This is a little something I was inspired to write by DJ Rocca's excellent "Enemy Within", covering the events surrounding Kiran after the shooting. It is unconnected to any of my other stories, but Chelle was kind enough to let me borrow her characters. Hope you like it.

Legal: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, events, places etc. I also do not own Kiran, she is the creation of DJ Rocca, who was kind enough to let me use her. Everything else is purely the creation of the author.

Rating: T – May be adult themes, language and violence.

Who am I?

It's a question I doubt many have asked, but I find myself asking it now. I have no idea who I am or where I am. I only know one thing. I'm afraid!

A sliver of light penetrates the edges of some kind of square entrance to the place I'm in. I pound ferociously with my fists and my feet to draw attention. Eventually someone answers my cry for help, pulling out the drawer I'm lying on.

"Holy sht, you're alive!" My rescuer announces in surprise. "I need to get help, I need..."

He didn't finish what he was saying. I grabbed his head and rammed his throat down on the edge of the drawer. He looked at me for a second with cold, glassy eyes before slumping to the ground. I clamber out of the bed I was in and press two fingers to his neck instinctively. Why? I honestly don't know. All I know is I'm not surprised when I find no movement there. He's dead.

I take a second to look around the room. I was in a drawer, one of many on that wall. This man was wearing some kind of uniform, made of a light blue fabric. I can see no way out save for one. There's an elevator on one wall, and it's my only way to get out of this nightmare.

I make my way over and press buttons randomly, only to have a red light shine in my face. I pound the keys again, hoping for a more favourable response, but again, nothing.

I look around the room, hoping to get some idea what's going on. I know it's optimistic, hell, I don't even know who I am, so why would I understand this?

I look back to the wall I was dragged out of. It's full of drawers, each with a name or number on it. The one that's open, the one that I was in has one word written on the paper label.

"Persephone"

That answered one question, who I was. Apparently my name was Persephone. Now I needed to figure out how I got here and why.

I hear a sound coming from the elevator and instinctively snatch a scalpel from the desk, positioning myself to the side of the elevator door.

A woman walked out; wearing clothes much like the young man I killed only a few minutes ago, only these were pink. She looked around as though she was searching for someone.

"Dr. Armstrong?" She asked weakly. I spring from my hiding place, grabbing her roughly and holding her in place. The keen blade of the scalpel hovered near her jugular.

"Don't scream!" I warn her, seemingly by instinct. I walk her slowly out to the middle of the room. "Where am I?"

"You...you don't know?" She croaked, clearly terrified by her predicament. She should be, I can and will kill her if she doesn't give me the answers I want.

"If I knew I wouldn't ask." I hiss as I tighten my grip. "Where am I?"

"You're in South Central San Francisco Hospital." He replied in a weak voice, quivering in fear. "You're in the mortuary."

"How do I get out?" I ask her. She points shakily to the elevator. I press the scalpel a little harder into her neck, drawing a drop of blood.

"I can't get it down!" I bark, shoving her towards it. "How does it work?"

"There's a code," she finally responded, realising I had every intention of killing her had she denied me that knowledge, "type in 1965."

I hit those buttons and I hear the elevator coming. My captive whimpers a little as I wait. She tried to say something, but I didn't listen. I only want to get out of here.

As the elevator arrived, I grabbed the back of her head and her chin and spun her head sharply. I don't know why or how I knew to do that, all I know is what I confirmed by pressing two fingers to her neck. I had broken her neck, she was dead.

I then became aware of the fact I was naked. Lying in the drawer in the mortuary, they hadn't bothered to leave me any clothes. Looking down on the woman I had killed, I realised she was much the same size as me and began stripping her corpse.

I made my way up to the first floor, finding the same gleaming white corridors as the room I had just escaped. The only difference was up here, there were people everywhere. I try to hide my face as much as I can while I look for a way out. I finally bump into a young man in clothing similar to mine, only in a pale blue.

"This place is kind of a maze," he said in a weak little voice. I don't know much about what's going on, but I know he's checking me out. I feel a shudder up my spine as I think about it. "Look, I was heading out for a smoke, do you want one?"

I have no desire to smoke, but I do want out of here. I nodded and followed the young man as he led me out of a door. As soon as I felt fresh air hit my nostrils, I knew I had escaped.

"So how about you and me this weekend?" he asked as he lit a cigarette and offered me one. With a smile, I approached him slowly, and rammed the scalpel I had taken into his throat. His blood leaked onto the concrete as he floundered on the ground. I look around instinctively for a place to escape, though something stops me. I see a man, a familiar man with silvery hair and a long, black coat. His eyes are shielded behind dark glasses.

I draw back, preparing to attack. The stranger just smirks at me. I throw a flurry of punches in his direction, though he swats them aside dismissively. He catches one of my wrists, twisting it painfully before throwing me to the ground. I look up at him, awaiting an attack that never comes.

"Come with me Persephone," he implores me, reaching out a hand. I recoil into the wall a little. I still have no idea who I am or what's going on, "Persephone, come with me!"

Reluctantly I offer him my hand. So far he's the only one who seems to know me or what's going on. Somehow I know he has my best interests at heart. He moves quickly, too quickly for me to react. Before I know what happened, he grabbed me around the neck and jammed a couple of fingers into my flesh. Everything went black.

I wake up again, and I'm no less confused or frightened. This time though, my surroundings are a little softer, and more soothing. I'm in a soft, warm bed.

I pull back the covers, finding that someone has replaced the hospital scrubs I had stolen with pyjamas. They're pink, and seem just a little too long, the sleeves and the trouser legs reaching a little too far on me. They aren't made for me, that much is obvious. The door opened and I saw a grey-haired old man walking in. He hobbled a little, and has dark green robes. Just like the stranger who brought me here, something about him seems familiar.

"I'm glad to see you're awake Persephone," he tells me, sitting slowly on the bed, ensuring he doesn't get too close. Given what's happened before now, I can't blame him. In my panic to escape, I've already killed three people I know of.

"Who are you?" I ask him. He doesn't seem to be surprised that I don't know who he is, but I can see he's hurt. He obviously knows me. Perhaps he's my grandfather or something. I wish I knew, but right now I just have to ask.

"My name is Master Phant," he replied. Something about that name triggers some memories. I do know him. He isn't a relative, though I consider him as such. I know that much. He's cared for me. I know he isn't a threat. Something about him eases my fear. "We tried to reach you earlier."

I reach up to my head, finding a dressing there. I press it gently, realising that must be why I was in the hospital. That's why I can't remember anything, something happened to my head.

"What happened?" I ask him. He lets out a sigh and looks at me sadly.

"I can't answer that," he tells me sadly, "you need to rest."

Another person comes into the room, a young girl. She seems to be a teenager, and appears to be a little taller than I am. I guess by the way she acts around the man that she knows and trusts him. He sees me watching her carefully as she lays a tray on the dresser.

"This is my niece Gabby," he answers my question without me needing to ask, "you are in her room. You are safe here, you can trust her."

I'm a little wary of trusting anyone, but then neither of them has made any moves. I can feel a power within the old man. I have only felt it once before, within the man in the long coat who brought me here. It's not exactly the same, but it's definitely similar.

"The man who brought me, who is he?" I ask him. "Is he my father?"

"His name is Master Swoop," he answers me, "he has had many roles in your life Persephone. He is no blood relative, but I suppose he is probably the closest thing you could refer to as a father."

I suddenly get an image. I can see him picking me up, cradling me in his arms, carrying me. At first I think I'm getting some latent memory of the hospital, but then I can feel a warm, searing pain in my head. I can see, though I am hanging in a limbo, not quite alive, though not yet dead. I hear his voice.

"Oh Persephone, you did not need to do this..."

I reach my hand to my head again. This time I get more than an image. I can smell something. Burning, sulphur. I get an image of something in my hand. It's a gun, pointing right at my head.

"I did this," I whisper, pulling the blanket around myself. The young girl looks to Master Phant, like she wants to ask him about this. He shakes his head gently to let her know that this is not the time for explanations. She leaves the room, closing the door behind her. He turns back to me with regret in her eyes.

"I had hoped you wouldn't remember that so soon, but yes," he replied honestly, "you did inflict these injuries yourself. You were trying to end your life."

"Why?" I ask him. I know he's telling me the truth. I can't help but ask. As horrible as all this is, I need to know. I'm dangerous, that much I already know. While I'm like this, I'm reacting purely on instinct, and so far that instinct has led to three people, as far as I'm aware three innocent people, losing their lives. I've tried to end my life, and given that I woke up in a morgue, clearly I almost succeeded. Whatever's happened that's so horrible, so frightening that I tried to kill myself rather than face it, it can't be worse than this surely.

"I fear that right now it is not in your best interests to know," he replied, getting off the bed. "I promise that we will explain everything when you are strong enough. Until then you need to rest. While your head injury was not fatal, you still need to rest."

"But..."

"I promise you that I will explain Persephone." He interrupts me. "Gabby has left you some food on the table if you're hungry."

As he turns to leave, I need to ask him one more thing.

"Before I woke up, I saw a lion." I tell him. "What does that mean?"

"You've suffered a terrible injury; the mind does strange things when it's injured," he tells me, "pay it no mind. Get some rest, I promise I will return soon."

I am not satisfied by his answer. He can't look me in the eye when he says this, and his voice is a lot weaker. He's lying to me. He knows what this means, I can see it in him, but he won't tell me. He leaves the room, leaving me there.

I make my way to the door, and press my ear to the wood. I can hear voices faintly on the landing outside the room. One belongs to Master Phant, the other to Master Swoop. I recognise them.

"How is she?" Master Swoop asks him.

"She's as well as can be expected." Master Phant answers him. "What did the Elders have to say?"

"She is not to return to the temple." He responded in a sigh. "She has blood on her hands. They will not allow her to re-enter the temple."

"She will also have no place in the outside world," Master Phant responded, "as far as the world is concerned, she is a multiple murderer. She must disappear."

I can hear a little shifting in the hallway. I know that something is happening.

"I will not be returning to the temple," Master Swoop stated.

"They have excommunicated you?" Master Phant asked him, "but you were not responsible for her actions..."

"It was my choice." He interrupts him. There's a weak quiver in his voice now, and I can tell from it he's crying. I can feel that he cares for me. In what capacity I cannot remember, though his sincerity is obvious. "After my disastrous failure to care for her, I never want to be responsible for another's welfare again."

"My friend, you judge yourself too harshly," Master Phant tells him, "Kiran was always a troubled child. We knew that when we took her in."

I furrow my brow as I hear this. That name, Kiran, I know that name. It means something to me. They've told me my name is Persephone, but I know this name Kiran also.

"They are keeping me as a messenger," Swoop informed him, "Kiran is no longer to enter the temple, though given the danger she poses, as well as the fact she will never be able to have a normal life, they have decided to give her another position."

"What position?" Master Phant asks him. I want to know that too. I know nothing of my life. Only what I have been told and what I have figured out for myself.

"She is to be a hunter," Swoop relied, "I am to deliver her assignments."

I feel my chest tighten again. There's a sense of dread that fills me when I hear that title. I do not fully understand, but I already know one thing. The three people I killed at the hospital will not be the only ones whose blood will end up on my hands.

"This is a bad idea," Master Phant said flatly, "we must lobby against the Elders..."

"Their minds are made up," Master Swoop interrupts him, "it is one of the reasons I chose to leave the temple."

"There is something else, something which bodes badly for Persephone should she be forced to live this lie," Master Phant tells him, "she saw the Lion. She still yearns for her mate."

Swoop doesn't respond for a while, and I hear pacing. I can imagine him considering this new information. I consider it myself. The Lion is my mate.

"Does she remember?" Master Swoop asked him.

"Not much." Master Phant told him. "She only knows of the Lion. I told her it is likely a trick of her mind."

"Then all we can do is hope she can learn to believe that," Master Swoop replied, "you know as well as I do how much danger they could both be in if the truth is uncovered."

"He believes she is dead," Master Phant assured him, "it should be simple to keep him convinced of this."

"As for Persephone, we must simply hope that she never discovers the truth," Master Swoop stated, "in time, perhaps she will come to believe that the Lion is not a true memory."

I hear him approaching the door, and make my way into the bed, pulling the covers around myself protectively. I hear the door opening and opt to feign sleep. I have fought this man once, and do not wish to repeat the experience. It would be a fruitless effort. If I am to discover the truth, then I need to hear it from this man, the one who has chosen to deny me the right to my true life, and if I am so understand, the only one to whom I will soon have contact.

He strokes my hair, and I feel my anger subsiding a little. He has just sworn to lie to me for the rest of my life, but there is no way that the feeling I have at his touch can be wrong. It is an unspoken and unexplained love. He has done this to protect me, and also this Lion. He has done so because he cares for me.

"Sleep well Persephone," he bids me as he strokes my hair lovingly, "I promise I will care for you as I always have."

He gets up and leaves the room, leaving me to sleep. I feel tears burning my eyes. He is my only guardian, the one I will rely on from this point forward. I already know my life will be one filled with lies and bloodshed. There is no way back save for one. I must find the Lion.