SOOOOO SORRY! I can't believe I haven't updated for so long, since March I know :( And now I feel really sad because everyone's probably forgotten the storyline by now...So I'll do a quick recap. Holly has been captured by Opal, as we all know, and Artemis is out on a quest to find her. I still recommend you read Chapter 17: Locket so the chapter flows a bit better, but it's down to you. Anyway, I do not deserve to live with the amount of time I've not written, but school's out now so I'll try to get as much done as humanly possible. I'll also try to work on my poor abandoned other AF fanfiction.

Before I start, I have to admit I have been dragging out this story a lot more than I should have, so I'm going to try to get it finished a little simpler. To tell the truth, the title isn't even relevant anymore, but never mind...

'No, don't...'

The figure ran about helplessly as the pixie fixed it on the crosshair viewfinder. She lightly squeezed the trigger and the man fell, blood puddling around him.

'Human video games are fun!' Opal Koboi smiled derisively as the screen exploded with more figures to shoot at with the wireless controller. She aimed at a pale man with black hair. 'Bam,' she mouthed as the figure crumpled. Holly, who was watching from her mini prison, hoped it was just coincidence the computerised man looked spookily similar to Artemis.

A familiar pang in her chest arose once again. It wasn't really Artemis that was the problem – she'd survived without him for months at a time and could keep it that way. She missed him, and hearing his voice was now a long-forgotten luxury. The thing which was driving her to the edge was actually boredom.

It hadn't taken her long to figure out what the small box in which she was sitting was. Opal had described it as a LaserCage , an invention she had designed back in the days when she was a free fairy. The general idea was to use the invisible lasers commonly found in bank security systems to surround the criminal, or in this case, Holly. Only these lasers varied slightly from the usual harmless alarm triggers. As Opal had taken great pleasure in mentioning, they had the power to slice a fairy to ribbons before they could even begin to say "D'Arvit".

Holly suddenly hunched over as a jolt of pain shot through her. She wasn't sure what it was, but her insides felt like snakes. Biting, poisonous snakes. All she could put it down to was being cooped up for so long. She looked sadly at her food, sitting in a dog bowl in a corner of her cage. Opal seemed set on squashing her dignity as much as possible.

'You need another toilet stop, Short?' Opal asked, biting into a chocolate truffle with great malice. 'I should give you a kitty litter tray, matches the dog bed.' She roared with laughter, even though nothing was particularly funny.

Holly could see the madness slowly eating at both Opals, both so absorbed in their evil plans they were beginning to drive themselves into the ground. They both seemed to have a roster going, so Holly was always guarded closely by at least one of the Opals. In their eyes shined a certain incurable insanity as they taunted Holly with their video games and promises of unspeakable evil.

'Maybe I should use the bathroom,' Holly allowed herself a small smile. 'Otherwise you never know, I might have an accident.'

Opal shuddered before tossing a half-eaten truffle back into the chocolate box and standing up. She was smaller in stature than Present-Opal, her ears still pointed. Despite this, she still made a menacing figure, especially with a large gun tucked in the crook of her arm.

'You know how this works, Short. Struggle and you're dead. I won't hesitate to shoot – you know that.' Holly nodded. The only reason the Opals had kept her alive this long was to plan a grander death and watch her loved ones suffer.

'Yes Opal,' Holly sighed.

Opal took a controller out of her pocket, pressing a small blue button. The remote beeped twice in confirmation, and Holly stepped out of the square. A minute later and Holly was crouched in the windowless toilet recycling cubicle, her hands spread in front of her, trying to summon the last drops of her fading magic. She could feel it niggling at the back of her skull, but it wasn't enough. She would have to do it the manual way.

With bated breath she flipped open the locket Artemis had given her. It made the faintest beep, and a small blue light lit up. She pressed the single green button nestled in the middle where a photo would normally be kept. Somewhere up above, a communicator began to ring.

'Quit messing around, Mulch.'

Artemis fumbled about with his communicator ring as he felt it go off; almost dropping it in the damp Irish soil. He had begun to feel something he thought would be impossible – hope. Holly was calling him. Then his blood stopped cold. Unless Opal had found it. Please, please not Opal.

'Hello?' He said tentatively, his heart racing. Please, please, be Holly...

'Artemis?' Artemis couldn't speak. It was Holly, she was alive. In danger, but truly alive. He had guessed she might be, but he still almost collapsed in shock. Artemis almost rushed out with all the things he had to say to her, but he held back. It could be Opal with another deception up her sleeve.

"Captain Short. Two things you know about me that no one else does. Quick." He heard her sigh at the other end.

"Er...You wear red Armani boxers?"

Mulch burst into laughter while Artemis turned bright red. 'I didn't know stripping was a pastime of yours, Artemis', Mulch grinned, showing two large teeth. Artemis turned red and threw much a dirty look.

"Artemis, we haven't got enough time for this. Opal will get suspicious if I stay in here much longer. We have to be fast."

Artemis knew he should make sure it was Holly by asking more questions, but Holly, if it was indeed her, was right. They simply had no more time. He found himself turning to Mulch for affirmation, who nodded. Opal's madness was always strong to the point of almost tangible, and Artemis's calculations told him Opal was past the point of no return. The person he was talking to was sane, that was clear. Therefore it had to be Holly, there was no other explanation.

"We have a lot to do, Holly, and very few resources."

"You may not have resources in that sense, but you have Mulch," said Holly. "He's all the resources you'll ever need."

"Awwww, I'm flattered," said Mulch.

"Don't overdo it, stinkbreath," Holly quipped. "And no, no medal."

"Damn," Mulch said, but he was grinning. "Either way, I can get Mudboy and I down there in no time."

"So, do you have a plan, Genius?" Holly asked.

'I say...' started Mulch.

'NOT you, Mulch, you actually have to think about more than just eating and flatulence before you deserve the title of 'genius'. I'm talking about Artemis.'

'Hey, well it was worth a try,' grumbled Mulch. ' At least I can walk ten metres without tripping over.'

'Holly, Mulch, we haven't got time for this. We can't be sure what Opal's next move is, and have to get down there NOW. Holly, there's a tracking device on your locket, we'll use it to find you. Just keep it away from Opal, ok?" Artemis glanced at the coordinates on the locator then passed it to Mulch. "Now, if you see anything suspicious, try to notify us. Opal has a plan, I know it."

"Captain Short!" screeched Opal from outside the door. "I don't care if you're constipated, you've spent too long in there. Out, now!"

Huddled in the recycling cubicle, Holly closed her eyes and thought over all she'd heard from the Opals over the time she'd been there. It was about a week ago she'd heard the Opals whisper when they thought she was asleep. They mentioned a date, she was sure of it. And something else. Holly's eyes widened as everything clicked.

"Artemis! I know what the Opals are planning! It's..." Before she could finish, the recycling cubicle door crashed open, and Opal grabbed Holly roughly by the shoulders. 'The Supashakes,' she managed to whisper into the communicator before it was grabbed by Opal.

"Have you been talking to your friends?" Opal raged. Holly watched in horror as Opal hurled the small locket into the recycler. She knew exactly what would happen to it – carried away with all the foul smelling fairy waste to a recycling plant where it would be used to nourish the soil.

Artemis and Mulch stared in shock at the communicator. It seemed Holly was now in even graver danger than before, and they hadn't even moved from the surface. Artemis wrung his hands, trying to shake off the worry. The only thing they could hope for to save Holly now was Opal's melodramatic nature. He knew she would rather hold on to her for a death as brutal and exaggerated as possible. Mulch didn't hesitate, shocked into seriousness.

'We have to get into the shuttle port,' Mulch said. 'Now.'

'We do?' Artemis replied, looking at Mulch quizzically. The dwarf's eyes held a strange glazed look, and his ears were pricked up as if listening for a distant sound. 'What is it, Mulch?'

'I stole a sound enhancer from Foaly's lab once, it improves your hearing tenfold. I can hear what's happening in the shuttle port.'

'And that is...?' probed Artemis. He allowed a rare smile as Mulch gave his answer.

'Hooves.'

Ten minutes later Foaly, Mulch and Artemis were all crammed into a shuttle pod, trying to find a way of moving without hitting each other. It was cramped, but as Foaly had quickly explained, he was the only one who could control the pod without crashing it into the chute wall.

It hadn't taken Mulch and Artemis long to find Foaly. As Artemis had suspected, Foaly was certain of Artemis' innocence and had left the shuttle port accessible just in case. Artemis, of course, had just planned the day Foaly was at the surface for repairs. As soon as Foaly had saw Artemis he shooed away his assistants and organised an emergency shuttle to the surface.

'Explain, mudboy,' Foaly ordered, gripping the controls. 'We don't have much time, but if you're as smart as I think you are, you'll have guessed Holly's still alive.'

'Yes,' replied Artemis crisply. 'I guessed you might know too from the chute sensors, we've been in contact with Holly since. She's in more danger than ever before. Opal has her hostage, we just managed to get the coordinates of the location before communicator became fertiliser. Such a waste.'

Artemis passed Foaly the coordinates, and the centaur tutted sadly.

'It's in the industrial area of Haven, typical,' he shook his head. 'It's bad news around there, not many cops spend their shifts hanging around on those streets. At any rate, we would have been able to break in if you weren't the most wanted man in Haven.'

'Haven't you got enough evidence to convince the council I didn't kill her?'

'No, unfortunately not. I tried, I really did.' Foaly sighed, wafting a smell of carrots around the cramped pod. 'You two have to do this alone. I can get you down there, but that's probably the most I can do. The rest is all yours.'

Artemis loosened his collar a bit. He was getting a bit claustrophobic.

'May I ask you two favours, Foaly?' Artemis asked. 'Can you do a chemical check on the 'Supashakes'? Holly mentioned Opal may have something to do with them.'

'Definitely,' Foaly agreed. 'And the other favour?'

'We need something for the break in.'

'What exactly?' Foaly asked nervously. Images of guns and flame throwers came to mind. 'Nothing dangerous?'

Artemis smiled. 'A pair of insulated pliers and some silver duct tape.'

'Why silver?' Foaly asked curiously.

'Oh, no reason,' said Artemis, a faint smile playing on his lips. 'I just like the colour.'

Foaly, Artemis decided, didn't get as much credit sometimes as he deserved. How the centaur managed to sneak a now very tall human past the entire LEP police force and the chute security still remained a mystery. Artemis briefly pondered it in the undercover police cruiser on the way to Opal's new headquarters, but his large brain still couldn't get around the details. So he quickly turned his mind to other more pressing matters.

Breaking Holly out of the lab was going to be near impossible, but Artemis' plan seemed like the best option. Discreet and non-invasive techniques were no longer possible. The only way to freedom Artemis saw was chaos, and lots of it. As the buildings became larger and more ragged, Artemis twitched in anticipation. It was going to be a long night.

Holly coughed, acid rising in her throat. She was no longer in the laser cage – the Opals seemed to have decided that she was too painful to look at. So she sat in the cold basement, shivering as her temperature dropped. It wasn't only her cell which was the problem, she was sure. It had to be more, she had been feeling sick all week. And the stomach pains, that snake feeling, kept returning.

Another thing had been bothering her too. The Supashakes™ had been mentioned by the Opals, and Holly was scared of their popularity. What if the Opals had poisoned them? They could wipe out half the city in a day. The chemicals in them could do anything...

Realisation dawned on Holly and she collapsed on the ground, staring at her shaking hands.

Of course. The food. They've been testing it on me. I'm their test case.

It all seemed so clear now, Holly felt taller, and her limbs constantly hurt. It wasn't lack of exercise, it was growing pains. Holly desperately searched for one last drop of magic in her, probing to the very depths of her being. But nothing was there.

Opal isn't poisoning them. The formula in those shakes isn't deadly. It's turning us all into humans.

Holly cried out as the formula gripped her in a final bout of pain, and she slipped into unconsciousness.

Author's note: THANK GOD, I finished that chapter. Now, I promise to write at least another chapter before Christmas as exams are almost finished, so keep a look out. ALSO, I'm really scared I've lost all my reviewers, so please send me a message to tell me you're all still there? :( I know I've been a very bad person leaving you all so long, so please forgive me and let me know you're still reading :D
(Please? D: )