Spikruption’s flaming attack was snuffed out quickly as the red dinosaur was smacked repeatedly with large boulders courtesy of Vera’s Shamasaur. The match-up was not going well for Aurin. In melee range, Spikruption was holding his own, but otherwise the elemental disadvantage the fire Minakai had to the earth Minakai was too much to withstand.

Aurin punched a fist into his right palm. “Pull it together,” he said, watching Spikruption be pummelled by the barrage of stone.

“Raaaargh!” roared the dinosaur as it succumbed to the attacks, unable to continue the fight any longer.

Aurin had only a single Minakai left, while Vera had her Shamasaur and another in reserve. Aurin knew he had to finish the Shamasaur while it was tired from all of the energy it exerted finishing off Spikruption.

“Full speed ahead!” he yelled, summoning Dolissile to the battlefield.

The cybernetic dolphin rocketed forwards, smashing into the Shamasaur’s stomach and knocking it back a dozen metres.

“Aurin’s Dolissile never fails to hit hard!” cried the announcer. “Wait…it’s not over yet!”

Aurin’s heart sank as the Shamasaur rolled itself backwards and back to its feet. It waved its arms and conjured a large stone bat, beckoning Dolissile forward. Aurin had no doubt now that using a Shamasaur against him wasn’t a gimmick to catch him off guard, Vera had trained it well and it would not be so easily struck down. He had to think of a plan fast.

Dolissile charged forwards, hoping to outspeed the swing of the Shamasaur, but as he approached a wall of rock appeared with the stomp of Shamasaur’s foot. Dolissile crashed through it, killing his momentum and the masked dinosaur swung the bat with mighty force. Aurin’s Minakai was knocked across the field where it hit the dirt and rolled over repeatedly until slowing to a halt.

Luna sat in the stands, clutching Innogon so tightly that he began to screech. “I’m sorry, Inno,” she said, releasing the gasping Minakai. “I don’t know if I can watch anymore. It’s not looking too good, is it?”

Innogon began making a bizarre garbling noise and wobbling his body. A few others in the crowd turned to look at him as he continued to garble and shake. Suddenly, Luna realised what he was trying to say.

“I hope Aurin does that,” she said, nodding fervently. “Now please stop drawing so much attention to us.”

Back on the battlefield, Aurin was gritting his teeth as Dolissile rose up and hovered above the ground once again. The dolphin hurriedly dashed out of the way as a large rock closed in, almost crushing him.

“I need to find a way to get close enough,” muttered Aurin, and it suddenly dawned on him how he was missing the obvious tactic. “Dolissile, charge straight through!” he ordered.

Dolissile burst forwards as more rocks were fired at him. He weaved through a few of them and blasted through others, but it was starting to hinder him too much. His momentum was slowing and the Shamasaur was readying itself again. Vera smiled, thinking that Aurin’s final move of the battle was this foolish tactic.

“Full strength pulse!” yelled Aurin.

A wave of intense energy burst from Dolissile, shattering all the rocks in mid-air and knocking the Shamasaur backwards. It just managed to remain standing upright, but that was the worst thing it could have done. Dolissile sped up and smashed into the dinosaur’s mask.

Shamasaur was flung against the back wall of the battlefield and its mask was cracked down the middle. It reached a large hand up, felt its mask and then gasped as it fell limp. It couldn’t battle any longer.

“And we are evened up once again,” called the announcer. “What’s Vera got hiding on her bench? Could her final Minakai turn the tide for the last showdown of the battle?”

Aurin breathed deep as Dolissile retreated to his side of the battlefield. The poor cyborg was tired from the pulse, but Aurin was more annoyed at himself for not thinking of it sooner. He knew he wasn’t battling up to standard and things were far too close for his liking.

“We’re not through just yet,” Vera warned, summoning her final Minakai.

In a flash of purple light, an Electrout appeared. It was a smooth teal fish with a cheerful expression, but its most notable feature was the two antennae protruding from the top of its head and in between them was a crackling stream of lightning. It bounced around on the field, making Aurin laugh.

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The silly fish wouldn’t be able to battle as effectively on dry land. This was his chance. “Dolissile, shrapnel!” he ordered.

Dolissile fired sharp scraps of metal at the fish, but it zapped each of them out of the air with a swift lightning strike. It was fast. He was going to have to get in close again, but that was Dolissile’s specialty.

The dolphin burst forward and the Electrout simply sat there waiting. As soon as Dolissile was a few feet away, it zapped the ground and threw itself upwards as Dolissile skidded to a halt.

“Urgh,” grunted Aurin, clenching his fists.

The Electrout zapped Dolissile as he turned around, forcing the stoic Minakai backwards. It zapped over and over again, not giving him a chance to recover.

“What’s he supposed to do now?” asked Luna, observing the uncomfortable site below. “Any other great strategies, Inno?”

Innogon had stopped paying attention and had taken to playing with his toes. He glanced at Luna when she spoke to him, gave a small roar, then returned to his fidgeting.

“I wish you could focus out of battle as much as you do in battle,” she sighed, scratching the fin atop his head.

Aurin was wincing with each zap of lightning that Dolissile took. There was only one thing left that he could think of. He had not yet perfected the technique with Dolissile, but what choice did he have? It was going to be a messy win if he won but the other option was losing.

He sighed, closed his eyes for a moment and then called to his Minakai. “Detonate!”

Vera’s eyes opened wide with horror as Dolissile turned red momentarily. An explosion erupted from Aurin’s Minakai, the powerful concussive blast launching both Dolissile and Electrout into the sky and across the battlefield. Both Minakai hit the ground forcefully and lay still.

“It looks like Aurin’s final gambit gives us a double kno—” began the announcer. “Wait a minute.”

Dolissile wiggled his tail and moved a fin up and down for a few seconds before opening his eyes. It was a look that Aurin had never seen on his face before, one of pain, disappointment, and defeat—not defeat because he had lost but defeat because of what he had been forced to do. The guilt hit Aurin hard as Dolissile dragged itself along the ground towards his tamer.

“The battle has been decided!” called the announcer. “Aurin has won by just the skin of his teeth. What an exciting conclusion, folks.”

The crowd cheered for him, none of them particularly caring how Aurin had won. For them, the thrill of seeing such an explosive end had made the match all the better. Nobody cared more than Aurin about how he had won. Even Vera was slowly clapping.

Aurin walked over to his Minakai and knelt beside him, gently caressing the metal plates of his back. “I’m sorry I made you do that,” he said quietly. “I’ll send you back to Kyle right away.”

Dolissile vanished in a flash of silvery light and Aurin approached Vera. “You battle well,” he said to her, at which she smiled.

“Thank you,” she said. “I didn’t see the detonation coming. It worked, but I think you need to work on that technique more.”

“You’re right about that,” Aurin replied, rubbing the back of his neck. He headed back into the waiting room as the final cheers echoed in his ear.

Luna watched him depart, one of very few to realise just how bad he felt at this victory. She didn’t need to see his face; she knew that making one of his Minakai grievously injure himself for a win was not something he took any pride in. Even when they ran out of charges in their Orbs of Return in the tower, he would refuse to sacrifice his Minakai to escape. He would fight until he couldn’t any longer.

Aurin sat down in the empty waiting room. He thought about the entire battle and everything that had happened so far this tournament, but thinking was doing him no good. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a brown summoning stone. He closed his eyes and summoned Shamtile into the room.

The masked lizard—much smaller than his evolved form—lay on the ground, having been disturbed during a nap. He sat up and cocked his head in confusion, then gave a warbled yell.

“I know it’s your day off,” Aurin said. “Did you see Dolissile return to the ranch?”

Shamtile nodded his head and waved his arms.

“How does he look?”

“Grawr,” grunted Shamtile, standing up.

“That’s my fault,” said Aurin. “He would have lost and been fine again after some food and rest, but I made him use an unperfected technique; a dangerous one at that.”

Shamtile shrugged his shoulders and spun around.

“I know you don’t mind taking a loss for the team, but I don’t expect you to be out of commission for days afterwards.”

Shamtile bounced up and down, miming putting something under his mask.

“Yes, of course Kyle will have him right as rain again by tomorrow, but that isn’t the point, Shammy. I’ve not been myself since the tournament started. I’m doubting every action I take, I’m missing obvious tactics and I’m injuring my Minakai for a win. I don’t know what I’m even doing here.”

Shamtile pointed to the door.

“Just leave?” Aurin asked. “If I quit now, I’ve injured Dolissile for nothing. I need to see the tournament through, win or lose, but no more irresponsible battling. I need to knuckle down and get my focus back.”

Shamtile pointed at himself and started dancing erratically.

“Yes, I’m definitely going to need you, but if I start making stupid moves I need you to intervene. Do you understand?”

Even with his expression hidden beneath his mask, Aurin could tell that Shamtile couldn’t even comprehend the idea of disobeying direct orders. It was unthinkable of such a well-behaved Minakai to do something like that. Aurin had always considered himself lucky that none of his monsters had even the slightest desire to go rogue.

“I’m going to be as clear as I can be,” said Aurin. “If I tell you to do something and you can think of a better way to win, I want you to do it. Alright?”

Shamtile stared at him for a moment, then screeched while nodding. If Aurin couldn’t start making the right moves, he would have to rely on his Minakai to be able to do that for him.