“Alfred,” said Aurin, hazarding a step forward. The man stared through Aurin as though he was no longer there. “Are you alright?”

  Saying nothing, Alfred’s hand slipped from Virtugil and fell limp by his side. He remained on his knees, the spark in his eyes diminished to the point of non-existence. He was a husk of a man, broken and failed. Aurin felt great pity for Alfred as he stared down at him.

  “He’s here!” called Kyle, rushing from the tunnel.

  Aurin looked over his shoulder and saw Kyle leading the charge with Luna, Gardner, and Knot following closely behind the rancher. They all froze halfway to reaching Aurin upon seeing the unconscious abomination lying sprawled across the grass.

  “What… what is that?” asked Gardner.

  “It’s… certainly something,” answered Luna, her eyes wide as she looked at the creature.

  “He’s not going to hurt you,” said Aurin. “His name is Virtugil and he’s a… well, how do I put this? He’s a lab-created Minakai. A genetic experiment of a kind that Alfred Ashmore led the creation of.”

  “We were watching from outside,” said Kyle, “but the second this thing was summoned, the video feed cut out.”

  “Good heaven above,” said Knot, approaching. He looked at the beast with disgust, but his attention was then captured by the catatonic Alfred Ashmore. “Ah, so this must be him. Well, Alfred Ashmore, what do you have to say for yourself?”

  Alfred didn’t as much as blink.

  “You think playing dumb is going to work on me, do you? Guess again, buddy.”

  “Chief,” said Aurin. “I think… I think I broke him. I defeated Virtugil and he lost his mind. He started talking to Virtugil like it was a child and he thought I was his father. The man’s highly disturbed and he needs serious psychiatric care.”

  “The man needs to be interviewed down at the station,” said Knot, kneeling beside Alfred and waving a hand in front of the unresponsive man’s face. “It’s one thing challenging you to a battle, but the traps he set inside the stadium could have killed that Ruby girl.”

  “And he deserves to answer for that,” said Aurin, “but I don’t think hurting people was his intention. He wanted to publicly humiliate me to avenge a father he both adored and despised. He didn’t think it was possible to lose, not with what he considered to be the perfect Minakai.”

  Luna took Aurin’s hand and pushed her face against his arm. “Does he even know the truth about what happened outside the Ruins of Transference?” she asked.

  “He knows,” said Aurin, letting out a deep sigh. “But he didn’t care. My presence there and depriving the Ashmore collection of a Breminia was enough to make me his target.”

  “What do we do about… this thing?” asked Gardner.

  “Virtugil,” muttered Kyle.

  “It’s not really a Minakai, is it?”

  “You heard what Jackson had to say, didn’t you?”

  Gardner nodded. “It’s one thing to hear about it and then to see it for yourself. To think that someone can create an entirely new being… it’s mad.”

  Aurin retrieved the black summoning stone from Alfred’s wrist and held it up for all to see. “Virtugil is real enough that he can be summoned with a stone.”

  Gardner did a double-take. “It’s black. There’s no black element!”

  “He’s able to use all of the elements at once. The poor beast is anything but natural, but he doesn’t deserve to suffer because of how he was created, does he?”

  “I wasn’t suggesting that,” said Gardner, holding up his hands defensively. “Frankly, I’m surprised that it can be attuned to a summoning stone at all. But we… we can’t really keep it here, can we?”

  “No,” said Aurin quietly. He looked at Virtugil and then at Alfred. “He’s dangerous and owned by someone who has no business controlling any Minakai. But we’ll have to do something.”

  Shamtile tepidly approached Virtugil and began poking him in the side. The creature snorted in its slumber, making Shamtile jump a mile. Steambot let out a clanking chortled and Sunny giggled merrily.

  “The Minakai Guardians,” said Kyle. “Conrad was able to keep them from coming after your Zeera after the Zeera Crisis, wasn’t he? We should reach out to him.”

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  “Conrad will know what to do,” said Luna, nodding. “What do you think, Chief Knot?”

  “It’s as good a suggestion as any,” grumbled the chief, putting his hands in his pocket and dragging his shoe along the grass. “I’ll leave that in your hands for now. I suspect I’ll have my hands full trying to deal with our friend, Master Ashmore.”

  “Luna, do you have Conrad’s number?” asked Aurin.

  “I think so,” said Luna, reaching into her jacket pocket and retrieving her phone. She looked in her contact list, dialled the number and passed it to Aurin. “I’m sure you can explain better than I can.”

  “Thanks,” said Aurin, putting the phone up to his ear.

  Conrad answered the call. “Luna?” asked Conrad, sounding both surprised and groggy. “Is something wrong?”

  “Sorry to call so late, Conrad,” said Aurin, “but we’ve got a bit of a situation in Hazelton and we need your help?”

  “Again?” asked Conrad loudly.

  “This one is a tricky one. But we’re pretty sure you’re the right man for the job.”

  “Lay it on me.”

  “Have the Minakai Guardians ever had to handle an artificially created Minakai?”

  “Oh, I don’t like the sound of this,” groaned Conrad. “I don’t like the sound of this at all.”

  *

  Fireballs collided, exploding into flittering embers and puffs of smoke, while lightning strikes whooshed past each other, seeking their targets. The targets, however, would not allow themselves to be struck. The battle was in full swing and despite being a sparring much, all four combatants were fighting vigorously. Only Luna’s Flaround was holding back his full strength, wanting to give Flowl a fair chance. Litehorn and Beetabolt were perfectly content to cast each other form the area and into the trees.

  “He can take more than that, Flaround,” said Luna. “Turn it up a notch!”

  Flaround barked and pounced at the flaming chick, who bucked in surprise at being engaged in melee combat. He sped around on his spindly legs, leaping and dodging the canine who continued to toy with his fellow fire elemental. As ordered, however, he turned it up a notch. As Flowl bounced into the air, Flaround rolled over and howled a streaking fire into the air, catching the chick underneath. With a high-pitched cluck, Flowl hit the ground and rolled around in pain.

  Aurin raised an eyebrow. “You’d think his body being coated in fire would lessen the impact more,” he said, making Luna laugh.

  “Flaround’s too hot to handle,” grinned Luna, winking at the dog, who wagged his tail excitedly.

  “Oh dear!” called a voice from the hill as a stray lightning bolt whizzed through the air.

  “Are you alright, Gray?” asked Aurin, raising a hand to call the end of the battle. The Minakai all obliged, ceasing their attacks. Flowl, however, rocked back and forth on the ground, soothing his burned behind.

  “I have been hit by worse than lightning bolts during my own training,” said the man, marching on up the snow-covered hill. “In any case, it missed me by a couple of feet, so you need not worry about me.”

  Gray was wearing a thick black winter coat and hauled a near-bursting backpack over his shoulder. In his right hand, he carried a cuboid metal case large enough to hold a rugby ball. He looked as though he was ready for a long trip.

  “Are you going somewhere?” asked Aurin, gesturing curiously to the bag.

  “I’m heading home for a while,” replied Gray with a content smile. “I need to refocus myself for a while and think about my actions before returning. I will come back to Hazelton, however, as I’ve grown rather fond of this place. The Underground Dojo has become a second home to me and those who train there are like my family. I have more to teach and much more to learn.”

  “Do return,” said Aurin. “We still haven’t had our real battle, Gray.”

  “I realise that I am not quite prepared for it yet, but rest assured, Aurin, that I look forward to that day. Whether it’s in a month or a year, it will be a good showing.”

  “What’s in the carrier?” asked Luna, putting her hands on her hips and pursing her lips. She’d been focused on what Gray was carrying more than the conversation.

  “This is a gift for Aurin,” said Gray, taking it in both hands. “My prized Minakai gave birth to the egg within.”

  “Wait, your prized Minakai?” asked Aurin, furrowing his brow. The realisation of what was in the egg smacked him in the face. “This was the egg you kept in your dojo safe?”

  “The very same,” said Gray. “I now realise why I’ve never hatched it, Aurin. It was never meant for me. It was meant for you.”

  Gray placed the egg on the snowy ground by Aurin’s feet and then pressed a button on top. The metallic plates twirled and collapsed inwards, revealing the egg within. It was turquoise with several purple streaks running down the back. The lower front of the egg bore golden horizontal segments that disappeared underneath the egg. There was no doubting it. With a pattern like this, there could only be one monster resting within.

  “I don’t believe it,” said Aurin breathlessly. He and Luna stared in awe at the egg for a moment. Shaking away his dumbfounded state, Aurin scooped up the egg and cradled it in his arms.

  “If anyone can handle raising an Ethruki, it’s you,” said Gray. “It is a lot of work bringing out its full potential, but I am confident in your abilities. Treat it as well as I know you will.”

  “Thank you,” said Aurin, amazed at Gray’s generosity.

  “Perhaps an Ethruki versus Ethruki showdown will be in order when we next meet, hmm?”

  “I don’t think I’ll win that one,” said Aurin with a hearty laugh. “You’ve got much more experience with a cosmic elemental than I have, Gray.”

  “Never underestimate yourself, my friend. You have achieved great things and you will continue to do so. For now, however, I bid you both farewell. Look after yourselves, for it is clear to all that you bring out the best in each other. One day, I should be so lucky to meet a woman who loves me as much as Luna loves you, Aurin.”

  Luna’s face turned crimson and Aurin snickered at the sight. The pair said their own goodbyes to Gray and watched as he trudged down the hill and into the trees.

  Aurin and Luna into each other’s eyes, their hearts warming as their gazed lingered. After several seconds of pleasant silence, the two remembered what Aurin held in his arms.

  “Race you to the ranch?” asked Aurin.

  “Last one there has to fetch the incubator,” said Luna, summoning Windjinn.

  Aurin whistled for Skrow, who flew from the rooftop. By the time he had mounted the black bird and took to the skies, Luna was halfway to the ranch. Aurin clung tightly to the egg and ordered Skrow to propel himself forward with the power of his element. Luna may have had a head start, but he would catch her.

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