As Aurin jogged along the Hazelton river walk during a mild sunrise, he heard the clacking thud of echoing footsteps nearby. He glanced at Dolissile, who was stealthily swimming just under the surface of the water beside him.

  The metal door within the grassy bank opened and out walked Holly. She hummed to herself before jumping a mile, not having expected to see Aurin standing and staring at her.

  “You scared me half to death,” she said, clutching her heart.

  “Sorry,” said Aurin with a shrug. “If it makes you feel any better, I was surprised somebody was walking along the tunnel at half seven in the morning.”

  “We start early in the Underground Dojo,” said Holly with a grin. “I’m doing the breakfast run if you fancy coming along? I’ve been meaning to pick your brain about something.”

  “Sure,” said Aurin, following Holly up the bank.

  The two walked across the square in front of the stadium, heading for a nearby café which sold packed breakfasts. Town was quiet at this time, but within half an hour, people would slowly depart from their homes and make their way to their jobs.

  “What’s on your mind?” asked Aurin.

  Holly pursed her lips as she considered her words. “Well, it’s about Nolan,” she said. “He and Rick were battling the other day and, for the first time, Nolan actually won. He’s not been training any harder than Rick, but he’s improved considerably. I was wondering if you’d been working with him in secret?”

  Aurin was surprised, but pleased that Nolan had been making progress. “No, I haven’t been training with him. I’ve had a… well, I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”

  “Those masked weirdos, right? Nolan mentioned the one who calls herself Heart. Just when you think Hazelton could enjoy some piece, this sort of thing happens.”

  “I don’t think they’re after anybody but me,” said Aurin with a dry laugh. “It’s a personal battle being picked with me after a few unpleasant things happened over the summer. Long story short, someone kidnapped my Breminia, I got her back, and her kidnapper went missing. Naturally, I get the blame for this.”

  “Woah,” uttered Holly, her mouth slightly ajar. “And here was me thinking the National Championships was the wildest thing that happened to you all summer. That’s mental.” She let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “That thing I wanted to pick your brain out doesn’t seem so important now.”

  “I thought you were wondering about secret training?”

  Holly shook her head. “I was wondering about that, sure, but that’s not really me picking your brain. What I wanted to ask was how you and your Minakai grew so close to the point of perfect synchronisation during battle? Nolan’s starting to reach that stage, and I believe that’s because he’s tapped into the same thing you have.”

  “Honestly? It’s because we spend to long training together. And I don’t mean that I spend a long time watching them train and giving orders. I train with them. We run together, we lift together, and we sometimes scrap a little, but nothing serious. Although, you should see the beating I took from Breminia when I was trying to get her to control her strength.”

  Holly pondered what Aurin said. “I suppose I’ve always kept a bit of a distance from my Minakai,” she mumbled. She spoke up. “Alright, I think it’s maybe time I step outside the dojo again. Maybe I’ll take myself to a quiet place in the woods or somewhere across the river where I can’t be disturbed. I’ll bring my whole team with me and we’ll train together from dawn to dusk.”

  “Just don’t burn yourself or them out. Push, absolutely, but you don’t want to break yourselves.”

  Aurin and Holly talked about the differences between how he trained and the training regime of the Underground Dojo as they awaited several stacks of breakfast being served up. Shockingly, it took no more than ten minutes to prepare twenty full breakfasts, complete with two separate carriers of ten coffees. It cost an arm and a leg, but Holly said the money came from a pool. She was nice, but not nice enough to buy most of the dojo breakfast regularly.

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  “Do you need some help carrying them?” asked Aurin.

  “Yep,” said Holly with a giggle. She summoned her Budescent to her side and the waist-high green wolf sprouted two vines from its neck. Holly hooked the drink carriers onto the vines. “I always come prepared. What’s on your agenda for the rest of the day?”

  “Flowl and Litehorn need some serious training,” he said. “Flowl has come a long way since I arrived back in town, but Gittup has stormed ahead of him. Litehorn? Well, he’s not really a team player. I need to change that.”

  “I wish you the best of luck,” said Holly, bowing her head respectfully.

  “Thanks, Holly. Never be afraid to pick my brain, by the way. I don’t have the time to train people with everything else going on, but I’m always happy to answer some questions.”

  “Oh, I won’t forget that,” said Holly with a wink.

  She loaded up the packaged breakfasts in her arms and turned away, nearly smacking Aurin in the face with her absurdly long ponytail. As she and Budescent departed, Aurin too decided it was time to go. Dolissile, who had been silently hovering along in the shadows nearby, approached his tamer.

  “I don’t think we need to be suspicious of her,” chuckled Aurin, “but I appreciate the vigilance, Dolissile. Let’s get back home.”

  The two headed towards the town centre, eager for the full day of training ahead. It had been a nice change of scenery for Aurin to run along the river walk, but it felt strange bringing a bodyguard along with him. He longed for things to return to normal, but he would endure the constant pestering for as long as it took to weed out The Blackjacks and their master.

  As Aurin and Dolissile wandered through the streets, they heard a high-pitched whistle from somewhere up above. Aurin’s eyes snapped upwards and he saw Heart sitting atop a roof, wiggling her fingers at him. A split second later, a crystal whizzed past him and smashed on the ground.

  Aurin whipped around and saw Diamond walking towards him as the magical dome formed. “This is a little unfair, isn’t it?” Aurin asked as the plop of Heart’s feet hitting the ground sounded behind him.

  “You don’t seem to be struggling all that much against us,” said Heart, walking around Aurin and standing beside her diamond-masked companion. “We want to see your maximum potential, Aurin.”

  “Neither of you are strong enough to bring that out,” snarked Aurin, smirking at the two.

  “Fighting words,” tutted Diamond, wagging his index finger. “I like that. You’re a tough nut to crack, Aurin, but we’re going to find out what makes you tick, yeah?”

  “Stop babbling and tell me today’s rules.”

  Heart pretended to inspect her nails. “Two Minakai per tamer. That means there’ll be four on our side and two on your side. Consider it payback for that little stunt you pulled on Spade the other day. Very sneaky, I have to say.”

  “You should ask him about his cheap shot before the battle had even begun. Although, Jackson never was one to play fair. I’ve had dealings with him before, you see. Perhaps you knew that already.”

  Heart and Diamond looked at each other, but said nothing. Instead, they threw out their hands, summoning the first of their Minakai. Heart summoned her Spikruption and Diamond summoned his Vinewolf.

  “Dolissile, don’t give—”

  The cybernetic dolphin didn’t need to hear a word beyond his name. He exploded forward, striking the Spikruption in the chest and sending the hefty dinosaur flying. It slammed into a lamppost, snapping the metal clean in two, and then crashed into the dome. Upon rebounding off the barrier, it tumbled across the ground. Heart let out a wail of frustration at seeing her first monster knocked out already.

  “Numbers don’t mean anything when we’re that much better than you,” said Aurin, as Dolissile dodged the Vinewolf’s whipping vines. “Bring on your next, Heart. We’ll be happy to crush it too.”

  “Agh!” squealed Heart, stamping her feet and shaking her fists with rage. After taking a few seconds to calm down, she summoned her next monster to the battlefield.

  Her Flaround growled before launching itself at Dolissile, who continued to evade Vinewolf’s attacks. Outnumbered, however, Dolissile found outmanoeuvring the speedy dog and canine more difficult. While his ability to turn and roll had improved significantly since this time the previous year, he lacked the zippiness of Aurin’s other fliers.

  Turning to his ranged attacks, he unleashed shrapnel which was beaten back by a storm of leaves and flames. He used his pulsing powers to fend off dozens of attacks, but he began tiring. Aurin was tempted to summon assistance, but he wanted Dolissile to exhaust his foes as best as he could.

  The dolphin made a few bold moves and landed a fusion fin attack on the Vinewolf’s right side, but he was feeling the strain. His movements slowed and he was hit by an immense fireball that knocked him out of the battle, much to Heart’s joy.

  She whooped and cheered, throwing her fists into the air. “Take that, Aurin,” she said gleefully. “Three of our monsters left to take out one of yours. I don’t like your odd, do you?”

  “Three?” asked Aurin, smiling. “Look again.”

  Vinewolf was bleeding profusely from Dolissile’s final attack. Its eyes rolled back in its head and it capsized a second later, leaving it sprawled across the street.

  “Not bad,” laughed Diamond. “You continue to impress, even when you’re faced with strong opposition.” He flicked his wrist and threw a ball of blue light onto the field, where his Guilgon appeared. “In the spirit of fairness, you can see my Minakai before you choose yours.”

  “What are you doing?” asked Heart, slapping him across the arm.

  Aurin looked at his glove and his eyes settled on an orange summoning stone. He was going to play their game, but he would not let them win. If they truly were studying him, he was going to ensure that they were stamped out before they knew what hit them.

  right here.

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: