A/N: Oooh... I left everyone on a cliffhanger last chapter, heh heh heh...
I am EVIL!!!!!!!!! Muahahahahahahahah!!!!!! Sorry I keep taking such a
long time to update, it is just that I keep getting bigger and more
spectacular ideas for this story. I am almost constantly rewriting the
plot and having to choose which storylines are better. Even though it is
always a long wait for me to come up with the next part of the story, I can
guarantee that the end will be quite worth it. Though, I do believe I have
made a break through. I just saw a movie, called Moulin Rouge, it is an
absolute masterpiece. But, it also inspired me to come up with a
completely new idea, and I do believe it will be the final major idea I
will need to finish the grand ending.
Replies to reviewers:
Liz: *blushing* You actually thought I was Eoin Colfer? Please, you flatter me, I am not Eoin Colfer, for first of all, if you read my bio, I am female. And there are a billion other reasons to why I am not Eoin Colfer too. But I certainly wish that I owned Artemis Fowl... Well, thank you lots for the review! I hope I get more reviews from you that are just as nice, and I am sure that you will be happy with this chapter because this is where the fairies come in! Yay!
Nicole: There is no way that we can know how exactly Artemis would act if he were in love, because we have never seen him in love with anyone before. But there are also other factors to why Artemis clings to Belle like that, these will be revealed later in the story. Artemis is almost sixteen in this story, or you could say he is seven-hundred-thirty-two I won't tell you why I say that, it would ruin the story. Oh, and you think the Russian Mafia kidnapped him? Hardly, I am shooting much higher, and I am not talking Jon Spiro, I'm talking even higher.
Ice Raider: Sorry about how long you always have to wait between updates. But I never like to rush myself, otherwise I'd get these awful half-baked stories.
Spectra16: Yeah, the last chapter was an informative chapter, and this one kind of is too, the action will start soon... I am getting ideas for the next chapter even now... Oh, and will everyone stop complaining about Belle? She is essential to the story! And your picture of her will get clearer as the story goes along, once you see her as I see her you will all understand.
Thank you everyone for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl and Co.
Crouching Secrets, Hidden Memories
Chapter 4: Dreams of Times Long Forgotten
Holly swaggered down the avenue with her LEP helmet tucked under her arm. Fairies of all shapes and sizes bustled past her. Finally she got to the LEP building; as usual the entrance was crammed with people complaining about whatever they felt like complaining about. Holly pushed past them, ignoring their pleads to listen to them. Once inside and safe from the crowd she crept as quietly as she could past Commander Root's office.
"SHORT!!!! Get in here!"
Holly's attempt at stealth was in vain. She sighed and walked into the room. Commander Root was fuming behind his desk, a fungus cigar held in one hand.
"You're late again!"
Holly sighed and scratched one of her pointy ears. "Commander, there was a big crowd and-"
"Don't give me that, Captain!" Commander Root barked, "You are one of my most prized officers, I will not stand to have you coming in late! What message do you think you are giving out to other people if you are late all the time?"
Holly opened her mouth to speak but Commander Root wasn't finished.
"Next time you are late I'll have you demoted back to chute surveillance!"
Holly nodded. She wasn't in any mood to argue. Just then Foaly buzzed the Commander's intercom unit perched on his desk.
"Commander, something suspicious is going on at Fowl Manor. I think it could mean something."
A blood vessel bulged in the Commander's forehead. "Fowl? Again? Why can't that kid get it through that enormous, thick head of his to just leave us alone?!" The Commander pounded a fist on the table.
"Well, I don't know if it is related to us, but I really think you should see this." The plasma screen behind the Commander lit up, Holly and Julius turned to watch.
On the screen the dark form of Artemis Fowl Jr. crept through a garden in the night. He stopped behind a tree and peeked past the trunk at something that Foaly's camera could not see.
Holly's breath caught, she had not seen Artemis for over two years now, and he had certainly grown.
Then a black clothed figure crept up behind him, he did not notice it. Holly saw the flash of a silver knife and Artemis was trapped in the stranger's grasp. Artemis struggled for a moment, and then his body went limp.
Holly's eyes widened. Was Artemis dead? Had this stranger in the night killed him with the knife? Maybe he was still alive, she had not seen any blood.
"Here is the interesting part." Foaly said over the intercom.
The person holding Artemis wrapped him in its long black cloak, waved its arm, and disappeared.
A lead ball dropped into Holly's stomach, there was no sign of Artemis, or his kidnapper.
The Commander blinked at the screen. "What just happened? Where did they go?"
The picture of the garden was replaced by Foaly's face. "I don't know, they must be shielded or something. But when I stopped the camera right after they disappeared, they still weren't there. I even went through every single frame, they aren't there!"
Commander Root snarled, "Are you telling me they just disappeared? Right then and there? Like magic?"
Foaly shrugged on the screen, "I don't know, but I think this subject needs a bit of exploration."
The Commander ground his cigar into the already full ash tray. "Why would it need 'exploration'? What does this have to do with us?"
"Well, first of all, it could have been a fairy, and we will have to track down this fairy. Second of all, it could mean that somebody knows how to fool my technology. If that is true then we will have to figure out how, because then this somebody could mean big trouble to the LEP and the rest of the world. Especially if they have a hostile attitude."
"But then what would they want with Artemis?" Holly inquired.
Foaly scratched the back of his neck. "Probably they want to use him for ransom or something."
"But they aren't going to hurt him, right?"
Foaly laughed, "You don't still think of that viper as a friend do you?"
Holly's heart throbbed angrily. "No, I was just... worried. He is only- what?- fifteen now?"
Foaly shrugged, he didn't believe her. Then he turned to the Commander. "Anyway, Julius. It is important that we check this out before it gets out of hand. We need to send an officer in."
"I told you not to call me Julius!" The Commander said through gritted teeth.
Foaly held up his hairy hands mock apologetically. "Sorry, your worshipness. It will never happen again, Julius."
Commander Root snarled. "Alright then, I suppose I am forced to send in Holly for this job."
"Yep, have her at the Ops booth in five." Then the screen went blank.
The Commander swiveled in his chair to face Holly, his face the trademark hue of magenta. "Well, what are you waiting for?! Go!"
Holly nodded, "Yes, sir." and left the office in the direction of the Ops booth.
~*~
Butler sprinted down the corridor, sweat trickled down his face and neck. Artemis had suddenly disappeared from the monitors into a blind spot of the outside security cameras, which he would have to fix later. After Artemis had not reappeared for quite some time Butler had decided to investigate. Searching the entire garden, in every bush, behind every tree, and around every fountain, Artemis was nowhere to be found. According to the security cameras Artemis was not in the Manor either, and he knew there were no blind spots for the inside cameras. Despite Butler's increasing fatigue from all the running, he knew something was amiss. His soldier's sense was screaming at him from the back of his head like a tone deaf opera singer.
He rounded a corner and ran into Belle, whom he grabbed by the shoulders and started to yell at desperately. "Have you seen Artemis anywhere? He has disappeared, I can't find him!"
Startled, Belle struggled from his grip. "What do you mean Artemis disappeared?"
"He's gone! He went into a blind spot from the security cameras in the garden, and he didn't come out again. So I went to look for him, and he wasn't there!" Butler hoped anxiously that Belle knew where Artemis was.
Belle looked at the muscular man towering above her in shock. "So you mean you don't know where he is? You've lost him?!"
Butler rubbed his temples, his hopes gone. Belle didn't know where he was either.
Great worry creased the girl's face. "There is no telling where he could be! He could get himself into all sorts of trouble with all his memory gone!" Belle paused, horror filling her eyes. "He could be anywhere, anything could happen to him! He could be hurt! He could be in the Sahara desert, or in China, or at the San Diego Zoo!"
Butler blinked. "How could he possibly have gotten to those places?"
The blonde shrugged. "I dunno, but I have learned over time that Artemis can be very unpredictable. He works in mysterious ways, and he has more resources than you may think."
The bodyguard scratched his head. "Uh... Belle, maybe you should go get some shut eye, I'll find Artemis."
Belle glared at him indignantly. "No. I'm going to help find Artemis. There is now way you can stop me."
Butler opened his mouth to argue, but feminine voice from the shadows startled him, and also happened to spark a memory that with it came a name, and that name was Holly.
~*~
Holly fluttered through the dark hallways of Fowl Manor unseen to the eyes of the cameras or the eyes of the two Mud Men in the hallway behind her shield. After finding no clues to the disappearance of Artemis Fowl in the garden, Holly had been told by a frantic Foaly to ask the other inhabitants of Fowl Manor for any knowledge they might have of the mystery. Of course, in this case 'ask' meant mesmerize, even though Butler would most likely recognize her, and the new member of the Fowl residence Belle Sampson would be meeting the fairies for the first time, under the mesmer both would give all information they had and wake up in a couple of hours with no memory of her, thanks to the handy little mind wipe unit strapped to her belt.
She positioned herself in a shadowy corner and took out her gun. She unshielded, startling the two arguing Mud Men. "Hello there, now look at me!" The humans turned to look at her, unwittingly making eye contact with her. "Now, tell me everything you know about Artemis Fowl Junior's recent disappearance." Her voice was layered heavily with the mesmer. The girl went under easily, but the strong-minded Butler needed a bit more persuading.
Butler resisted the mesmer, just like the first time Holly had tried. All of a sudden he was remembering things, kidnapping Captain Holly Short of the LEP, saving the fairy world from Opal Koboi and Briar Cudgeon, and getting shot in a restaurant by Arno Blunt. His head throbbed painfully as he suddenly remembered all the adventures he had had with the fairies.
Beside him Belle started to babble in accordance to Holly's command. "Arty went bye-bye a long time ago... yeah, and ever since that crash he hasn't come back. Well, it was like his head had gone somewhere else... maybe he is in the Sahara, or China, or Yugoslavia..."
Holly glanced distractedly at Belle, confused with what she was saying, having no knowledge of the car crash.
With Holly's eye contact with Butler broken it gave him just enough time to remember something. The mesmer could not penetrate reflective surfaces. By chance he had decided to do some weeding in the garden earlier that day, and since it had been a particularly sunny July day he had decided to wear a pair of mirrored sunglasses, which he had only just remembered his original cause for buying them, and they were still concealed in one of his shirt pockets. Before Holly could realize what he was doing Butler had snapped out the glasses and placed them over his eyes, shielding him from any future attempts of the mesmer by Holly.
The fairy captain turned back to Butler, startled by his sudden flash of motion. She gasped as she realized what had happened, the Commander wouldn't be happy about this.
"Captain Short, long time, no see." Butler's face stretched in a smile, Holly wasn't sure if it was of relief or menace.
She replied, picking her words carefully. "Yes, Butler. It has been a long time, it seems that you have been quicker to remember than I thought."
Butler nodded, his smile disappeared. "Hmm, I see that you fairies have not quit surveillance of Fowl Manor."
Belle was silent beside Butler, her eyes crossed with a silly smile on her face. "You can never be too careful." Holly said.
Butler nodded again, his expression now spoke of serious business. "It seems you already know that Artemis has disappeared. Tell me what you know."
"I can't tell you that, Butler. This is strictly LEP business, I can no longer allow Mud Men to get involved with my missions. The People will take care of this."
"So you expect me to just sit around doing absolutely nothing, waiting for you to bring Artemis back to me?"
Holly thought she could detect a threat in his voice. "No, Butler. I know that is not how you work. You will try to help Artemis yourself, but I cannot help you."
Butler was quiet for a moment. "I have to help him, Holly. Anything could be happening to him, he could be anywhere. What must I do to get to at least tell me what you know?"
Holly thought for a trice. "If I tell you everything I know, will you tell me what you know?"
Butler shrugged. "There I cannot help you. I know absolutely nothing of how he disappeared, he was in a camera blind spot."
Holly looked at the mesmerized Belle. "Then what of this crash she told me about?"
The massive bodyguard nodded. "There I can help you. Six weeks ago Artemis, Mr. and Mrs. Fowl, and Belle were caught in a car crash. The chauffeur was supposedly drunk, the same with the truck driver that hit them. Mr. and Mrs. Fowl are still in a coma. Artemis suffered from amnesia, he hasn't remembered a single thing ever since the crash. I guess that is what Belle meant, he hasn't been the same since that car crash."
The fairy officer frowned, "I knew nothing of this crash. Hmm... Okay, we had a deal, I guess I have to hold up my part of the bargain." She looked at Butler, ready to start her story. "Foaly was watching the cameras that were monitoring Fowl Manor when he disappeared. Luckily, our camera caught sight of the entire scene. An unidentified being kidnapped him, he was clothed in a black cloak, and had a knife."
"Did he hurt Artemis?" Butler looked worried.
Captain Short shook her head. "We couldn't see anything, they were turned away from the camera. But when they left Artemis was unconscious."
Butler frowned. "Go on. What happened next?"
Holly bit her lip. "They disappeared."
"Shielded?"
Holly shrugged. "Dunno. I don't think it was shielding though, when the camera was frozen nothing showed up."
"Nothing? Nothing at all?"
Holly nodded.
Butler's frown deepened. "So that is all?"
Holly nodded again. "Yeah. So if you don't know anything, then that is all we got."
"Then how are we going to find Artemis?"
Holly shrugged. "I guess we will have to wait for a ransom note or something. Foaly has already tried everything he can. There is absolutely no trace of them."
Butler's face was filled with worry. "Something tells me that an adventure is about to begin. And I'm not going to enjoy it."
~*~
Artemis groaned, he had an awful headache, and his neck was horribly sore. Without opening his eyes he tried to collect his senses. He could remember being grabbed in the dark, and then growing sleepy. Artemis peeped one eye open, and then closed it again, not believing what he saw. He had expected a cold, damp cell, but what he saw was just the opposite. He opened both eyes this time, and saw that his eyes were not tricking him.
He sat up in the soft feather down bed, its silken crimson sheets and silvery top quilt warmed his body. The four walls of a beautifully decorated room surrounded him. Furniture, fantastically carved of a strange silvery wood, creatures and scenes of a mystical beauty seemed to come alive in the carvings and the tapestries that hung on the walls. A sculpture of a horrible rearing dragon out of some odd black metal and rubies set in its face in place of eyes perched on a ledge above a great fireplace, the hearth was blazing with a lively fire. But the fire spurted arms of bluish flame, no sign of any shade of red, and the blaze appeared to need no wood to live, for no wood could Artemis see.
The luscious, patterned carpet gently cradled his bare feet as he stepped out of the warm bed to inspect his new surroundings. Artemis realized then, that this room did not seem new to him at all, it seemed strangely familiar. Maybe, before he had lost his memory, he had been here before? This bedroom chamber was fit for a king, but there were two things missing: windows, and doors. Artemis accepted this revelation with a strange calmness, it all seemed completely normal. He was sure that he had been here before. But when?
He walked across the room, feeling almost at home, if it wasn't for the strange emotion that was swelling in his chest, from his very heart. He recognized this feeling as that of foreboding. Something from inside him was telling him that this was not a good place, though why such a beautiful room was evil he did not know.
Artemis came to a standing mirror, its frame carved with the shapes of mythical creatures like unicorns, dragons, and giant wolves. The pale boy looked at his reflection, startled to find that he found no surprise in what he saw. He was dressed in the strangest costume he had ever seen. Around his head was a headdress, it reminded him vaguely of fox ears, and around his lower body a garment of a skirt-like shape clothed his body, behind him the long tail of his outfit swept down to the floor, but the front was shorter, reaching just past his knees. Over his chest and around his shoulders a strange silvery garment hung. Just like the rest of the costume everything was made of a silvery metal and glittering diamonds and odd dark jewels. In the middle of the chest piece was a large black crystal, it was the largest stone of the costume, and it caught Artemis's attention. It seemed special in a way, like he remembered it differently.
***
He smiled at the crowd before him, hundreds of thousands of creatures of all kinds, cheering. He was dressed in the crystal outfit, but the diamonds glittered more brightly, the dark jewels were no longer black, but a deep, deep blue that matched his eyes. Everything was as it should be, the entire scene seemed completely right. He had his people, and his beautiful queen standing beside him on the balcony overlooking the great crystalline city. On his other side was his faithful servant and bodyguard. He was happy, everything was in the right place.
***
Artemis came back to reality with a start. Had that been a memory? He was excited, he was starting to remember things. But what had that memory been about? Had he been a king once some time? The memory had been hazy and short, maybe he had misread it.
Artemis twirled around, watching his reflection in the mirror. The costume glittered dully, unlike in his memory when it had seemed to shine with light of its own. There wasn't a speck of cloth on him, it was all made of a strange silvery metal. But the material did not clink and jingle when he moved, and it felt strangely soft and flexible. The outfit was not heavy, in fact Artemis felt like he was a feather on the wind when he leaped and twirled around in front of the mirror. He studied his mirrored self, marveling at the strangeness and yet the familiarity he felt for the outfit.
Artemis frowned, in the reflection upon his neck he a blistering burn. This he realized was the reason why his neck was so sore. He touched it tentatively, he could remember a knife being pressed against his neck, and feeling his neck burn where the blade touched. Artemis retracted his hand, the feeling of foreboding and danger in his chest was stronger now that he remembered he had been taken here by force.
Artemis swallowed, for the first time feeling uneasy about there not being any windows or doors. Then he wondered, how did one get in or out? The chimney, his mind answered. He turned away from the mirror to the fireplace, the eerie blue fire was still bright. He walked to the hearth, kneeling down in front of it. Artemis realized that the fire produced no heat, only light; it was then that he noticed how cold he was. Artemis took an iron poker from its holder beside the fireplace and poked it at the seemingly burning logs. Blue sparks dispersed into the air, waiting a moment until fading into nothing. After a couple of minutes Artemis pulled the poker out, he carefully felt the tip of the poker where the flame had touched. It was not hot, it wasn't even warm. Artemis frowned and his eyebrows pulled down into a puzzled expression. He replaced the poker it its holder and then stuck his own hand into the flame. His skin did not burn, the fire gave no warm. Instead his entire hand tickled wherever the flame touched, like there was no fire there, but just a cool breeze against his hand.
Artemis retracted his hand from the hearth. Now that he had determined that the fire was not dangerous in any way Artemis poked his head into the fireplace in search of the way out. He looked up, expecting to see the sky at the top of the chimney. But what he found disappointed him, a dark silvery grate blocked the way to what looked like a starry night sky at the top of the chimney. Seeing the sky suddenly filled him with a great need to be free of this mysterious room, as if a spell over him had been broken. Artemis pushed at the grate, hoping it would give so he could climb up the chimney. But the moment he touched the silvery metal his hands started to burn and blister. Artemis cried out, the pain spreading up his arms. He suddenly felt very dizzy and sleepy, vaguely he recognized that the grate was made of the same metal as the knife that had burned him the night before. Then he dropped off into unconsciousness.
***
Artemis was dreaming. He was dreaming of a time that he did not remember. These dreams were vague and hazy, but his memory was fitting them together piece by piece. He dreamed of people, places, creatures, and languages that he had thought had not existed. He dreamed of mythical creatures, fairies, centaurs, water and wood and prairie nymphs, unicorns, dwarves, elves, giants, dragons, and anything else that was ever in a fairy tale and more. He dreamed of magic, and strange mystical arts and literatures that had some thing to do with it. He remembered learning countless spells, charms, curses, and wardings. He also remembered strange languages that he had not known existed. Then he remembered the school from which he had learned all these things...
"Now everyone, please open your astronomy books to page seventy- three?" These words came from a teacher standing in front of the room. Her graying hair tied up into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and her purple robe cloaking her aging body, Mrs. Ugresfaar held an authority of a gentle kind, but nothing escaped the nanny's intense blue eyes, so misbehavior always brought punishment to even the sneakiest of the students. The students included the seven-year-old Artemis, whom sat in the middle of the first row, with his black robe and the silver circlet around his head he held the air of royalty about him. On one side of him was Mika the prairie nymph, and on the other side was Katherine, her eyes fixed fondly on the prince beside her. In the row behind, was Nuru the wood nymph, the brother of Mika, and Nolee the elf. In the last row was Kyle the mischievous sprite, and Joel the forgetful centaur, both of which were in time out, as they usually were.
Mrs. Ugresfaar continued, "Today's lesson will be on how to listen to the stars. Not all of you will be able to master this skill, as you should know by now goes with all lessons that I give you, but this skill, though difficult to learn, is very useful. Just as I have recently taught you how to listen to trees, plants, wind, water, and the earth, you can learn many things from stars. You could learn news of distant lands or worlds, or if you truly master this skill then you can draw magic from the stars. Any questions?"
Nolee's hand went up. But before the teacher could ask her to state her question the image of the wizardry classroom faded away and was replaced with a new one.
Water trickled in a stream nearby, the scent of flowers filled the air. Artemis was in the castle garden, with the one whom he expected to become his queen some day. Katherine sat beside him on the bench, speaking softly in his ear, what she said he could not remember, but the feeling of it all soothed his mind and warmed his heart.
He put his arm around her shoulders and leaned in toward her face. But before their lips touched the memory faded and another began.
Artemis was on his way to his crowning ceremony, in only a couple of hours he would be crowned King of the great country that had been passed down through his family for centuries. But it was not a happy day. He was much too young to be King, his parents had been murdered by some evil force which he could not quite remember, and now since his country was in desperate need of a King to defend it in the wars that were breaking out everywhere he was forced to choose a queen. He had decided on Katherine of course. But he was very worried about her, he was forcing her into a great responsibility, and he wasn't sure if she would accept or not, despite how many times she had said she wanted to be with him forever more.
Artemis had come to the great hall where the ceremony would take place. His faithful manservant, Roiben, opened the enormous carved doors for him. Trumpets sounded as he entered the hall and stepped onto the long decorated rug that ran the length of the isle up to the pedestal where his fox-ear crown, jeweled spear-like staff and- he was relieved to see- his queen waited.
Then the dream faded, to be replaced by a new one, but in truth this one could be described as a nightmare.
Zephyrs brought the scent of flowers to the young royal couple on the balcony from the garden below. King Artemis gently brushed his hand through his queen's blonde hair. Katherine whispered something in his ear. All was calm and beautiful, and the two teenage lovers were oblivious to the warning calls of the trees, earth, flowers, and water from the garden below. Nor did they hear the soft voice of the wind that was swirling around them, or the wise voice of the stars. The elements were trying to warn them of something, and that something was now a dark shadow in the sky. It swooped down towards the balcony...
All after that Artemis only remembered darkness, blood, pain, and grief. For this creature that attacked in the night was the evil that had killed his parents. Now it was back for him and Katherine...
The last image of the nightmare flashed through Artemis's mind. He was held aloft in the evil dragon creature's claws, being carried away into the night. Below him he glimpsed the crumbled balcony, and below that in the garden amongst the shattered remains of the balcony was Katherine, her chest cleaved open and her blood spilled over the springy grass of the garden, her eyes stared up at the sky, lifeless.
"... Belle..." He mouthed, tears streaming down his cheeks and his heart filled with uttermost grief.
Then everything faded into blackness. And Artemis slept restlessly, not knowing that he was being watched by the ruby red eyes of his captor.
~*~
A/N: Oooohh... a bit of a cliffy there! Heh heh heh... This may be a bit confusing. This story is supposed to be a bit mysterious and everything will piece together as the story goes along, just like a jigsaw puzzle! I like puzzles... specially the really complex ones, so just think of it this way, this is a really complex puzzle and I just haven't given you all the pieces yet! Review please!!!
Replies to reviewers:
Liz: *blushing* You actually thought I was Eoin Colfer? Please, you flatter me, I am not Eoin Colfer, for first of all, if you read my bio, I am female. And there are a billion other reasons to why I am not Eoin Colfer too. But I certainly wish that I owned Artemis Fowl... Well, thank you lots for the review! I hope I get more reviews from you that are just as nice, and I am sure that you will be happy with this chapter because this is where the fairies come in! Yay!
Nicole: There is no way that we can know how exactly Artemis would act if he were in love, because we have never seen him in love with anyone before. But there are also other factors to why Artemis clings to Belle like that, these will be revealed later in the story. Artemis is almost sixteen in this story, or you could say he is seven-hundred-thirty-two I won't tell you why I say that, it would ruin the story. Oh, and you think the Russian Mafia kidnapped him? Hardly, I am shooting much higher, and I am not talking Jon Spiro, I'm talking even higher.
Ice Raider: Sorry about how long you always have to wait between updates. But I never like to rush myself, otherwise I'd get these awful half-baked stories.
Spectra16: Yeah, the last chapter was an informative chapter, and this one kind of is too, the action will start soon... I am getting ideas for the next chapter even now... Oh, and will everyone stop complaining about Belle? She is essential to the story! And your picture of her will get clearer as the story goes along, once you see her as I see her you will all understand.
Thank you everyone for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl and Co.
Crouching Secrets, Hidden Memories
Chapter 4: Dreams of Times Long Forgotten
Holly swaggered down the avenue with her LEP helmet tucked under her arm. Fairies of all shapes and sizes bustled past her. Finally she got to the LEP building; as usual the entrance was crammed with people complaining about whatever they felt like complaining about. Holly pushed past them, ignoring their pleads to listen to them. Once inside and safe from the crowd she crept as quietly as she could past Commander Root's office.
"SHORT!!!! Get in here!"
Holly's attempt at stealth was in vain. She sighed and walked into the room. Commander Root was fuming behind his desk, a fungus cigar held in one hand.
"You're late again!"
Holly sighed and scratched one of her pointy ears. "Commander, there was a big crowd and-"
"Don't give me that, Captain!" Commander Root barked, "You are one of my most prized officers, I will not stand to have you coming in late! What message do you think you are giving out to other people if you are late all the time?"
Holly opened her mouth to speak but Commander Root wasn't finished.
"Next time you are late I'll have you demoted back to chute surveillance!"
Holly nodded. She wasn't in any mood to argue. Just then Foaly buzzed the Commander's intercom unit perched on his desk.
"Commander, something suspicious is going on at Fowl Manor. I think it could mean something."
A blood vessel bulged in the Commander's forehead. "Fowl? Again? Why can't that kid get it through that enormous, thick head of his to just leave us alone?!" The Commander pounded a fist on the table.
"Well, I don't know if it is related to us, but I really think you should see this." The plasma screen behind the Commander lit up, Holly and Julius turned to watch.
On the screen the dark form of Artemis Fowl Jr. crept through a garden in the night. He stopped behind a tree and peeked past the trunk at something that Foaly's camera could not see.
Holly's breath caught, she had not seen Artemis for over two years now, and he had certainly grown.
Then a black clothed figure crept up behind him, he did not notice it. Holly saw the flash of a silver knife and Artemis was trapped in the stranger's grasp. Artemis struggled for a moment, and then his body went limp.
Holly's eyes widened. Was Artemis dead? Had this stranger in the night killed him with the knife? Maybe he was still alive, she had not seen any blood.
"Here is the interesting part." Foaly said over the intercom.
The person holding Artemis wrapped him in its long black cloak, waved its arm, and disappeared.
A lead ball dropped into Holly's stomach, there was no sign of Artemis, or his kidnapper.
The Commander blinked at the screen. "What just happened? Where did they go?"
The picture of the garden was replaced by Foaly's face. "I don't know, they must be shielded or something. But when I stopped the camera right after they disappeared, they still weren't there. I even went through every single frame, they aren't there!"
Commander Root snarled, "Are you telling me they just disappeared? Right then and there? Like magic?"
Foaly shrugged on the screen, "I don't know, but I think this subject needs a bit of exploration."
The Commander ground his cigar into the already full ash tray. "Why would it need 'exploration'? What does this have to do with us?"
"Well, first of all, it could have been a fairy, and we will have to track down this fairy. Second of all, it could mean that somebody knows how to fool my technology. If that is true then we will have to figure out how, because then this somebody could mean big trouble to the LEP and the rest of the world. Especially if they have a hostile attitude."
"But then what would they want with Artemis?" Holly inquired.
Foaly scratched the back of his neck. "Probably they want to use him for ransom or something."
"But they aren't going to hurt him, right?"
Foaly laughed, "You don't still think of that viper as a friend do you?"
Holly's heart throbbed angrily. "No, I was just... worried. He is only- what?- fifteen now?"
Foaly shrugged, he didn't believe her. Then he turned to the Commander. "Anyway, Julius. It is important that we check this out before it gets out of hand. We need to send an officer in."
"I told you not to call me Julius!" The Commander said through gritted teeth.
Foaly held up his hairy hands mock apologetically. "Sorry, your worshipness. It will never happen again, Julius."
Commander Root snarled. "Alright then, I suppose I am forced to send in Holly for this job."
"Yep, have her at the Ops booth in five." Then the screen went blank.
The Commander swiveled in his chair to face Holly, his face the trademark hue of magenta. "Well, what are you waiting for?! Go!"
Holly nodded, "Yes, sir." and left the office in the direction of the Ops booth.
~*~
Butler sprinted down the corridor, sweat trickled down his face and neck. Artemis had suddenly disappeared from the monitors into a blind spot of the outside security cameras, which he would have to fix later. After Artemis had not reappeared for quite some time Butler had decided to investigate. Searching the entire garden, in every bush, behind every tree, and around every fountain, Artemis was nowhere to be found. According to the security cameras Artemis was not in the Manor either, and he knew there were no blind spots for the inside cameras. Despite Butler's increasing fatigue from all the running, he knew something was amiss. His soldier's sense was screaming at him from the back of his head like a tone deaf opera singer.
He rounded a corner and ran into Belle, whom he grabbed by the shoulders and started to yell at desperately. "Have you seen Artemis anywhere? He has disappeared, I can't find him!"
Startled, Belle struggled from his grip. "What do you mean Artemis disappeared?"
"He's gone! He went into a blind spot from the security cameras in the garden, and he didn't come out again. So I went to look for him, and he wasn't there!" Butler hoped anxiously that Belle knew where Artemis was.
Belle looked at the muscular man towering above her in shock. "So you mean you don't know where he is? You've lost him?!"
Butler rubbed his temples, his hopes gone. Belle didn't know where he was either.
Great worry creased the girl's face. "There is no telling where he could be! He could get himself into all sorts of trouble with all his memory gone!" Belle paused, horror filling her eyes. "He could be anywhere, anything could happen to him! He could be hurt! He could be in the Sahara desert, or in China, or at the San Diego Zoo!"
Butler blinked. "How could he possibly have gotten to those places?"
The blonde shrugged. "I dunno, but I have learned over time that Artemis can be very unpredictable. He works in mysterious ways, and he has more resources than you may think."
The bodyguard scratched his head. "Uh... Belle, maybe you should go get some shut eye, I'll find Artemis."
Belle glared at him indignantly. "No. I'm going to help find Artemis. There is now way you can stop me."
Butler opened his mouth to argue, but feminine voice from the shadows startled him, and also happened to spark a memory that with it came a name, and that name was Holly.
~*~
Holly fluttered through the dark hallways of Fowl Manor unseen to the eyes of the cameras or the eyes of the two Mud Men in the hallway behind her shield. After finding no clues to the disappearance of Artemis Fowl in the garden, Holly had been told by a frantic Foaly to ask the other inhabitants of Fowl Manor for any knowledge they might have of the mystery. Of course, in this case 'ask' meant mesmerize, even though Butler would most likely recognize her, and the new member of the Fowl residence Belle Sampson would be meeting the fairies for the first time, under the mesmer both would give all information they had and wake up in a couple of hours with no memory of her, thanks to the handy little mind wipe unit strapped to her belt.
She positioned herself in a shadowy corner and took out her gun. She unshielded, startling the two arguing Mud Men. "Hello there, now look at me!" The humans turned to look at her, unwittingly making eye contact with her. "Now, tell me everything you know about Artemis Fowl Junior's recent disappearance." Her voice was layered heavily with the mesmer. The girl went under easily, but the strong-minded Butler needed a bit more persuading.
Butler resisted the mesmer, just like the first time Holly had tried. All of a sudden he was remembering things, kidnapping Captain Holly Short of the LEP, saving the fairy world from Opal Koboi and Briar Cudgeon, and getting shot in a restaurant by Arno Blunt. His head throbbed painfully as he suddenly remembered all the adventures he had had with the fairies.
Beside him Belle started to babble in accordance to Holly's command. "Arty went bye-bye a long time ago... yeah, and ever since that crash he hasn't come back. Well, it was like his head had gone somewhere else... maybe he is in the Sahara, or China, or Yugoslavia..."
Holly glanced distractedly at Belle, confused with what she was saying, having no knowledge of the car crash.
With Holly's eye contact with Butler broken it gave him just enough time to remember something. The mesmer could not penetrate reflective surfaces. By chance he had decided to do some weeding in the garden earlier that day, and since it had been a particularly sunny July day he had decided to wear a pair of mirrored sunglasses, which he had only just remembered his original cause for buying them, and they were still concealed in one of his shirt pockets. Before Holly could realize what he was doing Butler had snapped out the glasses and placed them over his eyes, shielding him from any future attempts of the mesmer by Holly.
The fairy captain turned back to Butler, startled by his sudden flash of motion. She gasped as she realized what had happened, the Commander wouldn't be happy about this.
"Captain Short, long time, no see." Butler's face stretched in a smile, Holly wasn't sure if it was of relief or menace.
She replied, picking her words carefully. "Yes, Butler. It has been a long time, it seems that you have been quicker to remember than I thought."
Butler nodded, his smile disappeared. "Hmm, I see that you fairies have not quit surveillance of Fowl Manor."
Belle was silent beside Butler, her eyes crossed with a silly smile on her face. "You can never be too careful." Holly said.
Butler nodded again, his expression now spoke of serious business. "It seems you already know that Artemis has disappeared. Tell me what you know."
"I can't tell you that, Butler. This is strictly LEP business, I can no longer allow Mud Men to get involved with my missions. The People will take care of this."
"So you expect me to just sit around doing absolutely nothing, waiting for you to bring Artemis back to me?"
Holly thought she could detect a threat in his voice. "No, Butler. I know that is not how you work. You will try to help Artemis yourself, but I cannot help you."
Butler was quiet for a moment. "I have to help him, Holly. Anything could be happening to him, he could be anywhere. What must I do to get to at least tell me what you know?"
Holly thought for a trice. "If I tell you everything I know, will you tell me what you know?"
Butler shrugged. "There I cannot help you. I know absolutely nothing of how he disappeared, he was in a camera blind spot."
Holly looked at the mesmerized Belle. "Then what of this crash she told me about?"
The massive bodyguard nodded. "There I can help you. Six weeks ago Artemis, Mr. and Mrs. Fowl, and Belle were caught in a car crash. The chauffeur was supposedly drunk, the same with the truck driver that hit them. Mr. and Mrs. Fowl are still in a coma. Artemis suffered from amnesia, he hasn't remembered a single thing ever since the crash. I guess that is what Belle meant, he hasn't been the same since that car crash."
The fairy officer frowned, "I knew nothing of this crash. Hmm... Okay, we had a deal, I guess I have to hold up my part of the bargain." She looked at Butler, ready to start her story. "Foaly was watching the cameras that were monitoring Fowl Manor when he disappeared. Luckily, our camera caught sight of the entire scene. An unidentified being kidnapped him, he was clothed in a black cloak, and had a knife."
"Did he hurt Artemis?" Butler looked worried.
Captain Short shook her head. "We couldn't see anything, they were turned away from the camera. But when they left Artemis was unconscious."
Butler frowned. "Go on. What happened next?"
Holly bit her lip. "They disappeared."
"Shielded?"
Holly shrugged. "Dunno. I don't think it was shielding though, when the camera was frozen nothing showed up."
"Nothing? Nothing at all?"
Holly nodded.
Butler's frown deepened. "So that is all?"
Holly nodded again. "Yeah. So if you don't know anything, then that is all we got."
"Then how are we going to find Artemis?"
Holly shrugged. "I guess we will have to wait for a ransom note or something. Foaly has already tried everything he can. There is absolutely no trace of them."
Butler's face was filled with worry. "Something tells me that an adventure is about to begin. And I'm not going to enjoy it."
~*~
Artemis groaned, he had an awful headache, and his neck was horribly sore. Without opening his eyes he tried to collect his senses. He could remember being grabbed in the dark, and then growing sleepy. Artemis peeped one eye open, and then closed it again, not believing what he saw. He had expected a cold, damp cell, but what he saw was just the opposite. He opened both eyes this time, and saw that his eyes were not tricking him.
He sat up in the soft feather down bed, its silken crimson sheets and silvery top quilt warmed his body. The four walls of a beautifully decorated room surrounded him. Furniture, fantastically carved of a strange silvery wood, creatures and scenes of a mystical beauty seemed to come alive in the carvings and the tapestries that hung on the walls. A sculpture of a horrible rearing dragon out of some odd black metal and rubies set in its face in place of eyes perched on a ledge above a great fireplace, the hearth was blazing with a lively fire. But the fire spurted arms of bluish flame, no sign of any shade of red, and the blaze appeared to need no wood to live, for no wood could Artemis see.
The luscious, patterned carpet gently cradled his bare feet as he stepped out of the warm bed to inspect his new surroundings. Artemis realized then, that this room did not seem new to him at all, it seemed strangely familiar. Maybe, before he had lost his memory, he had been here before? This bedroom chamber was fit for a king, but there were two things missing: windows, and doors. Artemis accepted this revelation with a strange calmness, it all seemed completely normal. He was sure that he had been here before. But when?
He walked across the room, feeling almost at home, if it wasn't for the strange emotion that was swelling in his chest, from his very heart. He recognized this feeling as that of foreboding. Something from inside him was telling him that this was not a good place, though why such a beautiful room was evil he did not know.
Artemis came to a standing mirror, its frame carved with the shapes of mythical creatures like unicorns, dragons, and giant wolves. The pale boy looked at his reflection, startled to find that he found no surprise in what he saw. He was dressed in the strangest costume he had ever seen. Around his head was a headdress, it reminded him vaguely of fox ears, and around his lower body a garment of a skirt-like shape clothed his body, behind him the long tail of his outfit swept down to the floor, but the front was shorter, reaching just past his knees. Over his chest and around his shoulders a strange silvery garment hung. Just like the rest of the costume everything was made of a silvery metal and glittering diamonds and odd dark jewels. In the middle of the chest piece was a large black crystal, it was the largest stone of the costume, and it caught Artemis's attention. It seemed special in a way, like he remembered it differently.
***
He smiled at the crowd before him, hundreds of thousands of creatures of all kinds, cheering. He was dressed in the crystal outfit, but the diamonds glittered more brightly, the dark jewels were no longer black, but a deep, deep blue that matched his eyes. Everything was as it should be, the entire scene seemed completely right. He had his people, and his beautiful queen standing beside him on the balcony overlooking the great crystalline city. On his other side was his faithful servant and bodyguard. He was happy, everything was in the right place.
***
Artemis came back to reality with a start. Had that been a memory? He was excited, he was starting to remember things. But what had that memory been about? Had he been a king once some time? The memory had been hazy and short, maybe he had misread it.
Artemis twirled around, watching his reflection in the mirror. The costume glittered dully, unlike in his memory when it had seemed to shine with light of its own. There wasn't a speck of cloth on him, it was all made of a strange silvery metal. But the material did not clink and jingle when he moved, and it felt strangely soft and flexible. The outfit was not heavy, in fact Artemis felt like he was a feather on the wind when he leaped and twirled around in front of the mirror. He studied his mirrored self, marveling at the strangeness and yet the familiarity he felt for the outfit.
Artemis frowned, in the reflection upon his neck he a blistering burn. This he realized was the reason why his neck was so sore. He touched it tentatively, he could remember a knife being pressed against his neck, and feeling his neck burn where the blade touched. Artemis retracted his hand, the feeling of foreboding and danger in his chest was stronger now that he remembered he had been taken here by force.
Artemis swallowed, for the first time feeling uneasy about there not being any windows or doors. Then he wondered, how did one get in or out? The chimney, his mind answered. He turned away from the mirror to the fireplace, the eerie blue fire was still bright. He walked to the hearth, kneeling down in front of it. Artemis realized that the fire produced no heat, only light; it was then that he noticed how cold he was. Artemis took an iron poker from its holder beside the fireplace and poked it at the seemingly burning logs. Blue sparks dispersed into the air, waiting a moment until fading into nothing. After a couple of minutes Artemis pulled the poker out, he carefully felt the tip of the poker where the flame had touched. It was not hot, it wasn't even warm. Artemis frowned and his eyebrows pulled down into a puzzled expression. He replaced the poker it its holder and then stuck his own hand into the flame. His skin did not burn, the fire gave no warm. Instead his entire hand tickled wherever the flame touched, like there was no fire there, but just a cool breeze against his hand.
Artemis retracted his hand from the hearth. Now that he had determined that the fire was not dangerous in any way Artemis poked his head into the fireplace in search of the way out. He looked up, expecting to see the sky at the top of the chimney. But what he found disappointed him, a dark silvery grate blocked the way to what looked like a starry night sky at the top of the chimney. Seeing the sky suddenly filled him with a great need to be free of this mysterious room, as if a spell over him had been broken. Artemis pushed at the grate, hoping it would give so he could climb up the chimney. But the moment he touched the silvery metal his hands started to burn and blister. Artemis cried out, the pain spreading up his arms. He suddenly felt very dizzy and sleepy, vaguely he recognized that the grate was made of the same metal as the knife that had burned him the night before. Then he dropped off into unconsciousness.
***
Artemis was dreaming. He was dreaming of a time that he did not remember. These dreams were vague and hazy, but his memory was fitting them together piece by piece. He dreamed of people, places, creatures, and languages that he had thought had not existed. He dreamed of mythical creatures, fairies, centaurs, water and wood and prairie nymphs, unicorns, dwarves, elves, giants, dragons, and anything else that was ever in a fairy tale and more. He dreamed of magic, and strange mystical arts and literatures that had some thing to do with it. He remembered learning countless spells, charms, curses, and wardings. He also remembered strange languages that he had not known existed. Then he remembered the school from which he had learned all these things...
"Now everyone, please open your astronomy books to page seventy- three?" These words came from a teacher standing in front of the room. Her graying hair tied up into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and her purple robe cloaking her aging body, Mrs. Ugresfaar held an authority of a gentle kind, but nothing escaped the nanny's intense blue eyes, so misbehavior always brought punishment to even the sneakiest of the students. The students included the seven-year-old Artemis, whom sat in the middle of the first row, with his black robe and the silver circlet around his head he held the air of royalty about him. On one side of him was Mika the prairie nymph, and on the other side was Katherine, her eyes fixed fondly on the prince beside her. In the row behind, was Nuru the wood nymph, the brother of Mika, and Nolee the elf. In the last row was Kyle the mischievous sprite, and Joel the forgetful centaur, both of which were in time out, as they usually were.
Mrs. Ugresfaar continued, "Today's lesson will be on how to listen to the stars. Not all of you will be able to master this skill, as you should know by now goes with all lessons that I give you, but this skill, though difficult to learn, is very useful. Just as I have recently taught you how to listen to trees, plants, wind, water, and the earth, you can learn many things from stars. You could learn news of distant lands or worlds, or if you truly master this skill then you can draw magic from the stars. Any questions?"
Nolee's hand went up. But before the teacher could ask her to state her question the image of the wizardry classroom faded away and was replaced with a new one.
Water trickled in a stream nearby, the scent of flowers filled the air. Artemis was in the castle garden, with the one whom he expected to become his queen some day. Katherine sat beside him on the bench, speaking softly in his ear, what she said he could not remember, but the feeling of it all soothed his mind and warmed his heart.
He put his arm around her shoulders and leaned in toward her face. But before their lips touched the memory faded and another began.
Artemis was on his way to his crowning ceremony, in only a couple of hours he would be crowned King of the great country that had been passed down through his family for centuries. But it was not a happy day. He was much too young to be King, his parents had been murdered by some evil force which he could not quite remember, and now since his country was in desperate need of a King to defend it in the wars that were breaking out everywhere he was forced to choose a queen. He had decided on Katherine of course. But he was very worried about her, he was forcing her into a great responsibility, and he wasn't sure if she would accept or not, despite how many times she had said she wanted to be with him forever more.
Artemis had come to the great hall where the ceremony would take place. His faithful manservant, Roiben, opened the enormous carved doors for him. Trumpets sounded as he entered the hall and stepped onto the long decorated rug that ran the length of the isle up to the pedestal where his fox-ear crown, jeweled spear-like staff and- he was relieved to see- his queen waited.
Then the dream faded, to be replaced by a new one, but in truth this one could be described as a nightmare.
Zephyrs brought the scent of flowers to the young royal couple on the balcony from the garden below. King Artemis gently brushed his hand through his queen's blonde hair. Katherine whispered something in his ear. All was calm and beautiful, and the two teenage lovers were oblivious to the warning calls of the trees, earth, flowers, and water from the garden below. Nor did they hear the soft voice of the wind that was swirling around them, or the wise voice of the stars. The elements were trying to warn them of something, and that something was now a dark shadow in the sky. It swooped down towards the balcony...
All after that Artemis only remembered darkness, blood, pain, and grief. For this creature that attacked in the night was the evil that had killed his parents. Now it was back for him and Katherine...
The last image of the nightmare flashed through Artemis's mind. He was held aloft in the evil dragon creature's claws, being carried away into the night. Below him he glimpsed the crumbled balcony, and below that in the garden amongst the shattered remains of the balcony was Katherine, her chest cleaved open and her blood spilled over the springy grass of the garden, her eyes stared up at the sky, lifeless.
"... Belle..." He mouthed, tears streaming down his cheeks and his heart filled with uttermost grief.
Then everything faded into blackness. And Artemis slept restlessly, not knowing that he was being watched by the ruby red eyes of his captor.
~*~
A/N: Oooohh... a bit of a cliffy there! Heh heh heh... This may be a bit confusing. This story is supposed to be a bit mysterious and everything will piece together as the story goes along, just like a jigsaw puzzle! I like puzzles... specially the really complex ones, so just think of it this way, this is a really complex puzzle and I just haven't given you all the pieces yet! Review please!!!
