Jenny was in a forest engaged in battle. She twirled the sword, which she had borrowed from the Cryptkeeper. As she faced Darkonda, she remembered a past conversation. Their swords clashed. After a while, Jenny lost her grip, and Darkonda now had it. They looked at each other; their eyes locked.

"Wait a minute. Didn't you once tell me that you kidnapped a little girl a while back?" Jenny asked.

"Yes, one of my finest accomplishments," Darkonda responded.

"Why'd you have to go and do that for?"

"Because I'm evil, of course. Something you would never understand, despite your little drop."

Darkonda threw C.K.'s sword at her. Jenny reached out and caught it, then swung it in front of her. The blade began to glow. Jenny thrust the sword out at Darkonda, and a blast of energy shaped like a crow flew at him. The blast hit him, knocking him back. Jenny stared at the sword in wonder.

"There are secrets about this sword that even C.K. doesn't know," she said to herself.

She raced over to her husband and knocked his sword out of his hand. Then she put her sword to his throat.

"Well....." she sighed. "That was fun....."

"Tonfa Spice....." Darkonda whimpered. "You wouldn't actually kill me, would you?"

"Of course not," Jenny replied. "You're my husband. We've tied the knot; I'm not going to destroy the rope."

She dropped the sword, and Darkonda stood up. He gently touched Jenny's forehead, moving her hair away from her eyes. Jenny could only grasp his other hand. They slowly moved closer, bracing themselves for a kiss.....

Suddenly, they heard a snap nearby. They both spun around, startled.

"What was that!?" Jenny cried.

She turned back to where Darkonda was standing, only to find him gone.

"Hello?" she wondered. She looked around and listened, but all she heard were chirping birds. "Hmm.....you're right, Darkonda. This wasn't the time or the place for it anyway."

She looked around for a few more minutes. Then she tapped her ring and teleported back to the Megaship.

Darkonda had been hiding in a nearby tree. Upon Jenny's departure, he hopped down and made a fist.

"Someone has been spying on us!" he said to himself. "There are many ways to show affection, but there is none as important as saying those three words. In order for it to be effective, I need Tonfa Spice to be alone. I can't have spies listening in. Now where could I bring Tonfa Spice so that we would be alone......and I can say these three words to her?"

Darkonda sighed and vanished from the forest as well.

Jenny returned to the Astro Megaship. She sat at the table and sighed. The other Spices smiled.

"Still in love?" the Cryptkeeper asked.

"Yep," Jenny muttered.

"You know, you've been into Darkonda for quite some time," the Cryptkeeper went on. "But the big question is, have you ever looked him in the eye and said, 'Darkonda, I love you so?'"

Jenny shook her head.

"Don't you think you ought to do that? Has he ever said it to you?"

Jenny shook her head again. "Do you really think I should tell him that? How would he react?"

"The only way to find out is by telling him."

"I don't know if I can...."

"Just say 'I love you,'" the Cryptkeeper said. "How hard can it be?"

Jenny shrugged.

Darkonda was in an underground cave. His goal was exactly the same as Jenny's. He drummed his fingers on the table.

"Where could I bring her?" he asked himself. "Physical affection is not enough. I must tell Tonfa Spice that I love her! But if someone keeps spying on us, it won't have any meaning! I've got to bring her somewhere so that NOBODY can find us......but where?"

He pondered for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly, the answer came to him.

"Of course! I'll bring her here! I'm so brilliant sometimes, I can't stand myself! Tonfa Spice, my love......get ready for the surprise of your career!!"

His evil laugh echoed throughout the cave......

Ruth and Carlos walked through the Megaship hallways. They passed a room, but paused when they saw what was in that room. Spinal was lying spead-eagled on the floor with C.C. massaging his ribcage thoroughly. As usual, Spinal had fallen asleep. Ruth and Carlos stepped inside.

"What are you doing?" Carlos asked.

"I'm massaging Spinal," C.C. said.

"You really love each other?" Ruth asked. "You should get married."

"Mmm.....nah." C.C. shook her head. "I hear that marriage only destroys the romance."

"I don't agree with that," Carlos said.

"Apparently, that's not true for Darkonda and Jenny," Ruth added.

"Oh please!" Jenny cried, startling them from behind. "Don't make my death any more difficult." She walked on down the hall.

"Guys, we have trouble downtown," Andros called.

"Uh-oh." C.C. quickly woke up Spinal. The Rangers, along with Jenny, the Cryptkeeper, C.C., Spinal, and Ruth went down to face the Batterax monster.

As soon as the warriors arrived, Astronema, Ecliptor, and the Quantrons joined the fray. As the Rangers and Spices fought, Darkonda watched from the corner of a building. Jenny fought off several Quantrons, then noticed Darkonda. He held up a finger and signaled for Jenny to follow. Jenny looked around in indecision.

"Now?" she asked.

Darkonda nodded. Jenny sighed and pondered. She looked over at her friends who appeared to be having a little trouble fighting the monster.

*They need my help,* she thought. *I can't just leave them. That'd make me look bad. As the old saying goes, 'Business before pleasure.'*

"Just hold on," Jenny signaled to her husband.

She ran to help fight the monster. Darkonda waited patiently.

*Hope they hurry up and defeat that monster,* he thought. *When I bring Tonfa Spice down into my lair, she won't believe what I have in store for her.*

One by one, the Rangers attacked the monster with their special weapons. Then C.C. raced in with a tornado kick, then followed with punches and nunchuck strikes. She never did stop hitting the monster. She pummeled the monster over and over with a variety with punches and kicks, finishing off by rolling directly into him. Finally she came out of her roll with a leaping uppercut.

"Well, that takes care of that," Jenny whispered.

While C.C. was busy beating up the monster, Jenny snuck over to follow Darkonda. Darkonda ran off into the forest. Jenny followed.

"Whoa, how did you do that!?" Ashley cried in astonishment.

"We've always been able to do that," C.C. said. "All the Spices can do that."

"Hey...." Spinal began. "Anyone seen Jenny lately?"

Everyone looked around, but the Spice leader was nowhere to be found.

"Now where'd that girl go?" the Cryptkeeper asked.

"Well, if she left by choice, then she'll be back," C.C. said.

"We don't know that she left by choice," Spinal told her. "She may have been kidnapped or something."

"Well, let's give it a while, and if it takes too long, we'll look for her," C.K. suggested.

The others agreed, then teleported away.

Darkonda was running into the forest with his super speed. Of course, Jenny wasn't able to keep up. She paused briefly outside the forest and gathered her breath before continuing.

"Slow down; I can't keep up!" she cried feebly.

She ran into the forest. There was no sign of Darkonda. Just what did he think he was doing!? Jenny ran blindly through the forest.

"Oh no; not hide and seek again," she grumbled.

She slowed down to a walk. "Yoo-hoo! Come on, Darkonda! I've got something to say, loverboy!"

Still nothing. Jenny started running again. She continued to run until she lost her footing and fell to the ground. She grabbed a large rock and stood up. Then she realized that she was weak and couldn't stop trembling.

"That's it! I quit!!" she screamed, throwing the rock. She took a breath to calm down. "I feel weak. No wonder......I haven't eaten anything decent all day. Sorry, Darkonda, I can't play anymore! I have to go up and get something to eat!"

She teleported up to the Megaship. Again, Darkonda was only hiding behind a nearby tree.

"Blast! She bugged out on me!" he cried. "Next time, I'd better make a more straight-forward approach. Hmm.....telling her how much I love her is more difficult than I thought."

He disappeared from the forest.

Jenny got herself a nice meal from the Synthetron. She sat down and sighed in frustration.

"Hey, where've you been?" T.J. asked.

"Trying to accomplish my goal," Jenny replied.

"Oh. Any luck?" Spinal asked.

"No. He was playing hide and seek with me. I gave up because I was too hungry." Jenny sighed again. "Who would've thought that it would be this tough just to say three simple words?"

"So, when are you gonna try again, Sis?" Hallie asked.

"After I'm done eating, of course. I'm sure Darkonda's disappointed that I had to leave so soon."

"Hide and seek, huh?" the Cryptkeeper asked.

"Yeah. Have you ever seen how fast he runs? He just zigzags around like a......I don't even know what," Jenny said. "There was no way I could keep up with him."

"Sounds to me like he bugged out on you," Spinal said.

"I don't think he'd do that. At least not with me."

The others shrugged. Jenny ate her meal. Once she was done, she returned to the forest. Again, it appeared to be empty.

"Hmm.....he must be gone by now," she said to herself.

"Don't bet on it, my pretty!" a rasping voice called from behind.

Jenny spun around and gasped. "What? How---"

Darkonda's laugh cut her off. "I'm getting to know you pretty well, Tonfa Spice. You only left to nourish yourself. I knew you were enjoying my little games; therefore, I knew that you would return."

"I see...."

Darkonda pulled out his sword. "Let's try again, shall we?"

"Okay...." Jenny replied, innocently pulling out the Cryptkeeper's sword.

The couple charged at each other. Darkonda swung his sword at her ankles, but Jenny hopped over. Their swords clashed, then Darkonda kicked Jenny's ankle, forcing her to one knee. Then Jenny spun around and gave him an inward sweep. She rolled backwards, ending up on her feet again as Darkonda stood up.

"You're clever, Tonfa Spice," he said.

"Thanks," Jenny replied with a smile.

"Care to make the next move?"

"Okay....." So Jenny charged at Darkonda, leaped, and attempted a jump kick. When she got near, Darkonda seemingly vanished through a wavy, camouflaged vortex......and Jenny flew right through it, too. They both vanished from the forest.

"I still can't see what she sees in him," Ruth said. "Can't she see that he's pure evil?"

"Well, she also sees the good in him," the Cryptkeeper told her. "He's helped her out more than once. You know how she says that there's good and evil in all of us? Of course, there is one exception......but I'll let her tell you about that."

"See, even the Candyman helped out recently," Hallie said.

"She'll be fine," C.K. said.

"I have to admit that I am curious as to how Darkonda will react when Jenny actually tells him that she loves him," Ruth said.

"Me, too," C.C. added. "I'm sure she'll come back and tell us."

"If we ask her specifically, that is," Spinal said.

"Are you sure she's not in trouble?" Cassie asked.

The Cryptkeeper chuckled. "I don't know if we're careless or if you're paranoid."

"Well, it's just that Darkonda is pure evil," Andros said. "There's no telling what he'll do to her. He might do the same thing he did to my sister."

"What happened to your sister?" Hallie asked.

"Darkonda kidnapped her when we were little. I've been searching for her ever since, but with no luck. There's no telling what he could have done with her."

"Was he in love with her?" the Cryptkeeper asked.

"I don't know."

"So if Darkonda truly was in love with your sister, we've got a problem," Spinal said.

The same wavy vortex appeared in Darkonda's cave. Jenny came out, hitting the ground with a thud. She stood up and looked around, but Darkonda was nowhere to be seen.

"Ow......what happened?" she asked. "Darkonda? Where are you? Better yet, where am I?"

Darkonda appeared. "This is my very own cave. No one else has discovered it, so no one can spy on us. Now I can accomplish my goal."

"What goal?" Jenny asked.

"First of all, to finish the battle!"

They pulled out their swords and fought again. Darkonda blocked Jenny's sword strike and forced the sword down, then kicked her chest. As Jenny rolled back, Darkonda rolled toward her. As soon as he came up, Jenny kicked him. Darkonda handsprang backwards, and Jenny ran after him. Then he flipped over a boulder. Jenny ran around it, but Darkonda was gone again.

"Huh? He disappeared!" she muttered. "What happened?"

As she stood pondering, Darkonda appeared behind her. He snuck up and grabbed her, startling her.

"Ha! Gotcha!" he growled.

Jenny struggled, but she couldn't break his grip. Then she paused.

*This is my chance,* she thought. *I'd better tell him now, or I'll never get to tell him.*

"Okay, Darkonda," she said. "You got me. But...."

"Tonfa Spice, you must listen," Darkonda said, cutting her off. "The first time I laid eyes on you, I felt this tingling sensation." As he spoke, he ran his hands down Jenny's arms and gently grasped her hands.

"Sensation? What for?" Jenny asked.

"I've been trying to tell you this for some time....." Darkonda went on. "But....."

He paused, trying to get the nerve to say it.

*Come on! This could be my only chance!* he thought. *Don't blow it!!*

"Yes??" Jenny asked with a nervous chuckle. "Go on; I'm listening."

"It's just that.....that I....." Darkonda stuttered over and over. "I love you. I'm sure that deep in your heart, you knew that already, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Jenny admitted. "Darkonda.....I have something to say as well."

"Tell me......"

"Yeah, um.....I love you, too!"

Darkonda was stunned. "You do!?"

Jenny chuckled. "Yeah! You sound surprised."

"Yes, I am surprised. All this time, I thought we were enemies."

"Yeah, we have to be enemies, but that doesn't mean we can't love each other anyway."

"But this isn't right!" Darkonda cried. "I really love you! Love and evil do not mix."

"Sure they do," Jenny told him. "Have you heard of the evil couples? Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa? King Mondo and Queen Machina? Gasket and Archerina? Divatox and Maligore?"

"I heard that Maligore was destroyed."

"Yes, he was. But we had nothing to do with it.....and, Divatox had planned to marry him."

"You seem to know a lot, my dear."

"Yes. The Rangers tell us these things......most of them, anyway."

Suddenly, an image of Dark Specter appeared. It was already too late for Jenny to hide.

"Darkonda!!" Dark Specter roared. "What are you doing with Tonfa Spice!?"

Darkonda thought quickly. "Have no fear, Dark Specter. I have turned her to the dark side."

Jenny paused, then quickly decided to go along with this little gag.

"Is that so?" Dark Specter asked.

"Yes, Dark Specter," Jenny replied in her evil tone. Since she was Astronema's daughter, she sounded pretty naturally evil. "How may I serve you?"

"You must help Astronema destroy the Power Rangers and the Spice Club."

"As you wish, Dark Specter," Jenny said with a sinister smile.

"Darkonda, see that she doesn't stray." Then Dark Specter vanished.

Darkonda nodded. "That was close."

"Darkonda, that was terrible!" Jenny cried. "If he finds out the truth, he is going to kill you!"

"Not to worry, my love. I have five lives left."

"Five lives left? How many did you start out with?"

"Nine."

"Nine lives? Like a cat?"

"That's right," Darkonda said.

"That's another thing we have in common! All right!" Jenny said.

"Nine lives?"

"No, but I do have other kitty features.....you'll know soon enough."

"Well, what was the other thing we had in common?" Darkonda asked.

"We both constantly talk to ourselves," Jenny told him.

"Here, you'd best leave now. My mission is accomplished."

"So is mine. Just say it."

"I love you, Tonfa Spice."

"I love you, Darkonda." Jenny raced up the stairs and out of the cave. She skipped through the forest like an active five-year-old. "I said it, I said it!! I'm so happy!!"

As she ran by, Ecliptor suddenly appeared. "Tonfa Spice, you little brat!"

"What do you want, Candyman?" Jenny asked.

"I can't believe that you and Darkonda are getting disgustingly close."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Darkonda is a treacherous creature," Ecliptor said.

"Oh, I'm sure he is......but the thing is......" Jenny suddenly giggled, unable to believe what she was about to say.

"Is what?" Ecliptor asked.

"The thing is it turns me on." Jenny laughed even harder.

"You are sick," Ecliptor growled.

"Hmm....." Jenny grinned. "Goodbye, Candyman."

She pressed her ring and returned to the Megaship.

"So what happened?" the Cryptkeeper asked when Jenny returned.

"I said it, and I feel great!" Jenny replied, laughing. "But now I'm scared."

"Why?" Carlos asked.

"Well, Dark Specter showed up, and Darkonda told him that he made me evil. And when Dark Specter finds out that it's not true, he'll kill Darkonda. What am I to do?"

"I say just leave him alone," Spinal said. "Let them settle it."

"Dark Specter may be evil," Hallie said, "but I don't think he believes in murder."

"Wait a minute," Spinal said. "I remember Dark Specter telling Astronema that if she fails, he'll crush the Dark Fortress as she sleeps."

"Should I give him the spirit?" Jenny asked.

"No, no, no!" the others cried at once.

"Why not?"

"Because he does all kinds of horrible things!" Spinal said. "He steals people's powers, he captures people.....I even think he's trying to overthrow Astronema somehow."

"Well....." Jenny said. "Good or evil, he is my soul mate. But I'll wait before giving him the Spice spirit. It'll probably be necessary. I'd better do it before Dark Specter kills him."

"Good luck," the Cryptkeeper mumbled. "Oh boy....."

Jenny got up and went into her quarters. She pulled out her photo album and looked at the pictures of her and Darkonda either fighting or flirting with each other. She smiled. Although Darkonda was primarily evil, she was still attracted to him. He was the true love that Jenny had never been able to find in her past life. Now that she had finally gotten the chance to tell him those three simple words, they were inseparable.