Hey, I have another short chapter here. Actually I originally intended for this to be the second half of chapter 6 (hence the title), but I was so eager to update that I couldn't wait. So I split it into two chapters. I think it worked out well. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to fling me a review now and again and thank you to everybody who did last chapter. : )

P.S. I don't know why the scene breaks haven't been working, but hopefully these turn out.

EDIT! - I'm terribly sorry to do this to you, but here it is: I'm not posting the next update until I get 10 new reviews (58 total). So, that being said, thank you to the 5 or 6 of you who have been reviewing regularly, you know who you are. =)

Foaly rubbed the exhaustion from his eyes as he scrolled through the results from Artemis's tests for the umpteenth time. Nothing stacked up: Artemis should not be having any problems right now. And yet the symptoms seemed so familiar…

He slammed his hand down on the table in frustration. It really bothered him that he could not remember what he needed to.

"D'arvit! This is important."

And indeed it was. Though he was concerned for Artemis, there we're even greater ramifications if this was left unchecked. Even if Artemis was patient zero, if he truly did have a magical disease then everyone was at risk. With a shudder Foaly remembered the outbreak of spelltropy that had devastated the People in the past; only very narrowly had they escaped complete destruction with that one. No, whatever Artemis had needed to be diagnosed as soon as possible. Foaly went to click on the communications icon to call Holly and tell her he might need to do a few more tests on Artemis.

Just then the icon in the upper left of the screen started flashing. He clicked on it, curious. Holly's face blipped up onto the screen.

"Holly?"

"Hey Foaly." Said Holly.

"Where are you?"

"Correction: Artemis and I are at the shuttle port. I need the access code for a shuttle so that I can take Artemis to the surface."

"What! Why? Holly I need Artemis down here. He isn't cured yet. Trying to move him might do more damage to him."

On the screen, Holly bit her lip.

"I know that Foaly. But, Artemis… He had some sort of… breakdown this morning. He says that he needs to get to the surface or he's going to die! I… Foaly, I think we should trust him."

"Holly," Said Foaly, trying to calm the situation down. "Artemis could easily be delirious from his illness. He might not have fully functioning mental facilities at this point. Get him down here and then we can run some more tests on him in the lab."

Holly bit her lip again, unsure of herself. She looked off screen and had a quick whispered conversation with a person outside of the camera view. Foaly waited impatiently.

"Foaly," began Holly, coming back into the focus of the camera, "I don't think Artemis is delirious. I think he's right. We have to do something about this and we have to do it soon. We don't have much time. What are more tests going to do at this point? Artemis has a plan. He says he knows a solution to this. I think it would be better to listen to him than to do nothing."

Back in the lab, Foaly ground his teeth. Whenever Artemis had a "plan" things got way more complicated than they needed to be. He knew he could figure out what was wrong with Artemis. He just needed more time.

"Look Holly," said Foaly. He turned around to face a computer behind him, pulling up the list for all of the shuttles in Haven's main bay. "All of the shuttles are scheduled for use. Even if I wanted to give you an access code I couldn't.

Down in the shuttle port, quick as a flash while Foaly's back was turned, Holly used the camera's controls to zoom in on the screen behind Foaly. On the right hand side of the screen was a list of corresponding access codes to various shuttles. She selected one and hurriedly wrote it down on the digital pad she had waiting and ready. Straitening up she turned back to the camera.

"Ok Foaly. I'm really sorry about this, but… I'll talk to you soon."

Quickly realizing his mistake, Foaly whipped around.

"D'arvit Holly! No. Wait!"

But, it was too late. Holly had already cut off the call. The picture of her wavered and disappeared.

O-O-O-O

In the shuttle port, Holly typed the access code into the Ambassador 9: leisurely travel shuttle. The shuttle was used mainly to transport various fairy dignitaries between the three main cities of the people. It would have to do though. The door slid open and she ushered Artemis inside. They went to the cockpit where Holly put in the ignition chip and started the shuttle. Wearily, Artemis sat down in the copilot's seat and fastened the restraint. Holly looked over at Artemis and he nodded. She detached the shuttle from the magnetic docking bay and made for the shuttle doors.

Artemis settled himself more comfortably in his seat. Holly wished that she could have given him another shot of healing magic to alleviate some of his pain. Unfortunately, healing him the first time had wiped her clean. She had thought about going to see No.1 or someone else who could help him, but Artemis had been very clear: it was imperative that they move quickly.

AS they left the port, Holly felt a sudden onrush of guilt in the pit of her stomach. She felt terrible about tricking Foaly. But, she was sure, more now than ever, that it had been necessary. Every time she looked at Artemis it reinforced her constitution.

"Please watch where you are going Holly." Said Artemis quietly.

With a start, Holly realized that she had been looking at Artemis and had drifted too close to the tunnel wall. She grimaced, blushing slightly and corrected her mistake.

Artemis closed his eyes and sighed, resigned to simply let the ride play out. He felt a little better now that he knew they were on their way. He felt more calm, the panic he had experienced earlier having been momentarily abated. Stronger than ever though, he felt the pull of Yggdrasil urging him onwards.

Come to me.

"Holly." Said Artemis, his eyes still shut.

"Artemis?"

"Fly fast." He said simply.

Holly felt herself grin a little for the first time that morning.

"Fast? Sure, I can do that."

She shifted gears and the shuttle sped up the tunnel at breakneck speed.

O-O-O-O

Dwarfs were famous for their widely colorful vocabulary. In fact, they were ranked just behind swear toads on the list of most obscene language. However, anyone who thought that dwarf cursing was bad had obviously never been around Foaly when he was under severe stress. A stream of muttered profanities filled the air of the tech booth where he was currently situated, desperately trying to think of a way to get Holly back down to Haven. Fortunately for those outside, the booth was fitted with sound absorbing panels, Foaly's paranoia proving itself useful for once.

Foaly knew that he wouldn't be able to convince Holly to come back on her own. Once she was committed to a course of action she was as stubborn as a pack mule (as Foaly knew from experience). Nor would he be able to remote access the shuttle or deactivate it without arousing suspicion. Granted, someone was bound to notice soon. So his first objective was to get Holly back in Haven before that happened.

The light above the door flashed red, awaking Foaly from his reverie. He looked at the door cam and saw, to his discomfort, Commander Vinyáya standing impatiently at the foot of the door, flanked by several sector seven guards. Foaly let out a frustrated sigh. Apparently avoiding suspicion was no longer an option; things were about to get very complicated. Still, best to play it innocently. He turned around and flipped on the mike.

"Commander Vinyáya? Did you need something?"

"I would like to come in, Foaly." She said, looking directly at him through the camera and tapping her foot.

Foaly gulped. She was definitely not in a good mood.

"Yes, of course." He said.

He punched in the code on the access panel and the door of the booth slid open. Vinyáya motioned for her guards to stay outside and stepped into the booth, closing the door behind her.

"Was there something you needed Commander? I have a lot of work to do and…"

"Don't you feign innocence with me Foaly. Do you have any idea how much dwarf manure I've had to wade through this morning? I get a call saying that a very important trade meeting had to be postponed because the shuttle that was going to pick up the Atlantian trade advisor couldn't get there. Apparently the shuttle in question was not in the docking bay when one of the pilots went to find it. Then I hear that someone found security cam footage of Major Holly Short taking the same shuttle for an unregistered flight up the Tara route. I spent half the morning alone trying to keep that one quiet. And then I get a call from Trouble. Wants to know where his major is. Her vacation time is up and he wants her back on duty. So if you wouldn't mind Foaly, tell me what in Fronds name is going on.

Foaly swallowed and tried again.

"Commander I honestly don't know…"

"Foaly," said the exasperated Commander, "Holly had the access code to the shuttle. There's only one place where she could have got that and that's from you. I need you to tell me what you know because this is serious. Holly could lose her job over this and the council hasn't been too pleased with sector seven recently. I'm sure they'd just love an excuse to cut the program. We need to do something about this quickly before there are repercussions for everyone."

Foaly sighed, defeated. Vinyáya was right of course. It wouldn't do anybody any good if he tried to shy away from this.

"Holly called me this morning from the shuttle port. She said that she and Artemis needed to get to the surface immediately. Of course I refused, but I accidentally made the mistake of opening the shuttle log for that morning and she stole an access code when I was facing the other way." He said ruefully.

"What was so urgent that she couldn't wait for clearance?"

"She wouldn't say. Only that Artemis had figured something out that required the trip."

"That mud boy is becoming increasingly troublesome." Said Vinyáya.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. Foaly waited. Vinyáya had her eyes closed and appeared to be deep in thought.

"Alright." Said the Commander, opening her eyes. "I will accept that you could not have done anything about this. We don't know why Artemis and Holly decided to steal the shuttle, but it is imperative that we resolve this issue before it becomes an even larger problem than it already is. Foaly, I need you to make communication with Holly as soon as you can, though they may already be above ground by now. I will do what I can to alleviate the concerns of the Council and Trouble in the meantime."

With that, Vinyáya made her way to the door. She paused at the threshold, however, in an afterthought.

"Oh, and Foaly?" She said, turning.

"Yes Commander?"

"I know that Holly is your friend and that you are concerned for her," She said, a hint of sadness in her voice, "but we need to get her back down here, even if it goes against what she wants. Understood?"

Foaly remained silent, thinking furiously. He did want to see Artemis cured, but he also didn't want to see Holly lose her job.

"Foaly?" said Vinyáya impatiently.

"Yes Commander." Foaly said with a sigh.

Sorry Artemis, Foaly thought as Commander Vinyáya left the room. He turned back to his computers scanning them for any sign of the missing craft. Holly may trust your judgment, but I'm not so sure I do.

O-O-O-O

Up on the surface the Ambassador emerged from the Tara shuttleport into the bright morning sun. Holly sighed with relief. Getting through the crowded Tara port had been a nightmare. As they were leaving, one of the LEP security officers stationed at the port had come up to the shuttle to inform Holly that she was in possession of a stolen vehicle. She had just barely managed to convince the elf that there had been an unregistered emergency and that she had been ordered by Trouble to take the shuttle for an aboveground mission. Showing the elf her superior rank as major hadn't hurt either. The elf had backed down and they had been able to get out of the port for the most part unsuspected.

Holly set the shuttle to hover for a little while, got up, and stretched. Then she turned to Artemis. Artemis had fallen asleep shortly after leaving the docking bay in haven. Though he had slept the whole time the sleep didn't appear to have done him much good. If anything he looked worse off.

Holly gently shook him awake. He opened his eyes slowly, focusing on her.

"Artemis, you need to tell me where we're going." Said Holly.

Artemis nodded and closed his eyes again. He frowned as if trying to listen to a distant noise.

"Finland." He said. "Head for Finland."

"Finland? Are you sure?"

"Finland." Artemis repeated, nodding.

And suddenly his eyes were blazing with intensity, the panic in his voice clear.

"We need to get there now Holly." He said almost desperately. "We need to hurry. We don't have much time…"

Holly grasped him by the arms making Artemis wince. She looked into his eyes.

"Calm down Artemis," she said soothingly, "We'll be there soon. We'll get whatever's wrong taken care of and then you can go… you can go back home."

She said the last part sadly. I she was honest with herself she didn't want Artemis to go back home. She had grown more attached to Artemis in the past few days than she would care to admit.

Artemis nodded, her words having calmed him. His eyes slowly closed and he fell back asleep. Holly released his arms and climbed back into the pilot's seat, pointing the shuttle towards Finland and punching in the coordinates.

She settled back into the chair, contemplating. She wished she could see Artemis more. Spend more time with him. Though she would never admit it, she missed him terribly in the long stints between adventures. If only she could see Artemis more. If only he lived in Haven. If only he were not a human. And if only he had not used her. Hurt her.

She let out a frustrated sigh. It seemed like the world had always conspired against her. She had lost both her mother and her father by the time she was out of school (It was rare for people to die in Haven of unnatural causes. Why had it had to be her parents?) She had made it her mission in life to help others by joining the LEP only to fight through years of prejudice and tradition. She had had to fight to retain her career even though she only ever did what she thought was right. She had been captured and held prisoner by a mudman which had sparked a whole chain of problems. And now she was developing feelings for this very same mudman, something unheard of in her world.

But, she would go through it all again. Despite the many hardships, she was proud of her accomplishments and she was, in the end, happy she had met Artemis. She just wished it was not so difficult to lead the life she had chosen.

She looked over at Artemis's sallow taught face and instantly felt a pang of guilt. Here she was wishing her life would be easier when Artemis was really the one who could use a break. Now was not the time to focus on her own problems or inhibitions. Right now she had to work on getting Artemis better. Everything else could wait

Suddenly, she felt the hot sting of tears in her eyes. What if Artemis didn't make it? What if it had been the wrong decision to come out here? Would she ever be able to forgive herself?

She gave her head a little shake. No, she couldn't think like that. She had chosen her course and she would have to stick to it. There was no turning back now. All she could do was trust that Artemis knew what he was doing and help him get there. The race was on.

She looked over at Artemis again.

"Don't die Artemis."

Artemis moaned a little and shifted in his sleep.