Rediscovery

Much as we may wish to make a new beginning,
some part of us resists doing so as though we were making the first step toward disaster.
- William Throsby Bridges

The war had been long and bloody. Worse than the World Wars, worse than the Civil War. But the reason it was different was not because it was more violent, no. It was because this was the second war that pitted the human race and the People against each other, and unlike last time, the Fairies were winning.

The humans were mighty in numbers, but were years behind in technology. They didn't have a chance against the superior guns and GPS systems, plus countless weapons that they hadn't even dreamed of. Number against deadliness; a rather fair match. At least the Fairy People thought so. The humans would have a different song to sing entirely.

This was the perfect chance for revenge for the Fairy People. Thousands of years ago, they were forced from their ancestral home by a species that had just crawled from the caves, made from dust, therefore called Mud Men by the bitter Fairies. The People hid underground to escape the wrath of the Mud Men, building their civilization beneath the earth. This war was fought over the surface, and neither side was willing to let up. Even to the death.

It all started with a word. It was spoken to a young pixie, who took it to heart. The pixie was little Opal, Opal Koboi, and the word was 'beautiful'. The small pixie soon became obsessed with this word, this idea. She wanted to be beautiful, she wanted the world she lived in to be beautiful. But as she grew older, she began to notice that the world was not beautiful. The world was dark and sad, filled with sorrow and indecision. It took a while, but she eventually narrowed down the cause. It was the government. Surely, as the makers of law and order, they could put a stop to the pain. Opal knew that she could do better.

The young Opal wanted to help. Maybe she could make better weapons, ones that would stop crime forever. Maybe she could upgrade the equipment, allowing the Council to keep the world in order. But as the years went by, she began to realize something. The government didn't want to be better. It was happy the way it was; corrupt and powerful. It liked the money that was pouring in. And Opal knew with conviction, that this was not beautiful. And she knew she could make the world beautiful, if only she was powerful enough.

That idea started her quest for the brightest magic in the world. Opal soon forgot the original meaning of her plight, all that mattered was the wonderful feeling that the power gave her. This, this was beautiful. All she had to do was swat the inconsequential gnats in her way.

Oh, she had so many plans! Plans that would benefit not only her, but the world! And they would work unless she was empress of the world. That had a nice ring to it, didn't it? Opal Koboi, Empress of the Universe. Yes, that was a title worth keeping. But how to get there? That was the question, the real one that poised a challenge. Then Opal was hit with the perfect plan. She would initiate a war, a war that would tear apart the world and under it. Both sides would be so weakened by the end of it, they would be begging for the right dictator to make the world beautiful again. And Opal Koboi promised to be that person.

The People were more than enthusiastic to start the battle to regain their homeland; all it took to get them angry was a few fake probes and attack. It was all too easy. The humans responded to this new and hostile race very well, almost wiping them out on the first try. But the Fairies had more tricks up their sleeves than the humans realized. It didn't take long for them to be exposed to all of them.

So, as said, the People were poised to win the war. The human forces were weak and desperate; and the public was shattered into small refugee camps. There was no escaping the vengeance of the Fairies, and these camps were slowly being eliminated. If the war carried on like this, the human race could be driven to extinction. That's where this story takes off: in the headquarters of the LEPrecon, a branch of the Fairy Police, with an elf, the very first female recon captain in the history of the LEP. This elf should've been excited that her species was regaining what had been stolen from them, but she wasn't. This might've been because her best friend was a human.

LEPrecon Ops Booth

Holly was having a very, very bad day. Even by her standards. Bad traffic on her way to work, a mountain of paperwork waiting to get done and refusing to complete itself, Foaly the stupid, annoying centaur, was teasing her to no end, and she was having a bad hair day. Plus the war was putting her nerves on end. As a police officer, she wasn't expected to fight, but if troops got low, she would be the first to be drafted. And the threat of the military was enough to turn anyone's day sour. The last thing she needed was this.

She had been called to Foaly's Ops booth, and was listening to him ramble on, obviously trying to skirt the subject; the subject that she hadn't been told about, and she was waiting to find out. The problem with that was, as she was in a bad mood, her patience was out.

"Why the heck am I here, Foaly?" she cut him off mid-sentence. This shut him up, and he fell into a very uncharacteristic gloom. "Well?" she prompted.

The centaur heaved a weary sigh. "It's Artemis."

Holly's blood immediately ran cold. "Arty? What's wrong? Is he in trouble?"

"Not in trouble, per say."

The elf captain was having none of that. "Tell me what's up centaur, or I'll gut you like a fish." Not her best threat, but she was stressed, okay?

Foaly looked her dead in the eye, a grim expression painting his long face. He spoke like a textbook come to life, or like a commander delivering the facts without emotion. "Due to the war, the council saw fit to remove all human assistance from the LEPrecon. This includes the Fowls and their employees. Artemis Fowl II was mindwiped early today."

There was silence. Then the storm erupted. "WHAT? They couldn't've. You're lying, centaur! They would know that Artemis would out-think them again!"

The centaur just sat there, taking Holly's rage with a bowed head. "They covered all the bases. They took more than just his memories of the People this time. They took all of his memories. There's no chance that he prepared something, as it was completely unexpected and the fact that he now has no idea who he is. Artemis Fowl is gone. They relocated him. It was all done in top secret; even I didn't know what was happening until they told me. I don't know where they put him."

Holly's fire was burnt out. "Why?" she asked, tremors shaking her voice. She sounded lost.

"Because he's a human." Foaly spat bitterly. "And the earth must be purged and saved from the human, to quote the council."

A deep breath racked Holly's frame. "What about Butler? What did they do to him?"

"They never got near him," Foaly cracked a strained smile at this. "He and Juliet are on the run now. The Recon can't seem to find them."

A tentative smile tugged at the edges of the elf's lips. At least the Butlers were safe. Then a puzzle piece fell into place in her mind; the beginnings of a plan. It would shatter her career to shards, but for Arty, it was worth it. Holly Short did not give up on a friend.

"Listen centaur," her voice was sharp and brisk with authority. "I'm going to find Butler."

"Why would you want him turned in? He would just get the same fate as Artemis."

Holly rolled her eyes. "I'm not finding him to turn him in. I'm finding him so we can get started looking for Arty."

This brought a genuine smile from Foaly. "I love ya, Holly. Really. But think, it could take years to locate Artemis, and by then you will have been caught. You know that you can't run forever."

Holly brushed the logic away with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Whatever. With Butler, it'll take no time at all."

But all the technical genius did was smirk. "You can't do this with only Butler and Juliet. You'll need someone with all the information."

The captain didn't miss the implications laid by that sentence. "Really, Foaly? You would risk your job like that?"

Foaly smiled like he was a small child again. "I was getting tired of this place anyway. Horrible pay raises. But, I think that I'll stick with it a little while longer, at least until this whole thing is over and done with, so, you know, we can still have access to all the equipment. We might need it."

Holly hugged the centaur tightly. "Thanks Foaly. I swear I'll never make fun of your tinfoil hat again."

"Really Holly? Do you honestly think I'll believe that?"

"Nah, but it was worth a shot."