Disclaimer: Reggie and Junior are old characters on a PRT episode. The monster featured in this story are also from an old MMPR episode. The Rangers, villians, etc. are never mine.

The Beast Inside
by : Crypt

Astronema was sick and tired of her failures to destroy the Power Rangers and the Spice Club. She stood in the Dark Fortress pondering and pondering. She was pondering so hard, she was not aware of what was happening around her. The metal creatures known as the Quantrons were standing guard throughout the Fortress, Ecliptor and Darkonda were having their daily argument, and Elgar was acting stupid. As Astronema pondered, Scorpina entered the Dark Fortress with a monster that Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa had created in the past --- the Hate Master.

"Excuse me, Astronema?" Scorpina called.

Astronema turned to face Scorpina. "Scorpina.....long time no see. And who is this, a friend of yours?"

"This is Hate Master," Scorpina replied. "He can prove once and for all that the Spice Club members are actually demons."

"You don’t have to prove it; I believe it," Darkonda jumped in.

"Strange. I’ve never seen the Spices in their demon form," Astronema said.

"They only transform when they’re under a spell," Scorpina explained. "They lose control of their demonic spirits, then they transform and destroy. They’ll slay the Power Rangers.....and anyone else in sight, including us."

"So Hate Master is going to put them under a spell?"

"Yes. His spell of hate, to be exact. Of course, the transformation doesn’t happen right away. It begins with some weird behavior."

"You seem to know a lot about the Spices," Astronema said.

"I have known them for a long time," Scorpina told her. "I know that Jenny and Hallie make the worst demons."

Astronema was confused. "Jenny and Hallie?"

"Your daughters."

"Oh. We only know them as Tonfa Spice and Candy Spice. Okay, Hate Master, let’s see those demons in action."

"I’m spreadin’ hate throughout the land; I like to help whenever I can," Hate Master said, talking in rap.

He vanished from the Dark Fortress.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jenny sat at a table alone in the Surf Spot sipping a soda and writing in her diary. When Adelle, the owner, came by, Jenny quickly closed it.

"Oh, another diary, I presume?" Adelle asked.

"This is my only diary," Jenny told her.

"No, what I meant was that more and more people are keeping diaries nowadays," Adelle said. "Did you know that Cassie keeps a diary?"

"She does?"

"Yes. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with keeping a diary, you know. I kept a diary when I was young."

"Really? What happened?" Jenny asked.

"My brother found it and tortured me forever," Adelle answered.

"Brothers stink, don’t they?"

"I wouldn’t say that. At least my brother paid tenfold."

"Serves him right."

"Well, I need to get back to work. Nice chatting with you."

Adelle stood up and went to serve the other customers. Jenny went back to her diary.

At the next table, two bad boys sat. Their names were Reggie and Junior. Reggie had dark brown hair that was shoulder-length all the way around. Junior had dark skin and he was shaved bald. They were chatting about getting dates.

"So, who would you date?" Reggie asked.

"I’ve always wanted to date Tiffany Brown," Junior replied. "How ‘bout you?"

"I was thinking that I’d like to get hooked with that girl right over there," Reggie said, pointing at Jenny.

Junior’s eyes widened. "Are you crazy!? Do you have any idea who that girl is!?"

"Yeah, she’s the Spice Club leader. I need someone to protect me from all those gruesome monsters."

"That’s just it; she spends all her time out in space fighting monsters. I’ve also heard a lot of rumors about her."

"Such as?"

"Well, I heard that her mom is the Queen of Evil."

"That can’t be true," Reggie said. "Then that girl wouldn’t be as sexy as she is."

"I also heard that she’s married to a monster," Junior went on. "And that freaky necklace she’s wearing was a wedding gift."

"But I know this: she is sixteen years old. She can’t possibly be married."

"Aren’t the Spices possessed by demons or something. I’m warning you, Reggie; you try to date her, and you might as well be signing your death warrant. She is one chick that I do not wanna mess with."

"You don’t actually believe all that, do you?" Reggie asked. "It’s a bunch of crap. Besides, I don’t care of she’s a raging werewolf. She has such a fine body, and I am not going to give her up."

"Forget it; she’s just too weird and mysterious," Junior said.

"Come on; it ain’t the weird ones you have to watch out for," Reggie told him. "Didn’t your mom teach you anything about women? That girl’s mysteriousness is just what I like about her. It’s what’ll make her awesome in bed."

"You’re disgusting!"

"Hey, Jenny!" Ruth called from the hall.

Jenny looked up. She nodded, then gathered her diary. She got up and walked past the boys to meet Ruth. Reggie stared at Jenny lustfully.

"Whoo yeah; look at her move."

"That’s what I call trouble," Junior said.

"Yeah? She’s the kind of trouble I’d like to get my hands on," Reggie told him. "I think that other girl would be good for you."

"I don’t know. I heard that she was the newest Spice Club member," Junior said. "And what is that thing in her hair?"

"Oh come on; she can’t possibly be like the leader. Let’s go for it."

They got up and ran to catch up with Jenny and Ruth, who were now walking down the sidewalk. The boys stepped to either side of them.

"Hey, ladies, what’s shaking?" Reggie asked.

"Nothing," Jenny replied.

"Hey, the name’s Reggie. The ladies call me Kingsnake."

"Oh really? I heard that they call you Inchworm."

"Well....yeah. So.....you got a name?"

"I’m Jenny."

"Hey, I heard that you were married," Junior said. "Is that true?"

"Married? Hell no," Jenny told him.

"Then where did you get that necklace?"

"It was a gift.....from my.......boyfriend."

"So.....Jenny, wanna come to my place?" Reggie asked. "My folks aren’t home."

Jenny stepped away from Reggie and slapped his face with her open hand. "You’re pathetic! ‘Wanna come to my place? My folks aren’t home.’ Get a life!"

She and Ruth walked away. The boys glanced at each other.

"What’d I tell you; she’s a demon," Junior said.

"Oh come on; all girls do that," Reggie said. "We’ll try again later."

Jenny and Ruth sat at a picnic table.

"Who were those guys?" Ruth asked.

"They’re just a couple of perverts," Jenny said. "They’re disgusting."

"Do they do that often?"

"Actually, that was the first time they’ve tried something like that. In fact, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen those guys."

Before the conversation could continue, Darkonda appeared at the end of the table. "Tonfa Spice....oh, I didn’t realize that you had company. I need to speak with you......alone."

"Well....." Jenny glanced at Ruth. "Is it an emergency?"

"Not really. I’ll return later." Darkonda vanished from the park.

"Who was that?" Ruth asked.

"Oh, nobody important," Jenny replied. "That was just my husband."

Ruth widened her eyes. "Your husband!?"

Jenny smiled and nodded. "His name’s Darkonda."

"What made you want to marry him?"

"Nothing. He forced me into it. See this necklace? He gave it to me as a wedding gift, and it took over my mind during the ceremony. But it doesn’t control me now."

Ruth leaned forward to get a better glimpse of Jenny’s necklace. It was made of large brown beads and a yellow-green dragon head.

"It’s nice. Weird, but nice. Is Darkonda a good husband?"

"Oh yeah. He doesn’t talk like Reggie does. Believe me; if I had to choose between Reggie and Darkonda, I’d take Darkonda any day of the week."

"Wait a minute. Didn’t you just tell those boys that you weren’t married?"

"Would you tell a couple of jerks like them that you’re married to an evil bounty hunter who is said to be a double-crossing cheat?" Jenny asked.

"Uh.......I guess not," Ruth admitted.

"Thank you."

The girls decided that they’ve had enough of the outdoors, so they teleported up to the Astro Megaship. Jenny spent time relaxing on the bridge while the Cryptkeeper played with the control terminals. Spinal slept on the floor in front of the door. Jenny just gazed at him and shook her head. She was ready for a nap herself. Suddenly, Hallie raced onto the bridge, tripping over Spinal. Spinal woke up, yawned, and started drifting off back to sleep.

"Spinal, when are you going to join the rest of us in the 20th century and sleep in a bed?" Jenny asked.

"I don’t know; maybe never," Spinal grumbled. "It’s good for your back to sleep on the floor."

"Hey, Sis!" Hallie cried. "That girl Ruth is the coolest!"

"Oh really?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah. She keeps pulling quarters out of my ears."

The Cryptkeeper laughed. "You fell for that old trick?"

"All I know is that I got rich quick," Hallie told him.

Meanwhile, Ruth’s tortoise Shelly slowly climbed onto Spinal’s ribcage. This really disturbed him, so he woke up and gazed at Shelly. Upon seeing the tortoise on top of him, Spinal screamed and jumped to his feet. Shelly tumbled off as the Spices laughed.

"Spinal, it’s just me," Shelly said. "Gosh, you scream like you’ve never seen a tortoise before."

"Don’t ever climb on me like that while I’m sleeping!" Spinal cried.

The Astro Rangers rushed onto the bridge, having also heard Spinal’s scream.

"Is everything okay? We heard a scream," said T.J., the Blue Ranger.

"We’re fine," the Cryptkeeper replied. "Poor Spinal just got scared out of his wits.....again."

"I’d be pretty scared, too, if I woke up and found some animal climbing on me like I’m a jungle gym or something," Jenny said.

"Hey, Spinal’s ribcage was pretty comfortable," Shelly said. "Why else would C.C. sleep on him?"

"Because that’s what being in love is about," the Cryptkeeper told her. "People sleep all over each other. You must be in love with Spinal."

"I simply refuse to date a turtle," Spinal said.

"Broke my heart," Shelly said sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Ruth’s bald eagle Feather landed on Jenny’s shoulder. Jenny was disturbed.

"You keep those wings still, understand?"

"Sure," Feather said.

Ruth came in to see what the racket was about. As soon as Feather saw her, she flapped her wings, startling Jenny. Jenny gasped and tumbled across the bridge, sighing wearily.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" she cried. "And since I can’t die, it wouldn’t feel good at all."

"You Spices are too jumpy," Feather said. "You guys are scared of everything, aren’t you?"

"Oh, how true," Jenny said sarcastically. "There is nothing that we don’t fear."

"Jenny prefers the warriors who get scared," Spinal said. "It’s just pathetic not to have any fears at all, and acting all macho."

"Okay, enough arguing with my friends," Ruth called. "I just heard about the meteor shower tonight. Anybody want to join me tonight?"

"A meteor shower? It’s not anything that anybody hasn’t seen before," the Cryptkeeper said.

"Spinal, let’s go," C.C. suggested.

"Why?" Spinal asked.

"Meteor showers are so romantic."

"Oh boy....."

"I’ll go," Jenny mumbled.

"Me, too!" Hallie yelled.

"Are you coming, C.K.?" Jenny asked.

"No thanks," the Cryptkeeper replied. "Do you know how many meteor showers I have seen in my existence? Too many to count!"

"I’ll go," Earl said. "I’ve always loved astronomy."

"So it’s decided?" Ruth asked.

"I guess," C.C. said.

So when the night came, Jenny, Hallie, Ruth, Earl, C.C., and Spinal went down to Angel Grove to see the meteor shower. Not that it was really important or anything. Not surprisingly, Hate Master appeared.

"Hey, who’s that?" Spinal asked.

Hate Master just laughed and started casting his spell wordlessly. He threw his hate particles at the Spices. As the particles hovered around them, the Spices grabbed their heads.

"Ow...." Earl groaned.

"What’s happening?" Spinal cried. "What do we do?"

"Don’t panic," Jenny said. "Just.....relax......fight it.....calmly."

The Hate Master just laughed as he continued his spell. However, most of the Spices eventually gave in. When the hate particles disappeared, Ruth and Spinal sighed with relief.

"Phew! That was close. Nice try......whatever you are, but your spell has no effect on us!" Ruth called.

"Well....." Spinal began. "Not all of us anyway."

The other Spices were standing around looking confused.

"Bye-bye," Hate Master called as he disappeared.

"Jenny?" Spinal called.

Jenny looked at him blankly. "I’m fine, Spinal," she said flatly.

"Are you sure?"

"I’m positive. Stop worrying."

Spinal turned to Ruth. "We’d better check them out back at the ship. This could spell major trouble."

Ruth shrugged and they all teleported back to the Megaship. The Rangers tested the Spices with these little devices.

"They check out fine," Andros, the Red Ranger said.

"I doubt it," the Cryptkeeper said. "These things don’t detect demonic infestation."

"What’s that?" Cassie, the Pink Ranger asked.

"These four are under a spell, despite what these devices tell us. And when any of us falls under a spell, we lose control of our demonic spirits. In other words, we turn into demons."

"So if we don’t break the spell somehow...." T.J. began.

"We’re all history," Spinal finished.

Without a word, Jenny left the room.

"So what do we do about them in the meantime?" Ashley, the Yellow Ranger asked.

"We keep them from killing people," the Cryptkeeper told her.

Ruth ran out to follow Jenny, but instead bumped into Hanim.

"Hey.....I forgot your name," Hanim said suddenly.

"It’s Ruth."

"Ruth......that is an odd name....."

"It means ‘friendship.’ You have a strange name yourself.....Hanim."

"It’s a word that Turks used to politely address the female gender."

"Okay," Ruth said. "I need to find Jenny; she’s under a spell."

"Oh, how horrible!" Hanim cried. "Don’t let her kill you. Is she the only one?"

"No; Hallie, Earl, and C.C. are under the spell, too."

"Okay. See ya...."

Ruth headed to the bridge. Only Sal was in there.

"Hey, did Jenny come in here?" Ruth asked. "What do I call you anyway?"

"No, Jenny didn’t come in here. I’m Sal."

"Sal? Isn’t that a girl’s name?"

"Not when you say my full name."

"Which is?"

"Salvatore."

"We need your help. Jenny, Hallie, Earl, and C.C. are under a spell."

"Oh man," Sal said. "I gotta go."

He raced out of the bridge. Ruth shrugged her shoulders.

"Deca, where’s Jenny?" she asked.

No response from the female onboard computer voice. Ruth tried again.

"Deca?"

Still nothing. Ruth gave up and left the bridge.

Meanwhile, Spinal found Jenny in the jump tube room. She stood next to her locker fastening her Dominique costume. It was just a skin-tight outfit with shiny plastic spots covering it. When she wore it, she looked remarkably like her mother Astronema. Spinal approached her.

"There you are," he said. "You know that I hate it when you wear that costume, right?"

"Why?" Jenny asked.

"Because you look just like your mother, and you know that I can’t stand her."

"Wait, wait, wait. What are you --- some kind of wardrobe inspector? I’ll wear what I want to wear. If you have a problem with it, then you might as well just give in to my mother."

Jenny snatched her necklace, slammed the locker shut, shoved Spinal aside, and stormed out of the room.

"I wish I knew what that monster did to those four," Spinal sighed.

"The monster is known as Hate Master," Deca told him. "He’s filled them with hate."

"Thank you, Deca. I keep forgetting that you’re all over me," Spinal said. "But that wasn’t necessary; I mean, Jenny has enough hate as it is."

"The demonic infestation is just as dangerous."

"That’s IT!! I’m taking a bath." The skeleton warrior left the room in the same manner as Jenny had.

Meanwhile, Jenny stepped into the bridge where Hallie sat on the floor with a box of make-up. Jenny smiled.

"Oooh, makeup!" she exclaimed.

"Want some?" Hallie asked.

"Yeah!"

Jenny joined her sister on the floor. They both took out a tube of lipstick and smeared it all over their lips. Once their lips were covered, they began smearing the lipstick all over their faces. Then they took out some white eyeliner and plastered it onto their eyelids....and their foreheads. As the sisters applied their demonic makeover, Andros, Marvin, and the Cryptkeeper came onto the bridge.

"There you are; we’ve been looking for you two," Marvin said.

"Whoa! That’s not a bad paint job, but I think it needs a little touch-up," the Cryptkeeper said.

"Dream on, death breath," Hallie snapped. "We’re the queens of the ball!"

"Well, look who’s talking, Candy Cane," the Cryptkeeper retorted. "You know as well as everyone else on this ship that you’re just as dead as I am."

"I’m not dead," Hallie said. "I’m alive. You hear that, universe!? I’m alive! ALIVE!!!"

She got up and raced out of the bridge. Jenny stood up slowly, narrowing her eyes.

"Now look what you’ve done!" she growled.

"We need to get you under control, honey," the Cryptkeeper said. "I’ll bet that you don’t even know what you’re saying. Hate Master’s done this."

"I know exactly what I’m saying, and what I’m about to do." Jenny suddenly grabbed Andros and gave him a long smackeroo on the cheek. Her eyes widened with insanity as Andros’ eyes widened in surprise and fear. When Jenny released him, she’d left a lipstick print on his cheek.

"Andros, you’re bleeding," Marvin said.

"Yeah. Jenny’s got some pretty sharp lips," the Cryptkeeper added.

Jenny smiled sweetly and left the bridge. Andros looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Am I really bleeding?" he finally asked.

"Not really. It’s just lipstick," the Cryptkeeper said.

Andros wiped it off on his sleeve.

Ten-year-old Kathy found Earl and C.C. on the Simudeck. They were sparring in a very strange way. They were sparring in super slow-motion. Kathy was very confused.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked.

Earl and C.C. stopped.

"We’re sparring in slow-mo, you dummy," Earl said. "That way we can work on defense."

"I heard about the Hate Master," Kathy said.

"Who cares about a rap monster?" C.C. asked. "We have better things to do than fighting some carrot tops."

"Now run along and play," Earl instructed.

Kathy turned and walked out, feeling dejected. Earl and C.C. laughed and high-fived each other.

About the same time, Ruth found Spinal in the ship’s bathroom. He was sitting in the bathtub which was filled with milk. Ruth looked down at Spinal.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I’m bathing," Spinal said.

"In milk!?"

"Yeah. Milk keeps your bones healthy, but I can’t drink it, so I bathe in it."

Ruth shrugged. "Okay. That makes sense." She left the room, shaking her head.

Spinal shook his head as well. He made some tiny splashes with his fingers. "I have to bathe in milk; how else can I keep my bones healthy? Some people just can’t understand that......"

He thought he felt something at the other end of the tub. He waved his feet around in the milk, feeling the object.

"What is that?" he wondered. "Something tells me I’m not the only one in the tub...."

And he was right. Suddenly, Hallie popped out of the milk with a crazed scream. Upon her grand entrance, Spinal screamed with fright. He leaped out of the tub and ran through the hall, right past Ruth. Ruth was about to ask what was wrong when she heard Hallie’s maniacal laughter coming from the bathroom. She returned to investigate. Hallie had her head dunked in the milk. Ruth gently touched her shoulder. Hallie pulled her head out and swallowed her mouthful of milk.

"What are you doing?" Ruth asked.

"Milk; it does a body good," Hallie replied. She dunked her head back in the milk.

"Uh, Hallie....." Ruth grasped Hallie’s shoulder and pulled her head out. However, Hallie suddenly grabbed Ruth and dunked her head in the milk. Ruth tried to come out, but Hallie was holding her in. Ruth’s arms flailed as she struggled to prevent a milky death. Fortunately, Carlos, the Black Ranger, happened on by and noticed Hallie’s evil intent. He rushed in, shoved Hallie aside and helped Ruth out. Ruth was gasping for breath.

"You okay?" Carlos asked.

Ruth hugged him. "Yes! I can’t believe that Hallie actually tried to drown me!"

The two looked at Hallie. The irises in her eyes were a demonic yellow. She growled at the couple. Then she gave another maniacal scream and raced out of the bathroom. Ruth just hugged Carlos again. Carlos took a step back and tried to brush the milk off his black uniform.

"Oh man, C.K. wasn’t kidding!" he cried. "We have to restrain Hallie and the others before they succeed in killing somebody."

Ruth sighed. "Thanks for saving my life, Carlos."

Carlos placed a hand on her shoulder. "Anytime."

Meanwhile, Andros walked down the hall of the ship. He had no major plans in mind at the moment. As he walked, Jenny called to him from behind.

"What’s up, Andros?"

Andros turned around slowly to face Jenny. Her eyes looked just like Hallie’s. Her teeth were hideously sharp. She let out a low, demonic laugh. Andros backed up and ran down the hall, bumping into the Cryptkeeper.

"C.K., move!!" Andros screamed, shoving him aside.

The Cryptkeeper chased Andros and grabbed his shoulder. Andros gasped and spun around.

"Something......it’s Jenny!" he stammered. "She’s.......she’s......."

The Cryptkeeper knew exactly what Andros was talking about. "Oh no.....okay. I’ll take care of her. You’d better take the other Rangers down and go after Hate Master."

Andros nodded, then went to find the other Rangers. The Cryptkeeper went to face Jenny, still standing in the hall, breathing heavily and demonically.

"All right......easy does it, honey," the Cryptkeeper said calmly.

Jenny took a defensive pose, holding her hands up. Her fingers had grown long and bony with sharp fingernails. She snarled at the Cryptkeeper. When he took another step, she turned and ran. The Cryptkeeper gave chase. Jenny proceeded straight to the jump tube room, positioned herself in front of the yellow jump tube, and hopped through. The Cryptkeeper stopped at the door as Ruth, Spinal, and the Rangers came up behind.

"Where’d she go?" T.J. asked.

"She went through the tube," the Cryptkeeper told him.

"What are we going to do?" Ashley asked.

"As long as Hate Master exists, the Spices will be under his spell," Deca said.

"So it’s that simple," Spinal said. "All we have to do is get rid of Hate Master, and Jenny and the others will be normal again."

"Why don’t you Rangers go after Hate Master," the Cryptkeeper suggested. "I’ll go after Jenny and make sure she doesn’t kill anybody."

"And about Hallie, C.C., and Earl?" Spinal asked.

"They’ve already escaped from the ship," Deca told him.

"Aw man! Deca, why didn’t you say something!?" the Cryptkeeper groaned.

If Deca had shoulders, she would’ve shrugged.

"This is not good," Cassie mumbled.

"If this is the case, we need to get our butts down there and prevent as much bloodshed as possible," Spinal said.

"We could look on the bright side, though," C.K. said.

"What bright side!?" Ruth cried.

"Jenny and the others will try to kill Hate Master, as well as anyone else."

Without another word, the Cryptkeeper raced to the black jump tube and went through. Spinal shrugged, then positioned himself in front of the red jump tube and went through. Gradually, all the Rangers and Spices teleported down to Earth to help solve the conflict.

* * *

When Jenny reached Angel Grove, the sun was back in the sky. It was just another normal day. Jenny was just strolling down the sidewalk like any other person would. She was still wearing her black costume and wedding necklace, so she did cause some people to stare. Among those people were Reggie and Junior. They saw that Jenny was headed right in their direction. She walked straight up to the boys. Reggie smiled.

"So......it’s nice to see you again, sugar," he said.

Jenny paused and smiled as well. She grabbed Reggie’s shirt and kissed him passionately. Junior’s eyes widened. When Jenny pulled back, she started walking down the street again. Reggie could only stare.

"Great move, Casanova," Junior said.

Reggie was still frozen. "Whoa....."

"So, how did it feel?" Junior asked.

"It felt rather cold," Reggie replied.

"I warned you."

Reggie sighed. "I feel fine. Really, I do. It’s not like her kiss is going to turn me into a frog or something."

"It’ll turn you into something else," Junior said. "Like a bloodthirsty demon."

"Will you knock it off already? She is not a demon!"

Jenny retreated into an alley.

"Tell you what," Reggie went on. "I’ll bet you twenty smackers that she is not a demon."

"You’re on, brother," Junior replied, shaking Reggie’s hand.

"Besides," Reggie continued. "How are you going to prove that she is a demon?"

"We’ll just have to follow her around and see what she does. Maybe she doesn’t transform in front of people."

So the bad boys cautiously snuck into the alley to spy on Jenny.

* * *

Spinal was still working on handling situations independently, so he searched a section of Angel Grove by himself. Unfortunately, Astronema knew that the best time to go after Spinal was when he was alone.

The skeleton warrior saw C.C. running into the back of Angel Grove’s museum, so he ran after her. However, when he got there, C.C. was nowhere in sight.

"I don’t get this," Spinal thought. "I could’ve sworn I saw C.C. run back here. Where could she have gone?"

"Well, look who’s here!" a familiar, annoying female voice called from behind.

Spinal spun around to see the Evil Queen herself standing behind him. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Astronema, you always show up at the worst possible times," he said.

"That’s why I’ve been named the Queen of Evil," Astronema told him. "Oh, come now, Spinal; I know you have what it takes to be my Emperor."

"No, I don’t. I’m not evil! And you’re not going to make me evil!"

"We’ll see about that, darling." Astronema pointed her staff at his chest. "Come on, Spinal......let’s get married."

"Oh no, you don’t!" Spinal looked around to discover that Astronema had him cornered.

As if on cue, Jenny raced into the delivery area of the museum. "Hey, Mother!"

Astronema turned to face her possessed daughter. Seeing the perfect opportunity, Spinal skeleported out of sight. Astronema turned back to where Spinal was standing, only to find him gone. She turned back to Jenny.

"Oooh! I almost had him!!" she growled.

Jenny shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "Oops!" she muttered innocently. "Hee hee!"

Astronema calmed down and smiled as well. "Well......Tonfa Spice.......is Hate Master’s spell getting to you?"

Jenny chuckled. "Oh yeah," she said, raising her eyebrows. Then she stretched her arms out. "Mmm......well......now that Spinal is safe, I gotta run."

Astronema gasped. "What!?"

Jenny lifted a hand and waved her fingers. "Bye now."

She turned and ran out of the delivery area. Astronema narrowed her eyes.

"Quantrons!!"

As Jenny ran, the Quantrons appeared in front of her. This didn’t startle her one bit. She screamed maniacally and charged right through them, retreating back into the alley. The metal creatures gave chase. Jenny stopped right next to the dumpsters. The Quantrons stopped as well. Jenny grabbed a trash can and held it above her head.

"All right, you walking trash cans!" she screamed. "Meet your close cousin!"

With that, she flung the trash can into the creatures. Then she picked up another trash can and threw it at them. Finally, she ran out of the other end of the alley.

* * *

Meanwhile, Spinal searched for the other spellbound Spices. But all he found was Sal.

"Hey, Spinal, any luck?" Sal asked.

"Well, not really. Astronema just tried to nab me again," Spinal told him.

"Jeez; does that witch ever quit?"

"I wish she would, but I doubt it."

Suddenly, a weird rapping voice called on them.

"Hey, Cold Spice, Spinal Spice, at last we meet!" It was Hate Master.

Sal and Spinal turned.

"Hate Master.......you mean we meet again," Spinal said calmly.

"With a toss of my dust, you’ll love to hate," Hate Master went on, beginning to cast his spell again. Sal and Spinal grabbed their heads.

"I hope you know that you’re committing suicide when you do that!" Sal groaned.

"It’s not gonna work," Spinal told himself. "It’s not gonna work, damn it!"

Hate Master cackled some more as he continued his spell. After a few minutes, the hate particles vanished along with the monster. Sal and Spinal looked up. Spinal hurried over to Sal.

"Sal! Sal, hello?"

"That was so lame," Sal said. " ‘Go, go, power particles!’"

"Sal?"

"Leave me alone; I’m fine."

Sal stormed angrily out of the alley. Spinal stepped away, then walked in the other direction. When he reached the end, he paused.

"Spinal!" T.J. called.

Ruth and the Rangers ran up to him.

"Any luck?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah, some bad luck," Spinal said. "Hate Master just got Sal."

The Rangers sighed.

"Well......bye...." Spinal walked away.

"We’d better find them all before sunset," the Cryptkeeper said.

"Why? What happens at sunset?" Cassie asked.

"It’s when the real massacre begins."

* * *

Jenny was in another alley rummaging through the dumpster. Ecliptor and Darkonda happened on by and stared in curiosity.

"Well, lookie here," Darkonda sang. "If it isn’t the lovely bride herself?"

"Hmm.....Scorpina was right so far," Ecliptor said. "The Spices are acting rather strange. Since when does Tonfa Spice dig through trash?"

The two evil minions approached Jenny casually. Jenny didn’t appear to notice them until they spoke.

"Tonfa Spice.....what are you doing!?" Ecliptor growled.

Jenny spun around, spitting out some egg shell. "Can’t you see I’m eating?"

"From a garbage can!? That is definitely strange," Ecliptor said.

"I can’t wait to see the beast inside," Darkonda commented.

Jenny continued to dig through the garbage. She saw that someone had thrown away a kitchen knife set. She pulled out the butcher knife.

"Heeeeyyyyy......." she squealed with delight. "This should come in handy."

"That is a good question," Darkonda said. "What ARE you doing?"

Jenny turned to face them again, holding up the knife. "I was just about to have a piece of candy. Ecliptor.....maybe you’d like to join me."

"I don’t think so," Ecliptor said flatly.

Jenny sighed. She backed away from the dumpster and stood in the center of the alley. To the surprise of Ecliptor and Darkonda, she got down on both knees, still holding the knife steadily.

"Ecliptor, Ecliptor......bend over so that I may kiss your sweet ass goodbye for you."

Darkonda chuckled. Ecliptor elbowed him in the gut, then glared at the possessed girl.

"Is that a challenge!?" he demanded.

" ‘Is that a challenge?’" Jenny mimicked. "Of course it’s a challenge! Now step aside, Candyman!"

With surprising strength, she shoved Ecliptor against the wall, then walked out of the alley yet again. Darkonda approached Ecliptor.

"Great move, Candyman," he replied.

"You double-crossing cheat," Ecliptor snapped.

Little did they realize that Hallie was standing on the roof looking down on them. She hopped off the building and landed right into Darkonda’s arms.

"Hello, brother-in-law," she sang.

"Greetings, little sister," Darkonda replied. "Having fun under Hate Master’s spell?"

"Oh yeah," Hallie said.

"Darkonda, we don’t have time for this," Ecliptor said.

"Shut up, Candyman!" Hallie demanded, slapping Ecliptor in the face. After seeing his reaction, she laughed. Then she rolled out of Darkonda’s arms and ran away.

"Well......" Ecliptor sighed. "I don’t see them turning into demons."

"Oh, they will, my friend," Darkonda told him.

"Have you ever seen them as demons?"

"No; that’s why I’m looking forward to it."

The two teleported out of the alley back to the Dark Fortress.

* * *

The Rangers were still unable to find the demonic Spices before sunset. That was okay, though. The Hate Master was sent to attack Angel Grove, and the Spices would find the Rangers.

It was a creepy, yet beautiful night. The moonlight spilled onto Angel Grove’s streets. The Rangers confronted Hate Master.

"Hey, Rangers, nice to see you!" Hate Master called.

"I wish we could say the same," Andros called back. "Let’s rocket!"

In the blink of an eye, the Rangers morphed into their costumes. The unaffected Spices just stood by.

"It’s going to be a pleasure to destroy you!" Hate Master announced.

Before he could move, something knocked him down. When the Rangers and Spices looked, they saw Jenny standing over him. The moonlight reflected off her black costume and the butcher knife she held in her hand. She was still in her human form.

"Hey! I’ll do the killing around here!" she declared.

"Yo, I don’t think so, sugar," Hate Master replied.

Jenny dropped her knees on top of him and held the knife to his throat. "Wanna bet? I’ll kill you here and now, even without this knife."

She tossed the knife aside and tried to put her hands to his face, aiming her thumbs directly at his eyes. However, Hate Master grabbed her wrists to keep them away. Jenny slowly got her hands closer to his face, but Hate Master suddenly tossed her off.

"How can this be? You’re supposed to serve me!" he shouted.

"The Spice Club members serve no one," Jenny told him. She tossed the knife at him, but he vanished before it could hit him. So Jenny turned to the Rangers, who just stood there alongside Ruth, Spinal, Kathy, Hanim, and the Cryptkeeper. The unaffected Spices had modified fighting stances.

Jenny sighed calmly. "Ladies and gentlemen!" she announced. "I will be your hostess for this evening! And rest assured, we’ve got a real mystery for you tonight. I must find a better weapon to match my mood, but the others should keep you occupied until I return. Hope you like the sight of blood!"

The Rangers saw Hallie, Earl, C.C., and Sal coming up around Jenny. Then Jenny put her palms together and lowered her head, as if in prayer, then faded away.

"This is going to be a long night," Cassie sighed.

"No kidding," the Cryptkeeper replied. "That woman gets exceptionally nasty at these times."

"Where do you think she went?" T.J. asked.

"Probably to get an axe or something," Hanim said.

The Rangers reluctantly pulled out their blasters.

"Make sure your weapons are at their lowest setting," Andros instructed. "We have to try not to hurt them."

"Shoot them all you want; you’re not going to hurt them!" Spinal told him.

The possessed Spices charged. The other Spices ran for their existence. The Rangers ran, too. Carlos and Kathy retreated into a building and went up to the roof. To their horror, Hallie was up there waiting for them. Her demon features showed more than ever now. Her eyes were yellow, her face was wrinkled and clammy, and her teeth were sharp. Kathy snatched the Lunar Lance from Carlos and pointed it in Hallie’s direction.

"Hey, what’re you doing!?" Carlos cried.

"I’m just defending myself," Kathy replied.

When Hallie charged, Kathy buried the lance into her gut and tossed her over the edge. Hallie fell into the dumpster below. Carlos gasped, then snatched his lance back.

"Was that necessary?"

"Yeah. They may be our friends, but if we are to survive, we must fight back!"

Carlos paused. "I think we’d better regroup."

The Rangers and Spices gathered together again. The Rangers put together their Quadroblaster, hoping that it would scare off the demons. However, Earl, C.C., Sal, and Hallie kept on coming.

"Oh man! I just don’t have the heart to fire!" Carlos cried.

"It’s okay; fire it," the Cryptkeeper told him. "It’s what they would want you to do."

The Rangers continued their aim, but they still couldn’t fire it. The Cryptkeeper got impatient.

"Just fire!" He reached out and fired the weapon himself. The shot exploded in front of the Spices and exploded. However, they got right back up.

"See, I told you it wouldn’t hurt them," Spinal said shakily.

Suddenly, a red glow surrounded them. Within seconds, the Rangers were demorphed. The next thing they heard was Hate Master’s evil laugh.

"I don’t believe it; he took our powers!" T.J. cried.

"You got that right," Hate Master replied. "Now you’ll be destroyed by your own friends."

As soon as he spoke, Sal popped up behind the monster and wrapped his arms around its neck. The Cryptkeeper chuckled.

"We ain’t the only ones, big guy!" he called.

"You mean that they’ll try to kill the monsters, too?" T.J. asked.

"Yes," the Cryptkeeper responded. "So, if we’re lucky, they’ll end up killing Hate Master for us and breaking the spell themselves."

Sal continued to strangle Hate Master until the monster threw him over his shoulder. Hallie snuck up on the group and bit the Cryptkeeper’s wrist so hard, it drew quite a lot of blood. The Cryptkeeper pulled his hand away and kicked her in the chest. Spinal saw that Earl and C.C. were still pouncing.

"Uh-oh. Run for it, guys!!"

The Rangers and Spices ran in different directions, leaving the bewitched Spices confused. T.J. and Andros ran into a random building and went upstairs about two floors. Earl gave chase and eventually caught up to them. He grabbed T.J.’s shoulder, turned him around, and punched him squarely in the face. T.J. fell out the window and hit the ground, unconscious.

"T.J.!!" Andros screamed. He leaped over Earl’s head and ran back downstairs to check on T.J.

Ashley and Cassie ran in their own direction. They suddenly stopped, as C.C. seemed to pop up right in front of them. Her demonic face was the same as Hallie’s. She snarled at the Pink and Yellow Rangers, who screamed and dashed in the other direction.

Carlos, Ruth, and the Cryptkeeper ran up some stairs outside a building where they ran along the railing with Sal on their tails. The Cryptkeeper paused to fight. He blocked Sal’s attack, then threw him over the railing.

"See, it’s that simple," he said.

"If we keep this up, we’ll never beat Hate Master," Carlos said.

"He’s right; this is getting us nowhere," Ruth added.

"I realize that, but can’t you see that we have our hands and feet full right now?" the Cryptkeeper told them.

Spinal was the only one without a pursuer. "Phew! Now what do I do?" he asked himself. "The others are up to their necks in demons, and I’m just standing around! Hey, now’s my chance to get rid of Hate Master."

As he stood and pondered, Astronema snuck up on him and slowly pressed her index finger into his shoulderblade. Spinal spun around to face her.

"Ugh.....Astronema! Why won’t you leave me alone!?" he cried.

"Let’s go, Spinal; we have a universe to rule," Astronema told him, extending her hand.

"No, you don’t! Keep away from me!" Spinal backed away from the evil queen.

As if on cue, a white car drove out of an alley and stopped just an inch behind Spinal. The skeleton warrior turned and looked through the passenger window and saw Jenny in the driver’s seat. The next thing Spinal noticed was the razor-sharp axe that rested in Jenny’s lap. She was still in her normal form.

"Going my way?" she asked Spinal.

"No, he’s coming with me," Astronema told her.

"Forget it, Mother," Jenny snapped. "He’s my teammate, so he’s coming with me.....aren’t you, Spinal?"

Spinal only looked back and forth at both of them. He turned to Jenny.

"Is Hate Master dead yet?"

"No."

Spinal looked back and forth again, pondering. "No way. I can’t just go with Astronema because Jenny’s not exactly herself tonight. Possessed or not, Jenny’s still my teammate."

Given the choice of going along with the evil queen or her demonic daughter, Spinal chose to get in the car with the daughter.

"I knew you’d make the right choice, Spinal," Jenny said. "Better luck next time, Mother."

Spinal rolled up the passenger window, then looked at Jenny, who was now in her demon form. She looked pretty much like Hallie, except her skin was more pale and less clammy. However, she still looked just as hideous.

"Pull yourself together, Spinal, because you’re going on the ride of your existence," she said in a deep, demonic voice. "You know how bad I am at driving."

"Oh no...." Spinal sighed.

Jenny slammed her foot on the accelerator with full force, causing the tires to screech in the road. Spinal screamed as the car began to move, rapidly building speed. Soon, the car began to swerve back and forth. It was almost as if Jenny was driving this way on purpose. As Spinal trembled in fear, he looked ahead, where Carlos, Ruth, and Kathy were battling Quantrons. Kathy crossed one Quantron’s arms, then paused and saw the car heading straight for her. She screamed, tossed the Quantron aside, then fought her way out of the car’s path. By then, Andros had awakened T.J., and they joined the Quantron fight.

"That does it; I’m getting out of here!" Spinal announced.

While the car was still moving at seventy m.p.h., Spinal opened the door and leaped out. As soon as he did, Jenny slammed on the brakes, sending the car to a screeching halt.

"Phew, that was close," Spinal sighed.

Once the car was stopped, Jenny stepped out calmly, back in human form. She tore the car door right out and held it above her head.

"Hey, Andros!" she called.

Andros paused and looked at her. Jenny hurled the door at him, but Andros jumped out of the way. Then Jenny calmly pulled the axe out of the car.

Hanim and Kathy were left to face C.C. As C.C. approached, Hanim kicked her stomach to back her away. C.C. attacked again, but Hanim grabbed her wrist and flipped her onto her back. Then Hanim and Kathy dashed away again.

Ruth and Carlos were looking for Hate Master, but found Jenny instead.

"There’s Jenny!" Carlos called. "Now’s our chance to get her under control."

"I don’t know, Carlos," Ruth said. "I don’t like the size of that axe she’s carrying."

"But I still have to try."

Carlos rushed behind Jenny and wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms down. Jenny gasped and struggled wildly to break free. She stepped on Carlos’ foot, which set her free. Now consumed with rage, she pummeled his stomach with the axe handle, then struck his forehead sharply. Carlos landed flat on his back, but the pain in his body was too intense to move. Jenny stood over his fallen body, waving the axe around, breathing heavily.

"Oh Carlos," she said pitifully. "I can’t believe you actually attacked me."

Jenny twirled the axe like a ninja, then hovered the blade directly at the center of Carlos’ face.

"Well, Carlos, we’ve had such a strong alliance," she went on. "So I’m merely going to preserve it........for eternity......."

She held the blade over her head, arching back as far as she could, getting ready to bring it down on Carlos.

"NOOO!!!" Ruth screamed when she saw Jenny’s intention. She rushed as fast as she could and dove into Jenny. Carlos gasped as the axe hit the ground directly beside him. Ruth and Jenny struggled to their feet, still grabbing each other. Jenny managed to get one arm free and slapped Ruth hard, causing her to fall. Then she wandered off in another direction. Ruth glared in disappointment. She got up and ran to check on Carlos.

"Carlos, speak to me!" she pleaded, helping him up slowly. "Are you all right?"

Carlos groaned as he stood up. "I think I’m all right. I just got the wind knocked out of me. Thanks, Ruth; I owe you one."

"No you don’t. I owed it to you for saving me from the bathtub of milk."

"Oh yeah......I forgot about that....."

Meanwhile, Astronema and her minions were watching from the rooftop of a building. Astronema smiled proudly.

"Now there’s the dirty daughter I’m supposed to have," she said.

"But Magic Spice saved the Black Ranger," Ecliptor protested.

"Only for the moment, Ecliptor," Astronema assured him. "Only for the moment. I think you should help destroy them, though."

Darkonda, Elgar, Scorpina, and Hate Master went down to fight. Astronema smiled again.

"It’s only a matter of time, Ecliptor," she said coldly. "The Spice Club is truly falling apart, and the Rangers will fall with them."

Ecliptor nodded in agreement.

Darkonda went after Andros and battled with him while the others took on the other Spices and Rangers.

Spinal lay on the ground in the same spot where he had leaped out of the car. He felt a little disturbed by this whole night. Suddenly, an axe blade hovered over him. Spinal looked up and saw that C.C. had picked up the axe. She lifted it up. Spinal screamed as she brought the axe down. Luckily, Spinal rolled out of her way, scrambled to his feet, and ran away. C.C. gripped the axe tightly and chased him. Spinal ran into a wall and turned around. C.C. swung the axe again, but the skeleton warrior moved just in time.

"No, wait!" Spinal cried. "You don’t know what you’re doing! Stop, it’s me!!"

C.C. only snarled at him. Spinal ran as C.C. chased him again.

As Darkonda fought Andros, Darkonda felt something cut his back. He turned around to find his bride standing behind him. Jenny had gone back to wielding the butcher knife. Andros backed up, wide-eyed. Darkonda smiled at Jenny and drew his sword.

"Okay, Princess, let’s get to it," he said.

Jenny growled at her husband demonically and charged at him. Darkonda lashed out with his sword. Jenny dodged the blows and moved aside. When Darkonda turned, Jenny was nowhere to be found.

"Now where did she go?"

So Darkonda turned to face Andros again, but Andros was gone also. Darkonda growled in frustration.

Unfortunately, Reggie and Junior happened by the area. As soon as Reggie saw Jenny, he just HAD to approach her.

"Ready for that date?" he asked, tapping her shoulder.

Jenny turned to the boys, showing her hideous, demonic colors. She snarled loudly at them. The boys screamed and ran into the nearest alley, where they stopped to catch their breath.

"See......I told you she was a demon," Junior gasped. "Now how about my twenty smackers? Reggie........what’s the matter, dude?"

Reggie was holding his stomach and chest. "I.......I don’t feel so good," he groaned. His groaning became louder. Gradually, Junior noticed that Reggie was getting hairier by the second. Reggie’s teeth grew sharp.

"Oh no!" Junior cried. "He’s turning into a werewolf! Help!!" He ran out of the alley.

Astronema and Ecliptor continued to watch from the rooftop.

"Hmm......this is a little boring," Astronema sighed.

"Hi, Mommy....." Jenny said sweetly. "Enjoying the view?"

Astronema turned to face her daughter. Jenny reached out with both hands and grabbed Astronema’s neck. Ecliptor stepped in to fulfill his duty as Astronema’s trusted protector and broke Jenny’s grip. After struggling together for a moment, Jenny planted her foot into Ecliptor’s chest and flipped backwards off him. Then she picked up the knife and, with an inhuman roar, she swung the blade directly at Ecliptor’s neck. Ecliptor purposely detached his own head to avoid the blow. He fired lasers from his eyes, which sent the demon off the roof. Ecliptor reattached his head and held his sword across his shoulder.

"Good work, Ecliptor," Astronema said flatly.

"Thank you, Astronema," Ecliptor replied. "It is my eternal duty to protect you."

Jenny hit the road flat on her back with a thud. Groaning, she sat up slowly and shook her head. She got up and began searching for someone else to kill.

Meanwhile, four of the Rangers managed to regroup. They were all getting exhausted and anxious.

"You guys, I can’t take much more of this!" Ashley cried. "We’ll never destroy Hate Master!"

"Hey, where’s Andros?" Carlos asked.

"I don’t know. He was just with me a minute ago," T.J. said.

Sal attacked again. Hanim gave him a thrust kick to the chest to slow him down.

"Hey, look!" Kathy cried, pointing to a rooftop. "Andros is fighting Hate Master!"

Scorpina swung her sword at Carlos, who ducked under it. Hallie jumped in front of Scorpina, snarling hideously. Scorpina screamed and ran out while Carlos gasped and staggered back toward the other Rangers. The Cryptkeeper laughed.

"Scorpina hasn’t changed one bit," he said. "After all this time, she’s still afraid of us."

Jenny looked up at where Andros and Hate Master were doing battle. Andros appeared to be winning by forcing the monster closer to the edge. Jenny gripped her knife tightly and approached the building carefully.

"Hey, Red Ranger, what do you think you’re doing?" Hate Master asked. "You trying to knock me off the building or something?"

"Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing," Andros answered abruptly.

He threw a thrust kick to the Hate Master’s chest, which knocked him off the building. Jenny stood right below. She hopped up and down in delight, then held the knife straight up. The Hate Master hit the knife on the way down, piercing his heart. Upon contact, Jenny released the knife, allowing the monster to hit the ground, forcing the knife deeper into his back. Jenny brushed her palms together in satisfaction and let out an eerie, demonic laugh. Then she calmed down and sighed.

A glow suddenly floated out of the spellbound Spices’ bodies. The spell of hate was broken! Jenny groaned with soreness as she grasped her head slightly and slowly collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The Rangers watched as Hallie, Sal, and Earl collapsed in the same manner.

Spinal was still trying to avoid C.C.’s vicious pursuit. She continued to swing the axe fiercely. As Spinal ran, he tripped over his own feet. When C.C. got close, she suddenly dropped the axe and collapsed on top of him.

"Hey.....get off!" he cried, shoving her off. "The spell’s been broken......just in time!"

He stood up, lifting C.C. into his arms. "Let’s find the others and get out of here." He reunited with the others, who were gathering up the other unconscious Spices.

"Hey, guys, where’s Jenny?" Hanim asked.

No sooner than she spoke, Darkonda appeared, carrying Jenny in his arms. He gently placed her down in front of the group.

"Darkonda, this is so unlike you," the Cryptkeeper said.

"Well, I’m truly in love, Zombie Spice," Darkonda replied. "And true love is knowing to let go."

"Yes!!" Spinal cried suddenly. "Thank you, Darkonda; you just saved me!"

"Really?"

"Yes! See, Astronema can’t really love me, since she won’t let me go!"

"Okay. Speaking of Astronema, she’s still waiting to get you."

"Well, better luck next time," the Cryptkeeper said.

"NOT!!" Spinal cried.

Without another word, Darkonda disappeared. The Spices and Rangers let out a sigh of relief and teleported back to the Megaship. After getting the demonized Spices in bed, they collapsed themselves.

Deca woke up Spinal the next morning.

"Time to wake up, Spinal," the female computer voice said, as a light automatically came on above Spinal’s head.

The light startled Spinal, he sat up quickly only to hit his head on the bunk above. With a groan, he collapsed back in the bed.

"Aww, Deca, do I have to get up?" he groaned. "I didn’t get any sleep after last night’s massacre."

"It’s morning, Spinal," Deca said.

"All right, I’m getting up." Spinal swung his legs over the edge of the bed only to hit his head again. "Ow! My gosh, Deca, you must’ve had some short people on this ship. I always said that I was better off sleeping on the floor."

He got up and started walking to the dining room. "And people told me I was short....." he grumbled.

Spinal went into the dining room where the Cryptkeeper and the Rangers were having breakfast.

"Hi, everybody!" he called as cheerfully as possible, only to discover that the Rangers weren’t looking so cheerful. "Everybody......?"

"Good morning, Spinal," the Cryptkeeper said.

"Ah, phooey," Spinal mumbled as he sat next to Andros.

Several minutes later, Jenny and Ruth entered the room and sat down.

"Hello, peoples," Jenny said.

No one answered. Jenny looked around confused. "I said hello!"

"I think the Rangers’ current mood has something to do with last night," the Cryptkeeper said, going back to his morning paper.

Jenny looked at the Rangers. They weren’t actually eating, but just poking at their food with their forks.

"I’m tired," Spinal said. "I didn’t get much sleep, and before this day even starts, I get two headaches."

"How’d that happen?" Jenny asked.

"I hit my head twice on the bunk."

C.C. entered the room stretching her arms out. As the Cryptkeeper read the newspaper, he slowly broke out laughing. Jenny stared in confusion.

"What’s so funny?" she asked.

"It says here, ‘Last night, a werewolf was spotted and captured in Angel Grove,’" the Cryptkeeper replied. " ‘The werewolf was later identified as a local teen named Reggie Philips.’"

The Rangers looked at him.

"Wait a minute; gimme that!" Jenny snatched the newspaper from him and read the article herself. "Well, the awful guy got what he deserved."

"Reggie? Is that the same guy.....?" Ruth began.

"Yeah, that’s the same guy," Jenny said, trying to keep a laugh in.

Finally, one of the Rangers spoke.

"Jenny, what is it? You’re hiding something," T.J. said.

Jenny shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. The Cryptkeeper stared at her and smiled.

"Wait a minute. You did it, didn’t you?" he asked. "You turned Reggie into a werewolf!"

Jenny sighed. "Yeah, you got it."

"We’re really disturbed by what happened last night," T.J. said.

"Hey, if you thought last night was bad, you should’ve seen the Beamcaster’s wave of terror," the Cryptkeeper told him.

"Oh no....." Spinal groaned.

"What happened?" Ashley asked.

"This monster put all of Angel Grove’s citizens under a spell," Jenny explained.

"Yeah. The normal people just walked around like this." The Cryptkeeper did the trademark zombie walk around the room. "And they were going, ‘Hail, Lord Zedd! Hail, Lord Zedd!’ It was really creepy."

"For us, the spell had the same effect as Hate Master’s spell," Jenny added. "We all eventually fell under the spell, and we all turned into demons. And once again, the spell had no effect on Spinal. We think it’s because his brain rotted away with the rest of his flesh long ago."

"Then how does he think?" Ruth asked.

"The spirit of resurrection helps me think," Spinal said.

"Anyway, we would’ve been history if it wasn’t for Spinal," C.C. continued. "Of course, he had to avoid all of us while trying to defeat Beamcaster."

"And it was a real pain in the you-know-what," Spinal added.

"Thus, that’s how Spinal made his grand entrance into the Spice Club," Jenny concluded.

"Oh, Spinal, I’m sorry I had to swing that axe at you so many times," C.C. said. "How can I make it up to you?"

"Here’s an idea: Don’t," Spinal told her.

"No, really....." C.C. suddenly kissed Spinal.

"And we’re really sorry about the Quadroblaster," Carlos said.

"Don’t worry about that," Jenny said. "Anything you have to do to stop us from killing you is okay with us. My goodness, Carlos, I’m sorry I almost split your head open! Oh, Ruth, thanks for stopping me."

"Uh.....sure...." Ruth said, a little unsure.

Hallie came into the room. "What’s going on?"

"We were just talking about last night," Jenny said.

"Oh. Ruth?" Hallie began. "Will you ever forgive me for nearly drowning you in that milk?"

"Yeah, all right," Ruth replied, shaking Hallie’s hand. "You had no control over your actions."

"One thing puzzles me, though," C.C. said. "Ruth, how come you didn’t fall under Hate Master’s spell?"

Ruth paused. "That......that’s a story for another day," she said. "But what I wanna know is, how come Spinal didn’t fall under the spell?"

Spinal chuckled nervously and shrugged.

The Cryptkeeper laughed. "There’s no story to be told there. Of course Spinal wouldn’t fall under any spell of hate. He’s too innocent!!"

"Well, I need some fresh air, for I’m feeling woozy from last night," Jenny said. "Let me know if there’re any more monsters."

She positioned herself in front of the yellow jump tube and went through. Now that Hate Master was destroyed, the horror was over.......for now.

Rule

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