Crowley's Apprentice

Disclaimer: I do not own the Ranger's Apprentice series or any of its characters, settings, etc. I do own any OC's that might be in this fanfiction.

I'm back!

*YDG's back?*

Yeah! I'm back!

Well, after a very long time, I've found the reason to my writers block, well. . . uh, laziness. You see, I'm too lazy to actually write things down before I type them.

Hehe. . .

So, basically this means that half of this chapter is written down, the rest if off the top of my head! I'll stop once I run out of ideas!

This is probably going to be a throw away chapter. You know, the ones you don't really put that much effort into. . .

Once again, thanks to all my reviewers; Thanks!

Wow, over 100 words already. . .

On to the story!

Chapter ?:

(I don't know. I'm bad at naming chapters :])

"Damn it. . .."

"Damn it. . .

"Damn it. . ,"

Mikey repeated repeatedly to himself as he desperately tried to lift his mug of coffee with his injured right arm. He was fully aware of Crowley sitting just across the table, staring at him with a wide grin on his face.

"Need help?" Crowley asked, still smiling.

"No! I'm fine!" Mikey instantly snapped back. He picked up the mug with his left hand, wincing a little because of his healing wrist. There was an awkward silence, soon to broken by Crowley.

"Five minutes and thirty one seconds," he said. Mikey looked up in confusion.

"What?" asked the apprentice.

"It took you ten minutes and thirty one seconds for you to realize that you have another hand," Crowley further explained.

"You counted how long it took?" Mikey asked, still confused. Crowley lifted from his seat and proceeded to where their supplies rested for a "trip" they were about to embark on, as Crowley had put it.

"Nope," was Crowley's simple reply as he did so.

Now deciding to change the subject, Mikey interrogated his mentor even further.

"So, where are we headed to exactly?" he asked. Crowley looked up at his apprentice.

"We're going to the annual Ranger Gathering," He replied.

"Gathering?"

"Another question?" Crowley said while laughing. "Anyway, yes. The Gathering. You'll get to see your fellow comrades; and train with them too. "

"Wait. I have a question," Mikey started.

"What a surprise," Crowley said, laughing again. Mikey ignored him and continued.

"Why are we leaving so early?" He protested. Even though Rangers woke at a fairly early time, Crowley had his apprentice up and ready far before the typical Ranger."

"I'm the head of the Ranger Corps! We can't have the leader of this whole thing showing up late, right?

"Uh. . .Right."

"Well of course I'm right! Now let's get going!" Crowley said as he and Mikey exited the cabin.

Despite the near vacancy, the mainland of Araluen carried a wonderful sight. Even Mikey, who was normally used to this, took a second to view the trees that were becoming more vibrant by the day. The crisp, autumn air added more to this temporary euphoria. Mikey took a deep breath as he settled into this fine morning.

"Nice morning, hmm?" Crowley asked as he saw his younger apprentice constantly eyeing the vivid scenery around him. He too enjoyed the perfect weather.

Mikey, now knocked out of his trance, answered.

"Oh! Uh, yeah." He awkwardly replied. Now alert again, he asked a question that had been on his mind for some time.

"So, what do we do exactly?" he asked. Crowley looked at him, a little perplexed.

"What do you mean?" he asked in return.

"The Gathering. What do the apprentices do?" Crowley understood. After all, this was his first Gathering.

"Well, train with other apprentices, I suppose. As for us, we have things to discuss."

"Things like what?" Mikey asked. Crowley became serious.

"Things like Mogarath." He started. "We need to find out exactly what he's up to."

Mikey instantly became alert at the name Mogarath. He, as well as everyone else, had heard about his banishment from the kingdom. He was shocked to see that he hadn't disappeared completely. He thought of another question.

"Do you know anything so far?" he asked, all kidding aside.

"He is said to have an army of wargals, and he is preparing to get revenge on the kingdom," Crowley replied.

Mikey, as avid as his mind could be, thought of these beautiful streets in flames in terror. He shuddered a little at the thought. Crowley saw the movement and reassured his apprentice.

"Don't worry about it though," he said cheerfully. "Hopefully we can stop him before it gets bad."

"Yeah, hopefully," Mikey sighed to himself.

LATER THAT DAY. Or NIGHT. NO, NEVER MIND DAY. WELL, I GUESS YOU CAN-

NEVER MIND. (That was a transition btw :])

"Alright. We can stop here." Crowley told Mikey as he dismounted his Ranger horse, Sonic. Mikey, in turn, dismounted Silver (eh? Anyone take a guess? No? alright.) and set up the one man tent that he carried with his other travel necessities. The sun was setting now, and the sky was a beautiful shade of orange. Mikey turned to his mentor.

"Fire?" he asked.

"Hmmm," Crowley thought for a minute. "I guess we can risk it."

Not knowing what exactly they were risking by using a fire, Mikey found some pieces of dried wood that would burn nicely. That night, they fed on dried fruit, and cold meat, as well as water from their canteens. It was getting late know, so Mikey decided to take first watch.

"You know what to do if you see anything," Crowley told him before turning over and appeared to doze off.

Mikey found a vantage point that Crowley had found while setting up camp. He took cover in it, concealed perfectly by the night, and his cloak. Recurve bow in hand, he watched.

Nothing.

He scanned the area around him, searching for any sign of movement. Once again, nothing. He considered dozing off for just a few moments, and tricked himself into doing so. He closed his eyes and relaxed for a bit.

Then, he heard something.

Eyes shooting open, he scanned the area once more, making sure that he didn't make a sound.

Then, he heard it again.

It sounded familiar. Hoof beats, he thought. They moved at a slow canter, then stopped completely. Mikey knew that he had to alert Crowley, but if he moved to fast, they would be sure to hear him. Ever so slowly, he crept his was out of the vantage point, and started back towards the two tents that were in sight. As he became closer to where Crowley was, he accidentally stepped on a fallen branch, which cracked, emitting a small "pop". Cursing to himself quietly, he quickly moved on.

He was almost there when an arrow hit the ground just before his feet. Terrified, he almost shrieked in fear. They heard him. They knew where he was.

He was caught.

Oooh, cliffhanger.

Now you have to review. Because you read it, so you might as well. You know, just for the hell of it.

I'm just kidding! You don't have to review. But it would be nice too.

Anyway ill try to update more often, and not once every month.

BYEE!

-YDG (YaDig?)