Hello everyone! =) Finally got this chapter done! It was... interesting to write, to say the least. And if you think this chapter is bad, well... wait until the next chapter. ;) Hope you all enjoy this! <3

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Artemis stood in the elevator, heading up towards the floor that contained Spiro's office where they would do the exchange. He had Butler and Juliet standing on either side of him, along with Holly shielded a few feet away. Even with all the protection, Artemis did not feel very safe. He was walking straight into the home of the enemy, not entirely sure what was awaiting them on the other side of the elevator door. As far as Artemis knew, he could be walking into an ambush. Admittedly, the boy was upset with himself for not putting more thought into what could happen to them once they arrived. He was beginning to wonder if his judgment was clouded.

Artemis glanced up at the floor counter, watching it steadily go up as they scaled the Spiro Needle. He just as quickly looked away; watching the numbers go up was only making his anxiety rise. Artemis felt his grip on the metallic briefcase tighten, but immediately corrected it as he forced himself to relax. Being tense wasn't going to help him now; if anything, it would just going to get him hurt.

Before Artemis could get too involved with his thoughts, the elevator came to a stop. A ding! signaled the door opening. Artemis was the first to step out onto the floor, his companions following close behind him. He began his walk through the hallway and towards Spiro's office with single-minded determination, although a bit nervous. Artemis walked with his head high, hoping that looking confident would cover up his already shot nerves. All he wanted to do was get Diana, go home, and move on with life, but he was beginning to believe that was not likely.

He reached the closed door emblemized with Spiro's name. Artemis stopped there, hesitantly placing his hand on the golden door knob. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what could be awaiting him on the other side of the mahogany door.

Artemis turned the door knob and pushed the door open. He stepped inside the lavish office, with Butler, Juliet, and a nearly invisible Holly flanking him. Almost immediately, his eyes interlocked with the brown ones of his friend. Diana was seated in a chair not too far away from the desk, Arno Blunt holding her firmly in place by her arm. Artemis was relieved to see Diana completely unscathed; they weren't out of the woods yet though. Artemis knew if he wanted Diana to remain unharmed he needed to tread carefully around Spiro for the next few minutes. Diana gave him a weak smile, something that in itself calmed him down slightly.

"Ah, hello Artemis," Spiro greeted from his desk. Honestly, Artemis hadn't even noticed the man sitting there.

"Evening Spiro," Artemis almost hissed. Before he spoke again, Artemis did his best to correct his tone. "Shall we get this over with then?"

Spiro snickered, obviously believing that he was about to get what he wanted. "I trust you brought the C Cube like I requested? With the eternity code on it broken?"

"I did," Artemis answered. He handed the case to Butler before opening it, being smart enough to block the view of the contents of the briefcase; Artemis couldn't afford to have Spiro discover that there were two Cubes. He carefully plucked the fake C Cube from its spot in the protective foam. While very similar to the real C Cube, the imposter had a few subtle changes that only Artemis himself would notice, or at least that's what he hoped. The Irish boy swiftly shut the case before turning to present the false Cube to his foe. "Here it is, the C Cube- code broken and all," he announced. "Although I admittedly have no clue as to why you would still want this piece of mediocre technology."

Artemis smirked, watching Spiro's eyes light up as he finally got a look at the C Cube. "Now hand it over," the businessman demanded, getting up from his chair.

Artemis instinctively pulled the Cube back towards him a little bit, since Spiro looked like he would lunge forward and snatch it from him at any minute. "I don't think so," Artemis stated. "Not until Diana is safe over here with us."

Spiro glanced at Arno and Diana, debating something over in his head. Artemis knew he wasn't going to give him Diana without the C Cube in his hands first. "I think not," Spiro said; Artemis was not surprised.

"Very well then," Artemis mused, debating a solution to the impasse they had reached. "At the same time?"

Spiro narrowed his eyes, once again, debating the offer Artemis made. "Alright," he finally answered. He turned to the bulking man standing a few feet away from him. "Arno, the girl?"

Artemis watched as Arno pulled Diana to her feet before carelessly throwing her in Artemis' direction. Artemis tossed the false Cube at the hulking man just in time to catch his friend, although he still staggered back a few feet in the process. The boy gasped for air as Diana wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, obviously glad to be out of the clutches of Spiro. Artemis gingerly hugged her back, admittedly relieved to have her back on his side. After only a few seconds, he pulled away from his friend, putting his attention back on what Spiro was doing. The businessman was standing there with the C Cube now in his hands, smirking evilly.

"Well, now that you have the Cube, I do believe we'll be leaving," Artemis concluded. He turned and started to walk away.

"Not so fast, Fowl," Spiro stopped him. "Before you go anywhere, I'm going to make sure I'm not being duped. You might have fooled me once, but you're not getting away with it a second time."

An uncharacteristic lump formed in Artemis' throat. This is what he was afraid of. Perhaps he had underestimated his opponent a second time this evening. Artemis turned on his heel, facing his nemesis once again. "Why would I possibly be tricking you?" Artemis questioned, hoping to persuade the man into believing him. "I already have stated I have no further uses for the C Cube, and have technology that surpasses it. Why would I care if you have it?"

Spiro tossed the Cube into the air and caught it again, like one would do with a ball. "Oh, I don't know Artemis. You have a knack for screwing people over, and I certainly don't want to be one of those people once again. How do I know you're not pulling my leg?" The man set the Cube down on what appeared to be an old VHS tape on his desk. "For your sake, you better hope that this thing works." Jon Spiro turned away from Artemis, and looked directly at the C Cube before speaking again. "Cube, play the tape for me, will you?"

Artemis watched in anticipation, although he knew what was going happen. He hadn't had the ample time to recreate all the C Cube's features; he hardly had enough time to reconstruct the blue box itself, let alone any of the interior portions. He had mainly used spare parts to fill the insides, just to recreate the weight of it. Artemis remembered how long it had taken him to create the C Cube the first time; there was no way he would've been able to create another one in the time slot he had been given. Needless to say, he was not surprised when nothing played, and the Cube didn't stir.

Almost immediately, Spiro shot Artemis a pointed glare. Artemis could see the anger in the man's eyes, and suddenly grew a tad worried about what was about to happen. "I had a feeling you were going to do something foul," Spiro hissed.

Artemis couldn't resist making a jab at that remark. "I am Artemis Fowl; what did you expect?" A mistake, as it turned out.

Spiro's face turned a shade of red Artemis had only seen on the now deceased commander of the LEP, Julius Root; it was all too clear that Spiro was not happy about what had transpired. Artemis was silently hoping that he wasn't going to do anything too drastic, and that his back up would indeed be enough to stop Spiro. "You think this is funny, don't you? Do you think this is a game?" Spiro questioned angrily. Artemis watched as he reached into his suit's jacket, and pulled a pistol from an inside pocket. "You think that you're going to get out unscathed this time? Think again Fowl. You've taken away all I've cared about, essentially ruined my livelihood. And now... I'm going to take yours."

At first, Artemis was a bit baffled by what Spiro was talking about. He wasn't left wondering for long. Spiro turned his gun, aiming at Diana. For a moment, Artemis contemplated what made Spiro think Diana was his "livelihood," but that feeling soon passed. This was no time to be questioning the logic of a deranged megalomaniac. The boy glanced between Spiro and Diana for just a second before making probably the most irrational decision of his life.

Artemis decided to make a jump for it. Diana was standing a few feet away, unprotected from anything Spiro could throw at her. The boy lunged in front of her, hoping he would be the one hit by the bullet flying from the gun instead of Diana. After all, it was his fault that they were in this situation to begin with. Unfortunately, Artemis heard the gun fire mid-jump. He closed his eyes tightly, bracing himself for the pain that was sure to follow.

As Artemis felt his body hit the floor, one thought still lingered: Why did I have to be a hero?