Hello, everyone! -starts waving like crazy- Long time no see! Then again, it's only been a week. Ah well. My friends are out to play, but not me, no way. I just love to watch TV and log on the computer while listening to music, then lending a few DVDs of the movies I've missed seeing at the movies, while munching on some snacks.. Yeah, that is totally the days. So, that's what I'm planning to do.
suga CraZie: It's totally, entirely okay! You can leave a good review next time.
QQuagmire: Yeah, I got mixed up with the SOS thing, but the fact is that I'm too lazy to fix it. And all my friends and readers didn't recognize that particular error, so that proves you're fairly smart:) And may I ask a question of you? Quagmire means soft, muddy ground. Is there a reason?
neutralgal: EVERYONE likes my plot. It's just that I don't have the confidence to keep it as decent as it is now. Most novices screw up the ending after all their labor in the first and middle part. I don't want to do that.
buffyvh: Responses were sentby mail, and you read it. I think I'll do that from now on.
PeanutButterOreoCookieGirl99: You don't sound insane, because no one beats being crazy than the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Cyberspace. Well, at least in my story I'm the God, right?
cybergurl: No, actually, I'm a total slob, all my typos are discovered by someone else beforehand. I am not meticulous, though I wish I was:(
TrunkZy: Hehe. I've already thought most of the things you told me in the "AF story recipe." Because I'm a genius, of course. MUHAHAHAHAHA!
Chapter 12: Disclosed
Fowl Manor
Uh,oh, Butler thought silently. A man and a woman sitting on a bench in Artemis's patio were now coming closer towards him. They were the two people Artemis had managed to forget entirely about, despite his propensity to remember the most needless things. They were his parents. Now Arty was in major trouble….
"Why, Butler!" Angeline Fowl exclaimed, giving him a tight embrace. "We were waiting for you all along!" Her smile slowly faded as she realized that her son was not where he should have been, that is beside Butler, but somewhere else. Butler had abandoned his Principal.
"Butler, where's Arty?" Angeline frowned, out of apprehension rather than anger. Butler was never that irresponsible. He had never left Artemis's side since the day he was born. When Angeline was ill and Artemis Fowl the First had gone missing, Butler had been his guardian, always standing by Artemis's side, protecting him. He was the last person that would leave Artemis astray.
"Out to put another scheme into effect, I suppose," Artemis Fowl the First, who was a replica of what Artemis's adulthood will be, interrupted. "I thought I had made him understand! And Domovoi, I thought you knew better! You said it yourself- the number one duty of a Butler is to protect the Principal. Fulfilling the Principal's wish comes next!"
"Ah, yes, sir." Butler stammered. He now had to make up a lie, and it had to be a good one. "I could not stop him. He is, after all, a teenager. I owe you an apology, sir. But I did leave Juliet with him." Butler saw the distraught Angeline and quickly added "No need to worry." Then he turned to face Angeline. "For how long have you been back from Italy?"
"It's been about three days," Angeline, still frowning, wrinkled her brow, reminding Butler of Artemis once again. "Timmy. I think my little Arty is a trifling too smart. Maybe when he comes back, we should try to lower his IQ a bit-"
"Nonsense!" Artemis the First shouted. "He may be a child prodigy, but in a way, he's still so juvenile! He's still choosing crime over humanity, for God's sake!"
"Well, don't you think it's because you weren't there by his side in his childhood, teaching him the true meaning of life, and other aspects that fathers are supposed to teach their sons?"
While Angeline and Artemis Senior were quarreling, Butler had silently crept into the Fowl estate and called Artemis on his cellular phone. He picked it up on the first ring. "Butler?" Artemis said from the telephone. "I'm busy here. You know what I'm in the middle of, do you not?" His voice sounded far away, even tired. It seemed even more so because of the static. It's because of the distance, Butler decided.
"Artemis, your parents are back from Italy." Butler explained. "They say they've been back for about three days now. I'll try to stall them, but you've got to do some thing fast."
There were several seconds of silence before Artemis spoke up. "That's right. It somehow escaped my mind that they would be back eventually. Just tell them I'm on business."
"Yes, Artemis. But hurry up." Butler carefully placed the receiver back in its cradle.
Haven, Lower Elements
Artemis sighed and snapped shut his mobile phone. Dealing with Spiro was already enough for him already, but as usual, trouble did not leave him alone, and its last name was not Kelp.
"What is it?" Holly asked.
"It's my parents, Holly," Artemis replied. Holly was overwhelmed to see Artemis's eyes bloodshot with fatigue, and the skin below his eyes dark, as if shading the future. "They returned from their travel, and naturally found me missing." Holly, of course, didn't hear what Artemis just said, for she had been looking at his face which had now become a face of a man in his late twenties in just a few weeks. Holly's face began to transform into a expression of concern, but she hid it well. Much to her reluctance, Holly was gaining some of Artemis's qualities.
"Are we all informed?" Artemis asked, standing up from his chair. "I assure you that the plan will progress without hindrance. Holly, I need to speak to you privately. Follow me, please." He walked out the door,
Unwilling, but also wondering what the 'private speaking' was about, Holly followed after Artemis, closing the door behind her. She tried her best to trail beside Artemis, who was now walking at a swift pace. This resulted in a kind of sprint, so when Artemis had finally come to a halt, Holly almost collided with him- almost. Fortunately, Holly was not a klutz-she avoided that by skidding to a stop just in time.
Artemis had his back to her, so Holly figured she should stand in front of him. As she did, she saw that Artemis's face held a deep emotion- something Holly could not quite put her finger on. She decided it was concern and worry. Deep concern. "What's the matter?" she asked.
"Holly-" Artemis began, refusing to meet Holly's eyes. "I know this will be of great trauma to you, but every plan has a risk. I do hope you will understand."
"What is it?" Holly's voice rose in a tinge of fear.
Artemis bit his lower lip and braced himself in what he was about to say. "Do you remember the night we first met?"
Holly shivered. This would have been a melodramatic sort of sentence if the speaker was someone other than this Mud Boy. Of course she did. She sometimes still woke up in the middle of the night, beads of sweat cascading down her face and down her neck, at the vivid nightmare of that time….
"Holly," Artemis said. "Would you be frightened as you were then if… you were to be abducted again?"
Holly now knew what Artemis was thinking. "No, Artemis. Don't even think about it. I am not-"
"Please," Artemis said. "I didn't tell the others about this because I knew they will object. This is a important part of my plan. I understand it would be hard for you, and I apologize. But I need your help."
Holly remained silent, refusing to accept the fact that she had no other choice.
"I will come back for your safety," Artemis continued. "My schemes were always flawless. You need not worry."
"What if it doesn't work?" Holly whispered, holding on to her last strand of hope. "If you ask me, the reason I'm still alive is just pure luck. Until when are we going to depend on luck? What if it doesn't work this time?"
"Geniuses do not depend on luck. It will work. Look into my eyes and say it won't."
Holly did. Despite the abnormally abundant arrogance in his eyes, she was somehow assured-assured that they will once again come out of this alive.
Slowly, but cautiously, Holly nodded once. It was all the answer he needed.
"Now, you disgusting goblin boy, what are you looking at?" Juliet demanded. Keeth was sitting across from her, with a lopsided grin, now looking at Juliet for several minutes. It was getting on Juliet's nerves, and as everyone who knew her was sure of, it was not the wisest thing to irritate her. "I thought you liked red-haired girls." Juliet said this in a joking tone, but inwardly, she was not joking at all.
"Sure I do," Keeth's grin widened. "But I like blondes just as well."
Juliet rolled her eyes. Oh well, she thought. At least he appreciates beauty. Juliet knew she was pretty. There was no way she was going to stoop down and be modest like some girls in embarrassing soap operas. What's right has to be confirmed.
As Juliet drowned in her own thoughts, she ignored the loud thunk that sounded from outside. After all, sounds like that were frequently heard in the police station- or were they?
Girls, Spiro thought. It's just the same for pixies. All they care about is how they look. Inundated in vanity. Opal and Spiro had fought for quite a few minutes over whether or not to change into new clothes. Spiro said that they did not have time, and Opal hollered about the two of them having an odor equivalent to a skunk's and said she could not stroll around wearing that smell and stomped out, promising to be back in thirty minutes.
I know it, Spiro continued his thinking bitterly. I'm absolutely sure of it. She's going to buy some clothes with a pair of high heels and earrings to match her outfit. Then she'll buy some eye shadow (also matching her clothes) and about thirty new sticks of cardinal red lipstick.
As Spiro was thinking needless things completely irrelevant to his mission and all, he made the greatest mistake of his life. He made sure no one was looking and turned off his shield. About as soon as that happened, he felt his head snap forward with a loud thunk. It was accompanied with a sound of a leather whip, and he sank to the ground, half-conscious.
Diana grinned, surprised at the fact that a jade ring so small could produce such a loud thud. She stepped on Spiro's head lightly to make sure he was knocked out, and then grabbed Spiro's legs, and dragged him- all the way down. Great means of transportation.
Okay, you sweet lovable readers, this is the time for a riddle. Sorry about the poem last week, I know it sucked, it's just that it was, um.. spontaneous. Okay, here's the riddle. Whoever gets the answer gets.. the pride of triumph.
It's mightier than God, and eviler than the devil.
Rich people need it, poor people have it.
When you eat it, you feel hunger,
When you drink it, you feel thirst.
I know it doesn't rhyme, it wasn't rhyming in the first place. Don't ask me why. If you know the answer, include it in the review. I'll leave for nowwith a lingering hint: Think like a child.
