Chapter 11

Not Another Character Death

But fate had other things in store for Artemis Fowl the Second. He awoke in a dark room feeling much better than somebody who had just been shot had the right to feel. That left him with to possible answers: One; he was dead and this was his afterlife; or two; he was alive and had just been healed by magic. He picked to believe the latter of these two answers because the air smelled stale, like fairy air.

He had been staring at the ceiling and so he turned his head to look around the room. Beside him, there was a small figure sleeping in a chair beside the bed he was laying in. The figure had a hand laying on the bed. Artemis reached out and took hold of the small hand. He knew it was Holly's. Some extra-sense told him. His touch woke the elf from her slumber and she looked up and met Artemis' eyes. Her eyes were red from crying and she still looked worried. She gripped his hand that was in hers.

"Holly," he said hoarsely.

"Fowl! You horrible, miserable little mud whelp," she said, averting her gaze so that he wouldn't see the new tears gathering in her eyes.

"Back to last name basis, are we Miss Short?" he teased.

"Only when you've acted like an idiot. What were you thinking? Throwing yourself in front of me? You had no clue what kind of gun Sool had, nor what type of bullet could come out of it, nor if I could heal a hole the size that that gun blew into you, nor, even if I could heal it, if I had enough magic to do it. Which, incidentally and for your knowledge, that hole was beyond my skill. You're lucky we were in Haven and have medical Warlocks on call 24 hours a day. Don't you understand, Artemis. You died! You selfishly took the bullet meant for me and it nearly ended your life forever! What were you thinking!" she demanded again, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"'Selfishly taking a bullet?' Since when has being shot been selfish?" asked the Irish youth.

"It was selfish! If you had died, you would of left me alive and feeling guilty every single day I lived after that. You took the bullet aimed for me...if you had truly died...forever..then I couldn't live with myself!" Holly was practically bawling now.

She threw her hands around Artemis, crying into his shoulder. He tried to comfort her, pulling her closer into an embrace and tenderly stroking her hair. He rested his chin on her head and waited for her to finish. Her sobs gradually decreased and eventually she looked up into his eyes, those confident blue eyes that seemed to radiate comfort. Their eyes seemed to become like magnets, drawing them closer and closer together. This magnetic power seemed to transfer to their lips, still drawing them closer. Finally, their lips connected as they shared their first kiss. It seemed it would last forever...until Butler knocked at the door. Holly and Artemis broke apart as the manservant entered the room, seemingly unaware that he had interrupted anything at all.

As soon as Butler saw that Artemis was awake, he began scolding his principal on "how am I supposed to do my job and keep you safe if you throw yourself in front of bullets not aimed at you." (A/N: Yep. Everyone has one of those speeches before they grow up. If you haven't yet, be sure to talk to your body guard pronto.) Butler was so busy with his speech, he didn't even notice that both Artemis and Holly were blushing...badly.

Eventually, when Artemis felt that Butler had ranted enough, the Irish youth cleared his throat loudly to stop the speech. "Where's Foaly?" asked the boy.

"Right here, and just a smidgen better off than you, I believe," he was eyeing the ranting Butler with concern. "Does he normally get all red like that?"

"No," Artemis answered, "He was just worried."

"I'm worried too," said Foaly in all seriousness, "I'm worried that the great genius Artemis Fowl has lost a few brain cells because he failed to notice a camera in room. Hey, you two, find a better room next time ya'll want to make out, and make sure it's not one with one of my cameras in it. I have to watch them all, you know."

Artemis heard Holly whisper, "D'Arvit!"

Artemis however, ignored the centaur's jest. After all, it had only been one kiss, not making out. Making out would've been nice, but Butler's timing hadn't allowed that. Artemis decided to barrage Foaly with questions.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Nearly a day and a half."

"And Sool?"

"Out of luck, discredited, disowned, shamed, and did I mention dead? Butler took care of that. And before you ask, that footage your iris cam shot was shown on PPTV, council member Vinyaya gave her speech, and now, all the fairies know about Sool's cruel idea of revenge. Oh, by the way, great job on getting Sool to monologue, and catching that bullet with your chest really helped boost public opinion of you and all humans. As a treat, they have decided not to mind-wipe you. Feels just like Christmas, doesn't it?"

"Yes. But what about Trouble Kelp? Did everything turn out right?"

The centaur sadly shook his head, looking at his hooves as he answered, "About that. Everything was fine...until one of the rock sprites accidentally set off a bio-bomb...which then sent off all the rest. Unfortunately, I have to now inform you that you and Butler are the only two humans left alive."

A smile played on Artemis' lips, "Which, of course, is just you're idea of a joke."

"Foaly looked up smiling, "Of course. Just a slight jest, you know, to lighten the whole deathbed scene here. Trouble was able to safely reach haven and the bio-bombs have been put under lock and key. And, as a matter of passing, the rock sprites have been given a pardon for their crimes. I put trackers in them though, so no more disappearing artifacts will be their fault. Trouble Kelp has been promoted to commander, and, let's see...anything else...oh, and Sool's hit squads have all been arrested and the Goblin attack forces that Sool organized to do that whole human genocide thing have been rounded up. Looks like the plan was perfect."

"Except for the bullet," noted Artemis, feeling his still tender chest.

"Yes, that was unfortunate," commented the centaur, "Well, anymore questions?"

"Just one more. Where are we?"

Holly answered this one, "Haven's General Hospital. I think the magical sparks have fried some of your deductive reasoning brain cells if you haven't figured that out yet."

Foaly muttered, "I think it was more likely some of Holly's LOVE sparks fried a few brain cells."

"Excuse me, centaur?" demanded Holly, balling her fist in a very obvious way that said, "If you repeat what you just said, this fist will connect with your face...repeatedly!"

Foaly got the picture and hastily changed his face to one of innocence, "Oh, nothing, my dear Holly. I just said I think that you are right."

Artemis smiled at the pair as they headed out the door and down the hallway. You could still hear them arguing.

It was Butler's turn to be curious, "Making out?"

"Hardly. It was just one kiss." said Artemis, turning red.

"Still, do you truly want to still carry on with your plan, Artemis? It's going to hurt her a lot you know. It's going to hurt you too."

"Yes, I know Butler. But there's nothing more that can be done. It's inevitable. I've reasoned it out. My plan is logical and rational."

Butler, for once in his life, doubted his charges reasoning, "Love is never logical or rational Artemis. Just remember that."

"I will, my old friend. I will. But tomorrow, we still leave...for good."

A/N: I know, I'm cruel. They just had their first kiss and now this..Arty's new plan...I feel hate mail coming on. One chapter left!