"We've been walking down these stairs for ETERNITY!" Micky whined. "Are we sure this wasn't a clever ploy by Zero to get us down here. For all we know Davy could be the bait of his trap and Cate an ingenious decoy."

"Would you relax, Mick," Mike said. "We've already come this far. And if Zero is looking for a fight, he's got one. We have an irregular set of skills that can help us navigate the situation. Plus did you really think Hell was just a hop, skip, and jump away?"

"I feel like no one skips in Hell because it is forbidden fun," Peter added quietly out of nervousness.

"Hey, I think I'm actually starting to see some light…I mean dark…I mean dim lighting?" Micky faltered.

"Our instructions are get to the bottom and wait for Zero to direct us further," Mike said stepping down the last stair.

As if on cue, Zero appeared in his usual cloud of smoke.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," Micky coughed waving away the smoke with his arms.

"Greetings, I trust you had no trouble on your journey," Mr. Zero acknowledged.

"If Micky's constant complaining doesn't count as trouble then everything was peachy," Mike said sarcastically.

"There is a slight setback in our original plan…" Mr. Zero said ignoring the commentary.

"I knew something like this would happen?" Peter said louder than he meant to and grabbed onto Mr. Zero's collar. "Where is my friend you bastard?"

Mike and Micky pulled Peter off Mr. Zero, who began dusting and straightening out his clothing.

"Calm down, Mr. Tork. I'm sure Mr. Jones is quite alright. He isn't in his chambers and I'm deducing that Cate has taken him out as a peace offering. So we have to wait until they return," Mr. Zero said monotonously.

"Any idea on the time frame?" Micky asked anxiously.

Mr. Zero was about to answer and was interrupted by the sounds of giggles and murmurs coming from nearby. "Showtime."


Cate and Davy were approaching the cell again hand in hand. Cate had taken Davy to her favorite spaces in the Underworld to show him the more bewitching side of things. She wanted him to know what he would get to be ruling if he decided to stay.

"See I told you that Hell wasn't all infernos and damnation. It was some absolutely beautiful features," Cate sighed.

Davy turned her towards himself so that they were face to face. He brushed some stray hairs that had fallen in front of her eyes. "I see something right in front of me with absolutely beautiful features."

Davy cupped Cate's chin into one of his hands and tilted her face upwards for a passionate kiss. She melted into him embracing every moment as if it were to be their last.

"Ahem," someone cleared their throat behind them.

Both Davy and Cate startled and slowly parted with smiles on their faces to see the source of the sound.

"Terribly sorry, I have got to get this entrance thing under control," Mr. Zero said unapologetically.

"What is it? Cate asked over her shoulder as she had returned to looking at a more preferential view, Davy's eyes.

"Well my dear, I'm afraid I need to pull you away for some business. You know those souls aren't going to eradicate themselves. And we may need to make some cutbacks in the Wailing Wall Department. We are spending some much on their medical insurance for throat ailments."

"I'm afraid I have obligations to attend to my love," Cate said with a slight pout on her face that Davy found endearing.

"Don't worry," Davy said kissing her forehead. "You'll be back before you know it."

He headed back into his cell and began to close the door behind him.

"Wait…" Cate said stopping Davy in his tracks. "Leave it open. This is an opportunity for you. If you want to leave while I'm gone you are able to. If you want to stay and see where things go with us…"

Davy nodded and left the door ajar. He watched Cate and Mr. Zero depart and the collapsed on his back onto the bed. He had some time to reflect on recent events and his feelings about new developments. He sunk into the bed and closed his eyes, reviewing all the physical aspects of his time with Cate.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by thundering commotion approaching him.


Moments prior…

"Looks as though those two are back," Mr. Zero explained to the three remaining Monkees. "Now I will divert Cate's attention by informing her of business that is needed to be taken care of. During that time, you all get Mr. Jones out of here up that stairs from which you came. Do you have the means?"

"Oh yes, I felt mean and mad about this situation since I found out," Peter said proudly.

"Unbelievable," Micky uttered.

Mike ignored Peter and held up a large black bag towards Mr. Zero. "Yes sir, we've got your TNT, bolt cutters, and Peter's lock picking kit."

"Hey!" Peter exclaimed.

"Oh relax, it's an emergency," Mike said.

"Perfect. Stay in the shadows and wait for us to pass by and then make your move," Mr. Zero directed. "Be quick, because I'm not sure how long I can keep her occupied."

"Can do," Mike assured.

With that Mr. Zero slunk away.

They tried to strain and listen to the conversation, but were too far away to hear anything at all. So they sunk back into the shadows as instructed. After a few moments, they heard the clicking of heels approaching their hiding place and watched and Cate and Mr. Zero passed by and were no longer in sight.

"Let's get Davy the hell out of here," Micky said darkly.

With that the three friends rushed straight forwards towards the metal cell, escape devices in hand.

"Don't worry Davy we'll have you outta there in no…." Micky paused and surveyed the scene in front of him. Davy was lounging back on a bed resting his head on his arms. "Hey man, did you know your cell door is open?"

Davy looked up dreamily. "Hey fellas, what are you doing here?"

"What are we doing here?!" Mike said in shock. "We're here to rescue you."

"Rescue me from what?" Davy said looking puzzled.

"Looks like we are too late and have to take matters into our own hands," Peter commented.

"Excuse me! I'm not quite sure what you all are getting at. I'll have you know I've taken care of my own matters many times before," Davy protested.

"And in that time you got kidnapped and we had to come rescue you. Have you been brainwashed?" Micky asked.

"Of course not. Look, I'm aware that you're all worried about me and you came to get me out of this predicament. The truth is though I'm no longer here against my will. I can leave if I choose to. I'm working on making a decision."

"No longer against your will? That implies that at one time you were," Peter pointed out.

"Well yes, but only because Cate didn't know how else to approach me. Nothing else she was doing was working," Davy answered matter-of-factly.

"What decision do you need to make?" Micky asked.

"Whether or not I want to stay and be the King of the Underworld."

"Oh well, when you put it that way…grab him!" Mike said swiftly as the other two grabbed hold of their shorter counterpart.

"Let me go, fellas. I promise I'm alright," Davy struggled to free himself from their grasp.

As the bandmates continued to struggle to get Davy out of the cell, they could hear walking and Mr. Zero talking loudly.

"Why would you need to go consult with Mr. Jones about business matters?" Mr. Zero practically yelled to let the others know that Cate was coming back.

"You have to hide. You can't let her find you," Davy warned. "There's no telling what her reaction may be."

"That's comforting," Mike said sarcastically. "Quick, under the bed."

Micky, Mike, and Peter dove underneath the rather large bed as Davy plopped back onto it trying to look inconspicuous.

"Darling, what are your opinions about family insurance plans for employees? Wouldn't it make more sense to…Why are you breathing so fast?" Cate asked as she approached him.

"Oh you know, you take my breath away," Davy offered weakly.

Mr. Zero glanced down and noticed a boot sticking out from under the bed. He kicked the leg of the person the boot belonged to and there was a noticeable grunt from under the bed.

"What was that?" Cate asked.

"Pardon me, dear, sore throat," Mr. Zero lied.

"Anyway," Cate continued turning back to Davy, "what are your opinions on employee healthcare? If you are going to rule with me, I want to begin including you in decisions."

"I think I have far too much on my mind right now to make the best decision. Why don't you go ahead and make this without me," Davy said flashing her the most convincing smile he could muster.

"Fair enough," Cate said winking at Davy and she snapped her fingers and disappeared.

"That was a close one," Mr. Zero said as the three came out of hiding. "What is taking so long? I thought you would have been gone by now."

"Well you see, Romeo over here seems to have succumbed to this succubus' charms," Micky said.

"Don't talk about her that way," Davy said defensively.

"See what I mean."

"Davy, we have got to get you outta here. You can't be in a relationship with the devil, its bad news," Peter offered.

"You all seem to have made some sort of arrangement with the devil," Davy countered gesturing towards Mr. Zero.

"You know that he is no longer the devil. I think you have been blinded by her charms and forgot about all the things she put you through," Mike explained. "Remember, she gave you the "heebie jeebies", you thought she sabotaged your dates, and she's trying to take you away from the band and your friends."

Davy stared back at Mike blankly. Perhaps, he had been down there too long and his mind was playing tricks on him. He needed some more time to figure things out. Unfortunately, with a rescue mission well underway and little time for dawdling there seemed to be more time to clear his head.

"This is ridiculous," Peter said more forcefully than anyone expected. "We are dragging him out whether he likes it or not. He can thank us later."

Peter locked his arms in place under Davy's as Mike grabbed his legs. Davy tried with all his might to fight them off, but was unable break free. So he began to loudly protest and Micky grabbed some fabric off the bed and shoved it into Davy's mouth.

Mr. Zero hurriedly led the way back to the staircase to Earth. Abruptly, he stopped in his tracks as the Monkees ran into him. They looked up to see a large dark figure.

"Gentlemen, I don't know if you pray, but now would be a good time to start."