Prologue-

Artemis found himself in a room with four steel walls. Two black figures were with him, watching him. He looked down and saw a dagger in his hand. The tip was sharp and glittered in the light.

"Go on mud-boy. Do it." One voice urged him on, cold as ice; hard as steel. It seemed to come from one of the silhouettes but Artemis couldn't see either mouth move.

"Artemis! You wouldn't! You couldn't! This isn't who you are, please!" Another voice cried out, pleading, begging, almost on the verge of tears.

"You can't hold me back any more! You can't make me who you want me to be!" A third voice that Artemis recognised as his own. It came from his mouth! He had said it!

There was a series of noises and then a final scream of,

"No Artemis! No!..."

The dream faded with the last appalling scream from the second voice. Artemis' piercing blue eyes shot open and he sat bolt up right in his bed. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead as he sat panting like a dog.

The door flew open and Butler charged in, gun blazing. He scanned the room for a second only to see Artemis alone and obviously terrified of something. He kept his gun raised and asked,

"Artemis, are you okay?"

In reply, Artemis fell back onto his pillow again, unconscious.

Chapter 1-

Later on, Artemis woke with a throbbing head ache. His breathing came in laboured gasps and he couldn't breath at all through his blocked nose. He opened his eyes and saw his mother looking down at him with a concerned expression.

"Oh Arty! Are you alright?" Artemis obviously sat up too quickly as he had stars floating in his vision for several seconds after. He tried to speak, but to his dismay only a startled squawk came out.

"Here, have a sip of water." Angeline smiled. She took a glass from the side and raised it to his lips. Gladly, Artemis gulped it down and the sunk back into bed. He cleared his dry throat and said,

"What happened?" Angeline chuckled.

"We should be asking you that! Butler heard a yell and came right over, only for you to then pass out in front of him! Are you okay? Do you feel alright?"

Artemis remembered the dream. A look of obvious discomfort flashed across his paler than usual features. He shivered and pulled the covers up to his chin.

"Looks like I've got a cold." he sniffed. Butler was leaning against the wall at the other side of the room. He raised his eye brows meaningfully.

"Um... Mother-"

"Mum!" Angeline corrected.

"Yes, mum, could you fetch me some paracetamol? I have a terrible head ache."

"Oh yes! I'll be back in a minute! Anything else?" She paused, already at the door. Artemis smiled feebly.

"If it's no trouble, a wet cloth and some crystals."

"Crystals?" Angeline looked puzzled.

"They unblock your nose."

"Oh yes! Of course!" And she was gone.

No sooner than the door closed did Butler advance on Artemis, eyes wide.

"Your eyes, Artemis!" He spoke urgently.

"What about my eyes?" Artemis self-consciously put his hands to them.

"They're blue!" It took a second for Artemis to realise what this meant.

"Both?" He asked, shocked.

"Yes, both!"

Artemis tried to rush over to his desk for a mirror, but he got as far as one foot out of bed before he collapsed onto the floor in a heap. Butler heaved him back into bed and brought the mirror to Artemis.

When the stars had cleared, Artemis saw that both of his eyes had returned to their natural blue colour. He frowned.

"Do you think Holly's are both hazel now?" Butler asked.

"I don't know. Bring me my communicator." Butler did so urgently, handing it to the boy.

It rang in the fairy 3 buzzes for several seconds. Finally, Holly picked up.

"Hey mud-boy." Holly's cheery voice sounded through the fairy device. "What's up?"

"How are your-" Artemis stopped because his voice had come out in a high-pitched squawk. On the other end, Holly burst into fits of laughter.

"Puberty hits hard, right?" She managed to splutter.

"I- I have a cold!" Artemis tried to explain, but it was no use. His words were incomprehensible.

Sighing, Artemis handed the communicator to Butler. It seemed to shrink as it was transferred to Butler's massive palm.

"Holly. This is urgent." Holly stopped laughing. It was an effort.

"What's happened?"

"What colour are your eyes?"

"What? Do you think I have lost my mind or something?"

"No. Just check now. Please." There was a pause on the other line and a couple of draws opening. Then there was a gasp.

"Urgent. Okay. I see." Holly's voice came out strange as she tried to stay calm. "Uh, Butler... I'm really hoping Artemis has a logical explanation of how our eyes managed to switch back in our sleep. He usually does, right?"

"Nope. He's uh..." Butler glanced at Artemis who seemed to have fallen asleep again. "Not at his best today."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He's ill."

"Never stopped me." Holly protested.

"He can't even stand up! It's really bad, Holly. I'm worried about him." Butler was cut off as Angeline Fowl stumbled in.

She stopped bluntly at the door as she saw Artemis was asleep. An emotion that could only belong to a mother crossed her face and she watched her sleeping boy for a while. Then she seemed to notice Butler. Smiling at him, she tiptoed over to Artemis' bedside desk and put down the cloth, crystals and paracetamol. Then she took a small card from her pocket and placed it next to them.

On the front was a squiggly mess of colour that slightly resembled Artemis standing under a sun with clouds flying overhead. Inside the handwriting was even less distinguishable. Only the last few words made any sense.

Get wel soon bruther!

Lots of luve,

Beckett Fowl

Angeline then took another item out of her pocket. It was a small vial of greenish liquid with a label written in a lot neater text. The spelling wasn't perfect though.

Get beter drinc.

For Artumis only.

Love Myles Fowl

She backed away slowly, carefully, trying not to make a sound. Then she looked over to Butler who was hiding the communicator in his spade-like palm.

"Make sure he doesn't drink that potion. I have no idea what Myles has put in it." Then she closed the door silently.

"Holly?" Butler put the communicator back to his ear.

"Uh huh?"

"Sorry, Angeline came in."

"Oh, right. So, what's wrong with our little genius?"

"Last night he screamed. I came in and he just collapsed back onto his bed. This morning he woke with blue eyes, a severe cold that came out of nowhere and he's lost his voice. Then, within seconds of me talking to you he's fast asleep! Holly you've got to get over here. Something isn't right."

"I'll do my best. In the meantime, keep smiling big man." And with that, she closed the connection.

Butler watched his young charge for a while. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but then sweat collected on his forehead and he started to toss and frown. Then, yet again, he screamed himself awake, sitting bolt upright, eyes wide.

Butler rushed to his side, holding his back up so he didn't collapse back down again. Artemis gagged and reached for the water at his bedside. Clumsily, he downed a couple of mouthfuls and then put the glass down. He gasped for breath, his lungs screaming for air.

Tears streamed from his eyes and his cheeks glowed red. He coughed a couple of times then fell back against Butler's hand, out cold. Butler lay him down and turned in time to see Angeline flinging open the door.

"It happened again." Butler shook his head, sadly. Angeline's hands flew to her mouth and she fell beside Artemis' bed.

"My poor Arty!" She mumbled. "Should we call a doctor?"

Butler usually would ask Holly to help him, but really it wasn't the People's problem so a visa to the surface would be next to impossible to get. He realised that even though Holly was their friend, she couldn't do anything to help. Last time magic was used to cure a human, it didn't end well.

"Yes. I think we should." He agreed.

Just then, Artemis Fowl the first came in looking worried.

"How is he?"
"We think he needs a doctor." Angeline answered, walking to his side. Artemis the elders brow creased.

"It's that bad?"

He stepped toward his son, putting a hand on Artemis' forehead. Immediately, he snapped it away.

"I'll call him now." He said, placing the damp cloth on the boy's head in a vain attempt to cool it down. His mobile was out of his pocket before he was out of the door.

Angeline reluctantly followed, taking once last glance at her son.

"Take care of him. Please."

"When have I let you down?" Butler smiled back, reassuringly. Angeline nodded and left. Seconds later, Artemis opened his eyes.

"Butler?" Butler's head snapped round to look at his young charge. "I had this dream..."

"What dream?" Butler offered him some water but he shook his head.

"It's terrifying." Artemis continued. " There are two people and I'm holding a knife. One person is telling me to do it, the other is begging me not to."

"To do what?"

"I don't know."

"What happens next?"

"I shout that I don't want to be the person they want me to any more. Then whatever it is they do or do not want me to do, I do it. Then I wake up." Butler thought for a minute.

"If I were a psychologist, I would say that you're two personalities are conflicting. One side of you wants to do bad things, the other wants to stay good. And the end of the dream would represent your fear of doing the wrong thing." Artemis paused, thinking it over.

"That sounds logical." He admitted. He sighed and lay back on his bed. "I feel awful, Butler. This cold is getting worse!"

"I think it's worse than a cold. We've called the family doctor. He should be over soon."

Artemis smiled weakly. The Fowl family had had 5 family doctors in the past 4 years. Artemis had the other four fired simply because he was smarter than them. In his opinion, a doctor shouldn't tell you what you already know. And he's usually right.

The doctor they had now was admittedly very good. Not as genius as Artemis but he knew his stuff. He also listened to Artemis when Artemis corrected him. Most people found this very annoying.

Artemis faintly heard the doorbell ring and several people's voices float up the stairs. He was slipping between consciousness when the doctor entered, followed by Angeline and Artemis I.

Immediately, he rushed to Artemis and got out some equipment. The last thing Artemis saw was a thermometer before sleep overcame him.

Artemis was back in the room with the steel doors. The two black figures were with him, watching him again. He looked down and saw the dagger in his hand. The edge of the blade looked even sharper than last time.

"Go on mud-boy. Do it." The cold voice said, and this time Artemis saw it come from the figure on the right.

"Artemis! You wouldn't! You couldn't! This isn't who you are, please!" This came from the figure on the left who stepped towards him in an effort to stop him.

"You can't hold me back any more! You can't make me who you want me to be!" Artemis yelled. He didn't want to, it just came out. Artemis rose the dagger high and thrust it into darkness.

"How could you? You evil mud-man! You're just like the rest."

The dream faded out to be replaced by Artemis' own scream. For the third time today, Artemis found himself damp with sweat, heaving and panting. He curled up into a ball, leaning against the headboard. He started to shake uncontrollably, his shoulders tense. His small frame was jolting with each sob that escaped his lips.

Feeling a sudden burst of heat flow over him, his lungs began to burn, the room swelled and became a haze. Stumbling for the window, Artemis flung it wide open, sticking his head out into the wind to cool his throbbing lungs.

His legs buckled beneath him and he slid down the clean, white wall, ending up hunched over on the carpet. For a while, he gasped for breath, feeling the cool air flood his body. Then, he got shakily to his feet and closed the window.

By now his breathing was steady, his legs managed to hold him upright. He could look around and walk without stars flooding his vision. Moving over to his desk, he selected a CD and inserted it into his CD player.

It buzzed into life, then went silent. Classical music seeped slowly out of the speakers and Artemis felt instantly calm. This piece was just a piano solo. The one instrument played by itself, somehow making all of the emotion the musician felt come out in a few keys and chords.

Artemis fell back on his bed and let the music overcome him. Seconds later, Butler came in.

"Artemis! You're awake!" Butler stopped, surprised. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible." Artemis said bluntly.

"Well, the doctors done a few tests. He's just going over the verdict now. He refuses to say anything until he is certain." Artemis gulped. It didn't look good for him. "Also, Holly managed to get a visa to the surface. Foaly issued her a pass to try out his new tech stuff so she's on her way now. Shouldn't take long. Apparently the new 'Lightning' wings are unbelievably fast."

Artemis frowned. "How long was I asleep?" he asked.

"About 2 hours." Butler admitted. Artemis gave him a look which Butler knew meant he had an idea, theory or explanation for something. Apprehension enveloped him. It could either be good, or bad. And if it was bad, it was going to be really bad.

"What, Artemis? What's wrong?" Artemis closed his eyes all of a sudden.

"I had a thought..." The boy's brow furrowed. "But I need to think it over first."

Suddenly his eyes screwed up in pain and his hands flew instinctively to his head, the heel of his hand digging into his temples. He tossed his head as if trying to shake out demons and then drew his hands into fists.

"Butler!" He gasped in agony. The big man was at a loss for words. He didn't know how he could help Artemis, for once in his life. He dithered uncharacteristically for several seconds and then yelled out,

"Doctor Smith! Angeline!"

Within seconds, the Doctor came crashing through the door along with Artemis Fowl senior. Angeline could be heard flying up the stairs too. Before she even reached Artemis' room, the Doctor had out some medical equipment and was fiddling with something metallic and new looking.

Angeline spotted her son on the bed, writhing and squirming, his face showing agony and fear. Her own eyes burst into tears and she rested her head on Artemis senior's shoulder. Artemis senior himself tried to be calm and rational, a hard thing to do with your whole family falling to bits.

The doctor injected Artemis' arm with something and he instantly fell still. His eyes once wide and scared, closed peacefully and he sunk back onto the bed. Angeline let go of a breath she hadn't realised she was holding.

The anaesthetic worked well, as soon Artemis was sleeping like nothing had happened. The doctor took out a thermometer and took his temperature. Shaking his head, he then took out a very complex piece of machinery.

Attaching two ends to Artemis' temples the Doctor explained that it measured the electricity coming from his brain to find out his state of mind. At the moment it was reasonably flat.

"A mind such as Artemis' will be working even when asleep." Doctor Smith pointed at the screen. "If it raises any higher than this point, Artemis is dreaming."

Doctor Smith took out another object and attached it to Artemis' arm. "This reads his pulse. If it raises any higher than here," he moved his finger to a point on the screen, "then he's having a nightmare of some kind." Doctor Smith moved his finger up a bit. "If it's higher than here, then he's awake."

Everyone nodded.

"Now, could you please leave me to my work for a while and I'll fill you in later. I shouldn't be long." Angeline and Artemis I solemnly left. Butler stayed and sat in the corner of the room, keeping a steady gaze on the read-outs of both screens.

"Eh-hem." Coughed Doctor Smith. "I need to be alone to study Artemis properly."

"I'm not leaving him." Butler said simply.

"I see you are worried. It is understandable under the circumstances." The Doctor frowned. "Who are you anyway?"

"I'm his bodyguard." Butler stood and straightened to his full height, except for his head which had to be bent forward or he wouldn't fit. "And I'm not going anywhere." He announced stubbornly.

"I-I see, uh-" Doctor Smith stuttered, obviously getting the point. "Well, as long as you stay seated and don't distract me."

Meanwhile, downstairs Angeline and Artemis I played with the twins. Usually, Myles and Beckett would be all over them. Today however, they noted the tension in the atmosphere.

Beckett reached a chubby hand over towards Myles and took a red crayon from his box. Myles looked up from his drawing, startled.

"Beckett! That's mine!" Beckett ignored him and started colouring in his picture. "Beckett! I demand you give me that crayon, now!" Myles' vocabulary was quite advanced for a toddler. Many lessons with Artemis had most likely caused this.

"It's mine now." Beckett's language was much less complex. Artemis had given up on trying to teach Beckett things. Beckett was a proper kid. Something which Artemis had never been. Myles truly wanted to learn. He took Artemis' love for science and knowledge, which made the older brother very proud.

"No it's not! That came from my box! It's mine you big simpleton!" Myles made a grab for the crayon and missed.

"Beckett simpletoon!" Giggled Beckett.

"That's not a good thing, simpleton." Myles sniffed.
"Simpletoon, simpletoon, simpletoon!" cried Beckett, joyously.

Myles made another lunge for the crayon. He missed again.

"Why you want wed anyways, simpletoon?" Beckett asked, snatching Myles sheet of paper. There were some numbers and calculations scribbled down.

"It's why do you want the red anyway!" corrected Myles. "And I want it because it's mine!"

"Mine now! Finders keepers, that's what daddy says, isn't it Daddy?"

Both toddlers turned to look at their parents sat on the cream leather couch. They were holding hands, staring into space with sad expressions. Angeline seemed to be muttering to herself silently.

After a couple of seconds with no response, Beckett repeated louder, "IS'NT IT DADDY?" Both heads whipped round with surprised expressions. They looked at the boys playing on the carpet, their mouths opening and closing like fishes.

"Pardon?" Angeline asked. Myles sat back on his bum, picking up on the seriousness of the situation. He stayed quiet and watched his parents sadly, his little lips upturned and pressed tightly together.

Beckett didn't notice any change at all. He continued jauntily on, oblivious.

"You say that finders is keepers, doesn't you?"

"Uh, yes, I suppose." Beckett stuck his tongue out at Myles and continued his colouring. Myles kept trying to understand what was going on upstairs, watching his parents intently.

After a while with no luck, he opened his mouth to ask a question. Then he closed it. Angeline noticed this and realised Myles had stopped his equations. She picked him up so Myles sat on her knee.

"What's wrong Myles?" Myles pouted, thinking, then decided to tell her.

"Is Artemis really ill?" Beckett turned around, finally picking up on the anxiety in the room.

"Yes, he is." Angeline tried to smile reassuringly at both of them.

"I mean, is he really, really, really ill?" There was a pause.

"Yes. He is really, really, really ill." Myles' eyes were pricked with tears.

"We isn't going to loose him again, is we?" Beckett asked, also looking glum. Angeline and Artemis I looked at each other wide-eyed.

"No!" They both shook their heads wildly.

"Angeline, Artemis! The Doctor would like to speak with you." Butler called, his voice echoing through the house. Hand in hand, the couple headed for the stairs.