Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl is the property of Eoin Colfer. I am not Eoin Colfer, nor do I own rights to any of the characters, settings, or events recognizable from his works.

Author's Note: This is going to be the first story that I've posted to this site. If you have any comments, please post a review or you can Private Message me. If you notice any typos, please let my know by PM as well. Constructive criticism is always helpful.

Chapter 1

Nobody said a thing. Artemis imagined that somewhere the 1812 Overture was playing. The gold sat there, stacked in shining rows. It seemed to have an aura, a warmth, but also an inherent danger. There were a lot of people willing to die or kill for the unimaginable wealth this gold could bring.

- Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

"Check the gold."

Butler pulled out one of his knives and gouged out a portion. He examined it closely, then turned to Artemis and nodded.

Artemis sighed and relaxed slightly for an instant. Victory was now in his grasp. A moment later, and he was back in control.

"Good. Excellent. Move them down to the cell. After its done we can send the trolley back with Captain Short." Then he turned to Holly. "As soon as it is all moved, you will be returned to your People."

Holly didn't reply. She was hovering, approximately four feet off the ground and was staring at the gold, as if confused.

"Captain Short?"

Holly blinked and turned to face her captor. She seemed to be very shocked with this turn of events. Artemis sighed again, this time in exasperation.

"Look Captain, I understand if this has been a surprise, but the ransom has been paid and you are freed as soon as it's secured." When she didn't respond, Artemis continued. "I know you have very little reason to trust me, but I am an honest man, even if I step outside the bounds of legality. Your Commander has paid the ransom and –"

The Elf interrupted him.

"That's just it. I don't think they did pay."

Back at Operations, Foaly was just finishing up the last of the clean-up. In less than half an hour, the Time Stop would be ended, the People safely underground, and with only one casualty from this whole disastrous operation. Well, four casualties if you included the Mud Men.

Root blustered in.

"Is everything in position?"

Foaly rolled his eyes.

"Yes, everything is in position. As soon as Holly comes out and everyone clears the area, the Bio-Bomb will be deployed."

"Good." The commander hesitated for a moment than continued. "The Council called. They want direct access to the Bio-Bomb's launch mechanisms. Something about being certain that Fowl is dealt with."

Foaly was surprised.

"What, first Cudgeon, now this?" Foaly whined in protest.

"Is that a problem?"

"Oh, not really. The coordinates are already programmed in; the launch can be launched remotely if necessary. Only a small matter of connecting two different times zones together. Still... it's just…"

"Just what?" Root demanded.

"I don't know. Something seems wrong with this."

Root privately agreed, but couldn't actually say so. The rest of this disaster had to go off without a hitch or the Council could try to shift Cudgeon's appointment, and the consequences, onto him. Root humph'ed in agreement, and stormed off, presumably to bully some of Cudgeon's temporary lackeys back into order.

Foaly got back to work. Setting up a private and secure link up with the Council from above ground, in a time stop, and within a time limit would be a challenge.

Everyone froze. It may have only been Artemis' imagination that the 1812 Overture had been playing, but the sound of vinyl scratching seemed almost tangible.

"What do you mean?"

The Captain had gone back to staring at the gold, only now Artemis was focusing on her. She was frowning, in a way of one surprised when something isn't where it is supposed to be. In fact, she seemed to be getting angry, an indicator that she actually believed that the People had paid a ransom in fake gold. But, how would she know?

Artemis went over everything in the Book and from his searching online and came up with a high probability.

"You can sense it. You can sense that it isn't gold."

The Captain startled. Again surprised by the information that this human had.

"More or less. The People have a connection with the earth, gold especially. And I'm not feeling that, at least not as gold should feel."

"Can you prove it?"

Butler's tones were a surprise to the Captain, she hadn't noticed his approach. Short looked around the room, and searched each face. Artemis seemed closed off. Juliet seemed disappointed. Butler seemed largely concerned, but not for the money. Short followed his glance. 'Fowl? What's to be concerned about? He's as collected as ever.'

But that wasn't true. Although his face was closed off, his body spoke volumes. He was holding himself so tightly that he was trembling. His hands clenched tightly into fists, so tightly that they seemed white. Holly looked back at the gold. She removed the gold bar that Butler had tested, holding it to a damaged section of her helmet. A single stream of electricity arced from an exposed wire to the bar. And the bar cracked into pieces as the energy turned the gold to black.

Holly looked back at them, dropping the bar at her feet. Juliet was staring at the bar, at the burnt, black lines crisscrossing through something promised to be gold. Butler was staring at Artemis, who was staring… back at the Captain. He looked completely different. Relaxed almost, but very obviously defeated.

"Alright then. That… that changes things."

Another comment that Artemis wished he had never made.

"Where is she?!" Root was fuming. The Council were going to launch the missile any moment, and the Mud Boy still hadn't returned Holly.

"I don't know; Holly's helmet camera still isn't functioning and without a fairy onsite, I don't have access to the manor's security cameras. I'm trying to get a thermal image of the manor, but I'm getting interference with something inside the manor."

"Well, WHAT IS IT?!"

"I don't know. Whatever it is, it didn't start until after we sent in the gold." Foaly hesitated. "Sir, this may mean that Fowl doesn't intend to return Holly to us."

Root stood still, then looked Foaly straight in the eyes. But before he could come up with a response, a signal popped up from one of the captured Retrieval helmets.

"I believed it you know," Artemis said into one of the undamaged helmets. "I really thought it was true."

Artemis paused in his speech. Normally his attention would be completely focused on his conversation. But now, with defeat on hand and a fairy nearby whose life and trust he had just destroyed, he couldn't focus on his current action. He had to recalculate his future moves.

There was a long pause, during which Juliet helped Holly out of her damaged helmet. Apparently, they weren't anticipating a call over the captured helmets. Probably had thought that the self-destruct had activated already, but Artemis had managed to disable those with ease. Finally, Root's loud tones sounded out over the headset.

"What are you babbling about Mud Boy? And why isn't my Captain back with us out here?! You have the gold; the ransom is paid! As soon as you return her to us, this whole thing is over."

Artemis sighed. The Commander didn't know. He was still paying the old game, giving a ransom that could be recovered. At least, so he thought. That meant that someone higher up had done this. Outmaneuvered Artemis Fowl, due to treachery or incompetence. There was a lesson to be learned here, that even if you know the rules and laws, there could always be someone else that could have mucked it up by chance.

"I'm going to turn this over to the Captain now. I do however apologize, I thought too well of you and your People."

Artemis handed the helmet to Holly Short, but before she could put it on, Artemis grabbed her hand and looked her in the eyes.

"I do not believe the Commander was behind this, but in any case, I am sorry for the trials I have put you through tonight. None of this has worked out quite …." Here Artemis sighed again, and looked towards the ground. "Butler is loading the … ransom back up, once it is returned you can leave as well."

Holly just stared at the Mud Boy in shock. He was giving up, defeated. As Artemis walked away from her, she realized that it wasn't something she wanted to see. Not like this at least. This wasn't a victory. She put the helmet on to speak with the Commander.

"Did you know?" said Holly.

"Short! What's the situation? Are the Mud Men let-" Commander Root started.

"Did you know about the ransom?" Holly interrupted.

There was a short pause, but Root responded soon enough.

"Well, it took a while to authorize such a large amount, but it was delivered on time." The Commander paused again, thinking. "Short, is there something I should know about the ransom?"

Holly suppressed a sob. She felt that someone must have noticed something wrong with the ransom, but that no one would mention it...

"Yessir. You should know that in the next minute, you'll get the full ransom back. All except one bar, which I damaged. The full ransom. An entire metric ton… of Silicon Pyrite!"

"Silicon py-" Foaly started in the background, but Holly interrupted again.

"For almost ten thousand years, since the last war with humanity, LEPrecon officers have been promised a ransom in case of capture. And today, I found out they were LYING TO US!" shouted Holly.

Root made to speak but Holly cut him off again.

"I have been BETRAYED, by the Council, by the People… and you missed it. You let it happen right under your nose. So, here's a report you can take back to Haven. I quit!"

Holly felt angrier than ever before. More hurt than after two troll fights. And perhaps that's what gave her the courage to finish her next sentence.

"And I withdraw from the People below and the People above, under the Abandonment Clause of the Book!"

And finally, she ended the most painful call of her life. She pulled the helmet off her head and threw it across the entrance way.

In the bowels of the earth sat Haven, the city of the Fairy Folk. This is where all the People, from goblins to elves, centaurs to dwarves, live away from the dangers and destruction that is mankind. Protecting these fair folk is the Council, a group of LEP commanders in charge of Haven City and the People as a whole. And right now they were each of them poised to break some of the most sacred commitments they had. At least, most of them were...

"It's eight against one Councilwoman Vinyaya. Surely you see why this decision should be made unanimous. We need to stand together to -"

"Stand together? This is everything we should be standing against! Even the Mud Men wouldn't fake their offered ransoms!"

"Many of the Mud Nations don't even offer ransoms. And don't forget that they often offer fake promises, especially to each other."

"Even if they don't offer ransoms for officers, they wouldn't pay with fake money! They may make the money traceable, track the numbers or what have you, but they know enough not to give a kidnapper fake gold!"

The Council Leader paused, then continued.

"I assume then that you will not change your stance on this?"

"You may assume that I have and will NEVER change my stance on this. The hostage relief fund should have always been real. I've been telling you for decades that-"

"Wing Commander, this is not the time for 'I told you so's'. Now, as you cannot overrule our position you are required by law to stand aside."

Vinyaya glared around at the other Councilors, but only one flinched under that gaze. The rest just stared impassively back at her.

"Very well. But if it comes to light, that the Reserve Ransom Gold Fund is empty and has been for longer than any of us have been on this Council, then all of you will suffer the consequences."

"If that is a threat, know that you would be suffering with us. As it is, no human would be able to tell the difference between –"

"But Captain Short might! And if she does, then we will have abandoned one of our own to the Mad Men. Do you even know what that would mean that one of our Captains has been –"

"That will not happen," said Councilman Lope. "According to the Commander's report, Captain Short never completed the Ritual. She doesn't have the magic to sense the difference. Besides no one has ever accepted the Abandonment Clause in all the centuries since Frond had the Fairy Geis created. I highly doubt that will ever change. This is just another tactic that an officer must use to defend the People. Captain Holly, I'm sure, would understand. Now, step aside."

At this Vinyaya glared at Council Leader Cahartaz, as she took the required four steps back to demonstrate her disagreement with the decision made. The remaining Council members turned inwards and focused their attention on the communication line into the Time Stop. They would send the Bio-Bomb as soon as the elven hostage was freed... or if it was revealed that she wouldn't be released.

As if to test their resolve, a call came through from the surface. Commander Root was calling using emergency codes. Things weren't proceeding smoothly on the surface...

Commander Root was at a point beyond his fury. Many would believe that this would make him louder and brasher than ever, even Commander Root would admit that his temper usually ensures that everyone near would feel his wrath.

"Commander Root. We've received your comm link. What is the situation?"

Root stared coldly at the speaker. Emergency codes were rarely ever used, even during an emergency. In almost all real emergencies, the Commanders of the LEP, or even the secretive Section 8, had almost unlimited powers.

"Commander Root? The Council is connected. What's your status?"

In fact, there were only a few powers he didn't have in this situation.

"Commander Root?! What's the situation on the surface?"

Two of those powers being: Who was the Commander was in charge, and releasing gold from the ransom fund vault.

"Is anyone one receiving this?"

"I'm here," growled Commander Root.

"Commander Root? What caused the delay in your response?"

"You couldn't take a guess?" Commander Root spoke, coldly.

"Are the Mud Men refusing to hand over the hostage?"

"Oh, the Mud Men are allowing the release of Short. We've established a dialogue, and they've even returned the payment in full... minus one bar. We've even provided rad-gel, so they can treat our missing Captain for radiation exposure. Captain Holly Short," and here the Commander's voice grew in emphasis, "is still inside and is refusing to leave. Apparently, she cannot abide by an agreement fulfilled in dishonesty."

"I... don't believe I understand wha–"

"She has tendered her resignation. She has decided to leave the People, under the Abandonment Clause of the Book. And she is refusing to leave the premises. All because, for some reason, you sent one metric ton of PYRITE INFUSED SILICON BARS INSTEAD OF THE GOLD NEEDED TO PROCURE HER RELEASE!"

As Commander Root shouted these last loud words, he heard a rocket leap from its cradle.

Holly Short, no longer a Captain of the LEP and no longer an elf of the People, stood with Fowl in the living room. She had made her decision, and if the People refused to pay a ransom that every LEP officer is promised in case of capture by Humanity, then she wouldn't, couldn't live with them freely. It was a rash decision, to accept the Clause, a decision made in anger. She already felt her Book heat up and knew that she may have given up her magic for the Council's lies.

Fowl had already told her several times that she was free, but she still couldn't bring herself to leave. Not then, not with the LEP camped out front and a Time Stop in progress.

No, she was going to side with the Mud Men. After all, she was betrayed first. Now if only she could make the Mud Boy hurry up!

"We need to escape now! At any moment, the LEP will launch the Bio-Bomb. They'll have no other option! The Time Stop is running out and they can't let you free with knowledge about the People."

"I am quite aware of all these facts. But I need more time. I need to calculate your exact dosage, or the tranquilizer could cause you serious harm or be burned off by your magic!"

It was rather impressive. Here was a Mud Boy, barely passed his first decade, and he had already discovered a way to escape a Time Stop. It was fairly ingenious, Time Stops were often used as a way to infiltrate human homes and settlements and plant or retrieve objects. Or, at least that's what they were used for before the invention of the Bio-Bomb.

Still, the idea that a simple sleeping pill would work to escape the Time Stop was almost beyond belief. Holly wouldn't have believed it if the Mud Boy hadn't already drugged both Butlers, causing them to vanish instantly. His own flute of champagne was sitting nearby, the irony painfully clear that he would have won and escaped if not for the Council's treacherous behavior.

"Alright, I believe I have the dosage correct. This dosage should knock you out without having your magic counteract the sedative. Drink quickly and find a place to calmly drift to away."

"I know how a sedative works, Mud Boy!" snaps Holly. She then downed the glass of water and sleeping medication in several quick gulps. Artemis sighs and calmly drank his sedative-laced champagne.

"Besides, I've renounced the People" Holly continued as she started to lay down and her mind started to slow down. "I don't think I …. have … magic …."

And as the former LEPrecon Captain drifted to sleep, she heard the Mud Boy's reply.

"I think you'll find that you might have more magic than you knew."

And, just before her senses shut off altogether, she thought she heard the soft zoom of a rocket nearby.

"What happened?" Foaly exclaimed, rushing into the communications room. Commander Root was standing at the communications console, staring out of the window. Foaly looked outside just in time to see the manor glow a bright electric blue.

"No," gasped Foaly, eyes wide as he started at Fowl Manor. "No, this can't be happening! We were going… I mean, Holly was still in…"

After a long moment, Foaly looked to the Commander and was so numb was to be unsurprised at the tears he saw there. Then a voice sounded from the speaker on the console.

"We did what we had to preserve the safety of the People. I'm sorry for the loss of your Captain, Commander Root and offer our condolences. Take your time to grieve, but make sure that Captain Short's remains are removed from the premises before the time stop ends."

And with that, the red light indicating an active connection to the outside world went dark.

Both Foaly and Root stood there for a full precious minute, before Root seem to collapse inwards. Then the Commander turned around and left the room. Foaly though stood there for another minute. He didn't even respond when some of his technical sprites arrived to dismantle the communications station.

Then, with a shuttering gasp, he made a promise to himself. He would never build another Bio-bomb for the LEP. He would never allow another Bio-Bomb to be made. And he definitely wouldn't allow the ones that currently were resting in LEP garrisons around and under the world to remain at any lethal capacity.

Never again would a weapon of his own making kill one of his friends.

Root had gathered the remains of Retrieval One quickly, making sure they outfitted themselves in radiation proof blackout suits. The suits were airtight, making it ideal for working in places were poison was in the air, whether the poison was radioactive or man-made.

Captain Kelp made the mistake of asking if the large Mud Man was dead, which earned him a glare from the Commander so cold that the entire Retrieval team knew that something had gone very wrong. They had their suspicions when the load of gold had been returned out the front entrance of the manor.

After a long second of silence, Commander Root gave them a quick briefing.

"The Council were in control of the Bio-Bomb when it was launched. Captain Short was still inside. We have to go inside now to recover her body and confirm the death of the Mud Men. According to our surveillance, there were three humans inside when the Time Stop went off. Due to interference, we now need to make sure there were three humans inside when the blue rinse happened. Understood?"

It may have been the longest the Commander had gone without raising his voice since he'd been promoted to Major. Captain Kelp was looked like he was locked into place, but nodded his head; Corporal Kelp looked uncertain, perhaps even afraid of his Commander. The Commander didn't seem to notice and continued speaking in even tones as he turned back to the manor.

"Let's move out. And be careful, the big Mud Man might be gone, but he did tell the Corporal that he had mines planted in the grounds. Wouldn't be surprised if he done the drive as well."

Both Kelps and the rest of Retrieval One straightened out. Although some of them like the idea of an action hero's death, going out with a bang wasn't something they were planning for today. Enough People had died.

The Commander took point. He'd been the only one to go inside the Manor before, and so therefore would better know the layout. In any case, Foaly had made sure to create blueprints for the Manor as part of his original scans. They would allow them easier access to the Manor.

"Foaly, are you at the Command Booth?"

"Yes sir, Commander. What do you need?" the centaur replied. His voice was uncharacteristically somber.

Root almost commented to Foaly about his tone, but remembered that the centaur had been good friends with Captain Short and decided not to remark on it.

"Are you getting any thermal signatures?"

"Julius, the Bio-Bomb filled that building with heat signatures. Mostly flares from the blast. It won't calm down for at least three days."

"Anything you can give me on where they might have been?"

"Well, it looks like the scans started working after the silicon pyrite had been removed. The last heat signatures were in the main kitchen when the bomb … was detonated. I'd start there. Better make it quick, we've got maybe five minutes until the Time Stop ends."

"Thank you Foaly."

The Commander turned to his men and gave the order. Three Retrieval units gathered at the sides of the doorway to the Manor. After a quick glance inside, all three went inside and took defensive positions to defend and secure this room. Or, at least, they tried to.

Everyone outside heard the retch. Hearing someone vomit into their microphone actually made one of the officers outside have to kneel over themselves and open their visor.

The Commander looked into the Manor at the three officers. Captain Kelp was doubled over, heaving over a pile of vomit on the floor and his boots. After a moment, Corporal Kelp turned around as well. His visor was closed, and he might have started drowning in his own bile.

Root jumped inside and pressed the visor-release button. He didn't get to watch the puke spill out of Grub's helmet though, because he was quickly on his knees as well regurgitating his rations over the dusty rubble-filled floors.

"Foaly," groaned Root, in between vomiting. "What's happen – HURK!"

"Commander! Give me a moment, I'm looking! I'm looking!"

Back in the Command Booth, Foaly was frantically searching for answers. He wouldn't allow another friend to be lost today.

"Right. Spontaneous vomiting, nausea … Oh!"

"What?!" shouted Root, trying to crawl back to the waiting Retrieval Team outside. Difficult considering he couldn't stop dry heaving.

"It's the magic!" exclaimed Foaly. "No Fairy may enter the house until Fowl is dead. And if you're having that reaction, that means they made it. Artemis Fowl is still alive."

Root finally rolled outside the entrance way, and almost immediately felt better. One of the Corporals outside helped him on his feet.

"Foaly, if they are alive, then this isn't over. They might still have Captain Short. We'll have to return as soon as possible to contain the situation."

"Yes sir, I've got our exit window ready. We'll be leaving the instant after the Council closed their comm line. It will give us a window of three hours until Fowl Manor rejoins the world at large."

The ground was soft by the time-stop perimeter. Half a millennium's bad drainage from the medieval walls had transformed the foundations into a virtual bog. So that was where Mulch surfaced.

The soft ground wasn't the only reason for choosing that exact spot. The other reason was the smell. A good tunnel dwarf can pick up the scent of gold through half a mile of granite bedrock. Mulch Diggums had one of the best noses in the business.

- Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Like all dwarves though, they could also smell the difference between real gold and fake gold. Trying to pass off fake gold to a dwarf was like comparing Foaly's inventions to a potato battery; at best they give you an annoyed grimace, but are more likely to respond with anger. Otherwise, dwarves usually didn't even bother with fake gold, but Mulch smelt an opportunity for profit and so popped up on a hill overlooking the hovertrolley.

The trolley itself floated almost unguarded, with two Retrieval officers standing guard laughing at a mess that Commander Root was in. This allowed Mulch a good chance to case the ransom. And he didn't like what he saw.

The trolley was almost full, with a single bar missing from its stacks. The only way more faux gold would be missed is if the attempted ransom had been more than a single ton. If he tried to take any, the missing 'gold' would be easily noticed and the LEP Commander would definitely suspect something.

He might even discover that Mulch had faked his death. Still, Mulch almost had to thank Julius. In the course of a single night, he had gone from nearly killed by a goblin gang while under arrest to free and presumed dead by the LEP. And since he wouldn't be taking anything from the cart, there would be no evidence otherwise.

Still, that didn't mean that he was in the clear. To really sell this, he would need to avoid the People for a few decades. Maybe take up a job as a cat-burglar. If he was able to get enough money, he'd be able to hide in comfort, meaning that by the time he returned to the Underground no one would connect this long missing dwarf with the long dead Mulch Diggums.