Author's Note; Oh, how I love tormenting my readers. Oh well. That's because I love you guys. Let's get onto chapter five, then, because this is where the adventure REALLY begins. Who's excited? I know I am!

Don't skip paragraphs (Sorry, Sasa, I'm quite the hypocrite ;)) :The setting is extremely important, plus this story is intentionally reader-interactive. I'll tell you soon enough why you should be paying extra attention; not right now, though; that would serve as a BIIG spoiler. Read the new summary, you might have a hint...

Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl. If you're in this fandom and don't know who does, then. Well. I'm baffled. Anyhow, on with it!

—•:;*"—

CHAPTER FIVE: AWAKEN

.

Root had come to his senses with a parched tongue and eyes that hadn't seen sunlight for years, save for the artificial glo-strips of Haven City, so the blinding light and the sudden heatwave that settled on his entire being the moment he regained conciousness was, to say the least, unbearable.

He had staggered at first to get up, almost as if the heat was physically pushing him down, before he'd finally managed and got a proper look at the new land he was in. His first thought was desert. His second thought was I'm going to kill that pixie.

He could be certain of the time that had passed since his arrival because the tormenting heat of the vast sandy plain was giving way to something a little tolerable as dusk started to descended upon the strange new world. Of course he had no idea where he actually was; Root's best bet was the surface, in the Sahara or something, before he'd noticed that none of his equipment was functioning properly. If we was actually just on the surface, Foaly would've overridden Opal's hacking and contacted him by now– his communicator wasn't broken and worked perfectly fine, except that it didn't pick up a sufficient signal strength. Root snorted to himself. Stone Age technology.

He had come across nothing. It felt like days now, though he knew it had only been hours, and his nerves were on edge. There was nothing ahead or behind him but an endless expanse of bright yellow desert and his own stumbling footprints. His tongue begged for water and his head screeched for shade, but he could provide neither, so he simply let his temper grow and trudged on, knowing that Opal would have at least had the courtesy to let him be in acceptable form before his eventual painful death.

Root kept himself going with thoughts of Opal's threats, and a fleeting sense of hope that Holly was alright. She couldn't be dead yet, whatever that maniacal pixie had planned. Not yet. Not so soon.

It must have been another hour later that he finally gave up, succumbing to the torturous dehydration that seemed to grasp at his very soul.

And he was glad he did, because for whatever reason, he next woke up inside a tent.

Root lifted himself up on his elbows and scrutinized his surroundings. It was the desert sand that made the ground of the small tent, but he had been given a thick blanket to rest on. The cramped space was, however, packed with various odds and ends; there was a cupboard that overflowed with stacks of paper, its drawers open and bearing a variety of different talismans. Root blinked. Among them were coins on strings that hung over the edges of the drawers, and what looked like real hair had been woven into miniature dreamcatchers that hung on the knobs. Boxes were piled atop each other around the tent walls, full, also sporting the weirdest combination of things Root had seen as of lately. He sat up straight and gave himself a good view of the contents. Drums made of animal skin. Flutes carved out of bones. Dusty crystal spheres. He was starting to lose hope over his apparent rescuers; they had issues. Seriously.

He noticed droplets of dried blood soaked into the sand and that drew his attention to his left wrist. He didn't know how it had happened, but it been cut and hadn't sealed up. He focused a few sparks of magic into it.

No sparks came.

And just as he was about to break into a string of colourful gnommish curses, a wicked voice greeted him from behind.

"And so wakes the weary traveler," snickered the Mud Man. "Let me tell you one thing about your world, dear fairy. It's beyond saving now."

••

Cold. All he felt was cold, and water, and the suffocating sensation that came with them both before his eyes shot open to an unfamiliar world and he sat upright gasping for breath.

Mulch rubbed his eyes tiredly. Where was he? He could see the edge of a roof and a ghostly grey wall, and it was wet earth that he say on. His toes wiggled a little worriedly. There was something wrong with this setting. He didn't know what, but there defenitely was.

The second sensation that returned to him was smell. He smelt something damp, something a non-dwarf would call gross, but something he chose to put as natural. A sewer. And if there was a sewer around...

How had he got here? Hadn't he drowned? Hadn't he tried to save a yacht full of mesmerized fairies?

Mulch groggily stood up. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was alive, right? And this was all the Mud Boy's fault.

He found himself in some sort of alleyway between two apartment buildings, but it was somehow oddly disconcerting. Mulch was a dwarf. He was used to dirty, dark places. This wasn't a normal dirty, dark place. There were no rabid cats around. No diseased rats. Getting another good glimpse of the weird world around him, Mulch chose simply to fall back onto the ground, the wet, soggy, alien ground, and fall back into the realm of the unconcious.

.

Holly woke up to the feeling of a cold hand against her face, but her body was tired, so her eyes merely fluttered awake instead of reacting the way they normally would have. But she saw who the hand belonged to, and her muscles visibly relaxed again.

"Major?"

"I'm here, Artemis," murmured the elf, reaching up to his wrist. Frond, that hand was cold. But she held on before he had the chance to withdraw. "What happened?"

"I'm fairly uncertain myself, but I do recollect a little."

"Sit," instructed Holly, her head feeling a tad woozy. A little hesitantly, Artemis sat on the bunk, beside her, and she did not let his cold hand leave her face. Something told her she needed that bit of contact with the living world to stay awake.

"It was some sort of portal that appeared the moment Mulch stopped the generator," he explained. "He was the first to get caught into it, being the closest, but it seemed that you and I were supposed to enter by default. And as such I can conclude that Mulch is somewhere around this building, and that this is the next phase of Opal's plan."

"Mulch is alive," sighed Holly, relieved. "Opal...oh, Frond, what I wouldn't give to kill that pixie." She looked at him, frowning a little. "And...those fairies? What happened to those fairies?"

Artemis avoided her gaze. "Mulch stopped the generator, but by then it was too late."

The elf snapped wide awake, moving his hand away. "What? Are you telling me that...that all those people..."

"We couldn't save them."

Holly felt anger in her veins. Entertainment, that's what it was. Easily a hundred innocent lives, all serving as entertainment in Opal's grand scheme. Her blood boiled at the thought. Wherever this was going, whatever the pixie had in store for them, they would survive it, and they would defeat her if it meant she had to put a bullet through Koboi's head. She didn't care how cold the notion was, it was incredibly tempting.

Holly was saved the effort of putting these thoughts into words when the door at the end of the long room creaked open from the other side.

"Is your comrade awake, Mr Fowl?" asked a female voice. Holly tried turning to look, but she found her neck too stiff.

"She's awake," replied Artemis almost casually. "I must thank you for your hospitality."

The voice giggled, and drew nearer as the woman approached. Holly was still trying to get a look without fracturing her collarbones.

"It's a pleasure," she said courteously. "I can see what you're trying to do, by the way. Your charm won't work on me, though you're welcome to try." She came into Holly's view. "Welcome, Major Short. I trust you are recovering well?"

The woman was human, perhaps in her late thirties, and very pretty at that, but her most notable feature was her odd ensemble, in some sort of traditional ball gown complete with puffy sleeves and hair accessories. Her hair was a light blonde and her eyes were dark brown, and she was wearing a pleasant smile. It was difficult to say if said smile was authentic, because there seemed to be some kind of negative emotion in her face as well. Something like a harboured sadness, or fear.

Holly nodded mutely, too questioning to speak. Fowl had yet to explain to her all that was going on.

As if reading her expression, the woman nodded in understanding. "Alright, I'll give you a few minutes to familiarize yourself. Meanwhile, I sent scouts out to search for your dwarf friend."

Holly found voice to speak. "Artemis?"

"She's here to help," assured Artemis, tapping her reassuringly on the shoulder.

"Honour's all mine," smiled the woman, before she left the room without another word. Holly stared after her.

"How can you be sure of that?" she asked finally.

Artemis shrugged. "I can't. But she did provide us the facilities to recover and, judging by the facts I've learned from the guard, she might need our help. And may be able to help us in return."

Holly blinked, still processing this information. "Guard?" she repeated.

Artemis gestured toward the far wall opposite the door, where a man in a leather kit stood completely still and quiet. Holly nearly jumped. How had she not noticed him before?

"So...she's actually going to find Mulch for us?"

"She almost certainly will, seeing as her men are the ones who found us."

Holly nodded slowly. "Alright. I guess we're sort of safe for now. Compared to what we went through on that boat..." She shuddered at the memory. "Koboi will pay."

"How's your neck?" asked Artemis, changing the subject.

"How do you know?"

"Our host had a doctor inspect your injuries," he opened a hand. "May I?"

Holly gave him a puzzled look. "May you what?"

Artemis rolled his eyes. "What do you usually do about it when you have a stiff neck?"

"Massage it, I guess?"

"Ah. So your grey matter wasn't all flushed out."

Holly ignored the insult, and turned her back to him. She was still in the one-piece with her shorts, and Artemis still wore that shirt.

She felt her muscles tense, then relax and sink back as he kneaded his fingers into the area around her shoulders. It felt good, and it was defenitely soothing. She would've even thanked him if it wasn't for the fact that he was...well, him. Perhaps his memories had changed him into a better person, but this was still Artemis Fowl, and he was still a world-class jerk.

As he worked his pianist fingers, Artemis gave her more essential details.

"Despite my best efforts, our host refused to reveal her name on the assumption that we may not be the lost travelers she thinks we are. I did get treated to a lovely meal, though."

Holly snorted. "Hey, before we go into details, how are you not afflicted with some injury?"

"Slight damage to my ribcage, but it's fine."

"Any damage to your ribs is bound to hurt, Mud Man."

"I had time to recover," said Artemis, and went on.

"We are in some kind of parallel world to our own, and this is the surface. The people hosting us are a group that has left their city in protest to the activities of the ruling class; a city by the name of Logos, that is never permanently in one place. It may remind you of certain literary classics."

"It doesn't," said Holly.

"I expected too much from you in that case. Very well. These people know who Opal Koboi is; a distinguished member of aforementioned ruling class. Our host was indeed quite intrigued when I mentioned that she sent us here as part of her grand scheme for vengeance. And that was all she told me, promising to come up with a few proposals to help us out in return for our services. Now that you're awake, it'll be any time now."

The elf sighed softly as his fingers loosened yet another set of tight muscles. "Thanks, Artemis," she said, before she could prevent herself.

Artemis grinned at the mistake, but did not comment. "We also need to find out how all of this relates to our world. Koboi's intentions can't just be to torture us while we're here. Surely she has plans for domination of Haven City."

"You remember her too well," noted Holly.

"Do I now? Well, like they say, great minds think alike."

"Are you implying that you–oh Frond, that feels good."

"Here?" He pressed the skin between her shoulder blades.

"Exactly there. Since when did you become so caring, anyway?"

Artemis paused a moment to raise an eyebrow at her, momentarily taken aback by the question. "Pardon?"

Holly thought back on what she said, wondering if she ought to correct herself, but decided she had worded it the best way. "You're obviously going soft, Mud Boy."

"I'm not a child."

"Mud Man," the elf amended. Noting that her neck no longer felt stiff, she looked at him over a shoulder. "Back then, after Russia, you weren't the same boy I loathed for the kidnapping. You came a long way in a short bit of time. But I didn't think you would accept your old self that easily after six years."

Artemis shrugged. "It's not all my old self. Six years can change a person."

Holly frowned. "So...you've given up on crime?"

There was also the fact that there was definitely something fishy about his injury. Maybe she was being overly suspicious, but her elfin intuition had never been wrong.

Artemis raised an eyebrow, as if this was a ridiculous question.

Holly amended herself. "And your full schedule allows room for it?"

"There's always room for crime," said Artemis, seemingly offended at the prospect. He grinned, though directing his attention toward the knock on the door.

"Ah. It seems they have retrieved our pungent friend."

•••

Haven City.

Foaly's drive home was a miserable one, and the reasons were many.

First and foremost was his friend and commanding officer Julius Root's disappearance, followed by the immediate discovery of Opal Koboi's return and the soon enough involvement of the Council's usual conspiracy theories, Internal Affairs, the press, and the LEP as a whole. It was no small matter that the demonic pixie genius was back and had somehow deemed Commander Root missing in action. There was also the fact to Foaly that Holly still hadn't made contact; it hadn't bothered most, though, because she was supposedly away on a mission. The gnomes on the Council had already been losing their minds. Foaly had had the sense not to bring Artemis Fowl into the equation.

All they had for investigation was a recording from Root's communicator just before he disappeared; complete with villainous cackling and a single statement: Good luck, Julius.

The worst part was that Koboi could have already put her plan into execution. That they were unprepared but for one tidbit of information that they knew who would be behind things; it wasn't very pleasant, on the other hand, knowing that any moment now the goblin triads would start running rampant on the streets, or more bull trolls would turn up out of nowhere, or things would just start exploding. It wasn't pleasant at all. Given the above reasons, Foaly's drive home was indeed very, very miserable.

He turned onto the broad main road that lead directly to the suburbs and he felt a little bit of relief. At least he could get home and have a nice warm glass of sim coffee. Ah, he could smell it already, akin to real coffee beans, the steam wafting over to him from all the way across the room where Caballine, his loving wife, was already waiting to greet him–

Then the ground shook and rumbled, and before Foaly had the time to curse or even wonder, something slammed into his van and sent it skidding onto the pavement, tumbling on its side and causing the centaur inside to fall onto the hard glass of the window against the ground.

"What the..." started Foaly, the winced at the pain in his ribs as he tried to scramble over to the passenger seat and access the available door. He had no idea what had just hit him, but he was going to sue it for damages. There were too many pieces of priceless tech in this van.

Then he heard a noise he'd never heard before, and froze, his hand an inch from the doorknob.

The noise came again. It was a slow, low-noted murmur, but it was loud and nearby. It sounded...it sounded pitiful, like some creature had been tossed into the depths of Hades and was now calling out in fear, in anxious whispers, in tormented mourning for its own soul. But it ringed in his ears and it echoed, and it was everywhere.

A shiver ran up his spine and his nerves sat on edge. Whatever anomaly was producing those notes, it had been the same thing to ram into his vehicle. Something sent by Opal, no doubt, but the real question was...what? And why did it sound a hundred tormented souls in that voice? Perhaps it was a form of Mesmer intended to crush a person's willpower, because with each echo, Foaly felt his confidence crumble and a feeling of foreboding dread was starting to settle on his temples.

He lay back down on the door against the ground, feeling defeated. He wasn't going to be saved now anyway. Might as well let the haunting noises consume him, drag him into a slow, painful slumber rather than die with a struggle. Right?

He didn't get very far on this plan, though. Something in the rear seat detonated.

And just as Foaly snapped back to his senses and hurriedly scrambled for the door again, the back of the van exploded and he was sent hurtling to the outside world, where he landed miraculously without hitting his head on the wet pavement. Sim rain from last night. Foaly groggily sat up on his hind legs despite the fact that there were definitely more broken bones in his body this time.

The van was on fire, but it was a good distance away. The sheer force of the explosion had sent him, and most of its contents shooting outside a wide radius, which was quite fortunate. That had been an inactivated explosive device of his own design. Luckily, it was more the kind used at big parties as something of a firework substitute rather than an actual Lower Elements weapon, so Foaly found himself immensely thankful. But it had also served in allowing him to regain his senses; the noise didn't ring in his ears any longer, and he no longer felt bound to it.

Realizing that he had no time to waste, Foaly hurried to his feet and started walking. He had to reach home. Warn Caballine that Opal was sending some sort of evil spirit after him so that–

He soon came to the unfortunate realization that his wasn't the only vehicle that had hurtled into a pavement.

A dozen or so fairies were gathered up against one of the buildings, having had left their wrecked transport behind, and, as he walked to the scene with wide-eyed worry, he noticed that many of them had their hands clamped over their ears and that they were struggling to stay on their feet. Others had already passed out.

The noise, he realized. That Mesmer.

Foaly also realized that he really should've just run home.

—

"Take a seat," said the gracious host, smiling as was her role. "We have matters to discuss, and it would help my case if you were comfortable. Would you like anything to eat?"

Artemis declined politely, but Holly really didn't feel inclined to ignore her growling stomach. Neither did Mulch, although unlike Holly, he'd picked up a rodent or two from around the building.

"Very well," continued the woman, satisfied when her guests had settled down. "I trust Artemis has briefed you both on our background?"

Mulch nodded with a larger than was believable chunk of roast chicken in his mouth.

"Alright. Then I'll get directly to the point."

"A couple of years ago, the current ruling class of Logos came into power and had such strong representation and support that our democratic government had to quit. They had methods, fairy magic...their leader, I believe, was Opal Koboi."

Holly scowled at the mere mention of the name.

"They took things a little too far when it came to supporting the government," continued their host. "There were severe punishments for those who didn't. Opal's ruling started taxes, protests, a ridiculous number of national treason charges and a lot of innocent deaths because people dared to defy it."

"And this is why you left?" asked Artemis, the only one who hadn't starved for hours and currently wasn't more focused on the food.

"Not in the slightest," replied the woman. "We wouldn't forgo our home for things we could avoid. We could avoid the charges and the punishment of we didn't do anything stupid. But just as things started to settle down, Opal unveiled a new threat."

"This was a test subject unleashed upon her rivals in preparation for something greater. She made contact with a class of creatures that aren't supposed to exist. The mythological beings of Pathos, a world that was until recently just literary fantasy to us. But their characters weren't exaggerated. They could wreak havoc and crush an ordinary person's spirit without moving so much a fist. I was head of the main protest group. My people were targeted and started falling victim one by one."

"These creatures weren't intended to kill; rather they enslaved you in a world of limitless torment, or something like that. It's a theory. All we know for sure is that victims end up paralyzed, brain-dead or in a coma, and we have tried everything to get them back."

"That's why our group left Logos. And many groups followed afterwards, not wanting to share the same city those creatures were kept in. We're here now, but won't be for long. We know that we're being searched for, but this is possibly the most secure reserve at the moment. We don't venture too far out, though. We're trying to save the few of us who're left."

"I'm not asking you a favour only we will benefit from, Mr Fowl," she turned to face Artemis, meeting his piercing gaze with hers. The lines of stress around the woman's eyes made her look ten years older than she really was. "Because, as you have revealed to me, Opal Koboi originally came from your world. We are the people she's testing the creatures on. Once they've reached their potential and she has them properly under her control, she will almost certainly unleash them on your world. If you don't stop her here and now, we both lose. Opal wins."

Artemis took a moment to process this information. "And how do you know we're capable of stopping Opal?"

The woman smiled warmly. "Because sources inform me that you have done so in the past. But don't worry, you won't be on your own. You will have my people."

Holly finally decided to join in on the conversation, although she had finished her meal a long time ago.

"These Pathos creatures. What're they like?"

—

The ground shuddered again, and the ringing stopped in everyone's ears. Everyone who was still conscious followed the tremors with their eyes, frozen stiff, afraid to move. Foaly found himself standing at the very front of the group.

A figure emerged from the gurgling black smoke that rose from his destroyed van, and it was a distance away– but the most obvious thing about Opal's monster was that it was slow. It was a tall figure, several heads taller than the average human adult, and it was lean and hunched. But there was something oddly twisted about its sluggishly moving figure. Then Foaly noticed the disproportionate huge hands that hung limply at its sides and the way its head bobbed loosely in a drunkard fashion, as if it might roll off and hit the ground any moment. It was taking ages to move. They could all just get away now.

—

Artemis leaned forward with interest. "So, different humanoid body types, sluggish movement, some sort of long-distance mesmerizing ability."

"It's more like losing your sense of rationality. You forget that you should be running. You decide you'd rather just die," the woman gazed over one of the many portraits on the walls. "And not all of them are slow, Artemis. That's only a particular breed, the most common one. But they're the worst."

Mulch reached over for another glass of the drink. "Why? What does it do?"

—

Just as the thought occurred, most of the panicked fairies did take off in the other direction but they didn't make it very far. Something stopped them, and without explanation, they crumpled to the wet road, unmoving.

Foaly felt his breath come in ragged strokes. If the thing could manipulate them from such a distance, he wasn't eager to find out what it could do up close. The thing started approaching them. Nobody moved. Foaly envied the unconcious fairies.

The creature tilted its bobbing head at the slightest angle, and stared at them with lifeless eyes. No lenses. Blank pupils. Foaly could make out its features now, make out the rubbery white skin that looked like it was prone to staining. Its limbs were a collection of firm knots although matchstick thin. Curved, short claws extended from the fingers of its drooping large hands. And its mouth was a thin line, its head bald and shriveled.

He couldn't move. He didn't want that same fate.

Then the thing looked directly at him, and he could tell because of its shift in posture.

—

"Its worse than fatal. If you aren't immune or spared at the last moment, eternal suffering is the best bet. We've only one person who's woken up from it. Most of our doctors pass off his explanations as the ramblings of a traumatized child but..."

"But?"

"But according to him it's a nightmare in there. You're in a coma or brain-dead to the rest of the world but you have it much worse in the place you're sent to. Our literary classics fantasize this place as a place of suffering for lost souls whose bodies are yet to face death. We call it Ethos."

—

Foaly didn't know what happened next. It clapped its hands or something, sent a shockwave that rippled the buildings on the street, but he didn't know what happened to him or the any of the others. He only remembered hitting the ground, and he only remembered how his nightmares started.

•••

.

"Are you done yet?" called Artemis, who was still seated behind the bamboo screen with Mulch. "I cannot stand the smell of Mulch's sunscreen any longer."

The first bit of Holly's reply was muffled, but the rest came out clearly, "...go outside."

"Not in this state. It's bad enough one outsider has already seen me in this horrendous beachwear."

He heard her sigh exasperatedly. "Patience, Mud Man. I can smell him too. But there's no need to suffer with a D'Arvitting dress for the rest of the evening, is there?"

Mulch snickered loudly so she'd hear it. "Gowns like the one our gracious host was wearing?"

The elf growled, but didn't reply.

Holly delved further inside the wardrobe, shuffling through tons of ridiculously heavy silk. If these were her options, she'd much rather stick to her one piece. Everything in the wardrobe was either a dress, a corset or a shoe with a heel. How did the women of this place even run during an emergency? It was no wonder they couldn't escape Opal's creatures.

Then something ticked to her, and she almost rolled her eyes. Yes, of course. Stupid.

Holly shut the wardrobe and walked over to the large chest of drawers in the cramped space, hoping she would would not be disappointed.

Exactly six minutes later– and what felt like forever plus infinity to Artemis– Holly slid open the yellowed bamboo screen and emerged with a satisfied expression on her face.

Artemis simply raised an eyebrow, but Mulch burst out laughing.

The elf scoffed at them both. "You would have reacted much more if I'd turned up in a dress."

"Can't disagree," said Artemis sarcastically. "Because it is perfectly normal for a lady to wear a shirt, dress pants and a cravat."

"Spare me the sexism," said Holly unconcernedly, checking herself in the mirror. Well, the cravat felt a little odd, but it was part of the set. "And don't bother denying it, but I look pretty good too."

Mulch snorted. "Shirt's a little short. A lot of men are going to stare. Take this one for example."

Artemis glared at him.

"I'm kidding, gee."

"Surprising this fits, though," murmured Holly, adjusting the long sleeves of her white shirt. "I did come across a lot of human-sized outfits, but this one turned out to be exactly suited for fairy proportions. Something else our gracious host isn't telling us?"

"Ah, yes, one additional detail I may have left out."

"Forgotten."

"I thought you would have guessed by now. In this world humans and fairies share the surface. Obviously. Opal can't be some sort of Queen of a city otherwise."

Holly crossed her arms, turning to face him. "You'd better not forget in future, Artemis. It's probably going to cost us later."

"I did not forget. Merely assumed you would be observant."

"And for the last time can you tell me how your ribs healed so fast?"

Artemis appeared a little surprised at the question, but didn't show much of it. "Why does it bother you, Major? It just wasn't badly damaged to begin with."

"Whatever," she pointed toward the bamboo screens. "You'd better hurry up. I'm starting to suffocate because of that sunscreen."

.

"Seeing as you turned up as requested," the woman smiled. "You're accepting my offer?"

"Stop Koboi and you help us get home," said Holly, although she didn't feel very businesslike on account of the fact that the woman was human and therefore several heads taller than her. "In simple words."

"Yes," she gestured at some of the chairs arranged around the long table. "The others might be a little late, so please be seated. I'll give you some time to think again." She was just about to head out the door when she seemed to remember something. "Oh, and Major Short? You look lovely in that getup. I like your style."

Holly only had the time to spare a snide glance at Mulch before their host left the hall, closing the door behind her.

Artemis stayed quiet a moment before starting to talk. "Do either of you have doubts about this offer?"

Holly shook her head. "Doubts, yeah, but it's a place to start."

"We still don't know her name," Mulch pointed out.

"He's right," said Holly. "What if these people were put here by Opal? What if it's a trap?"

Artemis shrugged. "Then it's too well laid out. This building is some sort of collective residence, complete with personal effects like pictures and certificates. Utilities too. There are a cluster of smaller dwellings around this one, and this is located in a thick forest clearing. Paths have been cut as retreat routes and leading to a lake, which is their water supply. There's also an outdoor rifling range. These people have been living here a while."

"Opal wasn't creative enough to come up with a name?"

Artemis rolled his eyes. "Oh please, you think I haven't learnt that by now?"

"You found her name," snorted Holly. "I'm not even surprised. Went through her diary?"

"Nothing so rash, Major. I only spotted a certificate on display."

"So are you going to tell us?"

"It's better our gracious host doesn't know," replied Artemis coolly. "Here comes our assistance."

Holly and Mulch followed his gaze toward the door, which creaked open the slightest bit. They frowned, then someone kicked it open.

"GRAND ENTRANCE!" announced a blonde-haired boy who looked about fourteen, a wide grin on his face. "Hello! My mom told me about you guys, and guess what? I'm coming with you!" He waltzed over to the chair opposite Artemis's, pulled it out, and sat. "Sooo...what're your names? I'm Caleb, by the way. Ze Prince of Weirdness. I have an army of dolphins that fly and speak a mythical language."

Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"That's the reaction I always get," sighed Caleb, resigning himself to the fact. "Okay, let's get to know each other."

"Mulch Diggums," said Mulch, shaking his hand from across the table. It was quite a reach. "I think you have it in you to drive Artemis nuts, kid. We can be best friends."

Caleb laughed. "The pleasure's all mine. And you are Miss...?"

"Holly Short," said the elf, standing up a little in order to shake the offered hand. Seeing as he was a child, this was a little easier than would be of an adult human.

Caleb smiled charmingly. "I really like your outfit, by the way. My mom warned me to restrain my weirdoness in front of her guests, so I won't introduce you to my dolphin army. You should meet them sometime, though. I hear elves get along with dolphins well."

Holly gave Artemis a side glance, wondering what he was making of the boy's speech. To her surprise, he didn't look that confused, or incredulous. He simply shook the hand as well.

"Artemis Fowl the Second. Your mother brought us here."

"Which was a surprise," admitted Caleb. "We don't normally bring in any outsiders, because they may be Opal's spies. Unless you fell from a portal?"

"We did. Opal is a mutual enemy."

"Great! Oh, and by the way, did you meet Zone?"

"No..."

"Oh. Well, he's been standing there this entire time, but to be fair he is good in sneaking around."

Holly immediately turned to spot the man in the leather kit from earlier, who was, as before, standing in unnoticeable quietness against the far wall. Again, it nearly made her jump.

"D'Arvit, how does he do that?" she exclaimed in a whisper.

"It's his job," explained Caleb. "Something of a ninja bodyguard, I guess. I mean, he's not a ninja, but he can sneak up on you like one. Loyal guy, though. What's more, he's immune to the Freaks."

"Freaks?" asked Mulch.

"That's what kids call the monsters," shrugged Caleb. "They're actually portello-celestio-coke something, I don't know."

"I somehow doubt you got any of that right," noted Artemis. "And about this immunity..?"

Caleb grinned wickedly. "Did my mom tell how I survived the Freaks?"

Artemis frowned. "You're the one who recovered?"

The boy nodded. "She must've called me a traumatized patient. But I've always been this weird, in case you're wondering. Probably why no one believed the things I said about Ethos, even though I was scared as heck back then."

"Could you tell us?" asked Holly.

Caleb hesitated, but then he nodded. "I didn't spend a lot of time in there, but it was pretty bad. Everything's on fire and the sky's green, and pits of acid just crack open in the ground when they feel like it. The place smells like coal and sulphur. You can't even see when you have to because your eyes just start tearing until they sink into your sockets." He paused to think. "It's pretty darn scary, actually. I was crying for weeks when I woke up. Kept having these shunts back into there where I'd see more things, but wouldn't feel it."

Artemis nodded. "Do you have any idea what helped you escape?"

Caleb sighed. "No clue. But I developed some sort of immunity afterwards."

Artemis looked at Holly. "We need to first establish if we're immune, then. It can form the basis of future plans."

"Is there any safe way to do that?"

Caleb shifted uneasily. "Well, there's a safer way than meeting a Freak...buuuut it means testing if a tiger shark will eat you or not."

Holly gaped.

"Yeah," said the boy apologetically. "We can't just drop some blood into the tank, you'll have to get inside. If it tries to eat you, then you aren't immune. If it doesn't, you are. We have a tank in the basement."

"You're kidding. Right?"

"Sadly not. There is yet another way, but it involves drinking a concoction of troll dung carbonated with dwarf gas, and you'll feel the after-effects for a month if you aren't immune, two weeks if you are."

"I'd prefer the sharks."

Mulch held a hand to his heart. "I am offended, Holly."

Artemis literally waved this conversation off with a dismissive flick of his wrist. "So you will be assisting us?"

Caleb grinned. "Yup. Me and our ninja bodyguard."

"Anyone else?"

"You don't need anyone else. Zone accounts for about six people."

Artemis looked hesitant, but he nodded. "I see. Well, less people means less liabilities and easy cover. Very well then. Our instructions are to penetrate the city of Logos and find the immunity serum that previous informants have uncovered. These are kept as precaution in case the...Freaks go awry, but through acquiring even a sample of it, it can be synthesized and used to our benefit."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "It sounds...simple."

"We've never been assigned simple, Major," Artemis gave her a characteristic smirk. "In fact, I have a feeling that our journey to Logos is going to be the most perilous one yet."

•—•

Foaly awoke to the sound of his own heart on the monitoring machine.

"Uuugghh," he mumbled, rolling his head over to the side. Despite it being a bed suited for centaurs, every bone in his body ached. And then he remembered.

The creature, the darkness that followed, the hell with the green sky.

He sat up screaming.

"Foaly? Foaly!" The owner of the voice pushed his shoulders down, looking him in the eyes. "Are you alright? We had to remove a couple of glass shards–"

Foaly blinked. "V-Vinyayà?" he stammered. "Oh, Frond, where am I? Is this Haven?"

"Yes," answered the elf firmly. "Foaly, you need to rest. Caballine is waiting in the lobby. Are you alright with her visiting now?"

"Caballine," breathed the centaur. "She's alive. She's alive, right?"

"Alive, but very worried," Vinyayà set on the bedside chair. "After all, you're the only one who's woken up so far. The other fairies who went through that are...comatose."

"D'Arvit," swore Foaly. "That means they're...still there...in that blasted place–"

"What place?"

"It's...I'll tell you once I do my research," said Foaly, although he found it a miracle that he could even speak. The memories were coming back to him, the suffering, the pain, the screams he'd heard...where had he gone? Had that been part of Opal's plan as well?

Vinyayà nodded. "We understand that the thing...whatever it was that the cameras caught, that did this damage was sent by Koboi. Teams are underway looking for clues, anything that could lead us to her."

Foaly blinked again. His vision felt blurry. "Wing Commander, that...place I mentioned. Opal tried to send me there but it somehow failed. What if Julius and Holly–"

"Start doing your research the moment you're on your feet again," ordered Vinyayà sternly, though he was sure he detected a crack in her composure. "And don't worry about it, centaur. They're both tough soldiers. They'll survive."

Foaly smiled at her weakly. "You're right. And we'll get them back. We need them at a time like this."

Vinyayà stood up to leave. "Damn straight. And your job is to recover fast so you can help us get them back. Is that understood?"

Despite everything, Foaly managed a grin. "Won't fail you, Wing Commander."

If she'd known the real reason behind his expression, she wouldn't have been too happy, and that's putting it lightly.

—•—

Author's Note;

So we add villains, good people, monsters and cravats into our plot– yep, a recipe for guaranteed CHAOS!

Be sure to drop me a review! Reviewers get mentioned next chapter, and replies, too, will be posted on the next chapter so that I can reply to guests as well. Also, this was a tough Chapter to write, so I do want to know what you think of it. Please follow and favourite as well; the encouragement makes me writer more and update faster ;)

Any guesses/predictions? Any suggestions? I bet what's coming next will strike you as a HUUUUUGE surprise ;)

Because things are getting exciting...