Daisy: This is a special chapter dedicated to my fabulous Beta Marz0!
Ginnie: It's her birthday today (16th May) so we decided to save her the trouble of Beta-ing this story, this time! Even if she wanted to beta it (which she did) we did it for her any way!
Hannah: Yup that we did, and we tried to make sure the chapter was extra long. It worked very well which is very unusual for our plans!
Daisy: So Marzie have a great day and enjoy your pressies, especially the ones we got you!
Ginnie: Here's part nine, we hope you enjoy the chapter!
Artemis Fowl and the Tigers' Den
Chapter 16
After six or seven hours flying the small group began to descend, eventually landing in a large grassy field. Off to one side of the field, in some slightly longer grass, was a large tent and a few small camp fires. Daisy morphed back to her human form and strolled over to the tent, Artemis and Holly in their human forms following closely behind. It was just after midnight and as they entered the tent Daisy ran up to Marz and gave her a hug.
"Happy Birthday Marzie!" The Queens shouted joyfully.
From nowhere Daisy produced a bracelet of black crystals and put it round Marz's wrist.
"It's from all of us." She said happily. "Enjoy the battle later today! It'll be fun to see you fight again!"
All of the Queens, Artemis and Holly span round as someone entered the tent. The Queens ran over to the two men and gave them hugs. Marz was the first one to speak, she was standing right by one of the men. He had dark blond hair and deep brown eyes.
"Tyler wow!" Marz said. "You have changed so much since I last saw you, you were only fourteen back then!"
"I know." He replied kindly. "I've aged very well the last 500 years! I wonder how that happened."
Marz turned round to give a stern look to Daisy but she was too busy chatting away with the other man. She looked instead to the other three Queens who merely shrugged and began chatting amongst themselves. Marz coughed and everyone looked at her, Daisy grinned slightly at Marz's 'why didn't you tell me' look.
She tried to give a look which said 'Me do something? Nah!' and failed miserably much to her annoyance! She settled for the normal form of communication instead.
"It's not my fault I wanted them not to age. I may be able to talk to dead people but it can get a bit disturbing." Daisy said. "I prefer to be able to sense the blood running through their bodies, besides they had to be here to command some of the army."
Artemis walked over to the man Daisy had previously been talking to. He had a similar figure to Artemis', and the same icy blue eyes.
"Hi, I'm Artemis. It's nice to meet you." He said.
Holly smiled at Artemis' words. A few days ago he wouldn't have been half as polite, it was a big change.
"My names Apollo, I train the teenage boys of this world to fight. This means if the Queens require it an army is always ready for them." Apollo replied.
Daisy grinned; she had felt Artemis and Holly's shock as they had been informed of her dear friend's name. She knew why they were shocked as well, a lot could be conveyed in emotions and the similarity between Artemis and Apollo made it even more amusing. She sighed contentedly and decided to make and announcement.
"Okay everyone." She began. "I recommend we all go to sleep. There is only about five hours until the sun rises, and that is when the battle begins. Besides we will need the energy for the victory party."
The Queens giggled and Daisy smirked in reply. They all walked out and gathered around a large fire, finding the best possible spot to sleep in. Hannah, Ginnie and Lily found some soft grass and curled up, falling to sleep immediately. Artemis and Holly found a patch to themselves and after a few moments joined their companions, fast asleep. Marz sat on a large rock; she had decided to keep watch for a while until everyone else was comfortable. Daisy said her goodbyes to Marz and ascended a large willow tree, this tree had been there when they had become Queens and Daisy had become very attached. She watched as Tyler joined Marz on the rock and felt Apollo climb the tree to join her. They chatted for a while but soon fell asleep, the day's events taking their toll.
The night passed swiftly and around half an hour before the sun was to rise Artemis and Holly woke up. They were spooned together very comfortably and really didn't feel like getting up. Lily and Ginnie appeared a few moments later and signalled to the couple to come with them. Artemis sighed and got slowly to his feet, Holly groaned at his warmth disappearing and growled lightly. Artemis grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet, she scowled and he grinned. Lily coughed and signalled to the north, asking them to follow her. Ginnie was hidden behind a rock with Hannah, they were watching Marz train. She was fighting with Tyler who looked to be holding his own, well at least until Marz pinned him. Holly giggled into her hand; it was an amazingly cute fight. Apollo walked up behind them and prodded Artemis in the shoulder. They moved over so that he too could fit behind the small rock, watching the young Queen prepare herself. Daisy was lying comfortably on a branch of her tree, it was quite high up and Apollo had decided that the branch wouldn't support his weight. She watched Marz training and knew that the final preparations had to be completed, Marz pinned Tyler once again and Daisy leapt from the tree. She let out a roar and her faithful snow-wolves replied; they would sort the army out for her. This action however also gained the attention of the small group hiding behind the rock and those that had previously been training. They all came over to Daisy and she shooed them into the main tent. When they were all inside they sat down and Apollo began to speak.
"Tyler and I have brought 40,000 of our best troops with us." He said. "There are 20,000 of my best swordsmen, and 20,000 of Tyler's Amazonian archers. There are over 100,000 creatures from across the planet here to help and there are all of the residents of the palace who haven't joined the rebels. First though I think that Daisy wants to do something."
Daisy stood and rummaged around in some hay, eventually pulling out four buttons. Each of the buttons was a different shade of red; Fuchsia, Crimson, Scarlet and Magenta. She held her hands out and Marz took the one with a Fuchsia tint, she pressed it and there was a dull banging sound. Daisy cringed and looked out of the tent towards the horizon.
"Oh, that's going to take some cleaning later!" She said.
Marz selected another button, this time the Crimson one and pressed it with even more enthusiasm than the first. There was a pop and hundreds of balloons fell from the roof of the tent. Daisy threw the remaining buttons back into the hay where they disintegrated. Marz grinned, she loved buttons, especially red ones, and balloons were a bonus. She selected a large blue one and walked out into the early morning sunshine.
The wolves had set the army out into several platoons with the swordsmen in front, then the creatures and then the skilled archers. They were ready and waiting for orders. The Queens strolled out to the head of the army, Artemis, Holly, Apollo and Tyler right there with them. A quick glance over the opposing army caused Artemis to snigger; they were obviously amateurs. Their bowmen were at the front of the army with no protection given, the rebel leaders were in the middle and the swordsmen were at the back where they couldn't attack the enemy even if they had wanted to. All that the Queens had to do to win was make a path through the archers and then it would get interesting.
Daisy signalled to a platoon of 10,000 archers and Marz to the other one, the blue balloon still clasped tightly in her hand. All 20,000 of the young women fired flaming arrows, lit by Marz's gift. Not all of the flying projectiles hit their targets but a good many of the enemy swordsmen fell dead. There was a distant shout and the enemy archers had their turn, 50,000 arrows were launched. The Higher Queens rose into the air, eyes closed and concentrating hard, every single arrow was turned around and sent back at the one who fired it. There was now a clear path to the enemy leaders and the Queens took it, the swordsmen following closely behind. Artemis and Holly got lost in the sea of warriors but soon saw where to head, the Queens had cleared a large area and wanted a fight.
Before the Queens stood five humans, all of whom they recognised. Only one of these earned a growl from them and she hid behind her allies.
"Well look here!" Daisy began. "Shall we start the real fight now or are you going to surrender?"
The rebel leaders shook their heads, not speaking a word to the Queens. Daisy and Hannah pushed Marz forwards at the enemy, wanting her to go first.
"Go for it Birthday Girl!" They shouted encouragingly. "Pick one of the weaklings to beat!"
Marz grinned at her companions' faith, handed Hannah her precious balloon and strode purposefully forwards. She grabbed Kara by the arm and dragged her into the centre of the armies, a ring was formed and the fight began.
Kara transformed into the fighting form of a common fox and gave her most menacing hiss. It was a very poor attempt at intimidating the Queen who merely smirked and morphed into a lean, muscled cat fighter. She leapt straight for Kara, knocking her to the floor and digging her claws deep into her shoulders. Kara stood no chance.
As Marz's grey fur stood on end and her bright green eyed flashed she put her paws on Kara's stomach. There was a flash of orange light and Kara burst into flames, dieing slowly. Marz got up and walked away from Kara's smouldering body, morphing back to her human form as she did so. She grinned at the other Queens and got many congratulations from the army. It was one nil to the rightful rulers.
Hannah walked forwards after a handing Marz her baloon, she had decided to take her turn and no one disagreed. Artemis and Holly meanwhile had managed to force their way through the various ranks of men, women and once even unicorns to get to the front of the surrounding circle. They watched Hannah walk slowly over to the enemy leaders and grab one. Hannah knew the woman she had grabbed as Andrea and stood her in the Kara's ashes. It was unusual to see so many standing by as one of their leaders was forced to stand in the body of one who had already fallen.
Hannah was the first to morph, her giraffe fighting form standing tall and proud. Andrea morphed into an iguana and Hannah shook her head at the weakness that its body portrayed. They would never learn of the way the fighting form shows the power of the one who had it.
The iguana form attacked and Hannah parried rapidly until one blow was landed. The iguana's claws had caused a large gash in Hannah's stomach and to say she wasn't happy was an understatement. The Earth took hold of Andrea's feet, holding her securely in place.
"You have made more mistakes to mention that I could criticize you about before you die." Hannah began. "I will mention only two. First you rebel against those both infinitely powerful and vastly superior in both mind and body, and then you scratch me. Both are incredible forms of stupidity."
The Earth began to rise again, until only Andrea's head was left uncovered.
"Goodbye!" Hannah spat.
Hannah delivered a spinning kick upon the trapped rebel's head and almost everybody cringed at the crack that followed; Andrea's neck was broken.
The Queens and their army cheered as Hannah returned to their ranks. Marz healed Hannah's cuts and gave her a small smile. A few moments later Ginnie grabbed one of the rebel leaders, she was very chubby and had weirdly shaped feet. She was led kicking and screaming to the middle of the circle, a short distance away from Andrea's body encased in stone.
"So Yennej." Ginnie said cockily. "Are you scared yet?"
Yennej didn't answer the Queen but went significantly paler at the realisation that she was probably going to die. She morphed and her crocodile fighting form, complete with large fluffy wings, and earned a few laughs from all of the observers. After leaving enough time for Yennej to become suitably embarrassed Ginnie began to speak.
"It's nice to see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public, before you die!" Ginnie said.
She then morphed into her incredibly nimble monkey fighting form. She immediately charged at Yennej and knocked her to the floor.
Ginnie stuck her tongue out at Yennej, they had been worst enemies since the day they met and no one could blame Ginnie for it. Ginnie however soon joined her nemesis on the floor as Yennej's scaly tail swept Ginnie off her feet. Ginnie landed awkwardly and there was a loud clicking sound as she rose to her feet. Even with her injury Ginnie still had the upper hand in the battle, and when Yennej took to the sky she became rather annoyed. Yennej's wings were having trouble keeping her in the sky, but no matter how comical it looked she had to come down. A blue flash and it began to rain above Yennej, soaking the wings of the dense beast. She fell like a large, fleshy rock and landed in a heap at Ginnie's feet.
"Yennej, do you remember the first time we met?" Ginnie asked.
After getting no reply Ginnie wrapped her long tail around the crocodile's neck and lifted her off of the ground, taking care not to put too much weight on her injured leg.
"Well I remember, although I am trying desperately to forget." She continued. "I told you that you had nothing to fear from my base instincts; that it was my finer ones that told me to kill you. I think it's about time to give in to those instincts!"
She forced Yennej into the ground and let her tail strangle her. When the trapped beast stopped struggling Ginnie released her grip and limped away. When she reached her friends Marz confirmed her suspicion that she had broken her leg, it was fixed in less than a second with Marz's skill however. Ginnie morphed back to her human form and sat down to watch the next victory.
It was Lily's turn to fight next; Daisy always went last, it was a rule during these wars. Lily casually wandered over and chose the less important leader to fight, her name was Trisha and Lily had trained the girl herself.
Lily knew Trisha's form and tactics so the fight would be rather interesting. Trisha morphed into a horse warrior and Lily morphed into a magnificent Golden Eagle, her beak glistening dangerously.
Lily launched herself at Trisha, her wings folded back and aiming for the horse's throat. She missed as Trisha dodged slightly but still took a chunk out of her oversized ear. Lily still managed to bring her to the ground however with her sheer momentum. Trisha hit Lily with her hooves and made a run for the edge of the circle. With a few flaps of her wings Lily had caught up and grabbed Trisha by the shoulders, digging her razor sharp talons into the horse's flesh. It was about time to scare the poor creatures shitless.
Lily accelerated, flying almost straight up into the sky. She pulled a few corkscrews, trying to hit Trisha with as many Gs as possible and then headed straight for the ground. Lily was cutting the air with her very speed, going at over five hundred miles per hour. Trisha was screaming her lungs out, but Lily paid no heed. She let go of the horse and opened her wings, stopping quickly. There was a large boom as Trisha hit the ground, she had created a crater around six metres in diameter. It was one thing Lily could be certain the creature would not be getting out of. Artemis and Holly walked and stood next to Marz who greeted them cheerfully; it was a very amusing form of entertainment for her birthday.
Lily landed carefully next to Daisy, morphed to her human form, and wished her luck. Daisy smirked and morphed into her White Tiger fighting form, wings out and ready to play. She sauntered up to the woman opposite her and growled darkly.
"Kira, it's nice to see you again." She said. "Let's see if you are still as bad a fighter as you were when you left the palace!"
Kira transformed into a large blue dragon with scaly wings and blew hot air at Daisy. Daisy smirked and let the dragon attack, blocking all of the shots and eventually causing a long gash in the creature's stomach. Kira staggered back and shot a death glare at Daisy, amazingly enough it didn't work and Daisy began her own assault. Within the space of three minutes Kira became covered in her own blood and Daisy became all the more vicious. Her black stripes grew until no white could be seen and spikes grew all along her tail and backbone, she was a deadly killing machine.
Daisy grabbed Kira and dug her fangs into her neck and flapped her powerful wings until they were both around ten metres in the air.
"I am going to have to kill you now Kira." Daisy told her. "I may be cruelly depriving some poor village out there of their idiot but I am afraid it must be done, for the good of the planet. Hope you enjoy death and all that jazz."
With that Daisy killed her, with no remorse at all and cast Kira to the ground. Daisy landed and stood before the enemy army that was standing there with a collective look of disbelief on their faces.
"Well then you ugly rabble." She said as she addressed the incredibly unorganised chaos that was her remaining enemies. "Do you want to surrender or die?"
Those that still had some of their senses working raised their swords and shield. This was just what Daisy wanted however and she turned to address her own people.
"Well then comrades." She began. "Do you want to fight or have a show?"
The crowds cheered and a sharp growl brought the Snow Wolves to Daisy's side. She sent them off into the midst of the enemy, under strict instructions to leave some for her. Daisy walked over to Artemis and Holly who were looking very confused at what had happened at this place.
"Do you want a fight?" Daisy asked them. "You make a formidable team and it would be interesting to see how many of the enemy you can kill."
They politely declined the invitation; killing people not really being their idea of fun and let Daisy join her Royal Guard.
It was several hours before all of the enemy had been destroyed and Daisy ran happily over to them, she had several large cuts but it seemed to have no effect. She morphed from her fighting form back to normal and waited for her Wolves to catch up. Marz dismissed them and they wandered off back to camp to prepare to party.
"So Marz." Daisy began, licking a wound on her arm. "Are you ready to finish your Birthday in style?"
"I think I am you know." Marz replied cheerfully. "As long as I get a nice dress to wear."
Daisy nodded and grinned as Apollo and Tyler walked over to the group.
"Apollo, Tyler, would you mind taking Artemis and prepare him for tonight's festivities." Marz said. "Oh and be sure to mention the ritual, that could be very important."
Apollo and Tyler did as requested and led Artemis off towards the camp, the Queens turned to Holly and smiled at her. The six of them linked arms and ran back to the main tent, Marz's balloon flying wildly behind them. There was only half an hour until the party began!
Thanks for reading! I need some ideas for dares ect. Feel free to help! Hope you are enjoying so far! Don't forget to review!
Special thanks go to 1st female LEPrecon our most loyal reviewer!
White-Tiger123 + Ginnie123 + Hannah-Giraffe