Chapter Thirteen: Breathing Again
(Holly's point of view)
As the sound of the shot resounded around the room, a shout of pain followed as it struck Artemis squarely at the shoulder, knocking the Neutrino 2000 out of his grip. Holly's eyes flew open as Artemis' cry rang out around her, and her eyes briefly registered a collapsing Artemis before she realised that she had not killed him, but merely disarmed him. She could have sobbed with relief, but just at that precise moment, an apparition of her father flew out of Artemis and landed in front of her, before changing back to solid form again. He was laughing maniacally.
"Very stupid, Holly, you missed! Had you killed him, you would have killed me as well," he hissed as he lifted Holly's defiant chin up. "Have your affections gotten in the way again? You're not such a good LEP officer like Daddy after all." He began to walk away.
"You...!" shrieked Holly, and she lunged for the back of his coat, before the jarring pain in her ankle jolted her senses and threw her back into reality. She cursed her injured ankle and wished she had enough magic to heal it. She grabbed Trouble's Neutrino 2000 and hoisted it on her shoulder. Her father had somehow attached a pair of wings to his shoulders and flown up high. The pulsating magma from the Earth's core illuminated his silhouette as he grinned wickedly at them.
"This world is mine! I have the right to own it," he said greedily, a spark burning merrily in his eyes. "And no one will stop me!" he hissed as his eyes lit up with a dangerous menace. The wings behind him gave him the impression of an angel, but the irony was that this angel of death delighted in creating misery for everyone.
Holly yelled a string of unintelligible words as she took aim and shot at him with her Neutrino 2000, but he cleverly dodged it. In fact, he stretched out a hand and expertly caught the laser beam in his hand, like you would with a baseball. He collated all of the laser beam's strength into a sphere, and grinning malevolently at Holly, he thrust his hand forward and it spiralled towards Holly, who just managed to get out of the way before 100,000 volts of Neutrino light knocked her out for a day.
"I like to give chances, Holly. Do you want me to give you the chance to live?" he asked, throwing his head back and laughing. Without waiting for her reply, he stretched out a hand and using an invisible force, lifted Holly up to his level. Holly stared at him rebelliously, her chin jutting out. Her eyes held a dangerously fierce spark that matched the one in her own father's hazel eyes, and for a moment, she wondered how things could have gotten so out of hand. Was this really the father she loved? How could it be that he was driven to such a point by his own obsession and need for vengeance?
"Now don't be so insolent, Holly. You are my beloved daughter after all..."
"Rubbish!" Holly found herself yelling. "If you spared a thought about me, you wouldn't have started all this!"
"How dare you talk back!" her father said angrily, and blasted a sphere of blue light at her, which sent her flying backwards and knocking into the wall of clay behind her. She slid back down towards the ground, but before she hit it, her father lifted her back up.
He threw a sword at her as she remained lifted above ground.
"Let's settle this the old-fashioned way, Holly," he explained as he drew out another sword and pointed it at her. "Let's see you succumb to your own doom."
Holly felt her ankle miraculously heal as her father directed a jet of blue sparks at her ankle. "I'm fair, Holly, so don't say you have a disadvantage against me," he spat, as he charged forward to slash Holly into half.
Holly's sword clanged as she brought it up to defend herself. He's fair? Holly thought incredulously. He knows I'm hopeless with swords, for D'Arvit's sake. I've been dealing with guns and Neutrinos for half of my good life! How would I know how to wield a sword?
"A good LEP officer is versatile with all sorts of weapons, Holly," her father sneered as he continued relentlessly with his attempts to pierce Holly's tender flesh with the sharp tip of his sword. "You have much to learn, I am ashamed of you!"
"Shut up!" Holly yelled as her sword criss-crossed against his, the clanging sound of metal against metal deafening. Pulling away, she somersaulted backwards as her father's sword thrust towards the air and dived beneath her, slicing the air instead. She landed back on her two feet on the ground - or air, since she was still levitated above ground by her flying father.
Hardly a moment later, her head shot to the left sharply as her father's sword came towards her direction again and nearly severed off her ear. Holly ran forward with her sword in her hand, fearlessly trying to stab her father's stomach. His reflexes were as quick as hers and he blocked her attempt by bringing his sword down on hers. Holly tried to free her sword from his and mustering up all her strength, she pushed against her father's sword upwards, so that the two swords slowly arced upwards, as if the two swords were in a hand-wrestling game.
But suddenly, without warning, her father withdrew his sword, taking Holly by surprise; and with a loud swish through the air, his sword cut Holly's cheek and as the tender skin parted beneath the blade like torn silk, fresh blood spilled out, oozing onto the silver blade and staining the shiny tip a dull crimson. Holly, who had been too stunned to move, hurriedly jerked away from the sword and screamed. Her free hand instinctively went up to her bleeding cheek, where the gash spurted out a river of blood that trailed down her neck and onto her clothes. At the sight of his bloodied daughter, the father gave a hysterical, and triumphant laugh, before proceeding to get a fanatical gleam in his eyes and thrusting out his sword for a second time, this time attempting to get the sword through her stomach. He could almost relish the delight of seeing his daughter's intestines scream in agony as his blade ceased their function, and his daughter's blood flow out like a soul escaping from a scenario of immense pain and misery.
Holly gave an unintelligible yell as she darted aside, furious determination etched out in her hazel eyes. The very same hazel eyes of her father's, with the very same determination in them. Yet, as both seemingly identical eyes met, the willpower sparkling in both eyes did not share the same purpose - one shone brightly for the will to survive, and the other shone brightly for the will to kill. The tragic irony would again be played out when the father tried to slay his daughter once more, while the daughter struggled to save what little pieces of the life she had left.
"Stop running away, Holly!" her father shouted irately as his sword plunged through air once more instead of his daughter's body. He was properly angered now - like a vicious beast, prowling around like the silent predator, howling in frustration when the elusive prey continued to evade him. He hated being outsmarted, and felt cheated. This was supposed to have ended early with Holly's death. But she was still escaping from him, on the loose, freedom still accompanying her.
Holly swung her sword around blindly, darkness beginning to eat away at her consciousness. The bleeding wasn't stopping because she had no more magic left to save her, and Holly wryly decided that she preferred a broken ankle to a 'broken' cheek. Thoughts and regrets were the last thing on her mind as she concentrated on staying alive, instead of dying and eventually falling to the ground, chopped up in unrecognisable pieces by her father's sword.
Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. Each sound of metal on metal was another fragment of hope for Holly. It meant that she had successfully defended herself against her father, and had lived on by another minute more. Thinking in this positive way made Holly suddenly feel strangely calm, and in control of her actions and her emotions. This ability to switch off and concentrate on the task at hand was what had made her such a successful Recon officer. Granted, she hadn't been feeling calm while she was trying to shoot Artemis, but that was a different matter. She chose not to reflect about it, settling for comforting herself that Artemis had survived, with only a dislocated shoulder. If she could continue to remain calm, maybe she would defeat her father after all.
Holly fell on her back and did a backward roll as her father's sword swished again through the air and attempted to decapitate her. Agility was Holly's forte and even her bleeding cheek would not get in the way. Holly hurriedly used her sword to protect her face as her father's sword rushed towards her nose, and the clang that resounded through the place gave her a special sense of relief. She pushed her father's sword away from her and leapt back to her feet, ready for another round.
"Not giving up yet, Holly?" her father snickered, and at that exact moment, a shower of fireworks erupted around his feet, and he tried to escape it by flying around.
Holly realised that it wasn't fireworks, but Trouble and Root firing away with their LEP weaponry below. Somehow, they had managed to get their act together and were shooting at her father to help her. Trouble was not a very good one-armed shooter, but he made the effort to try. Commander Root seemed to be paralysed from the waist down, and his legs were bleeding, but he had two perfectly good arms and were using two Neutrinos to fire at her father. Neutrinos were good for long-range shots, but unfortunately, Holly's father was as quick and agile as Holly was, and it was getting increasingly difficult to shoot at him. Butler also had only one good arm, but he was well-trained as a bodyguard, and could use one hand to shoot with his trusty gun, the Sig Sauer. Artemis was unconscious, and for a moment, Holly felt a pang of guilt, but she soon banished it from her heart as her father came at her again.
"I see your little friends have finally decided to wake up. Such a shame it is, but now our game's all the more challenging," her father scorned and violently slashed through the air with his sword, forcing Holly to counter his moves quickly, such that her wrist had to move at a really remarkable speed.
Left! Right! Left! Right! Holly's brain kept thinking as her wrists moved quickly, her eyes keeping in check with her father's sword movements. For every 'right' her father went, she went left, and their swords met in a cross. For every 'left' her father went, she had to go right. The clanging sound became more deafening than before, and the impatient rumble of gunfire added to the clashing noises in the place. Holly tried not to let it get to her as she countered her father's every move, her cheek going increasingly pale as blood drained out of her like someone had pulled a plug from a sink.
It seemed as if it would never end. Holly's father seemed to have eyes at the back of his head as he could dodge the gunshots fired at him as well as fight Holly. She watched in awe as he flew from left to right, avoiding the gunshots, while thrusting his sword forward, anxiously trying to spill Holly's blood. He truly was the amazing Recon officer of his time, one that she had respected, one that she had wanted to be. Then suddenly everything went awry!
"Arrrgh!" he grunted in pain as a shot fired by Commander Root blasted through one of his wings. It fell to the ground, and Commander Root was left with just one wing. He seemed out of balance and Holly used the opportunity to crouch on her knees and swing her sword around on the ground, trying to sweep at his feet, and cut them off in the process. At the last possible moment, he jumped and she swung through emptiness, while he took advantage of her kneeling position and plunged his sword through her back. Her blood splashed onto his face and he used his tongue to lick at one of the droplets greedily, like a lunatic. Holly shrieked in pain and the barest hint of a victorious smile played around Holly's father's lips before his other wing was blasted apart and he spiralled to the ground, losing control. Holly also felt herself falling to the ground as her father lost control of his magic powers and failed to keep her afloat in the air. Her back arched as the pain overwhelmed her and she crashed to the ground, beaten. Blood trickled merrily down her back in a stream, oozing out her life, her soul, her existence.
~*~
(Artemis' point of view)
Artemis groaned as he came back into consciousness. A riot of shooting and gunfire resounded all around him and he struggled to get up, a blazing pain in his shoulder almost causing him to lose consciousness again. His eyes briefly registered a falling Holly before he frantically abandoned all common sense and crawled over to her, clutching his shoulder. Her eyes were rolling about in their sockets, and Artemis knew she was fighting.
She's fighting it. She's fighting death. She's fighting the world of eternal darkness she will be plunged into, Artemis thought, and lightly ran his hand over her forehead, hoping she could feel him, feel his encouragement, feel his support.
"Captain Short, I order you to wake up now," Artemis whispered, gently running his hand through her auburn hair. "Are you going to disobey a direct order?"
He could almost hear her retort in his head: Who are you to order me about anyway? You're nothing but a Mud Boy. Artemis had to hold back a smile as he thought of her defiant reply, and sad realisation dawned on him that she wasn't going to reply unless she overcame the pushing force of death. Artemis almost wished that Holly would reply. Yet, he could only wish. He brushed a hand over her uninjured cheek, a gesture that he would cherish Holly if given the chance. They both had such close shaves with death. If that hadn't wisened them up, nothing else would.
Artemis had hated himself for allowing this fairy to shelve away his pride and reduce him to a pool of mush. He hated abandoning the comfortable shell of icy composure, and reveal his true self to her, just as she had to him. They had both taken risks with stripping away their facades, just to experience what it was like to put another person in a more important position than yourself, and just to experience what it was like to feel deep affection for another. Then when Holly had suddenly decided she had enough, she had coldly pushed him away. She had worn back her coat of pride and strength, but had not given him back his, leaving him defenceless, vulnerable, a porcupine without thorns. He had been so angry with her for leaving him so exposed. He had been so angry with her that he was ready to push her away as well.
Throughout the period he remained angry with her, he had gradually grown back his thorns, and time had sewn for him a new coat of pride and strength, that he had worn without complaint. It was effective in making him forget his feelings for Holly. He had thought to himself that never again would he let someone leave him so vulnerable again. Yet, as he came face-to-face with the very person who had done that to him, he found himself giving in. The lesson that he thought he had learnt became unlearned as he began to love Holly all over again. Some people, he thought dryly, are just so stubborn. They never learn, like me.
"You're being really rude by not answering," Artemis said, and smiled encouragingly. It was like an instinctive reaction. Smiling at Holly meant that much of his hidden character was again revealed to the world, but it made him feel good. No matter how much of his soul was borne with that one smile.
Holly's eyelids fluttered erratically as she struggled to get back to reality. Artemis gave her hand a gentle squeeze, encouraging her. Her shoulder seemed to wince in pain as he did that, but he ignored it as he focused on the helpless form in front of him.
"Come on, Holly. I'm here," Artemis whispered. He bent down so that his nose touched hers. "I'm so close. Can you feel me? Answer me."
She wasn't responding. More blood flowed out of her, and a raging battle went on behind Artemis as Root, Trouble and Butler tried to shoot the living daylights out of Holly's father.
Artemis then placed his lips on Holly's, the coldness of her lips bringing Artemis to the sinking realisation that she could very well be dying. They lingered there for a moment before his lips grazed her cheek, her forehead, and the bridge of her nose. But she didn't awaken. She didn't respond. She didn't get up and say, "Delirious", if he asked her how she was feeling. She didn't get up and tell him off for being so bold. She didn't even get up and slap him, and the fact that she seemed so dead sank Artemis' hopeful heart like a stone in deep water.
Suddenly he felt someone grab him from behind and throw him off Holly. His shoulder twisted in pain and he briefly let out a yell of tortured pain before he saw Holly's father feebly crawling towards Holly. Her father's face was splashed with blood, tainted with Holly's and his, mingled together in the sweat that had gathered on his face. It glistened in the light given off by the magma, and the raw burns on his skin showed that Butler, Trouble and Root had managed to defeat this wrecked man.
No, almost defeat! Before Artemis had time to push Holly's father out of the way, he turned into a shadowy form of himself, and whispered eerily, "I'm dying anyway...this is my last chance..." before his soul sank and infiltrated into Holly's. Artemis squeezed his eyes shut, the feeling of dejection beginning to overpower him. What was going to happen now? Would Holly make it?
Holly's body began to twitch violently, and her eyes rolled around as lifelessly as before. Artemis began to feel the hand of creepiness clutch tightly at his heart. He had never seen such a scary reaction as this, nor would ever again.
Holly suddenly jerked back up on her two feet, her hazel eyes panic-stricken. Artemis reached towards her, but she lifted her leg and kicked him away. He was thrown backwards into a wall, and lay there, stunned, his shoulder throbbing in pain.
"Don't come any closer. That goes for all of you!" Holly shouted, picking up her fallen sword and placing it dangerously close to her neck. Her eyes held a spark of fierce defiance and determination, even though she was swaying back and forth, as a result of her injured back.
"Now don't be foolish, Holly," Commander Root said nervously, and started towards her with his gun, but she screamed, "Put that gun down!"
"Holly -"
"I said, put it down!" Holly yelled.
"All right, all right," Root said cautiously, slowly putting his gun down on the ground.
"And go back where you came from," Holly snapped.
Root backed down. The silence in the air was extremely tense. Artemis could only hear the loud pounding of his heart in his ears.
"Everyone else, put your gun down," Holly barked. "Go on!"
Trouble and Butler put down their guns and gulped.
Holly shut her eyes and whispered softly, "Goodbye."
She began to slice her throat with the sword, amid surprised yells from Root and Trouble. Drops of blood gathered on the sword, but suddenly she fell backwards and the sword clattered out of her hand as she looked down and realised Artemis had lunged forward and grabbed her feet, sliding them out from beneath her, causing her to fall backwards.
"Bloody Mud Boy!" she yelled, and kicked him away. Yet, even as he clutched his shoulder in agony, he had two good legs, and countered. He valiantly tried to remember all that Butler taught him for self-defence as he felt Holly's leg come in contact with his face, and recoiled in pain. His nose had begun to bleed, and he tried to kick back, but to no avail. Suddenly, Butler realised that he had a duty to do, he had to protect his charge, and immediately lunged forward to fight with Holly. Soon, Commander Root and Trouble joined in, outnumbering Holly by four to one.
Holly fell back on her back and Root, Trouble and Butler pinned her down. Artemis stood in front of her, clutching his shoulder.
"How do we get Holly's father out of her body?" Root questioned, and Holly gave a violent thrash.
"Stunning her won't do her any good," Trouble rationalised. "Her father would still be trapped inside."
"The best thing we can do is to agitate Holly. Then Holly will fight back, she will fight to have her father out of her system," Artemis said.
"Come on, Holly, fight!" Trouble encouraged, thumping her on the shoulder.
"I...I'm not Holly!"
"You are...you are! Captain Holly Short, of the LEPrecon Unit," Trouble insisted.
"Go away!" she shrieked, shoving him away. She picked up the sword and started slashing it around in the air like a deranged lunatic.
Trouble ducked a blow. "Holly! It's me...Trouble!"
A maniac glint sparkled in her eyes. Her voice suddenly went very deep and she boomed, "I'm not going to let Holly go!", before her voice was restored to normal and she screamed, as if her head was splitting open. She clutched her hands to her head and collapsed, growling like a desperate, hungry lioness.
Trouble took the risk of shaking Holly by the shoulders and screaming in her ear, "I love you, Holly! Please stop doing this! Oh, Holly...!"
Holly spun around and regarded him with a wild look in her eye. She started slapping him, and suddenly, she seemed to have two bodies as the image of her father swam in and out of her body. They merged as one, before her father's image floated out, only to be merged with her body again.
Root grabbed a gun and tried to shoot at the image of Holly's father that swam in and out. It was a great test on his experience and expertise as a LEPrecon officer. He tried to wait as Holly's father's image became more solid before he shot, but it was like an arcade game gone terribly wrong as Holly's father made less appearances, because he was beginning to ravage Holly's soul.
Artemis suddenly got an inspiration. He picked up a rock off the ground and flung it hard at Holly. It struck her on the head, and she immediately spun around to face him.
"What the hell was that for, Mud Boy?"
"It was to see if you had a brain, Captain Short," he raised an eyebrow and smiled. "The rock made a hollow resounding sound as it struck your head. Still pretty empty-headed, aren't we, Captain Short?"
"How dare you!" she screamed, and threw a rock back at him.
Artemis dodged it. "Not only do you need to brush up on your intellect, but you need slingshot practice as well."
Holly retorted, "Oh, I'm sure I'll improve...if you're my target!"
"Why me, Captain Short? Are you attracted to me?" he said, with a tinge of his trademark arrogance, slightly arching his eyebrow.
"The only things that would be attracted to you are fleas!" Holly retorted.
"Are you a flea then? Since we obviously shared some moments of affection."
Suddenly, Holly seemed to be stunned as she stepped backwards. Something seemed to trigger in her memory and she backed away from him, as if afraid of recalling anything else.
"You do remember, don't you, Captain Short?" Artemis whispered, smiling, as he reached out to stroke her cheek softly. "Or do I need to remind you?" he added, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief.
"You cocky piece of filth," she whispered, and at that precise moment, the battle was won. Holly's character came back into play as her body flew forwards and landed in Artemis' arms and her father was repelled out of her body.
Commander Root, taking his chance, lifted his gun. He was trained to do this. He was good at this, and he knew. He took aim as he squeezed the trigger, the shot resounding around the room. The beam of light raced towards its victim, and struck him squarely in the chest. The fanatical eyes of Holly's father registered a moment of alarm before the movie of his life ended tragically. The beam of light found an exit right through him and claimed his soul like a wisp of cloud blown about in a fierce wind. The insane smile froze on his face as he fell backwards, a grim reminder of how much he had believed in his twisted ambitions to own the world.
He was defeated, and dead. A punishing hand of guilt and sorrow fiercely twisted Root's heart as he turned away and tried not to look at the man who lay there like stone, alone and forgotten by the world beyond, because he had shot him. So much for not letting emotions get in the way. But he was not alone. Butler, Trouble, and Artemis, each felt a heart-wrenching guilt for the fate of the man which lay crushed and distorted in their hands. They would have chosen a more pleasant way to end this, but how could anyone be pleasant with a callous man who had destroyed the lives of so many people? Yet, Artemis contradicted, even the most evil of human beings hold a spark of decency. That decency, Holly's father had practised when he was still in the LEP. A pity his own need for fierce vengeance, his deep, ingrained hatred for failing to put righteousness back into the corrupted world of the LEP, had stained his very own soul and directed him to the path of villainy.
"U-Ugh..." Holly muttered as she regained control of her own self. Her back was still bleeding, and she was feeble all over. She would have collapsed on the ground had it not been for Artemis who held her up.
"Come on, let's go," Artemis whispered, not wishing for Holly to bear with the agony of watching her father who had fallen from grace. Much as she had resented her own father for taking advantage of her love for him and used it against her, as well as taking away so many innocent lives, a father is still a father, and no matter how hard any daughter tries to erase the memory of a father from her mind, the lingering traces would still be harboured in her heart, since the scrubbing away of the memory would still leave a scarring impact on it. Furthermore, Holly and her father had been close, before this whole ordeal.
So as the five people left the place which held the presence of a silent tomb, Artemis, for the first time, wished that another fellow human being - in this case, Holly's father - would find peace.
~*~
(Holly's point of view)
Holly felt empty. The news of her father's death had finally reached her, after seven agonizingly long days. From what she had been told, she had been recuperating from her injuries during these seven days. Now that the news of her father's death had finally been told to her, she felt an aching emptiness in her that yearned to be filled up. She didn't know why. It was as if a part of her had been ripped out and buried together with her father. Her grief was too deep to comprehend, even though her father hadn't been a very exemplary figure in the last few years of his life.
Holly had laid some white lilies on a spot in her garden, which she had erected as small memorial towards her father. It did her some good to at least pay some sort of tribute to her father, even though he had completely used her. Holly had been reinstated by the LEP, because Foaly had helped to explain to the LEP that he himself had sensed the existence of Holly's father, since he had given the team of five a map that tracked down Holly's father's temperature and movements. Upon pressure from Root and Trouble, who gave detailed accounts about their journeys, the LEP council had been forced to accept Holly back into the LEP. Yet, Holly wasn't really in the mood to celebrate.
Holly sighed as somebody knocked on her door. She shuffled to the door, her footsteps seeming heavier than usual. Her heart was burdened with grief and sorrow, and she opened the door listlessly, wondering when everyone would just leave her alone. Couldn't a girl get some peace? The people who came to check up on her were as annoying as those who pretended to offer their condolences and sympathy during a funeral, who didn't know that what the deceased's family would appreciate best was some quiet time to reflect on their loss.
"Trouble?" Holly frowned as the image of Trouble swam into view. It was the first time she'd seen him in days. So far, the only people to visit were Commander Root, Foaly, a bunch of relatives who claimed they had been many times removed. Suffice to say she'd never even seen them in her entire life.
"Yep. It's me," Trouble said, and rather tonelessly for this usual optimist of a guy.
"What's up?" Holly asked, opening the door to let him in.
"Are you okay?" Trouble asked, concern interlacing his voice.
Holly shrugged, trying not to let her unhappiness show. "I'll live," she replied, trying for a smile.
Trouble seemed to buy it, and changed the subject. "You know...I wanted to ask you something, Holly." He shuffled his feet nervously.
Holly's heart pounded in her ears as she contemplated what he was about to say. "Yes...? What is it?"
"We're not together...right?"
Holly was taken aback. "Why the sudden question?"
"I don't know..." Trouble said dejectedly, and sank onto a couch.
"You know we'll always be friends, right?" Holly said, trying to smooth things over, trying to clear the awkwardness between them.
"I guess." Trouble didn't look at her.
Holly felt uneasy. "Where's...where's Artemis?"
Trouble's head whipped up, as if someone had beat him on the back of his head. "Why do you ask?" he asked warily, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Oh...er...never mind," Holly said hastily, cursing herself for almost letting her concern for Artemis show.
Trouble saw through her act and scowled. "It's him, isn't it?" he growled.
"I...I don't get you," Holly faltered.
"You've got him in your heart."
"I...I don't understand..." Holly stammered, looking away and feeling the heat rise up to her cheeks at her feeble denial.
Trouble stood up and walked over to her, turning her around to face him and shaking her by the shoulders. "You like that Mud Boy, don't you?!" he yelled.
Holly refused to reply as she stared defiantly at him, her hazel eyes burning with insolence.
"Forget it. I have a feeling I know the answer. Contrary to what many people think, Holly, your feelings show up very obviously in your eyes," Trouble said, trying to keep his angry breathing under control. He turned to leave.
"Is that why you came here? To question my feelings?" Holly retorted at his retreating back.
Trouble spun slowly around, the mark of rejection etched furiously in his eyes. Unshed tears burned the lower lids of his eyes. "Yes, Holly. I'll be very frank with you. I thought I had a chance with you, and I came here to find out. But now I know I was wasting my time. What did I do wrong, Holly...? Why didn't you pick me?" his voice broke with pent-up emotion.
"It's not you, Trouble," Holly said, trying to comfort him, feeling the knife of guilt plunge itself deep into her heart. "I wish I could have chosen the both of you, but..." she trailed off as she gave him a friendly hug.
"Don't worry, Holly," Trouble said, trying to compose himself. "Don't beat yourself up. I know it's not your fault. It's just me."
"Oh, Trouble..."
Trouble left her embrace and opened her door to leave. Before he shut the door, he turned around and said, "I'll be okay. Don't worry. As for Artemis, he left our company two days ago for Fowl Manor. He might still be here. He might be waiting for you. Or he might have chosen to leave it all behind. I don't rightly know."
Holly's heart raced as a spark of hope filtered through the dark shadows of her heart. She ran up to Trouble and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thank you for being so gallant, Trouble."
"No problem, Holly," Trouble said bravely, and gave Holly one last friendly squeeze. "Take care."
Holly's legs burned as she ran fiercely up to the shuttle port that went aboveground. She walked up to the commandant that was on the job. It was the same commandant who had obstructed her four years ago, the year of the Arctic Incident.
"D'Arvit, what's your name again?" Holly asked quickly.
"Commandant Terryl," the gnome replied.
"Yeah, Terryl. Did you see two Mud Men boarding the shuttle two days ago?"
"What, ya think my memory's that good?"
"Come on!" Holly said frantically, refusing to let this gnome get in the way of reconciling with Artemis.
"Of course not! I din't even know there were two Mud Men Underground."
"Thanks, Terryl, you're a life-saver." She resisted the temptation to kiss his green face. It was rather hideous.
Where in the Underground could Artemis and Butler be then? Holly wracked her brains furiously as she tried to think of possible places to go. Downtown Haven was a riot of workers who were furiously trying to restore the Haven they once loved, so it wasn't going to be easy. Holly jostled her way through the crowd as she combed the area for an out-of-the-ordinary bodyguard and a pair of blue eyes she knew so well, knowing that it was going to be a futile search. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Yet, there could only be one area where Artemis could have gone, and that would be the Honeybee area, since it was left relatively intact during her father's destruction on Haven.
Praising herself for being so streetwise, Holly ran the remaining distance to Honeybee Inn. Just as she pushed through the dingy revolving doors, she crashed into someone. As she looked up into the familiar blue eyes, she felt her hazel eyes lock magnetically to his as she spoke.
"You didn't go," Holly said incredulously, but Artemis merely smiled.
"I was waiting for something...or someone," he replied.
"You've forgiven me?"
"What makes you think you deserve my forgiveness?"
He was asking from her to say that something, she knew. There was always this established, silent rapport between them. What made it worse was that since she knew what he wanted her to say, she knew she couldn't turn back now. The turbulent memories of her past haunted her as she tried to muster up the courage to say them. The perfect images of Riley churned about in her mind as she debated the pros and cons of saying the words. Immediately, she almost wished she didn't have to say them. Because then, she would never have the power to take them back and make everything all right again if it all fell apart.
"Because," Holly began, and faltered.
"That's hardly an excuse, it's not even a sentence. But I forgot, you're not that intelligent," Artemis said, smiling wryly. They were the very same words he had used when he had tried to get her on a date.
"How intelligent must one be to love you then?" Holly replied.
"Are you saying...?"
Holly gulped and stared determinedly in Artemis' eyes. "I'm saying that...that I think I might love you."
"You think you might?" Artemis raised his eyebrow.
"All right, I...I know I do," Holly admitted, and felt her ailing heart give yet another piece away.
"How do I know if I can trust you?" Artemis inquired softly, still standing stiffly, making no move to reach for her.
Holly smiled at his insecurity, and began rather dryly, "Pay me a sum of money. If I go back on what I've said, you get your money back - guaranteed."
"Someone's getting business-like."
"You know what they say - you love a criminal, you think like him."
"You can't put a price on love."
"Don't worry, even if there was a price, I wouldn't auction it off. Well...not unless it's worth a million pieces of fairy gold."
Artemis laughed, a pleasing sound to her ears, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a five-dollar bill and handed it to her. "It's not much, but it's an investment."
Holly took it reverently. "It's like affection, isn't it? You don't have to pay for it, yet it's an awfully good gift to give somebody."
"You have a warped sense of humour."
"So do you."
Artemis smiled and allowed himself to embrace her in his arms. He regarded her with soft blue eyes that sent shivers down her spine.
"What are your father and mother going to say?" Holly asked sensibly.
"Oh, stop spoiling the moment."
"I'm serious."
"Screw them," Artemis said, chuckling. "For now, it's just me and you."
The air Underground never seemed sweeter as Holly took in a breath of new life. Because of Artemis, she was breathing again. She delighted in plunging in deep into the world the two now shared, even though love and trust had never been very high on her list, because of the heartbreak that she was afraid of. Yet, as she stood against the wind with the feel of Artemis' arms around her, she was sure that the slice of life she was now tasting was the most saccharine of all.
Author's Note: In case you're wondering, no, this is not the end! It's merely a closer step to finding out about why Holly married Trouble. I'm sorry if the ending sounded a bit rushed, but I've been working on this chapter for three days straight and my brain is already wracked. How did you like the final battle with Holly pit against her father? Leave a review so that I can continue to improve. :) Thanks a lot for reviewing, and I hope you're not just reading this story because you want me to honour you in my Author's Note. :)