"to the plan…" Holly ended abruptly, startled from her story by a terrible scream. It tore from Artemis, hands to his head, as if trying to staunch the pain clearly etched in his face. The scream was a truly terrible thing, rasping and wailing so much so that it sounded to Holly as if all the demons of Hell were mercilessly jabbing their spears into the poor boy's flesh. Artemis fell to his knees as the scream fizzled out into a whimper. Butler was immediately at his charge's side.
"It worked," whispered Artemis, with a glimmer of his usual confidence. He smiled weakly and abruptly let loose another hellish wail. Butler's extensive training had not covered caring for newly resurrected genii so, not knowing what else to do, he eased the boy into a lying-down position, his dark head resting on his bodyguard's leg. Artemis's face screwed up in agony, and salty tears streamed down his fevered face. Both Holly and Butler were taken aback at the raw, broken state of one that was once so strong.
Eventually, the scream died, leaving Artemis choking and gasping desperately for air. Holly gently took her friend's face in her tiny hands, trying desperately to make him focus on her. "Artemis? Artemis, what's wrong? What's going on? What's wrong with you? D'arvit, Artemis, look at me!"
Blearily, Artemis focused his new eyes on Holly. "Shh, Holly," he gasped faintly, "This was expected. It is only my memories…" His sentence cut off, and he gritted his teeth, trying desperately not to make his agony known to the world.
Slowly, his face relaxed, to find Holly exactly as she was, her small hands cupping his face, her mismatched eyes wide with worry."My eye," thought Artemis, through the fog of pain. "The memories," he continued, "their swift re-entry to my mind has sent my brain spiraling into overdrive. So many new neural pathways being created at once should, by all rights, hurt immensely."
"But it worked, right? This won't last, will it? You're staying with us this time, aren't you Artemis?" Butler would have been, if he were a different sort of man, frantic with worry at the thought of losing his best friend again. As it was, he was concerned at such a prospect.
"Grammar, Butler. Have I taught you nothing?"
Butler couldn't help but smile, knowing his charge remained unchanged.
Artemis made a vain attempt to steady his ragged breathing before continuing "Yes, I will live, if that is what you are implying, and this torment will pass. Even as I planned my resurrection, I knew what it would entail. It would seem, however, that I gravely underestimated how excruciating this would be." Artemis's speech grew steadily more labored as he again lapsed into a fit of pain. The screaming was not constant this time; he seemed to lack the air for anything more than sputtering wails. He bawled and gasped pitifully, too exhausted and in too much agony to show any further dignity. Artemis finally lost consciousness as Butler picked him up and carried him back to the manor.
A.N.: Alright, lovelies, let me know what you thought. I apologize for the shortness; this was kind of an impromptu thing that I wrote during lunch one day. Tell me if you want me to write more of this story. I always appreciate, and reply to, reviews.
