Several tunnels away, Micky was slowly cutting through the ropes around his wrists. The diamond ring Davy gave him was sharp, but the rope was thick and tough. Finally, the last thread cut apart and he slowly, painfully, pulled his hands to the front. He took the gag out of his mouth and shook his hands back and forth to get the circulation going again. After rubbing his sore wrists, he untied his feet, then took the gags out of Mike and Peter's mouths.
"I'll get you guys free in a sec." Micky said, reaching behind Mike.
"Hurry, Mick." Mike said, "Who knows how long that digger will stay off."
As if to answer Mike's question, the tunnel digger roared to life and started to move toward the three Monkees.
~~~~~~~
Glick was getting impatient. 'Davius' was going on and on about the great destiny of the trolls and how well things will be from now on. He realized Davy was stalling for time, not that it was going to do any good, anyway. Davy would eventually have to order the tunnel supports blown, or his friends would die. Glick planned on killing Davy's friends anyway, but Davy didn't need to know that.
Davy talked until he ran out of things to say. He hoped he had given Lisa and Laura enough time to do what they had to do. Finally he raised his hands and said:
"In conclusion, fellow trolls, I will now start the process to end the evil in our lives."
Instead of ordering the tunnel supports blown, Davy turned and looked down at Glick, a wide grin on his face. Davy closed his eyes, hoping he remembered the spell correctly.
"Oh castle dark and forbidding,
you will now do MY bidding!
Where you stood on the icy plain,
you will fall to the earth again!"
Glick immediately sensed something wasn't right somewhere.
"What...did...you...do?" Glick said slowly, eyes narrowing.
"Why don't you phone home, Glick?" Davy replied with a laugh.
Glick looked down at his wrist TV and pushed a button. His jaw dropped to the floor at the picture that appeared on the screen.
Glick's castle at the South Pole was crashing to the ground!
~~~~~~~~~~
The tunnel digger was getting closer and closer to the three Monkees. Micky was free, but Mike and Peter weren't, so he pulled them up and pushed them against the wall. He covered them with his body in a futile attempt to protect them from the sharp rollers. Suddenly, when the digger was less than a foot away, it stopped and backed away. Micky, Mike and Peter breathed a huge sigh of relief. Why did the digger pull away? Was Glick playing games again? In answer to that question, the top of the digger opened and out popped Lisa and Laura!
"Hi guys!" Lisa said, "Need help?"
~~~~~~~~
"AHHHH!" Glick screamed, "MY CASTLE!!" My beautiful, dark castle!" Glick glared at Davy in undisguised fury. "Your friends will pay for that! I already had the digger start up again!" He pushed another button on his wrist TV, expecting to find the other Monkees being chewed up by the machine, but what he saw made him scream again. The Monkees weren't tied up in the tunnel anymore! In fact, they were free, and climbing into the digger followed by Lisa and Laura!
"NO! NO! Those treacherous females!" Glick howled. "How could they?!"
Davy smiled triumphantly. It seems Lisa and Laura got to his friends on time! Now there was nothing holding him back!
"Trolls of the underworld, listen to me!" Davy shouted at the crowd, "I am NOT Davius! My name is Davy Jones! Glick put a spell on me to make me think I was your king!"
Davy got no further because Glick had flown up to the shelf Davy was standing on and knocked him down. He picked Davy up by the throat, slammed him into the wall and held him there. Davy's feet dangled off the ground. Grizelda jumped on Glick's back, but he effortlessly threw her off. She fell to the floor stunned. Glick began to squeeze Davy's throat, his eyes dark with hate.
"You've annoyed me for the last time, boy!" Glick growled, squeezing Davy's throat harder. Davy tried to fight and kick back, but Glick was too strong. Darkness appeared around the edges of Davy's vision...
Suddenly, a digging machine charged through the wall near Glick and Davy. Glick dropped Davy in shock as they both fell to the ground. Davy gasped for breath. Out of the machine popped Micky, Mike, Peter, Lisa and Laura!
"Hi there!" Micky said happily, "Did we miss the party?"
Just then, hundreds of toy soldiers came through the tunnels and began fighting with the trolls. The soldiers were taller than the trolls, but not quite as strong, so the fight was evenly matched. Grizelda finally got her head cleared and stood at the edge of the shelf.
"STOP! Trolls, stop fighting!" She yelled, "Listen to your queen!"
Slowly the fighting stopped, and Grizelda continued.
"Davy's right! He really isn't our King Davius! Glick is our enemy! He's been fostering hatred between us and Santa Clause for months now! He put a spell on Davy to make us think he was Davius so he could make us destroy Santa!" Suddenly Grizelda was pushed off the shelf by an invisible force. She screamed and landed on the ground, not moving.
"Grizelda!" Davy shouted, shocked to the core. He turned to rush Glick, but Glick had in his hand the detonator to blow the tunnel support beams.
"No further, Jones, or anyone else!" Glick shouted, "Unless you want Santa's castle turned into rubble!"
"You've lost, Glick." Mike said, "Give it up."
"NO, NEVER!" Glick screamed, "I'll see Santa and Christmas destroyed!"
"Why, Glick?" Peter asked, "Didn't you get that magic set you wanted for Christmas years ago?"
"I never got anything for Christmas!" Glick yelled. "I always got coal!"
"Because you were always bad, Glick." A new voice said behind him. Glick spun around. It was Santa. "Even as a child, you used your power for evil."
"I used my power to change the world to MY liking, Santa." Glick growled, "If you didn't like that, too bad."
Santa shook his head at Glick's arrogance.
"Now, I think I'll change the world again by destroying your castle, and all those toys. No toys, no Christmas." Glick said.
"Just because you destroy my castle, you won't destroy Christmas, Glick." My castle can be rebuilt, and I've taken the liberty of moving my workshop to another location and storing the toys someplace else. But I'd like to avoid the hassle of building the castle again, so...."
With that, Santa snapped his hand out and threw a magic candy cane at Glick. The candy cane hit the detonator and turned it into a fruitcake!
"NOOOO!!" Glick howled, dropping the fruitcake.
"He's been saying that a lot, hasn't he?" Davy asked the others, smiling. "Lets get rid of Mr. Negative once and for all, shall we?"
"Fools!" Glick spat. "My spell book might've worked against my castle, but not against me!"
"Who said anything about using YOUR spell book, Glick?" Davy asked. "Ready?" He asked the others. The other three Monkees, plus Lisa, Laura, Tic and Toc, nodded their heads. Davy got out the book Micky had given him and opened it up to the right page.
"To get rid of an evil Wizard," Davy read, "First jump up and down twice, point your finger at him and shout "Loser!"
The four Monkees, Lisa, Laura, Tic and Toc did just that. Glick disappeared in a burst of red light.
"Where did he go?" Mike asked.
Santa pulled out his magic snowball and rubbed it. After a few seconds, it showed Glick sitting on the remains of his castle, shivering in the blowing snow, and being snapped at by penguins. Everybody laughed. Their joy was short-lived when one of the toy soldiers ran over to Santa.
"Santa sir! The tunnel underneath your castle is collapsing under its own weight!"
"Start filling in the tunnel!" Santa shouted, "Soldiers and trolls, both!"
Santa jumped down off the shelf and went over to Grizelda, followed by Davy. She was awake, and one of her medics was bandaging her ankle.
"Are you OK, your Majesty?" Santa asked.
"Yes, I'm fine, Santa." Grizelda said. "I'm sorry for all the trouble we trolls have caused you over these last few months. Don't worry, we'll accept what you give us for our coal."
"I'm going to look into finding a buyer for some of your coal, Grizelda." Santa replied, "I think I'll find someone who won't question where it came from."
Santa and Grizelda shook hands. They then watched as the trolls and soldiers filled the tunnel back up. Soon, Santa's castle was safe again. Davy came over to Grizelda.
"I hope you feel better soon, your majesty." Davy said.
"Thank you Davy." Grizelda replied, "I...I know you're not Davius, but...you could still rule the trolls with me."
Davy smiled and kissed Grizelda on the cheek. "Thank you, but this isn't my world. I couldn't live underground, just like you couldn't live above. I hope you do find someone, someday soon."
Micky, Mike and Peter approached, with Lisa and Laura on their arms. Grizelda looked up at them sadly.
"Boys, I'm sorry for what I did to you. Will you forgive me?"
Micky, Mike and Peter nodded their heads.
"We forgive you, Grizelda." Micky replied.
"Ready to go back up, Davy?" Mike asked.
Davy looked down. He still remembered what he had done to his friends while he was Davius. "Do you guys still want me around?" He asked quietly.
"Of course we do, Davy," Peter replied, "We love and forgive you. None of it was your fault."
Micky, Mike and Peter gathered around Davy and gave him a group hug. Davy felt very lucky to have such good friends. They slowly walked up to the surface.
~~~~~~
The Monkee concert at the toy factory went right on schedule. Elves and trolls were in attendance and even Queen Grizelda was there, sitting next to Santa. Everybody had a good time, dancing and eating the food. With a little bit of TLC and Mrs. Clause's cocoa, Micky, Mike and Peter quickly recovered from their injuries. Now all four Monkees, dressed in matching Santa suits, sat next to Santa, Mrs. Clause, Grizelda, Lisa and Laura during a break. Mike looked at the two girls.
"What are your plans now, Lisa and Laura?" he asked.
"We've been offered jobs here at the factory." Lisa replied. "I'm going to use my journalism skills writing instructions on how to put the toys together."
"I'm going to use my retail skills to make the toys look attractive." Laura put in.
"The working conditions will be much better than where they were before." Santa said. "Oh by the way, here you are." Santa handed Mike an envelope. Mike opened it up and his jaw hit the table. Inside was twice the money Santa had promised for the gig!
"Santa, I think you've made a mistake..." Mike began.
"No, I didn't, Mike." Santa chuckled. "That's only a small token of appreciation for how you boys helped me. My castle would be rubble, and Christmas ruined if it hadn't been for you four. And don't worry, you'll find lots of neat stuff under your tree when I come in a few more nights!"
The smiles the Monkees wore lit up the room. Soon, break was over, and the Monkees tore into their songs once again. They finished the set with a song that everybody, even the trolls, sang:
Let there be peace on earth,
and let it begin with me!
Let there be peace on earth,
the peace that was meant to be!