I waited until Donna drifted off into deep sleep the next night. The oceans of her subconscious opened up and I knew the entity was swimming somewhere in those waters. But the cunning demon wouldn’t emerge so easily this time. I needed help from the sea god himself, Poseidon.

I concentrated on the ocean herself, as currents guided me underwater. Poseidon ruled all oceans, on the Earth Herself or imagined within earthlings’ minds. It was all the same to Him and I knew we were connected as I swam His domain. Drifting in the depths of Donna’s subconscious put me in a trance myself, delving deeper to the core source of all water.

Then a flash (in my own mind). And I saw Him. Poseidon.

He sat in a giant marble, underwater throne. He must have been 100 feet tall sitting down. Algae and ocean barnacles collected at the base of His throne and at his huge, sandaled feet. He was certainly regal, reigning over all water, but his posture in the ivory throne matched that of a man sitting contently on his front porch, overseeing the neighborhood. In this case, the neighborhood was all oceans, real or imagined. That included Donna’s dreams.

I swam to Him to confront the bohemoth aqua god. Immediately sensing the disturbance of my paddling, he glanced down at me.

“Poseidon!” I yelled up to him.

His giant beard, that resembled a bouquet of large, white kelp, wriggled wildly as he looked down.

“What is it that you seek?” the mighty sea god was welcoming in his question.

“I must ask for your help,” I had now swum up so that we were eye level. “There is a demon here, in Donna’s mind, that haunts your waters. He’s wiping select memories clean from her mind. I must vanquish this intruder to heal her.”

His gargantuan arm lifted from the thrown to stroke the wild kelp beard down, taming it for only a moment, until the flowing water all around Him filled those facial strands with life once again. He ran his hand down the beard several times as He pondered my request.

“Do you have a center?” he said. “That is to say, are you centered in my chaotic waters? If so, let’s go to your Drop.”

Within an instant, we whisked to my Drop where the waterfall and backdoor I had purchased from the Thunderbird Order still sat. He loomed giant in my modest Drop. His coral crown almost scraped the ceiling like the Ghost of Christmas Present in Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” He surveyed the space.

“Oh, good, you have a back door,” he said. “You’ll need that. And is that a healing waterfall?”

“Yes, yes,” I said. “Yes, when I had faced the demon earlier, I wrenched my knee. I should hold it under the falling waters so that I’m at 100% the next time we meet.”

“Indeed,” he said, then turned his head toward the back door. I held my lame knee under the soothing flow of healing, holy water. In an instant, electrical pulses surged up and down my leg. I could feel the bone and tendants repairing beneath my skin. My leg joint snapped back into place, better than ever.

“Does that door lead to a randomized portal?” he said.

“I think so, yes. My helmet instructed me to procure one from my Order’s Equipment Room.”

“Good, good. You’ll need that to expel the demon. Lure him here, to your sacred Drop, and force him out this back door. Your friend will finally be rid of him.”

“How can I lure him?” I said.

“Ahh, I can sense disturbances in my realm. Let me locate him for you.”

With that, he closed his giant orb eyes, as his coral crown glowed gold. Then, he opened them again looking directly at me.

“Can you teleport?” he said.

“If I know where I’m going.”

A holographic image materialized at the epicenter of my Drop. Poseidon was projecting the whereabouts of this demon within Donna’s subconscious.

“We’ll have to coax him into chasing you,” he said. “Can you shape-shift?”

At that, my helmet displayed the how-to’s of assuming a new form.

“I can now,” I said.

“You’ll need to get his attention, in the form of Donna. You’ll need to act happy, portraying a memory that the demon would find undesirable. He thrives off of Donna’s anguish.”

I morphed into Donna’s appearance and teleported to where the demon lurked. I led him on a merry chase, over land and through water. I had laid a wormhole leading right back into my Drop. And the demon followed me there. Once he entered my most sacred of spaces, I swung open the back door and pretended to dart straight for it. The demon pursued, but at the last second I pulled back. I had caught the demon off balance, and he stumbled at the threshold between my Drop and the complete unknown—my own local vortex of randomness. For a moment, I thought he’d regain entry, but just then Poseidon erupted from behind the waterfall, looming large as ever and He dealt the final blow, casting the demon into oblivion.

We slammed the back door shut. The deed had been done. And I was grateful to the great god of the sea, Poseidon.

We’re still friends to this day.

***

NEXT UP: The crew begins to suspect there’s something supernatural helping them in their dreams. The next day from Donna’s aquatic exorcism, she’s brighter and more loving toward Edward. Ron then recounts a similar slumbering experience. Is it Bill? The word-of-mouth buzz prompts the crew to petition Cap for an early release. Will there be a grand reunion soon? Will Bill finally be with his best friend, Kitty, and the rest of the crew again? Frankly, he’s been down in the brig long enough.

***