A/N: Okay, I got this chapter out a little quicker. Hope that you all enjoy!

Why, Why Love

Chapter 10

"Okay, Holly, I believe you owe us quite the explanation," Artemis said, looking warily at the fairy in front of him.

"Oh, well it's nice to see you too, Artemis. Yes, I have missed you. It seems as though you are doing well," Holly answered, smiling slightly at the boy.

"It should be an understood fact that I am glad to see you again. Such small talk niceties bore me. You and Foaly have kept me completely in the dark for the past month and I would like to know what is happening," Artemis said.

"Patience," Holly answered, leading everybody to two small couches in front of the fireplace.

"You are the one asking us for help," Artemis mumbled, "I don't really think you are in the position to issue commands"

Sam took a seat on one of the couches, and Artemis immediately sat down next to her, an almost subconsciously protective action. Holly didn't notice anything unusual, but Butler, if he was a smiling sort of man, would have grinned widely at the movement.

"Fine then, I guess we should get on with it," Holly said, "last month Foaly reported signs of a VAMP pyre"

"A vampire?" Sam asked in amazement, "as in an actual blood sucking, garlic hating vampire? Those exist too!?!"

"Don't be naïve," Artemis whispered to Sam, "there can't be such a thing."

"Let me explain a little more," Holly said, "VAMP is a special branch, an offshoot of the LEP. It stands for the Veritable Animal Management Program. They deal with species that prove to be a direct threat to fairies."

"A threat?" Sam asked. Holly nodded.

"Yes, like Trolls, hobgoblins, and most importantly, humans" Holly continued, "because of the nature of the work, VAMP is the ony fairy branch that works exclusively above ground. They have three control posts—one in Barcelona, Spain; one in Wakkani, Japan; and one in Washington D.C, in the United States. VAMP agents are known to be the most intelligent and intuitive faeries around and are recruited to be part of the program at a very young age, usually no older than eighteen years—which, in fairy age, is comparable to human 2 year olds."

"So what exactly is a Vampire, then?" Artemis asked.

"It's two words. VAMP and pyre. Traditionally when a VAMP station senses any sort of trouble, they light a special pyre. The pyre gives off a green fire that can only be seen by creatures that possess some sort of magic. Last month Faoly's radars caught sight of a lit pyre in Wakkani. Over this past month the pyres in Barcelona and D.C. have been lit as well."

"What's the reason the pyres have been lit?" Artemis asked, leaning forward in his seat. Already his mind was starting to race, collecting all the facts that Holly had given them and organizing them.

"That is the main problem," Holly said, sighing, "we don't know and there is no way of finding out."

"What? Can't you just ask the VAMP agents?" Sam asked, also leaning forward, though instead of collecting all the facts in a mental database like Artemis, she was studying Holly. The fairy seemed so confident and poised, it was almost sickening.

"Since VAMP agents are taken from Haven when they are young and live exclusively over ground they are very wary of other faeries. They are normally extremely exclusive and don't ever go underground. All other fairies have a sort of inbred fear of VAMP agents, and that makes them distrust us," Holly explained.

"A fear?" Sam asked.

"VAMP agents are a different sort of fairy. They are so elite, so intelligent, so intuitive, and so isolated that they come off as a bit frightening to everybody else," she said.

"And is that were Sam and I come in?' Artemis asked. Holly nodded.

"Besides each other, VAMP agents feel most comfortable around human—adolescent humans, specifically. We believe that it is because at that age, humans are the most open minded that they will ever be. They don't particularly like human adults, though," Holly added, looking towards Butler, who was sitting next to her, "so I might have to ask you to not follow Sam and Artemis on this one"

"Out of the question," Butler said curtly, "I do not care if these agents will try to stun me if I come near them, I am not going to let Artemis go into this alone"

"He's not going to be alone." Holly said, "Sam will be there". Butler looked at Holly with his eyebrows raised.

"Sam is a good…boy," he said slowly, "but I do not think that he has the skills to protect Artemis from harm is a compromising situation arises"

"Actually, Butler brings up a good point. Sam obviously isn't here for my protection. What is he here for?" Artemis asked.

"Hey! I'm right here!" Sam mumbled, frowning up at the boy, "no need to talk about me so harshly! And you say I have no tact"

"Sam is here because, frankly, Artemis—you cannot deal with people," Holly said simply. Artemis furrowed his brow.

"I know that I may lack some form of social skills that people believe necessary," he said, "but when it comes to professional ventures I usually find myself to be quite eloquent."

"Exactly," Holly said, "you cannot deal with VAMP agents as though they are some sort of business partner. They are a stranger breed"

"I believe I can hold my own against the 'stranger breeds' as well," Artemis said stiffly, "after all, I haven't had a complete failure of communication with fairy creatures"

"Are you calling us strange?" Holly asked. Artemis immediately bit his tongue.

"Another strike for mister eloquent communication," Sam whispered to him, grinning.

"You know that I didn't mean any harm in my statement, Holly," Artemis said, his voice low, "there is no race of creature I admire and respect as much as I faeries. I merely meant to say that I have experience in dealing with the unfamiliar".

"Ah," Holly said, walking up to the boy, "but you see Artemis…" she leaned in closer to him. It took all of Sam's restraint to not push the fairy away, "you have not truly dealt with unfamiliar creatures until you have dealt with a VAMP agent".

"Oh please," Sam interjected, "how bad can these people be? You're making them sound like monsters"

"Not monsters," Holly said, scooting back, "geniuses. Reclusive geniuses with an almost endless supply of money and resources at their disposal"

"That sounds familiar," Butler said, looking at Artemis.

"But unlike Artemis, they are quite emotional creatures. They have great intuition, but they are known to act on impulse, be a bit brash, and let their emotions carry them away," Holly continued.

"And that sounds familiar as well," Butler added, looking at Sam, "Holly, I think that you have chosen the best two teenagers out there for this job".

"I am glad then," Holly said, "Root assigned Trouble and I to this mission. Everything that you find, everything that you learn will be reported back to the both of us"

"Trouble?" Artemis asked quickly, looking up at Holly.

"Trouble Kelp," Holly said, "another LEP captain"

"He's a retrieval man, right?" Butler asked, "one of the ones that I took down when they entered Fowl manor a few years ago"

"An act which Trouble still hasn't totally forgiven you for," Holly said, smiling at the big man. Butler merely shrugged.

"I was just doing my job," he answered. Artemis frowned slightly. It was obvious that Holly was very close to this Trouble Kelp person. That fact should have bothered him, but for some reason it didn't.

"So what exactly do we have to do?" Sam asked. Artemis was roused back into reality.

"Yes," he added, "We will need to know the exact plan and the exact goal"

"Well," Holly said, "we don't really know what is going on with VAMP so all we can do is drop you and Sam off in Wakkani and point you in the direction of the VAMP station there. What you two need to do is find out for us is find out what is happening. Obviously something major must have occurred for them to have lit the pyre"

Artemis nodded his head, mapping out a perfect plan in his head. Sam, however leaned back in her seat, a troubled expression on her face.

"But it's odd," Sam said, "if the VAMP agents don't like other faeries then when they are in trouble why do they light a fire that only other fairies can see?"

"That is actually a good question," Artemis said in shock. Sam frowned at him.

"Don't act so surprised," she mumbled gently slapping him on the shoulder. The corners of Artemis's mouth raised fractionally, a movement that was not missed by either Butler or Holly. Holly's eyebrows shot up.

"Truthfully we don't really know," Holly said quickly, " we have never had any record of a VAMP pyre being lit before, which is what makes this a very delicate operation."

"Well then, when exactly so we leave?" Artemis asked.

"We have a plane out back for the two of you at this moment," Holly said, "so as soon as we are done here you two will be on your way to Wakkani"

"Wait, right now?" Sam asked, surprised. Everything was happening a little too quickly. In the past half our she had met a fairy, formed a grudge against her, learned about the existence of vampires (sort of), and was now supposed to get on a plane to Japan? It was slightly too much.

"We have already waited a month. Who knows what will happen if we wait any longer," Holly said. Artemis nodded. He, unlike Sam, was used to face paced schedules, especially if they had to deal with faeries. Plus, Artemis was more than a little interested in this VAMP agency. He felt the sooner he was able to check them out the better it would be for him.

"We are ready now," Artemis said, looking up at Holly. From beside him, Sam squirmed a little.

"Already?" she asked him. Artemis looked down at her.

"Didn't you say that it was your dream to meet the faeries? Well you met one and you are on your way to meet countless others and help them with their problems. Why would you want to wait?" he said. Sam nodded her head slowly.

"Well when you say it like that…" she mumbled, before looking back up at him, "but…"

"What is it?" Artemis asked. Sam looked up at him, her large emerald eyes filled with worry. Artemis was ready for her to drop some huge bomb on him. Maybe she was afraid of planes, maybe she wanted to back out of the whole thing now; the possibilities were endless.

"But you only told me to pack a single change of clothes! How long are we going to be there for? I don't want to be the gross kid that wears the same outfit three days in a row" she whispered to him so that Holly and Butler couldn't hear.

Upon hearing the girl's worry, Artemis let out a bark like laugh before he could control himself. That was what Sam was so worked out over? Clothes? I don't think I will ever fully understand this girl, he thought to himself, grinning, before realizing what he was doing. Grinning? Laughing? What was this?!? Artemis couldn't remember the last time he had let himself to either , especially over the remarks of one of his peers. How come I seem to lose all self control when I am around Sam, he wondered. What was it about the girl that made him want to laugh? Was her insanity infectious or was it some other reason all together?

From the other sofa, Holly and Butler were both gaping at Artemis. Well, Butler wasn't exactly gaping, but his eyebrows were raised. Holly turned towards Butler, an astonished expression on her face.

"Did Artemis just laugh?" she asked.

"Yes he did" Butler responded.

"Laughed at something that Sam said to him?" she continued. Butler nodded his head, studying the pair of teens in front of him. Artemis had leaned down and was whispering something in Sam's ear. The small girl nodded at his words.

"Butler…is Artemis gay?" Holly asked. Butler snapped his head back towards Holly, a bit surprised by her direct words. But then again, it was Holly, the fairy never really did hide what she was thinking.

"No he is not" Butler answered, "and that I am sure of"

"But he acts so differently around Sam," Holly said, observing the two, "much more gentle"

"I think Sam might be the first friend of his own age that Artemis has made," Butler said, "plus the two of them are roommates. It is typical for two people who live so close to each other to form some type of bond"

"I suppose," Holly said, cocking her head to the side, "I guess I am just not used to seeing Artemis actually interact with somebody his own age"

"Okay, we're ready," Sam said, looking up. Holly shook her head and smiled at the two.

"Alright then, follow me"

The group followed Holly out to the back of the cottage, where a small plane was waiting for them.

"I would have never expected a farm cottage to have a mini airstrip in the back of it" Sam said, looking at the plane.

"LEP owns this cottage now," Holly said as they neared the plane, "it is full of many such surprises"

Artemis, Sam, and Butler all climbed onto the plane, while Holly stood her place.

"Are you not going to come up?" Artemis asked the fairy. Holy shook her head.

"Root has me up to my eyeballs in other assignments," she said.

"Oh, what a shame," Sam said, trying her hardest not to break out into a wide smile, "you will be greatly missed. Oh well, maybe next time" Butler gently pushed her inside the plane, a small smile playing on his lips.

"You will find the pilot of the plane to be of much help," Holly said, "it took me a while to find him, and an even longer time to bribe him to help, but I think he has a bit of a soft spot for you, Artemis"

"Mulch" Artemis whispered, shaking his head. Though the kleptomaniac dwarf could be a bit aggravating, Artemis considered him to be somewhat of a friend.

"Take care, Artemis" Holly said. Artemis looked down at the fairy. She was still as poised, as elegant, and as beautiful as before. What ha changed this time? Why didn't his heart jump when he saw her? Why didn't he feel those slight flutters in the pit of his stomach when she looked up at him as she was doing right now? What had made him fall out of love with Holly Short?

"You too, Holly" he said, shaking his head.

"Take care of Sam too," Holly said, causing Artemis to look at her sharply, "he is new to this whole thing, so it might be dangerous for him"

"I have Butler for that," Artemis said, raising a single eyebrow.

"Well, okay then. Good luck. And thank you," Holly said, smiling, "I am surprised that you agreed to this without any talk of money or favors."

"Well, after my father returned home I am afraid that he instilled a sense of self righteousness in me that I have yet to find out how to remove," Artemis said. Holly grinned up at the boy.

"You'll have to tell your father thanks for me then. Have a safe trip," he said. Artemis nodded at her and walked into the plane. The hatch closed behind him and he turned to face the rest of the gang.

"Artemis! Long time no see!" Mulch cried from the cockpit, "and I see you have brought new blood on this one!"

"Mulch," Artemis said, nodding his head towards the dwarf Sam was looking at the small creature with a mix of amazement and amusement, "this is my roommate Sam. Sam, this is an old…friend… Mulch Diggums. He's a dwarf"

"Is that how you introduce someone?" Mulch asked, grinning, "I should start to tell people 'Oh this is Artemis Fowl. He's a human'".

"It's nice to meet you Mulch," Sam said, going up to him, "are you going to be our pilot?"

Mulch looked over Sam and nodded his head.

"Quite a cute roommate you got yourself, Artemis" he said. Sam immediately looked up at the dwarf, blushing a deep shade of crimson.

"Cut is not exactly the word I would use to describe him," Artemis said, leaning back in one of the seats, "it's an odd word to use when speaking about a boy"

"Maybe," Mulch said, "but there really isn't any better way to describe him. He has that cute, all American boy type of look, you know—sandy blonde hair, big eyes, light freckles"

"Am I invisible?" Sam asked, "how come everybody talks about me like I'm not here?"

"And that American brashness," Mulch said, smiling widely, "I think you and I can become fast friends, Mister Sam"

"Let's think less about making friends and more about flying this plane. I would like to be over with this whole mission by the end of the weekend," Artemis said.

"Right then. Have a seat gentlemen and remember to buckle up. This is going to be a bumpy ride," Mulch said.

"Bumpy? Is there a lot of turbulence on the way to Japan?" Sam asked. Mulch shook his head.

"It's not the weather conditions you should be worried about" he said.

"Then what?" Sam asked. Mulch just grinned widely.

"Dwarves are land animals. Let's just say that I am not the most experienced or legal of pilots," he said as he started up the plane and started to head down the runway. The color drained from Sam, Butler, and Artemis's faces. This was going to be a long ride.

A/N: Alright, so there it is. Hope that it was a good one!! As always, please review and tell me what you think! Your comments keep me writing!! Gracias y Besos!!