Everyone ready to defend the kingdom?

Mike: Yeah.

Peter: Yes, but let's remember our audience!

Micky: You bet!

Davy: Ready!

(Cut back to the prop room. Peter claps his hand over Jordan's ears.)

Peter: Michael, I don't want to hear anymore! This is supposed to be a story for the kids!

(Katie's wide-eyed.)

Mike: It ain't THAT bad yet, Peter.

Peter: Note that YET.

Mike: (Leans against a wooden crate) I'm just gettin' Em back for the Mexico story.

Peter: Could you do it in another story where the kids aren't listening?

Mike: All right, all right. She ain't here, anyway. What do you suggest, Mr. Virgin?

Peter: (Ignores the comment and turns to the kids) Before Alexander could...hurt...Emma further, Sheila burst in...

(Which she does as we cut back to Alexander reaching for Emma's bodice. She nearly rips the door right off the hinges!)

Sheila: Alex! Alexander?

Alexander: *mutters* Rotten timing. *to Sheila* What?

Sheila: Alex, I'm going to need you tonight. I have a job for you to do. (Nods at Emma, who lays on the bed, breathing rapidly) How far have you gotten with her?

Alexander: Not far enough.

Sheila: You'll have to work on her later. I'll have some of the boys throw her in the dungeon. (Smirks) She may have company soon.

(A few of the guards pull Emma to her feet and drag her out of the room, dazed and pale.)

Sheila: (Arches her eyebrows at Emma's now short, wavy hair) What did you do to her?

Alexander: *smirks* Had fun.

Sheila: Um, right. Stay away from my bloody head. I have a perfectly good hairdresser.

*Alexander crosses him arms and grumbles.*

Sheila: You won't be angry when I tell you what your new assignment is. How would you like to play with Princess Daphne herself?

Alexander: *cocks an eyebrow* You have my attention.

Sheila: Some of my men snared these items from the Musketeers. (Places a rough cloth sack on the table and dumps out the contents - a Musketeer's hat and sword and several wallets) You and a few of the quieter men will kidnap the Princess and her attendants, then plant these items in their rooms to make it look as if the Musketeers did it or had it done.

Alexander: *nods* Gladly.

Sheila: We'll launch our first attack on the same day. With the head Musketeers out of the way and the others defending the borders, the castle itself will be largely unguarded...and their royal majesties will be vulnerable.

Sheila: King Laurence and Queen Mildred will be too busy sending troops to defend their kingdom and searching for their beloved little girl to be able to defend themselves. We'll get them and force them to sign a treaty that will turn Belgravia over to me...and if they can't be forced, they'll die and I'll take the kingdom anyway. You'll do it in a few days, long enough for me to gather forces for an attack. I already have most things together.

Alexander: You've really thought this through, Milady.

Sheila: A villainess must be thorough. (Sighs) Now, let's move along. Come with me, and I'll give you the specifics to the castle...

(Cut to the study, where Mike is still bound. He struggles, trying to free himself from the tight ropes.)

Micky: *voice over* Let’s try in here. *the door opens. Micky pokes his head in, followed by Peter and Davy*

Peter: Michael! (He hurries over to his friend and pulls his gag off) Michael, what happened?

Mike: I saw a damn ghost, that's what happened!

Peter: Well, there are a lot of ghost stories about Belgrave Castle...

Mike: (As Micky and Peter untie him) No, I saw my former wife!

Peter: But Emma's dead!

Mike: She’s not THAT dead. She stole some papers from that desk, and then Sheila and her goons musta stole HER while I was out.

Peter: Michael, you must have had too much to drink at the party...

Mike: (Stands) Thanks. (Turns to Pete as he slaps his sides, looking for his wallet) Pete, here's proof. I'm missin' my wallet, my hat, and my sword. Jerks musta stole them when I was out.

Peter: Do you know what papers Sheila took?

Mike: Somethin' 'bout invadin'...I didn't get to see much before someone clonked me over the head.

Peter: (Turns to Micky and Davy) You two check the desk. See if anything's missing.

Micky: *nods* Right.

Peter: Michael, I don't think...(checks his pants) Hey, my wallet's gone! I know I had it when I was in the ballroom!

Micky: My wallet's gone, too!

Davy: (Looks up from the desk) I have my wallet, but there are some files missing.

Peter: (Frowns) This is strange. How can someone come back from the dead, then disappear again and steal someone's wallets?

Mike: Em...(voice cracks a little)...stole the papers. I don't know why. She said it was her job. I said I'd turn her in...(looks at the floor)...but I don't know if I actually would.

Peter: (Puts his arm around Mike) Poor Michael, you've had a terrible shock. I'm sure Emma will turn up if she is alive.

Mike: You believe me? (Raises his eyebrows) Why?

Peter: Well, I've never known you to lie before, when it was important! Besides, I don't think ghosts would have stolen your stuff and the papers. SOMEONE was here.

Mike: (Looks at the other two) Any luck with the desk?

Micky: Just some missing files. I don't like this, Mike.

Peter: (Puts an arm around Mike) Let's go talk to Millie. I think Sheila's up to something.

(Cut to Larry, Millie, several officials, and a few more Musketeers, along with the guys, the next day. Larry and Millie are in simpler clothes.)

Larry: (nods) You boys had every reason to be worried. Those papers that disappeared were supposed to go to the head of the military, detailing the routine and the strategies of the garrison there.

Millie: Damn it! I'll bet she was one of Sheila's spies. She would send someone to steal military secrets. (Looks at Mike) Did you see who hit you and where the thief went?

Mike: (Shakes his head) I grabbed Emma...Miss Redmer...and told her I had to turn her in. All I saw after that was stars and darkness.

Larry: I thought your wife...Miss Redmer...died a few years ago.

Mike: I thought so, too, until I found her goin' through military papers.

Larry: (Looks at Mike) Captain Nesmith, I want you and your best men to stay here and defend the castle. Everyone else will beef up the garrison and help ward off this possible invasion.

Millie: Honey, are you sure that's a good idea?

Larry: (Shrugs) What choice do we have? I need all the men I can get to defend the garrison!

Millie: (Looks at Micky, Peter, and Mike) You boys guard the castle with your life. I don't trust Sheila. She'll come after us, thinking we're vulnerable.

Peter: You can count on us, your Majesty! (Bows)

(Mike grunts and bows)

Micky: (Bows) We'll do everything we can, and more!

Millie: Good. Now, you go and keep an eye on our little girl and our home. I know I can count on you boys. You're good boys.

(Mike, Micky, and Peter step out. Peter sighs.)

Peter: Micky, where did Davy go? We're going to need all the help we can get, now that we're going to be short-handed. Micky, we'll probably need Lauren, too.

Micky: Davy went to see Princess Daphne. We can stop and get Lauren.

Mike: (Shakes his head) We'll have to send someone to fetch her. We need to stay here.

Micky: I think Jack should be around here somewhere. He could go get Lauren.

Mike: (Nods) We'll send him after her. (Looks at the others) I wanna go back to the study. It's not far from the Princess' suites. We can look for more information on Em's disappearance and keep an eye on her at the same time.

Peter: (Shudders) Mike, I don't like it in here. There's something about this room that gives me the creeps. :p

Mike: Calm down, Pete. It's just a bunch of books and antiques.

Peter: But it's so DARK.

Micky: Don't worry, Peter, we're both here with you.

Peter: (We hear footsteps as Mike and Micky go through the desk) Michael, was that you?

Mike: Huh?

Peter: (Turns around...to see Alexander and several men) Michael! Mi... (But Alexander clamps his hand over his mouth and takes his arm)

Mike: Pete? (Turns around as three more guards point swords at them, one of them Mike's) Hey! You could poke an eye out with those!

Peter: (As Alexander removes his hand) What's going on? Alexander, shouldn't you be in jail?

Alexander: Should be, but I was bailed.

Micky: *folds his arms; snorts* Figures. :P

Mike: What do you want?

Peter: I'll bet he's after the royal family!

Mike: Hey! (It takes two of the guards to strip off his blue Musketeer uniform) Perverts! This isn't that kind of story! There's kids listenin'!

Peter: Hey! (Alex pulls off his uniform)

*Alex yanks off Micky's uniform. Micky's shorts have hearts on them.*

Alexander: Thanks guys, I needed these.

Mike: Thank god they didn't take my pants.

Micky: *faintly* And I thought Pete was telling this part! Mike!

Peter: If I let them take Mike's pants, Mike would kill me!

Mike: My best friend knows me well. ;)

Peter: Alex, what are you doing?

Alexander: I needed a few more items to use as evidence.

Mike: (Turns to Alex) What do you mean, "evidence?"

(Alexander and his men wriggle into the uniforms)

Peter: You're going to dress like us and make everyone think we did something to the Princess! She's near here! :o

Mike: Peeeeette! :p

Peter: Michael, even I could guess he'd already figured that much out.

Alexander: He's smarter than he looks.

Mike: Like we're gonna let you...(the men corner them)...or maybe we will.

(Alexander and his men start backing into the door out.)

Peter: Alexander, please don't! Leave the poor girl alone! She's in love!

Alexander: Oh well.

Peter: Alexander... (he and the men pull back behind the door before Mike and the other two can attack him. Alexander quickly takes a key from his pocket and locks them in.)

*We cut to Davy and Daphne's, um, courting. Actually, they're rather lip-locked.*

(Maxine, Kimberly, and Jenny walk in. They grin, giggle, blush, and whistle.)

Maxine: Will you look who's busy!

Jenny: Maybe we'd better come another time... :">

*The two lovebirds separate, Daphne blushing fiercely.*

Davy: Didn't know we had an audience.

Maxine: We wanted to tell her highness that we're pretty much stuck here.

Kimberly: They want us to stay in the castle until they head off these invasion rumors! :p

Jenny: (Looks at Davy) Do you think they'll want you to stay here and help the Musketeers or go with the army?

Davy: I don't know. I figure if they want me, they'll come and get me, or I could just help out on my own.

Kimberly: Why don't you go find the other guys? I saw Mike, Pete, and Micky down the hall a while ago. They're still worried about the missing papers. Mike swears he saw his dead wife steal them.

Jenny: Do you think Mike saw a ghost? What did he drink at the party?

Davy: I go find them. And I don't know what to think, frankly.

Maxine: Poor boy's been working too hard lately. Maybe you guys could talk him into taking a few weeks off. Go on vacation somewhere. Maybe you could take him to England or something.

Davy: *grins* Maybe I'll just let 'im go where evah 'e wants to go.

Maxine: (Frowns as the sound of someone hitting something is heard) Hey, what's that? Sounds like pounding.

(The girls and Davy all poke their heads out of the door. They see a fluttering of familiar French blue fabric go down the hall.)

Maxine: Must be some of the Musketeers. I wonder what they're up to?

Davy: I'll go take a look. Might be one of the guys. I'll be back... *follows the person*

Kimberly: (Turns to Daphne) So, does this mean you and the short guy are serious?

Maxine: I can only imagine what your folks are gonna think. He's not a duke or a baron or anything. He's not even a Musketeer!

Jenny: I think you two are so cute!

Daphne: He's trying to be a Musketeer! *to Jenny* Thank you.

Jenny: Oh, I always encourage true love! It's so beautiful!

Maxine: How are you going to explain this to your folks?

Daphne: Well...

*The door suddenly opens. Alexander and his boys enter.*

Maxine: (Frowns) Micky?

Jenny: I don't think we've ever seen you guys before. Are you a cousin of Micky's?

Alexander: *smirks* Something like that. We've come for the Princess.

Daphne: *eyes widen* What!?

Kimberly: What do you mean? We had strict orders not to leave the grounds!

Alexander: I mean I'm kidnapping the Princess! We'll take the rest of you for good measure!

Maxine: You're Musketeers! That's not your job!

Jenny: No way!

Kimberly: (Martial arts stance) I won't let you!

(Kimberly attacks the guards as the girls reach for swords.)

Kimberly: (Goes after Alexander) Take this, you ugly ass! X(

Alexander: Ass? I'll show you...

Maxine: Don't forget ugly! ;)

(Alexander grabs Kimberly and yanks her arms behind her back. One guard swings the Princess over his shoulder; the others take the other girls.)

Guard: I believe that's all of them, sir. (Binds and gags Maxine; the others do the same to the other girls)

Alexander: Excellent. Let us leave now, then send word to the Queen.

(They all head down the hallway, disappearing into another secret passageway, as we fade out.)