From this sentence to the end of the story, there will be illustrations. 8>) However, many of the pieces are concept art, so they may not match the writting exactly, but are there anyway. Hope you enjoy!
CHAPTER 5: A Heart for A Heart
Hands clasped, Milo knelt. His eyes were closed in concentration as he lipped his words, putting himself at peace with Him. The king paused while deep in prayer, wondering what more he could hope for, what minor deed he felt needed forgiveness, perhaps.
He again prayed for guidance and strength.
"Milo! There you are!"
Responding to the man's voice, the erudite man finished with a mental "amen," after once again praying for those he cared about.
"Were you praying? My apologies to you! I only came to--"
"No, it's okay, Warin. I was finishing up anyway." He stood upon the cold stone at the edge of the canal. The satchel weighed heavily upon his shoulder.
"As you requested I came to tell you when Kida was in the temple."
"Oh, thanks!" He snatched up his hunting mask in a hurry.
"You are welcome," Milo heard the artisan hunter say as he flew past in the direction of the shrine.
Rising before the armed scholar was soon one of the most ornate, most awe-inspiring buildings in the already unbelievable city. Even in the night the domes and towers sparkled as if with spiritual power, surely in part due to the occasional crystal embedded in the smooth stone. Milo entered through the great archway, its doors always open to all those that needed it.
Inside the immense main chamber rows of people laid prostrate in fearful prayer to the Heart of Atlantis, hoping for its return. Many people pleaded. Some cried. An occasional worshipper would pause by a particular doorway and peer in, but continue with either their duties or their prayers. The king quietly paced over to it, sure of whom he would find.
The slightly smaller chamber was even darker than the main hall, but that did not matter. A mystical beauty in its center softly lighted the room. A sound one could hear upon entering would be a low hum and the soft speech of a stream. Such a stream did flow under this temple on its way to the canal, and it was in rooms like this one there was a hole through which one could actually see the water. It was not the water by itself that was the beauty, however. The opening was such that a body could easily fit into it and wade waist deep in the slow-moving glowing waters, as many worshippers often did. It was true crystals had been carefully placed in the stone streambed, not only causing the celestial glow of the water, but also affecting other crystals that swirled above the surface. It was a magnificent, miniature galaxy of blue stars that would rise many feet above a bather's head.
However, the chamber held one more beauty to Milo's eyes, ears, and heart.
Kida knelt beside it, making graceful motions with her hands as she chanted her prayer. Her eyes were closed, and surely her gestures were to emphasize the words of her hymn to the Heart of Atlantis and to the spirits. The queen's skin was gently bathed in the glow from the stream and it tinted her dove-white hair a tranquil sapphire. Like him, she was clad in armor, her mask and spear lying beside her.
As was common, Milo looked to her left hand, then to his that rested on the doorway. He did not feel he understood the symbols upon them until this moment. The man realized that not only did the ring and tattoo adorn the skin, but the tattoo's pigments ran deep, like their love for each other. By way of their rings were they connected to the Mother Crystal, and thus, to each other. It saddened Milo to see even those stones had turned a deathly red.
The king yawned silently. "Why am I sleepy?" he wondered in thought. "I slept." Indeed, the entire team, plus Kida. Had found it necessary to rest during this unending night in preparation for what they must do.
Milo looked back as his wife's hymn hit its powerful climax and simply stopped. Her body fell forwards as she fell into silent prayer. Only after several minutes did she rise, a lonely tear streaming down her face. With slow, sad notes she sung again, carefully reaching out to a single floating shard.
As Milo expected, the sliver turned as red as their crystals with the touch. Mere contact with a person seemed enough to cause the crystals to receive information from Khobdesheh's gauntlet. Thus, the linguist had guessed correctly why she was not in the stream. The crimson crystal floated along with the others, a drop of blood among so many tears.
He watched her bow by taking her crystal into both hands and holding it reverently in front of her face. Then she sighed into the darkness as she rose, wiping the tear away. It was then he realized his eyes, too, had watered at the thought of things to come. Rubbing them he quickly said to himself, "Okay, Milo, you have to be more assertive this time. She just can't do this. Don't take no for an answer."
When he looked back, it was a mere second before Kida spotted him. She smiled peacefully and lovingly as she neared. He forced a smile back, taking her arm in his as they walked out of the temple. As soon as they were outside he inadvertently let his expression slip to one of concern.
"What is wrong?" The huntress stopped and put her hand on his shoulder, being as perceptive as she was.
The scholar hated to restart this but he had to. "Kida don't… do this! I can't let you."
Her face grew serious, but not cold. "Milo, I must. There is no other choice."
"No, there is! Let me go!"
"We have already discussed this!" Some irritation hinted through her face and tone. "I have better skills than you. We cannot risk anything. Even Whitmore said-- What was it? That he had selected the best of the best for each field? As resourceful as you are, you would not fair well in such a fight!"
Milo could not help but remember how badly Rourke had been beating him so many years ago on the gyro-evac. Had it not been for his wits, he truly would have died, failing everyone. "…But even you said I've improved!"
"Yes, and I said you may well be a good hunter soon. I did not mean that was so now."
"But the people need you Kida! You're their queen!"
"And that leadership must fall to you. You are their king."
"Representative only. You have thousands of years watching your father rule. You've been with the people a lot longer than I have." He put the satchel down as if it had been hurting his shoulder to carry it for so long.
"Milo, you are intelligent, resourceful, and you care about them. You believe in them. You will be a wise king!"
"But I'm not of royal blood! You are. What if the Crystal needs a host?"
"What if the Heart of Atlantis is not freed at all due to our failure? If it requires a host immediately, and I still breathe, it shall take me." She looked away to some distant object.
"But what if you're killed?!" the scholar pleaded and countered at the same time. "Or what if you don't return from the Heart of Atlantis? There would be no more hosts!"
Kida turned back to face him, visage stern. "If you had been willing to perform the Binding of the Blood ritual, this would not be a problem!" She pressed her lips together until they were almost white, half in anger and half in sad anxiety.
"Look, I was just doing what I thought was best at the time. There was no way I could know this would happen! It's beside the point now."
The queen paused. "…The Nedakh dynasty will fall and the Thatch dynasty will begin. This matters not if the needs and wishes of our people are fulfilled," she said softly.
"Yes it does! You're the one with the royal blood. We can't risk that! I'm not going to rule as well as you."
"That is an opinion. You have said yourself that you could 'do anything you set your heart to.' Prove that statement right… If I do not go, I risk a more immediate future than risking there will be no host for the Heart. …Perhaps in time it will adapt to new blood…"
"Kida, I just can't let you die! I love you!"
"Do you not think that is why I do not want you to go?!"
The king inhaled for a response, but paused as he noticed a man standing behind Kida. The newcomer began to speak, using the pause to get in his words.
"I am sorry to interrupt, but I bring a gift." The man clad in orange held out a bag that looked like it was probably made out of yeragos leather, judging from it's yellow and green hues. It was Kida who took it as he dropped to a knee to bow. "Do not touch what is inside with bare skin. Since the both of you returned we have prayed on this that we will all be returned to our normal way of life. It has been passed around the city from family to family. It reached them all like the news from the few on the outer rims who saw where the crystal was taken."
Milo watched as she opened the bag carefully. From inside a small blue crystal floated into the air, hovering a couple feel above anything below it. Clearly it was a crystal from one of the temple stream pools, the shard still energized. It shone with vitality.
"Thank you," replied the scholar.
"May it be a guide on the journey," Kida responded as well.
The man made a small but humble bow to both then addressed his queen. "We will always remember you."
Kida smiled, and Milo prayed it would not be for the last time he would see that. "And when my journey has met its end, " she began, "my spirit will remember all of you." She used her other hand to enclose the bag overtop the shard.
The newcomer smiled deferentially, bowed again, and left.
As the warrior picked up the satchel and began to turn away, the linguist felt somewhere inside a voice howling at him to be more forceful wit her. "Kida! " He grabbed her by the arm, immediately realizing his mistake.
"…I suggest you let go of me." The growl in her voice underlined her warning.
"…Kida, I won't let you go. I can't let you go. Give me Vinny's bag. Let me do it!"
She turned her face away as she sighed. "Milo, you said you were but a representative king, did you not?"
"Yes, but what does that have to do--"
The sudden increase in power in her voice would have surprised anyone. "Then I am of higher rank than you! " she glared. With a single sharp movement she pulled away. "Stand down! "
Milo was left helpless, standing in shock. Everything he had learned in debate club years ago suddenly became worthless. He felt as if the energy had been sapped from his muscles by her harsh words. It was just then he realized what he dreaded in his marriage: they were having their first argument.
His heart lifted slightly as he saw her turn her face quickly to the side, biting her lower lip. As her head moved, Milo thought he could see something shining like water leaving her face, possibly a single tear making itself known. She had not wanted to say that.
"Kida I…" Still the verbal blow had left him powerless in his own speech.
The queen's words were quiet now as she faced away from him. "Worry not about me, Milo. I am the dead. I have been since I joined the hunters to protect the city." She put the pouch in the satchel.
"You don't need to be. It's you're choice, Kida. Not some fate. Let me go."
"Your life has been so short. You have a life before you, a life denied without the Heart. I have lived for so long comparatively."
"Kida…" He took her gently by the chin. "The Mother Crystal will let me live long, but…" With soft brown eyes, he looked into hers. "…You're what I live for. If you die… We are the dead."
"Milo…!"
"No," he said quietly to her low protest. "Let me go. Give me the bomb."
"No," the queen broke away. "You must go on… And I must make my journey. You are my spirit as much as I am yours."
"Kida…" He moved back toward her.
"Stand down." She turned away again and donned her mask. It was like she stabbed him again. Milo realized there would be no way to convince her. "Just a few days after we were married you comforted me about my father. You said he would always be with us. Remember what you said. It can be applied in many ways. …Goodbye Milo Thatch. May our Spirits one day reunite."
Before the king could respond the huntress flew like a bird, disappearing over rocks and ruins, perhaps to escape any decision to change her own mind.
A wind blew the hymns of the people inside the temple to Milo as he stood alone.
His hand formed a fist around his determination, drawing strength from it. He put on his mask and flew to where he might find Doctor Joshua Sweet.
After several minutes he arrived in a crowded building, a little winded from the pole vaulting. "Sweet!" he yelled, taking off his mask. "I need you to do something for-- Vinny! What are you doing out of bed?!"
"'Ey, I couldn't just ah lay around in bed while all this happened. Don't ah worry. I'm not fightin'."
"Couldn't seem ta persuade him otherwise," Sweet sighed, "even though he still needs is rest." The physician looked up from his Atlantean patient to Audrey as she examined some papers.
"I'm ah makin' some more bombs. The one worked pretty good against that vehicle. Tryin' to make em' just the same is the key. It was a personal mix of mine. It's ah art."
"Sweet, I need you to arrange something for me. Do you know what group I was leading?"
"For the distraction that's already started? Yeah. The main one. You need to be out there now, Milo."
"I need someone else to lead it."
"What?!" Audrey finally looked up from the plans. "Why?!"
"I'm going after Kida. I can't let her go alone!"
"Milo! That's crazy!"
"You said that a couple of years ago, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but I was right."
"She won't let anyone else go with her!" he exclaimed in memory to the debate before his wife prayed. "She's going to get herself killed!"
"Have you considered that she doesn't want to risk anyone else?"
"Having even one more person would increase the chances someone will get to the Crystal!"
"Not if it means getting caught because of more people."
"But she could take her best hunter! It's just one! She--"
"Milo…" A giant hand was placed on the linguist's armored shoulder. "We know ya love her. We also know you wouldn't do something that would put the city in greater danger. Do what ya need ta do. It's your decision."
"Okay, then… Do it, then."
"'Ey, Milo, don't ah forget. When you connect the two wires, the bomb'll go off at twelve. I think I ah set it at five minutes before."
"Thanks for the reminder, Vinny. I won't forget." The king lowered his mask into place. "Everyone wish me luck."
As Milo began to rush off, he heard Vinny's voice. "Since you need it, we're ah going to wish you lotsa luck!"
It was some time before Milo reached the fourth ring of the city. Even at this distance from the falls the humidity was greater. Along the horizon of the city it was easy to see the glow of its lava moat in the darkness. He only hoped he was going to the right location. Around the city one could see swarms of vehicles trying to engage the people. The king wished he knew where Khobdesheh was. Even here there had already been battle. Fires burned in many places. He scanned the land through the eyeholes of his bohodmok-like mask in search for his wife. Silently he bounded to a ledge to take a better look. The king's heart raced with the fear it might be too late.
At a much lower elevation darted a large mass of animal hair with a spear, dashing from hiding place to hiding place amongst rocks and plants. Some fear flowed out of Milo by way of a quiet sigh to see just the furred back covering of Kida's mask. He looked further out to see her target: a faceted shape, the Atlantean designs upon it glowing furiously, the beams shooting through the cracks a powerful admonition.
When she reached her destination, the queen did a quick check, trying to make sure she was alone. Milo ducked out of sight just in time, apparently, because when she looked back, she did not respond, having instead removed her mask. Kida began to examine the case, looking for the weakest spot. She placed a hand on one of the facets.
Milo's fear again returned as the casing glowed much brighter with her touch, and even from this distance he could hear a hum as if from so many deep male voices erupt from it. Kida stepped back in surprise.
In his fear Milo began to search for a way down without breaking his legs or worse. A large hole in the architecture of the ruins provided a glimmer of hope, and he jumped in. The moment he did so, a loud mechanical hum sounded overhead and bits of the blast wind that followed it licked at the opening to the dead end hole. The king peered out to see Kida prepare by grabbing her spear with both hands, still unmasked, as Khobdesheh in an Aktirak flew toward her and slowed. He felt lucky the ex-advisor did not notice him either. Milo slid down a fallen pillar, landing hard, but not with a thud louder than the vehicle, to a lower level. He limped with receding pain in search for a way down further.
"Khobdesheh!" After the vehicle stopped, Kida's voice was quite audible. "You claim to help Atlantis, but you are killing our people as we speak! You have set the vehicles to shoot blindly!" she accused rightfully.
"Those who threaten the empire will pose a threat no more! My followers, the ones who care for our survival, will live on."
"You have no followers!"
"I am sure I do. Any person who can see the clear logic of my words would certainly follow."
"It is not logical to destroy our own people to find a possible select few!"
"Then I assume you have not reconsidered my offer?"
Milo's thoughts were echoed in his wife's words. "I will not be a tyrant!" He began to feel frustrated as time was passing without finding a way down.
"A tyrant, no, but if that is what you wish… I offered my burden freely. I am sorry I had to take this city from you."
"You have not abducted the people yet! Do you truly want them? Then come and collect them, Khobdesheh!" She readied her spear. "I will not let our way of life die in those claws!"
Khobdesheh shook his head. The man with hair the color of the ashes now blowing in the wind thrust a clawed fist into the air. Both the king and queen were helpless as several vehicles flew from battle to their location, beginning to circle like vultures, their elevations varying fro one moment to the next. A remorseful look still on his visage, Khobdesheh motioned to the side, a nightmare once again appearing in blue and red light.
"YOU! " The linguist could actually perceive Kida's muscles tense with the fury of seeing Rourke.
"Surely you did not think I left our Heart without a protector?" Khobdehseh responded.
"Not a very nice way to greet someone." The ex-commander's buzzing tone took Milo by some surprise.
"MURDERER! " Kida unleashed her energy, speeding toward him with full force.
The man with the armored hand's voice was slightly muffled as the linguist tried a crack with no luck. "You do remember the plan?" For insurance, he manipulated his arm to move the imprisoned Crystal to the top of a pair of ruined monorail tracks, abandoned since ancient times.
A buzz that seemed irritated replied, "I didn't get to be a commander shelling peanuts instead of creating strategies!"
When Milo emerged from the next fissure, he gasped at what he saw. As Khobdesheh simply watched from his Aktirak, the clash began, the ex-advisor becoming an emperor at a gladiator match. The king blinked as the armored hand was clenched, seeing the vehicles do nothing new. Only after a few seconds did the dimming of his immediate surroundings alert Milo to the very dimming of his own crystal, a simple dying ember. He knew immediately he would be able to heal no one. Shooting his vision back at Kida, he noted hers, too, was growing dark. The king felt a need to call out to his wife, but he knew any distraction might be deadly.
Kida struck with an enraged yell, using her voice to put more power in her body. Rourke dodged the first swing, the huntress's eyes widening in surprise. It was clear he had taken notable effort on his part to dodge the blow. She jumped out of the way when a crystalline fist came at her abdomen. With her spear she vaulted back, then charged as fast as her legs could carry her.
To Milo's amazement, Rourke began to smile as he stood his ground, Kida tearing toward him. The warrior's aim was true, the metal point of her spear striking exactly were his heart would have been. The crystal entity took a single step backward to steady himself against the impact, but continued to smile with the spear lodged in a crack in his chest. A blue energy began to travel up the spear tip. When Kida realized this, she broke her own weapon and step away as the still-lodged piece crystallized.
"Nice try, Princess-- Oh, yes, it's 'queen' now, isn't it?" Rourke pulled the end of the spear from his chest, tossing it aside as he mocked her. The piece shattered with a magnificent crash into a thousand blue stars.
"I WILL NOT LET YOU THREATEN MY PEOPLE AGAIN! " Her blow with the still-remaining bludgeon-end was blocked.
"Threaten?" Rourke rung mockingly, trying to punch her again. "I'm providing a service to your city."
"DEATH IS NO SERVICE! " Kida slammed her spear downward towards Rourke's head. Fear flooded Milo as he saw the man catch the weapon in his fist. He knew what was about to happen, and even more frantically he searched for a way to reach her.
Rourke grinned confidently as the warrior recovered from the recoil. With a faceted hand he grabbed another part of the broken spear and manipulated it so her weapon, while still in her hands, struck her own face. She landed a few feet away, and Rourke tossed her spear aside.
"Have to hand it to you, Queenie, you've been a bit of a challenge, but all good things must come to an end." As she began to turn over, he approached, a crystalline foot above her face.
A moment before he stomped, Kida rolled out of the way, somersaulting to retrieve her spear. "All things must! Not only the good! " she roared as she got to her feet.
"Well, since you put it that way…" He glanced down, realizing where his foot had hit created a crystallized area. A faceted plant was now breaking under its own weight, and a pleased look appeared on the crystal man's face. With that he threw himself at her, forcing Kida back as she dodged and defended. Within seconds Milo saw the two on a thin ledge. A few shrinking feet behind Kida was a long narrow pillar, fallen perhaps not so long ago, and about a third of it was hanging over the edge. The scholar could only guess how far down it was.
Rourke pushed her back onto the wrecked support, stepping onto it, himself. With sheer contact the stone pillar began to crystallize. The queen's eyes were wide as she continued to step back from the crystal, almost slipping off the broken end of the pillar. She gawked as she looked down for a brief moment.
"Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide."
Kida looked down at his feet, some revelation apparent. Using the remaining part of the pillar, she charged, bludgeon-end forward. Rourke found it all too easy to sidestep her, since her aim was not directly at him. She found a place to plant the butt end of her spear and vaulted, swinging her body so as to make sure she did not spring away from the ledge and the pillar. A blue glow began to crawl up the spear already, having touched Rourke's spreading crystal. The huntress landed hard and scrambled to her feet, raising the crystallizing spear above her head. Mightily she slammed it down on the crystallizing part of the pillar before throwing it away.
A great crack began to cut through the crystal, a detail Rourke noticed. As the pillar was breaking, the crystal entity tried to run for the safety of the ledge, but he was unable to jump the gap that grew between the end of the pillar and it. Milo sighed with relief as Kida peered over the edge, clearly hopeful. The relief died suddenly when his wife turned and began to run. She stopped at the base of the ruins of the monorail tracks, evidently wondering how to get up to the Crystal on one of the parallel lines.
A Turtak swooped, diving past the ledge. The king noticed Khobdesheh rise in his vehicle as well. Within seconds the Turtak appeared again, carrying a still-living Rourke. From a broken-off right arm energy spilled, a blade-like shard protruding as a long trough for the fiery sparks. The vehicle let him off, several new streaks of red light gleaming from the now greater number of cracks as he moved.
When Kida heard him coming, she did the only thing she could: try and climb a support for the monorail. Being straight up, clear of stable vines and worn smooth by millennia of rains, she found herself unable to scale it with what she had. Rourke grabbed at the satchel and tore her from her insufficient grip on the fragile vegetation. Like a toy he swung her by it, the woman flying when she slipped away from the shoulder strap. Kida crashed against a wall, the air in her lungs noisily fleeing on impact. She fell limply to the ground. Her body did not move save for her white hair. It moved in the wind like wings.
"KIDA!!!!! " Milo ran for the edge, not caring about the drop, but only getting to his true love. Something inside him felt like it was destroyed. The king vaulted off the ledge, but the ground below was unforgiving. A sharp fire ran up his legs on impact, and he fell to the ground in pain, his legs stunned at least and now numbed with tingling. He looked up as best he could, a trial in his oversized mask. Rourke and
Khobdesheh were looking straight at him, but the latter only momentarily. The ex-advisor lowered and jumped from the vehicle.
"The plan was to disable, not to kill her!"
"Look. Plans change. You have to learn to be more flexible, Khob." Rourke looked back to the man with a gauntlet, intimidated by Milo's presence, and dropped the satchel. He began to walk toward Khobdesheh.
"I should have trusted my doubts about you! Your spirit has not changed!" He put his face close to Rourke's and dared to growl, a mistake. "I have seen enough!"
"You know, as of now, so have I." Smiling, Rourke grabbed at the stone glove to bring him near. Mightily he slashed with his broken arm, and the advisor cried out in anguish as he dangled. The crystal man dropped him to the ground, put a foot on his chest, and pulled the gauntlet off with his remaining hand. Milo saw why the ex-advisor had cradled it. As the gasping Khobdesheh curled around the crystallized gash in his torso, he brought a pale, withered arm around himself to try to dull the death pangs.
Rourke continued. "I think I know all I need to know. I just want to thank you for your hospitality, Khob. You managed to bring me back. Provided me with a new way to bring back that crystal. Finally get what's coming to me. Even as an added bonus, I get to pay back some old friends of mine." He motioned to the warrior while the king struggled with numb legs. Rourke was beginning to walk over to inspect Kida.
Milo looked back to his wife. She laid there, so still, so peaceful, so beautiful to him. He swallowed hard in-between breaths, tears forming. He felt he had failed her.
The king looked back to Rourke, and a great power surged though him. It was almost a need, a feeling so strong he briefly wondered if it came from some source beyond his body. The force burned with the rage of fire and was as unstoppable as a tidal wave. Like wind it howled through his body and spirit, unyielding as the earth. Only once before had he felt his will rise within him so, a will that would not be denied, but never did he feel it so strong. His muscles trembled as it rushed through his veins. Not just a people was being threatened, but his people. What his eyes beheld as the world's most precious, most beautiful thing lay still at the feet of a murderer. He breathed quickly and deeply with his teeth clenched, gripping like death onto his spear.
The man would not let this get worse. "This isn't over yet…!" he breathed.
Milo stumbled to unsteady feet, readying his spear.
"Lanky legs, thin arms… I'd recognize you no matter what clown suit you wear, Thatch." Rourke put the gauntlet aside for a moment, obviously seeing using it as too easy.
The linguist cried out as he lunged, a hit easily blocked.
"Not bad. Several years ago I might have actually felt that." Milo felt himself being held, his own mask now a harness. "Come on out." He found himself slipping out of his mask, now unprotected and unhindered by it. The scholar leapt awkwardly away from a swing of the bladelike arm, cobalt and crimson sparks flying like water in the air.
The power inside Milo seemed to tear him from the inside in an attempt to get out. Furiously he let it escape, cracking Rourke's shoulder with the club of his weapon, several slivers of crystal flying. The ex-commander emitted some indescribable noise, but, surprisingly, it did not seem to be a cry of anguish, but rather, a grunt.
The anger contagious, Rourke slashed, the power inside the king moving him far enough out of the way for skin to avoid the blade. His armor was not so lucky, the strap to the shoulder protector sliced through. Milo's next move was enough to shake it off.
The scholar glanced to the side, noticing Vinny's bag. He evaded the punch by sheer luck as he dove for it, putting it on at once. Immediately he tried to block a punch with an arm protector, receiving a nasty surprise. Milo found his own arm impacting his chest as the armor clacked with the hit, causing him to move backward with the utter force of the blow. He barely kept his footing when he landed on what he realized was a piece of monorail track, long ago fallen to make a ramp. The king's heart lifted with hope as he looked back, only to remember it was the wrong track to reach the Mother Crystal.
Either way it did not matter. Like Kida before him, he found himself being forced back, dodging as best he could and trying to divert rather than fully block blow again.
"Well, I guess I have you to thank for all this, Mr. Thatch. Sure, being a crystal's a pain, literally, but it sure has its plusses!" Rourke increased his attack, forcing Milo to flee the rest of the way up. Both above and below he saw vehicles flying, still waiting for an order. It was then he realized a fall from there would be deadly in itself.
Looking to the side, the king found himself at the closest spot to the Crystal, so near, but out of jumping distance, especially for him. He could hear the footsteps like breaking glass. In his momentary distraction by the proximity of the Crystal, Milo found himself grabbed by the neck and pulled close. "I see they've been markin' you up already." The king dared to ready for a swing, breathless as Rourke indicated the tattoo on his shoulder. "Might as well add one of my own!"
Milo felt himself being lifted higher, the weight of his body heavy on his neck. He watched as Rourke's broken arm became a blur, the mixture of spilling sparks making a trail of movement.
Unbelievable pain surged through the linguist's body as he was slashed in-between the ribs. The wound burned like fire-inspiring lava as he was thrown back onto the track.
Milo stumbled to a stop, his spear alone letting him keep his balance. Blinking, he looked down in disbelief.
The wound was bright blue, crystallizing at a decelerating pace.
He then looked back to Rourke, an image so odd for a reason he could not quite comprehend. As the scholar wavered, he thought he was hearing voices.
"Milo!!! MILO!!!!! " He looked to the source of the anguished, labored voice. A white-haired woman lying next to a wall struggled to even move, stretching out a desperate arm.
"What the--"
"Kida…!" The king could not believe his eyes. His wife was alive. He looked back down at his wound, shaking his head to bring back his mind. Rourke had been distracted by her, a fact that Milo knew he must take advantage of. His mind raced faster than even his heart. The linguist removed the bomb in sudden realization, an incredible light. He remembered what Vinny had said in the gourd house. He set the time for twelve and stuffed the yeragos pouch between the sticks of dynamite. Even now he could feel his strength fading, fatigue flowing through him. Yet the power of his will still surged, and it fueled his person. Quickly he connected the wires, activating a now ringing bomb. The king of scholars, thinking a prayer, hurled it at the Crystal's prison. He turned to face his spouse as time for him began to slow.
The cartographer watched the bomb fly through the air, slowly, beautifully.
"NO!!! " Angrily Rourke slammed Milo, who fell on his rear many feet away, luckily still on the track. In hopes to save himself, Rourke dove after the projectile. The arrogant grin had melted with a crackle to a look of fear. Whirring in protest, he lifted his good arm in a vain attempt to bat it to the ground, away for the Crystal.
The bomb exploded with a deafening blast. Milo, as he wobbled to his feet, felt the heat of the shockwave. Bits of debris burned his skin. The light of the Mother Crystal fell red upon the already breaking Rourke, who was shrieking a pain-riddled buzz. Along old-remaining fault-lines where he had been originally shattered he fell apart again. Each dropping shard hit the ground with a note, making music until they came to rest. When all was still, the shards powdered, leaving diamond dust blowing in the wind.
Milo staggered backward as he saw her struggle to rise. A peaceful smile appeared on his countenance. He wanted to tell her one more time. He needed to tell her. The king could not find the breath to speak, but his will was reflected in the precision with which he lipped his words and the expression of his face, his love giving him strength and gentleness. "I love you, Kida… Always…" Unmercifully the time came when his muscles could not work on will alone. His body would not let him do more, and he fell to his knees. Painfully he tried to stand, but found himself unable to do more than plant a foot. He wanted so much to stay with his wife, but he knew his actions enabled her to stay. He smiled to her one more time before he fell from the tracks, his eyes still glittering with life. Milo heard her cry out in the sluggish heartbeat of time. All the colors and contrasts were strange as he saw her stretch out her arm again as if in hopes to catch his soul.
. . .
"MILO!!!!! " The queen was helpless to watch. She saw him fall into one of the slowly declining vehicles, being deposited on top of some ruble as it overturned with his weight.
The woman sank her teeth into her lower lip as she managed to rise, muscles shaking. Kida ran to him, the energy of her desperation accelerating her every step. The strength of her spirit was a god-like force placing power in her stride. The pain of her body was nothing compared to the agony of her heart. With all her power she ripped the once-again-blue shard of crystal from her necklace with a snap and fell beside him in a heap, for her grace was gone.
Like her emotions, tears overwhelmed her. There was no time to check for a pulse, no time to check for breathing, as every second was infinitely precious. She tried as best she could to tear away the crystal barrier that covered his wound. Only when she could see fused flesh did she scrape her crystal in between her husband's ribs. She then clutched her crystal to her pounding heart in short, hurried prayer. In her fist the broken crystal glowed through the crystal dust and bits of blood, through the flesh of her hand, and endowed her lower limb with its energies. Feeling the soothing ice of it, she thrust her hand onto Milo's chest, pressing with all her might. Pulling her hand away she saw the cerulean glow of her handprint disappear, yet the wound was barely healed.
Eyes wide in even greater consternation, she again executed the maneuver, but to little effect. Repeatedly she did so, and as the Crystal was restoring the feeling of life in her body, the strength of her form was being depleted, everything going to the process of healing her husband. After many tries, the wound finally closed. A great scar now marred his ribcage, some care having been sacrificed to speed. "Milo! Milo!!! " Kida sobbed, but the man did not respond to her words, only to lay there, eyes closed. "No!" she voiced in an unsteady whisper. "This cannot be!" Painfully she grasped her crystal, filling her numbing hand with its energies once again, then placing it over his heart and thrusting downward with the last of her power.
"No!" She collapsed over his body, limbs too weak to support her. Anger heaved her spirit upward like a cruel beast tossing its prey in the air. She was livid that this could happen to him. Her fire escaped in the form of an avenging cry, a painful roar that echoed its frustration and sorrow off the ruins. It strangled the very air, which in its injured state only stagger in and out of her lungs in sobs that sapped even the tiniest reserves of energy she possessed. "Please! Stay, Spirit! I love you!" Like the fires around them her tears burned as they ran down her face and onto Milo's skin. The queen could not believe he was dead.
Complete exhaustion of mind and body plus her grief began to take its toll. The subconscious began to conquer her mind. Vivid memories of their past together, from the first time she had healed him to the words he lipped to her so long and so short a time ago. So many pleasant memories to look back on, but such a short time they had been together. Even a half-forgotten dream reappeared, one in which he was telling her for some reason, "Everything will be okay."
The intensity of the plight continuously ripped her away from her inner, perfect world, constantly shedding light on the fact her husband lay fallen beside her. Kida's heart felt like it would burst with the pressure of her own tears. "Why am I alive?! I accepted my fate. This was not his!"
A strange sensation overcame her. New images appeared. It was immediately clear she stood upon a Stone Giant, the winds cool and calming. The huntress somehow expected the feeling of the hand on her shoulder and turned, suddenly amazed to see Milo there smiling to her. She embraced him immediately, and his voice came to her in soft tones. "KEE-duh-toap, SOH-lesh MAH-toh-noat. (Kida, all will be well.)"
A second wave of sobs awakened her anew to the burning world around her, to the feeling of Milo's warm clothes beneath her face. It had only been a delusion.
The queen felt his body move beneath her. "If only I could believe it to be true." She looked up to the sky of Atlantis. The lava, fires, and even the blazing glow of the Mother Crystal atop the tracks reddened its sky. Ruby search beams began to stream forth from it as it searched for a host.
Kida thought of how much he had done for her people, even making sure everyone knew to be away from this area unless they were fighting to insure minimal casualties. He had done so much to save Atlantis, the city owing its survival now twice to him. The queen knew they must rebuild this small section of the city, along with whatever other damage had accumulated. She knew she must be strong yet a part of her asked how she could be.
Deep inside, Kida felt as if her spirit were dying.
Based off the Disney Picture "Atlantis: the Lost Empire." The Name "Shards of Chaos" is property of Disney. The term "gorlock" is property of Disney Interactive. The characters, "MUH-suh MIH-kee" and Khohbdesheh are my property, and I acknowledge I do not own the names. Fan fiction storyline also my property. Milo Thatch, Kidagakash, Bendoh, Rourke and other characters, names, concepts, and all Atlantean in this story are property of the Walt Disney Company.
Disclaimer: Atlantis: the Lost Empire, and the characters, language, symbols, storylines and titles are property of he Walt Disney Company. This site has been created for entertainment, non-profit purposes only. See sources.
Permission must be granted by the fan authors/artists before their material is to be used. Credit must also be given to the respective author/artist in question. Do so via their e-mail. Questions? Comments? E-mail me at Like_A_Star8800@yahoo.com.
