Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own any character, term, or place from these stories. They are the respective properties of their copyright holders. I am simply writing this as a fan for a non-profit exercize to enjoy writing. I am not going to claim to be completely true to the characters all the time but I will try to be as close as possible most of the time. Also methods used to bring them together may not be completely original but I ask for a bit of leeway.
My thanks go out to winterwings6, for his work on editing.
Chapter One: The Three Worlds
Fowl Manor
A meeting was taking place, one that had to remain hidden from the rest of humanity, but could affect the entire world. At the head of the table, a young man had just finished speaking, and his brow was now creased with deep thoughts. The rest of the room sat in stunned silence. All eyes were locked upon him.
"Artemis..." the single word came from midway along the table. Holly Short looked at the young man doubtfully, like the rest of the attendees. "How can you be so sure that it would work?"
Artemis smiled, a predatory grin that would remind almost anyone of a vampire. "We already know what she is after, and we know that she typically has others do her dirty work for her. In other words, Opal would not be deceived by a physical trap. Instead we must allow her to take it, and then we will follow it back to her."
The next voice echoed from the TV set at the other end of the room. "Don't underestimate Koboi, Mudboy; she would be expecting something just like that."
"Of course she would. She would not be a genius if she weren't." Artemis replied to the centaur. "However if you want your enemy to make a move, offer them a prize that they are sure to take."
"But Artemis….the risks involved for both our races…." Holly protested.
"Are how much worse than having a power mad pixie running around unrestrained? At least with my plan you have a chance to bring her in so that you can get her back to her own time."
Foaly stopped chewing on a carrot for a moment to study Artemis. "The Commander is not going to like this."
________________________________________
LEP Headquarters
Haven City, Lower Elements
Commander Kelp stared across his desk at Foaly. "Do you have any idea what you are proposing?" he asked, turning deep tomato-red, a color that his predecessor had been rather notorious for. Foaly secretly wondered if Kelp was channeling the spirit of Julius "Beet" Root.
"I do, but as much as I hate to admit it, the Mudboy is right. This may very well be the only way to capture Koboi."
Trouble scowled thoughtfully. He had a lot of problems on his plate. Topping off the list would be the second Opal Koboi on the loose, whereabouts unknown. And as if that weren't enough, Holly Short, his second-in-command, was partially responsible for this situation and Internal Affairs was once again breathing down his neck because of it. And now there was this coup de gras, with his lead technical adviser telling him that he should be taking suggestions from a Mudman, a kidnapper at that.
"Foaly, prepare a shuttle. I'm going up to meet with Fowl in person."
________________________________________
Fowl Manor
The mansion itself sat upon a small hill overlooking the surrounding landscape. Fowl Manor had originally been built as a castle, and still maintained the original guard towers and walkways. For many centuries it had withstood war, politics, civil turbulence, tax audits, and even a fairy siege, but now the manor was about to face a threat that would have been inconceivable (and frankly ludicrous) to its original designers.
As it would happen, a large Eurasian man was moving along the walkways of the grounds. Perhaps the term "giant" would be more apt to describe him. Towering at about 6'7", the man could intimidate just about anyone seeking to trespass on the grounds. Those that were foolish enough to try would learn just why the Butlers were considered to be among the world's greatest bodyguards.
Ever since his and Artemis's first engagement with the fairies some years before, Butler had been sure to keep an eye out for the slight shimmer in the air made by a fairy's shield when it became invisible. So it was no surprise to anyone, except perhaps the unfortunate fairy in question, when Butler immediately drew his handgun upon seeing a tell-tale shimmer.
"I know you're there, so you might as well come on out," he called. Immediately, the shielded fairy stopped his vibrating and came into view.
"Still as sharp as always, Mudman," Trouble said. Their first meeting had been something that the Commander of the LEP would never forget. After all, when you get your ** handed to you by a seven foot tall Mudman, you tend to remember it.
"Commander," Butler acknowledged. Trouble Kelp was a soldier just like him. Even though they had been forced into being adversaries the first time they had met, they shared an unspoken understanding with one another, almost like the one he'd had with Root.
"I need to speak with Fowl." Trouble was clear and to the point.
"He's in the study with Holly and Juliet. They should be doing another conference with No.1 and Foaly," Butler said, knowing that the fairies had long since had accurate blueprints of Fowl Manor. They'd had them since the first engagement, so he knew the Commander would be able to find his own way.
Trouble nodded and took that as his invitation to proceed, or he would have.
Four loud thuds sounded behind them, followed by a loud roar that pierced the air, something that all but one of the occupants of Fowl Manor had heard before. It was followed by three more savage bellows and the sound of reinforced gates being ripped from their hinges. Butler dared a glance in the direction of the gate, and his heart sunk. Four hulking, shaggy beasts stood there, tusks swaying ominously as they moved.
Trolls. The single thought ran through the bodyguard's mind. It was something that he would never be able to forget. He had nearly been killed by a troll when Artemis had kidnapped Holly in their first meeting. But that had been only a single troll. Now there were four of them bearing down on the manor.
Butler and Trouble took off almost immediately. They rushed blindly towards the main doors of the manor, bursting through and closing them a few moments later. "Butler…what was that…?" Holly's voice filtered from upstairs.
"Trolls," Butler replied and he could almost see the color in Holly's face drain away. Butler rapidly ascended the stairs as Holly came down. They were going to have to make a stand.
The two fairies exchanged brief glances. Both were veterans of countless fights, but this was different. Only Holly had faced down this many trolls before at once. During Opal's last appearance. Together Holly and the Commander shielded and activated their wings, flying down to ground level.
Butler entered into the weapons storage closet and drew out several flash bangs and several more clips of ammo for his Sig Sauer. As he left he heard the crash from downstairs, the sound of the front door being smashed into splinters. The bodyguard rushed down the hall, hearing the sound of neutrinos blasting away. The two fairies were already battling it out.
Down below, Holly and Trouble had begun to fire through the doorway as soon as the first troll had burst through. The lead troll had been hit by shot after shot, but still came through, followed by his bloodthirsty buddies. The trolls raised their shaggy heads and sniffed the air, nostrils dilating. They appeared to be trying to detect the scents of the humans, trying to find out where all of their prey was hiding.
One of the neutrino shots caught the fur of one of the trolls, which immediately began to smoke. The burnt stench filled the air.
The disoriented trolls looked around. Beneath the odor of burning troll, the entire house smelled like humans and elves. They were close—every primal instinct the animals had told them that much at the very least. Their prey was the trolls were bombarded with neutrino shots, their tiny brains could barely formulate what was attacking them. Something was just appearing out of nowhere and striking them. They were confused. What would dare to strike them, and where was it? All four roared in unison and began to charge straight ahead, their tusks slicing through anything that happened to get in their way. Four massive, flailing bodies lumbered through the entrance hall of Fowl Manor.
Butler arrived at the top of the stairs just in time to see the start of the charge, which happened to be right in the direction of the two shielded fairies. He didn't waste any more time, and deftly tossed down two metal canisters, which landed right in-between the fairies and the trolls. The fairies would be protected by their nanofiber suits. The trolls on the other hand…would not be quite so lucky.
Trolls are an old race of fairy that evolved to be subterraneous long before the rest of their fairy brethren were forced belowground by the humans. They have a natural aversion to light and are often found in the underground tunnels. So when Butler threw down the flash bag, he was throwing down the one thing that troll DNA had never been able to adapt to.
The pair of canisters exploded upon impact, each unleashing a brilliant flash of light in front of the trolls. The LEP officers were protected by their helmets, which automatically filtered out the light and the sound, but the trolls were blinded and deafened by the pair of bombs.
Butler was naturally the first to take advantage of the situation. He pulled out his Sig Sauer and began firing at the lead troll. The bullets landed within an inch of each other. Butler knew from his first encounter that this wouldn't do much, but it should be enough to stun the creature momentarily. He was right. The troll staggered back from the elves and into its own kind. One of its gargantuan tusks slashed a fellow bull along the torso, causing the second creature to shriek in pain. The injured troll's cries soon died out however, as the sedative located on the tusks of all trolls began to have an effect. The bull eventually slumped down, no longer putting up a fight.
Holly watched in amazement as two of the trolls fell within seconds, thanks to Butler. She knew she would have to thank him, again, once this was all over. Once again he had arrived to save the day. But as the others began to recover, a creeping sensation began to come over her and her neck prickled. It was the feeling she got when she was running low on her magic. When one of the recovered trolls suddenly looked straight at her, its yellow eyes gleaming with vicious intent, Holly knew that she was no longer shielded.
"D'Arvit."
AREA 11
"Lelouch! Stop right there!"
A young man turned at the sound of the voice calling out to him. "Aw...but Professor Villetta, surely you don't want me to make up those classes now," he protested.
The woman stopped in the hallway, hands on her hips. "You're not getting away with it this time...Hey, get back here!" she cried and began chasing after Lelouch, who had taken off running.
The other kids laughed as Lelouch raced down the hallway with Villetta hot on his heels. "Go vice prez!" a few called out to him as he passed, before he finally ducked into the chemistry room and swiftly moved to the other side.
An instant later Villetta was standing in the doorway, staring at him with what seemed to be a triumphant smile pasted across her lips. "You lost," she began, "the moment you turned this into a contest of physical strength and speed."
Lelouch smiled nonchalantly back at her. "Aren't you overreacting a bit, Miss Villetta? Isn't this just about missing a P.E. Class?"
"No! Quit cutting class, or else I'll—"
"I have more than enough school credits to pass, don't I?" Lelouch interrupted. Then he grinned, his finger tipping over one vial of chemicals into another. An orange cloud erupted, quickly filling the room and obscuring everything from sight. "Don't worry, it's just smoke!" Lelouch called back as he ran out the door and down the hallway.
________________________________________
Last Sanctuary –Council Chamber
A voice resonated throughout the small chamber, small and inhuman. "So, are we agreed?" Other voices murmured in discontented assent, but one, deeper than the others, spoke out.
"Fine, you have shown us that we have no other alternatives. The humans will find us in less than ten years. We need time and there is no one left to stop them."
A woman's voice rang out. "What about this human called Zero?"
"He is dead or missing. Either way he can't help us now. He showed promise...but we need a little outside assistance," the first voice replied. "With your consent the ritual will begin in an hour."
"Fine."
Fowl Manor
Holly was in trouble. The only things standing between her and the venom-dripping tusks of two enraged trolls were the neutrino in her hand and a few yards. Not a comforting thought. She didn't want to do this, but she was out of other options. She raised the neutrino, sighted carefully, and fired two shots.
The trolls wouldn't have a chance to know what happened. The neutron beams scorched through each troll's eyes and into their brains. The poor trolls never really had a chance. It took a minute for their bodies to realize it, but soon the pair of monsters crumbled to the ground.
Holly holstered her neutrino quickly as Commander Kelp appeared beside her. "Are you alright?" he asked, before looking at the unlucky pair of trolls and swearing. "D'Arvit! That's going to mean a lot of paperwork."
"Wasn't much of a choice, sir. If those trolls got past us.....Well, paperwork would be the least of our worries. Where the hell did they come from, anyway?"
"Well, when a mommy troll and a daddy troll...." crackled a horsy voice over her helmet speakers.
"NOT NOW, FOALY!" Holly and Trouble yelled in applause echoed from the top of the stairs as a young man stepped out into view.
"Excellent coordination. I must commend you." The fairies didn't even have to look up to know the speaker. They knew his voice by this point.
"A lot of help you were, Mudboy." Trouble retorted.
"I thought you would know by now that physical altercations are not my forte, Commander." Artemis snorted. "I digress. I believe I can provide a reasonable explanation to Captain Short's query." He paused.
"Out with it Artemis." Holly said impatiently.
"The answer is quite obvious, Captain," he replied, and his mismatched eyes seemed to gleam in humor.
"Artemis, if you think you know who it was, then say it already." A giant Eurasian man spoke from behind. Artemis scowled.
"Very well then. I thought it would be plain as day, but perhaps I was simply overestimating your cognitive abilities."
"Opal." Trouble growled. His statement was greeted with more slowly deliberate applause.
"Very good Commander, two gold stars." Artemis smirked. "Or would you prefer a smiley face instead?"
"How about a neutrino shot to a condescending Mudboy?" Trouble shot back.
Artemis raised his hands placatingly. "Alright, enough fun. Yes, Opal Koboi sent those trolls, in all likelihood. The method of delivery, however, remains a mystery. Magic, perhaps?"
"Doubtful, Mudboy. The amount of magical power needed to transport four angry trolls would more than drain a dozen demon warlocks, let alone Opal," Foaly's voice crackled over the intercom. "A much more mundane method would be most practical."
The sound of a keyboard clattering filled the air. "Got it. I hacked the Big Eye in the sky, and it looks like she just shoved them out of a cloaked shuttle. Classic. I can't seem to find the shuttle now, though."
"Great, so now we have a homicidal pixie running around in a cloaked shuttle, which is apparently equipped with a full set of trolls. How could this day get any better?" Holly asked.
"Oi! Arty!" a voice called out. "Did you realize that you were out of..." There was a pause mid-sentence as the short stocky figure walked out from the kitchen. "Whoa...I think you need a new interior designer."
"Mulch." Holly sighed. "Great, just great."
*END CHAPTER ONE*