And we have another bunny hopping in after reading the summary~
Disclaimer : This IS a fanfiction, not a leak or anything like this. I am in no way affiliated with Eoin Colfer or the Artemis Fowl series. In any cases, I doubt Eoin Colfer would write as badly as I did. Fake modesty aside, here ends the disclaimer.
This is my debut in the Books category, so enjoy~
Holly Short awoke with a start. A voice was speaking in her head. Above her, Foaly seemed to be floating in mid-air, saying words still incomprehensible among her sleep haze.
For a moment, Holly stared at Foaly, wondering if her odds of staying sane had finally reached zero, especially after what happened yesterday. She had always suspected that sharing too many adventures with Artemis Fowl would eat away at her sanity. So seven adventures is the limit.
"Wake up, Holly. Opal escaped. Your weekend leave was removed." Holly lay for a moment, waiting for the meaning of those words to sink in. As the lasts of her sleep haze faded, Holly was grateful to realize her sanity was still intact. She had just fallen asleep without removing her helmet. The translucent display of her visor made a video feed of Foaly appear to float in mid-air.
Suddenly, her brain registered the meaning her auditory senses were feeding it. Sitting up suddenly, Holly made a swift hand gesture to command her helmet open the communication to Foaly.
"Opal?" Holly managed hoarsely. Her throat was about as dry as the Sahara. Choking of the first mouthful of saliva, Holly wet her throat enough to stop whispering hoarsely.
"Finally, you are awake. I had to play my glorious voice in your helmet thirteen times before you woke up." Foaly said, rubbing his paunch with a satisfied look on his face. On the table, a bento was so cleaned Holly suspect Foaly actually licked it.
"Explains the nightmare I was having. You floating in the visor made me question my sanity too" Holly said, pulling her helmet off. Setting it on her bedside table, Holly made a combination of hand gestures and blinks to command the helmet project a screen instead. "So, what was it about Opal?"
"Furty dug through the kraken mess, but only managed to recover the helmet and locator." Foaly explained, tapping slowly on his keyboard as he sipped his packet of carrot juice.
"Why am I not surprised..." Holly sighed, suddenly aware of the tangy smell of her sweat.
"Trubs want you topside immediately after getting a Recon pack from my office. A flare is due in ten minutes at Tara." Foaly said.
"Ten minutes?" Holly gasped. "I need a bath."
"No such luxuries. Blame yourself for waking this late." Foaly said.
"Exactly how late am I?" Holly said, stripping off her soiled LEPrecon suit. With a lithe movement, she hopped into her shower. Surely a quick shower won't take long.
"I just finished Caballine's lunch bento. That's how late you are." Foaly said.
Holly twisted her tap, waiting for comforting, warm water to beat down her body. Nothing.
"Besides, an accident at Stonehenge chute broke a water pipe. No water pressure in your area until those mine shuttles repairs the pipes." Foaly said.
Holly felt an urge to smash something.
For some reason, Foaly could guess that train of thought. "Rather than thinking of what is worthless enough to be smashed, get going. You have a pod ride in 10, no, 9 and a half minutes." Foaly said.
Stamping her foot once, just like how Opal would do when someone interfere with her world domination plans, Holly settled for a quick wipe with a wet cloth, then stormed out, pulling on a new LEPrecon suit from her wardrobe. She would have to settle for the sticky feeling. At least she wouldn't stink, thanks to the absorbent quality of these suits.
"Godspeed." Holly sighed, grabbing her helmet before racing out of her house, pausing only to give a swift salute to her mother's photo hanging next to her door.
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Trouble Kelp is unhappy. Very unhappy. At this very moment, his face match the hue once reserved for Root. It became an inside joke that beetroot hue is an heirloom of the Commanders.
"I don't care how you do it, Foaly. Even if you are to use something out of the law book. Locate Opal." Trouble barked.
"Reminds me of Root." Foaly whispered, breaking into horsy guffaws. The two pixies behind him broke into gentle laughter.
Trouble sighed. While he had expected comparisons with Root, he had never expected this kind.
"Don't worry, Trubs. If it's out of law book, then finding Opal is easy." Foaly said, his face serious. A feat, considering his long face.
"Trouble." Trouble corrected reflexively, catching sight of a glint in Foaly's eyes.
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
"Holly, you made it. Five minutes to hotshot." Foaly said, pointing to a black gun on the equipments table.
Holly rubbed her eyes, picking up the gun. It immediately flickered, changing color to match the surrounding. Holly had to strain to actually make out the gun.
"Bamboozle me." Holly said, knowing Foaly was going to do it anyway.
"The new Neutrino. Still in prototype, from my personal lab. There isn't even a code name for this baby. Its surface was same material as the cam-foil, albeit more hardy. Its focus is on magic, so, only three settings." Foaly said.
"Magic?" Holly asked, her ears cocked at the word.
"Lithium batteries, not different from those used in Time-Stop towers. Of course, there are other features, but, with a flare coming, I will explain later." Foaly said.
Holly nodded, jamming the gun into her holster. The color change was immediate. One has to squint really hard to know she was armed. "So, where am I going?" Holly asked.
"Make a guess, Holly. This is Tara. We are going against a genius super-criminal. I am too big a liability for LEP to go on field." Foaly said, watching as Holly settle into the hotshot pod.
Holly felt a phantom tingle on her lips. For a moment, her face felt warm. "Artemis Fowl." Holly choked on her saliva for the second time in so many minutes.
Artemis Fowl the Second watched as Myles and Beckett Fowl play fight on their mother's bed, much to the amusement of their parents. A smile twitched on Artemis's face.
"Tempted to join them?" Butler said, standing next to his ward. Artemis was quiet for a moment.
"Yes." Artemis conceded. "A part of me was tempted. The lost childhood part. Yet, I was reminded that I am 15, and should be 18."
Butler made a gentle chuckle, checking his phone. The phone was linked to the security system of Fowl Manor.
"Surprise. Who would have thought we would see Captain Short so soon." Butler said, watching a silhouette floated into Fowl Manor grounds.
Artemis made a sound similar to a gasp and a choke. 'Hurrk' would be more exact. He was suddenly aware of his increased heart rate and heat blossoming on his face. Familiar. "Well then, shall we meet her?" Artemis said softly, standing up.
As quietly as they could, Artemis and his manservant left the room, making their way down the staircase.
Holly had already taken off her helmet, sitting on one of the few Victorian chairs in the living room. "Opal escaped." Holly said bluntly.
"Not surprised." Artemis said, taking a sit in front of Holly. A projection of Foaly munching a carrot was thrown on the wall.
"No red tape for asking the assistance of ex-criminal mastermind Mud Boy genius?" Artemis continued.
"Use something out of the law book. Locate Opal. Trubs exact words. Apparently, the committee is willing to close both eyes as long as Opal is located." Foaly explained.
No surprises. What happened during the Opal deception had been more than enough to assure them that Opal is beyond dangerous. If execution wasn't outlawed, there would be a unanimous decision to execute elder Opal.
Suddenly, something flashed in his mind, brighter then the sparks of romance novel plots and symphony endings.
"We need you to locate Opal, and possibly aid in removing her." Foaly explained.
"If you mean remove as in terminate, then that isn't possible. Younger Opal cannot die in this time frame." Artemis said, his brain churning as it contemplates various factors, forming a big picture of the situation.
Foaly immediately understood. "Of course! If Opal dies, the Opal deception would cease to exist. Time stream will not allow that, and will only allow one course of action." Foaly said.
"Erasure of Opal's memories and forcing her back through time." Artemis completed, smiling at the lost look on Holly's face.
Holly sat for a moment, fingering her Neutrino as she digested the conversation. After 30 seconds, she lifted her head. "That means we don't have to get involved?" Holly asked.
"Ideally, we don't have to, and sooner or later, someone will send her back. But..." Foaly said slowly.
"But sooner or later could mean anything from a second later or end of time" Artemis completed. "We know the past, but not the future. She could have destroyed Earth and Haven before getting sent back."
The coin dropped. "We have to send her back before something disastrous happens." Holly said.
"Warriors of time." Foaly chuckled derisively. Then, his brows furrowed. "How did you reach this conclusion before me?"
"Admit that I am more intelligent then you already." Artemis gloated, folding his arm.
Foaly immediately gave his trademark pout.
"Out of the law book... I wonder..." Artemis whispered.
"What are you thinking of, Artemis?" Holly asked accusingly.
Artemis grimaced. "Have a little faith, my fairy friend." then "Can I borrow No. 1?"
Holly opened her mouth to shoot an accusation, before realization struck her. They have to send Opal back. Only No. 1 can do that.
"No can do. No. 1 is still in bed from the fats dunking yesterday." Foaly said.
"Indeed. But what if I have him do his magic in Haven?" Artemis said, his eyes twinkling dangerously.
"Impossible. Time travel magic has to be administered close. Otherwise, No. 1 would send everything between him and Opal into limbo." Foaly said.
"Oh, he could. I heard Holly got a certain Neutrino which has a spare lithium battery." Artemis said, a grin spreading on his face.
Foaly took a double take. The gun was his personal project. Nobody other than him knows about it. Until Holly came along, of course.
Artemis watched Foaly's face. "Relax. I just found references to it while researching about krakens from the LEP server. Your private server had been a pain to crack, and had ejected me in ten minutes."
"Do we fairies have any secrets left?" Holly complained, wondering how many times she had wondered this.
"Right. Ignoring your hacking, I can see what you are getting to. Have No. 1 do his magic into the battery, then send it to you." Foaly said.
"Oh, you can forget that. We will be going back down anyway. Where would she strike first?" Artemis said.
"Of course, herself. The isolation cube." Foaly said, before tapping his keyboard furiously, to heighten the security of the prison.
At the moment, Butler, who had quietly slunk away earlier, returned with a platter of cheese.
Artemis sat for a moment, wondering why he was contemplating the cheeses in the platter. Sakura, Cheddar and Danish Blue. Then, something struck in his head.
"Opal will not try to free Opal." Artemis said absentmindedly.
"What do you mean?" Holly asked, watching as Artemis poke through the cheese platter.
"Butler, we have ten types of cheese in the house. Why only serve three?" Artemis asked.
"Too many cheeses will compete for flavor." Butler replied, remembering his cordon bleu training.
"Look at things from a criminal mastermind's point of view. Opal once told me the world is big enough for only one criminal mastermind. As demented as she is, she is still a genius. If I am Opal, I will acquire almightiness first, and then destroy Foaly and Artemis, before destroying the elder myself." Artemis said.
This time, Holly got it first.
"Too many empresses spoil the oyster." Holly said, her choice of words a spooky emulation of Opal's.
"Jayjay!" Foaly said, realization dawning upon him.
"Opal, my friends, is heading towards LEP." Artemis said, licking his lips as he relishes his genius.
A little footnote: Hope you like this. It wouldn't be my magnum opus, but I enjoyed writing it. Mainly because I am unconditionally and irrevocably in love with the AF series (Now, where have we heard that before?).
Would appreciate reviews, as long as they are constructive and does not insults.