Author's Notes: Sorry it took me a bit to update—been kinda busy. Well, no. Bad excuse. I had a bad case of writer's block and for the longest time had a problem with this chapter, mainly because the fun expositional stuff is over and now I actually have to start the plot…o_O So, true to reviews, I've taken to explain "wtf the Heart of Time" is. XD After all, it must be pretty important—that's the name of the story! Replies to reviews at the end!

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I am a little bit insecure

 A little unconfident
'Cause you don't understand

 I do what I can,

 But sometimes I don't make sense
I say what you never wanna say,

But I've never had a doubt
It's like no matter what I do,

I can't convince you,

 For once just to hear me out
So I let go, watching you,

Turn your back like you always do
Face away and pretend that I'm not
But I'll be here 'cause you want what I've got

- Faint, Linkin Park

Chapter Four, Part Two: The Heart of the Matter

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Fowl Manor

For the first time in his life, Artemis Fowl was bored.

His laptop was gone.

His laboratory? Locked. With a heavy iron bar. Which Butler was not allowed to move for him.

Artemis frowned. If it had been a high-tech security door, opened only by password or combination, he would have gotten in. But of course, his father had known Artemis would have tried this. Therefore the only way the door could be opened was by brute force. Something Artemis was not very good at. He was relatively fast, to be sure—but fencing was one thing, and lifting a bar that weighed more than he did was another.

The door to his study, filled with state-of-the-art computer equipment, was also barred.

Artemis tossed the Limerick report aside. Useless. It didn't make sense, even to him. According to the expert, Artemis himself had ordered the contacts made, complete with Artemis' specific designs. But how could he make them for himself, Butler, and Juliet, wear them, and not even remember it? And what was their purpose?

"Something else you forgot to mention."

A distant memory trudged into his mind. Artemis closed his eyes and laid back on his bed, focusing. Who had said it?

A sarcastic, curious voice—a horse—A horse? Something that looked very much like a horse. The memory dimmed, and Artemis couldn't recall anything else.

The other folder was far more interesting. It was filled with random newspaper clippings and printouts. None of them seemed connected to each other, yet Artemis knew he would find the relationship. He just needed time. A bit more questioning of Alanis would help, although she had avoided him and everyone else in Fowl Manor, preferring to stay in her room.

The folder was labeled Important. It was packed with information and pictures about different pieces of jewelry, it seemed—odd, half finished pieces that seemed to have no connection at all to each other. It was not until Artemis had stumbled upon a printout when he found the link.

It was an eBay printout of the ring that he had almost won a week ago.

Artemis carefully laid out each of the photos in the folder with their according information on his bed. All of the pieces were components of a necklace, or an amulet. A few of the pictures pulled on his memory strings. Artemis raised an eyebrow. This was infuriating. How long was he going to be tormented by these bizarre half-memories which did not make sense at all?

"Something else you forgot to mention." He—yes, it was a he—wasn't a horse—what horse could speak? A centaur, perhaps?

This was ridiculous. Artemis scowled.

A different picture caught his eye. This too had one of those maddening symbols on it. It looked like just a bit of metal to the untrained eye, but Artemis was not a mastermind for nothing.

He compared the photograph with the one of the ring from eBay. They matched. Apparently they had been taken apart a long time ago; the edges had been long worn. But still, if Artemis had the two pieces today, they would fit together perfectly.

"Really, Commander. Such suspicion is wounding."

Ah. Some of it was coming back. Whatever it was. Artemis knitted his eyebrows together. His "volunteer" work at the County Police station was not to begin for a few days, and Father most certainly was suspicious of Artemis in the meanwhile. He would not let Artemis slip out without a valid excuse. Something unexpected and unrelated to crime. It was time for another plan.

The Lower Elements, Police Plaza, Haven City

Root was bellowing. Again. Holly slumped into her chair and massaged her temples. It had been a long day. Very long.

"I HAVE ENOUGH TO DO ALREADY WITH THE WHOLE CITY UNDER RANDOM RIOTS! AND NOW THIS! WHY DON'T THEY GET THEIR OWN WARLOCKS ON IT!"

The sound of something smashing came from Root's office, and a small gnome hurried out, looking extremely relieved.

The LEP officers were watching with relative amusement and curiosity. The gnome drew himself up to his height—which really wasn't that impressive—and straightened his Council clerk uniform. He plunked down a large case of files that he had been holding onto a nearby desk loudly.

"These are for the technical genius. The one who claimed he could figure out anything." The gnome sniffed, trying to look important, and failed.

Root came out of his office, wielding a ceramic pot like a Neutrino. Holly shared wary glances at her fellow officers, and they ducked simultaneously.

"GET OUT!"

The gnome gave a frightened squeak and tumbled out of the door, the ceramic pot barely missing his large head. It shattered deafeningly on the doorframe.

"FOALY!" Root roared.

Foaly's head popped out of Ops Booth cautiously. He didn't dare make a jab at Root at the moment. The last time Root had gone in a bellowing rage, Foaly had suggested he retire. Root had burst a blood vessel in his neck and had to be rushed to the emergency room.

"Yes, Commander?"

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Holly smirked at Foaly, glad not to be on the receiving end of Root's lecture.

"Er—how?" Foaly asked meekly. Root's eyes bugged.

"SHORT, WIPE THAT SMILE OFF YOUR FACE! VERBIL, DON'T YOU HAVE SOME PAPERWORK TO DO? AND YOU! KELP! GET BACK ON CROWD CONTROL! WHAT ARE ALL OF YOU STANDING AROUND FOR! GET TO WORK!"

The LEP officers looked about, unfazed, and Police Plaza was buzzing with the sound of work in a few seconds.

"Kelp, get those files in Ops Booth. Short, get in here."

Trouble, who was about to exit, was rather confused. "Didn't you just—"

Root's red face turned purple. "Get in the Ops Booth, d'arvit!"

Holly raised an eyebrow at Foaly, who in turn gave her a confused look. Holly shrugged and helped Kelp move the heavy case into the Operations Booth.

"What's this about, Commander?"

Root was muttering, still on the last vestiges of his rage. "Council is in a mess—half the People are either sick, dying, dead, or rioting. The warlocks don't have a cure for this weird disease either, so now they're sticking the LEP with some stupid hunch on how to save us!"

Trouble paled. Foaly quirked his eyebrows up again. "But again—how is this my fault?"

"Shut up, centaur. Clerk Russell said you sent a letter to the Council a while back. One of your stupid hunches. And now, on top of the Trasovan case, the riots, we have to go on a bloody treasure hunt!"

"Treasure hunt?" Trouble's eyes lit up. Holly brightened. Foaly was examining the files with great interest.

"Huh. So it does exist," he murmured, flipping through various pages.

"Damn right it does! Stupid politics," said Root, "The only reason we have to do this is because the Council has too much to deal with, not to mention elections, and now they have a plague on their hands."

Holly sat down on the desk, eyeing Foaly. "So are we dropping Trasovan and his goblins?"

Root glared at her. "Obviously. He hasn't turned up anywhere, and we have no leads. We can't do anything about him right now, and it doesn't seem like he's doing anything. We'll deal with him if he turns up, but for now, we have bigger fish to fry."

Foaly gave Root a calculating look. "Are sure that's the best thing to do?"

Root lit a fungus cigar. "It's the only thing we can do."

"Okay, what exactly are we talking about here?" asked Holly. "What kind of treasure hunt are you on about?"

"Something that can save the People," said Foaly, handing a crinkled piece of parchment to Trouble.

Trouble wafted the fungus smoke away from him, trying to concentrate on the sheet. The smoke drifted to Holly, who grimaced blew the toxic cloud back to Root.

"I don't get it," said Trouble, at a complete loss. "How is this supposed to cure the disease?"

Holly took the parchment.  A bit of it crumpled off—it was clearly very old. More than several centuries— the date showed it was recorded when the People still lived aboveground.

"Broken apart, its work is not yet done.

The Heart of Time has only begun.

Born of human and fairy life,

She may bring peace or trouble and strife.

Joined with one fowl by name and foul by nature,

The disease she may cure.

Beware of discord and enmity

Between two peoples who cannot see.

Blind to each other, dead alone,

They must join together and become one.

Broken paths she may mend,

Only then shall the Heart of Time end.

"What the hell is this—this—Heart of Time?"

Foaly took the parchment from Holly, wincing as the paper sliced into his finger. "These manuscripts should be updated," he grumbled.

Trouble rolled his eyes; Holly gave a derisive snort, and Root glared at Foaly. "Go on, Foaly. Explain what the hell this thing is."

"Okay, okay," he said, "My genius is so unappreciated." Foaly laid out several more pieces of parchment on the table. "Apparently during what the Mud Men called the Black Death, in which many humans died, the disease spread to the People. That's what I'm guessing. Frond IV has problems bigger than a bull troll's—"

"Foaly," warned Root, "Get on with it."

"Right," Foaly nodded, "Anyway, Frond IV has big problems. Some of the elves try to find a cure, but nothing turns up. Then this other Mud Man, Merlin, who had a bit of magic on his own—"

"How is that possible?" Holly asked.

Foaly shrugged. "Lots of things were possible back then. The People lived aboveground, Mud People could work some magic—"

Trouble looked at the aged parchment with new deference. "That's old."

"According to these records, Merlin and a group of elves pooled a lot of power into this one artifact and they presented it to Frond IV. He agreed to use it once, and it cured the People."

Root chewed on the end of his fungus cigar. "That's what the Council wants it for."

"I don't know," said Foaly, the probing look in his eyes again. "It could. That's not all the Heart of Time is capable of. These records—they showed it could wreak enough power to—to—"

"Blow lots of things up?" offered Holly.

"Catastrophic destruction?" Trouble grinned. He liked action movies. Some of those human ones were pretty entertaining. "End of the world?"

Root spat out the end of his fungus cigar. It landed noisily on Foaly's desk. Foaly looked at the greenish-gray chewed mess on his desk with distaste. "Something of that proportion," said Foaly, "It doesn't say exactly what you can do with it, but 'unlimited power' goes pretty well along the lines."

"Doesn't matter," said Root. "Council going to be using it anyways."

Holly raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you really feel safe having this thing in the hands of the Council?"

Root almost choked on the end of his cigar. "Well—okay—where is this thing?"

"Getting it won't be a problem," said Foaly, laying out several detailed paintings on the parchment. It was a beautiful design, with interlocking rings with Gnommish inscriptions, and in the center was a carved violet jewel in the shape of an infinity symbol. Foaly laid out another sheet of parchment, where the different interlocking rings were separated from the infinity jewel. "They were split into five pieces, which I'll check the location of—most likely museums and private owners above ground."

A light turned on in Holly's head. "Let me see that prophecy again—" She checked it again, and swore. Holly jabbed a finger at a line. "You missed this one detail—assuming this fortune teller was right, the one supposed to operate the Heart of Time is someone fowl by name and foul by nature!"

"D'arvit," said Root. "How accurate are these records? Who told the prophecy?"

True prophecies among the People were rare; true prophets were rarer. "Ohm the Phlegm pot cleaner, turned prophet to the king after seeing several visions. All of his prophecies came true—but the biggest prophecy—" Foaly fished out an different sheet of parchment; this one came from his desk.

He handed it to Root and smirked. "It predicted Artemis Fowl would be able to escape the time field."

"D'arvit! Why haven't I ever seen this?" bellowed Root.

"You never asked," said Foaly delicately.

Trouble looked charily at Root, who looked on the verge of exploding again. "So, Foaly—how did it work before? I mean—so we can repeat it and get the same results, right?"

Foaly glanced at another sheet. "Frond channeled the power, it seems. It's recorded that other people—humans and elves—have used it after him as well, before it was broken apart. There's a whole twisted history of things that happened when it wasn't Frond using it—Atlantis was sunk at this time apparently with the Heart of Time, and some really—"

"So it would have to be Fowl and someone with Frond's blood then!" said Trouble excitedly. "We use this to cure the People! After all—"

Holly groaned. "Please. Don't tell me that the fate of the People is in the hands of Artemis Fowl and Lili Frond."

Author's Notes: Okay, this chapter didn't turn out the way I expected, so chapter five is going to be The Black Cat. The explaining took a bit longer…but it's done! Yay! Thanks so much for the awesome reviews! You guys are so loved! I glow. XD

Trinity: Thanks for the support and the spiffy reviews—you're awesome!

Samantha and karlin: Yes, there are a lot of plot threads…confusing, nyeh? I'm trying to get it tied together…reading this chapter, have any of you figured it out yet? Hehe!

Taedere: Wow! Thanks for the glowing review! You're awesome! Hehe, be a person…XD Toaster!

Nostie: Sorry, didn't get much of Alanis in this chapter…not that much development there! O_o Next chapter, promise! I did explain 'wtf the is The Heart of Time.' Kind of.

Thanks to other reviewers too! I'm glad you're enjoying the story and taking the time to review! Butterbeers for everyone! Cheers to Sam, lutefa, EvilSpirit, Krystal Black, Leeny, Jaina, Lemon Drop, darkwanderer, Roxie Faye, Astil, Pink-Flower, and kingleby!

Chapter Five: mysterious phone calls, the Black Cat, Alanis, Mulch….O_o

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