Hey, this is probably going to be very cool. I still don't know how this is going to turn out, but I hope it turns out great! I hope you guys love it! This is set at the start of LOTR, and at the end of The Arctic Incident. (I have read the next two books, but I hate that Butler was hurt, and can't function as well anymore, so deal with me here) Enjoy!
Artemis:
Artemis allowed a smile, nodding politely at Commander Root. They were all sitting in a meeting, after Artemis had washed the foul anti-radiation foam out of his clothes of course, and were discussing what would be done with him, Butler, and the heroic convict, Mulch.
Foaly cleared his throat, "If you ask me my opinion, I would promote Holly, and let the ridiculous dwarf have his two day head start. And don't mind wipe the boy. You've got to admit, we wouldn't be where we are without him,"
"We didn't ask you," said Commander Root.
Artemis cleared his throat, turning to the fairy, "If I may, Commander Root, I would much like to keep my memory inta..."
Artemis stopped speaking, because he noticed that everyone in the room was staring at him in shock.
"What is it?" he asked, bewildered at the shocked attention he was getting. He looked down at his black suit, and saw nothing wrong with it. He looked down at his feet, and saw why everyone was staring at him. Spreading rapidly up his leg were spindly cracks, glowing with a bright, golden light. His shoes glowed fiercely, and his legs were starting to look like dried, cracked clay. The golden light seeped up his chest, and he stared in shock as his arms took on the unearthly golden glow.
Then, every eye turned to Butler, when Holly gasped, "Butler! Look! It's happening to you too!"
Artemis wheeled around, to find his faithful bodyguard also looking like shards of pottery, kept in place by a glowing light.
And then Artemis experienced the strangest feeling. It felt as if he was sinking, and in shock, he saw his legs dissolve into pure white sand. A moment later, he sank into oblivion, and he could only assume that he had turned into an Artemis-sized pile of sand on the floor.
Butler:
Butler watched in horror as Artemis dissolved into white sand. He tried to run over to...somehow...save Artemis. The truth was, he had no idea what was happening. And even if he could have stopped Artemis from dissolving, he couldn't move. He looked down at his legs, just as Artemis' face, smiling peacefully, dissolved.
He immediately felt like he was falling, falling into light. The air around him shimmered, and he looked on with a strange calmness, as his massive body dissolved into fine white sand. The last thing he saw was Mulch shrieking, and hopping around, his feet glowing golden with the strange cracks, and the fairy Holly's wings dissolving into shimmering particles.
And then everything was white. White light, and he was floating amongst whorls of glowing, golden dust. He felt at peace with the world. Was this heaven?
Artemis:
He was floating, floating through gently swirling currents of golden dust, in a pure white emptiness. He felt calmer than he had ever felt before, even calmer than after a meditation session with Butler. And then Butler was there too. Butler held out his hand to him, and Artemis took it with a relaxed smile. At that very moment, Holly Short appeared, along with the dwarf, Mulch.
And then the whole world started spinning, swirling like a hurricane of glitter. Winds gusted around them, and Artemis felt himself being torn away from Butler. Holly was whisked away, to who knew where, and Mulch zoomed away in the other direction. Artemis was nearly torn from Butler, but his bodyguard's strong arms wrapped tightly around him, and they spun away together, into the bright light.
With a loud whistling noise, they hit the glowing white sphere that was lighting the place they had appeared in, and instantly, they were no longer floating.
His sense of calm left him, as they plummeted through the blue sky. "Ahhhhh!" he screamed, and Butler cried out in shock, wrapping himself more around Artemis' body, trying to shield him for when the impact came. All Artemis saw was a glimpse of white marble whizzing towards his face, and then everything went pitch black.
Artemis woke a few seconds later. Instantly, he groaned in pain. He felt like he had been ran over by a large truck. He winced and opened his eyes. Butler huge body lay motionless beneath him, and white dust rose into the clear blue sky above him. The sun blazed overhead, and he shifted to look around him. They were lying in the wreckage of what appeared to be a marble dome. Butler's immense weight had broken the rock, and the intricately carved rock lay in pieces around the huge man's prone form.
Artemis rolled off of Butler, and made himself stand. He knelt beside the man, and checked Butler's pulse, sighing in relief when he found that his friend was just knocked unconscious. Butler appeared to have broken a few of his ribs on the right side, and his right arm was bend at an unnatural angle beneath him. Artemis concluded that the man's arm and shoulder were shattered badly. He must have hit the dome on his side, and shielded Artemis from harm with his beefy shoulder. Even so, Artemis deduced that he had broken at least one rib, and had dislocated his shoulder. His entire right arm was numb, and his shoulder burned like fire.
He groaned, and forced himself to stand, taking large gasps of air. The fall had really winded him. He needed to get help for Butler though. He might have internal bleeding, and if that was the case, he wouldn't last long.
He took note of their surroundings. They were in a courtyard, and a crushed stone bench sat nearby. There was a fountain a little ways away, and a tiled path led through beautiful marble arches. Honeysuckle bloomed on vines wrapped around the arches, and flowers grew in carefully tended gardens. The air smelled sweet. This place was clearly a place of peace. But where were the people? And where were Holly and Mulch?
One of his questions was answered a moment later. A group of figures in flowing grey robes dashed around a corner. Each had a delicate wooden bow, and when they noticed Artemis and Butler, they drew arrows on them, approaching slowly.
As they came closer, Artemis noted that they had long hair. Most had flowing gold hair, and wore two neat braids, tucked behind their ears. Their ears...Which were pointed. So they were elves... But what kind of elves were these? They did not have LEP-Recon badges, or gear. And they carried bows, not guns. What was going on here?
"Excuse me?" he called out loudly, putting his hands up to show he was unarmed. The same couldn't be said for his unconscious bodyguard though. If these elves decided to attack him, Artemis would have to use one of the man's many assorted weapons.
"What has happened here? Who are you?" said one of them, obviously the leader. He was one of the few with brown locks, and he had two single locks, done up simply, hanging on either side of his face. The rest hung simply in the back, and a glittering silver band delicately encircled his brow. He had an air of elegance and majesty about him, and he radiated authority. His brow was high, and his face unblemished.
This elf strode forward, until he was standing right beside Artemis and Butler, and peered down on them, for he was very tall. Artemis noticed that his perfect skin glowed with a gentle light, like he was emitting magic.
Artemis didn't enjoy it one bit, but he felt that honesty would be the only solution here, so he simply said, "I don't know. Who are you? Where are we?"
He thought a little more, then added, "Can you get us to a doctor? I'm not too bad, just a broken rib and a dislocated arm, but Butler is dying. Please...sir...help us!"
The elf frowned ever so slightly, then said, "Doctor?"
Artemis stared at him. Did this elf not know what a doctor was?
"Healer!" he cried exasperatedly.
The elf smiled, and said gently, his voice like a tinkling melody, "Yes, I see. I am Lord Elrond. You are in Rivendell. I will help you and your large friend. He is very injured though, and may take several hours to fully mend. After that, he will need several days of rest."
"Thank you, kind sir," Artemis said. His sight was going blurry, and his arm had gone from a dull throbbing to a piercing burn. His vision blurred, and he felt his knees buckle out from underneath him. He felt himself gently lowered to a bench with kind hand, and vaguely saw the elf, Lord Elrond, muttering words in a different language. Not Gnommish... Something else, completely unknown to Artemis. What was going on here? He never got to find out, because he felt himself relax, the pain fading, and he sank into slumber.
