My Artemis Fowl fan fiction

chapter 18

Chapter 18

Even though it was 9:30 at night, everyone saw it fitting to have a giant feast in honor of Zoey's new-found appetite, and she could happily admit that she'd never had such a more fantastic meal in her entire life. Not even the time when her foster parents took her out to a super fancy restaurant and let her order a forty eight dollar french dish that was so tiny, she finished in six seconds. Apparently, Butler was a master of Cordon Bleu cooking so he had made everything himself. Tonight, she was presented with an entire buffet of options, and she was so hungry that she didn't know where to begin. There was a very appetizing chicken dish that Butler called Coc au vin and a nice smelling soup that he said was named Creme de chour-fleur. There was a mountain of different options for her to choose from, and she didn't even know how to pronounce most of them! She noticed that Holly and Foaly were enjoying a thoroughly washed vegetable salad, so she would feel guilty eating meat right in front of them. Also, Artemis warned her to eat light. Rich food might upset her stomach a little bit too much after several days of eating nothing. She settled for about six of Butler's cheesy breadsticks (There was a fancy french name for them, but Zoey forgot) and a giant ceaser salad packed with croutons and cucumbers, her favorite salad toppings. She was full afterwards, but after a few more nights of Butler's cooking she'd be able to squeeze in a few more platefuls of that weird fishy soup that Artemis was eating.

There was never an awkward silence throughout the entire dinner. It seemed that everyone had something to say, especially Zoey. She talked about herself, of course, but mostly she just wanted to know about everyone else. What they liked, what they didn't like, what their favorite color was, what was going on in their lives. She cared about everyone, and they cared about her. She was family. This should have made Artemis happy because, after all, Zoey was finally happy. But all he could think about was that she would have to leave soon. She escaped Raven, she was regaining her health, no signs of activity whatsoever showed from both Zoey's discarded barrette and the tracker that remained behind her ear. She knew her foster family and where she was from, and it was only a matter of time until she returned to where she belonged.

Butler was simply trying to enjoy the time he had left with Zoey. He cherished each smile and laugh that came from her. He told her many things about himself that he never told anyone before. His favorite color was green. He liked the Irish band U2. The only thing he didn't tell her was his first name. Though he wanted to. He just knew that Zoey had to go back to her foster family, the family that she loved. He somewhat hoped, however, that she might want to stay with him at Fowl manor. Angeline and Artemis Senior always had strong principles when it came to family, and if Zoey was now family then surely she would be welcomed. With only a few days left of Artemis's parents' ski vacations, Butler could only hope.

Zoey never wanted to leave. She was having the time of her life, and she felt like she belonged with Butler and Artemis in Fowl manor instead of her boring home in Maryland. But why would they want her to stay after what a pain she had been before. The nightmares, the vitamin supplements, the stressful encounters with Raven. Zoey understood if they wanted her to go back to her foster parents as soon as possible...

Holly munched on her salad next to Foaly, listening to the continuous conversation and joining in at appropriate times. She told Zoey about her job, her LEP above-ground expeditions, and all her adventures with Artemis and Butler. Holly thought that Zoey and she really connected, what with her not having a mother either. She was going to be very depressed when Zoey left.

So far as Foaly could gather, Artemis and Butler were growing very attached to Zoey, a bit too attached. Surely they remembered that a mind wipe was still required, Butler's daughter or not. He would feel like a real jerk for weeks after breaking up this trio. Even Holly was starting to grow fond of the girl enough to miss her immensely. She had a way of grabbing onto someone's heart and never letting go, in a good way. Foaly was starting to miss her already too.

Zoey discovered that Artemis and Holly had a very strong bond that she couldn't quite understand. Artemis cared about Holly and she cared about him. They respected each other. They enjoyed each other's company for the most part. They were family too. Zoey wished she could be a part of it.

The meal ended at about eleven when Zoey announced that she was retiring to bed due to a massive headache that she had developed. Butler was concerned. She hadn't had a headache since her last encounter with Raven in her dreams, and Artemis had a theory that her nightmares were somehow connected to real life. It could have explained how whenever they locked in on a location for Raven, the information became invalid and they had to start all over, but there was no way someone from a dream could be doing such real, physical damage to a real person. How could it be done?

"Are you feeling okay?" Holly asked her worriedly. Zoey wadded up her napkin, tossed it onto her plate and nodded silently before leaving the room. An awkward silence followed her exit.

"I'm going to check on her." Butler announced to the group. No one objected as he pushed his chair behind him and tore the dinner napkin off his lap. In fact, after a few moments, they all raced after him to Zoey's room.

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It had taken 5 and a half hours and most of Dr. Raven's patience and sense of morality, but he had done it. He'd finished the homing signal that took up two thirds of his laboratory and pretty much saved his job, and his life. No more than seven minutes after he finished the signal Mr. Bowler impatiently burst into the room, demanding that it be used to bring her back as soon as possible. Dr. Raven had no choice but to oblige to his boss's orders, but he felt an unyielding sense of guilt in the pit of his stomach. Or maybe that was his heart, or his soul. Dr. Raven spent two and a half years studying human emotions, and he took a special interest in the feeling of guilt. It was a powerful emotion that could make you feel like the biggest jerk in the world, and the only cure for guilt was to make whatever bad thing that was done right again. There was no ignoring guilt. It always came back. Like now.

Raven didn't have a daughter, but he did have a niece, so he sort of knew how Butler felt about Zoey. Dr. Raven certainly would never wish for anything bad to happen to Lily, so why was he doing this to an innocent girl like Zoey? He'd forgotten why he wanted to do the experiment in the first place.

He flipped a few switches and pressed a few buttons, then logged into the main system with his unguessable password. A special homing code that linked with Zoey's tracker was then inputted into the signal and verified. One more button would bring the girl to the laboratory permanently. Or it would strike her dead wherever she stood. Dr. Raven hoped that it would be the first one. He closed his eyes tightly and pressed the bright green button.