A/N: Sorry this took a little longer to upload than planned! However, I am now completely with exams (no more chemistry ever! :D) so I should be good to update at a reasonable pace. And thank you so much for the support on the first chapter, it means the world to me!
As promised, this chapter sheds a little light on Artemis's situation, and a little more action from Holly. Super significant plot related stuff commences next chapter. Anyway, enjoy.
-Kio
Chapter 2; Lost
Location Unknown, Present Day
The boy still didn't know who he was. A part of him had expected the memories to return on their own after a few minutes, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen.
He looked around himself for the umpteenth time since gaining consciousness, but the beautiful scenery held no more answers than it had the last time. He thought he recognised the mountains in the distance as the Alps – not that he could explain where that knowledge came from – but that was the only clue as to his location.
On the grass next to him lay the only two personal possessions he had been able to find, both retrieved from the same pocket. One was a handwritten note bearing a series of numbers – what they meant, he could only guess – and the other was a coin with a small hole in the centre, attached to a simple leather necklace. He didn't recognize the design on the coin, but as soon as he had laid eyes on it, he had known it was of immense importance to him.
If only I could remember…
He gazed at his reflection in the shimmering surface of the lake before him. An odd-looking boy stared back. Dichromatic eyes – a curious anomaly – framed by shoulder-length raven hair that looked as if it hadn't had more than a cursory rinse in more than a month. His skin was pale, unhealthily so. A mess of bristles decorated his chin.
Alongside a pair of ill-fitting jeans, he was wearing a dirty black t-shirt with a winged skull and the words Avenged Sevenfold – whatever that meant –printed on it. Something told him that the clothes weren't his, and he had a feeling that he would have felt much more comfortable in a suit.
And then there was that… thing at the back of his mind. That odd sensation that didn't feel like it quite belonged there, as though he was sharing his head space with someone else. It wasn't as defined as a voice; something more akin to an idea. An idea that wasn't his. A suggestion he couldn't quite pin down.
The boy shook his head. It wasn't something he could describe, not really. It was too abstract, too nebulous. The more he tried to focus on it, the more it seemed to shy away, as though it refused to be examined. No words could quite do it justice, like it transcended something as mundane as language.
Frustrated, he got slowly to his feet, initially struggling to maintain his balance. Co-ordination didn't seem like it came naturally to him, especially with no memory of having ever stood up before. Once he was confident that he could do so without falling over, he stooped to pick up the coin and the note.
He looked out again at the world he had found himself in. There was no visible sign of civilisation. It started to dawn on him how alone he truly was. He suddenly felt very small against the towering maintains that dominated the horizon. Fear that had been so far kept at bay by curiosity took hold. He had no friends, no family, no money, and no idea what to do.
He didn't even have a name.
Unbidden, his fist closed around the coin in his hand, the rough metal digging into his skin. He'd known at once that it was special, but it now seemed to take on a new significance. The only thing he owned in the whole world. Alongside the note, his one link to whatever past he may have had. He opened his hand and turned it over in his fingers, drawing what comfort he could from the simple motion.
If only I could remember…
He looked again at the note, trying to find something familiar in the numbers scrawled there. A five caught his eye. He found it oddly comforting.
What does it mean?
His writing? Someone else's? Did it even matter?
What does it mean?
Perhaps it was a phone number. Perhaps it was a code. Perhaps it was a grid reference. There was no way to him to know.
He didn't trust the note, not for a second. In fact, he didn't trust anything about this new world of uncertainty he had found himself in. But it was better than nothing. He realised that he didn't much care if investigating the number felt like a risk. It was all he had. A single chance to find out who he was. Surely that was worth any risk.
That's all very well, said a sardonic voice in his head, any plan on how to actually achieve that?
The boy took one last look at the jagged line of mountains. Where before the distant peaks had simply been scenery, now they felt strangely ominous. He didn't have anything as sophisticated as a plan; all he wanted was to get away from here.
"No," he said aloud. "No, I don't have any idea what to do. And I'm afraid. But I'm not just going to stand here and do nothing.
He turned away from the mountains and started walking, an echo of his past internally smiling at his determination.
Haven City, The Lower Elements
Holly had hoped she would feel better after a good night's sleep. Perhaps she would have done, if she had actually had one, instead of drifting in and out of consciousness, dreams invaded by a shadow with two swords.
She'd given up after a few hours. The elf's words kept on echoing around her head until she could ignore them no longer.
"She was quick. Like nothing I've ever seen. And strong… but she had two swords as well."
No. She's dead. I saw the explosion, and she was there, I know she was. Nothing could have survived.
Holly shook her head, trying to pull herself together. Look at me, lying awake, afraid of a phantom. This is ridiculous.
Is it? said another voice in her head. Who else could it be?
Not her! She's dead. And dead people don't come back.
You did, it pointed out. You came back to life on Hybras.
That was different!
Why? her other side asked nastily. Because it was Artemis's doing? He was there, he was with her. And he's achieved miracles before.
Even if he could, why would he ever save Natalya?
Come on, Holly. This isn't about her. It was never about her.
"Shut up," she said aloud. "Just leave me alone, alright?"
She didn't want to think about it. Natalya was dead, that much she was sure of. She'd seen the explosion with her own eyes. She couldn't be back. It simply wasn't possible. Because if Natalya was alive, then there was a chance that…
No. It was impossibly unlikely. She didn't dare to let herself hope. If she did, when it turned out she was wrong, it would be like losing him all over again.
In the end, she did the only thing she seemed able to. She ignored it, leaving far earlier for work than her normal self would ever have dreamed. There would a mission available for her, she knew there would. There were always spare missions these days. She would find something nice and intense to take her mind off things.
The elf was surprised when she made it Police Plaza. It seemed she had managed to beat the crowds that invariably congregated outside to protest the supposed injustices of the LEP. Recently, the demonstrators had taken to demanding the release of fairies arrested for attacks on the surface. Martyrs, they called them. The brave fairies willing to do what the LEP was too weak to. It made Holly feel ill.
She frowned as she walked the last distance to the entrance. She hadn't seen anywhere in Haven this quiet in the last month. Were things finally calming down? She almost laughed aloud at that suggestion. Of course they weren't. No, this was something else. As if the whole city was holding its breath. It was unsettling. She made a mental note to talk to K'Azir about it when she got a chance.
Once inside the LEP headquarters, her main objective was to find Foaly, but she needn't have tried. The centaur had apparently had a similar idea, greeting her as soon as she was inside.
"Holly! Why the long face?" he asked, apparently unaware of the irony.
The elf tried to rearrange her miserable features into something a little more cheerful, but she wasn't sure how successful she was. She gave Foaly a little shrug, as if to say why not?
"Listen, Holly. I spoke to Galadhon, he told me about what happened on the surface."
Holly was torn. In truth, the reason she had been seeking Foaly out in the first place was to talk about exactly that, but now that it came to it, she wasn't sure she wanted to. All of a sudden, her earlier plan to find a difficult and dangerous mission to distract her sounded very attractive.
"Don't you see, Holly?" Foaly continued excitedly. "If Natalya's alive, then Artemis might be as well!"
"No, I don't see," she snapped back, knowing it wasn't fair to take her frustration out on Foaly, but not really caring. "If Natalya is alive. We have absolutely no evidence she is. And even if she was, that doesn't in any way mean that Artemis is. If either of them had a way out, why would they save the other?" She shook her head. "Sorry, Foaly. You're chasing a ghost."
She expected indignation in response to her uncharitable tone, but her friend did something she did not expect. He gave her a look of pity that almost broke her heart.
"Why are you so afraid of the possibility he could be alive?" he asked softly. "I know it's a slim hope, but it's a hope nonetheless. Don't you want him back?"
Holly clenched her fists. "Of course I bloody do!" she said, her voice a little louder than she had intended. A few LEP officers gave them an odd look. "Of course I do," she hissed, her voice quieter but no less hostile. "But I'm not going to start believing he is just because someone might have seen someone who looks like someone else that was with him when he died."
Foaly gave her an odd look, but didn't say anything. She took a deep breath before continuing.
"I let him go, Foaly," she said quietly. "I let him go. It was the most painful thing I have ever had to do. It almost broke me. I don't think I could do it again."
Foaly cast his gaze down to the floor. Now that he fully understood why Holly was refusing to hope, it filled him with sadness. He had been upset when Artemis died, very much so. Of course he had. He had lost a good friend. But the effect on Holly had been something else. He didn't think he had fully appreciated quite how much the Mud Boy had meant to her until he was gone.
Once so much larger than life, Holly had been like a shell since Artemis's death. It was only now that he realised that he wasn't so ready to believe that Artemis was alive just because he wanted the Mud Boy back; he wanted Holly back too. The old Holly.
"Captain Short!"
The shout dragged the two from their thoughts. Holly spun to see K'Azir striding towards her.
"Commander," she said, offering a hurried salute.
K'Azir waved the gesture away. "You shouldn't be here, Holly. You need rest."
"With respect, sir, I'm fine. And you need all the fairies you can get right now."
"Mission capable fairies," he corrected. "You'll be no use to anyone if you carry on like this."
"I'm more than mission capable, sir," said Holly, rather resenting the implication that she wasn't able to do her job.
"Today, perhaps. But not for much longer at this rate. Foaly pointed out that you've been working far too hard recently, and I'm inclined to agree. You need to take a break."
Holly turned to face her friend, murder in her eyes. "Did he now?" she asked, her voice low and dangerous.
Foaly took an unconscious step back. "Hey, you know what?" he said. "I just remembered I have this thing I need to go and do." He carried on backing away. "Like, an important thing. I'm sure you understand."
Holly opened her mouth to issue the centaur with a threat that would have no doubt caused him to accelerate from a casual trot into a gallop, but she was interrupted by an elf calling to K'Azir. He looked worried.
"Commander! We have a situation."
K'Azir couldn't help sigh. Not again. "What now?"
"Unrest in downtown Haven."
"Serious?"
The elf nodded. "Very. We only have a preliminary report; it came out of nowhere. Must have been planned. They're coming towards us, looting anything they can, and burning what they can't."
Holly looked at K'Azir. She didn't want to go home. She wanted to help. More specifically, she wanted to fight.
The commander caught her eye. He knew at once what she was thinking.
"Fine," he grumbled. "It's all hands on deck to sort this out, so you can stay. But don't even think about coming in tomorrow. You're taking a day off whether you like it or not."
Holly was torn between smiling and pouting. "One day," she said, already heading off to get kitted out. "No more."
The boy didn't know long he had been walking for. All he knew was that his feet ached, his throat was parched and his stomach growled for sustenance. The foothills of the mountain range gave way to flat countryside, and eventually, he came to a road. It was the first sign of civilisation since his awakening.
He glanced up the road, past the leafless trees and dead shrubs that lined it, and was surprised to see a vehicle approaching him. A car of some kind. A relatively expensive-looking one. Without thinking, he extended his hand, thumb pointed upwards. He couldn't explain quite why, it just sort of seemed like the right thing to do.
The car slowed down as it approached, the driver winding down the window.
"Vous allez bien?" he said once he was alongside, a frown furrowing his brow.
The boy didn't recognize the words themselves, but found himself able to understand the meaning. Without thinking, he found himself responding in perfect French.
"I'm fine," he lied. "Please can you give me a lift to the nearest settlement?"
The man raised a questioning eyebrow. The boy realised that he probably didn't look even remotely fine.
"Who are you?" the man asked suspiciously.
The boy gave a nervous shrug, but didn't say anything.
The man sighed. "Fine. What's your name?"
"I don't know."
He wasn't sure what made him answer honestly. It just sort of tumbled out.
"You don't know?" The driver's voice was incredulous. "How can you not know?"
The boy shrugged again. "I don't remember anything."
"You sure about that?" asked the man. He sounded torn, as if he couldn't decide between sympathy and cynicism. Eventually sympathy won out. "Look, I can take you to a police station if you want, or a hospital. They might be able to help you."
The boy shook his head instinctively. He knew at once that involving the emergency services would be a mistake, though he wasn't sure how.
"Please," he said again. "I just need to get to a town or something." He wasn't sure what else to say.
The driver gave a resigned sigh. "Alright," he muttered, opening the passenger door. "Get in."
The boy nodded gratefully, uncertain why he was so easily trusting the man. It wasn't like he knew anything about him. He could have any number of bad intentions. But the boy was alone, and he was afraid. The simple display of kindness, genuine or not, meant a lot to him.
The driver kept shooting him odd glances as they travelled in what the boy hoped was the direction of the nearest town or village. He finally ran out of patience and broke the awkward silence.
"You really have no idea who you are, huh?" He shook his head in disbelief. "How does that even happen? Amnesia or something?"
The boy turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. The ghost of a smile danced on his lips.
"I don't remember how I came to be this way. That's rather the problem."
The driver rolled his eyes. The boy was oddly reminded of someone, but the feeling was gone so quickly he wasn't sure it had ever been there at all.
"For what it's worth, your accent sounds Irish. It's a probably a safe bet you have some friends or family there." He stopped to think for a moment. "You don't have any clues on you? What about a wallet, or some kind of ID?"
The boy hesitated, uncertain, but then took out the note he had found and showed it to the driver.
"Just this. It's a whole load of numbers. I don't suppose they mean anything to you?"
The driver shook his head apologetically. "Looks like a phone number. You should call it. If anything has answers for you, I would say it's that."
The boy nodded noncommittedly, but didn't say anything. The rest of the journey passed in silence.
Truth be told, the boy was sorry when they arrived at their destination – a city the driver told him was called Nice. It had been oddly reassuring not to be alone for the first time since his awakening. He didn't particularly look forward to returning to solitude.
He thanked the man for helping him and made to get out of the car, but a hand on his shoulder held him back. He turned back to the driver, who was getting out his wallet. The boy's eyes widened as he watched him pull out a few notes and make to give them to him. He recognised them as currency.
"No," he said immediately, pushing the money away. "I can't accept that. You've already helped me."
The man gave a crooked smile. "You have any money?"
He said nothing, but his expression made it clear he didn't.
"Listen, son. You wanted to come to a town, but what are you going to do here with no money?" The boy looked away. He didn't have an answer for that. "You look hungry. You look tired. How are you going to get a meal or somewhere to sleep?"
The boy was a little overcome. Something told him that he wasn't exactly the kind of person who believed the good of humanity. This was… this was not what he would have expected.
"It's too much," he protested.
"No," the man replied firmly. "It's not. You've got nothing in the whole world, and I can spare the cash. It's only forty euros. Please, take it. Get yourself a pay-as-you-go phone and something to eat. Call that number when you get a chance."
The boy allowed him to push the notes into his hand. He wasn't sure what to say.
The man smiled a little and shook his head, exasperated.
"If it makes you feel better," he said, reaching out and taking the note with the phone number written on it. The boy didn't resist. "You can pay me back later." He rummaged around in the glovebox for a moment, eventually pulling out a pen. Leaning on the dashboard, he quickly jotted down a name and his own phone number on the other side of the scrap of paper and gave it back to the boy. "This is me," he said. "If you find out who you are, you can repay the favour. Sound fair?"
The boy gave nodded, giving the man a smile of genuine warmth and sincerity.
"Thank you," he said as he got out of the car. "Truly."
Downtown Haven, The Lower Elements
The situation was rapidly getting out of control by the time Holly arrived in Downtown Haven with the rest of the LEP's response team. Acrid smoke was billowing out of already burning buildings behind the rioters. The group wasn't especially large, but it more than made up for it in attitude. Most of the crowd was dressed in black, their faces covered with bandanas or masks. Improvised melee weapons and home-made incendiary devices were proudly on display. It was clear that this was no peaceful protest.
The LEP began to prepare. Normally, they would have had no trouble finding fifty fairies to contain the unrest, but with the heavy casualties they had sustained recently and the number of officers occupied by other missions, they had been lucky to get close to half that number at short notice. Sixteen fairies equipped with full riot gear, and eight sharpshooters to stun anyone who decided to be a problem.
The riot police locked shields in front of the mob, forming a line just about wide enough to block the street. The others, Holly among them, drew their neutrinos and set up behind the defensive shield line. Their orders had been simple: stall the rioters and try and prevent them from hurting anyone. Other officers were already closing streets around them, and reinforcements would be with them as soon as possible.
They didn't have the personnel to properly engage them and make the appropriate arrests. The priority was to prevent them reaching the centre of Haven where they could cause lasting damage to the city. If some businesses got smashed up along the way, it wasn't the end of the world. Property could be repaired, and the more cynical among them had realised that property damage would only alienate potential supporters of the growing opposition to the LEP.
Once they were all in position, the LEP forces began moving forward as one. Holly noted with satisfaction that some of the faces in the crowd weren't quite so confident now. An advancing wall of armour-clad police officers wielding buzz batons tended to have that kind of effect on people.
She looked out into the mob of fairies. There were some signs about how the LEP was a hated enemy at the back of the crowd, but no one at the front had wasted time on catchy placards. They weren't interested in starting a dialogue; they were interested in violence. Most were elves and gnomes, but there were a few pixies and dwarves dotted around as well.
Extraordinary, she thought, gripping her neutrino. All these different families, united by a common enemy. They hate us so much they've forgotten how much they hate each other.
Once they were about ten metres away, the LEP force stopped, resting their riot shields on the ground and effectively barricading the street. They crouched, strengthening their collective stance and giving the other officers space to shoot over them. For a few moments, both groups waited, silently appraising each other. Most of the agitators seemed reluctant to actually engage the police force.
Perhaps I was wrong, thought Holly hopefully. Perhaps they will back down without anyone having to get hurt.
Even as the thought was going through her head, the spell was broken by a tiny pixie towards the left-hand side of the mob. He yelled something indistinguishable in his comically high-pitched voice and hurled a bottle at the nearest business. Holly watched as the glass shattered against the entrance, its flammable contents splashing over the doors and igniting instantly. The tell-tale blue flames of an alcohol fire erupted and started spreading. Spud's Spud Emporium was burning. Fast.
A triumphant roar erupted from the amassed protestors. Someone threw a rock at one the LEP line that clattered uselessly off an armoured shield. A slightly larger projectile followed. Then another Molotov cocktail sailed towards them, exploding into brilliant flame against the shield wall.
Holly flinched, hoping the officer would be alright. Being covered in burning liquid wasn't a pleasant experience, no matter how much protective gear you were wearing.
The crowd's shouts continued to grow louder, forming a thunderous cacophony of sheer anger. Directed at straight at her and her colleagues. Great. Holly raised her neutrino. The next person who decided it was a good idea to throw something at the LEP was going to wake up with a really bad headache.
It didn't take long for a target to present itself. A particularly nasty looking gnome right at the front of the crowd was trying to figure how to light his own Molotov cocktail. He didn't seem to be having much success. Maybe he wasn't very bright.
I don't think so, mister, Holly said to herself, firing a solid burst into his chest from her neutrino before someone could help him get the crude incendiary device primed. He face-planted into the street a heartbeat later, falling like a marionette with its strings cut.
The effect was instantaneous. Silence descended over crowd as fairies looked down at their fallen comrade. Then, out of nowhere, came a roar.
"Charge!"
As one, the mob surged forward, brandishing their crude weapons and shouting as if their life depended on it. It was a fearsome sight.
Oops, thought Holly. Maybe trigger happy wasn't the way to go. She shrugged, bringing up her neutrino to fire again. Something else would have probably set them off if I hadn't.
She didn't bother trying to select an individual target this time, just flicked her weapon to rapid-fire mode and started letting loose as many shots as she could into the horde as in covered the short distance between them and the LEP defenders.
Around her, the other shooters followed suit. A great swathe of the incoming force went down under the sheer weight of fire, but every fairy that fell was immediately replaced by another from behind. In what felt like no time at all, the rioters were on them, slamming into the solid wall of shields.
The line held. Just. The mob kicked, punched and scratched at their enemy, shouting and flailing limbs, but the LEP stood firm. The armoured shields refused to yield. Behind them, the bearers pushed back with all their strength, digging in and calling on every last vestige of energy they had available. But even as they fought to keep the mob at bay, they could feel themselves beginning to tire. In a few moments, one of them would be forced back, just a short distance, but it would be enough. After all, a chain was only as strong as its weakest link. As soon as a gap appeared in the wall, the LEP would be instantly overrun.
Holly continued firing her neutrino, stunning anyone in the crowd that looked particularly threatening, but it was clear she wasn't having much of an effect. It was getting increasingly difficult to ignore the voice of self-preservation telling her to fall back, just a few steps, so that when the wall fell she would space to run for her life.
"Filters on!"
The shout had come from behind her. A friendly call? She tapped a few buttons on her wrist computer, sealing her helmet and activating its environmental filtering. Any gases she breathed in would now be scanned and cleansed of anything dangerous.
Two canisters sailed over the elf's head from behind, exploding at the same time about a metre above the protestors, spewing white smoke. The sinister clouds descended on the rioting fairies. Chaos was immediate.
Chemical weapons, she realised. The reinforcements have arrived, and they're using chemical weapons. She wasn't sure exactly what the chemical agent was – likely something inflammatory with no permanent side effects like tear gas. She doubted the LEP would dare use anything properly dangerous. Looking out into the crowd, she realised that her guess was spot on. Fairies were stumbling, clutching their eyes and nose as the toxins entered their system.
For a moment, it looked as if the LEP held the upper hand, but any hopes of a quick victory were shattered as one of the officers in the shield wall went down, overwhelmed by the sheer weight of opposition. The insurgents swarmed through the gap.
D'Arvit! thought Holly, already joining her colleagues in opening fire at the incoming militants. Several went down, but more were already stepping over them, exploding through the opening like water through a cracked damn. Some began running at the unarmoured shooters behind the wall, but most turned their attention to the other shield bearers, using bare fists to try and overwhelm the armoured bastions.
The riot police responded in kind, swinging buzz batons indiscriminately. Fairies went down, thousands of volts crackling around their frame, but there were always more to take their places. Some of the shield bearers seemed to realize that their position was untenable and tried to pull back, using their shields as blunt weapons, slamming them into anyone within range.
Another pair of tear gas canisters were launched into the air, detonating moments later, but they only succeeded in adding to the mayhem. The crowd was in a frenzy now, desperate to the escape the toxic cloud billowing overhead. The mob was starting to fall apart, large numbers of fairies abandoning their cause to escape the tear gas, but the hard core was still trying to engage the police.
Holly kept up her fire, stunning anyone coming near her. The LEP's defence was completely shattered now; what had begun as a battle between two defined sides had now descended into utter chaos. The riot police were sucked into crowd as it surged forward, submerged in the melee.
Holly watched as the mayhem approached her. There was no order, not anymore. Only violence. She glanced behind her. The LEP reinforcements weren't as numerous as she had hoped. They had given up trying to launch more tear gas, instead raising their own neutrinos and trying to help subdue the remaining rioters.
Trying to decide whether to fall back or stay and continue to lay down fire, Holly turned back to the crowd, and was surprised to find a fist flying towards her at alarming speed. Unable to react in time, she caught the blow head-on with her helmet and staggered back. Before the attacker could follow up, she sent a neutrino blast straight into his stomach. He crumpled, unconscious, but already there were three more protesters on her, grabbing her and throwing her to the ground.
She tried desperately to get her neutrino up to retaliate, but one of them stamped down on her arm and kicked the weapon from her grasp. She responded in kind, lashing out with both feet. The attacker doubled up in pain, clutching his stomach and muttering a string of curses under his breath. One of his friends tried to capitalize on her preoccupation, but she rolled away from the blow, scrambling back to her feet.
Her hand strayed to her belt, grabbing her buzz baton and giving it an experimental twirl. Or at least, it would have done if it had found anything other than air. The third attacker gave a nasty smile, raising the baton.
"Missing something, officer?" he spat, advancing on her. Thanks to the toxins all around them, his eyes were red and puffy and half dry tears streaked his cheeks. He didn't look like he was in a very good mood. Holly supposed she wasn't surprised. She was suddenly very grateful for the protection granted to her by her helmet.
Around them, the riot was dissolving. The riot police were down, but the majority of the insurgents had either already fled the tear gas or now lay unconscious or injured. The gas clouds were spreading out now, affecting everyone that wasn't wearing a gas mask. A few rebels were still fighting a valiant but ultimately futile battle with the LEP reinforcements, but most were just trying to get away.
One of Holly's would be attackers erupted in a fit of coughs, eyes streaming. He staggered, tripping over an unconscious gnome, leaving only the one with Holly's buzz baton. She could see his discomfort as the toxins overwhelmed his senses, but he kept coming towards her. Holly made to back up, but he lunged, slamming the baton into her thigh and discharging a casual ten thousand volts.
In theory, LEP suits were designed to dissipate energy weapons like the buzz baton, but, unbeknownst to her, Holly's thermal regulation system had been damaged when she had been hurled to the ground. Her suit successfully absorbed the charge, but the energy raised the temperature of the suit itself by several hundred degrees.
Holly screamed. Her skin was already burning. The attacker grabbed her helmet, gloves protecting his hands from the scorching heat.
"Police bitch," he snarled, eyes blazing with hatred. "Let's see how you like it."
He tore the helmet from her head and added nasty punch for good measure, sending her back down to the ground. Satisfied, he grinned at her and turned to run. Holly lay there breathing heavily, magic already targeting her injuries, starting to dull the pain from the burns. The smoke of tear gas billowed around her.
It took a few moments for the effects to kick in. It started like an itch in her eyes and nose, but it grew in intensity until her whole face felt it was on fire. She cried out, but the pain only continued to worsen. She tried to close her eyes, to shield them, but it was too late. Her nerves screamed at her as though under attack by a million tiny needles, burrowing deep into her exposed skin.
She couldn't see. She couldn't breathe. She tried to get up, stumbling clumsily, but tripped, eyes blinded by the toxins. Her throat burned. She tried to call for help, but the words came out as a hacking cough. Again, she pulled herself to her feet, staggering away, trying to navigate the sea of unconscious fairies. There was no room in her head for rational thought. All she wanted to do was get away from this hell.
She felt a steadying hand on her arm, but she couldn't see who it belonged to. Her whole world was hazy, unfocused. She was vaguely aware of words, trying to make themselves heard over the high-pitched whine in her ears.
"Captain Short…"
Captain. The rank was familiar. Her rank? And the name. Short. Her name. Holly Short.
"Come on, Captain."
Holly allowed herself to be led, trying to organise her thoughts. After what seemed like an eternity of stumbling blindly away from the chaos, her guide sat her down. She no longer felt as though she was under attack, but her face still burned. Tentatively, she cracked open an eye. Her vision was still blurry, but she could just about see. An LEP elf she didn't recognize was looking concernedly at her.
"Thanks," she muttered, pleased to discover that she could speak again, but unable to summon the energy to do much else.
"It'll hurt for a few minutes, but it'll get better. Magic should accelerate the process. A medical team should be here soon. The warlocks will fix up anything you can't."
Holly nodded absently, enjoying being able to breathe clean air. She watched as the elf turned to head back to the scene of the riot, no doubt looking for any other injured fairies he could help.
It was hard to stop the feeling of foreboding that was building up in her gut as she looked at the destruction left behind. The street was littered with injured and unconscious fairies, still burning fires bathing the whole scene in an orange glow. Holly could almost taste the hostility in the air. One thing was for certain: things were going to get worse before they got better.
A/N: Poor Holly. I just don't seem to be able to stop hurting her. Still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had a huge amount of fun writing the Artemis sections, especially all the little references to his normal self, even though he doesn't remember anything. Don't worry, it won't take too long for him to be reunited with Holly. Then he's just got to get his memory back, then A/H can happen! Still, that's all easier said than done. And as mentioned previously, we start getting into the main plotline next chapter, of which Opal is an integral part (sorry, but as explained last chapter, she can't really be avoided).
You know what I'm going to ask, don't you? ;)
Please review! I always enjoy reading your comments. I'll try to respond, but even if I don't (either because I don't get a chance, you review as a guest so I can't or simply because I can't think of anything interesting to respond with) I still really appreciate the support.
-Kio