A/N: So the next chapter is finally up, hope you all enjoy it and I'm incredibly sorry that it has taken so long! Massive thanks to all those that have left such amazing reviews (and to everyone that has favourited or followed this fic). I honestly wasn't sure whether this would be well received or not so your comments really are appreciated and they inspire me to keep writing so please keep them coming! If this goes past 50 reviews then I'm not sure what I'll do yet, but I will definitely be extremely happy! Also as I have finally finished my exams the rate of updates should improve (I say *should* because I will still be working blocks of night shifts over the summer and strange as it may seem I do actually occasionally also have a life…I know, crazy!).

Just a heads up, there will be a scene involving violence and death in this chapter, it isn't that graphic (pretty sure T is still fine) but if you really don't want to read that then you have been warned! It will be obvious when it's about to happen, in case you want to skip that section : )

The Morning After

Central Haven, Lower Elements

"All units fall back and form up on my position. I repeat, fall back, now!" Major Darkleaf shouted the order into his radio as he ducked to avoid the Molotov cocktail hurtling towards his head. The scene in Central Haven would not have looked out of place in Dante's Inferno; hundreds of rioters had crammed in to the square in which Darkleaf now found himself. The smell of burning rubber was overpowering and the smoke from the fires was so thick that visibility within the square was reduced to barely ten metres.

Every vehicle that he could see was ablaze as were several of the buildings and the rioters were showing no sign of running out of projectiles any time soon. Firing as he went the major backpedalled in the face of the angry crowd, desperately attempting to rally the rest of his squad in the process. I definitely don't get paid enough for this he thought grimly as his squad began to form up around him, presenting a wall of riot shields to the angry mob.

Retrieval One had been en route to the shuttle station when the riots had started and they had quickly been caught up in the chaos which followed. Darkleaf already had one fairy out of action with concussion after a particularly bold demon had decided to use his helmeted head as a stress ball and if help didn't arrive soon then he certainly wouldn't be the last casualty.

"Fairy down! Kelp is down, Sir!" someone shouted from his left. Darkleaf moved instinctively towards the prone form of Corporal Grubb Kelp; grabbing him under the arms he heaved him back behind the cordon of riot shields as the rest of the squad closed ranks around them.

"D'Arvit!" the major swore loudly as he assessed Grubbs' condition, he was alive but very definitely stunned. "Where the hell have they got neutrinos from?!" The situation was desperate and Darkleaf knew it. Retrieval One boasted that they never retreated, no matter the odds (although exceptions had been made during the Goblin Uprising and the first siege of Fowl Manor) but staying in their current location would be suicide, particularly if the rioters had access to advanced weaponry.

"Begging your pardon Sir but I don't think they have any neutrinos, or at least, they didn't need them to take the Corporal out…" The private avoided Darkleaf's gaze as he continued "The Corporal accidentally shot himself in the foot, Sir"

The major was prevented from replying by a fireball which arced over the protective wall of riot shields before striking him squarely in the centre of his chest. The force of the impact was sufficient to send him sprawling to the ground but his body armour absorbed most of the blast.

"I'm fine, I'm FINE!" he waved the concerned private away as he attempted to smother the flames which still licked at Darkleaf's armour. We can't take much more of this he thought as another fireball landed only inches away from where he sat, in front of him the thin defensive line was buckling under the pressure of the rioting crowd.

"Down with Mud, blood means blood!" the screams of the crowd resonated chillingly within the square. Fools, they really want to start a war! Darkleaf grimaced as he listened to the chants, he just knew that this wasn't going to end well.

"Darkleaf to control, Darkleaf to control. Commander if you can hear me then I need an ETA on reinforcements. We're being overrun here, over!" Darkleaf barked the request into his helmet radio, sincerely hoping that someone would hear him.

"All received Major" Darkleaf felt relief flood through him at the sound of the Commander's voice over the radio "ETA on reinforcements is approximately two minutes. Hold tight boys, the cavalry is on its way." Upon hearing the reassuring tone of Trouble's voice Darkleaf found himself releasing a breath that he hadn't realised he had been holding, help was finally on the way. All they had to do now was hold the line until it arrived.

XXXX

Jasper National Park, Canadian Rockies

Holly groaned as the sunlight passed through the thin membrane of the tent and disturbed her sleep. Damn Foaly, he can design flying insect cameras but he can't invent a tent that lets you sleep in….

Go away sun! Holly thought irritably as she attempted to bury her face in the pillow that she had been resting on. She had been having such a great dream too, cuddling with Artemis by the fire, kissing him tenderly as he professed his feelings for her and then with growing passion before he carried her into the tent and….Holly felt herself start to blush as she recalled the more intimate details of that particular dream!

As she tried in vain to return to the comfort of sleep Holly began to notice that something was not quite right about her sleeping arrangements. It almost felt as if her pillow was moving rhythmically up and down as it would if she was sleeping on a ship, but that wasn't possible, unless…D'Arvit!

Holly was suddenly completely awake and trying hard not to panic at the site that greeted her eyes. Her head was firmly snuggled into what could only be Artemis Fowl's chest and the rest of her anatomy seemed to be similarly intertwined. She blinked twice rapidly and bit her lip until it hurt; definitely not dreaming, Frond help me I am so screwed…!

"Good morning, Holly?" There goes the go back to sleep and pretend that none of this is happening plan Holly thought sarcastically. At least Artemis sounded as uncertain as she felt, it made her feel marginally better to know that she wasn't the only one freaking out. Glancing guiltily upwards to meet his gaze she asked the inevitable question.

"Artemis, did we ermm…You know?" Really, the best I can do is 'did we ermm?'! I sound like a D'Arvitting teenager for Frond's sake. Ground feel free to swallow me, any time now! Artemis' face seemed to have skipped crimson and gone straight to infra-red he was blushing so fiercely, his voice was however surprisingly measured as he replied.

"I assume that you are referring to coitus, Holly?"

"Sex, Artemis. Did we…have sex? Also would it kill you to talk like a normal human being for once, I don't think anyone has called it coitus since your people got rid of the law making it illegal to do it outside of marriage…"

"No, Holly, we did not have sex. We kissed and then talked for a bit and you fell asleep on my shoulder, so I brought you in here, nothing else happened. I am however somewhat hurt that you can possibly be in any doubt as to whether you would remember us doing…that."

Holly turned, if possible, an even deeper shade of red and buried her face in her hands. As things stood she wasn't even sure that their anatomy would be compatible; Artemis was right though, she seriously doubted that it would be an experience that she would be forgetting easily…

"Holly if this isn't what you want then I understand, I-"

"Stop, Arty." Holly raised herself into a seating position so that she could look at Artemis as she spoke to him. "This is going to take a bit of getting used to and yes, I'm nervous, but this is definitely what I want." Smiling with a confidence that she didn't really feel Holly punched the teenage genius playfully on the arm before leaning forward and planting a single chaste kiss on his lips. "Just in case you needed confirmation" she whispered coyly, "now I'm going to make some breakfast, come out and find me when you're ready."

XXXX

Holly leant towards him and Artemis felt his pulse quicken and his breath catch involuntarily, once again he noticed the now familiar scent of grass and citrus that he had come to associate with her. Her lips brushed his own for the second time in under twelve hours and though this kiss was chaste and fleeting the effect on his ability to concentrate on anything other than her was no less profound.

The logical part of Artemis' brain registered that during the last 24 hours the frequency of their kissing had increased exponentially, a trend which he very much hoped would continue. Combined with the memory of the dream that he had experienced last night, this fresh assault on his self-control was hard to endure. Mafia Kingpins and criminal genii have failed to control me but in the face of hormones I am helpless he thought wryly as Holly pulled away from him slightly.

"Just in case you needed confirmation" she whispered coyly "now I'm going to make some breakfast, come out and find me when you're ready." Right, breakfast, think about breakfast. Actually think about anything that doesn't involve Holly or the dream last night. Mulch, think about Mulch…That did the trick. Artemis breathed a sigh of relief as the blood flowed back to his brain and Holly left the tent; did her hips always sway that much when she walked?!

Breakfast was a more sedate affair. Holly and Artemis exchanged frequently furtive and glances and her hand definitely lingered on his own when he passed her the cutlery but conversation was kept to a minimum. For the moment they both felt happy to simply enjoy the other's company, they both knew that the current peace could not last. The awkwardness that had come from waking up together had gone but the change in their relationship was definitely going to take some time before they were both accustomed to it. For once in his life Artemis was forced to admit that he didn't know exactly what was going to happen, the sensation was as overwhelming as it was liberating.

However, Artemis was not naïve enough to believe that he could simply 'live in the moment' and expect everything to sort itself out, he cared about Holly too much to leave their relationship to chance. As such, serious questions needed to be addressed – Artemis' human lifespan, the reaction of The People to their relationship, the practical issues of living arrangements, not to mention the question of conception between an interspecies couple…

"Holly…" Artemis began tentatively, placing his half-finished bowl of cereal down beside him and turning instead to the female elf sat next to him.

Holly was staring absent-mindedly into the distance and waited a moment before replying. "No, Arty."

"You can't possibly know what I'm going to say!" Artemis said indignantly.

"Oh, really?" Holly raised one eyebrow sceptically before turning back to gaze at the sky over Lake Maligne. "You're going to say that we need to talk, then you're going to start describing the many arguments against us being together."

Artemis was lost for words, he knew that Holly could not read his mind and yet her perception was uncanny. When had he become so easy to read? When Artemis did not reply Holly sighed, clearly taking his silence as an acknowledgement that her guess had been accurate.

"Can you see the eagle up there?" She asked, without taking her eyes off the distant sky, one delicate finger directing his gaze to the point where a golden eagle soared majestically above the lake. "That eagle doesn't care what we think of it, or what the next day will bring. I want that freedom."

Almost without thinking Artemis found his hand on Holly's. He squeezed once comfortingly as his thumb began tenderly tracing the contours of her tiny hand, which fit so easily within his own. "That would be pleasant" Artemis conceded, "but we have to be realistic Holly, I don't want to cause you suffering if it can be avoided. To address the most immediate issue, how do you expect The People to react?"

"I expect they'll declare a national holiday in our honour and organise street parties to celebrate…" Holly muttered sarcastically. When Artemis didn't reply she continued, "honestly, right now I don't care what the D'Arvitting People think! Maybe they don't even need to know? Either way, lets cross that bridge when we come to it, we need to get to London before we start worrying about being in Haven."

"You're right, of course, although travelling to London poses its own risks."

"If Foaly is concerned about this creature too then there are bound to be LEP agents there." Holly replied with a hint of anxiety in her voice.

"True, but it's a risk that we need to take. I intend to clear your name, and we certainly can't do that from here." Not the whole truth but not a lie either, he reasoned.

"Right, and that's it? There's nothing else that you aren't telling me?" This was the critical moment, he could lie but he had already lied to Holly enough to last two lifetimes.

"No, it isn't, but I can't tell you everything else yet, I still have a lot of research to do before I'm ready to explain everything. Can you trust me, Holly?" To Artemis' relief, Holly didn't hesitate before replying.

"Of course I trust you, you idiot" she bumped him playfully with her shoulder before continuing, her voice softer and more serious, "just don't make me regret it, ok?"

"Not for all the gold in Haven." He declared solemnly before wincing as he realised the thoughtlessness of the statement, considering that he had once held Holly for ransom and traded her for fairy gold.

"Forget about it Arty." Holly waved his apologies away before they were even formed, "just tell me that you have a plan for getting us to the airport?"

"I do, but it isn't exactly original."

"Go on…?" she looked at him expectantly.

"We need to steal a car."

XXXX

Unknown Location – Somewhere dark and generally unpleasant

As a young fairy Stryker Woods had aspired to be many things – athlete, LEP commando, scientific genius, politician…Those possibilities had however been stolen from him by the Mud Men. Where there had once been hope there was now only room for hate, where once he had felt ambition there now existed only the desire for revenge on those that had wronged him.

Reclining in the leather chair that he had treated himself to upon setting in motion the first stage of his master plan (every evil genius deserves a suitably evil chair after all) Stryker allowed himself a moment to appreciate the unmitigated success of his plans so far; London was in uproar as a mysterious creature savaged civilian after civilian and Haven was practically tearing itself apart. All the world was dancing to his tune and not one of them, not even the brilliant Foaly, even stopped to consider the possibility that someone might be composing the music to which they danced.

A flicker of irritation disrupted Stryker's otherwise excellent mood as he realised that he wasn't entirely correct, his plans hadn't quite met with unmitigated success so far although the failure was merely a minor detail. If all had gone according to plan then Captain Holly Short would be dead and Artemis Fowl would be busy taking the blame for her murder. The assassination attempt had achieved the desired political effect but the LEP captain and juvenile genius had somehow managed to escape with their lives, a situation which would need to be rectified.

Stryker was interrupted from his thoughts by a knock on the door to his office (if the cave in which he currently resided could be awarded such a title).

"Come in" he commanded, swivelling slowly to face the door as it opened; from this position his own face would be shrouded within the shadows but he would be able to see his guest perfectly. Three individuals stepped through the door and entered the room, the first two were dressed in identical black combat armour and armed with softnose rifles. Even if Stryker hadn't already met the two mercenaries their distinctive build left no doubt as to their identity as dwarves. The last member of the trio was a visibly bound and nervous human male, Stryker guessed that he was of roughly middle age for a human, pathetically young though that may be by fairy standards.

At a signal from Stryker the dwarves shoved the captive human was shoved roughly to his knees in the centre of the room. Stryker allowed the human a moment to familiarise himself with his new surroundings, he watched in growing amusement as the man's eyes darted anxiously from the monitors canvassing most of one wall to the simple bed and desk which apart from the chair in which Stryker was currently sitting composed the only furniture within the chamber.

"Please…I did what you asked, I got you the ship and I made sure that no one asked any questions. I don't understand why-" The man was babbling and plainly terrified, as he should be. Stryker liked nothing more than the sight of a terrified human but he couldn't abide babbling.

"Enough." It was only one word but it resonated with such force that the man stopped dead mid-sentence.

"Let us dispense with needless diversions, Mr Williams. You are a scientist and, I am led to believe, an intelligent man. Place yourself in my position and I am confident that you will quickly obtain total comprehension. To put it simply you were an expendable tool; a pawn which whilst transiently useful one must ultimately always be willing to sacrifice. Your usefulness has come to an end and with it, I am afraid, your life. Loose ends cannot be tolerated."

"No! Please I beg you, I have a family! You don't need to do this, I won't, I swear I won't-" More babbling, at least face your death with a little grace you worthless Mud Man Stryker thought in disgust. The man made a desperate attempt to stand up but was forced back to his knees by one of the dwarven mercenaries; his fear of the inevitable was almost palpable and he was clearly sweating profusely.

"Rest assured Mr Williams that your family will soon be joining you. I will unleash a storm upon this Earth such as humanity cannot possibly imagine. Be grateful that you will not live to see your cities reduced to rubble and your people made slaves." A tad melodramatic but accurate enough he decided.

Stryker nodded to the mercenary on the left. With a practiced and remorseless ease the mercenary brought the barrel of his rifle level with the back of the captive scientist's head, a quick glance towards his employer was enough to confirm the order.

The subtle noise of the trigger being suppressed hardly did justice to the destructive power of the weapon as it discharged into the back Mr Williams' head, killing him instantly.

"Clear this mess up" Stryker muttered derisively to the two mercenaries, the décor was bad enough already without letting the damned Mud Man bleed all over the floor. "Toss the body in the chute, the magma can take care of it for us."

Soon Stryker thought as his fingers tapped impatiently against the arm of his chair, soon enough the ignominy of hiding in caves will be over. As he turned away from the grizzly spectacle on the floor before him, Stryker glanced up at the monitors blanketing the far wall. Many were showing the chaos that had engulfed central Haven however one monitor in particular captured his attention, upon the screen it was just possible to make out the outline of a large feline creature. For the moment the animal was still, waiting to ambush its unsuspecting prey. Stryker smiled to himself, he had waited a very long time for this opportunity but nothing could stop him now, he was the predator lurking in the shadows and humanity would be the defenceless victim…

XXXX

The scene that greeted Commander Trouble Kelp as his armoured LEP shuttle roared into the central square easily ranked amongst the most chaotic he had ever witnessed during his career with the LEP. Retrieval One had formed a tightly packed defensive semi-circle in one corner of the square and even from this distance it was clear that they were taking a battering from the rioters.

"Retrieval Three swing right and drive them back in that direction, Retrieval Four the same on the left. Retrieval Two, you're with me, let's give those officers some support!" This was the part that Trouble loved, the reason that he had joined the LEP in the first place, nothing could equal the feeling of euphoria that came with charging into a firefight.

Unlike the brutality often seen when human riot police clash with rioters the LEP took great pride in non-violent crowd control and the sonic emitters attached to each of the armoured shuttles for perfect at doing precisely that. As the Retrieval teams advanced into the fray the machines began to emit vibrations at two carefully controlled frequencies – one frequency was extremely high and designed to be so unpleasant to hear that it rendered coherent thought impossible and drove the individuals to do anything possible to avoid the sound (generally this meant dropping weapons and either running or surrendering).

If that didn't work then the second frequency would cause anyone unfortunate enough to hear it to become violently ill, thus incapacitating them. The beauty of the system was that the LEP helmets effectively blocked both frequencies, therefore whilst any rioters would be rendered utterly incapacitated the LEP officers would be completely unaffected.

The sonic emitters worked perfectly and enabled Trouble's unit to easily push through the dense crowds separating them from their beleaguered colleagues. You really can't fault Foaly's technology Trouble thought as he clambered from the shuttle and jogged over to greet Major Darkleaf. Of course he would never share the praise with the centaur himself, Foaly's head might actually explode if it got any bigger.

"Major!" Trouble called over to Darkleaf as he walked towards the ring of shields which marked Retrieval One's location. The officers that stood before him were visibly tired and battered, they had clearly been through hell already that day and yet he noted with pride that their discipline remained unwavering.

"Commander" Major Darkleaf detached himself from the rest of Retrieval One and saluted Trouble respectfully.

"At ease Major" Trouble dismissed the formalities with a wave of his hand, they didn't have the time to stand on formality today. "I want these scum secured and transported to the holding cells asap" Trouble barked to a burly gnome sergeant, gesturing at the hundred or so rioters currently laying prone within the square. Waiting until the sergeant was out of earshot he turned back to Darkleaf, when he spoke his voice was quiet but deadly serious.

"I need to know what shape your men are in Darkleaf. Retrieval One are the best squad I've got, I need them for an emergency surface op but if they aren't fit then I'll have to use one of the others and hope they're up to it…"

Darkleaf visibly stiffened at the suggestion that his squad might not be fit for duty. "I won't lie Sir, it's been a pretty rough day, but we only have two real casualties and the medics are already patching them up. Retrieval One won't let you down, Sir."

Trouble nodded, satisfied. "Good, that's what I wanted to hear Major. Tell your squad to get their gear together, we're leaving ASAP." Major Darklead nodded in response and made to return to his unit. Before he could leave Trouble placed his hand on his arm to stop him. "You mentioned that there were casualties….Grubb, is he…?"

Darkleaf avoided his commanding officer's gaze as he replied, "He's out for the count Sir but the medics say he should be fine in a few hours."

To a casual observer the commander would have appeared unmoved by this news, Darkleaf however knew better. He had served under Trouble for long enough to notice the subtle changes in expression which revealed his true concern for his younger brother's welfare; when he spoke however his tone was unmistakeably irritated.

"Very well, I'll deal with him later. Tell the medics to patch him up then get him loaded onto the troop shuttle. I need Retrieval One at full strength and as we don't have the luxury of time to spare. Grubb will just have to recover en route."

Darkleaf was spared the need to reply by the sound of Foaly's voice across the radio, "Hey Trouble, how did the new Sonincs work? No, wait, don't tell me, I can see how awesome they are from the camera feed."

If you looked hard enough then it was almost possible to see the vein throbbing on Trouble's forehead as he listened to Foaly's boasting. "Considering how much they cost to develop they should damn well be arresting the criminals for us!"

Darkleaf could hear Foaly's indignant whinny through his radio, however Trouble was clearly running out of patience and he cut the centaur off before he could begin to verbalise his indignation.

"Don't worry Foaly; you'll have plenty of time to explain precisely how fantastic your inventions are on the shuttle to Tara." If Darkleaf didn't know better, then he would have sworn that the Commander was smiling.

"…Tara? You want me on the shuttle to Tara?! You can't be serious Trouble, I'm not a 'field fairy' under the best of circumstances and those things up there definitely do not qualify as the best of circumstances!" The indignation was completely absent from Foaly's voice now, replaced entirely by anxiety. Darkleaf shot the Commander a concerned look, he hadn't been briefed on any 'things up there' and he didn't appreciate being left out of the loop.

Trouble returned the look with a grim expression which told Darkleaf all that he needed to know about the seriousness of the situation above ground. Foaly might jump at shadows but Trouble Kelp was just about the steadiest, bravest and most generally gung-ho officer the LEP had seen in a generation. If Trouble was concerned then there was a very good reason for it.

"You're right Foaly, the situation is pretty dire and that's why you're coming topside with us. I'm taking Retrieval One into one of the most populous Mud Man capitals on the planet, to go after an adversary we all believed had been wiped out millennia ago, we need all the technical support we can get and unfortunately that means you're coming along for the ride."

Darkleaf missed the rest of the conversation as a previously unconscious demon rioter had chosen that moment to regain consciousness and recommence his assault upon the LEP. By the time the prisoner had been restrained Trouble had finished on the radio and was instead organising the extraction of Retrieval One from the square.

"Pick up the pace Major, its past time we were all out of here!" Trouble called over.

"Yes Sir!" Darkleaf automatically replied. As he followed his squad out of the square which had only moments ago resembled a battle scene, he paused and looked back at the devastation. Trouble was not the sort of commander to leave hard work to other officers, if he was leading Retrieval One above ground now then whatever was happening up there had to be worse than this…Darkleaf sincerely hoped that he was mistaken but he couldn't shake the feeling that they were leaving the frying pan and diving headfirst into the fire.

A/N: Thanks for reading! As always please leave a quick review to let me know what you thought : )

I still need to decide one aspect of the story and that is whether to include a 'lemon' scene between Artemis and Holly (obviously a pretty tame scene given the T rating that I'm contained by). I'm intrigued as to whether most people would like to see such a scene or not so please let me know your opinions – at the moment I'm edging towards including it but I'm open to persuasion ;)