A/N: Please point out any mistakes I've made. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but constructive. This will probably be heavily influenced by Alpha, Theta, Epsilon by AnnaCromwell, and credit for much of the original idea goes to them, but this is my own.
Set before Artemis Fowl, after HoO.
Disclaimer: I own no part of either of these series, or I'd have better things to do with my time than write fanfiction.
Artemis Fowl II stared at the letter on his desk, disbelief etched on his face.
The letter was handwritten on a plain sheet of paper and sent in an envelope with a return address that read "Camp Half-Blood". It had been delivered that morning, but not the typical way letters arrived. The letter had been on his desk when he entered his office that morning, but nobody had brought it inside. Curious. Of course, he immediately had Butler check it for any kind of danger, but there was none. The letter was just that, a letter. But the cause of the disbelief currently spread across Artemis's features was what was written in the letter.
Dear Artemis Fowl,
This letter is of the utmost importance to your safety. Please, do not disregard it. You may at first believe it is a hoax, but we can assure you, it is not. The ancient deities of Greece, such as Zues and Hera, are real. At some point in the past, they interacted in your bloodline. As a result, you are not entirely human. At least a small part of you is godly. As a descendant of a god, you may have noticed strange events occur around you, such as creatures that shouldn't exist appearing in your life, or dangerous events being commonplace. This letter was sent to you because one or both of your parents attended this camp, and would like you to revive the same education they received. We specialize in giving children with godly blood the skills they need to survive. Please contact us or come here, to Camp Half-Blood, at the earliest opportunity.
Artemis had read the letter six times, but nothing seemed false, aside from the fact that the author claimed gods were real. Additionally, he'd never experienced either of the examples the letter listed. It seemed the author didn't know him personally.
He considered asking his mother about the letter, but decided against it. Her mind had been declining since his father went missing, and he didn't want to do anything to make it worse. Besides, she wasn't exactly reliable.
He settled for asking Butler instead. His bodyguard was quite a bit older than him, so he might know more about the camp than Artemis did.
"Butler, have you ever heard about this?" Artemis asked calmly. He didn't really believe the letter, but given his recent interest in fairies, he couldn't really judge.
Butler read the letter quickly. "I can't say I've heard of this specifically, but I've heard your father discussing a camp he went to when he was younger. This could be the same one, but I don't know for sure."
Artemis considered this. "I'd like to research this a bit more before taking action."
Butler nodded. "Your father kept his old camp things in a drawer in his old desk. You could start there."
Artemis nodded in reply. "Thank you." He left the room, heading towards his father's office. The letter replayed itself in his mind. Every time he thought about it, the letter seemed more convincing. Still, Artemis wasn't prepared to dismiss the possibility of everything being a elaborate hoax.
Once in his father's office, he opened the third drawer. There was what was supposedly his father's camp things, but nothing there fit with the concept. There were a few notebooks, a couple of orange T-shirts he'd never seen, which looked like they may once have had words on them, but were too faded to read, and, oddly enough, a gold necklace with a black skull pendant hanging from it, and a leather necklace with several beads strung on it. Each bead seemed to have a small picture painted on it. That was it. The T-shirts made some sense, but the other things didn't, and there were no photos, no yearbooks, nothing to suggest the contents of the drawer may have been from a summer camp.
He lifted one of the shirts out of the drawer and unfolded it, intending to see if any part of the faded writing was legible. As he lifted it, a yellowed piece of paper fell out. He picked it up and looked at it. The letter was perfectly identical to the one that Artemis had received.
Obviously, it wasn't entirely a hoax. His father would never have kept a letter with no truth to it. Reluctantly, he picked up the letters, both his and his father's, and headed upstairs, to his mother's room. He may not have wanted to involve her, but there were really no other legitimate options.
He approached the door and knocked sharply. "Mother? Are you awake?"
"Of course, Artemis, darling." His mother answered. Her voice was startlingly frail. "Where have you been?"
An uncharacteristic lump formed in his throat as he entered, preparing to lie to his mother. Something that had happened with increasing frequency recently. "School, Mother. I've been away."
"Oh, of course," Angeline said. "Your education is important. Still, you do need to visit more. Maybe we could take a family trip. Perhaps when your father returns."
The lump thickened in his throat. "Yes, perhaps. How have you been?"
His mother waved a hand, seemingly to dismiss the question, but she answered. "I hear things at night, Arty. When I'm sleeping."
Artemis ignored the comment. It was clearly the product of illness. Instead, he diverted the conversation to his reason for coming in. "Mother, I received an interesting letter today."
Angeline turned sharply to face him. For the first time in months, there was clarity visible in her eyes. "A letter? From where?" she demanded. "Not from a camp in New York?"
Artemis blinked in shock. "Actually, yes. And I found an identical letter in Father's old things."
Angeline swore. A first, at least in front of Artemis. "But you're only eleven, they aren't supposed to contact you until you're thirteen… it doesn't matter. You got the letter, you need to go. Oh, I'm going to murder that centaur."
"Centaur?"
"Yes, centaur. Go research Hellenistic mythology. And send Juliet up. I need to get dressed."
Artemis left the room, feeling more confused than he had been. Evidently, there was at least some truth to the letter. He walked into the library and went through the bookshelves. For something not even true, there was a disproportionate amount of books on Greek mythology. He pulled a thick book labeled "The Collected Myths Of Hellenistic Culture" from the shelves and started reading. It took him a couple of hours to read, and he'd practically memorized most of the book when he was done. He replaced the book and returned to his mother's room. The room was unrecognizable. The curtains had been thrown open, everything was cleaned, the linen had been changed, and most importantly, Angeline was walking around, directing Juliet, who seemed thrilled with the sudden turnaround.
Angeline spotted him and called him in. She asked Juliet to leave and closed the door. Her face was alight with life.
As Artemis stood there, his mother pulled a large chest out from under her bed and opened it. The chest was filled with what looked like artifacts from Ancient Greece. Some were obviously meant for a woman, but others were decidedly masculine. There was Greek-style armor, knives, a javelin, two bows, one sword with a midnight-black blade and gold hilt, and assorted others. Everything was militaristic. Artemis felt a pull toward the sword, like it was calling him. His mother pulled it out and held it out to him, hilt first.
Artemis just looked at her, not understanding. She exhaled in a huff of exasperation. "Take it, Arty."
He took it, holding it by the handle. The sword vibrated once and stilled. A faint hum could still be heard from the blade. What surprised him most, however, was how right it felt in his hand. Almost instinctive.
Artemis' mother saw his look of confusion and apparently saw fit to explain. "The sword bonded to you. You can't lose it now, and you'll be able to wield it instinctively."
Artemis nodded. Bonded usually implied either a symbiotic or parasitic relationship, and Artemis didn't really didn't want either with an inanimate object. Regardless, the sword felt proper in his grip.
He held up the necklaces he'd found earlier, and his mother glanced at them before turning him. He had been planning to ask what they represented, but Angeline preempted him.
"The gold necklace is a gift from your father's father, Hades. You can pull the pendant off the chain and armor will form around you. The other is just signifying the amount of summers one attended at Camp Half-Blood. Every bead represents a summer."
The bead necklace had six beads on it. Apparently, his father spent a fair amount of time at this camp.
Angeline continued speaking. "You may as well keep the skull necklace. You do need something to protect you, and it's not doing anything useful in that drawer. The sword, two."
Artemis snorted. "So, I'm supposed to carry a sword around? That may present a problem with Customs, if nothing else."
Angeline laughed. "No, not in that form. You can will it to change form when you need to."
Artemis blinked, then concentrated. The sword shivered for a moment, then srank into a gold ring with a black stone. He was both intrigued and nervous, for the same reason. If that could be real, everything else could also.
Angeline closed the chest and replaced it under the bed. She then sat on the bed and regarded him calmly, clarity still in her eyes. "Moving on, you do need to know your godly ancestry. Your father is a son of Hades, but the Fowl line is descended from Hermes too, hence the penchant for crime. And going all the way back to when your ancestors lived in Greece itself, they've had the blessing of Athena, despite not being related directly. On my side, my mother, and therefore your grandmother, is a goddess, but I never did find out which one."
Artemis stood silently, absorbing the new information. Angeline seemed to be waiting for a response, but he didn't have one. He settled for asking another question. "If the gods are real, are the monsters from the old myths also? And the Titans?"
Angeline nodded in confirmation. "Unfortunately, yes." She stood up and left the room, gesturing for Artemis to follow. They went back to the library, where Angeline pulled a thick, seemingly ancient book from one of the upper shelves. The cover read "Beasts of Greek Mythology". She handed the book to him. "Read this. It's important. The first rule of combat is to know your enemy. When you're finished, you'll be going to Camp Half-Blood."
Long Island, New York
Artemis sat in the rear of their luxury rental, with Butler in the driver's seat. They were en route to Delphi Strawberry Fields, the cover address for Camp Half-Blood. Artemis fingered the ring on his left hand. Its presence was oddly comforting, especially since it could become a sword at a moment's notice.
His eyes began to close as he reflected on the surreal day he'd had. He never imagined the results of that letter's arrival on his desk. Primarily, the recovery Angeline had seemed to have had upon hearing about it.
The car suddenly stopped dead. Artemis started to ask Butler what was going on, but the bodyguard held up a closed fist. Artemis had been with Butler long enough to know what the military sign indicated: stop, or in this case probably quiet.
Something landed with a loud thud on the roof of the car. It buckled inward around a central point. Butler drew his Sig Sauer and unloaded the clip through the roof. Something screeched angrily and began to tear at the roof of the car.
Butler paled and dragged Artemis out of the car. There was some sort of creature on top of the car, with talons, tusks and a hideous face. Artemis nearly vomited simply from looking at it. The creature was repulsive, nauseating, and simply looked wrong. As he watched, an identical creature flew onto the car and glared at them. Their identity clicked inside his head. Gorgons.
Butler had reloaded his gun and now fired again. The bullets collided with the creatures, but seemingly had no effect. Information clicked in his head once again. The sword, which was now a ring, seemed to be made of iron. Iron, alongside silver, was one of the best metals for disrupting magic, according to nearly every legend. The gorgons were nothing if not magical.
Artemis pulled the ring off his finger and willed it to change back into a sword. In a moment, he was holding the already familiar weapon in his hand. The gorgons hissed at the sight. One launched themselves at him and the thought I'm dead ran through his head before instinct took over. The sword flew up, interrupting the gorgon's assault. She backed off hurriedly. The two started two circle him cautiously, until a large stone collided abruptly with one's head. She cried out and broke into dust, revealing Butler behind her.
"Well, at least an old-fashioned rock still works." Butler noted with a grim smile. "Now for the-"
Too late, Artemis saw the other gorgon leaping toward him. She'd apparently taken advantage of his momentary distraction with her sister's death to attack him herself. Butler launched his rock at her head, but the creature dodged it. Artemis stumbled backward, barely avoiding the gorgon and falling backward. A searing pain blazed across his chest. She screeched in triumph over him and drew her talons back, aiming for his throat. Artemis plunged the sword forward and upward blindly, deep into the creature's body. She let out a scream and collapsed into a pile of dust.
Artemis stood, breathing heavily. Butler was already standing over him, looking deathly pale. Evidently, the giant Eurasian man was shaken up about failing to effectively protect Artemis. Before Artemis could protest, Butler had slung him over his shoulders and was sprinting for the hill in the distance. Looking over his shoulder, Artemis could see what they were running from. A pack of dogs which could only be described as hellish was hurtling after them, joined by some humanoid shapes larger than Butler.
They reached the crest of the hill, running past a lone pine tree. There was something gold gleam in in the branches which looked like a sheepskin, and something coiled around the base. They didn't stay put long enough for Artemis to get a good look, but he could have sworn it was a dragon.
Butler kept his pace all the way down the hill, but the dogs had stopped at the top of the hill, almost like they couldn't continue. They passed a couple of teenagers sitting under a tree. One of them, a pale, dark-haired boy in black jeans and a leather aviator jacket, looked up, saw them, and immediately stood and stared running up the hill, the way they'd come, a solid black sword exactly like Artemis' own in his hands. The other one, a blonde boy in blue jeans and an orange T-shirt like the ones he'd found in his father's desk, started after them. Butler set him down gently. Artemis looked down. A red stain was slowly spread across his shirt, which was torn apart across the front. The pain tripled. Artemis' head swam suddenly, and then everything went dark.
A/N: So, that's chapter one. Just buildup, really, but most of the first few chapters will be. Not much major plot right now.
-Hunter
P.S: if anyone noticed the fact that Artemis has a canon paternal grandfather, I have two things to tell you. First, this is fanfiction. I can do what I want. Second, Theseus.