Yes! It is here, chapter number 10! The 'battle' chapter. The forces of the Mulldack are lined up for the battle, the troops at Abhorsen's House preparing to defend their fort. Everything rides on this battle, who will prevail and will Z's plan work? Prepare to find out as we enter the extra special, extra long chapter 10!

Chapter 10

The Battle Of Abhorsen's House

Everything was ready. The troops were huddled together in the gardens and in the lookout tower, ready for a sudden attack. The Mulldack's army was less than ten minutes walk away, it was huge, and what's more, it surrounded Abhorsen's House on both sides.
Z just hoped his plan would work. Every soldier they could spare was armed with whatever they could find. Some were wielding swords, spears and crossbows; others laser cannons and body armour. Three cannons were positioned near the entrance, facing the two banks of the great river.
The remaining troops were inside; they would be used as medics to treat the wounded, although all they had was a few bandages and some medicine.
Z stood on the balcony of the house, facing the army of Dark Warriors. They were still a few minutes walk away, they had time to prepare. Z turned and stepped back into the study, where Mickey stood, sharpening his blade. "Have you released the creatures yet?" Asked Z. "No. We'll wait until the army are right at the water's edge. We've got together some troops to ride some of the creatures."
Z raised his eyebrows. "I'll ride the dragon." Mickey shook his head. "No. There's no time to teach you the basics. In fact there's no time for anything." He looked over Z's shoulder, warily.
The army had broken into a run. It wouldn't take them any longer than two to three minutes to reach them now. "What do I do?" Mickey thought for a moment. "Go down into the gardens. Make sure everything's ready. I'll activate the main defence and then prepare for the attack. If your plan dosen't work we'll have to evacuate." Z nodded. "Ok. I'm on my way."

It took Z no more than a minute to reach the gardens, but by then the army had already reached the water's edge. The strange thing was they weren't doing anything. Just standing there. They waited. Five minutes past. Nothing. Ten minutes. Nothing. The army seemed motionless, as if they had been turned to stone.
Z frowned. Were they going to attack? Or were laying siege to the house? Then Mickey was at his side. "Ok. The defence has been activated. In a few minutes it'll be up." "Your not going to flood the place are you?" Mickey shook his head quickly. "No, no. Far to dangerous, that defence was removed long ago, when an Abhorsen got trapped in the floods. She was crushed against the rocks. Not a pretty sight."
Mickey sighed. "Here." He handed Z what looked like a large bandoleer, and a beautiful sword. "Give these to Lirael. She'll know what to do, when the time is right." Z was puzzled, but he gave Lirael the sword and bandoleer nevertheless. He had a feeling she was going to need them.
Another five minutes past. Z was beginning to think nothing was going to happen, when the ground started to rumble. It was like an earthquake, the whole world seemed to shake, loose tiles falling from the roof.
Much to Z's embarrassment Lirael gripped his hand tightly, drawing her sword. Then it happened. It was all so fast they hardly saw it. The water around Abhorsen's House rose up on all sides, forming four huge water walls around them. Z expected them to fall back, onto the army, but instead they carried on rising, up over their heads to meet in the middle with a fabulous crash. Z could hardly believe what he was seeing, the river had formed a huge, protective dome of water around the house. It was incredible.
Z had no time to goggle at the spectacle though, he could make out shapes moving beyond the dome, the army was preparing for attack.
Lirael looked at Z, terror in her eyes. There was a twang and a whoosh, as if something was hurtling through the air, a rock, or a... "Get down!" Screamed Z, as a hail of arrows sliced through the dome, hitting the ground at their feet. Z examined one, it was titanium, but light as a feather and spelled to. Spelled so it would travel through rushing water.
Z drew his pistols, shouting an order. "Everyone! Draw your weapons, attack with full force!" The words had barley left his lips before another cascade of arrows cut through the water, hurtling down at them. There was a thud behind him, Z turned to discover an arrow, just centimetres from his leg. They were attacking from the other side!
"Everyone, take cover! Get into the house or the tower, go, go, go!" Everywhere people scrambled into the nearest building as more arrows slashed through the water. Z stopped by the door, putting a few rounds into the dome. It was no use, there were to many of them. They needed help and they needed it soon. His plan had to work, it had to.
Z's line of thought was quickly interrupted when a small unit of Dark Warriors burst through the dome. He spun his pistols, firing them quickly. In seconds the warriors were out for the count, troops rushing from Abhorsen's House to man the cannons.
Just as Z stepped inside an arrow came whizzing out of nowhere, striking a young soldier straight in the throat. He fell to the ground, dead before he hit the floor. Z rushed inside, Kiz and Ruby walking towards him. "How are we doing?" Asked Z. Kiz shook her head gravely. "Not well. We've already lost quite a few troops. Tidus was hit by an arrow, straight in the chest. The medics could do nothing for him. Even Lirael's magic wasn't enough. He's dead."
Z looked shocked. "Tidus..." He muttered. Tidus should be dead already, was nature taking its course? Had Tidus died because of the arrow, or because he was meant to die? Was the Mulldack loosing power?
There was a scream from outside. Ruby's eyes widened. "Something's happening." At that exact moment a huge blood stained blade smashed through the front door, a black hand reaching out towards the doorknob. Kiz reached for her star blades.
"The Dark Warriors! They've come!" With a crash the door burst open, a small black creature scuttling into the hallway. He wouldn't have been that menacing, had it not been for the huge axe he was brandishing.
Before Ruby could even draw breath, let alone her sword, the creature lay dead. A gaping hole in its chest. "Come on!" Roared Z. "The Warriors are taking over, we've got to warn Mickey!" Z glanced out the window, sure enough a squadron of Dark Warriors were making there way through the gardens, hindered only by the brave efforts of a group of defending troops. Blades clashed and blood spilled, but it was hopeless. The stream of Demon's was never ending.
"Come on! Lets go!" Z would not let their efforts go to waste. They rushed down the hallway, not really knowing which way to go. Z had a hunch Mickey would be in the study, he headed towards it. They reached the study quickly, meeting no one on their way, but you could almost hear the screeches of the Dark Warriors as they cascaded down the corridors, their lust for blood growing stronger by the minute.
They burst into the study. "Mickey!" Kiz screamed, but Mickey was gone, the only person in the room was Samos. Standing out on the balcony. "Samos, they're attacking the house!" Samos turned his head. His eyes glinted and the three humans gasped. It wasn't Samos. The figure instantly turned to smoke, curling upwards, transforming into another creature. Z remembered what Samos had said about certain Dark Warriors and their abilities to morph into other forms.
His eyes widened. The creature before him was immense, it filled the room with its body, as black as darkness itself. Z clenched his pistols. Then he remembered something. Where was Lirael?
There was a flash from behind them and the creature fell dead. Z turned to see Daz standing in the doorway, brandishing a bulky laser cannon. "Come on!" He said. Z hesitated. "Its alright." Said Daz. "I'm cured. I'm back the good side." But it wasn't that that had made Z hesitate, it was the fact that Daz could be another Dark Warrior, luring them into a trap. He decided to take Daz's word for it.
He nodded. "Ok, but where are we going?" Daz shrugged. "The Dark Warriors are already storming the place. We gotta get out of here." Z shook his head angrily. "No. I'm not going without Lirael." "And why not?" "Because I...I don't know! I brought her into this mess. I'll get her out. You three go ahead. I'll meet you at the Paperwing." Daz nodded and with that they were gone. Now Z was on his own, sometimes he preferred it that way.
He looked around; Jak and Daxter were standing in the corridor, fending of a group of Metalheads with their laser cannon, but there was no sign of Mickey or Samos. He turned a corner, coming face to face with Donald and Goofy. He almost had a heart attack. "Do you know where Lirael is?" "Yes." Replied Donald quickly. He could hear footsteps behind him. And they weren't the friendly type of footsteps, they were the 'I'm gonna get you' type of footsteps.
"Where is she?" "She's in the lookout tower. They were driven out by a group of Metalheads and cornered there. We barley managed to get out alive." Z swallowed. That was not good. "Okay. I'm going over there. Go up to the roof, there's people waiting there and a Paperwing you can use to escape." "Thanks." Said Goofy. Z could hear the footsteps now. They were not nice footsteps. "I'll deal with this creature. You get moving!" Goofy nodded and with that they were gone, rushing of down the corridor.
Z plucked something from his belt. He had found this on the floor next to the dead body of a soldier. It was a Sonic Grenade and this creature was going to get it right in the face. Literally.
Z activated the timer. Five seconds. The creature was a Dark Warrior, a giant thing, one of the biggest Z had ever seen. It towered above him menacingly, sniffing that air. It had caught the scent of human flesh. Three seconds. The Warrior began to creep towards the corridor, where the human lurked. It began to drool. Two seconds. The creature rounded the corner, jumping out at its prey. It had a nasty shock. Where the human had been, just seconds before, there was now a small shiny object.
Z placed the Sonic Grenade on the floor, rushing for cover and blocking his ears with his fingers. The creature leapt out, bending down to take a closer look at the object.

BOOM!

The Grenade exploded. Though that particular verb hardly did it justice. Z clasped his ears in pain, the Sonic Grenade was very powerful, it had blown the Dark Warrior into the wall with such force it would not be getting back up again in a hurry. His ears popped at the strain. Then it was over; he took of down the corridor.
Outside things were even worse. Soldiers lay dead everywhere and a large group of Metalheads were clawing at the door to the lookout tower, though Ratchet and Clank seemed to be holding their own against them. There was only one man left manning the canons and, worst of all, the protective dome of water seemed to be withdrawing. Z figured he had about five minutes until the water dome disappeared and the Mulldack's army swarmed Abhorsen's House, destroying what was left of it.
Several of the house's towers were on fire and large chunks of brick were falling down upon the remaining fighters. Things looked bad. It seemed as though Z's plan had not worked. Z headed towards the lookout tower, blasting the remaining Metalheads.
"Ratchet, what happened out here?" Ratchet turned towards Z, shaking his head gravely. "The Metalheads trapped a few troops up in the tower." "Are they alive?" Z held his breath, waiting for the reply. "I'm not sure." Z nodded. "Okay. I'm going in there." And with that he blasted the door, striding up the stone stairs.
It was a tall tower, but Z did not have long. He took the stairs three at a time, reaching the summit quickly. He opened the door slowly, who knew what was behind it? "Lirael? Its me, Z." The door swung open. The room was not very big, the only furniture being a small desk and a few jugs of water. Three soldiers were at the windows, firing arrows at the army, another sat at the desk and Lirael was at the door, her dagger drawn, blood glinting in the light.
"Oh, Z!" She screamed, hugging him tightly. On any other day Z would have found the situation a tad embarrassing, but not today, there was no time for something stupid like that. "Come on" Roared Z at the soldiers. "We only have a few minutes until the water dome disappears, then the army will swarm the house! There's a Paperwing on the house's roof, we can use it to escape, come quickly!"
The troops jumped to their feet, relieved to have a good excuse for leaving the tower.

In seconds they were back outside, Ratchet and Clank at their heels. Z cursed. The water dome had gone, reduced to a wave, battering the waters edge. Now he could see the army fully. It was huge. A hundred thousand troops, an awesome sight. They were also moving, stepping slowly towards the river. In minutes the horde of Warriors would envelope Abhorsen's House, torching it to the ground. The creatures Mickey had released on the army, including the dragon, had a lot of damage, but most of them had been shot down by now and there was nothing left to stop the army.
Arrows whizzed past, the frontline had seen them, they were sitting ducks. More arrows. Z drew his pistols, not that they'd be much use, hopelessly outnumbered as they were. There was still time. "Lirael, get inside!" "No." Came the stubborn reply. "I'm not leaving without you." "GO!"
There was a roar from the Dark Warriors. It was hard to tell in the confusion, but it sounded all to like charge. The army moved. They came flooding towards them like water from a jug, pouring out into the river. The first few Warriors were swept away by the current, or crushed on the rocks, only to be replaced by the next line, eventually creating stepping- stones of the dead. It wouldn't be long until they reached the house.
"RUN!" Screamed Z. Lirael tried to clasp his fingers, but he shook her of. "Go now or I'll blast you!" He wasn't joking. He'd rather that then let her stay outside and be slaughtered by the Warriors.
"Ok, I'll go, but hurry up!" Z intended to. He waited until she had gone with the troops and Ratchet and Clank, then pulled his last Concusser Grenade from his belt. He yanked the pin and hurled it at the front line. That should give them a few more minutes to escape.
More arrows flew past, Z watched the grenade curve through the air, landing with a splash into the river. Then it blew, hurling huge chunks of stone from the riverbed. The Warriors flinched as the rocks landed, but then continued. They weren't going to be stopped by a single grenade.
Z turned to leave when he saw something out the corner of his eye. A shimmer of dust? Heat haze maybe? Maybe, or maybe his wishes had been granted. Maybe his plan had worked. No it was too much to ask for. But then again...it could just be...
A red light flashed. An approaching Warrior dropped dead. Another light. Z new instantly what they were, they were laser beams, apparently appearing from thin air. Z resisted the urge to jump up and down with excitement. His plan had worked! It had worked!
What Z had actually done was make contact with the Fairy People (see the book Artemis Fowl for more info on them) and they had come! The reason he could not see them was that they were shielded, invisible to the human eye. More and more Dark Warriors fell, until the soldiers were forced to retreat and begin to fire arrows into the air in hope of striking their unseen enemies.
More laser blasts. Z was amazed there must be a few thousand Fairies here, probably the LEP'S entire force! He had sent the message to Foaly the centaur. He was the LEP'S technological genius, paranoid though he was. He had told them about the fiction world's new threat and they had come quickly.
Z had to do something. Then he noticed there was a shimmering object hovering down to meet him. The Fairy unshielded. To Z's surprise it was none other than Captain Holly Short (the very Fairy that the infamous Artemis Fowl kidnaps in the first book)
"Captain. You got the call?" Holly nodded. "I trust you sent the message on?" Z hoped to make contact not just with the Fairy People, but with Artemis Fowl himself. "Yes, Foaly did it himself. There are a few minor glitches though. One, Artemis was mind wiped a year ago. Were going to have to bring his memories back, this is very dangerous, but the Council are prepared to do it because of the urgency of this situation." Z nodded. He had anticipated that.
"Also, after this affair, you and the other humans are to be mind wiped before you return to reality. Got that?" Z nodded once again, although he had no intention of actually submitting to the mind wipe. He had other plans and he would like to keep his memories in the process. "Anything else, Captain Short?" "Yes. One more thing. We will help with this situation; the Techies lined up, Recon and Retrieval. Our services are yours." Then she saw the dangerous glint in Z's eyes and added a hasty "for now anyway." "Thank you Captain, this is much appreciated." He reached out a hand, but Holly reclined. "Not now, Mud Boy. When we win, maybe, but until then, keep your distance." It was obvious the Fairy Captain did not trust him, but Z did not mind, he did not trust them either.
One more question. "Captain? We need cover fire to escape this place, I'm sure not even the combined might of the LEP can keep that army at bay for long." "Okay. What do you need?" "About thirty of your officers to carry the survivors away. The rest will go in the Paperwing and we'll need a few more officers to guard that. We don't want it shot down."
Holly nodded. "Okay. I'll report to Commander Root, we'll see what we can do. Where do you want to be taken?" Z hesitated. "Anywhere. As long as it's a good distance from here." Holly nodded and then she was gone, a shimmering figure in the sunlight.

It was all over in five minutes. Z rushed to into Abhorsen's House, debris was falling from the ceiling and the fire was spreading, smoke leaking through the gap in a nearby door. He quickly found the ladder; scaling it he rushed to the other side of the room and hurled himself up the staircase.
The view from the roof of Abhorsen's House was amazing. The entire army was fighting creatures it couldn't even see and, surprisingly, the LEP seemed to be winning. Lasers flashed and more Warriors fell to the floor, crying out for help. Z did not waste a second more, the tower above him was burning brightly, threatening to collapse and the last thing he wanted now was to be trapped under a smouldering heap of rumble.
He rushed to the landing strip on which the Paperwing lay and his friends waited. There were about eight troops left along with Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter and a few other characters including the Final Fantasy people Z had met earlier. To there side Daz stood with Ruby and Kiz, Lirael studying her bells.
"The Fairies are here!" roared Z above the screech of gun battle. "My plan worked! They have agreed to help us, get as many people as you can into the Paperwing. Daz, Ruby, Kiz. Lirael, you to, you go by Paperwing. The LEP will carry the rest of you."
"Were are we going?" Asked Goofy, who had appeared, along with Donald, from the other side of the Paperwing. "I'm not sure, but anywhere is better than here." Kiz nodded and climbed into the vehicle. Z looked around, about twenty LEP officers were flying towards them, their mechanical wings buzzing slightly.
A chubby young Fairy landed at Z's feet, removing his helmet and shaking the dead skin from his ears. "Okay, which way are you going? Are you gonna be carried or are you going by Paperwing?" A dangerous glint appeared in Z's eyes and a grin widened upon his face. "Neither." He said. The Fairy was puzzled, he didn't have long and the human was wasting his time. He was annoyed at this and the two emotions argued in his head. Annoyance won. "Then how are you gonna get the hell outa here, wise guy?" Z's grin stretched up to his ears. "I'm going by dragon."

"WAAAAHOOO!" Z screamed as the huge dragon dived down below the clouds. The dragon was a humongous creature, mostly crimson with black parallel stripes running down his spine to the end of his snout. The dragon had somehow managed to survive the battle and, even more miraculously, Z had managed to get the dragon's rider to let him have a go.
Now the dragon, or Flames as he was called, soared through the air twisting past the Paperwing again and again, blowing clouds of fire skywards and trampling through the countryside below.
Z had rode many a fast hover-bike or hover-car, but nothing rivalled this, nothing was as exhilarating as this. The wind rushed through his hair, mercilessly battering his face, tears sprung in his eyes, only to be whipped away by the fierce torrent of air. He screamed again and again as the dragon took another dive and his stomach lurched.
He looked below at the countryside rolling past and behind him at the burning remains of Abhorsen's House. Fairy lasers burnt through the sky and the Mulldack's army hurriedly retreating.
Z sat in the small gap between the dragon's neck and back, his legs scraping against the dragon's hard scales repeatedly, if it wasn't for the thick leather saddle the fairies had fastened to it the skin on Z's legs would have been torn of long ago.
Pain still buzzed through his body, but it was lost in the brilliance of the dragon ride and the fear that he would fall.
A fairy flew below, carrying a soldier on a stretcher attached to its mechanical wings. Z vowed he would find out how they worked on day. He could make a fortune.
The Paperwing soared closer to Flames, he tilted his head slightly, acknowledging it, and swerved to the side a little. Another thing Z was amazed at. The dragon was not just an animal, a dumb brute; he was as intelligent as a man. Probably more intelligent than him. The thought unsettled him.
They seemed to be coming into land, there was a large gap between the trees rushing below them, a silver line streaked the horizon, the sea, Z realised. The Paperwing swerved down to the clearing and Z's stomach lurched as Flames followed.
For a moment Z thought they were going to crash, but Flames tilted seconds from the ground, slowing with a flap of his massive wings. His huge feet slammed into the ground, powerful muscles rippling as they absorbed the shock. Z climbed down as the Paperwing landed and his friends got out. Soldiers were lowered to the ground and Fairies flew around, organizing themselves.

It was late before everything was done. Camp was made, tents set up and fires lit, food was passed round, left to roast in the large bubbling pots around camp. Kiz, Daz, Ruby and Lirael sat together. Z gathered some firewood before eating. Flames followed him, lighting fires around the camp.
Z and Flames had grown closer, there seemed to be an affinity between them. It was as if Z could talk with him, but, almost simultaneously, not understand a word the dragon said.
The night was cold, stars littered the sky and the moon was round and full. Z ate a little more and settled down on the ground, cleaning his pistols. Kiz was talking with Cloud, they had grown closer, and Daz was with Rikku. Ruby sat in a group of Fairies telling them stories.
Questions littered his head; why did he recognise Kiz and Ruby? Where were Mickey and Samos? What had become of the Crystal Element? What was he to do next? The questions flooded his head, only stopping when Lirael wondered over.
"Having fun?" She asked. "Mmmmm..." Z murmured, polishing the pistols. They were almost done now and sparkled as brightly as the starlit sky. She sat next to him, brandishing the sword and bells given to her. "So, I'm the Abhorsen in waiting now?" Z nodded. "Yes." "Did Mickey say anything else to you?" "No. Except one thing. He said you will know when you are to use the bells." Lirael nodded.
Z slid the pistols into their holsters. "Where are we going next?" Asked Lirael. Z shrugged. She lay down slightly, moving her hand onto his. Z turned his head, afraid he might blush.
Stop it. Z told himself, you've just rode a dragon! A think you can stop yourself blushing. Anyway, he thought, you aren't the type to blush. He almost sniggered at that. You aren't the type. Classic.
Lirael closed her eyes, lightly resting her head against his shoulder. Z gulped, it was strange, how this young girl scared him more than the dragon, the battle or the Metalheads put together. Luckily he was saved, someone called his name. "Z!" He stood quickly and Lirael flopped to one side, already asleep. He picked her up and carried her to the camp, laying her on a straw mattress, then turned looking for who had called his name.
"Z!" It was Holly Short. He walked over briskly. "Yes, captain?" "Commander Root wants to see you this morning. Artemis should arrive by then." "Good. Where are we going to meet?" "I suppose the best place to go would be the fortress of Disney Creek." "Ok. We'll go tomorrow." Holly nodded and walked away. Z returned to the camp, he was thirsty and the air was humid. It was going to be a long night.

The Mulldack cursed loudly. "How?" He roared. "How did this happen?" The unfortunate messenger shrank back, his teeth chattering. "They had invisible troops my lord! There was no way we could have won." The Mulldack snarled. "Fairies." He muttered. "I'll see to it this dosen't happen again! Ready the troops for the assault on Mickey's palace."
The messenger nodded frantically. "Yes, my lord!" "Well don't just stand there!" The messenger hurried out, glad to be alive. He vowed to himself that never again would he deliver messages for bloodthirsty demons.
The Mulldack clenched his huge fists. He was become more real, less virtual, returning to power. He clapped his hands. "Bring in the prisoner!" The doors opened and five large Dark Warriors rushed in, two of them carrying what looked like a normal man, his long white hair swaying as the Dark Warriors pulled him behind them.
It was Sephiroth. (evil villain from Final Fantasy 7) Sephiroth used to be a friend of the Mulldack's but he had betrayed him and taken him prisoner.
Sephiroth saw the Mulldack and his eyes narrowed. "What are going to do with me?" He snarled. The Mulldack almost laughed. "I want your power." "How are you going to get it? You know I won't give you anything!"
The Mulldack stepped forward, morphing himself in to the shape of a man. "I am going to fuse us together. With this!" The Mulldack pressed a button on a small dial and a large machine started up. "What? Are you mad?" The Mulldack shrugged. "Some would say so. Though I prefer the term 'mentally challenged' don't you?" Sephiroth struggled uselessly. There was no escape. It was pointless.

Sephiroth was ruthlessly forced into a small glass compartment and held in place with thick leather straps. The Mulldack climbed into the second compartment and signalled to a Warrior to start the process.
There was a loud humming sound as the machine readied itself, compressing its power into a pure vault of energy and channelling it into Sephiroth's compartment. The room lit up as the energy surged through the glass meeting the leather straps and flowing through them into Sephiroth's body.
He convulsed in pain, screaming as his body turned to energy and disappeared up through the machine. He screamed and screamed and the humming grew louder and louder until the agonised screaming could no longer be heard. Then he was gone. Sephiroth's body had been turned to pure energy, which was then channelled to the Mulldack's compartment, where he absorbed it.
The Mulldack now had every drop of Sephiroth's power and he was stronger than ever. He chuckled to himself. "Tut tut, the mighty Sephiroth, destroyed in less than a minute. I pity him, or I would, if I actually cared."
The Dark Warriors shifted uneasily. The Mulldack climbed from his compartment, slowly walking towards the Warriors. He clenched a fist and they dropped dead instantly. The Mulldack swung open the huge doors and stepped into the corridor. It was the first time he'd left his room in countless years.
He was powerful again. He had returned to his former self, now all he needed was the Crystal Element and this time he was powerful enough to go and get it himself.

Chapter 10 finished! Sorry about the wait and I'm afraid I'm now going on holiday for two weeks so chapter 11 won't be up for a while. Finally its finished, now I await reviews! YAY! So keep reviewing cause (if all goes well) I have another fic on the horizon! So get reviewing!
Z