Artemis Fowl: The Unpredictable Future

Chapter 24: Side Quest

Artemis slouched over and rested his hands on his knees, breathing heavily, "What I would give to be in my Bentley right now." He looked up when he heard muffled screaming. Groaning out, he huffed his way towards the noise, trying to stay quiet. He huddled his chest behind a tree that was a safe distance away from the screaming. Artemis knew fairly well that he was in no shape to be a knight in shining armor right now. His legs ached and his lungs felt like they were going to explode inside of him. He snuck a peek at whoever was screaming, internally praying that he wasn't about to be a witness to a murder. His jaw dropped, unsure how to assess the situation. He stared in awe as he watched an orange haired woman shove her face in between another woman's private parts, or rather, she was forced into it. He narrowed his eyes at them. That's... Holly. Not good, he thought. He felt a sudden glaze overcome his senses before he shook his head, thinking to himself, do not give in Artemis, you have to fight it. Yeah, like how you fought it the first time in the hotel room. He let out an annoyed groan at himself.

He stepped out from behind the tree and slowly approached the couple, accidentally snapping a stick hidden in the leaves. The orange hair girl turned towards him. "Who's there?" She stood firm as she tried to cover Holly's body with her own. Holly was making muffled noises through her gag as she tried to cover herself but was unable to due to her roped restraints.

Artemis walked up to them slowly with his eyes focused on the mystery woman, pausing several feet away, "I'm Artemis Fowl." Holly's ears perked up at the sound of his voice. "I don't know what is going on here, but that is my friend and I kindly ask that you release her."

Kit narrowed her eyes at this human boy, "Artemis huh? Yea, she's talked about you mud boy. Not a fan so far."

Artemis looked at this girl curiously, examining her ears and... is that a tail?

Kit hung her bag over Holly's neck, so that it would cover her lady bits, and picked up her torn clothes off the ground. Once she had gathered it all into a pile in her hands, they spontaneously combusted, emitting a vibrant blue-ish green flame. Artemis stared into the fire and blinked once it had died down. The clothes had reformed and mended themselves. Kit began to help Holly back into her clothes and yelled at Artemis without looking back at him, "Keep your eyes down if you know what's good for ya mud boy." After slipping the panties and pants back onto Holly, Kit took the bag off of her neck only to replace it with her shirt. It hung low enough to cover her erect nipples from the cool air.

Kit turned back towards Artemis, who was still occupying his sight with the surroundings, "I'm going to leave for now. I'm sure there are a few things you guys want to talk about. I'll be back in a few minutes to make sure everything is fine and dandy." With a flash of blue flames engulfing her being, she had transformed back into a fox and sprinted into the woods.

After his initial shock of witnessing this magical transformation, he ran over to Holly. He untied her wrists and slipped the bandanas off of her face. She immediately turned around to put her shirt completely on and huffed out a sigh, "Why did you come looking for me Artemis? I'm sure Foaly and Rachel told you what I was doing."

Artemis walked up to her from behind, "They neglected to inform me you were meeting a friend out here as well, but I came looking for you because I needed to explain something important."

Holly turned back around and put her hands on her hips, speaking sternly, "I don't think I want to hear anymore explanations Artemis." She poked a finger at his chest, "I had to sit and watch you die... twice! You lied to me and manipulated your friends for a plan that might not have worked! Do you have any idea how much emotional and mental stress I've had to deal with this past week?!"

Artemis reached up and held her hand, pushing it flat so that her palm was against his chest now, looking at the ground as he spoke. "This heart is only beating because of you. I am truly sorry for the misdirection and lies." He trailed his gaze up her legs and along her chest until he reached her eyes, "For your sake alone Holly, I will change my immature tendencies. I want to work on becoming the man you hope I can be. The man you know I can be. As I said before, not a single lie will ever leave my lips again. At least, not towards you anyway."