Goldie: Yay! I wrote another chapter! There may be a lot of mistakes in this one, though. I wrote it while I was very tired, but right now I don't feel up to correcting it.
Holly: You're so lazy.
Goldie: Yeah, whatever. Didn't you have a message for the reviewers, Holly?
Holly: Oh, right. I almost forgot. Okay, here it comes: THERE WILL NOT BE A PAIRING WITH ARTEMIS AND I! NOT NOW, NOT EVER! BECAUSE THAT'S JUST DISGUSTING! Thank you for your attention.
Goldie: Well, Holly, I can't guarantee that I won't make an A/H pairing in another fic, but...
Holly: WHAT!? (Points gun at Goldie)
Goldie: Damn.. Oh well.. Enjoy this. By the way, I'm really sorry that my chapters are so short, I know it sucks. I'm simply unable to make them longer.
Chapter 10 – A narrow escape
LEP prison –Haven City – Year 2116
"Here!" Holly said, and raised her arm. In her hand was a small, white card. She went over to Artemis' cell door, and unlocked it. Then she also unlocked Foaly's door. He looked very tired, plagued and skinny and she almost didn't recognize him. Like Artemis, his body was strewn with wounds and scars. Still he smiled as he saw his old friend.
Holly attempted to smile back. "So Foaly. Do you think you can fix that time machine, so I can get back and prevent all this?"
She saw the old spark in his eyes again. The spark that always came, when he was challenged.
"Of course I can!" he said, and in spite of the serious situation, he sounded a bit offended. Nothing could obviously affect that centaur's pride.
"Now the next problem will be to get back to the operation's booth, without being noticed," Trouble said.
Holly sighed. "That'll be hard. We have to make a plan." She looked at Artemis. This used to be his area. He nodded. "I'll try to figure something out."
"Great. Trouble, help him. I would like to ask Foaly some questions." She turned her attention to Foaly. "For example who made those mesmer-chips? Artemis said that Richter isn't very technical, he can't have made something like that."
"It was Opal Koboi," Foaly said. "She made them for him."
Holly was confused. "Yeah, she got her freedom not long time before Richter showed up. But why does he need your help? If he has Opal?"
After a while, Foaly answered. "He killed her. Right after he had won the battle, he killed her. He already had lots of chips, enough for the whole city. He didn't need her anymore. So he killed her."
Foaly's face was dark as he told her. He had hated Opal Koboi, but still he seemed to feel horrible about the way she had died.
Holly placed a hand on his shoulder. "He really is a monster," she whispered.
"We need a plan," Holly said and from habit she looked at Artemis. The starved young man's blue eyes glowed a little at the sight of his old friend's trustful glance.
"I think that it is essential to win some time, so that Foaly can fix the time machine," Artemis said, after considering their possibilities. "If Holly gets back to her own time she can make sure that none of this ever happens, so it doesn't matter what…" he gulped nervously. "What happens to me and Major Kelp."
Everyone fell completely silent as they realized what Artemis had just said.
"Are there no other options?" Holly whispered. However, Artemis didn't even have to answer. She could see the answer in his eyes.
She swallowed and made a decision. "So," Holly said. "What we need is a very good diversion, right?"
Artemis nodded. "There is normally only one or two guards inside the supervision room, so if Trouble and I are able to make them leave their post, Holly and Foaly can get to the Operation's booth unseen. Then we'll just have to hope that we can divert the other guards long enough for you to fix the machine and send Holly back.
There are two exits from the prison. We'll take the one that doesn't lead to the Operation's booth. It goes right by the supervision room. That should give you two a free passage, at least for a while."
The four friends looked at each other. Trouble drew hid weapon. "Okay, mud man," he said. "Let's go."
"Good luck," Holly muttered.
The others just nodded stiffly.
"I'll see you in the past," Artemis said to Holly. Trouble quickly gave her a kiss on the cheek. Then they left.
Holly and Foaly waited for a while. Then they heard the sound of an alarm and of scuffle in Artemis' and Trouble's direction.
"Now," Holly said, and the two of them ran in the opposite direction, towards the Operation's booth.
Police Plaza corridor –Haven City – Year 2116
Trouble and Artemis sneaked through the corridor waiting for someone to notice them. They didn't have to wait for a long time. When they had almost reached the door of the supervision room, the loud, strident hoot of an alarm was penetrating the air around them and a couple of guards appeared from the supervision room.
Once again Trouble found himself standing in front of his own past-I, only this time his past-I was mesmerized, armed to the teeth and wanted to kill him.
After hesitating for a couple of seconds he knocked his past-I out with a burst of laser from his Neutrino. He looked over at Artemis. The mud man was removing a weapon from the other unconscious guard, who he had just floored with a punch in the face. Trouble was impressed. Being in prison has obviously toughened him up a little. True, the guard was pretty small, even for a pixie, but still…
Trouble's thoughts were interrupted by a big group of guards, running towards them. He adjusted the power level on his gun, and started shooting as many guards as possible. Next to him Artemis did the same.
Police Plaza –Operation's booth –Haven City – Year 2116
Holly quickly entered the Operation's booth and Foaly galloped after her.
"So," Holly said when Foaly had been examining the Timetraveller 5000® for a while. "Can you fix it? I need to go back to before Commander Root was killed."
Foaly almost answered her with an offended snort, but then he came to think about the seriousness of the situation.
"Of course I can. If I can just find my tools..." The centaur rummaged about in some drawers and finally found what he was looking for: An odd-looking tool box, covered in something that looked like tin foil.
"Hurry up, will you Foaly?" Holly said after a while. She could hear the scuffle and the sound of running guards coming closer and closer. The centaur just muttered something and wiped some sweat off his forehead.
She could see the guards now. Trouble was running in front of them, trying to shoot as many as possible without being hit himself. Artemis was nowhere to be seen.
Holly swallowed as the guards seemed to spot the two friends in the Operation's booth. One of them was successful in hitting Trouble in the chest with a laser beam. She couldn't tell if it was lethal, and she forced herself not to think about it now.
It only took the guards a couple of seconds to reach the Operation's booth. Now they were hammering on the panes and it was only a matter of time before they'd break through; the security system in the Operation's booth had been switched off many years ago.
"Foaly…" Holly wailed desperately.
"It's working!" Foaly yelled. His fingers danced over the small keyboard of the time machine and the portal opened just as the first guard broke through the glass wall.
"Hurry up, Holly! Get into the portal!"
Holly jumped into the big, blue hole in the air. The last thing she saw was a bright red laser beam hitting Foaly between the eyes.
Goldie: I'd still like some reviews.. :)
Holly: But keep them sober.. No more of that crazy A/H talk!
Goldie: Holly, they can say whatever they want.
Holly: Shut up, mud girl, or I'll blow your head off..
Goldie: Gulp.. O.ô
