Chapter 5: Buried Past
Lee had returned to his room after picking up Scone, and Duna was still there since she didn't feel like leaving yet. Now she was watching the little furball curl up in the Prince's lap, purring while he scratched his ears.
This sight made the Dinaurian woman wonder what that felt like, given how her own ears are.
"Um… L-Lee?" She spoke up, getting his attention.
"What's up?" He asked in response.
"C..Can you… Can you scratch my ears?" She requested a blush, unable to contain her curiosity any longer.
"... Why?" The taller twin asked with a blink of surprise and confusion.
"Scone really seems to enjoy getting his ears scratched. I… I wanna know what that feels like." The pinkette admitted, pointing to her elf-like ears.
"... Alright." The blue tipped young man breathed before he reached for her left ear and started scratching it.
The Dinaurian woman's breath hitched for a moment as a small jolt of pleasure shot through her nerves, but then she let out a sigh as her eyes slowly closed. Then she started to subconsciously lean into his hand, causing Lee to smile when she ended up resting her head on his lap, his hand still scratching her ear.
'Now isn't this just adorable.' He thought with a small smile on his face, finding this display wholesomely adorable. Scone looked at Duna before he made his way to her face and started sniffing her, and then proceeded to lick her nose, causing her to smile and giggle a bit.
'Mmmh… This feels so nice…' The alien woman thought, yawning a bit.
"Getting tired?" Lee asked softly, getting a nod in return as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Don't make me leave…" She mumbled tiredly.
"I won't." He told her, putting Scone on his shoulder and picking his alien guest up before carrying her to his bed. He didn't know why, but his instincts were telling him that this was the best thing to do.
Placing her on the bed with Scone, he quickly got into some comfortable sleepwear of a simple black shirt and a pair of black shorts before laid down next to the Dinaurian he knew was already asleep by now.
Laying next to her and pulling the covers over them, he pulled her close and gave her a kiss on the forehead as he fell asleep, the little kitten he saved curling up next to his head as well.
Just before he headed for dreamland, Stanley Owen was more than certain Cupid had shot an arrow at him today.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile with Ford and Peggy, the young man was looking over the medals he got after cleaning the fossils he found in Rivet Ravine—when he had a thought pop into his head.
"Hey Peggy." He said, looking down at his girlfriend as she laid her head on his lap. "You and your brother, did you have any pets as kids?" He asked.
"Aye, we had a Scottie that we lost to old age before Ah came to the island." The redhead replied sadly, remembering her old pet dog that she loved dearly. She still missed him. "Why?" She asked.
"No reason, just curious." The boy replied. "… Say, when did you say your birthday was again?" He asked casually.
"Next week. Ah hope ya plan on gettin' me something nice." His girlfriend told him in reply.
"Oh I think you'll like what I have in mind, my pearl." Ford purred as he held her chin up and kissed her on the lips.
(The next day)
Ford tapped on the front desk of the Relic hotel as he waited for the receptionist to turn to him, he'd been waiting for about ten minutes.
"Yes, may I help you?" He questioned.
"Yes, I'd like to officially move into my rank 4 suite." Ford replied, showing his license and choosing to forget that he just had to wait ten minutes.
"Of course." The man nodded as he waved the bell hop over. "Apologies for the wait. You aren't the only rank 3 that's been moving into the suites." He explained, handing Ford a room key.
"I bet." Ford remarked as he took his key.
"Oh and do please try to keep the noise to a minimum, and put the necessary signs on the doors if you and Miss Carter are spending… quality time together." The man told the rank three fighter. "We'd appreciate it if we didn't get a repeat of the encounter our room service stewardess had a few weeks ago." He continued.
"S-Sorry about that." Ford apologized with an awkward cough.
It was true, there had been several occasions when Ford and Peggy had gotten calls from the front desk about noise complaints and one or two instances where a stewardess or house cleaning maid had walked in on the two having sex in the living room or—in an example from a week prior—Ford having Peggy bent over the kitchen counter and pounding her hips into submission.
The redhead wasn't able to walk for the rest of the day after that—and the room was, shall we say, not clean, afterwards.
Ford even jokingly said to the maid afterwards that if he had a black light, it likely would have bore a strong resemblance to a Jackson Pollock or van Gogh painting.
"Anyway, I'll be on my way…" The young man trailed off before speed walking to the elevator. 'I wonder what Lee's up to…' He mused as he hit the second floor button.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, with said brother, he soon woke up in his bed with someone currently sleeping in his arms with him—specifically, it was Duna. This made him blush even as he remembered how she fell asleep and he couldn't bring himself to make her leave.
'She looks so peaceful…' He thought, looking at the alien woman's sleeping face with a smile. He wasn't sure the night prior, but he was pretty sure now—he was definitely in love with this woman.
As he slowly got out from the girl's grip so he could carry her out of bed, Duna whimpered slightly as she started to wake up, and saw that the prince was currently holding her in a manner that a husband would his newlywed bride.
Unsurprisingly, this made her blush profusely.
"M-My Prince, I-I-I'm so–" She started to stammer out an apology before Lee put a finger over her lips to stop her.
"You have nothing to apologize for." He told her gently. "You fell asleep here and I couldn't bring myself to make you leave, especially with how peaceful and comfortable you looked." He continued.
"Prince Lee, please. This is hardly appropriate behavior for us to be engaging in." The pinkette told him. "You're the son of the crowned princess and grandson of the king of our race. I am far too below your station to even be considered worthy of such affection." She continued.
"Things like stations don't matter amongst humans, not anymore, at least." The taller twin told her. "It's who we feel the most comfortable around, those who can make us happy and feel good in life, those we love, that matters in this day and age." He continued. "Duna, you do exactly that for me. Why shouldn't I engage in such things with you?" He questioned, looking her in the eye.
The Dinaurian girl gasped in shock at the young man's words. "A-Are you certain?" She asked as he set her down on his room's kitchen counter.
"Very." The blue tipped Welshman nodded seriously in reply. "Granted, I wasn't so sure at first, but now? Now I am." He added. "It's funny, in a way, what a single incident can do for a person." He mused with a chuckle.
The girl couldn't stop herself from blushing at the prince's words, and as she turned to look at him again, the two leaned in closer together until their lips met, the Dinaurian noblewoman moaning happily as she hugged the young man's neck.
Her tail was even wagging from how good she was feeling right now.
Likewise, Lee's arms snaked around her waist as the two continued making out, eventually picking her up and carrying her in his arms without breaking the kiss.
Surprisingly enough Duna was quite warm to the touch, which answered a question he had about Dinaurians: They were likely warm blooded, except in cases where the specific type of prehistoric animal they were based on was cold blooded.
Since Duna was a Delta, this meant she was warm blooded, he surmised.
After the two had been exploring each other's mouths for the better part of five minutes, they separated for air, their tongues wagging and a thin string of drool connected their lips.
"You… You are an… amazing kisser…" The pinkette breathed, looking into Lee's eyes.
"That was actually… my first kiss…" The tall twin breathed in reply. Though she was surprised, Duna couldn't stop herself from smiling.
"Why don't we fix that…" She purred into his ear, the mere noise of it causing a shiver to run down the young man's spine. Then she started making out with him again.
As this was happening, however, there was a knock at the door.
"Hey, Lee! Are you up yet?" The voice of Lee's brother called. "The front front desk told me to tell you that they'll be sending the bellman up to help you move into your Rank 3 suite!" He called.
"Ah, criminy. Thanks, for the heads up, bro!" He muttered before calling back. Then he heard the footsteps of his brother head away from his door. "Sorry, Duna, but I think we're gonna have to stop here." He told her apologetically.
"A shame, I was just starting to enjoy myself…" The Dinaurian pouted, which made Lee's heart skip a beat.
"I never said we couldn't continue later." He told her.
"Now that I can get behind." She sighed, resting her head in the crook of his neck for a moment before getting up and turning on her holo-projector. "I should get going so no one raises questions. I will reunite with you later." She told him.
"Be careful." The boy told her as she teleported away. Then he looked around his room. "Well, time to get ready to move to my new suite." He said to himself right as there was a knock from hotel workers at the door.
(A Week Later)
Down at the docks of Vivosaur Island one week after the fiasco at Rivet Ravine, Capt. Travers was pulling into Port with two passengers.
"So, you two here to stay, or are you just visiting?" He asked one of the two.
"Visiting. I wanna see how my twin brothers are doing." A female voice replied.
The woman in the boat was a blonde that looked around 21 years of age at 5'8" with brown eyes and fair skin. She also had a modest figure with a C-cup bust with a pear shaped figure and a heart shaped ass. Attire wise, she wore a white and brown lab coat, a green shirt and a black skirt that reached her knees.
This is Susan, Lee and Ford's older sibling.
The man beside her, meanwhile, looked to be forty or so. He was of average height, possibly six-four, with fair skin, long burgundy hair that reached up to his shoulder, brown eyes, and a short beard. His features seemed strong and angled, and his body seemed to be as if it was built from the ground up.
He was wearing a casual dress shirt with some jeans and casual boat shoes, with a leather strapped watch on his wrist. Specifically it was a Fossil brand watch.
This man is Jaune, the twins and Susan's father.
"Yes. I'd like to see how my sons are doing as fossil fighters first hand." The man added.
"Are your sons by any chance the Owen twins?" The captain questioned.
"Yes they are." The man nodded.
"Well I can tell you that." Travers told them. "They've been doing great so far. They're even about to move up to the next rank today." He added. "They should be in the Relic Hotel getting ready to go to their level up battles now." He continued.
"We'll go ahead and drop in on them." Susan nodded.
"Well while you're doing that, mind dropping this off to him?" Travers questioned, handing the woman a small crate, an animal crate, specifically.
"What's in this?" She wondered before hearing a small bark. "Oh, I see." She chuckled.
(Elsewhere)
At the Relic Hotel, Ford was looking over his team for his level up battle today. It had been around a month since Peggy had revealed that she was pregnant with his child, and now he had more motivation to find his mom: So she could meet her future grandbaby.
Plus, meeting her future daughter in law was also a notable reason all on its own as well, when he thought about it.
Right now he was trying to decide on if he should use his newer Vivosaurs or not. Since going to Rivet Ravine, he'd added a few more to his roster.
There was Spring Heel Jack - the Stygimoloch. Bowerstone - the Pachycephalosaurus. Unus - the Elasmodon. Alec - the Alectro. Mega - the Megalosaurus. And Quetzalcoatl - the Quetzalcoatlus.
'Hm… Maybe I'll at least take one of them so I can start on getting them all caught up with the rest of the team.' He mused internally before picking up Quetzalcoatl.
"Getting ready for your level up battle, huh?" Peggy asked, walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Yep. I wanna be level 4 before my sis and old man surprise visit me." The black and purple haired man nodded in reply.
"Don't worry." The redhead told him as she got in his lap and hugged him close. "You will." She added, kissing his cheek.
As if the universe itself was conspiring to make him look bad, the door to his room got a knock on it.
"Ford, are you in there?" The voice of Susan asked from the other side.
"Oh fuck me…" The man in question groaned in dismay before shaking his head. "Well, better to rip the bandaid off now, I guess." He sighed before he went and answered the door… and was immediately glomped by his sister. "Oof!" He grunted as he staggered back a bit.
"Hey Ford!" The woman smiled as she hugged her brother into her buxom chest.
"Hey, sis." The boy replied, his voice muffled by her bosom.
"It is good to see you again, Ford." Jaune chuckled as he walked into the room. Then he noticed Peggy "Hm? And who are you?" He inquired.
"Margaret Carter, but call me Peggy." The redhead replied. "Nice to finally meet ya, mistah Owen." She smiled, before covering her mouth as she realized she let her brogue slip through.
"... I should've known you'd go for someone like her, Ford." Jaune deadpanned at his son. "You were always into redheads. Her being Scottish must be an excellent bonus." He added.
"Ehehehe, I won't lie, father. I did find Peggy's accent and… general Scotswoman demeanor very attractive." Ford chuckled nervously.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you." Jaune nodded as Susan was still looking Peggy over.
"Oi, whatcha starn' at ya wee posh cunt? Ah got somethin' of yours?" The redhead questioned, not really liking the look the blonde was giving her.
"... Yep, you're Scottish." The blonde noted plainly.
"And wut's that supposed to mean? Ya gotta problem with that?" Pegged questioned, stomping towards the woman, only for Ford to get between them.
"No fighting." He told them, but it was mostly aimed at his paramour. The tension vanished however, when the sound of a puppy barking reached his ears, causing his head to snap to the animal crate his sister was holding. "Oh, awesome timing!" He grinned.
"What's awesome?" Peggy questioned as Ford took the crate from his sister and opened it, before handing it to her.
"Happy birthday, my pearl." He smiled as she took the box with a bit of confusion.
"Uh… What's–" She started to ask as she opened the box… and her breath hitched when an adorable little Scottish Terrier puppy poked his head out and looked at her, his tongue hanging from his mouth, licking her face happily as he hopped and wagged his little tail.
"Surprise." The young man chuckled nervously as Peggy slowly set the crate down and took the puppy out, holding him so she could look at him.
The pup was about eight, possibly nine weeks old, with mostly black hair like most of his breed, but also having a white patch of hair on his chin, giving him a cute fake beard and was wearing a tartan plaid handkerchief around his neck.
He was eagerly wagging his tail in his owner's arms, panting merrily as he looked at her with innocent joy directed at her.
"Y… Ye got me a Scottish Terrier, the exact same breed my last dog was…" She uttered as tears of happiness started pooling in her eyes.
"Yeah. I did some digging after you told me about your last dog, and turns out this one is one of his grandkids." The young man nodded.
"G-G-Grandkinds…?!" Peggy gasped before she broke down and cried, the full weight of realizing she had a piece of her favorite dog with her hitting her full force. The grandchild of her dog didn't like that she was crying and started licking her tears away.
"Ford, you really are too much." Susan sighed as she shook her head at her brother's antics.
"Well, I do wanna make today special…" The man shrugged. "I'm just glad it turned out well." He nodded, watching Peggy with her puppy. Happy as could be.
"I think I'm gonna name you Maxwell." The redhead smiled as she hugged her puppy close to her chest before setting him down on the couch.
Maxwell barked happily before licking her face again. It was clear he liked his new name.
Jaune and Susan couldn't help but smile at this, before they looked at Ford. "So, you said you had some news?" His father questioned.
"Yeah, but that can wait until after Lee and I finish our Level Up Battles." The boy explained.
"Speaking of, we should probably go see what's keeping him." Susan noted.
(Elsewhere)
With Lee, he was in his own room with his things packed up and ready for his rank 3 suite. Right now, he was busy getting his team ready for the fight.
"Well, hopefully this'll work." He nodded as he adjusted his battle gauntlet, right as a familiar flash appeared in his room. "Welcome back." He said, turning to Duna.
"Honestly, it feels good to be back." The blue skinned pinkette admitted "Especially after the report I had to give to King Dynal." She added with a sigh.
"How'd that go?" Lee questioned.
"Well…" Duna trailed off.
(Flashback)
"And that is about the long and short of it so far, your majesty." Duna said as she concluded her report to Dynal, the king sitting in front of her in his throne-like captain's chair. A glass of fine Dinaurian wine swirling in his hand idly.
"You certainly had an eventful time, didn't you?" Dynal mused. "But I get the feeling there's something you left out about my apparent grandchildren. I ask that you share it, and let me decide if it has any relevance." He requested gently.
"Um, I'm not quite sure what you mean, sire." The girl responded, not entirely sure what her monarch could be asking of her.
All she got was a raised eyebrow and a gaze that said he wasn't buying it. After a minute of this, Duna ended up cracking.
"I spent a night with one of your grandsons!" She blurted, her hands immediately going to her mouth.
"... Which one?" Dynal questioned.
"I-It was Stanley!" The pinkette squeaked nervously.
"And he didn't make you leave the morning after?" He pressed.
"N-NO!" The woman gulped, feeling fear creep into her mind. "In fact, I merely fell asleep and he chose to let me stay!" She added quickly
Other than a hum of thought, Dynal was silent as he contemplated things. On the one hand, Duna had slept with one of his grandsons, but given what he'd been told of Lee at this point, he had serious doubts anything explicit happened. On the other hand, Lee and Duna sounded like they were bonding rather nicely, and could become a couple in the future if things continue as they were.
After he finished thinking, he spoke again.
"Duna, I have one thing to say to you in the event you enter a true relationship with young Stanley." He began.
"Y-Yes, your grace?" The pinkette squeaked. She'd always been intimidated by the man, even if he had practically raised her when their world was destroyed.
"I approve." The elder said simply, causing the pinkette's brain to shut down for a moment.
"I-I beg your pardon?" She uttered intelligently after she rebooted.
"You heard me." The King confirmed casually. "Based on what I've heard, you and Stanley are bonding well together. I feel no desire to separate you from him." He added.
"Your grace, are you certain? I feel unsure as it is, given that even as a duchess, I am of a considerably lower pedigree than a pri—." She began before Dynal held a hand up, silencing her.
"I have spoken." He told her firmly. "Besides, if I'm right, he'll want to keep his choice in a mate as simple as possible." He added.
"I-I see." The girl nodded. "Well, if you're sure. Then I humbly accept your decree." She nodded, though internally, she was beyond happy. "Thank you, your majesty." She added with a bow.
(Flashback end)
"And that's how it went." Duna finished, and noticed Lee was gaping in shock before he shook his head.
"Well, at least we have nothing to worry about." He mused.
"I have a feeling that once we find the princess, we may be able to convince him and the other Dinaurians to not destroy humanity." Duna nodded. "I'm hopeful that this will be the case." She added, squeaking a bit when Lee suddenly pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
"I think he and some others might come around to it when they find out about her marrying dad." The taller twin told her after separating from the kiss.
"D-Do you have to kiss me out of nowhere like that?!" She squeaked.
"Are you complaining?" He asked rhetorically before kissing her again, Duna melting into it this time.
"No, I'm certainly not." The pinkette replied, right when there was a knock at the door.
"Hey bro, you in there? Dad and Sue just showed up." Ford called.
"Oh shit, Duna, put your disguise on, quick." Lee told his Dinaurian lover.
She immediately did so as her hybrid Prince went to answer the door.
"Hey, guys." The taller twin greeted before noticing Peggy's new pupper. "Bring the puppy in so it can meet my kitten." He added, not knowing said pupper's gender.
"It's a boy." Peggy supplied as she walked in.
"Mew." Scone mewled as he put his paws on his owner's leg, wanting to be picked up.
"Up you go." Lee chuckled as he picked up his little furball.
"It's good to see you haven't changed." Susan sighed as she hugged her brother in greeting.
"Yes, and you're certainly doing well." Jaune nodded as he walked in after Ford and closed the door.
"Yeah." Lee nodded as he hugged Duna close. "Dad, sis, this is Duna." He told them. "Duna, this is my dad and sister Jaune and Susan Owen." He continued.
"Pleased to meet you both." Duna nodded as he shook their hands.
"You, too. It's nice to have another blonde around." Susan smiled, pulling a lock of hair out of her face.
Duna couldn't help but giggle at that. "So it would seem." She chuckled.
"Well, now that everyone's here." Ford said as he hugged Peggy close to him. "Peggy and I have some news for you both." He continued, looking at his father and sister.
"Really? What is it?" His sister asked curiously.
"Dad, Sue, you're gonna be a grandfather and aunt respectively in the next eight months." Ford told the two.
'Three… two… one…' Lee thought, counting down before…
"WHAT?!" Sue shouted in shock, eyes wide and mouth gaping.
"In Ford's defense, Ah did kinda beg him to do it." Peggy explained as she hugged the Welshman close, nuzzling herself into him.
"And they were drunk when it happened." Lee added.
"No, that was our first round together." The redhead corrected. "Ah didn't feel a bun go into my oven until around round five or six a week later." She added, which made Sue's eye twitch a bit.
"You have to be fucking kidding me right now…" She groaned in exasperation.
"Well, he certainly wasted no time. I never did with your mother." Jaune quipped, causing all three of his kids to blush. "Speaking of your mother…" He trailed off before he leveled his gaze on Duna. "I find it rather suspicious that you have an exact replica of my wife's necklace. Emphasis on exact." He told her with narrowed eyes, causing the disguised alien to feel a shiver go up her spine.
"Um…" She tried to speak before she was cut off.
"Turn off the holo-projector." The older man told her.
"What?" Sue asked in confusion, but was ignored for the time being.
"Um, I should make it clear that our necklaces aren't the things used to disguise ourselves." Duna said nervously as she tapped the device on her wrist. "They're simply a two way teleporter." She continued as her hologram turned off.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Sue yelped before noticing that she was the only startled one. "You guys knew?!" She gasped.
"I was the one to figure it out." Lee told her before he pulled Duna over to the couch and planted her in his lap. "And I made her my girlfriend." He added with a smile.
"Then I assume you work closely with my wife's father." Jaune noted as he looked at Duna.
"You'd be right." The pinkette nodded. "In fact, I'm actually helping search for her along with some idols that are scattered across this island." She added.
"We've already found two, and they each held something to patch up mom's necklace." Ford chimed in.
"That's certainly interesting." Jaune mused while Ford checked his pocket watch.
"Shit, Level Up Battle's gonna start soon." He cursed. "We better get moving." He told them.
"Right. Let's go." Lee nodded, removing Duna from his lap and pecking her on the lips. "If you wanna attend, it's up to you. I won't blame you if you have things to do." He told her.
"The others still think I'm continuing my investigation. I should be able to attend." The Dinaurian girl told him.
"We'll be watching from the audience, hopefully with front row seats." Jaune told his sons as the Dinaurian woman turned her holo-projector back on.
"Get ready then." Ford grinned as he and his brother headed off.
(Later)
In the Fossil Stadium, not long after, Ford was standing across from Holt, the blonde being his first opponent of his match.
"Second time fighting each other. Let's see how much we've improved." Holt said with a smirk. "Hopefully the third time's the charm." He added
"Technically this would be the third time, but who's counting?" Ford nodded in reply before they entered the arena.
As the battle started, Ford sent out Bengal, William, and Peter—with William being in the AZ—to fight Holt's Coatlus, Pachy and Tricera, the T-Rex and Triceratops facing each other.
The type advantages were pretty much dead even on both sides.
"Look at these stats! They're perfectly even!" Slate gasped.
"I'm not sure who's supposed to go first in this situation." Leon admitted.
"Hm…" Holt hummed before he brought out a quarter. "Ford, call it! Heads or tails?" He challenged.
"Tails." Ford replied, allowing Holt to flip his coin.
"Heads!" Holt called as he flipped his quarter, then caught it.
And the result is…
"Heads! I'm going first." Holt grinned before looking at his rival's team. "Tri, use Tricera Charge on Ford's T-Rex!" He ordered, prompting his living battering ram to charge at his target.
"William, better move. Now." Ford said.
"Don't worry about me." The tyrant king told his fighter as he waited for his opponent to come to him—before he weaved under the three horned behemoth and flipped him over his head, sending him crashing down onto his back.
"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be?" Holt mused with narrowed eyes. "Patchy, use Iron Ram on Ford's T-Rex!" He ordered.
"William…" Ford noted nervously.
"I see it." The Tyrannosaur nodded as he readied himself.
However, as the Pachycephalosaurus shot right towards him, he did a flip over the herbivore to avoid it–causing the rock headed Vivosaur to collide with the wall–making it take damage instead, and become confused.
"What a dodge!" Leon laughed in delight.
"That's one way to make the enemy hurt themselves." Slate mused.
"Bengal, use S-Fury on Pachy!" Ford ordered.
Bengal immediately attacked Holt's Patchy, dealing a substantial amount of damage while it was still confused. The attack, however, did make the vivosaur snap out of it.
"Tricera! Use Running Charge against S-Raptor." Holt called.
"Bengal! Look out!" Ford yelled.
His warning came too late, sadly, and Bengal was hit by Holt's Tricera. The impact dealt some serious damage, but didn't take him out of the game.
"Gah! Man, that smarts!" The S-Raptor grunted in pain.
"William, Take down Tricera with Frightful Assault!" Ford ordered.
"Gladly." The T-Rex replied before charging forward and slamming into the opposing Vivosaur right as the fear kicked in–causing the beast to freeze and allowing William to take it out and causing Coatlus to take its place.
"Peter, swap with William." Ford added.
The Venatar nodded and did just that, taking V's place at the forefront.
"Coatlus, use Air Cutter!" Holt ordered. The pterosaur did so and spun like a fan at Peter, but the earth type tanked the hit.
"Venatar Combo." Ford retorted.
Peter immediately landed a chomp and a shoulder slam on the Pterosaur, knocking it to the ground and taking it out of the game.
"Wow, you really have gotten a lot better." Holt chuckled, feeling great about the fight despite being on the losing side.
"I try." The boy shrugged as Bengal and Peter swapped places.
"Pachy, attack S-Raptor" Holt ordered.
The Patchy did as told and managed to land a couple of blows, but they didn't seem to do enough to take it out fully. He was left in critical condition, however.
"Bengal, use S-Fury." Ford stated, allowing his Vivosaur to destroy Pachy and win him the match.
"WOW! The stats were dead even and Ford still managed to pull a win! What a fight!" Leon cheered.
"Yes, and it was a nail biter of a battle too." Slate nodded.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, in the stands, Peggy was currently trying to not get her head bitten off by her future sister in law as she and Susan were getting something to eat and drink for Jaune and Duna. The redhead was currently craving something salty and cheesy.
"Stand still already!" The blonde exclaimed as she tried to lunge at the Scotswoman, only for her to dodge.
"Oi! What is your problem?!" The redhead snapped as she dodged the woman each time.
"You're too crass for Ford!" Sue exclaimed.
"Well tough shite! This ain't about what ya want!" Peggy snapped in irritation. "We're just fine bein' together and Ah already know we both have it bad for each other—so ya might as well sit down, shut up and get used to it missy." The redhead huffed at her, right as her stomach–and her growing embryo by proxy–growled in protest for having to wait for food. "I know, honey, you're hungry–I know." She sighed, patting her stomach.
"How far along are you, anyway?" Susan asked as they went back to where Jaune was sitting after getting food, specifically a personal pizza, pickles, cheese and a soft pretzel, which Peggy had a craving for.
"Not long. 'Bout a month or so." The redhead replied.
"So it only happened about a month into Ford's stay here." The blonde noted.
(Elsewhere)
"So you're a master fighter, huh?" Ford chuckled as he looked at McJunker.
"Yep!" The junkyard manager laughed jovially. "And don't expect an easy fight. My team doesn't have any slouches in it." He added.
"I wouldn't guess." Ford nodded as they stepped into the stadium and got ready for their battle.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back up in the stands, the others watched as Ford and McJunker sent out their teams, right as Rosie and Holt came to sit with them.
Introductions were made and while Susan was busy talking to the two, Duna and Peggy turned to Jaune.
"So, Jaune… What can you tell us about Sin-uh-Sue? What did she look like in each of her… Forms?" The disguised Dinaurian asked.
"Well, her human form was certainly an elegant one." The man chuckled, taking out his phone and showing them a picture.
It was of a woman holding a baby, with the fragments of an egg being beside her. The baby in question was a little girl who seemed to be mostly human in appearance, but had elf-like ears and shimmering scales that made her skin seem shiny.
The girls immediately looked at Susan and then back at the baby, realizing that it was her. But also at the woman herself–Sinmara.
"Wow." Peggy uttered in amazement.
"Who's the baby, though?" Susan wondered.
"You, actually." Jaune replied, causing his daughter to widen her eyes and look at her hands in shock and disbelief. "Your mother had me make sure you hid your attributes. It's why she showed you how to use makeup so early." He added.
As he said this, Peggy couldn't help but note something. "Your wife's disguise, it makes her look like…" She noted.
"Willow Schnee, from that show, RWBY, right?" Rosie nodded, looking at the picture before whistling. "And even after… laying an egg–wow that is weird to say–she's still got a figure. Heart shaped ass, a slim waist and–wait, how big is her rack, exactly?"
"Rosie!" Duna gasped.
"I have the right to remain silent and let you figure it out on your own." Jaune replied with a straight face.
"Killjoy." The pinkette grumbled with a pout.
"Well, what did her other form look like?" Peggy questioned, to which the man scrolled to another picture, this time with a pair of small boys with a similar eggy aftermath on them, but Mara looked very different.
She looked like a full blown vivosaur. It was clear she was a carnivore because of her teeth, and she also stood on digitigrade legs with the rest of her body structure being mostly humanoid. She had some frill-like spikes going all over her head that her hair grew behind. Her hair, meanwhile, was snow white and she had blue eyes. She also had elf-like ears and lastly a powerful looking tail with a fanned end.
The pigments that made up the color of her body were two different shades of blue and she had white stripes going all over her body.
She was actually a Cryolophasaurus in humanoid form. And her figure clearly wasn't different from what her human disguise implied.
"Wow… She's beautiful." Peggy gasped.
"She definitely looks like royalty." Holt nodded, noting the dark blue frilled dress and coverings that covered her naturally icy blue skin.
"Makes me wonder what Lee looks like outside their human forms…" Duna muttered curiously.
"Yeah…" The redhead nodded, thinking the same of her lover.
As they were busy talking, the crowd erupted into applause as Ford's Team (consisting of Ace, Peter and Alec this time) was thrashing around McJunker's team due to the type advantages being firmly in the Welshman's corner.
McJunker's Cerato clashed horns with Ace as the Carnotaurus used Headbutt at the same time as him–with the type advantage causing the air type to be blown backwards into the adjacent wall–taking it out.
Peter took the fight to the man's Kentro, jumping onto its back and taking a huge bite out of it. The force was strong enough to actually take it out of the game completely.
And Alec charged at Stygi and threw it into the air with his neck and then slammed his tail into its stomach and sent it crashing into the same wall.
"Oooooh! The odds were definitely not in McJunker's favor!" Slate commented with a wince at the one sided beatdown.
"It was definitely a one sided match this time around, meaning Ford wins the level 4 level up battle!" Leon added.
"We better go congratulate him." Jaune said with a grin.
"Then get ready to see how Lee's gonna win his match." Susan nodded.
(Later)
"That was one hell of a battle, bro." Susan grinned as she stood in front of her brother.
"It's easy when you have the upper hand." Ford chuckled in reply, smiling as he looked at his newly advanced Fighters card. "But for now we should probably go see if Lee's match is starting." He added.
"Right." Duna nodded, wanting to see Lee in action against someone other than herself in a fossil fight.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Lee had just finished his first round battle and was now walking into the stadium to face off against McJunker, and having seen what the man's team was from Ford's battle, adjusted his team's roster accordingly.
For this fight, he was bringing in V, Tokugawa and Newton.
"Well hello young Stanley." McJunker chuckled with a hearty belly laugh. "Are you ready to meet the Rank 4 steam roller?" He laughed.
"You didn't seem like much of a steamroller against Ford." The blue tipped young man quipped in reply. "And after that fight, I figured out how to beat you myself." He added.
"Oh ho! Getting cocky now are ya? Let's see it then!" The man chuckled as they got their teams ready, McJunker tossing his out—and Lee loading his into the launcher of his gauntlet.
Up in the stands, Ford sat with the others as Lee's team came out to fight after being shot from his launcher.
"Huh, looks like he learned from my bout with the guy." The shorter twin noted as he examined his brother's team.
"Yeah. Which means he likely has a plan to take McJunker down as well." Peggy nodded
"He is known for being deceptively strategic."Jaune commented, recalling a few chess tournaments that Lee had participated in and proceeded to show up the competition a few times. He actually managed to take down a champion once, too.
"Yeah. He's bound to put on a show here." Sue nodded.
"Lexo, use Poison Tail!" McJunker called.
"Dodge." Lee told his partner, who did so by doing a rolling flip over the stegosaur's spike tail and landed behind it. "Now use Lethal Poison." He added.
V landed his combo on McJunker's Lexo, and due to the fire typed Velociraptor having a type advantage over the earth typed Lexo, did critical damage and left it poisoned in the aftermath.
"Cerato, swap places with Lexo!" McJunker ordered.
"Tokugawa, take V's place." Lee added.
Both Vivosaurs heeded the order to swap, and Tokugawa held an advantage against McJunker's Cerato. The man himself noticed this and realized that Lee wasn't bluffing when he said he knew how to beat him.
"Use Headbutt!" The miner called, prompting the dinosaur to do so, but only for it to be met with the opposing F-Raptor to meet him head on and clash skulls—doing minimal damage and leaving the three horned theropod dazed.
"Use Savage Fury." Lee ordered.
Tokugawa screeched as he rushed the Cerato and slashed his claws at it and kicked it a few times, dealing enough damage to put it in critical condition due to the type advantage the F-Raptor had. This occurred before he suddenly breathed a blast of gravel at it, kicking the Ceratosaurus back and back into its medal, forcing Stygi to take its place.
"Newton, swap with Tokugawa." The young man said as V moved from the EZ and Tokugawa took his place, allowing Newton to take the lead. "Now use Fierce Combo." He added.
Newton immediately rushed forward and landed a pair of slashes and a few kicks on Stygi, dealing moderate damage and leaving it poisoned.
"Stygi, use Fiendish Missile!" McJunker called.
"Evade." Lee stated, his voice low and level as he was surrounded by a light, neutral white aura, which surrounded Newton—before the Trodon's evasiveness spiked slightly right as Stygi launched itself at him—evading the attack with a quick dash to the side and stopping himself by digging his claws into the ground, kicking up dust.
Up in the stands, Duna, Ford and those who recognized the aura that appeared took quick notice of this.
"There it is again." Peggy noted.
"What is that?" Sue wondered.
"I may have an idea, but this isn't the time or place to talk about it." Jaune commented, recalling a Dinaurian legend that Mara had shared with him before she disappeared.
'Is that…? No, certainly not.' Duna thought before shaking her head.
Back with Lee, Lexo moved out of the EZ, but after McJunker ended his turn, his Stygi was promptly taken out by the poison it was inflicted as Tokugawa came out of the EZ.
"V, swap with Newton." The blue tipped twin ordered. A moment later, V took the forefront while Newton moved to the SZ. "Now, use Veloci Combo." He added.
V screeched as he attacked Lexo, and due to the type advantage V had, he was able to knock it back into medal form, winning the match. The audience immediately went wild at the display.
"And done." Lee said as he caught his partners and walked away.
(Later)
"Welcome to rank 4, bro!" Ford cheered as he and his brother shared a Predator style handshake.
"That was one hell of a battle, bro." Susan grinned as she stood in front of her brother.
"It's easy when you're a strategic genius." Lee chuckled in reply, smiling as he looked at his newly advanced Fighters card.
"A strategic genius who still can't navigate a bathtub to save his life." Ford teased.
"Oi!" The taller twin squawked indignantly, causing Duna to giggle in amusement.
"Now that the battles are finished, I think it's time to get to the bottom of this whole thing with the Dinaurians." The black and purple haired twin commented.
"Right. Let's go." Jaune nodded as the group followed the twins to the Dinaurian ship's location, Duna following as well.
(Later)
After taking a private auto piloted ship to the Secret island, everyone got off and started looking around.
"That's weird, I don't see a ship…" Ford hummed as he looked for the ship amongst the dense forestry of the island.
"Me neither." Lee mused before looking at Duna as she turned off her holo projection. "Getting anything on your scanners?" He questioned.
"No. Nothing." The Dinaurian dutchess replied.
"Uh, guys?" Peggy said as she pointed at something, causing everyone to look up.
They saw something sticking out of a small mountain at the center of the island, and it looked to be made of metal. The group concluded that it had to be part of the Dinaurian ship.
"OK, so this thing obviously crashed here." Susan noted.
"But how the hell did it get here to begin with?" Peggy questioned.
"This is the Andromeda, it was sent to scout for a habitable planet for us to seed." Duna explained. "But how it crashed I have no idea." She continued.
"Let's find out." Ford said as he and his group made their way inside the ship.
When they were inside, they saw things that only Jaune could make heads and tails of due to past experiences. It all looked nothing like the technology form they were affiliated with. Everything looked to be made of crystals, and even stone–but at the same time looked insanely advanced.
"Wow… This is what you found mom in?" Susan asked as she looked around.
"Well, a ship like it." His father nodded as he walked over to one of the computers and activated it. "Here, take a look." He told them.
The others gathered around and saw… Things they honestly couldn't read. Well, the pure humans in the room.
Ford, Lee and Susan felt like they were supposed to understand what they were seeing. It was like it was an instinct they had that they couldn't explain.
"Project Mother Planet?" Ford questioned.
"Guhnash?" Susan added.
"Project Mother Planet was meant to turn Earth into the new Dinaurian homeworld after it was consumed." Lee explained.
"And according to Mara, Guhnash was the creature that ate their planet, if I recall correctly." Jaune added, getting a nod from Duna in affirmative.
"Okay, these are very important." Ford noted.
"But what's that got to do with the idols?" Peggy questioned.
"If the idols are what I think they are, then they actually hold some important components inside them." Jaune mused as he thought it over. "And if I'm reading this right. The Dinaurians had sent micro organisms from their planet to evolve into Dinaurians. But seeing as humans are around–it could only mean one of two things." He continued,
"Yes. The Sub Idol comps are capable of assisting the main idol to fire special regression rays that can bring all life on earth back to single celled life." Duna nodded. "But only if the organisms in question evolved from the original seeds. Which I'm quite sure humanity has not." She added.
"Those original seeds most likely got wiped out by that meteor that struck the planet after the Cambrian explosion." The redhead noted.
"And whatever was left evolved into dinosaurs rather than Dinaurians." Lee nodded.
"And more than likely the other Dinaurians probably believe something went wrong and that the microorganisms evolved incorrectly, so they want to regress the planet and start from scratch." Susan added.
"Correct." Duna nodded.
"The latter is bad for us for obvious reasons, so we need to deal with the situation involving the idols as soon as possible." Jaune interjected.
"The second idol I found is at the Fossil Center being studied. I can take you there so you can tell the head scientist what you know." Ford told his father.
"And if mom is the crowned princess of the Dinaurian race, then we need to find her, and quickly." Susan added.
"How do you mean?" Peggy asked.
"Because I worry that these idols surfacing now could be a bad omen." The blonde replied.
"And if she is the crowned princess and heir apparent, then maybe she can help talk the King down and let him figure out what actually happened to his project." Ford added. "Before he does anything rash." He added.
"Assuming he hasn't started changing his tune thanks to Duna's help." Lee amended.
"Hey, speaking of." Peggy chimed in. "Why is Dynal so Hell bent on remaking his home world?" She asked.
"He's very passionate about achieving the best for his people. Willing to go to great lengths to get it." The Dinaurian pinkette explained. "Additionally he is driven due to the fact that his wife, Queen Cera, had died in the evacuation of the royal palace. So that also motivated him to succeed in Project Mother Planet." She added.
"He's driven by grief." Ford uttered, realizing that his grandfather likely wasn't thinking clearly.
"That's certainly what it sounds like." Peggy nodded, seeing the implications as well.
"Think that's changed since you started updating him about everything?" Susan asked Duna.
"It's hard to tell, but there are signs that he is starting to change." The pinkette replied. "I mean, he certainly gave me his blessing to enter a relationship with Lee." She added.
"That's a good sign, I suppose." The blonde nodded before she came across something. "Found something." She told them
"What is it?" Jaune asked as he walked over to her. As she pulled something up, it showed a spreadsheet of something–specifically a DNA sample. And an image of what it was a sample of.
"What is that?" Jaune wondered as he looked at the image.
"It says… Wait, that's Guhnash?!" Susan started to reply before gasping in shock.
"No wonder the Dinaurians are so scared of this thing." Peggy gasped.
"... We need to find a way to kill it." Jaune stated firmly.
"On that, father, we can agree." Lee nodded.
"I'm afraid that's impossible." His lover told him. "Even with our most powerful weapons, we could not harm Guhnash. "I highly doubt that humanity will fare much better." She continued.
"There's no such thing as an invincible creature, Duna." The blue tipped Welshman told her. "We just need to understand how it ticks and use that against it." He added.
"Well, the Dinaurians have a DNA sample, so maybe we can start by studying that and figure out what to do from there." Ford said, looking at the sample spreadsheet.
"That's something we're better off leaving to Dr. Diggins." Peggy added.
Typing on the keyboard, Ford quickly extracted the sample and put it in his bag.
"You're probably right." He nodded. "Come on, let's see if there's anything else worth looking for before we head back home." He continued.
The others nodded as they had a look around to see if there was anything of note.
(Elsewhere)
-Dinaurian Mothership, Deep Space-
Meanwhile, on the very topic of conversation, Dynal was sitting in the ship's throne chamber. Swirling his wine glass in his hand, he could only look into it idly as the minutes ticked by, waiting for Duna to return with another report from her mission on Earth.
'She must be spending time with my grandson, or she's on to something big… Or both.' He thought, feeling no surprise at Duna being preoccupied with those two things. He did wonder if she found anything, however.
As he continued his musings, the doors to the chamber opened and a figure walked inside, before stopping just short of his seat and kneeling, drawing the king's attention to his visitor.
It was a male Dinaurian agent. H was wearing the usual skintight outfits they wore that was colored blue and purple around the arms and legs while being a dark green around his torso. He had dark blue hair, the usual light blue skin, red markings on his face.
"Ah, Raptin, I wasn't expecting you." The king noted as he nodded at his subordinate. "What brings you here to my chamber?" He questioned.
"Concern, sire." The Dinaurian replied, his voice sounding similar to Virgil from Devil May Cry.
"Concern for what?" Dynal questioned.
"Concern for yourself, my colleagues, our people as a whole, our plans. Many things." Raptin explained, looking up at his monarch. "I hope I am not overstepping, but, are you sure that it is wise for Duna to be spending so much time amongst these humans on this… Investigation of hers, and not on finding the Sub Idol comps?" He questioned.
"She is doing more than finding the Sub Idol comps, Raptin." Dynal told him. "She is also searching for my daughter, your princess, at the same time. Such long term tasks can and will take time." He added. What he left out on purpose was that she was also possibly spending time with Lee, but Raptin didn't need to know that, for it wasn't his place to know such a thing.
"That's the other thing, sir." Raptin interjected. "Are you certain that the princess is truly alive? Or that these so-called… 'children' are truly who they say they are, or that their father truly cared for her?" He questioned. "If they loved princess Mara so much, why are they not assisting these twins in finding her, if they are who they claim to be?" He continued. "Honestly it seems little more than a ploy, a false hope, meant to toy with us—in true mammal fashion—if I am to be completely blunt." He added.
"Mind your words, Raptin." The king warned him firmly. "Had Sinmara's husband not cared for her at all, then the children would never have been born. On top of the fact that she is alive in the first place. Additionally, genetic evidence does not lie. This should be a fact as obvious as the star the Earth orbits. As for assisting them, there is only so much that can be done discreetly." He continued. "And as for this being a ploy to give us false hope? No, I don't believe that for a moment. My grandchildren wouldn't dare do something so cruel, if only because they were raised in a manner that would make them feel nothing but regret." He added further.
"If Duna's last reports are to be believed, that is. Which they likely are." Raptin admitted. "That said, I will not hide my skepticism about the promises of the humans, even if these ones can be trusted." He continued. "As exceptions do usually prove the existence of pervading rule." He added.
"Healthy skepticism is important, Raptin. But hear me." Dynal nodded before turning serious. "Do not let this skepticism turn to prejudice and lead to insubordination." He warned, flexing his fingers as claws extended from them. "The consequences for such actions would be… Unfortunate." He added.
"Y-Yes, your majesty." Raptin gulped, catching the veiled threat. "Thank you for your time." He nodded as he took his leave, though his darkened expression conveyed that he was more than a little displeased by the results of the conversation.
Now alone, Dynal looked down at his wine glass again and let out a heavy sigh as his thoughts moved once again to his daughter.
"Just where are you, my darling? And why do you hide yourself from your family?" He wondered to himself as his reflection rippled in the purple liquid in his palm.
(Elsewhere)
Back on Earth, Duna was still helping search the ship for anything of note. As she did, she came across a private terminal with a voice log.
"Hm, maybe this can shed some light on what happened to the crew." She mused, playing the log.
"What'd you find?" Lee questioned as he walked up behind her, hugging her close and laying his chin between the crook of her neck.
"A final voicelog from one of the crew." Duna replied as the recording started as static before audio was heard, but it was in Dinaurian, so Lee couldn't understand it. Reading and writing in any language are two different things altogether, after all.
"Mind making it where it's in English?" Lee questioned.
"Give me a second." Duna nodded as she did so. Then the recording came out clear for Lee to understand.
"This is Zerinax Cathar, Captain of the Andromeda." It began in a male voice. "If any Dinaurian agents find this recording, our scouting mission was a failure. One of my lieutenants allowed his grief at the loss of his family during our homeworld's destruction to overcome him, and he damaged the navigation systems along with the stone sleep systems." He continued. "He was shot for his actions, but we're trapped in the gravity well of the planet we were to scout. I don't think we'll survive the crash, since the ship is in poor shape." He sighed as the sound of shaking was picked up. "It's kind of sad, in a way. From orbit, I can tell that this world would have made a spectacular new home as it is. The greens and blues make it look oh so wondrous and beautiful." He continued forlornly. "It pains me that I will never be able to live to see it. If it is chosen, I hope King Dynal makes the smart and wise decision." He added further. "Some of the crew was already in stone sleep beforehand, so they have a chance to survive. This is Captain Zerinax signing off… For the last time. Goodbye." He finished before the recording ended.
"Stone sleep, are those the statues we saw earlier?" Lee questioned, getting a nod in return. "… Think we can try to bring them to the main island and bring them to the Fossil Center?" He asked.
"Returning some of our presumably lost people will send a strong message, and potentially paint humanity in a good light." Duna mused, seeing what Lee was planning. "I think we should." She nodded.
"Hopefully it isn't seen the wrong way." The blue tipped man sighed as he logged the computer off.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, on another part of the secret island, a hooded figure was walking through the halls of the ship at around the same time Ford and the others were aboard.
And upon closer inspection, it became clear that the figure was the same one that Ford had seen in Rivet Ravine.
She then placed something on one of the transponders that caused the cloaking field that Diggins and Richmond put up to deactivate, leaving the island exposed.
Then she sent a remote signal to Ford's necklace, causing it to send out a ping for the Dinaurians to track.
"Soon…" Was the only thing she whispered to herself as she removed her hood—revealing that she was indeed the missing mother the Owens we're looking for—Sinmara.
As the signal pulsed from the transmitter, she went to the ship's teleporter system and activated it—before she vanished again to parts unknown.
Dragon Emperor0: If you guys haven't noticed already, we've made some substantial changes to the original version of this chapter. But beyond that, this is mostly the same chapter as before in spirit, but with some removals and additions to fit this new version as a whole. Needless to say, I think it turned out great.
ThermalsniperN7: I think so too. Hopefully we can keep it up after the final rewrite chapter is reposted.
Dragon Emperor0: That aside, I think you readers will likely be able to tell which game events are likely to occur or not occur in this story based on how this chapter turned out and how things are going thus far–but don't worry. We have a plot in mind that will likely replace the in-game timeline when we reach those points, so no need to worry there.
ThermalsniperN7: Okay, good. And I already got some ideas for when we finally get around to dealing with the BB Bandits for good, but those can wait. See you guys next time.