It was late afternoon by the time the train pulled into Hazelton Station and Aurin, Luna, and Kyle were exhausted after their two weeks in Ludonia. Shamtile and Innogon had been bouncing around the carriage excitedly the entire journey back as though they had been on the holiday of a lifetime and were still riding that wave.
“I’m getting more tired just watching you,” said Luna to the two Minakai, yawning and putting her head on Aurin’s shoulder. “Can I sleep for a while?”
“The train stopped about ten seconds ago,” said Kyle, raising an eyebrow. “I need to make sure the ranch isn’t in ruins.”
“Didn’t you travel back three different times while we were away?” asked Aurin, standing up and picking up his suitcase.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean things can’t still go wrong.”
“Fair enough.”
Luna stood up and stretched. “Seems a bit pernickety to me, but I suppose you are a bit pernickety.”
As the trio stepped off the train, Aurin was shocked to see a crowd of people standing there applauding him in the same way they had done for his departure. How they knew he would be on this train, he was not initially sure, but upon seeing Gardner and Jimmy among the sea of faces, he worked it out.
“Why?” Aurin mouthed between chuckles.
Jimmy shrugged and winked, but Gardner shouted over the thunderous applause. “The King of Hazelton deserves a royal welcome, your highness!”
“I really hope King of Hazelton doesn’t stick,” Aurin whispered to Luna, red-faced.
“Saviour of Hazelton stuck, so I wouldn’t fancy your chances,” she replied.
After greeting almost everyone personally and signing more than a few autographs, the crowd eventually dispersed and the trio plus the Minakai made their way through the town and headed towards the ranch. Along the way, Aurin was stopped a couple of times. Even Luna had picked up a couple of fans who wanted to take a photograph with her and Innogon.
“I’m not going to take the lack of attention personally,” joked Kyle as they finally reached the path through the woods.
“If you’d made it to the top eight, perhaps you would have?” said Luna before sticking out her tongue.
“Do you two need reminding of who beat you in the qualifier?”
“Why are you lashing out at me?” asked Aurin. “I didn’t say a word!”
“No, but I know you were seconds away from it,” said Kyle, laughing. “That said, I suspect even in the few weeks between the Hazelton tournament and the championships, you’ve progressed enough to wipe the floor with me.”
“I’ll solo you with my Breminia,” said Aurin right as they passed the fork that led to Harmony Tower.
“Speaking of,” said Kyle, “you did well to keep her a secret. A braggart like you reached the top of the tower and didn’t say a word? You must have found that unbearable.”
“It was tough,” said Aurin, rubbing his neck. “I didn’t even think I’d be able to hatch the egg, just like with Zeera, but there was someone in Ludonia who was able to help me out.”
“Ah!” exclaimed Luna. “That's right. Tobias mentioned Professor Socrates.”
“Yep,” said Aurin. “He said that he was the one who researched the hatching process of a legendary Minakai for Tobias. I asked him if he would help me and he was kind enough to agree. Didn’t even charge me for the help, but I left him four hundred ounces of silver as a thank you. Absolutely worth it, if you ask me.”
Luna looked confused. “You didn’t even use her in the tournament.”
“I know,” said Aurin, chuckling as Shamtile leapt onto his shoulder. “I wanted to give the team I’ve built and who were with me throughout the journey the chance to prove themselves to the world. They earned it and using a powerful Minakai like Breminia wouldn’t have been right. Add to that the fact she had zero training and it would have been a gamble.”
“I think that’s perfectly fair,” said Kyle. “Yes, you conquered the tower and, yes, you were fighting in the big leagues of the tournament, but I know you wouldn’t have felt right if you won by relying on Breminia. It wouldn’t have felt like a real victory to you, would it?”
“No, it wouldn’t,” said Aurin, looking at the tamer glove on his wrist where five of his summoning stones rested.
Shamtile and Innogon ran on ahead as the trio arrived at the ranch and set their suitcases on the porch. Aurin joked that Luna didn’t even live here and Kyle remarked that sometimes it felt like she did while Luna frowned and said that her house wasn’t on the way.
The three sat on the porch, looking towards Kyle’s makeshift battlefield as the evening rolled in. They talked about everything that had happened in the tournament, including how Hunter was halfway to a full set of Microbot evolutions and that Frederick seemed to have truly reformed from his Zodiac days, but there was something pressing on Aurin’s mind that he had yet to talk about. It was only when Kyle asked him a very pertinent question that he decided to finally speak openly.
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“So, now that you’ve conquered Harmony Tower and you’ve almost beaten the Bretonian champion, what’s next for you?” Kyle asked.
Aurin laughed dryly. “I was afraid that you would ask me that. It’s been a great ride these last two and a half years, but I think…I think it’s time for me to move on from Hazelton and seek out new challenges. I can’t just go back to training the same way I did before. It wouldn’t feel like I’m reaching my potential if I did that. I’m going to take a trip north.”
Luna’s mouth hung open and her eyes welled with tears, but she fought to control herself. “I…why…I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were going to leave?”
Aurin reached over to his suitcase and retrieved two tickets from it, holding them up to her. “I wasn’t planning on going alone. Will you come with me?”
Luna squealed incomprehensibly as she threw her arms around Aurin’s neck, almost choking him.
“Alright, alright,” said Kyle, looking away. “Cut that nonsense out, you hear me?
“Can’t…can’t…breathe,” gasped Aurin and Luna released him.
“Yes, I’ll come with you,” said Luna, having calmed down.
“I gathered,” said Aurin, massaging his neck.
“When do you go?” Kyle asked Aurin.
“Three days.”
“So soon?”
“I figured that gave me enough time to say a few goodbyes and get packed up. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone for. It could be months. I’ll come back, of course. How could I not? Maybe when I’ve seen the world a bit more, I’ll get my own place somewhere nearby.”
“Well,” said Kyle, looking directly at his friend and holding out his hand, “I’m going to miss you around here. Not just because of the help, you’re pretty useless there, but it’s been nice having company.”
Aurin shook Kyle’s hand. “Thank you, Kyle. Sincerely. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend and mentor. I wouldn’t be half the tamer I was today without your guidance. To be honest, I wouldn’t be half the man I was today without you keeping me right.”
Kyle smiled and nodded. “Likewise, mate. If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know if I would have ever gotten back in the game. It’s done Wing a lot of good having some stiff competition to push himself against. Same goes for me, I think I’ve fully recaptured my love of battling.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” said Aurin.
“Alright,” said Kyle, clearing his throat and standing up. “I’ve got to make sure this place is cleaned up. We’ll sort dinner out in two hours or so if that’s alright with the pair of you.”
“Want any help?” asked Luna.
“Nah, take a rest or something,” said Kyle, waving his hand dismissively. “Aurin’s going to be doing the early mornings until he leaves, so he gets tonight off.”
Aurin and Luna laughed as they watched Kyle head into the pens, where Wingbloom flew down to greet him. The two disappeared from sight among the Minakai and got to work in making sure things were put back in proper order.
“Shall we take a walk?” asked Aurin.
“Sure,” said Luna, smiling at him. “Where to?”
Aurin nodded to the mountain. “I feel like watching the sunset. How about you?”
“Let’s do it,” said Luna.
Forgetting their weariness from their trip, the two stood up and summoned Shamtile and Innogon to their sides. The four marched into the trees and began the arduous hike up the mountain, but they didn’t care for a second how strenuous the trek would be. They wanted to watch over Hazelton while they still had the chance.
The journey was as fatiguing as they had expected, especially for Luna who was forced to carry Innogon half the way up. It had been tempting to summon a Minakai like Gorunze to carry them, but they pushed on through and reached their favourite overlook close to the top. The two humans sat down on a rock and took a moment to catch their breath while the Minakai stretched out on the ground.
“Can you believe we did it in two hours?” asked Aurin, laughing. “That would have taken us four a couple of years ago.”
“Kyle’s right,” giggled Luna. “You are a braggart.”
“I’m just making an observation!”
“I know,” said Luna, sticking out her tongue and then planting a kiss on Aurin’s cheek.
The two stared out over the expanse before them. The ranch was clearly visible just at the edge of the forest, while Harmony Tower reached out from the trees a little further along. And just past that, was Hazelton. They could pick out the stadium, the town square, and even the wide river running alongside the town were people loved to walk.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” asked Aurin, watching the sun touch the horizon.
“It is,” said Luna. “I sometimes take it for granted.”
“I don’t think I can take it for granted. Coming to this town, I’ve made my wildest dreams come true in just a few short years. I mean it when I say I’ll come back.”
“You’re going to take the Tobias approach, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Hazelton is going to be your Briarwood, right? It’ll be your home that you come to and spend some time in between your grand adventures.”
“I hadn’t thought about it that way before, but that sounds about right. I love this place. It’s where I met you, after all.”
“Shush,” said Luna, elbowing him in the ribs and then giggling.
Aurin held up his tamer glove and looked at the five stones within it; Shamtile’s was dead centre. “It’s where I met my whole team.”
He turned to look over his shoulder and summoned his Minakai one at a time. Spikruption appeared first, roaring, having been rudely interrupted during his dinner. Dolissile flashed in and hovered in place, staring emotionlessly into the vast expanse. Leonite hopped on over to a rock and curled up. Desparee wept at how beautiful the sunset was, unable to stifle his emotions.
Reaching into his jacket, Aurin pulled out his other summoning stones. Steambot spawned and let out a puff of steam. Skrow flapped his wings and soared out from the mountain before circling back. Gorunze clanked in, standing upright on his back legs before slamming his front ones back on the stony ground. Chopchop swung his arm blades, expecting to be called to battle, and was then disappointed to find out he was not. Zenoman made a chair out of his four hands and sat on it, hovering comfortably. Sunny squealed and spun around as she watched the sun. Glacibot rolled over onto the flat of his back and relaxed. Lycavine howled, excited that the moon would soon be in the sky. Quetzel let out an echoing call as she curled her serpentine body. Zeera stood and watched his tamer stoically, towering over the other Minakai. Lastly, there was Breminia, who hovered within her golden glow with her body rings spinning around her.
“No battles today, team,” said Aurin. “It’s finally time to enjoy a proper rest before our next adventure.”
The cacophony of Minakai cries echoed out so loudly that Kyle looked towards the mountain from miles down below and laughed.
“What do you think the future holds?” Luna asked, pondering her future while patting Innogon’s head.
“I don’t know,” said Aurin, looking towards Shamtile who screeched and waved his arms in the air, “but whatever challenges await us, we’ll face them together.”
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