Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Rise of the Guardians or Artemis Fowl
Pitch's training was rather unorthodox, however it seemed to be effective for Artemis. He felt stronger within a short period of time, able to act out his plans with little interference from his own lack of coordination. While he was still not skilled physically, he was far more skilled with his power, directing it at specific targets with only a short warning ahead of time. "No magic this time, Father Time. Learn to use your weapons and fight back regardless of how tired you are." Pitch called out, his voice echoing in the cavern Artemis was inside of. In his hand was the very weapon Pitch spoke of, a long scepter with a removable, spherical clock on the top and a pointed base. It was gold, probably to give Artemis some satisfaction that he was getting something out of this arrangement. The boy had gotten used to wielding the weapon, using the clock itself by manipulating it with his magic. The Nightmares seemed weak to the weapon, falling apart as soon as their bodies were pierced with the spear-like end of the scepter, though Artemis still struggled to hit many of them with the weapon.
Pitch sent dozens of those creatures into the room now, all of them surrounding Artemis with ease while the genius watched patiently. He could see every possible attack they would use and tell which one was their most likely decision. He held himself ready, prepared to react at a moment's notice should one of them move in to attack. "Understood. This is a test to challenge my physical abilities and I will not fail." Artemis replied, staying calm as he made his plan of attack. The month had passed by quickly and it seemed that Pitch was making good on his promise. Perhaps Artemis could be taught to fight, if he was forced to put his mind to the task. While he had agreed to not use magic, Artemis knew that Pitch would never realize he constantly broke that rule, peering into the future at every possible moment to plan out his attacks. Once he was finished with his plan, he smiled at the creatures in front of him before moving to attack.
Butler would have been proud of Artemis' progress, though the young genius was still unable to fight as well as he needed to. The plan in his mind was excellent, perfect for use if he had been a skilled fighter. As Artemis tried to move his body according to his plan, the movement of the Nightmares distracted him and he discovered he was unable to move quick enough through the hoard. He felt teeth bite at his clothes, making him grimace at the sad sight of his formal suit. Yet another one was ruined through Pitch's insane training exercises. He did his best to lash out with the scepter, but in the end, he was overwhelmed and soon found himself knocked to the ground, nightmares breathing into his face as they leaned close to Artemis.
"Still struggling? It seems you are hopeless without your power, Father Time." Pitch called out, halting the attack for a moment. The nightmares backed off with Pitch's command, always following their master's every order. "Once more, this time use your power." he ordered, as the Nightmares rushed forward once more. Artemis grinned at the idea, now knowing he would win with the power of time in his hands. One of the Nightmares had been close enough to kick his side hard, but the young genius had already begun to focus his magic on the clock that he had removed from his scepter.
This was another new trick he had discovered in this place, during his training exercises. The future held endless possibilities, no one could guarantee what it would contain, so what happened when someone, or something, was sent into the future? Artemis had learned, seeing the clock become virtually untraceable to normal sight as it tried to position itself in all possible locations for its future. The momentum of the clock and speed was enough to pummel through the army in seconds, flashing around the room before Artemis brought the clock back into the present, holding it in his hand before reattaching it to his scepter.
"Enough, I grow tired of this exercise." Pitch called out, commanding the few remaining Nightmares to pull back away from Artemis. "You have improved, just as I promised. I think it is time for my investment to pay off, don't you?" Pitch asked, appearing in Artemis' room from the shadows he had been hiding in.
Artemis kept his face neutral, though he was trying to plan a way out of this. He could not use his own weakness this time, not when it was clear that he could at least survive some form of battle. "Perhaps, though it may be a bit too soon to tell. These Guardians are supposedly formidable foes, if they have managed to survive your attacks for so long." Artemis said, though Pitch was not in agreement.
"They have survived through luck alone, not through any skill of theirs. I am far more powerful than they will ever be, the only one with complete control over darkness and fear." Pitch said, while Artemis simply shook his head.
"Overconfidence can lead to mistakes, Mr. Black. I know from experience, so I suggest you gain a more realistic viewpoint of our situation." Artemis argued, watching Pitch grow irritated by his calm attitude. The man always seemed to get irritated when speaking with Artemis, but the genius was used to it. Most adults disliked the way he spoke, since it was so uncharacteristic of someone his age.
"You should take your own advice, Father Time. This calm confidence you always seem to possess will not help you succeed." Pitch countered, glaring at Artemis as they spoke.
The boy felt the hint of a smile play at his lips as he responded. "Oh, I do believe it will. Appearance means everything, Mr. Black, and mine is one that commands attention and shows that I am not to be trifled with. I am well aware of my faults and strengths, using them to my advantage instead of letting them become my downfall." Artemis claimed, turning to face Pitch in the dark room. Anger was filling his yellow eyes, but it was clear that the man was suppressing it for now.
"My point still remains, Father Time. Our enemy has relaxed at this point and we are strong enough to take them down." Pitch replied, watching the boy sigh and close his eyes for a moment.
"Just what do you think we can accomplish tonight? Do you know where they are? Are we able to destroy them in one night? What will you do if we fail? These are all questions to be considered before we make our move, Mr. Black, and I will not move with confidence until you can answer each and every one of them." Artemis said calmly, opening his eyes to see that he had pushed Pitch over his limit of tolerance for the night.
"Listen, boy, you are not in charge here! If you had just done as I requested before and sent me back in time, we would not be dealing with this mess in the first place. Perhaps you should consider your own failings before doubting my own ideas." he argued, looking prepared to attack the boy for his attitude.
Artemis was about to remind him that time travel would do nothing when he got an idea. It was rather risky, but it was the beginnings of a plan. After a few moments of consideration, Artemis realized that he had little else to work with so he had to at least make an attempt with this plan. "Perhaps you are correct. I should have demonstrated the issue with time travel, since you are clearly unable to comprehend my explanations." Artemis commented, watching Pitch's eyes narrow at the boy.
"Are you trying to insult me?" Pitch asked, his voice filled with menace.
"That is for you to judge, Mr, Black, however you should be thanking me. I have decided to go through with your original plan. We will travel through time together and I will show you how I know that this plan is destined to fail." Artemis claimed, focusing for a moment as he grabbed Pitch's hand.
This was where things got tricky in the boy's plan. He had to use the time tunnel to his advantage, just as he had done when traveling to Hybras with Holly. He could feel Pitch's mind within the time stream, and his dark magic that focused on fear. Artemis pulled just briefly, taking a small amount of that magic for himself as they traveled back to the time Pitch had described, the time when he had been invading the home of the Tooth Fairy. They both arrived, watching the chaos above as Nightmares swarmed and captured the fairies in the air. "Perfect, this is perfect! Now, I can stop Jack Frost before he ever becomes a problem." Pitch claimed, chuckling darkly at the scene in front of him.
Artemis watched as the man created Nightmares by his side, sending them into the sky. That was when the issue occurred, the one Artemis knew existed in this plan. Their future was already written, containing this little trip through time. These Nightmares Pitch created got lost in the chaos, joining the others in the task of capturing fairies instead of listening to Pitch's commands. This was due to the fact that they had two masters giving them orders, one demanding that they stop Jack Frost, the other demanding the capture of the fairies. In the end, it only slowed down the progress they made, something that became obvious when one hesitated a moment before chasing after one of the fairies. That hesitation led to the fairy remaining free, saved by the very spirit Pitch wished to stop. "What are they doing? They were to find Frost and destroy him." Pitch growled, glaring at the creatures above him. Artemis sighed, shaking his head for a moment.
"This is what I meant before, when I told you that this plan would not work. The past cannot be changed through time travel, not in this manner. Any changes we make here have already been felt by us in the future, thus rendering this entire trip pointless." Artemis explained, grabbing Pitch's hand once more to return to their time.
Artemis was more focused this time, able to take more than before from Pitch as they returned. The young genius now found himself in his room, smiling at Pitch as he began to feel his new power within him. He could sense the fears of Pitch Black, how he was afraid of losing this war and remaining invisible forever. "You foolish boy! Why put me through that, just to show me it is useless?" Pitch demanded, glaring at Artemis as soon as they returned.
"You refused to listen to reason, so you left me no choice other than to show you the truth. Perhaps next time you will listen to my advice." Artemis said calmly, though Pitch was still lost in his rage.
"No! You are not making the plans here. This is my war, my Nightmares and my goal! You are coming with me now, whether you want to or not, and we are going to take down the North Pole and all those precious elves hidden within." Pitch claimed, snapping his fingers to summon a Nightmare. Artemis stood calmly in front of both of them, letting the Nightmare trap him within its body of sand before taking off out of this place. Pitch rode by his side, a smile on his face as he envisioned his ultimate victory against the Guardians of the world.
Yay, I've got extra time off this week, in addition to nearly being done with my incredibly busy schedule. Sorry about the confusing comment before, I was tired and didn't explain that I had a bit of a break before class started again. Either way, it still means I can write more, which means quicker updates for you! For Arty's magic, I will admit, I was partially inspired by the Fairy Tail anime. If you want a better idea of what it looks like, it is somewhat mimicking Arc of Time magic from that series, which seemed rather fitting to adapt to a fighting style that Artemis could use.
Below are responses to reviews, I had a lot from the last chapter (We've reached 40 now, I am so happy to see so many people giving me feedback! =D) and I wanted to take the time to address some of the comments made in them. If you guys like me doing this, I will try and reply to each review individually, that way I can clarify things for anyone who has concerns or questions. Feel free to continue reviewing and telling me what you think! Do you think we can hit 50 reviews before the next chapter? I would be super happy to see that. If it happens, I promise the chapter will be out within the day we reach that many reviews! Otherwise, it will continue to follow the update schedule listed on my profile.
For those of you that reviewed:
FCL: I am so happy to hear that you love my story, thank you for your kind words! As far as Butler's comment goes, they don't completely understand what has happened to Artemis at this point. There is a bit of a time skip in here now, during which they learn a bit more, but I didn't quite write it out because I felt it took away from the flow of the plot at this point and made more sense bridge it together with something else, as you will see next chapter. Jack Frost is the only other spirit they've spoken with at the time when Butler makes that comment, and he isn't all that talkative about his past or exactly how being a spirit works. While he does understand that Artemis is different, he has no doubt that the young genius is still capable of performing great acts for others. Hope that helps you understand Butler's viewpoint for that, and why that comment was made. Any other suggestions, feel free to let me know, I love hearing from others who want to help me improve my writing.
Yilems: I'm glad you are enjoying my story. I agree, there are a lot of Artemis/Holly stories out there, and to be honest, I don't quite see it as something that would happen. Artemis has put Holly through a bit too much pain for them to truly trust each other completely in my mind, so the most I can really see is a friendship between them. This is why I do not trust myself to write this pairing, as I feel it would begin making them fall out of character for a bit.
Altros: Thanks for the review, I'm glad you think I've done a good job showing how Jack's changed since the beginning of the ROTG movie. Keeping everyone in character is something I do my hardest to work on, it always helps hearing that people think I am doing well at it!
mckenziemorgan22: Here is an update, maybe not quite as soon as you were looking for, but still here! Updates should start coming weekly around now, maybe one more that is slightly delayed at this point, but after that, we will be back to a bit more of a regular schedule until this is finished.