"Ow, watch it!" Lester whined and tried to lean away as Lola tended to the small cuts and bruises that had been left behind from his fossil battle.

"Like, keep still, man!" Lola huffed, tightening the bandage. Lester grumbled to himself and tried to ignore the pain as she finished. He looked up, eyes widening in horror.

"Holy, shit, Cole, what happened to you!?" He cried out. Lola followed his gaze and gasped. Cole's face was pale and his arm still bleeding from the bite that Mayrah had left on it. He was holding it close to his chest, staining his uniform red. He staggered slightly, barely able to make it over to the couch to sit down. In an instant Lola and Lester were at his side. Lola cleaned and bandaged the wound as quickly as she could while Lester convinced him to drink a little water.

"Dina's vivosaur happened," he managed to choke out, wincing. "I say one nice thing about Dina's battling skills and the thing tries to maul me!" He was being a little overdramatic, but he felt it was perfectly acceptable in his situation.

"Did she order it to?" Lester asked. Cole shook his head.

"No, it did it all on its own," he answered. "At least, I think so. Dina seemed a little horrified when it bit me."

"Man, you should go, like, rest," Lola told him. "I'll tell Don B that you've been injured." Cole opened his mouth to protest, but he then nodded, knowing she was right.

"Yeah, okay," he said. "I'll go take a nap or something. "Thanks Lola, Lester. I really couldn't ask for a better family." He slowly got up and made his way back to his room. However, instead of taking a nap, he took out his laptop as usual. Technically, he was laying in bed so he was resting. Besides, he wouldn't stop until his surprise was ready.

~...~

"Before we go, I need to ask something," Todd stopped the group as they were about to exit the Fighter Station. "Rupert, why are you a lizard?"

"I'm a Dinaurian, actually," Rupert corrected him. "My mother was a Dinaurian and so I can switch between Dinaurian and human forms. I've decided to no longer hide this and so I will be in this form from now on.

"It's going to take me awhile to get used to seeing you like this," Todd admitted.

"To be honest, I'm already used to it," Pauleen admitted. "There's quite a few Dinaurians on Vivosaur island, so I've seen a lot of them before. I practically grew up with them. But what's all this fuss about being the future king?"

"My mother is the daughter of King Dynal and thus the next in line for the throne," Rupert said with a small shrug.

"But isn't your dad a human?" Todd frowned. "How does that even work?"

"Grandfather says that only a Dinaurian-hybrid or otherwise-may take the throne." Rupert shifted a little uncomfortably. "So my father will never be king. I've had my doubts about him, to be quite honest. I thought he might have only married my mother-"

[Stop,] Dina signed to him. [It's not good for you to think like that. No matter how your father acts you never question his love for your mother unless he himself tells you how he really feels.] Rupert let out a soft sigh and nodded to her.

"Dina, wait!" Devin came rushing over to the group. He skidded to a stop, panting. "Hold on a second."

[Devin, if you're trying to stop me-]

"I'm not." Devin interrupted his sister. "I heard that you don't have a neutral Vivosaur yet, so I wanted to give you this. Take care of him for me." He handed her a Dino Medal. Dina grinned and hugged her brother.

"Come on!" Todd ran on ahead. "Let's go defeat Don Boneyard once and for all!" The rest of the Caliosteo Patrol Team raced after him, waving goodbye to Devin who watched them run off.

~...~

While they flew to the island, Dina stared down at her new Vivosaur's Dino Medal, smiling.

Hello, she greeted. Welcome to the team. Do you have a name?

The Vivosaur inside the Dino Medal remained silent. She frowned.

It won't speak to us either, Mayrah said. Must be shy. Or mute like you.

It wouldn't surprise me if it is mute, Dina said. My brother has a bit of a twisted sense of humor.

"Dina, are you alright?" Rupert asked her. She glanced up at him and nodded, putting the Dino Medal back into her pocket.

[I'm alright,] she sighed. [Just a little worried, I guess.] Rupert smiled and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll win this time like every other time," he told her.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see the look on the BB Brigade's faces when we kick their butts to the moon and back in their own base!" Todd joined in.

"I can't wait to get back at that stupid hipster for kidnapping me, digadig." Pauleen stared out the window at the island as it came into view, a determined grin forming on her lips.

When the helicopter landed outside the base, the four stepped off onto the warm sand. They looked up at the skull above the doorway.

"They're about as subtle as an explosion," Rupert scoffed. "I've no idea how no one found this place until now." Pauleen nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, maybe they should try being a bit more obvious next time," she added. Two BareBones Brigade grunts walked out just in time to see them. There was an awkward silence between the six until the grunts turned and fled back inside, screaming about an invasion.

"Well, there goes the stealth part of the plan," Rupert sighed. "Let's try to finish these fools off before Joe and his crew arrive."

[Well look at the big strong leader,] Dina teased. [You seem pretty confident.] Rupert turned away from Dina, a blush on his cheeks.

"I know we will win without them, so there really is no point in waiting," he defended himself. "Move out!" He and Pauleen headed into the base, but Todd fell over into the sand, curled up in a ball. Dina sighed and shook her head, kneeling down beside him.

"I-it's my stomach," Todd whimpered. "You'll have to go on without me for now. I just need to rest for a minute." Dina nodded and walked into the base, knowing there wasn't a whole lot she could do to help. When she got inside she noticed Rupert and Pauleen fighting with the two grunts from earlier.

"We've got them," Rupert called to her. "You go on ahead after Don Boneyard!" Dina hesitated for a moment before she raced up the stairs, stopping as a familiar face came into view.

"Oh, woooow." Lola raised a brow. "You're back. You're not, like, following me or something, are you? Or maybe you're just persistent. I had an aunt like that once. She was wiiiild, man. Soooo, like, you know we're both even from that whole Bonehemoth thing, riiight? Which means I'm tooootally gonna thump you good, you dig?" The two pulled out their Dino Medals. Lola sent out a B-Jara, B-Brachio and B-Rex. Dina kept Riptide out in front.

Riptide slammed into the B-Rex, knocking it to the ground as Fury leaped onto it to help. The B-Jara hit Riptide with a powerful wave of sound, forcing him to fall asleep. Mayrah focused on the B-Brachio, taking it out with a single hit. The B-Rex bit down on Mayrah, flinging her aside as the B-Jara forced Fury to sleep. Riptide charged at it, slamming it back into the wall. The B-Rex kept attacking Mayrah while the B-Jara again sent Fury to sleep. Riptide charged into the B-Rex defeating it instantly. The B-Jara managed to defeat Fury before Mayrah grabbed it's wing and slammed it into the ground, reverting it back into a Dino Medal.

"You are some kind of groooovy Fighter, you know that?" Lola said. "I, like, can't beat you anymore. It's craaazy. Sooo, I'm gonna make like Cole's pants and split...bye." She headed down the stairs.

Dina went through and checked the rooms, looking for the leader. She stopped, eyes wide when she went into Cole's room. He was sitting on the bed, typing on his laptop as if he didn't even know the invasion was happening. He glanced over, equally as surprised as Dina.

"Oh, hello, Dina," he squeaked and scrambled up, shutting his laptop and running his fingers through his hair. He opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped. Instead, he startled Dina by doing something entirely different; using sign language. [I didn't know you would be here so soon. You didn't even give me time to get ready. Look, don't get cocky just because you beat me, okay? I'm pretty small-time in the big scheme of things. Don Boneyard, though? He's going to wipe the floor with you if you fight him, so I think you ought to give up or surrender or even join us.] It was sloppy and far beyond perfect with a few words missing, but Dina could understand what he was trying to say.

[How-!?] she was too startled to do much but stare at him for a moment. [I thought you didn't know sign language. Did you lie to me?]

[No, I didn't lie,] Cole responded, letting out a huff. [How dare you accuse me of such a thing? After we first met I decided to learn it. I mean, I don't know everything, but I know enough to get what you're trying to say. So about joining…?]

[I'd never join you,] Dina signed, glaring at him. They stared at each other for a moment, waiting to so what the other would do before Cole shrugged and flopped back onto the bed. He winced, instantly regretted it as his arm began to feel sore again. He decided against using sign language until it healed out of fear he would reopen the wound.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," he said. Dina frowned and walked over, standing over him. "What? Is my charm that irresistible?"

[Aren't you going to fight me?] Dina signed. [I'm sort of invading your base and all.] Cole raised a brow.

"No, I'm not going to fight you," he let out a short laugh. "You've already beaten me twice now, I'm not going for thirds. I don't want to be humiliated again. Even if I wanted to fight you, I couldn't." He raised his arm to show the bandages. Dina looked away as he continued, "Besides, I don't think you're that bad. You're pretty loyal and protective of your friends and you've got a brave heart made of gold. You refused to give up no matter how hard we tried to stop the cup and you even offered a truce when we were stuck in that whale. Pretty admirable if you ask me." He gave her another sweet smile. For a moment, there was a bit of hope within Dina that she might be able to make a friend out of Cole.

[Sorry,] she signed. [about Mayrah.]

"It's fine," Cole replied. "I know you didn't order her to. How did she do that, though? I thought vivosaurs couldn't come out so soon after being in battle."
[I'm really not sure.] Dina gave a small shrug. [I guess her will to protect me overcame her exhaustion for a moment.]

"That's interesting," Cole mumbled so softly Dina barely head him.

[Would you be willing to help me take down your boss?] she asked him suddenly. He sat up so quickly she jumped in surprise.

"Take down Don Boneyard?" He repeated. "Me? No way! He's my boss! He ...he helped me through a rough patch, okay? I can't betray him. Lola's pretty cool, and so's Lester. We don't get along very well and I wouldn't mind kicking his ass once in awhile, but he's like my brother. Helping you wouldn't change a thing; a freak like me is better off with the other freaks. There's no good in me, Lester or Lola."

[I understand,] Dina signed. She then smiled. [That's not true, about there being no good in you. You are good, you're just a little lost.] She sat down next to him on the bed.

"Like you know what it's like," Cole scoffed. "You never had to deal with being an outcast. Everyone loves you. Even your damn enemy."

[Now, that isn't true,] Dina protested. [You said so yourself; Lester doesn't like me. And Lord Tonzilla probably doesn't either, nor Don Boneyard. I'm sure there's people out there who don't like me that I don't even know. People are like that. And you're wrong-about the outcast thing.]

"How could I be wrong?" Cole snapped, glaring at her for a moment. His gaze softened and he looked down at the floor, mumbling an apology. Dina frowned.

Dina, don't you dare, Mayrah growled. I'm tolerating Rupert for you but I will not tolerate this brat.

Mayrah, he's lost, Dina replied. I'm probably the only person who's bothered giving him a chance since Don Boneyard took him in. I want to help.

"Cole," Dina rasped. Cole's head shot up, his eyes wide as he stared at her, jaw dropping. He shut his mouth after a few moments but then opened it again to speak.

"You spoke," he said. "Oh, now I know this is a dream…!" He trailed off when she shook her head, eyes glazing over with pain for a moment.

[You look me in the eyes and tell me that I, a person unable to talk and whose only way of communication is sign language-a language that's practically foreign and unknown where I grew up-wasn't an outcast,] she signed. [And, yes, I can talk, but it hurts to do so.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I had no idea-I mean...sorry-for what I said about you not understanding. I just...I had no idea. I thought that maybe people would have still liked you whether they could understand you or not. "

[See? There's plenty of good in you.] Dina smiled at him. [Otherwise you wouldn't have cared enough to apologize. The only person who ever bothered learning was Todd and my brother. My uncle already knew it.]

"What about your parents?" Cole asked.

[Gone,] Dina answered. [My mother was never around and my dad died in the car crash that made me mute.]

"I'm sorry to hear that," Cole murmured. "I grew up in an orphanage. People tried to adopt me, but after a day or two they'd send me back. At some point I just...lost all hope in getting a family and ran away. I know it was stupid, but I couldn't take it anymore! In my opinion it's better to not have a family at all than have one for a short time and then be abandoned by them all over again. I met Lola out on the streets-she'd been living there her whole life-and she took me under her wing. We met Lester a while after. He'd been kicked out by his parents after getting into a bad fight with them. The three of us have been together ever since. We drive each other nuts, but we'd never leave each other behind; we're all we've got. We're a family. Then Don Boneyard came to us one day and offered us a permanent place to stay, food, even a position of respect and power. How could we say 'no' to all of that? We finally had someone who cared, someone who who wanted us." Dina leaned against him to comfort him. He let her, his arm slowly wrapping around her in an awkward hug.

[Trust me, siblings are supposed to drive you crazy,] she signed to him. Cole let out a soft laugh.

"You should go," he said. "Before someone catches you in here. Then we'll both be in serious trouble. Thanks for listening."

[Thank you for not fighting me,] Dina signed back. [I didn't really want to fight you either. I'll talk to you later. If you change your mind about being in the BareBones Brigade, I might be able to convince Joe to add you to the Caliosteo Patrol Team if our little raid here doesn't work.] Cole's eyes brightened.

"I'd like that," he murmured. "Thank you so much, Dina. I promise that if I do join your little Patrol Team I'll stick with you and your friends like a pair of skinny jeans! Oh, um, but I'll only join if Don Boneyard goes to skull jail or whatever." Dina let out a soft snort of laughter as she headed out of the room.

Cole's a sweet boy when he wants to be, Riptide said. And he seemed really happy about you offering him a place on the Patrol Team!

Even if this is the last mission, I'll keep it running when I win the Cup, Dina said. There's going to be a lot of problems in the fossil park in the future, and the Staff can't do everything. So when I'm the owner of the park I'll make a permanent Patrol Team to act as the protectors to the park. If Rupert wins then I'll talk to him about still doing it.

Well, the Caliosteo Patrol Team is a great name, but it's a little long, Fury said. You should come up with something different, especially if this idea spreads to other Fossil Parks.

Well, we can't call them police officers-even though that's technically what they are, Peak huffed. And I don't think rangers works either.

We'll figure it out later. Dina quickened her pace a little as she kept walking. She stopped as Lester blocked her path.

"You're like a bad opening act: you stay too long and no one really wants to see you," he spat.

I think Cole would beg to differ. Peak snickered.

"Still, I knew you would be the one to break into our base," Lester went on. "You're just metal like that. Well, too bad for you. This is my chance to settle the score! There's only room for one lead in this band, and it's gonna be me!"

"Leave her alone, Lester!" Cole ran out and stopped in front of Dina, glaring at the other commander. "Your fight's with me!" Lester stared at Cole, bewildered by Cole's seemingly sudden change in character and even Dina stared at the hipster, her soft brown eyes wide.

"Are you insane!?" Lester snapped. "You're betraying us!?"

"No," Cole answered. "I'd never betray Don Boneyard, Lola or even you. You and I both know she'd beat you anyway. I'm just preventing you from embarrassing yourself any further. Dina, go! Either leave the base or face Don Boneyard!" Dina looked between Cole and Lester, hesitating.

[Be careful,] she signed as she turned and raced away to the door at the end of the hallway.

"Cole, I'm going to murder you when I'm done beating your vivosaurs into the ground!" Lester growled. "Just because you have a crush on her doesn't mean you can side with her!"

"She's just like us," Cole's voice softened. "She doesn't have any parents either. The only people who cared enough to learn sign language for her was Todd and her brother. She only had them until she came here, just like you, Lola and I only have each other until Don Boneyard took us in. I really don't want to fight you, Lester, but I can't let you hurt her. I'm done being a dramatic idiot. If she somehow manages to beat the boss and he winds up in jail or wherever skulls go, I'm joining her. I want to do something useful. I want to be remembered as a good person, not a villain."

"How do you know all this?" Lester's eyes narrowed.

"She came into my room a few minutes ago," Cole answered. "Neither of us wanted to fight and Dina had just got done battling Lola so she had to wait for her vivosaurs to heal. We started talking and we told each other a brief summary of our life stories. Lester, she really does care about us. She offered me a spot on the Caliosteo Patrol Team even. I'm sure she'll do the same for you and Lola if you just ask."

"Even if we wanted to that's not going to happen," Lester said. "You and I both know Don Boneyard's gonna win that fight." A small smirk grew on Cole's face as he heard Vivosaurs being sent out in the next room.

"I wouldn't so sure of that," he said.

Dina entered the room, her heart pounding in her chest. This was it; the final showdown. After this, the Cup would be over, one way or another. Don Boneyard stood with his back to her, chuckling as he heard her footsteps on the stone floor.

"You have done well to make it to my inner sanctum," he said. "But playtime is over. LEt's see if you have the guts to beat me!" He spun around to face her, but seemed puzzled. "Wait. Do I know you…? Never mind! I'll have time to bone up on such things later. Until the Caliosteo Cup is cancelled, I will not allow myself to be defeated! Behold the terrifying boneysaurs of Don Boneyard!"

He sent out a B-Rex, B-Ptera and a B-Brachio. Dina frowned at the sight of the B-Ptera. Something about this whole thing was familiar. She shook it off and sent out Mayrah, Peak and Riptide.

Mayrah immediately attacked the B-Brachio, chomping down on its neck with a critical hit. Peak attacked the B-Ptera, biting down on its wing. The B-Ptera and B-Rex sent a powerful wave of sound over the three, making Mayrah too scared to move. Peak slammed into the B-Rex, sending it skidding back. Riptide joined in on the attack and Peak went for the B-Ptera next. The B-Ptera attacked Peak, defeating him while the B-Brachio slammed its tail into Mayrah. She immediately retaliated, sending it back into a Dino Medal. Riptide defeated the B-Rex next, leaving the B-Ptera on its own. It tried to attack Mayrah, but she grabbed it in her jaws and slammed it to the floor, ending the battle.

"M-my boneysaurs were defeated?" Don Boneyard stared at Dina in disbelief. "But it would take a Fighter of such unbelievable skill to...Oh. Oh ho ho! Yes, I knew I had met you before...You are Dina. Of course. It really is you, isn't it, Dina? I had no idea you were in the Cup."

[I don't think we've met,] Dina signed.

"Oh, but we have!" Don Boneyard protested. "You must listen to me, Dina. The Caliosteo Cup cannot be allowed to continue! Do not trust anything the present Joe Wildwest says. Because he is-"

"Dina, are you alright!?" Rupert burst into the room with Pauleen. Don Boneyard vanished in a puff of smoke.

"He got away!" Pauleen stamped her foot against the floor in frustration. "Diga-damn it all!"

"I wouldn't worry yer pretty little head 'bout that, now," Joe said as he walked over. "Thanks to ya'll, we captured the three commanders and all their BareBones lackeys. Without them, ol' Don Boneyard can't do much more'n stamp his feet and twiddle his thumbs. Now we can hold the finals like we always wanted!"

[Joe, can I ask something first?] Dina signed to him. Joe tilted his head as she continued, [Please don't send the commanders away.]

"WHAT!?" Everyone in the room was immediately trying to convince her otherwise, but she raised a hand for silence.

[I spoke to Cole earlier,] she explained. [He, Lola and Lester were orphans until Don Boneyard took them in. He even jumped in to help me, fighting Lester so I could get to Don Boneyard. They're not all that bad, they just want a home.]

"Well, I can't let 'em run free 'till the Cup is over," Joe said. "But once the Champion's won I guess I could let 'em go. After all, they are just kids. Now let's all get back so ya'll can get some rest and prepare for the finals tomorrow!" Joe headed back outside and Pauleen chased after him. Rupert turned to Dina.

"Cole didn't threaten you or anything, did he?" He asked. Dina shook her head and he sighed. "I can't say I'm convinced about him, but you've always been able to see the good in people. Well, I'm afraid this is where our era of cooperation ends, Dina. The next time we meet, it will be as rivals in the Fossil Stadium. But, I will warn you, I have a little something planned. There will be cameras everywhere and I want to prove to my father that you're the best thing that ever happened to me."

[If you propose to me I will smack you,] Dina signed. She was unable to stop grinning. Rupert let out a laugh.

"No, no, I won't do that," he said. "It's a surprise, though, so that will be all you're getting out of me." He and Dina headed outside. Todd almost ran right into them in the hallway.

"You're awesome, Dina!" he exclaimed. "You pretty much took out the entire BB Brigade by yourself!" He saw Dina begin to frown and asked, "What's wrong?"

[Don Boneyard knew who I was,] Dina signed.

"Aw, I wouldn't worry about it," Todd said. "You're in the final, you know? You're pretty famous already. Now, come on, let's go!"