Chapter Three

New Olympia High Secret Zone, New Olympia

Artemis couldn't help but gawk at the goddess. To tell the truth, he wasn't quite sure what to expect of the gods. He had thought he would be seeing young, powerful people who looked human, but had special powers and swords at their waists. He was obviously mistaken. The goddess looked perfectly human, and if he didn't know what she really was he would of thought she was a normal human.

The other teens in the room took no notice of them. Now they were the ones that looked odd. The closest teen wearing a lime green tee shirt had more muscles than a professional boxer. There was a blonde guy staring keenly into a mirror, taking no notice of anyone else. There was an African- American typing away at a very complex looking computer. Next to the computer guy was a girl with bright red hair who was talking to yet another teen with violethair. Artemis almost laughed. Violet hair, come on!

Jay cleared his throat and called the teens over. They came obediently and stood in a semi circle facing Artemis. One by one, Jay introduced them to him. The blonde was Neil, the muscle man was Herry, the computer guy was Odie, the red head was Atlanta and Mr Violet Hair was Archie. Jay also introduced the girl that had come out with him to greet Artemis. He already knew her name, but it would sound creepy if he said that, so he kept it to himself.

The goddess also came over. She stared at Artemis for a minute, almost as if she knew him but was checking that it was him. Finally she spoke, in an odd, quiet voice.

"Artemis Fowl the second," she said. "What are you doing here?"

Artemis smiled. It was time they all learned the truth about why he was here. "My name is Artemis Fowl the Second," he said, addressing not only the goddess, but the teenagers as well. "And I'm here to help you with saving the world from Cronus."

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Everyone in the room except for Jay and Theresa gasped and stared at Artemis with their jaws wide enough for an elephant to squeeze through. One thought was going through all their minds- "How could this guy know about Cronus?"

Artemis smiled again. He had expected this exact reaction.

"Yes, I know about Cronus." He said. "I know about the gods. And most importantly, I know about you. I've been watching your progress since you first came here, one year ago. I know that Theresa has sixth sense, I know that Herry is super strong, I know that Odie is super smart, but not as smart as me of course. I know about Neil's luckiness, about Atlanta's speed, about Archie's fighting skills and about Jay's role as a leader. I know about your ancestors, and the monsters and villains you've faced. You name it, I know it."

Everyone was silent. By now, even Jay was wondering how his friend knew all this. Sure, he was a genius with the highest ever recorded IQ, but there was no way he could no this. He had to be bluffing, and Jay knew a way to make sure of that.

Jay motioned the teens over for a group discussion. Artemis and the goddess wandered back to the gym equipment. Once they were out of earshot, the teens started complaining.

"He's so weird, how can he know so much about us?"

"I know his your friend Jay, but he really needs to tan- he's almost a vampire!"

"There's no way he could have found out about us. I updated the security last week, we have lasers pointing at every square inch of the place!"

"He's so totally stalking us, that's so not cool!"

"He doesn't look like he could even pick up a sword, how can he help us save the world? And I thought we were the ones that were supposed to do that!"

"And I should seriously do something about his hair, black is so last year's col-"

"ENOUGH!"

They stopped their ranting and turned to Jay. "Guys," he said. "I'll be honest with you. I'm not too sure whether to trust him or not. You can never be to sure with Artemis Fowl. But I'm sure that Hera will know. So we've got to get him up to Hera's office immediately. We'll find out which side he's on with Theresa." He turned to Theresa. "You'll have to break into his mind with your powers and find out how much he knows." She nodded, and he turned back to face the rest of the group. "So who's with me?"

Everyone raised his or her hand, but Odie looked sceptical. "Jay," he said. "You do realise that Artemis may not want someone breaking into his mind. He might to a runner if we tell him about this. We'll have to use force."

Jay grinned. "Force is always better. Anyway, Artemis doesn't have good combat skills. Or rather, he doesn't have any combat skills. He's a mastermind, not a fighter. He's good with words and forming plans, but that's about it. Neil could beat him in a fight any day!"

Everyone laughed, except for Neil, who pouted. "Just because I don't fight people twenty-four seven!" This caused more laughter.

"Ok people, let's move out!" Jay said. They walked back over to Artemis and the goddess.

"I hope he knows about making sandwiches," muttered Herry. "I'm starving.

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Artemis was chatting to the goddess while Jay and his group talked. Usually, he didn't like being left out of a conversation, but he had a goddess to talk to. And it wasn't any ordinary goddess. It was the one he had been named after- Artemis the goddess of hunting.

"… And after I finished building the hard drive, I was able to hack into the system and re-divert the transaction into my account. It took a lot of careful planning to accomplish, but I'm sure you'll agree that it was master plan, constructed by myself of course."

Well, he wasn't exactly chatting. Telling self-glorifying tales about his past criminal activities to impress the goddess he was named after was nearer to the truth. Not that the goddess was paying attention. All the technical words were making her dizzy. She hoped that Jay would hurry up and take the boy to Hera.

Almost immediately, Jay and his group turned up. Artemis whirled around to speak to them, while the goddess muttered her thanks to the gods.

"It's about time," said Artemis crossly. "What took you so long? I do not like to be kept waiting, you should know that Jay. Jay? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Jay grinned evilly at Artemis. This was going to be fun.

Artemis shivered, and it had nothing to do with the weather. He was outnumbered, eight to one, and he had seen that look on Jay's face before. It was the grin he usually wore when he out smartened someone. Artemis also had a look similar to that whenever his plans worked.

Artemis attempted a smile. He couldn't. "Come on guys," he said as they closed in around him. "Don't make me fight you."

They all smiled. Jay had told them that Artemis had no combat skills whatsoever.

Artemis stepped back, and collided with the muscle guy, Herry. He cracked his knuckles threateningly. Artemis gulped. Somehow, the muscular teen reminded him a lot of Butler. The two had a tendency to tower over everyone, and have the calm but deadly look in their eyes that scared the living daylights out of people.

Artemis looked for a weak spot in the group. He saw that Neil and Odie were right next to each other. He had been monitoring their combat skills very carefully. Or rather, their no existent combat skills. They were the weak point.

He charged at them, taking them by surprise. Neil screamed his high-pitched, girly scream and covered his head in his arms. Odie was knocked to the ground, crying out in pain as body hit the hard ground. Artemis ran to the door, but came face to face with Theresa. He smiled nervously. He had been watching the girl during her practice fights. She was not someone to meddle with.

"Come on Theresa," he said pleadingly. "Let me pass…or I might have to hurt you." He added the last part with some forcefulness. Maybe Theresa would be nice and let him get away without trying to stop him.

Theresa laughed at him. "Fat chance, Nerd Boy," she said.

In the blink of an eye, Artemis found himself tied up on the ground, his legs and arms screaming in pain. His vision started to go, and he knew he only had about two seconds till he blacked out. He saw Theresa standing over him, smirking.

Later on, after the incident had finished, the gang saw the video footage from the day. In slow motion, the saw Theresa pull out her nun-chucks, smash them into Artemis' legs and arms, grab a bit of rope and quickly tie it around the mastermind. They laughed so had that four of them fell of their chairs, and one sprained his wrist when he hit the floor. The video even won an award on New Olympia's Funniest Videos.

Back to the gym. The group stared at Theresa. None of them had been expected that, especially not from Theresa. Normally, she was a friendly girl who wouldn't hurt a fly, unless it really ticked her off.

"Nice work Theresa!" Jay exclaimed, after a moment of shocked silence.

"Yeah, way to go Theresa," Atlanta yelled, after all, Theresa was her best friend. She deserved a compliment. And she got more. The rest of the group hurried to congratulate their team member. They definitely weren't going to get on her bad side, not after this demonstration of her skills. After all, she wasn't a black belt for kicks, excuse the pun.

"Right guys," said Jay. "Let's get Artemis up to Hera's office."

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WOAH that's the longest chapter I have ever written! WOW!!

Sorry about the wait. Again, there's no excuse. The next chapter will be up some time next week, or sooner. Probably sooner- I've got a lot of ideas popping into my head. I also like this style of writing. I combined my usual writing style with Eion Colfer's (he's the author of Artemis Fowl) and this was the result. I think I've found the perfect combination!! Yeay!

Oh, and thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially Photo41. I got a really nice private message that really made my day, and then a awesome review! Thank you so much!

See ya people, and stay tuned for more Artemis Fowl x COTT!

Little Miss Illusional