Will and Fate
By Jeremy

Chapter 1

September 1987

"Jer, wake up." said a young voice.

From the bundle of bed sheets that piled over an unfortunate pillow came a very very sleepy and widely incoherent mumble. Aside from that, no stir could be detected.

"Come on, Jer. We gotta go!" stated the same voice, this time sounding impatient.

"Go 'way..." was the sleepy retort. A moment passed. Then, one listening in would have heard a drastic intake of breath. Then...

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh!" was the bloodcurdling scream uttered.

Jeremy Storm, eight years old, bolted out of his bed with the energy of youth compounded by surprise and fright. So panicky was he that he nearly decked the one responsible for his thoroughly improper wake-up call. Angry grey eyes met amused and satisfied black ones and held them fast.

"Tom...you...you..." blurted Jeremy at a complete loss, trying to find sufficiently hurtful words to assuage the excitation and anger he was feeling.

Thomas Storm was, for his part at least, completely at ease. With black hair and eyes, he was a far younger image of his father, with the soft cheeks and nose of his mother. At nine, he was already taller than many of those two years his senior, and had a natural strong built. Jeremy was far different. Of average height, his face and general physical disposition reminded those around him not so much of his parents but rather his paternal grandfather, who had the same kind of grey eyes and, when younger, possessing the peculiar shade of brown - slightly coppery - hair. The two were cousins but, as they had been together for as long as they could remember, they considered themselves brothers, a youthful attitude that they defended, althought no one around had any problem with their conception of brotherhood. Since he was slightly older - after all, ten months of age difference seems like forever for children that age - Thomas usually tried to look and act like a big brother, an attitude that always seemed so much important since Jeremy started showing the mild-mannered aspects of his deceased father.

Presently, however, the younger Storm boy was anything but mild-mannered. In fact, he was very close to strangling Tom with his own hands. This did not escape the would-be victim, who only smirked and pinched the nose of his younger family member.

"I knew you'd get outta bed with that!" he sing-song.

"I would have woke anyway, Tommy!" half-snarled Jeremy, rubbing his eyes and streching wearily. Already the fire that was in his eyes was dying off. Jeremy, unlike Tom, was never able to be angry very long, if at all. It was one of the reasons the room the two shared hadn't degenarated into a perpetual battlefield. "Next time, please don't shout." he grumbled.

"Aw, fussy boy."

"Don't say that!!"

"FUSSY BOY!"

"Tom!"

Tom went away laughing, Jeremy right on his heels, the two making a ruckus equivalent to twenty people instead of two. 'Fussy boy' was the fond nickname Mattew had given Jeremy after the youngster's late-sleeping habit. Shortly therafter, Thomas had adopted it for his own uses, the greatest of which was teasing. Thus, Jeremy always took the nickname with good grace when it came from his uncle, but was extremely annoyed when it came from his oh so irrepressible cousin.

The boys' cat-and-mouse chase led them to their usual morning destination: the bathroom. The door was closed, such that Tom flung it open with energy. What the two entering misfits first noticed was that the door had stopped before hitting the wall as it usually did. Both boys peered behind it, blinked, then rushed to the door.

"DAAD! MOM'S NAKED AGAIN!!" bellowed Tom from the top of the stairs. A moment of silence followed, then a deeper voice rose from below.

"So, has she gained any weight?" deadpanned Mattew. An outraged muttering brewed in the bathroom.

"Nah. But, like all girls, its gross." responded Jeremy, shaking his head. The all-encompassing tone of youthful wisdom he took changed the mutterings into chuckles and started a round of laughter from below. The two sounds lasted long enough so that both children looked at each other with the resignation that said "adults are crazy. I always knew it." With a slight harrumph, Jeremy went back to the bathroom, this time ignoring her aunt, who was busy dressing up. He shook his head. Girls were strange. They always drew bad pictures, giving them away as if they actually were works of arts. They also were whiners, completely unable to take a hit from someone without crying - something the two cousins looked at with boyish disdain. And worst of all, the worst worst worst of the worst worst worst: they had the insane idea that it was right for boys and girls to kiss, and they tried that very act far too often for Jeremy, who happened to be one of the targets. Well, at least it was on the cheek and not on the mouth. He'd die from disgust if it was on the mouth. He already had enought problems not gagging when Uncle Mattew and Aunt Samantha did just that, far too often. But then, they were adults and every kid knew adults were weird. The thought that he might actually kiss a girl one day. Willingly, at that! He made a face of revulsion.

"Yeah. I knew you were ugly." teased Tom, who had come back inside the room by then. Jeremy shot him a look.

"Well you're more ugly." he retorted.

"I am not!"

"You are too."

"AM NOT!"

"ARE TOO!"

"NOT!!!!"

"TOO!!!!"

This scene migh have continued while, if Samantha hadn't stepped in - dressed at last - and stopped it with a simple declarative sentence.

"If this keeps up, you'll be late for your bus, chimpmunks!" she said.

The two little boys, reluctantly agreeing, left the verbal battle at that, but silent looks told it would resume in the bus - in full force.

* * * * *

One Hour later...

Ten minutes after the two young whirldwinds named Jeremy and Thomas had dashed to their bus, the older, more mature occupants of the Storm husehold were relaxing a little before beginning their own workday. Samantha was drinking a cup of coffee while her husband was simply sitting, eyes closed, across the table from her. There were some dirty dishes to be done, and other miniature chores, but neither seemed to hasty to start at them. So a silence stretched on, interrupted by Samantha's careful sips, the occasional creak of woodwork in the house, and the faint melody of the outside world.

At length, however, the penetrating silence was broken.

"What did you mean by 'has she gained any weight'?" the lady of the house asked pointedly.

Althought his eyes remained closed, Mattew grinned slightly. "I was wondering how long it would take before you'd ask me that."

"Well?!"

"Well what?"

Brushing aside the idea of hitting her husband with the coffee pot, she decided to simply press on. "What did you mean by 'has she gained any weight'?!"

"Have you?"

"Are you calling me fat?!?" This time there was an hint of menace that the meditating man did not miss. He opened his eyes and smiled, his expression one of placid amusement. Samantha wasn't fooled. She could read him very well, and what she saw had mischief written all over it.

"You said that, not me. As for me, I'll say no, I don't think you're fat. Not at all in fact."

She nodded but said nothing. It was a compliment, all right. But one that could be interpreted in different ways, some of them less good than others. Then again, this was his way of complimenting someone, student, child or even wife. Then something unexpected come.

"Next time you take your shower before the boys wake up, tell me. I'll come and oogle you and do you full justice." It was said as placidly as anything Mattew usually said, but with a look in his eyes that spoke of some very intimate things.

Samantha smiled sweetly. "Why, thank you, love. Just remember that it was those thoughts that got us a little ball of energy called Thomas." She got a little more serious. "Do you think they'll be alright at their new school?"

"That school has a good reputation. I see no problems on the horizon." he stated.

But she shook her head. "You didn't get my meaning...I meant do you think they'll make friends? They never did make real friends before."

Mattew tried to come up with words that might assuage her fears. "They have each other and because of that, they think little of those around them. But they'll find friends eventually. Who knows? Maybe today."

"Aren't you optimistic."

He sighed. "I have to be. Because there's little we can do there for them, except to hope for the best. Things will happen as they will. We can neither force them nor prevent them."

There was silence for quite a while after that.

* * * * *

"Greenway School. So that's what it looks like."

"Well, its bigger than the old one, at least."

It was only the truth that the two boys spoke. Greenway School was a three-storied, large main building of red brick connected to a smaller one of the same relative make, which definitely seemed newer. Surrounding it was a small park and amusement fields surrounded by a fence. A big, typical school. And like all such schools, it was packed with kids, walked about by a few exhausted adults and, as this was before class, filled with enough noise to render anyone deaf.

The two boys liked it immediately.

They walked silently side by side, avoiding multiple collisions with over-eager children and objects that went astray. The vibrant air and the cloudless sky soon put them into really a great mood.

"So, what's the class you got again?" asked Tom excitedly. "304? 306?"

"306, yeah. You its 309, huh? You know, I hope I'll get a nicer teacher than the last one."

"Aww, he wasn't that bad." said the larger Storm, who had been in the same class.

"What? He was smelly, ugly, bad and...well... " he stopped as he heard a voice wailing near him.

"Waaa! Why did you squash...sob... my lunch?!?!"

Both youths turned their attention to the scene that was being played out near them. A student, bigger even than Tom, was standing with a sick superior smile and a foot in the middle of a squishy amalgam of paper, plastic, juice and foodstuff that had once been a lunch bag. The one in front of him was a tiny, tiny blond haired-girl in pink and white uniform. She was the one wailing. Beside her was a boy who was being held back by two others, who seemed to be with the biggest runt. The little girl, however, seemed to be standing her ground. Jeremy looked around and saw that few students were in the area, and those that were were keeping to themselves. He hated those that stayed inactive, watching something that was plainly wrong without lifting a finger. He walked up to the two who were holding back another boy, and gave thjem both a shove from behind. They fell in surprise, letting go of their captive. The biggest of the boys scowled. Jeremy wasn't impressed by him at all. He returned the stare evenly.

"And he was about as stupid as this guy!" he said to Thomas, who had come up behind.

"You really hated that teacher, huh?" joked Thomas. "I say this guy is worst. And he smells as bad as a donkey, too!" He gave the biggest guy an unfriendly look, balling his fists. The boy who had been freed came to the side of the little girl, giving the bigger youth a withering glare.

"You're just a big coward, Ian. Now go before we go get the teacher!"

The threat about the teacher worked. The big boy backed down reluctantly. He gave the two brothers a furious look, which was returned full force.

"I'll get you for that." he warned in the voice of someone who had always used violence to get what he wanted.

"Anytime, fatso!" said Tom with a cold smile.

"Yeah." said Jeremy.

The boy named Ian and his two underlings went away, glancing behind them blackly. The four kids that stayed behind soon forgot about his less-than-savory presence. The little girl was still sobbing over the smashed lunch bag while the other boy tried to calm her down. The Storms just looked on uncomfortably.

"Sniffle...mom's gonna be mad at me." she wailed

"No. She won't if I go with you to tell her its their fault." said the other boy.

The little girl looked at him with hope. "Will you?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

The girl suddenly hugged the boy at that, making the Storms' uncomfort much more present. The other wasn't feeling to good about that either, or so it seemed.

"Oh thank you, Nate! Thank you!" she said.

"Hey, come on! We're friends! We've always been friends!" said 'Nate' as a way of explaining his actions.

"Err..." started Thomas.

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot about that! Are you guys new here?"

Jeremy and Thomas looked at each other in surprise. This, somehow, wasn't what they had been expecting from the two they had just helped.

"Hey, next time you...ow!" said Thomas, stopped by Jeremy's elbow. The milder cousin gave the bigger one a warning sign, then resumed the conversation himself.

"Why do you want to know if we're new?" he asked far more polite than Thomas had just been.

"Cause you gotta!" exclaimed Nate. "No one in school ever stood up to Ian like that."

Thomas was disbelieving. "Ever?!?"

"Not that I remember. Ian is bad. Like very very very completely bad!"

"Badder than bad." said the girl.

"Bah, they say 'there's a first time for anything', right?" said Jeremy

"I think its 'everything', bro." mused Tom.

"Huh...whatever....I'm Jeremy Storm and this is Thomas Storm. You?"

"I'm Nathan McIntyre - call me Nate, everybody does, - and she's Claudia Levenson. Nice to meet you guys."

"Hi." said Claudia.

"Hey, its nice to meet you too!" said Thomas. "Hey, where are you guys. Classes, I mean?"

"I got 305." said Nate

"306." said Claudia.

"Hey, the same class as me! Cool!" exclaimed Jeremy. He was really starting to look forward to this school after all. At least he wouldn't be alone. Of course, it wasn't as cool with Thomas but still...

"Hmmph! Well, it'll be boring for me." said Thomas. "Especially maths." he shuddered. The three others laughed. Right then, as if on cue, the school bell resounded. They started to walk toward the doors, still talking.

"So, you guys are new here!"

"Yeah."

"Do you like math, Jeremy?"

"Hummm..."

"Hey, since you're new, let me show you the best spot to eat lunch!"

"Oh, no! My lunch! What will I eat?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...We'll share, I guess."

Yes, thought Jeremy again as he listened to his new friends, this school might not be that bad at all, with those two around.

* * * * *

A Few Hours later...

The first day of school hadn't gone that bad, after all. Jeremy had sat next to Claudia in class, and had found his new teacher a good deal better than the last one. In the many short conversations he had whispered with Claudia, he had learned that Nate and she knew each other from since they could walk, that Nate's parents were rather weird, but that he was always nice. In fact, she seemed to like to talk about Nate more than anything else, but he found her okay for a girl. The lunch had also been fun, with Nate and Thomas both declaring that the teachers in their classes were stupid, that the classes were dull, that the classes were filled weith people they didn't like - Thomas had one of Ian's two goons - and that, most of all, that Jeremy and Claudia were sooo lucky to be in the same class. Already the two Storms felt they had known the other two for a long time instead of a few hours. It was a unique event for them: most of the time they didn't make friends at all, preferring each other's company. But they didn't mind it now, for Nate and Claudia were cheerful and talkative, and put them both easily at ease.

"Claudia is more than a talker, she's a super talker. I mean she talked to me every chance she got." sighed Jeremy to Tom as the two walked to the bus line.

"Yeah, like you mind." retorted the other with a smirk.

"No, but I think that she could let me talk from time to.."

"Jer." Tom interrupted gravely.

Jeremy stopped and looked at Tom, who was grimly staring ahead. He looked in the same direction and quickly understood why his cousin was suddenly so sober. He grimaced.

"Oh, not those guys." He groaned as he saw Ian and his two goonies coming their way.

"You said it. I won't run. Let the fatso come and fight." was the reply.

The 'fatso' - who was big but not fat - did come to them. There was a glint in his eyes that told of his intentions quite clearly. The other two seemed less eager for a fight, but followed like the sheep that they were. The big boy stopped right in front of the two, cracking his knuckles. It was clearly a move designed to impress but, to those two boys, it seemed pretty pathetic a gesture. Ian saw this, glared at them, and decided that dignity still demanded he bullied them - or at least tried to.

"So" he said in that superior way of his. "Ready to lose you're teeth?"

Tom smiled coldly. "Maybe. Are you?"

Tom and Ian fell on each other, kicking, punching and screaming. Althought the Storm boy fought with hardened ferocity, the bigger Ian used his superior girth and strength to easily gain the upper hand. Jeremy wasn't faring any better, having to fight to boys. These weren't anywhere near Ian's strength, and didn't seem to enjoy the idea of beating others like their leader, but there were two of them. As hard as as he fought, as fast as he punched, he was slowly losing. Eventually, Tom received a pretty cruel kick in the stomach that put him in a precarious situation, and Jeremy was getting beaten up pretty bad by the two goonies. Things were indeed looking grim, and they probably would have been in a much worst state, if someone hadn't stepped in right when things were at their worst.

"Whoa! You there! STOP THAT AT ONCE!" said an adult's voice.

The two goonies immediately relaxed, stepping back and allowing Jeremy, who was at the limits of his strength, to fall flop on his ass. Ian seemed not to have heard, and continued to pounce on the increasingly-panicking Tom. Finally, a large hand caught the bully by the back of the shirt and heaved him off his victim. Ian came face-to-face with a very angry middle-aged teacher.

"I should have known you'd be causing trouble, Ian Deneen! You always have!!" he turned his angry gaze to the other participants of the fight. "As for you, I think you're no better!! Fighting like savages! Come with me to the principal's office. NOW!"

The kids there were tough kids alright, but kids nonetheless. The got up and followed the angry teacher meekly, without a word. The two Storms saw that there were many students around, looking at them.

"These guys must have been here since the fight!" exclaimed Tom.

Jeremy shook his head. "They were here before."

"Why didn't they help?" he snarled more than asked.

"Scared of Ian, I guess. Just like we'll be scared of Auntie and Uncle when they find out."

"Gulp. You shouldn't have said that." grimaced Tom nervously.

"I know..."

It seemed that this day wouldn't be that good after all.

* * * * *

Two Hours later...

"Pathetic. Childish. Useless. Dim-witted. These are a few of the milder words are can think of your brawl. I am extremely disappointed in the both of you." Mattew ennumerated quietly when they had come back home. His words were soft and even, but his words so full of venom that he might as well have shouted them.

As she saw the boys cringe and flinch from their father/father figure's even tirade, Samantha was glad he wasn't. Not because she felt any sympathy towards them. After all, she had been the one who had had to go get them at the principal office, learning of the incident there. She had been so steaming mad, that she had nearly blown the family car apart from her shouting, and then shaken the rafters of the house when they had come home, treating the bruises with a stern and almost cruel curtness. Unlike her husband, fighting and knowing how to fight was a necessary evil that she had had to learn as a security measure when working on the street, helping bums. She had never admired those who fought because they just wanted to, and made that unbelievably clear to her boys. She had been still angry enough that, when her husband had come back to have something to eat - which he always did before the evening classes at his dojo - he had hesitantly asked if he had done something wrong. That's when she told him, shaking and banging different items and ustensils as she did so. He had looked grim, and had dragged the boys from their hideout. And now, it was his turn to give them a piece of his mind.

"In this family, we believe in seeking fair, honourable fights, and then with opponents that can help us augment our skills. We do not go sprawling into the dirt for any stupid reason. Your grand-father didn't, I didn't, my brother didn't and I'll be damned if you start doing this too!" his voice became angrier as he spoke to the boys individually. "I hoped you had more sense, Thomas, challenging someone who's used to using strength to get what he wants! And as for you, Jeremy, I thought there was more of your father in you. It seems I was mistaken."

He fell silent, his even but angry gaze staring unblinking at the two unfortunate children, who were fairly squirming by now. The black-haired man - whose hair was just now starting to grey - heaved a frustrated sigh, then resumed in his normal voice.

"Go to your room. No playing outside for the next week. And from now on I'll show you how to fight. Really fight. Honourably. One-on-one. Follow a damn code. You'll go to every one of my classes that I tell you to and you'll train with me when I tell you to without saying a word of complaint. Now go."

The boys were completely distraught. This was way too harsh, in their opinion. Even Samantha was taken aback, though she didn't show it.

"But, what about supper?" asked Thomas timidly.

"None tonight. Consider this when you pick a needless fight."

"B-b-but..."

"You two have no idea how easy I'm letting you off on this. You see, I'm not angry yet. You two have never seen me angry. The only ones who have don't want to see it again. Now I am telling you to go to your room and stay there. Go."

"..."

"NOW!"

The two scampered away. Samantha went to sit beside her husband.

"Don't you think it was a little bit harsh, all the same?"

"It was. They need it. And I'm not so bad compared to my own father. When John and I did these things, we had trouble sitting for three days afterwards. My punishment will be harsh training and discipline."

"You'll make them old before they are even fully grown." she remonstrated sadly.

Mattew looked at his wife, his look one of tenderness, a look that very few had ever seen. A look he had only for her. He brushed his hand against her hair. "I might." he admitted. "Will you hate me...for that?"

In answer, she kissed him. When they broke the kiss, she rested her head on his shoulder. "I'll never hate you, you big, dumb martial artist. Just go easy on them, okay? don't push them too hard."

"I won't." a long silence ensued. "My love?"

"Hmm?"

"Is it just me, or is there smoke coming out of the kitchen?"

* * * * *

Well, here we are. A new part. I hope you like it. I'm not sure I do. Still, I had to start the true context from somewhere. See ya soon!

Jeremy

Any comments? this is my e-mail address: ledar10@hotmail.com