There you go. A nice, long chapter for you all. Enjoy!
Artemis felt terrible.
It was like someone had been hitting him over and over again in the back of the head with a sledgehammer.
Through the thick mist of pain that surrounded him, Artemis caught the sound of a voice calling to him. With a groan, he forced his eyes open...And screamed.
Someone was leaning over him. And that someone was himself. Quite literally himself. Artemis continued to scream as he stared into his own eyes and at the same time, scooting backwards trying to get away.
"Artemis! Listen to me! It's not what you think it is! It's me, Ajay."
The one small part of Artemis' mind that wasn't panicking immediately made the connection. The last thing he remembered before he passed out was Ajay using his magic to escape from his brain and enter the real world. He also remembered Ajay saying something about cloning...
"Oh. Your magic cloned my brain didn't it." Artemis didn't even remember thinking the words, they just slipped out. But he knew straight away they must be true.
"Uh huh. And, as it turns out, it cloned your body too."
Artemis slumped back onto his bed.
"How long have I been out?"
"Uh...Well, it happened on Friday afternoon and now it's Saturday morning so..."
"What?" Artemis sat bolt upright. "But...my parents...didn't they notice?"
Ajay described the previous night's events. When he finished Artemis stared at him then said:
"I forgot about that party."
"You forgot about the party? That's all you can say? I had to spend a whole night with people I've never met and pretend to be their son. And all you can say is I forgot about that party."
"You can't blame me for what happened last night!" Artemis said indignantly. "How was I supposed to know that you'd..."
Artemis froze as the sound of footsteps on the landing outside came through the door.
"Get in the closet." Artemis hissed and Ajay threw himself in just as the door opened.
"Artemis, are you talking to yourself? Again?" Beckett asked, standing in the doorway.
"Yes, I do that quite often when I'm studying. It helps keep my mind clear and open to ideas." Artemis replied. "Now can you get out of my room?"
Beckett glared at Artemis then retreated through the door saying as he did so:
"You don't look like you're studying."
"That was close." Artemis said, addressing the closet. "We'll have to be a lot more careful in future"
Ajay stepped out of the closet. "How will we keep this secret? We can't even sleep without at least one of us on watch. Someone could come in."
"I know. But don't worry. I have a few ideas..."
Angeline looked up as her son stepped off the bottom stair and onto the carpet. She had been worrying about him ever since the party last night.
Artemis had vanished the moment they arrived and Butler spent the whole time searching for him. Then, when it was time to go, Artemis reappeared and got in the car without saying a word. Both Butler and Artemis Senior gave him long talking to's for his behaviour but Artemis had neither responded nor cared about what Butler and his father had said. He didn't even try to defend himself when Artemis Senior had said he was too irresponsible to be allowed stray out of Butler's sight.
Angeline had seen Bulter eyeing Artemis anxiously and had realised that he too, had noticed something strange about Artemis.
Angeline had asked Artemis if something was wrong when they had arrived back at Fowl Manor but Artemis had muttered something about everything being "fine" and disappeared into his room. No one had seen him until now.
"Artemis, honey, how do you feel?" She called to him from across the room.
"Fine. Much better than yesterday."
Angeline sighed, relieved. Artemis sounded much better than he did last night. Whatever must have been bothering him must have gone away.
"I think I must have had a virus or something. I felt really sick last night. But I feel much better today."
"Good to hear it, darling. Want breakfast?"
"No, I'll get something later."
Artemis headed for the door. He always kept a stash of equipment hidden somewhere in the grounds in case of an emergency. And this was an emergency.
Ajay glanced up from his book as Artemis emptied an armload of equipment onto the bed. He had been trying to read as much books as possible so he could get used to the English language.
"What's that for?"
"It's to keep the others from noticing you."
"Ahhh." Ajay said, dropping the book on to the bedside table. "May I ask how that's going to work?"
"You wouldn't understand." Artemis said without looking up, his attention already focussed on the devices in front of him.
"Try me." Ajay said slipping off the bed. "I could help."
"No, you'd only mess things up. Now, go and stand by the door and warn me if anyone's coming. I'll jump into the closet and you can pretend to be me."
Ajay sighed. "Whatever you say, boss."
"Don't call me that."
"Ok, boss."
"Ah ha. Very funny. Just go stand by the door."
Ajay walked over to the door, pushing it open a crack so he could see the corridor outside. Already he could hear the metallic clicks and clacks as Artemis tinkered with the electronics. Again, he sighed. It was going to be a long day.
That long enough for you? I hope so. I know it's not as long as some of my other chapters, but, like I said before, I don't have much time. I might not be updating for a while so I tried my best to make this long for you.
-Spinnika