Nope, I haven't given up on the story!

Sorry for the lack of updates, it's just that on Friday I was barely home, so I didn't write anything. Saturday I had to go on a last minute trip, so no update then...not that anyone really cares, but they're very legit reasons :D

Anyway, this chapter's theme is Cold...we've got 2 more themes to go, Pain and Trust, and I'll try to update them in the coming days...although the Week is over, I still want to finish the story :)

So, this is a short chapter, but I decided that at the end of the story, I'm going to leave it open ended. So we'll see how the next two chapters go :D

InTheMaking: Yep, Artemis isn't ready to face everything yet. It's quite alright, you don't always need to review, I always appreciate it :D And a well thought out review is always well seen in my books :D So thanks and I hope you enjoy!

KF-Axx-Mexx: Thanks a bunch! I hope this chapter is as amazing!

Jack V: Have done, so enjoy!

lmb111514: Thanks! I have done, so I hope you enjoy it!

ygirl87: Thanks is all I can reply with :D Enjoy!

Ansa88: Hmm, I think you just narrow your eyes and glare endlessly at someone :P Haha, yeah, I don't really know, but the expression still stands :D Hmm, yeah I guess I can see where you're coming from, but I've gotten used to using [redundancy :/] bigger and more eloquent words, so my 'slang-speak' isn't up to par :P But I'll see what I can do about it! :D Thanks! Haha, and don't worry, I won't ever ignore constructive criticism, and you're most certainly not making a mess of things :D Thanks very much, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

MewJollyRancher12: Yeah, incredible isn't it? Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Everyone else: Please enjoy and leave me a review!

Wally groaned. He seriously was terrible at these kinds of things. He saw that Artemis was walking along the beach, and he knew that something was wrong with her.

Wally reasoned that, had she hated him, and was disgusted by the kiss, she'd have slapped him, and kicked him to the next county, but her indifference, her frosty attitude could almost be interpreted as scared. It puzzled him. Heck, he knew she had kissed him back, but what worried him was the way that he didn't see her blush, or say anything, just walk off.

Wally then decided to follow the archer, even though he knew that there was a high probability he'd regret it later on.

==The Beach

Artemis was mentally kicking herself. Hard. How could she have gone and kissed him back? Right after she had decided that it'd be best to keep to herself. However, secretly, she just wanted to get it all to go to hell, and just at least enjoy that moment with him. But she forced to keep herself as distant. She couldn't bear to become close to him, because the moment she melted, she knew that there'd be no way she could betray them.

What was she talking about? She had already thawed, she knew that she could no longer have the heart to kill them in cold blood. Or rather, she now had a heart. But she didn't want to lose her mother. No matter how many times they argued and disagreed, they always made up, and Artemis couldn't be able to handle a world without her mother.

How could she be forced to choose? Artemis groaned, and sunk to her knees, and for the first time in a long time, she cried.

==Further Back

Wally saw Artemis drop, and quickened his pace, and then he saw something he'd never expect to see, Artemis crying. He threw caution to the wind, and as soon as he approached her, he got down to her level, and hugged her firmly.

Instead of the expected brush-off, Artemis turned in his hold, and sobbed onto his shoulder. "Hey." Wally whispered, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Artemis whimpered back.

"Right," Wally scoffed. "Because the world's toughest and most stubborn girl is the type that cries at 'nothing'."

"I just don't want to talk about it." Artemis shrugged it off.

"Come on, you can talk to me!" Wally smiled.

However, Artemis pushed him off, got up, and started walking away again.

"Hey come on! Why are you running away?" Wally exclaimed.

Artemis whipped around, her face livid. "Why? Why? Because you can't even begin to imagine what I'm going through. You might think that I'm angry because of something trivial, like the fact that I had trashed the training room. No, this is something much deeper than that. This is something so big, that there are people in very high echelons that would kill me if I do something wrong."

Wally held his hands up in surrender. "Well, calm down, help me try to understand."

Artemis laughed mirthlessly. "Help you understand? You think I'm a measly replacement, with no skill or ability whatsoever. You won't give a damn."

Wally was getting pissed. "Won't give a damn? Excuse me, but who kissed who a couple of minutes ago? I do think you have skills, you're an amazing teammate, and I'd have been dead in Bialya without you. Yeah, I first thought you were a replacement, but sorry for wanting to side with one of my best buds! I learned to trust you as a friend, and the only think you know how to do is to shrug people off, and not show that you care! That's the opposite of compassion, just so you know."

"I didn't learn that!" Artemis shot back. "While you were learning how to ride a bike, and how to say please and thank you, I was learning how to become a master at archery, and how to incapacitate someone quickly and painfully."

Wally flinched. "Sounds like a hell of a childhood."

Artemis turned away. "It was worse than that."

Wally approached Artemis. "Look, just try, ok? Opening up won't kill you, and I promise I won't go running for the hills, alright?"

Wally caught the ghost of a smile gracing her face. "Alright." Artemis consented. "But you won't like it."

Wally put his arm around Artemis' waist. "Come on, we'll figure out some way to make it better."

"Alright." Artemis took a deep breath. "I-I-I'm- uh- ah, erhm, I'm Sp-"

Wally sat down on the sand, pulling Artemis down with him, and pulled her close to him. "I'm guessing the stuttering isn't due to the temperature right?"

Artemis shook her head. "No, it's not. It's just that, you'll hate me."

Wally also shook his head. "There's no way I could hate you."

Artemis snorted. "Yeah right. So the fact that I'm Sport-" Artemis caught herself, and quickly stiffened.

Wally perked up. "You're who? Sport..." Wally egged her on.

Artemis braced herself. "Imsportsmastersdaughter."

"Gesundhiet!" Wally replied. "One more time. You're..."

"Sportsmaster's...Daughter." Artemis groaned, and pulled her legs close to herself.

Wally stared. "Oh. Uhm, well, I wasn't expecting that."

Artemis scoffed. "Yeah, of course you weren't. You can leave if you want. I won't force you to stay."

Wally stayed rooted to his spot. "Nope, I'm staying. I'm guessing that's why you knew so much about the Shadows?" Wally remembered their first conversation.

Artemis nodded. "I was part of it, training to become a very skilled assassin."

Wally visibly paled. "Huh, well, I'm glad you left. Did you not like the job description, or what?"

Artemis saw his pale face and smirked. "Nah, I was the best when it came to incapacitate people. I could empty a room in minutes, but I've never been able to kill directly."

Wally relaxed a bit. "Well, at least you don't have blood on your hands."

Artemis whispered quietly."No, I've killed people indirectly, and quite a number of them. "

Sooo, yeah, the big anti-climatic revelation!

I seriously suck at suspense...really do :/

Anyway, hopefully I didn't disappoint anyone too much, and that you'll hang on for the next two chapters! :D

And if you could, please leave a review!

Hezpeller