Well, chapter two of my not-so-wonderful story. It has come for all of you to enjoy. Or flame. Whichever one you prefer. I do not own Eoin's characters, I own my own. So bug off.

Stephanie opened her eyes. She had fallen asleep against the strawberry bush she and Nathaniel had eaten from. For how long, she didn't know, but her slumber probably wasn't too lengthy. Everything looked exactly the way it did before she slept.

Except for her friends. They weren't there.

The girl quickly realized this and stood up. She looked around wildly for any signs of human life. Nothing. Nathaniel was missing.

"Ah, dammit!" Stephanie screamed in frustration. This outburst caused her to have a short coughing fit. After that was over, she decided to go look for Nathaniel and Binx. She trekked through the snow, calling for her friends. She called and called, but all that replied were her melancholy echoes. Binx...! Nathaniel…! Tears sprung up in Stephanie's eyes; her efforts were proving useless.

After much yelling and walking through death snow (A/N: The cold. It bites. Rawr.), Stephanie found herself in the front yard of what looked like a manor. Some on its windows spilled light onto the white ground. A boy was sitting in front of one, talking to someone else.

Could it be Nathaniel? Stephanie thought. Despite this possibility, she shook her head. No. Nate would've woken me up and taken me here if that was him…maybe I should ask to stay here for an hour or so. Then a sad look appeared on her face. Nah, I can't leave Nathaniel and Binx in the cold. I'll keep searching…

Stephanie was about to call Nathaniel's name again, but an enormous gust of icy wind came and hit her like a tidal wave. She suddenly got dizzy and her head started throbbing. The poor lass grabbed her head and dropped to her knees in exhaustion and pain. I can't go on…she thought. I just can't…

Without any warning a sudden light spilled upon her, followed by a really big shadow. Someone had opened the front door to the manor. In instinct, Stephanie looked up, although she wished she hadn't. In the doorway was a gargantuan man, bigger than any she had ever seen. So she started to scream really loudly. Nice.

Before Stephanie went hoarse and eventually lost her voice the man held up his huge hands and said over her screaming, "Whoa, whoa, stop yelling! You'll wake up all of Dublin!" Stephanie shut her yap and nodded. "Okay. My employer saw you out here and wanted to speak to you. Not that you have a choice, but is that okay with you?"

Stephanie thought for a moment. "…do you have any cough medicine?"

"Why?" Stephanie coughed in response. "Ah. Yeah, we have some. Come on now, get up and into the manor." The man stood aside and gestured Stephanie into the manor. She got to her feet and, while going through the doorway, stared at the Iron Giant.

"You packing?"

"No."

"You're sure?"
"Yes!" The man gently pushed Stephanie into the manor foyer. "Giddiup. Artemis wishes to interrogate you."

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While he waited for Butler toreturn with the 'guest', Artemis had a staring contest with the wall. Surprisingly the wall was actually losing. It seemed to lose its luster, if a wall could have any.

Artemis really wasn't thinking about the status of his inanimate opponent. His mind was set on the strange visitor. What do they want? What were they doing? Are they planning something or spying? Artemis intended to find out.

Someone knocked on the door. A voice came from behind. "Artemis? It's Butler. I-"

"Your name is Butler?" The other voice coming from the door belonged to a young girl.

"I didn't tell you?"

"No, you didn't."

"Oh. Well, now you know."

"Because knowledge is power!"

Butler chuckled. "Anyway, I have the visitor."

Artemis waved them in even though they couldn't see the gesture. "Come in, then."

Butler allowed the girl in first. She had blonde hair with natural highlights and was about two inches shorter then Artemis himself (Who was about five foot four). She had pale skin with the exception of her cheeks. She had eczema on her cheeks, but it looked as if it was healing. Still, they were a tad red. Her eyes were blue-ish grey-ish green-ish and very stormy. She was thirteen years old and, all in all, looked mildly pretty. It was obvious she didn't wear make-up.

"Salutations," Artemis greeted. "I am Artemis Fowl II. Your name, may I ask?"

"Stephanie." American accent. Interesting.

"Hm, yes. Stephanie, may I ask you a question?"

Stephanie shrugged. "It's not like you gave me a choice, but shoot."

"You were recently in my front yard showing odd behavior. What is your business here?"

Stephanie suddenly got a melancholy look on her face. She sighed. May I sit down? This may take some time." Artemis nodded. Stephanie pulled his computer chair from its place and sat. "Okay. I have a very close friend named Nathaniel. I met him at the orphanage I was dropped off at when I was six. Just recently we decided to run away. The orphanage was killing us. Being an animal lover, I brought my cat along, Binx. I acquired him when I was eight, but I'm getting off subject.

"Anyway we ran away from the orphanage and had to pick the lousiest time of the year to do it. We got lost in the blizzard for hours. Sooner or later I caught a cold, or flu, or something." She paused and coughed. "We had to somewhere to rest.

"Nate found a strawberry bush nearby, so we stopped there. We ate frozen strawberries for awhile, and then I felt drowsy. Naturally, I fell asleep. For how long, I don't know, but when I did wake up…" Stephanie stopped. She couldn't go on.

"You friend, your cat, they were both gone, weren't they?" Artemis concluded. Stephanie nodded sadly.

Butler was standing behind Stephanie and had been listening contently. He had an idea. "Artemis, may I talk to you in the hallway?"

"Of course, old friend." He stood up. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, Stephanie."

Stephanie nodded. "Go ahead, I'll wait." She looked at the ceiling and started to think about things.

Artemis walked into the hallway with Butler and shut the door. "What do you need to talk about?"
"Well," started Butler, "you know how Stephanie's an orphan, as is her friend?

"Yes…"

"And her friend is lost and she has no where to go?"

"What are you getting…" Artemis pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, Butler. No. I cannot have some strange girl living here. And we are not helping her. Do you realize how long that would take to find this Nathaniel fellow?"

"Oh come on, Artemis! It would be doing something nice for once. Besides, you might even make a new friend."

"No."

"Artemis. How would you like it if you were lost and sick and your best friend disappeared and no one would help you?"

"…."

"Well?"

Artemis sighed. "I hate it when you do that. Fine. We'll help Stephanie. Once we find Nathaniel she's gone." He reentered his bedroom to find Stephanie singing softly to herself. She was very good, actually.

Stephanie stopped and turned around. "'Lo, fellows."

Artemis bent down beside her. "Butler and I had a conversation, and we decided that we are going to help you find Nathaniel and your cat."

"Really?"

"Most certainly."

For once in many, many hours, Stephanie smiled her widest at Artemis.