Disclaimer: Kim Wu and Spinal are Rare characters.

It was midnight onboard the Spice Rack. Spinal slept soundly in his bed while several disturbing dreams danced in his head. He tossed and turned, groaning in his sleep, trying to shake the dreams out. However, the images stayed.

"No . . . no . . . you're dead!!" he cried.

Black Shadow sat in his throne. He sat up straight, but his eyes were closed. He remained perfectly still. He, too, was having some unfamiliar dreams.

If Spinal goes, I go. I'm not leaving his side!

Oh, Spinal . . . what a beautiful night!

Kim . . . please . . . this isn't the time.

"Black Shadow?"

Black Shadow only smiled in his throne, but still remained immobile.

Spinal, you are so cute!!

"Black Shadow? Master . . . pardon me . . ."

Black Shadow opened his eyes. Dr. Clash was standing beside him, tapping his shoulder.

"Doctor . . . you made me lose my concentration."

"A thousand apologies, sire. What were you concentrating on?"

"I was just concentrating on our little friend Spinal," Black Shadow said. "He had a relationship 2,000 years ago with a female guardian named . . . Kim Wu. He is asleep at this moment . . . dreaming about her . . ."

Dr. Clash smiled. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Master?"

Black Shadow also smiled. "Mm-hmm. Don't worry, Spinal. You won't be alone . . . for long . . ."

Spinal woke up in his bed. "Oh man . . . what time is it?" He looked at his clock. It was exactly midnight. But after having those dreams about both Kim Wu and Black Shadow, Spinal wasn�t ready to go back to sleep. He looked at himself in the mirror. Even his bony face looked miserable. He pressed on his ring and teleported out of the ship.

Spinal reappeared in the space colony.

"Hey, what am I doing here?" he wondered.

He walked around for a little while when Mayor Belcus approached him.

"Spinal, what are you doing here?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be in bed with the rest of the colony?"

"I don't feel good, Mayor," Spinal replied.

"Well, you should get some rest," Belcus said. "You don't look that good, either."

"I can't sleep," Spinal told him. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I'm afraid," Belcus said. "I can't sleep with Black Shadow attacking all the time."

"He doesn't attack all the time."

"I think you are afraid, too. That is what I am thinking."

"Leave me alone . . ." Spinal groaned.

At that moment, the demons appeared. Mayor Belcus screamed.

"I think that's a good idea! Bye!" He turned and ran, leaving Spinal alone to face the demons.

"Oh man, what do you guys want at this hour?!" Spinal whined.

The demons attacked. Spinal ducked under their attacks, countering with his own. He kicked one demon, then another charged into him. Spinal grabbed that demon and threw it aside. When another demon tried to punch him, Spinal grabbed its wrist and flipped it over. He kicked a demon before it could even attack him. Spinal tried to kick another demon, but it grabbed his ankle and threw it upwards. Spinal tried to land on his feet like the Rangers used to do, but he just couldn't flip like that, and ended up crashing on his chest instead. Before he could get up, the demons grabbed him. They held him tightly.

"Hey . . . let go of me!" he screamed. "Help!!"

"Ki-yaaah!!" a female voice called.

"Huh?" Spinal looked up to see a female figure fighting off the remaining demons. He continued to struggle, but he couldn't get free. After the woman had fought enough, the demons got scared and began to flee. The two demons shoved Spinal to the ground and vanished. Spinal looked up at the woman, who also began to flee. Spinal ran after her, trying to recognize her.

"Hey, wait!"

The woman ran into a building, and Spinal followed. He followed her all the way to the roof, and he still didn't recognize her as she ran into the shadows. Spinal stepped forward slowly.

"Jenny? C.C.?"

"None of the above," the woman said as she finally revealed herself.

Spinal gasped. The woman's skin was pure, she wore a pink, Chinese silk outfit, and her red hair was tied in a ponytail.

"Kim Wu??"

Kim smiled. "The one and only."

"But . . . how can you be here? You died 2,000 years ago!"

"Well, if you can come back from the dead, why can't I?"

Spinal shrugged.

"Oh Spinal . . . I was so worried. I missed you so much. I had to be with you again!" As Kim spoke, she placed her hand on Spinal's cheekbone.

"Kim . . . I wonder . . . are things as hot as they say down in hell?" Spinal asked.

"A bit warm, it's true," Kim said. "So what's going on with you?"

"I've joined another fighting force called the Spice Club. We fight against Black Shadow."

"Sounds exciting. Can I meet your friends?"

"Sure! Come on!"

The next morning, the Spices were having breakfast in the dining room. Pico had his usual plate of dead flies while Arbin had his usual plate of live worms. Pico picked up a fly and held it out to Arbin.

"Fly?"

"I thank you for your generous offer, Pico," Arbin replied. "But I find flies to be too dry." He picked up a worm and held it toward the turtle. "Worm?"

"No way," Pico said flatly.

The other Spices giggled. Lenina entered the room and sat next to Pico. She reached over and plucked a few flies from his plate.

"Excuse me," Pico said. "This is my meal. There's a synthetron over there; get your own flies."

Lenina sighed. Then Spinal came in with Kim.

"Hey, guess who's here?!"

Fulgore recognized Kim, and was stunned to see her. "Kim!?"

"Who's that?" Jenny asked.

"This is Kim Wu," Spinal said.

"His girlfriend from 2,000 years ago," Fulgore added. "But how did you get here?"

"Well, Jago and the others found a way back home," Kim said.

"Then where are they?" Spinal asked.

"They decided to stay on good ol' planet Earth," Kim replied. "Hey, are those worms???"

She rushed over beside Arbin and snatched some worms from his plate.

"Yes . . . help yourself, please," Arbin said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

By the time he had finished the sentence, Kim had already wolfed down the worms. C.C. gave her a weird look.

Jenny shrugged. "Oh well. If Arbin, Pico, and Lenina can eat vermin, why can't Kim?" she asked.

Pico stood up and walked to Kim. "I don't like you," he grumbled as he left the room.

"He's always like that," Fulgore said. "He obviously doesn't mean it."

"So Kim . . . tell us more," Jenny said with a smile.

"Okay . . ." Kim began to tell the Spices about her past life with Spinal . . .

Later that day . . .

"This is wrong, Pico!" Arbin snarled as they stood in front of a convenience store.

Pico held a menacing shotgun while Arbin held a slightly smaller one.

"Well, nobody can be right all the time," Pico said. "Besides, Arbin, you're too nice for your own good. You have to get dirty if you want to survive out here."

"Well, we certainly don't need to be robbing a convenience store," Arbin protested.

"This just goes to show what I do best," Pico said. "Besides, I sort of miss home."

"So you've spent your life robbing convenience stores?" Arbin asked. "I pity you, Pico."

"Whatever. You can go first and show me your pathetic version of a holdup."

"After you, my friend."

"No way. Go on, I insist," Pico said.

Arbin sighed. "Very well."

He entered the store waving his gun in the air. "I hate this, I hate this. Okay, everyone, let's get our hands in the air and wave them around like we just . . . uh-oh . . ."

Pico went into the store as well. "What's the matter?"

He looked over at the cash register where there were burglars wearing black trench coats and motorcycle helmets already robbing the store. They were yelling incoherently, waving their guns around as one of them held the store manager hostage. Pico aimed his shotgun at the burglars.

"Pico . . ." Arbin muttered nervously. "If those men don't slay you, I should do it myself."

"Yeah, promises, promises," Pico responded.

"Okay, remain calm, everyone," Arbin called to the burglars. "I'm a firm believer in the phrase, 'First come, first serve.' So my little green friend and I will evacuate this fine establishment . . ."

From out of nowhere, a burglar stepped out and grabbed Arbin, pressing his gun against his face. Pico moved the aim of his shotgun at him.

"Drop it!" the robber demanded.

"Please don't aim that thing in my face," Arbin pleaded. "Anywhere but in my face."

"I said drop it!" the robber demanded again.

"I'll just set it here . . ." Arbin stammered, placing his gun on the shelf with the potato chips.

Pico held on to his shotgun.

"Drop it, Turtle Man!" the robber ordered.

"Turtle Man?!" Pico exclaimed, cocking his weapon.

"Uh-oh . . ." Arbin thought.

If there was one thing Pico hated, it was being called Turtle Man.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?!" he screamed.

"Drop it, or he's dead!" the burglar shouted.

"In your dreams," Pico responded. "I'll be dining on your intestines tonight, blackhead!"

"Don't call me blackhead, Turtle Man!" the burglar cried.

"Then don't call me Turtle Man, blackhead!" Pico shouted.

"Pico . . . Pico . . . Pico . . ." Arbin stammered. "You have every right to be breathing fire here; no one says you don't. But the hole in that gun is a little big, don't you think?"

"Your point being?" Pico asked.

"My point is that we'll have a better chance of getting out of here alive if you use what's within your shell instead of that thunderstick in your hands," Arbin explained.

Pico relaxed. "I suppose you're right, Arbin."

"Just put that vile thing down, please," Arbin said, gesturing toward a mirror on the ceiling.

Pico looked up at the mirror to see the reflection of a man about to enter the store. He loosened his grip on his shotgun.

"You win," he said, handing it to the robber.

The man outside walked into the store.

"What the . . ." he gasped.

The robber shot him instantly. Pico pulled his arm into a shell, then stuck it out again, holding a tiny pistol. He fired it at the robbers by the cash register. Arbin broke free from the robber that held him hostage and wrestled with the gun. During the struggle, the robber accidentally fired the gun. The shot tore into Arbin's left thigh, and Arbin screamed in pain. Pico turned and shot that robber in the center of the forehead. Then the turtle stood over him condescendingly, still pointing the pistol at him.

"You Turtle Man . . ." the robber managed to spit out.

Pico shot him another time. Then he turned to Arbin, who was desperately shooting at the other burglars.

"Now you have an idea of what my home planet was like," he said.

"Oh, peachy," Arbin replied. "I'm getting out of this crossfire!"

He limped out of the store. "Pico, come on!"

Pico continued to shoot at the burglars, then gave up and raced out of the store. Once they were outside, they teleported away.

Meanwhile, the others were already on the Spice Rack. Spinal sat at the table with both C.C. and Kim Wu rubbing against him. Spinal was drumming his fingers.

"This is very embarrassing," he said.

"Come on, Spinal," Fulgore said. "With Black Shadow invading your thoughts all the time, you could use a couple of hot women."

"Funny."

Hanim looked up and saw Arbin limping down the halls.

"Oh my God . . ." she muttered, running after him. The others followed. After long limping, Arbin turned into the infirmary. He sat down on the bed, holding his injured thigh. Pico went in after him.

"You see, Arbin," he said. "I told you that you were too nice for your own good. That's exactly why you got shot."

"I don't find that very reassuring," Arbin groaned.

"What happened?" Jenny asked.

"We ran into a robbery at the convenience store," Arbin said. "One of those crooks shot me in the leg."

He pulled his thigh until it detached from his body. Then he stood up on his one leg and let the bullet drop out. Then he put his leg back on.

"There, that should take care of it." Arbin left the room with the other Spices. Only Spinal and Kim remained.

"Does he always fall apart like that?" Kim asked.

"Yes, always," Spinal said.

"Oh, Spinal, it's been so long . . ." Kim sighed, placing her hands on his ribcage. "I still can't find any living guys with your worldliness. Is Black Shadow really getting inside your head?"

"Well, it's just that he and I have some sort of . . . link," Spinal said. "He can read my mind . . . use me as a beacon to find us . . . but at least I can sense when he's charging straight for us."

"Let me help you," Kim said. "I can remedy your condition."

"Kim . . . we shouldn't," Spinal told her. "We have all the time in the world."

"But Spinal . . . I haven't done this in 2,000 years! I can't wait anymore! Just relax, my darling; I'll be gentle!" Kim grabbed Spinal and threw him onto the infirmary bed. Then she climbed on him and kissed him passionately. Spinal automatically threw his arms around her . . .

Pico peered into the infirmary. His eyes widened.

"You know, it was kinda funny how Spinal and Kim met," Fulgore told the other Spices. "He and I were just walking through the forest when all of a sudden, this red-headed woman runs out and tackles him. Obviously, she was in love with him as soon as she saw him."

"Really?" Gazelle asked.

"Yeah. Spinal, of course, was terrified. Once he got her off him, he rushed up into a tree."

"I would, too, if someone tackled me out of nowhere," Arbin commented.

"Well, Kim never stopped pursuing him," Fulgore went on. "She felt her heart crumble when she found out that he was a slave to her archrival Gargos. She was determined to free him."

"Did she?" Jenny asked.

"She didn't have to. For some odd reason, everyone fell ill. They got the most peculiar virus I've ever seen. They had purple spots on their bodies, and they constantly felt tired and hungry. Fortunately, it wasn't fatal. Spinal and I took care of them until they were better."

"Is that how you became friends?" Arbin asked.

"Kind of. When I was rebuilt not too long ago, my first mission was to find my partner, of course," Fulgore said. "I can find him anywhere. Gargos put a homing chip inside Spinal's head when he resurrected him. After 2,000 years, Spinal still has no clue. So I was rather shocked when I tracked him into outer space. I wondered how the hell he got into space, so I took off after him. I tracked him down to the Dark Fortress, and that's where I confronted Astronema. She suggested that I join her in universal conquest. I was a bit suspicious, but I went along anyway. Later, I found Spinal being held captive there, so I freed him, and we escaped together. Spinal, of course, told me about his membership in the Spice Club. He refused to leave the team, so the only way I could stay with him is to join the team myself. So I did; Jenny accepted me with no problem."

"Do you think that Kim lady will join?" Arbin asked.

"I hope not,' Pico called from the doorway. "She's a freak. A woman with blood-red hair who eats worms and frogs . . . I don't like her."

"Hey, humans can eat frogs' legs, so if Kim eats frogs, that's fine," Gazelle said.

"If we let Kim into the group, we'll have too many girls," Pico complained.

"So is that what the problem is?" Jenny asked. "Terrified of women, are you?"

"I'm out of here." Pico left the room.

"I think I see his point," Fulgore said. "It would be kind of silly to have more girls in our group than guys."

"I had that problem once before," Jenny said. "The girls always used to outnumber the guys by one. Another problem I've had is finding human guys for our team. Look at this: Carlos is the only human male!"

Carlos gave a sour glance. "Thanks for pointing that out."

"You're welcome."

Pico went onto the bridge of the Spice Rack. It was completely empty. The humming of the ship disturbed him, so he drew his pistol and held it ready. He walked around the bridge slowly. Suddenly, he heard a beeping from the computer. In response, he cocked the pistol.

"What was that?" he demanded.

"I am Beta, onboard computer," the female computer voice responded.

"Oh." Pico sighed, then continued his guard. A few minutes later, the door slid open. Pico aimed his gun.

�No, don't shoot!" Spinal gasped, throwing his hands in the air.

Pico dropped his arm. "What the hell have you been doing all day, Spinal?"

Kim stepped into the bridge. "I think you mean who."

Pico's eyes widened. "Of course, the redhead. I saw what you did to him in the infirmary. You're truly disgusting."

"It's called love," Kim said. "Something you obviously don't understand."

"Spinal, I don't mind you being with her, but go somewhere else with her," Pico said.

"I think you and Kim should work out your differences, Pico," Spinal told him.

"You can't get with one of them!" Pico cried.

Kim gasped. "You racist little prick!" she screamed. "I'll teach you some manners!"

She rushed in and shoved Pico back.

"Whoa, superfly, chill out!" Pico yelled. "This isn't about your nationality or the color of your hair. There's only one thing that determines who rates and who doesn't. The question is, are you alive, or are you dead?"

With that, he shoved Kim back, then shot her in the hip with his pistol. Kim staggered back and fell to the floor, where she lay motionless.

"Idiot!" Spinal cried angrily. "Why'd you have to do that!?"

"She was a freak. She eats worms and flies; that's not right for a human," Pico said.

"Then why don't you shoot Lenina while you're at it!" Spinal said. "Go on, shoot her!"

As they argued, Kim went through a little change. The blood from her bullet wound wasn't red, but black. Suddenly, it began to heal instantly. She opened her eyes, which gave a green glow. Her skin began to turn black. Her muscles began to grow, and her clothes seemed to morph into her skin. Then her hair turned purple and moved down her back, as if to reveal a cape; and finally, two long, black horns shot out from either side of her head. Now she was no longer Kim Wu . . . but the Spices menacing arch-enemy, Black Shadow!

"I've seen redheads before, Spinal," Pico said. "They can't be trusted."

Black Shadow stood in between them. He looked directly at Pico.

"Why did you shoot me in my hip?" he asked with a pitiful look on his face, which then turned into a sinister grin.

Spinal and Pico let out a prolonged scream as Black Shadow seized them both by the back of the neck. He tossed Pico across the room, then held Spinal by the chin, looking into his fear-filled eyes.

"I've got a bone to pick with you," he growled, lifting Spinal off the ground.

"Let me go!!!" Spinal screamed. "Pico, you've gotta believe me! I didn't know!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming," Pico called impatiently, still shaking the grogginess out of his head.

"Your heart is like mine, Spinal," Black Shadow taunted him. "Come with me, and you will rule with me."

"My heart is not like yours!" Spinal insisted.

Black Shadow tossed him across the room, then slowly advanced on him. Spinal tried to get up, but then Black Shadow pinned him down.

"Have you ever tasted real spices? They're putrid. Plants that have gone bad; just one taste, and you're spitting your stomach lining into the bowl!"

"I've got to hand it to you, Black Shadow; you paint a pretty picture," Pico called. "Trouble is, not one word of it is true!"

"He's right," Spinal added. "Never underestimate the power of Spice!"

"I don�t underestimate," Black Shadow said. "I learn. The more I learn, the more effective my schemes will be. I could destroy you right now if I wanted to."

"Tell it to someone who cares!" Pico shouted. "You can't destroy us that easily! We're clever, we're strong! We will survive!"

Just then, the other Spices came into the bridge.

"What's going on in here?" Jenny asked. Then she gasped. "Black Shadow!"

Black Shadow spun around to face them. "Hello, Tonfa Spice."

"What are you doing here?!" Fulgore demanded.

"I'm just exploring."

"You're here to try to beat us again, aren't you?" Jenny scolded. "Well, it won't work. You'll lose!"

Black Shadow shook his head. "You're wrong, my love. I've already won! I've won knowledge. It won't be long before I know your weaknesses! Besides, I don't want to destroy you yet. So long, suckers!"

He gripped the end of his cape and wrapped it around himself, then disappeared in purple lightning. The Spices gasped. C.C. looked at Spinal, who was on the floor sobbing.

"Spinal . . . are you all right?"

"It's my fault," Spinal sobbed. "It's my fault that Black Shadow got on the ship."

"Where's Kim?" Fulgore asked.

"It wasn't Kim. It was Black Shadow in disguise!"

"So that's how he got onboard the ship," Jenny said. "Come on, Spinal, get up."

"You mean . . . you're not mad?" Spinal asked.

"Of course not," Jenny told him. "Black Shadow fooled all of us with his disguise."

"I saw the scene in the infirmary, Spinal," Pico said. "To think that it was actually Black Shadow kissing you."

Spinal looked at him blankly, then fainted dead away.

"Hmph! Nice going, Turtle Man," the Cryptkeeper called.

Pico cocked his pistol and aimed it right on the center of the Cryptkeeper's forehead. "I'm only going to tell you this once: Don't call me Turtle Man."

"Okay, sorry."

"I just don't get it," Spinal said later that night. "How did Black Shadow know about Kim Wu? How did he know about the friends I had 2,000 years ago?"

"Maybe it has something to do with him invading your thoughts all the time," Fulgore suggested.

"It sounds like he can dig into your mind and pull out any information he wants," Ruth added.

"So in other words, Black Shadow knows everything I know?" Spinal asked.

"That's extremely dangerous," Jenny said. "He's learning about us. The more he knows, the harder he'll be to defeat."

"Wait a minute . . ." Fulgore said. "There seems to be a mental connection between Spinal and Black Shadow. So . . . if Black Shadow can tap into Spinal's thoughts . . . maybe Spinal could do the same to Black Shadow."

"No way!" Spinal cried. "I don't want to know what's running through that sick mind of his! Besides, I don't even know how to dig into his mind."

"It might be the only way to even the odds," Jenny said. "But we'll worry about that later. Right now, let's get some rest."

"So, what are you going to dig out of Spinal's mind now, Master?" Dr. Clash asked.

Black Shadow shook his head. "I need to back off a little bit. I must be careful; I must use Spinal's mind sparingly."

"Why?"

"If I use Spinal's mind too much, he'll learn more about how I do it. He may be able to dig into my mind to retrieve information about me."

"Oh . . . that's a good reason," Dr. Clash said.

After a while, Jenny decided to spend some time in the park on Arturus. This was the first time she'd done this, and it felt good to be alone again. However, her voluntary solitude didn't last long. Before long, someone cupped their hands over her eyes.

"Guess who?"

Jenny thought she'd recognized the voice, but it couldn't possibly be who she thought it was. So she decided to play dumb.

"Um . . . Jay Leno? David Letterman? Al Gore?"

The figure removed his hands from Jenny's eyes and took her shoulder. Jenny gasped when she saw that it really was who she thought it had been.

"Darkonda!"

"Greetings, my love. Did you think you could get away from me?"

"Um . . . I wasn't trying to get away from you," Jenny said. "I just had a duty to complete. After we saved Zordon, he sent us out to fight Black Shadow. Darkonda . . . how did you find me?"

"That is not important," Darkonda told her. "What's important is that we stay together. Hell, I'm even here to help. I'm infiltrating Black Shadow . . . joining him for a while. However, it'll only be a matter of time before I'll be forced to betray him."

"Why would you be forced to betray him?" Jenny asked.

"I can't let him harm you," Darkonda said. "We've gone too far together. Nothing will happen to us."

Jenny shook her head. "I have never seen anyone so loyal . . . yet so evil."

Darkonda bowed to her. "I'm flattered that you feel that way. Well . . . I must return before Black Shadow becomes suspicious. Just remember, I'm here for you, my love."

"Bye," Jenny called.