Atlantis

Part 9

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Kai is sitting next to Lyra at dinner while trying to know the people that Lyra came in Atlantis with. "Cookies are sweet, but yours is not. Sweet is kindly, but that is not his name. Audrey is sweet, but she is not your doctor. And the little digging animal called Mole, it your pet?"

Lyra is smiling as she nods her head. "Pretty much, yes. Can you show me-"

Kai cuts off Lyra with a laugh. "How to eat with the tools? I was wondering when you were going to ask."

Lyra playful glares at Kai but lets him help her.

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Lyra is with Kai near a lake trying to catch fireflies. Lyra manages to actually catch a bug and quickly puts it in a lamp like jar. Lyra smiles as she looks around. "I never expected to find all of this... I know that me and the crew were expecting to find was crumbing buildings, broken pottery, just a small amount of proof that Atlantis was once real, we were going to take photo's some of the artifacts back to a museum for some mon-" Lyra quickly cuts herself off by clearing her throat. "We never expected this."

Kai looks at her with a frown. "Thank you, but, while our people live our culture is dying. We are like a stone the ocean beats against. With each passing year, a little more of us is worn away."

Lyra takes a hold of his hand. "I'm so sorry that this is happening to your people... And maybe I can help? With the writing, I can read it." Lyra gives him a soft smile. "The king, he said that I could stay and the rest of the crew leaves, right? Well, I can stay and help."

Kai looks at her surprised. "Y-You want to stay here? Really?" 

Lyra smiles at him as she places her hand on his cheek, which he leans into. "I do. I want to stay here in Atlantis. I want to stay with my anwylyd." Lyra goes on her toes and gently places her lips on his. She goes back on her feet to see Kai stare at her with wide eyes that make Lyra giggle nervously. 

Kai takes a second before he places his hand on the back of her neck and leans down to touch his lips to hers once again. Lyra smiles into the kiss and puts her arms around his neck to bring him closer as she goes on her toes. 

They pull apart after some time to get some breath. They lean their foreheads together with big smiles on their faces. Kai laughs softly as he wraps his arms around her. "My anwylyd. I will care for you till the end of my days, anwylyd." 

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About a hour later Kai told Lyra about a big mural that has a lot of writing that he was hoping that she would help him with. He was telling her that it was under the water. 

Kai looks at her a little worried as he scratches the back of his neck. "Do you know how to swim?" 

Lyra smiled at him as she took off her shirt. "Yes, I do." 

Kai eyes go wide and his cheeks turn a bit pink. "I like swimming." Kai says as she takes off her pants and starts to walk into the water. Kai clears his throat before he hurries off behind her. "J-just stay close to me, it's a fair distance to where we are going."

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Lyra was able to read the writing on the mural before they went back to the surface. It was a long swim, but they got it after understanding the writing the mural. Lyra took a big breath of air when she reached the surface, she almost didn't see the crew on the land. Everyone was standing around with guns in their hand except for Milo who was tied up. 

Lyra shook her head. "No, no... Please tell me you aren't going through with this?"

Rourke leaned forward on his knees with a smirk. "But I thought this what you wanted?" He faked confusion. 

"That was before we knew their was people down here!" Lyra hit the stone next to her. She sighed before looking at the crew. "Maybe we can talk to the king. We can get you guys some stuff, just please don't hurt anyone, there are families down here, kids." 

Rourke scoffed. "You know we're after the crystal, Lyra." Rourke holds up the missing page of the journal. 

Lyra curses at herself, she forgot about that. 

Rourke frowns. "Seems like your not with us. You can join Milo, he isn't either."

That is the golden opportunity Kai decides to come out of the water. Guns are pointed at Lyra as Kai manages to throw one of the men in the water and continues to fight other guys. But it doesn't take too long before he is overpowers with men grabbing a hold of him and Lyra, pulling her out of the water, which cause him to fight harder. "Let go of her!"

Rourke looks at him and shrugs. "Too bad I don't know what your saying."

Lyra frowns. "You don't know what your messing with."

"What is there to know? It's big, it's shiny. It's going to make us all rich."

Lyra scoffs. "It's not just some diamond. It's what keeps Atlantis alive. Take the crystal away and this is all gone."

Helga takes the page as Rourke looks over his shoulder. "Well, that changes things." Rourke looks at Helga. 

Helga smiles at him. "Knowing that, I'd double the price."

"I was thinking triple."

"Rourke, don't do this." Milo now speaks up.

"Academics." Rourke scoffs as he walks away. "You never want to get your hands dirty. Think about it. If you gave back every stolen artifact from a museum, you'd be left with an empty building. We're just providing a necessary service to the archeological community."

"Not interested."

Lyra takes just a couple step closer. "But with this, taking the crystal, you will kill thousands. It would take down Atlantis, kill the people and the animals."

Rourke sighs. "I got to admit, I'm disappointed. Milo, you're an idealist, just like your grandfather. Do yourself a favor, Milo. Don't be like him. For once, do the smart thing." Rourke taps on his head. 

Milo says nothing which causes Rourke to groan. "I really hate it when negotiations go sour." He snaps his fingers and one of the men push Kai to the ground and point a gun at him. 

"Kai," Lyra gasps, she tries to walk to him but is pushed back. "Rourke let him go."

Rourke holds the page in front of Milo and Lyra. "Let's try this again."

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