The Unexpected Traitor

Not a Dream-a Nightmare

Disclaimer: I live in a tiny town in North East Florida. Not Ireland. And I am sure as hell not rich. Like Colfer.

*******TUT*******

"Ahhhh!" she panted. "Make it stop. Make it stop!"

Artemis was at her bedside, holding her hand. "Shh, Holly," he said gently. "It will be over soon. Hang on."

"Holly, I need you to push!" the pixie nurse at the end of the hospital bed commanded. "Push, Holly!"

It continued like this for a few more agonizing minutes, then it was over.

Holly was panting, gasping for breath. This had been very hard on her. But now it was over, and she finally got to meet her kids.

Artemis gasped. "A job well done, Holly. They are beautiful."

The nurse smiled and lowered her arms, in which Holly's twins were wrapped in a blanket. The new mother was just about to gaze upon her children for the first time, when the window exploded. A shard of glass flew into the pixie's head, killing her instantly. Holly screamed in fright as the bloody form of her ex-boyfriend, Trouble Kelp, flew in through the window. Somehow she knew that the blood coating him from head to toe wasn't his. Somehow she knew that the blood dripping from his fingertips, from his forehead, from all over him was the blood of innocent fairies who had fought to defend their home, their loved ones, and their children. Fought to defend them from him. She screamed again, this time in pain and agony, as Trouble took up her newborn twins in his arms and casually tossed them out the window.

Then he turned to Artemis. He shot the teen in the head with a human rifle. Holly screamed for the third time in as many minutes as some of Artemis's blood spurted onto her hands and arms.

Finally, Trouble turned to her. He traced her face with a finger, resting it on the tip of her left ear. She shuddered. Then he spoke. His voice was thick with fake adoration.

"Holly, darling, it is because of your pretty face that I have saved you for last. And now, you will sincerely regret the day you slapped me in the face and ran from me like I was a monster. You will regret it for about half a second before you cease to exist." He spat out the last part and raised his hand in a mock salute. "Goodbye, Captain Short." Then he raised the barrel of the rifle to the space between her large, mismatched eyes and pulled the trigger…

Fowl Manor, June 1st

Artemis was the only one who heard the scream. It was horrible, a bloodcurdling scream that made him want to crawl into a hole, cover his ears, and cry for days. That scream could only be the result of someone witnessing their absolute worst fear come to life before their eyes. At first Artemis rolled over to go back to sleep— Butler or Juliet would handle it— then he remembered that Butler was doing his midnight rounds outside, and Juliet was fast asleep on the other side of the manor. Neither of them would have heard the scream. Then he realized that the scream had come from the room right above his, which was currently housing the manor's only other occupant: Holly.

Artemis had never thought of himself as athletic, fast, or strong, but when he realized that his best friend was most likely in mortal danger, he jumped out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt at a speed you'd never thought was possible (A/N: yes, Artemis Fowl does own sweatpants and T-shirts. Angeline bought him a closet full of them for Christmas when he was fourteen.), especially for a Fowl, and sprinted out the door, surprised at the speed he'd reached. Butler would be proud, he thought. He ran up the stairs and burst through the door of Holly's room.

"Holly!" he gasped, rushing to the bed where the elf sat, shaking.

"A–Art–ty," she whimpered. Her tiny frame was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, and the look on her face was enough to convince a man like Butler that she had seen something worth being afraid of.

Artemis climbed onto the bed and sat beside her, putting an arm around her delicate shoulders. She didn't pull away, but snuggled closer and put her head on his chest. He looked at her and realized her face was covered in tears.

"Holly," he whispered, "what happened? Why did you scream?"

Holly whimpered again before speaking. "It was a dream. No, not a dream— a nightmare. I was giving birth and you were there and all of a sudden, Trouble crashed through the window and killed the nurse, then the twins, then you, then he shot me…"

Holly started sobbing again, and Artemis patted her back in an effort to calm her down. "Shh, it's over now. Forget about it. It's over."

Holly nodded. Artemis moved to get up, but she put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down.

"Stay."

Artemis nodded and laid down, with Holly resting her head on his chest. Soon enough, they were both asleep, and Holly had no more nightmares that night.

Butler returned from his midnight rounds and went to Artemis' bedroom on the second floor to see if he was still awake. Terror coursed through his veins when he saw that the bed was empty, the white comforter hanging halfway off of the bed, and the dresser drawers open. His initial thought was that the teenaged genius and his elfin friend had escaped and went on some trouble making adventure. He hurried to the third floor to check on Holly, and sighed with relief as he spotted his principal and the elf asleep peacefully in the bed. He rolled his eyes and closed the door. If anyone could make an interspecies relationship work, it was these two. They sure are moving things along quickly, he thought, but it would be cruel to disturb them. Then, as a random afterthought, I wonder if Artemis has tested out that new magic of his.

Underground cave, unknown location

"Commander Kelp, we have eyes on the Mud Whelp." The sprite speaking snickered at the rhyme.

Trouble paid no attention to the bad attempt at a joke. "Show us."

The screen of Lilli's computer changed to a live video feed on Fowl Manor. Or rather, certain rooms in Fowl Manor.

The screen showed a dark room with an unmade bed and open drawers that, by the looks of it, had been recently rummaged through. It had a desk with an open laptop sitting on it. Fowl's room. No Fowl.

"Switch to Short's room."

The screen switched to another dark room, but this time, there were people in the bed. Fowl was sound asleep with an arm wrapped around Holly's shoulder. The elfin captain was resting her head on the Mud Whelp's chest.

"D'Arvit!" Trouble muttered.

"Like I said," Lilli added, "she's a traitor."

Trouble leaned down and put his hands on her shoulders. She responded by gently placing her right hand on his.

"Don't worry, Trubs," she said soothingly to the seething elf. "We'll make the traitor and her pet Mud Whelp wish they were never born."

"Yes we will," he agreed. "Nickson."

"Yes, Commander?" the sprite asked through the radio. Under the Earth, radios weren't even in museums, they were so old. Trouble had smuggled a set from a police station outside of Dublin. Trouble only used radios for one reason. Radios couldn't be tracked.

"Initiate Step One."

He sensed hesitation from Corporal Nickson. "S-s-step One, Commander?"

"Yes, Corporal," growled the commander. "Step One, or you are fired."

The corporal knew that being fired meant being erased from existence, so he quickly agreed to initiate Step One.

If you were in that cave, and it was dead quiet, and you listened really hard and had the hearing abilities of a snow leopard, you would have sworn that you heard a bomb going off somewhere in the distance.

*******TUT*******

Please comment. Please?