A/N: Wow guys! I have to say the amount of reviews and the positive response I got from them made me super happy! Thank you so much guys! I went straight on to writing this one! :D I'm happy you seem to like it, and I hope you like this one too! ^^ Artemis is baaaack! xD Anyway, enjoy!^^

~Revelations~

Lower Elements
Police Plaza

"No, Holly you can't. Not yet." Foaly pleaded with his friend, Captain Holly Short, who was currently stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. Her usual tanned skin had turned very pale at the news that had just been discovered.

"What do you mean we can't tell him? He has the right to know!" Holly demanded.

"I agree, yes he does. But not just yet. I mean, he's only just got used to being back alive, this kind of news could have a very bad effect on him!" Foaly's hooves made loud clips on his tiled floor as he struggled to keep himself still from nerves. The tile had been something that had really irritated the pervious Commander; Julius Root, much to Foaly's glee. The clips and clops of his hooves as he walked around caused the old Commanders' face to go from a light shade of pink to an almost plum purple.

Oh good times.

"I don't know Foaly…"

"Please Holly. Give me some time to see if I can find anything to prevent this from happening."

The elf thought it over. She was distraught, that was obvious. What she saw… well, it was hard to keep her tears in check. It just seemed like everything was going back to normal, and now this. When was the young Irish boy going to get a break? It just seemed so wrong to keep something this serious from him, but telling him also seemed cruel…

"Okay Foaly. I'll give you tomorrow. But after that, we have to tell him okay? And who knows, maybe Artemis himself will know what to do." A small smile touched Holly's lips as a little flame of hope lit in her heart. Artemis was a genius. He'd know what to do surely.

"Don't you think I can do it like? You don't have to get your boyfriend to do everything." Foaly huffed and actually stomped his hoof. He wasn't annoyed at her; he knew she didn't mean it like that. He was just more nervous now with the added time pressure to find an answer to their very big problem. There had to be something.

Before Holly could protest again, a voice cut over her.

"A boyfriend Holly? I hope it's not Chix Verbil." Commander Trouble Kelp walked into the Centaur's office without knocking or hesitating. Quickly Foaly shut down the screen and turned to his Commander in annoyance.

"Yes, everybody just come on in. We're having a party in here, glad you could make it." Foaly whinnied in aggravation, causing Trouble to stare at the Centaur in confusion.

"Have I come at a bad time?"

Yes.

"No Commander. Foaly is just in a bad mood because he's had an argument with Caballine." Holly raised her eyebrows to her friend, willing him to understand and not drop them in it.

"I have?" The centaur looked at Holly with a touch of confusion to her dismay. She waggled her eyebrows at him very obviously, and the penny dropped.

"Oh! Oh yes I have. Something about the Crunchball scores. What you gonna do eh?" The Centaur fake laughed and turned round with his back to Trouble, pretending to be very busy with some papers laid out in front of him.

Trouble raised an eyebrow of his own at the exchange, but decided to drop it. Something else had intrigued him anyway…

"So, you and Verbil then Captain? I did not expect that." Trouble started, knowing it wasn't Chix. A girl would probably have to be either stupid or desperate to date the cheesy Sprite, and Holly was neither of those things.

Holly sighed and shot a glare towards Foaly, who felt her gaze burning into the back of his neck. He swallowed, knowing he'd regret the incessant teasing of boyfriend status later.

"No Commander Kelp. Foaly was just being ridiculous, jealous because his own relationship is…faulty at the minute. I am currently unspoken for."

The relief that took over Trouble was visible. It wasn't that he wanted Holly for himself; they figured out a while ago that their relationship was definitely professional and that was all. Three disastrous dates had determined that they were completely incompatible. No, what worried Trouble more was the possibility that it was Artemis they were talking about, and he was certain he had heard the mud boys' name before he had entered the office. If Holly and Artemis got together… the ruckus it would cause would be unbelievable in Haven.

Well I don't need to worry anyway, they're just friends.

"I see. Anyway, I was coming by here Foaly to request that you finish this project by tomorrow night. That is all. Good night Captain, Foaly." Trouble said goodbye and with a short salute, left the office for his own home. Foaly picked up the sheets that Trouble had left on his desk and groaned loudly.

"There is no way I am going to get these finished by tomorrow and search for an answer to…to Artemis's problem." The centaur gulped and paled. Again it came down to choosing his job or his friend… Foaly placed the sheets down firmly on the table so they caused a sharp thwack as they came into contact with his desk.

"Right, research…" He mumbled, trying to push aside the thoughts of how mad Trouble was going to be. He couldn't keep pushing his job like this, one day they'd get fed up of him…

Holly watched as the Centaur discarded the papers that Trouble had left, knowing that he had decided to help Artemis's predicament over his own job, and as thankful as the Captain was, she also felt bed. She had been the one to set the time limit after all. Sighing, she picked up the papers.

"Okay Centaur, show me what to do. You do that, I'll do this and hopefully we'll get somewhere and keep your job at the same time."

Fowl Manor

Unbeknownst to Foaly and Holly, Artemis already had suspicions of his problem. Of course he had. Before he'd even become a ghost, Artemis had known that cloning was a very tricky business, and saw what had happened each time he'd gone to see Holly visiting Nopal. It had been very slight, but his suspicions had been confirmed. Now, late at night, the Irish youth was sat up at his computer with only the flickering screen serving as his light source. There hadn't been much research to go on, as fairy cloning was different to human. Not too much however to prove impossible, as cloning people as far as he knew was illegal in the fairy world as well, and so not vastly developed. Even so, tonight had been an unsuccessful night in terms of furthering his research. He wondered, as he rubbed his temples to sooth his blossoming headache, if the seriousness of his predicament was getting to him and shrouding his ability to think straight.

No it can't. I never get side-tracked by things like personal feelings…

Even as he thought this Artemis knew it wasn't true. As he had gotten older and spent more time with the fairies, Artemis had awakened his previously none existent conscience. Butler had duly noted this change of character, having spent most time with the lad, and commented positively on the progression from cold hearted to… more accommodating. He had even made friends during their adventures, something he could honestly say he did not have when he was twelve.

I really hope I don't lose it all…right when I was going to go on the straight and narrow as well. It figures.

Sighing and resolving to resume research tomorrow, Artemis closed the lid of his laptop, slid into bed and fell into a very troubled sleep.

Lower Elements
Locked Down Shuttle Port

After a quite fitful sleep, Holly had shown up to work the next morning looking terribly ragged. Her usually quirky hair cut flopped dejectedly, matching her mood perfectly and faint dark circles had appeared beneath her eyes. She knew people were looking at her, but right now, she didn't care. Wasting no time Holly had rapped on the door to Foalys' office and demanded to know if the Centaur had managed to uncover anything that could help. Giving her an answer in the negative, Holly trudged to her assigned post with little enthusiasm. Something Chix Verbil had oh so annoyingly picked up on.

"Sheesh Cap, you look a little down this morning." The sprite said, hovering slightly above Holly in the sealed exit Shuttle Port. Unfairly in her eyes, she had been partnered up with the Sprite on a recovery mission. A few convicted goblins were still running about, and Trouble had insisted she go on this mission to arrest any she came across. He was trying to be helpful by giving her something that was supposed to be less taxing, but really the elf would have loved something to keep her mind occupied.

"I could help you wind down."

Oh, and the added annoyance of her partner didn't help.

"Should you even be flying with that wing?" Holly accused, being reminded of the last time they had partnered up. She had been forced to disobey orders to save the Sprites' life, and he had escaped with a hole in his wing that had been patched up by the medical warlocks later on.

"Aw, thanks for your concern Captain."

Holly grimaced.

"But I'm okay to hover for short periods of time. Flying though… that's a different matter." Chix frowned and Holly did feel sorry for him. Wings were important to Sprites and she could understand how he felt, the wings on her back right now felt like an extra limb and she felt a little different without them. Flying was important for her too.

Just then a shadow ran past the hole where the two officers were hiding. Currently there were at the bottom of the Shuttle tunnel, hiding in a carved out hole in the wall next to the vertical tunnels entrance, waiting to see if any goblins tried to sneak past and leave Heaven by shuttle.

"Hey Verbil, we might have something here…" Holly whispered to her partner who nodded and attempted to draw his Neutrino 3000 in the same way that Holly did, but failed miserably and dropped the weapon on Holly's toe.

"Sorry!" He whispered, flushing a little from embarrassment and swooped down to retrieve his weapon.

Rolling her eyes, Holly signalled with her hand for the sprite to follow her. Quietly she began to walk after the goblin shaped shadow in front of her, Chix hot on her tail. Clamping her hand tighter around her Neutrino for comfort, Holly called to the figure not too far ahead.

"You there, goblin. I am Captain Short of the LEP, and I order you to stop." Chix stood at the side of Holly as she called out, also keeping his weapon close. The figure turned round, and the two were greeted with the sight of a quite nervous looking goblin. His body was jittering minutely, and his forked tongue repeatedly flicked out to lick his eye balls. All signs of nervousness.

"I am not putting you under arrest. This is a routine check, I repeat, a routine check." Holly spoke again, attempting to zoom her lens on her helmet in on the goblins face while looking at him calmly as not to rouse suspicion. Well, it was a routine check at the moment. But if the goblins face matched up with any of the loose convicts, then it would turn into much more.

"What are you looking for girly?" The goblin rasped, body shaking quicker. What was he so nervous about?

Unconsciously Holly flicked her Neutrino setting up a notch.

"We are just checking to see if you have legal rights to be here goblin, do not fear." Chix said, most likely in an attempt to impress his female counterpart by asserting some authority. The goblin flicked its gaze to Chix, grinning a large predatory grin.

Holly suddenly bristled. Something didn't feel right here.

"Verbil, I think-"

"It's okay Holly, I've got this." He winked at the pretty captain and sauntered forward towards the shaking creature. The smile became more pronounced.

Holly's soldier alarm was going crazy in her head, but she couldn't figure out why. All they were facing was one lone stupid goblin.

"What is your business down here goblin?"

"To retrieve the stone." He grinned, licking his eyes again. As he said this, Holly noticed a medium sized lump in his left pocket. Was that the stone he was talking about? Why were goblins colleting stones now? It was all too surreal, Holly felt really bad about this.

"We have to go Chix." Holly attempted to persuade the sprite into leaving this situation.

"It's okay, I've got this." Chix told her, also having noticed the lump and was currently reaching towards it.

"Verbil! I command you to-"

But Holly didn't get to finish her command, as a second later the jittery goblin drew out from his other pocket a small, spherical shape that glinted in the fake sunlight. It looked almost like…

A grenade!?

In no time Holly set her wings to full speed and shot forward, aiming for straight for Chix. Hooking her arms under his, she lifted the sprite and kicked off into the other direction, knowing he wouldn't be able to fly away himself.

A fairy grenade was different to human ones, with the effects being more disastrous and lasting longer. It caused a great big plume of fire that cremated almost everything in its path. Of course, these had been outlawed when they had been created by a scientist at Koboi labs as they were too violent. This goblin had managed to get one somehow… but Holly resolved that she'd keep the 'how' for later.

"Die elf!" The goblin screamed before he threw the weapon on the ground. It exploded, engulfing himself in the blossoming flames as he surely burnt to a crisp instantly. Not satisfied with the one death, the flames now roared after Holly and Chix. The former was struggling to stay up with the combined weight of them both.

"My moonbelt!" Holly yelled.

"What?"

"Attach yourself onto my moonbelt!" She screamed, dodging into the Shuttle tunnel and flying upward. Hopefully the flames would have enough momentum in them to keep going forward and not follow them up the chute. If not, then they were toast.

Holly felt the weight lift off her as Chix clipped himself onto Holly's moonbelt, reducing his weight drastically. She kicked forward and increased their speed and in no time she'd reached the entrance to the chute which of course was blocked off. Holly looked down, hoping that the flames had forgotten that heat rises. They hadn't. A wall of orange and red hues was rushing up to greet them.

"Holly!" Chix screamed, also seeing the flames.

There was nothing around them but the rocky walls of the chute, nothing to protect them from the oncoming heat. Sweat trickled down Holly's face, but from worry or the heat she couldn't tell. Her eyes wheeled round, desperate for a solution, but all she was met with were the mud tones of the rocky walls that encaged them both.

I've killed us both. I hope Foaly manages to help Artemis.

The flames roared upward, unrelenting in their want to destroy. If only it was some kind of monster, at least then Holly would be able to shoot it…

Hang on a second.

Not holding out much hope for her idea, but lacking any others to try, Holly brandished her Neutrino, flicked it up to the highest setting and blasted at the rocky wall. To her relief, the force of her gun caused rocks to chip away, creating a hollow cave. Pushing forward and almost lying flat to fly faster, Holly flew into the newly made gap and shot again, deepening the cave.

I hope we don't get a cave in. She managed to pray as she shot one last time, blasting a deeper hole into the wall and flying down to the end of it. The walls shuddered, but remained sturdy through the blasting. Seconds later the flames engulfed the spot where they had recently been hovering and mostly carried on upward to harmlessly hit the cold metal plate covering the exit to the chute and faded with a hiss against the cold. Some of the flames drifted into the cave that Holly had carved, but without the momentum to push them forward, dissolved a few feet away from where the fairies were huddled. That's what Holly had been counting on, the knowledge that heat rises. She had hoped that the flames would go past the hole she had made and travel upward to the blocked exit which most of it had done. She knew that some would filter into the cave, and so had created one deep in the hopes that it wouldn't reach the two officers. Her quick thinking had paid off, again.

Finally, the flames seemed to all dissolve, and heavy clouds of steam were all that were left from the collision into the cool metal surface. Holly and Chix relaxed, blackened muck smears on their faces and suits. The least of their worries. It could have been much worse.

"Saved me again Cap. I hope it's not becoming a routine." Verbil managed to wheeze out before he fainted on the spot. Holly sighed, hooked her arms under his again and prepared to fly back to the police plaza and drop the sprite off. Then she would search the spot where the goblin had stood. Why had he just randomly sacrificed himself to kill two officers? In fact, if Holly remembered correctly, it hadn't been to kill them both. The goblin had yelled 'Die elf'. Chix had just been there, sucked into the collision, an insignificant death.

Here we go again. She thought.

Lower Elements
Locked Down Shuttle Port

"You got anything yet Foaly?" Commander Trouble Kelp stood over his techno wizard while he ran a few tests on the screen. Holly – after dropping Chix off – had led them to where the really strange scene had taken place. There had been no need to corner off the place, the chute was blocked off and so no one had to be there. It was just the LEP team.

"A few things of course Commander." Foaly began, though a little distractedly. He had to be pulled away from his research on Artemis's future for this, and he was pretty sure he was getting somewhere on that. So a goblin had gone a little crazy. So what?

"Begin your debriefing then please." Trouble gestured. Holly frowned, also wanting Foaly to get back to research. She was beginning to wish she hadn't said anything now.

"Well, clearly the goblin had every intention of pulling this stunt. The direction in which he was running is a dead end, therefore he would not get very far. Unless he had a shuttle. And I really don't see one, do you?" Foaly extended his arms out inviting everyone to look at the empty shuttle port.

Get on with it Foaly, we have no time for theatrics. Holly rolled her eyes. Apparently Trouble was thinking the same.

"Continue Centaur." He barked, a frown touching his brow line.

"Alright Trouble, you're starting to sound more like Julius every minute… anyway, the goblin had this intent on setting off this grenade. Question is, why? Did he know we had members of our team hiding out and wanted to get back at them or what? The possibilities are endless. Therefore I concluded we write this off as insanity and go back to what we were doing before." Foaly stomped his hooves and began to walk back to his equipment van, eager.

"Hold on Centaur."

Damn it.

"Yes Trouble?"

"First of all, it's Commander Kelp. Show some respect or I'll show a little less to your funding. Second of all, we are not finished here. Holly said something about him telling her to die. Her specifically." Trouble looked at the female in question.

"Um, well yes, I guess I did."

"So can we assume he knew she was here?"

"It's…it is plausible I suppose. But what would a goblin have against Holly?" Foaly stepped away from his van again to re-join the conversation.

"I don't know. Why is it whenever someone is trying to hurt one of us, it's always you Holly?" Kelp pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"I don't know Commander." She answered a little miffed.

It's not like I'm doing it on purpose.

"Foaly, can you think of any other reason why he'd be down here?" Trouble turned to the Centaur, and Holly suddenly remembered something.

"He did say something to Verbil. When asked what he was doing down here, he said something about getting…a stone…? I didn't think much of it at the time. He had a grenade in his hand." She told the others, and Foaly blinked. He suddenly rounded on his computer, typing away wildly. When he finished doing that, he went into his van and returned with a slim little box in his hand.

"What is that Foaly?" Holly asked, confused about his reaction.

"This is sort of similar to what humans call a dowsing machine, except a lot more mobile and specific. For example, you type in what it is you wish to locate, and it will search for it. By downloading the molecular structure of the object and rebuilding it into its system, you get a much more specific search. Although, you may get a few anomalies, for example if you're searching for your house keys, you may come across other keys as they share the same kind of molecular structure. If I am right however, this stone is one of a kind…" As the centaur explained his contraption, he bent low to the ground and pointed the tip of the box in all directions.

"Great, now I've seen it all." Trouble muttered, leaning back on Foaly's van and watching with Holly as the centaur searched. Suddenly the machine began to beep, and a wide smile found itself on Foaly's face, one mixed with joy and smugness that his contraption was working. Holly and Trouble glanced at each other for a fleeting second, then followed Foaly as he followed the beeping. As the three neared a corner of the dead end the goblin had been stood by, the beeping of the machine increased its regularity and pitch.

"It…it's here!" Foaly's excited voice was unmistakable as he bent down and picked up a dark pointed object that if it hadn't of been picked up by the machine, would have been missed altogether. He examined it closely, eyes shining as he took in the dark surface.

"I thought it was stuff of legends…but here it is…" He whispered. Trouble, annoyed at being kept out of the loop, decided it was time to intervene.

"That's all very well pony boy, but what is it?" He commanded, using the old name that Julius had used in a derogative manner too. Holly felt a pang in her heart as she remembered her Commander.

"Well, Trouble." Foaly put emphasis on his name. "This here is an ancient artifact that was believed to be a myth and nothing more. Written off as a simple tale to tell children with over reactive minds. A myth that I believe has been a popular source for human films" He presented the matt black stone to the two officers; a loose oblong shape with pointed edges. The points looked deliberate, rather than the result of wear and tear. It wasn't anything to be ogled at in Holly's opinion, but Foaly obviously thought differently.

"I am not one hundred percent sure that this is the genuine artifact however, and I must get back to my office to check ASAP. Then I will tell you all about it." Foaly whinnied excitedly and gestured for the Commander to go first. Trouble rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed that he wasn't the top dog here and once again Foaly appeared to be asserting his own authority. But there was nothing he could do. He wanted to know what the stone was, and he wasn't about to beg for it.

"Okay guys, let's pack it up." Trouble commanded the rest of the team who were still assessing the area. Foaly used this time to mutter to Holly.

"I thought it was too great of a coincidence for a goblin to randomly be looking for a stone, I thought it might have something to do with this. But not for a second did I believe it to be real…" He gabbled, much to Holly's annoyance.

"What? What the hell are you talking about Foaly?" She whispered.

"Holly, I think I've just found the answer to our problem." He muttered.

Koboi Labs

Opal was furious. Holly Short had nearly died because of that stupid goblin, and it wouldn't have been at her hands. And in her ghostly state, that would have meant her reason for staying would have gone, possibly causing her to go into the light. It had been so hard not to step into it the first time, only through sheer will power had she managed to contain herself and turn her back on it, focusing only on her revenge.

The pixie had thrown a few things around at her other goblins in the laboratory, but they didn't understand why she was so angry. She couldn't shout at them, all they knew was that she was angry, and therefore only sped up their work. Opal sighed, she would have loved to yell at them all, stupid ugly creatures. If only she could see her reflection in a mirror… that would have cheered her right up. No, her only option was to go to the one that could see and hear her…

Floating over to one of the big metal doors that read KEEP OUT in block letters, she wasted no time in drifting through it. It was her lab after all, she did not need permission. Opal entered into the large room that had previously been her office, and would continue to be her office once she was back. A shadowed figure sat at the large desk in the middle of the room, donning rounded blacked out glasses. If one didn't know better, one would think they were just sunglasses. But of course, they weren't.

"Ah Opal. Not too happy I see?" The person said.

"Not too happy? Not too happy?" Opal shrieked, 'landing' on the desk in front of the person. "We've lost the stone because of that insolent, little ugly creature!" She cried, stomping her feet like they were making a noise.

"I told you to tell him not to use the grenade unless for emergencies! We only have a few left in stock! And that was not an emergency!"

"I did tell him Miss Koboi. But he was a goblin, I'm sure he found that an emergency. From the camera shots we have, he looked like a nervous wreck."

"That is not a reason to kill himself! Ugh, goblins really are stupid." Opal sighed and massaged her head, almost like she could feel it. It was really hard to remember you're a ghost sometimes when you're so wound up.

"It isn't a problem Miss Koboi. I can get us the stone back. You keep building up your strength and concentrate on being here. We need you, and we cannot succeed without you Miss."

Opal was happy at her recruits' words. She was glad that she had found someone so dependant and who obviously looked up to her.

"Yes, we will destroy Holly won't we?"

"We will indeed Miss Koboi."

Fowl Manor

Artemis had stuck to his resolve on doing more research when the morning had come round. Though, it had been a very hard job to get Butler to leave the room for a few hours. The bodyguard really did not want to leave his charges side, which Artemis did find mildly flattering, but on the whole, mostly annoying. It was difficult to get some work done when being checked upon almost every hour. But the youth had told Butler to drive to a shop half an hour away to purchase a newspaper that didn't even exist. He had felt really bad about it, but it was imperative that he got this research done.

After almost an hour, Artemis had found little more on the subject of clones than what he had already found previously. Plus he knew quite a bit already from his extensive knowledge. But none of it seemed to help him reach the ultimatum that he felt he already knew. There was a feeling, in the pit of his stomach, that felt he was only trying to dodge the awful conclusion his brain had already made for him. Artemis could contact Foaly if he liked and alert him to the situation, but in all honesty, he didn't want to upset the centaur right now. After all, he had been the one to genetically create this body for him, and he'd be criticizing it and making it look like he blamed him for his problem. Which he didn't. Artemis had known fair well that this would be a possibility for him, yet part of him hoped… well, hoped he'd get a chance to live out the life of a normal teen with his family. And fairy friends.

Sighing, Artemis clicked next on his search, oblivious to his bodyguard entering his bedroom. And he was very angry.

"Artemis Fowl, you had better explain yourself – what is this?" Butler started as he made his way around the bed to stand next to the boy in question, but was side tracked when he saw what the boy was searching. He feared this may happen.

"Artemis…Artemis listen to me. You are not just…just some clone. You are a human, an original, you are… you. And just because your body was… genetically made up in Foaly's lab, that doesn't make you any less…you." The burly bodyguard struggled to get out what he was trying to say and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"…Thank you old friend. I understand what you are attempting to convey to me. However, that is not what I am worried about in this particular instance. And…I apologise for the goose chase. It was necessary for the private research that isn't quite so private now. At least it wasn't Mexico this time."

"Artemis, if you are trying to joke about that so help me…"

"You're right. I am sorry."

"It doesn't matter. So, if being in a cloned body isn't troubling you, what is?" Butler leant over his charge almost instantly. His protecting instincts came out, because if Artemis was worried about something, that usually meant it was big.

"Well…there is no easy way to say this old friend, so I think you should sit down." Artemis gestured to his large bed, and Butler obediently sat down, worry touching his features. He cared deeply for this boy. If anything were to happen to him…

Madam Ko would be having my tattoo removed if she could hear me now…

"Artemis, what is it?" He pleaded.

"Well…it appears quite ironically my old friend…" Artemis swallowed, struggling to get the words out. To say this out loud would be to make it real. Once he said this, there'd be no going back. He took a deep breath and spoke.

"I am afraid I am dying."

A/N: And here is chapter two! More of the story is revealed! :O I hope you liked! Any thoughts/feelings/questions then go ahead and review! :D Even if it's one word - reviews encourage updates! PS If anyone has any ideas on who Opal is working with, I'd love to hear them! And if you don't, then don't worry! Hardly anything has been revealed yet!