Hello everyone. Sorry for the HUGE delay in uploading. I have been slammed with homework, projects, exams, and work. I have hardly had time to sleep, let alone write. I've been slowly writing this chapter over about two weeks time now, and I'm finally done with it. I decided to take another turn with it, so the story will actually be a little longer than I originally anticipated. I hope you all enjoy! :)

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Diana had been awake for a while. The girl didn't want to get up, so she kept her eyes closed tightly. Although she felt drowsy, she couldn't fall back asleep. On top of that, Diana was in a lot of pain, and she could only assume it was from where the bullet had entered her chest. Admittedly, Diana wasn't even sure if she was alive. All she could remember before blacking out was Artemis' face and what she thought was an elf.

Just at the thought, Diana flew upright, eyes fluttering open in the process. The girl glanced around the room, trying to figure out exactly where she was. Judging by the crisp, white nature of the room, not to mention the IV in her arm, Diana assumed she was in some sort of a hospital. The girl felt her arm dangling over the edge of her bed, so she moved it back towards the bed. But she was surprised when she was met with resistance. Diana was shocked when she glanced over to see Artemis' hand clutching tightly to hers.

This bewildered Diana. Why would Artemis be holding her hand? Especially while she was sleeping? The Irish boy was asleep in an awkward position in his chair, his head leaning against the wall. Diana figured he had probably fallen asleep there some time ago, and although he was asleep, Artemis did not look at ease like most people do while they're sleeping. His face was etched into a frown, his brow furrowed. Diana wondered if she would be able to put his mind at ease.

"Artemis," she said quietly. "Wake up."

Diana watched the boy carefully as his eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the artificial lighting in the room. He rubbed his eyes with his freehand before looking over at Diana. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"As well as one could be considering the circumstances," Diana admitted. She paused for a moment, wondering how she should ask her next question. "What exactly happened? I... don't remember much of it," she added, not including the question she really wanted an answer to.

Artemis took a deep breath. "You were shot," he stated. "We... weren't even sure if you were going to make it for a while there. But thanks to Holly and Foaly, you'll be fine. Just some minor scarring where the bullet when in."

Diana nodded. "I figured that much. Where did I get hit exactly?"

Artemis' face scrunched up. "Well, I would show you, but it would be a bit inappropriate."

Diana slowly placed her hand where she felt the pressure of pain. The girl's hand finally came to rest on the left hand side of her chest, just slightly away from her heart. Diana flinched slightly upon touching it. "How long is it going to hurt like this?" she inquired, pulling her hand away from her injury.

Artemis shrugged. "I assume not for too much longer, but considering I've never been injured like this it's hard for me to give you an exact timetable for your recovery. I'll assume it'll probably be in pain until it's completely healed," he guessed. He glanced up at the clock. "You haven't been out of surgery very long, and Holly should actually be back any minute to check on you."

There was that Holly person again. Diana thought Artemis has mentioned her before, but she was honestly not sure when or how. And who was Foaly? Diana's brain was growing all the more curious, and she wanted answers. She didn't say anything for a moment while she pondered that. "Who's Holly? And Foaly?" she eventually asked.

Artemis took both of Diana's hands in his, taking a deep breath before speaking again. "It's really a long story, but I promise I'll explain it all to you-"

Before Artemis could finish his sentence, the room's door opened. Diana's gaze immediately directed itself to the doorway, where she spotted a small humanoid figure entering the room. Admittedly, Diana wasn't quite sure what it was; perhaps an elf, she thought, although all her life, Diana imagined elves to be very different than the one standing before her. If that even what it was.

"So you are awake," the elf stated. "We weren't expecting you to be awake for another hour or so."

Diana didn't say anything for a moment as she tried to figure out what exactly was happening. "Surprise?" she stated, rather puzzled.

Artemis sighed. "Diana, this is Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon unit. Holly, this is Diana," he introduced.

The elf, Holly, smirked. "I already knew who she was, Arty," she replied. "How could I ignore a girl that one of my closest friends is so obviously infatuated with?"

Artemis ignored this remark and kept talking. "Holly is the one that really saved you, Diana. Without her assistance, we wouldn't even be having this conversation."

That's when it hit her. Diana remembered seeing something that resembled an elf around the time she got shot, although at the time she really thought she was hallucinating and Artemis was just feeding into her delusions. Now that she was hearing the truth, part of her was wondering if she was actually crazy. The girl took a deep breath, trying her hardest to calm down before speaking again.

"Thank you, Holly," she said quietly. "I am eternally grateful."

"You're freaked out, aren't you?" Holly caught on.

"Maybe just a little," Diana admitted quickly.

Holly smiled sincerely, taking a seat on the bed next to Diana. "Oh no worries. The People are generally very nice beings. You have nothing to be afraid of. Except maybe Foaly whenever he gets in here."

Once again, there was that Foaly character. Diana was really starting to wonder who he was. The girl shrugged it off as Artemis began speaking again. "I trust you're here to heal Diana for the final time?" he asked.

"That was the idea, but it's a little hard for me to help the girl if you're holding her hands the way you are," Holly scoffed. "So if you would move out of my way Mud Boy, we could get this thing rolling."

Artemis released Diana's hands, something Diana was admittedly disappointed by. Holly jumped back off the bed, and stepped in front of the girl, placing her small hand on the healing wound. Diana watched the elf cautiously, wondering what exactly was about to happen to her and doing her best to ignore the pain from Holly touching it. As much as she wanted to close her eyes, Diana couldn't help but keep her eyes on Holly as the elf spoke a single word, "Heal."

Upon speaking the word, blue sparks began scurrying down Holly's arm. Diana watched in awe as the sparks danced around the spot on her chest before they sunk inside. After a few seconds, Holly pulled her hand away, leaving Diana sitting there in wonder. The girl had just witnessed magic! It was something she had never witnessed before, and Diana honestly wasn't sure what had just happened.

"You should be all set now," Holly announced as she moved away from Diana. "You're very lucky to have survived this ordeal."

Diana nodded, although she wasn't sure how lucky she was. After all, she still wasn't sure about the whole magic and elf thing. The girl thought it was plausible, but her skeptical side was telling her otherwise. Before she could say anything else, Holly spoke again.

"Artemis, tell her she's not hallucinating," the elf stated. "I can tell she is finding this hard to believe right now. And if she thinks this is crazy, it's about to get worse when Foaly comes up in here."

Diana turned to Artemis, waiting for a response. "I know this seems... surreal, but this is really happening. You're going to be okay, and it's thanks to Holly and Foaly, mostly," Artemis explained. "And for the record, Foaly is a centaur. He's... the technological expert for the LEP."

Diana rested her head in her left hand, taking a deep breath. First elves, now centaurs? Diana was seriously starting to question everything. The girl closed her eyes, trying to figure out if perhaps she was dreaming, or even dead. Diana had always had an open mind towards the supernatural, but this sudden realization was just proving to be a bit much to handle considering her recent trauma.

"Well, well, well, the girl is awake," another voice joined the conversation. Diana opened her eyes to see a centaur wearing a tin foil hat standing just a few feet away from her. She presumed this was the infamous Foaly that Artemis and Holly were speaking about. "That's a shocker. How're you doing, doll?"

Diana shrugged. "Alright considering," she answered.

"Everything healed up fine?" Foaly asked no one in particular, checking a file that was lying on the counter.

"Yes," Holly announced. "Diana has made a wonderful recovery."

Foaly nodded, flipping through the folder. "Excellent. Because I would hate to wipe her memory and her have no recollection of how she got that scar."

"A mind wipe?" Artemis questioned, jumping from his seat. "You can't be serious, Foaly?"

"I'm sorry Artemis, but Trouble demanded I do a mind wipe," Foaly explained. "Diana has seen too much for us to let her just go off into society again. She knows about the People, and that alone is enough to warrant a mind wipe. I've been left with no choice. In just a few hours, Diana will have no recollection of these events."

This frightened Diana. She certainly didn't want to lose her memories of the last few days, even though they were far from enjoyable. And most importantly, if her memories were erased, would she remember Artemis at all?

"I don't want to lose my memories," Diana protested. "I won't tell a soul... I promise..."

No one spoke for several minutes, all exchanging varying looks of concern. It was Artemis who finally spoke. "I would like to speak to Trouble Kelp myself, so arrange a meeting and delay the mind wipe until after then. I will do my best to change his mind. I do not believe that this situation is worth going through the process."

Foaly sighed, gathering the files off the countertop. "Alright," he muttered before turning to Holly. "Holly, go tell Trouble that Artemis wishes to discuss Diana's fate with him."

Holly nodded, and then followed Foaly out of the room. Diana was left alone with Artemis, admittedly afraid of what was going to happen to her in a few hours time. She looked to Artemis, hoping he had something to say.

"I'll do my best Diana to assure you get to keep your memories," he finally said after a few moments silence. "And I assure you that if I can't avoid that, that you will still remember me. I will not lose you again."

That last sentence puzzled Diana greatly, but she ignored it for now. "You said you were going to explain everything to me... like who they are, where we are... everything," she reminded.

Artemis took a seat next to Diana, nodding. "You're right, and I suppose now is as good a time as any," he agreed. He took a deep breath before beginning his explanation. "It all began when I was twelve years old..."