Let the Battle Begin!

Alli was mad; no, Alli was more than mad...she was downright pissed off! How dare that idiot of a ranger say those things to Jazz! No one deserved to be treated like that, especially someone on your team...someone that you could consider a friend. After Daggeron said he'd let her at him, Alli couldn't have been happier. She was going to show this cocky boy just what happened when you piss of a female ranger. She had fire in her eyes and in her heart and this sorry excuse for a ranger was going to pay for insulting someone who didn't deserve it.

When her teammates saw the look she gave Sky, they quickly exchanged knowing glances and fled the center of the room, dragging their counterparts with them. They all quickly retreated to the safety of the upper level by the Xenotome. The SPD rangers were anxious to find out why the Mystic Force did what they did.

"Hey! Why'd you guys drag us up here?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, I mean why couldn't we have stayed down there?" Syd followed.

The Mystic Force team, including Daggeron and Clare, just exchanged a knowing amongst themselves before Chip quickly responded.

"Trust us when we say you'll thank us for this later." Chip said as he nodded. "I almost feel bad for the poor shlub...almost." He thought.

"Clare, did you restock the first aid kit, because after Alli's done with Sky, I think he's going to need it." Maddie asked.

It wasn't that she was concerned for Sky, far from it. She just didn't want the blood that she thought would be spilled to go everywhere. When Clare gave the affirmative nod letting the mermaid know all medical supplies were ample, Maddie let a sigh of relief.

"Oh yeah, did you guys see the look she gave him!? That girl is out for blood!" Nick chimed in. "I would not want to be in his shoes right now!" He thought in secret.

When the SPD team heard this, they exchanged worried glances with each other. Z felt that even thought Sky deserved everything he was about to get, she didn't want to see him hurt that bad.

"Uh, guys, shouldn't we get in there and stop this before something bad happens?"

As Z spoke, she started to head back down towards the battle lines drawn between Sky and Alli but a hand quickly shot out to stop her. When she looked up to see who it was, she was surprised to see the gloved hand of her friend, Bridge.

"Bridge? I don't get it." Z replied.

"Sorry, Z, but I can't let you go down there. Sky got himself into this mess, now he needs to get himself out. Trust me, I can sense Alli's feelings and this needs to happen."

Z glanced back at her teammates to see if they agreed with the psychic ranger and they all nodded at Bridge's request to let those two fight it out on their own. Sighing in defeat, she slowly went back towards both teams to watch whatever the hell was going to happen next.

"This is not gonna end well, I just know it." The SPD yellow ranger thought.

As she looked to the Mystic Rangers, she thought they were getting ready to watch a boxing match judging from their body language. How can they be so excited? Someone could seriously get hurt...even if it is Sky.

"Oh, this one's going to be good!"

Chip sat down on the couch that Nick and Maddie had previously been napping on earlier. He looked like a kid that was about to watch his very first baseball game with his father by the way he was bouncing up and down on the plush cushions.

"Yeah, this should be even better then the last time Xander pissed her off."

She took her seat next to her best friend, Chip and kept her focus on the impending massacre they were waiting for. Xander winced as the painful memories came flooding back to him. Pissin Alli off was never a good thing, and he had the scars to prove it.

"V, I thought we agreed to never mention that again." Xander reminded.

"No, we agreed that YOU would never mention that again; I made no such promise." She replied with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes at Vida before taking the last remaining seat on the couch beside her. While those three were discussing possible outcomes of this fight, Nick and Maddie were conjuring more places for everyone to sit. It wasn't often they had company to entertain. Once they provided the necessary chairs for their guests, Maddie piped up.

"Well, I hope there's enough room for everyone now."

While she spoke, Maddie sat down on a loveseat that Nick had just conjured with the Red Phoenix Ranger sitting beside her. Scattered around the upper level of Root Core, Daggeron, Clare and Jazz all took seats on another couch not to far away from where Nick and Maddie were sitting. Jack, Bridge, Syd and Z sat on the last couch that was a few yards away from Chip, Vida, and Xander.

"Popcorn, anyone?"

Chip had magically produced a large bowl of buttered popcorn to eat while he watched the fight. The SPD rangers all looked at the yellow mystic like he'd grown a second head when he asked that but Vida and Xander just shrugged their shoulders and grabbed a handful of the popcorn without a second thought. It was clear to SPD that this was a common occurrence around here.

"Hey, Chip, pass some of that this way."

Chip took out his wand and levitated the bowl to Nick and Maddie who grabbed a handful and started eating like they were at the movies. Xander, ever the opportunist, pulled out a pen and a small notepad before speaking.

"Bets anyone? I'm taking them now."

Once again, the SPD team looked at the Aussie like he'd lost his mind but the Mystic Force rangers quickly replied to Xander's question without missing the beat.

"I'm betting on Alli to win."

Chip stood up for a moment, reached into his right back pocket, pulled out a folded five dollar bill and handed it to his green teammate. Vida sees this and reached for her purse she had hanging on the armrest of the couch.

"Put me and Maddie down for Alli to win, as well."

She handed a ten dollar bill to Xander to cover the bet for her and her sister.

"Same for me; five on Alli to win!"

Nick followed his friends' example and gave his money to Xander as well.

"Where did they dig up these guys?! Sky's about to get his ass kicked and they're treating like like a sporting event!" Jack thought in shock.

"Hey, put me down for five on Alli to win."

Her friends whipped their heads around so fast, they could have broken their necks in the process. Z's team gave her strange looks ranging from bug eyes to raised eyebrows to curled lips; when the yellow ranger looked back, she just replied frankly.

"What? The girl's gonna win and you know it."

Xander quickly collected all of the money and settled back down on his spot on the couch to watch the fight. They all paid close attention as Alli paced back and forth like a tiger stalking her prey. Her anger had been growing since everyone else fled to the upper level and it showed no sign of waning. When she was finally ready, she stomped straight up to Sky, balled her right fist and punched him in the gut with the force of a wrecking ball.

"OOF!"

That was the only sound Sky could let out when Alli's fist made contact with his stomach. Once she pulled it out, Xander, being Xander, said the one thing he felt was appropriate for just such an occasion:

"LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!"

Sky coughed and gasped in precious oxygen as he tried to stand up straight. Alli packed quite a punch in such a small package.

"Why in the hell did you just do that?"

"Hmm...I don't know. Maybe because you are nothing but an egotistical jerk! Exactly what gave you the right to go and say those things to your teammate!? Last time I checked, a teammate is someone you are supposed to care about enough to put your life in their hands! And judging by the way you treat Jazz, I would hate for there to be a time where she was the only person around to save you, because lemme tell you something...you are screwed!"

On the sidelines, the Mystic rangers were cheering Alli on! They agreed with her and backed her up 100 percent.

"Yeah, well, she may be my teammate but that doesn't mean I have to believe in everything she does. Magic is not real and it never will be; it sounds like you need to grow up along with everyone else here!"

If Alli wasn't livid before, she was now. Sky wasn't helping his cause any by talking out against his friend and against magic.

"You pathetic excuse for a man! How dare you say those things to me.! You don't even know the first thing about me or my team, so you can just shut the hell up!!"

She marched up to the towering Sky and stood on her tiptoes to get him at eye level. She wanted to drive her message home.

"Magic is real! You need to open your eyes and just accept it, you prejudiced jerk!" She spoke defiantly while poking her finger into his shoulder on every word.

"No, it's not! There is no such thing as magic so you can just shut your mouth you little ranger wannabe!"

"Call the undertaker; we've got a dead man walking here!"

The SPD group grew concerned when Clare made such a statement. They looked at the black Mystic Ranger and the look she had in her eyes made them think that the girl with the endearing smile might be right. Alli's friends gave Clare pats on the back and high fives for her comment. They never expected her to say such thing and praised her for it.

"Look! Just because you don't believe in something, that doesn't make it nonexistent! And I'll have you know that there's a whole world out there that no one knows about! It's filled with magic, good and evil, and my teammates and I protect this world and the human world with the power granted to us by Udonna from those dark forces! So, 'Mr. I don't believe', I am not a ranger wannabe, I am a Power Ranger through and through so you can just deal with it!

After her passionate speech, her friends stood up and cheered even louder. Sky, whose smug look was doing nothing to help his situation, took his turn to speak.

"You may have the suit and the powers, but you will never possess the skills that I have, little girl. Your so-called magic is nothing compared to my many years of training."

"Oh, your training...well, I hope that helps you sleep at night you spineless jellyfish! I actually feel sorry for you because at least I know that at the end of this battle my team and I are facing, I'll still have my friends with me! You, on the other hand, will have no one because your cold-heartedness will drive them all away!"

Alli stepped back from her justified tirade and took in a slow deep breath before resuming.

"You want proof that magic exists, fine. I'll give you proof."

Alli takes out her wand/phone and recites the spell...

"Amphibius Transmogrium!"

The tip of her wand shone black, and a shimmering aura engulfs the tall blue ranger. Everyone watches as he begins to shrink and in a matter of seconds, his body was changed into that of a slimy frog. After croaking and jumping as high as he could, Alli reversed the spell to change him back to his human form. Once he stood up straigh, Alli walked up to his shocked face and punched him square in the jaw, almost knocking him down. She stood in front of him with a hand on her right hip and glared before speaking.

"I should have left you as a frog. It was a huge improvement."

Sky rose up and rubbed his throbbing cheek gingerly. Nobody ever struck him like that, least of all a girl.

"I...will get you back for this." He warned.

"Go ahead and try. If you want a rematch, I'll be outside."

On that note, she ran out of Root Core and into the forest while everyone just sat there stunned. Sky was rubbing his jaw and staring at the entrance that Alli had just ran out of. He still couldn't believe that this girl just knocked the taste out of his mouth. The silence persisted until they heard a small voice speak out from one of the couches.

"Wow...no one's ever done something like that for me before." Jazz said breaking the silence with her soft voice.

END OF CHAPTER 9

YOU GO, ALLI! I bet that was a huge blow to Sky's ego...and his jaw. ;) There is more to come, guys! :)