A/N: Apologies for the extended wait on this one. It's pretty unreasonable when you consider that the story is effectively written already, and yet here we are. Life has been fairly full on in recent months, including the loss of a very close family member. In any case, I will try to be slightly more reasonable with the uploads in the hope that I can get this story done before yet another year ticks over.

In any case, we pick up the action from where we left off, which Holly inexplicably discovered mid-mission on the surface. If you enjoy the chapter, please don't hesitate to leave a comment, it always means the world to me hearing from people.

-Kio

Chapter 3

Holly reacted more on instinct than anything else, tugging at her wings' throttle, and felt herself rising - one metre, now two, now five, all in a heartbeat. Then the grenade landed where she had been crouched a split-second before, erupting instantly into a storm of fire and shrapnel. She had avoided certain death, but the shockwave still reached up and plucked her from the sky, tossing her high and leaving her to crash back down to Earth.

She landed hard and rolled, grimacing as her suit flexed but failed to absorb the full impact. The words system damaged flashed up on her HUD but she ignored them, along with the sound of Trouble roaring in her ear. If she didn't move now, she was dead.

Why can't a recon mission ever just stay a recon mission? she asked no one in particular as she forced herself to stand. Come on, one foot in front of the other.

She dashed for the cover of the barn, fumbling with her wing controls as she went, but another grenade exploded in her path before she could make it. Flames blossomed and earth showered, and Holly was slammed back into the dirt.

It took longer to find her feet this time. Blue sparks danced inside her suit, patching up the damage, but the suit itself wasn't so lucky. Text flashed up on her visor, barely legible through the lattice of cracks. Multiple system failures. The voices from Police Plaza were gone, though her helmet microphone somehow continued to pick up audio from the meeting.

"What in the name of Christ are you doing?" the human leader was shouting.

The fairy doing the shooting was calm. "Just some LEP bitch sticking her nose in where it don't belong. I'm gonna show her what happens to people like her." There was a click as a loaded magazine was slotted into his rifle. "Don't worry. Our deal remains unaltered. But call your men on the other trucks…"

Holly pulled off the helmet and cast it aside. She couldn't see properly through the cracked visor, and she didn't need to hear any more of the conversation. The Talon was coming to finish her, and she doubted he was the type to make it quick.

Sure enough, a burst of gunfire slammed into the ground nearby, each bullet launching tiny plumes of dirt and grass into the air. Holly was already moving again, Neutrino in hand, trying to recall the location of the additional trucks. Any attempt to escape on foot was surely suicide and her wings were busted thanks to the second explosion, but human vehicles were still transport. Commandeering one was the closest thing she had to a ticket out of this disaster.

More bullets chewed up her footprints as she ran. Even with her shimmer suit in tatters, she was still shielded - tracking her movements shouldn't have been possible, but she didn't bother asking how the Talon was doing it. That was a tomorrow question. The only today question was survival.

The Talon was already giving chase, taunting her as he came, and she could hear that he was gaining. Realising this would only end one way, Holly dropped into a crouch and turned to face him, but barely a thing was visible between the dense tangle of tall grass and the dust kicked up by gunfire. Pausing only to curse the loss of her thermal optics, she flicked her Neutrino to incendiary mode and began sweeping its beam back and forth in wide arcs. Everywhere the laser touched the grass sprouted flames, and in moments she had a wall of fire separating her and the Talon - a wall that was only growing.

Try tracking me through that, Holly thought with a smile of grim satisfaction, and went immediately back to running in what she prayed was the right direction. Thankfully her internal compass held true, and after another minute, the thick grass gave way to a dirt track. Two trucks, identical to the one at the exchange, stood parked a few hundred metres further up the track. No doubt expecting her, a handful of Mud Men had fanned out from their vehicles, all cradling the same undersized, fairy-adapted assault rifles from the shipment.

Holly tensed, Neutrino raised, but the Mud Men didn't open fire. She smiled to herself; her shield wasn't useless after all. Keeping low, she made her way forward. Progress wasn't as quick as she would have liked, but without knowing how she had been compromised before, she couldn't risk giving any indication that she was there. There would only be one shot at this.

Up ahead, a human stepped in Holly's direction. She was too far to see his face, but his body language was bored. That was promising. The unengaged were invariably easier to slip past than the vigilant. The man hefted his rifle lazily, using the scope to peer out into the Irish countryside. He looked left, then right, then straight ahead. Then right at Holly. He shouted to his comrades.

Holly froze. It's the optics! she realised. They've been fitted with anti-shield filters. She did the only thing she could: flicked her Neutrino back to stun and squeezed the trigger. With her suit offline, she was stuck aiming manually, but Holly Short was an immaculate shot on her worst day and the laser burst easily found its mark. The man crumpled, but his comrades were already arriving to pick up the slack.

Swallowing a few choice curses, Holly dived into the dip at the edge of the track as they opened fire. As stray rounds whistled harmlessly by, she peeked out from the undergrowth and dropped another shooter. Outnumbered though she was, this time the advantage was with her - hitting a dug-in target at two hundred metres with an automatic rifle wasn't trivial, and these Mud Men were professional muscle, not professional soldiers. A Neutrino burst, on the other hand, travelled at the speed of light in a perfectly straight line. In other words, if you could see your target down the barrel, he was having a bad day.

After another two shooters went down with Holly still untouched, the surviving three realised this wasn't a winning fight and backed up to the safety of their trucks. Holly glowered to herself as she started after them, acutely aware that a close quarters fight for a vehicle wouldn't improve her already slim chances of survival.

And then things managed to get worse. Two of the Mud Men were climbing into one of the trucks, the engine roaring to life a moment later. They were going to bring the fight to her. Not good. Not good at all. And as if that wasn't bad enough, she could hear the contingent from the exchange, Talon and all, approaching from behind. Her burning countryside trick was only ever going to delay them, after all.

The truck lurched forward, quickly picking up speed as it charged towards Holly. The human riding shotgun tried laying down suppressing fire, hanging out of the open door with his gun in a one handed grip like an action hero in a movie. In moments, Holly would be sandwiched in from both sides. If she didn't do something proactive now, it would be too late.

With a steadying breath, Holly lined up the shot through her Neutrino's sights. The man hanging off the truck caught an awkward glimpse of her through his scope, but she was faster, squeezing off a shot before he could react. His body went limp and he plummeted from his perch, meeting the ground with a nasty thud and rolling a few times before exhausting his momentum. Holly hoped he would be alright, but couldn't spare more than a thought with the truck still bearing down on her.

She upped the setting on her Neutrino and switched targets, sinking a long burst into the truck's closest wheel. Rubber disintegrated and metal buckled, and a moment later the entire wheel was coming apart. The driver lost control instantly and the truck careered this way and that, finally smashing into a ditch at the edge of the track and toppling over.

Aware she was far from out of the woods yet, Holly burst from cover, heading for the crashed truck. As she arrived, the driver was already clambering out of the cabin, face bloody and movements unsure. It didn't look like he had held onto a weapon. Holly forced herself not to raise her Neutrino. Stunning him would be easy, but if she did, her plan B - if required - would definitely kill him. There was no guarantee he would live if she didn't, but she knew she had to give him a chance. Even Mud People, even when they were trying to kill her, didn't deserve to die if there was another option.

She came to a stop in front of him and unshielded. He yelped, but she spoke before he could act.

"Run!" she shouted, voice layered with the hypnotic mesmer, the People's siren song. "Get as far from here as you can!"

The effect was immediate. The man's eyes glazed over and he obeyed without question, dashing off into the fields. Meanwhile, Holly spotted the Talon and the two human thugs from the exchange emerging onto the track behind her. She ducked behind the crashed truck just in time to dodge the first hail of bullets.

Wincing at the shrill clatter of each shot pinging off the truck's chassis, Holly took stock. Up ahead, there was still a fresh truck waiting to carry her to safety, guarded by the one remaining Mud Man. The crashed truck would protect her from the threats behind, at least until they reached it. That gave her maybe thirty seconds. Not enough time to secure the second truck.

Plan B it is.

Holly re-shielded and gave herself twenty seconds to cover as much of the distance between the two trucks as she could. When she could justify running no more, she turned, aware that what she was about to do had uncomfortably lethal potential. The targets were far from innocent, but that didn't change how it sat with her.

With a whispered apology, Holly aimed her Neutrino at the exposed fuel tank on the underside of the crashed truck and pulled the trigger. The petrol ignited the moment the laser made contact, exploding in a ball of brilliant flame. It didn't end there, though. The truck's cargo was the same as the others - weapons and munitions - and wasn't the sort of thing that should be introduced to a fireball. But thanks to Holly, introduced they were, and shelf after shelf of ammunition, grenades, and rockets went up in a spectacular chain reaction.

The blast lifted Holly off her feet and hurled her face-first into the ground for the third time that day. Shrapnel rained down, hunting a weakness in the back of her LEP suit. When it was all over, Holly slowly picked herself up a final time and went to brush the dirt out of her hair, grimacing when her hand came away bloody. It stung like crazy, but she paid it no mind. Magic would repair the damage, and despite the enormous explosion, the fight wasn't over yet.

She set off for the remaining truck, Neutrino in hand. Her footing was unsure and her gait awkward, but she kept herself upright, which was good enough for now. There was no sign of the last Mud Man as she drew close, but still she gripped her Neutrino tight. It was entirely possible that he had run off, but that would be a stroke of luck that she didn't trust herself to have.

Holly crouched, glancing underneath the truck. There were no feet hiding on the other side. She couldn't decide if that was good or not, but since she didn't know how long she had to make good on her escape, she didn't dwell on it. Keeping her movements as light as possible in her current condition, she checked all around the truck. No Mud Man. Maybe today had some luck in store for her after all. With a final glance at her surroundings, Holly pulled open the door and hopped inside, unshielding as she did so, and was ecstatic to see the keys still in the ignition.

Only after settling into the driver's seat and putting down her Neutrino did she see the mirror. And then it was much, much too late. The Mud Man emerged from his hiding place behind the cabin seats and grabbed her, slamming her face into the dashboard.

Holly's world rocked. Pain exploded, but she refused to cry out. She struggled frantically against the man's grip, blind fingers scrambling on the seat for the handle of her Neutrino. The man followed up with a punch and let her go, freeing up his hands to grab his gun. Holly snatched up her Neutrino just as the rifle swung round to poke her in the chest, all matt black steel and death.

Her breath caught. Magic couldn't help her here. If she shielded or used the mesmer, he would simply pull the trigger. All it took was a thought. In the sudden stillness, blood from a fresh gash on her forehead dribbled down her face, pooling into a droplet that splashed onto the seat with an audible plop.

The man's eyes flicked from her to the futuristic laser gun in her hand. It was pointed straight at him. They both knew exactly where they stood.

And they both pulled the trigger at the exact same time.

The Mud Man was unconscious before he hit the floor. Holly wasn't so lucky. The bullet entered her at point blank range and was indiscriminate in its path of destruction, shredding skin and bone and organ alike. She screamed and screamed and clamped hands over what used to be her torso. Blood pumped freely through her fingers as she finally blacked out from the pain.

Her blood.

Too much of it.

Some part of Holly, deep and primal, knew she couldn't stay collapsed in the cab, no matter how appealing it was. It drove consciousness back into her body, little by little, and eventually her eyes fluttered open.

There was a bloody handprint on the floor millimetres from her face. It was no mystery to whom it belonged. Holly lifted her head, tried to assess her situation. With her hands still slick with uncongealed blood, she could have only been out for a few minutes. Mercifully, she was still alone. Company was not something she could handle right now.

Fighting the urge to be sick, Holly marshalled the courage to look down at herself. Her remaining magic had done its best, successfully closing up the wound, but had depleted before the healing was complete. The result was far from pretty, and Holly could feel the wealth of internal damage barely touched by the magic. It did not feel good.

Holly let out a long breath and raised herself gingerly into the driver's seat. Every passing second was time she couldn't afford to lose, but any sharp movement sent waves of agony reverberating through her body. Moving quickly wasn't an option. Once she was in position, a glance at the driver-side mirror confirmed that the final truck - the one from the original exchange - was rapidly approaching. It was do-or-die time.

Holly stomped on the accelerator, turning the key in the ignition as she did so, and six tonnes of steel groaned and lurched forward. The revs screamed at her and she switched up a gear, then another. Another look at the mirror told her it wasn't enough; the other truck was still gaining.

With a string of curses, Holly pushed the accelerator even closer to the floor. She could barely see the road while being able to reach the pedals, but she didn't have much choice. It was likely to end in disaster, but that would be later, and Holly had long since lost the luxury of thinking ahead. The closest thing she had resembling a plan was to not die in the next thirty seconds. If by some miracle she managed that, she could try another thirty and see what happened from there.

As the truck picked up speed, it struggled ever more ferociously against Holly's control. The speedometer showed them passing sixty miles an hour, a feat for which neither the abandoned dirt track nor the truck's suspension were designed. The entire cabin shuddered with every imperfection in the road, each one sending fresh agony jolting through Holly's chest wound. She fought the steering wheel as it jerked this way and that, but the blood on her hands had left it slippery and she could feel her strength fading. The truck swerved left and right, growing more erratic with every lurch, until it came to a bend and veered off the track entirely.

Metal screeched in protest as the truck ploughed through the Irish countryside, chewing up plants and bouncing off every piece of uneven terrain it could find. The cabin shook so violently that Holly was thrown back and forth like a ragdoll in a thunderstorm. Her head smashed into the dashboard once again and she tasted yet more blood.

Finally, they came to a stop. The truck lay defeated, battered beyond measure and gently smoking. Holly just about managed to lift her head and spat out a tooth. Everything hurt. She brought a hand to her chest and felt something warm and wet. Her wound has reopened and she didn't have a single spark of magic left to close it.

She knew then that it was over. Unconsciousness called to her once more, promising to lift her from pain's embrace.

Sleep. Just sleep. No need to wake up again.

Holly closed her eyes. Footsteps approached, but the darkness had already claimed her.

A/N: o_0

Impossible, even Kio wouldn't kill Holly in chapter 3 of a 15 chapter story.

...Right?