A/N: So, the response was disappointing. I've finished the whole story already though, so I'll just post them anyways.
Aftershock
She felt everything at once. She couldn't think, couldn't process anything. All she knew was that she ran. She ran and ran. Foaly didn't call back. People she bumped shouted at her. She ignored them and ran. Vaguely, Trouble Kelp appeared. His hands gripped Holly's elbow. But she ran. At some point she stopped seeing where she was going. Everything passed by. She ran. The screens and crowd of Police Plaza disappeared. Further. Slowly the cars in the streets disappeared, too. She ran.
When she stopped, she was in Haven Park. What? How did she get here? It was at least a 30 minute run away from Police Plaza. She gazed around deliriously. No one was outside. Everyone was relocated back into their homes.
The fake trees, the false sun, the lie of a sky. It pressed down on her. She desperately wanted to fly. Fly away. She needed wings. She needed his wings. She needed him. Holly desperately wanted to fly. Tears finally cascaded down her cheeks. Tears of frustration. Frustration that she cannot fly. She felt trapped, bound in this earth. Her knees buckled, and she fell. As she crouched into the grass, she cried. Her cries were silent.
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Jerry turned off the television. He was now living alone; his wife had passed away. Sadly, she died the day after they finally stopped fighting. Silence engulfed his expensive, luxurious apartment.
The news was sad indeed. The great Artemis Fowl finally fell. Great as he was, he did not elude death.
This was going to put his book about Fowl on top of the bestselling list. The press would clamor to get an interview about Artemis' psyche. Perhaps his own show, or a documentary, a magazine cover. He'd get invited to numerous dinner parties. Or he'd be asked to present Artemis' posthumous awards. The LEP would ask him to write an epitaph! Excellent. He'll be more famous than Fowl now.
He reached over. He really had to move that cocktail table closer to the couch. If this was sixty years ago, this stretch would kill his hip. When he finally reached his mimosa, it struck him.
He owed Artemis Fowl sixty years of painless movement. His eyes fell on the hidden panel on the south wall. It was where the first hip brace was kept. He would stow it away, but he never got around it. Then he looked around. Everything he has was because of Artemis.
All the dreams of fame and money evaporated. He took a moment as he silently thanked Artemis Fowl II.
In the following days, J. Argon the media hound would decline every interview, party invitation and media conference. He also donated fifty percent of his income from Artemis' biography to a foundation for deformed children. That way, they get to be helped by Artemis Fowl, too.
There was another thing to be done. For the first time in his profession, Jerry Argon would use his medical knowledge for the betterment of a being without any payment or return. Someone out there desperately needs psychological help. He stood up (painlessly), got the communicator and asked the operator for Holly Short.
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She opened her eyes. Holly doesn't even question how she got back in her apartment.
How can the curtains, the wall, the lampshade and the door seem to be normal? Why does this look like an ordinary day? Why is the world moving on normally? It seems nothing has changed. Perhaps nothing has. A dream, albeit a nightmare? What a cliché way to explain things off. Artemis would have a laugh at that Orion-esque excuse.
Holly spent the day in bed, doing nothing and thinking nothing. She held the communicator in her hand. He called at precisely at 8. When he was running late, the most was 9:30.
When 10:00 stroke, she wept. Yet her tears were still silent.
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"So. They cancelled my Bio class for this?" Marsh dumped her book bag at the counter and settled beside her room mate in the couch. Her roommate, Cacti, was watching a rerun of Artemis Fowl (as in the movie).
"Oh no. The cancellations weren't for the Fowl specials on PPTV. You were late. The LEP publicly announced that Artemis Fowl, as in the person not the movie, is dead."
A silence passed over them as they processed this new turn of events in the universe. They watched Selena Fungus (a-list actress portraying a kidnapped LEP officer) proclaiming her love to Artemis Fowl while a troll battled a bodyguard in the background.
"How surreal. It was like only yesterday he was all over the news. We were at kindergarten that time." Marsh commented, after a while.
"This is just like when that elf singer died. What was her name again? Wheatly Houseton. " Cacti said, reaching for some popcorn.
"Meh, at least his death cancelled the rest of my classes today. I can study for that Alchemy exam."
"Good for you. I'm not so lucky though. Artemis Fowl specials would run in PPTV for weeks. That means Gossip Goblin would get cancelled this week. I'll have to wait until the specials are over until I find out if Blair chooses Chuck or Dan."
"I wonder why they didn't cancel classes when Wheatly died." Rose helped herself with some popcorn, too.
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When Coral died, Holly cried for weeks. Her wails could be heard every night by Mrs. Phyte (her neighbor). But now, she was silent.
Holly closed her eyes. She thought of the last time she saw him. His face was lighted by the sun, eyes squinted as he looked up at her.
"You're my best friend Holly."
Those were his last words to her. Right? No. He had said something else. She hadn't bothered to ask, assured that he was going to call her. What had he said? What had he said? Now Holly would never know.
Then Holly remembered he was supposed to say something to her that day. What was it? She remembered the sadness flashing in his face. Him asking her to stay. What bothered him? What was wrong? He wanted to see her. Why?
Then it struck Holly. He knew. He knew. Artemis Fowl knew everything. Does he know he was going to die, and leave her? Artemis Fowl plans everything. Did he plan his death; did he plot how she'll be left alone?
Why did he not tell her? She would've stayed! She should've stayed that day.
Holly stood up and threw the pillows to the wall. Regrets. Regrets that she didn't stay. Regrets that she would never know. She would never know what he had said as she left him for the sky. She would never know why he had wanted her to stay. Holly knew the unanswered questions would haunt her forever.
Even after a lifetime, she still doesn't know who Artemis Fowl really is.
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Opal smiled. She indulged herself further and let out a maniacal laugh. If she was not shackled, she would do a jig. Artemis Fowl was finally dead. In the end, her fairy genes had triumphed over her lowly human adversary.
After a while, her laugh petered out.
Now, what was she supposed to do in prison? She can't hate Artemis anymore. She can't plot his death. He's dead. A sudden feeling of loss descended down upon her.
Damn that mudman. He had even taken away her past time in this prison, her purpose in life. Curse that Artemis Fowl.
She pushed the thought out of her mind. Well, there was still Foaly, and Holly Short and that dwarf Diggums, and the Brills, and her worthless guards, and…
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Her fingers unconsciously traced the golden swirls along the blade of the wings. It looked lifeless without him. Holly closed her eyes.
"Happy birthday, Holly." Artemis said.
Holly grinned. Before she could say anything Artemis dragged her outside. She was surprised at his sudden physical exertion. Artemis never runs like this. He ran like a boy on Christmas day.
"What's up?" She laughed, as he tripped over the flat carpet. However did he manage to trip on the flattest surfaces?
Finally they were outside. They were in the Fowls' golf course. Lush green hills rolled on and disappeared into sand pits and ponds. The night sky twinkled above.
"Why're we here?"
"So you can test these out." Artemis opened a case. Inside were the most beautiful wings in the world. They were translucent glass, with occasional golden spirals. Her breath caught in her throat. Artemis helped her attach it to her back, his light fingers brushing across her bare back.
She watched as Artemis looked at her. She knew she looked like a whimsical woodland creature from a fairy tale. The wings, matched with her birthday clothes made her look like his own personal Tinker Bell
"Try it. Its sensor is attached to the neurons in your spinal cord, so that your brain could directly command it. Think of it as just another of your arm." The moment he said it, Holly took flight. The sky was beautiful, the wind triumphant. But nothing was more majestic than her earth bound angel who gave her the wings to fly.
Holly ceased her masochistic nostalgia. All these memories were too much. It told her everything she had lost.