Reedited.

Disclaimer: I own only the made up characters. Everyone else belongs to Disney.

"Rourke!" Helga screamed as she fell down the shaft.

"Nothing personal," Rourke sarcastically called out. He didn't hear Milo coming in from behind. Milo swung in and slammed hard into Rourke. They both tumbled down the gyro-evac before landing on the engine platform. Rourke was the first to recover.

"You know Thatch, I really got to hand it to you. You're a real pain in the neck than I ever thought possible."

Milo lunged out and tried to punch him, but Rourke easily caught it with one hand and sent it back into Milo's face. Rourke then gave a side kick, knocking Milo off the platform. Milo caught a piece of railing, which hung loose between the moving propellers.

"I usually consider myself an easy-tempered man. It takes a lot to get underneath my skin. But congratulations, you just won the golden cupid doll," Rourke reached into the emergency fire equipment case and pulled out a fire axe. He swung it down but missed. Glass flew in all directions as the axe smashed against the pod window.

Milo noticed the glass had been touched by the crystal. He quickly reached out and grabbed the nearest piece.

"Getting tired Mr. Thatch? That's too bad cause I was just getting warmed up," said Rourke. He reached down and grabbed Milo by the cuff of his shirt.

Milo could see the insanity in Rourke's eyes as he raised the axe. He would have just one chance at this...

From the truck, the troopers continued fighting the Atlantean armada. But their guns were no match to the Atlantean's awesome firepower. One of the troopers gave out a cry of pain as razor jagged pieces of glass rained down on him. He looked down at his hands and saw they had strange blue markings on them.

What in the world?

His thoughts were then interrupted when another trooper cried, "Look out!"

A martag speeder shot out a burst of lightning at them, blowing the truck apart. Only one trooper survived. Somehow, he found himself unscathed.

The whole shaft suddenly began to shake. He had to get out of here before the volcano erupted. Jumping off the wrecked truck, he ran across the shaft towards where the burnt camp was. There was a deep wide canal there where the bridge had collapsed. If he could just cross over it, he might have a chance to escape the lava flow.

The mercenary suddenly stumbled onto the lieutenant, who was lying unconscious and still clutching her flare gun. For a moment he pondered on whether he should leave her or not. Carrying her would slow down his progress. He sighed. Having made up his mind, he hoisted her onto his shoulders and continued running towards the ledge. He was dead anyway. He might as well die a noble cause.

The ground was already breaking open beneath him. His legs screamed with pain. Ignoring it, the trooper urged himself to keep running. Years of intense training enabled him to counter all sorts of extreme situations. Even so, none of the training could save him from this awesome force of nature.

He could feel the scorching heat of the lava as it closed in behind him. He was almost there when he all of a sudden lost his footing and fell forward, nearly dropping the lieutenant from his shoulders. He braced himself, finally giving in to his fate.

So this is where it ends.

Nothing happened.

To his amazement, he saw the lava was flowing around him. He then he saw why. Somehow, an invisible shield had formed around him, protecting him from the lava. He felt a tingly sensation on his hands. Looking down, he saw that the blue markings on them were glowing.

I can't wait for the next chapter. Any ideas would help. Oh yeah, and please review.