The search is over, folks! Kate's group finally finds Atlantis in this chapter! Too bad it had to be found the hard way, but it was worth it. Now, on with the show!

By now, everyone was now sound asleep. Kate was nice and snug. Both she and Lola were using CatDog as their pillow while they slept. While in his sleep, Dog began to sniff around all of a sudden.

Dog woke up and sniffed around, trying to find what his nose was picking up. His sniffing and moving around woke Cat, Kate, and Lola up. Cat groaned. "Dog, are you dreaming about being surrounded by garbage again?"

Dog stopped sniffing and shook his head. "Not this time, Cat. I smell something burning all of a sudden."

"Something burning?" Lola asked in confusion, but an orange glow got her attention. Kate smelled something burning herself. "He's right. It definitely smells like something's on-" "Fire! Fire!" Someone's exclamation interrupted the Togetic.

Kate, CatDog, and Lola quickly got out of their tent. They gasped once they saw that most of the tents have caught on fire. Milo was the one shouting about the fire.

"What in the name of Xerneas is going on!?" Kate asked in shock.

Pumbaa quickly ran over to them. The warthog looked pretty scared. "Kate, we've got a problem! The campsite's caught on fire by some strange fireflies!"

"Fireflies?" Cat raised an eyebrow. Before he could ask another question, Timon ran around them with his tail on fire. "OW! Hot, hot, hot! Tail on fire!" The meerkat screamed out.

Panpour and Light were already busy using Water Pledge and Earth Power to put out the fire. Pansage was swatting some of the fireflies away.

Pinsir walked out with a yawn. "What's all the noise going on out here?" Rourke came out of his tent, looking cranky. "Thatch, go back to bed." The eyes of Rourke and Pinsir widened once they saw the fire.

"Get some more water on that fire!" Helga shouted to a random soldier. "There's no time for that!" Pinsir shouted. Rourke pointed to a bridge in the distance. "Get us into those caves. C'mon! Move it, move it!"

Everyone quickly made it to the vehicles with Mole's digger taking the lead. Milo was trying to reach for the next vehicle. "Come on, Milo! Jump!" Kate called out. "Right now!" Audrey added. Milo managed to jump into the vehicle.

A truck behind them couldn't make it and exploded. Some of the fireflies set some more trucks on fire and the stalactite fell from the ceiling and landed on the bridge. The impact and the weight of the vehicles on it made the bridge crumble, the side with the vehicles on it began to crack, crumble, and collapse behind everyone.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Mole was panicking and trying to get his digger to move forward.

Soon, everyone held on tight when the bridge broke. They slide on down below and the fire was no longer seen. In the dark, the sound of crashing was heard.

All was dark...until Rourke lit a match to help light things up a bit. "Alright, who's not dead? Sound off." His answer was several groans.

"Dang lightnin' bugs done bit me on my sit-down! Someone's gonna have to get over here and suck out this poison. Now don't everybody jump up at once." Cookie's voice was heard.

"I don't feel so good." Pumbaa groaned. Timon and Cat sounded like they were panicking after hearing that. "No, no! Pumbaa! DOOOOON'T!" Too late, the sound of Pumbaa letting one rip was heard!

Rourke looked disgusted by that. He put the match out just before someone lit a flashlight to help brighten the room up even more. Dog shook his head. "What just happened?"

Pansage rubbed his sore head. "I've been asking myself the same question."

Pinsir looked around. "Audrey, what's the damage?"

Audrey held a flashlight and was next to the digger. She was checking on the damaged vehicle. "Not as bad as it could've been. We totaled rigs two and seven, but the digger looks like it'll still run. Lucky for us we landed on something soft."

Light looked down at the ground under his paws. "That's good, but exactly DID we land on?"

Mole stood next to the Midday Form Lycanroc. "Pumice ash. We are sitting at the base of a dormant volcano." His goggle eyes extended to Light. The Lycanroc was annoyed and smacked Mole away with his tail.

Cat gulped. "V-Volcano?"

Panpour felt that there was no heat for the moment. "I think we're okay for now. Still, everybody, be extra careful."

Helga pulled out a pistol and fired a small ball of fire up to the top. "It just keeps going."

Pumbaa smiled. "Maybe it's a way out."

The ball suddenly exploded after hitting the ceiling. "Maybe not." Timon muttered.

"The magma has solidified in the bowels of the volcano! It's effectively blocking the exit!" Mole gazed up in amazement.

Light rolled his eyes. "My brother, Crimson, has the same kind of problem with sponge cakes. Rockruff and I keep warning him, but he still snacks on them."

Sweet spoke next. "Hold on. Back up. Are you saying this whole volcano can blow up at any time?" The question made CatDog, Timon, and Pumbaa gulp in fear.

Mole was quick to answer that one. "No, no, no, no. That would take an explosive force of great magnitude." Hearing that made Timon take a step away from Pumbaa. The warthog looked annoyed by this.

The sound of a spring popping caught everyone's attention. They looked over and saw that Vinny's trying to fix a time bomb, but he stopped once he realized everyone was looking at him. "Maybe I should do this later, huh?"

"Perhaps if we blow the top off of that, we might have a way to getting back up to the surface." Pinsir guessed. Rourke nodded. "Good thinking, Pinsir. Mr. Thatch, what do you think?" But there was no answer. "Mr. Thatch? Thatch?"

Pansage looked around, he looked worried as well. "Uh, guys? I don't see Kate or Lola anywhere."

CatDog looked beyond worried about their friend and their sister. "Lola! Sis!" CatDog called out to them, trying to get a response.

Kate groaned and slowly started to get up. Her head felt like it was throbbing a bit. When she opened her eyes, she gasped at what was hovering over her.

Before her were three creatures with big, strange looking faces. Kate tried to fly away, but she winced. She must've damaged one of her wings during the fall. She was about to use Roost to fix it, but she stopped when one of them got a little closer. The person lifted up the mask to reveal itself as a human female with white hair and dark skin.

The young woman took a look at Kate's wing. She frowned for a bit until she reached for a crystal that's around her neck. She placed the crystal on the injured wing and then placed her hand over it. It gave off a faint glow. To Kate's amazement, when the woman removed her hand and the crystal, the pain in wing was gone. Kate was able to float a little off the ground, her eyes still on the young woman who smiled at her until she replaced her mask.

"Kate!" Lola's voice shouted out. Kate and the strange natives looked and saw Lola and Milo rushing over to them. Shortly after the two of them arrived, a loud rumbling sound was heard. The woman and the other two fled down the tunnel to the right. "Hey, wait!" Kate flew after the natives. Lola and Milo followed after the Togetic.

Both Kate and Lola easily flew up a rocky slope, but Milo had to climb up it to catch up to the natives. "Where's the fire, amigos?" Lola called out.

"Where are you going? Come back!" Milo called out shortly after.

When the natives jumped through a gap in the wall, Kate, Lola, and Milo climbed through it one at a time. When they got to the other side, they were standing on a rocky cliff on the edge of an underground chamber. They lost sight of the natives. "Wait a minute! Who are you?" Kate tried to call out to them, but no luck.

Mole's digger broke right through the gap shortly after Kate yelled out. CatDog, who happily hugged Kate in relief, Light, Pansage, Panpour, Pumbaa, Timon, Audrey, Vinny, Sweet, Ms. Packard, Cookie, Mole, Helga, Rourke, and Pinsir came through as well. All three of them looked ahead of them.

What they were seeing in awe was a gigantic plateau in the distance, covered by water. Waterfalls ran off the edge, the peak of a mountain was stuck in the middle of the plateau. There was also the distant ruins of an ancient city.

Lola rubbed her eyes in disbelief. "Unbelievable."

"Whoa." Light muttered.

"Sweet mother of Jefferson Davis!" Cookie exclaimed.

"I think we've reached Atlantis." Pumbaa said.

"Pumbaa, I think we've reached Atlantis." Timon repeated.

Audrey smiled. "It's beautiful."

"Such an inspiring sight indeed." Panpour said.

"I wish Pansear and Uncle Rafiki were here to see this." Pansage said.

Sweet smiled and placed a hand on Milo's shoulder. "Milo, I gotta hand it to you. You really came through."

Suddenly, Light's ears twitched a bit. A number of natives appeared behind the team. They spun around just as the natives pointed their spears at the team. "I take that back." Sweet said.

Cat screamed and coward behind Dog. "What are they!?" Dog growled in warning.

Panpour looked back and forth between Atlantis and the natives. "Do you think they're natives to this place?"

Milo agreed with the Spray Pokemon. "Y-You're right! They're Atlantians!"

"What? That's impossible!" Helga protested.

"I seen this back in the Dakota. They can smell fear just by lookin' at ya, so keep quiet." Cookie worriedly said.

Timon sniffed around for a couple of seconds, but then he cringed and plugged his nose. He even used his free hand to fan the sudden stench away. "I don't think that's fear they're smelling." At this, Pumbaa gave off an embarrassed sheepish smile.

One of the natives stepped closer to the group, then spoke to them in an unfamiliar voice. To the group, it just sounded like some gibberish.

"Uh, Milo? I think she's talking to you." Pansage whispered.

Cat looked at the Grass Monkey Pokemon with a raised eyebrow. "She? How do you know it's a girl?" "The voice sounds like a girl." Pansage answered.

The native spoke again, Milo spoke back to her, but most of them had no idea what they were saying. The native took her mask off. Kate gasped a little once she saw that it was the same young woman who healed her wing.

"Ooh, mama." Cat said in a deep voice once he saw her face.

Both Milo and the woman continued to speak in different languages. "Ita, sum amice viator." Milo spoke.

"Dices linguam Romae." The girl spoke Roman.

"Parlez-vous francais?" Milo asked in french.

"Oui, monsieur!" The girl answered in french.

Mole looked excited. "They speak my language!" He strolled up to the young lady. "Pardon, mademoiselle? Ah, voulez-vous..." He then whispered something in her ear. Whatever it was disgusted her, so she punched Mole in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Seeing this made CatDog, Timon, and Pumbaa burst into hysterical laughter.

Panpour shook his head at Mole. "I say. You really should watch what you say."

Sweet smiled and clapped away. "Oh! I like her!" "'Bout time someone hit him. I'm just sorry it wasn't me." Audrey added.

The other natives took off their masks to reveal their kind and welcoming faces. They started to speak to the group in many different languages.

"Wow, I can't believe Max is missing out on this. He and Riolu would've been so happy to hear this." Kate smiled at the natives. "But how do these humans know so many different languages?" Light asked.

"The language of these people must be based on a root dialect." Lola guessed. Milo nodded. "It's just like the Tower of Babel."

Dog smiled. "The Tower of Babel!" Then he looked confused. "Uh, do you guys think they can speak English too?"

Rourke petted Dog on the head before making an answer. "Only one way to find out, boy." The gesture just made Light even more suspicious of Rourke and even Pinsir, but he didn't show it. "We are explorers from the surface world. We come in peace." Rourke gave the natives a friendly grin.

"Welcome to the city of Atlantis." the young lady gestured at the ruins. "Come! You must speak with my father now." She pulled on Milo's arm to drag him to the city.

Rourke gave some last minute instructions to some of the soldiers before he and Pinsir joined everyone else in two trucks that have been following Mole's digger. The young lady and the other Atlantians were escorting the caravan across a long wooden bridge to the city. Audrey, Sweet, CatDog, Timon, Pumbaa, Pansage, and Panpour were in the same truck as Vinny and Mole. Milo, Kate, Lola, Light, Helga, Rourke, and Pinsir were in another.

Kate, Lola, and Light smiled at Milo. The linguist smiled and explained how unique the Atlantian language was in comparison to all the other languages. Light caught on to what Rourke, Pinsir, and Helga were saying to each other. The Lycanroc quietly listened in with a serious expression on his face.

"Someone's having a good time." Helga told Rourke and Pinsir about Milo.

"Like a kid at Christmas." Rourke joked.

The grin on Helga's face went away. "Commander, there were not supposed to be people down here." Pinsir turned to Helga. "What are you saying?" "This changes everything." Helga answered.

"This changes nothing." Rourke replied. "I already informed the others that we're still a go for this." Pinsir quietly told Rourke.

Light frowned when he heard this. "I knew it." He quietly told himself.

When the caravans came to a stop at the base of the mountain, which was actually a pyramid, the young lady led Milo, Rourke, Pinsir, Helga, Kate, Lola, and Light up a long flight of stairs to a stone doorway. A pair of guards opened up the door for them. Inside, a large pool of water laid at the center of the room with a spiral of stones in the middle. There were also remains of a giant statue on the far side. A colorful canopy was also there, providing shade for a stone throne. On the throne was an elderly man in a long blue robe, holding a walking stick.

Showing their respects, Kate, Lola, and Light bowed down in respect with their heads low. Milo and the young lady did the same as well. The old man, the King of Atlantis, stood up from his throne.

"Greetings, Your Highness. I have brought the visitors." The young lady spoke to the king in Atlantian.

The king, however, frowned. "You know the law, Kida. No outsiders may see the city and live."

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

"We do not need their help." The king said.

"But, father..." Kida was cut off by the king. "That is enough. We will discuss it later."

"He doesn't sound too happy to see us." Kate whispered to Lola and Light. The two of them nodded in agreement. While no one else understood the conversation that happened earlier, Milo was able to catch on.

Rourke, however, thought that they were welcome. "Your Majesty, on behalf of my crew, may I say it is an honor to be welcomed into your city."

"Uh, excuse me? Commander?" Milo tried to explain, but he was ignored.

The king shook his head. "You presume much to think you are welcome here."

"Your Highness, we have come a long way. We happen to be looking for-" The king interrupted Pinsir. "I know what you seek, and you will not find it here. Your journey has been in vain." Princess Kida's head lowered in sadness.

"But we are peaceful explorers. Men of science." Rourke reassured.

The king looked at the gun in the commander's side-pocket and chuckled. "And yet, you bring weapons."

"He's got a point, muchacho." Lola quietly told Rourke.

Pinsir spoke again. "I assure you that our 'weapons' only allow us to remove certain obstacles that we may encounter."

"Some obstacles cannot be removed with a mere show of force." The king glared at Rourke, Pinsir, and the others. "Return to your people. You must leave Atlantis at once."

Rourke was about to say something further, but Kate flew up a little to stop him. "Commander, I don't think we should say anything else. We don't want to anger him any further." Milo agreed with the Togetic. "She's right, sir. You better do as he says."

Lola and Light stood up when Rourke passed them. They and Kate were worried that he might say something that could get them into trouble. However, they and Milo were shocked by what the commander asked the king this. "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."

To their surprise and their relief, the king snorted in disapproval, but accepted Rourke's request. "Very well. One night. That is all."

"Well, thank you, Your Majesty." Rourke politely bowed along with the others. As the group turned and began to leave, Kate and Milo glanced back. They saw that Kida was watching them leave with a look of disappointment on her face. As soon as the group went through the doorway, the guards closed it behind them.

The king looked at his daughter as he took a seat on the throne again. "Your heart has softened, Kida. A thousand years ago, you would have slain them upon sight."

Kida rolled her eyes and walked over to her father. "A thousand years ago, the streets were lit! Our people did not have to scavenge for food on the edge of a crumbling city!"

"The people are content." The king replied.

Kida almost yelled, but she held it back. "They do not know any better! We were once a great people, now we live in ruins!" She was nursing her father with a wet cloth of cold water to help try and bring down his fever. The king was showing signs of weakening because of his age. "The kings of our past would weep if they could see how far we have fallen."

"Kida..." The king scolded.

"If these outsiders can unlock the secrets of our past...perhaps we can save our future." Kida was desperately trying to get her father to understand.

The king shook his head. "What they have to teach us, we have already learned."

"Our way of life is dying!" Kida's tears were starting to show.

"Our way of life is preserved." The king took his daughter's hands into his own. "Kida, when you take the throne, you will understand."

Somehow, Kida had a feeling her father was wrong.

Kate, Lola, Light, Milo, Rourke, Helga, and Pinsir met up with the others outside the palace doorway. The guards returned to their original posts.

Dog smiled. "So, how'd it go?"

Lola shrugged. "Aye, I guess it could've gone a little better."

"Like how?" Sweet asked.

"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 explained.

"He's not the only one." Light thought to himself. The Lycanroc quickly glanced at Rourke, Helga, and Pinsir.

"Maybe he's just trying to protect Atlantis from any threats from the surface world." Pansage said.

"My dear brother, what do you mean?" Panpour asked.

Pansage shrugged. "He might just be doing what any good king would do. He wants his people to live in peace. He might be worried that if more people know about the location of Atlantis, then the bigger the risk of something going horribly wrong."

Rourke shrugged. "Well, either way I want to know what's goin' on."

"How do you propose we do that?" Pinsir asked.

Helga smirked. "Someone needs to talk to that girl."

"Oh. Uh, who should we get to ask her?" Pumbaa asked.

"I will go!" Mole spoke up.

"Someone who's already earned her trust." Panpour suggested.

"I will give her my trust!" Mole said.

"Someone with good people skills." Vinny added.

"I will do it!" Mole continued.

"Someone who won't act like a mook and make her angry." Timon crossed his arms.

"I will make her happy unlike this so-called 'mook'!" Mole continued.

"Someone who won't scare her away." Sweet thoughtfully said.

"I volunteer!" Mole continued.

"Someone who can speak the same language as her." Cat concluded.

Mole saluted. "For the good of the mission, I will go!"

Mole was ignored. Rourke turned to an unaware Milo. "Good man, Thatch. Thanks for volunteering."

Milo didn't expect that. "Wait, what?"

Kate looked serious. "I'll go too. She helped heal my wing, I never got a chance to thank her."

"I'll go with you and Milo." Lola volunteered.

"Something tells me that she still wants to help. I'll join as well." Light offered.

Mole was crushed by the fact that he didn't get picked. He even burst into dramatic tears. Dog kindly gave Mole a few good licks. Cat, Timon, and Pansage just gave the digger dull looks and Panpour slowly shook his head.

"Go get'em, tiger." Audrey teased Milo a bit.

Just before he followed after Milo, Kate, and Lola, Light turned back to the other Pride Team members. "Actually, before I forget...Timon, Pumbaa!" At the call, the Hakuna Matata duo turned their heads to the Midday Form Lycanroc. Light walked over to them so he can whisper something important. "Listen, I've got a little job for you two..." At this, Timon and Pumbaa looked at each other in confusion. They didn't know what Light wants from them.

Okay, so things aren't going as well as they originally thought, but at least they made it. How will Milo, Kate, Lola, and Light's talk with Kida go? What kind of task did Light just assigned Timon and Pumbaa? They may be underground and surrounded by some water, but things are gonna heat up in the next chapter. Stay tuned for more! Until then...have a nice day!