Ladies and gentlemen, I'm back.

Things finally start to heat up as Artemis comes down to Haven to team up with Section 8, while Sool and Frond begin preparations to initiate the flood of Haven. Hopefully, I'll get quite close to the end of the story by the New Year, maybe even finish it (fingers crossed)! Anyway, enjoy...

Chapter 9. – Arrival of the Cavalry

Tara, Ireland

Butler parked the Bentley behind a cluster of bushes so that it would not be seen, and stepped out of the car. He collected his bag of useful items, and followed Artemis towards the fairy fort.

To the normal eye, the fort looked just like any other bit of countryside, but Artemis knew that behind the grass and soil was a bustling, state-of-the-art fairy shuttle port. Artemis suddenly realized that the other fairies might see them, but he reassured himself that Holly would have made suitable arrangements. He hoped so, especially because Butler was coming too. The mere shadow of the massive bodyguard would frighten the fairies senseless.

They waited, watching the fort for any sign of opening. By this time, it was already pitch black, and so nobody apart from the protégé and his bodyguard saw a helmeted head suddenly pop out of the side of the hill. However, the silence was broken when Grub suddenly saw whom he was bringing down to Haven. He squealed, and if it hadn't been for Butler, would have fallen over and smacked his head on the metal floor. Artemis couldn't resist a quiet chuckle.

'Corporal Grub Kelp, I presume,' said Artemis, walking through the hologram and into the fort. 'What a pleasant surprise.' Grub tried to reply, but ended up gibbering.

'Y, you're… Artemis F,fowl,' he managed, then looked up at the massive Eurasian who had lifted him back onto his feet. 'And, and y'you're B,butler!'

'Enough of the introductions, I think,' said Artemis briskly, walking down the corridor. Butler nodded, pushing Grub along in front of him, who was still gibbering.

'I, I'm s,s,spposed t,to bring y,you two?' said Grub. 'Oh, g,gods…' Butler smiled.

'Don't worry, little one, I won't hurt you,' reassured Butler, pushing Grub along. 'We need to get to Haven, and it would appear that you're the only pilot suitable for the job!' Grub nodded, and tried to compose himself, although his serious face always fell when he glanced behind to see the Eurasian bodyguard.

The shuttle port seemed deserted, and Artemis smiled to himself. Holly, even in her rush, had thought this one through. Of course, having Trouble as the LEP commander must have made it much easier.

The group walked over to the shuttle ports, where a relatively large shuttle was waiting. Grub had sufficiently calmed down to speak normally.

'When Trub… I mean the commander told me to take this one, I thought I was taking a whole group of fairies,' he said, unlocking the door, making sure not to look up at Butler. 'I never thought it would be because I'd be bringing down two Mud Men to Haven!' Butler smiled sheepishly, but Artemis became impatient.

'Enough pleasantries, Corporal,' said Artemis, bending down to enter the shuttle. 'I suspect we have an emergency in our hands, and I do not want to waste time.' Grubs nodded, and after making sure his passengers were comfortable (to an extent for Butler), he hit the ignition, and they were off down to the bowels of the Earth once again.

0 0 0 0 0

Section 8 Headquarters, Haven

'Artemis is on his way,' announced Holly to the rest of the group. 'Let's hope he has a better plan than the rest of us.' Trouble and Foaly nodded; they had both come up with their own plans on how to combat the threat, and no matter how much they argued, they kept finding flaws in each other's arguments, and they were eventually reduced to silence; especially humiliating for Foaly. Vinyáya had watched the argument in amusement, and although she also her own ideas as to what to do, she was wise enough to keep her mouth shut.

'I've sent out an evacuation order to the Council, and hopefully they'll begin moving people out by the end of the day,' reported Vinyáya. 'The excuse is that we're doing more work to reinforce the rock face again.' Holly nodded, and looked at the 3D model of the specific section of Haven floating at the centre of the table. The buildings and the rock face were hovering in mid-air, a lattice of green lasers; the truth was, they still had no idea exactly when or how Sool was going to execute his plan. The only concrete facts they had were that the gnome planned to flood Haven by blowing up the rock face, and that somehow Mulch and Frond were involved. The pieces of the puzzle were laid before them, and all they needed to do now was to piece them together. Unfortuantely, they were missing the final and most important piece of the puzzle: the date of impact. They therefore had to be ready before Sool was, and needed a plan. This was the reason why Holly had called Artemis down to Haven in the first place; however, she also had a sneaking suspicion that he was hiding something big from the People.

'The section of the rock where it's thinnest is here,' said Holly, indicating with her finger. A glowing red circle appeared around her finger, attaching itself to the model. 'According to Foaly's calculations, Sool will need to attach a large explosive at the central point, and a ring of eight smaller explosives around it to achieve maximum impact. He also did a bit of research, and discovered that some powerful Semtex plastic explosives were stolen from a high security research lab in the Czech Republic a while ago, along with some ANFO explosives (1). We suspect that Sool will plant the Semtex in the centre connected to a detonator, and the ANFO in a ring around it. The Semtex should detonate the ANFO, effectively destroying the rock.'

'What if we could set up an explosive defusing kit behind a hologram of the rock?' asked Trouble. 'We could use those clay devices Foaly invented that dissolve the explosives into less hazardous components.' Foaly looked quite pleased that one of his latest inventions may be put to test in a real-life situation. However, Vinyáya shook her head.

'Foaly, you yourself said they would need to drill the explosives into the rock,' the Wing Commander pointed out. 'I think they'll notice if we planted an acidic clay defusion kit, especially because it'll dissolve their drills too.' The group fell into silence once again, apart from Foaly munching at a carrot which had somehow appeared out of nowhere.

0 0 0 0 0

VIP Shuttle Port, Haven

Lili Frond walked briskly down the corridor, wearing a long, plain overcoat and a hat to cover her face. She needed to escape Haven before the wheels of the plan were set in motion. However, there was no need to disguise herself, as the entire shuttle port seemed to be empty.

I wonder where everyone else is, wondered Frond, as she reached the private docks. She walked down to the farthest dock, where a relatively small shuttle sat. It was a sleek, dazzling black shuttle, and looked as if it would disappear in seconds. And much to Frond's delight, it had the ability to do just that.

She checked the security camera feed to check if anyone would see her departure, and to her surprise, she saw a large shuttle dock into one of the large bays. However, when she saw its passengers, she nearly fell off her chair.

'Fowl and Butler?' screamed Frond, and if it weren't for the soundproof walls of the cabin, Artemis would have heard it without a doubt. 'Why are they here?' She watched as they were led by Grub Kelp across the deserted arrivals hall, and through to the private exit. Once she was sure they were gone, she activated the shuttle and expertly manoeuvred the shuttle out of the port.

'Noah isn't going to like this,' she muttered, heading for the abandoned Koboi Enterprises factory.

0 0 0 0 0

To Grub's surprise, there was a large truck waiting in front of the private exit. When a burly elf stepped out of the vehicle, Grub walked up to him to protest; however, the moment the elf showed his Special Council Task Force badge, the corporal was silenced.

The elf led Artemis and Butler to the back of the vehicle without showing any signs of being startled by the giant man. Artemis admired the elf's professionalism, and wished that Grub would take a leaf from this elf's book, although he knew that it was hopeless. Once the two humans were seated, the silent fairy slammed the door shut, plunging them into darkness. Artemis could hear Butler rustling around in his bag, and soon a single beam of light penetrated the shadows.

'I'd rather we weren't completely blind, Artemis,' said Butler, taking out his Sig Sauer. 'I don't know about you, but I don't like the look of that elf.' Artemis chuckled.

'My friend, if that elf hadn't been given prior notice to your forthcoming, I'm sure he would have reacted in the same way Grub did,' answered Artemis. 'I very much doubt he is with the enemy, and even if he was, I doubt he'd be so calm.' Butler grunted, and holstered his weapon, but kept the torch on. He didn't relinquish the grip on his gun, either.

Artemis sat back, and marvelled at how smooth the ride was. Because the vehicle was hovering in mid-air, it felt as if they weren't moving at all.

I must check how these things work, thought Artemis. Once things have quietened down. I wonder how long it will take this time?

The elf drove for about ten minutes, then the truck came to a halt. Butler switched off the torch, and flicked the safety off his gun, just in case Artemis had been wrong. Luckily, the protégé's common sense hadn't failed him, and when the doors opened they found themselves looking at the vehicle bay of Section 8 Headquarters. The bay in itself was a marvel for Artemis, who had not yet heard about Section 8, but more was yet to come.

Artemis stepped out of the truck followed by Butler, and was led by the burly elf into a corridor lined with even more sophisticated security equipment than Artemis had ever dreamed of. Artemis was entranced, taking in every single detail.

'I see we have a lot to discuss, mud boy,' came a voice, as if its owner was standing right next to Artemis. The mastermind smiled towards one of the cameras.

'Indeed we do, Foaly,' answered Artemis. 'What exactly is this place?'

'All will be revealed soon…' answered the centaur in a mock mysterious voice. Artemis realised that they had come to the end of the corridor, and they were facing what seemed to be a giant mirror.

'Stick your hand in the wall, please,' instructed Foaly. 'We want your fingerprints, pulse rate, et cetera for later use.' Artemis obliged, and was startled when his hand plunged straight into the wall as if it were liquid. He heard Butler grunt something about the Matrix, and Artemis couldn't help but think whether if Foaly had gotten the idea from watching that particular film.

'Alright, that should be enough,' said Foaly, and the wall began to slide up. 'Welcome to Section 8 Headquarters!' And for Artemis, this was the most incredible sight of all.

(1) If you have absolutely no idea what I'm on about, type 'explosives' into Wikipedia, and scroll down a bit.

I thought this might be a good place to leave it, just as a little taster. From the next chapter onwards, we're gonna get serious...

Please review! I'll answer them, honest!