Chapter Forty-Three: The Nothing

Holly screamed was far too simple a line for the chaos that exploded in her soul. Another friend ripped away. She'd had enough. As the endless howl escaped her lips, the world around her wavered and shimmered like she had been tossed into a hot environment. Still, the screams didn't stop.

Her power flared inside of her and then everything was thrown into rewind. The world went backward outside of her bubble. Second by second time rewound itself and there, Ruby was alive again! Wait, if she could save Ruby, that meant if she pushed harder she could get Atropos back as well and take away Death's power.

Their eyes met and Holly smiled as she reached out. Their fingers brushed against each other, almost enough to grab on, but just short of it. Holly reached out as far as she could go, her fingertips grazing Atropos. The Fate smiled at before shaking her head and the world around Holly exploded.

How long she sat there in the dark she wasn't sure. Time had no meaning at this point. She struggled to her feet and tried to make out anything in the inky black. "Hello?" she called.

Her voice was a dull echo and no one answered. Only silence was her companion now.

The urge to fall on the ground and just curl into a ball was overwhelming. Why fight if it meant this kind of end? But no, as long as she was still alive there was a chance for all of this to turn out the right way. She took one step, and then another. The darkness didn't retreat, it stayed mocking her. Was she even moving?

At least if she was alone it gave her an excuse to practice her magic. There was no one else left for her to hurt. Holly held out her hand and the energy that she'd learned to identify glowed and cast a weak light on her surroundings. Or what there was of her surroundings. The light filled the area, it highlighted her, but there was no one else around her. The nothingness still spread out in all directions.

"Quix?" She called as she looked around for her beloved reaper. But there was no sign of him. "Eros?" She tried again as she pressed her lips together. Her voice echoed dully once more. If she couldn't find her allies, maybe she could summon those that started this mess? "Lucifer?"

"He's not going to answer you."

Holly's head shot to the side and there stepping out of the dark was Sloth. "Sloth? What are you doing here?"

"You destroyed my little world, remember? This is all that's left, just me and you. Will you tear me apart like you did it?"

Holly shook her head. She'd torn the world apart? But she'd seen the others. "I can bring it back."

Sloth scoffed. Power danced across her palm. "You can't even control your own power. I'll find a way to get my baby brother back."

"I didn't tear up the world!" Holly argued. She wanted to strangle the other woman. She was a Sin after all. If the others were like this, she could see why her past selves hated them. "My power went out of control, but it's time magic. I didn't destroy anything."

Sloth snorted. "And yet no one else exists here. You're telling me you didn't destroy, but no one else is here besides us, and believe me, I'll torture you before I bring you death."

Holly closed her eyes. She was done with this. If only Eros was at her side. He could at least talk some sense into his sister, or at least force her to back down. Besides, as much as she loved Quix, she couldn't shake off the emotions that welled up when she thought of his dark eyes staring into hers. If she could return the world to normal, she was going to have to talk to Quix. It went against all of her beliefs, but she needed Eros as much as she needed to live.

"Holly?"

Her eyes snapped open. There he was as if she'd summoned him out of thin air. His black wings rustled with the wind and he grabbed her pulling her against his chest in a suffocating hug. "I thought I lost you!" He tilted her chin up so she was staring at him before he pressed his lips to hers with soft quick pecks. "I'm so happy to see you."

Holly wound her arms around his neck and pulled him back to her smashing her lips against his in raw primal need. He moaned against her and held her close so their bodies melded together as one.

"Get your hands off of him!" Sloth demanded. "Eros, what are you doing? She's our enemy! Her and her kind have been slaughtering our family. You can't just make out with her!"

Eros glanced over and instead of breaking the kiss and answering, he just waved a hand in her direction, a hand of dismissal.

"Eros!" Sloth growled like a rapid animal and a black portal opened beside her and War walked out, his eyes narrowed on the couple. "Kill her," she commanded of him.

Eros moved as fast as a flash of light as he shoved Holly behind him and his wings spread to shield her from their sight. "Touch her and family or not I will kill you, Aurora."

"What?" She froze in place as her eyes narrowed at him. "You can't be serious."

"I've turned against the family for her before, and I'll do it over and over. Even if she doesn't choose me, I've devoted myself to her. I will always be by her side until she's one day mortal, I promised her that."

Holly winced at his words. "Eros?" she whispered at his shoulder.

He continued to face the others as he held his hands together and gathered his own energy. "If you push me, I'll kill you both."

"You're going to kill one of the Four Horsemen?" War chuckled. "You should have been the sin of Pride instead. To think you'd consider yourself that advanced." He clucked his tongue. "Girl, bring Death, and let's finish this."

"You call me Sloth," she answered with a toss of her hair.

Holly sighed. She'd tell Eros her decision later. Besides, she needed to talk to Quix about that first. How had she summoned Eros in the first place? Just thinking about him? If that was the case maybe she could get her reaper as well. She closed her eyes as she envisioned him standing beside them with his scythe in one hand and his long braid blowing in the wind.

"Holly!" Wrapping her in his arms he held her close to his chest as they stayed like that for a precious few moments. "I don't know what happened but you just vanished. I'm so relieved you're okay."

"She's got me, of course she's okay," Eros answered over his shoulder.

"Quix," Holly pulled at his sleeve as she looked away from him. How could she even begin to explain this? She'd promised he'd be the only one, and just like the ones before her she was breaking it. But Eros was a part of her too a part that she'd fought against. "I know we're in the middle of a fight and things are about to get bad, but I have to tell you this right now." She placed a hand on Eros's back and he stiffened beneath her. "I love Eros as much as I love you, but in a different way. And I can't see myself just choosing you any more."

"What?" Eros whispered as his wings quivered. The power he had accumulated vanished in a puff as he turned around his eyes searching. "Holly?"

Quix chuckled low. "You're telling me I have to share with a fallen angel? With one of the Sins himself?" He laughed a harsh biting sound before his eyes twinkled at her. "Holly, I'm a reaper. I take souls, I've killed many in my life. I'm sure I wasn't a good person in my human life either. You can take an entire harem if you want, I have no place to ever stop you. I'll just be grateful for what love you do want to give back to me."

No way. Things couldn't go that smooth could they?

"You really weren't such a good person," Death all but purred his pink eyes latched onto them. "And now it's time for me to make sure you remember every last single thing. When I'm through you'll both be long gone and I'll take my time devouring that one. I want her to be in such delicious and long-lasting pain for everything she's put me through."

There was no way Holly was going to let that happen. Her next warrior wasn't her favorite person, but she knew he'd be up to the challenge of helping her. Black hair, golden eyes, that ever-knowing smirk on his lips. Angel was who she needed.

And like the others her power brought him to her and he stretched as he observed the scene. He cocked an eyebrow as his magic field sprang into life around the reaper. "Let me guess, babysitting duty for the fodder?" he asked with a yawn.

Despite herself Holly smiled at him. His smirk flickered as his eyes grew warm. Maybe they didn't have to be enemies, but it was going to take time to get used to that guy. "Thank you," Holly said with a smile his way.

Angel smirked and bowed. "All in a day's work," he replied as he flexed his fingers and black and gold magic danced around him. "I'm feeling a little frustrated, so allow me to vent a bit of it on these guys." He grinned at Death. "Especially you."

Holly's grin lasted an entire moment before she heard new voices on the other side of the field. Sloth wasn't finished calling her own allies in.