Kida and the warriors lead us across a birdge overlooking a river of lava towards the city of Atlantis.
Milo was so overcome with excitement upon finding Atlantis, that he just...felt like talking.
"Now, what's really amazing is that if you deconstructed Latin, you overlaid it with a little Sumerian, throw in a dash of Thessalonian, you'd be getting close to their basic grammatical. At least you'd bein the same ballpark."
"Someone's having a good time." Miss Sinclair said to Rourke, who replied. "Like a kid at Christmas."
"Commander, there were not supposed to be people down here." said Miss Sinclair. "This changes everything."
"This changes nothing." replied Rourke.
Kida brought two groups; Milo's including himself, Miss Sinclair and Rourke, and mine including myself, Sherman and Penny, to the palace to meet her father, King Kashekim Nedakh.
"Greetings, Your Highness." said Kida in Atlantean. "I have brought ths visitors."
"You know the law, Kida." replied her father in Atlantean. "No outsiders may see the city and live."
Father, these people may be able to save us."
"We do not need their help."
"But, Father..."
"That is enough. We will discuss this later."
"Your Majesty?" interuppted Rourke. "On behalf of my crew, may I say it is an honor to be welcomed to your city."
"Uh, excuse me?" whispered Milo. "Commander?"
"You presume much to think you are welcome here." The King said to Rourke, who replied, "Sir, we have come a long way looking for..."
"I know what you seek," interuppted the King. "And you will not find it here. Your journey has been in vain."
"But we are peaceful explorers, Your Highness." I said.
The King chuckled lightly.
"And yet, you bring weapons" he said, noticing a gun tucked away in Rourke's pocket.
"Our weapons allow us to remove...obstacles we may encounter." explained Rourke.
"Some obstacles cannot be removed with a mere show of force." said the King. "Return to your people. You must leave Atlantis...at once."
"Well, you seem like a very busy man." said Penny as she prepared to leave."So we'll just be on our way and..."
"Not so fast, young lady." interrupted Rourke.
"What, he is busy, isn't he?" asked Penny.
Rourke thought about it for a second, then looked up at the King.
"May I respectfully request that we stay one night, sir?" he asked. "That would give us time to rest, resupply and be ready to travel by morning."
The King groaned at the thought of letting us stay for the night. But if what Rourke was suggesting is true, then...
"Very well. One night." he agreed reluctantly. "That is all."
"Well, thank you, Your Majesty." said Rourke.
"Will it also give us time to ask some questions?" asked Sherman.
"All in due time, Sherman." I said. "Now come along."
"Mmm. Your heart has softened, Kida." The King said to his daughter once both our groups have left the palace. "A thousand years ago, you would have slain them on sight."
"A thousand years ago, the streets were lit," replied Kida. "And our people did not have to scavenge for food at the edge of a crumbling city!"
"The people are content." assured the King.
"But they don't know any better!" said Kida. "We were once a great people. Now we live in ruins. The kings of our past would weep if they could see how far we have fallen."
"Kida."
"If these outsiders can unlock the secrets of our past," Kida went on. "Perhaps we can save our furture."
"What they have to teach us," said the King. "We have already learned."
"Our way of life is dying." reminded Kida.
"Our way of life is preserved." assured the King as he took his daughter's hands in his own. "Kida, when you take the throne, you will understand."
"So, how'd it go?" asked Dr. Sweet once Milo's group and mine were outside the palace.
"Well, the King and his daughter don't exactly see eye to eye." explained Milo. "She seems to like us OK, but the King...I don't know, I think he's hiding somethin'."
"Well, if he's hiding something, I want to know what it is." said Rourke.
Already, Miss Sinclair came up with an idea. "Someone needs to talk to that girl."
"I will go!" said Moliere.
"Someone with good people skills." added Vinny.
"I will do it!"
"Someone who won't scare her away." added Dr. Sweet.
"I volunteer!"
"Someone who can speak the language." added Mrs. Packard
For the good of the mission, I will go!"
"I volunteer myself, Sherman, Penny and Milo to speak with the Atlantean princess." I announced to the crew.
"Looks like we have a four-way tie." commented Rourke.
Upon hearing this, Moliere burst into tears.
"Looks like you've got competition there, eh, Penny?" teased Audrey.
Penny glanced coldly at her.