CHAPTER 1
A DAY OFF
Operations Booth, Police Plaza, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Three hours ago
Artemis ran into the door, waving his phone around. "Guys! Guys! Listen to this! Colf's given us a day off!"
Foaly and Butler looked up in surprise and delight at this, and Holly jumped up to hug her boyfriend. Of course, everyone knew the stories that Owen Colf managed to cook up for their little group, and they loved all the adventures and twists and turns that came with each one, but the occasional break was always welcome.
"Thank goodness," said Butler, throwing his tie onto a nearby chair and unbuttoning the top of his shirt. "This suit was beginning to kill me."
Artemis, who had been hugging Holly tightly, looked up and grinned at him. "I don't know, man," he said, eyes sparkling with good humor. "It's kinda grown on me."
Foaly clopped over, rubbing his hands together. "A break,", he said, cracking his neck. "We haven't had one since you two-" he pointed at Artemis and Holly- "had a honeymoon in Limbo."
Holly rolled her eyes, one of the only things that remained constant between her and her character. "Yeah, but that one was three years long for you. Colf had Arty and me running from demons!"
Foaly waved a dismissive hand. "Whatever. We should let everyone else know about this day off. I'll let the rest of Haven know via the PA system, and I'll get Atlantis to release Opal. Holly, you grab the next shuttle and pick her up. Artemis, you let your parents know, and Butler, you make sure Juliet doesn't lost again."
Now the males were sitting at one of Haven's corner burger joints, enjoying a bite to eat while they waited for Holly and Opal. Colf wrote the fairies as vegetarians, but many of the People actually loved to eat meat, and consequently learned how to make hot dog and burger stands that could be collapsed and hidden in under a minute.
The guys were currently at one such stand. Artemis, having changed into a more casual suit, was drinking a milkshake from a tall glass. Butler had changed into a flowery button-down and Bermuda shorts, taking bites from a cheeseburger wider than a dinner plate. Foaly had changed into his old HIT (Haven Institute of Technology) T-shirt, and was sipping on a soda.
It felt great to get out of character and just relax for a day, and while they waited for the girls to return they brainstormed what to do next.
Foaly brought out a map of the city, tapping a street corner in the southwest district.
"We've been stuck in a series where logic is king and a teenage boy has a better vocabulary than most adults," he started. "We should take some time to do some normal everyday stuff. A cinema opened here not too long ago - I've heard they have the craziest immersive movies - five-axis seats and 3D and all that."
Artemis frowned, almost pouting. "But I wanted to go to that science museum at the end of Main Street."
Butler rolled his eyes at this. "Artemis, you're supposed to be a genius. That means you can go while in character and it'd still be consistent."
The boy let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine."
He nudged Foaly out of the way, peering down at the map and trying to find fun things to do. "Still," he said, rubbing his chin, "a movie's only gonna be - what - two hours? Two and a half? We gotta find some other things to do."
A five minute long silence followed that, before Artemis broke the silence again.
"Wow," he said, shaking his head. "I can tell you haven't had a break in a long time."
The Deeps Officers' Club, Atlantis; Three hours ago
Holly and Opal walked out of the maximum security area together chatting excitedly and catching up, and headed towards the Officers' Club located in one of the upper levels. Holly generally wasn't allowed here for plot and continuity reasons, but she always made it a point to come every time she wasn't needed. She asked Opal to wait outside, since civilians weren't allowed in, and approached the entrance.
As the double doors slid open soundlessly, Holly stepped in and made a quick scan around the main taproom. She spotted what she was looking for almost significantly: a haze of smoke, and - more importantly - who was sitting underneath the haze of smoke.
"Commander!" she called, waving excitedly at the grizzled elf playing cards with his brother and a group of killed-off LEP officers.
Julius Root - for of course it was he - looked up at the familiar voice calling out to him, and went red.
"SHORT!" he roared. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, EXPOSING US TO THE READERS?"
Holly stood ramrod-straight, forgetting for a moment that she was on break and technically Root was killed off. "S-sir," she stammered, eyes wide in shock and fear. "I didn't-"
Then Root grinned, and put out his fungus cigar . "I'm kidding, Holly. Pony-boy sent us a notice."
Holly's mouth formed a perfect O, and she grinned rather abashedly. "Right. Of course. I-I knew that."
Root let out a hearty laugh, clapping Holly on the back and sending her staggering. "Ah, Holly," he said after embracing his former officer. "Colf almost wrote you as a major."
Holly groaned and rolled her eyes. "I know. Can you imagine? Me, as a major? With a desk job?"
Root chuckled and his eyes glinted with humor. "No. Too many rules."
They both had a laugh at that, reminiscing about old times. Then Holly said, "I have to go - Opal's waiting for me and we're meeting with Arty and the gang. Too bad Commander Vinyáya isn't here."
Root snorted. "Of course not. Get this - she's dating Briar. Briar Cudgeon. Of course, he took off the holographic projectors that gave him that hideous face, but still. Anyway, they ran off as soon as Foaly's message came in. I didn't even get a chance to ask where."
Holly's eyes had opened wide at this tidbit of information. "Wow." Then she looked at her watch and cursed. "Damn it, I've been here too long. I really gotta go now - can't have Opal waiting too long." She gave her former commander one last hug, before skipping lightly out the door.
Haven's Burger Corner, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now
Artemis checked his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. Where were the girls? The guys had selected six ideas to consider for the day, including going to the cinema and a subterrarium. Of course, with two of their party missing, they couldn't just finalize it; no, they had to wait for Opal and Holly, else it wouldn't be fair to them.
Unfortunately, thought Artemis rather crossly, they're taking their sweet time.
Even Butler - who had attained some of his character's patience - was becoming agitated. He started playing with his watch, cycling through the functions as if automatic.
Foaly, for his part, came prepared. He was engrossed in the latest entry of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, mind playing segments from the movies' soundtracks to supplement his imagination. About two or three chapters in he started humming Darth Vader's theme, having completely forgotten about his company and receiving a simultaneous "Shut up, Foaly" from the two humans.
"Sorry," he muttered, burying his face behind the book's covers. He could sense the irritation and impatience in the group. They still had plenty of time left in the day - in fact, it was barely 8 in the morning - but everyone wanted to get going. Foaly sighed inwardly. He hoped the girls weren't as stressed as the guys were.
Shuttle AH18, En Route to Haven; Now
Pizza, pizza,
A wonderful thing,
If you love it too,
This song you sing!
Opal groaned as the pizza gnomes broke into the one hundred and twelfth verse of the pizza song, covering her ears and rocking slightly back and forth. Holly grinned at her sympathetically, patting her head (which earned her a dirty look) before joining in for the last sixteen verses. She recalled how she was supposed to hate the then-114-verse song during The Eternity Code, but in reality she found it funny and really catchy; in fact, she had written a few of her own verses during her free time.
As she harmonized with the gnomes for the last major chord (at least, it was supposed to be a major chord; not all the gnomes were musically inclined), she saw the Haven shuttle port and the massive crowds. Word had gone around quickly about the day off, and fairies were flocking to the surface while humans were flocking to the underground. This would likely be only chance in a long time to visit the other species' world, and many were eager to learn more about the other's seemingly-alien culture, whether written or actual.
As the shuttle's doors opened, Opal literally jumped to her feet. She pulled on Holly's arm, almost dragging her along.
"Come on," she said, annoyance forgotten. "I wanna see Arty and Butler and Foaly."
They attempted to weave their way through the crowd, dodging surges of people and slowly but surely making their way to the exit. Holly saw the LEPtraffic officers struggling to help the port authorities keep up with the steady flow of people, and - not for the first time - was glad she was on Recon. Being part of Traffic was never a good experience, especially since careless swear words were projected on the screens of the traffic suit and you were essentially considered a walking signpost.
Of course, every LEP officer had to do at least six months of Traffic. Holly remembered her own stint and how she had been the first initiate to tag Root with her paintball gun. Colf had dramatized the encounter a little more, giving Turnball Root - the Commander's older brother - a backstory, but in reality she had hidden motionless in a tree for three straight days and nights before shooting the commander as he walked underneath.
As Holly let herself be led on by Opal, she chuckled at the memory - and promptly walked right into a pole. At the same time, a large group of Chicago-bound fairies swarmed from the right, slamming into her multiple times and nearly trampling her.
Haven's Burger Corner, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now
"Halo."
"Star Wars."
"Halo."
"Star Wars."
"Halo."
Butler slowly looked up from his comic, silencing the bickering with a steely gaze. It had only been ten minutes since last time Artemis had checked his watch, and now he and Foaly were locked in a battle to determine whether the full force of the Halo universe or the Star Wars universe would win. Butler wasn't paying enough attention to truly understand what was going on, but he was fine with the arguments that both sides offered - until it had deteriorated into simply repeating the name of each combatant's respective universe.
Artemis and Foaly glared at each other for a few minutes, before Foaly muttered, "Star Wars," again, picking up the argument from where it left off.
Butler sighed.
Where are the girls?
Haven Shuttle Port, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now
Holly's head swam for a good ten seconds, before the stars cleared and she could see again.
"D'arvit", she swore upon realizing that Opal was nowhere to be found. They had been separated in that last wave of people.
"D'arvit, d'arvit, d'arvit." Holly kept muttering to herself as she tried in vain to find her friend. After ten minutes of going in circles, elbowing incoming tourists and pushing away outgoing fairies, she decided to head to the exit. Hopefully Opal would have the same idea, and even if they couldn't find each other Holly could get Foaly to track her down with the seeker-sleeper implanted in her arm and have her meet the rest of the group somewhere.
The exit was relatively close by distance, but the throngs of people and People trying to cram as much excitement into this one day as they could severely hampered Holly's process. Eventually, she let out an exasperated huff, and climbed the person immediately in front of her and hopped head to head until she reached the terminal's double doors.
She saw here that Opal did indeed have the same idea as her, and was standing with her back against the wall, checking her fingernails. She glanced up as Holly approached her, rolling her eyes.
"Finally," she said, more than a little irritated. "I thought you were smothered to death in there."
Holly stretched her arms and cracked her neck. "I almost was. Anyway, let's go." She set off along the main road, Opal following grumpily behind.
Haven's Burger Corner, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now
By now Butler had his forehead on the table. He was bored to tears, and the two nerds duking it out about science fiction franchises were not helping his headache. He groaned, looking up towards the advertisement billboard across the street. As his eyes passed the road level, though, he saw an elf and a pixie walking towards the burger stand.
He perked up immediately, and jabbed Artemis and Foaly in the side, saying, "They're here."
Artemis leaned back out of his chair to get a better view, and gave a ridiculously wide grin.
"Holly! Opal!" he said, getting off his chair to give his friend a hug and his girlfriend a kiss. "What took you so long?"
"Well," began Opal, eyes glinting as she prepared to lay all the blame on Holly as revenge for the pizza song, "Holly just had to go to-"
"Yeah, yeah," said Foaly, clopping over. "C'mon - we've got an entire day ahead of us."
Opal was disappointed that she didn't get to finish her story - but only a little. The prospect of a day of doing nothing productive was very attractive, and she was eager to get started.
Fifteen minutes later, everything was set and ready. There was actually very little planned out - of the twenty or so activities proposed collectively, the group decided only on a movie, lunch, dinner, and a trip up to the surface for fireworks. The afternoon would be free time for whatever each person wanted to do, and then the group would rendezvous at Police Plaza for dinner with Trouble Kelp and the rest of the force before heading up to the surface.
First things first, though - the movie. Foaly had booked tickets to a film adaptation of Artemis Fowl, and everyone - Artemis in particular - was interested in how it would pan out. The film was human-made, so it wouldn't quite hold up to fairy standards, but it had received overwhelmingly positive reviews on the surface and had therefore been brought down underground as part of Haven's new goal of importing more foreign films.
"Right," said Foaly, excitement now barely contained. "Let's go!"