A Meeting In Atlantis

A Meeting In Atlantis
Date of Scene:	23 October 2012
Location:	Atlantis
Synopsis:	Even bad luck can be good sometimes. Mercade is swept out to sea during a discount scuba diving lesson, and ends up in the lost city of Atlantis, where he meets with a mousy King! Looks like there's more out there than he thought...
Cast of Characters:	Mercade Alexander, King Mickey

---

King Mickey has posed:
Ancient Atlantis has seen better days. Even before the more recent terrors of the Heartless, the city was starting to show its age. Time wears away all things, and even these beautiful underwater structures are no exception to that rule.

King Mickey has obtained a large helmet which, though it squashes down his ears, does grant him the ability to breathe underwater, which, really, is quite helpful down here. Navigating the underwater city is still something of a challenge, but it is important that he does this work; Atlantis has remained isolated for centuries! If the touch of the Heartless can be found even here...

But what is most peculiar is how the new and the very old, the inhabitated and the long abandoned, exist side by side. Never an unsociable mouse, Mickey has attracted a small crowd outside one of the crumbling ruins. He hadn't realized that it actually had people living in it! And, after apologizing profusely for butting his head into their home, there's now quite a lively discussion going on in what passes for the city's streets. "You really should be careful, outsider!" Proclaims a burly Atlantian, "The ruins can be dangerous, they aren't all safe, especially for the unwary!"

Mickey seems more embarrassed than anything else, rubbing at the back of his helmet. "Well, gee, I sure didn't mean to cause any trouble." He says, which, has to be at least the /third/ time he's expressed such sentiment. "I was just, you know, looking around. It's such a lovely place you have here!"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
This is about when a sudden undertow causes a blur of brown to whip by. "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-"

He is sent flying past the building, carried along by the powerful current.

"hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-"

And then around a building and back, Desperately, the brown blur catches upon a outcropping, hanging there until the current finally subsides... Where he leaps out of the water and pulls himself into the massive air pocket that is Atlantis, moments before a shark erupts out of the water, biting at him and missing as he tumbles away. "WAGH! BAD SHARK! BAD! NO BISCUIT!"

Gingerly, having just escaped watery DOOOOOOOM (the os are for extra doom), the man in the brown leather trenchcoat drops to the ground and picks his way through the overgrown, ruined street to approach the natives and other guy in a helmet. "Well, that's the last time I take the discount scuba diving class." he comments to himself ruefully as he draws near. "Uhhh..." He says, relexively scratching the back of the helmet where he would normally be scratching hair. He pops the front of the helmet open so he doesn't sound like a tinny robot. "Hello everyone! How's it going? Don't worry, everything is just fine. Anyone happen to know where 'here' is? I'm surprised to see the crowd thing going on here, this doesn't strike me as a tourist attraction."

King Mickey has posed:
The gathered Atlantians are, to put it mildly, not used to visitors. Two in one day is practically unheard of! The large man that Mickey had been talking to rolls his eyes, and snorts, waving his hand dismissively. "Tourists." He says, before ducking back into his home. Apparently, he's taken Mercade's skepticism to mean... that that's what's going on? Who knows.

Mickey takes the sudden shark attack in stride. It is one of those things that happens when you are underwater. At least it didn't try to chase Mercade up a volcano or something, that would be ridiculous!

"Hi there!" The mouse proclaims, wandering over to detach himself from the locals, and meet his fellow traveller. He's, quietly grateful for the distraction. "You've found the ancient city of Atlantis! And it looks like you've made a new friend, too, ha ha!" This, directed to the shark which, half-in and half-out of the air pocket mostly looks confused and is flopping. His voice, of course, does sound a little tinny. But given how high pitched it normally is, whether this makes any difference whatsoever is entirey up for debate.

"Lucky for you, huh? The name's Mickey. Pleased to meetcha!" And he sticks out a hand. Friendly little guy that he is.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade whistles. Friendly folks! He is greeted by an anthropomorphic mouse. This causes Mercade to blink for a moment, looking over the features of the friendly traveller. Thankfully, he's met ducks and Gargoyles and other stuff already, so this isn't much of a mental shift. He smiles, giving Mickey a friendly handshake. "Hi there! I'm Mercade Alexander, Detective with the Twilight Detective Agency of Manhattan." He flicks a hand and pulls out a card from a waterproof case (you'd be surprised how often it comes in handy) to offer to the Mouse. "So this is Atlantis? Seriously?"

Mercade looks around, taking in the sights. "Well, I'm no archaeologist, but that's a hell of a find. I wonder how it got here of all places?"

The mention of a friend causes Mercade to look over to the flopping shark. He sighs. "Yeah, a new friend. He's a bit peckish though. He looks like he could use a hand." He looks around, and picks up a long piece of wood that probably washed up as flotsam, and he tries to lever the shark back into the water. "Nice meeting you, man, but we'll have to have lunch some other day, all right?" He looks back over to Mickey. "So, what are you doing down here, if you don't mind me asking?"

King Mickey has posed:
"Manhattan. Wow! That IS a long way away."

Mickey takes the card, and pops it back in his pocket. It is, naturally, entirely immune to water when it is part of his inventory.

He would help Mercade with the shark but... it seems like the detective has matters pretty well in hand. Shoving the shark back into the water is probably about as good as things can get, and if it has any sense at all, it'll take the opportunity to get well away from this weird little bubble of not-sea before it winds up getting itself in real trouble.

Now, Mickey is always hesitant about talking openly with others - after all, if he tells them something they don't already know, they might get the wrong idea, and go rushing off to get themselves in trouble. BUT. He has just watched Mercade outswim a shark, and the detective is now trying to deal with it with a length of old wood. As far as introductions go, this is pretty high up there on the 'I am a capable guy' scale. So, he shrugs his shoulders.

"I'm trying to get to the bottom of the Darkness!" He announces with characteristic good cheer. "You have to have noticed that everything's gotten all mixed up lately, and by golly, I'm going to do my part to set things right." It, can certainly be odd to hear such stalwart determination in the squeaky voice of someone who is, with the best will in the world, not even three feet tall.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade is very good at /looking/ capable. He usually manages to fool the people around him into that fact. Of course, he might actually be pretty good at what he does, but who knows? Self-perception is a weird thing sometimes.

As the Shark is dealt with in the most humane manner possible (It /did/ only want lunch, after all, even if its preference was a hapless detective), Mercade rejoins speaking with Mickey.

And when Mickey tells his story, Mercade blinks and takes a step back. He unseals and pulls off the bubble-helmet from his head, revealing his mussed hair and his surprised, hawkish expression. "You're going after the Darkness? So am I." He rubs his chin. Mercade doesn't discriminate against short people.

He's seen Yoda, man. Also, he hangs out with a Hobo Lad.

"Most of my world... It doesn't exist anymore. We've been under attack by these creatures from that Darkness, called the Heartless for some time. I've been trying to find out why, along with some friends of mine." He looks back out over the ruins. "So you think there might be some clues here?"

King Mickey has posed:
Mickey is difficult to read. Not because he's a seasoned liar or because he hides under layers of guile, but because of the exact opposite. There isn't an ounce of misdirection in him. Bright, cheerful features speak of a genuinely good heart. He /never/ misleads people. At worst... he might just, not, mention something. But that isn't the same as lying. The openness in his expression is just one of the reasons why people tend to trust him.

The other is that it is naturally difficult to remain suspicious of such a small person.

"I'm sorry to hear about your world." The King says, and it is with a ring of genuine truth. In fact, now, he removes his helmet. Big ears spring out to either side, and he shakes his head as he gets comfortable with it. It makes it easier to look the detective in the eye. He's not laying down all his cards on the table just yet, but he's happy to open up a little.

"I thought there might be a hint about where the Darkness came from in these ruins." He says, "We don't know where they attacked first, or when. If we can find that out, we might be able to find out where they are coming from. And if we can learn that...!"

One gloved hand smacks into the palm of the other, and his expression turns very serious. "We can take the fight to the Heartless, and put a stop to the Darkness once and for all!"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mickey's enthusiasm is infectious, especially for someone like Mercade. He smiles at the declarations. "Don't be sorry, Mickey. There's nothing you could have done about it." Or could he? Mercade doesn't know this guy... But he's so.... guileless. It really makes it hard to think he's could be responsible for anything like this.

"They're still out there. They all are. I know it. All we have to do is stop the Heartless, and keep up hope."

He nods, working his way through Mickey's plan. "It makes a lot of sense. I've been spending a lot of time on just trying to figure out what the Heartless /were/, and trying to find out what can stop them."

He gestures to the ruins. "Do you know of any specific places we could look to get that information here? I mean, this place is big. It could take a while."

King Mickey has posed:
Mickey takes a deep breath, and raises one finger. What's the rest of his brilliant plan? Well, surely he must have one, right? This place IS very large, there has to be some sort of plan of action in trying to get to the bottom of it!

"... Nope!"

He exhales, and even his ears droop as he admits that, actually, uh, he'd just been planning to wander around and see if he could find what he was looking for through blind chance. Mickey has a lot of very good qualities. But a professional detective, he ain't.

"I've been going around all sorts of places, but, I don't know where in Atlantis we should start. And nobody else seems to know, either! Its almost like they don't even know their way around their own homes."

That, is given as a conspiratorial whisper. Mostly because he isn't quite oblivious enough to be that rude about his hosts, even if he's pretty sure what he says is entirely accurate.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"That's okay. I've been doing a lot of that too." Mercade sighs. "Since we suddenly have access to all of these worlds, I've been working on mapping ways to get between them. It might be important later." He looks at the locals, and rubs his chin. "I see. Well, we can always explore a bit and talk as we go." He gestures. "Come on. If nothing else we'll get more done than just standing around." Or get eaten by horrible monsters, but hey, that's the risk you take.

As Mercade begins picking his way over the nearest ruins, looking for anything promising, he speaks. "So I've found out a few things about the Heartless so far. Apparently there's some people they're looking for in particular, but I don't know exactly who. I've seen one of them that they appear to be intent on capturing, but she got away before I could talk to her. The Heartless are also seeming to look for the pieces of the lost worlds, probably to devour them as well and completely eliminate the world." He pulls out a camera and takes pictures as they go.

"I've also heard of a thing called a 'Keyblade' that can apparently lock or unlock anything. The Heartless seem to fear it for some reason."

King Mickey has posed:
Mickey follows, and he keeps his eyes out, too. The mouse is a good listener; with ears like his, that shouldn't be any surprise. He might actually be paying more attention to Mercade than their surroundings, because it certainly sounds like the detective has had some very successful adventures. The fact that the Heartless are after particular individuals... well... that opens up all sorts of possibilities. Aside from anything else, it implies that someone is controlling them.

"A Keyblade is something that the Heartless can't stand." Mickey says, "It destroys them easier than any other weapon can. So, they fear it, but, they also try to hunt down people who have them."

The King pauses before an ancient statue - crumbled almost to nothing, it depicts an old man. He could swear he almost looks familiar, but... well, Mickey's never had a very good time with faces.

"What did the girl they were after look like?" He asks, "If the Heartless are singling people out... then we ought to try and keep them safe!" Heck, as far as Mickey is concerned, they ought to try and keep /everyone/ safe. But those people are probably in more direct danger. Keyblade wielders can usually look after themselves, but if Mercade didn't learn about the effects a Keyblade has on the Heartless, that girl probably didn't have one...

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"They hunt someone who uses a Keyblade? Makes sens, I guess. IF they can take out someone who uses a Keyblade, it's one less major threat to them. I've been trying to do research on it, but it's been difficult. Most people haven't heard of them, and those who have generally don't say much. I saw someone with a Keyblade once, but I couldn't convince him to help me."

Mercade straightens, and pulls out a picture from his coat. It's from the Olympus Coliseum in Traverse Town, depicting a woman of Arabian descent who is dressed in brown peasant robes. She's hiding part of her face and leaving with a man with a strange weapon. "This is she. The Heartless attacked the place in broad daylight in order to try to capture this woman. They were stopped, but she ran off with that man, possibly some kind of bodyguard."

He looks up and snaps a picture of the statue, looking it over. He doesn't have the knowledge really needed to work with this, though perhaps eventually context elsewhere will give more clues as to the nature and fate of Atlantis.

"But you're right. Those are my thoughts exactly. I know a man in Manhattan who should be able to protect them if I can find her and talk to her again. Maybe then we can keep the Heartless from having what they want."

King Mickey has posed:
Mickey studies the picture intently for a few seconds, doing his level best to try and commit it to memory. It never really helps, but he'd feel terrible if he didn't at least /try/ to remember what people look like. It is part of the problem with there being so many of them. After a while, everyone taller than you just becomes a person-shaped blur, and, well, 'everyone taller than Mickey' is a very broad category indeed.

Holding a Keyblade does come with a lot of responsibilities. As much as he hates to admit it, Mickey can't be everywhere at once, and there's too much he /needs/ to do for him to be able to pledge that he'd be able to help Mercade. But... he is curious, now. The mouse turns to face the detective more fully, and hmmmms.

"Well, who was the person with the Keyblade?" He asks, because, naturally, he'd love to know who else is running around with the power to help. "... Did he have a dog and a duck with him?" Because hey, if he did, then that means Goofy and Donald have done what he asked, and are safe and sound! That'd sure be nice to know!

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade stops when Mickey does. "Ummmm. No. I've seen ducks, but he wasn't traveling with any. He said his name was Sora. I met him in Fluorgis, he was looking for a friend of his and wouldn't tell me who."

King Mickey has posed:
Mickey racks his brain. "Sora, Sora, Sora." He repeats, and then shakes his head, "Nope! Never heard of him." He's pretty sure anyway. Names. Almost as complicated as faces. Only, maybe, he had. It sounds almost familiar. Maybe in another place, at another time, he had...

"Well, I'll tell you what, Mercade!" Mickey announces, smiling brightly. "Do you know the way to Disney Castle? It's a great place, the people there are really friendly, and it should be pretty safe. If you need help, you should just go there, and ask! If anyone knows how to find me, they'll be there, too!"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade Alexander pulls out a notepad. "Nope! I haven't heard of it before. But if you tell me how to get there, I will definately go check it out!" He pauses. "Are you one of their main explorers or something? If it's someone's job to keep track of you, you've got to be doing this a lot." He chuckles.

King Mickey has posed:
That, actually makes Mickey look embarrassed. It isn't that he's not proud of his position - far from it - but it isn't like he is entirely comfortable going out and blasting it to the whole world, either. "Actually..." He says, and leans in close, raising one hand to whisper. "I'm their King." He doesn't let that stay for long, though, instead he reaches into his back pocket and produces... well, it /might/ be a map? If the map didn't have lots of scribbles on it and markings which say things like 'DANGER DO NOT ENTER' or 'MYSTERY LAND OF MYSTERY??'

"You just go from here to here to here." He says, pointing at various points connected by deep black scribbles, "And then it's just a hop, skip and a jump."

He may or may not mean that literally.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade blinks, making notes on the notepad, and takes a picture of the map. Any map is a good one. He thinks!

"Wait. King?" Mercade looks at Mickey. "You're a King, huh? That's awesome! I've never met a king before. I like how you keep down-to-earth about it though." No, that is not a short joke. He smiles. "But all right, I'll head that way and give it a try." He sighs. "There was a guy in Traverse Town who said he could give me info on the Keyblades, but he wanted to see Sora. Him not coming with me kind of put a crimp in that plan." Mercade scratches his head.

King Mickey has posed:
The King laughs, and scratches behind the back of his head. "Just because I'm a King, that doesn't make me better than anyone else!" He says, which, is kind of the /exact opposite/ of what being a King means to pretty much every other King and subject out there. But for Mickey, that's just how it is! He never asked to be King, it just sort of, happened to him. And then he started looking after everyone. But that's okay, because he's always happy to help.

"I'm starting to think that we might have found as much as we're going to find here, though. At least for now... it doesn't /look/ like the Heartless are going to jump out of the shadows!"

Which is really a good thing, and about half of what he'd hoped to figure out down here. One more place he could check off as the origin of the Heartless! At least on the face of it.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"See, I can get that." Mercade says. "That helps you keep you from getting all worked up about it. You stay in touch with your people. I can understand that kind of viewpoint."

Mercade nods though. "We haven't been attacked either. Way better than I can say about a lot of places I've been to..." Mercade sighs. "All right, we should move on, anyway. Anything else we should do while we're here? Any tips or ideas on places to investigate?"

King Mickey has posed:
Mickey hmms, and then shakes his head, "It probably WOULD be a good idea to check out everywhere in this place..." He says, slowly, "But I don't think we're going to find what we're looking for, so, we should probably move on!"

He tucks his map back into his pocket, and then produces the helmet again, tucking it back down onto his head. "Good luck, Mercade! Keep up the good work!"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade waves. "See you around, King!" He pops his helmet back on, sealing it so he can inexplicably breathe underwater, and ruminates about the fast-moving current out of here. "Well, let's see where this goes from here!" He hopes the shark isn't sticking around to catch some fast food. "WHEEEEE!" He yells as he leaps in... And is carried off!