Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot, thank you!
Thank you: To Scottish Ninja I'm really sorry that you didn't think my story was up to much, I agree that my story is practically nothing but dialogue, but I don't agree with the fact that you think my punctuation is rubbish! Also you said that chapters should have at least 1000 words per chapter, but on your story the chapter has only 567! Thanks for reviewing anyway, and I will try to improve (except on punctuation because I don't know what I did wrong!) Trouble Kelp About the sequel stuff –I'm currently writing one and it's going to be called 'Holly Short and the curse of the elephant suit'. Random I know! Nope, Julius isn't going to die again in the sequel because I'm not that nasty! Thanks! maddisonavenue Thanks for the lovely comments! Here's the next chapter for ya:P Wing Pikepaw Talking hulk gloves? COOL! I guess Opal is so strong because she has been working out by farming the vines! (Or maybe anger makes her mad, OR maybe the sugar from all the sweets she ate made her hyper!) Yes, you did inspire me with the Halloween bit ;) Thank you very much! SPG I'm glad you liked my story, and this is the last chapter.
Recap: "D'ARVIT!" Shrieked Holly. "AHH…mphh, mphh!" She tried to scream but couldn't as she felt Opal's hand clamp over her mouth. Within minutes Holly was tied up in the corner. The gun lay useless on the floor.
This is the last chapter: Thank you so so much to everyone who has reviewed. Forgotten Sunrise, titanfan, Vicki, Nicole, SPG, Scottish Ninja. Also very big thank yous to: Trouble Kelp, harryzgurl, maddisonavenue, and most especially Wing Pikepaw. I'm currently working on a sequel called Holly Short and the curse of the elephant suit, and it is a bit random! Please review and make my day, I never expected to get past 5 reviews so 23 is a bit of a shock! (A very good one though!) Have a nice
day :D
Meanwhile Commander Root was a bit lost. After that Arctic Incident he had promised himself he would stay in Police Plaza –and he had- well, except for that one time when he'd nearly been killed. Anyway, his sense of direction wasn't up to much as there wasn't any need for it at the plaza –everything was signposted- Holly had zoomed away leaving him to find Koboi alone; so he'd gone into a sitting room, a dining room, a room he was clueless to what it was for, a store room, and then finally through a door and out into the vineyard. Round and round he wandered, looking for an exit, cursing the fact that he had become so reliant on Foaly's technology: maps of the stakeouts, the centaur's fancy bulletproof suits (let's face it, how many bullets can a hulk costume take?) and, though Julius hated to admit it, he even missed that jumped up donkey's annoying whinnying comments in his ear. Suddenly Julius glanced up to hear a familiar voice from one of the windows of the farmhouse. It was Opal.
"So here we are, Short (literally). You are now my prisoner. So let this be a lesson –your final lesson- never entrust your life to human technology. Leave that kind of thing to geniuses like me." The commander could just imagine the human's triumphant face. "And now you are going to come to an end. An electrifying end."
Foaly was bored. There was nothing to do and noone to annoy. Artemis and Butler were fast asleep, Trouble had gone off duty, Mulch was still out cold, and Sool had left –of course if Holly had been there they would have been partying the night away at the demise of Sool. But Holly wasn't there, she was currently being electrocuted by Opal Koboi –but Foaly didn't know that.
"Ow, ow, ow," whimpered Holly. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was like a red hot fire licking along her arm and engulfing her mind. The only thought she could hold onto was
"Where is the commander?…Where is the commander?…Where is the commander?….The commander?…Commander? Comman…." Holly slumped back onto the hard wooden floor, and judging by the weak pulse threading lazily along her veins it was doubtful whether she'd ever get up again.
As a matter of fact, the commander had miraculously found a way out of the maze-like vineyard and was currently running up the stairs as fast as he could. He bumped into the Italian lady halfway up –who, judging by the expression on her face, had not found the sweets and was equally unhappy about having trick or treaters running riot all over her house- but a quick blast from the commander's gun and she was out cold, all anger gone from her face. Sweat dripped off the end of his nose and his face was a deep scarlet colour, but in his eyes fired a fierce determination. His officer had risked her life to save his, so doing the same in return was the least he could do. He may not have shown it, but when Holly turned up in the tunnel he was eternally grateful. Also, he was a bit embarrassed to be found sitting in his underwear –but Holly didn't seem to have cared. He threw the Hulk mask down on the top landing, and almost bumped into the villain of this story.
"Buongiorno Julius!" Opal said.
"Shut up Koboi." Snarled Root. "What have you done with Holly? If you've hurt her even just a tiny bit I'll kill you! Come to think of it I might just kill you anyway." He threatened.
"Well let me see," Koboi replied nastily. "I, personally, didn't harm Short. I just tied her up-"
"You managed to tie Holly up!" Intersected Root, shocked.
"Sure, I mean, once she realised that dumb human gun had no bullets left she wilted like a weed. All I did was tie some copper wire round her finger, the electric socket did the rest."
"What? WHAT? WHAT?" Bellowed Root. "You-" He said a word I will remain from mentioning here. "You electrocuted Holly! Oh my God!" He drew up his gun to whack the imbecile but she whacked him in the eye. Half blinded by blood the commander flailed around, and managed to cuff Opal heavily on the ear. She cursed slightly, allowing him to follow the sound and stand in front of the criminal. Trapped in the corner with nowhere to hide, Koboi was forced to watch Root plant his neutrino in-between her eyes.
"I don't think you'll shoot me." Koboi whispered. "You haven't got the bottle."
"Wanna bet?" Retorted the commander, and bang, she was down.
As the commander watched Koboi slumped to the floor he stamped his foot in frustration.
"Darn," he thought. "She's just a bit frazzled –I didn't have the setting up high enough." However there was no time to waste and so the commander charged towards the door Holly had blasted earlier. Once in the room Root drew back in shock. A piece of copper wire had been pushed into the socket and the other end had been wrapped around Holly's slim elfin finger. Still the electricity pulsed through Holly's body, causing tiny red lines all over her skin. Quickly the commander turned off the electricity and unwound the copper; he shook Holly's slumped form. "Come on Holly, speak to me!" He cried, but it was no use. Holly was breathing, but just barely.
Julius hoisted the captain over his shoulder and made his way out, stopping to pick up Koboi on the way. He ran down the stairs, hopped over the Italian lady, jumped out into the yard, and continued down the drive –dragging Opal behind him-, Through the patch of fog he had made earlier and into the shuttle. He locked Koboi from the outside in to the bathroom –it was just tough if anyone needed to go- though it didn't look as if Holly was going to be asking to go to the toilet anytime soon, she was still out for the count. The commander turned on the ignition and went as fast as the sub would go –fairy crafts didn't have to obey human speed limits-
Deep in the bowels of the earth Foaly was absorbed in a game of minesweeper. He wasn't bothering to look at the sub camera anymore, as Julius and Holly had disappeared from it two hours before. Anyway, he had to beat the top score, even if he had set that score himself.
In the sub Root was frantic. Holly's magic was long gone, and his was definitely not strong enough for this kind of magical healing. He breathed a half-hearted sigh of relief as the lights of the Ops booth subport came into view.
"Boo," thought Foaly, "beaten by myself again." Suddenly the subport alarm flashed red and made a terrific noise. The racket it made was loud enough to wake up Artemis and Butler, though sadly not Mulch –maybe that was a good thing-
"It's Holly and Root!" Foaly yelled excitedly, and the next thing he knew a bunch of people had crowded into the tiny booth to meet the duo when they came in.
Julius pushed the door.
"HOORAY!"
"GOOD GOING!"
"WELCOME BACK!" And then a small voice.
"Where is Holly?" Root gently laid his partners fragile frame on the floor.
Silence. Soon followed by screams and an invasion of mediwarlocks.
"Is she going to be ok?" Asked the commander weakly.
"We don't know sir," replied the warlock. "Sorry."
In the hospital waiting room Commander Root sat nervously on an uncomfortable plastic chair as Foaly paced the floor slowly.
"I'm sorry." The commander blurted out suddenly.
"What for?" Asked Foaly with a questioning look.
"For, for, for," Stammered the commander uncharitarislty. "Well, for maybe not getting there quick enough to save Holly. I know how much she means to you."
"Thanks Julius." Mumbled the centaur –and for once Julius did not correct him and demand to be called commander- "But you did everything you could. I just….I just couldn't bear it if Holly died," here Foaly sniffed as a great tear rolled off the end of his nose. "If Holly died and she never knew how I feel about her."
"And how do you feel about her?" Questioned the commander gently.
"Um," Foaly sighed, "I think about her, all the time. I phone her up late at night, just to hear her voice. I get nervous if she has to go on a mission."
"Oh." The commander said quietly.
"And yet, I was the one who sent her on this mission!" Foaly laughed bitterly. "I was the one who effectively killed her!"
"No," comforted Root softly. "You didn't, and Holly isn't dead-"
"Yet," interrupted Foaly. "She's not dead yet."
Hours past, and on the surface the moon turned into the sun. Underground Foaly and the commander were allowed in to see their friend. Holly lay motionless on the bed surrounded by complicated with looking machines which made menacing noises.
"Holly?" Voiced Foaly and Julius.
"She won't answer." Said a warlock with a nametag that said 'Emerald Trainee' on it, who was making her way past.
"She's in a coma," came the reply.
"OH!" Said Root loudly; glancing at the warlock's nametag. "Did I tell you that Opal Koboi is locked in the toilet of the sub I flew back?"
"No! I'll go phone HQ now." Foaly cantered off to find a payphone. There wasn't many times that Foaly was glad to be away from machines, but this time was one of them.
"Damn that Opal Koboi for doing this to you Holly." Muttered the commander partly to himself, partly to Holly.
"Commander?" Whispered a croaky voice.
"Holly?" Gasped the commander, daring to hope.
"Yes." Holly's voice got stronger. "If I don't make it, tell Foaly he," Holly faltered. "Tell Foaly he means a lot, NO! Tell him I love him and I don't care that he doesn't feel the same way about me."
"But Holly," Julius reached out and clasped her hand. "Foaly does feel the same way about you, he told me so."
"Really? You're joking right?"
"No!" Came a voice from the doorway, it was Foaly. "Holly I love you, no joke!"
"Sorry to interrupt the happy reunion," It was Trouble Kelp with a huge bunch of flowers. "But commander? Opal Koboi is in jail, and Holly, the warlocks say you're going to be fine, the trainee was wrong and you're not in a coma after all." Holly grinned, and with the hand that wasn't being held by Commander Root, took Foaly's arm.
Commander Root was alive, Opal Koboi was in jail, and most of all, Foaly had confessed his undying love for Holly. Everything was going to be just perfect.
"Oh!" Said Trouble. "Butler dropped a grenade on the floor when we were having that fight. When Mulch Diggums woke up he thought it was an apple and took a bite out of it." Trouble paused for maximum effect. "It exploded and Police Plaza is pretty much bombed out. Nobody was hurt though, except for Mulch's feelings.
Well, almost perfect anyway!