"Check Mate."
AN: this is kind of a tribute to all of you writers who have written stories about Artemis and his healing process after he develops the Atlantis complex. But especially to Snakequeen-in-Norway. I really enjoyed your story "Road to Recovery"!
Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl; if I did then we would all be cozied up with a mug of hot chocolate reading The Last Guardian.
Chapter 1:
Darkness. Everywhere. It was complete and smothering. The feeling of nothingness crept all over the senses.
That's impossible. There is no such thing as a feeling of nothing, because nothing is a noun. It cannot therefore, be nothing because nothing is something. It can be described as a vacuum of the senses perhaps, but it cannot stand up to logic that it is nothing… it is void…
Artemis was utterly perplexed. He tried to clear his mind and find his inner peace, his qi, as Butler called it. Now, to start with, where was he? The last thing he remembered was falling to the floor in a dark tunnel, his body unreasonably exhausted…
Where was that tunnel? He knew it had something to do with why he was in the dark in the first place. 4. Artemis involuntarily shuddered. 4. He blinked in the darkness, one eyebrow twitching. 4. WHY DOES THAT NUMBER AFFECT ME SO? He screamed inside of his prison of black, of death…
Holly. Holly. Holly. Holly. Holly. For some reason, the name seemed to calm him down. Holly has five sound letters. Five is good, very good. There was obviously a problem inside his mind. Numbers should hold no reign over him. He was a Fowl, after all.
Who was Holly? Why did her name elicit calm inside the confines of his dark mind? This is no good. I can't think properly. Where is my computer? Where is my desk? Where is Butler? Suddenly Artemis became aware of a presence other than his own. In fact, there were several. This made no sense to him, so he tried to shut it out. It was highly possible that it was a trick played by his mind to try to make heads or tails of something.
However, the harder he tried to block them out, the clearer they became, almost as if his struggle to acknowledge them was their fuel. Artemis could now feel them all around him, he could feel them breathing and shifting their weight from foot to foot. Suddenly, one of them spoke.
"Are you really as helpless and simple as all that? Trying to ignore us? That is a pathetic plan, and it will never work, seeing as we are you, in essence. Really Artemis, I would have expected more of you."
Artemis froze. The voice was incredibly familiar, yet he could not place it. It was cold, demeaning, and demanding his attention all at once. It hit him like a ton of bricks. Slowly, ever so slowly, he lowered his hands from his eyes and looked at the people facing him. He gasped audibly.
Standing in front of him were 7 boys, all of them exactly alike. Exactly alike him. He glanced from boy to boy, and it was only by their eyes that he could tell them apart.
One of them, the one who had spoken, had two blue eyes. Artemis tried to remember why this seemed strange to him. The he filed it away to examine at a later date. Standing next to him was a version of himself with green eyes. And to his right, a boy with brown eyes. On that boy's right was an Artemis with yellow eyes. It was mildly uncomfortable to look at him.
He moved on. This next one had grey eyes, which wasn't too bad. And on his right was a boy with white eyes. This one bothered him. He was glancing around at everyone as if at any moment they would leap up and tear him to pieces. Artemis did not appreciate seeing himself so afraid of anything.
And finally, standing off to the side abut 5 feet from the others, was an Artemis with black eyes. He looked up when Artemis's gaze passed over him, and they locked eyes. Artemis felt a terrible shiver run down his spine. He had no wish to get to know this one. He could feel in his mind that he was capable of horrible things. Dark things that any normal person wouldn't dare to speak of.
Finally, Artemis looked away. He turned his attention to the one with blue eyes, since he had addressed him personally.
"Where are we?"
The other him sighed in clear exasperation.
"Do you honestly not know? Think Artemis. It is what you do best… or rather, what I seem to be doing considerably better than you. Really, it is ridiculous to see myself so confused. One might have thought, at first glance, that you were indeed a normal boy."
Artemis did not like the way he put an emphasis on "normal". He spat out the word contemptuously as if it were something foul-tasting. Artemis glared at him. As he stared into his eyes, he suddenly realized why they were so strange. They were an icy blue, filled with pride and cold determination. Brilliant, and yet haughty and debasing.
"I don't much care for your acidity. Perhaps it would benefit you immensely to remember who you are addressing. After all," he said, surveying the others before turning back to face him, "I seem to be the dominant personality here. I would advise you to keep that in mind."
The other personality returned the glare. "Yes, while you may be dominant now, I assure you that it is temporary. You will find, I think, that before long the tables will have turned on you. Enjoy this while it lasts." And with that, he turned away dismissively.
"I shall ask this question again. Where are we?" Artemis said, still glaring at him. The boy turned to him and sighed again.
"Fine, I shall answer you. We are in a coma at the present, and judging by the conversation we heard while unconscious, we are in the renowned Dr. J. Argon's psychiatric ward, being monitored."
Artemis's eyes grew wide at this. He remembered. Well, sort of. He still couldn't remember who Holly was. But now he understood why he was in a coma. He had Atlantis Complex. Most likely Butler was watching over him even now, refusing to leave the room…
As if on cue, Artemis felt a jolt run through him like a knife. He knew that it was electroshock therapy being used to wake him up. He glanced at his arms through his watery eyes. They were fading. He looked at the other personalities to find that they were fading too… that could only mean one thing.
"D'Arvit."
All at once, the darkness was pitched and tossed this way and that, while all of them struggled to make their way toward the glowing door that had appeared in the center of the room. Artemis dropped to all fours and crawled to the doorway. Someone stepped on his hand. He cried out in pain. He threw off his attacker and grasped the doorknob… he turned it…
"ARTEMIS!"
Instantly light flooded into his vision and he blinked uncontrollably.
"Someone get that darn light out of his vision, he's going blind here."
"Move over! I wanna see the mud boy's face when he realizes what's going on…"
"Shut up Mulch! Or I swear I'll kick you rear end all the way back to Atlantis-"
"Hey Donkey boy, move you hairy butt out of the way before my fists do."
"Oops! Um yeah I'll just… hey! He's trying to say something!"
"Well then shut up and let him say it!"
"You're the one blabbing!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"SHUT UP!"
Artemis finally regained control of his vision and looked around at everyone.
"Um… hi?"
"Artemis! Thank Frond you're all right! You've had us all in darn near a coma ourselves, sick with worry! Do you have any idea how freakin' long you made us wait? Two days! Two days, Artemis! Seriously if you ever do that again, I'll kick your sorry mud boy butt farther than I'm kickin' Mulch here! I-"
"Excuse me," said Artemis, who was by now thoroughly bamboozled, "but who are you?"
The room went dead silent. Artemis gazed into her eyes, one hazel green and one an icy blue, waiting for her to explain. Surely strangers should not be allowed in his room!
"What?" Holly gaped at him. She was speechless.
"I said, who are you? And why the heck are you in my room? Surely strangers are not allowed to walk into random patient's rooms?"
"But Artemis," Holly said slowly and quietly, gazing at him in disbelief. He didn't remember her? "I'm not a stranger. I'm Holly, remember?" She watched his eyes, searching for some sign of recognition. Anything. It didn't come.
"I assure you, I don't know anyone by the name of Holly. Perhaps Butler here would like to escort you out." Artemis said, a little irritated. Who did she think she was?
All eyes moved to Butler. He looked at Artemis like he was crazy. (But then again, he is.)
"Artemis…. You do realize what you're saying here?" Butler was astonished. He remembered him, as was expected, but he forgot the fairy with whom he had swapped eyes? This is not good at all.
Artemis frowned. "Of course I do, Butler. The words came out of my mouth, didn't they?"
"Well, you have been known to say things not of your own accord of late," Foaly said, whinnying nervously and shifting from foot to foot. Or rather, from hoof to hoof.
"Um yeah you aren't exactly in your best state of mind," Mulch agreed, chomping on something that looked remotely like a chicken bone. A very large chicken bone. "But then again, maybe it is your best state of mind, because watching you embarrass the D'Arvit out of yourself is pretty funny." He grinned mischievously.
"You honestly don't remember me?" Holly whispered. She felt empty.
Artemis studied her face like it was one of his many experiments. "No."
For a moment, Holly fought her emotions, trying not to cry in front of the others. The she straightened up and looked Butler in the eye.
"Come and get me when he regains his senses," she said coldly. She stalked out of the room, slamming the door on her way out. Everyone stared after her. Finally Artemis broke the silence with a nervous question.
"Er… she wasn't my girlfriend, was she?"