Ok, so, we're a little slow with the comments, but mebbie that's cuz y'all don't like it. Too bad…cuz I need to get this outta my head….Now, for my comment…

To my most favorite Crystalshine……ahahahahahaha, for reals. Your comment made me laugh very very out loud at like, three am. Oh my god. I miss your humor and the way you throw in your two cents…I accept them everytime, of course. And as for the Mary Sue thing….god, just wait. You have no idea. And yes, I like Holly too, but she just wouldn't fit. It would be hard to do what I have to do. Anyways, this one's sorta for you. Just sorta….

Oh, and a quick note…when I don't write a complete sentence, its not because I'm bad at sentence structure. It's supposed to be like how people talk. I know that all of you don't talk in a complete sentence every single second of your life.

Across Distant Seas

Chapter 3—Deceptive Disease

Artemis was taken aback. Holly had never warmed to him in that manner so fast. She was walking beside Samantha, talking lightly about what seemed like nothing. Basic introductions with a ring of familiarity. How pleasant. He could have hurled.

"I'll take you to Foaly first. He's got all of the diagnostic results of the pathogen." Holly strode down the hall with purpose. She led them to a familiar room, well, at least to Butler and Artemis. Foaly, even after swearing to never be paranoid again, seemed to have regressed. He was still in his ultra-security room and was wearing a tin-foil hat, although now it was brightly colored.

"Foaly, you remember Mud Boy and Butler. This is Samantha. She's here to help. You remember me telling you about her."

Foaly looked serious. "You've gotten taller, Mud Boy. And Samantha…" he eyed her purse.

"I've heard about your passion for above-ground technology, or lack thereof." She reached in her purse and pulled out her Ipod Nano, tossing it at him. "Have fun."

His face lightened immediately. "I think I'm going to like this girl, Holly."

Holly and Sam both rolled their eyes playfully at the same time. "Before you get too enthralled, Foaly, give them the information."

Foaly smiled. "Ah, ok." He pulled up something on a small, hand-held screen. He bypassed Artemis's hand and gave it to Sam. She smiled and looked at the information. Her face fell into a look of small concentration. Her eyebrows rose expressively, and a smile crossed her face.

"It's crack?" The room's heads snapped up to look at her. "Crack? Are you sure?"

"Crack?" Holly asked. "What is That would have been a better word. What is it in, the powder form?"

They stood looking shocked at her.

"Yes." Foaly said, raising his eyebrows. "There have been many cases of inhalation and death. It's carried around by the air systems, we're guessing. We found this on a shady looking fairy. He died before we could get any information."

"What are the symptoms?" Artemis asked. His head was spinning. Cocaine…and it was fatal to fairies. And… this had to be outside dealings. It couldn't be Koboi again, but who?

"Starts out with coughing, sneezing, congestion. It's a lot like a simple Mud Man cold. Then there's hives, swelling, vomiting, sometimes blindness. And then, if the…what was the word, crack? is not removed from the environment, the symptoms disappear. As far as we've seen. After twenty-four hours, death strikes by seizure."

Samantha looked horrified. "That's terrible! And who do you think is doing this?"

"We need to do more research. Now that we know what it is….Foaly?"

"Yeah, I'll get to it in a minute. This is so adorable. Ah, Mud Man technology. It's so….primative."

"NOW, FOALY!" Holly bellowed.

Foaly rubbed his eyes and began tapping on his keyboard. Holly left for a while, claiming she had paperwork to finish. Artemis watched as Sam played on her cell phone and Butler stared around, bored. He occupied himself for a while by working on his laptop, but actually grew tired of that. Hours passed, and he was just starting to feel hungry when Foaly lifted his head.

"I'm guessing South America."

"You're guessing?" Artemis scoffed.

"Uh, yeah, that's what I said." Sam hid a laugh.

"I've traced the types and the available resources, plus added the typical stereotypes and I've come up with South America. In the northern central region."

"That's good." Butler said. "Do you have a plan?"

"I do, but I'll have to discuss it with Holly. Give me a minute." He walked out of the room. A few minutes later, he came back in with a suppressed look of who-knew-what.

"We'll contact you in a few days."

"What? That's it? You drag us all the way down here to help, and all you can say is you'll contact us?"

"Fine. Here's the plan. While I was researching, I found out that a semi-prominent drug lord has a townhouse in Rome. He deals exclusively in 'crack'. You're all going to Rome. Under an alias, I assume that's what you'll want. Get something and go. Find some information, and bring it back."

"Wait. Let me get this. You want Artemis to be involved with drug dealers?" Butler looked almost outraged.

"Goo-lay," Sam interjected.

"I beg your pardon," said Artemis.

"Goo-lay. G-u-l-l-e-t. Like from a chicken, or a Fowl. You know, like a last name for an alias."

Foaly nodded. "That's smart. Yes, Butler, drug dealers. I can arrange for you to stand by--"

"DRUG DEALERS! WHAT IN GOD'S NAME DO YOU THINK YOU'RE SUGGESTING!" Butler thundered.

"I'll do it. Not a problem. I guess I owe you, Holly, for one thing or another. You'll get me some good technology, right Foaly?" Artemis found the plan, well, very outside of the box. He needed a new twist. Ha, and the American girl couldn't have known any Italian. And she was probably to girly for drug dealers.

"I agree." Samantha said. "Foaly, could you make a false bank account under the name of Gullet? Hotel reservations, the works?"

"Do pigs fly?"

"Only in Ohio."

"Oh, well, then, yes, I can and will do it."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!" Butler was turning redder by the minute.

Holly walked in. "Someone save us, you told them the plan. Oh, I told you to wait so I could break it to Butler in an easier fashion. Butler, breathe, they'll be completely safe."

"SAFE!"

"Yes. And if not…you can kill the whole fairy world."

"Wait, what? Why would you--?"

"Foaly has some really good new technology. You'd be surprised. Anyways, it's late. We'll send contact via your computer, Mud Boy. It's late. You'll need to be heading up soon. Remember, this is our project. No other People, and no other people, clear?"

"Clear," they all affirmed. From there, it was a rush back to the shuttle, cramped and warm. Artemis's mind spun, and surprisingly, Samantha didn't look to shocked.

"Come stai, Artemis?"

Crap. Italian. She probably knew more. Oh well. He let his mind wonder, scheming and delving into this new plan, all the while completely unaware that he was admiring Sam from across the shuttle.

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I know, not so great, but it's late. Review, please. I love you.