Alex had opted to sneak back into his room and slip on a pair of shoes; he had a feeling that being barefooted it wouldn't be a good idea with how the night's events were headed. As such, he missed Butler's attempted capture in the cellar and Mulch's sequential death/escape. Probably for the best, Artemis needed a moment to review his situation and find some good in it, and the LEP needed a moment to review the unexpected kink in their newly-formed plan.

"So we send in the gold," muttered Root, thinking aloud. "They send out Holly, we blue rinse the place and stroll in to reclaim the ransom. Simple."

"So simple it's brilliant," enthused Argon. "Quite a coup for our profession, wouldn't you say, Dr. Cumulus?"

Cumulus's head was spinning with possibilities, but was interrupted by Root's brisk question.

"It might be if you could tell me anything about our Mystery Mud Boy."

The delighted banter cut off abruptly and Argon brought up the video feed from Mulch's iris cam. Feature-wise the unnamed human was an exact image of what Fowl might've looked like a few years earlier. Well, almost exact. There were subtle differences: a fair but healthier-looking complexion (the result of all his years exploring every square inch of the manor grounds), as well as a rounded jaw line that, combined with the still-lingering baby fat in his cheeks, gave his face a cherub-like quality. It wasn't much of a surprise the dwarf had thought him to be younger than he actually was.

"It's a bit difficult to say, at least at this point." Cumulus started. "He obviously doesn't look like much but as we can see here," skipping the video ahead to hear "The cellar door, sure-", "he's a lot smarter than he looks."

Argon skipped forward and paused the video again, this time just after the dwarf's comment about Pajama Boy's age. Anyone could tell there was no real venom behind the glare, but Root didn't like the way his eyes narrowed and his mouth set; he looked far too much like Fowl.

Cumulus seemed to have the same thought. "With looks that close he and Fowl have to be related."

"Obviously they're siblings! Or maybe first cousins." Argon exclaimed.

"'Obviously' nothing." Root interjected. "We can't assume anything about this boy without more info. We don't even have a name-"

"Alex" Foaly said simply.

"What?" the Commander asked, turning the centaur typing at one of the computers.

"That's his name. Alex." Foaly said again, not looking up from the screen. "I just pulled up his records. Alexander Fowl. Born January, 1992. No records at Interpol… Actually next to no records at all, from the looks of it this kid hasn't so much as gone to the bathroom without a hall pass."

"So he's not a threat?" Root pressed.

"Well like I said, it's hard to say without knowing more about him." Cumulus said, apparently sullen about being left out of the conversation.

"Here's what we know for certain," Foaly said, enlarging the boy's image. "Mulch just traded banter with Artemis Fowl's little brother."

The little brother in question was currently wondering why he was still sneaking around, after all this was his house too. But because of this, the question answered itself faster than Alex would've liked. First of all, the creature Mulch talked to was doing the same, only she was invisible- if he didn't sneak, she would see him well before he saw her. Whatever Artemis had done, it'd made her awfully mad, and from her view that would make Alex guilty by association. Needless to say it was an encounter he'd prefer to avoid. Secondly, he wasn't even supposed to be awake right now. The everyday consequences of getting caught after bedtime probably should've been a minor concern, and it was, but they were still present, nonetheless. Besides, Artemis wouldn't have carried out this scheme-gone-mad if he'd thought it put Alex and their mother at risk. Would he?

Alex forcibly dispelled the unanswered question and headed up to the attic to check on the woman in question. It was a fairly regular task for him. Ever since Angeline had been bedridden Alex, like Artemis, would go to see her to make sure she was alright. Artemis had tried to keep Alex from doing so in the beginning, being the big brother he didn't want him to see their mother this way. But, like Butler, he couldn't keep an eye on him 24/7. He'd gotten into the lounge-turned-bedroom. He'd talked to his mother. Nothing else had happened and he'd been allowed to go back from time to time. The only real difference his visits were from his brothers' was that often times Angeline wouldn't recognize her eldest son; she always recognized Alex. When both brothers realized this Alex began seeing her much more often, fueling the childish hope he was young enough to be entitled to that he could eventually cure his mother. Artemis encouraged the visits, for everyone's sake. But the younger boy could tell he wasn't comfortable with the situation; he never quite looked at him the same way again.

Before he could get the stair scaling to the room however, a simmer of movement caught his eye in his peripheral vision. There was no detectable figure but all those years sneaking around the Manor, admittedly sometimes at less than usual hours, had granted Alex fine-tuned instincts at when someone was nearby; instincts he'd learned never to ignore. There was in fact a faint haze in the air, centered right in the middle of the stairway leading to the ground floor. It was something like water evaporation, or television static. And it was climbing upward.

Alex obeyed his first instinct and dived behind a corner before the something could be close enough to see him. Once at a "safe" distance he poked his head out and locked his gaze on the television static-cloud scaling the stairs; scanning and tracking it the same way he'd looked for non-existent monsters in his pitch-black room in the days before his sleepwalking had set in.

Soon enough, the haze had reached the second floor, and not a minute too soon. Just seconds afterwards, Butler's gigantic form burst out of the door and down the stairs. The only remnant he'd ever been there a moment later was Juliet's name ringing in his ears. Between that and his still-lingering grogginess, Alex almost didn't notice the haze move towards the slowly closing door Butler had come from- the door to Artemis's study. As it moved through the gap and entered the room, Alex followed close enough behind to risk being spotted- stopping the door just a centimeter away from shutting.

"Good evening, Captain Short. At the risk of sounding clichéd, I've been expecting you."

Alex rolled his eyes. Typical Artemis banter. He could practically see his face: straight, business-like. An emotionless mask. He didn't even need to look, it was the same face their father had always worn when conducting business affairs. The difference was that he'd always dropped it whenever he was around his wife or sons. Artemis had worn the mask since their father had gone missing. It'd seemed ill-fitting on his young face at first, as if the mask were too big. But after two years the older boy seemed to have grown into it. It was there more often too, as though it were growing over his features; blocking any other usual expressions.

The Captain didn't respond, and didn't seem to plan to as Artemis continued talking.

"You are, of course, still bound by the promises made earlier tonight…"

He wasn't really talking to her. It didn't sound so much as he was trying to intimidate her as reassure himself.

"So, basically, our situation hasn't changed. You are still my hostage."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

The Captain may've been bored by the practical monologue, but Alex was grateful for it. The fact that this was a hostage negotiation, with Artemis as the capture, made a lot of new pieces fall into place. But why are she and that Mulch character so small. And how did she disappear like that? He thought. His brain supplied another too-quick answer, this time in the form of the recollection of Artemis telling his younger brother his plans to kidnap a fairy.

Okay now he could only be 60% sure he was dreaming.

"Something I should know?" Artemis said curiously. Well, as curiously as the mask would allow.

"Quiet." The Captain hissed. Alex could only guess she was trying to listen to something Artemis didn't have access to. A radio from his guess, but that was just based on her apparent occupation.

"It's not polite, you know. Ignoring your host."

Careful Arty.

The Captain snarled. "Enough is enough."

Uh oh.

"That's right, rich boy. You're on your own this time."

For a second Alex thought she was talking to him.

Whack!

"Oof" Thud.

"Oh, yes! That felt good."

It seemed she punched him. Alex clasped his spare hand over his mouth to ensure his impish laughs wouldn't give him away. But a red tinge still spread over his cheeks. He wondered idly if it would leave a bruise. He could only pray she'd hit him in the face.

While the Captain talked to someone called "Foaly", he couldn't be sure if it were a codename or not, Alex learned that whatever force opposing his brother had fed the monitors a loop- which explained how Mulch had gotten past cameras in the hallway. Artemis must've noticed the loop and purged it, probably once Butler had gone on his rounds and remained at the same place on his feed.

"D'Arvit." The Captain said. Alex wasn't sure if it were his somewhat-functional internal translator or just the way she said it, but it sounded like a swear word.

"You hit me." Artemis said in disbelief. Alex wasn't sure why there was disbelief. He'd hit, kicked, and spat on his older brother a number of times in the past.

"That's right, Fowl. And there's more where that came from. So stay right where you are, if you know what's good for you."

Alex knew he should've gone back into his hiding place at this statement, but for once he ignored the instinct in favor of hearing whatever snappy comeback Artemis had to say. He was every bit as surprised as he was sure the older boy was when one didn't arrive.

The Captain seemed to take the silence as an invitation to ramble a bit more, just for the sake of parodying him.

"That's right, Mud boy. Playtime's over. Time for the professionals to take over. If you're a good boy, I'll buy you a lollipop when I come back."

Alex had to cover his mouth again as he ran back behind the corner. He had to admit he liked the Captain, up until tonight he'd been the only one to make Artemis look so ridiculous.

Maybe he could be 65% sure.

Then he heard a strange sort of noise coming back from the doorway. Hollow like a blowtorch but fast and loud like a gunshot. He peered over the corner, thankful the now-visible figure wasn't looking at him. The Captain was still in the same jumpsuit as before, but now her face was covered by a full-face helmet and she held something like a futuristic gun in her hands. A gun she apparently used to seal the door shut.

Then a pair of dragonfly-like wings folded out of her backpack and she took off down the hallway away from him.

Alex took the opportunity of her absence to crawl back to the door to inspect the damage. The lock was completely melted; it was amazing the knob was still attached.

It was at that exact moment that he quite clearly heard a voice on the over side of the door say "I don't like lollipops."

This time both of Alex's hands flew to his mouth, and even then most of the laughter escaped through his nose.

Wait, lollipops?

"Mud boy"?

Make that 70%.

Then the front door imploded, making the ground beneath him shake and his ears ring again.

Alright, 75%.

Alex was still on the upper landing when the main doorway was essentially vaporized, safe from the danger he hadn't yet realized was coming. He spotted Butler as he ducked behind one of the knights in the lower hallway. They were close enough that he had to lay down on his stomach as he peeked beyond the railing to avoid being seen.

The blond teenager slung over his shoulder tapped the breastplate of the closer knight.

"You think you're mean? I could take you with one hand."

Alright, that was weird even for Juliet. And being an 8-year-old boy he considered girls pretty weird to begin with.

"Quiet," Butler hissed. Although the warning wasn't aimed at him, Alex obeyed it all the same. Shrinking back from the edge.

When the doorway basically transformed into a cloud of dust and smoke, two thought were running through Alex's mind. The first was I wonder how Artemis is going to explain this one. The second was that's going to ruin the rug, Mum'll be furious. Dr. Allen, the sleep therapist that arguable knew him better than his own father, had once noted that Alex often talked of his parents in present rather than past tense. He considered this a coping method rather than denial.

Then he realized that Butler hadn't moved. Alex may not have been an expert in military tactics but he knew that now would've been the precise time to get the heck out of there. Then he remembered the sixteen-year-old the older man was still carrying and understood.

A large dark blob moved, separate from the dusty haze. Alex didn't have the first-hand knowledge to know exactly what it was, but his own instincts filled him with enough dread to know that it was some sort of animal. The large, powerful kind. The reflective crimson pupils, shaggy forelocks, and curved knife-like tusks did little to ease the feeling. If anything it transformed it into full-fledged, rooted-to-the-spot fear.

This would be the first time he'd ever seen Butler go up against a creature as big as him, and wondered briefly if he was scared too.

He quickly dispelled the thought. Butler was never scared of anything.

The creature stepped out of the dust haze. Alex would've gasped at the sight if he weren't still rooted to the spot. Butler had no such handicap, he gasped incredibly softly but loud enough for Alex to hear from his place above them. So much for not being scared.

Alex decided to pay more attention to the creature's movements rather than its appearance. The first would only make him more scared.

The creature squinted against the dim chandelier light, its claws picking up sparks as they scraped the marble tiling beneath them. It sniffed the air curiously and tilted its head, a notion that would've been cute on any other animal if it weren't so clear the animal were hunting.

Okay, maybe watching its movements wasn't the best idea.

Despite his fear Alex did catch the creature's head suddenly freeze, its head pointed to Butler's hiding spot.

And mine he realized.

The creature leapt forward at a speed no animal that size should have a right to, battering aside the suit of armor that weighed more than two of him as if it were a rag doll. Alex instinctively jumped back, knocking his head on the wall behind him, and then huddled into a ball and prayed the creature couldn't see him.

"Ooh, it's Bigfoot Bob. Canadian champion 1998. I thought you were in the Andes, looking for your relatives."

Alex, believe it or not, was well aware of who Bigfoot Bob was. The younger boy was seldom allowed to accompany Artemis on any of his "antics", and while his brother was gone with Butler that left him in Juliet's care. While the girl wasn't officially his bodyguard, she was still twice his age—that left her in charge of the TV. Alex knew more about professional wrestling than he did about math.

These were the only thought Alex could squeeze in to try and calm himself. It was all he could get before he heard two gunshots he recognized to be from Butler's Sig Sauer. He leaned in- just close enough to see over the edge guarded by the wooden railing.

Then he saw the blood. The fresh patch right on one of the creature's tusks. He knew it could've only come from one source. Butler, he thought in shock.

Then the huge man was flying. Flipped over the creature's head as easily as Alex would have if he were a pillow. Butler collided with the opposite wall, cracking bricks from floor to ceiling, though he heard a few cracks that couldn't have possibly be made by stone.

"Come on, brother. Get off the canvas. We all know you're faking." Juliet said again. It was a classic line she often said during the matches she watched with him.

She's right, he's faking. Juliet knows wrestling tactics better than anyone. It's just a matter of time. Pretty soon we'll be betting how long he'll keep it up.

The slightly hysterical thoughts raced through Alex's head, forcing the denial to distract his brain from acknowledging what he already knew.

Juliet's comment brought the creature's attention back to her, and Alex realized that as the smallest and the weakest he would be the next target after her. He was easy prey and he was within arm's reach. He didn't have much a moment to contemplate that as the creature licked its large incisors and extended its hand.

Alex was instantly overwhelmed by Déjà-vu at the movement. He was quite certain he'd never seen it before but combined with the scene of the destroyed front room and the bizarre animal performing it instantly flashed him back to one of the more vivid dreams he had almost a month ago. The very one that made him scream himself awake in his dorm- terrifying his roommate and the teacher on rounds in his hall that night- ultimately resulting in him being sent home to receive "professional treatment".

The action following this movement was the creature's claws slicing underneath Juliet's ribs, rupturing her heart, killing her instantly.

Alex sprang through the door next to him, suddenly glad his bedroom was so close to the scene.

Alex's home life wasn't entirely perfect before the sinking of the Fowl Star, but like Artemis he believed their father was still alive somewhere. The absence of their parent was hard, but nowhere near as hard for him as it was for the older boy. Being the younger of the two Alex was entitled to a childish and maybe even impossible hope. "Maybe when he comes back, things will be better".

Alex's hand circled around the large gun hidden under his bed, solving the mystery as to why he stole it from the hidden weapons cache no one knew he knew about hid it there during one of his sleepwalking incidences three weeks ago.

Alex wasn't half the genius his brother was, he'd always known that. But he did know this: if Juliet died tonight, things would never get better.

As a last minute notion the almost-nine-year-old boy snatched the lamp off his nightstand without bothering to unplug it.

He raced back out the hall and hurled the pastel blue bedside light over the railing. Solving the Baseball Pitching Incident of last week as it landed right on top of the enormous creatures head. It didn't seem to notice the spray of glass from the shattered light bulb, instead swinging its gaze up to where the small boy crouched at railing, struggling to properly aim the large weapon.

Alex used both hands to squeeze the Butler-sized gun aimed at the creature's wide forehead. Obediently two metal tabs sprang out from their place inside the large Taser, but due to a slight shudder on Alex's part ended up missing their target and landed right at the base of their target's large nostrils.

The creature roared loudly as the small bout of electricity surged into its sensitive nose. It ended too quickly though, as it was just at that moment that Alex realized his action, though brave and served their purpose to distract the creature from Juliet, had only made the large predator angry.

It was this exact moment that the Captain dived in from above, twirling midair so her feet caught the creature on the exact spot Alex had originally been aiming for before it had a chance to recover.

It was at that point Alex decided not to tempt fate and raced around the corner.

In later years, Alex would feel guilty about running away right then. Especially once he found out the captain had taken both his and Juliet's place as the creature's center of attention/highly possible meal- which was basically three seconds later when he tripped over the carpet just off the corner and caught sight of her in the enormous creature's grasp.

He contemplated his options. He could try the distraction technique with the Taser again, that'd worked before. Only the item in question was still on the floor of the banister just above the creature's shoulder, where Alex had dropped it in his haste to get away.

He saw the Captain reach for a button on the side of her helmet, what it did he didn't know- and didn't find out as nothing happened. Another abnormal situation Artemis was probably to blame for (he would have to remember to keep closer tabs on his brother's "questionable" activities, for both their sakes).

The Captain seemed to have been as frustrated at the malfunction as he was at his brother, in a split second he heard her clearly say (again, not in English) "Laugh this off," before slamming her helmeted head into the creature's undoubtedly thick one.

Alex wasn't entirely sure how to respond to the action. It was valiant and admirable, definitely, but to him it only made the whole situation more surreal. Before he had the chance to raise his How-Likely-This-Is-All-A-Dream percentage up a few points, white light shot out of the crown of the Captain's helmet, solving the mystery of what the button did. The light, fortunately or unfortunately, was directly aimed at the creature's eyes and, taking offense to the sudden brightness, briefly spasmed before hurling her across the room.

He winced, simultaneously shutting his eyes, when she hit wall, making a similar sound his brother's bodyguard did not two feet from her. When he opened his eyes, he found saw the Captain's tiny form completely enveloped in the Norman tapestry (another thing for Mum to be upset about). He wondered briefly if she were still alive, and his answer came when a child-sized hand poked out from beneath the folds and landed on the bare skin of Butler's arm. This time it was the tiny blue sparks that shot from her hand that surprised him.

Suddenly he remembered the very large, very predatory creature still in the main hall, still seeming to feel the aftereffects of the light. After a moment it seemed to pass and it returned its attention to Juliet, squatting low and even getting close enough to align a long yellowed claw with the length of her neck.

The loud startled gasp escaped him before he even had time to realize it was coming, he was just too horrified that his efforts to save his unofficial bodyguard/part-time babysitter/friend were all in vain. The noise itself did serve the purpose of killing the horrid thought. Though the animal didn't move its crimson red eyes flashed over to Alex's spot on the banister adjacent to its position.

Terror alone would've been enough to pin the boy to the spot, but he could practically feel this creature's gaze looking him over, trying to decide which of them to kill first.

The minute before his brain could fully acknowledge the fact that he was going to die, however, was the exact minute that the suddenly animate suit of armor appeared.

On another day Alex would've noticed that that supposed knight in shining armor was distinctly Butler-sized. He also would've noticed that the deep voice that said "now, I'll show you what happens when someone lays a hand on my sister," from inside the sealed visor was also distinctly Butler-like.

But he did neither. Because at the time Alex's brain had decided to scrap the percentage he'd forgotten by now and made an executive decision: this was definitely a dream.

The knight slammed the mace into the creature's back, effectively tearing its gaze from Alex, its taloned hand from Juliet, and its attention from both of them. He planted one of his feet lower down on the animal's back, tearing the weapon free with a sound that, in his state, made the younger boy want to throw up. Thankfully that he was still too overloaded with shock to do so.

The knight skidded back as the animal rounded to face its offender. Alex noticed small drops of moisture on the tip of each tusk. Like the fangs of a spider or snake. The perhaps-sleep-deprived rooted thought almost led him to ponder what sort of poison the creature produced, and what in the world it would need it for, if the knight had not spoken again.

"I must warn you, I am armed and prepared to use deadly force if necessary."

This was a typical, cliché, macho-banter type yet professional warning you could only expect a police officer giving a cornered convict in a bad movie, which was why Alex suddenly recognized Butler in the scene before him.

"Step away from the female. Easy, now."

Alex wondered how long the bodyguard planned on keeping up the calm police-style instructions to a creature they were clearly wasted upon, or for another matter if he'd even noticed him yet. From his new position the bodyguard was now facing him, but it was impossible to tell with the man's face hidden.

The creature bellowed out a roar he hadn't expected. Alex winced again, this time covering his ears as well as shutting his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Real scary. Now just back out of the door and I won't have to cut you into little pieces."

Though the line obviously frustrated the creature, it instantly soothed Alex. Butler wasn't scared, maybe not ever but he wasn't scared now. It suddenly made the situation feel back under control.

"One step at a time. Nice and slow. Easy there, big fellow."

With his panic now at bay Alex was now able to see Butler's game: diversion. Gain an element of surprise and then use it.

As if on cue Butler dove under the poisoned tusks and delivered a swift blow to the jaw with the enormous mace. The creature's claws swung wildly but only slashed air- Butler was already well out of reach, now right underneath him.

The creature turned back toward him, spitting white shards. Alex made a face when he realized they were teeth- the sight was a lot more disturbing than his cartoon shows led him to believe. Butler slid across the polished wood floor on his knees with surprising agility for someone his size, turning and rising to face the creature.

"Guess what I found?" he said, raising the large gun Alex recognized as his Sig Sauer.

Butler popped about a dozen bullets between the mammoth creature's eyes. It didn't drop dead, like Alex or anyone else would've expected it to, instead the creature slapped at its brow as it staggered backwards. In lightning speed Butler was on it again, this time nailing one of its shaggy feet to the floor with the spiked mace. From there the manservant delivered a series of hits that appeared random to the younger boy's untrained eyes, raining them down with his gauntleted hands. Blow after blow the creature came down, only resisting with the weakest of thrashes. In a matter of seconds the once terrifying creature was reduced down to a shivering mass of shag carpet.

And that wasn't even it. Butler removed the blood-covered gauntlets- another sight more disturbing than he'd been led to believe- and loaded a fresh clip into his gun.

Alex immediately knew what he was going to do.

I should look away, He thought. If Arty were here he'd make sure I look away. But his brother wasn't here to turn his head away, so he looked on.

"Let's see how much bone you have under your chin."

Alex gulped.

"No," a voice gasped. "Don't." Alex looked back to the fallen tapestry- the Captain. "Don't do it….You owe me."

Butler had the large gun wedged underneath the creature's massive jaw, fingering the trigger. But in the instant Alex saw his hesitation he knew he wouldn't pull it. The Captain's words were true enough and Butler was a man of honor- plus Juliet was safe now.

"You owe me, human."

Butler sighed, and Alex unconsciously relaxed at the sound. "Very well, Captain. The beast lives to fight another day. Lucky for him, I'm in a good mood."

Captain Short made a small noise that Alex could neither hear from his distance nor care enough to guess.

"Now let's get rid of our hairy friend." With that, Butler rolled the limp creature onto an armored trolley; dragging it to what remained of the doorway and tossing it back out into the night with a heave. "And don't come back," he shouted after it.

"Phew." Alex sighed softly.

Not softly enough though. At the sound, three pairs of eyes swung upwards to focus on where the eight-year-old was still kneeling on the upper landing.

With no other ideas on what to do, Alex gave a rueful smile, a small nervous laugh, and a shy wave.