A/N: YAYZ!! Look! An update! lol.

So, yeah. Ive been super busy with school and band. Soon I will spending about 13 hours at school per day. Fun. So the updates will be coming. Just not super fast. Plus, Ive been dealing with a love triangle thing (don't ask) and Play try-outs and marching band crap and I tore a ligement a few weeks ago during band practice.

Well, enough with my petty life. On with the story!

Chapter 16: Summer Stories

Holly sat in her office reviewing the footage from her and Retrieval team 1's helmets. She knew that it would be hard to prove that Trouble had been mesmerized by the hooded figure. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she froze the image on the screen. The image showed the hooded figure standing over Trouble. Holly zoomed in on the face of the figure. "D'Arvit," she muttered to herself. The image was too blurry for her to make out the picture. She was typing in the command to clean the image up when there was a knock on the door. "Come in." Holly said before minimizing the window on her computer.

"Major Short?" A timed voice asked from the door way.

Holly looked up to see a pixie with jet black hair and grey eyes standing in the door way. "Can I help you?"

"Um, I'm Tina Hangs…." The pixie said slowly stepping into the office.

"Jessie's mother," Holly said standing up. "Please, come in and take a seat." Tina shuffled into the room and sat down in one of the chairs. Holly walked behind her and shut the door. "Can I get you anything?"

Tina shook her head. "No thank you." She said as Holly walked behind her desk again. "Um, Commander Kelp was in a meeting with the council and I was sent to you." Holly nodded her head. "So, do you have any news on Jessie?"

The major looked down at her desk where Jessie's case file was spread across. "Nothing useful I'm afraid to say…."

Tina looked down at the ground with fresh tears in her eyes. "I told her staying with her aunt was a bad idea." The pixie sobbed as she pulled out a tissue.

Holly's pointed ears quivered. "What was that?"

Tina looked up at her with tears streaming down her face. "Nothing. It's nothing."

"No, it isn't nothing. What was it that you said?"

The pixie looked down at her feet before replying. "I had to go on a business trip a few years ago. I was going to have her stay with her father in Atlantis when she suggested staying with her aunt. I told her it was a bad idea, her aunt was a very busy person and she would just get in the way. But Jessie insisted on calling Op-." Tina stopped before she could say the pixie's name.

"It's okay Mrs. Hangs. We know about Koboi." Holly said. She felt bad for the woman.

She nodded her head. "Opal said it was fine with her. I come back and the next thing I know, Jessie starts getting in trouble at school then her aunt and that crazy elf tried to take over Haven…."

"Wait!" Holly said as something clicked in her head. "Jessie went to stay with Opal before the goblin rebellion?" Tina nodded her head. "How long?"

"Umm…. About two months."

Holly pulled a sheet of paper out of Jessie's case file and looked over it. She felt her eyes grow big as she read Jessie's IQ level. It was around the same level as Opal's IQ. "Mrs. Hangs, was Jessie close with Opal?"

The pixie shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't know. I'm so busy with work…."

Holly jumped out of her chair. "I'll be right back," she said before sprinting out of the room and down the hall to Ops Booth. Holly crashed through the door making everyone in the room jump.

"Holly, you're going to break my doors one day. When you do, you're paying for new ones," Foaly said.

She waved his words aside. "Whatever Foaly. Pull up Opal Koboi's visitors list along with mail and phone calls." He opened his mouth to ask something but she cut him off. "Just do it!"

"Okay, okay," the centaur muttered before pulling up Howlers Peak prisoner list. "Koboi, Opal. She's gotten some mail from some crazed fans and the only phone calls or visitors she's gotten are from her lawyer."

"D'Arvit!" Holly cursed slamming her fist onto the table.

Artemis appeared at her shoulder. "What were you hoping to find Major?"

Holly sighed. "I was hoping that Jessie had been in contact with Opal."

"Why would she be in contact with her?" Butler asked. "I doubt that Jessie even knew that Opal was her aunt."

Holly shook her head. "No. Jessie went to stay with Opal two months before the goblin rebellion."

Artemis nodded his head thoughtfully. "And you think that Opal created the kidnapping scheme to get out of prison."

She nodded her head. "Something like that."

Artemis thought for a moment. "Foaly, can you check Opal's mail?"

"I think so," Foaly said as he started typing away at his computer. "The prison guards usually scan letters, packages and whatever else gets sent to a prisoner." He waited a beat as he pulled up Opal's mail. "Okay. Opal has gotten mail from Vinyaya, Greg Thomas, Lee Williams, Emily Deans and a Derek Walters."

Holly looked at the names. "Well, we can cross Vinyaya out, but Jessie could be any of the other people."

Foaly pulled up a new window and typed in one of the names. "Well, Greg is a mental person in the physic ward." He typed another name in the small box. "Lee is in love with Opal."

Artemis shuddered as Foaly typed in the next name. "Who can love her?"

"I don't…," Foaly trailed off. "Wait a minute. Derek Walters died over 30 years ago."

"When was the last letter from Derek?" Butler asked.

"Last week."

"Well, you can't write a letter when you're dead," Holly said with a smile. "Foaly, get me a level 1 clearance pass for Howlers Peak."

"Going to have a little chat with Opal?" He asked as he printed out the pass.

"No, I'm going to have a chat with your mother." Holly said taking the pass from Foaly.

"Not funny!" He called after her as she left the room.

Holly allowed herself a small smile as she walked down the hall.

A/N: yeah, I know. Lame chapter but it gets better. Trust. A lot of the questions you've been asking will be answered next chapter. Until then... review plz!