“Let’s hear it for the winner of the National Championships,” called Gardner, grabbing Aurin’s wrist and holding it high. “All the way from Buckstone, but posing as a Hazeltonian…it’s Aurin!”

  Everyone laughed as they clapped for Aurin, even Shamtile and Innogon who were plenty clued in about this particular human social interaction. It was a beautiful day in Baxter Park and they’d retreated to a shaded corner, largely to avoid the hundreds of people who had stopped Aurin to congratulate him on the way here. It was a gesture that Aurin appreciated, but it had taken him over two hours to get to the park and another half hour to walk through it.

  “Fancy training to prepare for tomorrow’s big showdown with Tobias?” said Jimmy, holding up his tamer glove. “I’ll go easy on you.”

  “I’ve trained enough,” said Aurin, shaking his head. “But thank you.”

  “I wonder what life will be like for you as a celebrity?” asked Emily, pushing her tongue into her cheek. “Does that mean that we won’t be able to hang out anymore?”

  “I think that after the first week back in Hazelton, things will ease off,” said Kyle, but Aurin avoided eye contact with him, which didn’t go unnoticed. “What?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” said Aurin, not wanting to talk about what was going through his head. “There’s just…it’s…well, everything is piling on top right now and I just want to be able to take some time away from the crowds before the match.”

  “Just think,” said Luna, grabbing Aurin’s shoulders. “Tomorrow, you could be the national champion!”

  “What part of piling on don’t you understand?” chuckled Kyle, leaving Luna looking guilty. She suddenly excused herself as her phone started ringing.

  “Get it off your chest, mate,” said Gardner, slapping Aurin on the back. “How’re you feeling about tomorrow? No judgement here, my friend.”

  “I’m feeling like I’ve accomplished what I need to accomplish here,” said Aurin, smiling and nodding slowly. “I’d love to defeat Tobias, don’t get me wrong, but to be able to stand and face him is exactly what I wanted. I doubt I’ll win, and if I do, it won’t be an easy match, but I’ve made myself proud in getting here. It also shows him that him putting faith in me and taking the time to train me wasn’t just wasted effort.”

  “He saw something in you,” said Kyle. “He’s a good judge of character, that much is certain. Although, Luna obviously saw it first or she wouldn’t have clung to you from the moment she rescued your unconscious self from outside the tower.”

  “Yes, thank you for reminding of that embarrassing first run,” muttered Aurin.

  “Where’d she go anyway?” asked Emily, looking towards the path.

  “Over there,” said Jimmy, pointing past a small hill where her fiery red hair was bobbing up and town as she walked alongside a tall man with sandy blonde hair that was an identical shade to Aurin’s.

  “No…” said Aurin, his jaw dropping. “Jaden?”

  Aurin stood up and ran across the grass to the man beside Luna, who was smiling brightly at the sight of the young tamer running towards him.

  “Afternoon, little brother,” said Jaden pleasantly as Aurin embraced him. “Been up to much lately?”

  “Nah, keeping to myself…you know how it is,” said Aurin through his laughter. “When did you come home?”

  “Arrived this morning, but didn’t want to bombard you right after the battle,” said Jaden. “I thought Luna wouldn’t mind helping me out and keep it secret until you were away from the furore.”

  “Do mum and dad know?”

  “Yep,” said Luna. “How do you think we got in contact? We’re all going out to dinner tonight.”

  “Booked somewhere nice and private, tiny,” said Jaden, ruffling Aurin’s hair.

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  “Tiny?” giggled Luna. “You’re almost the same height.”

  “Nicknames can stick for…well, a lifetime,” chuckled Jaden. “Feel like introducing me to your friends over there? Is the guy that’s dad age Shamtile? What about the blue drake? That must be Kyle.”

  “Shut up,” said Aurin with a guffaw, walking his brother over to the small crowd who were watching with great intrigue.

  “My goodness, you look so alike!” squealed Emily. “Except Aurin is shorter…and younger…”

  “You’ve just described how many siblings operate, Em,” said Jimmy, patting her gently on the back of the hand.

  “I’m a better tamer than him,” said Jaden, shaking everyone’s hand in turn and then flopping down on the grass as Aurin scowled. “You should see some of my team, isn’t that right, little brother?”

  “It’s an impressive team,” Aurin admitted.

  “Who’s your star Minakai then?” asked Gardner.

  Jaden held up his tamer glove and smiled, summoning a huge Minakai that could only be described as an undead sasquatch. Everyone looked on in awe except for Kyle who nodded knowingly, recognising the hulking creature as an Unbominable.

  *

  Aurin walked out of his hotel room around midnight, taking the elevator downstairs and passing through the quiet lobby. The streets of Ludonia were not abandoned, but they were much quieter than they would have been even two hours prior. He held up his hand and summoned Shamtile to his side.

  “Feeling alright, mate?” Aurin asked him.

  “Gurrragh!” squealed Shamtile, rubbing his elbow.

  “Getting in some last-minute training with Zeera, eh? Better not tire yourself out, my friend, or we’ll be in for a world of trouble tomorrow. I want you at full strength for the battle.”

  Shamtile screeched in agreement, drawing the attention of a couple walking along arm in arm.

  Aurin and his favourite Minakai strolled through the town, enjoying the peace and quiet before heading to the waterfront pathway overlooking the Rosen River. He found a spot that was quiet, well out of the way of the hotels and beyond Spire Bridge which was still seeing plenty of traffic, even in the earliest hours of the morning.

  “Shall we bring out the rest of the team?” Aurin asked, at which Shamtile nodded and thumped his fists into the air.

  Aurin summoned Spikruption, Dolissile, Leonite, Desparee, Steambot, Skrow, Gorunze, Chopchop, Zenoman, Sunny, Glacibot, Lycavine, Quetzel, Zeera and, his newest addition, Breminia. The entirety of his team looked confused as to why they had all been summoned at this hour, but most of them knew it was because of the day ahead.

  “I hope I didn’t wake all of you up,” said Aurin, prompting Spikruption to snort in annoyance. “Sorry about that, Spike.”

  The red dinosaur let out a low growl of forgiveness.

  “I just wanted to say to you all,” he began before looking to Sunny and then Breminia, “even the two of you who haven’t had the chance to battle in this tournament, that I’m grateful for everything you’ve done. We’ve got the biggest and toughest battle of our lives ahead of us tomorrow. A battle that may even prove a greater challenge than when Zeera’s previous incarnation was terrorising Hazelton.”

  Zeera scoffed as though to say that it had nothing to do with him, but Aurin knew that already.

  “I want the battle to be a good one. You’ve all earned your places amongst the best Minakai in the country, the toughest and most dedicated Minakai in the country. Every last scratch, bruise…or worse, isn’t lost on me. It takes a great deal of loyalty to do that for someone, even a tamer that you’re bound to. I want to thank you all for that and promise you that no matter the outcome tomorrow, I will strive to prove to you that I am as faithful to you as you all are to me.”

  Shamtile let out a small sniff as though he was crying, prompting Dolissile to nudge him in a rare act of emotion for one of his teammates. Desparee, however, simply burst into tears as he always did.

  “I feel the need to single out Sunny, who has taken great care of all of you back at the ranch after every battle. While she may have missed out on fighting herself, something I’m sure she’s fine with, she has been a part of every round of this tournament in her own way.”

  Sunny yipped and squeaked in excitement as the fluffy egg spun around in the air while being praised by her allies. The healing was nothing to her, even the worse injuries sustained by her comrades. It was her duty to serve them and she enjoyed doing it.

  Aurin walked up to Zeera and looked up into the dinosaur’s cold eyes. “I was hesitant to unleash you in the tournament, but you showed me that you can be trusted. Taking on a cosmic elemental like Abysarex, even after Spikruption had done his part, was not an easy ask of you.”

  Zeera reached out and shoved Aurin, knocking his tamer to the ground, but did so with a smile on his face. Shamtile shook his fist angrily, but let it go upon seeing that Aurin was laughing. The young tamer stood up and dusted himself off.

  “While I haven’t settled on tomorrow’s lineup yet, know that I’ve given it careful consideration. Anyone left out is not forgotten as you’ve all trained together and worked together to enhance each other’s strengths. Every one of you has bolstered my own resolve and, because of this, you’re all part of this battle no matter who is fighting.”

  Aurin walked up to Breminia, who was floating there silently, having yet to meet most of her teammates.

  “Breminia,” said Aurin, watching her as her three rings spun around her waist and legs. “You’re completely untested in battle, but I have no doubt that you have profound strength.”

  Her three sapphires eyes sparkled in the moonlight as the rest of the team watched her intently.

  “If I were to ask you to battle, would you serve me as the others do?”

  With an echoing, ethereal call, Breminia nodded her golden head.

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