Artemis Fowl: Blue Eyes

((Side note:There is angsty-Holly abound in this chappie! O.o))

Chapter 5- They Call Me "Ice"

Artemis sat patiently in the den, staring at the two figures on the couch before him. He shook his head in disbelivement. "You expect me to believe something like that?"

"You'll have to," Mulch said quietly, "if it's true."

"It can't be true. That's not possible."

"You do the math, Fowl." Mulch said. He yawned.

"You like deals, don't you Fowl?" The fairy took out a disk covered in gold leaf and flipped it over in his hand, staring at it like it was a diamond.

"How did you get that!" He stayed silent, still staring at the disk. Artemis sighed loudly. "Are you proposing to make one?" The fairy flipped his blue hair arrogently. His grin rivaled Artemis's.

"Why yes, yes I am."

"What kind of deal?" The genius's voice had a hint of impatience. He wasn't about to let some short guy who's mental health was probably very unstable con him into some stupid plot of his. Artemis knew he was plotting. Everyone was plotting.

"What say you to this?" Mulch's eyes widened as the fairy pulled out a huge chunk of a bigger chunk of gold. Solid, glimmering gold. Artemis let his own eyes travel from the gold, back to the fairy several times, and said,

"The other end?"

"Hand yourself over to me. Body and mind," He paused before remembering, "Temporarily, of course."

"I don't understand--"

"Believe, Artemis. What we've talked about was no lie--fairies exist, and you're dealing with one. Believe, and you'll understand."

"All right, so all I have to do is hand myself over to you, and when you're done, I get the gold?"

"Oh, but there's more where that came from."

"More?"

"More than your blue eyes could take in." He suddenly laughed at the pun only he got, startling Artemis a bit. "Much more. This is only the beginning of a beautiful partership, Fowl."

"How long?"

"What? Oh, right. Just tonight should do. I may require you again sometime in the future, but one or two hours should suffice."

Artemis was quiet for a while, thinking things over in his head. He'd dealt with tight-asses like him before, recently--stupid jerks who thought that they could somehow outsmart him--and he wasn't about to let anyone take advantage of him. But, if it was only for an hour or so, for that much gold...

Mulch tugged at the fairy's shirt. "Are you sure you want to do this?" His whisper was quiet and a little urgent. "What if something goes wrong? Why can't we just stick with the plan we know will work? You're almost talking crazy again!"

"Be quiet. I know what I'm doing." He had to hold back a grin. "I know."

"I sure hope you do."

"Artemis?" Artemis looked up from his thinking. "Is it a deal?"

One last moment of thought before Artemis said, "As long as you swear not to get me killed."

"Good, now close your eyes and sit very still. You won't feel a thing..."

Artemis's world went up in a fury of blue.

Holly's heart was pounding like a hammer in her chest. She tried to ignore it. Fowl manor was as pitch as coal at night, and she could hardly see her own nose. It was the fact that her future depended on this moment alone that pushed her forward. Otherwise, she'd be back home at her house in her bed.

She crept stealthily along the halls, peeking around corners for Butler. She couldn't imagine running into the big man at night, wandering around his residence. The thought made the room seem cold. But, for her own luck, no one was to be seen; Fowl manor was silent and Holly pressed on.

Finding that disk was not going to be easy and she knew that. For one thing, Mulch had it. For another, he had a partner in crime. She felt her teeth grit at the thought of him. She could almost see him, smirking in the darkness, waiting for her.

No, Holly thought. No, he will not win this time. He will not, if I have to kill myself to keep him from that. I will never let him humiliate or frighten me ever again. I'm stronger than that... "Out of all the fairies..." she mumbled, "why did it have to be him?"

Holly continued her search through the black halls.

"Commander, I refuse to go in there. We can't go in there!Even if it is to save Holly!" Foaly stopped short and groaned in frustration. Again. "Why did she have to come here? Why is it always Fowl? Why not..little boy blue, or Julia Roberts? Nooo, she has to keep going after Fowl..." Again, he realized what he'd just said...and frowned. No, Foaly wasn't jealous of Artemis. Why would he be? "Mud men..." But, every time he'd seen Holly, she'd been either mumbling about him, or moping about how she couldn't see him.

"Would you shut your flying flap and hurry up!"

"Yes, Julius." Foaly hated the color purple. It just didn't suit Commander Root.

Artemis was walking down the halls with a look on his face that said he'd committed murder and gotten away with it. Being Artemis Fowl wasn't exactly Ice's idea of a fun road trip, but still- the overall plan was working splendidly. You just wait Holly... Fowl's got nothing on me.. The thought made him so happy, he ran smack into someone. It was hard to tell who in the dark, but he realized quite quickly it was a girl. Perhaps maybe who he was looking for...

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry Artemis. What are you doing up this late?"

The stupid maid girl...

"I'm just taking a walk. I couldn't sleep."

"Well, it's really late, you should be in bed."

"I'll go to bed when I please. Or when I'm tied down to it." Juliet frowned, but said nothing else as she walked on.

Now, besides Angeline, Holly is the only girl left in this house... Straight ahead, someone with wide eyes had just turned back behind a corner. Ice wasn't about to let her escape. He'd waited too long... If she could be human, so could he. If she could run, he could search. There was no way out now.

"Hollya?" He said, not bothering to hide his smile in the dark, but he sounded confused. "Was that you?"

Holly, thinking too quickly to think of anything at all really, was slumping to the floor. It's not over, she thought desperately, It's not over yet.. I can still escape, if I just run back to the room--

"I thought it was you."

She slowly peeked up to see Fowl's hand out to help her up. This was new... She took it, hesitantly, shook her head, then stared at him, to be blunt. "What?" He asked, sounding innocent. "I can't help out my guest?"

"So I'm not a guenia pig anymore?"

"A what? Did I say that?"

"You sound...different."

The boy smirked. "So do you, Holly."

He knows... For the love of me, he knows now... The stricken look on her tan features told Ice his plan was going perfectly. All other thoughts Holly might have had vanished. The entire house was suddenly an eerie silent instead of simply quiet.

"Don't worry," He continued, holding back hysterical laughter, "I'll be sure and let Commander Root give you a proper funeral once I'm done with you."

"WHAT! Fowl, you and I were rivals, maybe even sworn enemies, but you wouldn't kill me..." The words died on her tongue.

"Wouldn't I? Would you really put it past me?"

Holly started to get a strange feeling about the way the conversation was going. It was almost like not talking to Artemis, but rather about him. Wouldn't Artemis; would you really put it past Artemis; like it was someone else she was talking to. Those icy blue eyes... They seemed lighter...

The mood changed and changed several times as they chatted about old memories and indifferent times. Holly concluded finally that Artemis was either high, or has changed so much that he may not be able to change back. That was something she definately did not want to think about.

"Holly?"

"What?" Holly spat out the word with disgust, but Ice maintained his grin with ease.

"Come back to your room with me. I want to talk."

"Talk? You want to talk and then you're going to try to kill me?" Holly grinned sarcastically.

"Maybe. After we talk I might change my mind."

"I want to get out of here, you hear me?"

"Oh, but as I do recall, you came in here without my permission; did you not?"

Holly growled. If she only had a Neutrino... I'd blast that grin right off his pretty face! Holly blinked. I do NOT think Fowl is pretty! That's just...wrong! Gah! Holly looked down, her bangs shielding her eyes. She started to laugh softly, then louder.

"What's so funny?" Artemis asked, his gaze unfaltering.

"Nothing. It's nothing. Just--just leave me alone, okay? It's all my fault I'm in this stupid mess, it's all my fault you found out, and it's always all my fault... I don't want to talk to you, Fowl. I just want to go home and pretend you don't exist." She looked up, tears shining in her eyes, gathering in the corners, ready to fall.

Ice stood there and blinked several times before biting his bottom lip and cursing softly. He reached up to wipe a tear away from Holly's eye, but she jerked away. He rolled his eyes and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Holly, don't be an idiot." That was the only thing he could think of to say.

"Let me go." She whispered through gritted teeth. Ice decided he just couldn't let this moment go to waste so easily. That was not part of the plan. He pulled her close in a warm, tight embrace, and gently stroked her hair. It felt silky around his fingers.

"I would never hurt you... No matter how much I might want to. You're right, you do know me too well." He frowned at that and thought Holly gasped. She suddenly pushed away from him as hard as she could and dashed down the other end of the hall, her head down low as she ran. Ice laughed and shook his head slowly. His luagh grew louder, until he abrubtly stopped, and stated in a rather satisfied tone, "I'll let you think that Fowl won't hurt you. You just wait, my dear, sweet Holly. I'll break you yet. Your spirit, your heart, and..." He paused for a thought; "anything else I can break, at that." He grinned maliciously. "I'll break you yet...And Fowl here is going to help me do just that." Ice released his hold on the boy with wicked laughter dying on his lips.

Artemis thought that a headache that size had to mean something serious, but just as the thought crossed his mind, it started to fade, etching in memories that he had not remembered doing. Hollya, err- Elaine, or whoever she was... "I didn't--" He said aloud, and remembered that he really didn't. It was that fairy... He'd screwed up any plans he might have had for her. "Idiot, Fowl...You're losing your touch." He thought some more, about what else Elaine had said. "I called her 'Holly.' I sounded like I knew her... She called me her rival..." He lost himself until a conclusion finally came. The disk. He would understand every bit of this if he had that disk, but again, the blue-haired fairy got in his way. He stole it, somehow, but if an idiot like him can steal something right under my nose, then I can just take it right back. Artemis chuckled. Right under his nose. For once, he completely disregarded the gold.

Holly sat down on the bed, angrily. Too many thoughts were clouding her mind to think on one thing too long, and that wasn't good. She needed to sort out some things. Important things. "First of all, I'll say I'm never trying to fake crying again. That was horrible! He's probably laughing at me right now. Pah!" Holly wiped her redened eyes with her sleeve, laying down on the bed for a better position. She yawned. I can't go to sleep right now... I'll only be human for a few more hours, unless if it went wrong, and then I'd... That train of thought ended. She started another one, aloud.

"I don't know why, but I don't think that was Artemis. He just seemed too different from the way he was acting earlier. But, even if Artemis was putting up an act like me, or if it wasn't him, that doesn't change the fact that he knows I'm Holly. And if that's the case..."

...Then I can't leave.

"Damn the laws! Damn Artemis!" Holly glanced across the room at her reflection in a mirror she failed to notice before. She was astonished at the face staring back: a scared, lonely, beaten, defeated Holly. The tears threatened to fall again, only this time it was no act. They weren't from sadness either, more of anger toward herself. Slowly, mechanically, she stood and strode to the mirror; her expression never changed. She laughed softly, studying her hollowed reflection. "See what you've done, you prissy-ass bastard! I hope you can see what you've done! If you can't, I'll throw it in your face! I'll throw it so hard you'll wish back then you'd never tried to kidnap Holly Short! You'll curse the day your mother layed eyes on your father!"

Her fist collided with the mirror. Tiny shards of her tired expression covered the floor at her feet. She clenched her fist tight, mixing tiny blood drops with the mirror shards. "You've destroyed everything there might've been..."

Holly couldn't tell if the words were for Artemis, or toward herself.

"So? How'd it go?" Mulch was still sitting in the den when the blue-haired fairy awoke.

"Well, it wasn't a miserable failure..." He answered, shaking himself to wake up.

"But you failed."

"No, not exactly. Holly thinks Fowl knows; I did accomplish that. And he really will know, eventually, but... I didn't really get anything personal out of the whole ordeal. Just good solid chapters in our little book." He frowned for a moment, then smiled as he did most of the time. "You see, Mulch, my good friend? Everything works out in the end."

"If everything works out like you say, then Artemis will have to see the disk sometime. That was part of the deal we made. He and I."

"Yes, yes. Whatever. If Fowl wants to see the disk he can, now. He'll be curious about this 'Holly' now. No need to keep that from him." He snatched the disk in his hands from the oak coffee table in front of him, mumbling to himself while looking it over, "I love winning. I will win. One can only take so many losses before they hit it big..."

"Are you saying?"

"I'm saying we're outsmarting him, Mulch. We're going to win where so many others, ourselves included, have lost. The little brat everyone below thought could, and would, take over the world one day will be outsmarted by the ones who he outsmarted before. Huh." He paused to place the disk back on the table. "Such irony in that... Mulch? What say you to keeping the disk from Fowl?"

"What? We can't do that!"

"But why not? We could let him puzzle it out himself. I don't know why he hasn't already. There's certainly been enough evidence floating around: Holly admitting she's Holly, us, the disk, anything fairy related-it all should've triggered something in that big brain of his."

"I don't know. Maybe they really did wipe his memory clean. Completely, where no memories could return."

"And maybe I'm a Troll's aunt. You are no fairy; I know very well what they did to Fowl, and his memory can be restored. It just takes something so famaliar that everything will all come rushing back in one big cloud of thought. Then maybe we can get some real use out of him."

"And tell me," A voice said from the shadows, "what do they call you, fairy?"

The two magical beings were silent as their eyes searched the room. Artemis was well hidden. Silence remained in the room for a very long time. No one moved. The fairy's hand had twitched toward the disk several times, but he'd brought it back. That would be what Fowl is looking for him to do: take the disk right back. "Never state the obvious so carelessly," he whispered. Mulch understood. They remained still, but Artemis had spoken again,

"Well? Are you going to give me a name or not?"

"They call me..." He hesitated by the frantic look Mulch was giving him. Half of their plan revolved around secrecy. "Ice." He looked at Mulch, and saw that he was doing a good job at hiding relief. He was no idiot.

"Well, Ice, it seems to me that you've been a very naughty guest."

"What ever could you mean?" Ice couldn't hide his sarcastic grin.

"I will admit, I was a fool to hand myself over so easily. I should've known any of your plans would definately interfere with mine, but what is done is done. I can only contribute to the future and what will happen. You said we'd have a wonderful partnership, but I believe we just became enemies." His last words were spoken with the chill of a winter night.

Ice thought he felt sweat start to bead on his forehead, but he ignored that for the moment. Keeping Fowl on their side was a critical part, the upmost crucial part to their plan. If he backed down, the whole thing would probably fall. Hastily, he pulled out the chunk of gold he'd had earlier. "Whatever you say...Artemis. We had a deal, and you kept your end. I'll keep mine, whether you like it or not." Ice slowly sat the gold on the coffee table and picked up the disk.

...At least, he would've, if the disk had been there.

He growled so loudly that Mulch jumped. Artemis laughed. "So, you first steal it from me, start to give it back, then decide I can't have it? Tsk tsk tsk. You should never try to steal something from me in my own house. You've got no foothold, no base or foundation to back yourself up. I can get it back just as easy as if it was me who'd lost it." He stepped out from the shadow of a large bookshelf, the disk nowhere visible on him either. He strode over to the table and picked up the gold, weighing it.

"How did you get in here without us seeing?"

"Did I not just explain that? This is my house. I know it like I know the back of my hand. There's a small doorway hidden just beside that bookshelf."

"How did you get the disk?"

"You're asking a lot of questions. Who said I have the disk?" Ice thought about that for a moment. He knew Artemis had the disk, it just just a matter of how he had it. Hidden somewhere, or actually in his pocket?

"Well," he stated carefully, "it's no longer on the table where I sat it."

"So it seems." Mulch was being smart and staying out of this conversation.

Ice pondered for a moment longer. Choosing his words carefully, he spoke: "Fowl-" Artemis cleared his throat loudly. "Artemis." He paused, as if reconsidering what he was about to say. "I know you're probably angry with me about the whole disk thing. And frankly, I wouldn't blame you. But, on the other hand, there's still many similarities to us. We could be great partners. Mulch has told me much about how you said one day that you two would be partners. I'm not going to bribe you like the last time," Mulch's eyes widened a little, "I'll let you decide." If Ice had any advantage available to him, he didn't show it. He stood as calm now as a pond, placid in the summertime.

Artemis was too busy thinking to notice how Ice looked. Of course he didn't remember telling this "Mulch" that they would be great partners one day, but there did seem to be a great hole in his memories. For a split second, the dreams he'd had came back, and there seemed to be quite a bit more meaning behind them. Strange things, mostly about gaining something he'd once lost (the disk, no doubt,) but there was something else... He shook his head free of dream nonsense, and thought about how many times he'd screwed up lately. Joining these two could be one more mistake to add to the list. Artemis did not want that. But, he did want to keep that disk safe within his own hands.

"All right. I'll make a temporary alliance with you. Would you like to shake on it?"

"No, I'll take your word for it." Ice's grin returned, with an air about him saying that he knew all along Artemis would agree.

Artemis stepped in front of the table, reaching inside the antique milk jug being used as a centerpiece, and pulled out the disk. "Ha," He laughed. That was so simple, anyone could've done it. "It's funny how distracted you two were. You didn't even notice Juliet enter the room. Or leave, for that matter."

"Good plan, Fowl,"(Artemis rolled his eyes)"but why didn't you just tell her to keep the disk until you left the room?"

"I don't have to explain everything, Ice, and if you know what's good for you, you'll stop asking questions. At least around me, anyway." Artemis put the disk in his coat pocket carefully. "In the mean time, I'd like to get some sleep tonight. There's a guest bedroom for you three doors down from..." He paused at the name, considering her for the first time since he was in the hallway. "..from Holly's room." He figured that was her real name. She surely responded to it.

"Well, if that's all you're going to say, then we'll end our little talk here."

"I'll be seeing you two and Holly in the morning."

"Whatever you say, Fowl." Ice couldn't help but emphisize that word. It was simply too much fun to annoy little Arty. Artemis ignored Ice and walked out of the room, pretending to yawn.

Next time—So maybe they weren't neon, but Artemis has an idea of who Ice is and he's about to find out much more. And to top that, Holly's become an angsty nutcase and no one really knows where that could lead. Artemis hasn't really been at the top of his game, but that may very well change soon...if Holly doesn't interfere... . Commader Root and Foaly are gonna have a time getting Holly out of this one...

a/n—To say the least, Holly was VERY OOC in this chapter...I think... I know that she's never had an outburst like that in any of the books before. -.-() Blame Evanescence! They're too influential to be normal! I was watching Everybody's Fool on a dvd that my step-sister brought, and it gave me this weird idea that I had to put that scene in my fic... Hmm... Anyway, hope you liked this chapter even though it's full of character-personality-slaughtering! And I'm sorry it took me forever to update! I think my plot-turkey got eaten on Thanksgiving... I try, really!

kissimi-crazy—Fourteen, when my muses tell me too, and this chapter is 3 pages longer than the last one. Hey, one day I might have to separate my chapters into 25 pages at a time like my idol-fanfic authoress, Gravidy, but until then, I have to take it one step at a time. Shorter chapters (and reviews, might I add) means quicker updates. Glad you liked it!

trohS-ylloH— I like your name. It confused me at first, but then I thought it was a great idea once I figured it out. Thanks for the review!

Amy Shadows—Yes, Mai would be great for Opal. I agree, completely. Thank you for reviewing!

Everybody else's comments—Well, it seems the most common critique for me is keeping Holly in character, and this chapter probably only made that much worse cough BUT, I shall try to get her back into her regular, kick-ass awesome attitude soon. Promise. Cross my fingers--I mean, heart:P Another was that you all find this very humorous, which is fine with me. I don't really care how you take it. Telling me helps me find out what I'm good at writing, genre-wise. Anything else? Thanks to everybody else as well! It takes to long to say "thanks" about a zillion times. A review for me maybe? Yes? Chao for now!