Ladies and gentlemen, after a long delay (a year, no less), I bring you the most exciting chapter ever! OK, so maybe not, but I like it. Anyway, enjoy, those of you who haven't completely forgotten about this story.

(N.B. Those of you who don't like the A/H pairing, you might not like the end of this bit very much... You've been warned. No cliffhangers, though, so you can rest easy.)

Warning: Slightly graphic violence ahead.

Chapter 13. – By Fair Means or Fowl

By the rock face, Haven

Just as everyone heard Artemis' cry, a deafening explosion rang out over Haven. The central explosive had exploded, setting off the smaller explosives around it. However, this blast did not completely destroy the rock, only leaving large cracks across the wall.

Holly was the first to recover from the blast, and went to check if any of the warlocks had been hurt. Artemis, on the other hand, picked himself up and dusted himself down first, before going to No1. He crouched down beside the imp, who was rubbing his head.

'Are you alright?' asked Artemis, worried. No1 nodded, and got to his feet. He raised his eyes towards the damaged rock face, which was still intact.

'Why isn't the water rushing in?' asked the young warlock. Before Artemis could answer, however, another deafening sound was heard, this time from the cracks themselves, which were steadily buckling under the pressure of the sea behind it. Artemis knew they had very little time.

'Everybody get ready! The wall will collapse at any second!' shouted Artemis, while searching out Holly among the crowd of warlocks. He found her helping Baldiran to his feet, and beckoned her over.

'We need to follow Sool's ship back to his ark,' he said to Holly. 'Can you carry me as you fly?'

Holly nodded, and said, 'Just grab onto my moonbelt. I won't try the stunt we did over Ireland, only because this is a serious situation, but on any other day…' They both smiled briefly, but immediately resumed their composure. Meanwhile, chunks of rock had begun to fall from the wall, while the cracks grew louder and louder; Artemis completed his checks, and wished the warlocks good luck, before resuming his position by Holly.

They all watched as water began to trickle through the wall, the sound of the cracks growing steadily, until…

With a tremendous crash, the rock face gave way to the wall of water behind it, and a tidal wave of unforgiving water crashed through the gap. Jagged pieces of rock flew violently in all directions, and thousands of gallons of seawater rushed behind it like a pack of starved wolves at prey.

As a group, the warlocks took a deep breath, gathered as much magic as they could from their very depths, and directed it at the oncoming water. This sudden surge of power stopped the water dead, and although some water had crashed through, the damage was minimal. While half the warlocks concentrated on keeping the water back, the other half began rebuilding the rock face by lifting up the fallen pieces of rock and placing them at the opening, sealing them there with magic - this would make the wall stronger than it had been before. With gritted teeth, No1 kept his flow of magic constant as the force of the water sapped at his strength. He glanced over to his mentor, Qwan, who seemed to be struggling under the pressure, and placed his hand on the old warlock's shoulder, transferring some of his magic. Qwan nodded his thanks to his apprentice, and returned to the task at hand with renewed vigour.

Meanwhile, Sool watched in disbelief and horror as his plan was thwarted before his very eyes. 'No, no, NO!' he screamed, smashing his cane on the control panel. Frond also looked on silently, in awe, as the wall of water seemed to hang there, rushing at an invisible barrier.

'This can't be happening,' fumed Sool. 'The plan was flawless! No one under the earth could have…' He suddenly stopped, and slowly turned to Frond.

'You…' he muttered, as he suddenly grasped her neck and lifted her off her feet. Frond couldn't scream; she could barely breathe, and was staring in terror at Sool.

'If you hadn't been so careless, Kelp and the LEP would've never found out, and this plan would be going flawlessly. But because of YOU,' he repeated, tightening his grip. 'Your slip led to the involvement of that Mud Boy Fowl, who is the one factor I never considered when I formulated this plan!'

Frond stared into Sool's eyes, silently begging for forgiveness. She could sense his mind calculating, wondering whether to kill her or to keep her for later. Just as suddenly as he had grabbed her, he let her go, where she crumpled to a wheezing heap onto the floor, while he turned to the controls of the shuttle.

'I'll deal with your later, my dear,' he said coldly, a vicious smile playing on his lips. 'But as of this moment, I want to be as far away from all this as possible.'

As the shuttle turned and began to fly away, Holly was already flying directly beneath it, with Artemis hanging on to her moonbelt. To make things easier, he was secretly using his magic to propel himself along with her, but thankfully Holly hadn't noticed.

'Don't lose it!' shouted Artemis into Holly's ear, as the shuttle picked up speed. Meanwhile, the roar of the water behind them was deafening.

'I won't…' muttered Holly between gritted teeth, and kept her body as streamlined as possible as she struggled to keep up with the shuttle above them. 'We're not far from the chutes! We don't have to go much further!' she shouted back at Artemis.

0 0 0 0 0

Disused chute E3-54

True to her word, they were soon in a disused chute, and the shuttle seemed to be slowing down, as the duo struggled to catch up. In the shuttle, Sool pushed a button on the side of his watch, and the Ark of Triumph seemed to appear out of nowhere in all its luxurious glory.

'Aah,' sighed Sool. 'At least I can spend the rest of my life in luxury as I plan the demise of Haven and that infuriating Mud Boy, Fowl. Provided the damn demons haven't completely destroyed the interior, of course.'

He lowered the ship onto the deck, and as he stepped onto the deck, he spotted Holly and Artemis flying towards them. His rage reignited, he glared at Frond who had stepping out behind him, and snarled, 'Prove you're still of any worth to me. Shoot them down.'

Frond nodded, willing to do anything to ensure her survival, and took out her Neutrino. She sneered as she saw Holly, the elf she hated the most under the earth, flying towards the Ark. She went as close to the side of the Ark as she could, and took aim.

Meanwhile, Holly had realised what Frond was about to do.

'Artemis…' she whispered. 'I…'

However, before she could answer, a shot rang out in the empty chute.

0 0 0 0 0

A piercing scream echoed through the tunnel as Lily Frond, beautiful and deceptively brilliant, fell over the side of the Ark and to her death hundreds of metres below. Sool spun on his heel, and stared in disbelief as one of his closest accomplices fell to her death. 'How?...' was all he could manage. A sickening crunch signified her undignified end.

Holly, who had closed her eyes, felt no sudden pain; when she opened her eyes again and looked down to find no wound, she spotted Frond's broken body a long way down. The Captain was bewildered as she landed on deck, with Artemis behind her, until she spotted a familiar figure stepping out of the darkness.

'Trouble!' said Holly, unable to contain her surprise and happiness. He winked at her, then approached the former commander of LEPrecon.

'Ark Sool, you are under arrest for the attempted destruction of Haven, and the aiding of demons in their escape and attacks,' said Trouble, as he took out some handcuffs. Sool, who had been staring over the side of the ship, suddenly brandished his cane as a club and swung it against the side of Trouble's head. Taken by surprise, the Commander crumpled under the blow, and gnome turned to Artemis, who had stepped forward.

'You,' he snarled. 'Mud Boy. You may think you've defeated me, but I swear that I will return one day, and when I do, I suggest you have your affairs in order…' Having said this, he turned and opened the door into the Ark, where a group of demons were waiting behind it, led by Gristle.

'All of you!' Sool ordered. 'Kill the both of them!' He then tried to go through the gap between the demons to safety; however, the demons suddenly blocked his way, their eyes hard and unforgiving.

'What are you doing?' demanded the elf, a very small figure compared to the demons. 'Didn't you hear what I said? Kill them!'

'Oh, we heard you, little gnome,' replied Gristle, sneering. 'And we'll do exactly as you say, but later. Right now, we have unfinished business: you.'

Before Sool could reply, the demons were upon him, their rage stemming from his treatment towards them, tearing him apart. The final conspirator didn't even have a chance to scream, as pieces of his body were thrown overboard, until only his bloody head remained.

'I'll think I'll keep this as a trophy,' muttered Gristle, then remembered Artemis and Holly, frozen to the spot as they watched the remains of Sool being tucked into the demon's pouch. 'Oh yeah, we still have to sort out those two. I'll take the girl, the rest of you take the human.' The other demons, who didn't share Gristle's cunning, merely followed their leader's instructions, looking forward to tucking into the young prodigy's flesh.

Meanwhile, Gristle slowly approached Holly, licking his lips. 'You look good enough to eat, you do,' he said, leering. 'Why not make it easier for the both of us and not struggle?'

'I don't think so,' said Holly, slowly backing away and reaching for her Neutrino. Unfortunately, she had underestimated the demon; before she could draw, Gristle pounced on her, closing the gap between them and lifting her by her chest. She felt her ribs crack.

'Right along the jugular,' muttered Gristle, waving his claw in front of Holly's eyes. 'Nice and quick. No pain, no struggle. Leaves the flesh nice and tender…'

0 0 0 0 0

Holly closed her eyes for the second time that day, expecting death. Killed by a demon, she thought to herself. Who would've thought.

'Demon,' came a voice from behind Gristle. 'Any last words?'

Holly opened her eyes to see Artemis, unscathed and shimmering with magic, facing Gristle. The demon snarled, dropped Holly and turned towards the teenager.

'Last words?' chuckled Gristle, cracking his knuckles. 'Are you crazy, human?'

Artemis smiled his vampire smile, sending a chill down the demon's spine. 'Finished?' he asked, mockingly polite. His voice seemed to have a deep undertone, a voice of evil layered with his normal one. 'Good.' With that, he lifted Gristle off the floor with his mind, and flung him overboard. Holly watched in awe as Artemis then rushed over to help her up.

'Artemis, I…' said Holly, unable to speak. He shushed her, while checking her for wounds. She was astonished even further when she saw him heal any wounds he found, the blue sparks running down his finger and doing their magic.

Finally, when he was happy, he helped her onto her feet.

'Artemis,' she said, leaning against him. 'Your eyes. They're both blue.'

'Really?' asked Artemis, clearly fascinated by this development. He'd also regained his normal voice. 'I'll have to look into that later.'

'But…how?' asked Holly, regaining her balance. 'What you just did… You said you'd lost your magic when we came back!' Artemis looked down sheepishly, and said,

'I'm afraid I haven't been entirely truthful with you, Holly. I kept it a secret, in case it caused an uproar with the People. And anyway, I wanted to see the extent of my powers before I revealed them to you. It turns out to be a significantly more powerful than I imagined.'

Holly shook her head in amazement, then suddenly remembered the demons that had been sent after Artemis. 'What about the other demons?' she asked him. 'Did you throw them overboard too?' Artemis, chuckling, shook his head.

'No, I thought it would be more appropriate to… keep them occupied, as it were,' he said, as he stepped aside to reveal the rest of the demons. They were sitting on the deck, happily watching an episode of Teletubbies that Artemis had conjured up for them. 'I remembered watching an episode when I was young. I was appalled even by the mere concept of it, but it stuck to my mind, and it turned out to be useful later on.' Holly couldn't suppress a giggle as she spotted one of the demons clapping his hands and singing along.

'So,' said Holly, turning to Artemis once again. 'What now?'

'Well…' replied Artemis, gazing at the elf in his arms. 'We've probably got a while before the rest of the LEP arrive…' Holly sighed, and pulled away.

'Artemis, we can't,' said Holly, turning away. 'For one thing, you have Minerva to worry about, but more importantly…' She trailed off, struggling to find the courage to speak.

'I know,' said Artemis, running his fingers through his hair. 'Humans and fairies can't be in any sort of personal relationship. I'm sorry I even suggested it, Holly; it was foolish of me.'

Unknown to Holly, Artemis was struggling with the demon within him:

You know I can convince her! Let me out and you can be together forever!, it screamed. That's what you want more than anything else, and you know it!

NO!, he screamed back inside his head. It will only hurt Holly and I in the long run. I can't take this any further!

Before the darkness could reply, he pushed it deep down in his mind, keeping it there with magic. He looked up to see Holly, smiling sadly.

'I'm so sorry, Artemis,' she said, stroking his cheek. 'It's hard for me too, but I'm glad you agree with me. Can we still be friends?'

Artemis smiled back, and nodded. 'Of course,' he replied. 'We've been through too much together not to be.' He spread his arms, and Holly obliged, hugging him warmly. She looked up and saw his eye had changed colour again.

'Your eyes,' she whispered. 'They've gone back to normal.'

'I thought as much,' replied Artemis. 'I feel like my old self again. Back then I felt… otherworldly.'

Their reverie was broken when Trouble suddenly stepped up beside them, rubbing the rapidly forming bruise on the side of his head.

'Alright, you two,' grabbing their shoulders, grinning. 'Honeymoon's over. Holly, I want you to write up this incident a.s.a.p., and place the report on my desk by tomorrow. And Artemis, we need to get you home before any of the People return to find a Mud Boy in their city, next to all this water and debris. Who knows what they might come up with!'

There you have it. Threat averted. Of course, Artemis still has a lot of problems to face, but that's for another story. Two, in fact.

Now all that's left is the epilogue, and then you can be free! At least, until next time...