A/N: Hiya! Here is the new update! I'm sorry if things seem slow, I promise they will get better. But you can't just rush ahead into the story right? Anyway, ON WITH ARTEMIS!
-Tall Tales-
Fowl Manor
Butler had heard the words Artemis had just said, but he refused to take them in. They didn't make sense, not one bit.
"I appreciate that you are shocked, believe me, I wasn't that great when I found out either." The Irish youth attempted to coax words from his bodyguard, who seemed to be frozen in place, staring at him. Artemis could see his heavy chest raise and fall with each laborious breath he took.
"What…what do you mean you're…you're…" The hulking man tried and failed to string together a sentence.
"Dying? Exactly that Butler. You see, when I contemplated the plan of living inside a cloned body, a thought struck me from what I'd seen happen with Nopal, and my own knowledge. However, I had no time to research obviously, and I thought it'd be better than not trying anything at all and remaining a sad ghost for however long before I disappeared."
The body guard pinched at the bridge of his nose attempting to keep himself together. He loved the boy dearly, but hated his lengthy explanations. Usually he'd just swallow the words and wait for Artemis to get to the point, but now he couldn't do that. He had to understand instantly. The boy could not be dying. He'd just returned to life for heaven's sake!
"Artemis, please…"
"I am getting there old friend. I feel it necessary to explain everything."
Butler repressed a heavy and frustrated sigh. Of course he did, he always felt that was necessary.
"As you know, cloning has happened in our human technology but only on animals. It is illegal to clone humans. That is not to say it hasn't happened however. I wasn't able to turn up much from my investigation, but I found out some valuable information. Something that had been worrying my mind from the start, and something I saw evident in Nopal. Clones grow at an accelerated rate." Artemis stared at Butler, waiting for him to say something.
"So…? Why does that mean you're…you know, if you grow taller?"
Annoyingly, the boy shook his head, dark hairs fluttering around his face.
"It's not just height. It's everything. Organs, body, cells… Clones grow very rapidly. I saw this during my infrequent visits to see Holly and Nopal. The latter had grown each time I saw her, if only very slight. The longer I left the visits, the more evident it was that she had grown. Holly may not have noticed due to how frequently she visited, but to me it was starkly obvious. Nopal would have been significantly taller than Opal had the two been laid down next to each other. And I know this is happening to me."
Even though Artemis was explaining, Butler was still struggling to understand, though he had a feeling this could have been due to his brain not wanting to.
"So, then, you…you are…"
"Growing yes. I've recorded my measurements every week and there has indeed been growth, though very slight. Fairy technology is more advanced than human, I know. But even so, I know that cloning is not very practised there either. I will live longer than if I had been cloned by humans, but as for how much longer exactly I am unsure. A case study that is particularly famous is that of Dolly the sheep."
"Dolly? I think I've heard of this before."
"Most likely so old friend, she was very popular indeed as she was a cloning breakthrough. Cloned from another sheep, Dolly died at six years old, when the average life expectancy was 11 to 12 years for that particular breed. Scientists claim that it had nothing to do with the cloning, and accelerated aging had not been the cause of death, but why would they say otherwise? Denounce their biggest breakthrough that they had been working on for what I imagine was a long time? I think not."
"But Artemis, I heard she had a type of lung cancer…? And she was put down. Not died of old age."
"An effect of the cloning I'm sure. When you get to the bottom of it…" Artemis's ice blue eyes cast down to the edge of his bed. Twisting the silk sheets between his fingers, he could feel the softness of the fabric.
"Cloning is not natural. There will be problems, especially when we're not as advanced, when there is still more to learn."
Butler stayed silent for a long time, simply staring at the boy sat in front of him. If you didn't know the latter, you would assume that he was completely fine and calm despite the situation. However, Butler knew he was nervous –the unusual slight fiddling of his hand alerted the body guard to this.
"There must be something we can do. Fairy technology, it is so advanced."
But Artemis was already shaking his head as the bodyguard spoke.
"If there was that sort of technology, I'd have known about it by now." The boy smirked in spite of himself.
"We've got to try Artemis. We can't just sit here and…and watch you die."
"Isn't that what we're all doing?" Artemis smiled sadly and cast his gaze down.
Butler couldn't believe his ears.
"Listen to yourself! You don't even sound like yourself. Come on, call Holly and tell her to bring Foaly. We need a solution now."
Lower Elements
Police Plaza
"What do you mean this is an ancient artefact? It looks like an old rock."
"That's because it is an old rock – but it's also an ancient artefact that could potentially cure our problem!" Foaly answered Holly's question excitedly, gently placing down the dark rock on his desk as if it were worth millions. Which unknowingly, it probably was.
Holly stared at her centaur friend as if he had gone crazy. For the whole journey back to his office, Foaly had almost been bouncing with excitement, and a grin had been plastered on his face. Trouble had been reduced to asking if he was okay a number of times, to which he received enthusiastic nodding. Now the three of them were crowded round the centaur's desk, one looking on in awe and the other two in pure confusion.
"And just what ancient artefact is this Foaly? And what problem do you have?" Trouble commanded, wanting answers now. He was tiring of the centaur's giddy and 'mysterious' nature.
"Ah, well, you see Trouble…" Foaly began.
"Trouble? Oh great, this is going to be disastrous, isn't it?" The commander pinched the bridge of his nose wearily, assuming the worst from the use of his first name.
"It's…it's Artemis. There was…a miscalculation on my behalf. I have been monitoring the mud mans' health on my computers here ever since he came back to life. And well…"
"Artemis is dying." Holly suddenly croaked from the other side of the commander. Trouble turned to face his companion and saw the raw emotion on her face. He'd never seen the strong elf looking so…so lost.
"How do you mean?"
Foaly took over again. "Well, his clone body is growing. Fast. At my calculations, he will barely live to see forty. And that's a short life span even in human terms."
Trouble blinked. He was shocked to find that this news did make some sort of an impact on himself… He was unsure why. Maybe during this last escapade his feelings had thawed somewhat. No, it didn't seem right that this human who sacrificed himself for The People shouldn't now get help from those he saved?
"So this rock holds the answer…?" The commander nodded to the plain looking rock on the desk in front of him, hope slightly colouring his tone.
With the attention turning back to the rock, Foaly's eyes glowed.
"I ran a few tests on the substance make-up, and I found molecules that are not of common occurrence. I believe this may be it!" He babbled again, turning round and dashing back to his computer to read the list that had appeared.
"Do you have any idea what he's talking about?" The commander turned his gaze back to Holly who seemed to have regained her posture.
"Not a clue."
"Centaur, so help me if you don't tell us now what you are talking about…"
"I am afraid this will have to wait Commander. I think it's about time we clued Artemis in on this, don't you?" Foaly grinned.
Fowl Manor
Artemis couldn't help but smile at his guardians' words.
"If I am right, I don't think that should be necessary. And I am nearly always right."
Butler rolled his eyes. Still modest even when facing death I see.
"Hang on, what do you mean it won't be necessary…?"
"This is so undignified!" A voice could be heard complaining from just outside Artemis's window. The youth stood up from his bed and walked over to the only window in his room and swung it open.
"Come on in." He smiled and resumed his seat on the oversized bed.
A moment later, three hazy patches of air drifted into the room, stopping just beside Butler. To anyone not in the know, it would appear as if the heat was simply causing the haze. But to those in the know, those like Butler and Artemis, it was of course their fairy friends. And if the two humans focused enough on the shimmers, they would be able to see little strands of hair in mid-air that could have easily belonged to a man or woman with long hair. But in actual fact, belonged to the rump end of a Centaur and his tail.
"You're not supposed to shout! It ruins the whole idea of being invisible." Holly said, shimmering into view. Trouble also appeared at the side of her much to Artemis's surprise, who then pulled away a large sheet of cam foil, revealing the final and rather grumpy member of the visiting trio.
"Yes well, you try sitting in one of those things instead of having your nice fancy wings and see how you like it." Foaly mumbled and dusted off his jacket. Artemis could have sworn he saw the Centaur's hand linger on the right pocket as if to check something.
"To what do I owe this pleasure of an unexpected visit?" Artemis interrupted Foaly's groaning, knowing how he refused to stop once he started. Holly and Butler exchanged a quick wave, the latter expectant. He knew there had to be a reason for the early visit. Especially with the presence of Commander Kelp.
Foaly decided it was best to jump straight in and get the worst bit over with. "Well Artemis…In fact, how do I even start such a conversation?" He began, then stopped, realising he had no idea how to tell his friend that he was going to live a very short life span.
Not if I can help it. Foaly patted his jacket pocket again, feeling the reassuring jagged lump of the rock hidden away safely.
"Ah I see. So you know then? I had a feeling you might." Artemis nodded expectantly.
"I know this may sound – what? Hold on a second, what are you talking about?" Foaly backtracked as the boy spoke. Holly and Trouble also gasped. But on reflection, Holly guessed she should have known the young genius would find out some way or another.
"That I am dying. It's quite old news now." The teen attempted a nonchalant smirk that did not fool Butler or Holly. The twitching and fiddling of his right hand told the real feelings behind the bravado mask. Artemis was worried, and of course, who wouldn't be? If you didn't know how long you had left to live, but you knew it was a very short time, wondering if this breath would be your last before one of your organs packed in?
Holly shuddered.
I shouldn't be thinking like this. Foaly may have a plan.
The centaur pulled himself together easily, not used to being surprised.
"Of course. I really should have known you'd find out somehow. I bet you were thinking of this possibility all along weren't you?"
Artemis nodded again.
"Yes. I didn't know how advanced fairy cloning was and maybe I'd live a normal life span, but I thought taking a chance was better than not at all."
"Yes. Yes of course. Well, did you perhaps find anything to remedy the problem?" Foaly clip clopped excitedly over to the mud boys' bedside. A slight pucker formed in Artemis's brow line, causing Butler to chuckle lightly despite the situation.
"No. Unfortunately there was nothing of the sort, we haven't invented anything to prevent the effects of aging as of yet."
"Well my little friend, prepare to be amazed once again by the brilliant mind that is me. I believe I have something to help you." And with a self-satisfied beam, the centaur reached into his pocket and gave Artemis the rock.
Annoyingly, Artemis couldn't figure out what it was he was holding. He knew it was a rock, of course. But there had to be something special about it for Foaly to give it to him. Holly was watching her friend carefully, and she realised that the boy was also as confused by the artefact as she and the commander were.
Great. Foaly has finally lost his mind and snapped.
"Any idea Artemis? Or are you as flummoxed as us for a change?" Holly tried light hearted humour and threw herself onto the bed next to Artemis. Trouble's eyes narrowed at the ease of which Holly acted around the mud boy. Was it right that she was so comfortable around a human?
Sighing, the teen gave in.
"Foaly, why have you handed to me what appears to be an ordinary rock?"
"Ah-ha! It appears to be – but it isn't! I've heard legends on this stuff, but I never thought it could be true until now. And to think a lowly Goblin had it -"
"Okay Foaly, I've had enough of this mumbling. Tell us what this rock does now or there will be no explaining my actions." Holly stood on the bed so she was taller than her centaur friend, staring him dead in the eye. Even Butler gulped.
"Well Holly, I believe that this rock is the key to the entrance of the Aqua Vitae or Water of Life. More commonly known in the human world as The Fountain of Youth."
There was stunned silence and mixed emotions in the room at the centaurs' proposal and what it meant. Butler was full of hope, willing to believe anything. He'd been through losing Artemis once, he wasn't sure he could do it a second time. Holly was hopeful too – however she was also sort of wondering if her friend had lost his marbles. Artemis was confounded, something he was not familiar with. He wanted so badly to believe in the centaur, but could something like that really exist? He was unsure. Trouble was watching on the side-lines, full of disbelief.
"Don't all congratulate me at once, please." Foaly muttered dryly, unimpressed with the lack of support from his friends.
"Do you really expect us to believe that a figment of somebodies imagination actually exists? I remember being told a story about that fountain when I was a child!" Trouble answered, speaking for the first time since arriving at Fowl Manor.
"I'm surprised you could remember something from that long ago commander."
"Alright Foaly, thin ice pal -"
"Ahem! I think we should let the centaur finish explaining, and then we decide if it's ludicrous or not." Butler stood up, casting a large shadow over Commander Kelp who was quiet immediately.
"Thank you Butler. You're not bad for a mud man. Ahem, anyway, as I was saying… That rock is one of the three rocks needed to unlock the gate to the Fountain of Youth. I too thought this was something of a myth until I decided to research it upon stumbling across our little… er problem. There had been records of sightings of these rocks and rumours of the where abouts of the gate itself, dating back centuries. I ran tests on the molecular structure of such a rock from one of the documents and downloaded it to my machine that just so happened to pick up the whereabouts of that rock. It has to be genuine. It's a perfect match. "
"Wasn't the Fountain of Youth up top at first?" Holly suddenly chipped in, remembering vaguely a story her mother Coral had once told her. Foaly nodded.
"Yes. The story goes that the Fountain of Youth was indeed on human land, but back when The People lived there too. Created by the most powerful of Warlocks, it was intended for only the most noble and kind hearted people to drink it's waters to live forever, and for them to guide and nurture others to be noble too. However, when other humans learnt of the magical abilities, brutal killings and schemes took place in an attempt to also live forever. Realising that it was causing the opposite of what it was intended to do, the Warlocks banished the Fountain underground to an unknown place, so it was never to be stumbled upon again. Of course, the underground is where The People live now, so it has to be somewhere around us. Question is, where?"
Artemis was still silent, simply gazing down at the rock in his hands. Was it true? Was he holding a unique and vital artefact in his hands this very moment?
"So, in theory, if we did find the Fountain and Artemis drank from it, he'd live forever?" Butler asked the Centaur. He shook his head.
"He wouldn't be completely invincible as most people seem to think. The water prevents aging and returns withering life. It does not protect you from death. If he was stabbed in the heart for example he would still die. He wouldn't be completely immortal. It would just stop the accelerated aging process."
This sounded a little bit better to Artemis. He wouldn't want to have to live forever and… and watch the rest of his family and friends pass away. There was always the option of joining them sooner or later, and oddly, the teen found comfort in this thought.
"What are we waiting for then? I say let's get going." Holly beamed, eager to go already.
"Hold on Captain Short. Do you think you can just go off on another adventure and leave the rest of the force to the normal dreary jobs?" Trouble suddenly sprang to life again.
"Isn't that what I usually do?" She replied with a sly wink.
"Holly, this may not even exist. You do know that don't you? You may be wasting your time. I can't let one of my best officers get hurt for nothing."
Foaly stomped one of his hooves in disgust, about to complain that he wasn't stupid and he knew the fountain existed when Holly cut over him.
"Even so commander. Even if there wasn't a fountain that held the answers, we don't know that for certain right now. And if there is the slightest chance of finding that answer…well, I'm willing to take that chance. No matter how small." Holly told her commander, her voice lowering and her cheeks colouring the slightest bit pink. Butler smiled.
Trouble sighed, remembering how dejected and messed up Holly was when Artemis had been gone and declared dead. Even the centaur hadn't acted normally. It had messed with them both, and to put them through that again…
"Okay Holly. Do what you have to do. But after this there will be no more escapades like this, okay?" He sighed, not believing what he knew was going to be her answer.
"Yessir!"
"And Foaly…"
"Yes commander?"
"Of course you may help them, but when we need a tech wizard, you need to help us back at Police Plaza okay?"
"Yes Commander!" Foaly beamed, already an expert in multi-tasking and helping two teams at once. He'd done it nearly all of the adventures that the group had been on.
Butler noticed his charge hadn't said a word, only sat staring at the key in his hands.
"How do you feel about all of this Artemis?" He asked.
Ice blues eyes looked up finally to see four more pairs staring at him. One mismatched pair was begging for his gaze the most, wanting to plead with him to agree.
"I don't know…what if…what if someone gets hurt trying to help me?" It had been different when it had apparently been his mother who was dying. But for some reason, Artemis didn't feel the same burning need for help when it was himself in danger.
How odd.
Holly groaned beside him.
"Why do you pick now of all times to grow an overbearing conscience? If you don't go you can't stop me from going. And I will, and bring back the water and force it down your throat okay?" Holly's eyes were alight with passion and determination, which made Artemis feel… weird.
She cares so much for me. That's evident. Damn, why is it so hot in here…? The teen wished he could remember more of his feelings for this strange passionate woman. He knew she meant a lot to him and she was a dear friend to him. But for some reason, he felt there could be more? He just didn't know what.
"Plus, I know we'll probably get stuck somewhere, and who else's annoyingly large intellect are we going to consult?" She smiled, vaguely aware of Foaly muttering about his intellect somewhere in the back ground.
Artemis smiled back at those mismatched eyes so full of emotion, and nodded his head.
"I suppose one more adventure wouldn't do us any harm."
"Let's hope those aren't famous last words Artemis." Butler rose from his seat and folded his arms. In every past adventure, somebody had been harmed somehow. These 'adventures' always meant harm.
But if it can save Artemis…
"So where do we start?" Holly asked the centaur, automatically giving him leadership.
"Well, we need to find the location of the other two rocks. Even if we find the fountain now, we couldn't get in without all of the rocks." Foaly replied confidently.
"So where are the other two?"
"Ah…well there's a slight problem…"
"You don't know where they are?" Trouble heaved a heavy sigh, coming away from the wall he had been leaning on.
"Yeah well, I only started researching this stuff yesterday!"
"Do you think with a bit more research you could find out the location soon?" Holly's elven features were full of hope, eager to get started right away. This did not escape Artemis's notice, and again, he wished he could remember the depth of the feelings he had felt for Holly.
It must have been very confusing otherwise a feeling this strong would be remembered surely. I remembered the depth of love I hold for my family after all.
Foaly's eyes suddenly lit up at Holly's words, as if something had abruptly dawned on him.
"I could try it, but in the meantime I have an idea of where you guys could start…"
Lower Elements
Foaly's idea had needed Artemis and Butler to come along with the fairy folk back to Lower Elements. Which was a tight squeeze, as the shuttle that the three had brought originally was a bit cosy for them in the first place, without a great hulking human added to the mix.
"You trust me completely?" Artemis suddenly piped up, sat next to Holly in the back. Butler had folded himself as small as possible and was stood in the middle of the passenger bay as the dome shape of the roof allowed more room for his height. It was smaller to Artemis too from what he recalled.
Well, I have grown older…
"What do you mean?" The elf asked her friend. She was annoyed she wasn't driving – Trouble had commandeered the steering while Foaly had complained about only being able to sit in the front. With a little reluctance, Holly sat in the back.
"No blindfold."
"There would be no point; you could probably navigate yourself to Lower Elements now if you wished." Holly smiled. "And you've not needed one for a while now…"
I trust you impeccably.
How funny. The first time she met this young individual she wouldn't have trusted him as far as she could have thrown him.
"No. You're right I haven't. We are good friends you and I, aren't we?" Ice blue eyes searched the mismatched ones looking back at him, trying to gauge what he could from her.
I have to clear this feeling mess up as soon as possible.
Holly smiled.
"The best of the best."
"I hope you aren't forgetting me out of the equation." Butler mumbled into his coat.
"How could I? Forget the only human to have fought a troll and won? Never."
"We also won against trolls Holly." Artemis reminded his friend, easily remembering their horrible fate which Opal had thrust upon them with evil glee. Holly shuddered at the memory.
"At least she won't be around to interfere this time." Holly said, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders at the realisation.
"Yes. Maybe our mission will actually be uneventful and successful without her ploys stopping us and slowing us down."
"Uneventful? You?" Butler managed to raise his eyebrow and stare at his young charge. He loved the boy dearly, but uneventful was definitely not a word he'd have used to describe him.
"Okay. Maybe uneventful was the wrong word." Artemis allowed with a dark chuckle.
"I'd say it definitely was."
Foaly suddenly appeared by Butler's side, sticking his head past his friends large body frame. "Okay ladies and gentlemen, we are here. It's time to get busy."
A/N: There we go! If you want the next chapter up, please REVIEW so I know that people are wanting it! I only got a couple of reviews last time which made me sad. So IF YOU WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW OF ANY LENGTH JUST TO LET ME KNOW I AM WRITING FOR SOMEONE. Thank you! Anyway, so the search for the fountain is ON. And our team don't know that Opal is sort of still around... Plus who is Opal's mystery partner? I'd love to know what you think! Have a great rest of your day :D