ARTEMIS FOWL
A/N: This is my first AF fic, so please be nice :P I tried hard to keep Artemis in character; but if I have failed miserably, constructive criticism is very much welcome! Hope y'all like it! :D
BTW: The 'Limbo' mentioned in this story has absolutely no connection whatsoever, to the parallel dimensional Limbo that Colfer wrote about in 'The Lost Colony'.
HAPPY READING!
-SB ;)
LIMBO
PROLOGUE
Darkness.
A thick blanket of grey darkness that surprisingly felt light however. That was the very first thing that he sensed. That, and a curious feeling of numbness that encased not only his body but also his soul.
He could see nothing, feel nothing, and certainly not hear anything either. But he preferred it that way. His mind felt like it was floating and the sensation – if a little odd – was extremely pleasant. He was grateful for the numbness that shielded him.
He was enjoying the quiet tranquillity when the numbness started to fade.
Like the spider-web of cracks that slowly travel across a windshield, the layer of anaesthesia began to shatter. The peace was broken and that was when the pain began.
At first it was only negligible – hardly anything more than a slight yellow glowing ache behind his closed eyelids. But gradually, it started to grow stronger – a mildly disturbing twinge in his temples which gave way to a pulsing throb. Within seconds it had swelled to a raging red fire of acute proportions. And then, the fire began to move downwards.
It slid into his neck and his back while simultaneously gliding over his torso. The scarlet flames travelled neatly down his arms and legs and reached his toes just as the last bit of anaesthesia left them.
Unused to such suffering after the wonderful illusion of calm, he felt like he had been doused in oil and set ablaze.
With each passing second, the fire grew more and more excruciating and so did his agony. He could feel the anguished scream building up within him, and wished he could let it out. But when he tried, he could not open his mouth and trapped in his own body and mind while the inhuman burning kept increasing, was hellish. Something right out of a nightmare. No, a thousand nightmares.
His arms and legs and entire body longed to writhe and thrash about in the sick torture he was being forced to endure, but refused to co-operate. His head felt like it was being attacked repeatedly by a giant sledge hammer and razor sharp daggers of pain shot through every now and then.
It was not just his body that was being tormented, but also his mind. He felt something unbearably hot and heavy pressing down on him. Something that did not physically affect him, but was mentally breaking down his defences. The depression crashed down over and over again and weakened him further.
He prayed for the numbness. He prayed for it to return and save him from an eternity in this infernal punishment.
He called out to the numbness again, willing it come back to protect him like it had before. And miraculously, it did. With scarcely concealed hope, he probed for it and found it hovering around the edges of his soul.
The numbness... it was a clear grey mist that beckoned to him and he gladly reached for it.
With slow deliberation, it began to spread itself over him and as the soothing salve of painlessness began to set in, he embraced it. Suddenly, the cool grey of the numbness turned ebony black. It began to seep into him faster and faster and although it had removed the pain, he knew that there was something sinister about it.
Panicking again, he tried to fight the mist that was lulling him into a sleep, but it had already broken through all his barriers by then. He struggled harder but it was of no use.
He became aware of a growing feeling of detachment. An odd sense of insularity that was almost as comforting as it was ominous. He felt himself fading further and further into oblivion and finally realised what was going on in a moment of lucidity.
The mist... it was Death... and the fire was... Life...
He had been in Limbo – a perfect state of intermediateness between Life and Death.
Initially he had been closer to Death, but then the fire had tried to burn Life into him and instead of drawing it in, he had called out to the mist again... and now here it was...
His thoughts grew foggy as he registered the inevitable result. He made one last, half-hearted, feeble attempt to fight the mist, but gave up too soon when it coiled itself tighter. Somehow, the knowledge that he was about to die did not come as much of a shock and he welcomed Death with open arms as he neither had the strength nor the desire to face the flames again to live.
And it was then, when he'd very nearly faded out... that he heard a voice... It pierced through his dissipating mind and soul with startling clarity.
"Artemis. Artemis, come back to us".
A jolt went through him at the words. He had immediately recognized the speaker, and his heart soared...
Holly...
There was nothing particularly stunning about her voice. It had not been pristine and bell-like; nor had it been sweet and melodious. If anything, it had sounded hoarse and urgent and the heartbreaking note of plea in it was hard to miss even for someone who was only partially conscious.
But to him, it was enchanting. The very instant he'd heard her, it had brought back memories of the times they'd all shared together as a team. He remembered the crazily dangerous missions they'd undertaken and the bad times when they'd all been there for him.
He felt energised and excited and happy. But above all, he felt a burning desire to live.
The awful guilt of what his death must have done to those close to him, felt like a slap in the face.
His friends... Foaly, Mulch, No. 1 and Juliet would have been thoroughly shaken up.
His family... The twins – Myles and Beckett would have been shattered and he could not even begin to imagine the trauma Mother and Father must have gone through.
Butler... Ah... A particularly vicious stab of guilt cut him deep. His loyal bodyguard would have no doubt, held himself responsible for everything. And besides, Butler was not just his bodyguard... he was also one of his best friends... His death must have affected him horribly.
And... Holly... His best friend... This time, the guilt burned him so savagely that for a moment, he thought the fire had returned. He remembered the countless number of times Holly had saved his life and put herself in danger for him and his reckless plans. He had been a teenage criminal master mind; an empty shell of a boy with a dysfunctional family and no friends apart from his bodyguard, to count on... and Holly had changed all that. She had been a constant support and a loyal friend and how had he repaid her? By manipulating and drugging her so that he could put his plan into action.
Agreed, his plan had benefited the greater good. But the last image he had of Holly: pale with tears running down her cheeks and the despair in her eyes as she silently begged him not to walk away to his death... It had very nearly broken him down too.
Resolve flooded him. He would not go down without a fight. He would battle Death. He would live... for his family... and his friends...
But especially for Holly...
He had promised her that he did not intend to die and that he had a chance to return. And he would damn well keep that promise now, no matter what.
After ALL that she had been to him... He owed it to her...
He focussed on the fire. It would hurt him again, yes. It would burn him till he cried for mercy, but it would also save him.
The mist was infuriatingly stubborn though. It would not relinquish its hold. Straining harder, he mentally saw himself breaking the black shackles of Death and they finally exploded.
His triumph was short-lived as the terrible pain began to sink into his very bones this time. Holding himself together, he tried his best to ignore it but that only magnified it somehow.
He knew that he was not going to win, but trudged on determinedly nevertheless. At one point he almost collapsed again, but a sudden image entered his mind. An image of all his friends and his family together... All the people he loved...
He concentrated on the image and let his mind's eye pan over all of them: Angeline Fowl, smiling warmly and looking at him with the same gentle affection that she did in real life... Artemis Fowl Senior, standing tall and proud and beaming at him... And the twins – Myles with that particular smile that was meant only for people very close to him and Beckett with his cheeky, lopsided grin that showed off a missing tooth in the upper row...
Foaly, with his usual look of smug superiority mixed with a healthy dose of respect that he reserved only for a certain Mud Boy... No. 1 with his trademark cheerful – if concerned – face... Mulch, chewing on something like he always did and grinning broadly in a way that was as disgusting as it was endearing at that moment... Juliet, with her emerald green spandex body suit and jade ring woven into her blonde ponytail, looking as spunky as ever...
Butler, looming high above the rest with the sun glinting off his shaved head and Sig Sauer, giving him a look mixed with respect, affection and protectiveness...
And... Holly... Standing with her Neutrino drawn out and a teasing grin stretched out over her beautiful face, which completely contrasted with the feisty fire in her mismatched eyes.
His heart skipped a beat – several, in fact – as he found himself unable to drive her image away from his mind.
Why was she having this effect on him? Sure, he had felt this way when that blithering idiot Orion had been his alter-ego. But he had been treated for the Atlantis Complex and was completely cured of it now. The magnitude of his affection for Holly had gone up sky-high after the treatment and he often found himself thinking of her a lot more than he had done before. But he always refused to think about the reason for it, chalking it all up as another side effect of the Complex.
But now, in this crucial point in his struggle between Life and Death, the answer came to him with a simplicity that put him to shame.
He distinctly remembered Argon explaining that the Atlantis Complex gave rise to multiple personalities which had qualities that already existed within a person, but had been repressed or ignored too much. The alter-ego was just a way for his mind to release the pent-up feelings.
Orion had been head-over-heels for Holly, even going to the point of sheer stupidity. And Orion had been a part of him, no matter how much that part had been subdued. Subdued to the extent where he had never even acknowledged it.
But during the treatment, he had had to get over his stubborn denials if he needed to become normal again and somewhere along the way he must have admitted to himself sub-consciously about his feelings for Holly.
Now that he knew what was going on, he felt utterly stupid for not having realised it earlier. It was the most natural thing for him to accept now. He was no fool – he knew all the complications involved in the unlikely event that Holly might feel the same way for him too. There was the age difference firstly, and the fact that they belonged to two different species.
But right then, none of that mattered. Without a hint of reluctance or doubt, he said those words inside his head. They gave him that last burst of momentum required and the battle was over. He had managed to fight fire with fire. He had won.
For a moment nothing happened and his spirits sank. But the next second, a crimson glow – the colour of flames – obscured the Darkness.
A flash of blinding white light erupted out of the fire and seared into his brain. He would live. He cheered inwardly. But as the light got brighter and brighter, it hurt him. It imprinted itself firmly into his thoughts and he knew that something was very, very wrong.
He mentally repeated the words that had boosted him before: Holly Short... I have fallen in love with you...
That was the last coherent thought he had before the light completely took over his mind and Artemis Fowl the Second finally opened his eyes.
A/N: I would like to explain the concept of Limbo to those of you who did not understand it.
Limbo is a word which has three meanings:
1. A region of the Afterlife between Heaven and Hell.
2. To put something on hold or neglect it.
3. And a state where one is caught between two conflicting options.
This story is entirely based on the third meaning. This is because in the upcoming chapters, Artemis finds himself in a mental state of Limbo regarding many factors. Thus, the name for this fic came about.
So... how was the first chapter? Let me know, kay? :D
PEACE OUT!
-SB ;)