33Hello all!
Yes, I'm back! Yippee! My troubles have been sorted, and I have a nice update to keep everyone happy :) I know i'm happy now. ;)
I hope y'all missed me...ha ha. I missed you all, don't worry. :D
Enjoy this short update...you should be getting them a little faster now. Then again, you are talking to me...
If Root hadn't been impressed before, he was even less impressed when Holly dragged in two unsavoury women, one unconscious, and a police officer with his metaphorical tail between his legs.
"What happened?" he asked. "I've had everyone out looking for this kid. How did you find him?"
Holly gestured to Lili. "Sir, meet Lili Frond. She is the one who helped me find him and did the nice work on the civilian here." She gestured to Sylvia here. "She held Tyler at gunpoint with this officer's gun"
Root groaned. "Jesus Christ. I turn my back for two seconds and the world comes to an end. Okay, I'll call back the others. Holly, take Tyler and the others to the Ops Booth, and then come to my office. I want to talk to you before the wipe."
Holly's face fell. For a minute, she had forgotten about the wipes. Behind her, she heard Lili clap.
"Wow!" she exclaimed. "That was so professional sir…" she fluttered her eyelids as she said this, a sure sign of her profession. Root wasn't the slightest bit interested, but he nodded at her anyway.
"Thank you for your help." He said sincerely. "You would make a good officer."
Lili gasped and put a hand over her mouth. "Really? You think so?"
"Can we go now?" Holly pleaded. She didn't want to spend one more second watching this flirting game, especially seeing as Lili would probably end up taking over her job after the wipe if it continued. That would be interesting if she broke a nail on the field, but if she had a choice between entertainment and a job that paid the bills Holly knew which one she'd choose.
Root noticed her desperation to get moving, and he nodded to Chix.
"Know where the Ops Booth is?" He asked gruffly. Chix nodded, knowing full well that he should listen to Root if he valued his badge. His commander was already wrinkling his nose at the pungent smell of alcohol and wondering why he hired this idiot in the first place.
"Good." He grumbled "Get going."
Chix hoisted Sylvia back into his arms and grunted as he lugged her though the corridor, the remaining night shift personnel staring at him oddly. None of these people would remember him later. Root and Holly headed in the opposite direction, towards his office and what Holly imagined to be her doom. They reached the office door, and Root opened it and ploughed in without a word to his fellow officer. Holly thought it was a bit rude, but she didn't say anything as she took a chair and Root shut the door behind her and sat at his own desk.
"Holly." He began. "Do you realise just how much trouble you are in?"
Thanks.
"Yes Commander." Holly replied, face turning red.
"Do you realise exactly what you could have done tonight?"
"Yes Commander."
"The whole station is in turmoil."
Holly gritted her teeth. "Yes Commander."
Root glared at her. "Don't just yes me Short." He warned.
"What else am I supposed to do?" Holly asked indignantly. "So far tonight, everyone has told me I screwed up." He voice rose slightly. "I know I screwed up okay? It doesn't mean you all have to shove it in my face! Everybody makes mistakes okay?"
"Not everybody makes mistakes that endanger the life of every fairy in Haven." Root pointed out. Holly's already cracked composure melted and her anger burst forward.
"I just wanted him to live!" she shouted angrily. "Is that so bad? He's a little boy! His mother died, I felt sorry for him. At least someone cared for him! He just wanted his Dad to love him…" she paused, to take a breath and before she could begin again Root coughed.
"Holly, calm down."
"It's because I'm a girl isn't it?" Holly remarked. "You know I'm a great officer. You can't just wipe me and leave me out there with nothing. If you gave me a chance…"
Root put his head in his hands. "Holly, you're still on the squad."
Holly's anger was held back long enough for her to pause and stare at Root blankly.
"What?" she asked.
"You are still on the squad." Root repeated. "I'm not going to fire you."
Holly's eyes brightened. "Does that mean you aren't going to wipe me either?"
Root shook his head. "No Holly. You are still getting mind wiped. I tried, but the Council aren't changing their minds."
Holly sighed. She knew now that that had been the final word on the matter…she was not going to get out of this. And now that she knew it was happening, the full force of it hit her like a bus.
She was going to forget. Everything.
Root caught the look she gave him and sighed. "Holly, I know you don't want to get mind wiped…"
"Would you?" Holly asked sulkily, eyes clouding up.
"But you know it has to be done. You might lay low for a while, but then decide you might 'accidentally' go past his house and bam! He remembers everything"
"But I wouldn't do that!" Holly protested.
"Yes you would. I'd do it too. And that's why I'm going to supervise the wipe myself."
"Why!" Holly screamed. "Why are you making me do this?"
The office was silent. Root stood there unmoving for a moment, and then he took a deep breath.
"I don't want to see you suffer Holly." Root said, a genuine concern for her surfacing under the words. "Do you really think you could go to work everyday without remembering what it was like? Do you think you could live without him, knowing that he is out there without a clue about who you are and what you did for him?"
Holly was taken off guard by this sudden speech. She sort of stood there awkwardly, and then Root spoke again.
"Holly, this is for the best." He insisted. "Tyler and his father will be better off."
"He's just a kid." Holly murmured. "He hasn't got anyone to take care of him except me."
Root shook his head. "Yes he does Holly. He has a father…"
"Who beats him up all the time!" Holly interrupted, a stray tear falling from her eye. Root noticed this, and he came over to her and put his big, burly arms around her, just like her father used to when she was a little kid. A very rare thing for Root to do. Holly hesitated for a moment and then returned the hug, letting tears fall from her eyes and onto his shoulder.
"I don't want to lose him." Holly whispered. "I don't want to forget."
"There, there." Root mumbled back. "It's all for the best. Better to live a happy life without a memory than a miserable life with one."
Holly had to tell herself that she believed that.
Half an hour later and Holly was in the Ops Booth, waiting for Foaly to give the all clear. She was seated in an uncomfortable chair with a big dish-like thing strapped to her head.
"Foaly." She mumbled. "If I forget to tell you this afterwards, could you please rebuild this thing? It looks like something out of a Mud man movie."
Normally Foaly would have told her off for that, but instead he gave her a small nod and then attended to the machine in question. Tyler was sitting next to her, and his face was rather pale.
"What's going on?" he asked Holly. "Why are we here?"
Holly had to bite back tears once again as she looked into his wide-eyed, petrified little face. She took a deep breath.
"Remember when I told you not to tell anyone about me because it was a secret?" she asked. Tyler nodded. "Well, us fairies are not meant to see humans. So when you do, they make you forget about it."
Tyler frowned. "Like aliens?"
Holly laughed. "No, not like aliens. We're nicer than aliens. But it means you might forget a few things…"
"I forgotted what I had for breakfast." Tyler commented. "Is that it?"
Holly could feel her throat closing up, and she forced herself to go on.
"You'll forget a bit more than that Tyler." She said, voice choking. "You'll forget about what happened to you and your father, you'll forget about coming down here…you'll forget about me."
Tyler laughed. "No I won't. I couldn't forget-"
Tyler paused as he watched Holly's serious face scrunch up as tear worked their way to the surface of her eyes. He gulped.
"Are you telling the truth?" he asked quietly. Holly opened her mouth to speak, and then shut it and nodded. Tyler was silent for a moment, and then a small tear fell down his face.
"I'm going to forget you?" he whimpered. "But I don't wanna forget you Holly. I don't wanna go back to daddy…I could live with you! Then we could be a family…"
"Tyler, I-"
"I don't wanna forget!" Tyler screamed, making Foaly flinch.
"Could you two please be quiet?" he asked, ignoring the daggers Holly was glaring at him. "Carry on like that and I might give you brain damage."
Tyler quickly obliged and sank into his chair, silently sobbing. There was a sharp knock on the door.
"Foaly!" came Root's barking voice. "Hurry up! We are on a tight schedule here…it's almost daylight."
Foaly took a deep breath, then continued attending to the machine.
"If you want to say goodbye…now's the time." He said, not daring to look his friend in the eye. Holly turned to Tyler, preparing her goodbyes, but for once she was at a loss for words.
"Tyler…" she began, and then faltered. Tyler turned to her, a determined look on his face.
"I won't forget you Holly." He said. "Never. Ever. Ever."
"Me neither." Holly replied, smiling. But deep down she knew that was bullshit. Tomorrow she'd wake up, make coffee, get ready for work and go on with her life as if nothing had ever happened. She wouldn't have a clue who Tyler Richardson was, and he would have no clue she existed.
It's for the best. She assured herself. It's for the best, it's for the best…
There was a slight bleeping from the corner, and Foaly clapped his hands.
"We're ready." he said half heartedly. "I suppose we'd better get this over and done with…"
He hesitated, then reached for a small needle beside him. He walked over to Holly first, and cringed.
"I'm so sorry." he said. "I'm sorry for everything."
Holly shook her head. "It's okay. It's for the best." Foaly nodded, but he didn't look convinced.
"Count to ten." He said, raising the needle. Holly turned to Tyler.
"Tyler." She began. "I just want you to know I lo-"
Before she had time to finish, she felt something pierce her arm. Everything went dark as the sedative worked itself around her body. The last thing she heard was Tyler's scream before she was thrust into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Holly Short woke up, made coffee and got ready for work as if nothing had ever happened.