Chapter 1

Mike mumbled to himself as he gently put his guitar away. He hated how they were so desperate to make money that they would perform anywhere. This particular venue didn't pay very well, and the audience was mainly older people that just came to the restaurant to eat. They didn't particularly care for The Monkees' music, and Micky and Peter's loud messing around on stage earned a few frowns. The manager had hurriedly given Mike the money, but did not seem as if he were planning on inviting them back. Mike sighed. At least they would have enough money for rent and a few more meals.

A crash drew Mike's attention to the other band members. Davy grinned sheepishly from where he had tripped into the drum set, the tom toms slowly rolling away.

"You…" Micky jumped on Davy, causing a bigger mess and a tangle of arms and legs. Peter lept into action attempting to pull the duo apart, but Mike shook his head to himself and turned his attention back to packing up the instruments. He knew that in a matter of minutes they would be laughing in a heap on the floor, and all animosity would be forgotten.

Davy dodged a poorly aimed whack on the head with his own maraca while Peter tried to pull Micky's arm back, preventing the inevitable anger induced by the broken instrument. Behind them Mike began to calmly gather the drums and place them in their appropriate traveling containers. The money from the gig would take care of that months rent, but he'd only have $20 to spare to feed them and fill the gas tank until their next gig. Micky alone could consume enough food to make that barely last a week, so Mike would have to get straight to work finding their next show in the newspapers. Unfortunately there had not been many opportunities for them lately, and Mike was extremely worried that he wouldn't be able to provide enough this time.

Oblivious to the issues running through Mike's mind, Micky had managed to get Davy into a chokehold, rendering him defenseless.

"Lay off, Micky! I can't breath!" Davy pulled on his arm trying to release himself.

"Oh, sorry!" Micky removed his arm, smirking as he tousled the younger boy's hair to add insult to injury. Davy scowled, pulling himself away from Micky while smoothing his hair down.

"Leave me alone! It's because I'm short, isn't it!" Davy didn't like being treated like a child which included the motherly tousle.

"No, it's because you're imp." Micky stated matter-of-factly, earning another glare from Davy. The small stature often associated with an imp didn't not go unnoticed.

"He's not an imp! He's a human!" Peter exclaimed, shocked that Micky had lived with him for years and had not figured that out.

"Peter, no. I mean that...never mind. Need help, Mike?" Micky noticed that his entire drum set had been entirely packed up, and Mike was gathering the last of the equipment to be placed in their own box.

"I got it, Mick. Just take your drums to the car." His tone was downbeat, but the others didn't seem to notice, partially because Mike typically sounded rather mellow and also because they were still wound up from their short wrestling match.

Using his endless energy Micky bounded over to the cart that Mike had loaded and began to pull it towards the door. He only made it a few feet before he ran back-first into something that had not been their seconds before. One glance at Mike's fearful facial expression started alarm bells ringing in Micky's head. Slowly turning Micky glanced at the figure that had stopped him, and he was unable to restrain the cry of surprise.

"YOU!"

Mr. Zero looked at the brunette with a look of stuffy distaste.

"Yes, my dear boy, you don't need to tell the whole neighborhood."

He turned back to Mike, his snobby aire somehow growing snobbier.

"I see you boys are still poor, struggling musicians. Your little speech doesn't appear to have helped much."

He stared at Peter, causing the blonde to shrink a little and step behind Davy.

"What do you want…" Growled Mike, moving in front of Peter and Davy as his fear was replaced with rage at the reminder of the devil's last visit.

Mr. Zero shot him a bemused look. "Since you seem so gifted at solving people's problems, I have one for you."

Mike glared at him. "We would never help you out. Figure your own problems out!"

"Yeah, why do need our help anyway?" Micky asked with genuine curiosity.

"I don't think you realize. You have no choice. I could kill any one of you with the snap of my fingers." Mr. Zero raised his hand, almost threatening to perform the action.

Davy glared at Mr. Zero. "So why don't you?"

"Davy!" Micky nudged the shorter brunette.

The evil one eyed the two of them with distaste, then turned to Mike.

"It's not my problem;I simply don't want to give this task to anyone else. And you boys owe me."

"We don't owe you, anything!" Mike retorted defensively.

"I beg to differ, you owe me many favors for letting you off so easily." Mr. Zero responded coldly.

"We escaped fair and square!"

"I let you go." Mr. Zero sneered.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that!" Mike swung his guitar onto his back and pushed past Mr. Zero to the door. "We won't be helping you with anything!"

"That's right!" Micky followed, purposely hitting Mr. Zero's shoulder. The other two followed, Peter avoiding Mr. Zero by sliding along the wall and Davy attempting a swipe as he walked past. His fist somehow went nowhere near Mr. Zero's face, even though it should have been a clear shot.

"I have no intention on killing any of you yet, but I have other means of persuasion. You have made many enemies who are all going to be quick to help me if you are involved. If you don't do the task that I'm going to give you, I will make your last living days a living h**l."

Mike stalled for only a moment before shooting Mr. Zero a indignant glance.

"Be at the train station at 10:30 tomorrow morning. Your subject will be wearing a white shirt with red pants and a blue scarf."

Peter glanced behind him as the others shoved their way through the narrow door. Mr. Zero had disappeared without a trace, leaving only a heavy atmosphere to show that he had even been there. Peter tried to hold the panic down as the meaning of the words hit home.

"Hey guys? Do you think he really can do that?"

"I haven't a doubt, shotgun," Mike's tone was grim.

Micky yawned as he stumbled down the spiral staircase. Rubbing the last bit of sleep from his eyes he headed to the ice box, promptly opening it when he arrived. Grimacing he took in the lack of food before pulling out the last splash of milk. Without a word he snatched the box of cereal from Davy who was sitting at the table in a sleepy daze.

"Hey, I was using that!" He pointed toward the box as he gave Micky a groggy glare.

"Yeah, well now I am." Micky poured himself half of a bowl of cereal before passing the box back to Davy. Even though Mike usually dealt with the money, Micky knew how short they were, and he portioned his breakfast accordingly.

Davy poured himself a small portion as well as he tried to keep his eyes open to prevent spilling.

"Gee, Davy, you look awful!" Micky scooped an excessively large spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

"Speak for yourself." Davy responded. "I couldn't sleep. I was too scared."

"Scared of what? Oh, pshaw! Mr. Zero wouldn't touch us! Mike proved that even he is defeatable!"

"Yeah, well, I don't think any speech from Mike is going to get us out of this one. I wonder what he wants us to do? And why does he was us to do it?"

"Because he doesn't want to get his hands dirty!" Mike walked up, grabbing the cereal box before sighing and putting it back down. "Forcing us to do his dirty work just shows that he can still make us do whatever he wants."

"What if he's right? I don't want all of our enemies coming back to get at us again!" Davy shuttered as he thought of all the villains they had dealt with in the past.

"If we escaped them before, we can now as well."

"Mike, usually there are cops or other protectors nearby. Or they made a dumb mistake that they will have learned from. How would we explain the situation to the police?" Micky found himself siding with Davy.

Mike shrugged. "The police really haven't been that helpful in the past. It's always been us getting out of our own situations."

"Yeah, but I don't like this whole 'make our last days a living h**l' bit. Especially since I can't say h**l." Davy pointed out.

"Fine. Let's get Peter and we can talk about it." Mike headed to the downstairs bedroom, pulling out a half-asleep Peter still in his pajamas. Pulling out his gavel he banged it on the table causing Peter to jump. "The board meeting is now in session!"

"Okay, so we can all agree that we have a problem that needs to be seen too. Mr. Zero has proposed to the board that we perform a unknown task pertaining to an individual who is arriving by train 10:30 today, on the condition that if we refuse previous acquaintances will be guided to our doorstep. While doing anything for that sneaky little, power-hungry monster is a nauseating idea, being harassed by our enemies is also undesirable. Any motions from the floor?"

"I say we fight! I can make us ninja suits and we can use our wits and warrior training to take them down!" Micky an imaginary foe to accentuate his solution.

"Yeah, well, we don't have either of those…"

"Oh, right." Micky fell silent as his idea was thrown out.

"Look, we don't even know what we're supposed to be doing. What harm would it be if we went to the train station to see what we're dealing with?" Davy proposed.

"The harm is that the individual could be dangerous, and just the sight of us could cause us to be involved more than we would like."

"He's arriving by train… It's not like he's going to be loaded with weapons." Micky pointed out.

"Yeah, they wouldn't even let me bring my pocket knife!" Peter had finally woken up enough to include himself in the conversation.

"Peter, you don't have a pocket knife…"

"Well, they wouldn't have let me if I did!"

Mike cringed at Peter before sighing. "Okay, so we have a motion that we head to the train station to see what we're getting into. Who votes in favor?"

"Aye!" Davy rose his hand.

"Aye, aye, captain!" Micky saluted.

"I?" Peter followed the majority vote.

Mike slammed his gavel down, missing and hitting his leg. "Oo!" He winced in temporary pain. "It's decided then! We go to the, uh, train station!"

The train station was close to the pad, so the band arrived a little on the early side. Piling out of the monkeemobile they glanced around trying to take in the surroundings.

"Maybe we should hide just in case this person is dangerous." Davy suggested, starting to get nervous about the whole situation.

"Good idea." Mike agreed. "It will also let us leave without getting involved."

The four boys attempted to all pile behind the same trash can, but eventually found separate hiding places, though Peter had to be relocated several times due to his visibility or attempting to hide on the tracks. The train rolled in, and all four guys craned their necks to see potential passengers. As they watched, a young blonde girl stepped out of the train. She was wearing a white shirt with red pants, with a blue scarf delicately tied around her neck. She nervously glanced around, seeming a little confused. What peaked the guys' interest the most was the guitar strapped to her back and the smaller case holding a violin in her hand. Her luggage was only slightly larger than the violin case.

"Kill her!" Mr. Zero's voice echoed through the Monkees heads, making Davy jump. He wildly started at Mike, who frowned indignantly. He shook his head firmly and stood up, dusting off his pants. He walked towards the girl, while the other Monkees looked on with surprise.

"Hello, ma'am, can I-uh, help you, miss?" Mike awkwardly gestured to her with his hand, then quickly withdrew it to behind his back.

She turned to him with a smile. "Yes, actually! I'm just visiting for a holiday, and I don't know where anything is… Do you know how to get to the nearest hotel?" Her voice was as clear as bell and took Mike by surprise. He wondered what she did that made Mr. Zero hate her.

"Absolutely! Me and the guys-" He gestured to the other Monkees "-would love to show you to a hotel!"

The guys casually left their individual hiding places and exchanged glances with each other. They hoped that Mike had a plan, but until he told them they would follow his lead.

"That would be great!" She smiles up at the taller man. "I really do appreciate it!"

"No sweat!" Mike shrugged.

The young woman laughed as the quartet hastily relieved her of her luggage, and in their hurry ended passing it around between each other instead. Once they had all settled on a piece Mike lead the group to the Monkeemobile, Peter marveling over her violin while Micky carried the guitar and Davy brought her bag.

Cleaning his throat Davy struck his most charming smile. "Hello, love! So…"

"Davy…" Mike shot him a warning look, but Micky caught on to his meaning.

He doesn't want Davy to get involved with an enemy of the devil's. He thought to himself. I dig!

Meanwhile, Peter who had grown uncomfortable in the silence tried to strike up a conversation.

"So why are you in Malibu?" He rose his eyebrows in curiosity.

"I'm on break from school and decided to have a vacation! I'm from Missouri, and I really just wanted to go where there are beaches and the music scene is strong!"

"Oh, well, it's a good thing you came to Malibu!" Davy responded. "We have a beach in our backyard! And there are bands playing in clubs everywhere!"

"Really? That's wonderful!" Her smile showed her genuine joy at Davy's words. "I'll have to look around!"

Micky glanced at Mike, checking his mood to make sure he wasn't talking out of place. "There's this restaurant called Tony's that serves Italian food and pizza. They have a band that plays from time to time that I hear is great!"

"Tony's? With Pop? Micky, we actually play…" Micky slammed his hand over Peter's mouth.

"We, uh, okay a game where we try to guess what, uh, song they're going to play next!" Micky laughed nervously before shooting Peter a look.

"What do you mean? We have the set list before we even start pl…"

"Peter!" Davy and Micky chorused, silencing the Monkee.

The woman laughed, confused but entertained at the same time. She couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed that she wasn't going to get to know them better. They seemed like they'd be an interesting group to hand out with.

"Well, here we are! The enduring Monkeemobile!" Mike reached out to open the door for her.

"Monkees? Isn't that misspelled? And it's in the shape of a guitar!"

"Gosharoony, it is misspelled! I guess the Y would look out of place on the neck of the guitar." Micky mused.

Sensing that none of the boys would clarify the odd word across the side of the car the lady brushed it off. She didn't really want to intrude in their privacy, as she felt that everyone is entitled to their own secrets. Smiling at Mike she slipped into the back of the GTO, marveling at the exterior of the strange car. It was clear that someone had taken an older car and added their own embellishments to it, and based off of the pride bursting out of the curly haired man at her expression she assumed it was him.

"If, uh, should...if you need anything just holler." Mike smiled at her, making Micky and Davy snicker. Throughout the rest of the short road trip they talked and she told them that her name was Magnolia Simms.

Mike drove the car to the nearest hotel that he knew of near the pad. He wanted to keep and eye on her, and figure out why Mr. Zero was so interested in disposing of her. Pulling up to it he gestured to the bright sign advertising 'all the comforts of home."

"Well! Here we are! Dreamworld Hotel! It's a lovely place, and you can't get much cheaper around here!"

Magnolia nodded, losing some of her enthusiasm. "Thank you so much! I guess this is goodbye then?" She began to pull herself from the car, inducing the four Monkees to scramble to get out and open the door for her. Micky beat them to the door, immediately putting on his chauffeur character. Obnoxiously saluting he held the door open, remaining in place even after she left the car. It took a kick from Davy for him to close it, ending his performance with a bow.

After the laughter died down Magnolia waved to them as she headed for the door. "It's been a pleasure to meet you!"

"The pleasure's all ours!" Davy nodded his head at her, getting a nudge from Micky.

"Hands off, imp!" He murmured.

Davy shot him an annoyed glance before returning to the car.

"You know, she was pretty groovy! I wonder why we're supposed to kill her?" Davy voiced the question in all their heads as they entered the car.

"She must be too groovy for this world…" Peter logically induced.

"Peter, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Mike laughed. "More like Mr. Zero is mad that she's so talented without his help!"

"Mike, we don't even know if she has any skills!" Micky pointed out as Mike began to drive away. "Maybe the instruments are new and she wants to learn them!"

"Did you hear her voice! She's got to be the best singer in the world!"

"We should ask her to join our group!" Peter exclaimed. "Just think! With a girl in our group we could hit higher notes, and we could make some of the best harmonies! And then guys would dig us more! And Davy could stop dressing up as a girl!"

"Oo, Mike! I'd dig that!" Davy glanced at the older man hopefully.

Mike however was not joining their train of thought. "If you think we have issues now with Mr. Zero, then wait until we hire the girl we were sent to kill! It's a groovy idea, Peter, but we're going to have problems enough fighting off the villains sent our way since we're clearly not fulfilling his plan." Mike calmly drove the car off to the shoulder of the road and turned it off.

"Mike? What are you doing?" Micky glanced around suspiciously.

"If Mr. Zero wants us to kill her, he has a reason. As much as I hate to say it, maybe he wanted to get rid of her because she is dangerous. I don't think dropping her off at a hotel and never seeing her again is going to end well for anybody."

"So what are we going to do?" Davy inquired.

"What have we recently became quite skilled at?"

Micky nodded his head in understandment. "Spying! Let me get my spy kit!"

"Your what?" The other three chorused.

"My spy kit! It's got binoculars, a magnifying glass, a fake mustache…"

"Does it have a gag, because we're not going to be very successful if you keep talking like that." Davy quipped.

"No, but if it did I'd stick it…"

"Okay! Let's go! Vamonos!" Mike grabbed Micky's collar and pulled him out of the car. The other two follows suit, wondering what Mike had under his sleeve.

Suddenly, before the impromptu, side-road meeting had the opportunity to start, Mr. Zero appeared with tongues of fire flickering at his feet. What scared the boys more was the furiously angry expression on his face. They knew he was the devil, but he had always appeared calm and collected. Even after he had lost to Mike's speech he had simply snapped his fingers and disappeared. The look in his face reminded them that he could snap his fingers and kill them instantly.

"You did not follow my instructions." He hissed.

"You weren't exactly specific, and-" Mike nudged Micky before he said something that got them into more trouble.

"We would like to know what she did first." Mike calmly drawled, staring at Mr. Zero in the eyes. "We don't kill people, especially if they didn't do anything."

"That is none of your business, and I think you forget your place! Don't forget what I told you would happen! Many of your friends owe me favors!"

"We remember, and we're ready! We've defeated them all before and are prepared to do it again." Mike's voice was determined, and took everyone by surprise.

"So be it! Prepare for much suffering! Are you really prepared to sacrifice your friends for one girl?"

Before Mike could answer Mr. Zero disappeared with a bright flash, leaving smoke in his wake. As the dust and smoke cleared the three younger Monkees stared at Mike.

"Mike? Do you have a plan?" Davy whispered. He wasn't sure he was ready to suffer.

Mike still looked fiercely determined. "Well, first I think it is our duty to protect her. There is no saying that Mr. Zero won't send someone else."

"Are you sure it's worth it?" Micky asked, unusually serious.

"Of course it is!" Mike exclaimed. "Imagine if you were in Magnolia's shoes! We would do the same for each other, and I am confident that we will get through this. We always do."

"You're right Mike…" Micky looked down. "I guess I was just scared. What's your plan?"

"Well first, we have to go get her and explain everything. We'll figure it out from there. In the meantime, think about what we need to expect."