Aquatic Kingdom Hearts

Chapter 25: Two Maps Found; A Most Intriguing Proposition

Thatch Residence

Not much was said or could have been said as much gloom was over the Thatch residence. As soon as they had gotten, home, Milo had decided to go on a walk to perhaps try and forget the disappointment that had happened at the museum. It was pretty obvious that in some way, he had let down his father. It was pretty evident that he needed to be alone for a while, so he decided to walk it off for a while to clearly think the events and things in his head as of this point in his life.

Eric, as well, needed to have some time alone with himself as he was outside. He was currently on the rooftop of the house, looking up at the dark and cloudy skies with much thought on what happened. At this point, he thought that he needed to be alone; mulling over the fact that his uncle's proposal, which was once his grandfather's proposal, had been turned down once more. It was times like this had made him more depressed, more than the fact that his parents ha died when he was young. However, he was about to be reminded that he wasn't alone anymore.

Walking along the rooftop and to where Eric was, Ariel had found him and was making her way to him. When she neared him, with Eric not seeming to notice her at all, sat down next to him. She had noticed after what Mr. Harcourt said to Eric and Milo; she figured they would be completely down in the dumps. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder as she comforted him, "Eric…you shouldn't let what Harcourt said to you and your uncle get to you. Especially you."

Eric placed a hand on hers as he nodded, still moping and not tearing his eyes away from the sky. But he just sighed as he replied, "It's not what he said, it's just what Uncle Milo's going through."

Ariel nodded at that as she commented, "He was really looking forward for an approval."

Eric nodded, but then something etched into the back of his mind, "Yeah, but lately…I'm starting to wonder if Atlantis is a myth."

Ariel looked a little surprised by that; shocked at what Eric had said, and nearly scolded Eric, but said, "Eric! How can you just give up…"

Eric shook his head, "I haven't given up, Ariel.", but then he turned his attention towards the sea as he explained, "It's just that however many facts you can find, no one will ever believe in something like Atlantis." He sighed more as his shoulders slumped in depression, "I mean…who'd believe in some imaginary person, place, or thing even existed in real life?"

Ariel had enough of Eric's depressing talk, and placed a hand on his cheek. He then turned him towards her as she smiled, "Well, I used to be an imaginary creature…", and then brought him into a warm hug as she nuzzled her face on his neck as she cooed to him, "…and you believed I existed."

Eric smiled at that, being renewed in what his grandfather had taught him, by his girlfriend. He then nuzzled back, giving them both room for a kiss as their lips touched warmingly. And after a moment, they broke apart as Eric replied with a smile, "Thanks for reminding me."

Ariel smiled back, "That's why I'm here for."

"Man, oh man. Isn't this gettin' romantic?", Dax said as he appeared behind them, startling them a bit. The two sighed, seeing their otter friend return from wherever it was he went to.

Eric sighed as he gave Dax a half-smirk and asked, "Where were you? Aside from this morning, we didn't see you all day."

Dax shrugged, "I just got back from Tia's place to report the situation and what she knew else. And boy, did she give me the weirdest details on the next prophecy."

A little curious, Ariel then asked, "What did she say?"

Dax shrugged, "Something about find the Princess who is that of a warrior and a hunter. She will help you find the Second Heart of the Sea"

It was then that Eric sat up for a moment as he asked, "Just…what is the Second Heart of the Sea?", so far the two had learned that Triton's Trident was the first Heart of the Sea. From what Dax had explained, the Trident's duty was to control and govern the oceans. Dax nor Tia hadn't told them about what the Second or Third Hearts were capable of doing.

Dax sighed, knowing full well the kids weren't gonna enjoy hearing about this. But then he stopped as he felt a small tip of raindrops hitting him. Then Ariel and Eric felt the same as they looked up and saw the darkened skies. It was beginning to rain, and then and there everyone ran inside to escape the rain. At the same time, Milo was getting back inside, still slightly sulking about the proposal failure. As he walked inside, he saw Eric and Ariel, along with Dax on Eric's shoulder walking down the stairs. He just had to smile at that time, knowing at least he still had family now.

It was while he walked in, he noticed that max didn't pop up. He called out his name, "Max? Here boy. Come on out, Max." He scratched his head, wondering what happened. As soon as the two teens were downstairs, he looked to them and asked, "Eric, have you seen Max?"

Eric raised an eyebrow as he asked, "I thought you took him with you on your walk."

Milo shook his head in a resounding 'no', but then their attention was turned as lightning lit up the room. For standing in the living room, was a Caucasian woman in her early thirties. She was very attractive and physically fit; she had long blonde hair, in a ponytail held at the bottom tip end of her hair, and a little beauty mole mark under her left eye, dressed in a sexy black spaghetti strap dress, black high heels, and a fur coat. She curtly smirked at the trio as she called out the names of the two Thatch men, "Milo James Thatch…Eric Nathaniel Thatch…", and then smiled at Ariel, "…and you must be the one named Ariel…Namba, was it?"

Nodding at using her human disguise name, Ariel nodded in response as she asked, "Um yeah. And you are?"

But Milo shook his head as he asked along, "More than that, how'd you even get in here? I made sure I locked the doors when I left."

The woman merely chuckled as she sat down on the couch and crossed one leg over the other, seductively. And then she answered their questions, "I came down the chimney, ho ho ho.", he then seriously answered the next question followed by her reason here, "My name is Helga Katrina Sinclair. I'm here on behalf of my employer, who has a most intriguing proposition for you all.", she then leaned in as she had a smug smirk on her face as she asked, "Are you all interested?"

The three looked equally confused by this, as Milo raised an eyebrow and asked, "You're employer? Just…who exactly…is your employer?"

Whitmore Estate

The rain was still pouring as Helga's limo pulled in towards an iron gate. Along for the ride were Milo, Eric, and Ariel, with Dax on Eric's shoulder and Sebastian hidden in Ariel's pocket. As they stopped, they looked outside the window to see where they had stopped at. The name etched on the top of the gate was Whitmore; this indicated that the employer was named Whitmore, making the two Thatch boys slightly surprised by all this.

It was then that Milo asked out loud, confirming his suspicion, "Whitmore? As in Preston Whitmore? The former Governor wants to see us?"

Ariel butted in as she asked, "Wait. This Whitmore, was the governor of Port Royal?"

Helga nodded at that, "Was is the right term to use.", and then the gates opened as the limo drove toward the estate, which was up a few yards, "Now he uses his vast fortune to fund expeditions that the museum…find contemptible for the Archeological community."

Then the car stopped to a halt, as the trio looked out the car window to see quite an extravagant home. From the look of things, this Whitmore had quite a good life. But what was going on in the heads of the three people was why he had the need to talk to a family with nut job theories. That question was made loud and evident as Eric looked to Helga as he asked, "Um, just out of curiosity, why is it that he wants to see us? What exactly is this proposition of his?"

All that earned was a smirk from her as she opened the car door and simply answered, "I guess you'll find out…when you meet up with him."

A few seconds later, they were all inside the house, with Miss Sinclair leading the way, as she stated, "This way, and don't drip on the carvagio." As they walked along the hallway to wherever it was they were going, they saw that a few of the shelves and tables had archeological artifacts. And amazingly, some of them were artifacts that were said to come form cultures that had not been looked into, considering some were said to be myth.

Then Helga led them towards an elevator door as she ordered, "Step lively, people. Mr. Whitmore is not one to be kept waiting.", and then the three ran in to catch up to her. When they stepped in, the door closed and they felt the elevator going down. But as the elevator descended, Helga began to straighten the trio out; straightening Milo's shirt collar and glassed, Eric with his hair and shirt collar, and Ariel with her hair. But as she did so, she gave them some advice when seeing Whitmore, "Alright, here are the rules: you will address him as either Mr. Whitmore or Sir. You will stand unless to be seated. Keep all sentences short, straight, and to the point. Are we clear?"

A little nervous about all that, the three nodded, but then Ariel flinched as Helga sharply shot her hand at her. And then was calm as she saw Helga lightly touch her shoulder, picking up a stray hair. She then flicked it aside and just smiled to the girl, "Sorry. You just had a loose hair. Didn't want you looking bad in front of Whitmore." And then the elevator stopped as the door opened. Then the three lightly stepped out, but Helga stayed on the elevator as she smirked while the door slowly closed, "And don't worry. He doesn't bit…often.", and the doors closed as it went back up.

As they were left down there, the three looked around as to where they were. The room was vast and to their right was an aquarium of some sort, with fish swimming all around it. Littered on the walls, were a few artifacts of various cultures. But in the way back of the room, were a fireplace was roaring with life, was where Eric and Milo's attention was caught as Ariel looked at a strange looking statue of a man in a strange sitting position. Hung up over the fireplace, was a painting of a man in a white business suit with a sticky up hairstyle reminiscent of Einstein…and huddled with him in the picture was Eric's parents, and his grandfather, Thaddeus Thatch. From the looks of it, the three were vast friends with the man in the picture, as he shook Thaddeus' hand, and Eric's parents both had their hands on the man's shoulders.

Milo raised an eyebrow as he saw it too and questioned, "Dad? Jack and Maria?"

"Finest explorers I ever had the honor of meeting.", the statue that Ariel was looking at said, nearly startling her and getting the boy's attention. As the boys walked over they saw it was the same old man accompanied by their family. Except he was dressed in only a blue robe and in a yoga position, but then stretched out his hand as he changed into a stranger position with his joints popping, "Preston Whitmore. Pleasure to meet you, Milo." Milo shook his hand, and then he shook Eric's as Whitmore smiled, "It's finally an honor to meet Jack and Maria's son. I mean, look at ya. You got your mom's eyes, and your dad's smile." And then he turned towards Ariel as she shook his hand, "And you must be Ariel.", he then pointed to Eric, "Whatever you do, miss. Don't lose this guy; he's one of a kind for a lady like you."

Ariel chuckled at that as she smiled to him and Eric, "Don't worry, I won't."

He then popped for another moment, until he asked them all, "Don't suppose you'd all join me in a little yoga?"

Milo, slightly nervous and uncertain about what was going on, shook his head, "Uh, no, no. Thank you anyway."

But then Eric asked out, "So…did you really know my parents and grandfather, sir?"

Whitmore nodded as he popped another pose, "Your parents and old Thaddeus? Oh yeah, I met Thaddeus back in Georgetown in Class of '66. We stayed close friends till the end of his days; he even dragged me on some of his danged fool expeditions. That's how I met your folks back when we went on that darn fool expedition in the Amazon. We were trying ta finding El Dorado that time, but, well ya know how that turned up.", he then smirked as he pointed out to Milo and Eric, "Thatch was crazy as a fruit bat, he was. Your parents were probably the sanest members of the family.", he then pointed to Milo and Eric as he said, "Those three talked about you guys a lot. Especially you, Eric; your parents couldn't help but talk about how proud they were of having a son like you."

Eric couldn't help but smile at that; even Ariel couldn't help, considering how lucky and happy she was to have met him. She confirmed that by taking Eric's hand and squeezing it tightly, with him returning the squeeze. But then Milo scratched his head as he pointed out, "Funny, they…they mentioned about you."

Whitmore chuckled as he prepared to stand on his head, "Well, they wouldn't. They knew I much enjoy my privacy.", and then he stood on his head, allowing his robe to fall over his face…showing that he wasn't wearing any underwear. Ariel, nearly going blind by the sight, turned away and covered her face, muttering in embarrassment, 'Oh, my gosh…'

Eric turned away, cringing at what he just saw, but Milo just looked away as best he could, as Whitmore went on, without caring about what just happened, "I pretty much like to keep a low profile here and there.", he then frowned as he growled, "Especially from that lecherous parasite, Beckett. That man would get his hands on anything that was ancient, worth a penny, or…"

But then Ariel, who had enough of the flash show, asked out politely, "Mr. Whitmore, is there a reason why we're here?"

"Aside from being flashed at.", Eric muttered.

Whitmore nodded as he pointed to a table near the fireplace, "Yep. Look at that table." The three turned and saw that on the table, were two objects wrapped together in paper; one looked like the shape of a book, and the other an orb. The trio walked towards them, and Milo picked up the package.

It was then that Milo and Eric realized who it was from. On the package, it was written on a message that the package was for both Eric and Milo, and the ones who sent it to them, was none other than Thaddeus, Jack, and Maria Thatch. It was Milo who simply stated it out loud, "It's…it's from Dad and your parents, Eric."

Whitmore, who finally got up, stretched a bit as he walked to a bottle of bourbon and explained, "Actually, Milo, Thaddeus found them first. He brought that package to me six years ago.", he then solemnly looked to Eric as he sorrowfully stated, "That…was around the time your parents died.", he then poured a glass for himself as he finished explaining, "He said that if anything were to happen to him, I should give it you two when you were both ready.", and then shrugged, "Whatever that meant."

Milo, Eric, Ariel, and even Dax were slightly confused by that. But then to break the confusion, Ariel and Eric urged Milo to open the package. Milo tore the paper away just to see what it was and not to spill them on the floor. But what he, the two teens, and even Dax were slightly surprised at what they saw. In the open paper package, was a strange brown journal…a journal with an Atlantean letter representing A. the object next to it was a metallic gray orb the size of a handheld crystal ball and similar Atlantean markings.

With all three of them completely surprised by this, Milo was the only one to speak, or stutter at this point. He looked to his nephew, his nephew's girlfriend, and even the otter in disbelief as he said in a whisper, "It…it's the Shepard's Journal and Atlas Orb." As Eric took the orb into his hands as he and Ariel looked at it, Milo took the journal and looked to Mr. Whitmore as he stated in belief, "Mr. Whitmore, these two artifacts, are the key to finding the lost continent of Atlantis."

However, Whitmore merely scoffed at that truth as he stated, "HA! Atlantis! Hahahaha! I wasn't born yesterday, son.", and then walked over to a dressing curtain as he began to get dressed.

But Milo was fervent on this belief as he opened the book and pointed out, "No, no, no. Look at this. Coordinates, clues. It's all right here."

But Whitmore just pointed out, "Yeah, it all looks like gibberish to me."

But then Milo smiled smugly as he pointed out, "Well, that's because it's been written in a dialect that no longer exists."

"So it's useless, eh?", Whitmore asked, stepping out fully dressed in a white business suit with a cane.

But Milo shook his head as he defended, "No, no, just difficult.", he then proudly stated, "I've spent my whole life studying dead languages.", he even pointed to Eric as he defended, "I even taught Eric a little bit of it. Though he can mostly read it than speak it."

Eric smirked as eh pointed out, "Guilty as charged.", but then turned his attention to the puzzle ball, along with Ariel.

Then Whitmore asked as he pointed to the orb, "So what about the iron ball? Is it just for decoration?"

Then Milo shook his head as he simply stated, "No, no. It's more like a puzzle. See, it describes the orb to have a security measure that can only be solved…like a rubix cube."

"So, nobody can solve it.", Whitmore concluded.

But as that was said, Eric stumbled on to a switch on the orb. And then curiously, began to press a row of buttons, almost like he was able to understand it. But as he and Ariel witness the puzzle being solved, Milo pointed out, "Well, even with my knowledge on the language, it would take me about a few months to…", but then stopped as they hear d a clicking and whirring sound. They turned and saw Eric holding the now blue glowing orb; it seemed that the boy had discovered the means to solve the orb.

Whitmore smirked as he pointed out, "Looks like it only took your nephew about a few minutes to solve it."

But then suddenly, out of the orb flowing out like a river of water and washing down upon them, a holographic projected map of the world was surrounding them like a dome. Completely amazed by that, Milo walked forward as he examined it, "It's…it's a map.", he then looked surprised as he pointed out and touched one spot, "Wait! This is us. Port Royal.", but as he touched it, the map suddenly zoomed away and turned around them like a globe would. It was then that it stopped turning, and stopped in the Atlantic, showing a water canyon of some sort. Then Milo looked surprised as he pointed out, "Wait! That's…that's…"

Ariel smirked a little as she answered for him, "The Leviathan's lair."

Milo stated in disbelief for a moment, "No."

Ariel nodded, knowing what that was when Milo first talked about Atlantis to her, "That's the lair of the Leviathan. The Portal to Atlantis."

Milo smirked as he stated, "Do you guys know what this means?"

Eric smirked as he looked to the holo-map in his hands as he answered, "It means, that all those stories that Grandpa Thaddeus told us were true.", and then he switched off the orb, the map flowing straight back into it.

However, their moods were let down as Whitmore, who seemed completely unfazed by what just happened, pointed out, "Ah, they're probably fake. You could get a copy of something done like that in Japan, and wouldn't know the difference."

After hearing that, Ariel looked at Mr. Whitmore skeptical. She then shook her head, pointing at the book and orb, and defended Milo and Eric as she stated, "Mr. Whitmore, I may not have met Mr. Thaddeus Thatch, but I know in my heart, that he would have known if those were fakes. Milo would know. Eric would know as well. And I would know, in my heart too, if they were fake."

Smiling at Ariel defense, Eric stepped up, "She's right. If anything, I believe the journal and orb are the real things."

Milo stepped up as he stated, "I agree with these two. I'll stake everything I own, everything that I believe in that these are the genuine Shepard's Journal and Atlas Orb."

Shrugging at this and walking over to a coffee table next to the aquarium, Whitmore sat down and said, "Alright, alright.", but then he asked with a raised eyebrow, "So now that you have them, what do you want to do with them?"

Walking over with him, the three sat together in separate chairs, thinking about it. Then Eric answered, "Well, we'll get funding for an expedition from the museum."

Whitmore shook his head, "They'll never believe you."

Then Milo defended that as he waved the Journal around, "We'll show them! We will make them believe."

Then Whitmore gave them a raised eyebrow as he asked, "Like you did today?"

"Yes!", Milo answered but then frowned, "Well, no. How did you…", he shook his head as he stood up and defiantly stated, "Forget about them, okay? Never mind! I'll find Atlantis myself, on my own, or with my nephew. Even if I have to rent a rowboat."

Eric stood up as he defended next to his uncle, "And if we can't rent a rowboat, we'll just have to swim there."

Ariel stood up and nodded with them, stating, "I'll help out as well; rowboat, swimming, or none of the above."

After hearing that, Whitmore smirked at this as he said, "Congratulations, everyone. This is exactly want I wanted to hear from you.", but then he stated, "But forget the rowboat or swimming….", and then pressed a red button. Suddenly the coffee table opened up and up popped a display of models of an impressive submarine, sub pods, sub tanks, digging machines, trucks, jeeps, and even a zeppelin looking machine, as Whitmore smirked, "…we'll travel in style." Everyone, aside from Mr. Whitmore, were in awe at this as Whitmore walked up to them and explained, "It's all been taken care of. Right down to the ball of wax."

Ariel, just as confused as the boys, looked to Mr. Whitmore and asked, "But…why?"

Whitmore chuckled as he explained, "Well for years,your boyfriend's grandfather was always bending my ear with stories about that book and sphere. So one day I got fed up, and I made a bet with the old coot.", he walked over to a shelf with pictures on them as he finished, "I said, 'Thatch, if you ever actually find those so-called maps, not only will I finance the expedition, but I'll kiss you full on the mouth'!", and then rolled his eyes in embarrassment as he showed the three of a picture of him, wiping his mouth off as Thaddeus spat while holding the Journal and Sphere, and mumbled, "Imagine my embarrassment when he found the darn things."

After seeing the picutre, Eric chukcled, "Yep, that's Grandpa, for ya."

After that was said, Mr. Whitmore patted both Milo and Eric on the shoulder as he walked towards the fireplace, "Now I know that your father and grandfather's gone, you two. God rest his soul…", but then stopped as he was under the picture now, and smirked, "But Preston Whitmore's a man who keeps his word." He then looked up at the painting and shouted, pointing his cane out, "Ya hear that, Thaddeus? I'M GOIN' TO THE AFTERLIFE WITH A CLEAR CONSCIENCE, BY THUNDER! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!", and then sighed as he toned it down as he became solemn and saddened.

After taking back from that outburst, the three looked at Mr. Whitmore, feeling a sense of pity at when they saw him saddened. And then Whitmore spoke up finally, a little more reserved but full of regret, "You know, your father and grandfather was a great man. You two probably don't realize how great he was. Harcourt and those buffoons at the museum; they dragged him down, made a laughing stock of him and his entire family.", he then sighed sadly as he mentioned, "He didn't just die of old age, when he heard your parents died, Eric….he died not only of a broken heart…but a broken man.", he sighed again as he looked determined, "If I could bring back just one shred of proof that this Lost Empire existed…then that'd be enough for me."

Then suddenly Mr. Whitmore popped back to his happy self as he turned around and walked towards them, "What are we standing and moping around for? Come one, we've got a lost continent to discover!", and dragged Milo along with him as the teens followed.

But as he did, Eric pointed out, seeing as how he was taught a few things about archeology from his uncle, "But Mr. Whitmore…in order to do what you're proposing, we're gonna need a crew."

Whitmore let go of Milo as he pointed to the desk containing files, "Taken care of.", he then pointed to a file of the very crew itself, "Took me a while ta find a crew brave and crazy enough ta find but I was able ta find one that was desperate enough to make a buck…or a million, if the negotiations were right."

Ariel was curious about it as she leaned in, "Um…exactly where did you find this crew?"

Whitmore smirked as he pointed out on the map near the Caribbean, "Tortuga."

The two teens were taken a little by surprise by that, but then Milo, who had regained his footing, pointed out, "Yeah, but you'll need engineers and…and geologists."

Whitmore nodded to that as he signaled everyone over. When they walked up to him, he scattered a few files down to show them. He pointed out, "Got'em all; best of the best in their fields." He pointed to one file of a fellow with a pilot's cap on equipped with micro-goggles and a lamp on it, in his thirties, small corpulent due to the coat he wore, a small stubble and mustache, with a goofy yet insane grin on his face, as Whitmore read out, "Gaetan Moliere, AKA Mole; Geology and excavation. The man has a nose for dirt; he can sniff and taste a rock, and you'll be hearin' the story behind it. Where it came from, how old it is, when it was, and much more. Word of advice…a little loopy on the side, though he's never wrong about his dirt on the dirt."

He then pointed to a photo of an Italian man in his thirties as well. He was slim, in good shape; his hair was cut in a flat bowl shape, with relaxed sharp eyes, a thick mustache with a match sticking out of his mouth like a tooth pick, "Vincenzo Santorini, or Vinny for short; demolitions expert. Busted this fellow out of a Turkish prison. This man could make a bomb out of anything; from a gas truck to a soda can."

Next was an Argentine girl of seventeen, with short black hair, an in-your-face attitude written on her, and a blue cap, white shirt and overalls, "Audrey Rocio Ramirez; mechanics and engineering. Don't let her age fool ya; she knows more about engines than you and I will ever know."

The next fellow was an African American, physically fit, very tall, bald, a kind face, and looked somewhat forty years old, "Doctor Joshua Strongbear Sweet; medical officer. Knows medicine from African, American, and Native American studies. You got the flu; he'll treat you up in a second."

The next one was an elderly lady, around in her seventies, bun up hair, wearing a green military dress, and had a deadpan look on her face, "Wilhelmina Bertha Packard; communications specialists. Dated every guy who knew about communications equipment and became an expert herself." Whitmore then smugly pointed out, "These along with the team leaders, and Thaddeus, were the same team that brought the Journal and Sphere back."

After adjusting all that information, Milo was adjusting his glasses to confirm all this. But Eric was the one to ask out of interest, "And…where were they?"

Whitmore smirked as he pulled out a photo, showing the team and Thaddeus, with the sphere and journal in the location, as Whitmore answered, "Iceland."

Ariel smiled at this as she hugged Milo, "You were right!"

Milo returned the hug as he told himself, excited, "Yeah, I knew it. I knew it!", while Eric patted his uncle on the shoulder on congratulations.

And as soon as the three stopped celebrating, a smiling Whitmore walked over to his seat. He then pointed to Milo, "All we need now, is an expert in gibberish…", and then pointed to Eric, "…and someone who can work the puzzle ball.", as Ariel, Eric, and Milo sat down, Whitmore then gave them a choice, "So, it's decision time. You can build on the foundation your father and grandfather left you two…or you can go back to the boiler room, and live as though nothing happened tonight."

The two teens looked to each other on the answer to that, but came up short. It was then that Milo slunked over as he finally caught on, "This is for real."

Whitmore smirked at that as he pointed out, "Now you're catching on."

After recovering himself, Milo made his decisions out loud, "Alright, alright. I, uh…I'm gonna have to give me and the kids a leave of absence from the school, as well as from work…"

"Already taken care of.", Whitmore replied, "you all were given the okay and you're all excused for however long the expedition's gonna take."

Ariel asked, a little surprised, "Really?"

Whitmore nodded, "Yep. Don't like to leave loose ends."

Then Milo pointed out, "Okay, then I'll need my books and research…"

"In storage.", Whitmore answered.

Milo raised an eyebrow as he asked, "My home. I'll need it looked after while we're gone."

"Taken care of.", Whitmore calmly answered.

Ariel looked concerned as she asked, "Our clothes?"

"Packed and ready to go with you. They'll be waiting at the front door for you to get sorted out.", Whitmore said, and winked to Eric, "We even got that there fancy sword of yours packed along with your stuff."

Then Eric asked, "My dog?", then suddenly, out of nowhere, Max popped up and jumped into Eric's lap, licking his face. As soon as Eric calmed him down, he whispered out loud, "My gosh."

Dax was equally impressed as he whispered to Ariel, "Man, this guy plans for everything. It's pretty scary."

As soon as he said that, Mr. Whitmore stood up and walked over to the trio. He stopped they stood up, and he smiled to both Milo and Eric as he said to them, "Your grandad had a saying: 'A man's legacy is measured by the gifts he leaves his children.'", he then pointed to both the Shepard's Journal and the Altas' Sphere, "This journal and orb are his gifts to you both.", he then smirked as he said, "Atlantis is waiting. What do you say?"

Milo smirked uncontrollably as he shot up and shook Whitmore's hand, "We're your men and women, Mr. Whitmore!", the teens shook his hand as well, as Milo was going nutso on the excitement, "You will not regret this decision, sir! Why I'm so excited, I-I-I-I-I-I-I can't hold it in!"

Eric shook his head as he patted Max on the head, "Yeah, you say that now. Wait till we get on the boat."

Later On

After the Thatch family had left the house, Mr. Whitmore was walking into a secured area, along with Helga Sinclair. This place was where he kept things that were said best, not to be discovered. As they walked down the darkened but still lit hallway, there were those certain artifacts that were best kept out of the world. They were said to be too dangerous, if left in the hands of those who sought out their power: a strange golden Ark casket, a 9 ft. clay statue of a humanoid like being, three skulls made of Gold, Silver, and Jade, and even a strange mini-pyramid with an eye in the center of it.

However, that wasn't what was on his mind. When they reached the end of the hallway, they stopped at two surprising artifacts. They were discovered as well along the Iceland excavation for the Journal and Sphere. What they were was a halfway melted archetype of an Atlantean humanoid Crab warrior robot, and the other, was the fossilized remains of an Atlantean, wearing a strange type of armor, with a helmet with carved markings on it, making it look like the face of a demon, or one of those African tribe masks. But the dangerous giveaway was the two blades sticking out of the right wrist guard, and the stylized shell cannon on the right shoulder, with a bluish white crystal on the barrel of it. These were indications that Atlantis was more than just a myth…and possibly a sign that Atlantis had its own military power.

As the two looked at it for a moment, Helga turned to Whitmore as she asked with a raised eyebrow, "Don't you think you should have shown them this, Sir?"

Whitmore nodded, "Maybe….maybe so. But I think it's best to let them find out about this on their own discovery, rather than on Thaddeus'."

She then turned her attention back to the fossils, and then stated, "You know bringing in the Thatch's will complicate things on our mission."

Whitmore just smirked at Helga as he stated, "Ah, don't worry. You obviously didn't hear about how Thaddeus' grandson did on that little Pirate fiasco a month ago.", he then smirked at remembering on what he read in the papers. He then said to her, "Oh, by the way, before he left, Mr. Eric Thatch asked that another hand be brought to deck."

Helga raised an eyebrow as she asked, "Who?"

Atlantic Ocean

The Ark

The mighty icebreaker and submarine docking vessel, known as the Ark, sailed through the mighty ocean that was the Atlantic. It was reaching its destination, away from any populated water areas; the crew working feverishly to prepare for the maiden voyage of the sub being carried within its mighty hull. However, those who had the chance at this point, were enjoying the ocean view. And some of them, were three teenagers, two sea critters, a sheepdog, and one linguist.

Frey, who was dressed in his pirate outfit, Which consisted of his green wetsuit shirt that had no sleeves, and a turtleneck to it that wasn't zipped all the way up. He also had his black vest with a few combat pockets on the front. He also wore his black fingerless gloves with the diamond shaped buckle on the wrist part. On his waist, he wore the same kind of belt that Eric had, but a different set of pants, as they were orange had a buckle on the end of then knee part as they were buckled upward. And finally, his pair of black combat sneaker boots with the yellow strap on them. But this time he altered the outfit; now he had an arm pouch strapped to his right bicep, and a brown pouch strapped to his left leg. And now, on his belt in holsters, he had two stylized daggers…of which were given to his father as a parting gift on this voyage.

Eric had on his pirate outfit as well, considering this journey wasn't meant for casual clothing. His outfit was the usual; a black wetsuit shirt that zipped up to his collar bone, exposing his neck as well as his surfer necklace. a short sleeved hoodie jacket that was zipped up to the midsection of his upper torso; it was colored Navy Blue on the sleeves, bottom part, but the chest was colored black, and the shoulders were white, but on the end of the sleeves were black buckles and straps. The hood was colored Navy Blue with white trim, but the inside was black, and on his back, the Seablade was strapped to the back of it. His pants were colored blue, and on the quad part of the pants, two black pouches were strapped to them on the side, and on them was a black belt that lanked on the right side, much like a pirate's belt. His knees were an upside down triangle, colored white, and the bottom halves ending in black leather straps with golden buckles on them. His shoes were actually combat sneaker boots with a blue belt buckle on them, and on his hands were black fingerless gloves with a golden buckle on the back of the hand.

Ariel, on the other hand, also wore something similar to the boys now. She had been working on it, ever since the last time they would go on an adventure similar to the one with the Black Pearl. Like the boys her outfit wasn't too exaggerated, but made for maneuverability, but also made just in case she ever needed to go Mermaid for an emergency. She was wearing a pair of military green pants with the hip sides cut out to where the pockets should have been, and a black leather belt strapped around her waist, but dangling on the left side. A pair of sneaker sandals with straps on the ankles and across the middle of the shoe. She didn't wear a shirt, but she was wearing her purple seashell bikini only, and on top was a long sleeved jacket, with the shoulder part colored purple, and the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She still had on the Calypso bracelet and her purple bead bracelet as well. And she also wore a blue choker around her neck, but kept on her mother's necklace.

She was leaning on the rail, looking outwards to the sea, happy to be back near her home in some way. However, she looked over to Eric who was at her side, and nudged him, getting his attention, "Excited?"

Eric nodded, "Yeah.", but then he looked to his girlfriend seriously as he said, "You know, you didn't have to…."

"Come along?", Ariel asked, and then wrapped her arms around his neck, bring him closer to her, "Eric, I wanted to come along.", and then playfully nuzzled her face to his, as she said in his ear, "And don't tell me an excavation like this is too dangerous for a girl like me."

Eric shook his head lightly as he replied, "Not a chance." But then she looked a little distraught as she looked over the ocean. Eric looked at her concerned as he asked, "What is it?"

She turned back to Eric as she sighed, "I should have told you about this…but in Atlantica, there's a story about the Merpeople and Atlantis once fighting each other."

Eric raised an eyebrow as he asked, "you mean they were at war with each other?"

She nodded, "I think so. I didn't know much about it, considering all the knowledge of that long ago was lost.", she looked to Eric as she asked, "Are you mad? About me keeping this from you?"

Eric, slightly surprised at first, but then warmed up again as he nuzzled his forehead to hers. This made her blush again as he answered, "Nah, for two reasons: one, I could never get mad at the perfect girl in front of me.", that comment made Ariel blush once more as he went on, "And two, I really hate it when you look at me all innocent."

Ariel chuckled playfully, "Really? Why's that?"

"Because it makes it easy for you to get me to do whatever you want.", Eric replied, as he leaned in close to her lips.

She did the same as she whispered, "Really? I guess…I'll have to try it…more often."

"Aw, don't make the rest of us puke.", Dax said as he sat on the rail, with Max looking at the ocean all excited. Sebastian was sitting on top of Max's head, feeling the ocean breeze blow on him. Dax jumped up and ran onto Eric's shoulder, causing the two to split apart as he pointed out, "Try not to show so much love and affection on this mission.", he pointed to Frey as he said out loud, "It's givin' Pheromone Boy there a lotta envy."

Then Frey shouted, "I'm not envious! I don't need one girl in my life; I can always get more girls."

Sebastian looked to Dax and pointed out, "Yep, he's in denial."

"Definitely.", Dax agreed.

The couple just lightly chuckled at the awkwardness of the situation, but then stopped as they heard a hawking sound. Everyone turned and saw Milo, dressed in army pants, a grey sweater, and a green overcoat. At the moment, he was currently puking over the side of the boat. As soon as he was done, he mumbled to himself while adjusting his glasses, "Carrots. Why is it always carrots? I didn't even have carrots."

And then the intercom went off as a monotone aged voice called out, "ATTENTION ALL PERSONAL PROCEED TO THE LOADING BAY.", that was everyone's signal to get a move on, as Dax jumped on to Eric's shoulder and Max followed his master as Eric picked up his duffel back along with Frey. Ariel grabbed her bag as Sebastian hopped into hit, accompanied by Milo with his bag and went into the loading bay. And as they did, the same voice called out, "To whoever took the "L" from the "Motor Pool" sign, ha-ha, we are all very amused."

As they walked through the loading bay area, where all the vehicles were getting prepped and ready, Milo stopped someone in a brown overcoat. He along with the teens walked over to him as he asked, "Excuse me, sir. We need to report in."

The figure turned around, to reveal it to be none other than a smirking Helga Sinclair, dressed in a black turtleneck sweater, brown military pants, a vest holster on her chest with two Walter P-38s, and black combat boots. She greeted them with her trademark smirk, "Yes, Mr. Thatch, you're all reported in."

A little surprised, Thatch jumped back, "Ah! Oh, it's you."

Then suddenly, a caravan wagon loaded on a truck, parked next to them. and an old fellow, skinny but not frail with a messy beard, wearing black river rubber pants, a white T-shirt, and a bowler cap, popped up. he didn't look pretty happy as he pointed to Helga, "Blondie, I've got a bone to pick with you."

Helga sighed as she curtly excused herself, "Hold that thought.", and then walked over to the old man with her arms crossed as she asked, "What is it this time, Cookie?"

The man known as Cookie, the chef of the team, looked around his wagon as he complained, "You done filled my wagon chockful to burstin' with nonessentials. Look at this.", he then rummaged through the stuff as he further complained, "Cinnamon, oregano, ci-lantro. What in the cockadoodle is ci-lantro?", he then pulled out a full head of lettuce as he asked, "What is this?"

Helga answered, "That would be lettuce."

And then Cookie looked disgusted as he questioned, "Lettuce? LETTUCE?"

Helga sighed as she took the lettuce and explained, "It's a vegetable, Cookie. The men need the Four Basic Food groups."

Then Cookie pointed out, holding out three fingers, "I've got yer four basic food groups: Beans, Bacon, Whiskey, and Lard!", but then he scratched his head as he replied, "Though all the whiskey's gone and disappeared on me. Even the Rum's a missin'."

After that was said, the alarm sounding off the docking went off. Hearing that, Helga threw the lettuce at Cookie and ordered, "Alright, move it out, everybody. Or you're gonna be left behind."

After that was said, everyone, sailors and soldiers as well as everyone else, made it to the loading elevators as they readied to go. As soon as everyone was packed into the elevators, they immediately went down. They went down deep into the belly of the Ark, until they finally stopped, and saw the submarine that they would be going in, as it was now being loaded with the vehicles and equipment needed for the expedition. The mighty vessel, known as the Ulysses, an experimental submarine vessel that Whitmore was able to purchase for this expedition. It was massive with a few orange glass domes for observation, and a massive oval dome in the front to where the command deck was located. It was truly a vessel worth every penny, and expenses.

Ariel stood in complete amazement as everyone got off. She had seen ships below in the ship graveyard, and some looked just like this. She didn't know what the name of such a ship was called; back then she referred to them as Iron Fishes. She smiled at this as she whispered, "Wow, I'm actually going to go inside an Iron Fish." And as soon as Eric walked next to them, they heard someone call out behind them as Frey past them.

"Hey, kids.", they all turned around and saw the man named Vincenzo 'Vinny' Santorini. He was dressed in a black turtleneck sweater, brown pants with black combat boots, with metal knee guards and had around his front a metal chestplate for bombing protection. He was currently pushing a cart of crates and barrels, but then said to the kids in an Italian accent, "If you're lookin' for da Tunnel O' Love, it's back there.", and went past them as something dropped from his cart.

Ariel ran up to him as she picked it up and handed it back to him, "Um, excuse me, Mr. Santorini, you dropped your dy…", and then paled as she saw that the item was a stick of dynamite, "…dynamite."

As Vinny lightly took it from her, Eric walked up and nervously laughed as he asked, "Say, uh, what else you have in there?"

"Hey, call me Vinny, kay, kids?", and as he politely took the dynamite, he casually answered, "Oh, er... gunpowder, nitroglycerin, notepads, fuses, wicks, glue, and... paper clips, big ones.", he then lightly shrugged as he went back to his duty, "You know, just, uh, office supplies.", and walked off leaving the teens in their surprised state.

However, they snapped out of it as Mr. Whitmore, dressed up as a captain, walked over to them. accompanied them was a fellow in his early fifties, around 6 ½ feet tall, physically buff, with gray hair in a military crew cut, wearing green beret pants, black combat boots, a military jacket, and had on his face a calm and smug smile. Whitmore walked over to Milo, Eric, and the gang, as he introduced the fellow, "Ah, Milo. Where ya been? I want you and the kids to meet Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke. He's the one who led the team to Iceland, to brink the Journal and Sphere back."

After hearing that, Milo and Eric shook the man's hand, as he spoke up in an old-fashioned American tone in his voice, "Milo and Eric Thatch. It's an honor to meet both the son and grandson of Ol' Thaddeus.", he then chuckled as he pointed, "I see you both've got that Book and Puzzle. They're nice and all, but…I prefer a good old fashion Western and Crossword Puzzle myself."

Whitmore then looked over to Milo and the kids as he asked, "Pretty impressive, eh?"

Ariel, who was most impressed, looked around and nodded as she complimented, "Well, when you settle a bet, Mr. Whitmore, you really make good to your word."

Whitmore shrugged as he answered, "Well, Old Thaddeus believed you couldn't put a price on the pursuit of knowledge."

Then Milo chuckled, "Well, uh, believe me, this'll be small change compared to the value of what we're gonna learn on this trip."

Rourke chuckled at that, "Yes, this should be enriching for all of us.", and then the loading siren went off as Rourke nodded, "It's time everyone.", and walked up to the loading doors and into the sub.

Milo and the others followed after him, as Ariel waved back to Mr. Whitmore, "Bye, Mr. Whitmore!"

Whitmore waved back, and secretly had his fingers crossed, as he said, "Make us proud, kids!", and as soon as everyone was inside, the main hatch doors to the loading bays were closed on the sub.

Everyone rigged the ship for the dive, as they closed all the doors, bolted and sealed every opening air tight. The diving siren went off as the Ulysses' clamps were released allowing the mighty vessel to fully submerge into the water. And with a grace of that of a whale, the Ulysses sunk to the bottom of the ship and into the water, on its way to finding the Lost Empire Atlantis, along with a crew of two hundred, and a rag tag team of specialists assigned to uncover the secrets of a civilization thought myth, and unknown to the world.

Next Chapter: the Expedition Begins; Beware the Leviathan