Nolan led Aurin and Luna through Hazelton. The dojo tamer said precious little as the trio walked and Aurin suspected it was because he was still sore about Aurin refusing to train him. During Gray’s battle with Jaden, Rick had no problem approaching Aurin and exchanging a few words and Holly had at least made eye contact with him, but Nolan deliberately averted his gaze.

  The walk was awkward with Aurin and Luna talking more to each other than Nolan, who offered rather short responses when they tried to bring him into the conversation. The tension in the air was broken somewhat when Holly came rushing down the street with a look of exasperation on her face.

  “Is everything alright?” Nolan asked her, his voice shaking somewhat.

  “Nothing serious,” said Holly, rolling her eyes. “Sammy’s Sproufloat is injured and we’ve only just realised we’re out of Healing Herbs again.”

  “Injuries come with training,” said Aurin with a shrug. “I usually just let them rest, give them some food, and let them rest again.”

  “That’s what Gray said to do, but Sammy said he’d scheduled a battle during lunchtime and his Sproufloat was to be his lead Minakai. Something to do with his expert strategy which, if you ask me, is complete nonsense. Even still, Gray was sympathetic and sent me to fetch some.”

  “If this is such a frequent occurrence, you need to start being more economical with your medical supplies,” said Luna, putting her finger to her chin. “Sure, have some Healing Herbs in stock, but you can combine them with other items and refine them in certain ways to make them more potent.”

  “Oh?” asked Holly, greatly interested in what Luna had to say. “What should be on my shopping list?”

  “Why don’t you go with her, Luna?” asked Nolan.

  “Great idea! Come on and I’ll take you to Taming Solution. Cedric always has the stuff I need in stock and I’m sure he’ll be happy to help you out.”

  “But what about the dojo?” asked Aurin, not wanting to be stuck there alone.

  “This won’t take us longer than fifteen minutes,” said Luna, squeezing his hand briefly. “We have to go back there with the supplies anyway, so it isn’t like you’re being ditched, Aurin.”

  “Alright,” sighed Aurin. “Come on, Nolan.”

  “Sure,” said Nolan as the girls departed.

  The two continued on their way down the street with the awkward air now firmly back and thicker than ever. Aurin did not like how uncomfortable he felt, especially as he thought he’d been rather kind to Nolan and his friends when he was training them. He decided it was best to speak up.

  “Why are you so annoyed with me?” he asked more bluntly than he intended.

  “What?” asked Nolan, looking surprised. “I’m not!”

  “You don’t want to be here at all, and you’ve got nothing to say to me. Is this all because I refused to take you, Rick, and Holly on as my apprentices?”

  Nolan’s expression turned from surprise to guilt. “It’s not that, it’s just… well, I thought we’d be able to learn a lot from you and we never got that chance. I don’t mean to be a bad sport about things, but I can’t help but think that we have greater potential that won’t be reached without your training. The dojo’s great and Gray knows his stuff way better than Nelson does, but he’s not the one who almost beat Tobias.”

  “I helped you, but you also need to be able to help yourself,” said Aurin. “If you take your training seriously, build up your teams, and grind hard in the tower, you’ll become better without my help. Once you’ve done that, come see me for a sparring match and you’ll see the difference.”

  “I know, I know, but—”

  Nolan froze as a crystal smashed on the ground in front of him. There came a swirling burst of purple energy that expanded into a dome, surrounding the whole street. Aurin looked around and the area appeared to be deserted. When he looked upwards, he realised that he and Nolan were not alone, as a figure stood atop the roof.

  The figure jumped from the roof and landed at the far side of the street. There was no mistaking that this figure was female with her curvaceous body hugged by her grey bodysuit. She stared at them duo from behind her white mask, which bore a dark pink visor in the shape of a heart. Luna’s theory about Club sharing a motif with others was confirmed to Aurin.

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  “I take it that you’re Heart?” asked Aurin, raising his tamer glove.

  “You would be correct, Aurin,” said Heart, putting one hand on her hip and leaning to the side. “And you know why I’m here, don’t you?”

  “I do, and it’s going to go the exact same way for you as it did for Club.”

  “We will see, won’t we?” said Heart, a slight giggle in her robotic voice. “We Blackjacks are elite tamers, Aurin. Don’t think us pushovers because you got lucky against Club.”

  “Blackjacks, huh?” asked Aurin.

  “You’re not getting to him without going through me,” said Nolan, casting out his tamer glove and summoning a Melansprout onto the street.

  Heart let out a bellowing laugh. “Such foolishness,” she said, summoning a Volcarrow. “Swiftly, please.”

  The Volcarrow sped forward as Melansprout conjured whipping vines from the ground. Without being as much as clipped by the vines, Volcarrow struck Melansprout. Not only that, it followed up with an intense jet of flame that left the nature elemental writhing in pain. It wasn’t long before Nolan’s Minakai succumbed to its injuries and he was forced to dismiss it. Angered, he tried to summon another, but found himself unable to.

  “What?” he asked, aghast. “What is this?”

  “Step aside and let the real tamer fight, would you?” asked Heart, the glee permeating through her disguised voice.

  “Don’t worry,” said Aurin, putting his hand on Nolan’s shoulder. “I’ll avenge your Melansprout, mate. She doesn’t know what’s coming.”

  “Quickly now, we’re blocking the street,” said Heart, clapping her hands rapidly. “I’m a busy girl, you know.”

  “How about we make things a little more interesting?” asked Aurin, figuring he didn’t have much to lose in this battle if it played out like Club’s did.

  “A wager? Enlighten me, dear Aurin.”

  “A wager,” said the young tamer, a cunning grin forming. “If I defeat you, I want to see the face behind that mask.”

  “I’m sure you would like that. And if I win?”

  “I’ll give you ten thousand silver. I’d offer more, but I’ve made a few large purchases recently and I need a few tower runs to top up the vault.”

  Even without being able to see her face, Aurin could sense the greedy smile behind the Heart’s visor. “Deal,” she said, unable to believe her luck.

  Aurin looked at his tamer glove, pondering which of his Minakai to summon. One was currently occupied while the other four were ready to go. Of the four, only one of them had the elemental advantage against the Volcarrow; Zeera. The question burning in Aurin’s mind, however, was whether or not he would be ambushed again right after this battle. Club had attacked him the previous evening and that was barely sixteen hours ago. Deciding to go with one of his Minakai adept at fighting aerial foes, he focused on a cream summoning stone.

  In a flash of light, Zenoman manifested on the field. He spotted the foe before him and clenched his face, a determined look on his golden face. The Volcarrow did not waste a second in beating its wings and summoning a barrage of fireballs. They flew towards Zenoman, who floated through the air, spinning rapidly to avoid them while his fists spread out to remain unscorched.

  “Such a cute little Minakai,” said Heart, clasping her hands by the side of her head. She let out a loud laugh and then snapped her fingers. “It’s going to be a shame to take him down.”

  “You don’t stand a chance,” said Aurin, a ferocious look on his face.

  Volcarrow’s body glowed an intense orange, eclipsing its beak and talons. It soared across the street at immense speed towards Zenoman. The golden alien remained calm, readying himself for the collision in the precious seconds he had. In the nick of time, he conjured a psychic barrier that Volcarrow collided into. To Aurin’s surprise, it didn’t immediately rebound and drop to the ground. Instead, it continued to try and push forward, glowing more brightly than before. Its light was so intense that Aurin, Nolan, and even Zenoman had to close their eyes.

  When they opened their eyes, Volcarrow had vanished from where it was pushing against the barrier. Zenoman immediately looked upwards and saw his foe descending towards him. Volcarrow struck him in the head and knocked him to the ground, cawing loudly in victory as it flapped its wings and returned to the air.

  “I think he’s getting a little overzealous,” said Aurin with a smirk. “Zenoman. One hundred fists. Enclose!”

  Heart looked around as Zenoman’s fists, which had been spread out since the fireballs, floated in the air surrounding her Volcarrow. Before her very eyes, each fist multiplied into twenty-five fists, and burst forward towards the masked tamer’s flaming bird.

  Volcarrow’s body was pummelled by the fists, which were relentless in their assault. As each fist made contact, he retracted and returned for a follow-up strike. Heart’s Volcarrow was tough, taking hundreds of the blows, but it eventually succumbed to Zenoman’s ability to maintain his attack. While each punch was considerably weaker than those of his fists in their normal state, the unending assault was enough to wear Volcarrow down. It flopped to the ground and the one hundred fists returned to being four.

  “Agh!” screeched Heart, clasping her head and stomping her feet. “I can’t believe it!”

  The dome faded away, returning the street to normal.

  “Our deal,” said Aurin. “Show me your face.”

  “Sorry,” said Heart with a shrug. “I lied.”

  As she reached behind her back, Skrow flew in from above. Before he could catch her, however, she dropped her bomb. It exploded into black smoke and Skrow flew straight through it as Dolissile had done the previous evening.

  Aurin groaned in frustration. “Agh, I don’t believe it,” he said. “I was so close to catching her.”

  Nolan stood by in disbelief, his eyes wide as he watched the smoke fade. “What in the world?” he asked breathlessly. “Where did she go?”

  “I don’t know,” said Aurin. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “I was hoping if I caught her, I’d be able to question her and find out.”

  “I’m so confused. Who was she? What did she want?”

  “You and me both, Nolan. You and me both. All I can say is that this isn’t the first time I’ve been jumped. Thanks for stepping in to try and defend me. You didn’t need to do that.”

  “Are you joking?” asked Nolan. “We Hazeltonians stick together, right? I know you aren’t my master or anything, but I’m not going to stand idly by while someone attacks you out of the blue.”

  Aurin held out his hand for Nolan to shake. “Well, it’s appreciated.”

  Nolan smiled as he shook Aurin’s hand. “Anytime.”

  right here.

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: