Bansheera cast her gaze across the planet Earth, staring with disgust at the filthy maggots that inhabited it. This world had to be cleaned, this world had to be destroyed in the name of the Emperor! And she would personally make sure of that. "Your plan had better succeed, Diabolico!" Bansheera said to the golden demon. He nodded to the spectral image, knowing what she meant.

"Those mistakes will not be repeated a second time. If everything goes according to plan, Dara will destroy the Lightspeed Rangers, and we shall raise the mighty demon Cyclops to destroy Earth for us!"

Calling forth Vypra and Dara, the two demonesses entered the throne room of Bansheera, quickly bowing before her. "How may we be of service to you, Bansheera?" Vypra asked, pleased with her recent victory over Diabolico by unleashing the vampires onto Mariner Bay. Diabolico stared with great disdain at her over the matter, obviously still furious with her.

"I want Earth destroyed!" Bansheera growled. "No longer can I stand to see that pathetic world...and the maggots that inhabit it! I want it destroyed, obliterated for good! So I am employing both you and Dara to carry out a mission for me!"

"Must we work together?" Vypra asked, staring with disgust at Dara. Dara returned the glare, half smirking. She would take such an opportunity to make a fool of Vypra most certainly.

"Put your petty differences for one another side!" Diabolico ordered. "You must not let your childish feelings for one another stop the will of the Emperor! We must destroy Earth in his name as ordered!"

"But of course father." Dara smiled. "The will of Asmordian is our life! What do you require of us, Bansheera?"

Bansheera smiled at this, taking delight in Diabolico's plan. "Dara, I need you to take a demon and vampires with you to distract the Rangers. Vypra, you shall aid me in resurrecting a powerful demon that will surely destroy this pathetic world!"

"Jinxer!" Diabolico called out, summoning the elven demon.

Several minutes later, the demon entered the room, bowing before Bansheera, prepared to answer her every word. "What does Diabolico demand of me? I am ready to serve the Emperor's cause!"

"Provide Dara with a demon capable of defeating the Lightspeed Rangers in battle!" Bansheera ordered. "Dara must distract and destroy the Rangers while Vypra resurrects a demon that once served me in battle, so that we can have this demon destroy Earth! Do you have a demon card that is capable of stopping the Rangers?"

"But of course Queen Bansheera!" Jinxer replied, shuffling through his deck of demon cards. "Allow me to present to you...Ares! This demoness is known for her war like abilities, and is very agile and fast, capable of evading almost any attack! It would prove most useful in Dara's attempt to destroy the Rangers no doubt!"

"Excellent Jinxer!" Bansheera exclaimed as Jinxer tossed the card to Dara. Dara smiled, bowing before Bansheera.

"Your will shall be done, my Excellency!" Dara proclaimed, before standing to her feet. "I shall find a band of vampires in the city to aid me, and a host for this demon card! Do not worry, your will shall be fulfilled!"

Twisting away, Dara teleported in a flash of red light, while Vypra stood to her feet as well. "My Queen," she said, "How shall I be of service to you?"

Bansheera smiled. "Head to the mountains outside Mariner Bay with a legion of vampires with you! There we will find what we need, and awaken one of the most vile and powerful demons ever...Cyclops!"

"Your will shall be done!" Vypra wickedly smiled, standing to her feet. As she exited the room, she caught Loki standing outside, fuming over what he had just heard. With a wicked smile, Vypra left to do the duty of her Queen.

"Your plan had best work, Diabolico," Bansheera solemnly whispered. "For unlike me, the Emperor is not as willing to forgive as I am! Either you succeed, or you fail. And failure is not an option."

"But of course, m'Lady," Diabolico replied. "Failure is not an option in any case!"

"Why the hell did you choose me to come here again?" Ryan demanded his father, as both he and Captain Mitchell repelled down the edge of a cave, dropping further into the caverns that existed just outside Mariner Bay. "I should just do this myself, leave you out of this. Your probably considering this father-son time with me."

"Ryan, this is not the time," Captain Mitchell retorted, gaining some slack on his rope as he repelled further down the wall. "Those soldiers got trapped down here trying to find that titanium we need for testing on one of our projects. It's our job to put aside our differences for once, so we can save these soldiers before they die."

Finally after minutes of repelling, they finally felt their feet touch the slippery ground of the caverns, removing their ropes for the time being. Ryan paused, breathing in the dank air.

Pulling a tracker out of his vest, Ryan flipped it on as a faint energy signal came on. "Damn...da-Bill, they're deep. I can't get a lock on their location...it's...they're so far into these caverns it's almost impossible to get a signal. How do you think we're going to find them?"

"The old fashioned way," Captain Mitchell replied. "We'll walk for now until the signal becomes more clear...hopefully."

So the two began to walk, partially in silence. Ryan shivered slightly, the musky and dank air hard to breath. The rock ground was wet; the tunnels pitch black as they used their flashlights to maneuver through them. "Not exactly how I wanted to spend today...on a rescue mission."

Captain Mitchell winced. It still hurt greatly, the death of Carter. Today was the birthday of Carter Greir; the young man who had died recently would have been twenty-four if he were still alive today.

"You never really told me..." Ryan remarked. "Neither did Carter. Even when he was older, he never answered. You just came home with him one day...and told me you had adopted him. Would you mind asking me asking...how you met him?"

"It's a long story." Captain Mitchell said with a sigh. "You're probably not interested in hearing me talk, are you?"

"In this case, I'll make an exception," Ryan snapped, before softening. "Might as well tell me now, so I actually know about Carter."

Captain Mitchell sighed. Might as well tell the story, he thought. It could help my situation with Ryan.

Tragic Birthday

Kendrix moved from her station across the lab over to Dr. Fairweather's desk. "Angela, how are the schematics configuring so far?"

"Almost near perfect, but not yet. We still need to install some precautionary backup measures on the Rail Liners before we can be sure they'll work," Angela replied. She brought the schematics on her screen, magnifying them for Kendrix. Both women studied them for several minutes, before nodding in agreement.

"We have to be sure, we don't want them to collapse on each other if we ever have to form it...I'll call the technicians in to start immediately. Until then, we have the Rescue Runners and the MegaRescue to fight with."

"Major Morgan," Dr. Fairweather said as Kendrix turned to leave. "I appreciate the help, but I can do this on my own. You can't help here at the development lab and fight battles at the same time. It'll take too much out of you, and we need you as a Ranger."

"I'm fine." Kendrix shrugged, sitting down at her desk. "Really!"

"I don't know..." Dr. Fairweather sighed. "The stress gets to everyone...I just don't want you to get hurt. We're friends..."

Kendrix smiled. "Look, maybe you're right. I guess I could use some sleep, I've been up since three this morning. I'll just make the call to the techs for you."

Quickly hitting the nearest contact comm, Kendrix summoned several technicians to begin installation of the precautionary measures and protocols onto the Rail Liners for Dr. Fairweather. After the summon, Kendrix stood rubbing her eyes as she left the room. Sleep sounded good.

She then paused, remembering that it was Carter's birthday today. Or had been his birthday...Carter was dead.

Closing her eyes, she entered her room. "I'll see how Ryan is later."

"Hold her!" Dara ordered the vampires, who held a struggling woman in their arms. The woman lunged back and forth, screaming for help with all her might. But of course, no help would come. Dara playfully walked forward, taking the chin of the woman into her hands.

"You don't think that you can actually be saved no do you?" Dara whispered into the woman's ear. "Don't you want to just give into the temptation and lust of evil, and unleash the dark force that exists inside of you?"

"Get away from me!"

Giggling, Dara tormented the woman as she dragged one of her claws down the woman's face, causing a trickle of blood to burst forth. She then took the woman's head into her hands, licking the blood from the wound and dragging her lips over the cut as she playfully sucked some blood from her. "Please..." the woman whimpered.

"Please what?" Dara cackled, throwing the woman to the ground, crimson liquid around her lips. "Please...do this?!"

Removing the Ares card from her armor, she laughed morbidly as she threw it forward. It struck into the back of the woman, piercing her like a knife. The dark energies bound themselves with the soul, the body shifting into the demon form as Ares stood to her feet. "Who the hell are you?" Ares snarled.

"I am Lady Dara, daughter of Lord Diabolico!" Dara proclaimed. "We must work together to destroy the Rangers and distract the humans while a minion of the Emperor resurrects the powerful Cyclops to destroy the Earth! Will you carry out the Emperor's will?"

"But of course!" Ares nodded, drawing a fiery sword in one arm, a cold sword in the other. "I would be delighted to kill these Rangers that stand in the way and will of the Emperor! By Asmordian's name, they die today!"

"Perfect!" Dara smiled, the vampires joining her as they teleported away to launch their attack against the Lightspeed Rangers.

It happened rather quickly. In an apartment building right along the edge of Mariner Bay, in the posh section of the city a flame leapt. It was formed from the stray ashes of a cigar, fluttering to the floor and causing a single flame to burst forth.

No one knew the harm this simple small flame would cause. It would soon ignite out and cause the building to come crashing down in an inferno. But no one knew this, only a few taking note of a smoke smell, but deciding it was the restaurant located inside the apartments, and that it simply had burned something.

First along the floor it ran, traveling up the elevator shaft, and along the walls. It soon spread outwards, spreading from floor to floor, igniting a blaze as it climbed higher and higher up the structure. By now some people had realized there was a fire.

But it was too late, the building was already burning.

He had been reading the latest Tom Clancy novel at the time when the call had been made. Of course, by luck, William Mitchell, formerly naval Lieutenant Mitchell and the future Captain Mitchell of Lightspeed, had been the one to answer it.

"Help!" A frantic voice screamed over the phone before his receiver had barely left its hinges. "God, you have to help us! The Radisson, it's on fire! We're trapped, the stairs are in an inferno...and the elevator, and we can't take it down! We're trapped!"

"Calm down!" Bill ordered, at first thinking this was a prank call. It had been done before. But other operators were also working their stations frantically as calls from all over the city began to pour in, speaking of the inferno blazing at the Radisson Apartments.

"Mitchell, get the hell up and suited up! I'm having Stacy take over for you!" Commander Xavier said as he came running into the room. "This thing is big, we need as many people as possible or else they'll all die!"

"Sir!" Bill answered, rushing off to the locker room and quickly suiting himself up. Grabbing his various equipment, he slid into it with ease as he rushed out, leaping onto the back of a fire engine as the motor kicked in and it drove towards the blaze. "Gods..." Was all he could mutter, as he stared at the burning building.

Finally he came to a rest, following the orders given to him as he grabbed a hose end, running to the nearest fire hydrant and connecting the tubule to the receiver. Water instantly began to pump as the various fire fighters engaged with the flame, firing huge jettisons of water across the building, trying to stop the fire at the weak points of the building so that it wouldn't come crashing down.

"We need to get men up there!" Commander Xavier screamed. Instantly dashing forward, axe in hand, Bill Mitchell was there, ready to serve. The Captain nodded, motioning to the nearest ladder. Within minutes, Bill was on the ladder as they moved him to the nearest window, himself sliding the air mask over his face, his vision dimming as the goggles slid to a close around his eyes.

"Anyone here?" Bill screamed. A faint scream was heard. Not from this room, but from another room. Swinging the axe against the door, he broke through the wall, kicking the wood apart as he came into the hallway.

"Hey!" he shouted. A second scream answered him as he gazed through the black smoke. Drawing near a door, he touched the handle. No, too hot. That room was an inferno inside, he would only cause an explosion by releasing it, and that wasn't needed at all.

Following the screams further down the hall, he finally came to a door. Kicking it open, he found a woman with her child, huddled in the far corner. She looked like an animal; hair frizzled and blackened by the smoke, the woman breathing heavily.

Running over, he moved to help the woman and her child up. But then it happened; a flaming rock fell from the roof, as if aimed straight for her head. The woman stood, not seeing it or realizing it as fell, ignoring the scream of Bill. It smashed into her head with devastating force, knocking her backwards as she broke through the window before her, the glass ripping through the innocent woman as she fell to her death.

"Mom!" the child screamed, leaping to run to the edge. But Bill couldn't let this young child die. Leaping forward, he gathered the struggling boy into his arms, the boy screaming violently as he called for his mother. It then began; the room began to cave around them.

"Are we both going to die?" the boy sobbed.

"No," Bill assured. "We're going to get out of here...we're going to live."

Glancing around, Bill looked for an option, any option at all. Running to the nearest wall, he leapt through it as it crumbled, tearing down the hallway as he ran. Halting before the nearest wall, he saw that the garbage shoot was untouched by the flames. Leaping twelve feet to the slide below, his feet slammed into the searing metal.

Falling to his back, Bill cried out in pain at the burning metal, but ignored it, thankful for his heat vest. Kicking his feet, open, they shot down the shoot, retooling around the stories after story of building. The boy screamed in fright the whole way down, as Bill kept his eye open. Then he saw it. About two hundred feet below them, a flaming piece of wood jarring their path.

"Shit!" Bill swore aloud, suddenly acting instead of thinking. Slamming his feet into the ground, he vaulted the two forward as they went flying outwards, and into oblivion. Crashing through the burning wall nearby, the two emerged, onto the outside of the building, as they fell to the world below. Spinning around and forming a shield for the child, he saw they were plunging for the nearby ocean. Glancing behind him, he saw they had managed to break over the edge.

"Hold on!" Bill screamed, holding the boy tightly in his arms as they slammed into the water, Bill screaming in pain as he hit it. It felt like being hurled into a huge slab of cement. As the two floated in the water, Bill tried to calm the screaming and sobbing child.

"What's your name kid?" Bill Mitchell demanded.

"My name?" The kid demanded, half confused. "Carter...Carter Greir."

Bill tried not to scare the youth. "Your dad's going to be proud of you. You helped me escape you know?"

"I don't have a dad," Carter said, shivering in the arms of Bill. A boat was being launched, drawing near them as life rings were thrown to them. "Is- is m- my mo- mon...is she dead?" he sobbed, choking the question out. Bill had to blink back tears. He hated life. He hated seeing this kid here in pain. How cruel were the fates to leave a child without a father, and then kill his mother?

"I don't know..." Bill softly said. "I don't know."

Minutes later the two were hauled from the ocean, and blankets were thrown around the two. Bill fell the nearest bench exhausted, realizing this kid was still hanging off of him.

But for some reason, he didn't mind.

It was only a day later he got the call. "He doesn't have any relatives. He doesn't have a father on the birth certificate. And his mother was an only child, all relatives she had are dead...Bill, he has no where to go."

Bill sighed, rubbing his eyes anxiously. He already knew what he wanted to do. He knew what he should do. But how would Ryan react to having a kid around the same age as him suddenly move in? But suddenly he knew he had to do the right thing. And that was to give Carter Greir a home.

"Don't give him over to child services yet Alex." Bill sighed. "I've already requested the papers...I'm adopting Carter."

"The signal's is getting stronger," was all Ryan said. How was he supposed to react to the story he had just heard? He didn't know what to say, what the hell was he supposed to say? So he said something about their mission.

"Slightly to the left." Captain Mitchell said, pointing in that direction. Moving into the new cavern, their flashlights suddenly went dead, as the world began to shake. Screaming, Ryan lunged forward, grasping the hand of his father, as the two were knocked off of their feet. Hurled forward, the world gave way beneath them as they fell, sliding down the landscape.

Then they were hurled into oblivion, soon coming to rest on the ground below in a painful smash.

The world went black.

Who knew how much time passed in between the blackout, before Ryan finally awoke? Growling, he gripped his side. Wincing, he knew at least one of his ribs were broken, as he helped his father up. Captain Mitchell cried out, falling to the ground as he clutched his ankle in pain.

"I think I broke it!" He managed to gasp, in between his winces. Ryan groaned, slowly sitting next to his dad.

"Damnit!" Ryan cursed. "We should have been more careful."

Glancing at the light that the tracker provided, he saw his shock and surprise that they were near the soldiers. "Dad...we're near them! Try to contact Lightspeed, I'm gonna draw near. Perhaps they fell off the incline like we did."

"Think they would have found us?" Captain Mitchell said, propping his leg up on a nearby slab of rock. Ryan shrugged, removing the communications device from his pack and tossing it to his dad.

"Luckily it wasn't crushed in the fall. Try to get in!"

Mitchell nodded as Ryan lit several flares up, tossing them around the room to provide some light. As Ryan slowly stumbled down the cavern, he felt and smelt the stench of death in the air. Holding his senses together, he drew near the tracker anyway. Pausing, he glanced horrified to see the soldiers lying on the ground, lifeless, and emotionless.

Rushing forward, he tried each one for a pulse, only to fall back in dismay. "They must have gotten hurt in the fall...and managed to crawl this far before they died." Ryan said shakily, heading back to his dad. Captain Mitchell glanced up expectantly, but his face fell when he saw the horrified look pasted in Ryan's eyes.

"They're dead," he managed to croak, falling to the ground in a heap. "I don't know how in hell we survived that fall, but we're damn lucky."

"I tried contacting Lightspeed...all I get is static. These things don't work that well when far below the surface. We made a mistake coming here..." Captain Mitchell sighed.

"No. We tried rescuing these men, which was the right thing to do." Ryan sharply said. "Besides, I would have never heard your story about how you came to know Carter without these circumstances. Can't say I wanted to talk to you today...I still think it's your fault that he died...you made him a Ranger."

"That can't be helped." Captain Mitchell softly said. "He did what he wanted to do. Ryan, unlike you, Carter wanted to be the Red Ranger with all his heart...he knew donning the Ranger armor was putting his life on the line. And he did it anyway. He sacrificed himself so innocents could survive."

"There still could have been another way." Ryan bitterly said. "He had a life set for him, and he lost it..." Ryan sighed.

"Why not tell me?" Captain Mitchell suddenly blurted out. "You hated Carter from the moment you met him, claiming he was trying to steal your life. He kept trying to be your friend, but you'd always lash back. Finally after months of making him your enemy...you two suddenly became best friends. I never asked...but what changed you mind?"

Ryan smiled faintly as he recalled the memories. "You'd never really guess it...But it was in a fight?"

"Fight?"

"Yeah." Ryan smiled. "A fight."

"What are you doing here?" Ryan snarled. Carter was standing before him, a surprised look on his face.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to bother you," Carter said, turning to leave. But Ryan was bored, and he needed something to do.

Fighting with Carter sounded good.

"Well you did!" Ryan shouted. "You jerk, you're trying to take everything away from me aren't you?"

"I don't know what you talking about," Carter quickly said. He hated it when Ryan got in these moods, taking everything out on him.

"You know very well what I'm talking about," Ryan sneered. "You probably planned for my dad to adopt you didn't you?"

It was at that second that Carter lost his "I don't want to cause trouble" demeanor. "That's crap! You think I wanted my mother to die? You think I wish she had died? Yeah, you dad adopted me. And you know what, tough, deal with it Ryan! I would rather have my mother, but at least I have someone!"

Ryan hauled fist at this, throwing a punch in Carter's direction. In a flash, Carter raised his hand, catching the punch as he tossed it aside. Ryan lunged forward a second time, Carter catching this fist and twisting it down, before yanking forward and ramming his shoulder into Ryan's stomach.

Ryan fell like a rock to the floor, his wind knocked out of him. "Damn..." Ryan coughed. "Where the hell did you learn to fight like that?"

"Mom made me takes self-defense lessons, just in case I ever got in a fight, she wanted me to know how to protect myself," Carter replied, relaxing somewhat as he helped Ryan to his feet.

"I'll have to have you show me some of that," Ryan muttered. Suddenly he paused. "You're pretty cool actually."

"Thanks," Carter said, looking a bit proud. "Uh, Ryan, why do you hate me so much?"

Ryan paused. Why did he hate Carter? Was it because he needed someone to hate? Or because he was afraid that Carter would steal his dad from him? Or that Carter would take the place of Ryan's late sister?

"I don't know," he finally stated. "But I don't think hating you will do any good...you'll just kick my butt every single time."

"For sure."

"Friends from now on?" Ryan asked, extending his hand. Carter smiled.

"Friends."

"And Carter?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time we fight, I will win."

"In your dreams."

Ryan smiled as he recalled the memories. "Even after that...We never really got along...until the later years unfortunately. But it's like we've always known that deep down inside...we've always have been like brothers to each other."

"Looks like we both learned something today." Captain Mitchell smiled.

Ryan found himself smiling to. For a second, having a guy named Bill Mitchell for his dad suddenly wasn't so awful.

But only for a second.

Kelsey tossed Joel a wrench, the two working on Geo 4 together. They weren't supposed to, but neither Angela nor Kendrix were around, too preoccupied with the current upgrade installment of the Rail Liners. "Damn, mighty fine work with the engines here..." Joel called out, emerging from under the hood, wiping oil from his cheek as Kelsey giggled with amusement.

"You seen Captain Mitchell or Ryan lately? Those two have been missing for hours!" Kelsey said, suddenly realizing she hadn't seen Ryan since he left with his dad to retrieve some soldiers that had been trapped. "They should be back now shouldn't they?"

Joel slipped back under the hood, as he continued to explore the parts that made up his engine, before pausing to answer. "You know, haven't really thought about it 'till now, but your right!"

"Think I should go check with Angela?" Kelsey asked, and Joel reappeared at the Angela's name.

"I should come with you." Joel quickly said, grabbing his hat and slipping it on. "Angela will most likely need a man to comfort her when she realizes the two have been gone so long."

"I doubt so." Kelsey rolled her eyes. "There is an obvious answer about this. Captain Mitchell and Ryan have already returned and we just don't know about it. It's that simple!"

So the two locked the lid to the engine bay of Geo 4 back into place, as they headed in the direction of Dr. Fairweather's lab. Finally reaching it, they entered, Joel pausing to rub signs of oil from his face before proceeding in.

"Kelsey." Dr. Fairweather glanced up in surprise. "Did Kendrix send you to find out how the operation is going? Tell her everything is going according to schedule and we've already finishing our work up on Rail Liner 5."

"Um, that's great," Kelsey said. "But we actually came here looking for Ryan and Captain Mitchell. The two left early this morning to find those soldiers that were trapped. Do you know what happened to them or if they ever got back?"

"You know..." Dr. Fairweather said, pausing to think. Quickly checking the log, she froze. "They haven't come back yet. They should have returned hours ago..."

"So...we do what?" Kelsey asked. Suddenly the alarm shot forth, Kelsey and Joel groaning.

"These bastards pick the perfect time to attack." Joel groaned. "What now?"

"Let's find out," Dr. Fairweather stated, the Rangers following her as they took a lift up to the command room. Once inside, a lieutenant came running up with a report, handing it to Dr. Fairweather, who was in charge during Mitchell's absence.

Kendrix and Chad both came in at the same time, the two pausing to hear the report. "Dara's back, and with a female warrior demon. This one seems to be pretty powerful; I would suggest extreme caution fighting this one. Major Morgan, you in charge this battle."

"Will do." Kendrix nodded, the four Rangers taking the lift upwards, and arriving at the launch bay. Quickly leaping into the humvee, the four exited the Aqua Base, driving into the city of Mariner Bay.

"Kill them all!" Dara ordered her vampires, the vampires attacking the innocents around them, chasing after them with the lust of blood and death. With a cruel laugh, Dara hurled black flame at the surrounding buildings, explosions rocketing the city. Ares joined in her, unleashing blasts of ice and fire from either sword.

"Stop this carnage!" A voice screamed. The humvee came to a screeching halt as the four Rangers emerged, the vampires regrouping around Ares and Dara, baring their fangs at the sight of the four Rangers.

"Ah, the Ranger of Heart!" Dara snorted. "I've been expecting you. Daddy told me to bring you in, and I plan on doing just that!"

"Let's Jet!" Kendrix whispered, while Kelsey, Joel, and Chad hit their activation plates, keying in the activation codes on their bracers. Their bodies lit with a flurry of blinding energy, as each Ranger came to strike a fighting stance.

"We're taking you down Dara!" Kendrix shouted, extending her Medi-Boa. "And your little bitch friend too!"

"Careful." Chad stated, as he moved up to Kendrix's side. "That Ares demon has an ice and fire sword, so she can deal both ice and fire attacks. I saw her attacking the buildings, she's tricky."

"Copy," Kendrix said, nodding to Chad. "Look guys, we're going to have to be careful. We're down a Ranger, and there are only four of us. So we have to think quick, got it?"

"Got it!" The three Rangers nodded.

"Okay, here's the game plan!" Kendrix nodded. "Joel, Kelsey, take down those vampires. Chad, you, and me will take on Dara and her lackey. Kelsey, Joel, once you finish off the vampires, join us in battle and all five of us will take on Dara!"

"Right!" The three nodded.

Dara gripped her blade, smiling deviously. This would be quite fun. "Charge!" She screamed.

Dr. Fairweather tightened her armor around her, pulling her tracker onto her wrist as she stared at it. No signal.

Yet.

Leaping into the helicopter, she saluted the officer in charge, taking a seat as it lifted off of the ground. "We're going to have to journey into the caverns. I'm guessing Ryan and Captain Mitchell are trapped somewhere inside of there! We'll have to be careful of pitfalls!"

"Will do!" The Sergeant nodding, handing trackers to all of the soldiers. Within minutes they were outside Mariner Bay, heading to the hills outside Mariner Bay. Landing the helicopter, the soldiers and Dr. Fairweather emerged, taking to the nearest entrance as they entered the cavern.

Joel swung his Aero Blades through the air, striking away at the various vampires around him, cutting the heads off of them as he fought them. "I just keep getting better and better." He thought to himself, landing his blades into a vampire, and ripping the heart from it.

Kelsey swung her Strikers, beating down the vampires around her. Grunting, she hurled herself into the air, catapulting over vampires, before quickly striking down and imploding the heads of the vampires with deadly strikes.

"Damn, these things keep coming!" Kelsey cried out, as vampires charged from nowhere, bearing their fangs as they attacked both her and Joel. Leaping into the air, she extended the Strikers outwards, spinning upwards as she tore through the vampires leaping at her.

Swinging his Aero Blades through the air, Joel grunted his agreement, shredding through yet another vampire. But soon the vampires overwhelmed him, as one bared their fangs to bite into him. But the head imploded in front of him, Kelsey playfully blowing the smoke away from her blaster. "That's yet another favor you owed me Joel. Don't you think you should just offer to become my servant by now?"

With a grunt, he charged forward, striking into the various vampires with great force. Finally he paused, bending over to catch his breath. "Damn...those things are strong!"

"Let's get a move on!" Kelsey growled, charging past the vampires and blasting them to pieces. "Kendrix and Chad need us!"

But suddenly a wave of vampires exploded from the ground, cutting Kelsey off as she cave to a stop. Behind her, other vampires came charging as well, surrounding Joel and Kelsey in their mass.

"Shit..." Joel muttered, gripping his blades tightly.

"This is could prove some trouble, couldn't it Joel?" Kelsey asked.

Dara lashed out with equal strikes, slashing away at the one called Chad. But Lightspeed Blue dodged the jest of her blows, flipping, twisting, and somersaulting through the air as he dodged both her blasts and slashes. "Stay still!" Dara screamed.

"And allow you to carry on with your vile acts?" Chad demanded. "No, I refuse to! Instead, I think that I will kill you, and carry out my vengeance upon the demons!"

"Again with getting revenge!" Dara laughed. "Whatever you are hoping to exact on us shall fall! You cannot stand against the power that we possess!"

"But I can!" Chad replied, drawing his weapon. Flinging it forward, Dara was smashed backwards by the Nunchukus. Dara brought her blade down, striking Chad's weapons against the ground with a smirk. But Chad swung his blaster outwards, transforming it to sword mode as she slashed Dara across the chest, sending her stumbling backwards. Then bringing the Nunchukus back up, he brought them clubbing back down upon the head of Dara, the woman clutching her face in pain as she was slammed backwards violently.

"How dare you!" Dara hissed. "I am the daughter of Lord Diabolico!"

"And I am your destruction!" Chad replied, leaping up and snap kicking her backwards. He then brought the Nunchukus smashing down a second time, before twisting around and smashing them into the stomach of Dara and hurling her backwards.

"You will pay for that!" she gasped, weakly clutching her stomach in pain. "By Asmordian's name you shall so dearly pay for that!"

"Just eat shit, you bitch!" Chad shouted, shoving his blaster into her face. Dara froze as Chad pulled the trigger, blasting her point blank. With a scream, Dara fell backwards, clutching her eyes in pain.

A roar was heard, energy striking throughout the landscape and knocking Chad from his feet. Slowly standing, the youth saw a golden demon carefully lifting the girl Dara into his arms. "You have no idea how grave a mistake you have made you human, striking down my daughter!"

"You're the one I want!" Chad shouted. "Diabolico, face me now!"

Diabolico chuckled. "You wish to face me in combat? I have not faced a bigger fool in my entire ten lifetimes!"

"Fight me!" Chad shouted. Diabolico merely shook his head.

"I will tend to my daughter before coming for revenge." Diabolico glared at Chad. "You will pay for this!"

Then with a laugh, Diabolico teleported away, taking the injured Dara with him. Chad roared with rage, knowing he had been so close to battling the one he had been after for so long. "I'll avenge you, brother..." Chad whispered. "Count on it!" Glancing to his left, he saw an army of vampires surrounding Joel and Kelsey as the two fought, destroying the vampires slowly.

There was a much quicker way to do this.

"Haidoro Arashi!" Chad screamed, summoning his inferno of water once more. Pushing his hands together, blue energy and water swirled en mass around his fingertips, as he gathered the energy together. Then, pushing his hands outwards, he slammed the sphere of water through the vampires; destroy almost all of them instantly. Nunchukus extended, he flipped past them, quickly destroying the remaining ones with exact and precise strikes, Joel and Kelsey soon joining in with him.

"Way to go, Chad!" Joel shouted, removing the head of a nearest vampire, while Kelsey used her Strikers to break the backs of the surrounding vampires. Soon enough, the vampires were finished off.

Vypra struck her sword into her hand, letting the blade tear through her flesh and causing blood to boil forth. She let a circle of blood get painted around her, her vampire guard watching with interest. She stood outside Mariner Bay, standing in the circle of the blood.

"Arise yon servant of forces so old, awaken thy heart of nightmare and vengeance! Unleash you black power, and awaken the black might! Activate thy darkness that binds your soul! I call upon this dark day, your resurrection is right now!" Vypra chanted, black light exploding around her as she chanted her black magic.

"Awaken Cyclops!" Vypra screamed, throwing her sword into the sky. It shot into the mountains cape, pounding into the rock. Black magic rocketed throughout the landscape, a demonic roar unleashed.

"This should be good!" Vypra giggled. She glanced up suddenly to see a helicopter dropping from the sky as it came to land several hundred yards away. Growling, she paused as once more her host fought for control, before regaining control once more.

"I want those soldiers dead!" Vypra screamed. "Kill everyone in that aircraft!"

With screams echoing their throats, the vampires rushed forward to do her bidding. Glancing back at the mountain, she saw her magic already taking place, as the creature that was Cyclops started to emerge.

"So the Pink Ranger thinks she can take me?" Ares demanded, the two foes fighting one another.

"Correction!" Kendrix snarled. "I know that I can take you! You're nothing to me, just a piece that's going to be struck down in this game of chess!"

"So we're poetic now are we?" Ares smiled, crossing her blades as she unleashed a twined blast of ice and fire at Kendrix. Kendrix screamed in pain, cursing as she fell to the ground. Ares leapt forward, slashing widely at her, sparks exploding as she was struck away at.

"Get the hell away from me!" Kendrix screamed, kicking Ares backwards with ferocious kicks. Snarling, she knew she had to take care of this demon fast. Something told her that something bad was about to happen. So she summoned the power that she was most familiar with.

"You're not only fighting the Pink Lightspeed Ranger...your fighting the Ranger of Heart as well!" Kendrix screamed, slamming her Medi-Boa down as pink energy crackled around her, striking into her armor. She shifted, parts of her Delta Ranger armor converging with the Lightspeed armor, as yet again she began to flux between both of the powers that she possessed.

"The Ranger of Heart?" Ares screamed. "Impossible!"

"Very possible!" Kendrix snarled, clawing the ground. Charging forward once more like a wild animal, her legs struck into the air, bashing Ares backwards with great force. Lashing out with second kick, she pinned Ares to the ground, slamming the weapons the demoness held away from her hands.

"You want to see a power greater the Ice and Fire?" Kendrix demanded, hurling backwards the demon as she struck into her with powerful punches and kicks, before lifting the demon into the air and slamming her into the ground with great force. "Let me show you a power greater then what you call upon! The force that I call upon! The power of the Heart! A force so strong, you can only hope but to tremble in its presence!"

"Leave me be!" Ares begged, falling to a knee in pain.

"No!" Kendrix screamed, holding her Medi-Boa outwards. "Did the demons show mercy to Carter? No they didn't! He sacrificed himself to destroy you, and I'm going to make sure that, that sacrifice was for something! I'm going to kill you!"

With a savage roar, Ares shot forward, extending her claws as she slashed away at the Ranger of two teams. But Kendrix stood her ground, laughing without any compassion as the demon slowly realized that what it was trying was futile. "No wonder Lord Diabolico seeks to convert you..." Ares whispered, utterly horrified that she had dealt no damage, as she slowly backed away.

"My turn, bitch!" Kendrix screamed, arcing her Medi-Boa into the air, her grip on the hilt firm as a current of pink energy crackling around the weapon. With a shout, Kendrix shot forward; slamming into Ares with such force she tossed the demon backwards. Then, charging the Medi-Boa with a huge amount of energy, she slammed it through Ares with such force she tore the demon completely in half, the demon exploding in a violent eruption of body part, hands and organs falling around her. Off to the left, the energy reformed into the innocent that had been used to create the demon.

Kendrix sighed, letting her rage subside. Her Delta Ranger armor dropped in an instant, as the other three Rangers came running up, staring at the violent destruction of Ares, the scorches of flame still very fresh as they burned against the ground; the heat still strong from the eruption.

"You did this all by yourself?" Joel demanded. Kendrix moved to answer him, but she was interrupted when the comm suddenly rang.

"Major Morgan! Dr. Fairweather went on a rescue mission to retrieve Ryan Mitchell and Captain Mitchell, but before they could enter the cave vampires attacked them! The S and R team are requesting assistance to hold off the vampires while Dr. Fairweather enters the cavern."

"On our way!" Kendrix shouted, as the four Rangers leapt onto the humvee.

"Queen Bansheera." Vypra stated, teleporting into the throne room to report to Bansheera. "I have obeyed the will of Asmordian and your orders! I have succeeded in raising Cyclops from his sleep with a powerful magic spell! He shall commence in destroying the planet immediately as planned!"

"Yet again Vypra, I commend you on yet another victory! Unlike some demons around here, you yourself refuse to fail!" Bansheera said, Vypra taking delight in the praise. Glancing over at the injured Dara, she smiled wide, enjoying the pain and defeat that Dara had suffered yet again.

"Yes...I try to tell this to Diabolico...but he just won't listen to any of my plans!" Vypra said. "He always listen's to that whiny half demon daughter of his! It's pathetic Bansheera, because of him and his daughter...the Emperor's will may dealt out."

Then raising her voice. "I tend to take no as an answer, I live for victory alone, unlike several demons that reside here!"

Diabolico started at this, but fell down. There was nothing he could do; he could not defend his daughter. Both Bansheera and Vypra were right, Dara had failed, and it was her fault that the Rangers had not been destroyed. Yet staring at his daughter, he shook his head. How could be angry with such a beautiful girl? "You'll only grow in power Dara!" Diabolico whispered, and he and Loki tended to her. "And you'll show the world how powerful you truly are when you marry Impus and ascend to full service of the Emperor!"

Vypra could only barely contain her laughter, enjoying yet another humiliation of Diabolico in front of Queen Bansheera. Already, she could see the look of disdain in Bansheera's eyes, pressing an even wider smile across her face. Yes you do just that Diabolico; you take matters into your own hands. Soon enough our Queen shall run out of mercy, and you will be forced to either win or lose! she thought. Bansheera is playing into my hands perfectly! And soon enough everything you have shall be mine, Diabolico, and I will be the one in charge around here! And you...you'll be that filthy Impus's chewing toy!

As it should be!

Dr. Fairweather found herself walking, when suddenly the world began to shake, and she realized that something was emerging from the mountain. "Oh god!" She screamed, falling to the ground. Rock began to fall around her, a slab of rock pinning her legs to the ground.

"It seems everyone entering this cave today is set to die!"

The four Rangers arrived, screeching to a halt as they dashed over to the vampires, quickly cutting through them and slaying them. The Rangers paused as the mountain began to visibly shake, a hand exploding through the mountaintop.

"What the hell is that?" Kelsey screamed, knocking a vampire down. "How many demons do they plan on summoning today?"

"Get in there, Joel!" Kendrix ordered. "I want Angela out of there immediately!"

"You got it!" Joel shouted, taking into the cave entrance and firing down the hallway at the enhanced speed. He came to a screeching stop, Aero Blades whistling through the air as he slashed away at the rubble, soon finding Angela buried beneath. Helping Dr. Fairweather to her feet, a bolt of red shot past, carrying another person as well.

"Ryan!" Joel shouted, catching up the Red Ranger.

"Joel?" Ryan asked surprise, before laughing. "What took you so long?"

"Might I ask what took you so long figuring out all you had to do was morph to escape?" Joel challenged back. "But that doesn't matter, I was planning on saving you anyway!"

"What's the deal?" Ryan demanded. "The mountain started to shake!"

"It involves the demons somehow, vampires are outside fighting the soldiers and the others!" Joel shouted.

"Something is emerging!" Dr. Fairweather shouted. The two stopped, freezing as they saw a one eyed demon explode from the ground, destroying the mountaintop as he lifted himself from his imprisonment, screaming as he set himself onto the ground.

"He's the size of a combined gestalt mecha!" Ryan shouted, handing his father and Dr. Fairweather over to soldiers, who took them back to the helicopter. Ordering the soldiers to leave, they nodded, the helicopter taking off. The five Rangers regrouped, staring at the massive demon.

"Major Morgan to Aqua Base!" Kendrix shouted into her communicator. "Deploy the Rescue Runners; launch the Rail Liners now!!"

"Launching Rail Liners with containment of Rescue Runners!" came the response. "Meet at Destination Alpha!"

"Copy!"

The Five Rangers teleported to their individual Rail Liners. Combining them together, they initiated the train sequence, before coming to a halting stop. Deploying their Rescue Runners, the Lightspeed Rangers brought the combat vehicles to a stop as Cyclops loomed above the city.

"He's huge!" Joel shouted. "How the hell are we supposed to beat him?"

Before Kendrix or Ryan could respond, Cyclops bellowed a battle cry, his eye pulsing with red energy. With a shout, a huge beam of plasma lanced out, striking across the city and causing a massive explosion that tore through several buildings, while knocking some residential areas down.

"If he keeps that up he'll destroy the city!" Chad shouted. "Major, we need to initiate MegaRescue!"

"Already on that!" Kendrix responded. "Lightspeed MegaRescue, Engage!"

Quickly forming MegaRescue, the Rangers brought their gestalt together, Geo 4 and Medi 2 forming the legs, Aqua 5 transforming into the waste, as Ryan engaged Pyro-1 to form the chest and arms, Joel quickly engaging the combine systems, as he formed the back and head of the Lightspeed MegaRescue.

"MegaRescue, Defense Systems; Go!" Joel shouted.

"MegaRescue, Battle Systems; Go!" Kelsey shouted.

"MegaRescue, Engaged!" Ryan shouted, as the gestalt completed its transformation, the gestalt coming to a halt as the demon Cyclops observed it from afar. Raising its hand, MegaRescue drew its saber, quickly charging forward to confront the demon Cyclops before it could lay waste to the city.

With a dash, the MegaRescue slashed Cyclops across the chest, but the demon stood his ground, unaffected by the blow. With a grunt, he slammed his fist forward, catching the blade as the gestalt moved in for a second strike, and tossed it away. With a second angry roar, he rammed the MegaRescue, sending the gestalt stumbling back even further.

"Damn!" Ryan shouted. "What the hell is going on? How can he be so strong?"

"I'm guessing this isn't the average run of the mill demon!" Dr. Fairweather's voice came over the communications port. "They seem to have awakened an immensely high level demon, his power levels are off the chart!"

"Engaging fists!" Ryan ordered, activating the command sequence. The MegaRescue lunged forward with great force, deploying both of its fists, and launching them with great might. Cyclops merely stood his ground, eyeing the launched weapons with great interest. The fists slammed into Cyclops with great force, knocking the demon backwards several feet. Lunging forward a second time, the MegaRescue began to pound away with great speed, dealing brutal punches and hits, before falling away.

"What the..." Chad gasped as the smoke cleared and the five Rangers saw that Cyclops was untouched by the damage they had just dealt, unhurt. With a roar, Cyclops pulsed his eye with energy once more, firing it at the MegaRescue as plasma energy slammed into the Lightspeed MegaRescue, knocking it into the ground with violent force.

"We're losing powers fast!" Joel reported. "Major, we keep this up, we're going to lose the MegaRescue totally!"

"If we don't keep this up, that demon will destroy the city and possible the entire planet!" Kendrix shot back. "Engage auxiliary power, we're going in for a second round! Ryan, deploy the Rescue Saber. We'll see if we this guy can be cut up!"

"Roger!" Ryan responded. Vaulting itself upwards, the MegaRescue stood as it moved to engage the demon Cyclops once more. Extending the Rescue Saber once more, they charged it with energy, the blade igniting with flame as the Lightspeed MegaRescue moved in for a second round.

"Take this you piece of shit!" Ryan growled.

Moving forward, the MegaRescue slashed down, arcing past the demon. Quickly spinning, they slashed a second time, before the MegaRescue lifted the blade into the air, both hands gripping the hilt as it brought it the saber slashing down in a blow that would have destroyed any normal demon.

But Cyclops wasn't a normal demon.

With a cackle, he moved forward, catching the energize blade mid-strike. At point blank range, he blasted them backwards with plasma energy yet again, the MegaRescue sparking as fires exploded throughout the gestalt.

"Get out of there!" Captain Mitchell screamed. "I want you back at base now!"

"Sir, with all do respect, if we withdraw now, the city we'll be destroyed!" Kendrix retorted. "The last thing we need is to withdraw!"

Smiling, the super demon energized the blade with his own energy; rushing forward with the Rescue Saber in hand as he slashed down upon the MegaRescue, sparks exploding as energy rocketed throughout the air. Slowly standing, the MegaRescue collapsed back to the ground, very damaged as it slowly crackled, energy fluxing throughout the gestalt.

"Kendrix!" Ryan screamed, ignoring her title. "If we don't deactivate, the MegaRescue is going to overload! The Rescue Runners have taken too much damage!"

Kendrix breathed. "Disengage system lock immediately! Get the hell out of here now!"

"Copy!" the four responses came, Cyclops roaring with victory as the MegaRescue was forced to retreat, inactivating as it separated. The five Rangers regrouped, leaving their Rescue Runners behind.

"What do we do?" Kelsey demanded.

"Rangers, we're sending out the Rail Liners now!" Dr. Fairweather said. "We called them back to the Aqua Base during the battle and we've finished installation! You may be down the Rescue Runners, but the Rail Liners should work!"

"You heard the woman!" Kendrix ordered. "Meet at point Alpha!"

Racing to the coordinates, the Rangers leapt onto their individual Rail Liners, engaging the thrusters as the train shot down the track at mach three. A lift rose, connecting with the track to form a ramp that led into the air. "Shit!" Joel swore. "These things can fly?!"

"And more I'm suspecting!" Ryan shouted. "Thrusters, full power!"

Engaging the main thrusters, the Rail Liners shot into the air, shooting across the skyline as they raced for the super demon Cyclops. Disconnecting from their train formation, the Rangers engaged their individual Rail Liners, the thrusters bursting at maximum power.

"Rangers, I'm uploading instructions VIA satellite to you now!" Dr. Fairweather stated. "The Rail Liners, like the Rescue Runners are capable of combining into a gestalt formation as well. This gestalt formation is known as the Grand Liner. Engage Grand Mode now!"

"Activating Grand Mode!" Kendrix shouted. "Key in four-five-six-five-one! Go!"

"Rail Liner 1; Red, Go!" Ryan shouted, keying in the activation code.

"Rail Liner 2; Pink, Go!" Kendrix shouted, engaged the activation code

"Rail Liner 3; Green, Go!" Joel shouted, also inputting his activation code.

"Rail Liner 4; Yellow, Go!" Kelsey shouted.

"Rail Liner 5; Blue, Go!" Chad shouted, finishing the activation code.

"Grand Liner, engage locks!" Kendrix shouted as combination data raced across their visor. "Let's do this!"

Slowing to a halt, the five Rail Liners curved over Mariner Bay, propelling them forward. Joel brought his Rail Liner forward, the other four forming around him as Ryan transformed his Rail Liner into the left arm, Kendrix transforming hers into the right arm. Both Chad and Kelsey transformed their Rail Liners as well, forming the legs. Activating Grand Liner, Joel shifted his train to form the torso and chest, magnetically pulling the other trains into place as the Grand Liner locked into place. Activating the head, it emerged at the top as they finished the formation for Grand Liner.

"Grand Liner, Online!" Chad shouted. "Battle Systems, Go! Defense Systems, Go! Backup Systems; Go!"

The Grand Liner swung around, coming to a halt before the super demon Cyclops. Cyclops roared, at the sight of this new adversary, which stood in his way of destroying the world. As the Grand Liner slowly lumbered forward, Cyclops blasted both the gestalt and surrounding area. Laughing, he expected the Grand Liner to be destroyed, but the heavy gestalt emerged from the flame, undamaged.

"We've had enough of you!" Kendrix shouted, the Grand Liner firing its arm forward and sending the demon sprawling across the ground. Raising its foot, the gestalt brought it crashing down, pinning the demon in place as sparks exploded around the gestalt.

"Kendrix, engage Fire Turbine, and the MaxTurbo!" Dr. Fairweather ordered. "That should provide the fire power we need to take down this demon before he can cause any more damage!"

"Weapons lock confirmed. Deploying shoulder attachments!" Kendrix responded. The Grand Liner moved its arms upward, the left shoulder attachment deploying and connecting with the left arm, and the right shoulder attachment deploying and attaching to the left arm.

"Fire Turbine!" Ryan shouted. Energy crackled and ripped around the right arm, as the Grand Liner engaged the weapon, pressing forward as a huge storm of electrical energy ripped forward, smashing through the super demon Cyclops.

"MaxTurbo Missiles, Engage!" Kendrix shouted, the Grand Liner heaving the left arm forward as torpedoes raged forward, exploding on contact and tearing through Cyclops in one final blast. Turning away slightly, Cyclops fell to the earth, exploding in a thunderous roar, which consumed the surrounding area in an inferno of flame. And slowly lumbering forward, the Grand Liner emerged, standing victorious.

"Yet again Diabolico, you plan to destroy Earth has failed!" Bansheera roared, angered greatly at the fact that her plans to destroy Earth had once more been foiled by the Lightspeed Rangers. "If this continues to happen, the Emperor shall personally see to your destruction!"

"My Queen, I beg your forgiveness." Diabolico bowed. "I had no idea that the Lightspeed Rangers were capable of forming a second gestalt besides the MegaRescue. It seems that this Grand Liner has very capable firepower...that gestalt was capable of overcoming the power of Cyclops himself. But soon enough, I am very sure that this will not matter at all!"

"And how will this event not matter in do time Diabolico?" Bansheera demanded, fury burning in her spectral eyes.

"I have been developing a plan that is almost ready to be introduced." Diabolico said. "But it is not time to speak of such things...but soon enough Bansheera, I promise you this! When the time comes to unleash my plot to defeat the Lightspeed Rangers once and for all..."

"Nothing will stop me!"