Hello again everyone. I was able to finally get this chapter finished. I'm not super happy with it, but I thought instead of dwelling on it, I'd post it. I've had a rough week. This coronavirus debacle is a complete mess here, and I don't foresee it getting better in the near future. I'm usually not an anxious person by nature, but everything that's happened in this last week has made me quite the disaster. At the moment, I am fine. My family is fine. I hope it stays that way. I hope all of you are safe as well.

I'll still be trying my damnedest to get this story finished by the end of May. Since the last chapter, they dropped the trailer for the movie. I know a lot of fans are upset about it. I... I don't think I'm one of them. I had decided long ago that the movie was probably going to deviate from the books I know and love so much. I also know trailers can be super misleading. I do think a lot of the books are still in there, and remain positive. I'm going to likely see movie opening day (so long as we aren't still dealing with this virus and all the delays, cancellations, etc. that are coming with it). I'm still excited, and I hope I can at least still enjoy the movie even with the changes that have been made.

Enough of my ramblings though. This chapter was long enough without them. I hope you all enjoy, and stay safe out there.
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     "So where did she get you guys?" Alex asked curiously.

    The four humans were sitting in the back of the shuttle on their way back down to Haven. Holly and Trouble hadn't told them much before ushering them into the shuttle but the two of them looked down right pissed about something. The elfin police officers hadn't said much else to them on the ride, so the four of them were left to discuss whatever they pleased while seated in the same spots they had been on the ride back to the surface. And apparently, Alex wanted to know more about her friends' love lives.

    "We were sleeping," Artemis tried to downplay the situation. "Holly woke me up by tapping on the window, and Diana woke up while we were talking. That's it."

    "So you're telling me that there was nothing else to that story?" Alex pressed on.

    "Nothing I am willing to disclose," Artemis responded coolly.

    Alex snorted. "Uh huh. Because that's why Diana was so embarrassed. Something totally happened that you're not fessing up to, fancy boy."

    Artemis opened his mouth to say something, but Diana quickly cut him off by asking, "What do you think is going on?" Her voice betrayed how anxious she was to get off the topic of what exactly happened that evening between her and Artemis.

    He had picked up on it, and replied, "Whatever it is, it's got Holly on edge and when Holly's on edge, it's not a good sign."

    That comment was enough to make reality finally hit Alex and get her brain thinking on something other than all of their sex lives for a moment. "Oh... I've got a bad feeling about this," she said quietly.

    The humans exchanged nervous glances as moments later the shuttle pulled into the port. With the pod finally parked, the group could hear excessive amounts of angry chatter in a foreign language coming from the cockpit. Had Holly and Trouble been arguing this whole time? Everyone immediately turned to Artemis, seeing as he was the fairy expert.

    "Trust me, you don't want to know what they're saying," Artemis answered sheepishly. "Just know it's not pleasantries."

    Holly walked out of the cockpit as the door began to drop, and she was still muttering in the elfin language as everyone followed after her off the shuttle. Holly checked in at the gate and everyone else waited awkwardly by the shuttle as Trouble did the landing run through. Holly returned still looking as angry and scary as before when she finally returned to the humans.

    Sebastian decided he was going to be the one to ask the question they all had been wondering. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what exactly is going on?"

    "Well, we were merely picking you all up for a meeting, but apparently in our absence, Haven HQ was raided by a very angry sprite who just so happened to steal his doom machine back, causing thousands of pounds of gold in damage as he got away!" Holly shouted at the group, who would've cowered at her feet had she not been three feet tall.

    Artemis was the only one unbothered by Holly's outburst. He raised an eyebrow as he asked calmly, "You impounded the laser at HQ?"

    Holly rubbed her temples in frustration, knowing exactly where this was going. "We wanted to keep a close eye on it."

    "And it didn't occur to you that perhaps Haven lacks the appropriate security for the job? Or that, more importantly, he'd look there first?" Artemis pointed out the LEP's stupidity.

    "Now is not the time, Artemis," Holly warned him as she gave him the evil eye.

    "The very least you could've done was ship it to Atlantis," Artemis continued, apparently not the least bit concerned with Holly's currently hostile demeanor. The very thought of Ortherion being able to have another chance to strike made anger boil in his stomach, and while now was hardly the time to express that, he took the opportunity anyway. "You wonder why I was able to steal the gem so easily, and here you are practically handing over a weapon of mass destruction to a power obsessed ego maniac."

    Holly was fuming, so she did what any officer in her position would do: she whipped out her Neutrino 3000 and shot Artemis in the chest in one fluid movement, causing the young man to collapse to the ground. Luckily for him the gun was set to the stun phase so he was merely unconscious. Diana stared open mouthed at Artemis as Alex tried ever so hard not to burst into uncontrollable laughter. Sebastian was somewhere between the two of them, afraid if he spoke he would be the next one lying on the ground.

    Holly eyed the remaining humans as she held the gun up by her face. "Any other smart comments anyone wishes to discuss?"

    Everyone shook their heads, even though Diana was incredibly worried about Artemis as she studied the scorch stain on the front of his chest. Holly took that as their answer, and glanced to Trouble as he rejoined them. Holly holstered her weapon, and the two elves looked at the humans for a moment.

    "Good. Sebastian, carry Artemis and all of you follow us," Holly instructed.

    Sebastian lifted the unconscious Artemis over his shoulder and they all followed after Holly and Trouble, unsure of where they were going now. But based upon the smoldering rubble around them, it couldn't be anywhere fun.
While Diana walked quietly next to Sebastian on the side that he was carrying Artemis, Alex walked excitedly on his other side, seemingly more happy than the rest of the group. "I have got to get me one of those," she whispered, unable to hide the giddiness in her voice.

    Sebastian smirked and shook his head while Diana frowned. The group walked around a corner to see exactly why Holly and Trouble were so upset on the ride back.

    The building was smoking and in shambles. Fairy fire trucks were dousing what was left of the flames as giant bulldozer looking machines cleaned up the rubble. There were several ambulances on the premises treating the injured officers. Luckily Diana didn't see any tiny body bags and she was thankful for it. Holly and Trouble lead them to several tents that were set up off to the side as a temporary base of operations.

    They burst through the flaps to find a mass of fairies skittering about- answering telephones that rang off the hook, filing what records they could salvage, and loading up the LEP database. It was pure chaos. Holly instantly made her way over to a frazzled looking centaur with a crushed tin foil hat. Sebastian took the opportunity to lay Artemis down on a spare gurney close by; Diana stayed by his side, hoping he woke up soon. They watched quietly as Holly and Trouble both stood near the centaur, waiting for a moment before initiating a conversation.

    Holly leaned against his makeshift desk. "What do you have for me, Foaly?"

    "What do I have for you?" the centaur, Foaly, began to shout, his voice an octave higher than normal. "How about millions of pounds of gold worth of technology shorted out because the sprinkler tank was punctured in the basement?"

    "Foaly," Holly said, much more calm than she likely felt.

    "Or how about the fact that the hairs on my hindquarters got singed off running up the stairs to the nearest exit?" Foaly continued on his rampage, flashing his bald rear end in their general direction.

    "Foaly," Holly repeated slightly louder this time.

    "And not to mention my favorite hat is ruined! Who's gonna pay for the supplies to make a new one?" Foaly motioned towards the crumpled foil on his head.

    "Foaly!" Holly shouted as she grabbed him by his beard and stared him in the eyes as she fumed. "Now is not the time! Track the tracer on the laser so I can kick Ortherion's sorry, green, little ass before I'm inclined to take my massive frustrations out on you!"

    Foaly was silenced by Holly's hostility. They just stared at each other for a moment as they both calmed down. Foaly went to say something sarcastic but was cut off.

    "You shot me?" Artemis shouted from the gurney as he attempted to get down despite the fact that his legs still weren't fully operational. Diana did her best to hold him in place but Artemis was actually quite pissed, and determined to get up.

    "Don't even go there right now, Fowl!" Holly pulled her gun out and took aim. "I'll do it again too if you don't shut that gaping hole in your face!"

    Artemis took a deep breath and sat back down on the gurney. "Your stupidity really knows no bounds, does it?"

    "Actually, Fowl, we put the laser in impound and equipped it with a tracker strictly so Ortherion could steal it and we could find his new base of ops," Holly sassed him. "We just didn't expect an attack of this magnitude."

    "You have got to be kidding me," Artemis muttered. "Whose idea was that?"

    "You guys are small but what you lack in height you gain in insanity," Alex said.

    "And it's always the crazy ones who are unpredictable so you shouldn't have underestimated this guy," Sebastian replied. Oddly enough, they had been the only two who had remained calm during all of the hostility.

    Holly looked at the two, momentarily confused by their sudden insight on the matter. "Any way," Holly released Foaly's beard and reholstered her gun, "get me my answers, now."

    Foaly turned to his computer, typing away furiously. "Well now that he's finally stopped moving, we can place him in the Irish Emerald Hills. He seems to have bought and refurbished an old castle on the northern coast," he explained.

    "The laser is creating a second ice age and the process seems to be speeding up." Trouble looked over Foaly's shoulder at the satellite image of the castle. "That laser is fully operational and we need to get in there now if we're going to stop this."

    "Thank you for the newsflash, Captain Obvious," Alex muttered.

    Trouble turned and gave her a serious look. "That's Commander Obvious to you."

    Alex smiled at the elf's joke, but said nothing.

    "Then we don't have time to waste," Artemis replied, finally standing and making his way to the computer, Diana on his heels.

    Sebastian cracked his knuckles. "Get us geared up and let's go."

    Artemis stood behind Foaly, examining the satellite image. "Get me the floor plans so we can determine a route of infiltration and an idea as to where this laser is at."

    Foaly typed away feverishly and almost instantly the blueprints to the building were up on the screen in front of them. The group swarmed the computer, all wanting to get a good look at the castle they'd be dealing with.

    "We'll come in through the basement, there will be minimal security and we could make our way in virtually undetected," Holly decided.

    "We'll have to split up so we can cover more ground and sweep the place," Trouble added. "I suggest two teams."

    "Alex, Holly, and I will come in through the roof so we can catch them by surprise. We'll use the air ducts and elevator shaft as cover," Sebastian pointed out. "There are four stories to this bad boy, making a high and low flank perfect."

    "Elevator shafts and air ducts?" Alex questioned, giving Sebastian a look of disbelief. "This isn't Mission Impossible."

    "It might as well be," Artemis replied quietly.

    "It's a movie Artemis," Alex sassed. "It's already clear that this is practically a suicide mission with the vastness of the place and Ortherion's fairy extremist army."

    "I know what Mission Impossible is," Artemis assured.

    Diana decided to break up the disagreement brewing. "I think that the likeliest place for Ortherion to place his laser is in the ballroom," she suggested, pointing to the room. "It's big enough and it overlooks the ocean so he can have a better shot at the atmosphere without interference."

    The others nodded in agreement.

    "So it's settled; Trouble, Artemis and Diana will take the basement route and Alex, Sebastian, and Holly will run the upper level sweep and you all make your way to the ballroom." Foaly recapped.

    "What equipment can you salvage for us?" Holly turned to Foaly.

    "The armory was raided by Ortherion and his goons," Foaly said, leaning back in his special centaur chair, "but lucky for you I keep a special stash of my top of the line equipment in a bomb shelter behind my house."

    Diana looked at him funny. "You have a bomb shelter?"

    "Yup," Foaly replied.

    "Underground?" Artemis asked.

    "Uh huh."

    "Stock piled with weapons?" Alex added.

    Foaly smiled proudly, getting up from his chair, knowing they were going to have to leave momentarily. "And it's lined with tin foil."

    Sebastian laughed. "You are so paranoid dude."

    "It comes in handy in situations like this," Foaly's replied with an annoyed expression.

    "He's got a point," Diana said. "If he wasn't paranoid, we'd be going in empty handed, and that is less than ideal."

    "Whatever!" Holly shouted as she ushered everyone out of the tent and back into the chaos that ensued outside. "Let's just get to the shelter! No time to waste!"