Title: Nobody's Fool by Avril Lavigne.
"Lovely, isn't it?" The younger Opal asked as she turned the dials on a device that has yet to have a purpose.
"Not particularly, no." Artemis answered flatly.
The pixie rolled her eyes and checked the setting for the device on the monitor. The thing itself was odd. The main part was a large glass tube, about eight feet high with a diameter of three feet, and it open to allow a person inside. The thing was connected to several much smaller tubes placed around it, these where only a foot high and had a diameter of three inches. The whole thing sent and received information wirelessly from the control station only three feet from it, which was where Opal and Artemis were currently standing.
He watched her adjust the controls on the station's monitor and asked, "How exactly does it work?"
She looked up at him for a moment then gestured to the tube and said, "Step in. I'll show you."
Artemis was skeptical but he did as he was told.
Once he was standing on the platform inside the tube Opal spoke again, "Good! Now, when I manipulate these controls different processes will activate depending on what I decide. For example, when I press this key the machine will extract a sample of your DNA."
With the press of a button a mechanical arm descended from the top of the device, a long metal needle at the end. The arm poked the needle into Artemis's forearm then removed it and retracted back to where it had been. The door to the tube then opened and he stepped out, undamaged. Opal pressed another key and one of the smaller tubes filled with a blue liquid.
"After the DNA sample is extracted its analyzed and replicated. That would be the synthetic blue liquid you see in the small tube." She explained.
"Interesting. What will be done with it?" The teen inquired.
Opal shrugged and replied with, "I haven't decided yet. Human DNA isn't really needed for our plans so it's not important."
Artemis nodded in acknowledgement but remained silent. That silence lasted for an hour or so before the Irish boy stated, "You're not like her."
The young pixie turned her gaze to him, one eyebrow raised quizzically, "What do you mean? Who?"
"Opal." Artemis said as he leaned against a metal table.
She scrunched her nose and said, "I am Opal."
He shook his head, "Yes, but you're not like her- The older you."
"How do you figure?" Young Opal asked.
"Why don't you hate me?" Artemis asked, dismissing her question.
She stopped then and took a moment to think. The question honestly puzzled her.
After a time she said, sounding unsure, "I guess… We just haven't met yet."
The moment Foaly loaded the security chip's information his computer went crazy. Windows opened showing error messages and warnings showed themselves whenever he tried opening or closing a program. Desperately, he pressed down the power button to try to force a shut down. That turned out to be a mistake because the computer began sparking. He managed to get out of the booth before they self-destructed, spraying electricity and electronic parts around the room. He peered through the door and saw his space was in ruins. Luckily he had the equipment he really needed with him.
"What?!" Holly exclaimed.
It was about an hour since the tech booth had been destroyed and about five second after Foaly told Holly about it.
"He must have come back and switched the chips before the LEP team got them. They have a team rebuilding the lab but it could take weeks. I don't know how this could get worse…" the centaur sighed.
Holly ran a frustrated hand through her hair and said, "Great… What are we going to do now?"
"I'm going to the warehouse to see if I can find anything. I'm glad I had all my necessary equipment with me or I couldn't even do that." Foaly responded and picked up his bag then headed for the door.
"Wait! I'm going with you!" Holly shouted before he stepped out, attempting to get out of her hospital bed. She had her arm wrapped around her stomach where she'd been stabbed and leaned on the bed to stand.
Foaly shook his head and helped her back into bed saying, "Oh no! You're not well enough to go back to work yet! Holly, you stay here."
With that he left.
Foaly entered the weapons storehouse alone. The LEP had taped off the area earlier that day and gone back to their lives. He was the only person within a mile of the place. He made his way past crates of weapons to the office in back where Holly had almost been killed. The centaur cringed seeing the blood stain on the floor. Somebody should really clean that up… he thought to himself. He shook his head, dismissing the thought, and then pulled a small device out of his bag. It looked something like a laser pointer, except that the hole the laser would come out of was on the side. He pushed the button and a beamed scanned the room, gathering information. It beeped and indicated that human DNA was present but found nothing else out of the ordinary. Foaly did a few more tests with the same results before checking the rest of the warehouse. Every test came up the same, telling him one thing: Artemis was here, but nothing more. He sighed once more and said to himself, "Maybe I can find the real security chip…"
"You mean this one?" he heard a familiar voice say from behind him.
Startled, he turned to see Artemis leaning against one of the crates holding a microchip, about 7 feet away.
He said, "Artemis…"
The teen did not respond. Instead he walked toward his former friend at a casual pace, like he wasn't in any hurry. Still Foaly stood there for a second, watching the human he'd once called friend, but the he shook his head, realization hitting him. He tried to kill Holly! If he's here it can't be good! He thought and turned to run.
Artemis sighed but kept his pace and said, "What's wrong, Foaly? Why are you running from me? Aren't we friends?"
The centaur darted between crates and shouted, "You tried to kill Holly!"
Artemis shrugged and replied calmly, "Couldn't be helped."
"What happened to you, Artemis? Why are you doing this?" Foaly asked.
"Why don't you come here and I'll tell you?" Artemis said.
Foaly snorted and said, "I'm not stupid. You'll kill me."
"Kill you? I'm not going to kill you, Foaly." He could hear the boy say.
"Why don't I believe you?" He asked sarcastically.
"Because you're a fool." Artemis said from directly behind him.
Foaly didn't even manage to turn to see the teen before he was electrocuted. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Artemis standing over him.