“This is going to be our toughest battle yet, team,” said Aurin to his Minakai, “and I’m sorry that I won’t be there to help most of you fight, but this is the way it has to be. Gardner and the others will steer you right while Shamtile, Steambot, Sunny and I are in the tower. Not that I even need to tell you that, you’re all plenty capable on your own.”

Aurin’s team stood together as he loaded up his tamer glove with the three summoning stones he needed for what would no doubt be his most challenging tower run to date. Even still, he felt better knowing that his team would be dealing with the Zodiac Squad members outside along with half of the strongest tamers in Hazelton—at least, if Gardner and Jimmy could convince the tamers to join the fight.

Emily sat on the grass nearby, looking worried while not was pacing back and forth with his hands in his pockets. Meanwhile, Conrad was slotting summoning stones into his tamer glove. From the sound of the clinking in his pocket, he had at least another half dozen ready to go.

“Who’s coming with you?” Aurin asked Luna as she approached.

She held up her tamer glove to show a deep blue, an icy white and a leaf green summoning stone embedded within it.

“Innogon, Frocean and Angree?” asked Aurin without hesitation.

“Yes,” she said. “I was torn as to whether I should bring Splashard or not, but you already have Steambot and I have Innogon. We can’t be overly reliant on water Minakai or we could run into trouble if we’re up against a lot of air elementals.”

“That makes sense,” said Aurin, looking at his own glove. “It’s never been a problem picking three Minakai, but this time feels different. Who knows how far we’re going to have to go to catch Taurus?”

“Maybe to the very top,” said Luna, half-jokingly.

“How about you, Kyle?” called Aurin as Kyle emerged from his house, donning his own tamer glove that was already fitted with three summoning stones. “Wingbloom, Snowlem and Hogannon?”

“Of course,” said Kyle with a grin. “In a twisted way, I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’s been some time since I’ve faced a cosmic Minakai, but we need to make sure the result is better than last time.”

“You lost?”

“Badly, but I have a couple of strategies in mind.”

“There’s Gardner and Jimmy!” squealed Emily, pointing towards the path into the ranch.

“Well?” asked Knot, stepping forwards.

“Most of them have Minakai left that are up for the challenge,” said Gardner. “I think we’ll have enough of a force to break through to the tower doors.”

“Let’s go to war with Zodiac,” said Jimmy, punching his fist into his palm. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for some time now.”

“Have you got enough items to keep you going?” asked Conrad.

“Yes,” said Luna. “I’ve got a bunch of salves and antidotes.”

Aurin tapped his satchel. “Orbs aplenty,” he said. “I’m going for utility over healing.”

Kyle nodded. “I’ve got a secret weapon that I’ve been saving for whenever I made a real return to the tower, but now’s as good a time as any to use it.”

“What is it?” asked Aurin.

“That’s top secret.”

“Agh, why be like that now?”

Knot shook his head. “The bickering can wait until you’re out of my sight,” he said. “Are we all agreed to move on the signal flare from Flaround?”

“Yes, that’s what I told them,” said Gardner.

“We’ve given them a few minutes to heal up as best they can and then we all storm the warzone in sync,” said Jimmy, holding out his tamer glove and summoning his Zenoman and eight other Minakai from the nearby.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“You all ready?” Aurin asked his team, who agreed in unison. “Shamtile, Steambot and Sunny, you’re all to wait here until summoned.”

“Likewise for you three,” said Luna to Innogon, Frocean and Angree as they marched through the gate along with the rest of her team.

Aurin looked around at his friends, allies and Minakai. He was strangely at peace, even with the odds stacked against them, even with the high stakes on the line. He knew that he had many that he could count on, both in the tower and out of the tower; he was truly blessed.

Gardner checked his watch. “Everyone ready?”

“Ready,” said Emily with her sole Minakai by her side; her Petalcub.

Everyone else agreed and they all made their way down the path with their army of Minakai beside them. There was dead silence amongst the tamers, but the Minakai made quite the racket as they stomped, hopped and thudded along. Zodiac would hear them coming if they moved too far, but no doubt they would not budge from their guard position outside the tower.

“Wait,” said Gardner, as they reached the fork that divided the path between the tower and Hazelton. “They should be here any second.”

Aurin watched the path, and true enough, a large group of tamers marched up. Some continued towards them, others spread themselves into the forest to attack the Zodiac Squad from other angles. There were many tamers here to help that he recognised from past tournaments and even the Palace Royale that now felt like a lifetime away when it had barely been two months.

He spotted Eclare, who winked at him much to Luna’s usual chagrin. Bentley stood proudly with his team. The twins, Harley and Marley, looked ready to go. Everyone had a look of determination upon their faces, knowing that they were no longer fighting for fun, but for the protection of their town and the world beyond.

Knot kept an eye on his watch for a moment and held a hand up to tell is Flaround to wait. “Three,” he said at last, once the tamers were all ready. “Two. One.”

“Here we go,” said Kyle as Knot’s Flaround spat roaring fireball into the sky.

The tamers charged in with their Minakai leading the way. Aurin, Luna and Kyle hung back with Dolissile as they had planned, wanting to avoid the brunt of the attack so that they could storm past the Zodiac Squad while they were distracted.

The cacophony of the huge battle reached their ears immediately. The Zodiac Squad barked orders at their Minakai as the tamers of Hazelton and their teams rushed out to meet them. After a few seconds, Aurin knew it was time.

“Let’s go!” he called to Luna, Kyle and Dolissile.

Aurin grabbed onto Dolissile’s top fin, Luna to his left and Kyle to his right. Everyone held tight as Dolissile sped forwards, pulling them with him. He tore through the crowd, forcing Virgo to leap out of the way as the cybernetic dolphin charged.

“Stop them!” called Damien, sending his Hoofreeti towards them, but the goat demon was clobbered by the raging fists of both Aurin and Jimmy’s Zenoman.

“Doripper!” ordered Pisces, but Luna’s team rushed to meet the two large fish, led by Luna’s own Doripper.

Aurin caught a glimpse of Emily and her Petalcub fighting against a girl in a Zodiac uniform and her Chlost. He knew immediately that it was Hannah. Emily had a look of fury in her face, a look that Aurin had never seen on her face before.

Dolissile stopped abruptly by the door to the tower as Aurin’s team rushed over to form a wall. Aurin retrieved his key and released the doors to Harmony Tower, which opened and revealed the swirling vortex that sought to pull them in.

“No, you don’t!” yelled Virgo, leaping past Aurin’s Minakai with a lightning crystal in his hand.

As he unleashed the spell, a shockwave from Dolissile flung him backwards, sending the spell careening off into the sky. Aurin, Luna and Kyle took a final look at the Hazelton tamers defending them before they were sucked through the portal and onto the first floor of the tower.

They all landed firmly on their feet, the jolt from being transported into the tower having not affected them for some time. Now was the time to prove themselves and how much they had learned about tackling the challenges of the tower. It would be a difficult run, but they knew how important it was to reach Taurus. They could not let their town down.

“That’s the easy part over,” said Aurin, summoning Shamtile. “Now to find Taurus.”

Luna and Kyle holding off on summoning their own Minakai for the time being.

“Let’s not waste time,” said Kyle.

Aurin and Shamtile led the way across the white and black chessboard-patterned tiles, seeking the elevator to the first floor as quickly as possible. There would no doubt be Zodiac members coming to stop them soon but, if they were lucky, they would not be in the same instance on this first floor.

Small, weak Minakai spawned as the quartet rushed through the floor, but Shamtile knocked each of them away with a single thrown rock. The less energy he had to spend early on, the better. The group only slowed down upon reaching the various rooms, terrified of setting off traps; that would be devastating this early into the run.

It was a mere two minutes before they found the elevator to the second floor. Aurin, Luna and Kyle placed their hands upon the blue orb and felt themselves being dragged upwards through the dimensional magic of the elevator. They appeared on the second floor, the minor nuisance of the first floor now behind them.

“Well, well,” came a man’s voice.

“Look who’s come to visit us,” said a woman.

The two stood before the party, decked out in full Zodiac gear with menacing smirks on their faces. With them, stood a Vinewolf and a Flaround, both Minakai looking like they wanted revenge. Aurin and Luna recognised the Zodiac members as the same tamers they had faced when they first entered the tower together.