Artemis Meets The Demigods

Epilogue

Artemis was seated next to Holly Short in the beach of Dalkey Island. They were enjoyed a few quiet moments of each other's company. But something was bothering Holly. This entire adventure had felt somehow.... incomplete. Usually it was just a motley group of her, Artemis, Butler, Mulch and Foaly. This time, however, Artemis had been relying on the help of the demigods more than the fairies. They were family to him, yes. But still that didn't change the fact that Artemis and Holly were slowly drifting away. The last adventure had been mostly against a villain from the Greek side too. So it was no surprise that Artemis felt that the demigods should help. But Holly still preferred it to be like old times.... Just 5 of them against the rest of the world. She had not been of much use this time against Kronos as no training had prepared her to face a egomaniacal Titan. She had been meaning to talk to Artemis about their friendship recently. She felt there was some strain on it. She wanted to know if Artemis needed space.

"I have all the space I need, Holly." said Artemis. Holly turned at Artemis and frowned. 

"Are you reading my thoughts?"

Artemis shrugged. "Another perk of being a descendant of Athena. I discovered it today morning." he continued, "Don't worry Holly. We are most certainly not drifting away. We have some time till we have to leave on our other... ah, mission. Till then, I am going to spend all my time with my family and friends. And my friends group include you, Holly."

Holly felt a sense of relief though she was slightly uncomfortable with their other mission looming ahead of them in September. But this was merely July. She had months to prepare. She could handle what comes.

"Of course you can." said Artemis, reading her thoughts again. Holly hit him on the shoulder playfully.

"I hate mind-reading. So, by extension, I hate you."

"I thought that is a well documented fact." replied Artemis and both promptly collapsed laughing.

***

When Artemis had returned from Camp Half-Blood, he had been given no choice but to narrate everything that had happened to his waiting parents. They had been horrified to learn that yet again, Artemis had been in the middle of a war and been tasked with the task of saving the world. But when they had finished hearing everything, they both were understanding for the most part. Angeline Fowl had even remembered that her great grandfather had been a demigod son of Athena. And once the adults had seen Artemis' moderate skills with a sword, they even given permission him permission to undertake other missions that had something to do with saving the world as long as Artemis would take Holly Short with him, which was testament to the trust the Fowl family had in the only female officer in LEPrecon. This had been achieved by Artemis quoting his own father's words : "I intend to seize the day. To be the hero, if you will. I intend to get involved in the struggle of saving the world."

Butler had retired too. He claimed that he was "done with all weirdness". He would have never done that in other circumstances, but Artemis being a demigod meant he had powerful allies who could help him if he needs protection. Thus satisfied that Artemis was in good hands, Butler had settled in Camp Jupiter as a combat trainer.

***

News came soon after Butler's retirement. Bad news. Opal had been taken in a security shuttle to Atlantis to await judgment. But en route, the shuttle had been attacked midway, causing several fatalities and the escape of Opal Koboi. No one was witness to the escape, but Opal's body was not found in the shuttle which had only one meaning. Artemis was asked by the LEP to look into the matter as a consultant. By his research, Artemis had some suspicions as to how Opal had escaped. Suspicions, if true, meant that Opal had found powerful allies too. To add salt to the wound, an email had arrived to Artemis' laptop from a distant cousin. The cousin was asking for Artemis' help. And Artemis had planned to help, not because she was family, but because he thought Opal might be hiding somewhere near his cousin's location.

He also had received a dream-message from Athena saying how proud she and Hephaestus was that he was their descendant. She also said that the Gods had agreed to see Titans as allies and that their mental connection with the Kerploits are being broken.

So, he had invited a few people from LEPrecon and the demigod camps to Villa Eco in July to discuss further proceedings. They would have a mission. One that involved saving the world. Yet again. A mission, in England.