Truth Discovered

Everyone, especially Dana, was shocked.

"That's why I stopped you," he admitted. "I couldn't let you destroy my son or my daughter-in-law."

Dana walked over to her father, looking confused. "How can that be? Ryan was killed in that car crash."

Captain Mitchell shook his head and looked regretful. "No, Dana, he wasn't. It was late and pouring rain. You, Ryan and I were coming home from visiting your grandmother. You two were in the backseat, playing with the new toys she'd given you. There was a truck coming from the other direction and I only looked away for a second and then it all happened so fast. We tumbled over a cliff and I found myself hanging onto a root. You were clutching my neck, but Ryan wasn't as lucky.

"He was only holding onto my foot. He was slipping, and I begged him to hang on. You were both so little and scared. I yelled for help and that's when Diabolico appeared. He said he'd save Ryan, but if he did, Ryan would belong to him. I told Diabolico 'never' and then he vanished. But then my show came off and Ryan fell. I got desperate and yelled for Diabolico to save him. Ryan was asleep in his arms and I begged him to give Ryan back, but he refused. He said I wouldn't see Ryan again until his twentieth birthday and then they were both gone."

"And today is his twentieth birthday," said Dana, softly.

The other Rangers were quiet with shock.

Carter walked up and placed his hand on the Captain's shoulder. "Sir, we won't fight them. And we'll do everything we can to help get Ryan and Alia back."

"But how can we get Alia back?" asked Kelsey.

"She's half-demon and she was raised by Diabolico. What if she's also corrupted Ryan?" asked Chad.

"I don't think she has," said Dana, causing everyone to stare. "You heard her. She's only loyal to Ryan and she's the kind of person whose loyalties are firm and nearly impossible to break. You know how much she loves him just by hearing her talk about him. If we can get through to Ryan, maybe we can get them both back."

"I honestly have no idea what to do or say," said Captain Mitchell, sighing. "My son, even at young age, was stubborn. If he thinks something's true, he won't believe it to be otherwise unless he has solid evidence to the contrary. Please, if you'll just excuse me, I need a moment alone with Dana."

The other Rangers nodded and left father and daughter alone.

XXX

Back at the Skull Cavern, Diabolico was once again, telling Ryan and Alia of their pasts as the knelt before him.

"Ryan, your father was going to let you die. He didn't care. It was, I, Diabolico, who saved you that fateful night, and Alia, your father left you sealed away for centuries, all alone and helpless. You remember, don't you?"

He placed a hand on their shoulders.

Ryan bit back a shudder. For some reason, Diabolico's touch sent a shiver down Ryan's spine and he could see it did same for Alia too.

"Y-yes," he said. "We remember, my lord."

"It was his daughter he loved," said Diabolico, referring to Captain Mitchell. "Not you, you he tossed away like trash. Alia, your father left you, not caring about your fate, and all these years, it's the two of you who has suffered."

Ryan felt fresh hatred surging through him as he and Alia stood up, their fists clenched tightly.

"It's time to repay him," snarled Ryan.

"They will all pay," swore Alia. "For what they did to us, they will pay."

They started to leave, but were stopped by Diabolico. "Patience, my warriors," he said. "You will have the chance to take your revenge, all in good time."

"Yes, my lord," said Alia.

XXX

Captain Mitchell was in his office with Dana, gazing at the fish tank, his heart heavy with the burden of guilt and a father's sorrow.

"For fifteen years, I've dreamed of seeing him again," he murmured. "And for fifteen years, I'd hoped he'd never come back."

He hadn't quite known what to expect when Ryan returned after being raised by demons. But to see his own son's eyes so full of anger and hatred…it was more than he could bear.

"You could've told me," said Dana.

"I was ashamed," he sighed. "It was the hardest decision I ever had to make."

"But you had no other choice," she reminded him.

"Yeah, I know that. But still, in my heart I wonder…"

Dana took his hand. "You did the right thing, Father."

XXX

The following morning at dawn, Ryan went back to Mariner Bay and gazed at the city before taking out the photograph he'd swiped from his father's office.

"You were no father to me," he spat. "And you're going to regret it." He crumpled up the photograph just as Alia appeared.

Alia was no longer wearing the hooded dress from yesterday, and was now in her usual black clothes with her hair down. But her necklace still gleamed on her neck and she looked quite dangerous.

Ryan took Alia's hand as they leapt off the rooftop they were on and began attacking the city.

XXX

Alarms went off at the Aquabase.

The Rangers ran into the control room as one of the staff said, "It's the Titanium Ranger and Alia, they're back!"

Ryan and Alia were on the monitors, doing as they pleased.

"Where's the Captain?" asked Carter.

"He left this morning without saying anything."

"You mean Captain Mitchell didn't tell anyone where he was going?" said Joel.

"It's not like him," said Carter.

"We can't attack the Titanium Ranger or his wife," said Kelsey.

"But they'll destroy the city!" protested Chad.

"This is an emergency. We have to do something!" said Joel.

For the first time since becoming the Red Ranger, Carter didn't know what to do. If they attacked the Titanium Ranger and his wife, they'd either be destroyed or end up destroying the Captain's family. If they didn't attack, the city would be destroyed and the demons would win.

And where was the Captain? Why wasn't he here and not forsaking the city in its hour of need? Wait, the Captain…Carter glanced around and didn't see his girlfriend anywhere in sight.

"Where's Dana?" he asked. Then it hit them all. "She's going after them. Come on, we have to stop her!"

The Rangers ran to the entrance where Dana was leaving with the Rescue Rover.

"Dana, come back!" shouted Carter.

"Dana!" yelled Kelsey.

But the Pink Ranger just ignored them and continued on her way.

"We have to catch her," said Carter, as they made their way out of the base.

XXX

Ryan and Alia continued their job of attacking Mariner Bay.

Ryan attacked with his Titanium Laser and Alia used her spells until one of their blows was blocked by Dana's Rescue Blaster as she helped some civilians get away from them.

"Well, look at what we got here," said Alia, coolly. "The Pink Ranger decided to fight us without any back-up. I don't know if that's bravery or just stupidity."

Ryan let out a growl of anger. "It's you!" he said. "After all these years, I've been waiting to meet you again. I finally get to pay you back, sister! Yah!"

Ryan and Dana began fighting and soon their weapons were being pressed against each other, with Ryan's on top.

"No brother of mine, could ever be as evil as you are!" groaned Dana.

"You're right!" said Ryan, angrily. "Unless his father let him fall to save his younger sister!"

Ryan quickly managed to disarm Dana and then he continued battling her until Dana was on the ground, clutching her ribs in pain from the damage that Ryan had done to her.

"Ryan, Father didn't let you fall!" said Dana. "There was nothing he could do!"

"But you're the one who survived that night on the cliff!" said Ryan.

"But now it's over, Ryan," said Dana, picking up her weapon again.

"It's over for you," sneered Alia, as Ryan prepared to fire again.

But Dana surprised them both by putting her weapon away. "He loved you, Ryan. You wanted to be a fireman, just like him!"

"Quiet!" Ryan ordered.

"You're lying, Dana," spat Alia. "I've watched you and your father over a year and all I ever saw was the father and daughter willing to abandon the son and brother when he needed them the most!"

"That's not true, Alia! Ryan, what's the matter with you?" demanded Dana. She staggered forward and clutched Ryan's weapon. "Don't you remember anything?"

Ryan hesitated. There was that question again. Did he remember? Did he? "I remember…"

"Ryan! Alia!" shouted Carter, startling them as the Rangers ran towards them. "Don't!"

Thinking fast, Ryan knocked Dana down and began to run, leaving Alia to face the Rangers alone. From his connection to Alia, he could see her stopping the Rangers from coming after him by putting up another shield.

"None of you are going anywhere," she said. She snapped her fingers and then Vypra and the demon Liztwin attacked the Rangers as she disappeared.

Ryan continued running until he couldn't run anymore. He powered down and gazed at his surroundings. He was at the cliff, where the accident had taken place, where he'd been taken by Diabolico. He walked over the edge and closed his eyes as he breathed deeply, slightly shaken and grateful for the breeze that helped clear his mind. When he opened his eyes, Alia appeared and gazed at him with concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked, softly.

"I don't know," he admitted.

Something about Dana's words and their fight had stirred up something inside him. What it was, he didn't know.

"You don't remember, do you?" asked Captain Mitchell, startling them.

Ryan and Alia spun around and glared at him.

"I don't need to remember!" Ryan spat. "I've been told! You didn't care what happened to me!"

"That's not true!" said Captain Mitchell.

Ryan angrily pointed to the cliff. "You let me fall! But you saved Dana!"

"I tried to save you both!" he protested.

Ryan just continued glaring at him. Fifteen years of hatred and anger towards his father was pounding through him like the blood in his veins.

"Think back, Ryan," said Captain Mitchell, pleadingly. "You had that little fire truck, and then there was the accident, then we went over the cliff, all of us."

Images flashed in Ryan's mind, but then he shut them out and angrily growled, "Stop it! You're lying!"

"You abandoned Ryan to his fate just like my father abandoned me after my mother was destroyed!" growled Alia.

"Alia, please, I didn't abandon Ryan!" said Captain Mitchell. "I may not know much about your past, but I know Diabolico lied to you both. You can't believe him. He'll only hurt you."

"You have no right to speak to my wife like that!" shouted Ryan. "We may be his pawns in plans, but he took care of us when we had nothing and no one! We owe him everything!"

"Both of you, listen to me!" begged Captain Mitchell. "Ryan, I was trying to save you, you and Dana! We went over the cliff; you were hanging on to my leg…"

"No!" yelled Ryan. "You only wanted to save her! You let me fall!"

Without thinking, he lunged for his father and shoved him, causing them both to slide down the cliff. Captain Mitchell barely managed to grab the root in time as he tightly clutched Ryan's hand. To Ryan's shock, Captain Mitchell wasn't letting him go like he'd done once before so long ago—or so he'd been told.

"Hold on, Ryan!" he cried. "Just hang on!"

"Ryan!" yelled Alia.

"I'll handle this, Lia!" yelled Ryan. "Do nothing, just stay there!"

Alia looked as if she wanted to refuse to obey his command, but she did as she was told anyway.

Ryan clutched his father's hand and blinked as he started to remember the night of the accident and could see it in his mind's eye.

Five-year-old Ryan was clutching his father's shoe, his eyes tightly shut as he cried, "Dad, please help me, I'm slipping!"

"No, no, Ryan, just hold on, buddy!" cried Captain Mitchell.

"I can't, Dad, I'm slipping!" said Ryan.

"Daddy, I'm scared," cried Dana, clutching her father's neck tightly.

"Help us!" yelled Captain Mitchell. "Somebody, please help!"

Diabolico then appeared. "I can help you."

"Go away!" he yelled.

"But if I save his life," continued Diabolico, ignoring the Captain's interruption. "He belongs to me."

"DAD!" yelled Ryan.

"Never!" said Captain Mitchell.

"The choice is yours," said Diabolico, as he disappeared.

Ryan continued to beg for his father's help, but the Captain could do nothing and then Ryan slipped and started falling.

"RYAN!" yelled Captain Mitchell. "SAVE HIM!"

Diabolico then swooped in and saved Ryan's life, and brought him up to the Captain and Dana. Ryan lay unconscious in his arms.

"Please, I'll do anything," said Captain Mitchell. "Just give me back my son."

"You will not see your son again until his twentieth birthday," said Diabolico, coldly. "He is now mine."

Ryan jerked out of his flashback by his father saying, "Just hold on, buddy!" Ryan glanced up at his father and nodded, suddenly filled with new determination and strength. With some difficulty and his father's help, Ryan pulled himself up and onto the root. He was smiling as was his father.

"I remember," said Ryan.

Suddenly, the root began to break.

"It's going to break!" said Ryan.

"It's not going to support both of us," said Captain Mitchell. He glanced up at the branch and then back at Ryan. "Good-bye, Ryan." And then he let go of the root and began to fall.

"NO!" shouted Ryan. Unable to lose his father a second time, he let go of the root and then dove after him, activating his Morpher and grabbing his father in the process.

"Ryan, Captain!" yelled Alia.

Alia, forgetting her time-stop spell, teleported down but was not quick enough to catch either man. Thankfully, Ryan, in his Morphed form was able to save them both. They were both a little bruised and scraped, but alive.

Ryan was breathing hard as he stood up, his face full of pain and regret. Alia ran into his arms and held him tightly and he returned the embrace. He could feel her fear that was slowly ebbing away with relief. Just then, the other Rangers arrived.

"Ryan, Alia!" yelled Dana.

Ryan and Alia were frozen in place. They glanced back at Captain Mitchell who was holding up his hands.

"I am so sorry, Ryan," he said, sounding exhausted. "I would've given my life a thousand times to save yours."

After all I've done, how can you even bear to look at me, let alone say that? thought Ryan. He and Alia turned away.

"Ryan wait!" said Captain Mitchell. "After all these years…I can't lose you again. You're my son."

Dana's face was pleading as well, as if she was trying ask him not to go so she wouldn't lose him again.

Ryan didn't speak. He felt such a mixture of emotions, he thought he was going to explode, but he didn't let it show. Instead, he took off the Titanium Morpher and let it fall to the ground, trying to ignore the distraught looks on the Captain, Dana and the other Rangers.

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Alia's as she wrapped her arms around him and then she teleported them away.

Instead of returning to the Skull Cavern, they went far away where the demons' watchful gaze could not see them. They came to some mountains where there was small flowing waterfall nearby.

The minute they arrived, Ryan staggered forward and then collapsed to his knees, crying for the first time since he was taken. Regret and guilt flooded him. Everything he thought he'd known except for the love he shared with Alia had been a lie. How could he have been so foolish to believe Diabolico even if he had saved his life?

Ryan hated himself. He should've known he was being lied to! He'd known for years that he and his wife were pawns in the demons' plans, why wouldn't they have lied to him to get what they wanted?

The demons hadn't cared. His father and sister had loved him and never wanted to lose him. Oh, gall, his family! With a pang of guilt, he remembered the looks on their faces and all the pain he'd caused them, yet they'd still been willing to try to get him back. How could they be so willing to forgive him just like that? He didn't know if he could even forgive himself.

It wasn't just the car accident he remembered anymore. He now remembered everything about his past. His father's love, the way his little sister used to look to him as her protector and best friend, everything. The thought of it all just made the tears fall harder.

He felt his wife place her hand on his shoulder and then he turned to face her as his sobs slowly began to cease. Her brown eyes were glistening with tears of her own. He knew through their bond she knew the truth about his past as well.

"I am so sorry," said Alia. "I didn't know he was trying to save you that night. I swear, I didn't know. Had I known, I would've told you."

"I know," said Ryan, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "I know everything you know, remember?"

She helped him to stand and placed her hand on his cheek before he rested his forehead against hers; grateful she was there, finding her presence comforting in more ways than she knew.

"I almost destroyed a family that loved me," he said, choked. "I'll never be able to forgive myself. I've caused so much pain…"

"Shush" she whispered. "It's going to be okay, I promise. Please, tell me what I can do to help you."

"You already have," he murmured. "By being with me, you're helping in more ways than you know." He then pulled her in close and clung to her like she was his life-support and buried his face in the crook of her neck as she returned the embrace. "Thank heaven for you. I love you so much, Lia."

"I love you too, beloved," she said.

Rain then fell, soaking them. But they didn't care. It was soothing somehow as they continued holding each other. Questions ran through their minds. Who were they? For so many years, apart from their love, they'd only known fear, hatred and revenge. Were they evil? Was there even the tiniest bit of good left in them?

When the rain stopped, they still didn't return to the Skull Cavern. They just slept in the first cave they found, snuggled up together and keeping warm with a fire Ryan had made.

When morning came, Ryan and Alia journeyed to the chamber where she'd been found long ago. It was in a separate part of the tomb where the demons had once been imprisoned. Ever since they'd found out that Diabolico had lied about Ryan's past and since Ryan had recovered from the shock, they'd been on a quest to discover if Alia had been lied to about her past as well.

"Alia, are you sure you want to do this?" asked Ryan.

"Do I want to? No. Do I have to? Yes." Alia turned to him. "Ryan, if Diabolico lied about your father, there's a very real chance he lied about mine too. I have to know." She took out a powder from her pouch and blew it across the room. "Memories faded from the past, allow us to see the truth at last. Now the truth will be unsealed and the last battle of the demons and warlock will be revealed!"

The powder glowed and they were transported into the past where there were people and creatures long since past that could neither see nor hear Alia and Ryan as they were merely what had been.

Alia's father, the wizard known as Morlock, was battling demons as little Alia hid behind a pillar, terrified. Diabolico, Vypra and Loki were all fighting Morlock's summoned minions as Queen Bansheera stepped forward.

"Surrender, Morlock," said Queen Bansheera. "Hand over the girl. She belongs with me."

"She will never belong to you!" shouted Morlock. "She's my daughter, not yours!"

"Nevertheless, she is not a full-blooded witch. She's part-demon. You could never truly shape her into what she's meant to become! Only I and my peoplecan do that," said Queen Bansheera.

"She'll become what she wishes to be!" he shouted. "You would use her like you would your minions. No, less than that! I'll let myself be destroyed before you take her away from me!"

"So be it!"

The battle went on until Morlock was nearly defeated. Queen Bansheera was about to aim a blow at Morlock when Alia came out of her hiding place.

"Papa, no!" she cried.

She tried to push him out of the way and ended up taking the blow herself.

"NO!" shouted Queen Bansheera.

"Alia!" yelled Morlock. He cradled his injured daughter in his arms. She was barely alive and gravely injured. He held her close as a tear slid down his cheek. Then his face was full of anger as he faced the demons. "You should not have done that, Bansheera!"

He stood up and used a powerful spell to entomb the demons forever. But the demons' capture came with a price. Morlock's strength was nearly gone and his little child was barely alive.

"I won't let you die, Alia," he whispered. With what little strength he had left, he picked her up and placed her in a chamber. She lay there, asleep. Morlock gently stroked her face and brushed a lock of hair away.

"My precious daughter, rest and heal yourself. Until you're needed in the land or until the world is safe from demons, you'll be here. In here, you'll be ageless, unable to die and safe." Morlock kissed his daughter's head one last time. "Please remember that I love you so much and I always will. I will always be with you."

He then collapsed to the ground and his body turned to dust, leaving behind only his magic ring which disappeared.

Tears streamed down Alia's face as she and Ryan then found themselves back in the present.

"I should've remembered everything, but the spell was flawed," she sobbed. "I forgot the truth. My father loved me. He sacrificed himself trying to protect me. And I dishonored his memory by joining the Queen's forces and becoming what he tried to save me from!"

"Shh, shh, shh…" said Ryan. He took her into his arms and rubbed her back as she buried her face in his chest and cried. "You didn't remember the truth. It's not your fault. We'll get through this, I promise."

"Ryan," she murmured. "What do we do now?"

He sighed. "I don't know. But whatever we decide, we'll do it together, I promise. Someday, we'll redeem ourselves and make our fathers proud."

Someday, somehow, they'd repair the damage they had done, but when would that be, if ever?

They journeyed back to the Skull Cavern to sever ties with their former guardians as they knew the truth and could no longer bear to live with them. The Skull Cavern was their home no more. Upon their arrival, they were met by three angry demons.

"Where have you two been?" demanded Loki.

"You nearly had the Rangers!" said Vypra. "What made you stop?"

"There were unforeseen complications. We had to leave and search for the truth of our pasts," said Alia, stiffly.

"The past?" repeated Diabolico. "The past matters not! Only the future matters. The past is gone, forgotten!"

"We remember it all too clearly," said Ryan, coldly.

"Stay here and your future will be to follow in my footsteps," said Diabolico. "You'll become Master and Mistress, Rulers of the Dark Kingdom!"

"Never," said Ryan, shocking the demons.

Ryan and Alia began walking away out of the Skull Cavern.

"Don't walk away from me," warned Diabolico. When they just ignored him, he growled, "You'll pay for this. Mark my words, Alia, Ryan."

Alia and Ryan stopped walking and turned to face the demons. Alia waved her hand and then Ryan's sword appeared. Ryan leapt into the air and then plunged the sword into the ground, sending off powerful bolts of electricity that zapped the demons until they were withering on the ground.

"When we said we owed you everything, we were wrong," said Alia, coldly. "We owe you nothing."

"It's over, Diabolico. We're done with you," said Ryan.

He took Alia's hand and they left the Skull Cavern, forever.