“You’ll be fine,” said Aurin, sounding like Kyle had sounded before Aurin’s first match. “Just remember all of the training and trust in your Minakai. You can do this, okay?”

Luna was shaking nervously. She did not look remotely confident, and her Minakai were trying to comfort her too. “I can’t go out there. I’m going to look like a fool!”

“You can go out there, you will go out there and you’re going to win, do you hear me?” pushed Aurin. Luna’s Innogon, Tadpole and Spritzard all nodded in agreement. “Your Minakai believe in you, so it’s time to believe in both yourself and them. Okay?”

“Okay,” said Luna, still shaking.

“They’re going to call you in the next minute or two, so I’m going to go to the stands and watch, alright?”

“Can you wait here for me?”

Aurin looked to the tournament official, who gave him a nod. “Yes,” said Aurin, “of course I can. Your friends Emily and Hannah are probably supporting you from the stands already anyway. Shamtile and I can be down here cheering for you every step of the way, right buddy?”

Shamtile was fully recovered from the previous day’s injuries and danced enthusiastically. He warbled and screeched, trying to boost Luna’s confidence. He was certain that it was working, but Aurin knew it wasn’t.

The official put his hand to his earpiece, as he had done for Aurin. “You’re up in a few seconds,” he informed Luna. Tears were starting to form in her eyes.

“Good luck,” said Aurin hurriedly.

“Welcome everyone to today’s first match,” said the announcer. “I hope you’re all ready for a very exciting day, just as it was yesterday. First up, we have a tamer all the way from…well, right here! Please welcome Luna!”

Luna froze and Aurin had to give her a push out of the tunnel, as her Minakai waited at the edge of the battlefield to be summoned. Luna walked very slowly and took her spot, forgetting to wave at the crowd. They cheered for her anyway, no doubt sensing her anxiety even from a distance.

“Her competitor today is another Hazelton local. Please give it up for Sullivan!”

The crowd cheered for him even louder as he waved and bowed to them. He was working the crowd well and Aurin knew this wouldn’t help Luna’s confidence one bit. No matter, there was nothing he could do now other than watch. Luna had asked him to dress up in her clothes and a wig and fight on her behalf. He wasn’t entirely certain that she was joking and refused immediately.

“Tamers!” called the announcer. “Let’s see your first Minakai!”

“Go Flowl!” called Sullivan as the burning bird ran onto the battlefield and began hopping in place.

“I-I-Innogon,” stammered Luna as her young dragon ran forwards, already knowing that he was up first. He wanted to make her proud and give her an early lead.

Flowl charged at Innogon who started shooting jets of water at it, but Flowl was surprisingly quick. Innogon had defeated many of these Minakai in the tower, but a trained one was another story. It moved effortlessly out of the way and leapt into the air as it got close.

It shot a burst of fireballs at Innogon, who was caught off guard and knocked out straight away. The crowd were in shock and Sullivan looked very smug. Luna’s knees were shaking wildly at her favourite Minakai’s easy defeat.

“Oh no, oh no,” Aurin could hear her muttering.

“That was quick!” exclaimed the announcer. “Can Luna come back from this?”

“Tad…Tadpool,” she ordered, as the bipedal frog ran out to take Innogon’s place. “Make it…um…slippery?”

Tadpool blew an icy wind and covered the battlefield in a thick sheet of ice. Sullivan’s Flowl began to emit embers that melted the ice almost immediately.

While it was distracted, Tadpool ran forwards and headbutted the flaming bird, sending it flying through the air. Tadpool blew another icy wind and made a thick patch of ice right where Flowl was about to land. It hit the patch hard and was knocked out.

“Yes!” exclaimed Luna as Tadpool began dancing in celebration.

“A great comeback by Luna’s Tadpool! What will her opponent do?” pondered the announcer as the crowd cheered.

Sullivan looked rattled. “Gorun!” he called as a rock bearing small yellow crystals emerged from his summoning stone. It sat motionless on the ground.

“Huh?” said Luna, looking confused. What could this rock do against something more mobile? Was it a joke? Aurin, however, knew Sullivan had a plan.

Tadpool shot an icicle from its back and it collided with the Gorun, who toppled over. It otherwise didn’t seem phased. It didn’t even have a face to pick up a more clear reaction. The little rock was giving nothing away, while its tamer smirked.

Luna’s Minakai ran towards it and pushed it forwards with its foot, checking to see if it was even alive.

“Now!” called Sullivan, as the ground began to shake beneath Tadpool. The Minakai toppled over and Gorun rolled itself over and shot a crystalline spike into Tadpool. It then did it again, and again. Tadpool was gravely injured by the sharp crystals, and Luna recalled him.

“That was a hard hit!” cried the announcer. “Luna is down to her last Minakai and Sullivan still has a spare in the tank. It’s not looking good, folks. Can the young Hazelton local make a comeback after this? Let’s see what she can do.”

Luna was shaking again, but she clenched her fists and held back her tears. She raised her hand and pointed at the Gorun. “Spritzard! Blast that rock out of the stadium!” she ordered as her evolved Dripper joined the battle.

Spritzard flew towards Gorun with her arms outstretched and grabbed the rock. She tossed it into the air and shot jets of water from her fingerless hands, aiming straight for Gorun. The water jet was intense and relentless, and the rock was thrown high into the air.

When it came back down, it was falling fast. It hit the ground with a loud crack and everybody could see its crystals had broken. Sullivan dropped to his knees. “No!” he cried. “Thunding, get in there!” he ordered before the announcer had a chance to make any commentary.

A small grey humanoid wearing golden armour emerged from one of his summoning stones. It held a metallic spear which fizzled and crackled with lightning. Aurin and Luna had never seen this Minakai before, but it looked angry and ready for a fight.

“Supercharge it!” called Sullivan, and Thunding threw its spear at the jelly-like water Minakai. The spear narrowly missed and a wave of electricity spread from it upon impact with the grass. Thunding raised its hand and the spear returned to it.

“Don’t let it hit you with that!” called Luna, the adrenaline flowing through her. “Surround it with water, so that it can’t move as fast.”

Spritzard shot a large wave of water at the Thunding and held it in place. Thunding tried to swim forward and out of the bubble, but Spritzard held strong and moved the bubble of water along with it.

Sullivan was getting visibly frustrated, having been convinced earlier that he would have an easy victory. “What are you doing? Throw your spears!” he demanded. Thunding tried to throw, but the water was slowing down too much. “Fine! Blast yourself upwards!”

Thunding shot a burst of lightning from its feet and flew into the air, wielding its spear high. Free from the trappings of the water bubble, it hurled its spear at Spritzard again, who split herself in two to avoid the oncoming attack. Mouths hung open in shock. The crowd were amazed by this ability as Spritzard’s two halves recombined.

“You don’t see that often, do you?” asked the announcer. “Luna is definitely not out of the game. Will she still be able to pull off a victory against the formidable Sullivan?”

“No more defence, Spritzard,” said Luna. “Full force jet!”

Spritzard shot a weak jet of water from one hand that the Thunding dodged, but it wasn’t prepared for Spritzard’s other hand to shoot the strong jet that Luna had ordered. It took the blast hard and was thrown back against the wall of the stadium. Its head took a heavy hit that even its armour could not protect it from. It was done.

Luna was shocked that she had won, even as the crowd cheered loudly. Aurin clapped enthusiastically from the tunnel, proud that she had pulled it off. He knew that she could; the biggest obstacle was herself.

Her Spritzard flew over to her and she grabbed her jelly hands and began to spin her around in celebration. Sullivan meanwhile had dropped to his knees, devastated that he had lost. He took a moment to regain his composure and stood up, also clapping. He couldn’t be seen as a sore loser, after all.

“And there you have it!” called the announcer. “Luna from Hazelton has won her first match in the first tournament of her hometown. It’s quite poetic, folks isn’t it? Let’s see what she can do next.”

Aurin and Luna headed to the stands to watch the next match as the Minakai cleaned up the wet and battered battlefield. They had both successfully won their first matches, but they knew the toughest opponents were yet to come. Aurin’s next opponent was a tamer called Jimmy and Luna would have to face off against the fearsome Hunter.

As one of the tamers walked away from the stands to check his own next opponent, he was stopped by a figure in the shadows. “You had better not lose,” said the figure.

“I won’t,” said the blonde tamer. “I’ve won my first match, if you recall. Were you not in the stands?”

“I have to be. It would be a bad look if I wasn’t in attendance at the tournament everyday. All other official business has been passed to the deputy for now.”

“Are you not enjoying your holiday? It’s been quite the show so far.”

“Things are getting exciting,” admitted the man in the shadows. “You would think that the hype would fade after the first matches, but people are getting more jubilant by the day. I suspect that once we hit the top sixty-four, then we’ll be able to strike unnoticed.”

“What of the secondary plan, Taurus? Do you think Libra is right?”

“I’m starting to suspect so. She doesn’t quite have the sway that I have, but I’m sure that she can make a few of the disappearances go away. We need to make sure that it’s subtle, of course.”

“Tell that to Sagittarius,” said the tamer, looking away. “If anything will make it fail, it’s him. He’s too headstrong to be trusted with any sort of high-level decisions.”

“And what of you?”

“I’m focusing on my training and the tournament, just like you asked.”

“You’re sure that the tournament isn’t more important to you than Zodiac and our mission?”

“Nothing is more important than the mission. The prized egg will be ours and it will benefit our mission more than any other Minakai we possess. Its potential is endless. It’s just a shame that you can’t use that influence of yours to take it.”

“I’ve told you that it’s out of my hands. The tournament is not run by the town, it’s all Department of Minakai business. The only thing we do is provide the venue.”

“I know, it was just a joke,” said the tamer as he walked away.

“Good luck, Frederick,” said the man, putting on a more booming voice. “I hope you perform well.”