Chapter 4: Rusty Rivet Ravine
-Ford's hotel room-
Ford sighed as he sat up the following morning after Peggy had revealed to him that she was pregnant, at the same moment that he had learned that his dad and sister were going to be visiting him and his brother on the island.
"Oh man, this is gonna be awkward to explain to my family…" Ford groaned as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Your family?" Peggy questioned as she sat on the bed with him, hugging him tightly. "You mean you da and sis, r'ght?" She asked.
"Yeah, them. My dad, Jaune Owen and elder sister Susan." The boy explained.
"Sounds like I'm going to be in for a time." The redhead noted.
"That seems likely on both counts." The young man nodded as he got up, got dressed and set the Tacky Idol on his desk, starting to examine it.
"What's got you so interested in this idol?" The Scottish woman questioned.
"It shares a few features with my mother's necklace." Ford replied, showing his woman his mother's necklace. "I think this idol might give me a clue as to what happened to her." He added.
"So fossil fighting is something more of a side thing?" Peggy questioned.
"I can't just do nothing but search for my mom, can I?" Ford asked rhetorically. A few minutes pass before the boy's fiddling eventually causes something to happen to the idol.
It suddenly popped open, causing the chest piece to move away and reveal some sort of core. A core that was pulsing with light like a computer motherboard.
"What the bloody hell is that?" Peggy wondered, paying her accent no mind.
"No idea…" Ford frowned as he carefully picked it up. He then fiddled with the core again and slowly managed to cause it to fall out, revealing that the technology was very similar to his necklace.
And as the core left, the statue lost its green color, making it functionally useless. "Let's see…" The boy hummed as he pressed the device to his necklace, and it suddenly deployed several probes, causing it to make the piece of jewelry change shape.
It changed from a clear crystal form and gained a gold outer shell, causing the thing to glow and pulse.
"... I think we just found alien technology." Ford uttered.
"Holy hell…!" Peggy gasped, stunned by the discovery. "There has to be more idols like this hidden all over the island. We need to find them before the BB Bandits do." She declared seriously.
"I don't think the Bitch Baby Bandits will be an issue." Ford grinned, causing his paramour to burst out laughing at the moniker he came up with.
"Love, I dare you to say that to their faces just to see how they react!" Peggy guffawed.
"Oh I will, my pearl, trust me–I will." The boy nodded with a chuckle.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, in Lee's room, the young man got up from his bed and decided to look up what perks he had currently as a Rank 2 fighter.
"Hmmm, seems I've got free passes to the island spa. Could definitely use that after digging so much." He nodded. "But right now I should probably go ahead and get these fossils cleaned." He added as he hopped up and went to the Fossil Center.
(Elsewhere)
-Spaceship, outside Earth's orbit-
Meanwhile, on a spaceship that was orbiting the Earth on a carefully plotted surveillance path, a Dinaurian woman was busy typing away at a computer that she was seated at.
She had blue skin, pink marks on her face, green eyes and pink hair in a fan-like pattern while she had two bangs framing her face. She also had pointy elf-like ears along with reverse jointed legs and a tail.
Her only attire was a sort of skin tight dark blue jumpsuit with pink accents that left her midriff exposed and a pink tube bra that covered her ample E-cup breasts. In fact, the dark blue coverings on her arms and lower body seemed to be a sort of clothing. Light blue seemed to be her natural scale color.
As she continued to look at her screen, a notification appeared–specifically one that told her of the re-emergence of the ship at the Secret Island (called the Andromeda), and the signal of Princess Sinmara's teleporter necklace–albeit seemingly corrupted.
"Strange… What's going on?" She murmured to herself. Deciding that the signal needed to be investigated, she got up and left to gather what she needed for her investigation. Anything involving the princess needed to be looked into when it became known.
"Duna." A voice behind the woman questioned as she came into the hall, causing her to jump.
"My lord, can you please not do that?!" The now named Duna gasped, trying to calm her heart as she turned around.
"Ah. My apologies." The owner of the voice said apologetically.
He had blue skin a shade lighter than Duna's long white hair reaching his back, pointy ears that are pretty much a trademark for his race, red horn-like protrusions on his head along with red and black markings on his face, the black markings covering his eyes. He also had a long and spiked tail.
He also wore what were obviously royal robes, and by human standards, he'd be in his thirties, roughly. This was Dynal, the Dinaurian King.
"That aside, what are you doing?" The man questioned.
"Well, your majesty, I'm actually on my way to Earth to investigate two anomalies that our scanners have detected." Duna explained.
"Anomalies?" Dynal parroted in confusion.
"One of our ships just sent back a signal, which I find odd due to lack of activity in the past." Duna began. "And the other… Is from Princess Sinmara's necklace, but it's corrupted." She added carefully, knowing that the absence of the Princess was a rather sensitive topic.
Dynal was silent when he heard that his daughter's necklace had sent back a corrupted signal. When he received word that she had been woken up ahead of time in the south pole of Earth, he'd assumed she had perished. Now, here he was, hearing that she might have actually survived somehow.
"Is there anything else?" The King questioned.
"On my last mission to Earth, I came across two people. They were twins that shared some kind of relationship with Princess Sinmara." The pink haired agent replied. "Their names are Stanford and Stanley Owen." She added.
"What kind of relationship?" Dynal questioned.
"That's… A bit harder to explain, your grace." The girl replied before she pulled up an image of two DNA samples, one she took from Lee and one that belonged to Sinmara. "Because as you can see, it would seem that the two of them are…" She continued before trailing off.
"Her children." Dynal finished, eyes widening a small margin. "But, that's impossible. For her to have had children would mean that she not only woke from the Stone Sleep decades ahead of schedule, but also married and laid with a human." He stated.
"Yes, I know it sounds ludicrous—Humans and Dinaurians being genetically compatible in the first place—but the evidence all points to that being the case." The pink haired girl explained.
"But how? Did the microorganisms mingle with the humans enough to allow for such a thing?" The King wondered.
"That's what I'd like to go and find out." Duna replied.
"... Then go." He ordered, looking at her.
"Sire?" The woman questioned, not expecting such an answer.
"Investigate the anomalies, these two boys and find out what happened to my daughter." He replied. "And do so with haste!" He added seriously.
"Y-Yes, sir!" The Dinaurian woman nodded seriously in reply before resuming her trek.
She had a job to do.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back with Lee, the young man had just cleaned up a few fossils that he'd found in Knotwood Forest. Ones he was quite pleased to have.
One was a Nychus, who was a female and his latest raptor to add to his roster. Second was an S-Raptor. Third was an F-Raptor. And fourth was a vampiric looking Raptor called a Breme.
Deciding he'd name them when they came out of the revival chamber, he then got to work on the one he found in the Digamid—The one that the Digadigs called Faultus.
Cleaning the rock ever so carefully, the boy soon managed to get the skull of the legendary raptor out and handed it over to the helper robot to revive as his new vivosaurs came out.
"Oh my back/Can barely feel my legs/Such a cramped room/Ugh…" The four raptors groaned as they tumbled out of the machine.
"Sorry 'bout that, gang." Lee told them apologetically.
"I guess it can't really be helped." The Nychus sighed as she got to her feet.
"Well, since you're here I guess I should give you four names…" The boy hummed, stroking his chin.
"Four! Four Raptors! Ha ha ha!" His Breme cackled while thunder and lightning flashed behind him.
"… I think I'll call you Count." Lee mused he looked at his F-Raptor next.
"I do hope you have something nice for me." He remarked.
"You're famous around the island as being part of a matched set of Japanese Vivosaurs. So Tokugawa seems like a good name for you." The young man replied.
"I do like the sound of that name." The now named Tokugawa nodded in satisfaction. After that, Ford turned to his new S-Raptor.
"You, I'll call Tiger." Lee stated.
"Sounds good to me." Tiger shrugged. Then the taller teen looked at his female Nychus, who looked back at him.
"Does the name Ana sound fine to you?" He questioned.
"It does. Thank you." Ana nodded, walking up to him and licking his cheek.
It was then that the revival machine notified him that his last fossil was done, allowing the giant raptor inside to make his way towards the fighter who revived him. Visually, the raptor had gray skin and brown rock armor, and looked more like an F-Raptor despite originally being a V-Raptor.
"Hm… So you're the one that revived me…" Faultus commented. "You don't look like much, but I can tell by the look in your eyes that you're stronger than you look." He noted.
"Nice to see you're an observant one." Lee remarked, holding his hand out. "Shall we join together to crush our enemies?" He questioned.
The Earth empowered Velociraptor looked at the boy and then pressed his nose into the lad's hand, almost completely mirroring the moment between Hiccup and Toothless.
Lee's team just got stronger… A lot stronger.
As Faultus went into his medal, however, Lee soon got a text from Ford, telling him to meet him and Peggy at the Richmond building–They'd gotten a lead on the twin's mother's disappearance.
"Shit! Gotta run!" He gasped as he bolted out the door.
(Elsewhere)
Richmond and Diggins looked at the idol and its separated core with a measured apprehensiveness, like they recognized the technology that they saw before them.
"Diggins, do you think…?" Richmond trailed off.
"Yes. It's definitely similar to that technology." The scientist nodded seriously in reply.
"What do you mean, Dr. Diggins?" Peggy questioned.
Before the man could respond, Lee burst in through the door.
"I'm here!" He exclaimed, panting slightly. "What'd I miss?" He asked, looking at his brother.
"We figured out something about the idol we brought in. Dr. Diggins was about to say something about it when you came in." Ford replied before turning back to the man in question. "You were saying?" He prompted.
"Right, thank you." The turquoise haired man nodded. "Anyway, this isn't the first time we've seen technology like this." The blue haired man explained. "The first time was when the island was still being built up to what it is now." He added.
"Yes, and that discovery is how we created the vivosaur revival machine." Richmond nodded. "We found this alien technology in a crashed spaceship, which piqued our interest at the time. Most of it simply looked like crystals rather than the typical appearance of technology we're used to." He added.
"But the most confounding thing about this ship was, it was clearly not just centuries and eons old, but trillions of years old." The scientist explained. "Nearly as old as the Cambrian period." He added.
"... Huh?!" The twins exclaimed after a beat.
"Wai-wai-wai-wait, this ship crashed during prehistoric times?" The black and purple haired man asked, doing a double take. "How the hell is this tech still functional after so long?" He added, thoroughly confused.
"Or better yet, how has it not corroded into rust?" The blue tipped twin nodded.
"That's something that's always perplexed us." Richmond hummed as he picked up the core. "I believe it would be best if you gave us these idols for safe keeping. So they don't fall into the wrong hands." He continued.
"Of course." Ford nodded. "But in return, can Lee and I have permission to see this "Secret Site", perchance?" He asked.
"What for, might I ask?" The island owner asked with a small amount of caution.
"Because I think this site may shed some light on my mother's whereabouts." The young man explained.
"Your mother?" Diggins parroted, confused.
"She disappeared a few years ago. Ford and Lee have been looking for her ever since." Peggy interjected.
"What could the Site have to do with your mother?" Richmond asked, not seeing the connection.
"Because her necklace shares the same characteristics as the idol." Ford replied, showing them his and his brother's mother's necklace.
"It certainly seems to have technological similarities." Diggins nodded as he examined the trinket. "Alright, I can help with that much, then." He nodded, giving the piece of jewelry back.
"Thanks. And if I find any more idols, I'll bring them here." Ford told him with a nod.
"Good idea." The scientist nodded. "Now, don't you two have Level Up battles to get to?" He asked.
"Oh! Right!" The boys nodded as they immediately bolted out the door. Ford went to the cleaning room to get his new fossils ready while Lee went to the arena.
"Boys…" Peggy sighed as she chased after them.
(Later)
Four Vivosaurs slowly walked out of the revival machine as Ford revived them after cleaning their entire skeletons.
They were: a Goyle, an S-Raptor, a Venatar, and a Nychus.
"Alright, your names will be: Sherman, Bengal, Peter, and Terri." The boy nodded, pointing at each vivosaur.
"Yes Sir!/Alright./Let's go!/Works for me." They replied in that order.
Each had interesting personalities. Sherman sounded militaristic. Bengal sounded like he was from India. Peter sounded like he was from Israel. And Terri sounded somewhat gothic.
"Alright, guys. Let's get you some experience one at a time." Ford told his latest vivosaurs. "There's a Level Up battle coming our way, and that should be a good starting point for you." He added.
(Elsewhere)
As this was going on, Lee was finishing up his cleaning test and was now about to face off against his opponent to reach rank 3. And as he walked down the hall, he noticed that it was Nevada Montecarlo.
"Fancy seeing you again so soon." The blue tipped Welshman remarked with a chuckle.
"I didn't expect you to be the one I was fighting either." The dark skinned redhead chuckled in reply. "You didn't get lost on the way here, did you?" She questioned with a smirk.
"Ah, shaddup!" Lee retorted with a huff, causing his opponent to snicker.
"Well, you're here now, so enough talk. Show me what you got!" She exclaimed, sending out her vivosaur team.
"Right back at you!" The boy called as he sent out his team of V, Tiger and Ana.
Nevada's team, meanwhile, was a Lexo, U-Raptor and a Nychus.
"Welcome folks to another day of Level Up Battles on our fine Vivosaur Island. I'm your host Leon here with PA Slate, and today we're seeing a returning hero fight this time around." Leon announced.
"That would be one of the young men who stopped Medal Dealer Joe: Lee. And today he's fighting one of the most renowned treasure hunters on the island." Slate commented. "Her name is the lovely Nevada Montecarlo, and if I'm being completely honest, Leon, I'm not sure if he's gonna win this one." He added.
'Ye of little faith.' Lee thought with a roll of his eyes. Shaking his head, he focused on the fight. "Ana, Nychus Claw on Lexo!" He ordered.
The raptor did so and slashed at Lexo several times, sending the stegosaur crashing back and straight back into its medal form—since it had a clear type advantage.
"... Probably should've seen that coming." Nevada deadpanned. "U-Raptor, use U-Fury on V-Raptor!" She ordered.
The attack landed, and V was forced back a couple of steps before recovering,a medium sized chunk of his health lost. Since he'd leveled up quite a bit, he was much sturdier than he would've been otherwise on top of having a complete skeleton.
"Okay, Tiger, swap with V and use S-Fury on U-Raptor." Lee ordered.
The order was carried out, and Tiger was able to land his attack and put U-Raptor in critical condition, blasting him into the EZ, leaving Nychus by itself.
"Nychus, use Nychus Toxin on S-Raptor!" Nevada called.
The woman's Nychus did as ordered, and the attack left Tiger poisoned. Lee, however, knew what to do.
"Ana, swap places with Tiger and use Nycus Toxin on Nychus." The lad stated.
"Sorry, cousin!" Ana quipped as she swapped places with her teammate and attacked her cousin, leaving them poisoned.
"Retaliate with Nychus Claw!" Nevada yelled, allowing her vivosaur to do so, only for Ana to dodge it—and for her Nychus to be taken out by poison. "... Man, you know how to fight." She admitted.
"I know how to strategize, which helps." Lee shrugged as her U-Raptor moved up. "Alright Ana, use Nychus Poison!" He called.
Ana let out a war cry as she attacked, taking out Nevada's U-Raptor and ending the match.
"And that's the match! Lee's team is incredible!" Slate exclaimed as the Welshman's team roared in victory.
"Neither team gave up an inch in this battle, what a triumph!" Slate added as Lee turned around and walked away.
(Later)
After the cleaning test and two preliminary rounds, Ford was now walking down the hall to the arena, where he saw Nevada waiting for him there.
"Hey, Ford." She nodded when he reached her.
"Hey, Nevada." The purple and black haired young man nodded back. "Here to wish me luck?" He asked.
"Nope. I'm actually who you'll be facing." The treasure hunter explained.
"In that case, I hope you won't feel too bad when I beat you." He stated.
(Later)
Ford was now battling Nevada with Bengal, Sherman and William as his team. The Air T-Rex was in the Support Zone because unlike his brethren, he actually worked well as a Support ally by boosting every stat by a factor of 50.
Nevada's team, meanwhile, was a Lexo, U-Raptor had a Nychus.
"Welcome folks to another day of Level Up Battles on our fine Vivosaur Island. I'm your host Leon here with PA Slate, and today we're seeing a returning hero fight this time around." Leon announced.
"That would be one of the young men who stopped Medal Dealer Joe: Ford. And today he's fighting one of the most renowned treasure hunters on the island." Slate commented. "Her name is the lovely Nevada Montecarlo, and if I'm being completely honest, Leon, I'm not sure if he's gonna win this one like Lee did." He added.
'Hmph. Just watch me.' Ford scoffed mentally. He decided to skip his turn to allow his Fang Points to go up, allowing Nevada to go first.
"Lexo, use Poison Spin!" The woman ordered her stegosaur to attack Sherman. The Lexo immediately did a spin attack that left a poison affliction on his target.
"Sherman, don't take that lying down! Hit Lexo with your Auto Counter!" Ford ordered. The Ankylosaur did so, causing his opponent to take damage. "Bengal! Use S-Fury!" He added.
The S-Raptor roared as he charged at the Stegosaur before he chomped down to its neck, then hurled it up before double kicking into a flip, and then breathing fire on the beast as soon as he landed.
This caused critical damage that sent Lexo back into its medal, leaving the two raptors behind.
"Oh you little–! U-Raptor, use U-Claw!" Nevada ordered. Her raptor immediately slashed at Ford's S-Raptor in retaliation, though this didn't do much damage.
"Bengal, swap places with William!" Ford prompted as his T-Rex took the center. "Alright William, use Tyrant's Roar on Nychus and U-Raptor!" He added.
The proud tyrant immediately roared and sent a tornado at the enemy team, inflicting a good amount of damage, but they surprised him by remaining standing. That didn't mean they didn't take a huge heap of damage, though.
"Hmph. Not bad." He nodded, a bit impressed.
"Wow. Hanging on by a thread. One hit point each." Ford whistled, expecting them to be defeated in one go due to the rank difference.
"Alright you two! Use Nychus and U-Raptor Venom on S-Raptor!" Nevada ordered.
Ford braced himself for Bengal to be taken out, but he then felt that feeling that he'd gotten back in the Digadigamid–and felt a warm red aura surrounding him, like a warm blanket in front of a fireplace during a snowstorm, or a warm Irish wool sweater.
This aura surrounded Bengal, who then shivered before he suddenly zipped out of the way of the two smaller Raptors line of attack, causing their attacks to miss and hit Sherman instead, who avoided damage by using his Auto Counter as a shield–sending his assailants flying back into their medals.
Ford's eyes widened as he looked down at his hands and then checked the battle screen of his gauntlet–which showed that he'd caused Bengal to use Quicken–allowing him to avoid getting hit!
"What the hell…?" He whispered, stunned.
"What the–? What was that?" Slate wondered, trying to figure out what he'd just seen.
"I… I don't know." Leon uttered, also at a loss for words. "But it looks like Ford's S-Raptor activated Quicken of its own volition, avoiding Nevada's double combo." He added.
"And since they landed on Goyle, they got taken out by its Auto Counter." Slate nodded. "Which means Ford wins!" He added.
Even as the audience cheered, Nevada was partly wondering if she should be angry or not… And decided that this wasn't worth getting angry over. Honestly, she was pretty curious about what was going on with Ford.
Up in the stands, Peggy and Lee also saw this, and they were wondering the same thing, what did Ford just do? And on that note, Lee also wondered if he could do it also.
(Later)
Ford smiled as he looked at his fighter card, now certified with Level 3, meaning that he had all the perks this level had. Including access to the high quality massage and spa, as well as the Rank 3 improved suite on the third floor of the Relic Hotel.
He made a mental note to move himself and Peggy into the new suite soon. "Hmmm, I should really consider taking Peggy to the spa at some point." He hummed.
"You and me both." Lee said as he walked up to his brother, high fiving him. "Nice work out there." He grinned.
"You too, bro." The boy smiled.
As he said this, Rosie, Holt and Peggy came up to him, their own cards in hand.
"Hey guys." Rosie smiled. "Looks like you leveled up, that's great!" She continued. "I did too, so did the rest of us." She added.
Holt nodded as he held a hand on Rosie's shoulder. "Yeah, I'm gonna show Rosie around Rivet Ravine, I usually go there to work with my uncle." He nodded.
"I might follow suit and meet you there later." Ford nodded.
"Forgetting someone?" Peggy questioned as she got up close to her boyfriend, leaning forward as she crossed her arms, pushing her chest a bit.
"We might follow suit and meet you there later." The dual toned Fossil Fighter amended.
"Much better." The Scottish redhead nodded in satisfaction.
Rosie, Holt and Lee chuckled at this as they watched the two, glad to see they were getting along together so well.
As the five went their separate ways and Ford had the front desk move his stuff to the new suite–the young man's phone (an IPhone 3G) rang in his pocket.
"Hello?" He responded as he answered whoever was calling.
"Hey, Ford. How're you doing?" A voice asked on the other end, a voice that he recognized almost immediately.
"Uh, hey Susie… I'm doing fine… How're you?" He asked nervously, causing Peggy to facepalm at his Han Solo levels of awkwardness.
"I literally just finished work up on my end and decided it would be a great time to see how things are going for you." Susie replied casually, probably not noticing her brother's awkwardness. "How's that fossil fighter thing working out for you?" She asked.
"Oh! Great, actually. I just finished a Level Up Battle today." Ford replied. "And… Lee and I also think that we found a few leads on our mom's disappearance." He added, his tone turning serious.
"What'd you find?" His sister asked, just as serious.
"We found a tacky idol that shared the same characteristics as mom's necklace, and had something inside that I'm not gonna specify over the phone in case someone's listening in." Ford explained.
"... Sounds big." Susie stated. "How'd that Fossil turn out? Did it give you a good Vivosaur?" She asked.
"Oh yeah. An air type T-Rex is what I got." Her brother confirmed.
"Huh. Most I've read about were fire types." Susie mused. "Anyway, I guess you got mine and dad's letter about us planning on calling in some vacation days soon so we can visit you?" She asked him.
"Uh, yeah? We both did." Ford nodded.
"Splendid! We can talk more then, in that case." The woman smiled.
"Uh, sis, wait I'm not sure I'm–!" The boy tried to say before the line dropped. "She hung up on me!" He gasped.
"What's up?" Peggy asked as she looked over her dino medals.
"My sis is making plans to visit, and I'm not ready!" Ford groaned in dismay.
"Not ready? Why not?" The Scottish redhead questioned, hands on her hips.
"One reason is I don't know how I'm gonna explain dating you to her… And I also fear that I'll be chased all over the island if she doesn't like the notion of me getting you pregnant so soon." Her boyfriend told her, still groaning.
"Sweetie, if she starts wankin' yer prick 'boot it, Ah'll handle it." Peggy told them as they entered the hotel, turning in their old keys and receiving a new key for their bigger suite.
"Thank, my love." The purple and black haired Essex native sighed as they went inside.
"Besides, if there's one person you gotta worry about, it's my brother." Peggy told him, causing him to look at her in surprise.
"You have a brother?" He asked with a blink as they sat on the couch.
"Aye, Robert Aberdeen Carter, though the rest o' us just call 'im Bruce." The redhead nodded. "He's even more Scottish than Ah am, wears a kilt all year long, and is a five time winner of the Highland Games." She added.
"Where's the part that tells me I'm supposed to worry about him?" The black and purple haired man questioned.
"Ah was getting there." His paramour told him. "Ah'm his only sister, and since Bruce is almost all brawn and little brain in that dafty head of his, he's overprotective o' me. He's the reason my last boyfriend broke up with me, cuz he apparently wasn't 'physically fit enough' for me in his eyes." She added with an irritated huff. "It's part o' the reason I came to Vivosaur Island: To get away from his overprotective ass." She continued.
"Seriously? He's more focused on physical fitness?" Ford uttered in disbelief.
"Yep, since he thinks that if any boy ain't physically fit enough, then they can't protect me." Peggy nodded, sounding even more irritated. "It doesn't matter to him if a boy is smart or even rich, if they ain't physically fit, they get rejected." She growled.
"..." Ford was silent before he facepalmed. "While I get that someone needs to be physically fit to protect their significant other, ignoring everything else is just asinine." He groaned.
"My brother needs to get his head outta his arse before I decide to pull it out for him." Peggy huffed, arms folded… Before her stomach rumbled. "Baby's hungry." She told him.
"What concoction will it be this time?" Ford asked in a flat tone, knowing for a fucking fact this was going to be his life for the next nine months.
"Don't get snippy with me, you're the one who put this babe in mah belly." The girl snapped at him, hands on her hips. "Now be a good daddy and get your baby some fried pickles, milk and chocolate chip cookies." She told him.
"Yes, dear." Ford sighed as he went to the kitchen and got to work. 'Fuck me, is this what dad had to put up with when mom was pregnant with me, Lee and Susan?' He wondered.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Lee was already at Rivet Ravine and was currently taking part in the local fossil seminar, searching for fossils to present in order to get the 'reward' the man mentioned. As he worked, however, he heard something that didn't belong in a dig site like this.
'Is that… meowing?' He thought, stopping his digging and homing in on the source. He soon came to a wooden plank bridge that was blocked by some rocks. Deciding to break them, he did so and soon came upon a small kitten that was stranded in a lone corner of the site, injured and clearly very dirty.
Lee immediately went to pick up the small critter, who hissed at him in an attempt to make him stay away. The man ignored that and picked it up, looking very concerned.
"Who would have the nerve to abandon you…?" He wondered softly before shaking his head. "Doesn't matter. I'm taking you to the vet." He declared, putting the little kitten in a comfortable position in his satchel and making his way out of the dig site. The fossils could wait.
(Elsewhere)
While Lee left Rivet Ravine, Ford and Peggy entered it.
The two of them noted that it was a large disc shaped canyon on the northern part of the island, with several mines, cliffs, plateaus and other features all over the place, it was certainly a rock climber and face jumper's dream.
"So, should we take the seminar that's going on today?" The redhead asked as she looked over Ford's shoulder as he read a map.
"That's what I'm thinkin' about. Something interesting might come out of it." Ford nodded in reply.
"Alright, let's check it out." Peggy nodded as the two entered the common area of the site, where a man was busy speaking to a group of fighters.
"Alright, you guys! Get out there and come back when you find eight fossil rocks!" He told them, prompting the fighters to scatter and collect their respective hauls.
"Hey, what was that all about?" Ford asked as he and Peggy walked up, getting the man's attention.
"Oh, hello there. You two look new around these parts." He greeted. "You guys here to attend my seminar?" He asked.
"Yeah, what exactly do we have to do?" Peggy asked.
"Search for eight fossil rocks and come back here. I'll tell you what happens next after that." The seminar man explained.
"Are we limited to the fossil rocks here, or can we go to other dig sites to get them?" Ford questioned.
"The latter. It helps to make things easier." The man replied.
"Perfect." The two nodded as they picked up their pickaxes and got to work.
(Elsewhere)
Back with Lee, he had just hopped off the boat and started making his way to the vet.
As he did so though, he was sure to check on the kitten to make sure he was okay, and thankfully, he was. The little one was curled up inside his satchel and was nibbling on a piece of shark jerky he had stashed for emergencies.
As he walked, his mind focused on the little bundle of fur he was carrying, he almost failed to register the familiar head of blonde hair that crossed his path.
"What the–? Duna?" He blinked, getting the woman's attention.
"Oh, Lee." The woman said as she faced him. "What fortuitous timing, I was actually looking for you." She continued as the two stepped closer to each other.
"As much as I'd like to know why, I need to get this little fella tended to." The blue tipped Welshman told her, showing her the kitten he'd found… Said kitten took one look at Duna and hissed at her.
"Um… I think I can manage walking with you and telling you why I need you." The 'blonde' told him with a sweatdrop as she looked at the small feline.
"Then follow me." The boy said as he gestured for the girl to come with him. "So what is it you need from me, exactly?" He questioned.
"You mentioned that your mother had a necklace similar to mine." Duna began, getting a nod in return. "Could you… Tell me how your parents met each other? You telling me that has made me suspicious that your mother could be my… Superior's daughter." She explained. "She went missing some years ago and we've been trying to find her." She continued. "Her father is… Worried. Very much so, in fact." She explained.
"I was wondering what was up." Lee muttered. "The story of my parents' first meeting is that dad saved her during an expedition trip he took to Antarctica, and after that, they started dating." He explained. "As for why dad had to save her life, apparently some morons on her original expedition team decided to be a bunch of bastards and abandoned her to die, hence why he had to save her." He continued. "The jackasses behind that were all lucky dad didn't kill 'em and feed their carcasses to a polar bear." He muttered, sounding angry about that.
"I certainly would've killed them." Duna commented with a scowl. "But still, is there anything else, or is that it?" She asked.
"No, just that they had to keep each other warm in a cave during a storm until help arrived and then mine and Ford's older sister Susan were conceived about a year later." He explained.
"That's certainly one way to meet one's significant other." The 'blonde' mused as they arrived at the vet. "Your story does certainly sound similar to how we know our missing comrade has disappeared. And… Then there's the fact that you two are genetically related." She continued.
"How do you know that?" Lee questioned.
"Remember that vivosaur fight we had?" Duna began, getting a nod in return. "I figured it out from your blood sample." She clarified.
"Heh, that was pretty sneaky of you. I'm a little impressed." The blue tipped Welshman chuckled.
"But that aside, I believe that it is safe to say that your mother is the woman I'm looking for." The "blonde" told him as they sat down in the waiting room. "That being Sinmara Tyrantus, crowned princess and heir apparent to his majesty Dynal Tyrantus." She elaborated.
"Wait, mom's royalty?" Lee blinked in surprise. "She never mentioned that before she vanished." He noted more to himself.
"It's likely that she didn't want to make your existence known to her father and our people until she was sure you would be accepted." Duna replied. "As our people haven't exactly been on the best terms with humanity." She continued, much to Lee's confusion.
"What?" He uttered, wondering what she meant by that. It was then that the receptionist called for him. "One moment." He told her as he walked up to the front desk. "Hi, I'd like to get this little guy checked out." He explained as he took the small kitten out of his bag and set him on the counter.
The kitten was probably only seven or eight weeks old and seemed quite plump despite having been in Rivet Ravine for so long.
He had a golden-brown, almost orange mask and mantle style overcoat, a white undercoat, with two white spots above his eyes that almost looked like eyebrows, a white spot on his forehead that looked like a head of wheat, and a white square mark in the center of his back and lastly had large blue eyes like that of a Siamese and a bobbed tail.
He was also very spicy, since he was hissing at everyone around him.
"Where did you find him?" The receptionist questioned.
"Rivet Ravine, actually." Lee replied. "I was hoping to get him checked out and get his paperwork in order so I can adopt him." He added.
"Understood." The receptionist nodded. "We'll get him checked out, and then you can sign the papers to adopt the little fella. What do you want to name him?" The woman questioned.
Lee looked down at the little bundle of fur, who was slowly starting to calm down while one of the nurses gave him some milk to drink, and noted that the little one reminded him of a piece of toast, or more accurately a…
"Scone." He replied.
"Alright, we'll get Scone checked out and make sure he's healthy again. This will take about two hours." She told him.
"Understood." Lee nodded before he beckoned for Duna to follow him out of the vet.
Once the two were out of the building with the 'blonde' walking on his left, Lee decided to address one matter that now had his interest piqued.
"So, Duna…" He trailed off, glancing to his left at her. "What was that about your people not being on good terms with humanity?" He questioned.
Right as he asked that, his left eye began to glow blue, and it had a flame-like effect coming off of it. This was Lee's intimidation display: The blue glare.
"That… May take a bit to get out." The girl told him, a little intimidated by his glare. She then looked around. "Do you have somewhere more private we can talk? Away from prying eyes and ears?" She asked.
"Hm… We can head to my room at the Relic Hotel and talk there, if that's okay." The blue tipped Welshman offered, his left eye losing its glow.
"That'll do." The woman nodded as she followed him.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back at Rivet Ravine, after spending about half an hour digging, the two finally got the eight rocks (and a good few more because why not?) And went back to report for the seminar.
"Got your rocks, did you?" The seminar master chuckled as he looked over the sixteen rocks before him. "Alright, here's your reward." He added.
"Alright, let's see it." Ford told him.
"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not gonna like this…?" Peggy whispered.
The man then started zipping around them, saying something about a "hose of knowledge" entering their brains– the stuff they couldn't keep up with. Then, before they realized what was up, they had a repeat of what happened with the Digadigs, except Ford was struck this time.
"DAMN IT!" He cursed as lightning struck him.
"NOT AGAIN!" Peggy complained before both of them collapsed to the ground in a heap.
"Urgh… Hdvangir's eggs, man, what was that for?" Ford groaned as he held his head.
"I just gave you a new skill: Now all the Fossils you'll find will be colored the same as the elements they're affiliated with." The man told him.
"Well, better than what happened the last time I was struck by lightning." The redhead sighed. Speaking like the Digadigs was pretty annoying to her, but this time was at least different and got her something helpful.
"Come on, let's try to walk this off…" The Welshman sighed as the two wobbled away again.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back with Lee and Duna, the young man ushered the girl into his room and bade her to sit on the couch while he made sure they wouldn't be bothered.
"Alright. Take off whatever cloaking device you have on right now." He told her. "I want to make sure you're telling the truth." He added.
"O… Okay." Duna gulped, hesitantly reaching for her wrist and turning off her hologram projector, revealing her true self to him.
The second the hologram vanished, Lee's jaw dropped.
"Wow. You're… You're gorgeous." He uttered in awe, his words causing the Dinaurian woman to blush and look at him in surprise, her skin turning a deeper blue.
"Th-Thank you." She told him before taking a breath. "To begin, we are called Dinaurians, extraterrestrial organisms that evolved from life forms similar to the ones you know as dinosaurs." She explained. "We came to earth during your Cambrian period to try and seed Earth with our planet's microscopic life forms after our home was destroyed." She continued.
"Destroyed? By what?" Lee questioned.
"A planet eating celestial leviathan called Guhnash." Duna replied, pulling out a projector and showing an image of the beast to him.
"Bloody hell!" The boy exclaimed ain shock. "Alright, no, that definitely makes sense." He nodded. "But what does this have to do with my mother? Assuming I believe what you say about her being your crowned princess?" He asked.
"Princess Sinmara was sent to Earth to scout out Earth and see how the microorganisms had progressed twenty years ahead of when the rest of us were to emerge from stasis—but we lost contact with her ship." The blue skinned woman explained. "I was sent here to try and find her after receiving a corrupted transmission from her necklace, and ended up finding you as I went about that." She continued.
"That must've happened after my brother tried to repair it with parts we found with the Idol…" Lee mused, causing Duna's eyes to widen.
"Wait, an Idol? You found one of them?! And the Princess' necklace is damaged?!" She questioned.
"Yeah, and we're thinking that if we find the other idols, we can repair the necklace and hopefully find mom." The Welshman nodded in reply. "We've been looking for her ourselves, and the trail led us to Vivosaur Island." He added.
"I see." Duna nodded. "His majesty King Dynal, your grandfather, has tasked me with finding the princess with all speed." She continued, standing up. "So, I would be more than glad to assist you in your quest. If you will have me." She added, walking up to him, showing that he was considerably taller than her.
"Welcome aboard, then, Duna Nichs." Lee smiled, pulling her close to him on impulse, causing the girl to yelp in surprise.
"Oh!" She uttered, and could feel the muscles under his shirt that, despite his laid back demeanor, spoke of considerable fitness. "I-I'm pleased to be a part of this endeavor, your grace." She told him, blushing. "Shall we go to join your brother?" She questioned.
"Might as well." Lee nodded as he led her outside, the agent reactivating her hologram projector.
(Elsewhere)
Back with Ford and Peggy. After a while of further digging, the two Fossil Fighters managed to recover from the lightning strike that gave them their new perception of fossil rocks.
However, as they were recovering, they slowly managed to stumble into a mine shaft that was around in the area, and soon heard some sort of commotion from inside.
"Those little runts, trashing my minecarts!" A man's voice raged, his angry voice bouncing off the walls.
"Somebody's having a bad day." Peggy remarked in a whisper.
"Shh!" Her boyfriend hissed.
The source of the voice froze as he heard noises before turning in their direction. "Who goes there?! Come to finish the job you minecart vandalizing hooligans?! Show yourself!" He yelled. With an indignant huff, Ford and Peggy showed themselves.
Now that they had a clear look at the man, he had a miner's hard cap with a pair of goggles on it, a purple shirt with a blue tie, blue digging gloves, green overalls and brown boots. He also had a pair of glasses over his brown eyes and a white mustache. His skin tone was hard to make out in the dim light of the mines, however.
"We aren't whoever vandalized your minecarts, but we can find 'em if you want us to give 'em a black eye." Peggy told him.
"What even happened here, exactly?" Ford asked, looking at the many wrecked minecarts.
"A bunch of young hooligans came in here, wrecked my carts and stole my tools. After that, they ran deeper into the mines." The mineshaft owner explained.
Ford hummed as he walked towards the cart and examined it… and saw that around the cart was a slew of paw prints, and boot prints.
"... This has the BB Bandits handiwork written all over it." The young man stated, standing back up.
"You're sure?" The man asked, looking at him seriously.
"I only had one encounter with them so far, but they seemed kinda sloppy about it so it's not hard to identify them." Ford nodded in reply. "If they did do this, then they also may still have your tools." He added.
"Only problem is we have no way of finding the tools, even if we wanted to." Peggy sighed.
The miner seemed silent for a moment before he suddenly perked up, a light bulb appearing over his head.
"Let me see your Sonars for a minute." He told them.
"Uh, okay?" Ford uttered in confusion as he and his girlfriend gave him their sonars. After a few minutes of tinkering, he gave them back.
"Okay, my tools are made of iron, so I upgraded your sonars to detect any iron nearby." The man explained.
"That's helpful and all, but it also means we'll probably find random iron deposits, too." Peggy pointed out.
"Hey, I can only do so much without my tools!" The man exclaimed indignantly.
"Alright, and who are you again, exactly?" Ford asked.
"Fargas McJunker. I own these mines, and the Junk Depot." He replied.
"Oh, so you're the guy Holt is learning under!" Ford noted in realization.
"Yeah! His uncle, right?" Peggy nodded.
"Ah, so you know my apprentice. Excellent." McJunker nodded, pleased to meet one of his student's friends. "Listen, apart from my tools I also need a rare Electromanite fossil to power this car. I'll need you to go get it from Holt at the Depot." He continued.
"OK… guess that means we'll need to split up." Ford nodded, looking at Peggy.
"I think we can help with that." A voice called from the cave entrance, causing the two to turn and see Lee and Duna walking towards them.
"Hey, bro. Who's your friend?" Ford greeted, wondering about the new face.
"Oh, is that your new girlfriend?" Peggy teased, causing the new arrivals to blush.
"No, Peggy! And shut up!" The taller twin snapped in reply. "This is Duna. She's… an acquaintance of mom and she's offering to help out." He added, reigning in his blush.
"You knew our mother?" Ford questioned.
"Yes, she's an incredible woman." The blonde nodded.
"Well, the more help we have, the easier things will get." The black and purple haired twin shrugged. "Anyway, we gotta look for the tools of this guy over here." He told his brother, jutting his thumb at McJunker.
"I'll stay here to find the tools, and Lee can go see Holt." His girlfriend told him. "He loves V-Raptors, remember? I'm sure he'll listen to you with V around." She added, looking at the younger of the twins.
"Fair enough." The young man nodded before smirking.
"Be sure to use that 'nickname' I came up with for the BB Bandits when you find 'em, yeah?" Ford asked.
"Oh, I will. Trust me." The redhead grinned in reply. Peggy then took out her sonar and entered the tunnel again, searching for the junk man's tools.
"... What nickname did you come up with for the BB Bandits?" Lee questioned.
"Bitch Baby Bandits." Ford grinned, causing his brother to snort in amusement.
"Well that's rather vulgar." Duna pointed out.
"Well, we don't know what the BB part of their group name stands for, so I'm just going with that." Ford shrugged in reply.
"Their reaction is going to be priceless!" Lee howled, holding his sides. "That aside, shall we go see Holt?" He questioned through chuckling fits.
"Try not to get lost on the way there, eh?" The shorter twinjeered.
"Oh shut up!" Lee exclaimed, but still had a grin on his face.
"I'll make sure we're heading in the right direction." Duna chuckled as she and the Raptor lover left.
"And what will you do, love?" Peggy questioned.
"My mom's necklace has been acting weird all day, and I think it may have something to do with one of the tunnels. So I'm going to investigate it and see what's going on." Ford told her.
"Be careful in case you run into the BB Bandits… Unless you wanna throw that insult in their faces." His lover told him before grinning like mad at the second part.
"Maybe I will, who's to say?" The boy shrugged as the two parted ways.
(Elsewhere)
-Vivosaur Island Junkyard-
Lee and Duna ran towards the Junkyard looking for Holt, entering through the doorway–then they saw the blonde on a shop roller under a 1971 Dodge Challenger RT Hemi, which he was working on–with the curious sight of Rosie sitting on the hood of the car, handing him tools.
The boy was shirtless and covered in oil and grease, while Rosie was dressed in a pair of pink booty shorts and a white undershirt she had tied into a makeshift bra. She was also covered in grime.
"Ratchet?" Holt asked, holding his hand out.
"Here you go." The pinkette replied, handing him the requested tool.
"Socket." He continued, getting the tool. "OK… try starting it now." He prompted.
"On it." Rosie nodded before getting in the driver's seat and turning the key in the ignition before she stepped on the gas a couple of times. The engine didn't start at first, but after a few more tries, it hummed to life. "Oh yeah, that's the stuff!" She grinned.
Holt rolled out from under the car and took a seat next to his pink haired companion, taking her into his lap.
'Well, these two certainly clicked together fast.' Lee noted mentally.
"Hey Lee. Need something?" Holt asked as he held Rosie's hand.
"Yeah. McJunker sent me here for an Electrominite fossil to power up his minecarts again." The tall Welshman replied.
"Again?" Rosie questioned.
"The BB Bandits trashed it, and I have an inkling as to why…" The young man told them, recalling the idol he'd handed over to Richmond, and hoped Ford had things handled until he could catch up.
"And you need to get deeper into the mines to stop them?" The Junkyard Apprentice deduced.
"Got it in one." Lee nodded before bringing out his V-Raptor. "I know you need one of these little fellas as proof that I really was sent by McJunker, so here you are." He added.
V looked at Lee and then at Holt before nodding, a sign to the blonde that his friend wasn't lying.
"Alright, I'll see if I can find an Electrominite." Holt nodded as he got up off the car, and started rummaging around the yard for the rare ammonite fossil.
"You know." The two toned man started as he looked at Rosie. "You never struck me as the Junkyard type." He noted.
"I get pretty dirty while digging, so this isn't that different." The pinkette shrugged.
"Fair." Duna nodded, getting Rosie's attention.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"Duna Nichs, one of Lee's new acquaintances." The 'blonde' responded.
"Wow!" Rosie exclaimed, her eyes twinkling. "Your skin looks so soft. What do you use to moisturize it?" She asked, looking the girl over.
"I'm not sure I can tell you without giving you a headache from the number of things I did." Duna replied with a chuckle, a little amused by her behavior.
"Oh!" The girl pouted, her cheeks puffing out in indignation.
(Elsewhere)
-Rivet Ravine, mine tunnel #3-
Peggy was currently in the process of finding McJunker's tools in the mineshafts, gaining access to most of them. However, even though she'd been at this for close to half an hour digging and searching for the metal utility utensils–but was having poor luck.
She'd mostly found iron deposits and had to fight a couple of other Fossil Fighters who happened to be in the area at the same time. Suffice to say, her patience was running thin and she was growing irate.
"If I fin' another ruddy iron deposit, someone's gonna git a bloody black eye!" She growled, her left eye twitching.
After a moment, she picked up another iron reading on her sonar, and prayed that it wasn't another deposit; she was getting sick of finding those.
Seeing another red dot appear on her sonar screen, she dug, and this time… "B-B-B-B-Beee Beee!" A voice yelled as another gangly man from the BB Bandits hopped out of the hole and forced her to get back.
"Finally, some soddin' progress!" Peggy grunted as she sent her team out while the BB Bandit… sent out two vivosaur.
The opposing team was a Pachy and a Stygi, and Peggy sent out her team consisting of: Her Penta Pochita, her Styraco Pacaso, and her Tricera Chomp.
"Pochita, Leaping Gore on Pachy. Then swap with Chomp and let him use Tricera Combo on Stygi." The redhead ordered.
The dino did as ordered and managed to inflict a high amount of damage. This ended up resulting in the Patchy getting sent back into medal form while Pochita tagged out with Chomp. The Tricera then used his trademark combo on his target, sending it back into medal form as well.
Yeah, this wasn't even a fight. Just curb stomping. The Scottish redhead literally only won in a single turn and got the pliers before continuing on her way, humming to herself.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile with Ford, he was in the process of investigating a tunnel that his mom's necklace seemed to be attracted to—as the further he went into said tunnel, the more frequently it kept blinking.
'There's definitely something down this way.' He thought as he kept walking forward. 'Question is, what?' He wondered as he kept following the track that his blinking necklace was leading him to—and found not something, but rather someone.
The figure was hooded and was walking through the tunnels of the mine at around the same time Ford got there. Their entire body was covered by the cloak they were wearing, but there was a fanned blue Dinaurian tail that could be seen sticking out from the back.
Another thing about this figure was that they were clearly feminine, but nothing else could be discerned beyond that.
"What the…?" He uttered as he approached the figure, but they quickly went down another path. "Hey! Wait!" He called after her, chasing the cloaked woman through the mine.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back with Lee, he and Holt stood across from each other as they readied their medals.
"Volt, V, Tokugawa! Go!" The two toned boy called as his gauntlet launched the medals out, calling out his three Raptors to battle.
"Jabs, Tri, Odin, Come on out!" Holt called, sending out his Iguanodon, Triceratops and V-Raptor.
The two teams stood across from each other as the calculations were made, and Holt had the least, so he would go first. The Junkyard Apprentice knew how to start things off.
"Jabs! Use fist Jab on V!" He yelled.
The herbivore nodded as he then jabbed the raptor twice, sending him skidding backwards.
"Tokugawa, Volt, use F-Combo and U-Toxin!" Ford ordered.
Ace attacked first, ramming into Jabs with his horned head, slamming him against a pile of junk and beating him. This allowed Peter to chomp down on Odin as he moved into place, before swatting him away with his tail like a baseball bat.
The two vivosaurs suffered a hefty amount of damage, both returning to their medals, leaving Tri to take their places.
"Tri! Use Running Slam!" Holt ordered.
The ceratopsian did so, but the Velociraptor evaded the attack by leaping over him, leaving his opponent wide open.
"Now V, use Veloci Combo!" Lee yelled. With a slash, five kicks and a blast of air, Tri was beaten, meaning he had won.
"Man, you know how to manage Raptors like a pro." Holt chuckled as he reclaimed his medals.
"I did a lot of homework." Lee chuckled as well. "But really, though, I gotta get back to the mines and help Ford and Peggy out if they need it." He added.
"Right, right. Here." The blonde nodded, handing him the Electrominite. "Be careful out there." He added.
"Gotta be, right?" The Welshman replied as he left with a wave, Duna following suit.
"See you guys later!" Rosie called, waving to them while Holt hugged her from behind. "Aw, what's got you in a cuddlin' mood?" She giggled.
"I just wanna relax." Holt sighed. "Working on a car and having a fossil fight takes a lot out of a guy." He added, burying his face into the nape of her neck.
"… Wanna take a nap in the car? Or should we go to my room?" She suggested.
"I wouldn't mind either." The Junkyard Apprentice replied.
"My room it is!" The pinkette chirped as she dragged him to their destination.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back with Peggy, she'd just beaten another bandit and had gotten McJunker's wrench. So now all she had to do was get them back to their owner.
Only problem was that, with all that battling, she had been left rather famished—and she could feel that her unborn embryo was feeling the same way, as it was giving her a series of serious pregnancy cravings.
"Oh… Scones (tattie scones maybe?), Banachs and smokies, some mince and tatties, a deep fried Mars Bar, a Dino Cake and some tea—preferably Breakfast." The girl groaned as she clutched her rumbling stomach. "Shite, who knew that eating for two people was a full on job?" She added idly.
As she said this, she reached McJunker without incident. Said man looked pleased by her return.
"Ah, welcome back. There were little to no issues I hope?" He commented.
"A couple of BB thugs, but nothing I couldn't handle." The redhead replied with a shrug.
"I'm back…" Ford sighed as he walked up to her.
"Nice of you to join back up with me. I managed to get all the tools." His girlfriend told him as she held the tools. "What's wrong?" She questioned.
"I'll tell you later." Ford explained.
"Good news everyone! I got the Electrominite fossil. I'd say we're clear to proceed." The black and blue haired fighter called as he and Duna walked up to the group.
"Good. The faster this is done, the better. I'm getting hungry." Peggy groaned.
"What's the baby craving this time?" The boy asked, recalling when he had to get his girlfriend an order of loaded Irish steak fries (he still thought the title should have been UK and Ireland centered, but whatever), and a cup of vanilla ice cream the previous night.
"More than before. A few of them are Scones (tattie scones maybe?), Banachs and smokies, some mince and tatties, a deep fried Mars Bar, a Dino Cake and some tea—preferably Breakfast." His lover replied, keeping the list short.
"Oh jeez… It's starting to crave Scottish food now?" Ford groaned before shaking his head. "I'll get the baby fed when this is over. We have bandits to deal with." He stated.
"I know, and I'll hold you to that." Peggy nodded before they headed to McJunker.
"Are all human pregnancies this bizarre?" Duna whispered to Lee as quietly as she could, and got a shrug in return.
"It differs between every female on the planet." He whispered back to her.
(Later)
"Hey, McJunker!" Ford called as he and the others came out of the tunnels. "We got the stuff you need!" He added as they approached the man.
"Ah, you're back!" The man exclaimed, pleased to see them. "Did you get what I need?" He asked.
"I got the tools right here, though they look like they've seen better days." Peggy nodded, holding up the rather rusty tools.
"And I got the Electrominite fossil." Lee added, holding up the fossil. The rotund man cursed as he took his tools and inspected the damage.
"I'll need one of you to clean my tools off. Can't fix mine cars with them in this kind of condition." McJunker told them.
"I got it." Ford said as he took the tools and did a quick cleaning on them, and in just a minute, they were all sparkly again… Or as sparkly as they can get, at least. "Here you are."
"Good! Now to finally fix this cart…" The man nodded as he started getting to work and fixing things.
(Later)
After around ten minutes, the cart was finished and fully operational again. Now Ford and Peggy were able to head deeper into the mines and deal with whatever the BB Bandits were up to. The redhead, despite her hunger, was still looking forward to whatever reaction they'd get when Ford's gag name for the BB Bandits was thrown into play.
And when they arrived at a large open cave, the couple found that it was (somehow unsurprisingly) Vivian, Snivels and Rex.
"Now where do you suppose that Idol is?" Snivels questioned as if no one was spying on them. "We're running out of places to look!" He added with a whine.
Rex then blasted past the lanky man as he looked around, sniffing frantically, leaving his companion dazed and dizzy, causing him to fall over. Vivian, meanwhile, seemed annoyed.
"Just shut up and find that damn idol, you idiots!" She barked.
"Oi!" Ford called, getting the trio's attention.
"Well well well, if it isn't the brats that ruined us at the Digadigamid." Vivian sneered, before noticing the two newer female faces that she didn't recognize. "With friends, it seems." She mused. "What's the matter? You boys couldn't afford a proper date so you decided to bring your girlfriends crime fighting?" She scoffed.
"We came 'ere cuz we wanted to ye hackit minter!" Peggy barked.
"What did you just call me?!" The silver haired woman snarled as the two stomped towards each other, Peggy being considerably shorter than Vivian, but her breasts were much larger than hers, causing their racks to clash as they stared and growled at each other.
"Ya heard me, ya tramp!" The Scottish redhead snapped back.
"Grrrr! Snivels! Mind explaining to me what the hell is going on? Didn't you put those mine cars out of commission?" The bossy woman demanded.
"Yeah! And I took McJunker's tools while I was at it." The long nosed man nodded.
"And then what?" The woman questioned.
"I gave them to Rex for him to hide." He replied.
"Aroof!" Rex barked.
"Yep and buried 'em where no one will ever find them!" He added.
"... Yes, on an island where people use sonar to find buried objects. How could anyone possibly find them? Idiots." Vivian groaned, facepalming.
"... Wow, that is beyond brainless." Ford sweat dropped.
"Now there's a smooth brain moment right there." Lee quipped with a chuckle.
"Aye." Peggy nodded before looking back at the bandit leader, who she was still having a rack pressing contest with. "You know, we was curious about the BB part in your group's name, so we decided to come up with our own interpretation." She told Vivian.
"Oh, is it a flattering one?!" Snivels asked excitedly, which was going to make what happened next hilarious.
"Not in the slightest." Ford scoffed.
"We decided to call you guys the Bitch Baby Bandits." The Scottswoman chuckled, and then outright laughed with Ford and Lee, while Duna simply chuckled at the insulted looks he got in return.
"That's it! You're all dead!" The only woman in the enemy group yelled angrily as she pushed Peggy back. "Rex! Snivels! Deal with them!" She yelled.
"I'll take the mutant dog." Lee spoke up, getting his team for the fight ready.
"I'm going to enjoy breaking sickle nose's sneezer." Ford grinned, cracking his knuckles.
"And Ah'll deal with this munter." Peggy nodded, glaring at Vivian.
"I'm going to enjoy making you swallow your teeth down your throat." Vivian snarled.
"Aroof!" Rex nodded as he rushed at Lee, sending out a Zino and a Nodo.
"Elsie, Newton, Faultus! Go!" Lee called as he tossed out his Vivosaurs.
Meanwhile, Snivels was battling Ford with a Carchar and Cerato, while the Welshman sent out his own fighters.
"Ace, William, Peter!" Ford called as he tossed out his Vivosaurs.
Only problem was that the Egyptian styled Shark headed dinosaur's sheer mass made it nearly reach the ceiling of the cavern.
"Oh fuck me. That's gonna be a problem." The long nosed bandit muttered, feeling a bit concerned for his vivosaur's ability to fight in these enclosed spaces.
"Oh look, a bigger target." The purple haired twin smirked.
Vivian, meanwhile, was facing Peggy and her ceratopsian gang with a Dilopho and an Elasmo while Duna was standing behind Peggy, ready to help if needed.
"WOOF!" Rex barked at his Vivosaurs, causing Nodo to fire a Perplex shot at Faultus—only for the attack to not even hit! "… Borf?" The dog barked in confusion.
"Foolish creature…" The Earth Raptor hissed with a grin that looked scary on his face.
"Faultus, use Quaking Bite on Nodo." Lee ordered.
The Raptor carried out his order, and landed an earth crushing bite that had enough power behind it to put Rex's Nodo out of the fight and cause his Zino to move in.
"Borf!" Rex barked, prompting the Zino to start slashing at Faultus with its claws, and for the attacks to not make any damage at all.
"Wow, that was sad." Lee sighed with a chuckle. "Faultus, Cataclysmic Combo on Zino." He ordered.
Faultus roared as he rushed forward and landed a combo that dealt moderate damage and left his target scared for the next three turns.
With nothing left to do, it was Lee's turn again, and he had enough points to use the strongest attack his Vivosaur had.
"Faultus… Gaia Storm." Lee grinned almost savagely as his eye glowed again, something that made Duna shiver in response to a feeling she couldn't place.
The giant earth empowered raptor raised its head as a yellow orb of sand particles started gathering in its jaws, growing in size for several seconds before he spat it out at Zino, the object creating a trench in the ground as it gathered more and more material as it traveled.
The attack hit not just the Zino, but also Nodo via area of effect and took them both out at once. Rex whimpered in fear at the display, even as his dino medals landed at his feet.
"That is one crazy powerful vivosaur…" Ford said idly before turning to Snivels. "Alright ya bloke, you first." He jeered.
"I'll grind you into dust!" The beak nosed man exclaimed as he looked at his Carchar. "Use Massive Jaws!" He ordered.
The beast did so and proceeded to try and attack Ace with its giant jaws.
"Ace, dodge!" Ford ordered, and the rescued vivosaur did so, albeit barely. "Now headbutt him!" He added, the enemy vivosaur getting knocked back by Ace's horn tipped attack as the Carno rammed it in the face.
The attack dealt moderate damage, taking about forty of its HP away. It also sent Nodo flying into the EZ, making Cerato move in.
"Grr! Use Headbutt!" The bandit ordered, prompting his Cerato to swing his head forward.
However, Ace simply dug his foot claws into the ground and presented his horns to meet Cerato, colliding with him and then using the air type's momentum to flip it over him and into the air.
"Now William, use Tyrant's Roar!" Ford called.
The V-Rex immediately acted and roared at his target, the projectile attack nailing it mid air adn sending it back to medal form.
"What the hell?!" Snivels gasped in shock. Now all he had left was his Carchar.
"Not my fault you can't win a battle to save your life." Ford shrugged before looking at Ace again. "Okay Ace, use Carno Fury on Carchar and Peter follow it up with Venatar Fang." He added.
The social Cerato roared as he rushed in and attacked, doing a decent amount of damage. Then he got out of the way and let Peter finish the fight with a strong bite, sending Carchar back to the beak nosed bandit.
"Oh come on!" Snivels groaned.
"Suck a cock." Ford jeered, flipping the man off.
And now all that was left was Peggy and Vivian.
"Picasso, use Leaping Gore on Dilopho!" The redhead called to her Styracosaurus.
Pachaso immediately leaped forward and slashed at the BB woman's Dilopho, taking it out in one hit that did critical damage—leaving Elsmo alone as it took the smaller vivosaur's place.
"You gotta be kidding me!" The woman exclaimed in disbelief.
"Sorry, not sorry!" Peggy quipped with a grin.
"Grr! Elasmo, use Elasmo Tackle on Styraco!" The woman ordered.
"Stand your ground!" Peggy told her partner as the one horned Ceratopsian dug itself in and held its spiked frill and single horn out to face Elasmo as it snapped its jaws and tried to strike him with its flippers, only for him to take no damage and for it to take damage as he used his auto counter as shield.
It didn't take Elasmo out of the fight, but it did force it to stagger back.
"You can't be serious!" Vivian snarled.
"Not our fault you naturally suck ass." Peggy snarked in response. "Now Picasso, use Styraco Fury!" The redhead ordered as the giant creature leapt into the air and dove down at Elasmo before goring it upwards and then bashing it into the back wall of the mine.
This concluded the 3v3 fight with a bang.
"Three for three. Now beat it, peanut gallery!" Lee ordered, his eye glowing as he glared at them.
"We'll get you for this!" Vivian growled as she, Snivels and Rex booked it out of the mine. "Come on boys, let's get out of here!" The leader of the group yelped as she ran past the two.
"Vivian! Wait up!" Snivels yelled after her as he ran as well.
"Awoooo!" Rex Howled as he ran with his tail between his legs.
"That has got to be the most pathetic team of fighters I have ever seen." Peggy stated, shaking her head.
"Understatement of the year, my pearl." Ford sighed, also shaking his head before looking around.
"Ditto." Lee nodded in agreement. "But they said something about an idol. There must be another one in this cave." He deduced before looking down.
"On that note…" Peggy mused as the taller twin brought out his pickaxe. "It makes me wonder why they're looking for them in the first place, seeing as that the only people who see any value in them are us and I assume whoever Sinmara's affiliated with." She continued as she looked at Duna. "Care to shed a little light on the subject, lass?" She asked, arms crossed.
As she said this, Duna seemed to fidget while Lee whistled to the tune of 'Guy Fawkes' while he dug and unearthed another idol—though it was taking awhile to do so.
"... Can I trust you two with what I'm about to show you?" The infiltrator questioned, causing Lee to stop digging and look at her.
"Whoa, you sure you wanna do that?" He asked in concern, knowing exactly what she was talking about.
"I'm sure." The 'blonde' nodded in reply, much to Ford and Peggy's confusion.
"What are you two talkin' about?" The redhead questioned with a tilt of her head.
She got her answer in the form of Duna turning off her holo-projector, letting the couple see her real self.
"What the–?!" Peggy yelped in surprise.
"This is what Dinaurians look like?!" Ford exclaimed in shock before noticing that Lee didn't react. "Bro, did you already know about this?" He questioned.
"I did… And if I'm honest, she looks gorgeous." The taller twin replied, pulling the alien girl close, causing her to blush bashfully.
"… Your words honor me, your grace." She uttered idly, looking away.
"Your grace?" The redhead questioned.
"Oh, right." Lee nodded. "Apparently according to Duna, our mom's Dinaurian royalty." He explained, causing the two's eyes to widen. "And her dad, the king, is our grandfather." He added. "It's going to take some time to explain it all." He finished.
"…. WHAT?!" The couple exclaimed in shock, their shouts echoing throughout the cavern.
(Later)
"Hold on, so you guys were going to pay the BB Bandits ten trillion dollars to find these Idols?" Peggy questioned. "What could have possibly possessed you to do something as dafty as that?!" She questioned.
"W-We needed a discreet way to get the idols without drawing attention to ourselves!" Duna yelped from her spot next to Lee. The group had returned to the taller twin's room so that they could have their talk in a more private setting.
"Yes, because nothing screams discreet like hiring a slew of the most notorious criminals on the whole bloody island." The Welshman deadpanned.
"... Okay, maybe not our best idea..." The pink haired woman admitted sheepishly.
"Ya think?" Ford asked flatly. "Anyway, with how we're going right now, we might as well take over on looking for the idols ourselves. We already found two, so finding whatever number is left should be simple." He mused.
"I'm afraid that may not be the best course of action." The pinkette told him. "Because it may do more harm than good. If not because it will incur the wrath of the Bandits, then also because it will put a target on your back for the more… Zealous of our people." She explained.
"You mean ones that want to eradicate humanity with the idols, ties built by our mother—their princess—be damned." Lee noted.
"Unfortunately, yes." The agent sighed. "The loss of our homeworld affected them severely, and this is their most likely response to it all." She added. "King Dynal nearly fell to similar depths when Guhnash's destruction took our beloved Queen Cera away from us, and the fact that princess Sinmara had been assumed dead." She continued. "But the news of her living and seemingly had three children with a human has… Opened his eyes to new possibilities, so to speak." She concluded.
"Well, as good as that is to hear, we need what those idols hold so we can repair mom's necklace." The shorter twin told her, showing Duna the necklace. One look at it, and the Dinaurian woman couldn't deny that it needed to be patched up.
"Okay, now this I can understand." She conceded. "That aside, I do believe it would be best if you and the rest of your kin were to meet King Dynal in person as soon as possible." She continued.
"Our dad and sister are coming to the island soon, so it could happen after their arrival." Lee supplied.
"That's assuming nothing crazy happens between now and then." Ford nodded as he got up. "Come on, Peggy, we need to get our stuff ready to move into the rank 3 suite." He told his paramour.
"And get the food ah'm cravin'!" The redhead told him.
"Yes yes, that too." The man sighed as the two left.
After the two left, Duna looked at Lee in confusion.
"What does she mean by craving?" She questioned.
"It means that she's going to give birth to a baby in nine months." Lee replied simply, causing the Dinaurian's jaw to drop as her eyes went wide.
"W-What?!" She squeaked. "You mean that Prince Ford has made his paramour become with child so soon into their relationship?!" She questioned.
"Believe me, I was as shocked as you are now." The blue tipped Welshman sighed in reply. "But they aren't complaining, and they seem to have more chemistry than one would think… That, and Ford has always had a thing for redheads." He continued, his tone becoming more casual toward the end. Then he looked at Duna. "And I think I may have a thing for pink heads." He added idly, patting Duna on the head, causing her to blush profusely as her cheeks turned a darker shade of blue than they had before.
"D-Don't you have a kitten to check on?!" She squeaked, covering her face.
"Scone!" Lee gasped as he got up and bolted out of the room.
'H-How can someone so laid back affect me like t-this?!' She thought, her face heating up more since she actually liked the head pat she got.
(Elsewhere)
After dropping the idol off at the Fossil Center for Dr. Diggins to examine, the two of them returned to their new shared hotel room.
It was much larger than the other one, having a living room, master bedroom and bath, walk-in closet, a full living room, balcony, and the furniture was generally larger as well. It had a queen size bed instead of twin beds, a larger couch, two chairs and a coffee table.
A TV in the living and bedroom, and had a mini fridge stocked with anything that they needed refreshment wise, that would be replenished daily.
Drinks such as bottled glacier water from Cold Feet Glacier, various beers, juice, soda. As well as snacks, like Gummy bears, salted cashews, chocolate almonds, chips and cookies.
And lastly there was also soap and supplies in the bathroom and a copy of the newspaper on the bed. It was definitely a step up from the previous room.
"Finally, now I can eat!" Peggy moaned as she went to the living room where the food she'd ordered from room service had been brought up by Dallas.
"Don't overstuff yourself, hon. I still need to eat, too." Ford told her with a chuckle as he followed her.
The food was on the coffee table and sitting table set on plates covered with cloches.
The first dish was a platter of Scones (tatie and regular) with butter and jam that was served with a pot of Scotch Breakfast tea.
The second dish was a platter of Banachs and smokies, which were a type of smoked haddock dish and a heavy flatbread that accompanied them.
The third dish was an order some mince and tatties, which was essentially shepherd's pie but separated into different parts. Minced beef with sides of peas, carrots and mashed potatoes.
The main course was, surprise surprise, a Scottish Haggis (a Sheep stomach sausage that was stuffed with mutton meat and the minced organs of said sheep—Scotland's national dish) with meeps (sautéed chopped turnips) and tatties (mashed potatoes).
Lastly, for dessert, there was a deep fried Mars Bar, and a large Dino Cake a la mode.
To drink Ford had ordered himself a gin gimlet, while Peggy, being pregnant, was content with water, tea and soda.
"Oh man, this looks delicious~!" The redhead moaned in delight, drooling as she looked at the assorted food from her home. "This is exactly what I'm craving…" She moaned as she began digging into the feast.
"Eat at a controlled pace, my love." Ford told her as he kissed her forehead. "And save some for me." He added as he looked at his phone as he nibbled on a scone with butter and jam.
He'd been examining his mother's necklace and trying to get the button at the center to work, but to no avail.
So, to occupy his time until he could get it to work, he was texting his sister and father. Specifically, about a specific piece of jewelry–a ring.
"Hey Dad, a question occurred to me." He texted. A moment later, he got a reply.
"And what kind of question do you have?" His father questioned.
"The ring you gave mum, what kind was it?" Ford questioned, trying to not raise too much suspicion too quickly.
"It was a white gold engagement ring." He replied. "What brought this on?" He asked a moment later.
"No reason, just thought I'd write it down just in case it comes up." The boy replied as he wrote that down. "Though, before I forget, there are some people I'd like you to meet. Think we can have a video chat tomorrow?" He asked, eating a fork full of haggis.
"Sure. I'll get Susan to do the same so she isn't left out." The man replied.
"Sounds great. Can't wait for you to meet them." Ford smiled before hanging up. "So, who else wants to take the day off after Level Up Battles are done?" He asked his girlfriend.
"I'm in favor of that." Peggy added.
"It's settled, then." Ford chuckled. "I also want to introduce you to my family." He continued. "So we'll do a video call up with them tomorrow." He added.
"Alright, then." Peggy chirped as she pecked him on the lips, leaving behind the taste of beef. "Ah just 'ope that they'll be fine with ya datin' a Scotty." She chuckled.
"I am too, but we can't postpone it forever." Ford nodded as continued to eat. The girl nodded, understanding that he was right.
Hopefully everything would go well.
Dragon Emperor0: Here's the fourth redone chapter, and as you can see, we're splitting plot relevant scenes as equally as possible between our characters, as well as giving our two protagonist twins equal narrative presence via them finding plot progressing things on their own and tackling plot issues that they'd be more suited for. Like Lee being the one to go see Holt because he's the guy with the raptors, for example.
ThermalsniperN7: Indeed, because Lee is mostly a raptor boi.
Dragon Emperor0: Additionally with Lee being paired with Duna we decided to have them meet far more frequently, meaning that they'd be talking more, and that the Dinaurian reveal would happen way sooner, which means that the entire plot of the story would shift pretty dramatically. So we decided to split things down the middle, Ford would be trying to investigate the disappearance of their mother by chasing the idols and following the story of the game directly, while the ever observant Lee would be investigating the behind the scenes plot developments.
ThermalsniperN7: … Would Lee be the type of guy to open a detective agency? Cuz with how observant he is, he might fit the bill as a detective.
Dragon Emperor0: … Uh, holster that thought, bud. Cuz that might actually come into play later on when we properly cover the events of the game that happen after the point where we left off with the original story.
ThermalsniperN7: Fair enough. See you guys next time.