Author's Note: Ok, a little help from the audience here. What time periods do you want to see the boys travel to and what do you want to have happen in them? I'm hitting a little roadblock here and invite the audience to help.

Chapter 56: Playing a Game

Micky walked with Davy and Piper for nearly an hour until they finally spotted the Devil walking into a nearby saloon. Micky led the way across the dirt street to follow him. They peered through the window to see what the Devil was up to before going in themselves. Micky saw the Devil make his way over to a table where several men were playing a game of poker. Micky suddenly realized what the Devil was trying to do but didn't think it was that bad.

"He's just gonna play poker for it?" Davy asked. "He's gonna win the money? Well, that's not that bad."

"It could be," Piper argued. "If he wins money that's meant to go to someone else or be used for another purpose. If he interferes, that could change history dramatically."

"We didn't change history that much when I was arrested," Davy pointed out.

"That town wasn't that important to history," Piper pointed out. "Tombstone is. It's a lot more heavily scrutinized by historians."

"Good point," Micky said.

"Besides that," Davy said also seeing her point. "We can't let him win that money; history changing or not. We can't let him pay that woman to get home without us."

"So do we have a plan?" Micky asked.

"We figure out how to make sure he loses," Davy said.

"We can't get that close to him, though," Micky pointed out. "He'll recognize us and flee."

"So we put on disguises," Davy said. "I just don't wanna be a woman again."

"Come back into the alley," Piper said leading them behind the saloon where no one would see them. "There's a glamour spell I can use to change our appearance. Hold still." Micky and Davy stood still in the alley once they were all sure that no one could see them. "Let the object of objection become but a dream as I cause the seen to be unseen." Micky felt a tingling sensation envelope his face and for a second all he saw was a bright light. When he could see through the light again he was a little surprised. Piper's normally vibrant red hair and green eyes had changed to blonde hair and blue eyes; her skin was even a little darker. Davy's hair had also turned blonde and his eyes lightened to bright blue and Micky snickered a little when he realized he'd even grown a few inches. If he didn't know that they had just been there seconds before, he wouldn't have recognized them.

"What are you laughing at?" Davy asked.

"You're taller," Micky answered.

"Why is that funny?" Davy asked. "I like being taller!"

"Don't get used to it, mate," Micky laughed. "It's temporary. What do I look like?"

"Blonde hair and green eyes," Piper answered. "He won't recognize us at all."

"I don't even recognize us," Davy laughed.

"Let's just hurry and get this over with," Micky said leading the way into the saloon the Devil had gone into. The three of them chose a seat near the table the Devil was sitting at, but not too close as to draw attention to themselves. The Devil had already started his game with 2 other very dangerous looking men. Micky wasn't sure how gambling was a good idea for the Devil to get his hands on the money to pay Sophia; after all, gambling was never a sure bet. The boys had learned that when they went to Vegas.

"I'll bet you he's going to try and cheat," Davy said as though he could read Micky's thoughts. "It's the only way he can ensure he wins, right?"

"How is he going to cheat without his magic?" Micky asked.

"Same way any other mortal cheats," Piper said.

"So do we stop him or expose him?" Micky asked.

"I say we expose him," Davy said.

"What if they try and shoot him?" Micky asked. "He's mortal now, right? So he could die. This isn't the crowd that's notorious for forgiving cheaters."

"Well, then we're just gonna have to save him," Piper said.

"Save the man trying to destroy us," Davy muttered angrily. "That'll be the highlight of my day."

"I know its not ideal," Piper started, "but we can't get back home without him. We just have to face that. But if we just stop him from cheating now, he's going to keep trying. If we expose him, the whole town will know it and no one will gamble with him."

"Did anyone say we have to like this plan?" Davy asked rhetorically. The game was well under way already and the Devil had already won a little bit of money. A woman came by to take their drink order while the three of them watched the game trying to do so inconspicuously. Knowing a few cheating tricks, Micky watched the Devil's hands and noticed something poking out from his sleeve; he was hiding cards up his sleeve.

"Ok, so he's got aces up his sleeve he's using," Micky said. "How do we expose that? We aren't exactly part of the game."

"Why don't you become part of the game and then accuse him," Piper said.

"Cause I don't want to get killed," Micky said.

"You won't," Piper smiled. "Relax. I've got your back, remember."

"I know," Micky said. "I'm just worried you won't be fast enough."

"Me too," Davy muttered.

"I won't let anything happen to you, Micky," Piper said softly before leaning over and giving him a deep kiss. Any further objections Micky may have had melted away as her lips met his. When she pulled away, he could still feel her breath on his lips, further silencing him. "I love you. You're safe with me. Go stop him."

"Ok," was all he could make come out. Piper smiled at him as he walked over to the table and tried to act as casual and tough as he could. "Deal me in."

"Sure," one of them men said after eyeing him. "Deal 'im in." Micky sat and waited for his cards. He could feel the Devil eyeing him, as though looking through him and briefly Micky wondered if their magical camouflage had failed them somehow. He glanced briefly over at Piper and Davy to make sure they still looked different.

"Don't think I've ever seen you 'round here," the second man said dealing them all their cards.

"I'm not from around here," Micky answered. "Just passing through." Once everyone had their cards, silence fell over as they concentrated on their hands. The Devil once again won that hand. Micky knew that it wouldn't be good to accuse the Devil after the first hand of cheating; he'd have to wait. So it wasn't until after 5 other winning hands that Micky finally said something.

"You got some luck there, my friend," Micky said to the Devil as they were all dealt a new hand and cringing inwardly at having to say that word.

"I guess," the Devil snorted back.

"I mean, you've won the last five hands in a row," Micky continued looking at his cards. "I've been playing since I was a kid and never seen someone that lucky."

"What can I say?" the Devil sneered. "I guess it's my lucky day."

"Lucky..." Micky said as he threw some chips into the center of the table to place his bet. "Or something else."

"What are you saying?" the Devil asked eyeing him further.

"You have been winnin' a lot of hands," the dealer said eyeing him closely now.

"I'm saying you must be cheating," Micky said bravely.

"Cheating!?" the Devil roared and jumped up from the table making it shake. Micky wasn't sure if the Devil was just getting caught up in the atmosphere or letting his anger get the best of him.

"Yeah," Micky said trying to remain calm. "Cheating! You got an ace up your sleeve!"

"How dare you!" the Devil roared again and lunged for Micky. Suddenly, the Devil and everyone else in the room froze as Piper threw up her hands.

"Why'd you do that?" Micky asked.

"To save you from getting punched in the face," Piper answered.

"Maybe you should let him," Micky said.

"Why?" Davy asked.

"These people thrive on violence," Micky said. "Once a fight breaks out, he won't be able to hide the cards. I can make sure his sleeve rips and expose them. They'll know he's cheating and throw him out."

"If they don't just shoot him," Piper said.

"Well, then you can freeze the room," Micky said. "And make sure that he doesn't get hit by a bullet."

"Micky, are you insane!?" Davy exclaimed.

"Maybe," Micky answered laughing a little. "Just do it!" With a sigh, Piper un-froze the room and Micky jumped out of the way to avoid being tackled by the Devil. He quickly recovered, however, and whirled on Micky who punched him and grabbed his arm. Micky felt the sleeve rip and felt the cards fall from inside the sleeve.

"You were cheating!" the dealer roared in anger reaching for his gun.

"I don't think there's any need for that," Micky said quickly. "He's not good enough to waste a bullet. Why don't we just throw him out?" The Devil didn't wait for a response from the two men; he took Micky by surprise and knocked him to the ground. Micky felt pain erupt in his face as he fell over onto the chair.

"Micky!" Davy cried running over to Micky with Piper. Micky looked up as Piper and Davy helped him up and saw the two men grab the Devil and drag him out as he got a stunned look on his face. Micky couldn't help himself; despite the pain in the whole left side of his face, he smiled at the Devil letting him know Davy's slip using his name wasn't just a coincidence. The Devil's face contorted in rage as he realized that once again, the Monkees had managed to thwart him.

Mike led Peter over to the house they'd just left where Sophia left. He was hoping that she'd still be there when they showed up so they wouldn't have to hunt her down. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say to her, but he kept running through different scenarios in his mind. Piper had told them all sorts of information about what the spell might do so they could use that information to try and persuade her, but he wasn't sure it was going to work. He could only hope it would. They finally reached her front door, and Mike knocked on the door.

"Hello," Sophia said a moment later opening the door. "Its you; the musicians."

"Yes, we actually wanted to talk to you about that," Mike said. "Can we come in?"

"I was actually on my way to meet someone," she smiled.

"This won't take very long," Mike said.

"Time is money, darling," she said pushing past them after closing the door behind her.

"Ok," Mike said pulling what was left of their money out of his pocket. "Here; now you have to talk to us." She stopped and looked at them for a moment. Finally she took the money from Mike's outstretched hand and shoved it down the front of her dress before walking back into her house.

"Alright," she said pulling out a few chairs at her dining table for them to sit in. "Talk."

"We know what you are," Mike said sitting down next to Peter.

"It's not that hard to figure out," Sophie laughed.

"Not that," Mike said. "You're psychic. And a witch."

"What are you going to do, burn me?" she asked.

"No," Mike answered. "You obviously know that because you know who we are. We know the Devil offered you a deal to do a spell to send him home without us."

"How did you find out about that?" she asked. "I blocked your friend from getting any premonitions about me. I don't like other people kicking around my head uninvited."

"That really doesn't matter," Mike said. "What matters is that you can't do this. You could very well hurt yourself if the spell doesn't work and backfires."

"I won't hurt myself," she smiled. "I know what I'm doing."

"So you know that time travel spells are dangerous," Mike pushed.

"Not if you know what you're doing," she answered.

"If you take his money, you could be changing history," Mike tried. "You could be doing a lot more damage to the universe than you realize."

"Look, you boys don't know who you're talking to or what you're getting involved in," she said getting angry and standing up. "I'll do whatever I please. You need to leave now."

"But we paid you," Peter said speaking up finally. "You have to listen to us."

"Honey, you didn't pay for the kind of service I offer," she said snidely. "But if you'd like, my room is over there."

"No," Peter said quickly with a slight blush crossing his cheeks. "We paid you for your time. Please listen to us. I understand you need money, but you have to think about what you're doing here. If you help him, you'd be hurting us. Do you really want to do that?"

"Who said I cared about you?" she asked angrily. "What have you ever done for me?"

"What have we ever done to you?" Peter asked. "We are innocent in all of this. He wants nothing more than to ruin our lives if not kill us. Please; there has to be something in you that doesn't want to hurt us." The woman just stared at Peter for a moment or two.

"You have such a sweet and pure heart," she said finally. "I've never met a man like you. All the men I've ever met are either too preoccupied with their guns and riches or too busy chasing women like me. You don't care about any of that."

"We just want to get home," Peter said. "We want to go back to our music and friends. And we can't do that if you help him."

"And I'm guessing you don't want me to do the spell for all of you?" she asked.

"Piper told us that the spell is bad," Peter said.

"Bad?" Sophie echoed.

"That it could potentially require some sort of sacrifice," Mike clarified.

"Yes and no," she said. "It requires a human heart."

"You have to kill someone!?" Peter exclaimed looking like he was going to be sick.

"No," Sophie smiled eerily. "People die around here every day."

"Either way, no," Mike said. "You cannot do this spell. Not for the Devil and not for us."

"Please," Peter pled. She seemed to think it over even further.

"Alright," she said finally. "But only because you are such a pure hearted person. Don't change, sweetheart. Not for anything or anyone." Mike sighed and smiled happily. They had managed to convince her not to help the Devil and it really hadn't been as hard as Mike had thought. He only hoped that Piper, Micky and Davy were having as much luck keeping the Devil from doing anything that might hurt someone else or change history.