Bracelet of Mentality

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl, nor any of the characters/original plots.

Summary: The third installment to the Sisters of Doom series. This follows the middle sister, Betraying Angel. She must escape not only the grasps of Artemis Fowl II, but her own Guardian, and at the same time think up some ingenious idea that will save her sisters.

Setting: Fowl Manor, Ireland. Somewhere in the middle of the United States.

Chapter 1: Be Not Haven

"Sir?" Lightning flashed ominously across the dark sky. It broke into several jagged tines and continued its path down to earth. "We're experiencing major turbulence. I'm lowering the plane another one hundred feet." There came a muffled response from somewhere in the small craft. Butler sighed knowing Artemis needed time to think things out and work his genius plans. But this couldn't wait. "Sir, if you could come back to the cockpit?"

"What is it, Butler?" Artemis Fowl II returned from the lavishly decorated interior of the plane to the not-so-spoiled-cockpit. He had briefly left his seat, his excuse being he wanted to attain a glass of purified water. He did indeed return with a glass half full of a clear fluid, but it may well have been alcohol. Butler had noticed a depletion in the alcoholic beverages Artemis Fowl Senior stored on board the private jet but had not voiced a question. It wasn't his place to do so. "Butler?" Artemis asked again.

"Oh, yes. I was wondering where you would like me to land, Sir. Oklahoma has closed all its airports due to the weather. There are, however, three airports open in Kansas and one in Missouri." He glanced at Artemis and then back out the windshield. The boy didn't seem to be under the influence, but the alcohol might not have taken effect yet. Artemis seemed oblivious to the subtle look he had received as he stared out the window.

"Anything open in Arkansas or Louisiana?"

"No, sir. They're all closed as well. The farthest south I can get is the Lambert International Airport in Missouri. Shall I call in for a landing request?" His employer shook his head and took the co-pilot seat.

"Check the three in Kansas and try to get as close to Emporia as possible. We'll land at the nearest one." Butler nodded his head and radioed the airports. After they had successfully been granted leeway to land at Emporia Municipal, silence ensued for sometime. It was only broken once Artemis pulled his translations of the Fairy Book from his pocket. He had undoubtedly found the clues to their next catch in this small novel.

"I am beginning to wish that the fairies would stop writing everything in riddles and spell something out clearly. Don't get me wrong, the puzzles are worth solving, albeit being far too easy for a mind like my own. But one does tire from repetition after only so long. You, of course, have not a clue to what I am referring, I'm sure. It's the poems they write, the clues to finding the Sisters. Each one is simplistic in nature and accurate all the way to the very last word, but did they really have to use the poems? Why couldn't they just say, 'Here they are, here's what's guarding them. Good luck.'?" He made a sound of disapproval. "Perhaps I am being lazy. Tell me what you think of this latest poem."

You've done well to come this far

But the journey has just begun.

For all that you've done to mar

Your real journey shall soon be done.

The last Sister now you seek

Middle child, in middle of the three.

Do not mistake her or call her meek

For she is able to set us free.

Holding power over the heart,

She is a weapon of her own.

Reawakening with a violent start,

Her own heart has turned to stone.

Her Guardian is unlike the others

In fear this Sister is deployed.

Refusing to pamper her like a mother,

Running before she's destroyed.

"Well?" Artemis asked impatiently. Butler hesitated, not sure that he should really answer this.

"I'm not sure what it means, Sir," he lied. This poem had seemed more malicious than the others. For all that you've done to mar, Your real journey shall soon be done. That didn't sound promising, not in the least. To him, it meant either Artemis or himself would be dead soon. Her Guardian is unlike the others. He had hoped that meant she was more docile than the other two, for his old body was beginning to tire from wrestling with badly tempered fairies. But it was clear she was, if anything, more destructive than the others. Holding power over the heart. Butler feared being left alone with this fairy. His heart was already in great turmoil with his mind. Artemis did seem to be changing, but it wasn't for the better. The boy was becoming narcissistic, arrogant, and he seemed to be leaving caution well behind them. "Can you understand it?"

"I suppose that I should have to, wouldn't I? If I didn't, why would we be flying at this moment, Butler?"

"Good point." He veered the plane off to the left a bit and then righted their course.

"Well, the first stanza meant nothing to me. It's a threat, but I'm not all that frightened by it. It says that although we've nearly gathered all the Sisters, there will be more to this than meets the eye. Personally, I had hoped it would be a bit more of a challenge.

"Now, the second stanza gives us her location. "In the middle of the three." One Sister on the western coast, the other on the eastern. She's bound to be somewhere in-between. My guess is obviously Kansas, hence why we're landing there. When you look at a map of the States, Kansas appears to be directly in the middle.

"The third stanza is a quick walk-through of her powers. She does something related to hearts. Since the Reaper dealt in death, it would make more sense for her power to be in emotions of the heart rather than stopping the heart itself. The part about a violent reawakening makes no sense to me, but I'm sure the solution to that riddle will show itself soon enough.

"Of the fourth stanza, I found only a few things of great relevance. Her Guardian is trying to kill her, something neither of the other Guardians has yet to attempt. I'm not sure why the Guardian is after her, seeing as she is supposed to be protecting her. We should get to the airport as fast a possible though, I can tell you that much. The longer we wait, the more of a chance that the Angel's Guardian will annihilate her."

Butler had been listening aptly up until the part about why her Guardian was trying to kill her. Anya's words came flying back to him. "He will die, as will my sisters and I. Even you might die." Her sisters would be the Guardians, but what if, like she said, only one of them never died? That would mean that the Sisters themselves would perish.

Was this a lost cause? His job was to protect Artemis no matter what, but what if he was going to die anyway? His death was inevitable, according to Anya. This is bad, he thought to himself. I'm confused, and Artemis is somehow in danger. He won't listen if I tell him to abort this, but I shouldn't just let him wander into danger like this. What the hell am I going to do? Another voice cut into his mind, another side of his conscious. You'll do what you have to do when you have to do it. You'll know what to do, you always do. Stop over-analyzing the situation and fly the damn plane! He liked this side of his conscience much more than the other.

Rain. Many people thought it to be an unnecessary element of life. It ruined days spent in the sun or outdoors and flooded trenches. It would soon be highly acidic as well. Scientists were sure of it. But there are a few people who love the rain, who revel in the small drops of pure heaven. One of these people was Amara Callaghan.

She was a happy girl of fourteen. Blond haired and blue eyed with a heart of gold it would seem. She wore a plain shirt with a tree in the middle and jeans that were much to large for her. Water was pouring off of her as she skipped down the streets of Emporia.

She couldn't remember her parents or her family. They had left her long ago after Adamina's first attempt on her life. Amara had been a street child since then although she never stayed in one place for long. Her Guardian wouldn't allow that. If she stayed still for too long, her life would be forefeited in the seconds it took Adamina to find her. She couldn't allow that to happen, not yet. The other Guardians had yet to change their hearts all the way.

How someone so young could know such a thing about people who were so far away and whom she'd never met seemed impossible. But she was, after all, the Betraying Angel. When she had met Deidra and Huyen in the Other Realm, she had felt their hearts. They did not yet understand what they would do if they lived out their lives. Through her sisters, Amara had felt the other Guardians. It was the link that they shared with their charges that allowed her into their hearts as well. The water fairy was changing a bit, but it was not rapid enough nor sure enough. The fire one would be tough. Unless she saw how truly miserable it was to be a Sister of Doom, she would never help destroy them.

On such a day as this, Amara could always be found on the streets. Most of the other homeless people were huddled under bridges of verandas of nearby stores. But the rain was bliss to Amara. She could be as free and bold as she wished under it, for her Guardian was a rain-hater. She would not come into the rain unless she absolutely must. In other words, not unless she saw Amara, which just so happened to be the case on that very day.

Amara had been skipping down the street and jumping into the puddles on the curbs. She was downtown somewhere. She wasn't quite sure where. There were stores everywhere, and the one directly in front of her caught her eye. It was a coffee shop, but that's not what interested her. If her power indicated right, Adamina was in that store.

Of the two options that came to mind, Amara liked neither. She could run away from the store hoping that Adamina wouldn't notice, or she could sneak by the store making it painfully obvious that she was there. It would lure Adamina into the rain where Amara could escape once again. This would serve to raise the stress factor in their game of hide- and- go- seek, especially on Adamina's side. Angry people tend to make mistakes. It was a fact Amara had discovered long ago.

Then a third option came to mind. She liked this one much more than the other two. The idea was to sneak up to the window, crouching down so as not to be noticed, and eavesdrop on the conversation Adamina had started up with another customer. Yes, she liked this plan very much. She stopped romping in the rain and began a somewhat inconspicuous waltz up to the store. When she was right up against the brick wall to the left of the window, she slid down to the wet cement and crawled over to the door which was cracked open to let in the fresh air.

The smell of coffee had always been a pleasant aroma to her. It opened her mind up, relaxed her muscles, and calmed her. It was like drugs, only she wasn't affecting her body with bad side effects. The sound of voices drifted out of the shop and directly into her waiting ears.

"Adamina, I don't know what you are doing up here, but you know how restricted movement is for fairies. I can't just let you roam up here; there are Mud Men who are into bad junk. They're on the streets right now."

"If you're referring to the child that is after my charge, don't worry. He hasn't made it this far yet." The cold warrior voice belonged to Adamina. Amara was familiar with it. She had listened to many monologues when Adamina had thought the hunt was nearly over. Each time though, Amara had managed to escape.

"What? What charge? What the hell are you talking about?" The other voice was confused, that much was obvious. It was feminine with an odd accent added in. Sounded Irish or Scottish, she wasn't sure which. Probably the former, if she had to make a guess.

"Look, Holly, you don't know what I'm into, and you don't need to. All you need to know is that I won't be coming back to Haven until I've completed what I'm suppose to complete."

"And that is what?" Holly asked heatedly. "What's your mission here? Who're you after? Tell me something or I'll have to bring in the squad."

Adamina sighed. "Long story, Officer. To make it short, Frond's daughters. They've been shoved into a time loop. If I don't destroy them, they'll destroy the world. Both worlds. And you have no need for the squad. I told you, once I kill her, I will come back to Haven willingly."

"First you say destroy, now it's kill. You sound excited, Adamina. What made you like this? Are you under a mesmer?" There was the sound of someone shifting in their seats and a hand slapping at something.

"Would you stop? Get out of my face! I'm not under a mesmer. Yes, I'm excited. Do you know how many people and fairies these girls have killed over a millennia? My guess is in the millions, Holly. I can't let them continue. I'm excited- excited to kill. Once those girls are dead, our people will be safer."

Amara pulled back. Not that this was news to her. She knew Adamina wanted her dead. It just shocked her how badly the Guardian wanted to do the job. I'm not that bad of a person- am I? Self-doubt had set in. Stop it! You know you're not! Just get out of here. Amara nodded her head and stood. Oops. She was still in front of the window. The movement had caught the eyes of both the occupants in the café. Adamina's jaw fell open in shock and the other fairy was staring from one of them to the other in confusion.

"You!" she heard the Guardian spit out. Amara was jolted out of her reverie. She jumped back from the window and took off into the rain. Although Adamina may hate the rain, Amara was sure she would follow. What have I done this time? she thought to herself as rain poured down on her.

Author's Note

Eh, sorry it took so long to write this one, guys. I know I said I was getting ahead and preparing chapters.. But I'm not. I was slacking off. It's summer, what can I say? Once again, I'm very sorry it took so long. I promise to write as soon as I can, and I can only hope Heather checks this out as fast as she usually does. (She's quick and very good at what she does.)

I suppose name definitions are in order. Amara means bitter, eternal, and immortal. Callaghan is a name that means prudent and judicious. If I didn't already explain Adamina's names, here they are. Adamina: daughter of earth. I didn't mention her last name, although I might later in the story. It's Brandt, meaning 'farmer of burying lands'. Also, the title. Mentality is defined as a persons intellectual capabilities, or a turn of mind. I used it more as the second than the first.

Thanks for reading, and yet again I apologize for delays! Reviews are most welcome though!

Finelley