Disclaimer: If I owned Artemis Fowl, I would be Eoin Colfer. And if I was Eoin Colfer, I would be capable of writing things much better than this crap here. That is how you shall know the difference!

Music I'm listening to right now: Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying – Fall Out Boy

Okay, I'm back after not posting anything in Artemis Fowl for a reallllllllly long time. This is my first shot at being serious, since most of the time I write humor fics. Let's face it, I've never written anything non-humor in Artemis Fowl before. So this is my first try…tell me if it sucks.

I have no idea what an Armageddon is supposed to be like (I know what it is, but no one I've seen described it), so I kinda made it up. Meaning I left out the whole religious battle thingy (don't you just LOVE my vocabulary) and just described the fire part. Also, it starts rather abruptly...I still have a problem with rushing. And I know that the hints are very unsubtle. Just a warning…

Armageddon Fireworks

Artemis didn't know how he came upon the realization. He had always been somehow conscious of it, like he had always known it was there, but not until something stimulated him to think about it. It was just in the past few days that it had lodged a space in his mind and had gotten comfortable.

His dreams had offered blurry information in a way, and he would spend hours in a trance-like meditation, collecting, recalling, and analyzing every little detail. It was his dreams that had first provoked him to think about it. Every time something in his dreams would change, vary, but every time also there was the same ending…

Gradually, the dreams began occurring more and more often, even when he was awake, when his mind was relaxed they would come upon him. He would be meditating for ideas for some scandal or other, and suddenly his mind would beflooded with the dreams, almost the same at night,until Artemis had to face that there was an ulterior meaning in them. But each dream only held bits and pieces of information. Alone, try as he might, he could not piece them together, like a jigsaw puzzle that was only half an image.

As the summer drew closer Artemis took note of other outside things that were happening: the weatherman reporting that this heat-stricken season could easily beat the record, with the air rippling as if it were water disturbed by a stone. Rain itself was sparse, and little fires were starting of their own accord in fields and other dry places where the friction and the sun bore the beginnings of sparks. Looking just like hell.

As June morphed into July, the heat seemed to radiate even more, until nearly every day was in its high 90s and peaking into the 100's. Artemis's dreams became more intense and vibrant, as if the whole image was being sharpened by the heat, in contrast to the outside world, where everything was made sluggish and tiring.

Until one night when the meaning of the dreams just seemed to click with everything else. Artemis was alone in his private study. It was late in the night, but the humidity was still present, if not the heat. The air conditioner softly whirred in the background, possibly the only reminder of an outside world. But it was a reminder Artemis ignored.

He had contacted the fairies minutes ago. They didn't seem to think anything was so out of the ordinary about this summer. Holly and Root had endlessly reminded him about how the fairies had seen centuries of summers while he had seen only a decade and a half of them. Artemis did not bother elaborating why he was asking them and casually ended the call.

But now…

Artemis's eyes flashed open with a new awareness. It seemed like he never should have missed it in retrospect.

After all, everything made sense. The universe was slowly using up all the energy it possessed, the sun was burning itself out steadily. It could be any day now.

July 4th.

The date seemed to echo and echo in Artemis's head, just appearing there and staying. He couldn't block it out. How ironic, the possibility that the world could end on the day the United States earned its freedom. What does that say about the country?

He didn't have the time to ponder the literary allusion, though. Something was nagging Artemis to check the calendar taped to the wall.

His body didn't move, didn't betray a hint of shock as his brain digested the information his retinas presented him from the calendar, with each day crossed out in black sharpie as it passed.

It was just as he thought.

Today is July 3rd.

-

If there was anything Artemis expected from his dreams, this was not it. His slumber that night was null and void of any soft of subconscious images. Before sleep overtook him, the young genius couldn't help but wonder. He had seen much during his 14 and a half years. Was everything going to end tomorrow? No. Only if he believed. He was still skeptical about the whole thing. Artemis fell asleep to the whisper-quiet sounds of his own breathing...

Red.

Red like fire, red like blood. This was the color Artemis first saw behind his eyelids when he awoke the next morning.

Something, someone was stroking his hair softly. He felt the motion back and forth, again and again. It seemed out of place, disrupting his seamless sleep, but also strangely relaxing. The bright reds and dark maroons began to swim and swirl together.

Artemis opened his eyes.

"Good morning, Mother."

She smiled down at him. "Arty. Did I wake you up?"

"No." Angeline Fowl sat on the corner of Artemis's bed. A soft smile graced her lips, a twinkle that was hardly there gleamed someplace far away inside pupil and iris. Her features; her beauty was ageless. She was happy.

"I just wanted to say good morning to you before I leave to the airport." Ah, yes, how could he have forgotten? His mother was scheduled to meet Artemis Fowl Senior this very day in the next country over.

Artemis nodded. "Have a safe trip, Mother."

She sighed, a sparkle of sadness appearing for a minute. "Take care of yourself, Arty."

"I will," Artemis promised.

Angeline opened her arms wide for a hug. Artemis slipped into his mother's arms. She bid him goodbye as they pulled away and exited the room.

Once his mother was gone, Artemis lay there in his bed, thinking. Could it really happen? Just when everything was coming together, would it now just fall apart? It was a ridiculous theory, and he really had nothing to prove it upon other than his own, well, dreams. And dreams were just that, hidden messages being carried in them or not.

He was filled with the sadness of reminiscing. Did he really believe in it? Of course. Everything added up to it. It, like he was afraid to say the actual word. But even though today was the day Artemis had dwelled on in sleep for the past couple of weeks, he hadn't really thought about it, really thought about it, until today.

Artemis shrugged to himself, however foreign the motion was to him, and got out of bed. Maybe it was because part of him, most of him, didn't believe in Armageddon. He had never believed in any religion, though he was an expert on all the concepts of each. And try as he might, he could not convince that part of him. However, another part was strangely hoping for it…for him to be right…

He slipped on one of his Armani suits after taking a shower, despite the sizzling heat even the air conditioner couldn't diminish. In the next room over, he could hear the blur of speech on the television. Butler was no doubt watching the morning news.

The heavy-set bodyguard emerged from a room just as Artemis began his descent down the stairs. "Good morning Artemis."

The young master returned the greeting, a strangely distant look in his eyes. "Good morning, Butler. How is the weather for today?" It sounded so childish, silly, cliché. What a stupid question. But there was really no other way to ask it.

Butler frowned. "Hottest day on record for this area. Why?"

"I was merely wondering," the boy said cautiously.

"It's supposed to be hottest at noontime. Exactly noon, when the sun's at its highest point."

"Noon, hmm?" The genius was deep in thought. It all fit. He was jarred from his thoughts as Butler asked,

"Breakfast, sir?"

Artemis nodded. His eyes were already gluing themselves to the first clock in sight, counting down the seconds to the inevitable…

-

Butler had absolutely no idea whatsoever why Artemis Fowl II had decided to lock himself in his study once again, only that the adolescent had said not to disturb him, that was he planning something of utter importance.

But again, he was merely the bodyguard. His job was simple to protect the principal with his life. Even though, Butler shared a connection with Artemis past 'protect-the-principal', so it was natural for him to be curious…though he knew not to disturb the boy out of habit. So what was it about this particular study excursion that interested him so? Oh well, he thought, brushing the notion from his mind. It was the last thing he needed to worry about.

It was 11:50 a.m. and sweltering. Butler wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, turning up the AC another notch. What could the young master be up to today?

Right at that moment, Butler was in the Fowl's living room. He was nearly finished with organizing his weapons he always kept with him. As he carefully placed everything in its correct place, his thoughts were lead back to Artemis again before he scolded himself for wondering about the boy. He chucked the suitcase into a secret closet hidden near the staircase, crouching down to fit it in.

Butler stood up, and looking at the window, immediately noticed something. The sky seemed to be darkening, the clouds disappearing, the sun fading. Almost like a solar eclipse, but different in some way. For instance, you couldn't see the moon's thin corona or photosphere glowing.

He felt the heat rise even more. Not just humidity, but the actual sun. Which was weird because he couldn't even see the sun…

A sudden loud crackling noise made him jump. It was the sound of wind on flame, the sound a bullet makes scorching across the sky. It was loud enough to sting his ears and keep them ringing for a second.

The first thing he heard once the dull undertone in his ears went away was the sound of Artemis speaking.

"So, it has begun."

For the second time in about a minute, Butler jumped. He turned around as if in slow motion. There Artemis stood behind him, in his Armani suit with an unreadable expression on his face. He seemed almost unaware of the fact Butler was there, so the bodyguard had to ask. "What do you mean, Artemis?"

Artemis's eyes rested on Butler, and something seemed to settle in them. "Look out the window. Armageddon, my friend."

Butler suddenly felt a tingle in his body. He turned around, looking out the window like Artemis was.

The sky was now nearly black, but fire had erupted from the earth, roaring like a monster that had been unleashed. Fierce winds stirred the inferno and whipped about, spreading the fire. The flames rose in the "night" like devils reaching their arms out to scathe the heavens, all red and yellow and orange. The scent of smoke and ash filled Butler's nostrils. The massive fire crackled and stretched in every direction, illuminating the dark sky. It was a scene of utter chaos. The temperature was scorching, the flames destroying everything in their spreading path. Butler felt as if his skin itself was burning, yearning to be one with the fire, to join the revelation that was Armageddon. He stood frozen at the mansion window, staying firmly at his place, though it took effort.

But not Artemis.

The young master glided towards the door as if in a trance. Butler could have stopped him, but something told him to leave the boy alone.

Butlerwatched Artemis step outside and embrace the flames, returning his gaze to the window where he murmured to the intense blaze,

"So, it has begun…"

T H E E N D

Review? It might be my last work for a while…

This is really random and off-topic, but has anyone read the book Kerosene by Chris Wooding? It's really good…dot dot dot…

Hope you enjoyed this in some twisted way! Now leave a message about how bad my writing skills are.

Happy fourth of July to anyone here in the United States!