Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl.
Thank you to those who reviewed, I appreciate it a lot!
There is more action in this chapter! Kind of... And there's more blabla and thoughts, but you probably already knew that already... (because that is what I usual write)
There is also more of the Holly/Trouble thing, yay!
Chapter 4. Bad News
After work, Trouble rushed to Foaly Laboratories. After having left Section 8, he made his own research lab, where he was able to do anything he wanted without anyone bossing him around or complaining that he used all the budget.
"Hey Foaly. What did you find?" the elf asked, eager to learn anything about the attacker.
"Well, we knew the fairy was a sprite. Spud was able to see that much when he rushed over. Also, on that same night, someone broke in to the LEP Plaza and—"
Trouble suddenly cursed. He felt like this was all his fault. He was the one in charge there. It's his responsibility.
"Why hasn't anyone informed me on that matter? I'm the Commander, I need to know what goes on in the LEP!"
"Everyone has been very busy. Besides, we wanted you to recover before breaking the bad news to you."
"How can I prevent things like this from happening if I don't know? How can I be a good Commander if I let things like this happen?" he demanded loudly. Trouble was fuming, red from frustration.
"Cool it, Commander. It happens to everyone. Even Root. You just have to learn from it," Foaly replied sympathetically.
He grabbed a carrot from a bucket near about and munched on it while waiting for Trouble, who was trying to calm down. Finally, the elf regained his composure.
"So, what else do we know about the sprite?"
"Well, nothing except that it was a male and we believe he is in connection with the LEP Plaza break-in, seeing as he was equipped with a Neutrino. The weapon wasn't registered to any worker. It was one of those spare ones you keep in storage. There was also a two pair of wings missing, two moon belts and another Neutrino."
"Why would he need that?"
"We don't know, but obviously, this fairy has an accomplice. Or his plans always backfire and that's his backup."
"So what do we do now?"
"First, you and Holly can go to Tara together to complete the Ritual. It would save time. When you arrived to Tara, I want you to head to Fowl Manor and pay a little visit to Artemis Fowl. He probably knows about this though. He hacks into my files during his free time—and that mudboy sure has a lot of that. Little does he know that I make them easy to hack into." At that, Foaly snickered triumphantly.
"Anyway, the next flare is coming soon. Go find Holly and then the both of you go aboveground."
Trouble nodded and left Foaly Laboratories.
"Now, to write more easy-to-hack-into files…" Foaly smiled widely.
Trouble drove down the streets of Haven. There was a lot of traffic. Everyone was keen to get back home. While he waited, he thought about Holly.
We're finally going to fly together aboveground again, just like old times when she used to be in the LEP. I wonder if Holly ever misses her old job.
Trouble remembered how they used to race through the sky, early at dawn when the sun was on the horizon, during the afternoon breeze, going low to feel the water with their hands and in the moonlight at night, with the stars shining in the dark sky. She was carefree and smiled and laughed. His speed was nothing compared to how fast Holly could go. She would have to slow down and called him 'slowpoke', but he liked hearing her voice. She enjoyed his company, and that's what mattered to him. It was going to be the first time in four years. The first time since she'd quit the LEP.
Trouble felt something strange in his heart. He couldn't describe it. It was sort of like feeling his own heartbeat, but he knew this feeling was because of Holly. He'd felt it often since her return. It felt kind of funny, but it was happy.
Holly... Do you think about me like I think about you? Do you know how much I've missed you and cried during the time you weren't here? I thought I'd never see you again. So now, I'm not ever going to lose you.
He finally parked somewhere and walked the few blocks to the PI office. He opened the door and entered an empty space. Doodah Day was at the counter.
"Oh! Hello Commander. What can I do for you?"
"Is Holly here?"
"She's in the back. Go right ahead," he said nicely.
"Thanks, Doodah."
"No problem."
Trouble opened a door and walked into a smaller room, where there were file cabinets blocking the walls. Pictures of Holly, Mulch, Foaly, Root, Artemis and Butler, himself and Doodah Day hung on the remaining empty spaces. Mulch was peering into a cabinet, looking for a specific file.
"Here it is, Holly," he said, handing it to her.
"Thanks. Oh ew! Mulch! What did I tell you about eating in here?"
"Uh… Don't eat anything liquid, smelly or gooey?"
"And crummy! See what you've done to the file?" Holly sighed angrily.
"Hey, if I can't eat anything liquid, smelly, gooey or crummy, what can I eat then?"
"Nothing. You do that during your break in the front room."
"Well, then I demand for more breaks," he stated shortly.
"You already have five snack breaks, two coffee breaks and the long lunch one."
"Okay… Well I demand to be allowed to eat anything I want in here, then."
"But you'll ruin the files! Like you did to this one…" she grumbled quietly.
"Well, if I don't eat, my stomach will start growling and you complain about that, too!"
The elf was about to retort but saw Trouble standing at the door.
"Oh! Sorry to interrupt—" he started.
"Not at all, Trouble. Have a seat," she said, relieved. He complied.
"Are you almost done work?"
"Yeah, just about. Why?"
"Foaly wants us to go and complete the Ritual."
After having closed up the office, Holly and Trouble headed for the LEP, where many other fairies were still at work. They grabbed the essentials—Neutrinos, moon belts, iris cams and all that—and headed to the chutes.
Trouble was steering the shuttle, with Holly sitting in the seat next to him. A long silence stretched out until Trouble spoke.
"Holly, we also have to go see Artemis about the sprite. The attacker is a sprite, by the way."
"I know."
"Yeah, well, anyway, Foaly wants Artemis to help figure this whole thing out. The sprite might be a threat to Haven."
"Might be? He is a threat, Trouble! He shot you!"
"It was only made a scratch on my arm."
"Only a scratch, my eye! Frond! You collapsed after he hit you with a blast on your chest and you couldn't even heal yourself!"
"Hey, you didn't have any magic to heal me either," he retorted.
"I am not your mother, Trouble Kelp! It's not my job to look after you!"
"Yeah? Well I would have healed you, you know, Holly."
"Well, I would have too, but I didn't have magic!"
"Okay! I know!"
Another silence rang out. None of them wanted to be wrong, but they didn't want to continue arguing like that.
"We sound like little kids," Holly said after a moment and smiled.
"Yeah," Trouble chuckled.
"I hated you so much."
"Same here," he replied.
"But it's cool that we're friends now," he added.
"Mmhmm… Yeah…" Holly said, remembering good times.
She looked over at her friend. He was smiling. She felt bad when she thought about how no one had seen her for three years, when she'd only seen them earlier on that day before leaving for Hybras.
Holly never told anyone that she had 'momentarily died' that time. Only Artemis knew. And Foaly. While he ran tests on her to see if she was okay when she came back, he had found out. He promised he wouldn't say anything.
Troubled turned his head, seeing Holly staring at him. He raised an eyebrow jokingly and she smiled.
It must have been hard on you all... I would have been scared, Trouble, if you disappeared. I don't know what I would've done. Probably punched you when you got back. Haha, okay, not funny, Holls.
But you've changed so much! You're even more mature now... Wow, there's something I never thought I would say! I'm glad you became Commander, too. You deserve it so much.
You also changed on the outside, too... You're more... sophisticated-looking... Okay, no, Holly! Why don't you just admit that you totally think he's gorgeous and that you have a major crush on him?
Suddenly, Holly caught something from the corner of her eye.
"Trouble?" she asked.
"Hmm?" He noticed that there was a sound of alarm in her voice.
"What is it?"
"Let me take the controls, we have company, and they don't look too jolly," the female elf said grimly.
Trouble looked behind him. There was another shuttle, gaining close, and fast.
"D'Arvit."
He knew Holly was renowned for her piloting skills when she used to be in the LEP, so he didn't argue. However, fairies never exactly 'switched' pilots during the trip—unless they counted autopilot—and especially not while being chased.
"Hold on to the controls while I try to move," he said.
Holly nodded. She took off her safety belt and did as she was told. However, the shuttle was very small, so she had to squish herself atop of Trouble. Her hands touched his when she took the controls. Without time to do anything but slightly blush, the Commander let go and took of his seat belt.
Suddenly, something shot out from behind them, from the other shuttle. It hit their transportation, making it hit the side of the chute. Holly fell on top of Trouble.
"Sorry!"
"It's okay. Just concentrate on the chute, Holly," he said as he pulled himself out of his seat and went to sit on Holly's, trying to keep his calm.
Frond… This is bad… thought Trouble as he looked behind him.
How were they going to escape? It was a long, straight way up to Tara. Luckily, Holly was able to zigzag her way along the chute without damaging the transportation device, all the while speeding up, but how long was this going to last? There were still a few hours to go before they reached the surface. And what would happen then?
Finally, the action's started!
Please review and point out any mistakes. I don't know a lot about the chutes, shuttles, piloting, etc, so please tell me if any information I wrote is wrong, especially in the last paragraph.
By the way, when you spell mudboy, do you spell it like that, or with spaces and/or capitals? I'm just wondering because I'm going to need it for Artemis in the next chapter. Just write it in a review or pm or something, please.
Have a wonderful day!