Manchester Jones 17/20
Title: Manchester Jones and the Golden Curse (chapter 17)
Author: rose_of_pollux
Rating: PG13
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple rock festival, but our heroes find themselves as magnets for trouble when they get involved with ancient relics and the forbidden secret attached to them...
In this Chapter: Things couldn't *possibly* get any worse, right? ...Wrong.
Warnings: There will be perilous situations in later chapters. Because it's an Indy parody, y'know?
Genre: Adventure
Pairing: None
Main Character(s): Mike, Davy, Micky, Peter
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine (except for the OCs), and the story is; fictional personas from the TV show.
Notes: N/A
Chapter 17: Goldfinger
Micky and Peter waited until the flunky was well out of sight before heading to the back of the jet and sneaking into the cargo hold.
“Hey, Mike!” the brunet said, softly.
Mike’s head jerked in the direction of Micky’s voice, his eyes wide. Micky ignored the Texan’s protests as he sealed the hold’s door close again; Peter attempted to try to untie Mike, but wasn’t faring any better than the last time he’d tried to untie knots. Micky soon took over and worked on the knots as Peter removed the handkerchief from Mike’s mouth.
“What do you two think you’re doing?!” Mike hissed. “Davy went through so much to get you two safe!”
“Yeah, but we figured our chances were better together,” the brunet said, and he grinned as the knots finally came loose. “There, you’re free!”
“Well, you two are getting outta here right now,” Mike insisted. “There’s no way I’m letting you go to Peru-”
He was cut off as the plane started moving; in no time at all, it picked up speed and took off.
“You were saying?” Micky asked.
Mike gave him a glare as Peter quickly got his hands on some blankets and ponchos to help protect them from the cold that was making things rapidly uncomfortable as they ascended into the sky.
“We need to come up with a plan,” the blond said. “For Davy’s sake. I agree-Rico isn’t going to let him leave. He knows too much.”
“Which means he’s got even worse planned for you, Mike,” Micky added.
“I don’t care what he does to me; he can throw me off the plane-parachute or no parachute-and I could care less as long as I knew that you three were okay.”
“Well, we’d like to know you’re okay, too,” Peter said, sincerely. “So I hope you have a plan to get Davy out of there safely.”
“I don’t have a plan other than to have the three of us jump the guy Rico sends in here to guard me when we land. After that, we follow Davy at a distance, making sure we do exactly what he does to avoid the traps, and then make our move once we get the right moment to jump in and rescue him.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Micky said, nodding in agreement. “Then we run around until we lose Rico, and then Davy leads us all out while they wander around in there.”
“We’re going to leave them in there? Trapped?” Peter asked.
“Eh, we’ll send some official rescue team in there,” Micky said, with a wave of his hand. “I don’t trust that Rico as far as I can throw him; no way I’m going to lead him around. And a little time in that dungeon might get him to be a little nicer, right?”
The three exchanged glances.
“…Nah!” they said, in unison.
They lapsed into silence after that. Mike burrowed into the blankets Peter had given him, hoping against all hope that his plan would, somehow, work.
************************************
When the plane finally did land, the three of them laid in wait for the guard. It wasn’t long before the cargo hold opened and one of the flunkies looked inside. But the boys were ready.
Micky and Peter had hidden behind some empty storage crates (obviously, Rico was planning to raid every last piece of treasure from the temple) while Mike had lain back down on the ground with his arms behind his back, facing the hatch door.
The unsuspecting flunky smirked as he climbed up inside and saw Mike lying there; he decided that if he was stuck guarding him, he could at least have some fun taunting him while he waited.
“Your little buddy was asking about you. I think he wanted to see you. The boss wouldn’t let him. They’re on their way into the temple now,” he said. “I don’t know if you’ll ever see your pal again, though. Oh, don’t look at me like that; once he gets a share of the gold, he won’t care about you. The boss told me that if Jones doesn’t come back here to pick you up in five hours, I’m allowed to throw you to the anacondas. You won’t even be missed-not when he’ll find something far more valuable.”
“He’ll come back,” Mike said.
“No, he won’t.”
“I know he’ll come back. But I just don’t feel like waiting!”
He leaped up from the floor as Micky and Peter leaped out from behind their crates. The stunned flunky had no chance against the three of them; within moments, he was tied up with the same ropes and handkerchief that had previously bound and gagged Mike.
“Okay, we gotta split,” Mike said. “They’re already in there; we need to be able to hear how they get past those traps!”
They didn’t need telling twice; one by one, they dashed through the waterfall that obscured the temple entrance. Micky, who had gotten his hands on a flashlight from seemingly nowhere, was able to deduce the direction Davy had gone with Rico’s team.
“They went this way,” he said. “Judging by the looks of this, everyone except that guy went with them. We’re gonna be seriously outnumbered.”
“Then we’ll have to depend on the element of surprise,” Mike said, taking the flashlight from the brunet as he led the way. He soon found out that he didn’t need the flashlight; mounted torches were on the walls.
“I wonder who lit these?” Peter asked.
“Does it matter?” Micky asked.
“Yeah, it kinda does, actually,” Peter said, shivering. “It would mean that someone walks through this temple on a regular basis. Why else would these torches be lit, instead of being burned out?”
Mike hesitated for just a moment before resuming his pace. Peter had a point. In fact, Mike couldn’t help but notice how clean the walls and statues standing in the corridor looked, as opposed to being covered with dirt and dust.
“But there aren’t any footprints other than Davy and Rico’s team,” Micky said, pointing at the ground.
A feeling of unease grew in Mike’s gut.
“Let’s just find Davy and get him outta here,” he said, quickening his pace.
It didn’t take them long until they could hear voices up ahead; soon, they had caught up Davy and the others.
“…There’s a trap right around here,” Davy was saying. “There are floor panels up ahead all the way to the flail that trigger mechanical creatures, and then a small gap we need to jump over every few yards. I guess when someone activates the creatures, they run in fright and… Well, they notice the gaps too late and fall.”
“Which panels trigger the creatures?” Rico asked.
“You have to avoid ones that have spiders carved on them,” Davy said. “But it’s a very small carving; you have to be very, very careful when you walk. The light’s dim, too; that won’t help us…”
Rico scoffed.
“I almost wish that we had brought the boor along,” he said. “We could’ve sent him ahead to find the safe way.”
“Don’t talk about Mike like that!” Davy snapped.
“Oh, come on, Jones. We’re far away from him; you can drop the act.”
“Act?!” Davy repeated.
“Do you mean to tell me that you haven’t realized how much of a success you’d be if you flew solo? I was there at the rock festival, Jones. They cheered the loudest for you. So why do you stay with him and those other two?”
“Don’t you have any friends?” Davy wondered.
“Don’t need them-success comes best when you’re on your own.”
“And yet here you are, with an entire team of flunkies?”
“Who will all be compensated for their services-that includes you. It is an employment. So, I ask you again-why do you stay with the boor?”
“If you had friends, you wouldn’t ask me that,” Davy said. “Mike has been the one who looked after me ever since I first arrived in America. He was a poor, struggling musician, but managed to take me under his wing. I owe him a lot.”
“Well, then, despite being backwards, he is shrewd, at any rate…”
“Just what do you mean by that?!”
“I mean that I see your precious pet for what he really is,” Rico said. “One thing you need to know, Jones, is that no one acts without self-interest. You just said that he was a struggling musician. And now he performed with you at an international rock festival. He would never have gotten there without you; he knew you were his ticket to fame. All he had to do was make a little investment-and now he’s cashed in.”
“I’ll bet that’s it,” Cyndia said. “That must be why he chased me off every time I tried to make up with Davy; he didn’t want me distracting Davy from the music that was his key to success.”
Mike stopped in his tracks.
No. No, that’s not it; that was never it! he mentally screamed.
Peter placed a hand on Mike’s shoulder as Micky cursed under his breath, gently pushing the Texan along.
“Well,” Davy said. “It’s really a shame that you consider everyone else to be as selfish as you.”
“Really, Jones? Really? Are you sure you aren’t just fooling yourself into believing that he’s an altruist?”
Davy looked away for a moment, a faraway look coming to his eyes as various memories zipped through his mind. But one remained the clearest of all-Mike, being forced to kneel before the Devil himself as he prepared to sign his soul over to ensure Davy, Micky, and Peter’s freedom.
“I’m sure.”
Mike shut his eyes in relief for a moment.
Rico merely scoffed.
“Perhaps you’ll be proven wrong soon enough, Jones.”
“What is he doing?!” Micky hissed under his breath. “Why is he so obsessed with turning Davy against you?”
“You think he’s jealous?” Peter wondered aloud.
“Jealous of what? He already said he doesn’t need friends.”
“Could be just a cover-up. Maybe he’s lonely deep down and he thinks this is the best way to deal with it.”
“Well, isn’t that dumb?” Micky muttered, a little too loudly.
“Shh!”
Mike pulled the both of them into the shadows of a statue just as Miss Elisa, who was bringing up the rear, turned around. Mike saw her eyes widen, and he cringed.
They had been spotted.
“What is it?” Sydney asked, seeing that she had turned around.
“It’s nothing,” she said. “I thought I saw a vampire bat; I couldn’t be sure. It doesn’t matter; they won’t attack us while were able to shoo them away…”
The three hidden Monkees quietly exhaled.
“Why didn’t she point us out?” Micky wondered, quietly.
“Hey, maybe she’s really on the level and trying to make it up to us after all?” Peter whispered.
“Maybe,” Mike whispered back. “But I still don’t want to have to count on trusting her, seeing what she put us through.”
They fell silent and resumed following Davy and the others at a distance, carefully following the footsteps they had left on the floor panels and jumping over the gaps. There was a tense moment when Micky nearly lost his footing upon landing and almost fell in, but Mike and Peter managed to avert the crisis by grabbing his arms before he fell. It did shake Micky up, though, to the point that, for the remainder of the trek, he had to quietly mutter to himself not to panic.
A sudden shout from Rico up ahead made them all jump; they hurried forward, fearing that a trap had been sprung, but it soon became clear that it had been a shout of joy. Creeping closer, the other Monkees could see the golden Flail of the Forbidden One glinting in the firelight atop a pedestal. A small set of stone steps led up to the raised platform holding the artifact.
“Are there any more traps, Jones?”
“The entire line of floor panels in the row right in front of the steps,” Davy replied. “Now you’ve got what you’ve came here for; can’t you let me and Mike go?”
“Not yet,” Rico said. He snapped his fingers and indicated for one of the flunkies to retrieve the flail. He smirked as the item was retrieved without any trouble and placed in his left hand.
Sydney now pulled the crook out of his pocket and gave it to Rico’s right hand. Rico’s eyes now turned to the medallion around his neck. Slowly, it started glowing, which caused the crook and flail to glow, as well. A grin spread across his face.
“Gentlemen-and ladies-you are now staring at the richest man on the face of the Earth!”
“Yes, lovely,” Davy said, with a wave of his hand. “Now if you’ll just…”
To Mike’s horror, the same look from earlier came over Davy’s face as he beheld the glowing items.
“I know what you’re thinking, Jones. They could’ve been yours. It’s not too late to join me. Look…”
He touched the glowing crook and flail to one of the statues in the room. From the point of contact, an encasing of gold quickly spread across the statue until it was covered.
“Your reward. But I can give you so much more. Join me, Jones. I need someone like you to help me manage all of this gold-for an impressive salary, of course.” He smirked again. “I would even be convinced to let you borrow these once in a while; I mean, they are your grandfather’s-I do respect that.”
He transferred the crook to hold in his left hand along with the flail and held out his hand to Davy.
“What do you say?”
Davy did not take his eyes off of the medallion as he slowly raised his hand to meet Rico’s. They had almost sealed the deal when a panicked cry issued from the back of the chamber.
“Tiny, NO!”
It had startled Davy enough to back away from Rico, but it had startled Rico enough to stumble back…
…Onto the one of the trap-triggering tiles.
A large, mechanical spider, glittering with gold, dropped from the ceiling. Davy let out a cry and ran, the thing just barely missing him.
Rico scrambled backwards even more to avoid the thing as it began to move erratically around the chamber. There was a creaking sound, and Mike, Micky, and Peter looked up in time to see a golden gate descending upon them.
“Run!” Davy yelled.
He had meant for them to run out of the room, of course, but Mike ran in-and Micky and Peter followed loyally as the gate crashed down behind them, trapping them.
“Get them!” Rico yelled, glaring at Mike in utter hatred. “Get them, now!”
“No!”
Davy dodged flailing golden spider legs to gift Rico another punch on the jaw. One of Sydney’s thugs hoisted the little musician up by his shirt collar, causing him to gasp for breath.
Mike swore loudly and ran at the thug with Micky and Peter behind him; their path was soon blocked by Sydney himself, as well as Sydney’s other men, who had formed a human barrier in front of them. Micky suddenly yelped and pointed behind Sydney, but the big man merely scoffed.
“You think I’m dumb enough to fall for tha-”
He was cut off as one of the spider’s legs knocked him clean off of his feet, causing him to crash into his flunkies via the domino effect.
“You shoulda listened…” Micky said, as Mike leaped over the fallen thief.
Micky moved to follow, but as he jumped, Sydney grabbed him by the ankle; with a yelp, Micky fell flat onto his face. The stone floor knocked him out cold.
“Micky!” Peter yelled. He rushed forward to help, but was sent flying backwards by one of the errant spider’s legs and hit the wall, dazed.
Mike was already in mid-tackle as this transpired; gravity took over the rest as he collided with the creep holding Davy. The man released Davy as they all hit the ground.
Davy’s landing had been especially rough; the gold-covered statue had given a glancing blow to the boy’s head. Desperate, he reached out for his friends as his world went dark.
************************************
“Davy?”
“Davy, can you hear us?”
“Come on, Tiny…”
Relief washed over Davy as the three most important voices were all accounted for as he awakened. He opened his eyes, blinking as the faces of his bandmates came back into focus. A quick look around the room revealed that they were all surrounded by Rico and Sydney’s flunkies. The mechanical spider was broken-down in a corner of the room.
“What happened?” he mumbled.
“I think we’re all prisoners,” Micky said. “I’m not sure; I was out cold for the most of it…”
“So was I. Mike arranged a truce so that they wouldn’t hurt us,” Peter added. “They’ll let us all go once you lead us all out of here.”
“You two weren’t even supposed to be here…” Davy said, rubbing the sore spot on his head.
“I told ‘em the same thing,” Mike said. “They didn’t listen.”
Davy blinked, realizing that something was different.
“Mike, where’s your hat?”
Mike responded by lifting his right hand; the hat was nestled on top of his fingers.
“Got it right here,” he said, smiling. “Now, if you can recover those memory banks of yours, we can hope there’s an alternate way out of this room-and out of the temple.”
“Yeah, there is,” Davy said. He blinked as Mike offered his left hand to help him up, but he shrugged it off and accepted his help. “You’re sure they’ll let us go once we get them out?”
Rico was looking too smug and amused for Davy’s liking.
“Oh, I’ll let you go,” Rico said, dismissively. “But why don’t you ask your boor why he isn’t using his dominant hand-and hiding it in that raggedy hat of his?”
“Come to think of it… what’s wrong with your hand, Mike?” Peter asked, looking at it.
“Are you hurt?” Davy asked.
“No. No, I’m… not hurt. I’m just…”
“Just… what?” Micky prompted.
Mike shut his eyes.
“Guys, I’m… I’m really, really sorry, but…”
He removed the woolhat, and the jaws of his bandmates fell open in horror. The slightly crooked finger on his right hand was encased in gold. Davy didn’t even hear Rico’s sickening laughter; he was staring at the gold.
“I’ve been cursed,” Mike finished. “He used the crook and flail on my fingernail while I was fighting with that guy.”
“But if it’s just your fingernail that got cursed, then why is the whole thing…?” Davy’s voice trailed off as he saw that the gold encasing was slowly spreading across the rest of Mike’s hand.
“The curse works differently on living things,” Mike said. “Judging by the way it’s spreading, I’ve got about an hour left.”
Davy could barely grasp what Mike was saying; he was too distracted by the unshakeable fact that his best friend was suffering this fate only because he hadn’t listened to him earlier.
Author: rose_of_pollux
Rating: PG13
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple rock festival, but our heroes find themselves as magnets for trouble when they get involved with ancient relics and the forbidden secret attached to them...
In this Chapter: Things couldn't *possibly* get any worse, right? ...Wrong.
Warnings: There will be perilous situations in later chapters. Because it's an Indy parody, y'know?
Genre: Adventure
Pairing: None
Main Character(s): Mike, Davy, Micky, Peter
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine (except for the OCs), and the story is; fictional personas from the TV show.
Notes: N/A
Chapter 17: Goldfinger
Micky and Peter waited until the flunky was well out of sight before heading to the back of the jet and sneaking into the cargo hold.
“Hey, Mike!” the brunet said, softly.
Mike’s head jerked in the direction of Micky’s voice, his eyes wide. Micky ignored the Texan’s protests as he sealed the hold’s door close again; Peter attempted to try to untie Mike, but wasn’t faring any better than the last time he’d tried to untie knots. Micky soon took over and worked on the knots as Peter removed the handkerchief from Mike’s mouth.
“What do you two think you’re doing?!” Mike hissed. “Davy went through so much to get you two safe!”
“Yeah, but we figured our chances were better together,” the brunet said, and he grinned as the knots finally came loose. “There, you’re free!”
“Well, you two are getting outta here right now,” Mike insisted. “There’s no way I’m letting you go to Peru-”
He was cut off as the plane started moving; in no time at all, it picked up speed and took off.
“You were saying?” Micky asked.
Mike gave him a glare as Peter quickly got his hands on some blankets and ponchos to help protect them from the cold that was making things rapidly uncomfortable as they ascended into the sky.
“We need to come up with a plan,” the blond said. “For Davy’s sake. I agree-Rico isn’t going to let him leave. He knows too much.”
“Which means he’s got even worse planned for you, Mike,” Micky added.
“I don’t care what he does to me; he can throw me off the plane-parachute or no parachute-and I could care less as long as I knew that you three were okay.”
“Well, we’d like to know you’re okay, too,” Peter said, sincerely. “So I hope you have a plan to get Davy out of there safely.”
“I don’t have a plan other than to have the three of us jump the guy Rico sends in here to guard me when we land. After that, we follow Davy at a distance, making sure we do exactly what he does to avoid the traps, and then make our move once we get the right moment to jump in and rescue him.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Micky said, nodding in agreement. “Then we run around until we lose Rico, and then Davy leads us all out while they wander around in there.”
“We’re going to leave them in there? Trapped?” Peter asked.
“Eh, we’ll send some official rescue team in there,” Micky said, with a wave of his hand. “I don’t trust that Rico as far as I can throw him; no way I’m going to lead him around. And a little time in that dungeon might get him to be a little nicer, right?”
The three exchanged glances.
“…Nah!” they said, in unison.
They lapsed into silence after that. Mike burrowed into the blankets Peter had given him, hoping against all hope that his plan would, somehow, work.
************************************
When the plane finally did land, the three of them laid in wait for the guard. It wasn’t long before the cargo hold opened and one of the flunkies looked inside. But the boys were ready.
Micky and Peter had hidden behind some empty storage crates (obviously, Rico was planning to raid every last piece of treasure from the temple) while Mike had lain back down on the ground with his arms behind his back, facing the hatch door.
The unsuspecting flunky smirked as he climbed up inside and saw Mike lying there; he decided that if he was stuck guarding him, he could at least have some fun taunting him while he waited.
“Your little buddy was asking about you. I think he wanted to see you. The boss wouldn’t let him. They’re on their way into the temple now,” he said. “I don’t know if you’ll ever see your pal again, though. Oh, don’t look at me like that; once he gets a share of the gold, he won’t care about you. The boss told me that if Jones doesn’t come back here to pick you up in five hours, I’m allowed to throw you to the anacondas. You won’t even be missed-not when he’ll find something far more valuable.”
“He’ll come back,” Mike said.
“No, he won’t.”
“I know he’ll come back. But I just don’t feel like waiting!”
He leaped up from the floor as Micky and Peter leaped out from behind their crates. The stunned flunky had no chance against the three of them; within moments, he was tied up with the same ropes and handkerchief that had previously bound and gagged Mike.
“Okay, we gotta split,” Mike said. “They’re already in there; we need to be able to hear how they get past those traps!”
They didn’t need telling twice; one by one, they dashed through the waterfall that obscured the temple entrance. Micky, who had gotten his hands on a flashlight from seemingly nowhere, was able to deduce the direction Davy had gone with Rico’s team.
“They went this way,” he said. “Judging by the looks of this, everyone except that guy went with them. We’re gonna be seriously outnumbered.”
“Then we’ll have to depend on the element of surprise,” Mike said, taking the flashlight from the brunet as he led the way. He soon found out that he didn’t need the flashlight; mounted torches were on the walls.
“I wonder who lit these?” Peter asked.
“Does it matter?” Micky asked.
“Yeah, it kinda does, actually,” Peter said, shivering. “It would mean that someone walks through this temple on a regular basis. Why else would these torches be lit, instead of being burned out?”
Mike hesitated for just a moment before resuming his pace. Peter had a point. In fact, Mike couldn’t help but notice how clean the walls and statues standing in the corridor looked, as opposed to being covered with dirt and dust.
“But there aren’t any footprints other than Davy and Rico’s team,” Micky said, pointing at the ground.
A feeling of unease grew in Mike’s gut.
“Let’s just find Davy and get him outta here,” he said, quickening his pace.
It didn’t take them long until they could hear voices up ahead; soon, they had caught up Davy and the others.
“…There’s a trap right around here,” Davy was saying. “There are floor panels up ahead all the way to the flail that trigger mechanical creatures, and then a small gap we need to jump over every few yards. I guess when someone activates the creatures, they run in fright and… Well, they notice the gaps too late and fall.”
“Which panels trigger the creatures?” Rico asked.
“You have to avoid ones that have spiders carved on them,” Davy said. “But it’s a very small carving; you have to be very, very careful when you walk. The light’s dim, too; that won’t help us…”
Rico scoffed.
“I almost wish that we had brought the boor along,” he said. “We could’ve sent him ahead to find the safe way.”
“Don’t talk about Mike like that!” Davy snapped.
“Oh, come on, Jones. We’re far away from him; you can drop the act.”
“Act?!” Davy repeated.
“Do you mean to tell me that you haven’t realized how much of a success you’d be if you flew solo? I was there at the rock festival, Jones. They cheered the loudest for you. So why do you stay with him and those other two?”
“Don’t you have any friends?” Davy wondered.
“Don’t need them-success comes best when you’re on your own.”
“And yet here you are, with an entire team of flunkies?”
“Who will all be compensated for their services-that includes you. It is an employment. So, I ask you again-why do you stay with the boor?”
“If you had friends, you wouldn’t ask me that,” Davy said. “Mike has been the one who looked after me ever since I first arrived in America. He was a poor, struggling musician, but managed to take me under his wing. I owe him a lot.”
“Well, then, despite being backwards, he is shrewd, at any rate…”
“Just what do you mean by that?!”
“I mean that I see your precious pet for what he really is,” Rico said. “One thing you need to know, Jones, is that no one acts without self-interest. You just said that he was a struggling musician. And now he performed with you at an international rock festival. He would never have gotten there without you; he knew you were his ticket to fame. All he had to do was make a little investment-and now he’s cashed in.”
“I’ll bet that’s it,” Cyndia said. “That must be why he chased me off every time I tried to make up with Davy; he didn’t want me distracting Davy from the music that was his key to success.”
Mike stopped in his tracks.
No. No, that’s not it; that was never it! he mentally screamed.
Peter placed a hand on Mike’s shoulder as Micky cursed under his breath, gently pushing the Texan along.
“Well,” Davy said. “It’s really a shame that you consider everyone else to be as selfish as you.”
“Really, Jones? Really? Are you sure you aren’t just fooling yourself into believing that he’s an altruist?”
Davy looked away for a moment, a faraway look coming to his eyes as various memories zipped through his mind. But one remained the clearest of all-Mike, being forced to kneel before the Devil himself as he prepared to sign his soul over to ensure Davy, Micky, and Peter’s freedom.
“I’m sure.”
Mike shut his eyes in relief for a moment.
Rico merely scoffed.
“Perhaps you’ll be proven wrong soon enough, Jones.”
“What is he doing?!” Micky hissed under his breath. “Why is he so obsessed with turning Davy against you?”
“You think he’s jealous?” Peter wondered aloud.
“Jealous of what? He already said he doesn’t need friends.”
“Could be just a cover-up. Maybe he’s lonely deep down and he thinks this is the best way to deal with it.”
“Well, isn’t that dumb?” Micky muttered, a little too loudly.
“Shh!”
Mike pulled the both of them into the shadows of a statue just as Miss Elisa, who was bringing up the rear, turned around. Mike saw her eyes widen, and he cringed.
They had been spotted.
“What is it?” Sydney asked, seeing that she had turned around.
“It’s nothing,” she said. “I thought I saw a vampire bat; I couldn’t be sure. It doesn’t matter; they won’t attack us while were able to shoo them away…”
The three hidden Monkees quietly exhaled.
“Why didn’t she point us out?” Micky wondered, quietly.
“Hey, maybe she’s really on the level and trying to make it up to us after all?” Peter whispered.
“Maybe,” Mike whispered back. “But I still don’t want to have to count on trusting her, seeing what she put us through.”
They fell silent and resumed following Davy and the others at a distance, carefully following the footsteps they had left on the floor panels and jumping over the gaps. There was a tense moment when Micky nearly lost his footing upon landing and almost fell in, but Mike and Peter managed to avert the crisis by grabbing his arms before he fell. It did shake Micky up, though, to the point that, for the remainder of the trek, he had to quietly mutter to himself not to panic.
A sudden shout from Rico up ahead made them all jump; they hurried forward, fearing that a trap had been sprung, but it soon became clear that it had been a shout of joy. Creeping closer, the other Monkees could see the golden Flail of the Forbidden One glinting in the firelight atop a pedestal. A small set of stone steps led up to the raised platform holding the artifact.
“Are there any more traps, Jones?”
“The entire line of floor panels in the row right in front of the steps,” Davy replied. “Now you’ve got what you’ve came here for; can’t you let me and Mike go?”
“Not yet,” Rico said. He snapped his fingers and indicated for one of the flunkies to retrieve the flail. He smirked as the item was retrieved without any trouble and placed in his left hand.
Sydney now pulled the crook out of his pocket and gave it to Rico’s right hand. Rico’s eyes now turned to the medallion around his neck. Slowly, it started glowing, which caused the crook and flail to glow, as well. A grin spread across his face.
“Gentlemen-and ladies-you are now staring at the richest man on the face of the Earth!”
“Yes, lovely,” Davy said, with a wave of his hand. “Now if you’ll just…”
To Mike’s horror, the same look from earlier came over Davy’s face as he beheld the glowing items.
“I know what you’re thinking, Jones. They could’ve been yours. It’s not too late to join me. Look…”
He touched the glowing crook and flail to one of the statues in the room. From the point of contact, an encasing of gold quickly spread across the statue until it was covered.
“Your reward. But I can give you so much more. Join me, Jones. I need someone like you to help me manage all of this gold-for an impressive salary, of course.” He smirked again. “I would even be convinced to let you borrow these once in a while; I mean, they are your grandfather’s-I do respect that.”
He transferred the crook to hold in his left hand along with the flail and held out his hand to Davy.
“What do you say?”
Davy did not take his eyes off of the medallion as he slowly raised his hand to meet Rico’s. They had almost sealed the deal when a panicked cry issued from the back of the chamber.
“Tiny, NO!”
It had startled Davy enough to back away from Rico, but it had startled Rico enough to stumble back…
…Onto the one of the trap-triggering tiles.
A large, mechanical spider, glittering with gold, dropped from the ceiling. Davy let out a cry and ran, the thing just barely missing him.
Rico scrambled backwards even more to avoid the thing as it began to move erratically around the chamber. There was a creaking sound, and Mike, Micky, and Peter looked up in time to see a golden gate descending upon them.
“Run!” Davy yelled.
He had meant for them to run out of the room, of course, but Mike ran in-and Micky and Peter followed loyally as the gate crashed down behind them, trapping them.
“Get them!” Rico yelled, glaring at Mike in utter hatred. “Get them, now!”
“No!”
Davy dodged flailing golden spider legs to gift Rico another punch on the jaw. One of Sydney’s thugs hoisted the little musician up by his shirt collar, causing him to gasp for breath.
Mike swore loudly and ran at the thug with Micky and Peter behind him; their path was soon blocked by Sydney himself, as well as Sydney’s other men, who had formed a human barrier in front of them. Micky suddenly yelped and pointed behind Sydney, but the big man merely scoffed.
“You think I’m dumb enough to fall for tha-”
He was cut off as one of the spider’s legs knocked him clean off of his feet, causing him to crash into his flunkies via the domino effect.
“You shoulda listened…” Micky said, as Mike leaped over the fallen thief.
Micky moved to follow, but as he jumped, Sydney grabbed him by the ankle; with a yelp, Micky fell flat onto his face. The stone floor knocked him out cold.
“Micky!” Peter yelled. He rushed forward to help, but was sent flying backwards by one of the errant spider’s legs and hit the wall, dazed.
Mike was already in mid-tackle as this transpired; gravity took over the rest as he collided with the creep holding Davy. The man released Davy as they all hit the ground.
Davy’s landing had been especially rough; the gold-covered statue had given a glancing blow to the boy’s head. Desperate, he reached out for his friends as his world went dark.
************************************
“Davy?”
“Davy, can you hear us?”
“Come on, Tiny…”
Relief washed over Davy as the three most important voices were all accounted for as he awakened. He opened his eyes, blinking as the faces of his bandmates came back into focus. A quick look around the room revealed that they were all surrounded by Rico and Sydney’s flunkies. The mechanical spider was broken-down in a corner of the room.
“What happened?” he mumbled.
“I think we’re all prisoners,” Micky said. “I’m not sure; I was out cold for the most of it…”
“So was I. Mike arranged a truce so that they wouldn’t hurt us,” Peter added. “They’ll let us all go once you lead us all out of here.”
“You two weren’t even supposed to be here…” Davy said, rubbing the sore spot on his head.
“I told ‘em the same thing,” Mike said. “They didn’t listen.”
Davy blinked, realizing that something was different.
“Mike, where’s your hat?”
Mike responded by lifting his right hand; the hat was nestled on top of his fingers.
“Got it right here,” he said, smiling. “Now, if you can recover those memory banks of yours, we can hope there’s an alternate way out of this room-and out of the temple.”
“Yeah, there is,” Davy said. He blinked as Mike offered his left hand to help him up, but he shrugged it off and accepted his help. “You’re sure they’ll let us go once we get them out?”
Rico was looking too smug and amused for Davy’s liking.
“Oh, I’ll let you go,” Rico said, dismissively. “But why don’t you ask your boor why he isn’t using his dominant hand-and hiding it in that raggedy hat of his?”
“Come to think of it… what’s wrong with your hand, Mike?” Peter asked, looking at it.
“Are you hurt?” Davy asked.
“No. No, I’m… not hurt. I’m just…”
“Just… what?” Micky prompted.
Mike shut his eyes.
“Guys, I’m… I’m really, really sorry, but…”
He removed the woolhat, and the jaws of his bandmates fell open in horror. The slightly crooked finger on his right hand was encased in gold. Davy didn’t even hear Rico’s sickening laughter; he was staring at the gold.
“I’ve been cursed,” Mike finished. “He used the crook and flail on my fingernail while I was fighting with that guy.”
“But if it’s just your fingernail that got cursed, then why is the whole thing…?” Davy’s voice trailed off as he saw that the gold encasing was slowly spreading across the rest of Mike’s hand.
“The curse works differently on living things,” Mike said. “Judging by the way it’s spreading, I’ve got about an hour left.”
Davy could barely grasp what Mike was saying; he was too distracted by the unshakeable fact that his best friend was suffering this fate only because he hadn’t listened to him earlier.