The Atlantis Expedition

Chapter Twenty-Two: Heart of Courage

Once they'd arrived at the half-finished machine, the Master Builders had sat down to figure out the instructions the sky temple had given. Emmet had Sirius' notebook and pen, scribbling out the design as it was described to try to get a better idea of what it was supposed to look like. What he ended up with looked like a gate of some kind, or a portal. The (poorly drawn, admittedly) illustration showed a platform with a number of arches over it, somewhat reminiscent of an atom.

Business was still stewing over the calibrations. "This is really bothering me," he complained. "I know this from somewhere, I'm sure of it, but why can't I think of where I know it from...?"

"Don't sweat it," Benny said as he floated up behind Business, resting his folded arms on the former President's head and peering down at the tablet, much to Business' annoyance. "I'm sure you'll figure it out when we fire the thing up."

"Get off, Benny," Business tried to shoo him away, ducking out from under the astronaut's arms and flapping a hand at him as though he was a particularly annoying fly. "And I'd rather know what we're getting into before we 'fire the thing up'. We don't know what that thing will do to Bad Cop!"

Said cop arched an eyebrow over his aviators. "Well. Nice to know that now you care." Business flinched, even though his tone wasn't at all hostile. He blinked when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's get to work finishing the machine."

"You got it!" Benny cheered. Emmet handed the notepad to Business, letting the former President supervise so he could help with the construction.

Airheart stood back, watching in fascination. "Penny for your thoughts?" Flea asked.

"It just.... Boggles my mind. They're following instructions- and letting Business take the lead. After everything he's done to us, they trust him. They're listening to him. And even Bad Cop is building, what's up with that?"

The robot shrugged. "I dunno, maybe he asked them to teach him?"

"I don't know about that. He seems too sure of himself, like he's done this a hundred times before."

"So does The Special, and he definitely wasn't a Master Builder before Takos Tuesday."

"He also worked in construction before," she reminded him.

"Oh yeah..."

Under their joint efforts, the arches were quick to take shape. Sirius stepped over to the control console, powering it up and typing in the numbers on his tablet. "So," Lucy said, stepping up to Bad Cop's side, "when were you going to tell us?"

"Tell you what?" he asked, carefully casual. She scowled.

"That you're a Master Builder."

He sighed. "You can ream me out for it later, Lucy. Now really isn't the best time- not when these pirates are watching us like vultures. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised you didn't ask me about it back at the desert temple."

"I'm well aware people are able to build without being Master Builders, Emmet's proof enough of that. But what you just did here? That's beyond the ability of any normal builder I've ever seen."

"Lucy. Later."

"I won't forget," she promised, before wandering over to see what Business was up to. "The structure's done, just waiting on you to finish now."

"I'm just about ready myself. Tell everyone to get clear, we don't want any accidents." Lucy nodded and was quick to round everyone up. When she gave him the thumbs up, he started testing the machine. It took him several tries to get any results, but once he got it started, a bright light flashed, nearly blinding everyone.