Normal POV
Ten o clock the next morning Tracy meets up with Jason and Tommy at the juice bar. She sees a banner that reads The Game of Spirits Karate Tournament hanging on the wall. She goes over to the bar and orders a smoothie. She pays for it and sits down at a table to drink it. Five minutes later, Jason and Tommy walk up to the table. She sets her cup down and looks up at them.
"Hey guys," Tracy says.
"Hey Tracy, I need to sign the team in. What should we call ourselves?" Jason says.
"What about the Angel Grove Avengers," Tracy says.
"I like it, Tommy says.
"Me too, it has a nice ring to it," Jason says.
Tommy sits down at the table. While Jason gets in the line for the registration table. After he signs the form, he turns around to see Jack standing behind him.
"So, you're still going to compete with the twig girl," Jack says.
"Hey, stop calling her that. She may be a bit smaller than other girls her age, but I can assure you that she is going to surprise you by how strong she is." Jason says.
"I doubt it," Jack says.
Jason heads back over to the table. He sits down next to Tommy. They hear Tracy let out a long sigh, and look over at her
"Tracy, you're still nervous about the tournament, aren't you?" Tommy asks.
"Yes," Tracy answers honestly.
"You've mastered the triangle kick," Jason says.
"Also, you can do the Kata you picked to do in the first round - with your eyes closed," Tommy says.
"Thanks, guys," Tracy says.
"You're welcome, so let's show everyone what a great team can do," Jason says.
Tracy and Tommy nod. They get up from the table and go off the far corner off to the room to stretch out. Ten minutes later, the tournament starts. The teams and members are announced. The karate kings members are Gordon Roberts, Clyde Rivera and Lenny Anderson. The Warriors members are Ron Thompson, Malcolm Lee and Samantha Moody. The Falcons and the Angel Grove Avengers members are announced too. Tracy looks around and notices that Samantha and Hannah are the only girls competing today. They had the proper build for girls their age.
Man, I have a bad feeling. If I spar against any of the boys, they'll say I cheated if I win, or they'll even back down, Tracy thinks.
The teams line up on the side of the mat alphabetical by last name so they know the order for round one. Tracy is happy to be second in line. Lenny walks to the middle of the mat. He turns around to face the judges and bows to them. Afterwards, he turns back to face the audience.
"Tekki Nidan Kata," Lenny says.
A minute later Lenny finishes with the Kata. Tracy takes a deep breath to mentally prepare herself. She walks over to the judges table and bows to them. Then she turns around to face the audience and stands in the ready stance.
"Bassi Dai Kata," Tracy says.
Tracy does the first few movements of the Kata. The judges are amazed at how flawless Tracy's movements are. Jack is amazed too and takes matters into his own hands to make sure that she didn't get a perfect score. He reaches up and takes the hair tie out of Samantha's hair. She feels her hair drop onto her shoulders. She whips around to face him.
"What are you doing?" Samantha asks.
"I'm helping my team like a good leader is supposed to do," Jack says.
He balances one end of the hair tie on the tip of his index finger, stretches it across the back of his hand and wraps it around his palm. He holds it down by grasping the other end of the hair tie with his middle and ring finger. He takes aim at Tracy's feet and shoots the hair tie by lifting up on his middle and ring finger. They watch the hair tie fly across the room. A few seconds later Tracy feels it hit the back of her right foot. She loses her train of thought and does the wrong motion.
Jack quietly chuckles to himself. After Tracy regains her train of thought and finishes her kata. She turns around to face the judges and bows to them again. They nod and she walks off the mat towards the hallway.
I can't believe that I just did that. Tracy thinks.
= Welcome to Reefside=
Kira, Mike and the other rangers in the stands couldn't believe what they just saw. They watch Tracy walking away completely distraught about messing up. Mike clears the lump in his throat before he says anything. "That was an amazing shot considering how far away Tracy was."
"Mike, why are you praising him?" Trini asks.
"I don't know, but it was really cool," Mike says.
"No, it wasn't Mike. He cheated, not to mention Tracy could have gotten hurt." Kira adds.
"I know, but he is just so mean," Mike says.
The group looks over at Mike. They see his eyes flash a shade of green that is darker than his ranger suit. Then she hears him start to laugh evilly. Kira moves away from him.
Okay, Tracy wasn't being paranoid. Rita did put a spell on him. Kira thinks.
= Welcome to Reefside=
Tracy punches the wall in frustration. She is happy that her fist didn't make a hole when it makes contact with it. Then she turns around, leans back to let the top of her head rest on the wall and her arms dangle to her sides.
I'm such a loser, and I don't deserve to even be here. Tracy thinks.
She tilts her head up and slides down the wall in sadness and despair till she is sitting on the floor. She brings her legs to her chest and sets her head on her knees. A few tears escape from her eyes and slowly roll down her cheeks.
Back at the tournament, Tommy finished his Tekki Sandan Kata. He walks off the mat and looks over at Jason. He tilts his head towards the hallway. Tommy nods and leaves the room. He turns the corner and sees his teammate sitting on the floor. Tracy hears someone walking up, so she takes her head out of her knees and quickly wipes away the tears. Then she sees Tommy standing in front of her.
"Hey Tommy, I'm sorry for letting you and Jason down out there," Tracy says.
Tommy takes a knee, places his hand on her shoulder and says "Tracy, you didn't let us down. Jack cheated; he shot that hair tie at you so you mess up."
"Why did he do that anyway?" Tracy asks.
"He was impressed just like the judges were by how well you were doing." Tommy says.
"Okay, so why is he just targeting me?" Tracy asks.
"He thinks that you're the weak link on the team, so he is trying to do whatever it takes to mess you up that way. Even if Jason and I do well our scores won't help us in the standing. How about you go back out there and show him how wrong he is." Tommy says.
Tommy takes his hand off her shoulder. He gets to his feet and takes two steps back. He holds out his hand. Tracy takes her right hand off her leg. She extends it out towards Tommy's. He takes a hold of it, and pulls his teammate up off the floor. Then Tracy dusts herself off and they walk back to the contest. They go over to Jason and watch the last competitor Hannah Williams doing the Taikyoku Kake Uke Kata. When she finished the judges go to work adding up all the scores. Two minutes later one of the judges hand the MC the results.
"A reminder to all the competitors, the team with the lowest total score first in round two. Okay the results are in, and the order for round two is as follows The Falcons, The Karate Kings, The Warriors, and last is the Angel Grove Avengers." The MC says.
Hannah looks over at Jack. She sees his mouth hanging wipe open in shock after hearing the results. She shakes her head before using her right hand to close her teammate's mouth.
"Jack, this is your fault, you know?" Hannah says.
Jack uses his right hand to yank Hannah's away and hisses through his teeth, "How is it my fault?"
"You never showed up for practice," Sam says.
"You two were the ones who made seven mistakes when you were doing your kata." Jack says.
"Jack that was you," Hannah says.
"Whatever," Jack says.
The Falcons walk over to the center of the mat. They bow to the judges before turning to face the spectators.
"Hangetsu Kata," The team says.
They start the kata, and the judges watch closely to make sure the team is moving in perfect unison. The team is doing well until the end when Jack loses balance. He lands on his butt. The boy gets to his feet quickly, but can't figure out where his teammates are in the kata. The only thing he can do is stand like a statue. Hannah and Sam finish the kata without him. They bow to the judges again before walking off the mat. The karate kings do the Heian Nidan kata. The Warriors do the Goju Shi Ho Sho kata. Then Tracy and the boys walk onto the mat.
"Meikyo kata," They say.
Jack watches the group just as closely as the judges. He is waiting to see Tracy mess up the triangle kick. Ten steps later the team reaches the end of the kata. Jack's mouth drops open again, watching Tracy perform a perfect triangle kick. The team walks off the mat. After Jack recovers, he walks over to the team.
"How did you master the triangle kick?" Jack asks.
"I practiced hard. Unlike you Jack, from what I saw you obviously didn't think you had too. Now, your team is paying for it." Tracy says.
Jack doesn't say another word. He picks Tracy up by the collar and tosses her towards the mat. A loud thump is heard when Tracy hits the mat. She starts to get up, but Jack walks up to her. He kicks her in the stomach. She drops to her knees. Jack bends down and is about to punch her in the chest. One of the referees runs over and pulls him away. Hannah and Sam follow behind the team leader.
"Jack, I'm afraid your team is disqualified." The ref says.
"Why," Jack asks.
"It looked like you were trying to hurt Miss. Burlew so she wouldn't be able to compete. The judges also told me about the stunt you pulled in the first round. I'm going to ask you and your teammates to leave." The ref says.
= Welcome to Reefside=
Back with the Angel Grove Avengers, Tracy slowly gets her breath back. She walks back over to her teammates.
"Tracy, are you okay?" Jason asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Tracy says.
"I have a feeling that The Falcons will be eliminated from the tournament because of Jack's actions." Tommy says.
"That means there are only nine people left including us, how will the next round work?" Tracy says.
Ten minutes later the teams gather at the edge of the mat. Tracy glances over at the big scoreboard. She sees that they're tied for first place with The Warriors. The teams are curious who will face who in solo Kumite (sparing) round.
"The first match in round three is Gordon Roberts from The Karate Kings and Tracy Burlew from The Angel Grove Avengers." The MC says.
I didn't think that I would be going first. Tracy thinks.
Jason looks over at Tracy, and sees that she doesn't move after her name is announced. He gives her a friendly shove. She walks to the middle of the mat. She sees that Gordon is three inches taller than her and his rippling muscles are showing underneath his uniform. This doesn't seem like a fair fight, rings through Tracy mind. They bow to each other and stand in ready stance.
"Shobu Hajime," The ref shouts, as he back away quickly.
Gordon attacks first. He does an Mae geri Kekomi (Front Thrust Kick) and followed it with an Empiuchi (elbow strike). Tracy dodges the kick, but Gordon's hand hits her right arm just below her elbow. The referee does a quick downward chopping motion with his hand and yells Yame. Gordon backs away. They two stand with their hands at their sides. The referee extends his arm 45 degrees downwards towards Gordon. The judges give him one point. Then he shouts Hajime to resume the match. After the ref backs away, she does a few Oizuki (Lunge punches) followed by a Mawashi-Geri kick. Her kick hits Gordon on his right side. He falls backwards and lands on the mat. The referee stops the match again. Gordon gets to his feet. The referee extends his right arm at shoulder level. The judges give Tracy two points.
The referee restarts the match again. Both do their strongest Yoko-Geri-Kaegi (Side snap kick). When their feet hit each other, they fall backwards and hit the mat. Tracy winces slightly when her right elbow hits the mat. She gets up quickly. The referee stops the match for the third time. He extends both of his arms at a 45 degree angle towards Tracy and Gordon. The judges give both of them one point. One minute later the match ends,and Tracy and Gordon stand on either side of the referee. He takes hold of Tracy and Gordon's wrists and raises them up towards the ceiling. The audience applauds. After the referee lets go of their wrists, they turn to face each other again and shake hands.
"That was a tough match, great job." Gordon says.
"Thanks, and you're not upset about the match ending in a draw." Tracy says.
"Of course not, you're a great fighter even if you're a bit smaller than the other girls. You're going to one of the competitors the others are going to have to watch out for." Gordon says.
Tracy smiles and they walk off the mat towards their teammates. The boys notice that the smile has disappeared from her face. They see a disappointed look on her face.
"I'm sorry guys, I didn't win." Tracy says.
"Tracy, you don't have to apologize." Jason says.
"Jason is right, a draw is good too. It means the judges agreed that you and Gordon have great skills and use great technique." Tommy says.
The second match is between Malcolm and Clyde. The third match is between Tommy and Ron. The fourth bout is between Lenny and Samantha. The last bout is between Jason and Gordon. After their match ends the last round starts. The first match is between The Warriors and The Karate Kings. Tommy looks over at Tracy. He sees her favoring her right arm.
"Are you okay?" Tommy asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to use the bathroom, all the water I drank earlier went right through me." Tracy says.
Tracy leaves the room and walks in the bathroom. She relieves herself. She wakes her hands. After she dried her hands and throws the paper towel away, she rolls up her right sleeve. She feels a slight twinge of pain when she moves her arm so she can see it in the mirror. The bruise is the size of three golf balls.
This isn't good, so I only have one choice. I need to keep this a secret till the end of the tournament. I can handle that, I hope. Tracy thinks.
She puts her arm back down. Another twinge of pain flows through her arm. She ignores it rolls down her sleeve and heads back to her teammates. She arrives to see that "The Karate Kings" won so they spar against them. They stand face to face in the middle of the mat. They bow to each other. Then the match starts a few seconds later. Tommy spars with Gordon. Clyde spars with Jason. Tracy has to spar against Lenny since he is the only person left. The match is going well until Lenny's Yoko-Geri-Kaegi (Side snap kick) hits her and she falls to the mat. She hits the mat hard and tries not to scream out in pain when her right arm hits the mat. A slight dizzy spell hits her and the room starts spinning. The referee looks over towards Tracy and notices that she hasn't gotten to her feet. He takes out his whistle and blows it, starting the ten second rule. Back with Tracy she hears the whistle
Come on Tracy, you have to get up, if you don't the team is going to lose. Tracy thinks.
Six seconds later Tracy gets to her feet. The referee blows his whistle again to stop the ten second rule. The match restarts and Tracy does a Mae-Tobi-Geri (Jumping front kick) and Lenny does a foot sweep, he counter attacks with Mae-Tobi-Geri kick of his own. The judges award him a point when his kick hits her in the stomach. Two minutes later the match ends. The teams bow to each other again and to the judges before they walk off the mat.
"Okay, we are going to let the teams take a ten minute break while the judges total the scores. After the break, we'll find out this year's winner." The MC says.
Ten minutes later they see a podium set up similar to the one they use in the Olympics. Tracy looks over at the table with the trophies. Her eyes light up seeing the first place trophy. She turns her head back so she is looking back towards the judges again. One of the judges hands the MC an envelope with the final results. He opens it and takes out a slip of paper.
"Attention, everyone, I have the results. Third place goes to the warriors. The winner of this year's Game of the spirits karate tournament is…" The MC says.
The boys hear Tracy whisper The Angel Grove Avengers over and over. They chuckle quietly to themselves.
"By one point, it is The Karate Kings." The MC says.
The teams walk up to the podium, and they stand on the proper block. The judges hand them their trophies. The audience applauds one more time. The teams head to the lockers to change after congratulating each other on how well they did today.
= Welcome to Reefside =
Two hours later everyone is standing outside the command center. Kira has the machine in her hands. Tracy hands the black belt back to Jason.
"Thank you again for asking me to compete with you and Tommy." Tracy says.
"No problem," Jason says.
"Yeah, you were amazing." Tommy says.
"Thanks for the compliment," Tracy says.
"I wish you guys didn't have to go." Zack says.
"Me too, but our friends need us." Tracy says.
The group put their hands together and shouts "go go power rangers". The group leaps into the air. After they land, Kira Tracy and Mike walk a few feet away from the rangers. Kira turns on the machine. A time portal opens up and the Dino Rangers walk inside. The Mighty Morphin Rangers watch the portal close after Mike steps inside.
"Do you think that they'll be okay?" Kimberly asks.
"Yeah, they'll be fine. They are power rangers after all." Zack says.