D'arvit! This thing isn't going to last much longer.

Captain Holly Short could feel that her laser tag vest was going to shake to pieces any minute. The Mud Man technology wasn't made for the intense vibrations of her shielding, and would therefore fall apart. She was actually pretty surprised that the suit had held up this long, being a human made garment after all. She guessed that it was the thick, smelly canvas that was keeping it together.

Holly was opposed to making herself invisible in the game, especially because there were little kids playing, but she just wanted to spook Artemis. Maybe grab him from behind and scare him out of his wits a little. She couldn't resist the opportunity. It was a dark room with flashing lights, and Artemis would have a very, very hard time spotting her. It always irritated her when he could tell where she was, invisible or not.

However, she wasn't shooting any of the other players (although it was tempting), because it would bug her if she won due to her unfair advantage. All she wanted was one little glimpse of a terrified Artemis' face, a small thing she could blackmail him with and laugh about with that pesky Foaly, and she'd play by the rules.

Now, where is that coward? He probably went and curled up in a corner to hide.

The thought did cross Artemis' mind, unbeknownst to her.

Maybe he-

WHOMP!

The boy genius had fallen off the tower right into the arms of an invisible Holly.

"What the-?"

Actually, it was more accurate to say that the bewildered teenager had plummeted right onto her unsuspecting head.

"Holly? Is that you?"

Out of nowhere, Artemis had tackled her! Holly was furious.

And, Holly thought, he came from above! Did he jump from a building or something? Artemis used such stealthy LEP-worthy moves to outsmart a member of the LEP itself?

Artemis now was sprawled flat on top of the little elf, successfully pinning her to the ground. Holly was to upset at having her game ruined to even register this.

"How could you see me? Has Butler's training paid off, or something? Did you steal the LEP training manual?" Holly shouted, resembling a very upset fairy interrogator.

Fortunately, the pounding beat of the dance music drowned out their little heart to heart, and it was so dark that no one took notice of Artemis seemingly floating a bit off the ground.

"Oh, I was practicing an old Vietnam guerilla fighter technique. A soldier would hide in a tree that grew along a frequently used enemy trail, and when the unsuspecting target walked underneath…" Aretmis' was lying through his teeth.

Holly had finally realized what a compromising situation she was in, and how if Foaly ever found out she'd die. Face flaming, she used a favored military move called the rocket launcher, and Artemis was thrown into the side of the building.

"Owww!" Artemis rubbed his head, "What was that for, Holly?"

"That was for the assault, Mr. Guerilla." Holly was glad for her shielding at that particular moment, for it masked her blushing.

Luckily, Holly was perfectly fine, everything in tip-top shape except for her pride. She shot him in the chest, clocked him in the head with her blaster, and dashed away from the dazed genius. Hurdling the carpet-licking boy, and dodging the Butler doppelganger, she put quite a distance between her and a miffed Artemis.

As she sprinted, Holly powered down her shield.

Well, there's no point in it now. She sighed. I'm such a coward. Running away from Artemis! Maybe I need more training. I must be losing my touch.

She shook her head vigorously to clear away these thoughts, trying to put things back into perspective.

Well, it's just a game of laser tag, and at least Foaly didn't see it.

Actually, Foaly had hacked into the arena's security camera and was watching the whole thing live. After brightening up the footage (it was realy dark), he'd emailed it to everyone in the LEP and uploaded it to his blog.

I'll get back at Artemis by kicking his-

WHAM!

Holly had collided with someone for the second time today. She wondered if maybe she should have brought some night vision goggles, and possibly her Neutrino as well. The captain would have loved to zap some of these little boys with it (on the lowest setting, of course. It would only cause them to be a little bit dazed for a few minutes).

"D'arvit! What's wrong with me today? And you! Watch where you're going!" She growled as if she had any room to talk.

A hunched shape stood motionless, it's back to the elf. Whoever it was had on a long black cloak, an unusual getup for the middle of summer. Holly couldn't remember anyone that was wearing such an outfit. The person seemed to be in distress, for they kept wheezing and making a strange gurgling noise.

"Uh, are you okay? Maybe you should slow down a bit…" Holly, touched the person's shoulder, an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

As soon as her fingertips brushed the guy, he tensed and growled, low and menacing. Holly snatched her hand back as if it had been burned, while warily regarding the… the thing.

Somehow I don't think this is a mischievous little boy pretending to be a tiger...

At that moment, a blinding light flashed over the huddled figure, illuminating him for a split second. That's when Holly saw a long scaly tail, and the barrel of a gun. And this was no ordinary gun, nor was it one of the plastic blasters in the game.

"A softnose laser…" Holly breathed.

A/N: Dun dun dun (that was suspenseful music right there, people)! Uh oh, what is the "thing", and how did it end up in a laser tag arena? I'm sure the last three sentences answered the first question for y'all. Yeah, another short chapter. Sorry. If anyone has any good ideas, I'd appreciate them! I guess this story has evolved into something other than a cutesy comedy! Do you guys like the new development? Yay or nay? Hip, hip, hooray? Which will you say? Remember to review! Oh, and I guess I should respond to the reviews. Here we go:

To: TehTrollEmperor

You didn't read the whole story. Arty falls off a building. That can hardly be described as "mushy gushy sunshine and rainbow crap".

At least tell me why "This is the most stupid thing i have ever read in my life."

If the whole series is pointless, then why are you reading fanfiction about it?

Detroit's public school system is completely irrelevant to my story.

You've probably insulted a lot of people with that comment.

Plus, China has nothing to do with this story either.

People, if you're going to flame me, at least tell me WHY my story is so terrible. I love constructive criticism, and appreciate people who give it to me, but ranting on about nothing doesn't help anyone. Plus, please refrain from leaving sardonic comments about various government systems and the education practices of random states in a review. I don't remember putting anything about either of these in this story.

On a happier note, I'm trying to break sixty reviews for Laser Tag! Please help!