To Lyger 0: I'm not familiar with that song.
Peregrino del Mar kicked his feet behind him, the webbed extensions to his boots reminding him more of a waterbird than his eponymous falcon, chasing after Aqua Noir above the broken and scattered ruins of what could only have been Atlantis. Below, as he scanned the seafloor more carefully, he could see bits and pieces of stonework lying scattered, some in haphazard shapes, some almost laid out like a child's building blocks. More oblong, roughly-cylindrical stones dotted the area; one longer shape was covered in seaweed and sediment, with even something like coral growing off of it. Faint sunlight filtered through the water and reflected oddly around him, shining off of scattered metallic spots all around. As they swam, they passed more and more places where the sediment and debris had been cleared away, revealing bits and pieces of what had to be foundation blocks – squared-off sections of stone, some of which had square holes driven into them at uniform distances.
Hardly giving more than a glance to the ruins below them, Aqua Noir swam quickly across the site, toward the distant figure of Aqua Bug.
Watching him move, Peregrino del Mar shook his head ruefully. Growing up, he had heard the stories of Atlantis, seen the movies and comic books that played around with the mythical concept of an advanced city that had been destroyed by cataclysm. And yet, it hadn't been until he found Perry that he had even given the idea any mind – Atlantis had been nothing more than a story for children. But in the last six months, he had started to uncover some of the facts behind the fiction. Atlantis had been a real place, with its own history and geography – in many ways so much more advanced than anything on Earth today. And at the center of it, the Kwamis and their Temple, which had lent their magic to the city. But there was so much more to Atlantis which Perry had explained to him, even beyond the history of the miraculous and the magic attendant with them. The girdle of Hippolyta, the coins, the sextant that he had left up in the boat… these things were just hints of the power and magic waiting to be discovered and explored down here. And though the city lay in ruins, they had uncovered enough in the few minutes they had been here to suggest the majesty still waiting beneath the surface.
A pity he wouldn't be able to bring Marina back here – or not for a while.
He swallowed, thinking back on their parting in Paris. When he had explained what he was going to do, she had barely responded, beyond a resigned nod. He had promised to return, assured her that he would be back in time for the baby's birth – even given her the contact information Marinette had given him for Pegasus, just in case something happened before they returned. She had smiled, albeit with a hint of strain and worry just below the surface, and given him a hug, demanding a promise of him that he would stay safe. His stomach churned – with any luck, he would be able to keep that promise, and get home before their child was born.
Adrien and Marinette had such love for each other – every moment since he had first met them, that had been crystal clear. They loved and trusted each other in a way that almost boggled the mind. He knew that Marina loved him. She loved him, and she had even started to trust him since he had come home. But how much did she trust him now? She trusted that he wasn't going to abandon her to raise the baby alone. She trusted that he would support them. She trusted that he would try not to get hurt while being a superhero. Was that enough? Was she ready to trust him with more of herself? After their conversation before the wedding, he wasn't sure of the answer.
"Check this out!" Ahead of Peregrino del Mar, Poseidon hovered above the largest stone foundation yet.
Without realizing, Peregrino del Mar had followed Aqua Noir across most of the city to stop, treading water five meters above the seabed. Aqua Noir had continued ahead, moving toward the distant Aqua Bug. Peregrino del Mar blinked, refocusing on his surroundings, and gave Poseidon a curious look.
Poseidon swirled his hand around above the center of the foundation, scattering the accumulated sediment in all directions. It hung suspended in the water for a long moment before he gave it a push, clearing the water to reveal a spectacular sight. A mosaic of different colored pebbles covered most of the foundation stone, depicting an ocean scene of a large fish with its mouth opened and rows of razor-sharp teeth visible. Its tail was raised above the water, pushing a wave away from it that threatened to swamp a small island. Above the creature, a long-tailed bird with brilliant plumage of red and orange flared out its wings just in front of a blazing sun. the bird extended long claws toward the fish, sparks of fire dancing between its pinions and across its talons. In a loop around the circular mosaic was wrapped a long serpentine form, its tail fanned out, its snout coming to a point with protruding fangs, a pair of whisker-like appendages on either side of the mouth.
"What do you think that is?" asked Peregrino del Mar curiously, swimming down to the bottom and running a finger along the seam between two of the stones.
"It's exquisite, that's what it is," Poseidon replied, his eyes wide, swimming around in a circle two meters above it. "I've seen ancient mosaics maybe half the age of this one, and none of them were anywhere near as detailed or uniform as this. Whoever produced this one…"
"Magic?" Peregrino del Mar picked at the seam, but he couldn't find any purchase on the smooth surface.
Poseidon nodded firmly. "Must be."
Peregrino del Mar hummed, pressing a few buttons on his slingshot to activate the camera function. "The others said they found the, um, Academy," he told Poseidon as he moved higher to fit the entire mosaic in a picture. "Are you coming to see it?"
"'Academy'?"
Peregrino del Mar shrugged, kicking away in that direction. "Sorcerers' Academy. There's one in New Atlantis, so I guess there had to have been one in 'Old Atlantis,' right?"
"I didn't realize there were sorcerers around," Poseidon observed. "I remember seeing a couple of magic users in Tarascon, but that's it."
"I haven't met too many of them, either," Peregrino del Mar replied, glancing back at Poseidon over his shoulder. "But there are a few around. I think the Heroes of Paris have one with them."
"This whole experience, ever since we got our powers, it's all been one big adventure!" Poseidon shook his head ruefully. "I never would have imagined that I would be one of the first people to see a mythical lost civilization like this! Imagine the archaeological breakthroughs that this find could unlock! Architecture, science, mathematics, linguistics… I've been surprised to see so many columns that look more Doric in construction. I'd always thought they were a little more of a later style. But this suggests that they could really be–"
Peregrino del Mar started to tune out Poseidon's words, turning his head in either direction and looking at the ruins they passed. This section of the city had been almost entirely cleared out by the combined efforts of Poseidon, Olivet, and Hato Gozen, leaving the long-buried ruins exposed. Most of the former buildings were now plain to be seen, though the stone bases of the walls were all that remained. In a couple of places, he could make out stone roofs that had collapsed, the pillars beside them broken into segmented pieces on the ground. Off in the far distance, near the edge of the depression, he could see something – perhaps the mouth of a sea creature's lair. A dark hole carved into the side of the ridge, lightly obscured by strands of seaweed and anemones. He started to turn away, looking for the others, but movement from that direction caught his eye, and he spun back toward it. "What was that?" he hissed, drawing his slingshot and cutting off Poseidon midsentence.
Poseidon cocked his head in confusion, staring at Peregrino del Mar. "What–?"
"Something moved over there," Peregrino del Mar muttered, gesturing toward the hole, one fist clenched tightly. He hovered for a long moment, peering intently into the darkness, focusing on his peripheral vision and the area near the hole. But nothing moved.
"Maybe you're seeing things," Poseidon suggested, quirking an eyebrow.
Peregrino del Mar's arms lowered slightly. "Maybe…"
Suddenly, a blast of superheated water whipped past Peregrino del Mar's face, turning to steam as it passed. Bubbles obscured his vision for a long moment, and he waved his arms in front of his face, trying to clear the water in front of him. Wildly, he spun around, searching for the source of the attack.
"Poioi eiste? Ti thelete?" The strange, raspy voice seemed to come from everywhere around them. Poseidon cocked his head to one side, as Peregrino del Mar swam in a tight circle, adopting a defensive stance. He froze, his eyes wide, on catching sight of the speaker. An ancient whitehaired man wearing long robes of woven seaweed floated no more than a dozen meters away from them, next to a large fallen stone. A staff tipped with a pearl was clutched in one gnarled hand. He held up his other hand, and water swirled around him. "Poioi eiste?"
"Poios eisai?" Poseidon shot back, baring his trident at the man. The man's eyes widened in shock that almost immediately turned to confusion as he stared at the trident, and from the trident up at Poseidon's face.
"What did he say?" muttered Peregrino del Mar, not taking his eyes off the man.
"He wanted to know who we are and why we're here," Poseidon muttered back. "He's speaking an old form of Greek – a little further back than even what I learned at University, but it's almost understandable."
Peregrino del Mar gestured toward the man's confused look. "I think he recognized your trident."
Poseidon quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "Think he'll accept me as the real Poseidon?"
"P–Poseidon?" the man repeated, his brows deeply furrowed. "Posedawone? Eisai autos?"
"Uh… Nai?" Poseidon grimaced, holding out his trident.
"Ti kanete edo?" The man's grip on his staff tightened.
"Psachnoume gia tin… um… Atlantida?" replied Poseidon. "Anazitoume ton Nao tou Thaumatourgou."
The man's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Ta Thaumatourga? Ti chreiazete me auta?" Poseidon's eyes widened nervously, and he glanced over at Peregrino del Mar for support. Peregrino del Mar shrugged helplessly. The man growled, sending a ripple through the water. "Prepei fugete!"
"Ouchi!" Poseidon retorted, baring his teeth and pointing his trident at the man, shooting a spinning pulse of water back at the man.
"What is going on here!?" demanded Aqua Bug, swimming toward them and looking back and forth between the strange man and Poseidon and Peregrino del Mar. Her eyes bugged out, staring at the man in shock. "Who is this?"
"He won't say," Poseidon grumbled.
The man cocked his head, eyeing Aqua Bug suspiciously for a long moment before his eyes widened in shock. "Paschalitsa!" he gasped. "Kai Mauri Gata!" he added, as Aqua Noir drifted up behind Aqua Bug.
"He recognized you," Poseidon called to them. "Or your miraculous, at least."
"Ask him who he is," Aqua Bug shouted back.
"Poios eisai!?" Poseidon bellowed.
"Nerarchos eimi!" the man declared. "Fulaxei tin Atlantida! Gia chilieties echo perimenei, apo tin katastrofi tis polis."
Poseidon's eyes widened. "He's been here since the city was destroyed!" He coughed. "Pos?"
"Hi mageia mou me stirixe," Nerarchos answered.
"Tell him we don't mean any harm, but we are looking for the miraculous temple," Aqua Bug instructed Poseidon.
"I already tried that," Poseidon retorted hotly. Clearing his throat, he shouted, "Den ennooume na sas blapsoume. Anazitoume ton Nao tou Thaumatourgou."
"Ouchi! Fugete!" Nerarchos waved his staff around, sending a whirlpool through the water at them. Poseidon swirled his trident around, just as Olivet pushed with her hands, repelling the whirlpool back at Nerarchos. The water flashed into steam and, with a swirl of bubbles, Nerarchos vanished.
Peregrino del Mar furrowed his brows dubiously, staring at the spot where he had disappeared. "Do we continue?"
Aqua Noir's mouth set in a thin line. "We can't turn back now. We'll just have to be careful."
AN: Modern Greek is standing in for Minoan Greek, the spoken form of Linear A, which is an even more ancient language that predates Greek by centuries.