CHAPTER 1
I was caught halfway
between the world of sleep and awake... At first I thought
that everything had
all been a dream... The journey to Atlantis for the promise of
money and the profits
made from the famed crystal, the loss of our submarine
and more then half of
our crew, Rourke’s betrayal, the volcanic eruption... It had
all been a nightmare
and soon I would find myself back home, if ‘home’ was the
appropriate word, in
my suite at Whitmore Mansion... but as my head cleared
and I came to my senses,
the aching pain throughout my body told me
otherwise...
With a groan, I opened
my eyes... I was alive! Alive!. Miraculously, the volcano’s
gasses had not gotten
through, and neither the force of the eruption, nor the
lava, had destroyed
the cave.
Gritting my teeth, I
made an effort to get to my hands and knees again... After
several tries I finally
managed it, then I bit my lip, trying to ignore the pain as I
slowly rose to my feet.
My legs felt weak and rubbery, but I was able to walk on
them at least, just
as long as I took small steps...
My right arm was still
useless, broken no doubt, but I was able to use my left arm
to clear away the rocks
and rubble that blocked the cave. The intense heat of
the lava had weakened
it all, making it possible for me to make my way out...
Carefully, I climbed
down the rocks. Once I reached the bottom of the shaft I
looked around for any
possible sign of life... but there was nothing... The ground,
and the walls of the
shaft were now covered with ash. There was no trace of
Thatch, Rourke, nor
any of the remaining crew. There wasn’t even any sign of
the destroyed gyro-evac...
Suddenly, I heard a
faint noise behind me... I turned around... but there was
nothing... Then I heard
it again... I turned the other way... Still nothing... I
frowned, narrowing my
eyes... After God knew how many years as an
intelligence officer,
I knew when I was being watched...
Just then, I saw a small
light in the dimness nearby... No, it was two... They were
coming closer and closer,
joined by more small lights... As they drew nearer, I
recognized the masks
of the Atlantean warriors!. These must be the survivors of
the eruption!.
I backed away as the
four scouts began to surround me, talking in their strange
language, which I couldn’t
understand... Then one of them pointed a spear at me
while another reached
out to grab my good arm...
“Forget it!”, I snarled.
I quickly seized his arm and roughly threw him against the
other warrior. Wasting
no time, I turned and ran. I had no gun, no weapon, so I
would be powerless to
fight four armed men.
I could hear their shouts
behind me as they effortlessly scaled the rocky terrain.
Adrenalin pulsing through
me, I clenched my hands and forced myself onward...
Finally, I glanced behind
me... They were no longer there... Either they had
given up or they were
working out some other way to capture and kill me...
Gasping and out of breath,
I leaned against a boulder and brushed a few strands
of hair away from my
dirty, bruised face... Then I turned to make my way back to
the cave. Maybe I could
hide there and keep a low profile until I was able to
return to the surface...
Instead, I found myself
face to face with yet another Atlantean warrior!.
Swallowing back a gasp,
I backed away as he drew nearer...
“Now how did you get
there?”, I muttered weakly...
“I came down the chimney”,
an all to familiar voice replied coolly from behind the
mask. “Ho, ho, ho”.
Startled, I felt my
weak legs give way beneath me as the pain took over again. I
stumbled to my hands
and knees, clutching my side with my good arm.
“Thatch?!”, I gasped
as the warrior removed his mask...
He peered at me through
his glasses for a moment... then he knelt by me,
fingering a familiar
blue crystal around his neck...
“Don’t touch me!”, I
snapped as he brought the glowing blue jewel towards me. I
backed away, wincing
from the pain...
“Hold still”, he said,
firmly seizing my hand, then he brought the crystal to my
arm and gently placed
his hand on it...
My eyes widened in astonishment
as my wounds and bruises healed... The pain
left my side and I was
able to move my arm again...
Milo smiled as he lifted
the crystal off my arm. “There you go. You know, we
thought you’d gotten
killed along with Rourke. How’d you survive?”.
“Whoa, whoa, four eyes!”,
I held up a hand in restraint. “I was about to ask you the
same question... and
how did you do that... that thing with the crystal?...”.
Before he could answer
however, another warrior approached us... menacingly
raising his spear towards
me...
“No! No!”, Milo cried,
jumping to his feet and restraining the warrior. “Don’t!”.
Taken aback, the warrior
lowered the spear and removed the mask... I
recognized the face
of Princess Kida!.
Kida turned to Milo
angrily and they both began a heated argument which I
couldn’t make out because
every word they spoke was in Atlantean... Finally,
Milo spoke to her in
English...
“She was hurt, Kida!”,
he argued. “It would have been wrong not to help her!”.
At this Kida glared
at him, her arms crossed in front of her. “Your heart is to soft,
Milo. There is nothing
more dangerous then a wounded foe...”, then her angry
gaze shifted to me...
“This treacherous seductress will only try the same thing
again!”.
Seductress?!. That prissy
little airhead was calling me a seductress when she
was the one who had
stripped down to almost nothing right in front of Thatch the
other day?!. Anyone
could see she had had more on her mind then swimming!. I
was about to say these
very words when Milo gently put a hand on Kida’s
shoulder.
“Come on, Kida”, he
said. “She’s unarmed this time, and she doesn’t have
Rourke and a handful
of troopers to back her up”.
Shaking her head in
defeat, Kida sighed. “Very well then, but don’t blame me
when our crystal is
stolen and our people begin to perish one by one!”. She
then signaled two more
warriors to seize me by my arms...
“Nicht mir helfen. Ich
kam mir helfen!”, I snapped, shoving their hands away.
“Don’t help! I can take
care of myself!”.
“Achtung! Kommen sie
herr schnell!”, Kida hissed back at me. “You will come
now!”.
I bit my lip with a
sneer, remembering that the Atlanteans could speak almost
every language, including
my own!.
Kida rolled her eyes
and put her hands on her hips. “Very well then”, she said in
English. “Stay here!.
Stay and die in this volcano if you wish!. Come, Milo”.
She and her warriors
began to leave, Milo reluctantly following them... I shook
my head with a sigh...
“Alright!”, I finally snapped. “Alright!”. I got to my feet and
followed them out of
the volcano and over the rocks...
For the next few moments
we all walked in silence... Then we entered a clearing
on top of a familiar
hill... I opened my mouth in shock and astonishment at what I
saw!... Atlantis was
still standing, and it was even more beautiful then I
remembered it!...
“What... what happened?...”,
I whispered. I had thought the city would have been
destroyed by the volcano...
“Uhhh... It’s a long
story”, Milo answered with a smile.
Kida’s face grew solemn...
“Atlantis was spared from the eruption”, she said
softly. “I am her queen
now”.
“Queen?”, I raised my
eyebrow. “But what happened to?...”.
At this Kida’s eyes
narrowed and her hand tightened on her spear. “My father
died!”, she interrupted.
“Your commander’s handiwork!”.
“I... I’m sorry...”,
I whispered, remembering how Rourke had struck the old man
to the floor when he
had refused to tell him the whereabouts of the crystal. “I
didn’t want it to happen...
like... like that...”.
Angrily, Kida spun around.
“And you probably didn’t want to threaten me and put
a gun to my head, but
you did!. You probably didn’t want to pin my arms behind
my back and hold me
still while your commander killed my father, but you did!.
You probably didn’t
want to take part in stealing The Heart Of Atlantis and
endangering the lives
of my people, but you did!. Like a machine!”.
I looked at her for
a moment... Then, to her shock, I agreed with her, nodding
slowly...
“Exactly...”, I said
quietly. “Like a machine”...
The
bridge that led across to the city had been repaired from when Vinny had
destroyed it to cover
up Rourke’s and my getaway... As we crossed it, I was
reminded of the other
day... I could not believe that there were people, a living
thriving culture, in
Atlantis. I had had my concerns about taking the crystal from
them... “Commander,
there were not supposed to be people down here... This
changes everything...”,
I had whispered... but I did not even blink at the grim
reply...
“This changes nothing...”.
I shook my head at the
memory... “Rourke, you were wrong”, I thought to
myself...
We soon crossed the
bridge and entered the city... As I followed Kida, Milo and
the others through the
clean, bright streets I was aware of the frightened glances
and stares of the Atlantean
citizens... No doubt the memory of what Rourke and I
had almost done was
still fresh in their minds... I hadn’t cared one bit about what
happened to this city
and it’s people, so long as I got a share in the profits made
from selling their power
source... I still didn’t care... but now there were more
important things on
my mind then the crystal...
Ignoring the glares
of the Atlantean guards, I looked around in awe as we
entered the royal palace...
“Don’t drip on the caravaggio”,
Milo smirked.
I rolled my eyes. “Thatch,
you have a malicious sense of humor!”.
Moments later I found
myself inside a large, airy room with odd, yet exotic
looking furnishings...
“This is where you’ll
be staying”, Milo explained. “The main palace guest room”.
“Are you sure this isn’t
the queen’s quarters?”, I asked as I gazed around.
Despite its air of eccentricness,
it was far grander then even the private suites at
Whitmore Mansion...
Milo smiled. “Nice isn’t
it?. There sure wasn’t anything like this back in
Washington!”.
“No”, I had to agree...
then I turned to face him... “Thatch, what’s going on? Why
are you doing all this?”.
He looked at me earnestly.
“Doing what?”.
I threw up my hands
in frustration. “This!”, I exclaimed. “Healing me, stopping
Pocahontas from skewering
my hide, bringing me back here!. I was the one who
threatened your pretty
little princess with a gun! I was the one who sided with
Rourke when the rest
of the crew stood by you! Don’t you remember?”.
He looked me in the
eye... “Yes”, he answered calmly. “Yes, I remember... I also
remember who brought
me to see Mister Whitmore, I remember who helped the
crew escape from the
Leviathan, saving everyone’s lives”.
“Not everyone, Thatch...”,
I said softly, remembering the people who had been
lost in that battle...
“Besides, you were the one who was navigating...”.
“Yeah, and I was shaking
in my seat and clutching the journal to me the whole
time!. Helga, if it
hadn’t been for you, we wouldn’t even have made it as far as
the air pocket!. I’m
grateful for that at least”.
I studied him for a
moment... He had changed... This Milo, in his Atlantean
warrior’s attire, was
slightly different from the one I had met only weeks ago in
the old, rundown apartment...
This was not the pathetic, naive, boyish bookworm
who would cringe and
shudder if I so much as looked him in the eye... I
wondered if the voyage
to Atlantis had changed me as well... Probably not...
“Well, thank you for
your gratitude”, I sneered. “When I get back to Washington
I’ll be sure to tell
Mister Whitmore he has a real live heroine in his employment”.
Milo shook his head,
undiscouraged by my sarcasm. “Helga, I thought you
understood... You can’t
go back to Washington...”.
“And who says I can’t?.
There may be a war going on, Mister Thatch, but it’s still
a free world!”.
“It’s a rule Kida decided
on”, he explained. “To protect this city and the people,
outsiders to Atlantis
can’t leave. We only made an exception for Audrey, Vinny,
Cookie and the others
because they promised to keep this place a secret, and
we know we can trust
them”.
“So what you’re saying
is, you don’t trust me?”.
“Well... not entirely...”,
he crossed his arms with a knowing look.
I had to smirk. “Mmmm...
Wise decision... “.
Despite what Thatch had
said, I was determined to get back to the surface, and
back to Washington,
as soon as I got the first opportunity, but in the meantime I
decided it would be
best to agreeably stay put, so as not to arouse any further
suspicion...
Later, washed, my clothes
newly cleaned, I made my way down the palace
hallway, searching for
Milo. I intended to ask him more about what had
happened, and about
the rest of the crew...
As I walked I rebraided
my hair, which had come loose during my struggle with
Rourke... When I finished,
I looked up and saw that at least three Atlantean
guards were making their
way towards me...
“Oh no”, I groaned with
a roll of my eyes. “Not again!”.
Two guards pointed their
spears towards me while the third reached out to seize
my arm...
“Don’t you people ever
keep your hands to yourself?!”, I snarled. Before he
could reach me, I lashed
out with a fierce martial arts kick, sending him
sprawling to the floor.
Enraged, the other guards
advanced towards me with their spears... I backed
away to avoid the sharp
ends...
Just then, a familiar
voice rang out... The moment the guards heard it, they
ceased their attack...
I raised my eyebrows
as Princess, no, Queen, Kida, out of her hunting gear and
dressed in colorful,
silken robes, stepped from the shadows, and motioned the
guards away... Then
she approached me...
For a moment we stood
there in silence, looking each other full in the eye,
neither of us blinking
or flinching...
I felt the corners of
my mouth turn up into almost a half smile. Kida may have
been thousands of years
older then I was, but she still looked, and acted, like a
young girl, barely out
of her late teens. Her head hardly went past my
shoulders!.
Finally, Kida spoke,
her voice cool and dignified. “Forgive my men. I ordered
them to bring you to
my throne room, not to attack you”.
“Your throne room?”,
I asked, surprised.
She nodded, her eyes
becoming suspicious. “Yes, and do not even think of
trying to take The Heart
Of Atlantis again, because it is not hidden there
anymore. It is safe,
where no one will ever find it!”.
“Relax, Queeny”, I sneered.
“I’m through with crystals!”.
“Well, you should have
thought of that before you let your commander kill my
father!”, Kida snapped.
“Well, there’s one consolation.
You’re a queen now. Besides, the old carmudgen
didn’t look like he
had much time left anyway”.
I knew I had gone to
far when the queen’s face hardened in rage. She raised her
hand to strike me...
but slowly lowered it again, taking restrained breaths...
“You realize”, she hissed
angrily, “that I could have slain you on sight back in
the volcano?. I only
spared you out of pity, and because of my feelings for Milo
Thatch, but take care,
or I may not let my feelings get in the way of my sense of
justice the next time!”.
I crossed my arms with
a smirk. “Don’t flatter yourself, little girl. All I want is just
to get back home”.
“I am afraid that is
impossible. We cannot afford to let traitors and mercenaries
leave so that they might
bring more of their kind back to plunder our city and
harm our people”.
This was unbelievable!.
“Look”, I snapped. “In the first place, everyone who
even remotely believed
this city existed has either been killed or forced into
secrecy by now. In the
second place, how do you expect me to lead anyone
back here when Thatch
has the journal?”.
Kida shook her head.
“Be that as it may, we can take no chances. You will just
have to accept this.
I am sorry”. And with that, she turned from me and signaled
her guards to follow
her out of the corridor.
“No you’re not!”, I
muttered, glaring after her.