"Onyx?"

"Hmm...?"

"Why do you go by Akuma?"

When Onyx had offered to give Stinger a place to stay for now, they hadn't exactly anticipated getting questioned about much. It seemed as though someone had more things they wanted to ask than he already had.

It was the next day now. Onyx was laying on the floor, going through some old items that were in storage. Stinger was sitting on a couch, mostly just watching them.

"It's always been my nickname." Onyx replied. "Unwillingly. I decided to embrace it when I joined Jark Matter. If everyone only ever saw me as a demon then I might as well become one."

"Do any of the other kyurangers know your actual name?"

"As far as I am aware, no. I've never told them and I'm pretty sure you're the only one besides Don Armage himself who actually knows my name."

Stinger nodded. "So if I want to discuss you I have to use Akuma..."

"Yep. Say, what is Rebellion tellin' people about me anyway? You knew who I was when I said Akuma so obviously someone told ya about me. I'm curious to know what it is." Onyx asked.

"The commander basically just told me to not engage with you and if we met to be very cautious because you were very dangerous. He warned me that you might easily figure out my true intentions if I wasn't careful." Stinger replied. "Didn't give any details of why you were so scary except that you're second in line to Don Armage."

"Probably didn't want to scare you too much with any horror stories, is all." Onyx offered.

"And yet this is who you are."

Onyx chuckled at the comment. "I made a promise to someone that I'd keep an eye on the kyurangers when the time came. That's all, kid. I'm not one for breaking promises. Especially with a dead person. That's just askin' for a lot of trouble."

Stinger stood up. "I'm going to search around."

Before Onyx could reply he received a call on his blaster.

Stinger answered it. "This is Stinger."

"Report back immediately. We're having a dance practice."

"No way. Sounds boring." Stinger hung up.

Onyx started laughing. "Oh boy, the kyurangers are forming a dance group now? Come on, you should go join them."

"No way!" Stinger protested.

"Fine, fine. Have fun with your search. Be careful, though. With Eriedrone out of the equation it's only a matter of time before Don Armage sends more minions after you guys."

"Understood. I'll be careful." Stinger replied. "Can you really not even give me a hint as to what I'm looking for though?"

Onyx thought about it. Was there any vague thing they could tell Stinger to direct him on the right path without making it too easy? They couldn't make it super easy to find because then that would raise more worry.

"Let's just say, whatever you think it is right now, you're probably wrong." Onyx said.

Stinger's expression grew troubled at that hint. Now he had a lot to think about. Onyx was quite certain that whatever Stinger did think could be the secret was most definitely not close. Who would think about the Argo ship and its apparent inhabitant if they barely knew of that battle anyway?

Stinger left the house after that. Onyx opted not to follow him. He should be fine on his own.

Then they got a call.

"Don Armage." Onyx picked up.

"I heard Eriedrone failed us. I've sent Madakko and Ikaagen to Earth to pick up where he failed. Feel free to join them and make sure the kyurangers aren't getting closer to finding anything."

"Of course. I'll keep an eye on things."

That complicated everything. There was no way in hell the kyurangers were prepared to face someone as tough as those two. They were even stronger than Eriedrone had been and they had struggled with him for a while too. This was going to make things way more interesting.

Well, they might as well go greet the two assassins and see what their plan of attacks may be. Maybe they could alert Stinger to the threat once they knew more so the kyurangers might stand a bit more of a chance against them?

...

Onyx encountered the two assassins wandering around the town, asking the citizens if they knew where the kyurangers were. Wow. Way to go, guys. Couldn't even be bothered to just search for the kyurangers themselves?

Onyx opted to not make themselves known and simply watched as they wandered around. No one they spoke to knew anything about the kyurangers, much to their annoyance. Why were they surprised? The kyurangers weren't exactly making themselves known to everyone. They didn't desire fame for saving the inhabitants of Earth.

Then they spotted Stinger. Onyx watched warily as the two walked toward him. What was about to happen? Stinger glanced their way and then returned to staring forward. Maybe he was hoping they would walk right past?

Unfortunately Ikaagen turned around and spoke to him. "Hey, you? I'm called Ikaagen. We're searching for the kyurangers. Do you know anything?"

What a blunt way to ask that. Onyx rolled their eyes. Who would even say yes to that if they did know something?

Stinger turned and glanced at him but said nothing and turned back around.

Madakko didn't like that. "Hey, tako! Well, what is it? Spill your guts. Come on."

She grabbed Stinger's shoulder roughly. Ikaagen grabbed her arm.

"Hey. Madakko, don't lose your temper. No no." He warned.

Madakko let go of Stinger and faced Ikaagen now. She slapped him. Were these two really the right pair for this job?

"Yeah." Stinger spoke up. "I know something."

Oh, kid... these are not the ones you should be messing with. Onyx winced at what he said. This was just asking for trouble. Did he actually plan to fight them?

Madakko and Ikaagen stopped their bickering and looked at him with interest. Stinger led them away. Onyx quickly followed from afar. They were worried about how this was going to go. One kyurangers against two really tough assassins didn't seem like a very fair fight. Would Stinger really be able to handle this on his own?

Onyx reached into their pocket and clenched their hand around the death kyutama. If worst came to worst they could transform and save him. But that would most definitely expose the existence of another kyuranger to Jark Matter. They really were not ready for that to happen yet but if that was what it took so none of these kids got themselves killed then so be it. They could make a few sacrifices.

Stinger led the two assassins to a desolate area. Madakko and Ikaagen both seemed to be questioning the location a bit.

"Is there really a kyuranger here?" Madakko asked.

Oh there certainly was. Stinger was most certainly about to try and fight these two.

"There is." Stinger replied and turned around. "Right here."

He threw off his cape to reveal himself in the kyuranger uniform. He pulled out his kyutama and transformed.

"Poison Star. Sasori Orange."

Even he was doing an intro... Onyx still didn't understand it in the slightest.

"So you're a kyuranger?" Madakko said.

Stinger started building a spear, "So you're Jark Matter assassins? Are you here to kill us?"

He charged at them and began to fight. Onyx watched with worry. He wasn't ready to take on anyone this strong.

Stinger was unable to get much done. He was constantly blocked and attacked by the two assassins. As they shot at him again, dust kicked up and the next thing they knew he was gone. Ikaagen just shrugged it off and walked away with Madakko following behind him. They gave up on that pretty fast.

Onyx noticed Stinger was on a cliff now, staring down at the two assassins as they left. Onyx went and joined him.

"Some tough opponents have appeared." Stinger said to himself.

"Indeed." Onyx said, startling him. "They're some of Jark Matter's toughest assassins. You're in no condition to be fighting them yet. You guys need to get a lot better before you could ever hope to stand a chance of defeating them."

Stinger looked as though he was about to argue but stopped. He sighed and looked back at where they had just fought at.

"Why are they here?"

"To replace Eriedrone. Keep you guys from finding the secret."

"Whatever this secret is... it really must be important if Don Armage is sending assassins like that after us." Stinger stated.

Onyx chuckled and look up at the sky. "He fears the power of what it is. If it falls into your hands, he knows there is a much higher chance of you guys winning. So he wants to find it first and destroy it so you all will never get to use it."

"We'll find it. I know we will."

"I have faith in you guys."

"Um... how long do you plan to keep playing on both sides?" Stinger asked suddenly. "With all nine of us assembled, why do you not join us? You played a pretty big role in getting us here. Why are you still working with the enemy?"

"There's still things left I must do before I run away." Onyx replied.

Truth be told, they very well could join the kyurangers now. They just didn't feel like they should. Did they really deserve to join their team?

"Would Rebellion even be a fan of me doing that? I think they'd throw a fit." Onyx questioned.

"Well... maybe..." Stinger mumbled. "As far as I know only us kyurangers and our commander are aware of what you're capable of. It's a secret between us for now."

"Good. It's better if it stays that way. The less chance Jark Matter can find out about it the better."

Stinger nodded. They fell into silence for a while.

"I should probably inform the others of those two." Stinger said. "They need to be aware of what we're now up against."

"Good idea." Onyx nodded in agreement. "Tell them they better watch themselves. These ones are serious business and will kill you guys without hesitation. And there really won't be much I can do to save you guys if they get you into that position."

"I understand. Thank you for... helping me. See you around."

"Yep. See ya later, kid. Tell 'em I said hi if they ask." Onyx replied.

Stinger took off into his voyager and made his way to the ship. Onyx waited until he vanished from sight and then went to finally go and talk to Madakko and Ikaagen.

They were in the town. At least this time they weren't randomly questioning people about the kyurangers.

"Madakko. Ikaagen." Onyx approached them. "Long time since I've seen the two of you. Any luck on your search?"

"We ran into the orange kyuranger." Madakko stated. "But he fled."

"Realized he bit off more than he could chew, huh?" Onyx replied. "That all for now?"

"Yes. The kyurangers defeated another governor." Ikaagen added. "We'll need some new bait to draw them out again."

"Hmm... which governor shall we sacrifice the life of this time...?" Onyx hummed.

"I heard of one in the area we might be able to use as our bait." Ikaagen stated.

Onyx smiled. "Wonderful. Shall we go pay them a visit and see what's going on?"

The three of them went off to do just that. Hopefully these two wouldn't get much of a chance to attack the kyurangers yet. Once that happened, things could get dark very fast if they weren't careful.