Blue Moon, Blue Eyes
By: Aubrie1234
Orion thought too soon on having an advantage. He may have hurt Hush, but the other werewolf was bigger and had more experience. However, Orion was faster and, after watching Butler train so much, was a better hand-to-hand fighter. But that was nothing if he wasn't able to put it to use, in practice or out in the field, so in a way, Orion was losing.
After getting smashed into a cavern wall for what felt like the fourth time during their fight, Orion struggled to stand. Not that Hush was in better shape, but they were both wearing out. Each was covered in cuts, claw marks, bruises, and bites. Neither one had gotten a broken bone yet, but they would soon enough if the fighting went on in the way it was going.
Suddenly something dawned on him. What if Hush's attack had been a distraction? With that in mind, there was no time to lose; his friends could be in danger! Surprising Hush by shoving his head into the ground, Orion jumped over him and ran as fast as he could, looking for Holly and Butler (but mostly for Holly). As he ran, his injuries healed with his magic, but it tired him out. Werewolf magic, as powerful as it was, had a different source than most: it came from the beast's energy if it was full and if not, it came from its hunger. It was not accessed willingly either, but that's another story for another time.
After checking in with a bemused Foaly to make sure what the scanner looked like, the two soldiers set to work in searching for Opal's hideout. Seeing as this was Opal they were after, they changed the setting so it could scan for anything out of the ordinary. It did, finding a large piece of cam foil covering the entrance to a crack in the wall down a tunnel, not for from Haven. That was the best place Opal could be hiding, so they set off to corner her and take control back.
As they had only encountered her once before, they weren't sure what she was capable of and were extra cautious. Before they could get there, though, they were forced to split up, as they nearly got hit by a stray shot and it shorted out their cam foil. The mountain of a mud man was left behind and Holly went on, hoping Butler would be safe and that she would be able to do this herself.
Alone she was able to make it to the tunnel faster, where the fighting thinned out. But then another complication came up, where a shot clipped her wing, forcing her to land. Checking it, she knew she wouldn't be able to get back in the air, as the force behind the shot ruptured the stabilizers, so she had to continue on foot. And yet she couldn't even take a step before the ground collapsed beneath her. Hearing Opal's laughter above her, Holly was beginning to feel that she had either been set up or that Opal had been watching too many mud man cartoons.
"Caught you, Captain!" said the pixie from the lip of the 6-ft. hole.
"Opal!" Holly growled, "Now what are you planning? You know that all of your 'soldiers' are smarter than goblins, so what do you hope to get out of this?"
"I know that, which is why I'm going to let them destroy each other before appearing and claiming everything! And then I will expose Haven to the mud men!" This just wasn't Holly's day, was it? And taking a closer look, the elf saw that Opal was carrying only a small handheld mud man gun, which confused her.
"Why do you have a mud man gun?"
"Well, one of my 'soldiers,' as you so plainly put it, is a hereditary werewolf. I've ordered him to kill Artemis several times so the mud boy wouldn't get in the way, but since it backfired on me, I have this." she held up the gun so Holly could get a better look, "I know about moonrunners and their legends, including the tale of how they don't do well against silver. This is filled with a few silver bullets just in case." Holly's eyes widened.
"Don't you dare, Opal!" She had just repaired her friendship with Artemis, she didn't want him to die! However, Opal looked up and grinned.
"And here comes your little puppy now!"
Orion had followed Holly and seen everything, now angry and charging toward Opal. The deranged pixie took aim and fired, which echoed loudly in the underground. It hit the werewolf in the left shoulder, where he cried out in pain. It hurt more badly that a regular bullet because of the silver and would most likely leave a scar, but it angered him much more than almost anything else could. He roared in rage and continued running, spooking Opal. Activating her own wings, Opal tried flying away, taking a few more shots at the werewolf. They hit him in the right leg and arm, but he completely ignored it, all of his attention on the pixie.
Jumping at her, he managed to tear off a wing with a single bite, forcing her to fall and take shelter in a crack in the tunnel wall. Artemis or Orion (neither seemed to be in control) snarled and stuck his head in, trying to get at her.
Without Opal at the top of the hole, Holly managed to climb out (it wasn't a smooth hole) and found the cam foil hideout. Not knowing what controlled what and without Foaly, Holly decided to be destructive and destroy everything in there with her Neutrino. That seemed to have done something, as soon enough, she could hear the DNA Cannons firing in the distance.
Peeking her head out, Holly looked to where the werewolf had cornered Opal. The tunnel walls shook as he pounded it, trying to get at the pixie. Holly had never seen him so angry or so out-of-control, and she didn't want to see Opal killed. She may have been insane, but she still didn't need to die. Setting her Neutrino to a high-powered stun (almost kill level) she shot at the werewolf. He yelped, falling backward and not getting back up, having been knocked out. And since Holly saw the gun nearby (along with the fact the pixie nearly got torn apart by Artemis/Orion), she knew Opal was unarmed and willing to be arrested.
But looking at her friend, she felt saddened. The LEP got what they wanted, Artemis was underground, but now what were they going to do to him?
When he woke up, he found himself in a room with clear walls. It seemed things had calmed down, as he could see elves (scientists?) looking in on him and his wounds were healed (he could tell because of the scars they left behind, like he guessed they would). He didn't like this, not one bit, but freaking out wouldn't help anything. After all, he didn't remember anything after seeing Opal trap Holly in the hole. He needed to stay calm, like Artemis always was, and think of a way out. He let his eyes roam the walls, searching for a weak spot. Outside (besides the scientists) were Holly, Foaly, Root, and a disgruntled Trouble.
"Are you sure no harm will come to him?" Holly asked. Unfortunately they had to send Butler back up to the surface (after sedating him of course. They weren't stupid), so he was probably wondering where Artemis was and getting angry. At least they had stopped another uprising and were now trying to capture the rogue prisoners.
"We can't make any promises, Holly." Root said. Like Holly, he had been on a few adventures with the mud boy and had come to respect him, "But I think that because you helped stop another of Opal's plans, the Council might allow him to go free." Trouble silently simmered, mad at the mud boy for stealing Holly's heart and for making a fool of him.
"I hope so. Have they found the other moonrunner yet?" After capturing Artemis/Orion, they had searched for the other werewolf but with no luck.
"Nothing yet." Foaly said, checking a handheld message board for the LEP, "I'm kind of worried about that. Where could the other moonrunner have gone?" Inside, Orion raised his head, ears twitching as he heard a strange sound. He recognized it quickly and his eyes narrowed, standing and growling. This gained the attention of those outside.
"What's going on?" Trouble asked.
"He might be sensing the other werewolf nearby." Foaly said, "But this cage was designed for moonrunners. He's not getting out easily, if not at all."
"Don't be so sure, Horsey Boy." Root said, "I think the mud boy has a trick up his sleeve."
Orion looked around, searching for a way out. The walls and the floor were out, as they were the most protected. But what about the ceiling? Looking up, he gave a tooth-filled grin. There was an air duct entrance that blended into the ceiling, which reflected the floor. As it was a bit high, Orion jumped and grabbed the duct cover, letting his weight pull it out of its place, then jumped again to enter it. This was most likely done on purpose because they knew how smart he was, even if he wasn't Artemis. In fact, any desperate person would have been able to get out of there.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Holly smiled at Foaly as the other scientists panicked.
"Not on purpose, no." Foaly blatantly lied, "But now that he's out, we can follow his movements. He may be Artemis, in a way, but he's not graceful or quiet." They could tell, hearing the noises from the duct.
"Why build one when you know we don't use them?"
"Tried to make him feel more at home." Again he lied. The three elves knew the truth, but didn't speak it. All of them, even Trouble, hadn't liked it when Artemis/Orion had been captured, so now they felt better somewhat.
"Where does the duct lead?" Root asked.
"Not far. Only a few rooms over." Suddenly snarls and roars broke out in a nearby hall. Orion had found Hush. Rushing to look, the four saw that Orion had ripped open the duct and had dropped down on Hush, pinning him to the ground. The werewolf snarled at Orion, but was unable to move. The younger had certainly put him in a tight spot. Orion was about ready to end Hush when Holly stopped him.
"Orion!" The werewolf looked up from where he had been planning to rip out the other's throat. Not even werewolf magic would have been able to heal that.
"Rarrou?" They didn't know it, but that was his way of saying Holly's name.
"...Thanks. Just stay there and keep him down, alright?" If he could, Orion would have saluted. As it was, he stayed at his post until Retrieval came the take Hush. Tensing at the sight of the Neutrinos, Holly had to calm Orion down, assuring him that he wasn't going to be hurt. He listened and watched as the other werewolf was sedated and taken away, leaning into Holly's touch. Nothing was over, not by a long shot, but for now, he relished in the petting he was getting.
Sorry it's so short, but the next chapter is the epilogue. I can't believe I'm actually finishing a chapter story! I'm serious, I haven't been able to finish one yet. Anyway, read & review!
