A/N: Hello readers. I'm sorry that it appeared like I'd abandoned this fic. I've had this chapter outlined for some time, but have been nervous about writing it (as I have not yet written several of the characters involved) and have had a lot going on in my personal life.
Rest assured, however, that it is not abandoned.
On with the show.
Miles was cautious. He was wearing a carefully placed set of lab goggles and a thick cotton coat, specially made for his size, to cover most of his body, his exposed hands hidden behind thick gloves. But, for all his caution, when he heard the massive front door open and Butler conversing with someone, he nearly dropped the tool he was holding.
Beckett was less careful, he, like his brother, was sitting in front of a bunsen burner, using a stirring rod as a spit to cook a marshmallow. Unlike his brother, however, he was not wearing protective gear, instead wearing a "gi", as before their snack he had been practicing jujitsu with Butler. He also didn't look up from he sugary treat when his brother started, instead popping it in his mouth and standing up, turning off his burner and putting the rod in a drawer labeled "Marshmallows", next to a drawer labeled "Science".
They ran down the staircase, Miles nearly tripping over his lab coat as he fought to remove it, to find Artemis, Holly, and Butler standing in the foyer, the former two each holding a small duffel bag. Artemis had tried to bring some of his suits, but Holly dissuaded him by informing him that if he fell behind, he would be left behind. And garment bags were not aerodynamic.
Beckett, on the other hand, would seem to quite aerodynamic. When he reached within six feet of his older brother, he leaped, shouting "Artemis!" before tackling him in a massive (for a six year old) hug, nearly knocking the slight of build twenty (or is it seventeen?) year old over. Behind him Miles, now free of his lab coat to reveal a black suit, stopped in front of the trio, greeting them cordially.
"Good to see you again, Major," he said, nodding towards Holly, "I trust my brother has not caused you too much trouble."
"Not nearly as much as Trouble." Holly said, before realizing the twins would likely not understand the joke, though Butler let out a low chuckle. Before she could explain, she was hit by a white cotton-swathed blur as Beckett decided it was time for her hug.
"We should move this gathering properly inside," Butler said, picking up the duffel bags and gesturing towards the first floor sitting room. Before they could get there, however, there was a high-pitched whining noise. On the grand staircase, alerted by the sound of her youngest sons, Angeline fowl was descending. Upon seeing her eldest, she had begun to "squee". For the second time in as many minutes, Artemis was smothered by a hug as his mother squeezed the air from his lungs. Holly began to laugh at the treatment before she, too, was consumed by the hug.
"Artemis! My word you're so skinny, don't you eat down in Haven?" She babbled, rocking back and forth slightly, "And Holly! We heard about your promotion! I'm so proud!" It was several moments before they were released, and only then due to the entrance of the only yet absent Fowl, Artemis Senior, who was finally roused from his study by his wife's fussing.
Artemis Senior descended the grand staircase with surprising ease for someone with only one leg. To Holly's surprise, he even finished his descent by jumping the last several stairs, landing gracefully next to his wife.
"Artemis! Holly! You're late!" He said, grinning widely and ushering the group into the sitting room, the décor of which was disrupted by two large bean-bags, into which the twins flopped. "We were beginning to think you had forgotten us." he added with a smile.
"Of course not," Artemis said, taking a seat on the couch, where he was joined by Holly, "But as a citizen of Haven visas are difficult to come by."
"We're just glad you made it," Angeline said, sitting across from her son with her husband on a love seat, leaving Butler to squeeze onto the couch with his former charge and his current protector, "Juliet will be sad to have missed your arrival, she's getting supplies for a camping trip her and the boys are taking next week. With both Butlers here, we can almost keep track of them both."
The small talk continued, broken slightly when Juliet arrived and the cycle of greetings began again. Holly was surprised to find that Artemis Senior's new-found agility came from a cybernetic leg built by Miles and Beckett, who had created an artificial leg capable of mimicking a real one and connecting to the user's brain for control. A glance at the smug look on Artemis' face told her that fairy tech (or at least ideas) had had a part in it's design. Artemis Senior wore the leg to help encourage his sons' ingenuity (and because it was decades ahead of human tech).
Eventually, however, the group had to break from the catching up. Artemis and Holly needed to pack, Butler needed to start dinner, and Juliet had to tell Holly her top picks for this who would win this year's gnome wrestling championships (she had become hooked ever since regaining her memories of the people).
Holly and Artemis had been prepared separate rooms, as it would be improper for the unmarried couple to share a room in Angeline's eyes. Thus Artemis was confused, and a bit excited, when Holly shoved him into his room and followed after, checking the hall before closing the door.
"You have to tell them Arty!" She said, voice hushed yet firm, "They can't continue not knowing that their son was almost killed again!"
Artemis' excitement died as he realized he was about to be lectured. Sighing, he sat down on his bed, putting the duffel containing his clothes next to him.
"I will tell them after dinner," He said, unzipping the duffel bag and removing the very carefully packed suits, "I don't want to worry them so soon after our arrival."
Thus briefly satisfied, Holly grabbed her bag and left, running into Juliet almost immediately.
"If Angeline catches you doing that, you'll be in for it." She said, grinning, realizing where Holly had to have come from.
"We were just talking," Holly said, momentarily panicked before she came up with a plan, "I wouldn't expect anyone who follows Papa Hurt to understand what that is." she grinned at the woman, knowing the insult towards her favourite blue-painted gnome wrestler would distract her from asking what really happened.
The conversation about gnome wrestling continued all the way to Holly's room, and persisted through her unpacking. At that point Juliet, displaying sixth-sense like abilities, announced her brother was done cooking, though Holly couldn't smell the food this far away from the kitchen in the massive house. They went down to the dining room to find Artemis already there, conversing with his younger brothers.
"I think the problem is in your fuel mix," He was telling Miles, looking at a diagram in front of him, "The peroxide mix will only get you so far before you have to begin talking about solid fuels." At this point, Beckett interrupted him.
"The solid fuels won't lend nearly as much thrust as any liquid fuel worth its oxygen," He said, defying his childish nature, "Besides, Miles has the launch angle all wrong. I won't patch him up if he burns himself like last time." Miles, to his credit, ignored the jibe.
"We were debating trying an oxygen-producing bacteria to -" Before he could finish his sentence, Butler came into the room, a floral apron being whipped out of sight a bit too slowly for Holly not to see it and shoot the mud mountain a derisive grin.
"While I do love seeing your plans for launching someone pass my security measures to sneak out of the manor," he said, glancing at the diagram they were huddled over, "After Artemis discovered those blind spots I've completely retuned the security measures. Even Mulch couldn't get in."
Artemis stood and grinned, for a moment rising to the challenge, until the swinging kitchen door brought with it the scent of Butler's cooking, silencing him with a rumble from his midsection. "Perhaps," he said, putting a hand to his stomach, "We should continue this conversation after din - er, later."
Artemis senior and Angeline had arrived, so the assembled family and guests took their seats while the Butlers got the food. It was a massive spread and, to Holly's delight, almost entirely vegetarian. There were stuffed portobello mushroom caps, potatoes au gratin, and tempura fried vegetables, preceded by red miso soup and followed by (to Holly's delight) a berry medley in cream. For the twins, to ensure they got all their necessary nutrients, there were also baked chicken breasts, but the rest of the family abstained to make Holly more at home. For the next thirty minutes, Holly found herself in a heaven of perfectly prepared foods, and it wasn't until the last berry had been picked from her plate that she realized she was supposed to be mad at Artemis, and she puzzled him by shooting him a sudden glare.
"Something wrong dear?" Angeline said, catching the look.
"Oh, er nothing," Holly said, smiling at her host, "Just that Artemis is going to make me fat." This made Angeline and her husband laugh, and the night continued smoothly, with everyone telling stories of whatever they hadn't talked of during their various emails and video calls.
Finally, after Juliet telling of the massive bar fight that had occurred the last time she'd visited her wrestling troupe, Artemis let out a sigh.
"There's something I haven't told you all." he said, his tone businesslike, "I suggest we all move to the sitting room so we may continue."
The group moved into the sitting room, and Holly thought she saw Butler giving Artemis a pointed look.
"I haven't been entirely truthful to you all concerning my time in Haven." Artemis said, once everyone had taken a seat, "A few days after my arrival, there was an incident. A rogue group of demons, following a then and now defunct leader, decided to make a power play in Haven . . ."
He proceeded to tell the full story of his kidnapping, interrogation, and eventual rescue (leaving out his nudity after the massive healing). Holly occasionally chimed in with the relevant portions of her story, detailing the efforts made to find him and the demon splinter cell. She also added that this was very strange, as most demons saw the four of them (Artemis, Holly, No. 1, and Qwan) as the saviors of their race, and indeed several of them had moved into houses and apartments near Artemis', and regularly scared away the press, for which he was grateful. Miles and Beckett looked on in wonder, as if the telling were merely a bedtime story, as if perhaps pirates or princesses were about to be involved (though Lili Frond had absolutely nothing to do with the situation). Butler, however, simply looked on passively, not yet showing any emotion. At the end of the story, Artemis fell silent, waiting for the storm.
It did not come.
Artemis Senior boomed out a laugh, startling Holly, who's nerves were a bit on edge. "That's my boy, less than a week down there and already having the most exciting time possible!" This outburst earned him a slap on the thigh from his wife, who still looked concerned for Artemis' safety, but couldn't quite hold back a grin at her husband's antics.
Holly looked at Butler, expecting him to say something. Finally, unable to stand it, she went over to his seat and stood before him.
"Butler, I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect Artemis," She said, unable to meet his eyes, "I know you must be disappointed in me." She felt a giant hand being set on her shoulder, and she finally looked up to see Butler smiling down at her.
"I'm not disappointed in you," He said reassuringly, "If these demons were able to bypass that much LEP surveillance, they were clearly prepared for you. Had I been there, they probably would have blown up half the hospital to take me down before trying the kidnapping." Finally, Holly realized she wasn't being chastised, and she grinned.
"I'm more ashamed of Artemis," he continued, looking at the shocked boy genius, "You managed to escape and despite all my attempts at training you were recaptured in minutes!"
Both Artemis and Holly realized now that they were not going to be locked in a very secure tower for the remainder of their lengthy lives, and thus breathed a sigh of relief.
"Really Arty," Artemis Senior said, chuckling "You've kidnapped fairies, lemurs and stuffed animals with varying success. It was only a matter of time before someone gave you a taste of your own medicine. You're an adult now, you can handle yourself."
Both Artemis and Holly visibly brightened at this, and Artemis was then forced into a demonstration by his magic, mostly by his brothers, and only a little by Artemis Senior and Juliet. After some golden sparks and bouncing ball of light, he had seemed to sate them, though his father had a look in his eye that made Angeline smack him on the shoulder.
The night went on, and stories were shared all around. Butler, Juliet, and Holly were going over the camping plans, Holly surprised to learn that while they had all the trappings of a stereotypical camping trip (fires, smores, and sleeping in tents) the Butlers were intending to give the twins quite the lesson in wilderness survival. Something about their older brother getting into trouble a long ways from cities and the amenities they offer.
Artemis, meanwhile, was testing how well the twins were keeping up in their studies. Miles loved biology and chemistry, never having truly grown out of his "jar of mold" phase. Beckett, on the other hand, loved physics, because it told him the fastest and most efficient ways to have fun, and medicine, because someone had to patch him and his brother up after their adventures, and Butler had decided it was easier to teach the child how to suture a wound than to continue to do it himself.
Eventually though, the twins' heads began to droop, and even Artemis Senior had to stifle a mighty yawn. As everyone shuffled off to their various bedrooms, Artemis found himself on the balcony off of the second floor sitting room. His work had lately kept him up quite late, and he found he couldn't sleep. A few minutes after he went outside, he heard the door behind him open, and the soft pad footsteps.
He turned, finding Holly behind him wearing a t-shirt and a small pair of shorts, what he now recognized as her pajamas. He turned back to the view of the manor grounds, reveling in the feel of the surface after so long in Haven. It had only been a few weeks, he couldn't see how Holly managed.
"Couldn't sleep Major?" he said, once Holly to him, jumping on the balcony rail.
"Too wired what with all the press, resurrections, and zombies lately." She said, legs swinging like a five year on a tall chair. "And I think you could probably call me Holly by now." She added, giving him a light jab with her elbow.
"Sorry, old habits," He sighed, breathing in deep. The feel of the air was marred by the pollutants his magic told him were all around him. "Especially with all the previously mentioned pandemonium. I should probably keep things professional during a firefight."
They stood there for a while, Holly spun around to look at the grounds and Artemis put an arm around her waist. After several minutes, however, Artemis stiffened.
"What's wrong?" she said, turning, but she checked the motion when she saw Artemis peering into the sky, his free hand in his suit jacket, as if reaching for his pocket. She turned to look, confused. She didn't see anything for several moments until, just for an instant, she thought she saw a single star in the night sky blur, then return to normal.
"Don't. Move." Artemis said in a low growl. "Butler installed a low level EM field generator. It's not enough to mess with computers or other technology, but its just enough to mess with a fairy shield. With the newest shimmer suits, its only enough for the cameras to detect, but with all the older models, a very, very slight haze can be detected. Now that I've said that though . . ." Artemis trailed off, peering into the darkness.
Suddenly, he through himself backwards, taking Holly partially with him, as an instant later several neutrino bolts sank into the area he'd just been standing in. He finally pulled his hand out of his jacket, the small neutrino pistol coming with it, and fired a fan of shots in the direction of the fire. One of them made contact with something, but the low-level shot just stopped the fairy's shield, revealing a medium sized fairy in a shimmer suit. The assailant fired a few more shots, but without truly aiming them, before flying off into the night.
Artemis looked down to see Holly, kneeling by the railing. He thought she had been hurt, until he saw her running her hand along the floor.
"These shots were low power, they were just trying to stun you." she said, standing up. "I'm guessing they didn't expect you to be carrying a gun. Glad I did something right with protecting you."
Artemis tucked the Neutrino Derringer, which had been developed by Foaly on Holly's request, and designed like the Walther PPK on Artemis', back into the shoulder holster hidden in his jacket. "Yes, Butler was most intrigued by the fact that I was carrying a gun." he said, brushing the dust off of his slacks.
"He noticed?" Holly asked, cocking her head to one side.
"He's Butler." Artemis replied with a shrug. As if the name summoned him, Butler came storming onto the balcony, Sig Sauer in hand. "It's ok Butler, the threat has been dealt with."
Butler stood for a moment, then seemed to shake himself. Apparently he had been reacting entirely on instinct, for he seemed to be half asleep. "Someone tried to shoot you." he said, noting the slight black marks on the stones. "Are you sure the situation is under control."
"I'm sure," Artemis said, placing a hand on his friend's arm and urging him inside (He had decided he'd had enough fresh air for the time being). "The assailant flew off after a shocked him out of shielding. And besides, it wasn't an attempted shooting." Artemis sat down in a high-backed chair and rose his left wrist, revealing half of magnetically locking vacuum cuff. Holly recognized it as a ballisti-cuff, a design of Foaly's to lock onto and fire half of a set of cuffs onto a suspect, firing the other at an object, officer, or second subject to lock them together. "It was an attempted kidnapping."
Aaaaaand cliffhanger!
There shouldn't be as long a wait this time! Also this is the longest chapter in this particular fic so far, if my math is right!
Sorry again to all those who spent a long time waiting for this!