Welcome to the epilogue, where loose ends are vaguely tied up, and new ends opened up in the process...

Warning: There are some serious book 6 spoilers in the second half on this epilogue, so if you haven't read the book, stop reading when you get halfway.

Epilogue

Fowl Manor, Ireland

Two years had passed since the Ark of Triumph incident, and Artemis was back at home in Fowl Manor, contemplating his next plan. As his absence had been short compared to the previous incidents he had been involved with, he had managed to convince his parents that he had just been to the city for a few days to buy some "essentials"; his magic smoothed over any difficulties there may have been.

Life was good for the Fowl family. He had gone to see Minerva, who had moved into a penthouse flat with her father in Dublin. Although he did not mention specifics, he made it clear to he that he had been working with the People; surprisingly, however, she did not react very much to this at all. In fact, she seemed very distracted (even his mother had mentioned it), and Artemis could have sworn that her irises were slightly jagged, but couldn't enquire further, as she quickly made an excuse and returned to her room. Artemis decided that he would investigate further, as well as the interesting detail that both his eyes turned blue when he used magic. He was also determined to see the extent of his powers, and discover any side-effects that may have arisen, apart from his dark conscience.

Then there was his relationship with Holly: after debating within himself for a very long time, he finally managed to swear to himself that he would never attempt such a risk with Holly every again. He also resolved to never mention it to anyone, and to keep it hidden deep with the depths of his heart. Of course, Holly and Artemis still kept in contact after the incident, but it was never as innocent as it had been before.

Artemis sat back in his leather chair, and sighed.

How did my life become so complicated? he asked himself, mentally willing his cup of tea to drift over to his hand. He took a sip, then sighed again. Presumably the moment I was born, but I suppose it got substantially worse after kidnapping Holly…

His thoughts were interrupted when his father rushed into his room. Before his capture by the Russian Mafia, Artemis Fowl the First had rarely visited his son's room, and when he did he always knocked. However, that had all changed when Holly had healed him, pumping him full of positive energy.

'Artemis, come quickly,' he said, catching his breath. 'Your mother is unwell. I think it's influenza, but the symptoms seem more aggresive...'

0

Haven

The small amount of destruction by the magically reconstructed rock face had been blamed on a burst water pipe, and no one in Haven seemed to suspect otherwise. Holly's report failed to mention Artemis' abilities, although Trouble seemed to have his suspicions. The tribunal which investigated Trouble's conduct during the incident decided that his shooting of Lily Frond had been "necessary to protect the lives of Captain Holly Short and Artemis Fowl the Second, and her resultant fall was an unfortunate coincidence", and so no action was taken against him; the irony of Sool's death in the hands of the demons did not go unmentioned either. Unfortunately, the demons onboard the Ark had disappeared, and search parties were already on the prowl.

Meanwhile, separate search parties had been sent out to find Turnball Root, but Holly knew it would be useless. Although the shuttle he'd used had been found, along with Chix tied up and asleep in the back, there was no sign of the old elf. Holly wasn't looking forward to the time when he showed his face again.

Mulch had been pardoned in his part of the events, stating that he had been under the mesmer of the late Captain Frond, and had not been in his right mind during the incident; Holly had spoken in his favour during the trial, and needless to say, he was now back in his office with Doodah, waiting for his next job.

And so was Holly, to an extent; now that the demon threat was mostly over, she had felt that her services were no longer needed at Section 8. Although Vinyaya had protested, Trouble had already opened up a spot for the elf back at Recon, and so Holly had returned to the LEP.

Because of her recent "adventures", she'd been placed on the rather mundane Kraken Watch, where very little of her time was spent actually watching krakens. After all, the peaceful creatures did very little apart from sleep, and so needless to say, Holly's mind began to wander.

I wonder what Artemis is up to right now… thought Holly. Wait... What? I'm thinking about Artemis? Gods, I need to get a life...

After the events of book 6, the Time Paradox (If you haven't read it, stop reading HERE)

Fowl Manor

Artemis was watching a giant fish tank he had recently installed in his room, recovering from the events that had occurred a few days before. After an LEP shuttle had deposited him back at Fowl Manor, Holly had called to inform him that Opal had escaped, and that he should be on his toes at all times. The great Artemis Fowl only had the energy to thank her before turning off the communicator.

Not her again, thought Artemis, sitting back in his chair. His younger brothers were currently playing with their mother who had made a full recovery. Beckett, although initially upset over the loss of Professor Primate, had brightened up instantly when Butler bought him a replacement later that week, which could stand, pace around like a scientist, and even dance to music, thanks to some tinkering by Artemis. And now, the villain who had destroyed the previous Professor was free and dangerous. When is that blasted pixie going to stop?

He returned his attention to the fish tank; he found it relaxing to watch his diverse collection of fish swim about, and spent a few hours each day letting his mind run wild, coming up with ideas and plans for new exploits, while watching silently; he found it very satisfying.

It was during one of these relaxing moments when the most peculiar thing happened: he had only closed his eyes for a moment, when he heard a distinct splash come from the fish tank. His snapped his eyes open, and found that a creature had magically appeared in the water; something that was definitely not a marine creature.

Artemis stood up and stepped closer to the glass for a closer look: it really was a strange being, resembling nothing else he had ever seen. It had a round face, with large, wide eyes, and no other distinguishable facial features. Its body was about the same shape of its head and slightly larger, with two short, stubby legs wiggling beneath it, and a large pair of wings attached to its back, the wingspan twice its height. A small three-fingered hand was attached to the end of each wing, which it was using to scratch itself at that moment. Apart from that, the only strange thing was that it seemed to be pulsing, as if it wasn't quite there. It was also constantly changing colour, from red to green to blue, and everything in between. That, and the fact that it was wearing an LEP helmet.

Anyone else may have cooed and aawed, commenting on how cute this mysterious little thing was. Not Artemis, however; he wanted to know more about it, and was about to climb the ladder to the top of the tank, when a deafening crash signalled the destruction of one of the walls of his study. Artemis was thrown off the ladder by the shock wave, and hit the wall behind the tank with a crunch.

Having stood up and dusted himself down, he looked at the destruction and groaned; his four-poster bed was completely ruined, as well as the valuable Monet painting that hung opposite. However, all these things were forgotten when he cast his eyes on the source of the destruction.

Artemis was astonished to find a small modified fairy shuttle in the middle of the destruction. A slick, matte-black vehicle, it was obviously experimental technology, and Artemis suspected that few people knew of its existence. Perhaps it belonged to Foaly.

The door of the shuttle opened, and a pair of familiar fairies stepped out. One was armed with a Neutrino, the other with what looked like lightning bolts snaking around his hands.

'Well, well,' said Qwan, putting out his lightning bolts. 'If it isn't the great Artemis Fowl the Second. My boy, you do realize that this is an incredible coincidence?'

0

LEP Headquarters, Haven

Holly was working day and night with a team of specially selected fairies to try and track down the whereabouts of the Opal Koboi from the past. The security at the pixie's prison in Atlantis had been doubled, the doubled again, to make sure the past Opal didn't try to break out the present one.

Currently, however, they hadn't had any luck. The past Opal had completely disappeared, and everything Foaly tried to find any trace of the deranged pixie came up negative. They were beginning to give up hope. Although Holly had suggested that they interrogate the Opal in custody to see if she remembered any of what had (or would) happened, it had led them nowhere; she maintained that she had no memory of ever travelling in the time stream, and Foaly's technology backed her up.

At least that's one positive out of this whole affair, thought Holly, leaning back in her chair. The fact that she can't remember anything probably means that we were successful in the end. But at what cost?

However, before she could follow that train of thought, the entire building was suddenly plunged into darkness.

'What in Frond's name…?' said Holly, standing up. The emergency lights had turned on, giving everything a strange orange glow. She quickly ran past the other confused members of the LEP, and burst into Foaly's office. She was shocked to see that her friend was missing.

A moment later, Commander Trouble Kelp burst into the room.

'Where's Foaly?' he asked Holly, his eyes wide. 'Please don't tell me…'

'I don't know,' replied Holly, staring at her friend's modified, empty swivel chair. 'He's just… gone!'

0

Watch out for the exciting sequel, Artemis Fowl and the Drifter Phenomenon, available 21 June 2009! (see my profile for more details)

All hell is about to break loose…

Everything seems to happen at once for 15-year-old prodigy Artemis Fowl the Second: a mysterious creature appears in his fish tank, instantly followed by a pair of unexpected guests crashing into the Manor. When Artemis discovers incredible truths that only a handful of the People are aware of, he is thrust into a new, incredible world of time and space…

Meanwhile, below ground, Haven is in chaos. Power to everything in the city, from mobile phones to emergency transport, has been cut by a mysterious hacker, and with Foaly missing, Captain Holly Short has no idea what to do. The evacuation of the city begins, but with terrifying results...

As Artemis becomes more and more aware of the situation below ground, he begins to suspect that the strange creature he crossed paths with is somehow responsible. He must find a way to track down those behind these attacks on Haven, as well as the link between them and the creature before its too late. But someone else is in the sidelines… Someone who shouldn't exist…

Thanks for all your comments, folks! Until next time...