First off, I'd like to thank everyone. This story has now reached up to about 100 reviews; to me on my first Disney fanfic, this means a lot to me.
Also for the Atlantean dialect, I've Bold the Parentheses, to show that they'll be speaking Atlantean.
And second, slight heads up on the Atlantis Arc, I've changed a few things for it. First and foremost, I've developed Robots for Atlantis; in the movie, they've done almost anything: medicine, flying, electricity, why not add in robots. Also, I've changed up a bit of the Atlantean weaponry concepted from some familiar alien hunters. Enjoy.
Aquatic Kingdom Hearts
Chapter 24: Another Prologue; Crazy Family's Dream
"…in a single day and night of misfortune,
The island continent of Atlantis
Disappeared into the depths of the sea."
Plato, 360 B.C.
Atlantic Ocean
10,000 BC
In the middle of where it would soon be known as the Atlantic Ocean, the ocean was fresh and new to the world. The sea lay quiet and still, undisturbed by ships, storms, or any other manmade disturbance. The only thing that moved the waters was the fish under the sea, the winds that blew on it, and the moon that hovered above it all controlling its movements and characteristics. However, that was soon to change in a flash, for it was a giant flash of strange bright blue heavenly light that started what would soon be called…The Great Flood.
Suddenly, over the horizon, a sharp light erupted in a flash of sharp precision, lighting up everything all around it. And then suddenly, it disappeared, creating a massive blue-like almost-nuclear like explosion that shook the ocean indefinitely. The explosion however, created a massive tidal wave, big enough to swallow all of New York under the massive majesty that was the ocean. However, there was something else heading forward away from the wave. Strange flying vessels, resembling fish and hammerhead sharks, and glowed brilliant light blue designs all over them, were flying away from the wave. They were being led by what appeared to be titan sized demonic-looking lobsters that glowed the same brilliant blue designs all over them.
And flying alongside of them, were strange massive humanoid creatures, with back hind legs like that of gargoyles with two sharp claw toes on the front and one claw toe on the heel of the foot to keep it balanced, massive muscle like structure on their whole body, particularly its chest and humanoid arms with enlarged forearms and having only three clawed fingers and thumbs, and a pair of massive crab claws on their backs. Their heads had sharp horn/spike like structures, giving them the appearances of humanoid crabs, built for combat. Some would think they were sort of demons, but their design was much more mechanical, as on their bodies glowed the same brilliant blue tattoo like designs, on the vehicles and the lobsters. They were currently being propelled off the ground, by their bigger three clawed arm which acted as sort of a motor boat propeller in the air.
Riding on the hammerhead sharks and fish-like vehicles, were copper-skinned people, with strange silverish colored hair, and dressed in a combination that was Greek, British, and Japanese. The silk flowed through with the air like Greek tunics, while it had the design of European design in the Victorian era, and the armor was similar to that of Japanese samurai armor. But the most distinguishable thing about them was that they were all wearing around their necks, pendants of a whitish blue glowing crystal.
However, they were not of these cultures as one cursed towards the other in a dialect that was not distinct to anyone. He shouted out to the man flying next to him, "You fool! You've destroyed us all!"
They looked behind them as the other one shouted, "The wave is gaining! We have to warn Atlantis!"
The captain turned around, and then shouted out to them, "TOO LATE!", and then most of them, including the lobsters and strange flying humanoid crab robots, were engulfed by the wave that came up at them in top speed, leaving only a few to escape.
The few that escaped had left the ocean, and were now flying over land in the middle of the Atlantic. The land looked lush and green, and in some areas, towers constructed of what appeared to be Asian or Mayan design of some sort. However, where the flying machines and robots were going was something much vaster and spectacular than anything else. Flying straight toward it, was the capitol city that was the ancient and advanced city empire of Atlantis. The very architectural structure was almost a conglomerate of most cultures known to man; Egypt, Greek, Cambodia, Aztec, Japanese, and Sumerian, and this culture, this civilization was a mixture of all if it by plain sight. However, its vastness was overlooked at this point, as on top of the tallest building in the center of the city, a strange red light was shining over the area, warning every Atlantean of the upcoming danger…and a shadow cast over the city of Atlantis as well.
Near one of the watchtowers, a scout was looking overhead and saw the speeders and robots fly by. He looked back to wherever it was they came from, and then paled as he saw the massive wave heading right for Atlantis. He ran over to one of the emergency speaker phones and gave out the warning, "Everyone to the shelters! Everyone to the shelters!" after hearing that, they sounded the warning gongs, warning everyone of the danger as the sky began to darken over them. Vehicles nearly crashed over or skidded to the side as nearly everyone was running into a panic over this cataclysm.
People and some humanoid crab robots began to evacuate to the shelters, with the robots leading the way and calming the riots, assisting the Atlantean police in any way possible. There were other robots helping out as well; one such was an eight foot humanoid robot, looking more organic and smooth than its ten foot crab cousin. On its back was a turtle shell design, on its hind gargoyle legs were three smooth toes instead of claws, but had two flat clawed fingers and thumbs on their enlarged forearms. Their heads were sort of a roundish egg shape held out horizontally on a small cylinder that was their neck, with big round glowing eyes and a few glyph line marks. They were humanoid turtle robots, built for the usage of a butler or bodyguard, as they helped those escort others to the shelters.
One humanoid turtle was helping out a particular family, near the center of the city. The family was a family of five, the elderly father figure with a beard, some straight line tattoos on his face, and dressed in royal robes holding a scepter cane of some sort. The wife, a beautiful woman with glyph like tattoos on the right side of her face, and was dressed in the same kind of royal dressing that her husband wore. With them were their children; two daughters, and both as equally beautiful as their mother.
The first one was a girl, ten years old and dressed in a long blue skirt, an orange blouse that would have exposed her chest, if not for the orange sash tied around her waist and chest. With golden bands on her biceps, a gold headband on her hair, and her hair, like every other Atlantean, was silverish white and going down her back with a few strands nearly covering her right eye, and under her right eye, was a blue crescent moon tattoo. Her sister, being the smallest, was a girl of four, wearing a dark blue skirt that reached to her knees with a red horizontal stripe across it. a blue tube top, a golden bracelet on her arm, and like her sister, her hair was silverish white and going down her back, but with a braid of it on her left. Like the other Atlanteans, they all had crystal pendants around their necks that glowed brightly, but not too brightly.
The other adult was a man, in his twenties, physically fit and buff, and dressed in a strange suit of armor. On his chest, the chestplate was somewhat organic in reminiscent to an oyster shell on the left side, with a small piece of armor on the side of his abdomen. On the left shoulder, it seemed to protrude up a bit, and on the back, was sort of bulging slightly, as if there were something else on the back of it. his pack stomach was exposed, but around his waist was a stylized utility belt of some sort, with a few packs on the left side, and a disk shaped object hanging on the right side, shaped like a horseshoe crab's shell, only round instead of shaped like a horseshoe, and behind him looked to be a stylized stick about as big as a 14 inch ruler, and had stylized Atlantean writing on it. On his right forearm, was a gauntlet shaped arm band, with a protruding shape going upward with two small ice blue blade tips sticking outward a little. On his left forearm, did another gauntlet armband with a smooth design on it, with several symbols on it, resemble a keyboard of some sort. On both this quadriceps were scale-shaped leg guards, and on his belt covering both front and back, was a silk yet armored loin cloth. On his forelegs and ankles, were scale-shaped armor leg guards. On his hands, were sort of sharp knuckle gloves with a sort of crab feel to them. The man's face was hard and serious; his hair was cut short, but on the back was a small warrior's tail to it. But the most distinguished feature about him was the scar on his right eye, and where his right eye should have been, was a fake eye made of the same glowing crystal as was around his neck.
One of the guards nearby signaled the family with them to the nearest shelter, "This way your highness. Quickly!"
The warrior looked to the king as he nodded, "We must go now, Brother."
The king nodded to his brother, and looked to the three girls as they made their way to the shelter. The queen and mother looked to her girls as she called them out, "Suki! Kida! Come quickly!" the two girls, Suki and Kida nodded to their mother as the elder sister, Suki, grabbed her sister by the wrist as they ran to their mother. But Kida, having dropped her stuffed toy, stalled a little to get it back. The humanoid turtle robot saw this as he walked towards it.
Seeing her daughters stall a bit and saw the problem ran over to them. She knelt down to Kida and pleaded to her, "Kida! Just leave it! There's no time!"
Suki looked to where the wave's roar was coming, and looked to her mother as she said, "Mantem! We must hurry to the shelter."
The queen nodded, but then suddenly, the strange light that was on top of the center of the city, changed from blood red to light blue. One of the beams of light shined upon the queen; startled by this, she stood up while still holding on to her youngest daughter's hand. When she looked up to the light, her crystal suddenly floated up to her eyes, and then her blue eyes started to glow as she soon stared at it into a daze.
The king and the warrior, his brother, looked at the upcoming darkness of the wave heading for them, fearing the worst. The warrior looked to his brother as he noticed that he made no attempt to go to the shelter, "Shouldn't we go to the shelter?"
The king looked to his brother sadly as he knew the truth that they would survive this, and depressingly answered, "It wouldn't matter, Brother."
But then they stopped their conversation as they saw the robots had stopped. The robots were all turning their attention to where the strange light was shining brightly at the top of the city's center. They held their arms up, almost reaching out to the heavens; their tattoo-like digital patterns glowing even brighter like their eyes.
The king and brother turned to see what was happening, and the king froze in his tracks. Amidst all the screaming and panic, the queen looked upward to the light, still in a daze as the light focused on her. And then suddenly, she started to lift into the air; her grip was lost of her daughter as the bracelet on Kida's wrist stayed in her possession.
Kida and Suki saw in confusion as their mother was being called to the light and disappearing from sight. Scared for her mother, Kida and Suki called out to her, "Mantem." Their cries didn't go unheard as the queen disappeared into the light, and strange stone-like carvings spun around the light at tremendous speed. Kida tried to run after her mother, but Suki grabbed on to her, fearing of losing her sister. Kida, with tears of fear in her eyes, reached out desperately to her mother as she cried out, "MANTEM!"
Suddenly, all around the capitol of the city of Atlantis, a strange blue aura started to cover the city. People who were outside of it ran in as fast as they could before the strange blue aura closed and shut everyone out. Those on vehicles tried to race in it or break through it, but at that top speed, all they earned was a crash and quick death. Those on foot, tried desperately to get through the shield around the city, but to no avail. All they could do was stand in fear, and await their fate, as the massive wave came crashing through, leading to the continent's destruction.
Back inside, the King and his brother raced over to the two girls and kneel to them. The brother held and shielded Suki in his arms as he buried her face in his chest and buried his face on her head, keeping their eyes closed. The King raced over to his youngest daughter, who still pleaded for her mother's return, but the King covered her eyes with his hands as he brought her face to his chest to shield her as he told her, "Close your eyes, Kida! Look away!" For what the King saw, would be the last thing he would ever see again.
The strange light that took the queen began to spin even faster and faster, as the strange blue shield finally covered the whole city. And then as the shield was completed, the light exploded in a brilliant radiance that would nearly blind someone. Suddenly, the giant shield that covered and protected the capitol city, began to sink the city into the earth itself as the wave came crashing in, flooding the continent of Atlantis completely. And then, in a crash of the waves and the light dying down, the waters became calm once more.
And then it became true on what Plato had written once…in a single day and night of misfortune,the island continent of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea.
Atlantic Ocean
Somewhere off the Coast of Iceland
997 A.D.
It was a calm day in the coast of Iceland; however, a small storm was brewing as the sky was darkened slightly. But that didn't stop a small and lonely Viking ship from going where it was heading for. On the boat, their leader, a strong and prideful Viking was holding on to a strange journal…a journal with an Atlantean letter representing A. His shipmate, a slim fellow wearing brown robes and holding a metallic gray orb the size of a handheld crystal ball and similar Atlantean markings, stood next to him as he opened the journal.
The Viking looked at a page depicting a massive crystal with rock like constructs floating all around it. And in the center of the crystal, was the same Atlantean A in the center of it. In the journal, it was referred to as the Heart of Atlantis, the lost empire's most sacred relic. The Viking pointed it out to his crew as he spoke in Norwegian, "We've passed the final marker." He smirked in triumph as he pointed straight ahead, "Now, on to the portal and Atlantis."
However, the captain's mood soured as a frightened crewmember questioned this motive, "My lord, have you forgotten?" He then pointed out to the whole crew as he pointed to the other page…the page depicting the Leviathan and its minions, "That portal s guarded by monsters that…"
But then he was silenced as the captain grabbed him by his shirt collar and slammed him to the mast of the ship. He then glared daggers at the man as he shouted in too much pride, "ENOUGH! I'd slay a dozen monsters for the treasure spoken of in this journal!", and then threatened the crewman finally, "Just as I'd slay you."
The man, struggling to breathe, gasped out, "I'm sorry. I was mistaken.", and was then let go by the captain.
The captain shouted to the man, "Coward!", and then turned his attention back to the crew as he ordered, "Sail on!"
The sail to the Portal was rough and trailing, as the storm came in. Lighting and thunder shook the sky and water, rain poured down like a water fall on to a river, and the waves became choppy and hard to steer in. Though the Vikings did not give up as they traversed through the seas; to them the sea was their mother, and it would not return them to her murky womb…until tonight.
The brown robed man holding the orb spoke to the captain, "The storm is blowing harder, Captain!"
Ignoring the warning, the Captain ordered, "Row you dogs! Put your backs into it!"
And then suddenly, something massive shot out of the water, and glided over the ship. The crew looked at whatever it was; nearly wetting themselves at seeing something so massive and large, that even they knew couldn't have been built by man himself. As the thing glided overhead, humanoid creatures crashed into the water near the ship, without the crew noticing. And then finally, it crashed right behind the shit a mile away from them.
One of the crewmembers, a little awe by this, asked out loud, "What in the name of Odin was that? A sea monster?"
The captain stood confident as he shouted, "It can't be. Hold steady men!" He brought out his axe and ran over to the side, as did the men followed suit with their weapons brandished. They raced over to the side of the railing and saw the monster's tail sinking into the bottom of the ocean.
The men were all confused, as the robed one asked out loud, "Is it a whale? A sea monster? Where'd it go?"
One of the crewmen, an elderly fellow looked around and saw nothing at the edge of the boat. He turned towards his captain as he asked, "Can you see it?" And then suddenly, out of the water, shot up an inhuman metallic hand that grabbed at the man's head, and dragged him underwater.
And then suddenly, massive humanoid shadows popped out of the water, and on their backs were deadly claws that reached out to the Vikings menacingly. The Vikings shouted out, "We're doomed!" They tried to fight back at the advancing monsters, but their weapons did nothing to them. The crab monsters grabbed a few of the crewmen, and some dove back into the ocean, dragging the men with them to drown. A few fought the Vikings, slashing and clawing at them with their massive claw weapons.
The captain snarled at this as he saw one crab beast walking towards him on gargoyle like legs, and looking at him with sharp eerie glowing blue eyes. The captain shouted, "I've seen worse! Face me, you monster!", and ran at it with his axe held high for a vertical strike as he shouted, "DO YOUR WORST, MONSTER!", And sliced at the monster, only upon impact to have the blade of his axe, smashed to pieces. The captain, completely stunned by this and staring at his axe's handle, was then grabbed by the throat by the beast's three clawed hand, and lifted off the ground. And then as the captain struggled to break free, the creature's massive right claw pointed at him, and an opening in the palm of it started to glow bright. And then the captain screamed out in defeat as a massive blue energy was shot at his head, engulfing it. Then as the body went limp, the creature tossed the corpse aside and dove back into the water with its comrades.
As the ship lay dead, a strange massive pillar of blue light shot out of the water, destroying the ship completely. The seas calming down a bit as the debris of the ship scattered all over the water…including the same journal book and the orb. The two artifacts lay there on the water, as they floated off somewhere lost in the waters of Iceland, never to be seen again.
Present Day
Thatch Residence
It was now slightly early in the morning now, but in the quiet house that was the home of the Thatch's, there was slight movement. The sleepy forms of Sebastian and Dax, who were groggily walking towards the kitchen for some of that stuff they had heard. It was said to be the miracle elixir to rid one's self of weariness and the spell of sleepiness after they woke up: Coffee or Espresso. But as the two made their way up to the kitchen in complete silence, they suddenly paused at the covered glass patio door. The two forgot about their drowsiness as they heard voices coming from the other side of the door.
"No, not like that." Eric said. "Here, like this, gentle movements."
"Oh, was I being to rough with it before?" Ariel asked.
It was after hearing that comment, Sebastian's eyes bulged out of his head as he and Dax over hear the conversation. He paled at this as he told himself in a panicked tone, screaming silently, "No way! Dey wouldn't be doing dat, especially out there!"
Dax merely shrugged as he smirked, "I figured they were up to that point in their relationship. It was only a matter of time." He then smirked as he suspected, "I was pretty much guessin' on what else Jack was teachin' that boy.", he then lecherously smirked, "Course, if he asks, he can always get more help from the Luv Otter."
Sebastian sighed in annoyance and then silently yelled at the otter, "Dis is serious, Man! Wat's Triton gonna do when he finds his youngest daughter like dat wit a human boy?"
Dax thought seriously for a moment, but then stopped as he smiled at Sebastian and raised an eyebrow as he answered, "Um…lucky girl?", Sebastian grunted in annoyance, but then stopped as the two continued to hear the event going on outside.
Suddenly, Eric yelped in pain. "Careful! That hurts!"
"I'm sorry, Eric!", Ariel offered apologetically.
"It's alright, you're still learning. Now try again.", Eric encouraged as he continued, "Keep your left hand tight around the base and your right at the top, but a little bit loose. Sometimes that helps when you're using both hands, and don't want to use only one hand. Don't strangle it."
"Oh, ok. Hey! You're right that is easier!", Ariel cried happily.
The two sea critters stood in complete and total shock as they listened from their hiding spot. "This can't be happening! This isn't happening!" Sebastian chanted silently, hoping this was some messed up dream.
"That's much better.", Eric complimented as he continued this strange lesson, "Now remember, smooth, and gentle movements.", after a few seconds, Eric cheerfully complimented to Ariel, "Good, up and down, perfect. You're doing great."
"Like this?" She asked timidly.
Eric nodded as he continued, "Almost, don't shut you eyes or you won't see it co…"
Then suddenly, the glass door slid open fast, surprising the two teens. "Dat's it! I've heard enough!" Yelled Sebastian as he charged up the beach patio with his claws at the ready for vengeance.
Eric looked down to the small crustacean as he looked confused, "Hey, Sebastian. What's wrong?"
It was just then, Sebastian's face faulted as he, and a chuckling Dax, viewed the scene. Ariel stood holding a broomstick handle make shifted into a practice sword, with a left over right grip, while Eric faced her with a practice sword in his right hand, "What de Red Sea is going on 'ere?"
Ariel blinked in confusion as she stated to Sebastian, "Eric was just helping me train on how to use a sword." she explained to Sebastian and Dax that after last time, she wanted to help more. So after the rescue for Sparrow, she asked Eric to teach her what Jack taught him in swords. She then paused seeing Sebastian faint and Dax chucking at this, and asked, "What did you think was going on?"
Dax started to chuckle lightly and had to turn away, hoping it wouldn't be noticed.
Ariel and Eric now were both very confused, as Eric asked, "What?"
Dax turned to them, still chuckling and simply answered, "It's nothin. He just thought you two were takin' the next step in your relationship.", the two seemed confused, but then got it as he replied, "Ya know. Knockin' boots. Doin' the back seat mambo? Come on, the list is endless."
The two looked to each other for a moment, and blushed at that thought. Wanting to dodge that, Eric changed the subject as he looked at his watch, "Oh, my. Look at the time; we've gotta get ready to get to school.", and ran into the house.
Ariel, wanting to dodge that as well, followed suit, "Yeah, I just forgot that. I've gotta get ready too.", and left the two critters alone out on the patio.
Dax smirked at the somewhat change on the two. Ariel had brightened even more than what she used to be and went about her day with an extra boost of energy. She was more focused in her training with Eric teaching her how to use a sword, as well as her academic studies at the human high school, which she received, help from Milo as an after school tutor at the museum. In all, she seemed to be taking better care of herself than she used to, and Dax was surprised to see how much she had grown in such a short time as a result. In his opinion, Ariel had always been cute, but now she seemed to be almost competing with that popular girl at the high school, Priscilla, in the looks department. That train of thought however, was short lived as her mind wandered to Eric.
He too had changed over the past month since the Black Pearl incident. He had always been something of a bum, always surfing or hanging out at the usual teen spot. But now, even though he still surfed and turfed, he had spent his mornings training himself with the sword. He even had Frey over; who had some combat experience, seeing his father was with the Navy. All in all, the boy's skill with the sword was growing immensely, as was his fighting skills. In no time at all, he was sure that the boy would be ready for his destiny. Now after that thought Dax thought about it and knew today what needed to be done.
"Still," Dax said to himself as his thoughts went serious and silent "I should report the current status with Tia. It might be time now to go, seeing that Ursula's gonna go after the Second Heart."
Port Royal High School
After class had ended, Ariel and Eric were making their way through the halls. Frey was with them essentially, but it looked like he had been sulking for some time. It was slightly disturbing on the border of delirium as Eric and Ariel saw this look on his face; usually he'd be chipper and right as rain when the day was started…or when class with Feeny ended. But today, he was being a real sour puss and not talking about it; so it was pretty much up to the two to figure out what was troubling him.
As soon as they got to the library, Ariel went ahead to go find out a book that she wanted. When she left the two, Eric turned towards his best friend as he asked, "So Frey…what's with the sour mood?" he didn't get a response the first time, but knew that Frey was listening, just not wanting to right now. Eric raised an eyebrow as he continued, "Come on, Frey…if it's about not hooking you up with one of Ariel's sisters, it's because they're a little too old for…."
"It's not because of that, Eric.", Frey replied back.
Sebastian, who was in Eric's backpack, popped up, "Good, because I was about to ask…Don't you have enough girls?"
Getting out of his funk for a moment, Frey counted his fingers, and then replied back, "No." he then dropped the comical act as he simply answered, "It was Priscilla…", a few seconds past to give sort of a pause for effect, as Eric and Sebastian waited for an answer, "…she dumped me."
Sebastian seemed confused by all that as he asked, "Why's dat so depressing? When I was your age, I was dumped sometimes as well…"
Eric interrupted as he answered, "You see, usually Frey's the one doing all the dumping.", he then placed a hand on his friend's shoulder to comfort him, "I think it's a whole new experience for him for someone to just dump him like that."
Frey nodded as he looked to Eric and complimented, "To tell you the truth, Eric, I kinda envy you.", this earned his friend a raised eyebrow as Frey continued, "You and Ariel have got something that's good. You've got a great girl and she's got a great guy…"
Eric looked worried at his friend as he asked, "You're…not…gonna start crying on my shoulder, are you?", but stopped with the jokes as he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder as he said, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll find the right girl."
Frey then returned to his old self, "Nah, this is just a setback. I'll bounce right back up with flying colors. I ain't a one-girl man."
After hearing that, Eric gave him a wary smile as he said, "That's great…I think."
Sebastian shook his head in disgust, "Complete denial…"
It was then that Ariel had picked out a book, one of which being her favorite, she checked it out and was about to walk out of there, until she ran into someone. As Ariel had righted herself back, she saw who it was she had bumped into. It was a sixteen-year-old Caucasian girl with semi-curly brown hair, slim but slender figure, and beautiful brown eyes. She was dressed in a green T-shirt, brown sweat jacket, blue bell jeans, and brown sneakers. She was being followed by three other girls; they were sort of triplets, each blonde, blue eyes, and each wore a different outfit, colored red, the other blue, and the final one green.
Ariel frowned, knowing who it was ever since a month ago. Ever since she attended the high school and became noticed among the guys as the most beautiful girl they'd ever seen, she had practically taken the spotlight off of the girl, Priscilla Allen. Priscilla was known to be not only on the cheerleader squad, but also awarded to being the Miss Teen Beauty Queen in the pageant last year. And ever since Ariel stepped into the scene, she had being trying to earn Ariel into her circle. If she was in it, then she would regain her popularity that she had lost.
However, Ariel was attempting to go past her, on good manners as she greeted, "Hello, Priscilla.", but then the cheerleader snatched away the book she had in her arms. Ariel, looking a little crossed, asked politely, "Priscilla, may I have my book back?"
However, Priscilla kept it out of reach, as she mockingly complimented on the book, "Hmmm, a fairytale about a Mermaid Princess. Sheesh! How lame can you get." but looked at the book with disgust. She looked at the pages as she complained, "How can you even read this? There aren't any pictures in it."
Ariel shook her head as she said, "Well, some people just have to use their imagination."
Priscilla then dropped the book at Ariel's feet as she complained, "Ariel, my dear. It's about time you got your head out of those books and paid attention to more important things.", Ariel grimaced as she knelt down to pick up the book, and grimily looked at Priscilla as she saw her smile at her ambitiously, "Like joining my ring of friends." Ariel sighed at this; in some way, this girl reminded her of that mermaid from Atlantica. She was sort of a stuck-up like this one as she went on, "I mean the whole school's talking about you, Ariel. It's not right for a girl like you to read. First she starts getting ideas, and thinking…"
Ariel got up as she quirked, "Priscilla, you are positively primeval."
Priscilla chuckled, completely oblivious to that obvious insult, "Why thank you, Ariel."
It was then that Eric walked up to Ariel, knowing full well what was going on. He came to her rescue as he beckoned for her, "Ariel, come on. We have to get going to the museum."
Ariel lit up to that, "Today's the day?", he nodded, and the two walked away as she replied to him, happy as ever, "It's good to know that the museum's willing to listen to your uncle's proposal."
The three blondes' chuckled at that as the red clad one mocked, "That crazy old curator. He couldn't propose to anything without having the word failure shoved in his face all the time." The girls laughed at that, even Priscilla joined at the folly of the Thatches getting their proposal on an expedition on a continent that didn't exist.
Eric gave the girls a scolding look at them; in truth, he had gotten used to being ridiculed. But if there was one thing he hated, was when people made fun of his grandfather. But just before he could shout out his complaint, Ariel stepped in to defend him as she scolded, "Don't you talk about Eric's family that way." The girls stopped, but still chuckled as the two walked off, heading for the museum to hear Milo's upcoming meeting with Mr. Harcourt.
Later
Harcourt Museum
Sub-Studies
Down in the section of the museum, in a room filled with artifacts, maps, and other antiquities, Milo Thatch was going over his proposal with the board of directors. To his side was a chalkboard with a Norwegian translation, saying, "COAST OF IRELAND" and a Viking shield with carved writings on it. At the moment he was talking to the board with much confidence and heart in his speech as he started off, "Good afternoon, gentlemen. First off, I'd like to thank this board for taking the time to hear my proposal.", but then stopped as he saw the door opening, and he couldn't help but smile. Ariel and Eric walked right in and sat down near the directors as they got comfortable, and then he continued.
"Now we've all heard of the legend of Atlantis; a rumored 8th continent somewhere in the mid-Atlantic, that was home to an advanced civilization, possessing technology far beyond our own in this modern era.", and then Milo pointed to a bust of Plato as he continued, "That, according to our good friend Plato here, was suddenly struck by some cataclysmic event that sank it beneath the sea." He then picked up a couple of cue cards with some illustrations on them as he went on, "Now, some of you may ask, why Atlantis? It's just a myth, isn't it? Pure fantasy.", then Milo smirked as he went on, "Well…that is where you'd be wrong."
The two teens sat anxiously, along with Sebastian and Dax sitting on top of the heads of the directors, listening in as Milo continued, "10,000 years ago, before the Egyptians built the pyramids, Atlantis had electricity, advanced medicine, even the power of flight and the discovery advances in powerful robotics and Artificial Intelligence.", he then looked started as he went on, "Impossible, you say? Well, no. No, not for them."
He then pulled up a cue card showing documentaries on civilizations depicting a power source of immense magnitude and strength as Milo went on, "Numerous ancient cultures all over the globe agreed that Atlantis possessed a power source of some kind. It was said to be more powerful than steam, than…than coal, than the combustible engine, even more powerful than nuclear energy.", he then smiled as he went on, "Gentlemen, I propose that we find Atlantis, find that power source, and bring it back to the surface."
After that, he pulled out a cue card depicting a book and a certain orb of some kind. He then pointed to the two as he explained, "Now, this is a page from an illuminated text that describes both a book called The Shepard's Journal, and the Atlas' Sphere. They were both said to have been a first-hand account of Atlantis and its exact whereabouts. Two pieces of a whole map, so to speak. Both are needed to find it; one can't function right without the other.", Milo then put the cards down as he walked over to the chalkboard and pointed out, "Now, based on a centuries-old translation of a Norse text, historians believed the Journal and the Sphere reside in Ireland." But then he pointed to the shield as he erased the word Ireland and began to write in a different name, "But after comparing the text to the runes on this Viking shield, I found that one of the letters had been mistranslated.", and then rewrote it as it now said COAST OF ICELAND, as Milo finished, "So by changing the letter, and inserting the correct one, we find that the Journal and Sphere, the keys to finding Atlantis, is not in Ireland…but in Iceland."
After bearing the excitement, Ariel started to clap in congratulations, as did Dax and Sebastian, and Eric gave his uncle a Thumbs' Up. Milo just smiled at this as he said softly, "Pause for effect.", he then finished by saying, "Gentlemen, I'll take your questions now."
It was just then, the phone down there began to ring, interrupting the meeting. Milo sighed as he asked, "Would you excuse me for a moment, gentlemen?", he then walked over to switch on the light, only to reveal that the directors, were in fact a bunch of dummies dressed to look like them. In truth, Milo was just practicing before the storm hit. But Milo didn't get to the phone in time, as Eric got up and beaten him to it.
Eric answered the phone his usual way, "Thatch's Department in Cartography and Linguistics. This is Eric Thatch speaking. How may I help you?" it was then that a loud angry ranting was heard from the other end of the phone as Eric winced. He turned towards Milo as he answered, "It's the usual problem, Uncle Milo."
Milo sighed as he took a monkey wrench and walked over to a big boiler. In truth, Milo also had another job to do aside from map-making and Linguistics: Boiler duty. It was degrading enough as it was for the Thatch family to sink this low. Milo turned a few knobs as the boiler hissed and boiled up. And then finally, Milo whacked it on the side with the wrench, making it roar to life once more.
Milo gave his nephew the thumbs up, and Eric nodded as he returned to the phone, "Okay, how's that? Is it better?" But all the voice answered back in a loud angry, 'AND DON'T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!', and just hung up. Eric hung it up as well, as he retorted, "You're welcome.", and just leaned on the desk, letting his uncle finish up.
Milo walked back to the chalkboard as he flipped it over, revealing a map of sorts. And then he looked back to his 'directors', and finished up as he pointed out, "Now, as you can see by this map that I've drawn, I've charted a course that will take me and a crew to go to Iceland and retrieve the Journal and Sphere."
And it was just that second, the clock sounded off, showing it to be 4 o'clock. Milo smirked at this as he went over to his desk and got his papers at the ready, with Eric helping as Milo finished up. He and Eric then walked towards the door as Ariel stood up, as Milo gleefully chirped, "Well, this is it, Eric. We are finally getting out of the dungeon."
Ariel stood in front of Milo as she helped clean him off, as she suggested, "Just remember to look right for the occasion. Remember, first impression is everything, Milo."
Milo chuckled at that and joked at Ariel's mannerism at this point, "I'll try and remember that…Mom." That earned him a playful punch to the shoulder from Ariel as she laughed at that, while Eric stifled a chuckle.
It was then suddenly, a letter was just delivered by the vacuum tubes. The whole gang stopped for a moment as Dax ran up to it first, and opened it. Everyone gathered around him as he read it out loud, "Dear Mr. Thatch, this is to inform you that your meeting today has been moved from 4:30 PM to 3:30 PM." After hearing that time, they all looked at the clock as it read 4:05. Before anyone could ask about that, another letter arrived, as Dax read it out loud, "Dear Mr. Thatch, due to your absence, the board has voted to reject your proposal. Have a nice weekend. Mr. Harcourt's office."
It was then that Eric shouted, "What? Again?"
Even Milo was angry as he shouted, "They can't do this to us!"
Upstairs
After a meeting was finished, the five elder board of directors, the small fat one with the mustached smug look on his face, Mr. Harcourt, they were on their way to leave. They had once again, ditched another insane proposal by the Thatch family. It had become something of a hobby of theirs now as one of them, a big and brawly fellow with a British accent, spoke up, "I swear, those Thatches are getting crazier every year. What with all the talk about Triton, mermaids, and even Atlantis. Bah!"
A sniveling director pointed out, "If I ever hear the words 'Mermaids' or Atlantis again…I'll step in front of a bus."
The British fellow joked, "Ha! I'll push you!", and they all, including Mr. Harcourt, had a good long laugh at that. But then all that faded away as a familiar voice shouted,
"MR. HARCOURT!"
The men paled as they turned and saw none other than Milo Thatch, running towards them. One of them shouted, "Good lord! There he is!", and they all immediately ran for the hills.
Milo ignored the other four and went after Harcourt, seeing that he was the intended target. For a man his age and with small legs, he was running pretty fast for someone as physically fit as Milo Thatch. It was a long and tedious run, but Harcourt smiled as he knew he was reaching for the door, but then paled as he saw who was standing in front of it. it was Milo's nephew, Eric and his redheaded girlfriend. Harcourt skidded to a stop as Milo had caught up and pleaded with him, "Mr. Harcourt wait! I…I have new evidence that there's a two-part map…in Iceland…that can…"
But then Milo stopped as Harcourt started to say, "This museum, Mr. Thatch, funds scientific expeditions based on Facts! Not folklore and legends."
But then Ariel stepped in as she asked with her fists on her hips and scolding, "But didn't someone once say that In Legends, there's always the Basis of Facts?"
Harcourt ignored that part as he just stated, "I'm sorry, but we don't share an interest on something that hasn't shown any proof to exist in over 10,000 years.", he then smugly padded Milo's shoulder as he said, "Besides, we need you here. We depend on you immensely."
Milo raised an eyebrow as he asked, "You do?"
Harcourt nodded as he broke through the teens as he replied, "Sure…why with Summer Vacation, we're gonna need that boiler and AC are gonna need a lot of attention."
After hearing that, Milo had hit the final straw as he looked defiant as he spoke up, "Mr. Harcourt, I really hadn't hoped it come to this…", and whipped out a piece of paper as he stated, "…but I have here a letter of resignation. If you don't reject my proposal again, like you've done for the past ten years, I'll…" But Harcourt didn't stop until Milo shouted, "…I'LL QUIT!" Harcourt stopped in his tracks, and turned to face Milo with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow to boot. Milo sighed as he stated, "I mean it, sir. If you refuse to fund my proposal, I'll…"
"You'll what?", Harcourt asked as he asked, "You'll flush your career down the toilet, just like your crazy father, and drag your nephew down with you? Think about him first. How's he gonna survive out there?"
Ariel shot out, "Don't use him like that."
Harcourt asked, "Like what?"
"As a smokescreen. Eric's capable on his own.", Ariel defended.
Harcourt sighed as he calmly stated, trying to help the two delusional fellows, "Look, Milo, Eric. The two of you have a lot of potential in your lives. You Milo, I've never seen a better Cartographer or Linguist. And you, Eric, you're as good a linguist as your uncle is. Don't throw your futures away chasing after some fairytales."
Then it was Eric's turn to defend, "But my uncle can prove Atlantis did and still exists."
Harcourt shook his head as he asked them, "You want to go on an expedition?", he then tossed them a coin as he turned to leave, "There. Take a trolley to the beach and jump in! Maybe the cold water will clear your head.", and with that, he left them all. The two Thatch boys hung their heads in defeat once more. Ariel walked over to the two, and hugged them together, as any family would do for one another. Little did they expect, that from that little failure, they would soon be part of the greatest expedition in the history of Tomb Raiding.
Next Chapter: Two Maps Found; A Most Intriguing Proposition