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Holly Short's diary, 5 years after the death of Artemis Fowl
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Dear diary, well I made it this far. Five long years without seeing his face. It shouldn't bother me this way, we were friends. That's all; nothing more, he kid-napped me for goodness sake, he was a danger to all Haven. He WAS a danger to all Haven, but in the years before he died he was… can I place the words "sweet" and "Artemis" in the same sentence?
I remember it was only a week after the night Opal killed him. I was on forced temporary leave from the field (Foaly's always looking out for me, even though he wouldn't admit it) I went down to the station to get some desk work done; the looks that the fairies gave me were pitiful. They all thought that one mention of his name would send me into a fit of tears. I walked, head high into my cubical (not much need for a whole room when you're in the field) and started the computer. Up pops a window "E-mail from: Artemis Fowl" I gasped at the sight of it, he must have sent it just before… I gathered myself and opened it, my eyes scanning the page.
"holly 911 opal ps i have something to tell you in person"
I cried, long and hard then. What exactly was he going to tell me? I turned off the computer and haven't restarted it since.
I can't take it any longer. I know that I could have saved him. If only I had destroyed Opal when I had the chance. I have made a decision; I cannot live another day without Artemis without knowing what he would have said to me….
Holly sat crossed legged in her bed typing her diary. With a job like hers, you needed to vent every now and then.
The second she finished she slammed the cover of her lap top computer, a tad old-fashioned, but she liked the click of the keys as she wrote in her journal.
She was blinded by hot and unexpected tears as she shot out her door and half-ran to the LEP office.
The common fairies underground all knew her when they saw the short cropped auburn hair, but today they noticed that the elf looked different.
She was older somehow, her eyes were showing the slightest hint of pain, and her skin and hair had dulled. Even Holly herself had noticed how much she had seemed to age since the day Artemis… died. It was still hard for her to think about it.
Short had years of training as a cadet; she knew how to be tough. And she was, most of the time. She scolded herself mentally for showing such rash emotion.
She tore through the crowds of people, not caring who saw her tears and being all together, very unprofessional.
She wasn't only thinking of Artemis, but also of her mother, and Root who had died recently, well almost ten years ago but when you live for hundreds of years, ten years go by in a flash. The only good that came of the day Artemis was murdered was that Root got avenged of his death. But vengeance would refuse to bring either of them back.
"Foaly, we need to talk," Holly shouted through the sealed door to the centaur's Ops room.
"Open the door!" She screamed this time, not out of anger but out of desperation, as she pounded a tiny fist on the brushed steel. The door whished open and she was met by the puzzled stare of Foaly.
"Well you don't have to jam the door in, I just had it polished… those janitor pixies do a lovely job," She cut him off
"I don't care!" She shrieked "Can you bring No.1 to me? Is he allowed to open a time tunnel?"
"Well it's nice to see you too" Foaly whinnied
"Foaly, this is important!" The centaur circled Holly for a moment, staring her down like he was looking strait into her mind. Then, he asked the question she hoped wouldn't come
"This isn't about him is it? You couldn't have done anything about that Holly."
"D'arvit Foaly just get No. 1 up here, I could care less about the "time paradox" I… the LEP won't make it without him!"
"The LEP were doing fine before he came along and are doing fine now. I think you need to calm down." Foaly brought her a chair which she promptly pushed away.
"Look, I won't make it without him ok!" Foaly sat in the chair he had brought for the elf. He felt terrible about the whole thing really, a tragic accident. Perhaps he could have saved young Artemis, he often thought. He was sure Holly felt the same way.
Not even a body to prove Artemis was dead, but who needs a body when the manor was burnt to the ground? It would've taken years to sort out any human remains. He whinnied out of annoyance and anger as he messaged the demon warlock who could open the time tunnel.
"Alright Holly, I'm jumping through some major hoops to get this mission off the ground I hope you know, and time tunnels aren't entirely legal, except in extreme cases." He took a deep breath "Artemis wasn't entirely legal himself, and he was an extreme boy. I'll come with you"
It was the least he could do for his closest friend. And he really did miss having someone who was actually interested in his fancy new gadgets. He was SO under appreciated.
Holly wiped the back of her hand against her eyes, embarrassed at her outburst. She smoothed her hair and put on a false but warm smile.
"Thank you" She whispered.
"Not a problem, I won't even have to tell the wife. We'll be back in two shakes of a centaur's tail." He smiled at his pun on a common human phrase.
It was taking Holly awhile to get used to the fact that he was married…
*****
No 1 arrived minutes later, using teleportation. He over shot the distance a bit though and landed suspiciously right next to the box of doughnuts in the LEPrecon office kitchen.
Holly rolled her eyes and went to get him.
He was obviously getting older, his scales were tougher and he was almost an inch taller, but this was probably the tallest he would ever be. His features were more sinister looking, but when he saw Holly his face lit up and he ran to her like a little kid for a hug.
"So," No 1 said between bites of a powdery doughnut "what of my tremendous powers do you need now, Captain Short?" He had reclined in one of Foaly's swivel chairs.
"We need a… time tunnel" She was reluctant to say this because of all the trouble these had caused them in the past, and the fact that they were generally illegal.
"A time tunnel, and why would you need a time tunnel? I can do a pretty good one now, the last seven times the most damage I did was a left and right hand switch, that poor hologram will never write the same again…" He mocked some pity then smiled devilishly, which is a pretty disturbing sight on a demon, even if he was only an imp
"This wouldn't be about a certain genius would it?"
"Well, uh, yes" Holly replied, the look on No 1's face told her that he wasn't going to do it.
"Ok, sure thing Holly!" He smiled and got on his tail in his "power stance"
"Wait so you mean you can do it?" No 1 laughed at the surprised look on both Foaly's and Holly's faces
"Yes I can do it! I miss little Arty myself, but beware of the time paradox, don't talk to anyone, try not to change history blah blah blah… last time it actually worked out rather well. Well, in the end at least." It in fact had not gone as well as the demon seemed to remember, but that's another book. "Qwen, I know for a fact, is extremely busy right now, hard to get your life in order when you haven't had one for thousands of years… he won't be watching the time line."
"Alright then, come on Foaly. Let's get us some Fowl" Holly remarked as No 1 opened the time tunnel. The two started towards the tunnel but the imp stopped them.
"Holly, you know the rules! No clothing. Off, now!" The imp was enjoying this. Holly's face turned a red that would have made Root proud as she undressed.
Lucky centaur doesn't need clothes anyway she though grudgingly as she stripped down to her lacy green underwear and bra. Holly whinnied out a chuckle to see her so embraced. In return she smacked him in the rump.
With that No 1 shot Holly with a bit of his own magic to create a beacon so they ended up back where they began.
Holly was almost used to the tunnel by now, but Foaly wasn't so confident. The swirling lights where a surprise since he thought his eyes were closed. He opened his mouth to speak and nothing came out.
What have I gotten myself into? He thought
Hey, buck up, it's not that bad. From Holly
Holly, how do you know where to go?
He asked as he did comical cartwheels in the tunnel and turned every shade of green. Holly tried to concentrate on where they were going as she answered.
I just know, I can sense him, I need to concentrate though so shut it.
Foaly wasn't assured. He believed in science over magic.
Thankfully the time tunnel was forgiving of its novice rider and stayed gentle (imagine being in a huge, sucking whirlpool, wearing nothing but steel wool) until it tossed them out on the concrete floor of the basement in Fowl Manor.
Holy knew it was the right spot because the manor had been burned to the ground after the last battle against Opal. Foaly landed hooves-over-head against the gray wall, moaning about staying in his lab next time.
It brought a rush of memories to the little elf and she had to close her eyes to block the tears.
Uh! Such a disgrace, I'm an LEP officer not a mourning lover… oh D'arvit!
She bit her lip and stood up quickly, offering the centaur a hand. She searched the basement for anything to wear.
D'arvit! She swore under her breath in Gnommish when she found nothing but mops and bottles of cleaner.
They began to climb the dusty basement stairs when above they heard clanging and shouting. Holly could feel the presence of magic.
"Foaly, I know you came to help but stay here, I don't think I got us to exactly the right time. Listen." They were silent as they strained to here what was going on.
It was in the heat of a battle.
"Go on" said Foaly, "I'm of no help up there without any equipment. I'll just slow you down. I figured we could have the kinks worked out of this back at the lab but since you're here now you can probably make it"
"Ok, but make yourself useful" She knew he wouldn't, partially because of the muttered-
"Hah, about as useful as a bucket of swear toads" and partially because… he was a centaur genius in a basement full of nothing but cob webs and cleaning supplies, what could he do?
Holly walked to the lobby, careful not to make the boards creak under her bare feet. There, she would find her past (and fully clothed) self, Artemis, and unfortunately Opal Koboi who in her time was long dead.
She hid behind a suit of armor and watched. The small pixie hung in the air above her former self and Artemis. She was ranting, her eyes red with over-worked magic. The sight of the teenager plucked at her emotions. She was on a mission, no time for dwelling on that kiss, she should have had plenty of time in the future… wait was that the past?
Oh my gods! This stupid paradox!
So she pushed it aside, a ball of tangled yarn that could be dealt with later.
If she was only minutes off she would have to watch Artemis die again.
"There's nothing left for you if you kill either of us Opal!" Artemis shouted.
His suit was tattered and he had a few cuts but nothing lethal, his hazel and blue eyes darted around the room looking for an escape plan, he found none. Artemis's hair was messed up and clumped in spots, with blood that made Holly wince even now.
Holly watched as her younger self sat crouched in another corner, helpless. She had lost every inch of her magic by then. Wasted on trying to kill Opal. Opal was invincible though.
After she disappeared under the kraken's rubble she discovered something more powerful then lemur brain-juice, insanity. Her mind was so mixed up that magic pooled in her and multiplied blindly. She was a powerhouse of a pixie, nigh invincible. That's why it took twenty LEP police and five dwarfs to finally kill her.
From Holly's view point she noticed something now that gave her a lump in her throat. With the angle Artemis was standing at, he was blocking her from Opal. Even if Opal was after Holly the blast would have no where to go other then strait through the boy.
Her former self was barely able to say one thing before she passed out. Holly listened and whispered along "Artemis" was her last word. She was sure he couldn't hear her but Artemis looked back for just a second at the elf.
In that second all hell broke loose. The door burst open with LEP officers all aiming their weapons at Opal, and a few hungry dwarfs as well. In one last shriek of hatred Opal shot a concentrated burst of red magic at Artemis that struck him square in the chest, then Opal was literally burnt to a crisp by the lasers.
She had become too much of a public risk to live, and she probably wouldn't have anyway, seeing as she had put her very life-force into killing Fowl.
Holly watched in horror as she saw what she hadn't seen before. Artemis was flung back by the blast of magic, behind a wall, he lay broken and barely breathing.
The LEP officers never even glanced at him; they carried away the young Holly into a medical van and shuttled her off to Haven.
Holly knew that later, a lone LEPrecon cadet would come by and torch the manor, saying a silent pray over the presumed dead Fowl family.
Holly raced out to Artemis once the officers had left. She carefully dragged him into the light, leaving a sickening trail of blood on the polished tile.
It was amazing to see her friend again over all these years. Holly looked at his paling face for a moment before snapping out of it
She violently shook her head to clear her thoughts and focused her magic by clicking her neck. She closed her eyes and held Artemis's somber looking face in her hands. A gulp formed in her throat. His body was growing colder by the second under her hands. She checked his vitals. He took shallow breaths and his heart beat was weak but there.Heal is all she thought for as long as she could.
Blue fire from her fingers danced over the boy's dying body, concentrating on scrapes and burns, the gash on the side of his head. It replaced all the lost blood and repaired every inch of his body, he looked like he was simply sleeping and would awake any minute, but no such luck.
Holly opened her eyes; Artemis moaned a little and breathed a raged breath that was his last. Holly felt drained and hopeless. She layed a hand over his heart, nothing.
"Arty, please. Fight harder!" I'm loosing him again she thought as her eyes welled up with tears. Perhaps he had been healed too much. All the times he should have been dead and the only reason he was alive was because of her, and vise-versa.
Everything she did know was frantic, she tore off his shirt and placed her hands directly on his chest. With all her magic but the little that she needed to find her way home she thought HEAL!!
Her tears hit the blue sparks, setting them crackling. She was getting a piercing headache as almost every bit of magic was pushed out into Artemis. She had to stop. Taking a breath of air she stared at the body in front of her.
It shivered and convulsed for a moment and the last of the blue sparks dissolved into his skin. His heart had begun beating and his lungs remembered how to breath.
She sighed in relief as Artemis opened his eyes and squinted at her, they were paled with blue light for a second then cleared to the shining pool of blue and earthen hazel.
"H-Holly?" He whispered. "I thought you were gone. Opal, is she dead?" Holly couldn't speak. She nodded her head dramatically and resisted the urge to embrace and kiss him again. At least he knew there was no more danger.
"Are you alright?" Artemis sat up leaning on his arms. As he looked into her mismatched eyes they seemed almost sad, and older, so much older. "What happened to you?" He looked her over, she didn't have her suit on. She barely had anything on and her face was streaked with red. It was then that he noticed his shirt was ripped to shreds on the ground nest to him.
Holly just sat with the boy for the longest time trying to communicate something. And willing her arms to stay glued to her sides, Artemis was like a magnetic force to them, she felt so weak. He got to his feet and her eyes followed him but she did not rise.
Artemis realized that such a healing would take a lot out of her. After all, he was in pretty bad shape. Although he hadn't yet realized that he had died. He reached down and picked her up in his arms, a tad embarrassed that he had no shirt on and she had no... clothes on; he held her close to him though and carried her to a chair in the lobby, putting her down then grabbing the seat next to her. A little worried about her lack of speech, he pulled the chair up in front of her and tried to get her talking.
"Holly… who killed Opal?" nothing. "How did you get your magic back then... and where are your clothes?" more staring. "Snap out of it, I need to know what happened!"
Finally he gave in. He had to shock her into coming back to reality. The best way to do this, he decided, was to return that kiss he had gotten almost three years ago (eight for Holly). He reached his shaking hand forward and awkwardly touched her face below her pointed ear, leaned in, and kissed her. Then she came to life.
Holly wrapped her arms around a surprised Artemis and kissed him back, harder. His eyes shot wide for a moment, and then he returned the kiss again. This kissing volleyball went on for awhile until Holly realized what she was doing.
"Arty!" She jerked away "Wow, I'm so glad to see you alive!" Artemis thought quickly, he was dizzied from the kiss and felt like he had been to hell and back. Hell and back? Oh... right. He realized almost instantly what was going on. It made sense, Holly being in her undergarments, the surprising lack of memories for the past few minutes, and him feeling like he had been to hell and back... he had! Only one question remained, how long had Holly lived without him?
"Oh... I see, time tunnel. But how many years was I dead?" said Artemis.
He secretly hoped that she hadn't waited too long to save his life, did she really not care? Holly seemed to read his mind and backed away a little.
"It was five years ago, I wanted to rescue you sooner but time tunnels are illegal and Trouble forced me to stay there. He was almost glad to have you gone. It was Foaly who finally allowed me to come. Kelp doesn't know." The look in her eyes was desperate. She wanted him to know how much of her had died with him five years ago.
"Five years... how do you thank someone for bringing you back to life?" Holly knew how she wanted to be thanked, but realized everything was alright for now. Seeing him breathing and looking into her eyes once more was certainly thanks enough.
"I owed you, after all, you saved the whole of Haven." And I missed you terribly! She thought this but couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Well thank you." He smiled and leaned back in his chair. " how's the future Butler doing?" Holly was astonished that he had thought of someone else's well being. She took a moment then carefully replied.
"He's well, his age is defiantly showing. He's not the same though." she replied.
"Not the same? What's changed?"
"He doesn't remember you at all. After your death Foaly mind-wiped him. He was raving mad. He would have killed himself if he stayed that way. He doesn't remember a thing about you, or us. We placed him in an apartment in France. There's surveillance everywhere though in case something should go awry. We were hardly surprised when he got a job at the local police station. He's doing very well there." Artemis lowered his head.
"Yes, and seeing me again would probably spark some memory. I will just have to let that go." He swallowed hard. Holly felt like she had taken away his best friend. Then felt worse as she realized she probably did.
"I'm sorry Arty." She put her hand on his shoulder.
"It was a smart move. He's better off this way." Artemis stood and looked Holly over. "Why don't we get back to Haven." Holly's ears were red hot and she wrapped her arms around her exposed skin.
"Yeah... good idea." Holly agreed.
"I have one of those every so often." Artemis shrugged "Where's Foaly?" Holly stared wide-eyed at him.
"How did you know Foaly was here?"
"There is no way someone in their right mind would come through a time tunnel alone and Foaly seems to be the only one who wants me back. It was an educated guess."
"Highly educated... He's in the basement." Artemis started to walk towards the basement, but turned around.
"About the kiss," Holly dreaded this part, "I had to get you talking" He winked at her and smiled his vampire smile, only this time a touch of warmth entered it making it all the more mysterious. The pair headed back to Haven and left Artemis Fowl's old life behind.