Three days had passed since the dragon had risen from Angel Grove Lake, Tommy and the other rangers had searched for it between scuffles with putties, which of course they figured were distractions so Rita could search for the dragon herself. When no sign of the creature was found after three days; the committee running the martial arts tournament agreed to continue without further postponement.
Taranna had been sitting in her hotel room for those three days trying to regain her serenity,it frustrated her to no end that all she could think about was the prize and the fights that would lead up to the prize. She was going through each match in her mind analyzing the pairs and predicting the winners;each scenario she went over in her head had her facing him at some point during the co-ed spars; if she wanted that prize she knew what she had to do. The longer she contemplated it the more she knew the prize was just a bonus what she really wanted was to see him pay, beaten,disgraced and to see that harlot clinging to him cringe as he went down. Her mind took a step back for a moment what was she thinking. She shook her head and went back to meditation, the thoughts kept racing through her mind;p in the end they won out and she just went to sleep to be well rested for the tournament. The dragon raced across her mind in her fitful sleep but it was always just out of reach.
The morning brought the amber rays of dawn through the sliding glass door of the hotel room,they cascaded around Taranna's figure with an eerie orange-ish glow lightened the room she watched a cold
glow to her normally soft look; her long black hair done into a tight bun and her Gi strapped tight around her waist with her 4Th din black-belt. She continued to stand in the light as it rose catching the necklace & staff on her dresser; it caressed the delicate jewels of the pendent and the silver of the staff both looked lonely sitting there with the light glinting over them. When the sun finally reached it's high point for the morning Taranna walked over and placed the two pieces in a small wooden box inscribed with a dragon on either side as handles and a lotus blossom in the center acting as a lock. She then placed the box in her pack and left the room closing the door behind her she did not notice the cut on her arm had started to bleed once more leaving a small dragon shaped stain by the window.
Noise rushed past her ears from all the excitement bubbling around the youth center bleachers and in each dojos team zone. Tara walked past the Shadow Dragon zone and they all watched her with uneasiness; the air about her seemed different even to them. As their teacher enter the area even he took a second look and then let out a cruel smile. Taranna continued to her own teams zone and took a seat on the bench; her team mates didn't even seem to notice the difference in her attitude even her wise teacher Master Young didn't seem to notice.
Event after event continued trough the day the hunger to win was fed and grew; soon only one point separated the top three teams. Lotus Dragon, Shadow Dragon and Angel Grove. Angel Grove Pulled ahead in the next to last event of the day, as Tommy spared the Shadow Dragon's contender the skylight shattered raining glass down over the crowd and a large figure dropped to the ground pinning both Tommy and his opponent to the mat. The roar from the dragon was like that of a hurricane. It's tail lashed out ripping through the bleachers as if they were rice paper. The claws dug into Tommy & his opponent leaving great gashes in their side before taking wing and buffeting the whole center with shards of glass and splintered wood. The first few pieces that came Taranna's way she dodged easily enough but the last timber she wasn't able to dodge and with almost feral force it collided and knocked her across the room and into the wall,just a few moments before the world went dark for her she saw it leave just as had come silent and with all the rage of a cornered animal.
Three more days passed before she got the whole story from the papers. She studied the paper for all
the details and looked at it trying to remember what exactly happened. Her thoughts were fuzzy, she couldn't remember the details she sighed and sat back on the hotel room bed and tried to think and focus. The same day as the incident her parents had came to the hospital and picked her up about half way home, she had demanded she be let out of the car; they agreed and she returned to the hotel instead of their home.
Tommy and the Shadow Dragon student were not so lucky, both remained in the hospital with sever injuries, Tommy had four broken ribs, four puncture wounds that were about an inch around and about half an inch deep; as well as a broken right shoulder. The other students injuries were similar. Neither of them were expected to make it out of the ordeal alive; as the doctors could not seem to heal the wounds.