A/N: This chapter is really overdue, sorry! I meant to upload it two weeks ago, and forgot, and then last week, but I was super busy so couldn't find time to edit it. It's a relatively short one, too, so sorry about that as well. Still, I hope you enjoy it!

-Kio

Chapter 14; Trapped

Fowl Manor, Ireland

Artemis raised the phone to his ear. "Yes?"

The fairy technology delivered the crisp response in perfect quality. The speaker may as well have been standing next to him.

"Artemis Fowl," said Opal Koboi. "I've waited a long time for this."

It took Artemis a few seconds to compose himself, masking his surprise. An age, by his standards.

"Koboi. I was wondering when I would get the chance to talk to you."

Opal seemed delighted. "Oh, is that right? Well, I suppose talking to me is a real treat, so it makes sense. Was there anything in particular you wanted to say? An apology, perhaps?"

Artemis sighed. "Think about what you are doing," he said. "These… creatures you are using. You cannot possibly think this will end well for anyone involved."

Opal's voice hardened. "If I were you, I would have taken the opportunity to apologise," she spat. "Instead of talking about things of which you know nothing."

Artemis decided to take a risk. "I know all about the parasite, and the hivemind. Surely you don't believe you can control it indefinitely?"

There was a moment of silence from the other end of the line as Opal processed this information. Of course, Artemis knew very little about parasite and had only guessed that the hivemind even existed, but it would be better having Opal believe that he knew all about them. Besides, if nothing else, her silence confirmed his theory.

"How?" she managed eventually. "How did you find out about it? I thought I alone discovered the secret of the dead city… not that it matters what you know. Soon, very little will matter at all."

Artemis had no idea what the dead city was, let alone its secret, but he filed the information away for later before continuing trying to appeal to Opal's reason.

"Please, Opal, listen to me. You won't be able to control them forever. The parasite will ravage the entire planet. It will consume all life, including you. What you're doing is suicide."

"You speak like the parasite is evil. Like it's a bad thing. But you're wrong. The parasite is… perfect. It is strong, while humanity, and the People, are weak. It is only natural that the strong should vanquish the weak."

Artemis tried not to let this development unsettle him. Once Holly was better, they would stop her. He knew they would.

"Why did you call, Opal? What do you want?"

The pixie let out shriek of girlish laughter. "What do I want? Hmm, let's see. You murdered me. What do you think I want?"

Artemis didn't bother correcting her about the murder of her future self – he doubted it would make the slightest bit of difference, and if Opal was unaware of Natalya's involvement, he saw no reason to tell her otherwise. Information was power, after all; why give Koboi any for free?

"Revenge," continued Opal. "Nothing more, nothing less. You see, you took everything from me. My future. My life. Now I'm going to take everything from you."

Artemis felt a sudden chill make its way up his spine. "What are you talking about?"

When Opal responded, her voice was soft. "Do you know what I care about more than anything else in the world? Think now, Fowl, this is important."

Artemis didn't need to think. He knew the answer at once. "Yourself."

"Exactly. And that's what you took from me. Now, I have to wonder; what do you care about the most in the world?"

Artemis's eyes found Holly completely of their own accord. He clutched the phone so tightly his knuckles went white. He didn't trust himself to speak.

"I think that, once upon a time, you were like me," Opal carried on quietly, apparently unfazed by his silence. "You cared for yourself above all others. But that isn't the case anymore, is it? I hear you attempted to sacrifice yourself to save the world. To save your family. To save the elf, Holly Short. At least, that's what Foaly's files say. So, I think that to hurt you the way you hurt me, I shouldn't just kill you. I should kill them first. What do you think?"

Artemis's mouth was dry. Even if he had wanted to speak, he didn't think he would have been able to.

"Tell me, Artemis Fowl," said Opal, her voice softer still. "Where are your parents? Your brothers? Where are your Butlers? Where is Holly Short?"

We're all at Fowl Manor. And she knows. She will already be on her way.

"Look out of the window, Artemis Fowl," whispered Opal, making no attempt to hide the malicious glee in her voice.

Artemis did as he was told. It was immediately obvious what he was supposed to be looking for: an azure haze was steadily descending over the Fowl Estate. The exact same haze that he had seen all those years ago, when he was only twelve years old with a fairy locked in the basement. It had been exciting, then. A demonstration that his plan was proceeding as planned.

But not today. Today, the sight brought only fear. A kind of primal fear sunk its teeth into his mind and threatened to consume him. It's too late. We're trapped. Of course, she wouldn't be calling if there was still time to escape. We're all trapped here in the manor. I couldn't have made it easier for her if I tried.

"There is no way out, Fowl. Everyone you care about will either be torn apart before your eyes, or assimilated into my army. The Fallen have orders to keep you alive until the others are all dead, so don't think you will be spared from having to witness the slaughter."

When Artemis finally found his voice, the was a hopeless, defeated edge to it that no one who knew him would have ever associated with him.

"Why call? Why give me any warning at all?"

Opal Koboi laughed. "I wanted you to feel the same despair that I felt when I saw my body. And I wanted you to know why everyone you love is going to die. I wanted you to know that it was because of your actions. All of this is nobody's fault but yours."

Artemis severed the call and dropped the phone. He didn't even realise that his hands were shaking. He knew that he should be using what little time he had to try and prepare, to try and protect his family, but he couldn't think. There was only space in his head for terror; everything else was squashed to the side, insignificant.

"Artemis."

The boy didn't hear his name. He was busy looking at Holly, wishing that she was awake. The elf had now entered a feverish sleep, and was starting to shudder, rattling the cuffs keeping her in place. A low moan escaped her lips as the pain began to set in, but Artemis knew that she would get much worse before she got better.

At least the end will be painless for her, he couldn't help thinking. She will still be asleep when they come for her.

"Artemis!"

This time, Butler's voice managed to cut through his young charge's despair. The boy turned to his manservant, his eyes wide and pleading. For perhaps the first time, the mask of icy composure that he always wore was completely gone. In its place was only fear.

"Artemis? What is it?"

Artemis tried to pull himself together, but he couldn't. The enormity of the situation was too much to contain.

"They're coming," he finally managed. "The formers."

Butler's eyes hardened. "We have to leave, now."

Artemis shook his head. "No, old friend. We're in a time-stop. There is no way out."

Butler frowned, trying to see what he was missing. "But we escaped before, didn't we? Why can't we do it again?"

Artemis smiled. "You're right; we could drug ourselves and escape the time-stop. We would be transported back into the present, unconscious. However, Opal would simply wait until the time-stop breaks down and waltz in here to kill us while we sleep. The only thing that stopped the LEP doing exactly that was the Book. Somehow, I don't think Opal will care for such things."

"So we have to fight?"

Artemis didn't reply. The hopelessness was returning to his eyes.

"Artemis, snap out of it! We need a plan, or your family will die."

The boy took a breath and pulled himself together. He nodded. "You're right," he said. "I can't fall apart; I need to be strong."

"Exactly. Now, what do we do?"

Artemis considered it. "With Holly unconscious, you and Juliet are the only fighters we have. We should move my family in here with Holly and I'll seal them in; it won't hold Opal for long, but it should at least keep them safe from the formers. I doubt they'll bother trying too hard to get in while there are still victims alive in the rest of the house. I assume the armoury is still well-stocked?"

Butler nodded. "Naturally."

"Excellent. Our entire objective is to buy as much time as possible – if we can outlast the time-field, we have a good chance to survive. I doubt the time-stop will have gone unnoticed by the LEP. In fact, considering that Holly is here, Foaly will probably already be trying to work out a way to assist us. Opal won't dare stick around for long once the time-field collapses."

"How long will that take?"

Artemis shrugged. "Difficult to say. Foaly was able to extend his time-stops for up to eight hours. However, I doubt Opal has had the chance to perfect the technology the same way our horsey friend did, and assuming she charged the batteries herself – I don't see how else she could have done it – they won't have the same potency as if they were charged by experienced warlocks. Opal may be powerful, but in many ways, she's still a novice."

Butler didn't look impressed. "So you have no idea?"

"I didn't say that," Artemis smirked. "If I had to guess, I would estimate that we'll be in Limbo for three, maybe four hours. Not ideal, certainly, but better than eight."

Butler nodded, already running through potential scenarios in his mind. It was conceivable that they might be able to hold off the formers for a few hours.

"Fetch Juliet," Artemis was saying. "Go to the armoury and stock up while you can. Set up Claymores around the perimeter and at any entrances to the manor. Use sniper rifles and mounted machine guns to thin the horde as they approach."

Butler nodded once again - the boy's ideas made perfect sense. But there was one thing he hadn't accounted for.

"What about you?"

Artemis's face was set. "Get me a weapon, something easy to use. I doubt I'll be a huge amount of help, but it's better than nothing."

"Absolutely not," said Butler immediately. "There's no way I'm letting you risk that. Besides, I can hardly focus on keeping them at bay when I'm looking out for you, can I?"

Much to Butler's surprise, Artemis smiled, silently acknowledging the point. "Don't worry about me, old friend. They won't touch me while my family is still alive. We might as well try and take advantage of that."

Butler was far from convinced about this, but in his heart, he didn't think it would matter. Despite what he had said to try and reassure Artemis, he didn't really see a way that they were going to be able to hold the formers off for anywhere near long enough to outlast the time-stop. If they were all going to die tonight, why deny his young charge the chance to die fighting? If it was what he wanted…

A part of Butler knew that his thought process would have had Madame Ko turning in her grave – as a bodyguard, under no circumstances should he be letting his charge actively put himself in danger. But Artemis wasn't the only person in the house he had to worry about, and if the young genius was right that Koboi's forces wouldn't attack him until the others were dead, maybe he could help fend off the horde.

"Very well. I'll get you a weapon, but be careful. Don't you dare get yourself killed again."

Artemis gave a grim smile. "I'm sorry, old friend. If they've been ordered not to attack me, I should be the one being the least careful."

Butler opened his mouth to argue, but Artemis cut across him. "We're running out of time. Just trust me, OK? I'll be fine. Now, go!"

The manservant held his gaze for a full second before turning on his heel to begin preparing for the second siege of Fowl Manor.

Artemis watched him go. His head was a mess of different ideas and emotions, but there was one thought that echoed around more loudly and more incessantly than the others.

I wish I had said goodbye to Holly.

"Artemis, what on Earth are you talking about?"

Artemis sighed in frustration. "Please, Mother, there is no time to explain. We are all in terrible danger. You must come with me."

Angeline, Artemis Sr. and the twins were all gathered in the Fowl Manor entrance hall. None of them looked unduly worried. If anything, they looked more concerned about Artemis Jr.'s state of mind than their own safety.

"From what exactly?" asked Artemis Sr., not bothering to hide his cynicism. "First you show up miraculously alive and disappear off to your lab, then I see Butler carry a heavy machine gun into the house and now you're talking about us being some kind of danger! What is going on here?"

Artemis Jr. ground his teeth. "Do you remember when I arrived this morning?" They nodded. "Do you remember the creature I brought with me?" His parents recoiled visibly at the mention of the former. "I believe I said at the time that it was the danger. Well, hundreds of them are coming here as we speak and they are going to kill us all."

Angeline gasped. Artemis Sr.'s simply stared. The twins exchanged looks of confusion.

"What Artemis talking 'bout?" Beckett asked Myles. But his twin didn't respond; he had understood exactly what Artemis had said. Now, he was looking at his big brother intently, trying to find the lie in his eyes. But it wasn't there.

"W-w-we…" stammered Angeline uncertainly, unused to being the one the firing line during one of her son or husband's schemes. "W-we should get away…"

"We can't!" snapped her son. He stepped forward and grabbed her arm, forcefully steering her to a window. "Look," he instructed, unable to quite keep the desperation out of his voice. "See that blue haze? That's a time-stop, just like the LEP put over us when I kidnapped Holly. Remember me telling you about that? Well, this time, we can't escape it. So please, please listen to me and do what I say."

Artemis Sr., was frowning. "Wait a minute… you kidnapped Holly? Why? When?"

His son's patience finally snapped. "We don't have time for this!" he shouted. He took several deep breaths, and when he spoke again, his voice was soft. "Just come with me. Please."

The short walk to Artemis's lab was passed in shocked silence. When they arrived, Myles and Beckett were immediately fascinated by Holly.

"Artemis, look! A fairy!"

"Wow, a fairy. Look!"

Artemis ignored them. He had too much to deal with right now. Instead, he addressed his parents. "Stay here," was all he could manage. "Don't let them break anything. I'll be back; I promise."

Angeline nodded towards Holly, concern written all over her face. "What's wrong with her?"

Artemis took one look at the elf and felt his composure break. Unbidden, a tear slipped from his eye. Even though she was still unconscious, Holly was shuddering violently, muttering unintelligibly in Gnomish. Even as Artemis watched, a particularly vicious spurt of tremors wracked her body and she cried out in pain. Several blue sparks danced across her forehead before sinking into her skin.

"She's dying," he whispered. "I tried to save her… but I don't think it's going to work. I don't think she's going to make it."

Angeline opened her mouth to offer a few words of comfort to her son, but Artemis had already gone, closing the heavy steel door behind him. A moment later, an automated female voice rang out.

"Lockdown initiated. Laboratory sealed."

On the other side of the door, Butler was waiting for Artemis. He was clad in full body armour and looked like he was carrying enough weaponry to wage a small war.

"Everything is in place, I trust?" the boy asked his bodyguard.

Butler nodded. "Claymores along the main path to the manor, napalm canisters buried in the grounds, and I even took the liberty of rigging up the gate with C4."

Artemis smiled appreciatively. "Good thinking, Butler."

"I must admit," replied the manservant. "I didn't think I would have time to do it all. I expected Opal to be here already."

"I too, old friend. I suppose she wanted us trapped sooner rather than later, but it cannot be easy to manoeuvre such a vast army of mindless savages unseen. I wonder how she is doing it…"

"We can worry about that if we last the night," said Butler. He drew a pistol and a pouch of spare magazines. "Glock 17. I tried to teach you shoot with one of these a few years ago."

Artemis nodded. He remembered. Glocks was common, incredibly effective and relatively easy to shoot. Butler had had a custom trigger installed, telling him that most beginners struggled with the Glock's stock one. Not that it had made a difference – Artemis had still failed miserably to hit the centre of the target.

Butler quickly reminded him how to cock and reload the Glock before reluctantly holding it out to him. "This should have enough stopping power to bring down a former with a few well-placed shots."

Artemis reached out a hand and took the weapon. Whereas the Five-seveN Holly had offered him earlier had seemed oddly sinister, the Glock felt comfortable in his hand. It felt right. He knew that this weapon could end saving the lives of his family, or even his own life.

"What now?"

Butler didn't have to ask what his young charge meant. He hefted the sniper rifle slung over his shoulder. "I'm heading to the upper floors to see how many I can pick off as they approach. Juliet's setting up in the entrance hall, I would go and support her."

Artemis's throat was suddenly dry. The combination of leaving Butler and the gun in his hand was making everything feel even more real than it had a moment ago.

Butler held out a small communicator. "Juliet has one as well. Stay in touch." He smiled. "Good luck, Artemis."

Artemis returned the smile. "And you, old friend."

As promised, Artemis found Juliet in the entrance hall. Just like her brother, she was kitted out in body armour and armed to the teeth. The heavy oaken doors to the hall stood open, and in their place Juliet had built a crude barricade out of furniture. An M249 machine gun was mounted on top, its long belt of brass rounds stretching out over the floor. Right now, Juliet looked to be placing small blocks of C4 plastic explosive to the doorframe.

"Ready for war, I see," Artemis commented drily as he approached her.

Juliet didn't stop what she was doing, but he noticed her narrowing her eyes slightly. "You shouldn't be out here. You should be safely locked in your lab with the others."

Artemis shrugged. "And yet," he said. "Here I am." He nodded towards the explosives rigged up around the Fowl Manor entrance. "So what's the plan down here?"

"I'll try and cut down as many as I can while drawing them towards me. When they get close, we retreat and detonate the explosives. C4 can be shaped to direct the blast; I've aimed most of explosion outside to catch as many formers as possible, but I've pointed a few charges upwards to collapse the entrance. It won't delay them long, but it's better than nothing."

Artemis couldn't help thinking of the first Fowl Manor siege, when the LEP had completely destroyed this very hall by releasing a troll into it. It was probably going to be in even worse condition by the time Juliet had finished with it than it had been then.

"We?" he asked casually.

Juliet finally turned to him, speaking in a tone that brooked no argument. "I don't care what you say about them being ordered not to target you – you aren't leaving my sight till that time-stop collapses. No exceptions."

The communicator Butler had given him suddenly crackled to life before he had a chance to try and argue.

"I have movement on the horizon," said Butler's voice. "We've got company."

Almost unconsciously, Artemis tightened his grip on the Glock in his hand. This was it. They were coming.

And so it begins.

A/N: And so it begins indeed. Next few chapters should be action packed and full of suspense, so at least there's that to look forward. Hopefully it won't take me so long to upload them, although I have quite a few deadlines at the moment, so maybe not. Still, my term is almost over, and when it is, I promise I will be back to updating regularly again! At least, for a month or two.

The continuing support on this story means a huge amount to me, so thank you! As usual, I would love you hear what you thought in a review!

-Kio