"Hehe, my bad Clay! I was occupied thinking about my home I forgot you were a normal dude." Gura's carping voice swam around my head and when my eyes awoke, I saw a big turtle staring me right at my face. "I fused you a bit with my power. It should last for a week."
"I'm Roger. Welcome aboard the Crusty Ore, human." A big turtle was talking to me, professionally steering a car-like wheel. His voice was fettered to a low-reverb autotune sound effect. It sounded too demonic I had to stand up quickly and run to the far back of this big thing we were in. "HAHA! He's pissed his pants! Don't worry kiddo, I don't bite. Unless you force me to. We're heading to Atlantis, right?" I don't think I've ever seen a turtle sit on a chair before.
"Yep! My friends and I plan to visit family there after so long!"
"F-family? You have family over there?" Why did the turtle sound unsure?
"Yep! My dad might still be grumpy cause I haven't returned home for hundreds of years. But mom would forgive me, I think..."
Then again, we haven't explored the inner depths of the deep so what was even more strange than a turtle who could socialize?
Calli straightened my hair from behind, patting my back. "Gura can speak to marine life. We can too along with you since Gura gave you the ability to comprehend creatures of the depths."
"Huh. That's cool. I wonder how scientists would react at this discovery."
"What was your name? Gura, huh?" The turtle's could literally replicate a god's wrath. "You mean that Gura? One of our god's daughters who fled to the human world and never returned?!" Did I say something I shouldn't have? The turtle sighed. "So you are...! It seems Poseidon's kin are fortunate to live long like he did. Wait a minute. You're just a kid? How old are you and where the hell have you been all this time?!"
"My growth spurt's abnormal! Understand?! I'm actually over 9,000 years old! For your information, the outside world is fabulous!" Gura refuted.
"Is he mad or confused?" I asked Gura.
We were passing by millions of fish. I couldn't see much besides a grand blue outside. I wonder how the turtle was driving through all of this blur.
"Nah. I'm no one too important in this world. I guess you could say I'm royalty without riches." Like a light switch, Gura's features became vapid at the turtle's words. "Like he did? What do you mean? What happened to my dad?"
Everyone of us looked in worry. What a way to start the trip, I suppose.
"Didn't you know, daughter of Poseidon? Your father's been gone for a long time now."
"H-he's dead?"
"No one's blaming you, kiddo. None of us expected it too. It's just a fact. All the gods are dead and so is Atlantis. Though it would've been nice if you knew sooner than this old-timer."
"Atlantis... Dead? How...?" Gura repeated.
"Um..." Roger cleared his throat. "Atlantis is long deserted. No one lives there now except a couple of fishes."
"My kind... is gone? How? W-when?"
"I hate to break it to you, your Highness but ever since the world changed, a lot of people stopped believing in the gods."
~*~
"Atlantis was a haven for those who dwelled the depths. Now nothing's here except history," Gura stood like the last survivor of her kind, floating and looking over a dilapidated monument of former vastitude in every facet. Although, the fishes and all sorts of creatures roamed the blue crevices and spaces, there was only one thing her mind was fixated on.
The Atlantis before us was like an empty heart. A hollow husk left as remains to a modern world that embraced the skies than the bottoms. I should be fearing for my life if a barracuda could track me down. Even a sea lion displayed aggression when it saw fit.
The once humongous pillars that circled around an impenetrable continent had now eroded along with the abyss of the dark trenches. Roger made mention that sea life was incredibly extinct in the site. It was partially true considering dead air resided around the underwater habitats. A malfunctioned caisson for several centuries.
I could only lend an ear to the shark girl whose tail was wagging in excitement prior this day. Breathing without gills underneath the ocean and being here with them wasn't supposed to possible.
"Not sounding rude but you never visited them once? Even family gatherings?" Kiara raised the question. Bearing an unidentifiable amount of dislike for my parents, I would probably consider going to our gatherings if the circumstances were right. To this day, I'm not sure if they viewed things similarly like before but I was willing to face them eventually.
I'll get my crap together and see if time really did change us both for the better.
Right now, my focus was on Gura's crestfallen back as the four of us let her be at the front spectating a continent lost to time. As if the memories and my past never mattered and the most important thing to resolve was the daughter of the god of the sea.
While I was joined hand-in-hand with Calli as her trusted assistant, I couldn't help wanting to assist the others too. It might have had something to do with how close the other girls were inside one building. How does one try to comfort a person from the death of their family or the place they grew up in? The weight was immeasurable. Something that few people experience and could never share with others on a more personal level.
"Dad wasn't a quitter. Never pegged him to be the type to go away. He was stubborn but strong... That's why I'd thought things like time and the seasons didn't matter to him. He would always be here." Gura took a deep breath, not showing her face to us. "I'll tell you all eventually. Why I left and never returned but I must've overestimated him and the longevity of Atlantis. I didn't expect this. I'm sorry, you guys... This was supposed to be a happy fun time for all of us."
"You don't need to apologize to us, Gura! We all know you just wanted to spend time with us in the place you grew up in!" Kiara's energetic vibrance caused everyone to speak up. "I'm sure there were lots of things that happened. I just have to ask if that's okay but are we going to stay or go somewhere else? If we do decide to stay, we just have to enjoy the place as it is since what you had in mind was a fun time. You built up resolve to come here and try to make things better. If it's the latter, that's also acceptable. We're all okay with that, right girls?"
Everyone nodded. I was the minority so all I could do was follow the majority.
"I mean... I can't deny my intellectual capacity can't reach an average at best but if we stay here for long, who knows how bored you'll all be without the glitz and glamour Atlantis previously possessed? I just dragged you all here without seeing much if I'm being honest."
Calli stepped in, making my heart have uncontrollable rhythm at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. "You didn't drag us here though. We volunteered because we all support you- GAH!" Calli was startled as Kiara surprise-hugged her from behind. "If at any point, I have a special occasion scheduled, I'm always telling you guys to show up. Get off me Kusotori, your feathers are gonna ruin my drip."
"I'm happy so long as I'm with you guys. Detective work has never been this much fun before. I get to explore a whole lot now that I know this place carries a ton of lore." Amelia shrugged. "What do you got to say for yourself, Ina?"
"Gura doesn't need to hear me out for her to understand I'll love her no matter what."
Lightening up the mood was crucial. This could possibly affect their friendship if nothing was going to happen. Though the revelation itself was unannounced and unfortunate, we didn't come here to accept things as they were and leave.
"Since we're already here, why don't we explore the place? I'd also hate for our trip to end like this." I raised my hand up, giving Gura an ounce of encouragement that would hopefully roll out into something bigger. "We all dressed for the occasion. I do think the place still holds a lot of significance and historical meaning. We'll surely still have fun learning as we go. We might even discover what happened to your family and the bustle of the people at the time." I might've went overboard so I retract. "But of course, we won't really pry into anything you don't want us to listen to. Everyone wants to spend time with you, Gura. That's all. I share the same sentiment."
Did my words work? Just as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, so was emotion. There wasn't a clear-cut answer to Gura's current expression but she somehow didn't have sagged shoulders anymore at the news of her family. As how Calli shared her way of life and helped me gain confidence, I'd extend that same gratitude to the friends she made.
Gura was trying her best to smile and it didn't take a genius to differentiate a real and a fake one. "Aw shucks! There was this one cool bazaar that stretched longer than the Nile River! It's a shame I can't show you around what once was anymore... But thanks, you guys..."
"I swear to god if you cry, we're leaving the place. If you had the brains to make a visit years ago then-" Calli said.
"I WON'T! And I realize I am stupid so this one's on me. I should properly give my family a resting site where they'll be at peace."
Gura was back to herself.
"My family lived a long life. I'm sure their regrets and dreams were both erased and fulfilled. But I can't deny I want to see them one more time. Gods have miraculous ways to bring themselves back from the dead, after all."
"So that's why you aren't bawling..." I whispered.
"That's if they're clever enough. Alright! Let's shoo away the sadness and let this tour guide show you around Atlantis! A place that will forever be beautiful! And who knows?! You might see some things I haven't seen before!"
"Let's figure out the location of the resting site first! We have to honor your family-"
I never thought I'd see a well-carved headstone at the bottom of the ocean until today.