A/N: Ever wondered what really happened at the end of Winter of Decay? How Artemis and Natalya managed to survive? Well, look no further than this chapter! It's another long one, and it was super fun to write, so I hope you enjoy :D

(Proof-read when I'm super tired – it's like 3am in the UK right now – but I wanted to get this out today. Sorry in advance for any typos I missed. Feel free to call any out if you review, but then again, it isn't your job to fix my mistakes for me. Still, it would be helpful.)

-Kio

Chapter 10; Revelations

LEP Forward Operating Base, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia

The bullet entered Holly's chest at over a thousand miles an hour, instantly piercing her LEP uniform and tearing through her body. Skin ripped. Bone shattered. It exited her back a fraction of a second later, leaving a huge rent where there used to flawless skin.

Borne aloft by the sheer impact, the elf's tiny form stayed in the air for a sickeningly long second before slamming into the wall behind her. There she lay, frail and limp, with magical sparks already dancing around the wound.

Artemis fell to his knees, too drained to stay on his feet. The whole world seemed to melt away until there was only Holly. Slumped against the wall, drenched in her own blood, unmoving, she looked more vulnerable than Artemis would ever have imagined was possible. She was normally so full of life, so indestructible.

This isn't right. This isn't how it was supposed to go.

He tried to open his mouth, to speak as he watched Holly's life drain away. He wanted so badly so explain that he had tried to resist, that he was sorry, but he could already feel his body shutting down. The strain his mind had just undergone was simply for too much for it to handle and it was resetting.

The boy didn't try to fight the blackness starting ebb at his vision. In fact, he welcomed the numbness. Because anything was better than staying where he was, watching Holly die. Knowing he was to blame.

Artemis never felt Natalya place a hand on his shoulder as he slipped into unconsciousness. He never saw her retrieve her Sig Sauer from his limp grip, and never heard her whispered apology, so soft it was almost lost in the distant sounds of battle.

Galadhon had known something was wrong long before he stepped into the room. Neither Holly or Artemis had answered their coms, and he could only find one plausible explanation: they couldn't. It immediately became a priority issue. If something had happened to them, that likely meant that Opal was being freed.

He had gone straight to Opal's cell, flanked by LEP soldiers and with a warlock in tow. As he entered, he saw Artemis's slumped form first, then Holly, bloodied and lifeless. In the back ground, the door to Opal's cell was already open.

"Help her!" he shouted to the warlock, waving in Holly's direction. He gestured to the other soldiers. "With me. Weapons ready."

With Galadhon taking point, the small LEP force stormed into the cell, weapons up. Galadhon's eyes flicked around the small room, quickly checking every corner for hostiles. As expected, there were none.

But much to his surprise, the cell was not empty. Galadhon had assumed that Opal would already have escaped, but Koboi was still there. The pixie lay in the middle of the cell looking oddly peaceful, a dribble of blood leaking from the neat hole in her forehead.

"D'Arvit," Galadhon breathed. For perhaps half a minute he stood frozen, trying to compose himself. Unsure. Then he was back to usual detached self. "Come on, we're going. Now."

He led the others back outside the cell. The warlock was still tending to Holly.

"Will she live?" Galadhon asked.

The warlock gave a noncommittal shrug. "Probably," she said. "But I don't know what state she'll be in if she wakes up. Even if her magic repaired her body in time, that doesn't mean her mind is still intact."

Well, thought Galadhon, tough. I'm sorry, Holly, but we don't have time for anything better. We need to get out of here. Immediately.

He chose two LEP officers at random and ordered them to carry Holly and Artemis. As soon as the crew made it outside, Galadhon was hailed by another LEP captain.

"Sir. Those things have fallen back."

Galadhon almost allowed himself a small smile, but then he remembered the number of casualties they had already sustained.

"We beat them?" he asked, raising a cynical eyebrow.

The other captain shook his head. "Negative, but we put a dent in their numbers. It looks like they're regrouping; though how those creatures are capable of making organised military decisions is beyond me. Either way, our defences are shattered. When they attack again, we're all dead."

Galadhon had a pretty good idea how the creatures were making decisions – or rather who was making decisions for them. He'd seen past Opal Koboi out on the battlefield earlier, launching lightning bolts at the shuttles. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the whole thing had been a set-up and that she was somehow controlling the former humans. The pixie had never cared about any kind of trade; she had only ever wanted her future self out of the deeps, knowing that no matter how well-guarded she was, the defenders could be overwhelmed by the former humans.

The elf looked out at the devastation. Almost everything lay in tatters. Bodies – human and fairy – littered the camp. He looked out at the LEP forces that were still alive, all looking to him for leadership.

"Prepare to retreat. We're getting the hell out of here."

"But sir, we don't have any shuttles. And what about Opal?"

Galadhon gave a bitter laugh. "Opal's dead. Forget her. We go on foot. Use moonbelts to carry the wounded. Leave everything else. Understood?"

There were slightly grateful nods from around the band of survivors. They had been worried that Galadhon would want them to stand and fight. It wasn't that they were keen on running away, but it was undeniably their only option. There was no doubt in any of their minds: if they faced the formers again today, there would be no tomorrow. For any of them.

At first the creatures had repulsed Opal. The Mud People were bad enough already, but the former humans, the Fallen, with their glowing eyes and mottled skin, were infinitely worse. But over the last few days, they had begun to grow on her. She couldn't really explain why, but she found herself feeling… at home with them. Like they were family.

She waited patiently as one of the creatures stumbled towards her. It only had one arm and there were plasma burns all across its face and chest, but if the gruesome wounds were painful, it gave no indication.

It made a guttural sound, indicating that it wanted to communicate with her. The Fallen were only capable of extremely limited speech – the odd word here and there – but passing on a complex message was beyond them.

Opal sighed and reached out with her magic, sensing the parasite living inside the human body, forging a link between the two of them so it could communicate without needing to speak.

"Mistress," it whispered to her. "They retreat. They fear us. They fear the darkness."

Opal sighed again. So melodramatic. And what was that grammar? She shook her head. It didn't matter. The LEP were retreating, that was the important thing. Soon, her future self would be liberated.

"Come," she ordered aloud. The formers that had been guarding her instantly fell in behind her step. The pixie smiled to herself – she had been hoping something like this would happen. Her small army had been taking serious casualties, so she had ordered them to fall back and regroup. It wasn't like she couldn't replenish those she had lost, but it would have taken time. It was much better to let those LEP fools stew for a little while. With any luck, they would realise they were horribly outnumbered and cut their losses.

After only moments, Opal reached her vantage point, looking down over the wrecked LEP encampment. Her smile widened – it was little wonder they had decided to retreat. Their base lay in ruins. In fact, she found that she was a little sorry to have missed most of the action. But after bringing down the LEP's air support, she had known she needed to get clear of the battlefield. A warzone was no place for a queen, after all – she might get hurt. And Opal Koboi was far too important to risk getting hurt.

Even as the pixie watched, the survivors were beginning their retreat. With no shuttles left intact and not enough time to secure extraction from Haven, they were heading out on foot with the wounded – at least, those that could be found at short notice – carried on moonbelts.

They are retreating on foot, thought Opal. They are literally running away. From me! She let out a girlish little laugh. Oh, how the times have changed. And this is only the beginning. Soon, I will crush the entire LEP beneath my boot and the no one will be able to stop me from establishing my future self as empress of the world. Then I can return to the past, safe in the knowledge that my future is one of complete domination.

Opal's keen eyes quickly picked out Artemis Fowl in the retreating crowd. The boy looked unconscious. What happened to you, Mud Boy? she wondered. Did one of my minions get to you? Or was it something else? Opal's eyes flashed viciously. Whatever it was, I hope it hurt. A lot.

But there was something even more interesting about the retreating LEP forces than Artemis Fowl.

"My future self is not with them," she observed. "Curious." She gestured to the nearby formers. "Twenty of you: follow them. It's possible they are concealing her beneath cam foil or some other such trickery. Everyone else, by my side. Let's check the cell. Perhaps they left her behind in an attempt to guarantee safe passage back to Haven."

Once they reached the edge of the destroyed camp, Opal decided to levitate herself a few feet off the ground. It wouldn't do for someone of her importance to suffer the indignity of getting her boots covered in blood and ash. This way, she didn't have to carefully avoid the dead fairies and mutilated formers that were strewn throughout the wreckage.

Much of the base was still aflame, and Opal had to hold her breath to avoid the wretched stench of ash and burning flesh as they made their way to the building that housed her cell.

She wasn't quite sure what it was, but Opal could almost sense that something was wrong as she strode through the corridors towards the centre of the building. Towards her future self's cell. She knew her intuition was right the moment she saw the blood all over the floor outside the cell.

Heart in her throat, Opal took a few careful steps forwards so she could see past the open door, into the inside of the cell. When she saw what lay there, she felt an emotion she was entirely unfamiliar with.

Emptiness. Complete and total emptiness that threatened to consume her.

That was it. Her future was gone. Dead. Lying in its own blood. A single clean shot to the head from a human gun, and her future self was dead. The LEP had murdered her. It was the only explanation – they had known they could no longer keep her in chains, so they had murdered her.

Everything became suddenly clear to Opal. She now knew that she would never achieve any of her aims, she would never realise any of her dreams. How could she? Her death was inevitable. Not even she could reverse this. She no longer had a future – the LEP had taken it from her.

All her hope, her dreams, her ambition, abandoned her, leaving only hatred. She didn't know how long she stood there, staring at the dead pixie. At her future. Slowly, the hatred and the anger built until they consumed her completely.

The LEP took everything from me. Now, I will take everything from them. I will burn their world to the ground.

Location Unknown

"Because I love you."

Him pulling the trigger. Holly's body being tossed aside like a ragdoll, bloody and broken. Holly lying there, unmoving. Dead. Murdered by him.

And that voice. Natalya's voice.

At last, the final barriers in Artemis's mind began to break down, unable to deny him the truth any longer. Memories no longer came in disjointed flashes. They came in full.

Artemis glanced at the countdown. A little over six minutes. Not long now. He laid the other communicator on top of the console and waited, trying to keep the rising fear at bay.

It didn't take long for an incoming call to flash up on the communicator display. In spite of the emotions churning inside him, Artemis reached out a hand and picked up the device.

"Fowl." The voice was Holly's, exactly as he had known it would be. "You have one chance to explain yourself."

It took Artemis a moment to respond. "Holly, I'm so sorry. If there had been any other way, believe me…" He broke off for a moment, but then he composed himself. He had to make her understand. He had to. "Holly please, forgive me. I can't abort the launches. It isn't possible. When the timer reaches zero, Amber's system will send the signal to fire. I can't stop that, unless…"

"Unless what?" Holly's voice was suddenly nervous.

"Unless there isn't a system to send the signal anymore. If I initiate self-destruct, then the transmission will never be sent."

"Wait a minute," Holly said, confusion evident in her tone. "Where are you? Please tell me you're not still down there."

Artemis paused. When he spoke again, his voice was soft. Apologetic. "Amber was paranoid. I need special authorization – which I don't have – to initiate self-destruct, unless there is an emergency lockdown in progress. And during lockdown, there is no way in or out of the facility."

Holly's response was immediate. "No. You can't do this. I won't let you."

Artemis took a breath. He wanted nothing more than to let the elf dissuade him, but he knew he couldn't afford to. He had to be strong. It was his only option. "It's the only way. I have to do this."

"You have to do it?" shouted Holly, incensed. "Artemis Fowl makes choices for everyone as usual."

Artemis hid a grimace, even though Holly couldn't see him. The elf wasn't wrong. "Perhaps," he said. "But this time I am justified by circumstance."

"No. Forget it, Artemis. It's not happening."

"It has to happen. Perhaps in time, with resources, I could develop an alternate strategy…"

"Develop an alternate strategy? This is not a corporate takeover we're talking about, Artemis. This is your life. What about your family?"

"Either I initiate the self-destruct or my family dies, Holly," Artemis reminded her. "They won't miss me if they are vaporised by a bio-bomb."

"Fine then. What about me?"

For a time, Artemis said nothing. When he found his voice, the sadness in his tone was unmistakeable. "Holly, I owe you everything. Because of you, I have my family. You showed me the value of friendship, and you taught me to do the right thing. I was a broken boy and you fixed me. Thank you."

Holly didn't respond, but Artemis could feel her desperation. Feel her getting close to breaking point.

"Fly away, Holly," he continued, struggling to keep his voice even. "Please don't allow yourself to be caught in the explosion. I want you to live; I want you to be happy. That is my last wish."

"You can't do this," Holly shouted. Artemis could hear that she was crying. "You can't."

"Why not? We both know it is the only way."

"Because I love you."

Artemis was lost for words. What could he say? I love you too? Hardly. He was about to die. They would never see each other again, never have a chance to be together. It would be cruel to give her that hope, knowing that nothing could come of her love. She would be alone. He wouldn't make it any worse for her that it already was.

He wished there was another way, but he knew there wasn't. At times, he had dared to dream that one day, they might have a future together. But now he understood that it had only been a fantasy. A hopeless dream that would never be realised. Because some part of him had always known that it would end this way.

He and Holly had chosen dangerous lives, chosen to be the ones standing in the way of whatever evil threatened their world. But they could only save the world so many times. Eventually, death would catch up with one of them. They had dodged so many bullets together; it had only ever been a matter of time before one found its mark.

That was all there was to it. He and Holly hadn't chosen lives that would let them be happy. They had chosen to try and be heroes instead. Why? It was obvious why Holly had – it was her whole character – but why him? But he knew the answer to that as well. Holly. He had wanted to join her on her journey. Wanted to be with her, even as just a friend, even though a part of him knew that this was where it would inevitably end up.

And if he had his time again, would he make different choices? Even as his last minutes ticked away, even as he stared into the abyss, the final darkness, he knew the answer was no. He wouldn't have changed a thing.

"Artemis," Holly begged. "Artemis please."

"In another time, Holly," said Artemis, grateful that the elf couldn't see the tears flowing down his cheeks. He reached out a shaking hand and ended the call. There was nothing more he could say.

He glanced again at the countdown. Four minutes and it would all be over. There was nothing to do now but wait.

"Be calm, Artemis," he whispered aloud. "There is nothing to fear."

But even as the words left his mouth, there was movement outside the ops booth. The DNA cannons' stun effect was wearing off Amber and Natalya. Both were getting to their feet, shaking off their grogginess.

"Fowl!" Amber shrieked, instantly livid. "How dare you-"

She never finished the sentence. The sword blade emerging from her throat made sure of that. She spluttered for a moment, frozen in place, but then Natalya ripped the sword out and let the centaur fall to the ground.

The Russian girl took a step towards Artemis and placed a hand on the ops booth window. She smiled playfully.

"Alone at last," she said. "She was rather annoying, wasn't she?"

Artemis didn't respond. He couldn't. He was too busy staring in horror at Amber's corpse, at the pool of blood that was already forming around what was left of her throat. The apparent indifference with which Natalya had killed her was scary.

Natalya opened her mouth to ask Artemis where Holly was, but she was interrupted by an automated announcement coming over the speakers in the Nebula Facility.

"Warning," said a lazy female voice. "Self-destruct in two hundred and ten seconds."

The blood drained from Natalya's face. Her normally pretty features twisted in fury.

"What have you done, Mud Boy?" she screamed. "What the fuck have you done?"

Artemis would have expected to feel satisfaction seeing Natalya panic, but now that it came to it, he could find only pity for her. She was in the same boat as he was, and he understood exactly how she felt. But he gave no outward sign of sympathy. He just shrugged casually. "It was the only way."

"The only way?" Natalya shouted back furiously. "The only way? You stupid Mud Boy! Everything was in place! And you've ruined it. Ruined everything." She took a shaking breath. "You're going to kill us both."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry that you have to die," Artemis began. "I didn't want it this way, but-"

Natalya rounded on him before he could finish. "Oh, you're sorry, are you? Well that makes everything fine."

Artemis sighed, unsure why he was bothering to justify himself to her. "You have to understand that-"

"Shut up! Just stop talking, alright? I'm trying to think. Don't you dare disturb me."

Artemis watched curiously as the Russian girl paced up and down outside the ops booth, taking calming breaths. There was another automated warning, this time for one hundred and eighty seconds. Three minutes to live.

Natalya spat a curse in response, but carried on pacing for another few seconds before turning back to Artemis. She walked up to the ops booth, resting both palms on the window.

"OK, Artemis," she said, her voice considerably calmer. "Open the doors."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "And why would I do that? So that you can exact your revenge before we die? I don't think so. I have no wish to spend my last moments in pain."

"Listen to me, you stupid little boy. We're dead in minutes unless you do exactly as I say."

"What do you mean unless?" said Artemis, frowning. "The lockdown and the self-destruct are irreversible, I'm afraid. I made sure of that, in case I changed my mind."

But Natalya was shaking her head. "It doesn't matter. There is a way out, even under lockdown." Artemis didn't respond, but Natalya could sense his uncertainty. She decided to try something else. "Don't you want to see Holly again? I've seen that way you look at her. I know you don't trust me, but I'm your only chance of ever seeing her again."

Artemis hesitated. Could it be true? Could there be a chance to see Holly again? To be with her? He almost didn't dare to hope, but he couldn't stop himself. And while it was true that he didn't trust Natalya, surely there was at least an outside chance she was telling the truth? If he was right, she had saved his life in France. Besides, didn't he owe it to Holly to at least try?

"Warning. Self-destruct in one hundred and twenty seconds."

Artemis raised his head and looked Natalya in the eye. "Start talking."

"This entire place used to be a fairy fort, and that means there's chute access. The chute itself fell into disrepair and was closed off a hundred years ago, but it's still there. Right beneath our feet, in fact."

Artemis didn't know how Natalya was planning to use get into chute, or what they would do then, but it sounded like a start. At the very least, it was more than he had had a minute before, so he made a split-second decision. He slapped the button to release the doors and Natalya rushed into the ops booth. He tensed, but the Russian girl didn't try to hurt him, instead moving straight to the console and starting to tap keys furiously.

"I know some of Amber's codes," she explained. "Hopefully I can…" She smiled triumphantly. "I've given myself clearance. Come on." She grabbed Artemis and pulled him towards the ops booth exit. "This way."

Artemis had no idea what she was going to do, but he didn't dwell on it. Together, they ran out of the ops booth, towards one of the far sides of installation. Once they reached it, Natalya immediately went to a computer panel built into the wall.

"Natalya," she said, enunciating clearly, and followed up with a long and complicated code. When she had finished, a huge section of the wall started to retract, revealing an enormous hanger. Several prototype attack shuttles stood in the gloom, waiting to be unleashed.

Artemis's mouth dropped open. "How did you…?"

Natalya winked at him. "Lockdown only prevents you leaving the facility, not from accessing the other areas. This place is a lot bigger than you'd initially think. Amber really was ready for war."

"Warning. Self-destruct in sixty seconds."

Natalya gave a grim but determined smile that reminded Artemis oddly of Holly. She grabbed him again and dragged him over one of the shuttles.

"Get in," she ordered. Artemis didn't need telling twice; it seemed as though, despite his doubts, Natalya actually had a plan. Maybe he really would get to see Holly's face again…

The two went straight to the cockpit and Artemis strapped himself into the co-pilot's chair. Natalya didn't even bother with the harness as she lowered herself into the pilot's seat; she was already steering the shuttle to the hangar's exit into the Nebula Facility's main chamber. A single look at her face told Artemis not to speak – the Russian girl was utterly focused. Breaking her concentration now could be fatal for them both.

Natalya was an extremely talented pilot, but she only had limited experience flying fairy shuttles. Far too little for what she was going to attempt. Then again, there was no amount of experience in the world that could really prepare someone for flying a heavy-duty assault shuttle inside the confined Nebula Facility under serious time pressure.

Flicking on the thrusters, Natalya lifted the shuttle off the ground. There it hung precariously, pointing vaguely at the exit.

"Thirty seconds," muttered the Russian girl. They could no longer hear the automated warnings from inside the shuttle, but evidently she had been keeping count. "Here goes nothing."

She almost managed to thread the needle and pass straight through the opening. Almost, but not quite. Instead, she caught the lip with the side of the shuttle. Metal crumpled, Plexiglas shattered, and fibre-optic cables snapped. Sparks showered down. The shuttle's armour plating screeched in protest, but held. Just.

"Come on, cyka!" shouted Natalya as she wrestled with the controls, dragging the shuttle through the opening. As soon as they were clear, she slammed on the brakes. "Twenty seconds."

She was well aware that she was only going to get one, maybe two shots at this. Then they were dead. With no time to aim properly, she pointed the shuttle's payload roughly at the ground farthest away from them and pressed down the triggers.

Twin plasma rockets streaked out from the underside of the shuttle, arced downwards and slammed into the floor of the Nebula Facility. The entire installation shook. Flames enveloped everything, including the shuttle, but the armour took the punishment well. Even so, in such an enclosed space, the impact of the explosion almost knocked them out of the air. As it was, they were lucky. The shuttle was slammed backwards into the wall behind them, but remained airborne.

Even after the flames had cleared, there was no way for them to see through the smoke and debris, but the shuttle's on-board computer was set to automatically map its surroundings. One glance at the display was enough to tell them that there was no breach.

"Don't fail me now," whispered Natalya as she prepared to fire again. Normally they wouldn't have had a chance, but the weapons she was playing with were designed by Amber herself and packed a hell of a punch. Even so, nothing was certain. Natalya knew that part of the Nebula Facility was nestled into the edge of the old chute beneath the fairy fort above, but she didn't know if it was even possible to break through the fortified outer shell without nuclear weapons.

She took a breath and pressed down the triggers again. Exactly as before, the two rockets exploded against the reinforced metal with brilliant purple fireballs. Again, flames swirled around them and debris rained down. But this time, some of the falling wreckage was falling out of the Nebula Facility into the massive chute below. They had managed to fracture the artificial ground! Their one chance of escape now stood exposed.

Natalya didn't waste time on celebrations, though. She was far too focused.

"Ten seconds," she said aloud, and switched on the thrusters. She nudged the shuttle closer to the opening for a few seconds before she felt ready to make a run through it.

Artemis took a deep breath and held it, grateful that he was strapped in. Salvation was in sight, but it was going to be close. The opening was a lot narrower than he would've liked – it was technically wide enough for them to fit through, but there wouldn't be much room to spare. He couldn't help thinking that Natalya's flying would have to be perfect.

Natalya was thinking the exact same thing as she opened up the throttle. The shuttle lurched forward into the breach, but she was a little too far to the right. With an ear-splitting screech of metal tearing, the shuttle's exterior scraped against the edge of the opening. Everything attached to that side of hull was torn off, but then they were clear, accelerating into the blackness.

A second later, the high explosive charges buried around the Nebula Facility all ignited simultaneously, detonating with the force of several thousand tons of TNT. Rock was instantly liquefied to lava, metal crumpled like rice paper and everything else was simply vaporised. The massive fireball surged towards the path of least resistance, which was, of course, down the chute. Straight after Artemis and Natalya. It was followed closely by a cascade of half-molten debris and falling rock as the unstable chute began to collapse.

"Out of the frying pan…" muttered Natalya, accelerating harder while using her free hand to strap herself into the harness. Artemis glanced at her and was impressed to discover that she somehow looked even more determined than before.

The flames reached them quickly, engulfing the shuttle. There was a series of terrifying cracks as various components lost their battle against the intense heat, but the shuttle stayed intact, and then the firestorm was gone.

But there was still a torrent of rock and debris bearing down on them.

Artemis ran some mental calculations. With their engines, they should be able to outrun the deadly avalanche, even in freefall. But according to Natalya, the chute had been closed off a hundred years ago when the fort above had been abandoned. It was only a matter of time until they hit a dead end and were crushed under several thousand tons of rock.

Natalya seemed to have reached a similar conclusion. "Any bright ideas, Mud Boy?"

"Do we have a map of the chute?" he asked, but he wasn't hopeful. The People weren't in the habit keeping maps of abandoned chutes.

As expected, Natalya shook her head. "Why?"

Artemis shrugged. "If there was a bend ahead, it's possible that the avalanche could get delayed or even halted." He paused to think for a moment. After a moment, an idea came to him. Why not? he thought. If it worked once… "Do we have any more rockets?"

A slow smile spread across Natalya's pretty features. She turned to him. "I like the way you think," she said. There was a hint of something in her voice that Artemis had never heard before. It could almost be classed as warmth. "Yes, we've still got plenty of rockets. You think we can punch a hole in the LEP's blockage?"

Artemis nodded. "I don't know exactly how they seal off old chutes, but I can't imagine it's especially permanent."

"I hope you're right," replied Natalya, opening the throttle even wider. They would need to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the wall of death that was chasing them if they wanted time to try and break through whatever lay ahead of them.

Speech was no longer an option for Artemis. It was all he could do to keep his last meal inside him. They were so close to surviving; to fail now would just be cruel. Before, he had just about started to believe that he really would get to see Holly again, and now he clung to that hope, using it to sustain himself.

The walls of the chute shot by them at impossible speeds, jagged outcrops of rock all blurring together like an impressionist painting. Still the shuttle gained speed, slicing through the darkness, desperately trying to escape the collapsing world above it.

An alert blinked up on the digital readout warning them that the computer had detected an obstacle up ahead. Natalya started to decelerate and began arming a volley of plasma rockets. The sheer rock face rushed up to meet them, illuminated an eerie yellow by the shuttle's headlights.

"Quickly, Mud Boy," said Natalya, turning to Artemis expectantly. "Where do I shoot?"

Artemis scanned their surroundings, acutely aware that for every second he spent looking, they were one step closer to annihilation. The rock face directly below them was smooth was looked for all the world like a continuation of the chute's natural walls, except horizontal instead of vertical. Artemis felt panic starting to claw at his insides. What if they had miscalculated? What if the chute ended in a natural dead end? But then he looked more broadly, and noticed that on one side, the chute wall was all broken up. It was almost like it had been formed by a cave in a long time ago…

Artemis's eyes lit up. Perhaps it was caused by a cave in. An artificial cave in. What if the LEP had blocked up the chute by collapsing it when it splintered off into a narrow horizontal tunnel? That would certainly have been the easiest way to make sure it didn't see future use.

"There," said Artemis, pointing at the broken rock face. "Fire there."

Natalya didn't bother asking why – the cascade was far too rapidly approaching them for that. She just pressed down the triggers for a third and final time, sending two more plasma rockets into the cliff face.

Artemis held his breath. If the LEP had been thorough and collapsed the tunnel in more than one place, then they wouldn't be able to clear a path before they were crushed under a few thousand tons of rock. But if they hadn't, with a little luck, he and Natalya might just make it.

The two rockets exploded in spectacular fashion, sucking the limited oxygen in the chute into the fireball and spitting out a deadly hurricane of shrapnel. Razor sharp shards of rock embedded themselves in the shuttles exterior, but despite leaving a few serious scratches, none managed to punch through the cockpit's reinforced canopy.

It was impossible to see anything through the debris, but Natalya didn't wait for it to clear – she knew there wasn't time. She glanced at the shuttle's dashboard, but there was too much debris in the way for the computer to map the area ahead. She would have to fly blind.

She opened the throttle wide and the shuttle shot towards where the missiles had exploded. Either there was an opening to soar through, or they would smash into the unyielding rock and both be instantly killed. It didn't matter which; if they didn't move now, they would be crushed like a tin can by the deadly avalanche above.

Artemis braced himself as the shuttle entered the cloud of dust and debris. He could see absolutely nothing of the world outside the shuttle. All he could do was hope and pray. Pray that luck was on his side. In spite of everything, he smiled. He was due some luck.

Even through the shuttle's extensive soundproofing, they could easily hear the earth-shattering sound as the avalanche slammed into the bottom of the tunnel. The shockwave hit their shuttle and knocked it slightly off course, but Natalya managed to wrestle back control relatively quickly. A moment later, they shot out of the dust cloud, giving them a clear view of the tunnel they were now in.

Artemis and Natalya both let out a breath they didn't realise they had been holding. Neither could help but smile a little at their success. In theory, the tunnel they were in would connect to the normal network of chutes that the People used. If all went well, they could be back on the surface in a few hours.

"We made it," said Artemis.

Natalya nodded, too exhausted to quite speak yet. For a few minutes, they both just sat there, enjoying the fact that they were alive. But Artemis still had a question to ask.

"Natalya," he said hesitantly. He wasn't sure if that was her real name, but it was the best he had. "In France, did you save my life?"

The Russian girl turned to him, calmly appraising him. After a moment, she nodded.

"Why?" The question was out before Artemis could stop himself.

Natalya looked away. "It's complicated."

"I'm a genius. Complicated is my speciality."

For the first time since Artemis had met her, Natalya gave a genuine laugh. It was a pleasant sound.

"I thought you would be more useful to me alive than dead, and…" she said, but then she hesitated. "And I have a certain… respect for your achievements. I didn't think it would do to let you die like that."

Artemis was surprised. He hadn't thought that Natalya respected anyone. Nevertheless, the first part of her answer was far more curious.

"I don't understand. How would I be useful to you?"

Natalya laughed again, but this time there was no warmth. Her features had rearranged themselves back into her usual cold expression. It was as though she had used up her humanity for the day.

"Enough," she said simply. She spoke calmly, but the finality in her tone was unmistakeable.

Artemis decided not to push it. Why Natalya had saved him wasn't important, not really. What mattered was that he was alive. All he wanted now was to go home. To reassure his family that he was OK, and to see Holly again. To tell her that he felt the same way as she did.

"So what now?" he asked.

Natalya released herself from her pilot's harness and turned to him, an apology in her eyes. In that moment, Artemis knew exactly what was going to happen, but there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He didn't stand a chance against the Russian girl even on the best of days, but certainly not when he was still strapped into the co-pilot's chair.

Natalya took a quick step towards him and buried her fist in his stomach. Artemis cried out, instantly winded. He tried to raise a hand to protect himself, but Natalya was already on top of him, pinning his arms with her thighs and wrapping a hand around his throat. Artemis tried to gasp for breath, but Natalya's grip was like iron. It didn't take long for him to surrender to unconsciousness.

A/N: In accordance with the whole alternative to TLG thing I've got going on here, the escape from the Nebula Facility was (at least in part) inspired by TLG, specifically the bit where Holly smashes up an LEP shuttle port trying to manoeuvre the Cupid through it during a lockdown. I even borrowed a few lines from Colfer for authenticity, just like with the conversation between Holly and Arty before he tries to sacrifice himself. Speaking of which, I hope you enjoyed that from Artemis's POV. I hope that I got his response to Holly admitting that she loves him right and that his thoughts felt in character.

Anyway, as I said in the author's note at the start, this was one of the most fun chapters I've written. I really enjoy writing Natalya (probably in part because she's my character rather than anyone else's), and writing her and Artemis as a team was interesting to say the least. I'd love to hear what you thought! Tell me I suck at proofreading or whatever, I don't really mind, I just like hearing from you guys :)

-Kio