THE NAKED TWEEN-PETER WAS SCREAMING when he was dragged into the Cube-of-Apollo, by the Red-demon. PETER KNEW ‘WHO’ Mercury was, as being an ally of Poe and Janey, as he was part…

… of their-Cursed-trio, when the 3 fought against the ‘bringer’ of natural-disaster, BlackStar, on several occasions… in the ‘other’ Perth.

“Shame on you! After the extend Jane had gone, to ‘rescue’ you…” Said a woman’s voice, wearing veils – steering the transportation-portal.

… Peter cocked his head, to look at her…

“Hey-you! Take it with Janey – ASK HER WHY she dumped-me…”

“You bloody-cheater! She’d SACRIFICE HER LOVE for you!”

“O-yeah, but ‘not’ every Virgos are virgins!”

The irked-Peter also knew the beauty-Venus, who had criticized him – where days ago, when the Mother of Virgos had helped Janey and him, escape from army-of-Asmodeus, when he was captured in the secret dungeon of the Evil-One.

… Mercury smacked Peter’s head, with his backhand.

“SHUT-UP, and keep walking!”

“Arrg! You’re hurting me… WHERE YOU BLOODY TAKING ME, you ugly-demon?” Peter protested, when being-dragged…

“Somewhere ‘private’ – WHERE YOU AND I, got lots to talk about...”

Mercury hauled the naked-boy, to another section of the portal to the interrogation-room, with no-chairs-or-table but … an open-space, with a chain-and-shackle, on the ground.

The Red-demon locked the door – and cuffed Peter with the double-manacle…

“What YOU WANT-with me???”

“I WANT ANSWERS! Now talk, Peter – WHY ARE YOU ‘STILL’ POSSESSED? I thought we had ‘exorcized’ you in Egypt, when the Blind-One HAD-DESTROYED the curse-blood vial, that had shackled you-then, as the EVIL-ONE’S PAWN…”

“How would I know… I’m just a pawn… you-go figure out yourself…?”

“That demon ‘hiding’ in you – WHO IS HE?”

“… how would I know? He’s a demon-like you… hah… and-yet, you are asking me-huh!!?”

“Bah! It is just waste of time, speaking to A TWISTED-TONGUE LIKE YOU – who is-of no-use to me, and to himself too… if HE REFUSES, HIS ‘SOUL’ to be saved…”

Mercury pulled out his burning-sword, from his belt. Peter recalled seeing the fiery-blade – which reminded HIS BOBOLAT that was his fiery weapon-on-choice, in his ‘other’ world, as a one-armed tween.

The chained shackle dropped on the ground – Peter ‘SOME-HOW’ FREED himself, as a survival-mechanism… and ‘that’ surprised Mercury…

“How DID YOU that?”

“A friend ‘taught’ me – he’s a Norse-god of Mischief – do you know Loki?”

… Peter ran as the menacing Red-demon approached closer – the naked boy ran around in the locked-room.

“Keep-AWAY FROM me!”

… Mercury grabbed and choked the scrawny boy to the wall – drawing the tip of the burning sword to his face…

“WHO ARE YOU, demon – speak-now!!?”

… Peter ‘TRANSFORMED’ BY MORPHING… into the long-tailed, dark incubus…

“No… don’t kill me… I will talk…”

“WHO ARE YOU – and what are you doing by ‘residing’ in this vessel?”

“I don’t go-by my given-name, anymore – but you can call me, Baal Jr…”

“Baal!!? So, you ‘ARE’ THE SPAWN of the King-of the outer-Hell!!?”

“Yup… that’s my Daddy-O…”

“But-what ARE YOU DOING, in Asmodeus’ realm?”

“More-of employment – as the Head-torturer for my daddy, I was bored with those countless souls with Venial-Sins… and I WANTED THE ‘hardcore’ Mortal-Sins ones – and, so Asmodeus employed me… and I had worked with-his Head-of-torturer, Argovva… and-him… your BLIND-ONE HAD KILLED him, right?

“Yea, since I was good-in ‘what’ I do… Asmo ‘PROMOTED’ ME to be the Mind-torturer – and I then went-down to HIS ‘PERSONAL’ DUNGEON, to work-on his ‘vessel,’ where he was to ‘use,’ and walk-down on Perth…

“… but too bad - you the Cursed-trio, HAD FOILED HIS DREAM, of His rejuvenation, by destroying the Blood-of-Peter vial… and since then, I’M TRAPPED with this host…”

… Mercury understood ‘where’ Baal Jr was coming from…

… as he-too was ‘once’ employed by the Evil-one, himself …

… before he rebelled – and created…

… a mutiny against the Underworld.

“How do I GET-YOU-OUT, from this host-Peter?”

“You can’t – Asmodeus had ‘locked’ me into Peter’s mind, with NO-BACKDOOR – and I can only manifest physically if the host HAS LUSTFUL THOUGHTS – and then I go-back into Peter’s mind ‘once’ he had SATISFIED HIS PHYSIOLOGICAL needs-of-sexual pleasures… unless… unless, you WOULD KILL-HIM, and that…

“… will SET-ME free…

“… so, how about it, Mercury… do a FAVOUR FOR A FELLOW-DEMON… and-kill this mediocre inbetweener-Peter, will you?”

“NO, I WOULD ‘NOT’ KILL! He’s Christian… I had promised St. Michael – I would ‘not’ touch the subjects… who was in his guardian-care…”

“You Fool! BEING LOYAL TO that winged-Mickey, as his loyal red-dog… the same goddamn Guardian-angel who TOOK YOUR ARM-OFF when he was drunk after the treaty of the bloody Abrahamic Wars were signed…”

The mad Red-demon slapped the incubus, hard in his face, who fell rolling on the floor…

“Don’t tempt-me – I’M ‘NOT’ EVIL TO MORTALS, like all the rest-of you-are!!!”

He kicked the incubus around the room, in rage…

…until the dark entity morphed-back to the host-of the crying, naked weakling-Peter…

… who was-now, pleaded for his life, in pain…

“…please… stop, I beg you…”

… Mercury halted – and had a bit of regret-guilt of losing his temper… and hurting a mortal, who was-now crying...

“… please don’t kill me… I don’t want to die, 'not' before I ask forgiveness to my father… whom I’m responsible for his death… I HAD KILLED MY FATHER AND I’M SORRY… I just-want his forgiveness… that’s all I’m asking… I want my forgiveness before I die…”

Mercury was quiet… looking below, at the hurt Peter – sobbing hard, curled into a ball…

“Come-Peter, we-go ‘search’ for your father…”

-O-

“Are you sure-Venus, but he’s a Christian…?”

“Yes, I double-confirmed his ‘aura’ – and, Solomon Walker is currently in Svarga-Loka – the Hindu’s heaven.”

… Venus responded with her hand, placed on the navigation-sphere of the moving Cube of Apollo, that was crossing cosmic-realms, in lightspeed.

Mercury had his single-hand over his own mouth, and was cautiously deciding on the-odd ‘destination,’ because AS A FUGITIVE he should calculate his-risk – or-else…

… he might end in A TRAP AND BE-CAPTURED for treasons, by Asmodeus’ army…

… who were all in their search-and-destroy orders, and were thoroughly ‘SWEEPING’ IN RANDOM REALMS…

… looking-out for rebels like-him, and Venus…

… neither should he ‘endanger’ realms that he went to – like the SeeIn Kampuchean Temple, where his last-visited – HAD CAUSED DEATHS of the Buddhist brave-monks… over there, when the Asmodeus-army had arrived there, to capture him.

“Have you decided?” Venus asked…

“Yes-Veen set your course-over there.”

<>

A VINYL RECORD OF INDIAN-GANGSTA RAP MUSIC PLAYED on the turntable of the classical gramophone-device, in gates of the outer-realm of Svarga-Loka. The hip-hop attired Ganesa, drew inspiration from the music, as he was penning down ‘his’ biopic-screenplay, using his broken-tusk as his writing-instrument.

Into his muse, the 4-hands, fat-elephant God – was-also feeding into his sweet-tooth, of a bowl of sweet rounded-ladoos – while also-dipping his broken-tusk into the other-hand, holding an inkpot – and-writing his script, of an upcoming Bollywood-flick.

Not far away, the Cube of Apollo made a touchdown…

… ‘only’ the Red-demon and the naked somnambulistic boy alighted, and-both walked to seated Ganesa – whose one-and-only task, was…

… to guard the main-doorway of the Hindu’s heaven…

… Ganesa saw someone ‘familiar,’ coming from-afar towards him…

“Yo-Merc my-man! Long tym’ no-see, Yo… are you here, to steal my lollies?”

The approaching Mercury laughed at a distance…

“You shouldn’t stuff your face like-that, you-fat-assed elephant.”

“… I’m ‘not’ fat – I’m fluffy…”

The demon and the God – both laughed, as the ‘dissed’ one-another, from afar…

“What’s with the stop-over, still-with the transportation-business, aren’t you…? You bloody ‘soul-carrier!’”

When they finally came face-to-face, Ganesa took ONE-LOOK AT PETER, and the big-elephant exclaimed aloud…

“Yikes! This one’s ‘NOT’ DEAD – he’s an in-betweener!”

“Crickey! It’s a talking-elephant…” The sleepy-eyed Peter… suddenly murmured.

“Shut-up, Peter – go-back-to ‘sleep!’”

… Mercury ignored him, and seated Ganesa was still staring at the sleepwalker Peter… the Red-demon continued his small-talks to distract the elephant-head …

“What-are you writing-G?”

The elephant-God belly-laughed, as he was excited when the Red-demon asked that…

“It’s happening Yo… Mahadeva finally greenlighted and wanted the Mahabratha-book, made into a superheroes Bollywood movie-franchise, just-like the MCU!

“But since the adaptation of the holy-book was lengthy and complicated, with too-many Gods and Goddess’ stories – so we are ‘chunking’ it – where all-Gods would come-up with our very-own biopics superhero-individual movie… here I’m, writing one-myself-and would star-in-it… for Kubera, the God-of-wealth, who is my producer.

“… Merc-now that you’re here, can you-also give-me your feedback… are my origins, made out-of turmeric or made out of mud, that-was moulded, to perfection by Mother-Parvathy better – which-one is the ‘best’ visually?”

“Stick with ‘mud’ – the first-human man, of the Abrahamic books, was made of mud.”

“Thanks-mate, point-noted…”

“G-why make movies? And-also, why use the-black-market earth’s tech and devices?”

“… but-Yo, it’s films man – who doesn’t like the movies of the future, when it goes on Virtual-Reality 4D-mode? It’s also to correct ‘past’ mistakes too… although Hinduism is the oldest religion, but it was slow-to adapt – but the Abrahamics, who came-in next, were smart and are now they’re most popular faiths in the world – and why? Its because THEY USED TECHNOLOGY well in the media’s Golden-Age… and-now, their followers-surpluses us-by the numbers, and even pinched some of ‘our’ Hindu members.

“Now, we of-the oldest religions can use the same strategy in the 2nd wave, with the SeeIn of Buddhism, who-were getting popular among the realms… so here we are, in the play catching up with the Abrahamics...

“... with my Mother Parvathy who had just finished her movie-wrap, of her ‘own’ action-packed superhero-horror movie… Merc, I saw the ‘edits,’ it was real-Super… and will be a mega box-office hit soon in the realms, once it opens …

“We will give our fight back, to the Abrahamics, in their ‘own’ ground – and would succeed in our-conversions of mortals numbers!”

“G, speaking of Abrahamics, I want to ask a favour – IT’S ABOUT this boy’s father…”

-O-

... Mercury explained to the sitting elephant-God, that Solomon Walker is in Svarga-Loka, and his-son wanted to see him.

“It must be, he’s a Patanjali’s followers… Patanjali is the Father-of-yogis, of the inner-heavens, where prayers are heard.”

“G, can YOU TAKE US there?”

“Okay-no problem-Yo – our gates are open for visitors… but first-Merc, you got to ‘help’ me up… my feet are asleep…”

… Mercury pulled the obese-elephant-man-God from the floor, with his single-arm. Ganesa was wobbly standing, as he screwed-back his broken-tusk to his face. And, his trunk grabbed a satchel, with large sweet rounded ladoos.

“My snacks, during the journey…”

Ganesa’s trunk then whistled… and he called out…

“…eelee… eelee… Musika… Musika…”

An enthusiastic gigantic-rat came-out from the nearby-bushes. It was the size of a massive-bull… but with shortened-legs… as it ran towards its master. Ganesa tossed a ladoo-ball at it, and the rat caught it in its mouth and gobbled it.

The sentient Peter suddenly jolted in fear…

“Yikes! Big-rat… I hate rats…!”

He was about to flee, but Mercury held fast at him…

“Musika is our transportation… saddle up!”

The 3 of them, got onto the rat’s back – with fat-Ganesa at the helm, Mercury at the rear, with Peter sandwiched in-between… and the happy-mood rat raced – and it ‘sang’…

“It sings…?”

“Yes, he’s my stereo, hahaha... Musika was actually Karuncha, the musical-God before he got ‘cursed.’”

The singing-rat raced towards the mountains.

<>

IN THE MOON-LIGHT, THE RAT RACED TO THE PEAK of Mount Himalayas. The terrains were narrow and steep, and…

… Musika struggled with loads of its god, demon and mortal, on its back.

There were obstacles in the path to the peak – some harmless and some dangerous. Nagaiah the cobra-deity slithered downhill, and it startled the rat bronco, to kick-up…

… and the fat elephant-god fell from the saddle to the rocky ground…

… Chandra the moon, laughed and mocked him, for his clumsiness. Soon there were a series of angry words exchanged from Ganesa and the moon. Mercury intervened…

“G, what is happening?”

“That bloody-moon should SHOW ME SOME RESPECT! He ‘sides’ my brother Karthikeyan, ever-since I had beaten him, in the race-around-the-world.” Said Ganesa, as he mounted back on the saddle.

... Ganesa told Mercury a grudge-feud story, of himself and his brother – when a Hindu sage had offered a mango that gave-wisdom to whoever who ate it. Both the brothers wanted that ‘single’ fruit, and to be fair-deal, their father Lord Shiva…

… made them-both compete in a race. Whoever who was the winner by circling the around world 3-times got the fruit-of-wisdom…

… Karthikeyan had an early start – by mounting and flying off, with his peacock… while the lazy Ganesa sat-around at the feet of his parents – Shiva and Parvathy. As his brother almost made his 3rd lap-around-the-world, only then the grounded-fat-elephant Ganesa stood on his feet…

… and, he walked 3 CIRCLES AROUND his parents – and told them…

… that THEY-WERE-HIS-WORLD – and that-effort…

… had PLEASED HIS-PARENTS, who grated him the fruit…

“Ever-since I ‘won,’ I’ve been ‘not’ in speaking-terms with my brother – like his-friends too, they SAID I HAD CHEATED – and it was ‘not’ fair as my more-popular brother had-lost… and THIS-BLOODY MOON is one-of-them… ever-since-then, it bloody-mocks me, whenever it sees me…”

The mocking and insults – of one-another, didn’t stop – in the rest of the journey-up, to the peaks of the Himalayas. As their argument continued, the moon shone blinding-bright – until the raging elephant-god had ‘enough’… and, he unscrewed his broken-tusk from his face…

… using-his trunk, the elephant-God, then hurled it over… and it hit the moon in its-mouth, to shut-it-up. The tusk boomeranged back to Ganesa’s reaching hand, who had the-last-laugh… and-that offended the moon, AND IT WENT AWAY…

… for TOTAL PITCH-darkness…

“G, WHAT ‘DID’ you do?”

Even-Musika, the keen-eyed to-darkness-rat halted… and-was refusing to-take another step… fearing to falling-down, along the high cliffs-of the high-mountain.

“Oh-ooh…”

“Now-what?”

“Now – I guess, we wait for sunrise… Merc, you want a ladoo-snack…?”

The Red-demon scoffed – as he was running out of time, as Peter WOULD-BE SOON ‘AWAKE’ from his Dreamworld, and ‘regain,’ his cognizance in his teen-world…

… Mercury had a ruse… holding up HIS FLAMING SWORD, and giving it to Ganesa…

“Use this…and get your fat-ass moving…”

They continued their journey, up to the peak…

-O-

They reached the inner-heavens of Svarga-Loka – the place was humming its breath of Om. They saw a sanyasi-sage at the entrance, in deep meditation, in a large-lotus flower. He had greying long hair and beard and wore only a loincloth.

... he was Patanjali, the father of yogis.

The 3 of them dismounted from the huge-rat, and Ganesa approached the Holy-man – they spoke in old-Sanskrit, the language of Hindu-Gods. Ganesa enquired about the boy's father, in Patanjali’s realm of followers.

The elephant-God returned back to Mercury and informed…

“Yep, Solomon Walker is in here – he had been practising Hinduism before he died, where he had converted to ‘our’ faith, from his Abrahamic-beliefs. Soon-after his-death, he had denied both his Samsara-the-rebirth and also Atman-the-rebirth to a different-body. BUT HE CHOSE TO BE A YOGI – in a-life-time of meditation and penance, for bringing balance to the living world and the afterlife… of the good-devas, against the evil-demigods Asuras…”

“G, we are running-out-of time… CAN THE BOY MEET his father-now?”

“By-all mean… our doors are always open.”

The one-armed Mercury turned to the docile Peter and snapped his fingers at his ear.

“Peter, come-awake… YOUR FATHER IS IN THERE – go-now and see him.”

… Mercury pointed at the open-gate, and the enthusiastic-naked boy ran in…

“Dad! Dad!”

The tween cried-out, as he entered the gate and saw a sea-of-monks in deep-meditation and were humming ‘Om.’ They were there, by the thousands, and all sat on their individual rocks, with their-own yoga-asanas stances… some in yellow loincloths, others naked.

…Peter ran further up and spotted his father sitting on a rock, eyes closed, in deep meditation – his fair-complexion stuck out among the tanned-monks. Solomon sat in his loincloth, with long red-haired and beard, hung-on his neck with long string-of-Jampala-beads.

“Dad!”

... Solomon’s 3rd-eye on his forehead opened – and he telepathically called-out to his son…

“Peter? Why did you come for me?”

“Dad, I miss you, since you died in the crash… BUT IT GOT WORST SINCE I’M ‘TRAPPED’ in the this-other world as a teenager, WHERE YOU ARE ‘ALIVE’– and you remarried to this-other family… and you stayed ‘separate’ from me…”

“My son, I’ve indeed died from the car-crash – THE ONE YOU SAW IS ‘NOT’ ME – but an illusion of the Evil-one, to deceive and divide… you-and-Poe…

“Escape from this-reality, my son – and RETURN TO YOUR HOME-REALITY – where my blessings work, in protecting you and your brother!”

“How do I do that?”

“From death comes rebirth – Omm…”

“What you want me to die… like in committing suicide!!?”

“You are ‘cursed’ in this fake-reality – DEATH IS THE ONLY WAY-OUT – Omm… now go-escape… Go-Gemini-Go-Omm…”

“What!!? No way, I’m a Catholic, Dad… SUICIDE IS A MORTAL SIN! Now-why are you a Hindu, in the first place? That is apostate, you ‘did’ there… this is a total pagan-belief!!!”

…Peter pointed at his father and shouted at him, disrupting the tranquillity and the serenity of the Svarga-Loka. Mercury from outside of the gate heard him…

… the Red-demon rushed in, to see the dark-incubus ‘jumping’ out of Peter’s body – and it attacking Solomon, who fell from his rock. Mercury drew his flaming sword and ran-over, followed by the panting fat elephant-God.

“OII!!!”

Peter fainted – as the incubus bit Solomon in the-throat… ripping apart-his trachea. The entity saw Mercury coming-near…licking its blooded-lips with its long tongue, it mocked…

“Hahaha… his father is dead… now-my Lord Asmodeus is HIS NEW-FATHER…!!!”

“Damn-you, Son-of-Baal!”

Mercury leapt and swung his fiery sword to kill the incubus – but it somersaulted to avoided the strike… it ran on its fours, laughing, to an open portal – and Baal Jr escaped from, this realty, to the next…

… the Red-demon stood in shock, of what had just happened in a blink-of-an-eye… seeing then the soul of the dead-Solomon disintegrating to cosmic-dust, and blown-away upwards.

“Mercury, that is an evil ‘asura’ – why didn’t you ‘not’ tell me, that the in-betweener was ‘possessed?’ Now, I’m answerable to Mahadeva, of what had happened here… you are ‘nothing’ but trouble, you bloody Red-demon – I should ‘not’ have brought you here to this Holy-ground!”

... Mercury ignored the angry elephant-God. He went to tend the recovering Peter, who was dazed…

“Dad… where is my Dad?’

Mercury placed his single-hand, onto Peter’s forehead…

“Go-to-sleep… return back to where, you came from, Peter…”