Ok! So, we are almost done with this story! Literally, we have about 3 more chapters done besides this...
Anyway, here's the story!
Holly gasped, struggling away from him and staring at him with a horror-struck look in her eyes. "Artemis, you can't do that!
"Why not?" he whispered furiously, leaning towards her and getting right by her face. "It's not like you'll care. You'll be back in Haven with all those stupid people you're making yourself sick over, and I'll be gone. That should make you happy."
He reached for her again, and she dodged. "It doesn't!" she insisted, breaking down again in sobs. "I want to go back to Haven, but I don't want you to come with me. I may not trust you, but I don't want you to die, either!"
Artemis grabbed at her again, and this time he latched onto her arm. "Just shut up and come on," he growled, pulling her along down the stairs and towards the door. She hesitated, biting back a sob, and finally nodded and let herself be pulled after him.
He dragged her outside, pausing briefly before going straight through the yard and down to where the Bentley was parked. He threw her in the backseat, locked the doors, then he climbed into the driver's seat of the car and sped off.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Neither Holly nor Artemis spoke a word the whole way to the shuttle port. Not that Artemis actually wanted to talk to the elf bound in the backseat, he was rather mad at her. Holly, on the other hand, knew that she had crossed the line. She knew it was wrong to compare him to the men who had killed his family, but she did anyway.
Once at the shuttle port, Artemis stopped his car and opened the door, slamming it shut. Apparently, the drie hadn't calmed him down as he snatched Holly from the backseat and went through the gates of the ports. Only a guard was on duty for that time, one of which who quaked at the sight of the human. He was stunned into a paralyzed shock as he pushed Holly past him, rolling his eyes at the rookie. However, when he pushed Holly into an open, empty, shuttle, he sprayed the guard with a small bottle of gas. This gas wasn't harmful, but it did knock the elf out and erased the last five minutes of his memory. Artemis then started the shuttle up, putting it back on autopilot and turning in his chair back to the restrained elf.
However, he didn't say anything, just stared at her with his arms crossed in front of him.
Holly didn't say anything either; she didn't dare. Artemis was obviously upset, which meant his temper would be unstable. She didn't want to take any chances on saying something that might accidentally set him off, so she just didn't say anything. On the other hand, it was obvious Artemis just didn't say anything because he was fuming... and didn't trust himself to control his anger either.
The tense silence remained the whole way to Haven. Artemis had eventually laid down in one of the seats behind her, and she hadn't seen him since he slid in the back. Then, suddenly, the shuttle slowed down, the normally smooth ride going bumpy for a moment as it landed, and she heard the first sign of life again from behind her. "Alright." Artemis muttered, groaning as he got up. The shuttle landed and Artemis yanked Holly from her seat harshly, hanging onto her arm as she tried to persuade Artemis out of his decision again.
"Artemis, don't do this, please. It's unethical. Please...we can go back now, I won't mind, just don't give yourself up, not after everything that's happened." She pleaded hoarsely.
Artemis ignored her, searching the shuttle. He checked multiple place before growing more frustrated, pushing Holly into a seat and turning back to his search. She tried to steady herself, but was hard with her hands bound behind her back. The elf's eyes were wide, her gaze never leaving Artemis.
"Artemis, ple-" She started to plead again, but before she could say anything more, he turned around sharply and clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Shut up." He snapped coldly. Holly whimpered, but her eyes remained to be defiant. The man just sighed, knowing that she wouldn't cooperate, no matter how much she was scared. Finally, he spotted one of the items that he was looking for: a roll of duct tape. He snatched it from it's position, extending a short part. Artemis had to remove his hand from the elf's mouth, but before she could protest again, he laid his lips over hers, disabling her from talking again. With his hands, he got his pocket knife and tore the piece off, removing his lips and putting the tape over her mouth instead. "Don't give me that look." He snapped when he looked at her face. "I can't have you screaming in the middle of a busy street."
The man turned around again, returning to his search while muttering, "Speaking of that…" He finally found the second item he was looking for: Cam Foil. He grabbed Holly again, pressing her close as he put it around both of them. He left the shuttle, Holly in his grip tightly.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Inside the Ops Booth, Root was doing a routine check with Foaly, trying to explain to him that there were no cameras from the CIA in the room once again. In the middle of it, Melissa walked into the room.
"Hey." She said casually, as if she actually belonged there. Root didn't like her coming to LEP Headquarters, he didn't want anyone to see her and turn into a threat, creating a weakness for the Commander.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Oh, calm down. No one saw me." She looked at her husband. "And I missed you, is that such a crime?"
Root thought about this, a rare smile that only Melissa could bring out appeared as he pulled her closer. "Yeah, I'll read you your rights." He muttered, tilting his head and kissing her neck softly.
"PDA alert!" Foaly said as he covered his eyes. Root sighed, leaning back to look at the annoying centaur.
"Problem, civilian?" The commander asked, his face turning beet red.
Foaly's eyes widened, and you could tell that he was going to say something smart. Something that would potentially enrage Root and cause him to yell. However, before he could, Melissa slipped from Root's grasp and went over to the centaur to hug him gently. "Long time, no see, Foaly."
The centaur smiled, reflecting the woman's emotion laid across her face. "Nice to see you too."
Melissa smiled, turning back to her husband swiftly. "I can't take it alone at the house. I feel...unsafe, ever since the incident."
The commander sighed, his face going back to it's normal hue. He understood, it must have been hard for her to actually see Holly being taken, to see the criminal in action. "Alright. But you are not to leave this room, understood?"
Melissa just smiled, nodding as she looked into the male elf's eyes. Root grinned back, turning to grab a fungus cigar and lighting it, turning away and pacing the length of the room.
"I thought you were going to quit those?" His wife asked nervously. "You know what they do to your health, you'll die before you reach 1000."
"I'll stop when the centaur actually gets rid of his tinfoil hats." He muttered around the cigar. She just rolled her eyes, turning back to Foaly, who had wide eyes.
"You never know! the MI-6 are coming up with new technology everyday!" He protested, grabbing a hat from under his desk and laying it gingerly on his head. "They could be reading all of our minds this very instant."
"Well, its your job to make sure that doesn't happen, civilian." Root said.
Melissa was about to chide both of them for arguing when the door to the Ops Booth opened swiftly. Root looked at his wife, eyes wide. However, the door shut again after a moment, no one coming in the door in the first place.
"I thought you locked the door." Root said, going over to Foaly who was frantically checking his monitors and running the systems through another check for the 20th time that day.
"I did." Came the centaurs reply.
"Unfortunately for you, I know the override key." A cold voice came from the other side of the room. A shift came from the other side of the room, and Artemis Fowl half-appeared into sight. His face was cold and emotionless, much like his tone.
While Foaly remained dumbfounded at his computer, Root went up, pushing Melissa behind him as he stared at Fowl with an equally cold glare. "What do you want, Fowl?"
The man scowled, "If you think I'm down here to apologize or to take another one of you, think again."
"Then why are you here?" Foaly asked, eyes narrowing from where he sat in his chair.
Artemis smirked darkly, removing the Cam Foil completely and revealing Holly, bound and gagged. She struggled in his grip to no avail; the mud man was too strong. Her eyes were wide and pleading, looking from the three in front of her to the man holding her arm. She looked like she was on the edge of breaking down...her whole frame shaking dramatically in the silence.
Root broke the silence, "Why did you bring her down here, mud whelp?" He said sharply, taking the cigar out of his mouth and crushing it under his boot, smearing the clear white floor. "You know we can just take you in."
Artemis ignored him, bending down over Holly and ripping the tape off her mouth. Holly gasped at the slight pain, but immediately started talking afterwards, struggling from Artemis' grip and actually succeeding in her escape. The elf stumbled forward, rambling, "It was my fault, don't believe anything he says." She fell to her knees in the process, her hands still bound behind her back as she looked at the white tiles. "I-It's not his fault, it's mine." She muttered weakly.
Root looked from Holly to Artemis, who was looking at Holly in shock as his face got red. "What's she talking about? What did you do?"
Artemis didn't dignify that with an answer as he crept towards her, same shocked look on his face. Root went up to her too, crouching next to her and tilting her head up before Artemis could get to the elf first. "Short?" He asked gruffly, looking into her eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"It's my fault, don't believe him." She repeated, tears gathering in her eyes. After a silent moment, they finally fell out, Holly tugging her head from Root's grip to look down again, her body racked with sobs.
At that time, Artemis went up to her, ignoring the glare from The Commander as he knelt next to Holly, taking her in his arms.
"Shh…" He said soothingly, the genius took his knife out of his pocket. Before Root or anyone else could react, he cut the ropes on her arms, putting the small sharp edge back when they fell to her sides limply. Holly was still sobbing into him as Artemis put his arms around her trembling frame.
The other three looked at each other in shock, half from Holly breaking down like that, and half from the mud man rocking the sobbing elf in his arms, trying to make her stop crying.
"Holly, I had time to calm down in the shuttle, and to think of the situation. If you absolutely don't want me to give myself up, then I won't. So this isnt a goodbye to me," He paused to lift the elf up, looking into her eyes. "It's a goodbye to them." The human's eyes flicked to her friends.
Holly gasped, "Y-You're going to let me say goodbye?" She wiped her eyes, looking at Artemis, shocked.
"Yes." He replied simply.
Holly stood there in disbelief for a moment, putting all the pieces together...I'll get to say goodbye. she thought. She looked back up at Artemis, the room silent for a moment before she threw her arms around him and whispered in his ear. "Thank you."
950! GO!