A/N: Alright, I've been sitting on this idea for quite some time, but I was having a lot of trouble with the title. After finally thinking of something, I've decided to post. I have two other projects on the go, but no worries; it won't cause a lag for any reason. A brief note on the title, for those of you who are wondering: Chronos is, in Greek mythology, the personification of time. Alright, so here it is, chapter one. I'm so excited. To be completely honest with you, I'm in love with the concept of this story. Okay, so for real this time. Enjoy.
Wait, one more thing. I don't own Artemis Fowl or any such thing. The only thing I own in this story is the plot and my own original character, who you will meet very soon.
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Artemis Fowl: The Chronos Assignment
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Chapter One; The Information Highway
Fowl Manor, Ireland
It is every parent's nightmare to lose their child. Life for Artemis Fowl Senior and his lovely wife Angeline had been a living nightmare over the last three years. Their beloved son, their little Arty, had disappeared, into what seemed like thin air. The man that they had hired to protect their heir from birth had come to them, babbling about fairies and demons and time travel. Angeline, who knew all too well what grief could do to a person's mind, had suggested that Butler take a few days off. His few days off turned into retirement, as he came to the conclusion that Artemis was never returning. Deep down though, Butler always had faith. He knew the teenager far too well to believe that he was gone for certain. Juliet, who had caught wind of Artemis' disappearance, immediately returned to Ireland to spend time with the distraught and broken up family. And when she heard Butler's stories about the LEP, Juliet knew they were true. She remembered everything from her first encounter with Holly Short, to the day which she had been sat down in a chair, ready to have her memories erased. However, Juliet said nothing to the Fowl family, preferring to comfort her brother silently. The Fowls eventually moved on with life, Angeline giving birth to twin boys, whom she named Brailey and Connor. And the nightmare wasn't as scary anymore, but it was certainly still there.
Of course, everyone knows that nightmares are nothing but frightening dreams, and dreams only take place in the hidden corners of our minds as we sleep. Once we wake up, our nightmares disappear. It was no more than two weeks ago that Artemis Fowl, the missing and presumably dead, stepped out of a time tunnel and back into the lives of his parents and his new brothers. It was no more than two weeks ago that Angeline Fowl and Artemis Senior awoke from their horrible nightmares.
And for the two weeks since his return, Artemis had done a lot of catching up. He had been introduced to his new brothers, who were nearing two years of age, and who seemed to enjoy his company very much. The teenager had, in fact, spent an entire night up in bed flipping through photo albums that Angeline had put together in his absence.
Speaking of Angeline; it had been very hard for Artemis to explain to his parents where he had been for the last three years. Luckily, the boy had something flowing through his veins that his parents would never need to know about. Throughout his adventure in Hybras, Artemis had gained some extremely obvious souvenirs, one of which was the vivid hazel eye he had taken from Holly Short, his elfin friend. That was a problem easily solved though. It was a simple matter of wearing a blue contact lens to mask the hazel. Much to his dismay, Artemis had to settle for the cheap variety store brand on his first night home, until he could reach an optometrist to purchase a custom-made set of lenses. The other gift which Artemis had received in Hybras was magic. Unbeknownst to everyone, save he and Butler, blue sparks now ran through Artemis' veins mixed in with his blood cells and his very being.
It was this very magic that allowed Artemis to use the fairy gift of the mesmer on his parents, and calling in his fairy friends to perform an intricate mind-wipe on the pair. Artemis neglected to mention that they were under the influence of the mesmer. And it was only a simple field mind wipe, for which Artemis was thankful. Foaly would've never missed the fact that the two adults were victims of magic. Angeline and Artemis Senior were now convinced that their son had been attending school in Switzerland for the past three years. Artemis certainly felt guilty about fooling his parents, but he knew that there was no other choice. Any lie was better than the alternative of truth, which meant exposing the fairies to more people than the need to know few.
And after two weeks of catch up time, Switzerland was rather far away from Ireland, Artemis Fowl felt right back at home, and was glad to be there. Although, family bonding got a bit tiresome after the span of fourteen days. As such, it was an early Wednesday evening when Artemis settled down at his computer, the first time since his return. He nearly chuckled at the sight of the dusty monitor. It seemed like mere weeks since he had last sat there, but to him, it was.
Artemis turned the computer on, eager to surf the Internet and discover what scientific advancements had been made in his absence. As he typed the URL to his favourite search engine, only one thought was pulsing through Artemis' brain. The teenager proceeded to, almost unsurely, type the words time travel into the search box. He clicked enter and waited less than a second before his results were listed. Ah, the wonders of the information highway.
Artemis scrolled through the usual junk that polluted the Web, reminded vaguely of his many plotting sessions that had taken place in this room years earlier. Plotting sessions which just happened to include the kidnapping of a certain magical being. Artemis pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, ever the one to always stay focused. After a half hour, overcrowded with useless information, Artemis struck figurative gold.
An online journal, published on a reliable university website, written by one Doctor Velez. Artemis clicked the link and skimmed through the Doctor's many entries which discussed a vast array of subjects. A few of the more recent entries spoke of time travel. Artemis read the journal, fascinated, a plan already blossoming in his mind.
On the subject of: Time Travel
It is
often said, by some of the world's greatest minds, that travelling
through time is quite possible, and perhaps even agrees with a scarce
few of the laws of physics. However, these great scientific minds
also firmly believe that travel is only possible if it happens to
lead one to the future. Apparently, the past is done and is not to
be accessed, not even by breaking a few of Newton's laws. I say
apparently because I am sceptical that time can only be travelled to
the future. And I say Newton's laws in relation to the third
statement that the brilliant man conjured up (please see two entries
previous for a full explanation). My friends and dear readers, if
there are any of you; I have two things to say to you. One, a
scientist can have a sense of humour, and I hope you enjoy my rather
sketchy jokes. Two, I believe I am on the verge of a breakthrough.
I doubt it will be long until the secrets of time are unlocked. I
will be sure to keep you updated.
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Doctor R. Velez (Theoretical physics and Biochemistry)
Artemis glanced over the screen and laid his eyes upon the contact button. A smirk played onto his lips. This Doctor R. Velez was no doubt a very intelligent man. Artemis clicked the contact button and a new window popped up, displaying a blank page for e-mail composition. Perhaps it was time to have some fun with the good doctor. Artemis began to compose his message.
Doctor Velez,
I have
read your entire journal and I must say I am very impressed with all
you have done, especially in the field of time travel. Your last
entry was a tiny bit disappointing; I was expecting you to reveal
more about your views on presentism, although I'm sure you
disapprove. But no matter Doctor, I feel it would be my privilege to
meet you. Perhaps I can fly out to your lab in a few days time?
Maybe Friday in fact, if you even read this, which I sincerely hope
you do. Please return my e-mail and inform me if you're
interested.
Truly,
Artemis Fowl.
Artemis clicked the send button, a vampire-like smile lighting up his face. Of course he had neglected to mention that he was Artemis Junior. He doubted an extremely educated man like Velez would agree to meet with the young boy. Although Artemis could hardly be considered young anymore. No matter. The boy closed up the computer and stalked off to bed, hoping that he would receive a reply very soon.
He knew he would. The scientist would hardly pass up an opportunity to befriend someone who could potentially fund his experiments. What Artemis didn't know, was that Doctor Velez was quite surprising, in his own way.
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Haven
The last two weeks had been anything but peaceful for Holly Short. It seemed as though she were constantly being whisked around. Running, running, running, but never getting a chance to stop and catch her breath. Wednesday morning rolled around and she awoke bright and early. Holly had somewhere important to be that morning. She showered and dressed, making sure to look her best. And truth be told, once she was ready, Holly didn't look nearly as tired as she had felt. The elf had stayed on the phone with Mulch Diggums until well after midnight, talking about the choice she had made.
Holly, after having returned from Hybras, had taken one look at her Private Eye firm and a large smile plastered itself on her face. Mulch Diggums and Doodah Day, two ex-convicts turned do-gooders were running the place, and surprisingly not into the ground. In fact, business was booming, and Holly knew she had a choice to make. She missed the LEP. She wanted to go back, very badly.
And so, Holly Short weighed out all her options. The pros overpowered the cons at an amazing ratio. In fact, she could think of no cons. The business was doing very well without her, and she would still be around to lend a helping hand when needed. Holly loved being a police officer, and she was one of the best there was. And of course Ark Sool was no longer Commander. Holly was absolutely giddy when she had found out he had been fired and disgraced. That rancid gnome had it coming. Trouble Kelp was his replacement, and what a great choice that was. Holly had always said that she would feel safe if Trouble Kelp had her back, and now he had the back of every fairy in Haven. Yes, Holly Short knew what she was going to do. She resigned as a Private Eye and today she would march into Trouble's office and ask for a job. Even if she just got Traffic. And if she had to resort to begging…well maybe she'd just pummel Trouble until he said yes.
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"I don't know Holly," Trouble sighed, running his fingers thoughtfully through his hair. Holly stared at him with and icy glare.
"Why not?" she asked snappily, "You always said I was a great Captain. Heck, technically I still am. Please Trouble, I need this."
"But there have been so many changes," Trouble mumbled lamely. Truthfully, he really wanted Holly back on the force, and he knew he could reinstate her to Captain with the blink of an eye. There was only one thing holding him back. He was worried that Holly needed more time to recover from missing three years of her life, or rather everyone else's.
"So what?" Holly half-shouted, "Foaly and I have been talking non-stop! He's basically taught me about everything he's done these past three years. Trouble, I think I've gone partially deaf in my right ear. And Vinyàya has explained all this stuff that I've missed. I feel like I haven't been gone at all!"
That was a lie, but only a little one. Holly, in fact, felt almost completely out of synch with everyone else, but she wasn't about to let Trouble know such a thing. Instead she put on her best smile, still looking fierce.
"Please," she said, "Give me a chance if you don't think I can still do it. Remember, to you it may have been three years, but it's only been a few days for me. I haven't forgotten how to kick butt."
"I know," Trouble smirked, "And I don't doubt you can do it. The question is are you sure? Are you sure you're ready?"
"Yes!" Holly exclaimed, a feeling of victory washing over her.
"Fine then," Trouble said, fishing through his drawer for some papers, "Welcome back to the LEP…Captain Short.
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A/N: Wow, that was longer than I expected it would be. Good! Anyways, please review and let me know your honest opinions. Constructive criticism is welcome. Review, and I'll continue. Cheers! And yes, I did use the same names for the twins as I did in my first story, if anyone notices. I'm very uncreative, and besides I like those names.
-Liv xoxo