Holly Short fell to the ground as Opal hit her with a laser beam. Artemis sprung to his feet and quickly grabbed Holly’s gun, and then killed Opal.

“Holly, it’ll be fine!” he whispered, tears welling into his eyes. Holly’s face was losing its color, her muscles loosening, her eyes becoming weak. “Holly, we finished the mission, we killed Koboi–please, no, don’t die!”

“It’s my time to go, Artemis.” Holly tried to put a brave face on by smiling, but her muscles wouldn’t cooperate. She was already losing her strength. That laser shot– it was deadly, it wasn’t ordinary.

“Holly, no, you know I love you– don’t go, don’t go, don’t GO!” Artemis yelled hopelessly.

“It won’t help, Artemis,” Holly said weakly. “It’s my time to go, and that’s that. God can’t change his schedule to fit the wants of you, no matter how hard it may seem on someone’s life.”

And then, her eyes closed.

“Holly– no, no, NO! This isn’t happening! It’s all a nightmare, a horrible nightmare! I’ll wake up from it when I open my eyes!” Artemis shut his eyes and opened them again. He was still in the cavern, and Holly and Koboi were both still lying motionless.

Artemis couldn’t bear it any longer. He broke down into tears and grabbed Opal’s gun, pointing it to his own heart.

He closed  his eyes and tightened his fingers around the trigger…

Then he felt something on his hand. Opening his eyes, he saw Holly’s ghost.

“Artemis, you know I wouldn’t want you to do that,” Holly whispered, letting go of his hand. Artemis dropped the gun in shock. Holly continued, “Live your life. Do it for me, Artemis.”

“Holly, I will make sure you did not die in vain,” Artemis whispered. “I’ll kill all of Opal’s gang. I swear!” Holly’s ghost started to fade as it smiled.

“I trust you, Artemis.” she said quietly, fading into the air.

And Artemis was left alone.

Some other stories by HollyShort:

• What if Minerva never Existed?
• Never-changing Fear and Responsibility
• Far Away - A Holly + Artemis Song Fiction
• Artemis Fowl meets Naruto characters
• Cute Girls