I regret to inform my readers that there is a little Artemis/Holly mush in
this chapter. Please accept my heartfelt apologies. I simply could not
resist! The pairing would be so CUTE! cough nvm
So yeah.
Also: no I did NOT get this from the Magic Treehouse LMAO! The next person who suggests that I will string up by their toes as soon as I find out where they live.
But thank you for all the nice reviews otherwise.
*
Chapter Twelve: Preparation
Tessa's eyes shone like stars. Alison, however, looked less than enthusiastic.
"A, a quest? NO!! Um, I don't think so." Her face had a blank expression on it, as though she didn't know what to do with her features. Jennie sniggered at her. Alison continued, ignoring her:
"I, I mean, Tessa and Jennie aren't exactly cut out for that, and neither is Artemis, and." She blanched at Gandalf's scowl. "Well, I have no objection but, but, see, I have to look after them."
Legolas smirked at her, which made Ally shut up completely. Having a hot elf smirk at her was the last straw.
Gimli entered the room, using his ax as a staff. Gandalf flinched as he saw the notches his blade made on the tile floor. Aragorn was following him, and both Alison and Artemis flushed when they saw him. The Elessar scowled at Artemis. Ally, put out, fluffed her hair back pointedly. He ignored her.
Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn assembled themselves into an intimidating line before the four. They were all watching each other warily. Then the cousins spoke.
"Of COURSE!" Jennie was practically bursting.
Tessa was waving her hands around. "Gandalf, I would have thought you had more sense! We, we have been WAITING to meet you our WHOLE LIFE! Legolas and Pippin and Aragorn, you're all here! You're made into gosh-dang BOOKS where we come from! And MOVIES! And you like don't even know what I'm talking about but do you know what, to think that we're just going to come and look at you all and then VANISH is just WRONG! You ask us to do a quest and we'll DO it! I mean, REALLY! This is like our DREAM! You can't expect Ally to want to, she's a prissy snob - no offense Ally - and Artemis is like half-cocked but WE are IN!"
The cousins went over to hug Gandalf. They would have felt totally out of place hugging Legolas (which was too bad, really,) but Gandalf was the Grandpa guy who you could be casual with.
Artemis followed, seething over being called "half-cocked." He stood by Gimli and waited for the cousins to stop hugging Gandalf, who looked oddly like he might cry.
Gimli gave him a hefty slap on the back. "That's my boy!" Artemis staggered and almost fell into Aragorn, who gave him a frosty stare.
The mastermind smiled weakly. "Heh."
Alison looked at the trio and heaved a sigh. "I did say I had to look after them," she reminded herself, and followed.
To the eternal envy and embarrassment of the other two girls, Alison found a light hand on her shoulder. Legolas cast her an approving glance, and she melted.
Jennie was staring at her. "Uh, Ally? You O.K.?"
"Yeah," said the pile of mush that was Ally.
Gandalf was beaming. "Very well then. We will prepare horses for you in time for our departure. And, um. weapons, I think?"
Tessa's eyes bugged out of her head. "Oh WOW."
Gimli smiled around at everybody. "Me first, I think." He hefted his ax expertly and handed it to Alison, who almost dropped it at the heavy weight.
"Um," she grunted, lifting it. She looked like an iron lifter. "I'm. taking that with me?"
"Yep," said Gimli, grinning away like he had made some huge sacrifice and was expecting a crowd of fans to come in the door at any minute to scatter rose petals over his suffering head. "Yep, yep, yep."
Everyone else sniggered, including Legolas.
Ally glowered at them all and tried to walk around with the ax. She staggered and fell with the ax under her (fortunately sideways, edges pointing away). "Oof."
Somewhat bitterly, Aragorn walked forward. He held Anduril in his hands, carrying it as though it were made of solid gold. Sullenly, he handed it to Artemis. "None save Isildur's bloodline has touched this blade before. Use it well for the causes of good." He scowled at Gandalf, like a boy who has been roped into doing something he didn't want to do.
Artemis held it gingerly. His face showed slight revulsion, but the mastermind part of him pushed the feeling away and started bragging. Wow, Anduril. You are holding Anduril. Aragorn's sword. So what if he tried to decapitate you with it? It's a SWORD! COOL!
You sound like those cousins, he told himself.
Get over it.
Legolas took a graceful stride toward the confident cousins, both obviously focused on the bow and sheath of arrows he held. Glancing apologetically at Tessa (who suddenly looked crestfallen) he handed them to Jennie. "Use them sparingly. These were wrought in Lothelorien."
"Cool." Jennie's face held wide-eyed rapture. She gazed at the bow. OMG! His BOW!
Disappointed, Tessa looked at Gandalf. His face was impassive, and her heart sank. But the White Rider stepped forward nevertheless, and he carried only his staff.
This he gave to the last of the four.
"While you hold it, my power - and the power of the Istari - is with you. None save I have ever touched this. Behold, then, Gandalf the White when his people are at need."
The staff glowed white in Tessa's hand. She was speechless.
At that moment, Ally tried to stand up with her ax, and fell over again. This time she missed it when she fell. Instead, the metal raised a giant bruise on her kneecap.
"OW!!!!!!!!!!"
Let us draw the curtain of compassion over the rest of the scene.
*
"D'ARVIT!!"
Root's voice was heard several meters away from where he stood in the Ops booth, purple-faced and ready to kick Foaly's computer again.
"Julius!" The centaur's voice was sharp. "Compose yourself."
The commander complied, glaring.
Foaly rebooted the machine, rubbing weary eyes. I should just let Julius kick it, he told himself. What good is it doing me anyway? We've been struggling with this predicament for. he checked his watch .an hour and a half since Trouble had put up the time-stop, and we're getting nowhere. There are six and a half more hours remaining to them. And I'm clueless. That's a first.
"I'm going to kill those cousins," Root remarked to thin air.
"Julius, is that nice?" Holly was grinning despite her fear.
"Holly. I'm going to."
Foaly listened to them bicker, reflecting on how similar old married couples must sound. He shrugged these mental images off and turned back to the computer.
"Maybe another cell phone call," he suggested wearily. "With Holly talking instead of you, Root. And I'll make the location recordings."
"What do I do?" The commander was delighted that Foaly hadn't used his first name. The centaur must be really tired.
"You monitor the surveillance."
"Which means.?"
Foaly showed him the several-hundred watt plugs and bulbs behind the computer desktops. "These things are live phenomenons. Never touch them or any of the cords around them, and if anything crackles or snaps, I want you to flick this switch." He showed them a beige knob. "This is wired up to the whole of Haven. You flick this baby and it's night-night for everybody, the whole of the underground. I filched the electric blueprints a few years back."
"You sound like Mulch," Holly grumbled, and made the call.
*
Artemis scowled as his cell phone rang again. He stepped outside the room, opened it up grumpily, and held it to his ear. "Now what?"
Holly's voice was thin and anxious, something that gave the boy a cold feeling. "Artemis. what do you think you're doing?"
"Short, I." He was lost for words. "I'm going to save a life, I guess."
In a different word, Holly snickered. Her fear slid away as she returned to her usual tart self. "I see. Falling for the bravery thing again, are we?"
"You don't know everything, Holly." Artemis's voice was icy.
Fascinating. He could almost see the captain rubbing her eyes. "Listen, Fowl, never mind that. You have exactly six and a half hours to get those cousins back home. After that, it'll be dawn, and you will be stuck there."
Something froze inside the mastermind's gut. He kept his voice calm anyway. "I see. So I, of course, don't matter. Just the cousins. Fine. Take them. I couldn't care less if I stayed here. I matter here. And I never did underground, or even at Fowl Manor. I matter to the cousins and I matter to two little hobbits who need my help."
"Dammit, Fowl!" Holly's voice cracked, and the boy felt sad, infinitely sad, for something that might have been. He pushed it furiously away, color rising in his cheeks. "This is your world. And you do matter. Remember the goblin insurgence?"
"I do. That was the beginning of the end for me. My father is the ruler of my world. Not anymore!" Artemis was almost yelling. He dropped his voice. "Now I'm in charge again. Holly, you can't make me come back."
The captain felt her stomach dropping away. This was not going as she had planned. "Can't you see?" she pleaded. "Fowl, THIS IS YOUR D'ARVIT WORLD. Yours. Mine. Theirs. You can't stay in a place you aren't a part of. In fact, right now Foaly is finding a way to trace -"
Artemis threw the cell angrily to the floor. It shattered, and there was a stench of smoke.
"I'm sorry, Holly," he whispered furiously, "but I'm not little Arty anymore."
He turned on his heel and stalked out of the hall, leaving the broken cell to steam. Rage, fear, and confusion struggled to gain this adolescent boy who, like so many before him, was prey to the turmoil of time.
And time was running out for him.
It was also running out for the cousins.
*
There, see, that wasn't so bad. Was it? I mean a little TINY EENSY WEENSY bit of mush won't hurt you. Now. REVIEW! Or you do NOT get chapters 13 through 17!
So yeah.
Also: no I did NOT get this from the Magic Treehouse LMAO! The next person who suggests that I will string up by their toes as soon as I find out where they live.
But thank you for all the nice reviews otherwise.
*
Chapter Twelve: Preparation
Tessa's eyes shone like stars. Alison, however, looked less than enthusiastic.
"A, a quest? NO!! Um, I don't think so." Her face had a blank expression on it, as though she didn't know what to do with her features. Jennie sniggered at her. Alison continued, ignoring her:
"I, I mean, Tessa and Jennie aren't exactly cut out for that, and neither is Artemis, and." She blanched at Gandalf's scowl. "Well, I have no objection but, but, see, I have to look after them."
Legolas smirked at her, which made Ally shut up completely. Having a hot elf smirk at her was the last straw.
Gimli entered the room, using his ax as a staff. Gandalf flinched as he saw the notches his blade made on the tile floor. Aragorn was following him, and both Alison and Artemis flushed when they saw him. The Elessar scowled at Artemis. Ally, put out, fluffed her hair back pointedly. He ignored her.
Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn assembled themselves into an intimidating line before the four. They were all watching each other warily. Then the cousins spoke.
"Of COURSE!" Jennie was practically bursting.
Tessa was waving her hands around. "Gandalf, I would have thought you had more sense! We, we have been WAITING to meet you our WHOLE LIFE! Legolas and Pippin and Aragorn, you're all here! You're made into gosh-dang BOOKS where we come from! And MOVIES! And you like don't even know what I'm talking about but do you know what, to think that we're just going to come and look at you all and then VANISH is just WRONG! You ask us to do a quest and we'll DO it! I mean, REALLY! This is like our DREAM! You can't expect Ally to want to, she's a prissy snob - no offense Ally - and Artemis is like half-cocked but WE are IN!"
The cousins went over to hug Gandalf. They would have felt totally out of place hugging Legolas (which was too bad, really,) but Gandalf was the Grandpa guy who you could be casual with.
Artemis followed, seething over being called "half-cocked." He stood by Gimli and waited for the cousins to stop hugging Gandalf, who looked oddly like he might cry.
Gimli gave him a hefty slap on the back. "That's my boy!" Artemis staggered and almost fell into Aragorn, who gave him a frosty stare.
The mastermind smiled weakly. "Heh."
Alison looked at the trio and heaved a sigh. "I did say I had to look after them," she reminded herself, and followed.
To the eternal envy and embarrassment of the other two girls, Alison found a light hand on her shoulder. Legolas cast her an approving glance, and she melted.
Jennie was staring at her. "Uh, Ally? You O.K.?"
"Yeah," said the pile of mush that was Ally.
Gandalf was beaming. "Very well then. We will prepare horses for you in time for our departure. And, um. weapons, I think?"
Tessa's eyes bugged out of her head. "Oh WOW."
Gimli smiled around at everybody. "Me first, I think." He hefted his ax expertly and handed it to Alison, who almost dropped it at the heavy weight.
"Um," she grunted, lifting it. She looked like an iron lifter. "I'm. taking that with me?"
"Yep," said Gimli, grinning away like he had made some huge sacrifice and was expecting a crowd of fans to come in the door at any minute to scatter rose petals over his suffering head. "Yep, yep, yep."
Everyone else sniggered, including Legolas.
Ally glowered at them all and tried to walk around with the ax. She staggered and fell with the ax under her (fortunately sideways, edges pointing away). "Oof."
Somewhat bitterly, Aragorn walked forward. He held Anduril in his hands, carrying it as though it were made of solid gold. Sullenly, he handed it to Artemis. "None save Isildur's bloodline has touched this blade before. Use it well for the causes of good." He scowled at Gandalf, like a boy who has been roped into doing something he didn't want to do.
Artemis held it gingerly. His face showed slight revulsion, but the mastermind part of him pushed the feeling away and started bragging. Wow, Anduril. You are holding Anduril. Aragorn's sword. So what if he tried to decapitate you with it? It's a SWORD! COOL!
You sound like those cousins, he told himself.
Get over it.
Legolas took a graceful stride toward the confident cousins, both obviously focused on the bow and sheath of arrows he held. Glancing apologetically at Tessa (who suddenly looked crestfallen) he handed them to Jennie. "Use them sparingly. These were wrought in Lothelorien."
"Cool." Jennie's face held wide-eyed rapture. She gazed at the bow. OMG! His BOW!
Disappointed, Tessa looked at Gandalf. His face was impassive, and her heart sank. But the White Rider stepped forward nevertheless, and he carried only his staff.
This he gave to the last of the four.
"While you hold it, my power - and the power of the Istari - is with you. None save I have ever touched this. Behold, then, Gandalf the White when his people are at need."
The staff glowed white in Tessa's hand. She was speechless.
At that moment, Ally tried to stand up with her ax, and fell over again. This time she missed it when she fell. Instead, the metal raised a giant bruise on her kneecap.
"OW!!!!!!!!!!"
Let us draw the curtain of compassion over the rest of the scene.
*
"D'ARVIT!!"
Root's voice was heard several meters away from where he stood in the Ops booth, purple-faced and ready to kick Foaly's computer again.
"Julius!" The centaur's voice was sharp. "Compose yourself."
The commander complied, glaring.
Foaly rebooted the machine, rubbing weary eyes. I should just let Julius kick it, he told himself. What good is it doing me anyway? We've been struggling with this predicament for. he checked his watch .an hour and a half since Trouble had put up the time-stop, and we're getting nowhere. There are six and a half more hours remaining to them. And I'm clueless. That's a first.
"I'm going to kill those cousins," Root remarked to thin air.
"Julius, is that nice?" Holly was grinning despite her fear.
"Holly. I'm going to."
Foaly listened to them bicker, reflecting on how similar old married couples must sound. He shrugged these mental images off and turned back to the computer.
"Maybe another cell phone call," he suggested wearily. "With Holly talking instead of you, Root. And I'll make the location recordings."
"What do I do?" The commander was delighted that Foaly hadn't used his first name. The centaur must be really tired.
"You monitor the surveillance."
"Which means.?"
Foaly showed him the several-hundred watt plugs and bulbs behind the computer desktops. "These things are live phenomenons. Never touch them or any of the cords around them, and if anything crackles or snaps, I want you to flick this switch." He showed them a beige knob. "This is wired up to the whole of Haven. You flick this baby and it's night-night for everybody, the whole of the underground. I filched the electric blueprints a few years back."
"You sound like Mulch," Holly grumbled, and made the call.
*
Artemis scowled as his cell phone rang again. He stepped outside the room, opened it up grumpily, and held it to his ear. "Now what?"
Holly's voice was thin and anxious, something that gave the boy a cold feeling. "Artemis. what do you think you're doing?"
"Short, I." He was lost for words. "I'm going to save a life, I guess."
In a different word, Holly snickered. Her fear slid away as she returned to her usual tart self. "I see. Falling for the bravery thing again, are we?"
"You don't know everything, Holly." Artemis's voice was icy.
Fascinating. He could almost see the captain rubbing her eyes. "Listen, Fowl, never mind that. You have exactly six and a half hours to get those cousins back home. After that, it'll be dawn, and you will be stuck there."
Something froze inside the mastermind's gut. He kept his voice calm anyway. "I see. So I, of course, don't matter. Just the cousins. Fine. Take them. I couldn't care less if I stayed here. I matter here. And I never did underground, or even at Fowl Manor. I matter to the cousins and I matter to two little hobbits who need my help."
"Dammit, Fowl!" Holly's voice cracked, and the boy felt sad, infinitely sad, for something that might have been. He pushed it furiously away, color rising in his cheeks. "This is your world. And you do matter. Remember the goblin insurgence?"
"I do. That was the beginning of the end for me. My father is the ruler of my world. Not anymore!" Artemis was almost yelling. He dropped his voice. "Now I'm in charge again. Holly, you can't make me come back."
The captain felt her stomach dropping away. This was not going as she had planned. "Can't you see?" she pleaded. "Fowl, THIS IS YOUR D'ARVIT WORLD. Yours. Mine. Theirs. You can't stay in a place you aren't a part of. In fact, right now Foaly is finding a way to trace -"
Artemis threw the cell angrily to the floor. It shattered, and there was a stench of smoke.
"I'm sorry, Holly," he whispered furiously, "but I'm not little Arty anymore."
He turned on his heel and stalked out of the hall, leaving the broken cell to steam. Rage, fear, and confusion struggled to gain this adolescent boy who, like so many before him, was prey to the turmoil of time.
And time was running out for him.
It was also running out for the cousins.
*
There, see, that wasn't so bad. Was it? I mean a little TINY EENSY WEENSY bit of mush won't hurt you. Now. REVIEW! Or you do NOT get chapters 13 through 17!