A/N: Thank you all for your continued support! It means a great deal to me :)
Chapter 3; Ancient
The Himalayas, Tibet
Opal Koboi could feel the excitement building deep within her. Her time was close at hand; she could sense it. Soon, she would be able to avenge herself. She could still taste the bitterness of defeat at the hands of Artemis Fowl. The humiliation of months in hiding. But it would be different this time. She would have an army the likes of which had never been seen at her shoulder. Fowl would be made to pay for the indignity he had caused her.
She ignored the doubts that niggled at her mind. It was true that her past experiments had yielded mixed results, and that she had never quite succeeded in achieving her aims, but she was confident that this time, she would uncover the secret. This time, she would have the relic to help her.
The pixie strode purposefully through the mountain caves, a pulsating sphere of magic hovering by her shoulder, lighting her way. The web of narrow tunnels should have been impossible to navigate, but Opal negotiated the labyrinth with ease, her way guided by months of arduous research.
It didn't take long to reach the final chamber. There was no obvious indication that it was anything other than a dead end aside from the pedestal that stood in the centre of the cavern, unmarked and unimpressive.
A smile of anticipation began for form on Opal's porcelain features. Suddenly nervous, she stepped forward. The altar rested on a stout column of rough stone, long faded runes etched into its base. The top surface was completely smooth, the stonework unblemished but for the barest outline of a hand.
I was wrong to ever doubt myself, she thought, transfixed by the seemingly unremarkable pedestal before her. I should have always had faith that I would be able to find it.
The pixie raised a slightly trembling hand and placed it on the altar, taking great care to lay it within the marked outline. She felt the magic at once, probing her, testing her. Closing her eyes, she let her own magic respond, interfacing with the ancient lock, commanding it to grant her access.
Opal opened her eyes, raising them to look towards the far side of the cave, reading the spiral of Old-Gnomish characters carved roughly into the rock. Barely visible after countless millennia of neglect, it took her a moment to decipher the warning.
-Beware the wrath of the Fallen-
All but forgotten, the ancient lock had remained untouched for untold thousands of years, entombing the darkness, sealing it off from the living world. Now, on the command of Opal Koboi, it began to open. Solid rock melted away before her very eyes, revealing a passage that descended deep beneath the mountains.
Opal couldn't help but smile. She was about to walk a path untrodden for an age.
Soon, she told herself. Soon, you will be unstoppable.
Nice, France
The boy found that he felt a lot better after some sleep and some food. He was extraordinarily grateful for the money he had been given and, determined not to squander it, had spent several long hours the previous evening working out the cheapest possible place to stay the night. He had been willing to spend a little more on the food, but not much, finding a cheap bakery the next morning and picking up a couple of fresh croissants. All things considered, it hadn't been a bad breakfast.
He had reached the conclusion that the number on the note he had found truly was his only chance to find out who he was, and decided to dedicate all his energy to investigating it.
But even though his mood was greatly improved compared to yesterday, there were still a few things that were bothering the boy. It was difficult not to feel a little uncertain after waking up with no memories, but this was more than that. There was real fear in him. Fear that if he couldn't find the answers he sought, he would be forever isolated, unable to belong. Alone. Perhaps once upon a time the thought would not have bothered him, but now it scared him. A lot.
After all, he reflected, forever is a long time. I have no wish to spend it on my own.
Then there was still that niggling feeling in the back of mind that he couldn't quite describe. He had hoped it was something to do with his recent awakening and that it would diminish in time, but it didn't seem keen on leaving. If anything, the sensation had grown stronger overnight. The feeling of not being alone in his head. The suggestion of another consciousness, another mind inside his, biding its time. Waiting.
It was undoubtedly sinister, and the boy couldn't help stop it from unsettling him a little. It wasn't natural, he knew that much. But even though it unnerved him, it didn't seem like there was much he could do about it.
Perhaps, if I get my memories back, it will disappear. Or perhaps, if I can find them, someone from my past will be able to shed some light on it.
Deciding that there was nothing to be achieved wasting time thinking about it, the boy set off to buy a phone. He wanted to try calling the number. He knew he could use a pay-phone, but he thought that it would be better to call from a phone he actually owned. And even if it wasn't a phone number, it would still be useful to have a phone.
He ended up doing exactly as the man who had helped him had suggested and buying a cheap pay-as-you-go phone. The thing was obviously low quality – he hadn't expected anything else for fifteen euros – but presumably it would work, and that was all he needed.
The boy stood outside the gadget shop, a chilling winter wind blowing his overgrown hair, staring with uncertainty at the lump of plastic clutched in his hand. He glanced at the note in his other hand. What was going to happen? Anything? He didn't even know if it was a phone number, much less that it would mean anything to him if he called it.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
He shrugged, gingerly tapping the digits into the keypad and raising the handset to his ear. He let it ring.
No-one picked up. There was a burst of static, followed by a pre-recorded message asking the caller to leave a voicemail. The boy listened carefully to the voice, trying to find something familiar in the words, but he couldn't. He did, however, recognize the speaker's accent. Irish. And she was speaking English. He recalled the words of the man who had helped him yesterday. Your accent, it sounds Irish. He supposed it was promising that she sounded like she was from the same country as he was.
But there was a far more interesting piece of information in the recording. The woman gave the name of the household to which the phone belonged.
Fowl Manor. It didn't immediately mean anything to him, but it was knowledge that he hadn't had a moment ago. And knowledge was power.
It took the boy a moment to realize that the phone was still waiting for him to leave a message. He was about to hang up, but something stopped him. A sudden urge to speak.
What would I even say? I don't even have a name to give, or anything to ask about…
After a pause, he simply said the first thing he could think of.
"Hi, err, it's me. If you could call me back whenever is convenient for you, that would be very much appreciated. Thank you for your time."
A strange message to be sure, but hopefully the receiver would do as he asked and call him back. If they didn't recognize him they might assume it was a wrong number and ignore it, but that wouldn't be a huge loss. And if they did recognize him, they would be able to give him some answers.
The boy thought back to the name of house. Fowl Manor. He didn't have any way to know the significance of it, if any existed at all, but while he waited for his call to be returned, it was at least somewhere start. He smiled, and set off for Nice's city library. Libraries, he knew, had computers, and they in turn had access to the internet. And the internet had information. Lots of information. Hopefully, lots of very useful information.
It wasn't a particularly long walk to the library. As soon as he was across the threshold, the boy made his way to an unoccupied computer, launching an internet entered Fowl Manor into the search bar and tapped the confirm key, shrugging to himself. It was as good a place to start as anywhere.
It turned out to be a very good place to start. A string of results popped up in the screen; news articles, images, even a Wikipedia page. He clicked a news article at random. It was about a rich Irish businessman called Artemis Fowl who had been discovered outside a hospital in Helsinki with a leg missing after spending almost two years in a coma and being declared legally dead. He wondered if Fowl Manor was the man's home.
Artemis Fowl.
The name itself meant nothing to him, but there was a picture attached to the article. It might have been a coincidence but, recalling his reflection in the water, he couldn't help noticing a passing resemblance between himself and this Artemis Fowl. The man was far older than him, true, but there was a distinct similarity between the two of them.
Excited, he carried on reading articles. It didn't take long to uncover some of the Fowl family's history. Apparently, they were suspected of significant criminal activity, but nothing had ever stuck. Now, they claimed they were on the straight and narrow, but the boy had to admit he was cynical. From what he had read, it seemed the family had been extraordinarily successful in their ventures on the other side of the law, and had managed to remain unpunished. Why give that up?
He had also discovered that, as he had rather expected, Fowl Manor was indeed the residence of the Fowl family. Artemis had a wife, Angeline, and a son, too. Artemis Junior. But despite his best efforts, he could barely find any information on the son. What little information was available only further confused him.
According to a piece published by a small, local paper, Artemis had supposedly disappeared for three years, only to return as though nothing had happened, seemingly having not aged a day. There were also references to some kind of behavioural problems. And now he had apparently disappeared again, about a month ago. There was the odd image here and there, but nothing much. In spite of his youth, Artemis Jr. had an undeniably sinister appearance. Eyes devoid of emotion, Artemis's cold arrogance was palpable, even in a photo. The boy couldn't help but be reminded of a vampire.
There was one thing that every picture of a Fowl he could find had in common. They all reminded him strangely of the face he had seen in the lake after he had awoken. The eyes, in particular. The Fowls all had the same piercing blue eyes. The boy had seen one of those eyes staring back at him from the still water of the lake surface.
Perhaps I am a relative of the Fowl family.
He supposed it was possible. It would certainly explain why he seemed to be able to find a piece of himself in all their photos, though why he had a hazel eye as well one of coldest ice was anyone's guess. It would go a certain way to explaining the note as well, if Fowl Manor was some kind of family home of his.
But if that was the case, surely he would be able to find some reference to himself in the news stories covering the Fowls? He checked again, just to make sure, but there still wasn't a picture of anyone that looked much like him. Sure, he bore a passing resemblance to the father, but the man was clearly much older than him. The face he had seen in the lake was dirty and unkempt, obscured by a tangled mess of overgrown hair and with strange two coloured eyes. It was a stark contrast to the super rich Fowls, who seemed to be impeccably groomed in every photo he could find.
Something occurred to him then. He thought back to when he had first become aware that he was conscious. That he was alive. He had been in surprisingly high spirits – something to do with a dream he had been having – and had been trying to remember the reason why. Trying to focus on the memory of the dream as it slipped away. All he had managed to recall was a single word, a word that had comforted him at the time.
The boy tried to focus. The word. What was it? It was there, he was sure of it. He found his hand straying unconsciously to the mysterious coin in his pocket.
Holly. That was it. Holly.
He didn't know what that it was supposed to mean. Was it a name? Someone close to him? On the computer, he entered a new search.
No results for "Holly Fowl".
The boy shrugged. It had been worth a try.
He went back to the information about the Fowls. In the end, he realized, it didn't matter if he was a distant relative or not. Trying to get in touch with them was still his only real option. The Fowls might seem strange, they might have a nefarious past, but if there was a chance they could give him some answers, it was more than worth the risk.
Beneath the Himalayas, Tibet
Opal had scarcely been able to believe her luck. The relic had provided everything she had needed and more. She hadn't even dared to dream that she would be so fortunate. Her experiments were already progressing faster than she could ever have hoped.
It is only a matter of time, she thought to herself. I have everything I need down here; no-one knows what I am doing, so no-one will try to stop me. It doesn't matter how long it takes, eventually I will uncover the secret. Then, I will finally be able to free my future self and return to my own time.
During her youth, Opal had spent decades trying to discover the secret she now so desperately sought. The experiments had been so twisted that even she had sometimes struggled to stomach them. And though she had made progress, it had been slow and difficult. Even after all those years, the secret had still eluded her. She had begun to believe that perhaps she had been mistaken, perhaps what she wanted wasn't possible after all.
The pixie couldn't stop her thoughts turning to the time she had spent pursuing her aims in Russia, in the New Dawn laboratories. She'd still had people working for her back then, other scientists. The climate hadn't been to her taste, but the location had been ideal. Russian officials weren't famed for asking difficult questions once they had been given a little incentive, and no-one batted an eye when people went missing. Opal had had all the test subjects she had ever wanted.
And yet she still hadn't been able to work out how to achieve what she wanted. Some of the subjects had been promising, but others had been unsuccessful. One in particular. She could still remember the fight in the Russian girl's eyes as she had looked up at her from the operating table as the pixie ordered her death. She wondered if the girl had actually ended up starving; the fire had broken out only a few days after she had been locked in her cell.
It was that fire that had been the final straw. Everything had been destroyed. All her research gone, all her scientists dead, all her successful subjects burned alive in their cells. Unwilling to start again from scratch, on her own, Opal had focused all her efforts on her other project: her magic boosting formula. Of course, that had proved far more fruitful – she had been this close to being able to manipulate time itself.
But then Artemis Fowl had taken her lemur. It was surely deep underground now, along with her only chance of returning to her own time on her own terms. And so the pixie had returned to her original research, except this time she had had an advantage. An idea. She had uncovered the location of the relic, hopeful that it would provide the answers that she sought.
Opal Koboi had not been disappointed.
She regarded the human strapped to the operating table in front of her. She didn't know its name, nor did she want to. It was merely a vessel. One of the mountain people, she supposed. Of course, it had begged her to leave it be when she had taken it. Screamed and pleaded for mercy. She sighed at the memory. She hated it when they did that.
Now, it lay silent, deathly pale and barely alive. Paralysed by the toxins already pumped into its system, waiting to serve Opal's twisted curiosity. The pixie raised the needle and pressed the tip into the human's arm. The slightly luminous green liquid seemed almost to claw at the confines of the syringe as it was injected into the dying cells.
Opal looked on, eyes bright with anticipation. She doubted much would happen – after all, this was only her first attempt – but it was hard to ignore the excitement building inside her. She had been trapped in this time less than a year, and already she was closer than ever to uncovering the secret that had eluded her for so long.
A minute passed. Then another. Opal was beginning to grow disappointed as she watched the human lying still. It was almost peaceful. There was no movement, no visible sign of cell alteration, not even around the point of injection.
No matter, she told herself, already looking away, preparing to make the necessary alterations for the next subject. This was only a first attempt. I have all the time in the world to refine my calculations.
But then she looked again at her first subject, and realised that she was wrong; the experiment was a success after all. Very little would need to be refined.
On the operating table before her, the human was opening its eyes, baring its teeth. A low, animalistic growl slipped from its lips.
Haven City, The Lower Elements
Exactly as Foaly had predicted, Holly completely ignored K'Azir's orders to take a day off and showed up to Police Plaza the day after the riot regardless.
"I'm more than capable of working, Foaly," she insisted as the centaur blocked the entrance to her office.
"You were in a riot! You were tear gassed!" he responded, refusing to back down. "Gods, Holly, you were in a bad way before that. Please, be reasonable. You know you need rest!"
"I've had rest!" she shot back, trying to dodge past Foaly, but not quite managing it. "The warlocks addressed all my injuries after the riot, I'm fine now. Seriously. What I need is not to go back to bed, but to help my city. Which, in case you'd forgotten, feels like it's on the brink of collapse."
"K'Azir specifically instructed you not to come in. Holly, have you ever actually obeyed an order?"
The elf shrugged. "What can I say?" she smiled, a sliver of her old character shining through. "I'm a rebel. Now, get out of my way."
"Sorry Holly. No can do."
Holly slowly drew back a fist, a glint in her eye. "I'm warning you. You are currently wilfully obstructing an LEP officer…"
Foaly shrank back. "Caballine likes me unbroken thank you very much. Please don't do anything rash."
Sighing, Holly lowered her fist. Of course, she hadn't actually been going to hit him, but she knew that the suggestion of physical discomfort would make the centaur get out of the way.
"Holly," continued Foaly. "I will call K'Azir and drag him away from whatever important thing he is doing to come and make you go home. Look at me." He pointed to his face and adopted a stern expression. "This is my serious face. It means I'm serious. I will do it."
Holly turned away, not responding immediately. Foaly noticed her clenching her fists until the knuckles were white.
"Please," she said softly. "I don't want to go home."
The centaur stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. Seeing Holly hurting like this was almost intolerable.
D'Arvit Mud Boy, he thought. How could you do this to her? To all of us?
"You don't have to go home if you don't want," he said gently. "But you can't carry on working yourself to death." He paused for a moment to think. "Go to the surface," he suggested. "I'll sort you a temporary visa. Go and enjoy some fresh air. Visit Butler and Juliet if you want. Just please, relax."
The elf nodded reluctantly. In truth, the idea of visiting the surface, of simply escaping everything down in Haven, held a certain appeal. And seeing Butler and Juliet would be an undeniable bonus.
Even so, there was a part of her that was genuinely worried that if she left for just a day, something would go horribly wrong in Haven. She tried to tell herself that this was illogical, but it was still there, niggling at her. Foaly wasn't wrong when he said that she had thrown herself into her work after Artemis's death. She had worked more missions than anyone else by some margin and had become intimately acquainted with the new and precarious situation that the People found themselves in. She had become one of the forces most formidable operators and her expertise had proved invaluable more than once.
It's just a day. You know Foaly's right. Go and see Juliet. You'll feel better.
"Alright," she told the centaur. "Get me a surface visa."
Ireland
It was only as she soared over the Irish countryside, the wind in her hair, that Holly realized how isolated she had become over the last month. She remembered the last time she had visited the surface outside of a mission. She had been taking the exact route she was now, heading to the same place.
To Fowl Manor. She had been going to explain to Artemis's parents that their son was dead. Their reactions still stuck in her mind. How they seemed to deflate before her eyes. Broken by loss.
Artemis. How could you do that to them?
Despite promising Juliet that she would come and check up on them all, especially Butler, she hadn't found time amongst the chaos underground.
She mentally scolded herself. Artemis may be gone, but that doesn't mean I'm alone. I shouldn't push away my other friends.
The elf watched as rolling hills sped by below her. The land route and low altitude weren't exactly regulation, but Holly had never really been one for toeing the line. Breaking rules was always so much more fun than following them. She told herself it didn't matter – with her shield and shimmer suit, she was all but invisible to both the human and mechanical eye.
Manipulating her helmet's on-board computer with a complicated series of blinks and gestures, the elf sent a quick message to Juliet to let her know that she was on her way.
On the horizon, high stone walls rose out of the ground, marking the edge of the Fowl estate. Holly would once have seen them as imposing, sinister even, but now they were merely part of her friend's home. A late medieval castle stood atop the far hill, watching over the low-lying countryside that surrounded it on all sides. Fowl Manor still looked exactly as it did when she had been held prisoner there more than six years ago.
Holly entered a dive, accelerating hard, dropping out of the sky and landing lightly a few hundred meters away from the manor. Even though all the adults that lived there knew about the People, she still kept her shield up. She wasn't keen on having to explain her pointed ears to Artemis's brothers. Especially Myles. She had been told that he was just as inquisitive as his older brother had been.
She wondered briefly how the twins were coping. She doubted they were really old enough to understand what death was, but it would hurt when they realised that their brother wasn't coming home this time. That they would never see him again.
Holly spotted Juliet hanging around the entrance to the manor, squinting around as though she was expecting a fairy to sneak up on her…
The elf considered it, but in the end decided just to unshield and call to the human girl. Juliet's eyes locked onto her the moment she spoke.
"Alright, fairy girl?" she asked, attempting a smile. She didn't quite pull it off, and though she tried, she couldn't hide the tiredness in her eyes.
"Not so bad," replied Holly, knowing Juliet was fully aware that she was lying. "You look awful. How have you been sleeping?"
Juliet took one look at Holly and gave a bitter laugh. "About as well as you by the looks of things. How is everything in Haven?"
Holly shook her head. "Not good. But I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to get away from it."
"That bad?"
She nodded, and gestured to the manor. "How are they?" she asked softly, avoiding making eye contact with Juliet.
The human girl shrugged. "How to you think?" she muttered angrily. "Broken. Haunted. They lost their son. That won't ever go away."
Holly didn't miss the slight note of accusation in Juliet's voice. It hurt.
"You know if I could change what happened, I would. I wish there had been a way to stop him."
Now it was Juliet's turn to look away. "I'm sorry. I know it's not your fault, and that you did everything you could. It's just…" she hesitated for a moment, uncertain. "It's like everyone expects me to be fine. My brother still won't accept that he's gone – he just spends all day in the dojo and doesn't talk to anyone – and Mr. and Mrs. Fowl are like shells of their former selves.
"It seems like it's just fallen to me to pick up the pieces. I have to look after the twins, I have to keep the household running. I don't even have time to grieve. I'm the only person that hasn't fallen apart, so now it's my responsibility to do everything." She wiped away an unwelcome tear. "I want to fall apart, honestly I do. But then what happens? Who looks after the twins?"
Holly nodded understandably. While she understood Juliet's pain – it was the same pain that she felt, after all – at least she didn't have to try and deal with the fallout of Artemis's death. Holly had only kept herself together this long by ignoring the pain and pretending it wasn't there.
There was a moment of silence as the two friends considered their respective positions. Holly was the one who broke it.
"I miss him."
Juliet looked at her. "We all do." She shook her head as though trying to clear it. "Come on," she said, gesturing towards the manor. "For once, Dom's actually outside the dojo. He'll be pleased to see you."
The elf allowed herself to be lead into the Fowls' ancestral home. In the hall, they passed a landline phone on a unit of drawers. A notification was flashing on the display.
New Messages.
Juliet sighed and reached out to swipe the handset, tapping a button to play the new recordings.
"Probably another one of Mrs. Fowl's cosmetologists or something," she muttered to Holly. "She hasn't been to any of them since… well, you know. Apparently they're concerned about the loss of business."
Holly wasn't really listening. She wasn't interested in whether Angeline was missing her beauty therapy appointments. She hadn't set foot in Fowl Manor since informing Artemis's parents of his death. She wasn't enjoying being back very much. Too many memories lingered in these halls.
Juliet frowned as the recording played several seconds of silence. She shook her head and was about to switch it off when the caller finally spoke.
"Hi, err, it's me."
Artemis's voice.
Holly was instantly alert. She turned sharply to Juliet. The human girl's frown was deepening.
"That sounds just like…" she started to mutter, but the recording was still going.
"If you could call me back whenever is convenient for you, that would be very much appreciated. Thank you for your time."
Holly and Juliet looked at each other in silence, as though neither quite trusted themselves to speak. Neither moved. A minute passed. It was Juliet that broke the stillness, making to call the number that had sent the message.
Holly caught her arm. "Hold on," she warned. "We don't know who's on the other end of that line."
"What?" exclaimed Juliet, starting at Holly, shock written all over her face. "You heard that, right? It was him!"
"It sounded like him," Holly corrected. "How do we know it's genuine?"
Juliet's mouth dropped open. "What the Hell is wrong with you? That was him. He's alive. Alive! Don't you want that?"
"Of course I do!" shouted Holly, a lot louder she had been intending. "But think about it. Seriously. It doesn't make any sense."
"What doesn't?"
"This. Let's imagine for a moment that he's alive. What would he do? Wait a month and then leave his grieving family a voicemail?"
Juliet looked unsure. A part of her knew that Holly was right – it made no sense. But most of her was just desperate to cling to any hope there was.
"Come on," Holly continued. "The voice may have been his, but the words? Artemis doesn't speak like that. Hi and err aren't even words, and as for "it's me, call me back"? He doesn't leave a name; he doesn't ask for anything. It doesn't sound like he even knows who he was calling."
"So what's your explanation? It's an elaborate fake?" The look on Juliet's face made it clear exactly how cynical she was about that option.
"I don't know," Holly admitted. "I'm just saying that it doesn't add up. Why not say anything until now? And why act like nothing happened?" The elf shook her head, trying to figure it out. "Maybe it's a code. Maybe he survived, but some of Amber's people captured him."
Juliet's doubtful expression remained planted firmly on her face. "Really, Holly? Come on. It was him, you heard it. There has to be at least a chance he's alive. You want to give that up? To ignore it?"
To her surprise, Holly smiled, a glint in her eye. "Give it up?" she said. "I don't think so. I just said we should proceed with caution." She winked and raised her palm, indicating for Juliet to wait. With her other hand, she tapped a button on her wrist computer. "Foaly? I need a favour."
Deep below ground, the centaur put his head in his hands. "I'm not going to like this, am I? Please tell me it's at least legal."
The elf sounded wounded. "When have I ever overstepped the bounds of the law?"
"How long do you have? I have a list." Foaly sighed. "Actually, never mind. What are doing? Aren't you supposed to be relaxing?"
"Does the LEP still run surveillance on Fowl Manor?" asked Holly, ignoring the centaur's question.
"Not anymore. We pulled the last of it after Artemis left us."
"Can you hack into the manor's phone and trace a received call?"
"Can I?" Foaly spluttered, sounding offended. "Is that even a question? Of course I can. The question is, why would I?"
Holly sighed. She wasn't in the mood for Foaly's theatrics. "Just do it, OK? You'll understand when you do it. Trust me."
Recognising Holly's no-nonsense voice, the centaur tapped a few keys on his v-board and in a few moments he had access to Fowl Manor's landline. He listened to the message.
"OK," he breathed. "I understand." He paused to think, exhaling slowly. "The caller's location was somewhere in Nice, in France. I'll have something more specific soon. You can get there quickly from Ireland."
From Nice, thought Holly. The South of France. Near the alps. Near where Artemis died. It was promising.
"Send me the co-ordinates. I'll set off immediately."
"Holly…" Foaly didn't sound as sure. "Don't you think this is all a bit… odd? I mean Artemis disappears for a month, supposedly dead, and then sends that? It doesn't make much sense to me. It's the last thing Artemis would do."
"I know; I don't understand it either. But it's a chance – I have to go. I'll be careful."
"You? Careful?" Foaly didn't even try to hide his cynicism. "That's new."
Holly rolled her eyes, not bothering to dignify the centaur's words with a response. A set of co-ordinates flashed up on her visor's readout. She turned to Juliet.
"Listen," she began uncertainly, unsure exactly how to phrase what she wanted to say. "Your brother…"
"You don't want me to tell him about this?"
The elf nodded. "If I find something promising, I'll let you know. But this could turn out to be nothing. If we give Butler hope and then shatter it, he'll be even worse than before.
"D'Arvit," Juliet swore. She didn't like the idea of leaving her brother in the dark, but she knew Holly was right. There was no guarantee that Artemis was really alive. "I should come with you, though. Artemis needs a Butler."
Holly shook her head. "It'll be faster if I fly, and I'd rather not carry you in cam foil and risk you being seen. Trust me, if he's out there, I'll bring him home."
For the first time in recent times, she found herself giving a smile of genuine warmth. There's a chance he's out there. Alive. And if he is, I'm going to bring him home.
For some reason, the notion that it would be her that brought him home was especially pleasant.
The elf flicked the ignition for her wings and vibrated out of the visible spectrum.
"I'll be back before you know it," said a voice from thin air. Then she was gone, the faintest shimmer dancing through the halls of Fowl Manor as she soared towards her lost friend.
A/N: "No results for Holly Fowl," eh? Well, I suppose we'll have to do something about then, won't we? :P In All seriousness though, I had such a great time writing that bit with Artemis researching the Fowls without knowing that they were his family. I don't know, there was just something super funny/cute about it to me. Hope it felt plausible/in character for you guys.
And of course, Opal's now starting to get going with the sinister stuff (kudos if you can figure out where she is right now), but it's important to remember that this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the sinister stuff. I mean, it is one of my stories after all. There'll be no shortage of dark bits.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As usual, I would love it if you reviewed ;)