A/N: This started off as a game that I was playing with my sister today: she would name two characters, and I would write how they would meet. So she named Olivia Dunham of the TV show Fringe, and Holly Short of the Artemis Fowl book series. Here's the blurb I wrote.
Olivia
She had never thought, since the beginning of the investigation, that it would lead to this. Then again, that happened during every case. But this one – this one was unique. The Fringe division had gone international. Specifically, Ireland. She had learned from the very start that Fringe cases would inevitably surprise and shock her, but this took the cake.
There it was, just as they had read. That slight shimmer where no shimmer should be.
I hope you're getting this, Walter, she thought, narrowing her eyes through the binoculars. Because this was what they had waited for. The moment of truth. A second later, she silently pulled out her cell phone and rapidly texted: TARGET SIGHTED. AWAITING FURTHER ORDERS.
Broyles, hidden in a van on a deserted road half a mile away, would get the text and, after analyzing the video feed that Walter was receiving through Olivia's camera, make the decision as to what their next move would be. Despite the fact that her boss and squad of Fringe agents were far from her position, Olivia didn't feel worried. Peter was on the other side of the small brook, ready and waiting to back her up in case something unexpected happened. Hopefully nothing would.
But as was the case in all Fringe investigations, the unexpected happened.
Holly
"I hope you're getting this, Foaly," the elf murmured, zooming in on the van sitting on the deserted road. "It could be two Mud Men on a joyride, but something tells me it's not."
On the other end, the centaur whinied in a laugh.
"And they said I was paranoid," Foaly chuckled, but a second later Holly heard the sound of soft bleeps as the centaur pressed buttons on his new touchscreen. "All right. I'm using your helmet to scan for anything out of place. Just stay alert. I've got your back."
Tense, Holly landed in front of the willow but did not turn off her shield. Something wasn't right. Years of experience in the field – above and below ground – had honed her natural instincts. And they were screaming that something was not as it should be. The elf cast her eyes around, checking her surroundings with her helmet's multitude of lenses, but everything came up clean. Unconsciously, her hand strayed towards her Neutrino. Her nerves hummed with tension.
So when Foaly's voice blared through the helmet, Holly jumped.
"HOLLY! You need to get out of there, right now! I just intercepted a text message from a Mud Man cell phone, and they're onto you! Holly, they're there and they know you're there!"
In a second the Neutrino was in Holly's hands and she was pointing it straight out in front of her, turning on the spot to find the Mud Men. Where were they? Why couldn't she see them?
"Foaly, where are they? Give me a location."
"Hold on a sec, I'm zooming in on the signal. Ok, it should be showing up on your screen. Red target."
Holly whirled around, head turning until she saw the red dot, which was on what seemed to be a cluster of empty rocks. But if what Foaly said was true – and he was almost never wrong – right there, Mud Men were sitting there watching her. Confront or shoot? Call them out or go ahead and take them out? They could be pointing weapons at her this very second.
The decision came to her in a millisecond.
Olivia
"Reveal yourself, human," a voice, muffled by some kind of helmet or mouthpiece, called from the shimmer. "Reveal yourself and I won't fire on you. This is your only chance."
Olivia's heart hammered. Her earpiece was silent. Had the connection been lost? Broyles and Walter wouldn't leave her like this. The faeries must have found out and cut the connection. So what to do? Reveal herself, and risk being shot herself? Or stay invisible and shoot first? But the faerie had called our first. Even knowing that Olivia was there, the faerie had decided to make contact instead of shooting first. That had to count for something.
Slowly, the special agent stood up.
Holly
For a moment, nothing happened. The rocks stayed empty, and for that one moment, Holly wondered if she had been wrong not to shoot first. But then, a couple of seconds later, there was a shimmer from behind the rocks as a human figure stood up and seemed to pull away some kind of cloth, revealing itself.
It wasn't Mud Men, or even one Mud Man. It was a human woman with long blond hair in a ponytail, wearing a warm black coat and carrying a gun, though both her hands were in the air in a defensive way. Though it was dark, Holly's helmet let her see the woman's eyes, and she was surprised by the level of calm in those eyes. A closer look, and Holly saw a kind of determination that matched her own. When the human spoke, her accent was American. New England, if she wasn't mistaken. Her words were even, non-threatening, formal, even soothing.
"Hello, Holly Short. My name is Olivia Dunham, special agent from the Fringe Division. We've got some questions for you."
A/N: I'm not planning on continuing this story, but if enough people ask for a continuation of this, I might come up with something. Thanks for reading!
