Eiffel stormed out of the building, ran, and kept running very far away. He stopped at a cemetery, opened its gate, and entered after gazing upon it for a bit. Then he looked left and right for something and eventually found what he was looking for. A grave. The tombstone read "Shady Roseholic". Eiffel looked at it with sadness in his eyes and said, "Father...", and then he remembered his time as a child in his past.

5 middle school kids were ganging upon an elementary school boy aged 7 for his clothes, messy hair, poverty, and living in a trailer park. They beat him down, dropped all his stuff off his bag, and left. A muscular man with a bandana on his head in his 30s witnessed all of this from the top of a roof. Next thing, the boy was crying all alone by a riverbank. The man joined him and sat beside him.

"Why are you crying, boy?", the man asked.

"I hate this place. I hate these cruel people. I hate this toxic environment. I hate this sickening air. I hate this rotten world. I hate everything. I even hate myself. I miss myself. I don't know where I am.", the boy cried.

"I hate bullied. Do you want me to take revenge on behalf of you?", the man asked.

"No. I am going to take my revenge all by myself one of these days. They are gonna pay for all of it, I promise.", the boy answered with a look of no mercy in his eyes. The man laughed with pride and asked,

"What's your name, kid?"

"Eiffel.", said the boy.

"What about your family?", asked the man.

"I have no one except for my caretaker.", said Eiffel.

"Well then. From now on you will be called Eiffel Roseholic... Hey, wanna get strong, kid?", the man stated.

"Strong?", confused Eiffel.

"It would only take 3 months for you to train and get strong. Then you'll be ready to take on those bullies all by yourself no matter how many of them.", the man made a statement, "Be strong as an Iron, stand up for the weak, make the world better, take my name and shine bright... The name's Shady Roseholic!" Eiffel was amazed to hear all of that.

Then they began their training. Eiffel's training was hard, at first, he was giving up. There were a lot of push-ups, sit-ups, and plenty of juice. They also ate a lot of healthy food like ramen and meat. Shady taught him basic martial art and karate, also punching and kicking the boxing bag so that his hands started to bleed. Eiffel also practiced at school. Eiffel and Shady spurred before the sunset. Even though Eiffel got beat up most of the time, he never quit and always fought back. They became quite like best friends in time and they used to hang out and have fun a lot. During one spurring, Eiffel managed to land a punch on Shady's face that knocked him off. Eiffel got worried and asked if he was alright. Shady rubbed the blood off his mouth, stood up, laughed a lot, and left with a smile.

3 months passed. The day has finally arrived for Eiffel to take revenge. He was standing in a middle of a field and was waiting for those middle school bullies to appear. Eventually, those boys arrived, they were 5 of them, and they were walking past the field and having fun.

"Hey, you!", Eiffel called them. The boys had his attention and they were chitchatting,

-"Hey, isn't that kid?"

-"What was his name again?"

-"Eiffel."

-"Yeah, right. Eiffel."

-"Wasn't he a bit shorter?"

-"Yeah, he looks jacked and his attitude is changed"

-"No matter. Once a weakling always a weakling.", and they laughed. Eiffel gestured "come on" at them with no fear.

-"Hey, the kid's calling us!"

-"How dare he?"

-"Wait a minute! He wasn't like this before. He was a scary cat. Why is he showing guts all of a sudden? Is this a trap? I don't think he's alone, guys."

Eiffel said, "Trust me. I'm all alone and by alone I mean I'm going to kick your asses all by myself!", that made the boys get angrier.

"Let's beat him up!", one guy stated and they were approaching Eiffel Roseholic. And they continued talking trash at him,

-"Kid, we are 5 of us and you are only by yourself!"

-"Get ready to get the helluva beating of your life! You're going to remember this until the day you die!" Eiffel came face to face with those 5 as Shady Roseholic was watching from on top of a roof.

-"Long time no see, kid. You look different. What are they feeding you? Mommy's milk?"

Eiffel kicked the guy's gut instantly upon hearing that. Then he started fighting them all by himself. Eventually, he knocked them out using his punches and kicks and a couple of martial art techniques and they couldn't even lay a single scratch on him. They ended up escaping the field from fear. Shady left smiling from the rooftop, Eiffel felt his presence and looked back but there was no one. He smiled and said, "Thank You, Master." Then he started to stand up for all the weak that he saw getting bullied and he beat up all those bullies. That's how he met Grate. He was getting bullied by 10 high school boys. Eiffel stood up for Grate and then knocked out all 10 of those boys.

But one day, some high school bullies gathered up to become a group of 50 men and planned to beat down Eiffel. And as they were about to do so, Shady Roseholic came and stood beside Eiffel and the bullies ran away getting frightened from seeing him. Eiffel cheered up to see Shady and called him master. Shady petted his hair and said,

"You are doing a very good job, Eiffel. But always remember, only use your strength for your good purpose and your own defense. Never use your strength for a bad purpose. Will you promise that?"

"Got it, Master.", Eiffel replied as Shady smiled.

"Come. Let's go and meet some people.", said Shady as they were going.

"Go where? Meet who?", Eiffel asked.

"You'll see.", said Shady.

Then they arrived at a big mansion. People were hung over and chilling. There were nearly 30 of them, male and female all were there. Shady said, "Hey, guys."

A man was approaching them and asked, "Hey, Shady... Who is this brat?"

"He is our newest member of the Iron Club.", said Shady. Everybody was in shock and surprise, even Eiffel.

The man approached Eiffel, petted his hair, and said, "A brat in Iron Club? Does this squirt have what it takes?" Shady beckoned to encourage Eiffel to do something. Eiffel understood and punched the man's midsection on target. The man was knocked out. Everyone was surprised. Shady laughed. Another man came for the man's aid and said,

"Damn, man! He is unbelievably strong for a kid. But are you sure you are letting him in the Iron Club, Shady?"

"Yes, and he is an apprentice.", Shady answered.

"Apprentice?", the man asked.

"Well, I started as an apprentice in my previous faction. So, it can be right for us to take an apprentice in our club, right?", Shady convinced his teammates, "See it like this. When we will be old and gone, there will be a future to carry out our will. And we should create that future by ourselves. Ain't that right?", Shady continued.

"Think about all the hard missions we carry out. He is strong, but not capable.", said the man who got knocked out earlier by Eiffel.

"Oh, he will be alright. Sometimes with great pressure comes great development. You can do this, right Eiffel?", Shady made a statement.

A woman approached Eiffel and said, "Eiffel, huh? You are tough for a kid. I'm going to call you Peppercorn. How about that?" Everyone laughed.

"He is Peppercorn for now. But he will be known as the Iron Kid.", Shady stated as everyone was amazed.

"You mean he will be your-", the 2 men were about to point out something.

"Not yet, Alpha, Omega. You will see... *cheered up* Hey, guys! It's time for a celebration for our newest member! Eiffel Roseholic!", Shady celebrated as the Iron Club members cheered up.

The woman said with a smile, "You even gave him your name!" Then they had a great feast and lots of fun and laughter.

Eiffel's flashback ended. He broke down in tears and cried, "Come back and teach me again! Teach me how to fight again!! Teach me how to live again!!!"

Shady Roseholic; the master and a father figure to Eiffel Roseholic, idol to many, and the hero of Locria, died 2 years prior (Age 1997). A city of Locria was named after him for his pure and patriotic service to the country. He came like a king and left like a legend.

Grate arrived at the cemetery, he was tensed and looked for him and he turned devastated to find his friend in great sadness.

Grate arrived at the cemetery and he turned devastated to find his friend in great sadness. Then he approached Eiffel and tried to console him.

"Eiffel, are you insane? You ran off college like that as you quit?", Grate implied.

"Yes, I am going home. I've had enough of this place.", Eiffel stated.

"Are you crazy? You're giving up? You just got here!", Grate startled.

"Yeah, but it feels like everyone's against me.", said Eiffel.

"*deep breath* Eiffel... Choices made in anger cannot be undone. We've gone through a lot. You name it. Helveltica, Sixxity. Lost a lot of loved ones. My family, your family, Master Shady and Iron Club... Ronnie. You gotta cherish the memories of those who left and protect the ones that stayed... This is not the Eiffel Roseholic that I know. The Eiffel Roseholic that I know, when he is beaten down to the core and holds onto that little life as low as possible, always gets back up and comes back stronger! ...You gotta remember who you are. You are the Iron Kid. It's not your limbs that require to become Iron, it's your heart that matters the most... You are a champion. And being a champion is about knowing how to lose and accept it.", Grate tried to motivate and calm him down. Eiffel wiped his tears and then they hugged out.

A guy appeared on their back and asked, "Hey, looking for a dorm?"

The guy took Eiffel into his dorm back in Astorion.

"Make yourself at home. I picked up your stuff and brought it in just in case.", the guy said. Eiffel sat on the bed and thanked him. Then they introduced each other. The guy's name was Marlin.

"What happened to your roommate?", Eiffel asked.

"Oh, I sent her to Queendom's mansion. She can stay there.", Marlin answered.

"You had a lady roommate?", Eiffel asked in surprise.

"Yeah, my girlfriend, Diana. She is a member of Queendom. It won't be a problem for you I promise... So, the name's Eiffel, huh? I heard they call you the Rooster.", said Marlin. Eiffel then remembered the guy who called him that during orientation.

"Never mind that. So, on the first day in college and you started making enemies. First, you had a beef with Muscleverse president, Rocky. Then you fought with another member named Toubro.", Marlin continued.

"So that prick is a member of Muscleverse after all.", Eiffel came to a realization.

"You made quite a reputation of yourself on your first day. Any plans forward?", Marlin asked while he lit up a cigarette and started smoking.

"What plans?", Eiffel asked back.

"To survive the rest of the time here in college, you need to have a backup.", Marlin said.

"Meaning?", Eiffel asked.

"You gotta join a frat for support.", Marlin said.

"I don't need backup. I can take care of myself.", Eiffel urged.

"Well, we all have seen that. But that's your call.", Marlin said.

"I bet they stole my damn guitar. I could have shown you how good I play it if it was with me now.", Eiffel grunted.

"Don't worry about it. I'll try to get it back to you somehow. We can manage that for later. Hey, wanna go to the Halogen concert tomorrow?", Marlin tried to cheer him up.

"You are a Halogen fan!?", Eiffel got excited.

"Hell yeah, I am. Who's your favorite member out of them?", Marlin asked.

"Bobby Darrell! You saw how he shreds his guitar? Completely out of this world!", Eiffel got even more excited.

"He sure is that damn good.", said Marlin.

"I started playing guitar just for him. Someday I'll play as well as he is. That's my goal.", said Eiffel in great determination.

"I hope you meet your ambition.", said Marlin.

"And who's your favorite out of them?" Eiffel asked.

"I gotta say. It's Park Burton. He is one of, if not, the greatest bassists in the world. The way he plays it doesn't sound like he plays a Bass, but a lead guitar.", said Marlin.

"He sure does it. It's like three guitarists in the band.", Eiffel implied.

"Let's go to Times New Square together. Shall we?", Marlin asked as he finished smoking.

"You got it!", said Eiffel.

"Ok. Say what, let's go to sleep for now.", said Marlin.

"Good night.", Eiffel said. Then they went to sleep.

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