(Hum de dum. Feel free to skip)

Hey guys, thanks for reading and reviewing. I've been super buisy lately, so my posts have been getting spaced farther and farther apart. But 'd like to thank all of you for reading; I had 1,001 hits on my story last month alone!

Thanks so much!

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With love, TheModernChromatic.

*******

For Holly Short, Artemis Fowl was a name associated with many things. For one, he was a pain in the neck. Two, he was diabolical and brilliant. Three, he had a nose for trouble, and not the Commander Kelp kind. Learning that he was in trouble again was no surprise to her. However, it seemed strange that anyone would be able to kidnap the famed criminal boy, especially with big, bad Butler around. Once she learned of his absence, Holly took off to investigate immediately. Artemis was a disaster waiting to happen.

"Butler!" Cried the fairy, seeing the large human man again. "What is this I'm hearing about Artemis being missing?" The bodyguard, who had been staring at the ground, looked up.

"He's been kidnapped." The man grunted gruffly.

"I figured that," Holly says, tapping a small foot, "But how did this happen? When, and where?"

"It all happened here, right under my nose."

"How?" Holly repeats.

"I don't really remember. Someone must've killed the lights, and I wasn't on my guard, and I got caught with a sedative or something. I'm not even sure what day it is anymore."

"It's the 28th," Holly says patiently. Butler smashes a mighty fist into the wall beside him.

"The party," he grunts, "It was on the 24th." Holly gives a blue/hazel-eyed sympathehtic look. Butler shivers at Artemis's blue eye staring him down from Holly's pretty fairy face.

"All I have for clues is a scrap of fabric," says the big man gloomily. Holly brightens up. If there's anyone who can track down Artemis Fowl with nothing but a piece of cloth, it's Foaly. Holly extends a small hand.

"Let me see the fabric."

*******

"So what you're saying," I muse, rubbing a hand over my face, "Is that you have no way to contact these people? You're just going to wait around until they come looking for you?"

Artemis smirks. "Of course. They'll come for me, don't worry. Butler won't go long with me missing. And sure as ever, Holly will come looking for me."

"So you have no real plan then," I rub at my eyes. I can feel a headache coming on. "You're just going to sit around and wait!"

Artemis nods contentedly.

I traipse about the lab in a negative mood, tugging on my hair and muttering to myself about how incomplete my plan was.

"Why so fractious?" Artemis asks innocently, peering at me from within his invisible prison.

It catches me off guard, hearing him so inquisitive and yet so innocent with him bordering on smug. "What?" I ask, unsure of myself.

"Fractious," he explains, "Irritable, snappish, cranky."

"I know what it means," I say, waving a hand at him, "But why ask?"

"Well, it's just that I can't do anything in here, and you can't do anything towards your cause, so..."

"So, what?"

"Um..."

"Are you suggesting that I let you out?"

Artemis fidgets a bit on the bench in his containment chamber.

"Artemis. You're the only leverage I have for these people. My only chance. I'm not going to just let you out."

"How could you suggest such duplicity from me?!" He looks shocked, as if offended.

"You're a world-class, underage criminal. Children like us want what's best for us and only us. We're selfish. Of course I accuse you of 'duplicity'."

"So that's what it all comes down to then? You want the People and humans to form a relationship for your life to get better. You really don't care about anyone else, do you?"

"Sure. I don't give a damn about what happens to anyone else. Yeah. Maybe that's why I want the world to be better, maybe it is just for me. But maybe it's not. I'm happy when other people are happy, unlike you."

"What, I'm a thief one second and suddenly I'm heartless the next?" He's as close to his perimeter as he can get without hurting himself, "You don't know me. You don't care. You've locked me in an invisible box! You need to just stop this. I can't do anything more than I'm already doing from where I am."

The air sits in the room with an uncomfortable silence.

"I'm sorry," I say suddenly.

"Me too." Artemis says. I am suprised again.

*******

Somewhere far away, in a place very dark and cold, an old enemy has also learned of Artemis's disappearance. And it's given her hope, bubbling hope and new, deadly plans.