A/N - her you go, the last part. I also changed my mind about this being my only Artemis fanfic. One of my readers gave me a suggestion for an alternate version of this story, so I wrote it; it's called "I'm Flying Away."

Enjoy!

Root's POV

I walked as quickly as I could without making it seem like I was running up the main path to the manor. I passed Trouble on the way. "Trouble, you're with me. Come on."

Trouble raised his eyebrows as he followed me. "Did you just call me Trouble, Commander? What's going on?"

I glared at him over my shoulder. "We got a message from the Mud Boy. Short did something to herself and needs to be healed ASAP, so you'd better be running hot."

"I just preformed the Ritual last month and haven't used a whole lot of my magic." Trouble scowled. "What makes you think that this isn't some elaborate trap?"

"He gave me and one other fairy permission to enter the manor and heal her and then leave afterwards."

"But he didn't make eye contact with you, right? Maybe it is a trap."

Trouble's words almost brought me up short. I had been so worried about my Captain that I hadn't even considered the thought. I couldn't believe how stupid I had been. The Mud Boys' voice had carried a considerable amount of fear, but from what we had seen in the past couple of hours he was a very good actor. I would have to confront him about it before setting a foot inside the manor.

The doors swung open as we reach the top of the stairs. The Mud Boy was standing there, breathless. Although I was concerned for Holly, I wasn't totally convinced that he was telling me the truth, thanks to Trouble's statement.

"Tell me again what's going on, Mud Boy."

To my utmost surprise, Artemis actually ground his teeth in frustration. "Like I said before, your Captain just tried to kill herself. If you truly care about her, then you'll come in and heal her. You have my permission to leave afterward. I will not hold either of you for ransom. Now please stop wasting my time and thus the Captain's time."

He turned away. Hesitating only briefly, Trouble and I followed him.

Artemis's POV

I couldn't believe it. Well, maybe I could. The fairy commander still questioned me before setting foot inside the manor. Given, when I first gave the okay for two of them to re-enter my house I hadn't made eye contact to make it official, but I had meant it.

I hurriedly led them to the cell where the captain was, hopefully still alive.

When we entered the cell, Butler was kneeling next to the Captain, pressing his suit jacket to a wound on her chest. Blood was pooled under her body. Tossed to the side was long, thin piece of metal, sharp on one end. The sharp end was covered in drying blood.

Both fairies cursed in their language before rushing to their fallen comrades' side. Butler got up and came to stand next to me.

"How is she?" I asked in a whisper.

Butler shook his head. "Not good, I'm afraid. She was hardly breathing when I came in. Right before you and the fairies came, she stopped. That wound was in the worst possible place, right below her heart. She probably punctured her lung as well."

I nodded, not knowing what to say.

Trouble's POV

When Root called me by my first name, I knew something was wrong. And I was right. The Mud Boy had contacted Root saying Holly had tried to kill herself. Inwardly I was stunned. Holly would never do such a thing. Was it a trap?

The commander said that the Mud Boy had given him verbal permission to enter the house with one other, heal Holly and then leave. But since the orders hadn't been given with eye contact, I questioned how authentic they were.

But it was true. All of it.

When the Mud Boy led us to the cell and I saw Holly on the floor covered in her own blood and more of it on the floor, I felt sick. I huge Mud Man was on the floor next to her, pressing his gigantic dress coat to the wound.

I cursed, vaguely hearing the commander do the same before rushing to her side.

Holly, Holly, what on earth happened to you that you chose this over life?

Root's POV

In the cell the giant Mud Man was kneeling next to Captain Short, pressing something huge and dark colored to her chest. The was a spiked piece of metal on the floor near them, its tip covered in drying blood. Holly's blood.

Swearing I dropped to by knees next to her on one side, Trouble Kelp on the other as the Mud Man moved out of our way. We both placed or hands over the wound and whispered, "Heal."

Blue sparks radiated from both of us to cover the wound. Slowly, ever so slowly, the wound began to heal. But she didn't start breathing. "Kelp, keep healing that wound; I'll work on getting her lungs working again."

Kelp nodded but didn't answer; he as concentrating on healing Holly's wound. Keeping my hands on the wound, I altered the course of my magic, sending it into her lungs, making them expand and contract in time with my own breaths.

Suddenly Kelp cursed. "D'arvit! Her heart just stopped. Commander? I don't have the training to take care of something like that."

I nodded curtly. "Take over her breathing. I'll work on her heart." What I didn't say was that I had no idea what to do, either. I remembered watching a Mud Man TV program where when someone's heart stopped, they tried shocking it. I didn't know how Holly or any other fairy would react, but it was worth a try.

Lifting one hand away from her body, I gathered my magic in my hand and kept it growing until I couldn't hold it anymore. Then I rammed it down onto her chest, praying that it would work.

Artemis's POV

When the other fairy who had come with the commander said that Holly's heart had stopped, it felt like mine did as well. Yes, I was a criminal mastermind bent on doing capers that were definitely against the law, but I never wanted someone to get seriously hurt from them, let alone die because of them.

What had I done?

The commander was gathering a large amount of magic into one hand. Smart, really. Try and shock the heart just like the doctors. But to what affect would it have on a fairy heart? Would it work and start beating again? Or would it just make the heart literally explode?

When the commander rammed the magical sphere onto his officer's chest, there was a flash of blinding light that made all of us turn away, blinking hard. The fairies were the first to recover, checking on whether or not it had worked.

"Commander, whatever you just did, it healed her wound." the other fairy said. " But I don't know about her heart…"

Hurriedly Root checked the Captain's pulse. With bated breath, we all waited to hear his verdict.

Root's POV

The magic that I had used to try and start Holly's heart with again had instead healed her self-inflicted wound. But had it started her heart as well? Quickly, I laid my fingers to her throat. It was there, but irregular and very faint.

"Well?" the Mud Boy demanded. "Is she alive?"

I turned on my knees and glared at him. "What do you care? Yes, she is alive. But before you start booting us out again so you can hold her for ransom, hear this; her heart is beating, but faint and irregular."

The boy's shoulder's drooped slightly.

"Um, commander?" Trouble was looking at Holly, his face a mixture of emotions. "Her body didn't run a system check like it should have. Anyone who had a massive healing like we just did, whether by their own magic or not should've done a system check. But - " He broke off.

Holly was stirring. "C-Commander? Why are you here after what I did?" Her voice was thick with pain and… and sadness?

"Short, what are you -" I started to ask, but her eyes had closed again. Fearfully I check for a pulse. It was still there, but growing fainter. "Her body doesn't do a system check. She comes back with a irregular heartbeat…" Trouble was muttering to himself. Suddenly he looked up at the Mud Boy, eyes angry. "Why did she ask Commander Root why he was here after what she had done? What did you do to her?"

Then I realized what had happened. We may have restarted her heart and healed her wounds, but she hadn't wanted to come back. Even the Mud Boy had told us that she had done this to herself.

She hadn't wanted to come back…

Artemis's POV

I knew it wouldn't take them long after the captain was healed to start figuring out that it was my fault for what had happened. I just hadn't expected her to wake up, speak and then pass out again. Root hurriedly checked her pulse again. Ignoring the other fairy for the time being I addressed the commander. "Is she still with us?"

"Barely, no thanks to you. Answer Trouble's question; what did you do to her?"

There was no escaping it; I knew I had to tell the truth, to set myself a little at ease if nothing else. "I made her think that it was her who had told me about the ransom fund, among other things. I told her that I had kept her on a truth serum drip for three days, until I had everything I needed to know. It was all lies. I got all of the information from a copy of the Book."

A pin could've been dropped and I think all of us would've jumped a foot in the air. Except for Holly, of course.

Root narrowed his eyes at me. "You told her that she had betrayed the People and her friends?"

I nodded. "I thought it was necessary to keep her from trying to escape."

"You aren't as smart as you think you are, Fowl. She, like every good fairy in and out of Recon believes that to betray ones friends and people is to loose all of ones integrity and morals. If you don't have either of those, you're better off dead. Holly, who has worked so hard to prove herself, who lives to help others and be there for friends, you told her she had betrayed them? It kept her from escaping, all right. You locked her up inside of her own heart before shattering it!"

I didn't say anything. What was there to say? They obviously wouldn't believe me if I tried to apologize. And how was I supposed to know about the 'betraying ones friends' moral? It hadn't been in the Book; if it had been then I never would've said those things to her.

Root gave me one last hateful look before gathering Holly up and cradling her on the ground.

Root's POV

It was the Mud Boy's fault. I had known it, I just didn't know the reason why. The boy had no or very few morals, otherwise he would've realized how truly bad it was for someone to betray their friends. And to indicate that to someone that they had done so when they hadn't was one of the cruelest forms of mind torture.

But I didn't have time to teach him; I had to bring Holly back before she died on me again; then she would be lost forever. Throwing one last hateful look at him, I gently picked Holly up and cradling her in my arms I started talking softly to her. "Holly, it was all lies; all of it. You didn't do anything wrong. We still need you, Holly. You didn't tell anyone anything. It was just lies to keep you from trying anything; you're innocent." I reached up and stroked her face, showing a rare gesture of affection. "Holly, please just come back to us. Come back."

Holly's POV

I don't know where I was. It felt like I was floating underwater, but I could breathe. I couldn't see anything, and yet I could see. There was mist-like substance spinning all around be, almost as if was what kept me floating. It cool but not cold wherever I was, and I could feel a gentle breeze playing over my skin.

I still had all of my memories, both good and painful. I knew I had taken my own life, trying to save those I cared about from any more grief than I had already caused them. But that was all past me now; here, wherever 'here' was, was peaceful and calm.

But in one instant the peacefulness was shattered as a bolt of blue lightening came out of nowhere, striking my chest and anchoring itself there. I felt like I was being reeled in, being taken somewhere. Then I felt a tingling sensation where my wound had been, and realized what was going on; I was being healed.

I fought it, but it was useless. Another flash of light came from the same direction as the first, looping itself around me, cradling me as it pulled me relentlessly back to my real body. I was still fighting when I felt people touching me. I could feel hard stone underneath me; I was back. For the time being.

I opened my eyes; Commander Root and Trouble Kelp were on either side of me, worried and fearful expressions on their faces. "C-Commander Root?" I asked, my voice barely making any sound. "Why are you here after what I did?"

Then, thankfully, blackness consumed me.

I don't how much time passed; a minute, a few minutes, an hour? I came back to my senses to feel someone holding me, rocking back and forth like a mother fairy with her baby. Someone was whispering in my ear. I heard my name.

"Please come back to us, Holly. Please come back. It's not your fault. It was lies, all of it. We still need you. Please, just come back."

It was Commander Root, and he was calling me back to the real world.

"Julius?" I whispered.

Whoever was holding me stopped rocking. "Holly?" he loosened his hold on me a little. I looked up… right into the face of Commander Julius Root. If I'd had any energy, I would've gasped or been embarrassed, or both. But I didn't have any, so I didn't. Trouble was on my other side, both of his hands covered in what had to be my blood. They had both saved me. Or condemned me.

"Commander, what happened?"

Suddenly he was holding me tightly. "We thought we'd lost you." I thought I heard a soft sob; it was Julius. "Don't you ever, ever doing something like that ever again, do you understand me, Captain Short? I don't want to lose you again, one of my best officers…" he trailed off for a moment as he carefully laid me down again. "…or the young lady I've come to love like the daughter I never had."

I felt a hand on my shoulder; Trouble. "Don't scare us like that again, Holly." he said softly. "I'm not a cat with nine lives to use up."

"Why did you bring me back?" I asked softly. "And what lies are you talking about?"

Artemis stepped into view behind the commander. "It was I who told you lies, Holly." His voice sounded odd. I struggled into a sitting position, leaning up against the wall and looked up into his eyes. There was still a deep-set cold look about him, but in with that there was relief and fading fear. The Mud Boy had been worried? Why had he been worried? He continued speaking. "What I said about the truth serum, and you spilling out the secrets of your people were lies to keep you from trying anything. I

didn't-" he paused. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Holly. I was just going to hold you until I got the ransom money, then release you. I was never going to harm you or your kind." He took a step closer. "I know it probably doesn't matter to you, but I'm sorry."

Root's POV

When I heard Holly's voice in my ear, I felt relief floor my body. She was alive. Safe, back with us. And I would make sure nothing happened to her again. I held her tightly, wanting to make sure she understood how much we had been frightened by her actions. Trouble too, voiced his feelings on the matter. All the better.

The Mud Boy came over and started explaining what he had done and why. He topped it all of by asking for forgiveness. I, for one, would never give it to him unless he did something pretty drastic in the future, which was highly unlikely.

Artemis's POV

I didn't hear Holly speak the first time, but I saw the commander gasp, then hug her body close, silently crying as he spoke softly to his officer. It took me a moment to realize that she hadn't died, but woken up again. While I didn't want to intrude on their touching reunion, I had something to say to Holly.

I stepped behind the commander. "What I told you were lies, Holly." My voice sounded odd, though I couldn't tell why. Holly struggled into a sitting position, leaning up against the wall and looked at me suspiciously. I continued speaking. "What I said about the truth serum, and you spilling out the secrets of your people were lies to keep you from trying anything. I didn't -" I paused. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Holly. I was just going to hold you until I got the ransom money, then release you. I was never going to harm you or your kind." I took a step closer. "I know it probably doesn't matter to you, but I'm sorry."

I allowed them all to leave after that. I didn't want the gold after what I had done.

Root's POV - a little over one year later - During the Arctic Incident

I felt the Mud Boy, Artemis, lay a hand on my shoulder, trying to give me comfort as I watched the healing of my captain. Mist and snow crystals shrouded Captain Short from view amidst blue sparks of healing magic. Her screams had stopped now as she fell to the ground. I could sense that none of us wanted to get any closer, yet we were drawn to the site, anxious and afraid of what we would find.

She was laying in a pool of melted snow, eyes open and unseeing. I felt my throat tighten. No, dear God no…

A heard a sharp intake of breath to my right; Artemis. He rushed forward and dropped to his knees next to her. "Holly, wake up. Holly!" he shook her shoulder roughly. "Come on, Holly. You're scaring us. Wake up!"

With a gasp Holly shot up into a sitting position, breathing as hard as if she'd just run a one-minute mile in half that time. Artemis grabbed her by her shoulders. "Holly. Holly, speak to me. Your finger. Is it okay?" I was surprised to hear slight panic in his voice, just like he had sounded when she had almost died last year.

Holly looked from him to her hand. Wriggling her fingers, she said, "I think so." She looked back at him, her eyes a strange mix of emotions. "Thank you, Artemis."

Artemis actually grinned. "Good to hear you're okay." His voice was casual now, but as he helped Holly to her feet and came back to us, I could plainly see the relief in his eyes.

The debt from last year was now paid in full. I could tell Holly thought so, too.

A/N -The end. Hope you all liked it! I know I didn't do the POV from Trouble more than once, but I wasn't sure how to write him.

Read and review, please!!!