AUTHOR'S NOTE!

This story takes place in the AF universe, in between the AC and TLG books. The FMA series I'm using is the first one (where Shamballa is a thing), because it's the only one which integrates our world into the Elrics'. Also, the two brothers did not return to their original plan, as in the movie, so think of this prologue as an alternate ending to that film. Heh heh heh.

As this is my first FanFiction story, please be considerate and review! I'd love to hear any suggestions and I'd really appreciate some feedback on my writing! THANK YOU!

Artemis Fowl: The Shamballa Project

Prologue

Once again, Artemis found himself working late nights on his laptop, doing his research on another plan to make money. The family was turning over a new leaf, undertaking projects much more...legal...than he was used to. His father insisted upon it after all, so he couldn't object, and he found himself starting to enjoy "going green". However, he longed for some excitement, so he started stealing famous paintings from private collections, before handing them over to galleries and museums for the public to enjoy. The Fairy Thief was the first painting he stole, the return of which had the papers name him the modern Robin Hood. Still, he couldn't quite get used to the nickname.

"I'm going soft" he muttered to himself, and tried to focus on the matter at hand.

Artemis had finally gotten over the Atlantis Complex, in just three short months (they seemed a lot longer to him than to those imbeciles at J. Argon's clinic), but he still had nightmares about Orion staging a comeback. He could not get the images out of his mind, so he worked until he was so engrossed in new information, that it became all he could think about. In fact, there were certain 'developments' which had piqued his interest; namely, a commotion in the German city of Munich. There was a sudden flash of light in an abandoned warehouse in the centre of the old town, which was being rebuilt. The flash lasted for only a second, but it started a great number of rumours, and even made the front page of many European magazines (and websites). The greatest mystery was where the flash had come from, as there was no evidence of any mechanisms, lights or explosions in the warehouse, after being investigated by the local police. The world was simply stunned.

Of course, once it had been clarified that Munich was not under attack, and that the safety of its citizens was not threatened, the hype died down as soon as it had arisen. Everyone returned to their duties, and the strange occurrence was soon forgotten. The police closed the case, and the online community isolated the incident as fake or a government conspiracy. Soon, the flash was forgotten by everybody. Everybody that is, except a certain Irish teenager, who just happened to have a knack for looking into the impossible, and making it possible.

Artemis studied the flash for days. He looked into every possibility, every camera angle, and even used fairy technology to scour the net for answers. No government could hide secrets from this genius, and hacking into the most secure government databases was as easy to Artemis as solving a Rubik's cube. Child's play. The servers opened before him, as confidential files revealed secrets many could only dream of knowing.

Artemis yawned. This is going to be a long night, he thought to himself.

Ed was pacing the room again. Al watched his brother silently, as he had for the past few days. "Brother," he asked, "you've been walking in circles like this every day since we returned! What's troubling you?" Ed stopped for a moment and looked at his brother with worry in his eyes.

"Al", he began, "What if someone saw us? We are clearly not in the same place we were in before are we? Everything looks so...different. The people, the houses, the cars, and what is all this 'electronics'? This wasn't around last time! We erased the circle as quick as we could, but people started shouting and I could have sworn there were flying lights focused on us while we were in there! This isn't where the circle was last time we went through, so how did it move? This is a big problem Al!"

His brother tapped at the table in deep thought: "Brother, what if this is the future? We don't know how the gate works, so maybe since the cars are still around, we could have been sent a few decades into the future? That would explain why your house was still here, as well as the state that it's in. What's more, maybe 'electronics' are a new technology here! It looks like a better, smaller version of automail after all."

"You've gotten observant, you know that?" Ed replied. "Still, you may be on to something. We still have all these books our dad left us, and there are also some new ones here. I wonder where all my friends have gone though..." His gaze wandered to the old telephone. "Do you think they're out there somewhere? Maybe we could find them. I'm sure they haven't gone too far. Heck, maybe they'll find us!"

As if on cue, the phone started ringing.

The Elric brothers exchanged surprised glances. This was certainly unexpected. They had only returned from Amestris about a week ago, and hadn't managed to really make any progress in that time. The situation was very awkward, as they had suddenly appeared as residents of the city, and were often met with curious glances, as if they were passing travellers. This was hardly surprising, as both Ed and Al still had their wartime clothes on, seeing nothing wrong with them, though they had recently bought a new set. This however, meant that they had not known anyone in the area long enough to forge friendships, let alone giving someone their phone number. There was only one answer that immediately came to mind:

"Noah!" The brothers looked at each other briefly. "It has to be her!" They said in unison.

Ed started at the phone, Alphonse only seconds behind as he dashed from his seat at the old oak table. They fumbled for the phone between each other, trying to grab the earpiece from each other's hands. Ed seized the phone dramatically. "Calm down" he whispered.

"Hello? Is that you Noah?" The line was silent for a few moments, before the reply came:

"Interesting, this is quite an old model you have there. I don't suppose you can hear me very clearly over that can you? Now why would a famous researcher, such as yourself, who works for the German government have such a poor excuse for a phone? Don't answer that. I'm sure you have your reasons. As one scientist to another, I don't suppose you would like to engage is a little conversation over a cup of tea? I would very much like to discuss your work with you. I found the piece on other worlds extremely interesting, and I've been trying to contact you for quite a while now. You are very elusive Herr Elric. There is no data whatsoever online, almost as if you never even visited the internet in the first place! Luckily I have a very good friend in Munich who told me all about you...excuse me? Herr Elric? Are you there?

Ed just stood there, a blank expression plastered on his face. He said slowly "You're not Noah. Who are you? And how on earth did you get this number?" Ed's voice was cold. He was not listening to what the person on the other end of the line was saying. All he could think about was that Noah was in danger again. He certainly did not give this number to anybody else, and this person sounded odd. His accent was one he had never heard before. Had the poor gypsy been caught again? Ed started shaking slightly, and almost whispered into the phone with anger in his voice.

"What did you do to her, you kidnapping scum!? If you even so much as scratched her I am going to kill you, whoever you are. No one hurts my friends." He waited for a response. The person at the other side of the call shifted uncomfortably, and muttered something inaudible to another person. Clearly, something about Ed's choice of words had had an effect on them. Suddenly, he spoke again: "I apologize for my rudeness. I have not introduced myself yet. I certainly understand why you may think badly of me, but I assure you that those days are behind me and my family. I don't know who Noah is, but I promise you I have done nothing to harm her in any way. I do not kidnap people, and I would be very grateful if you refrained from insulting me any further. As I said, I have an acquaintance in Munich who gave me this number. Found it in some old archive of scientists working for the university there. His name is Fritz Something-or-other. Decent fellow, though a bit excitable and outward, which are not the qualities I look for in a partner in research. Would you still be willing to talk about your papers, Herr Elric?"

Ed started mouthing something silently. Al watched for a moment, then turned towards the door. He understood perfectly what his brother was trying to say, and began packing his travelling bag. This could be a rescue mission, and that meant he had to focus on what they could use to break in and out of a prison, as well as anything they could trade for Noah's freedom. Edward obviously didn't believe the man at the telephone, and was preparing a plan to rescue his friend. He accepted the offer, noting down the place where they would meet. Before putting down the earpiece, he put on a mask of nonchalance, and added:

"What's your name, fellow scientist?"

He could have sworn he heard the man at the other end of the line grin.

"My name..." the answer came, "is Artemis Fowl the Second."

The line went dead.