Aurin led Shamtile, Spikruption, Dolissile, Leonite, and Desparee out the back of Kyle’s vast expanse of land and into the forest that crept up into the mountains. It had rained through the night and been a dull, drizzly morning, but the rain had finally subsided and the afternoon was looking better and brighter as the sun crept from behind the grey clouds.
While the rest of the Minakai were resting after a gruelling morning training session in the miserable conditions, Aurin wanted to bring his five veterans from the first Hazelton tournament out and give them special attention. The Minakai were thrilled at the prospect, even Desparee, who cried tears of joy—at least, Aurin chose to believe they were of joy.
Shamtile was sitting on Spikruption’s back and, try as he might, the long-necked dinosaur could not make his fellow reptile stop pestering him. Dolissile hovered alongside Desparee, who was enjoying the feeling of the damp soil and eager to soak up its nutrients. Leonite meanwhile was not too pleased about his lovely cobalt-blue fur getting covered in mud.
“Come on, lads,” said Aurin, looking over his shoulder, “we’re almost there.”
The tamer and his quintet of monsters emerged into a clearing as the sun revealed its entirety and shone down upon them. Aurin lined his Minakai up and looked proudly at his longest-serving team members.
“You five have proven yourselves to me time and time again, and I couldn’t be happier with your performance so far,” he said as the Minakai—except Dolissile—all looked rather pleased with themselves. “With everything that’s been going on lately outside of our control, you’ve done everything I’ve asked of you and much more. Your loyalty is unquestionable and your skill is immense, so you deserve all the commendations I can give.”
Spikruption roared with pride, shooting a jet of flame into the air and scaring all of the birds from the trees. They scattered, flapping wildly as Leonite licked his fangs, wanting to eat the regular animals for his lunch. Desparee wiped tears of joy from his eyes.
“The reason I’ve brought you all out here today isn’t to spar, but to give you a change of scenery. It feels like you’ve all been cooped up at the ranch for far too long. Outside of Shamtile, none of you really have much chance to leave. So…go ahead, roam free for a while. Do whatever you feel like.”
The Minakai all looked at each other and didn’t move. None of them particularly wanted to roam free and Aurin hadn’t really considered that.
“Alright, so what do you want to do?” he asked them, feeling rather silly.
Shamtile immediately conjured a rock in his hand and lobbed it at Dolissile, hitting the metal-plated dolphin with a clank. He pivoted towards Shamtile and charged forward, knocking the little lizard in the stomach and winding him while Spikruption snorted in amusement.
“You want to keep sparring?” chortled Aurin. “Fine by me. Go wild.”
Needing no further instruction, Aurin’s Minakai all turned on each other. Desparee immediately fired off a nature beam and shot it at Spikruption’s side, who retaliated by scorching the tree-like Minakai with his fiery breath. Leonite pounced upon the still winded Shamtile and scratched the mask lizard who coated himself in armour to defend himself. He was only stopped when Dolissile unleashed a pulse and sent the lion rolling across the dirt.
Shamtile launched himself into the air on a pillar of earth and rained boulders down upon his teammates, who burned, cut and blasted them to pieces as the magical Minakai fell back down to the ground. All four launched attacks at him, but he ducked. Leonite and Dolissile collided with each other while Spikruption’s fire blast exploded against Desparee’s beam.
Shamtile landed and let out a warbled chuckle before freezing and putting his hand on the ground. Aurin knew what that meant. Someone was nearby.
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“Well,” came Frederick’s voice from the treeline. “We just keep running into each other, my friend, don’t we?”
Aurin and his team all turned to look at the former Zodiac Squad member, standing by with his favourite Leonite.
“Make no mistake, Frederick,” said Aurin. “I’m glad you admitted your crimes, but we are not and will never be friends.”
“It was a figure of speech, Aurin,” said Frederick, walking into the clearing with his Leonite following him closely. The greyish-blue lion stared intently at Aurin’s Leonite, who bore his fangs at the sight of his old rival.
“What are you doing here?” Aurin asked.
“I was going to train, but it seems as though you’ve claimed this spot. I would offer to battle you for it, but I don’t think you would stand much of a chance against my Abysarex.”
“Frankly, I’m amazed that he wasn’t forcibly taken from you after what happened at the tower.”
“You think I would simply let one of my Minakai be taken away? I would die before I let that happen. I earned Abysarex’s egg, I was the one who spent countless days getting him in line and I earned his loyalty. Even if someone were to try and take him away, he would simply return to me. To a tamer he knows he can trust to lead him to victory.”
“We will face each other in Ludonia,” said Aurin, his seriousness firmly on his face. “You’ll see that just because you have a cosmic Minakai does not mean that you’re unbeatable.”
“No,” said Frederick, “but I will be able to defeat you. At the Palace Royale, I was not at my full strength and was unable to use Abysarex. You got lucky and I’m going to ensure that, next time, you will see exactly how capable I am. I presume you haven’t learned how to hatch your Zeera yet?”
Aurin didn’t answer and simply stared at Frederick.
“I thought not,” said Frederick with a sneering. “Even if you could hatch it in time, I doubt you will be able to use him to his full potential.”
“I want to ask you something,” said Aurin. “And I would like you to be truthful with me.”
“Alright,” scoffed Frederick.
“Are you still loyal to Taurus?”
“Yes,” said Frederick. “We have had more than a few disagreements, but Taurus was the one who taught me almost everything I know. Missteps aside, he is an incredibly wise man and knows things about Minakai that would put you in an asylum, they are that staggering. The Zodiac Squad may be finished, but I believe that one day humans and Minakai will live side by side and the balance of power will need constantly maintained.”
“Do you believe he’s alive?”
“I do. He’s out there, somewhere. He may not be in our dimension, but he has his Ethruki by his side. He will find a way to survive and, one day, he will return to our world. I have no doubt he will be a stronger and wiser man for it.”
Aurin nodded slowly. “I’ll see you around, Frederick,” he said, walking away and beckoning his team to follow him. “Good luck with your training.”
“Don’t get knocked out of the Hazelton tournament before the quarterfinals. You owe me an official match and Ludonia is the stage.”
Aurin and his Minakai walked away from Frederick and his Leonite, making their way back through the forest to return to the ranch. When they arrived, Kyle was hosing off his boots outside his house.
“You don’t look so happy,” said the rancher, kicking the water from his feet.
“Fredrick showed up,” said Aurin.
“Of course he did,” sighed Kyle. “It’s like he follows you, isn’t it? Has he been humbled by the Zeera Crisis or is he still his usual smug self?”
“The latter.”
“I figured. He seemed uncharacteristically pleasant when we met him outside the stadium. What did he want?”
“He said he was there to train, but I suspect he was there to motivate me.”
“Motivate you?”
Aurin nodded. “He desperately wants to beat me in front of the world, especially after losing in the Palace Royale. I think it was his poor attempt at lighting a fire under me to make sure I make it to Ludonia.”
“And did it light a fire under you?”
“I was already fired up. I’m getting to Ludonia no matter what. This is just another piece of coal thrown on top.”
“So, what’s your plan to deal with his Abysarex? I know you had a chance to test yourself against Tobias’s Mindadam, but not all cosmics are the same and you haven’t had much opportunity since to practise.”
“I’ll find a way to beat him, Kyle,” said Aurin, clenching his fists tightly. “Mark my words. Frederick and his entire team are going down.”
“I believe you,” said Kyle, patting Aurin on the shoulder, “but saying it is one thing and making sure it happens in another. Let’s say you qualify for Ludonia, what will you do to make sure you’re trained up enough?”
“Do you remember that friend of yours you mentioned. Vai, was it?” asked Aurin.
Kyle smiled. “I was hoping you would ask about him. I think he’s the perfect person to help you train once the Hazelton tournament is finished. I’ll give him a call.”