Down below, a malevolent being watched what was going on.
"If he doesn't take care of you, I certainly will!" The evil figure dressed in black said as he watched what was happening above on a cauldron of fire. To many people on Earth, this man had the name of Mr. Zero, but what he really was was Satan, Prince of Darkness, the epitome of evil. He actually went by many names, but as long as he and his minions took souls away from God, he didn't care what he was called.
Right now, he wasn't in the best of moods. (He was only truly happy when someone fell away from religion and God.) The angel Elizabeth had just stopped several youths from signing their souls over with one of his demons (in disguise as a drug dealer) in exchange for all the drugs they could do forever. Then she just had to go visit those four simpletons, didn't she? The four humans who had stopped his greatest plan ever, to stop the crucifixion of God's son Jesus!
Satan's eyes turned red when he saw the five of them together. Oh, how he wished he could cast a fireball from here and turn them into ashes! But, whether he liked to admit it or not, there were limitations to his powers. He could induce the mortals, influence them, as he did with the driver of the car that killed Chronos' wife years ago; but he couldn't actually take any lives. That was something only God and God alone could do.
So, he had done what he could to discourage those mortals from following the Christian faith; the failed audition was just one example. But despite some bad times, the four of them stayed the course. He dispelled the vision in the cauldron with a ball of fire and sat down on his black iron throne. His demons could see their master was in yet another foul mood and stayed away from him. Satan glared at the opposite wall, which showed him all the souls screaming in pain, and sat in thought. He would have to be careful about how he handled these four mortals. One of them, named Mike, was a descendent of Saint Thomas, one of Jesus' twelve apostles.
The descendents of the apostles had always given him trouble throughout the centuries. God had rewarded the eleven `good' apostles with many descendents with extra abilities to resist evil and lead others away from sin; not to say there weren't a few that failed to live that way, but for the most part they were a sharp stick in his side. Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. were two of the more well known examples of those descendents leading others in the cause of good and justice. Of course, Satan had made sure the descendents of his servant Judas Iscariot numerous as well; Hitler and Stalin were two very good examples. Satan thought back to the conversation the angel had just had with those mortals. They still seemed pretty upset over losing that audition. Like most mortals, they wanted to be famous, to go places. He smiled and began to walk around the dark room, his servants still keeping their distance. Suddenly he stopped and laughed as he formed a plan to bring those four meddling mortals to his side, whether they realized it or not! First, he would have to contact one of his servants working for him on the Earth above.
Whom to get now? Oh, yes! This one would be the perfect servant to put his plan into action. It's about time she started to pay back what she owed anyway.
Satan stood in the middle of the room and clapped his hands twice loudly.
There was a flash of red light and a cloud of black smoke as the person Satan summoned appeared to him.
She was a woman about forty years old with dark brown hair down to her shoulders, and was wearing a black dress with matching shoes.
She seemed confused a moment, then realized where she was and began to tremble.
"Don't worry, you're not in any trouble." Satan told her. "You weren't in the middle of something important were you?" He asked, not really caring if she was or not.
The woman looked at Satan and bowed down, "Oh no, my master. I am always at your disposal."
Satan smiled at that phrase and began to pace around the room. "You sold your soul to me in exchange that I make you wealthy and powerful, while you help bring others over to my side. I take it you're still in charge of that company you formed, am I right?" Satan demanded.
"Yes, master."
"Good. I'm going to ask you to do a little job for me. Take care of a little annoyance. Do it and I'll make you a witch queen with your own coven to rule."
"A witch queen?" She asked happily, "Just like Estella?"
"Yes, I have a few novice witches that need an experienced, guiding hand to lead them. I think you'll do just fine. But fail me..." Satan let the sentence dangle.
"I won't master. Command me."
Satan gave a wicked smile to his servant. "This is what you will do."
++++
Back up on Earth, Micky and Elizabeth excused themselves from the others and went on to the beach. It was a beautiful day and they were happy to be in each other's company. It wasn't long before Micky's playfulness came out and he began to chase the angel in and around a large pile of rocks. But every time Micky thought he caught Elizabeth, she would disappear, then reappear behind him and tickle his ribs! That of course made Micky chase her once again until he thought he had her and she'd disappear once more!
"That's not fair!" Micky exclaimed laughing and panting at the same time.
"Aw, getting tired?" Elizabeth teased, giggling. "C'mon, try and catch me!" The angel laughed and started to climb up on the rocks.
Micky gave her an evil smile and climbed up after her. He finally cornered her on a ledge, but when she disappeared again, Micky turned around and grabbed her as she reappeared!
"Gotcha!" Micky said triumphantly. Elizabeth let out a surprised squeal as Micky picked her up and put her over his shoulder, then began to climb up the rocks to the top.
Elizabeth of course could've disappeared again, but instead let Micky carry her up to the top.
"Oh, heavens!" She said dramatically, "What are going to do to me, you...you beast?!"
"That's Mr. Beast to you!" Micky said laughing evilly.
Getting to the top rock, Micky knelt and gently placed Elizabeth down, then sat next to her. He took her hand and kissed it.
"What am I going to do with you?" He asked, "Hmmm?I'm going to tell you how much I love you, adore you, think about you day and night," He paused and kissed Elizabeth's lips, "...And ask you to marry me."
Elizabeth gave him a sad smile. She leaned over and gave Micky a kiss that sent electricity down his spine. The angel then looked down at her hands.
"You know I can't do that, Micky." Elizabeth said softly. "I love you very much, but we are of two different worlds."
Micky took Elizabeth in his arms. He knew it was true. She was an angel of God, sent by him to help those in need, to bring back others to God. The angel couldn't be led astray by Earthly temptations, lest she fall and lose God's grace.
Still it hurt that he finally felt he found his one true love?and he couldn't have her.
"In all the centuries you've been on Earth, Elizabeth." Micky asked her. "Were there others you fell in love with?"
"Yes, there were a few." Elizabeth told him. "When I was mortal, I loved men as long as they had money."
Micky nodded, remembering that Elizabeth was a Madam in France during the middle ages, providing women for the wealthy and powerful.
"Then, when I started my assignments on Earth," Elizabeth continued, "I fell in love for real a few times. And they loved me, but I always had to leave, to move on. It really was better that way."
"Why is that, dear?" Micky asked.
Elizabeth looked Micky in the eye. "You can't imagine, with your short life span, how hard it is to see people you love, admire and made friends with die? Time and time again? And you're still alive?" Tears began to fall down her cheeks. "Micky, sweet Micky, you're going to get old, and die...and I'll still be here, still the same age and alone again!"
Elizabeth began to sob. Micky pulled her close to him and held her tight. He never thought of the downsides of living a long life like hers. Micky kissed the top of her head and gently rocked her until her sobs subsided.
"Honey, I'm so sorry I upset you." Micky told her. "I'd never hurt you."
"I know that, Micky." Elizabeth said with a sniff. "I just feel that it could be different this time. From the moment you kissed me at the pad when you and the others found me on the beach, I've felt such closeness that I hadn't felt in so long."
"Am I a descendent of one of the apostles, like Mike is?" Micky asked her.
Elizabeth shook her head. "No, it doesn't seem that way. But there is something special about you."
Micky smiled and wiped her tears away with his fingers.
"Like I told you, Elizabeth." Micky said, "We can work something out."
The two of them sat on the rocks for a long time until Elizabeth looked at her watch. She let out a small gasp.
"What's wrong?" Micky asked her.
"I'm going to be late for my new job!" The angel told him.
"What job is that?"
"I was told to get a job at the Blazin' Hot Music store downtown."
"Wow! That's the grooviest record store in town!" Micky exclaimed. "They always have the latest records! They've helped many acts become famous! Why were you told to work there?"
Elizabeth looked down. "I can't tell you that Micky." She said, "I probably shouldn't have told you that much. But it is important that I do work there."
Micky nodded. "I understand. Let's go back to the pad."
Micky and Elizabeth climbed down the rocks and went back to the pad. Once there, they found Mike, Peter and Davy sitting on the couch looking over the front page of the evening paper. They were so absorbed in reading the top story that they jumped in fright when Micky and Elizabeth came over to them.
"Hey, what's up?" Micky asked his friends.
"Look at this headline." Mike said somberly, turning it so Micky and Elizabeth could see it. It read: ANOTHER TEEN SUICIDE. In smaller print underneath it read, Local Boy, 15, kills self with knife.
"Oh my God!" Micky whispered, "That's the third kid in three weeks! What's going on?"
He read the rest of the story where it explained that the teen, John Smith, was usually a quiet, reserved boy until a few weeks ago he began to act erratically, finally taking his own life by slitting his wrists. The police were at a loss to explain why and could find no link between Smith's and the other two boys of similar age who also had died by their own hands.
Elizabeth just hung her head. Those boys had so much to live for, now they were gone and left behind grieving, heartbroken families.
She looked at the Monkees.
"I just came back to say that I have to go to my new job."
"Yeah, she's gonna work at the Blazin' Hot Music store downtown!" Micky told the others.
Elizabeth looked at him, mildly annoyed.
"Ooh, sorry, Elizabeth." Micky said looking down at the floor.
"It's ok, Micky." The angel told him. "I guess it really doesn't matter."
"That's a groovy place you'll be at, Elizabeth." Davy told her.
"I hope so, but once I've done what I'm supposed to, I'll probably leave. So goodbye, everyone, may the Lord be with you."
"And also with you." The Monkees replied.
The Monkees gave her hugs and kisses like before, with Micky giving the angel the biggest hug and kiss of all.
"I hope to see you soon." Elizabeth told them, "Please take care."
"Same to you, Elizabeth." Peter replied.
The angel smiled and slowly vanished from sight.
Mike looked down at his hand when he realized it didn't hurt anymore. He pulled off the bandage to find his hand completely healed.