Chapter 14 – In which Julius explains his disappearance
A/N: Okay, I am REALLY sorry for taking this long, but considering the fact that my English GCSE ( yes, I am foolishly taking this thing a year early) is in less than 2 months (AH!) I think you're going to be waiting a long time before my next update...
R&R! Please.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Artemis Fowl characters... you all know that, so why do I still have to write it?
And that was time for the second most humiliating sentence he'd uttered in his short adolescent life.
"You're not alive!"
"What do you mean, 'you're not alive'? The fact that my scars are hurting right now prove that I'm still alive. I hurt too much to be dead." Grunted Root, sucking one last deep breath from his noxious cigar, savouring the smoke, and then jabbing it onto the ground.
Kat winced at this movement. "Hey, shorty, stop doing that, would'ya? Remember last time you did that and set fire to my favourite pair of jeans?"
Root scowled, ridiculously making him look like a spoilt child. The expression didn't seem right, somehow… not on a face that was accustomed to having a frown and a constant tomato red complexion.
Mumbling something that sounded distinctly like 'not my fault you don't have magma proof clothing', Root turned to look at Fowl, who was still having an argument in his head about what was appropriate to do at the moment,
Greet him, shake his hands and ask where he was!
Keep on staring…
At least request a logical explanation for his survival!
No, no, just keep on staring…
"Oi! Mud boy… or half boy or half man or whatever they call you… are you even listening to a word I just said?"
"An old comrade of an old friend has just miraculously returned from the dead. I've finally reached the stage of puberty where I have two conflicting decisions, and in which it's usually the immature decision that wins. One of the only humans I have ever considered as my friend has just been abducted, and I have no idea where to. Do you think I'm in a position to listen?" Artemis asked, his voice deadly quiet and sending shivers along everyone's spines.
Root, however, having the very limited amount of knowledge that he does about the relationship between Artemis and Ivy, very unabashedly said,
"No, and I don't care either. All I know is that I just saw Ivy walking down the road with the two goons who tried burying Mulch about a year ago… Crisps and Muscles or something like that…"
Artemis's eyebrow went up about half a centimetre. Cool and composed Fowl had come back.
"What's the difference? All of the goons who were under the orders of Spiro's employment for muscle alone didn't have any brain. As I said back then, they're all the same, small necks, no brains."
Root massaged his ears gently as he removed his scarf from his head. "Ahh… you have no idea how great it is to get some air to your ears after having them wrapped up for a few hours." He surveyed the walls. "Where's the old tech gone, Piccolo? Or have you finally conceded to the Council's command and given it up?"
Artemis's brain wasn't exactly working at maximum proficiency at the moment, so he hadn't actually registered the fact that all of these gangsters were actually treating Root, who was much shorter and had pointy ears to boot, was being accepted really very quickly by humans who should have been a little less prepared for this oversized tomato.
When his brain had finally recovered from the shock of seeing Commander Root alive, and in America of all places, being welcomed by human beings who treated him as their own.
Everything clicked into place.
"Is any human who acknowledges me as a friend actually fully human?" Fowl demanded, before he let the darkness enfold him.
Ivy shot up as if from a dream. She was still in the same car with Pex and Chips, and feeling profoundly carsick. It was a huge embarrassment, really, and not one that she particularly liked.
"Could I sit in the front, please? I am feeling quite nauseous at the moment, and I would hate to…ah… regurgitate my lunch all over you."
Needless to say, of course, that all she got was a blank stare from the two hairless gorillas, and they carried on to the local prison.
Spiro was found guilty of breaking and entering a building, and for attempted murder, of course, but that is never enough to keep a man like Spiro in an uncomfortable prison. As soon as his hearings were over, and the court had managed to stretch the prison sentences to ten years, he had bribed the law to transfer him to Chicago again.
And that was exactly where he was, waiting for his young 'niece' to arrive. Undoubtedly, he still had a few more years left to be alive, but that was all that could be said. He didn't intend to spend it rotting in a prison like this.
Melissa was the one relative desperate enough to accept his offer. For one thing, she was the one who had the most control over her daughter's uncanny powers. For another, she was practically begging for help. And, almost six years from when she had first begged, their plan was going into action.
It was really quite simple – Melissa would keep her daughter's powers in check, and Spiro would pull on of the many strings he possessed. When the girl was in a suitable position, or when she started to suspect what was going on, they would execute the final part of the scheme.
Of course, neither of the two adults could have predicted how Ivy could find so many loopholes in the Elemental Vows. Their original intention had been to keep the girl in control and to gradually acquaint her with her powers. Of course, plans very rarely transfer smoothly from paper into real life, and Ivy was not the docile little girl that they had hoped for.
Much the opposite, as you have seen so far.
When Ivy entered the cells, without much resistance from the guards apart from to check that she didn't have a gun on her. When that much was established, Pex and Chips led the way to Spiro's cell.
Spiro was looking at his best health so far (considering the fact that he only had a few more years left to live), seeing as their plans to finally get Melissa home and to get his record cleared were finally on the move. He was even wearing his old trademark white, albeit slightly soiled, when Ivy entered the room, every inch the insulted noble.
"Hey there, Ivy kid! Sorry to get you over in such a fashion, but I'm sure you weren't too uncomfortable! Take a seat next to your mother there, why don't you?"
"Unless you want me to bring these walls crashing down upon us then I do not think that you want to keep me here for too much longer." Ivy's voice was dangerously low, and surprisingly free of shaking.
"I don't think that's quite possible, kiddo, so you'd better get used to the fact that your powers can't get you everything." Spiro spat, leaning back in his chair. "You know, I think that your mom would like to talk to you concerning your future."
Artemis had finally recovered slightly from the initial shock of Root still being alive. Of course, not having much practised being sympathetic, he only just realised the impact this was going to have on his fairy friends.
He grabbed the ex-Commander by the arm, almost apologising when Root winced from presumably a scar from the explosion, and demanded,
"Why haven't you contacted Foaly, or Holly about your status yet?"
Artemis became the recipient of a glare from Root, and quickly released his hold.
"Fowl, I am aware that as soon as Koboi knows that I am still alive, she will tear this entire world apart looking for me. Do you think that…"
"My dear Julius Root, do you really think that I would be standing here right now if Opal Koboi were still on the loose? Oh, and Butler and I would like to thank you for erasing our memories. The fact that I had even forgotten about trolls should be enough glory."
Root stared at the young teenager in undisguised surprise mixed with contempt,
"Your genius is going to be my death someday, did you know that, Fowl? You mean that Koboi was contained all this time and I could have gone back to Haven, kept on bullying that pompous centaur…"
Then, amazingly, the ex-Commander's eyes started to cloud over with tears. Even Artemis Fowl the infamously unemotional Artemis Fowl, stepped back in fear.
"Julius Root, are you quite all right?" In an attempt to be sympathetic, Fowl cautiously patted the fairy's shoulders, "Er… there, there, now. It's alright… erm…"
Stop saying 'er'! It's not even registered in the English Dictionary!
I'm new at this, everyone has a right to be hesitant at new things…
Well your extensive vocabulary should not be failing you in such a fashion…
I think that you get the point of this. Let us not intrude for too long on Artemis's mind. Or minds, as the case may be.
Root sniffed, lit another fungus cigar (Artemis backing away rapidly) and sighed in contentment,
"Ah, I needed that. Aren't you going to ask for a reason that I'm still alive?" Asked Root, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
Artemis hastily proceeded to patch up his mistake, "Ah… that won't be quite necessary, Root, although if you would prefer to tell me…"
Root shook his head, and his shoulders shook with mirth, "The day Artemis Fowl stumbles is the second best day of my life! Now just get Foaly to admit that he is a pompous centaur is going to take some persuading."
Still chuckling over Fowl's expression, Root leaned back leisurely and started his tale.
"Your genius mind should have been able to realise straight away that Opal didn't want me to die so quickly, Mud Boy… Man… thing. To be honest, the only scarring I really got from that D'Arvitting transporter were when the arms tried to pin me and gave a tough fight when I struggled."
"The bomb was a transporter? I do not believe that I found that in any of the lists of inventions patented by Foaly." Frowned Fowl, his eyebrows raising by a few millimetres.
"Of course, did you really think that Koboi wanted to get rid of me that quickly, Fowl? She wanted me to suffer as well, you know. I woke up with that octopus thing on me, plus a bull troll a few metres away, shielding from the blinding Amazon heat."
"What were… actually, never mind. I do not think it would be advisable for my health if I were to try and delve into a criminal mind with absolutely no morals at all." Seeing Root's raised eyebrows, he snapped, "Well, I for one, am not a cold blooded killer!"
"As Holly said before, give it a few more years, you'll get there. Anyway, no, Foaly hasn't patented that thing… yet. It's not as if he keeps everything on computers, Mud… adolescent. Foaly's got his fair share of stuff written down on paper that he recycles as soon as he's made the thing. It was just a matter of stealing the plans and completing them to make it. Anyway, after I'd thrashed hard enough to ensure that the troll would come out into the sun and pretty much be fried, I got free of the binds and came here to recuperate."
"Well, that does explain how you survived… adequately, although I shall be visiting Haven soon to see Miss Koboi about this. It sounds to be most amusing. I wonder how she actually got the blueprints in the first place." Smirked Artemis, leaning back, "Although, I do have two questions."
"Artemis Fowl the Second… asking for answers from me? Now this is too good to be true." Root spat out what remained of the cigar out, "Shoot."
"One, you're not off your chair and reaching out for my neck. Why?"
Root sighed, and his fingers twitched, just to show that he still wished to do so.
"It's not as if I don't want to, Fowl, it's just that this is still technically a human dwelling, seeing as we've got a roof over our heads. I've been invited in, so I can come and go, but I'm still not allowed to take blows on you."
Artemis smirked, "My, my, so you've decided to conduct yourself with maturity? I do believe that you are growing up, Julius Root."
Root went a shade of beetroot red before chewing the stub of a half-smoked cigar.
"Now, onto my second question… when do you intend to inform Holly of this development?"
"Do you have a communicator on you?" Root growled.
"Of course." Artemis gave his laptop to Root. "Although, I do advise you to hurry. I would prefer that Kestrel is still in one piece when we go to rescue her."
"You do know that if she ever finds out you just referred to her as a damsel in distress, she'll skin you alive."
"Just dial, Root, just dial."
At the cells, the very foundations shook as Melissa informed her daughter of her choices.
"So you're saying, that either I go to a foreign place with you, or I simply stay here with my powers bound and in comatose state?"
A cautious nod. Whatever Melissa was, she wasn't such a cold-blooded person.
"AND YOU EXPECT ME TO REMAIN CALM AT THIS? ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME HAVE A PREMATURE HEART ATTACK?"
And that is where it ends for now. Read and Review, please!