Hello!!!! Again, sorry for the huge amount of time it has taken me to update my fic. I really am truly sorry. I've been very busy (as usual) with coursework and revision for some very important exams. But I'm here, and here is Chapter Six. Hope you enjoy!!! Oh, and thanks for all the reviews.

Chapter Six

Torture

Artemis felt himself come round slowly. He could tell, despite having his eyes closed, that he was in a dark, damp room, his wrists tied behind his back and he was settled on an uncomfortable wooden chair. Even with his jacket on he was cold and he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. His head felt heavy and had dropped, his chin resting on his chest, though he was surprised to find that it did not hurt as much as he would have thought it to. There was a dull ache, certainly, but for someone who had just had his skull split in two this didn't seem enough.

His eyes flickered open and he lifted his head gently. He grimaced as he realised that dried blood was coating his face and his vision swam for a while before coming to rest. He felt extremly weak and slightly sick but had to remind himself to stay focused, as Butler had always told him.

He was in a small, concrete cell with no windows. There was a bare bulb hanging above him, giving out a faint orange glow. He was clearly underground, in a cellar of some sort. Holly was sitting opposite him, eyeing him with a worried expression as he roused. She, too, was tied to a chair and had been stripped of her wings, helmet and guns. She smiled as he looked up at her and for a few seconds his heartbeat sped up. He couldn't help but think how attractive she looked.

"Wakey, wakey," she teased, before her tone became more serious. "How's your head?"

"Not bad," he mumbled groggily, snapping out of his thoughts. "What happened?"

"Well," began Holly, "after she knocked you out she told me to put the lid back down, come to land and follow her. If I disobeyed she said that you'd be killed. So I did as she asked and shut off my wings. Then a massive Mud Man appeared from somewhere, he must have been around Butler's height, and he grabbed you and slung you over his shoulder. He was clearly under the influence of the mesmer, which means that somehow, this elf's got in touch with the humans. Anyway, she held my hands behind my back with magnificent strength and began to lead us away. But then the Mud Man stopped us. He pulled you off his shoulder and sort of held you like a doll. Around your head were blue sparks, fixing your injury, but they were slow, lazy. You obviously didn't have much magic in your system."

Artemis nodded. "Yes, that's the magic I stole from you in the time tunnel. I thought in would come in use one day. I take it I used it all up. That would explain my lightheadedness."

"Yup. The elf got all suspicious that I'd tried to heal you. She told the Mud Man not to worry and we continued. We came to a car, he threw you in then took a needle, injected it into my arm and I fell unconsious. That's all I remember. I woke up about an hour and a half ago, tied to this chair, so I don't know where we are or how long we've been here. All I do know is that these knots are professional. Unbreakable."

"And you have no idea who these people are?"

Holly shook her head.

Artemis sighed. "Well, I'm willing to bet that we're still in Jersey. As for the kidnappers, I'm guessing that the elf, who is obviously in charge here, is the one who has been trying to kill you. And I'm also assuming that because she didn't kill me straight away that she may need me for something."

"Oh, yes," replied Holly sarcastically. "Because everyone is in need of the ever so modest Artemis Fowl."

"Holly, I am only trying to deduce the meaning for this. It could save our lives. You should be thankful."

"Hmmm..." murmered Holly, unsatisfied.

Artemis attempted to move his arms. Maybe he could break the rope that bound his wrists together. But it seemed impossible, especially for someone as weak as Artemis was. "If only I could get free," he grunted, "then I could get...". He was about to say that he would be able to get hold of his phone and call Butler, but upon glancing down at his pocket he realised that his mobile had been taken off him. Well, of course it had. Any decent kidnapper would immediately prevent their victim from communicating with the outside world. Artemis knew that he had to come up with a plan.

Meanwhile, back at Fowl Manor, Butler was becoming nervous. His charge had been out for more than six hours now and he wasn't answering his phone. Butler found himself pacing around the main entrance, waiting for a phonecall, though he knew deep down that it wasn't going to come. Foaly had obviously realised that something was wrong, as every time Butler tried to speak with him he was cut off. Foaly simply told him that he was trying to sort things out. Butler had a feeling that Foaly was covering something up.

Minerva didn't seem to have noticed her fiance's long absence; she was far too involved with getting the finishing touches done on her dress and planning the food that was to be served at the reception. Butler decided not to tell her what he suspected might have happened. It was best not to worry her.

The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. What if Artemis was in danger? Had he been injured, kidnapped... killed? All Butler could do at that moment in time was make sure that his mobile never left his hand.

Something was troubling Holly again. It had been a while since Artemis had woken, and he hadn't spoken much. She knew that she shouldn't disturb him while he was thinking of a way to get them out, but she was desperate to ask the question that had been forming in her mouth for hours.

Ever since she had discovered that Artemis was to marry Minerva she had felt herself act differently around him. She wanted what was best for Artemis and she didn't think that Minerva was that. She had toyed with the idea in her head that perhaps she was doing this all out of jealousy, and she beginning to believe that this was probably the case. She didn't want another female to be in Artemis's life. Another female who would replace her.

"Artemis?" It was clearly night outside as the temperature in the room had dropped and Holly could see her breath.

Artemis's brows furrowed as his concentration was broken. "Yes?"

There was an awkward silence as Holly built up the courage to ask. "Do you think that you're doing the right thing?"

Artemis blinked. "About what?"

"Minerva," Holly said quietly.

"What do you mean about Minerva?"

"Well, do you think that you are doing the right thing by marrying her? It just... to me... doesn't seem that you're the best... couple in the world." The words weren't coming out easily. "Are you doing this to please your parents and Butler? Are you doing it for the money? Or are you doing it for the proper reason, Artemis? Do you love her?"

Artemis didn't reply for a long time. Holly could tell that the question was difficult for him to answer, but all she wanted was the truth. After many moments, he spoke. "It's for the latter reason," he said slowly. "I love her."

"Oh," said Holly quietly. "Just checking." But in her heart she knew that it had been more than 'just checking'. Though she would never admit it, her heart was hurt by his words.

Neither of them spoke again and gradually they both fell asleep.

BANG!

Artemis's eyes snapped open at once as the door to their prison was forced open. Holly was awake as well, her eyes fixed on the doorway where a female elf stood, clan in black robes, but for the first time she had her hood down, revealing her face. She was dangerously attractive with long blonde hair falling down to her waist and cunning dark eyes. Artemis knew at once that this was their kidnapper, and possibly their would be murderer. He swallowed as she came closer.

"You!" Holly exclaimed. "You're the one trying to kill me?"

"Well, it appears that you remember me, Captain. I am very honoured. But don't you think we should fill in the details for young Artemis here. I'm sure he doesn't have a clue who I am."

Artemis stared at her calmly as she looked into his eyes. "I, Arty, am Sybil Leak. The captain here will recall that I am the elf that she had locked up in prison and rid of my powers for no good reason."

"For no good reason?" shouted Holly. "You killed twenty three people in five minutes because they were standing in your way on the street. You're a psycho!"

Sybil chose to ignore Holly's words and continued with her introduction. "I have so little power left in my system that I can only just preform the mesmer on the denser of the human population. But what I do have is extraordinary strength that has been with me since I was a child. Not even, let's say, your bodyguard could defeat me. I broke out of prison, which was not difficult, I can tell you, and set out on getting my revenge on Captain Holly Short."

Artemis glanced at Holly, who was silently fuming in her chair.

"So why haven't you simply killed her as you have been attempting to?" he asked.

Sybil smiled. "I'm glad that you asked that question. You see, when I killed Chix I was aiming for Short, as you have probably worked out. I watched in delight as she was sent off to trail, but somehow she came out and was able to go above land. I knew that something was wrong and believed that she had been freed. I then saw you in the woods and you were clearly searching for something. I thought I would just finish Short off once more, but unfortunately for me, you both dodged the knife. I realised then that you must have been looking for something very important, and I became interested. What if whatever this thing was, was of use to me. So I followed you to the vineyards and made my attack. And you are now going to tell me what it is you are looking for."

"And why should he do that?" snarled Holly.

"Well, he better tell me... because I don't want to hurt him again now, do I? And this time you won't have enough magic left to heal yourself. So, Mud Boy, what are you searching for? Why is it so important?"

Artemis narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe that that information is any of your business."

"Is that so? Well then...".

She slowly walked around him and his chair and began to untie the knots that had kept his hands so tightly bound for the last few hours. It was a relief to get the blood flowing again. She appeared before him once more and knelt down onto her knees. Artemis watched her face cautiously. She outstretched one of her arms and wrapped her fingers around his right hand. With her other hand she held onto his lower arm. Looking over at Holly he could see that she was concerned.

"Come on, Arty. You know I don't want to hurt you. All I want is information."

Artemis kept his mouth shut and he began to see what she was doing. With tremendous strength she was pulling his hand back, bending it further than it should naturally go. Artemis gasped as the first twang of pain shot up his arm.

"Don't fight me, Artemis. Just tell me what I want to know and I will stop."

The pain was increasing quickly. He felt tears spring in the corners of his eyes and saw that Holly was on the verge of crying as well. He refused to tell this mad woman about the Documents. He told himself to concentrate on Holly. Concentrate on her face. Not the pain, or the words of Sybil, just to look deep into Holly's eyes. The only place of comfort he had.

Minutes of sheer torture passed and Artemis moaned with pain. His face was wet from tears that he was unaware were falling freely down his cheeks, cutting paths in the dry blood that already caked them. But he continued to stare at Holly. It had to be over soon. That was what he kept telling himself.

His mind was in turmoil and he felt sick to the stomach. His whole body was covered in cold sweat. He thought he was going to pass out. Then SNAP.

His wrist broke with the sound of a shotgun. Artemis screamed louder than he had ever screamed before in his life. His head was spinning and he could see that Holly had had to look away. His right hand was sticking out in a sickening position and his legs had gone to jelly. Cruelly, Sybil Leak grabbed his wrist again and tied his hands even more tightly than before. She then stared into his eyes menacingly.

"You didn't like that, did you Arty?" she whispered, wiping a tear from his face. Artemis tugged his head away. "Now, are you sure you don't want to tell me?"

Artemis clenched his teeth in agony and forced himself to look at her. "Never."

She patted him on the shoulder. "Ever the hero, aren't we Artemis. Well, you better think about your answer, because next time it will be the other wrist." She bent down and kissed him patronisingly on the forehead, before leaving the room.

"Heal it, Holly," Artemis begged through gritted teeth. "Heal it. Please."

Holly acted as quickly as possible. Kicking off a boot, with difficulty, she outstretched her leg as far as she could until her bare foot was touching Artemis's leg. She pushed his trouser leg up and out of the way until skin touched skin. Artemis felt a shiver shoot up his spine, but he wasn't sure if it was the pain or not.

"Heal," she muttered. Tiny blue sparks erupted and went straight for the source of pain. The healing was almost as painful as the actually breaking as the bones had to be snapped back into the right place. Artemis gasped and groaned loudly as the magic manouvored his wrist into the correct postion, before fusing the bones together. And just before the sparks disappeared, they removed the blood from his face. When it was finished Artemis sighed out loudly in relief.

"Thank you, Holly," he muttered, his eyes closed.

"Artemis, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. If only there was a way I could get you out of here safely-"

"No!" Artemis said suddenly. "We're in this together. I promised that I would help you and that's exactly what I'm going to do. No matter how much pain that means I have to go through." He opened his eyes to see Holly beaming at him.

"You know," she laughed. "If I could hug you right now, I would."

Artemis gave a small smile. He would have very much liked a hug. But for now they were both tied to chairs, unable to free themselves and they didn't know for how long they were going to be there. Artemis thought of Butler worrying, and of his parents if anything were to happen to him again. And he thought of Holly, who was always by his side. And though he didn't realise it at the time, his mind never once flickered to the thought of Minerva.

He felt himself fall into an uneasy sleep as he wondered just how many times he or Holly would have to go through that pain before they became weak enough to reveal what they were looking for. Artemis just hoped that all he could do was keep Holly out of prison. To him, that was all that mattered to him at the moment.

Maybe he does love her!!!!!!! I hope you noticed that there was no mention Artemis thinking about the wedding. It seems to have escaped him. His thoughts are too much on Holly. How sweet!!!

Poor Arty. He's really going through it.

Please review and thanks for reading!!

Aquarico.