The Lost City

"You're not," he confirmed. "You're the first-the first Atlantis group. There's another one planned for after you, but you're the first ones to come through here." He thought for a moment, seeming to be mulling over what was best to reveal. Even though he was far from sober, he did apparently retain a small sense of reason. "There's both the Aeyis groups, though I haven't started the second one yet. There's the two groups of heroes, too, though they don't have to go in different bodies."

"What happened to the first ones?" Nadira hesitantly asked.

Kartiel's face grew downcast, and he was silent for a minute.

"They all died," he quietly said.

Bo looked down at Kartiel with a solemn frown.

"On accident?" he asked.

He nodded. "It's still my fault. I should-I should have been keeping a closer eye on them." His voice shook. "They were...important to me. That's why I made sure to stay close by for this trial. I didn't want...I didn't want more blood on my hands."

Bo sighed quietly. He wasn't sure how to comfort Kartiel, or if Kartiel even wanted comforting. At least it sounded like Kartiel hadn't willingly or intentionally hurt and killed anyone. Or at least... not his experiments. Bo certainly couldn't say that.

"I know how that feels," he said quietly. "Well - to not want more blood on your hands, at least." He paused for a moment, looking out into the hall, since looking down just meant looking at the Kartiel in his arms.

"Thanks for sticking around with us to make sure we were okay. I guess I just kind of wish you would've told us that's why you were there in the first place. Dunno why you had to put on an act... but I guess that has to do with whoever made you be a villain or something, huh?"

Another nod.

"He can't find out the truth," he said. His words were beginning to switch from slurred to drowsy - Maahes wouldn't have been surprised if he fell asleep right then and there. "I have to...I have to get Ria..."

Bo looked down at Kartiel with an eyebrow raised. "Ria?"

Raiden slipped out from the room of the drunks. He felt out of his depth, with the conversation, and he didn't think they'd be getting any drunker than they were. At least, they seemed to have sense enough to not pick up their bottles again. He wandered a bit before stumbling across the rest of everyone else, with Kartiel being carried by Bo.
"Ria?" he heard Bo say. He walked over silently, juice box in hand, though it seemed he had ditched the wine glass for mobility.

Kartiel slowly nodded.

"I...I promised I would get her....." His voice trailed off as his eyes closed; it seemed like he had finally fallen asleep. Nadira and Codix exchanged a look with each other before they noticed that Raiden was there - Codix, admittedly, jumped a few inches in surprise, but then tried his best to ignore how startled he had been afterwards.

"Hi, Raiden," Nadira said.

Bo had been watching Kartiel drift to sleep in his arms with mild disappointment until Nadira greeted Raiden.

"Oh! Hey Raiden! How are you doing? Are Boris and Aegeas uh... alright?"

"Heyo," he greeted with a small wave.
"Well uh, they aren't sober, but I don't think they're gonna get any drunker than they are now," he replied, looking over Kartiel's sleeping form.
"This man knows wassup when it comes to limited edition stuff, by the way. His collection is wild," Raiden said with the straw in his mouth as he vaguely motioned to Kartiel.

"Hey," Aegeas said, glaring at Boris, "What's this about you? He's mine - he hasn't ever even heard of ya."

It appeared that Aegeas had interpreted what I said to have been projecting. I yawned.

"Aegeash... even if I were a promishcuoush cad, and not the austere picture of virtue and gentility you shee before you..." I said wearily, with no hint of irony whatsoever, "I wouldn't make enemiesh of a seasoned veteran over a man, no matter how fetching he ish."

"Okay, that's - that's okay," Aegeas said. "Ya look like yer a virtuous man, but I've been wrong before. Don' prove me wrong."

Despite my superb behaviour, it still caught me off gaurd, sometimes, when a sharp old fellow like Aegeas thought me virtuous. (Any slips of composure in the control room notwithstanding.) He was very drunk, of course, but knowing him he'd probably made up his mind about me hours and hours ago.

Through his ever-salty exterior, I found myself suspecting- wondering, more like- if I'd achieved a place on the list of people he could accept.

Ha, no. Of course not. But I was touched by what I did get, nonetheless.

"Hah, wouldn't dream of it." I told him, grinning sleepily.

My hand, wide awake, refilled the glass.

"Good," said Aegeas, eyelids drooping further and further. He could still see just enough to spot Boris filling up his glass again.

"Yer havin' another one?" he said, sounding as alarmed as he could in the face of being drunk and tired.