Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
"Truth Discovered"
Original Air Date: 04/29/00		Featuring footage from: GoGo Five #13 - Otoototachi no Hanran (Younger Siblings' Rebellion)
*7th Regular Season (12th of the 8th Season by Series) *Official Fox Kids Show Number PR-1012 *12th episode of PRLR *350th total Power Rangers episode
Writer: Judd Lynn		Director: Jonathan Tzachor
Starring Cast: Michael Chaturantabut _AS_ Chad Lee (Blue Ranger) Sean Cw Johnson _AS_ Carter Grayson (Red Ranger) Alison MacInnis _AS_ Dana Mitchell (Pink Ranger) Keith Robinson _AS_ Joel Rawlings (Green Ranger) Sasha Williams _AS_ Kelsey Winslow (Yellow Ranger) Monica Louwerens _AS_ Ms. Fairweather Ron Rogge _AS_ Captain William Mitchell Jennifer L. Yen _AS_ Vypra		Additional Cast: Rhett Fisher _AS_ Ryan Mitchell (Titanium Ranger) Hayden McFarland _AS_ Young Ryan Janna Savatgy _AS_ Young Dana Michael Eagan _AS_ Tech (Baker) Neil Kaplan _AS_ Diabolico (voice) Kim Strauss _AS_ Jinxer (voice) Archie Kao _AS_ Liztwin (voice) [Hey, that name's Kai-nd of familiar...]

SUMMARY:

[Recap of "From Deep In The Shadows"]

Picking up where the story left off last episode, Captain Mitchell spills his guts out to the Ranger teens in the Lightspeed Aquabase conference room. Mitchell somberly tells the group that the reason he stopped them was because he couldn't let them destroy his son. Dana, filled with both shock and a bit of anger, asks her father how this can be, since Ryan was killed in a car crash when she was younger. Captain Mitchell reveals to his daughter that in fact, Ryan wasn't. Mitchell turns towards the camera, and starts to explain the events of that night long ago. It was late, it was pouring rain, he, Ryan & Dana were coming home from visiting their Grandmother. We see their car driving down the rain-slicked road in the dead of night, and inside we find young Ryan & young Dana in the backseat, playing with the new toys Granny gave them (a firetruck for Ryan, a doll for Dana). Mitchell turned around to smile at them for only but a second, and then it all happened so fast. A large Mack Truck came barreling towards them, honking its horns, its lights blinding the Captain. He swerved out of the way, but in doing so sent the car careening off towards the shoulder of the road. Just as he saw it was too late, and the railing was too close, he quickly dashed into the backseat, grabbed his two children, and bolted out of the backdoor (quite a mean feat, unlocking the seatbelts at the speed of light!), just as the car sped through the railing, and dove off the side of a steep cliff. Mitchell, still clutching his two children tightly, rolled down the side of the hill out of control. The car landed swiftly on its top, instantly exploding into a fireball that could be seen even reaching skyward till just above the viewpoint of the broken shoulder railing above.

[opening credits.]

Ryan's firetruck toy lay in a puddle at the bottom of the cliff, the rain still pouring on it as its lights & sirens went off. The Mitchell family car was still ablaze some feet away from that. The Captain explains that as they tumbled over the cliff, he found himself hanging by a root. Mitchell held onto the loose branch with one arm, his daughter was in the other, and Ryan had ended up slipping down his father's body, so that now he was grasping onto just his leg. Ryan cried for him to help him, but all Mitchell could do was shout for him to hold on. Ryan couldn't, he was slipping, his hands held tight to the only part of his father he could, that being his shoe, which was moments from falling off, taking the boy with it. Mitchell begged for his son, whom he called "buddy" to keep holding on. Dana could only cry out that she was scared, and she had every right to be. The Captain's hand was beginning to slip off the soaked root above, and soon all three would drop to their deaths off the side of the cliff. Mitchell screamed for someone to please help them, and his pleas were answered in a most unexpected manner. A golden beam of light floated up towards Captain Mitchell, and inside that beam of light, appeared the image of Diabolico! Apparently, that tomb wasn't sealed up tight enough to prevent the demon spirits from appearing outside at certain times (without making full physical plane appearances, of course)! Any way you put it, Diabolico's spirit showed up, informing Mitchell that he can help him. Mitchell yelled for the monster to go away, which Diabolico didn't, and instead told him that if he saved the boy's life, he'll belong to him. Mitchell looked at his son, still clinging to life at his leg, and quickly responded with a firm "Never!". Diabolico reminded him that the choice is his, before fading away, as if he were never there. Ryan began crying about slipping again, Mitchell tells his buddy to keep holding on, but it's too late. Mitchell's shoe came loose, Ryan continued to hold onto it for a moment as he fell to the ground, in dramatic slow motion, screaming for his father all the way down. The Captain cried out for him, watching his son plunge to oblivion, helpless. Just before Ryan could slam against the bottom, Mitchell yelled out "Save him!", prompting the golden wave of light to reappear, scooping the boy up before he could land on the burning wreckage of the car! Diabolico's spirit lifted the boy up, and held him before his father, giving an evil cackle. Mitchell begged, promising to do anything, if he'd just give him back his son. Diabolico, true to his word, informed Mitchell that he would not see him again until his 20th birthday, stating that the boy is his, now! Diabolico vanished in a flash, taking Ryan along with him, never to be seen again. Mitchell screamed out a defeated "Nooooo!", while still hanging onto the branch, his daughter Dana apparently asleep.

Back in the present, the flashback ends, Dana, with tears running down her face, notes that today is Ryan's 20th birthday, to which her father nods. Carter steps up, puts his hand on the Captain's shoulder, and promises him they won't fight his son, and they'll do everything they can to help get him back. The other three Rangers stand silently in the background, Joel having removed his hat, in memory of the tragic loss. Meanwhile, in Skull Cavern, Vypra stands around while Diabolico retells his own version of the flashback to Ryan, who sits quietly nearby (his face not covered by shadows, this time around). Diabolico reminds the boy that his father was going to let him die and didn't care about him, but it was he who saved his life. Diabolico puts his hand on the man's shoulder, and tells him that he remembers, doesn't he? Ryan reluctantly says that yes, he remembers, even though his face appears unsure. Diabolico goes on to say that it was Dana that Captain Mitchell loved, not him, who he tossed away like trash, and all these years it is Ryan who has suffered. Ryan, angrily inspired by these words, balls up a fist, and stands ready, and as he says, "It's time to repay him!". Ryan starts to storm off to begin his next campaign of vengeance, when Diabolico pauses him, telling his warrior to have patience. He will get the chance to destroy his father all in good time. Diabolico chuckles, Vypra smiles (no lines this scene, thankfully), and Ryan grinds his teeth, needing a release for his anger of his lost childhood.

[commercials]

Later in the Lightspeed Aquabase (Captain's Cabin), Mitchell stares at his fishtank and talks about how for 20 years he dreamed of seeing him again and for 20 years he hoped he would never come back. Now, this "20 years" thing goes to prove that Willy likes to speak of time in non-literal terms. Remember the "training for 18 years" thing? Dana IS 18, he didn't mean he had trained her every single day since infancy! This proves it. Ryan wasn't a fetus when he fell off the cliff, Mitchell's just using the age of his son as a term of time he's come to dread. Dana, now without her jacket & alone, tells her father that he could have told her. Mitchell says that he was ashamed, it was the hardest decision he ever had to make. Dana walks up closer to him and points out that he had no other choice, which Mitchell says he knows, but still, in his heart he wonders if it was or not. Dana takes his hand, and tells her father that he did the right thing. The sun begins to rise over the industry section of the city of Mariner Bay, but in the Aquabase, Captain Mitchell isn't very sunny. He slowly walks through the halls, distant from all those who speak to him, starting with Ms. Fairweather. She cheerfully says "good morning, Captain!", and he just walks by like she wasn't even there. Fairweather doesn't quite understand it, and watches him continue to walk away. He ends up in the Command Headquarters, ignoring a tech (who's tag says his name is Baker, and we'll call him as such) who hands him the morning status report. Baker hands him the Lightspeed Clipboard, and shouts out "Sir!" once more, which gains his attention. Mitchell signs the report, thanks him, and walks off. Baker asks "Sir, don't you even want to look at it?", and Mitchell just waves his hand in the air while staggering off, remarking "not now!" as he heads off for parts unknown.

Elsewhere in Mariner Bay, the Titanium Ranger is on the scene, Morphed and eager to seek some revenge! He gazes out on the city via a rooftop, and proceeds to press the left side of his helmet, causing his V-visor to pop down (up, actually). We see Ryan's eyes, as he looks downward at a picture he's holding. It's the one from Mitchell's cabin, with the Captain, young Dana, and young Ryan. It seems Ryan swiped this picture when he snuck into the Aquabase last episode while stealing the Titanium Morpher! Ryan stares at the picture, and proclaims with anger "You were no father to me, and now you're going to regret it!". He crumples the picture up into a ball and drops it on the ground, before lowering his visor back into place, taking a look at the city, and then leaping off the side of the building! The Titanium Ranger's presence sets off the alarms in the Aquabase, as alert status goes into affect. Technicians scramble around, pressing buttons and looking at maps. The five Lightspeed Rangers race down the hallway and enter the Command HQ, learning from Baker that the Titanium Ranger is back. Said Titanium Ranger appears on the viewing screen, slowly walking down the middle of the street, sending the citizens around him rushing away with panic. Carter asks Baker where the Captain is, and Baker tells him that Mitchell left without saying anything. Joel decides to reiterate the line by saying "You mean Captain Mitchell didn't tell anyone where he was going?", to which Carter notes is not like him. Dana, having dragged behind the rest of them, slips away after hearing of her father's desertion. Kelsey says that they can't attack the Titanium Ranger, causing Chad to counter-argue that he'll destroy the city! Joel calls this an emergency, meaning they've got to do something. Carter looks around, and asks where's Dana. Nobody seems to know, but Carter has it pegged, realizing that she's gone after her brother by herself! He leads his team off into the Transport Bay, just in time to see Dana, in the Rescue Rover, being lowered down into the access tunnel below. Carter & Kelsey shout for Dana to wait, but Dana just eyes her friends, revs up the motor, and continues on her way. The Rescue Rover gets away, but Carter refuses to give up, saying "we've got to catch her" and rushing off the side of the screen with his three teammates following. Notice in the shot, on the left, is Mint from GoGoFive! He's found his usefulness here at Lightspeed, as a giant paperweight!

In the city, people continue running for their lives from the sight of the evil Titanium Ranger (though some might be running to McDonalds to see if there's any videos available, only to find they have none in Mariner Bay, which probably explains some of Ryan's rage!)! Titanium Ranger walks down the street as slow as he pleases, until finally reaching a nice section with a small crowd of people. He picks up his Titanium Laser, aims it at them, and fires! The blast doesn't seem to hit anyone with the first shot, but the next set of several seem to be dead on target! People drop like flies after being shot by the Titanium Laser, but he must not have it at full charge, since none are killed. That's about to change, as Ryan lift his Laser up, points it directly at a person laying on the ground, helpless to get away. He fires from close range, but the shot gets deflected by Pink Ranger, who rushes in and blocks the shot with her Rescue Baton! Dana gets those lying on the ground out of there by telling them to get out of there (guess you don't have to tell them twice!). Titanium Ranger approaches her, and points his finger, shouting "It's you! After all these years i've been waiting to meet you again. I finally get to pay you back, sister!". Ryan fires his Titanium Laser at Dana, who ducks and rolls out of the way safely. She then rushes at him, as he does the same to her, only he shifts his Titanium Laser around into Rescue Mode, ready to use his Titanium Ax to do anything but rescue! Pink Ranger blocks Titanium's Ax attack with her Baton, then flips over him, and continues punch-counterpunching. She doesn't last long, as he hits her a few times with the butt-end of the Ax in the stomach. She falls, he tries to strike again, but she locks weapons with him, telling him, helmet to helmet, that no brother of hers could be as evil as he is! Ryan tells her she's right, unless her father let him fall from the cliff to save his younger sister! Titanium relieves Pink Ranger of her Baton, and proceeds to kick the pink spit out of her. Dana finally grabs his leg, trying to stop him, but he merely swings his body around, and while lifted into the air by Pink Ranger, kicks her loose with his other leg! She spins back up and continues fighting, Titanium Ranger lashing out with every limb, and making good use of his Ax. Dana ends up beaten back until she's flat on the ground, which spurs Ryan to lift her legs up, flipping her back to her feet, perfectly enough for him to kick her again in the chest a few times. The final time she spins around in the air before landing on the ground, clutching her chest in pain, while Titanium Ranger lays his Ax on his shoulder and laughs.

Dana grunts out that their father didn't let him fall and there was nothing he could do. Ryan points his Ax at her and states "but you're the one who survived that night on the cliff!", giving a chilling underscore to just how the demon spirit of Diabolico was able to "save" the boy (he didn't! Ryan died, Diabolico took his spirit for his own, and raised him all this time!). Dana reminds him about how that's all over now, as she picks up her Rescue Baton. Ryan locks his Titanium Laser back into place, and states that it's over for her, as he aims his Laser her way. Pink Ranger reholsters her Baton (causing it to revert to Blaster mode), and stands up, claming that father loved him, Ryan wanted to grow up to be a fireman, just like dad had been (thus, the mystery of the man who saved Carter has just been confirmed!). Ryan shouts for her to be quiet, she sneaks over, grabs his Laser, and struggles with him for it, asking him what's the matter with him! Dana asks if he remembers anything, causing Ryan's voice to cease with anger, as he begins to say what he remembers. That is, until the other four Rangers (unmorphed) appear, Carter shouting out Ryan's name and ending this touching moment. Titanium Ranger takes his Laser, kicks Pink Ranger until she collapses, and then flees. The four Rangers rush to Dana's side, asking her if she's okay. She says she's fine, but she has got to go after him. Dana stands up and staggers in the direction Ryan ran off to, but she can barely even make it a few feet before needing Carter to help her stand up. Carter tells her to wait, they're all coming with her, which she finds okay,

Just a few feet away in the smoking debris-filled courtyard, Vypra teleports in along with her newest monster, a gold lizard creature with a second head on his right hand, named Liztwin! Liztwin tells the Rangers to listen up, and Vypra informs them that none of them are going anywhere. Our heroes pose, call out "Lightspeed Rescue" and Morph, joining the already Morphed Dana as Lightspeed Power Rangers! Vypra orders Liztwin to get them, which he does, lunging at the Rangers. He briefly tangles with Red & Pink Rangers, shoving them off instantly. Blue Ranger (fittingly, considering who voices the monster) throws some kicks at Liztwin, which the monster avoids by grabbing Chad's leg and pushing him back towards his friends. Vypra laughs and then purple-spirit-ports back to Skull Cavern. Red Ranger leaps through the air at Liztwin, grabbing him and rolling him along the ground with him to another area of the outside building plaza. Liztwin, and his hand head, remarks that he seems to be on a roll here and it's all thanks to them. The Rangers regroup, and the monster offers to give them a hand, by extending out his head-arm, stretching several feet out and grabbing Carter's arm! He's yanked across the yard and tossed to the ground harshly, leaving it up to Yellow Ranger to free him of the elongated arm. Kelsey pulls out what seems to be the Rescue Drill, and stabs it into Liztwin's arm, snapping it off of Red Ranger and back into the creature painfully. Joel & Dana get back to back, Green Ranger fires his Rescue Blaster at Liztwin, followed by Pink Ranger spraying him with her Rescue Extinguisher. He doesn't seem to like the cold much at all, as he falls backwards and off to yet another area. Most all of those weapons were from the Rescue Bird, which was called offscreen, as we now see Red Ranger holding its Unilaser configuration. The monster claims that won't stop him, but when Carter's teammates brace behind him as he fires the Unilaser at Liztwin, it results in one singular explosion! Chunks of demon meat are all that remain, and as usual, Carter salutes and calls this a Mission Accomplished.

Jinxer is on one of the upper levels of one of the many nearby buildings, looking out over the fight. He's got just the thing to perk Liztwin up, as he holds a new kind of Demonic CCG Booster Card in his hand. Jinxer recites "Liztwin, get up off the floor and grow more powerful than before!". The blue gem on the card suddenly takes the image of Liztwin's horns, and Jinxer tosses it onto the meaty remnants of he creature, causing the pieces to swirl up into the air in a fiery blaze. No bats this time around, Liztwin is recreated in a much large, building-crushing sized form. If that's not all, he's been given an upgrade! His head-hand has become extra-long claws, his face & horns get a boost as well, and the spikes on his backs have become a large fin. The monster towering above them, our heroes have no choice but to call for Rescue Rails... On Track! The Rescue Rails speed down the tracks, slow down only to let the five Lightspeed Rangers on, and then once everyone is aboard, Carter turns the handle that connects the Rail Rescues together. The SuperTrain combination speeds up, the tracks up ahead lift up into the sky, and Carter gives the signal for maximum thrust. The SuperTrain takes off into the sky, disconnects, shifts its parts around, and creates the Super Train Megazord in no time flat! Carter says "Supertrain Thunder" as it lands on the set of tracks below and rides along, standing up. The massive Megazord meets up with Liztwin in the center of town. He's trashed a few buildings during the time it took to link up the SuperTrain, but his appetite is still unmet, so the creature rushes at the Megazord, grunting and groaning. Gatling Blasters are called on-line by Carter (apparently, Fairweather has since fixed the power surge problem from "Rising From Ashes"), and Chad gets to fire them away with full power. Though not before Carter turns the Turbines on Supercharge, unloading both shoulder arsenals of the SuperTrain Megazord! Both missiles and energy blasts strike Liztwin at the same time, but the monster merely shrugs them off and keeps on running towards our heroes! Liztwin is apparently, the same size as the SuperTrain Megazord, meaning that Booster Card must have really packed some Wheaties. Liztwin rips into the Megazord with its large claw-hand, causing explosions and sparks both inside and outside of the structure. He's draining their power all the while, as he digs his claws deep into the mighty SuperTrain Megazord. Carter calls on Power Punch, which knocks Liztwin halfway across the city with just one hit by one hand! Red Ranger motions his Rescue Grip and has the Turbines rev up. The SuperTrain Megazord repositions its arsenal around to its fists, and starts to charge them up. With a Turbine/Gatling one-two punch, Liztwin falls over and explodes, for his second and final time! Our heroes cheer, and the massive Megazord poses triumphantly.

[commercials]

On the outskirts of Mariner Bay, the Titanium Ranger has fled to a very familiar scene. He stops to catch his breath, and Demorphs, taking a walk over the repaired shoulder railing of the cliff where he met his childhood demise. Ryan gazes out on the cliff silently, when Captain Mitchell walks up, shouting "You don't remember, do you?". Ryan's surprised to see him, but tells him that he doesn't need to remember since he was told that he didn't care what happened to him. Mitchell says that isn't true, Ryan notes he let him fall off the cliff but saved Dana. The Captain passionately tells him that he tried to save them both. Ryan doesn't seem to believe it, but Mitchell tells him to think back. He reminds him of his little fire truck, and then the terrible crash. We see the scene flashbacked to again, and when Mitchell talks of all of them going over the cliff, Ryan tells him to stop it, since he's lying. The Captain asks him to listen, he was trying to save both of them. He begins to start back up with the story, with that Ryan was hanging onto his leg. Ryan doesn't want to hear it, yelling that he only wanted to save her and let him fall! Ryan rushes at his father, shoving him over the side of the cliff along with him. They roll down the steep hill side for a moment, but luckily, Mitchell grabs hold of the same tree root that had saved his life once before! He hangs on with one hand, while holding on to Ryan with the other. The Captain screams in pain from the weight of holding onto himself and his son, but pleas for Ryan to keep holding on. This reliving of the experience is enough to trigger a memory flood in Ryan's head. He calls everything that happened (via the flashback), including the vision of Diabolico (though, notice the last thing he remembers is falling). Mitchell tells his "buddy" to hold on, much in the same way he did all those years ago. Ryan remembers now, and refuses to let it happen again. He starts to climb up his father's leg, and up his body until they both hang with their hands grasping the withered tree root.

Father and son can do nothing but look at each other from the way they're hanging from the root, prompting Captain Mitchell to laugh happily when he sees his son's rage has subsided. Ryan looks at him and calmly tells his dad that he remembers. Suddenly, the tree root partially rips out from the side of the cliff! It's going to break any minute, not being able to support both of them. Faced with the decision, Captain Mitchell tells his son "Good-bye, Ryan", gives him one last smile, and then lets both of his hands go. Ryan reaches out for him and yells "Noo!", but his father has fallen too far out of range. But not out of Ranger, as Ryan instinctively reacts to the situation, slamming his feet back against the wall as he lets go of the branch, using the added inertia to propel himself downward towards his father. As he falls, Ryan's Morpher lights up and he Morphs into the Titanium Ranger as he tries to fight gravity by grabbing his father before it's too late. Titanium Ranger succeeds, snatching Captain Mitchell in his arms, and moving him above his fully Morphed body, taking the brunt of the fall when they smash into the level where the ground meets the wall. They safely roll down the rest of the hill (notice the charred area in the scenery where the car accident took place is visible in one shot), though Ryan suddenly demorphs when he comes to a halt in the dirt. Ryan & Captain Mitchell stand up, dusting themselves off and not taking their eyes off each other, until the five Ranger teens show up, Dana calling out to her brother. The Captain approaches his son, telling him that he is so sorry, he would have given his life a thousand times to save his. Ryan gets antsy, and starts to walk off, Mitchell shouts for him to wait. He stops, and listens as his father tells him "After all these years, I can't lose you again. You're my son". Both Dana & the Captain watch in bated breath for Ryan's next move, which surprises them all. Ryan removes the Titanium Morpher from his wrist, and drops it on the ground. He then heads off in a direction away from them, stopping only once he's atop a hill, to look back at his father, before turning and leaving, as quickly as he can. No one, not a Ranger, not a member of the Mitchell family, tries to stop him. His decision is made and accepted.

[commercials]

Later in the Skull Cavern, Ryan stands still as Diabolico walks around him. Diabolico states that only the future matters, and the past is gone, forgotten! Ryan tells him that he remembers it all too clearly now. Diabolico tells Ryan to stay here and his future will be to follow in his footsteps as master and ruler of the Dark Kingdom! Vypra looks at them from afar, with Loki standing behind her. Ryan, faced with a life of darkness and shadows, makes his decision vocal: "Never". Ryan turns and walks away from his demonic savior, Diabolico tells him to not walk away from him. And when Ryan refuses to stop, Diabolico tells him that he'll pay for this, he can mark his words! Ryan stops, turns and looks at Diabolico, shakes his head at the evil creature, and slowly backs away, disappearing into the shadows from whence he came. Diabolico just stands there, holding his stick, apparently speechless.

[scenes from "Ryan's Destiny"; end credits]