Chapter 10

Trouble tapped Holly on the shoulder and hugged her tightly as she turned towards him.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. She nodded, smiling.

"You?"

"Well, now I know why Root yelled so much." He smiled at her gently. "He worried."

Holly couldn't met his eyes. She broke free of his embrace and stepped backwards.

********************************************

Opal wasn't known for her marksmanship. The shot that she'd aimed for Artemis went wide, and she dropped the gun as several LEP officers ran towards her. It wasn't long before they caught her. She tried to hex two of the officers, missed (mainly because she was still shaking from shock and anger), and got buzzed several times by various officers wielding buzz batons. They cuffed her, and began dragging her back towards the LEP vehicles, only to stop dead in their tracks.

"No" whispered one of the team, eyes wide. Opal's shot had found a target, after all.

*************************************************

At first, no one noticed. Most of the Retrieval team took off after Opal, leaving Holly standing with Butler, Artemis, Trouble and Grub. Grub was looking towards the road, waiting for the paramedics, Trouble was talking to Butler, and Artemis was watching Opal attempt to hex the officers. He turned around to see Holly clutching her stomach. Red trickled out from between her fingers, and her eyes widened in pain.

"Holly!" he shouted. Butler and Trouble turned just in time to see Captain Short fall to her knees, Artemis beside her. She coughed, and blood spattered the front of her uniform.

Trouble ran to her side as she huddled over, vomiting more blood onto the wreckage of the labs.

"Heal it!" he yelled, frantic. It was Artemis who replied.

"She can't, she used the last of her magic to heal my arm."

His voice came out almost normal, despite the tears trickling down his face. His best friend was dying before his eyes, again, and he could do nothing to prevent it.

Trouble gently turned her so that she was lying on her back. She whimpered. It was all she could manage. He laid his hands over her wound, but his magic was more or less gone, too. She squirmed, making pained noises. Trouble and Artemis leaned over her, holding her still until the tremors stopped. She lay panting, eyelids flickering. Trouble shouted over his shoulder.

"Where is the D'Arvited ambulance?"

Grub, shaking all over, pulled out his phone and tried to contact the paramedics.

Artemis was talking to Holly, trying to keep her awake.

"Come on Holly, talk to me. You didn't come through all this just to give up at the end, now, did you? Talk to me, Holly!"

She muttered something. He had to lean close to hear what it was.

"Sorry, Arty."

"What for?"

"Mesmerizing you." She coughed. Artemis blinked to prevent more tears from spilling.

"It's ok. You did the right thing."

She made a noise somewhere between a whimper and a chuckle. Trouble put his hand under her cheek.

"Come on, Holly. Stay with me."

She blinked, trying to get him in focus.

"You're a great Commander, Trouble. Julius would be proud."

Trouble couldn't speak. He just nodded and squeezed her hand tightly. Her eyes closed, and she went limp. Artemis gave up the fight and wept openly. Trouble shook her. Her head lolled from side to side. He yelled at Grub, in a voice that broke several times.

"Where are the paramedics?"

"Stuck in traffic, Trubs. They say they're going to be at least another five minutes."

Butler put his hand on Artemis's shoulder, speaking gently to the sobbing boy.

"Maybe they can bring her back, like she did me."

Artemis shook his head. The time between the heart stopping and brain damage was four minutes. And this time, there were no handy freezers to prevent it. They were going to be a minute too late. Holly was gone.

Artemis glared through his tears at Opal. This was all her fault. Her and her stupid bio bomb…

Suddenly, it came to Artemis. Maybe there was a way to save Holly. It was improbably, certainly, but he didn't care. It might work, and that was all that mattered.

He forced himself to his feet and ran towards Opal as fast as he could. Every second counted. For a second, the officers considered stopping him - he looked like he might attack her. Then they remembered that the pixie had just killed a much respected colleague, and decided that she deserved everything that was coming to her.

Artemis pulled the Eternity Stone from Opals throat and ran back to Holly's side. He placed it on her chest, muttering 'please' under his breath. Trouble was too much in shock to really wonder what he was doing, but he decided to trust him. Artemis's plans usually worked. Usually.

********************************************

Holly lay still, enjoying the floating sensation. All the pain in her stomach was gone, and she felt as though she could lie here, like this, forever…

"Holly."

She opened her eyes. Looking down at her was Commander Root. He smiled, more gentle than she had ever seen him, and offered her his hand. She took it, and he hauled her to her feet. She looked around. They were standing in the middle of the Commander's office at Police Plaza.

"Julius? But you…"

He nodded, looking at her with sorrow in his eyes. Her own widened as she understood.

"I'm…"

Julius walked away from her, stroking the desk with his fingertips.

"I had planned on you taking the Commandership at some point. Maybe in a couple of centuries. You were one of the best officers I ever knew, Holly."

He looked up at her, smiled sadly, and faded away. She reached out for him, but the entire office vanished, only to be replaced by a very familiar looking living room. Holly whirled. Sitting on the settee were her parents. They smiled at her, and she threw herself into their embrace. They pulled back, tears glistening in their eyes. Her mother stroked her cheek gently.

"You get more beautiful every day." she murmured. Holly smiled. Her father cleared his throat, and she looked at him. He shook his head sadly.

"It's not your time, Holly. You joined us too soon."

She frowned.

"But, I want to be with you!"

He kissed her cheek tenderly. He was fading, just like Root had. She reached out, but her hand went straight through him. He smiled faintly.

"We love you, honey."

The world turned white.