Sorry to keep you waiting yet again – This is a super long chapter – I could barely cram everything in here! From here on the boring stuff should be over – it's full on writing from now on. This is one of my favourite chapters so far for some reason; tell me what you think of it. Unfortunately though, I have just read an amazing Artemis Fowl fanfic which got 42 reviews for one chapter. Can you guys please send in more reviews – I know my writing probably isn't as good as some people's but I enjoy doing it. I would be seriously over the moon if I got 42 reviews. But enough whining on my part - Enjoy!

500 KM OUTSIDE SHANGHAI, CHINA

Holly awkwardly stuck out a hand, waiting impatiently for a car, bus, ANYTHING to come along. At first she had tried running, but it burnt through her magic supplies like fire through hydrogen. So she eventually had to stop and walk, keeping her thumb up in the sign mud men used when hitchhiking. She was in was a fairly unspoiled part of China, but even though she liked the environment being preserved she actually wished there was a house which she could go to. She didn't really care if she had to steal a car – she could always return it later. But there were no houses to go to, no cars to steal. The closest thing to civilisation she'd seen was a cow in a nearby paddock. She knew when there were farm animals there was generally a farm house, but these animals seemed self-sufficient enough not to have to be taken care of every day by a farmer.

Holly shifted uneasily, her hand growing tired from holding it out for so long. To her relief a car appeared on the horizon. She had to almost step out on the road to get it to stop.

The car pulled up on the side of the road and the driver opened the door. Holly was starting to wonder how believable a one metre tall adult was going to be for a person probably just looking for a nice calm ride to the city. He looked doubtfully at her.

'Do you need a ride?' he asked warily in Mandarin. He couldn't stop looking at how her head barely cleared the car door window.

'Yes.' Holly hated using her spare magic to speak tongues but it had to be done. 'I need to go to Shanghai.' She tinted her words with the Mesmer and without waiting for him to reply, jumped into the passenger side of the car.

He looked surprised, but the Mesmer kept him from saying anything. Holly closed the door and the car began to trundle down the road. The man kept glancing her way and opening his mouth as if trying to say something before stopping himself. He finally seemed to pluck up the courage and asked cautiously:

'Wh-why are you so short?'

It was the perfect moment to pull the disability card on him. Holly looked away from him until her eyes were satisfactory watery. She didn't like lying, even to mud men, but did it anyway.

'It's my disability,' she snuffled convincingly. 'I was born with this problem – I will never grow to be full height'

The driver looked shocked. 'I'm so sorry...I did- I didn't realise'

'It's alright,' Holly continued her acting. 'You didn't know. I get asked it all the time.'

'Good thinking,' Foaly murmured through her earpiece. She had hid her helmet and wings under a bush, where it would no doubt self destruct. The only form of communication she had with Foaly now was her Iris-cam and the tiny earpiece. She was lucky it had a small microphone on it – but she didn't dare to talk to him through it in case the mud man heard.

Foaly and Holly had had an elevated discussion earlier about how Holly could blend in with the crowd in a tight-fitting shimmer suit. But the man in the car was so shocked by Holly's 'birth defect' he didn't even look at her; obviously scared he would say something else offensive.

'Can you go faster?' Holly asked sweetly. She decided to milk the 'disability' for all it was worth –even though to her it wasn't a disability at all. She actually thought it was an asset – she could fit into tiny spaces and blend into the shadows. The car thrummed as the driver changed gear and stepped on the accelerator.

For Holly it was an odd sensation to be in such a bumpy, primitive machine. The magnetic cars in Haven skimmed across the road so smoothly it was hard to tell you were even moving. But the Mud man's bulky SUV juddered along the uneven country road, spitting Diesel fumes out its exhaust pipe. She was also surprised to see the car still was a Manual – she thought even humans had stopped using gears by now.

Some things never change, she thought.

* * *

They pulled up outside the petrol station just as rain started to patter down on the windscreen. Holly hopped out of the car, embracing the soft wind on her face. The sky had dulled to a blackish-grey and the fields were slowly being replaced by houses and villages as the road wound on. The petrol station stood out in stark contrast to the run-down huts of the village, white and modern with shiny aluminium gas pumps. It looked too new, like it had never really been used. Holly found herself not surprised – It almost looked like some of the village houses had been made with mud instead of concrete, and twigs instead of wood. She couldn't imagine any of them driving a car, let alone owning one.

Her earpiece buzzed to life as Foaly started giving instructions.

'Lose the man who drove you here. You don't need him any more'

'What?'

'Make him skedaddle. Shoo. Go away.' Foaly continued.

'But his car is the only form of transport I've got.' Holly was perplexed. She had gone through the trouble to hitchhike, just to find she had to get abandoned in the middle of nowhere again.

'Not anymore,' Foaly said proudly. 'Do you know I had an apprentice before you became part of Recon?'

'No.' Holly answered. She knew where this was going.

'Well, I decided to take on an apprentice. Someone who could be my...assistant'

'Probably more like slave,' Holly couldn't resist adding.

'Anyway, the person I chose was a young elf called Spikkle Magnus. He was born in one of the gang areas of Haven – I first noticed him when he got arrested for hacking into the city system and changing all the electronic view screens to an animation of a dwarf shaking its bottom.'

'A kid hacked your system? No wonder Opal Koboi doesn't seem to have any problems.' Holly meant it as a joke, but the tone of Foaly's voice when he next spoke made her wonder if she had pushed it a bit too far. What had started out as a slight rivalry between Foaly and Opal seemed to have escalated a fair bit over the years.

'Don't mention that...' Foaly muted the sound on the microphone to cover up his foul language. Holly waited for him to continue. 'I took Spikkle on as an apprentice – I thought it was a good way to prevent him from turning into some neurotic psychopath like Opal. But he grew bored with Haven and moved to the surface.'

Holly had guessed it was coming but still felt shocked. 'He moved to the surface? Can you even do that?'

'He got permission – he has his own workshop behind the gas station. It comes in handy.'

'So should I tell him you sent me?'

'Just say you work for the LEP. And take those fake ears off – they don't look too good'

'Okay, boss,' Holly laughed before heading off towards the driver who had given her the ride.

After thanking the driver and waiting for him to drive away Holly entered the gas station shop, setting the bell above the door jingling. It was just as modern here as it was outside – shiny aluminium shelving and a perfect white cash register. A door opened behind the counter and out stepped an elf dressed in a crisp white shirt and shorts. Holly guessed he had to be about her age – he looked knowledgeable but young. If he were a human he would be in his early twenties. His hair was a dark brown and was paired with the most amazing green eyes that were very rare in fairies. At first it was almost hard to tell he was an elf; the high cheekbones were the only slight indication he wasn't human. He was perfectly tanned from so long on the surface and seemed to be much taller than the average elf. Memory latex surrounded his ears, rounding them realistically – if Holly didn't know better she would swear he was a mud man.

She removed her fake mud man ears, not concerned about a human seeing them – there were no humans around. As far as she could tell the petrol station was purely for travellers on their way to Shanghai by car. Spikkle didn't look too surprised.

Holly struggled to think of a greeting.

'Don't worry; I know why you're here'

'You do?' Foaly and Holly said simultaneously, Foaly talking through Holly's earpiece so only she could hear his surprise. Or so he thought.

'I can hear you too, Foaly,' He gestured to a tiny silver swirl in his ear; something Holly had to assume was an earpiece. Holly noticed he was wearing a pair of boots with massive soles, obviously to make him look the same height as a small human.

'But this is a secure channel,' Holly hear Foaly mutter. 'Only people who understand –'

'–Centaurian, I know,' Spikkle finished for him. 'I taught myself most of it from reading old Centaurian texts and their translations, but you taught me some when I was your apprentice too, Foaly. My systems pick up any LEP signal within 200 miles of here – I don't want any surprise visits. The LEP can sometimes make unjustified decisions about fairies living above ground.'

'I'm guessing you know why I'm here then,' Holly managed to ask, although she knew the answer.

'Yup,' Holly swore Spikkle was the only person who could sound intelligent saying the word 'yup'. 'You need wings because your techie decided to give you the wrong shimmer suit.' He aimed a dazzling smile at Holly's iris cam, obviously intended to mock Foaly. But instead it seemed to do something to Holly. She felt warm and buttery inside. It was highly unsettling.

The truth was; Holly had never really felt attracted to another fairy before – there was never really any place for romantic relationships in the LEP. Sure, she'd had her share of boyfriends in high school, but her adult life had been fairly relationship-free.

She shook herself out of it. 'Yes,' she replied.

'You're in luck. I've just finished the design for a new suit. Military standard. Uses liquid armour technology.'

Holly heard Foaly splutter. 'But that costs a fortune. The substance needed for liquid armour is so rare, you're lucky to even find it!'

'I know. But I develop gear for the Atlantean Military. They will pay anything. My budget is much bigger than yours'

Foaly grumbled something incomprehensible.

Spikkle clapped his hands together. 'Anyway, now that's all sorted out, let's get you suited up.'

'BIG MALL', CENTRAL SHANGHAI, CHINA

Mulch's hands were growing sweaty. He had spent the last ten minutes searching the building for an exit. But he was trapped on the top floor – the only way to get down was by elevator, which had been turned off, no doubt by the strange cloaked dwarf.

He had once tried smashing window with a chair, but it didn't even scratch it. Even his excess of fairy flatulence couldn't knock it down. He even threw one of the little bombs at it, but it didn't even explode. As far as he could tell it could only be set off by a detonator. Even then, he didn't dare moving any more – he wouldn't want one blowing up in his hand.

It was five to three in the afternoon - Mulch had to guess they would be detonated at three o'clock, exactly when the mall was to be opened. The most he could do was try to find a safe place and wait.

After another few minutes of searching he found a spot under a counter in large restaurant and settled down. The impact of the bombs should be softened by the wood, he reasoned. A clock on the wall was slowly ticking around, dragging the moment out over what seemed like ages. He could hear the faint chanting of people outside, counting down. It was as if they were counting down to his fate.

'Five!' They all shouted.

Mulch gulped.

'Four!'

A bead of sweat made its way down from his forehead.

'Three!'

Mulch tightened his fists.

'Two!'

I'm too young to die! Mulch felt like screaming.

'One'

Mulch shut his eyes and his whole world exploded.

Author's Note:

Okay, I need you guys to tell me what you think so far, from Holly's 'thing' with Spikkle to what you think will happen to Mulch. Also, pestering me constantly to write the next chapter does work, so feel free to send annoying comments as well. I wanted to also take this opportunity to answer some questions:

Will Opal Koboi be back?

YES. She will be back – and I hear she has one hell of a plan cooked up. Remember there's two of her – this comes after the end of The Time Paradox. That's all I'll give away for now though 

Will Minerva be bitchy in this story?

No. Personally I don't think Eoin intended her to be like that, she just really likes Arty and is a bit jealous of Holly. So no, she won't be mean and scheming like in quite a few other fanfictions.

Is the party on the 25th or the 26th?

It is on the 26th – and both Holly and Minerva are going to it. This confused quite a few people as I changed the date from the 25th, as it seemed a bit better. So yes, Holly and Minerva will both be there.

That's all the questions I have been asked for now – feel free to send in anything you want answering, and keep those reviews coming in!