Niki- Okay, we're going to type this next chapter from the point of view of
the other four, the ones that were in that other room. I know I'm still
using commas too often, because of the comments Vi gives me. Who needs a
well-rounded critique when you've got someone like her reading over your
stories?
Vi- You gonna respond to your reviews?
Niki- Right. Okay.
Anthony1234, thanks for reviewing. For explanation about my power over Vi,
see the changes I made to my bio. Thanks for alerting me to that need for
clarification. Same to Laurie. Also to Laurie, I figured you had read them.
I'll put that in this chapter. And we'll get to the Why aspect in the
fourth chapter (I hope).
And thanks to everyone else who reviewed. Vi- And that thing that you were complaining about to me earlier, right before I had that little relapse, what was it again? Niki- Right, that. Well, I'm used to criticism and harsh, blunt critiques that force you to improve. So, please, do critique me. I need stuff like that so that I can improve. Anything you have noticed about my fanfic that needs improvement, could you please tell me? Thank you in advance to anyone who is reading this and rubbing their hands together with glee because they'll be able to be harsh with this. But, please, no corrections on formatting. My computer doesn't like fanfiction.net, so it ends up messing up the format by getting rid of Returns and Tabs and everything else you might notice. Vi- But any advice on how to fix that (We have a Mac, if that info helps) would be greatly appreciated. Niki- Also, we haven't been online for a while, so sorry if people have been waiting. Vi- Well it's not totally our fault, I mean, Skyfaxy got BORING. Niki- Don't yell at her. Vi- ::grumbles:: Tch. Well, she IS kind of annoying, but I guess... Niki- Good. Let's not bore you people any more with this silly chatter. On to the story! Vi- She's sounding more and more like Math Boy every day. (Don't ask, okay? Inside joke. Math boy isn't a real person.) Oh, and, here's the disclaimer: We don't own Artemis Fowl or any related characters. We don't own any characters other than Niki or Vi either, because those other characters own themselves.
Cristina sat on the floor of the guest room. It looked very expensive, which was not surprising at all, considering the fact that Artemis (senior) and Angeline Fowl were very rich, and had been made richer by their son's exploits. She looked around her with renewed amazement, not at the room, but at the people (though some of them weren't exactly human) in it. Three other humans were in the room: Laurie, Riyo, and Xandria. Sitting next to Riyo and Xandria, though, were the demons that Riyo and Xandria had described so often in their fanfics: Kenshin and Set. Kenshin seemed around sixteen years old, but he was similar to Riyo in most other respects. That's if you didn't count the black wings on his back or those subtle characteristics that let someone as knowledgeable as Cristina know that this was no human, but a creature much more dangerous. Set had that same demonic sense of danger coming from him that Kenshin had. Set looked like a boy version of Xandria, but with really creepy eyes that would scare anyone. The two demons unnerved Cristina, but also fascinated her. She had known that Xandria and Riyo had talked to these demons, but she had been offered no proof of their existence.
'Cristina! If you can hear me, then please answer,' said a voice inside Cristina's head that sounded like Niki, but different, somehow. Suddenly, a screen appeared in her mind's eye. A picture of a demon's face was facing her. The demon looked like Niki, but had lavender ears, a collar, fangs, and longer hair. Cristina recognized the slightly deeper voice at once, having heard it a few times. This was the more mature Niki? A demon was talking through her? No wonder Niki had had such a good sense of what demons were like. This, Cristina recalled, was Vi. Vieronika Pyro.
'Umm... Yeah, that's me,' said Vi. 'I can kind read your thoughts so you don't have to try to send them.'
'It's okay,' thought Cristina, 'I can talk normally inside my mind. So you're Vi? Does Niki have a plan?'
'Yeah, kind of. She just threatened Artemis and she expects you to hold up your part of the plan.'
'But I don't know my part of the plan. I know where the hidden cameras are, I know what happened to us, but I don't have a plan yet.'
'Is Set there? Can I talk to him?'
'Mmm... is that relevant?'
''Nope! Can I talk to him anyway? Please? Just a sec.' Vi disappeared. Cristina noticed Set seem to go into a trance. Xandria noticed, too, and she could apparently hear and see the conversation.
"Could you ask her what my part of the plan is, Set?" asked Cristina hesitantly. "I don't know what Vi was talking about. Maybe I should try to contact Niki instead, because Vi doesn't seem to be much help."
Cristina went into a trance. She focused her mind and her energies on Niki's voice, Niki's image, and Niki's essence. Suddenly, she was inside Niki's mind. It was purple, with chambers leading to each of the rooms for Niki's "entities" and a fuzzy purple carpet. Cristina wondered how Niki had managed to decorate her mind so that you could see nothing beyond walls and doors and ornaments. The hallway seemed to stretch on into infinity. File cabinets lined the walls where there were no doors, and an ancient-looking entity with a long, silver and white beard was organizing every new file and commenting on them as he worked. Black-White-and-Grey, Niki had called him. Cristina looked at the doors. Some were colored, some were decorated, and some were numbered. She saw two that stood out from the rest: a door with a painted demonic flame on it and a door with a purple butterfly and elaborate drawings of eyes as adornments. Cristina knew which was Vi's and which was Niki's— it wasn't all that hard to tell. She knocked on Niki's door, the one with the eyes, of course. It asked her for her name and status.
"Cristina P. Friend of Niki's."
"Come on in, Cristina. Niki's waiting for you right inside," said the door, friendly and cheerful.
Cristina stepped in and looked around. There was a plush couch along the side of the room, and a library full of all the books that Niki had ever read. "Cozy, isn't it?" said Niki. Cristina almost jumped. She hadn't seen Niki there, despite what the door had said. "So, how do you like my mind? Vi and I have been working on it for a long time."
Cristina looked closer at her surroundings. Computer speakers lined the glowing blue walls and a screen facing the couch was displaying two images: One of Cristina's face and one of Set's face. Each image was hi-res and extremely detailed. Niki was relatively skilled at this. Niki noticed the direction of Cristina's eyes.
"You like the Monitor? I can change it at will, and it has data on each of my friends based on my memories. Every dialogue we've ever had is encrypted onto a disc of important conversations. How is it?" babbled Niki cheerfully, clearly excited to have a visitor.
"It's pretty nice, I have to admit. But I found the piece of creation that each of us carries inside, and I use it to create anything. It never runs out. I have a few rooms at the moment: One is for memories without dimensions, and another is for music. I have an art room that is similar to this room, but it's not as developed or organized. I have a few other rooms, too, but they are all outdoors in a sort of nature that I created."
"Whatever. Using the piece of creation is cheating. Vi and I worked long and hard on this hallway. It was by sheer skill that we made this. We've got a forest too, and a training room for practicing Karate. Plus we have rooms for each entity, soul chambers that we personalize. We set up the computer system based on my original mind and we uploaded some documents and music. You want to hear some music?" Immediately, Christmas songs in French started playing. Apparently, Niki had memorized them and encrypted them into her system. Niki's soul chamber was like a house in itself, but quite better than any house in the real world. "By the way, has Laurie read any of the Artemis Fowl books?"
"Yes, of course. That isn't very important, though. What is important is what plan you have to get us back to our own dimension."
"I need your help for that, Cristina. You can get into my mind, while I need to send a demon to carry my messages. I can't travel freely, not even in this dimension of magic and power. I didn't get most of my powers back. You did. That's the difference between us. You got powers when we were sent to that last world, but they were hidden and inaccessible. I became adept at controlling demons through the little amount of magic I still had. I used that skill to control Vi with that collar. That's why I have control over my demon, but Xandria and Riyo don't. They got their demons by inheritance. I got mine the same way, but I gained her obedience through concentration of power. My dad taught me inadvertently how to restore the powers that I'd had. He and my Aunt Valeria, my dad's sister, taught me to meditate, which allowed me to access my inner self and release the few powers I had. That meditation is why I could use my share of the powers and you couldn't. You didn't have a teacher with the ageless skill that my dad and my aunt have. Now I'm useless, while you have access to your powers. You're the only one who has the ability to get us back."
"I do?" asked Cristina, baffled. There had been nothing to indicate the return of her powers. "Which ones?"
"Try it. You'll see. I promise not to help or hinder you. I'll make this couch and everything on it as it would be in the main world." Niki told the truth. As soon as Cristina moved her finger and pointed, the pillow lifted into the air and flung itself into Niki's face. Cristina smiled, waiting for a reaction. She didn't have to wait for long. Niki spluttered, "I'll get you for that! We're in MY world, now!"
Niki did indeed "get her for that." She threw pillows at lightning speed, summoning them from nowhere and flinging them with a twitch of her finger. Cristina fought back valiantly; summoning shields and sending the pillows right back. The room sensed that its owner was in danger, and joined in, sending tendrils of plastic and metal out, only to have them severed by Cristina's newly reacquired powers. Niki ran out of ammo before Cristina did, which amazed Niki to no end. Cristina stopped fighting as soon as she saw that Niki was out of offensive power.
"I can't believe my powers are back. But how?"
"We're in Artemis Fowl's world, so magic is allowed to exist without being forced to hide within its owners. That's why you, Laurie, and Cass can see the demons now. You were great with your powers. You're a bit rusty, though— I see that being in the mortal world for so long has put a damper on some of your skills. If you had been in Vi's room, they wouldn't have worked as well because it forbids any shielding powers. You would've needed some stronger powers. She rigged that device up herself. You would have been tortured to no end if you had tried that stunt with her. Let's see... chains, fire, dull knives... shall I go on?"
Niki wished that Cristina could be a little more animated, maybe surprised, but that wasn't Cristina's style. There was probably a sarcastic comment on its way, so Niki prepared to "Whatever" it off. Suddenly, there was a flash of light from the doorway. Niki changed expression rapidly, running to her Monitor. Niki knew what that light meant— intruders in her mind. She looked about to panic.
"Ruby, show images of intruders," she ordered the Monitor aloud.
"Right away, ma'am," said the speaker nearest to the Monitor.
"What's going on, Niki?" asked Cristina worriedly.
"Outside, Cass is freaking out and trying to get me to snap out of it. Inside, we've got ourselves intruders. They aren't regular intruders, though, because they managed to get past the defense grid. The system recognized their genetic code and let them in. Either Artemis has got himself some DNA from our friends, or the others have found a way in."
"I like the second choice better. Don't you think that maybe Vi let them in?"
"Very likely. I'll check the codes scanned." To the computer, Niki added, "Ruby, tell me the genetic codes that were identified when they entered."
"Okay. We've got Vieronika Pyro, Riyo Katanna, Xandria D'Arc, Laurie Morrin, Kenshin, and Set. And an unusual energy signature that looks like a computer. Should I show them in or let them proceed to Vi's room?"
"Cristina, you come with me. We're going to go talk to a demon."
"Are you sure that's wise? In front of the other two demons? I get the feeling she'd be embarrassed about having to do what you say. I don't like the sound of this at all."
"What's the problem, not up for a little risk? I thought you liked risks. Besides, Vi HAS to do what I say. If I say she has to show them out, she will, whether she wants to or not. And if she tries to rebel because of that, I'll remodel her brain with a scalpel."
"I have another idea. Having the others here might be useful. Maybe you could thank Vi instead. It would make a lot more sense, because the others may have memorized the way in."
"True, very true. I like the way you think. Let's go." "'I like the way you think'? That sounds like something Xandria would say." "I've been spending a lot of time with her. After all, she is in most of my classes at school." Niki led Cristina out the door, and Ruby sighed as the automated door hissed closed.
Niki- How do you like this, people? I know I didn't do this chapter from my perspective, but is it still okay? Who should the next chapter follow? Vi, Laurie, Riyo, Xandria, Kenshin, or Set? Let's take a vote! Vi- You are so weird. Niki- Why, thank you. ::grins:: Vi- Anyway, reviews, please. I have to go and get her some chocolate so she'll stop grinning like a banshee. (Is that even possible? Do banshees grin?) Niki is freaking me out. Niki- ^_^ Vi- ::gulps:: Niki- ^_^ Vi- You're scaring me, Niki. Do you do this every time someone tells you you're weird? Niki- Yup! ^_^ Vi- ::muttering:: no-wonder-people-think-she's-crazy. Niki- What was that? Vi- Nothing. Niki- Good. ^_^ ::huge grin:: Vi- HELP ME! ::runs off screaming:: Niki- Bye! ^_^ I love scaring her. ^_^ Oh, and a huge thanks to our editor- in-chief, Skyfaxy, whose great editing made this chapter so good. ^_^ Thank you, my friend.
And thanks to everyone else who reviewed. Vi- And that thing that you were complaining about to me earlier, right before I had that little relapse, what was it again? Niki- Right, that. Well, I'm used to criticism and harsh, blunt critiques that force you to improve. So, please, do critique me. I need stuff like that so that I can improve. Anything you have noticed about my fanfic that needs improvement, could you please tell me? Thank you in advance to anyone who is reading this and rubbing their hands together with glee because they'll be able to be harsh with this. But, please, no corrections on formatting. My computer doesn't like fanfiction.net, so it ends up messing up the format by getting rid of Returns and Tabs and everything else you might notice. Vi- But any advice on how to fix that (We have a Mac, if that info helps) would be greatly appreciated. Niki- Also, we haven't been online for a while, so sorry if people have been waiting. Vi- Well it's not totally our fault, I mean, Skyfaxy got BORING. Niki- Don't yell at her. Vi- ::grumbles:: Tch. Well, she IS kind of annoying, but I guess... Niki- Good. Let's not bore you people any more with this silly chatter. On to the story! Vi- She's sounding more and more like Math Boy every day. (Don't ask, okay? Inside joke. Math boy isn't a real person.) Oh, and, here's the disclaimer: We don't own Artemis Fowl or any related characters. We don't own any characters other than Niki or Vi either, because those other characters own themselves.
Cristina sat on the floor of the guest room. It looked very expensive, which was not surprising at all, considering the fact that Artemis (senior) and Angeline Fowl were very rich, and had been made richer by their son's exploits. She looked around her with renewed amazement, not at the room, but at the people (though some of them weren't exactly human) in it. Three other humans were in the room: Laurie, Riyo, and Xandria. Sitting next to Riyo and Xandria, though, were the demons that Riyo and Xandria had described so often in their fanfics: Kenshin and Set. Kenshin seemed around sixteen years old, but he was similar to Riyo in most other respects. That's if you didn't count the black wings on his back or those subtle characteristics that let someone as knowledgeable as Cristina know that this was no human, but a creature much more dangerous. Set had that same demonic sense of danger coming from him that Kenshin had. Set looked like a boy version of Xandria, but with really creepy eyes that would scare anyone. The two demons unnerved Cristina, but also fascinated her. She had known that Xandria and Riyo had talked to these demons, but she had been offered no proof of their existence.
'Cristina! If you can hear me, then please answer,' said a voice inside Cristina's head that sounded like Niki, but different, somehow. Suddenly, a screen appeared in her mind's eye. A picture of a demon's face was facing her. The demon looked like Niki, but had lavender ears, a collar, fangs, and longer hair. Cristina recognized the slightly deeper voice at once, having heard it a few times. This was the more mature Niki? A demon was talking through her? No wonder Niki had had such a good sense of what demons were like. This, Cristina recalled, was Vi. Vieronika Pyro.
'Umm... Yeah, that's me,' said Vi. 'I can kind read your thoughts so you don't have to try to send them.'
'It's okay,' thought Cristina, 'I can talk normally inside my mind. So you're Vi? Does Niki have a plan?'
'Yeah, kind of. She just threatened Artemis and she expects you to hold up your part of the plan.'
'But I don't know my part of the plan. I know where the hidden cameras are, I know what happened to us, but I don't have a plan yet.'
'Is Set there? Can I talk to him?'
'Mmm... is that relevant?'
''Nope! Can I talk to him anyway? Please? Just a sec.' Vi disappeared. Cristina noticed Set seem to go into a trance. Xandria noticed, too, and she could apparently hear and see the conversation.
"Could you ask her what my part of the plan is, Set?" asked Cristina hesitantly. "I don't know what Vi was talking about. Maybe I should try to contact Niki instead, because Vi doesn't seem to be much help."
Cristina went into a trance. She focused her mind and her energies on Niki's voice, Niki's image, and Niki's essence. Suddenly, she was inside Niki's mind. It was purple, with chambers leading to each of the rooms for Niki's "entities" and a fuzzy purple carpet. Cristina wondered how Niki had managed to decorate her mind so that you could see nothing beyond walls and doors and ornaments. The hallway seemed to stretch on into infinity. File cabinets lined the walls where there were no doors, and an ancient-looking entity with a long, silver and white beard was organizing every new file and commenting on them as he worked. Black-White-and-Grey, Niki had called him. Cristina looked at the doors. Some were colored, some were decorated, and some were numbered. She saw two that stood out from the rest: a door with a painted demonic flame on it and a door with a purple butterfly and elaborate drawings of eyes as adornments. Cristina knew which was Vi's and which was Niki's— it wasn't all that hard to tell. She knocked on Niki's door, the one with the eyes, of course. It asked her for her name and status.
"Cristina P. Friend of Niki's."
"Come on in, Cristina. Niki's waiting for you right inside," said the door, friendly and cheerful.
Cristina stepped in and looked around. There was a plush couch along the side of the room, and a library full of all the books that Niki had ever read. "Cozy, isn't it?" said Niki. Cristina almost jumped. She hadn't seen Niki there, despite what the door had said. "So, how do you like my mind? Vi and I have been working on it for a long time."
Cristina looked closer at her surroundings. Computer speakers lined the glowing blue walls and a screen facing the couch was displaying two images: One of Cristina's face and one of Set's face. Each image was hi-res and extremely detailed. Niki was relatively skilled at this. Niki noticed the direction of Cristina's eyes.
"You like the Monitor? I can change it at will, and it has data on each of my friends based on my memories. Every dialogue we've ever had is encrypted onto a disc of important conversations. How is it?" babbled Niki cheerfully, clearly excited to have a visitor.
"It's pretty nice, I have to admit. But I found the piece of creation that each of us carries inside, and I use it to create anything. It never runs out. I have a few rooms at the moment: One is for memories without dimensions, and another is for music. I have an art room that is similar to this room, but it's not as developed or organized. I have a few other rooms, too, but they are all outdoors in a sort of nature that I created."
"Whatever. Using the piece of creation is cheating. Vi and I worked long and hard on this hallway. It was by sheer skill that we made this. We've got a forest too, and a training room for practicing Karate. Plus we have rooms for each entity, soul chambers that we personalize. We set up the computer system based on my original mind and we uploaded some documents and music. You want to hear some music?" Immediately, Christmas songs in French started playing. Apparently, Niki had memorized them and encrypted them into her system. Niki's soul chamber was like a house in itself, but quite better than any house in the real world. "By the way, has Laurie read any of the Artemis Fowl books?"
"Yes, of course. That isn't very important, though. What is important is what plan you have to get us back to our own dimension."
"I need your help for that, Cristina. You can get into my mind, while I need to send a demon to carry my messages. I can't travel freely, not even in this dimension of magic and power. I didn't get most of my powers back. You did. That's the difference between us. You got powers when we were sent to that last world, but they were hidden and inaccessible. I became adept at controlling demons through the little amount of magic I still had. I used that skill to control Vi with that collar. That's why I have control over my demon, but Xandria and Riyo don't. They got their demons by inheritance. I got mine the same way, but I gained her obedience through concentration of power. My dad taught me inadvertently how to restore the powers that I'd had. He and my Aunt Valeria, my dad's sister, taught me to meditate, which allowed me to access my inner self and release the few powers I had. That meditation is why I could use my share of the powers and you couldn't. You didn't have a teacher with the ageless skill that my dad and my aunt have. Now I'm useless, while you have access to your powers. You're the only one who has the ability to get us back."
"I do?" asked Cristina, baffled. There had been nothing to indicate the return of her powers. "Which ones?"
"Try it. You'll see. I promise not to help or hinder you. I'll make this couch and everything on it as it would be in the main world." Niki told the truth. As soon as Cristina moved her finger and pointed, the pillow lifted into the air and flung itself into Niki's face. Cristina smiled, waiting for a reaction. She didn't have to wait for long. Niki spluttered, "I'll get you for that! We're in MY world, now!"
Niki did indeed "get her for that." She threw pillows at lightning speed, summoning them from nowhere and flinging them with a twitch of her finger. Cristina fought back valiantly; summoning shields and sending the pillows right back. The room sensed that its owner was in danger, and joined in, sending tendrils of plastic and metal out, only to have them severed by Cristina's newly reacquired powers. Niki ran out of ammo before Cristina did, which amazed Niki to no end. Cristina stopped fighting as soon as she saw that Niki was out of offensive power.
"I can't believe my powers are back. But how?"
"We're in Artemis Fowl's world, so magic is allowed to exist without being forced to hide within its owners. That's why you, Laurie, and Cass can see the demons now. You were great with your powers. You're a bit rusty, though— I see that being in the mortal world for so long has put a damper on some of your skills. If you had been in Vi's room, they wouldn't have worked as well because it forbids any shielding powers. You would've needed some stronger powers. She rigged that device up herself. You would have been tortured to no end if you had tried that stunt with her. Let's see... chains, fire, dull knives... shall I go on?"
Niki wished that Cristina could be a little more animated, maybe surprised, but that wasn't Cristina's style. There was probably a sarcastic comment on its way, so Niki prepared to "Whatever" it off. Suddenly, there was a flash of light from the doorway. Niki changed expression rapidly, running to her Monitor. Niki knew what that light meant— intruders in her mind. She looked about to panic.
"Ruby, show images of intruders," she ordered the Monitor aloud.
"Right away, ma'am," said the speaker nearest to the Monitor.
"What's going on, Niki?" asked Cristina worriedly.
"Outside, Cass is freaking out and trying to get me to snap out of it. Inside, we've got ourselves intruders. They aren't regular intruders, though, because they managed to get past the defense grid. The system recognized their genetic code and let them in. Either Artemis has got himself some DNA from our friends, or the others have found a way in."
"I like the second choice better. Don't you think that maybe Vi let them in?"
"Very likely. I'll check the codes scanned." To the computer, Niki added, "Ruby, tell me the genetic codes that were identified when they entered."
"Okay. We've got Vieronika Pyro, Riyo Katanna, Xandria D'Arc, Laurie Morrin, Kenshin, and Set. And an unusual energy signature that looks like a computer. Should I show them in or let them proceed to Vi's room?"
"Cristina, you come with me. We're going to go talk to a demon."
"Are you sure that's wise? In front of the other two demons? I get the feeling she'd be embarrassed about having to do what you say. I don't like the sound of this at all."
"What's the problem, not up for a little risk? I thought you liked risks. Besides, Vi HAS to do what I say. If I say she has to show them out, she will, whether she wants to or not. And if she tries to rebel because of that, I'll remodel her brain with a scalpel."
"I have another idea. Having the others here might be useful. Maybe you could thank Vi instead. It would make a lot more sense, because the others may have memorized the way in."
"True, very true. I like the way you think. Let's go." "'I like the way you think'? That sounds like something Xandria would say." "I've been spending a lot of time with her. After all, she is in most of my classes at school." Niki led Cristina out the door, and Ruby sighed as the automated door hissed closed.
Niki- How do you like this, people? I know I didn't do this chapter from my perspective, but is it still okay? Who should the next chapter follow? Vi, Laurie, Riyo, Xandria, Kenshin, or Set? Let's take a vote! Vi- You are so weird. Niki- Why, thank you. ::grins:: Vi- Anyway, reviews, please. I have to go and get her some chocolate so she'll stop grinning like a banshee. (Is that even possible? Do banshees grin?) Niki is freaking me out. Niki- ^_^ Vi- ::gulps:: Niki- ^_^ Vi- You're scaring me, Niki. Do you do this every time someone tells you you're weird? Niki- Yup! ^_^ Vi- ::muttering:: no-wonder-people-think-she's-crazy. Niki- What was that? Vi- Nothing. Niki- Good. ^_^ ::huge grin:: Vi- HELP ME! ::runs off screaming:: Niki- Bye! ^_^ I love scaring her. ^_^ Oh, and a huge thanks to our editor- in-chief, Skyfaxy, whose great editing made this chapter so good. ^_^ Thank you, my friend.