they call me "hell"
they call me "stacey"
they call me "her"
they call me "jane"
that's not my name
that's not my name
that's not my name
that's not my name
Artemis Fowl is a novel series written by Eoin Colfer.
My story is a fan fiction of that series.
What I posted here was my fan fiction, not the novel.
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leaving for the summer. Will try and pop in everyonce in a while. It will only get worse once school starts, so go ahead and wrap your head around me not being here. Please don't PM while I'm gone. I hope I can clean the slate with you all before I leave. Um... I guess that's it. Have a happy and safe summer and God loves you!
New chapter yay! Big thanks goes out to Lunabird over on KHU for her support. She's basically my only constant reader right now which makes her cool and all you guys lamers.
~
Chapter Four: Smooth Criminal
Artemis kept the sudden revelation to himself. He didn't want Gideon and the others to think him more insane than they already did. It all fit, but he didn't want to make any assumptions. The incredibly short stature. The dissapearing wounds... and now that he looked closer in the light, he could see that Ruby's ears were pointed. It had been so dark the night before he hadn't even noticed.
He wondered if the others knew. Was Ruby simply being protrayed as a dwarf with a birth defect of her ears? He glanced at Peregrin and Willow. They both had hair covering their ears. Peregrin's hair was long, dark and wavy. It brushed against his neck and was lightly feathered around his face, parted down the middle. Willow's hair was long, wavy and dark blond, shoulder length. It was held back in a low ponytail, but it was loose enough to still cover her ears. Both Peregrin and Willow were about three feet tall, but with the proportions of twenty-something year olds.
He would have to get at least one of them off by themselves and ask. Ask wether or not they were fairies. Getting them to speak would also aid him in another way. He remembered how Holly had an accent, a peculiar accent. Juliet had once said "It sounded like a little bit of everything." And if he could get any one of the three alleged fairies to speak and they had the same accent...
Artemis was so deep in thought that he hadn't even heard Gideon speaking to him. "Come on, we're leaving for real this time," he was saying. When Artemis didn't answer, he snorted and grabbed Artemis's shoulders, propelling him forward. "Excuse me?" said Artemis, adruptly pulled from his train of thought. "I said, we're leaving."
Artemis tried to stop and turn around, but Gideon kept on pushing. "Stop, I need to talk to Ruby," he protested. In his diminishing line of sight, he saw Ruby look up at him. Artemis looked at her desperately. Gideon glanced over his shoulder, and then looked at Artemis. He stopped. "What's wrong?" he asked, squinting at Artemis.
Artemis pushed Gideon aside and walked quickly over to Ruby. He knealt in front of her and said "I need to talk to you privately. It's quite urgent." Ruby's deep brown eyes widened, and Peregrin stormed over and grabbed Artemis's shoulders. "What do you think you're doing?" he growled.
Artemis's heart almost skipped a beat. Peregrin had the exact same accent as Holly, and all of the other fairy people he'd heard speak in English before. Artemis twisted to look at Peregrin. His dark eyes were angry and standing behind him was a very worried looking Willow. "All of you. I need to speak to all of you, privately," said Artemis. "Peregrin," murmured Willow.
Peregrin looked deeply in Artemis's eyes. In them, he saw three things. Truthfulness, urgency and...fear. He stepped away from Artemis and said, deeply, but quietly so that only he and Artemis could hear "Meet me on the corner of the street outside this building at dusk." Artemis nodded once, and stood. Gideon was staring at him, and ****ed an eyebrow expectantly. They walked out together, and when they got to the window Gideon asked "What was that all about?"
Artemis simply smiled. "Nothing you should worry about, Master Gideon. I'll be out of your hands soon enough if all goes well," he said quietly. Gideon scoffed. There was a ladder bolted to the wall. Artemis didn't ask questions about it, just started scaling it right after Gideon. They squeezed out of the window and onto the crates.
The city was alive with the sounds of morning. Gideon jumped down the boxes, but Artemis climbed down carefully. "Penny's been dying to see you again," said Gideon suddenly. "You were all she talked about last night. Mother had to tell her three times to go to bed." Artemis didn't say anything. He didn't have anything to say. Gideon started to walk, so Artemis followed him.
As they walked, Artemis was planning. There had to be a way to get home. Back to his own time, that is. And now that he had potentially found three fairies, he might be able to do that.
His plan? His plan was to find the LEP.
~
Captain Holly Short was flying over Spain. She loved Spain, especially the coast. But, unfortunately for her Spruce had decided to spend his little vacation in the mountains. He was hiding out on the Granada side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. And it was snowing. "Fabulous," thought Holly as she sped across Spain.
If she hadn't had her visor down, her face would be stinging from the snow hitting her face at this high speed. She would return home with hundreds of tiny cuts in her face. So she had her visor down. "Foaly," she said. "I'm right here, what's going on?" came the answer from her ear piece.
"He's really in a cave?" she asked with a sigh. "Yes, Holly, he really is. Honestly, Spruce has got to be the dumbest criminal I ever seen in my entire life. He fell for that fake papers trick. I mean, really...." rambled Foaly. Holly blocked him out, and opened a search grid in her visor. There it was. It was a small cave, half hidden in a snow drift. Holly dropped down to it.
She couldn't see him. She told Foaly that. "Well, duh, Holly," he replied. Holly grimaced. "I'm going in there. It's not like he can get past me or anything," Holly said. She turned off her wings and dropped the remaining two inches into the snow. She landed lightly, the snow gently poofing around her boots.
And then she took a step and sunk in up to her waist. "Oh, crap," she said. She planted her hands on the snow and pushed. She wriggled. She strained. She was utterly stuck. She wilted for a moment and then turned on her wings. Her wings struggled, but after working at it for a few seconds, Holly was able to claw her way out. She kept her wings on and hovered lightly, so that she was walking but in no danger of sinking again.
She pulled out her Neutrino and melted part of the ice and packed snow so that she could get into the cave. She stepped in, and turned on her tunnel beams. "You...Spruce. Manny Spruce. Get out here," she called. No answer. She sighed. "This is the LEP, come out now. Do not attempt evasion or I will use force."
Still no answer. Holly shifted her weight and put one hand on her hip. "Are you sure this is the one, Foaly?" she asked. "Yes, Holly. I'm sure. He's stupid, but no one is THAT stupid. Use thermals," said Foaly. Holly blinked. Am I losing my touch? she thought. She shook her head to clear it and turned on thermals. Nothing.
She sighed heavily. "Okay, maybe he's deeper in, or behind a bend. Do you have a map for me?" she asked. "Do I have a map?" repeated Foaly sarcastically. "Of course I have a map. I'm sending it to you now." With a teensy "bink" noise, the file was in her mailbox. She looked at it and said "Okay, let's go...this way first," she said, heading to the right. It seemed like a pretty straightforward path.
"You'll notice that it tracks your path with an orange line," explained Foaly. Holly rolled her eyes. She had noticed. "A virtual Hansel and Gretel, thanks," she laughed. She kept her shield up and thermal scan running. She poked her head in every nook and cranny and she told Foaly "Have Retrieval on stand-by, I have a feeling I'm going to find him soon."
"Retriveal on stand-by," affirmed Foaly. Holly smirked. She searched for an hour and finally found Spruce hiding in the tiniest nook of all. His thermal signature filled up the entire space, and stuck out like a sore thumb. Holly glided silently over to him, raised her visor and stuck her face right next to his. One of the reason Holly made such a wonderful Recon officer was she was stealthy. Very much so.
Spruce didn't even notice her until she whispered "Hello, Manny" in his ear.
~
It took Artemis and Gideon two hours to walk home. By the time they got there it was ten o clock in the morning. Gideon led Artemis up the stairs and into their apartment once again. Mrs. DeMartino was working. Gideon said "Maybe this isn't a great idea. I have to get to my job, too. I wasn't supposed to work today but..." He trailed off.
"I could look around town if you are worried about leaving me alone in your home," suggested Artemis. Gideon thought for a second. Then, he sighed. "Well, I guess that's the best choice now... but... you kind of stick out, didn't you notice?"
Artemis looked down at himself. He was wearing khaki trousers and a white polo shirt. He blinked and then looked at Gideon. He was wearing what almost seemed like a costume to Artemis, but everyday dress to Gideon. Even though he was sixteen, he still wore his pants short. His pants came down to his knees and buckled, and he wore a white tee-shirt under suspenders. Dark, long socks and dark brown shoes. His curly dark hair was covered by a "news boy" style cap.
Artemis did stick out. Very badly. "I think maybe we're the same size. I'm a little taller than you and more.." Gideon said, looking Artemis over from the top to the bottom. "Filled out... but you should be abble to do with my clothes. I'll go get them."
Artemis sniffed delicately. It was true though. Gideon was more filled out, his arms curved gently with muscles. And his shirt fit against him nicely. Still, Artemis was a little offended. Gideon came back with the clothes and instructed Artemis to go put them on in the teeny-tiny washroom at the end of the hall.
He emerged wearing something very much like Gideon. Only his pants were black instead of brown, his socks were black, he had no shoes, no suspenders and no cap.Gideon snickered. "Well, it looks a little better. Honestly, you look better than some of those guys out on the streets. Count yourself lucky, Fowl." Artemis stared at his feet, and then went back and got his shiny loafers. It looked ridiculous, but at least he had shoes. His shirt was a little baggy, but as they were walking back out the door, Artemis tucked it in.
He was now part of the era. They walked out into the midday heat and Gideon left him standing on his own on the street corner as he ran off to work. Artemis wondered briefly what kind of job. "Obviously some sort of labor," he observed to himself, starting down the sidewalk. "It has to be that. He's so... in shape."
Artemis got bored quickly with nothing to stimulate his mind. He walked around the city and finally sat down on a bench and people watched. He didn't even noticed when Liesel and Margaret showed up. Liesel sat down next to him, silently, and Margaret beside her. They sat there, pretending to be waiting for something. Liesel folded her hands into her lap, and Margaret giggled softly.
Artemis's eyes flickered over and he saw them. He raised his eyebrows. "Miss Liesel, Miss Margaret. Hello," he said. Margaret smiled warmly at him. She was wearing a green and pink floral dress and a croched hat. Liesel was wearing a similar dress, only in blue and yellow, and she had a wide brimmed straw hat on. "Hello, Artemis. What are you doing just sitting here?"
"I should ask you the same question," said Artemis. Both women tittered. "Actually, we are just grocery shopping," said Margaret. "Didn't expect to see you out and about," added Liesel. "Neither did I," mused Artemis absently. He stared at the ground and Liesel said. "You changed your clothes."
"Yes," said Artemis, warily. Liesel and Margaret looked at each other, and then Liesel said "Soichi told us what Gideon said about you." Artemis took a deep breath and looked at the two young women. "What...exactly... did he tell you?" Artemis asked carefully.
Liesel leaned in close. Her hat rested against Artemis's forehead. Margaret leaned in, too, peering over Liesel's shoulder as Liesel said, "He said... that Gideon said... that you're...from the future. Gideon said his sister said that and that he believes every word."
Liesel studied him for a moment. "I have to say...I want to believe it, too. But...what proof can you give us?"
Artemis thought for a moment. Penny and Gideon genuinely believed him to be from the future, and he hadn't even told them anything yet. "Proof," he murmured. "I can't give you much. Only things that... would show you after I was already gone. Events that I know of that you can't possibly yet."
Margaret and Liesel looked on expectantly. "Like, what? Anything you can tell us?" asked Margaret. Artemis thought of the perfect thing. "This depression ends in about 6 years. The world gets better."
Liesel and Margaret blinked. "Well, that's something I'd like to believe," said Liesel. "But unfortunately, right now, that's too much to hope for." "There has to be something else," thought Artemis. Suddenly, he had it. His cell phone was still in the pocket of his khakis. But they were all the way back at the DeMartino's apartment.
"Please, excuse me for a moment," said Artemis standing. Liesel and Margaret stood, as well. "We'll meet you in front of the shop near Gideon's apartment building, you know the one," said Margaret. Artemis nodded once. "All right. I'll meet you there... and with proof, as well."
The women smiled as Artemis turned and began to walk back to the DeMartino's home.
~
Holly's whisper scared the living daylights out of Spruce. He tried to scoot back, run away. But there wasn't enough room for that. Holly stuck her Neutrino into the hole and said "Just stay right where you are. The Retrievel team should be here in an hour."
Spruce blinked twice, and then turned his head slowly towards Holly's face, directing his gaze from her gun. He stared blankly at her for a few moments and then his face... changed. It twisted with ugly anger and he THREW himself at Holly. She screamed as he grabbed her head and started jerking.
"What the heck, he's trying to take my head off!" thought Holly, struggling to pull the pixie off her head. He came off, with her helmet. He landed on the ground, rolled and came to a stop. He got up, stumbling as Holly ran towards him, her weapon trained on him.
The pixie was up and running and Holly didn't have her helmet. She chased after him, screaming "Stop! Put the helmet down, Spruce!" Spruce was a pixie, and pixies were fast. Holly could hear his footsteps echoing off the cave walls as he sped though tunnels and paths.
She'd almost caught up with him when he turned suddenly into a hidden path. One minute he was there and the next he was gone. Holly made the mistake of stopping for a second. By the time she realized there was another path and was on her way down it, Spruce was already in the process of destroying her helmet.
When she caught up to him, he was smashing her poor defesneless helmet into the hard ground. Shards of her visor went everywhere, and with a spark and loud crack, out went the tunnel beams. The cave suddenly became pitch black. Holly stopped running immedietly and hissed a mild expletive.
Spruce continued to smash the LEP helmet into the ground blindly and every so often there was a brief flash of light from the sparks. Holly's heart sunk as she listened to the sickening crunching and cracking noise. Slowly, the sound stopped and Holly could hear Spruce's heavy breathing.
"Oops," she heard him say quietly. "I probably shouldn't have exploded like that. I apologize, officer, I--" "Don't you dare speak to me you...you... you are a...bad, bad person. You destroyed LEP property and now we are stuck in this cave with no light! I don't expect you know the way back do you? DO YOU?!" Holly screamed at him. She was so angry she could spit.
Spruce said nothing. Holly kicked the air, punched the air, strangled the air. She flalied until she found a cave wall and kicked it over and over and over. Her anger exploded from her, pent up for two years. She screamed and kicked the cave wall, then punched it over and over until she'd bloodied her knuckles.
When she finally stopped, she simply stared at the darkness, closed her eyes, and rested her head against the cave wall. She was breathing heavily. What the heck was she going to do? There was an emergency glow stick in her pack, but what if the couldn't get out? She figured they would be okay of they could at least make it back to the entrance of the cave.
But even with the light, she didn't know the way back. She sneered, angry at herself for being so...too... dependent on Foaly's technology. Whatever happened to the ingenuity she was praised for, the cleverness? The great Holly Short seemed to be losing her touch and it made her so ANGRY.
She felt that insane, intense anger well up inside her again, and she tighened her fist until her nails were digging into the smooth skin there. What was wrong with her? When she got out of this place (she didn't dare think "if") she was going to get a full exam. She wanted to get checked out because lately... she hadn't been feeling right.
~
Artemis walked up the stairs at a leisurely pace. He reached the DeMartino's tiny apartment and heard...singing. Intrigued, Artemis knocked on the door. The music continued, but the voice stopped and Artemis heard footsteps coming rapidly towards the door. He took a small step back as Penny jerked the door open.
"Artemis!" she screamed, grabbing his wrists. She pulled him in so hard his head snapped back. She kicked the door close with one bare foot and said "You came back! I knew you would. Where did you go?"
Artemis's head was spinning. "Get the phone, get out. Get the phone, get out," he thought. He didn't want to deal with Penny, only wanted to get back to Margaret and Liesel with his proof in hand. But as Artemis was being pushed down into one of the rickety kitchen chairs and Penny was twirling back over to the record player he though "But...why?"
"I want their trust," he answered himself. "I want them all to trust me. They can help me get home. Ruby and her family... if they are what I think they are... may be the only way back. I have to get all of them to trust me. There is no way Liesel and the others will even let me near them if they think they can't trust me. I want them to believe that I'm from the future, so they will understand why I'm desperate for their help."
Artemis's deep thinking was interrupted by Penny. Not directly, but Artemis noticed yet again that Penny had an extraordinary voice. It wasn't breathy or as high-pitched as most girls her age. It had a little vibrato to it, and she had excellent pitch. She was talented. She could sing well, even as she was turning in circles and leaping and dancing like crazy.
Finally, the song ended and Penny turned to Artemis, grinning. "They let me sing at school today. For show and tell. I didn't have anything to bring from home, so I brought my voice. Isn't that funny?" she giggled. Artemis nodded with a small smile. Penny danced over to him and flopped into one of the chairs. Artemis was afraid the chair was in danger of breaking but it held fast.
"Gideon sings, too. We all do. At church. And Gideon sings down at the docks, where he works. They all do, but Gideon is the best. Can you sing, Artemis?" she rambled. Artemis shook his head. "No. But I can play the piano and violin."
Penny looked at him, awed. "Really? They have a piano at our church. Maybe you could play it sometime," she said quickly. Artemis replied, "Perhaps. Excuse me, Penny, but I came here for something. I need to get something out of my clothes and be on my way, it's very important."
"Okay," said Penny, rocking in her chair. She popped up and ran back over to the record player, starting the music over again. The music got slightly muffled as Artemis walked to the end of the hall. His clothes were folded neatly and placed on the back of the toilet. There was a small bulge from the phone in his pocket. He dug the phone out and then, curious, flipped it open and pressed the power button.
Surprisingly, it turned on. But not surprisingly, he had no phone service. He powered it down and stuck it into the pocket of the pants he wore now. He turned and walked out, back down the hall. Penny was so enveloped in the music she didn't even notice when he opened the door and left.
He walked back down the stairs, back out into the street. It was late afternoon now. He could see the little shop. There was Liesel in her huge straw hat. He jogged across the road and over to the two women. "This way," he said, leading them to the side of the building.
The two women bent over his hands when he withdrew the phone. Margaret's eyes went wide when she saw it, but Liesel's face was in shadow and Artemis couldn't tell her reaction. He flipped it open, pressed the power button again and it glowed softly. The women looked from the phone to Artemis, to the phone again.
They said nothing. Their jaws went slack. "Then... it's true then?" said Liesel. Artemis couldn't tell if it was a question or not. So he nodded and said "Do you believe me now? Do you believe I'm from the future?"
"Yes," said both women, simultaneously. They looked at each other and Liesel said "We need to show this to Soichi and Gideon."
~
A/N: Okay, that's all for now. -_-'' This chapter could be a little better, but it's one of those chapters that's not interesting but needed for the.. um... what's the word? Progression of the plot, yes. Enjoy.
Preview: In the next chapter, it's Holly and Spruce still in the cave and things only get worse. Soichi and Gideon see Artemis's proof and Artemis speaks to Ruby, Willow and Peregrin. I could tell you more but that would spoil it, now wouldn't it?
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