Chapter 21

"Eye of the Storm"

Committed to the end, we sat in the command center and waited, waited for the gates of hell to open up and swallow us. Us, the Zeo Rangers, the Ninja Robot Rangers and the Alien Rangers along with the Robot Turbo Rangers were the last ones standing. None of us were expecting an easy victory, but we were going to do our best.

It was during this time that my attention was turned towards Katherine and what she was going through as she looked up at the UAE's forces surrounding the command center. She didn't ask to be put in this position and underneath her pink Zeo ranger costume, she was supposed to be dressed up for a night on the town, as was I.

"Nervous?" I asked, walking over to her.

"Very," she answered, quietly and nervously looking back towards me. "Tommy, I'm…I'm scared. Scared of what's going to happen to us."

"Me too, Katherine, me too. I know I don't show it, but I'm scared too of how we are gonna come out of all of this. I mean, look at them all. They all have death in their eyes, even those who don't have eyes."

"They want our deaths to satisfy their own needs. Our spirits are one thing, but what about our bodies?"

"Hey, they can do what they want with our bodies," I chuckled, trying to put a positive spin on the situation. "All that matters are that our spirits are the ones that move on."

Katherine tried to smile fully at what I said, but she couldn't due to all of the fear and anxiety building up inside of her.

And she wasn't the only one. Many of us were aware that the armies of death were right outside the command center waiting for the moment to strike.

"Why don't they just attack us now?" asked Adam, looking up at the screen. "I mean, they are at the point now, aren't they?"

"The moment is not there, Adam," I sighed, looking over at him. "When it is, we'll know when it is."

"How?'

"When they start crying out for our blood, is when the moment arrives," answered Tanya. "That's what my grandfather said when I was a little girl growing up in Africa."

Hearing those words made Katherine think of Aisha, whom to all of us was probably glad that she wasn't here, awaiting death like the rest of us.

…

Outside the command center, the forces of Dark Specter continued to gather around us and our enemies were now in a tent being assigned areas of attack by Astronema.

"Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa," she said, looking down at a map surrounding the command center. "You and your forces shall take the north side along with Master Vile."

"If you say so," Zedd muttered under his breath. "Though it won't make any difference."

Astronema decided to ignore the remark and proceed with assigning the areas.

"King Mondo and Queen Machina, you shall attack the south side."

The two machine rulers accepted the offer.

"General Havoc," she continued. "The east side."

Lord Zedd sneered at the general upon hearing this order.

"And I will attack the west side," she finished. "That way, no area is left open. The special forces from KO-35 have been neutralized and thus, the command center has been weakened. Now, return to your armies and wait for the moment to strike from Dark Specter."

…

Once the meeting was over, our enemies returned to their respective armies and waited for the order.

"You know, Ed," remarked Rito Revolto, brandishing his sword. "I think that when all is said and done, you'll just be happy for what you have already done."

"What makes you say that, skull breath?"

"I mean, you should be happy for all you did," he explained. "Destroying the Green Ranger powers, destroying the old zords and powers along with the new zords and powers, kidnapping Kimberly and Ninjor, the list goes on. Perhaps you should, how shall I say it? Let someone else take the reigns?"

"Never," Zedd replied in an ice cold voice, glaring at his son in law. "I will never give into whatever it is that they want to have happen. Just do your job and hopefully you can survive without being destroyed."

"If you say so, Ed."

Zedd glared even further at his son-in-law, still in denial about the entire truth. In fact, Zedd was probably thinking that his life would have been a whole lot better if Rito was out of his life for good.

…

As the hours ticked by, we continued to wait and wait on both sides. Finally, Dark Specter's silhouette appeared and everyone on his side knew that the time was right for the attack to begin.

"Guys, look!" cried Katherine as we all gathered around the viewing globe.

"It's Dark Specter," gasped Rocky, as Dark Specter raised his left claw into the air and hastily dropped it, signaling the forces of Rita and Zedd to advance first.

"We have to go out and face them," I said, firmly turning over towards Alpha 5 and Zordon. "Alpha, open the outer doors."

With those words, we all gathered together, human, alien and robot clones, preparing to face the inevitable horrors that were now advancing towards us. However, before we could walk out, Alpha 5 had some final words for us.

"Rangers," he cried. "Be careful out there."

"And may the power protect you all," added Zordon and Alpha pressed a button, opening the outer doors to the command center.

…

So, we left the safety and security of the command center and stepped out towards the advancing armies, morphing into our respective ranger forms.

"Guess there is no turning back now," sighed Katherine as we prepared to split up to cover each advancing army.

"Everyone, good luck," I said, nervously. "Get to your battle stations."

Once we all took up positions on the north, south, east and west side, the time had finally come as I took out my Zeo Blaster and shot at an advancing putty patroller.

"VIVA DARK SPECTER!" screeched the tengas and we, the Zeo Power Rangers, began the battle of our lives, just as Zordon had told us in the very beginning…