Chapter Eight: Spar

On the second day of their training, the rangers awoke, got ready, put on their gi, and headed downstairs where they were met by the guardians.

"Good Morning." said Kyle tiredly. "What are you all doing?"

"Good Morning Kyle." replied Flame. "We're just preparing breakfast."

"Wait, you can cook." said Cyrus with surprise.

"Of course we can cook silly." answered Gayle. "How do you think we eat. We made some for you too."

"Oh you didn't have to do that." said Roxanne.

"Don't mention it Roxie." replied Illumi. "What are partners for."

Then Illumi set the food on the table, and the rangers looked with awe and somewhat disgust at the dish.

"What exactly is this?" asked a suspicious Whyatt.

"This is Frikeric Whyatt." replied Frost. "It's one of the tastiest of Rinji delicacies, please, try some."

"O.k then if you say so." said Whyatt as he went to try some.

"Not bad." continued Whyatt. "They taste like fried eggs and bacon with a touch of sweet and heat."

After the rangers finished their breakfast, they headed out to the battleground, where the guardians where the guardians were waiting.

"O.k rangers, time for your next exercise." said Quake. "This time you'll be sparing with each other."

"Wait, with each other." said a surprised Rudy.

"Yes, there will be three groups." explained Bolt. "Two groups of two, and one group of three."

"First up is Kyle versus Fiona." said Flame as the two headed to the middle of the battleground.

"O.k you two, here are the rules." began Flame. "You can use your Geo power, but try to include hand to hand combat. Next, no intentional lethal shots, not like you'd try to kill each other anyway. Last and most important, if you fall off the battleground and hit the floor, you're out."

"I'm ready when you are Fiona." said Kyle.

"Good, because I'm ready to." replied Fiona.

"Ready...Fight!" exclaimed Flame as the spar began.

Kyle was the first to make a move, he used his power to thrust himself forward, and then shot an array of kicks and punches which Fiona dodged using her power, then after a few minutes of dodging, she made her own counterattack, some hit, some didn't. After a ten minutes of failed attacks, the two stopped to catch their breath.

"Getting tired Kyle?" asked Fiona between deep breaths.

"No way." replied Kyle, who was also speaking between deep breaths. "I'm just getting warmed up."

"Well I say we finish this." said Fiona. "You thinking what I'm thinking."

"Sure, I think so." replied Kyle. "Collision attack."

"That's right." said Fiona. "Let's do it."

Then Kyle and Fiona cupped their hands, then after a few seconds, they released a powerful blast, and the area shook as fire and lightning clashed fiercely.

"Ha, not bad." said Kyle.

"Thanks, you're not so bad your…" replied Fiona as something happened.

"Ahh." cried Fiona as she realized the force of the blast began to push her back, then once she reached the edge, she fell. After she hit the ground, Kyle came running to her.

"Fiona, are you o.k." said Kyle as he reached to help her up. "Did you break anything?"

"I'm fine Kyle, no need to overreact." said Fiona. "What's your deal."

"Nothing, it was just that...I was worried about you." replied Kyle apologetically.

"Oh." replied a flustered Fiona as Kyle helped her up, then she realized her face was red and her heart was beating fast.

Then Flame came, checked Fiona's injuries, which weren't too bad, and declared Kyle the winner.

"O.k next is Krista versus Whyatt." he continued.

As they headed up, Krista went to where Fiona and Kyle were and whispered something in her ear.

"So, not your boyfriend." she mischievously whispered.

"Shut up." Fiona whispered back.

Then Krista and Whyatt's fight started. Whyatt tried to shoot blasts of water, forcing her off the battleground, but this plan backfired when he executed his plan, but Krista shot a powerful blast of wind and redirected Whyatt's water attack right back at him, sending him off the field.

"You did good Whyatt, don't let it get to you." said Fiona as she attempted to cheer her brother.

"Thanks sis." replied Whyatt.

The next fight was between Rudy, Cyrus, and Roxanne.

"C'mon Roxie, you can do this!" shouted Illumi.

"Don't lose, I believe in you Cyrus!" added Frost.

"Thanks, we'll do our best." replied the two cousins in unison.

"Hey, where's my pep talk?" asked Rudy.

"I don't need to cheer for you." replied Quake. "I know you can win this."

"Thanks partner, I won't let you down." answered Rudy.

"Ready...Begin!" exclaimed Bolt as the final spar began.

Unlike the other fights, this one did not last long. As Rudy and Roxanne neared each other to attack, they were surprised by Cyrus' counterattack, which was to use his power to propel the two up in the air, then shot an array of big ice chunks, forcing them off the field.

"O.k, Cyrus is the winner!" announced Flame.

"Damn, I really thought I'd win." said Rudy.

"Well I'm the younger cousin, he had a better chance of beating me." added Roxanne.

"O.k everybody." said Flame. "That was shorter than I thought, so let's do some minor exercises, then we'll call it a day."

After an array of different exercises like push-ups, situps, running laps, and exercising Geo power, the rangers went inside to wash up for dinner.

"O.k rangers, dinner is served." said Gayle as she handed the rangers their meals.

"Thanks Gayle." said Krista. "What is this dish called."

"This dish is called Stikato." replied Gayle. "Just like Frikeric, it's a Rinji delicacy."

"Wow, this is good too." said Rudy. "It tastes like steak and potatoes."

"Eat up rangers." said Flame. "Tomorrow, you leave this dimension, and I'm guessing Zakar will be waiting for you, used everything you learned to assist you, I wish you the best of luck.

After dinner, and dishes, the rangers prepared to head to sleep, but as Krista finished her toiletries and started her way to her room, she was met by Kyle.

"Is there something wrong Kyle?" asked Krista curiously.

"No, it's just I need to talk to you, in private." replied Kyle.

"O.k then, let's head inside to my room." said Krista.

But little did the two rangers know that they were being watched, and as they walked inside Krista's room, Whyatt waited patiently out in the hall, preparing for a moment to intervene.