Hello, folks. Since May, I've been trying to write a post-canon story, specifically one about Lionel and Adelina getting back together. I've spent weeks brainstorming this out, sketching and outlining the whole fic while also watching a bootleg of the film to better understand the characters, not to mention researching stuff and such. Anyway, this took a good month to actually write down because of so many ideas going through my head, including stuff from laika group chat I'm in as well as the Alexa adventures because they're so cute. That, and there are other fics I've been working on too… woops, but hey, at least here it is now!

So, a few things I will clear up right now before we get onto the chapter: So, a few things I will clear up right now before we get onto the chapter: the film's events have taken place in 1886, since that's what it says on the wikipedia page so I'm going with that as the date. A time skip will happen, obviously, but not quite yet. As for the characters' ages, I admit I see Adelina and Lionel as 40 and 45 in the film, but for this fic's (and the ones to follow it) sake, Adelina will be 38 and Lionel will be 41 at the start, until the time skip. Susan is immortal, obviously, but mentally in his 20s. This fic will be around at least 16-19 chapters long, I believe. I haven't really decided yet, but let's just say it will be quite the slowest build ever so buckle up, 'cause it's gonna be a wild ride.

With that said, please enjoy the fic!

Now and then I think of when we were together, like when you said you felt so happy you could die
Told myself that you were right for me, but felt so lonely in your company,
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember.

– Goyte, 'Somebody that I used to know.'

Atlantis was colorful.

That was the first thought that came into Sir Lionel Frost's mind as he and Susan walked through the city of the hidden aquatic civilization. With all of the colorful buildings and paintings on the walls, it felt like they were in a picture from an old storybook instead of an actual republic. It was a wonder how no one else had even thought of coming here, what, with how extraordinary it was, even more so than how other folks had described it.

This was the kind of adventure Lionel dreamed of, the kind of adventure he'd wanted to go on ever since he was a small boy. After the long adventure to Shangri-La, he had been more than eager to begin his next case on Atlantis.

His adventure to Shangri-La… if it had not been for him going on that journey, he wouldn't be here in Atlantis right now. To think, one simple letter from Susan was what had made him make that deal with Lord Piggot-Dunceby - the head of the society of "greater men" - that if he proved the sasquatch was real, then he would let him join the society. The bet was made and Lionel set off to the Pacific Northwest, finding Susan in a forest… only to be requested with help in finding his relatives, the yetis, in the Himalayas. Thinking it would help him discover a whole evolutionary line, he- admittedly, out of some selfish reasons- agreed to help the sasquatch.

The key to getting to the Himalayas, however, was a map that lay in the hands of his former girlfriend, Adelina. The only issue with retrieving the map was that Adelina harbored some disdain towards him for missing out on the funeral of her late husband, his former partner Aldous.

He tried reasoning with her, even offering to pay her for the map, but she only became angry with that and kicked him out… though now that he looked back on it, he did deserve that.

(He'd had his reasons for skipping out on Aldous' funeral, though- petty, selfish reasons, yes, but reasons nonetheless. Sure, he had attended the wedding and all, visited a little bit even after, but… something in him kept him from going to the funeral that day, something within his heart that ached and yearned.

A bitter feeling of the relationship he once had with his friend's widow... a longing for the past and what had once been, a longing that eventually tore a rift between him and his friend –

A longing for his lost love.)

So since he couldn't get the map from her, he chose to come back later that night with Susan and break in. It wasn't one of the best choices he'd made, but they needed the map if they were ever going to get to the Himalayas.

But of course, Adelina had heard them and woke up, going to confront them alongside her butler. She had hurled a lamp at him, only for him to swat it back with his cane, hitting her butler and setting the assistant's gun off, shooting the window and leaving the safe to fall out, breaking open upon hitting the ground. Lionel and Susan had jumped out, taken the map and set off.

The next day, they mugged a nun and took her clothes, with Lionel using her nun outfit while Susan took her regular outing clothes. They set off to the train station in their disguises, with Lionel thinking Adelina wouldn't notice if she ever came after them but oh, he was wrong, very wrong.

Adelina came storming into the train station, pushing people aside until she came to them. She immediately recognized them and he could still remember how she'd pulled at his veil and hissed I don't even want to know how you got this, and Susan had been blunt as ever, saying it was a nun, we mugged her.

She demanded for him to give the map back, threatening him with her gun, only for a bullet to fire at them- a bullet from Stenk. Did you steal from him too? she had even asked before he had to wheel them behind a pillar, explaining that he needed the map to get to the Himalayas.

What he hadn't expected next was for her to say, you're right. It's time I stop being a bird locked in its cage, and finally break free! I'm coming with you. He was surprised, yet knew he didn't have much of a choice - para nada, she'd even said smugly when he asked her - so he allowed it, and after tricking Stenk into thinking they boarded the train, they boarded a wagon and began riding off.

In the wagon, they discussed their plans and Lionel went on with the sayings he'd heard spoken when talking of Shangri-La, especially with it being a place where mysterious beauty is discovered. Adelina corrected him, saying what her ex-husband had believed, going on about him and how she wished he could've been there… to which Lionel, being stupidly blunt and zealous as ever, he'll admit, said he intended to follow in his exact steps and tried to comfort her, to which she yanked her hand away and shouted that doesn't mean I'm happy about you! He'd pouted and folded his arms in response, and Susan had to break the awkwardness that hung in the air by pointing out the window.

Looking back on it now, he hadn't been the most pleasant person during the adventure, nor the kindest. He poked Susan with his stick many times and acted so impatiently, rudely and brashly, only stopping when he was called out by Adelina. He had even been weirded out when Susan went by, well, Susan, due to the fact he'd never really seen men taking on women's names… well, outside of drag queens, that was, but still, it took a while for him to get adjusted to the sasquatch's name, though he had to admit the tale behind it was touching and resonated within him.

("Some years back, there was a young prospector who came to live in the woods to try their luck on the high mountain rivers," the sasquatch had begun telling the tale, eyes glinting with nostalgia. "One day, they came close to my cave while out picking berries and they saw me and they were just standing there… and when I looked at them, they didn't scream, they didn't turn or run away like most people do, they just… they just smiled." And he smiled too at this. "And that smile meant the world to me," he finished in a whisper.

In a way, Lionel could relate. He, too, had once known someone who meant as much to him as Prospector Susan had meant to Susan Link. There had been someone who'd encouraged him to pursue his dream, whose words had meant the world to him, who inspired him to search for mythical creatures… and that person's name had been Anthony, Anthony Frost… his father.

But of course, he couldn't ruin the moment with his story, so Lionel simply listened to what Susan said and accepted the name he chose, albeit hesitantly.

He had to admit though, he highly appreciated when Susan tried to protect him from Stenk, although it kind of backfired and led to some chaos on the boat... still, the sasquatch was so kindhearted, bless his soul.)

It took a good long while of journeying, avoiding the bounty hunter and going through the Indian jungle to the Himalayas, being escorted by three yeti guards with spears until they finally reached Shangri-La for Lionel to come to his senses.

At first, when they set foot in Shangri-La, it seemed like a utopia- a land one would read about in fantastic novels about myths and legends. Sure, the yetis had been a little hostile, but surely they would ease up after showing them around, right? Well, wrong. The Elder Yeti had showed them around, yes, and she didn't seem like too much of a harpy despite her coyness and the remark of the country cousin, the red neck... and the whole keep out, we hate you title they used for their valley. It all seemed fine, until she'd spat you have no place with us at Susan.

But you're my kind, we're family, Susan had protested, but the yeti queen wouldn't relent. He was friends with man, the killer of hope and dreams in her and all of the other yetis' eyes, which meant that anyone who associated with them was on the same level of filth... which meant that Susan was considered a miserable disappointment.

Just like that, their fates seemed to have been sealed- they were to be throne into the pit of isolation where they would rot, all in the name of "preservation." It was barbaric and nothing short of humiliating and heart-crushing, especially for Susan.

Yet at that time, Lionel had been upset only because he'd be the laughingstock of the entire club… he'd been so focused on himself, that he never even bothered to notice how heartbroken Susan was.

"Look at him," Adelina had said, pointing to the sasquatch, who curled up on the floor, defeated. "Look! His dreams are crushed, and you… you only talk of yourself."

"Well, what about my dreams?" he'd argued, yet again so selfishly. God, looking back on it now made him wince so hard. How much of an arse had he been back then?

"What, to- to belong to that silly club?! These men do not like you, they do not respect you- they do not even believe the things that you believe!" she had gone off on a tirade, drilling it into his head. "So why, WHY do you wish to be one of them?"

He'd tried to argue, yet the only argument he had was that they said he couldn't. They said he couldn't be one of them, so he tried to be one of them to prove them wrong, to prove that he was worthy to be a part of the society of "great men"- to prove that his fascination with studying crpytids wasn't stupid, and that… that the legacy he promised to carry was one worth carrying. It was the reason he'd made that stupid bet with Dunceby in the first place, one of the reasons he had decided to agree to help Susan, yet look at where it had gotten him – the bottom of a pit. He really had hit rock bottom.

"You and Susan are not different at all, wanting to belong in all the wrong places."

"You could never understand."

But oh, she did understand, alright. She'd understood enough to go and drill it further into his thick skull, until she got her point across.

"You know something, Lionel? All this time, I'm thinking you care more about these legends you chase than you do about people, but I'm wrong! There's only one legend Sir Lionel Frost really cares about!"

Himself. She had meant him, but he was so foolish that he'd been clueless at first, thinking she meant unicorns. It was a wonder how she didn't just scream at him right then and there.

"You are never interested in anyone but yourself and yet, you are surprised that you always end up alone."

"You have me wrong," he had argued. "I am… better than you think I am."

"Prove it," she'd demanded. "You talk about proof, but all you offer are words. Where is this great man, Sir Lionel? Where is the proof of him, where is the proof of his worth? I think, perhaps, the great Sir Lionel Frost… is a myth."

Those words had sunk in, hitting him real hard as he'd realized that she was right. All this time, he had been so focused on doing what was best for himself, that he never took anyone else's interests into account. He always put himself first, never anyone else. He chased away all the people he loved, yet had the gall to wonder why he was always so lonely.

He ruined his relationship with Adelina, all because he was too focused on being a part of that damned optimates club to even pay mind to her feelings, to try being there for her when she needed him… which was why she'd chosen his former partner, and then he'd gone and twisted the knife in that wound by not attending the funeral.

Because of his selfishness, he'd damaged his relationship with her and gotten them all into this mess… but he would be damned if he let his friendship with Susan be ruined because of his foolishness.

He and Susan weren't completely different. Sure, they were opposites, but not entirely unlike, for they'd both wanted to belong to a society that had no place for them… a place where they didn't belong to begin with. Just as he had no place with the optimates club, Susan had no place with the yetis in Shangri-La– no, no, he belonged somewhere else, somewhere with people who actually respected him and cared about him; his true family.

So Lionel helped his friend get back up, deciding they were going to get out. He'd held his arms up, telling Susan to throw him out of the pit… which didn't work as well, making him slam face first against the ice wall. This led to Susan having to throw Adelina out of the pit, and she then went on to beat up some yeti guards and throw them down for stacking.

Once they got out of that ice pit, they'd made a break for the bridge, only to find that Dunceby, his assistant Mr. Collick and even Stenk were all there, seemingly waiting for them.

"This is where it ends, Frost," Dunceby had stated, musket in hand. "I can't allow you to go any further. Look at you, hand in hand with apes and women. You'll never be one of us!"

"Quite right," Lionel had accepted, surprising the older man. "I never shall." And he'd smirked. "You know, I really don't care to anymore. I have changed my mind, I- I have… evolved."

"What? But that- that's preposterous! Of course you want to be one of us! We are great men! We shape the world!" the older man boasted.

"That's funny," Lionel had found himself chuckling. "I actually used to think that, but now… now I'd rather think the world shapes us." Behind him, Adelina had clapped a little and he turned to her with a smile. "That was pretty good, wasn't it?" He'd looked to Susan. "One of you should write that down."

"You would cast aside everything for that- that-" Dunceby had been tripping over his words, seething with rage as he pointed the gun tip at Susan. "That thing?!"

"Yes," there had been no hesitation in Lionel's voice as he said it. "Yes, I would." And he'd stepped forward in front of his friend, protectively standing ground against Dunceby. "And I'll have you know that that thing has a name!"

"It's Susan," whispered the sasquatch, smugly.

"That thing is an abomination–!"

"That thing is more of a man than you will ever be and once more, he is my friend which is a far better prize than any fellowship with the likes of YOU!" and at this, he'd pushed the tip of the gun, pushing the older man back, surprising him and his two lackeys. "If you are still intent on doing him harm, then you'll have to find a way through me first!"

"And me also!" Adelina had added, stepping up next to Lionel.

"Yeah, and me!" Susan added, to which Adelina said you don't do that, making him step back.

Dunceby had grunted in frustration, looking around at the three, before… cackling. "You can keep your missing link and your lost world," he'd spat. "You're welcome to them." He'd cackled more as he shot at the bridge, sending cracks throughout the ice. It hit the trio right then and there that this was it, this was how he was going to kill them – he was going to send them falling to their deaths. "No one will ever know what you found here, and no one will ever remember your name."

"Uh, my lord?" Even Mr. Collick had been a little terrified by his boss' quick spiral into insanity, watching as he smashed his gun against the bridge. Hell, even Stenk had been backing away from him. "Order will prevail in our civilization, and as for yours–"

Susan had interrupted him, snatching away his gun. "You're a bad man," the sasquatch had whispered, then he'd thrown the gun over the bridge.

Adelina went on to push Lionel and Susan ahead, whispering to them, "Run."

And so, they did. They'd ran as fast as they could, leaving Dunceby in the center of the bridge to his fate, where the old man fell soon enough, followed by his bumbling assistant... and after a minor fight over who would get to climb over the ledge, Stenk also joined the two in the fall to their demises.

Once Susan had pulled both Adelina and Lionel up, there was the question of what would happen next, and well… Lionel had an idea. Since his former assistant, Lemuel, had quit quite literally a day before he'd set off to find Susan, he needed a partner… and there was no one more perfect for the job than Susan.

So he offered him the job and Susan had eagerly accepted, much to the delight of them all. The eagerness and overall heartwarming moment was cut short for a few seconds, however, as Susan had gone on to blow a raspberry at the yetis who'd emerged and watched from the other side of the bridge. Adelina and Lionel had to literally drag him away as he went on, going on a tirade of your utopia sucks, and so do you.

And so, they had all sailed back to London. At the docks, they'd all parted ways… and Lionel could still remember asking Adelina, "What did you see?"

He could remember how she said I saw proof, and how he'd gotten so happy that he had leaned in for a kiss… only for her to put her hand on his lips and say, "You are a great man, Sir Lionel, but I deserve greater." And of course, her little speech.

"It's time I went on my own adventure, not for you… not for Aldous… not even for you, Susan, but for myself. Goodbye, gentlemen."

While he could still remember feeling disappointed, he could also remember the wink she gave him- that wink, something so small yet it meant so much to him. Even when he and Susan had gone back to the workplace and got ready for the trip to Atlantis, he'd mulled over that wink. Could it possibly mean that maybe one day, him and her could—?

"Hey, Lionel, look!"

Lionel's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Susan's voice. He snapped out of it, blinking to see his friend, pointing at a pair of two atlanteans who were chasing each other around some artifacts and statues.

"It's so cute," Susan commented with a smile. "Reminds me of when the birds would chase each other in spring, back in the forest."

"Indeed," Lionel murmured, nodding a little. "It is quite an… adorable sight."

He watched as the two atlanteans continued to chase each other around, noting how the first one giggled as the other one finally caught up to them, wrapping their arms around them in an intimate hug. It was then that he saw how atlanteans weren't completely different from humans, when it came to certain mannerisms.

In fact, the way the atlantean couple chased each other… it reminded him of the day he met Adelina, so many years ago.

It had been during a trip to Mexico, when he was searching for the goat-sucking creature, el chupacabra. He had hunting for the creature with his associates in the jungle, until he spotted a figure running by past the trees.

At first, he didn't pay much mind to it. It could've been an ocelot, after all… yet when it ran past him again, a bit of curiosity took over him. What if this was the beast itself? What if...?

"Excuse me, my good chaps," he said to his associates, stepping aside. "But I believe fate is calling me."

"That's what you always say, Lionel," said one of his female colleagues, Pruedence Perlstein, her eyes rolling.

"Well, today is the lucky day, Prue," Lionel said firmly. "Today is the day I discover the chupacabra."

"Yeah, good luck with that," snickered another one of his friends, Marius Adomakoh.

Lionel rolled his eyes, then went off to find where the creature had gone off to.

He walked around, looking until he heard something rustle. He turned to the bushes and faintly made out a silhouette, standing on its two hind legs… just as some folks had described the beast.

Lionel lunged forward in an attempt to grab it, but it jumped back before he could and took off running. He ran after it, desperate to capture it until it went off in a different direction and he lost it for a moment.

The investigator skid to a stop, letting out a grunt of frustration. "Damn it!" he cursed. "So close…"

Then, suddenly, he saw a shadow looming over him. He turned and saw the silhouette readying to pounce on him, and he let out a startled cry before running just as it jumped.

It went on like this for what seemed like an hour, with the figure chasing after him and him chasing after it. It wasn't until they came to a halt underneath a cliffside that the chasing finally did stop, only so that they could collect their breaths.

It was when they skid to a stop that he saw that it wasn't the chupacabra that he'd been chasing, but instead, a lovely young woman in her thirties. Her skin was a nice tawny brown, darker than the average mestiza, cholo or criollo yet lighter than the average africano or zamba, which put her as an afromestiza- a gorgeous one, at that. Her hair was dark brown, flowing down past her shoulders in natural curls and her eyes were a beautiful sea green. Her dress was a simple red one with white frills and a poncho.

They both breathed in and out while looking at each other, taking in the other's presence.

After regaining her breath, the woman asked, "¿Quién eres tú? ¿Y por qué me perseguías?"

Lionel tilted his head to the side, confused. "What?"

"Oh," said the woman, swiftly changing from spanish to a heavily accented english. "You're an englishman."

"Yes, yes, I am." He nodded, then looked her up and down. She was absolutely radiant, from head to toe. "Do forgive me for chasing you, miss," he went to clear his throat. "You see, I've been searching for the chupacabra and well, I thought you were…"

"…the beast itself?" she finished, a small smile forming on her face. "What a funny coincidence that is, because I also thought you were the beast too."

"Ah, how funny indeed," Lionel chortled at this. They'd shared a hearty chortle for a moment, until he asked her, "So, care to tell me where you are from, beautiful stranger? Daughter of heaven or the earth?"

The woman's smile seemed to grow. "Daughter of the earth," she answered, amused. "From Puebla, Mexico, to be more specific."

"And your name?" he went on to ask, finding himself wanting to know more of this new beauty.

"I am Adelina Angelina Teodora Ernestina Antonia del Jesús Rivera Saldaña," the woman replied, smirking at how his eyes widened at how long her name was. "But my friends call me Adelina."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Adelina," Lionel spoke with a smile, extending his hand. "I am Sir Lionel Frost, fearless and charismatic adventurer and legend in the making." When she held out her own hand, he took it into his and kissed it.

"The pleasure is all mine," she said, green eyes twinkling at him.

He let go of her hand as a light bulb went off in his head. "Say, since we are both searching for the chupacabra, why don't we team up to find it?" he suggested. "After all, two is better than one…" He stepped closer to her, attempting to bring an arm around her, which she allowed. "And since you are a native, you surely must know your way around… perhaps you could show me?"

She seemed to ponder on it for a moment, before flashing him a grin. "Of course." She began to move ahead, beckoning for him to follow. "Venga, Sir Lionel. El chupacabra won't find himself."

He smirked and followed after her.

They might've not found the chupacabra that day, but they found something that was better… each other. Later that day, they'd parted ways and she promised him that if she ever got her citizenship within the states, she would come travel with him.

Prior to that day, Lionel hadn't believed in love at first sight or even true love itself… but when he'd met Adelina, that was when he knew .

And of course, he hadn't been the only one. He could still faintly remember how Aldous – whose own feelings for the woman had only formed way later on – had teased him on the way back.

"Oh, Lionel, you dafty… you like her, don't you?"

"What?" He'd blushed so hard. "N-no?"

"Sure you don't!"

He had liked her a lot back then, and the feelings became more apparent when she joined him after finally getting her green card. It hadn't taken long for them to enter a relationship, and it all seemed fine at first… until he failed to be with her, and it all went downhill–

"Lionel?"

He was forced out of his thoughts by Susan's voice yet again. "Yes, Susan?"

"You okay?" Susan asked, his head tilting to the side. "Cause you seemed to be zoning out while watching those atlanteans over by the statues."

"Oh." Lionel's eyes darted between the atlantean couple, then back to Susan. "Apologies, it's just that I was… reminded of something."

Of a better time went unsaid, for he knew he couldn't dwell on it too much lest he wanted to lose track of their current journey. The past was the past, after all.

Pretty long for a first chapter and full of looking back galore (much like "Proof"), I know, but at least it's a start. My apologies, but hopefully the next chapter will be interesting enough. Oh, and a couple of notes:

– Some stuff in this fic isn't going to be completely accurate to the Victorian era. There will be some slang and some stuff that seems "untraditional" and all that but honestly, it's not hurting anyone with some minor inaccuracy. It's not like I'm erasing important events or anything, so there's not much of a big deal to be made. Still, I feel like giving a head's up just in case.

– Lionel's father, Anthony, will be mentioned a little throughout the fic and will be relevant in a chapter later on. The part he plays might not be as big as our leads', but he does have a role even if it may be slightly minor.

– Aldous, however, will not have much of a role at all within this fic. He might be mentioned and referenced to and all that, but let it be known that that tiny little bit of a flashback he's in will most likely be the only real thing I write with him. I'm afraid there's just not much I can work with in regards to him, plus it'd be kind of weird to bring him up too frequently considering it's a Liolina fic, no? So at most, he'll get small mentions (again, nothing is guaranteed and I won't make any promises), but that's about it. Otherwise, you're not gonna see anything focusing on him from me because… well, Liolina.

– I realize the chupacabra was 'discovered' in the year 1995. As someone who is Puerto-Rican/Colombian, I know this very well, especially considering some of my family members own farms. However, like my friend Taylor once said, it could just mean the creature reached more attention and popularity in 1995. It's like how religions have existed for a long time and almost no one questions that, so why can't the same be said for cryptids such as el chupacabra? But that's merely my own two cents on the matter.

– And of course, in regards to how Adelina's described within the flashback: in the art book, there's concept art depicting her with dark brown skin and even natural curly hair. Because of this, I've decided to write her as afro-latina, okay? Okay.

– In regards to her long name: it's a common spanish name thing, especially for those from well-off families. As for her mother's surname being Saldaña and Lionel's middle name being Phineas, sue me. I like making small pokes and references.

That all being said, I hope this first chapter was to your liking and a good start to this story. 'Til next time, take care!