Mike usually wasn't the type to give up. Usually, he worked at the problem until it was solved, but this time, it seemed hopeless. He just sat there, upset. Spooky came up and rubbed her head against his leg, mewing. Mike looked down at her and scratched behind her ears.
"Spooky, what am I gonna do?" he asked. "I let the Ghost of Tom come out and now he and the rest of those creeps are terrorizin' the whole city. And I don't know how to stop them."
"Mew," Spooky responded. Mike sighed and continued to scratch behind her ears.
"You're lucky you're a cat," he said. "You don't have to worry about things like this. You're biggest worry is gettin' locked outside and the pet door gettin' stuck."
The kitten licked Mike's fingers. Clearly, she didn't understand what in the world Mike was telling her. He didn't care. He just wanted someone to talk to.
"I know you can't tell me what to do, Spooky," he said. "After all, you're just a kitten. But I'm at a loss here. All the monsters in the world are out there scarin' people half to death, stuff like that, and it's all my fault. I just don't know what to do!"
"You could start by not feeling sorry for yourself," Hazel said. "That won't get us anywhere."
"Do you have any ideas on what I should do, Aunt Hazel?"
"Come down to my parlor and we'll see what I can do."
Mike followed his aunt down to her hideout to find out what they were going to do. Hazel pulled a large book off her bookshelf and took a large black cauldron out of the cabinet.
"Now, I'll take the book, and you put in the ingredients," Hazel said. "You brought the Ghost of Tom to life, you have to stop him."
"Got it," Mike said. "Fire when ready."
"First of all, let's make you look the part."
Hazel snapped her fingers. When the smoke cleared, Mike's clothes had changed. Instead of the classic red eight button shirt, he now wore a black turtle neck, black pants, a black cape, and even one of those stereotypical black pointed hats.
"What's with the hat?" Mike asked.
"It makes you look more like a witch," Hazel said. "You know, shows off your heritage a bit."
"Yeah, but only women witches wear this sort of thing."
"Now you do. Either wear it or I'm not gonna help you!"
"I've been makin' bargains all night. Okay. Let's do it."
Hazel nodded and Mike picked up a wooden spoon, ready for action. Hazel began to list off ingredients. Mike grabbed them off the shelf and poured them into the cauldron. Then he would mix them together.
"Now what do we do?" he asked.
"Dye it red," Hazel said. "And wouldn't you know I'm out of food coloring."
"Hey, I've got it covered."
Mike snapped his fingers and the concoction in the cauldron turned blood red.
"What's the next step, Aunt Hazel?" he asked.
"We bottle it," Hazel said, snapping her fingers. The concoction then appeared in a large bottle. "Now, you take this to the Monsters. This may cause them to lose their power."
"How am I gonna catch up with those creeps?"
"Fly of course."
"Uhh, well, Aunt Hazel, see, I can't. I don't know how to drive a broom stick."
"I don't care if you don't know how to walk, Robert Michael! You've got to do it. And don't lose the bottle!"
"Right."
Hazel handed Mike a broomstick. The Texan Monkee took a deep breath, straddled the broom, and took another breath.
"Okay," he said. "Contact!"
The broom revved up, and took off, fast as lightning. Mike held on for dear life.
"Whoa!" he shouted. "Hey! How do you drive this thing?!"
It was a pretty turbulent ride, but even so, he managed to catch up with the Monsters who were busy wreaking havoc and scaring people. Mike crashed into a building, and slid to the ground.
"Stop the world," he groaned. "I wanna get off!"
"Oh, you decided to join us after all," the Count said. "Excellent."
"Yeah," Mike said, regaining his senses. "Listen, I've been thinkin' you're right. Us Monsters don't get to have enough fun. What do you say we celebrate eternal Halloween with a drink? How 'bout a Bloody Mary?"
"Sounds good to me."
Mike reached for the bottle, and then realized he dropped it when he crashed. He looked over at the broomstick, and a broken bottle. Then he groaned.
"Great," he said. "I dropped it."
"Oh, what a shame," the Count said. "Oh well. You win some, you lose some. Come on. Let's go have a little fun, huh?"
Mike just nodded and rolled his eyes. He had to think of another way to stop the Monsters. The Count led him around the town, and they watched all the Monsters tear everything apart and scaring people. Especially the Ghost of Tom. He didn't say a word. All he did was howl, moan, and shriek. And the people would usually shriek back. Mike couldn't stand watching it, especially since that ghost was getting his power from Peter's spirit and energy.
"Beautiful sight, isn't it?" the Count asked. He took something out of his pocket. "I'll drink to this!"
"What's that?" Mike asked.
"Oh, my blood supply. Once I suck it, I save it for later sometimes. This is some of Peter's, actually."
"Really. Do you have the rest of it with you?"
"Yes. Under my cape."
"Count baby, that's all I wanted to know!"
Mike backed up and gave the Count a good zap with his magic. Then he lifted the vampire into the air and shook him. Glass containers filled with red liquid spilled out of his cape and pockets. And they were labeled as well. They all had the same four letters on them: T, D, H, and P.
"Okay, obviously 'P' is for 'Peter'," Mike said, gathering all the bottles marked "P" and putting them in a bag he conjured up. "But what about T, D, and H?"
"Tom, Dick, and Harry," the Count said. "Could you please put me down now?"
"I'll think about it. I thought about it. Nope."
"You're going to get it, Michael! Nobody does this to the Count!"
"First time for everythin', you know."
Mike ran until he found the Ghost of Tom, scaring everybody in sight, getting his power from Peter's spirit. He snapped his fingers and a slingshot appeared in his hand. He picked up a rock, loaded the slingshot, and hurled it at the ghost. It hit him in the head. Tom turned around, let out a howl, and lunged for Mike. The Texan Monkee side stepped the ghost and grabbed Peter's hand as Tom went by. Tom inadvertently let go of the blond Monkee and zoomed off.
"What would you do without me, Pete?" Mike asked. "Now, let's get this blood back into your system."
"BANZAI!" the Blob shouted, jumping down from a building. Mike dodged it and it fell flat into a green puddle.
"Gotta go," Mike said. "Give my regards to the Count!"
"You're not going anywhere, Michael," the Count said. Somehow, he managed to get down from midair.
"You know, my spells just don't stick like they used to," Mike said.
"Get him!" the Count shouted. All the Monsters went for Mike.
"Bye!" the Texan shouted, and he grabbed Peter and his broomstick.
Mike flew back to Monster Manor with lightning speed. Well, it really wasn't his choice to go to Monster Manor. Somehow or another, he was drawn to the house. It was all part of the Count's plan to capture both him and Peter. Mike crashed the broom through a window and hit the wall. Then he dumped the containers out of the bag and pulled the cork off one of them. He took the gauze off of Peter's neck and snapped his fingers. A small tube appeared in the blood container.
"I hope this works," he said. He placed the tube into one of the bite marks on Peter's neck and snapped his fingers. The blood began to transfer from the tube into the blond Monkee's system.
"If I do this right," Mike said, "those bite marks should disappear once he's got all his blood back."
For the next few minutes, though it seemed like an hour, Mike performed a blood transfusion. When he was halfway finished, Peter stirred. He groaned, and slowly opened his eyes. Mike sighed with relief.
"Oh man, Peter, thank goodness you're okay!" he shouted.
"Define okay," Peter said, weakly. "Oohhh, my aching neck. I feel like someone bit it."
"Someone did. The Count sucked your blood, but I'm performin' a blood transfusion. He had your blood stored in a vile. He was gonna drink it later."
"Oh."
"Don't worry, though. I'm almost through."
Peter nodded. Finally, the last of his blood was back in his system. As a precaution, Mike put the gauze back in place.
"Just in case those holes in your neck don't close up right away," he said.
"Holes in my neck?!" Peter shouted, panicked.
"Relax, Pete. They're gonna close up. But about the holes in your neck, well, the Count sucked your blood. Those holes are fang marks."
"Oh."
"Come on. We've got to get out of here."
Mike pulled Peter to his feet and the two boys began searching for a way out of the house.
"What I don't get is how in the world I could've ended up at this crazy house," Mike said. "I wasn't even flyin' for it."
"I know, but I set your course here, Michael," the Count said.
"It's him," Peter said, nervously.
"I see your blood transfusion was successful," the Count replied. "But it doesn't matter. I'll just suck his blood again, and this time, I won't store it!"
The vampire lunged. Mike stepped in front of Peter and gave the Count a blast of his magic.
"Let's get out of here!" he shouted.
Peter nodded and he and Mike began to run down the hallway.
"Monsters! Stop them!" the Count shouted.
The Monsters ran off after the boys. Mike and Peter didn't dare split up this time. If they did, Peter would definitely get his blood sucked again. And he was already a pint low.
"I think he drank some of my blood after he sucked it," he said, catching his breath.
"Yeah, I think you're right," Mike said. "You still look a little weak, man."
"I feel kind of faint, too."
"Yeah, well, don't pass out on me now. There's no way I can go through this alone."
"Ah ha!" the Wolfman shouted. "Thought you could out run the Wolfman? Well, now here's where I get to have some fun!"
Mike snapped his fingers and a large bone appeared in his hand. He waved it around and the Wolfman began to grow excited (well, he's part dog, you know).
"Here boy, go get it!" Mike shouted, throwing the bone across the room. The Wolfman ran after it, picked it up and began to chew on it.
"Now, while he's takin' a snack break, let's split!" Mike shouted.
"Right," Peter said, and he and Mike ran down the hall. As they did, they ran into Frankenstein, who moaned and tried to grab them both by their necks.
"What do we do about this one?" Peter asked.
"Simple," Mike said. He clapped his hands and it began to thunder and lightning outside. Mike pointed his finger and led the lightning to Frankenstein. It hit the bolts in his neck and sent an electrical shock through the giant monster.
"We'll put a little volts in those bolts," Mike laughed. "Let's go!"
Mike and Peter ran off down the hall again. This time, they were blocked off by the Blob. Mike shook his head.
"This is gonna be too easy," he said, snapping his fingers. A can appeared out of nowhere, and he scooped the Blob into it.
Sccchhhhluurrrrp!
"Yeecchh," Peter grimaced. "That's disgusting!"
"Well, it ain't over yet," Mike said, closing the can and putting it on the floor. "Run before we run into another monster!"
Too late for that. Mike threw open a door and the boys were face to face with the Mummy, growling and coming straight for them. Then Peter noticed a loose bandage.
"I'll handle this one, Mike," he said, grabbing the bandage. He pulled as hard as he could, and the Mummy went off spinning. All that was left was a pile of bandages.
"Things are unraveling fast, aren't they, Mike?" Peter asked.
"Clever," Mike said. "Now let's scram!"
"Gotcha."
The boys took off, hoping they wouldn't have to deal with any more of the Monsters. But then they ended up running into the Count.
"You boys are more resourceful than I thought," he said. "But it doesn't matter. As much as I'd like to, Michael, I can't do anything to you. You're one of us, more or less. But Peter is another story. Peter, look into my eyes."
"Don't do it, Pete," Mike said. "He'll put you in a trance and suck your blood!"
"Don't listen to him, Peter. Now look into my eyes!"
Peter squeezed his eyes shut and turned away from the Count. He wasn't falling for that old trick. The Count wasn't pleased.
"Fine," he said. "No matter. He doesn't need to be dead for the Ghost of Tom to get his power."
"Who's the Ghost of Tom?" Peter asked Mike.
"You don't want to know," Mike said, taking the blond Monkee's arm. "And trust me, I'm not gonna let you hang around long enough to find out."
The Count just laughed. Then he whistled for Tom. The large ghost howled and flew after the boys. Peter saw it and screamed.
"I told you you didn't want to know," Mike said matter-of-factly.
"You were right!" Peter shouted. "I didn't want to know! Now let's get out of here!"
The boys ran inside a room and slammed the door shut. The Ghost of Tom passed them completely. Mike leaned against the door and caught is breath. Peter collapsed in a chair.
"Man," he said. "I've seen ghosts before, but that one takes the cake!"
"Yeah, I know," Mike said.
"Where'd it come from, anyway?"
"Well, ahh, see, man . . . . I helped the Monsters conjure him up."
"What?"
"That's part of the Haunting. They needed a witch to bring the Ghost of Tom out so these creeps could make an eternal Halloween. They lured us here. The car didn't break down outside this house coincidentally. They knew I was half warlock, so they brought us here, the Count sucked your blood, and they used you to get me to conjure the Ghost of Tom. And since I conjured him up, I have to get rid of him, but one of my plans failed."
"Oh. I wish I could help you, but I'm no magician."
"I know. All I've got is my witch magic. And even with that, I don't know how to stop the Ghost of Tom."
"Don't worry, Mike. You'll think of something. And I'll help you get rid of that ghost. We're in this together."
Mike smiled. Peter could be a complete screwball sometimes, as well as the dummy, but he was always there when Mike needed him.