Somehow, by some miracle (though Rick might object to that term), Iva's body had righted itself within space. She came out of the portal and stepped out onto the wet ground. Or, well, stumbled and landed on the wet ground. Iva did not pride herself for being a creature of grace.

For a few moments, the girl was alone. Her body was shaking, confused and shocked at its sudden, unnatural journey.

The interior of the portal was completely without gravity. Iva's body had whirled about without anything to grip, save her notebook. So, holding it like a teddy, she had floated helplessly in the vacuum. Then, without warning, she was pulled down. Pulled towarda the other end. She was straightened out, then thrust into an unknown world. The sensation was like being flushed down a toilet. Fitting, since she could've really used one to puke into.

On the bright side, this did give her an idea.

Write a story where all the protagonist discovers futuristic technology isn't all it's cracked up to be. Possible commentary on the harsh reality of science?

As she wrote this, Iva remembered exactly why she'd put herself through that.

She looked up from her notebook. And gasped.

This was- this was...

Rick and Morty suddenly popped out of the portal. As soon as they were through, it disappeared behind them.

"This is it, M-Morty. Atlantis." Rick said.

So it was.

Iva looked around at the crumbling architecture. Stone pillars reached far above human comprehension, holding up a cracked stone ceiling. Water dripped from it, falling into an intricate series of canals below. But that wasn't the interesting part. Had this been all there was to see, Iva wouldn't have thought twice. It just looked like crumbling temples from ancient Greece. What caught her attention was everything around it. And everything around, from the looks of it, was water. The ocean, to be precise.

The city was encased within a glowing blue dome. Outside was the vast ocean. Fish swam around, unconcerned with the marvel beneath the deep. Above them, a whale swam and cast a great shadow. It was like a giant, reverse fish bowl.

"Geez Rick, this is really something." Morty commented.

"I know. It's the world's ultimate aquarium, Morty. We're surrounded by every kind of fish you can imagine. L-look, there's a megalodon right there."

Iva snapped her head over to where Rick was pointing. And, sure enough, a shark the size of a plane swam by, innocent and (thankfully) uncaring for the tiny humans ogling it. All Iva could think of was a novel she read many years ago.

And that she really wanted a camera.

Her attention, however, was soon drawn to something else. The dome. It seemed to be... pulsating. Ripples of light kept passing over it with rythmic timing.

"What's with the force-field?" Iva asked, now more curious than anything. "Where's it coming from?"

"That's what we're here for, Iva. This- this place is kept dry by a powerful crystal. Nothing gets through the field of energy it produces."

Iva's heart pounded in her chest. Blue crystals? Atlantis? She refused to say what she was thinking. She was a professional (Or as much of a professional as a strung out writer could be) and she was not going to make a fool of herself.

"Kind of like that Disney movie?" Morty asked. "The one with all the crystal necklaces?"

"Exactly. W-where do you think they got the idea?"

O-oh.

Suddenly, a splashing sound startled the trio. Iva let her eyes dart down, then widen at the sight before her. There, in a nearby canal, was a mermaid. Her skin was green, her red hair hung like dead seaweed, and the back of her tail was lined with spines. But there she was. Her webbed hand was pressed against the forcefield.

"What is taking them so long? If I had legs, I would kick them."

"E-excuse me," Morty began, "Can we help you?"

The mermaid turned to look at them. Iva suddenly felt rather awkward. Were they intruding?

The aquatic woman narrowed her eyes.

Morty continued. "Do you want help with that forcefield?"

Instead of answering, the mermaid backed away from the forcefield and dipped back into the water.

"Wait, come back!"

"Don't wa-waste your breath, Morty." Rick said, only answered by a glare from the boy.

Morty began to run after it, but soon realized there was no need. The creature made a sharp right before popping out right beside the trio. Or, well, duo. Rick was too busy investigating the forcefield itself. He'd brought out some sort of scanner to analyze it. Perhaps he was used to mermaids.

If he was, Iva certainly wasn't, and she was staring at the creature with childlike wonder.

The mermaid cocked her head to the side. Iva copied.

"What are you doing down here?" She inquired.

Morty rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, my grandpa and I- and uh, Iva here-" He said that with a tinge of distaste, "Came down from the surface to have a look around. This is a pretty nice place you got, y'know?"

The mermaid only crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze.

"Swing and a miss." Rick commented. Morty glared.

"I uh, I noticed you were looking at that forcefield over there. We can take care of that, if you want."

In her astonishment at finding a mermaid, Iva had failed to register the nature of her actions. The mermaid had been staring longingly out the blue dome. It finally dawned on Iva.

The forcefield workded both ways. Nothing could get in, sure. But that meant nothing could get out, either. A shudder went down her spine.

It also gave her a story idea, but at the moment it felt too tactless to write it down.

"I-I know you can." The mermaid replied, finally. Her face had turned from stern to just confused.

"You know?" Morty asked.

"I know. I saw you and your grandfather ten minutes ago. What are you doing back down here? Why do you not remember?"

For several moments, there was silence. Morty turned to Rick. Rick looked back at Morty. Iva stood there in a bout of hopeless confusion. At least she and the mermaid had something in common.

Finally, Rick took interest in the creature and joined everyone. He leaned down to her level.

"Where did we go?"

She pointed up, towards one of the immensely tall buildings. The highest of them all, in fact. Iva had to crane her neck to get a glimpse of its peak. From it, a pulsating beam of light shine.

"Rick?" Morty asked.

The old man stood back up. "It seems we've got- we've got company, Morty."

Iva, still as lost as their aquatic companion, looked over to him.

"Who, uh, who's our company, Rick?"

His blue eyes slid over to her. There was something cold and calculating within them. Iva supposed she should've felt uneasy. But instead, she was intrigued. The wheels were turning in his head. What was he grinding at?

"Us." He replied.

A.N.: Good evening everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this installment. Let me know what you all thought! As always, thank you all so much for reading and I'll see you next time!