"My god," Kelsey whispered in horror. "There's kids in there."

"Which means we gott'a hurry and get them out," Joel replied, leading the way into the inferno. His Aero Blades flashed out to swat aside any of the vampires that got in his way, but then, just as he was about to enter the building, it erupted into a massive explosion, sending everyone flying back and crashing to the ground.

Ryan pulled himself from the pile of vampires and retracted his visor to stare in horror when the orphanage came crumbling down, all the voices he could hear in his mind of the people he knew to be in there suddenly silenced. "Noooooooo!"

His rage found a focus when the reptilian skinned form of Vypra appeared from the debris, sword in hand and a grin on her face at what she had done. "Grand, was it not?!" she stated with glee. "All those lives, snuff out in a single moment, Ranger! It's enough to make one wonder if the god you believe in actually exists!"

All three Rangers only stared in horrified shock at the site, but then, they turned their attention to Vypra, who had now claimed full responsibility for it all. This being of pure evil, in one act, had destroyed the lives of so many children, most of whom had lost their parents because of the demons.

"You bitch," Kelsey spat in anger. "How could you do this, those were innocent children!"

"That's exactly why I did it!" the demoness replied, licking her blood red lips. "Destruction is so much more endearing when the young blood of innocents is spilled, human."

Ryan gripped the Shield Saber tightly. It was beyond just orders now, Vypra had pushed it all to being all too personal. "Ila or not in your hold," he hissed through his teeth. "I'm going to tear you apart!"

"Ryan!"

He ignored the cries of his team, racing forward with Saber raised to strike. Even as Vypra brought her own sword up to deflect, however, something flashed and sent Ryan flying back to hit the ground, dropping his weapon. For a long moment, both sides stared at one another in shock, Ryan slowly coming to his feet while picking up the Shield Saber.

A figure stepped out from the flames that continued to burn in the ruins of the orphanage. White boots clad his feet, rimmed at the tops by thick bands of gold. His hands were covered by gloves in similar style; white with golden bands. His body was armored by deep metallic grey, a golden belt around his waist that was buckled by the same symbol which was on those of the Lightspeed Rangers. A thick golden band ran up his torso and spilt at the chest to run onto his shoulders, which were in turn capped by golden sculpts.

But perhaps the most defining part was the helmet he wore. Shining metallic grey like the rest of the armor, it was decorated by a design rim of gold. And as a visor was a thick black V, which was outlined by the golden rimming. There was no mistaking the armor, but it was impossible that someone could be here wearing it, against the Rangers no less.

"Titanium Ranger?!" Ryan exclaimed in horror when the figure took position between Lightspeed and Vypra. "That's impossible, no one had access to the Changer, no one could possibly use it!"

The figure said nothing, only giving silence. It was then he at last spoke, voice warped beyond recognition. "I guess that makes me an important no one, doesn't it, Mitchell?!" He laughed, but still did not move from his position. "And in case you're wondering who I am...consider me your worst nightmare!"

Titanium Darkness

"Captain!"

Mitchell raced to the bridge, reaching there just in time to see a video feed from Ryan's helmet cam. "Oh my god," he whispered in horror. The site of all the death that had just happened was bad enough, but the figure which now was displayed on the screen mortified him. There was no other figure it could be, but how it stood there in the city...

"Titanium Ranger," came his whispered statement of terror moments before he raced back to the labs. Already, the disappearance of the Titanium Changer had been discovered, evident from the panicked chaos which engulfed the room. "Doctor!" Mitchell called as he ran over to where Angela stood in shock. "What happened, how did they get the Changer?!"

She gave no reply. He shook her hard, causing Fairweather to snap out of her shock. "Captain?"

"How did this happen?"

She looked away. "I'm not sure myself," the doctor replied. "None of this makes sense. Everything we now know about the demons says that their bane is water. There's no way they could have stolen it without us knowing."

"Rangers!" Mitchell's voice crackled in their helmet coms. "The Titanium Changer has been confirmed as stolen, this isn't a trick!"

Joel glanced to Kelsey in shock. "So someone actually can handle the Titanium armor?!"

Ryan, meanwhile, still stood in face off with the mysterious person who wore the armor of the Titanium Ranger. "How can you ally yourself with demons who murder innocent children?!" he screamed. "Only a monster would allow this!"

"Get your priorities straight!" the Ranger snapped angrily. "You had to have seen the truth, it's your Lightspeed that causes these deaths! Because of them, thousands have already died!"

Ryan shook his head. True, people had died, despite the best efforts of his team, but lives had kept from further death because of them. "How can you say that?! Look at what the demons have done!"

"This guy needs a serious beat down to get it through his head!" Joel called, he and Kelsey moving to join Ryan.

He turned his head towards them. "My fight is not with you!" the Titanium Ranger stated with a cold feeling in his distorted voice. "It's with Ryan Mitchell! Leave now, and I won't have to hurt you!"

"We're not going anywhere!" Kelsey replied. "We don't abandon each other!"

A burst caused them all to turn their attention to Vypra as the demoness pointed her sword at the Rangers. "We're not here to banter!" she stated. "Titanium Ranger, destroy them!"

With a nod, Titanium Ranger bolted forward. If these pawns of Lightspeed wouldn't stand down, then he'd force them out of this fight. They didn't matter in his view, he only wanted his revenge on Mitchell, to stop him once and for all. He moved so fast that Ryan didn't even have time to register the assault until after he had been sent flying back to the ground.

"Ryan!" Kelsey cried as she ran to Ryan's side, Joel right beside her.

"Are you okay, man?"

He nodded weakly. "I'm fine," the young man replied while getting to his feet. "I'll handle Titanium Ranger, you two take Vypra." He paused. "Remember, she has Ila still in here, try to take the demon alive so we can save her."

"Belay that order," Captain Mitchell announced through the com. "It's too risky. If you can incapacitate Vypra and bring her to base, do so, but if not, do what you must!"

Anger flashed through Ryan's mind. But before he could protest, the Titanium Ranger struck again, slamming into Ryan and carrying him away from his fellow Rangers. With a cry of rage, he brought the Red Ranger crashing into a building wall and held Ryan up tightly by the neck.

"So," he hissed with venom in his voice. "The great Ryan Mitchell has been beaten after all. Guess you're not so great after all. Kendrix was right to leave you people, she saw what you really are!"

Choking, Ryan fought against the hold of his enemy. "How...How do you know about Kendrix?" he gasped. "How do you know her name?"

"There's a lot I know," Titanium Ranger replied. "How I know is not your concern. Just know that you're going to get what you deserve!"

He suddenly yelled when a twin pair of blasts slammed into his back, causing him to release Ryan. With a sharp turn, Titanium Ranger glared when he saw Kelsey and Joel standing there with blasters aimed. "Why do you continue to help them?!" he yelled. "Can't you see, Lightspeed is the enemy!"

"Why does he keep saying that?" Joel muttered. "Look pal, I don't know what you're on, but obviously you have it backwards! Lightspeed is the only thing that keeps this city from being destroyed!"

It seems for a moment that he considered their words, but the moment died when Vypra dropped out from the sky and stood between the Rangers and their armored enemy. "Don't listen to them, they are just as guilty as those who oppress us! Finish off the Red Ranger!"

Joel growled as he brought out his Aero Blades with a flash of light, then raced at the demoness. "You bitch!" he screamed in anger. "You killed those kids!"

Vypra merely smiled. "Then avenge them!"

Meanwhile, Ryan did not have time to appreciate the help from his friends. In an instant, Titanium Ranger was upon him again, acting as if he were in a berserker state. He couldn't understand it; why did the man behind the armor hate him so much? For that matter, how could this Ranger so outclass him? Only two people he knew could ever do so. One of them was Kendrix. The other was dead, killing in the first battle with the demons before he had become Lightspeed Red. The only reason for this man being about to best him had to be the Titanium powers.

"If you were a real Ranger," Ryan hissed to his enemy, "you wouldn't be killing innocent children! You would be helping us!"

The Titanium Ranger growled, flung Ryan away, then drew out an axe plated with metal similar in color to his armor. With a twist of his wrist, he moved it to block a swing from Ryan's own Shield Saber. "Stop the lies, Mitchell!" He spat. "Those other rangers might buy into the lies your father tells them, but I can see the truth! You'll pay for what you and the conspiracy did to me!"

"Who are you?!" Ryan screamed. He couldn't figure out why this person was so hateful. "What did we do to you?!"

Suddenly, his visor snapped open to reveal hateful eyes glaring at Ryan. Red light pulsed in the whites of his eyes, but the emotion behind them was all too clear. "You abandoned me to death!" he finally answered before flinging Ryan away. The Red Ranger crashed through a wall, landing with a thud just before the small building collapsed in on him. Titanium Ranger snapped his visor shut, then turned towards where Vypra was still battling the remaining Rangers.

Even as Titanium Ranger left Ryan in the rumble of the building, Joel and Kelsey continued to battle Vypra. Each charged up their weapons to meet the demoness' blade, but she was too much for them. With a flash of her sword, Vypra knocked Kelsey's tonfas out of her hands and slammed the Yellow Ranger to the ground. It was all on Joel now.

"Well, Green Ranger," she hissed with a mocking tone in her voice. "Perhaps we shall see if you have the courage to face me this time!"

Joel gripped his weapons tight, then raced forward towards the demon. "Shut up!" he screamed, dodging the blasts Vypra fired at him. "You want a piece of me, you got it!"

Vypra countered his slash with her own sword. She had Joel right were she wanted him now. His anger was blinding him, clouding his judgement, just as she needed it to be. "You think you're strong enough?" she hissed with a smile. "Strong enough to kill me, to avenge those children?"

"You," the man snarled through clenched teeth, "never mess with me, not after what you've done!" With a snap kick, Joel pushed Vypra back, then dropped to avoid a blast and raised his own gun to fired back. It almost didn't matter anymore what happened to him, so long as Vypra was punished for what she did to those innocent children. She was right, he hadn't been fast enough to save them, but he accepted that he was only human. She, on the other hand, was a pure demonic force.

With a cry of rage, Joel spun about to dodge a thrust and kicked Vypra's sword from her hands. This was his chance now. His Aero Blades flared bright green as he charged them, then swung with both to cut the demoness deep in her arm. Vypra screamed out and flung the man away with a shockwave, then grabbed her wound. Not just blood seeped out, but a faint light as well. She knew what that wound had caused, and she was not about to let that happen, not now.

"I'm impressed," the demoness spat while drawing her sword back up from the ground and through the air to her hand. While Joel picked himself up off the ground, she flashed her weapon to poise at his neck. "However, such moments pass quickly." Vypra flashed a grin. "Prepare for oblivion."

Suddenly, she screamed and fell to her knees when a bright blast slammed into her back. She quickly stood up and turned to see the Yellow Ranger jump at her with her own weapons at the ready, swinging out to strike Vypra several times. She snarled, then, raising her hand to her face, pulled her wings in just before a blast of fire exploded out from her teleportation.

Kelsey took the chance and ran over to help Joel back up. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Joel said with an embarrassed wince The two rangers turned to see Ryan get flung to the ground by the obviously powerful Titanium Ranger when he had tried to stop the man again. "But fire boy can't exactly say the same."

"Looks like we gott'a bail him out," Kelsey remarked as they ran over. With a quick draw of her blaster, the Yellow Ranger fired and brought the Titanium Ranger's attention away from his target. "How could you do this to him?!" she yelled angrily. "If you're a Ranger, then you're one of us!"

The blast that fired in reply from the man's axe said that he didn't care. "I'm not one of Lightspeed's little toads!" he screamed. "I made that mistake once, not again! I won't sink down to their level!"

"You're obviously not above killing innocent children!"

The Ranger paused. "I don't know what you're talking about," he snapped back harshly. "All I do know is that you, your friend, and Kendrix Morgan have been lied to, fooled into destroying innocents! You're only helping Mitchell persecute the Saiman! He doesn't want them to stay on this planet, he's afraid of them because they are different!"

"You're not making any sense!"

He shook his head. "No," he replied. "I'm making perfect sense. If you really want to do good, join me! Help me put an end to Lightspeed's terror!"

"Don't talk about them like that!" Ryan screamed as he charged at the dark Ranger. The man simply moved out of the way and grabbed Ryan before spinning and flinging him into the debris of the collapsed orphanage.

"Don't push me, Mitchell," he spat, then turned back to Joel and Kelsey. "I'll let you keep him this time, but when we next meet, you had best decide which side is the right one!" With that, he spun about and burst away in flames. Joel and Kelsey quickly ran over to Ryan as he got up.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Don't worry about me," Ryan stated weakly. "We have to try and find any survivors, now!"

Joel only shook his head when Ryan moved to search the flaming ruins. "Ryan, there's no way anyone could have survived that. We did what we could."

"No!" he screamed. His visor snapped open to show his pained eyes, that even he refused to accept the truth and facts. "There has to be survivors, there has to be!"

"Ryan!" Kelsey snapped. "There's nothing we can do, Vypra brought down the entire building! We did all that could be done, but right now, we have to get back to the aqua base."

For a moment, he almost moved to ignore his fellow Rangers, but then slowly nodded. "You're right," he whispered weakly. "We have to report back what happened."

Meanwhile, in the forests of Miradon, Kendrix continued making her way through the trees and shadows, pulled onwards by some sort of tugging. It wasn't long before she came to a large dark cave. Part of her wanted to turn and run right there, screaming that this didn't feel right at all. But the other part of here told her she had to enter the cave.

Slowly, she crept up into the cave, not sure of what she would find or what exactly she was looking for. Or if there even was anything to find. Either way, she delved in further, carefully stepping into the pitch blackness of the tunnels. Somehow, it felt as if she were getting closer to her destination, but something was off; she had no memory of this place, nor was it on any charts of the area.

As she came to the end of the cave, there was a shaft of light shining inwards. Kendrix stepped out of the cavern, then, looking around, stared in shock at where she was. It was Ma'aya's home village, exact in every detail. It was the very same village they had come to save a year and a half ago, and where they had taken up the Delta Sabers to become Power Rangers. But, something was wrong. The Stone of Ages was nowhere to be found, certainly not where it should have been.

She came to the point where the five sabers should have rested. Now she realized what felt so wrong about this place. This couldn't be Ma'aya's home village, it was too far from the right location, not to mention the fact that there were no caves anywhere near the village. She turned around to leave, only to find that the cave was gone.

"The things I get myself into," she hissed while looking around. "What now?!"

There was a rustling. "Trouble as usual," came a familiar voice. Kendrix turned to the direction it came in, then widened here eyes as she recognized the face.

"Matt?!"

Deep in Skull Fortress, Basheera looked approvingly down upon the Titanium Ranger. "You have done well!" she praised. "Much grander than I had expected, in fact."

He bowed. "It's the least of what I can do for you," the Ranger replied. "I only hope I can right the wrongs that have been done to your people."

The demon queen nodded, though in her ghostly eyes was a spark of amusement. "And you shall," she agreed while smiling. "Indeed, my Ranger, you shall."

"You have done well," Diabolico commented after Bansheera had departed. "Though I still question why you allowed the Lightspeed Rangers to live when you had the chance to terminate them."

Dara smiled as she stepped up and wrapped her arms around the Ranger from behind. "I'm sure he has his reasons," she said in the Titanium Ranger's defense.

"Be that as it may," Loki replied as he glared at the Ranger. "I'm sure that Diabolico would like to know those reasons, as would I."

He tilted his heads towards Dara, then nodded. "Save for Mitchell," the Ranger began, "they're pawns in Lightspeed's plans, so I felt it best to give them the chance to realize the wrong they are causing."

"Your orders were to destroy the Rangers, not to recruit them!" Loki snapped back angrily.

"How dare you!"

Diabolico sighed. "Both of you," he stated, "please calm down!" He turned to their newest soldier. "You have done well, Titanium Ranger. It was wise of you to try to educate those how still fight for Lightspeed of their error. However, in the future, I suggest you do all you can to defeat them. Mitchell's hold might be too strong."

The Ranger nodded reluctantly. "I'll do what is needed. If they don't understand the truth, I won't be so forgiving the next time I face them."

At that, Diabolico nodded, then smiled. "For now, get some rest. You did well against the Red Ranger, and I wish you to be in your best condition for the next battle."

Titanium Ranger nodded and began to walk out of the chamber, but then he stopped. Tilting his head towards Diabolico, he almost seemed to slump his shoulders. "Something still bothers me about the battle. The Rangers claim that Vypra killed innocent children during the incident."

At that, the demon lord narrowed his eyes. "As I was not able to monitor all the events of the battle, I cannot confirm or rebunk this claim of theirs. However, I doubt that she would cause such death."

"I still don't trust her one bit."

Dara grinned to the man. "It seems your instincts serve you well."

"Yes they do," Diabolico agreed most wholeheartedly. "Vypra is not to be trusted, she cares for no one but herself, and for nothing other than her own goals."

He was silent for a long moment. "She had best hope though that she didn't cause the death of any bystanders during that fight," the Ranger hissed angrily. "Otherwise, I will be the one that brings her end."

Dara shifted her eyes in worry. "Wait for me outside my chambers," she said with a soft voice. "I need to speak with my father."

"As you wish." The Ranger nodded slightly, then left. Dara breathed heavily before holding her hand up and causing a magic barrier to prevent anyone outside from listening in.

"You don't think she would have killed those children just for the sake of a slaughter?" she asked her father, her voice trembling with dread. "War or not..."

He shook his head to stop her words. "I would put nothing beyond that snake," he replied in a harsh tone. "I have no doubt that the Rangers speak true of her acts. Even I find myself sickened by her deeds, she has no sense of honor in what she does."

With a worried look in her eyes, Dara looked to the chamber doors. "If she even thought of doing such a cruel thing to Impus, I'll..."

"She will pay for her ambitions soon enough," the golden demon replied in attempt to calm Dara down. "And if she did ever hurt the prince, I'm sure Bansheera would make sure of her termination. However, it is important that our soldier not realize the truth in these matters, or we risk him turning on us."

"Understood father."

He smiled at last. "Now, why don't you attend to our prize warrior? He may get suspicious if you make him wait for too long."

With that, Dara grinned and headed for the doors of the chamber. Loki, however, had a very worried expression on his face. "She seems too concerned about the deaths of innocents," he muttered to his brother. "At least too concerned for a demon."

"Loki," Diabolico replied with a sigh, "she is half human. Besides, even I have my own code against the needless killing of innocents, as do you." He pulled out a cup of blood wine, then frowned. "But I do think she and our new soldier are right in their not trusting Vypra. We've know of her ill intents since the very beginning of this mission, but her recent acts are beyond my tolerance. She was a fool to kill those children, especially so close to our prized warrior!"

Again, Loki narrowed his eyes in worry. "I don't trust our newest soldier all that much myself."

"Neither do I," the demon lord admitted before sipping from his cup. "However, for now, he is a resource we need. Let us hope that he continues to be so naive."

"I can't believe that you let this happen!"

Even as his son yelled at him angrily, Bill Mitchell sighed. "Ryan, calm down," he said with an air of command in his voice. "You know as well as I do that predicting casualties in battle is impossible. We couldn't have know that they would bring down that building on everyone inside."

"My question is how the hell did they get the Titanium Changer," Kelsey replied. "I thought that no human could handle the power it puts out."

Fairweather sighed and took off her glasses. "To be fair, Kelsey, we're still not sure how the demons got the Changer and found someone who can use it. Once we figure out how they got someone in here to steal it, we can work from there."

He rubbed his eyes and stood from his desk. "This is no time for dropping blame," Mitchell said while taking a deep breath. "Right now, our concern is who this person is, and how we're going to get the Changer back."

"Who ever this guy is seems to know an awful lot about Lightspeed," Joel remarked finally. "He knew Ryan, he knew about Kendrix, and he knew a hell of a lot about using those powers."

Mitchell nodded somberly. "Which is what concerns me most. I'm not quite sure who this man is, but he appears to be in the dark about the true nature of the demons. He tried to get you and Kelsey to join him and even spared all three of you."

"He didn't exactly give me a pat on the shoulder," Ryan quipped angrily. "And those kids...it was like he didn't even get the fact that they were killed!"

Again, Mitchell gestured for the young man to stop. "Ryan, please calm down. Now, I know you were close to those kids, but we can't let ourselves go off on a mission of pure revenge, it'll get you killed."

For a moment, the younger Mitchell seemed to listen to reason. "I know," he whispered. "But those kids had nothing to do with all this, and the world has given them hell. First the demons took their parents, and then they get killed like this! Now we have this nutcase of a Ranger going around helping the demons like they're some kind of repressed culture, and he's blaming us for everything!"

Mitchell said nothing in reply. Still fuming, Ryan stormed off from the office. Kelsey moved to stop him, but the captain only shook his head. "Let him go," he stated. "Ryan needs to blow off some steam."

"He'd better do it fast," Fairweather remarked as she wiped the lenses of her glasses. "We're gonna need all the help we can get to take the Titanium Changer back."

He only nodded. Kelsey and Joel took the chance to leave when Mitchell glanced to them and gestured to the door, leaving him to key it shut before looking back to Angela. "I need to know this," he stated. "How is working coming on the booster armors?"

With a sigh, Fairweather shrugged. "Well, the cycle is coming along, though I can't say for sure if it'll work right without full proper testing. The BattleForce boosters are done but still untested and the M.A.U..." She shook her head. "We haven't even gotten past the test stages of the transforming systems on that yet. I'm not sure if they'll will be ready in time to fight the Titanium Ranger again. If Kendrix were here..."

"I am afraid the major might not be returning in time to help us now," Mitchell reluctantly admitted. "We'll have to make do with what we've got. Try to speed up work on the cycle and the boosters, we'll worry about the M.A.U when it's somewhere near completion." Again, he sighed, then hesitated before he released a breath. "Angela, did we get a visual from Ryan's helmet cam when he fought the Titanium Ranger up close?"

"I think so, why?"

Mitchell quickly tapped a switch on his desk to display a replay of the data on the wall. It was when it came to the image of the Titanium Ranger's open visor that he paused the display. Clearly shown were his red tinged blue eyes. Something was oddly familiar about those eyes, and the combat style the rogue Ranger had been using.

Suddenly, it clicked to Mitchell as everything fell in place. "Oh my god," he whispered with horror. "It can't be."

"Can't be what?"

Mitchell shook his head, but it was all to clear that it was the only explanation. "I know who the Titanium Ranger is," he replied weakly. As Angela walked over to look at the image on the screen, the captain dropped his head sadly. "Oh god, it's all my fault."

"Captain," the woman quipped in a trembling voice as she too realized what he had meant. "That's not..."

"It is," he confirmed. Still shaking, William Mitchell looked up at the display screen. "I know those eyes anywhere, Angela, it has to be him. That's why we found no remains, and that's why they turned him against us...

"The Titanium Ranger is Carter."

To Be Continued...