Chapter 20: The Battle for Atlantis

Milo followed the path that Kida had led him and Indy to the day before. He was aware of the others struggling to catch up with him. Not only them, but curious Atlanteans as well.

He didn't stop. The clock was ticking and they needed to intercept Rourke before he got any farther into the caves. Milo had put the king's pendant around his neck; it bounced against his chest with each movement he made. Light still glowed from the shard of crystal but it was faint. He fervently hoped there was enough power in it left to fire up the stone fish vehicles.

Leaping down from the rocky shelf of stone, he began pulling leaf-heavy vines and moss off of them, clearing away the debris from the holes where the crystals were inserted. He could hear the others struggling down the rocks after him.

Audrey was the first to reach the bottom. She dusted herself off and stomped over to him. "Milo, what do you think you are doing?"

Milo pulled the pendant off and waved the crystal. "Just follow my lead." He climbed up on one of the larger fish and stuck the crystal into the slot, turning it one-quarter turn back with his hand on the pad. He prayed that the crystal shard had just enough power left. The large spherical eyes of the fish and its markings glowed blue. It roared to life and levitated in the air. Milo squeezed his legs together nervously at the jerky movement it made beneath him.

He grinned widely. There was just enough.

"Wow." Mrs. Packard said around her cigarette. "I'm impressed."

Milo looked down at the stunned watchers. "It's simple!" He said as Audrey leaped up, grabbing the levitating fish by the tail and pulling herself up behind Milo. "All you got to do-"

She shoved herself forward, her mechanic instincts kicking in. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shut up. We get it, okay?" She reached for the pad.

"No, no, wait!" Milo protested but by putting her hand firmly on the pad, it caused the fish to screech and jerk backwards, only to crash into the wall behind them. The movement jarred them violently but they both had managed to stay on it. Audrey looked up at Milo in annoyance, rubbing the back of her head.

"Gently." Milo glared back. "Just gently."

Vinny approached the crashed vehicle with a few Atlantean warriors beside him, looking up at Milo inquiringly. "Hey, Milo, you got something sporty?" He quipped. "You know, like a tuna?"

"How is this done?" One of the warriors asked.

Hiding a smile from Vinny's question, Milo slid off the fish, leaving it to Audrey. "All you got to do is use the crystals." He waved the king's pendant in his hand as he crossed over to a vehicle resembling a hammerhead shark. "Kida showed me." He leaped on the back of it and inserted the crystal. "Half-turn right, quarter-run back. Keep your hand on the pad." He instructed as the others found their own vehicles. Those still wary of the levitating fish loaned their crystal pendants to Sweet and the others. He ran around to the other vehicles, showing them where to place their hands and fingers.

"Saddle up, partners!" Cookie shouted above the screeching vehicles as they came to life. "Bring jerky and ammo."

Mole clapped his hands as his lifted off the ground. "Oh! I'm so excited!"

Knowing he wouldn't be able to drive one of them due to his blurry vision, but determined to join the rescue, Indy climbed up on the shark where Milo had left his crystal in. Milo ran over and shook his head. "What are you doing? You're not going anywhere with your head injury!"

Indy coiled up his bullwhip and hooked it onto his belt. "Get your ass on the fish, Milo." He replied, shooting a glare at him.

Milo couldn't help but grin in response. He climbed aboard in front of the archaeologist and they lifted off the ground, joining the others in the air.

Milo looked around at their small army, his chest swelling with excitement and fear at the same time. "All right, this is it!" He shouted above the roar of the vehicles. "We're going to rescue the princess. We're going to save Atlantis. Or we're going to die trying. Now let's do it!"

The Atlanteans below them joined in with the cheers and hollers of the determined rescuers as Milo turned his and Indy's fish around and headed for the cavern entrance with the rest streaming like a flock of geese behind them. The Atlantean citizens in the palace courtyard watched them, breaking out into their own cheers when they realized what was happening.

Indy had to shout above the wind whipping past them as they sped over the lava pit towards the opening in the cavern wall. "You got a plan?"

"I'm working on it!" Milo hollered back.

Rourke and Helga watched from behind a row of stalagmites as their men set off a rocket-shaped bomb. With a loud BOOM it sped up the volcanic shaft like a smoky flare, hitting the magma-enclosed ceiling high above with a faint explosion. They waited, ears plugged and heads down as pieces of heavy rock came crashing down into the ash-covered pit. Up above, a small glimmer of daylight proved that they had found a way to the surface at last.

Rourke climbed up onto one of the pieces of hard magma that had fallen from above, standing in the small shaft of natural sunlight. He clenched his fists and grinned widely. "I love it when I win."

With a signal from Helga, the Gyro-Evac, a large zeppelin-shaped balloon was released from one of the trucks, inflating quickly.

As the stone vehicles entered the cavern, Milo waited until the last one came through before signaling them to drop to the ground.

"Okay, here's the plan." Milo looked around, speaking loudly. "We're going to come in low and fast... and take them by surprise." He smacked a fist into his palm.

Audrey shook her head doubtfully. "Well, I've got news for you, Milo." She replied with a cocked eyebrow. "Rourke is never surprised, and he's got a lot of guns."

Milo swallowed but shrugged in annoyance. "Great! Well, do you have any other suggestions?"

"Yeah." Vinny shouted from Milo's other side. "Don't get shot!"

"We don't have any weapons besides bows and arrows and these things we're sitting on." Indy added, agreeing with Vinny. "So keep out of bullet range. A gun is deadlier and quicker then an arrow."

With that, Milo and Indy took the lead again and sped through the darkened cavern.

Rourke tossed a heavy chain with a hook on its end to the man sitting on top of the iron vault. They worked quickly, hooking the chains to the bottom of the Gyro-Evac as it floated above them. The headlights from the remaining vehicles illuminated their progress.

Once the chains were secure, the men leaped down from it. Rourke waved above Helga to start the Gyro. It lifted higher into the air.

The chains creaked and groaned as the weight of the vault pulled on them but they held fast. Rourke smacked the back of it with a hand. When the vault moved out of his line of vision, his heart skipped a beat when he saw eerie blue lights coming out of the darkness towards them. He squinted his eyes, trying to see what they were.

Spotting the Gyro-Evac and the vehicles in the volcanic shaft, Milo pointed up ahead. "There they are!"

When the stone vehicles came into view and Rourke recognized the faces that were driving them, he grit his teeth. "Shit!" He spun around and ran for the ladder of the Gyro-Evac. "We've got company!" He climbed half way up and turned around.

As soon as the guns started going off, the stone fish zipped upwards and out of range. The Atlantean warriors, armed with their bows shot off a few well-aimed arrows, taking out a few of Rourke's men. But that didn't stop them for long. To Indy's surprise, they were launching miniature planes into the air, controlled by men lying on their bellies at the controls.

Rourke leaped up onto the deck of the Gyro-Evac, grabbing a gun from Helga. "Take her up!" He shouted above the chaos.

The Atlantis rescuers quickly learned just how volatile the expedition's weaponry was. Three of the stone fish were swiftly destroyed, blown to pieces by flaming shots from the man-flown planes.

Another ball of fire came spinning towards Indy and Milo. They ducked out of the way, feeling the heat of it just inches from them. Indy ducked as another one coursed past. "Holy shit!" He clung to Milo as he turned the vehicle to the side and out of the way.

Milo found Audrey and Sweet as they zipped past in their vehicle. "I thought you said he only had guns!" He screamed at them, arms raised in the air.

Audrey shot him an annoyed glance. "What I said was, he's never surprised!"

Heavy machine firing from down below rained upon them. Vinny closed his eyes and put his hands up in front of his face defensively as bullets ricocheted off the stone walls and his fish. Unwittingly, he slammed his hand down on the inscription pad. A jagged beam of crystal light shot from the fish's mouth, obliterating several men and two of the trucks.

Vinny sat up in surprise, sharing an excited glance with one of the warriors. His mustache turned up in a grin. "Okay, now things are getting good."

Indy and Milo appeared beside him. "Vinny! Heads up!" Milo pointed to the Gyro-Evac still making its way upwards. "We can't let them reach the top of that shaft!"

Vinny nodded and sped away.

"Milo, take us down towards those men!" Indy shouted as he pulled his bullwhip from his belt.

"What?!" Milo turned his head and stared at him. "Are you insane?!"

"Just do it and keep your head down!" Indy ordered.

Milo groaned and descended the vehicle to the bottom of the shaft, wondering if Indy's skull fracture was affecting his judgement. As they zipped past a group of soldiers, Indy cracked his whip out at them. It wrapped its end around the barrel of one of the rifles. With a skillful jerk, Indy ripped the gun right out of the soldier's hands. As soon as the gun was in his possession did he squeeze his legs together to hold on while he returned a string of bullets on the group. However, the sounds of the gun going off so close to him increased the throbbing in his head. He grit his teeth, fighting back the dizziness. He had to grab a hold of Milo with one hand and shoot with the other.

Sweet and Audrey had managed to steal a couple of guns from the back of one of the trucks, using their vehicle to scare off the stunned soldiers. They distributed the guns to the others before joining Milo, Indy and Vinny to stop the Gyro-Evac. Cookie flew past with two rifles in his hands, shooting at the planes as they zipped around them. Packard sat behind him, a hand-held camera in her hands, taking photographs of the conflict, occasionally shooting a pistol at a plane that dared to come close.

Rourke and Helga were ready for them when Milo and Indy arrived, backed by Vinny, Audrey and Sweet. Indy aimed at Rourke, hoping to get a hit but the enraged commander made it difficult for the archaeologist to get a good shot.

Helga pulled a flare gun from her pocket and shot it at them, nearly hitting Milo. He ducked forward, feeling the heat of it fly over him.

"Milo get us out of range!" Indy hollered.

They zoomed out of the way, with Indy shooting at another plane flying by. Despite his blurred vision, he was able to somehow hit the man operating it, causing it to spin out of control and crash into the cavern wall.

Milo still trembled from yet another near-death experience. He turned his body to face Indy. "Now what? We've got to stop them from reaching the top!"

"You're not gonna stop that thing, Milo!" Indy hollered back. "We'll have to think of a way to release the vault from it instead."

"That's it!" Milo brightened. "You, Vinny and I will be decoys. Audrey and Sweet can try to unhook it from the bottom!"

Indy cocked his gun and nodded. "Alright. Let's do that."

Vinny raced towards one of the planes head on, zapping at it with another stream of crystallized power. It was quickly incinerated, though the blazing wreckage slammed into him.

Coughing and covered in black ash, Vinny wiped it out of his eyes as Milo and Indy appeared on his side.

"Vinny! New plan!" Milo shouted to him. "You, Indy and me, we're going to be decoys." Indy signaled for Audrey to come closer.

The archaeologist pointed to the vault containing the crystal. "Audrey, Sweet, fly up underneath that thing and cut her loose!"

"We're on it!" Sweet affirmed with a thumbs-up and they sped in another direction to get to the vault in order to avoid being seen by Rourke and Helga.

The commander and lieutenant were fighting for their lives. Rourke had crouched low, his sharp eyes watching for Milo and Indy to appear. He turned when he caught a glimpse of Vinny behind Helga.

"Lieutenant!"

The blonde spun around and shot the flare gun at him but he zipped out of the way. Her flare ended up destroying another plane.

A bullet ricocheted above Rourke's head and he turned, meeting Indy's hardened gaze. The archaeologist aimed another shot but Rourke rolled out of the way. He sat up on his knees and delivered another volley of shots but Milo quickly got themselves out of range.

Below them, Audrey sat on top of the iron vault, using Sweet's heavy duty saw to cut through the chains, albeit with some difficulty. The teenage mechanic wasn't making any progress. "I thought you said this thing could cut through a femur in twenty-eight seconds!" She screamed at him impatiently.

"Less talk, more saw!" Sweet snapped back.

Rourke reached for a heavy-duty machine gun, now intent to kill. Catching a glimpse of Indy and Milo, he aimed at them, snarling with impatience when his volley of bullets missed them again. A zap of blue light shot the gun out of his hands, destroying it. Stunned, he looked up as Vinny swept past, giving the commander a mocking salute and a mustached smile.

The last of Helga's handguns clicked, all her ammunition now spent. She tossed the gun in frustration, letting out an enraged yell.

Rourke nursed his burnt arm after getting zapped by Vinny. Unfortunately, he also happened to glance down and catch sight of Sweet and Audrey on the vault, still attempting to free it. He grinned and waved at Helga to come see.

"Looks like somebody's working overtime!"

Weaponless, Helga instead loosened an oxygen tank from the side of the Gyro-Evac. It hurtled towards Audrey, barely clipping the vault but exploding violently. The force of the explosion nearly knocked Audrey off the top. She lost her grip on the saw, grabbing a hold of the chains instead as the vault swung rapidly back and forth. Sweet glanced up at Rourke and Helga before grabbing the dizzy teenager by the arm and jerking her back into the fish with a surprised yell. "Come on, girl. Time's up!"

Indy wasn't doing well. The pain in his head had increased with the loud explosions and gunshots. He had to have Milo stop and let their fish levitate for a few seconds while he pulled himself together. Milo didn't like the looks of him. He was paler and sweating profusely now. "This was not a good idea, Indy." Milo scolded him.

"I wasn't going to miss anything." Indy replied, leaning over the side of the fish as if getting ready to vomit.

Sweet and Audrey appeared beside them. Seeing Indy, they became concerned. "We should have left you behind." Sweet told him.

"Well, its a little late for that." Indy snapped.

Milo looked at the continuing descent of the Gyro-Evac. "Were you not able to get close to the vault?" He asked.

Sweet shook his head. "We did but my new saw didn't exactly cut through those chains very well."

Audrey glared at him incredulously. "That's because... ITS A SAW!"

Milo shook his head. "Then there's only one other way." He turned to Indy who sat up straight and met his gaze. Milo raised an eyebrow inquiringly. "Do you think you can drive this for a minute?"

Indy blinked. "Why?"

Without another word, Milo turned back to the pad and sped the fish towards the Gyro-Evac, nearly sending Indy off the back, ignoring Audrey and Sweet's protests. Indy grabbed a hold of Milo's shirt and clung to him tightly as they headed for the top of the Gyro.

"Get ready to take over!" Milo shouted back to Indy.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Indy screamed impatiently.

Milo took a deep breath as they hovered over the Gyro. "I really wish I had a better idea than this!" To Indy's shock and surprise, the young man slipped off the fish and did a free-fall, landing on top of one of the smaller balloons, grabbing a hold of the netting as he slipped down. The force of his fall ended up popping it, decreasing the Gyro-Evac's power.

Rourke stared down incredulously as they descended to the cavern floor. "Son of a bitch!" He screamed, searching above for Milo and Indy, quickly blaming them for it. He turned to Helga. "We're losing altitude. Lighten the load!"

Helga rolled her eyes and pushed heavy barrels of oil to the railing, quickly disposing of them by lifting them up and over. To her chagrin, Rourke didn't even bother helping. Instead keeping his eyes on the battle around them. She tossed the last oil barrel over the railing and swept a strand of hair from her sweaty face, the straps of her white tanktop hanging off her shoulders. Getting rid of the extra weight did little to increase their altitude.

"That's it, unless someone wants to jump." Helga informed the commander. Rourke grinned and came up behind her, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Ladies first." He picked her up and shoved her over the railing, leaning over to watch her fall. Instead, she was able to grab a hold of the metal bars beneath the platform, swinging her body up and over with a well-aimed kick to Rourke's face. The force of it knocked him backwards.

She glared down at him as he picked himself up off the floor of the platform. "You said we were in this together!" She snarled, aiming two more savage kicks to Rourke's bloodied face, making him stumble backwards into the railing.

"You promised me a percentage!" She twisted her body, getting ready to aim another kick but Rourke grabbed her foot as she swung around.

He glared at her. "Next time, get it in writing!" He shoved her over the railing again, this time succeeding.

"ROURKE!" Helga screamed as she plummeted to the cavern floor.

The commander smiled gleefully. "Nothing personal!" He yelled down to her.

Milo had seen the deadly exchange from where he hung on the netting above Rourke's head. Grabbing a hold of the rope, he pushed off the balloon and swung towards Rourke.

The commander looked up, in time to see Milo hurtling towards him. The younger man slammed into him, the force snapping off the railing as they slammed into it and fell.

"Milo!" Indy sped the stone fish towards them, watching helplessly as Rourke grabbed a line with one hand with Milo still hanging on him. They slid down the rope and fell onto the catwalk just above the iron vault. Rourke's body slammed Milo's into the side of the Evac before falling onto the platform, both of them crashing heavily on to it.

Stunned by the force of being body-slammed, Milo lay half-conscious on the catwalk, seeing stars.

Rourke got to his feet, grinning sadistically as Milo attempted to pick himself up. "Well, I have to hand it to you. You're a bigger pain in the neck than I would have ever thought possible." Milo got to his feet and aimed a fist at the commander but he was able to grab it and send Milo flying again with a couple punches to the face before plowing a fist into his gut, sending Milo flying over, gripping the damaged railing from the platform above. Luckily, the railing caught on the blades that kept the Gyro-Evac in the air, however it decreased its altitude even more.

Rourke went to wrench the railing out to send Milo falling to his death but a loud crack and a stinging pain on his forearm held him back from doing so. He turned around, growling in fury when he saw Indy floating above him on the stone fish, having used his bullwhip to grab Rourke's arm.

Smiling, the commander grabbed a hold of the end of it, freeing his bleeding arm from the whip. "I consider myself an even-tempered man. It takes a lot to get under my skin, but congratulations, Doctor Jones! You just won the solid-gold kewpie doll!" He jerked the whip, knowing Indy was off-balance anyway because of his head injury. He pulled the archaeologist violently off the fish where he fell to the catwalk with a loud crash, the force of it stunning him.

Rourke broke a glass case containing an axe, grabbing a hold of the weapon's handle, intending to use it on Indy.

Seeing this, Milo doubled his efforts to climb up and help Indy by grabbing the chains that held the vault in place as the railing came loose and dropped.

Far below them on the cavern floor, Helga lay sprawled on her back. She felt nothing from her waist down, certain she had broken her back when she had landed on the rocks. The Gyro-Evac was still slowly descending, just within range. She reached behind her for the flare gun, still in her belt. She gasped in pain as she fought to lift it up to aim it. Putting her finger on the trigger, she closed one eye. "Nothing... personal." She repeated Rourke's words.

BOOM!

The flare soared up and took out the main balloon, erupting it in flames. The movement of the Gyro made Rourke lose his balance and he almost lost his grip on the axe. The commander stared up at the now unrepairable balloon and glared down at Indy. He was about to chop down on him when a hand grabbed his leg. He looked down and kicked out at Milo, catching him in the jaw. The younger man fell onto the iron vault. Deciding he would be more of a threat then Indy, Rourke climbed down after Milo, the axe held tightly in his hand. Rourke's weight turned the vault, causing Milo to roll off. He gripped the edges, looking up at Rourke in terror, ducking as the axeblade came within inches of his head.

Rourke grinned. "Tired, Mr. Thatch?" He asked mockingly before taking another swing. The axe blade crashed through the circular window of the vault as Milo swung out of the way, now hanging on with one hand.

"Aw, that's a darn shame..." Rourke snarled. Seeing that the glass had also been turned to crystal, Milo grasped a shard and looked up at Rourke. "... because I'm just getting warmed up!" The commander grabbed Milo by the neck and lifted him up. Rourke leaned the axe back, getting ready to chop at Milo with it.

Gasping for breath, Milo used the crystallized shard to cut into Rourke's arm.

Rourke screamed in pain and dropped the axe and Milo. Milo grabbed a hold of the chains and started to climb up to Indy again. Covering the painful gash on his bicep, Rourke looked up, staring in pure hatred at Milo. But before he could retaliate, shards of crystal erupted from his arm. Attempting to scrape them off, with his other hand, he tried to stop it but the crystal quickly began to cover him, digging into his flesh painfully, climbing up his neck and encasing his head. His scream came out in a metallic shriek, his eyes red as the blue crystal took over the rest of his body.

Milo looked down from hanging on the chains. Rourke was still as a statue, encased in crystal, his mouth open in a silent scream. Milo sighed in relief and hung his head. "Thank heaven!" But his relief was short-lived.

Rourke's crystallized hand grabbed the chain just below his face, causing Milo to yell out in terror and surprise as the monster climbed up after him, intent to finish him off.

"Whoa!" Milo lost his balance as Rourke's movements jerked him around. He held on for dear life, praying that death would be quick.

A loud crack made him open his eyes. He turned as Indy swung from up above on his bullwhip. "Take this, you son of a bitch!" With Indy's added weight, it lifted Rourke close to the blades that kept the Gyro in the air. Rourke made a final scream before getting shattered into thousands of crystal pieces. Indy and Milo shut their eyes and turned their heads to avoid getting shards in them. However, the blast and the crystals managed to destroy the chains that held the vault, causing it and the two men to fall to the ground. Luckily, it wasn't as bad of a fall. The vault tumbled down a curved rock with Milo and Indy coming after it. The archaelogist landed in the ash which luckily cushioned his fall but Milo slammed into the side of the vault.

"Ah!" Milo groaned painfully.

Indy sat up, completely out of it.

Milo glanced up. "Oh great!" He pushed the vault, rolling it away and grabbed Indy by the shirt sleeve, the adrenaline allowing him to pull the dazed man to his feet as the destroyed Gyro-Evac plummeted towards them in a fiery blaze. They were able to get out of the way, using the vault as a shield as the fireball hit the cavern floor with a force equal to a bomb.

The rest of the rescuers dropped down on their stone fish nearby. Indy sat down, completely overwhelmed with dizziness. Black spots appeared in his vision and he fought to stay conscious. Sweet knelt down next to him just as a loud rumbling started to shake the ground beneath their feet.

"What is that?" Audrey asked fearfully.

Mole knew exactly what it was. His face was the epitome of terror. "The volcano! SHE AWAKES!"

"Hey, I had nothing to do with it!" Vinny retorted, remembering the last time they had stood there after they had crashed the vehicles.

"This here would be a good place not to be." Cookie commented as Sweet and Milo helped Indy to his feet. As the doctor led Indy to the stone fish, Milo ran to the vault, using the remaining chain links to hook it up again.

"No, wait. We got to get her back or the whole city will die!"

Audrey ran up to help him, snatching the chain from him, shouting as she ran past. "And if we don't get out of here, we'll die!"

Milo glared at her incredulously. "It's the only way to reverse this!" He shouted pleadingly as the others levitated in the air on their fish. "Just do it!"

Audrey scowled and tossed the chain up to Vinny. All three wrapped the chains around the fish's tail before climbing aboard. Vinny pressed his hand on the pad and they headed after the others, only for the round ring on the top of the vault to snap off.

Milo turned around. "Stop!" He shouted before dropping down from the fish.

"Milo, no!" Audrey cried.

Milo leaped around the opening fissures in the ground, feeling the intense heat of the lava beneath his feet as he wrapped the chains more securely around the vault. He leaped up on it, shouting up to Vinny and Audrey. "I got it, let's go!"

Milo clung tightly to the chain as the stone fish zoomed into the tunnel towards Atlantis like bats out of hell as the magma erupted and flowed like a river of liquid fire towards them.

They slipped through the opening into Atlantis just as the magma poured out of it.

Indy held on to Sweet the best he could, still fighting against the dizzying blackness. His brief fight with Rourke had worsened the injury as he felt warm blood stream from his head.

They dropped to the courtyard, greeted by the Atlanteans who had been watching the river of magma slowly come towards them. Grabbing a spear from the nearest warrior, Milo dug the tip into the cracks of the vault, attempting to open it.

Sweet jumped from the fish to help, leaving Indy still sitting on it.

He struggled to focus as everyone and everything around him blurred into only colors, losing their familiar shapes.

Across the water, entire wall of the cavern began to crack and glow as the magma burned through the stone.

Mole began to jump up and down ridiculously. "The fissure! It is about to eject its pyroclastic fury!"

"Milo, Mole says the wall's going to blow!" Sweet ran up and took the spear from him as other men gathered around to help him.

Milo glanced over at Indy worriedly. The archaeologist had his head down and he was breathing heavily. He hurried over to him, grabbing him by the hand.

"Indy?"

Indy barely heard Milo call his name as he finally blacked out and slipped off the still floating vehicle, falling onto the courtyard stones in a crumpled heap.

Milo dropped to the ground and turned the him over onto his back. "Indy!" He shook him violently. "Indy!"

But there was no response. He was out cold.

Sweet appeared at his side, having seen the archaeologist tumble to the ground. He shoved Milo out of the way. "I got him. Get the princess!"

Milo leaped to his feet and raced over to the vault. Throwing all his weight on the spear handle, he gave one final pull and was rewarded when the vault split into pieces, releasing the crystal from inside.