Alright! I have a couple things to say:
First: I'm (most likely) going to Washington this summer to live and work with my uncle and his family, so updates may be even more sparse.
Second: I passed my GED! All four subjects, first try. What's more, in three of them (all but math lol) I scored 'College Ready'! I'm really proud of myself.
Third: I'm sure most of you are aware of the current political chaos in America right now, with the election and people storming the Capitol Building. If any of you readers were (or are) affected by any of this, my heart goes out to you guys. I'll be praying for you.
Fourth: This was originally intended to be the second to last chapter of this story, but I decided to rewrite some chapters and it's going to be longer now!
Fifth: Enjoy!
"Artemis!"
Butler moved before he had time to think, reaching out to catch his charge before he dashed his head on the rocky ground.
Artemis lay motionless for several seconds until he eventually groaned and sat up.
"Thank you, Butler," He said. "I have no desire for my head to be damaged, especially now that it's carrying another consciousness besides myself."
Foaly's eyes widened. "You mean... it worked!?"
Artemis nodded. "While Captain Short's body is irreparably damaged, her soul is safe with me."
Butler smiled. Of course Artemis had done it. There seemed to be no limit to his abilities and willpower.
"Of course," Artemis continued, "She cannot stay this way forever. Foaly, I assume you still possess the Chrysalis?"
"What?"
"The Chrysalis, Foaly. The device that was used to create a clone of Opal Koboi as well as myself. Do you still have it?"
Foaly scoffed. "Of course I still have it. Let me guess, you want me to make a clone of Holly so she can come back to life."
"Precisely. And it needs to be kept secret from the rest of the LEP. They were unhappy enough when they found out about my cloned body, imagine what they would say if they found out we did it again."
Foaly grumbled for a minute before begrudgingly saying, "Fine. I can't deny that I want Holly back too. But just so you know, I charge quite an exorbitant fee for this."
Behind them, Trouble Kelp began to stir.
Artemis. He's moving, Holly warned him.
I know.
"Butler."
"Understood." The bodyguard picked up the barely-conscious Trouble and tied his arms to his sides with the rope he kept on him at all times. "That should do it," He grunted, slinging the elf over his massive shoulder.
"Excellent," Artemis said. "Put him in the shuttle, we're taking him back to Police Plaza where the LEP will arrest him."
What will they say when I don't come back?
"What about Holly?" Foaly asked, glancing at the still-bleeding body on the ground.
"I will... figure that out on the way. First and foremost, we need DNA from it, which will be simple. Second, we need to either hide it or dispose of it. I propose a proper burial on the Fowl Estate."
"But we can't let the LEP know that Holly is dead," Butler reminded him.
"That's why we'll do the funeral in private, and feed the LEP some misinformation. Say that we found no evidence of remains, and that she probably escaped and is trying to find her way home."
I guess that works.
Foaly nodded. "Good enough."
When Trouble awoke next, the first thing he became aware of was the humming of engines. Next, that insufferable Mud Boy that was piloting the ship. He noticed that his arms were tied when he tried to attack him.
"Where the hell are you taking me, Fowl?" He snarled.
Artemis seemed unfazed and did not turn his attention from the windshield. "Back to Police Plaza, where you'll be arrested for kidnapping and attempted murder."
"Attempted? You mean Holly's - No, I killed her! I saw her fall!"
How unrepentant, Holly's voice grumbled. Bitch.
Hush, please. I can only concentrate on so much at once.
"You missed, Trouble. Your aim is as terrible as your intentions. Even point blank, you managed to not only miss, but somehow bring the entire house down on yourself."
"That's not how it happened!" Trouble roared. "Verbil, you saw what happened! Back me up!"
Chix shook his head. "He's right. You missed, and frankly I'm glad you did."
"I'm sure your memory must be fogged," Artemis commented. "You did lose consciousness for quite a while."
"MY MEMORY IS FINE! If Holly is still alive, then where the hell is she?"
Artemis took a deep breath. "She is... not here. After I told her we were taking you to Police Plaza, she was so disgusted at the idea of being in the same space as you that she said she'd rather find her way home herself."
"Not true!"
"I'm going to find her and pick her up as soon as I make sure you're in prison and can't kidnap her again." Artemis finally turned his head to look at Trouble, and the look in the young genius' eyes almost made Trouble wet himself, despite the fact that he had not done that in decades.
That's a stretch, but I suppose it makes sense, Holly said.
It was the best I could come up with in the moment.
By the time Artemis landed the ship at Haven City, he had gaslighted Trouble enough to where he confusedly believed Artemis' version of the story. With Foaly, Butler and Chix backing him up, everything was looking toward success.
The ex-commander was still tied up when they led him off the ship. A dozen or so officers were waiting on the ramp to cuff Trouble and put him in a waiting cell. From there, he would be summoned to a Tribunal hearing where, like Artemis had said, he would be convicted of kidnapping and attempted murder as well as a surprise bonus, attempted rape.
He would be sent off to Atlantis the next day to spend several decades locked up for his crimes.
-Almost 7 months later-
What's going on?
Holly had a remarkable tendency to 'sleep' while in Artemis' brain, a concept Artemis was still not quite familiar with, having not spent much time inhabiting people or wildlife; he had spent most of his time in limbo floating around and under the Fowl Estate.
Anyway, Holly had just woken from what she referred to as her 'brain-sleep'. The reason being that Artemis had received quite a huge shock a few seconds earlier.
"You'll find out soon enough," Artemis said helpfully.
Hmph, Holly pouted. You're mean.
"I know."
"Artemis, are you going somewhere?" Butler asked, sticking his head in the door.
"I am, old friend. Unfortunately, you can't accompany me. Not this time, at least."
Butler nodded, knowing exactly what Artemis was talking about. "Understood."
Why does nobody tell me anything!?
As Artemis sped down the empty road, it became obvious where they were headed.
Are we going to Haven? Holly gasped. Is my clone ready?
No use denying it now, Artemis thought to himself.
"Yes, Holly. It is ready."
WOOHOO! FINALLY!
"Please stop screaming."
Fine. I'll make sure to scream once I have my body back.
Artemis sighed, the meaning not lost on him. "At least hold it in until then, okay?"
Oh, alright.
"You know what to do, correct?"
Of course! We only practiced a few hundred times.
"Good. With your clone, it should be easier. There won't be a consciousness already in there to push out of the way."
So it'll just accept me?
"It should."
"Good morning, Fowl," Chix said cheerily as Artemis stepped out of the shuttle.
"G'morning," Artemis grunted, trying not to throw up. He had allowed Holly to take control of his limbs for the ride down, a decision he very quickly came to regret.
I am never letting you pilot me down to Haven again. Ever.
Holly erupted into laughter.
What are you talking about? That was fun!
Artemis realized it was no use arguing with Holly, so he resigned himself to keeping his mental mouth shut as Chix led him to where Foaly was keeping the Chrysalis, in a back room of his own private warehouse on the outskirts of Haven.
"He's just in there," Chix said, pointing to a door in the corner of the gym-sized room.
The first thing Artemis saw when he entered was an absolute mess of wires, from massive power cables to bundles of lightning-fast fiber optics, all of them seemed to connect to a vaguely oval shaped pod, the Chrysalis, in which Holly's new body undoubtedly rested.
The next thing he noticed was a very bedraggled Foaly. It looked like he'd been there for several days straight, which he probably had.
"Hey, Mud Boy." He yawned. "The clone's standing by on life support."
"So it is complete, then?"
"The fingernails completely finished four hours ago. It's a wonder really, that everything went as well as it did."
"Excellent. I'll begin immediately."
"Wait!" Foaly yelled. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
"Of course. Holly and I practiced on some of the wildlife around the estate. She's gotten so good at transferring her consciousness that she got Butler on accident once."
Despite his concerns, Foaly let out a laugh. "Okay, if you two feel like you can do it, by all means go ahead. Try to hurry though, so I can finally get some decent sleep."
Here we go! I'm so excited!
Artemis opened the top of the Chrysalis, and the breath hitched in his throat.
Inside was a perfect copy of Holly Short, breathing slowly and occasionally twitching the fingers as the liquid it was immersed in ebbed and flowed.
"Beautiful," Artemis breathed. Ready?
Yeah. Let's do it.
Alright. Just like we practiced.
As Holly's consciousness departed from his own, Artemis felt the familiar sense of loss, like losing a limb you suddenly grew and eventually got used to.
Inside the Chrysalis, not much had changed. The clone still floated half submerged and motionless in the liquid.
Artemis waited patiently, counting...
Suddenly, the clone took a deep, shuddering gasp of air and began to cough, splashing liquid everywhere.
"Artemis!" Foaly shouted. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is going smoothly, Foaly," Artemis assured him. "The coughing should abate momentarily."
And abate it did. Soon Holly had stopped coughing and began to rub her eyes furiously. Eventually she opened them, staring directly into Artemis' own.
"Artemis?"
Woohoo! Holly got her body back! Any guesses as to what they're going to do next...?
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