Kyle stood facing Scorpio with his Snowlem by his side who was, in turn, facing Sandsting. The earth elemental scorpion’s fangs were as sharp as it’s pointed, spear-like tail. Its six eyes were filled with malice as it stared directly at Snowlem, whose coal eyes showed little emotion.

“I can’t believe you simply threw away an Orna Berry,” said Scorpio, shrugging and shaking his head with a look of bemusement on his face.

“It won’t go to waste,” said Kyle calmly. “Aurin will make sure that your buddies won’t reach the top floor.”

“You seem awfully confident about that, Kyle. I don’t think you realise just who and what it is you’re dealing with.”

“I think it’s you who and the rest of your little troupe that don’t realise who you’re dealing with. Alone, we’re formidable tamers, but together…well, we’re an unstoppable force. And we have many friends and allies on the outside who will help us dismantle your entire organisation.”

“It doesn’t seem to have worked so far, does it?” asked Scorpio, his face contorted into a sneer.

“We frighten you,” said Kyle. “It’s why Virgo and Taurus were trying to sway Aurin, they want him on your side of things, no matter how much they deny it. It’s why your former friends, Sagittarius and Libra, tried to burn down my ranch. It’s why Leo always has it out for Aurin, and it’s why your entire hand was forced early and you’re in this tower right now.”

“It would be wrong of us not to fear our enemies somewhat. To not have a healthy dose of fear would mean we would be lulled into complacency. It happened before and it cost us our old warehouse…I like that warehouse. Now we’ve been forced underground, but even that has been disrupted. Not that it matters anymore considering the boss man is on the way to the top.”

“So, what happens after?” asked Kyle. “Let’s say your plan succeeds. What happens next?”

Scorpio laughed. “Then our purpose has been fulfilled…at least, here.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Curious things, aren’t they? Monster towers. Such bizarre and fascinating structures. Do you know how they came to be?”

“Your crew believes it was some old wizard…Dorian the Wise?”

“Doran the Reclusive,” said Scorpio. “And no, Doran the Reclusive did not build the towers. He was the one who was forced to open the first portals to other dimensions.”

“Ah yes,” said Kyle, remembering what Aurin had told him. “By the Rift Seekers, am I right? You’re their spiritual successors, aren’t you?”

“Indeed,” said Scorpio, patting his Sandsting’s back. “But I think I’ve let you stall me for long enough.”

“Would you look at that,” said Kyle, shaking his head. “You were meant to stall us and I ended up stalling you. Funny how our conversation just flowed so naturally.”

Scorpio smiled. “Well, I’m afraid that our conversation has come to an end.”

Sandsting scuttled forward and Snowlem hurled a large icicle at the sinister arachnid. It slammed its tail into the icicle, smashing it to pieces before lunging at Snowlem with its pincers and clipping his wooden arm. Had he been at full strength, Snowlem would have avoided the attack with ease, but he was exhausted after surviving the thirty-six previous floors. Knowing this, Kyle had to find a way to stall or Scorpio may still have time to reach Aurin.

“Snowlem,” he said, “use your ice fist technique.”

Snowlem coated his spindly hands in blocks of ice and slammed one into Sandsting’s back. As the Minakai crumped, he punched it in the back with his other icy hand, making a gruesome crunch on the arachnid’s sandy shell, but it was still in the fight.

Sandsting flicked its tail and a stalactite appeared above Snowlem. He raised his hands and blocked it, but he left his body open. Sandsting spun around and jabbed Snowlem through the neck with its pointed tail, upon which, the snowman dropped to the ground in defeat.

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“A good effort, my friend,” said Kyle, watching Snowlem vanish in an icy light. “Wingbloom…”

The tamer held out his glove and his air-elemental winged plant appeared before him.

“So, you’ve brought your best,” said Scorpio. “I look forward to seeing what it can do.”

“He can do a lot,” said Kyle. “Wing, we’re on that floor. Make sure you give it your all. She’ll be watching.”

Wingbloom cawed proudly and whipped up a razor-sharp wind. Sandsting encased its body in stone, weighing it down so that it wouldn’t blow away and shielding itself from the cutting wind.

“Perfect,” muttered Kyle with a faint smile, as Scorpio realised his mistake.

“Throw off the armour!” he called, but it was too late.

Wingbloom propelled himself forward towards the immobilised Minakai and grabbed it with his talons. He twirled in midair and released Sandsting, whose second mistake was discarding the cumbersome armour rather than continuing to use it as a shield. The scorpion slammed into the tower wall and Wingbloom soared towards it, ramming into it with his sharp beak, piercing its shell and almost breaking its back.

“A foolish error on my part,” said Scorpio, shaking his head and holding up his tamer glove as Sandsting was ejected from the tower, “but I am not finished. Steelsting, you’re up.”

“Another scorpion, Scorpio?” asked Kyle as a metallic scorpion, almost identical to Sandsting appeared. “That’s a little on the nose, isn’t it?”

While Sandsting looked conniving, Steelsting looked downright cold. Its red eyes shone brightly on its black metal body where a yellow line ran down the centre of its segmented back.

“If you can’t have fun with your Zodiac theme, what’s even the point?” shrugged Scorpio. “Attack!”

Kyle pointed straight at Steelsting. “Wingbloom, finish this battle,” he said.

Wingbloom charged towards his opponent, clawing at the metal scorpion as it parried and blocked with its knife-like tail. When Wingbloom tried to back away, Steelsting flung shrapnel at it. When Steelsting tried to retreat, Wingbloom’s mighty vortex pulled it back. The two were matching each other’s techniques, finding ways to keep each other locked in battle whenever it was to their advantage.

Scorpio pulled out an orange crystal and unleashed the spell within, striking Wingbloom with a powerful fireball and knocking the winged plant to the ground, where Steelsting pieced him with its stinger.

“That was a dirty move,” said Kyle angrily.

“Whatever it takes,” shrugged Scorpio.

“If you say so,” said Kyle, retrieving a turquoise crystal of his own and pointing it at Steelsting as it was about to deal the finishing blow to Wingbloom.

Kyle’s spell was unleashed and Steelsting froze in place, unable to move a muscle. He was locked in time, completely paralysed and unaware by the spell from Kyle’s cosmic crystal.

“Well,” said Scorpio, mildly amused, “that’s quite the trick.”

“My secret weapon,” said Kyle as the crystal broke down into dust and fell between his fingers. “I had hoped to save it for a cosmic elemental, but this will have to do. In hindsight, perhaps I should have given it to Aurin instead of the Orna Berry, but at least it’s keeping you off his back.”

Wingbloom climbed back onto his feet, badly injured by Steelsting’s stinger. He was just about holding on. He beat his wings and took to the air, where he flipped himself forward and pirouetted, drilling his beak into the frozen Steelsting’s back. He grabbed it in his talons and flung the scorpion against the wall. As he charged after it, he lost consciousness, too injured to carry on, but his body collided with Steelsting as he fell. The two Minakai vanished from the tower within seconds of each other.

“You lose,” said Kyle.

“So do you,” said Scorpio.

The two tamers were ejected from the tower together and the Zodiac elite could no longer hunt Aurin to delay him from reaching Taurus. Kyle landed on the grass outside the tower, pleased that he had played his part.

Gardner rushed up to him as the hard-fought battle against the Zodiac members continued into the night. “What happened?” he asked. “Where are they?”

“They’re still fighting,” said Kyle. “Have you got my spare tamer glove?”

Gardner nodded and tossed Kyle his tamer glove where he had five summoning stones set. He slid his hand into it and held it high. Even if he couldn’t continue the fight in Harmony Tower, he was ready to continue the fight outside.

*

“I hope Kyle’s alright,” said Luna as she and Aurin landed on the thirty-eighth floor.

“He’ll be fine,” said Aurin. “Just remember to tell him that we broke his highest floor record.

“That’s what you’re thinking about now?”

“I’d rather think about that than think he’s being beaten around by a Zodiac elite.”

“That’s a good point.”

“Let’s make sure his sacrifice isn’t in vain,” said Aurin, clenching his fists.

“I’m going to choose to believe he’ll catch up to us soon.”

The two tamers and their Minakai continued their push through the tower, unwilling to settle for any more delays. Surely there would be no more Zodiac Squad members between them and Taurus now? Scorpio was there alone and the lone grunt below was so weakened by her journey that she didn’t have a chance against Shamtile.

Aurin and Luna fought bravely through the thirty-eighth floor, knowing that they were giving it their all. It wasn’t just their friends depending on them, it wasn’t even just the town of Hazelton or the great nation of Bretonia, it was the whole world. This was not simply an isolated Minakai den like the one Tobias had shown Aurin, it was the unbounding of an entire tower. If the Zodiac Squad were to succeed in their plan, the ripples would be felt across the entire planet and they couldn’t let that happen; they wouldn’t let that happen.