BATB: Ch. 36-

Artemis went straight into his room after he re-entered the manor. He needed some time to think, alone.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" he muttered, pacing rapidly. "That whole thing went wrong! First I scared her, made her think I was going to hurt her, so I freaked her out. Then I was going to kiss her, even though I knew better- how could she ever actually like me after what I did to her- and I thought she would actually let me. Then Root came..." He trailed off with a groan as he fell back onto his bed. "I should have known better. I shouldn't have let her go. But then, I shouldn't have-"

His mutterings to himself were cut off at that moment, as the door was banged open by Juliet. "Artemis! Root took Holly!"

Artemis sat up and gave the girl an icy glare. "I know that, Juliet, and if you could knock next time, I would appreciate it."

Juliet nodded. "You know...?" She asked.

"Yes, Juliet. I am very aware that Julius took Captain Short with him. I gave him permission." He strode past her and opened the door, waving a hand at it. "I do not wish to speak of this right now. Leave me in peace."

The girl blinked a few times, too shocked to move. She wasn't used to Artemis being quite so cold as that anymore. Then, slowly, she made her way to and out the door, shutting it behind her.

Artemis sighed with relief, then turned to his room again. He looked around once, then turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Then he went to his study, sat down, and began to work.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Over the next week or so, Artemis stayed in his study most of the time, working on... Well, all kinds of things. He carefully buried himself in his work, letting one project take up as much time as it could, then finishing it and throwing himself into another one, just as time consuming.

He was doing this to try to keep his mind preoccupied; to keep it off her. Several times it started to slip onto that line of thought, he thought of something that reminded him of her, and he had to throw himself back into his work even harder than before. "She's gone," he would always remind himself. "There's no sense in thinking about her. You can't have her now anyways."

Truth be told, Butler was relieved that Artemis was spending so much time locked in his study. Not for reasons that anyone might think, but for the simple reason that he wasn't talking to him then.

Artemis had become very curt, but irritable during their conversations. Butler was almost afraid to talk to him now.

He knew it had something to do with Holly leaving, but that was all he knew. Artemis didn't openly talk about it, and truthfully, Butler was a little afraid to ask.

Several weeks after Holly left, Artemis was out in a business trip- as he was still burying himself in work- and he left his laptop at the manor. Juliet discovered this when it started flipping out and beeping rapidly, the sounds echoing through the halls. She opened it and tried to shut it off, but it was pass coded and wouldn't let her in to do it.

Frustrated, she called Butler for help. He listened to the problem and then silently handed the phone to Artemis.

"What?" the boy snapped. "I'm busy, Juliet."

"I know," she acknowledged, not at all disturbed by the harsh tone. "But there's a problem over here that I need your help with."

"What?" repeated Artemis again.

"Your laptop. The stupid thing is beeping incessantly and it won't shut up, and I can't make it because I don't know the password and I don't think you'd be too happy if I smashed it or ripped the battery out."

"He already 'isn't too happy,' " Butler muttered, as the phone volume was up loud and he could hear the conversation. Artemis heard the comment and didn't reply at the moment, instead answering Juliet.

"No, I wouldn't," he answered steadily. "It's probably just an email. Just forward it to my phone email address." (Of course, he had a different email for everything.)

"You don't get it, do you? I can't do anything! I don't know your computer password! That's why I called!"

Artemis frowned. "Leave it then. It's probably not that important anyways."

"How do I shut it up then, at the very least?" Juliet asked desperately. "Because unless you want me to break it, you should tell me."

Artemis groaned and rolled his eyes, even though he knew Juliet couldn't see it. "Fine. Put it on the charger and just leave it alone. Butler and I will be back by tonight."

"Yea, well if it has a hole in the middle of it or thrown out of the window don't blame me." Juliet said before hanging up.

Artemis gave the phone back to Butler when Juliet hung up. "Your sister is...very frustrating."

The manservant chuckled, "You just now realized that?"

Artemis just turned and left, agitated he was going to have to miss the business meeting. Hours later, Butler and Artemis arrived at Fowl manor. As soon as the front doors opened, a beeping noise entered their ears.

"Oh Thank you!" Juliet cried, coming from the kitchen. "I was so just about to drown that thing!"

Artemis paid no attention to her as her quickly moved up the stairs to his study, the Butler's right behind him up until he went into his study, closing the door behind him and denying Juliet and Butler access.

"What's going on?" Juliet asked her brother. "Why has he been so uptight lately?"

Butler looked back at the door once before turning back to his sister, "Come on." Was all he said before going back to the stairs.

As soon as Juliet hit the last step she repeated her question. "What's been going on with Artemis lately?"

Butler looked back up the stairs before sighing and looking at Juliet. "I think it has something to do with Holly."

"Holly? Why? Is she hurt?" Juliet asked in a panic.

Butler shook his head, "No, more like she hurt Artemis. Not intentionally of course, but still..."

"What happened?" She questioned, getting sick and tired of the vague answers.

"The day Root took Holly...Artemis was just about to kiss her."

Juliet jaw dropped, her eyes going wide. "What stopped him?"

"Root. He came the second before it was to happen. He caused an argument to break out between Holly and Artemis but the second Holly got shot-"

"Shot?!" Juliet nearly screamed.

Butler just shook his head, "Tranquilizer. It was meant for Root, but Holly pushed him out of the way, taking the dart instead. Anyway, as I was saying, the second she got shot Artemis's anger disappeared completely. God, he let her go!"

"Artemis let Holly go?"

"Yes, but it's for a mission. That was why Root came in the first place. Artemis told Holly she could go if she came back after the mission was completed."

"Oh...that makes sense. Artemis has never felt those kind of emotions before...so that's why he's been so uptight ever since Holly left."

Butler nodded, ready to go into a deeper conversation about Artemis and Holly when they both heard a door upstairs open and close.

It was dead silent as Juliet and Butler listened to the quiet footsteps grow louder and louder. Soon Artemis was at the top of the staircase, laptop under his arm and face as white as a sheet.

"Artemis?!" Butler shouted as he bounded up the stairs to the young boy.

Butler looked Artemis over, and after he found nothing wrong with his physical state, he asked what was wrong.

Artemis was still too shocked to speak, so instead he just handed over the computer.

Butler nodded as he took it from the stunned genius. "Why don't you go and get some sleep Artemis, Juliet and I can find out what's wrong on our own. It's been a long day for you."

The pre-teen just turned in the direction of his bedroom and stiffly walked to it.

Butler made sure he entered the room before going back down the staircase to Juliet.

"What do you think that was about?" She asked, still looking up at where Artemis stood before.

"Well, whatever it is, we are going to find out soon."

Juliet nodded as they went into the kitchen. Butler put the laptop on the counter and opened it. Juliet groaned.

"Of course! Does it lock every time he closes the damn thing?!" She said as the password screen came into view.

Butler looked over at his sister slyly. "Wanna bet I can guess what the password is?"

The young girl narrowed her eyes, "You are so on." Was all she replied.

Butler turned his focus back onto the computer. He took a dramatic pause before typing in five little words.

H-O-L-L-Y

The screen went white for a second before going to its main screen.

"Aww!" Juliet cooed, then stated with sarcastic joy. "That is so creepy!"

Butler nodded. He would have to have a talk with Artemis later, after he found out what had spooked the boy so bad.

It wasn't hard to find what Artemis had looked up lastly on his computer. Hell, it was right in front of them when the main screen came on. It seemed as though it was a video footage. Butler started it and instantly wished he hadn't.

In the beginning of the clip, it was total blackness, but after a few seconds of nothingness a man with a blanked out face came up onto the screen.

"Hello Artemis Fowl the Second." A deep voice with a thick Russian accent said, "I might have something of great purpose to you."

The man snapped his fingers and three other people came into view, two on either side of the last had blanked out faces as well. The third's hands were tied behind its back and a sack over the head.

Butler and Juliet both gasped when they removed the sack.

The person had unkempt, shaggy black hair. His beard instruments and wild, but when you looked in his ice blue eyes You immediately knew who he was.

"T-That's..." Juliet stuttered and trailed off.

"Artemis Fowl." Butler finished, equally as shocked.

Then the blank-face in the video cleared his through, bringing the attention back to him. "Now, I just wanted you to be reminded that your father is, in fact, alive. Although if you are concerned about his well being...it's less than extraordinary. If you do as I say, there may not be anymore harm onto him."

Butler looked over at Juliet with a shocked and pain expression, which she expressed back equally.

"I demand 5 million for your father. However, I cannot guarantee a safe passage or flee from the transaction. I will await your first move, however long it takes. Goodbye...for now."

The screen went back into a nothingness state as Butler closed the computer slowly.

"What...the hell...was that?!" Juliet said slowly, screaming in horror by the time she got to the end of the sentence.

"Shh!" Butler said, quieting her. "Artemis is sleeping."

"Oh, yea right Dom. Not after seeing that damn video he won't go to sleep for a long time." She whispered harshly.

Butler sighed, she was right. "I'm going to go and talk to him."

Butler was leaving the kitchen when Juliet stopped him. "Hey, Dom?"

Butler turned around to see Juliet still staring at the laptop.

"Do you think The Major is with him?" Juliet looked up, her eyes sad.

Butler sighed and went back to his sister, wrapping her in a warm embrace. "I'm not sure, Jules. But I don't think we should get our hopes up."

She sighed. "Okay. I just thought it was worth asking."

He smiled and squeezed the girl once before releasing her. "Fine. Now, I've got to go talk to Artemis."

" 'Kay." The teen bounded away. Butler watched her go, then sighed and shook his head. He turned and went up the stairs, headed to Artemis's room.

But when he got there, the boy wasn't there.

"What?" he exclaimed. "He should have been in here..." Then realization hit him, and he suddenly knew where the boy would be.

He walked down the hall to what used to be Holly's room, and opened the door quietly.

Artemis was laying right in the center of her bed, his arms behind his head, and his eyes were closed. "This is where we fell asleep together," he said quietly, surprising Butler. He had thought he was asleep.

The boy opened his eyes and looked at him. "I just can't believe that she's gone," he said, as Butler came and sat down beside him. He sat up and rubbed his face. "I just.. She's become such a big part of everything... Of me. I feel strange without her here." He stopped suddenly. "And I meant what I said earlier. She... I think I loved her." He looked up at his manservant. "Isn't that crazy? After everything, that I could love her. She probably wouldn't think that I even could hold the capacity to care for somebody, let alone love them... Love her."

Butler put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "I know. But you'll see her again. You gave her orders. She has to come back, at sometime or another."

"She'll hold out for as long as she can," Artemis muttered from his hands. "She hates me. That makes it even worse. She won't come back until her magic forces her too."

"Maybe not. But either way, she still has to come back." He sighed. "And Artemis... I think you have this wrong. I don't think Holly hated you. She didn't seem to. In fact, I think if you actually would have got to kiss her, she would have kissed back."

"Doubtful."

"No. Entirely likely, even if it was for the simply reason that she would be afraid of making you mad if she didn't. Though I honestly don't think that would be the reason why. I think... I think she liked you back, although she may not have even realized it."

"You are delusional, Butler. There is no way, on or under the Earth, Holly Short could actually care for me."

At least, not in the same way I care for her." He sighed. "Forget it. There are more pressing matters at hand. We need to find a way to rescue my father."

Butler nodded indulgently. "I know. I have a few past experiences with this, so I have a little idea of what's going on. You should know, Artemis, this may not go well. And you heard what that guy said... Without the fairy gold, I don't know if we'll even have enough funds to pay with."

"Oh, I'm aware," said Artemis with one of his signature vampiric smirks. "And when did I say we were going to pay up?"

"You have a plan already, don't you, Artemis?"

The boy nodded. "Oh yes. The beginnings, anyhow." He paused. "Now, I need you to tell me everything you can about the Russian mafia and how these people work. I need as much up-to-date information on these people as I can get to make sure that this plan doesn't fail like the last one did."

So Butler told him everything that he could. There was a lot, but most of it wasn't as up-to-date as Artemis hoped. However, it was still something. "I think that's it," Butler concluded finally, after several minutes.

"Great. Thank you, old friend," Artemis said softly, standing and clapping him on the back. "Now I have some planning to do." He started towards the door, but the bodyguard stopped him again.

"And in the meantime?"

He paused. "What do you mean, Butler?"

"Is there anything I should do in the meantime?" Butler asked.

The human thought about it, and then nodded. "Yes, actually. Go and see if that video is traceable. It's doubtful, but worthy of a chance." Then Artemis turned and walked out, closing the door firmly behind him.

760 GO!