AN: Okay I won't lie, I finished this chapter and then completely forgot to upload them onto Doc Manager-much less post them. So I think I'm just going to upload them both at once to get them out of the way.

The terminal was buried fifty feet below an ice pack. They took the courtesy elevator to the surface, and the party emerged into the Arctic night looking for all the world like an adult and four children. Albeit with three children with inhuman weaponry clanking under every loose fold of cloth.

Holly checked the GPS locator on her wrist.

"We're in the Rosta district, Commander. Twenty klicks north of Murmansk."

"What's Foaly got on the weather? I don't want to be caught in the middle of a blizzard twenty miles from our destination."

"No luck. I can't get a line. Magma flares must still be up."

"D'Arvit," swore Root. "Well I suppose we'll have to take our chances on foot. Butler you're the expert here, you take point. Captain Short, bring up the rear. Feel free to boot any human backside if it lags behind."

Holly winked at Artemis as Alex hid a grin behind his sleeve-swallowed hand. "No need to tell me twice, sir."

"I'll bet there isn't," grunted Root, with only the barest hint of a smile playing about his lips.

The motley band trudged southeast by moonlight until they reached the railway line. Walking along the sleepers was the only way they could be safe from drifts and suck holes. Progress was slow. A northerly wind snaked through every pore in their clothing, and the cold attacked any exposed skin like a million electric darts.

There was little conversation. The Arctic had that effect on people, even if four of them were wearing coil-heated suits.

The suit was especially useless to Alex in particular, who struggled to hike through the snow and ice in his worn out loafers. At one point he slipped on a thin sheet of ice and would've fallen on his face if Artemis hadn't caught him. After that the older boy kept a firm arm around his shoulders.

Eventually Holly broke the silence. Something had been nagging at her for some time.

"Tell me something, Fowl," she said from behind Artemis. "Your father. Is he like you?"

Artemis's step faltered for an instant, causing his arm around Alex's shoulder to drop. "That's a strange question. Why do you ask?"

Alex, for his part, continued on his way, only glancing towards his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

"Well you're no friend to the People. What if the man we're trying to rescue is the man who will destroy us?"

Now Artemis considered himself an expert on a variety of subjects, one of which was telling when Alex was about to go off—the sudden straightening of his back, the tensing of his should and neck muscles.

All things he was displaying now.

The younger boy turned on his heel and closed the space between him and the Captain in an instant.

"He's my dad too!"

Holly reeled back from Alex's sudden materialization. More startling than that was the expression on the boy's face, up until now it was nearly impossible to imagine a face like his angry. She was still attempting to form a response when Alex's lips pressed into a tight line and tears prickled in his eyes. As quickly as he appeared Alex turned and stomped forward back towards Root and Butler.

Holly moved to follow him but Artemis curtly blocked her path. "Give him a moment, he'll calm down." After a second he awkwardly lowered his arm and dropped his chin to his chest. "In any case you have no cause to be alarmed, Captain. My father, though some of his ventures were undoubtedly illegal, was…is…a noble man. The idea of harming another creature would be repugnant to him."

Holly tugged her boot, which she'd inadvertently let get buried in eight inches of snow. "So, what happened to you?"

Artemis's breath bloomed in icy clouds in front of his nose. "I…I made a mistake."

Holly squinted at the back of the human's head as he continued forward. Was this actual sincerity from Artemis Fowl? It was hard to believe, even if he did have Alex for a brother. Even more surprising was the fact that she didn't know how to react—to extend the hand of forgiveness or the boot of retribution. Eventually she decided to reserve judgement. For the moment.

Alex, meanwhile, stomped off to a nearby snow drift to sulk. His thoughts a clouded mixture of indignant anger and subtle disappointment. Neither of which were directed at the Captain; it seemed he wasn't as at peace with his father's absence as he would've liked. This was why he planted himself at the base of the drift and pulled his knees to his chin. The wind whipped up again and he pulled his hood up over his ears, now nearly invisible against the white background in his pale coat.