DISCLAIMER: Holly Short, Artemis Fowl, Foaly, Butler, etc, etc, etc are all
propery of Eoin Colfer. My inspiration was the Gnommish Code that ran along
the pages. If you cracked it, you know it says that the goblins will rebel,
and that a dark figure will draw enemies together. Hmm. Interesting.
Prologue
The goblins' jail cells, underground.
The cloaked figure walked through the jail cells. Protesting criminals screamed through the metallic bars, shouting profanities and spitting. He took no heed. At last he got to the cell of a goblin with broken nose and covered in tattoos. "Is it dinner time yet?" Says the goblin. "No, my friend, no." The goblin hears a jingling sound. Could it be- ? He looks up. Yes. The cloaked figure is holding some keys! The goblin gets up and puts his face against the bars. "Lemme out!" "Ah, my friend. First you must give me your word that you will follow my lead." The goblin shook his head furiously. The cloaked figure throws the keys in the cell. "Let your friends out, too." He says as he walks off.
Holly Short sat in her cubicle. She was a bit shaky after the Fowl incident, but she had gotten over it. Two guards followed her when she performed the Ritual in case that Fowl boy (or any other human) had any ideas. Holly was trying to type something up but something went wrong every single time. "Having trouble again?" Said a familiar voice. Root. "Do you know anything of the Underground Internet Protocol system? Blah blah blah-" Holly let his voice drift over her. This happened nearly every single day, and he usually left. "-and if you don't want to be sacked-" "Sacked?!?" "Yes, sa-" "WARNING! WARNING" Boomed a computerized voice from the speakers. "ESCAPED PRISONERS FROM CELL ROW 10! ESCAPED PRISONERS FROM CELL ROW 10!"
Holly and Root ran to Foaly, who was in charge of the surveillance cameras. "Show us the tape for Cell Row 10!" Root said. Foaly clicked a couple of buttons and the TV screen showed the jail cells. Every single cell door was swung open. It was bare except for one goblin with a limp leg trudging across the floor. Holly thought that Root wouldn't sack her if she caught this particular goblin. It wouldn't be too hard, would it?
Holly ran down the jail cell and just in time, too. The last goblin was almost free. He stopped dead at the sight of the LEPrecon officer. "Who let you out?" She snarled. "I don't think your IQ number is high enough to build keys." "Him. He let us out." "Who?" Said Holly, who was a feeling a bit scared. "The dark man." Holly's eyes widened in shock. The only people who had the keys were LEPrecon agents. No one would betray his or her people. Or would they?
Prologue
The goblins' jail cells, underground.
The cloaked figure walked through the jail cells. Protesting criminals screamed through the metallic bars, shouting profanities and spitting. He took no heed. At last he got to the cell of a goblin with broken nose and covered in tattoos. "Is it dinner time yet?" Says the goblin. "No, my friend, no." The goblin hears a jingling sound. Could it be- ? He looks up. Yes. The cloaked figure is holding some keys! The goblin gets up and puts his face against the bars. "Lemme out!" "Ah, my friend. First you must give me your word that you will follow my lead." The goblin shook his head furiously. The cloaked figure throws the keys in the cell. "Let your friends out, too." He says as he walks off.
Holly Short sat in her cubicle. She was a bit shaky after the Fowl incident, but she had gotten over it. Two guards followed her when she performed the Ritual in case that Fowl boy (or any other human) had any ideas. Holly was trying to type something up but something went wrong every single time. "Having trouble again?" Said a familiar voice. Root. "Do you know anything of the Underground Internet Protocol system? Blah blah blah-" Holly let his voice drift over her. This happened nearly every single day, and he usually left. "-and if you don't want to be sacked-" "Sacked?!?" "Yes, sa-" "WARNING! WARNING" Boomed a computerized voice from the speakers. "ESCAPED PRISONERS FROM CELL ROW 10! ESCAPED PRISONERS FROM CELL ROW 10!"
Holly and Root ran to Foaly, who was in charge of the surveillance cameras. "Show us the tape for Cell Row 10!" Root said. Foaly clicked a couple of buttons and the TV screen showed the jail cells. Every single cell door was swung open. It was bare except for one goblin with a limp leg trudging across the floor. Holly thought that Root wouldn't sack her if she caught this particular goblin. It wouldn't be too hard, would it?
Holly ran down the jail cell and just in time, too. The last goblin was almost free. He stopped dead at the sight of the LEPrecon officer. "Who let you out?" She snarled. "I don't think your IQ number is high enough to build keys." "Him. He let us out." "Who?" Said Holly, who was a feeling a bit scared. "The dark man." Holly's eyes widened in shock. The only people who had the keys were LEPrecon agents. No one would betray his or her people. Or would they?