Atlantis Vs. Talokan

Chapter Three - The Other Side of a Warning

"This isn't some new part of your ritual, is it?"

"Nope!"

The figure - a man - continued to rise from the water, up, up, up, and they quickly realized that he wasn't walking, but flying. He had tiny wings on his ankles, fluttering to carry him to the surface. 

The two grabbed their tridents, always nearby, holding them at the ready. Perhaps this guy wasn't a threat, but he was carrying a fancy spear of his own, so they figured it was best to arm themselves.  

"Stop right there!" Aurelia ordered as the man finally lowered himself to the sand, beginning to walk. "Who are you?"

The man was completely unphased. He was dressed in varying shades of green and gold, with jewelry and a fancy chest plate. "Queen Aurelia and King Orm of Atlantis - what reason do you have to reveal your secrets to the world?"

"Hey, I'm not a woman who enjoys repeating herself. Who are you?"

"I have many names. My people call me K'uk'ulkan, but my enemies call me Namor."

"And what are we? Friend or foe?" Orm questioned. 

"That depends - thanks to the opening of your kingdom to the Surface World, an American military ship was digging around my domain, poking around too much for my liking. I was able to - stop them. But we need Atlantis's help to prevent it from happening again. You exposed the power of Atlantis to the world, and in response other nations have begun searching the planet for your kingdom and its influence. Your choice has compromised us. I think Atlantis can reverse this - it is only fair that Atlantis helps to resolve our dilemma."

"Hey, you do not get to sneak into our territory to confront us and tell us what's fair!"

The man remained strangely calm. "I have more soldiers than this land has blades of grass - I would hate to come back under different circumstances..." With that threat lingering in the air, he knelt down, placing a large shell on the sand between them, separating them.  "When you are ready to confront the Surface, and your mistake, blow into this and place it in the water. I'll be there shortly after. For your sake, do not mention anything about me to anyone outside of Atlantis." And with that, without giving them the chance to reply, and for that matter, barely to think, he dove back into the water and was gone. 

The two blinked after him, still clutching their weapons. 

"What just happened?!" Aurelia cried, breaking the shocked silence.

Orm stepped forward to retrieve the shell, the only sign that the stranger had even  been there at all.

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The date night mood was pretty killed after that. 

They hurried home, summoning their council to discuss this new development. 

Atlanna, Mera, Vulko and Aria gathered around while the king and queen explained everything this 'Namor' figure had said - and threatened. 

"And that was it?" demanded Mera. "He just left?"

"Yes," Aurelia confirmed.  "Rude!" 

"He claims to command a massive army," Orm explained. "Which he clearly is not afraid to use."

"I still cannot believe there are other underwater kingdoms outside of our own," breathed Aria. 

"Well, our planet is covered in mostly water so it's reasonable that we're not the only underwater kingdom," Aurelia said. "Perhaps it was always naïve to think we were the only one. There's been no record of this at all, any time throughout Atlantis's long-ass history?"

"Nothing. Nothing on our radar."

She wasn't yet sure if that was a good or bad thing. Maybe they'd find out. 

"I mean we just opened up to the Surface. We can't just be like, 'JK, see ya!' which is exactly what he's asking."

"Demanding," Orm reminded. 

"If we do what he asks, what is to stop him from coming back and asking for more?" Atlanna pondered. 

True. People did that all the time.

"And you're supposed to use this?" Mera asked, gesturing to the shell that sat in the centre of the table they all surrounded.

"Yeah, the old shell trick. When we're 'ready to confront the Surface, and our mistake'. It's like we have a choice, but not really cause he's expecting us to do as he demands."

"So, what do we do?" Vulko asked. 

No one had an answer to that. 

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"Aurelia, your father is summoning us to the Surface," Atlanna updated. 

She, Aurelia and Orm all left Atlantis to return to the lighthouse where Tom awaited them. 

"You have a visitor," her father explained, gesturing to the very official-looking man in the suit and tie. 

"Queen Aurelia, Queen Atlanna, King Orm, I am Special Agent Everett Ross."

"Nice to meet you." There were handshakes all around.

"Likewise."

"What can we help you with?"

"Last night there was an attack on an American military ship in the Atlantic. A scientific team was drilling in the ocean floor, were attacked, and there were no survivors. Here, I have a recording from the last broadcast from the crew, led by Dr. Graham-"

He withdrew a device, pressed a button, and a woman's voice came through.

"Where is the strike team? It wasn't the Atlanteans, they, they came from the water, they were blue - everyone is dead - AH! Shit, what is going on?!"

"We're getting pulled backwards!" said a male voice. 

Beeping and screams overlapped. 

"Oh my God-"

And then the recording abruptly ceased, cut out completely. 

Aurelia winced. "Yikes..."

Ross nodded grimly.  "Yikes is right."

She recalled Namor's words: "An American military ship was digging around my domain, poking around too much for my liking. I was able to stop them..."

Well, clearly this was what he had meant by 'stop them'. But she also recalled his words from later: "For your sake, do not mention anything about me to anyone outside of Atlantis..." That deep threat remained. 

She eyed the agent. "And you think it was us."

"That's what we believed at first, yes. Evidently Dr. Graham herself believed it too. But I assure you now we know better. We're dealing with something else, and we thought you might be able to provide some insight." 

She and Orm exchanged a glance.  "I'm afraid we can say nothing for certain," she said, which was indeed the truth.  "But I can assure you that we will help you get to the bottom of this."

"Perhaps someone is framing Atlantis, trying to make us look bad," suggested Orm. And by the sound of Namor's threats, it sounded like he was willing to do anything to protect his domain, even letting others take the fall for his actions. 

Ross nodded. "Any assistance would be appreciated, thank you."

She had had such hope for opening up to the Surface World - it would be trying, that of course she knew,  but this was turning out to be much more of a headache than she had ever wanted. 

(I'm feeling so inspired - yay! :D

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))