(A/N: nothing to say, really. I don't own AF, blah blah blah. Enjoy!)

-3 Hours later, on Artemis' private jet-

Andrew was sitting in the lounge of the private jet that Artemis had modified to make completely silent and emission free using solar panels and two electric motors for energy. Artemis and Holly were on the other sofa talking quietly. Both were smiling. Butler was piloting the plane, and Amelia was sitting next to Andrew.

"We're about to land at the Dublin Airport, so I'd advise that you wear your seatbelts." Butler said over the intercom.

Artemis chuckled. "Not that you'd need them," he said, "Butler's the best pilot out there."

Suddenly, their plane jerked so hard, it catapulted Artemis, Amelia, and Andrew out of their seats. Only Holly was left sitting, because she had been smart and put her seatbelt on. She looked down at Artemis lying on the floor. "Not that you'd need them," she mocked.

-2 hours earlier, Amelia's house-

Andrew's fist shook as he raised it to knock on Amelia's door. When it eventually did make contact, it rang out like a gunshot in the silent neighborhood.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

But to Andrew, it was BANG! BANG! BANG!

Andrew winced, and exactly 14 seconds later, Amelia answered the door.

"Hello, Andrew, what are - oh." She had just seen Butler, Artemis, and Holly standing behind him.

"Hi." Andrew said, only slightly less nervous. "Remember what happened 3 days ago at work?"

Amelia laughed, clearing the tension. "How could I forget? Especially the fact that she was the one that crashed." She motioned to Holly, who took it as her cue to speak.

"Hello, My name is Holly Short, Captain of the LEP," she said, holding out her comparatively miniscule hand. "And you must be Amelia."

Amelia looked flustered, but shook the hand nonetheless. "Uhm, yes, that's me."

Stupid, she chided herself. You're in the accelerated public speaking class for a reason. So act like it.

"That's me. Amelia Everton."

Better.

"I just want to thank you for keeping me safe from all the Mud People that showed up after I crashed. If it weren't for you and Andrew, I would probably be on an operating table right now."

Andrew huffed. "You'd definitely be on an operating table, Holly."

By this time, Amelia had regained her composure and said, "It was all Andrew, really. I just helped with the camo cloth stuff."

Artemis coughed. "It's cam foil." he said quietly.

Amelia noticed Artemis for the first time and her eyes widened. "You must be Artemis Fowl. Andrew's told me so much about you and Holly's adventures."

Artemis looked at Andrew. "Did he now?"

Andrew put an innocent look on his face. "She already knew Holly was an Elf, so I didn't see the harm in telling her more. Besides, I made her promise not to tell anybody."

"You dodged a bullet this time," Artemis said. "Before we get too far off track, I am going to state the reason for us coming to your house at this untimely hour. That reason being, we need you, Amelia."

Amelia's eyes widened even further. "What for?"

"I'm assuming that Andrew told you about Foaly?" Amelia nodded. "Good. Foaly needs 'ordinary' humans to run tests on."

"What for?"

"We can't tell you that. You must agree and board my plane before I go over the specifics. Do not agree, and you will be mindwiped. You will have no recollection of this encounter."

Amelia nodded slowly. "So let me get this straight. You are asking me to come with you on a top secret mission. If I agree, I will know more about the People. If I don't, I won't remember anything?"

"Essentially, yes."

"I'm game. I'll have to make up an excuse for my mom, though."

Holly spoke up. "That won't be a problem. I can simply mesmer your mom into letting you come with us."

"I'll go get her," Amelia said, closing the door. A few moments later, it opened again, revealing a tall woman with a glass of wine in one hand. She appeared to be sober, at least for the time being.

"Hello," she said. Her voice sounded smooth and silky, like an actress. "What can I do for you?"

Holly put on the mesmer. "Hi, Mrs. Everton, we just need your daughter for a couple days, is that okay with you?"

Mrs. Everton's eyes got cloudy and she said, "Well, she does have a few doctor's appointments, but I can reschedule those. Amelia!"

"Yes, mom?" Amelia, by the sound of it, was already packing.

"There are people at the door waiting for you! Please hurry!"

"I know mom, I'm getting ready!" Amelia said. A few minutes later, she came down the stairs with a backpack full of clothes and food.

"Bye-bye, Amy, have a nice trip!" Mrs. Everton called out the door as Amelia left.

"I'll try!" she called back. As she got in the car, Amelia let out a small gasp of surprise. The car was fairly flashy on the outside, but it had nothing on the inside. There was a fridge, artificial leather (for Holly) sofas, and even a flat screen TV on the back. Amelia didn't know what to think. "Wow," was all she could say.

Andrew laughed. "'Wow' is right. I've never seen a car this nice before, let alone been in one."

"Next stop, the airport." Butler said over the intercom.

10 minutes later, the unlikely group were at a small airport near the local hardware store. There were several jets parked near the terminal, and Artemis said, "Take a guess at which one's mine."

Andrew pretended to think for a second before deciding. "Probably the one with all the solar panels on it," he said.

"Now what made you some to that preposterous conclusion?" Artemis asked, climbing into the plane that Andrew specified. "Honestly, it's just ridiculous…" he laughed, his voice trailing away within the dark confines of the jet.

-Present time-

Artemis got up. "Butler, what was that?" he asked.

"I don't know, sir." came the reply over the intercom. "It felt as though something hit the plane, but I don't know who would be so stupid as to attack us in a public place."

"Well, obviously they don't care," Artemis proclaimed, "because we have another one incoming on our right!"

"I see it. Hold on to something," Butler replied. The plane suddenly pitched forward, and the projectile flew so close, they could feel the wind - and heat - from it.

Artemis was - almost - visibly panicked. "Butler, we need to land. Now."

They could hear Butler's sigh directly from the cockpit. "As much as I hate do disagree, we can't land now. That would only give our attackers a stationary target. I say we fly as far away as we can."

Artemis didn't bother using the communications system as he shouted "Then do it! Before they fire again!"

"Understood."

The plane levelled out, and soon they were streaking along the skies at 750 mph toward Fowl Manor.

After several minutes of awkward silence, Andrew spoke up. "What was that? Who was that?"

"I don't know," Artemis replied, "And I definitely don't know."

Holly looked at Artemis uncertainly. This was not like him at all. Artemis Fowl never just 'didn't know'. "What do you mean, you 'don't know'?" she asked.

"Exactly what I said. I don't know. Opal's dead, Spiro is in jail, Ark Sool and Turnball are both dead. I don't know who would be after us."

Andrew coughed into his elbow. "I might have an idea," he said.

Everybody looked at him, with the exception of Butler, who was piloting.

"Who?" Amelia asked

It was at this particular moment that Holly noticed something out the window. It seemed to be another aircraft. She saw that this plane was getting in position, but for what? The answer was soon obvious as a pair of machine guns poked out of the sides.

"GET DOWN!" she yelled, and everyone complied. Not a second later, bullets ripped through the plane like it was made of paper, which, essentially, it was. Butler made a sharp turn away from the Manor, which was now just barely in sight, and angled the nose up to gain altitude. Unfortunately, the other plane followed. In the brief moment where there were no bullets ripping through the air, Artemis remembered a feature that he had put in the craft just prior to the trip to America. "Butler!" he shouted, and without waiting for a response, he yelled, "Activate the cloaking mechanism!"

In the cockpit, Butler pushed a button. That button activated a device similar to Section 8's Shimmer Suits, hiding the plane from view. Butler made another turn back to the airport, and, pressing another button, gave the solar plane a boost, propelling it to 1200 mph. In less than 10 minutes, they were subsonic, visible, and in the holding pattern back above the Dublin Airport. There were no enemies in sight.

None of the group had made any noise during the whole ordeal, other than Artemis telling Butler to activate the cloaking mechanism. It stayed that way until they got to the Manor, where Artemis personally showed Andrew and Amelia to their separate rooms. "Where is Holly going to be sleeping?" Amelia asked, seeing that Holly wasn't with them.

Artemis pursed his lips, then said, "She will be sleeping in my room. I will have Butler put a second bed in there for her."

Andrew was satisfied, he knew what was going on between Artemis and Holly. Amelia, however, looked confused. There's plenty of guest bedrooms, she thought, Why is she sleeping with him? Seeing the knowing look on Andrew's face, she waited until Artemis left, then knocked on Andrew's door.

"Come in," came the reply.

Amelia entered the room to find Andrew sitting on his bed, apparently thinking. As he saw her, he got up. "What do you need?" he asked. "Is it about Artemis and Holly?"

Amelia was surprised. "How did you know?" she asked.

Andrew smirked. "I saw your face when Artemis answered your question. You're confused as to why Holly isn't sleeping in one of the guest rooms, but in Artemis' instead."

Spot on. How was this kid so smart? He is a Fowl, she reasoned. "Yeah. But why? He kidnapped her, for goodness sake!"

Andrew realised that she didn't know that Holly and Artemis were together. He didn't blame her. After all, he had barely known who Holly was, let alone her relationship with Artemis. He debated for awhile on whether or not to tell Amelia what Artemis was planning. After a few moments, Andrew came to a conclusion. "Amelia?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Can you keep a secret from Holly?"

That got Amelia interested. "Does it have to do with her and Artemis?" she asked.

"It does."

"Then I can totally keep a secret!" She was positively dancing now.

Andrew noticed that the door was open, and knowing Amelia, her reaction would probably alert Artemis, Holly, and her mother back in America that something was up. "Close the door," he said, and Amelia obliged. He waited for her to sit down, then said, "Artemis is deeply in love with Holly, and Holly loves Artemis. So much, in fact, that he is going to propose to her soon."

Even with the door closed, Amelia's shriek woke Artemis, who was sleeping across the Manor from them.

-Artemis, same time-

Artemis awoke suddenly to a very loud, shrill noise. Holly was also wide awake, and Artemis could see her exiting the bed that Butler had brought in. He groaned as he sat up. "Go back to sleep, Holly," he said. "I'll take care of it." As Artemis crawled out of bed, Holly flopped back into her own, relishing the warmth of the blankets. Artemis quickly threw on a warmer layer of clothes (it was Ireland, after all) and immediately went to the other wing where Andrew and Amelia were. Butler was already there, and they were talking quietly - and excitedly - with each other. "What's going on?" he asked. He was happy to see that he had startled all of them.

"Oh come on, Artemis," Butler complained. "I was just telling Amelia how lucky she was not to have woken you."

Artemis scoffed. "Honestly Butler, if you're going to lie, at least do it better. What were you talking to Andrew about?"

Butler looked defeated. "I was talking to Andrew about keeping... things… confidential."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "What sort of 'things'?"

Andrew coughed. "I told Amelia about you and Holly's… relationship."

Artemis appeared calm as he said, "And what did you tell her?"

"I told her that you were going to - hold on, where's Holly?"

"D'Arvit, Andrew!" came a new voice. It was Artemis' turn to be startled now, as the voice came from right behind him. Holly laughed as Artemis clutched his chest like he was having a heart attack.

"Holly! You scared me!" He sounded indignant.

"Of course I did! And it would have been better if you had completed your sentence, Andrew." Holly smirked, which was unnerving. She bore a striking resemblance to Artemis when she did that. Undoubtedly a side effect of their relationship. Andrew was saved the embarrassment of telling Holly what Artemis thought of her when Angeline suddenly appeared at the door. She took one look at Andrew and ran toward him, enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug. "Andy! You're back! And you brought a girlfriend! How sweet!"

Amelia looked traumatized while Andrew stammered, "B-back? Girlfriend? Oh… She's not my girlfriend, Mrs. Fowl."

Angeline looked confused. "She's not… your girlfriend?"

Andrew shook his head. "No."

"I'm sorry then, I guess I jump to conclusions too much." She laughed. "Also, call me Mom."

"Okay… Mom." Andrew smiled when he said that. He didn't know why, but it just felt… right.

Now it was Juliet's turn to join the party. "What's going on?" she asked, groggy.

"My son's back!" Angeline was nearly crying tears of joy. "After 17 years, he's finally come home!"

Juliet perked up. "I didn't know you had a son other than Artemis, Myles, and Beckett."

"I guess I never felt the need to tell you, but not now! Now is time for bed."

They all groaned, but were happy to go to bed anyway. They didn't know it, but tomorrow was going to be a long, exhausting day.

(A/N: Hope you enjoyed Chapter 4! don't forget to review, it helps me so much!)