I do not own any of the characters that I choose to use in this fan fiction.

Prologue

Artemis lay on an operating table, hands and feet bound to the cold metal, head reeling as his mind slowly ventured from the thick fog set there by the sedatives running through his system. He thrashed weakly against his bonds, but quickly deduced that he was in no shape to escape. His body ached from countless injuries, ones that he had no recollection of ever receiving. Cracking open one eyelid, he winced at the bright light overhead, then gazed across the room. His vision spun, and danced, but he could still make out Holly's form also tied down on a table in the opposite corner. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to bring her into focus as a dark form bent over her unconscious frame. What he saw sent painful alarm signals shooting through his drugged brain.

Opal stood over the elf captain, taking in her sleeping face, and felt a sly smile full of malice stretch across hers. Bending over, she flicked an errant piece of hair away from the girl's brow, and gently trailed her fingers down her cheek. Insanity glowed alongside a frightening intellect within her violet gaze.

"My precious masterpiece." She crooned softly.

The Irish boy worked his mouth, his dry vocal chords trying to articulate his supreme displeasure at Opal's newest scheme. Whatever it was. But whether it was a blessing or a curse, the young genius could not speak. Artemis longed to move, to set his brain to work, and figure out an escape for himself and the fairy captain. But his muscles felt like hot wax, and he could barely twitch his little finger, much less sit up. Mentally kicking himself for his helplessness, the boy pondered how they managed to get into this situation in the first place.

"Finally awake?"

Opal's voice cut brought him back to the situation at hand, and the young genius slowly looked up at her. Keeping his face neutral, he attempted a shrug, but even that movement was forbidden to him. Coughing, he struggled to clear his throat before answering in a gravelly croak.

"Yes, though I am relatively sure that I would prefer not to be. Anything that involves you tends to leave a bad taste in my mouth."

Artemis fought back a delirious giggle at the subtle joke he made concerning the dry state of his throat. Surmising that it was an effect from the drugs put in his body, he stamped down the urge, and kept a serious, albeit unsteady, gaze on the pixie. The fairy in question merely smirked at the jab, and walked around his table, trailing her fingers along the edges. Artemis followed her movements the best he could, as she circled around to his right, he narrowed his eyes at her, suspicion and anger crackling in their depths.

"What is your purpose here?" he queried "When you seek revenge, you do not settle with merely capturing your enemies and beating them whilst they lay unconscious. That is too tame for you. What is the deeper motive that you are trying to achieve?"

Opal sighed, a sarcastic smile lighting her face, and she clapped her hands in mock admiration of his deduction.

"Clever, clever boy!" she gushed "As always, your intellect just blows me away! Indeed, beating you, and venting all my frustration on your unconscious form was fun, but as you say, it is not enough."

"What are you planning?" Artemis' voice came out a menacing whisper.

The pixie gave the boy an evil smile.

"Like I would tell you?" suddenly an alarm rang on the watch currently decorating her wrist, and the pixie perked up, her eyes dancing with glee "Oops! Time to go! See you later Artemis Fowl, and don't worry, time will reveal all."

The genius watched Opal dance out of the room, and as the door swung shut, he strained his body to cooperate with him in escaping. He could feel the effects of the sedatives dissipating, and his arms slowly gained strength. But not enough. He struggled to get his body into a sitting position, his head lolling from side to side as he conquered the dizziness and searched for some kind of tool with which he could use to attain freedom. Glancing down, he felt a flash of annoyance at the rumpled state of his suit, but he quickly shoved that emotion aside. Escape first, complain later. Twisting his hands inside the leather cuffs binding him to the table, he tried to manipulate his wrists into a position suitable for undoing the buckle. But once again, failure was his constant companion. Casting his eyes over to the captain, Artemis called out to her.

"Holly!" his voice grated "Captain Short, are you alright?"

Seeing no response even when he used her name and rank, the Irish boy continued to struggle against his bonds, mind whirling with urgency. Seeing a roll away table nearby with scalpels, he scooted down, and shoved his arm further into the cuff, fingers desperately reaching for the edge. Panting with effort, he shoved, twisted, and grasped, finally tagging one corner firm enough to make it roll towards him. As it hit his table with a clang, he closed his eyes with fatigue, and thanked all that was holy for well oiled wheels. Opening his eyes, he once again scooted himself far enough so that he could grab one of the scalpels and grip it between two fingers, then began furiously sawing away at the leather cuff.

"Not to worry Holly" he gasped "I will be free in no time, and then rescue you. Should Opal return, I at least have a weapon."

Thankful that the fairy captain was not awake to witness him not only talking to himself, but also failing miserably at his "escape plan", the boy merely sawed harder at the leather. Several minutes passed, but the genius did not pause or take a break from his work. Suddenly a loud crash echoed in the hall outside the lab, and Artemis' eyes snapped up to the door. His breath coming in short panicked gasps, he tried to cut the leather faster, his gaze never leaving the doorway.

The door kicked open, and the genius switched the knife to where he was holding it defensively. Looking down, disappointment bloomed in his chest as he saw that he had barely made a dent in the thi8ck material. Glancing back up, he watched a large black gun slowly sneak past the door, and eventually reveal that it was attached to two thick arms roughly six feet up from the floor. His heart leapt as he recognized who it was, and he cried out before the large man even came into view.

"Butler!"

The Eurasian poked his head around the metal door, and let out a long sigh of relief. Turning to look back down the hallway, he shouted to whoever stood behind him.

"I found them!"

Stowing the gun away in a holster hidden under his jacket, the man dashed to Artemis' side, unbuckling the straps. Rubbing his wrist that he had bruised in his attempt to escape, Artemis smiled weakly at his friend.

"As always old friend, your timing is impeccable. Though I was well on my way to escaping using my own capabilities."

Butler, having seen the scalpel, and noticed the scratched state of the leather cuff, merely snorted.

"Yes, you would have been free in about sixteen hours."

Artemis pouted, and quietly sulked. He did not say that he was going to escape quickly, just that he had the means to. Giving a sigh, he let gratitude wash over him at the good fortune of having such a man as Butler as his bodyguard, and meekly let him rescue his charge.

"What happened?"

"I am not altogether sure. To be perfectly honest, I only awoke from a drugged stupor little over an hour ago. I do not even have any recollection of being captured by Opal, or how I arrived here."

"So it was Opal." Butler pursed his lips in quiet contemplation "We received an alert on Foaly's computer system that an alarm had been tripped. We followed it to it's source, and eventually came here."

The words "Too Easy" ran circles around the man's mind, but whether Opal was planning something much worse than the stunt she had pulled with his principle, or she was just getting sloppy, he was going to leave to Artemis to figure out. For now, he just wanted to focus on getting the boy back to the surface.

"How long was I missing?"

Butler glanced up at the young genius' face, uncertainty causing him to hesitate with his answer.

"Little over a week." he replied somberly.

Shock saturated the boy's eyes as he processed this. Taking a deep breath, he cast a sorrowful gaze at his lap.

"I see." Biting his bottom lip, he asked quietly "How is mother?"

The Eurasian swallowed nervously.

"She has not taken your disappearance well."

"No." Artemis murmured "No, I suppose she wouldn't"

…..

"Holly? Holly, can you hear me?"

The fairy captain slowly opened her eyes, and the panicked face of the centaur came into focus. Slowly, she sat up, groaning at the stiffness in her limbs.

"What happened? Where am I?"

"You're in the Haven clinic." Foaly explained "Butler and Mulch just rescued you and the mud boy from the lab where Opal had been holding you."

"Opal?" Holly's voice came out a shocked squeak "What do you mean?"

"I mean that somehow she had taken you, and Artemis captive. According to Butler, you were still unconscious when they arrived, and the mud boy was trying to saw through a leather cuff with a scalpel."

Holly fought the smile that came from the mental picture of the boy genius trying to escape. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she turned curious eyes to her friend.

"How long were we held?"

"Little longer than a week." the centaur sighed.

Holly winced. "I'm betting that Angeline Fowl is not in a happy mood."

"You're telling me." Foaly huffed "I have had to deal with her calling almost five times a day asking whether we had found him yet. She is more persistent than a dwarf inside a giant sized refrigerator."

Holly chuckled at the analogy, then settled back into the pillows of the bed the nurses had placed her in.

"Erm… Holly?"

The elf looked up at her friend, and was shocked to see him looking sheepish, and uncomfortable. Foaly rubbed one side of his neck, and cast a hesitant glance around the room.

"Do… Did you ever… Um…"

Holly cocked her head, confusion saturating her eyes.

"Did I ever what?"

The centaur placed his head in his hands, massaging his temples.

"Oh this is awkward." He sighed.

"Foaly, just spit it out!"

"Have you ever had sex with Artemis?" He blurted.

A deep blush started from her cheeks, and went all the way to the elf's hairline. Her mouth dropped open in utter shock, and her mind reeled as she tried to come up with an answer.

"What? NO!" She spluttered "I mean, he's human! And still a kid! I have never even thought about it!"

"Oh. I was just wondering." Foaly tapped his thumbs together, and looked down in an awkward silence. "It is just, I know that you two have kissed before."

"Yeah, ONCE!" Holly shouted "And that barely even counts because I was dealing being a teenager again, and hormones, and it was a difficult situation!"

"Ok."

Holly crossed her arms, and pinned the centaur with a glare.

"What would possess you to even ask that?"

Foaly let out a forlorn sigh. Leaning forward, his grasped one of her hands, and held it tightly.

"Holly, I'm so sorry. But you're pregnant."