'You were right.'

Mac sat back looking a little dazed. Jason offered him his tea; the older man took a long, slow gulp of the hot liquid.

'Right about what?' queried Jason.

'I don't believe you.'

Jason sighed, though it was only to be expected. Who would believe his bizarre tale of wars, romance and adventure in the mythical city of Atlantis? He was starting to doubt it himself. Only the presence of his friends around him reassured him that his story had in fact happened.

'Well, I believe it,' he said stubbornly.

'Jason, you've only been gone four hours.'

'What?' cried Jason.

'You're trying to tell me that you went to the bottom of the ocean, almost drowned, ended up in ancient times, fought Minotaurs and evil queens, and became king of Atlantis – and came back in time for tea.'

'Well, where did all these people come from then?' asked Jason, frustrated now. 'Pythagoras – the Pythagoras – Icarus – the one with the wings – they're all real!'

'That's reassuring,' said Hercules vaguely; he was still a little convinced that he was dreaming. Any moment now he would wake up and Jason would be yelling at him not to fall asleep on lookout duty.

At a cry from the deck, Mac stood. 'We're nearing the coast,' he announced. 'I'll talk to you later.'

And he left them to watch after him in disappointment and confusion.

'Nobody's going to believe my story,' said Jason quietly. 'And if we can't get back – you'll just have to act normal and modern.'

'But we are normal and modern,' protested Icarus.

Jason sighed. 'Not here, you're not.' He pointed to the boy's still-full cup of tea. 'Drink that – it'll help.'

And if it doesn't help, nothing will, he reflected, sinking back into the bewildering world of his own thoughts.

Jason stood out on deck, the wind in his hair, shivering a little for he was used to the heat of Atlantis, watching the craggy granite cliffs that formed the Cornish coastline draw ever nearer. Beside him, Ariadne, pulling her blankets tighter around herself, slipped her arm round his waist and looked out over the sea with wide eyes.

'Is this your country?' she asked. 'Is this... England?' She tried the unusual word on her tongue, pronouncing it slowly.

'It's England.' Jason paused. 'Well, England's not a country, it's part of the UK really...' He stopped himself before he confused his wife further.

'I haven't heard of it.'

'No, well, when... back in your time, in our time I mean, almost nobody lived there. Now...'

'Now what?'

'Well, it grew.'

'And what of Atlantis?'

The silence was broken only by the waves lapping calmly at the hull and by the seagulls that followed the spray from the boat. Jason bit his lip so hard that it nearly bled. 'It... Well, nobody knows, really. But many people think that it was flooded and ended up at the bottom of the ocean.'

Ariadne emitted a cry halfway between disbelief and shock. 'Flooded? Atlantis?'

'I'm sorry...'

Jason bent over to kiss his wife's forehead, but she pulled away from him, her eyes sparkling with tears. 'So... Atlantis is lost? It... it no longer exists?'

'Yes...'

She swallowed and looked back towards the ever-nearing land. 'What's England like? Is it anything like Atlantis?'

'Not really, no.' The number of things he would have to teach his friends about! The number of things that they would marvel at or be shocked by on their arrival in his country! What would become of them? Would they ever fit in?'

'We'll find a way back, I promise.'

It wasn't a promise. He had no idea how they would get back. Realistically, they would have to spend the rest of their lives in the modern day. They would miss Atlantis dearly, but...

Ariadne did not reply, and without a word she disappeared back into the cabin that housed the others.

The four of them stood around watching Mac, Jason and the rest of the crew mooring the boat and making sure she was tied securely in the harbour. Soon the job was finished and Jason went back to his friends, noticing how scared they all looked, huddling up to each other on the jetty and staring around them with wide eyes.

'Are you taking them up to the house?' asked Mac. 'Don't know if we can feed them all tea though. There wasn't much of anything left in the cupboard last time I looked. And you might have to go for some more milk.'

'Will do,' called back Jason. He turned to his friends. 'I won't bewilder you with modern shops just yet,' he said. 'Let's go to my house, see if we can find you some food and proper clothes.'

'But these are proper clothes.' They had all got back into their (admittedly slightly damp) clothing and were attracting a few curious stares from people on the quayside.

'Don't tell me we have to wear what they're wearing.' Hercules was pointing into the middle distance at a few groups of people walking along the seafront, most of whom were in jeans or shorts, and not much else in many cases.

Jason did not reply. He was too busy doubting whether any of his clothes would even fit Hercules, never mind suit him. And where would he find anything for Ariadne?

Second cups of tea were due for the entire group when they at last came up to Jason and Mac's house, which was near to the sea and adjoined a row of seaside shops. The flashing lights of a casino shocked them all and mildly fascinated Pythagoras, who wanted to know how they worked; Jason dragged him away murmuring 'Later' whilst determining not to let any of them loose in a casino. Especially not Hercules.

Pythagoras's attention was then drawn to the kettle with which Jason made the tea, whilst Icarus found himself occupied by the fridge; Hercules was inspecting the unfamiliar foods that were in the cupboards, and Ariadne contented herself with just looking around at everything.

'So much has changed,' she breathed; they all seemed to have resigned themselves to the notion that they were far in the future, and that there would be many things to get used to.

'I'm sure you'll get used to it.' Jason paused. 'Ariadne – you'll like it, I know you will. Hercules – there's a really good pub down the road. Icarus, Pythagoras – science has come so far – and – oh!'

'What?' the two scientists asked at once.

'Well... Pythagoras, I really should find you a textbook on geometry. There's a theorem that might interest you...' He suddenly laughed. How could he have forgotten how famous his friend would become? Indeed all of them – for both he and his friends were, quite literally, legendary characters.

But that was not the true matter at hand. He needed to quell their fears, to get them used to modern society – and, if possible, find a way back.