A/N: This is after The Last Guardian, just to let you know. SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS EVERYWHERE! This is my first FanFic, so help and critiques welcome. This may be just a short story, or a multi-chapter.
SH: You have no idea where you're going with this…
AF: Well, not spoilers everywhere…
BM: Shut up, both of you asshats!
Disclaimer: I for sure do not own any characters in this story. They belong to the great Eoin Colfer.
A flash of green light came with the aura of the Berserker Gate receding into the ground. 'Artemis' was the only world that pulsed in Holly's head. 'He can't be dead, he can't be dead.' The fog that had appeared lifted, showing the boy, unharmed, with a smile on his face. "Please," Holly pleaded to the boy. "Don't be-"
"I am, Holly. I am." And so he fell, with that crooked smile on his face, mismatched eyes fading away.
Holly woke, screaming, tearing her vocal cords. That dream again. She couldn't get that trail of thought out of her head since that fateful day. Sure, they had Artemis again, but it wasn't the same. No one came into the room to see who had screamed. That mud-boy and his sound-proof doors.
She had waltzed down the hall to Artemis' study, pausing only to look at herself in the mirror. She was disheveled, and not lightly. The bags under the eyes where from lack of sleep, and the rowdy hair from lack of care. I look as if I just came from the battlefield, which I have. The reason she came to Artemis' study at this time was to help with his memory. He's recalled some of the main things, like his family and that he had a bodyguard, but some he just could not seem to grab, like the fact that her name was Holly, or that his father was alive (he kept refusing the fact). She knocked on the door.
"Come in," a voice inside said. Artemis was just staring out the window in some dead gaze. This seemed to frighten Holly at times, because Artemis would sometimes smirk and smile in a way similar to his twelve-year-old self.
"Hello, Captain Short. What brings you here?"
"How many times do I have to tell you, Artemis? You can call me Holly. We're friends, right?" Holly said all of this with a smile, hoping that she could accelerate the boy's memory.
"Ms. Short, do you know what it's like to die?" This question stunned Holly for a moment, unsure of what to say. Sure, she's felt what it's like to be near death and die, but why should Artemis ask?
"Yes I have, Arty. Back in Limbo, remember?"
"How did it feel?"
"It felt…I don't know, like dying. What, do you have something to say Mister juvenile genius?"
"You know, Captain Short, dying is not how it is said to be. It's fake."
"Now Arty, listen-"
"No, you listen to me!" This sudden outburst stung Holly. Where is this going to lead?
"Some people say that when you die, you see a bright light, feel at ease. It's nothing like that."
"Look Artemis, just stop, ok?"
"All you feel is a feeling of emptiness." Artemis was apparently not giving a damn about Holly. "All you get is darkness, you feel nothing. It's like you know you're alive but you're dead at the same time." He smiled, and not a nice smile, but one of his twelve-year-old smiles. "Funny, isn't it?"
"Artemis, what has gotten into-"
She was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Come in."
It was Butler. Whew, great. Maybe he can get something out of this stubborn git.
"Am I interrupting anything?" Butler asked.
"Oh no, nothing at all, Butler," replied Artemis. "Ms. Short and I were just conversing. She was just leaving, correct?"
What? "Oh yes, I was. If you'll excuse me." With that, Holly left the room, a slight smile on her face. It was for show.
Walking downstairs, she collected her thoughts. What was the reason for that outburst? Come to think of it, Artemis hasn't been himself lately. What could be on his mind?
-Artemis' Study-
"Holly didn't look like she was done, Artemis," Butler said, a slight edge in his voice.
"Well, I was done with her." Artemis stood up from staring at the window
Artemis had a neutral, almost annoyed expression on his face. It was almost as if he was the old Artemis, the one power hungry for gold.
"Artemis, do you need anything?"
"What I need is some tea, Oolong, if there is any. I need time to think."
Butler left the room, feeling slightly uncomfortable about this conversation.
And I am not the type who is frightened easily.
.o0O0o.
Artemis was typing away on his computer; one he had constructed himself since the techno-crash.
If the world sees me as a puppet, then I will show them who I really am.
A/N: I feel as if this was too short...
GB: Of course it was too short! You should write something about the awesome me for once!
SH: You're not awesome; you're a nitwit.
BM: Don't make me bring out my book!
AF: Reviews are appreciated.
FV: Flames are for my Pasta~!
BM: I'm not kidding about the book!