After lunch, during which Artemis managed to hold down some basic food, Butler and Angeline left for Angeline's room to consider how to break the mesmer's hold on Artemis Fowl Senior's brain. Juliet and Holly stayed with Artemis, though Holly yawned almost continuously, feeling the effects of staying up for a surface night and most of the day.
"Holly, you don't have to stay," Juliet said kindly, as Artemis went to the bathroom, preparing to start his "therapy" as well as manage the unfortunate side effects of the drugs he had taken. "I can deal with talking him through this."
Holly sat up straight on the narrow bed and smiled tiredly, "And miss all the fun of watching Mud Boy discuss his crimes? I wouldn't miss that for anything," she told the human girl.
Juliet giggled as Artemis came over to join them from his bathroom, where he had been thinking about what to discuss while leaning over the toilet, waiting for the next bout of nausea. "Are you two ready to begin?" he asked, almost wishing he hadn't woken up or taken back his body.
Both of the girls nodded. Artemis sighed and sat down in his fairy-sized chair, curling his legs under him. Both Holly and Juliet were quick to realize what a vulnerable position he had put himself in, and were reminded forcefully of the day before, and Aris.
"We should start with my first crimes," Artemis pointed out, and both of the girls nodded again. Juliet had spent the morning researching the Complex, and had some input to make.
"According to some reports I read on the Haven mainframe," she explained, "The most effective treatment of the guilt which causes Atlantis Complex seems to be talking about the incident which causes guilt as if it's a story, and telling us about it from your perspective."
Artemis nodded, then reached into his memories.
"My first crimes," he began, closing his eyes, "Were pointless little things, ways to gain Father's attention in some way other than disapproval.
"I would steal little things from his office, then try to make my crime obvious by asking him to do something that required the item I had taken.
"He would always have a spare or extra, though, so I started searching through his desk to take all the spares or copies of something he had. He saw it as training, I think, to make me learn that the less one took, the less likely one was to be noticed.
"When I took an important document off of his desk when I was five, then hacked his computer to delete the digital copy, I accidentally crashed his system, and the entire Fowl crime syndicate went down for several days while he searched for a new computer and all of the files he had lost.
"I don't think he ever discovered what really happened to his computer system, and he always put it down to computer error. From what I can tell, he never found out that the file I had stolen was even missing, and I remember that it detailed a highly lucrative deal.
"At the time it was my first victory, crime-wise, to have taken money right out from under Father's nose without him finding out, but when I remember it now I feel like a complete fool, especially when I think of how much of that money I stole could have been put into finding Father when he disappeared."
Artemis opened his eyes and sat up straight in his chair. "There you have it," he said heavily, "The first crime I feel guilty for."
Juliet and Holly exchanged glances, turned back to Artemis for a moment, then both burst out laughing.
"What?" Artemis asked, exasperated, "Argon did say to start with my first crimes."
Holly regained control first, "Sorry, Artemis," she said, gasping with mirth, "But you feel guilty about that? Considering everything else you have to feel guilty about, that seems hilarious."
Juliet finally managed to stop laughing, "This isn't helping," she chortled, "We'll never get anywhere by laughing at a story, even one like that.
"What we're supposed to do now is convince you that you shouldn't feel so guilty about that incident," she continued breathlessly, "Which shouldn't be too hard with this particular story."
"Then we get some practice for later," Holly said, finally getting back to business, and looking at the helplessly bemused Artemis, "I guess you feel guilty about that because you were pleased with the result of the wrongdoing at the time, and you think that the money could have helped find your father," the elf guessed. Artemis nodded sadly.
"I'm sorry, Artemis, but you had better prepare for some tough love," Juliet said, preparing to deal with the guilt in the most direct way she knew how, "Mr. Fowl was grooming you to take over the Fowl Empire, so he was the one who encouraged you to take pleasure in plotting and thieving.
"Also," she continued, cutting Artemis off as he began to respond, "You can't possibly have expected the money from one deal to find Mr. Fowl, even if he wouldn't have spent it on legitimizing the Fowl funds."
Holly nodded, agreeing with the other girl. Artemis sighed, running his hands through his hair, accidentally making himself appear more vulnerable. Holly found herself comparing her human friend to the 12-year old human enemy that she had met years ago, when Artemis had been a cold, calculating criminal. She knew that the Artemis of old would be ashamed with his reforms in the past eight years, but she knew that she preferred the friendlier, generally useful Artemis, even with his current problems and usual cynicism. With a jolt, she realized what she had to say to him.
"Artemis," she said, bringing the youth out of his mental processing of Juliet's statement, "If the deal you prevented your father from completing had brought in the funds to find him, would you have worked so hard to find The People? Would you have been able to reform yourself, and your father, without kidnapping me? Would your mother have recovered from her depression, even if your father had returned, without our help? Would your father have even survived to come home if you and Butler had rescued him on your own?"
Artemis's face seemed to turn transparent, and Holly felt like she was watching some of the Atlantis Complex heal itself away in an instant. "No, Holly," he said softly, "I would now be an eighteen-year old criminal mastermind with an ill or dead father and an infirm mother, if I would even have survived rescuing Father from the Russian mafia. The People might now be under the thumb of Opal Koboi or Briar Cudgeon, preparing to go to war against the humans, a war they would be assured of winning."
"So basically, the crime that started it all might have been the best thing to ever happen to you, your family, and the fairies," Juliet finished.
Artemis looked like a spotlight had turned on in his mind to Juliet and Holly. Inside his own mind, he felt some of the guilt almost melt away. By addressing his first crime, he had erased some of the guilt caused by his failure to rescue his father, his capture of Holly, and many of the misadventures that had followed. Of course, he realized how far he still had to go before he was cured, but it was heartening to feel the beginnings of the healing process within his own mind.
"Thank you," he said honestly, "I think that we may actually eliminate this Complex now."
"I'll go get Mrs. Fowl," Juliet said, "She and Dom have probably called Mr. Fowl by now."
Juliet stood up and left, leaving Holly and Artemis in the room. Holly stood up and stretched luxuriously, "I should get back to my apartment," she told her friend, "I need to be fully rested by tomorrow morning to take over my usual shift again."
"Of course," the Irish teenager answered, "Though I doubt you'll see me if you stop by again. Letting more personalities surface is probably the safest thing to do while I reorganize my mind."
Holly punched Artemis lightly on the shoulder as she walked to the door, "No hurting yourself while you're alone, okay, Mud Boy?" she told him, earning a hard glare.
Chuckling, Holly headed out of the room, leaving Artemis alone. Rubbing his forehead where a headache was forming, Artemis settled down and waited for his mother to arrive.
Juliet happily led her brother and her employer down the halls of the facility. "Hopefully Artemis doesn't decide to go to sleep early again," she told the adults, "Especially if you need him to talk to Mr. Fowl."
Angeline's phone swung in her hand. She had been trying to convince her husband that she was not an imposter or insane, but Artemis Fowl Senior appeared to be determined to keep his world in order. Butler had explained to his employer that this was most likely an effect of the mesmer that Artemis had placed on his father. Mr. Fowl would continue to adhere to the boundaries set by the magic until Artemis erased the spell himself, or a fairy mesmerized him.
Arriving in Artemis's room, Angeline hurried to her son's side, "Are you feeling OK, honey?" she asked, "No more nausea?"
"I'm fine, mother," Artemis told her, "Hopefully I am through the side effects which appear to be associated with the drugs. How did talking with Father go?"
"He thinks that I've finally lost my mind again, and he's preparing to call in someone to find the two of us," Angeline explained, "Butler told me that you could get him to believe us by erasing the spell you put on him."
"Yes," Artemis said confidently, "I can erase the effects of the mesmer on father by talking to him, but it will be more effective if I can have eye contact."
"Use your computer," Juliet suggested.
"Exactly," Artemis confirmed, reaching for his computer. Within a few keystrokes, he had opened up his Facetime account and was calling Artemis Fowl Senior.
Mr. Fowl answered quickly, and his cheerful face appeared on the screen. "Arty!" he called, "Is your mother there? She's got some kind of idea that you have some kind of insane psychosis and you're in a fairy hospital!" he laughed, finding the idea hilarious, apparently oblivious to the fact that a bed was sitting behind Artemis and the fact that all of the visible furniture was far too small for the humans to sit comfortably.
Taking a deep breath, Artemis locked eyes with his father, "Father, what Mother says is true. I put the two of you under a spell known as the mesmer so that you would not notice that I disappeared for two years and came back at the same age as when I left. I also prevented you from learning about the fairy races living underground, and made sure that you would not become curious about them unless I cancelled the spell, which is what I am doing now."
Artemis Fowl Senior looked like he had been hit by a blast of light for a moment, then he looked surprised. "Artemis?" he asked, incredulous, "I thought that you trusted us more than that," he said angrily, leaning in toward his computer, "You could have just told us."
Artemis winced, "It was a bit of a quick fix," he explained, "I was intending to tell you eventually, but," he paused, wondering how to explain the situation, "Something got in the way. I'll hand you over to someone who can explain this better than me."
He clicked an override code into his Internet browser. "Are you listening to this, Foaly?" he asked his computer, gaining himself an annoyed whinny from the centaur.
"You could give me some warning before doing that, Mud Boy," Foaly's voice came out of the computer, "Of course I'm listening! Keeping an eye on you is my favourite spectator sport!"
Juliet looked up and, on impulse, stuck her tongue out at the camera in the corner of the room. Foaly whinnied at her, then the humans heard keys tapping on Foaly's computer.
"I'll just put myself through to Mr. Fowl's computer," he told them, "And I'll try to explain the situation to him as tactfully as I can."
"Thank you, Foaly," Angeline thanked the computer, then she turned to the screen with her husband's face in it. "See, I'm not a raving lunatic," she told him, and he laughed.
"I never said that you were," he replied, chuckling, then he became more serious, "I'll talk to this "Foaly" about your "problems" Arty, but I expect to discuss them with you in a few days," he warned.
"Hopefully we can talk then," Artemis replied nervously, "Enjoy your conversation with your first fairy, Father."
Smiling resignedly, Artemis Fowl Senior exited the call. Artemis turned to his companions, looking worried. "Hopefully Foaly is more tactful than I give him credit," he voiced, "Otherwise I don't think that Father will be very happy."
Juliet giggled, "I'm sure that Foaly will do his best," she reassured him.
"That's what I'm worried about," Artemis and Butler said at the same time. Angeline chuckled softly.
"I will have to go to sleep soon, in any case," Artemis stated, and he yawned, "My brain will begin to eliminate the Atlantis Complex while I sleep."
"Good luck," Angeline whispered into her son's hair as she hugged him.
As Artemis went to bathe and prepare to sleep, Butler moved to his chair, beginning to shift it to his post beside Artemis's bed. Juliet caught the movement, and fairly flew to his side.
"No," she said firmly, "Tonight, you are going to get a full night's sleep while I watch Artemis." when Butler made to begin protesting, Juliet wagged a finger in his face, "If you want, I will call you as soon as he wakes up, but you will not stay up another entire night," she told her much older brother, sounding as if she was talking to a badly behaved dog
Resigned, Butler trotted swiftly out the door, followed by Mrs. Fowl, who was near collapsing with laughter. Juliet took up her post beside the bed, quickly ordering food for herself and Artemis.
Half an hour later, after a light meal from the militaristic kitchen, Artemis reappeared in his mind chamber. He was just moving towards his table when the door to the others' rooms opened and Noland came barreling through.
"Artemis!" he called, gesturing urgently, "Something's happened to Aris! Come quick!" Startled, Artemis turned around and followed Noland through the door at a quick pace.
As they entered Aris's room, where the multiple personalities had spent the day, Artemis was surprised at the inky darkness. The walls, floor and ceiling were painted a cloying black colour, and the tiny bed huddled in the corner was made of ebony, with dark sheets. The only space of light was the center of the room, where Noland and Orion had dragged chairs from Artemis's chamber to keep each other and Aris company during the day. The plain chairs stood out like the sun in the pure blackness.
Orion was leaning over the bed, his flamboyant and mock medieval clothing contrasting blindingly to his surroundings. He appeared to be taking care of Aris, who seemed to be unconscious.
"He collapsed when we fell asleep," Noland explained, "And then he started-" Noland was interrupted when Aris started shuddering and moaning terribly. "Doing that," Noland finished, hurrying over to the bed.
Artemis followed quickly, leaning over the prone form of his depressed side. Almost at once, Aris calmed and fell back against his pillows, looking especially pale.
"What can we do, fair comrades?" Orion wondered, looking concerned.
"It is my mind," Artemis mused, "But it isn't exactly under my control right now. I do not believe there is anything we can do for him other than hope he wakes up."
As if on command, Aris sat up, rising so fast that he rammed his forehead into Orion's nose. Orion backed up from the bed fast, cursing loudly.
"Aris, are you OK?" Noland asked, sitting down on the bed.
"I feel… a bit better," Aris said. Abruptly, Artemis noticed that the youth's hair was visibly more lustrous, the dark rings around his eyes were less pronounced, and he looked marginally happier than the last time Artemis had seen him.
"Maybe soon… I'll be gone," the personality continued, looking rather pleased at the prospect.
Artemis was taken aback, "What do you mean, gone?" he asked cautiously.
Surprised, Aris began to explain, "All the personalities… want to rejoin… with you," he told the teenager, and then he managed a wan smile.
"We all want to take our place as part of you," Noland clarified, "And we can't do that unless you're willing to accept us and reincorporate us into you."
"So every one of us wishes for you to find a cure to the Complex, no matter how unique each of us may be, or how irritatingly annoying you may be on occasion," Orion finished.
"I suppose that my acceptance of some of my guilt earlier was a part of Aris's difference from me," Artemis realized, "So part of you became more similar to me in that regard," he told the depressed teenager
"I guess that that means… I'm a gauge of how much… guilt we've accepted," Aris said sheepishly, smiling shyly.
"Then it looks like we're all working together, then," Noland pointed out.
"Comrades on the same path!" Orion called out, gaining a groan and two half-amused glances.