Chapter 4: Here we go again

Author's note: I was going to wait to post this but i just ... couldn't ... resist! A special thank you to happywritingx for reviewing! You seriously made my day! Orion's not here yet, but I promise, he's coming. If any of you are worried I'm going to ditch this story, don't worry. I AM GOING TO FINISH THIS STORY IF IT IS THE LAST THING I DO.

Disclaimer: Amazingly, I still don't own Artemis Fowl. I know, it's so shocking ... NOT.

"Dom, Angeline just called me. She really wants to see Arty."

Juliet had walked in an hour ago with two large coffees, much to Butler's relief. Butler had told his sister about everything as she stared at Artemis's sleeping form the whole time, unable to believe the words entering her ears.

"We can't let her see another alter, Jules. We need to wait until Artemis is in control again," Butler replied reasonably. His sister leaned into the back of the couch and yawned.

"Well, you can make something up if he doesn't take control soon, because Angeline is scary when she's mad," Juliet replied, playfully shoving her brother in the side. Butler sighed, resigned. Sometimes, I wish I was the younger one.

I love being the younger one. Juliet smirked victoriously. Go me.

The door suddenly opened, and the Butlers looked up to see Foaly, Mulch and No. 1. Mulch seemed to have lost his smug attitude, and No. 1 wasn't smiling as brightly as he usually did. Foaly just looked worried.

"How is he?" No. 1 asked quietly, concern obvious in his voice.

"He's alright, No. 1," Butler answered, glancing to Artemis. "He's just been sleeping."

"That mud boy always gets himself into trouble," Mulch said, a rueful smile on his face. Butler paled, remembering the day clearly. Juliet placed a comforting hand on his arm, looking at him sympathetically.

Foaly and Mulch shared a look. No. 1 was standing by Artemis, studying his face. He tried not to wince when he saw the huge bruise on his forehead.

"… Hey guys," came a familiar voice from the doorway. Everyone smiled when they saw Holly, and mumbled their greetings. Juliet stood up and hugged Holly tightly.

"Are you okay?" Juliet asked gently, releasing her to look into her eyes. Holly smiled warmly and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She laughed tiredly. "I needed that sleep though." The Butlers nodded in synchronisation. Holly raised her eyebrows. "Ok, ok, you guys were right," she muttered in resignation. The butlers smirked proudly. Holly shook her head and went to stand by No. 1. He smiled at her kindly and looked back to Artemis.

Juliet was dying to find out about the alter Holly had met. "Holly?" she asked sheepishly. Holly looked at her suspiciously.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Well, I was just wondering … about the alter you met yesterday." Holly smiled gently as she remembered Oisin. Juliet nearly squealed in excitement. Everyone looked at Holly.

"Uh … well, he was nice," she said, a blush creeping to her cheeks. Juliet's smile was about to reach her ears.

"And …?" she encouraged eagerly.

"And … we talked." Holly couldn't look at the teenager occupying the bed anymore. Foaly and Mulch smirked. "Talked about what, Holly?" Foaly asked smugly.

Holly shrugged. "The other alters."

Juliet narrowed her eyes playfully. "Come on, Holly, you must have had a conversation about something else." They were interrupted when Artemis groaned and shifted, his eyes slowly opening. I'm in control! He sat up a little too quickly, and squeezed his eyes shut in pain as his chest protested. A pair of small hands pushed him gently back down.

He slowly cracked his eyes open looked around silently, his eyes taking in all his friends. He felt a smile forming his face. They couldn't believe it. Artemis Fowl II, smiling. His blue eyes looked relieved as he took in everyone, meeting each of their eyes. He met Holly's mismatched eyes last, and stared into them.

Holly nearly feinted. Everyone in the room was so shocked that they couldn't speak. They stared at the boy's face.

"Artemis?" For some reason, Holly felt like it was him. He nodded, his smile becoming small again. Holly broke their intense eye contact.

Juliet bounced to Artemis's side. "Where is my hug?" she shrieked, encompassing him in a bone-crushing hug. Artemis's eyes widened and he felt his face colouring. He groaned, feeling his ego being crushed with his body. Butler smiled evilly and slipped his hand into his pocket, closing his fingers around the phone and pulling it out. He took a picture, shocking the boy currently getting crushed.

"Butler!" Artemis cried in disbelief. Everyone broke into a fit of laughter, Foaly pointing at the fuming teenager on the bed. Juliet smiled with satisfaction. Artemis buried his face in his hands. "Oh, why does this happen to me," he mumbled into his hands.

"We love you, Artemis, that's why," Juliet said, kissing him on the cheek. "Oh, and you should smile more often. It makes you look gorgeous!" Artemis was sure his face was as red as a tomato by now. Holly laughed and leaned in, kissing his other cheek. His lips twitched, and his face, as impossible as it seems, turned a shade darker. His eyes darted around the room, avoiding hers.

Juliet walked up to Butler and took his phone. She burst into laughter and doubled over when she saw the picture. Artemis's eyes were wide, staring in disbelief at the camera, while his cheeks were tinged a deep red, and his usual neat hair stuck out in random directions. Everyone stood around the hospital bed, their mouths open in laughter.

"T-this," she stuttered through her laughter, "is p-priceless." Butler grinned, taking the phone out of his sister's hands.

"Okay, alright. Everyone out," Butler ordered, a slight chuckle escaping his throat. Foaly snorted humorously, and as he walked past the open door Butler held, said in a teasing tone, "Bye, mud boy." Artemis rolled his eyes. Butler pushed out a laughing, Juliet.

"Don't worry, Artemis," Mulch said, "Foaly missed you." He followed Foaly out the door. No. 1 shook his head in amusement. "I guess I'll see you sometime later," he said kindly before disappearing out the door. Butler chuckled and stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

Holly and Artemis stared at the door, confused expressions on their faces. Artemis sighed quietly. Holly turned to look at him. He hesitantly met her eyes. They smiled awkwardly at each other and an uneasy chuckle escaped Artemis's throat.

"Well, that was …" he tried to think of a way to explain it, "hectic, frantic, and absolutely chaotic."

Holly laughed. "Yeah, I think you explained it pretty well."

Artemis realised he was smiling. Why do I smile around her so freely? He didn't know the answer to his own question, which really, really annoyed him.

Holly expression changed as she remembered why they were there. Artemis frowned. "Holly, what's wrong?" he asked anxiously. A tear slipped silently down her cheek. She hastily wiped it away.

"Nothing, Arty," she said, trying her best not to cry. Artemis didn't know what to do, didn't know how to comfort her. He cautiously took her hand. She paused, looking at their hands with a surprised expression.

"Holly," he said, looking at her seriously. "I …" He looked down, hiding his eyes way from her. Holly couldn't believe what she was seeing. "… I hate seeing you cry. Please, don't cry," he whispered.

Holly nodded, squeezing his hand tightly. "It's not fair, Artemis," she murmured. Artemis lifted his eyes to meet hers.

"It could have happened to anybody," he replied. "He would have killed Butler; I didn't have time to warn him."

"I thought I was going to lose you this time," Holly said, her voice shaking. Artemis stared down at their hands, lacing his fingers through hers. Holly was shocked by the uncharacteristic gesture. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and hug him tightly.

"It doesn't make sense," he murmured. "What happened after I was … shot?"

Holly winced. "You hit your head on the concrete." She reached up and stroked his bruised forehead. Artemis flinched and reached up, feeling the bump.

"I must have hit it pretty hard," he muttered nervously. Holly just gazed at him, her eyes full of some emotion he couldn't identify.

"Artemis," she said quietly. "I—"

The door opened quietly, and in walked Dr. Argon. Artemis tore his eyes away from Holly, and sighed when he saw who it was. He lay back into his soft bed, glaring at the ceiling. Here we go again.

Holly sighed, looking at Artemis once more, before standing up. "I guess I should go. I'll see you soon, Arty," she said, hesitant to leave him. Artemis's heart fluttered at the use of his nickname in front of the doctor. He nodded and watched her walk out the door.

"So, Artemis," Dr. Argon said, settling into in Holly's seat. "We meet again." He took out his notebook.

"Yes, yes," Artemis said impatiently. "How did this happen?"

Dr Argon sighed. "Well, you were at a restaurant and then—"

"I remember that I was shot," Artemis cut in, clearly annoyed. "People don't get multiple personality disorders from hitting their heads, so why do I have it?"

"I will tell you my theory if you stop being so rude," Dr. Argon said angrily. Artemis averted his eyes. Then why don't you get to the point.

"I think," said Dr. Argon, "that when you hit your head, your personality somehow shattered into what are now, your alters." He raised his hand to silence Artemis before he could argue. "If you have any better theories, I would love to hear them."

"That's impossible though!" Artemis exclaimed.

"Well, however it happened, it happened, so now we need to work on curing it, correct?" Artemis hated being treated like a normal teenager. He ignored the gnome, his mind deep in thought.

Come on, Artemis, think … I need to meld the alters back together somehow … but how?

There you go! I hope you enjoyed. :) Next chapter is coming soon. Thoughts? comments? Pwetty pwease? :3