Disclaimer: I do not own the Artemis Fowl novels.

No Flaming Please!


Chapter 2: Into the Light


He showered in icy water to lower his temperature. If his temperature went any higher, his brain cells would begin to melt like putty. Artemis Fowl could not afford to lose any such cells. Stress had caused the sudden outburst of fever, and he doubted that the cause of the anxiety would dissipate. "Arty," his mother called. "Please come out; we can talk about this."

Angelina was the cause of his sudden burst of displeasure, and she refused to be satisfied. As mothers often do, she made her advances despite his distaste. He assumed that he was to old to receive such behavior from his parent; however, it appeared that he was very much mistaken.

His room had been raided by his parents some time ago, and so he now was forced to hide in the bathroom. It didn't make a difference anymore; the virus would be inside of his room, whether or not he was in it. "I have given you my reason," he replied, "I'm still quite ill."

"Let me help you," she called back. That was the last thing he needed or wanted. If he wanted to discover a cure, he couldn't have his mother constantly forcing him to lay in bed. Bed rest was fine and dandy for the average cold or flu, but this was a different story.

The door to the bathroom jiggled as his mother attempted to get past the insubstantial lock on the bathroom door. Just as the lock clicked open the twins began to scream. 'For once,' he thought. 'Karma is on my side.' He did not consider that a good thing.

She called, "You better be out by the time I get back."

He had no intention of staying in the tiny bathroom with its flimsy lock; although, he also had no intention of staying in the house. Artemis Fowl had to leave Fowl manor.

The flimsy door shuddered as he rushed back into his bedroom and ran to the closet. Since he didn't have much time, he threw all his neatly folded suits into a travel bag. Everything in the room had a distinct smell of electronics and laundry. 'This may be the last time I see my room,' he mused.

For the first time since his illness began, he felt a tingle of fear. The thought of never seeing his family and friends again was harsh, even for him. Death had never frightened him before. Maybe it was because he was so close to dieing that brought about the fear.

When Holly and he had their wild adventures, they never really had time to think about death. This illness was slow and gave him time to contemplate things. 'I'm being ridiculous,' he contemplated. 'I've overcome worse before. This is not the time nor the place to start doubting myself.'

"Where are we going?" Butler was leaning against the doorjamb of his room, his shaven head gleamed like a brand new Ferrari. It killed him to even think about leaving without his bodyguard, but he had no choice. The virus could suddenly warp and become airborne.

"There is no we-" Holly was trying to contact him. Whenever she called, he knew that it had to be important. The moments when she called just to talk was rare.

It was Foaly's voice that burst through communicator, not Holly's. He couldn't help but be slightly disappointed; they hadn't spoken in quite awhile. If his life was in as much danger as he thought it was, then hearing her voice would have boosted his resolve. "Hello mudboy."

The twins had become silent. His mother would be stomping up the stairs in a matter of minutes; the amount of time that he had to talk could be measured in mere milliseconds. The guilt he felt was already to a extreme point. He didn't need her getting all teary eyed, and making him affectively feel even poorer.

"Make it fast Foaly!" He threw more and more things into his handbag. This trip could be long or permanent; he had to be prepared. The contents of his travel bag were in complete disarray, but he didn't notice or care. This was not the time to be focusing on his wrinkled suits. "I don't have much time."

"What's got your panties in a twist?" Foaly's laughter sounded more like a horses whinnying then a laugh. 'I don't have time for this,' he thought. 'I may have to disconnect him. I'm in no condition to save the People; they'll just have to manage without me.' "Is your girlfriend giving you trouble?"

Artemis said, "Goodbye-"

"Wait!" Foaly was a dwarf faced with fire, frightened and in need of assistance. Under normal conditions he would have smirked because of the centaurs need for help; he would have even thrown a pun or two. Unfortunately for him, his life wasn't anywhere near normal. "I need a favor."

"No," he responded. "I can't do it."

Butler looked at him in surprise. He never turned down anything that quickly; especially when it involved The People. That was his way. Even if the proposition was totally out of question, he usually took the time to listen and decide.

"Have a heart," Foaly interjected. 'This isn't my fault,' he contemplated. 'I didn't choose for this to happen.' "The whole fairy world is in danger."

"Fine," he sighed. The twins had started yelling once again; this would buy him a good ten minutes. If assumed that Foaly could keep his explanation under seven minutes, then he would have plenty of time. Saying no, however, was going to be a hardship on his part. "Tell me what it is, but don't expect me to assist you."

"There's a epidemic," Foaly snapped, agitated by Artemis's unwillingness. He immediately felt his aching stomach sink. The fairy people must have transferred the disease to him. When he did his research on the fairy world diseased, it bypassed the illness because it was yet to be discovered. "It's killing people."

"I changed my mind." It didn't look like he had to worry about a safe hideaway; fate had decided for him. 'Foaly has been working with more patients then I; he probably knows a bit more regarding the disease. It may be enough for me to find the antidote.' "I'll help."

"I knew you would." Foaly lost the tone of a pleading child, and returned to the unappreciated genius that he once was. Artemis knew how hard it had been for the centaur to ask for assistance; he always had a hard time with it. "We have a informant waiting for you at the front gate. He'll be shielded; if you didn't already guess, so be warned."

"What about Holly?" It had always been she who had accompanied him to the chutes. He missed seeing her greatly, since they hadn't had a chance to meet in quite some time. He could already see her flickering eyes that always burned with eternal fire.

"She doesn't know you're coming; Venyaya sent her on another mission." He assumed that he would get to see her later. The cure wasn't going to be magically summoned into his brain when he entered the fairies world; they would have some time to talk later. Time, unfortunately, wasn't something that he had much of. "You'll see her in time."

"Fine," he mumbled. His mood was a waterslide, getting lower and lower with each passing moment. Things were not going his way this week. Karma was usually something he could beat; however, now it seemed to be tuning him into mince meat.

Foaly's voice faded from the communicator, "Bye Mudboy."

"Change of plans, Butler." He attempted to take a step forward, but his legs gave away. They were like Jell-o, wiggly and slippery. All he could do was kneel on the floor and pant like a exhausted jogger. He hated to look so weak.

Butler was at his side the moment he hit the ground. A thief had stolen his breath, leaving him unable to do as much as inhale slightly. His inability to redeem himself hurt him more then the physical ailments that were occurring; although, no one could blame him for falling ill. The disease had finally reached a new level of extremity.

"Artemis, what is it? Your neck is…" He had tried to hide the blue marks with a turtleneck because he lacked the energy and time to make synthetic skin. There wasn't time to think about creating fake skin when his life was slowly being sucked away. Butler would just have to be sworn to secrecy; he didn't want The People to know.

Butler tried helping him to his feet, but he pulled away. Whenever he needed assistance his manservant had always been there; this time his manservant wouldn't be able to save him. Artemis Fowl was truly on his own. "I'm fine."

They both knew that he wasn't.


When Artemis and Butler finally made it out of the chute, he was on his knees puking. Fortunately enough though, the only thing his stomach contained was water. Maintenance had probably seen worse then a puddle of stomach acid and blood.

"How are you going to keep this from Holly," Butler asked. Even if Artemis wasn't throwing up ever thirty minutes, his complexion was so blue that it would alert a blind man. He slowly wobbled unsteadily to his legs made from Jell-O.

He wanted to keep this from her and the other for as long as possible. Pity was something that he had despised since his birth because weakness was needed to deserve it. Artemis Fowl never wanted to be considered weak. "Don't worry about that."

"She would want to know."

"It's for the best," he sighed. This was just some excuse to make himself seem less at fault. Telling Holly was something that she would want, but sometimes what we want is not for the best. This could be considered a time when this logic was necessary. "Holly would get overly emotional. I can concentrate more when I don't have to worry about other things."

"She's controlled her feelings over the past years." He wasn't sure why Butler felt so strongly about this. It wasn't like he was going back to his old ways; he was just keeping a little secret. It was in Artemis's nature to hide things until the opportune moment.

"I know, old friend." Not telling her felt almost traitorous, but it wasn't like he was doing something wrong. In the distance he could hear the echo of tiny footsteps. He could automatically recognize the sound of the footsteps because he had heard them many times before.

Other than Holly who was slowly creeping in upon them, there wasn't a fairy in sight. The place was as empty as Goblin's brain and twice as smelly. Artemis sniffed in disapproval. 'Even Mulch doesn't smell this bad,' he thought. Butler murmured, "It smells-"

His bodyguard jumped sky high beside him, making the ground rumbled beneath his feet. He had already assumed that Holly would try her little tactic; that was why he had kept his silence when he knew of her presence.

"Hello, Holly." Her shield flickered off, revealing her bodice. Butler and he both received friendly hugs and kisses on the cheek. It looked like he had been upgraded on the greeting scale since their last meeting. They gave each other a warm smile before looking away. "I don't think that it's a good idea to keep scaring Butler like that."

Butler suddenly looked very pale. He hated to mention it, but his bodyguard's doctor said to expect heart trouble. Seeing his best friend have a avoidable heart attack was not on his things-to-accomplish-list. They were all silent for a moment. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologize, Artemis; something's should be said." His bodyguard stared pointedly at him. Artemis shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to Holly. Despite the fact that he had looked away, his friend's gaze could still be felt on the back of his neck.

Giving him a curious glance, Holly's from deepened. She had seen those blue spots somewhere before; although, she couldn't quite put her finger on it. 'What's wrong with Artemis's face? I've seen those marking before.' "Artemis, your face looks a little blue."

"Do you mean that metaphorically or literally," he frowned. Artemis already knew what she meant, but sometimes he couldn't help himself. There was something about seeing her annoyed that pleased him; however, he had no idea why. The reason swam in the back of his head like a caged animal, just waiting to break free.

Her tiny fist balled as she threw a punch. "You know exactly what I mean, Fowl."

His arm gave a painful throb in recognition of the might blow it had just received. For someone so tiny, she could certainly throw might punches. There was definitely going to be a bruise in the morning. "Holly, I thought we were friends."

She smirked playfully, "We are."

"I almost liked it better when we were enemies." It was nice to see Holly again, even it meant receiving a bucketful of very painful bruises. When it came to the loyalty of friend, she was high on the list. "You never used to punch me unless I deserved it."

"You did deserve it." Neither of them took each other seriously. If they wanted to survive the clash of their stubbornness, that was the way things had to be done.

She rolled her eyes. Her hair was no longer at the crew cut fashion, but lazily lay across her shoulder blades. With someone who's hair was as pretty as hers, it was nice to see it flashing about. Artemis secretly approved of her decision to grow it out.

"Butler, what's wrong with Artemis?" His blue complexion had worried her from the start. It was eating at her mind like a giant piranha. She had seen those blue markings somewhere before, but she couldn't seem to put her finger on it.

Butler's mouth visibly tightened. Lying to a loyal friend was not something his bodyguard could do easily, but it was what his client asked of him. "I-"

"Don't worry about it," he interrupted, sparing Butler more discomfort. His bodyguard had always been there to protect him from harm; he didn't want to push his friend into a uncomfortable position. If any lying had to be done, then he would do it himself. "Don't worry about it."

"You're skin is covered in blue spots! How can I not worry about it?" 'He's acting unusual,' she thought. 'He normally would use this as another opportunity to brag.' "You're up to something!"

"It's nothing to worry about," he muttered. "I spilled some chemicals on my skin. The odd coloring should be gone in a couple of days.

"The great Artemis Fowl makes a mistake," she teased. He attempted to look affronted, but was stopped by the sudden nose bleed. Like Niagara Falls, the blood rushed from his nostrils in great amounts. His hand could not contain the amount of metallic-tasting liquid that was now a fast flowing river.

Butler and Holly were quick to be at his side, but he backed away. This was the most embarrassing thing that had happened to him since he accidentally tripped and fell on his professor. This teacher, apparently dimwitted, thought that he had attempted to molest her. He mentally shuddered.

"Artemis!?" Neither of them knew what to do; Artemis Fowl never got a nosebleeds. As a two-month-old baby, he had been able to change his own diaper. Every time they reached out to help he backed away, to proud to receive help. All they could do was stare at him in a comforting manner.

The blood plunging out of his nose subsided, letting him remove his hands from his face. His entire suit looked as though he had dived into a swimming pool of red. If he lost as much blood as he thought he had, then he was dire need of some assistance; however, he knew that he wouldn't ask for it. "Just a little nosebleed," he murmured. "I'll be fine."

She was pretty frightened for his sake. Artemis may have the ability to make her angrier then possibly any other creature, but he also managed to make her care for him despite everything. If something ever happened to him, she wasn't sure that she could cope. Holly cried, "Just a little nosebleed? You look as though someone pierced every vein in your body."

"Come on," he cried. "You're people are dying, Holly! You shouldn't be standing here worrying about a minuscule nosebleed."

"I'll talk to you about this later," she muttered. He was right about The People, but that didn't mean this conversation was over. The blue spots were still poking at her mind with a extremely big stick. 'Where have I seen those blue spots before. Of all time to forget something important, it has to be now.' "Don't expect me to forget about this."

He didn't assume that she would. Having his nose suddenly become a giant blood spigot wasn't something that either of them were soon to forget. The world around him became to spin as though he were on a merry-go-round, and he was finding difficulty in walking straight. 'Great,' he thought. 'Just great.' " Don't expect me to say anything diverse."

'Does he really think I'm that gullible,' she wondered. 'He's swaying back and forth like a drunken gnome.' She sighed and shrugged her shoulders; Artemis would have to be handled later. "Trust me, Fowl; when I'm done with you, I'll have you spilling beans faster then Mulch can eat a sandwich."

"I don't doubt it," he smiled.


The briefing didn't last very long. Foaly knew about as much as Artemis did, and that was absolutely nothing. He found it hard to hide his disappointment. The People had more advanced technology then his world did; at the very least, he expected some data that would be able to assist him. "Are you sure that's all you know, Foaly?"

The nod the centaur gave made his stomach knot. He accumulated the timings on his disease, and he knew that his time was growing seriously short. Every second that passed was fatal for all of his organs; he could feel them dissipating at the very thought. Foaly questioned, " Give us a break, Mudboy. This disease is as slimy as Mulch and twice as smelly. "

"I expected more," he snapped. Foaly looked completely crest fallen. It had obviously taken a lot from him to suck up his pride and ask Artemis for help; he felt slightly guilty for reacting as cruelly as he had, but his mood was not to be helped.

"You're as moody as troll in heat," Holly scowled. "I thought humans passed their mood swings when they reached eighteen."

Holly had just compared him to the average teenager, and this offended him. 'She knows perfectly well that I'm not some moody teenager,' he thought. 'If this is her way of trying to improve my disposition, then she is failing terribly.' "I thought that at a age of eighty five fairies were supposedly adults; it appears that I was very much mistaken."

"What's that supposed to mean," she yelled. Butler and Foaly remained silent as the two got themselves wound up. When those two started acting like angry bulldogs, it was best to stay out of it. Butler would only intervene if things got too out of hand.

He gave her his hard as ice smile; his two different colored eyes were flickering diamond. They always lit up when his emotions extremes became released. Holly was winding herself up like a King Cobra, ready to take down the nearest object producing heat; that object happened to be Artemis. "You know exactly what I mean, Holly."

His stomach let out the cramp from hell. One of his legs nearly gave out, and he had to reach out to the nearest wall for support. Whatever anger Holly had been harnessing was now gone; she was at his side in a moment.

She looked at him with more concern then a mother would look at her sick child. His face may have look as though it were under control, but his eyes told a completely different story. They revealed more about his personality then Artemis would ever know. His glittering diamonds told her instantly that he was actually frightened. "Artemis, are you alright?"

He was silent. 'What am I supposed to say,' he wondered. 'Holly, I've got the epidemic too, and I've only got approximately two weeks left to live.' Every cell in his body screamed out in agony as he forced his bluish lips into a smile. That smile took more effort then forcing yourself to go down Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel. "I'll be okay."

She took his arm and forced him to look at her. "You're not fine."

For such a little creature, her grip was incredibly strong. He found it impossible to pull away from his redheaded friend. A wave of nausea picked this opportune moment to strike, and he tried to wiggle away from her. His pride had been damaged enough today without him having to vomit on the floor in front of Holly. "Holly, please."

Butler could tell that this was something very wrong with Artemis. If things had been normal then the manservant would have had no trouble allowing her to carry on, but it didn't take a genius to see that there was something wrong. "Let him go!"

"I-" Artemis tried to explain but the urge to puke was to strong. He felt his primal instincts come into play as his mind calculated his choices of actions; neither of them seemed very respectable.

At the sound of Butler's command, she immediately released her grip. Everyone merely stared as Artemis took off like a wounded dog out the door and into the hallway. Nobody was sure whether or not to go after him, so they all stared dumbfounded at the door as if expecting it to jump off of its hinges and attack them. "Why did he take off like that; the truth, Butler."

"I wish I knew," he cried. All he knew was that Artemis had been quite ill the last couple of days. There had been no other information given, and he hadn't questioned anything. Master Fowl would never release any given information until he was ready to do so. Even though he had received a warning from his principle not to disclose any information, he found this to be the best time for it. "He's been sick for quite some time."

"He's had to have said something," she said to herself. The blue spots were still eating away at her solid demise, and subconsciously she already knew what was wrong with the ill Mudboy; she just hadn't admitted it to herself yet.

It was strange how the mind worked. If the information it was receiving was something that it truly did not want to receive, then it would push way back beyond the break of consciousness. The information would find itself a twig and desperately try to work its way back out again. The wall of our mind is to clouded for this single thought to get out alone.

"He's been locked in his room all week," he murmured. Butler was worried about Artemis; this behavior was to strange for a boy genius. Nothing short of Mulch opening his bum flap could make Master Fowl bound away like he did today. "No one could lure him out."

Her head had begun to hurt tremendously. She hadn't been able to clear her head ever since she saw those markings sitting on Artemis; they were driving her into a insane asylum. Not only that, but her worry for the annoying genius was growing every minute he did not return. Like a big clock, she could count every second that inched passed. "Not even Minerva."

"They hadn't been seeing each other much lately," he replied. "Master Fowl has been avoiding her."

The ache in her head eased a little. Her feet tapped on the ground rhythmically, each tap was a second that oozed through the space time continuum. One, two, three, four; 'Why hasn't he come back,' she wondered. 'He has no place to go. I bet he's planning something.' "Why? She's just like him, arrogant and smart."

"I'm a bit disappointed; I was fond of Minerva." He looked at Holly curiously. It almost looked like she was counting or something. Artemis's vomiting times could almost be planned on a perfect schedule; he knew this because his principle kept one on his cell phone.

Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty; "I always assumed that they would get married."

She was about ready to burst. When Artemis got back he was going to tell her what was going on, even if she had to torture the information out of him. Last time he withheld information it had not been for a good reason; she did not want that to happen again. All she could force herself to say was, "Those blue dots bother me."

"D'avrit!" Foaly had been oddly silent for the whole conversation; it was almost like he hadn't been there.

They turned to glance at the centaur, neither of them exactly sure what he was complaining about. Foaly's face had begun to slowly redden like a child holding her breath to get her way. They cried together almost harmoniously, "What?"

'I haven't seen Foaly this upset since Mulch left a steaming pile of dung in his chair,' thought Holly. She blinked twice; this couldn't have been the dwarf's doing, he was still in his house recovering from the foul tasting medication.

"You were at the hospital yesterday, weren't you?" Foaly's eyes were as big as the propellers on a airplane, and his eyes dance back and fourth like tap-dancers on parade. Soft hoof-beats could be heard as he clambered off his especially designed chair.

She wondered, 'What does that have to do with anything.' Mulch was pretty much the only one she had seen at the hospital, except for the poor fairies with this mystery illness. The thought at the back of her mind was still poking her, awaiting for its grand entrance into the world. "I don't see-"

"Then you saw the people with the epidemic?" There had been few that she had seen at the hospital, but what she had seen caused a serious dip in her stomach. The epidemic not only had half of The People's world in its clutches, it held Artemis too. That was what had been bugging her the moment she saw Fowl climb out of the chute.

She buried her head in her hand and cried out, "No!"

Butler wasn't a hundred percent positive on his theory, but he could guess what was going on. Apart of him had know as well that Artemis had the epidemic. He slowly wandered over to Holly and placed his hand on her shaking shoulder. "Is it what I think it is?"

"I'm afraid so," Foaly whispered. The centaur and Artemis had been drawn together by their genius; he found it hard to cope with the knowledge, even if it was only a Mudman in danger. Giving Holly a pitying look, he busied himself on his computer. To some that may seem heartless, but that was how he dealt with things.

"Why didn't he say something?" Holly looked up from her hands; she had not been crying, but she was obviously very upset. Foaly had forced something into her brain that she didn't want to hear. All she wanted to do was forget everything, and pretend that Artemis was just fine.

"You know him," Butler frowned. "He's prideful."

"He would be willing to risk death on pride!" Holly knew perfectly well that Artemis would be willing to do so, but she found comfort in getting mad. Anger would be a safer emotion in the circumstance; tears would be only permit-able if Artemis kicked the bucket. "That's sheer stupidity, and Artemis does not do stupidity! He's a genius for Frond's sake!"

"This disease," Butler whispered, ignoring her ramblings. "How many have survived.

Foaly looked incredibly fluster. Nothing was going the way he planned, and his precious mate was on her deathbed as he spoke. Artemis Fowl was supposed to assist him in stopping this disease, but he couldn't do any good if he was dead.

"None so far."


Author's Note:

I apologize for the late update. My family, unexpectedly, decided to carpet our computer room, so I was unable to access the keyboard. The next chapter will be up much sooner, I assure you. Thank you for your patience!

Cheers!

Ravenmasteroftele