I had to do this: an extra long chapter. Thanks so much to this story's reviewers and everyone else who likes this story.


Artemis Fowl was the master of deduction. He could figure out whole identities using deduction; and at the moment, with so little information to work his plan on, it was his only friend.

The boy genius sat cross-legged on the floor of his study, thinking. So far, he had come to the conclusion using both deduction and extensive fairy research that Bay, the exiled fairy – who had to be the one behind Holly's brainwashing – wasn't using an alien form of magic: it was simply a mutated form of the basic fairy magic the mesmer. Evidently, it was called the mesmera and was both incredibly powerful and nearly useless to whoever could use it. It was, as Foaly had explained, a mutation, a new characteristic added to the gene pool that allowed the fairy in question to control one individual absolutely but at the cost of almost too much magic for it to be worth it. Anyone could be controlled solely using the voice, with no eye contact required, but the drawback was that if anyone else heard the commands the magic would be doubled, tripled, quadrupled – depending on how many ears the magic affected. The fairy behind the mesmera would find their magic sucked dry if they weren't careful. There were only three fairies known in history to have had the mesmera.

"That's the only explanation," Foaly had said. "It makes sense. Exiled fairies can no longer recharge their magic; they're stuck with what they have left. I'd make a guess that Bay only had enough for, say, one fairy to place under the mesmera. That's the only real good thing I can see about the mesmera; once you've been under it, you can be put under it again at the cost of no magic. That's why Bay wanted Holly so bad; maybe he didn't have enough magic to control anyone else. But why he needed a fairy at all is strange."

Artemis mulled over this now, taking notes every now and again. Indeed, why did Bane need a fairy?

"Or, to be more precise," he said, talking to himself, "Why a LEPrecon officer?" One could almost hear the boy's brain working furiously. At last, he sat up straight with a triumphant air. "Of course! The Alpha Drive! That's the key to all of this."

He glanced behind him at his desk, where a slim, telephone-like gadget sat. It was roughly the size of a cereal box, albeit a cereal box with an input and a large button reading TRANSMIT TO ALL DEVICES in the centre. Suddenly, he felt incredibly stupid. It was all so obvious now. His head clearing, Artemis stood up. There were several things he needed in order for his carefully forming plan to work. First, he needed an old friend. Second, he needed two friends who currently resided under the same roof as himself.


"I expect Caballine is missing you."

Foaly, who had been sulking in one of the many guest rooms with his laptop sitting companionably by his side, looked at Artemis rather suspiciously.

"Yes, she would be," he agreed. "I should just go back. It's not as if those guys are out to get me, right?"

Artemis nodded. "You're right. I would advise you to go, if only to see how she's doing, but I have a favour to ask of you as well."

Foaly clip-clopped over to Artemis, laptop now under his arm. When Artemis Fowl the Second asked for a favour, you could be sure it wasn't going to be a request to buy an ice cream on the way.

"I need time stop towers," said Artemis, getting straight to the point. Foaly's mouth dropped open almost comically.

"That's – that's illegal!" he exclaimed, backing away and tripping over his hooves. "I – no, no, no. I can't do that. As tight as we are, Artemis, I can't do that."

Artemis sighed lightly. "Do you trust me?"

"No," said Foaly immediately. Artemis almost scowled.

"Then trust me now," he said. "I need those towers, and I need them soon."

Foaly's thick lips twisted as he considered. "Do I get a handsome reward for doing this?" he asked.

"You get my appreciation," said Artemis, without batting an eyelash. This time it was Foaly's turn to scowl.
"I told you, it's illegal!"

"And the Council is dead," said Artemis. "That reminds me. Caballine may as well be, too, if you don't trust me."

Foaly gaped at the boy. "How – what – did you just threaten me? Caballine?"

"No. I'm telling you that I'm trying to save you all. Using those towers."

Foaly closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath. Several seconds passed before he opened them again. "When this is investigated, you stole them," he said at last.

Artemis almost grinned.


Artemis Fowl took a deep breath, staring at the closed door in an unfocused sort of way. Raising a hand slowly, he knocked. When there was an unintelligible, mumbling reply, he opened the door and went into the guest bedroom.

Captain Holly Short was sitting cross-legged on the bed, staring idly out the window. Artemis glanced at it; the bedroom had a nice view, something he knew due to the fact that it had been a reason he had allocated it to Holly. Somehow, though, he knew the elf wasn't paying attention to the view any more than Artemis had been to the door.

"Hello, Holly," he said, and winced a little at how intimate saying her name sounded. Holly jumped, leaping to her feet; possibly forgetting that she was on a bed, her balance wavered on the wobbly, jelly-like surface and she landed on her backside.

"Uh…good afternoon, Artemis," she said, trying to assume the professional officer voice she exclusively saved for awkward situations such as this one. The professionalism was lost, however, possibly due to the fact that she had just fallen in the stupidest way manageable. "What brings you here?"

Artemis gave her a look that Holly couldn't work out for a moment, flicking his eyes to the ceiling and back, but then it clicked.

"I visit you in your room all the time, what's so wrong about now?" the boy asked, the implication making both of them redden a bit. Holly groaned quietly.

"Oh, nothing, Arte – ah – Arty," she said. The strain between them was becoming unbearable; it was like a buzzing in Artemis's ears, filling his brain and making him wish for nothing more but to run far, far away from where he was now. Only an idiot would believe we were together, he thought. He detachedly hoped that the members of the Rebel Group were idiots, which they seemed to be so far.

"I just wanted to tell you that since the Alpha Drive is in our hands – err, for the plan, of course – you can use your communicator now. For my plan to work I need you to contact an old friend of ours; I haven't enabled complete Lower Elements communication again on the Alpha Drive because of a trouble that has arisen." He cleared his throat, which had gone strangely dry while he looked at Holly. He couldn't tell her about how if he enabled complete communication, whoever's communicator Bay had could be used to take control of Holly again; not with the Rebel Group always listening, and he couldn't trust them with any information.

Of course, Artemis could simply ask Holly to give him her communicator and thus make sure she was safe, but if the time ever came when he would have to talk to her it would be impossible if there was no way to reach her. Acquiring a communicator wasn't too difficult – it was trying to get through to someone who didn't have a communicator that was rather impossible. Besides, Bay could have enough magic to control someone else via communicators instead if it was enabled, which was one thing he didn't want.

"But I'll fill you in on that later." He hoped that later meant in a place that involved at least two other people to ensure that the awkwardness between them didn't become as intense as to render them unable to communicate. Which was almost the case now.

"I would like you to contact him – I can configure the Alpha Drive to only connect with him – and ask him to visit us here in the manor. I have come to realise that he will play a large part in my plan to…ah…bring humans and the People together. Without him, the plan cannot take place." He said this last part for the benefit of any Rebel Group members who may be listening.

"Who is this friend…Arty?" asked Holly, curious despite her also extremely strong need to leave the room – and quickly.

"N°1," said Artemis. Holly stared at him as if he had gone crazy. There was surely only one reason he would need the demon warlock; and she had quite a good idea of what that may be.

"That's too dangerous," she snapped, sitting up on the bed. "Arty."

Artemis sighed, pulling lightly at a loose thread on the cuff of his suit. "It can't be helped, Holly," he said. "Will you do it? You're the only one here who has a communicator, after all. Trouble threw his away long ago, from what I remember."

Holly was silent for a while. Kicking her legs idly and watching them swing back and forth, she thought it over. At last, she shrugged and looked up.

"Whatever you wish, Arty," she said, but there was something strained in her voice. "Are you sure you don't want me to…accompany you when discussing your plans with N°1?"

"I'm quite alright, thank you." The strained formality between them made Artemis want to scream. He absolutely loathed having to act this way with the one person he cared on a rather…romantic level about. "Could you turn the scan on?"

Holly obliged, deftly tapping at her communicator's screen. "It's scanning."

Artemis pressed a small, rectangular button near the bottom of the Alpha Drive. A voice that sounded suspiciously like Foaly's floated out.

"Please select an option: One-to-one speaking, group speaking or email."

"One-to-one speaking," said Artemis.

"Please connect a communicator to the Alpha Drive to proceed."

He motioned with his free hand for the communicator, and Holly handed it over. Her wrist felt strangely naked without the slim, watch-like gadget. Artemis connected the communicator to the Alpha Drive via the input and waited.

"Scanning…Verified. Holly Short, Captain of the Lower Elements Police force. Who would you like to speak to one-to-one? If the recipient has been communicated with previously, I can simply scan your log. Otherwise, please provide the recipient's communication ID."

Artemis resisted rolling his eyes. Even in gadget form, Foaly was too talkative. "N°1, demon warlock."

"Scanning…connected."

"Holly?" This new voice was completely different to the electronic Foaly, full of life; lively and a shocking contrast to the atmosphere of Holly's room. "Is that you? I thought communications were all down! It's so good to hear from you again. How are you?"

"Uh…" Artemis felt rather embarrassed as he said, "Actually, it's Artemis Fowl the Second."

There was a great ohhh from the other end.

"Artemis! So good to hear from you again! How are you? And…and…why do you have Holly's communicator?"

"I'm good, and communications are down. I'm talking to you one-to-one using the Alpha Drive. Don't ask any questions: it'll take too long to answer everything. However, I have a very big favour to ask of you."

"A favour! From Artemis!" N°1 sounded thrilled. "This has got to be exciting! You won't believe how bored I've been, wandering around everywhere with no one to say hi to! I mean, Paris is fun and everything, sort of, but you know. I miss you guys. I miss all of my friends! Maybe I should cut my world travelling right here."

"I would advise you to," said Artemis. "I apologise if I sound selfish, but I really need you here at Fowl Manor. Really need you here. I cannot emphasise that enough."

"Of course I'll come!" said N°1. "What's the favour, then?"

Artemis wondered how best to word it. "It's nothing much," he said. "It'll only take five seconds of your time, literally. I can tell you when you get here." He hoped the hint was obvious enough. Clearly it was, judging by the great wave of static that followed shortly after this statement as the warlock gasped.

"Artemis! Surely you don't mean –"

"Lemurs," said Artemis hastily, looking around. "I – uh – you remember lemurs, right? The person who was trying to catch one that one time. It's like that sort of connotation." He sincerely hoped he didn't have to reword that sort of connotation as someone bad is involved in this, i.e. a rebel group that wants to bring humans and the People together and will ultimately fail unless I do something, and that something involves you.

He must have gotten at least some part of his message across, because there was another ohhh. After a few seconds of silence N°1 spoke again.

"I'll be right over, then," he said cheerfully. "Can you expect me in a day or two?"

Artemis felt relief settle in his stomach. "Yes. Yes. Definitely." He paused, looking over his shoulder at where Holly was still sitting, unmoving. "Would you like to…speak to Holly?"

N°1 gasped with pleasant surprise. "Holly's there? Yes, of course!"

Holly smiled at Artemis, who in turn felt as though his heart had wedged itself into his throat.

"Thank you, Arty," she said.


Everything was in order. Artemis ate dinner (braised pork loin with a side dish of baked potatoes, possibly the most delicious thing in the world after caviar) with a light heart, even managing to smirk a little at Teteph's meaningful smile. The dwarf sat opposite Artemis and Holly, who were sitting side by side to further play their roles as lovers. However, neither was willing enough to do any more than that. Foaly hadn't joined for dinner; he was cleaning himself, getting ready for the trip back home. Commander Trouble Kelp ate silently beside Butler.

"You know, Master Fowl," said Teteph, breaking the silence and raising a fork knowingly, "You needn't be ashamed. It is something to be proud of." Her green eyes flickered between Artemis and Holly meaningfully, both of whom felt mortified. Trouble looked at them in confusion, but Butler coughed loudly to try and cover a smile.

"I, uh, alright," said Artemis. "No need to take it too far, Missus Molehunter. These things…take time."

Teteph scowled at him.

Ten minutes passed in near silence, broken only by the occasional "pass that" and "mmm". Once Trouble finished, he set down his cutlery and stood up.

"I have decided to leave for Haven with Foaly tomorrow morning," he said, straightening his collar. "I simply cannot stay here any longer – I feel as if I am failing in my duties as Commander, even if there is something dangerous out there."

Artemis nodded. "Perhaps that is for the best," he agreed. "Haven most certainly needs you, especially with the Council dead. Someone needs to be Chairman."

"There is already a new Chairman," interjected Teteph sharply, glaring at Artemis pointedly. Artemis exhaled out of his nose loudly.

"General York is only a temporary figure," he said. Trouble's face flooded with colour at this, and his jaw fell open.

"York? General York? He's filling in for the Chairman?" He began to pace the spacious dining room, muttering to himself. "That – that – preposterous! He's all muscle and no brain! Yes, now I really must return."

Teteph's expression had turned dangerously dark. "I would advise you against that, Commander," she said. "If you were to leave, what would be of the – ah – danger outside? Lurking, it is, waiting for its next victim."

Trouble barely paid her any attention. Still muttering to himself, he headed up the stairs to his room.

"I understand your concerns," said Artemis abruptly, addressing Teteph. "I have been wrong to encourage him." He straightened up. "I will attempt to persuade the Commander to change his mind."

Teteph inclined her head, and Artemis hurried after Trouble.

As he went, Artemis thought. He knew that he couldn't let Teteph think that the Commander was leaving to take the Chairman's place. If he did that, the Rebel Group would most likely make sure that he never reached Haven. They needed to have York secured as Chairman to push their idealistic dreams onto the People. He would have to somehow tell Trouble of the dangers secretly, and make it look as though the Commander had changed his mind and decided to remain in the manor. He would depart anyway, but the Rebel Group would only find out once it was too late.

Artemis intercepted Trouble on the third landing.

"Commander, I have to talk to you," he said. He had realised something: if Trouble was the Commander of the LEP, he should be well versed in the area of military. And if he knew military, he knew Morse code – just a little something Artemis had been interested in a few years back.

"What is it?" grumbled Trouble, evidently still preoccupied with the unbelievable idea of General York as Chairman. This wasn't good: Artemis needed his full attention.

"Trouble, I don't think it would be a very good idea if you left with Foaly," he said, blinking rapidly. He was hoping that Trouble's attention would be drawn to his eyes, and he felt elated when he succeeded. Slowly, studiously, he began to blink out a message. "We – that is to say, Teteph and I – worry for your safety out there."

We are being watched.

"Oh, really?" said Trouble, his expression hardening as he looked at Artemis. "And why do you think that?"

"Don't you remember what happened to the Council? Everyone was killed."

Teteph is part of a Rebel Group.

Trouble's eyes widened a fraction.

"But you're allowing Foaly to leave. I'm sure he holds much more importance, seeing as he exclusively holds access to the entire LEP system."

Pretend to stay. But leave.

"My aircraft only has enough seats for one person. It's clear that Foaly is very much needed in Haven for the exact reason you gave."

The day I give the signal –

"I suppose…"

Have an aircraft ready. For the group.

"I suppose I should stay."

A gift from me.