Chapter Text
Chapter One
Yellow was not a color that suited the young Fowl. The sickly-looking child look ten times worse in the color than he usually did, but as the outfit was key to his plan, he fastened the last button hastily and moved on. A lifetime on First Earth did little to aid one’s complexion, and unless you were gifted with genes that gave you melanin, you were cursed to be pale and slightly green looking. Luckily for himself, as well as everyone else, he would not be making an appearance as himself. Rather, he would be Zynnah. It was cleaver really, his plan, and quite simple. For all their boasting about security, the Xantharian database was rudimentary at best.
Artemis chuckled to himself as he thought of how he came to this point and the mere child’s play it had been. He could have, quite literally, done it in his sleep. One would have thought that such an important building with such important technology would have better firewalls, but their systems were no better than the practice programs that Artemis had developed himself. Twenty-first century garbage.
The boy heard movement from behind him and there was an audible sigh from the doorway. Artemis knew that sigh and so he turned to face the large manservant. The man was visibly not pleased and was examining the outfit, but the boy ignored the obvious distaste on the man’s face and spoke.
“Butler. I assume you’re here to tell me that everything is ready.”
Butler mulled over his words before speaking. “Yes, Artemis.”
Artemis’s eyes narrowed as he turned back to face the mirror and adjust his shirt. “There is an unspoken ‘but’ at the end of your statement,” he said, looking back at the man from the mirror, “And I cannot, in good conscious, go into this without hearing your concerns.”
Good conscious?” Butler thought to himself, “This boy is headed into the lion’s den on his own and I cannot be there to defend him. And what the hell is he wearing?”
Butler’s attention was brought back to the room when Artemis cleared his throat. An eyebrow raised slowly as he waited for Butler to respond. While the boy was young, only twelve-years-old as of a few months ago, he acted more like a shrewd adult. Current circumstances had not made his disposition any better.
“I am just concerned for your safety,” he said, gauging the boy’s reaction as he spoke, “You are going into a highly secure area with very little protection.”
Artemis fought off the urge to roll his eyes and scoff. “A fair point, if that someone was not me,” he smirked to himself, “While I may not have weapons at my disposal, I do have extensive knowledge on their customs as well as this disguise.”
It was the manservant’s turn to arch an eyebrow. He examined the ‘disguise’ that Artemis spoke of. It looked tacky, both in function for a janitor as well as style. The uniform stuck out like a sore thumb, which, in Butler’s years of experience, was the opposite of what was wanted during a potential heist. Butler was surprised that Artemis even picked a janitor to ‘look’ like. The job was very much below his class as an Upper City citizen on First Earth. Artemis was designed to inherit his father’s position in the government as well as all his assets.
The man additionally was out of the loop on the plan, and this didn’t help the uneasy feeling that was growing in his gut. All that he was privy to was: Artemis was going to Xantharn dressed as a janitor to get something dangerous, and he, his bodyguard, wasn’t able to go along. The only thing Butler knew for certain about this whole ordeal, was that he hated it.
“Are you sure that this will work? The color of the uniform is quite horrendous.”
“Yes, well, the color is definitely not one that should exist on my color pallet, but as this is the janitor’s uniform for the building, it’s an unfortunate must.”
Butler shifted his weight and crossed his arms, letting out another huff. The feeling of anxiety getting worse.
Artemis sensed this and turned back to face him, a vainglorious look on his face. “Fret not, Butler. I have this under control.”
He slid a finger behind his left ear. As he did, his image shifted and changed from a gaunt twelve-year-old to a forty-something man of roughly the same height and build. The smug expression remaining on the stranger’s face was the only thing that somewhat resembled Butler’s charge.
“A wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Butler thought.
Chapter Two
The disguise itself was the easiest part of the whole operation; Butler’s on-going disapproval being one of the more difficult aspects. Artemis would not admit that he felt a tinge of concern and anxiety about the ordeal and he did feel a bit guilty for not telling Butler about all the aspects of the plan, but it was important that very few knew about it. There were far too many moving parts. Too many things could go wrong, and the less Butler knew about it, the better. Artemis shook his head. Get back on track. Remember the plan. Only confidence. It was vital that he execute this perfectly and not raise any suspicions about his character, Zynnah.
Zynnah was a real person who did, in fact, work as a janitor at this particular building. He was forty-three, single, no children, stood only a millimeter shorter, a bit of a workaholic, and possessed no special abilities specific to this planet. It also helped that Zynnah did not seek any socialization both at work or in his personal life. He was left alone, for the most part, to do his work. He was the perfect candidate for Artemis to portray.
Artemis was careful to ensure that the janitor was out of the picture, not permanently, but long enough that he could assume his role without any issues arising. The man was overdue for a vacation, and the government in Xantharn was quite serious about their citizens’ overall happiness and care. So, they planned one for him. It was supposed to last a week and then the man was to return, but Artemis needed him to be gone just a few days more, so he ‘gave’ the man an extension. Courtesy of the government of course. However, the Xantharian leaders were not aware of this and are expecting Zynnah to return to work. This very morning in fact.
The train to the capitol building was crowded, and Artemis fidgeted in his seat. He wasn’t used to crowded public transportation, or public transportation in general, and though he hated to admit it, he felt exposed without his bodyguard there. There was something positive however: no one seemed to notice that the individual not making eye-contact with anyone on the train and was busy looking down at his hands wasn’t the real Zynnah. Artemis wasn’t the best actor. He wasn’t egotistical enough to pick a person who was outgoing and sociable. Zynnah was specifically chosen for two reasons, one being that he had the credentials to get into the room that Artemis needed and the other was because he was socially inept and most people ignored him. Despite the horrendous yellow uniform.
His stop finally arrived, and Artemis quickly stepped off the train and onto the platform. If he hadn’t memorized the way to the building, Artemis could have easily gotten lost in the maze of signs and side streets. The blazing sun above was something that Artemis had not experienced before, but he did not have the time to stand in awe, he needed to be punctual to work. Zynnah was never late.
The language on Xanxis was different than First Earth, consisting of symbols rather than the letters or characters that Artemis was used to; however, he came prepared for this. As a part of the disguise, he had engineered an eye lens that was nearly undetectable. It constantly scanned the environment and translated any text in real-time and projected the translated text in front of the wearer. He was currently working on a matching earpiece that would do the same for spoken word, but for now, he had to rely on learning the language. But again, Zynnah wasn’t very verbal, so Artemis didn’t have to fret too much about speaking to anyone. Just understand them.
Once Artemis cleared the station without trouble, he was able to take in Xantharn fully. Even though he had extensively researched the city and the architectural style, the pictures did not do it justice. Every building had some form of greenery growing from it: twisting vines dangling off towers of solar panels, trees sprouting from the tops of skyscrapers; it looked more like a forest with buildings than eco-architecture. It was no wonder that his home planet wanted this place so badly. He allowed himself a moment to bask in the beauty of this place before heading to his mission. Artemis did make the mental note that he and Butler would have to return. Under different circumstances of course.
Translated texts flashed in front of him as he quickly scanned the street signs and buildings for the place of Zynnah’s employment. It wasn’t overly difficult to find: it was one of the largest and greenest buildings in the city. A person in what looked to be a guard’s uniform stood out front and waved at Artemis as he approached.
"Hey there Zynnah! Have a nice vacation?"
Artemis gave the man a wry smile and nodded his head, putting his hand up to the scanner. Another mental note: get the auditory translator finished. The panel turned green and he could hear the click of the lock coming undone. Sweat that he didn’t know had formed rolled down his back, either from relief that it was working or from the blasted heat of the sun. He didn’t know which, but he continued his way inside, leaving the guard, who just smiled and shook his head outside.
Chapter Three
Her alarm buzzed several times before Holly finally hit the button to dismiss it. She groaned and stretched, several things popping as she did, and she lay there for a solid minute or so before reaching for her communications device. Three missed calls from work.
“Shit,” she exclaimed, throwing the sheets to the side and frantically jumping out of bed to get ready. Holly wasn’t even late, technically, but since she was always on-call and supposedly ready, she knew she was going to get it when she got in. She quick-dialed Foaly as she put her boots on.
“You better get your ass in here.”
“And hello to you to,” she said bitterly. “Give me the run-down so I at least I know what I’m walking into.”
“Root’s gonna be pissed off…”
“Not what I meant smart-ass. I know he’s going to be mad at me, but I pulled an all-nighter with that last case and needed my sleep!”
“You also know then that he’s not gonna care,” Foaly retorted, “By the way, how’s the arm?”
“Don’t change the subject, Foaly. What are we dealing with?” Holly was headed out the door at this point. “Fuck breakfast I guess,” she thought, rushing down the steps. She didn’t want to admit that her arm was still bothering her from the shoot-out a few weeks ago. The last thing she needed was another reason for her superiors to think she was incapable of doing things. This was already going to be an issue on its own.
“We have a Class 1 breach.” Foaly’s voice dropped and Holly had to stop herself from reacting too outwardly.
“Wh….Are you serious?!”
There was silence on the other end for a moment. Holly could tell that Foaly was also angry, but not at her. His pride was definitely wounded.
“Just get in here. I haven’t briefed everyone yet, so you haven’t miss out on anything.”
Holly nodded like he could see her and hung up. As she rushed to get on the train, all that crossed her brain was a string of expletives.
Chapter Four
“Short!” The voice came from her commander’s office. “In here! Now!”
Holly stopped in her tracks and silently cursed at herself. She had hoped to get by him and into the briefing room without being noticed. No such luck. Today wasn’t going to be her day now was it?
“Yessir,” she said begrudgingly, turning around and walking towards the office. One of her fellow officers, Trouble, snickered as she walked by. He got the finger before she went into Root’s office.
“Close the door.”
She did as she was told and then sat down. Root was facing her, an unlit cigar in his mouth. Government regulations restricted smoking in buildings, but Root didn’t seem to care. Not at this given moment because he lit it anyway before speaking.
“Give me a good fucking reason why I shouldn’t fire you,” he said. Holly was shocked.
“I’m not late, sir.” She nearly scoffed. “I am on time.”
“You missed three of my calls. You are supposed to be ready and here an hour ago!”
“I pulled an all-nighter on some stupid case that didn’t deserve my attention! Excuse me for getting the fucking rest I needed! How many times has Trouble come in here late and not received reprimanding! I made one! One miscall and suddenly it’s ‘let’s put Holly on traffic duty’!”
Root’s face turned a violent shade of red as he chewed on the end of the cigar that was in his mouth. Holly knew that she overstepped the line, but she didn’t care. It was utterly ridiculous. No one else received as much discipline as she did.
“Because you’re a woman,” he spat, and this made her blood boil.
“Oh really? Because I’m a woman I’m unable to do this job? Fucking disgusting.”
“Holly, that’s not what I mean. Now sit down.” Root looked at her dead in the eyes and Holly sat back in her seat. She hadn’t even realized that she was standing. The shock of Root calling her by her first name dumbfounded her.
“Because you’re a woman, I have to be tougher on you,” he said, holding up a hand to stop her from interjecting. “The men here perceive you as weaker than the rest of them. I constantly have the Council members breathing down my neck about you. We both know that you’re more than capable of doing this job, but if you aren’t absolutely perfect, then they’re just going to throw you to the vishtahs, and they’ll throw me right there with you. It’s not just your job that’s on the line, Short.”
Holly blinked a few times and felt herself sinking into her seat like a scolded child. She had no idea that Root had her back; she had always felt their relationship as adversarial since she was the first woman to ever join this task group. He was often unrealistically hard on her and demanded nothing but utter perfection, and now it made some sort of sense. Though it didn’t make her happy to be in this position, there was a sense of comfort that at least her commander had her back.
“Now that this show is over,” Root stood, “Foaly has to brief us. You’re dismissed.”
Chapter Five
Foaly was pacing the room as Root and Holly walked in and sat down. Trouble was already there and gave a slight head nod in her direction, a smile on his face.
“Ugh,” she said to herself, sitting down as far away from him as she could without making it too obvious. Everyone’s attention was brought back to Foaly as he spoke, continuing to walk the length of the room as he did. His tinfoil hat was skewed slightly to the side, and while Holly and the rest of the team knew why he wore it, it was still a little ridiculous.
“Earlier today, a very important piece of tech was stolen from the building,” Foaly adjusted his hat, composed his breath, and continued, “The only clue that we have is this footage of what looks to be a janitor going into the room for his rounds. He leaves the room and then about a half hour later, the tech is reported as missing. No one leaves or enters the room after the janitor left.”
Root, who was still smoking the cigar, frowned and spoke. “What piece of tech exactly. And don’t use all that mumbo-jumbo techy speech. Just tell me straight.”
Foaly stopped pacing and looked at Root, a frantic look in the man’s eyes. “It was one that I had developed to help us win the war.” The commander was about to scold Foaly for not giving him what he wanted right away, but Foaly continued to talk. “It was a piece of hardware that would counteract the First Earth anti-magic fields. And it was stolen this morning.”
The room fell silent as the security footage was played. Root’s cigar fell out of his mouth and onto the table. For the first time, his face wasn’t its usual shade of red, but white.
It was several moments of disbelief until someone spoke.
“How?”
Foaly rolled his eyes. “If I knew how, then this wouldn’t be much of a briefing now would it?”
Root snorted and picked up his cigar from the table. “What do we have on the janitor? ‘Cause right now, he’s our only lead.”
The widescreen’s image changed from the looping security tape to a picture of a middle-aged man.
“The man on the security tape is Zynnah Frongleaf. He had just returned from a government-initiated vacation…. the man rarely takes the day off it seems. He is one of the senior janitorial members and many of his co-workers describe him as anti-social and they don’t know much about his personal life. The security guard up front said that they saw him this morning and that he was acting normal.”
Holly frowned. “He flew under everyone’s radar. How long has he been working here?” Something about this didn’t sit right with her, but she couldn’t quite pin-point it.
“Twenty-five years,” Foaly responded. “Long enough that he has clearance to almost every room in this building.”
Her frown only deepened. Twenty-five years? Twenty-five years of working this job and no one really noticed your existence? She wondered if this was a dire attempt to get attention. A cry for help. She wasn’t the only one who thought this.
“Why now though,” Trouble asked. “He’s worked here for twenty-five years, no one can really tell you much about this guy; why wait until now to do something like this?”
Root rolled the end of the cigar in mouth around as he thought. “It might not have been by choice or him all together.”
“Yeah, but the only two that we know of who can convince others to do things both work with our team. One is neck deep in a lawsuit against her own father and the other one is a sleepy head,” Trouble said with a snicker.
Holly resisted the urge to give him the finger again, and instead resorted to a dirty look. She was glad to know though that at least he didn’t think she was behind this in any way.
Foaly shook his head. “I don’t have an explanation for why he did it, but he did it and we need that piece of tech back before it falls into the wrong hands. Specifically, First Earth’s.”
“Noted,” Root stood. “Trouble, you and Grub will find this Frongleaf and bring him in for questioning.”
“Aye sir,” the brothers stood and left the room. As they did, a pit formed in Holly’s stomach. She knew what was coming next: desk duty.
“Short.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’re going to sort through some paperwork that’s been piling up on your desk.”
“Aye sir,” she said, standing and walking out the room.
Today wasn’t going to be her day at all.
Chapter Six
Artemis examined the microchip in his palm. “It’s fascinating how something so small could have such an impact.”
Butler looked at the chip and then at Artemis. “What does it do?”
“This microchip contains a program that could turn the tides of the war: it can counteract the anti-magic field our mecha use to fight against the other worlds.”
Butler frowned. He wasn’t a fan of the war nor the politics surrounding it, but it wasn’t his place to speak his opinions. Artemis looked up from the chip in his palm to the man’s face. “I can tell that you disapprove of this decision, but it is necessary.”
“What do you plan on doing now that you have it?”
“Sell it of course,” he closed his hand over the chip and turned in his chair to the many screens that sat on his desk. Butler nodded his head and turned to leave the room.
“I will make you something to eat.”
There was no response as Artemis was already to his work.
Butler reached the kitchen and couldn’t help but let out another sigh. As he did, his shoulders dropped several centimeters. Today alone made the man age several years. Why couldn’t the boy act his age? Why did this world make young children so cruel?
These thoughts, as well as others, ran through his head as he prepared a small meal for Artemis. They felt heavy. He understood why Artemis felt the need steal the microchip and sell it: his father had been missing for over two years now and the boy had a lot on his shoulders. A lot more than he was willing to admit.
Butler often wondered what Artemis would have been like if he had been allowed to pursue what he wanted. If his life hadn’t been pre-determined by those who came before him. If he had lived in a different time or place, a place where a boy with his talents and mind would be properly handled. These thoughts made Butler melancholic, and he knew that he shouldn’t dwell on them. He wasn’t supposed to be this attached to the boy, but here he was: making him a sandwich and wishing that his life could have been different.
A bird in a gilded cage.
Chapter Seven
“Stupid fucking paperwork. Stupid fucking assignment. Stupid fucking Trouble and his stupid fucking smug face.” Holly muttered bitterly as she flipped through several pages from her desk. It was all a load of bullshit. Perfection or not, it was uncalled for on Root’s part to make her stay behind. If anything, it was just showing the others that their commander didn’t think that Holly was fit for important jobs.
Holly put the papers down and looked around the room. She noticed that several people quickly looked away when she scanned the room and Holly couldn’t help but roll her eyes. This was just outrageous, and she wasn’t going to put up with it much longer. She opened her phone and sent a message to Foaly.
From: Holly
To: Smarty Pants
Send me the security video.
From: Foaly
To: Holly
Hey. Why? Aren’t you in trouble?
From: Holly
To: Smarty Pants
don’t do this to me Foaly. I’m dying here. Pls give something to do.
There was a moment were the screen said ‘read’ and Holly huffed, but then her phone buzzed again.
From: Foaly
To: Holly
Sent. You didn’t get it from me though. And you owe me. Big time.
Holly grinned at her screen and then checked her computer. Sure enough, the file was there waiting for her.
From: Holly
To: Smarty Pants
Thnx Foaly. You’re a lifesaver.
She didn’t even bother to read a response, if there was one, she was too busy watching the video.
Holly’s eyes felt like they were about to fall out of her head. She had watched the video on repeat for who knows how long and had gotten next to nowhere with it. Plus, she was starting to develop a headache from how she was sitting.
“Either you’re very focused on some paperwork, or you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing.” A voice right beside her called Holly back to reality. She jumped a little in her seat and whipped her head over to see Chix casually seating himself on the edge of her desk.
“What do you want,” Holly snapped. “I’m working. Something you should also be doing.”
He flashed her a smile. “Come on now, Holly,” his voice dripped with poisonous honey, “You know that with a pretty face like yours, you don’t have to work.”
Holly scowled at him and turned back to the video. “If you keep saying shit like that to me, you won’t be able to work with my boot up your ass.”
What was that? Holly replayed a section of the video and focused her attention to the bottom left of the screen.
“Isn’t that the footage Foaly showed us this morning? You’re supposed to be…”
“Can it, Chix.” Holly shut the computer off and stood.
“You’re in deep shit if he…”
Holly got in Chix face, grabbing the smaller man by the collar, and dropped her voice an octave. “I fucking said to can it, Chix. Now be a good little bootlicker and scamper off to your desk before I put you there myself.” She released him and headed to Foaly’s office without another incident.
“I found something.”
It was Foaly’s turn to jump. “Savarin’s sake. Can you at least knock?”
“No time to talk. I found something. Pull up the tape.”
“You know you can’t order me around Holly. I’m not afraid…”
Holly glared at him. “Do you want your piece of tech back or not? I fucking said I found something. Now pull up the video or we’ll both lose our jobs.”
Foaly pouted but pulled up the video on the screen. “No need to be mean.”
“Sorry. It’s just that this is very important. I promise I’ll make it up to you. Skip to 14:33. Aaaaaand…. There! Did you see?!”
“No…. What was I looking for?”
“Go back and watch the bottom left corner.”
Foaly rewound the footage and watched the area that Holly had pointed out to him. When the section played over, his face fell, and the hat nearly did too.
“How did… how did I miss that?!”
“You were stress out and we were all shocked that this happened.”
“I’m so fucked. I missed such a simple thing!” He readjusted the hat and looked at the screen in disbelief.
Holly looked over at the man and tried to give him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, but she was sure that it wasn’t helping. “Do you want to tell Root? Or shall I?”
“You’re already in trouble, so….”
“It’s settled. I’ll go tell him.” Holly playfully marched over to the door, Foaly looking at her, confused.
“I was going to say that I was going to tell him since you were already in trouble for being ‘late’. That way you wouldn’t get into deeper shit with him for not doing what you were supposed to.”
“Chix is probably going to tell him, if he hasn’t already, that I was watching the video instead of doing paperwork. So, my ass is already grass. Figure out where the footage originated from,” she finger-gunned at Foaly and closed the door.
Holly prayed to Savarin that a looping video would save her career instead of ending it.
Chapter Eight
Holly didn’t think that Root’s complexion could get any redder. She was wrong. Very wrong. It surpassed its usual color and went straight to purple instead. He sputtered and couldn’t speak actual words. Turns out that Chix didn’t open his big mouth for once and Holly was fucked. Royally.
She rocked back on her heels, hands behind her back, ready to book it if she needed to. “I’ll, uhh, go ahead and see myself out then,” she said finally, “I’ll turn in my badge gun too while I’m at it.” She tried to laugh it off, but the words stung, and she fought off the tears welling up in her eyes.
“You will do no such thing.” Root finally managed to speak. While his hue was also returning to somewhat normal, Holly knew that she wasn’t in the clear yet. She had disobeyed an order. Kinda.
Root balled up a fist and rested the knuckles on his forehead, his eyes closed. He sat there for a few moments, regaining his composure before he opened his eyes and looked at Holly.
“Did you tell Foaly?”
“Yessir. Are you not going to…”
“You will only speak when I ask you a question, Short. I don’t care how you got the footage. The less I know the better.” He took a deep breath in. “Am I to assume that he is currently figuring out why the timestamp is looping?”
“Yessir.”
“Good. At least someone here can follow orders.”
Holly grimaced at the comment but bit her tongue and said nothing. She knew that she had to play this out right or she could lose everything she had worked for.
Root stood up, fixed his tie, and headed towards the door. “Let’s see if smarty has made any progress. Follow me, Short.”
Holly turned on her heels and followed silently behind her commander back to Foaly’s office. She saw Chix. His gaze followed them as they walked by. The look read: you’ve dug your own grave, but suddenly, Holly didn’t quite feel like that was the case.
“What do you have so far?” Root burst into the room, causing Foaly to jump a second time, throwing up his hands.
“Do any of your mother’s teach you that it was rude to just walk into someone’s space unannounced?”
Root gave him a look. A ‘go ahead and keep talking, I’m ready to pop off on someone’, kind of look. Holly shook her head, still behind the commander, but Foaly was smart and got the hint without having to look at the officer.
“I was able to track where the original footage came from and…. well….. you’re not going to like it.”
“And why wouldn’t I like it?”
“I feel like that is a rhetorical question that you don’t actually want answered.”
“Yes. It’s a fucking rhetorical question. I don’t like anything. Just tell me where the fuck it came from.”
Foaly grimaced, sucking in air from between his teeth. “It came from First Earth.”