Eclipse of the Chronicles

Chapter 5: Ingenuity of Leadership

(Scene returns to where Chapter 4 left off)

Simon and Howard had both taken their fighting stances, each anticipating the other's move, wondering who would strike first. Howard made the first move, leaping into the air with pyrokinesis from his hands, using them like a rocket or a jetpack. He blasted the ground where Simon stood, causing an explosion that forced Simon to fall back and dim his flag lights. Howard then raced to the weapons compartment, picking up a bow and quiver of arrows. Simon responded in kind, grabbing his regular pistol bow. Howard channeled his fire powers into the arrows he shot, launching a flaming assault on Simon as he dodged and tried firing back. Simon was getting cornered.

"What's wrong, Simon? I thought you'd be better at this... winning against you won't mean anything if you don't give it your all," Howard taunted, his assault growing more relentless. Simon quickly created a couple of drones and a dome around himself to neutralize Howard's increasingly aggressive attacks.

"Well then... let me show you my ultimate firepower, Howard," Simon said, preparing his ultimate move. "Time to unleash the star mind of ingenuity! Ultimate Chronicle Technique: Maximum Effort Construction OUTPUT!"

Huge machines started forming around Simon, including blaster weapons from the dojo. A giant mobile fortress and a satellite laser cannon took shape with Simon's ultimate move. Howard braced himself for Simon's counterattack.

"FIRE AWAY!" yelled Simon as his mobile fortress's cannons blasted towards Howard. When the dust settled, everyone was surprised by what they saw next.

Howard had created a flaming shield with the face of a dragon on it, nullifying Simon's assault. Simon was both surprised and impressed by Howard's move.

Howard then summoned the robot dummies in the dojo, throwing dark-colored fireballs into three of them. The dummies powered up with his flames, transforming into flaming dragons. We Fated Chronicles by the spectator area were shocked, as none of us had ever used those robot dummies before. Seeing them controlled by Howard's powers was definitely something new for us to learn. It made us wonder if the other Destined Chronicles were aware of how to use them too.

Howard's flaming dragons unleashed a huge fire breath on Simon from all directions. Simon could only reinforce his dome barrier to nullify as much of the onslaught as possible, but his barrier was weakening under the continuous assault. Seeing Simon driven into a corner, Howard decided it was time to use his ultimate move.

"Heat up further, flames of dragons, blazing leadership! Ultimate Chronicle Technique: Scorching Dragons Meteor!" cried Howard as he leaped into the air with his flaming dragons made from the robot dummies. A blazing dragon aura formed around him as he flew down towards Simon. Simon quickly pulled out a wrist device from under his glove as the attack came toward him.

"SIMON!" cried Queenie, believing that Simon had been finished off as the fighting stage was covered in smoke. Howard leaped away from the explosion he caused and waited for Simon's flag to extinguish its lights. As the dust settled, Simon's flags were still lit, though barely.

"What? How?" exclaimed Howard as he saw Simon's flag still glowing. Simon then phased through the floor, holding his wrist device, shocking everyone as a flashback occurred.

"What do you think of this prototype, Simon?" asked Howard as he showed Simon a blueprint for a wrist device during their internship.

"Seems cool, what does it do?" asked Simon, burning with curiosity.

"It's a phasing device, allowing the user to pass through solid objects or any form of matter, even plasma. You can literally walk through fire. With this, we can take life-saving progress to a whole new level," explained Howard.

"Say less, mate! Let's get on with it!" Simon responded excitedly as they worked together to design the device from the blueprint.

The flashback ended.

"Remember this, Howard? It's the device prototype you came up with. We couldn't make it then because of limited resources, but I finally made it thanks to my powers. I wanted to give this to you, mate. This was your idea, and I want to show how much I valued it back then," said Simon, as Howard widened his eyes at Simon's words and gesture. "Without this baby, I might not have survived that impressive move. It's just like how I got up till this point. Without you, I never would have made it past the first year or the year after that. It's because of you that I'm standing here now. I've always valued you, Howard, and I've never once felt I was better than you. Quite the contrary, actually," Simon continued.

"Simon..." uttered Howard, lowering his guard.

Simon's survival of Howard's last move renewed our confidence as Fated Chronicles, as we now believed Simon would win this. Simon then went on the offensive with his pistol bow, and Howard dodged the attacks, firing back. A heated crossfire of flaming arrows and energy shots ensued.

"Come back to me, mate, so we can keep working on more awesome projects together," said Simon as he pulled out another wrist device for his satellite cannon. "Now, watch from a first-class seat, the star satellite laser cannon that shoots away destiny and changes fate... FIRE!" Simon shouted as he fired his satellite cannon, partially charged up with some of the remaining light from his flag. The laser shot hit Howard hard, dimming his flag lights correspondingly. Howard tried getting up, but Simon fired his fortress cannons before he could, launching a barrage of missiles that damaged Howard and extinguished the remaining lights on his flag.

"The winner: Fated Chronicle of Ingenuity," announced Lilith as the hologram scoreboard appeared again, this time tallying a score for our team.

"Yes!" we Fated Chronicles cheered, celebrating our first victory and comeback. Howard then collapsed to the floor, unconscious, as if freed from a spell.

"Howard..." cried Simon as he rushed to him.

"Simon... I..." Howard began as he regained consciousness.

"It's okay, mate... I understand," said Simon, seeming to get what Howard would have said as he helped him up. "From this point on, I'm counting on you more, mate," Simon continued, raising his fist to Howard.

"Of course. I'm the best partner who could keep up with you, after all," said Howard as he returned the fist bump. It seemed like he was freed from Lilith's influence.

"The mental pollution does get lifted when we win..." I murmured.

"Indeed," replied Daisuke as he looked at Lilith on the fighting stage. "What could she be using the Destined Chronicles for? Luna's powers, if tapped into the dark side, should be much more powerful than mere mental pollution... Could she still not have mastered Luna's powers? Or is she using them for something else..." Daisuke wondered to himself. I thought to myself, "If the mental pollution can really be lifted by winning in this tournament, then I'll have no choice but to fight against Amy and win to save her."

Our cards started buzzing again with another message: "Fated Chronicle of Justice vs. Destined Chronicle of Protection."

"I'm up next, huh? But against who?" wondered Stephanie as Charlie walked over toward her.

"Never thought we'd be going against each other, Steph," Charlie said casually.

Stephanie looked at him, sensing no ill intentions. "Charlie, what is it you hope to gain from this tournament? The power to resurrect Buster?" she asked.

Charlie smiled back at Stephanie, increasing the curiosity surrounding his real motives.

(Scene transitions to Simon's internship workplace)

"So today, we'll be presenting our newest prototype we believe will blow your minds," announced Simon as he prepared to present a prototype to an important client of the company. "But first, the lead engineer on our project, allow me to introduce the star engineer for this project... Howard Rivets," said Simon, as Howard stepped into the presentation room. He revealed the blueprint of their phasing device project and began explaining its functions and how it would help firemen save lives. The client company was taken aback in surprise, impressed by such amazing work from the interns. Simon and Howard gave each other a high-five for a successful presentation and for securing a relationship with an important client, impressing Mark, and making him more proud than ever.

(Scene transitions to Charlie's house)

Charlie was looking at a photo of him and a dog with a tag reading "Buster." "Not a day goes by that I don't miss you, buddy..." said Charlie as three cats surrounded him, sitting on the floor and receiving a warm embrace from him, finding comfort in each other.

(Scene cuts to black)