Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl
Also, if you haven't read my other story Price you really should because this will make almost no sense otherwise.
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The dawn air was cool and dry against Artemis's skin. He hung suspended in space attached to Holly's moonbelt. Wrapped around him was a piece of camfoil that Foaly had provided. They said nothing to each other, for there was nothing that could really be said.
Taking in a deep breath Artemis closed his eyes trying to memorize the scents of the Earth. Fresh grass clippings from the Fowl Manor. He breathed out. They soared on past fields towards the city. Workaholics scurried back and forth from their favorite coffee shop. Another breath. Smoke and the smell of cheap baked goods.
Artemis slowly opened his eyes. The memory of his past flights made his stomach flop nervously. He forced himself to look down. After all, who knew how long it would be until he could see the surface again.
It was beautiful.
The surface of the Earth pulsed with life. Colors swam in his vision. And the sensation of being above it all, to be simply soaring, was unbelievable. He felt rather like he had when he had first done magic. With a jolt he realized that his fairy instincts were taking over. Though, he considered as Holly went suddenly into a dive, this wasn't so bad. He whooped along with her as the wind rushed past their exhilarated faces.
So this was what she got from flying. Curious.
Holly laughed at Artemis as they began to descend. "What do you know? Looks like you got your wings after all Fowl. Took you long enough."
"Yeah." Said Artemis. " I suppose I did." His face gained an arrogant look. "Was there ever any doubt?"
Holly discreetly made sure that they were a safe distance above the surface. Then, she pretended to think for a moment. "Well..." She loosened the straps on the moonbelt and Artemis tumbled to the ground. He landed in an extremely undignified position.
A few birds flew away in fright from her high-pitched laughter.
Artemis got to his feet and brushed away the dirt on his suit. His face was flushed with embarrassment. Luckily for him a distraction would arrive that would wipe the smile from her face. Or realistically, it would at least get her to stop laughing for the next few moments.
The ground opened and a disembodied head poked it way out. Foaly's head smiled cheerfully at them. "Like it Mud- uh, Artemis? I call it a Holo-ball. It's completely self-sufficient power wise." A carrot came out of nowhere and Foaly bit into it nervously. "The actual physical structure is no larger than a marble."
Artemis winced at the mistake. Pushing the unpleasant thoughts away he recovered his old self. "Very intriguing. I hope you'll let me examine at it more closely later."
"Of course." Said the centaur, trying to avoid Holly's death glare. He had limited success. "Now, to business." The head glanced down at what was presumably his hands typing. A sleek LEP craft rose above the hole in ground.
Foaly cleared his throat apologetically. "In return for the chance for Holly and I to attempt a voluntary retrieval, the Counsel requested," he rolled his eyes at this, "that this statement be read at your arrival at the chute. 'The Fairy Counsel wishes to greet Mister Artemis Fowl and welcome him to Haven. He is to understand that he is now classified as a fairy and that he is to abide by all of our rules and regulations. If he objects, he may discuss his complaints with the Counsel in court. We wish him the best of luck.' "
Holly snorted. "Best of luck? Ha! Yeah, right. And Mulch is really a sprite in disguise."
A small moment of silence descended slowly on them.
" Well," said Holly finally. "Shall we?" She popped open the door to the shuttle and went inside. Foaly or at least his projection followed her. Taking one last deep breath, Artemis followed.
As he stepped into the shuttle he tried not to think of what this meant. He didn't want to stop and consider all that he was leaving behind. But seeing how this was Artemis Fowl, he did. He thought about his family and how distraught they'd be. He thought of how he had nearly lost his parents before and how the magic that had brought them back together was breaking them apart.
He thought of Butler, the man who had been taking care of him since the day he was born and the twins who would never know their older brother. Minerva briefly entered his mind. But only for a second.
The doors slid shut behind him and the shuttle flew down to Haven.
888
The Fowl Manor's front steps sparkled impressively as the morning sun rose slowly into its accustomed spot in the sky. All of the windows were scrubbed until they shined, but no one could see into them because all of the curtains were drawn shut. Behind one of these windows a person was waking up. This particular person had lived in this house for many years. The occupants of the manor had taken to regarding him as a part of the family. This said a lot about the Fowl family since Domovoi Butler, at a height of almost seven feet, was a formidable person.
When he rose in the morning, the first thing that he did was reach down under his bed and grab the electronic sweeper to make sure that nobody had snuck something into his room. Than he went for a jog around the Fowl Manor perimeter partly so that he could get some exercise, but mostly to make sure that the border had not been compromised. Usually after that he went into the house to the kitchen to make breakfast. Of course after Artemis had surprisingly started cooking, in the morning Butler merely hung out around the kitchen. He needed reassurance that the boy was still there. After all the last time he had left Artemis alone he had transported himself and three other magical creatures into another dimension.
This morning started like any other. He awoke at 5:00 and took a stroll around the perimeter. He noted that the weather was particularly nice today. It had been raining so much lately. Ms. Fowl would be glad to here that the weather would be nice enough for the family picnic that she had been planning in secret for some time now. He allowed himself a small grin. Artemis would probably complain, but it would be good for him. Artemis's normally pale skin got even paler with every passing day. Some sun would benefit his health. He jumped over the stone steps and entered the manor.
Something was wrong. He could feel it.
He neared the kitchen cautiously. Leaning into the door he felt the cold wood press into his cheek. Something seemed different. But what was it? And than he understood. He swung the door open as fast as he could, revealing the empty room.
Artemis. Where was he?
Taking the stairs two at he time he raced up towards his charge's room. He made sure his steps were as light as a cat's. If it was just a false alarm there was no need to worry the Fowls. Butler knew though, as he neared Artemis's bedroom, that he was not there. One opened door later and Butler had all the proof he needed that Artemis was truly gone.
The bed was neatly made. A light blue-checkered pattern coated the quilt covering it. Artemis's computer was turned off, which was an unusual occurrence. The window was open just a crack.
Butler considered the possibilities. It was unlikely that Artemis would have run away and even if he had he would have left a note of some sort. This was the second story of the building so Artemis couldn't have climbed out of the window. The walls of the manor were covered with closed circuit security cameras and all the windows could only be opened by the inside.
'Fairies?' thought Butler. At once another voice awoke in his brain. 'Don't be ridiculous. Why would a fairy want to kidnap Artemis? Besides, fairies need permission to enter a dwelling. The only person who could enter would be Holly and she would never kidnap Artemis.' He nodded absentmindedgly. That made a lot of sense. He didn't know why he had even considered fairies in the first place. Though he had to admit that the idea of Holly kidnapping Artemis would be funny. He forced down a yawn. His vision swam for a moment. That had been happening quite a lot the last couple of days.
When his brain cleared, his mind was devoid of any fairy thoughts. He immediately began to search Artemis's room for signs of trouble or a message of some kind that he may have missed. The room seemed to be as net as it was always. Nothing seemed out of place.
Crunch. A small sound alerted him to the piece of paper he was crushing underneath his feet. He reached down and picked it up. As he brought it to his viewing level, he could have sworn that he had seen some hastily written words. His heart raced. Perhaps Artemis had left a clue after all. His hopes quickly faded. The piece was blank.
He threw it onto the bed in a fit of anger. No this would not do. He was a bodyguard and he wasn't about to lose his charge twice. There was only one person that would know what to do and that was Artemis, the resident genius. So he would have to call the next best thing.
Butler pulled his cell from his pocket. "Hello. Connect me to Minerva Paradizo."
888
Minerva had been having a very satisfactory day, resting at her Papa's Chateau. Her calculations were coming along even faster than she had expected. Several of her contacts in varies Intelligence Agencies had reported back to her with good news. Soon she would have all the information that she needed to begin.
She smiled slowly like a Cheshire cat, as she leaned back onto the velvet sofa. A dark haired boy swam across her thoughts. The intriguing Artemis Fowl. He was a very worthy opponent. After all, he was the first person who ever beat her at chess.
After his return from wherever he had gone to, Minerva suspected the Demon dimension, the two had kept in touch. They got fairly along well. There was no reason that they should not. Both were around the same age and had similar IQ's. For a few mouths the two of them enjoyed talking to someone who understood anything that the other one cared to say. No more dumbing it down as she did for her Papa.
Then Artemis had gotten bored. He never said anything, but Minerva could tell. She wasn't a genius for nothing. When she'd call, Butler would often answer and inform her that Artemis was not be home, even though she could hear the breathing of someone else in the background. His voice lost its luster and began sounding like a cheap radio DJ.
She recalled an old conversation.
'Did you hear about that rare plant they discovered in Africa?' 'Yes,' he would reply. 'Amazing.' But his heart wasn't in it.
Minerva snarled recalling this. The crumpling of paper caused her to look down at her hands. Oops. She relaxed her grip.
Anyhow, she had quickly come to the conclusion that something would have to be done. Artemis could not become bored with her. Not her. It would not do. Not even the subject of demons or fairies would perk his interest. He would fend her off, saying that he promised not to say anything. She acted quickly and her first plan began perfectly.
Artemis had been rather taken aback as she shoved her way into his room past Butler.
He sputtered uncomfortably, gripping the keyboard. The page he had been typing became rapidly full of the letter e. "Minerva! What are you? I ..,"
She raised her eyebrows. "Well, wow Artemis. You really know how to make a girl feel welcome. Interesting paper by the way."
Casually, he turned to the screen. "Oh! Whoops." He turned red. He straightened his tie and tried to regain some of his dignity. " So to what…" he began.
" …do I owe this rather surprising visit to?" finished Minerva mockingly. "Well, if you must know." She took her hands out from behind her back. In them lay a chessboard. "Fancy a game?"
And so the tournament began. It first the two were evenly matched. Than Artemis started having a winning streak. Minerva spent hours coming up with strategies and began a winning streak of her own. They went back and forth from the other's house every month to play. It was game thirty-six now with Artemis leading nineteen to seventeen.
The location of their games would change every once in a while to keep the other from cheating. Though one would think that such constant travel would worry the Fowls and Mr. Paradizo. However, their parents were just relieved that their child had made a friend at last.
There had been many conversations between their parents. Minerva remembered hearing her Papa confess that he had begun to worry about his darling daughter. She had heard the entire conversation as she heard all of their conversations.
One day when her Papa had been out treating a patient, she had taken it upon herself to improve her father's private phone by adding a tiny bug under the receiver's plastic covering. Chalk it up to another advantage that she had over Mister Artemis Fowl.
Once again a smile crossed her lips. An extremely interesting piece of information had crossed her path today. Artemis would be surprised to find himself losing the game.
Minerva put the paper onto her lap carefully and picked up a book from the coffee table. 'The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire.'
Two buzzes sounded from her pocket. Quickly, she reached in and pulled out a small cell phone. Butler had provided her with it. This was the phone that had delivered her the news that Artemis was back.
Moving deftly, she flicked it open with one hand.
"Hello?" she paused. "Yes, it is I." Butler's voice sounded oddly hushed and urgent. However she recognized it as the correct voice patterns, so this was defiantly Butler.
"It's Artemis. He's gone."
Minerva's eyes widened from behind her glasses.
"What!" Her voice sounded like it could have curled steel. It was much harsher than she had intended. Her mind was elsewhere as Butler fell silent. 'Gone! How could he be gone. Not yet. Not now.'
She pulled her mind back. Carefully she concentrated on the tone of her voice. It had taken her years to hone it to the correct tone and she wasn't about to undo all her work with Butler because of a small kink in her plans. Which was what this was. Really.
"I'm sorry," sighed Minerva. "Just surprised that's all. I didn't mean to snap."
Butler coughed. "That fine. Perhaps you' like to hear the details." However Minerva was already on her feet and headed towards the front door.
"No. You can brief me when I get there. I will take the first plane I can get."
"What airline will you be taking?" Questioned the bodyguard.
"Mine." She answered.
A/N: Oooooh, sequel. I'll try to update as soon as I can. Also can someone tell me how I can edit my posted stories. Thanks. Leave a review.
