Author's Notes: This story is a part of a series of sorts, including some of my stories and some stories belonging to Crystal Rose of Pollux. You don't have to read every story in the series to understand this, but if you want it to truly make sense, I highly recommend reading at least the first chapter of Crystal Rose of Pollux's Lone Star and Union Jack, the first chapter of my The California Dreamer and the Connecticut Yankee, Crystal's short story Nesmith and Jones, and my story The Peaceable Four. Again, you don't have to read those stories for this to make sense, but it would definitely help.

The timeline of this story takes place after the events of The Peaceable Four, which is around a year after the show ended, and, according to our series, six years after Peter and Micky met, five and a half years after Mike and Davy met, and four years after Peter and Micky met Mike and Davy and they became the Monkees. This is a rather long first chapter, but I had a lot of information to fit in here, and I did the best I could. This story will take place mostly from Mike's point of view, this first chapter is the only one I'm planning to do from the others points of view. I will not be able to post very often, but I'll post as often as I can. Thanks for giving this story a shot, I hope you enjoy it! And please, read Crystal's stories, they're amazing, and they're what got me into this rapidly-growing series to begin with. :)

T'was an ordinary day in Malibu, California, and four ordinary boys walked along the ordinary sidewalk, having an ordinary conversation. Well, for them anyway.

"Hey, Pete, what's big, green and ugly, and runs on eight wheels?" Micky asked excitedly, running in front of the other Monkees and beginning to walk backwards as Peter bit his bottom lip and looked up, thinking.

"I don't know, Mick," He said finally. "What?"

"Man, you don't know either?" Micky exclaimed, looking crestfallen. "I've been trying to figure it out all day..."

"You mean this isn't a joke?" Mike asked, looking at Micky incredulously.

"No, man, I really wanna know," Micky said.

"Ooh, ask Mike, he's good at riddles," Davy suggested, elbowing the tall Texan next to him.

"Okay," Micky said, excited once more. "Mike, what's big, green, and-"

"Calm down, Mick, I heard you the first time," Mike said, although he chuckled at his friend's energy. "Hmm, let me think..."

The other three all backed up to give him some space as he stopped walking and folded his arms. Looking up at the sky, he muttered to himself as he tried to figure it out.

"Now, what's big and green and ugly, and runs on eight wheels... let's see, it's green, it runs on eight wheels, and it's big and ugly... what's ugly, and green and runs on eight wheels, and is big? Now then, if it's big and green, it could be... well, no... hmm, if it's ugly and runs on eight wheels... No, I can't think of anything, Mick, I- Mick?"

Looking down to notice his friends weren't in front of him, he put one hand up to his face. "Oh, sweet mercy, they're gone," he deadpanned.

"It's okay, Mike, here we are," Peter said with a grin, and Mike turned around.

"Oh, thank heavens, they're here," Mike said.

"Yes, they are," Said a new voice, and Mike turned back around to see a girl standing in front of them, smiling at them creepily.

The Monkees all went silent, having enough experience in such matters to realize there was something wrong about this girl. Maybe it was the way she had appeared out of nowhere. Maybe it was the way she was smiling at them. Or maybe it was because she was a pale shade of blue.

One thing they all knew most certainly, however, was that the very sight of her made them tense up, and they all found themselves scowling for no good reason they could think of.

"Wh-who are- AHEM!" Micky cleared his throat after having squeaked during the beginning of his sentence. "Who are you?" He said in his deep voice.

The girl turned her creepy smile towards Micky. "Me?" She asked. "I am Treirathar, the Beautiful and Feared."

"Oh, well, I am Mike the tall and Fearless," Mike said. "This is Micky, the Crazed and Fearing." He waved his hand indicating Micky, who snarled and then chuckled nervously.

"That's Peter the Friendly and Fearful," Mike continued, pointing at Peter, who stuck his hand out and said "How do you do?" With a smile, pulling his hand back slowly when the girl just looked at him.

"And that's Davy, the Short and... and fearlessly... fearfully... fearingly... feared." Mike finished, and Davy smiled up at the girl.

"Hello," He said with a wave.

"Now that we're introduced," Mike said. "What do you want?"

"A game," The girl said. "It's been so long since I had a good game."

"Oh, that's good," Peter said. "I like games. How do we play?"

"Peter!" The others all said, rolling their eyes.

"What?" The blonde asked, baffled.

The girl smiled. "It's all very simple," she said. "All you have to do to join is sleep. Sleep, my friends. And the game will begin."

Mike tried to tell her that he wasn't sleepy and that they weren't interested in playing, but suddenly, he yawned. "No," He said. "No, we don't..."

He blinked a few times, realizing that behind him, the others were yawning too. He turned around. "Stay awake," He ordered. "Don't fall asleep!"

"Just five minutes," Micky muttered, before falling to the ground, asleep.

"Micky?" Davy asked with a frown, looking down at the drummer in confusion. "Wha..." He trailed off as he yawned, slowly sinking to the floor besides Micky.

"Peter," Mike exclaimed, looking at the bassist, who frowned.

"Mike?" He asked. "What's wrong?"

"Stay awake, pal, you gotta stay awake," Mike said. He didn't know why, but he knew that this game was going to be very bad news.

"Okay," Peter said. "Okay, I'll stay... awake..." He closed his eyes and fell to the floor.

Mike turned back around to the girl, who was still smiling at him creepily. "Wake them up," he demanded. "Stop this. I'm not playing, wake them up now!"

"Oh, it's too late," She said. "Go to sleep, Michael, I'll explain the rules to you in due time. But not soon. No, earlier. Far earlier. Now, sleep."

Mike couldn't help it, he closed his eyes, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

1961, Kent, Connecticut~

Peter sighed as he walked along Elizabeth Street, hands in his pockets, feeling just a bit down for some un-explained reason. It was dusk, the crickets were beginning to sound, and the first few bright stars were just showing above the pale moon.

It made Peter feel sad, and just a bit poetic. There were a few dark clouds off in the distance, it would probably rain during the night. Peter liked when it rained. Or, to be more accurate, Peter liked the way the world looked after it was done raining. The grass would look greener after the rain, the flowers would be soaked, and the river that ran past the outskirts of town would be just a bit bigger, it would rush just a bit faster, as if it had gotten a drink of water and had found new strength.

And the world smelled so fresh after a rainfall; so clean, if you took a deep breath, it was like you took a long drink of cool water after you worked hard in the sun.

Peter chuckled as he walked along. He hardly ever got all philosophical like this. There was just something about the air tonight, something in the dusk, a certain... almost magical quality drifting in the air, looking for some place to rest.

It stirred Peter, making him feel like he wanted to do something, be something, make some sort of a difference. He sighed again. He supposed he could never really make much of a difference, he wasn't very smart, or brave, or really good at anything, except music. And living in such a small town as Kent made it all the harder to make a difference.

No, here in Kent, the future was pretty straightforward. Peter would finish high-school, then he'd go to college, probably in nearby Waterbury, with his friends. Then, when he graduated, he'd get a job in one of the businesses downtown, maybe he'd get an apartment or a house of his own. One day, he might open a music store, or he would teach band at the high-school, and maybe even further in the future, he'd meet someone nice who he would spend the rest of his life with, and they would marry, and have kids of their own.

But tonight, tonight he felt like he wanted more. He wanted... what did he want? He wasn't sure. He just... didn't feel like this was all there was to life.

As he turned the corner, Peter saw a man sitting against a low brick wall that ran next to the sidewalk. At first glance, the man could be written off as a bum; he was wearing dirty old clothes, he didn't have any shoes, and his hair, which was longer than even Peter wore his, was matted and dirty. A hat was on the sidewalk next to him, a dirty old hat, upside down with a few pennies tossed inside.

Peter was about to cross the street and continue on his way when he stopped and looked at the man. His eyes were closed and he was smiling, and he was humming softly to himself, a sad little tune that Peter hadn't heard before. It must have been the magic of the night, with the early stars still shining in Peter's head, because as the blonde looked at the beatnik, he felt that same something stir inside him that he'd felt earlier. This man obviously didn't have a home, he looked like he didn't have pretty much anything. Why was he so happy?

Peter felt a strange impulse to go ask the man what he had that made him so at peace. He took a step towards the man, opened his mouth to call out to him-

"Excuse me," said a voice. Peter turned, there was a girl standing there, smiling up at him prettily.

"Yes?" Peter asked. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, you can," The girl said, her smile becoming even more pronounced. "My name is Yvette, and I think I made a wrong turn. I'm staying with my uncle for a few days, you see, and I went for a walk, and I got lost. Can you help me find my way back to Kent Green Blvd?"

"Kent Green Blvd?!" Peter said. "Sure, I can take you there, it's a ten minute walk." He paused. "I guess we'd better hurry, it's getting pretty dark, and it can get a bit chilly when the sun goes down."

"Oh, I don't mind," Yvette said. "Besides, I'll feel much better having someone with me. Are you sure it won't be too much trouble?"

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Peter said. "Like I said, Kent Green Blvd is only a ten minute walk from here. I don't mind the walk."

"Thank you, Peter," Yvette said. "I would hate to be a bother. But everyone's been so nice to me since I got here. Do you like living here in Kent?"

Peter nodded as they started walking down the street. "Yes," he said. "I do."

"Really?" Yvette said, looking up at him. "You sound unconvinced."

"I do?" Peter said. "Huh. I guess... I'm just a little tired of the same old scene, you know? I kinda want to get out there, see the world. I want to go to places I've never been, meet people I've never met, do things I've never done... you know?"

"Yes, I suppose so," Yvette said. "But if you think about it, what's more important: adventure, or peace?"

Peter tilted his head. "Peace, I suppose," he said. "But who's to say you can't have a little of both? Adventure doesn't nullify peace."

"No, but it rifts it," Yvette said. "True, you can have excitement in your life and still maintain a certain level of peace, but only through tranquility; only through quiet, and rest, and a life of contemplation, can you have true peace."

"Huh," Peter said, frowning. "I never thought of it like that."

"Adventure can be a very dangerous thing," Yvette went on. "Stray too far from your front gate, and you might never find your way back."

"You're probably right," Peter said with a sigh. "I'm getting older now, I'll be eighteen next year. I suppose I should start working towards my future, figuring out what I want to do with my life."

"That's a very smart decision," Yvette said. "Oh! I recognize this store! Thank you, sir, I think I can find the rest of the way on my own."

"Oh, it was no trouble," Peter said with a small smile.

"No, really," Yvette said, smiling back up at him. "As small of a town as this is, I'm not sure I would have been able to find my way, especially now that it's dark."

Peter looked around. It was pretty dark. That was strange, it shouldn't have taken him that long to walk as far as he had.

Yvette drew his attention back to her. "I must give you something for your troubles," she said.

Peter shook his head. "Oh, you don't have to do that," he said.

"No, I insist," Yvette said. "Here, I have just the thing!"

Reaching into her pocket, Yvette pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to Peter. "It's nothing special," she said. "Just a sketch."

Peter looked at it, it was very well drawn for "just a sketch," it was a drawing of a pretty little white gate, with flowers climbing up the sides and a small child, no more than four or five years of age, peeping out from behind the gate. She was smiling, she seemed to look up at Peter with a cheeky grin, as if she were laughing at a secret she wished she could tell him.

"Thank you," Peter said. "This was drawn very well."

"Thanks," Yvette said. "Now, I've got to run. Goodbye, Peter!" With that, she turned and ran down the street. Peter smiled for a while, before he felt a sudden raindrop splash on his arm. Looking up, he saw that the clouds he had noticed earlier had made it to the town, and the moon and the stars were blocked from view as it began to rain in earnest.
Tucking the sketch into his pocket for safe keeping, Peter turned and hurried down the street to get to his house, before his mother started worrying.

As it rained, all of his former worries and fears about the future washed away, and by the time he reached his house, he had practically forgotten that he'd ever had any doubts about the future at all. Here in Kent, the future was pretty straightforward, after all. What was there to be afraid of

1962, Ventura, California~

Micky was running. He wasn't going anywhere in particular, he wasn't really running away from anything, he was just running. The wind in his face made him happy, and so he ran.

Turning a corner, he saw a girl standing there, and he lurched to one side to avoid running into her. With a slight gasp, as if she were surprised, the girl dodged him, and Micky skidded to a stop.

"Whoa," He said. "That was close! I'm sorry, I almost didn't see you."

The girl smiled. "That's alright," she said. "I got out of the way just in time."

"Good thing, too," Micky said, looking at the girl, who was much shorter than him. "I would have bowled you over!"

The girl laughed lightly. "Well, I guess I must be pretty lucky then," she said. "Imagine what would have happened if the sun were out! You'd have been blinded!" She smiled, then held out her hand. "My name's Vienna," She said.

"Vienna?" Micky asked as they shook hands. "You mean, like, the city?"

Vienna nodded. "Yes," she said. "My parents honeymooned there. I've always wanted to go there someday."

"Well, I hope you make it!" Micky said with a smile.

Vienna smiled back. "And what about you?" She asked. "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?"

"Me?" Micky asked. "I would go to the land where stars are made! I would pack my bags and run straight to Los Angeles, and I would become a star!"

"Wow, that sounds exciting," Vienna agreed. "What kind of star are you talking? Do you want to be a movie star?"

"I think I'd definitely get into acting," Micky said. "But really, I want to make people laugh. If the movie was funny enough, I'd do it, I want to be a comedian."

"Yes, it certainly fits you," Vienna said. "You'll do well in the spotlight."

"Thanks," Micky said with a smile. "And you'll do pretty well in... that city..."

Vienna laughed. "Well," she said. "Just remember, There's billions of stars up there, in the sky. If you want to catch anyone's attention, you just have to shine brighter than everyone else. Let the other stars get too close, and you'll look dimmer by comparison."

Micky smiled. "I'll shine as bright as I can," he said. "Thanks, Vienna."

Vienna smiled back. "No problem, Micky," she said. "Hey, I want to give you something!"

Micky blinked. "Give me something!?" He asked. "What for!? I just met you!"

"Yeah," Vienna said. "But you never know how important it could be when you run into someone new." She gave a slight chuckle then, and Micky wondered what she found so funny. But then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

"It's a sketch I drew once," she said. "Consider it a good-luck charm, then, if you ever make it big, just think of me. And if I'm ever in Vienna, I'll think of you. Deal?"

"Deal," Micky said with a smile. He looked down at the paper. "Wow, this is really good!" He said. The drawing was of a little girl, about five years old or so, and she was sitting on a fallen log, looking up at a night sky. There was a pale crescent moon above her, and one star in particular was much bigger and brighter than all the others. The little girl was smiling up at the star, a gleam in her eyes suggesting she knew something special, something secret about the star, which was so beautifully drawn Micky could almost see it twinkle.

"Thanks," Vienna said.

Micky studied the drawing a bit more, then something seemed to click in his head. He looked up at Vienna. "I never told you my name," He said.

Vienna frowned in confusion. "...What?" She asked.

"You called me Micky," Micky said. "I don't think I told you my name was Micky."

Vienna laughed. "Yes you did," she said, blinking her eyes. "Remember?"

Micky blinked. Yes... yes, he remembered now. She'd said her name was Vienna, she'd held out her hand, and... He could remember clearly now, he'd told her his name was Micky Dolenz, as he shook her hand. He could practically hear himself say it now.

"...Oh yeah," he said. "I remember now." He laughed. "Just goes to show how crazy I am," he said. "Well, thanks for the picture, Vienna."

"You're welcome," Vienna said with a smile. Then she looked up at the sky. "Oh," she said. "It's starting to rain."

Micky also looked up, just in time to get a drop of rain on his face. And he was blocks away from the hotel, too.

"In that case, I'd better be going," he said. "It was nice meeting you, Vienna."

"It was nice meeting you too, Micky Dolenz," Vienna said with a smile. "Goodbye."

As she turned to walk away, Micky also turned and began running towards the hotel. As he ran, it began raining in earnest, and as the rain ran down his face and soaked his hair, he felt a strange feeling come over him, he felt all his cares wash away, until he was smiling in the rain.

He was going to make it one day, he was sure of it. In fact, he wasn't going to back down for anything. He wasn't going to let anyone stand in his way. If going it alone was what it took to be a star, if he truly couldn't afford to have any obligations tying him down, then he would be sure to keep shining, keep being the brightest star in the room. If everybody else fell by the wayside, so be it.

1963, Malibu, California~

Davy stepped off the bus in Malibu, stifling a yawn as he went around to collect all his baggage. He had been begging his grandfather for months, and now, was finally free, in Sunny California!

The plane ride had been long and tiring, and then the bus from the airport to the Malibu bus depot had been jarring and rough, but it was worth it! He was finally on his own, with no one to tell him what to do!

Of course, he was still only fourteen, and his grandfather had set him up to attend a good boarding school, and live in the dormitories along with the other students.

But Davy had other plans. He'd go to school all right; he wasn't planning on dropping out, giving up his education. But there was no way he was going to live in those dorms. They had rules there, and curfews, and superintendents. He didn't want any of that stuff. He was fed up with rules. He wanted to do what he wanted to do when he wanted to do it.

He got his baggage and looked around the bus depot, trying to decide what he wanted to do first. On the trip over, he'd thought a lot about what he would do first. He could go to a diner and order whatever he wanted, he could go sightseeing and do whatever he wanted, he could just walk around town until he saw something that looked interesting, and just go for it... but now that he was here, he found that all he wanted to do was sleep.

To the hotel it was, then. His grandfather had already paid for his dorm room in full, but Davy had gone behind his back and arranged for a reimbursement, which he planned to collect in the morning. He would find more permanent housing over the next week; for now, he had enough money for the night in a nice hotel.

He spotted an information booth against one wall, and began struggling with his heavy bags as he started making his way towards the booth. He would ask about a good hotel, and then would order a taxi to take him there.

Suddenly, a young girl bumped into him with an empty baggage cart, making him drop his suitcases.

"Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry!" The young girl said, letting go of the cart and rushing to help pick up his suitcases. "I was just returning this cart and wasn't watching where I was going... are you alright, did I hurt you?"

Davy smiled, the girl looked a little older than him, but not by much, and she was very pretty. "No, miss," He said. "You didn't hurt me."

The girl smiled back. "That's a strange accent," she said. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Manchester," Davy said. "England."

"Wow, that's exciting," The girl said. "Oh, hey, I'm not using this cart anymore, would you like it? You've got quite a lot of baggage there..."

Davy blinked, coming to himself. "Sure," He said. "Thank you, this really helps me out."

"Oh, no problem," The girl said. "Here, let me help you load it. I'm Bree, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Bree, I'm David," Davy said as she put the suitcase she had picked up onto the cart and Davy began loading the rest of the baggage onto it.

"So Davy," said Bree. "What brings you here all the way from Manchester, England?"

"Oh, you know," Davy said. "I got tired of living under my grandfather's rules, I wanted to make my own path."

"You wanna be free?" Bree said, the corner of her mouth turning up slightly.

Davy nodded. "My grandfather's set me up in a posh Boarding school, but I'm going to go to a hotel instead, until I can find an apartment or something."

"Wow, you've got this all figured out, huh?" Bree said. "But what about you being underage?"

"Huh?" Davy asked. Was there a snag in his plans he hadn't thought out?

"You know," Bree said. "Hotels don't rent rooms to minors. How old are you? Fifteen?"

"Fourteen," Davy corrected absently.

"Ooh, yeah, they're not going to rent you a room," Bree said, biting her lip. "Maybe you could... nah, that won't work..."

"What?" Davy asked.

"Well, I was thinking maybe you could find an apartment tonight, but with all the trouble that goes with finding a house, you'd probably end up sleeping behind a dumpster or something."

"Well, I don't want that," Davy said hurriedly. "What do you think I should do?"

"I don't know..." Bree said. "...Maybe you should just stay in your dorms, like your grandfather wanted you to... Just until you find something better," She amended upon seeing Davy's horrified expression.

Davy sighed. "Yeah," He said. "I suppose you're right. I just... I didn't want to live under someone else's rules, you know?"

"Yeah, I do," Bree said. "But you'll be free someday! Maybe you should just take smaller steps, you know? Like my mom always says; Long is the road to freedom. Enjoy what you have, while you have it. You need not make the journey in a day."

"That sounds like a fortune cookie," Davy said with a smile.

Bree laughed. "Yeah," She said. "It does, doesn't it? It's kinda true, though. If you take small steps, you'll reach your goal one day. You don't have to try to grow up right away. I mean, you just moved to America, you've got an entire ocean between where you are now and where you were yesterday. Maybe that's enough freedom for now."

Davy thought on this. "You're right," he said. "Thanks, Bree, I think I'll do that."

"Oh, hey, I want to give you something," Bree said, reaching into her pocket. "I don't know about you, but... I feel like this was important, you know? Like, us meeting here was meant to happen."

She pulled her hand out of her pocket, and held a piece of paper out to Davy.

"It's a drawing I made on the flight," she said as he took it.

"Thanks," He said, examining the picture. "This is really well drawn, you know."

The picture was of a winding road, very long, as it wound through the fields and trees and disappeared into the rolling hills, lit up in a sunset. Sitting under a tree near the front of the picture was a young girl, four, maybe five years old, resting in the shade and looking up at Davy with a smile, as if she was hiding something and wanted him to guess what it was.

"This looks like you," Davy said, looking back up at Bree. "The little girl, she looks like she could be your sister or something."

"Does she?" Bree asked. "That's funny. Maybe I subconsciously made her me or something. No, the idea just came to me on the plane, it's not anybody I know."

"Huh..." Davy said.

"Well, I've got to run," Bree said with a sigh. "I've stayed too long already. Bye, Davy, I hope you have fun at boarding school!"

"I hope so too," Davy said, smiling as Bree ran off. Then he pocketed his new drawing and began to push his cart out of the depot, hailing a taxi when he got outside. It was raining, he noted. Which was strange, because he was sure it had been sunny when the bus pulled in. Yes, because he remembered thinking that the name Sunny California fit the place well.

Oh well. In England, the weather turned with a snap of your fingers sometimes. It made sense that there might be a short rainshower here in California.

As he waited for the taxi, slowly beginning to get wet, he began to feel a strange excitement build up in him. He was actually looking forward to the school year! Bree was right, he had plenty of time to grow up. He didn't have to have his own apartment, he had already taken a huge step toward freedom in moving here in the first place. He could enjoy being dependant for a few more years, and then he could go out into the world, and be free.

1963, New Gallifrey, Texas~

Mike was intrigued and happy, all at the same time, as he reached into the hidden footlocker he had found while treasure-hunting, and pulled out a shiny key with a rounded head.

Next to him, his best friend, Adam Cartwheel, had also pulled something out of the box, a strange pocket-watch with weird symbols on the front.

"Look…" Adam said, holding out a pocket watch with odd markings on it. "It must be some sort of a code to the treasure. What do you have?"

Mike opened his hand, revealing the key inside it.

"A key!" Adam exclaimed.

"I bet it unlocks the box," Mike said, quietly. He smiled. "Tell you what. You've the directions, and I've got the key. Let's make a deal: I'll head on out to California with the key, and you hold onto the watch and figure that code thing out. Once you figure it out and find the box, I'll come back with the key and unlock it. Because, let me tell you… That's what I want to do. Unlock that box with my best buddy right there to share whatever's in it."

"You've got yourself a deal," Adam said. "Now let's get outta here and tell everyone what we found—"

"Don't bother," a third voice said. "Just hand over the watch and the key."

Mike's shoulders went rigid; he recognized the voice as one of the Riley gang; a group of brothers and cousins whose family owned a lot of land in and around New Gallifrey, leading them to think that they had the run of the town and could do whatever they wanted.

"What do we do?" Adam asked, clenching the pocket watch in his fist.

"We split," Mike announced, and he pushed past the burly bully, fleeing back down the tunnel. As he ran, he slipped the key he had found into the band of the wool hat he had also found in the box. Hopefully, no one would think to look for it there…

He had almost reached the rope when, all of a sudden, Adam sprinted ahead of him, grabbing for the rope first. Mike looked behind him, seeing the Riley gang member catching up to them very rapidly, assuming that to be the reason for Adam's desperate attempt to get out of the well as quickly as he could.

But when Mike turned back, he could only stare, stunned. Adam was hanging onto the rope, but something was pulling him up and out of the well.

"What…?" Mike asked, stunned to see more members of the Riley gang around the outside of the well, rapidly pulling on the rope. It was then that the horrible truth began to sink in. "Adam, you…"

"Sorry, Mikey," Adam said, not sounding apologetic at all. "They made me an offer I couldn't refuse. They already run the town, and, let's face it, even if you'd have found the treasure chest, they'd have just swooped in and claimed whatever was in it."

"But we had an agreement…!" Mike said, feebly.

"I made the deal with them first."

"But, you and I were… We've always been…"

"Times change, Kiddo," Adam said. "You honestly think everyone's going to stick around forever? Stick around you forever—a wannabe musician? How many friends—besides me—have you managed to hold on to?" He shrugged. "Maybe it's a good thing that you're leaving town soon. Maybe people will learn to appreciate you after you've left. Or maybe they won't care at all."

The brute behind Mike now picked him up.

"Hand over the key," he snarled, after going through Mike's pockets and not being able to find it.

"I… I don't have it," Mike lied. "I dropped it while I was running. It's somewhere in the tunnel, lost…"

"Forget him for now," Adam said, in dismissal. "We'll let him spend the night down there; maybe that'll convince him to hand over the key in the morning when we pull him out of there."

He lowered the rope slightly. Mike made a grab for it, but the creep with him knocked Mike to the ground and grabbed the rope himself, upon which Adam and the others quickly hoisted him up.

"Adam!" Mike cried. "Adam, please! Don't leave me down here!"

"The key, Mike. Give me the key, and I'll get you out of there right now."

Mike opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"No?" Adam concluded from his silence. "Then I guess you'll be spending the night there. For your sake, I hope there aren't any rattlers… I'd hate to have something happen to you before you tell us where the key is."

Adam's words stung more than a snakebite ever could. It only drove home how little their friendship had meant to Adam, and that the whole day today—perhaps even longer, such as months or even years—had all been an act on his part.

"See you in the morning, Mike," Adam sneered. "I hope…"

One by one, the faces disappeared from the well wall, their jeers and laughter retreating. Mike cried out for help until his throat gave up, whereupon he sunk to his knees, staring up at the small bit of darkening sky he could see.

"No one's coming," a voice said, and Mike wheeled around in shock, seeing a young girl standing a few feet away from him.

"Wha-!" Mike exclaimed. "Wh-who are you!?"

The girl smiled. "We've already been through this," She said. "Well, I have. It's a problem people have when they travel through time. Of course, you don't know that yet. And of course, if you lose my game, you probably never will."

"What are you talking about?" Mike asked. "And how did you get down here? Is there a way out?"

"No, there's no way out, and no one's coming," the girl said. "You see, this is my game."

"...What?" Mike said, suddenly realizing that there was something about the girl that made his teeth on edge.

The girl smiled. "Since you don't remember, allow me to introduce myself," she said. "My name is Treirathar, the Beautiful and Feared, and I play games."

Mike watched her warily, this was all he needed, on tonight of all nights. A crazy girl coming and messing with him.

Treirathar smiled again and continued talking. "Seven years from now," she said. "You lived another life. A life that made you happy, a life that you wouldn't have traded for the world. You had nothing from a worldly point of view, no money, no success, no fame, nothing.

"Gee, you're a ray o' sunshine, ain't'cha?" Mike said bitterly.

"But you had everything that marks one a true success," Treirathar continued. "You had your music, you had your hope for a better future, and you had three friends that you counted as more important than everything you desire right now."

"Yeah right," Mike snarled. "Friends? No way. I'm never trusting anyone ever again."

The girl smiled. "Yes, that's what you assume right now," she said. "But seven years from now, you had learned so much. And one of those friends, the closest of them, found a way to bend all rules of time, to come back to this night and lower a rope, allowing you the chance to escape from Adam to California, where you little by little, gained all those things I mentioned earlier."

Mike raised his eyebrow. "Yeah?" He said. "Well, that's all just fine and dandy. 'Cause you know what? There ain't no rope! Nobody's comin', you said so yourself. I'll be lucky if a rattler does come an bite me, 'cause that's nothin' compared to what'll happen if the Riley gang comes back in the mornin' and I'm still here."

"Ah, yes, no one's coming, there is no rope," the girl said. "That's part of the game. You see, I'm not from Earth."

Mike scoffed.

"I have powers beyond that of your wildest imagining," the girl continued. "I am the nuisance of the seven solar systems, and my game is that I bend time. There is so much potential energy surrounding you, Michael. You are teeming with it! It almost makes me giddy!"

Mike raised his eyebrows. This girl was insane. The seven solar systems? Bending time? Potential energy? This was nonsense.

"Oh, I could feed off of this for a lifetime..." the girl said, looking hungry all of a sudden, and Mike took an instinctive step back.

"But I won't," The girl said, smiling again, and shaking her head slightly. "What would be the fun in that? Alright, Michael, here are the rules."

"Rules?" Mike asked.

"Yes, rules!" The girl said. "Don't worry, Michael, you have a fair chance of winning. The game wouldn't be fun if I was assured my victory. Alright then, rules. The rules are simple, if you win, I give you a chance to save what might have been. I take you back to fix what I have successfully broken. If I win, you go on living in this reality, and I feast for eons!"

Mike took another step back. "What's your problem!?" He demanded.

The girl laughed. "I have no problem," she said. "No, it is you who have the problem. You see, you are going to be miserable for the next several years."

"Gee, thanks," Mike said dryly.

"But you won't be the only one," The girl said. "The three people who changed your life in the other reality, they are now imprisoned, I have chained them to what they hate the most. They are under my spell, and are enslaved."

"This is sounding better and better," Mike said. "So these three 'friends' who I supposedly would do anything for, are your slaves and can't help me."

"Yes," The girl said. "Keep your eyes open, one day, you will find these friends, and if you help them break their secret bonds, all three of them, then I will let you try and fix the timestream. That is the game."

"So I'm just supposed to be miserable for the next several years, and three random people I've never seen before will meet me one day, and I'm supposed to figure out their 'secret bonds,' or whatever, or I'll be miserable forever?"

"Correct," the girl said. "In order to make this game a bit more fair, I shall be taking this." She held up her hand, and Mike saw a glint of metal... the Key! She had the key!

"How'd you-" He started, lifting up the hat and looking in the band, where the key had been.

"You couldn't very well have this," she said. "Why, the game would be ruined! Imagine if the owner were to come looking for it... I shudder to think what he would do to restore the timestream. You would have the advantage. Not to mention, that silly group of children, if they had control of it and you. No, it's far better this way."

Mike just stood by, stunned. What was he going to do in the morning when Adam came back and there was no key?

"Now then," the girl said with a smile. "I must be going. Farewell, Mike. I'll be watching. Make this an interesting game, if you please. I always want to play with my food before I eat it."

Suddenly, she was gone, and Mike did a double take. She had just... disappeared?

He stood there for a little while, letting the darkness and the silence envelop him. He was alone. Alone, without any friend in the world, and hallucinating, apparently.

After awhile, he finally sat down against the dirt wall of the well, and put his head in his hands. It was hopeless. He was doomed to be miserable either way. Hallucination or not, other reality or not, weird game or not, he would be miserable. Adam would be back in the morning, Riley gang in tow, and even if Mike wanted to give up the key, he couldn't now.

Mike didn't even try to imagine what Adam would do. But at least he wouldn't find the key when he did come back. Small blessings. Mike let out a dark chuckle, suddenly realizing the irony of the situation. Adam had done all this to get Mike to give him the key to the treasure, only to discover that Mike no longer had it. He would be livid.

Mike laughed again as a few droplets of rain made their way down from the open entrance to the old well, a strange feeling of emptiness taking over. He had nothing to live for anymore... nothing to be afraid of. He would do whatever it took to keep Adam from winning, winning at anything. No matter the risk.