Alex Rider

A more detailed summary:

Alex Rider has always been kicked around, used and blackmailed repeatedly by MI6. Now because of his success on all of his missions, MI6 has now decided to burden him with a newly trained, inexperienced 16-year-old partner, one whop thinks that he is better than Alex in everything because he is older. How will Alex handle this new obstacle? And when will his new partner realize that Alex is really more deadly, smart and cunning than he seems, and that he's just getting in the way?


Set between:
Skeleton key and Angel Strike.

Written and edited by: 0.0 Nightriders 0.0 (Samantha Beaumont)

Inspired by: Anthony Horowitz himself and the other great authors here.

Date written (Start Date): Monday 17 December 2007 (Merry Christmas everyone)


Disclaimer:- I have made this story completely my own and i apologise to anyone who thinks this story is exactly the same as another. I assure you that's just coincidence. After all, great minds think alike!

I have made Alex Rider a more sinister, lethal, cunning, deadly force, someone who wouldn't hesitate to kill another human or animal. Someone who won't take any sort of -"!&"- from anyone, who really is the best at everything, especially when it comes to the spy world. I apologise if the story is a little over the top, if you do thinks this please include it in your reviews aswell as your ideas and comments.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR

everyone!


PS. AFTER A WORRYING REVIEW, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE BEST TO PUT THIS UP.

THIS CHAPTER IS THE ONLY CHAPTER IN THE ENTIRE STORY (i hope) THAT SEEMS TO BE A CARBON COPY OF AMATAI'S STORY SUB ZERO. I ASSURE YOU THIS IS PURELY COINCEDENCE THOUGH I DO NOT DENY READING THIS STORY, AND LOVING IT TO BITS. AMATAI IS AN AMAZING AUTHOR, AND I RECOMMEND YOU READING HER STORIES.

ONCE AGAIN. I DID NOT COPY SUB ZERO, THIS WAS PURELY MY IDEA AND THE NAMES WERE SURPRISING THE SAME. I EITHER HAD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN MITCHEL, OR MATTHEW, MATTHEW SUITED MY CHARACTER BETTER BECAUSE OF HIS NATIONALITY.

THE SCENE IN THE COMBAT AREA WAS, I ADMIT, AN IDEA EXTRACTED AND MANIPUTLATED FROM SUB ZERO, AND I AM SORRY FOR OFFENDING THOSE WHO THINK THIS IS WRONG. WHAT BETTER WAY TO TEACH MATTHEW A LESSON THAN TO DO IT IN TRAINING?

THE AGES, WERE MY IDEA. AT FIRST I WANTED MATTHEW TO BE 18, BUT THAT DID NOT SUIT MY CHARACTER AT ALL AND HE WAS TOO OLD. IF HE WAS 18, ALEX WOULD HAVE TO BE 17, AND I DIDNT NOT LIKE THAT IDEA ONE BIT.

WARNING: ALEX IN THIS CHAPTER IS VERY OUT OF CHARACTER - THIS IS PUT UP BECAUSE A REVIEWER REQUESTED ME TOO

THANKS TOO: "VON" FOR HIS ENLIGHTENING REVIEW. I HOPE THIS SATISFIES YOUR MIND VON!


Chapter 1

Meet your new, older, obnoxious, ignorant, full of himself partner…

It was 07:30 when Alex Rider walked into his school with a feeling that today would be a very bad day for him. He could just feel it in the air as he confidently strolled through the playground. Sure he had been away for a month or two, and yes he did have a very large, deep scar slashed down his right eye, as well as a tan he received on his last mission, but that didn't change who he was. Right?

Apparently not.

He strode towards his best friend Tom Harris and his bunch, and already he could see that the lot of them was staring in awe or in question. Arriving, he noted that most of them was really staring at his scar, the one he received at his third mission on Skeleton key, when he shattered the tank's glass, a stray piece when tip first down his face. Those are the scars of war you get when the government force you to go on missions you don't want, or work for them period. The rest of the group were just staring or muttering between them, shooting Alex some indecipherable looks his way.

He turned to Tom and he could already see that Tom too was staring, but not at his appearance, but at his clothes instead. Alex looked down towards his clothes and raised an eyebrow. He was wearing thick, Jet-black Wheelie shoes, with black laces. Above, he was wearing plain black, baggy cargo pants the slightly obscured his shoes. Alex had a black 4-studded row handy-man belt, and at the end was a large 8-claw buckle with a small circle, roughly 1cm in diameter, exactly at the center, where all of the claws met. His shirt was plain and semi-tight, tight enough to show the rippling muscles he had received during intense SAS training and martial arts, across his torso and abdomen, but loose enough to hide any weapons or gadgets, of choice, given to him by Smithers. Funnily enough, the t-shirt he was wearing was the only thing, aside from Alex's hair and skin, that wasn't black instead it was white. On top of the shirt, he wore a loose, black, baggy zip-up plain hoody, with two front pockets.

Looking towards his left arm, Alex new his watch must've looked particularly peculiar. It had a large surface area, but was also extremely flat. It had a small "Skylark" logo in dark grey Gothic writing at the top but that was really it. It had 8 buttons and a thick, elastic like chain that was used as a strap to hold the watch to his wrist. Oddly, the entire watch was Black, the chain and screen was tinted, and all alarms were automatically put on silent. Upon his back, he wore an elite, black duffle backpack that looked extremely light but at least large enough to hold a normal-sized parachute.

Alex chuckled to himself, earning a few glares from his "friends", and knew what he must've looked like, an Emo, or a Goth with no demonic symbols or make-up. In fact, he guessed that they actually half expected for him to jump out and say 'Rawr! Here I am to eat you!' like a delusional psychopath, or, 'Oi you lot, got any drugs?' But he did have a very good reason for his unusual choice of clothing. One that he did not have to share to his mates, no matter what they think. His belt buckle was actually an extremely strong grappling hook that could hold 3 tons of weight, not including his own. It was activated 2 seconds after he pressed the small circle in the center of its claws. The studs on his belt were actually mini-proximity mines, or grenades, that activated 5 seconds after release from human contact. The belt itself was actually hollow, that concealed 3-inch shelled bullets for a mini laser attached sniper rifle that was at this present moment in time, was de-assembled, each part hidden within the fabric of his backpack. The bag was really, at a glance, a parachute that could not only hold one person, but three! And the handles, where really whips in disguise, used to saw through 2 inches of steel, but for the use of cover, it was also designed to have many hollow, hidden places where he could hide any weapons that couldn't be found even through a thorough search, as well as a normal bag, to contain books and normal, everyday items. To activate the parachute, all Alex had to do was tug hard twice on each strap that was on his shoulders, and as a safety lock, then twist the left strap 2 times.

Alex's large black wheelie shoes were literally a walking ammunition basket. The wheels were smoke and flash grenades put together in one, and at the back of his shoes, there was each a 6-inch long, 1 to 2 mm thick knife engorged onto the sole. The laces were an entirely different story. The left lace, when detached, was a cheese wire that could slice cleanly through most surfaces. The right lace, when removed, became a wire-lock-pick on one end and if twisted at the other, it became a mini flashlight and computer. Inside the shoes were each an acidic container that when he removed the soles and places on any inanimate surface, would melt through the surface like the zit cream he received on his mission to skeleton key. Inside Alex's hoody, were two, cloaked 12mm guns with ammunition. The rest of the bullets were in a chain-like position each crossing, in an X-like position, over on his torso. Just on his wrists, right underneath his hoody, there were two, metal sheathed, medium-sized paralyzing-poison-tipped-daggers on both on top and below. To protect his wrists, he had a 1mm thick, 2 inches long titanium cover, bided all around, protecting it from all sides, just at the edges, the metal slanted into his skin, giving the illusion that the metal was actually seared into he skin. Unfortunately, Alex was unable to remove this cover unless he used his watch's laser, but then he would be unable to fix it and wear it again, so he chose to keep it on. Underneath Alex's cargo pants was a 9-10 inch long, 2-3 mm thick knives strapped safely against his shins, and a silenced 9mm gun strapped against his right thigh, with it's ammunition wrapped around his left. And like any cop or spy, he had a 10mm gun strapped to his back, just in between his waistline where his shirt and trousers met, for easy and quick accessibility.

His watch was well, a normal watch. A normal watch when configured, became a high-powered blue laser that could slice though 4 inches of titanium, as well as a detachable bomb, and a code cracker that could bypass any security systems in the world that were under the voltage level of 9000v. And all of this was the work, of his good old friend, Smithers.

There was also an explainable reason behind Alex's choice of colour. One could never be too careful enough when it came to the spy world. The black would enable Alex to hide in the shadows during a quick getaway. The gadgets would allow him to protect himself when the time comes where no one could come to help and rescue. And the white t-shirt was useful because he could easily blend into the crowd and not look too much like a loner and to cover it up Alex had the hoody.

He looked dangerous and scary.

Intimidating yet wise.

He looked out of place and someone who had seen much more than he should have done during his time.

And that's exactly what Alex didn't what, but that was the price for being careful.

He looked up back at Tom, but before he could read his friends face, the school bell rang, resulting to Tom disappearing into the mob of students in their haste to get to, or to skip, class. Disappointed, Alex went with the flow, following the person in front of him and let his daily school routine take over his actions.


4 hours later, Alex found himself in the cafeteria, sitting alone on his table as usual. On the plate in front of him, he had disgustingly nutritious food: Red meat, fruit, milk, yogurt and fish. Just as he began to eat, Tom plonked onto the seat opposite him, effectively disturbing the peace Alex had created for himself to avoid the crowd of staring students that surrounded him.

"Tell me Alex," Tom said after slowly eyeing Alex's appearance as well as his food, "Since when have you been eating healthy food?" Not waiting for an answer Tom went on, "And dress in black? And become a Goth? And become tremendously FIT? And the biggest question of all, where the hell do you disappear off to all the time! We hardly see you at school anymore, let alone your house, we come over only to be sent back by Jack…." Fed up, Alex gave Tom, his best friend a disgusted look, filtered out his words and continued eating, effectively ignoring him. When he was certain that Tom had stopped pestering him, he looked back up again, to Tom who's face was that of pure disappointment. With one last breath Tom said, "And when did you become so different? When did you change?", and with that, he walked away shaking his head towards Alex's direction. Alex, in fact, didn't really care. He was fed up of people asking him over and over again the same questions, 'where have you been?' 'Are you ok?' 'Where did you get that scar?!' 'Why are you wearing black?' 'Are you a Goth now?'…Blah, blah, blah. He had learned to just ignore those people, or just zone out when he's trapped, and when they're done, just walk away. He hated his spy life, the one he was forced to embrace with acceptance by MI6 blackmailing him, but he knew he could never be a normal boy ever again. Not without endangering his friends around him.

He knew all about the rumors that they all spread around about him. As he walked down hallways, the sight of him made people turned around and start gossiping, or murmuring to each other. Some of the rumors they spread were actually pretty close to the truth, but he knew that they were guessing further than they would've liked. They thought that he did drugs, that's why he became a Goth. The thought that he became depressed with the death of his parents, that's why he came back to school after long periods of time all cut up and bruised. Lastly, some joked around that he was working for the government, killing people for fun and blowing up houses, with that, they would never know how close to the truth they were.

Alex blew the two strands of thick blond hair out of his right eye. He was actually appreciative of his hair, because it covered up his scar very efficiently. Looking over to his food, he saw that he had already finished it. With a large sigh, he rolled his eyes and stood up in one fluid move. With cat like movement, he sauntered toward the cafeteria tray-bin, feeling the eyes of many drilling holes into his back. Disposing of his tray, he retrieved his bag, hoisted it onto his shoulders and walked out, leaving the residents of the cafeteria, which he considered a temporary hell in school, aside from school itself, in awe.


At the end of school, walking out of his school and towards his black, special edition 'Smithers' edition, mountain-racing bike, the one he received on his mission on Eagle Strike, Alex looked at his watch. It was 15:14. Swiftly removing the chain that held his bike to its prison-like bike shed, Alex hauled himself upon his bike and started to pedal heavily. It wasn't like he was late for anything, no, he just liked it when he could do things quick and easy, and for that he made a game for himself. Each time, at exactly 15:15, Jack, his housekeeper and long time friend, timed him how long it took for him to get home. So far, his record was 1 minute and 3 seconds. He rapidly raced down the hill, totally ignoring his brakes, acting like they weren't even there. He raced past all the cars, zooming so far ahead of them, the recipients inside would only see a flicker of a person, and then 'they' would be gone, leaving them wondering whether or not they had actually seen them, or if it was just a fragment of their imagination, or the trick of the wind. His hair was flying everywhere, pricking his eyes and tickling his face, and his unzipped hoody was whip lashing against his back, its zip scratching him at every chance it got. Alex felt like screaming out in joy. He could feel quite acutely adrenalin searing in his veins, his blood roaring through his ears, and his heart felt like it was going to tear apart the ribcage that imprisoned it.

It was a good feeling.

When Alex arrived at his house, all irritation he had received from school shed like a second skin, he threw a rock at the hard, oak door, making a very loud 'BANG' and proceeded to lock his bike up in the garage.

"Alex!"he heard Jack screech form the kitchen as he was removing he shoes to the shoe rack beside the garage door, "You better not have dented that door again…" Smirking to himself, Alex replied, after quickly checking the door just incase, "Nah! Of course not, no need to worry!" Obviously, Jack didn't believe this so as he was waltzing into the kitchen, he was confronted by a very amused yet irritated Jack.

"Now what have I told you about throwing those damn rocks at the door?" she snapped, but her jokey tone took out all the seriousness in it. "Do you know how much it took to repair the last one you made? Thirty pounds!" Smiling at the memory of Jack disheveled, when she found out the cost of repair form the woodworker, Alex replied in a casual tone, "Well I wouldn't have done it, if you didn't add 10 seconds to my last time because I had to chain my bike! And you supposedly didn't hear me yell extremely loudly, 'Jack I'm back!'" And leaving it at that, he smugly turned around and sat on the kitchen stool, waiting for Jacks lovely cooking and leaving her baffled for words. But as he sat down again, he turned and asked, "And anyway, what was my score this time?" Seeing Jack's face in irritation almost made him laugh out loud. "49 seconds" she murmured. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Alex said on purpose, purposely rubbing in her face that he beat his record and won the bet they made 2 weeks ago. "49 seconds" she replied in a louder tone, and before Alex could get a quick word in, she hastily said out of desperation of a worthy comeback, " And if you want any of my Japanese dinner I made, then you'd better shut your mouth young man!"

That definitely made Alex shut up.


It was approximately around an hour later, while Alex was dozing on the couch in front of the TV, when the phone rang. It was the annoying, non-stop, continuous sound of the buzzer that woke Alex up. Startled, he jumped up and instinctively reached for the 10mm that was concealed behind his back. Seeing through his haze of drowsiness, Alex quickly realized that it was actually the house phone ringing, so he reached for the headset before the answering machine went off. To his despair, he was just a second to late, so collapsing on the couch, with the phone in hand, he patiently waited for the message.

"Mr. Rider?" said the machine, with a horribly familiar metallic voice, "you are requested immediately at Royal & Banks, scheduled for a meeting with the director of management and transactions. This is of extreme importance, so we will send you a car that will arrive in the next five minutes after this message was placed…" and with that the message ended with a quiet click, quickly sequenced with another message with the machine voice stating when the message was delivered. Alex sat there, with the phone in his hand, staring at the phone in anger and bewilderment. 'They're ordering me around again' he furiously thought to himself. 'What do they have to say to me now? To send me on some wild monkey chase mission…' but before this train of thought was finished, the phone was gently removed from his hand and replaced by an apple. He looked up to meet the kind face of Jack staring down at him.

"Since I've noticed that your so hell-bent in keeping healthy these days, I don't think it's good for you to story eating a phone," she said, keeping her voice light and trying to make it a joke, "so I gave you an apple instead…" Alex looked down at the apple, keeping his face blank. Not seeing any reaction from Alex made Jack frown and worry, bending down to crouch on her knees, she lifted Alex's chin with her fingers to make him meet her eyes. "You know they really do push you too hard, and this scar…" she flicked the hair away from his face to touch the scar, brushing it oh so softly with the only mother's touch that she could offer. Standing up again she said, "You'd better come outside anyway, that car is waiting for you" The she left, leaving Alex to follow her outside.


When Alex stepped out of the black BMW turbo, he had this strange prickling sensation on his skin, as if his instincts were warning him that someone was watching him intently. Pointing out the source, he swiveled around and quickly shot his head towards the top floor window of the Royal & Banks building and narrowed his eyes. All he saw was a flash of a face, and then it was gone, but Alex knew better than anyone, what he saw was real. Someone was watching him. While the guards were accompanying him inside the building, Alex was pondering who might've been the face. It was certainly not a face he recognized, and it was the face of a teenager, a bit like his own but slightly older yet soft, like a babies face unscarred.

When the guard growled at him to get out the elevator, Alex shot him a glare his way and slowly stepped out the lift, knowing all too well that the guards knew that if they did take him on, they'd have another thing coming. Arriving at 'the director of management's' office, a.k.a. Mr. Blunts office, Alex didn't bother with the polite necessities like knocking on the door and waiting for a reply, he just opened the door and waltzed right in, then sat on the nearest couch to the door, after quickly scanning the area for 'the face'. Seeing no one other than Mr. Blunt and 'the director or transactions' a.k.a. Mrs. Jones, he leisurely turned his body towards them, looking them in the eye, and raising an eyebrow.

"Rider, I see that you have arrived safely," said Mr. Blunt after giving Alex a disdainful look. "Isn't that obvious?" Retorted Alex, snorting and looking away, ignoring two of the most powerful people in the world, who were right in front of him, "If I didn't I wouldn't be here would I?" Usually, Alex new that if anyone else talked to Mr. Blunt in this way, they would probably be dead in the next few days. But MI6 wouldn't dare do that to him, no, he was way too valuable to be disposed...yet. Mr. Blunt studied Alex without giving anything away, but Alex knew better that Mr. Blunt was just thinking of another approach, but what he didn't expect was what he said next, "Of course, well I suppose you are wondering why you were called here today..."

"No of course not..." Alex cut in exaggerating.

"...Well, we have decided, because of all our world-wide successes, to partner you with a newly trained MI6 operative who is 16, 2 years older than you..."

"What?!" Alex cried in disbelief, and Alex could've sworn that Mr. Blunt smiled when he saw him in despair.

"There will be no argument in this matter, for it has been already put into action, and your partner has already been trained and assessed and he is waiting for your arrival in the training facility..."

"But..."

"No buts, now please leave my office immediately, goodbye" and with that, Blunt turned around, effectively dismissing Alex already. Sighing out loud, Alex stood up, and with one last fierce look at Blunt's back, and ignoring Mrs. Jones sympathetic look, he stepped out into the hallway, not bothering to close the door on his way out. Walking towards the elevator, as Alex pushed the button, he knew at one the same person who was in the window looking at him, was staring at him again. Looking around, he could literally feel the person's uncertainty even though he was nowhere near him. Realizing the source was right above him, he looked up and at once saw a distorted reflection of himself staring back at him, reflected off a camera. Annoyed, he narrowed his eyes at the object and pressed himself flat against the wall, so that the camera and whoever was looking through it couldn't see him. At once, the camera very discreetly began to swivel around, trying to locate him. Smirking to himself, he looked up and immediately found the cable that connected the camera to the main socket power, and with a rough tug, he ripped it out of the wall, snapping the wire and disconnecting the camera, switching it off. 'That will take some time to fix' he thought to himself while he stepped inside the elevator as it arrived.


When Alex arrived at the training facility, he honestly didn't 'know what to expect. A considerate boy? A quite mysterious teenager? Or a Snot-nosed brat used to getting everything he wants? Immediately, even before he stepped foot on the physical training area, he was confronted by a boy 1 centimeter taller than him with such an air of arrogance, he knew exactly what type of boy he would be, and the boy, Alex realized after a second, was the boy that he had seen watching him form Blunts office. 'Great' Alex thought, as he looked at the boy standing in front of him with an extremely bored look, 'I have a nosy snob for a partner...and I don't even know his name...'

"What kind of praise you thought you would have gotten after the stunt you pulled on the camera?!" The boy said, with a tone that clearly read 'I am better than you 'kid' so get out of my way', looking at Alex like he was some dirt on his newly polished shoes. Unknown to the boy, Alex saw out of the corner of his eye, Sen Jude, Alex's acquaintance and martial arts teacher, had stepped into the shadows quietly to watch the exchange between the two. In acknowledgment, Alex sent a discreet nod towards Jude, this was also undetected by the boy, since he was too busy trying to overpower Alex by trying, and unsuccessfully, staring him down. 'Great observation skills,' Alex thought sarcastically, all to aware of what the boy's intentions were. Feeling the daggers pressing on the cover bided to his skin, Alex seriously started toying with the idea of flipping out one of them and shoving it a centimeter away from the boys eye, scaring the hell out of him, but just before he could decide, the boy finally began to notice that Alex wasn't taking notice to him, and because of this, he got extremely aggravated.

"Pl-ease­, and you're my partner, who's supposed to be better than me?" scoffed the boy, rolling his eyes at Alex and looking like he was satisfied with himself. To the boy's surprise, Alex simply looked at him and noted that it seemed as if the boy was expecting Alex to retort with a comeback of some sorts. Seeing the glint in Alex's eye, Sen Jude hastily began to jump out of the shadows to stop Alex form doing anything stupid too soon. However, he was too late, but Alex didn't want to scare the boy yet, all he wanted to do was to teach the boy a lesson. So instead, he chose another approach.

"Are you going to tell me your name anytime soon, or am I going to have to refer to you in my head the 'ignorant idiot' from now on?" Seeing the boy outraged and about to retort, he cut him out, "Or are you going to stand there like the ignorant idiot that you are and try and battle me in battle of wills like a little kid, because you are obviously going to lose the moment you start and besides, you probably lack the intelligence to start one anyway…" And leaving at that, he shoved passed the boy, dismissing him, and bowed towards his teacher, Jude. "Master," Alex said politely, and stood up again. Nodding, Jude raised and eyebrow and switched his attention to the boy, who was shuffling towards them in a slouch. Alex saw the irritation in the man's eye before he spoke:

"Stand up straight boy and walk like you're not here!" Jude said with obvious authority, his voice laced with venom. "And stop that sulking boy, we are in a war, and in wars, you sulk, you die!" Looking at Jude, Alex vividly remembered the first time he met the man. Jude took one look at him and thought him as worthless, and Alex didn't even do anything yet to offend him. Right before their sparring battle, Jude gave Alex an extremely long lecture about the 'war' MI6 raged with the others, and with one false move, you'd die, with no one to find you. Then Jude began to talk about the martial arts, about how it was the same, that you needed speed and intelligence, and at that time Jude didn't think Alex had either. Alex quickly sorted that problem out. All he had to do was to beat Jude in a fist-martial-fight fairly. And he did, by flying colours. Soon after that Jude respected Alex and he to him. Both were never friends, but they could rely on each other do the right thing.

For a moment, Alex felt sorry for the boy. He had offended Jude in some way, and was now unprepared for Jude's wrath. But his feeling quickly diminished when the boy looked as him with such a sneer, it made his face gruesome. The boy, after directing a sneer at Alex - which was noticed by Jude - straightened up, and with an effort, put an innocent face on, hoping to get the better of Jude. It, as Alex suspected, didn't work, at all.

"Wipe that emotion of your face boy, and show your partner respect! He has been in this trade far longer than you, and he is obviously better suited for the job. I don't know how you were accepted but all I know now is that I need to assess your abilities against Alex's!" And switching his attention to both of them, he shot; "Now both of you go to your separate rooms and get changed into your martial gear. I expect you to report to me in 5 minutes!" So after nodding quickly to Alex, and Alex sending an appreciative smile, Jude turned around, stalked into his office, and slammed the door. After a couple of seconds, the distinct sound of something being pounded heavily on wafted into the area. Totally ignoring the boy standing next to him, or in technical terms, his partner, Alex swivelled around towards his door, hoping that his partner would do the same. Unfortunately, he had no such luck, for the boy rushed up and stopped right in front of him, blocking his path and forcing Alex to look acknowledge him.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you Rider," Sneered the boy grabbing Alex's shoulders before being quickly shoved back roughly by Alex, "You aren't worth my time," Then walked away, towards his door. Tired, Alex's eyes followed his partners back walk the opposite way until the boy got to his door and slammed it shut. Reading the sign on the door using his good eyesight, Alex nodded and sauntered to his door, and unlike his partner, quietly shut the door behind him. 'Matthew Ballérino Victor, what am I going to do with you?'


When Alex walked out of his room exactly 5 minutes later, he not only surprised his partner Matthew, but his teacher Jude. He was wearing a black undershirt, underneath his midnight-black martial robe, with matching martial robe trousers. Giving the impression that he was not to be messed with. But it was his belt that truly sent a big message to anyone who saw him. He was a 14-year-old teenager with a jet-black belt with 29 blood red notches at the end. Accompanying it, the Chinese ancient text '盛大丹' meaning 'Grand Dan' Or 'Grand master' was sown into the belt in midnight blue. The 29 notches, and the colour of his martial robes represented how respected he was and his rank among the Martials. The black represented the fact that he had trained with a Master Dan in China, as well as earning the full respect from the Martial Monks in China and gaining the title, '午夜快速'meaning, 'Midnight Swift', a highly respected name taken out of the ancient Samurai-martial text. The ranks according to notches were, Trainee – 0, Dan – 4, 1st Dan – 12, 2nd Dan – 16, 3rd Dan – 20, Grand Dan – 24 and the last rank, which is the hardest, and the most respected rank of all, Master Dan – 30 notches or a double Red stripe all the way across the belt with two black forward slashes 4 inches from the sides. Quickly counting the notches, Jude widened his eyes. "Impressive," he stated, his mouth twitching, almost forming a smile. "One notch away? So am I to understand that one, you trained with a Master Dan and gained a title? And two, you are one notch away from being a Master Dan?"

"That is correct master," Alex replied, almost laughing at the sight of Matthew's eyes widening in horror and disbelief, as well as the fact that he was only a 1st Dan with a White robe, meaning in the martial status, Trainee, no matter how many notches he had, if he had a white robe, it meant he was still a trainee.

Jude, noticing Matthew's disbelief, snapped, "stop staring boy, that's what you get when you train real hard and true. And Alex, can't you take of those 'cuffs?' Referring to the Titanium bided around Alex's wrist. When Alex shook his head, Jude sighed but smiled. "

Now each of you walk to the centre and begin fighting with I shout 'chi!'" And just as Jude was saying this, Alex turned his back on him and walked to the fighting circle, waiting for Matthew to join him. When Matthew arrived at the circle where Alex was waiting, he seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face permanently directed at Alex. Alex readied himself in the defensive stance at the same time Matthew readied himself into an offensive position. Smiling secretly, Alex bowed just as Jude said 'chi!' Instantly sensing Matthew attacking, Alex didn't even have to look up as his hand shot up from now-where, grabbed Matthew's leg that aiming for his neck, twisting it making Matthew cry out in shock and pain, then throwing him into the ground and putting his knee to the boys neck, slightly applying pressure so that he couldn't get up.

"First Mistake," Alex calmly said, coldly staring the boy right in the eye, "Never be in an offensive stance at the start of the fight. Second mistake, never rush your opponent ever in a fight, and third mistake, never ever try and strike your opponent while he is bowing because that is disrespectful as well as stupid because it makes your entire body vulnerable to an attack from anyone…" He would've continued if not for the clapping that emerged from the entrance of the stadium, as well as Jude.

"You, Alex, are much more deadlier than we first met!" said Jude, smiling, for the first time, in front of Matthew. "I hope we can fight some time soon, I would like to test myself against you!"

"Of course," Replied Alex while was gently removing his knee from Matthews's neck and standing up. "But not right now." Bowing to Jude, and he to him, Alex turned around towards the dark figure at the entrance. It was Mr. Blunt. Narrowing his eyes, Alex slowly walked up to the entrance where Blunt stood like a stone sentinel, just as Matthew was scrambling onto his feet. When Matthew finally arrived after scampering after them, Blunt and Alex were glowering at each other. At his arrival, they both fixed their faces and looked towards him. Not liking being the centre of attention anymore, Matthew began to sweat in his robes.

"Rider," Blunt said in his awfully scratchy voice, "after your training, I want you both to immediately report to my office. This is to be done within 1 hour. Goodbye." And so Blunt turned on his heel and briskly walked to the elevators, disappearing behind the doors on his was up. "Whatever," Alex said more to himself than to Blunt's disappearing figure. Seeing Matthew send him a disgusted look, Alex pivoted around, on his heel and into his room, briefly thinking to himself what Blunt wanted and what the mission was now.

And he hoped fervently that this one wouldn't almost kill him this time.

Hah, fat chance


TBC


Authors note:- Please notify me if i have any spelling, or grammar errors. I do not mind criticism but i will not appreciate inappropriate remarks. Please review!

Also, for those who do not know, TBC stands for to be continued. And if any of you readers would like me to hold a poll for this story, please include the question and answers you would like to have. I will choose the best and most common one of all. Thanks!

Now push the Review button... XD

ciao

Samantha A.k.a. 0.0 NightRiders 0.0