"Good evening, Captain Short." Artemis heard in his own voice, his eyes roaming around the room. They were in what seemed to be Fowl Manor, from the exquisiteness around him, but not in a room he had seen in his short visit. "At the risk of sounding clichéd, I've been expecting you."

That was when Artemis' eyes hit Holly's figure in front of him. Everything seemed a little blurry, and he tried to put a hand to his head to rub his headache away. However, he found that he couldn't move. Not his own movements, at least.

"You are, of course, still bound by the promises made earlier tonight…"

Holly didn't say anything, not looking at him as she ran past him. Artemis turned with her, his vision darkened and blurred more by something blocking his vision, he realized. Any movement he made to unblur the image just made the headache grow.

Though he knew that was Holly by his words before, the way she held herself and the outline of her facial expressions. Her eyes were also a bit clearer than the rest of her. He watched her put something - he couldn't tell what it was because his vision wasn't clear - around the back of her head.

"So, basically, our situation hasn't changed. You are still my hostage."

Hostage? Artemis thought, wincing as he tried to shake his head. It was strange, feeling as though it was his body but having no control of it.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Holly had her face pointed down, but Artemis was so fixated on it, he couldn't focus on anything else enough to make it clear. Then her face changed.

"Something I should know?" He heard himself ask.

Holly rolled her eyes, still not looking at him as she focussed on something in front of her. He couldn't make out what it was, or even what it looked like. "Quiet." She hissed as if listening to something he didn't hear.

"It's not polite, you know. Ignoring your host."

Holly's eyes flicked up to him finally, and Artemis could see the flaming rage behind them. She got up, facing him. "Enough is enough." She growled.

Artemis noticed her hand turn into a tightly wound fist, but he didn't even move. Artemis panicked, trying to either move out of the way or into a fighting position, but earned a flash of pain go through his head instead.

That was when his eyes flicked over to a monitor to the right of him. A large shadow of someone or something flew past the monitor.

His eyes turned back to Holly, who was now smirking. "That's right, rich boy. You're on your own this time."

A radiating sting went to his nose after Holly threw the punch, and Artemis was knocked back to the ground with a sounding "Oof."

Holly smiled, looking down at him smugly. "Oh, yes! That felt good." She sighed, looking him over before turning back to the screens. "Foaly. Foaly come in."

Artemis couldn't hear anyone else in the room or see anyone else that Holly could be talking to. His eyes didn't leave her as he watched her figure lean over the multiple screens taking up most of the right wall. "The one and only. Foaly, there is no loop. I can see everything that's going on around here."

Tech expert rang through Artemis' brain as she said that. Holly had said Foaly was a technology expert. However, it sounded as though he had been bested.

That was all Artemis saw before he seemingly snapped out of the dream he was having. A resounding, loud yell went through his ears, waking him up. "Artemis!"

Artemis' eyes snapped up and focused on Holly sitting next to and leaning over him, shaking his shoulders. Her eyes were wide with concern.

The other two seemed to be running in the room, also looking at him with a worried concern on their faces. "He's awake, Holly." He heard the shorter one...Foaly, say.

Holly sighed, putting a hand on his chest. "Are you alright."

Artemis didn't look at her, sitting up and keeping his eyes on the two a few meters away. Holly noticed it and sighed again when Artemis grabbed Holly's arm tightly, looking back at them. "I've got this. Please. Before we get into another situation like before. Go."

Butler nodded, shaking his head. He wanted to rush over and take care of his charge, but he couldn't. They had run at the sound of Holly shouting and saw Artemis collapsed on the floor with Holly hovering over him.

Foaly had to give Butler a gentle push, but they left. Foaly looked back at Holly once before shaking his head and disappearing down the hall and out of sight.

Artemis' grip on Holly's arm loosened after they left, and Holly looked back at Artemis. "What happened?" She asked him.

Artemis winced at the sound, his head throbbing. He let go of her arm after a moment, placing a hand on his head. "I don't know… I just have….A huge headache."

Holly looked around the library and shook her head. "Butler's med kit is downstairs. Can you make it down there?"

"I have things in my bag." Artemis shook her off, getting up.

"Not as good as Butler's." She stopped him by getting in front of Artemis. "Artemis, you may have some ibuprofen that you threw in your bag on the way out the door in New York, but I promise you that the medkit has better supplies to take care of you."

Artemis shook his head. "I don't know what is in that medkit. It could be tainted to hurt me."

Holly rolled her eyes as Artemis pushed past her, but she was cut off by an aching pain in her right side. She gasped, putting a hand over her hip.

Artemis stopped completely, whirling around to face her. He scanned her body, striding over and lifting the tank top she was wearing off her torso. "Shit…" He murmured, putting a hand over the bleeding bandages, making Holly wince this time.

"It must have happened when you fell." Holly hissed in pain. "I tried to keep you steady."

Artemis paused for a long moment before sighing and glancing up at her eyes, "Does this medkit have stitches?"

Holly nodded silently, looking down at the blood seeping through the cloth. "Good." Artemis continued, placing Holly's hand over the covered wound and letting go of it to take her hand. "Because it looks like you'll need them."

Holly sighed, partially in relief. Artemis took her hand, pulling her out of the room and down the stairs. She held onto her side, directing him through the turns and praying to Frond that they didn't bump into Butler or Foaly on the way.

The medkit had to be next to the security room and dojo, in a small lab Artemis had set up in Fowl Manor when he started experiments a decade ago. Knowing the state of Artemis' room and study, she had no doubt the lab was also going to be pristine.

Holly turned the corner down the hallway where the lab was, glancing at Artemis. He seemed a bit distracted and in his thoughts, albeit still on guard and looking around. She could tell from his minute facial expressions that something was off.

Her side wasn't hurting as much anymore, and the bleeding had probably slowed since they were upstairs. However, she understood why Artemis wanted to get it stitched. If it kept bleeding from the slightest of movement, it was probably deep enough to get infected if it opened often.

Artemis was looking around, making sure they weren't being followed as he went down the unfamiliar corridor. He looked into every single room, expecting Foaly or Butler to be in one of them and to be on alert when that happened.

He stopped when Holly stopped and put in a pin code. "What's the pin?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"0109," Holly looked back at him. "Your birthday."

Artemis gave her a confused look, and it took Holly less than a second to realize why he was giving her that. "You didn't know your birthday."

He paused for a second before choosing not to answer, "Medkit." he grunted, taking her arm and pulling her in the room.

Holly rolled her eyes, going over to a steel table and pointing under the table. Artemis nodded and grabbed it since it wouldn't be a good idea for her to lift anything heavy. He placed it on the table and helped Holly onto it as well. "Lift your shirt." His eyes darted to the door they came in. It was still open, and he wondered if one of the others would barge in when he was busy.

"Hey." Holly ran a hand through his hair, getting his attention. She smiled at him sympathetically, "They aren't going to bother us." She told him, running a finger over the choker on her neck. "As much as I want this off, it's still your insurance. I'm your insurance."

Artemis nodded, helping her lift her tank top and expose the blood-soaked bandages. Slowly, he pulled them off, exposing the knife wound that happened the day and a half before. "I should have sutured this right after I did it." He murmured, looking down.

Holly sighed, taking his hands and pulling him to her. "Don't beat yourself up." She comforted him, "You didn't have the equipment, and you took care of me the best you could."

That earned Holly a small smile from Artemis, and he looked down. "Lay down." He gestured back to the table, pulling away from her grasp to go over to the kit. He pulled a small syringe and bottle from the kit, as well as a suture kit.

Holly swung her feet on the table, sliding her body down so that she could lean her back against the cold steel. She shivered but didn't say anything, lifting her arms above her head and putting them behind her head, resting her head against them.

Artemis took the syringe and the bottle of anesthetic, filling the gauge with it and inserting the needle of the syringe into and around the skin of her wound, numbing it so she wouldn't feel anything he did after that. Holly grunted, biting her lip to distract herself from the pain of the needle. She sighed when he was done, putting the syringe off to the side. "So...Did anything happen when you collapsed?"

Artemis raised an eyebrow at her, opening up the suture kit. "Like what?" He played off, surprisingly uncomfortable with lying to her.

Holly shrugged, looking away thoughtfully. "Did you see a light?"

That made Artemis chuckled, picking up the needle but waiting a moment to let the anesthetic set in. "Let's go with that." He murmured, "Just be lucky I didn't go into it."

She rolled her eyes, moving her arm to shove him lightly at the joke. He took her arm, smirking slightly. "Do you really think it's smart to push me with a needle in my hand?"

"What can I say?" Holly smiled back, "It's fun to push you around. I see why you like doing it to me."

Artemis rolled his eyes, pulling her hand away from him and placing it back on the table next to her head. "I don't push you around for fun. I do that for survival."

"I know."

"Good." Artemis gave her a look that told her she shouldn't bring it up again or else he wouldn't be so nice.

Holly laid there as still as she possibly could as he stitched her wound. It didn't hurt as much because of the anesthetic, but she still felt the pressure of the needle weaving in and out of her skin. She didn't say anything, not wanting to distract him. However, something told her that this wasn't the first time he had done this before.

Artemis nodded when he was done, snipping the rest of the suture line he hadn't used off and throwing the syringe and remaining supplies he had used away. "Shall we go now?"

Holly sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the table. "Uh uh. You need something for your headache." Holly looked over at the kit, grabbing a bottle of pills and tossing it at him. He just sighed and tossed it back.

"No." He refused. "I don't know what that is or if it's laced with something."

"Oh, for Gods-" Holly rolled her eyes, opening the bottle and swallowing two dry before he could say anything. "It's extra strength pain medicine." She explained, closing the bottle and tossing it back to him.

Artemis caught it again with one hand, opening it and taking two as well. He swallowed them and pocketed the bottle, nodding to her. Holly got the message, sliding off the table and walking over to him. He took her hand again, leading her out of the lab.

Holly decided to lead Artemis down the other side of the hallway, with no argument from Artemis. It was one big circle, essentially, and since her side didn't hurt anymore, she felt fine walking back to the bedroom.

Artemis continued looking silently through the rooms. Most of them were open, probably the bigger one's doing. Keeping the doors open allowed Artemis to look in and secure the area. It put him more at ease.

However, one of the rooms made Artemis stop dead in his tracks. Holly whirled to look at him, confused. But Artemis was staring in the security room, at the monitors lining the walls and remembering what he had seen after he blacked out. He took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts for a few seconds before taking Holly's shoulder and backing her to the wall, still staring in the security room.

Holly looked up at Artemis, still confused and worried. She put a hand on his chest, his body keeping her trapped against the wall as he thought. "Artemis, what's wrong?"

Artemis' eyes flicked over to her, and he examined Holly's face before licking his lips and sighed. "Did you ever punch me before?"

Holly's eyes widened, "What?"

Leave a comment with your ideas of what could happen next. I love reading them, and sometimes they give me inspiration. Plus, I'll be responding in the next chapter!

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Monkwindu: This really was as soon as I could. I've been writing a lot more because of quarantine and loving it. Hoping to finish this soon. I'm excited for you to read what happens next!

ioadoroifiori: Thank you! And for the dojo fight, we'll see. I have a very specific idea for the dojo scene. And although Artemis does have more training than Holly at this point, it would be more reminiscent.

RageCaje: Haha! I'll see if I can slip it in somewhere. Be on the lookout for it. Thanks! Can't wait for you to read it!

Oracle of Hylia: I love writing cliffhangers! I mean, check out the one I just wrote! And...I would imagine so, but honestly, that storyline is not at the forefront of my brain right now. Still got the #murdersquad out for them.

Annapsarudaki: Thank you so much! I think Holly is being pretty understandable too. And...You'll see in the next chapter how all of this really affects Holly. (Hint hint). Honestly, I just thought up the ending with a good friend of mine. You'll have to see what happens.

ES007, Radiant Arabian Nights & AtiFowl: Glad I could help! Thanks!