“Up you get,” said Kyle, prodding Aurin with his foot. “You’ve had your five hours.”

“Eurgh,” grunted Aurin, shimmying further along the sofa and making Luna jolt awake—she had been sleeping with her head on his shoulder.

“I was so comfy,” said Luna.

“Sorry,” said Aurin without opening his eyes.

“Need I remind you that we’ve got wild Minakai still running wild and Zodiac members to track down?” asked Kyle. “Just because Capricorn has been apprehended doesn’t mean the Zodiac Squad aren’t still a threat. If anything, they’re probably more resolute than ever.”

“I’m getting up, I’m getting up,” groaned Aurin, his body aching all over. In the space of a day, he had infiltrated the Zodiac Squad’s base, climbed to the top of Harmony Tower, defended the ranch from wild Minakai and helped clear out the Minakai that had wandered into Hazelton, but his job was far from done yet.

He stood up and pulled Luna to her feet, holding onto her before she slumped back onto the sofa.

“If I’m getting up, so are you,” he told her half-jokingly.

“Can’t argue with that,” she said, running her hands through her red hair so that it sat straight, then held pulled out her headband so that it was fixed perfectly neat once again.

“Any word from Detective Knot?” Aurin asked Kyle.

“I’m just off the phone with him,” said Kyle. “He pulled an all-nighter to make sure everybody in town knew exactly what to do. The streets are cleared for now and there are tamers posted outside the tower, but the surrounding area is still chaotic and a lot of the Minakai have been defending the ranch while you two slept.”

“Did you sleep?” Luna asked.

“I got about three hours,” said Kyle.

“Rest for a bit and we’ll keep an eye on things outside,” said Aurin. “It’s the least we can do.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“At least make yourself some breakfast.”

Kyle nodded. “Alright, I’ll do that.”

“Perfect,” said Aurin. “While you’re doing that, make extra for the pair of us.”

“You little punk,” said Kyle, digging Aurin in the arm while Aurin laughed heartily.

“Watch it,” said Aurin, rubbing his arm and still laughing. “That’s my tamer glove arm.”

Kyle headed into the kitchen to make breakfast while Luna and Aurin put on their winter jackets and walked outside. Snow had fallen during the brief period they were asleep, coating the ranch in glistening white. If you hadn’t known something was wrong, it would have been a very pleasant morning.

“Any ideas how we find Hannah?” asked Aurin.

“First things first,” replied Luna, “we’re going to try her house. Failing that, her dad’s workplace. If we still have no joy, then we’ll see if anyone is lurking around the Zodiac Squad base underneath Hazelton Stadium.”

“What are the chances we can make Damien talk?”

“Without torturing him, slim.”

“What if we torture him a little?”

“Aurin!”

“I’m just joking,” said Aurin, half-heartedly. “There haven’t been any casualties yet, but more than enough townsfolk have been injured.”

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Luna nodded solemnly. “Speaking of, did Gardner mention to you that Eclare is going to be alright?”

“No, he didn’t, but that’s good news. She’s lucky considering how dangerous those toxic spores were. At least being crushed under a giant rock or impaled by an icicle is quick.”

“Lovely…”

“I’m just saying,” shrugged Aurin.

“No, I know. I get your point, but I’d rather not think about people I know being killed by Minakai. I’d rather focus on how we make the situation better.”

“Simple,” said Aurin, holding up his tamer glove and summoning Chopchop, Zenoman and Budescent to his side. “We take out as many of the roamers as we can until we’ve had breakfast, then we head into town and get back to the plan. Find Hannah and make her lead us to the cosmic Minakai or their summoning stones.”

“Sounds good,” said Luna, holding up her own tamer glove and summoning Rabbafat, Dogember and Feathrus.

The two wandered the perimeter of the ranch, fighting the Minakai that dared come too close. Many of them were skulking by the treeline, some were hiding in the river and others poked their heads out from underground. While Aurin and Luna kept the surrounding grounds safe, the Minakai inside the pens were protected by Kyle’s army of Frogre.

“Breakfast!” called the rancher after about half an hour—much longer than it normally took him to cook.

Aurin and Luna headed inside, leaving the Minakai to continue keeping watch. As soon as they stepped inside the house, the beautiful aroma of cooked meats and fried breads filled their nostrils. Kyle had prepared a full Bretonian breakfast of sausages, eggs, black pudding, bacon, pancakes, soda bread, grilled tomatoes and a steaming kettle of tea.

“You pulled out all the stops this morning,” said Luna, eagerly sitting down at the table.

“I have to admit,” said Aurin, “it looks great, Kyle.”

“Don’t get used to it,” joked the rancher. “Back to sausages, eggs and toast tomorrow. This is to get us energised for the day ahead. I don’t plan on sleeping until we set things back in order.”

“Then eat up,” said Aurin, pouring tea for everyone.

The three friends enjoyed the delicious meal together, briefly forgetting the troubles of the town. Much like the snow outside, it reminded them that even when there was no shortage of strife, there was still something to enjoy; something good. Even something as simple as a meal with friends that could keep them going through the tough times.

“I couldn’t eat another bite,” said Luna, flopping her head onto the table.

“Alright,” said Aurin, grabbing her plate and dumping the rest of her breakfast onto his. He wolfed it down in seconds as Kyle looked on in disgust.

“You’re an animal,” he said.

“Yep,” said Aurin proudly.

After finishing the tea and quickly cleaning things up, the trio headed outside. The sun was nearing its peak and snow was falling once again, resting on everyone’s faces as they looked to the sky. The top of Harmony Tower caught Aurin’s eye.

“Kyle,” he said, “what is meant to be at the top of the tower?”

“You’ve been there and I haven’t,” said the rancher, “so you tell me.”

“I did already. There was that glowing, golden light that appeared on the podium. It was the shape of an egg, but it never materialised into a physical form.”

“Then there’s your answer.”

“There are Minakai eggs at the top?”

Kyle shrugged, but it was clear that he knew more than he was letting on.

Aurin’s gaze was still fixated on the top of the tower. “Fine, don’t tell me. I’ll find out again before too long.”

“We’ve proven how high we can climb once,” said Luna with a smile. “Once all of this is over, we’ll be able to do it again. We’ll see for ourselves what the top of a monster tower is truly meant to be like without Zodiac interference.”

There was a loud, distorted roar that rippled through the air. Aurin recognised that roar of pain, having heard it only hours ago.

“What was that?” asked Luna, looking terrified.

“It sounded like a Zeera,” said Kyle, “but not any Zeera I’ve ever heard. There was something...off.”

“It’s breaking through,” said Aurin, his face now as white as the snow. “It’s in agony and it’s angry.”

“You don’t mean that was the creature you heard from inside the portal?” asked Luna.

“That’s it alright.”

“The tower guardian,” muttered Kyle.

“What?”

“The tower guardian is a mighty Minakai that appears at the top of a tower once you reach the top floor. It’s the final challenge before you can truly have claimed to conquered a monster tower. Many of the tamers who battle their way to the top think they’ve finished the job, but the tower guardian defeats them and sends them right back to square one.”

“What do we do?” asked Luna.

Aurin shook his head. “I don’t know, but I get the feeling that it isn’t going to be too pleased with the Zodiac Squad forcing it back through the portal.”

There was a sudden flash of red lightning, but much brighter and more powerful than any before. Towering over the trees was a giant dinosaur with grey, stone-like scales, a purple horn protruding from the top of its nose with similar purple spikes running down its back. It bore a purple diamond at the top of its chest which led to a blue, segmented underbelly that ran down its torso. Its claws were long and sharp, large enough to cleave a tree in half effortlessly. The Zeera’s expression was that of pure malice. It wanted revenge for being trapped in limbo between worlds and now it was free to seek it.

“What in the…” muttered Luna before trailing off. She had never witnessed a Minakai this large before; it must have been at least fifty feet tall.

“What are we waiting for?” asked Aurin, running towards the trees. “All hands on deck until that thing is taken out!”