Author's Note : Hellow people ! :D

A huge thank you to KiaSunrise and LN for their sweet reviews :-) Also a big thanks for everyone who has favorited and followed the story !

Disclaimer : Eoin Colfer is the author of the Artemis Fowl series, therefore I do not own any of its characters. Many elements of this fanfiction (including its title ^^) are also inspired or directly drawn from the 1998 Japanese anime 'Serial Experiments Lain' (GO WATCH IT) even though it is NOT a crossover.

Author's Recommandation : I personally love writing and reading to music. If you're interested, I highly recommand listening to Neon Demon (main theme) by Cliff Martinez, from the eponymous movie by Nicolas Winding Refn (freakin aesthetical masterpiece if you ask me). This piece of music just really fits the mood of the fanfic !

Enjoy your reading ! :-)

Database #08 : Inverted Firewall

LEP HEADQUARTERS, HAVEN CITY

" Captain Holly Short, you don't have more brains than a goblin ! "

Holly shivered. The insult was huge. So was Commander Root's fury.

" D'Arvit, what were you thinking about ? " he yelled, spluttering all over the embarrassed elf's face. " Do you realize the damage you could have have done ? "

" But Commander, it's not my fault ! " Holly tried to retort.

Root smashed his fist onto his desk, sending various paperworks flying all over the room.

" It's not your fault ? It's not your fault ?! Then, can you explain how come your Neutrino has just melted down ? How come these kind of technical incidents only happen to you ? How come my Retrieval team has found you a good one hundred miles away from the swear toads' invasion location ? And how come the building next to your location has ignited like a goblin's fartseconds after Foaly had received your message ?! "

Holly bit her lower lip. This may be worse than the Hamburg incident. Worse than anything Artemis had put her throught before.

This was certainly the end of her career.

Commander Root dropped back on his chair, trying to catch his breath.

" You had just started to become a truly reliable officer… I don't understand what's wrong with you, Short ", he said, staring in the distance, a vein dangerously palpitating on his forehead. " You have no idea about how bad this is. "

Holly knew there was nothing she could say that wouldn't worsen her case ; along with the building, Selene's computer and all the evidences she needed to justify her actions had gone up in smoke.

" The building was abandoned, plus it was night ", she eventually replied. " I can guarantee you that there were no victims, and no witnesses. "

Commander Root closed his eyes, and exhaled deeply.

" I wasn't talking about the Mudmen, Short. I was talking about your Neutrino's malfunction. "

Holly frowned, confused.

" I have no idea how you managed to do that, but according to Foaly's examination of your gun, the backup cell has grilled when you pulled the trigger. The backup mini-nuke cell. You just don't realize how lucky you are – you might very well have had your hand irremediably burned down, or your arm literally turned into mush by the explosion. "

Holly couldn't believe her ears. Suddenly, she felt extremely nauseous, and instinctively clenched her right fist. Her hand was still numb, and her little finger was a little shaky ; but overall, she was intact. The LEP suit's kinetic energy redirection system had taken most of the shock, and her healing magic had done the rest while she was unconscious.

But Commander Root's words kept resonating in her head.

You might have had your hand burned down, or your arm literally turned into mush.

It was not the first time she had suffered an injury on her guiding hand ; but in the Arctic, Artemis had found a way to save both her finger and her career. He hadn't even meant to steal her magic in the first place.

And this time, he had purposefully injured her. Just by slamming a button on a keyboard.

How ? How has he become like this, and we have let it happen ? How ?

Even though the Commander hadn't invited her to do so, Holly dropped on the nearest chair, her jaw clenched. Root didn't react – he would have been worried if the elfin officer had responded differently to the news that she had almost ended up mutilated for life.

" I assure you it's not my fault, Commander ", Holly said in a white voice.

" She's right about that, Beetroot. It's not her fault. It's mine. "

Both elves jumped at Foaly's sudden intervention. Root's wall plasma monitor had switched on, and the centaur, still in his hospital bedroom, granted the LEP Commander with a serious expression. For a brief second, his gaze turned towards Holly's ; and through his apologetic look, she could see that he had some good news. That gave her a little bit of hope back.

" The blueberry pie is cooked, and the sprite has left the nest, I repeat, the sprite has left the nest ", he said with a discreet wink.

Holly's face lit up. This was the secret code for Foaly's mission. It meant : "I've obtained a free pass for Mulch, he has left Atlantis and he'll be in Haven soon ".

No need to say that the code was the centaur's idea.

Commander Root, for himself, was still too dumbfounded to wonder what these sprites and pies were about. Eventually, he spoke.

" … Did you just call me Beetroot ? "

Despite the dire situation, Holly had to gather all of her mental strength not to chuckle. "Beetroot" was the Commander's nickname among the LEP officers. Foaly eluded the question with a waving hand.

" That's not important at all. What matters, is what I said after. "

" … The blueberry pie thing ? "

" No, of course not ! " the centaur said with an exasperated sigh. " I said that what happened in Prague is not Holly's fault. It's mine. "

Foaly paused for an instant. He seemed to be torn apart, unsure of what he should say or not. Root hesitated, but it was so rare to see the centaur wear any other expression that his irritating smug smile, that he let him continue without interrupting.

" … When I had this stroke, a few days ago, it was because… I had been attacked. By someone dangerous, whom I feared might strike again. I managed to find their trace in Prague, but I couldn't deal with this problem alone, so I've dragged Holly into it. She wanted to tell you everything, but I made her promise not to, because… because… Erm. My point is, she can't be held responsible for what happened above ground – even the Neutrino incident. If there was a flaw in the blaster's design, it's on my account, not hers. "

Holly shifted incomfortably in her seat. She was grateful for the centaur's attempt at helping her out, but she doubted that his obviously vague and secretive explanation would convince Root – it was a lot more probable that it would rather make him even more angry.

Indeed, for a few seconds, Root's complexion seemed to wonder whether it should turn bright red or not – the result, not very pleasant to look at, reminded Holly of the time she had forgotten her tomato soup on the stove, and the explosion had repainted her kitchen's white ceiling in the manner of a Jackson Pollock painting. But eventually, Root's face was completely red, and when he spoke, his tone was menacing enough to make a grown-up troll cringe in fear.

" Even though it is very endearing to see you rushing at Captain Short's rescue, I really don't see how your explanation is supposed to improve her case. You realize, ponyboy, that you are telling me my officer has purposefully lied to her superior in order to go on a surface mission for your own personal matters ? "

" Err… ", Foaly babbled, suddenly a lot more unsure of himself.

" … And that is without mentioning the fact ", Root continued, " that YOU also lied about the cause of your seizure. But if I manage to read inbetween the lines of your testimony, even though I am not the thinking type, should I understand that a D'ARVITING MUDMAN HAS ATTACKED YOU IN MY OWN HEADQUARTERS ? "

Foaly swallowed. On the monitors beside his hospital bed, Holly noticed his heartbeat was starting to speed up. It was very rare for the centaur to be directly confronted with Commander Root's anger about something else than his bad puns, and it was certainly not an enjoyable experience.

" I never said it was a Mudman, Commander ", Foaly eventually replied, trying to regain his composure.

" Pardon me, but you didn't really say a lot at all ", Root stated. " But go on, explain. If it's not a Mudman, who attacked you ? That question is also for you, Short : whoever this mysterious individual was, what happened to them after your little Czech expedition ? "

Foaly and Holly exchanged a look. The centaur couldn't legitimately answer the Commander's question. He knew that Holly had found Selene, after he had received her message – which, of course, he hadn't directly shown to Root, but had rather interpreted to avoid the mention of a "crippled with mental illness Mudgirl" ; especially since the building had burst into flames minutes after he got her message, and it had led him to believe that the elfin officer had been outsmarted.

But he didn't know how, nor by who Holly had been deceived and left unconscious in a sewer.

Holly bit her lip, then, still looking directly at Foaly, she said slowly :

" The asparagus salad tastes bad, I repeat, the asparagus salad tastes bad. "

Note to myself : next time I agree to a secret code, DON'T let Foaly compose it. Never. Again.

Root punched his desk, exasperated and irretrievably furious.

" For Frond's sake, what is wrong with both of you and your pies and salads nonsense ? Are you considering a reconversion in a catering service or what ? " Root yelled.

Holly looked down, but Foaly didn't flinch, nor answered. Actually, he was petrified at what Holly had said. Root slammed his desk with his fist again. Holly thought that in the long run, it was a true miracle that the piece of furniture had made it intact so far in the Commander's entire career. She didn't know that replacing his desk each year had become a solid part of the LEP budget.

" That's enough with the clown show ! " he shouted. " Foaly. You are very lucky to be convalescent, and irreplaceable as our technological consultant. If not, you would already be watering your garden tulips by now – after I would have kicked the hell out of your horse butt. As for Captain Short, you are fired. Effective immediately. "

Holly felt her heart drop down.

The elf clenched her hands on her legs to stop them from shaking.

She couldn't believe it. She wasn't even angry, or incredulous ; she was just so numb. It felt like she was in the Arctic sea again – except this time, she was drowning.

She had just tried to help a friend. Not only had she failed, and let both Selene and Artemis escape, but now she wouldn't even get a chance to stop them. The elf had gotten so close to this in the past years, on more numerous occasions than she should have ; but now, it was done, and definitive.

Her LEP career was over.

I must not cry. I must not. I must…

Foaly, on the other hand, didn't see it the same way.

" Julius, don't be ridiculous ! Holly is one of your best officers ! You can't just fire her like this ! "

" Oh, I very well can and I certainly don't need your opinion ! Now shut your mouth and focus on your recovery, before I get really angry ! "

" But Julius… "

" DON'T CALL ME JULIUS ! I can't cut you out from the LEP, but I certainly can do so with your department's budget, and I won't think about it twice if you discuss my decisions again. Understood ? "

Foaly opened his mouth to protest, but Holly's voice raised.

" Please, Foaly, just never mind. It's pointless. I'm a grown up, I knew what I was doing. I must assume the consequences. "

She wanted to say more, but her voice was more broken than she wanted, and she stopped before she could make a fool of herself in front of her superior. Former superior, she realized. For a split second, Root looked truly sorry for her. But serious misconduct was serious misconduct, and it was impossible to just let it slip.

Suddenly, Holly stood up, and looked right at the wall's plasma monitor. Straight into Foaly's eyes.

" You should tell him now ", she said. " Before it's too late. "

Foaly's gaze turned from infuriated at Root's decision to utterly terrified. Root, on the other hand, grew seriously interested in the conversation – for once these two were not speaking in vegetable gibberish.

" Tell me about what, exactly ? " he asked in a low voice.

Foaly started breathing heavily. He gave Holly a pleading look, but her gaze only narrowed.

" I have just been fired because of you. Now stop behaving like a child, and tell him. It's not like you have done anything bad, right ? "

Holly said that with complete honesty – after all, the centaur had kept her in a very rearranged version of the truth. But he, on the other hand, knew exactly what he had done. And he was slowly starting to realize how wrong it actually was.

Unable to sustain his friend's stare, he turned his head away.

" … I'm sorry, Holly. I can't. "

That was not Commander Root's opinion.

" You can, clever pony, and you certainly will. I am the freaking Commander of the LEPrecon and you will tell me whatever it is you've been hiding. That's an order. "

Foaly shook his head violently. The monitors beside his bed started to buzz in an alarming fashion. It seemed as if he was having a paranoia attack. Holly started to wonder if trying to force him into telling the truth had really been a good idea.

" How would that help anything to tell you ? ", the centaur said in a pained, shaking voice. " You don't understand. You're a moron. It's already too late. I've compromised everything already… but I'm not the only one. Holly's to blame. You're to blame. We are all to blame. Can't you see that you are going to need every single officer behind you, if you don't want to see our entire civilization disappear ? And you just fired one of the only officers who could stop this mess ! "

Root slammed his desk, which, this time, broke slightly under the shock.

" That's enough with Captain Short's dismissal ! I've made my decision and nothing is going to make me change my mind ! "

At the same moment and with the most perfect timing, as if Commander Root's words had a magical powers, all the lights and electronic devices in the city switched off.

Including the ones at the LEP Headquarters.

The communication with Foaly cut instantly as the plasma monitor turned black, and the two elfin officers stood in complete darkness for a few seconds. Then, Commander Root spoke.

" D'Arvit. "

FOALY'S HOSPITAL ROOM, ARGON CLINIC

Meanwhile, Foaly, sitting upright in his bed, was furiously slammering his laptop's keyboard, his eyes widening in horror.

Through his hospital room's window, he could see Haven's solar tubes starting to diffuse an orange emergency light. All of the city's sixty meters thick steel doors were slowly shutting down with the same sinister howling, and as any traffic noise and rumors had stopped, Foaly guessed the magnastrips' power had also been cut.

All in all, it looked like a perfectly regular lockdown procedure ; except the LEP Headquarters were not supposed to be affected by the global power cut.

Desperately, Foaly tried to reach Root's office once again. The centaur couldn't believe what was going on, at the point he wondered when he would wake up from this nightmare. First, Artemis' involvement confirmed, and then this ! In the blink of an eye, the situation had turned from almost hopeless to utterly catastrophic.

But Foaly had no idea how much.

Suddenly, his laptop's screen started to Glitch. Severely. His keyboard seemed to have stopped responding to his commands.

And then, a new terminal opened, and Artemis Fowl's face appeared, his smirk more vampiric and wicked than ever.

Foaly gasped, taking his hands away from the laptop. He had surveilled the young Fowl's activities daily for almost four months, but it was the first time he actually saw him after the mindwipe.

" Golly ! ", he said, " What on Earth has happened to you ? Have you looked at yourself in a mirror lately ? You look like a skeleton with a mixomatous rabbit's eyes ! "

Artemis' smile only widened.

" Are you sure it is a good idea to disrespect me, dear centaur ? "

Foaly clenched his jaw. Referring to a fairy by their species was considered extremely rude. Normally, he wouldn't have felt insulted – after all, how could the young Fowl have known ? But now, Foaly was persuaded Artemis knew exactly what he was saying.

" You are a thirteen-year-old spoiled, selfish brat, and the Wired won't change any of that ", he replied with all the venom he could. " It's you who initiated the lockdown procedure, right ? Why ? "

Artemis sniggered. Foaly wondered how he could have ever considered the boy as a friend, before.

" Whatever. Insult me all you like, if it can make you feel better ", Artemis replied more seriously. " Of course it's me who have initiated Haven's lockdown. Don't you think it's rather ironic ? The city's walls, supposed to protect the fairies from exterior threats… now keeping them prisoners. Kind of like an inverted firewall, isn't it ? And this is just the beginning. "

Foaly's blood was boiling with rage.

" Why are you telling me that ? ", he yelled to the laptop screen. " WHY ?! "

Artemis crossed his hands under his chin, a mischievous look in his reddened eyes.

" I'm here to give you a challenge. You have actually one last chance to put an end to all of this, and prevent the Fairy Council from finding out about your involvement with the Wired. One last chance to stop this. To keep your name clean. "

Foaly frowned, hesitant. Knowing Artemis, the proposition was certainly far from being honest.

… But… It still sounded very attractive.

Even if the fairies somehow managed to prevent Artemis from using the Wired to become an evil superpowerful human god, Foaly knew that now the young Fowl had directly attacked Haven, there was no way out for him. The centaur would be exiled in one of Atlantis' Deeps Maximum Security Prison's cells, never to be allowed near a computing device again. The thought was unbearable ; but even though he still tried desperately to push his demise's deadline as further as possible, he had resigned himself that his days as the LEP's heroical technical consultant were over.

He had never imagined that Artemis would leave him an opportunity to save his reputation. The centaur kept thinking, but on the laptop screen, the young Fowl's confidence didn't stutter a second. His manipulation had worked perfectly. Foaly was tempted.

What were his other options, anyway ?

" … Okay, Mudboy. What's your challenge about ? "

Artemis' eyes narrowed, his lips twisting into a nasty, crooked smile.

" I have hacked and reprogrammed the city's DNA cannons. You have one hour to crack my upgraded version of their securized access password. If you don't make it in time, I'll use the cannons to wipe out the entire city. But if you succeed, you have my word that the Fairy Council will give you all the credits you deserve. "

Foaly couldn't believe what he had just heard.

" The DNA cannons don't kill, they just stun and knock out people. "

" That's what they used to do, of course. But I've told you, I've reprogrammed them. Are you really willing to risk the life of all the citizens of Haven ? "

" How am I sure that you won't just hack the cannons again once I'm done with your challenge? "

" You can't be. You just have to trust me. "

This is a deal with the Devil.

Foaly had to gather all his will not to throw the laptop on the other side of the room. He was furious. But suddenly, he was very calm.

" You are a monster, Artemis Fowl ", he said, his features twisted in disgust. " A monster. "

The young boy seemed to be hit by the centaur's words. His presomptuous smile faded, and turned into an expression of sheer hatred. He had been in the Wired for more than ten minutes, and a line of blood started to stream down his left nostril.

" Yes, I am a monster. But thanks to whom ? "

Foaly heard him type on his keyboard, and the video terminal on Foaly's laptop disappeared. On the desktop, the Menu icon Glitched, then two new windows opened. One displayed a huge series of numbers – the password to access the DNA cannons' functionalities.

The other was a countdown.

Foaly immediately stood up, and rushed to the door. The sudden move made him dizzy, but there was something quite new rushing through his veins. It was not only adrenaline. It was pure fear.

The centaur tried to open the hospital room's door, and screamed for help. But the door was sealed shut, and no one heard him calling. One of the main politics of Argon's clinic was a strict respect for the patients' privacy, and each room had a perfectioned soundproof design, and a digital locking system. Despite his paranoia, Foaly hadn't asked for these options when he had signed at the clinic ; that was probably another one of Artemis' tricks. His challenge offer had never really been an option.

Foaly didn't waste time trying to kick a hole in the wall with his posterior hooves – he wasn't sure he was capable of such a display of strength, and in his current physical state, he would probably just break a leg and pass out. And Artemis would activate the DNA cannons.

The centaur sat back on his bed and took the laptop, a newfound determination in his eyes.

He was the LEP's technological consultant. The major of his promotion at the engineering academy, and the best computer scientist under and above ground. The previous administrator of the Wired.

Whatever security Artemis would have installed on the DNA cannons, Foaly would hack it in five minutes.

He enhanced the window displaying the password, and shrinked the one with the countdown on the bottom right of the screen. It indicated fifty-eight minutes and thirty seconds.

Foaly focused on the series of numbers. Whereas the old password was composed of five hundred and twelve characters, Artemis' was the double – one thousand and twenty four. The centaur couldn't help but be impressed. The Wired was a powerful tool, but it was worthless if the user himself wasn't extremely talented. Artemis obviously was, even more than what Foaly had thought.

No wonder he has been able to encrypt his C Cube with an eternity code. This Mudkid is a real genius.

Foaly opened a calculator and started typing. This wouldn't be as easy as expected, but even if the situation was extremely serious, Foaly managed to remain calm and focused. He had always loved challenges, and he decided to treat this one just like any other. A mere puzzle to solve. A simple password to crack.

The centaur worked for ten minutes without an interruption. Trying to crack the password manually was a no go – if he had ten years ahead of him, he might solve it this way, but it was not the case here. Thus, Foaly had decided not to play by the rules, and to craft a program that would calculate and try automatically each possible option for each of the one thousand and twenty four characters. That probably wouldn't be enough, but it would help him save time to try out his real plan.

After twelve minutes and three seconds, the program was ready, and Foaly launched it. Then, he put his laptop aside, and grabbed his digital tablet. Now he had this done, there was only one other option to complete Artemis' challenge in less than an hour : hack into the LEP's high-security server, where the DNA cannons' password was stocked.

Even if Artemis had messed with the lockdown procedure to extend the power cut into the LEP Headquarters, there was certainly still enough backup power to sustain the server's activity – if not, Artemis wouldn't have been able to hack the DNA cannons in the first place.

Foaly didn't try to log into the LEP server – that would be pointless, Artemis had probably hacked his account and changed his login and password. The centaur would have to do it in the good, old-fashioned way. He typed on his tablet as fast as he could, and was soon connected onto the Argon clinic system. He now had access to each machines, computers, phones inside the building – or, simply put, the entire hospital's processing power.

Foaly left aside all the life-sustaining machines, and hacked all the devices that weren't directly plugged onto a living being. For half a second, he hesitated over Opal Koboi's, but now she was in a comatose state, she wouldn't be an issue anymore. Especially if he couldn't crack Artemis' password on time.

Suddenly, Foaly heard some footsteps in the corridor, and soon, heavy knocking on his door. Probably the clinic's staff.

I'm very sorry, Foaly thought while typing on the keyboard, but I have thirty-seven minutes left. I'll explain later.

He finished typing his instructions, and pressed the Enter key on the tablet's touchpad.

All the clinic's hacked devices started sending requests to the LEP server. A considerably huge amount of requests. If flooded enough, the server would eventually start bugging, and allow the centaur to sneak inside.

Foaly waited, his heart pounding, drops of sweat rolling down his temples. He had been in the hospital for less than a week, and after half an hour of intensive working, his brain felt slow and heavy. The centaur was extremely tired all of a sudden, and fought the urge to close his eyes and fall asleep. There was no time. He'd rest afterwards, if Artemis kept his promise.

He reached back to his laptop, trying not to be too hopeful ; but as he feared, the program hadn't proved successful yet, with more than three hundred thousands combinations tested.

Foaly started to be seriously worried. If hacking the LEP server didn't work, he wouldn't be able to make it. Artemis would win. He started swearing in his goatee beard. If he had been in his office, with his supercalculators and advanced computers, the game would have been entirely different.

But Foaly wasn't in his office. He was alone in an hospital room, with a little laptop and a digital tablet, and the knocking on the door intensified. Some people had started openly shouting ; the centaur estimated that they would try to contact the LEP Headquarters shortly. With the power cut, they would have to send someone, but there were several sprite nurses, and at flying distance, the Police Plaza wasn't very far from the Argon clinic.

The only thing he could do now was waiting for the LEP server to be submerged enough. In a way, the lockdown helped him : by cutting off the entire city, save for Argon's clinic, two other hospitals and a few official buildings, it prevented almost any counter-attack to be attempted. He should stay on edge anyway, in case the Fairy Council tried to stop him.

.

Twenty-eight minutes and fourty seconds left.

Foaly was sweating intensely now, and had an atrocious migraine. He had blocked one counter-attack successfully, but the processing power of the clinic's computers was definitely way too low for what he was attempting, and his program was too slow.

Seventeen minutes and eight seconds left.

Foaly heard numerous, loud steps approaching in the corridor, and as he recognized one of the voices yelling, he felt a cold sweat run down his spine.

" Foaly ! FOALY ! You better open this door right now and explain yourself, you Frond-forsakened donkey ! "

The centaur closed his eyes for a second, and focused on his tablet. Even if he tried to answer Root's request, the elf wouldn't be able to hear him.

Fourteen minutes and six seconds left.

Foaly's confidence and hope started to shatter completely. With no response from the centaur, Root had ordered the two officers he had brought along to find the biggest and heaviest object they could find, in order to smash the door. That wouldn't be complicated, after all the door wasn't that thick and wouldn't resist a battering ram's assault. Foaly now had merely five minutes left until the entire Argon staff and a furious Commander erupted in his hospital room.

Suddenly, his eyes widened.

The LEP server, overflooded with Foaly's requests, had started bugging. Quickly, the centaur jumped into the breach, his fingers moving so fast across the tablet's touchpad that they were almost blurry. Ultimately, he let out a relieved sigh.

He had made it. He had hacked the LEP server, and found the DNA cannons' password.

That was way too easy. I'll definitely upgrade the server, once this mess is done and over with.

There were twelve minutes and fifty-eight seconds left. Foaly memorized the password instantly, and grabbed his laptop, throwing the tablet on the ground without even noticing it. He typed, as fast as he could, and pressed the Enter key.

ARTEMIS' OFFICE, FOWL MANOR

Comfortably seated at his desk, delicately sipping a cup of Earl Grey, Artemis allowed himself a lean, evil smile.

He had logged back in the Wired about three minutes ago, and followed the centaur's progress through his room's security camera with a calm expression. One might explain his serene attitude by the dangerously astronomical amount of painkillers he now had to absorb daily in order to silence his migraines ; but he was actually pretty satisfied with Foaly.

Everything was going according to the plan.

As the centaur pressed the Enter key, Artemis leaned his left hand toward his desk, and typed a few instructions on the keyboard.

" Well done, centaur. I must admit I am quite impressed ", he said after he had established the video communication with Foaly's laptop. " I didn't think you would have the nerve to hack into your own server. "

A few thousand miles underground, Foaly granted him with a mean look.

" Come on Fowlsie, like you ever cared to play by the rules. "

" Oh, but according to the official reports, I did play by the rules. I escaped the time-stop, and you had no choice but let me keep your gold ", Artemis noted. " Contrarily to what you might think of me, I love to play by the rules. It's more elegant. Plus, it makes your victory taste a lot better… or bitter, depending on the point of view. "

Foaly laughed.

" So spiritual, eh, Mudboy ? Well, how bitter are you now ? I did what you asked, I've succeeded at your challenge. "

Artemis took another sip of tea.

" Indeed, you have… but it's not over. "

Foaly's jaw dropped in shock like a tv cartoon character. Artemis chuckled.

" B-b-but… you said I had a chance to stop everything ! " Foaly exclaimed, his voice abnormally high-pitched.

Artemis' smile widened, making the centaur shiver. The young boy stared deeply at his nemesis, savouring the fear in Foaly's eyes.

" Of course you do have a chance ", he replied. " Now you have cracked the password, you are in control of the entire set of DNA cannons. You can activate them. "

Foaly started yelling a set of Gnommish insults, which made Artemis roll his eyes.

" Could you please stop being a pathetic cry-baby, and listen to me ? You don't have much time left. In a matter of seconds, Commander Root and his minions are going to break your door and arrest you for launching Haven's lockdown procedure, hacking into the LEP server and taking control of the DNA cannons. Here is the choice I offer you : surrender... or activate the cannons. "

" But… have you reprogrammed them to kill, or not ? "

Artemis tilted his head.

" It wouldn't be proper torture if I gave you that information ", he replied softly.

When picturing this part of his plan, Artemis had imagined that the centaur would scream in despair, insult him, maybe even punch his laptop's screen in a last childish attempt at stopping him.

He had never imagined Foaly would break down crying.

For a few seconds, Artemis felt embarrassed. In the very, very bottom of his heart, a feeling of guilt started to arise. During the lapse of a millisecond, Artemis remembered that the centaur had been his friend, once. Some time ago.

But the moment faded, along with the glimpse of memory. And the young Fowl feasted on the tears of Foaly, the centaurian technological consultant of the LEP, the first fairy he had decided to humiliate. He had been so easy to break. And it wasn't even over yet.

" Artemis… " the centaur said, eventually, in a murmur. " … What happened to you ? "

Artemis' voice was devoid of any mercy.

" You know exactly what happened to me. You took my memories. You wanted to dominate me, but now, I'm the one who's in control. So. What's your choice ? "

Foaly stood still for a second. On his right, the door shattered in its frame. The fairies would be in his room any seconds now.

" Using the DNA cannons would be genocide ", Foaly said. " I will never do that. I'm going to surrender, and I'll let the Council decide my fate. "

Artemis smiled, and shrugged. Exactly what he had planned.

" As you wish, centaur. But don't forget what I promised you… "

Foaly frowned, then his eyes widened in terror as he finally understood the meaning of Artemis' words. The young Fowl allowed himself to wait until the very last second, when the hospital door was smashed into pieces, to assess the final blow :

" … You have my word that the Fairy Council will give you all the credits you deserve. All of it. "

Then, he cut the communication, and watched on the surveillance camera as the three LEP officers irrupted into the incredulous centaur's room, brandishing various weapons. He waited until the centaur had raised his arms and laid down on the floor, then had been handcuffed by Root himself, to log out of the Wired and sink into his desk chair with a satisfied sigh.

Butler, standing on the other side of the office, was utterly horrified.

.

After his charge had left the office, to clean his nosebleeding and take a few more painkillers, Butler waited for a few seconds before texting Selene on the cellphone he had gave her. While the girl received the message and climbed the stairs from the kitchen to the office, the manservant just stood there, looking around him absentmindedly, wondering when exactly things had started to go completely sideways.

This was the first time he was back in Artemis' office after it had been "rearranged" to fit his use of the Wired. "Rearranged" now truly felt like a poor choice of word indeed.

An entire new cooling system constituted of large water tubes had been installed, and, next to the desk, Artemis had piled twenty hard drives, constituting himself a new server. The office's floor was a mess of cables, pipes and tubes, completed with three large ventilators. As for Artemis' three computers themselves, they had been replaced by brand new units the young Fowl had bought from "a friend at the CIA". Each computer came along with several monitors of various sizes, permanently switched on. The window had been sealed shut, and the ceiling bulb removed, the dozen screens being the only source of light in the room. Artemis had also added a thirteen numbers digicode on the door, with a fingerprint biometric scanner system to prevent his mother (or anyone else, but especially his mother) to come inside.

A few weeks, which started to seem like an eternity ago, Butler had only meant it as a joke ; but Artemis had really turned his office into a true computing bunker.

" Bože můj, what happened in there ? "

Butler turned around, and grimaced at Selene, who stood on the doorstep, bewildered at the all the semi-futuristic equipment.

" I wish I really knew ", the bodyguard answered. " Nothing good, I'm sure of that. "

Selene frowned, worried.

" Did you manage to understand what he did this morning ? "

After their return from Prague, the manservant had managed to have a private conversation with his principle, and obtained the right to be in the room with Artemis each time he would use the Wired. He had spent the entire morning standing behind him, and was still shakened at what he had witnessed.

" Not everything ", the manservant replied. " But enough to know how wrong it is. He has interlocked a lockdown procedure of some sort, and presented a guy with a poisoned deal. "

" What deal ? "

Butler tried to answer, but he didn't have the strength. When he spoke, it was a lot more to himself than to Selene.

" The guy was in a hospital bed. This was straightforward psychological torture. At the end, the guy was crying. And Artemis laughed at him. "

The manservant leaned against the wall, devastated.

" I don't know what to do, Selene. I see him falling apart, and I just don't know what to do. "

" Why don't you just smack these computers down and forbid him to come here ? "

" I can't forbid him anything, I'm just his bodyguard. And even if I sabotaged his machines, he would just buy new ones. And then, he would stop trusting me, and I can't loose that. It's the only thing I have left of him. "

Butler rubbed his face with both his hands. He was exhausted. Even if he was not, he just felt old, really old, too old for this.

" What are you doing here, Selene ? "

The avatar turned around quickly, and was met with Artemis' cold stare. She lowered her head, and stepped aside of the office.

" Nothing. " she replied. " Forgive me. "

She left immediately. Artemis looked at his bodyguard, who was still leaning against the wall.

" Did you ask her to come here ? " he asked.

" Yes, I did ", Butler replied, not trying to lie. " I'm worried, Artemis. I'm seriously worried. "

" And how did you think that Selene could help ? "

The manservant sighed.

" I don't know. I guess I thought she would know what might convince you to change your mind. "

Artemis shook his head.

" I'm not going to change my mind. I've told you that, before we took the Lear jet last night. Those fairies aren't good people. I can understand that you feel sorry for them, but they certainly didn't feel sorry for us when we were deprived of our memories. "

Butler nodded. Arguing with Artemis wouldn't do any good, especially about the fairies of which the bodyguard knew nothing about before last night.

" Please… just try to take care of yourself. I'm doing my best, but… I don't know if it's enough anymore. "

Artemis' composure wore off slightly, and the young Fowl went for his bodyguard, to put a hand on the man's elbow.

" I'm sorry, Butler. I need to do this, and even if I wanted to, I've gone too far to back up now. But it will be over soon, and after that, I'll comply to whatever medical treatment you see fit, and I'll do everything I can to stop using the Wired. "

He paused, for a second.

" It will be okay. I promise. "

.

Meanwhile, Selene sat in the Fowl Manor's kitchen, thinking deeply. Butler had prepared a huge breakfast for her, and while she finished her second plate of maple syrup pancakes, she realized that she had grown really attached to the manservant, even if she had met him yesterday. Not only because of the food ; but because he was, behind his terrifying stature, so nice and caring with everyone. Especially her father, Artemis.

Selene swallowed on her last bite of pancake, and sighed. She really didn't know what to make of him. She knew how many traits she shared with him, but while she would have diagnosed herself as hypersensitive, he was always composed, very careful with his emotions, at the point any individual who didn't know him would wonder if he actually had any. And he was so strangely cold with her.

She could feel that he didn't despise or hate her ; just that he didn't exactly know how to reach out to her.

As if he had never been taught how to love.

But Selene knew he wouldn't let himself be so easily psychanalized, so she didn't count on that assumption too much. It was a lot more probable that becoming a father overnight wasn't an experience he was used to, and had to learn to deal with – especially since his daughter was his age and his previous Wired avatar.

The young girl rinced the maple syrup with a big glass of mango milkshake. Just as Butler, she was really worried about Artemis, and tried to find a way to help him. But as he was so stubbornly addicted to the Wired that he couldn't be reasoned with anymore, the only way Selene saw of stopping him was force.

And the only person who might be able to force Artemis to do something was Angeline. His mother.

Selene hadn't see her much. They had met this morning, and the lady had barely listened to the explanations as to where she came from. Angeline looked extremely tired, and a bit sad. But she had offered Selene an old dress of hers, and all in all, even though she seemed to be more fragile, she was a lot like Butler – she loved Artemis and wanted to help him, but didn't know how. She had even hugged him, and that was the closest Selene had seen her father from another human being.

Thus, having reached those conclusions, the young girl decided to go see Angeline after her breakfast, and try to get her to intervene. Maybe, with the bond they seemed to have, Artemis would listen to her.

As she took on another plate of pancakes, Selene wished he would hug her too. But she thought he probably wouldn't appreciate it if she asked him to, and kept this feeling to herself. She didn't know how this was actually what Artemis would have done – and had done – with his own father.

HAVEN CITY, BELOW GROUND

Selene and Butler didn't know it, but they had actually done something for Artemis. Something extremely huge.

They had kept him away from the keyboard for a few minutes.

This might seem unimportant, except that during those few minutes, something of crucial importance happened in Haven.

The former Captain Holly Short was walking down the Boulevard of Kings. After the lockdown, Commander Root had hesitated for a second, but he had eventually send her home, and hadn't cancelled her dismissal.

As Holly was heading to her apartement, she couldn't help but feel she was actually walking away from her real home. The LEP.

Suddenly, there was a honking in the distance, and she was exasperated to hear Chix Verbil's voice.

" Oh my, it's the beautiful Captain Short ! What are you doing here? "

" I'm walking home alone ", she answered, her head still turned to the street's old cobbles. " I don't know if you're aware, but the concept of ''alone'' excludes the idea of a third party. "

" Eheh, always so cunning ! But it's not just the two of us ! "

Intrigued, Holly raised her head, and her face lit up in surprise when she realized two things. One, the sprite officer was riding a tricycle that was way too little for him, and was even more ridiculous than usual ; and two, she knew the person who was sitting on the rear carrier, and who gave her a big, shiny smile.

" Mulch Diggums ! "

The dwarf winked.

" Back here to save the day again, huh ? Maybe I should consider applying at the LEP academy, so the next time Julius needs my help I won't need to be wearing handcuffs. "

" You don't get to speak of our Commander in such familiar ways, convict ! ", Chix said furiously, trying to appear more manly, as he now had a feminine audience.

" Don't call me convict ! Only Julius is allowed to do that ! " the dwarf replied.

Mulch brutally punched Chix's helmet with his forehead, making the sprite squeak in surprise, tangle his legs and fall off the tricycle. Holly rushed to keep Mulch from falling, and put him on the ground. He grabbed her hand, suddenly serious.

" Foaly has explained a little about the situation, and as the city has gone into full lockdown after I arrived from Atlantis, and I have to be dragged to the Headquarters on a D'Arviting tricycle by this moron, I think I guess that his fears have turned to be correct. I have something for you. "

The dwarf searched his pockets while Chix Verbil was slowly trying to stand up, rubbing his nose which was starting to swell dangerously. Mulch frowned.

" Wait a sec', I thought I had it just here… No, it's probably there… No ? Well, there's that pocket… "

While he was speaking, he was pulling out all his pockets' content – which included Chix's watch, Chix's wallet, a spare set of LEP handcuffs, the key to the spare set of LEP handcuffs, the key to his own LEP handcuffs, and a pair of pink fluffy handcuffs that certainly weren't LEP related. Holly's eyes widened, and Chix's face turned bright red in embarrassment.

" Ah, finally ! I found it ! " Mulch said, looking like he was having a lot of fun.

He handed Holly a little golden medallion. She frowned, as she could recall having seen it somewhere before. Then, the memories flew back in her mind.

" How… how did you get that ? ", she whispered, stupefied.

Mulch shrugged lightly.

" Don't you recall ? He gave it to me before you guys mindwiped him. But I'd look closer if I were you. This little thing isn't really what it looks like it is. "

After that, Chix Verbil eventually got back to his senses, and before Holly realized it, he and Mulch were gone, along with the various sets of handcuffs and the dwarf's satisfied chuckle at the sprite's red cheeks.

Unsure what Mulch had meant with "look closer", she sticked the golden medallion under her nose, and noticed that the golden layer seemed to be erodated. Eyebrows frowned, Holly brushed a corner of the coin.

She took a few seconds to process the information.

It wasn't the coin she had given Artemis, a long time ago, to remind him about what she had called his "spark of decency". It was a minidisk.

The elf stood still for a good minute. And then, she spoke.

" D'Arvit. "

Huhuhu :3

So, that was Artemis' big comeback as a real villain ! What did you think about it ? :-D (well, besides ''poor Foaly''... Artemis' treatment is pretty harsh, that's true, but I really wanted to set the marks high for his revenge plan ^^)

Oh, and about Mulch. The last part of the chapter was very funny to write, but I haven't really planned for the little dwarf to make another appearance later. That was more like a cameo to me ; but would you like to see him a little bit more ? I might try to fix that in the later chapters :)

Well, as I've said earlier on in a previous update, I'm back to film school, and it's already becoming super hard to find the time to write. I'm struggling a bit with the next chapter, I had written eleven pages when I realized it was just totally crappy, so I rewrote everything... Now I've wrapped the first half, the second one should be easier. I'll still try to keep on with the rythm of one update per week though ! But I wanted to tell you where I am, in case I can't manage to get next chapter as I want to :-)

Thank you to everyone who's reading this story ! Don't hesitate to leave a little review, it really is the fuel for my motivation ^^ See you next week !

PS : who spotted the Stan Ridgway reference ? :-P