Yo! Its me! I guess I type faster than I think. This is where the action starts! Hope you guys like it!
Now I really hope I actually type faster than I think because the next chapter is also pretty long *sighs*, but its my fav chapter in this story. Not telling you why just yet. But another spoiler: next chapter contains lots of dialogue, main characters are Artemis and Foaly, and I love the suspense at the end. Meeheehee.
Now, the disclaimer, then you can enjoy the story. Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl, because if I did he would probably be horrified at how I suck at using the computer and how I slowly I type (with 3 fingers or so!) and abandon me. And also get back at me for what I'm going to do with Holly in this chapter. I was about to laugh, but was that a good thing or bad?
Chapter 3: Troll roll
Lower Elements Police, Haven city
Commander trouble Kelp was basically repeating what Foaly had told Holly, but it was news to the other Recon officers. Kelp had told Holly that she would be in recon for this instead of the Kraken watch because of her outstanding Recon achievements, excluding the Hamburg thing and the Artemis Fowl affairs. "Only this once," Holly had said. "But I get to keep the uniform."
"Foaly would be closing chute E7 at Tara in case any more trolls appear from there, but you guys would have the privilege of riding it before it closes," Trouble was saying.
And the privilege of getting mauled by a troll,Holly added bitterly as she remembered her two tangles with the same trolls. They were not a pleasant experience for both the troll and Holly. She just remembered that she had about a quarter tank of juice left and that she was planning to do the Ritual that night.
"It cannot be helped that this emergency mission has to be conducted in the middle of the day, but who knows what damage the trolls would have done by then?" Kelp said before dismissing the officers.
Foaly had equipped Holly with a Neutrino, another helmet with a locator and a buzz baton. "I've already got one of those," Holly said.
"This is the new model. The anti-troll buzzer which you will be testing is my own design," Foaly said. "It has the Sonix, high intensity tunnel beams and enough energy to fry a troll a few times." Holly nodded. The high beams from her helmet had managed to get her out of both tussles with the troll. She walked to the door and paused.
"Is there anything wrong, Captain?" Foaly asked.
"It's just that I feel like I'm forgetting something. I got my helmet, buzz baton and Neutrino with me but still..."
Foaly patted her back. "You'd better get a move on before Trouble gives me another lecture on how I should not be obstructing an LEP procedure," he said. "Anything, just call me."
Holly made her way to the chute, ready to ride the hotshots. What she was not ready for were the trolls.
"Tell the others to kill any fairy or human on sight. Oh, and destroy the evidence and don't leave it lying around. The last thing I need is to step on a corpse and ruin my new boots," Opal said to a wild dog before it ran off and transmits the message to any mutant within a 10 meter radius. She turned to Mervall. "And now, what have we got on Master Fowl?"
"I thought we just leave them to the mutants?" Mervall said.
"Idiot," Opal hissed. "Obviously he would have special treatment. I will personally see to that Fowl dies a painfully slow death. That is why, my dear Mervall, I asked you to check on him. And stop looking at me. I told you; it's bad for my skin."
Mervall diverted his gaze to Opal's boots as his mistress snatched the report from him. I'm going to have to compliment that sooner or later,he thought as Opal skimmed through the report. Finally, she looked up with a mad gleam in her eyes.
"So Fowl has two younger brothers? Interesting," she purred.
Holly had followed the locator on her helmet to a forested area relatively close to Fowl Manor and Tara. Good, she thought. No trolls around the manor. Butler may have taken on a troll, but a few of them are going to be a problem.
"Have we got anything yet?" Foaly's voice sounded in her helmet. Holly jumped at the sound.
"Foaly, don't do that. I'm on a mission here so don't give me any unnecessary stress. I'm as stressed as it is," Holly reprimanded. Now I know how Butler feels whenever I make a silent entrance,she thought and smiled.
"The elf is stressed and yet she smiles," Foaly snorted. "I can see you on the helmet's camera." Holly's smile was replaced by a tight line as the locator beeped.
One troll was in the clearing beyond the trees. But the forest around seemed fine, and it was deadly silent. Trolls would usually destroy anything in its path, making them very easy to find. A second and a third was found not so far away from the first. No wrestling each other. "Foaly," she said, her fairy intuition buzzing at the base of her head. "I have a problem. It appears that the... trolls are ahead of me, unmoving, and no trail of destruction anywhere. Like any troll would dance nimbly to a clearing, see another one, sit down and smile."
"I, ah..." Foaly was caught off guard by this. "This is unusual," he managed after a while. Holly sighed. "This is what I'm here to do," Holly muttered and, fearing what she would find in the clearing, Holly streamlined her body and dived neatly through the tree branches.
No trolls in sight, but her locator was flashing red and the beeping got louder. It indicated two trolls within sight. "D'Arvit," she breathed. "Foaly, what do you make of this?"
First she heard static which was followed by an irritated whinny. "D'Arvit, Captain. There's this field severing all-" he said, then the speakers went silent except for white noise. No more centaur genius at her side. She was alone, again, with two supposed trolls within a ten meter range. "Foaly?" she called, hoping for something. Whatever that something was, she didn't get it.
Holly ventured into the clearing and hovered above it where she felt very vulnerable. A twig snapped; Holly whipped out her Neutrino as she swiveled to face the "troll". She should have taken out her specially modified buzz baton, but her fairy intuition told her she would not be facing any. "That's it," she said to no one in particular. "I'm turning down all Recon assignments after this. No more Recon, no more trolls."
At the last word, Holly heard a rustling sound. She turned to face a stray dog with a dirty yellow coat. Its tongue hung out and it was panting. Funny, she thought, referring to her locator. According to this, the dog is a troll. But it's a dog. It's just an ordinary stray dog.And just when she thought this, she found out that her last statement was nowhere near the truth.
The dog's eyes flicked and changed from black to scarlet. It lunged forward. Holly shot her Neutrino at it but apparently it had anticipated the move and dodged nimbly out of the way, finally pouncing on Holly and sinking its teeth into her left calf, bringing her down from the air. Holly screamed in agony, releasing her weapon as pain shot through her. Blue sparks leap out at the wound and Holly hoped it would scare away her attacker. But not only did the dog not budge; it sank its teeth further into elfin flesh.
Holly clawed at whatever she could get her hands on, like her Neutrino. She shot it between the dog's scarlet eyes and it released her almost immediately. Blood ran from the wound, dripping onto the grass. Her magic got to work as the pain ceased slightly. The dog lay at the foot of the tree, momentarily stunned; its eyes closed, and tongue out. Hopefully it would stay that way,Holly thought. She, after what she had learnt, was beginning to ignore the beeping and the red light on the locator. It was a trick, wasn't it?
A bear from behind gripped her shoulders and lifted her up. Holly made no struggle as she knew that when dropped at that height, it would not help her still her still healing leg. "D'Arvit," she muttered, staring at the bear's red eyes.
The dog and the bear both had red eyes, but what was the connection? Holly could not come to a conclusion as the bear howled, snapping her back to unpleasant reality, hurling her towards a stoic tree. "D'Arvit!" she said. Her wings slowed her down, sending her tumbling on the ground, coming to a rest at the foot of the tree. She could not help but notice the trail of blood on the ground.
The bear charged at Holly. She reached for her buzz baton, h razor ready to buzz the bear the moment it laid a paw on her. Once again, she failed to notice another red dot coming for her from behind. A falcon had rammed itself into Captain Short's wings, propelling her towards the bear, which slashed at Holly with razor sharp claws.
Not far away from where Holly was battling for her life, Opal was watching from the cameras in the bear and falcon's eyes. She cackled as Holly got pushed towards the bear which ripped her uniform and drew blood. Holly Short's blood. Beside her, Descant winced at the piercing sound. He never really understood how Opal manages to actually enjoy these real live gory scenes.
Holly had no time to stop and check the wounds on her arms but she could not ignore the stinging pain. The bear charged at her again and Holly quickly climbed on a low branch, wincing as her leg brushed the tree. She swung herself onto another higher one to avoid being ripped apart. She saw her buzz baton, which was on the other end of the clearing.
I need to take care of the bird first, Holly thought. Or whichever is easier to kill.Checking her wings, the falcon swooped in again, pushing her towards the bear and the opposite tree. Holly pointed her helmeted head at the bear, knocking it out of her path. She fell onto the grass, her momentum driving her forward, causing cuts and bruises on her body. She fell on her back and let out an agonized groan.
Opal shrieked with laughter, a sound which almost caused Descant to be deaf. After the laughing fit, he could still hear his ears ringing.
The bear attacked her, more angry than hurt. Holly found her buzz baton, flicked it to maximum power, aimed and threw it at the beast. It was its turn to howl in pain. "Heh," Holly mumbled, getting up slowly. A thought struck her.
I'm out of magic, and I don't have an acorn.
Of course! I forgot to get my sealed acorn unit. D'Arvit.
Holly retrieved her buzz baton and concentrated on killing the falcon. For once she paid attention to her locator, which indicated an assailant coming at her from behind. She whirled around, buzz baton in hand and aimed it at the falcon as it made a third attempt to knock Captain Short head over heels. It failed, dropping to the ground, eyes milky white as Holly smelt burnt feathers. Buzz baton in hand, Holly let out a sigh of relief. It's finally over, she thought. Now all I have to do is get back in range and hear what Foaly-
Something charged at her from behind, knocking Holly Short unconscious.