Disclamer: I do not own Artemis Fowl, so please don't sue.
I only own Nich and Var, and feel free to use them...
Excavate
By FairyDragonShadow
Chapter 4 - Underground Slum
Down, down, down. And down even more. The stairs seemed to
be never-ending. Using the walls for support, Captain Short
slowly descended, careful to put one foot after another,
since the steps were uneven and unreliable. The dark didn't
help much either. She heard the "clicks" of Artemis' boots,
following her close behind.
The silence scared her, so she decided to bring up the many
questions swimming around her head. "Why is the Earth this
way? Last time, we still had trees and at least grass, but
now...they're just streets and alleys...why?"
There was a pause. Then Artemis spoke, "New government.
Evil. It's dictatorship. There's a group of monarchs,
ruling the whole world. So there's no more countries. You
should have noticed the lacking of people and the natural
activities."
Holly nodded, and remembered it was too dark for him to see
her, so she said, "Yes. Where are all those people?"
"There's special buildings, just buildings, and people live
there. Everything is cramped - no one has their own room.
Hell, there is no room. And it's surrounded by walls. It's
a prison. No one is permitted to go outside. That's why
there were no people. All of them were inside the walls."
"So...why are you here?"
"I'm supposed to be back there, but I escaped. You can
compare it to the Berlin Wall in Germany. The BlueS walk
around, searching for any person. If they do, they know
that you've gotten over the wall somehow. You have to pay a
heavy fine, and you get put back in there."
"Is there enough space? I mean, how can you all fit there?"
"Well...if you're sick for longer than a day, they kill
you. If you've committed a crime, you get killed. If you've
escaped more than...hmm...around three times -"
"You get killed. So have you escaped before? You certainly
have the skill."
Artemis laughed. "I've excavated so many times, I lost
count."
"But you said -"
"Yeah, but they can't kill me. I have the knowledge and the
ability. They've tried to make me a BlueS, but of course,
I'd rather die than wear the suits they have. But, I know
they're going to execute me sooner or later. If someone
becomes too hard to handle...there goes their head."
"You are immpossible, Fowl."
"I know."
Jerkily, Captain Short realized that they were at the end
of the steps. "Okay...now what?"
"What do you think? You have to knock on the door." Artemis
pushed in front of the elf, and knocked the wall.
A slit opened towards the top part of the "door" and peered
at him suspiciously.
"Hey, Nich, man! It's Artemis. Let me in?" Artemis said in
a rather cheerful way.
The dark eyes turned friendly, as if recognizing Fowl. Then
they turned questioning, since they had spotted Captain
Short.
"It's a special guest." Artemis smiled.
The heavy door, with a CLUNCK, opened, and Holly found out
it was heavy-duty steel. It led to a hallway, lit by a dim
lantern. The eyes' owner was a muscular man, on the tall
side. His voice was gruff and low. "Hello Artemis. Got
caught again?"
Fowl smiled. "At least I escaped. Come on, Nich, we're
wasting time."
Nich nodded, and lead them down the corridor. There, he
opened another door with a key, and pushed it open.
"Welcome...to the Underground Slum."
Holly's eyes widened in amazement. It was almost like the
underground home where she lived. But less technological,
and it was in poor shape. All the buildings where no taller
than two stories, and that was thankful, since they looked
like they were going to crumble any second. The roads were
uneven and cracked. Various people were walking up and
down. It was no city, but not a jungle. There wasn't much
light, and everything looked filthy. But it was a town,
nontheless.
"Well, come on in." Artemis walked in. Holly followed.
"This is where you live?"
"Yep. Oh, hey." Fowl smiled and waved at people, and they
did the same.
"I see you're a celebrity around here."
Artemis shrugged, causing his long shotgun to clank. "I'm
well-known."
"So all these people got over the wall?"
"Yeah, with the help of other people. Like the Underground
Railroad. Except...in modern time."
"Are YOU one of those people that lead them here?"
"Well...occasionally. I need to stock up again. All the
BlueS took away my weapons the last time I got caught. Want
to wait or follow?" Artemis stopped, looking at the elf.
"Um...I didn't think I'd ever say this, but...I feel safer
around you now..."
Artemis shrugged, and started walking fast towards a gray
building, labeled, "Weapons".
Soon, they walked in, and Artemis gestured Holly to wait.
Then he walked up to a skinny guy, that seemed the owner of
this shop.
"Hey, Var, I need the usual." Fowl said.
Var nodded, and motioned Artemis to follow him into a room.
Holly took this time to look around. There were guns in
every type possible. From small pistols to rifles to
mortars. It was there. On other sections of the store,
there were other arms. Dynamites, knives, etc.
Captain Short waited patiently for a couple minutes, and
Artemis and Var came back out.
"Thanks, how should I pay you back?" Artemis was asking.
Var shook his head, not saying anything.
Fowl smiled, saluted messily, and turned back to Holly. "A
modest fellow, ain't he?"
"Hmm...your grammer seems to have reduced in the eight
years since we had met."
"As I've said before, things have changed. I had to adapt
with it."
Captain short looked Artemis over and asked, "What DID you
get? I don't see any difference."
"Well...this." Artemis opened one side of his coat, and
besides his normal two-barreled shotgun and auto-gun, there
were: grenades stuck in the inside, ammunition around his
waist, hand gun tucked in beside his hip, and
who-knows-what-else slung over his shoulder.
"Do you actually need all that?" Captain Short asked, after
gaping.
"To free more people, yes."
"What? You just got out of there!"
"Exactly. Now I go back in, take some people, and bring 'em
back here. Then I do it again."
"How long do you exactly think this is going to work?"
"Until we have enough people to break down the wall."
"You're going to get killed, you know that? Stay and let
someone else do it."
Artemis leveled his blue eyes with hers. "Why are you all
of a sudden so caring about me? I'm twenty, for goodness
sakes! I can take care of myself fine. After all, I've done
this countless times before."
Holly just stood there, shocked. Quickly regaining her
compsition, she said firmly, "It'll take the two of us to
save this world. Let me go with you. No, I'm going to go
with you."
Fowl smirked. "No, you're not. You can stay here and rest."
"I'm going, and that's final."
"It's just like one of those movies where a guy's going,
and his girlfriend knows/thinks he's going to get killed,
and suggests to go along..."
"I am NOT your girlfriend! I'm 400 years old! Sheesh!"
"But if you convert your fairy years to human years...you'd
be around...my age."
Holly glared at him. "Just shut up. You know we're far from
liking each other. Ever since you locked me up, I've hated
you. It was only eight years ago, anyways. The stupid
mansion and that gullible girl and her brother, the man
mountain and, oh, where IS your bodyguard anyways?"
Artemis' eyes transformed immediately. They were laughing
and sparkling a second ago, but in the next, they grew
hard and icy.
Holly stopped talking as soon as she saw this. 'He can't
hide his feelings as well now.'
"Just...don't talk about them. Just don't." Fowl's voice
came out harsh, his eyes staring, no, glaring, scowling at
Holly.
Captain Short backed away. He really meant it.
There was a long silence between them.
"We'll start off tomorrow. Let's get some rest." Artemis
said, just audible enough for the elf. The he started to
walk briskly down the street.
'Great. Just when I'm getting friendly with him, and him
getting friendly with me, I blow it off. But what HAD
happened to them?' Captain Short thought as she trailed him
to another building in the Underground Slums.
A/N: Please, people who ever is reading this story, review!
Don't be afraid! Thanks, everyone for reviewing!!!
Anyways, REVIEW!!! Please!!!
-FairyDragonShadow
3/2/2002
I only own Nich and Var, and feel free to use them...
Excavate
By FairyDragonShadow
Chapter 4 - Underground Slum
Down, down, down. And down even more. The stairs seemed to
be never-ending. Using the walls for support, Captain Short
slowly descended, careful to put one foot after another,
since the steps were uneven and unreliable. The dark didn't
help much either. She heard the "clicks" of Artemis' boots,
following her close behind.
The silence scared her, so she decided to bring up the many
questions swimming around her head. "Why is the Earth this
way? Last time, we still had trees and at least grass, but
now...they're just streets and alleys...why?"
There was a pause. Then Artemis spoke, "New government.
Evil. It's dictatorship. There's a group of monarchs,
ruling the whole world. So there's no more countries. You
should have noticed the lacking of people and the natural
activities."
Holly nodded, and remembered it was too dark for him to see
her, so she said, "Yes. Where are all those people?"
"There's special buildings, just buildings, and people live
there. Everything is cramped - no one has their own room.
Hell, there is no room. And it's surrounded by walls. It's
a prison. No one is permitted to go outside. That's why
there were no people. All of them were inside the walls."
"So...why are you here?"
"I'm supposed to be back there, but I escaped. You can
compare it to the Berlin Wall in Germany. The BlueS walk
around, searching for any person. If they do, they know
that you've gotten over the wall somehow. You have to pay a
heavy fine, and you get put back in there."
"Is there enough space? I mean, how can you all fit there?"
"Well...if you're sick for longer than a day, they kill
you. If you've committed a crime, you get killed. If you've
escaped more than...hmm...around three times -"
"You get killed. So have you escaped before? You certainly
have the skill."
Artemis laughed. "I've excavated so many times, I lost
count."
"But you said -"
"Yeah, but they can't kill me. I have the knowledge and the
ability. They've tried to make me a BlueS, but of course,
I'd rather die than wear the suits they have. But, I know
they're going to execute me sooner or later. If someone
becomes too hard to handle...there goes their head."
"You are immpossible, Fowl."
"I know."
Jerkily, Captain Short realized that they were at the end
of the steps. "Okay...now what?"
"What do you think? You have to knock on the door." Artemis
pushed in front of the elf, and knocked the wall.
A slit opened towards the top part of the "door" and peered
at him suspiciously.
"Hey, Nich, man! It's Artemis. Let me in?" Artemis said in
a rather cheerful way.
The dark eyes turned friendly, as if recognizing Fowl. Then
they turned questioning, since they had spotted Captain
Short.
"It's a special guest." Artemis smiled.
The heavy door, with a CLUNCK, opened, and Holly found out
it was heavy-duty steel. It led to a hallway, lit by a dim
lantern. The eyes' owner was a muscular man, on the tall
side. His voice was gruff and low. "Hello Artemis. Got
caught again?"
Fowl smiled. "At least I escaped. Come on, Nich, we're
wasting time."
Nich nodded, and lead them down the corridor. There, he
opened another door with a key, and pushed it open.
"Welcome...to the Underground Slum."
Holly's eyes widened in amazement. It was almost like the
underground home where she lived. But less technological,
and it was in poor shape. All the buildings where no taller
than two stories, and that was thankful, since they looked
like they were going to crumble any second. The roads were
uneven and cracked. Various people were walking up and
down. It was no city, but not a jungle. There wasn't much
light, and everything looked filthy. But it was a town,
nontheless.
"Well, come on in." Artemis walked in. Holly followed.
"This is where you live?"
"Yep. Oh, hey." Fowl smiled and waved at people, and they
did the same.
"I see you're a celebrity around here."
Artemis shrugged, causing his long shotgun to clank. "I'm
well-known."
"So all these people got over the wall?"
"Yeah, with the help of other people. Like the Underground
Railroad. Except...in modern time."
"Are YOU one of those people that lead them here?"
"Well...occasionally. I need to stock up again. All the
BlueS took away my weapons the last time I got caught. Want
to wait or follow?" Artemis stopped, looking at the elf.
"Um...I didn't think I'd ever say this, but...I feel safer
around you now..."
Artemis shrugged, and started walking fast towards a gray
building, labeled, "Weapons".
Soon, they walked in, and Artemis gestured Holly to wait.
Then he walked up to a skinny guy, that seemed the owner of
this shop.
"Hey, Var, I need the usual." Fowl said.
Var nodded, and motioned Artemis to follow him into a room.
Holly took this time to look around. There were guns in
every type possible. From small pistols to rifles to
mortars. It was there. On other sections of the store,
there were other arms. Dynamites, knives, etc.
Captain Short waited patiently for a couple minutes, and
Artemis and Var came back out.
"Thanks, how should I pay you back?" Artemis was asking.
Var shook his head, not saying anything.
Fowl smiled, saluted messily, and turned back to Holly. "A
modest fellow, ain't he?"
"Hmm...your grammer seems to have reduced in the eight
years since we had met."
"As I've said before, things have changed. I had to adapt
with it."
Captain short looked Artemis over and asked, "What DID you
get? I don't see any difference."
"Well...this." Artemis opened one side of his coat, and
besides his normal two-barreled shotgun and auto-gun, there
were: grenades stuck in the inside, ammunition around his
waist, hand gun tucked in beside his hip, and
who-knows-what-else slung over his shoulder.
"Do you actually need all that?" Captain Short asked, after
gaping.
"To free more people, yes."
"What? You just got out of there!"
"Exactly. Now I go back in, take some people, and bring 'em
back here. Then I do it again."
"How long do you exactly think this is going to work?"
"Until we have enough people to break down the wall."
"You're going to get killed, you know that? Stay and let
someone else do it."
Artemis leveled his blue eyes with hers. "Why are you all
of a sudden so caring about me? I'm twenty, for goodness
sakes! I can take care of myself fine. After all, I've done
this countless times before."
Holly just stood there, shocked. Quickly regaining her
compsition, she said firmly, "It'll take the two of us to
save this world. Let me go with you. No, I'm going to go
with you."
Fowl smirked. "No, you're not. You can stay here and rest."
"I'm going, and that's final."
"It's just like one of those movies where a guy's going,
and his girlfriend knows/thinks he's going to get killed,
and suggests to go along..."
"I am NOT your girlfriend! I'm 400 years old! Sheesh!"
"But if you convert your fairy years to human years...you'd
be around...my age."
Holly glared at him. "Just shut up. You know we're far from
liking each other. Ever since you locked me up, I've hated
you. It was only eight years ago, anyways. The stupid
mansion and that gullible girl and her brother, the man
mountain and, oh, where IS your bodyguard anyways?"
Artemis' eyes transformed immediately. They were laughing
and sparkling a second ago, but in the next, they grew
hard and icy.
Holly stopped talking as soon as she saw this. 'He can't
hide his feelings as well now.'
"Just...don't talk about them. Just don't." Fowl's voice
came out harsh, his eyes staring, no, glaring, scowling at
Holly.
Captain Short backed away. He really meant it.
There was a long silence between them.
"We'll start off tomorrow. Let's get some rest." Artemis
said, just audible enough for the elf. The he started to
walk briskly down the street.
'Great. Just when I'm getting friendly with him, and him
getting friendly with me, I blow it off. But what HAD
happened to them?' Captain Short thought as she trailed him
to another building in the Underground Slums.
A/N: Please, people who ever is reading this story, review!
Don't be afraid! Thanks, everyone for reviewing!!!
Anyways, REVIEW!!! Please!!!
-FairyDragonShadow
3/2/2002