Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay! Got busy with school work and real work so I got no time to write. Unfortunately for my writing, school and my education comes first. And so does making money. Anyhow... this chapter was both fun and unnerving to write. =/ You'll see why soon enough. Hope you all enjoy anyways!

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Am I alive, or am I dead?

Artemis debated the question over in his head for several moments. He felt no pain, nor did he feel damp from the blood that should've been leaking out of the wound somewhere on his body. He felt perfectly fine; he still had a heart beat and he was still breathing. And that's when Artemis felt his heart sink. He wasn't dead; in fact he was far from it.

But he had missed.

Artemis wasted no more time lying about. He sat up, completely ignoring whatever else was going on around him as he tried to figure out if Diana was okay. The girl laid a few feet behind him, clutching at her chest where Artemis was only assuming she had been hit. The boy practically slid over to his friend, no longer caring about the condition of his suit; if it was scuffed or covered in dirt and blood, oh well. There were more important things to be worried about.

He gently lifted Diana, cradling her in his arms. Artemis stared down at her, in complete disbelief that the one time he decided to be heroic he ended up failing. He pushed the girl's hair from her face, and immediately regretted it. Diana's face was twisted in probably the single-most agonizing expression Artemis had ever laid eyes on. The girl's eyes finally opened, making contact with Artemis'.

"Artemis," she whispered. "I'm dying, aren't I?"

Artemis shook his head. "No, you're going to be fine," he attempted to assure, although he was entirely not sure about what was going to happen to her. Artemis did his best to correct the tremor in his voice before he spoke next. "I'm sorry Diana," he stated.

Before Diana could say anything, Artemis looked away from her as he heard a fight beginning to break out between the bodyguards. He disregarded that, knowing Butler and Juliet had the fight with Blunt easily taken care of. He looked back at Diana, who was still holding onto her chest.

"Why are you sorry?" she asked quietly.

"I failed you," Artemis answered. There was something that didn't happen very often. As soon as the words left his lips, Artemis realized exactly what he had said. He had failed. He gently moved Diana's hand away from her wound, and immediately regretted it. Blood gushed out of the hole only a few centimeters away from where her heart was. He felt that uncharacteristic lump in his throat again as he began to speak once more. "I never meant for this to happen-"

"-Artemis, shut up," Diana muttered. "You attempted, and that..." She paused for a moment, catching her breath. "...that's enough for me. Thank you." Before Artemis could respond, he noticed Holly standing on the other side of Diana, completely blowing her cover. Diana had noticed as well. "Artemis? Am I seeing things? There's... an elf standing next to me right now."

Artemis bit his tongue for a moment, not sure what to tell his friend. A reassuring look from Holly made him say, "You're not hallucinating. She's there, and she's going to help you. I'll explain everything later, if I can."

"Take care of Spiro," Holly stated. "I've got her."

Artemis nodded before gently handing Diana over to Holly. The boy stood, feeling himself beginning to shake. He took one last look at Diana before turning to face Spiro, who was seemingly unaware of Holly's presence still. The businessman smirked, pleased with the outcome he had received. Diana was in the process of dying, and soon Artemis was going to be as well- but not before succumbing to overwhelming grief. Upon seeing that smirk, Artemis felt his emotions do a one-eighty. While he was holding Diana, he was overwhelmed with a sadness he had only felt a few other times in his short lifetime; now, however as he faced the man guilty of the crime, Artemis felt a fire erupt in his veins.

"Did you honestly think you could save her?" Spiro taunted, grin forming on his face and gun still somewhat pointed at the teenaged boy. "You're pathetic, Fowl. And now I'm going to destroy you, just like you destroyed me."

"I think not," Artemis hissed. Before he said anything else, the boy glanced around, looking for anything he could use as a weapon. As long as Spiro had a gun and Artemis was unarmed, he was at a disadvantage. After a few seconds, Artemis spotted a staple gun sitting on top of an upside-down bucket. Upon seeing this, Artemis assumed that they had just recently remodeled, but there was no time to waste on petty thoughts such as that. The boy snatched up the staple gun and aimed it at Spiro.

The businessman laughed at Artemis' feeble attempt at defense. "Really Artemis? A staple gun, against my pistol? You don't stand a chance," Spiro snickered.

"Or do I?" Artemis raised an eyebrow. He briefly aimed before shooting.

The staple flew a few feet through the air before coming to a stop in the middle of Spiro's thigh. The man dropped his weapon, grabbing his leg in pain. "You son of a-"

Artemis cut the man off by picking his gun up off the floor. The boy looked down at his enemy, no mercy lingering in his eyes. "Do you think you stand a chance now?" Artemis asked. "I am not one to be toyed with, Spiro. If you have a problem with me, you should take it up with me, not my friends or family. What you did to Diana... was completely erroneous, not to mention uncalled for." Artemis steadied his aim a little, hoping not to look as distraught as he actually was.

Spiro looked up at the boy, pulling at the staple lodged in his leg. "You don't have the guts to kill me."

"First of all, it doesn't take guts to kill someone; it takes a severe lack of moral stamina," Artemis began. He raised an eyebrow as he aimed a bit more. "And at this range, do you honestly think I'd miss?"

"Last I knew, your wrists couldn't support a weapon," Spiro reminded.

"Think again," Artemis retorted. "I'm not that inept with weapons. But most importantly, I'm not beyond killing you, especially not after what you did."

Even as the words left his mouth, Artemis wasn't actually sure if he could pull it off. Yes, he was livid, and he also wanted revenge- but could he actually kill someone? It was something Artemis had never done before. Artemis debated it over in his head, holding the pistol steadily in his hands. Although he had been practicing with Butler, Artemis wasn't entirely sure about killing someone.

"Then do it," Spiro egged on.

Artemis placed his finger on the trigger, taking a deep breath to help calm him in the process. He closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating on the task at hand. Could he actually shoot Spiro? Artemis' better judgment said no, but the other half of him demanded revenge. The boy opened his eyes and looked back at Diana, who was still lying rather still in Holly's arms. She didn't deserve this, and Spiro deserved the punishment Artemis was about to unleash on him.

The boy's sapphire blue eyes locked onto Spiro's brown ones. "I'll see you in hell," Artemis muttered before firing a few times at the megalomaniac sitting on the floor. Artemis admittedly forgot about the recoil and overwhelming noise that came from guns and was a tad startled that he had actually done it. He brought his hands back to his side, dropping the gun in the process. He stared at the man that was Jon Spiro lying presumably lifeless on the ground before him, blood pouring out of his wounds.

He had done it. Artemis had killed Spiro. Artemis felt his breathing rapidly increase as he finally realized what he had just done. A murderer, he thought. That's what you are now. And then, Diana surely isn't going to like you now.

Before Artemis could figure out what was going on, he felt a large hand push him away from the scene and towards the elevator. He looked up to see Butler directing him, Diana draped over his shoulder and Holly and Juliet following closely behind him. "We have to get out of here," Butler informed. "We only have a few minutes before that whole place goes up in smoke."

Artemis was admittedly confused. "What did you do?"

"Cut an electrical wire, made a fire, covering our tracks, snatched up the gun, and now we leave," Butler briefly elaborated, shoving his charge into the elevator.

Normally, Artemis would've protested taking an elevator with a fire present, but he honestly didn't care. He just wanted to get out of here as quickly as he possibly could. Artemis glanced up at his friend draped over Butler's shoulder. Diana was unconscious, perhaps even dead. Artemis placed a trembling hand on her face, pushing her hair out of her eyes. If Artemis would've known this was the outcome when he was on the phone with her, he would've said more, made more of an attempt, actually said what he needed to. But now, it was unclear as to whether or not he would get that chance ever again.

As the group stepped out of the elevator on the ground floor, and made their way as calmly as possible out to their rental car, Artemis couldn't help but begin to lose it. Between the anger he still felt inside, the guilt for putting Diana in this situation and of course killing Spiro, and the sadness from seeing one of his only true friends possibly die in front of him, Artemis' mind was in chaos, emotions spiraling out of control. He was breaking down in ways he never had before, feeling his eyes watering as he took his seat in the back of the car.

Diana's unconscious body lay next to him in the seat, and Artemis couldn't help but hold onto her hand as they drove away. He glanced back at the Spiro Needle only once, only to see the smoke billowing out from the top floor. And just like the building, Artemis couldn't help but feeling that everything he held so near and dear to him had just gone up in flames...