Sorry I haven't updated in a while been busy. No matter here's the next chapter for those who are still reading it (without I wouldn't of got this far).

A mirror image

Holly had never eaten meat in her life. Alpha, Charlie and Commander Root had all lived so long under war conditions that most (if not all) moral values had gone including being picky on what they ate. And Artemis of course had no problem eating meat. But Holly…

Many times she tried to bring the cooked, slightly burnt meat to her lips but she just couldn't bring herself to bite into the greasy, glistening meat. It wasn't just the sight of it either. The smell made her retch (having no food to vomit). But what was worst was thinking about where it had come from. It was sickening to think that this had once been a creature that had lived and breathed just like she did now. How was it right that a creature should die so she could live?

Not for the first time she looked around searching for anything else to eat. But there was nothing. It was just a plain stretch of land with a few inedible shrubs. It had been lucky that they even had rabbits (but as Charlie pointed out "It was not luck but skill." Another by-product of war, she didn't believe in any God or in luck.). She looked at the rest of the group. Charlie was gobbling down her food as if she hadn't eaten in years. In contrast Commander Root was eating his meal as if savouring it, while Alpha ate like everything else he did. Calmly, methodically and not a flicker of emotion graced his face. Holly looked at Artemis he too was eating calmly and methodically but not in the same way as Alpha. His brow was creased and he looked troubled. Artemis was the smartest person Holly knew. He was smarter than Foaly and much smarter than she was (though she would never admit it). But something had definitely stumped him as his eyes looked as if he was a million miles away while his lips bit into the rabbit. She wouldn't mind kissing those lips. Kissing him passionately and then he would sink his wonderful lips further down…

Artemis suddenly looked up and Holly, realizing she had been staring quickly, looked away her gaze instead landing upon her uneaten dinner.

"I didn't just think that." She thought. "Not about Artemis. He took me hostage for goodness sake." But these sounded very hollow even inside her own head. She had long ago forgiven him and almost forgotten it altogether.

While she had been daydreaming her appetite had vanished, now it seemed to come back worse than ever. She sighed and tried to concentrate just how hungry she was. Again she raised her food to her lips and again she lowered it. The others were starting to notice now they had finished their murderous meal.

"What's wrong Holly?" said Charlie.

"It's a fairy thing," Said Commander Root. "Before the war most fairies were vegetarian. Come on soldier. Food is fuel."

Holly didn't look up while this was being said.

"Holly," said Charlie hesitantly. "Not eating it won't change anything."

Holly continued to stare down at her food.

"Don't you have anything to say Alpha?"

Alpha said nothing for a while before shaking his head.

"Have it your way then," Root growled to Alpha. Turning to Holly. "Come on eat up. That's an order."

Holly had never been very good at orders it was one of the things that had nearly made her promoted.

She continued to stare at her food like a misbehaving child. Then she felt an arm around her shoulder. Looking up she saw that it belonged to Artemis, which sent goose bumps all over her that had nothing to do with the meat.

"Holly," said Artemis in a low voice that sent Holly's mind reeling. "You need your strength. Especially as we are about to take on Opal's fortress."

Holly was still uncertain however. Artemis seemed to realise this as he then whispered in her ear.

"For me, please."

Holly could never remember him ever asking her like that before. Looking back she would always say this was the moment she finally realised that she would do anything for Artemis. She just hoped that Artemis didn't know it. Instead she said.

"You can't make me do anything." Having said that she then bit into the meat.

Even though the meat was fresh and had been cooked very well it still made her want to retch, but she swallowed it and continued to eat. The others started to disperse. Alpha was swinging the tonfa around practicing while Charlie and Root sparred (which was unfair as Charlie was nearly a meter taller than Root), but Artemis stayed doing nothing apart from taking his arm off Holly. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or sorry about this. She watched the fire beginning to burn down and the dark started creeping in. Artemis and Holly remained quite neither knowing quite what to say or whether they wanted to talk about last night. In actual fact they both missed their opportunity. The fire blew itself out and the darkness became complete apart from the stars overhead and they all retired to the ship, Alpha taking first watch. Both Holly and Artemis thinking about each other and how they would tell the other.

The next day the blue dot led them on. It led them over wide valleys and over great mountains, past enormous clouds and all the while the sun burnt down upon the pod. It turned out that Alpha had taken the whole night watch and although this wasn't unusual (according to Charlie and Root) he looked as alert and ready as if he had slept for a week. Artemis looked out the window to see them passing over a ruined village and even though the attack had happened a long time ago the deathly white skeletons made his skin crawl and he resolved not to look out the window again. Instead he busied himself with the computer and even though his fingers rolled over the Gnommish keypad with ease and he read every word on the screen his mind wasn't really into it. He was thinking about Holly. Plagued by the same questions as last night during dinner.

Did Holly feel the same as he did?

Should he risk their friendship on asking her?

Should even feel like this for her?

The sudden slowing of the ship interrupted his thoughts. Looking up he saw through the window a gigantic mountain. What was more was that the marker was hovering over where the mountain was on the radar. Opal was inside the mountain. Commander Root was quick to react.

"Quick, take us into those trees." Said Commander Root pointing towards the base of the mountain. "She mustn't see us before we see her."

Alpha obliged and before long they were covered by the thick trees and hopefully out of Opal's sight. Charlie scanned the area with varied sensors from the ship while Alpha went out to do his own scanning (for he trusted his own senses over a machines).

Ten minutes later the scanning was complete. Charlie ripped off a stream of paper that came from the laser printer while they all (apart from Alpha) sat round a small table.

"OK," she addressed to the room at large. "The mountain is hollow but is thick enough to distort most of are scans so I couldn't get a inside plan. However there are high levels of metal concentration, someone is in there, but even with fairy technology this sort of structure would've taken months to build. The forest we are in has a low amount of life in it but on the plus, no traps or cameras." It didn't sound like a plus the way she said it.

"Is there any way in?" asked Holly.

"Only one, at the top of the mountain which acts like a chimney giving off large amounts of steam and sulphur dioxide."

"Sulphur dioxide?" said Artemis an alarmed note in his voice that he quickly tried to stifle.

"What's wrong with sulphur dioxide?" asked Root tensing in his seat.

"Sulphur dioxide is given off by various man-made industrial processes." Said Charlie cheerfully; Root seemed to relax a bit leaning back in his seat.

"Oh and its also given off by active volcanoes." She added, even more cheerfully. At these words Root tilted a little too far on his seat and ended up crashing on the floor. An unpleasant curse came up from what could be seen of Root. When he was back in his seat he positively snarled.

"So you're telling me we've camped at the base of an active volcano."

Charlie nodded with a broad smile on her face.

"And unless we think up a better plan, we're going to have to lower ourselves into the volcano." Root continued dreading the worse.

"Yep, I'm sure this Opal Koboi won't mind us dropping in." Sounding happier than if she had won the lottery.

"Has she got a death wish or something?" Holly whispered to Artemis while Root muttered something that sounded like. "This just gets better and better."

Artemis grinned then said to Charlie. "Is the volcano giving off any large amounts of heat?"

Charlie's cheerfulness vanished like snow in an oven. She suddenly looked very disappointed, like a kid who gets a lump of coal for Christmas.

"No" she said quietly.

"Then it is probably given off by Opal making machines."

Charlie was about to answer when a dull clunking sound came from outside getting nearer.

It turned out to be Alpha who came in with a trap, one of those old fashioned painful traps that snap onto a creature's leg when it is stepped on. It was obvious that it had made the clunking sound. What was more surprising was that it was still on Alpha's leg. He had obviously walked in it for a long time as a lot of blood was around the teeth of the trap. Despite this Alpha showed no sign of pain and only took the trap off when he sat down, removing it with ease and then chucking it onto the table.

"Well, so much for no traps." Holly said staring with slight disgust at the lump of metal on the table.

"A bit drastic perhaps Alpha?" remarked Charlie. Alpha just shrugged.

"Did you see it?" said Root. Alpha merely nodded.

"Why did you step on it then?" asked Artemis.

"It was in the way."

Then Artemis said. "Why didn't you take it off?"

"It saved me having to carry it."

Artemis blinked, then looked at Charlie and Root who seemed totally unconcerned.

"Has the whole world always been like this?" he asked Holly in an undertone.

"Look at his leg." She replied.

Artemis looked and already the wound had scabbed over. He decided to ignore it.

"So what did you find out Alpha?" Holly asked.

"Few animals, no cameras, a very hollow mountain and many new traps."

And, sure enough looking at it more carefully Holly saw that the trap was not only rust free it seemed to be oiled regularly too.

Holly looked up to ask if he had seen anyone. But he shook his head as if reading her mind.

"Not a soul."

Artemis massaged his temples. A plan was already formulating itself in his mind but he would need to think about it and there were many risks as well. He glanced at Holly who seemed deep in thought as well. He quickly looked away. He needed to concentrate and his hormones weren't making things easier. Not just that but a worm of guilt was writhing about as well. Could he really ask Holly to do such a thing?

"Well unless something expected happens there's no other way." Artemis thought miserably. Usually concocting a plan made him feel charged. Not this time. It just made him feel worried and nervous. He woke up out of his reverie to see the entire table watching him. This didn't make him feel any better so he announced that he was going for a walk. Taking his tonfa guns he walked out of the ship and walking only a short distance away so he could still see the ship shining gold in the setting sun, it wouldn't do to get lost. He sighed and lay back against a nearby tree feeling the wet moss through his suit before he started to think in more detail about his plan.

Whether ten minutes past or an hour he didn't know but suddenly he heard footsteps and looking up he saw they belonged to Alpha. The sun had really set now and it was so dark he could only see Alpha's eyes which seemed to shine with an inner light. Artemis stood up his plan was complete anyway.

"Did you come to get me Alpha?"

He nodded.

"Who sent you?"

But Alpha merely shook his head and started to lead him back to the ship. Walking beside him he thought just how emotionless Alpha was and if the vampirism had done it. He knew some considered him emotionless but next to this tall, silent figure he was an emotional wreck.

Suddenly Alpha grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. Rubbing his neck now Artemis looked up at Alpha.

"What you do that for?" he demanded.

As an answer Alpha kicked up some moss kicking it a step or two ahead of Artemis. There was a snap and where there had been moss a trap had been exposed, the same type Alpha had brought back. Artemis was surprised at Alpha's sight. Even in the light he wouldn't of been able to see the trap.

"Er, thanks." Artemis said looking at where his leg would've been. Alpha merely shrugged. Stepping gingerly around the trap they carried on walking to the ship. They were about a meter or two away from the ships hatch when Alpha grabbed him again. Artemis kicked some moss in his path but no trap snapped. Looking at Alpha he saw him standing as still stone eyes darting among the trees while his ears wiggled obviously trying to hear something. But it was his face that really scared Artemis. Instead of his usual blank features his face held the same expression of fear it had worn when Artemis had asked about the symbol on the guns. Drawing his tonfa now he span around taking in the whole clearing. Touching his own weapons he felt the symbol beneath his hand. He couldn't be here. Not now. Artemis was not a religious person; he had seen a bit too much to believe in one. But at that moment he prayed to all of them at once that it wasn't who he thought it was.

"Not HIM" he thought desperately.

Suddenly Alpha's eyes stopped darting fixing on a certain point. He seemed to relax a bit before throwing both his tonfa boomerang fashion. There was a loud THUD and an "Ow".

Artemis recognized that voice. But all he cared about at the moment was that it wasn't who he thought it was. He sighed and then behind the ships lights shone at the place where the "Ow" had come from lighting up a figure against a tree. His arms were up but he couldn't help that. Alpha's tonfa had embedded themselves on the cloth under his armpits and then into the tree behind the person.

Looking up the person saw Alpha and smiled. "You always were the best shot Alpha." He looked at his armpits. "Not a spot of blood, and in the dark too. I congratulate you." Now Artemis could see his face he recognized it at once. The man looked at Artemis and grinned. "I see you managed break the wall between the worlds, Hello Artemis."

Artemis stared back. He had expected this; even so it still gave him a shock to look back at his mirror image.

"I'm Artemis." The man continued.

So Artemis has met himself in another world (all right its clichéd don't kill me). What plans has this Artemis got? And what plan has our Artemis got? Find out next chapter. Please Review.

P.S. I don't have anything against religions or vegetarians. I was just using it to express the fear and the loyalty involved.