Author's Note: This is for Plushie. Hope you like it!
Chapter 41: Armed
Micky and the others spent the next several days helping Piper make potions and learning what each of them were used for. Piper had also called a friend of hers and asked for the coins for Charon and some extra weaponry. When Peter had realized that they would have to bring weapons with them, he grew even more on edge than before. Micky knew he was still having a hard time dealing with what he'd seen in his own illusion and for him to suddenly go and have to hurt someone else bothered him. Even though he knew that the Devil and anything else they may come across wasn't exactly human and that he would only be doing it to protect himself and his friends.
"That'll be my friend," Piper said as they heard a knock at the door. She got up and walked toward the door followed by Mike so he could help her carry the weapons inside. It was late at night and the store had long since closed up, but the boys had stayed to do as much reading as they could on magic and the Underworld. It was weird to Micky to know that everything he heard about as a kid about magic and myths were real. He wasn't really sure if they would ever be able to get back to their lives as normal once this was all over. Then again, they had faced off with aliens, vampires and other monsters, and an evil monkey paw curse in the past. Piper and Mike came back a moment later carrying a trunk between them.
"What's all in there?" Davy asked peering at the trunk.
"Weapons," Piper answered. "My friend collects them. They're all enchanted and we can really use the extra support."
"Enchanted?" Peter asked hesitantly. The thought of using weapons was going to bad enough in and of itself for Peter, but the fact that they were even more powerful with enchantments had to make things worse. Micky wished he knew what he could say to make Peter feel better about all this.
"Any of you know how to use a sword?" Piper asked pulling a very old yet sturdy looking sword out of the trunk complete with its leather sheath.
"I do," Davy said. "I took some fencing lessons back in England."
"Well then you can carry this," she said handing the sword to Davy. "It's enchanted. It gives the wielder extra speed and strength."
"Cool," Davy said.
"Why don't you try it out?" Piper said going into the back room. She came back out a moment later holding a couple pineapples. She set several on the table but held one in her hand and made a gesture as though she were going to throw it at Davy
"You want me to stab the pineapple in midair?" Davy asked.
"Do whatever feels right," Piper said. "The sword is enchanted. It'll help you. Just do whatever feels right."
"Ok," Davy said and took a deep breath holding the sword out in front of him. A split second after Piper threw the pineapple at him, Davy cut the blade through the air and Mike, Peter and Micky all jumped a little as the pineapple was sliced cleanly in half.
"Whoa," Peter breathed. "That was actually kind of cool."
"What else is in there?" Mike asked.
"That sword Davy has is a rapier," Piper said. "It's used more for lighter attacks requiring more agility than speed. This, however," she said pulling another sword out of the trunk, "is a claymore sword. It's enchanted to bring the wielder strength and endurance. Mike, you wanna try it out?"
"Sure, but you aren't going to throw a pineapple at me, are you?" Mike asked. "Cause that looks too heavy to hit a moving object."
"It's enchanted, Mike," Piper laughed. "Just try it."
"We're just gonna back up a little," Micky laughed as he and Peter backed really far away from Mike.
"Alright, but don't blame me if I break something," Mike said hefting the heavy looking sword with both hands. Piper smiled and tossed the pineapple at Mike. He hesitated for just a split second, but then he swung the sword and the pineapple was sliced in half. It wasn't as neat and clean as Davy, but it was still pretty impressive.
"Wow, this thing is amazing," Mike said looking appreciatively at the sword. "I don't think I ever could have done that."
"Just be really careful with that," Micky said. "Don't get too excited and gouge someone's eye out."
"Trust me," Mike said putting the sword on the table, "I am not going to use that unless absolutely necessary.
"Micky, I think this one will work for you," Piper said pulling a large, thin knife out of the trunk along with a large satchel. "This is a stiletto and these are throwing knives. They go well together and since you threw that knife at the Devil and got him, it should work well for you. The stiletto is enchanted to give you added agility and mental acumen."
"Mental acumen?" Mike echoed.
"It means it will heighten his senses a little," Peter answered.
"There's that, and it will also give him a little foresight," Piper added. "And the agility will let him move as fast and spryly as he may need to in order to get close enough to cause damage."
"What about the throwing knives?" Micky asked taking both from her.
"They'll give you a little bit of added resistance," Piper answered. "Basically, you'll be nimble, quick, can throw harder, aim better, and can take more blows without getting hurt."
"Well that could be useful," Mike said.
"Wanna see how well you can aim?" Piper asked grabbing another pineapple.
"Sure," Micky said opening the satchel to grab a throwing knife. "Well, I guess I'll have to use these sparingly. There's only 2 in here."
"Oh, no," Piper said. "The bag itself is enchanted. It'll refill itself. Watch. Take one out." Micky shrugged and took one of the knives out and watched in amazement as another one appeared at the bottom of the bag.
"Well that's handy," Micky said.
"It's designed so it doesn't weigh you down while you carry it," Piper said. "These weapons were all used by witches in the middle ages to fight demons and other monsters. Fear and paranoia ran rampant back then and the demons absolutely loved that, so it was a lot more common to meet one while walking down a dark alley in the middle of the night."
"That sounds terrible," Peter said.
"Demons feed off fear and pain," Piper said. "Remember that when we're down there. You ready to try this, Micky?"
"Yeah, go ahead," Micky said. He noticed Davy and Mike both moved behind him for fear of getting hit on accident. Not that Micky blamed them. He held the throwing knife in his hand and it seemed as though it got lighter. He watched as Piper threw the pineapple in the air and it seemed to slow down as he tried to take aim. He felt instincts kick over and threw the knife a few inches in front of where the pineapple currently was and felt a surge of adrenaline and excitement as the knife pierced the pineapple and stuck it to the wall.
"Wow," Mike said walking up to inspect the stuck pineapple. "That's some power. You mad a pineapple kebab."
"Peter, I think this will work for you," Piper said.
"I'm not sure I want a weapon," Peter said backing away a little.
"Peter, I know you really don't want to fight, but you have to remember what we'll be fighting isn't human," Mike said calmly.
"And they're trying to kill us," Davy added. "If we don't do this, the Devil is going to keep coming after us and he's going to try and turn Micky into a demon. I know you don't want that."
"Of course I don't," Peter mumbled. "I just don't want to accidently hurt one of you."
"You won't," Micky said. "I have enough trust in you that I know you won't hurt any of us. We all trust you with our lives, Peter. I don't want to do this either, but we have to. And if you don't go down there armed and ready to defend yourself, you could end up getting hurt. Or worse."
"Don't worry, Peter," Piper said. "I was going to give you a crossbow. The trigger is stiff so there's really no way you could accidentally set it off."
"Are you sure?" Peter asked.
"Positive," Piper said pulling an old looking crossbow out of the trunk. "Besides, the enchantment on it could really benefit us a lot. It was used by hunters, so they enchanted it to heighten their senses dramatically. You could hear a twig snap in a dense forest and see through a thicket of trees in the darkness. As well as smell a beast coming from miles away. You'll know if there's a demon near us before the rest of us and could prepare us for it."
"Really?" Peter asked taking the crossbow still somewhat tentatively.
"Yep," Piper said. "It was to help them hunt and hit their targets better even in the worst of circumstances."
"You want to try it out, Peter?" Micky asked.
"I don't know," Peter said slowly staring at the crossbow in his hands.
"You aren't going to hurt anyone," Mike said.
"You don't know that," Peter said.
"We'll all stand behind you," Davy said. "You really should get a feel for it so you know how it works if we need it."
"Ok," Peter finally said and hefted the crossbow. Once Micky, Mike and Davy were all safely behind him, Piper tossed the last pineapple at Peter. He pulled the trigger on the crossbow and nailed the pineapple right in the center and the arrow from the crossbow landed in the wall next to Micky's throwing knife.
"Nice," Davy said. "I'd call that a bullseye!"
"Do these arrows magically reload too?" Peter asked.
"Yes," Piper said. "You don't have to worry about running out of bolts."
"Well, I think we're about ready as we're ever gonna be," Mike said moving to pull the arrow and knife out of the wall. "And I think you're gonna need some repair work on your wall."
"We can take care of it when this is all over," Micky offered.
"Don't worry about it," Piper said. "It'll get taken care of when it gets taken care of."
"Ok, so are the coins in there, too?" Mike asked peering inside the trunk.
"Yes," Piper said.
"What about you?" Micky asked. "Are you going down there with a weapon?"
"I have my magic," Piper answered. "I'll be fine."
"I thought you said your powers won't work that well down there," Micky said. "I don't want you getting hurt because of us."
"I appreciate your concern, Micky," she said giving him a small kiss on the cheek that made him blush a little. "But I'll be fine. The powers may not work perfectly, but they'll work enough to help me in a pinch. Don't worry about me."
"I worry about all of us," Micky answered.
"I know you do," Piper answered. "You guys should go home and get some sleep. We can go tomorrow morning. Oh, I almost forgot!" Piper dashed into the back room again and reemerged with four chains that she handed to each of them. From each chain hung a pendant: a dark green stone with a strange symbol carved into it. "These are protection amulets. Wear them tomorrow and they'll help keep you protected."
"We'll help you get cleaned up," Mike said moving to pick up the pineapples.
"Don't worry about it," Piper smiled. "I'll clean it up. Probably have some pineapple juice ready for you in the morning."
"It's really no trouble," Mike said.
"I know," Piper answered. "But you guys all need your sleep. Just relax and go home. You need to be well rested tomorrow."
"So do you," Micky pointed out picking up half a pineapple off the floor. "Since you insist on going with us, at least let us help you out here."
"Alright," Piper laughed. "I concede." Together they spent the next 15 minutes cleaning up the pineapples off the ground and the wall before the boys returned home for a well-deserved night's sleep.
The Devil appeared in another chamber in the Underworld. He'd tried to send word to the demon he was seeking help from, but the demon had rebuffed his attempts at summoning him. So now he was trying to seek out the demon to request an audience with him. He knew it wouldn't be easy to find him, but he had to try. Getting this demon to send him back in time was the Devil's only hope of breaking up the Monkees and destroying their bond once and for all. Then he'd be able to turn them and bend them to his will.
But the demon he was after would be hard to convince. He'd have to use every ounce of his charm to sway this demon. This demon hated other demons. He was far from being an ordinary demon; he was much more than that. He was a lot older and a lot wiser than most other demons and that was the reason why it would be harder to get his help. But the Devil had to try. And that meant traversing through the oldest parts of the Underworld to try and get to him and passing some of the oldest demons still alive. But in the end it would all be worth it. He had to convince this demon to help him. Failure was not an option. This was the only way to get what he really wanted.