and the Fires of Atlantis
Featuring: The Lost Goddess
co- authored as a round-robin by Dusty Fedora and Lost Goddess
Part Two:
(LG>)
The sound of trickling water filled the darkness and it was a sound Indy didn't like at all. The ropes were tight and his arms were bent at a painful angle, making the struggle all the more exhausting. Behind him, Howard was grunting as he tugged at his own bindings. One thing working in their favor was the laziness of the German soldiers.They had used the ancient rope from the corridor instead of returning to the surface for new. Though old and frayed it was still plenty tough.
.
Finding a sharp edge on the metal armor, Indy began to work the rope against it and, in a few minutes, his wrists were free. Howard's rope was a little tougher, but soon, he was freed also.

"OK, Robert, let's see if we can find a torch."

Both dropped to their knees and began to search the floor in the pitch blackness, working by feel. Indy's hand soon felt the torch and he lit it with the zippo as Howard shouted "I found it Indy!"

In the flickering torch light, Indy stared at Howard holding a Moldy thighbone. Robert saw what he was holding and let out a yelp.

**************
Dr. Dearborn was looking at an utterly hopeless situation. Indy and Howard were trapped in the temple, she was surrounded by armed guards and the Colonel was staring down his Prussian nose at her in triumph.

"So, Herr Doctor, your resemblance to this pagan deity is remarkable... hhhmmm. Maybe you are an Immortal, maybe not?" She said nothing and he continued. "I am sure this will amuse the Furer, but your importance is in translating the scroll. Do this and you might find your confinement more ... shall we say... pleasant."

The conversation was interrupted by a soldier who approached and whispered in Von Trakken's ear. "Ahh, Doctor , I have a little surprise for you. Just in case you are expecting Dr. Jones to emerge and intervene on your behalf.. " The cold black eyes laughed at her.

She was forcibly dragged out of the transport and over to the cavern entrance from
which they had exited. "Captain, set off the charges!"

"No!" She screamed and tried to lunge at the entrance, only to be restrained. The muffled explosions ripped the stillness as dust belched from the cavern.

Von Trakken turned to the Doctor, expecting to see her in tears. Instead, she stared at him with a hot rage unlike any he had ever seen. Incredibly, as he watched, her eyes went completely white and she spoke in a voice that seemed to come from everywhere.

"You will suffer the wrath of the one who's home you have desecrated this day."

He blinked in surprise and saw that she was again just a normal female with tears in her eyes. Yet that voice...

"Mine Gott, I must really take some time off when I return to Berlin..." Recovering his composure, he motioned to the guards. "Take her to the landing zone." The soldiers snapped a salute and hustled her off .

Crossing the barren landscape on foot, Dearborn was running through all that had happened. Could Indy really be dead? And if he was, she still had to find some way to get the scroll back and escape the Germans. Her eyes searched the area: a plain of sand and broken lava rock and... and .. what was that? She peered closer as they approched... it was one of the areas that had sank in the explosion. And there, in the center, a hand sticking out of the sand... and it was moving!

"Indy!" She sprang into action by pulling away from the surprised guards. An elbow to the throat of the one to the left sent him down sputtering. She followed with a kick to the groin of the other and finished by smashing his face into her knee.

She rushed over to the hand and held it, still warm, then began to dig. Using her bare hands, she uncovered his head, then Howard's head. Their chests were compressed by the weight of the sand and they couldn't breath, so she went back to furious digging. Soon, by digging and tugging on the arms, she had freed them enough to allow conversation.

"Indy, I thought you were dead!"

He began to wiggle loose of the sand. "Well, I was close. We were mostly up the vent when it caved in. The sand just poured in."

"The Germans destroyed the temple with explosives." Indy detected a note of sadness in her voice that was quickly masked. They both worked to free Howard who was unconscious, but sputtered to life after a few seconds.

"They mentioned a landing zone, Indy. I think the island is surrounded by water again and they must have a plane coming in to take them off."

"Good guess... which direction were you heading in?"

"That way, towards the crater rim and he still has the scroll with him."

Twenty minutes of hard walking found them on the broken edge of the crater. They had taken up position behind the rocky outcropping and spied on the Germans below.

"I don't see any runway," said Howard . The ground below was rocky and broken and the Germans hadn't attempted to clear it.

"I need to go down and get a closer look. Maybe they have some sort of hoverplane coming in," said Indy.

Dearborn looked surprised. "Are you sure that's wise? There are a lot of soldiers down there."

He gave her a lopsided grin. "I'll be ok, trust me. You two stay here and keep out of sight." Then he
was gone, slipping down and around the narrow trail. She watched him for as long as he was visible, only looking away when Howard began to tug on her sleeve. She turned "Oh ,for goodness sakes, Robert, what is i....???"

Both stood gaping as the Zeppelins passed over head, blocking out the sun. Huge, airborne monsters with Swastikas emblazoned on their tails silently gliding by and starting their decent into the crater below...

"Crom and Mithra !" muttered Howard.

"What?" she asked in surprise.

"Oh, it just seemed the thing to say. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

She was about to reply when the click of a cocked pistol stopped her. The muzzle of a Luger was pressed to her head and she saw Howard had one to his head as well. They raised their hands in surrender. The soldiers roughly began pushing them down the trail. She weighed the odds... two in front with pistols maybe she could handle, but the two behind had machine guns. Best to wait for a more opportune moment, she decided.

********

Indy had also seen the Zepplins pass overhead . He made a quick mental judgment of them. Not as big as the passenger ones like Hindenberg or Graf Zeppelin. These were Lufftwaffe ones, used for observation missions. Usually at night. He made for the nearest cover, not wanting to be spotted from the air. The giants drifted past and he watched as they stopped to hover over the German camp.

Now he made a zig zag running sprint to the edge of the camp itself. Hiding behind some stacked boxes he watched the Zepplins drop lines to the waiting men below. These were attached to large winches and slowly the airships were lowered.

Suddenly, there was a hand on his shoulder. "Wvass ist das?" He was snatched around to face a startled soldier just as surprised as he. Indy knew he had to use the advantage so he punched the fellow. The soldier doubled over, but came up quick and launched a swift kick, catching him in his sore knee. Indy gave an anguished groan, rolled and came up with a rock. The loud crack of it hitting the German's head seemed to echo off the crater walls, but, no time to worry about that, he thought, as he began to strip off the uniform .

He had almost finished dressing when he saw Dearborn and Howard marched into the camp. Von Trakken had arrived and he personally took the prisoners into his tent. The airships were down now and equipment was being loaded. Indy knew he didn?t have much time because another sound had caught his attention, the sound of crashing waves.

In all probability the rest of the island was already back underwater, this small area kept
dry by the high crater walls. If he was going to do anything, now was the time.

Dearborn once again faced the Colonel , though this time he wasn?t taking any chances. Her wrists were securely bound.

"A nice piece of work, herr Doctor... your guards were cleanly and efficiently taken out...You are truly a woman after my own heart." His sardonic smile irritated her. "And Mr. Howard, how nice to see you didn?t perish below with Dr. Jones." He leaned close to Howard , putting his black eyes right in his line of vision. ?Dr. Jones is dead I assume?"

"Yeah, I saw the place cave in on him," muttered the writer.

"Ahh, so you will have an interesting story to write. The Death of the celebrated Indiana Jones.  Provided you live to write anything." He turned to a waiting trooper. "Put Dr. Dearborn aboard my ship, take Mr. Howard aboard the other and when we are airborne, find a nice, wet spot to drop him."

Struggling against her bonds, Dearborn was dragged toward the waiting Zeppelin.

"Indy if you have a plan, I hope you use it soon," she thought as she was shoved inside the small
control gondola.......

(DF>)
Howard was shoved roughly into a corner between several swastika - emblazoned crates of supplies. His
hands were tied behind his back and his ankles bound together, so it was tough for him to inch up into a sitting
position. He decided that staying on the floor really wasn't so bad. He, after all, was merely human - subject to
probabilities and circumstances unforseeable. Unlike his Sumerian creation, Conan, he would not be able to
snap the ropes and kill everyone here. He would not be able to save the proverbial (and, in this case, literal) day.
Sulking seemed the thing to do at the moment, and Howard poured himself into it as he looked around. From his position, he could see two Nazi soldiers in drab camel colors messing with the wench, preparing to disengage from the ground and begin the long flight back to Berlin. During which, he was going to be dropped into the ocean. His blood chilled.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers elbowed the other one in the ribs. It happened so fast, Howard wouldn't have
registered it if the attacked soldier hadn't doubled over and gasped for breath. The attacking soldier made one fist
with two hands and brought it down on the Nazi's neck while bringing his knee to the man's nose at the same
time. The crack of bone and cartelidge was audible over the growing hum of the turbines. The assailant turned
toward Howard and the writer couldn't help but smile as he recognized Indiana Jones.

"Come on, we've got to get to that other Zepplin," Indy said as he began working on Howard's bonds.

There was a lurch as the Zepplin tried to depart. Indy glanced back over to the wench and swallowed hard
when he realized that the line was still attached to the ground. Then, all at once, the world pitched wildly. Indy and Howard, whose hands were still bound, slid toward the open cargo door. Indy grabbed at a net securing boxes of cargo with one hand and held onto Howard's belt with the other. A large supply crate slid across the floor at them on its way to the door and Indy rolled sideways, hauling himself and Howard out of the way by a hair's breadth. The crate sailed out into the air. Howard watched it fall down into the crater. There was a thin layer of water already collecting there as the ocean creeped over the crater walls. There was nobody on the ground to cut the rope; everyone had boarded an airship already.

"Throw the switch, Howard!" Indy yelled. "There's a red release switch! Throw it!"

Howard saw what Indy was talking about. Amid the gears of the wench was a tiny red latch that prevented the
gears from sliding backward. Had his hands been in front of him, Howard could have easily reached over and
flipped it, but his hands were still behind him.

Indy yanked him out of the way of another kamikaze crate. The Zeppelin was starting to circle around it's anchor
and the pitch angle was getting worse. What was this pilot thinking?

"Now, Howard! What are you waiting for?"

The writer rolled onto his side and arched his arms backward as much as he could. He felt cold metal gears and
his fingers barely groped something that felt like it MIGHT be the red switch.

"Dammit, Howard, we're going to die!"

Howard tugged on the metal object and finally, it clicked. With the tension on the rope released, the world pitched
back in the opposite direction, tossing Indy and Howard back into the cargo hold and into the sides of several
securely tied crates. The rope ran all the way out of the wench and wound down into the crater.

The gondola swung wildly for a few moments, twisting the zeppelin in the air, but finally, all was right. Howard took
a deep breath, but hadn't even let it out when Indy grabbed him by the shirt and hauled him up.

"The pilot will be back here to figure out what the problem was any second," he said. "When he comes through
that door, distract him so I can get the drop on him."

"What about my hands?"

"No time for that." Indy ducked behind several crates just as the door opened. The pilot appeared, holding a Luger at his waist.

"What are you trying to do?" Howard yelled at the man. "You lost your soldier! Are you trying to kill me, too?"
Howard nodded at the open cargo door. The pilot said nothing. Keeping the gun aimed at Howard, he walked
over to the cargo door and prepared to pull it closed. Indy appeared just then and neatly kicked the pilot out of the door. A terrible scream followed the pilot down into the crater as Indy sealed the cargo hold behind him.

"NOW, will you untie me?" Howard asked.

"Yeah. You're going to have to help me with the others."

* * * * *

Von Trakken lowered his binoculars. Dearborne could practically see the fumes rising off of him.

"Don't tell me you're disappointed," she said smartly.

The Nazi officer sniffed loudly. "Merely inconvenienced," he said, picking up a funnel attatched to a hose. He
spoke into it. "Open a lower vindow und blast ze ozzer ship from ze sky."

"Seig Heil," came the reply. Von Trakken replaced the hose on its cradle and watched Dearborne's face.

"I trust zat HOPE is not vhat I read on your face, herr Doktor. All my gunmen haf to do is ignite ze gas in the
airship's balloon und your friends... vill be... incineratet."

Dearborne twisted savagely at her bonds, but they held. Von Trakken laughed evilly. She let he shoulders slump as if in defeat, but continued to work her wrists amid the coils of rope.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, Indy and Howard had taken the bridge. Indy was just inside the door, forcing the last two on-board
soldiers to come through one at a time and catch a fist in the jaw. No one dared fire a shot in the airship due to
the volatile chemicals above them. That was what really scared Indy about the gunshots that crashed in on
them.

"Howard what are you-?" he began, but he realized what was happening immediately. The other ship was firing
on them! Indy dropped the last guy, having broken his jaw, and ran for the pilot's seat. Howard was crouched on
the floor in front of the control panel.

"They must have seen us, Jones!"

"They're gonna see us blow up if we don't get out of range!"

* * * * *

"Schnell!" yelled Von Trakken as he stood behind the operator of the mounted machine gun. "Aim for ze balloon!
Not ze cockpit!"

"But, ze ship..." stamered the gunman. Von Traken pulled the Luger from his hip and shot the man dead. The
entire crew went silent.

"Mine orters are to be obeyt!" he yelled. "YOU! Come over here und shoot down ze zeppelin." The young soldier
obeyed quickly.

Dearborne, still on the bridge, saw the other zeppelin pitch up. She could practically read Indy's mind now. He
would have to get above the zeppelin in order to avoid the gunfire. But that would expose the entire underside of
the ship and make it a huge target. With renewed vigor, she twisted the ropes that bound her and felt a single coil
slide away. After that, it was just a matter of looping the rope around itself and she was free. She stealthily
creeped up behind the pilot and snapped his neck with a merciless twist. She tossed him in the floor and assumed his position. She grabbed the steering column and pushed it forward.

* * * * *

Indy watched in confusion as the zeppelin in front of him took took a nosedive. Looking at it from the rear like he was, it took him a moment to figure out what was happening, then he smiled. Dearborne was buying him time. God only knows what they'd do to her for it, but at least he had a chance to save her now. He pulled back even harder on his steering column and.

"That woman's got moxy," he said under his breath. Howard heard him and smiled.

* * * * *

Von Traken shouted a long string of obscenities into the hose-phone before he realized he wasn't talking to anyone. He slammed the hose against the wall and signalled to two soldiers.

"You two, come vit me. Ze rest of you... GET UP!" They had all been knocked to the floor by the ship's sudden
lurching. Several of them had lost their rations over the maneuver. Von Traken grabbed the young gunman by his
blond hair. "Und you find zat zeppelin und DISTROY it!"

"Seig Heil..." whimpered the soldier. Von Traken and his two guards walked quickly towards the bridge.

They never made it out of the crew quarters. Instead, they were met in the doorway by a flying fist and a series of spinning kicks. Dearborne's skirt and heels didn't slow her down a bit as she swept the soldiers' legs out from
under them and splattered Von Traken's nose across his face. The other soldiers present rushed to the fray. The
young gunman turned his weapon toward her and fired. Dearborne dove, tucked and rolled out of the way to
come up in front of three soldiers grabbing at her.

"NIDIOT!" screamed Von Traken through a broken nose and watery eyes. "Non't zhoot!"

The gunman wasn't listening, though. He knew only the consequences of failure, so he hoisted his gun and
prepared to fire again. Von Traken tackled him. The gun went off as the soldier squeezed the trigger, puncturing
the wall and drawing a dotted line up and across the ceiling.

Everything exploded.

* * * * *

From above, Indy and Howard stared in horror as the zeppelin below them burst into flames. The force of the blast sent Indy's ship upwards, but not far enough. The flames of the burning balloon skin caught Indy's zeppelin as well.

"Cargo door!" Indy shouted, jumping from the pilot's seat. Howard was already out of the bridge door. Another
thunderous rumble and the floor was dropping beneath them.

(LG>)
Indy and Howard could do nothing but hold on at first.

The explosion had sent the zeppelin into a nose up climb, throwing them backwards. As the airship bucked and rolled wildly, they were tossed about and up into the ship. The control gondola had been torn away in the blast just after they climbed out of it, leaving them at the mercy of the winds, but eventually the ship leveled out .

Indy focused on staying conscious and dragging Howard along the narrow catwalk. He tried not to think about Dearborne being dead, though he had seen the other zeppelin explode and knew no one could have survived.

"Where are we going?" coughed Howard... the smoke from the airships burning outer skin was thick and blinding.

"Save your breath." Indy continued heading towards the middle of the huge, hollow ship. If they could make it a little further, they might have a chance.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he saw his goal . Unfortunately, it wasn?t all sunlight and roses.

"Damn. So close and yet so far away." muttered Howard. For there, across 10 feet of missing catwalk, sat a sparkling new German light Scout plane. The zeppelins had been designed for reconnaissance and observation missions and through a hook and winch mechanism the plane could be lowered or raised into its
belly.

Indy looked around the hanger...the explosion had hit hard here but the Plane and winch looked ok.

"How we gonna get across there?" asked Howard.

"I'm thinking! I'm thinking!" shouted Indy.

Suddenly, the airship was rocked by another huge explosion. Both men were slammed into the catwalk and Howard disappeared over the edge.

"Howard!!" shouted Indy. He scrambled to the edge and looked, expecting to see the worst, but Robert was there hanging on to one of the catwalks supports. Indy grabbed his wrist and gave a mighty pull to haul him up.

A sicking groan came from the ships metal skeleton and the cables holding the whole thing together began to snap."Could ya think a little faster ?"

Indy uncoiled the whip, picked a spot and snapped it expertly. The whip wrapped itself around one of the twisted supports and held fast. "Here!" He shoved the handle into Howard?s hand. "Swing over!"

Howard blanched... "Oohh, no. I?m scared of heights!"

Indy shoved him and he swung out over the open bay. The sparkle of water winked at him a 10,000 feet below.

"Hoooollleeeyyy Geeeezzzeee !!!!" Then his feet were on solid metal again. He threw the whip back to Indy. The ship once more groaned and seemed to twist . "Hurry Jones!"

"Get the plane ready !" shouted Indy. Howard, now having something to do, started muttering to himself as he cranked the winch which moved the plane into position over the Hanger opening. Indy braced and took his swing over the missing catwalk, but he never finished it.

They had been lucky so far because the zeppelins, being military, had used the more expensive helium for lift instead of the dangerous and cheaper hydrogen used in the commercial airships. Indy had surmised that the explosion on the other had been due to something setting off the fuel tanks and now he had his answer as the fire finally reached the fuel of his ship and the forward part exploded in a ball of flame. Being in mid-swing, he found himself carried over Howard and slammed into the plane. Stunned, he felt his hands begin to slide over the smooth wing surface. Below was only air and ocean.

"Oh gee, this ain't good."  He tried to dig his fingers into the wing, but had no luck as he slid steadily backwards.

"Here, grab hold." Howard had retrieved the whip and tossed the handle end to him. His slide stopped.

One of the two hooks holding the plane to its lowering ladder snapped with a sharp pop. The plane did a crazy sideways dance. Indy held on to the whip for dear life. Howard had tied the whip's end to the plane's seat and climbed in.

"Howard ? What the heck are you doing?"

"Saving our necks, Dr. Jones. Hold on." He pressed what he hoped was the ignition button. The remaining hook stressed beyond its limits, finally gave way and the plane dropped like a rock leaving the zeppelin far above.

"HHHHHOOOWWWAAARRRRDDDDD start the damn thing!!!!"

The motor coughed ..sputtered... and the propeller began to turn, picking up speed. Howard pushed the stick in what he hoped was the right direction. Indy, who was attempting to climb hand over hand up the whip, suddenly found the plane above him and upside down. Howard hung above him with a confused and surprised look on his face.

"Quit clowin' and fly the plane!" He managed to right the plane and Indy climbed into the observer's seat. "I didn't know you could fly!? he shouted over the wind.

"I can't ... this is my first time!" came the reply.

Jones was busy surveying the contents of the plane when Howard reached back excitedly and grabbed him. "Look!!"

Indy couldn't believe his eyes and had to look twice to be sure. There, high above them, was the burning rear section of a zeppelin, swatzikas emblazoned on its tail fins. And on one of those tail fins, a shapely redhead was
holding several Germans at bay with a Luger and machine gun. "Geeze, if she ain?t immortal she should be!"

"Yea!" shouted Howard.

"Come on! Give this thing some gas! We can't keep the lady waiting!"
Back to Part One To Part Three