The Deep Blue Haze

Holly stared at the mirror, lost in thought.

Her eyes, one blue and one hazel, stared intently back at her. But she was staring at the blue one in particular. She felt like she was drowning in its deep blue heart. It was so strange, but she still felt open to it.

The eye sparkled curiously, and Holly felt her insides twist and bunch up.

"Arty…" she thought, as her stomach unclenched.

Her thoughts wondered to when they had kissed, and not for the first time, she felt a phantom tingle on her lips.

She snapped out of her stupor, immediately mad at herself.

"Stop this," she hissed to herself, "you're a professional! Get a grip on yourself! You just feel like this because of the time tunnel!"

But she knew she was lying to herself. It went deeper than that…much, much deeper.

She moaned deep in her thought, and glanced at the mirror again, and was once again lost in the deep blue haze.

"Why? Why do I still feel like this? He lied to me, and I was angry at him, but WHY do I still…"

But she knew that the lie story wouldn't work, she had forgiven him, and he had done it to save his mother.

The blue eye in the mirror suddenly filled with sadness, and she felt her throat close painfully.

"Artemis."

She cried out in shock as the communicator on the counter buzzed into life. She swore under her breath, shook herself and glanced at the caller ID.

It was Foaly, her close friend and the LEP's technical advisor.

"D'Arvit!" she swore irritably. It was her weekend off, and it seemed that she would not even be given two days peace.

"There had better be a VERY good reason for this call Foaly." She growled, not even bothering to hide her irritation.

The centaur on the end of the line winced, but wasn't surprised by her agitation. He knew all to well how tired one could feel after a mission (although he had hardly ever done any physical activity in any of them).

"It's a very, VERY good reason. And do you know that the word 'hello' does exist?" he grumbled unhappily.

"I'm sorry Foaly, but what did you expect, hugs and kisses? And this VERY good reason must be directed at someone else. I'm off this weekend. And it wouldn't hurt to give me a purely social call."

"Maybe in another time, but now we have a problem. I'll say just one word that will throw your weekend off out the window…Opal!"

Holly froze, her eyes widening in shock and horror.

"You didn't find her?" she whispered, knowing what the answer would be, but wishing she was wrong.

"Correct. The search team found the helmet, but no Opal. She must of taken it off and left it there as a decoy. I've been trying to search for your suits vital signs, but it's all flat lined. I can think of a few reasons for this…" and with that, the centaur launched off into a lecture.

But Holly had stopped listening. She was once again staring at the mirror. The blue eye was filled with worry.

"Oh no, Artemis…" she whispered, her voice layered with fear and worry.

Foaly stopped mid lecture. "Yes. We need to be concerned about our young friends' safety. Commander Kelp has given you orders to travel to Fowl Manor, and stay there till Koboi is captured and sent back to her own time. You should pack in some civilian wear for your stay. You might be there awhile. But I don't think you'll mind though." he said, with a knowing chuckle.

Holly ignored the jibe. Something else he had said had come to her attention,"Hold on?! Am I the only one who's going to be watching out for him? Wont I need back up?"

Foaly scowled, "Apparently the safety of a human teenager's life, even if he is a friend to the People, is not important to the Council. They have forced us to send the rest of our squad off to guard the present day Opal, and the old Koboi and weapons warehouses. Looks like you're on your own, but I have seen that you can handle this just fine by yourself more than a few times, even if there were…complications."

Holly sighed. This was going to be a very long day.

"Fine, I'll meet you at Police Plaza in fifteen minutes. I'll need to get a new suit, as you well know."

"Oh, that reminds me! I've got this new suit waiting for you here. Actually, it's not that new. It's been sitting here, waiting for a big enough reason to be worn. I think this might be just the right time for you to wear the latest advancement in technology! You'll just love it!" Foaly was already getting excited. He had always enjoyed dressing her up in his beloved technology.( Kind of how a mother likes to dress her little girl in princess outfits and then take pics and croon over the very unhappy little child.)

But, unfortunate for Foaly, Holly was not as easly swayed.

"Not a chance in Hell!" growled Holly, "I've been your test dumpy WAY too many times! Just give me the old suit, and I'll leave without a signal drop of blood being shed."

"Come on Holly, this is Opal Koboi we're talking about. You want to keep Artemis safe right?"

Holly felt like wringing the centaurs neck. It wasn't fare. WHY did he have to use her weakness to get his way! It wasn't sporty to play dirty! She mentally cursed herself for being so easy for him to read."Of course I do, what kind of question is that?! Fine, I'll see it when I get there, and I'll either give it the green light, or I'll turn it down flat."

"Good, I'll see you then, Captain Short!" Foaly grinned, barely able to contain his excitement.

Holly groaned and hung up.

She hurried over to her wardrobe, and began selecting outfits. All the while her thoughts raced, jumping from topic to topic.

Her heart felt like it was going to explode! Worry reared it's mighty head inside her, causing her to ground her teeth.

She just had to remain calm, and to think clearly.

It took her awhile, but she finally got everything packed. It had taken her so long only because she had tried desperately to find some decent, sensible clothes. She was also slightly worried about what Artemis would think of her outfits, but there was more chance of her admitting this than of a male dwarf popping the question to a male goblin.

She slung her bag over her shoulder, and looked one last time at the mirror.

The mismatched eyes were hard and determined.

"Artemis, if you're not in one piece when I get there, I'll…I'll…I don't know what I'll do." She thought sadly as she locked the front door.

Then she began to run in the direction of Police Plaza.