Crowley's Apprentice

Disclaimer: Sadly enough, I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice series or any of its characters. I do own Mikey and other OC's that are in this story.

Hey guys, im back!

Sorry for not updating in forever.

Anyway this is when Mikey meets Will for the first time, as well as Horace and a few others.

Thanks to Luvergirlofbooks for pointing my errors out. I was typing particularly fast, but I have more time now hopefully.

On To the Story!

Chapter Nine:

Fight

Redmont: A fief that's noticeably larger than the other forty nine, with Araluen fief included. It was a glorious place to be during late autumn. Mikey stared in awe as he passed the massive trees painted bright orange and red, and the blooming flowers that swayed softly in the crisp breeze. Riding on his pony, Silver, whom he had formed a strong bond with over the days, Mikey entered the mainland. It was busy, as expected from such a large share of land.

"Look for a cloak," Mikey quietly said to himself as he scanned the well populated area in front of him. He hoped off of Silver, the thought of being stolen never crossing his mind. He remembered what happened just barely two weeks ago, when trying to mount Silver for the first time. He still felt the impact of the hard, unforgiving Earth as he slammed against it. He gently touched his still bruised ribs, and got a slight twinge of pain as he did so.

Walking through town, Mikey saw absolutely no one who looked remotely close to a Ranger. He thought about heading back to Halt's cabin, which gave him an unusually cozy feeling considering how he had only been there long enough to unpack his belongings when Halt kicked him out. "Go find Will. He should be around the mainland," he had told Mikey mildly.

Almost reaching the edge of forest, Mikey now strongly considered turning back when he saw a group of five from a distance. Based on their body language, Mikey could easily tell that they were uneasy. Deciding to watch a little bit more, he moved slowly to another point, one where he could see much more easily. Very close to the action now, Mikey didn't utter a sound. He watched closely.

"Oh, I see the baby brought a friend," one of the boys said, putting emphasis on the word "baby". The boy was stocky and fairly tall. An apprentice warrior, Mikey thought. Based on the how his two accomplices stood a respective distance behind this stocky figure, Mikey decided that he was the leader of this little "Trilogy" as Crowley would say whenever they would confront a group of three.

"That's okay Alda," another boy said, the smugness radiating from his voice. "We'll beat the mess out of him too!"

Alda, Mikey thought. Further into thought, Mikey decided to postpone his appearance even longer.

"Yeah, him and his baby friend," the third one shouted, putting emphasis on the degrading word, much like his friend. Now the other side spoke.

"Leave us alone," the defending boy spoke. He was big for his age, but in an athletic way. "We'll handle this back in the dorms."

"Are you sure Horace?" the figure beside him asked. Compared to his friend, the boy was miniscule. He wore the mandatory green-gray cloak that Ranger's wore. His muscles were developing, probably because of constant shooting. That still couldn't distract you from his extremely small body frame. This must be Will, Mikey thought, unsuprised.

Horace Altman started to answer when a figure stepped out of virtual nowhere. Dressed in a cloak similar to Will's, Horace knew that was the other apprentice Will had told him about. With a newfound confidence, Horace waited as the skinny apprentice casually walked forward, a nonchalant expression covering his face.

"What's going on here?" Mikey asked mildly. His question was soon answered by another as one of the boys named Alda stepped up bravely.

"Oh great, another forest rat," he snickered. His two friends laughed in response. "What's your name?"

Mikey, though somewhat surprised at this boy's size, had unfortunately dealt with people such as Alda. And it usually didn't end very well for the perpetrator.

"Names aren't important," he started. "Supper is. And none of us are going to get any if we keep fooling around."

Will smiled a little. He had been told the same exact thing by his grim mentor, Halt, just a couple of days ago.

"Right," began Alda. "So lets get this over with so we can all go HOME!" he grunted while saying home as he threw the first punch at Mikey. It was a simple jab to the stomach, but it had ample force behind it. Stumbling a little, Mikey avidly regained his balance as he delivered his own crushing blow to the bigger boy's jaw, jerking him back five feet. The other two boys went for their intended targets.

Running towards Horace, the other stocky figure, named Bryn as Mikey would find out later, yelled as he ran and leaped for Horace's face while clenching his fists. Horace expertly anticipated this and swiftly moved around Bryn, followed by a bone crushing punch to the ribs. Crying in pain, the attacker fell to the ground.

Noticing all of this, Will didn't have time to realize that the third boy, named Jerome, was running towards him. He punched Will in the side of the head, sending him stumbling back. He barely had time to react as barrage of kicks and punches were delivered at a swift pace. Then they stopped. Will looked up to see Horace fighting off Jerome, introducing some of his own fighting style. Will glanced at Mikey, who seemed to be smiling throughout all of this.

After what Crowley had taught him, Mikey was in rather excellent fighting shape. He flawlessly deflected Alda's powerful blows, and in turn delivered his own. They were short, quick jabs. But even those leave their mark after a while. Punch after punch, Mikey blocked off every single one of Alda's lazy jabs. Now it was his turn.

Alda threw one final punch, easily deflected by Mikey. Now his whole chest was exposed. He looked up to see Mikey smiling with a certain vitality in his radiant blue eyes. Alda realized the mistake he made and instantly tried to strike again, only making things worse. Mikey handed combo after combo, in a flawless tempo. Jab, Jab, take out the leg, Jab, Mikey repeated to himself as he took control of his attacker. After three more of these simple yet effective fighting techniques, Mikey was about to deliver one last blow, aimed straight for Alda's jaw. This one, he knew, would knock him out for sure. Barely an inch away from his face, Mikey's fist was immediately stopped of all motion. He tried to continue, but the iron grip was unbreakable

Confused, he looked over at Horace and Will. Both of them, through widened eyes, stared right back at Mikey. Even the three battleschool delinquents, although half unconscious, seemed to stare at him with the same expression. Expecting it to be a simple bystander, Mikey turned with an arrogant smile to the person that stopped him. Then his face went white. All arrogance was gone when he saw who stared back at him through cold, hard eyes.

It was Halt the Ranger.

Chapter getting a little too big, deciding to end it.

Don't worry! There's going to be a second part

Anyone like that Cliffhanger?

Anyway please review. I'm planning on updating again sometime before Memorial Day.

Thanks!

-YDG (YahDig?)