"Isn't this exciting?" Peter asked, nearly bouncing out of his shoes. When Mike had brought up the idea of auditioning for the harvest festival, it had been Peter who had insisted that they do so. Micky had quickly seconded the motion and so Davy agreed as well. There had been a few other local bands that had auditioned, but the Monkees had been chosen. The gig was seven days, with them playing at the beginning as a sort of opening for the festival. It was all hosted by Mr. Ulman's Stupendous Circus. That was of course how the guys had ended up here, with their instruments almost all packed up.
"We got a good turnout for this sort of thing," Mike agreed.
"Well man, it's not like these sort of things happen very often around here," pointed out Micky.
"No I meant look at everything we can do," Peter explained, gesturing towards the different rides and tents that were gathered around the main tent, in the middle of the field where the circus had set up the festival.
"Ah ha, don't worry Peter, we'll get to it all in due time," chuckled Davy. Peter's eyes went wide suddenly and he jumped up and down, pointing insistently in the direction of the big tent. There was a large sign propped up outside the main tent that read 'Come see the Wondrous Williams perform Amazing Magic right before Your Very Eyes!'.
"Look guys, look! They have a magic act!" Peter exclaimed, nearly overwhelmed with excitement, "Mike, oh please Mike, can we go watch the show, please Mike!" Peter clasped his hands onto Mike's shoulder in a pleading manner. Michael pried his friend off of him.
"Calm down Peter, course we can go see the show," Mike assured his friend. Peter cheered and Micky gave a little whoop of excitement as well.
"You know that magicians don't actually do magic, right Peter?" Davy asked. Peter gave a shrug of his shoulders, replying with, "Yes, but you can pretend it's real." That was a good point and Davy couldn't find fault with a statement like that. It was fun to pretend, that was a large part of the fun.
"Well c'mon guys, we should get a move on before all the seats are taken up," Micky chirped, then dropping his voice an octave or two, he sang, "The circus is coming to town and we gotta go get our seats."
"That's terrible Micky," Davy shook his head. Micky stuck his tongue out at Davy and took off towards the main tent where the magic show was being held. Peter and Davy skipped together after Micky, leaving Mike to shake his head at his friends as he strolled after the three of them. Since they were playing for the circus, they gang didn't need any tickets to get in and the sat on the left of the stage, nearing the middle. It wasn't entirely crowded, yet one wouldn't be able to say that the tent wasn't full.
"I wonder what kind of tricks this magician is gonna do," Davy commented.
"I'm sure the standard," Micky replied, waving his hands around and saying in a dramatic voice, "And for my next trick, I'll make the entire audience disappear!" Mike hit Micky in the shoulder with his elbow.
"Don't do that man," he said.
"I dunno Mike, I think Micky'd make a great magician. He's goofy looking enough already," teased Davy, waggling his eyebrows for effect.
"Micky's not goofy looking," Peter said in Micky's defense. Micky patted Peter on the back.
"It's okay Peter, Davy's right, I really am goofy looking, babe," Micky said in a fake sob.
"Will y'all quit that, the shows gonna start," Mike hissed as the lights began to dim, like they did in cinemas. The crowd got real hushed and Mr. Ulman, a small balding man, came onto the stage.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us today. I'm Mr. Ulman and I hope you all are having a wonderful time here at my stupendous circus!" Mr. Ulman announced, speaking into a microphone that was on the stage, "But enough of this talk. I know why you all came here tonight. So let's welcome the Wondrous Williams onto the stage! Give it up, ladies and gentlemen!"
As the crowd began to applaud, Mr. Ulman exited the stage and a lanky man in a black suit with a purple cape and top hat entered. the Wondrous Williams began his show. Peter was enthralled, sitting on the edge of his seat, silently absorbing everything he could. Micky was loud whenever he could, unable sit still for more than three minutes at a time. Mike wasn't buying anything this guy was doing and was glad they didn't have to pay for tickets. The guys might have thought it was pretty decent, but Mike had seen better and was relieved he hadn't wasted any money on this. Davy on the other, like Micky and Peter, was enjoying the show, considering he hadn't seen any magic shows since he lived in England. Nearing the end of the show, the Wondrous Williams asked for a volunteer from the audience. Immediately, Peter's hand shot up. Micky also raised his hand, and some other folks in the crowd too.
"You there, young man, with the blonde hair," the Wondrous Williams said, pointing at Peter.
"Hey Peter, you got picked!" Micky exclaimed, giving Peter a congratulatory pat on the back.
"Go on up there Peter," Davy urged. Peter leapt out of his seat and made his way up to the stage, managing to get up there without falling. The Wondrous Williams shook Peter's hand.
"What's your name young man?" he asked. Peter's palms were sweating a little, but he was grinning broadly.
"P-peter Tork," he answered.
"Hello, Peter. Say hi folks," the Wondrous Williams instructed. The crowd said, "Hi Peter", and Peter said hello back.
"So Peter, what do you do for a living?" the Wondrous Williams inquired.
"I'm in a band with my friends, although we don't really get paid well, which is disappointing cos we work really hard," Peter responded and then pointed to Davy, Micky, and Mike, "There are my friends there. Hi guys!" Peter waved at them. Davy and Micky waved back.
"Hi Peter," Micky shouted back.
"Wonderful, wonderful," the Wondrous Williams chuckled, wrapping an arm around Peter's shoulder. Although it wasn't a threatening motion, something about the way it felt made Peter uncomfortable. It was subtle enough but Mike noticed the change.
"Now Peter, you ever been a magician's assistant?" the Wondrous Williams wanted to know.
"No sir, I haven't," Peter replied, wondering when the Wondrous Williams would stop touching him.
"Well it's very easy. Now, you're gonna help me with my disappearing act. All you gotta do is get in this box and I'll take care of the rest," the Wondrous Williams explained, motioning towards the box that was sitting in the middle of the stage. Peter nodded his head. The Wondrous Williams helped Peter into the box.
"Now folks, watch this long haired weirdo disappear!" the Wondrous Williams exclaimed. He said some mumbo-jumbo, waving a wand over the box, and then tapped it twice. A hush overcame the crowd. Then the Wondrous Williams opened the box. Peter was nowhere to be seen. The crowd applauded.
"That's so groovy, wonder where Peter went," Micky gasped.
"There was probably a little door in there somewhere that lead him off stage," Davy guessed.
"Will we know how to find him after this all ends?" Mike wondered, eyebrows knitting together.
"Eh, I'm sure they'll just send him out the back or something," Davy responded. It wasn't too long before the show ended and the trio headed to the back of the tent to see if Peter was there. He wasn't.
"Peter?" Mike called out as Micky and Davy looked around the area real quick to see if Peter had moved on. They couldn't find him so they returned to where Mike was in the back. A crew member came out of the back entrance and Mike flagged her down.
"Hello, 'scuse me miss, but have you seen a blonde guy, 'bout this high, wanderin' round here?" Mike inquired, holding his hand up to his nose to indicate Peter's height.
"I don't think so," the crew member shrugged, looking at Mike, Micky, and Davy as if they each head three heads.
"His name's Peter Tork and he's probably hungry and we should really find him," Davy added.
"I still don't think I've seen him around," the crew member shrugged.
"He was the long haired weirdo who the Wondrous Williams picked as the volunteer from the crowd," offered Micky.
"Oh, that guy, yeah he should be out any second now," the crew member finally answered. Then she quickly walked away.
"Well that was mighty odd," Mike commented. Micky wrapped an arm around Mike's shoulder.
"Something smellin' fishy there, Nesmith?" he asked in a Sherlock Holmes esque voice. Davy gave him a critical look but before he could say anything Peter stumbled out of the back entrance.
"Peter!" the trio exclaimed in unison and gathered around their friend.
"Hey babe, what was it like backstage? Learn any magic tricks back there?" Micky asked, grinning broadly.
"What? Who... ," Peter mumbled, frowning deeply, gazing blankly at his three friends.
"You okay there Peter?" Mike questioned. Peter scratched his head.
"I… yes, sorry Mike… I… my head's a bit fuzzy," Peter said slowly.
"Fuzzy? You got some cotton in there, big Pete?" Micky asked, peering into Peter's left ear. Davy swatted Micky away.
"Do you have a headache Peter?" Davy asked for clarification.
"Yes," Peter confirmed and then he yawned, pitching forward slightly. Mike caught him and pushed him back onto his feet.
"Peter, are you okay?" Mike wanted to know.
"I… I'm tired…?" Peter said, although it seemed like he was asking a question. He swayed on his feet again and Micky grabbed Peter, holding him up.
"What happened back there Peter?" Davy asked, wondering why Peter was suddenly so tired. It wasn't even eight o'clock yet.
"I… there was... ," Peter yawned and his eyes closed and he went limp, apparently asleep.
"Whoa, ah!" Micky cried out, nearly collapsing onto the floor. In fact, the sudden dead weight would have dragged Micky down if it hadn't been for Mike grabbing ahold of Pete's left arm.
"Jeez man, what do you think happened?" Davy wondered aloud. Mike draped Peter's left arm around his shoulder and instructed Micky to do the same.
"I dunno, but look guys, we should get Peter back to the pad and get him into bed," Mike said, "Micky, help me get him to the car."
"I just don't get it, what coulda tired Peter out that quick?" Micky mumbled, mostly to himself, as they made their way back to the Monkeemobile.
Later that night, Davy was woken by a loud bang. He sat up, wondering what was happening. Had Peter fallen out of his bed again? Davy surveyed the room and found Peter fully dressed, opening up the window.
"Peter? What on earth are you doing, man?" Davy hissed. Peter turned around to look at Davy.
"I umm…. I'm going to get a glass of water," Peter answer uncertainly.
"Oh alright," Davy shrugged, nearly laying back in his bed to go back to sleep, when it occurred to him that if Peter was going to get a glass of water, why was he going out the window?
"Why are you going out the window then?" Davy asked, frowning.
"Umm… it's quicker," Peter replied, again sounding somewhat uncertain. Davy thought about that for a moment and, in his sleep fogged mind, decided that it made sense.
"Alright Peter, I'll see you in the morning," Davy yawned, laying back down. One minute…. two minutes… three minutes… Davy's eyes opened. That didn't make any sense, what was Davy thinking? He sat up but Peter was gone. Moving quickly, fully awake now, Davy pulled on a pair of slippers and clambered out of the open window. Peter wasn't far ahead so Davy was able to quietly follow him. All the while, Davy wondered what was going on? It wasn't like Peter to lie, let alone sneak out in the middle of the night. This whole thing was quite suspicious. Davy followed Peter for about six minutes before Peter veered off the road. Then Davy followed Peter along a footpath through the sparse woods until Peter stopped in a little clearing. A handful of other strangers were there and two familiar faces: Mr. Ulman and the Wondrous Williams!
"What are they doing here?" Davy wondered aloud to himself, being sure to keep his voice barely a whisper, quickly ducking behind a conveniently close bush.
"Alright, good that's everyone Mr. Williams," Mr. Ulman announced as Peter joined the little informal circle.
"Excellent! We can begin then," the Wondrous Williams grinned and faced his 'audience', "Listen up everyone, your jobs are simple. Mr. Ulman, my assistant here, will be giving you a little flash box. Flash it as many people as you can so that my army can grow. And soon… the world will be ours!" On cue, Mr. Ulman began to hand everyone in the informal circle a little black box that had a light on the top of it. Davy watched as Peter took the box and frowned at it.
"Sorry, but what will these do?" Peter questioned. Both Mr. Ulman and the Wondrous Williams stared at Peter with confusion.
"Why'd that one speak? I thought you took care of him backstage just hours before this?" the Wondrous Williams demanded. Mr. Ulman blinked and fumbled in his pockets for a moment before pulling out an identical black box to the ones he had just been handing out.
"I-I don't know sir, the control affects must have worn off quicker than anticipated for this one," Mr. Ulman answered, scurrying over to Peter and flashing the light in his face. Peter swayed on his feet for a moment.
"There that should be better," Mr. Ulman assured the Wondrous Williams. Williams glared at Ulman through slitted eyes.
"It better be. I can't have you screwing this up for me," he growled. What on earth was going on? Davy had a hunch but it seemed outlandish! These two circus people couldn't be plotting to take over the world with mind control devices… well, alright, so scripts have had more outlandish plots, but still, taking over the world with mind control? Aren't the writers a bit more creative than that? Davy wasn't sure.
"Alright, get to it! You have tonight, so be as quick as possible!" the Wondrous Williams barked, waving his arms at the small crowd.
Like robots, those who weren't Williams and Ulman turned and walked again, Peter following the same path he took to get here. He was walking slow enough, and Davy knew the way home, so he decided he would try to get back to the pad before Peter did. This was easily achieved, with one or two shortcuts of course. Davy made his way upstairs and entered Mike and Micky's bedroom. They were both asleep. Davy hurried over to Micky's bed.
"You guys, wake up!" Davy exclaimed, shaking Micky awake.
"What's happenin' Davy?" Mike yawned, sitting up in bed.
"I think the Wondrous Williams has brainwashed Peter," Davy explained, still prodding a groggy Micky awake, "I followed Peter to this little meeting and Williams was there, so was Mr. Ulman, and I think they're trying to take over the world!"
"Davy, that's ridiculous. Everyone knows clowns are the scary concepts when dealing with circuses, not magicians," Micky scoffed as he sat up, finally awake.
"I'm not kidding around, I think Peter's in some real trouble, the whole world maybe," Davy insisted.
"Right, well let's go downstairs and see if we can't find Peter and get to the bottom of this whole thing," Mike said, wanting nothing more than to just go back to sleep but he could see the distress in his friend. Micky groaned but got out of bed nonetheless. The trio made their way downstairs just in time to see the front door of the pad open. Peter came shuffling in.
"Hiya Peter, buddy, what's going on? Davy said you were mind washed by some spooky guy," Micky greeted, waggling his fingers on the word spooky. Peter didn't say anything, he simply just walked up to Micky and flashed him in the eyes with the black box Mr. Ulman had given him. Micky went slack for a moment and then began to shuffle out of the pad.
"Micky, where are you goin' to?" Mike called out, his brows furrowing into a frown.
"Mike, we gotta go out the back door now," Davy squeaked, grabbing onto the Texan's left elbow. He took off towards the patio door, dragging a bewildered Nesmith behind him. Peter didn't give a fast chase but he was still hot on their heels. Davy and Mike scrambled down the stairs to the beach and jogged along the shore for what seemed like ages, although in reality it was only a handful of minutes. Davy was starting to get out of breath so they stopped and looked behind them. Peter was nowhere in sight.
"What in god's name was that all 'bout?" Mike panted.
"I'm not sure, but I think we have to get back to the circus to get to the bottom of what's going on here," Davy replied.
The duo had walked back to the carnival, figuring it would be easier and more subtle if they snuck in on foot then trying to do the same thing in the Monkeemobile. The circus grounds were quiet, all except for a low buzzing drone that was being emitted by the main tent. In the moderate silence, Mike and Davy crept from hiding place to hiding place until they reached their destination, which was of course the main tent. There wasn't too much foot traffic, but there were a couple of people going in and out of the tent.
"Okay Davy, what do we do?" Mike hissed, crouching down next to Davy. They were hidden behind an empty booth. Davy glanced up at Mike.
"You don't have a plan?" Davy questioned.
"You're the one who seems to have an idea of what's goin' on here," Mike pointed out.
"So just because I overhear one conversation about this plan, doesn't mean that I understand the whole concept. It's not like they handed out how-to flyers," Davy grumbled, but he understood what Mike was saying.
"Jeez man, okay, let's just come up with something," said Mike. Davy thought for a moment.
"I might have an idea… I think we have can get through to Peter and get him to tell us what's up," Davy explained, pausing to observe a woman in a robe and bunny slippers entered the main tent.
"Alright, so how do we do that?" Mike raised an eyebrow.
"Just follow me," Davy whispered and then he began to creep towards the main tent.
"I hope this works better than most of Micky's mystery plans," grumbled Mike as he followed Davy.
They stealthily made their way to the back entrance of the main tent, staying as close to the shadows as they possibly could. No one seemed to be guarding the tent and soon enough Mike and Davy found themselves inside. By chance, they just happened to enter the same time Peter was nearing the back of the room.
Davy darted forward and grabbed Peter, clamping a hand over his mouth. Then he dragged Peter out the back entrance. Mike gave Davy a quizzical look, still lost as to what the plan was and still hoping it'd turn out better than one of Micky's plans.
"Peter, are you awake?" Davy asked, shaking the blonde bassist a little. Peter frowned at Davy and then nodded his head. Davy removed his hand.
"You know who you are?" he asked.
"Um, well I'm Peter, and your Davy, and that's Mike, and I guess Micky's somewhere. What's going on, Davy?" Peter questioned.
"Do you remember anything that's been said by Mr. Ulman and that dirty magician, Peter?" Davy asked.
"Well, not really, it's all sort of fuzzy, but in the tent's where they are keeping the box that lets them take control of other people's minds, if that helps at all," Peter shrugged his shoulders.
"Peter, that's exactly what I wanted to hear!" Davy exclaimed in a hushed voice. He turned to Mike.
"You feeling up to taking out some frustration on a box?" he asked the Texan.
"Are we just gonna break it?" Mike wondered and Davy nodded his head.
"Yeah, and Peter's going to go to the police, I'm sure they've noticed this fishy business and would be glad for the help," Davy confirmed.
"Oh, okay, I better get going then!" Peter stated and then disappeared.
Davy and Mike entered the tent again. In the middle of the tent was a black box that had "mind control controls" written on the side. How strangely convenient, thought both Mike and Davy. They quietly crept over to the box and then began to smash it.
Surprisingly no one noticed until the box had been destroyed. It was only after that Mr. Ulman and Williams came rushing in. Williams swore loudly and Mr. Ulman tried to grab Davy, but the small man dodged him. Mr. Ulman and Williams chased Mike and Davy around the main tent for a few minutes and then the police showed up, thanks to Peter's efforts.
The two crooks were taken into custody.
"Wow, that sure was a wild ride," Davy commented.
"You could say that again. I'm beat," agreed Mike.
"Look! It's Micky!" Peter pointed out.
Micky had fallen asleep on the grass outside of the main tent.
"Guess he just wasn't cut out today for all this," shrugged Davy. Peter prodded Micky awake and the four Monkees walked back home, each equally ready for bed and ready to put such a strange night behind them.
Author's Note:
Thank you to anyone who reads this at all. I started this fic awhile ago and for some reason tonight I decided I would finish it. I have no shame in it despite it's lame aspects, plus I just like posting stuff I write because the more fics there are for people to read. Hope someone likes this! And to anyone who's reading, I hope you are having a wonderful day!