Aurin walked through the streets of Hazelton, marvelling at the twinkling fairly lights hanging between the buildings, and the multitude of snowmen the people had built. His nose absorbed the tantalising scents of cinnamon, chocolate, and coffee, as they wafted through the air. It was almost intoxicating.
“Stop causing trouble,” said Aurin, beckoning Shamtile to follow.
The masked lizard was having fun rearranging the coal in the snowmen’s faces and mid-sections. A formerly happy snowman now looked perpetually angry. Another had buttons on his head and a face on his stomach. This was a recurring problem every time he was brought anywhere close to civilisation near Christmas time.
Aurin marched ahead into the town square, where several tamers were gathered and battling, watched over by a fifty-feet-tall Christmas tree. Among the many onlookers was Rick and Holly, who wore their Underground Dojo gear despite the temperature being below freezing.
“Are you two crazy?” asked Aurin, gawping at them.
“Crazy determined to weather this… weather,” said Rick, flashing a smile. It quickly faltered as his teeth began chattering.
“In hindsight, it was a bad decision,” said Holly, grabbing her long ponytail and wrapping it around her neck like a scarf.
“Flowl,” said Aurin, summoning his fiery chick into the square. “Swell that flame of yours up so these two don’t turn into ice sculptures.”
With a cluck, Flowl’s fireball body almost doubled in size, giving Rick and Holly the chance to restore feeling to their extremities.
“What was it you wanted to meet with me about?” asked Aurin, who had received a message from the pair at lunch time.
“We’ve got a proposal for you,” said Rick, while Holly nodded along, letting her ponytail uncoil from her neck. “With Gray gone and nobody else stepping up to the plate, we want you to become the interim leader of the Underground Dojo.”
Aurin raised an eyebrow, but Rick held up a hand to stop him from speaking.
“I know what you’re going to say, my friend. You don’t object to the idea of the dojo, but you hate what its base once was and would fill it in if you could. I get that.” He gestured to Holly.”
“But there’s nobody more qualified to lead a collective of tamers than you. I think it goes without saying that although Kyle is the reigning Hazelton Champion, you being the Hero of Hazelton represents a lot more than that.”
“No thanks,” said Aurin, regretfully. “I keep getting burned anytime I try to mentor anyone, even when keeping them at a distance. I’m sure you’re all fully up to speed on what Nolan was up to?”
Rick and Holly exchanged regretful looks. “We’re sorry we didn’t see through his fakery,” said Rick.
“It wasn’t just you who was duped,” said Holly.
“Even Gray was one of The Blackjacks, which leaves yet another sour taste in my mouth when I think about the Underground Dojo,” said Aurin. “I know he’s remorseful and went to great lengths to make amends before that all came to ahead with Ashmore, but it’s barely been two weeks since my big showdown with Virtugil. Each time I think back to how strong that Minakai was and how it was being fed with my monsters’ battle data… well, it’s not a pleasant thought.”
“All the more reason for you to lead the Underground Dojo in Gray’s absence,” urged Holly. “If you’re at the helm, then you know things will be run properly. Our budgets will be balanced, our training will be tough, but useful, and maybe we’ll even be able to teach you a thing or two.”
“Tell you what,” said Aurin. “We’ll have a two-on-one battle of you against me. Take a Minakai each and battle against one of mine. If you can defeat me, I’ll do it. If you can’t, then there’s a counteroffer I want you to agree to.”
“Which is?” asked Rick.
“I’ll tell you if it comes to pass.”
“That’s hardly fair,” giggled Holly. “You want us to just agree to that?”
“Why not?” asked Aurin slyly. “Don’t you trust me?”
Rick and Holly looked at each other. “You make a compelling argument,” Rick said. “Holz?”
“Alright,” said Holly with a shrug. “We win, you lead the dojo until Gray returns. You win, and we do whatever your proposal is.”
“Perfect,” said Aurin. “Come on, let’s wait for the battle to finish and we can hijack the battlefield.”
The three plus Aurin’s two Minakai wandered past the frozen fountain and stood at the edge of the gathering of tamers. They spectated a three-way battle between a Quetzel, a Gorungol, and a Sanguice. To no surprise, the Sanguice came out on top, aided by the cold temperature and the already-icy cobblestones underneath.
“Mind if we cut in?” asked Aurin, shouting over the cheers.
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Upon realising who was here, the tamers immediately parted ways and several of them tried to shove their way into the makeshift ring of tamers in the hopes of facing Aurin themselves. Their faces fell when they saw that he already had two opponents in Rick and Holly.
The last time Aurin had faced them here, they had been accompanied by Nolan, and Aurin had wiped the floor with them. This time, however, they had the benefit of more training, despite being a duo rather than a trio. Aurin also wanted the battle to be both fair to them and an opportunity to test out one of his less experienced monsters.
“Are you up for it Flowl? Or should I call in Litehorn?”
Flowl cawed loudly, rebuking his tamer for daring to suggest replacing him. The fiery chick was determined to prove that it was his time to shine.
As Flowl took his spot, Rick summoned his Desparee, and Holly summoned her Cryoth. The depressed, tree monster wept at being brought into the cold of the town, while Cryoth skittered through the air excited for the very same reason.
The crowd were chanting excitedly with most of them being in Aurin’s corner. There were several notable exceptions, whom were recognisably members of the Underground Dojo. They cheered loudest of all, making their support for Rick and Holly clear.
“Let’s see what you’ve got,” said Aurin.
“Ready?” Rick asked Holly.
“Read,” said Holly.
“Restraining impaler!” announced Rick.
A bramble cage was conjured around Flowl, while dozens of vines followed, ensnaring the fiery Minakai. With him incapacitated, Cryoth unlashed an onslaught of icicles, which stormed towards the chick. By the time they had reached him, Flowl had burned through the cage, but not the vines. He took several hard hits before escaping, only just managing to avoid being run through by the icicles.
“They mean business,” said Aurin. “But they can’t hit you if they can’t see you.”
Flowl clucked and unleashed a blinding light, which left everyone in the square, bar Aurin, reeling. With everyone rubbing their eyes, hoping their vision would quickly return to normal, Flowl got to work. He pitter-patted across the ground, melting it as he moved to avoid slipping. He reached Desparee, who was flailing around, hoping to blindly hit his target, but Flowl’s small stature allowed him to evade the unaimed attacks.
The chick hopped into the air, opened his beak, and spewed a stream of fire right at Desparee’s face. The tree wailed in pain as he was hit, turning to strike Flowl, but the chick had already landed and was now burning his opponent’s legs.
A pained caw followed as Cryoth retaliated with a breath attack of its own. Chillingly cold, icy breath flowed from it, sending shooting pains throughout Flowl, who turned up his body temperature to try and shield himself.
“Either I overestimated how far Flowl’s come, or they’ve really improved,” muttered Aurin.
The last battle had been a complete wipeout with Dolissile taking on both of these monsters, plus an Electrout. Granted Dolissile was a highly experienced combatant, but if Desparee and Cryoth were at the same level of strength they were months ago, Desparee would have buckled to the fire already and Cryoth wouldn’t have been so quick off the mark after recovering from the blinding attack. No, these two had trained hard, and were coordinated.
“Obscure yourself and attack from darkness,” ordered Aurin, as Flowl hopped around, dodging the continually flowing ice breath.
He focused his energy and conjured up a cloud of smoke, which the Cryoth could not easily blow away. Desparee had managed to put the flames out by rolling around in a pile of snow heaped against the fountain and was now back in the game. He and Cryoth shot razor-sharp leaves and a flurry of icicles, respectively, trying to cover every inch of the mass of smoke. If they couldn’t pinpoint Flowl, they would ensure that there was nowhere left untouched.
Knowing what was coming for him, Flowl was forced to react. He bounced up and out of the cloud, spitting a barrage of fireballs. A handful of them met their marks, slowing down the attacks of Desparee and Cryoth. Seizing his brief opening, Flowl pounced and landed on Cryoth’s back. He turned up his body heat once again, burning the insect’s wings and bringing it to the ground.
Desparee was unwilling to risk injuring Cryoth and stayed his hand, but this only left him vulnerable. Flowl drew in a deep breath and spat a hue fireball which the tree-like Minakai could not bat away in time. It struck him square in the chest and knocked him down. He was knocked out at the same time as the burning proved too much for Cryoth.
With both foes defeated, Flowl rolled away and flopped to the ground, lifting his tiny legs in the air as though playing dead.
“That was close,” sighed Aurin, wiping the sweat from his brow. He had felt the pressure towards the end and it was only due to Flowl’s quick reaction to the smokescreen being permeated so thoroughly that he had won.
Aurin approached Rick and Holly, having immensely enjoyed the battle despite how close he came to losing. The crowd were cheering for all, but the Underground Dojo spectators were less enthusiastic now than they had been at the start of the battle. Shamtile started throwing snowballs at them in retaliation for his perceived disrespect towards his master and teammate.
“How?” sighed Rick. “Two against one and you still beat us. We worked so hard!”
“It’s the power of having so many powerful teammates of various elements to keep up with,” said Aurin. “Flowl’s trained with the best, been beaten up by the best, and is often outnumbered in his training.”
“Were you going easy on us?” asked Holly.
“Nope,” said Aurin. “Frankly, that battle was much too close for comfort. You’ve both improved a lot. And I’m not saying that just to be nice.”
Holly smiled. “That means a lot coming from you, Aurin.”
“Truly,” said Rick, nodding fervently. “So what’s this counterproposal we’ve been locked into?”
Aurin guffawed and led the two away from the circle, where the crowd were eagerly awaiting the next battle.
“Alright,” said Aurin, grinning cockily. “I’m not going to take the reins of the Underground Dojo. The pair of you are.”
Rick and Holly looked at each other in confusion and then back at Aurin.
“You’re not serious, are you?” asked Rick.
“Why not?” asked Aurin with a shrug. “You’re both good tamers, you clearly have the drive to improve, you’re team players, and nobody else has stepped up to the plate. I can’t think of a good reason for you to not do it.”
Holly bit her lip. “The idea of volunteering had crossed my mind,” she said.
“It did?” asked Rick, looking shocked.
“It didn’t cross yours?”
“Well…” said Rick, drawing out his word. “Yes, it did. I can’t lie.”
“Perfect,” said Aurin, putting a hand on their shoulders. “You two will run the show until Gray returns to Hazelton. And while you’re doing it, I’ll stop by and train with you occasionally. I’ve got an Ethruki who is in sore need of some experience. What do you say?”
Holly sighed, but she was smiling. “Alright. Rick?”
“I’m on board,” said Rick, looking anxious, but relieved. “Honestly, it’s probably the push we need, Holz.”
“Come on,” said Aurin, gesturing for them to follow him through the town. “Smoothies on me.”
Shamtile started tugging at the hem of Aurin’s jacket.
“Yes, yes,” snapped Aurin. “You can have something too.”
Aurin's Team:
Luna's Team:
