2014 Olympic Games! Here at last! I'm so glad for the games to start! Now, this story is based on the opening ceremony of the Games, which have not yet happened as of now, so there obviously will be a few odd details that you should ignore. Takes place sometime after The Time Paradox. Thank, and please enjoy.

Oh, and review.

Reviewing would be nice.

Artemis and Holly at the Olympic Games

Artemis wasn't a sports fan. Nor was he a cold weather fan. Or a fan of being stuffed in a crowd. Yet, here he was in Sochi, Russia, shivering in a large stadium while trying to push his way past the crowd into his seat.

He glanced down at his ticket to check the row again, even though he had memorized all the important details. He sighed and began his way past the annoyed occupants who muttered insults in a variety of languages as he tread on their toes.

Beckett, the youngest Fowl by thirty seconds, waved when he saw his older brother approaching. His twin, Myles, smiled and pointed at the empty seat in between the two. Angeline, Artemis' mother, was having a conversation with her husband, most likely something along the lines of 'great family experience'.

Artemis took his seat, smiling as the twins recounted their failed attempt to snowboard down the staircase. They had been obsessed with the sport ever since TG4* did an Olympic special on a Russian snowboarder, Alexei Ivanov who was also the torchbearer granted with the honour of bringing the torch into the stadium. Getting the chance to see him at the Olympic Opening Ceremony was pretty much a second Christmas for the boys.

Eventually, the clattering of conversation died down and a French** announcement started over the loudspeaker. It was then repeated in Russian, English, and several other languages.

Please take your seat and begin to quiet down. The Olympic Games will soon begin.

On the ground, cameras and news reporters flocked like vultures, trying to get the best shot of the stage, which was just a white canvas sheet at the moment, sans the silver horn that sat in the center, where the Olympic flame was to be lit. Artemis straightened and watched the large view screen that was preparing to show close up views of the giant white canvas, waiting for a red square to flash in the bottom corner, the signal.

A minute later, it flashed and he stood up.

"Where're you going?" Beckett pouted. "You're gonna miss the cer'mony!"

Artemis gave a reassuring smile. Or what he hoped was reassuring- he didn't have much experience. "Don't worry. I will be back shortly."

He slipped his way his past the twins, then his father, then his- he stopped.

"Where do you think you're going?" His mother looked at him disapprovingly.

"It won't take long, mother."

"And just what is it? We are here for family time, young man."

Artemis frowned. "I will return before they light the flame, mother."

"Call me mom."

"Mom." Angeline smiled and let him by. There was no point holding him back. When you had a son named Artemis Fowl, you had limited control.

Artemis hurried past, ignoring the colourful language of those with toes, and briskly walked to the back of that level of the stadium to meet his partner in crime who also happened to be invisible at the moment.

He sat down at the back of the level. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he began to talk into the air.

"What did you need me for, Holly?"

Surprisingly, the air decided to talk back. A small, red-haired elf appeared beside him.

"I-it's a LEP em-mergancy. A t-terrorist fairy group is p-planning an attack."

Normally, one might think an elf appearing out of thin air may be unusual. But not Artemis. Artemis had befriended the fairy people many years ago. No, what Artemis thought was unusual was the fact that the words 'fairy' and 'terrorist' were being used in the same sentence. Holly seemed to sense this rare example of confusion from the child genius and explained further.

"They're up-s-set about the R-russians killing stray dogs."***

"So they decided to murder Mud People completely unrelated to that?"

Holly shrugged and shuddered again in the chilly air.

"Well, what do you need me for?"

He was shoved a glass tablet with the mission information typed neatly. He quickly read over the text on the hi-tech computer screen before handing it back.

Basically, the terrorists rigged the torch to explode when it lit the giant horn-shaped cauldron. Holly was to sneak in, shielded, and disable the bomb with Artemis' assistance from where he would be posted on the edge of the stadium with his laptop that was synced to her iris cam. There, he would also be able to stop the final torchbearer if it became too late.

Suddenly, both of them cringed when a canon fired from somewhere. A group of gymnasts ran out onto the canvas, dressed in black so they would stand out better against the white, Artemis presumed, and snow- fake or real, they couldn't tell- started to fall.

"W-we have about twenty minutes before it's l-lit."

"Then we'd best be off. I told my family I'd be back before they lit the cauldron."

Holly smiled. "If you aren't," she pointed out, "it wouldn't matter because everyone will be dead."

***NOTE: For those of you unaware, stray dogs are a bad problem in Sochi with all the tourists because of fights and things like that, so some pest control people are killing a lot of them with chemicals. That's what the fairies are upset about, even though there are some people who are trying to save the dogs, too.

*a TV station

**French is the official language of the Olympics

Hopefully, I'll be able to add more soon!