Artemis was anxious about the huntress he'd hired. When he'd gotten the twins on his side, they were happy to tell him everything they'd found about her. Unfortunately, this amounted to her name and the picture on her Hunter license. Similarly to himself and Holly, she'd seemingly come out of nowhere. Rather than being fabricated, the date stamps on her records were outright missing, so one couldn't even tell how long her records had been on file. He agreed with the twins' assessment: Amber's records had been scrubbed, and thoroughly. Whether it was a case of stolen identity or witness protection was anyone's guess. But they simply didn't have the time to back out now. The mission was that night, so Artemis and Holly had geared up. Holly had her Neutrino on one hip and her Fractal Classic on the other. Her magazines were loaded with the hardest hitting rounds she could find, steel cored rounds propelled by gravity dust. They cost a small fortune, but their stopping power would make the most of Holly's impeccable aim.
Artemis had fixed his pilfered knife on his hip, taking little comfort in the vestigial blade. He was beginning to give real consideration to Taiyang's suggestion. Even with Holly at his side, Butler's absence was a constant weight at the back of his mind. A constant reminder that he wasn't safe, and never would be.
They were to meet their huntress at the airport terminal, where their airship or 'bullhead' would be waiting for them. She was dressed in clothes that were likely hard-wearing, but not even close to protective. It was really more of a costume than anything else, and it brought to mind the human comic books that got smuggled down from the surface sometimes, only to be rounded up as contraband by the LEP. She had a slightly darker complexion than Holly, and kept her brown hair short. She wore a skirt, with leggings and thigh high boots, and combination of blouse and leather jerkin that still somehow managed to have a cleavage window. What actual armor she wore, a pauldron and an armguard, were thin works of brass that could only be decorative. Holly frowned, hoping that her attire wasn't any indication of her abilities.
Sitting on a bench at the airport terminal, Amber wasn't any happier about her mysterious employer. Not only had he seemingly appeared out of nowhere just over a month ago, his records were just as blank as her own. And the info broker she'd paid for that information had been arrested days after she'd seen him... after an altercation with the mysterious Artemis Fowl. Nevertheless, she wasn't just a Huntress. They weren't even going that far from the city. There was absolutely no reason to be uneasy and yet... she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
"Miss Harvest, I presume?" The voice came up behind her. His accent was strange, a brogue she couldn't quite place. It wasn't Atlesian. Mantle, perhaps? She turned to face her employer. A teenager, or rather two of them. It appears he'd brought his own muscle, a skinny girl with chestnut skin and pistols on her hips. Their eyes were striking, their mismatched gazes mirrored each other. On the girl they were sharp, appraising, and alert but on the boy, they had a dangerous, predatory glint.
"Yes. You're Mr. Fowl?" Amber pretended to ask. "And Miss...?"
"Holly Short," she supplied, after a moment of hesitation. She still wasn't used to her missing rank.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Artemis said. "Are you ready to depart?"
Amber nodded, following them onto the ship. The pilot looked up, closing an issue of 'X-Ray and Vav' before requesting permission to take off. Practically as soon as the three sat down, they were off.
"Just a few ground rules," Amber began. "You've hired me to protect you, and in order to do that you need to be willing to follow orders." Artemis raised an eyebrow as she continued. "If I tell you to take cover, you take cover. If I tell you to hit the ground, hit the ground. If I tell you to run while I hold off the Grimm, you don't try to wait for me. Do you understand?" She spoke in no uncertain terms. Holly nodded, and elbowed Artemis to respond.
"Understood," he nodded. Not unreasonable demands from a bodyguard.
"Are the both of you armed?" Amber asked, eyeing Holly's guns.
"I am," Holly nodded. "SDC Pistol, Steel jacket, gravity propellant. I also have a stun gun that'll be more useful on wildlife."
"I have a knife, but it's more of a tool than a weapon." Artemis noted. "There's a reason I hired you, Miss Harvest."
"Alright," Amber nodded, picking up her staff. Each end was capped in an uncut crystal of dust, red on one end and white on the other. "I'll take point and Holly can bring up the rear."
The remaining ride was tense and quiet, though thankfully not very long. Twenty kilometers simply didn't mean that much to a bullhead. It was scarcely ten minutes at a leisurely pace. Once the pilot touched down, she opened up her comic book and leaned back in her seat to await her employers return.
The twilight was fading as Amber led them through the forest. Artemis gave directions, reading a map on his scroll. Being out in the night air was soothing, though Holly still kept her wits about her. She kept her mind on the mission, if only to keep herself from thinking of home. This was the first real step they'd taken toward going back to their own world. Holly wanted to be excited, but it was still so daunting. They were working from a hypothesis, with no real idea that the ritual would even work. And even if it does, where would they go from there?
The moon was high in the sky when they reached the river, following its curves. Artemis was paying special attention to how thick each trunk was. Luckily, the Book had made it to Remnant with Holly's gear. Artemis had pored over it, and sifted through the old, flowery Gnommish to work out how old the tree had to be. Holly had spent just as much time leafing through it, if not more. She hadn't read it that closely since she was a little girl. The Book held history, lore, and the magic that any fairy could do, but it simply couldn't hold the complex spellwork that warlocks worked with. Only the very basics of warlock magic was covered... Artemis would somehow have to work out the Hybras spell from memory or from scratch. They might remain on Remnant for a long time.
"This will do," voiced Artemis, pulling Holly out of her thoughts. It was an impressive tree, three feet wide at the base and a canopy wider than a house. Artemis knelt on the ground, turning on the light on his scroll. In short order, he'd found their prize. Acorns. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and produced a vial. Several acorns were carefully stowed away, then he handed another vial to Holly. "Would you kindly pick a few fresh ones from the branches? I don't want to take any chances."
Holly nodded, her wings vaulting lifting her smoothly into the canopy. The gentle buzz filled the air and rustled the leaves in the tree as she darted from branch to branch, shining a light and searching for a prize. It was on this rare occasion that she lamented that she hadn't been one of the many faunus gifted with superior night vision, but then that wouldn't have made sense for a hummingbird.
Amber scanned the dark as Holly looked for the acorns. Amber was suddenly very curious as to why this couldn't be done in the daytime, but she remained silent and carefully wary. The bright lights of the scrolls were playing hell with her vision, and she kept having to dismiss the rustling leaves behind her as the wind of Holly's wings. She couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, and she was far too experienced to ignore it.
"Do you have what you need?" pressed Amber.
Holly landed, plugging her vial as she landed. "We do now."
Amber nodded, "Good. We need to-" She stopped mid sentence, her instincts flaring. Holly's wings stopped, but leaves still rustled, and from the wrong angle. There was something in the bushes, cloaked by the black night. She took no chances, casting flames from the red crystal on her staff in a wide arc over their heads. "COVER! NOW!"
Artemis and Holly dove for the relative safety of the tree's base, a wooden barrier between them and the black shape that just lunged at the huntress from the underbrush. Artemis braved a glance and saw a black bear with bony spines jutting from its back. An Ursa, the firelight behind it casting a menacing silhouette. A coil of involuntary fear gripped him for a moment before he forced himself calm again. He needn't have worried as his hired hand spun her staff as she sidestepped the beast, swinging it in a wide arc. The white crystal glowed and a wall of wind sent it skittering across the ground like a tumbleweed until it smashed into another oak with a splintering crack. The Grimm didn't have time to move before she brought the red crystal down like an axe, sending a guillotine of flame searing across the clearing. The tree shook with the impact, as the Ursa was burned through by the somehow solid blaze. A massive gash from its shoulder to its belly was pouring black smoke, the fallen Grimm lit by the smoldering branches above.
Amber casually snapped off a burning branch and handed it to Artemis. "If a Grimm gets close, go for the eyes. Keep your distance until I can handle it. Are we done here?"
Artemis nodded, clenching his hand around the makeshift torch. "Yes. Back to the ship."
They marched quickly, but Artemis and Holly were both uneasy. It seemed like any time they glanced into the darkness, they saw red glints at the corners of their eyes. The three of them knew they were being watched, but whatever was doing the watching was beyond the torchlight. Artemis had one hand on his scroll, carefully watching the map. They soon left the river behind, wandering in the dark back to the ship.
Artemis heard a twig snap, close. Far too close. "Stop... do you hear that?"
They heard nothing as they cast their eyes around, neither their scrolls or the torch providing sufficient light to pierce the darkness. There was a feeling of oppression in the air. It was beyond feeling like they were being watched. They felt like they were being hunted. They were about to move again when a terrible noise tore through their frayed nerves. A howl, mere yards away, their lights moving as one to fall on a Beowolf for the instant Holly needed to line up a shot. With an echoing bang, Holly cracked open it's masked skull. It had only begun to sublimate when the howling began again. The canid lament came from all around them, a dreadful chorus of promised doom.
"RUN!" Amber yelled, casting flames at the trees around them in a circle. The advancing Beowolves were scorched, but not deterred. They gave relentless chase. Holly's wings picked her up, and she turned around. Flying backward she lined up shot after shot, her Fractal Classic ending Grimm one by one. She emptied a magazine without making a real dent in the pack, and resumed running as she reloaded. For once, she missed the wings she used to have to strap on. Even an old petrol-driven model would be a smog spewing godsend.
"No... No! You coward!" Artemis yelled. Holly and Amber looked ahead, hearts sinking, as their ship took off without them. "Holly, get to the clearing and plant them! It should be just far enough!"
Reluctantly, Holly allowed her wings to pick her up again. She threw herself forward, barely off the ground as she put distance between herself and her friends. 'I just need a few sparks...' None of her powers would help against the Grimm. They didn't have minds to control, they didn't need to see her to find her, and the gift of tongues wasn't even worth considering. What they were really going to need was healing. There was only one huntress, and the Grimm were uncountable in the darkness. The fear and adrenaline of combat was only going to summon more. The clearing opened up in front of her, bright flashes of fire illuminating the forest behind her as she skidded to her feet and dropped to her knees. She clawed into the soil tearing up grass by the roots with her fingernails until she clawed up a fistful of dark soil. She ripped the stopper from the vial, and dumped the tiny nuts into her hands. She glanced over her shoulder, watching as Amber stopped to cleave through a pair of pouncing hounds. Her follow-through slowed the pack behind them for an instant with a gust of hurricane force before she was off again, a few long strides catching her up to Artemis.
Holly wasted no more time. She dropped one of the acorns into the hole, and slammed the fistful of earth into place behind it. "I return you to the earth," she breathed. "And claim the gift that is my right." She braced herself, calling out to the power. She waited. The Beowolves grew louder. She waited. The crackle of the firelight grew closer. She waited. Her heart began to sink, nothing was happening. Holly tried again, enunciating in clear, desperate Gnommish. ["I return you to the earth, and claim the gift that is my right!"] The magic already beneath her skin strained, almost trying to reach down into the soil and pull in her desperation. Nothing happened. Nothing but howling.
Artemis didn't have the luxury of faltering, and his heart was too busy pounding to sink. He swore he'd start exercising after this. Humans were not sitting smugly atop the food chain in this world. He watched Holly, kneeling in the grass for nearly a full minute as they caught up to her all but shouting the ancient spell. She slowly stood, her head hanging briefly before taking what time she had to check her weapons.
More Grimm arrived. Silent in their approach, but deafening in their arrival. There were more than Beowolves flowing from the treeline. The light of the burning forest fell upon massive Ursas and diminutive, burrowing Creeps, their numbers uncountable in the poor light. And yet more kept coming, summoned to the dinner bell of the aching, homesick heart. There was a moment of near silence. No sound save for low growls and the crackling from the forest. A Beowolf lunged, Holly's gun cracked, and the battle began. Amber was a force of nature, fighting with waves of flame and walls of wind. Holly ascended, staying skyward for as long as she could. Her aim was surgical, smiting any Grimm that got too close to Artemis or Amber while their back was turned.
Artemis' strategic mind was dedicated solely to finding gaps to slip through. "Hour per second, count of forty," He muttered without thought. "Thirty minutes per second, count of eighteen. Backward, one minute per second, count of two." His meager armor saved his life time after time, turning glancing blows as he dove between Ursas and Beowolves. Holly noted that once or twice, he even managed to make one Grimm kill another, though whether that was intended or lucky was anyone's guess.
~o~o~
The tide of battle slowly eroded both sides, the Grimm's numbers thinning as their own strength faltered. Holly's chest was heaving as she fought to stay in the air, her last magazine long since emptied. Her Neutrino only managed to stun the Grimm, their black forms twitching and convulsing on the ground for a few seconds. Amber was focused on the ones still fighting, so Artemis capitalized on what opportunities he could, plunging his knife or his torch into scarlet eyes whenever one fell close enough.
~o~o~
Eventually, Holly's vision began to swim, and her aching wings could hold her up no longer. She didn't quite manage a glide, coming down harder than she meant to. She skidded to a stop with her back against a tree. A snarling Beowolf pounced at her... her shot went wide. She shut her eyes, bracing for the end.
She heard the terrible sound of teeth on bone yet she felt no pain. She opened her eyes, and her breath caught. Artemis had taken the blow, bracing his legs to stop the massive creature's impact. Its jaws clamped over Artemis' shoulder, already gushing blood. It stilled, black smoke sublimating from the knife in it's eye. The creature went limp, its weight taking Artemis to the ground with a brutal tearing noise.
The surge of adrenaline forced Holly to her feet, scanning for targets that would stop her from helping Artemis. All she saw was Amber sprinting toward them. Holly dropped her gun and poured her strength into prying the dead Grimm off Artemis. "Arty! Artemis, say something!" She said, trying to pry the lupine jaw off his shoulder.
"Did it work?" Artemis hissed through grit teeth as the Grimm was rolled away.
Holly's heart sank. "No... no it didn't work. Artemis, I'm so sorry."
Amber finally caught up to them, panting. "Did what work?"
"No time!" Holly said. "We have to stop the bleeding." For once, her training failed her. Recon officers were expected to be running hot, or near as they could manage. Their first aid began and ended with 'clean the wound and apply magic.' She could stop him from getting an infection, but without magic she couldn't save him.
Amber took over, pulling the knife from the Beowolf's eye. She wiped it on her clothing to remove the fading ichor, then began cutting away Artemis's clothes. "The armor was smart thinking... it doesn't look like the teeth got into your organs, but these are deep." She eyed the pooling blood, watching it spread across Artemis' shirt far too quickly. She took his pulse to confirm. "You're... you're bleeding out." Amber said, solemn as the grave. Holly inhaled sharply, her heart clenching.
Artemis couldn't help but chuckle, wincing as Amber put pressure on his wounds. "A coin well spent."
"Don't you dare joke about that," Holly spat. "What about aura? If you unlock it, can't that heal him?"
Amber hesitated, "I don't know... he's- he's losing so much blood. I don't know if he'll survive."
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "You're a poor liar, but if you wanted me dead- Gah!- you could have... could have..." He trailed off, his mismatched eyes closing.
Holly's fingers were on his neck in seconds. "His pulse is fading. You have to do it now."
Amber sputtered. "Holly I don't know what will-"
"Please!" Holly begged, unable to stop the tears. "Can't you try?" After all they'd been through, Holly couldn't bear to watch him die. Not here. Her jumpsuit could fall to tatters. Her Neutrino could wear out. Even the book could burn for all she cared. None of it mattered. Artemis was the only person in this world who could ever understand her. He wasn't just her only hope of going home, he was her only hope of staying sane. Without him she'd be truly, achingly alone. "...Please. He's all I have left."
For a few torturous moments, Holly thought she'd refuse. She hung her head, staring at Amber's hands and the cascade of blood ebbing over them. A soft, warm glow began to shine over the red. A bright golden color cloaked her, like yellow leaves in the fall, spread from Amber's hands and enveloped the both of them. Amber began to recite, and Holly could feel the power in her words as the glow spread to her friend's still form.
"The night is dark and stormy, and the cold winds cut us deep.
The lonely, cold and weary, in their solitude they weep.
But us that join together, brace our backs against the storm.
Become for all a shelter, candles burning, safe and warm
Ignite your soul dear brother, share the burden, take the leap.
As basking by our candles, sons and daughters safely sleep."
As the poem continued, the color changed. She couldn't rely on Artemis to focus his power. She had to do the work for both of them. Artemis began to glow with his own light, a paler tone, like candles flickering across polished gold. Amber poured aura into the boy, his wounds beginning to glow and knit. The power kept flowing, threatening to deplete her completely. The boy's reserves were cavernous compared to her own, a great thirsting void suddenly set ablaze with golden light. His breath began to strengthen, his bleeding stopped. His veins glowed as new blood flowed.
With a gasp, Artemis awoke looking into those same brown eyes. "Ah." said Artemis, almost weakly, pleasantly surprised to wake up again. "So that's what that feels li-." He feels himself suddenly pulled into a hug. "Holly!?"
"Just... just let me have this, mud-boy." She said, her heart and mind finally easing from the sheer relief. Artemis returned the embrace, bracing himself on one hand while he wrapped the other under Holly's wings.
It was a warm silence for a while... nothing but the breeze in the forest and the crackling flames. The Grimm were fading to shapeless mounds. The forest was at peace. It was Amber that broke the silence.
"Think your pilot would come back if you called him? You're in no shape to hike that far." Amber said.
"Hard to say," Artemis raised an eyebrow. "I'm well enough to walk at any rate." His wounds were still closing, though the bleeding had stopped.
Amber shook her head. "After healing an injury like that, on top of the fatigue? I give you an hour or two before you drop. You need food and sleep, and you need it soon."
Artemis nodded, walking a short distance away to call the pilot.
"Hello, is this the pilot without a spine? Yes, we're alive. No thanks to you... Liability!? I don't give a damn about liability, you left us for dead! If you're not touching down in the next fifteen minutes-" He glared, fuming at his scroll for a moment. Then he dialed another number.
"Hello, Melanie? ... I'm sorry Militia... I need a bullhead... Yes, I'll send you the coordinates. Have the ship pick us up... I'm also going to send you a name. Collect a refund, if you'd be so kind... Yes, thank you."
"I take it we're in for a wait?" Holly sighed.
"Half an hour at the earliest," Artemis said, already calculating how long it would take to afford a Bullhead.
"Since we have the time," Amber began, stopping to lean against a tree. "What was all this for?" She gestured toward the smoking mounds. "This was a huge risk to plant a tree."
"I suspect it was an equally large one to unlock my Aura," Artemis stated. "For which I'm quite grateful. By the state of my clothes, I doubt I'd have survived if you hadn't."
"You're welcome." replied Amber. "Nice try but don't change the subje-" The huntress' body felt heavy even from the support of the tree, unlocking his aura took a great deal out of her and she was clearly still disoriented from the drain.
"Are you alright?" Holly asked, sympathetically. "Do we need to be worried?"
"No, I'm fine." Amber stopped herself and slowly sat down on the soft grass just below. "Look, the least you two could do to make up for all of this is to tell me the real reason why we're here." She says, narrowing her eyes towards the both of them. "What exactly didn't work?"
Artemis and Holly shared a look. They both knew the risks of the truth. It strained belief to the breaking point. Their credibility could be destroyed, branded as terrible liars. They could find themselves incarcerated in a mental facility, thought of insane for the sheer lunacy of their story. If the wrong person believed them, they may even end up on a dissection table.
["I think it's time,"] Holly said, switching to Gnommish. ["This was never going to stay secret forever."]
Artemis sighed, nodding in reluctant agreement. Better to test the waters with Amber. With her records scrubbed, she clearly had secrets of her own to keep. ["I hope you're right."] He turned to Amber, bewildered at the sudden shift in language.
"Before we answer, Miss Harvest, we have a very important question." Artemis said, his tone deadly serious. "Do you believe in fairy tales?"