Madeleine's POV

Milo and I accomplished a linguist's ultimate dream by discovering the lost city of Atlantis.

The city was alive and thriving. The breathtaking waterfall view which was enveloped by shrouds of mist left everyone in a tranced silence.
The scenery was so perfect that it didn't feel real. Milo squeezed my hand and I smiled.

For years, we had been scrutinized by the museum. The Smithsonians laughed at us. Now, we were the ones to have the last laugh.

"Sweet mother of Jefferson Davis!" Cookie exclaimed.

"It's beautiful," Audrey breathed out in awe.

"Milo, I gotta hand it to you. You really came through," Sweet placed his hand on my brother's shoulder. From above, the expedition crew were then suddenly ambushed by the hunting party from earlier. The masked people pointed their curved spears at the group in warrior-style positions.

"Uh, I take that back," said Sweet. "Holy cats! Who are these guys?" Rourke reached for his gun and so did Helga.

"They gotta be Atlanteans," Milo beamed. "What? That's impossible," Helga hissed, frowning at Milo.

"I seen this back in the Dakota. They can smell fear just by looking at ya, so keep quiet," Cookie whispered, holding his index finger to his lips.

The chief of the masked people spoke Atlantean pointing at the group, prompting Mole to tug on Milo's arm.

"I think it's talking to you and Mads," the geologist whispered. As the only explorer to understand, Milo stepped forward and conversed with her to the best of his knowledge.

He didn't speak as fluently but it was good enough for the chief to understand his communication.

The chief removed the mask, revealing herself to be the beautiful woman with snow white hair and blue eyes. My cheeks felt hot. "Parlez-vous francais?" I stepped in while curtsying. "Oui mademoiselle!" the woman replied.

"They speak my language!"
Mole became excited and approached her. "Pardon, mademoiselle," Mole motioned to her with his finger and the woman crouched down closer to his height with a polite smile. "Ah, voulez-vous..." he whispered what one could assume was inappropriate into the woman's ear.

She gave a disgusted look before punching Mole in the face which sent him flying to the grassy ground. Ooh, I like her," Dr Sweet applauded with a  grin. "Hmm! 'Bout time someone hit him," Audrey commented, "I'm just sorry it wasn't me. "

The fellow Atlanteans removed their masks, welcoming the explorers with kindness in different languages as the two groups mingled together curiously.

"How do they know all these languages?" Audrey asked, discreetly noticing that all of the Atlanteans were barefoot.

"Their language must be based on a root dialect. It's just like the Tower of Babel," Milo tapped his finger against his chin.

Rourke approached him from behind and placed a hand on the linguist's shoulder. "Well, maybe English is in there somewhere," said the leader before shoving Milo aside.

"We are explorers from the surface world. We come in peace," Rourke stated with confidence. Milo glared at him from the side.

"Welcome to the city of Atlantis," the woman addressed warmly, gesturing proudly towards her home in the distance, "Come, you must speak with my father now," she grabbed onto me Milo and I's arms and pulled us along.

"Squad B, head back to the shaft and salvage what you can," Rourke ordered.

"Yes Sir!"

"We'll rendezvous in 24 hours," the leader commanded.

"Let's move it. You heard him."

Rourke's soldiers left and the main crew hopped into their trucks, crossing the bridge to the city to crossing the bridge to the city to follow the Atlanteans who were walking.

Milo rode with Rourke and Helga whilst Vinny was stuck with Mole. From way back, Cookie could be heard singing to Packard who was complaining about his awful voice. Her usual trail of cigarette smoke wafted from the wagon.

Sweet was given the duty of driving Audrey and I over the rickety wooden bridge. The hot molten lava below made me feel queasy. "I can't believe we finally made it," I said, looking straight ahead to avoid looking down. "Me too. I'm ready for some real food," Sweet rubbed the wheel gleefully.

"We know. I can hear your stomach from back here," Audrey mocked which made the others laugh.

Third Person POV

"I'm so excited," Mole clapped with a sinister giggle which made poor Vinny shift aside uncomfortably.

In Rourke's car, Milo couldn't contain his excitement. "Now what's really amazing is that if you deconstructed Latin, you overlaid it with a little Sumerian, throw in a dash of Thessalonian," the linguist tapped his pencil against the journal, "you'd be getting close to their basic grammatical structure.
Or, at least you'd be in the same ballpark..."

"Someone's having a good time,"
Helga commented to Rourke.

"Like a kid at Christmas," Rourke rested his fingers against his temple in a bored manner. Their lack of enthusiasm did not stop Milo from chatting away. He was so wrapped up in the thrill of it all, he didn't even realize that the two in charge weren't listening.

"Commander, there were not supposed to be people down here.
This changes everything," Helga lowered her voice. "This changes nothing," scowled Rourke. "Take that, Mr Harcourt!" Milo bubbled until the scenery silenced him and he hung his body out of the truck in
awe.

The expedition crew were led up a mountainous hilltop to the most majestic castle.

The only explorers to pass through the royal guards and meet the king were Rourke, Helga, Milo, and Madeleine while the others waited outside.

Madeleine's POV

Inside, the king's chamber was just as magnificent as outside. A lavender tapestry hung from the ceiling, reaching from pillar to pillar that had vines crawling up the exterior.

The water-based stone floor was covered with vibrant green moss and blooming pink flowers.
Multicoloured birds flew over the king's throne leisurely. The most eye-catching attraction was the enormous (yet broken) statue that was positioned behind the royal himself.

We passed over the stepping stones towards the king. The royal was seated comfortably in his nook which was sheltered by fabric that had been crafted with Atlantean symbols. The king had a cushion for his feet and a fruit table reserved only for him.

Unveiling herself to be the princess, the woman kneeled down in front of her father out of respect, greeting him in Atlantean. Rourke and Helga stood watching from behind while Milo and I copied the princess and kneeled with our palms pressed firmly together.

"You know the law, Kida. No
outsiders may see the city and live."

"Father, these people may be able to help us."

Pulling out a spare book from his satchel, Milo began to jot down their conversation to be able to understand. I stood on my tiptoes to look. After all, we had only ever read Atlantean, not heard it.

"We do not need their help."

"But Father...."

"That is enough. We will discuss this later."

Milo closed his book and put it away, his eyes did not leave the royals once. "Your Majesty?" Rourke called out, prompting the princess turn and look at him, "on behalf of my crew, may I say it is an honour to be welcomed to your city," the leader bowed and stepped forward.

"Uh, excuse me? Commander?" I whispered but I was ignored.

"You presume much to think you are welcome here," the king replied. "Oh, Sir. We have come a long way looking for..." Rourke began. "I know what you seek," The king interrupted, "and you will not find it here. Your journey has been in vain," the king scolded unimpressed.

"But we are peaceful explorers, men of science," insisted Rourke. The king chuckled grimly, spotting the leader's gun. "And yet you bring weapons."

"Our weapons allow us to remove obstacles we may encounter," was the most mannerly way for Rourke to explain himself.

"Some obstacles cannot be removed with a mere show of force. Return to your people. You must leave Atlantis at once," the king rose to his feet holding his sacred scepter.

"Oh Your Majesty, be reasonable,"
Rourke almost laughed.

"Sir.." Milo chimed in. "Not now son," Rourke glanced at Milo. "Trust us on this. We better do as he says," I told him.

Rourke tapped his fingers together.
"May I respectfully request that we stay one night, Sir? That would give us time to rest, resupply and be ready to travel by morning."

"Hmm. Very well. One night, that is
all."

"Well, thank you, Your Majesty."

The princess rose to her feet and watched the explorers leave with a heavy sigh. Milo looked back over his shoulder at her dismally before the guards closed the stone gates shut, separating the two social classes.

We rejoined the group outside. "So how'd it go?" Dr Sweet asked us. "Well, the king and his daughter don't exactly see eye to eye. She seems to like us okay but the king..I don't know I think he's hiding something," Milo rubbed his neck.

"Well if he's hiding something, I want to know what it is," Rourke crossed his arms.

"That shouldn't be a problem. We have a lot of time to figure this wonderful city out," Audrey said.

"Actually, we only have one night.
We're due to leave by morning on the king's orders," Helga corrected her. The crew was not pleased by the news.

"So in simple terms, we came all this way for nothing?" Sweet raised his eyebrow. Helga went quiet for a moment and then planted her hands on her hips. "No, not for nothing. Someone needs to talk to that girl," she suggested.

"I will go!" Mole jumped up rather eagerly.

"Someone with good people skills," said Vinny, tapping his cheek.

"I will do it!" Mole exclaimed.

"Someone who won't scare her away," said Sweet, resting his index finger and thumb against his chin.

"I volunteer!" Mole jumped.

"Someone who doesn't give up easily." My eyes glinted in the light.

"It is me!" Mole cheered.

"Someone who can speak the language," Mrs. Packard said, flicking her cigarette ash away.

"For the good of the mission, I will
go!"

"Good man Thatch. Thanks for volunteering," Rourke patted Milo's shoulder. Milo was busy reading the Shepherd's Journal with his pencil pinned between his teeth. When he realised what was declared, he lifted his head in surprise and Mole burst into tears like a child.

"Go get 'em, tiger," Audrey nudged
Milo's arm with a smirk.

I was about to leave with the others to settle down but Milo stopped her. "I could use a partner," he said coyly. "Well," I pretended to think for a moment, "I suppose we make a pretty good team," I smiled. "I'll be your right hand woman!" I smiled while giving a mock salute.

Milo smiled back. "Do you really think we'll be able to convince her to let us stay?"

"If we're extra polite, then I don't see why not. After all, you said she seems to have taken a liking to us, right?"

"Right. There's so much civilization to explore here that we couldn't say goodbye just yet."

"That's the attitude we need!"

We shook hands before I followed him to hide behind a pillar as we waited for the Atlantean Princess.