“I really hope this works,” said Luna, biting her lip as she hid behind a tree. Aurin, who was standing beside her, held a finger to his lips.

  The two had devised a plan the previous night in the hopes of luring Nolan out to Aurin’s ranch alone. After his poorly disguised shock at the realisation of Diamond’s identity, Aurin feared that Nolan would suspect he had figured out his secret. If that was the case, simply inviting him to train would not suffice.

  Gardner, Jimmy, and Emily had been roped in to distract Rick and Holly, neither of whom Aurin suspected of any illicit Blackjacks activity. Regardless, the invite had been sent to all three of them to throw Nolan off the scent. If everything had gone to plan, Nolan would be walking this way alone within minutes, while Rick and Holly would be following no more than half an hour later.

  As the seconds ticked by, Aurin and Luna grew more nervous about their plan. Aurin glanced at Skrow who was perched stealthily in a nearby tree. He then looked to a small mound of earth where Shamtile was hidden. If needed, these two would spring into action at a moment’s notice.

  Luna tapped Aurin furiously on the shoulder, keeping her mouth tightly shut. Aurin followed her eyes towards the path through the forest where a lone figure was walking along with his hands in his pockets. He looked as casual be, far from the timid young man he often appeared as.

  Once he had walked on by, Aurin and Luna stepped onto the path. “Nolan,” called Aurin, waving to him.

  “Oh!” howled Nolan, pivoting and throwing his arms in the air. “You startled me, Aurin. I thought we were training as your house today?”

  “There’s been a change of plan.”

  Nolan pushed his glasses up his nose, giving a weak smile. The look in Aurin’s eyes told him all that he needed to know. He hurriedly drew a crystal from his pocket, but as he raised his hand, a mighty wind appeared from nowhere, blowing the crystal away and almost toppling Nolan. As he scrambled for it the crystal, a hole opened in the ground, swallowing it and closing immediately.

  “Not this time,” said Aurin, shaking his head solemnly. He had known he was right, but prayed to be wrong.

  “You can’t blame me for trying, yeah?” said Nolan with a smirk. He removed his glasses and stashed them away. “Ah, it’s nice to not have those in the way. So, tell me, how did you figure it out?”

  “Lots of little things added up,” said Aurin, coldly. “And now I want you to tell me what The Blackjacks are up to. I want to know everything.”

  “Everything?” laughed Nolan. “Would you believe me if I told you that I didn’t know everything? We’re paid to do what we’re told, not to ask questions.”

  “That isn’t enough,” said Luna. “You may not know everything, but you know a lot more than nothing. Why is Aurin being stalked? Is this because of what happened with Sir Ashmore a few months ago?”

  “I was not aware he was knighted,” said Nolan. “He seemed much too young for that.”

  “Young?” asked Luna, glancing at Aurin, who was also taken aback. “Arthur Ashmore was at least in his fifties.”

  Nolan chuckled. “Ah, I see. I am not working for Arthur Ashmore, Luna.”

  A memory came rushing back to Aurin. When he had been with Sir Ashmore in his mansion, he’d mentioned a son who was interested in genetic experiments. If Alfred Ashmore was The Collector’s son, Aurin knew he was being attacked for revenge. But something still wasn’t adding up.

  “But why?” he asked Nolan, who has a loathsome smile on his face. “Why the costumes? Why don’t you care when I defeat you?”

  Nolan reached behind his back and pulled out the concealed Diamond mask. “Ah, these? They’re really rather impressive, you know?” Nolan slipped the mask over his face. When he spoke, his voice had changed to the robotic one The Blackjacks shared upon donning their masks. “Tell you what, Aurin. Let’s have a little battle, you and I. If you defeat me, I’ll tell you what the mask does.”

  “You think you can be trusted? There’s no way you’re battling him alone,” said Luna, but Aurin raised a hand.

  “One Minakai each,” said Aurin.

  “And I get to pick the Minakai, yeah?” asked Nolan. “I’ve always been curious about your Glacibot’s power. Let’s see how he handles himself.”

  “Fine,” said Aurin, raising his tamer glove. Nolan did the same.

  In two bursts of light, two Minakai appeared. From an icy blue light, emerged Glacibot, and from a purple light, emerged Nolan’s Thunding. Glacibot stretched out his arms, his icy body glistening in the afternoon sun. Thunding’s golden armour shone as it twirled its lightning-coated spear in its hand, ready to smash the ice robot into a thousand pieces.

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  “Let’s see how good you really are,” said Aurin, cracking his neck. Nolan simply smirked in response.

  Thunding hurled his spear, striking the ground and sending out a powerful shockwave that nearly threw the tamers to the ground. Glacibot, however, placed his rubbery arms on the ground, insulating himself from the worst of the attack. While he had the elemental disadvantage, his limbs gave him just enough protection to negative certain attacks.

  Throwing himself forward, Glacibot lowered his body, aiming for Thunding with the large spike that was his head. The small, humanoid monster tumbled aside and retrieved its spear. With a yell, it summoned a lightning strike from the sky. It struck the aloft spear, sending a surge of electricity running from its tip to its base. It crackled loudly as the charged-up spear held the immense elemental power.

  Drawing back an arm, Thunding aimed straight for the turning Glacibot. Knowing he was not nimble enough to avoid the projectile, Glacibot drew back his own fist. He thrust it forward as Thunding unleashed his weapon. An intense surge of energy, manifesting in an aurora, coated Glacibot’s fist. His knuckles collided with the spear, shattering it, and sending a rippling wave of electricity exploding outwards. It struck his body, sending shards of ice flying from him, but he held strong. His foe was disarmed and he had both the size and strength advantage.

  Aurin’s face was focused as Glacibot barrelled forward with the sole intent of flattening Thunding. While Aurin suspected Luna was right in thinking that Nolan would not give him a straight answer about the Diamond mask, Aurin had full faith that his monster would see him through this battle.

  Thunding screeched as it took a walloping punch from Glacibot. It somersaulted through the air, landing in an uncomfortable heap on the ground, but it was not finished yet. Deprived of its weapon, it may have been, but it was not out of options. It clapped its hands together, sending a sonic boom whooshing towards Glacibot. The ice construct was sent spinning across the sopping leaves and grass, nearly striking Nolan in the process. The Blackjack leapt out of the way in the nick of time, but that was the opening Luna needed.

  “Agh!” cried Nolan as a brown drake burst from underneath him.

  Bakugon landed on the man’s back, grabbed the Diamond mask, and pulled. He ripped the mask from Nolan’s face and flung it into the air. Luna’s Beetabolt whizzed from the trees, his wings buzzing as he grabbed the mask in his hands. Luna’s face lit up as he dropped it into her hands.

  “Thank you very much,” she said, blowing a kiss to her blue beetle.

  “You treacherous worms!” growled Nolan. “Thunding!”

  With Glacibot running back into battle, Thunding had no time to waste. It ran for Luna, channelling electricity into its palms. Aurin shoved her out of the way as Thunding reached for her. The diminutive monster grabbed onto his waist, electrocuting him. Aurin screamed in pain, but Thunding quickly released him. It dived aside upon seeing the mask Luna had unwittingly dropped. Right before it was struck in the chest by an icicle spear, it flung the mask towards its master.

  Nolan jumped and caught it, a look of great relief settling on his face. He put the mask back on and his voice returned to robotic. “Battle concluded,” he said. “Transmit data.”

  “Transmit data to where?” called Aurin, still reeling from his electrocution.

  “You’ll never find—agh!”

  Nolan was swiftly headbutted by Bakugon, and Shamtile quickly pounced, tearing the mask from Nolan once again. As the Blackjack struggled to reach something in his pocket, he used his other hand to summon a Windjinn.

  The feathery serpent swung its tail and whipped the mask from Shamtile on its master’s command. As it sped towards the mask, hoping to scoop it up, Windjinn was dealt a thousand sharp cuts by Skrow’s conjured razor wind. Beetabolt had aimed for the air elemental at the same time, but the Diamond mask had fallen at the perfect time to come between Windjinn and the lightning bolt. The strike tore through the diamond pattern, but the mask was durable enough to not be completely obliterated. It thumped to the ground with a large hole in it and several wisps of smoke drifted upwards.

  “No!” gasped Nolan, pouncing on the mask. “No, no, no!”

  Shamtile shrieked loudly, jumping up and down to try and get his master’s attention, but Aurin was now of a single-minded purpose. He ran for Nolan, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him to his feet. “I want answers, Nolan,” he demanded. “I don’t care what you don’t know, but you’re going to tell me everything you do know. Are we clear?”

  “You are in no position to make threats, Aurin,” came a robotic voice from the treeline.

  Aurin looked over to where Shamtile was pointing and saw three figures approaching from the trees. Spade, Heart, and Club had arrived, and they were all suited and ready for business.

  “Take off those masks, you cowards,” said Aurin, throwing Nolan to the ground.

  “Afraid not, Aurin,” said Spade with a laugh. “They’re necessary, but I’m sure you…” He trailed off before spotting the Diamond mask on the ground. “Oh dear, Nolan. The boss will not be best pleased with you, will he?”

  “It wasn’t my fault!” wailed Nolan, thumping the ground in frustration.

  “I don’t think that will matter much,” said Club, cocking his head to the side.

  Heart put her hands on her hips and stuck out her chest. “It looks like in you got rumbled much too early, Nolan. And you were adamant that you played your part so well.”

  Nolan spat on the ground and adjusted his glasses. “Nothing was ever without risk,” he mumbled.

  “Get out of here,” said Spade. “You’re going to explain to the good doctor what happened. Call him because the boss’s wrath for your failure will be great. His punishments are… unpredictable. It’s best you have a small barrier to shield you from him.”

  Aurin and Luna stood facing the three masked Blackjacks, watching as they all retrieved their jagged, violet crystals. They each hurled them in different directions, but Aurin and Luna’s monsters were ready. Bakugon snatched Spade’s from mid-air, Skrow blew Heart’s upward before grabbing it in his beak, while Beetabolt handily caught Club’s crystal. All three delivered the crystals to Shamtile, who encased them in stone. He then opened a pit in the ground, dropped them in, and covered up the hole as they fell two hundred yards deep.

  right here.

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: