CHAPTER 3: Meeting
"Just a little further. Little more. Okay. Now step down from the edge. That's it."
"Milo, may I open my eyes now?"
"You're almost there. Wait a little longer." He nearly walked backwards as he led Kida by both hands out of the cave. The scholar had been glad he left his notes with Khohbdesheh so his studies might be furthered while they were away. In addition he felt lucky a couple would be able to care for MUH-sah MIH-kee during the trip.
"It is very cold here." Shivering, she pulled her right hand away from Milo's grip, and, thankful her husband had given her his coat, pulled the garment closer to her body.
"You've spent your whole life in Atlantis where it's… what? Sixty to eighty degrees? Of course you'd think twenty-eight degrees would be cold. Least it's not as cold as Iceland was when Helstrom was controlling the weather…" Then, the academic man, temporarily turning his gaze, shouted, "Hey, Vinny, are you ready?"
"Yeah, I think ah so."
"Okay, Kida, one more step… There! Now turn a little to the right… You got it." Then, so all could hear, "Now!"
The queen opened her eyes in the darkness of the cloudy early morning. She stood smiling and breathless in wonder, despite being able to see so little. A freezing wind wrapped around her like ice water, robbing her of her warmth, yet she cared not. The black silhouettes of shedding trees were barely distinguishable against the ebony sky.
"It's not much yet, but you'll see more when the sun rises." Milo then stood beside her, his arms lovingly around her to keep her warm. "Vinny? Um…lights?"
"I'm ah sorry. The headlights aren't working. I'll ah try the Wildcat's." With that, Vinny, in his heavy coat, walked calmly to the vehicle that had remained in the same spot for several days. He switched on the headlights upon his arrival. The beams illuminated the nearby ground, while making distant trees vaguely distinguishable. The dying, frost-covered grass sparkled a brilliant white.
The queen gasped at the beauty of it. "Even the plants shimmer here!" As the light illuminated her breath in the frigid air, she cocked her head. There was a slight look of disgust in her face.
"What's wrong?"
"My breath is…" She watched her breath roll in the air in front of her. Then noticing the puffs emerging from Milo's mouth, "Why is it that on some places people smoke unwillingly?"
"Smoke?" Oh, you mean this?" Turning his head slightly, he exhaled heavily, creating a cloud from his lips. He held back the slight urge to laugh at the situation, but, smiling, conferred to her, "Whenever it's cold and dry you can see the water in your breath. It's not smoke. Think of it like mist. The cold makes the water condense. He removed his glasses, fogging them with a strong exhalation to demonstrate.
"But why does it condense?" Kida's disgust turned to intrigue.
"Well… That would involve explaining states of matter to you. I... I don't quite think you're ready for that one yet," he chuckled.
"Very well…"
"So, you were saying before…?"
She paused, taking in the moment. "Even the plants sparkle in your world. Why is this?"
"Actually, that's from the cold too. The water in the air freezes to the plants. Here, take off your glove." He broke from her to pick a blade. Upon his return, he held out the plant to his wife. "Feel it."
The wind bit into her fingers as she reached for it. The cold of the plant sapped the heat of her fingers, yet melted the frost, leaving glistening dewdrops clinging to her fingers. The actual plant was of a green-brown hue under its coat of white. Kida's eyes were wide with the curiosity of this new find.
A tugging of her sleeve was the only thing that averted her attention.
"I theenk eet eez time to go."
"Yes," Milo began, "but we should call Whitmore first."
"Oh? Is he nearby?"
"Um, I mean on the telephone, Kida."
"Ah, yes."
"Uh-huh," replied an approaching Sweet who grinned jovially. "Whitmore made sure a nearby store would have its doors unlocked for that purpose. 'Course he had to pay extra in case anything inside was 'ta disappear."
The team began to climb into their cars. Milo and Kida were informed by a young explorer they later learned was named Garret Turner that they were to ride in the Dorfenheimer Wildcat.
"This is truly a wonderful way to start advance our culture back to a greater age," Kida thought wordlessly to herself. She recalled the lessons of years ago when Milo began to teach her of the long gone practices of her society. "So the renewal shall begin…"
The collection of trucks and cars moved forward, taking several minutes to reach its destination. Upon their arrival, the seven original explorers, along with the Atlantean queen, entered the unlocked store. The crew's crystal jewelry illuminated the store with its blue glow until Audrey flicked on the lights. Foodstuffs and novelties lined the store's shelves. Kida's interest, however, was in the actions of her husband. He glanced around, and, on locating a phone, led his spouse to it.
"Milo? What are you doing?"
"Well, would you like to talk to Mr. Whitmore? According to Vinny, he asked to meet you."
"Yes! I would love to try using a telephone." Kida's eyes shone as bright as her crystal.
The linguist produced a slip of paper from a pants pocket, and, after examining it, began to turn a dial to ring the millionaire.
"Hello, Mr. Whitmore? Yes, this is Milo. Sorry if I woke… Oh, good." He paused. "Yeah, we're preparing to leave." There was another pause. "Uh-huh. She's here… Okay." Milo moved the hearing piece away from his ear, and then he turned his attention to his wife. "Speak into this and put this piece to your ear," he told her, indicating the respective parts to her.
She took the hearing piece from him. "SOO-pukh? Hello?" As Kida leaned foreword towards the receiver, Milo repositioned her hand so the opening of the earpiece faced her ear instead of the ceiling.
"Queen Kida? Greetings!"
"Greetings Mr. Whitmore!"
"How are you doing? What do you think of America?"
"I have yet to behold all its wonders, but what I have seen is fascinating, just like when I visited years ago."
"You didn't really have time to enjoy yourself, though."
"No."
"You'll see it all in due time. I look forward to seeing you in a few hours. Remember, the plane fair's still on me."
"Thank you. I look forward to seeing you as well."
"Goodbye."
"Farewell, Mr. Whitmore. Thank you for making this trip possible for me."
Kida heard a click through the earpiece, then a hum. She pulled the earpiece away from her ear and looked to Milo, unsure now of what to do now she was finished. He took the phone from her and hung up. "So, what did you think?"
"Amazing. How far away is Mr. Whitmore?"
"Gee... I'm not exactly sure. Hundreds of miles anyway. Maybe thousands of Winyim." Milo yawned. Half of the crew had gone more than twenty-fours hours without sleep. "We had better be heading off."
"Thousands of Winyim…" Kida's word trailed off in thought as the group exited and got into their respective vehicles. Their engines roared back to life as they started to leave, their destination now being Washington D.C. Kida remained wide-awake for the first half-hour of the trip, staring out the window at the dark shapes blurring by. She was still clearly fascinated by outer-world vehicles. Milo worked hard to remain awake while she did. Thus, he was quite grateful when she finally yawned and cuddled up beside him, her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her the only way a loving husband could. The scholar briefly caressed her now auburn hair with a kiss, and laid his head upon hers. In the back of the car they slept on the way to Whitmore's mansion.
"Sir? Sir?" Garret nudged Milo's shoulder from the front seat. "Sir?" he loudly whispered again.
"Huh? Hmmm… What?" Milo's eyes slowly opened. The sound of rain pelting the car's metallic hide met his ear.
"Sir, we've arrived."
"Oh." Still slightly groggy, he faced the sleeping Kida and kissed her cheek. "Kida…" He put his hand on her shoulder.
The Atlantean pressed up against him in her sleep. She hummed slightly, smiling as if envisioning a beautiful dream. Her eyes began to flutter open. "…Milo?"
"We're here. At Whitmore's."
The sleep bogging down her eyelids was instantly eliminated as excitement replaced it. She peered out the window at his mansion. "It's raining," she observed. "His dwelling is grand!"
Garret laughed. "Would you like to go in?"
"Certainly!"
A bolt of lightning punctuated her exclamation, causing her to jerk her head in its direction. "YAHD-loog!" She searched the air outside. "Why is one outside of Atlantis?"
"What?" the two men asked simultaneously.
"A vehicle! That was weapon's fire! What could it have been attacking?"
"Kida, that was lightning. When it rains here, sometimes the charges between the sky and the ground…"
"Oh. Yes, now I remember."
Milo chuckled. "Let's get inside."
The scholar opened the door and he and Garret hurriedly led the queen through the downpour, umbrellas in hand. Garret opened the door for the other two, who entered the dwelling to discover the rest of the remaining original crew inside.
"'Bout time you guys woke up," Audrey commented with a nearly sarcastic smile.
"Sorry about that…" Milo's smile was polite, but hinted at slight embarrassment.
The erudite man gave a fleeting look around, feeling as if her were here for the first time in his life. Every artifact, though its nature was familiar to Milo, seemed to radiate an alien nature, boasting to all of the secrets they kept. He noted the crew, observing they all sat in elaborate chairs and had been dressed in formal clothes. The linguist looked down quickly at himself, then looked up in relief, realizing he and his wife had, indeed, dressed for the occasion.
"Are you ah gonna go in?" Vinny inquired.
"What do you mean?" Milo glanced about the room, confirming to himself he was, in fact, not standing in the doorway.
The demolitions man rose and paced relaxedly toward the elevator, opening the doors. "Whitmore wants to see you and ah Kida privately."
Milo gave him a strange look, narrowing his eyes as if to ask why. He averted his concentration to his wife, who was peering curiously at the artifacts in the room, looking to every piece like a critic in an art museum. She turned to him, and with a jerk of his head Milo motioned for her to follow him onto the elevator, boarding it with the explosives expert.
Vinny, match in mouth, pushed the button to descend. Kida, like when she entered it for the first time, was a little surprised by its downward movement. There was the question in her mind of whether she'd ever get used to it. She gazed around in amazement. Milo stood still, feelings of past events flooding his mind. "…He doesn't bite… often," he recalled Helga Sinclair saying, closing the door behind him. Nervousness flooded him, wondering if Whitmore might be doing his yoga. That was one sight he did not wish Kida to see. "Then again," he thought, "he wasn't doing that last time."
"Have fun," Vinny voiced smoothly as the elevator shuddered to a halt.
As husband and wife stepped into the new room, the demolitionist raised the elevator behind them. Neither Milo, nor Kida could see Whitmore in the room as of yet. Milo then fixed his eyes upon the painting of his grandfather and the millionaire with veneration. The queen noticed Milo's gaze and also peered at the two wizened men depicted in the picture.
"Who is--" She stopped mid-sentence upon noticing an odd artifact in the corner. She rushed toward it, her movement catching Milo's eye. The Atlantean picked up the Babylonian artifact. "Why is this here? Father was always looking for this. He could not perceive of where he placed it…"
"Oh?" An old voice emanated from behind a table. "If it belonged to your family, take it."
"Mr. Whitmore?" Milo peered around the table to find the man reading on the floor. He laid in his overturned chair as if someone knocked both it and the millionare over. He held his book above his head, reading primarily by the light of the adjacent, mammoth aquarium. "What are you doing down there?"
Kida put the artifact down and pulled him up. " No… You may…keep it, but thank you." The woman gave him the same hug she had given him on their first meeting.
"Greetings," Whitmore said to the couple as eh was released, bowing respectfully to the queen when he took her hand. It was evident neither he, nor Milo, felt the need for great formalities, and each treated the other more like a close friend.
"Deh-GIHM," replied the queen in her native tongue, bowing back in her own respect for him.
"Hi." Milo extended his arm for a handshake.
"How 'ya doin', Milo?" the old man said shaking his hand.
"Good, pretty good."
Kida noted the gesture. "May I try?"
"Of course." The elder extended his hand to Kida. Inquisitive about the odd gesture, she extended hers. Kida gripped his hand and imitated the action she observed between him and her husband.
"Ow! That really hurts!" Whitmore pulled his hand from Kida's exaggerated squeeze. Rubbing his hand, he chuckled and smiled. "Your wife has quite a grip there," he said to Milo, who displayed a modest grin of pride in his spouse. "It's great to see both of 'ya."
Both Milo and Kida nodded. "Thank you so much for allowing me to visit your world!" Kida communicated.
"My pleasure," Whitmore began. "So, where'd you like to go first? A park, or Coney Island? Well, probably a park first, since one's on the way--"
"What?" Milo laughed humbly. "You're kidding, right? In this weather? In this temperature? Besides, isn't Coney Island closed for the season?"
"First of all, the rain's supposed to clear up soon, second, it's supposed to bring warmer weather, third…" Whitmore grinned mischievously. "Third, Coney Island just happens to be re-opening for this weekend, courtesy of Whitmore Industries…"
Milo simply gawked. The millionaire was once again planning out a grand adventure for someone.
"The Indian summer weather will be perfect," Whitmore continued. "Should be in the high sixties, I hear. There are some other things I have planned for the both of 'ya."
He handed Kida, who had not been able to get a word in to ask about these strange places, a list of events. She stared at it briefly before realizing it was up side down. Turning it the correct way, she bean to read aloud. "COH-nee IHS-land--"
"EYE-land," Milo corrected her. Every once in a while an odd word would mess her up. He read over her shoulder. "Dancing? Then dinner?" You really went out of your way Mr. Whitmore." He grinned, quite contented.
"Like I said, my pleasure. What are you waiting for? You all need to get going!" He took the couple by the arms and began to lead them to the elevator.
"'You all'?" Milo asked.
"Yes, you'll be accompanied by the rest of the original crew for most of the trip. Now, you've got quite a trip ahead of you. 'Nother couple of hours, probably."
"Another couple of hours?!" Milo looked to Kida, who evidently did not mind the long car trips. Her smile radiated anticipation, even though her face was still down turned in a further attempt to read the note.
"Yep. Gotta get you two lovebirds to Brooklyn." Whitmore pushed them both onto the recently re-opened elevator. He reached in, pushed the button for the elevator to ascend, and darted back out to close the door before it escalated. He then spoke directly to Kida. "Pleasant revelations are waiting…"
Based off the Disney Picture "Atlantis: the Lost Empire." The name "Atlantis: Revelation," as well as the characters Temlohn, "MUH-suh MIH-kee" and Khohbdesheh are my (Rebmakash's) property. I do not own the name, ""MUH-suh MIH-kee"." The name "Khohbdesheh" is my property only when used as a name. Fan fiction storyline also my property. Milo Thatch, Kidagakash, and other characters, names, concepts, and non-gibberish Atlantean are property of the Walt Disney Company.
