Artemis walked the streets of Dublin alone, a dangerous move for one who was the target of so many corporations and assassins across and under the world. Right now, though, he would have welcomed an assassination.

He had finally plucked up the courage to spill his guts to Holly, and she had listened calmly to his innermost feelings and his declarations of love, and then had quite calmly sat there and shattered his heart into a million pieces like a gnome crushing a peanut between his molars.

I know how you feel, but we can never be together. I have a duty to the people. We’ll always be friends, but that’s the way it has to stay. I feel the same way, but we’ve got to block these feelings. Come on, Artemis, you of all people know how to do that! she had said jokingly, but every word she had spoken was like a punch in the face to him. It felt like she had shattered his heart and was now stamping on the pieces. He knew she was joking when she had said about blocking emotions, but he had felt nothing but sorrow.

And now he was here, in the rain, wandering aimlessly around Dublin, mulling over their adventures in his head. He was so engrossed that he didn’t notice Holly crouching on a gargoyle above his head. He didn’t notice when she shielded and dropped to head height with her winds. He was so engrossed, in fact, that he didn’t even notice the ten-ton articulated lorry bearing down on him, the driver distracted by a mobile phone.

Holly screamed as she saw the wall of petrol-powered steel smash into Artemis’s frail body. He, meanwhile, didn’t even let out so much as a yelp. He was so depressed that he barely noticed when the truck, out of control, smashed against a brick wall at an angle, throwing him off the front and under the wheels.

Holly was the first to the site, closely followed by Butler, whom she had called moments ago when she saw Artemis walking alone down the streets in Downtown Dublin.

She knelt beside his body, not even caring that she was unshielded, and wept openly for her mistakes. She sobbed as she pumped magic into his body, trying to heal the fatal injuries he had sustained. His eyes cracked open, and he focused on Holly’s face.

“You came back…” he whispered, so quietly that she almost didn’t hear.

“Artemis! Don’t leave me! Don’t you dare die, mud boy!”

Artemis laughed, an action which brought up blood and mucus from his throat.

“Listen for a moment, Holly,” he said. “I’m gone. My sixth and seventh ribs have broken, liercing my lung. My shins are shattered, and my spine is fractured at the 14th vertebrae. I have excessive blood loss - all the magic in Haven couldn’t help me now.”

“Artemis, NO! Stay with me! Do’t you dare die, don’t you DARE!” she said, tears streaming down her nut-brown cheeks. “I… I love you”

Artemis’s face lit up, and for a moment he had his victory expression on.

“Knew it.”

 

Holly did what she could, and Butler just managed to get him into a freezer drawer in a nearby restaurant. He had maybe a minute to live unfrozen, and an hour frozen. Holly called Foaly, but was choked by tears, so Butler was forced to make the call. Within twenty minutes a timestop was in place, the police had been dismissed and Number One was working on Artemis. Holly sat on the bumper of Butler’s parked Bentley, her head in her hands. Now she knew how Artemis had felt…

Some time passed, and Number One came out. He was slick with sweat and tired from the amount of magic he had used, but he had a smile on his face.

“Is… Is he alive?” asked Holly.

“See for yourself,” he said. Holly stood up, barely able to believe it. Artemis was there, hobbling on a crutch, being supported by Butler, but he was smiling. A more natural, happy smile than he had ever smiled before. Holly jumped to her feet and threw her slender arms around Artemis’s neck - it was a bit of a stretch. Artemis wobbled for a moment, and it seemed that he was about to fall, until Butler caught him and held him up.

“Oh gods, I’m sorry, Artemis” wept Holly, unable to release him. “It’s all my fault.”

“On the contrary,” said Artemis. “It was the fault of myself and that truck driver. You on the other hand bear no blame at all. You in fact saved my life. Had it not been for your magic, I would have died a painful death at the roadside.”

Holly released Artemis from her arms, and activated her wings. Hovering so her head was level with Artemis’s, she planted a long kiss on his lips.

“I’ll always be here for you” she whispered. Another kiss. It was one of those moments when everything goes all pink and flowers and bunnies start appearing on the corners of the screen. It was, however, quite rudely interrupted by Foaly.

“If you two lovebirds are quite finished, we’ve got a good few dozen mindwipes to perform, thanks to Holly. Artemis, you should probably get some rest.”

Artemis turned to Foaly. “Of course. I’ll let you get on with it” he said, getting into the rear seat of the Bentley.

Back at Fowl manor, night was falling. Artemis had climbed into his bed, making sure he left the window open a fraction. He was awoken a few hours later - there was nothing visible there, but he heard someone at the window. He said, apparently in his sleep, “you’re welcome to come in”…

and, after a time, the window was pulled closed, and a wing rig was placed on the desk quietly.

And, a little later, Artemis turned in his sleep, a smile on his face…

Some other stories by LEP-recon124:

• Open war
• Power of the Ancients
• Alliance
• LEP-centurion001 part two
• Pariah (a dreams and nightmares spin-off)