Oh my, this really is getting hectic. How absolutely wonderful!

Thank you for the wonderful reviews everyone. They were a joy to read. Now press on diligent readers; there is a story to be told.


Melody stretched tiredly, working out the kinks and knots in her system from being in one position for too long. Surging to her feet, she noted that Brian was asleep, much to her relief. Brooke was wide awake but she might as well have been asleep for all the noise she made. It was one of the reasons Melody had urged Yuri to pick her despite her young age.

"Silent, hard-working, useful, smartYuri, I won't have anyone else as my third. Brooke is light-years ahead of her peers and you know it."

Melody had been grateful that Yuri had relented and allowed Brooke to tag along. It was Brooke who had found the grassy knoll they were stationed in; a perfect two miles out from the actual grounds of Fowl Manor. It was close enough for Melody to use her gift of 'sight' but far enough away for the group not to be detected by the heavy surveillance equipment the house utilized.

Paranoid, much?Melody had thought to herself when she had realized that the task of staking out the premises would not be as easy as she had initially thought. But then Brooke had taken her hand and prodded her into the perfect vantage point. The area was free of cameras and motion detectors but it had a perfect view of the house.

Melody finished stretching and came to the conclusion that she had procrastinated enough. With a twitch of her head, Melody plopped down and studied the manor. Eventually she closed her eyes, slowed her breathing and used her gift to push images and voices from inside the dwelling into her mind's eye.

getting worse…

Calling his father…

he needs space…don't go in.

Butler, she recalled, was the name of the male and Angeline the name of the female. She had already decided that the male was either some close family friend or servant and that the female was the boy's mother. Apparently they were both having a conversation over the well-being of the boy.

'Angeline' wanted to call her husband and tell him about his son's illness but 'Butler' was trying to convince her to keep her husband in the dark. He was also firm about Angeline not entering the boy's bedroom. After a minute of arguing, Angeline had dissolved into wild accusations that Butler knew more than he was letting on. To Butler's credit, he managed to soothe her frayed emotions and cornered her into accepting 'some tea and medicine for your nerves.'

It was the evening of the boy's final night of fever. It would be the worse thus far but at least it meant that it would be the last day of waiting around for something to happen.

Please, please live...

Melody sensed Brooke moving closer and shifted to allow some room for the small girl beside her. The girl was much more mature than her capricious and oft-times fickle peers and Melody appreciated that fact to no end. Brooke was eighteen now but a lot more grounded and skilled than most of the others. While the other girls had spent their time mooning over boys, Brooke had been shadowing Melody to learn the trade of a scout.

Out of all the young ones in her pack, Brooke had to be Melody's favorite, hands down. Since she had first laid eyes on Brooke, Melody had always felt some sort of maternal instinct toward the wispy girl. Even now, she felt a small mark of motherly pride at the fact that it was Brooke's first time in the human world and she was handling it better than most would. Lack of a magical environment normally made new scouts nauseous and unsteady but Brooke seemed completely unaffected.

When Brooke had finally settled next to her, Melody pointed toward the manor.

"Can you hear them?" asked Melody. "Can you pick out what they're saying?"

Brooke nodded. Then she laid her hand flat and tilted it left and right. That meant she only understood a little. Melody nodded. It was still a good level to be at considering her age. Especially if you considered the distance they were at. The farther away one was from the target of your 'sight', the harder it was to zoom in specifically on what you wanted to see and hear.

Even Melody was having a little trouble receiving; the pictures and voices coming to her like a show on an old time television. However, she saw and heard enough. The clarity was a small enough sacrifice to make when considering the security of her team, after all.

"We'll be leaving soon," murmured Melody. "Make sure you're ready."

Brooke nodded again, giving the thumbs up signal. Then she paused and slowly moved her hands so that they formed a circle. She completed the motion by hugging herself and then watched Melody's facial expressions to see if she understood.

Melody smiled. "Circumstances permitting, of course we'll welcome him into the pack…Just like we welcomed you."

Brooke beamed and then returned to watching the manor, no doubt using her 'sight' to continue monitoring the situation.

Melody allowed her thoughts to reclaim her. She couldn't help but let her mind wander to the day when they had found Brooke's, half-drowned body (it had seemed more like a corpse that day) washed up on the shoreline. Irene, Melody and Tabitha had been spending a day at Turtle Beach with the tots when one of the girls had given a startled scream.

Needless to say, all three had torn off toward the source, ready to fight and defend their brood. However, there was nothing to defend them from. Rather, they had to shoo the girls away from the seaweed-covered Brooke, who they had been poking and 'oohing' over when the grown-ups had arrived.

"What on earth…?" had been Melody's exclamation. She had been the first one on scene and now she was staring puzzled at the pale wraith of a child held in her hands. She was so cold that it felt more like Melody was holding an ice sculpture pretending to be a little girl rather than an actual little girl.

Irene had tightened her lips and furrowed her eyebrows. She looked downright frightful in her fury. "Look at her right hand and then maybe you can figure out why she's here in this condition."

Tabitha picked up the girl's frail hand in hers and studied the word that had been scratched into the girl's hand.

Witch.

"As you can see, here is yet another victim of the Inquisition," Irene had explained tightly. "An innocent girl who can 'threaten the stability of the magical realm.' A succubus."

Succubus…

Their species were known as notorious trouble-makers. They had the innate ability to sway thoughts and emotions however they wished. The few that existed were always in a seat of power but not always on the right side of the law. The morally unreliable succubae did what they wanted, whenever they wanted; stealing and murdering whenever the need or whim arose. Otherwise, they kept to themselves and that had been the way of it. Didn't like it? Don't live under any mountains where they were prone to roam.

After the war, however, the Council had set about the grim business of an 'Inquisition', eradicating any and all threats to the shaky peace they had established. And these threats mostly consisted of anyone and anything that could challenge their authority. In Melody's opinion, the magical community had ended one bloody war simply to start another…only this time, it was with themselves.

Needless to say, succubae didn't exactly make the safe list with packs like Yuri's. Neither did the ogres or the Gog or even the Sparti…

It was a dark period in magical history; let it be suffice to say. The literal Inquisition had lasted for a couple of decades but the overall Inquisition never really ended at all. If you were on the Council's black list, then you were either taken off to be executed or moved into concentration camps where you could be 'monitored without any real disturbance to life style.'

Places like Babylonia and Saleck sprang up; cesspools of crime, death and despair. They were riddled with the species the Council thought were a threat and the conditions were harsh there were always harsh. Those considered safe turned a blind eye to the Council's ways and those that didn't…well, no one wanted to dwell on that. Soon that had been the new way of it for centuries.

But change was Yuri. Progress was Yuri. Compassion was Yuri. The end of tyranny was Yuri.

She hadn't always been Yuri though. She had once been a hard little girl from Babylonia who had travelled all the way to Avalon and clawed her way up through the ranks of the Guard to finally make a name for herself. How many 'undesirables' had she murdered or sent away to rot in Saleck or Babylonia to make that name?

Then there was a blank patch in her history that no one could fill. Not even Tabitha and Irene who had known Yuri the longest could fill in the blank. The only person who knew anything about her mysterious disappearance and reappearance was Taylor and Taylor would say nothing of it. Blank page aside, she had met Taylor during her absence and had promptly left the cold business of the Guard to establish a pack with him.

It had been hard times and lack of a pack to take up for you could spell death. Not having much in the way of family back then, Melody had joined Yuri. She wasn't happy to be under someone with such a spotted background but what could she do? She made herself useful, said little and spent most of her time with Irene and Tabitha.

Hence the trip to the beach and hence finding the broken husk of a girl washed up on the shoreline. After they had found Brooke, they cleaned her up and warmed her before the fire. The three women had then packed up the children and went home early.

Yuri had been called and with a cursory glance she had said only one thing.

"Succubus?"

Melody, for the first time and only time, had taken an aggressive stance towards her Alpha.

"Yes, a succubus! An innocent one at that! She is just a child, Yuri…she hasn't even begun to live yet. You can't possibly be considering handing her back to the Council! I won't allow it! Over my dead body! If you call them, they'll have to make room for two to haul away!"

The new pack leader had simply raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I never said I would hand her over to the Council. I was only asking, was she a succubus? Because she lookslike a succubus to me but I see that you're trying to feed her soup with garlic in it…I can scent it from here, you see…And I was thinking to myself…now, aren't they fatally allergic to it…?"

Melody's face had never been redder with embarrassment. Irene looked from the bowl to the helper that had brought it.

"Are you working for the Council? Trying to finish the job, eh? Take that back to the kitchen before I take it myself!"

Everyone's eyes had widened at the threat. The helper almost tripped over herself trying to get the bowl out of the tent before Irene made good on her threat. For the rest of the day, Yuri visited the medic-tent during her breaks to check on Brooke's condition and offer advice on how better to heal the succubus. With her help, Brooke had been on her feet in no time at all and Yuri seemed happy for it.

To Melody's amazement, somehow, someway, somewhere along the line…Yuri had changed. For the better.

Yuri had readily agreed to adopt Brooke into the pack despite the violation of both tradition and law. As the Inquisition soldiered on, Yuri had ensured that Brooke had remained hidden and protected despite neighbors in Avalon getting snapped up, left and right.

As Yuri grew into the role of pack leader, she was also put up for candidacy on Council. Since her induction, she didn't hesitate to make changes. One of her first was ending the Inquisition completely and lobbying for the freedom of prisoners leftover from it.

Melody had never been prouder to call Yuri her Alpha after that.

Brooke…as far as succubae go, always toed the line and never brought much attention to herself. Melody mildly wondered if Brooke used her powers of 'persuasion' as a succubus to get Melody to like her. Then she surmised that, no, she genuinely did like the girl. And even so, Brooke never really seemed to like using her abilities at all, only using them to calm the little ones enough for bed or to diffuse fights. Otherwise, she kept her powers neutral and her mouth shut, choosing instead to be as mute and helpful possible.

Though Melody had the niggling feeling that she would not mind it if Brooke didgo off on tangents like Brian, she doubted that Brooke would ever speak again after her traumatizing youth.

Brian had had a normal childhood. He was born to two other members of the pack and his life had been relatively happy. Who knows what Brooke had to endure before she was pulled into the folds of the pack? It nipped at her heart strings that Brooke might never be happy but Melody resolved that she wouldn't give up on the small child. Ever.

Melody was violently snapped out of her reverie by the sound of Brian snarling behind her.

"What is it?" hissed Melody, looking around for the source of her charge's agitation. "What's wrong?"

Brian's teeth glinted in the semi-darkness of dusk as he continued to growl. His fingers were curled and his nails were extended as if they would become claws at any moment. His nostrils flared as he sniffed around.

"Magic," he managed to spit. "Don't you smell magic?"

Melody tested the air with a tentative sniff then let off a growl of her own. Where was the smell coming from? Quickly she motioned Brooke to move closer to her and then she took to sniffing the air wildly, trying to discern the source. She looked to the left, she looked to the right…it seemed like it was coming from all around her…


She really should look up.

Luster watched from his perch in a tree as the three moved about below him. It was almost too easy. Before any of them could do a thing or, (and he worried more about this) figured out where he was, he sprinkled some of his patented sleeping dust over them.

Dream Powder away!

The sparkly blue powder floated down and lightly dusted the trio. In a moment, they were all on the floor, down and out for the count. Nodding to Bane, the ogre lumbered forward and picked them all up in his large, barrel-like arms. The bodies flopped around like rag dolls in his grasp but soon he had them all positioned comfortably and he motioned to Luster to finish. Luster pulled out his wand and waved it enigmatically.

"The walking is a burden, and the hour hand is turning. Get to Aladore in time, faster than I can come up with another rhyme."

He saw the ogre roll his eyes before he faded back into the magical realm. True, mages didn't need to say ridiculous spells to use their magic but Luster thought it was all in good fun. By the time any of the scouts woke up, Bane would've dropped them off with Alexander and…well…

Hmmm…

Luster never didask what happened to any of the people he sent to Alexander.

He liked to imagine they woke up in a wonderfully plush apartment with little tea cakes and tiny tea cups filled with sweet liquid that made them forget for the time being that they were being held prisoner…All nice and friendly like. At least that would be the way Luster would have it managed. But then again, Alexander lacked vision. He'd probably go it the clichéd villain way and throw them in a dungeon…or worse.

Luster shook his head, not wanting to dwell on what the rebel leader had in mind for those three. Instead he chose to focus on the task at hand. Which was…?

What exactly? Luster supposed that he should probably move the boy before he fully transformed. A house full of humans and a shape-shifter in the middle of his first transformation would not end nicely.

"Zip, zip and criminey, move the boy out the chimney!"

Luster waved his wand and watched the blue sparks shoot out and die. And then he waited. Nothing happened and so he looked at his wand with a raised eyebrow and then back at the manor.

"Oh right, there isn't a chimney," said Luster blankly. "Sorry ol' wand! Just move the boy out here, then?"

With an irritated twitch, the wand leapt to obey the now plausible demand.


Artemis' throat was parched and his tongue lashed out at his desiccated lips. He wanted water. No, more accurately he neededwater.

Reaching over to his bedside table where Butler had left a large pitcher and an already filled glass, he stretched past the glass and lifted the pitcher to his lips. Greedily, he slurped down the water, some of it spilling down his front in the process. Having quenched his thirst, he dropped the pitcher and it shattered on the floor. Almost immediately, the door flew open and Butler rushed in, eyes wild, hand tucked into the folds of his suit jacket, no doubt clutching his trusted Sig Sauer.

"Artemis, is everything okay?"

"GET OUT!"Artemis half-snarled, hurling the glass of water in the direction of Butler's voice. "And close that damned door behind you!"

There was a crash as the glass collided with the wall and Butler grimaced. Quickly taking stock of the room, he noted the broken pitcher, ripped sheets, decimated pillows and the absence of any threats to his young friend. As soon as he was certain there was nothing he could do, he beat a hasty retreat, not wanting to encounter anymore of Artemis' wrath.

He had gotten particularly nasty as his fever progressed. Butler tried not to hold any of his patient's aggressive behavior against him. Especially since, during the periods where he wasn't in intense pain and disconcertion, he was completely civil and didn't remember his fits at all.

"I didwhat? No, I don't remember picking up a lamp and trying to beat you with it…I doubt that I would ever do such a thing either!...I particularly like that lamp and I wouldn't try to dent it by hitting you with it, anyway…Of course I'm kidding, Butler! As Juliet would say…'Sheesh, take a joke.'"

Butler had stared dumbfounded at his charge but decided against showing him the purplish bruise that had developed from being whacked with the brass Tiffany style lamp. If Butler hadn't stared death in the face on several occasions, he would've been deeply disturbed by the rage Artemis had flown into and at the violence with which he was attacked.

It took a tremendous amount of effort to restrain Artemis during the assault. Butler didn't doubt for a moment that if Artemis hadn't suddenly curled up into a whimpering ball of pain, he would've been forced to use one of the several techniques Madame Koi had taught him to knock someone unconscious.

Butler was simply glad that Angeline wasn't privy to any of this. There was no way to tell how the already anxious woman would take such harassment from her son.

Oh Holly, please hurry…

Long after Butler had closed the door and hurried away, Artemis continued to toss and turn in his bed. Finally he turned onto his back, clutching at his sheets and biting his lips, trying to hold himself together. His body hurt miserably as if needles were trying to push their way out of every pore in his body and he felt as though he were being roasted alive from the inside out.

Dimly, he recalled the flare of anger he had felt towards Butler for invading his space. He didn't doubt that if he had been able, he would've ripped into his friend's throat…literally.

Artemis felt an intense curl of shame twisting around in his stomach at the thought. However, something inside of him lashed out…

He deserved it. How dare he trespass on our territory!

Artemis wondered where this voice was coming from. It was irrational and sadistic and he didn't like it one bit. Silencing it, he rolled into a ball and clutched at himself. It was difficult to do when he was vibrating so violently. Dimly, he was aware of the same voice telling him to fight and to live. Of course he would fight! He was Artemis Fowl the II. He didn't have any other option but to struggle on.

He shuddered again. He had to keep fighting, no matter what!

Yes. Be strong. It is the only path for us to take.

There was a whoosh and a noise like a thousand bells going off. Through half-closed eyelids, Artemis could see the star-studded night sky…which was strange since he shouldn't have such a clear view from his bed. A stiff breeze cooled his sweaty face and suddenly it didn't matter that it felt like he was lying on grass and twigs. The pain was subsiding and he was finally drifting off to sleep.


"Holly!"

Holly froze in her tracks and considered the possibility of running and pretending she hadn't heard someone shout her name. She was supposed to be on the surface yesterday,daarvit!

However, the work left on her desk had been urgent and so with a heavy sigh, she had stayed to fill out the paperwork and push her cases around to the right departments. Having finished them, she was rushing to her locker so that she could pick up all the necessary equipment for a surface mission before anyone else could pin her with more work.

"Holly, wait!"

With a sigh, Holly turned to confront the red-faced cadet that had obviously been running to keep up with Holly's fast pace.

"Jeez…" the cadet paused to gasp for air, "am I glad…to have caught…you."

"I'm busy so if you need help, I'm sure Grub could—"

The cadet cut her off before she could go any further. "I know. You're going on a surface mission. That's what I wanted to talk…Holy sweartoads, you walk fast…I wanted to talk to you about your surface mission. It's important so could you please just talk with me for a second? Privately?"

"Fine. But make it quick."

Holly and the cadet, (who later introduced himself as Trout) made their way to the locker room and after ensuring that no one else was present, the cadet pulled uncomfortably close to Holly and began whispering into her pointy, sensitive elf ears.

"I've been watching you a lot lately and I know how you have a sense of adventure…"

"Look, if you're coming onto me I will kick your ass," said Holly blankly. "And then you can have an adventure of your own by going to a warlock to have them straighten out your broken nose."

Trout chuckled, completely unaffected by Holly's threat. "Be easy. You're not my type anyway. As I was saying, there's something going on, on the surface. Something magical. I'm not yet cleared for surface missions but if I were, I would do this myself. But I can't…So I'm relying on you."

Sounded like unnecessary work, especially coming from an underling. Holly was about to shrug off the elfin cadet and walk away but for some reason…she couldn't. She studied Trout curiously for a minute before posing a tentative question.

"What kind of magical?"

"Dangerous magical," continued Trout in a lower whisper. "Mudmen are disappearing. My friends and I have been monitoring their disappearances and some things are just not adding up about them."

"Mudmen disappear all the time. Murders, most of them. Kidnappings. Insurance fraud, sometimes."

"No, no. They disappear but not like this," said Trout quickly. "They vanish…but then they reappear, days later. No recollection of what happened to them at all."

"You're probably talking about 'alien abductions'. You know that we have groups of scientists running around willy-nilly capturing mud men, studying them and then wiping their memories afterwards. Stop making a mountain out of a dwarf hill."

"That's exactly what I thought," said Trout with a solemn nod. "It's good to see that you're being logical about it. Like I said, I thought as much too…but then my friends showed me their behavior afterthe abduction. If they had families, they left them. If they had jobs, they quit. They all went crazy spending all their money and resources finding these ancient magical artifacts. These little totems. Some even went so far as to steal them. I don't know why. Revolting little things, they are, really."

Trout pulled out a paper with a depiction of a little ugly creature crouched down with its mouth wide open revealing sharp, gnashing teeth. On its head, it bore a small, roughly hewn, bowl shaped crown. Magical runes ran across its entire body and its eyes radiated pure malice. It gripped its stubby little knees tightly and had crude stone wings spread out on either side of it.

"Whoa," said Holly, taking the paper. "Did you show these findings to Foaly? Or No. 1? Or even Qwan?"

Trout shook his head. "They'd just shake it off or something. They'd think I was pulling their legs or trying to get attention over nothing. I'm a cadet, you know. If you haven't noticed by now, we're not taken very seriously around here. All I've got right now is a long string of coincidences that will be meaningless to superiors without a bit of evidence. It all seems strange, yes but there's nothing here to warrant a thorough investigation. These are mud men, after all. They do the darnedest things. However, Holly, if you would simply look into just one of these cases…I mean, there isone situated in Ireland…you could always pick up some evidence for me."

"I don't know…"

Trout looked into Holly's eyes seriously his expression going from amiable to hard and commanding so quickly that it left Holly a little dizzy. "There could be something going on here…or there could be nothinggoing on here. We won't know until someone checks it out. I know you, Holly Short. You're a junkie for adventure. Just go in, check out the abductee…Joshua Hanks, by the way…and check him for any sign of magical tampering. That shouldn't be too hard. I know you're concerned about your boyfriend, Fowl but this shouldn't take too long…"

"How did you know about that?" snapped Holly, her eyes flashing. "And he's not my boyfriend!"

Trout shrugged nonchalantly with a small smile. He didn't bother to question the order of her statements, though from the look on her face he concluded that he probably didn't even have to.

"Whatever. I'm not here to judge your personal life. All you need to know right now is that I have my ways. How else do you think I could pull so much information on this? Anyway, are you in or out? As I recall, Vinyaya doesn't know a thing about your little sidebar with Mudboy. It would be an easy matter to let it slip…"

"Fine," said Holly throwing her hands in the air. "Fine, you psychopathic conspiracy theorist. I'll check it out but I bet it's nothing."

Trout shrugged with a small grin. "Better safe than sorry, Short. Always remember that and you'll be better off for it. I'll see you around sometime."

Holly shot him a glare before walking away. However, after a while, her steps became less and less certain and she eventually stopped and turned back to look at Trout…except he was gone and all evidence of his having been there at all was gone too.

What the…?

For some reason, she felt uneasy. It was the kind of uneasy that left her feeling like she had been touched by the devil and had made a deal with him to boot. Without realizing it, Holly was clenching her fists and a crinkling sound soon reminded her that she still had the paper in her hand with the picture of the totem piece on it. It wouldn'thurt to look into it. A simple mesmer-filled Q and A session would reveal any abnormalities and then she'd be done.

Fine,Holly thought venomously to herself. I'll look into your pathetic little conspiracy theory Trout but when I come back I amso having Foaly sneak a few reprimands onto your record.


Dublin, Ireland

Luster examined the boy with a small pout. This was what all the fuss was about? He gently brushed a lock of raven hair out of the boy's face and tucked it behind his ear before standing up from his crouching position over him. The tremors had stopped but if the books were to be believed, it was only the calm before the storm. Things would soon kick up again and then Luster would have a real show on his hands.

He supposed that he could watch the transformation and then while the boy was trying to separate his head from his ass he could give a brief explanation of what was happening to him. He would work to gain his trust, make him feel like the man guiding him through this change was his only real friend in the world and when Luster had secured his loyalty, he would then take him back to Avalon.

Luster paused. Avalon? Would it be safe? Yuri and her boy toy had spies everywhere in Avalon. He needed someplace loose and free of scrutiny…Perhaps he should take the boy somewhere like Babylonia? A smile spread on Luster's lips. Sin City. It would be an excellent place to disappear. The place was so riddled with crime and disaster, anyone would be hard put to find someone in the city without being mugged, stabbed, murdered, lynched, jinxed…whatever your sick, twisted imagination could come up with and probably even more.

As a mage, he had been right up there on the Council black list. He had spent years in Babylonia himself but with the help of a certain Cora Vale, he had escaped long before the Council had developed a conscience.

It was common law in places like Babylonia and Saleck that there was zero sympathy to the Council or the Guard. As a fellow reject, he would be protected; swallowed up by their diseased and troubled ranks. Then he could easily spend a couple days or weeks (whatever it took for people to forget), gambling with the locale, shopping in the Black Market, kicking it up with old friends…If one knew their way around such a city, then one always knew how to have the most fun with the least amount of danger.

But before he could do any of that, the boy would have to turn. The last thing he wanted was a jittery, snarling, mess shape-shifting and clawing up things! Luster cocked his head to the side and studied the boy. He still looked peaceful as ever. With a heavy sigh, Luster plopped down into a sukhasana position and began a basic magic mantra in order to draw in energy and restore it. He would need it for whatever came next.


Artemis, for the first time, wanted to cower. Not that he did, but the urge was definitely there. He was surrounded by nothing but darkness and clouds and the most pressing silence he had ever endured. No matter how much he moved or tried to yell, he heard nothing but quiet. His sense of feeling was also gone. He couldn't feel the soft fabric of his bed or even the rough feeling of grass and twigs from earlier. He couldn't even feel himself.

It was like his body didn't exist but his mind was still active and functioning.

Don't be silly, he thought to himself. Perhaps my auditory and sensory systems have malfunctioned but I haven't ceased to exist. I can still think. As long as that much is true, I can always find a solution to this…whatever it is.

Unbeknownst to him, Artemis was being observed. Hundreds upon hundreds of eyes watched his movements and listened to his thoughts.

From the depths of the darkness stirred the vast melting pot of all the animal spirits in the world. Artemis couldn't see them or hear them. For all intents and purposes, he was like a specimen in a tank having his demeanor and behavior studied. All the animals drew their conclusions about him as they fought for ownership.

"He is wily, like me," said Coyote. "I should claim him."

"But he is wise, like me," spoke Owl. "I should claim him."

"Nay," said Fox. "He is fast and tricky. He is one of mine."

"But he is as shrewd and sneaky as I," pointed out Rat. "Give him to me."

"But he likes shiny things," screeched Raven. "Caw-caw! I do too. His soul shines so much…let me have him!"

The arguments shot back and forth among the animals, each of them claiming to have found a trait that represented themselves and each of them saying that Artemis belonged to them.

It went on for a while in this manner until a loud booming voice barked, "ENOUGH!"

A majority of the animals shrunk back from the floor, allowing their superiors to take their place. Lion, Wolf, Hawk and Bear sauntered forward, glaring at the collected animals.

"None of you deserve him," growled Lion. "His heart is stronger than any of you could allow. Bear, Wolf, Hawk…what will we do to decide his fate?"

Bear stood up on his hind legs, giving himself extra height before he spoke. "You three can decide amongst yourselves. I will admit that he is strong but he is not the strong I like. I pull myself from this decision."

Hawk screeched and flapped his wings before saying himself, "I draw out too. I fly free and I fly for myself. He has too many attachments to be mine. Though allow me to point out that, Wolf, he has your courage and nobility in spades. But Lion, he has your dignity and your kind of strength. I don't know how you will decide but at least you can count me out."

Wolf nodded sagely. "Alright then, Lion. It is between you and I."

Lion shook his great head. "No. I'm afraid not, my friend. Look at the boy again. He does not belong to either one of us."

Wolf cocked his head questioningly. "What do you mean? He must belong to someone here!"

"Indeed he does. There is already claim on him and neither one of us can dispute it. The boy is a prize, indeed but he belongs to our oldest comrade, does he not, Astaroth?"

The congregation of animals stood up and began to speak at once. Astaroth? Could it be true? One of the Old Ones would lay claim to the boy?

There was a deep rumbling and the dark space in which the animals were gathered began to shake and warm. The space around them, which had been pitch black until now, began to gain color steadily, becoming a shade of violent red and orange. Lightning and thunder rumbled through the air and the lesser animals began to scatter, leaving only their superiors to watch and observe.

Artemis, who had been contemplating the possibility of the universe having been terminated by dark energy intersecting streams while he was sick, noticed only a tiny bit of coloration from his vantage point.

Hmm…strange. Perhaps the universe is restarting itself! My goodness, am I bearing witness to the recreation of all life? Wait, no that's not quite right…dark energy would've split all atoms, including my own and I would've ceased to exist with the rest of the universe thus I wouldn't be around to witness any 'recreation'…so that theory goes out the window. The ancient monks of Tibet often talked of a similar out-of-body experience. Is this what they talked about? Hmmm...

Back in the circle, Hawk, Bear, Lion and Wolf bowed as Astaroth appeared. His golden eyes acknowledged the four and then shifted to observe the boy.

"Lion, is right. The boy belongs to me."

No one questioned him. The four merely bowed again before disappearing. Astaroth smirked to himself.

Time to make myself known.


"Azarath corith menos di tempore," Luster was muttering to himself. "Hoss cordine san kora nore."

Artemis stirred and moaned and Luster opened one eye to check changes in his conditions. The tremors had started again and the boy was becoming paler by the second.

So the transformation begins,thought Luster to he wrapped up his meditations with a small prayer.

Success to the rebellion. Success to Alexander. Success to myself and to Cora. Success to all magical creatures. And death to the Council. Death to the humans. Let it be as it will be in the name of Oshawa and Yuen. Amen.


::Wrap Up::

Bum, bum, BUMMMMMMMMMM!

Wow, this is really turning out to be something! The game has been set up and the pieces are being put into play. What's going to happen next? What is an Old One? What trouble is Holly getting herself into? What's going to happen to Melody, Brooke and Brian? How is Luster going to handle Artemis when he awakens?

Find out in the next chapter; Of Magic And Mortals.

::Author's Note::

I'm thankful for all the reviews that I received this time around. Each and every one of them made my heart flutter and glow. As promised, I tried to write on my friend's face but then…well, I rather not get into the details of that sordid affair. Just let it be known that the more reviews I get, the more I write. I will not however, promise to write on my friend's face anymore because she doesn't know how to take everything in good stride…I suppose I'll actually have to settle for just paper. How boring and un-green.

Before I forget questions and comments I wanted to respond too…

tomcat941-Cool! =D Another reviewer! Quick, Luster tie them up and don't let them get away! =P LOL. Just kidding, maybe. As for the lack of Holly and Artemis, there's a lot of characters to be juggled but I promise that the rest of the story will be just about as Artemis-centric as Artemis was when he was twelve.

Artemis: Low blow. Very low blow.

Me: Love you, Arty. Anyway, next review…?

Carlie- Oh, that was as heavenly as udon with seasonal veggies and beef. =) Thank you! I totally love the twins (though you're right, they're totally creepsville and there isn't enough love in the world to get me in a locked room with those two, LOL).

The Twins: "Oh really..." "Creator?"

Me: O.o Um...heh, heh..um...NEXT REVIEW!

HallelujahTheCreator- Heehee, funny thing is after I wrote it I couldn't help but read Bane's parts with Shrek's voice, lolz. I didn't purposely create a character based on Shrek but then I read his part and said, "Wait…green, large…persecuted for being an ogre…Shrek? How did you get in there?" I love Bane though.

ktw18 & obsessivereader95: Thank you both for taking the time out to review! Your encouragement is MUCHO appreciated! =)

Anonymous: What? Really? Jeez, that's troubling. I didn't think the Time Paradox was all that hot either...I would think that Artemis having a personality disorder would make it interesting? But I guess I'll see when my library picks up a copy.

Elizabeth-reader-futurewriter: I certainly hope I don't stray from the beaten path as well. =) Maybe I should get a beta just in case...Though I'm not sure how I go about that on this site yet...I'll figure it out eventually though, no fear!

Hope I haven't disappointed anyone with the wild twists and turns in this chapter! Or with the lack of a complete transformation. I thought that showing what happens behind the scenes before a transformation would be more interesting though and I hope I was right. Thanks for all the reviews and if you can, throw me another comment to let me know how I'm doing so far. =)

-Ciao,

Scarlett Muse