Opal Koboi sat quietly in her cell in Atlantis. There wasn't anything interesting to do in that damned place, so she would always spend her entire day sitting at her bed, trying to kill the security guards out of boredom.

There were cameras everywhere, even in the bathrooms, so Opal couldn't do anything without the guards knowing. It did make a little sense; she WAS the public enemy number one after all.

She was forbidden to talk to anyone at prison and her food was delivered through a small window. She rarely left her cell, and when she did, it was just so someone could check her room for any suspicious items.

The last time she had gotten out was a year ago (13 months to be exact), when Turnball Root escaped, but it was only for a brief moment, as she was soon locked on another stupid cell with the exact same appearance as the last one.

She hated that place; she hated that room, those guards, those cameras…

But most of all, she hated Artemis Fowl.

It had been 5 years since the last time she and that filthy mud-boy had clashed, and still she hated him like it was yesterday. Him and that annoying Short girl, of course.

Even with all the surveillance, there was one thing the People weren't able to keep from her. She knew about her past-self, who was running around in freedom while she was stuck in that forgotten place. She that as soon as her other self knew she was arrested, it would try to free her.

And the best part was she already knew the plan.

It was very simple to deduce what Past-Opal would do; after all, they were one and the same. She simply asked to herself ''what would I do?'', and the solution appeared as fast as lightning. The only thing she didn't know was when the plan would take action, but it had to be soon. It had to. She wasn't going to let herself rot in hell, at least, not without taking Haven city and a certain mud-boy and his friends with her.

She allowed herself a small grin. She had always been a patient pixie; surely she could afford to wait just a little longer.


Captain Holly Short woke up screaming.

Her heart was beating heavily, and she was covered in sweat and tears. For the last two weeks the nightmare had haunted her, showing her long forgotten bad memories and creating brand new ones: her dead parents, Artemis being beaten by a gorilla, Opal Koboi laughing as she killed Julius Root…all these memories came back to her in just one night of sleep.

But the worst image of all was something that didn't happen wet: she was walking in a burning city, completely alone. From time to time, she thought she could see Butler or Foaly from afar, but they always disappeared before she could reach then.

After walking for a long time, she would reach the only place that wasn't burning, a giant round square, with a smiling Opal waiting for her at the center. The pixie would then turn to her and say:

''You see? You're alone again; all of your friends are gone. You weren't able to stop me this time, captain Short. If only you had been a little faster…''

Suddenly, she would start laughing and the ground would open up, making Holly fall in an endless darkness.

Then, she would wake up.

Those images would still pop up in her head from time to time, and she feared she was becoming paranoid, she had even called Foaly in the middle of the night to make sure Opal was still in locked in Atlantis.

-You're beginning to sound just like Artemis-he had said- And the LAST thing I need in my life right now is another paranoid youngster with crazy phobias!

-I'm just trying to be reasonable-she responded- Don't you honestly think it's strange for me to be having the same nightmare every night, for 2 weeks straight?

-No, I don't. The only thing I'm certain of is that you need a vacation and I need my beauty sleep. And if you call me again at 3 AM, I swear I'm going to ask Kelp to fire you. Now good night, Holly.

At the time, she thought he was just being an idiot, but maybe he was right after all, she really wWAS beginning to sound like Artemis.

''Great, what's next? My hair will turn black and I'm gonna invent world peace?''.

I know it is short (get it? Short?), but the next ones will be longer :)