Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl.

Thanks for the awesome reviews! And for the support, people, thanks so much! 11 reviews last chapter!

Hope you all enjoy reading this chapter! By the way, sorry if it took so long, I had a lack of inspiration. Gun toten Girly somehow guilted me into writing this super fast with her review! (Or else it would have taken me a month, so thank her!)

Gun toten Girly (since I couldn't give you a reply): I will never, ever give up on this story! Don't you worry about that (as I've told many already). Your review totally made me feel guilty so I was working my 'derrière' off at one in the morning to write this! ...But then I had problems posting it! Thanks, sarcastically said for making me work late at night, but mostly truthfully for actually making me work and for your review. I appreciate it:)

Also, thank you Katinka for pointing out that Holly had one hazel and one blue eye. I forgot that detail in the previous chapter, when Trouble was staring romantically in her eyes (lol), but it's fixed now.

Author's Note: There are no surveillance cameras in the closet because… Well, it's a closet!


Chapter 9. Escape

"Adrian, can you hear me?" whispered Donavon, hands tied behind his back. The sprite moaned.

"Yeah. Where are we locked up in?"

"Some kind of closet. Fowl's bodyguard got us at the last minute. We should have finished them off when he had the chance," Donavon continued on with gritted teeth.

"Too late to think about that. Now, how do we get out? There must be something we can use here," Adrian looked around. He tried wriggling his hands free to no avail.

"Wait…" he said. The sprite moved himself with difficulty to the corner of the closet and attempted to take his shoe off by kicking on the wall.

"What are you doing?" Donavon asked, stupefied.

"Trying to get my shoe off."

"I can see that! But why?"

"You'll see."

He scowled. That's what Donavon hated about working with Adrian. Making plans and executing them recently went well as far as he knew, but the thing was, the sprite always made him wait, and he just didn't have patience.

Now, Adrian was holding his shoe up on the wall at a certain angle and was trying to shuffle his toe underneath the inside sole.

"Doesn't work," he said to himself.

He decided to take his sock off and did so, thanks to his other foot, and tried again. It wasn't a surprise. The sprite was an expert in this field. How else could he have gotten away with a clean file with the LEP after all those crimes he committed? They were minor, petty crimes, but crimes nonetheless.

Adrian finally got what he was looking for—his pocketknife, hidden in the sole of his shoe. Donavon's eyes widened.

"Why did you—"

"Have a knife in my shoe?" finished off the other. Despite the fact that they were both criminals, they had never teamed up until this very mission.

Turning around, he leaned back to grab the knife in his hands. The two elves approached each other and the sprite cut Donavon's ropes loose, who did the same afterward for Adrian. The reason that they didn't abandon each other was that they needed one another. Donavon, wanting to be even more infamous than his sister Opal, concocted plans for years. He never actually carried them out, however, so this was probably a first for him. It's the complete opposite for Adrian. He could face any challenge thrown at him, and would, of course, get paid for it.

It took a while, the ropes being heavy-duty and all. (Who else but Butler would be able to think of this?)

"Now, where are our real weapons?" demanded Adrian.

"That bodyguard took them away. We can't risk looking for them, though. Without the LEP helmets, we don't have blueprints of the manor either. There are security cameras everywhere. If we want to make it out alive, we'll have make a run for it as soon as this door opens," Donavon pointed to the closet door.

The pixie nodded and aloud himself a grunt. He had never wrongly executed a plan before. This strange Fowl character and that huge mudman Butler were more trouble than he initially thought they would be. Of course, it was they and that Holly Short who landed his beloved Opal in jail.

"I'll fly you out," the sprite finally said. The next second, they kicked the locked door open, and dashed out. The first thing they both did was analyze the whole place. It took them a few seconds to find a window on the far end of the long corridor they were standing in. Both of them ran as if their lives were at stake—which probably were—, not caring if they were seen by the surveillance cameras or not, because they would be long gone by then.

As Donavan ran, Adrian flew and swept him from the ground. They both crashed through the tall window and escaped into the night. While in mid-flight, Donavon pressed a hidden button that was on his black suit. It wasn't for nothing that it was professional looking. At once, from Fowl Manor, the set of stolen LEP wings opened up and swiftly came to the preset location, also known as the button's signal. That exact pair of wings were purposely taken—it was part of their plan. Earlier, Artemis had insisted on leaving the LEP things on the study table, seeing as he was going to come back to observe everything later on that night. Butler finally gave in and listened to Artemis. Little did they know then that it was a big mistake. The wings were a new version (at the time), created by Opal Koboi. She had submitted it to the LEP before the goblin revolution, but it was never actually tested, thus not being released. However, instead of disposing of it, Foaly kept it in the back, taking a look at it from time to time to give himself inspiration to create better ones.

Donavon was carefully dropped onto the ground, where he pressed the button again. The wings fell from the air and the pixie caught it. He strapped them on, and he and the sprite resumed their flight.

"Where are we headed?" demanded Adrian.

"Disneyland, Paris." The sprite raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're serious?"

"That's what the mudboy said."

"That little brat was lying, you know," pointed out Adrian, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world—which is was, actually.

"I know. But we don't have any other leads, so might as well go there or stop the job completely."

The rest of the getaway was made in silence. As they flew, Adrian thought about Opal. How was she? His sweet pixie, trapped in a jail cell, and it was mainly Holly Short's fault. If she had died the way she was supposed to, Opal would have succeeded.

Lorr and Koboi were secretly partners in crime. They immediately fell for each other. It was strange thinking that Opal would ever love someone like Adrian, but he treated her well. He encouraged her with her plans to take over the entire LEP, telling her that he would help her when the time comes, and he gave her truffles, her favourite chocolate. He knew how to charm her.

While they were planning the goblin revolution, they also had another accomplice—Briar Cudgeon. Rumour had it that he and Opal had more than just a business relationship, but the pixie promised Adrian that nothing was going on. Not too long after, Adrian proposed to her. Opal had happily agreed. They were to be wed right after becoming the most powerful elves underground. But that never happened. And who's fault was it? Short's. After the plan fell to crumbles, Opal started acting different. The beautifully dangerous pixie became power-hungry. She spent all her time plotting the revenge and eventually forgot all about getting married. Everything she did was for nothing once more, as Holly Short and Artemis Fowl tricked her into losing. Opal ended up in prison again, so it was now impossible for her and Adrian to be together.

That's why Adrian wanted revenge on Holly Short. He didn't even care about having payback from that mudboy anymore. One was enough.


Reviews would make me happy. But I don't have to remind you all, you're super awesome! (Even if you don't review, but it would be nice.) Sorry for the long stuff at the beginning, before the chapter started.

PS: I figured out that I work best under guilt... Strangely enough... Lol

Have a super lovely day!