Chapter 8: Perception.
-NLE (National Lower Elements) Hospital, Lower Elements-
Opal Koboi had long since awakened from of her coma. She glared at the white wall to her left, as if it held all the faults in the world. Suddenly, she banged her fist against the steel cot, causing a dent in it. Opal quickly withdrew her hand, rubbing it vigorously. "Ahhh!" she screamed. "Ahhhhhhhhhh!"
Briar Cudgeon, a traitor! I never should have trusted him, Opal thought. And if it weren't for that Artemis Fowl! I could have destroyed the LEP with the goblins! Whenever she thought of the luxury and bliss she could have had, Opal couldn't suppress the wrath bubbling inside her. She wanted to scream with all her might. She wanted to pull out her hair and burn a hole in the walls with her eyes.
She wanted revenge.
No, she desired it. She longed for it, even if it meant the end of the world.
A nurse came in with Opal's daily injections. Now I'm being accused of having a mental problem?! she thought. Honestly! What is the matter with these people? She waved a hand, ushering the nurse away. She didn't budge. Opal smashed the cart the nurse was pushing. Intimidated, the nurse then ran, babbling uncontrollably about a patient in Room 501 that is completely beside herself.
As Opal rubbed her temples in frustration, and also because of a migraine, she spotted a newspaper on the cart. She picked it up. The headline on the first page was "Artemis Fowl: Back Again?" It then listed Artemis's notorious acts and surmised that he was implementing a plan yet again. Actually, it was more of a sham, for the Haven Times barely had anything enough to fill more than two pages – but also it was a lucky guess. Artemis had come back underground, although not for the exact purpose that was listed in the article. It was a good thing that whoever wrote the article was correct, for if it was not, Opal would have mutilated the journalist. For the People, this situation was bad. For vindictive Opal, it was an opportune chance for revenge.
Opal closed her eyes smugly and drifted off to sleep.
Holly scanned the hospital impatiently. She then went to the information desk and pulled out her badge.
"I need to see Opal Koboi as soon as possible." Holly said breathlessly. "It's LEP business. Where is her room?"
The nurse took one look at the badge and gasped. "Oh my god! You're Holly Short?" she gushed.
Holly blinked. "Do I know you?"
"No, but do I know you!" the nurse replied vehemently. "You're the only female officer in the LEP, and once was abducted by a Mud Boy named Artemis Fowl! I've always wanted to meet you!" She took Holly's hand and shook it strongly.
Holly said, "I don't mean to be rude, but I don't have time for this. Where is Opal Koboi's room?"
The fervent nurse soon turned somber. "Oh. Room 501. She's in a bad case though. I'm not sure you would want to see her-" The nurse opened her eyes. Holly was gone. In fact, she was in front of Room 501 in 30 seconds.
As Holly banged open the door and triggered her Neutrino in a pretentious manner, Opal awoke and opened her eyes groggily. As she squinted with her bleary eyes, she saw a red-haired leprechaun with a coffee-colored countenance that looked a bit too familiar. Memories of the B'waKell flashed into her mind as she fainted, hearing Holly's voice aloof and layered with the mesmer, "Sleep, Opal. Sleep."
Haven, Lower Elements
Artemis trifled with the Demolisher 2004 that was left on the ground in the D-Room. He moved his hand rapidly so that the handle shifted to conform to the shape of his hand. Knowing that the malleable material had a memory function, he switched the handle to the first shape, most likely Spiro's grip.
He looked up as Holly materialized in front of him, with Opal hanging limply at her side.
"I'm going to make her talk." Holly explained. Then she turned to Diana. "Tether her to this chair." Diana obeyed, something that she did not often do. For some reason, it felt wise to obey her rather than defy her. Diana became almost hypnotized herself, for she had never seen a fairy do a mesmer before as Holly's voice became a choir of sopranos and altos once again. "Open your eyes now, Opal. It's me, Holly,:
Opal jolted, but her eyelids drooped as she submitted to the mesmer. She knew better than to resist it. "Ah, Holly. Long time no see, eh?" You're not going to kill me, are you? I hope that's not the reason you brought me here."
"Afraid not, Opal." Holly sighed. "I must interrogate you, though I hardly want to. Do you know what is causing the turmoil in the LEP now? Do you know anything clandestine about the LEP?"
"No, and no." Opal's reply was terse.
Holly's voice was now more layered, penetrating through Opal's skull. "Are you sure, Opal? You don't?"
"No," Opal replied. "Though I'm dying to know."
"I see," Holly said. "Artemis, examine the fingerprints on the Demolisher. Now."
Artemis scanned the gun, and divided the fingerprints into three different groups. All this was done in three seconds. "So there is another fairy involved in all this. As far as we know, the instigator is not Opal Koboi." He said as he typed.
"Obviously." Holly replied. "Search the DNA for each of them. I'm going to take Opal back." She started to shield herself, but then looked back and grinned at Artemis. "For once, the Artemis Fowl was wrong." Then she disappeared,
Artemis's eyebrow wrinkled deeply, and Diana grinned. "What are you smiling at?" he demanded.
Diana smiled. "I was thinking about your memory file. I especially liked a certain part of it. Want me to quote it?"
Artemis was silent. How presumptuous and absurd this girl was, memorizing someone else's memory! It was certainly not any of her business, and Artemis was seriously offended. Despite his annoyance, Artemis couldn't help being curious
"Aurum Est Potestas. Gold is power. My belief in gold and its value was tenacious, until I went through important incidents with Captain Holly Short. My mind went under a significant metamorphosis. I realized that gold and lucre weren't the only things in life. I realized that my love for my parents, my friendship for Holly, and my memories of the fairies are the things that truly bought me happiness. That is why I do not want to lose my memories. I do not want to be the foolish, money-loving monstrosity I was before." Diana recited. "And you know what's funny, Artemis?"
"What?" Artemis asked nonchalantly.
"You finally knew that tangible materials were far less important than humanly emotions. That's a great evolution. But," Diana's eyes gleamed. "How come you never knew that there are things that are more important than your big brain?"
Artemis faced Diana. "For example?"
"Duh!" Diana smirked, proud to have taught Artemis something. "Courage. That's the guts to do something righteous. Friendliness. What you need to make companions. And morality. Man, you are seriously deprived of morality."
Artemis shrugged, trying to act indifferent as he was before. "I don't understand." But his astute mind began to think. The fingerprints began to match with Jon Spiro, Artemis Fowl II, and Keeth Gates. However, Artemis did not notice the unfamiliar name.
"I never knew there was a human being who didn't know about this already." Diana went on. "You do say you're a genius, but to me, you just seem plain stupid. Just think about it anyway. Do you really think your brainpower will get you anywhere besides making income?"
Artemis stared at the screens, unaware of the new name once more, as he mulled. He was also stunned, because he never thought that he would be referred to as stupid even once in his life. Was his brain merely a way to earn money? And why did he care about the answer to that question?
