Hello everyone! It's been about a week since my last update, and I'm actually a few chapters ahead with writing this story (which seems really, really strange to say), so I thought I would give you all another update! Parts of this chapter were honestly kind of fun to write. Hope you all enjoy!

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After fixing Alex's battered hand, Diana put her focus on freshening up for soccer practice. Alex, who was still holding her hand in disbelief, could not believe Diana was, yet again, in the bathroom.

"Is that all you ever do?" Alex questioned loudly. "I'm sure Artemis isn't going to care what you look like. I mean, seriously, Di. It's bloody soccer practice."

Diana rolled her eyes from the bathroom. "I'm not redoing everything. Mainly I'm just redoing my ponytail."

"No wonder you go through make-up like mad," Alex continued.

Diana ignored her friend's remark. She walked out of the bathroom and over to her bed on the bottom bunk. Alex was sitting on the top bunk, legs dangling over the edge. She was giving Diana a confused stare.

"What?" she asked.

"So... you really like this guy don't you?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

The question caught Diana off-guard. "What do you mean? I thought it was obvious. I've been dating him for over two years now, Alex. C'mon. Be serious."

"I am being serious. You really like him, don't you?" Alex went on. "I just don't remember ever seeing you like this with Brent, is all, I guess."

Diana turned slightly pink and looked at her feet. After a few moments of silence, she spoke. "Yeah... I do." She was quiet for a moment before adding to that statement. "This is the deepest in love I have ever been."

"You got it bad," Alex said, not hiding a smile. "You think this is it?"

"I dunno," Diana muttered. "I guess only time will really tell, though." She paused and looked back at the clock before saying, "We should probably start heading to the field."

The two girls made their way down to the field, where Artemis was already waiting on a bench, a duffle bag sitting at his feet. It was still strange seeing Artemis dressed normally, and even stranger to see him dressed for exercise. He saw the girls approach through the crowds of other students and he stood to greet them.

"I was beginning to wonder if you got lost," he teased. "Shall we get started?"

Diana nodded, but it was Alex who spoke up first. "Can we get ice cream when this is all over? I'm starving," she complained.

Artemis sighed. "I suppose we can do that."

"Yes!" Alex cheered.

With that, the three of them made their way out onto the field, and per tradition, Artemis took his spot in net while Diana took hers somewhere between midfield and the goal line. Alex stood between them, and had decided to be the passer in this situation. It was an odd arrangement, but for the most part it was working out pretty well. Diana only wished it was more challenging to score on Artemis, but she didn't complain. Getting him to even stand in the net and act like he was going to block a shot was more than she could've ever honestly hoped for from him.

Wait until Butler heard about this. He'd never let Artemis forget about it.

Practice had been going well, until Artemis decided to get brave. After retrieving the ball from the back of the net, instead of rolling the ball a few feet to Alex, Artemis set the ball in front of him. Even from a distance, Diana could see the determination on his face, and she instantly had a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"How hard can passing be?" Artemis questioned, seemingly preparing to kick the ball. "I've been watching you two pass all evening, and dozens of times before that. I can do this."

"Artemis? Are you feeling alright?" Diana questioned. "You don't have to try to be athletic for me. You know that. Just give Alex the ball and she can pass it to me. I don't want you hurting yourself."

"Oh I'm not going to hurt myself," Artemis declared. "You worry yourself too much."

Famous last words.

Artemis went to go kick the ball, and completely missed. Somehow, this caused him to tumble forward. He attempted to brace himself with his arm, but all that did was make him land wrist first. Diana immediately rushed over to him, and helped him sit up. Artemis grasped his left wrist with his right hand, muttering a few choice words.

"You okay Artemis?" Diana asked, unable to hide the concern in her voice.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure," he admitted. He removed his hand from his wrist to reveal it had swollen to about twice its normal size. "I'm pretty sure this isn't a good sign."

"No, no it's not," Diana muttered in agreement, pulling him to his feet. "We need to have it looked at."

Artemis nodded, and he and Diana walked back over to the bench where his bag had been sitting, Alex still standing in the field looking more than a bit amused by the whole ordeal. Diana sat on the bench next to Artemis as he began rifling through his bag. Diana assumed he was looking for his phone, but when he found it and kept digging through his bag, Diana raised an eyebrow. What was he looking for?

"Your phone is in your hand, Arty," she pointed out, just in case he was delirious or something.

"Right," he answered, with a nervous laugh. He pushed a few buttons and put the phone to his ear. Artemis was silent for a moment. "Hello Holly." Another pause. "I have seemingly injured my wrist; could you perform a healing?" He went silent again for a minute just as Alex finally walked over to them. "Alright. I'll see you then." Artemis hung up the phone and tossed it back in his bag.

"Are you okay?" Diana inquired again.

"Yeah," he muttered. "I'm... fine. But I have to get back to my room immediately. You're free to follow if you want."

"What happened to getting ice cream?" Alex interjected.

"I'm sorry but not tonight. I have a crisis at hand," Artemis hissed.

"And what the hell is it?" Alex asked. "Cause I would love to know what is more important than getting ice cream!"

"I told you. Not. Tonight," Artemis enunciated. He began walking away, with Diana following close behind him.

"This isn't fair!" Alex called out to him. She sighed when she got no response, and began to follow them. He would be getting them ice cream later whether he wanted to or not.

The group made it all the way to Artemis' dorm room. He quickly opened the door, ushering the girls in, shutting the door behind them. He tossed his bag in a corner and turned to look at the girls. He took a deep breath. Diana found a seat on Artemis' bed and got cozy. Alex sat on a chair in the corner, sitting in it crossed-legged.

"Okay, I have to tell you something," he began. "What is about to happen, I can hardly begin to explain. Diana, you already know a large majority of this, but Alex hasn't the slightest clue."

"Well?" Alex rushed.

Artemis cleared his throat, starting to pace. "This all started when I was just twelve years old. I was... a bit of a delinquent child. I grew up with a family who made me believe that money and riches were everything. And I would do anything to get my hands on gold."

"So you were a greedy little snot nosed brat?" Alex interrupted.

Artemis sighed. "Well... I suppose so. But that's not the point."

"Then what is?" Alex asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm getting there," Artemis admitted. "When I was twelve, I discovered another world entirely. I was the first human to discover the People."

Alex's head tilted to the side like a confused puppy. "The People?"

Artemis sat down next to Diana, adjusting his black athletic pants. "Yes, the People. The fairy race."

"Fairies... you can't be serious," Alex objected.

Artemis reached for Diana's hand, clutching it in his own. "I know it sounds crazy, but I'm being serious, and Diana can attest to that. I kidnapped a fairy belonging to their police force, a big mistake as it turned out. Ever since, I've been consistently a part of their lives." He paused. "In recent times, I stole an important artifact from them, and just within the past few hours, it has been stolen from me."

Diana let out a deep breath she had been holding. So he wasn't done with crime. "They're on their way here right now. That's why you called Holly."

"Good guess," Artemis muttered. "Except they don't know that yet. They're coming to fix my wrist for me, and then I'll tell them." He glanced at the window. "Alex, if you would open the window beside you it would be most appreciated."

Alex opened the window beside her, letting the breeze usher into the room. Silence fell over the three friends, mostly because Alex was still trying to process what Artemis had said. Another fifteen minutes passed before she took notice to two shimmers enter the room from the window, as did everyone else in the room. While Diana didn't panic, Artemis wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to his body anyways.

The shimmers materialized into two small humanoid figures wearing green jumpsuits with guns attached to their belts. They were roughly three feet tall, and had chestnut skin. As they both took off their helmets, their pointed ears poked out from their auburn hair. It was more than obvious they were not human. Alex began to silently panic; she honestly thought Artemis had been bluffing.

"Good evening, Holly Short and Trouble Kelp," Artemis greeted joylessly.

The female elf, Holly, looked over at Artemis. "Nice seeing you too, Mud Boy. And of course, you too, Diana. It's been awhile."

Alex immediately began to scream and jumped up into the chair, so she was standing on it. "What the hell?" she screamed. She bounced back down onto the seat of the chair, still screaming obscenities.

Holly slowly approached her. She hauled off and smacked Alex in the face. Alex sat there, stunned for a moment before she smacked Holly back. Holly in turn gave her a bewildered look.

"Who are you?" Holly asked.

"Alex Darcy," the girl said matter-of-factly. "You?"

"Holly Short," the elf introduced. She turned to Artemis. She pointed at Alex over her shoulder. "I like her. She's crazy."

Artemis sighed. "We'll discuss your similarities later, right now I'm concerned about my wrist."

"Blah, blah, blah... your needs," Alex mocked.

Holly laughed. "Are you sure we aren't related?"

Alex thought about it for a second. "Maybe very distantly?"

Holly approached Artemis. "Let me see that wrist of yours."

Artemis held out his left wrist. Holly took a look at it for a second. She pressed her palm to it, causing Artemis to flinch slightly. Holly closed her eyes, and muttered the word, "Heal." Blue sparks scurried down her arm and into Artemis' wrist. There were a few pops and cracks as the bones and tendons healed themselves in just seconds. Holly pulled her hand away from Artemis' as he began to rotate his wrist, checking to assure it was healed properly.

"So how did you manage that, Artemis?" Holly questioned. "You broke it."

"I was helping Diana practice," Artemis explained. "I'm not athletically inclined and I slipped. Like an idiot I tried to brace my fall. But this is the least of the problems at the moment."

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Holly asked.

Artemis laughed nervously. "Well... you know that missing artifact?"

Holly narrowed her eyes. "What about it?"

Artemis took a deep breath. "I kind of stole it."

Holly lunged at him and put him in a headlock. "You did what?"

"I stole it," Artemis repeated, trying to get some air in his lungs.

"Where is it, Fowl?" Trouble asked.

"I'm not sure," Artemis went on, voice coarse through Holly's death lock around his neck. "I never let it out of my sight. Except while I was at the field."

Holly tightened her grip and ended up dragging Artemis off the bed while she jumped off. "So where is it?"

"While I was injured, I... think someone stole it from my bag," Artemis whispered.

Holly sighed angrily, releasing Artemis as she threw her hands up in the air out of frustration. "You never cease to amaze me, Artemis! You stole the gem from the crown of the first elfin king, and then it gets stolen from you?"

"You have no idea what you did, do you?" Trouble added, glaring at Artemis who was picking himself off the floor.

"No, I know perfectly well what the gem from the crown of Frond can be capable of," Artemis assured, taking his seat next to Diana once again. "It can destroy anything in its path, when in the wrong hands. Or, as I intended to use it, to help the planet."

Holly looked at Diana. "You see what you're getting into? If I were you, I would get out while you're ahead."

Diana gave her a confused look, and went to say something, but Artemis stopped her. "I'll explain everything to you later, okay? I promise," he assured. "It's not as bad as Major Short makes it out to be."

"Oh no, it's as bad as I make it seem," Holly persisted. "Thanks for finally breaking the news that you stole an important fairy artifact, Fowl. Looks like you got us into more trouble all over again."

Artemis averted his gaze away from the elves. He knew it was his fault, yet again. But he wasn't willing to admit it quite yet. And he knew Diana was bound to give him a lecture once they all left. He deserved it, and he knew it.

"You better start trying to figure this out on your own, Fowl," Holly continued. "We gotta go. Promised Foaly and Caballine I'd watch their kids tonight. But we will be back tomorrow, and you better have some idea of how we're gonna find this damn thing."

With that, she and Trouble both shimmered away, and went out the open window. All three of the humans stared out the window for a moment. Alex was still utterly shocked.

"I love those crazy people," Alex decided, laughing slightly. "They're wild."

Artemis sighed deeply, as Diana wrapped her arms around him. He put an arm around his girlfriend, in an attempt to possibly make her less upset with him.

Alex stood, stretching slightly. "Well, as much as I would love to sit around and chitchat, I think I'm going off to bed." She made a quick glance at Diana. "And you better be coming back after he's done talking to you."

Diana barely nodded as her friend exited the room. She pulled away from Artemis, only barely holding on to his hands. Artemis could tell she was uneasy about what had just happened, and he had a lot of explaining to do. He had promised her before that he was on the straight and narrow; this definitely disproved that. He bit his tongue for a minute before he spoke to her.

"Diana... please look at me," he pleaded.

Diana looked up at him, not knowing what to think for once again in her life. "Hm?"

"I'm going to explain everything that's happened, in complete detail," Artemis assured. "I'm going to tell you the truth. Just please... bear with me. I know I've made a lot of stupid mistakes, and I just hope you realize that it's in the past."

Diana nodded slightly again, and Artemis took this as the cue to begin his explanation.

"I know this isn't a good reason... but it's all I have..."