Mr. Zero was more than shocked when he saw Veran furiously leaving the castle escorted and without Davy. When the coast was clear, he approached her.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Veran gave him a piercing glare.

"I was thrown out," she said, flatly. "He not only refused to kiss me, he also insulted me! Either you changed his personality when you cast the curse, or your curse did not work the way it was supposed to."

"Impossible; the curse was only meant to seal away the memories of all those it was cast upon!" Mr. Zero countered. "And there is no possible way Jones could have fought against the curse! He is an ordinary boy—he has nothing against my power!"

"You forgot about the 'Power of Love' that Nesmith preached about," Veran reminded him, her voice filled with venom. "Your curse overlooked that important point."

"That is of no importance," Mr. Zero insisted, waving his hand in dismissal. "They cannot love what they cannot remember."

"Are you so certain of that?" Veran asked. "How do you explain Dolenz and Tork reuniting? They cannot remember, and yet Dolenz went out of his way to help Tork escape from Dr. Mendoza!"

"Unfortunate coincidence," Mr. Zero said. "I will soon remedy that, though; the help I will receive from Morales."

"I wouldn't bank on that," Veran said. "They say the Power of Love can break any curse; it stands to reason that it can also be unaffected by curses. Wiping their memories will not wipe out their friendship—you only need to look at those two boys at the circus. If your goal is to destroy their friendship, it will fail miserably."

"That is not my goal," Mr. Zero reminded her. "My goal is to have them sign their mortal souls over to me; once I have ownership over them, I can do whatever I wish with them. I will separate them in four corners of the Netherworld, and that will make them suffer for eternity. That is my goal."

"Good," Veran said. "But even that will fail if the Power of Love ends up breaking the curse you cast before you get the chance—"

Mr. Zero decided that he did not need to hear this; he snapped his fingers, and Veran vanished in a flash of fire, returning back to her eternal prison.

He would not admit it, but he was concerned that Veran had a point. Still, he knew that by the time he was finished today, it wouldn't matter.

Once the hilarity of the maid disguise had passed, Davy and Mike quickly sobered as they ate their lunch in Davy's room.

"So, let's see what we've got here," Mike said, now in his regular clothes again. "We've got this Zero guy out there looking for me so he can get me to sign some contract so he can achieve some sort of victory. And, apparently, he wants you to sign a contract, too, so he sends this Veran chick out to get you. And now you're telling me that I once told you to make a vow that you'd never lose your head over a girl… but we've never met before yesterday."

"Yeah, I'm still trying to figure that last one out," Davy said. "I know it was a memory—but how can that be when, as you said, we only met yesterday? And I'm also trying to figure out who those other two fellas were."

"What other two fellas?"

"There were two other guys there when I made that vow; they must have been the same ones I heard in my dream."

"Hold on a minute there!" Mike said. "Now we're getting more details here. You said you had a dream?"

"Yeah—night before last. I could hear three voices calling out to me. One of them was yours, actually, so it stands to reason that the other two voices were the two guys that were there with you in that memory I had…" Davy trailed off as he saw Mike frown in befuddlement. "What is it?"

"I had a dream like that the night before last, too," he said. "Everything was dark, but there were voices calling my name."

"Three voices?" Davy asked, his eyes widening.

Mike looked back at him and nodded.

"But that means that we…" the English boy began.

"…had the same dream," the Texan finished. "Except that I was hearing you, and you were hearing me."

"But what does it mean?" Davy asked. "And what about that vow you had me make? Where does that fit in? And why can't we remember?"

Mike shrugged helplessly. He wanted to remember, especially if he and Davy had met before, and it hurt to know that he couldn't remember.

"Maybe it's just wishful thinking," Davy admitted.

The younger boy now looked away, out the window of the room, and Mike felt even worse. Even though he hadn't seen it himself, he wanted to believe that what Davy had seen in that vision really had happened.

"Davy," he said, softly. "Look, I know things aren't making a lot of sense right now, but that's no reason to dismiss them. Faith is a powerful thing, especially in a case like this when things just keep getting more and more strange."

"What are you saying? You believe that you really did make me say that vow?"

"Well, until something comes along to disprove it, I guess I am willing to believe it," Mike said, sagely. "And I think it's good for you to believe it, too; I can read between the lines of what you've been telling me about how you've felt about this place—you were lonely, weren't you?"

"Of course not!" Davy bluffed. "I just wanted some freedom, that's all! I'm surrounded by people here—too many people, actually! Why would I feel lonely?"

"Well, for someone who wanted freedom, you sure didn't take it when you had the chance last night," Mike pointed out, not fooled. "But if you think you really have too many people around, well… there's no sense in having me add to the crowd. I guess I'll see you around."

"Mike…!"

The Texan had headed for the door, but paused as Davy turned from the window.

"Don't go, Mike," the boy pleaded. "You… you were right. I was lonely here; sure, there're always people here, but… I'm just a boss to them. Creech does his best, but, in the end, he still sees himself as a servant first. And I'm just the Earl to anyone else who comes through here. You're the first person who's treated me as an equal—as a friend. And now, there's a possibility that we may have met somewhere before… in another time and place, perhaps, but… I don't know what it's supposed to be, but I want it to be true."

Mike walked back to him; he had been bluffing, too, of course.

"I want it to be true, too. More than that, I believe that you found me in those woods for a reason. And now we've both had the same dream, and you've got that memory. I told you, I don't believe in coincidences."

Davy gave another nod.

"And what about those other two?" he asked. "They may be out there—in trouble, just like we were."

Mike mused for a moment.

"Well, we have to figure out a way to look for them," he deadpanned. "Unfortunately, we can't exactly put in a personal ad in the paper."

"And I can't exactly come and go as I please. I got away with it last night, but even if I could do it every night, I could only go so far," Davy sighed. "I suppose the only answer would be for you to go after all—you could find them and bring them back here."

"I don't want to leave you alone with Zero around," Mike insisted.

"But I wouldn't sign his contract!"

"I know you wouldn't. But he might figure that out and just decide to take you out of the picture altogether."

Davy gulped.

"Let's not do that, then," he said. "Maybe… maybe we should focus on just trying to remember whatever we can." He sat down in the armchair, closing his eyes.

"Davy… Davy!" Mike said, snapping his fingers until Davy opened his eyes again. "Trying to force memories won't work; you had that flash of memory without even trying. We'll remember when we have to."

"How can you be so sure of all of this?" the younger boy wondered.

"Oh, I'm not," Mike admitted. "But I'm just going by the track record here."

Davy smiled.

"So, what now?"

"We just wing it," Mike said. "And talk."

And so they talked. Davy described all of the details he could of the vision of memory he had seen, sounding apologetic that he hadn't been able to stick to that vow—to which Mike had responded that Davy had remembered and stuck to it when it counted the most.

The discussion continued to various topics as the hours ticked on. Creech had almost come by; he had been outside the door, ready to knock on it to inquire as to how Davy was doing, but had paused upon hearing the lively conversation inside. It didn't surprise him to hear that the second voice was no longer a falsetto, but a Texan baritone; what did surprise him was how Davy and this other young man talked as though they had known each other for years. Creech remembered what Davy had told him yesterday about the dream, and how he had felt he had belonged with those voices he had heard.

Was this Texan boy one of those voices? How had he come here when the castle had been so secured? And, most importantly of all, was this boy's kindness towards Davy truly genuine?

Creech withdrew from the door, deciding to let them continue with their talking for now. There would be time later to determine the Texan's true intentions. For the moment, though, he could not complain.

Mr. Zero hated to admit it, but Veran's words had troubled him. He had spent the day searching for Mike and being unable to find him, and this was most disconcerting. He knew someone would be likely to take pity on the boy and take him in, which was not what he wanted when he wanted Mike to suffer the most. The thought had not crossed his mind that Mike had been taken in by the one person whom Zero would not have wanted him to cross paths with, and that was sheer luck.

Mr. Zero also spent the afternoon and evening surveying the scene at the circus. Rage burned within him to see Micky and Peter together again, having a good time. Again, fate had smiled upon the Monkees; he had arrived after Micky's flash of memory—and Micky and Peter had prudently agreed to discuss the memory later when they didn't risk the chance of being overheard by someone who'd dismiss them as crazy.

But their talking and laughing—as though things had never changed—was aggravating enough to the Prince of Darkness.

Laugh all you want now, he silently hissed at them. After tonight is through, you will never laugh again.

He withdrew a handful of gold that he had taken from Hagglethorn Hall. He had been forced to give a good quantity of it to Baby Face Morales as part of convincing him to go along with his plan, but enough remained for what Mr. Zero needed.

He now teleported himself to the interior of Micky's camper and placed the gold under the haphazardly-tossed pillow on the younger boy's fold-away bed.

Perhaps I do have a use for wealth after all, he mused.

In another instant, he had teleported again to the exterior of Hagglethorn Hall, where Baby Face was waiting with his gang.

"Well, it took you long enough to get here," Baby Face said. "Look, I've been casing the place—there're guards everywhere. Do you really expect me to believe that you're going to get us past them all?"

"Not all of you," Mr. Zero said. "Your compatriots can stay here; I can get you there in an instant."

He placed his hand on Baby Face's shoulder, and, in an instant later, they were now in Davy's bedroom.

Baby Face swore.

"How did you do that…?" he demanded.

"Do you doubt me now?" Mr. Zero asked.

Baby Face didn't answer; instead, he looked around the empty room.

"The Earl doesn't seem to be here," he said, drawing his gun all the same as he rooted through the wardrobe for any valuables that might have been kept there. "I thought you said that he would lead me to the vaults if I threatened him."

"Well, we wait," Mr. Zero said, folding his arms. "He'll come in here soon enough, and we'll be waiting for him."

It had been fortuitous that Mike and Davy had vacated the room just before Mr. Zero and Baby Face had arrived; Davy had decided that there was no way Mike should be forced to hide or dress as a maid, so he decided that he would formally introduce Mike to Creech and the rest of the staff.

First, though, they had to make Mike look a little bit more suitable for being the dinner guest of the Earl of Hagglethorn. None of Davy's suits would fit him, so Davy had taken Mike to one of the staff closets in the hopes that they could find something that fit that wasn't a maid's dress.

"You know, I'm willing to throw in the towel as far as this is concerned," Mike sighed, as he and Davy moved on from one closet to the next without success. "If you want to introduce me, you may as well tell him to take me as I am."

The English boy sighed. The search was starting to prove to be fruitless, and he was about ready to give up, too.

"Maybe you're right," he said.

"But I'm still trying to figure out how you're explaining my presence without revealing that you tried to run away, though…" Mike added. "Run this plan of yours by me again one more time, will you?"

"Right," Davy said. "I already told Creech about the dream yesterday, and he thought I was being foolish for believing in it. But if I tell him that providence brought the two of us together despite all of the guards around—which, technically, is what happened—he'll have to reconsider what I said. And then he might even let me go with you outside the castle, and we can find the other two fellas from the dream!"

Mike nodded along as Davy explained the plan.

"Well, let's go with it," he said. "What's the worst that could happen? I get thrown out of here that's all."

"Not likely; I'm making it clear to Creech that if you go, I go. And I've still got the means to make that bedsheet ladder if I have to."

Mike gave him a smile.

"You're something else, Davy," he said. "I've got to hand it to you."

Davy just grinned, and then he snapped his fingers.

"I've got it; I'll bet you could look a whole lot more posh with just a simple necktie!" he said. "That'll help you impress Creech, and you'll still be come-as-you-are for the most part. You wait here; I'll get you one of mine—I know by now which ones strangle less than the others…"

Mike shrugged in response, and Davy headed down the corridor and back to his room—and froze in his tracks to see a man with a gun pointed right at him.

Davy let out a yelp as the intruder seized him by the shirt.

"Mike!" he cried, his voice rising in a panic. "Mike!"

Mr. Zero, hiding in the shadows of the room, froze as Davy called out. It couldn't be…

Outside in the corridor, Mike bolted out of his hiding place as he heard Davy cry out to him, but he wasn't the only one; Creech had emerged from his room, as well. Both Mike and Creech came face to face now, startled by each other. Mike didn't know what to do, and Creech was just stunned, but the shock quickly passed as they both reminded themselves that Davy was in trouble in his room.

"Shut up," Baby Face hissed at Davy. "And listen good—I want you to take me to the vaults where you keep that gold fortune!"

"MIKE!"

"Shut up!" Baby Face snarled, slamming him against the stone wall.

Stars exploded in front of Davy's eyes as his head hit the wall; he didn't even have time to recover from that when Baby Face grabbed his neck.

"I'm telling you one more time—and only one more time," Baby Face said. "Shut up and agree to take me to the vaults, or—"

The gangster's threat remained unfinished; Mike charged in with his fist launched in a right hook that hit Baby Face squarely in the eye. The force of the hit knocked the gangster backwards; he let go of Davy as he hit the wardrobe with the back of his head, and both Baby Face and Davy sunk to the floor, knocked out.

And Mr. Zero, still watching from the shadows of the room, was practically burning with rage.

"Nesmith…" he hissed.

Creech seized the gangster's gun before Baby Face could wake up and claim it, and then turned his attention to his employer.

"Master David…!"

The majordomo trailed off as he saw Mike on his knees, gently cradling the unconscious English boy.

"Davy…?" Mike asked, softly, as he gently slapped the side of Davy's face with his fingertips. "Davy, are you okay? Come on; say something…!"

Davy winced, groaning in pain.

"Oh, me head…"

Mike breathed a sigh of relief, and managed a smile as Davy opened his eyes.

"You saved me…" the younger boy whispered.

"…I guess I did," Mike replied, as it started to sink in. "Guess I paid back my debt after all, too."

"There never was a debt," Davy insisted. "Not between friends—and not for something like this."

And it was then that Creech knew that the Texan's care and concern was genuine—that look of relief on his face… the way he had ignored everything else just to focus on helping Davy in his moment of need, and ending up beating Creech to it…

The majordomo's thoughts trailed off again as the odd man in the three-piece suit from the previous day emerged from the shadows. Mike's attention was on Davy; he hadn't noticed Zero, but Davy had—the boy paled, prompting Mike to look around to see the Prince of Darkness leering over him, rage etched upon his face.

Mike's first instinct was to hold Davy close in a protective, brotherly hug; as he did this, he stared up defiantly at Mr. Zero, as though daring him to try anything else. Davy clutched at Mike's arm, but also did his best to try to give Zero a dark look, too.

Mr. Zero suddenly let out a roar of rage that sent chills down the boys' spines; the devil's hand drew back, aiming to thrust forward to seize either one or both of them—they never knew, for Creech quickly positioned himself between Zero and the boys, aiming Baby Face's weapon at him.

"This time, I intend to see that the authorities take you away."

"Then you're in for a disappointment," Mr. Zero spat back. The weapon was useless against him, but he couldn't afford all the attention right now. The Prince of Darkness gave one last glare at Mike and Davy before snapping his fingers. He and Baby Face both vanished without a trace.

"Did you see that?" Davy exclaimed. "They disappeared into thin air! …Unless my mind was playing tricks on me after hurting my head on the wall…"

"Can't be; I saw it, too," Mike said, helping Davy to his feet. "But never mind that; are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Davy said, shaking off the last of the mental cobwebs.

Creech now cleared his throat, prompting the boys to look in his direction.

"Creech, I can explain…" Davy began, but Creech cut him off by raising his hand.

"Master David, you have had a most horrifying ordeal; I wish for you not to worry about anything for the moment," Creech said, and he now addressed Mike. "As for you, young man… While I have no idea how you got into the castle when it was supposed to have been secured, I suppose this current intrusion proves that there is a way inside that must be addressed. That aside, I must thank you for helping Master David twice today. That was a very… interesting performance you gave during lunch, but it did enough to stall that Veran woman before any damage was done."

Mike winced.

"You, uh… you knew that wasn't legit, huh?"

"I have long since made it a point to remember each and every member of the staff in case of an infiltrator," Creech explained. "And your sideburns gave you away regardless of that."

Mike mumbled something unintelligible as he absently felt his sideburns.

"Creech," Davy said. "I'm sorry for trying to hide him from you. His name is Mike, and… well, he was one of those voices from that dream I told you about yesterday. I just knew I couldn't lose him now that I'd found him."

Creech responded with a nod.

"I wouldn't have understood by your words alone, but based on what I saw here just now… I know it must be true, as impossible as it is." He headed for the door. "I am going to make a report to the authorities. …I know you'll be in good hands, Master David."

Creech left the room, leaving Mike and Davy to exchange glances. Well, it certainly hadn't been the way they had intended for it to go, but they had just succeeded in securing Mike's extended stay at Hagglethorn Hall.

"Pass me some of that popcorn, Peter."

"Sure. Hey, can I have some of the cotton candy?"

"Help yourself. Oh, and we've got funnel cake here, too, as well as the honey-roasted peanuts—no, Rue, that's not for you!"

Peter couldn't help but laugh as Micky tried in vain to keep the honey-roasted peanuts out of the elephant's reach—he failed, thanks in part to Rue's trunk.

"Well, scratch the honey-roasted peanuts off the list," Micky sighed, giving up. "But I guess we've got enough for dinner anyway."

"This is dinner?" Peter asked through a mouthful of cotton candy as he tossed a piece of funnel cake to the eager Emerald. "Candy, popcorn, and funnel cake?"

"Dinner of champions," Micky responded, with a grin.

Peter grinned back. In all honestly, he didn't really care what he was eating. The company of a good friend made any food palatable; and Micky was the best friend he could've ever met—whether they had met before or not. And more and more, he was willing to believe that they had.

"You know something Pete?" Micky said, as they continued to walk while they ate. "I don't know for how long I've been at this circus—it seems like forever, but today's got me wondering if that's really true. But whether it is or not… today was definitely the best day I've ever had here."

Peter smiled.

"Well, I'm glad for you," he said. "And I guess I'm glad that I could help you be so happy."

Micky looked back at Peter, that strong feeling in his heart now stronger than ever. He wished he could remember more, but… just knowing that there was this very good chance that they knew each other from before was enough—for now at least.

The boys finished their dinner and headed back towards Micky's camper after returning Rue to his enclosure. Micky was hoping that he and Peter could have a long conversation that could, just possibly, trigger some more memories of their shared past—and, perhaps, memories of those other two people he had seen in his vision.

"Hey, Micky, did you leave the lights on in your camper?" Peter asked, as they headed closer.

"No…" the younger boy said, blinking in surprise. "We haven't been back there since this morning, and I didn't have them on then."

He now frowned, and the smile had faded from Peter's face, as well; something wasn't right. But whatever it was Micky had been expecting on the other side of the camper door, a policeman certainly wasn't it. The ringmaster was there, as well; both he and the policeman glared at Micky as he entered.

"Wh-wh-what's going on in here?" Micky asked.

"Is this your camper, young man?" the policeman asked, gesturing around at the mess within.

"Well, yeah, but—"

"How do you explain this under your pillow?" the policeman continued, showing the pile of gold on the bed.

Micky's jaw dropped.

"Man, the tooth fairy must've goofed," he said, his eyes widening. "I didn't even lose a tooth!"

Peter did not like the look on the faces of the ringmaster or the policeman as they exchanged glances.

"His appearance does match the description that we received from the staff of Hagglethorn Hall…" the officer mused. "In fact, it matches perfectly. But could he have done it?"

"Done what?" the boy asked, starting to go a little pale. "I was helping out with the earthquake clean-up all day…!"

"He's always been a troublemaker, Officer," the ringmaster said. "I wouldn't put it past him."

"Wouldn't put what past me?" Micky asked. "I didn't do anything! I don't know anything about that gold!"

"That's enough out of you," the policeman said, curtly, as he drew out a pair of handcuffs.

Peter stared at them in horror.

"What are you doing?" he cried.

Micky's mouth fell open in silent horror as his arms were forced behind his back and the handcuffs placed over his wrists.

"You're under arrest," the officer said. "For breaking and entering, burglary, and threatening the Earl of Hagglethorn."