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Chapter Text

 Warm amber eyes blinked open slowly, and then immediately screwed shut when unusually harsh sunlight burned them. Dina groaned irritably. Ugh, she should have closed her blinds tighter last night! Ah well, if the sun's up then she should make an effort to be up, too. After all, she promised Pauleen a fossil battle today, and being up early meant that she would be free to hunt for the best fossils while everyone else was still asleep.

 As she began to sit up, she realized that she felt far warmer than usual. Huh, guess maybe she had the blankets on too tight. That, or the air conditioning wasn't working. Tossing her blankets aside, she stood up, only for her body to complain by aching all over. Did she sleep in the wrong position last night? Surely she didn't overwork herself on a calmer day like yesterday. Whatever, she'd deal with it. She got ready as usual, doing her best to ignore the pain and the unusually high heat.

 She took a glance at her clock, and winced upon seeing the time: 12:10 PM.

 It was past noon?? How?? Dina didn't even go to bed late!

 She disappointingly dashed all hopes of getting first pick at the fossils on Cranial Isle today.

 She grabbed her dino medals off the nightstand, stopping for a moment to feel the low thrum of energy the medals emitted before dropping them into her pocket.

 Dina made her way into the bathroom to get ready for the day. It was admittedly a little strange that it took quite a bit of effort for her just to brush her teeth, or do her hair. Even afterwards, she still didn't look all that good when she gazed into the mirror. Dark eye bags reflected back at her, but Dina once again just tried her best to ignore everything. She was fine! A little tired, is all.

 Once she finished getting ready and packing her things, she stumbled out of her dorm. She fiddled with the keys, and unusually shaky hands made her take an embarrassing amount of time to lock the door. She looked to the rooms around her. Dino and Todd had their dorms near  hers, and no doubt they were already awake and out digging by now. She hurried down the hall and silently thanked the universe that no one was around. The weird heat and the aches had remained, noticeable enough to make existing just a bit more miserable, but not enough to put her out of commission. As she passed the front desk she politely waved to the staff there like she always did, then she stepped right up to the front doors and pushed them open.

 That was a mistake.

 The searing heat of Cranial Isle greeted her with full force, and the harsh sunlight beat down on her with seemingly all the intensity it could manage. Cranial Isle was hot, yeah, but never like this, at least for her. Dina was great at tolerating the heat! But now she felt like she got blasted with a T-Rex's flames. Fine then, if the world was going to insist on pushing back against her battling today, she'd push back twice as hard!

 Dina fully stepped outside, and considered stopping by one of the canteens to grab breakfast. Food didn't exactly sound appetizing, though, if anything she felt a bit nauseated, so the young Fighter passed the canteens and forced her way through both crowds of people and the hot sun towards the Hare Club.

Poking her head inside, she quickly scanned the club for Pauleen, but she caught no sight of her pink-haired friend. Huh... Pauleen must have went digging, then. That's OK, she'd just go look for her.

 No doubt Pauleen was somewhere on Cranial Isle, her love of fire-type vivosaurs kept her here on most days. Pinpointing where exactly she would be was borderline impossible, though, and with the sun still sitting up high in the sky, beaming down its uncaring, unrelentingly hot and bright light, Dina wasn't too enthusiastic about checking every single dig site for her. She figured she would ask around and see if anyone saw Pauleen today.

 The young fossil fighter hurried over to the Fossil Guild next door, and found Lester propped up against the wall, quietly scrolling through his phone.

 "Hey, Lester," Dina greeted, in a voice that sounded far too hoarse and fatigued. Dina winced upon hearing herself.

 Lester lifted his gaze from his phone, grinning wide at Dina's presence.

 "Hey, Dina! Come for a fossil battle?" Lester challenged.

 "No, actually. Have you seen Pauleen today?"

 Lester huffed, shoulders slumping a little.

 "No, sorry," he replied.

 Dina gave a disappointed "OK" before turning to leave. Lester called out after her though, much to Dina's surprise.

 "You feelin' alright, Dina? You look and sound worse than a busted up guitar!"

 Dina didn't stop to face him, she just replied with what she hoped was believable reassurance and trudged back out into the heat.

 Did she really look and sound that bad? Dina considered the possibility that she might have been sick, but if Lester noticed something was off then maybe she wasn't as fine as she thought she was. Dina's head hurt just thinking about it. She knew everyone would tell her she should get some rest, but so what if she was a little sick? There are fossils to find and fighters to battle! Besides, would she really let herself, a Master Fighter, be felled by some strong heat and body aches? Of course not! So despite how much more her body started to protest, she went out to continue her search for Pauleen.

 Dina considered where to go next. She supposed that maybe she could go to the Fighter's Station and see if anyone there had seen the fire-type specialist.

 She couldn't let Terry see her, though.

 And she definitely, absolutely should NOT under any circumstances let Joe see her! Maybe she could convince everyone else that she was fine, or to not say anything, but Joe? The last time someone got sick, Todd got a head cold and Joe just somehow knew that Todd was ill, and Dina still had no clue how he figured it out so fast. Joe made Todd sit out from the tournament that day! Dina could not let the same thing happen to her. Joe had to be avoided, and Terry too because he would likely notify Joe if something was wrong.

 Dina decided to try her luck, and so she made her way over to the Fighter's Station, not noticing the way each step she took faltered.

 The fighter slowly, hesitantly, entered the station. She anxiously scanned the area for any staff leaders or cowboys but saw none. Then she spotted bubblegum-pink pigtails. Jackpot.

 Pauleen was chatting with a few other fighters, their eyes bright and wide with awe. Fans of Pauleen, no doubt. The moment Pauleen's gaze flickered over to Dina, she waved off the fighters and rushed to greet her friend with all the speed of a V-Raptor.

 "DINA!!" Pauleen stopped just before she could bowl Dina over.

 "I've been waiting for you ALL DAY, DIGA!" Dina's friend was practically bouncing in place, radiating excitement and anticipation. Minty green eyes burned bright and ready for a fight, a sharp contrast to Dina's exhausted yellow-brown ones.

 "I've already made sure the stadium was cleared out for the day, so we have it all to ourselves. Ready to get your butt kicked?" Pauleen challenged, whipping out Omias's dino medal.

 Dina showed off Lugmos's medal in turn.

 "You wish," the blonde teen grinned.

 Pauleen's smile fell, though, replaced with confusion and slight concern. Dina furrowed her brows.

 "What?" Dina questioned.

 Pauleen glanced Dina up and down.

 "Dina, you're shaking," she answered flatly.

 On quick inspection, the cup champion confirmed that she was in fact shaking, not unlike Todd after he drank too much coffee.

 "Oh, this? Ahaha... nothing to worry about!" Dina grinned, in what she hoped was a convincingly confident tone. Pauleen, however, stared blankly at her.

 "Also, you look like a total mess," the Fire-type Fighter added, unhelpfully.

 "Pauleen, I'm FINE, let's just go battle!" Dina tried to coax her friend towards the stadium, but Pauleen stayed put, gaze narrowed and suspicious.

 When Dina got close enough to try to gently tug Pauleen towards the arena, Pauleen reached out and felt Dina's cheek with the back of her hand. She recoiled near instantly.

 "Dina! You have a fever! What are you even diga-doing here?!" Pauleen hissed.

 Dina tried to puff herself up to appear stronger than she looked or felt.

 "It's not that bad! I'm fine enough to battle, really, I'm not dying! I'm a Master Fighter, I saved the world, stopped a body-snatching zombie sorcerer! A stupid fever has nothing on me!"

 Said stupid fever that supposedly had nothing on Dina was slowly making her vision fuzzy. She took a moment to sit down on one of the several couches the main lobby provided. Pauleen looked on, highly skeptical.

 "I just need a minute," Dina breathed, "then we can have a Fossil Battle, and I WILL fuck you up!"

 "If you say so..." Pauleen's glare softened back into concern. "Please don't push yourself too hard though..."

 As Dina basked in both the absence of the sun, and the fading of that horrible visual static, a familiar whooshing noise had her spare a glance towards the elevator upstairs. Her face paled as the familiar shape of a certain cowboy stepped out.

 "Pauleen we need to go!" She harshly whispered.

 "What, why?" Pauleen whispered back in the same harsh tone.

 "I can't let Joe see me like this! He'll force me out of battling like he did with Todd! If I say I'm fine he won't believe me!" Dina quickly explained, her eyes darting back and forth between Pauleen and the approaching Joe Wildwest.

 Dina stood up far too quickly, and nearly fell back into her seat. She managed to steady herself enough to take Pauleen's hand and start towards the front door.

 "Howdy, small fries."

 And with that, Dina froze up. Joe had already reached them, and with all other fighters having cleared out from the lobby, all his attention was on Dina and Pauleen.

 Dina mustered up all the energy she could to act as definitely-not-ill as possible in front of her mentor.

 "Hi, Joe! Pauleen and I were just about to go and have a fossil battle!" She strained to smile widely, and resisted the urge to turn and run when Joe quietly looked her over.

 "Real good to hear, kid," Joe smiled politely, but Dina could tell by his gaze that he sensed something was off. His brows furrowed slightly, and his dark blue eyes refused to leave her.

 "Dina, you OK, pard? Ya don't look so good."

 Ah, fuck.

 "I'm fine! Just didn't sleep all that great last night, that's all," Dina put her hands on her hips, attempting once again to look confident and strong in the face of scrutiny.

 "Alright, then," Joe began, and poor Dina thought that would be the end of it. Her vision was getting blurry again and she really wanted to sit back down. Combine that with the growing heat now making her all sweaty and Dina felt absolutely awful.

 "If ya don't mind, I'd just like to check somethin'," Joe approached the blonde kid, and Dina, focused on the new, unbearable sensation of pins and needles in her limbs, gave him the OK without thinking too much of it.

 The cowboy removed the glove from one of his hands and gently felt Dina's very pale cheeks. He, much like Pauleen had, hissed in shock.

 "AGH! Yer burnin' up!" He shouted, scooping her up into his arms and rushing out of the Fossil Station as fast as his long legs could carry him.

 It took a moment for Dina to register what was even happening. The moment she realized Joe was carrying her off somewhere, she tried to fight through both her sickness and the cowboy currently trying to get her help.

 "LET ME GO!" Dina screeched, limbs flailing. "I FEEL FINE, LET ME GO!"

 "Quit fightin' me!" Joe hissed between gritted teeth, tightening his grip on the struggling teen.

 "Then let. me. GO," Dina growled. She tried to glare daggers at Joe but her eyes were far too unfocused to look even mildly threatening.

 Joe didn't even look back at her. "Yer sick as an infected vivosaur, kid. I'm takin' ya to First Aid!"

 Dina had been to First Aid numerous times. It was a building nestled in the depths of Cranial City, not a full blown hospital, but good enough to treat the vast majority of injuries and illnesses a fighter might obtain on the islands. Dina personally never had extended stays at the clinic, and she really didn't want to start now.

 The sick, desperate fighter tried a new tactic: biting like a rabid dog. Unfortunately the cowboy had her practically pinned to his chest, and in such a way that she couldn't twist herself just right to snap at his exposed wrists. Poor Dina could only watch the world go by in a fast-moving blur, all the while she felt like she got dunked headfirst into Mt. Krakanak. She grumbled weakly in frustration, finally letting herself go limp in Joe's arms.

 Dina couldn't remember much between getting to First Aid and waking up sometime later on one of the beds there, only the slight relief she felt being out of the sun again and having a nurse apply an ice pack to her forehead. The rest was lost to her.

 When she fully came to, aside from knowing she didn't feel like Igno was personally torturing her anymore, she noticed that she was alone. No nurse or doctor was currently in here with her. Joe wasn't here either. She could hear the distant sounds of machinery and human conversation, but it really seemed like nobody was nearby.

 Dina quickly decided that the small, sterile, plain room that had basically nothing in it that wasn't medical equipment was incredibly boring. She supposed she could just sleep through her stay, but she wasn't tired at all. She was itching for a fight, or at least the chance to get out of this dumb clinic that she didn't need at all!

 Hmmm... if no one was around, then maybe she could leave...

 The prospect of successfully escaping sounded VERY enticing indeed...

 Dina slipped from the bed, tossing aside thin, blue sheets, landing on unsteady feet. Even though she didn't feel like she was melting anymore, she still struggled to stay standing. Dina took a moment to grip the bed's handlebars for stability, and when she felt that her legs wouldn't give out from under her, she started towards the doorway. She poked her head out and slowly scanned the hallway. No one in sight, and even better, she could see the clinic lobby just at the end of the hallway to her left. Yes, yes, YES, YES!

 It was a straight shot to freedom, and with nothing to lose, Dina booked it as fast as she could go. Aside from nearly tripping over her own feet a few times, the young champion managed to burst out of her prison and race straight back out into Cranial City.

 Meanwhile, two very startled, bewildered secretaries stare, wide-eyed and mouths agape at the human missile that just sped through the lobby and out the door, and they were certain said human missile was the same fighter who came in very sick and was NOT supposed to have been leaving yet.

 One of the secretaries quietly reached for her paleopager…

Chapter Text

 Dina quickly came to the conclusion that maybe running outside wasn't the best idea. After she escaped the clinic she just sped aimlessly into the desert heat again, and as she did so any sense of feeling "better" was ripped from her piece by piece. Her symptoms were rearing their ugly heads once more. First up? She felt like she was melting again. The sun was still sitting high in the sky, clearly not having moved much before Dina's unceremonious capture. She was certain the stupid star was laughing at her now, watching with sadistic glee as she began to once again crumble under the weight of its blazing heat.

 She meandered through the many people and buildings that made up Cranial City, ignoring the confused eyes that looked her way. When she finally approached the main plaza, she nearly stumbled trying to stop her unsteady legs. Panting and already drenched in sweat, she looked around.

 Maybe she could find Pauleen. So what if her sickness wasn't gone yet? She'd pull through it! She'd get that fossil battle!

 Pauleen, however, was nowhere to be seen. She did see Lester speaking with Cole just outside the Fossil Guild, though. She made her way over, and was blessed with one of their many arguments.

 "So you DID take the last of my hair gel!"

 "Gahar har har! Yeah? What are ya gonna do about it? Thrash me in a fossil battle? You wouldn't last 10 seconds, and you know it-"

 "Hey Cole, hey Lester," Dina butted in.

 Cole visibly flinched upon noticing her, but Lester just lazily shifted his gaze from the other admin to the currently sickly child hero.

 "Heeey, Dina," Lester drawled, "I would say it's been a while but I saw you about half an hour ago. Heard boss had to drag you to the clinic."

 Dina scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. "Hehe... yeaaaahhh not my best moment.."

 PIPIPIPIPIPI!

 Cole and Lester grumbled. They both simultaneously pulled out their paleopagers (gifted to them after the brigade disbanded).

 "It's from boss," Cole stated.

 Dina felt a pit begin to form in her stomach.

 Lester muted his paleopager, opting to lean close to Cole and listen to the hipster's copy of the recording.

 "This is a real important message to my patrol team, as well as Lester, Lola, and Cole. Dina's sick as a dog, so I brought her to Cranial Isle's health clinic to get her fixed up. Now I've gotten word that she ran out on them, and now she's loose on the islands! I urge y'all to find her and bring her back, before she gets worse!"

 Ah, shit.

 The two admins turned their gazes upon Dina, who's gone still as a statue.

 She should probably leave.

 "Heh, knew something was up. Ya still look awful," Lester commented unhelpfully.

 "Awful is a bit of an understatement," Cole corrected, "I doubt even a makeover could save you."

 Dina shot Cole her best death stare, although right now it was a bit lacking in the intimidation apartment.

 "Runnin' out of First Aid, though? That's not what I was expectin'," Lester mused.

 "I suppose we should turn you in," Cole sighed, "Boss would kill us if you died on our watch."

 "Can't you just ignore me? Don't even tell him I was here? I still wanna battle Pauleen. I'm fine, I can HANDLE it!" Dina pleaded, "I'll just go somewhere else and sort this out myself!"

 Cole and Lester exchanged glances. They then thought about it for a little bit.

 "No snitchin' if we pretend we never saw ya?" Lester questioned.

 "No snitching. If anyone asks, I saw neither of you. Promise," Dina answered.

 Cole and Lester pondered this for a moment.

 "Buy me more hair gel?" Cole asked.

 "YES, I'LL BUY YOU MORE HAIR GEL!" Dina growled through gritted teeth.

 Cole smirked in a way Dina found irritating.

 "Alright, you've got yourself a deal," Cole said. Lester nodded in agreement.

 "OK, thanks!" Dina grinned, speeding off to yet again to try to look for Pauleen.

 Unbeknownst to her, Cole and Lester shared a devious look.

 "Does she know how Boss will take it when she eventually gets caught?" Lester asked.

 "Probably not. It's fine, she'll learn the hard way, like we did," Cole snickered.

 ...

 Dina couldn't believe it. This is the SECOND TIME that the cowboy had sent a search party out to look for her. Sure, the first time it was technically Zongazonga, and the real Joe was hanging out in her pocket as a skull, but still! She knew that it was the real Joe trying to look out for her now, but she still didn't want to be cooped up when she could battle!

 She considered donning a mask to keep herself undetectable like she did last time, but she didn't have any on her currently, and Joe was wise to the mask trick, it was his idea after all.

 She supposed she'd have to stick to the shadows, assume no one is safe to approach.

 Then a thought struck her.

 Would Pauleen rat her out? She wanted to battle her so badly but she remembered that Pauleen had been reluctant to go along with her plan earlier. She might outright refuse Dina this time. The young teen decided that trying to convince Pauleen to give her a fossil battle was worth it.

 But where was she?

 Dina was NOT going back to the Fighter's Station, that's for sure.

 She quickly assessed her surroundings, blinking away the fuzziness in her vision. She made a beeline for the Hare Club before anyone could see her.

 Once she barged in, the lady running the desk gave her a startled look, but otherwise went back to reading her magazine.

 Dina noted both the lack of Pauleen, yet again, and the somehow even more sweet relief of air conditioning. She lamented the fact that she definitely couldn't stay, someone would come in here looking for her eventually. So, reluctantly, she turned herself around and slowly shuffled back into the oven that was Cranial Isle.

 If Lester was right, then it was at the very least after 12:40, far too early for Pauleen to be back at her dorm. That only really left Dina with one choice: she would have to endure Cranial Isle's dig sites to find her.

 Ughhh!!! She really wanted to avoid that. It was bad enough when it was just the heat she needed to worry about, but now with a manhunt sent after her, she'd have to be super careful. Cranial Isle isn't really great for ditching pursuers. She'd probably have to fall back on being able to reach her super secret hiding spots (ones she had dotted near each dig site, known only to her) without being followed.

 She considered her options. Pauleen could be in any of the three dig sites looking for the perfect fire-type fossils. She supposed she could start with the least awful option in Rainbow Canyon. It was hot but not as hot as Mt. Krakanak. It also wasn't as open as Dusty Dunes. She wasn't sure if she could navigate the steep cliffs while she had trouble moving around for any extended period of time, but she was sure she could manage.

 And so, Dina, like a half-asleep Nigo, ungracefully stumbled her way towards the canyon, trying her best to be mindful of any potential problem people.

 She managed the journey without much incident. Sure, her lungs were burned and running on empty, and she could barely feel her legs anymore, but she made it!

 Immediately she went and sat herself down behind a rock, taking a moment to reset as best as she could. Sure she was able to fill her lungs again, but the hot, dry air only marginally improved how Dina felt. The young champion shakily combed through her messy hair as she waited for her legs to gain feeling again. She couldn't believe how much of a mess today was so far, but she would not be beat!

 Soon she was on the move again, blundering through the dig site in search of her friend. She scoured every cliff face, every nook and cranny. The young teen nearly tripped and fell straight to her doom several times. Her vision had grown increasingly blurry again, and just when she was about to hurdle straight over the edge of a cliff, a hand grasped her arm and hauled her back and safety.

 Dina turned, dazed, to face her rescuer.

 "Dina! What do you think you are doing?! You nearly fell!" A young woman with blond hair and and a familiar accent greeted her.

 "Joanie...?" Dina questioned.

 Just behind the Nomadistanian, Princess Pooch sat, head tilted in confusion.

 "I.. uh... I'm looking for Pauleen... have you seen her?" Dina rasped.

 "No, I have not seen her. Are you alright? You look... how you say... sick?" Joanie took in every aspect of Dina's illness, clearly concerned. Princess Pooch whined, sharing her assistant's worry.

 "Yeah... uhm... I'm fine, just... didn't sleep well. I'm fine! I'm gonna... I'm gonna go now..."

 Dina quickly stumbled away before Joanie or Princess Pooch could question her further.

 Dina clambered back to the same rock she had sat against before, slumping back down into the exact same spot to yet again catch her breath. Her muscles were beginning to complain, and this heat really wanted to make her vomit. If Pauleen wasn't here, that meant she had to be at one of the other, worse dig sites. Dina was beginning to doubt if she could make it. Igno was definitely delighting in tormenting her, making her day a living hell. The young fighter let out a shuddered breath as she fiddled with the over-sized zipper of her jumpsuit.

 Quitting was not an option. She wanted... no, NEEDED to battle, especially if her opponent was Pauleen. She refused to be held prisoner in a stupid clinic, with nothing to do but stew in her own misery and thoughts.

 She moved to messing with the flaps of her pockets. How was she gonna make it to the other dig sites in this state?

 Then her fingers brushed against her dino medals. Wait... her dino medals! Why didn't she think of this before?! She'd just use her vivosaurs as transport!

 Dina rummaged through the medals she had on hand, grumbling to herself until she found a suitable vivosaur. She fished out a medal rimmed with green, a wyvern-like creature etched onto it.

 Nycto Ace.

 Dina tossed the medal in front of her, and with a flash of light the super evolver materialized into existence, stretching its wings and blinking open sharp eyes. It turned to greet its fighter, cocking its head to the side at the sight of the currently pathetic-looking child it considered a leader.

 "Nycto Ace! Heeeeeyyy buddyyyyy. We uh... gotta look for Pauleen OK? We're gonna find her and then we'll battle!" Dina was slurring her words a little. Nycto Ace perked up at the mention of a battle.

 "But... BUT! I need help... getting around... don't think I can make the trip on foot. Can you... give me a ride..?"

 Nycto Ace blinked. Its fighter looked weirdly pale, and was sweating bullets. It couldn't quite tell for sure but she looked... pained. It trilled in a worried manner, bending down to examine Dina more closely. She smelled awful, and despite not even standing she was trembling. Dina smiled wide.

 "I'm ok, just tired! Everything's fine, don't worry about me," Dina tried to reassure, reaching her hand out to gently stroke along the top of her vivosaur's snout. The air-type rumbled lowly, still not entirely convinced, but it obeyed, angling itself so Dina could climb aboard.

 Dina managed to get onto Nycto Ace's back, gripping the vibrant green hide and soft, white mane as securely as she could.

 "Now let's go find Pauleen!"

 With that, the vivosaur was off.

 ...

 Pauleen peacefully strolled through the treacherous bowels of Mt. Krakanak. It was unusually empty today, only a few fighters scattered here and there, looking for fossils amidst the smoke and lava. Even though Pauleen had been making significant improvements in terms of controlling her social anxiety, she always found herself breathing a sigh of relief whenever a place she traveled to was lacking in people. She found the bubbling and hissing of the volcano's fiery blood soothing. Everything about the dig site was lovely, combine that with the many blips that appeared on the radar's screen as she used it let her know that fossil hunting conditions were simply perfect.

 She should be ecstatic being able to search for fire-types with little to disturb her, but something kept gnawing at Pauleen.

 She really wanted to battle Dina today. She waited all morning for her friend, only for Dina to turn up at noon, really sick! Dina was the strongest person Pauleen knew, and at first she was willing to give Dina the benefit of doubt when she started downplaying her symptoms. Once Joe showed up and took Dina away, though? Pauleen resigned herself to doing other, less exciting things.

 She certainly hadn't expected her paleopager to ring, or for Joe to send her and her friends the news that Dina straight-up ran out of First Aid.

 Now Pauleen had and would continue to enable a lot of stupid things that Dina did. Dina was FUN (and also pretty-). But Dina had clearly been in rough shape. She would be in serious danger if she was running around Stupid Hot Isle while she was actively overheating.

 The fire-type specialist wasn't sure if she should go look for Dina. Everyone else was probably on the case already. Surely Dina would be found and brought back to First Aid soon, right?

 Suddenly, with a whoosh of air, a green, winged vivosaur made impact just a few feet away from the pink-haired girl. Pauleen stumbled backwards. Her eyes widened and her face flushed red when she gazed upon what she knew to be a Nycto Ace and the very familiar person that clung to its back.

 "DINA, DIGADIG?!"

Chapter Text

 “PAULEEN!” Dina cried as she clumsily dismounted her Nycto Ace, “I’m so… HAPPY to see you! I’ve checked... every... dig site for you, but of course yooouuu had to be here, ‘cause you didn’t wanna make things EASY for me! You’re LUCKY that I… I think you’re more than worth it!”

 If Pauleen’s face wasn’t red before, it certainly was now.

 “YOU-” Pauleen struggled to find the words, “y-you shouldn’t be here! I got Joe’s message, digadig. Why would you run out of First Aid?!”

 Dina’s face fell.

 “I… I just wanted to battle you. It’s… all I could… think about,” Dina replied sorrowfully, “I promised you a battle, and… and I’m GONNA deliver!” She shakily pulled Lugmos’s medal out from her pocket, trying her best to put on her best game face.

 This display from Dina really pulled at Pauleen’s heartstrings. Dina looked awful, even worse than how she looked earlier, yet here she was, pushing herself to the brink just because she wanted to battle her. Pauleen wanted so desperately to comply, to see Dina’s face light up with pure joy, to watch her laugh and smile while she commanded her vivosaurs in battle.

 But, in good conscience, she could not.

 “Dina, I would really, really love to battle you, but you’re too sick. It’s too diga-dangerous for you to even be out here, right now. You have to go back to First Aid. I’m sorry, digadig,” She spoke gently, trying her best to let Dina down easy.

 Dina’s eyes widened, and poor Pauleen could pinpoint the exact moment her words absolutely shattered her friend.

 “No battle? Not… not even a quick one? We can… we can do a quick one, though, right?! I’m not spending the day stuck in First Aid, I’m... not! I wanna... stay here… stay here with you...!” Dina stumbled forward, reaching for Pauleen’s hand, “Please!”

 Dina’s eyes welled with tears, and Pauleen backed away, soul-crushed.

 “No, Dina! You can hardly walk, or stand, or even talk at this point, diga! You aren’t battling, you have to go back! Something bad could really happen to you if you stay here any longer!” Pauleen shouted. She hoped to get through to Dina, to get her to see reason, “We can battle when you’re better, I promise!”

 “No… I’m fine, FINE! I’m a master fighter! I’m a champion! A… a HERO! I SAVED THE WORLD! And… and you think I need First Aid?! I WON’T DO IT! IT’S BOOOOORING AND I DON’T… DON’T NEED IT!” Dina’s hoarse voice shook enough to match the shaking her body was currently doing.

 Pauleen sighed at Dina’s stubbornness. She really didn’t want to have to do this, but she saw no other way.

 “Fine. If you won’t go, I’ll take you myself,” Pauleen advanced towards Dina, who suddenly looked very small. The pinkette could see how much Dina needed this. Dark eye bags, skin pale and sweat-drenched, her gaze unfocused and her stance unsteady. This was the worst Pauleen had ever seen Dina, and no doubt her body was ravaged by fever.

 The ill kid backed away, shaking her head.

 “No, no, no, no, no no, I won’t go! I won’t!” Dina turned and scrambled back onto Nycto Ace before Pauleen could grab her.

 “Let’s get out of here!” She ordered. The super evolver gracefully leapt off the ground and shot straight out of the volcano. When Pauleen was able to reach the volcano’s top, she couldn’t locate Dina through the thick, dark smoke.

 Whelp, this was bad.

 …

 “Guys, GUYS! I just saw Dina, digadig, here at Mt. Krakanak! I was gonna take her back but she flew off on her Nycto Ace! I diga-don’t know where she went! Someone send backup!”

 Joe silently listened to the recording that came through on his paleopager. Once he sent out his initial message, he quickly finished up all the paperwork on his desk, desperately hoping Dina was found and brought back to the safety of First Aid before something terrible happened. When no one reported anything back to him aside from confirmation that they were indeed looking, he rushed outside to look for her himself. Why in the heck did she have to do such a reckless thing? Dina always found a way to surprise Joe, but usually those surprises were good things. This, however, was not good, not good at all! With this heat, and with her fever, Dina was in serious trouble!

 So now he stood on top of one of Rainbow Canyon’s cliffs, Ptera at his side. Joanie had just informed him of her presence here so he scanned the whole dig site for any sign of her. But now, with Pauleen’s plea for help, he knew he needed to get a move on. Adjusting his hat, he turned to his trusty pterosaur, swiftly boarding it and setting off towards Mt. Krakanak.

 Pauleen was still there when he arrived, standing just at the entrance to the dig site, along with Terry. The young teen was busy frantically explaining things to the staff leader.

 “-and then she told me she didn’t wanna go, and she flew off on her Nycto Ace! I diga-don’t know where she went after that, but I’m telling you, she looked like the dead!”

 “Hold on now, pard, slow down,” Joe moseyed on over, placing his hands on his hips, “I need ya to explain things from the top, ya hear? I want the full story.”

 So Pauleen did, she explained everything, and Joe quietly listened, his worry increasing with every detail. So not only did Dina vastly underestimate how bad things were for her right now, but she also was desperate for a fossil battle. Joe knew that Dina hungered for fossil battles and was extremely passionate about fossil fighting as a whole, which was a trait he liked about her, but that trait was a double-edged sword, and in this case clearly had hampered her judgment.

 “Yer sure that ya couldn’t see where she went?” Joe quickly inquired.

 Pauleen frowned.

 “I’m sure… she flew out of here faster than I could keep up with, and there was too much smoke to see! I hope she’s OK, wherever she is, digadig.”

 Joe hummed to himself.

 “Well, let’s not waste any more time. We need to find Dina, and fast. Pauleen, you go on and focus yer search here on the ground, gather anyone you can to help ya. Terry, mount up on yer Dimorph Ace and help me search the skies.”

 Both patrol team member and staff leader nodded, determination written on their faces. Pauleen set off on her own, while both Terry and Joe flew off on their pterosaurs.

 …

 Dina didn’t know where she was going. She clung to Nycto Ace tightly, watching the world zip by in shades of blue and brown.

 The wind certainly felt nice, but it did nothing to ease the raging heat she felt, nor the dizziness that made her head spin. She’d periodically screw her eyes shut and hope that the feelings would go away, only to be disappointed every time she reopened them. Why did today have to suck so bad?! Pauleen didn’t wanna battle her! What was she gonna do now?! Battle someone else, perhaps? She didn’t want to stay on Cranial Isle, with Pauleen turning on her and the climate being less than welcoming.

 Maybe she would visit Ilium Isle, then she wouldn’t have to deal with the heat at least. She patted her Nycto Ace’s face to get it to stop, and took a minute to look around and attempt to get her bearings. She could see the frigid isle she was seeking beyond the bone-dry wasteland she was currently hovering over. She prompted Nycto Ace to take her there as fast as it could, and her vivosaur obliged. As they flew, Dina found it harder and harder to maintain her hold on Nycto Ace. She was just… so tired, so achy. She could make it though. She could, she swears! She just had to hold on until she could land safely.

 She was just nearing the shoreline when a big, yellow object sped in front of her path, halting her and Nycto Ace in their tracks.

 “DINA! YOU GIT ON BACK TO FIRST-AID, RIGHT NOW!”

 Aw FUCK, it was the absolute last person Dina wanted to see right now! She was not going back, no matter what Joe had to say!

 Dina prompted Nycto Ace to turn around and floor it.

 Joe prompted Ptera to give chase.

 The young champion and her mount sped through the air, frantic to get away from their pursuers. Despite how fast Nycto Ace was flying, Ptera was able to keep pace, much to the former’s dismay. Ptera was quickly able to fly side-by-side with Nycto Ace, allowing their riders to have a little chat.

 “GIVE IT UP, KID. IF YA DON’T STOP RIGHT NOW, SOMETHIN’ TERRIBLE WILL HAPPEN TO YA! JUST GO BACK TO CRANIAL CITY!” Joe yelled over the wind as best as he could. Dina stared at him, her eyes huge and dazed.

 “I DON’T NEED IT! I… I DON’T NEED FIRST AID! GO AWAY!” Dina nearly destroyed her throat trying to match Joe in volume. She immediately ripped her gaze away as soon as she saw Joe’s disgruntled face light up with a fury she had never seen before.

 “FINE THEN,” Joe roared, “I SUPPOSE I’LL HAVE TO SAVE YA FROM YERSELF!” Ptera banked as close to Nycto Ace as it could get, and Joe leaned as far as his body would allow, reaching out in an attempt to snatch Dina straight off her vivosaur.

 It took Dina a little longer than usual to react, and when she finally put two and two together, she jolted in surprise, losing her grip on her super evolver. Dina yelped, flailing her arms to try to grab anything to stop her from falling off, but she had already tipped over the side. She could hear Joe yell for her, but it barely registered in her exhausted mind. Just in the nick of time, she was able to grasp Nycto Ace’s mane, but the rest of her dangled precariously in midair. The poor vivosaur squawked as its feathers were yanked on. Its flight became unsteady, awkward, and it struggled to stay aloft.

 Joe ushered Ptera to swoop around so he could grab the kid, but Nycto Ace suddenly started rapidly losing altitude, plummeting toward the sun-baked rock below. The cowboy quickly followed.

 Vivosaur and fighter continued to fall like a meteor. No matter how hard Nycto Ace tried to flap its massive, bat-like wings, the weight on its neck made it impossible for it to right itself. Dina watched the ground rapidly approach her like an angry Allo, and although she wanted to, she didn’t have it in her to scream anymore. She tried her hardest to toss her legs over Nycto Ace’s back to regain some semblance of control, but it hurt too much, now. Everything hurt, her body was on fire, and she really wanted to throw up, now. Great, just great! She felt awful, got no fossil battles in today, got Joe on her tail, and to add onto it she was likely now falling to her death. Way to go, Dina, definitely could have thought this through better.

 Still, Dina was too stubborn to admit defeat. She strained to order Nycto Ace to steer itself towards Dusty Dunes for a crash landing. Her vivosaur tucked its wings in to gain speed, hurtling towards the small desert with a new burst of courage. Joe and Ptera continued to pursue the duo. Joe bellowed multiple times for Dina to get her Nycto Ace to just stop so he could safely get her, but his angry pleas fell on deaf, incredibly ill ears.

 “OK NYCTO ACE, WHEN DUSTY DUNES GETS CLOSE, WRAP YOUR WINGS AROUND ME!” Dina screamed. Nycto Ace nodded, and did as Dina said.

 The two hit the dig site with a hefty BOOMF, a fountain of sand kicked up around them from the force of the impact. The wyvern-like pterosaur had come to an abrupt stop, laying on its back, half-buried, wings wrapped tightly around itself. Unfurling its limbs, it allowed Dina to stagger away and come to rest next to a small cactus. The weary super evolver amazingly got back onto its feet to shield its fighter from the incoming cowboy and his revived pteranodon.

 Joe and Ptera soon joined Dina and Nycto Ace on solid ground. The man had dismounted his trusty steed as soon as he could and rushed over. Nycto Ace, however, let out a low, rumbly growl, blocking Dina from Joe’s view. The famous fighter fought to shove down his anger towards the child and forced himself to breathe.

 “Easy now, easy,” Joe held up his hands in a non-threatening gesture, “I don’t wanna hurt the kid, I just wanna help.”

 The super evolver eyed Joe suspiciously. The creature continued to give its vocal warning, but it did nothing to stop Joe from inching closer.

 “No need to get all riled up, I ain’t a threat, I promise,” Ptera tried to join Joe in his approach, but Joe wordlessly signaled for his vivosaur to stay back.

 “It’s OK,” Joe’s voice was even, soft. Eventually he was able to gently place his gloved hands on Nycto Ace’s snout, “I know ya just wanna keep Dina safe. I promise I’ll look after her. Go on and rest, now.”

 The tired, verdant beast eventually relented, letting out a long exhale before allowing itself to settle down and shrink back into its dino medal. Joe carefully picked up the medal and pocketed it for safekeeping.

 That left Dina, curled up and trembling just behind where Nycto Ace once stood.

 Dina bared her teeth and let out a hiss in a last ditch attempt to intimidate Joe, but at most she just resembled a terrified Smilo cub than anything remotely scary. Joe merely stepped forward, scooped her up, and sped out of Dusty Dunes without uttering a single word. This time,  Dina couldn’t fight back, even if she wanted to.

 ...

 Memories flashed in Dina’s battered mind. Voices, very upset voices. Ice packs applied to her forehead. Water and foul-tasting substances lifted to her lips to drink. Fingers being ran through her sweaty locks.

 Her eyes snapped open and she was suddenly fully aware of being back at First Aid; same bed, same room. The most notable difference was that she wasn’t alone. Relaxing in a chair beside her bed was none other than Joe, looking through his phone. The young teen did her best to sit herself up.

 “Joe?” Dina tentatively reached out.

 Joe lifted his gaze from his device, a faint smile forming on his lips upon seeing Dina.

 “Howdy, Dina. How ya feelin’?” He asked gently.

 “Better, I think?” Well she certainly wasn’t feeling like she was set on fire anymore. Her body still ached and she still generally felt pretty gross but it was a start.

 Joe perked up a bit.

 “I’m glad. Ya gave the staff here quite the scare when I brought ya in, was worried they’d have to fly ya off to a hospital on the mainland,” Joe explained.

 His voice grew serious.

 “So, why couldn’t ya have just stayed put?” Aw great, here comes the interrogation.

 “Ya understand how worried ya made us all with that stunt you pulled? Nearly gave me a heart attack, ya did! Scared us all stiff!” Joe’s voice was raised now, his displeasure at the situation Dina had thrust him in more than clear.

 Dina sat huddled underneath her little blanket. Her brown eyes watered, and the shaky sobs began before she could even realize what she was doing.

 “I just- I just wanted to fooooossil baaattleeeeee!” Dina wailed, tears streaming down her face.

 “And I’m a master fighter! I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t be letting some stupid fever get in my way! And it’s so BORING here, what am I supposed to do?! I’m not tired!”

 The older fighter sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

 “Oh Dina, I understand wantin’ to battle, really I do. But when yer body tries to tell ya somethin’, ya can’t ignore it. All the fossils and battles ya want will still be there when you get back. Ya may be a master fighter, but that don’t suddenly make ya invincible. No fighter is above getting’ sick, happens to all of us, there’s no shame in it.”

 Dina sniffled.

 “Not even you?”

 Joe chuckled.

 “Especially not me. I might have built up quite the immune system from years of explorin’, but I assure ya that only came about after getting’ sick too many times to count. I even tried to do what you did, years ago. Wanted to go out and duel, but felt under the weather, and I foolishly ignored what my body was tellin’ me. Ya know what happened? Wound up in the hospital. I got no fossil battle that day, and I had to spend even longer in recovery than if I just let m’self rest from the get-go.”

 Dina was silent for a minute afterwards. She stared at her blanket, deep in thought. There was one part of Joe’s response that she found lacking. She locked eyes with the cowboy, concern filling their golden brown gaze.

 “What am I supposed to do all day, then? I can’t battle, or dig for fossils!”

 Joe adjusted his bandanna.

 “Get as much shut-eye as ya can,” he replied simply.

 “But if I can’t sleep?!”

 “I guess you’ll have to find other ways to entertain yerself, pard. I could grab some books or games for ya. The doctors don’t know if yer contagious, so just to be safe ya can’t have any guests over yet.”

 Dina’s brows furrowed.

 “Contagious? Then why are you still here?”

 Her mentor smiled his characteristic, warm smile.

 “Like I said, my body don’t get sick easily anymore, and this here’s a risk I’m willin’ to take. Someone’s gotta stay here and watch ya. Can’t have ya boltin’ and sendin’ us all on a wild goose chase tryin’ to wrangle ya back up again!”

 Dina did her best to hide her face, flushed red from embarrassment.

 “Oh, I almost forgot!” Joe was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, “Are ya hungry?”

 Dina had completely forgotten about the fact that she had nothing to eat today. Frankly, if she had been asked earlier, her nausea would have forbade her from saying yes. Now that she was thinking about it, nothing sounded better. She had been running on empty all day, and her stomach reminded her of this fact by complaining very loudly.

 That was a good enough answer for Joe.

 “That settles it, then,” he clasped his hands together, “Let’s go get ya fed. I’ll be back, don’t go anywhere, ya hear?” He wagged his finger in a lighthearted, mock scolding way.

 The young fossil fighter giggled.

 “OK, OK, I’ll stay! No more running off, I promise.”

 Joe acknowledged her answer with a curt nod. He turned to leave, boots clomping on the hard floor as he made his temporary exit.

 Dina watched him go, and decided to reflect on today’s events. She made a mental note to never ever do this again. Joe was far more lenient than she thought he would be. She’s heard the stories of his wrath from the BB Brigade, but didn’t really believe it, at least not until today, when she caught a glimpse of that rage when she tried to escape on Nycto Ace. She got off easy. She thought at the very least Joe would try to “ground” her somehow, but maybe he thought she already suffered enough.

 Once Joe returned and presented her with not only a meal consisting of a burger with fries and a chocolate milkshake, but also an assortment of games and trinkets to play with, Dina decided that maybe today wasn’t so bad after all.