§ § § -- June 8, 1985

Presently Roarke arose from his chair and came around the desk, slowly approaching Teppo. The youth seemed to be unaware of his surroundings and offered no resistance when Roarke lifted his chin to stare into his eyes for a few beats. When Roarke released Teppo, he remained standing with his head tilted back the way Roarke had left it, his eyes gazing somewhere out the French doors behind the desk.

"At the moment, Teppo's consciousness seems to be deeply submerged," Roarke said quietly, "yet I can detect no trace of the god at this time, either. I may be able to persuade Teppo to come to himself, so that we can find out what he remembers, what he is aware of."

The Komainens looked at each other with sudden hope in their eyes, and Leslie leaned forward with intense interest, balancing herself on her hands flattened atop Roarke's desk. "Please," said Mr. Komainen hoarsely. "Yes, please do that."

Roarke nodded once in acknowledgement, then turned back to Teppo and placed his hands flat on either side of Teppo's head. Roarke's eyes drifted closed, and for a very long two minutes the pair stood deadly still. Even from where Leslie stood in the anticipatory silence, she could see life creeping back into Teppo's features, his gray eyes filling with an animated light that seemed to turn them silver. It was Teppo who ultimately broke Roarke's concentration by snapping up straight all at once, his face a mask of surprise and confusion as he took in his surroundings. Roarke took a step back.

"Where am I?" Teppo asked. His voice was pleasant and spiced with a gentle Finnish accent, and his English turned out to be as easy as his mother's. He looked around him, casting his mother and father each a quick glance, then focusing on Roarke. "What's happened?"

Roarke smiled. "You are on Fantasy Island, where your parents brought you this morning. I am Mr. Roarke, and I will do my best to help rid you of the demon that has been plaguing you."

Teppo stared in amazement. "So it actually happened. The last time I remember anything, I recall Mother and Father telling my brothers and sisters that they had sent to Fantasy Island to see if there was any chance I could be helped there." He hesitated for a moment, then saw Leslie and smiled for the first time. "Oh, hello."

Leslie blushed but smiled back. "Hello, Teppo."

"This is my daughter, Leslie Hamilton," Roarke introduced her then. "She acts as something of a secondary assistant to me, and she is willing to lend any help she can towards realizing your fantasy."

Teppo nodded, his gaze still on Leslie. "Maybe you can show me around the island…" He paused, then looked at Roarke with a tinge of worry. "That is, if I can keep Lempo from snuffing me out again." He looked ruefully down at the straitjacket he wore. "This thing isn't exactly a nice comfy cardigan, but I understand why Mother and Father felt the need to keep me in it. I'm told that I've tried very hard to injure some of my family."

"Have you any memory of any of the incidents that have occurred under Lempo's influence?" Roarke asked.

Teppo shook his head. "When Lempo takes over, I don't really know anything. I mean, it's not that I'm asleep or unconscious. I know there's something happening. It's more as if Lempo shuts me away into a dark room with a locked door, and keeps me there as long as he pleases. So I'm conscious, in the sense that I know long periods without contact with the outside world, but I have no awareness of whatever Lempo does when he's, well, in charge, shall we say."

Roarke nodded contemplatively. "I see. And how often do you know what is happening around you?"

Teppo frowned. "Less and less, I think. Every time I'm aware, I find that more time has passed than the last time I was aware. Most of the past three months have been a loss. I've had to postpone my last two years of university because of this insanity. I came to myself once last winter and found that someone had put me in an insane asylum."

His tone was not accusatory, but his mother turned red all the same. "We didn't know what was really wrong with you then," she said apologetically. "And of course, no one in authority took us seriously when we discovered the true answer. The scholar we consulted spoke directly to Lempo, in our presence, and Lempo told us who and what he was."

"We brought him home again after only a week in that place," Mr. Komainen added.

"You're not to blame," Teppo told his parents firmly. "It's this demon." He turned to Roarke. "Mr. Roarke, I should warn you that I have no way of knowing when Lempo will decide to take control again. Sometimes I'm aware for just a few minutes; sometimes I'm lucid for several hours. For all I know, I might be taken over by Lempo even as I'm standing here in this room."

"Perhaps that would be as well," Mrs. Komainen remarked. "Then, Mr. Roarke, you would understand exactly what happens to Teppo when the demon is controlling him."

Roarke smiled vaguely, his eyes sliding out of focus for just a moment. "Lempo and I will meet in good time, Mrs. Komainen," he said, an ominous tinge in his tone, before snapping back to the here-and-now. "Since you expressed an interest in seeing the island, Teppo, I'm sure Leslie will be more than happy to oblige you." He turned to her and continued, "You may have use of one of the cars, and you may stay out until dinnertime -- at which hour I ask that you and Teppo be here for dinner. His parents will be here also."

Leslie nodded willing acquiescence, and was extracting a set of keys from an ornate gold box that sat front and center on Roarke's desk when Mrs. Komainen cried, "But suppose Lempo returns while Teppo and Leslie are sightseeing? Mr. Roarke, Lempo could do incredible harm to your daughter through Teppo!"

Roarke glanced at Leslie, whose face had taken on an expression of mild concern, and then at Teppo, who seemed startled by his mother's words. "I don't think so, Mrs. Komainen," he said simply. "Now that you have brought your son here, I suspect that Lempo will choose the time and place for battle very carefully."

Mrs. Komainen stood up and glared at him. "Mr. Roarke, you just don't understand," she snapped. "It happens without warning, any time, anywhere, under any circumstance. That demon could find it an utterly irresistible temptation to cause great harm to your daughter, and great sorrow to you, by waiting for a moment when they're far away from any help and then attacking."

"Perhaps we should leave it to our respective children," Roarke suggested gently. "When they return -- and they will, Mrs. Komainen -- then we shall find out exactly what, if anything, has occurred."

"Just the same," Teppo's mother said firmly, "make sure that you two don't go anywhere too far from populated areas, so that there will be help for Leslie in case Lempo takes control again, Teppo. I absolutely will not take the chance of any harm coming to that young woman; she's the daughter of our host, and a fine repayment that would be if she was hurt because of us."

Teppo nodded solemnly. "We'll be careful, Mother, don't worry," he said. "Mr. Roarke's already helped me by bringing me back to awareness, and I intend to enjoy it for however long it lasts." He grinned at Leslie. "And if Mr. Roarke's daughter here is brave enough to take her chances with an unpredictable demon, then I just admire her all the more for it."

His parents smiled reluctantly, and Roarke chuckled, noting Leslie's latest blush. "Very well then, enjoy yourselves; and we'll see you at dinner this evening."

"The usual time, Mr. Roarke?" Leslie asked, and he nodded. With that, she turned to Teppo. "Okay, then, I guess there's just one thing left to do…remove the straitjacket, and we can take the grand tour."

This stunned his parents, who had evidently thought Teppo would simply continue to wear the thing. "But if…" Mrs. Komainen began again.

Finally Teppo lost some of his patience. "Mother, for heaven's sake, would you want to go sightseeing in one of these things? Mr. Roarke has all the confidence in the world that both Leslie and I will be fine. It'd be nice if you took a hint from him. After all, if you refuse to trust Mr. Roarke's judgment, then what was the point in coming here in the first place?"

"Sound thinking indeed," Roarke said approvingly. "Please, Mr. and Mrs. Komainen, if you would?" He gestured towards Teppo.

The elder Komainens finally gave in and, working together, untied and removed the confining device. Once he was free, Teppo backed away a bit to give himself some more space, stretched his arms out as if he meant to take off, lifted them over his head, then windmilled them with particular vigor, causing everyone to burst out laughing. Teppo joined in. "Free at last!" he sang out dramatically, escalating the mirth. "Well, now that I've had a good stretch, how about that tour, Leslie?" She grinned and nodded; and with that, Teppo and Leslie left the main house.

"As for you," Roarke said smilingly, "I believe you should follow your son's example and take some time to relax. Coming all the way from Finland as you have done, you're undoubtedly very tired from the journey, and it will do you both good to relax. Even if you merely retire to your bungalow and read a good book, you'll feel refreshed once dinnertime arrives. That will be promptly at five-thirty this evening; so I will see you back here then."

"This is a good idea, yes," Mr. Komainen agreed with a smile. "We did not sleep much since we left Helsinki. Perhaps I will have a nap."

"I might have one myself," his wife said. "All right, Mr. Roarke, thank you for the dinner invitation. We'll see you then." She put her arm in her husband's and they departed the house, leaving Roarke to consider what came next.