Chapter 7A

Once again, Eric was up at the stroke of four o'clock in preparation for more unarmed combat training. Yeneya giggling at his tired and grumpy demeanour as he sullenly ate his bowl of cereal. Eric decided that he was definitely not a morning person, not that four o'clock counted as morning as far as he was concerned, it was still the middle of the night.

As he began his warm up exercises, Erith joined him.

"Today, I want to concentrate on target areas on your opponent's body. I taught you some very useful strikes yesterday so now you need to know where to aim them for best effect. This is fairly simple really. All you need to do is visualise a cross, slightly wider than the width of the head. The upright running from crown to floor and the cross member going across the chest to the arm pits. If you strike anywhere in this area, front or back you will hurt your opponent. Some places in the target cross are more vulnerable than others and some will do more damage than others but we can worry about those later. For now I just want you to think about what you will be hitting if you strike anywhere there."

"Hmm. Let's see. Obviously there is the face, throat, solar plexus and groin." Eric thought. "What else is there though?"

"Not just the face Eric, the head in general. You have the temples, the ears, the jaw, the eyes. Moving down you have the throat as you said but there are also pressure points either side of the neck that will stun or even knock someone unconscious if you hit them right and hard enough. Just to the side of the neck are the collar bones which are easily broken, the solar plexus, the stomach, groin, knees, shins, insteps and feet. All of these areas are very painful if struck in the correct manner. Running across the chest for the cross member you have the armpits, which contain huge bundles of nerves, the sternum which although very tough can be broken, usually fatally or at least struck hard enough to disrupt the regular beating of the heart which will rapidly incapacitate an attacker.

It is the same down the back of the body too. The back of the head and neck are very vulnerable and can cause death simply and efficiently. The spine runs down the upright of the cross and in the lower back you have the kidneys which are very painful if hit hard enough.

To make it easier for you to visualise what I am teaching you, I want you to project an image of an attacker, I will augment it to give it substance so you will have a physical target. Just have it stand still for the moment so you can practice striking where I tell you and I will alter your image to react to each strike as if it were really happening. It will be like having a live opponent but without the worry that either of you will get hurt."

Eric began to concentrate. As he was going to have to hit this person, he needed someone that he actually wouldn't mind hitting. There was only one choice really. Tony.

His image shimmered into existence and he felt Erith begin to work his magic to give the avatar some substance. There before him stood the one person that he hated more than anything. He was unnerved by the appearance of Tony, even though this was what he had chosen and he could feel the beginnings of fear creep into him. Eric exploded into action. He struck with hands, elbows, fists, knees and feet landing some thirty blows in the space of ten seconds. The image of Tony collapsed to the floor and good to his word, Erith made the necessary modifications to the image to indicate the levels of damage that Eric had inflicted. The panting and shaking Eric was appalled when he realised that had it been a real person he would have probably killed him.

The avatar was very badly beaten, there were even sharp protruding bones puncturing the skin where Eric had shattered the collar bones, and blood was bubbling from the mouth and nose, indicating serious internal injuries, probably a punctured lung.

"Well, I see you took my lesson to heart from yesterday Eric. You certainly didn't hold back or allow any rules to get in your way there. I am pleased to see that you are capable of it but I must ask; Did you mean to kill him?"

"No. I didn't really think about anything, I just attacked." Eric replied, his voice shaking.

"That's what I thought. You have to remember Eric; you have more strength than ever before, more speed and now more knowledge. You will have to bare this in mind if this type of situation ever occurs for real. I am not for one moment suggesting that you never attempt to kill, just make sure that is what you desire the outcome to be before committing to that particular course of action. Most often, the first couple of blows that you administered would be sufficient to cause an attacker to change his mind and leave you in peace."

Erith and Eric spent the remainder of the session going over an "instant re-play" of Eric's attack. Erith critiquing his style, strength, accuracy and use of target areas and blows implemented. By the end, Eric was certain that he could have killed with half the blows he had used.

"Are you ok Eric?" Yeneya asked as he showered. "I have never felt such a total sense of fear and hatred from you. It really worried me."

"Yeah, sorry about that sis. It was just something that I needed to get out of my system. Don't let it bother you."

"But it does bother me. I hate feeling like that, it's really frightening. You weren't in control there Eric and I didn't know what to do!" she almost shouted.

"I'll try not to let it happen again sis. If you feel me headed that way again, just give me a gentle wake up call. That should help bring me back down to earth."

"I still don't like it Eric. You must learn to control yourself a little better. You have a meeting with the Council tonight and they are likely to either frighten or anger you. You have to get more control of yourself or you could really hurt someone."

Yeneya was correct and he knew it. He did need to control himself before their meeting. If he were to lash out as he had this morning in training, who knew what he was capable of. So far he had only used his physical prowess, but add in his magic and mind control abilities and he could cause some serious damage before he managed to reign in his temper.

As he was getting dressed, there was a knock at his bedroom door. Eric gently sent a "feeler" out through the door to see who was there.

"Come in Squirt!" he called.

"How did you know it was me?" Katie asked as she came in.

"Who else would be bugging me at this time of the morning?" He replied with a smile. "What can I do for you Katie?"

"Eric, I was watching you in the garden this morning from my window. Who were you fighting with? Where did they go? Are you ok?" She babbled.

Eric just chuckled and held out his hand for her. He pulled her to him and gave her a gentle hug then sat them both on the bed.

"Remember what I did to your dress? Well it's kind of like that. There wasn't really anyone there, it was just a training session. Once I had finished with it, I just made it go away. Thanks for worrying about me kiddo but I really am fine. Anyway, What were you doing spying on me?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"I... erm... Well..." She stuttered.

"I'm just kidding sis. Just promise that if you see anything like that again you won't worry about me and that you'll keep it to yourself! Mum and Dad would freak if you they saw it."

"Ok. You sure you're ok though?"

"Yes I'm fine. Don't worry about me, alright?"

She smiled her answer at him. "Eric, can you make anyone appear like that?"

"I suppose. It's not really the person though. It's just an image of them, kind of like a hologram. Why do you ask?"

"oh, erm... no reason." She stuttered, blushing.

Eric guessed where she had been going with her line of questioning. She wanted to know if she could meet her hero, the actor Leo Le'Capranio.

"Yeneya, could you give an avatar substance like Erith did?"

"Yes, but I would need to hear them speak before I could manage the voice."

"Ok, I am going to project. Don't worry about the voice for now, we can work on that later. Just make it seem as real as possible please."

Eric projected his avatar of Leo behind his sister and Yeneya augmented it to have substance.

Katie jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and spun to see who was behind her. Eric had never wished for a camera more than at that moment. The look on his little sister's face was priceless.

With little more than a thought, he had the avatar bend and gently kiss his sister on the lips. It was a chaste kiss but he could see her begin to blush furiously.

The avatar stood back, reached out and brushed her face, smiled at her and faded from existence.

Katie threw herself at Eric, hugged him with all of her strength and bolted from the room, leaving an amused and bemused Eric alone.

"Guess what!" Robin greeted him as he arrived at the bus stop.

"I give up, what?" He replied, more than used to Robin's appalling lack of social skill.

"I phoned Helen last night and had a really long chat with her." Robin said, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Really? What did you phone her for? I though you were going to wait a few days and take it easy."

"Yeah I was, but then I thought, sod it. I like her; I need to know what she thinks of me, so go for it!"

"You didn't push too hard did you? If you come on too strong mate she will think that you are up to your old tricks."

"No, I phoned on the pretence of asking about some of the homework that we were given yesterday. I think that she may have suspected that I wasn't really calling about that but she was cool with it. I was on the phone for nearly an hour, just chatting about shit and stuff and things." Robin said, smiling.

"That's cool mate. I told you that you needed to change tactics didn't I? Did you ask her out?"

"No, I was going too but I thought that would be better if I did it in person. Actually, we spent quite a bit of time talking about you."

"Me? Couldn't you find anything more interesting to talk about than me?" said Eric, surprise in his voice.

"It wasn't me mate, it was Helen. She wanted to know what was going on with you. You have lost weight, look much fitter, put Amanda in her place, have Susie and Jenny hanging off you at school and you seem to have just suddenly made an appearance in the school gossip circles."

"Well, yeah I suppose. So what did you say about me?"

"Oh, nothing good. I told her that you smell, have a really small dick, are as thick as shit and wouldn't be able to function without me!" Robin laughed.

"Cheers, tosser!" Eric replied, punching Robin in the arm.

"Well, what did you expect? I find a girl that I like and all she wants to do is talk about my best mate? I've seen how girls react to you so I had to sink your chances before you swept her out from under me!"

Eric laughed. "You know I would never do that to you mate. You gonna ask her out today then?"

"Probably. I honestly don't know what she will say though. I get the feeling that she still thinks that I'm joking and setting her up or something."

"Well, I have a plan that will prove you're sincere. What do you think of Amanda?"

"She's a babe but a total bitch. I can't believe that she would just drop Susie like that for wanting to go out with you."

"So what would you do if she asked you out in front of Helen?" Eric asked

"Well, as it's never gonna happen, it doesn't matter. I think that I would say no though. As much as I would love to fuck Amanda, I would much rather go out with Helen."

"Fucking hell! Will wonders never cease? Ok mate, just make sure that you remember what you said later today. Amanda is going to ask you out. Say no and then turn and ask Helen out."

"Yeah right! Amanda is going to ask me out? You must have hit your head or something mate."

"Robin, have I let you down so far? No! You know that I have some erm... new skills? Well, I thought I may as well get them working for me and my friends. Amanda will ask you out. It will be public and it will be when you are with Helen. Just make sure that you say no. I don't know if I can get her to actually go out with you but I can definitely get her to ask."

Robin gave him a funny look but just nodded.

"Oh, and another thing. Don't rub her nose in it. Try to be a little classy about it will you?"

"No way! I can't wait to throw it back in her face! She's such a cow. Do you remember how she treated me for a week after I asked her out last year? Or how she treated you for that matter when you asked her? That bitch has it coming and I am going to be the one to let her have it!" Robin said angrily.

"Well, that's your prerogative. Just listen to me though before you commit to this. What do you think will impress Helen more? You politely but firmly declining to go out with the best looking girl in school and then asking her out instead, or you being all spiteful and childish and making Amanda feel really bad?"

Robin didn't bother to answer but Eric was pleased to see that his rash friend was at least considering what he had said.

On arriving at school, Eric was happy to find both Susie and Jenny waiting for him. They were sat on the wall leading to the front entrance with another girl who he couldn't make out from this distance.

Robin grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"What's up mate?" Eric asked.

"That's Helen with Susie and Jenny. What do you think they are telling her?"

"Does it matter? There is nothing you can do about it anyway so just go and be nice to her." Eric replied.

As they approached, both Jenny and Susie stood and walked over to meet him, they grabbed an arm each and kissed each of his cheeks.

"It seems your fan club is growing Eric." Susie said with a smile, nodding towards Helen.

"No, I don't think so. She's not here to see me. I'm guessing that Robin's fan club is growing too."

Eric was proved right as Helen walked up and shyly said hello to Robin. All was right in the world as far as Eric could see and the group made their way into the school ready to start lessons for the day.

After first period, Eric spotted Robin walking with Helen as Amanda came down the corridor from the other direction. Deciding that this would be the perfect opportunity to put his plan into action, he reached into her mind and activated the command that he had placed there the previous day. The change in Amanda was almost immediate. Where as she had been hurrying to her next class, she now slowed, tossed her hair, thrust out her chest and walked in a very suggestive manner. She put herself directly in Robin's path causing him to stop. Looking at him coyly, she batted her lashes, and began to stroke his arm. This was Amanda at her seductive best; she had pulled all of the stops and really turned up the charm.

"Hi Robin" she purred. "I was wondering, would you like to take me to the pictures on Saturday?"

Eric watched with joy as his plan unfolded. The look on Robins face was a picture but Helen looked rather dejected. Once Robin had composed himself, he looked Amanda straight in the eye for a few seconds before answering.

"Oh Amanda, if only you had asked a couple of weeks ago. I would have jumped at the chance but unfortunately I am going to have to say no." He said with a slight smile.

Eric smiled to himself as he saw that his friend had once again taken his advice and turned her down gently.

"What? Why do you have to say no? This is a once in a lifetime offer Robin, you turn me down once and you will never get another chance!" Amanda snarled.

"I have to say no to you, as tempting as your offer is because I have my sights set a little higher I'm afraid." With this, he turned to Helen. "Helen, would you allow me to take you out on Saturday?"

Helen just nodded but didn't raise her eyes from the ground. She couldn't believe that Robin had just turned down a chance to get his hands on the best looking and most popular girl in the school so that he could ask her out.

"You have got to be joking! You are turning me down for THAT SLUT? Jesus, what a loser!" Amanda snapped.

"Amanda, I may be a loser but I do have taste and if you call Helen a slut again and we'll have a serious problem. Yes you're good looking, yes you're popular but you are also a complete bitch. Helen on the other hand is also beautiful, popular and on top of that she is a really nice person. She has you beaten hands down. I would rather spend a quite evening with this wonderful girl reading a book than an evening in bed with such a selfish, self centred, unfeeling cow like you!"

Amanda was furious and all those that had witnessed the exchange knew it. One of the older lads saw this and decided to capitalise on it.

"I'll take you out Amanda. I would much rather have a babe like you with me than the school slag!"

Amanda spun to see who had come to her defence and was delighted to see that it was the captain of the school rugby team. She had always kind of fancied him anyway so a date with him certainly wouldn't hurt.

"I would love to go out with you Daniel. Could you do me a quick favour though and teach this little shit the error of his ways? I promise I will make it worth your while" she simpered.

Daniel knew what she was asking and what she was offering and gladly stepped forward. He had never had a problem with throwing his weight around and was well known in school as a bully. Eric knew that his friend didn't stand a chance against Daniel so he stepped into the fray.

"Amanda, you are such a cow. You have never liked Robin and you are only asking him out to try to piss me off as revenge for what happened yesterday. You really couldn't give a shit that he turned you down apart from the fact that he has embarrassed you slightly, so now you decide that he needs a kicking? No wonder no one wants to go out with you!" Eric said to her, much to the joy of those that had stopped to watch the exchange.

Amanda gave him an evil little smile and turned back to Daniel. "Daaa-ny" she simpered, taking hold of his hand. "I seem to have another little problem. Would you make it go away for me please baby?" She said, pressing her breasts against his arm.

"Sure thing babe, just give me a minute and I'll make it all better for you."

Amanda gave Eric another evil smirk as Daniel stepped up to him. Eric, although frightened, stood his ground. Normally he would have either ran away or tried to talk his way out of this situation but Daniels attitude was really starting to get to him. The fact that this guy was planning to beat him and his friend up just to get into the school bitch's knickers pissed him off no end. Besides, he knew that he could take control of the situation any time he wanted if it started to get out of hand.

"My girl over there seems to have a problem with you Faye. That means that I have a problem with you, which in turn means that you now have a problem." Daniel said as he pushed Eric. Eric took one controlled pace backwards and stood his ground again.

"Tough guy eh?" Snarled Daniel as he advanced on Eric again. Eric held up his hand, motioning the larger lad to stop.

"Daniel, I don't have a problem with you. I didn't have a problem with Amanda until she started interfering in my life. So let's stop this now shall we before it gets any more exciting and I'm forced to do something that I'll regret." He said calmly.

"Oh yeah? Like what? Bleed on me?" Daniel said with a sneer, much to the amusement of those that were gathered to watch. This was turning out to be quite a spectacle.

Bolstered by the crowd's reaction, he made a grab for Eric's shirt. His hand never reached it. Eric had grabbed his wrist and was applying bone jarring force to his grip. Daniel winced and tried, unsuccessfully, to pull away.

"Last chance Daniel. Stop this shit right now and I'll let you walk away. If you try to attack me again, you will seriously wish you hadn't." Eric told him, his voice calm and quiet.

"Fuck you Faye! I'm gonna beat the shit out of you. Who the fuck do you think you are talking too? telling me what I can and can't do?" He shouted as Eric released his wrist. He lunged forward flailing wildly attempting to take Eric out with his first sortie. Eric had seen what was coming though and dodged the blows and moved steadily backwards. Things were going smoothly until someone in the crowd kicked a bag into Eric's path. He didn't see it and tripped over it, landing on his backside with a thud. The guy who had placed the bag in his path, stepped out of the crowd and stood beside Daniel. It was Robert, another of the front row props from the rugby team.

"Having fun Danny boy?" he asked his friend.

"I'm going to be in a minute when I start beating the shit out of this wanker" he replied

"Mind it I play?" Robert asked as he advanced on the still grounded Eric.

"Not at all mate, be my guest" he was told.

Eric sprang to his feet and took up a casual fighting stance, looking between the two much larger boys. His odds of getting out of this unscathed had just been reduced significantly. He saw Robin about to join him and help him out but he signalled that he should stay where he was.

"Last chance guys. I won't give you any more warnings. If you continue to push this, I am going to get upset. If you make me defend myself, you aint going to like the consequences." Eric told them, to their amusement and total disbelief.

Robert immediately threw a right hook at Eric's head. Had it connected, it would have certainly dropped him. Eric however, just spun on the spot, caught the fist as it came past and continued spinning, taking Robert off balance and sending him crashing, head long into the lockers. Eric turned back just in time to see Daniel launch himself at him. It was obvious that Daniel wanted to take Eric to the floor so that he could administer a beating. Eric wasn't a fan of this scenario so he jumped forward, catching Daniel off guard and delivered two punches in quick succession to his mid section. Daniel stopped dead in his tracks and dropped to his knees gasping for air. Robert, seeing his chance, decided that now would be a good time to get in a sucker punch from behind but Eric was once again ready for it. He brought his elbow round in a vicious arc that slammed into Robert's cheek causing him to stagger backwards but Eric didn't let up. He used the same arm and lashed out with a back fist, catching the other cheek with the full force of his swing. Robert hit the floor and lay there groaning. Eric spun back to face Daniel who was just getting to his feet. He slammed his palm into Daniels forehead, knocking him over again and dropped to his knees, pinning Daniel's shoulders to the floor beneath them. He grabbed Daniels hair in his fist and pulled his head up from the floor and leant down.

"I warned you Daniel, but you just wouldn't listen. I will warn you again now. If you or any of your idiot friends come near me or mine again, I will fuck you up so badly this little episode will seem like a massage in comparison. Do I make myself clear?"

Daniel just nodded, fear clearly visible in his eyes. Eric let go of the boys head, letting it bounce off the floor and stood up. He picked up his bag and walked away without another word, shaking his head and giving Amanda a sad smile.

Half way down the corridor, Robin and Helen tried to catch him up.

"Eric! Wait up mate" Robin called.

Eric turned and waited for them. "What's up?" he asked as they approached.

"I just wanted to say thanks man! I thought I was gonna get my fucking head kicked in there. When did you learn to fight like that?"

Eric just smiled. "I told you that all of those Karate lessons would come in handy one day." He told them, concealing the truth behind his new found abilities.

"You're not kidding! Can you teach me some of that stuff? That was so cool! One minute I thought you were a dead man walking, the next you have laid the two biggest members of the rugby team out like they weren't even there!"

"Sure, I can teach you some of it but I don't know how much use it will be. You will need to practice it. A lot, if you want to be able to use it."

"Could you teach me too Eric?" Helen asked.

"Yeah, why not. The more the merrier right?" He replied with a smirk. "I'll see you guys at lunch and we can get something sorted out if you like. Anyway, enough about this stuff. You two are going out I hear?"

Robin looked to Helen for confirmation before answering, but she beat him to the punch.

"Yes, I was so pissed off when Amanda asked him out. I was just trying to get up the nerve to ask him out myself. I thought I had missed my chance. I can't believe you would turn her down for me!" She said, taking hold of Robin's hand and making him blush.

"Well, I think you are worth ten Amanda's any day." He replied, his blush turning an even deeper shade of red.

"Oh Robin, that's so sweet. Thank you." She said as she planted a kiss on his lips. Poor Robin was about to pass out from embarrassment when she walked away.

"I don't know how the hell you did that mate, but thanks. I really appreciate it." Robin said as she walked off.

"No problem mate, it's about time you got a nice girl to keep you honest." He chuckled

Eric was happy with his efforts in Metalwork. His bracers were coming along nicely. He had cut and shaped them to his liking and now he spent his time producing a hinge and lock system for them. After some thought, he chose to have a simple ring and pin mechanism for the hinge, so he cut some narrow, but thick walled tube into small pieces and silver soldered them to the bracers, leaving gaps and opposing them so that they would interlock. The pin was a simple piece of steel rod that he turned to the correct diameter on the lathe. The results were pleasing to him. They now hinged exactly as he had planned and there was very little compromise on strength as the whole edge was hinged.

The locking mechanism was proving to be a little more troublesome. He knew that he could just do the same on this edge and have a removable pin to allow him to take them off, but somehow it just didn't feel right. Trusting his instinct, he made a flap that would fold over from the top to the bottom, completely covering the seam. It locked in place by a series of spring loaded hooks that slid into some shaped grooves on the bottom half of the article.

Once he was happy with the action, and the fit, he spent most of the remainder of the lesson polishing the steel to a reasonable shine on the mop. When he was satisfied with the dull shine that it produced, he cleaned the residue of the polishing compound off and took them to Mr Timpson.

"I think that these are ready for electroplating now Mr Timpson."

His teacher looked them over and agreed.

"it was brass you wanted to coat them in wasn't it Eric?" he asked

"Yeah, I think so. You said that it would offer the best contrast for when we do the chasing."

"I have been thinking about that. I am not convinced that silver through gold will show very well. Why don't you oil black them. That way you will have silver on black which will show up wonderfully."

"Sounds good. It will have to wait till next time though, I don't have time to do it today."

"That's ok Eric, You're not in any hurry for them are you?"

"No, but I would like to get them finished soon though. I have another project that I wouldn't mind starting on soon."

"Fair enough. We will get the oil blacking done next lesson and I can show you how to do the chasing but that will take a little bit of time. You may want to photocopy the design that you have for them to make a template. It will save you a lot of work later."

"Ok, I'll get it done before next lesson."

As Eric paid for his lunch, he looked around to see if he could see Robin. He found him sitting with Jenny, Susie and Helen along with one of Helens friends, Claire, a tiny slip of a girl with long, straight auburn hair and the figure of a dancer. Eric had always loved the look of Claire but had never had the chance to talk to her. This was mainly because she was painfully shy and almost never talked to anyone outside of her very limited circle of friends unless absolutely forced to do so.

"Is this guy bothering you?" Eric asked the girls jokingly as he sat down. The laughed and said that they could just about manage to put up with Robin.

"So, this martial arts stuff. When you gonna start teaching us?" Robin asked without preamble.

"I have a busy couple of days ahead but we can do some Saturday morning if you like." Eric replied.

The group agreed that this would probably be best for all of them and they arranged to meet at Eric's house early on Saturday morning but to do the training in the park where there would be more room than in his back garden.