Author Notes:Sorry for the wait for Chapter Three. I quite honestly forgot about this. But I was able to dins some time to do this. I'll apologize in advance for the length of this one. I'll admit that it is short. But I think I have enough ideas to keep the story going on for a while. Here, you'll see many more problems coming up, just making the story more complex and exciting. ;)
Chapter 3: Some Explaining To Do
The Lower Elements
Artemis Fowl woke up with a severely annoying headache. Normally, he would take a few medication pills to ease the pain. However, Artemis was dismayed to discover that he had no access to said pills. Instead, he was what appeared to be the victim in one of those alien dissection films where the human was the one who normally got cut up into small pieces. This didn't go too well for Artemis. It was simply unacceptable.
He struggled, for a moment, to break free from the straps that pressed his arms and legs onto the bare surface of a cold metal table. The simplicity of the straps made it look incredibly easy to break free. But after two tugs of trying to break free, Artemis realized that a separate approach would have to be taken. He smiled for a moment and then took a deep sigh.
"I'm going to guess that my powers won't be available to me in here. Am I correct, Foaly?"
"Aren't you always?" Foaly's voice could be heard over some sort of audio speaker ahead. He was clearly in a separate room, perhaps the room behind the tinted window that sat to Artemis's right.
"We were wondering when you would wake up, Artemis." Foaly continued. The distant noise of fingers tapping against the surface of a keyboard was slightly audible through the speakers.
"We?"
"Minerva and, I mean. Or, we had been waiting. It's just been me as of late."
"Minerva!" Artemis gasped. He had forgotten all about her. But then again, he could scarcely remember the events that had just come to pass. "Where might she be?" He asked.
Foaly chuckled. "Don't worry. Your girlfriend is okay. Although I will have to admit that she's having a hard time remembering certain items." Foaly laughed again.
"I hardly find this amusing."
"Of course, you hardly find this funny. For me it's like watching my favorite sitcom on TV." Answered Foaly.
"What happened to her?" Artemis asked with surprising calmness.
Foaly sighed. "Obviously, we had to take her in too. And obviously, when she woke up she didn't like it one bit. She was fine for a few days, well seemed fine. It was all an act. She tried to escape the minute she had the chance. That simple act alone showed us that we could not trust her. Her mind's been wiped."
"How much of her mind?"
"All of it. Everything."
Artemis was silent for the longest time. Minerva had tried to escape. Obviously, she wasn't liking the feeling of being a prisoner, but still... she now remembered nothing. To Minerva, there was no Hybras, no Kronski, no Artemis...
"We had no choice, Artemis." Foaly sighed, sensing Artemis's depressing feelings. "Her act revealed that she could not be trusted. If she couldn't believe that we would eventually let her go, she clearly didn't believe that we are a people of no harm. She mistrusted us. And someone who mistrusts you won't respect your rules. So in turn, we couldn't trust her."
"So," Artemis quickly changed the subject. He simply didn't want to hear anymore. The past months with Minerva suggested everything different. Minerva had always seemed accepting of the new world they were living in. "What's going to happen to me?"
Foaly sighed. "We've been examining you for sometime now. Days. You've been knocked out for almost a week..."
"I really do know how to kill time, don't I?"
"This isn't a laughing matter, Artemis. In case you've forgotten, we know about your powers now."
A vampire-like smile curved onto Artemis's face. "Ah, yes."
"Did it ever occur to you that you hold an extremely large amount of magic in your body?"
"Well, I did know that I was smarter than most, but this is like an added bonus - an early Christmas present!" Artemis couldn't help himself.
"Again, not funny. You have more power than anyone I've ever examined. Do you realize just how dangerous that is? You have a lot of explaining to do, Artemis."
"I'd rather not. I have a massive headache at the moment."
Foaly neighed. "We can't let you go until you've told us everything. If I know just how you got these abilities, I may be able to find a way to reverse it."
"A way to reverse it? Are you mad?" Artemis spat.
"Yes, but not nearly as much as you are. Now, I'll be expecting an explanation, but for now, we have some things to set."
"Like?"
"Like how you're going to be watched very carefully once you get back to the surface."
"What!?!"
"We have no choice, Artemis. You've too, like Minerva, gave us another reason to not trust you."
Artemis glared at the tinted screen. "Are you sure you're not violating my rights?"
"You're lucky you're getting to keep your memories at all, Artemis. I've grown to like you in a sort of horribly friendly way. I don't want you to forget us. You're like an annoying pet. I had a hard time trying to convince the officials to allow you to retain your memories. Now, what we're going to be doing is keeping a tracking device on you at all times. We need to ensure that you won't be interacting with Minerva. Remember, to her, you're a competitor again. Next, the mere fact that you have these powers and haven't told us shows us that you still can't be an honest person. We need to make sure that you're not using these powers, or getting yourself involved in any of our affairs. We'll have you brief us on how you got the powers later."
"You make some good points, Foaly."
"I should." He neighed. Artemis could distantly hear the sound of a large button being hit.
"I'm going to put you to sleep and then insert the tracking device... The next time you wake up, you should be back in Fowl Manor."
A mechanical crane suddenly sprung out of the wall to Artemis's left. At the end was what appeared to be a small gas mask.
"Foaly," Artemis began. "You do realize that I'll find a way around all of this, don't you?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Foaly laughed.
The gas mask pressed itself over Artemis's nose and mouth. Within a matter of seconds he was dreaming up his next adventure.
