Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl or anything you recognize from the Artemis Fowl books. I do own the plot and the Stones, though those aren't exactly anything to be proud of. *shoots stupid plot and drags off the stage*
Here's the next chapter.
Oh, and if you love me (or if you want the next chapter) would you visit Teentypist.deviantart.com ? I've got some rather spiffy Artemis Fowl pictures (Foaly, Root, Holly, Grub, and the Bull Troll). I'd love some comments on them. Thankies.
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Chapter 13: Doomsday
Artemis was nervous. Alyssa would be coming here. To his house. Meeting his parents. Seeing his room. She would be staying here, well actually, in the room down the hall, but still…
He paced and looked around the room for anything that could possibly embarrass or otherwise incriminate him. Nothing illegal on his computer. His diary was safely hidden (he had found he couldn't make himself destroy it). He didn't own any fuzzy bunny slippers or childish stuffed animals. There were no dirty clothes littering the floor. All his books were neatly on their shelves. This certainly didn't look like the room of an average fourteen-year-old boy, but then again, Artemis wasn't an average fourteen-year-old boy.
He then realized that what he really had to watch out for wasn't his room; it was the parlor and the sitting room. There were baby Artemis pictures there. Artemis went through the house and removed any and all embarrassing pictures.
Then he went back to his room to get dressed. Juliet had picked out his outfit for tonight.
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Holly hovered on her borrowed wings outside Artemis's window. He'd just been there a moment ago and he left. She was shielded. When he came back in the room, she knocked on the window.
He opened it and invited her in. "Come inside. I thought you might not come."
She landed, unshielded, and took off her helmet, shaking out her hair, which was getting a little long again (almost 2 inches). "Do you really think I'd miss all the fun? I want to meet this girl."
"We'll see," he smiled.
Holly was shocked. A genuine smile from Fowl. This girl was definitely a good influence on him, whoever she was. "So what exactly did you want me to do? The email wasn't all that specific, you know."
"I thought you could use a few days off from work. A few days with fresh surface air. A vacation."
"That's kind. What's in it for you?"
"Just offer me a little advice if you think I need it. And one other thing . . ." He started describing what he had in mind.
"That could be dangerous, Mud Boy. But I think I could do it."
"Good."
Holly almost shook her head. There was that smile again.
"Will you be rooming with Juliet or sleeping outside in a tree?" he asked.
"Oh, I haven't decided yet. Is that what you're wearing to dinner?"
"No, I have to get dressed. Excuse me." He grabbed her by her collar and half-pushed, half-carried her out into the hallway before locking her out.
Holly scowled and shielded. Maybe she could go see Juliet…
Artemis got changed into the clothes that Juliet had laid out for him. Alyssa would be here in less than half an hour.
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Alyssa was in the car with her parents and brother. She felt nervous. Things seemed to be going well though. Her parents would leave her here and that would be 1 silver bullet dodged; dodged until the next time the Fowls wanted to get together.
They'd cross that bridge when they came to it, she decided.
They drove up the long drive that led to Junior's house. Fowl Manor. There were large gates, but there must have been some sort of monitoring system, because they opened when they drove up. Across the wrought-iron gates were scripted letters "Fowl Manor".
They drove through.
"Lyssie, honey, what did you say Junior's last name was?" asked her mother.
"Um, I didn't say."
"Is it by any chance Fowl?" she asked.
Alyssa played dumb. "Oh, no, not a foul name. It's a very nice name."
"Lyssie, is his last name Fowl?"
She whispered, "Yes."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"I didn't think it mattered what his name was."
"It matters when it's Fowl. That family is dangerous. I've heard stories."
"But Junior is a perfectly respectable boy. He's very nice," Alyssa protested.
"Junior as in Artemis Fowl junior?"
"Yes," she said defiantly. Only another 40 meters to the house.
Her father finally spoke, "I don't know about the boy, but Artemis Senior appears to be going legitimate. "He has been caught doing anything dubious or illegal for at least a couple of years. That stretch in the Artic must have done him some good." Thomas Stone was a journalist who spent his free time investigating this sort of thing.
"See? Daddy thinks it's okay," Alyssa said, hoping that if she got her father firmly on her side, her mother would agree to her staying.
Her mother's mouth was a tight line. "And his cousin Boris?"
"He's his bodyguard. But the two of them are very close. They're like cousins, or brothers even." 20 meters.
"And the other cousin you told me he lived with?"
"His bodyguard's sister."
Thomas Stone was a very trusting man. "I think we should let her stay."
"Thomas, she lied to us."
"We can punish her later. Let her go."
"Thanks, Daddy." They'd pulled up in front of the house. She leaned over from the backseat and hugged her dad around the neck before getting out of the car and taking her bags from the trunk.
Her mother got out of the vehicle too. "I am at least walking you to the door."
They rang the bell and the door was soon opened by a friendly women in a lovely dress. "You must be Alyssa and Minnie. We spoke on the phone? I'm Angeline Fowl." She hugged them both.
Mrs. Stone had to admit that the woman seemed friendly.
"Those bags must be so heavy, Alyssa dear." She called over her shoulder, "Butler, come take Alyssa's things up to her room."
The man that Minnie knew as "Boris" came and took away the luggage.
"It's chilly out here. Let's go inside. Minnie, are you going to be able to stay too? We can set another place and open another spare room for you."
"No, I can't stay. Just dropping Alyssa off. Paul and Thomas are waiting in the car. We'll be back to get her on Saturday night."
"Oh, that's fine. She can stay as long as you need."
"How kind. Goodbye, Lyssie. We'll see you soon." She hugged her daughter goodbye.
"Come in, Alyssa. Make yourself at home. Dinner will be in about ten minutes. This is Butler's little sister Juliet. She can show you to your room. Juliet, tell Arty to come down to dinner."
"Yes, Mrs. Fowl. This way," grinned Juliet, leading Alyssa up a fine staircase. "Artemis really lucked out with you."
"Hmm?" She could definitely see a family resemblance in Butler and Juliet.
"You don't know what he was like before he met you. He didn't even have any friends, forget about a girlfriend. Oh, here's you're room." She opened the door.
Alyssa saw a well-furnished room. Among the things was a chest of drawers stood against the wall and there was a large bed with a soft blue comforter and big fluffy pillows. There were a few bookshelves with reading material and a stereo sitting on top of another small table. "It's great."
"My brother's already brought your bags up. You can unpack them later if you want. All those drawers are empty. How long you staying?"
"Saturday I think."
"Great. Hey, you want to pay a surprise visit on Artemis?"
"Sure!"
They crept up the hall. Juliet whispered, "This one is Artemis's. On three, we shout and bust in, got it?"
Alyssa nodded.
"1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . .Go! Hey, Arty!" shouted Juliet as they opened his door.
They walked in on him opening the window and muttering (apparently) to himself.
"What? Alyssa, you're here!"
"Of course I'm here." She said grimly, "My parents know."
"You forgot to warn her about the gate," Juliet said.
"The gate?" he asked.
"The one that says Fowl in huge letters, Arty," Juliet said.
"Arty?" asked Alyssa.
He was almost blushing. "It's my mother's pet name for me. Though other people have taken to calling me by it just to irritate me." He glanced pointedly at Juliet and the shimmer behind her that he knew was Holly.
"Arty, hmm, I think Junior is better."
Juliet grinned. "Your nickname for him?"
"Yeah. To keep annoying him and to keep my parents from figuring out who he was. After all, Artemis isn't a very common name. Especially for boys."
"Artemis, your mum wants you downstairs for dinner," said Juliet.
"I'll be right there," he said. "Wait down the hall for me."
Juliet and Alyssa went out to wait while Holly came back inside the room and unshielded.
"I'm impressed," she admitted.
"I opened the window like you asked me too but it'll be your fault if I freeze to death. You'd better heal me if I start to go numb."
She grinned, "Deal."
"Juliet knows you're here?"
"Yes. One of you will bring me something to eat later?"
"Of course."
"Good. Then you'd better get to dinner. Your girlfriend's waiting." She punched him good-naturedly.
"Ouch," he said.
"Junior, you coming?" Alyssa stuck her head in the door.
"Yes. Sorry. Stubbed my toe."
"Did I just see something here? Like a big green doll?"
"Do you see something now?"
"No."
"Then don't be ridiculous. Let's go downstairs. They're waiting." He took her arm and they went downstairs as he led her into the dining room.
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Yup. I thought it was appropriate for chapter 13 to be called Doomsday. Hehe. Okay, so what did you think? Tell me, tell me, tell me!
