Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay once again. It's been a busy and exciting new year thus far, and I haven't had much writing time. Hopefully that will be changing soon, and I can get back to more regular updates again. Hope you all enjoy!

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    Soon after the phone call, the humans had been returned to Dublin to prepare for the rendezvous with Sebastian. Artemis had gone back to the manor to set some things up while Diana and Alex went back to their dorm room to freshen up and make any preparations that they needed. A few hours had passed, and Holly was to be returning any moment. Sure enough, a glimmer came in from the window, catching the girls a bit off guard despite knowing she would be returning.

    "You guys ready to go?" Holly asked. "Artemis is waiting for us outside in the car."

    Diana nodded as she pulled her shoes onto her feet. "Whenever you are."

    "One more thing before we go," Holly remembered. She pulled a gun and its holster from her belt and handed it to Alex. "I don't know if I should trust you with this, but in case this little meeting goes south, I would rather have you armed than not at all."

    Alex looked at the fairy weapon in her hands, momentarily confused.

    "It's set to stun, so it won't do any lasting damage," Holly continued with a shrug. "Just in case this Mud Man decides to pull a fast one on us."

    Alex nodded slowly and slipped the holster onto her belt, moving it towards her back so it wouldn't be as visible to Sebastian. "I hope I don't need to use it. I'm not sure I won't stun myself on accident," Alex admitted sheepishly.
Diana rolled her eyes as the three of them made their way out to the parking lot, Holly making sure to shield herself. Artemis stood in front of the car with his hands behind his back as a very large man in a plain black suit, white dress shirt, and black tie stood beside him with his arms crossed.

    Diana immediately ran up and wrapped her arms around Artemis who held her tightly in return. The young couple just held each other for longer than just a moment, and it was more than awkward for the others to witness.

    "Hi, my name's Alex!" the uncomfortable redhead immediately interjected, offering the newcomer her hand.

    "Butler, pleasure to meet you," the large man responded as he shook her outstretched hand.

    Artemis looked at his watch as he pulled away from Diana. "Alright, we've got a rendezvous in thirty minutes," he announced.

    "Which means we gotta kick our asses into gear if we're gonna make it to Dublin in time," Alex stated. "So let's get going."

    Butler walked to the side of the car and pulled open the back door to let the passengers file inside. Diana, Artemis, and Alex filed in the back and Holly joined him in the front seat. Alex was anxious; she was going to kidnap a potentially dangerous thief. That was a lot of pressure for just one girl.

    The ride into Dublin seemed almost instantaneous. There was a small coffee shop on the corner that Sebastian was meeting Alex outside of. A lone street light sat on the corner as business in the coffee shop proceeded as normal- or as normal as it could for this time of night. Leaning against the light post was a figure appearing to be that of a college aged boy. Butler parked around the corner so Alex wouldn't look suspicious coming out of a fancy car with a bunch of people inside it.

    Holly turned around in the seat to face her. "I'll be right there if you need me; just give me the signal," she assured.

    "Right," Alex nodded as she took a deep breath. Then she realized she was missing something. "What's the signal?"

    "You could just scream my name?" Holly decided since they didn't have a signal preplanned.

    Alex exited the car and zipped up her hoodie. The air was incredibly chilly and Alex didn't understand why. It was the middle of May and yet it felt like the middle of December. She shook the thought from her mind as she walked up the street to the man under the lamp post. Even in the dim lighting, she could tell it was Sebastian.

    "I was beginning to think you wouldn't show," Sebastian started, shaking the hair out his face.

    Alex looked up at him. "I've never been one to back down."

    "My car is this way," he said, motioning to the alley beside the coffee shop.

    Alex had an incredibly bad feeling about this. She put on a cocky face and walked down the alley first, being careful to keep one eye on Sebastian. The alley was dark and damp but luckily the trash was kept on the other side of the building so at least that was going for her.

    Alex was distracted by a sudden clamp of thunder when Sebastian shoved her against a wall. Alex grunted as her head hit the wall. It took her a moment to get her bearings back and realize what was happening. She was pinned between him and the wall with nowhere to run.

    Sebastian was terribly close to her, and she could feel his breath on her face as he spoke. "Now why don't you tell me what you're really doing here?"

    "Was shoving me into a wall really necessary?" Alex found that she couldn't move her arms to see if the back of her head was bleeding. "I came here because I wanted to but now I'm rethinking that decision."

    "You want nothing to do with me unless you're drunk," Sebastian retorted, looking her over carefully, studying her facial expression. "What are you here for?"

    Alex glared at him back. "I have a lot of pride. I really didn't want to admit to myself that I had feelings for a guy I hooked up with at a party. I'm better than that." She tried to discern whether that was a real lie or if she was being honest and just didn't know it.

    Sebastian studied her for a moment. "Prove it, and give me something that will make me believe you."

    Alex made a quick decision and reached up and kissed him as hard as she could. At first it was stiff but, as Sebastian's initial shock wore off, it got more intense. Alex couldn't help but enjoy the kiss, even though she hated herself for resorting to such drastic measures. Sebastian wrapped his hands around her waist tightly, pulling her close. Alex put her arms around his neck, completely negligent of the fact that his hands were incredibly close to where the fairy gun rested on her belt.

    Suddenly she felt Sebastian's hands find the lump near the back of her shirt, he pulled away and looked at her confused. "Is that...?"

    Alex instantly recognized what he had found and she thrust her head forward, putting all of her force behind it. Her forehead made contact with Sebastian's, knocking him back and onto the ground. Alex regained her composure and stepped forward, looking down at Sebastian before he passed out. There was another loud clap of thunder and it began to pour.

     "My gun? Yes," Alex replied, and then he was out. Rain poured down into the alley; it felt like icicles as it hit Alex's face.

    Holly shimmered into view next to Sebastian's head. She took her helmet off and was laughing. She looked up at Alex with a huge smile on her face. Alex just held her head in her hands, dizzy from the head butt.

     "Wow, you really knocked his socks off," Holly commended with a laugh.

    "Nobody wins with a headbutt," Alex muttered, rubbing her head gingerly.

    "Well it's not like you had much of a choice," Holly said. "That guy really had you pinned good."

    Alex grabbed her phone out of her pocket and dialed Diana's number. She picked up in two rings. "Tell Butler to hurry. Sebastian's unconscious but I don't know for how long." Then she hung up, stowing her phone back in her pocket.

    The two of them rolled Sebastian over onto his stomach. Holly grabbed a set of metal cuffs from her belt and immediately snapped the bonds around Sebastian's wrists.

    "You'd be a fine police officer," Holly praised Alex.

    "At least a good undercover officer," Alex replied with a shrug, trying to downplay her actions.

    Then the tone of the conversation changed completely as Holly gave her a stern look. "That kiss wasn't like any acting I've ever seen. That was way too real."

    "Maybe I'll make a good movie star too," Alex muttered, trying to hide the fact that she really did enjoy that kiss far too much. She knew that she liked him, no matter how badly she didn't want to. This was dangerous territory she was getting into.

    The car rolled up in front of the alley, rain bouncing off the car's metal exterior. Butler got out of the driver's seat and walked into the alley. He looked at the now drenched man face down on the pavement before he looked at Holly expectantly.

    "You knock him out?" Butler asked.

    "There was no need; Alex headbutted him decently enough," Holly shrugged.

    "Nice," Butler muttered, and then nodded at Alex. He lugged the unconscious Sebastian over his shoulder. Butler then went to the trunk of the car and Holly opened the hatch. Butler dumped the kid in the trunk and closed it.
They all took their seats in the car once again. Alex took her wet hoodie off and Artemis handed her a towel. Alex began to dry off, glad that Butler had cranked the heat up.

    "So how'd it go?" Diana asked.

    "He was very smart. He knew something was up the moment I called him," Alex said.

    "So how'd you get him to believe you?" Artemis asked, pulling Diana closer to him.

    "I kissed him," Alex replied too nonchalantly. "Then he found my gun and I knocked him out."

    The rest of the car ride was quiet. They had decided to take Sebastian to the mansion's guest house. It was secluded and big enough for them to interrogate Sebastian and not be walked in on unsuspectingly. The road up to the mansion was winding and desolate, as was the extension drive that lead to the guest house.

    Butler parked the car and everyone got out. Artemis and Diana went inside to ready the back bedroom as an interrogation room, leaving Butler, Alex, and Holly to deal with their prisoner. There was an obnoxious amount of hollering and banging coming from under the trunk. Butler opened it, and sure enough, Sebastian was wide awake, and far from happy. The manservant grabbed the younger man by his arm and pulled him from the vehicle.

    "Get your hands off me!" Sebastian screamed and struggled. Butler's grip held firm and completely unaltered as the younger man continued to thrash violently.

    Holly stood in front of Sebastian, growing more irritated by him by the second. "Hey!" she shouted, silencing the Mud Man. "We'd really hate to knock you unconscious again, so if you don't mind... shut up."

    Sebastian stopped struggling and went silent. Butler lifted him to his feet and led him into the house. Alex stayed in the background so as not to get Sebastian riled up any further. She was sure that seeing her would only make things worse. Diana and Artemis were sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting patiently to be addressed.

    "Everything ready?" Holly asked.

    Artemis nodded. "Just go right through the dining room and past the bathroom, first door on your left."

    Butler and Holly led Sebastian into the back room. Alex decided to leave the interrogation to the professionals and sat in the chair by a window. She watched the storm for a little while just gazing off into nothingness when Diana interrupted her thoughts.

    "What's wrong?" she asked.

    Alex snapped out of her daze. "Huh?"

    "You've been staring off into space for the last ten minutes," Diana continued. "Therefore, there is something wrong."

    Alex rubbed her arm self consciously. "It's nothing."

    "You know you can't lie to me, right?" Diana reminded.

    "It's just that..." Alex began but was interrupted by Holly and Butler coming out of the room.

    "He says he won't talk to anyone but you. My mesmer won't even work on the kid," Holly snapped, obviously very irritated by the whole ordeal. Butler was wiping his hands off with a handkerchief. Alex couldn't help but notice the white handkerchief had red splotches all over it.

    Alex had a massive knot in her stomach but she played it off pretty well. She got up and walked to the back room without a word. She paused before opening the door and took a deep breath; this was going to be eventful.