A/N: This chapter should be a bit better than the last one, as my writer's block seems to have broken a tiny bit.
This chapter should also clear up some of the concerns I've heard in relation to the form of demon that attacked Artemis. Yes, it was meant to be a buck, now sit back and enjoy.
The first thing Artemis noticed was the smell. He woke up in a slime cocoon, as Orion said he would, but he wasn't quite prepared for the smell. While the cocoon filtered oxygen for him to breath, it didn't keep out the smell of the dung-based mixture of the warping pit. Definitely demons then, Artemis thought, followed by Now think like Holly, Artemis. Get out without injuring yourself.
The second thought was not his, but Orion becoming a part of him again. Though the feeling of someone else thinking in his head was strange, Artemis knew it would pass. Mentally checking his magic, and grateful to find himself still running hot, Artemis tried to think of what Holly would do in this situation. Get out to the cocoon, without drowning in dung, He thought, cringing at the image.
Gathering a portion of the magic, he formed a shell around himself, shattering the cocoon while holding the sludge at bay. Above him was a square of light, and Artemis reached for it. Finding a ledge, he grabbed on and began pulling himself up. He found that he could solidify part of the bubble to help him push, but was dismayed to find it would not hold his full weight. When he tried, it faltered slightly and his loafer sank half an inch into the sludge.
Eventually, he was able to struggle free, though not without further incidents. By the time he made it out his shoes were ruined and he smelled terrible, but at least he was free.
Looking around, he found himself in some kind of storage area. This vat is probably only used in emergencies, He thought, Or for the occasional prisoner. On the table nearby was a small pile of stones, each with an identical rune on it. Remembering his assault at the hospital, Artemis noted the pile. Picking one up, he found that he could sense the spell inside, and how to change it. That might come in handy later, He thought, and also Good, you're thinking strategically. You're on your own, so you have to use all those skills Butler and Holly taught you that you ignored.
Outside the chamber was a long corridor. At one end was the room Artemis currently occupied, and the other end disappeared around a corner several meters away. Slowly, doing his best to keep silent with his squelching shoes, Artemis made his way to the end. On his left was another door, and further down was a room out of which gravely voices could be heard. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he recognized a demonic accent when he heard one. Best try the one on the left then, he thought, No need to announce myself, no matter how theatrical it would be. Artemis was surprised when the suggestion came from him, instead of Orion. Searching inwardly, he heard a voice: You're starting to come together, so from now on the thinking is going to be less of the two of us, and more of a whole.
For a moment, Artemis was anxious. Though he was just another personality, Orion was the only company he had right now. Losing him would mean he was truly alone. For the first time in years, completely alone. He thought, No fairies, no bodyguards, just you.
Artemis shook himself, and proceeded to the first door. Carefully, he tried the handle, finding it unlocked. Inside was what appeared to be an operations center. Whatever was going on down the hall must have been important, as the room was unmanned. Crossing to a small, portable computer, Artemis sat down. Think Artemis, what do you know? He thought, These computers are portable, so they don't stay put. They used that pit room for multiple purposes, so they're a small group. They managed to kidnap me from under the eyes of the LEP and Holly, so they've been planning. Put it all together!
Artemis looked through the files on the computer, looking for anything useful. Finally, in a folder marked "Initiation", he found a document marked "Manifesto". Opening it, the title made his blood run cold.
We are the Tribe of N'Zall, Followers of our King Leon Abbot
Suddenly it made sense. N'Zall was a demon who proclaimed himself King of Hybras under the name of Leon Abbot. He was cunning, vengeful, and most of all, he had stolen the warlock Qweffor's magic. The document laid out how N'Zall had created the stones and entrusted them to his closest followers as a backup, in case his plans went wrong. They were to use them to capture the most powerful demon warlock available and help reclaim his dominion.
They've been waiting for the perfect moment to try to seize No. 1, Thought the Orion voice, And there you were, the perfect target. Artemis squelched the guilt. He couldn't afford the time for introspection. I have to find a way of getting a message to the LEP, He thought. Locating the base communications equipment, a bulky device that looked as if it had been torn from a shuttle, he was dismayed to find it was locked by a password. The only function he had was a distress beacon, which was set to activate alarms when used. No other choice, he thought, and pressed the button.
-Police Plaza-
"I don't get it," Trouble said, exhausted after his day of briefings and meetings, "Demon bucks don't have magic, they rely on teeth, claws, and armor to get what they need. How in Frond's name did one manage to use several high level spells to kidnap Artemis?"
Foaly was equally exhausted after a day of explaining things to everybody, and snapped at the commander. "We've explained this! The stones are a repository of magic, they don't require any magic to use. Through a huge expenditure of power, demon warlocks are able to store everything the caster needs in one stone, that's why only they have been able to do it so far. All you have to do it pick one up, and viola, you're magical for a spell."
The commander was about to make a comeback, but before the argument could start both parties received sharp blows their respective shoulders. Neither one did anything about this, as the blows had come from Holly, who had moved from threats to violence for whomever delayed the rescue of Artemis. An unfortunate cadet, who had carelessly suggested the LEP simply let them kill "the mud man" was still in the infirmary.
Before any more damage could be done, a nearby monitor started flashing a warning. Moving over, Foaly began tapping the keyboard.
"It's a shuttle distress call." Foaly said, continuing his tapping as more windows appeared.
"Let Retrieval deal with it," Holly snapped, spinning her chair to look at Foaly, "We have more important things to do."
"Wait, there's something here," Foaly wasn't looking away from the monitor anymore, the incoming data taking his full attention. "The signal's old, we haven't used this carrier wave for decades, and it's coming from inside Haven."
That was as far as he got before Holly pushed him aside. Reading the coordinate data carefully, she ran to the far wall and grabbed a pistol of off Foaly's rack. Turning to the exit, she called back to Trouble.
"Bring a retrieval squad and meet me at those coordinates," she said, holstering the gun, "and bring a warlock, there will be wounded."
With that, she grabbed a pair of wings and left. Trouble was standing there with his mouth open.
"She knows she can't have that equipment off-duty, right?" was all his brain came up with.
"I'm betting she does," Foaly said, tapping in the order for a retrieval mission using Trouble's codes, "But when have the rules ever stood between Holly Short and the things she cares about?"
-Over Haven-
Holly opened the throttle on her wings, dodging stalactites. The wings weren't meant to function within the close confines of the city, and whined their protest. Soon, however, she was over a less crowded industrial district, where the signal had originated.
Before she could bet there, however, she was thrown back by an explosion. Quickly regaining control, she brought the wings to a hover. Looking out over the city, she didn't need her heads-up display to tell her that the explosion had come from the same coordinates as the distress signal.
"Artemis!" she yelled, diving at the plume of smoke.
In the aftermath of the Koboi incident, much of Haven was rebuilt. The People were quick to learn from mistakes, and had made sure that the city was prepared for future attacks. This meant that all the buildings rebuilt from the explosions had been reinforced and restructured, so when the explosion tore through them, a bit of broken glass and mortar dust was all that showed any evidence in the nearby buildings.
The demon hideout, on the other hand, was leveled. Shortly after Holly had landed, emergency teams had arrived to find her trying to lift a slab of rubble with her bare hands. There was speculation that, if left to the task, she would have succeeded.
Trouble and Foaly arrived a few minutes after the teams, having taken time to make sure that all the equipment Foaly would need to find out exactly what had happened was in his ops shuttle. Trouble stepped out to see Holly fighting his men to get back to the rescue effort.
"SHORT!" he yelled, pulling himself up to full height before stepping towards the officer, "Do you realize you could have been killed? You're out of control. I'm officially ordering you to stay off of this case."
For a brief second, Holly stopped fighting. Then she launched herself at the commander. Unfortunately, she was angry, and he was prepared. He sidestepped her clumsy lunge and put out a foot, causing her to fall to the ground. Finding it was the best method of holding her still, he then proceeded to literally sit on the angry captain.
"LET ME GO YOU BASTARD!" She yelled, fighting in vain to dislodge him. Trouble simply readjusted himself, furthering his control over her.
"You misunderstand me captain." He said, trying to calm her, "Imagine Artemis going through what you went through. Imagine him losing the one person under the world he cares about. Right now, we need you alive." As his words sank in, Holly stopped fighting. After a few seconds, Trouble let her up. "Now, according to what the rescue teams sent us on the way over here, there is currently no evidence of anyone having been inside the building, which means Artemis is probably still alive. I need you to go home and wait for further instructions, we don't want you getting hurt trying to save Artemis."
Holly glared at him for a second before storming off. She had taken off her equipment to dive into the rubble, so she was free to leave the site without having to go through the ops booth. Foaly was her friend, but right now a comforting gesture was not what she wanted.
-Downtown Haven-
Haven is comparable to many human cities, it has residential and industrial areas, a business district, and a lively Downtown sector filled with clubs, shops, and, the thing Holly was looking for most at the moment, bars.
Fairies don't drink very much, and too much will rob them of magic for a time, however they can get drunk. Upon entering a bar, Holly's wrist was stamped with a biochemical ink. On top of keeping track of entry and exit from the bar, all of Haven's alcohol-serving establishments used the ink to track alcohol intake. When a fairy reaches a point near the danger mark for magical loss, the stamp begins to glow, resulting in the fairy being removed from the bar, and the stamp ensured that no other establishment would allow them in. Doing so was a felony offense.
Holly had no intention of getting kicked out, and thus drank sparingly, ordering food from the short menu offered by the bar she had chosen. It was often frequented by LEP officers, as the owner was a retired retrieval sprite. He had left the force after a troll had severed one of this wings, leaving him grounded for life.
Holly tucked herself away in a corner with a bottle of elfin wine and began to sulk. She was angry with Commander Kelp for ordering her off of the search, but understood his logic. She had thought solely about saving Artemis, without thinking about the consequences of putting herself at risk.
As her bottle emptied, Holly thought more and more about her career and her relationships. Somewhere, the part of her brain still capable of clear thought made a decision.
-Police Plaza, the next day-
Holly was on duty again, but while she was in uniform and in the office, she had little to do. Almost all of the Plaza was working on finding Artemis, leaving her to sit in her office and catch up on paperwork. Finally, after a few hours, Foaly came in.
"Holly? Can you come with me? It's about Artemis." He said simply, concern on his face.
"I thought I was off the assignment?" Holly asked, confused.
"You are, but this concerns you." With that, Foaly walked out the door, trotting down the hallway. Holly got up and followed him to the ops booth.
On the table was a third stone, identical to the two they had found at the hospital. Judging by the burn marks, Holly assumed it was from the explosion.
"We found this in the wreckage. We thought it was just left behind, but on a hunch we examined it anyway. You're going to want to see this." With that, Foaly tapped a few button, and a holographic projector above him hummed to life. "The stone contained a message in the form of a magical construct. We were able to record it using our equipment."
A three dimensional model of Artemis formed in the middle of the room. Holly took an instinctual step towards the projection, momentarily elated to see him again before she remembered the circumstances. A moment later, the message started.
"Foaly, as I assume it is Foaly who has found this, I am leaving this to tell you that I am, as of yet, unharmed. I would tell you to pass this along to Holly if I were not also sure she is watching. I have sent a distress call, which if you are receiving this you have undoubtedly gotten." As Artemis said this, a loud banging began behind him. "The demons holding me will likely have moved on from this location by the time you get here, as they seem to be ready to leave at a moment's notice. They may also be ready to demolish the building to get rid of evidence, thus I will be leaving this message in the warping chamber in which I was imprisoned. Unsanitary, I know, but necessary. I must end soon, as the table I have in front of the door is beginning to buckle." Indeed the banging noises seemed to be getting louder. "The demons are loyal to N'Zall, and they need No. 1 to bring him back to power. Though I know she will protest, you must ensure that Holly puts the well-being of The People above my own. They must not get No. 1." Artemis abruptly stopped here, turning slightly. A loud cracking noise was heard, and several clawed hands entered the recording. Then Artemis turned his hand, dropping the stone and the spell.
As the the hologram projector cycled down, Foaly had a terrible thought. Before Holly could react, he ran from the room, leaving her alone.
She wandered down the hall, the last few days' events replaying in her head, making what she had to do more important. Finding, Trouble's office, she knocked and entered.
"Can I help you, captain?" Trouble asked, surrounded by reports from various departments about the case.
"Is there still a major position open in recon?" Holly asked, taking a seat.
"So far. Apparently none of you hot shots can stand the thought of a desk job." Trouble put down the data pad he was working on, sensing something coming.
"I'd like to put myself in the running for it, sir." Holly said, not quite believing it. Before Trouble could react, however, Foaly ran in, not bothering with knocking.
"Abbot is gone!" He yelled, seeming crazed. "The guinea pig, it's gone!"
To be continued in Chapter Nine!
I apologize if this chapter gets long-winded. I had a lot of ideas in my head that needed to be put down, and I feel I didn't put them together well.
If any of you have suggestions for how to get rid of writer's block, I'm open to them, as I don't want to wind up abandoning this project due to lack of material like a few of my older ones.