Eleventh Night

I couldn't sleep. My ex tried calling me again, and I didn't pick up. She left me a message. She calls me less of a man, she calls me a coward, and all she wants is to talk to me and get a sense of closure. All I can think is 'what do you want me to say?' She was the one that manipulated me into doing what she wanted, she was the one that would blame me for everything wrong in the relationship, she was the one that would hurt herself and blame me. Yeah, I have my faults, but the difference was, is that when she pointed out a mistake I would try and do something about it. I wouldn't succeed all the time, but at least I tried. Whenever I would point out her mistakes, I was throwing them in her face. And oh yeah, if I mentioned that her attempted suicides bothered me, I was an ass because she thought she could trust me more than to just throw it in her face. And every time I would try and break it off, she would just look me straight in the face and say, 'go ahead, but I don't have a reason to live, so it's your choice'. Sigh, it's enough for me not to believe in relationships, but you know what? I'm not going to let it get me down. Thank you for letting me indulge myself a little –Partheon

Twelve Day Ago:

"The patient is responding well to the drugs we have given him," Dr. Argon explained, "And we are projecting a full recovery, within the week."

Dr. Argon's team of doctors nodded, and they continued walking down the corridor.

"Now, this patient," Jerbal pointed to an observational mirror, "Is a special case. This is the notorious Artemis Fowl," he then waited for the interns to get over their shock, "And he has come down with a case of Atlantis Complex. Now ordinarily this would be simple enough to cure, but can someone tell me why there are some complications?"

One doctor, a small pixie, raised her hand.

"Yes Pearl?"

"Because he is the first documented human to ever have it?"

Jerbal nodded, "Yes, which does add a layer of complexity, but why does him being human matter?"

She thought for a second, "Because his brain chemistry is different. The medications we have would not have the same effect as they would for one of the People."

"But," the head doctor started, "how does the medication now relieve the Complex in different species of the People? Medication we have now works just as well on gnomes, as it does pixies."

The young doctor's eyes narrowed, thinking hard on the question proposed, "The medication works with the natural magic in the body?"

"Yes, but since the patient is human, and magic is not an inherent part of him, what can we do for him?"

The team of doctors thought hard on the subject, but no answer came readily up.

"The answer," Jerbal announced, after a fashion, "That there is very little. We're in a gray area right now. EST works in stimulating the brain, causing the personalities to shift, giving us an answer to what we are dealing with. The medication we have now is working, but not nearly at the right effectiveness. We can increase the dosage, but we don't know how his body would handle it. No. 1, the demon warlock, has agreed to flush any remaining magic in his body, but I have asked him to hold until we can understand what ramifications it would do."

"Why are you telling us this," one doctor, a sprite with long wings and ruby eyes, asked.

"Because," Dr. Argon said, a smile forming on his lips, "This is your new project. You all will be assisting me directly in the treatment of the human," he paused, letting his words sink in, "And we will be starting immediately."

He then ordered the different doctors to their assigned tasks.

Present Day

Dr. Argon limped into the room, and greeted Artemis, "Hello Artemis, how are you feeling today?"

"I am feeling fine doctor," Artemis responded, "Although I do labor some trepidation over the nature of today's visit."

"I thought Captain Short would tell you," Jerbal said.

The human nodded, "May I ask on what you will be doing?"

"Certainly," the doctor said, leading Artemis to an observation room, "The goal of today is two fold. We will first give you an infusion of a new drug we have designed, and secondly we will be giving milder shocks to the entire brain, instead of one spot done repeatedly."

Artemis pieced together the information, and while he was doing that, Dr. Argon continued his explanation, "This drug is the work of five qualified doctors, working around the clock, for the last twelve days. I know this might not seem much too human standards, but with the level of technology we have at our disposal, twelve days is the equivalent of several months of work."

Artemis smiled, understanding the Fairies racism of humans was justified on some level, still did not like being insulted, but held his tongue in check. For now, at least. Maybe later he'll ask how the divorce proceedings were going. No, too obvious. He did some quick calculations. I'll tell him how my subconscious guilt is causing physical pain to manifest on my body, and ask him if there was any medications could treat it. Jerbal limped over to the door to open it, and Artemis nodded. That should work.

Holly sank into a mud bath, and let the last few days just float away. It was stressful enough just dealing with the human teen on a regular day. You add a mental disorder (a small part of her said, add another), and you have one annoying mud-boy.

'But,' she thought, 'It wasn't all bad.'

She had enjoyed last night, because it had been just her and Artemis. It was just like he said, they never just hung out, and last night really was just that. Sure he did have some ticks that betrayed that he wasn't all there, but he seemed to, in Holly's mind at least, lose himself in the evening. Also it had been nice to eat something different, she really should make a grocery list, and she was on paid sick/vacation leave. Maybe they should go out to eat again? Why not? She could take him to a stink worm parlor, and try and convince him that it's Italian. And when he saw through that, they could go instead to Fox Lives in the Winds, and enjoy some gourmet stew. All these thoughts, and more circled her head as she lost herself in the bath.

Artemis was asleep to put it kindly. A drug induced daze, would be closer to the truth. This was a good sign, as this showed that the medication would facilitate his sleep. Sleeping was key to recover, because sleeping with Atlantis Complex was usually very difficult. Frequently, the delusions or paranoid compulsions kept the patient awake, or would wake him as he felt some primeval fear grip him.

Dr. Argon had to think for a moment, before he decided to call Captain Short and tell her that he was going to keep Artemis overnight. He wanted to observe his sleeping schedule, and make sure he slept through the night. Also, if this treatment worked, it would mean that he would have less frequent appointments. The patient would only have to come in for an infusion every two weeks, and get the EST every three days. There also, if they worked, pills that the patient could take whenever the compulsions expressed themselves. They would know by the end of the night how it worked. Jerbal smiled as he studied the machine in front of him that tracked Artemis's brain waves showing him that he was sleeping soundly. This was good.