It's been so long and I apologize for that. I won't come up with some lame excuse except that I've become to lazy and too busy rereading the Atlantis Complex first chapter. I'm dedicating this chapter to my friend, Loliver Fanfiction who SHOULD BE READING THIS and to Eoin Colfer who's birthday was a couple of days ago on the 14th. HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE EOIN! Not that he's reading this of course.
Previously in Christmas With a Difference...
Artemis gets a Ferrari Scuderia...and speeds.
"So," Holly said. "Do you think we'll be pulled up at this speed?" Artemis shrugged.
"Probably," he replied. "But you need to remember that this is the car that my father got me. He will have done something to it to avoid me getting caught by the cops."
The next thing they heard was a siren.
Artemis tries to talk his way out of it...
"I was told by my teacher that that was the speed limit."
The Police falls for it...
"What was your teacher's name?" he asked. "They sound like someone who's just asking to be put away for a few years."
And Artemis remembers an old friend...
"My good friend Damon Kronski," he replied. "He came over here to teach me."
Again the policeman falls for it...
"Thank you, Master Fowl. You've been great help."
But another policeman catches them and Artemis creates a car chase, throwing him and Holly into a cell...
"It's OK, Holly," Artemis said. "I'll get us out of here." Holly sighed, leaning her head against the cool cell wall.
"I know you will, Arty," she said. "But to what expense? Will I be exposed as an elf?" Artemis shook his head.
"That won't happen," he said. "In my back pocket there is a bottle of the humanizing substance, you better drink it fast."
And Artemis gets interrogated but makes it go his way...
"Now kid," the policeman said, "you wanna tell me the truth?"
"I already have officer," Artemis replied. "Perhaps you do not know me. I am Artemis Fowl the Second. I was missing for three years, apparently it spread over the whole globe."
"Yes I have heard of you," the officer said. "We were searching for you for two of those three years."
Artemis smiled sincerely for the first time since he had been brought in; the sight slightly unnerved the police officer.
"And in the end," he said. "It was my bodyguard who found me. And he will find me again." The officer's brow creased in confusion. This kid was crazy.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean," Artemis continued. "That he is here right now, he is going to save me and make you forget about all of this."
"But…"
"There are no buts, officer," Artemis interrupted. "It is the truth."
He raised his arms to shoulder height, his wrists mysteriously freed from the cuffs.
"See you at The End." He then disappeared. The last thing the officer remembered before he fainted was a slight heat haze heading for the door and Artemis's final sentence echoing repeatedly through his mind.
And finally the chapter...
So Long, Farewell Auf Wiedersehen Goodbye
A Police Holding Cell somewhere near the city of Dublin 8:30 am (The Fowl family got up early thanks to the twins remember)
"This is so annoying," Holly grumbled, trying to wriggle her hands out from her handcuffs. It was in vain. There really wasn't any point, as she grew; her wrists had become even more stuck in the cuffs. "Argh," she groaned, squatting down on the hard, cool floor. "If only Butler were here." A grin spread across her face. "Butler, Domovoi." She said into her watch. It was a hidden communicator, powered by fusion and voice activated, so when she said Butler's name, it automatically called him.
"Butler, it's Holly," she said. "We're having a bit of a problem."
Back in Fowl Manor, Butler frowned. "What kind of problem?"
"One involving Artemis getting interrogated by the police," Holly answered.
"Where are you?"
"In a cell, my watch is a voice activated communicator," she said. They then discussed the best plan of action, concluding in a much happier Holly and a very worried Butler.
Interrogation's Room 9:00
"Now kid, you wanna tell me the truth?" asked the policeman. Butler winced as the naive policeman glanced in his general direction.
"I already have, officer," replied Artemis. Behind him, knelt Butler covered in camfoil, trying to unlock Artemis's handcuffs without the policeman noticing. He picked at the lock with a hairpin he had taken from Juliet's Fowl Manor room. Artemis wriggled his wrists expectantly, somehow managing to make his hands smaller. Finally, Artemis's hands were free. Butler caught the cuffs before they hit the ground, stuffing them under the camfoil. Artemis then lifted his arms.
"See you at The End," he said. The words sent shivers down Butler's spine, but he knew what to do. Just as the last word left Artemis's lips, Butler threw the edge of the camfoil over the boy, covering both of them. Artemis glanced around, he realised that the psychologist was lying unconscious in the conjoined room and the policeman had just keeled over onto his face.
"Never again," said a voice. "I am never going to let you speed on the surface again." Holly then flickered into the visible spectrum, dusting her hands off. She now donned a shimmer suit she could shield properly in and a neutrino. Butler pulled the camfoil off himself and Artemis.
"You're right," said Artemis. "I am never ever going to speed again."
So much for not speeding, thought Butler, his teeth clenched as he watched the Scud soar down the motorway in front of the Arnage he was driving. He then remembered that this was the last full day that Artemis would be seeing Holly for a while. They would be making the most of their time together. He sighed and took a deep breath. They will be fine, he told himself. No need to panic. He followed them back to Fowl Manor, allowing them some space.
Back at Fowl Manor 10:00 am
"Hey Seaweed Brain!"
"Holly, we've had this discussion," said the irritated Kelp. "No more annoying nicknames. You didn't even make that one up, it's from Percy Jackson." Holly tried to scowl but found that her smile stayed firmly in place. Commander Kelp noticed this and raised his eyebrows. "Is there something you're not telling me?" Holly's eyes widened a fraction.
"No," she said hurriedly. "Nothing." Trouble looked at her suspiciously as Artemis walked into the room and hugged her from behind.
"Curiouser and curiouser," the eldest Kelp quoted. Artemis rested his chin on Holly's head.
"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," he commented. "One of my personal favourites." Trouble was too busy trying to decipher the odd behaviour on the screen in front of him. The only reason he could think of was so absurd he tried to put it out of his mind.
"Captain Short," he said finally. "I need you and Foaly back tomorrow morning at seven, which is seven o'clock tonight your time." That wiped the smile off both their faces.
"Tonight?" Artemis asked "You told us tomorrow." Trouble narrowed his eyes, even more suspicious.
"Why?" he asked. "Aren't you sick of each other by now?" Holly shook her head wildly.
"Of course not," she answered. "Arty and I lo-really enjoy each other's company."
"Arty?" Trouble asked, smirking in amusement. "Quite good friends are we?" Holly and Artemis looked at each other.
"Look, Sir," Holly started. "There is something that we're not telling you."
"Is this for the commander or for your old friend Trouble?" Trouble asked.
"Trouble," Holly said. "I'd prefer that the guy who is dating Jessica would talk to me, not the guy who will fire me as soon as he finds out." Trouble sighed, rubbing his eyes, he was up late.
"Yes, Holly?"
"Well er…" Holly paused. What on earth (or under for that matter) could she say that would make the blow any less harsh. "Artemis and I are dating." Trouble's mouth dropped open.
"Wh-what?"
"Artemis and I like each other," Holly said slowly. Trouble pinched the bridge of his nose.
"But that's-you can't-" he paused. "Why?" Artemis pulled up another chair beside Holly, staring intently at the webcam.
"Why do you date Jessica?" he asked. Trouble frowned, a little embarrassed.
"Because I love her," he answered, puffing out his chest. Holly smiled.
"And that's why I'm dating Artemis," she said. Trouble sighed, they'd found his sensitive spot.
"Fine," he said. "But I'm not going to lose my best captain to a human."
"Don't worry," Holly said. "The LEP is still my second love and I'm not giving that up, even if that means having a surface job in Tara."
"What's your first love?" Artemis asked. Holly looked at him sceptically, her eyebrows raised.
"Oh I wonder," she said sarcastically. Trouble was still quite disturbed by the scene in front of him.
"But you can't just go to the surface whenever you want to see him," he said. "You still need to go through the usual operation through IA and gods…I may as well just give you an annual surface visa." Holly's eyes lit up.
"Please?" she begged. Trouble thought about it for a moment. Holly was his best friend and had often helped him babysit Grub when they were younger, and now they were older, Holly still helped him with Grub. They had even tried dating twenty or so years back, but it didn't work. Instead, making them better friends then they were before. More like twins.
"Yeah, may as well. Have fun you two, and remember Holly, seven o'clock tonight." Holly nodded and turned to Artemis.
"Well," she said. "We better get that dwarf on the mudslide if we want to do anything before I have to go back under."
The truth finally hit Artemis. Hard. He wasn't going to see Holly for ages and ages. He didn't answer; instead he put his arms round her small frame, surprising her immensely. Artemis usually didn't act first, especially not compassionately. She could have sworn that she had heard sobs coming from the fifteen year old. But when he pulled back, he was his old self.
"Well," he said finally. "Do you have any final requests?" Holly laughed.
"You sound like an evil villain. 'Any last requests before I kill you!'" she said in a French accent.
"'My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father. Prepare to die!'" Artemis quoted, brandishing the pen he was holding. Holly laughed.
"The Princess Bride," she said. "I love that movie."
"So what do you want to do?" Artemis asked. Holly thought about it for a moment.
"Why don't we go up to your room and see?" Artemis put the pen in his pocket, graciously extending him arm to her.
"As you wish," he said and led her up to his room.
"Now," Artemis announced once they were sitting on his bed. "We don't have very long and you need to leave in eight hours in order to get to Haven on time." Holly looked at her watch. It was just after ten o'clock.
"Right," she said, "not much time."
Unfortunately, as we all know, when you are desperate to have fun, it is no fun at all. In the end, after lying on the bed talking, going for a walk, playing with the twins and annoying Foaly with Mulch's help and were just about to start a game of chess, Butler came to tell them that it was time to get ready to leave. Artemis swallowed and nodded, getting to his feet.
"Thank you, Butler," he replied. They got Holly's gear and met Mulch and Foaly at the door. From there, they got into the limo and began the drive to McGraney farm.
Artemis put his arm round Holly once they were in the car and she lay her head on his shoulder.
"I'm going to miss you," he said. Holly looked up at him.
"I'll be back sooner than you think," she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Argh," complained Mulch. "Get a room."
Finally, when they arrived and exited the limo, Holly turned towards Artemis.
"You know something, Mud Boy?" she said. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship."
"I couldn't put it any better," he replied. Holly waved and turned to leave with Foaly and Mulch.
Artemis watched them disappear into the shuttle port, murmuring his goodbye. As he turned to get back into the limo, he thought that he felt one last vibrate on his lips and a final whisper.
Auf Wiedersehen.
And then it was gone.
And there we have it, the final chapter. Sorry it wasn't that good, I hate writing cheesy goodbyes and well, this one blew up in smoke. I am currently writing the epilogue which I hope will be up in the next couple of weeks.
I'd like to thank those who put up with my terrible writing at the beginning and helped me develop it and to Artificial Asian for all your great criticism, wow, I've made a lot of progress. For those who don't know, this is definately NOT my best story and for those who haven't read it, make sure you read Tales of Romance by Foaly. Which was written by my brother and I and I am proud to say, has made people nearly fall off their chairs laughing.
Also, the first chapter of the Atlantis Complex is out on the main AF site (the one with the .uk) for a competition for those who live in the UK (Lucky them! I'm so jealous, stupid NZ not being in the UK) I'm sure that the majority of you would have read it, but there are always some.
ps thanks to WarlockWacko who gave me the idea of Trouble's annoying nickname that I asked for at the end of last chapter and for all those (Including you Loliver Fanfiction and Sera and Seth RTWM) That reviewed since September last year when I put it up. Please keep reviewing, It keeps me motivated and if you have any ideas for the wedding, I would be honoured to add them (I suck at writing weddings so this should be interesting).
Adieu adieu to you and you and you
Captain Short
