In the Manor Lounge, with spooky portraits looking down at Kent, Butler, Juliet, Holly and a plasma screen of Commander Sool.
"I still haven't forgiven you, Sool. You know that." Holly smirked at the screen.
"Oh… are you threatening me, Short?" Sool said.
"I don't like you, Sool. Let me be the one to let you know that you don't make a good first impression." Kent was pissed off, and if she's pissed off, someone would cry for his mommy.
"If you don't like me, you don't have the LEP."
"I don't need the LEP, I need the horse."
"Foaly is under me and I say no, mud-girl."
"If I don't get Foaly, I let Butler down there." She smiled, somewhat relaxed.
Sool was fully aware of what Butler did to a whole Retrieval team and to the full grown troll.
"You get Foaly. That's it, no other."
"Fine with me." He said and the screen disappeared.
Kent held the communicator and opened another screen; it showed Artemis in a car, unconscious.
"I wonder what this is, boss." a voice said and the communicator moved in every directions, showing the car, Ferrari, showing two sprites and an elf, Holly shouted "Grey!"
"It's a communicator you dimwit!" Grey said snatching the communicator.
"I'm getting dizzy, why can't they hold it in one place?" Juliet said massaging her temples. I am too, but we have to concentrate, Kent thought.
"Leave it here, they would wonder where Artemis is, were going to give them Artemis, but dead." Grey said with a laugh, the scene turned back to Artemis. And for once, he looked like an innocent teenager who happens to be in bad hands.
The communicator turned off and Kent handed Holly and Juliet CD's, like what Artemis did in the past years. Holly thinks she was a girl version of Artemis.
"And me?" Butler asked looking at the girl version of Artemis.
Kent threw him the communicator, "You get to stay in the shuttle and stay alert for anything."
"Shuttle? Sool would never-" Holly was cut off by a sound from outside.
Just then, they heard a helicopter landing at the backyard. It was Foaly, in a shielded chute. Kent smiled as if she were expecting the chute. She's too perfect, Juliet thought as she went in the computer room. The Asian- Italian girl would seem so, but they do not know her just yet.
"We would go to Venice after dinner." Kent said.
"But Foaly could not go in the Manor, he can't wait without carrots." Holly interrupted.
"Miss Short, Artemis never said about centaurs inside the house, all he said was Root's race is to never come in, but you. His race is with the Elves, not centaurs, also dwarfs."
"Funny you should mention Julius."
"He is my uncle, though I've never seen nor met him, I could never forgive the one who killed him."
"It was Opal, but the records say that it was me." Her voice was shaky.
"I do not follow the records, I follow the truth." Holly then hugged the girl. They looked like a girl hugging her teddy bear.
Lunch--------
"You all know what the plan is?" she asked after eating.
"Yes, but how did you know that he's in Venice?" Juliet asked.
"Elementary statistics, Grey lives in E14. That's in Venice. Plus, Holly told his place to me earlier."
"I see."
"Now, we can't afford anymore to stay-gnh…" she squinted holding her stomach.
"Katerina!" Holly stood up in shock.
Juliet amazingly kept her cool and got a tablet medicine from her pocket. She then let Kent drink down one and walked back to her seat.
"Thank you, Juliet. Again, we could not afford to waste time, I expect Foaly to be full of carrots in his amazing chute." She said matter-of-factly.
"You're sick and you stay there as if it's nothing!" Holly shouted.
"I am fine, Holly, as long as Juliet keeps my medicine. I know it's a bit of a shock…"
"Just tell us what is happening to you." The elf said impatiently.
"I don't know…"
Kent's words were silent and simple, but it made Holly call for elf-medics. It turned out that the combination of hard elf tissues and the soft ones of a human was hard. Much of her organs were made for elves but her intestine and liver was not.
"Holly! Don't make me stay here, give your medics time to figure out a medicine. Until then, I could go with you! Please?" Kent ran after Holly who was flying to the door.
"You have to stay in the house. We have things figured out."
"Venice is my home, I want to go back at least."
"I said no, Kent."
Holly went in the invisible chute, Juliet and the others were already there. One could see whats inside when its doors are open, but as soon as its closed, its fully invisible, even to modern sensors.
"I suppose she's right." Butler said.
Kent stampered back to the manor, she heared the helicopter sound going by the distance.
"Venice is my home" She said plainly and dressed up for a flight.
Venice, early in the morning-----
"Who are you?" Artemis asked, he was tied up to one corner of a room with a formaly suitted elf looking at him.
"I'm Grey. Jason Grey." The elf smiled.