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Chapter 3. – Some Casual Conversation

Fowl Manor

As Artemis was about to ask his mother to meet him in his study, his phone rang, and he hurriedly excused himself and went to the toilet. This was not his mobile phone, but the fairy communicator Holly had given him, which was disguised as a rather prominent ring. He twisted the ring so that the omni-sensor, which looked like a large red jewel, was sitting in the palm of his hand. He then closed his middle fingers, and began to talk, as if he was using a pretend phone.

'Holly?' he said into his pinky. For a while there was no answer, then a desperate-sounding Holly answered.

'Artemis, it's good to hear from you. Haven is in chaos right now.'

'Hmm,' replied Artemis, thinking for roughly two seconds. 'Are the demons refusing to co-operate?'

'Very clever,' the elf answered. 'Yes, you're right. They hi-jacked the shuttle they were in, and crashed it against the rock face. You have no idea how much the media is lapping this up. Thankfully, they haven't discovered Section 8 yet, so the LEP is taking all the blame. I would have said that was a good thing if Sool was still in charge, but now that Trouble's taken over, I feel kinda bad.' After Sool had been forced to leave, then-Major Trouble Kelp had taken over, and was now Commander.

'Well, I hope you resolve the problem,' said Artemis. 'I have, eh… a few problems of my own.' His parents and Juliet came to mind. And also Minerva, although not for the same reason.

'Uh-huh,' answered a skeptical Holly. 'Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to halt whatever projects you have in mind. I think there's something going on behind the shadows. Mulch has been mesmerized lately by Lily Frond, and I can't think why. Artemis?'

'I'll call you back,' muttered Artemis, then cut the communication. Someone was knocking on the door.

'Arty?' called his mother. 'Arty, are you alright?'

'Yes, mother,' answered her son casually. 'Nothing serious. By the way, may I see you, father and Juliet in my study later? Preferably in about ten minutes.'

'Alright, dear. I'll just go tell your father and Juliet now,' she said, then her footsteps were heard walking away from the door.

Artemis sighed. He was still figuring out how to wipe away their pain and memories of fairies. When he was ready, he flushed the toilet for good measure, then walked out of the bathroom, and headed for his study.

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LEP HQ, Haven

Captain Lily Frond, the second female to ever reach Recon, was not happy. She rarely was, ever since Ark Sool had been kicked out of the LEP. It was because of him that she had reached Recon, and had been his only supporter, including his ideas about what to do with the demons, which had not pleased the council.

She was also unhappy because of the fact that she was the second at something. She had always been first at everything, just because of her ancestry. A truly spoilt brat, she hated Holly Short for coming before her.

'How did that ugly, no-good elf get to Recon before me?' muttered Frond, as she sauntered through the corridors. But now she had a mission that no one in the LEP knew about. She also knew that because Holly always ended up being involved one way or another, she would get her revenge.

But first, she had to arrange a little something with the new technical supervisor. Ever since Foaly had retired with his new wife, the gadgets that were coming out of the workshops just didn't have the 'wow' factor Foaly's inventions had. Although Frond hated to admit it, the new techie just wasn't world-saving material. Luckily, this was exactly what she needed.

When she entered the room, she found the new techie bent over what appeared to be a hologram of a dancing elf (I won't go into any details) on his desk. He had been Foaly's head technician, and hadn't been what you'd call 'overjoyed' when he was told he had received the job. In fact, he felt quite the opposite. But the pay was better, and he got to mess around with things without a whinnying centaur muttering in ear, so he accepted the job. It was obvious from the quality of his work and his general expressions that he regretted it.

'Hey, techie!' said Frond, getting the elf's attention. He was just about to reply, when he saw who it was.

'Oh, uh, L... I mean Captain Frond! What can I do for you?' he stuttered, immediately turning off the hologram. Frond knew he had a soft spot for her, and she decided to exploit it.

'Whatcha doing there, techie?' she said, walking towards him. She didn't have to be all lovey-dovey with this elf. She had secretly read his psych report, which revealed that he liked being 'dominated' (that might have sounded wrong).

'Well, I... uh...' stuttered the poor elf. He had gone bright red, and was unable to make a single proper sentence. Lily sneered. This is going to be easy, she thought.

'Look, I think there's something wrong with my computer,' she said, grabbing his head and looking deep into his eyes. She then added the mesmer to her voice. 'So, instead of fixing it, I want you to let me use the main computer, where I can access anything I wanted. Understand?'

Although he was a magical being, the techie had decided that magic was for warlocks, and had consequently lost his magic, rendering him useless against Frond's mesmer. Even if he had been 'running hot', Frond was unusually powerful, and also much smarter than the bimbo everyone thought she was. Sool had realized this and had seemed to respect her for it, which had been why Frond had supported him.

He was immediately under her spell, so to speak. 'Sure, nothing wrong with that. You can use my username and password, so that there are no restrictions,' he said, suddenly losing his stutter. What a wonderful voice, he thought. Yes... wonderful...

'Good,' said Frond, suddenly having an idea. 'Now, why don't you go to my desk and complete any documents that need to be done?' To the techie, this was a wonderful idea.

'Why, yes, of course!' he said, and hurried out of the room, a lazy smile on his face. He would proceed to finish every single document, without eating or sleeping, for the next three days, to the best of his abilities.

Once the techie was gone, she locked the doors, and did a little computer wizardry to make sure they couldn't be opened, unless from the inside. Her technical prowess was another of her underestimated skills. She wasn't as skilled as Foaly or Artemis, but she was getting close.

She lithely stretched her arms, then found the 'City Emergency Systems' folder. She hummed the tune of a pop song as she worked, a sneer on her face.

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Artemis' Study, Fowl Manor

Artemis sat on his chair, waiting anxiously for the arrival of his parents and Juliet. Now that he had confirmed that his magic was permanent, he now had to find out if he could control it, and use it in the way he wanted.

All you have to do is add magic to your voice, he thought to himself. Just make eye contact with them, then let the magic flow. Needless to say, he didn't like it. Perhaps he had acted too rashly.

But before he could change his mind, the door opened, and his parents entered, his father still holding his crystal flute of champagne, and sat down on the seats Artemis had placed. They were followed by Juliet, who closed the door behind her, then stood behind the two parents.

Artemis took a deep breath, then began, aware that three pairs of eyes were on him, but without hostility, just curiosity.

'Mother, father, Juliet, I wanted to talk to you about my disappearance,' he began, looking up and meeting the eyes of his parents and Juliet. He could see the pain in all their eyes, and a tear trickled down the cheek of Angeline. 'I know it was a painful time for all of you, but I felt that it was necessary to smooth it over, then move on,' he continued. Here goes nothing, he thought to himself, and tried to add a layer of magic to his voice.

Surprisingly, it was relatively easy. 'I take it that Butler told you about a fairy race, who lived underground?' he asked them. They nodded, and his mother said, 'We thought he'd gone mad with guilt. But now that you've returned, we've begun to rethink our beliefs. It's a difficult time for us all.'

Artemis sighed, remembering Foaly's words before he had returned: Everything you have learnt is confidential. Not even your parents, Artemis. You'll have to think of something besides the truth to tell them.

'You see, your initial reactions were correct. Butler was overridden with guilt, and his mind must have come up with an extremely outlandish reason to explain why I was gone, although he knew it wasn't true,' he said, staring into each parent in turn, then Juliet last. He walked up to his parents, both of them looking very confused, and took each of their hands in his own. 'I'm so sorry I caused you so much pain, mother, father,' he said clearly, still looking into their eyes, then, controlling his magic (too much would probably cause permanent damage), he slowly pumped positive energy into their minds, wiping away their pain, as if it were just another physical wound. Artemis saw the eyes of his parents soften, the pain wiped away, and smiled. After he was sure they were alright, he moved on to Juliet, and took both her hands.

'Butler told me about the pain you went through. I'm so sorry,' he said, then felt the magic flowing through his fingers, doing its work. Juliet smiled softly, and although he could tell his positive energy was seeping into her, she seemed to be aware that he was up to something. He raised an eyebrow, to which Juliet winked, startling him.

When he finished, he returned to his chair. His parents and Juliet were still looking at him, but they seemed relaxed.

'I'm afraid the reason I was away for so long is... difficult for me to explain, and I can't explain it now. But I promise, when the time is right, I'll tell you everything,' said the mastermind, images of all his adventures flooding through his mind. His parents just nodded, and his father said, 'Don't worry, son. I'm sure you have good reasons for not telling us, and we don't mind.' His mother nodded, clasping her husband's hand. Juliet nodded too, but there was a look in her eye that said otherwise. Artemis sighed.

'Thank you for being so understanding. Now, I need to check something in private, so may I be left alone please?' he asked. His father stood up, smiling at his son, then helped his wife up with his free hand and left the room. But Juliet stayed where she was.

'Artemis,' she said, walking over. She paused, then said, 'Since when did you have magic?' Artemis sighed, and swivelled round in his chair to see Juliet next to him, smiling.

'I see you noticed,' he said, as he beckoned for her to sit. She sat, crossing her legs, then pointed to her eyes.

'Remember your contacts? I found the spares in your room when I was cleaning it, and there was a disk beside it. When I ran the video you made for my brother, all my memories came back.' She took out the contacts, and threw them in the bin. 'So, Artemis,' she said, leaning forward so her face was dangerously close to his. 'Explain yourself. Including why your eyes don't match anymore.'

Artemis sighed again. Might as well, he thought. He also felt the hormones raging. She was so close, she could feel her breath on his face.

'A while after you lost your memory, Butler and I were contacted by Holly and the LEP, and we ended up having quite a brush-up with Opal Koboi and her goons. I'm afraid the LEP were not without casualties during the incident. Commander Root died when an explosive was strapped to his chest thanks to the pixie, which subsequently exploded and...' he explained, memories of the old commander coming back, bringing a tear to his eye. Juliet listened silently.

'We eventually defeated Opal, and she's now at Howler's Peak, I presume. Holly quit the LEP, then teamed up with Mulch and became private investigators, although she's now working in a covert section of the Council called Section 8, details of which I am not at liberty to discuss, I'm afraid,' he continued. Juliet gasped, then giggled.

'Holly and Mulch as private investigators...' she mused. 'I don't believe it. Ah well, at least she's moving up in the world... Anyway, please continue, Artemis.' He nodded.

'After the incident, I got bored, and since it was the summer holidays, I thought I'd go through the Book, which was where I found about demons,' he said, becoming slightly uncomfortable. 'Uh, Juliet, before I continue, can you move back slightly? I'm a little uncomfortable here.' She looked surprised for an instant, then grinned.

'Sure. I bet you were thinking about your girlfriend, right?' she said, then leaned back again on her chair. She beckoned for him to continue. Artemis cleared his throat. He then remembered his promise to call Holly back.

'Juliet, can I tell you this later? I need to call Holly,' he said. Juliet nodded, winked at Artemis again, then walked out of the room.

He then activated his phone, and rang Holly. The Holly who answered still sounded absolutely exhausted.

'Hello, Artemis? You took your time,' said Holly. Artemis could hear shouting and people rushing about in the background.

'I'm sorry, I had a small problem to smooth over,' answered Artemis. He heard Holly humph, which made him smile. 'Section 8 sounds busy.'

'It's chaos down here, Artemis,' said, or rather shouted Holly. 'We might need to go public if we're going to continue tackle the demons. There's something else too.' She paused, and Artemis heard her shouting at someone while covering the mouthpiece.

'Holly? Are you okay? I can call you later if you like,' said Artemis. 'Holly?'

'Yeah, um... yeah, call me back later,' shouted Holly, then cut the line. Artemis was left staring at his phone, bemused.

I had better think of a few ideas for Holly before I call her, thought Artemis. He went through the collection of music stored in his vast intellect, and chose Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2; the one he had played himself, of course, with the Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra, at the tender age of seven. He then set up a voice recorder on the floor, sat next to it, and closed his eyes.

It's not the best of endings, I have to admit, especially now that you have to wait for another couple of weeks for the next update, but hey... that's life.

(swinging a golden medallion) yOu aRE uNdEr mY SpELl... yOu WaNT tO rEviEW... rEviEW... rEviEW...

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