Csoh: Crap. I hate angst as much as the next person. Poor Hieronymus...he he Hieronymus is a german and ancient greek name... he he. Fun. ^_^
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Chapter 8:
Holly couldn't believe Prelude...Hieronymus...whatever. She started run up the stairs when she heard Acheron talking to Prelude. She heard when he said he would wait as long as it takes. She thought about it. She only had about one more day. It had been five days since she had brought him to Kalosis. She ran down the stairs and ran into the room after a few minutes of silence.
She saw Prelude sitting in the same chair she had left him in. He looked up at her and she stopped in her tracks. He had built up his defense.
"Holly..."
"..." She didn't know what to say. He stood up, his eyes never leaving hers.
"APOLLYMI!" Apollymi appeared in the room looking less than pleased. Holly was worried.
"What do you want." Prelude turned to her.
"I want out of Kalosis immediately." Holly felt like she had been stabbed, her body wouldn't respond. Apollymi nodded and a hole appeared in the room.
"WAIT!" Holly found the energy to yell before he left. Prelude turned to her.
"Don't make this any harder, liebling." He turned and started into the hole.
"I LOVE YOU, HIERONYMUS!"
Prelude felt his insides killing him as he left her. She screamed after him as Apollymi held her back and the bolt-hole closed behind him. He was back at his home, but inside he was lost. Holly's words kept echoing in his head. The phone rang and Prelude ran to get it.
"Pre, thank gods I finally reached you. Why haven't you been answering for the past six days. Do you have any idea how much shit I've been going through. Anyway, I was told that I'm to get a dark-hunter to work for and I was thinking since your around my neck of the woods..."
Prelude wasn't listening. "That's fine, Ferdinand." Prelude listened as the squire thanked him and hung up. Then he thought of something. It had been almost a week. Holly's powers were almost done maturing. If he went back then she would be able to be with him.
"ARTEMIS!" The red-haired goddess appeared in front of him looking pleased.
"I'm guessing we had a good night with Holly."
"I need you to get me back in Kalosis." By the look of hatred on Artemis's face you would have thought he had hit her.
"You had sex with the freak didn't you?!"
"Of course not then her powers wouldn't work yet." Artemis whipped him with a force that would have killed a human.
"YOU IDIOT! THAT WAS THE POINT OF YOUR BEING AROUND HER!" She drew the whip back to hit him again. "Do you think for one second that I give a rat's butt what happens to her? I would kill her if I got the chance! No I wanted you to eliminate her abilities. No one is allowed to cancel out the fates." She continued to beat him. He felt her getting closer to his bow and arrow mark. He needed to get away from her fast.
"I don't care what you do to me. If you hurt Holly, I will kill you."
Prelude pushed the foyer bench sending it speeding towards the goddess. She stopped it and pulled out a medallion.
"I OWN YOU! You won't live to regret this. That I promise you." She threw the medallion to the ground and smashed it. Prelude felt his insides burst in pain. He crumbled to the floor.
Holly couldn't believe the nerve of Prelude. He just walked away as she told him how she felt. It was like she didn't even matter. Apollymi had held her while she cried. Finally Holly pulled away.
"Thanks. I needed to get that out of my system." Apollymi looked at her.
"You should go after him." Holly looked up and saw the hurt in her mother's eyes.
"No. It won't do any good. I can't offer him anything except reason to go running. Besides, I have others in my life that are important to me." Apollymi shook her head.
"He didn't want to leave. That bitch goddess and his pact with her made him leave." Holly looked up.
"What do you mean?"
"He knows that as long as he's a dark-hunter he can't be with you. So he left before he caused you to love him." Holly went numb at the news. Apollymi opened another hole. Holly hugged her before jumping in. She found herself in Prelude's kitchen.
Holly ran out of the kitchen and into the foyer. The sight she saw made her blood run cold. A woman was furiously beating up Prelude. His eyes stared out into nothingness. He was dead.
"NO!" Holly ran to her dark-hunter as the woman looked up. Holly pulled Prelude into her arms. She tried to shake him up, make him do something.
Please don't let him be dead! PLEASE!
"He's dead." Holly looked up at the woman.
"YOU KILLED HIM!" The woman didn't even blink.
"I am the goddess Artemis not a you. And you are baked bread." Holly's insides screamed as she tried to wake up Prelude. She pulled him close, his blood running onto her legs from his back.
"It's toast you bitch!" Holly released Prelude and knocked the bitch goddess's legs out from under her. Artemis went tumbling to the ground. Holly took the chance to yank on her hair. The goddess cried out.
"You ignorant-" Holly silenced her with a drop-kick to the stomach. Artemis grabbed her leg and thrust her towards the door. Tears and blood running down her face, Holly rushed back at Artemis. She wasn't going to get away with what she did. Catching Artemis by the hair again, Holly sent her up into the air and smashing into a wall.
"Bitch." Artemis disappeared. Holly ran back to Prelude and fell onto his chest. His heart wasn't beating and he had no pulse.
"NO NO NO! It wasn't suppose to be this way. I loved you dammit." She felt a surge of heat as she continued to cry. She didn't move, her Hieronymus was dead.
Prelude felt the darkness around him. He had no idea what was going on. He tried to run, but he couldn't move. Then he heard Holly, she was crying above him. He tried to shout to her. He wanted to tell her not to cry, he was fine. He tried to run to her. His body wasn't responding. Still he tried and tried. Surely he wasn't dead.
He felt pain invade his skull. Everything started to turn red as pain racked his body. The pain radiated everywhere and he could try to escape. He heard Holly's sobs as the pain took over. He tried again and again to shout, "Holly!" It was to no avail. Then he felt himself lose consciousness.
