Zoe's hand was reaching out to Spike's, missing by mere inches. All he could do was watch her fall, feeling his stomach drop. This time, he could've prevented this. He was so close.
She was falling toward a river below her, looking up at the hopeless Spike before he became so far away she could barely recognize him. This whole time she was screaming in panic as if it would do anything helpful.
She was hoping that at least the river could save her, yet she had no clue how deep it was. Thankfully, she was saved by something else. She spotted a pterosaur, an Anhanguera, emerge from the edge of the cliff and fly toward her.
The Anhanguera caught her on its back, bringing her up to the others. She hopped off the Anhanguera and Zander called it and Spiny back into cards.
"Thank you!" Zoe smiled at the tall man.
"We owe you a lot," Zander replied, rubbing the back of his neck.
Seeing Zoe being okay, Spike caught his breath and crawled up the cliff, finally getting on stable ground. He rushed over to the preteen and hugged her tightly.
"Don't tell your dad," he mumbled, "or your mom." He then pulled away, holding Zoe's shoulders. "And never, under no circumstances mention this to your sister."
"I won't, I promise," Zoe reassured him. His head hung down with a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…" he let out.
"So, how do you plan to get to the other side?" Foolscap asked Richelieu teasingly as he got up and flew to the edge on their side. Thankfully for Foolscap, the hit from earlier wasn't that bad–it only sent him to the ground. Sure, he had a few bruises, but nothing too bad. He could still fly, that was the only thing that mattered to him.
"Well, I could if your monster didn't destroy the bridge," Richelieu told him.
"Hey, don't blame her," Foolscap snapped at him, "it was her first battle. Can't expect her to aim perfectly on her first try. She's a good girl and has done nothing wrong. Now if excuse me, I have a Cosmos Stone to find."
The pirate headed forward without a second glance at Richelieu. Unfortunately for him, the time travelers noticed.
He was reaching the other side, but as soon as he did, a rope wrapped around his torso and wings, causing him to fall.
"Where do you think you're going?" Spike asked him, holding the lasso Foolscap got caught in. He tied the lasso to one of the bridge pillars, leaving the alien hanging from the cliff upside down.
"Hey! Where did you come from?!" Foolscap shrieked, wiggling around.
"Stay," Spike joked.
"Then let's get to Vassasi Castle!" d'Artagnan exclaimed and they all headed off, leaving the carriage behind this time–Anne refused to stay in it and do nothing.
"Where did you go?!" Foolscap yelled before huffing defeatedly and rolling his eyes, "well, shoot."
—
Passing the last few trees in their way, they saw the castle in the distance. A curvy path led to the big building shrouded in shadows as dark clouds flew above it as a storm was approaching. Vassasi Castle was standing there on a stone pedestal, looking like a treasure itself despite the goosebumps the place gave everyone.
"This is it," d'Artagnan uttered, "this is what Athos and the others were looking for."
"It sure looks spooky," Zoe admitted. Quick shivers ran down her spine when she heard the distant thundering.
"I think the technical term's haunted," Ed pointed out quietly in the back, holding his hands together near his chest.
"We really have to go in there?" Zander asked, hugging himself for comfort.
"Zander, don't remind them!" Ursula snapped at him, her voice higher than usual. The three of them trembled with a shriek once lightning struck near the castle.
"Anne?" Constance whispered to the Queen concernedly.
"It's okay," the blonde told the teen, taking her hand before glancing up at her, "in order to stop Richelieu, we'll need to find that Blue Eye of Gaia before he does!"
"You got that right!" d'Artagnan said as he turned to them, "and you can count on your musketeers to help you because it's all for one and one for all!"
"Yeah, one for all…" Spike whined, his head hanging down defeatedly. Zoe noticed how beatdown he and the trio were. There had to be something to cheer them up a bit. She glanced at her Dino Bracer and that's when it hit her.
"Don't worry, you guys," she told the four of them with a smile, "if we encounter any ghosts." She swiped Paris' card, summoning her in her chibi form. "Don't forget that we have dinosaurs!"
Sure, dinos wouldn't really do much against actual ghosts, but as long as those four didn't think about it, that little detail didn't matter.
—
The group headed toward the castle only stopping in front of its closed gate. More lightning struck along the way, causing the Alpha Trio to jerk every now and then, and they could hear rain in the distance.
As they approached, the castle was no longer just a dark silhouette; they saw different statues of women, knights, and gargoyles displayed around the place.
"So, nobody lives here?" Zoe wondered.
"Yes," Anne replied, "I heard that the lady who lived here vanished without a trace many years ago. She had no heir, so the castle ended up being abandoned."
Yet despite the castle being supposedly abandoned, the closed gate began to open by itself. Paris let out a whimper and ran over to the gate.
"Paris, where are you going? Come back here!" Zoe called out to her, but her dino didn't listen.
When the dino reached the gate, someone walked out of the castle's court. Paris tried to nuzzle their leg, but they stepped back. That someone…
Plain jeans, a light shirt with a turtleneck, a leather jacket, and ginger hair!
"Mom?" Zoe exclaimed in shock. The last time she's seen her she was very melancholic and scared, yet now she was smiling as if none of that mess happened. Zoe was happy to see her doing better, but she was also surprised. There was something different about her mother.
Spike grinned nervously. He joked about her coming down from the ship if anything would happen to Zoe and now she was actually there after he let Zoe almost fall to her death. Lovely timing.
"A haircut out of nowhere?" he randomly questioned. He was right; it was cut and brushed down where it used to be sticking up and the rest of it was tied in a ponytail that was hanging over her shoulder.
"I just…felt like it needed to be done," Anmo admitted, pushing a strand behind her ear, "Cretacia helped me with it."
"It looks nice!" Zoe told her and Anmo smiled back, "but what are you doing here?"
"I looked into more information about Le coeur vert d'Alcippe and it led me here," the ginger explained, "I met up with your dad and Rex and we've been looking for the Cosmos Stone."
Paris then let out a squeal and rushed to the castle.
"Paris, where are you going?" Zoe called out and ran after her. Anmo, d'Artagnan, Anne, and Constance followed without hesitation unlike Spike and the Alpha Trio, although the brunet made very unsure steps through the gate eventually.
"Hey, hold up, don't leave us alone!" Ursula snapped as the three of them rushed after everyone.
"Paris, wait for me!" Zoe ran after her dino who headed for the castle's door. By the time the Parasaurolophus got to it, she was picked up by Chusei who was just about to enter the castle with Rex.
"There you are!" he exclaimed with a wide smile.
"Told you we'll catch up," Zoe replied, smiling back.
"Glad to see you again," Rex admitted.
"You guys found anything?" d'Artagnan wondered.
"Not yet," the blond said, "so far we've looked in the towers and were about to look inside the castle itself."
"I guess we should've done that from the start," Chusei pointed out, seeing Paris sniffing and nudging her head toward the door while in his arms. They all glanced at the big metal door covered in vines and moss, hearing noises similar to low whistles.
"They don't wanna go inside, do they?" Ursula asked as she and her brothers were far behind everyone, making their way over to them.
"I hope not," Zander confessed, "those noises sound like they're straight from hell."
"Hell?" D'Artagnan's head shot to the three of them. "Is that true?"
"Don't worry, it's just the wind," Rex reassured him, "if it blows through certain shapes it can make those sounds."
"It's still scary," Ed admitted.
"Well, if you're scared I can protect you three while in the castle," d'Artagnan said.
"What? Really?!" Ursula gasped. She felt a subtle, unusual warmth in her chest and a wide smile formed on her face. "You'd do that for us?" She ran over to the boy and fell to her knees in front of him. "You really are a good kid!"
"Or maybe you can stay here and be on the lookout," Zoe suggested.
"That's an option?!" Zander and Ed asked her.
"Well, in that case, I'm willing to stay here too!" Spike exclaimed.
"Won't even give it a shot if I hold your hand?" Chusei teased him.
"Nope!" Spike crossed his arms on his chest, his blood running cold with another breeze. Chusei rolled his eyes with a smirk.
"Before we go then," Anmo started and reached into her pocket, "I got this from Mr. Z." She handed an Alpha Scanner to Ursula before turning to Spike. "And I got a gift from Cretacia for you." She gave him a metal stick.
"What is this?" He examined the stick. He pressed a button on the side and it extended with a butterfly net at the end. "Woah!"
"He said something running head-first into danger," Anmo told him, "not sure what he meant by that."
"Oh, I know exactly!" Spike spun the staff in his hand; it slipped from his hand, but he quickly caught it and chuckled.
"Well then, let's head in," Zoe said, entering the castle with the others.
"Nothing too scary so far," Rex admitted when they stepped inside. The first room was nothing but empty and dark with the outside light shining in. "Maybe this place isn't haunted."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Anne said, her eyes widened as she spotted another source of light in the room. A faint green light coming from a corridor.
"Un fantôme?" Constance let out and Anne stood up in front of her.
Paris whimpered and jumped from Chusei's arms, running towards the light.
"Paris, don't get near it!" Zoe yelled at her.
The Parasaurolophus stopped in front of the source of the light, looking up at it. Chusei rushed after her but noticed a motionless outline of a human body.
"That's not a ghost," he said, "it's just a statue." He was right! That human body was nothing but stone and the shape wasn't even full.
"But why is it glowing?" Anne wondered and Rex walked over to the statue, brushing his hand over it. It was strangely soft for something made out of stone. He then ripped a piece of the glowing green coat off.
"Luminescent moss," he let out.
"Hey, look over there!" d'Artagnan suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the corridor. There was more faint green light at the end of it. It was almost hypnotizing.
They all walked down that corridor, reaching the light and entering a giant hall. It took their eyes a while to get used to since every inch of the walls, the ceiling, the floor; everything in that room was covered by the moss, lighting up the whole place.
"This place is incredible," Anmo let out, looking around.
"It's unbelievable," Rex admitted.
"The Cosmos Stone's gotta be here," Zoe realized and glanced down at her dino, "what do you think, Paris?"
—
Meanwhile, the Alpha Trio and Spike walked up the towers outside; the trio picked one while Spike picked the other. He was looking down at the stone path they arrived on. Not a single soul tried to approach the castle. Well, that wasn't very surprising; the nearing storm, pitch-black sky, and cold wind would be enough to turn anyone away from this place. But then again, they were there and needed that Stone.
And he was just cowering outside…
He sighed deeply and his thoughts started to trail. First, he thought about how Aki and Max must be doing; he hadn't heard from them since they left. Hopefully, they were safe… Then again considering Max's luck so far… If something like that happens again-
"Yeah, but I'm not a ghost!" he was snapped out of his thoughts by Ursula's scream from the other tower. He glanced at the trio, seeing Zander and Ed hiding behind Ursula, all three staring at a wall of the castle with some statues instead of the path leading to it.
It was strange, it was like they were talking to the statues. It was once a smaller figure showed up from behind one of the statues and a bigger figure busted through the wall that he realized what was going on. The Space Pirates!
"You?!" Ursula snapped at the two.
"Yes us, happy to see us?" Sheer asked her teasingly, her hands on her hips.
"Still better than ghosts," Zander admitted.
"Well, I'm afraid we don't have time to have more fun with you three," Gavro told them, scratching the back of his head, "we got business to take care of inside the castle."
"That's right, that Cosmos Stone's not going to find itself," Sheer added as the two of them started to back away.
"Oh no, you don't!" Ursula yelled, "you are not getting away with scaring the Alpha Gang like that!"
"That's right!" Zander joined in, "not that I was scared or anything, but no one scares my little siblings!"
"Let's get them!" Ed added and the three of them pulled out their Alpha Scanners. They swiped their dinosaur cards all at once. Terry, Spiny and Tank all landed in the court, roaring up at the pirates.
"You little pests," Sheer spat, "if you think you were scared before…"
"Just wait until Gigas is through with you!" Gavro finished her sentence and placed his card to his summoner, calling out Gigas.
—
"The Space Pirates!" Rex gasped as he noticed the battlefield sky through a window. He then turned to Zoe. "Keep looking for the Cosmos Stone, I go check it out!"
He was about to head back to the corridor, but Zoe grabbed his hand. He glanced back, seeing Zoe.
"Please, be careful," she told him.
"Will do," he said with a soft smile before rushing outside.
—
Gigas smacked Terry with his tail, throwing him into a wall. The white Tyrannosaurs then turned to the other two.
"I leave the rest of the fun to you," Sheer told Gavro, flying towards the castle.
"Fine, but don't forget we share credit," Gavro called out to her.
"I won't!" she replied from the distance.
"The kid's in the castle!" Ursula blurted out before glancing at her brothers, "you guys keep fighting, I'm going after Sheer!" She pressed a button on her Scanner and jumped down from the tower, catching Terry's card in the air.
Ed let out a scared gasp as they both watched her disappear. She really just left them behind like that… A water droplet ran down his face. It wasn't a tear, however. It started raining.
"You heard her," Zander spoke up, making Ed look up at him, "let's win this fight." Ed nodded, his expression hardening. The two of them then equipped their dinosaurs with armor.
—
Meanwhile, Sheer entered the castle, but as soon as she did she heard footsteps from the dark corridor. She quickly flew behind a corner and pressed herself against a wall. Soon, Rex ran past her and with a smirk on her face she continued through the corridor.
Rex was reaching the entrance when he ran into Ursula.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"Chasing after Sheer," she replied, making her way past him.
"Wait! Sheer's here?" He turned around, seeing Ursula charging towards the green light. He stood there for a bit, contemplating if he should head back to help Zoe. When his legs finally moved toward the corridor, Spiny flew right through the entrance. He and Tank were fighting Gigas! Seeing this, Rex immediately rushed into the rain.
"Let's see how you two handle Spectral Lancer!" he heard Gavro's voice before the familiar white crystals formed on Gigas' back. He watched as the Tyrannosaurus charged at Tank.
Gigas was nearing her when Ed swiped a move card. The Saichania stomped on the ground, breaking it into pieces of rocks. The rocks surrounded her in a purple glow as Gigas' lancers picked her up and pinned her against the wall of the tower Zander and Ed were on top of. The impact caused the two men to collapse to the floor.
"I'd say we didn't handle it too well," Zander admitted.
"Not true," Ed told him, holding up his Scanner and the move card as he sat up with a chuckle, "I'd say Tank handled it pretty okay."
Zander sighed in relief and chuckled with him
Gigas let go of Tank and turned to Spiny.
"Use a fusion move!" Rex called at the Alpha Gang members.
"Good call!" Zander exclaimed and he and Ed got up. Both of them swiped a move card at the same time.
Surrounded by purple and blue light respectively, Tank and Spiny charged at Gigas from different sides, the Saichania ramming through crystals that appeared in front of her while the Spinosaurus surfed on a wave. Gigas looked from one to the other in panic as they were nearing him.
With a quick flash of light, they collided with the Tyrannosaurus, although, it didn't end as expected. Gigas' foot stopped Tank and his back blocked Spiny. Her legs still kept going as if she was running and he was still pushing against the enemy in hopes of success. The Space Pirate dino was unfazed by their attempt.
"They'll have to do better than that if they wanna beat me!" Gavro mocked them.
Gigas kicked Tank's head away before spinning around and slamming both dinosaurs with his tail.
"It's my turn," Gavro said with a huge grin. His mouth opened to say the name of the move to activate it when something smacked him in the face. He shut his eyes with an annoyed "ow" before being smacked from another side. He glanced in its direction only to be hit in the back of the head.
He glared down to see Spike holding a long staff with a butterfly net at the end.
"You've already had your turn!" the human shouted at him, "it's my turn now! Prepared to be snared!" Spike charged at the alien, swinging the net at him.
Rex wasted no more time and called out Ace into the battle to help Spiny and Tank, equipping his armor. The rain hopefully won't bother Ace that much.
—
Inside the castle, Paris climbed up the stairs, looking around confusedly as thunder sounded in the distance.
"What is she doing?" Constance wondered, watching the small dino run from one side of the stairway to the other.
"She seems to sense something," Anne pointed out.
"It's gotta be the Blue Eye of Gaia, well, Alcippe's Green Heart, but something doesn't add up," Zoe said, walking up to Paris.
"What do you mean?" her mother asked her.
"Chomp, Ace, and Tank were able to find their matching Stones no problem, then…what's the issue with Paris?"
"It could be the moss," Chusei suggested, folding his arms on his chest. Everyone glanced at him.
"The moss?"
"I was thinking that maybe it was the Stone that caused it to spread so much and it's filled with the Stone's essence or something like that."
"True," Anmo agreed, "from what I found, Alcippe was referred to as the sorceress of nature, so that does make sense."
"The Cosmos Stone's definitely here," Zoe said.
"Then step aside…" they heard from the corridor alongside wing-flapping. They swiftly turned around, seeing Sheer approaching them. "So I can reduce this place to rubble and find out where it's hidden!"
"It's you!" d'Artagnan snapped.
"Oh, yes, but I'm not alone!" Sheer replied, a very pleased smirk on her face as she waved her hand in front of her face and a card showed up in it, "isn't that right, Maximus?!" She placed the card on her choker and with a purple glow a grey and gold Triceratops wearing Spectral Armor materialized in the room.
He immediately charged at the five humans at the bottom of the stairs. Chusei took his needle off his back and Constance and d'Artagnan stood up in front of Anne.
"Stay away from them!" Zoe yelled at the dino and summoned Paris in full size, activating her armor.
The Triceratops was nearing the stairs when Paris landed beside him and kicked him away. Maximus returned the favor by ramming into the Parasaurolophus, sending her flying into a wall.
"Go on, Maximus!" Sheer ordered her dino, "level the place and find me that Cosmos Stone!"
Maximus smacked his horns into the staircase, scaring the humans at the bottom off, breaking the first few steps, and separating Zoe from the others.
"Zoe! Are you okay?" Chusei called out to her.
"I'm fine!" Zoe reassured him, holding onto the railing, "make sure the Queen and the others are safe! I'll take care of Sheer!"
The Triceratops' head swung from side to side, throwing rubble around. Zoe backed away, running up the stairs. Before Maximus could follow her, Paris launched herself at him only for him to ram into her once more and start stomping on her.
All of this was witnessed by Ursula who just arrived at the scene. Without hesitation, she called out Terry into the battle. The Tyrannosaurus slapped Maximus away from Paris with his tail.
"Thanks, Ursula!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed with a huge smile.
"I'm not ol-" Ursula paused her yelling when she realized that Zoe didn't say those words. She said her name… Sure, it wasn't the first time she did, but that time Ursula just brushed it off and snapped at the kid. Now that she actually paid attention, she had to admit that it felt nice.
"Happy to help, kid!" The green-haired woman smiled back at her.
Her entire face flushed and her breath stopped. Since when is she this mushy with children?! First d'Artagnan and now this brat?!
"And that'll be the last thing you'll be happy about," Sheer said, "go! Spectral Punisher!" Her choker began to glow and dark purple smog surrounded Maximus. Small white crystals covered his longest horns, elongating them more, and just like with Gigas and Armatus, the crystals shattered, leaving the Triceratops with white horns more than half his own length long.
Tiny sparks of electricity flew between the horns as Maximus' glowing purple eyes stared right at Paris and Terry. He then charged towards them.
"Terry, get Paris out of the way!" Ursula shouted. She clenched her Alpha Scanner as it started to glow red.
At her order, Terry glanced at the Parasaurolophus and rammed into her, tossing her away before getting picked up and thrown in the air by Maximus' horns.
That's when Ursula noticed the red glow of Scanner. She held it up, seeing the fire element symbol with some text under it.
"Element Fusion?" she read and as soon as she did the glow got brighter.
Maximus charged his move as his front feet stomped on the ground. He shot a purple laser at Terry who was still in the air, but now his whole body began to glow, and once it died down Terry looked different.
His body was covered by a bright orange flame pattern on top of his now dark brown body.
Unfortunately for him, the laser still struck him, piercing through his stomach. The Tyrannosaurus tumbled to the floor and his colors reverted back to normal.
Everyone just stared in shock at what they just witnessed.
"What was that?" Zoe let out.
"Could that be what the Doc was working on?" Ursula wondered. A sudden beeping sound came from her Scanner and when she looked at it, the screen was blinking red. It wasn't the same as the glow from before; this was very clearly a health indicator.
Terry survived that blow unlike Spiny with Spectral Lancer and was just getting up. Did he take it that well only because of that "Element Fusion" thing?
—
Meanwhile, Gigas swung his tail at Ace who jumped back and shook off the water off his body. He did this after every attack.
"Hang in there, Ace!" Rex told him, "the sooner we defeat him, the sooner you'll get dry."
Ace hopped on Gigas' neck only for the Tyrannosaurus to toss him at the castle. As the Carnotaurus collided with the wall, rubble broke off, falling at Rex.
"Rex!" Spike let out. The blond boy didn't move a muscle, he was frozen in place. Spike rushed over to the boy to push him out of the way, but even with his arm reaching out, he wasn't close enough.
He watched as the rubble was about to come down at Rex, ready to see him buried under it when Tank swung her tail, smashing the rubble into pieces. Rex smiled at the Saichania thankfully while Spike stopped.
He stared at the boy, his face unusually pale. He wasn't fast enough. If Tank wasn't there to save Rex…
What the hell was wrong with him all of a sudden?! This wasn't anything new! He sent the kids into even bigger danger! Spike felt his stomach drop at that thought… How hasn't that hit him earlier…? The consequences of what he let the kids do were finally sinking in and they were… They made his body tremble.
Ace let out a loud roar, snapping Spike out of his thoughts. The Carno shook off the rain. He was still fighting despite his fear…
He and Spiny rammed into Gigas together, launching him at the entrance gate, breaking it down, and revealing Richelieu and his men standing behind it with Foolscap flying by his side.
"That's the last thing we needed," Rex said when he noticed them.
Foolscap then flew toward the castle and past Gavro despite the big man talking to him. The slim man could only spare him a quick glance and Gavro didn't take kindly to that. He grabbed Foolscap by the shoulder and pulled him closer. Foolscap tried to push himself away, yelling at him to let go and that he was a traitor for leaving him behind.
"What's going on?" Rex wondered.
"I'd say a breakup," Spike commented.
—
Maximus was stomping Paris into the ground and Zoe could just watch with tears in her eyes.
"Paris can't take much more of this…" she let out.
"That's the point!" Sheer laughed at her, "take her out, Maximus!" A pleased smirk crossed her face as she headed after the Queen and the others.
"Paris!" Zoe cried. Staring at her best friend being trampled like that, she couldn't think clearly. It was so hard to watch that she had to look away and when she did, she spotted a green flash in a hole in the wall.
"Is that…?" she whispered and put on her goggles, zooming on the hole. There was a statue in the wall with a glowing green eye. "The Cosmos Stone…" she said quietly, taking her goggles off, "it matches Paris' element, so if she swallows it, she might become strong like Terry did."
Speaking of Terry, still weakened from Spectral Punisher, he bit on Maximus' tail and pulled him away from Paris, giving the Parasaurolophus a chance to get up.
Zoe had to get that Stone to better their chances. She hurried down the stairs to lead Paris over to it when she heard her father's yell. She stopped and glanced in his direction. Sheer was approaching him and the others.
She had to go help them… No! She had to grab the Stone! She… She wasn't sure…
Paris let out a roar, catching Zoe's attention. The Parasaurolophus continued as if she was trying to tell her something.
"Are you sure…?" Zoe whispered.
"Stay away from them," Chusei told Sheer, holding his needle up while Anmo held up Chusei's sword.
"Wow, you got more confidence than I remember," Sheer noted, "I must admit I'm impressed." She then glanced at Anmo. "And you even got that haircut I suggested, how cute." Sheer's boomerang slid into her hand from her sleeve. "But that won't stop me."
She threw the boomerang at the group. It flew over Anmo and Chusei's heads, heading towards Constance. D'Artagnan swung his stick to knock it out of the way but wasn't fast enough. The weapon flew past him and struck.
However, it wasn't the original target. In front of the brunette was standing the Queen with a fresh scratch on her cheek.
"Anne!" Constance gasped and immediately cupped the Queen's face worriedly.
"I'm okay." Anne smiled at her reassuringly.
Sheer caught her boomerang as it returned to her. She glared at the group below her with a devilish smirk.
"Surprise, witch!" she heard from the second floor. Her head shot up to see none other than Zoe, jumping over the railing and launching herself at her.
As soon as the pink-haired girl landed on her, she started pulling the black hair and wrestling with the pale hands. In a bit of a shock, Sheer stared at her for a moment, struggling against the child's grip.
"Zoe!" Her parents could only watch the brawl above them. It was nothing but a simple tussle with no hits. Zoe just held Sheer in place while the alien tried to get her to let go, but knowing what Sheer is capable of…
"We've gotta do something," Anmo let out.
"I know…" Chusei said nervously, his eyes shifting around the place, clenching his needle. His eyes suddenly widened. "I think I got it!"
"What do you want from them?" Zoe questioned the pirate, "they have nothing to do with this!"
"Oh, you know they do," Sheer replied to her, "and I already got what I wanted from them. Your attention." She smirked and Zoe's eyes widened when she realized what that meant. She needed her away from the battle so Paris can't get orders… "You shouldn't have left, if just for your dino's sake."
"Hands…off!" Chusei yelled at the alien, throwing the needle at her wings.
The pirate dodged the shot, causing the needle to strike the wall behind her instead. The needle broke into pieces.
"You've missed," she mocked Chusei.
"Wanna bet?" he asked her with a taunting smirk.
The wall behind Sheer began to crack. The damage was quickly spreading to the ceiling and connecting with other cracks already there. Parts of the ceiling collapsed, heading for Sheer and Zoe.
The girl's grip loosened when she noticed and as soon as she did Sheer pushed herself away from her, sending both of them flying. Sheer's back collided with another wall and she slid to the ground, disoriented for a bit.
Meanwhile, Zoe was caught by her parents, knocking them both to the floor, her hat falling off. She jumped away from them when she heard her mother's deep breaths. She glanced at the ginger with a concerned look.
"Anmo, you didn't have to," Chusei told her.
"Don't worry, I'm fine," she reassured him, her eyes shut and her hand gripping her shirt near her heart, "I just need a minute."
"You guys alright?" d'Artagnan asked them as he rushed over with Constance, Anne, and Ursula, "we still have to find the Blue Eye of Gaia."
"I think I found it," Zoe replied, trailing her eyes away from everyone, "I… I could've grabbed it and given Paris the edge in the fight…but I messed up and fell for Sheer's trap…"
"You did it to save us," Constance told her, placing her hand on Zoe's shoulder, "you're just a kid with too much responsibility put on her."
"A kid not much younger than you or the literal Queen."
"I remember telling this to someone very dear to me, but you don't have to carry all that only on your shoulders." A wide smile formed on Constance's face and Zoe looked her in the eyes. That purple color was so familiar… She's seen those eyes every day.
"Precisely," Anne joined in, also touching her shoulder, "it was a mistake, but not one that can't be fixed. We'll get that gem."
"Don't worry, Zoe, you can count on us," d'Artagnan said, "we are the King and Queen's musketeers after all."
Zoe nodded with a big smile.
—
Outside, Rex called Zander and Ed's Alpha Scanners.
"Gigas managed to take two separate moves," he told them, "so we'll need something stronger."
"Then we'll strike together," Ed suggested.
—
"Because it's all for one," d'Artagnan started.
"And one for all!" everyone finished together.
"Let's grab that Stone," Zoe said.
"I'm not letting you steal another Cosmos Stone!" Sheer snapped at the humans as she got up. She charged at Zoe, only to be tackled and slapped by Ursula.
"Go after that Stone! I'll take care of Sheer!" the green-haired woman ordered the kid and received a slap from Sheer. She pulled the black hair.
"Go!" d'Artagnan joined in, "I'll have her back!"
"So will I," Chusei said and glanced at Anmo who smiled at him reassuringly, "and not just hers." Her breaths were still pretty deep and her hands were trembling.
"Guys…" Zoe let out and nodded, hardening her expression. She and Constance and Anne headed to the dino battle, but she quickly stopped and turned around. "Ursula, don't you dare lose to her! Take her down!" she yelled before running off.
"Working on it, kid," Ursula groaned, "I'll take her out."
"Oh, really?" Sheer smirked at her teasingly. "Will a kiss be included? I know you want one~"
Ursula's face turned red at that statement. She was so caught off guard that Sheer managed to knock her off with a kick in the stomach.
As soon as she was free, Sheer flew up and grabbed Ursula by the hair, knocking her hat off. The taller woman was lifted by the green locks and the pirate started spinning her around, laughing out loud maniacally while Ursula screamed in pain.
"I am not losing to any of you again!" Sheer snapped as she let go of the hair, throwing Ursula to the floor, and making her sword fall out of its scabbard.
"I've had just about enough of you," Ursula grumbled as she sat up.
"Feeling's mutual, old lady!" Sheer grunted and threw her boomerang at the Alpha Gang member.
Ursula gasped, her eyes widening. She was frozen in place as the boomerang was approaching, but when it was about to hit, it was knocked out of the way by a sword. It took Ursula a while to realize that d'Artagnan was standing in front of her, holding her sword.
"Dart…You saved me…" she mumbled in disbelief, "thank you…"
"Don't mention it," he replied with a quick smile.
"And as for you," Ursula snarled as she got up, glaring at Sheer, "I've had just about enough of being called old lady! Terry!"
Hearing her voice, the Tyrannosaurus abandoned that battle with the Triceratops and rushed over to Ursula's aid.
"I am not messing with that," Sheer commented frustratedly, "Maximus!"
The Triceratops followed Terry and rammed into him from the side, leaving Paris alone on the floor.
"You okay, Paris?" Zoe called out as she and the others rushed over to her. Paris hardly got up and let out a weak roar. "Come this way! Quickly!" She was led over to the hole in the wall.
Unfortunately for them, Sheer noticed this, seeing the woman's statue with a glowing green eye.
"Here! It's the Cosmos Stone!" Zoe pointed at the statue. "Swallow it." Paris tried to reach the head, but her legs broke under her, causing her to collapse to the floor. "She's too weak…" Zoe breathed, "and…"
"You shouldn't have left, if just for your dino's sake," she remembered Sheer's words.
"...and it's my fault…"
"Did I hear someone say Cosmos Stone?" asked Sheer, quickly approaching them, "I appreciate you finding this for me." She reached her cloth-covered hand toward the head. She was inches away from grabbing it when something dragged her down. She glanced down, seeing Zoe hanging on her leg. "What the-"
"I'm not letting you get that Cosmos Stone!" the girl yelled.
"Sorry, missy, but I beg to differ," Sheer responded, getting ready to kick Zoe when Anmo grabbed onto her other leg.
"Pas ma fille!" the ginger shouted, her whole body still trembling and cringing.
"You nuisance!" Sheer snapped, kicking both of them away.
The Drakes hit the ground, whimpering in pain. They were both facing the moss-covered floor. Anmo was hyperventilating as hives slowly spread on her arms and hands. Paris, lying not far from them, nudged Zoe's head gently. The girl gave her a weak smile as she looked at her.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered.
"It'll take more than you two to stop me from my prize!" Sheer told them before reaching for the Stone again only to feel someone else around her leg.
"Don't think I'll let you win," Constance, who was dragging her down, told her, "not after you destroyed the orphanage, salope!"
"So, you wanna end up like the two of them?" Sheer asked her.
"Well, she's not alone," Anne said, grabbing onto Sheer's other leg.
"Constance…? Your majesty…?" Zoe mouthed, raising her head up.
"It doesn't matter how strong you are, you're still no match for us as long as we're working together!" Anne stated.
"That's right!" Constance added, "and nothing you do will change that."
"Let go or I'll call Maximus," Sheer threatened, trying to shake them off.
"No! We won't let go!" Anne refused.
"Fine then… Maximus!" the black-haired woman yelled.
With a quick swing of his tail, Maximus defeated Terry and charged to the statue. The girls gasped, watching him approach at full speed. Zoe glanced at her mother worriedly, knowing that she couldn't get her out of the way in time. Not that she herself could…
Paris let out a loud roar and jumped with all her remaining strength. Sheer dodged the dinosaur, allowing Paris to knock over the statue. The head broke off the body and the Cosmos Stone rolled out of the eye socket.
Paris caught the Stone in her mouth and swallowed. Her entire body was surrounded by a green aura, her eyes glowing.
Maximus was about to ram into her, but she stopped him with her front legs. He swung his head, freeing himself from her grip. Paris spun around before smacking him with her tail, sending him flying into a wall at full force.
"Oh, shoot!" Sheer exclaimed and was finally dragged down by Constance and Anne.
"Now, let's end this," Zoe said as she got up, "Ultimate Leaf!" She swiped her move and Paris charged at Maximus with leaves trailing behind her, ramming into the Triceratops, and beating him.
Once Sheer was free and saw her dino's defeat, she flew around Paris to grab Maximus' card before heading for the exit. Unfortunately for her, Paris ran after her.
"Uh, Paris?" Zoe let out. She pressed a button on her Bracer to call her dino back, but it did nothing. Sparks flew off the device and the screen displayed the words "power overload" as she tried again, yet still nothing.
—
Tank smacked Gigas with her tail, leaving him panting.
"Looks like Gigas is finally weakening!" Ed pointed out.
"Yeah, and Spiny and the others as well," Zander added.
"Now, let's end this together," Rex said.
"Ultimate Crystal Mist!" the three of them shouted as they swiped their cards.
Surrounded by crystals, water and wind respectively, Tank, Spiny and Ace struck the Tyrannosaurus all at once with the last thunder sounding in the distance, causing him to return into a card.
"We did it!" they all cheered.
"This is all your fault 'cause you wouldn't help fight!" Gavro continued the fight in the air.
"No, Gigas was just weak!" Foolscap snapped at him, pushing him away with his foot.
With the two of them distracted by their fight, Spike took advantage of them and hit them both with the butterfly net, dragging them down. They lost their height, collapsing to the ground.
"Somehow that was your fault," Foolscap commented.
"Quit playing the blame game!" Sheer yelled as she flew out of the castle, "and let's get outta here!"
Both men glanced up at her confusedly as she disappeared in the distance, but they soon understood why she was in such a rush. Paris ran outside, her head swinging from side to side.
"What in the-" Spike exclaimed.
"You know, Sheer's right, I forgive you!" Foolscap said and took off.
"Me too!" Gavro agreed, grabbing Gigas' card, and followed.
Losing her target, Paris looked around and finally spotted her new prey. She charged at Ace, Spiny and Tank.
"Paris, no!" Zoe cried as she left the castle, "stop!" She pressed the Dino Bracer buttons, but this time removed the Element Booster from the Bracer. It finally worked!
Paris' card returned to her hand, leaving the Cosmos Stone to fall to the ground in the middle of the court as the rain slowly disappeared. Zoe swiped the card, calling Paris out in her chibi form.
"That was a close one…" Zoe sighed in relief as she petted Paris' head.
"Wait, so Paris swallowed the Cosmos Stone?" Rex asked as he walked up to her.
"Yeah."
"Are you okay?" Anne wondered as she arrived with the others.
"Yeah," Zoe replied, "I didn't expect that turn of events. But what about all of you? Are you alright?" She eyed her mother at that question.
The ginger nodded, reassuring her daughter.
Meanwhile, the remaining three dinosaurs were called back as Zander and Ed rushed down the tower and Spike headed for the Cosmos Stone when suddenly…
"Hold it right there you!" They knew that voice too well and when they turned around they understood why. Richelieu and his men surrounded them, all his guards holding their swords. "Now it's just you and me. And all of my well-trained soldiers. No wanna-be musketeers can stop me."
Everyone just watched him as he walked up to the Cosmos Stone, reaching his hand to it.
"I'm taking the Blue, er, Green Eye of Gaia and that will be the end of it! Understand?" he chuckled.
"Don't touch it!" Chusei yelled at him.
"You dare presume to tell me what I should and should not do?" Richelieu questioned him.
"Look, trust us on this, you'll only get hurt if you do!" Rex joined in, yet Richelieu ignored him with a click of his tongue.
"You touch that Stone and je vais lui fourrer une baguette dans le cul!" Anmo told him, "or would you prefer another scar over your face?"
"Listen to them, Richelieu, even you must see that the gem holds a special connection with them and their creatures," Anne spoke up.
"And I also see the great power it can grant me," the Chancellor noted, "come on, Your Majesty, I'm sure you'd want it too. You could finally be respected by the people."
"No," the Queen responded coldly, "I'll earn the people's respect on my own terms. Through my own hard work, without a cheap shortcut such as this gem. So I am asking you one last time, Chancellor, do not touch that Stone."
"Ha!" he snarled mockingly, "did you truly think that little speech of yours would work? It would take the King himself to stop me now!"
"All right then, stop!" sounded behind him. The man froze in place, inches away from the Stone. He turned around to the gate and saw two horses with more of those strangers and a carriage with the Royal Mother and the King himself inside, licking his lollipop.
—
"You want to give away the Blue Eye of Gaia?!" Marie let out in shock once the servant brought the Stone, holding it with a cloth, "why, that's absurd!"
"Maybe but that's what I want," Louis replied with a smile.
"Louis, what are you talking about?" his mother questioned him, "by harnessing the power inside the gem, France would be able to control all of Europe, perhaps even the world at large!"
"Why would I want to control the world when everything I want is here?" he wondered, "I mean, France has it all in one little country, culture, history, tradition. And most importantly, loads of lollipops! And we'd have to go to war to take over Europe and I don't want that for our people."
"That's it, Louis!" the Royal Mother raised her tone and glared at her son, "I did not want to do this but as your Mother, I demand that-"
Aki was about to say something, but somebody was faster.
"Actually, Mumsy, with all due respect, since I'm the King, I'm the only one allowed to make demands around here." It was Louis.
"Well, technically that's true but…but-" Marie stuttered.
"But nothing," he told her and turned to the Queen, "Anne, if our friends really have a connection with the Blue Eye of Gaia, it's all theirs."
"Thank you." The blonde nodded with a smile.
"You're welcome!" Louis replied, "they were pretty funny." Aki and Max smiled at each other bashfully at his comment.
"So, it's ours?" Max asked him.
"Yep!" the King replied and winked at them. Huge smiles were painted on the time travelers' faces. They did it.
"Thanks so much, Your Majesty!" they all thanked as the King's servant handed the Stone to Zoe.
"Great job," d'Artagnan said.
"We couldn't have done it if we weren't working together," Zoe admitted.
"That's right," the black-haired boy agreed, "because it's…" He held up what used to be Ursula's sword, waiting for the others to join in. The D-Team, Zander, Ed, Aki, Spike, and Chusei crossed their swords with his.
"All for one and one for all!" they all exclaimed.
—
And so the King, Queen, and the others headed off, Richelieu riding his horse with his head hanging down in shame. Anne leaned out of the carriage, waving at everyone.
"It was a pleasure to meet you all!" she called.
"Same here, Your Majesty! Bye!"
"Goodbye!"
D'Artagnan took his time to get on one of the horses Max and Aki arrived on, looking at the castle. He then hopped on the horse and reached for his sword.
"I should give this back," he said.
"Keep it," Ursula told him, "you'll need one if you wanna become the King's musketeer."
His expression softened and he glanced at the castle one last time. A smile crossed his face as he nodded.
"You're right," he said, "thank you all for everything." And he headed off, waving at the time travelers. "Au revoir!"
"Bye!"
"So, what the heck happened to you guys?" Zander asked Ursula and Zoe once d'Artagnan disappeared in the distance, "you look terrible." He was referring to their missing hats, messy hair, and Ursula's bruises.
"Wow, thanks," they both replied annoyedly.
"Glad you're both okay," Spike exclaimed as he scooped Max and Aki up in a hug, "but how in the world did you convince the Royal Mother to come here? She looks pretty unreasonable."
"Well…" Aki and Max eyed each other nervously.
—
Back when they arrived in Paris, they confronted the King's mother. When she heard they were trying to interfere with her plan, she ordered to have the two of them arrested only for Louis to blurt out a counter-order in panic.
Seeing this, his mother raised her voice at him with each degrading word until someone stepped in.
"Do not speak to your son like that," Aki snapped at her calmly, "don't you understand that it's exactly this attitude that holds him back from being the true king?" Everyone in the room was taken aback. "I can see you care about him, but putting him down and not trusting him only hurts him. Louis is a good kid and he needs you to understand him. He needs you to listen." Her tone quickly shifted, making it much darker and angrier. "Now pull that stick out of your ass and listen to your son."
"How dare you speak to me like-?!" Marie was cut off by a loud roar as a Triceratops appeared behind Aki.
—
"Mom's just that convincing," Max replied, sweat forming on his face. Exchanging nervous looks with his mom, they both burst into laughter.
"What I still don't understand is why they call it the Blue Eye of Gaia," Ed brought up, looking down at the Stone, "I mean, it isn't even close to blue. And where did the other name come from?"
"I…might have an idea," Anmo spoke up, her voice still weak, "come with me." She led them all back inside the castle and walked over to the broken statue.
"That's right, that Stone was in the statue's eye," Zoe remembered as Anmo picked up the head.
"I think it's safe to assume the woman this was based on had blue eyes, so that explains that," the tall woman said, looking down at the stone head, "as for Le coeur vert d'Alcippe, the story that I found mentions that Alcippe stored all her power inside her heart. I'm sure that must mean that this woman was her lover. Her heart."
"That's oddly beautiful," Chusei admitted and Anmo nodded.
They all agreed to put the statue back up at its stand and return the head. They were aware that the Backland would reverse all the damage, but fixing the statue was the least they could do after stealing the Cosmos Stone.
—
It is Halloween and Dinosaur King's (the franchise as a whole) 18th anniversary, so it's the perfect opportunity to post a chapter and especially one with a haunted castle!
So, let's start with the Cosmos Stone itself. I just thought it'd be a neat idea to not only give it two names but also have an in-universe explanation for the incorrect color. Now, the lover's name wouldn't be Gaia, but since Gaia is the personification of the Earth and it is a stone statue of her people would start calling the Stone that and possibly mix up stuff over the years.
Also, Alcippe's character belongs to my friend Miza.
Now, as for Super Terry showing up, I think that the Cosmos Stones being used for Awakened Dinosaurs is a cool idea which also makes sense. The Supers are unstable and don't last more than one turn (excluding a tie) which works as the Cosmos Stones do not mash with the stone plates. The way the Element Fusion is triggered…well, I watched a lot of Digimon recently, plus it is similar to how it works in the Pterasaur Legends manga.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you soon!
And happy Halloween and the DK anniversary!