corneliacalebrox has just reminded me that not everyone has read Artemis Fowl. So: Holly Short is an elf and a part of the LEPrecon, the Lower Elements Police. She and Artemis are sort of friends despite what's happened over the years. Oh, and a cam-foil is this thing when you wrap it around yourself, you blend in with your surroundings and you're camouflaged.

I know you're all gonna scold me for this but I have been thinking of a great way to start my Sequel With CxA and I am very, very, VERY tempted to start it but in writing this story, I've learned a lesson about starting sequels to stuff when the originals aren't done yet so I will try to rein in the temptation.

Chapter 25 Welcome To My Life (Simple Plan)

"So where should I land?" Holly asked. "And give me the exact coordinates. Everything looks the same to me but my helmet can handle it."

"Can't we do that on land?" Artemis responded.

"No," Holly replied. "I find that I have a better sense of direction when I can see for miles where I'm about to go. I also find that when you've landed, you no longer need to know whereto land."

"Well I'm not exactly in a very auspicious position at the moment, what with this dangling below you situation, so why don't you lower me for a while and then we can discuss coordinates?"

Holly rolled her eyes as she began to land. "Suit yourself. I don't particularly want to drag Mud Boys across the sky anyway for no reason anyway." She dropped him in the dirt and hovered above him annoyingly. "Don't just lie sprawled there, tell me where we're supposed to go!"

"I never thought you'd want others telling you what to do," Artemis commented. "Your reactions to Julius' orders were clear that you wanted to be in charge of yourself."

"I'm telling you to state where you want to go right now or I'll dump you into the nearest ocean," Holly declared. Talking about Julius still hurt even though it's been a very long time already.

"Very well," Artemis sighed. He knew he hit a raw nerve. He got up, dusted himself, and took out his cube.

"What are looking for?" Holly asked in spite of herself, staring at the glowing grids on one of the cube's surfaces that showed a map of this place and its various landmarks. Holly safely stored the river a few miles away in the back of her mind. (Not that she'll really do Artemis in.)

"Wolves," came the single word reply.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What the hell?" Matt yelled. Instead of following their last portal's advice, Will conjured up another to go after Butler before he could run off too far.

"Are you nuts?" Irma demanded. "Do you want to die? Is that it? Has your precious charge disappearing finally pushed you over the edge?"

Butler shook his head. "I'm telling you, that's where he'll be."

"You mean that's where his remains will be," Taranee corrected.

"Don't say that!" Cornelia scolded.

"Well what do you expect him to do? Fight? A fourteen-year-old boy is just no match for wolves, okay? We don't even know where the wolves in Meridian are."

"Caleb might," Hay Lin said hopefully.

Butler turned to him. "Please, I swear he'll be there."

"If he's alive," Irma muttered.

"Well," Caleb said hesitantly. "I think they're in the north section of the woods."

"And where is that?" Will asked. "Remember, I'm failing geography right now – among other courses."

Caleb spun around and jabbed a finger in front of him. "There."

"Hey, since the expedition thing is kind of off, can we fly now?" Cornelia inquired.

"Sure, why not?" Will said. "Who wants to lift Butler? Cornelia or Hay Lin?"

"I'll do it!" Hay Lin chirruped.

"no," Butler protested. "Do you know how much I weigh? There is just no way you can – woaaoh!"

Hay Lin lifted him in the air. "See? It's not that hard."

Butler smiled weakly. Somehow, riding on thin air while looking down on the Earth (or would it be the Meridian?) didn't seem very pleasurable but he didn't suppose he had much of a choice.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"So you knew they won't be here but you made me drag you here anyway?" Holly inquired.

"No," Artemis answered with as much patience as he could muster. "I didn't know when they would be here so I wanted to make sure we are here early."

Holly eyed him curiously. "How did you know they would be here again?"

Artemis sighed. "Let's just say that I trust Butler to make it here," he said evenly.

Holly still wouldn't let it drop. "So you guys planned this? Isn't this your first time coming to this world? And why wasn't I let in on it?"

"Holly-"

"Artemis!!!!"

He blinked, his vision blurred slightly by a curtain of blonde hair. He brushed it awayand stared up at them all, speechless. They were all in the sky, yes, that he could deal with. He also knew they'd be there. What he didn't expect was-

"Butler?" Holly asked incredulously. "When did you learn how to fly?"

"Oops," Hay Lin giggled, and slowly lowered him down.

"I'd rather not talk about it," he grimaced.

Holly looked at them all, her eyes lingering slightly on Cornelia. "I'm Holly Short – and don't try to make fun of that."

Artemis chuckled. Though Holly was, indeed, short, she was by no means someone to make fun of. Her hazel eyes actually flashed an almost dangerous beauty. Even Irma would think twice about messing with her, and that girl barely thought at all.

"Are you the elf?" Irma asked rather rudely.

"Yes," Holly replied testily, shooting Artemis a look that meant, 'Next time you want new friends, stick to the People.' "I am. And I know you are Irma Lair. Your name means 'complete' in German."

While Irma stared, Artemis tried to explain. "She has the gift of tongues."

"The People only have one language, but Mud Men choose to harbor several," Holly added.

"What did you call us?" Irma demanded. "Because Cornelia's the one that deals with mud."

"Hey!" Cornelia protested. Irma ignored her and just glared at Holly who narrowed her eyes and muttered insults in Gnommish. Artemis could tell they were not going to get along well.

"Give it up, Irma," Matt said, obviously feeling awkward. 'What's wrong with them?' he mouthed to Artemis.

Artemis smiled. He really needed to stop doing that. 'Welcome to my life,' he mouthed back as Holly allowed a small spark to pass between her fingertips.

Okay, so I know this chapter doesn't center around Cornelia and Caleb but it's a good ending. Now, I know I'm going to do a C x A. It's gonna be my first and I swear it'll be my last. I've gotta decide whether it's gonna be a new story or continue off of here. If it does continue from here, all you fellow C x C fans probably won't want to read anymore. (By the way, don't Will x Calebs and Cornelia x Peters make you want to vomit/kill something/scream?)

Still, I love Artemis Fowl and I've got dozens of ideas for the new story (I've pictured it in my mind a zillion times) so yeah. Thank you all reviewers and inspirers. This just may be goodbye. For now. So goodbye for now!

Review.