Hello. I tried to update quite fast for you all. Let me tell you, it's not been easy with the amounts of NAB'S i've had to sit in the past week, not to mention other homework. I think teachers forget that pupils are actually supposed to have a life outside school. :(

Thanks for all the reviews again, you should all give yourselves a pat on the back :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl

Chapter 11: a touch of magic

Location: the creepy flat, Dresden, Germany

When Opal Koboi regained consciousness, she found herself staring into the mismatched eyes of Artemis Fowl. For a moment, she was surprised, though she didn't show it.

"Fowl. Why are you not dead?" he smiled but didn't say a word. She glanced across the room and saw Artemis exactly as she had left him. Unconscious drained of fluid, and dying. "What?"

Artemis grinned again. "Come on Opal, you're supposed to be a genius. Why, your older self even used this technique." For a moment, she just stared at her nemesis, uncomprehending. Then, a flicker of understanding flitted across her face. She snarled, struggling against the officers restraining her.

"It's a clone!"

"Exactly." He immediately launched into an Artemis-style lecture. "Combining Fairy and human technology, I mastered cloning roughly a year ago. My clones have perfect mental and physical capabilities, though the specimens age at an accelerated rate. This version," he pointed to the dying Artemis Fowl before continuing. "Only fully matured about a week ago. I had him in hibernation at Fowl manor and when you sent me the ransom video, had the LEP fetch him. That's why I took two hours to get here."

Opal scowled heavily. This mud boy had effectively beaten her at her own game! "Fowl. I hate you. I hate you more than you will ever understand."

"I know. That's fine, since I don't find you particularly lovely myself."

Her face grew darker still. "Don't bait me, Fowl. I may be going to prison but I still have the upper hand where you are concerned."

A small frown flitted across Artemis's face. "What do you mean?"

At that moment, Commander Kelp decided to join in the conversation. "Artemis, your clone is about to die. What do you want me to do?"

Artemis looked slightly annoyed at the interruption. "Just get Foaly to shut down its brain function. There's no point in prolonging the inevitable, it would have died in a couple of weeks anyway." Trouble nodded and turned to leave. Artemis addressed Opal once more.

"How do you have the upper hand?"

She grinned nastily. "Holly Short will still die."

"What?" though he was trying his hardest to appear unfazed, she could see that the blood had drained from the human's face.

"You heard me. Short is still dying and there is nothing any of you can do about it."

One of the officers holding Opal scoffed. "Don't listen to her Fowl. She's just messing with us. Holly's fine. The medi- warlocks will be here in half an hour to check her out."

Opal shrugged with some degree of difficulty, considering how tightly the two Retrieval officers were holding her arms. "Fine. Don't believe me. Captain Short will pay for your negligence with her life."

After her little speech was finished, the pixie was led away.

Some hours later, Artemis found himself waiting outside the medi-shuttle that had been sent from Haven. It currently contained Holly and a team of warlocks, including Qwan and n01 who were all trying to see what was wrong with the elf. When she had regained consciousness, she had been completely delirious with pain. Possibly there was some truth in what Opal had said.

His fears were confirmed a moment later when Qwan jumped out of the shuttle, looking grim. "I'm afraid that Opal wasn't lying when she said Holly was dying."

Artemis felt the familiar rush as his heart sped up. There had been far too many life-or-death situations in the last few days. "What's wrong with her?" he whispered.

"Organ failure." Stated Qwan simply.

"Which organs?"

"All of them."

Artemis was dumbfounded. "What? All of them?"

Qwan nodded gravely. "I fear that it is something to do with Opal draining her magic."

Artemis didn't stay to hear anymore. He spun round and set off in the direction of the LEP shuttle were Opal Koboi was currently being held prisoner. Inside, there was a small cell and it was here that Artemis found her. Curling his long fingers round the bars, he leaned forwards and scowled down at the pixie.

"What have you done to Captain Short?"

From her vantage point on the steel bench to which her hands were currently chained, Opal began to snigger. It was a low, vindictive chuckle that sent shivers up Artemis's spine. He waited a few moments for her to answer. When she only continued to laugh, he pressed his face closer to the bars and glared at her, eyes cold and hard. "What have you done, Koboi?" He hissed through his teeth.

The pixie continued to cackle. Her dark eyes never left his. They taunted him, sparkling with amusement. Artemis had had enough. He slammed the bars with a fist and then turned and grabbed a neutrino from the locker behind him. He flicked the setting up to 'burnt to a crisp' and pointed it through the narrow gap. "I know this was you. Stop laughing or you will be receiving a neutrino blast to the cranium."

The pixie stared back, eyes wide and innocent. "Well, I may have accidentally drained a little too much of her magic. Which of course, being a fairy, she needs to survive. Even fairies that have lost their magic retain the tiny spark necessary for survival. Sadly, our dear Captain Short no longer has that spark." Artemis barely restrained himself from yelling. It would not do to become overly emotional here. His brain was starting to link together various hypotheses as to how to save Holly. It was obvious that she needed magic quickly. He turned on his heel and marched smartly out of the prison shuttle and across the wasteland to the medi- shuttle.

He rapped on the door. "Qwan!"

The elder warlock appeared a few seconds later, looking worn out. "What is it, mud boy?" he jumped down onto the ground and looked up at Artemis.

"I just spoke to Opal. You were right about the magic." He went on to explain what the pixie had told him. After he fell silent, Qwan nodded gravely.

"Yes. This is indeed serious. It will take a lot more than me, N01 and the medi-warlocks to save Captain Short."

Artemis grimaced and looked at his feet. "I am assuming that as Opal has taken all of Holly's magic, your magic might not work. Like a blood transfusion using the wrong type of blood. Her own body will reject the transfusion of magic as she has no magic of her own to change it to suit her body."

Qwan nodded. "That's the basic principle." He shook his head and muttered. "Blood transfusions. Humans are such barbarians."

Artemis ignored this dig at his species and pressed on. "So to heal Holly, you would need her exact brand of magic?"

"Yes. Or a very close match, which is not viable. The people's magic is like fingerprints. No two fairies have the same. I'm sorry Artemis, but I really don't know what to do."

Artemis had listened to all of this with a thoughtful expression on his face. "What if you did have a magical match?"

"Then we would just make that fairy heal her and she would be fine, but that's impossible."

No. It was not impossible. There was hope. A tiny sliver, but it was there nonetheless. "It is unlikely but possible, Qwan, that I might have had Holly's brand of magic, so to say."

Qwan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Mud boy?"

"Remember when we were in the time tunnel and I stole magic? I believe that it was Holly's that I took."

"What makes you think that it was hers, Artemis? It is far more likely that you siphoned off a portion of either N01's, or mine as we have a lot more of it than an elf does."

"I know that, but Holly and I swapped eyeballs on the return journey from Hybras. Perhaps me taking her magic is the reason that happened. I could unwittingly have formed some sort of connection." Artemis knew he was grasping at straws, but he wasn't going to give up.

Qwan appeared thoughtful. "Your theory makes sense, mud boy, but the eyeball thing could just as easily have been a coincidence. Swapping of body parts happens often when time travelling."

Artemis gave a frustrated sigh. "Ye-es, I am aware of that, but if I am right, we might be able to save Holly. Is there some way of knowing if it was her magic that I took?"

"Well, it is unprecedented that a human has managed to siphon off a fairy's magic so it is hard to tell. Has anything happened since your return from Hybras that was slightly odd? Like you knowing where she was during the full moon? Or when she was completing the ritual?" Artemis mentally rifled through years worth of memories. Nothing came to mind and he stared at the warlock, forlorn.

"No. Nothing like that."

"Any strange exchanges of magic when it was not needed? Skin contact would be all it took."

A faint tinge of pink appeared on Artemis's cheeks as he replied to that question. "Yes. When we went back in time to save my mother."

Qwan nodded. "What caused it?"

Artemis was by now fairly embarrassed. "Erm… Holly was turned into an adolescent, and I nearly died, and once she saved me she ah, kissed me."

Qwan did not look even remotely taken aback by this piece of information. "And there was magic involved?"

"Yes, there were blue sparks around here." Artemis gestured with one hand to the air around his head. "At the time, I believed it to merely be the remainder of her healing magic but possibly not?"

"Possibly not. But I fail to see how this helps, Artemis. You have said so yourself, you no longer possess magic. You used it all attempting to heal your mother."

"Perhaps… perhaps there is a way to restore my magic. I could attempt the ritual, it could work."

Qwan looked sceptical. "I highly doubt it mud boy. You are not associated with the earth the way fairies are. And it is too risky to move Captain Short in the condition she is in." without waiting for his reply, the demon warlock turned and climbed back into the shuttle. Artemis was left outside. He was not happy. The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that this theory was correct. If he could find a way to get to an ancient oak, he could heal her.

He spun on his heel and strode back towards the third shuttle on the waste ground, the Ambassador's shuttle. He intended to convince Trouble to let him take Holly. When he climbed inside, however, he got a shock.

"Butler!" he cried. "What are you doing here?" the manservant was crammed into the tiny space available, squashing the warlock who was attempting to examine him. When he saw Artemis, he stood up and bashed his head on the ceiling.

"Artemis. You're here. I'm so sorry for what happened before. It was the pixie. She was inside my head. I couldn't stop her."

Artemis held up a hand. "It's alright Butler. None of us blame you. Besides, last time you tried to resist Opal Koboi's powers you ended up having heart failure."

Butler nodded, not really appeased. "I'm still sorry for what I put you and Holly through."

Artemis suddenly remembered the reason he was here. He glanced around the room. "Where's Commander Kelp?"

"I'm over here!" a voice called out. The next second, Trouble Kelp managed to squeeze himself through the tight space between Butler's bulk and the interior wall of the shuttle. "What is it Fowl?"

"I think I know how to save Captain Short." He went on to explain his theory, and why Qwan had been so quick to dismiss it. "… So you see, even though it's risky, it is the best plan that anyone could come up with."

Trouble shook his head. "I'm sorry mud boy, but if your plan goes wrong, we could end up losing Holly. It's too risky. We're better off waiting to see if the warlocks can come up with something."

"You don't understand! She doesn't have time to wait! Already Holly is fading fast, if we don't do something now, she could be gone by morning!"

Trouble lost his temper. For Frond's sake. Artemis! You don't know everything! It cannot work. A human cannot complete the ritual. You are not a fairy, no matter how much you may wish you were!"

That comment stung. Artemis drew himself up and glared down at the Commander icily. "For your information Commander Kelp, I do not wish to be a fairy. Especially if this is how they treat their comrades. Captain Short is going to die and I am not being allowed to implement the only solution that we have. You would rather she died than be saved by me."

"Now, see here Fowl. That's not true, we all want Holly to make It." he paused and looked a little uncomfortable. "I am sorry about the fairy comment though, that was uncalled for."

Artemis stared at the elf for a long minute. "Fine. I'll stop pestering you." He turned to walk away as Trouble sat down wearily in a chair and gave a little snort of what seemed like laughter.

"Why is it, Artemis, that every time we see you, either you or Holly end up nearly dead?"

Artemis turned back round and smiled ruefully. "Trust me Commander. I wish I knew that myself."

Trouble laughed and fell into silence. He appeared ill at ease.

"What is it?" Artemis asked.

The elf looked up. "Fowl. Don't let this swell your head, but you are pretty smart, for a human. Can you really not think of any other way to save Holly?"

He shook his head. "No."

Trouble hesitated he seemed to be considering something. "Your plan is risky. There's no way the council would ever let me implement it. They'd have my badge as soon as I put a toe below ground. That is why I cannot let you take Holly to a magical hotspot seven miles from here. I will not allow you and Butler to smuggle her out of here when the warlocks take their break in fifteen minutes. I'm sorry. I want to help, but my hands are tied." He stared at Artemis meaningfully.

He immediately caught on. "Right. I completely understand, Commander. It is your job to be sensible after all." he turned to leave again, but Trouble caught him by the arm.

"Oh and Fowl? You do realise that if you did do that, you would be essentially kidnapping Holly once again and that you will be reinstated as the people's public enemy number one?"

It was a warning, Artemis realised. Be careful. He nodded curtly to the elf and then spun on his heel and left. Butler followed silently.

Fourteen minutes and thirty-nine seconds later, Artemis and Butler were stealing into the medi- shuttle. There was only one lone fairy on guard at Holly's bedside, and Butler dispatched him with a neat clap to the temples.

Artemis ignored the fairy as he sunk to the ground and walked swiftly to Holly's side. She looked even worse than when he had last seen her. Her breathing was laboured and prominent cheekbones jutted out from her green-tinged face.

"Butler!" Artemis hissed. "Come on!" the bodyguard hurried over and scooped up the surprisingly fragile elf. She seemed almost doll-like in his massive arms.

Without hesitating, they vacated the shuttle and hurried across the waste ground to the spot where Butler had dumped the white taxi. The manservant yanked open the rear door and placed Holly gently across the back seats. She groaned a little in her sleep and a small crease formed between her eyebrows, as though she were thinking of something unpleasant. Artemis climbed into the back to hold her steady and Butler jumped into the front and gunned the engine to life as quickly as he could. Without glancing in the rear-view mirrors, he set off as quickly as he could. Artemis directed him to the hotspot Trouble had mentioned using directions from his now very battered homemade phone. They made it there in record time due to the fact that Butler never slowed down from sixth gear.

According to Artemis's phone, they were still approximately two hundred metres from the tree but the car could not take them any further. It was all muddy field and forest from here. Butler scooped up Holly once more and they set off as the sun dipped behind the horizon. As he tripped and stumbled along, Artemis tried to ignore the fact that this much movement could essentially kill Holly. He had to focus on the hope that this plan would work. He had never attempted to complete the magic restoring ritual before and there wasn't even a full moon tonight. Although, Artemis reasoned, it has only been two days since the last full moon so hopefully there will still be enough magic left over in the air.

Butler unexpectedly snapped to a halt and Artemis walked straight into him.

"Oof!" he tripped and nearly fell. "Sorry Butler."

"That's alright Artemis. We're here."

Artemis looked up. Sure enough, high above them hung the boughs of an enormous oak tree. On the opposite side of the shady trunk, the branches were reflected in a rippling body of water that snaked its way across the landscape. Relief washed over him, only to be replaced by a dull panic. What if this didn't work? What if, by bringing her out here, he had effectively signed Holly's death warrant? He shook the troublesome thoughts out of his head and spoke to his bodyguard.

"Would you please stand guard Butler? The fairies could arrive any minute and I really don't want any more pressure. This will be difficult enough as it is."

Butler nodded. He understood as well as Artemis that this moment was literally life or death for Holly Short. Any distractions now could prove fatal. He laid Holly down on the leafy undergrowth, then turned and hurried back the way they came. The encroaching darkness soon swallowed him up and Artemis was left alone. Well, almost alone. He was painfully aware of the elf beside him, whose life lay in his hands.

Artemis moved over to the base of the tree, knelt down, and began scrabbling through the undergrowth for an acorn. His fingers soon closed around one and he picked it up triumphantly. He could do this. He crawled back over to where the unconscious Holly lay, and grasped her hand in his. With the other, he grabbed a stone and dug a small furrow in the frozen earth. Placing the seed inside, he covered it over once more and whispered the sacred words every elf, pixie, gnome, dwarf and sprite knew.

"I return you to the earth, and claim the gift that is my right." He waited. Nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing. Not a single spark.

Artemis did not move an inch from where he was, kneeling with his hand in a hole in the dirt. Unbearably slowly, a silent scream of frustration seared its way up his throat. He clenched his teeth as the first hot tears overflowed from his eyes. It was over. He was done. He did not know how long he sat there for, trying to force down the scalding realization that he had failed, but he was brought back to his senses by a slight pressure on his right hand. He glanced up into a pair of blue and hazel eyes. Holly was awake.

He sat up as she attempted to speak. Her eyes were still clouded over with pain. "Where am I, Arty?" she sighed. Her voice was so brittle; he had to strain his ears to hear it.

"It doesn't matter Holly. I'm sorry. I've failed you." She looked confused and frowned.

"Artemis. I thought you were dead."

He shook his head and held her fist up to his forehead, leaning on it as though she could still support him as she had always done. "That wasn't me. It was a clone."

Holly laughed wheezily. "Ha. Figures. You always have some sort of plan up your sleeve." She paused for a moment to catch her breath. "I'm dying." It was not a question.

Artemis dropped her fist and looked away from her as his eyes grew wetter. "It's my fault."

She scowled. "It's not."

"It is. I used all my magic on my mother and that's what would have saved you."

She lifted her free hand to his sodden cheek and he once again held it there for a moment. "If you die, I will never forgive myself Holly. Never." His throat tightened and her face blurred in front of him. He barely managed to croak out his next sentence. "I need you to live. I- I love you. I'm sorry, but I can't help it." a fresh batch of tears escaped his eyes and sped down his cheeks, dripping into her face. Holly shook her head from side to side weakly.

"Artemis. I told you it would never work." She whispered hoarsely. He shook his head.

"You don't understand. There doesn't need to be anything. As long as you continue to exist, I am happy. As long-" he choked back a sob. "As long as you're alive."

Holly's eyes began to fill with tears now. "Artemis, I never knew you felt that strongly."

He gave her a watery smile. "Neither did I." He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up at the sliver of moon above him. It was their only hope. He had to try again.

Gently, he lifted her hand from his cheek and placed it on the ground beside her. "Stay still, Holly." She needed to conserve the little energy she had left. He began to shuffle away from her, grabbing a fresh acorn from the ground. Then, he dug a new hole and placed the seed inside before covering it over once more.

All righty! I'll bet no-one saw that coming. Tee hee. Sucker-slug Arty was a clone :D

[Also, aargh! Cheesiness at the end there! sorry if you don't like that kind of thing :)]

Anyhow, please review this chapter. After all, I was merciful and didn't kill off Artemis. Though now Holly appears to have taken his place. Oh dear. There appears to be some sort of pattern evolving here.