Even as people ran for cover, Chad stepped out towards the demon and his contingent of vampires. With a sharp snap kick, he set the head of one of the rotting corpses flying, causing both head and body to erupt into ashes. The remaining vampires, upon seeing this, moved away for Chad, and it was then he saw the golden demon standing there before him. "You!" he cried. "I know not which of you demons killed my brother, but you will do enough!"

Diabolico turned to see Chad standing there, his own vampires avoiding the Ranger despite he was not in armor. "I've killed many men's brothers in my eons of life," he replied with an unnerving calm. "Kindly remind me of yours."

Chad, growled, cupped his hands together, then began chanting something in Japanese. Bright blue light began to build up in his palms, and as it formed into a large globe of energy, he thrust forward with a roar. "Haiduro Arashi!"

Water energy shot forward and slammed into Diabolico, causing his skin to burn and forcing him and his vampires away from the Ranger. Chad, as his attack ended, only stared in shock at how badly the water hurt his demonic foe. And then it all made sense; water was a pure element, and the demons were harmed by its uncorrupted powers. "You fear my powers now," the man spat while stepping towards Diabolico. "You know the element I command, and you know who I speak of, the man you killed, my brother!"

"The Blue Ranger," the demon said weakly as he realized who Chad spoke of. "The one who took a blow meant for the Pink Ranger, he's your brother...consider his death honorable, warrior, because he died for another." At that, Diabolico grinned. "Too bad she has not the same respect, because she ran away like a coward!"

That broke it for Chad. He yelled in rage and ran forward, tearing through the ranks of vampires with fury and a vengeance. "My brother will be avenged, demon!" he cried. Even as he raced towards Diabolico, Chad brought his left arm forward to reveal his Changer. "And you will face the very being he was before you die!"

Wrath of the Dark

Ryan and Kelsey raced to the surface in one of the jet black humvees, hoping they weren't too late. Ryan constantly was looking at the on board computer, then brought his eyes up to see the group of vampires dead ahead. Strangely, they weren't attacking, but instead circled around something, and they seemed to be cheering. "That's it!" he announced, bringing the vehicle to a halt. Both he and Kelsey climbed out and ran towards the cluster of vampires, but when the golden form of Diabolico was flung out from the circle and through his own servants, the Rangers saw who had thrown him.

Chad stood in full armor, Hydro Stormers held in his hands and under his arms in preparation for another attack. He gave no notice to his fellow Rangers, but instead surged forward to assault the demon again. Diabolico returned the attack with a blast that sent Chad flying backwards, but even then, the man landed on his feet and wielded his Stormers to destroy the small detachment of vampires that attacked.

"Think he could use a hand?" Kelsey asked, looking to Ryan.

"Why the hell not?" he replied, then thrust out his hand in unison with Kelsey. "Lightspeed..."

"Engage!"

A brilliant flash of energy built up around the two, yellow light swarming over Kelsey while massive streams of fire engulfed Ryan and formed into his armor. Both reached out their hands and summoned their weapons, Ryan with his Shield Saber and Kelsey with her Tonfa Strikers. Both rushed into the battle, attacking the vampires and making their way to Chad's side even as he fought to get to Diabolico. "How's it feel to go AWOL?!"

"He's the one I want!" Chad bellowed, giving no heed to the undead soldiers in his way. "He will pay for killing my brother!" In a flash, he slammed down a vampire, then ran forward and leapt to slam into the demon lord. Both of them crashed to the ground, and as Chad rolled away and came up in a crouching position, Diabolico sneered in contempt. "Face me," the Blue Ranger spat, readying his weapons. "Face me and the vengeance of my family!"

"With pleasure." Diabolico swept his hand forwards and caused an explosion that sent Chad flying through the air, Hydro Stormers knocked from his hands by the blast and clattering to the ground. Chad himself continued to sail through the air until he hit the side of a building and fell back down, crashing painfully to the earth. His armor crackled, but refused to fail, giving the man the drive to stand back up despite his injuries. Diabolico merely raised his brows, notably impressed with Chad's determination. "You have spirit, Ranger, I'll give you that," he said, then brought his hand up again. "For that, a quick death!"

Suddenly, he screamed when a fiery red bolt of light cut through his hand. The demon turned to see the source of the shot as none other than Ryan with his blaster in hand. Diabolico growled, then snapped his fingers and vanished with his vampires in flames.

"Chad, you alright?" Kelsey asked as she and Ryan ran to the man's side. He nodded slowly just before his armor shut down, causing him to nearly collapse if not for the Yellow Ranger catching him. Even without medical training, she knew he was hurt, badly. "Ryan, we need to get him back to the base now!"

He nodded and led Kelsey back to the humvee. Both of the still armored Rangers helped Chad into the vehicle, then got in themselves, Ryan starting the engine and tearing down the roads towards the entrance to the aqua base. Even as they entered the tunnel, Ryan could only whisper a thanks to whatever powers watched over the world that they had made it in time.

"You failed!" Bansheera's voice screamed. Diabolico winced at the high pitch shrill, but he stood before his mistress and bore his reaming. "Against only three Rangers, Diabolico, and you failed to kill even one of them!"

He bowed. "Lady Bansheera," he began, keeping his voice calm and controlled. "I was unaware that the Blue Ranger have the ability to control water as his weapon. As such, I was caught off-guard by his attack and as a result was weakened by the water. You know that we Saiman demons cannot resisted the effects of water, it is our bane."

Bansheera snorted. It was obvious she did not forgive Diabolico of his failure, but she accepted his explanation. "Regardless, Diabolico, I am disappointed. You promised me the Ranger of Heart!"

"And you shall have her," the demon replied quickly. "However, these things take time. You of all demons should know this from personal experience, Lady Bansheera." He paused. "There is also the fact that the Ranger of Heart is not on Terra, and as such, finding her location has been difficult."

The demon specter glared at him with glowing eyes. "Find her and bring her before me," she ordered coldly. "I'm through with giving you chance after chance to prove yourself, Diabolico. You have three final chances to make your plans work. Do not waste them."

And she vanished. Rising from his kneeling position, Diabolico growled before slamming his hand down through a stone table. "Damnit," he hissed, looking about, then leaving the chamber. "Damn it all! Why can't she see that trying to take a leyline that's guarded by Rangers isn't as easy as just sending a swarm down!"

He stormed down through the halls of Skull Castle, ignoring the vampires that moved about their duties, then paused when he heard Vypra's voice nearby, as well as Jinxer's. "What do we have here?" he whispered just before he went non-corporeal and floated forward to listen in.

"I told you!" Vypra hissed to the demonic elf. "I need to get rid of that windbag Diabolico, and so far, you've not been much help at all, Jinxer!"

"Lady Vypra," the elf replied hastily. "Things like this take time. Besides, if Diabolico found out your plans to depose of him, he would kill both of us! Where then would your ambitions be?!"

She snarled in disgust, then turned sharply. Someone else was there, someone who shouldn't be. "Who's there?! she yelled, drawing her sword from elsewhere. She spun about, but couldn't find any visible sign of eavesdroppers. "Show yourself now, or feel my wrath!"

"Wrath means nothing to the one you seek to get rid of," came Diabolico's dis-embodied voice. It sent chills down Vypra's spine as she realized he had heard everything. "We shall see who disposes of who, Vypra. Until then, I wait for you to falter." The voice paused. "As for you Jinxer," the demon's voice continued. "I suggest you figure out where your loyalties lie, or you may very well join Vypra when her fate comes."

And then it was gone. Vypra breathed deep from fright, then glared at Jinxer. "Don't you dare betray me," she hissed, forked serpent tounge flicking out momentarily.

It wasn't very long before Ryan and Kelsey returned to the aqua base with Chad. The minute they arrived, the two rushed him to the medical wing, where, to their surprise, Joel had finally regained consciousness.

"Joel!" Kelsey exclaimed with excitement. As the doctors took Chad to be treated, she ran over and hugged the Green Ranger. "I'm so glad you're alright."

He winced. "Easy, girl," he said, holding his side to ease the pain. "I'm still sore there."

Ryan smiled and pulled up a chair before sitting down. "Well, looks like you made it through near death. Too bad Kendrix isn't here to see this."

Joel snapped his gaze to Ryan. "Where is Kendrix?" he asked with a hard tone of seriousness. "Is she..."

Ryan sighed and shook his head. "We don't know where she is. Last anyone knows, she ran off after you got hurt and just vanished. No trace whatsoever."

He sighed. Joel knew that it was because of him Kendrix had run. "It's all my fault," he whispered. "If I hadn't been so determined to prove that I could do this, she-"

"Kendrix has been hiding some things," Ryan continued. The look on his face said that what they had learned was too major to just be ignored. "There was more going on when she was on Terra Venture. She was a Power Ranger, Joel. She knew what being part of that kind of team was like, but she never told any of us, not even Captain Mitchell."

Joel was silent. It all suddenly now made sense, why Kendrix had been so hard on everyone, why, in comparison to everyone else, she was so strong. She had been touched by something greater than they knew. But now it looked to be that she wasn't coming back, and most likely, she blamed herself for everything.

Deep in the command center of the CyberForce Project, Barkley was still making repairs to the robot rangers. He smiled at his creations. They had fared well in their first test, even if they had taken some massive damage to their systems. But that's why they were machines, easily replaced and repaired when damaged. Most of the glitches had yet to be fixed, but what mattered was that he had finally seen them in a real battle.

The order had not been fully instated yet, but Barkley knew that it was only a matter of time till the project council made his machines the permanent force against these aliens, and Lightspeed would be disbanded. Then CyberForce would revolutionize the way war was done. No longer would soldiers die needless deaths, young men who barely had a chance to live their lives. An army of robots would replace them and be stationed throughout the galaxy so all beings could live in peace.

"Lieutenant!" came the authoritive voice. Barkley snapped up, startled by MacKnight, but quickly regained his composure and coming to sharp attention. "How are things going?"

"Everything is fine, General," Barkley replied. "The replacement circuits have been installed, and the Rangers are now able to run at twice their previous peek ability. They are ready, sir."

With a grin, MacKnight nodded. "Excellent work, Lieutenant. I expected as much. The committee agrees with my proposal, I just got back from showing them the plans, and they are very impressed with your work." He noted the gleam in Barkley's eyes at such praise. "They hope to make the CyberForce Rangers fully active soon, thus reason to relieve Lightspeed and prevent anymore human casualties."

"You know that Bill Mitchell won't take this without a fight."

Again, he flashed that grin. "Lightspeed doesn't have a choice. They will have to follow what the council says. Bill may be a stubborn man, but he's no fool. He knows that would do anything to aid his cause." MacKnight paused. "Mitchell has a good heart, Barkley, so don't put him down. But he's too old fashioned, a lot like me when I was his age."

Barkley nodded. Even if the two senior officers didn't agree on the methods, they both agreed on the cause. And the lieutenant knew that. "He trusts in the human heart to overcome a crisis, sir."

"As did I in my time," MacKnight agreed. "But I've also seen those human hearts be pierced and torn by the enemy. I won't let that continue with another way available, not when the soldier can lose their life. Those kids have the heart, but I don't think they realized they could lose their lives begin Rangers." Again, he paused and turned to look over the five robot Rangers. "Bill's son is certainly trained and capable," he continued. "But he's a loose cannon, completely unhinged way too often. Hell, Mitchell has already lost a full team in he first place."

"Not completely, sir," Barkley stated. "To the defense of Lightspeed, Major Morgan did survive the death of the original team. It's the reason we used her personality data for programming the strategic computation systems in the CyberForce Rangers."

The general nodded, knowing that Barkley had a great deal of respect for the major. "Indeed, she did survive. But she's gone AWOL, and now we nearly lose the Green Ranger." He sighed and took a deep breath. "I think now is as good a time as any to instate CyberForce as their replacements."

"I am still concerned about Mitchell's pull with the council," Barkley said with an air of worry. "I know he'll come around soon enough once he sees CyberForce in full action, but..."

The older officer nodded, knowing well Barkley's concerns. "Yes, Bill is a bit of a problem in the politics of it all I've managed to get a number of his supporters in the project committee to our side, but the damn chairman still support's Mitchell's point of view despite all of the failings." He stopped, then looked out a window to take in the city in the distance. He seemed troubled by it all, but then shook it off. "Leave all that to me. I promise you, CyberForce will be instated soon, and Captain Mitchell will be the first to thank me after we decimate the enemy for good with no more loss of life. Carry on your work, Barkley...Ian would be proud."

The lieutenant nodded. "I can only hope he's looking on this and knowing what happened to him won't repeat."

After a brief silence, MacKnight left Barkley to continue his work. He was proud of the young lieutenant. In many ways, he had been a son to MacKnight after he lost...

No, he couldn't think about that now. He couldn't let his loss distract him from his goal. That what happened to that person was his doing, it was his own eternal shame. Now was the time to focus on the task at hand. He would have to pull some serious maneuvering to get the council on his side. He didn't like the methods needed, but it had to be done.

"This is MacKnight, " he said after opening and turning on his private cell-phone. "I need you to take out the package."

"Ryan."

Ryan Mitchell stopped in mid-stride when he saw his father standing before him. "Yes, captain?"

The older Mitchell smiled softly. "Look, I know you're under a lot of stress, and I know we don't get along well, but I wanted to tell you myself, you did damn good out there getting Chad back."

Ryan nodded, but didn't soften his expression. "I suppose Chad is going to be held in custody for running off like that."

"Actually, we're listing it as going above the call of duty to protect innocents," the captain replied. "No actions against him will be made, he stopped a slaughter by going out there like that, and he held his own long enough for you and Kelsey to aid him."

He couldn't believe this. Chad was not going to be punished for going off on his own like he did? It didn't make sense. "What's the catch?" Ryan hissed, his mind saying that something was wrong with all this.

"No catch," Mitchell stated, smiling. "Consider this my way of making up to him for the death of his brother. He actually asked me the same thing, and while I did give him a private chew out, no official actions are being taken against Mister Lee."

Ryan's Bracer beeped. He hesitated, then brought the device up and tapped the com switch. "Mitchell here, go ahead."

"Ryan, I need you to come down to the testing lab," Angela's voice rang from the tiny com speaker. "There's something I think I should finally tell you all about."

Ryan glanced to his father, then saw the look of confusion on the older man's face. Obviously, even the captain didn't know about every little thing that the tech team did. "We're on our way," he replied, then nodded to his father. "Well, may as well get going, Captain."

They both briskly walked down the corridors to the main lab, both Ryan and Captain Mitchell noting the group that was gathered there, including Kelsey and the recently recovered Joel. The only one missing besides Kendrix was Chad, still in sickbay for his own injuries.

"Good," doctor Fairweather quipped upon seeing the two men enter. "I can finally get down to business on this." She paused, pacing a bit before stopping and looking back towards the group. "You all know that we've constantly been working on a way to enhance the powers or develop something that can heavily aid our mission."

The gathered ensemble nodded, indicating for the scientist to continue. "We've been secretly working with the sixth fragment, which has led to a breakthrough some weeks ago based on the device Major Morgan brought with her to help on the main project."

"No offense," Ryan spoke up. "But can you get to the point?"

She nodded. "Indeed," Angela replied, then turned and opened the case behind her. When she turned back around, she held out the small rectangular device which was obviously another type of Bracer similar to those used by the Rangers. On it was a large blue "M" design that had golden trim, a mark that covered the entire front of the Bracer. "This is the Titanium Changer," she stated, noting the confused gazes of the Rangers and Captain Mitchell. "In essence, this is the sixth Lightspeed Ranger, Titanium."

Ryan narrowed his eyes, realizing that indeed, even his father hadn't been informed of this. "You already have a Ranger in mind to use this Changer?" he asked with suspicion.

"Sadly no," Angela replied. "But...I was hoping that perhaps you could be the test subject."

Mitchell's eyes flashed at that idea. "Doctor, I don't think-"

"We've already made the proper safety precautions in case of a backlash," the woman stated quickly. "In all honestly, Captain, only two people have the ability to even attempt activating these powers and have a chance of succeeded. One of them was a Power Ranger, who is no longer with us at the moment. The other is your son."

The captain sighed. He didn't like the idea of testing out something so experimental, something even he hadn't been informed about. "I don't like the idea, Doctor," he stated plainly. "There's too many risks, and if something should go wrong..."

"With MacKnight and his CyberForce robots threatening to have us shut down," the scientist snapped, "don't you think we have to take the risk? If we don't try, we may as well save him the trouble of getting the order and just quit now."

Ryan nodded. "I hate to say it, Captain, but she's right. We have to take the chance. Besides," he added, glancing around. "None of us are going to make it for much longer when MacKnight's little metal drones blow it."

He was outnumbered. Mitchell knew that Fairweather was right, they had no choice. "Alright," he finally said. "Prepare to for activation test as soon as possible. We have to prove that Lightspeed still has the life left in it to handle the demon threat, we can't let MacKnight have his way."

The lab began getting to work, but Ryan could see the look of worry in his father's eyes. "We'll do this," he stated, then held his hand up to the man. "Together, Captain."

Mitchell looked at his son, then accepted the gesture and gripped the young man's hand. "Alright, Mister Mitchell. Looks like we finally agree on something."

Vypra narrowed her eyes as she saw the entire meeting from the shadows. There was trouble now, and if this test worked, her own plans would be ruined. In a flurry of shadowy movement, she raced through the complex and through the underground tunnels that led to the surface. She would have simply teleported out if she could, but she did not have the aid of a half-human demon to aid her in this task. Dara's half-human nature was the only thing which had allowed it before, but without that wretch, Vypra was on her own.

Finally on the surface, Vypra burst into flames and returned to Skull Castle, then ran to the throne room to find Diabolico and Loki in a discussion. "Diabolico!" she cried, running over to the golden demon. "The Rangers have developed a sixth power, they plan to test it soon for use against us!"

Loki glared at the demoness, but Diabolico held his brother from moving against her. "She speaks the truth," he stated, then turned to Vypra. "Even she knows that there are times when enemies must aid each other." He then stepped away from his brother and pulled out a small red gem. "Who is testing this sixth power?" he asked, tilting his head towards Vypra.

"The Red Ranger."

Diabolico smiled as he then glanced into the gem's face. "Indeed then, let them succeed. I have the perfect agent to turn their finest hour into their worst nightmare."

Back on Miradon, it was early morning, and everyone was still asleep. Kendrix had laid in her bed all night having nightmares about her failures. Something seemd to call out to her. To comfort her. Someone wanted to met her. She couldnt explain who or why, but she knew she had to go. She had to trust her insticts. Slowly, she got up and dressed into her uniform. She was the only ranger that wore one, most likely because she had been used to it after wearing a uniform in one form or another for much of her life. Now a days she wondered if she should take it off since she had quit the rangers.

Kendrix quietly got up and made her way out into the main room. No one was up yet. With a pause, she decided to check on Ma'aya. Kendrix knew that the girl was old enough to look out for herself, but she couldn't help worrying. Not knowing where Matt was bad enough for her and her friends, but for Ma'aya, it had to be much worse. The two teenagers had practically hit things off the minute they met, almost like soul mates.

She knew she couldn't imagine what the Miradonian girl was going through. Years in the military had robbed her of the time for an actual steady relationship with anyone. Mike had always seemed to have an eye for her, but nothing ever materialized besides friendship. Still didn't rule it out. As for Ryan...he had good intentions, but he was too uncontrollable and headstrong. Too much like Matt.

No, Ma'aya was far more innocent than her in many ways still. She deserved to have Matt, when he apparently wasn't off doing only god knew what. She only prayed for his safe return for all their sakes.

"Kendrix, something wrong?"

She froze, then turned to see the teenage girl standing behind her. "Caught I am."

"Where are you going?" Ma'aya asked with a concerned tone.

Kendrix hesitated. She wasn't sure herself to be honest, but she had to find what was calling her. "Ma'aya, I didn't want to wake any of you, but...there's something I gott'a do."

Ma'aya merely sighed. "I've felt something in the air ever since you came back. I honestly don't like it, Kendrix, it doesn't feel right."

The woman blinked to her young friend. "Ma'aya, I can't explain it, but..." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but something's calling me, and I have to follow it." And she left, running out into the still dark morning and towards the edge of Venture City. Something was leading her, and while she didn't know what it was, she had to find it.

It wasn't long before everything was in place for the test. Ryan stood at the center of the room with sensors attached to his body as a means of monitoring the activation. Everyone else stood behind a Plexiglass wall and waited.

"All readings are nominal," one of the technicians reported, then turned and nodded to Doctor Fairweather. "We're ready at any time."

She nodded, clicking her com. "Whenever you're ready, Ryan."

Captain Mitchell was wary of all this. He still remembered what had happened to Daniel Onei, who, while he had finally come out of his coma, was wheelchair bound for life. He was very worried, being that this time, his own son was the subject in question. "Any sign of trouble," he said with that tone of concern, "and you shut down, understand?"

"I'm a big boy who can handle himself," Ryan replied, then finally smiled and gave his father a wink. "Let's get this show on the road!" He tightened his fist, thrust forward in his normal posture for transforming, then tapped the switch on the changer. "Titanium Power!"

Energy cascaded in brilliant silver flashes, swarming over Ryan and lashing outwards violently. At first, it seemed to be that it would backlash even worse than with Daniel, but then armor blazed into being around Ryan's body. A dark metallic grey with a wide Y shaped golden stripe reaching down the front while golden sculpts covered his shoulders. And then, just as the helmet began to take form, he screamed out, doubling over while energy flailed about wildly.

"Shut it down!" Mitchell yelled in horror. "Shut down, now!"

"We're trying!" Angela replied, but nothing would shut down the flow of power. It was worse than the accident which had crippled Daniel Onei, the energy build up was threatening to go critical and explode.

And then it was over. The storm of electrical bolts ceased and allowed Ryan to collapse to the ground. The test chamber doors were forced open as a medical team raced to help him, but he managed to rise to his knees and take off the Titanium Changer before dropping it to the ground.

"Are you alright?"

He nodded slowly, then looked up to his father and Angela. "It just stopped," he said while being helped to his feet. "It was like it was rejecting me, then suddenly stopped, like it wouldn't harm me any more."

Mitchell knit his brow in worry. The powers seems to have worked, but again, they were too unstable. "It's not safe enough for use," he stated, looking back to Doctor Fairweather. "Angela?"

"The power source is stable," she retorted, trying to keep a positive outlook. "It's the fact that there was too much power. I think it may be the fact that Ryan already is bonded with the red powers, which might be causing an overload."

"Regardless," the captain continued. "It's too dangerous at this time, and-"

Alarms went off. Both of the Mitchell men groaned before Ryan looked to Kelsey and nodded. "Let's get going!" he ordered. Joel moved to go with them, but Ryan stopped and shook his head. "Not this time, Joel."

"But I'm fine," the man replied just before wincing from the pain in his side. "Okay, not a hundred percent, but I'm good enough to fight... right doc?"

Fairweather sighed, but, in the end, nodded. "I still don't advise it right now, Joel, but yes, you're well enough to fight. Just don't go taking any risks like what caused your injuries in the first place."

"I'll send Chad if he recovers soon enough," Captain Mitchell added. He turned to Angela while the three left and sighed. "Lock it up," he ordered in reference to the Titanium Changer. "We can try again later, but for now, we need to keep this under wraps."

Angela nodded. She walked over to where Ryan had dropped the Changer, but it was gone. A quick search told her that it was not in the room at all. "David," she called to one of the technicians. "Did you pick up the Changer and put it back in storage?"

"No, I think Frederick did though."

She frowned. It didn't feel right, but she knew Frederick enough to know he would have heard Mitchell's orders and done so. "Alright, was worried for a minute there." She turned to leave, then paused. "Wait a minute," Angela whispered as she realized something. "Frederick isn't on shift today."

The black humvee raced through the city while Kelsey navigated using the on board computer for directions. They soon pulled up to a massive burning building, one that Ryan knew too well; it was the orphanage that he had once volunteered at. "Son of a bitch!" he screamed, then saw the vampires who even now moved to invade the building. That was the last straw. "Shield Saber!" came his roar just before his launched himself into the hordes of undead, weapon blazing into form and lashing out to decapitate several of the corpses.

"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 sight, 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, have 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 enough 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 Ranger. 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!"

To Be Continued...