Tim Allender's Story (Part 3)

Starting Over

A new beginning-

After Eric had left, i felt lost, how could i start-over after all that had happened? But like all decisions I would make from then-on, I had to think like Eric would have wanted me to think, and that is what lead me to my next big move. Something that would start-over all that had happened and create a new story for myself and for others. So my first move was to obviously get an apprentice of my own! But even before i would do that i had to tie up some loose ends. And what i mean by that is that I'd have too talk with James. James and I hadn't spoke since the time i told him about the secret meeting. Since then, we haven't made any contact. But if i were to get a new apprentice, I would have to make sure that James did not interfere again.To be honest i was afraid too confront James. Like i mentioned before, James and I had been friends for a long time. And now (after all we had been through) confronting him would be hard for me. But that would not detour me from this mission. So the next day at recess i made my move. James seemed surprised too see me. It was clear that he had not expected me to talk to him anytime soon. I started off simple "Hello James." He tried to keep his cool and said "Hey there Tim, how have you been?" It was clear he was playing stupid and this made me upset. But i continued the chat "Not to good James....there was an attack on the secret meeting we were planning.........then again...you already know that don't you?" I started to close in on him. I didn't expect to fight James, but i would if it was needed. James pretended to look shocked by what i said but i could see through his fake emotions. "I don't know what you are talking about." he said. "You are lying!" i shouted "I know that you were the one that told the THEY members about the meeting." "You almost got me fired!" He finally stopped pretending to be surprised and spoke in a very annoyed tone "In my opinion the fighters team are the bad guys here not us!" "And i will continue to give away your positions until almost everyone in the fighters team is fired!" So it was true, James really was a THEY member! But i wouldn't back down now, so i started to speak in as calm of a voice as i could manage. "No you won't." "If you EVER try to send another attack on our group again, I will beat you down...just like Talon!" James finally seemed shocked. And very upset too. At first he was speechless before he managed to say: "YOU!.....it was YOU who defeated Talon!" "Because of you, our attacks have been pushed back months!" James started to get in a battle position. He was ready to take me down. But like Eric once said: "He, who fights in anger always loses...even if they win." So i walked away. Me and James never did speak to each other again,which made me upset, but a fighters member has to always be strong. Now, it was time to find an apprentice.

The right decision-

Picking an apprentice to carry on what you have taught them and picking one that is still strong enough to carry on without me,was going to be a challenge. I still think Eric made a bad decision picking me. Many of the kids I knew were all in there own universe. They thought that they should always be the center of attention and that the world revolved around them. I needed someone who was open-minded,not shut up like a clam. There was only one person i knew that fit that description...and his name was Nick. I had met Nick last year, and talked to him at lunch sometimes. He was a nice kid who was very smart and responsible. And with some training, i was sure that i could make him unbelievably strong. So, Nick was my new target, question is, Would he become my apprentice? I guess there was only one way to find out, and that is by asking him. That day at lunch, i made my way through the crowds of kids to find good-ole Nick. After scanning the lunch room a couple times, i found him. He was sitting at the lunch table, by the wall. I walked over to him and sat down. "Hey Tim, i haven't talked to you in a while." I greeted him and began to explain why i had come to speak to him. I talked about THEY and James,I talked about Talon and the fighters club,I talked about Eric and the big ambush, and in the end Nick seemed a little overwhelmed. After he was able to understand everything i had told him, he still looked confused. "So, why are you telling me this?" I finally asked him if he would like to be my new apprentice. And once i did, he looked more serious. "Gee Tim, i don't know about if i could do stuff like that." "I am just not cut-out for it ya-know?" I was sad to hear this, Nick was the only person i knew could become a great apprentice. "At least consider it." i said. He nodded his head that he would consider and i left to get some food.

A kid named Machine-

For the past few weeks, a new threat calling himself Machine began to emerge. After Talon was beat up and captured by me, Machine took leadership over THEY. I had never seen Machine but i heard that he was a tall and strong kid. There was a story going around that Machine was able to beat up seven fighter members at once before calling for backup! Many people believed he couldn't be stopped by the fighters club. But the way i see it is that there were three ways to take Machine down. 1.We could wait till the year was over and hope that his bullying would die out over the summer. 2.Find Machine's master and defeat him. or 3. Take him down myself, HEAD ON! Option 1 seemed to be to much waiting and hoping so that was not a good option. And option 2 would be hard. There were other stories going around saying that Machines master was called Corruption, but that could be a rumor. So there was only one option left: Take on Machine myself! The school year was starting to come to an end, if i didn't defeat Machine before then, it was possible that he could get worse over the summer! I had to attack soon. As I was beginning to lay down the phone rang. To my surprise, it was Nick! "Tim, I've been thinking about what you said...and i have decided that i will become your apprentice." I was overcome with joy, after hearing this. "Thanks Nick." "We will practice tomorrow." and then we hung up.

Training Nick-

When it came to training my new apprentice, i wanted to use some of the training methods, Eric tried with me. But i also wanted to add-in some of my own training methods too. When Nick finally arrived, i got straight to the point. "Alright Nick, give me 50 push-ups!" Nick looked shocked "What!...that is so unfair!" I just chuckled to myself and thought "You don't know how lucky you are." Nick began to do the push-ups faster than I expected. It wasn't long before he was at thirty! Unlike Eric though, i did not encourage him to go on. I just kept watching, hoping that he could make it. As Nick began to get into the forties, he began to slow down. I still kept quiet though. A fighters member needs to learn that to do his or her job right. They need to learn that the master won't always be there to encourage them to do better. Nick kept going he was at 44. Some kids from around the park, started to clap for him. Nick was almost there. He was at 47! He began to pant and groan in pain. I wanted SOOOO badly to shout for him to keep trying, but i stuck to my method and i kept quiet. Nick was in pain. You could see it on his face. He was at 49! More kids started to clap a cheer him on. Finally Nick did one of the most wobbly push-ups i had ever seen. But it was good enough. Finally i cheered at his good work. He was out of breath but it was clear he could have made it further if he tried hard enough. The kids started to leave and after i gave Nick a great pep-talk i told him it was time to run a few laps around the track. Nick seemed disappointed but his heart was in the right place, i could tell that. And even though this was a great day (And i was happy to be Nick's master) i still had to keep in mind, that the big battle with Machine, was coming...and i was running out of time.

Chatting with Nick-

Finally it was time to make the big move. I had been sending Machine messages for a while now discussing when the battle should take place, and where. We had finally agreed on meeting at the old park at nighttime,tomorrow. Over the past few days Nick had gotten much stronger. After a while Nick even looked forward to our practice sessions! He was asking me about the practice session tomorrow but i had to tell him the news. "Nick, tomorrow we won't have time for the practice session, i am meeting with Machine tonight to fight him and make sure he never bothers another kid again." Nick seemed sad at first but then his eyes lit up with joy. "Do i get to come along and help you fight him?" Nick meant well but it was just to dangerous to bring Nick along to fight. "Sorry Nick this is just to big of a job." "You haven't been trained enough." I was afraid of how Nick would react. After all i didn't take it to well after Eric told me I wasn't ready yet. But to my surprise Nick only said "Oh....i understand...maybe some other time." I was shocked by Nick's reaction. It seemed a little strange. Something wasn't right. But i had no-time to worry, the battle was tomorrow and i had to practice. The entire day all i could think about was the fight with Machine. He has been proven to be stronger then Talon but what i worry about most is, is Machine smarter? After all, brains v.s brons is a never ending battle. Both are about the same in power. But if you have BOTH then you truly are powerful. Only now did Tim's seemingly wacky sayings make sense. While i was practicing i started to think about Nick's surprising reaction. But i still thought it wasn't anything to worry about...If i had only known how wrong i was..........

Battling Machine-

It was 2:00 in the morning. My parents were asleep and so was everyone else on our street. But i was wide awake, and ready for the fight that awaited me. I got to the old park later than i expected, but it didn't matter, Machine was still there, waiting for me. When he saw me he grinned the widest most evil grin i had ever seen. "So you made it Tim." "I thought you might chicken-out." "How has you apprentice been?" I was confused that Machine would mention Nick but i told him anyways. "He is doing fine...why are you asking?!" Machine grinned even wider and he started to laugh maniacally. I started to put two and two together and i finally understood. "What did you do to him!" i yelled. It was then that Machine told me what occurred a few hours ago:"Your dumb partner came to me earlier wanting to fight me off...to impress you." I started to get upset, but i kept listening to what Machine was saying. "He was a pretty good fighter... but not good enough." He started to laugh again. I was burning with anger and i screamed "What did you do!!!" After Machine was done laughing, he finally answered "Well...lets just say....you won't be hearing from him EVER again!" Then Machine pulled out a knife! It was hard to see in the dark, but it looked as if there were stains of blood on it! My heart seemed to skip a beat. Something seemed out of balance but i couldn't tell what it was. I had no room for words, all i could do now was fight! I ran up to him and punched him in the stomach and then kneed him in his face. He got back up and swung the knife at me! I was able to doge it and kick it out of his hands. Machine got me in a choke hold and twisted my arm. I broke away and kicked him on my way down to the ground. Machine started to get angry and he said "You are the next one to die!" I got up but Machine rushed over to me and drop-kicked me to the ground. Machine got up first and kicked me down to the ground. He was about to punch me in the back but i rolled out of his way just in time. I ran at him as fast as i could and kicked him back. But he didn't fall down this time, he then started to corner me by punching me in my stomach multiple times. I cried out in pain, but it wasn't like anyone could hear me. He managed to punch me is my face and hit me is my nose with his wrist. He was getting better and i had to stop him, FAST! Machine charged at me and ran me into the slide. I was able to climb up the slide to safety but it wasn't long before Machine followed. I tried to punch him but he caught my fist and pushed me against one of the rails! And just when i thought it couldn't get any worse he was able to pick me up and throw me of the bridge of the playground! I hit the ground with a loud THUD! I started to moan some more. But it still was no-use. Machine was coming my way to finish me off. But i wouldn't give up so easily. As he stopped to gloat above me, I kicked him in his chest,quickly got up, and hit him as hard as i could in his face. I was starting to get angry but i remembered to calm myself down. Machine was getting upset again and kept trying to punch me, but i dodged most of the punched and blocked some others. I rolled over to another are and then lept at Machine and started to punch him in the face some more. As Machine yelled out in pain, it gave me time to get off him and elbow him into the ground. Finally it was over. "Okay...okay you win i give up." yelled Machine. I almost believed him but after getting a glimpse of his eyes, i knew he was lying! While Machine was on the ground, he was able to pick up the knife i had hit out of his hands earlier! I was able to jump back before he could stab me but Machine stood up and quickly jumped at me! I was too slow to get away in time he was able to cut me with the knife! As i staggered back in pain i backed into the old tree that me and Eric sat under at the meeting. I must have hit the tree pretty hard because when i did, a large branch fell from the tree and it landed right on top of machine! Machine was groaning with pain and i would have captured him but my arm hurt so much i needed to go home and patch it up. I would have to wait till next year to finally get rid of him. But like Eric once said "Good things come to those who wait."

The beginning of the end-

I never did hear from Nick again, even his parents never made contact with me. Whatever happened to him though, he would ALWAYS be my apprentice. The end of the school year finally came along and it wasn't long before school started up again. Just another year of bullies and more battles. But with no living apprentice of my own, how would i continue to pass on all i had learned...all i would learn. As i was walking down the hallway i heard a random kid yell run away! it is Machine!!! As i peaked around a corner i saw Machine was bullying a kid (who i heard his name was Brett). As Eric once said When you can't find what you are looking for, let what your looking for find you. And I always can trust him. This... was just the beginning of a new adventure.

~note*All 3 of these stories are placed before Brett Blakley's story (part 1). if you haven't read those stories yet, move onto Brett Blakley's story part 1~