Artemis sunk down into his swivel chair, in a very un-Artemis like posture. He was worn out from a long day trying to track down Opal Koboi.

Opal from the past was running loose. The last they had seen of her was last week, when a person caught sight of a "small girl flying like a bird." Pictures had been posted all over the internet, and people were beginning to suspect the existence of fairies. Luckily, it never occurred to anyone that the fairies lived underground.

Speaking of them, Artemis hadn't heard from Holly lately. Not since she had visited him to discuss the recent occurrences; LEP officers vanishing on their visits above ground, random humans committing acts of crime and supposedly losing their memory.

That had been the day after the sighting. Artemis had called her repeatedly on his fairy communicator, but hadn't gotten a response.

"Arty!" Angeline Fowl called from downstairs. "Your friend is here!"

His friend? Did that mean Holly? Artemis jumped up from his chair, and dashed downstairs. Standing in the doorway was a figure covered from head to toe in clothing, clutching a bottle of sunscreen.

"Oh, it's you," Artemis said, mildly disappointed.

Mulch stepped inside. "No hello? No 'Thank you for potentially saving your LEP friends?' You don't know how hard it is to sneak out of a prison shuttle and all the way above ground? And to-"

"Hold on." Artemis closed the door and locked it. "Potentially saving? What happened?"

"What do you think, genius boy?"

Artemis gaped, realization hitting him. "Opal Koboi has taken over Haven City?"

"And she's working on Atlantis." Mulch stripped off a sheet that was wrapped around his head.

"How did you get up here?"

Mulch rolled his eyes. "Are you going to formulate a genius rescue plan?"

Artemis thought for a moment. "Opal is only one person. How did she take over?"

"She cloned a goblin army several times. Apparently she has advanced cloning technology."

"Anything else?" Artemis sat down in the living room. Mulch joined him.

"I'd better get a reward for this."

Artemis shrugged.

"Apparently Opal is after you. She wants to use your genius to help destroy the world."

Artemis raised an eybrow but stayed silent.

"I talked to Holly briefly, and she told me to go talk to you. So I'm guessing you have a genius plan up your sleeve?"

"Where is Holly?" Artemis inquired.

"On a shuttle. They're transporting the prisoners to a jail somewhere, I'm not sure where."

"Is Opal on the shuttle?"

"No, just about fifty goblins. You won't be seeing her anytime soon."

"I doubt that." Artemis smiled.

"What do you mean?"

"She should arrive in...about twenty seconds."

Twenty-five seconds later, a window opened. Holly materialized several seconds later.

"Wha...how...?" Mulch shook his head. "Can I have a sandwich?"

Butler opened the door. "Is that you, Mulch?"

"Yes, who do you think it is?" Mulch scoffed.

"Nice to see you. Hello, Holly."

"How did you get here?" Artemis asked.

"I threw a couple of goblins out the hatch and flew up to Tara, and-"

"stole some wings and flew here?" Artemis completed. Holly nodded.

"What's going on?" Butler asked. "Is Holly an outlaw?"

"Sort of." Holly quickly explained the situation to Butler, and then Juliet.

"Where's Foaly?" Butler asked.

"I don't know," Holly responded, plopping down next to Artemis. "Opal took him on a different shuttle. I tried to rescue several other people, but once they figured out I had escaped Opal heightened the security. I could barely escape up here. She has another world domination plan, I think."

"Which Opal?" Artemis asked.

"The one from the past," Holly replied. "The one that followed us into the time stream."

"Hey, you never did tell-"

Artemis interrupted Mulch, glancing briefly at Holly. "I see."

"And of course you know what she's going to do," muttered Holly.

"Yes, I do."

"Where is she?" Juliet fingered her signature Jade Ring.

"Oh, just outside the house."

"Why is everyone coming here?" Butler reached for his gun.