Chapter nine: The End of the Experiment

Doctor Mendoza wrung his hands and paced a little. Groot began pacing behind him, but didn't realize when Mendoza was about to turn. Every time Mendoza would turn, he'd run into Groot. Mendoza would guide Groot away and then continue pacing.

Suddenly, Mendoza looked up towards the upright lab tables and saw four beams of light crash down around them. The machine beeped and buzzed while different colored lights flashed. Mendoza and Groot ran over to the lab tables.

The Monkees appeared in their restraints but were unconscious. Mendoza stopped the machine and walked over to The Monkees. He woke them up individually and then took a step back with an eager smile.

"Well?" He clasped his hands together.

Mike blinked and grunted a little as his vision cleared. "Hmm? Oh… oh yeah. Um…" He glanced over at the other three guys next to him. "Everything alright?"

Micky groaned and opened his eyes. Unable to use his hands to rub his eyes, he squeezed them shut before opening them again. "Mmm? Yeah. Alright."

"That one seemed rough." Davy grumbled, holding his eyes shut.

"The final return journey usually is rough." Mendoza said as he unfastened their restraints.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"Ah! What indeed!" Mendoza laughed and then helped them down from the lab tables.

The Monkees stumbled a bit before they regained their bearings. They walked over to the nearest table and sat down. Peter took the newspaper that he had tucked under one arm, and unfolded it in front of him. He then sat in amazement as he read all the historical articles. Davy leaned closer and watched him curiosly.

"You actually managed to bring that back?"

Peter grinned and nodded before diving back into the newspaper.

"How did you even wind up with it? I was the one holding it." Mike asked, puzzled.

"How does Peter wind up with anything he owns?" Micky asked sarcastically.

Peter smiled and shrugged. "Just lucky I guess. I have other things in my pockets too. Like one of the trinkets that a runaway gave us and a feather that fell off Millie's outfit and a gold coin from when we helped Fern." He said proudly.

"What? Nothing from Ms. Buntwell?" Davy asked.

"No." Peter shook his head. "I wanted to snatch the Titanic pamphlet but she had it. " He searched his pockets, pulling out the items. "Oh!" he chuckled. "I found a few sequins from Ms. Buntwell's stage clothes."

"That is really impressive Peter." Mike patted him on the back. "Looks like you have quite a collection there."

Peter grinned proudly. "Thank you."

Mendoza walked over to the table and examined all of Peter's items. He commented about how impressive a collection this was, and that Peter really was lucky to have gathered all of it when he did. Mendoza then asked them for the final piece of the document, to which Mike provided.

"Yes! Ah fine, fine work my boys!" Mendoza smiled and danced a little jig while holding the paper in his hand. "The final piece! You found the final piece!"

He then walked over to his desk where the other pieces of the document were. He placed the piece in the middle and stood back, smiling with excitement. The Monkees looked over in curiosity and tried to get a look at the document.

Mike leaned forward. His eyes were narrowed and eyebrows were pushed together. "Hey Doc, you never told us what that document was. Why was it so important for you to get it?"

Doctor Mendoza chuckled. "Yes it is very important. Much more important than you could know."

The Monkees looked at each other, confused.

"Ok but why is it so important? Why did you need it?" Mike asked.

"You ask so many questions. It is important to me because of reasons that only I need to understand."

Mendoza then distracted The Monkees from further questions when he walked over to his wall safe. While spinning the combination lock he looked at them.

"Now, I believe there is still a matter of payment for you boys. I'd like to thank you boys for helping me with this experiment." He spun the lock again. "I could not have got better helpers than the four of you. And for that, I am grateful." He spun the lock to another number and opened the safe.

Mendoza took out stacks of money and began counting it. The Monkees watched in awe as he walked over to them with the money. Neither of them had seen this much money before (aside form believing they were filming a bank robbery movie, and what they had won in coins while gamboling.) They couldn't believe it was actually all for them. Mendoza began dividing the money up and gave each Monkee his own stack.

"There you are, boys. 2,000 for each of you."

The Monkees smiled as they accepted the money. They caressed their own stacks and stared at them, to see that the money was indeed real. Picking up the money, they somehow managed to restrain their urges to throw it into the air. Then, standing up, they practically tackled Mendoza to the ground in a group hug, celebrating their generous payment.

It wasn't long before The Monkees headed home. They left, not only with their payment and whatever items Peter managed to keep from the past, but with all kinds of lasting memories from their adventures. They also had the knowledge of being time travelers when others had only dreamed of doing so. The only thing that bothered them upon leaving Mendoza's lab was the mystery he kept about the document they had helped him collect. They knew that this was something they'd wonder about for a long time.

Back in the lab, Mendoza taped together all the pieces of the document. He then stepped back, smiled and rubbed his hands together in pride.

"At last!" He laughed. "At last I have it!"

Groot peeked over Mendoza's shoulder at the document. "What do you have, master?"

"This, Groot, is a map. Not just any map, mind you. This map will lend me to where my android is."

"I wondered what became of him." He scratched his head as he looked at the map. "Where is he?"

"We'll find out once we follow the map." He began running his finger along a marked trail on the paper. "The android started here when he left on his journey. And… Ah!" he laughed. "We will find him somewhere along here! But we'll have to take the time machine."

"But why, master?"

"Because, Groot, even though the map shows us the android's path and where he wound up, it doesn't show us what time period he is in. We'll have to check all the time periods the boys visited. Maybe others."

Mendoza walked over to the time machine. He studied it and the upright tables. "Hmm…. I might need to make a few modifications before we go." He rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Let's get to work!"