Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl.
Hope met Grubb at the shuttle port. A wave of the LEP badge got them through the lines. Some People might have questioned using the badges when not on a mission, but they needed to complete the ritual so they wouldn't be caught on a mission without magic, so it was LEP related. Hope didn't care anyway. She may have been a cop, but like Holly, she didn't always follow the rules. Grubb had learned long ago to shut up and follow. He had been a captain longer, but Hope had something about her that got her more respect. The stealth black jumpsuits of Retrieval One helped too. People recognized them as elite, and therefore gave them more respect.
They got to the surface quickly and fired up their wings. Grubb let Hope lead. Tara was closest, but they both agreed that it would be better to fly to a different magical hot spot. Besides, they had all night, and everybody would make detours as an excuse to stay out longer.
Hope dared Grubb to a race. She was surprised when he almost beat her. She landed just ahead of him. Taking off her helmet she said, "Wow Grubb, you're getting good!"
"Thanks. You know you aren't supposed to take your helmet off."
Hope shrugged. "Rules are made to be broken."
"You're supposed to be a cop."
"Fine, some rules, in some circumstances. Come on Grubb, I'm a Short. What'd you expect?"
Grubb sighed, bending to look for an acorn. Hope quickly found one and pocketed it. They would then fly somewhere else and plant them. Grubb was having trouble finding one. He crawled away from her into a bushy area, still searching. Hope walked over to the oak tree and looked at the names carved in Gnomish there. Artemis + Holly.
"Artemis and Holly. Touching. The heart's kind of confusing though. Didn't he kidnap her?"
Hope turned around. A human girl stood there. She looked like a teenager, with black hair and icy blue eyes. Hope gasped. She looked like Holly's husband, Artemis. Hope knew the story. Artemis had kidnapped Holly at this very spot. Fate had kept pushing them together until they became friends. The crazy pixie Opal had turned Artemis into an elf trying to get revenge, and Holly had married him.
She looked at the girl, saying the same words Holly had said all those years ago. "Stay back, human. You don't know what you're dealing with."
The girl laughed. She was wearing mirrored sunglasses, and could read Gnomish. Apparently she knew a lot about the People. Who was she? Hope asked her.
"I am Athena Fowl. You may recognize the name Fowl. Artemis Fowl once captured a fairy here and held it for ransom. Now I will do the same. Only I am not weak like that fool that is my uncle. I will not make the mistakes he did. I want fairy gold, and I won't be giving any of it back."
Hope pulled a gold coin from her pocket. "If I give you this, will you let me go? It's fairy gold."
The girl scoffed. "You think one coin will be sufficient? Fool. She clapped her hands twice. Another girl appeared and pulled out a gun, hitting her in the shoulder with a dart. Hope passed out.
Autor Note: In my world, Artemis became an elf through another one of Opal's plots gone wrong. Read my other fic "me, mysELF and i" and it'll make sense.
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