The clarity of the water made it difficult to judge the depth. They just sank deeper and deeper. The bright surface seemed to expand as they dropped further from it, and Flash’s mind wandered back to the ocean planet, and even further back to the Atlantic Ocean on Earth.
The fishes still swam in spirals around the group as they neared the sea bed. Here, like above, he saw soaring jewel spires and winding valleys. Even at this depth, seaweeds grew and swayed in the currents. Fields of patchwork sponges carpeted the floor. Flash nearly forgot that he was submerged. There was no crushing weight of water. The sensation was one of weightlessness. Mer creatures swam toward them, appearing out of caves and from behind the crystal towers. From the chest down, they were clothed in iridescent scales, and above that, they looked human.
They waved, beckoning the group to follow. Peering over a steep cliff, they saw a shining city, bustling with commotion. Of course the residents didn’t use valley pathways to get from one place to another. The crowds hung above the buildings the way the whales hovered above the plains in the world above.
The group didn’t go down into the city, but passed above it. One mermaid swam up to them and bowed her head as she greeted the prince.
My name is Meri, she said, and offered to take the entourage sightseeing. She led them to an undersea canyon, the floor of which twinkled, a blood red field that shone in ribbons of light. At one end of this wide valley, a small mountain rose up. At the top of the hill, a jagged rim encircled a crater like hollow. In the center of that, stood a colorful castle.
Why, that looks like our crimson plain! Eeli called back to Flash and the others.
They descended to the chasm floor. Looking about, they saw the reef like mountains, the foothills and the cliff which crested at the cobalt plateau. The seahorses carried them up the cliff where they saw something that resembled the amethyst roadway that led to their home. Passing through the main gateway, they were engulfed in holograms that repeated Olo’s history.
This is the deepest part of the ocean, Meri said, waving her arm to welcome the adventurers.
Eeli gazed up at the tower above him, and a bell or gong rang out loudly through the water. He laughed, amazed at the spectacle.
Flash rode up to his balcony, high on the castle wall. He could see, through the open door, a hologram which appeared to rise from the bed inside. There, Lem stood, craning her neck to see him.
He dismounted the seahorse, stepped onto the platform and into the room. He could hardly believe his eyes.
Oh, I’ve missed you, he said to the apparition. I’ve missed you so much.
Her eyes sparkled. She didn’t speak, yet Flash could hear, or sense her voice, like he had at their first meeting in the mother ship.
I haven’t gone anywhere, she said. I am always with you. There is nothing to fear.
I miss the way it used to be, he said. When you were in your body.
Lem only laughed. I don’t miss it. You’ll see. I am not my body. I don’t need it. My body was afraid. Nothing can hurt me now.
Your friends are waiting. Before you go, I have a present for you. It’s here on the pillow.
Flash looked down and saw a bottle of wine. In sweeping calligraphy, the label read

I am always with you. Forever. Lem.

He clutched the gift to his chest, and thought he must surely be shedding tears. He couldn’t tell, surrounded, as he was, by water.
We will be together again soon, she said.
Until then, I will visit you in your dreams, he answered.
Stepping back out onto the balcony, Flash looked down and saw his friends waving up to him. He waved, and climbed back onto the seahorse. They all headed back up, seeing many more wonders in the terrain before rising again through the borderless blue that engulfed them.
They were silent as they ascended to the surface, as each one had had encounters in that place that were meant only for them.
There was an archipelago scattered offshore, and this is where they surfaced. The string of islands was actually the tops of mountains that rose like enormous ribs, with only the tips of the spires visible above water. Here, Flash said goodbye to his traveling companions who were picked up by a dragon, and flown to the mainland. Flash swam to the closest one. It was deep violet in color. So dark on the shadow side that it appeared black. Rounding the island, the lighted side shone in purples and lavender. Here, he came upon a stairway that spiraled up from beneath the waves, and was hidden from his view as the rock tapered to the top. He climbed it, and was swept from the narrow steps a few times by the crashing of the sea. The water held no danger, so he persevered, until he made it above the waterline. He ascended the steps until he came to an opening, and stepped inside. The light streamed down in rich, cool color, the beams catching facets in the stone that burned in bright white. A fountain burbled and then burst a spray of water as the waves pummeled the structure at the surface of the sea. The sound of the fountain was musical, the steady rhythm of drops was punctuated by gurgles and roars as the tunnel, or pipe emptied and filled again. The ceiling of this space was domed, and as he gazed up at it, he saw that it resembled the night sky. The facets burned like stars, and the projected colors were like nebulae. He sat with his back against the wall, and fell into a daydream. His thoughts were rinsed away in the song, as he had been at the base of the staircase. He allowed the mental pictures to arise, noticing, but not focusing on them until another swell wiped them away. He let them come and go. He didn’t grasp at any outcome. Wishes and fears alike just traveled by.
If a memory happened to catch his attention, he wished it well and allowed it to go on its way.
He began to see constellations in the dome, effortlessly connecting the shapes. The cat. The cauldron. The gate. His eyes closed beneath the familiar Ololian sky. He did not sleep, nor could he say how much time had passed before he stood again.
A red light shone through the stone, dancing through the cathedral like space, and Flash went to the doorway to see what caused the blaze. It was a dragon, come to carry him home. He straddled the beast at the base of its neck. Behind him rose a row of armored plates.
It raced above the sea, and climbed as they crossed the shoreline. In no time, they reached the castle, and Flash stepped onto his balcony. His legs quivered a bit from the thrill of that ride, and while Flash preferred the gentle whales, he could see why Eeli chose the dragons.
At his side, hung a satchel that contained the gift from the deepest part of the ocean.