Spice Rack Bridge

     Jeice and Pico returned to the Spice Rack safe and sound.  Jeice went into the bridge, carrying Pico on his shoulder.
     “Okay, Pico, you just rest here.”
     Jeice helped the alien turtle into a chair, and then took a seat himself.
     “I can’t believe that we escaped with our skin!”
     “Jeice, what happened?” Zika asked.
     “I can’t tell you,” Jeice said.  “This isn’t for young ears to hear.”
     Ashley walked over to Pico and leaned on the control terminal.
     “Hey Pico....you, uh.....you okay?” she asked.
     Pico traced the patterns on the terminal with his finger and looked up at her, but said nothing.
     “He’ll be all right,” Jeice said.  “He’s just been hit with a tranquilizer dart, that’s all.”
     “Pico is strong; his body can endure a lot,” Gazelle said.  “The drug works normally, but he’s able to maintain consciousness, unlike a human.”
     “Jeice.....” Pico said weakly.  “When you dragged me out of the bowling alley, didn’t you forget something?”
     “What could I possibly have forgotten?” Jeice asked.
     “Well....”  Pico took a deep sigh.  “You forgot about poor Vegeta.”
     “Vegeta!?  Oh well, I’m sure that he’s more than capable of escaping on his own....being the all-powerful Saiyan that he is.”
     As soon as Jeice said it, Vegeta entered the room with his typical angry glare on his face.  He leaned over Pico.
     “Thanks for coming to my rescue, Turtle Man!” he growled.
     “You’re welcome,” Pico replied in a small voice.
     “I thought that you could take care of yourself, hot shot!” Jeice cried.
     “I can,” Vegeta said.  “It’s just that Pico didn’t live up to the Spice Code.”
     Arbin made his way over to Pico.  “Pico, maybe you should surrender to the sedative and take a nap.”
     “Okay,” Pico grumbled.
     “Zika, why don’t you help him?” Arbin called.
     “Okay.”  Zika helped Pico out of the room.  “Come on, Pico; you can make it.”
     “All right, Jeice,” the Cryptkeeper said, shining a flashlight in his face.  “What happened down there?  Tell me now, or spend twenty years on Alcatraz!”
     “Hey, easy with the flashlight, mate!” Jeice cried.  “Well, we were at the bowling alley, minding our own business, when all of a sudden, people around us started turning into demons.”
     “Eeeuw, that is disgusting!” Damon exclaimed.
     “How horrible!” Maya cried.  “Jeice, how did it happen?”
     “I don’t know.  In fact, the people on Arturus are so weird, you’d expect something like this to happen.  Actually, it was Black Shadow’s doing.  I don’t know how he did it, but.....hey, where’s Jenny?”
     “She’s down on the colony,” the Cryptkeeper said.  “I’m sure she’ll discover what’s going on.”
     “I don’t get it,” Kendrix said.  “Why would Black Shadow do this?”
     The Cryptkeeper shrugged.  “Wedding guests?”

***
Arturus

     Meanwhile, Jenny and Spinal were walking down the streets of Arturus.
     “Jenny, what are we gonna do?” Spinal asked.  “We can’t let Astronema and Black Shadow get married!”
     “I don’t know,” Jenny said.  “If they do get married, Black Shadow will become my father!  Man, I can’t take this!”
     Then they spotted something suspicious from the alley.
     “Look, a demon tail!” Spinal cried.
     “Let’s go get ‘em!” Jenny said.
     The pair rushed over and grabbed the tail.  Then they gasped and dropped it.
     “Leaping look-alikes!” Spinal exclaimed.
     It was a demonized citizen wearing a brown business suit.  He turned to them, then held his arms out in front of him and walked away.
     “Something is definitely going on,” Jenny said.
     “No kidding,” Spinal agreed.  “The citizens are turning into.....zombie-demons!”
     He pointed to a man across the street as he was transforming.
     “We’ve got to warn Mayor Belcus!” Jenny declared.  “Maybe he can help us.”
     They rushed over to City Hall.  Spinal ran inside in front of Jenny, but then stopped abruptly.
     “But who’s gonna help the Mayor!?” he cried, running behind Jenny.
     Jenny looked up and gasped.  Mayor Belcus rushed towards them with demonic hands and a tail.
     “Spices, you’ve got to help me!” he cried.  “No one will re-elect me looking like this, not even on Arturus!”
     Then his demon transformation completed, and Belcus walked outside like a zombie.
     “What are we gonna do!?” Spinal sobbed.  “What are we gonna do!?”
     “Okay.”  Jenny took a deep breath.  “Let’s figure this out calmly.”
     “Calmly!?” Spinal exploded.  “These people are turning into slimy monsters, and you expect me to take it calmly!?”
     “Well, panicking isn’t going to help,” Jenny told him.  “Come on, let’s search for clues in the Mayor’s office...”
     “Hey, look!” Spinal called, pointing further down the road.  “It’s Goku and Piccolo.  Let’s go to them.”
     “Hold on,” Jenny said.  “Take a closer look.  I think we’d better avoid them.”
     “Yipe!  I think you’re right.”
     The pair slipped out of sight and headed towards Mayor Belcus’ office.

     “Okay, Piccolo, stay calm,” Goku said, taking heavy breaths.  “We’ll figure this out.”
     Piccolo was totally relaxed as the pair walked down the street.
     “Maybe you should follow your own advice,” Piccolo said.
     “We have to find what’s causing these people to turn into demons, and stop it,” Goku went on.
     Piccolo scoffed.  “Do you even know where to begin?”
     “I guess we look for clues.”
     “Okay, here’s one,” Piccolo said.  “Little Jack Horner sat in a corner, eating his pudding of prune.  As a way to begin, he put in his chin and said, ‘I wish someone would hand me a spoon.’“
     “That’s not funny.  That doesn’t tell me anything!”
     “Well, let me know if you learn anything.”
     “Piccolo, you can help.  You do have a brain, don’t you?” Goku asked.  “Or maybe the Spices were right about you.  Maybe you are just a big pickle.”
     “There’s no use in pursuing an impossible goal,” Piccolo said.  “Where do you intend to start looking for clues, anyway?”
     “Elementary, my dear Piccolo,” Goku replied.  “At Sock-Hop Land.  Surely everyone has left by now.”
     “Whatever you say, Sherlock,” Piccolo said.  “By the way, I like your tail.”
     “My tail!?”  Goku looked back to find a black, thick, whip-like tail protruding from his rear end.  A demon tail.  “Oh no!  I’m going to turn into a demon, too!”  He seized Piccolo by the front of his cape.  “Piccolo, you’ve got to help me!”
     Piccolo plucked him off.  “And just what do you want me to do?  The cause of this could be anything or anyone!”
     “Well, I don’t know!  Look around, ask around!  There has to be somebody who hasn’t transformed!”
     “All right, then.  My final word of advice: Prepare yourself, Goku.  You’re about to join the rest of these citizens.”
     With that, Piccolo flew into the air and was quickly out of Goku’s sight.
     “Oh man, this is just great!” Goku groaned as he leaned against a parked truck.  “Now I’m really done for!  I sure hope that Piccolo can solve this mystery....”

***
Mayor Belcus’ Office

     Jenny and Spinal searched in Mayor Belcus’ office, but couldn’t find anything suspicious.
     “There’s something I don’t get,” Spinal said.  “Why didn’t Vegeta, Pico, and Jeice turn into demons?”
     “I don’t know,” Jenny sighed.  “Maybe they just got lucky and avoided whatever it was that caused this.  Besides, I find it difficult to imagine Pico turning into a demon with that shell and all.  I’m really perplexed here.”
     “You know, I’ve heard of the Black Plague, but this is ridiculous!” Spinal cried.  “In fact, I lived during the Black Plague!”
     “I don’t think that the Black Plague has anything to do with this,” Jenny said.
     Suddenly, the demonized citizens burst through the door, startling them.  Spinal screamed as he ran around behind the desk and jumped through the window glass.  Jenny held her ground.
     “Okay, settle down, people!” she pleaded.
     Seeing nowhere else to run, Jenny leaped out the window after Spinal, falling into the alley below....

***
Arturus Alley

     Jenny woke up with a start.  She realized that she was in the alley directly behind City Hall.  She couldn’t believe that jumping out from Mayor Belcus’ window had knocked her senseless.  But that wasn’t the least of her worries.
     Standing over her were the demonized citizens from the office.  They had jumped out the window after her!  Jenny looked around to see Spinal nearby, trembling in the citizens’ hold.  He didn’t want to struggle, for he was afraid that he would hurt them.
     “Jenny!” he cried.
     Jenny stood up quickly, and the citizens grabbed her.  She quickly broke free, then went to help Spinal.  She tried to break their grip gently, but the citizens were just too strong.
     Suddenly, something zoomed past them, whisking them both away.  It carried them high into the air.
     “Yikes; I hate heights!” Spinal cried, covering his face.
     “Me, too!” Jenny added, keeping her eyes closed.
     They were so worried about plummeting to a violent death that they didn’t even think about wondering who their rescuer was.  Without warning, the rescuer released them.  Jenny and Spinal screamed as they fell, crashing roughly on the roof of a skyscraper.  Groaning, they stood up and finally caught a glimpse of the rescuer as he landed in front of them.
     “Piccolo!” they gasped in unison.
     “You were expecting Superman?” Piccolo responded.  “I have some questions for you two.”
     “What kinds of questions?” Jenny asked.
     “You’ve seen what’s been happening to the citizens of this colony,” Piccolo said.  “Do you know what the cause might be?”
     Spinal shook his head.  “We don’t know.”
     “We’re trying to find out, though,” Jenny added.  “Speaking of which, I assume that Goku has fully transformed by now?”
     “I guess,” Piccolo replied.  “How did you know about that?”
     “We saw you earlier, and we saw Goku’s demon tail,” Jenny said.  “Are you sure you don’t know anything, Piccolo?  Where were you when you first noticed the plague?”
     “We were at a bowling alley called Sock-Hop Land.  But that doesn’t mean that the problem originated there.”
     “Well, we should go there and look for clues anyway.”
     “You’re both being foolish,” Piccolo said.
     “Maybe,” Jenny admitted.  “But sometimes it takes a fool to get the job done.”
     “There is no way to get the job done!” Piccolo growled.  “And your Spice Club leadership is a joke!”
     “You’re giving up, Piccolo?  I’ve never seen this side of you.  And I’m flattered that you’re amazed by my leadership skills.”
     “We can’t just leave these poor people like this!” Spinal added.  “This is just too horrible!”
     “Feel free to visit if your work bears any fruit,” Piccolo called.  He turned and flew away.
     Jenny scoffed.  “Thanks for your help, fat-ass!”
     Spinal gasped.  “Jenny!  I can’t believe that I just heard that come out of you!”
     Jenny sighed.  “I’m sorry.  My patience is wearing thin.  Pico and Vegeta pissing each other off all the time.  Vegeta lives for violence and Pico lives to be bad.  Ever since Vegeta joined the group, we just haven’t been getting along like we used to.  Have you noticed anything?”
     “Oh yeah,” Spinal replied.  “Jeice isn’t particularly fond of Vegeta either.”
     “Come on, let’s see if we can find Goku,” Jenny said.  “If he hasn’t completely transformed yet, maybe he could tell us something.”
     “I think that Goku only knows as much as Piccolo does.”
     “Well, we have to check anyway.”
     The pair rushed into the building to get to the first floor, then walked out.  Then they headed for City Hall, where they last saw Goku.  They found him, all right.
     But it was too late.  Goku was now a full demon and walked down the street like a zombie.
     “Uh.....hi, Goku,” Spinal said, chuckling nervously.  “Nice day for a zombie walk, don’t you think?”
     Goku continued to walk, apparently not noticing them, but then turned to Jenny and started to strangle her.
     “Hey, get off, you moron!”  She broke free and punched Goku’s face, knocking him to the ground.  Goku stood up and walked away.
     “Well, so much for that idea,” Spinal said.  “You still haven’t gotten over that blow?”
     “No, I haven’t!” Jenny cried.  “He’s lucky that I didn’t end up with a black eye after all.”
     Suddenly, her ring began flashing.
     “Jenny, come in!” an accented voice called.  “This is Jeice.”
     Jenny opened up her ring.  “Go ahead, Jeice.”
     “We need to talk about the demon thing.  It was Black Shadow’s doing.”
     “But how?  How did he do it?”
     “I don’t know.  Maybe we should meet at the ship and have a long discussion,” Jeice said.  “Very long.”
     “All right.”  Jenny closed her ring.  “Spinal, you go back to the ship.”
     “Where are you going?” Spinal asked.
     “I’m going to make a visit of my own,” Jenny told him.
     “But....”
     “Just go!”
     “Okay.”  Spinal sighed and teleported away.
     “Galaxy glider, hang ten!”  Jenny hopped onto her galaxy glider and flew over the colony.

***
Devil's Palace Hallway

     Meanwhile, Black Shadow walked down the halls of Devil’s Palace with a bouquet of black roses.  He plucked the pedals off the tossed them about.  Suddenly, he tripped over a protruding stone and fell to the floor, his face crashing into the roses.  He rolled onto his back, clutching the bouquet tight against his chest.  He smiled as he stared up at the ceiling.
     “Lucky Astronema is going to have me as her handsome husband.”
     “Black Shadow!” a voice called.
     Astronema ran up to him wearing a black wedding dress.  Ecliptor and Dr. Clash were close behind.  Black Shadow sat up.
     “I’m fine,” he said.  “I was just so excited, I wasn’t paying attention.”
     He stood up and walked away, humming the traditional wedding march.
     “He’s just not as I remember him,” Dr. Clash said.  “Frankly, I’m worried about him.  His mental link with Spinal could ultimately destroy him if he gets too crazy.”
     “Spinal?  That reminds me,” Astronema said.  “Black Shadow!”
     She ran to catch up with the dark lord.
     “Yes, my love?” Black Shadow responded.
     “We were going to send Spinal a personal invitation,” Astronema told him.  “Remember?”
     “Oh, that’s right,” Black Shadow said.  “But we’re not quite ready for him yet.  Don’t worry; I’ll make sure that Spinal doesn’t miss this.”

***
Arturus Forest

     Jenny parked her galaxy glider on the outskirts of Arturus in the woods.  She hadn’t planned on visiting anyone.  She just needed to isolate herself from other people so that she could think.  So Black Shadow and Astronema were getting married.  Why would Black Shadow turn the citizens into demons?  Despite her hard pondering, her screaming mind just couldn’t come up with an answer.
     Without warning, someone grabbed her from behind, scooping her into his arms.  Jenny screamed until she recognized her attacker -- Darkonda.
     “Darkonda!  You scared me!”
     “I’ve always enjoyed doing so,” Darkonda replied.
     Jenny would have protested some more, but she noticed something strange.  “Darkonda....you’re trembling.  Why?”
     “I’ll explain later.  Just come with me.”
     “It appears that I have no choice.”
     Darkonda carried Jenny through the woods.  Jenny’s mind burned with curiosity.
     “Darkonda....where are you taking me?” she asked.  “I can walk, you know.”
     “Shh.  Please don’t say anything until we reach our destination,” Darkonda told her.  “I can’t chance anyone seeing us.”
     Jenny shrugged as Darkonda continued his walk.  While Jenny was usually thrilled by Darkonda’s tender touch, she felt uneasy.  Something was troubling him, and she couldn’t help but wonder what.  Following Darkonda’s order, she kept quiet.  She sighed.
     Darkonda slowed down upon hearing that sigh.  The smooth, grieving breath only inflamed his love for this girl even more.  He cherished the feel of her lightweight body in his arms.  He looked into her twinkling eyes.
     “We’re almost there, my love,” he assured her.
     He came to a clearing, where he approached a waterfall.  The mists of the waterfall gave Jenny a chill, causing her to shiver.  Darkonda felt goosebumps all over his body.
     At long last, Darkonda walked behind the waterfall and placed Jenny on the ground in a sitting position.  Jenny straightened herself and looked at her husband.
     “Now will you please tell me what is going on?”
     Darkonda took a breath to speak, but then choked on his words.  When he finally did speak, his voice came out strained.
     “Tonfa Spice.....I’m afraid.”
 
 

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