Going Once, Going Twice
8/15/1948, Blue Harbour, Maine
The Atlantean was sitting on the beach, watching the people who were enjoying themselves when the Prince saw that there was something that made him smile, “Hey there, Namor.” Cadeo said with a smile, making the Atlantean, “Hey there, Cadeo, have you heard those rumours?” he asked, making Cadeo smile, “What rumours?” he asked and hearing that, Namor sighed.
“According to a friend of mine, apparently there’s some strange experiments that were making monsters in Thoat Nhin, have you heard anything about it?” he asked, making the Sin–Congese smile, “I have no idea about any of it at ll, but what I HAVE heard was that two men, Murderous Lion and a Scarlet Centurion are working in Thoat Nhin.” he explained.
Hearing that, the Atlantean paused, “I’ve heard of The Scarlet Centurion, but do you have any idea who this… Murderous Lion, is?” he asked, making the man nod, “I’ll be happy to explain… but can we do it somewhere more private?” he asked, making the Atlantean curious, but he nodded as the man motioned for him to please head over to the house so they could talk.
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8/15/1948, Peterson Residence, Blue Harbour
“So then, can you please tell me what exactly Murderous Lion is?” he asked, making the man nod as the Petersons had all been getting ready for work look, “Murderous Lion is a martial Artist, one of the most dangerous that I have ever seen in my life.” Cadeo said towards the man, “He has been alive since… since no one knows, but his techniques have been known to corrupt those into monstrous forms.”
That made them worried while Namor thought, “So The Scarlet Centurion and Murderous Lion are working together? Great–” he started to say before the door was slammed open and seeing that, the group saw that Nammu and Nay were coming in with Seth who looked worried right now, “What’s wrong?” Namor asked the man, “Did you take anything from Atlantis when you were exiled or before that?” he asked.
That confused Namor, “What are you talking about?” he asked the man, “Opistho had heard that Krang and Byrra were looking for an artifact that they could utilize, apparently it had been missing since the attack from Meranno and–” “By any chance, was it a diadem? A green/silver thing that looked like it had a pair of horns?” he asked, making the two give a look.
“How do you know that?” Seth asked the man, “Because Bobo told me about seeing it in Lemuria.” He explained, making the two give a look before Nammu gave a look, “I’ll go and search for it… but what is it supposed to be?” he asked of them, making the prince sigh, “According to legend, it belonged to Zhered–Na, a exiled Atlantean Sorcerer who predicted the destruction of everything.”
That made the group worried by the statement, “I’ll go over there, I still have some clout in Lemuria, if you want to come with–” “I am joining you.” Seth said and hearing that, the Prince looked towards them, “Please let me know when you guys come back, okay?” He asked of the two and hearing that, the pair of them nodded while Cadeo smiled to them, “If you’d like, I have a plane to use.”
That made the group look before they started to look towards each other, “We wouldn’t have a place to land–” “It doesn’t matter, it has a cargo bay door, I can open that and you can jump in wherever you want.” he said and hearing that, the group looked towards each other before conceding, “Alright then, let’s go fishing.” Nammu said with a smile as they got ready to go.
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8/16/1948, Ryūgū-jō, Pacific Ocean
The two of them crashed through the water and started to swim downwards, like the Americans with Japan, there were Atlantean forces who were assisting with the reconstruction of Lemuria on THEIR terms, the fact that Emperor Naga was being deprived of powers was just one of the thing that was being done by Thakorr before she saw that there was Jaoc, “[Nammu!]” he snarled.
That made Seth ready a pistol to fire upon the man when Nammu snarled, “[Jaoc! We’re not here to fight!]” she snapped towards him, but the blade her had in his hand said otherwise as he went to stab her through the gut when Seth shot him in the leg, making Jaoc shout in pain before dropping the weapon, “[You are a traitor–!]” “[And someone stole an artifact from Atlantis.]” she snapped.
“[If The Atlanteans wanted to, they would have the perfect excuse to invade and wipe us all out.]” the woman warned and hearing that, the man paused, still glaring but no longer trying to kill them, “[What was it that they had stolen?]” he asked, making the two give a look, “[It’s the Diadem of Zhered–Na.]” Seth answered and hearing that, the man paused before he gave a look, “[Follow me.]”
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8/16/1948, Residential Area, Ryūgū-jō
The two of them had entered his old home that he and Tali shared, “[Apologies for the mess, I have been trying to… honor the requests of Tali, so that she would come home.]” Jaoc told them, making Nammu look towards him with a smile, “[I’m sure that she’d be happy to hear that.]” the woman told him as he went and headed to a room that appeared to be locked up.
“[I have heard about what you are talking about.]” Jaoc told them, making the two look at the sight as he opened and revealed multiple Atlantean artifacts and weapons, “[Sharka who had been working as servants had been stealing artifacts and replacing them with replicas.” the man had warned, offering a few of them to the others, “[I had been buying and sending them to a contact to return them.]” he said.
“[Sadly, all of the magical and powerful items are in more dangerous markets than the ones that I frequent.]” he told them and hearing that, the two looked towards each other, “[Which begs the question, why?]” Seth asked of Jaoc who sighed towards him, “[Because I love my kingdom,]” he explained towards them, “[And if I were to let The Atlanteans catch wind like you thought… the repercussions are too great.]”
The pair of them looked towards each other before Nammu sighed, “[This diadem is something MUCH more dangerous than what they had already been stealing… there is no telling what they will do with it.]” she explained and hearing that, Seth walked over to the items, already starting to catalogue and see what he had acquired, “[Can you tell us where the other markets are?]” He asked Jaoc.
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8/16/1948, The Undermarket, Ryūgū-jō
Nammu and Seth both had their skin stained like a Lemurian wearing traditional clothes they had borrowed from Jaoc, masks worn as they walked through the Black Market of Ryūgū-jō, observing everything that was there before Seth leaned in close, “There are monsters here that should be wiped out.” he hissed, seeing some Alchemical beasts made for gladiatorial combat.
“I heard that they actually had something from the stars that could shift forms.” Nammu said towards him as they started to see that they were approaching the weaponry section which was making the two of them focus, looking around and seeing that there was Alchemical warfare here, experimental rifles, something that apparently stole moisture from its victims.
All of this was too dangerous and seeing it all, the Atlanteans saw that there was something which made her smile, it was the Diadem that they were looking for, seeing it, she approached until one of the guards, a larger Lemurian that had some Alchemical work done, giving him a more shark like appearance, “[The auction is going on in an hour.]” he snapped towards her.
“[No one is allowed near it until then.]” he said before walking back to the others, all of them Looking like sharks, she had been confused by the sight before walking over to someone that seemed… not as dangerous as the others, “[Excuse me, but is that work done to them? I haven’t been in Ryūgū-jō in a while.]” she said towards the man who cackled towards her question.
“[It’s a new technique the young ones made after the war! They’re calling it Chemwork.]” he explained, pointing to a few others, some having spines down their backs, others looking like animals with one of them having almost crystalline skin, “[Thank you, honored elder.]” she said before going to walk towards Seth who looked at her with some curiosity.
“According to the shark man, they’re having an auction.” she explained towards him, making Seth curious, “What are they?” he asked her, pointing at the sharks, “Chemwork apparently, and with all of the items here will be able to help us get everything that we need.” Nammu said and hearing that, the man was curious as they started to discuss what was going on and what they’d do.
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8/16/1948, Auction House, The Undermarket
The two of them had been sitting and as they did, looking around towards everything, the two of them saw that there was something which made the two pause, seeing that it was another of the larger members of the Chemworked, this one looking like more of a Great white than the others as he went and sniffed them both, “No alchemy allowed.” he snapped.
The two of them sighed as they started to take off the devices and offer them to he man, “You can take them back when the auction is over, understood?” he snarled towards them, making the pair nod towards that as they went and proceeded to walk towards their seats and as they did so, the two of them looking around towards everything before they watched the auctioneer coming in.
“[Greetings!]” The man shouted out and hearing that, the crowd all paused and watched, “[Today we have a variety of items that you will enjoy!]” he told them and hearing that, they all looked and seen that there was something which made the group all curious while the other workers had started to bring in the first item that they had for auction, “[First off! The war armor of Meranno!]”
That made Nammu snarl towards the sight as she lifted up her paddle, making Seth look at her, “Why would you–?” “Trust me.” Nammu said towards the man as she went to get the armor, as she did so, they saw that there was something which made the man pause, looking and seeing that there was something which made Seth curious as they saw that there was some strange group.
The group were all wearing snake masks that reminded the man somewhat of the serpent crown and looking around, he smirked, realizing what happened as one of the auctioneers grinned, “[And sold!]” The man shouted and hearing that, Seth saw that Nammu smirked, “I am going to smelt the monstrosity down and make it into a present for my children.” she said towards the man as they continued onwards.
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The group looked and started to make it so that they were closer and closer before eventually they found that there was the item they were hunting, “[And finally, the diadem of Zhered–Na!]” The man said and hearing that, the pair of them looked towards the sight, at the ready before the man had presented the item, “[Look at it! A item from Pre–Cataclysm! A item of great power almost as powerful as her tome!]” he shouted.
Hearing that, the two of them looked towards each other before they started to raise their hands and as they did so, Nammu and Seth had both done as much, making sure that there’s enough money for them when the pair saw that there was another one with Chemwork, having electric lightning coming down his arms, “[We would like to talk to you.]” the man said and hearing that, the two glared.
They saw that there was a raven mask and seeing that, the two of them decided to get up as they won the diadem, making the two relieved by that as they went and entered the nearby room, looking and seeing that there was more of the people who all have snake masks on, “[I see that you are interested buyers, like many of us.]” the supposed leader said towards them.
Seth and Nammu looked towards each other before they answered, “[That we are, power can be found in the past, but we will pave a way into OUR future.]” the woman said and hearing that, the group smiled at the statement before they started to get up and started to approach her, “[We wanted to join you, assisting you with your plan.]” the man said and hearing that, both were confused.
“[Our plan?]” Seth asked and hearing that, the men in Snake Masks smirked, “[To resurrect Meranno and to slay the Atlantean bastards.]” the man said and hearing that, the two of them looked towards each other before nodding, “[Yes, we have the spawn of Meranno by our side and will be using them against Thakorr.]” Seth explained and hearing that, Nammu glared before smiling towards the man.
“[Yes, and they will be more than ready to become conquerors against the bastard imperial family.]” she snapped, glaring towards Seth as she said it, making the man a bit worried about it before they started to get up as well, “[The diadem will be a valuable tool, and when you are ready to fight against them, we will join you.]” The man said which they both nodded towards.
They started to shake hands and as they did so, the two of them had taken away the items in question, going and starting to swim away, they both looked towards each other, “I can’t believe that we’re being made into some sort of terrorists!” Seth said as Nammu punched him in the gut the moment that they were out of their sight, “What the–?!” “That was for telling them about my children.” she snarled.
“I thought that you–?” “What? Didn’t care for them? Because I’m on the surface and left them with my cousin instead of abandoning them in the trenches or killed them in my womb or gave them to the Imperial Family to murder them all?” she questioned, making the man realize that she didn’t actually hate or wanted to abandon them, “And now Lemuria knows about them.”
They were worried at the moment, “At least we have all of those items now.” Seth said and Nammu couldn’t argue with that, there was something they didn’t need to worry about, but there was the future of everything that could come and it was irritating, Nammu taking a deep breath before they headed away and towards the city so that they could at least make sure the Diadem wouldn’t get any in trouble.
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8/23/1948, Tali’s Home, The Atlantean Crevice
Tali was making sure that the twins were having fun before seeing that Nammu was coming in, seeing them, the woman smiled as she went and hugged the twins, “Magni, Modi, how have you two been?” she asked of them, making which made the pair smile, “We’ve been good, Mama.” Magni said as Modi noticed that there was a bag that she had in her hand, “What’s that?”
The Atlantean smiled towards that before she opened the bag, revealing that there was some armor that she had reforged for them, “This is a gift that me and my cousin had been working on.” she said to them, the kids excited as they put them on, the moment the two of them snatched their gear and putting them on with excitement before they had went to spin around.
The two of them had been garbed looking like they were little warriors and it made the two of them coo towards that at the moment before they saw that there was a sort of shift as they saw that there was a more form fitting appearance towards them and seeing that, the twins were surprised, “This is… this is incredible!” Magni said with a smile towards them.
“You can thank Tali for that, that kind of alchemy… or any alchemy, isn’t my thing.” the woman told them before they started to head towards Tali, hugging and thanking her before they looked to Nammu, “Where’d you get these?” Modi asked with Magni checking on one of the other parts of it, smiling at the sight before he nodded, “Your… your father, donated it.” she said and hearing that, the twins were excited.
“Our papa did?” Modi asked and hearing that, Nammu tried to keep a strained smile on, nodding, making the two of them smiling towards that reveal while Nammu had just hoped that they wouldn’t have to deal with anything too serious related towards this, “Tali, we need to talk about Jaoc and the fact that Seth did something stupid.” She said and hearing that, the cousin was curious as Nammu explained what was going on.
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8/23/1948, The Royal Palace, Atlantis
Dorma made sure that everything was public before everyone when she headed towards the center and as she did so, the royal servants started to talk amongst each other with whispers towards everything before they saw that there was Byrra and Krang who both walked in, “The diadem of Zhered–Na had been returned, and it can be placed in the vault, hidden within the Royal Vault only the emperor can access.”
Hearing that, the others there had nodded, all of them in agreement while Byrra smirked strained, “Very well… I will take it and hand it over to–” “I think that I will return it to the emperor personally, that way no one would attack you by accident.” she said with a smile, making the man start to strain towards that for a moment before she went and started to head towards his quarters.
The two of them started to snap and argue against that until they saw that there was the personal quarters of Thakorr which she nodded at, making the royal guards there both look at each other nervously before they saw that there was a crack of the door opening, “What…?” he asked of the woman and hearing that, Dorma smiled as she offered the diadem to him.
“The Diadem of Zhered–Na is recovered and I am honored to–” “Thank you.” he said towards her, snatching it from her hand before walking out, “Come.” he told her, going and starting to walk out and as he did so, Dorma followed after him, curious and a bit confused as they started to walk further and further through the palace before they walked down to the lowest level there.
Thakorr took a deep breath before slamming the end of the trident down onto the ground, making the large heavy stone doors start to slowly open up and reveal the items that were all in there and seeing that, Dorma had been shocked by the sight before her, but Thakorr had only walked in, “Follow.” Thakorr told her, “I want you to see what is going on.” the man explained.
Dorma looked around with a bit of worry right about now before following after him, as they did so, looking around, the Emperor spoke, “Byrra and Krang would use this place… to destroy… to conquer… but you will protect Atlantis… yes?” he asked and hearing that, the Lady of Atlantis saw the damage that everything can cuse and knew her answer, “Yes, Yes I can.”
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8/23/1948, Peterson Residence, Blue Harbour
Nammu walked in and as she did so, the woman looked around before she saw everyone, “So then, what’s going on?” Randal asked of the female who sighed, “I think I have to change the twins names, also, some Lemurian criminals think that I’m a terrorist, so I think that’s going to be an issue later.” she explained as they went and started to sit down, the group starting to laugh.
“Seriously? Have they just never seen you before?” he joked towards her and hearing that, Nammu rolled her eyes towards that as Namor and the rest of the family started to come in as well, “So, how was Lemuria?” Namor asked and Nammu looked towards him, “Not terrible, but there’s a new fad, something called Chemwork, looked pretty interesting.” She explained.
Hearing that, the Prince had been a bit surprised as Nay ran in, “Hey Nammu! Can you tell me your story?” she asked with a smile and hearing that, the woman chuckled, “Alright, here’s the story.” the woman said as she started to tell them everything that had happened and as Namor heard everything that was, The Prince wondered what this snake cult would do in the future.