Thanks again to all the comments and support for my first fanfic. I really appreciate advice and enthusiastic responses.

This is the now much longer 4th chapter.

Hope you like it! :D

Foaly's Booth, LEP Headquarters

Foaly was munching on a carrot, nothing unusual there. He wondered what Holly was doing; seeing how she earned a week off to babysit Artemis, as Trouble had grumpily informed him. Foaly hadn't installed any camera's in Holly's apartment, but he could put himself on her v-computer and use its inbuilt virtual camera. He checked around for any superior officers, then finished his carrot (didn't take long), and started to type.

Holly's Apartment, Haven City

Holly was just thanking No1 for his trip and the demon repeated for the third time, "Holly, don't worry, Qwan and I will research bonds and for now, everything is confidential. You never know, I could simply undo or stop the effects."

He failed to mention removing the bond. Holly thought glumly. She repeated that yes, she knew that, and don't worry No1, Artemis and I have been through worse. As soon as the small warlock had left, Holly went over to her small couch and squeezed in beside Artemis, who was occupying 75% of the two seater.

Artemis moved over to give her some room. "Are you feeling okay Holly?" He asked with concern. The elf just mutely nodded, then she turned towards Artemis, "There's so much we don't know!" Holly cried, "I mean, will I develop Atlantis? What will the LEP say? Will you be able to go and live a human life?"

Artemis looked at Holly, "Do you not think I have already thought about this?" He exclaimed. "I don't know what the consequences will be but I will always try to support you in every single way."

"Support her in what?" Injected Foaly from the v-computer across the room. Holly and Artemis' heads whipped around and stared at the projection of the centaur. They were both equally horrified, but Holly had the tendency to be dramatic.

"How dare you snoop on us, you horrid little pony, I swear that I'll-"

Foaly lifted up his arms,

"I surrender," He said flamboyantly, "And anyway, what are you two up to? I have a few interesting facts I could tell Commander Kelp." Holly's face and ears went red, to a shade her previous commander would relate to rather well.

"Foaly, that's blackmail." Artemis uttered in response to Holly's glare of 'say something!'. He continued, "And anyway, there are a hundred different ways I could ensure you get a pay cut. From anonymously alerting your superiors that you are leaking information to humans, to convincing the council that you stole from the LEP." It was now Foaly's turn to turn a shade of red, albeit a lighter one.

Strangely enough, it was Foaly who ended the brawl.

"We are all intelligent beings!" He snapped, "All these threats are getting us nowhere. So, you can either give me an explanation as to why Artemis was being so sentimental, or you can not, which will result in me having assumptions I'd much rather not have."

Holly came to her senses quickly, "Sorry Foaly, but anything we tell you would be a lie. This is a matter far out of our hands."

At the centaur's protests, Artemis held up a hand. "Foaly," He said gravely, "As soon as anything is clear, we might tell you. But for now, we don't know if we have a crisis on our hands or not."

As soon as Holly received an apology from Foaly, she told him to go home, it was now what was referred to as night, the sun strips were now a pale light that only just illuminated the city. Everyone was tired, and it was just sheer will that was keeping Artemis awake. He said goodnight to Holly and dragged a blanket over to the couch. As Artemis finally fell asleep, he and Holly encountered another anomaly. They could communicate in their dreams.

Heads of Holly & Artemis, Haven City

As Holly relaxed, she forgot all about her problems, from a potential magical link with someone of a different species to a snooping centaur that had too much information about certain events in her life. That is, until Holly started to dream, and her miserable position in life came roaring back towards her.

Holly was at the grounds of Fowl Manor, and she saw Artemis walking amongst the trees in the orchard, No, no, no! Holly thought, Why can't I dream of something irrelevant to my life, like swimming with dolphins or something?

Artemis saw her and waved, he was unperturbed by the situation. It wasn't like he never dreamed of Holly, and most of his dreams were based in places he loved, like the orchard. So yes, just another dream.

Holly approached the mudboy. He was wearing a Bespoke suit, of course, and Holly found she was wearing her uniform. Holly patted her Neutrino, it was great to be armed, even if you were in a dream. Holly was now face to face with Artemis, "So, Artemis," she began, "Why are we always magnets for trouble?"

Artemis listened to Holly, and smiled, he assumed that this dream was his subconscious look for answers in the form of his dream self being questioned by his friend, so he decided to be truthful in his responses. He smiled and looked at Holly, she did look young in this dream. "I think that Trouble is an arrogant fool who hates me and likes you too much for my liking. If you were referring to the dire situations that we seemingly always encounter, I think that we have had too many enemies to not be in danger most of the time."

Holly blinked, this was a very straightforward Artemis, but then again, it was just a dream. Nothing more than a figment of her imagination. Holly responded accordingly, "If I had forgiven you, say, more easily, for lying to me, would you still have feelings for me?"

Artemis sighed, "If that was true, yes. But even with your forgiveness, I will never forgive myself anyway, and will forever feel that I don't deserve you. I always will have feelings for you Holly. No matter what happens."

Holly felt her heartbeat increase, It's just a dream, it's just a dream. she repeated to herself. Just, a very real feeling one. And a horrible one, it just made Holly wonder what the real Artemis would say. "Well Artemis, here's another question. One I've asked, but you never answered. You know which one."

Artemis sighed, classic subconscious feelings of guilt surfacing, questions he was too afraid to address in reality. "I would have said, say if I hadn't felt too guilty to answer then, that Holly, you are the most amazing person I know, I wish that things would be different and we would be together."

Holly just couldn't stand there, even if it was a dream. She took Artemis' hand. "Artemis, this is the best dream I've had in a long time. Thank you." Holly knew she was about to kiss him.

Artemis' head reeled. "Your dream?" He asked, "This is my dream!" Holly took her hand from Artemis' grip and grabbed her weapon in horror.

Yes, Holly had been about to kiss Artemis, but she shot him instead.