'Milo, I swear there were more than this!' Sweet shouted. Vinny nodded. Milo looked shocked. The gang formed ranks…
'Let's hope they don't call for backup! Now, come on!' he shouted.
The Atlanteans moved forward, and started destroying the mercenaries' weapons. This made Dourke angrier and more terrifying than usual.
'FIRE AT WILL! I want these fishermen blasted to smithereens!'
They fired, but the Atlanteans dodged. The mercenaries were running out of bullets. Frantically, Dourke grabbed a pistol and aimed at the Atlantean nearest him. He got hit in the chest, and sat slumped in his vehicle.
Fortunately, the mercenaries were losing badly, and they fled to recuperate. The Atlanteans landed nearby, and inspected the soldier's wounds. Sweet frowned.
'He's bad, but he could have been worse…' said Sweet, and he healed it with his crystal. The Atlantean winced in pain, and then sighed in relief as the wound healed.
'What's his name?' Vinny asked. Milo knew him, of course. He was quite young, not yet middle-aged. Milo taught his daughter, Paolika. He strained to remember his name…
'Mabeku. I teach his daughter. Come on, we need to go and see the others. The men need to rest – the mercenaries will not be back until tomorrow, at least.' Milo replied.
'Milo, they might not come back.' Sweet suggested. Milo shook his head.
'I've met this type before. The Crystal is worth billions – they won't give up that easily, trust me.'
'To the caves! To the caves!' Mole cried, scurrying away on all fours. The others sighed, and followed, carrying Mabeku's unconscious body.
They found Kida and the other citizens in the far caves. Kida was asleep, with a small child curled up against her. Milo smiled down at her, thinking about their child. Sweet had found Audrey, and was talking to her. Milo saw him put an arm round her.
Saros walked towards him, and Milo asked him how the people were.
'We are all scared, Queen Kida especially. She fears for the baby.' Saros said, 'the women are restless – worrying about their husbands. We are all together now, we should be all right.'
Milo sat beside Kida, and laid an arm on her shoulder. She opened her eyes, and he smiled again. She sat up and he hugged her tight. The child woke up, and asked in Atlantean whether his father was ok. Milo nodded.
'Everyone's all right for now. He's over there, go and see him.' Milo told him, and he skipped away happily to find his father.
'What happened, Milo?' Kida asked, her eyes full of worry. Milo sat up straight and told her.
'We destroyed most of their machines quickly. We had the advantage of height, and we only took one hit – Mabeku. They fled to re-gather their troops, and we came back here. Mabeku is fine – he got hit in the chest, but we healed him.'
'So, they are gone now?' Kida asked, a happier note in her voice.
'Yes and no. Sweet and Vinny said that there were more in the other caves, where they're camping out. They should attack again in a day or two, at the most.'
Kida suddenly looked scared, and covered her face with her hands. Milo sighed, and laid a hand on her slightly swollen stomach, where their baby was growing. Kida wept quietly, and leant on Milo, who was very worried for her.
'Kida, we'll pull through, I know we will. Don't cry…'
'Milo, there are many more. More weapons, more guns. There are always more people who are trying to stop us. Now the people of your world know that Atlantis exists, they will keep coming. What will we do? There is still five months until our child is born – there is a great chance that we will be killed before then.' Said Kida, who hung her head in despair. Milo lifted it, and kissed her.
'I won't let that happen. I'll stop those mercenaries – all of them – and our child will be born safely. I won't let anything happen to you. I won't…I won't.'