A/N: This is the second chapter I've uploaded today, so make sure that you have read chapter 3. ;)
The Everglades, Florida
Foaly had traced Mulch all the way to Florida. As Holly hovered above his shack in the Everglades, her thoughts drifted. If Artemis was experiencing memory triggers, then it was only a matter of time before he would have his memories back. As much as this excited her, it also worried her. She needed to be there. She needed to be the one to help him remember all of it, like the part about not hurting the People. As much as she wanted to be there for her own personal reasons, Holly knew that this issue was very important for the safety of the People.
Root hadn't liked the plan at all, but Foaly had convinced him that some things are just too big to mind wipe. "Julius, it is already starting to come back to him, and if someone realizes this, someone who wants to get rid of the LEP, then it would be all too easy to turn Artemis into the monster that he once was!" Foaly had explained as Root puffed on a fungus cigar, the mere remembrance causing Holly's eyes to water. "First off, do NOT call me Julius! Second, how do we know that he will not harm the People after he gets his memories back?" Root had asked, his face a shade of Valentine red. Foaly sighed. He and Holly didn't really have any evidence, only a hunch. So, Foaly improvised. "Brain wave analysis… you see, when the body enters the REM sleep stage—" Foaly had begun, but Root cut him off. "Save it. I'm sure it all makes sense to a smart pony like yourself, but I really don't care. Just fix this. The council is upset about Fowl getting his memories back, but I told them that another mind wipe wouldn't work."
Loading her Neutrino 2003, the latest technology in weaponry with all of the features of the original 2000, Holly inserted a sleeping dart. Unshielding herself, she touched her feet to the ground, shutting off the set of wings that she had borrowed. Creeping up to the door of Mulch's shack, she observed the surroundings. Various bugs flew around her, some lighting up in the dark, humid Florida night. Flipping her helmet visor up, she knocked sharply on the door three times. "Coming, my princess!" Mulch called in a sing-song way from inside the shack. Holly rolled her hazel eyes as the door flung open. Mulch managed to say, "Hey, you're not my princess!" before Holly cut him off with a dart to the neck.
Immediately slumping to the floor, Mulch grunted. "Thanks for making it so simple, Mulch," Holly said, smiling as she reached down and untied the golden disc. Mulch had been keeping it with him, just as Holly had suspected. She turned it over in her hand, examining the gold leaf on the outside of the disc. "I'm coming Artemis, just give me a few days," she whispered, flipping her visor back down and flying back to the transport that she had begged Root to let her borrow.
"Foaly? You there?" she said, settling down into the pilot's seat. "No, this is Foaly's evil twin, your worst nightmare… OF COURSE I'm here, you silly fairy!" he said, snorting. "Well, I've got the disc. That dart knocked Mulch on his back, and the idiot was wearing it. I don't know if he knew that it was a disc," Holly said, starting up the transport and taking off. "Well, the easy part is over. The hard part is yet to come. I hope you know what you're in for, Holly," Foaly said, his voice hushed. "Look, Foaly, I have to do this for Artemis. We owe it to him," she paused, before continuing to say, "and I can't take this anymore. My life just isn't right without him!"
To be continued. I'll be gone for a week on vacation, but I'm planning to write on the car rides. So, no updates next week, but there should be more than one chapter when I get back.