The dust swirled off the thick cover of the book, exposing its thick and heavy leather cover emblazoned with dull copper swirls all joining in the middle to create the five pointed star.
The Mark of the Council.
Tan young hands trembled as they picked the book up and out of its tomb in a heavy mushroom-wood chest and placed it upon a pedestal
The ancient artifact creaked softly as the cover was opened and the warm light from a slug lamp was bathed upon the pristine white pages, brittled by time and age. For the first time in a hundred years, forbidden eyes laid their sight on the elegant words labelling the pristine paper.
'The Battle for Slugterra: witnessed and recorded by the great scribe Pronto Geronimole'
Young turquoise eyes flashed with curiousity until a voice rang out through the dusty basement air.
"Artemis! What is taking you so long? My glasses are just on the bench next to the life-sized model of a Fandango!"
Artemis flinched at the voice and hurridly set the thick book back in the chest, accidentally getting her thumb caught as the heavy lid shut.
"OW!" She yelped, taking to steps backwards and backing up into the wrong end of a morphed Dirt Urchin model.
"AH!" She yelled as plastic spines jabbed her in the back. As she reached back to rub her aches, she managed to whack her elbow against the solid bookshelf.
As the pain slowly crept her arm she hissed and stopped moving, just waiting for the pain to pass.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow.." she whimpered to herself as she slowly made her way over to the Fandango statue and grabbed the glasses, already coated with fresh dust.
Her back complained quietly as she walked up the stairs and back into the town library.
Librarian Felicity was patiently waiting at the stairs and her wrinkled old face broke into a smile as Artemis emerged, glasses in hand.
"Oh, thank you dear! I can't believe I left them down there! Especially with this bad back of mine! You're so helpful..."
Artemis flushed and handed her the glasses, "I-it was nothing..." she mumbled, sticking her hands in her jeans pockets and allowing her side fringe to cover half her face. Her eyes flicked from side to side to make sure no-one was watching her.
"Nonsense! You're the most helpful young one I've known! But what took you so long?"
Artemis jumped at the question, "Wha-I-the-please don't tell-!"
Felicity let out a sly wink, "Got sidetracked by all the old things down in there? I'm not surprised! I would too, if I could get down there."
Artemis let out a relieved sigh, " Yeah..something like that...uh, Mrs Veil? I need to g-"
"Ah, yes. You need to be off! Righto! See you tomorrow after school, hmm?"
Artemis turned and nodded, a quiet smile on her face, "Bye Mrs Veil"
Mrs Veil waved good bye before turning to help another person.
Artemis reached behind the issuing desk and grabbed her bag, smiling goodbye to Mr Drear who gave her a nod back.
Swinging her school bag over her shoulder, she walked out the doors, taking one last breath of library air before stepping out on the dirt road.
Many people were walking along the road edge, staying close to the white and blue spherical buildings while docile mecha beasts loped down the middle of the road, their riders looking bored.
Artemis stuck close to the stone walls of the buildings as men in suits and groups of teenagers washed past, oblivious to her existence. With stone walls on one side and an endless stream of people on the other, Artemis started to struggle to breath. Nothing serious, just an annoying habit.
Ducking down a side street, she started to breath easier. She knewcthis street well and eventually she emerged on a well used path that wound up a small hill, leading to what was known as The Council Plateau.
Few people were on the path and Artemis stopped to take in the view once she reached the top, like she did every day.
The whole City of Sasha spread out beneath her. Glimmering white buildings flashed and sparkled in the City center, yet quailty deteriorated the further out you looked. The homes at the city edge were barely livable and were extremely crammed. It was said you could die from suffocation if you spent to long in the streets.
Tearing her eyes from Sasha, she spied the other two Cities: Trixie, over by the far side of the bowl shaped cavern, where the sides were jagged cliffs and uneven terrain.
Trixie was a crazy city. Races? Casinos? Shops? Entertainment? Go to Trixe. It plenty of both, legal and otherwise. Even from here, she could see the neon lights flashing as the cavern roof-lights dimmed to dusk and the stronger arena lights from the Mecha Racecourse and the Slingers Arena.
Trixie was the place where you could get dirt on anyone and had the most drama.
The dangerous cliff faces it was built under attracted huge amounts of thrill seekers as more and more contest opened up. No path was ever the same when climbing the RedHead Drop. Climbers weight often sent rocks tumbling down, changing the face of the cliff constantly. The ultimate thrill seeker challenge.
They had every sport happening there with huge ferocity. It was said the first week in Trixie, you never slept.
The other city, known as Smelter City was the industrial city. A long waterfall that spouted directly out of the curved cavern sides landed directly in the city centre, a huge hydro-electricity station had been built there. It was so big, it provided the whole cavern with power.
Even here, Artemis could make out the huge chimneys spouting huge clouds of steam out over the dull gray buildings. A thick smog hung over the city, the smoke and gas from numerous factories contributing, yet the smog wasn't toxic. The Council had seen to that.
If you ever wanted to see Boon Docs in action, go to Smelter. They stopped any toxic fumes escaping by purifying them.
Smelters main residents were Cave Trolls along with a few scientists and humanoid creatures. If you wanted something, go to Smelter. They could fix or build anything.
Yet the Council had put laws in place, recommendations for what they were allowed to build.
Mecha beasts were said to have half the power they used to have and blasters too. Anything that could be a weapon wasn't allowed so every piece of furniture was rounded, made of curves and spheres.
There were many more but Artemis could not think about them just yet.
Turning back around she headed towards the Council Plateau, leaving Sasha, the City of Heritage, behind. Artemis considered herself lucky to live close to Sasha, with its ancient architecture and huge wells of knowledge. She loved to read about the history of the Cavern she lived in.
It was called Healer Springs and had once been a quiet healers village.
She guessed it had stayed that way because she couldn't find anything else after that.
It was the world she lived in and the only one she knew of.
She emerged from behind a large fern and walked out into the main courtyard of the Council Plateau.
She loved the architecture here, the Japanese gateways and the spiraling rock formations hidden in lush green bush high above the crowded streets of Sasha. It was the only place she knew that had more decorations than buildings.
The stone steps that led up to this high sanctuary were hard work, but Artemis had been climbing those steps for years and they gave her no problem. She was fitter than she thought.
Everyday she stopped and stared at the single building on the Plateau; The Council building, shaped like a treasure chest with a dome directly above the center. Carved out of white marble, the dome had a blue circle in the middle, that cast a blue glow out over the courtyard. A white flag emblazoned with the orange star flew above the building.
Large wooden double-doors opened up to reveal a luxurious foyer.
Artemis, walked up the stone steps and inside, wiping her feet on a rug before stepping in on the red carpet.
She kept her head low and took a seat in one of the waiting seats, her blue bag placed beside her.
Like usual, she cast her eyes around the room while she waited for her mother.
The usual palm tree in the pot next to the tinted window, the normal maroon wallpaper and the same desk clerk sitting behind the oaken behemoth that was branded with the Council Star.
Above the desk and on the wall was a painting that had entertained Artemis for many years as she sat and waited.
Artemis loved the painting.
It was an image of the Six Council Members charging forward on their Battle-Mechas, blasters drawn and loyal soldiers following them on their own.
The Honourable Elijah and Elina Shane were in the middle, mounted on their wolf mechas and blasters held in unsion. Each had their True Slugs, an Infurnace on their shoulders.
Artemis agreed that they both represented Infurnaces. They were both kind yet strict and just.
On either side of them were, Michael Jones and Nicole Blakk. Both on their own mechas.
These two had a darker shade to them, Artemis had noticed the paint used for them was darker even though Nicole was as white as snow with jet-black hair.
She was a beauty, that Nicole.
Michael also had longer blond hair that was hanging down, unlike he had now.
Artemis felt a pang of jealousy as she stared at her fathers young face on the painting. She remembered him stopping in the foyer and putting an arm around her brother, Lucas, shoulder and pointing up at the painting to where he was mounted on the mecha beast with his blaster loaded.
"That'll be you one day." he had said those exact words with such comfort and compassion towards his son, Artemis just wanted to sink into the ground.
Her father never spoke to her like that. He didn't even look at her.
He only cared about his son and his gift with mecha beasts.
Only Lucas and Violet, her mother, talked to her, and even then, only Lucas seemed to care.
Artemis tried to shove the thoughts aside and focus on the soldiers in the painting.
To the left was the senile bastard from the care-home. Harper Pine.
But this was when she was younger, in her prime. She was riding her huge T-Rex mecha, that was now a centre piece for Smelter City as she was too old to ride it and didn't want anyone else to touch it.
On her shoulder, she hoisted a huge Cannon blaster. Artemis hadn't believed that she could lift it, until Harper had demonstrated by lifting up her couch and lifting it up on her shoulder.
The matrons had freaked out and instantly told her to put it down, which she did with a dry old chuckle, before flopping down, her long grey plait coiled up next to her.
Artemis had been amazed. Not only was Miss Pine a strong old woman but she could spin a great tale! Artemis always joined the younger ones when it was story night at the acre home. Old and young people loved to hear Harpers delusional tales of a larger world as she sat in her old armchair with Mr Bibbles by her side.
On the right side were the two Neons Twins, Aqua and Ruby. Both of their faces were set into a cheeky smirk as the loaded their blasters.
Now, they were in charge of the Neon Law Enforcement or NLE. Artemis never saw them, their HQ was based in Trixie. They were merciless and the only reason that Trixie hadn't been burnt to the ground by trigger happy arsonists and other criminals.
She often saw their faces on the bill boards, both wore the standard blue/black uniform with the Council badge pinned to their lapel.
Each time they had spoke about how good citizens wouldn't be punished, but it was common knowledge that their words had an underlying tone.
'If you do a bad thing, we will find you...and fuck you up' That was the gist anyway.
It worked too. Their was little or no crime in other cities and Trixie wasn't that bad anyway.
But Artemis had a feeling that the rot in Trixie went deeper than they thought.
It always did in detective films.
Surrounding the outside of the two main fighters were many minor soldiers, painted their to fill space.
But what Artemis didn't understand was the gap.
The gap between the Neons and Harper, it was just painted background showing the blackened ground of the battlefield, yet something was missing there.
Artemis knew she couldn't possibly know, but she believed it.
The familiar creak of her mothers office door reached her ears and she glanced up.
Her mother emerged, in deep conversation with Nicole Blakk, the Slug Energy Expert and spokesperson for the Shadowclan.
Artemis was secretly glad that Violet and Nicole looked alike.
Both had glossy and luxurious black hair and smooth, unblemished skin.
Nicole had intelligent dark purple eyes while Violet had cold and smoky purple eyes.
They were often mistaken for sisters, except Nicole was far older than a normal person.
All the Council members were.
Nicole was dressed in a bright red t-shirt and scuffed jeans making her appear younger than she looked.
Artemis's mother was dressed in a thick black coat and jeans, arms crossed over her chest.
Violet Jones deAngelo, wife to Michael Jones deAngelo and one of the best looking women in Sasha.
Mother to Lucas and Artemis Jones deAngelo, Violet was constantly complaining about how big a handful they were, with her husband being too busy with his work.
But in truth, Lucas and Artemis were very well behaved and obedient.
Lucas was polite and level headed with his mother, when he was present though.
Most of the time he was off screwing around with mechas or his group of friends.
Artemis didn't have any friends, except maybe the librarians but they couldn't really count
Together, mother and daughter rode home on Violets mecha as the lights dimmed in the Cavern, the shadows that hid high up in the solid cavern roof sliding down to engulf the solitary cavern.
The empty spaces of foliage were soon engulfed in the gloom yet each City had it's own defense.
Trixie, of course, was a rainbow of neon signs and fireworks. Smelter had harsh worklights beaming down and flashing yellow and red lights.
Sasha was a soft sprinkling of city lights, easy on the eyes. Even in the poorer part of town there was a soft light.
Artemis always enjoyed the view and had once tried to point it out to her mother but had just been scolded for distracting her.
Neither of them spoke on their way home, they never did, and Artemis watched the ground between her dangling feet as she sat on the back of the mecha while her mother rode in the comfortable saddle.
Artemis watched a rock pass by and began counting down in her head.
3,2,1...
The mecha stopped and Artemis hopped off and started down her house driveway while her mother continued onward towards her husbands work.
It was the same everyday.
Artemis went to their modest home, set up the fire, cooked dinner then changed and had a shower. Then she would do her homework and relax until her parents came home.
Lucas was staying at Marcus Smiths place for the week so Artemis was all alone.
Again.
And for the third time in a week, her phone rang.
It was her mother, she would be coming home late.
So Artemis banked the fire up, ate her dinner and went to bed in her empty house...
Again.
Well, she didn't have anything else to do. She didn't have any slugs or a mecha beast. Nopets or friends to talk too.
She didn't excell at anything at school and she had no hobbies except the library but that would be closed by now.
As she stripped into her pajamas she stopped and looked at herself in the mirror before turning away.
She was physically well toned from walking everywhere yet she didn't acknowledge her body.
She always dressed in baggy clothes, wore nothing to revealing or fancy.
She was literally the girl that nobody noticed.
But she didn't mind. She liked the peace and quiet. No nosy friends. No problems with figuring out what to wear. No hassles with setting up events or get-togethers. Even the silence in the house was nice. No loud noises from the garage also known as the 'Lucas Zone'.
Or her mother yelling at her because she didn't cook the meat right.
The peace and quiet let her thoughts flow free.
As she lay in her bed and closed her eyes, they swarmed forward.
They too, were all the same.
'Is there a pop quiz tomorrow?'
'Will Lucas finish my very own mecha beast?'
'I wonder what Trixie or Smelters' like?'
'Will I ever read that book?'
'What was The Battle for Slugterra?'
With the familiar thoughts whiling round her head, she eventually slipped into a deep sleep.