Categories > Books > Artemis Fowl > A Dose of Karma
A Curtain before the Show
0 reviewsPost TAC (AU). Artemis has a worsening condition which is surprisingly a normal sickness for humans and not something fairy related nor grandeur. But that isn't just where his troubles lie yet agai...
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"ALERT"
"ALERT"
"ALERT"
The computer mainframe's electronic voice sounded like a death toll to Foaly's ears. The word flashed in big bold letters, obscuring his peripheral view with red. He whinnied in panic and spun quickly on his hooves – as quickly as a centaur can on four legs anyway. He approached his plasma computers and tapped into a keyboard. The warnings stopped immediately and a small window popped up at the center. Foaly wasted no time opening it and read the message.
AIRCRAFT APPROACHING 65° 00' N, 18° 00' W. FAILURE TO IDENTIFY.
The technical genius was baffled. Nothing under his radars and human satellites could not be detected, likewise fairy or Mud Man technology. Unless… he thought, that aircraft probably contained one of Haven's most prominent megalomaniac pixies in fairy history. The only one who was able to hijack his own security and use it against him.
There was a nagging thought in Foaly's mind that said it was too suspicious. After all, if Koboi did want to cover her tracks, she could've done it easily without a hitch. There's also the possibility that they underestimated his system or those pixies didn't have the appropriate technology at hand. The centaur mulled how utterly irritating the situation was, but also relieved to have a lead on Koboi. He decided to give someone a call.
Ireland, 2: 21 A.M. (UTC), Three Hours before Lockdown
Major Holly Short leaned on a huge tree waiting for the arrival of LEP squadrons to guard Fowl Manor. Even with the thermo on, she shivered every time a cold gush of wind passed by. Her thoughts drifted to Artemis. She thought of how the genius was in a risky environment especially since she left him four hours ago. His condition also worried her very much – it wasn't everyday that the great Artemis Fowl got sick so seriously. Just remembering his tears and cries of pain earlier that night almost made her turn back and watch over him, until she also remembered why she left in the first place. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Mud Boy.
The elf didn't realize she was pouting and childishly kicked a nearby stone, which rolled and disappeared behind some small bushes. She went back to silently wait for the officers to arrive before wondering if Artemis was sleeping peacefully after a long time. Holly decided she couldn't leave the Irish boy so vulnerable from any fairy and kicked her gears in. The elf was hovering a few feet from the ground when the familiar sound of shuttles came from below. Holly exhaled, grateful that the officers made it safely and that they could prevent this messy situation get any messier.
The LEP officers approached her hovering form and gave her respectful nods and salutes. The Major was glad to have more than a few recognizable faces and trusted comrades. She couldn't bring some terrified jocks to the Manor and make them work hand in hand with the Eurasian giant, Domovoi Butler.
"Major, we have orders from Commander Kelp to dispatch immediately upon arrival," a captain from the group below said.
Holly smiled dryly and nodded, "Alright men, move out!"
~•~
"Those fools sure are taking their time - the LEP will be here in an hour!" Future Opal fumed while looking at a handheld device. She turned her attention to her twin.
The pixie looked calmer than her future self. She appeared to be indifferent from anything except for her current environment. The Manor's grounds were covered with breathtakingly beautiful gardens of exotic plants, with the occasional burst of color from its flowers. The chilling and minty fresh Irish wind that blew all around them was phenomenal to any fairy. Even Opal Koboi was not spared – albeit, only the fairy one.
She kept a slow pace as she strolled through the wet grass and inhaled the air like she could never get enough.
The human pixie was getting annoyed at her own self's actions. Opal cleared her throat.
"What is the matter, sister?" whispered Past Opal as she craned her neck to look at the stars.
"I think you're enjoying this too much. Have you forgotten what we came here for?"
The beautiful pixie closed her eyes into slits and sighed heavily, "Oh please, don't use that tone on yourself sister. Of course I'm enjoying what I can from this world; I admit I'm too bemused with this atmosphere because of our dear Mud Boy. I certainly can't wait to have our hands on that worm."
Future Opal smiled wickedly at her past twin, and stole a glance at the window several feet above them. Soon, Artemis. Soon, not even the whole world will be there to help you.
Her communicator started beeping softly – a sign that signified everything was in place. And all Opal Koboi has to do to wrap things up is to literally push the button. She picked up six metal balls, the size of a marble and the weight of a pebble and threw them all up in the air. The metal balls reacted instantly and hovered a good feet above her head. They stayed there until they magnetized to one another, forming yellow electric lights between each ball. The lights extended forming a star shape with a metal ball on every end.
The human pixie's eyes glinted as she tapped into her handheld device, keying in commands to the metal balls' coordinates. The five balls suddenly rose upward until it reached the top of the highest peak of Fowl Manor. They expanded to cover every edge atop the manor's roofs and stopped right where Future Opal's toes rested, and forming a gigantic pentagram. Finally contented, she called Past Opal's attention and smirked.
"Phase Two – complete. "
"Would you like to take the honors?" the pixie squealed in excitement.
"Would you?" replied the other.
Together, without missing a beat, they pushed the button and the six metal balls above burst out into heavy fogs of green smoke, raining down on the manor like falling snow.
~•~
While the flight from the Tara Shuttleport was uneventful, Holly was feeling a pit of ominous premonition that something was bound to happen at any moment. She shifted her view every now and then to her left and right sides. Her stomach became queasy and the tips of her elfin ears were buzzing – which was a mystery on itself since it never buzzed so much before. She just hoped that Artemis was safe.
I also hope I wasn't the stupid one behind this whole mess, Holly thought.
Her squad was still an hour away from Fowl Manor when her helmet's com link whirred to life and Commander Kelp's face filled the screen. He looked like ten years older than his normal age but surprisingly, he looked almost giddy.
"Commander?"
"Ah, Major Short. I've received information from Foaly that Koboi's locations are known."
The Major's head cleared right away and felt a coming rush of adrenaline as she listened intently to her commanding officer.
The Commander continued, "An aircraft that couldn't be identified passed by Foaly's satellites, and we are positive that the convict is traveling through the country of Iceland. I need every LEP squad in Europe to regroup and head toward it."
"Affirmative, but I need at least two squads with me to go back for Fowl. If Koboi is targeting Artemis, it won't be easy to guard the Mud Boy without reinforcements."
"Accepted. Divide your group and head them to Iceland immediately. Relay all reports and information to Foaly."
The Major nodded, "Over and out."
The screen flickered once then it was blank. Holly stopped to turn to her men and waved them a clenched fist that signaled, stop. They all hovered together like a waiting army.
"Opal Koboi's locations have been updated to Iceland territory. I need two groups to go with me and the rest for regrouping with other LEP squadrons."
After the groups were decided, the men headed for Iceland left shortly and Holly and her men flew to the manor. She didn't know they were all in for a scare.
~•~
Past Opal Koboi leveled her own handheld device in front of the building across her and scanned the whole area. It produced several heat waves – two coming from a room on the right of the second floor, Angeline and Artemis Sr. Three heat waves that were of Juliet Butler and the twins coming from the left of the second floor's staircase. Butler, Artemis manservant's heat waves came from where he lay sprawled on the third floor's carpets. And Artemis Fowl the Second himself lay asleep on his bed, in his room on the Manor's third floor.
Gamma waves and other weaker brain waves came from the bodies inside the building. Phase Three was also complete. The residence's occupants were all unconscious and asleep. Both Opal Kobois grinned at each other and shook their hands like they were congratulating each other.
"Finally…" purred Future Opal.
"Finally, indeed. The DNA cannons aimed at every LEP officer's genetic code is programmed and ready. Whether the Brill brothers get first or the LEP get first, we will succeed in the end."
The human pixie cackled, her high pitched voice echoing a sinister-like sound around the stone walls of the mansion.
After a horrendous wait of twenty minutes, a Cham pod hummed silently beneath a dark clearing. Out stepped Merv and Scant Brill, each holding an InfiniBox and trudged wordlessly toward their mistresses. Both of them drop to their knees when they came close to their forms and held out each box on one hand.
"Mistress, I have what you need right here," Descant offered the InfiniBox to Past Opal, who took it and hurriedly emptied its contents.
Future Opal was intrigued with the other box so she also took it from Merv's hand.
"What's inside this one?"
"What it has, Mistress, have been yours and only yours," Descant murmured in low tones.
She lifted a delicate eyebrow at this and ignored the older twin's words, planning to open the contents of the box in another time. At that moment, her past self had already finished setting up the towers. Future Opal calibrated the device and tapped them twice. All ready to go.
Past Opal clapped her hands together in glee, "Ooh, I can't wait any longer!"
"Patience, sister. The show is just about to begin," then she activated the Time-stop, hindering everything beyond the protective sphere from interfering their plan.
From a distance, the vibrations of hummingbird wings and the slight shimmers in the night air only made matters a lot worse.
"ALERT"
"ALERT"
The computer mainframe's electronic voice sounded like a death toll to Foaly's ears. The word flashed in big bold letters, obscuring his peripheral view with red. He whinnied in panic and spun quickly on his hooves – as quickly as a centaur can on four legs anyway. He approached his plasma computers and tapped into a keyboard. The warnings stopped immediately and a small window popped up at the center. Foaly wasted no time opening it and read the message.
AIRCRAFT APPROACHING 65° 00' N, 18° 00' W. FAILURE TO IDENTIFY.
The technical genius was baffled. Nothing under his radars and human satellites could not be detected, likewise fairy or Mud Man technology. Unless… he thought, that aircraft probably contained one of Haven's most prominent megalomaniac pixies in fairy history. The only one who was able to hijack his own security and use it against him.
There was a nagging thought in Foaly's mind that said it was too suspicious. After all, if Koboi did want to cover her tracks, she could've done it easily without a hitch. There's also the possibility that they underestimated his system or those pixies didn't have the appropriate technology at hand. The centaur mulled how utterly irritating the situation was, but also relieved to have a lead on Koboi. He decided to give someone a call.
Ireland, 2: 21 A.M. (UTC), Three Hours before Lockdown
Major Holly Short leaned on a huge tree waiting for the arrival of LEP squadrons to guard Fowl Manor. Even with the thermo on, she shivered every time a cold gush of wind passed by. Her thoughts drifted to Artemis. She thought of how the genius was in a risky environment especially since she left him four hours ago. His condition also worried her very much – it wasn't everyday that the great Artemis Fowl got sick so seriously. Just remembering his tears and cries of pain earlier that night almost made her turn back and watch over him, until she also remembered why she left in the first place. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Mud Boy.
The elf didn't realize she was pouting and childishly kicked a nearby stone, which rolled and disappeared behind some small bushes. She went back to silently wait for the officers to arrive before wondering if Artemis was sleeping peacefully after a long time. Holly decided she couldn't leave the Irish boy so vulnerable from any fairy and kicked her gears in. The elf was hovering a few feet from the ground when the familiar sound of shuttles came from below. Holly exhaled, grateful that the officers made it safely and that they could prevent this messy situation get any messier.
The LEP officers approached her hovering form and gave her respectful nods and salutes. The Major was glad to have more than a few recognizable faces and trusted comrades. She couldn't bring some terrified jocks to the Manor and make them work hand in hand with the Eurasian giant, Domovoi Butler.
"Major, we have orders from Commander Kelp to dispatch immediately upon arrival," a captain from the group below said.
Holly smiled dryly and nodded, "Alright men, move out!"
~•~
"Those fools sure are taking their time - the LEP will be here in an hour!" Future Opal fumed while looking at a handheld device. She turned her attention to her twin.
The pixie looked calmer than her future self. She appeared to be indifferent from anything except for her current environment. The Manor's grounds were covered with breathtakingly beautiful gardens of exotic plants, with the occasional burst of color from its flowers. The chilling and minty fresh Irish wind that blew all around them was phenomenal to any fairy. Even Opal Koboi was not spared – albeit, only the fairy one.
She kept a slow pace as she strolled through the wet grass and inhaled the air like she could never get enough.
The human pixie was getting annoyed at her own self's actions. Opal cleared her throat.
"What is the matter, sister?" whispered Past Opal as she craned her neck to look at the stars.
"I think you're enjoying this too much. Have you forgotten what we came here for?"
The beautiful pixie closed her eyes into slits and sighed heavily, "Oh please, don't use that tone on yourself sister. Of course I'm enjoying what I can from this world; I admit I'm too bemused with this atmosphere because of our dear Mud Boy. I certainly can't wait to have our hands on that worm."
Future Opal smiled wickedly at her past twin, and stole a glance at the window several feet above them. Soon, Artemis. Soon, not even the whole world will be there to help you.
Her communicator started beeping softly – a sign that signified everything was in place. And all Opal Koboi has to do to wrap things up is to literally push the button. She picked up six metal balls, the size of a marble and the weight of a pebble and threw them all up in the air. The metal balls reacted instantly and hovered a good feet above her head. They stayed there until they magnetized to one another, forming yellow electric lights between each ball. The lights extended forming a star shape with a metal ball on every end.
The human pixie's eyes glinted as she tapped into her handheld device, keying in commands to the metal balls' coordinates. The five balls suddenly rose upward until it reached the top of the highest peak of Fowl Manor. They expanded to cover every edge atop the manor's roofs and stopped right where Future Opal's toes rested, and forming a gigantic pentagram. Finally contented, she called Past Opal's attention and smirked.
"Phase Two – complete. "
"Would you like to take the honors?" the pixie squealed in excitement.
"Would you?" replied the other.
Together, without missing a beat, they pushed the button and the six metal balls above burst out into heavy fogs of green smoke, raining down on the manor like falling snow.
~•~
While the flight from the Tara Shuttleport was uneventful, Holly was feeling a pit of ominous premonition that something was bound to happen at any moment. She shifted her view every now and then to her left and right sides. Her stomach became queasy and the tips of her elfin ears were buzzing – which was a mystery on itself since it never buzzed so much before. She just hoped that Artemis was safe.
I also hope I wasn't the stupid one behind this whole mess, Holly thought.
Her squad was still an hour away from Fowl Manor when her helmet's com link whirred to life and Commander Kelp's face filled the screen. He looked like ten years older than his normal age but surprisingly, he looked almost giddy.
"Commander?"
"Ah, Major Short. I've received information from Foaly that Koboi's locations are known."
The Major's head cleared right away and felt a coming rush of adrenaline as she listened intently to her commanding officer.
The Commander continued, "An aircraft that couldn't be identified passed by Foaly's satellites, and we are positive that the convict is traveling through the country of Iceland. I need every LEP squad in Europe to regroup and head toward it."
"Affirmative, but I need at least two squads with me to go back for Fowl. If Koboi is targeting Artemis, it won't be easy to guard the Mud Boy without reinforcements."
"Accepted. Divide your group and head them to Iceland immediately. Relay all reports and information to Foaly."
The Major nodded, "Over and out."
The screen flickered once then it was blank. Holly stopped to turn to her men and waved them a clenched fist that signaled, stop. They all hovered together like a waiting army.
"Opal Koboi's locations have been updated to Iceland territory. I need two groups to go with me and the rest for regrouping with other LEP squadrons."
After the groups were decided, the men headed for Iceland left shortly and Holly and her men flew to the manor. She didn't know they were all in for a scare.
~•~
Past Opal Koboi leveled her own handheld device in front of the building across her and scanned the whole area. It produced several heat waves – two coming from a room on the right of the second floor, Angeline and Artemis Sr. Three heat waves that were of Juliet Butler and the twins coming from the left of the second floor's staircase. Butler, Artemis manservant's heat waves came from where he lay sprawled on the third floor's carpets. And Artemis Fowl the Second himself lay asleep on his bed, in his room on the Manor's third floor.
Gamma waves and other weaker brain waves came from the bodies inside the building. Phase Three was also complete. The residence's occupants were all unconscious and asleep. Both Opal Kobois grinned at each other and shook their hands like they were congratulating each other.
"Finally…" purred Future Opal.
"Finally, indeed. The DNA cannons aimed at every LEP officer's genetic code is programmed and ready. Whether the Brill brothers get first or the LEP get first, we will succeed in the end."
The human pixie cackled, her high pitched voice echoing a sinister-like sound around the stone walls of the mansion.
After a horrendous wait of twenty minutes, a Cham pod hummed silently beneath a dark clearing. Out stepped Merv and Scant Brill, each holding an InfiniBox and trudged wordlessly toward their mistresses. Both of them drop to their knees when they came close to their forms and held out each box on one hand.
"Mistress, I have what you need right here," Descant offered the InfiniBox to Past Opal, who took it and hurriedly emptied its contents.
Future Opal was intrigued with the other box so she also took it from Merv's hand.
"What's inside this one?"
"What it has, Mistress, have been yours and only yours," Descant murmured in low tones.
She lifted a delicate eyebrow at this and ignored the older twin's words, planning to open the contents of the box in another time. At that moment, her past self had already finished setting up the towers. Future Opal calibrated the device and tapped them twice. All ready to go.
Past Opal clapped her hands together in glee, "Ooh, I can't wait any longer!"
"Patience, sister. The show is just about to begin," then she activated the Time-stop, hindering everything beyond the protective sphere from interfering their plan.
From a distance, the vibrations of hummingbird wings and the slight shimmers in the night air only made matters a lot worse.
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