I know. It's been a while. Just read, please. Maybe leave a review. Eh, doesn't really matter anymore, now does it?

The centaur-turned-human shook his head and sat in a stool at the counter right when Artemis walked into the room, Holly right in front of him cautiously. Holly kept her eyes down, kicking at the polished tiles underneath her feet.

Foaly glanced at Artemis, raising an eyebrow at him. He wondered what was going on in Artemis' mind at the moment, coming in and almost instigating another standoff between all of them. And, of course, with Holly in the crossfire.

Honestly, when isn't she at this point? That elf had had a rough couple of decades. Foaly straightened in his seat, glancing at Butler to see his reaction.

Butler was calm and cool, standing up straight and not showing any emotion on his face as he looked at Artemis. "Good morning." He greeted casually, almost as though none of the arguing or extortion had gone on the night before.

Artemis nodded back to him silently, only glancing at Foaly. He could tell who the threat was in this situation, and Foaly was far from it. He kept a hand on Holly's arm, guiding her to a stool.

"Would you like something to eat?" Butler turned back around, blatantly showing Artemis his weapon. Holly could feel the grip on her arm tighten as she quickly glanced up at Foaly.

He sighed, keeping his eyes on Butler and his hands to make sure he didn't do any sudden movements to the gun. "What part of my instructions last night did you not understand?" He asked, dangerously calm. "Anything that I will eat will be prepared by myself and also given to Miss Short."

Holly rolled her eyes at her proper name being used, sighing and raising an eyebrow at Foaly. He looked back at her and raised an eyebrow back, cocking his head silently. He sensed something and didn't quite know what it was. Holly's eyes went straight back down after that.

Butler nodded. "Of course, I do remember that." He made a plate and passed it to Foaly. "However, I should tell you that-"

"Captain Short is a vegetarian. Yes, I know." Artemis smirked, cocking his head at Butler. "We will be back after you clean and clear this room." He pulled Holly from the stool and out of the room.

Butler let out a huge sigh of relief as Artemis left, his lungs burning a tiny bit from holding his breath for the entire conversation. He plated another serving of food and sat across from Foaly at the marble countertop. "Does he know about The People?" He asked. Artemis was one step ahead of them this entire time.

Foaly shook his head, looking away in concentration. "No. That actually proves that he doesn't." His brown eyes snapped up to Butler's. "Holly is a Major now. Has been for a while, remember? If he knew her actual rank, he would say that. No. Captain is what I put in her fake file for this mission. He must have access to that."

"Who would have access to that?" Butler asked, "It seems like that would be hard to access."

Foaly nodded at that. "It was only there in case of an emergency. Of course, we didn't anticipate anything like this. It was in case someone like the FBI or CIA in America were onto her." He scoffed. "And we can guarantee Artemis is one of them. Whoever or wherever he got this information...They're dangerous.

"There's another thing that is bothering me, though." Foaly continued, shaking his head and poking at the food in front of him. "The relationship between the two."

Butler raised an eyebrow, taking a bite of the omelet. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Foaly ran a hand through his shoulder-length, light brown hair, pulling it up in a ponytail. "I know you've been distracted with your staredown with Killer Artemis, and the fact that he is back from the dead, but...I've been focussed on Holly. Something isn't sitting right. When he called her by her last name, she rolled her eyes. It seemed automatic, almost sarcastic. And when she saw me staring at her, she looked down again"

"So? You don't think Artemis is playing the torturer card with her?"

"I think he's definitely capable of that, don't get me wrong." Foaly sighed, thinking for a moment. "Do you remember last night? When Artemis was off-the-wall mad?"

Butler nodded silently, wondering where Foaly was going with this. He was so focussed on Artemis and his behavior the night before that he most likely missed a lot.

"Who calmed him down?" Foaly cocked his head.

Butler had to think for a moment, replaying the conversation in his head. "Holly. She did."

Foaly nodded. "Exactly. He stopped right after she started talking to him, and she called him by his name."

The bodyguard's eyebrows furrowed. "So, you think there's more than what he's portraying?"

"I'm thinking that there's a reason why Artemis is back here in the Manor, and I think that reason is Holly." Foaly pushed the plate away, not very hungry anymore. "And I also think that Artemis is bluffing with pushing the button for the collar. I don't think he is going to hurt her."

Butler nodded slowly. "We need to use that flute as soon as possible."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Don't give me that look." Artemis didn't even have to look back at Holly as they walked back up the stairs. He wasn't wrong, however. She was glaring at his back quite strongly.

Holly rolled her eyes. "I get you out of that room and you just go downstairs to instigate them."

"We were getting breakfast." Artemis shrugged dismissively, looking around. "I thought that was what you wanted. It's not my fault they were there."

"That still doesn't give you an excuse to be an ass."

"I'm really not," Artemis muttered, starting down the right hallway. "And if I was, I wouldn't need an excuse."

Holly rolled her eyes again but didn't argue. She knew it would be fruitless with how stubborn he was. But still, she didn't like how hostile things were even under the insane circumstance of Artemis being an assassin. She felt as though there was something else.

Artemis stopped in the middle of the hallway, looking to the room on the left and the right. He sighed, shrugging and opening the large door on the right. He was just looking around.

Holly already knew what door he walked into. The music room. It was a medium sized room with many instruments from Beckett's collection of electric guitars to a large, glossy, black grand piano next to huge windows streaming in light from the outside.

Artemis looked around the room, fascinated. His shoes tapped against the marble floor. He went over to the piano silently and pressed against one of the keys.

Walking up to him curiously, Holly looked down at his finger pressing on the white key. "You used to play. You were amazing."

His eyes flicked over to her. "I don't know anything about playing one of these."

"On account of forgetting."

"On account of being locked in a bunker for most of my life." Artemis countered, raising an eyebrow at her.

Holly sighed, looking up at him with her hazel eyes. "You should try." She whispered.

He just sighed and looked away, shaking his head. "Holly, I don't know anything about playing an instrument." Artemis thought for a moment, then added. "Unless it's a knife."

"Artemis. Try." Holly sighed. "Maybe...Something will happen."

Artemis rolled his eyes but didn't want to argue anymore. He sat down on the piano bench and looked over the vast amount of black and white keys in front of him. "I don't-"

"You haven't tried anything yet." Holly cut him off quietly.

He sighed deeply again, pressing a key again. He paused for a while before playing another key. Artemis blinked. It almost sounded...Familiar. He sat up straight, rolling his shoulders before playing another note on his other hand.

That was all he did before pulling back, shaking his head. "Holly, this is-"

Holly cut him off with a kiss, running a hand through his hair. Her kiss was fervent and demanding, and Artemis pulled her closer to his body, pushing them both against the keys of the piano as he kissed her back.

There was a loud discord from multiple keys being pressed as Holly was pushed against them, Artemis entangling his hands through her hair and tilting her head up. She pushed her tongue against his lips, tasting him before pulling back.

Artemis panted softly for air, kissing down her neck quickly. He pushed her more against the piano, this time more gentle than the last, before pulling back and kissing her lips softly. "What was that about?" He breathed.

"You tried." Holly panted heavily against him, pulling him even closer and wrapping her legs around his torso. Her heart was pounding in her chest since he played a key on the piano, and it felt amazing it let it out on him.

Artemis looked up and into her eyes, pushing her hair behind her ear and smiling softly. "You've tried harder. I understand that all of this is difficult for you."

Holly sighed, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. "You can be an ass sometimes." She whispered, hugging his neck tightly. She could feel him hug her back.

"I know." He rested his chin on his shoulder.

"But you're not." Holly pulled away, getting off the piano and taking his hand. "You may not think that, but I know who you are."

Artemis sighed, "All of this from playing, what, 4 keys on this thing?" He nodded towards the piano.

"It's the gesture that counts." Holly smiled. "We should go back downstairs. Butler and Foaly should be gone from the kitchen."

"Hungry?" Artemis smirked, kissing her gently.

Holly kissed him back, running a hand down his arm. "Famished." She murmured, taking his hand and pulling him out the room.

Artemis scoffed and shook his head, hiding a small smile as they headed back down the grand staircase. Holly was looking back at Artemis for a moment before reaching the bottom of the stairs. She stopped abruptly, blinking a few times. "What…?"

Foaly looked up at them with crossed arms. Butler stood behind him, tense as well. Holly could feel Artemis go tense behind her and pull her back to his chest. Here we go again. She thought, stopping the urge to roll her eyes.

Artemis wrapped his hand around her arm, raising an eyebrow. "What is this?" He asked, frowning.

Foaly shrugged, taking the flute out of his pocket. "This." He pushed a button on the silver tube and a bright flash came from the top of it.

When the flash subsided, Artemis blinked a few times in confusion. He shook his head, looking at the two of them and then at Holly. "What...The hell was that?" He asked, angry.

Foaly's eyes widened, and he looked back at Butler in confusion and nervousness.

"Answer. Me!" Artemis, livid, pulling Holly closer and grasping her hair. With his other hand, he pulled a knife out of his pocket, flipped it open and pressed it against her neck.

Holly and Foaly gasped at the same time, Holly's chest moving up and down rapidly as she felt the cold metal against her neck. "It was nothing!" Foaly raised a hand, trying to diffuse the situation. "It was a light."

Artemis narrowed his eyes, raising an eyebrow. "How dense do you really think I am?" He asked, pulling Holly's head back even more until she winced. "What was it?"

Foaly shook his head, not even able to explain it if he wanted to. It would just confuse the mudman more and he couldn't let out his actual identity or the identity of the People. "I...Can't."

Artemis scowled, "Then I have to do this." He brought the knife down.

Holly screamed.