A poet lay dying, blood seeping into the floorboards. His head fogged as he clung to the world, fighting not to lose himself to the soundscape around him. Feet pounding against the earth, a desperate staccato without rhythm. Melodies of yelping screams and gasping breaths, lyrics of barked orders and pleas falling on deaf ears. Chaos and panic stained the air, mingling with the scents of gore and smoke. A concert of agony. The song of the Grimm.

The pain had left him the moment he'd hit the wall, slammed through it by an obsidian limb. A child cried out, torn from sleep by the crumbling masonry. She screamed... but not for long. The Grimm, whatever it was, hadn't come back for him. There were brighter lives to extinguish. His vision began to fog, blackening at the edges like paper in a flame. Some small part of him knew that he was dying. That he'd be another sad mound of bones for the bandits to pick over when they looted the husk of this village. The rubble shifted beneath him. His back twinged, but brought no feeling back to his legs. He found himself looking through what was left of a window, the barest hint of stars just visible in the dark abyss beyond. He remembered the moon. 'If I could just see it...' the poet thought. '...one more time...'

Somewhere deep within his struggling mind, words become action.

He rolls, tumbling off a mound of debris. The world swims, and he is aware of a sharp pain in his side. But he couldn't care about the pain.

Not now.

He drags himself forward, reaching out with aching hands and clawing his way closer and closer to the beckoning sky. He could hear the gunfire now.

Closer.

He could make out words among the screams, if he cared to try.

Closer.

He could feel the night air cooling his blood soaked shirt...

Closer!

He forces himself through the hole, rough stone scraping and tearing at his clothes...

Finally, joy. With a mighty lurch, he found himself gazing up at the shattered moon. She was full tonight. All of her torn pieces glittering in the wine-dark sky like jewels.

"One... last... time..." he smiled, a single tear coming to his eye. He didn't have the strength to wipe it away. His breathing was beginning to slow. He smiled, content to die on what terms of his own he could manage. Content to fade away among the stars. A shape seemed to bleed out of the darkness... a human figure with broad wings silhouetted against the moon. 'Angel?' he thought, 'Come... for me?' His vision continued to tunnel as the figure grew closer and finally alighted beside him. He sighed in relief, giving up his last breath as he met those golden eyes.

Pain pierced the darkness, like fire poured down his back. His eyes snapped open, as his lungs billowed open as if gulping air just to scream. The air was shining with blue light, sparks that danced around him like fireflies. The pain seemed to be burrowing down his spine, but behind it he could feel his legs returning to him as if some numbing force was being washed away. Pins and needles, but so much worse. As the pain faded to a more subtle, prickling, burn, he became aware of the hand resting on his own.

"Angel?" He choked. It was all he could force out. The angel chuckled, meeting his gaze with eyes that shone like polished coins.

"Heh, some might say the opposite." He chuckled at his little joke. He flared his wings helpfully out as the trickle of blue sparks began to slow.

"Faunus," the poet said, finally understanding. "Owl?"

"Something like that," the 'angel' agreed. "You should be good to stand. If I put a weapon in your hand, can you fight?"

The poet nodded, struggling to his feet. He was unsteady, his legs barely responding to what he told them to do. He stood up tall... for about four seconds, before he had to catch himself against the wall. There was a mark on his hand that hadn't been there before. A rune or sigil, sketched in dark blood, those blue sparks still trickling from its outer edges.

"You're not quite healed yet-" A scream pierced the night. Close. "But I've done more with less. On your feet lad."

He reached over his shoulder, pulling around a staff that was bound to his back with a leather cord. A branch of living wood, it's twigs seemingly woven and grown around a cluster of uncut Dust. It's green leaves rustled in the wind as he brought it down against the ground.

"Use that, try not to die while I save someone else." He said, spreading his wings. A white crystal glowed, and he leapt into the sky on a burst of wind. The poet looked down, a stone hilt staring up at him from the ground. It cracked freely from the ground as he grasped it, a length of sturdy granite the shape of a blade. A child's scream rang out, and he was running before he knew it. The poet was no more, as the knight raised his blade in the name of the Angel.

~o~o~

"Your father is a sadist," Artemis gasped as he collapsed onto the bench.
"Try living with him," Ruby giggled. "Don't worry, it gets easier." She passed him a bottle of water, and he was too exhausted to be embarrassed about how quickly he guzzled it down. He could almost imagine what Butler would say about how he'd spent so long avoiding physical education, only to enroll in a school where it was ninety percent of the curriculum. The first few weeks had been nothing but unrelenting drills. He'd run more laps, lifted more reps, and done more pushups in the past days than could be expected of military training back on Earth. And Mr. Xiao Long had made it clear they were barely getting started. It made sense in a way... he'd barely managed to outrun Grimm when he was running on desperate adrenaline. Fighting them off would require a great deal more fitness. With some effort, he redirected his attention back to the track. A testament to the interesting life he'd lead, he was not the weakest one here. Among the few still circling the track was bespectacled faunus called Carmine, an orange fox tail swaying behind her as she jogged.

Carmine had been one of Ruby's school friends, and by association had joined his own acquaintances. She'd been rather useful to know actually; she liked to show off. She tended to spout out trivia at the faintest opportunity, highlighting gaps in Artemis' knowledge before they could be noticed. Remnant wasn't exactly like Earth as it turned out. For starters: parachutes were a recent invention, treated more as a novelty than anything else. The terminal velocity here was survivable, so Hunters were expected to develop a 'landing strategy' to safely reach the ground without assistance. He'd purchased a few physics textbooks that very evening, and was currently spending his evenings trying to wrap his head around 'Escher's Law of Unobserved Space.' Eventually, Carmine collapsed to his left, wordlessly accepting a bottle of water from Artemis and dumping half of it into her face.

"What's next?" she asked, wheezing between her words.

"Weights today," Ruby smiled. "And guess what? It's leg day!"

Artemis and Carmine groaned. This was going to be a long day.

On the other side of campus, Holly was trading blows with Yang. The building was a massive hall lined with boxing rings, each one monitored by a teacher or an upperclassman while students sparred within. Their styles were drastically different; reckless kickboxing against police close quarters training. Yang's blows were punishing whenever they managed to land, but Holly was quick and her guard was tight. She'd seize Yang's wrist when she overreached, delivering punishing blows to her core and trying to force her face into her knee before she threw off the hold. She was practicing something she'd seen sprites do back in her academy days. They kept their wings loose, almost half cocked, ready to spring outward like a jab to help keep their balance or interrupt a throw. She didn't quite have it yet, she was only barely recalling what the coach had been teaching Chix Verbil while she played training dummy.
"Enough!" The teacher barked, his hand pawing reflexively at an empty coat pocket. "Take five. Good hustle so far." He passed them both bottles of water, then hopped into the ring with them.

The teacher took a moment to scrutinize Holly's wings. "Grab some sky for me."
Holly nodded, her wings lifting her smoothly off the ground. The teacher circled her slowly, red eyes gliding over where her wings met her back. Like most faunus, she'd simply taken scissors to the t-shirt to accommodate her trait. "What's your best time?"

"I'm up to twelve minutes," Holly said, starting to pant with exertion.

"Thought so... you could stand to build some endurance. The morning laps don't phase you, do they?" Holly shook her head. Her wings took a lot more out of her than her legs did. She'd been sore the first two days, but after that the laps were nothing. "From now on you fly them. Three feet off the ground, last one off the track. You're going for time, not distance." Holly cringed, but nodded. Some of the slower people could take half an hour on a bad day.

"Take a break. Once you catch your breath, grab some air for the next bout. I want to see your legwork, and Firecracker here needs to work on her uppercut." He smirks.
Holly nodded as she landed. "Yes, Professor."

After a brief cooldown and a few stretches, Holly and Yang squared off again as her wings buzzed to life. Yang opened with an uppercut that didn't reach Holly's ankles, and Holly countered with a kick to Yang's face that sent her sailing out of their ring and over the next before she could correct her course. The second kick was a bit more forceful thanks to the runup, but it still bounced off the back of Yang's wrist with little impact.
"Got it backwards, Holly!" Yang quipped. "It's 'sting like a bee,' not a butterfly!"

"Throw a punch, not the fight, Xiao Long," Holly quipped right back as Yang wiffed again. She changed tactics, letting Yang's next strike carry her upwards, then dropping at the top of the arc. She came down on both of Yang's shoulders, pushing off before fluttering her wings again to stay airborne. The move sent Yang to the mat, but she rolled right back up again with a smirk.

"Come on! You barely winged me!" Yang grinned and the spar continued. Holly couldn't put enough force behind her blows, but none of Yang's strikes had much of an impact. Hovering seemed to be a better defense than offense.

"Alright, that's enough of that." The professor chuckled, letting Holly drop gratefully to the ground for a breather. "Alright Short, new plan. Try to learn to take off just before impact. Might be a good tactic to turn a heavy hit into battlefield control, but watch your boundaries. You work on that while Yang works on agility. Focus on timing your takeoff and staying just out of reach." Holly nodded, reaching for her water bottle.

"My agility's fine, uncle," Yang grumbled.

"Your sister's is fine," Professor Qrow countered. "You only hit Short when she let you."

Yang huffed as Holly flexed her wings. This was going to be a long class.

Hours later, after a generous lunch and a much needed shower, Holly and Artemis were attending an Aura class with some of the younger students. They hadn't tested past the lowest class, but that wasn't surprising given how recently they'd been unlocked. Artemis was paying rapt attention, taking notes with impeccable penmanship while Holly found herself struggling to focus. 'This is why I'm not a warlock,' she thought to herself. Her magi- aura, she supposed now, didn't quite feel the same. She was getting used to running hot almost constantly, the constant presence of power. Yet that power felt different in a way that was difficult to articulate. It was the difference between a rainfall and a cold shower. Between a street light and a porch light. Between the colors of a flower to her own eye, and the one she'd traded with Artemis. There was something inherently, irrevocably different about it that she just couldn't put her finger on.

"Holly, are you sure?" Amber asked. "It hasn't even been a day."
"I'm sure," Holly nodded. "That friend of yours said it would be fine, right?"
"Yes, but-" Amber stammered. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid. You weren't human. What if something goes wrong?"
"I'm still not," Holly smirked. "Besides, we'd know. Our eyes... the... heterochromia? Is that the word? It's not natural." She closed her own eye, muting the colors of the world ever so slightly. "We traded, somehow. Somewhere between Hybras and Remnant, I got one of his eyes and he got one of mine."
"So... which is which?" Amber asked.

"Mine are- were?- hazel. His eyes were blue," the former elf explained. "And they're different. I see more colors with my own... or is it that I see more about colors?" She shook her head. "The point is that if I was going to be affected differently, Artemis would already be dealing with it."

Amber sighed, not exactly reassured. "I guess if either of you were going to have rejection problems, it'd have happened by now." She stepped closer. "Alright. Give me your hand." She took a deep breath as Holly's hand grasped her own. "This should be easier, since you're conscious. Try to focus on my aura as it touches yours. Guide it." Holly nodded, and Amber began to incant.

"The night is dark and stormy, and the cold winds cut us deep."

From the first line, Holly could feel a tendril of magic crawling up her arm from the point of contact. Yet it didn't quite feel familiar.

"The lonely, cold and weary, in their solitude they weep."

Her own magic twined around hers, guiding it deeper into her being. Memories echoed across her mind, a voice decades younger mumbling for the first time; ['I return you to the earth...']

"But us that join together, brace our backs against the storm."

An acorn in her hand, pressed into the soil. ['...and claim the gift that is my right.']

"Become for all a shelter, candles burning, safe and warm."

Amber's magic touched her very core, the hungry vessel latching on in recognition. In time with her memories, her magic pulled.

"Ignite your soul dear sister, share the burden, take the leap."

The pale yellow magic flowed across her own, a verdant force slowly waking like a forest after spring's last thaw. Her core drank deep of Amber's power, nourishing itself like fire devouring coal.

"As basking by our candles, sons and daughters safely sleep."

The tendril of power snapped, swallowed by Holly's core as Amber released her hand and stumbled back a step. Holly's vision was tinged green as she gazed at the power flowing across her skin. Her magic, her aura, shining in brilliant emerald across her chestnut skin.

"Miss Short!" the teacher snapped, pulling Holly abruptly to the present. "I asked you a question. What is the healing threshold?"

Cheeks burning briefly, Holly thought hard. She had to think past the Book, and several decades of experience. It worked differently here. "It's the point at which the body will consume aura to heal faster."

The teacher nodded, her expression losing some of its severity.
"And the number?" She prompted.

"I... I don't know," Holly admitted.

"As low as eighty seven percent, and as high as ninety five percent of a person's capacity," a black haired boy answered without waiting to be prompted. Burgundy, another of Ruby's friends. "Most people's thresholds fall between ninety and ninety two percent."

"Thank you, Mr. Vineyard," the teacher sighed. "Please wait to be called on in the future. Now, who can explain why we use percentages here and not standardized units?" Artemis calmly raised his hand with the answer, while Burgundy waved his own about with a little too much enthusiasm. "Mr. Fowl?"

"Aura is difficult to quantify. Oums are an approximate unit of measurement at best." Artemis recited. "In addition, capacity differs from person to person. One man's fifty percent might be another's seventy five."

"Full marks, Mr. Fowl. Now then, how was aura measured before modern scanners..." The teacher continued to quiz the class as Holly tried to stay focused and Burgundy tried to answer every question. 'What am I even doing here?' She thought to herself. Granted, it was hardly the first time. Decades earlier, she'd had the same doubts while attending LEPAcademy. As her attention inevitably wavered, she found herself dwelling on that distant past.

"What am I even doing here?" asked Cadet Holly Short to an indifferent mirror. She'd enlisted to follow in her mother's footsteps, but what did that really mean? She didn't even know which branch she was going for, not that it mattered with instructors that clearly had it in for her. "Lower Elements Police... I'm lower something alright..." She sighed, rinsing her face for no real reason. Most people expected her to just smile and nod, to be another pretty face like that bimbo, Lili Frond. Just another pretty faced pencil-pusher fishing for a husband with a fat pension and a high risk career. But that wasn't why Holly was here. It came back to her as she looked again into the mirror, seeing her mother's face again for just an instant. She could almost hear her last words-

The pain was sudden and piercing like an ice-pick to the temple, ripping her from her memories and dumping her into the present. She drew a hissing breath between clenched teeth as she clutched at the side of her throbbing head.

"Miss Short?" The teacher asked, concerned. "Are you quite alright?"

"I'm fine," Holly lied. "Just a headache,"

"If it's enough to stop you from paying attention, you may as well go to the infirmary," the teacher replied, sternly. "Go. You can borrow notes from a classmate later."

Her protest died with another twinge in her head, and Holly nodded as she began to hastily gather her things.

~o~o~

"Are you sure you're alright?" Artemis asked after classes had ended for the day. They were walking to the bus stop, a few paces behind Ruby, Carmine, and Burgundy. While Aurum Technologies did own a bullhead, Amber had advised him against taking it to school. "They'll find out you have money eventually, but if you're flaunting it from day one they're going to resent you for it." It was sound advice, even if it did have them continuing to rely on public transportation.

"I'm fine, mud-boy," Holly sighed. The nurse had provided some painkillers and made her lie down for the rest of class. She had strict orders to come back if it happened again, as it could be a sign of overexertion. Signal's curriculum was mostly exercise, so it was no surprise how seriously they took student health. "Honestly, it was just a headache. It's probably nothing."

"Holly, Artemis!" Ruby called over her shoulder. "We're gonna go to an arcade in Vale! You wanna come?"

"An arcade?" he glanced at Holly, unsure how to respond.

"Yes, it's a building full of video games and junk food," Holly smirked. "Come on, why not? When was the last time you did something normal for fun?" She asked, knowing full well the answer was 'never.'

"I know what they are, Holly," Artemis huffed. "Besides, I have a meeting this evening." He assumed that was the end of the discussion, until Ruby did the lowest, foulest, most underhanded thing he'd ever experienced.

"Pleeeeeease?" She asked, silver eyes shimmering over a heart-wrenching pout. Artemis was many things. He was a businessman, a crime lord, a hero, a villain, the Prince of Thieves himself. But in spite of all of that, he was still a teenage boy and primitive thoughts like 'pretty girl is sad' tended to be louder than nefarious machinations.

"Alright," Artemis relented before he realized what he was saying. He silently cursed his hormones while Holly snickered. Ruby grinned smugly at him as the bus pulled into the stop just ahead.

The Third Street Arcade was bustling, packed to the gills with teenagers clamoring for their turns at the games. They traded lien for tokens at a kiosk that had clearly been modified. There were slots for defunct bills and coins marked with a symbol that Artemis didn't recognise. It made sense really, Artemis had figured Lien must be rather new. He hadn't even heard any slang terms for it yet, nor had he seen many of the cards with signs of wear. Deciding to buy a little friendship, he slid in a few of the largest denominations the machine would accept and passed around handfuls of proprietary coins.

"Come on," Carmine said, yanking on his arm. "I have got to watch you two fail at Dance Panic!" Ruby was behind Burgundy, pushing him toward the same game. The girls pushed them onto a floor-mounted gamepad emblazoned with arrows. Not giving them time to react, Ruby jammed some tokens down the slot, and slammed the 'Random' button as soon as it prompted them to select a song.

"Whelp," sighed Burgundy. "I guess we're doing this."

"I suppose you do as much dancing as I do?" Artemis quipped.

"Probably less," Burgundy chuckled. "Of course if you dance like you run, I win anyway." The gauntlet was thrown, and Artemis found himself surprisingly determined as the song began. It was an easy enough concept to understand, simply step on the arrows in time with the music and their place on the scre- 'It's already started, move!' His body caught up with his brain a few steps behind Burgundy, both of them performing rather terribly for the first minute or so of the song. They both focused solely on their feet, and wound up doing an embarrassing, spastic, duck-footed approximation of the riverdance while the girls giggled madly. The song finally ended as the machine tabulated the score. Artemis grinned at having 'won'. Both of them had gotten a 'D' grade, but Artemis had a hundred points on Burgundy and every right to be smug about it. Ruby dragged Holly onto the dance pad next, while Carmine picked another song.

"Seriously?" Holly groaned as a familiar track began to play.

Ruby cackled as she began to dance. "Can't let Yang have all the fun!"

"Oh, it's on Rose!" Holly grinned. Neither of them could dance worth a damn either, but the both of them were much more coordinated. Holly's wings flickered from time to time as she got caught up in the competition, stomping the panels with perhaps slightly more force than necessary. Ruby stumbled a lot, but she was quick enough to correct more often than not. In the end, Ruby finished with a C-, and Holly cheered as she bested her with a C+.

"Did we really come here for more school?" Artemis asked wryly. "Holly, I think I see a shooting gallery game over there, why don't we see if Carmine can best your aim?" He suggested smugly.

Carmine was confident, smirking as she picked up the plastic pistol and twirled it around her finger. Holly took a more professional stance, arm straight with a practiced gaze down the sights while keeping her shoulders perpendicular to the enemy to minimize her profile. She pulled the trigger several times, painting the menu with bullet holes as Carmine messed with the settings.
"Getting nervous?" Carmine jeered.
"The sight is off, three degrees to the left." Holly said with the edge of a grin.
"Wait wha-?" Carmine's confusion was cut off as the game began, cartoonish zombies with glowing eyes beginning to lumber menacingly across the screen like insomniacs in a shopping mall. Tinny gunfire echoed from the gun's speakers as imaginary bullets burrowed into the undead. Holly's score far outpaced Carmine's, as she tallied headshot after headshot with mechanical precision.

"How did you do that?" Carmine gawked when the round ended, her score utterly dwarfed. "Seriously, you didn't miss once! Do you have some kind of aiming semblance?"

"No, I'm just that good." Holly grinned as she blew imaginary smoke from the tip of her plastic gun. "You should see what I can do with a Neutrino."

"A what now?" Ruby asked. Holly's brain caught up with her, luckily.

"Energy gun. Early prototypes for what they make in Atlas, I think." She lied smoothly. She was glad Artemis had the foresight to dig into that. Energy weapons weren't unheard of in Remnant, but they were expensive. On paper, the Neutrino was just as powerful as it's dust based counterparts. Arguably more so, as one of Foaly's nuclear batteries negated the need to reload. Yet even at its maximum settings, it was barely capable of stunning Grimm, and Artemis had yet to figure out why.

"I wish they had a sniper game here," Ruby shrugged. "I'm much better with a rifle than a pistol."

"At least you hit something," Carmine grinned, looking smugly at Artemis. He'd only gotten one point, and that was from hitting something he hadn't actually been aiming at.

"Actually, speaking of sniping," Ruby said. "I think I know why your aim is so bad. You're left handed right? So you're trying to aim with your left eye?"

Artemis blinked. That hadn't actually occurred to him. With the few lessons he'd attempted with Butler, he'd stressed keeping both eyes open. "I'm not sure, come to think of it. I think so, but I'm trying to use both of them."

"Here, do this:" Ruby held up her thumb and forefinger in a ring. "Look into the center, then bring it closer to your face until it touches. Artemis complied, feeling very silly until his hand came to rest against his right eye. "Thought so. You're using the wrong dominant eye. Let's play again, and this time close your left eye."

He nodded, slotting another coin into the game. The cursor came up and he selected the same options as before. Two Players. Normal Difficulty. Iron Sights Mode. Start. More zombies lurched across the screen towards him. He closed his left eye, lined up a shot, and pulled the trigger. The zombies head exploded with a comical spray of green pixels and a bright yellow '3' that vanished an instant later.

"I actually hit something," he blinked in surprise. The next zombie was getting close, he aimed again, left eye shut tight. He missed the headshot, then panned down to it's chest. Once, twice... two points! He tapped the button on the bottom of the controller, to simulate loading a fresh magazine, then timed a shot at an explosive barrel. Three zombies returned to the grave, and a five point 'boom bonus' joined his score. He didn't even notice the grin creeping across his face as his friends cheered him on. Eventually the round ended. He was amazed that his score was in the triple digits. Of course, Ruby's was in five, but who was counting?

"See?" Ruby grinned. "Told ya! A lot of handgun classes gloss over that for some reason." Holly nodded in agreement, she certainly didn't remember that lesson. It was just part of the reflex, no more complicated than balancing on a bicycle yet no less necessary. "It's a lot more important when a scope gets involved."

"So that's what it's like to hit what you're aiming at," Artemis chuckled. "I can see why you're so fond of it, Holly." His smile was warmer than Holly had ever seen it before. It was far from the insidious, predatory smile she'd grown accustomed to. Artemis Fowl the Second was having fun. Innocent, clean, friendly, fun. For quite possibly the first time in his life. And Holly was happy to witness it.

There were many more games after that, as they slowly depleted the massive pile of tokens. Eventually, however, the pleasant afternoon had to come to an end. The ever present music and tones of various games began to wink out one by one, allowing the players to finish their rounds but then displaying a message. "Closing time! Thanks for playing!" The machines began to proclaim. Ruby dropped her air hockey paddle and scrambled for her scroll.

"Oh no, it's almost nine! We missed the last ferry!" She groaned. "Dad's gonna be so mad!"
"Oh big whoop!" Carmine barked. "We can't get back home, where are we supposed to sleep?"

Artemis wasn't listening, he'd flicked open his scroll. His meeting had been scheduled for seven, and he'd lost all track of time. As he suspected, he had a string of missed messages to his 'business' account.

ThePrettyTwin: Where r u?
ThePettyTwin: Bones is l8
ThePrettyTwin: Boss is l8!
ThePettyTwin: Boss is nvr l8?
ThePrettyTwin: called 2x. No answer.

ThePettyTwin: not School
ThePettyTwin: not AT
ThePrettyTwin: not LE
ThePettyTwin: call clinics?

He grimaced at the chatspeak. At least he had loyal employees. Artemis hastily tapped out a message.

KingMidas: My apologies, I was unexpectedly side-tracked. Have you gotten ahold of Mr. White?
ThePrettyTwin: dont scare us lik th !1
ThePettyTwin: Bones mite have bailed.
ThePettyTwin: U OK boss?
KingMidas: I'm fine, I just lost track of time. Let me know if you find Mr. White.
ThePrettyTwin: ok
ThePettyTwin: ok

He sighed, somewhat relieved. At least he wasn't the only one who missed his meeting, so he wouldn't lose face. He cleared his throat, interrupting the argument he'd been ignoring until then.
"I could put you up in a hotel for the night," Artemis offered. "Let me see if I can find a vacancy nearby."

"Nonsense," Holly said. "You can sleep at our place."
"Holly!" Artemis burst. "That's hardly appropriate."
"It's not like we don't have the space," Holly rolled her eyes. "You're the one who decided we needed so many couches."

Artemis sighed, knowing better than to keep arguing. The penthouse was half hers, he didn't have the right to refuse her guests. He pulled out his scroll. "All right, I'll call a couple of cabs. Might as well order some food while we're at it, my meeting's been postponed."
"Wait, I thought you lived on the island too." Ruby was slightly bewildered. "Why not go to one of the mainland combat schools?"
Artemis shrugged, his scroll already to his ear. "I have associates at Signal... yes, two cabs to the Third Street Arcade, please..."
"Associate?" Ruby whined. "Really? I thought we were friends."
"Hrm..." Artemis considered as he snapped his scroll shut. "Perhaps we are."
Carmine balked. "You don't know?" There was a telling silence.
"Honestly, no." Artemis relented. "I had a very... atypical upbringing-" Holly stifled a scoff. "-... which is to say, the people I knew used to fall into very clear categories. Family, associates, and enemies. I've never had the luxury of making friends."

"Friendship is a foreign concept to you," Burgundy shook his head. "That has to be the saddest thing I've ever heard."

"So what about Holly then?" Ruby asked.
"She's family," Artemis said without hesitation. Holly's jaw dropped. She considered him a friend, but... family?

London. The scent of blood and frost in the air as she loomed over Butler's frozen corpse, a bullet in his chest. A bodyguard's final purpose, to give his life for his charge. Artemis would not stand for that. He'd bought time with ice and favors, and used the People's spyware to call someone, anyone with fairy magic to beg aid. And luck had brought her. "Please Holly... I can't just let him go." She shook the flashback from her mind as the cabs arrived. All at once, the pieces fell into place. 'You don't make friends, do you Arty? If you let someone get close enough, they're family. And there's nothing you wouldn't do for family.'

"Bullshit," Burgundy huffed when the cabs dropped them off in front of an office building. "This is a business district, there aren't any apartments here."

"Who said anything about apartments?" Artemis smirked, strolling into Aurum Technologies like he owned the place.

"Coming?" Holly asked, holding the door open. Carmine and Ruby looked at each other, shrugged, and filed in with Burgundy bringing up the rear.

"Good evening Mr. Fowl," The holographic receptionist smiled synthetically as she glanced at his entourage. "Will you be needing visitor's passes?"

"Not tonight," Artemis shook his head. "These are personal guests. Would you kindly have some takeout sent up for us?"

"Of course, sir." She nodded. "Have a good evening."

Artemis turned to beckon them from the elevator, savoring the dumbfounded expressions. "Do make yourselves at home," He keyed into the room and watched the jaws drop. "Bathroom is down the hall."

"Hhhhhhow?!" Ruby was the first to find her voice. "I mean- like two months ago- you- what- huh?"
"What can I say?" Artemis grinned, a hint of the predator back behind his teeth. "I made some... profitable investments."

"In what!?" Carmine burst. "Is it drugs? I won't tell anyone if it's drugs."
"It's not drugs, Carmine," Holly sighed.
"Good, because I was totally going to tell everyone if it was drugs."
Artemis smiled at Ruby. "You remember that nightclub?"
"Yeah... I remember it closed after... you..." It clicked. "You... evil... genius."
"Wait wait wait," Burgundy finally found his voice. "Nightclub?"
"Yes, nightclub. The 'Lower Elements,' now. It used to be 'Trinity' before the proprietor ran into some legal trouble." Artemis gave Ruby a knowing look. "Naturally I don't deal with the day to day, the existing staff is competent. All I do is collect my cut, which I've been investing in other business ventures."

"Evil. Genius." Ruby repeated, still in awe.

Artemis' scroll buzzed in his pocket, a quick text message from Melanie.

ThePrettyTwin: got Bones. Still wan2 meet 2nite?
Artemis sighed at the chatspeak, but rattled off a reply. He hesitated a moment before he sent it. 'Best get it out of the way.'

KingMidas: Yes. Departing shortly, meet outside AT.

"Well, it seems my meeting's back on," Artemis sighed surprisingly genuinely. "I'm going to go change, I'll be back in an hour or two."

"Who has meetings this late?" Carmine asked.
"People who own nightclubs," Burgundy replied.
"Aaah," Carmine nodded sagely as she returned her attention to the entertainment center. "Oooh, I've got some movies on my scroll that would be awesome on this screen! Spruce Willis or Vine Diesel?"
Artemis stopped. 'Surely not,' he thought. He shook his head, continuing down the hall.

~o~o~

Artemis never used the front entrance of the club. He didn't need the club's clientele to see him coming and going. A teenager owning a business was noteworthy enough without constantly reminding the clientele. Better to be a trivial detail than a topic of conversation. He took the side door between the kitchen and the restroom, his dark suit all but lost in the dim light. The club hadn't been changed much. An overhaul would have alienated the clientele. He'd simply rebranded, trading the red in the color scheme for gold to clearly mark the change in ownership. The biggest change to the building was the office. He'd had all of Junior's furniture carted off to a storage unit, and replaced it with hardwood and faux leather. The lights were dimmed by default and the accent lighting behind his desk was carefully done in gold tones, designed to strain the eyes slightly. The effect was an understated muddling of his frame, his height, and the contours of his face, blurring both his age and his identity.

Artemis adjusted his tie as he waited for his appointment. It was a vibrant gold, set against the pitch black of the rest of his suit. It matched the mirrored sunglasses he wore rather well, though the twins standing at his side gave him a much more intimidating appearance. He hadn't asked them to, but they'd changed their attire to match the club. They wore more conservative cocktail dresses that hung off opposite shoulders. Melanie wore black to Militia's gold, and their weapons had been equally streamlined. The onyx blades of Melanie's heels flowed subtly up her calves, while Militia's new bracers folded their gilded claws neatly against her wrists when stowed. Sleek, powerful, and deadly serious. There was a knock at the door in a careful pattern, and Artemis nodded.
"Enter," Melanie beckoned. The door opened, and quickly shut again behind a man who stumbled with unexpected momentum. He was not dressed for the club, wearing nothing finer than a chain on his wallet. He tugged at the neck of his white shirt and stepped forward.

"I guess you wanted to see me... sir?" He guessed, clearly not sure which of the trio he should be addressing.

"Nicholas White, I presume." Artemis stated. It wasn't a question.

"My uh, my friends call me Brittlebones," He stammered. "...Sir."

"Very well Mr. Brittlebones," Artemis said. "My associates tell me that you're one of the most prominent dealers in the area. Stardust, Rock Candy, Moon Sugar..." He allowed the list to trail off.

"O-of course! If you want it, I can get it." He smiled, sliding awkwardly into a sales pitch before Artemis cut him off again.

"That won't be necessary. This isn't a product order," he explained. "More of a change in the terms of service. Item one: you no longer deal to minors. Ever."

"Now hold on just a minute!" Brittlebones snapped, seeming to find his spine quite suddenly. "I don't come in here and tell you how to run your business-"

"Correct," Artemis said, cutting his argument off like a butcher's blade.

"I had an arrangement with Junior..." Brittlebones began. "Where's he at? He'll tell you."

"Mr. Xiong is... indisposed, Mr. Brittlebones," Artemis calmly intoned, implying a more grim fate. His mismatched glare peered ominously over his shades, striking in the careful shadows of the room. "He crossed me. Once. I trust you won't make the same error." It took a moment for the dealer to compose himself, but to his credit he refused to back down.

"Alright, I'll bite. Why not kids?" He countered. "Hook 'em early, you get lifelong customers. Just like Pumpkin Pete's."

"The cynical reason is because children do one crucial thing that adults don't." Artemis pushed up his shades as he spoke. "Children. Get. Caught. An adult may partake of whatever they wish in the comfort and privacy of their own homes, but children lack such security. They'll do it in riskier locations to avoid the prying eyes of their parents, but forget the watchful eyes of the law. That's why you had an arrangement with Mr. Xiong, correct? To intercept police reports."

The dealer nodded. "Yeah, and?"

Artemis sighed. "We've had to intercept seven reports within the past month alone. Sooner or later, one of them is going to slip the net. That doesn't just compromise you, it compromises us. I won't stand for it." He opened a drawer, pulling out a small cardboard box filled with business cards. "These are for a rehabilitation clinic I've opened in the area. You send your youthful clients there from now on. The same for any client that is no longer able to pay you."

"What, so you want me to let people off when they owe me?" Brittlebones scoffed.

"Correct. Addicts are only profitable so long as they remain functional," Artemis said, quoting something his father had said when he was a boy. "If they are consistently unable to pay, they need to be reintegrated into society before they start committing crimes to fund their habit. Petty thefts and muggings in our territory draw exactly the wrong sort of attention, as do broken legs." He allowed the dealer a few moments to consider his words. "You'll also secure their repeat business: if they fall off the wagon, who do you think they'll turn to? Some stranger in a filthy alley?... Or their old friend Brittlebones, who kept them off the streets?"

With fading reluctance, the dealer nodded. "Okay... okay I can see your point. But it ain't your real one, is it?" Brittlebones accused. "What's in it for you?"

"Would you believe, Mr. Brittlebones, that I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart?" Artemis asked. The dealer raised an eyebrow. "I rather thought not, hence the reasons I gave. Believe or don't, it makes no difference to me so long as you toe the line. We'll continue to intercept reports of your operations, so long as you follow my guidelines to ensure there are fewer of them. No change to our cut. Do we have a deal?"

The dealer regarded him for a long moment, standing tall and ignoring the bouncers and the intentionally oppressive gloom. He extended a hand to shake Artemis' with a wry smile. "I suppose we do... boss."

"Please," Artemis smiled. "My friends call me Midas."