Follow-up chapter! Randomly brought to you a few hours later than the last story! (Actually, I was waiting for the two days to be able to upload chapter 1, and well, got bored with homerwork again – gods I cannot stand [insert your most hated subject here]) I like math though :-). The only subject I can consistently get an A! I expect the third chapter to either take a week or a day. Depends on when I get bored again.
Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and co. is owned by Eoin Colfer. Hiccup and co. is owned by Dreamworks. I own the plot though .
Act 1: Past
Chapter 2: Weird.
Artemis did not realize something had changed until his mind for a moment cleared and just to see whether or not Butler was accompanying him, Artemis listened for his bodyguards footsteps. There was no sound. Artemis suddenly realized his surroundings had drastically changed, from the hallways of Fowl Manor to an indescribable field of nothingness. It reminded Artemis of a nightmare he had had when his father had vanished. It was unlike any description the report on time travel could possibly conjure up. Firstly, it was surprisingly not Artemis who commanded where the time travel should go. Secondly, the time stream was pretty much a straight line, almost no hitches of any kind. And as an afterthought, there was no feeling at all. It was extremely cold.
Artemis had read the report six times during his two-hour planning period, and he was absolutely certain that not even Qwan, the most experienced of the warlocks, could make a time stream like this. It was flawless. Artemis still concentrated on keeping himself together as was the norm, but he felt like another entity did all the work for him. And Artemis didn't like the feeling that he was left in another's control.
It felt like he had travelled for an eternity, when finally the light at the end of the tunnel could be seen. Artemis was expulsed from the vortex and as he managed to get to his feet he saw that the portal was already gone. Artemis took a few seconds to take in all the details of his surroundings. What he saw frightened him to his very core. It was a village, unlike any Artemis had seen before. He had appeared on the very top of the island on which said village was situated. He was standing on a wooden pathway which had been fastened to a huge rock that lay at the top of the village and he had an amazing view over the entire village, which was situated along a hill with houses going from the top of the hill and all the way down to the ocean. All the houses looked recent, as if the village had been burnt down just before Artemis arrival. But it wasn't the houses that frightened Artemis – he had seen some places in the world with the same architectural style, and if recalled correctly it was somewhere around the northern parts of Scandinavia he had seen some of these huts – no, it was the people.
Men and women alike, all wore huge leather jackets with some metal plating to protect their most vulnerable spots. Almost all the men had enough mass to challenge Butler and the women also looked fierce and muscular. All carried with them, in plain sight, massive hammers or axes and while they technically looked a bit fake from where Artemis was standing, he wasn't about to test a groundless theory that contained so many risks and with so little payback. They were most probably painfully real.
As Artemis stood there feeling lost and helpless (he hated that feeling especially), his eyes were drawn to the clouds that made it look as if a thunderstorm was on the way. A bell sounded in the distance. Artemis felt as if the entire village took a relieved breath and then continued with whatever they were doing, but more enthusiastically. The bell sounding was also a trigger to Artemis personality gaining back lost ground from his mental shutdown, as Artemis once again began seeing possibilities that others might not. Artemis immediately decided that he was to have no contact with anyone, as he did not have Butler to protect him. This was another thought that scared Artemis; he was used to having the bodyguard around and it made him feel safe to have a friend around. He looked around him on the pathway and saw that one road led down to some sort of arena, the other led around the rock the pathway was attached to.
Artemis silently cursed himself for being lost in thought for such an extended period of time; a young man was making his way up towards him and Artemis had nowhere to hide. He quickly assumed a stance that looked neutral and prepared to run or defend himself, if that was going to be necessary. As the teenager came closer, he spotted Artemis. The reaction from the teen was pure astonishment, and he nearly dropped the barrel of fish he had been carrying.
Artemis didn't know how to start the conversation, so he waited for the other part to say something. When the conversation started, the stranger's voice sounded to have overcome the initial shock, and the boy asked: "Who are you?"
"I am Artemis Fowl II. May I ask who you might be?"
Hiccup looked at the strange boy for a moment, startled that he could talk, mystified that the name sounded so different from anything he had ever heard, and he replied: "I am Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. What are you doing here dressed like that?"
Artemis winced at the thought that his hand sown Armani suit was making him look out of place. He saw that Hiccup was dressed in a green shirt, with a brown vest over the shirt, with grey pants and leather boots. Comparing that to the personally made black suit, black shoes and white tie, he could see where Hiccup's suspicion was coming from, but he had not lost the argument just yet. It seemed to Artemis, that Hiccup was also a bit of an outsider, since he did not wear the traditional armor that he had seen worn by both men and women in the village. "It is but an outfit. I am here for no particular reason. Do you know what this place is?"
"This place? This is Berk, an incredibly dull place where nothing ever happens." The irony was dripping, but Artemis didn't catch it. "But you didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?"
"I believe I told you, I don't know."
"How did you get into the village?"
Artemis felt uncomfortable – why didn't he understand that he could not answer that question without seeming like babbling moron – and he decided to lie.
"I came in by boat. My boat is fastened on the other side of the forest."
At this statement Hiccup had had enough. He hadn't trusted the strange boy from the moment he saw him and his pale skin. The boy had embedded some truth in some of his answers, but now, he realized that the boy was lying. It was not possible to take a boat through the rocks on the backside of the island. Realizing this, Hiccup began to wonder if Artemis was a spy. If Hiccup hadn't been caught off guard as he had, he might have been able to keep his facial expression still. But Artemis noticed the change of attitude and the aura of Hiccup had changed from a neutral see-through to a more suspicious reddish hue. So when Hiccup said "Ok. So do you know anyone around here?" he knew the game was lost.
Artemis considered his options, which rapidly boiled down to two. He could attempt to tell the truth and hope Hiccup believed him, or he could mesmer the boy into thinking he had never seen him. Artemis decided the second to have the greater chance of success and so he closed his eyes and called upon his magic. When he felt the familiar buzz, he opened his eyes and looked Hiccup straight in the eye.
"You will not tell anyone of your meeting with me. You will want to go home and sleep, because you are tired after a long day's hard work."
Hiccup could not look away; why would he. He suddenly thought Artemis voice sounded so convincing, so beautiful, beyond anything he could describe. It sounded like peace and acceptance and Hiccup found himself lost in the voice. He found that he was suddenly extremely tired and he decided Toothless could wait until tomorrow. He did not see the point in discussing his meeting with Artemis with anyone; it was probably not even important.
Artemis decided that it was good enough; Hiccup wouldn't forget him, should they see each other again, and if Artemis needed it he could try his hands at convincing the boy again. This was actually a possibility that Artemis was considering, seeing as Hiccup was the only person Artemis had seen, that didn't have enough muscles to break him in half. Artemis was about to turn around and leave, when something moved behind him. He turned around and stood face-to-face with a huge man, with a huge red beard, wielding a massive battleaxe. And then the man made his move.
The strange boy didn't stand a chance as Stoick brought down the hilt of his weapon unto the boys head. He was unconscious as he hit the floor. Hiccup immediately snapped out of whatever trance had been holding him. He could clearly remember what Artemis had told him, and he realized that Artemis could hypnotize. Apparently Stoick thought along the same lines and declared: "Son, you need to be careful when you meet an apprentice of Loki. They have the power of the words, and those words can make your head unscrew itself and make you do things you wouldn't do otherwise."
Hiccup sighed and answered: "Yeah, dad, I know… but he just didn't seem dangerous… only a bit strange."
Stoick considered this briefly, but as he heard something that did not go together with the correct Viking way (strangers must die), Stoick decided to forget the words as they were being spoken. His son still had yet to have the right attitude, but Stoick was happy that his son had finally decided to become a true Viking. It had only been two days ago Stoick came home from a perilous journey to try and find the dragons' nest and while that journey had proved fruitless, he had come home to hearing about his son's transformation into a true warrior. He had heard that his son would lay down one beast after the other barehanded. So while Stoick had become marginally better at hearing what his son had to say, he still selectively heard only the things he wanted to hear.
"Son, just because a Terrible Terror doesn't seem dangerous, it seems small and weak, doesn't mean it can't bite off your nose. It doesn't mean it can't cooperate with other Terrors and find a way to kill you. You must learn to hit things first, and then when things have calmed down, then you can interrogate your victims. I am going to put this one," he gestured to the unconscious body," in one the empty cells and find out where he comes from. You can go home, Hiccup, as it seems the upcoming storm will keep us from being raided tonight. You can get ready for dragon training tomorrow."
"Yes, Dad," Hiccup mumbled, and turning around to go back to the village he secretly decided he would be there when Artemis was interrogated. He didn't know why, but when Artemis had hypnotized him, he had forgotten all prejudice against him, and in that light, the boy had seemed… lost. There was something about Artemis, and Hiccup would get to the bottom of this. Stoick walked towards the arena with Artemis slung over his shoulder and with Hiccup following both of them.
If you have questions, or want me to know something that I clearly don't know, don't hesitate to review. Just remember: constructive criticism :-).
