A/N: Once again, I'm really sorry about the delay, but I suppose you'd rather just read the new chapter instead of listening to me grovel.

Holly Short dropped low to the ground, pointing her gun at the goblin before remembering it was just plastic. The dangerous creature was acting very strange; it didn't turn around even though Holly had slammed into it full force, and she could see that it stood in a puddle of slime. Was that drool?

The captain inched slowly behind a wall, creeping up to a little window so she could get a better view. The goblin was indeed drooling and it's scaly arms twitched every so often. It was also abnormally pale. Most goblins were a deep green or red, but this one was more of a sickly mustard color.

"Oh Frond…"

This was a bad situation, that she knew for certain. That goblin was getting ready to shed its skin. For lizards and other creatures, it would be a perfectly boring event. But it was different for goblins.

When a goblin was getting ready to shed, it would secrete a dark flammable substance into its saliva (not unlike gasoline). Then, the lizard would coat itself in the aforementioned saliva. The next time it tried to make a fireball, the goblin would combust and be enveloped in its own fiery inferno for several minutes until all its old skin had been baked into a crisp. From there all it would take was some vigorous scratching.

The goblin wouldn't be hurt, but anything around it would burn to a crisp. Holly remembered one time when a goblin had shed its skin while sitting on the hood of a car. By the time they arrived, the goblin was wiping car goo off its feet and tail.

As Holly looked closer, she could tell that the goblin was an adolescent. Probably getting ready for its first shedding. She suspected that it had gotten confused (as shedding takes a bigger mental toll on the young'uns), wandered about, and somehow ended up in a laser tag arena.

But it still didn't explain the softnose laser. That was a felony. She had every right to arrest this goblin, and she intended to do so before the creature exploded and potentially hurt innocent children.

She was just about to run out and holler at the criminal when a little boy ran out of the shadows. It was the one that had been singing the T.V. show theme song. He dashed in front of the goblin, but not before stepping right into the puddle of slime. The boy slowed down only for a moment to give his shoe a disgusted glance, and then disappeared.

Holly sucked in a breath.

The goblin twitched violently. Slowly, it turned its head and sniffed deeply into the foggy air. Strings of saliva dripped from its lips and in the darkness, it looked dark enough to be blood. A slimy tongue flicked out, spraying the ground in front of it with goo, and swiped across its powerful jaws.

Please no, Holly pleaded.

The monster moved one foot. Then the other. In a flash, it was after the defenseless kid.

Holly stood frozen. She turned around back to where she'd run from Artemis.

"Artemis!" she called, retracing her steps, "I-I'm not kidding this time!"

Holly didn't think Artemis would have moved very far. She was right. The boy genius was just standing around looking a bit lost. He had pressed his handkerchief over his mouth to avoid breathing in the fog.

"Artemis!"

His head whipped around and he flinched, probably thinking that Holly was bout to hit him again.

If that was the case, Mud Boy, she thought, You would never have seen it coming.

She dropped her voice to a whisper, "There is a goblin loose in the arena, it's about to start shedding, and it's an adolescent."

Artemis' eyes widened a fraction. He knew quite well the consequences of a shedding teenage goblin, having done extensive research on such occurrences.

"It's following a small boy," she grabbed his wrist urgently and tried unsuccessfully to keep the emotion out of her voice, "It's following a boy. We need one of your famous plans, Artemis. Please."

Artemis' fingers touched the small of Holly's back as if he was about to comfort the elf, but he withdrew them quickly. The sensation lingered on Holly's spine.

"I don't have any of my equipment. I'm off duty." The captain's voice was hoarse.

Artemis cast his eyes downward and appeared to be deep in thought. His first instinct was to find Myles and Beckett, but that could cost them precious time. He would have to trust in the boys' judgment (They had surely stuck together, right?) to avoid the goblin.

At the very least, they needed to find the goblin.

"Get on my back."

"What?" Holly looked up from her nervous pacing.

"Get on my back. Tell me where the brute went, and we'll look for them. If you get higher up, you will be able to look over the short walls."

Holly didn't hesitate.

"Piggyback ride!" she shouted with just a touch of grim determination.

The nimble elf clambered onto Artemis' back with no difficulty. Artemis, however, was not prepared for Holly to veritably launch herself at him.

"Ow!" He staggered under her weight, "What do you eat, bricks? Exactly how much to you weigh?"

Holly pinched his ear.

Gingerly, Artemis slid his arms underneath the captain's legs. He couldn't help but notice how warm she was. And how tightly she pressed herself against him.

"Giddyap, Arty boy, he went that way."

Holly dug her heels into Artemis' sides like he was a horse.

And with that, the odd pair strode off into the darkness.

I know I don't deserve it, but I'd really appreciate some suggestions for Artemis' master plan. I'm not entirely sure where this is going.

Be sure to review, even if it's only to yell at me for abandoning this story for so long!