Author's Note: Really hope you enjoyed the story! Review!

Chapter 19: Resolution

Micky opened his eyes a little bit. He wasn't sure where he was, but he felt comfortable. He was still in a very large amount of pain, but he was on a comfortable bed with a comfortable pillow. He felt a cold, wet cloth touching his forehead a little as he opened his eyes a little more. He groaned a little as he tried to move; even the slightest movement sent pain shooting through his whole body.

"Ssh," a soft voice said to him. "Don't try to move. Just relax. You're safe now."

"Where am I?" Micky asked.

"You're safe," the woman said. "Just relax. You're in Dave's secret hideout."

"Dave's hideout?" Micky echoed and winced again. Even talking sent pain through his whole body.

"Yes, just relax," the woman said.

"He's awake!" Micky heard Peter say excitedly from somewhere in the distance.

"Peter, sit back down," Mike said as Micky tried to lift his head enough to look around the room. He saw four beds in what looked like an old abandoned sewer, though it smelled better. His was one of the beds and Davy, Mike and Peter each had another. Peter was getting off his bed, but sat back down as Mike scolded him. They all looked like they'd been through hell, too, though Micky wasn't sure why.

"He's right, Peter," the woman said with a smile. "Don't overwhelm him anyway. You all need your rest." The woman tending to him had blonde hair that hung in soft curls and green eyes.

"What's going on?" Micky asked as more pain rushed through his body. Mike pushed himself up a little, but it looked painful even to do that.

"The ring is gone," Mike explained. "It's been destroyed. Dave and Balthazar figured out a way to destroy it."

"How?" Micky asked.

"Overload it," Mike answered. "We gave you some of our energy and it kind of short circuited it."

"Which is why you should all be resting," said another woman coming down the stairs. She was beautiful with long brown hair that flowed straight down her back.

"We are," Peter said. "We're doing better."

"Still having the stomach pains?" she asked.

"Somewhat," Mike answered. "More when I move."

"You gave up a lot for your friend," she said. "Don't expect to recover from that overnight. How's the burn on your hand, Mr. Jones?"

"It's fine," Davy answered holding up a bandaged hand. Before Micky could even ask what she was talking about, Davy turned to Micky and answered. "I burned it holding your hand when the ring broke. It scalded my hand a little, but I couldn't let go or the energy transfer or whatever wouldn't work and you would have died."

"You could have died doing what you did," Micky said imagining just how much they had to give up.

"Your point is?" Mike asked as though Micky's statement were a stupid one.

"I don't want you guys giving up your lives for me," Micky said.

"We didn't," Peter pointed out.

"You would have," Micky said. "Mike was planning to."

"What does he mean?" Davy asked eying Mike.

"I wasn't going to, Micky," Mike said. "I was just pretending to go along with him in the hopes I could stall him. I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Micky asked. "I wouldn't have wanted to live knowing you gave up your life for me. You know that."

"I know," Mike said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Peter asked.

"The staff Balthazar told you about that Simon wanted…" Mike started to explain after a heavy sigh. "He needed someone to sacrifice themselves to get it. It was one of the barriers protecting it. And he couldn't just kill someone. They had to kill themselves. He said if I did it, he'd bring Micky back to life. And he'd leave you guys alone when he took over the world."

"You were gonna do it?" Peter asked.

"No," Mike said.

"You were thinking about it," Micky said remembering how torn Mike looked when Simon had first brought it up.

"Well of course I was, Micky!" Mike exclaimed. "I didn't want you to die! You were literally dying in my arms and that was the only way out I saw!"

"But you decided not to?" Davy asked as though he were making sure.

"I couldn't bring myself to do it," Mike admitted. "I couldn't risk the rest of the world just to save Micky. I know he would have hated me for it."

"You're damn right I would have," Micky said.

"None of that really matters now," the blonde said. "You all need to be resting."

"I'm Veronica, by the way," the brunette said, "and this is Becky. Balthazar and Dave are out making sure that the immediate danger is over. From what we can tell, Simon and Horvath took off when they realized the ring is broken. Simon wants that staff, but he can't get it without Horvath, me or Balthazar and he knows Horvath is the only one willing to help."

"So they went running with their tails between their legs!" Davy laughed.

"In a manner of speaking," Becky said when Veronica looked at him as though he were speaking a foreign language. "You'll have to forgive Veronica. She's still not used to the way we speak in this modern era. She was sort of locked away for several hundred years."

"So they aren't after us anymore?" Mike asked.

"Not for now," Veronica answered. "They may be thinking up another plan, but I doubt it would involve the four of you in any way. Word has also spread to Drake Stone and Abigail Williams that the ring was destroyed, so you shouldn't hear from them either. But we're keeping you here safe, just in case. At least until you all recover."

"How long with that take?" Micky asked looking worriedly at his friends. He still wasn't really able to come to terms with the fact they'd given up their energies for him.

"For them, just a day or two," Veronica said. "For you, a few days. You very nearly died. How is your pain level?"

"I'm in pain," Micky admitted. "My whole body hurts."

"That's to be expected," Veronica said. "Drink this water. I'll bring some food later. You have a lot of recovery to do. Your body had very nearly shut down. You have to replenish your nutrients in order to get your body back in working order."

"Thank you, Veronica," Micky said taking the water from her. Over the next few days, Micky did indeed get steadily better. His friends had gained all their energy back and Peter and Davy were anxious and bouncing around trying to help Micky get better faster while Mike was doing what he did best: trying to keep them under control. Balthazar and Dave had come back a few times to check on them and inform them that they hadn't been able to find Horvath or any of the others; nor had they heard anything about any future plans. This was good news for the boys because it meant they would more than likely be left alone once they went home.

Three days after just waking up, Micky decided he wanted to try and get up and walk around. He'd always been too weak before and the slightest movement always hurt, but today he was feeling better. He pushed himself up in the bed and slowly swung his feet over the end of the bed till his feet were on the stone floor.

"Micky, what are you doing?" Mike asked rushing over to him and trying to get him to lie back down.

"I need to move around," Micky said. "I'm going crazy just sitting here in bed like this."

"You still need to recover," Mike argued.

"I am recovering," Micky said. "Moving doesn't hurt as much anymore and I have more strength. Please just let me try this?"

"Ok, but very slow and you'll let me help you," Mike said holding his arm out for Micky to grab. Micky reluctantly grabbed it; he wanted to do it on his own, but he knew Mike wouldn't let him without help. Slowly, Micky stood up and almost fell, but Mike helped keep him steady using his own weight and strength.

"Just take it slow, Micky," Peter said.

"Don't over-do it, Mate," Davy added.

"I'm fine, guys," Micky insisted as he tried to take a step forward. He felt pain shoot through his body, but didn't want to give up just yet. It took Micky nearly half an hour to slowly make it only a few feet from the bed before he couldn't do it anymore and let Mike carry him back to the bed. He tried again the next morning and was able to make it even further. By the third attempt, he had become able to at least shuffle in a circle around the beds with Mike's assistance. He had to admit that without Mike holding onto him, he probably would have fallen several times.

"Well, I think we can help you get home within a few days," Balthazar said that night. "We've pretty much confirmed they've gone underground; probably cooking up a new plan, but you can leave that to us to take care of. You can get on with your lives."

"What I don't understand is how this even happened," Davy said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Mike asked. "Micky put on the ring."

"Yeah, but he put on the ring found at a dig that I helped uncover without even remembering how I did it," Davy said. "It just seems a little weird when you think about it. I was drawn to that place where the ring was even buried when I was just a kid. As though I knew where it was. But I don't even remember it."

"I think I can answer that," Veronica said as she handed Micky a plate of food. "I read through Merlin's diary and found a mention of the ring. The four of you were destined to find that ring. Only the four of you would have had the power to destroy that ring. Merlin predicted it. He wrote that only four men bonded by the most powerful magic ever known to mankind would have the strength to destroy the ring and survive."

"But we don't have any magic," Peter said.

"The most powerful magic ever known to man is love," Balthazar said with a soft glance at Veronica. "The way the four of you love each other like family; that's more powerful than any magic Dave and I could have performed. You love each other enough to die for each other. A lot of people say they'd die for their friends and loved ones, but I've been around a long time and that's actually a pretty rare thing."

"So this was all pre-destined?" Micky asked.

"I believe so, yes," Veronica answered. "Now eat. You still need your strength." Micky smiled and started eating. Over the next few days, Micky completely regained his strength. And by the time Balthazar took them all home, he was running around the pad nearly hugging everything saying how much he missed it all: the stuffed vulture, the chimp, and especially Mr. Schnieder. Dave laughed at Micky's antics and Balthazar managed a smile. Mike merely shook his head knowing how Micky already was and Peter and Davy took a second before joining him.

"You guys gonna be ok?" Balthazar asked.

"I think we'll be fine," Mike answered. "Things appear to be back to normal here."

"This is normal?" Dave laughed.

"Yep," Micky said collapsing into a chair. "There's a reason we're called the Monkees."