“Well, Aurin,” said Jaden, giving his brother a hug, “it’s been a nice trip. Two days doesn’t quite cut it, so we’ll have to make it longer next time, eh?”
“That’s your fault, not mine,” said Aurin, giving his brother a shove. “You’re welcome to stay another day or two.”
“No can do,” said Jaden with a sigh. “My flight is already booked and it’s non-refundable. That said, seeing as you’re Mr Moneybags these days, you can always pay to have it changed, eh?”
Aurin snorted. “Moneybags? I’ve got enough left to cover my bills for the next six months, but I spent most of what I’ve earned on travelling Bretonia, my land, and building my house. I need to do a few tower runs and start building up my retirement fund.”
“Nah, you’ll be roaming the tower with your walking frame seventy years from now. You love it way too much to ever retire.”
“You’ve got me there,” said Aurin, his ears pricking up as he heard the train rumbling towards the station. “Don’t be a stranger.”
“Likewise,” said Jaden, giving his brother another hug. “If you ever want a brothers’ trip abroad to expand your Minakai horizons, just say the word. I’m always up for that.”
The train pulled into the station and Jaden gave Aurin a salute before marching straight-armed through the doors and into his carriage. Aurin had to laugh at how buffoonish his brother could be, but he knew Jaden played it up around him. He’d always strived to be the prime entertainment for Aurin when they were growing up until he left home. Aurin was twelve at the time and he missed his brother like crazy, but he understood that he had to embark on his journey. Three years later, Aurin had done the same, much to the resistance of his mother. It was only because his father’s careful persuasion that his mother was content to let her second son leave home too.
As the train departed and Aurin waved farewell to his brother once more, he was filled with a mixture of nostalgia and gratitude towards his family. Despite his mother’s lack of willingness to let him leave, he understood her reasons. Now, however, she had come around and was one of his most fervent supporters. Even still, she had been fraught with worry when the Zodiac Squad were still around. He thought it best to not tell her about what had happened with Sir Ashmore a couple of months ago until next year.
Not wanting to walk back home alone, Aurin summoned Shamtile to his side. The masked lizard appeared and shook his fist vigorously at his tamer, apparently having interrupted him during his dinner.
“Sorry, mate,” chuckled Aurin, picking Shamtile up by the back of the neck and tossing him onto his shoulders. “Would a banana milkshake make it up to you?”
Shamtile screeched in agreement, forgetting all about his dinner already. Once the milkshake was firmly in his hands, he polished it off before Aurin had even crossed the road. Despite demanding another one, Aurin told him he could finish his dinner when he got back. He knew rightly that the other Minakai would have already fought over it and devoured it, but Shamtile did not consider this and remained calm as the two walked out of town.
The red and gold autumnal leaves continually drift downwards from the trees, sometimes catching the wind and blowing sideways. The field mushrooms and thick clumps of fungus hit off the beaten path where several squirrels roamed in their hunt for seeds and nuts. Shamtile was endlessly amused every time he saw the spinning propeller trees drop from the sycamore trees and tried to catch them from his perch atop Aurin’s shoulders.
By the time Aurin was nearing his house, the sun was almost set and there was a chill in the air. Taking a shortcut through the woods, he plopped Shamtile back on the ground. The second Shamtile’s feet touched the earth, he froze and looked around frantically.
“What is it?” Aurin asked, watching as Shamtile felt the area using his tremor sense.
Shamtile pointed a finger towards a sliver of shadow lurking behind one of the trees.
“Ah, I’ve been rumbled, have I?” came a robotic voice from behind the tree.
The figure stepped out from his hiding spot, revealing himself. He was clad in dark body armour concealed every part of his flesh. The gloves and boots were of thick leather while the limbs and torso were of cloth fashioned into several segments of various shades of grey that treaded into being almost black. Where the man’s face should have been there was an ovular mask that reached from his forehead to his chin. The mask was adorned with the image of a dark green club symbol, as you would find on a deck of cards. As best as Aurin could tell, it was a large visor of some sort that let the man see out of it, but concealed his face.
“Who are you and why are you following me?” asked Aurin, standing tall and clenching his fists.
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The man cocked his head to the side. “What I want is rather simple, Aurin. I want to battle you. Who I am is irrelevant.”
“If it’s irrelevant, show me your face.”
“I will do no such thing. If you need a name for me, call me Club. Shall we battle?”
“There’s no way I’m going to let you ambush me and—”
Aurin was halted by a screech from Shamtile. The masked lizard hopped in front of his tamer, braced in a fighting pose.
“Are you sure, Shamtile?” asked Aurin, and the lizard gave a nod of agreement.
“Excellent,” said the enigmatic man, holding up his right arm and revealing summoning stones embedded in a circular pattern around his wrist. “But first, to ensure that nobody interferes with our battle…”
The man reached behind his back, retrieving a jagged violet crystal and throwing it into the air. It shattered and unleashed a wave of swirling energy. It spread around the woodland, expanding into a dome that rippled as though it belonged at the top of a monster tower. Aurin knew immediately that the man had used rift magic and that made him more wary than ever.
“What’s the meaning of this magic?” Aurin demanded.
“To ensure that nobody violates our rules,” said Club. “We will engage in a one-on-one battle. There will be no summoning of additional Minakai for either of us. One is the limit and that is all.”
“And what happens to the loser?”
“You seem to have gotten the wrong end of the stick, Aurin. We will battle and we will both walk away unharmed.”
Aurin did not trust the man for a second. It was one thing to show up costumes and hiding his identity, but to employ rift magic when there was nobody else around made the alarm bells ring at the highest possible volume. He knew rightly, however, that should he try to leave the rippling magical dome he would find himself mysteriously unable to. His best bet was to defeat the man.
“Let’s get on with it,” said Aurin, clenching his fists and assuming a pose similar to that of Shamtile.
Club held his arm across his chest, drew a circle in the air, and then swung his arm down as though karate chopping a plank in half. As his arm fell, a blue flash of light burst onto the battlefield. As it faded, it revealed a Splashard who swirled in the air while outstretching its jelly-like arms.
“Begin,” said Club, throw one of his arms back and leaning forward.
Shamtile immediately burst into action, conjuring a rock spear in each of his hands. He sped forward and hurled one spear which the Splashard dodged, and then followed up with a second. The Splashed split itself down the middle to avoid the second attack before recombining.
The masked lizard, however, was already upon the water demon. Shamtile pounced, his fists coated in diamond and delivered a powerful blow to the Splashard, sending it flying across the battlefield. It smacked the swirling dome and rebounded right back into the fight.
Feeling bold, the Splashard charged towards Shamtile, swinging its fists wildly. Shamtile retaliated in kind and the two brawled viciously. While the masked lizard was unquestionably the hardest hitter of the two with his diamond-enhanced punches, Splashard’s ability to split its body and recombine allowed it to dodge attacks with greater ease than even Shamtile’s remarkable reflexes could.
With the melee proving fruitless, Shamtile burrowed himself underground and erupted on a pillar a dozen yards away to create some distance. As he hurled stone spears, Splashard summoned a pillar of water to blast them away. They shattered against the dome and rained down as shards and pebbles.
The battle continued with each of the Minakai trying to one-up the other. Shamtile, knowing his opponent was strong, avoided using further diamond-based attacks in fear of draining his energy too rapidly. Splashard landed a fair share of its attacks, often sweeping Shamtile away in water, but the masked lizard was resilient and bounced back quickly.
After ten minutes of intense brawling, both Minakai were tired. Shamtile had used almost his entire arsenal of attacks and Club was watching silently the entire time while paying little attention to Aurin, whose own eyes moved between the fight and the other tamer rapidly. Aurin did not understand the play being made, but he knew there was something he was missing.
“Shamtile,” he said to his favourite monster. “I know you’re tired, but it’s tired too. It’s time to go full throttle.”
The masked lizard screeched and began dancing. Splashard looked around, wondering where the attack was going to spring from and opted to throw itself into the air on a pillar of water. From its aerial position, it unleashed a powerful water jet that would have taken out most Minakai, especially those of the earth element. Unfortunately for the Splashard, Shamtile was much too cunning.
He raised a diamond wall to block the attack. It was a difficult technique to maintain after having used so much of his energy, but he held it firmly in place. As the water died down, he stomped his feet and the wall shattered into sharp fragments. With a wave of his arms, they soared like bullets at the Splashard.
It tried to weave between most of the shards while blasting others out of the way, but the relentless barrage coupled with its exhaustion proved too much for the water demon to take. After the first shard struck, the others followed much more easily. It fell to the ground limply and lay sprawled out on the leaf-strewn grass.
Club began slowly clapping. “Excellent,” he said. “You truly are a remarkable tamer, Aurin, and it’s an honour to have vehemently battled you.”
With a snap of Club’s fingers, the swirling, smoky dome dissipated, leaving the area as it was before save for the torn-up ground and many now-leafless trees.
“Farewell,” said Club, giving a bow of his head.
“Where do you think you’re going?” asked Aurin, summoning Spikruption and Dolissile to his side. “I want answers.”
“I would advise against threatening me, Aurin, especially seeing as I have played fairly. As I told you before… farewell.”
The enigmatic tamer reached behind his back and threw a fist-sized sphere on the ground. It burst into a cloud of smoke, but Dolissile was quick to react. The cybernetic dolphin charged into the smoke and emerged from the other side as it vanished. He rotated in the air, looking for where Club had vanished to, but there was no sign of him.
“Where’d he go?” asked Aurin. “Did you feel him running?”
Shamtile shook his head before slumping to the ground, completely spent.
“I don’t like this,” muttered Aurin. “I don’t like this at all.”
right here.
Aurin's Team:
Luna's Team:
