hey hey... see im updating quickly!!! Haha... I should be updating more frequently now... at least once per week, hopefully. Oh, and I changed my settings, so now anonymous reviews are accepted as well. So, now you all can review!!! grin

review answers:

TrunkZy: waha. Dun worry, im crazy too!!! Haha... and my dear friend Asha Ice is also a bit nuts. For one, she thinks legolas belongs to her, when he's so obviously MINE. she's SO gonna kill me. Mwaha. anyway, yeah! Keep reviewing!! Haha no not from Persia, me ish a singaporean. From ze little red dot on the map. Mwaha.

Laiqualaurelote: yes, dear, I will give you your 11 reviews... Friday, k? patience is a virtue... haha... and yes, livvy is SO understanding!!! acting zeggy-like and NO MORE FRENCH REVOLUTION PLEEEEEEEEEEASE. Ok maybe one more song. Red! The blood of angry men! Black! The dark of ages past! Mwaha. And yes, my dear laiqualaurelote is right. I cannot afford to make a mistake in my fic or she'll slaughter me... and she's already slaughtered another of my fic ideas. Hai. Oh well. And not squishy. hisses

Yuffie Paine: hey cute name!!! Yuffie sounds fluffy, for some reason. I meant that as a compliment. Uh huh. And glad to hear you have faith in me!!! And SOO HAPPY to hear that you like it, keep reviewing!!!

Blackeagle77777: waha patience, da kor. grin dun kill me and I forgot what analogy is. Aren't I evil? Yes. Hmm... really forgot. Eek. Yeah italics forever!!! I love my italics! keep reviewing!!!

Yup that's all! How can that be? ONLY 4 REVIEWERS??!! Im so maadd. hiss throws cereal at non-reviewers REVIEWW!!!

Ok fine. That was crazy. Haha. Here's chapter 3!!!

Root's POV

Commander Root walked briskly down the corridor to his office, al the while observing the sprites around him.

'Tuck in your shirt, Shroom!'

'Gerald! I need those papers by 2!'

Suddenly a speeding sprite whisked past Root, nearly tripping him.

'NELSON!' Root yelled, red in the face. A young sprite returned to Root, grinning nervously.

'What did I say about speeding in the hallways? You could not only endanger others, but yourself. And what would we do then? One sprite can be crucial to the rest of the team. CRUCIAL I say! This has gone on long enough. You and I are going to have a little chat later. Meet me in ...'

Root's voice trailed off. A lone elf drifted A/N: as in walking drifting, not flying drifting. among the sprites. It was Holly Short. He needed to talk to her desperately...

'Sir?'

Oh yes, the sprite. Root looked down sternly. 'Meet me at 5pm in room... 10. Now go along and stop speeding!'

Root looked up and scanned the hallway. Great. Holly was gone. Sighing wearily, Root trudged to his office, his thoughts fully occupied.

The bright and energetic elf, serious at times, humorous. That Holly from 2 years ago was but a distant memory. The present Holly was but a shadow of her old self. The cheerful energy had all gone into her work, and she worked non-stop, taking joy in nothing.

Everyone was concerned, and Root was no exception. However, he was more worried about her recently. Holly had been showing up for work listless, red-eyed and tired, like she hadn't slept at all. If this went on, Root feared that Holly's grief would kill her.

Root reached his office and leaned over to make a note in his daily planner.

'Nelson... 5pm, Room 10.' Root muttered. 'wait a minute, room 10?!'

Room 10 was the gym.

Holly's POV

In the cafeteria

'Holly!'

Holly sat up, startled, and looked around. To her relief, it was only Pari, and she settled back down into her seat. Still, she silently scolded herself in her head. How could she have let her guard down?

It was only for a moment, a small voice in her head said.

It only took a moment for those people to kill your mother, didn't it?

Holly stiffened. It was that voice again. It would never stop hunting her; never stop reminding her of what she had done. Or what she had not done.

'Holly? Holly? Are you even listening to me?'

Holly snapped out of her daze. 'Huh? Oh, sorry Pari. Would you repeat that again?'

Pari sighed. 'I said, there's a new recruit in the LEPrecon unit, and he is such a hunk!'

Holly rolled her eyes. Pari, the boy-crazy elf. She wondered how long this relationship would last. Pari was never serious about relationships. As she had said, 'I'm waiting for my Prince Charming.'

If only I could have such trust in myself. Holly thought. But who would want an elf like me?

Pari's POV

1hr later

Pari walked back to her room, humming merrily all the way. Her head was filled with thoughts of the new recruit. What was his name? what did he like? Was he nice? Funny? Pari unlocked the door and flopped down on the bed, a dreamy smile on her face.

Artemis Fowl's POV

Artemis paced up and down the room, frustrated. That morning, Pari had left him a message to tell him that Holly had had another nightmare last night. Artemis bit his lip. Why did he care? Captain Short used to be his arch-enemy.

Used to be.

Somehow, the two of them had fashioned an unlikely, yet strong bond. Whatever it was, she was his friend, and he should care.

Artemis walked over to his table, to the only drawer he kept locked. Reaching into his immaculate suit, he pulled out an intricate key, and unlocked the drawer.

He kept it locked for a good reason.

If his parents even glimpsed the fairy technology in that little drawer, he dared not think of the consequences. Most of it was from that first encounter with the fairies, but some had been given to him by Mulch Diggins. He would often tinker with the minute objects, taking them apart.

This time though, he reached past the guns and the helmets, to pull out a tiny number pad. This was a holophone. It was given to him by Holly, after the plan to mindwipe him was cancelled.

Turing on the voice recognition, Artemis called up Pari's number. He knew that somewhere, a holophone was saying in its clear monotone voice: ' Artemis Fowl the Second Calling.'

After a while, the ringing stopped, and a holographic Pari projected from the phone.

'Hey Arty!'

Artemis scowled. 'Do not call me Arty. My name is Artemis Fowl the Second, heir to...'

Pari cut in. 'Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm sure you didn't call me to tell me your name and status, did you?'

'You should know. Its about Holly. She's having nightmares again?'

'Yes, Artemis.' She sighed wearily and ran her hair through a tousled head of red hair. Seeing that all-familiar gesture of Holly's, Artemis felt a stab of recognition. Not noticing, Pari continued. 'I don't know what happened. We all thought she had gotten over it. But a few weeks ago, the nightmares started again.'

'Was there anything that could have triggered the memories again?'

'That's the problem. Nothing out of the ordinary happened within that week.' After a moment's hesitation, Pari spoke again.

'Well, nothing that I know of.'

There was an uncomfortable silence as the words were digested.

'Artemis, I'm frightened. I've never seen Holly so... weak. So helpless.'

Artemis froze. Pari had sparked a memory. An unpleasant memory. He swallowed, then slowly opened his mouth to speak.

'I have.'

Flashback

'So, Root. What do you need me for? Wait, let me guess. A troll cracked your security codes.' Artemis smirked.

To his surprise, Root did not even try to lash back with a remark, but continued staring at the floor. 'You'll find out when you get there.'

They finally reached the boarding facilities of the LEP. After many confusing rights and lefts through the maze of underground corridors, Rots stopped in front of a door.

Artemis peered at the name on the door. 'Hey, isn't this Captain...'

He stopped, shocked, as Root opened the door. An elf sat on the bed, tears streaming down her face, so thin that she was practically skin and bones.

Holly Short.

No, it couldn't be. This... skeleton could not be Holly Short. But the name on the door, in its shiny platinum lettering, clearly stated that the elf in the room was indeed Captain Holly Short.

Root spoke in a low voice. 'She hasn't been eating for days. We've tried everything.'

'What happened?'

'Her mother was... murdered. Right in front of her.'

Pari's POV

'All recon units, report to the amphitheatre immediately!'

Pari glanced at the holographic projection impatiently. Artemis still wore that troubled look he had when he was thinking. It would not be a good time to interrupt him now. But she had to leave. Now.

'Artemis?'

in an instant, Artemis had snapped out of his daze and looked just as sharp and attentive as ever.

'I have to go now. Meeting. Bye!'

Not giving him a chance to respond, she dropped the holophone, and rushed out of the room.

When she reached the amphitheatre, it was packed. Pari scanned the crowd for Holly.

There she was! And she had saved her a seat too. Pari plastered a smile on her face as she scrambled up to where Holy was sitting.

As she settled down, she contemplated on telling Holly of the conversation she and Artemis had had. Finally, she decided against it.

Root stood in front of the crowd, his face growing redder with each moment. Finally, he gave up.

'SILENCE!'

waha. Donee. Now to post it. And to wait for more reviews! Grin. Soooo... click the review button!!! And review!!! Yay!!! Haha. Sugar high! runs off to look for sugar...