CHAPTER 1 MISTAKEN IDENTITY

Bartleby School Grounds

James looked around making sure that no one was looking. He hated having to sneak off campus instead of just being signed out like the other kids, but Father was not someone he wished to make mad. "All well this is just your life James, you just have to deal with the rules or be stuck somewhere far away from your brother..." he muttered, he only put up with Father's rules so he could be closer to his twin brother Artemis. James paused for a moment when he realized he had passed a security camera but then shrugged it off they would just think he was his brother. Artemis was always sneaking off campus so they wouldn't bother double checking.

Haven

It was another boring day in LEP headquarters. Foaly had checked his computers for bugs, twice plus had the time to design a new neutrino. So, things were slow. He didn't even have Holly to visit him in his lab. All he had were his interns reading Manga and comics. They weren't much company. He sighed and scratched his stomach and adjusted his tinfoil hat. What to do? What to do?

He figured why not check the cameras for problems. Maybe Bartleby's School was promising. He flicked the cameras topside. Glancing at the silent lawns. Again, boring. He groaned and rested his chin in his palm.

Major Holly Short hated sitting around doing paperwork. This was a well-known fact around Police Plaza, to the point that interns - the smart ones, anyway - only slipped things into her inbox when they were sure she wasn't around to notice.

To her dismay, almost all of them had thought to do so last night, resulting in a papery apocalypse reaching to the top of her inbox and spilling out onto the floor like a minor ocean.

"D'arvit," Holly mumbled as she threw the latest file into her outbox. She did this rather harder than the paper itself deserved. It was only a request for spare shuttle parts by the LEPmarine division, but to her it represented the latest annoyance in a long series of them. One step closer to complete mental breakdown.

When would something happen?

Foaly scratched his stomach again about to give up. Maybe the computers needed to be debugged again. As he reached for the switch, he caught a glimpse of movement. He leaned in. It seemed that a human was attempting to leave the school. As he zoomed in with the camera he thought he recognized the kid. Was it Artemis? Why would he be at school? And why would he be escaping out the window?

This was something that needed to be reported. Holly would be in her office. He pressed a small button on his desk. "Holly! Holly! I...you better come here! I don't know what I'm seeing here."

When the intercom buzzed, Holly nearly leapt from her chair. Heart pounding, she listened to Foaly's frantic message.

"Foaly?" She asked, depressing the matching button on her own desk. "I'm on my way, hold on."

Paperwork could wait in situations like this. He sounded worried. And when Foaly got really worried, things were bad. Either that or his satellite trackers had gone haywire again, in which case she'd still have to help him calm down before he went to Defcon Two and shut the whole city down.

She raced to Ops, skidding to a stop when she darted through the doors.

"What's happening?"

Foaly motioned for Holly to join him at his screens. He rewound the video and paused just as the boy was jumping out the window. He zoomed in. "Who does this remind you of?" Foaly asked. He wondered if Holly would pick up on it.

Holly's dichromatic eyes widened as she leaned in to get a better look. It couldn't be. Could it? But why would he be there?

"Is that Artemis?"

Whoever this was certainly looked like her friend. Thin, with dark hair and a pale complexion. The angle obscured most of the person's face, but Holly felt it in her gut. This had to be Artemis, right? Well, no, something didn't feel quite right about the fact that he was somehow near St. Bartleby's despite not going there for several years.

Maybe this was someone pretending to be Artemis? A doppelganger?

"It looks a lot like Artemis, but I can't say for sure."

"I thought it was Artemis at first as well. But it can't be. There's no chance that he would be at an all boys boarding school." Foaly crosses his arms. "So, either Artemis has been dabbling in magic. Or he has a doppelgänger." Both wouldn't surprise Foaly in the least. Stranger things had happened with the Fowls. "You think we should investigate?" He asked, glancing at Holly with a smile.

"Hey, if he does have a doppelganger or something we need to know," said Holly, shrugging. "When's the next flare?"

Foaly pushed his chair back and pulled up the schedule. "Next flare should be in an hour." He got to his feet and stretched. "Guess we better get packing, eh?" He asked with a smile. There was no way he was missing this.

Holly couldn't believe her pointy ears. Cupping her hands around them, she did a theatrical double take. "Do mine ears deceive me? Did you say we should pack?"

"I did say that. There's no way I'm missing something this exciting Holly." Foaly gave a smile. "Now, let's get going. We don't want to miss that flare." He winked as he headed for the door. "Boys, you're in charge! Don't ruin anything!"

Foaly rarely went above ground. So this would be an interesting experiment and a great investigation. On his way out, he made sure to stock Holly up with the latest technology-neutrino, a new set of wings, new helmet-as well as grab his own equipment. He simply grabbed a small pad. The latest technology in note taking. He smiled.

Forest near Bartleby

James always had a habit of getting sidetracked going to him and Juliet's meeting point today was no exception he kept pausing to admire the scenery and how beautiful the day was.

Once Holly and Foaly had caught a ride to the surface - which was a rather interesting experience, given the fact that Holly had never used a tandem pod before - and gotten their heart rates back to normal, they proceeded toward the doppelganger's position as quickly as possible. Since their journey had taken close to an hour already Holly was prepared for failure. They might catch useful hints or tracks, though, so she'd settle for that if that was all they could find. From the tiny shuttle they'd taken (which was heavily enchanted for secrecy), however, she noticed a figure walking through the woods below.

A figure that looked very familiar from the footage.

"I can't believe it. Foaly, is that the same kid?"

The shuttle certainly was an experience. Foaly wasn't even sure if he could stand after that. His legs wobbled and threatened to give out. He could feel his stomach doing flip-flops. He shook his head, trying to focus. "Hmm? What?" He thought of her words carefully. "Right..." He focused on what she was talking about. There was the kid. "I...uh...I think so?" He pulled the footage up onto his pad. "Yeah, that's him..." He blinked. "That was certainly fast."

James kept walking towards the meeting place stopping ever once in a while to examine an interesting flower or fungi blissfully unaware of everything else around him.

"I'll go down and retrieve him," Holly said, patting her friend on the flank as she put on a moonbelt. Once the target had been given an appropriate does of tranquilizers, she'd lift him to the shuttle with her wings. He couldn't be that heavy, and the moonbelt would cut his weight to a fraction of its normal number. "See you again in a minute."

And she descended at a steep angle, pulling up and hovering several feet above the boy's head. Just to get a good look.

He really did look so much like her friend. It was uncanny. Was it actually Artemis? Or someone who was going to pretend to be Artemis? But no doppelganger of Artemis would stop to smell flowers like that, would they? Artemis's appreciation of nature was still... limited, to be polite about it.

"Hey, Mud Boy. Is that you?" Talking was a risk, but she had to see the reaction. Good thing she'd positioned herself to see his face.

James jumped back about five feet and let out an undignified yelp and promptly passed out when the tiny girl appeared out of nowhere the last thoughts that crossed his mind I've gone insane quickly followed by Wait that's one of those creatures Juliet told me about. So she was telling the truth? the latter of which was the cause of his fainting.

Well that was easy. She hadn't even had to sedate him.

After doing a quick search through her target's pockets, Holly clipped him onto the moonbelt and did her best to stabilize his neck and spine while she ferried him up to the shuttle. If she hadn't suspected that he wasn't Artemis before, this definitely confirmed it. Artemis wouldn't fall into a dead faint on seeing little old her.

"Not Artemis, that's for sure," she told Foaly when she returned. "He just fainted when I tried to introduce myself."

Once she'd strapped the boy securely into a seat, she took the controls once more and made for the nearest big shuttleport. They needed to get belowground.

Fainting? That certainly wasn't Artemis' MO. The Artemis they knew would have probably got the jump on them first. If this wasn't Artemis then who was this kid? Foaly stared at the strange human. "So, we take him back to Haven? Are you sure that's wise?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Holly shrugged. "We need to keep him safe, and we need to keep him contained. Is there a better place to do that?" She wasn't asking a rhetorical question here. If Foaly could think of somewhere better to question the boy, she was likely to accept it.

James snapped awake with a yelp and looked around him in a panic then let out a moan "This kind of stuff isn't supposed to happen to me! Why must I be related to Artemis. of all the people to have as a twin it had to be the one who almost gets himself killed all of the time." James whined he absolutely hated being mistaken for his twin and the one time he tried to use their similarity to his advantage he had managed to get himself kidnapped, Juliet would have his head for putting himself into this kind of position by getting sloppy.

Foaly blinked as the kid awoke. He glanced at Holly before looking back at the kid. So, he wasn't Artemis. Though he did say something about being a twin. Since when did Artemis have a twin? "Uh...Hi mudman?" He asked, cocking his head.

"Please don't call me that. I'm having a bad enough day as it is, Juliet is going to have my head for missing my annual doctors visit and I have absolutely no bloody clue where I am. I would prefer if you did not call me insulting names on top of that."

There wasn't really an argument against that, so Holly just nodded and jumped into the conversation, hoping to acknowledge and then move on.

"Hey, hello. Can you tell us your name, please? I'm Holly. Major Holly Short of the Recon unit. I know your... You said Artemis is your twin? Well, I know him, and I'm kind of surprised he didn't mention you before."

"That is because he doesn't know I exist Juliet is the only one besides Mother and Father who knows that I exist. As for my name it's James."

James? James Fowl? Foaly wondered why Artemis' parents would pretend that Artemis was an only child. It just didn't make sense. He rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. "Could you tell us why you were hidden from Artemis?" He asked.

James sighed he hated having to explain his virtual nonexistence. "Well Father didn't want an argument over who would inherit the family fortune and as I was the younger twin it was decided that until such time as I chose a career path other than running Fowl Enterprises I was to be nonexistent. I chose a career long ago but seeing as recently Artemis has been dabbling in that career I chose not to say anything."

"So...you're into crime as well?" Foaly asked. Of course he was. It was a Fowl tradition to live a life of crime. Their father did it. Artemis did it. Why not this James fella as well. He crossed his arms. "Sounds like you're a lot like your brother."

"No I'm into environmental science." James scoffed.

Holly felt a bit less worried by this revelation, given the fact that Artemis had turned out to be a pretty good person underneath the layers he'd built up to protect himself. And besides, someone who stopped to smell flowers on a walk and clearly enjoyed nature couldn't truly be evil, could they? Maybe it was just her own draw to growing things that spoke up there, but she had a hard time believing that this James kid was a bad person just because he may have lived a life of crime.

But then he revealed his interest in environmental science. She smiled.

"You do sound like your brother. And I think you should meet him. Your parents are being completely unfair if they'd force you two apart and never let you get to know each other."

James was taken aback by Holly's comment it wasn't every day that he was complemented like that "thanks I guess?"

Foaly soon realized he forgot to introduce himself. "I'm Foaly, by the way." He looked down at the small human. "Holly, are you sure it's wise to take this kid back to his family?" He asked. "I mean, according to studies, it takes a lot of time to get adjusted back into a family setting." He was unsure whether taking the kid back to his parents was the right thing.

James just laughed at the centaur no Foaly's comment "please from everything Juliet has told me it's as if I did grow up with Artemis. She didn't leave out anything. Even your kind's existence. Though I did not believe her about that part."

"Oh, you're just such a pro when it comes to the people." Foaly rolled his eyes and looked away.

"No she didn't talk about you again after I wrote it off as a bunch of Blarney. So I only know of her first encounter with all of you... I had no clue that Artemis had befriended you."

James looked down ashamed of him initial reaction to them when Juliet had told him. If only he had believed her…

"Look, James," Holly said, ears flattening somewhat as she got progressively more worried about the whole situation. "I mean, if you don't want to meet Artemis and get to know him in person, I'm not going to make you, but... wouldn't you like that? Having a brother? Being able to talk and do things together?"

Foaly shook his head. "And how are we getting him there? The Manor is several hours away. And we don't have any means of transport. We need to think this through Holly!"

James was trying hard not to cry "Look I don't care what you do with me but your the ones explaining this to Juliet not me. She missed a wrestling match to get me to my annual doctor's appointment, which I have now missed."

Something she'd said had clearly upset the boy. Holly scratched the back of her neck, flummoxed. For just about the first time, she realized how much easier James's twin was to deal with than most kids that age.

"Foaly," she pointed out gently. "We're in a shuttle. Of course we have transport."

At least she knew how to handle that.

"Wait...another Fowl in Haven?" Foaly looked shocked. "Oh it worked so well the first time." He crossed his arms again. This was all a bad idea. But he wasn't the LEP Major. And so this was her call. Besides no one listened to him. He puffed out his cheeks. "I'll let you make this call Holly."

James cleared his throat to get Holly and Foaly's attention "Um could you please tell my, most likely irate, girlfriend that you kidnapped me so she doesn't beat me up next time I see her? I would prefer to stay in Juliet's good graces."

Holly looked at him a bit strangely.

"Wait, she's your girlfriend? I'm going to wrestle her for not telling me! We swore we'd celebrate together if either of us got a boyfriend!"

James sighed "she's not as open about our relationship as I am because of my parents... Butlers and Fowls aren't supposed to date."

"Well that's a shame. I'm happy for you two, at least," Holly said firmly. "If you're worried about this physical, show me where I can find Juliet. We can get you to her faster than you can walk. And whenever you do want to actually meet your brother for once, just let me know if you need any help." She made her way toward the pilot's seat. Stupid. James seemed too bashful to upset the status quo by revealing himself. She'd support him if he ever did, but goodness knew she had no real right to get involved.

Foaly had followed silently. This was still a bad idea. But he would follow Holly's lead. She had never steered them wrong before. He still could be mad about it. Grumpily, he took a seat and buckled himself in. "Don't touch anything. This is advanced equipment. Last thing I need is to fix something." If he did, who knew what would happen. Shuttles were temperamental at the best of times.

James gave a weak smile and said "The clearing about a mile and a half from the school is where we were supposed to meet, and don't worry I have no intention of tampering with your vehicle..."

Holly maneuvered the craft to the right place in less than five minutes. Given the fact that she and Foaly had no need to hide from Juliet, she actually landed the shuttle beside the car waiting there, and dropped the ramp to join James outside. Juliet would want an explanation. "Hey Mud Girl," she called fondly as she approached.

Foaly left the shuttle again, scratching his stomach casually. In the distance he thought he could see Juliet. The same blonde hair. He wondered if she still did wrestling on the side. He glanced at James. "You know she's a wrestler right?"

James let out a sigh "That's why she's going to be upset that I am late. She missed a wrestling match to take me to this appointment."

"Not too late, surely?" Holly said hopefully. "Just by a few minutes."

Foaly smirked. "He's in love Holly. Just being late feels like an eternity." He shook his head. "I'll never understand human love."

"No I do not like being unpunctual. It makes a person look undependable."

Foaly rolled his eyes. "You truly are a Fowl mudman." He crossed his arms.

"Oh, come on," Holly nudged her horsey friend on the rump. "He doesn't like being called a Mud Man. Be polite." James hadn't been rude to them, after all. Or at least no more so than could be expected from someone who had been snatched up by strangers during a walk.

"If you insist on calling me embarrassing nicknames please just call me what Juliet calls me. She gave me the nickname Jamie. So if you must call me anything other than my given name please call me that."

Foaly glanced at James. "I call all the humans I meet Mudman. I even called Artemis Mudman for a while. But, if you insist."

"Thank you, it means a lot to me. Hi Juliet I can explain, or rather they can explain why I am late."

Right. Explaining things. "Hey Juliet," Holly called, grinning up at the other female. "Sorry about all this. We didn't mean to get involved, only Foaly noticed James here leaving St. Bartleby's and thought he was Artemis. That set off a few red flags, so we decided to investigate."

Juliet has to admit that she was surprised. Surprised that James had missed his appointment. And surprised by the appearance of Major Holly and Foaly. What in God's name were they doing topside? Artemis wasn't due for a check up with the people for months. "Uh...hi...nice to...see you?" She cocked her head.

"Yeah, nice to see you too Juliet. And believe me, I'm just as surprised to be here as you are." Foaly looked around the group.

James sighed "This day is not going the way it was planned at all. We were supposed to go to my physical and then I was going to surprise you by taking you to see that movie you've been talking about wanting to see."

"Oh! That new movie with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? Jumanji?" Juliet placed a hand over her heart and smiled. That was so sweet of James. His brother Artemis would never do that for her. (A/N One of the people who helped me write this really likes this movie so she used it for the story ?)

James just blushed he couldn't say anything really Juliet's reaction told him all he needed to know but it also made him feel just a little bit bolder about meeting Artemis. so after a deep breath he blurted out "Holly said she would help me get to know Artemis if I wanted to, and I really want to but I need you to tell him and your brother not to tell our parents!"

So he did want to? Holly's smile softened. She'd seen too many people get estranged from their families or never get to meet them before it was too late. Despite whatever reason the situation had come about, she always found it damned sad. Her own experiences - losing her own parents so early, to begin with - had taught her that treasuring the family you had while you had them was important.

Juliet paused. Would she be able to swear Artemis and Domovoi to keep this secret from Angeline and Artemis Sr.? That was hard. She gulped. But she would do almost anything for James. She nodded. "Yes. I'll have them swear it."

James nodded and then turned to Holly "Could you somehow set up a meeting between the two of us?"

Juliet crossed her arms. "That's a lot to ask for James darling." She walked over and kissed him gently.

"Of course I can," Holly said, shrugging. "I can just call Arty right now. We can set up a meeting from there." She dialed the correct number on her communicator ring, placing it on speakerphone.

When Artemis got Holly's call he was in the middle of hacking Foaly's computer. but he stopped the moment he heard her ringtone and answered "Holly is everything alright? You don't usually call me for trivial matters."

She chuckled at the accuracy of that statement.

"Yeah, sorry Mud Boy. I swear we'll get to call each other about something normal one of these days. But we have... kind of a situation." How to break it to him? She took a deep breath, wondering how she'd gotten into this situation. "Um, okay. So I should preface this by saying that we need you to keep this quiet. But we also need Butler to hear this."

"Okay then this should be interesting... Butler!" he called wondering what could be so important that both Butler and him had to be present.

"So," Holly began, "Foaly noticed something odd today on the cameras around St. Bartleby's. That's why I'm here on the surface and not buried in paperwork right about now. The thing is, there was someone sneaking away from the school, and he looked like you."

She turned on the video call feature and beckoned to James, urging him to lean down so he could be comfortably in frame.

"Turns out... well, your brother wants to meet you. Go on," she added, smiling at the shyer Fowl twin, "I won't hog the spotlight anymore."

James let out a small squeak but did as he was told "H-Hello Juliet's told me so much about you but I hope that maybe someday we may meet in person instead of over a video call"

Artemis said nothing how could he? He had a twin brother... and yet Juliet and Holly had known about the boy first. So he just stood mouth slightly agape staring at the boy who looked exactly like him.

Juliet remained silent for the conversation. This was something that needed to be done between the Fowls. She glanced innocently at Holly. "I didn't want to hide this from anyone. I swear."

"No," Holly sighed. "It's your parents who wanted to hide it, Artemis, though please don't go to them about it - James asked us to keep this meeting private. He just wanted to meet you for the first time."

She hoped her best friend found his voice soon. Poor James must be getting anxious as the seconds stretched by without a response.

Artemis took a deep breath "Well if that's what he wants then so be it, but Juliet I'm curious as to how you met James and as to why you're standing so close to him, you're standing closer to him then even your brother stands to me"

Juliet awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. "It's a long story actually. James...where should we begin with this?" She asked. She wasn't quite sure what to say or where to start.

"Um...How about...Well...Um...Wow. I-i really don't know how to explain this without making the situation even more awkward. I-well, Juliet met me when I was running away from the family Mother and Father left me with and I explained the story to her that was when we were ten... We-we started dating about a year ago..."

While it hurt to know that James had had such a bad family situation, Holly found herself smiling. She was glad that he'd had Juliet, at the very least. Finding love - whether familial or romantic - could make the world a lot less frightening. And a lot more fun.

And now he'd finally have his brother, and her, and Butler.

Speaking of Butler, the manservant had been silent since the beginning of the call. His furrowed brow told Holly that he'd been taken aback by the situation, and particularly at the revelation that Juliet and James were dating, though he'd clearly relaxed as the call progressed.

"I'm glad you two are happy," he offered in his deep bass rumble. "You seem like a decent young man, James."

"Thank you, I was a bit nervous about this whole thing and you guys have made it a lot easier... Juliet I'm sorry for making it so that you had to keep information from your brother, and Artemis I'm sorry for not trying to meet you sooner, and Juliet's brother-I'm sorry I don't really know your name- well I'm sorry for not asking for your permission to date Juliet." James said with a nervous smile.

Juliet shook her head. "It's fine James...I care about you!" She took James' hand in hers. She glanced at the phone, rocking on her feet. She just hoped that her brother would forgive her. She had never kept a secret like this from her brother. He was always her confidant. But when James came up, she just had to keep it a secret. "I'm sorry Domovoi...please forgive me."

Foaly sighed. All this drama for one little secret? He shook his head. He would need a strong drink when he got home. Technology he understood. But, human emotions? He would never understand the idea of human emotions.

Seeing how much Juliet cared for James settled Butler's nerves somewhat. He couldn't be that bad if his baby sister loved him, could he? Well, then again, given Juliet's dating history, he might have to quietly get a better sense of the young man. If he really had nothing dangerous or unsavory to hide, then no need for anyone to know that Butler had been looking, and if he did have something serious to hide, better to know about it now and warn his sister as he could.

"I forgive you," he told her. And he meant it. Nobody could help who they fell in love with. Only what they did once they had.

James sighed and in a slightly quavering voice said "So, do I have your blessing to date her? I know I'm already dating her but I would feel a lot better-and more comfortable meeting you in person- if I had your blessing."

"Don't you hurt her," Butler warned, unable to stop himself from being at least a little bit protective. But a smile tugged at his lips. "I have a feeling you aren't the kind of man who would do that, but I still had to say it. Older brother duties and all that."

James sighed "I highly doubt an aspiring economic scientist with my physic would be capable of even attempting to harm someone as strong as her."

"Domovoi! Please!" Juliet cried. "James has been such a sweetheart this last year." She reached out and took his hand. Domovoi had a right to be protective. But, still, he didn't have to be that protective.

Holly hid her grin behind one hand. Good old Butler. He could always be counted on if you needed backup.

"It has to be said," Butler was countering. "Or it wouldn't be a proper 'meeting the boyfriend' talk."

Though Holly concurred, she had a realistic idea of how well it would go down if she actually pointed that out aloud. She settled for a politely interested look and waited for the conversation to move on instead.

Artemis on the other hand couldn't help but say something "Would that not mean that you are in essence threatening one of your employers though old friend?"

A snort escaped Holly's lips before she could stop it. "He's got you there, Butler."

The bodyguard might have rolled his eyes if he hadn't been a consummate professional. As it was, he simply smiled and raised an eyebrow. "I don't see his name anywhere on my paychecks."

Juliet rolled her eyes. "Well he isn't paying you, is he Domovoi?" She crossed her arms and thrust her hip to one side. "I'm the one who gets paid." Honestly, her brother could be very embarrassing. She sighed.

"Exactly. So I'm not threatening my employer."

James sighed "Technically you and Juliet are both paid by our parents so Artemis is correct."

"You know that I would work for you for free though James." Juliet smiled and hugged his arm. She kissed his cheek sweetly.

"I know but it makes me feel a lot more comfortable that your not spending the money you make Wrestling on taking me to appointments and pretty much everything we do."

Juliet paused before nodding. "That is true." She paused and looked at Holly. "So...what now Holly?" She asked.

Foaly sighed. "I guess we should take James to the Fowl estate." He looked at James. "James...have you ever been to the Fowl estate?" He asked.

"No I haven't and don't plan to any time soon. I would like to not run into my parents this soon after meeting my brother." James stated bluntly giving Foaly a "did you not think that question through" look worthy of his twin brother.

Foaly chuckled. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, James has the qualities of Artemis. He smiled. "Well, a mutual meeting place then. Maybe Holly will approve a meeting in Haven. Wouldn't that be something. Trouble would just have a blast."

Artemis smiled "that's actually a good idea."

James gave a small nod and said " If whoever this Trouble person is will agree to it than that will be perfect."

Foaly was joking. If Trouble agreed to it then things were bad. He raised his hands in defeat. "Whatever. I'll stay out of this conversation now." He slowly walked away, shaking his head.

Snorting, Holly shook her head. "Trouble doesn't have to know, and what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Maybe we don't have to go all the way to Haven, though. Artemis, you and Butler know where the shuttleport at Tara is, right? Maybe we could all meet there sometime? I could help get James there, and you and Butler could just... I don't know, say you went for an errand?"

Artemis smiled "that is too true."

James gave Holly a bright smile and said "That is probably a very good idea though I am a bit curious to know what Tara is."

"Tara? Oh, well, since we - fairies, I mean - mostly live underground, we need a way to come back to the surface when we have to. So we use shuttles like the one we flew here in. And Tara is a shuttleport, where we can get in and out of the underground without being seen." Holly paused. "Well, it's also very near a sacred wellspring, but it's known for the shuttleport."

"So, then will your higher ups be okay with that? Us meeting at such an important place for your people?" James inquired.

Foaly shook his head. Holly was just giving away Haven secrets. She didn't know if James worked for the government. He adjusted his tinfoil hat and crossed his arms. "Yeah, what Trouble won't know won't hurt him. But once he finds out it may hurt us." He glanced at James and Artemis.

James gulped and then composing himself said "so will I be harmed for going there? Because I would prefer not to come to any harm just for wanting to meet my brother..."

"Well...most likely not you James. But maybe Holly and I. Though, we never know." Foaly shrugged. "Trouble is more level headed then the previous commander. But does demand respect."

Holly nodded. "I don't think he'll be hard on you. He'll get on my case a bit, but not too much."

James gave a nervous laugh "Knowing my family's reputation he may dislike me just for that."

Artemis couldn't help but chuckle at his brother's certainty of the fact but other than that he stayed silent

Foaly scratched his stomach. "Surprisingly, Trouble and Artemis have an okay relationship. We worked with your brother a lot." He glanced at Holly. "He'll just get angry at us for going up without permission."

"Better than getting in trouble for other things," Holly quipped. Then she shivered dramatically. "I still remember him shouting at me for that stunt we pulled on April Fools. You remember, Artemis? There were swear toads in the station for at least a month after that."

Artemis smirked but said nothing

James on the other hand was trying and failing miserably to not look confused and bewildered by what she had said "swear toads?"

"Yes. Toads that swear." Holly somehow managed to look annoyed and gleeful at the same time. "Is it a plan then? Meeting at Tara?"

Artemis' response was quick "Of course, that is if Butler is up to it."

James gave a nervous smile and stammered out "S-sure sounds good."

"I'll get the car," Butler said, nodding to his charge. "Where are we going to tell your parents you're going, if they ask?"

"Tell them we're going to visit a friend of mine, since it's just leaving out a few details, because we will be seeing Holly and she is a friend and thus you won't have to feel quite so guilty about lying to them." Artemis replied.

Butler inclined his head. Smart. Not that he expected anything else from his employer.

Holly grinned, nodding. "Damn straight. See you two in a bit, then." She realized that they still had Juliet's car and the shuttle, both waiting to be used. "Oh, Juliet, do you want to use the car or come with us in the shuttle?"

Haven

Trouble was starting to get concerned when he hadn't heard from Major Short and, surprisingly, Foaly, for, going on a couple of hours. A lunch break was one thing, but avoiding work was another. It was a busy day in Police Plaza between Goblin gang arrests, speeding sprites, and of course swear toads people in a local park. So needless to say he was not a happy elf. He pulled up Holly's contact info and went ahead and put a call straight through to her helmet communicator. They had work to do for Fronds sake.

Forest

Getting a call from Trouble himself at that exact moment had not been what Holly had in mind. She winced, quickly making sure that her helmet's external camera would not come on when she opened the call. Best to keep her location from Trouble for as long as possible. He wouldn't be very pleased with her for playing games behind a valuable ally's back, or for - admittedly - finding an excuse to get out of paperwork for an afternoon.

"Oh, Trouble. How are you?"

Thank goodness for that 'audio only' option.

Trouble audibly sighed over the speaker. That should have been enough of an answer, but he continued on. "I'm tired, Major. But, life goes on despite that. Keeping peace in Haven has no end. Which is why we need all hands on deck, especially on days like this."

James stayed quiet he couldn't hear what was being said on the other end of what was obviously a phone call from Holly's boss knowing that she would just get in more trouble if he said anything.

"Hey Trouble! Mind sending up a shuttle for us?" Foaly called. Hopefully the Commander would be able to hear him from that distance. "Things have gotten a tad complicated."

Holly winced. Really? "We already have a shuttle, Foaly," she hissed, putting a hand over her mic for a moment. Then, with an annoyed look, she cleared her throat and went back to talking to Trouble. "Um, ignore him, he's being smart mouthed like usual. We might be a little bit getting back underground, though. We aren't exactly... in Haven."

James held his breath either Holly and Foaly were about to land in a heap of trouble or he was finally going to get to meet his brother and they would just get a verbal slap on the hand for going against their boss' orders.

Trouble had furrowed his brow at hearing Foaly request for a shuttle to retrieve them. "What? What do you mean you aren't in Haven, Major?" He sounded even more annoyed, if that was possible, but he was willing to listen to see what the excuse was of course. "I'm sure the two of you have your reasons for going above ground. I mean, it's not everyday Foaly decides a situation warrants him to leave his office, much less go to surface."

"There was an interesting situation up here Trouble." Foaly trotted next to Holly. "Didn't think that we would end up in this situation, to be honest. Now things have gotten confusing. And now I need a good drink and be back with my computers." He rubbed his temples.

At that James let out a humph. So this was how it was going to end? He was going to be down played as just a situation that they needed to destress from? Typical that was how everyone but Juliet treated him it was totally unfair but he had gotten used to it a long time ago.

"Oh, don't be rude, Foaly. He's a person, not a situation," Holly chided. "A person named James."

As explanation, she turned on her helmet camera and pointed it at James, allowing Trouble to see the obvious resemblance.

The moment James realized he was on camera he squeaked and hid behind Juliet he hated having his picture taken let alone having someone film him.

"James. James who?" He asked, but those words died in his mouth as Holly turned the camera on the boy. "A Fowl?" He sighed and placed his head in his hands. Oh this was just great. "So is he like a cousin of the Mud Boy then?"

James wasn't one for drama, this was too much, he did not like attention... Well maybe Juliet's attention but other than that he was painfully shy so instead of answering the question he cowered behind Juliet.

"Not exactly sir...he's Artemis' twin." Foaly smiled. "Isn't that exciting? Yet another Fowl sibling to work with." He chuckled, wanting to see the Commanders face turn red. Or maybe another exotic colour.

Juliet took James' hand. "Everything will be fine James. I promise."

"I hate being in the spotlight you know that Juliet. It's Artemis' job to be the one who's always the center of attention not me! I hate feeling like I'm in a bloody fishbowl for everyone else's enjoyment!" James just barely managed to squeak out.

"You're not here for anyone's enjoyment," Holly tried to reassure him. "Trouble does need to know what's going on, though, and that we're trying to help out with you getting to meet your brother for the first time."

James let out a flustered huff and said "I-i don't like people taking pictures or videos of me."

Foaly blinked. "Kid after my own heart. I hate getting pictures of myself done, to be honest." He laughed. "The government could be probing our minds, right now."

James scowled "t-they can't do that, trust me. they would have found out about me a long time ago if that were true. I've actually run into my brother's bodyguard a couple of times and he didn't even notice if someone as observant as him didn't notice me I highly doubt that the government notices your people's activities."

"That's what you think Fowl." Foaly tapped his head. "But I know better." He chuckled. "Now, about that meet up." He smiled.

James just let out another squeak. Hearing someone calling him by his last name one so few people even knew was his was slightly unnerving.

"I didn't know Fowl had a twin. This all sounds... Complicated." Trouble rubbed his temples. "So, let me see if I understand this... he's never met Artemis? And the two of you want to help them meet? Does Fowl number one know about this? Or were you going to surprise him at the Manor?"

James shot Holly a mortified look hoping beyond hope that she would keep her promise not to make him go to the Manor.

Juliet took James' hand and smiled. "Do not worry. You don't have to do this alone James. I'll be here for you." She squeezed his hand gently and looked to Trouble. "Commander may I have a word?"

Foaly glanced around Juliet. He was liking her more and more. Since meeting James, Juliet had come into her own. He smiled.

Holly handed the helmet over for a moment, stepping back to stand by Foaly. "I hope this is all going to turn out all right. They really do deserve to have a proper family," she whispered.

"Don't you think I know that Holly? But I also want to keep my job," Foaly whispered back. "I don't want Trouble to know this but there are other geniuses other than me out there." He looked to James and Juliet. He gulped. "We best make this quick."

James frowned slightly as he watched the two fairies talking in hushed voices. What were they saying? He was curious but knew it wasn't his place so he just decided to listen to the conversation between Juliet and their boss.

Foaly looked over his shoulder before returning his gaze to Holly. "Well, shall we get going?" He asked. "I would like to get back to my tech room. I don't trust those interns."

"True," Holly said, grinning. "Didn't they end up breaking into your encryptions and playing the Macarena on repeat once?" It had actually been her helping Artemis hijack things that time, but she'd managed to recover the secret USB before Foaly could pin down where the little virus had come from.

James was starting to get really uncomfortable he felt a bit out of place even Juliet knew what the were talking about he felt as though he was just some random stranger who had accidentally stumbled on a group of childhood friends and had been offered to join in the conversation (he actually had done that once) and was floundering to understand what was going on.

"Don't bring that up...ever," Foaly whispered. He shuddered. That incident was famously called the Macarena incident. "Right...focus...we should get Artemis and James to Tara. The faster we do this, the better." He glanced over his shoulder.

Juliet looked at James and smiled. "Is there anything I can do?" She asked. She knew that James was getting uncomfortable. "Just say the word and we can get out of here."

"The shuttle's right here," Holly offered, pointing in the appropriate direction. "It would be the fastest."

James took a deep breath and headed for the shuttle saying "Okay I'm ready... I think."

Foaly nodded. "Excellent. Then let's get a move on. We don't have all night." He smiled as he approached the shuttle.

"It's a good thing Tara's not far from here then, isn't it?" Holly quipped, jogging up the ramp and heading over to the pilot's controls. Despite the wild turns today had taken, she felt good knowing that Artemis and his brother would be reunited at last. James didn't deserve to live in the shadows so unfairly. And Artemis had a right to know his twin, even though his father had tried to steal that from him.

James just smiled and followed them in he could really get used to the whole fairies as friends thing. Though he doubted he would ever be as close to them as his brother.

Juliet followed silently behind James. Though she had done this routine with Artemis, she always was on high alert. One never knew when someone would strike. Her brought taught her well. "You should probably be back at the school before anyone notices you're gone."

James glanced back at Juliet gave her a small smile and said "This is the first time I've been noticed either way Juliet. If I'm not at school because I'm with you at one of your matches they don't notice I'm gone... when I come back they don't notice I'm there. I'm basically invisible to them." His voice got quieter towards the end of the sentence because of his depression over his version of normalcy.

Somehow Holly had a feeling that "we're going to fix that" would just induce more anxiety. She settled with smiling at him over her shoulder and calling, "You aren't invisible to us. We're here for you." Then they were on their way, the shuttle's engines rumbling softly beneath them.