A/N: next chapter! I know, a little late, but Cynthia and I were involuntarily taking turns being busy and forgetting about writing… She doesn't have an A/N for this one, but she sends her apologies for being a slacker. And I send mine. *rolls up parchment scroll* Um, anyway, not much to say about this… HAPPY NEW YEAR! *throws confetti, blows noise maker* *silence* …Well Happy New Year, really. Thank you so so so so much for being the most amazing fans ever. We love every single one of you. Have a great year! Comment, suggest, compliment, critique, love, hate, and review! :) J&Cynthia

After much coaxing from Foaly, Holly decided to come downstairs. Of course, she dried her eyes and tried to not make her eyes look as puffy so that people couldn't tell she was crying.

"Artemis probably will, though," Holly said to herself, annoyed.

Holly walked down the stairs rather quickly and ran into Artemis.

"Watch where you're going, Mud Boy!" Holly snapped.

Artemis raised his right eyebrow. "If anyone should be watching where they're going, it's you, dear Captain."

Holly shook her head. "Whatever. I'm sorry. I'm going back upstairs."

Holly turned around but before she could actually walk upstairs, Artemis grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait," he said, "what's wrong?"

She shrugged him off roughly. "What do you care?"

"Because," he said, "I actually have something to talk to you about."

Just like Artemis to reply with an unemotional answer. Unfortunately, it was still logical, and it slightly interested her. If there was something Artemis wanted to talk about, and not just ponder by himself, it was probably important.

So Holly turned her body around and stared into his eyes. He was on the ground floor, and was on the third stair, so that made up for the height difference and their eyes were level with each other. "Okay," she said, "what is it?"

"I..." Artemis heard a door on the second floor open and close, and figured that Butler was coming out. Without thinking, he grabbed Holly's hand, and pulled her briskly towards another room close by. "We must talk about this in private," he said.

The fact that they were holding hands (technically) made Holly's cheeks turn pink, even as much as she tried to ignore it. But she let herself be pulled, and didn't make a sound.

They were soon in Artemis' bedroom and Holly immediately got down to business.

"What is it?" Holly said. "What is so important that the great Artemis Fowl couldn't think of it alone?"

Artemis sat on a chair and had two fingers pressed against his lips. "What did you and Butler fight about?"

Holly was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"Yes," said Artemis. "What did you two fight about?"

Holly folded her arms. "That's kind of personal. Besides, can't you figure it out?"

"You're just in a bad mood today, aren't you, Captain?" Artemis said. "But, yes. I can figure it out if I wanted to. However, I would like to hear it from you."

She hesitated. He was right, and if he wanted to hear it from her specifically, he must really have something to say about it. So after sighing, she found a chair, and pulled it into a position where she could sit facing him.

Then she began. She started at the beginning, when she and Butler first entered the manor. She explained to him the basic dialogue that followed, and how it escalated. Finally, she finished with her exit out of the room. Artemis nodded slowly as he mentally analyzed the situation.

"I had a feeling that was what happened," he mumbled.

Holly sighed. "You always do."

"Now, Holly," Artemis said, ignoring her last comment. "What I am about to tell you is something extremely personal from Butler's past. I would not share without Butler's permission unless necessary."

Holly nodded. "I understand. What happened?"

"When Butler was young and still in an academy, he was in love with a girl."

"Lilac Bloom," Holly breathed.

"Yes. Don't interrupt," Artemis chastised. "Now, he was in love with Lilac and decided to confess."

Holly's eyes widened. "Oh no! Did-"

"I said no more interrupting!" Artemis scolded. "Anyway, Butler confessed to Lilac and she did not reciprocate his feelings. As cliché as it is, he vowed that he would have no more time for love."

"And now that Lilac is back," Holly realized, "Butler feels like he has a second chance."

"Very good, my dear Captain," Artemis praised.

Holly blushed when he called her that, though she knew he probably didn't mean anything by it. Of course, Artemis hardly noticed the blush, and didn't pay any attention to it.

"Get to the point, Artemis," she said impatiently.

"I am giving you this information because..." he paused, not out of reluctance, "I suspect Lilac is not whom she says she is."

"What?"

"Or, she hasn't given us the full truth."

"Why would she be... not innocent?" Holly asked. "I mean, she's so sweet..."

Artemis stared into Holly's eyes intently. "You know why."

She did. But she didn't want to believe it. Slowly, the captain nodded, and looked away. "Yeah..." she whispered. "I know."

"It is more than possible that Lilac has had a run in with the LEP," Artemis mused. "It's very strange that Foaly has no records whatsoever of Miss Bloom."

"Are you sure Lilac's met the LEP?" Holly asked.

"I'm certain of it," said Artemis. "If only I had proof. I tried to come to Butler with my suspicions."

"What happened?"

"He got angry," Artemis said. "He's falling for Miss Bloom all over again."

"Well," ventured Holly, "we could find proof."

Artemis frowned. "What do you mean?"

"If you're so certain Lilac has met the LEP before, Foaly must have recorded it somehow. You know how paranoid he is," said Holly. "And we could try to find it."

Artemis nodded. "I thought about that. However, isn't it likely that he would have recognized her face? Or at least remembered her name?"

He paused, making Holly think about this. Once again, he was right. "So he was mind wiped?" she guessed.

"It would seem so."

"But he's... Foaly!" she exclaimed. Then she realized that there was only a door between them and other people, and she lowered her voice. "If Root was alive at the time where the unknown Lilac incident happened- which I doubt he wasn't, he would've let Foaly keep his memory. He's one of the most trusted guys in the LEP."

Artemis shrugged. "Maybe he wanted to forget. Maybe... I have no idea. There is an infinite number of possibilities of what Lilac did, or what happened... but whatever did happen, we need to find out."

"I agree."

"But... don't tell Foaly about this."

Holly put on a confused look. "Why?" she asked.

"Until we find out what happened with Foaly, we shouldn't get him involved. It could hurt him somehow, or hurt Lilac. We need to know the exact situation before we go so far as to spread the word."

Reluctantly, Holly agreed and nodded. "Okay..." she said. "I won't tell him... What now?"

Artemis smirked. This was where the fun part came in. "We become spies."

"Spies?" Holly said doubtfully. "How are we going to do that?"

"Why, Holly, I thought you would know," Artemis said in mock shock. "We become stealthy. And eavesdrop of course."

"I thought you already did that," said Holly.

"Feeling...sassy today, Captain?"

Holly covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing. "Did you just say sassy?"

Artemis' face flushed. "Yes. Now, stop gaping and see if you can find anything."

"Okay. Don't get too sassy while I'm gone, Arty." Holly laughed.

"Out!"

Holly jogged out, laughing all the way.