- Freiburg, Germany -
Artemis was quiet. He was still thinking, meditatively holding his mug of hot chocolate. That's what he'd done: listened to what Mulch said, gone into the kitchen area, and made them all some hot chocolate. Rather odd, yes, but Kip was hardly awake, it being the second time that night something had made her open her eyes. She yawned hugely behind her hand, draining the rest of her drink. "If Mulch wasn't effected by the stuff, then you won't be either, right?" she asked.
"Probably not," Artemis said slowly. "But we already know it affects you."
"That liquidy stuff when it touched me, yeah. But I got over that, remember?"
Artemis shook his head slightly. "I don't want to make a move until morning. They won't be able to run aboveground in the daytime. If we could operate those ion cannons -"
"Assuming they're programmed for the gremlins, you mean," Mulch pointed out.
"Can't you check that?"
"I can try." The dwarf shrugged. "It's usually simple. Foaly thinks we can't operate things unless every button is labeled, anyway, and it looks like his stuff, so we should be okay there."
"Then we're left with three warlocks," Butler said calmly.
Artemis laughed. "Three? Come, come, Butler. Without the other two it's impossible to set up a time stop, even for the hour and a half or so they used to imprison the fairies. The bumbling idiots, at least one backstabber - it can't be hard."
"Ambitious backstabber," Kip said, once again yawning. "Ugh, you'd think I haven't slept in a week. 'Ambitious' usually involves brains somewhere along the line."
"But what if what we're seeing isn't the brains?" Mulch asked. "What if they're supposed leader was getting help from someone else?" He didn't notice the look Kip shot him when he said that.
"Then we deal with the brain later," Artemis said firmly. "A brain is not much use without a body at its command."
"True," Kip murmured sleepily, her head dropping to his shoulder.
Butler made no comment as, when it became clear she had fallen asleep again, Artemis picked her up and carried her back to her room. "Well," he said, coming out and making sure the door was closed behind him, "we'll set out at dawn." And that was that.
* * *
- Underground on the outskirts of Freiburg, Germany -
"There." Mulch pointed. "Around that bend. That's where they are."
"And the warlocks?" Artemis shoved a lock of hair off his forehead. It had definitely been too long since he had gotten it cut.
"Probably the control room," the dwarf said, sounding surer of himself than he felt. "But they don't expect anyone to escape, so we're safe."
"Yeah, safe." This was not exactly how Artemis had expected it to be. He could deal with traps, yes, and death threats and subversion, but simple go- in-and-get-them-out, no one trying to shoot at you while you did so? Something was gnawing in the back of his mind, telling him he'd done something wrong, or he was doing something wrong, or both. "Right, I'll go first. Butler?"
"Ready." The big man had at least a dozen weapons on him as well as the ones in his hands.
Artemis nodded, taking a deep breath before stepping around the corner.
* * *
Chix was down to thirty-two bottles of beer on the wall when he suddenly stopped mid-bottle. "Hey! You guys, hey!"
"Hey yourself," Foaly muttered irritably. Chix's singing was more torture than anything that had been thrown at them yet.
"No, I mean - isn't that -"
"Isn't what what?" Holly asked grumpily, lifting her head slowly and all of a sudden sitting up. "Oh my word!"
Root looked over. "They're fooling us somehow," he sighed. "We all know Fowl's dead."
"Fooling us?" Foaly cocked his head. "We're hallucinating, I think. Yeah, that's it; only in a dream would Holly be glad to see him."
"But it is," Holly said, ignoring them. "Artemis! Get us out of here!"
* * *
The bubble was not as opaque as Mulch had first described it to be, but then it probably took less fairy magic to make it like this. After all, who knew how much the warlocks would be using to take over the world? He could distinctly see them inside, Holly looking intently at him and mouthing something.
As far as Artemis could tell, the bubble was having no effect on him. Granted, he was nervous, but that was normal when you were trying to save the world, right? He swallowed, tugging at his collar before reaching out to put a hand on the bubble. Solid as anything. Solid like the concrete prison he'd had created for Holly back when he was twelve. "Where are the controls?" he called over his shoulder. "Mulch?" There was no answer.
* * *
"Great," Holly muttered, slumping back down into her usual stupor. "Great, Mud Boy. Turn around right into a Softnose pointed at your head."
"You might've warned me or something," Artemis snapped, pacing around the bubble and kicking at it every once in a while as if it might have developed a weak spot since his last circuit.
"Warned you? I was shouting at you the entire time!"
"It's probably soundproof right now," Foaly said with a lazy flick of his tail. They can change it, I'm guessing, if they want us to hear them or not."
"Interesting as that is, we need a plan," Root said, wishing for the millionth time that he had a cigar to chew on.
"Will any of this help?" Butler started unhooking things from his belt and setting them on the floor.
Foaly, mildly interested, began rifling through it. "Amazing as all this is, I wouldn't want to shoot at the wall only to find out the bullets ricochet."
"The same goes for the explosives," Holly said. "You know, at least when we thought you were dead, we didn't expect you to get us out of here, anyway."
"Charming," Artemis snarled. "So what, you had a memorial ceremony and everything? Burned me in effigy, did you?"
Foaly laughed. "Yeah, that was it. And then we praised everything holy that no girl was going to ever make the mistake of falling in love with you and creating more little monsters running around."
Artemis was stunned into momentary silence when Foaly looked pointedly at Chix.
"Yeah, if any girl did that, he partents'd have to be taken out and shot for raisin' her tha' way," the sprite agreed.
Artemis burst out laughing and, against his will, so did Butler. Foaly raised an eyebrow, amused. "So. Anything you want to tell us?"
"Forget his love life. Where is she?" Root snapped.
"Safe," Artemis sighed, sliding down to sit with his back against the orange stuff. "That's all that matters. She's not here."
"Who?" Chix looked thoroughly confused.
"Your daughter," Foaly said.
"Oh. You found her?"
"Yeah, we found her." Artemis looked as if his mood had sunk another notch.
Holly was intrigued. Artemis, caring for someone else? And the fact that it was Chix's daughter just made it all the better. "Why isn't she with you?" she asked softly.
"What, bring her here?" Artemis managed a mirthless laugh. "I'm not about to risk her like that."
Foaly, for once, had no sarcasm for him. "Mud Boy, does she even know you're here?"
Artemis shrugged.
"So what's she going to think when she realizes you've gone? What if you never come back?"
"It wasn't supposed to work like this, all right?" Artemis almost shouted. "We were supposed to get you out and be back by now, okay? But I'm glad we didn't tell her, I'm glad she's not stuck here like this."
No, Butler thought; she's just stuck out there, and who knows what she's thinking right now?
- Freiburg, Germany -
Kip woke up around eleven the next morning, earlier than she expected, actually. She and Arty thought a lot alike, so she made sure, while drinking her cocoa, to see if she could taste the sleeping powder she was sure he had put in hers. There was nothing unusual though, to be safe, she drank the entire mug and did not fight the effects. He shouldn't be suspicious of her, anyway.
There, on her bedside table, was a note from him. Simple: "Narda - Because I love you. Arty." Kip shook her head, tossing that one aside. Beneath it was another scrap of paper. Now, it has already been established that Mulch was less than an artist than most chimpanzees, but she understood what it was. A map. A map, showing the entrance to a cave not far from the Gasthof. Perfect.
Kip gout out of bed, digging in her wardrobe for the fairy jumpsuit Mulch had obtained for her for this specific occasion. He would be waiting for her in the mouth of the cave, she knew, and then - well, it would be interesting to see Artemis' reaction, especially when he realized she had fooled them all. A satisfied smile flickered across her face a moment before she looked in the mirror, checking her expression. She would be Tom Riddle, confronting Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets. Except Artemis had neither read the book nor seen the movie, so he would be clueless. Exactly how she wanted him.
Artemis was quiet. He was still thinking, meditatively holding his mug of hot chocolate. That's what he'd done: listened to what Mulch said, gone into the kitchen area, and made them all some hot chocolate. Rather odd, yes, but Kip was hardly awake, it being the second time that night something had made her open her eyes. She yawned hugely behind her hand, draining the rest of her drink. "If Mulch wasn't effected by the stuff, then you won't be either, right?" she asked.
"Probably not," Artemis said slowly. "But we already know it affects you."
"That liquidy stuff when it touched me, yeah. But I got over that, remember?"
Artemis shook his head slightly. "I don't want to make a move until morning. They won't be able to run aboveground in the daytime. If we could operate those ion cannons -"
"Assuming they're programmed for the gremlins, you mean," Mulch pointed out.
"Can't you check that?"
"I can try." The dwarf shrugged. "It's usually simple. Foaly thinks we can't operate things unless every button is labeled, anyway, and it looks like his stuff, so we should be okay there."
"Then we're left with three warlocks," Butler said calmly.
Artemis laughed. "Three? Come, come, Butler. Without the other two it's impossible to set up a time stop, even for the hour and a half or so they used to imprison the fairies. The bumbling idiots, at least one backstabber - it can't be hard."
"Ambitious backstabber," Kip said, once again yawning. "Ugh, you'd think I haven't slept in a week. 'Ambitious' usually involves brains somewhere along the line."
"But what if what we're seeing isn't the brains?" Mulch asked. "What if they're supposed leader was getting help from someone else?" He didn't notice the look Kip shot him when he said that.
"Then we deal with the brain later," Artemis said firmly. "A brain is not much use without a body at its command."
"True," Kip murmured sleepily, her head dropping to his shoulder.
Butler made no comment as, when it became clear she had fallen asleep again, Artemis picked her up and carried her back to her room. "Well," he said, coming out and making sure the door was closed behind him, "we'll set out at dawn." And that was that.
* * *
- Underground on the outskirts of Freiburg, Germany -
"There." Mulch pointed. "Around that bend. That's where they are."
"And the warlocks?" Artemis shoved a lock of hair off his forehead. It had definitely been too long since he had gotten it cut.
"Probably the control room," the dwarf said, sounding surer of himself than he felt. "But they don't expect anyone to escape, so we're safe."
"Yeah, safe." This was not exactly how Artemis had expected it to be. He could deal with traps, yes, and death threats and subversion, but simple go- in-and-get-them-out, no one trying to shoot at you while you did so? Something was gnawing in the back of his mind, telling him he'd done something wrong, or he was doing something wrong, or both. "Right, I'll go first. Butler?"
"Ready." The big man had at least a dozen weapons on him as well as the ones in his hands.
Artemis nodded, taking a deep breath before stepping around the corner.
* * *
Chix was down to thirty-two bottles of beer on the wall when he suddenly stopped mid-bottle. "Hey! You guys, hey!"
"Hey yourself," Foaly muttered irritably. Chix's singing was more torture than anything that had been thrown at them yet.
"No, I mean - isn't that -"
"Isn't what what?" Holly asked grumpily, lifting her head slowly and all of a sudden sitting up. "Oh my word!"
Root looked over. "They're fooling us somehow," he sighed. "We all know Fowl's dead."
"Fooling us?" Foaly cocked his head. "We're hallucinating, I think. Yeah, that's it; only in a dream would Holly be glad to see him."
"But it is," Holly said, ignoring them. "Artemis! Get us out of here!"
* * *
The bubble was not as opaque as Mulch had first described it to be, but then it probably took less fairy magic to make it like this. After all, who knew how much the warlocks would be using to take over the world? He could distinctly see them inside, Holly looking intently at him and mouthing something.
As far as Artemis could tell, the bubble was having no effect on him. Granted, he was nervous, but that was normal when you were trying to save the world, right? He swallowed, tugging at his collar before reaching out to put a hand on the bubble. Solid as anything. Solid like the concrete prison he'd had created for Holly back when he was twelve. "Where are the controls?" he called over his shoulder. "Mulch?" There was no answer.
* * *
"Great," Holly muttered, slumping back down into her usual stupor. "Great, Mud Boy. Turn around right into a Softnose pointed at your head."
"You might've warned me or something," Artemis snapped, pacing around the bubble and kicking at it every once in a while as if it might have developed a weak spot since his last circuit.
"Warned you? I was shouting at you the entire time!"
"It's probably soundproof right now," Foaly said with a lazy flick of his tail. They can change it, I'm guessing, if they want us to hear them or not."
"Interesting as that is, we need a plan," Root said, wishing for the millionth time that he had a cigar to chew on.
"Will any of this help?" Butler started unhooking things from his belt and setting them on the floor.
Foaly, mildly interested, began rifling through it. "Amazing as all this is, I wouldn't want to shoot at the wall only to find out the bullets ricochet."
"The same goes for the explosives," Holly said. "You know, at least when we thought you were dead, we didn't expect you to get us out of here, anyway."
"Charming," Artemis snarled. "So what, you had a memorial ceremony and everything? Burned me in effigy, did you?"
Foaly laughed. "Yeah, that was it. And then we praised everything holy that no girl was going to ever make the mistake of falling in love with you and creating more little monsters running around."
Artemis was stunned into momentary silence when Foaly looked pointedly at Chix.
"Yeah, if any girl did that, he partents'd have to be taken out and shot for raisin' her tha' way," the sprite agreed.
Artemis burst out laughing and, against his will, so did Butler. Foaly raised an eyebrow, amused. "So. Anything you want to tell us?"
"Forget his love life. Where is she?" Root snapped.
"Safe," Artemis sighed, sliding down to sit with his back against the orange stuff. "That's all that matters. She's not here."
"Who?" Chix looked thoroughly confused.
"Your daughter," Foaly said.
"Oh. You found her?"
"Yeah, we found her." Artemis looked as if his mood had sunk another notch.
Holly was intrigued. Artemis, caring for someone else? And the fact that it was Chix's daughter just made it all the better. "Why isn't she with you?" she asked softly.
"What, bring her here?" Artemis managed a mirthless laugh. "I'm not about to risk her like that."
Foaly, for once, had no sarcasm for him. "Mud Boy, does she even know you're here?"
Artemis shrugged.
"So what's she going to think when she realizes you've gone? What if you never come back?"
"It wasn't supposed to work like this, all right?" Artemis almost shouted. "We were supposed to get you out and be back by now, okay? But I'm glad we didn't tell her, I'm glad she's not stuck here like this."
No, Butler thought; she's just stuck out there, and who knows what she's thinking right now?
- Freiburg, Germany -
Kip woke up around eleven the next morning, earlier than she expected, actually. She and Arty thought a lot alike, so she made sure, while drinking her cocoa, to see if she could taste the sleeping powder she was sure he had put in hers. There was nothing unusual though, to be safe, she drank the entire mug and did not fight the effects. He shouldn't be suspicious of her, anyway.
There, on her bedside table, was a note from him. Simple: "Narda - Because I love you. Arty." Kip shook her head, tossing that one aside. Beneath it was another scrap of paper. Now, it has already been established that Mulch was less than an artist than most chimpanzees, but she understood what it was. A map. A map, showing the entrance to a cave not far from the Gasthof. Perfect.
Kip gout out of bed, digging in her wardrobe for the fairy jumpsuit Mulch had obtained for her for this specific occasion. He would be waiting for her in the mouth of the cave, she knew, and then - well, it would be interesting to see Artemis' reaction, especially when he realized she had fooled them all. A satisfied smile flickered across her face a moment before she looked in the mirror, checking her expression. She would be Tom Riddle, confronting Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets. Except Artemis had neither read the book nor seen the movie, so he would be clueless. Exactly how she wanted him.