Hey everyone! I'm Rina, a new fanfic writer. This is my first fanfic, so please bear with me! (P.S: This take place after the TLO. It's a little bit after it.)
"Are you sure, you want to go, Artemis?"
"Butler, with all this magic which just happened, which risked my family and the people's lives, I certainly need a vacation. And you know that the perfect place for a person with an intellect and life such as mine would be New York." replied Artemis, closing his suitcase with a small thud. "And besides, I've never been to Times Square. Holly's taken a small hiatus from work, and she'll be here any minute to pick me up. We're going by shuttle, as you know."
"Alright, Artemis," sighed Butler, picking up the suitcase. "I'd just feel better if I was coming. You can never go anywhere without attracting trouble, usually of the worst kind."
Artemis half-smiled and straightened his casual Hawaiian cotton shirt uncomfortably. He had decided that a vacation meant wearing nothing formal or too expensive, so he had packed nothing made of handmade leather, or silk, which pretty much cancelled out almost all of Artemis' clothes. After a prolonged debate, he had given in and gone shopping for new clothes with Juliet, who had briefly come back to the manor for a visit after her success as the Jade Princess, to get something more appropriate for this vacation.
Cotton definitely was not as comfortable as silk or linen, and would not be on his person for long, he decided. As soon as this vacation was over, he would be sure to donate these ridiculously itchy clothes. Recently, his mother had encouraged him to start donating his old possessions, and his father had supported her. Artemis had donated several Gucci apparel and a few designer clothes which no longer fit him.
"Hello, Arty. Ready to go?" Holly's familiar voice filled Artemis' ears as she entered the study through a window. She unshielded and took her wings off her back, and to Artemis' surprise, she wore a sleeveless light blue shirt which had a string around her neck and denim shorts, instead of the LEP suit and helmet he was accustomed to seeing her in. Her pointy ears and crew cut were hidden by a wig, and she held a tote bag in her left hand. A slight bulge in her right pocket suggested her Neutrino 3000 hidden inside.
"What?" she asked, seeing him looking at her with a puzzled expression. "Is it humanly enough?"
"Oh, yes, it is," said Artemis, a bit oddly. "It's just… I've never seen you in anything but LEP equipment, and…"
"Understood," said Holly with a laugh. "I thought wearing high-tech gear which hasn't ever been seen to Mud people, for a vacation is a bit suspicious, so I requested a few fairies hiding on the surface for something less noticeable."
"Alright," interrupted Butler, who was standing awkwardly on the side. "We should get going. Your shuttle is-?" he questioned.
"It's at Haven. Foaly got our travel ids ready, so hopefully we won't be stopped on the way. And our exit is just on the side of Brooklyn Bridge."
"Very well. Shall we depart towards Haven?" asked Artemis.
~~~~A few hours later~~~~
Holly and Artemis chatted as they traveled under the Atlantic Ocean and towards New York, their conversation ranging from flowers to Mulch Diggums.
They set the shuttle on auto-pilot and grabbed some snacks. Artemis took a look at the map. He was surprised to find that at one point on the otherwise straight chute, they took a semi-circle around a patch of forest, and then continued in a straight path again.
"Holly, take a look at this. Why have we taken this route?" he asked, pointing at the U-shaped chute.
"Arty, that- well, I can't explain. All of recon knows about it, but we have orders not to tell any civilian, fairy, demon, or in your case, human."
"Very well. Perhaps later I'll ask Foaly about it."
"Perhaps not," Holly mumbled, and Artemis shot her a puzzled glance. She switched the shuttle to manual and they continued in silence, with the odd remark.
As they approached the surface, both friends realized something was wrong. Artemis yawned and his eyes dropped slightly, and Holly's elfin ears started tingling. Bad luck. She checked the time. 5:00 pm. So why was she feeling so drowsy?
"Foaly, you there?" Holly spoke into the communicator attached to the inside of the shuttle.
"As always, Holly. Is there any trouble?" Foaly responded, his face appearing on the screen. "If not, I'm afraid I don't have time for chatting. Commander Kelp needs a new suit design by tomorrow afternoon, and I've just started the basics in it. I'm thinking DNA imprinted suits, like your Neutrino, to prevent certain fairies- Opal Koboi, for example- to use our technology against us. And perhaps a-"
"Foaly, you're blabbering again. Anyways, I need you to check the surface. Something isn't right."
"Right-ho, Holly. And... here we are." Foaly tapped a virtual button and the area directly above and surrounding them became visible on screen.
The view wasn't very impressive, which is saying something for New York. Through the fairy screen, Artemis and Holly could see many layers of almost-invisible mist surrounding Manhattan. Around them was a very obvious army. There were snake-like human monsters, and huge giants. There were humans too, in armor and holding swords, javelins and spears. There were certain giant-like humans which gave out a powerful aura, which they could feel from here. There were dragons and huge pigs, and a three-chested man. Flying horses were in the air, with chariots behind them. In front of this huge army was a gigantic monster, with what looked like golden skin, carrying a large sword. He had heavy armor on, and from his chariot he yelled an undistinguishable battle cry.
What was odd, Artemis noticed, was that no one seemed to notice these things, and even stopped their cars on the side of the highway to take pictures.
"The Greeks," Holly muttered. "Why, why why?"
"Holly, um, I think you should go somewhere else. I mean, Atlas is there, so..."
Foaly's voice faded while Artemis' brain was trying to work things out. There was an army above surface, with all sorts of creatures he'd never experienced before, a whole new world of creatures. Apparently, humans couldn't see these creatures, which puzzled him as to how he could see them. Probably through Holly's eye. They were attacking Manhattan for some reason, and they were wearing Greek-style battle gear. Greek-style. Holly had mentioned something about Greeks too, and Foaly had said something about a guy named Atlas. Wait. Why had they swerved around a patch of plain forest? That must be connected too. And-
"Artemis, sorry, but we're going in to the nearest fairy port. This is too dangerous."
"Really, Holly? Dangerous? After all those adventures we had? The Arctic incident, the C Cube, Opal Koboi, the time stream..."
"Artemis, this is on a much higher scale. And for once, I'm not going to interfere."
"Very well. As you say, Holly. You know what you're doing."
Holly was mildly surprised. She hadn't thought Artemis would give in so easily. Still, she was satisfied.
"I'm going to get something to eat. I'm a bit hungry." Artemis said, unstrapping himself from the passenger seat. He walked behind into the service area.
After about 5 minutes of backwards flying, Holly knew something was wrong. They had just eaten about 20 minutes ago. From the rear-view mirror, she had seen Artemis turn left, not right. If he hadn't gone to get food, then...
Holly rushed behind, not caring about the shuttle. The path was straight. She ran left and suddenly stopped at the LEP storage area. A suit, a helmet, a pair of wings, a Neutrino 2000 and a jar of stored magic, which Foaly had recently generated with the help of No1 was missing. It took Holly a split second to realize what had happened.
Artemis had went off on his own towards a huge battle, without the slightest idea that the LEP equipment in the service area had been malfunctioning, and had been placed in the shuttle to go for repairing. And the fact that he had no idea what he was facing. At all.
"D'Arvit," muttered Holly.
"Percy, look, there's some kid, about your age. And he's awake, wearing some high-tech gear, like Daedalus', except better. Know him by any chance?" Annabeth nudged Percy as he discussed plans with Conner Stoll from the Hermes cabin.
"I do. Met him in the underworld. Or more precisely, the core of the earth." Nico's voice came from behind as he walked straight out of the earth.
"Nico?" Artemis asked, slowing down his pace. "The fairy with the cool undead-like technology?"
"Nico's not a fairy, idiot. He's a demigod. And you are?" demanded Percy, a bit on edge because he had been fighting with Conner.
"Of course he's a fairy! I met him in Haven today, while waiting for Holly to get the shuttle. You're a fairy, right, Nico?"
"Um..." Nico bit his lip, moving his eyes from Artemis to Percy.
"NICO!"
"I'll explain, guys. Just give me a chance." Nico put up his hands, looked really torn, a trifle confused too.
"Forget it, Nico. You'll just confuse everyone. I'll explain." A familiar voice came into Artemis' ears. Uh oh.
"But first, Artemis, WHAT THE SHAMMY DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?"
"Um, who are you guys? And what are you kids doing holding swords and guns?" Everyone turned around, only to face a bunch of tourists, apparently strong enough to break free of the sleeping spell cast by Morpheus, and confused to see people wearing ancient armor and high tech gear, talking about the core of the earth and the underworld, with demigods and fairies, along with some place named Haven and a dude named Daedalus.
Annabeth almost fainted.
Holly: Cool. I liked this chapter. I got to scream at Artemis.
Thalia: Which Artemis? Lady Artemis or your boyfriend?
Holly: He is NOT my boyfriend.
Silena: I sense a frisson in between you and Artemis...
Holly & Thalia: Silena? But you're dead!
Silena: Yes, but Rina summoned me here briefly to tell all readers that she doesn't own any of this.
Eragon: May your sword stay sharp!
Holly, Thalia and Silena: Who are you?
Eragon: Eragon, of course.
Holly, Thalia & Silena: We're outta here.
Eragon: Hey! Am I that weird?
R&R!
