Here is a Christmas present from CaptainS10 and I! Hope you guys have a wonderful Christmas!

10 years after Artemis let Holly go:

Holly crouched behind a boulder, motioning for the team behind her to do the same. They did so, right as a beam of extreme heat flew past them. Holly, with her neutrino already drawn, looked from behind their hiding place.

Goblins. Goblins everywhere. They were looking for her and her team right then, searching everywhere. The Goblins were getting closer and closer to where Holly was by the second.

Holly looked behind her, fences 10 feet high stood there, so climbing was out of the options. Goblins surrounded them left and right as they kept on looking, closing in.

'Suicide Mission.' The word suddenly came to her head. Foaly's words from before to describe why she was needed so long ago.

She was suddenly jolted from her thoughts as a lieutenant crouched down next to her. "What should we do, Captain?" He asked, tying to hide his nervousness.

Holly didn't look at the elf beside her; instead, she focused her attention to the creatures closing in on them as trying to figure out an escape plan. Holly closed her eyes, whispering, "We have to fight. We have to get to Opal this time."

And she was right, Opal needed to stop. Everyday she was getting closer and closer to dominating life underground, and Holly had a feeling that once the megalomaniac had hold of Haven, she would soon start her takeover on the world.

The lieutenant nodded at her words slowly. "Yes, Captain. You say when."

Holly didn't react to his words; instead she looked back at her team. They were all on death's notice, volunteers to this mission. Most of them only had a limited time to live, but were still fit and good to fight. However, the rest volunteered because they had nothing to live for. No family, no friends.

'Just like me.' Holly thought, looking back over to the Goblins. She let a shaky breath leave her mouth, her nerves jumping with adrenaline. There were at least 100 Goblins out there and 20 soldiers behind her. All they needed to do was kill 5 each. Holly closed her eyes for her second and when they opened her eyes were more determined than ever.

"Ok." Holly breathed. "Go."

All hell broke loose as Holly and her team came out from behind their temporary safe-haven. Officers with their neutrinos attacked Goblins with their fireballs, given the fact that they both had excellent range. The air of the battlefield was smoky even though there wasn't a single cloud in the dusk sky.

Holly skidded around one tall goblin to get a clear shot at an incredibly fat goblin 20 feet away. She shot off three rounds before deciding that the ugly creature was dead and turned to fight off another.

Did Holly miss killing every other creature in her line of sight that moved? No. Holly only missed the action and adventure that her job and life in Haven brought. Still, every now and then, the elf would stick up for the mudboy, whether it was Root, Trouble, or Foaly. She didn't know why, she just did. It was like it was subconsciously speaking, a habit to defend Artemis.

But here she was now, and thanks to him she was back in Haven. Even if the stay was temporary, Holly held it out for as long as she could. However, that was mainly Opal's fault. The elusive pixie was slippery and hard to catch, her location changing everyday and in a random pattern.

Holly dodged another fireball quickly by rolling to the right. She shot off three more rounds with her eyes squeezed shut.

Holly finally opened her eyes when it quieted around her. The air was still and burnt as she looked around. The ground had a heavy layer of ash and the smoke in the air made Holly's eyes and nose burn. But it wasn't the smoke that made Holly tear up.

True, she was still alive, and true, the Goblins were taken care of…but her team had died as well. Holly searched the dark field, but being as though the night sky was out, making it almost impossible to see, Holly couldn't tell if anyone was actually breathing or not. She prayed that she would find one jagged heartbeat as she looked for the people in her team, but the still silence told her otherwise.

She found her main lieutenant, the one that had helped her through the rough decade. He was gasping softly for breath, too far on the edge of death to say anything, but not so far gone as to he could look at her.

"Officers down. 20. Emergency medical needed ASAP at 80 alpha, 40 Juliet." She commanded into her communicator. Her heart lurched at the familiar name that was the coordinate, but the Captain quickly pushed the feeling away.

Holly dropped to her knees as she took his hand in hers. Sadness developed over her as she looked over his several scorched body parts. She shook her head, shaking away the oncoming tears. Tears for all of her officers. They had been there from the very beginning, helping her through the years to find and capture Opal. Holly would not let them die in vain.

The officer on the ground gasped his last breath before becoming still. Holly stayed there, by his side, for who knows how long. She would have stayed there forever, if it wasn't for the cold maniacal chuckle that came from the right of the last standing officer.

"Captain Short, I presume?" The low voice growled from Holly's side. The elf in question looked up to face a pale, dark haired, pixie.

"Opal Koboi?" Holly retorted, aiming her neutrino at the evil fairy.

Opal only chuckled at that. "I wouldn't do that it I was you, Project X."

Holly's hand wavered at her alias. No one was supposed to know about that. So, instead of answering, Holly just tilted her head to the side slightly and asked, "Project X?"

Opal shook her head and smirked. "You know full well what I'm talking about. I know all about your supposed 'Death' at Fowl Manor, and how you escaped."

Holly's eyes widened, if she knew how she escaped from Artemis, then she would know-

"And I know all about your little deal with the mud brat." Opal put her hands behind her back, pacing slightly as she pursed her lips and said, "The question now is: 'Do you really want to go back?' Because once you capture me, your as good as gone, going back to Fowl."

Holly looked away, realizing she was right. Holly didn't want to go back to Artemis, but she had to protect the citizens of Haven.

The pause of Holly deciding her fate, and looking away, was all the time Opal needed as she grabbed a neutrino off of a nearby officer and pointed it at the Captain. Before Holly could do anything, Opal shot the elf in front of her. Luckily, Opal had as much of a bad shot as Artemis, so she missed.

Unfortunately, Holly wasn't as safe as one would think. Instead of hitting her chest, or more accurately her heart, Opal hit the elf's shoulder, causing Holly to fly back into a boulder behind her and crack her head with a loud snap. Then everything went black for Holly.

Opal smirked. She might have missed that last shot, but now with the Captain unconscious, she would have a clear shot to kill her.

However, as soon as Opal took a step forward, flood lights from a LEP shuttle filled the field. Opal looked at the knocked-out elf and decided to flee. The range from where she was to where Holly was, was too great of a distance for her. If she decided to shoot and miss, her effort would be in vain because he would be caught.

So instead of shooting, Opal turned and ran through the blood-covered field, trying not to trip over the bodies that were strewn about. She came upon her escape shuttle and entered, ordering the Goblins inside to leave before the LEP got them.

The LEP back-up found Holly, but couldn't find Opal anywhere. Opal, once again, had slipped from their grasp.

800!

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