a/n: I'm sorry!!!! It's been about...a month since I updated. I had exams
and everything, and then I was just being slack, and school ended
yesterday. TWO MONTHS OFF!!! Ok, I'll start writing now. And once again,
sorry for being so slow.
And also, it's been pointed out that since Arty is a genius, he would've been able to find his way home, but for the sake of this poor lil fanfic writer, let's just pretend he didn't think of that, ok?
__________________________________________________________
Artemis leant against the wall, his head tilted back, staring at the sky. Everything ached. In the past month, he'd seen things, had _eaten_ things, that he didn't think were possible.
He was still wearing the same second-hand clothes, so kindly donated by Bernado. His hair..he didn't want to think about what had happened to his hair. The two he'd met after he escaped, Alexis and Cameron, looked slightly better, mainly because they'd at least had the sense to take a spare shirt.
The two had run away from an abusive father, and an alcoholic mother. But however bad home had been, they were definitely rethinking their decision.
Artemis hadn't told them his real name, instead sticking with Pat McCabe. He fed them some story, basically similar to their own. Since then, they'd been sleeping under a bridge. To Artemis, life seemed less than real.
"Hey, look at that guy!" said Alexis. Artemis winced. He'd never had much contact with the fairer sex, apart from Juliet. And Alexis beat her hands down in hyperactivity.
Turning to follow her gaze, he saw a _very_ short man, with a thick beard. There was something very...familiar about him. Artemis was 75% sure he'd seen him somewhere before.
Marcus? Michael? No.... Mundungus? Something to do with fertilizer..and..methane gas. Mulch!
Artemis frowned, watching the midget weave his way through the crowded street. He didn't know where he'd met this guy before. And he hated mysteries.
"I'm just going to go get..something." Artemis muttered, and ducked off through the hurrying people.
______________________________________________________________
Mulch Diggums was, to put it mildly, seriously pissed. The rent for his apartment had gone up, the Mud police were sniffing suspiciously round him, and he had the Barney theme song stuck in his head.
A woman in a shoulder-padded suit power-walked past him, whacking him with her briefcase. She didn't even notice.
"D'Arvit." muttered Mulch. From behind him, he heard a sharp intake of breath. Turning, he glared at the oddly-familiar street kid. "Whatcha staring at?"
"What did you say? Just then?" asked a _very_ familiar voice. "Fowl?" Mulch gasped.
The boy's eyebrows shot up. "How do you know my name?" he demanded. Mulch almost laughed. Even now, Fowl had lost none of his imperious air.
Mulch slipped the tiny diskette over his neck. ((a/n: this being the thingamajig Holly originally gave to Artemis, which he then gave too Mulch, so Mulch could restore his memories. This happened in EC))
"Uh, here." He shoved it into the youth's hands. Artemis stared at it for a moment. Mulch watched his face carefully, reading his emotions as they flickered across his face. Confusion. Curiosity. More confusion. Surprise. Remembrance. Even more confusion.
"Diggums? Mulch Diggums?"
A rare smile slipped over Artemis's face. He shooks hands with Mulch and said "Nice to see you again."
_________________________________________________________________
Butler honked his horn in uncharacteristic frustration. Half an hour ago, he had received a call from his young employer. Artemis II had not only regained his memories, courtesy of one Mulch Diggums, but he was now at Mulch's apartment, which coincidentally was paid for with stolen money.
And right now, he was stuck in a traffic jam.
His mood was definitely not improved by his sister. Juliet had her headphones on, and was singing along loudly. While his baby sister had many talents, Butler had to admit that singing was not one of them.
Finally, the man's patience snapped. "Juliet, turn that off!" "You can't hear it!" "I can hear you!" Pouting, Juliet switched it off, looking around. "Are we STILL in the traffic jam."
"So it would seem."
__________________________________________________________________
Holly, on the other hand, was speeding through the air above New York, headed for the same kleptomaniac's home.
With a secret smile, she remembered how red Root had gone the last time Mulch had evaded him. Priceless. Or so she thought, until Root caught her smirking, and set her on surveillance for three weeks.
Alighting on the bare roof of Mulch's building, Holly walked down four flights of stairs, to number 440. Rapping sharply on the door, she waited. And waited. Finally she stood and tiptoe too peer through the eyehole. And someone chose that exact moment to open the door, knocking her out cold.
Mulch looked up. Nothing. Mulch looked left. Nothing. Mulch looked right. Still nothing. Mulch looked down, and for one of the first times in his life, felt taller than someone. ___________________________________________________________________
Holly awoke on a couch, with a splitting headache, and an icepack that was rapidly sliding off her head. Sitting up with a groan, she looked groggily around her.
A very different, skinny, _wet_ Artemis had clearly just emerged from the shower. Butler was sitting a metre away from him, and every time Artemis moved more than that metre out of butler's reach, Butler immediately followed. Artemis would normally find this irritating, but today, he was more than happy to accept it.
Juliet was sitting on the sofa, but every few minutes, she would jump up and hug Artemis. And the boy accepted that too. Holly shook her head in bemusement. Strange.
Mulch was watching the scene with obvious amusement from the table. Seeing Holly awake, he grinned. "Rise and shine Holly. Uh...sorry about that." Holly glared dangerously at him. Turning to look at Artemis, she barked "Fowl. Over here."
Artemis raised his eyebrows, but approached. "Fo.ah, Artemis, I'm not here for a holiday." The genius smirked. "Considering that you're wearing your uniform, somehow I didn't think so."
Holly rolled her eyes. "Whatever. The People need your help." She said bluntly. The boy's smirk grew. "Again?"
"Yes." Said Holly through gritted teeth.
____________________________________________________________________
Half an hour later, Artemis was up to speed. Foaly and Root 's faces were visible on the screen of his laptop, which Butler had thoughtfully brought.
"Bear with me, Commander. In recap: there is a human, one Zachary Webb, who is, in effect, mesmerising fairies, without any negative side-effects. He is using these fairies to steal weapons. You don't know where he is. You don't know what he intends to do. You don't know _anything_. Correct?"
Foaly clearly did not appreciate having his intelligence systems questioned. "We know which fairy is aiding Webb. And we know they're somewhere in Switzerland."
Artemis opened his mouth, but Butler cut in first. "I'll do it. But Artemis is going home to Ireland."
"I certainly am not." Holly almost laughed. He was practically pouting, something she hadn't thought he was capable of.
"You are. Your parents are terrified for you." "I'll call them and tell them I'm fine." "You're not staying here." "No, I'm going to Switzerland. And Juliet?"
"Yeah Arty?" the blonde inquired. "You and Mulch head down to where he found me, find two kids my age, Cameron and Alexis, and help them out. Thankyou."
Turning back to Butler, Artemis stated "I am coming. That's all there is to it." Butler raised his eyebrows, managing to look extremely Fowl-like.
"We'll see." Was his only comment, and Artemis had to be content with that.
"What about me?" interjected Mulch, as he followed Juliet towards the door. Holly glanced at the screen. Root's scowl deepened.
"We may need your assistance." Holly informed him.
And also, it's been pointed out that since Arty is a genius, he would've been able to find his way home, but for the sake of this poor lil fanfic writer, let's just pretend he didn't think of that, ok?
__________________________________________________________
Artemis leant against the wall, his head tilted back, staring at the sky. Everything ached. In the past month, he'd seen things, had _eaten_ things, that he didn't think were possible.
He was still wearing the same second-hand clothes, so kindly donated by Bernado. His hair..he didn't want to think about what had happened to his hair. The two he'd met after he escaped, Alexis and Cameron, looked slightly better, mainly because they'd at least had the sense to take a spare shirt.
The two had run away from an abusive father, and an alcoholic mother. But however bad home had been, they were definitely rethinking their decision.
Artemis hadn't told them his real name, instead sticking with Pat McCabe. He fed them some story, basically similar to their own. Since then, they'd been sleeping under a bridge. To Artemis, life seemed less than real.
"Hey, look at that guy!" said Alexis. Artemis winced. He'd never had much contact with the fairer sex, apart from Juliet. And Alexis beat her hands down in hyperactivity.
Turning to follow her gaze, he saw a _very_ short man, with a thick beard. There was something very...familiar about him. Artemis was 75% sure he'd seen him somewhere before.
Marcus? Michael? No.... Mundungus? Something to do with fertilizer..and..methane gas. Mulch!
Artemis frowned, watching the midget weave his way through the crowded street. He didn't know where he'd met this guy before. And he hated mysteries.
"I'm just going to go get..something." Artemis muttered, and ducked off through the hurrying people.
______________________________________________________________
Mulch Diggums was, to put it mildly, seriously pissed. The rent for his apartment had gone up, the Mud police were sniffing suspiciously round him, and he had the Barney theme song stuck in his head.
A woman in a shoulder-padded suit power-walked past him, whacking him with her briefcase. She didn't even notice.
"D'Arvit." muttered Mulch. From behind him, he heard a sharp intake of breath. Turning, he glared at the oddly-familiar street kid. "Whatcha staring at?"
"What did you say? Just then?" asked a _very_ familiar voice. "Fowl?" Mulch gasped.
The boy's eyebrows shot up. "How do you know my name?" he demanded. Mulch almost laughed. Even now, Fowl had lost none of his imperious air.
Mulch slipped the tiny diskette over his neck. ((a/n: this being the thingamajig Holly originally gave to Artemis, which he then gave too Mulch, so Mulch could restore his memories. This happened in EC))
"Uh, here." He shoved it into the youth's hands. Artemis stared at it for a moment. Mulch watched his face carefully, reading his emotions as they flickered across his face. Confusion. Curiosity. More confusion. Surprise. Remembrance. Even more confusion.
"Diggums? Mulch Diggums?"
A rare smile slipped over Artemis's face. He shooks hands with Mulch and said "Nice to see you again."
_________________________________________________________________
Butler honked his horn in uncharacteristic frustration. Half an hour ago, he had received a call from his young employer. Artemis II had not only regained his memories, courtesy of one Mulch Diggums, but he was now at Mulch's apartment, which coincidentally was paid for with stolen money.
And right now, he was stuck in a traffic jam.
His mood was definitely not improved by his sister. Juliet had her headphones on, and was singing along loudly. While his baby sister had many talents, Butler had to admit that singing was not one of them.
Finally, the man's patience snapped. "Juliet, turn that off!" "You can't hear it!" "I can hear you!" Pouting, Juliet switched it off, looking around. "Are we STILL in the traffic jam."
"So it would seem."
__________________________________________________________________
Holly, on the other hand, was speeding through the air above New York, headed for the same kleptomaniac's home.
With a secret smile, she remembered how red Root had gone the last time Mulch had evaded him. Priceless. Or so she thought, until Root caught her smirking, and set her on surveillance for three weeks.
Alighting on the bare roof of Mulch's building, Holly walked down four flights of stairs, to number 440. Rapping sharply on the door, she waited. And waited. Finally she stood and tiptoe too peer through the eyehole. And someone chose that exact moment to open the door, knocking her out cold.
Mulch looked up. Nothing. Mulch looked left. Nothing. Mulch looked right. Still nothing. Mulch looked down, and for one of the first times in his life, felt taller than someone. ___________________________________________________________________
Holly awoke on a couch, with a splitting headache, and an icepack that was rapidly sliding off her head. Sitting up with a groan, she looked groggily around her.
A very different, skinny, _wet_ Artemis had clearly just emerged from the shower. Butler was sitting a metre away from him, and every time Artemis moved more than that metre out of butler's reach, Butler immediately followed. Artemis would normally find this irritating, but today, he was more than happy to accept it.
Juliet was sitting on the sofa, but every few minutes, she would jump up and hug Artemis. And the boy accepted that too. Holly shook her head in bemusement. Strange.
Mulch was watching the scene with obvious amusement from the table. Seeing Holly awake, he grinned. "Rise and shine Holly. Uh...sorry about that." Holly glared dangerously at him. Turning to look at Artemis, she barked "Fowl. Over here."
Artemis raised his eyebrows, but approached. "Fo.ah, Artemis, I'm not here for a holiday." The genius smirked. "Considering that you're wearing your uniform, somehow I didn't think so."
Holly rolled her eyes. "Whatever. The People need your help." She said bluntly. The boy's smirk grew. "Again?"
"Yes." Said Holly through gritted teeth.
____________________________________________________________________
Half an hour later, Artemis was up to speed. Foaly and Root 's faces were visible on the screen of his laptop, which Butler had thoughtfully brought.
"Bear with me, Commander. In recap: there is a human, one Zachary Webb, who is, in effect, mesmerising fairies, without any negative side-effects. He is using these fairies to steal weapons. You don't know where he is. You don't know what he intends to do. You don't know _anything_. Correct?"
Foaly clearly did not appreciate having his intelligence systems questioned. "We know which fairy is aiding Webb. And we know they're somewhere in Switzerland."
Artemis opened his mouth, but Butler cut in first. "I'll do it. But Artemis is going home to Ireland."
"I certainly am not." Holly almost laughed. He was practically pouting, something she hadn't thought he was capable of.
"You are. Your parents are terrified for you." "I'll call them and tell them I'm fine." "You're not staying here." "No, I'm going to Switzerland. And Juliet?"
"Yeah Arty?" the blonde inquired. "You and Mulch head down to where he found me, find two kids my age, Cameron and Alexis, and help them out. Thankyou."
Turning back to Butler, Artemis stated "I am coming. That's all there is to it." Butler raised his eyebrows, managing to look extremely Fowl-like.
"We'll see." Was his only comment, and Artemis had to be content with that.
"What about me?" interjected Mulch, as he followed Juliet towards the door. Holly glanced at the screen. Root's scowl deepened.
"We may need your assistance." Holly informed him.