Butler watched Artemis sink into the chair before turning to face the phone. At the other end, Angeline Fowl picked up.

"Hello?" She said. She sounded so strange. It was hard to tell if she felt hopeless and lost, or content.

"It's Butler."

"Butler?" She repeated, all traces of being content slipping from her voice. Butler felt guilty to have robbed her of that moment, but then again, he had good news. "What is it? Has something happened?"

"Yes. It's Artemis - he's back."

Artemis looked up, abandoning his thoughts about being an older brother to twins, and watched Butler.

Angeline was overcome with joy. She didn't believe she would ever see her first child again. She almost called out to her husband, but decided she had better double check before getting his hopes up.

"Are-are you sure?" She asked.

"He's right here. I'm looking at him." Indeed, Butler was looking at Artemis, who was sitting attentively in the chair, covered in ash.

"Let me talk to them." Artemis said, reaching out his hand.

"Let me talk to him." Angeline said at the same time.

"All right. Just a moment." Butler set the phone in Artemis' hand.

"Artemis?" Angeline asked, her voice shaky.

"Mother?"

"It really is you!" Angeline broke down crying. Artemis, too, felt tears streaming down his face.

"Yes, it is."

"We were so worried! We missed you so much. We thought we would never see you again." Angeline explained through her sobs.

"I know, mother. I'm sorry."

"How have you been? Where have you been? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I need a bath, but other than that I'm okay."

"Where have you been these past three years?" Angeline repeated.

"Well," Artemis looked up at Butler.

"I explained everything." Butler repeated. Artemis nodded once.

"It's difficult to explain. I went… I went to this island, in the past, and…." Artemis trailed off. His mother had stopped crying, and that threw him off.

In fact, Angeline was staring at the wall, eyebrows furrowed. She wasn't ever sure if she had believed Butler's fairy story explanation. She figured that it must have been a psychological effect from losing Artemis. She knew they were close, and worse, it was Butler's duty to keep Artemis safe. He probably felt guilty on top of missing Artemis. But now? Artemis seemed to be giving similar crazy stories. Was this correct? Did all that stuff really happen? It was impossible! But then… Why would Artemis lie about something like this? Was this really Artemis? He sounded exactly the same as her son did before he left. By now, Artemis' voice should have changed.

"Mother?" Artemis whispered, "Mother, are you all right?"

"I want to see you." Angeline said. "I want to make sure it's you."

"Of course. I'm sure Butler and I can get on the next flight out." Artemis looked up at Butler. "Right?"

Butler nodded slowly. "I'll do my best." He replied.

"Okay. I'll… I'll see you soon."

"Can I talk to father?" Artemis asked.

"I… I just want to make sure it's you. I don't want to get his hopes up."

Artemis' heart felt like it dropped into his shoes. Although he knew his mother couldn't see him, he nodded. "Of course. I understand."

"I'll see you soon."

"Yes. I love you, mother."

"I… I love you too, Artemis."

There was a click as Angeline hung up. Artemis held out the phone to Butler, who took it and hung it up. He picked it up immediately after and dialed another number.

Artemis, meanwhile, was staring at the floor. He wasn't sure if his mother would believe it was him when she saw him.

"Hello, Minerva? Yes, it's me. Yes, he is, how'd you know? Oh… yeah. I guess that makes sense. No, he just came right into my cottage, got past my keycode and walked right in."

Artemis had tuned Butler out. As far as he could guess, he had been gone for maybe an hour. Maybe two. With all this time-travel one could really never tell. But, thanks to him, he had been three full years off. So what if Qwan was impressed? Three years was an incredibly long time to have been away. His poor parents! If only he could have concentrated harder….

"Artemis?"

He looked up at Butler, who was holding out the phone. "Would you like to talk to Minerva?"

Artemis shook his head wearily. He was too tired, and busy worrying about his mother. Not to mention, he needed a shower.

"I'm sorry, he's a bit distracted." Butler said into the phone.

Artemis got up and walked around the room. There were a few doors leading into other rooms. He opened a couple, before finding the one that lead to the bathroom. He glanced back at Butler before letting himself in. He had a quick look around, making sure there was plenty of soap and shampoo.

Then he looked down at himself. He was filthy - and that included his clothing. He couldn't just put the tattered suit back on after cleaning up. Artemis opened the door of the bathroom.

"Butler, do you have some clothing I could borrow?" he asked, peering out. Butler was still on the phone.

"One second." He said into the phone. He covered the mouthpiece. "I only have my clothes. I… don't think they would fit you." He replied.

"Could you get me a shirt or something? I really can't put this back on." Artemis motioned to his suit.

Butler nodded. "Right. I'll get something."

Artemis left the door open, but he retreated into the bathroom and used the toilet as a chair. He was thinking about being an older brother again. The twins couldn't be much over two years old, unless his mother had been pregnant before the whole demon thing.

Another thought occurred to Artemis. Minerva, her father and those other two men. Were they mind-wiped? The People couldn't take many more humans knowing about them. Artemis partially hoped Minerva hadn't been mind-wiped, but then he thought of Holly, and the sound of the sword being pulled out from between her ribs echoed though his head. Artemis shut his eyes. It would be best, he thought, for everyone if she was mind-wiped. It's too dangerous. It is better, for the people and for herself, if she doesn't know.

"Are you alright?" Butler asked.

Artemis looked up. Butler was off the phone, and holding a t-shirt that he probably wore to blend in with the locals.

"No, old friend. I'm not." Artemis muttered.

"You can talk to me about it." Butler said, setting the shirt on the magazine rack beside the toilet.

"I know I can, but right now, I need to clean up." Artemis paused and looked at his arms. "This will take forever to get off." He said, mostly to himself.

An hour and a half later, Artemis came out of the bathroom. Butler was sitting his the chair, reading. Something sat on the table before him.

"I went out and bought you something to wear." He said, setting the book down.

"Good. This shirt is…" Artemis trailed off. He didn't need to say anything. Butler could see for himself how silly the giant t-shirt looked on Artemis' thin frame. It fell all the way to his knees, and the sleeves went to his elbows.

Artemis plucked the clothes off the table, and went back into the bathroom to change.

"Did you get the tickets?" He yelled through the door.

"Yes. The flight takes off in six hours. It should take three to get to the airport from here."

"Good. We can talk on the way."

The first ten minutes of the drive to the airport were silent.

"The twins…" Artemis finally said.

"They were born in early June over a year ago.

"How old are they, exactly?"

Butler thought hard for a few moments. He wasn't as good at mental calculations are Artemis.

"A year and two months."

"So… That means this is August?"

Butler nodded.

"My 18th birthday is coming up soon, then." He snorted and fell silent for a while.

"What are their names?" Artemis asked suddenly.

It took Butler a moment to understand what Artemis was asking. "Adela and Argus." He answered finally.

Artemis raised his eyebrows. "Adela… a 7th century princess, as well as the name of William the Conqueror's daughter. Roughly means 'noble'. Argus… from Greek mythology. It's from the green word argos, mean 'shining'. Interesting. It seems like my parents are keeping up a slight trend." Artemis continued under his breath, muttering something about a man with a hundred eyes.

Butler let him talk. It wasn't like Artemis to mutter, but then, a lot had changed.

"So, one is male, one is female. Or are they both girls?"

"No, Argus is a boy."

"So they aren't identical. Who do they look like?"

"Well, Argus looks exactly like you when you were that age. Your poor mother…" Butler trailed off. He knew he had said too much. Artemis didn't need to know that his mother cried when she saw Argus, they looked so much alike. Artemis didn't need to know that his mother was that heartbroken over the loss of her first son.

Artemis sighed heavily, and changed the subject.

"Were Minerva and the others mind-wiped?"

"Yes. They were. The People decided that everyone except you, Juliet and me didn't need to know about the People. The three of us were an exception because we've helped out so many times."

Artemis sighed. "Good. I didn't want Minerva or the People put into danger."

Butler was unusually quiet. Artemis looked over at him curiously.

"Butler?"

"After the mind-wipe, I told Minerva everything. The People don't know. She promised not to tell anyone."

Artemis frowned out the window. He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. He wanted someone his age to share his experiences with, but still. The danger. There was always danger. To himself, to his family, to his friends, to the People. He didn't want another person brought into this, another person and another family thrown into turmoil because of him.

"Artemis?"

"I understand why you told her. You needed someone to talk to, someone who was there."

"Do you think she'll be in danger?"

Artemis sighed. "I don't know."

They were silent for a long time after that. Artemis appeared deep in thought; his eyebrows were furrowed and he was drumming his fingers on the armrest. Butler, after thinking, had more questions for Artemis. However, just looking at the boy made Butler decide to not bother him with them at that moment.

The car pulled up to Fowl Manor. Artemis had silently watched all the familiar scenery go by. He took in all the tiny changes – a tree was down here, a few branches there, and even a new house put in only a mile down the road. The bricks in the wall around the manor were more worn. The small trees and bushes around the front gate were overgrown, and the gate itself was rustier than Artemis remembered it.

And inside, the manor seemed so much shabbier than when he last saw it. Artemis stared up at his home. It was different. He couldn't quite point out what it was, but it was there nonetheless.

The car slowed to a stop near the front. Artemis pried his eyes from the sight of the manor, and looked at Butler.

"Go on. Your parents are waiting."

Artemis nodded, and got out of the car. It felt like a dream – it felt like everything was stuck in slow-motion. He took only two steps before breaking out in a run, the large t-shirt Butler bought for him billowing out behind him. He pulled the door to the manor opened and rushed inside and stopped in the middle of the entranceway.

"Mother? Father? I'm home! It's me, it's Artemis! I'm back!" he started yelling before he could think of what he was saying.

In moments, Angeline was at the top of the stairs, staring down at Artemis, who stopped yelling and stared back.

"Arty?" Angeline said tentatively.

"I'm me, mother. It's Artemis."

Angeline smiled, and ran down the stairs to her son. She picked him right up in a hug and they spun in a circle before she set him back down.

"Artemis?" Another voice said from the top of the stairs. Artemis Fowl senior, being bit slower than his wife because he had only one real leg, had made it to the top of the stairs. Angeline and Artemis beamed up at him.

"Yes, it's me." Artemis said. "I'm home."

Artemis senior rushed down the stairs, and it wasn't long before the three Fowls were hugging. It was a long time before they pulled away, but when they finally did, Artemis looked up at his parents and felt the need to explain, and apologize.

"I'm sorry. I- As you… probably noticed, I'm still fifteen. I don't know what Butler told you, not exactly. It's a long story, and I feel that you're entitled to know everything."

His father just shook his head. "Not now, Artemis. You don't have to explain now."

"But… I'm sure you want to know."

"We do, Arty." His mother said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Right now, though, we should just be glad we're all together."

Artemis tried to smile, but it was more similar to a grimace.

"You should meet the twins. Come on." His mother continued. She put his hand on his back and guided him up the stairs. Artemis senior followed.

"The nursery is right by our room. It's the same room we used when you were little." Angeline explained as they walked. "We painted it, and we aren't using any of your old toys. You didn't like toys much when you were little anyway."

Artemis just nodded dumbly. Yet gain, he felt like he was in a dream. It seemed so unrealistic… His mother had more grey hair than he remembered, Artemis noticed. And his father's hair was now completely grey.

He snapped back into reality when Angeline opened the door. A woman Artemis had never seen sat in a corner of the room, watching the two toddlers as they played.

"Ma!" One of them, the boy, Argus, jumped up and ran to the door. Butler had been right – Argus looked exactly like Artemis had at that age. Adela, who had long hair for a one-year-old, continued playing with a pile of large plastic farm animals and barely looked up when her parents entered.

Angeline picked up Argus and turned to Artemis junior.

"Argus, this is your brother, Arty. Can you say Arty?"

Argus didn't repeat the name. Instead, he stared at his older brother for a moment before holding out a hand and waving a large toy block in Artemis' direction.

"He wants you to come play with him." Angeline explained.

"Just like that?" Artemis asked.

"He's not shy." Angeline said as she set Argus down. Argus half-crawled, half-scampered over to where he had been amongst a pile of large building blocks matching the one he had been holding. Hesitantly, Artemis made his way across the room and sat down nearby. Argus set his block down beside his brother and appeared expectant.

Artemis picked up the block. He felt a bit silly about playing with toys, and was busily trying to recall everything he knew about child psychology and development.

"He wants you to build a tower so he can knock it down." Angeline explained. "It's one of his favorite games."

"Oh." Artemis paused, then picked up a block and carefully began stacking them. It was almost as tall as Artemis was sitting when it exploded all over him. Argus had kicked it over and knocked it into Artemis. Stunned, Artemis didn't do anything while Argus started giggling. Angeline stepped over a couple toys and kneeled down beside Argus and gentry grabbed his shoulders and turned the child so he was looking at her.

"No, Argus. You have to wait until the person says it's okay before knocking it down." She said sternly. Argus frowned, pulled out of Angeline's grip, and sat down stubbornly on the floor. Artemis, meanwhile, brushed the blocks off of his lap and stood up.

"He does that sometimes." Angeline told Artemis apologetically. "He's still learning that what he does has consequences."

"Yes, that's normal for this age." Artemis said with a nod. He noticed that, behind his mother, his father had settled down beside Adela, and they were playing with the animals together. Artemis smiled. It was very cute, the father-daughter bond.

"I hope you will adjust well to being a big brother, Arty."

"Don't worry, mother. All I want... is to be a family."

Angeline smiled at her older son. "You're going to be their role model." Angeline said, hinting at the past and all the things Artemis had once done.

"I won't let you down, mother."