CHAPTER 5

NORMALITY

The Boulevard of Kings, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now

Holly's heart jumped at the sight of Artemis. The last time she had seen him, he was still gripped by Atlantis - counting his words, plagued by OCD, and not trusting anyone. It had broken her heart to see him that way, taken hostage by his own mind.

The Artemis in front of her now was the Artemis of old, with head held high and suit smoothed out. His hair - though longer than he usually kept it - had been neatly combed, parted on one side, and he had the self-confident air so associated with him. He looked completely cured, though according to Wiccapedia most people only shook off the effects of Atlantis after years of therapy. Then again, Artemis Fowl was not most people.

Holly waved at the humans. "Arty! Butler! Over here!"

She ran up to them, grinning wide. She hugged Butler around his middle, arms barely reaching his sides. She then turned to Artemis and, squelching the butterflies in her stomach, pulled him into an embrace too. She noticed him go slightly red before returning the hug, but he did so tightly.

Pulling away, she said, "It's good to see you back on your feet! You free from the fours yet?"

Artemis grimaced slightly. "I am, and I have been since week eighteen. I do not understand why Dr. Argon deems it necessary to keep me cooped up in his clinic."

Holly nodded sympathetically. "I don't think it's all just to boost his reputation. Most people take years to shake off Atlantis - he's probably unsure whether you're actually cured."

He drew himself to his full height at that. He grew in the last five months, thought Holly idly. "But I, Artemis Fowl, am not most people."

Holly smiled wryly. "I know." Then, turning slightly to Butler to make him feel included, said, "Come on. You have got to see this place." She turned and started walking briskly down the street, towards Frond's Vegetarium. She was, in all appearances, upbeat and light. However, it was an act; she felt a pre-mission anxiety, and knew where it stemmed from. She needed to let Butler know to abort the original plan - otherwise things would get very awkward, very quickly.

Frond's Vegetarium, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now

Frond's Vegetarium was founded nearly three thousand years ago by one of King Frond's descendants. It was a place to enjoy the best vegetarian dishes in the Lower Elements, and used the freshest vegetables from the surface and underground magma-heated groves, though in recent years had started including fish in its dishes. As such, it was a very expensive place to eat, but Artemis - despite Holly's protests - had volunteered to cover for all three of them.

Holly spoke to the gnome at the entrance. "Table for three, please."

The gnome had to crane his head back to see the top of Butler's head. "I assume that'll be outside, ma'am?"

Holly grinned rather ruefully and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I guess."

The gnome, still in awe of Butler's massive bulk, led the group around the corner. "Right this way, please." He led them to an enormous table meant for large groups of fairies (but would be just enough to accommodate Butler and Artemis), ordering a group of elves to bring out a cushion large enough for Butler to sit on. After seeing everyone settled, he left to give them a chance to decide what to order.

Artemis shook his head in amusement when the elves came back with a giant purple cushion that would not look out of place at the Taj Mahal, and let out a low chuckle at the sight of Butler attempting to make himself comfortable on it. He graciously accepted a menu from one of the servers, flipping through the pages of very exotic-sounding vegetarian dishes.

While his eyes were down and he was distracted by the menu in front of him, though, Holly suddenly grew serious and locked eyes with Butler. She kept speaking, aimlessly talking about LEP news and Foaly's new improvements to the police mainframe, but she slowly and clearly started blinking in a clear pattern. Butler grew increasingly uneasy as he recognized it as Morse code.

Blink. Close...Close. Blink. Blink. Blink...Close. Close. Close…

A...B...O...

Butler's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched her, then suddenly widened.

Damn it! he thought, mentally kicking himself. Abort! She wants to abort the plan! The one time I slip in my professionalism, the situation actually does change!

He nodded slightly, and Holly felt a tremendous relief.

"I think I'll have the Elvish Classic."

They both jumped slightly, having forgot about Artemis.

Holly recovered first. "Eh, sure. Yeah. Elvish Classic. Pretty good, but - y'know - being an elf, I've had it plenty of times. Frond's makes the best one, but in the end it tastes basically the same everywhere."

Artemis noticed the hesitation, but, uncertain emotions turning in the pit of his stomach, decided to let it pass. "Of course."

Butler also recovered - though slightly disappointed nothing was going to happen between two of his closest friends - and skimmed through the local dishes. Trained as a Cordon Bleu chef as part of his regiment under Madame Ko and therefore familiar with many human salads, he decided to see if he could pick up some ideas or pointers from the fairy courses. One such course caught his eye - the Oki Insalata Spectaculaire. It was advertised as a blend of Japanese, Italian, and French - Fitting, he thought - and was seasoned with the restaurant's own dressing.

He turned to the nearest server and said, "I'll take the Oki Insalata Spectaculaire," each word in the dish's name spoken with a flawless accent. He paused, and added, "Quadruple serving." This earned a chuckle from Artemis, knowing how his bodyguard's bulk and lifestyle resulted in a fast metabolism.

Holly, for her part, had trouble deciding. She had been to Frond's Vegetarium three times before with Lili Frond (as a direct descendant of King Frond himself, Lili and her guests were allowed to eat free of charge), and each time had something so delicious it was almost heartbreaking. In the end, unable to make up her mind, she told the server to surprise her.

While they waited for their meal, Holly spoke animatedly about the LEP. Trouble Kelp, having replaced Ark Sool as commander during the adventure in Limbo, was following Root's lead of including more females in Recon and Retrieval. Of course, as Root was with Holly, Trouble was very hard on them. Holly's eyes misted over slightly as she remembered Root's undying support for her and her work, telling her she had to be the best she could be - and better - in order to prove females had a place in the male-dominated Recon. A moment of silence passed after she finished, as remembrance for a great commanding officer, a great leader, and a great friend.

At this point, their meals arrived. Holly tried and failed to stifle a laugh at Butler's massive plate, especially when brought in comparison to Artemis's and her own. It was a very comic sight, and even Butler took time to be amused.

Artemis took this time to complain about Jerbal Argon and what he determined to be archaic or otherwise useless methods of psychological treatment. He described how he spent his free time (of which he had a lot) discovering new hobbies, including pencil drawing and playing the flute - both of which he had already mastered. He described his designs for an exoskeleton and a new type of interstellar spacecraft (to this, Butler and Holly simply nodded politely and said "I see" where it seemed appropriate).

Butler, on the other hand, used this time to listen. In truth, he did not have much news; he had spent the past few months in Haven, watching over his charge for Angeline. His free time was generally spent cleaning his gun or pumping iron, and besides that he was trained to observe quietly.

And observe he did. Despite Holly's and Artemis's seemingly open attitudes, he sensed an underlying tension that neither person noticed and/or wanted to address. They spoke animatedly and precisely respectively, but neither could hold the other's gaze for more than a few seconds. He knew what it was caused by - anyone other than these two could - but he decided to follow his instincts and leave it be. Something told him it would be resolved in due time, and as a professional soldier he had learned over the years to trust his instincts.

Right now, though, his instincts told him something was amiss. Holly was becoming increasingly agitated, looking at her watch with increasing frequency. Evidently Artemis hadn't noticed it, as he was engrossed in a very detailed and technical description of a type of meditation he had designed himself. Butler wasn't focusing on that right now, but he did manage to hear something about "personalities" and "perfect pitch".

As everyone finished their meals and the servers whisked away their empty plates, Artemis asked the gnome that had shown them to their table about payment. Somehow, he had forgotten that the People dealt primarily in actual gold ingots instead of credit or a similar system, and asking Holly to cover would have been incredibly awkward and embarrassing. Thankfully, though, due to the need of human currency for practical purposes, the restaurant was willing to accept Irish pounds - at an increased rate, of course, but that was a price Artemis was willing to pay.

As Artemis completed the transaction, though, and stood up to leave, Holly felt a wave of panic.

Where is he? I need him to come or this tension between us will remain-

Then something exploded.