Chapter Twenty-Two: The Heart of Atlantis
Later that night Milo gasped as he rose out of the water back where they left their clothes as Max and Jason joined him as they saw a boot and glance up to see Rourke and behind them the rest of the expedition crew all holding guns.
"Have a nice swim?" Rourke asked.
"Hey guys what's going on? What's with all the guns? Guys" Milo said.
"Oh you got to be kidding me, they're all the bad guys!" Jason growled.
"I'm such an idiot!" Milo said hitting his fist on the ground, "this is just another treasure hunt for you! You're after the crystal!"
"Oh you mean this?" Rourke said pulling out the missing page from his boot and held it out to them.
"The Heart of Atlantis" Milo said.
"Yeah about that I would have told you sooner but it was strictly on a need to know biases well now you know I had to be sure you were one of us, welcome to the club son" Rourke said.
"I'm no mercenary!" Milo said.
"Not interested!" Jason growled as Kida rose up out of the water as one of the masked men yanked her out by her hair.
"AH!"
"Kida!" Jason yelled about to help like Milo and Max but guns ended up being pointed at them.
Kida then threw the man over her shoulder and into the water as she slammed her knee into another gut and grabbed his sun to hit another across the jaw as she shoved the over one down and pulled out a knife as her knife was shot out of her hand by Rourke as two guards grabbed her arms but not before she delivered a hard kick to the man on the ground nads.
"Mercenary? I prefer the term adventure capitalist besides you're the one who got us here you're the one who lead us to the treasure chest" Rourke said.
"You don't know what your tampering with Rourke!" Milo said as he and the others got out of the water.
"What's to know, it's big it's shinny it's going to make us all rich" Rourke said.
"You think it's some kind of a diamond I thought it was some kind of a battery but were both wrong! It's their life-force! That crystal is the only thing keeping these people alive! You take that away they die!" Milo said.
"Well that changes thing" Rourke said as Helga took the page, "Helga what do you think?"
"Knowing that I'd double the price" Helga said.
"I was thinking triple" Rourke said.
"You son of a-" Jason growled as a gun got pointed at him.
"Rourke don't do this!" Milo said.
"Academics, you never want to get your hands dirty think about it if you gave back every stolen artifact from a museum you'd be left with an empty building were just providing a necessary service to the archeological community" Rourke said.
"Not interested!" Milo said.
"This is people's lives were talking about not some damn artifact!" Jason growled.
"Got to admit I'm disappointed you're an idealist just like your grandfather, do yourself a favor Milo don't be like him for once do the smart thing" Rourke said as Jason, Milo and Max glared at him, "I hate it when negotiations go sour" he said snapping his fingers as Kida was shoved to the ground and a gun pointed at her as the three growled.
"Let's try this again" Rourke said holding out the page.
Later that night the door the throne room was blown up as Jason and Max had their hand tied behind their backs like Kida.
"Knock knock" Rourke said.
"Room service!" Cookie said as the two guards looked ready to fight.
"Tell them to drop their weapons now!" Helga said to the king and pointed her gun at Kida as King Kashekim Nedakh made the order as the gaurds dropped their spheres, "spread out! Search everywhere!" Helga yelled as the team began to tear the place up as Jason and Max could only watch.
"I am so sorry my king" Jason said.
"You're not applying yourself son there's got to be something!" Rourke said to Milo.
"Well there isn't! It just says the Heart of Atlantis lies in the eyes of our king" Milo said as Rourke pushed him over.
"Well then maybe old king coal here can help us fill in the blanks! How about it chief? Where's the crystal chamber?" Rourke said as he and two masked men surrounded the King.
"You will destroy yourselves" King Kashekim Nedakh said.
"Maybe I'm not being clear" Rourke said as he punched the king in the gut as Kida, Jason and Max all gasped.
"Bastard!" Jason growled as Kida swore in Atlantian.
"Rourke this was not apart of the plan!" Sweet said checking the king.
"Plans change doc I suggest you put a Band-Aid on that bleeding heart of yours it doesn't suit a mercenary" Rourke said sitting in the king throne, "well as usual alomancy has failed us I'm going to count to ten and you're going to tell me where the crystal is, one" he said taking the safety off the gun, "two, nine te-" he said as he looked at the tiles in the water and looked at the book and saw they were the same symbol, "the heart of Atlantis lies in the eyes of our king, this is it! Were in!" he said stepping into the water.
"Rourke for the last time you got to listen to me you don't have the slightest idea what this power is capable off!" Milo yelled.
"True but I can think of a few countries who'd pay anything to find out" Helga said as they reach the center of the water where Rourke stepped on a pressure plate as it began to sink below.
"Hurry get on!" Rourke said pulling Milo, Jason and Max on as Helga and Kida got on as it moved down into a large chamber.
In the chamber their eyes widen to see floating up in the middle of the room was massive stone faces of all sizes floating and slowly moving around the massive crystal in the center.
"Jackpot" Rourke said.
"What are those stone faces floating around it?" Jason asked as Kida gasped.
"The kings of our past" she said with tears in her eyes as she fell to the floor and began to pray in Atlatian.
"Thatch tell her to wrap it up we got a schedule to meet" Rourke said as Milo glared at him as he approached Kida.
"Uh Kida, I'm sorry" Milo said helping her up while Rourke approached the water as he kicked a small rock into the water as the crystal above glowed red with the Kings Stone faces.
"Come on let's get this over with I don't like this place" Helga said.
"What is it doing Milo?" Jason asked.
"Alright Thatch what's next?" Rourke asked.
"Okay there's a giant crystal hovering a hundred a fifty feet about our heads at a bottomless pit of water" Milo began while Jason watched a blue light form over Kida as her crystal floated up and glowed as her eyes glowed while Milo and Rourke argued and Jason and Max stared at Kida.
"Uh Milo?" Jason said.
"Now move it!" Rourke said.
"I don't know how to move it I don't even know what's holding it up there!" Milo said as Kida walked past them as they glanced at her as she walked with the blue light.
"Talk to me Thatch what's happening" Rourke said.
"Look all it says here that the crystal is alive somehow I don't know how to explain it it's their deity their power source" Milo said.
"Speak English professor" Rourke said.
"It's a part of them their apart of it! I'm doing the best I can here!"
"Well do better!"
"Why don't you translate and I wave the gun around!"
"All will be well, Milo Thatch be not afraid" Kida said in Atlantian and in time with several other voices.
"What did she say?" Rourke asked.
"I don't know I didn't catch it" Milo lied.
Their eyes then widen as Kida began to walk on the water and under the heart as the Stone Faces moved apart and the moving blue lights and moved onto Kida as she glowed and began to float up to the crystal.
"The Princess of Heart and the Heart of Atlantis" Jason said as his eyes widen.
'Now I remember! The Seven purists of Hearts! The Seven princess of Heart! Master Xehanort mentioned it!' Jason thought.
Kida then went into the crystal as all the stone faces began to spin fast as the light grew the massive crystal formed into Kida as they saw her body was completely crystalized as the stone faces slowed down as she floated down and touched the water as Milo was about to go to her but Rourke stopped him.
"Hold your horses lover boy" Rourke said.
"She turned into the Heart of Atlantis" Jason said.
"Kida?" Milo said as she opened her glowing eyes and began to walk towards them as all the Kings stone faces began to fall and hit the water as she began to walk towards them as Rourke began to reach out.
"Nah don't! Don't touch her!" Milo warned.
"Kida" Jason said.
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