Ok. so, I wasn't going to post an AU message here because I thought it would be cliche. But, a friend told me to just suck it up and post one anyways so, here goes. I'm really sorry, Theres no good excuse for not updationg in so long. I got busy with school, AP, and graduation and after that I just kept putting it off. I'm really glad to be posting again though. My sincere apologies to Holly-Rose Fowl-Casson, who I promised an update to immediatly and then went off and ignored it for another month or so. Anyways, this chapter is a little short, but I hope you enjoy it. Again I don't own anything. I'm just borrowing the characters to play with.

-Vexx

Once again Artemis was standing in the middle of the wide field, grass whistling as the low wind blew past it. Overhead purple-gray clouds swirled ominously, threatening rain in the near future. Artemis looked around him for Holly but she was nowhere to be seen. The trees and bushes swirled in the wind, branches whipping around in all directions giving them the unsettling appearance of being alive. They leaned in towards him as if to get a better look, the wind rustled through their branches like a chorus of whispering voices.

Unnerved, Artemis backed away from the whispering trees, seeking shelter at a large boulder in the center of the field. As the wind blew harder the trees swayed vigorously, straining against their roots as if to follow him into the clearing. Impossible thoughts began to cross through Artemis's mind.

They're watching me; talking about Me, thought Artemis.

Impossible, of course. Trees were not animate objects.

It's simply the storm creating the illusion of movement, he thought as he looked again at the sea of moving green around him.

As he watched, the trees continued to shake their branches at the human in the center of their field, their whispering rustles now coalescing into a low roar. But, within the roar of the trees was a deeper sound – rhythmic and powerful - that seemed, not only to fill the air around Artemis, but resonate from inside of his body as well. He felt it ring in his head, filling his ears with an ever more familiar throb of voices.

Artemis recognized the voices. The voices of the forest and of the fairies. The voices that spoke of ancient ties between the people and nature. The voices of magic.

The fairy Commune.

The voices continued to increase in volume and strength until. They filled Artemis's head, making him dizzy. He clasped his hands over his ears as if to shut out the noise, but it continued to pound into his head. He couldn't think or move. The voices of thousands of forest denizens sang, unrelenting, in his ears.

Then, abruptly, the noise died out as though hushed. In its place, a new voice entered his mind. Deep and powerful, it rumbled through his head.

"Artemis..."

The voice was slow, quite, and steady. Commanding, but with no malice in it.

"Come to me," rumbled the voice.

Before he was even aware of it, Artemis was on his feet - the voice drawing him onward in his mind. The presence of the deeper voice had calmed the alarm he had felt. Now he felt safe and assured. Almost unconsciously, he turned and ran into the forest; following the pull of the voice as it led him through the trees. As he ran, bushes seemed to lean out of his way and trees arched over him, creating a dense tunnel. Slowly the voices of the forest returned, but softly now, their whispered conversations no longer threatening.

"Come."

Artemis continued to run deeper into the forest - retracing the path Holly had led him on last time. The further he ran, the more he felt the presence of the forest closing in on him; pulsing through his veins like the beat of a giant heart.

Artemis stopped as he reached the end of a line of trees. He stepped into a clearing, under the shadow of an enormous oak tree whose branches hung like a vast dome over the mossy earth at its feet. In the twilight cast by the branches of the tree, little woodland creatures flitted silently through the grass. In the air above him, moths flew in slow, wide circles. Their wings shimmered as dim rays of light flitted across them through the many branches overhead.

Slowly, Artemis approached the center of the clearing. He went up to the base of the tree and tentatively laid a hand on the ancient oak. At once he felt the vast and ancient power flowing in its veins. Above him the branches stirred as the tree acknowledged Artemis's presence.

"Artemis," said the tree softly.

It did not speak to him with words, but rather projected itself into Artemis's mind in a way that transcended speech.

"It has been long since I have witnessed a human who has the connection," said the tree. "Most of your kind forfeited their bonds long ago in favor of prosperity and industry."

"Who are you?" Asked Artemis.

"I am Yggdrasil, the world tree. I embody the connection that flows between all living creatures on this earth. A force that runs in every creature's veins, though, sadly, some no longer feel it there. You refer to it as magic."

Magic? Thought Artemis, thoroughly mystified.

"I don't understand," he said.

"The energy that the Fairies, the People, call magic stems from this ancient connection. Their power is derived from their close relationship with the power of the earth and its creatures. It is a power that you are now awakened to."

Artemis nodded. He had long ago observed the compassion that fairies felt with other creatures: their refusal to eat meat or use animal furs, the ritual – giving back to the earth - the source of their power. Even the laws of the Fairy's holy book must have originally been based on protecting the purity of this connection. Yes. That made sense. But, he himself could not possibly share this connection. He had forfeited the small amount of magic he had had, and he had certainly never deserved to have that in the first place.

"Yggdrasil," Said Artemis, "I think you must be mistaken. I don't have magic anymore. I spent it all trying to heal my mother," said Artemis. "And even if I did, it wasn't rightfully mine." He looked shamefully at the ground. "I stole it from the time stream in the first place."

Artemis couldn't look at Yggdrasil. He felt ashamed. He was sure that Yggdrasil was going to be mad. Instead, he was surprised to hear what sounded like a chuckle.

"Artemis, you needn't worry about such things. Yes you have magic. Yes you deserve to have it. You may have borrowed some from your friend's to begin with, and you may have lost that borrowed magic since. But, the connection that lay hidden deep inside of you was reforged and, more importantly, remains strong. Magic can never truly be stolen. If your soul was impure or if you where an evil person, the bond would not have remained with you. It could have faded away. But, it did not."

"Why Though? Why Me? It doesn't make any sense."

Yggdrasil chuckled again.

"You are an exceptional human Artemis. You found the Fairies. You discovered their secrets. But, rather than reject them, you learned from them. I can see what you were, and I can see what you have become. You have taken right over wrong, even when wrong might have served you better. You're prolonged exposure to the fairies has opened your eyes and your soul. How many of your race can truly claim that?

Artemis was having trouble wrapping his mind around all of this, which was saying something.

"So then, why all of this?" he asked, gesturing around him. "Why go to all the trouble of contacting me in my dreams?"

"You are ill Artemis. Your soul maintains the connection but your body rejects it. Slowly, it is tearing your body apart. If you continue like this the strain will surely kill you. It is my job to protect the creatures on this earth; I cannot someone who has overcome so much, the first human with the bond in decades, to suffer such a fate."

Artemis's tried to grasp all of this. His head was reeling; It was all too much to absorb. There was a sharp pain in his left eye. His vision was becoming blurred and his head was pounding again.

"Wh... What do I do?" He asked, secretly appalled that he would stutter.

"You must come to me. I can cannot do anything for you when you are so far away."

His headache was getting worse. The dream was beginning to blur. He put a hand to his head trying to block out the pain.

"How will I find you?" Asked Artemis.

"I will guide you to me." Said Yggdrasil as the world blacked out around him. "You need only to come to me."

"Come to me..."

Artemis woke with a cry, his headache was blinding! He rolled off the couch and crashed to the floor with a dull thud, wincing as his shoulder hit the ground badly. He staggered to his feet, holding his arm, and lurched towards Holly's room.

"Come to me..."

Holly was yanked out of her slumber by the sound of her door crashing open into the wall. She jerked upright, tangling herself in her covers as she struggled to see what was going on.

"Holly!" said Artemis's voice.

"Artemis?" asked Holly, trying to disentangle herself from her blankets.

She felt Artemis grab her by the arms. His fingers dug into her arm painfully and she involuntarily let out a gasp of pain.

"Holly, we need to go!" Said Artemis frantically.

"Go? Wha... Go Where? Artemis?"

Holly managed to free herself from her blankets and find the light switch. Flicking it on she tried to see through the sudden blindness to make out Artemis. The sight that met her was that of a disheveled Artemis with his hair sticking up on end, bags under his eyes. He was standing by her bed looking at her wide-eyed grasping his arm as though it were broken.

"Artemis! What's Going on? What's happened to you?"

"Never mind that." Said Artemis giving a half shrug/twitch. "There's no time! We have to go now!"

He grabbed her arm again and attempted to drag her out of her room.

"Artemis stop! Your not making any sense. "

Artemis stopped for a moment and turned his head in her direction, gazing right through her, his eyes not focusing.

"I have to go find it. There's no time"

"No. Artemis! What's it? Why do you need to find it?"

Ignoring her, Artemis made to go for the door again but Holly pulled him back. Artemis released his grip on her arm and struggled out of her grasp, making his way back towards the door. Holly felt her frustration get the better of her. She chased after him, half tackling him and pinning him to the wall.

"Artemis, look at me!" She commanded.

Artemis's eyes focused on her. Being knocked into the wall seemed to have calmed him back down a little. But, it his eyes the same urgency and panic stayed beneath the surface. Artemis let out a groan and he sank to the floor, hands on his head. The pain of his headache was blinding. His whole body seemed week from the brief exertion.

"Artemis! What's wrong? Tell me what's going on."

Artemis sat on the floor shivering. The pain was almost overwhelming.

"Holly…" He began.

"What is it?" She asked, no very concerned.

Artemis swallowed and then tried again.

"I think I know what's wrong with me"

"What?" Asked Holly.

Artemis shook his head.

"There's no time to explain. Holly, we need to get to the surface as soon as we can. We need a shuttle or something."

He tried to stand, but his legs were still too weak and he slumped back against the wall.

"Artemis, be logical." pleaded Holly. "You can't go anywhere like this. We need to take you to Foaly to get you help."

Artemis shook his head violently. Oops, bad mistake. He put his head back down in his hands as another wave of pain washed over him.

"No. There's not enough time. We need to get to the surface now."

"Artemis…" began Holly.

"Holly," Interrupted Artemis, "I need you to trust me."

"But…"

Artemis looked directly into her eyes.

"Do you trust me?"

Holly stared back into his haggard eyes that perfectly mirrored her own. As she looked, a terrible thought suddenly occurred to her. What if this was all another trick? What if, like last time, Artemis was hiding something because he knew she wouldn't go along with it? Hiding it for his own needs above others. Filled with indecision she thought back to Artemis, wracked with pain as he lay on the floor of his room in Fowl Manor. She looked back into Artemis's pain and panic filled eyes in front of her.

"Yes."