at Mt. Krakanak!" He snapped. Pauleen did not enjoy the odds.

"I don't know if we can take on all three of these creeps, Dina," she whispered.

"We won before it's begun," Lola said. "Oh, man, that tooootally rhymed. Like, cool."

"It seems that all three BB Brigade commanders suffer from a terminal case of overconfidence. I would appreciate it quite a bit if you would back away from my friends." Rupert walked over, head held high. He stood close to Dina, glaring defiantly at Lester.

"Rupert!?" Pauleen squeaked in shock. "B-but...why!?"

"Because you were right," Rupert answered, turning to her. "Because I need to start being more honest with myself. I like this Cup, and I'm looking forward to facing Dina in a Fossil Battle. And I really do care for her and for you and Todd as well. Dina, I'm so sorry for what I said to you-for what I put you through."

[It's okay,] she signed to him, smiling a little. [You're here now. That's all that matters.]

"Rupert, you're the best!" Pauleen laughed. They turned to the BareBones Brigade commanders. "Ha! Now it's three-on-three, losers!"

"Man, this is tooootally, like, annoying," Lola groaned. "Cole? Lester? It's time to take out the recycling, man."

Peak bit into the B-Lambeo's back and the B-Terra went after Riptide, pecking his frill. He let out a furious roar and knocked it away with his horns. The B-Ptera turned on Peak instead, making him fall asleep. Riptide took it out and Peak woke up. The B-Lambeo slammed into Riptide while the B-Brachio slammed its tail into Peak. He and Riptide worked together to defeat the B-Lambeo. Mayrah sent some sharp scales at the B-Brachio, but it managed to hang in long enough to take out Peak before reverting back into a Dino Medal.

"This is a tooootal bummer, man," Lola complained. Cole and Lester let out furious cries and grumbles of agreement.

"All right, chumps!" Pauleen stepped forward. "Hand over the Super Electrominites!" Rupert and Dina joined her, but before anyone could anything else, the ground began to rumble and shake. Dina slid on the ice and Rupert grabbed her, holding her up.

A great head appeared from the water and then everything went black.

~...~

"Dina? Dina, please answer me."

"Is she dead!? Oh, Dina, please don't be dead! We can't lose you!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Pauleen, she isn't dead. She's breathing."

Dina groaned softly, slowly blinking her eyes open. She could see Rupert kneeling beside her and Pauleen standing behind them, their eyes filled with concern. Rupert sighed in relief and helped her up when he realized she was awake. He looked around the cavern.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"Well, we were at Icegrip Plateau," Pauleen said. "and then there was that huge wave and...Oh no! We've been swallowed by a whale! W-we're going to be digested!" She began to cry.

"Slap a fish and call me roughly!" A voice echoed off the walls of the whale's insides. "I come over to investigate all this racket, and instead I find company!" They turned as a man with a green ball and fishing pole walked over to them.

"Oh, um, hello," Pauleen greeted. "Do you...live here?"

"The name's Robinson," the man introduced himself. "And it's a right pleasure to meetcha. This whale's called the Bonehemoth, see, and he likes to chew on ice cubes. So there I was, doing a bit'a fishin' on an ice flow, when up he swims, cool as you please. Dangnab fish up and swallowed me in one bite! That was near ten years ago now, give or take a few."

"You've been here for ten years!?" Pauleen shrieked. "By yourself!?"

"Naw, I ain't by m'self," Robinson answered. "I done gone and made a friend, see? Lemmie introduce you to m'best friend in the whole, wide whale...Balliver!" He held out the green ball. "Now, Balliver, where's your manners? Go on and say hello to the nice folks now! Uh-huh. Yeah, I know. It's gonna be a lot louder with all these folks here. Well, Balliver, that's good to hear. I'm glad to have company m'self."

"That's just a ball with a face drawn on it," Pauleen whispered.

"Perhaps his loneliness was so great he felt the need to invent a friend," Rupert whispered back.

"Aw, look at me!" Robinson said. "Flappin' m'gums while you stand there ankle deep in chum. You folks should wander around! See the sights! Get acquainted with your new home. This here Bonehemoth swallows all kinds of stuff, so if you want it, you can probably find it. In fact, take a look over yonder."

"Oh. My. Gosh," Pauleen gasped. She rushed to the VMM and KL-33N. "Aw, nuts. The teleporter is broken!"

"Robinson, is there any way to escape from this place?" Rupert asked.

"Escape?" Robinson frowned. "Fish guts! Why would you wanna go and do a thing like that!? Well, if you're serious, I s'pose you could take it up with Lord Tonzilla. He's whatcha might call the supreme ruler of this place, see? He's at the top of the food chain and at the top of the Bonehemoth's digestive tract! If you folks could defeat Lord Tonzilla, you might be able to leave this place. But I can't imagine why you'd wanna do such a thing! And neither can Balliver." He turned and fled.

"Ok, I don't care what the crazy man thinks," Pauleen said. "We have to beat Lord Tonzilla and get out of here!"

"I'd hate to play the optimist, but at least we can still excavate, clean and revive fossil rocks here," Rupert added. "And besides, it's nice to be with you again."

"Well, I'm going on ahead," Pauleen backed away. "See you later!" She turned and raced off, leaving Rupert and Dina alone.

"Dina, are you alright?" Rupert asked.

[I'm fine, really,] Dina insisted. [What about you?]

"I'm fine, too," he replied. "I was the first to wake up after we got...swallowed. Was what Pauleen said really true? About you not signing anything?"

[Yes,] Dina reluctantly answered. She had wished he didn't bring it up, but there was no use trying to avoid it. The subject would eventually come up and it was best they talked about it it sooner than later. [When you left and practically ended our friendship I...went into shock. I tried to push it back in my Round 5 match, but that just made me feel worse. I just...a lot's happened in the past year or so and it's caught up to me. Don't worry about it.]

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Oh, I'm an idiot! I told you so much about my father but I never thought to ask about your family. What are they like?"

[My dad died in a car wreck,] Dina explained. [Mom...wasn't around. It's just me and my brother, Dino, now. Our uncle took care of us for a while, but now he's out of country for a new job. Dino took over in his absence so it's just the two of us now. It's been exactly ten years since dad passed.] Rupert stiffened before he pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm so sorry. I'm an idiot-a stupid, selfish idiot. Why didn't you-oh, nevermind that's my fault too, I never gave you the chance. I'm sorry." Dina smiled and slowly pulled herself back.

[I get it, you're a sorry idiot,] she signed.

"I am!" Rupert pulled her back into the hug. Dina relaxed against him and everything that had happened within the past few days began to flood into her mind. She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed. Rupert sat in silence, holding her close as she cried. Pauleen peered around the corner and stared at him as if asking what he had done.

'I didn't do anything!' he mouthed. 'It's just been a long couple of days for her is all.' Pauleen nodded in understanding and walked away. Rupert shifted, slowly sliding back and reaching up to wipe away Dina's remaining tears.

"I promise I'll never leave you like that again," he said. "But, you...when my father was yelling at me, you spoke. I thought you couldn't speak...Were you lying to me?"

[No, I can still talk, but it hurts,] Dina explained. [I was in the car with my dad when…Anyway, there's a surgery that could give me my voice back, but my family can't afford it. That's sort of why I entered the Cup in the first place. I enjoy Fossil Battles, really, and I was excited to see Joe Wildwest again after he saved Todd and I two years ago and gave me Mayrah, but I was under the impression that the grand prize would be a lot of money; enough to pay for the surgery. I didn't expect it to be the Park. And then I promised Todd I'd defeat you after you were so rude to him…My older brother, Devin, is the one who convinced me to enter in the first place. He'd be devastated if he found out that I dropped out. He'd have joined himself, but he's been working several jobs to keep up with bills and he didn't want to leave me by myself for too long. Our uncle is the only relative that cares about us.] Rupert frowned and figured it was best to change the subject.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get out of this whale." Dina nodded and they got to their feet. They walked together, staying close to one another. Dina stopped as she spotted the three BareBones Brigade commanders standing together and complaining. They spotted the two and immediately turned to them.

"This is, like, all your fault," Lola said. "You're a toootal buzz kill."

"Yeah!" Cole agreed. "If you hadn't meddled with our plans, none of this would have happened! We'd be ruling the Caliosteo Islands and not trapped inside some stupid fish."

"Back off!" Rupert stood in front of Dina and glared at them. "Why do you even want the islands?"

"Like I'd tell you!" Lester laughed. "We've got plans! Big plans! Really...really big plans."

"Yes, because your plans definitely have worked in the past," Rupert spat bitterly.

"You want a fight, rich boy!?" Cole snapped.

[Stop it!] Dina darted around Rupert and stood between them. [I don't like you guys and it's clear you don't like me, but we're stuck in here together so we might as well work together until we're out.]

"What's she saying?" Cole questioned, looking away. "I-I can't understand a thing she's signing and I don't think Lester and Lola can either." Rupert rolled his eyes.

"She said that we're stuck here together and we should make a temporary truce to get out," he translated. "Frankly, I'm not a fan of the idea, but it's the only good one we've got. Surely you should at least know sign language if you plan to take over the islands?"

"Look, our boss, Don Boneyard, told us to cancel the Cup and drive off Fighters, so that's what we're doing," Cole said with a small shrug. "Little details like what language to know weren't included. We'll deal with other stuff when the time comes.

"Sooo, like, you're not even a member of Don Boneyard's evil gang, right?" Lola questioned. "So maybe you should stay out of this and, like, stop asking questions." The group rudely turned away from the two.

"It seems they aren't up for that truce after all," Rupert sighed as he turned back to Dina. "Come on, let's go catch up to Pauleen." He led her away from the commanders. At the end of the path, Pauleen was waiting a little impatiently.

"About time," she said. "I think that Lord Tonzilla thing is up ahead."

"Thank you, Pauleen," Rupert replied. "Are you ready, Dina?" Dina nodded and the three headed towards Lord Tonzilla.

"It's just a giant tonsil!" Pauleen observed. "Stand back, kids! Pauleens gonna perform a little oral surgery on this loser!" She raced forward and gave it a few kicks. Rupert grabbed her and tried to pull her away from it.

"Pauleen, no!" He shouted. "Stop kicking it!" Lord Tonzilla swung around and knocked the two away, before turning on Dina. It tried to do the same to her, but Fury and Peak leaped out of their medals. It didn't take long for them to defeat the tonsil. Dina turned to her friends, who had recovered from the attack and were making their way back to her.

"I never thought I'd be pummeled by a giant pink tonsil," Pauleen said. "It's a little embarrassing. Rupert, on the other hand, was examining the defeated tonsil.

"I fail to understand how this thing will help us escape the whale," he mumbled. "Dina are you injured at all?"

[I'm okay,] Dina answered. [Peak and Fury defeated Lord Tonzilla before it could do anything to me.]

It wasn't exactly very hard, Fury stated. A tonsil is no match for vivosaurs.

"Y-you actually did it! You knocked out Lord Tonzilla!" Robinson walked over to them, eyes wide. "There's a flood a'comin' now, and no denyin'. Come on, Balliver! We've gotta get to the boat! All aboard who's goin' aboard!" He ran off before he could explain anything.

"I think Robinson's lost what's left of his mind," Pauleen said. "How can knocking over a tonsil cause a flood?" The Bonehemoth seemed to give a great shudder. The flesh beneath the Fighters' feet began to rumble and shake.

"Perhaps Robinson is not quite the madman we took him for," Rupert said softly. "You know how a gag reflex can be triggered by stimulating the tonsil? Well, perhaps…."

"Wait a second, so what you're saying is going to happen-" Pauleen never got to finish before a wave crashed into them. The next thing they knew they were in the air and falling into the freezing water below. Rupert swam to the surface, coughing.

"Dina?" He called. "Pauleen? Where are you? Answer me, please!"

"I'm here!" Pauleen called back to him. "Dina too! I need help, I don't think she can swim!" Rupert cursed under his breath and spotted the two struggling in the water. Pauleen was desperately trying to keep her head above water while helping Dina stay up as well. Rupert swam over to them, helping Dina back to the shore. They climbed up onto the ice, shivering and panting.

"That was horrible!" Pauleen whined. "Let's agree to never do that again!"

"I second that decision." Rupert scowled. Dina pressed herself close to Rupert and he wrapped an arm around her, helping her up. Pauleen got up as well.

"Let's please go back to Joe," she said. "I want to get someplace warm."

"I hope the BB Brigade trio escaped," Rupert said. "Despite their intentions, no one deserves to be trapped in a whale."

"Wait, you're worried about me? Reeeally?" Lola approached them with Lester and Cole close behind. "What a trip, man. Maybe this means the rich kid, like, likes me."

"I most certainly do not." Rupert grimaced at the suggestion. "I'd rather make out with Todd before I even think of liking you."

"Yeah, well, I gotta split the scene and hose myself down," Lola sighed, waving her hand dismissively. "You should have these." She handed Dina the Super Electrominites.

"I...I don't understand," Pauleen stammered. "Why are you giving these back to us?"

"Like, we heard it was you that made the Bonehemoth horf us up, right?" Lola raised a brow. "Sooo, that means you saved our lives, which is weird, because you're, like, our mortal enemies. Anyway, it's bad juju to leave a debt like that unpaid. So we're all square now, riiiight?"

"Are Cole and Lester okay with this?" Pauleen asked. The two boys shrugged.

"Hey, this is Lola's crazy plan," Cole stated. "I just do what she tells me." Lester nodded in agreement."

"Sooo, this is, like, a one time thing," Lola said. "Next time we meet, I'm tooootally going to flip your wig." The three commanders walked away.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but they're not all that bad." Pauleen still looked surprised.

[They are just kids like us,] Dina pointed out.

"She said they're kids like us," Rupert translated. "We can discuss the relative merits of our enemies later. Right now, each of us should take a Super Electrominite to an island and warm up."