Blue Moon, Blue Eyes
By: Aubrie1234
Dear Readers, my second chapter! And don't worry about Arty; he'll be fine! I think...
Artemis felt his heart pounding. For once, he didn't know what to do. The werewolf was right across from him and could attack at any time, while he was slower than it was and could easily be caught. But, this night wasn't supposed to be a full moon, so what was going on? He slowly uncrouched and stood up, keeping his eyes on the werewolf and trying to think of a way to escape. Then, once he was standing up completely, his instinct kicked in and took over, making him run. Behind him, he heard the werewolf howl before the sounds of something running after him filled his ears.
This is my dream all over again! Which means- he stopped his thoughts, remembering what happened. The werewolf would catch him, but that was all he could remember before he woke up. He ran faster, knowing he had to get away from the werewolf at all costs. It just sped up its pace, steadily getting closer to him. And Artemis was running out of stamina and time. He knew he would soon be too tired to run and the werewolf would catch him.
For once, I wish Holly or Butler were here! he thought frantically. He glanced behind him and saw the werewolf was only a yard away from him and was quickly catching up. He knew he had to think of something, and fast. Suddenly, he felt his foot get caught on something. He tripped and fell to the ground. He quickly tried to scramble back onto his legs, but the werewolf was already jumping on him. The last thing he remembered that night was yelling and thinking: "NO!"
Holly had gotten her orders to patrol the forest overhead and was now surveying the area when she heard Artemis' scream.
He didn't! she thought, diving towards the sound. When she got there, the werewolf had already bitten Artemis on the shoulder and had clawed his back. It was getting ready to bite his neck when she fired her Neutrino 2000 at the ground a few feet away, scaring it off. She quickly went over to Artemis once she landed and checked on him. He was alive, but hurt. She knew her magic wouldn't heal him completely, thanks to the werewolf, but she could do what she could and started to heal him. Soon, both his injuries were only scars. She knew it was now out of her hands. No fairy could heal a werewolf-bitten creature completely, even if they tried their hardest. Holly only hoped that Artemis would be okay for now. She still had a moonrunner to deal with.
Artemis felt himself waking up, but not in the forest. He opened his eyes and let them adjust before looking around. He was in his room, and it was morning. Had his escapade and werewolf attack only been a dream? He shifted a little and groaned painfully. He was sore around his left shoulder and all across his back. He doubted that the soreness was from his bed or from lying awkwardly. Then, he heard the door slowly open and saw Holly come in. She looked tired, but when she saw him, she grinned.
"You're awake." she said. He sat up (with a wince) and nodded.
"Easy. I wasn't able to heal you completely, so you'll be sore for a while." she said, closing the door to the room and walking over to sit on the foot of his bed.
"So it wasn't a dream..." Artemis muttered.
"Stupid Mud Boy. Of course it wasn't a dream! Now, I've got to keep an eye on you!" she snapped, her mood changing drastically.
"Why? You said you healed me, didn't you?"
"I did, but an elf's healing powers can only go so far."
"Which means I'm a werewolf now. What sort of luck did I have to deserve this?" he sighed.
"Don't ask me. You were the one who climbed out the window for a walk in the forest."
"Just leave me alone, Holly. I am not in the mood for more verbal banter..." he said, laying back down and turning over, away from her. She sadly looked at him one more time before sighing and getting off the bed, going out the door and closing it behind her. Lucky for Artemis, Holly hadn't told anyone (except Butler) about what had happened the night before and had made sure the pillowcase-rope was hidden away and that the cameras (with some technical help from Foaly) were running again. Back with Artemis, he was staring at the plain-colored wall of his room, thinking.
Why did it attack me? It could have attacked anyone, but I saw its eyes. It targeted me specifically. Something is going on; something that isn't going to be kept quiet. he thought, And, what am I going to do? My parents will not be happy hearing that their only son is now a werewolf. As a matter of fact, Butler won't be in the slightest bit of happiness, either. No one will, really. A slight frown came upon his face and he groaned.
"What did I do to deserve this?" he asked blankly to the thin air, expecting no one to answer anyway. He turned away from the wall and sat up, preparing to get out of bed. Once he did, he went over to the computer, not wanting to go down for breakfast and he learned more about the legends of the Werewolf. After all, he didn't want to hurt anyone if he didn't have to; especially his returned family.
"This is worrying, Holly." Butler said (they were both in the kitchen as Butler made breakfast), "With Artemis now a werewolf, he won't be able to hide his secret as well as he could hide his knowledge of the People." Holly nodded.
"I know, but I'm worried. The moonrunner is still out there, but now I have to deal with Artemis."
"Shouldn't you call Foaly?" She nodded.
"I might as well. And Butler, keep an eye on that Mud Boy. I don't think I'll be able to help him if he gets into trouble once again." The manservant nodded as she contacted Foaly.
"Holly? We got more readings, in the same area last night-"
"I know," she said gravely, "And it got Artemis." Foaly whinnied.
"You're kidding?!"
"No. Somehow, the Mud Boy got the idea to go outside, even if it wasn't a full moon, and got attacked by the same moonrunner."
"How much trouble can a Mud Boy get into?" Foaly said.
"In Artemis' case, a whole lot." Holly smirked as Foaly laughed.
"Oh, he sure can!" soon, Foaly's laughter died down, "But Holly, you have to keep an eye on him. I'll inform the commander, and he might send a retrieval team..."
"Why?" Holly asked, "As long as Artemis isn't transforming, he's not a direct threat."
"That's not what he's going to be worrying about, Holly, and you know it. He has to either be killed or locked up before he causes any harm." Foaly said sadly, "I don't like this, either, but it's the rules. Not in the Book, of course, but we have to obey them. It'll be against LEP regulations if we don't!"
"I know, but still! It's Artemis!"
"Holly, even without his werewolf side, he's dangerous, and the Council won't hesitate to lock him up just because of what's happened the last two times you're encountered him." Holly knew this was an argument she couldn't win and she sighed.
"Alright, but I'm giving him a warning first. Plus, his family will want to know where he went."
"We'll handle that. You go warn Artemis." She cut the connection sadly, heading up towards Artemis' room.
She lightly rapped on his door.
"Artemis?" Holly called.
"Come in." was Artemis' soft reply. She opened the door to find him sitting on his bed, with his head in his hands, and having changed clothes to looser ones, much different from his usual attire. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans, but his feet were bare, and the necklace she had made him a short while back was around his neck.
"Artemis?" she asked after having closed the door behind her. He peeked at her through his fingers.
"What is it, Holly?" he asked softly.
"Why are you sitting like that? And what happened to your clothes?" He tugged at his shirt lightly, but kept his head on one of his hands, covering part of his face.
"It makes me feel better, now that I'm...a werewolf. And I'm honestly depressed, Holly." he sighed, "I tried searching a cure, even through your databases (Holly glared at that), but I found nothing." When he looked up, she could see worry in his eyes, "I don't want my family getting hurt, Holly. I'm going to find a cure, somehow, and maybe it could do something for all of your moonrunners."
"I hope so, Fowl, but right now, we've got bigger troubles." Artemis straightened up at that, his hands falling to the bed.
"What is it?"
"I talked to Foaly and he said that once he told Root about this that the commander would be sending a retrieval team." Artemis' hands suddenly gripped the bed tightly.
"What?" he asked, but it sounded strange. Almost like a growl...
"Artemis, this is for everyone. I don't like it either, but we have no choice. It's the LEP's job." Artemis' eyes turned to her angrily.
"Why?" he asked in the same tone as before, "I don't want to be locked up."
"It's only for a short time, Artemis-"
"No it isn't!" he snarled, and Holly could see that his teeth had definitely gotten sharper. She also backed away slightly, "They're never going to let me go once they have me!"
"Artemis, calm down!" Holly said. He stood, turning on her with his eyes narrowed.
"You're the one who contacted them." he seethed, "Why should I trust you?" With her soldier's sense on high alert, she knew it would be no use reasoning with Artemis right now, or if at all. It seemed that what she said, about contacting the retrieval team, had set him off, and he wasn't know for getting angry easily. Suddenly, he gripped his head, growling painfully, and Holly knew that now was her only chance to escape. So as not to let Artemis out in case he was transforming, after she had slipped out the door, she locked it. Even from its thickness, she could hear Artemis' growls escalate to a deep and painful roar, but thanks to the walls and door, it wasn't very audible. She did, however, contact Foaly again.
"Foaly," she said, "You might want to warn the team that they've got a very angry and transformed Artemis to deal with."
Well, I finally finished the second chapter. By the way, I'm thinking of making this into a three part series as well, but I won't tell you what they'll be about. Anyway, read and review, readers!