"So, the last of the old gods, Ares, is back and he's looking to finish what he started during World War One and now you and Garth's team are traveling the world looking for pieces of a magic stone that can stop him for good?" Arthur asked as he summed up everything Thea had told him.
"Ares isn't the last of the old gods. Like I told you the night we slept together, Artemis has been around even longer than him and I'm connected to her. But the rest of it is pretty accurate, though I've been the one actually retrieving the stone fragments while my team tries to find him and keep tabs on him." Thea corrected.
"Got it. But where are the other pieces?" Arthur asked.
"I gave the first piece I found to my mentor Wonder Woman, since I don't want to put the stones together until we have all three and we've found Ares." Thea said.
"And I'll fight by your side when that happens. Just because I don't care about Atlantis doesn't mean I don't have family here on the surface that I do care about." Arthur said and Thea smiled.
"I was hoping you'd say that. Just another reason to get you a very powerful trident to help." Thea said.
"Agreed. So, how does this work? You getting us to the trident?" Arthur asked as Thea placed her hand on Arthur's shoulder.
"Just hold on tight and brace yourself. This is gonna feel really weird." Thea said as she took a deep breath before her eyes glowed a brilliant lunar silver and suddenly, there was a flash of silver light and just like that, they were gone.
When the light faded, Arthur was shocked to find that they were now standing on a sandy beach on some kind of island, unlike anything he'd ever seen before.
"Where are we?" Arthur asked.
"Atlan's final resting place. Dead King's Island, located in the Hidden Sea inside the Earth's core. It's usually unreachable since the normal way to get here is a portal hidden deep in the kingdom of the trench. I'm pretty sure that Atlan caused the Trench to regress like they did specifically so that they'd guard him and the trident against anyone attempting to take it. Fortunately, being connected to a goddess allows me special perks. Including being able to bypass that kind of challenge and assuring us a way home in case for some reason you can't get that trident." Thea said.
"That's reassuring." Arthur said, right as they heard someone walk up behind them.
"I thought you said this place was inaccessible." Arthur told her.
"I thought it was. Must be a native." Thea said and Arthur nodded as they turned to see someone wearing what looked like the armor of a dead trench member approach them.
"Let's get this done quickly so we can get out of here." Arthur said and Thea nodded as they both charged at this stranger and tried to attack them, only for their opponent to quickly counter each and every one of their moves. It was like they knew them.
"You've gotten rusty Arthur." A female voice said that made Arthur freeze.
"Arthur, do you know this person?" Thea asked, seeing the look on Arthur's face.
"You said the only way people can get here normally is through a portal in the Trench kingdom right?" Arthur asked, almost allowing himself to hope.
"Yeah?" Thea asked, wondering what was happening as their opponent removed their mask to reveal a human face.
"Mom?" Arthur asked in shock and now all the pieces fell into place for Thea.
"Arthur." Queen Atlanna said with a smile as she hugged her son, who hugged her back.
"Well, this was an unexpected surprise." Thea said with a smile, since she knew what Arthur was going through, being reunited with a long lost family member.
"How?" Arthur asked, looking at his mother in shock.
"King Orvax sacrificed me to the Trench, but I survived and made my way here. But who's your friend?" Atlanna asked, since Thea didn't look Atlantean.
"Mom, this is my friend Thea Queen. Thea, my mother, Queen Atlanna of Atlantis." Arthur said.
"It's nice to meet you." Thea said as she held out her hand to Atlanna, who shook it.
"And you as well. Now can you tell me how you got here without fighting your way through the Trench?" Atlanna asked.
"Gladly." Thea said as she explained everything to her.
"You're the avatar of the old god Artemis and now you're trying to stop the god Ares from finishing what he started so long ago." Atlanna said.
"Yes and to do that we need two things. Atlan's trident and the Poseidon stone." Thea said.
"Well, I can help you with one of those." Atlanna said as she produced a stone nearly identical to the one Thea had found on Themyscira.
"How?" Thea asked.
"Atlan put it in the base of his crown and while I couldn't retrieve the trident, I did manage to retrieve this." Atlanna said as she handed the stone to Thea, who immediately felt the power of the sea inside this stone.
"Before we go any further, there's something I need to know." Atlanna said.
"Dad's still alive and he still walks to the edge of that dock every morning, every day at dawn, waiting for you to come home and now you can. After I get that trident, but it's not so I can take the throne, I still don't want anything to do with Atlantis, even knowing that you're alive. I want the trident to help protect the surface." Arthur said and both Thea and Atlanna nodded, though Atlanna was hoping that after they returned home.