Author's note: Hello all, and welcome to the first part of a story that quite literally played out in a dream. Some content warnings should be in effect, as this story will feature a character going through severe flashbacks, attempting to process the aftermath of physical, mental, and sexual abuse during imprisonment, and other serious mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. There will be healing and (hopefully) an eventual happy ending, but the process will be difficult, so please know your own limits and heed the content warnings listed here. Specific scene-by-scene warnings will be included before each chapter as it comes out.

Also, purely for full disclosure, A/H will happen eventually.

Chapter One

Artemis allowed himself to collapse onto the sickeningly soft mattress, not even bothering to pull the thin sheets over his body in an attempt at modesty. What would it matter if he did? Spiro had already seen everything he wished he could hide, and in any case the hateful man was gone now; Artemis heard the door slamming shut and locking automatically as his captor left, leaving Artemis there in his cell. He supposed he should be upset about that, but being trapped here had stopped hurting so much after a while. He felt a slight twinge in his gut at the thought - he was used to this place. Relieved, even, when the sounds that meant Spiro was near were gone and the room's normal ambiance took over. How strange.

Artemis took a deep, shuddering breath, releasing it slowly. The worst was over. He just had to ignore the fact that it would happen again tomorrow - in roughly two meal times. The young Irish man loosened his muscles, letting himself feel all the aches and pains, the soreness where he'd been bent almost double to accommodate Spiro's demands. He kneaded the place where his eyes used to be, knuckles brushing over the whitened scars as he stretched away the brunt of the soreness. The gashes clawed into his hips ached. With any luck, he'd be able to find enough energy to move soon. There was a fountain set into the wall that always ran nice and cold, and he needed to use the bathroom.

Throughout it all, the clock mounted above the bathroom door ticked on. One, two- Artemis lost track briefly as a sound echoed through the ducts overhead, then resumed his count. One, two, three… cool air caressed his skin, and he arched closer to the vent, enjoying the sensation after the too-hot touch of unwanted hands. The bathroom could wait a little longer.

So his life went on, as it had for the past six years.

oOoOo

The Spiro Needle was a strange building. Captain Holly Short of LEPrecon wrinkled her nose as she sat atop a stone gargoyle, waiting for Foaly to finish scanning the building through the sensors he'd built into her helmet. Something about the layers upon layers of shiny metal and glass put her off, despite fairy construction underground often taking similar directions. Humans were so strange! The majority of them isolated themselves as much as they could from the tiniest hint of nature, when fairies, who had been living underground for centuries, would give almost anything to feel real surface air and the elements' harsh bite. It wasn't as though there weren't perks to living underground, of course, or nobody in their right minds would, but it galled her to see just how unappreciative the Mud People could be. It was as though they had no idea what freedom they had.

"Holly," Foaly called through her headset. There was an edge to the centaur's voice that brought her out of her thoughts, refocusing on the mission at hand. "I'm pickin' up some strange readings on level sixty-three. There's a room that's absolutely scanproof on the western side. No cables that I can see goin' in, no cables going out - just lighting, air, and water."

A room with almost zero electrics? That was odd for a technology company like Fission Chips. Even the most isolated computing clusters needed power cables to function. Not to mention the fact that high-tech human companies often took full advantage of what their latest inventions could do. It was a practicality thing as much as a pride thing - easier to justify diverting your own stock for company use than buy exactly the things you're trying to sell from another company. Frowning, Holly dropped off the gargoyle, activating her wings and hovering in midair. "Want me to take a look?"

"Yep. Be careful, though. We don't know what's going on here yet."

This definitely confirmed that the strange power surges and signals Foaly's sensors had picked up from afar could be something to be concerned about. Holly's stomach clenched. She was always glad to have the centaur's intellect on her side, but everything about this situation made her anxious. A human technology giant returning strange readings? Readings, moreover, that were dangerously close to signals from fairy technology? It didn't bode well for the People.

She rounded the building, eyes flicking back and forth as she searched out the most likely weak spots in its security. The advantage she had as a fairy, of course, was that humans generally didn't anticipate an attack from above - or below. Who paid full price to have their glass bulletproof all the way to the top of an eighty-six storey building? No one. Not even the more paranoid humans.

Sure enough, Holly found a window that, as luck would have it, had been left cracked open. It was a tight fit - she didn't want to move the window too much - but just enough for her to wiggle through. She'd need to get down to the level below to investigate the mysterious room, but she was in, and without a single alarm going off. So far, so good, and her magical shield would keep her hidden from human and electronic eyes alike as she traversed the corridors. Unless the security guard froze the cameras at precisely the right moment; in that case, if the cameras had a high enough fps rating, they would be able to see her as a still image. That was unlikely, but you never knew with humans. She would have to hurry.

Whatever the case, it never hurt to use your backup if you had it. "Foaly, can you hack their security? Probably won't need you to do anything, but-"

Typing sounded in her ear. "No can do, sweetheart," the centaur admitted after a moment. "They must be on an internal, wire-based system. No broadcasts. I need you to plant a wire of our own before I can access it."

Holly hummed an acknowledgement, scanning the room. No cameras here. It looked to be a medium-sized meeting room, with nothing but a conference table, a large display screen covering the entirety of one wall, and some chairs. She had more luck once she stepped outside, spotting a camera perched on the ceiling to cover the nearby junction where two hallways met. Hovering up to its level, Holly wrapped what looked like an ordinary twist-tie around the cables attached to the camera, making sure the tie had good contact with the cable's surface. Of course, despite appearances, this was not an ordinary twist tie. It was a specialized fibre optic that had been constructed specially to create a gateway for Foaly, allowing him to remotely access whatever system the fibre optic was in contact with. All without the humans ever knowing it was there.

"Alright, we're in," Foaly confirmed a second later. "The wire's working. I'll keep an eye out for anything that might give you trouble, and set it up to scrub you from the feed if you have to unshield."

That left Holly free to explore the area. She was on the western side of floor sixty-four, directly above and to the left of her target. How could she get down there, though? That was the question. Taking the staircase - unless someone happened to walk by and open exactly the right doors for her - was right out. The doors required full palm prints to operate, and even if they hadn't, Holly didn't want to risk letting any humans see a door that appeared to be moving on its own. That kind of thing tended to freak humans right out, whether they were normally the superstitious type or not.

Then Holly noticed the vents that dotted the sparse, white corridor at regular intervals, and her eyes widened in realization. "Wait, those scans you did. Do they show any vents near me that might lead to this room I'm supposed to get into?"

oOoOo

He'd been listening to the odd, distant sounds since he'd first noticed them among the ones he was so used to. They were no longer distant, no longer easy to dismiss as a broken central heating component or fan blade. Artemis lay among the sheets, facing the vent with sightless eyes. There was no mistaking it now. That sound was being caused by something - or someone - making its way towards the metal grate, towards him.

He felt no fear that he was aware of at the prospect, but his body was tense and he could hear his heartbeat thumping madly in his chest. Was he imagining things? Perhaps. People in solitary confinement often went mad, caged so long that they became trapped inside their own minds, depressed and hallucinating. At that point, it didn't matter when their bodies were set free. If they were set free. Yes, he mused inwardly. That would make sense. That would explain why he was hearing something shuffle through the ducts, why he was hearing a hurried whisper-

BANG!

Artemis yelped, jumping at the loud, metallic crash. Pushing himself upright, he strained his senses - either his hallucination was incredibly lifelike, or there was actually someone breaking into his cell. If so, what could they want? There was nothing here apart from... well, him. And the bedclothes, he supposed, if one wanted to get technical, but no thief was going to break into a high-security treasure trove like this to steal sheets.

Nothing else moved for a long moment. Then, just as he began to relax, thinking that maybe he was imagining things after all, a voice sounded directly in front of him.

"By the Gods," it breathed. "It's… Artemis? Is that really you?"

The voice seemed female, and to his surprise, it was familiar. He couldn't quite place it yet, though. "Who are you?" he demanded, vocal cords stiff and uncooperative after long disuse.

He felt the sheets shift as whatever- no, whoever was in front of him came closer. The speaker sucked in a startled breath, then withdrew enough to keep him from sensing (her?) movement.

"It is you. Oh Gods. Foaly, Commander, are you hearing this?"

A jolt flew down Artemis' spine as he processed the words. Of course!

"Captain Short? Holly?" It was as though he was suddenly weightless, thrown off balance and cast into freefall as the world shifted on its axis. He should have realized! The ventilation system had been too narrow for his larger human frame, even when Spiro had first brought him here as a thirteen year old. Holly, however, was the perfect size to squeeze through them, though he couldn't imagine it had been easy or pleasant for her.

She approached again, and this time he reached out for her, unable to stop himself. If this was all a hallucination, he wasn't sure he would be able to bear the disappointment- but then a smaller, slimmer hand met his palm-to-palm, calluses distinct even beneath the smooth surface of the gloves she wore.

"This is real? You're here?" Questions flitted through his mind like restless shadows. Which to ask first? They queued on his tongue, halting it with the weight of indecision.

Holly let out a breathless laugh. "Of course it's real, Mud Boy. But what happened?" A beat. "Your eyes-"

"Spiro," Artemis forced roughly. "I… when he first captured me, I didn't do as I was told." Hands, hands holding him down, and the horrible pain as- No, revisiting that memory was the last thing he needed right now. He could remember it later, when he could hide and make himself small so nobody noticed, so he was safe.

He could have been imagining it, but he thought he felt Holly give his hand a gentle squeeze before she shifted again. Standing up, maybe? Yes, he heard the soft sound of her boots as she paced the room. Not that there was much to pace, of course, but he stayed silent. What use would it be to comment on things she had undoubtedly noticed by now?

Another voice- tinnier this time, as though it was being filtered through speakers. Artemis cocked his head, concentrating. This was Foaly, no doubt. Now that he had reason to call on his incredible memory again, the cadence and tone were immediately recognizable, despite the fact that Foaly sounded far less smug and sarcastic than usual. A tense moment followed as Julius Root's gravelly tones overrode Foaly. The commander seemed none too pleased; Artemis clenched the sheets so tightly in one hand that he could feel his knuckles going white. He hated screaming, yelling, any form of raised voices, and even more than that he hated the pain that came after someone blew up at him.

The three fairies argued back and forth for a moment. Then Holly was back. "Artemis?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you here? Why are you… locked up like this?"

Bile stung the back of his throat. Artemis swallowed it back down. "I approached Spiro with a business proposition. He didn't find the deal satisfactory, so he took what he wanted by force."

"Not that I'm not glad you're alive, but why keep you? Hasn't he got what he wanted?"

"He has…" The tears welling from his damaged tear ducts had to be a dead giveaway, but at least his voice didn't waver as he gestured to the mattress he was sitting on. "Other uses for me."

Silence reigned. Holly let out a shaky breath. Would she be looking at him with pity, he wondered? Compassion, maybe, or disgust? Artemis tried to imagine the look on the elfin captain's face, but it only made him feel even closer to vomiting, so he gave up.

"Do you want to get out of here?"

He turned his head in her direction, brows drawing together, shocked by the question. Of course he wanted to leave!

"If you can get me out, then yes. But I'm not sure how anyone could exit a building like this without being detected."

Voices again; she was talking to Root and Foaly, of course. All Artemis could catch were fragments, and the increasingly angry tone underlying Holly's words.

"Yes, Commander," Holly said at last, voice raised in pique. "I understand that the Council will come to that decision. But, given that it's an incredibly stupid decision, I am electing to ignore it." Then she touched Artemis on the shoulder, as though to let him know she was addressing him. "We can get you home, don't worry. I've got a shuttle with our names on it once we get to the nearest shuttleport, and with Foaly monitoring the cameras we should be able to get out in one piece."

"Should be? Very comforting."

The elf rabbit-punched him in the shoulder. "Don't snark at me, Fowl. Just get up and- sweet Frond, I did not realize you were naked. Why did I not realize this?"

Artemis shrugged, hoping to convey that there wasn't much he could do about the situation unless she had some spare clothes in his size. She seemed to get the message, or at least come to a similar conclusion herself, and recovered from her shock by going into problem solving mode. "Alright then, here's the plan. You cover yourself with a sheet, then hold onto me. Foaly is going to unlock the door on my signal, and then I shield and we run for it. There aren't any other humans on this floor, so we should be clear."

He had to ask. "Couldn't the shuttle meet us?"

"No, we don't have time for that. But don't worry, I can carry you - the wings are strong enough."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. He hoped she was looking at him to notice the gesture. "That might look a bit unusual to people below. A floating sheet."

"Maybe. Let me worry about that," Holly said. "You just… cover yourself."

Right. Naked. He obliged, fashioning the sheet into a toga of sorts, which she helped him further secure with several small clamps. Probably a good idea - they would be flying, after all, and he didn't fancy succumbing to windchill when he might finally have a chance at freedom.

oOoOo

The coast was clear, right up until it wasn't.

"D'arvit, Foaly, where did they come from?" Holly hissed as she desperately worked to secure a harness around Artemis' torso. It would distribute his weight more evenly beneath her as they flew, and each strap was gel-padded to avoid chafing and bruising. The buckles were hard to work, though, as she'd never needed to use them before.

The door buckled as several security guards attempted to ram it open. They had seconds left before it gave.

"Captain," Artemis gasped, his tone low and urgent. Frond, his voice had matured, Holly thought, then cursed herself for being distracted.

"I know. Almost there!"

"We don't have time for-"

"Done!"

They scrambled awkwardly to the window and clambered out. Holly activated her suit's mechanical wings the moment her body met free air. Not a moment too soon - the security guards burst into the room milliseconds after she had pulled Artemis up and away from their line of sight. The window was still open, but Holly couldn't stick around to close it politely without the risk of getting shot, so she simply checked that the camfoil concealing Artemis was tucked as securely as possible around his body before setting course for the nearest LEP shuttleport.

Icy bolts of fear still ran down her spine as the adrenaline began to fade. That had been a close one. She let out a relieved sigh. Hopefully she wouldn't have to pull off any rescue attempts like that again anytime soon.