Chapter 58: Chapter 63: Competition at the reunion!

Derek and Settembre found Anthony and Amin in the founder's personal observatory on the top floor of his humongous home a couple of hours near the first match of the first competition in the quinquennial reunion. "Figured we'd find the latest JinJunyë duo here." Said Derek as the other half of his duo followed behind him nodding. Amin gasped before vocalizing his realization. "You were the one who told that Noa girl's dad about my love for the stars before he told me about this place?" Amin asked hoping to relieve the confusion he felt from their conversation prior had been bugging him. Derek threw up his finger. "It might've come up in a conversation he used to vet you first. Be patient with him. Trust doesn't come super easy for him." Derek replied before Settembre stepped forward. his mien turned serious suddenly and he stepped back. Settembre and Amin bumped elbows in a camaraderie fashion. "Time for a knowledge check, I know you couldn't make Reynard care to read my encrypted emails but he'll need this more than anything since his first opponent is Haoyu. Highest ranking to least." Said Settembre with excitement in his tone. "Our Oath's in command after the founder himself. The Pendold family. Holding the most children out of everyone. In their free time they're a family of Architects, construction workers and Engineers where they're stationed, Washington D.C. They have abilities that focus on imbuing objects with tons of their authoritative energy to manipulate its properties." Amin answered as he stood up straight and looked Settembre in his eyes with a competitive grin. "Aside from the Matriarch, Emaline, she's a lawyer." Settembre responded as he crossed his arms and nodded. Amin snapped with slight disappointment in himself realizing he forgot that detail. "The Manchester family. Contending with the Pendold family in numbers, in their free time they work for the town they defend from threats as mechanics, plumbers, trash men. Aside from their eldest son, known by his anonymous hero alias as Haoyu mysteriously, the family's abilities consist of physically and mentally nerfing, weakening and punishing villains in an area of effect, forcing assailants to be put in disadvantageous conditions." Amin continued before being cut off by Settembre who turned in Reynard's direction. "Haoyu, the physically strongest of the eight heirs of leadership. He's nicknamed growth spurt since he used to be the smallest kid and pudgiest out of all of us until at some point his insecurities had overwhelmed him and they decided on what he's gifted with to save lives and defend his home. He enlarges himself massively and when he gets fired up, he grows far stronger and swifter. Don't underestimate him when you see him in the match. You must stay on your toes, prepared to dodge when he tries to get his grip on you." Settembre warned his new friend in a grim tone. Reynard's expression shifted from indifference to excitement as he heard the psychometric investigator's warnings. Amin took the time to remember what family came next determined to ace Settembre's pop quiz. "The Hyun family. Members before the Patriarch broke the tenets of the oath we all swear to adhere to, forgiven by the founder under a new heir that inherited the title of Patriarch, the number was restored to the eight. Their energy is represented in the form of beige ashes." Said Amin as it took far longer to recollect the details regarding the family in question. Amin approvingly nodded as he stood quiet but it caught Derek's attention. "I'm hoping to see Jang in action and confident that I'll be facing off against Duri!" Derek confidently responded after JinJunyë's brainy defender had pleased Settembre during the quiz. Amin rested his chin between his thumb and index finger as he thought of what next. "The Throndson family. Electrifying and eccentric, especially in the ring. Known as the most entertaining family in the world of combat sports. They're abilities are versatile while they're stuck in the form of electricity and lightning. Trained in childhood to have the advantage in regard to offense over any villains threatening their homes. They can enhance their physical capabilities to the tier of the pinnacle that humanity has to offer and produce the greatest martial artists next to the Wiley and Pendold families in the heroic oath." Amin continued as he began grinning feeling like he was succeeding in the quiz. "Doin' spectacular, man. Four more." Settembre congratulated as he punched his shoulder. Amin felt it still, he continued. "The Williams family. Defenders of— and homicide Detectives, officers and garbage men in a town in North Carolina that prioritize investigative abilities to help their natural athletic abilities." Amin responded as he grinned. Derek realized what he forgot after one of the Pendold kids distracted him the day before with questions."Oh, yeah! Heck, Al, where's Jayden this quinquennial?" Derek asked Settembre with overwhelming disappointment in his voice. "I'm far more shocked and disappointed than you, now I've got to deal with my parents alone." Settembre replied as he held a similar expression along with his tone. "I was always thankful he had your back even while I could never be there for you, man. I wanted to show him how much better I've become thanks to him since we all last met. Some tricks I've picked up, you know?" Derek finished with a serious tone. "Most definitely. I was looking forward to letting him know that I beat my record!" Settembre finished with a smug grin. "Maybe— we should probably be worried for him?" Derek suggested, unsure of the answer. Settembre shrugged before he had a prideful smile. "Nah. If there's one one of us that's going to be in danger, he's in the running for the last to expect. You know his knack for bringing out the best in his pals and haters, stacking that with his almost to a supernatural degree knack to tell fact from fiction in others words. He'd have to come across someone he didn't surpass in power— like— the Pendold Patriarch?" Settembre reasoned and explained. Amin was fed up and had the rest of the answers to the quiz. Derek smiled attempting to hold in the relief Settembre gave him. "That's— true." All of the details that he was challenged to memorize. The group had gone silent with Derek finishing last as they realized a villain from their past broke into the founder's home, stepped through the observatory's door. "You two are still as awkward as ever. Now you've joined forces with two more?" The Hayes Patriarch, Caleb Hayes, responded to their abrupt silence. Derek lowered his guard. "S— my bad, Mr.Hayes, I think Al's little brother is messing with our vision and he made your footsteps soundless in our ears." Derek replied before he and Amin informed the others on what to do. Settembre and Amin agreed with Derek's theory. Caleb shook his head with disappointment at Wilel's pranks. "The founder wants to see our latest Patriarch." Caleb informed the group of JinJunyë's heroes.

Kilometers below the founders' mansion home deep in woods, he held an advanced training facility for the young heroes, usually used for him to help his best friend's descendants develop and discipline their special extraordinary abilities and talents before joining the field. The bleachers for the spectators were split up into age categories naturally, the Patriarchs and Matriarchs alongside the children of each family socializing with one another, the heirs and their elder children opining or catching up. Derek and Noa were laughing at a joke that Haoyu told her. "What are his abilities?" Derek heard the eldest son of the Pendold household, Ansel Pendold, ask abruptly. The hero of smoke and ashes reflected on the time he spent with him in JinJunyë before feeling comfortable answering his friend. One of the memories Derek recollected was witnessing Reynard leap from a twenty story building and sustain zero damage. He thought about that question for five minutes but couldn't come up with much. "I actually have no clue." Derek answered with an awkward expression and a shrug. Ansel Pendold held a similar mien. "There's no way this new fella's going to be able to match Haoyu. I'm calling it now." Ansel Pendold replied before turning his gaze back towards the two in the ring. "I heard that he whipped you hard, Dare bear." Said the eldest daughter of the Jepson family. Noa shook her head recalling the Jepson daughter's unholy past while Amin held widened eyes. Amin wasn't amused. "She's a wild child, isn't she?" The young successor of JinJunyë's defender asked rhetorically as he turned towards the Wiley Heir. Derek smiled and let out a light chuckle. "You're going to be blown away when you meet her family, dude." The young defender of the city of Chaelb with a smug grin. Amin turned his gaze towards an older pair wearing the same robe as the eldest Jepson daughter before the man he could only assume to be her father gave him a spine tingling glare from a distance. Amin turned his stare back towards the contenders, his best friend Reynard and newly acquainted, Haoyu Manchester study one another. Haoyu eased a smug grin on his face as Reynard could see that he was studying him. "I might as well return the favor. Think back to the quiz. Eric Manchester hero alias Haoyu. All except for him have great abilities that epically nerf and weaken their opponents." Reynard recollected notes from Amin earlier. Haoyu began circling Reynard, however, before he made it behind him, Reynard followed with the same pace. The defender of JinJunyë heard a heavy grunt from his opponent before he eased into a stance Reynard recognized from a martial art that he was not expecting, an orthodox boxing stance. Reynard kept his guard lowered as Haoyu approached, squared up accompanied with a serious glare. "My speciality!" Reynard thought to himself with a smug grin before he was baited by Haoyu's feint into a shoulder press slam while destroying the ground in the process. Ansel Pendold saw an opponent that he found to be fascinating and that he hasn't defeated yet, he ambled his way over and grabbed his attention with his silent glare. Jang stared back at the hooded and cloaked Pendold son with a confused expression for a moment before shutting his eyes and laying back down. Duri looked over towards the eldest Pendold son. "Whatcha doin' eyeing, big bro, like that for?" Duri questioned as he also found the dim glow in his eyes catching and one of the reasons he wanted to speak with him. Ansel put his fingers up but he couldn't quite find the words he was pleased with and hastily walked away, before getting anywhere, Duri had his arm wrapped around him and led him back to Jang. "I—I'm…" Ansel still struggled to find the words to explain. "You're looking for a fight against living lazy arrows here and I'm all for it. He's in. You're going down." Duri accurately figured and assured the Pendold son. Ansel's eyes lit up ecstatically hearing he agreed. The two weren't far from Jang and he found it annoying that he confirmed the match without his say. "I'm right up here and I'm not lazy. I'm appreciative of being at my strongest— for maybe some fight down some line maybe?" Jang replied, offended by the lazy accusation. Duri, still with his arm wrapped around Ansel, started with a confused expression. "I'll buy and retrieve a year's supply of carrots and orange juice for you to dip them in if you show off against this Ansel guy, J!" Duri bargained with a bright grin. Jang's head flew up, eyes open and attention reeled in like his brother was the world's best fisherman. The Hyun's practiced archer agreed before lying back down, unapologetically smiling. The Throndson son Duri is up against, shouted at the brothers and Ansel as he stood down the bleachers from them. "Remember that you have to refuse to hold your punches facing off against a Throndson!" Ryoh shouted even as he ambled closer to the group. Duri sized up the Throndson son. He acknowledged the lightning bolt shaped designs on their custom designed outfits as their abilities come in that form. The bolts of lightning were electric blue mixed with the color shade of their ability. "I heard that your father is a mixed martial arts legend?" Duri asked afterwards. Ryoh's mood was picked back up. "Yeah! Wanna go see a few of his matches?!" Ryoh asked ecstatically and gesturing. Duri nodded with the same enthusiasm.

Reynard's nose had begun bleeding before recovering out of the massive hole from the powerful slam his brutish and hulking opponent, Haoyu Manchester, performed on him astonishingly. Reynard realized his opponent was incredibly swift despite his intimidating size and build, though, built like a practicing strongman ready for a competition. "Haoyu is getting so much stronger, before our very eyes." The founder thought to himself as participated in spectating from a comfortable distance, "Breaking what should be an unbreakable, at least I can repair it on a whim. That's my boy!" He finished with a relieved face. Reynard gnashed his teeth as he felt the bruising from the slam he was delivered. Reynard thought it was time to push his opponent to reveal what he's capable of to him, or to push him and for him to end the match. Settembre gave a strange chuckle as he twisted towards Amin with a smirk. "Time to finish the quiz, chum." The gifted historian reminded his new friend. Amin sighed as he took the brief moment that he would need to in order to recollect the answers and paused relentlessly cheering on Reynard. "The Wiley family. Possessing a vast collection of abilities from their enduring bloodline, generation after generation possessing vast knowledge and discipline of the many topics from their tendency of journaling their findings, they have the total authority at utilizing smoke to their advantage. Ranging from disabling enemies or enhancing themselves and others." Amin answered, impressing Settembre greatly. "Extra points if you can remember the second most decorated in victories, usually each quinquennial?" Settembre revealed to his engineering buddy as he finished clapping from the previous answer. Amin grinned once more, knowing he has it easily. "The Jepson family. A family of coroners, death parlor employees and forensic experts, Possessing astounding abilities to conjure illusions and other less ethical physical phenomena. In the running for the fewest in numbers, ironically, the numbers game is their way to fame and the defense of their city from vile villains, arguably as vile." Amin answered, the Jepson Patriarch twirled his gray mustache as he held a scornful expression, Amin refused to turn around, the feeling of his glare was plenty for him to apologize despite requiring to yell thanks to the distance. Settembre felt bad after he realized what had planned to use to prank him went way too far as he garnered the attention of the last guest he could wish on anyone when a zombie resembling creature sat next to the duo. Rue Jepson appears out of nowhere replacing the undead resembling creature in his exact spot. Amin was trapped in a trance, his cheeks flushed red and palms began dripping sweat. The eldest Jepson daughter scratched his chin as she removed her mask and Amin fell deeper from first sight. "No, man, stay focused on the mission, on the quiz, you can overcome her dirty spell!" Settembre reminded his friend as he worried he'd end up like the rest of Rue Jepson's exes. Amin shook his head and briefly overcame his trance of romance. "You're right, this is imperative— how old is she?" Amin asked as he assumed he knew the assignment. "You're twenty-three and she's seventeen, don't worry, it's over!" Settembre answered assuredly. Amin rested his head on Settembre's shoulder. Rue giggled and shook her head disappointed at their attempt. "I'm truthfully twenty-seven, big boy." Rue corrected as she scooted closer towards the nerd and began playing with his spectacles. Amin took a deep breath inwards. "Does she really have magical witch powers?!" Amin asked unsure whether he wanted to move away from Rue Jepson or move closer. Settembre looked disappointed by the question. "We don't use magic, we're gifted with and inherit the remains of what the divine left us as a spice." Settembre corrected before he began laughing at Amin's ignorance. The engineer and former officer folded his arms and whispered a snarky reply under his breath before Rue's side effect overcame him once more and Settembre had to remind him further.

Reynard blocked Haoyu's body shots before he countered with his own jab that rocked the growth spurt hero's consideration of his strength as he broke his guard, leaving his forearms bruised and feeling it even five minutes later after the defender of JinJunyë had forced Haoyu to go on the evasive as he took the advantage of his chance to be on the offensive. Reynard grinned slightly as he heard Haoyu letting out exhaling lengthily as he rolled his arm. The defender threw his guard up as he had no clue what to anticipate. Haoyu's father, Ray Manchester grinned as he looked over to his wife and Haoyu's siblings. "This is how this new fella's genuinely able to astonish us, by remaining standing after this boy's flick." The Patriarch of the Manchesters opined as the eldest Manchester son still leaves his father proud of him surpassing his own talent at a comparable age. Haoyu flicks his jab from feet away sending Reynard soaring into the air with the intent to send him out of the ring. "Time for a thrilling sparring match with obstacles!" The founder of the Heroics Oath Purlieu thought to himself. The families were left roaring with excitement as Reynard wasn't eliminated by a ring out from Haoyu's flicker jab, rather resting on a floating block made of the same material as the arena and underground training facility. The growth spurt Manchester realized why his plan didn't work and felt a slight sense of unfairness and his temper flared up as the revelation that his flick proved ineffective in regards to damaging Reynard visited him as the defender of JinJunyë was glaring at him from above, standing tall. "Rather than the ability to effectively weaken his foes, that nickname has multiple reasons for why it fits him. He grows his physical power as he grows the part of his body that he decides to use against others. Definitely feel like I got hit with a damn missile!" Reynard thought to himself as he began hanging before flipping back to the ground. Haoyu's expression made it clear to Reynard that he realized he figured him out as the defender much earlier himself had made it clear to the Manchester's eldest that he was left in the dark against Haoyu. Reynard felt like it was his safest bet to only expect Haoyu to be far more creative and wise with his plans. Obstacles, unexpected floating blocks, ramps, walls, humanoids began appearing in their arena whilst the two sprinted towards one another.