Amity was trying, very hard, to contain her excitement. Hundreds of people had just died and she was, technically speaking, working alongside their murderer. She should have felt guilty about that. They had families, people who loved them, presumably. Yes, okay, they'd mostly given her the creeps and had ignored her at best and said some very misogynist things at worst, but they were still part of the crew. But it was hard to feel guilty when the sheer joy she felt at being on the way to Atlantis was threatening to overwhelm her.
It was real. The Shepherd's Journal was extremely detailed, of course, but there was always a chance it could be an extremely elaborate hoax. But Amity was walking alongside a real live basilisk! A creature straight out of mythology! What else awaited her in the lost city, she wondered? Minotaurs? Centaurs? Satyrs? Even the discovery of new sentient species was enough to make Amity famous for the rest of time, let alone what awaited her when they reached the city. Those dumb regents would regret not taking her seriously until their dying day. Amity would be able to write her own ticket. Heck, one day she may even become a regent.
The sound of a cleared throat interrupted her reverie. Odalia walked over to the other side of Vee, a gentle, affable smile on her face. Given that Odalia's previous expressions had mostly consisted of anger, hatred, and unsettling glee, Amity found herself quite alarmed by this unexpected turn of events. "Your Highness, I do apologize for that little misunderstanding we had back there," Odalia simpered.
"You mean where you tried to kill me?" Vee said flatly.
Odalia's smile turned a bit more fixed. "Well, that's in the past. And I believe we have paid the price for it." Vee winced sharply. "I assure you, we want nothing more but peace between our peoples."
"Okay," Vee said uncertainly. "I guess I accept your apology?"
"Splendid," Odalia purred and walked away, a much more predatory smile on her face than before. Amity was honestly slightly relieved. Things were back to normal. "All right, maggots!" she screamed at her remaining crew. "Set up the convoy! We will steamroll every single obstacle in our path! ALL SHALL FALL TO OUR WEAPONS!" She laughed even more maniacally than average, presumably to make up for her previous forced bout of sanity.
Amity couldn't help but smirk at the awe in Vee's eyes as they set up the convoy. Thankfully, they'd been able to get most everything out of the Owl House before it exploded, which included a substantial set of trucks. Aunt Eda made sure Vee and Amity were on a truck very far away from Odalia after Amity's repeated begging and pleading. Amity had no clue why Aunt Eda didn't seem to realize Odalia was beyond bad news, as was obvious to anyone with functioning eyes, but Aunt Eda seemed completely oblivious to Odalia's psychopathic nature and was certain she'd remain completely normal.
"So what's it like?" Amity whispered, her voice reverent as the convoy slowly made its way down the highway. "Atlantis? What's it like?"
"Dull," Vee complained. Amity just stared at her. Did she not have full possession of her faculties? How could the most famous city in all of history not be anything other than utterly fascinating? "Nothing interesting has happened there for thousands of years…not since my papi disappeared."
Was she just making fun of them now? "Your papi disappeared thousands of years ago," she said flatly.
"Oh, right, I forgot," Vee said. "Humans age still. Well, we don't. Not since the sinking. Not since we lost our magic. Amity, are you okay? You're making a really strange sound."
Amity belatedly realized a continuous squeak of excitement was emanating from her mouth and quickly closed it. There was so much to unpack there! Immortality or at least agelessness! Nonhumans! Magic! Okay, sure, there wasn't any magic anymore, but if it went away, it could come back! What she wouldn't have given to have Mom around to hear this.
"THIS IS SO EXCITING!" Amity said, bouncing up and down in her seat. "Oh, wow, we could revolutionize human existence forever with the things we find there." She frowned as she suddenly realized how that sounded. "I mean, you know, if you're interested in sharing. We aren't going to force you."
"Well, us personally won't," Aunt Eda clarified. "Can't make any promises for people who come after us."
Amity looked over at Aunt Eda, her eyes shining brightly, as something important occurred to her. "Maybe they have a cure for your illness!"
Aunt Eda clenched her fists. "Don't…don't do that, Amity. I don't need a cure. I'm fine."
"Dying is not fine!" Amity shouted so loud that the convoy briefly came to a screeching halt, then started up again once everyone had shrugged it off. "Please, Aunt Eda. It wouldn't hurt to ask."
"I've had enough of my life wasted with false hope," Aunt Eda said roughly. "I don't know how much more I can take."
"I don't even know if we can help you," Vee admitted. "Our culture is being constantly stifled. We've lost so much. Mami wants to keep everyone safe, but she's taking things too far. We've survived very well. Living…well, that's another story."
Amity sighed. It sounded a lot like Mom had been when she was younger, at least according to the stories she'd heard. No doubt as a result of her time in Wittebane's cult. It wasn't until Mom met Amity's father Steve that she was inspired to change and embrace her wild side. Perhaps Amity could bring some of that patented Clawthorne charm and convince Queen Camila to change her mind.
The journey to Atlantis was slow going, with lots of roadblocks and obstacles in their way. Hunter had to blow things up on a regular basis. The look in his eyes as he watched things exploding made Amity very nervous, but Hunter, despite his pyromania, seemed to be an okay person. Certainly Willow seemed to like him, and Amity found Willow to be extremely pleasant company. She could honestly see their friendship continuing once the expedition was over.
"You know, there's nothing like fire," Hunter said, after he'd blown up a huge pillar to create a bridge for them to cross a passage. Amity had cried for ten minutes straight after he'd decided he had to destroy it. The fact he was right was not much of a consolation. "Fire cleanses. It does not lie. There is no artifice to it. It doesn't tell you that God has big plans for you, and then try to kill you and not even love you! And hurt you and leave you literal and figurative scars and –"
Willow put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Sweetie, it's okay. Just let it all out."
Hunter proceeded to cry onto Willow's chest for a full four minutes. No one seemed to know how to react. Even Odalia seemed nonplussed. "I know. He's gone. He can't hurt me anymore. Nothing can hurt me anymore," he said, a steely glint appearing in his eyes. "Not when I have the power of nitroglycerin and my wife on my side!"
"Are all humans as strange as he is?" Vee wondered.
"No, he…he's definitely unique," Amity admitted.
But even Hunter's explosives weren't enough to remove every obstacle in their path. Eventually, they reached obstacles for which the explosives were simply insufficient. At that point, it came time to dig.
"YES!" King screamed as he operated the digging machine, which he was certainly too young to operate in Amity's opinion. "Finally, I'm in my element! The entire world will tremble before me! Digging is power! And unlimited digging means UNLIMITED POWER!"
"Aw, isn't he cute," Aunt Eda said with a fond smile. "Look at the little rascal!"
"I WILL BRING ALL DIRT TO ITS KNEES!"
Aunt Eda wiped a tear from her eyes. "Couldn't be prouder of him if he was my own flesh and blood."
"Well, he's not!" Hooty said possessively. "Get your own adorable little ragamuffin!"
It felt like an eternity before they finally made camp. There was a glowing hive above them, which Amity honestly thought was really going to make it impossible for them to get any sleep, but Aunt Eda was too tired (probably in too much pain, though good luck getting her to admit it) to go any further. In any case, with the lost city so close, getting sleep probably wouldn't have been possible for Amity anyway.
"Don't worry, Vee," Hooty said as he served them the same formless and delicious slop he'd served them aboard the Owl House. "I made sure to pack basilisk friendly food before we left, just in case we'd run into one down here!"
They all stared at him. "Okay, that's weird, even for you," Gus pointed out. Hooty merely gave a huge grin that seemed to be too wide to fit on a normal human face. Not that Amity was convinced at this point Hooty was anything close to a normal human.
Amity ended up eating just with Vee. The rest of the crew made her uncomfortable or she just didn't know them that well. She would have eaten with her aunt, but Eda was spending time with Raine, and it was pretty obvious the two of them felt the same way about each other as they used to. Anyone with eyes could see it. Amity didn't want to interrupt the two of them.
"Vee, do you have any idea what the power source of the Atlantean Empire is?" Amity wondered. "It's just, the Journal should explain it, but the pages have been removed."
"I don't think Mami would want me saying anything," Vee said, shifting uncomfortably. "And in any case, I've only heard rumors. No one really knows the truth."
Amity sighed, but in truth, that was probably the best answer she was going to get from the basilisk. It was probably more than she deserved, actually. She'd just asked someone she'd just met to divulge highly important state secrets, probably the most important one in existence. Naturally, Vee wasn't going to say a word to a near total stranger.
"So does anyone want to talk about themselves?" Vee asked in a clear effort to change the subject.
"Well, I'm Gus!" Gus said with a wave. "I've spent my whole life training to be a doctor and I love it. That feeling of accomplishment when I make someone better, there's no feeling in the world like it. I've saved lives, and I honestly feel so honored to be here."
"I wish I could save lives," Vee said bitterly under her breath.
Hooty waved his hands in the air madly. "Oh, I'd love to talk about myself! Before the universe began –"
"That sounds like way too long a story," Willow said quickly. "My story, well, it didn't start very interesting. My dads were always pushing me to find a good spouse, but I wanted to explore the world, have an interesting job, be free. It wasn't until I met Hunter that I realized I could have all of it. He encouraged me to study engineering and botany. Most people said I could only do one. But most people never had someone like my husband on their side."
Hunter stared at the wall as if it held all the secrets of the universe. "I was the personal protegee of Philip Wittebane." Everyone but Vee gave a gasp. Even Odalia looked stunned. "He told me he was my uncle. I still don't know if that's true. I don't remember my parents. As long as I can remember, there's just been me and him."
"Hunter, you don't have to tell us anything more," Aunt Eda assured him. "I wouldn't have hired you if I didn't trust you completely. You don't owe us squat."
Hunter clenched his fists. "No. No, I want to say this. Philip is a monster. He is a fanatic, bent on destroying America by any means at his disposal. He isn't going to stop there, either. He won't stop until the entire world is part of the British Empire. And even then, he'd probably just figure out space travel and try to colonize the rest of the universe. I have personally seen him kill hundreds of people, including dozens of children."
"You're speaking of him in the present tense," Gus pointed out. "Isn't he dead?"
"He might be," Hunter said. "I blew up his entire camp with him inside. And no one's heard from him since. But I've seen him survive a gunshot wound to the head. I wouldn't put it past him to still be alive, waiting to take his revenge."
Amity shuddered at the very thought. And then another very unwelcome thought entered her head: what if the so-called robbery that had killed Mom hadn't been a mere robbery after all? What if it had been Wittebane or one of his disciples out to punish her for leaving the cult?
"He killed a child right in front of me," Hunter said, his eyes distant. "His name was Jack, but I called him Flapjack because he loved flapjacks. He just…killed him. Like he was nothing. And I snapped. I'd been steadily growing disillusioned, but this was the last straw." He suddenly stiffened. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."
No one seemed to know what to say. The sheer weight of Hunter's story seemed to have sapped all the joy out of the room. Lightening the mood seemed inappropriate somehow now. "Well, I know we've had a bumpy road to get here…" Amity began.
"I'll have you know my digging tactics are as smooth as glass!" King shouted.
"No, I meant that metaphorically," Amity said. King looked bewildered. "It's been difficult for all of us. But it's all going to be worth it. Once we reached Atlantis, we're going to help them and they're going to help us. I know it'll all work out in the end."
"I wish I was as confident," Vee said softly.
Aunt Eda suddenly clapped her hands. "All right, enough chatter. Let's try to get some sleep!" She looked over at the glowing hive above them with a frown. "Well, as much as we can, anyway."
A horrible sound like nails rubbing down a chalkboard suddenly erupted from nearby, making Amity jump. She soon realized it was Hooty snoring. He had somehow managed to fall asleep instantaneously, as if he was flipping a switch, without even bothering to lie down first. Amity was torn between wanting to ask Aunt Eda where the hell they'd found him and the larger, more sensible part of her that knew asking that question was an extraordinarily bad idea.
Amity tried her best to get some sleep, but between the glowing hive above them and Hooty's eldritch snoring, it continued to elude her, and eventually, she just decided to stop bother trying. At some point in the night, she decided to take a walk and find someplace to sleep that was away from the noise and the light. Unfortunately, she ended up shining her flashlight at the glowing hive and what looked like fireflies emerged from it.
Amity watched as the fireflies made their way to the camp. She was just about to lie down and try to sleep where she stood when she saw the tents instantly catch fire when they came in contact with it.
"FIRE!" Amity screamed, waving her arms around wildly as she ran towards the camp.
"Yes, it's awesome!" Hunter said, and then he blinked as he saw the fiery tents. "Oh, crap."
The screams of agony from some of the hapless mercenaries awoke most of the group, except for King, strangely enough. Though Amity supposed having Hooty as a father probably meant he could sleep through a volcanic eruption. Everyone ran to the trucks, leaving the flaming tents behind. "I'm not getting paid enough for this," Raine complained as they started speeding away from the camp.
One of the trucks exploded, blasting a hole in the bridge they were crossing. Amity couldn't help but note that Odalia seemed completely unconcerned that yet another one of her troops had perished violently. And who brought so many mercenaries to an archeological dig anyway? But there were bigger problems than Odalia's total lack of ethics to worry about. Like the fact that the bridge was collapsing. Or the fact that the various trucks were falling off the bridge to the ground below. Amity fell out of the truck and landed on her head and everything went dark.
When she awoke, there was a woman wearing full warrior regalia, complete with a face concealing mask, standing in front of her. "Hold still," the woman said. "You're hurt. Is Vee with you?"
"She was…" Amity muttered. She looked down and let out a shriek of horror as she saw a stone fragment jutting out of her chest.
"Relax," the woman said softly. She had such a beautiful voice. "You're gonna be okay. I'm going to use Titan's Blood to heal you." Without even pausing to warn Amity, the woman pulled the stone straight out of Amity's chest. Amity screamed in agony. The woman quickly pulled out a flask and spilled a few drops of a purple liquid onto Amity's chest. Before her very eyes, the wound closed and healed. Less than a minute later, one couldn't even tell Amity had ever been impaled.
The woman stood up. "I'm Luz Noceda," she announced. "Crown princess of Atlantis. And if I'm right, you're exactly the person we've been waiting for." And then she took off her mask, revealing the face of the most beautiful woman Amity had ever seen in her entire life. She looked entirely human except for her pointed ears and golden eyes. Forget about launching a thousand ships. If it had been Luz instead of Helen sparking the Trojan War, she would have launched ten thousand.
"Wow," was the only word that came out of Amity's mouth. She cleared her throat. "Uh, hi. I'm Amity Blight. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you, Amity Blight," Luz said and then, before Amity could stop her, she planted a kiss right on Amity's cheek.
Amity was a professional. As such, it was incumbent upon her to show professionalism. It would not do to melt into a puddle of affection when getting a kiss from a pretty girl. But damn it, Luz was so beautiful it was hard not to do just that. "Uh, was that a traditional Atlantean greeting?"
"For people we think are cute, it sure is!" Luz said with a wink.
"Wow," Amity repeated, unable to keep a dopy grin off her face. Best. Expedition. EVER.