He dodged.

The cheeky fucking bastard dodged the bullet.

Was I wrong to think he'd be taken down as quickly as Greed? Probably. With him, I hadn't even heard Gabriel fire his gun. But Pride saw us, grinned, and the second our guns fired, he backstepped and dodged to the right.

I fired again, three times, mindlessly hoping this gun was properly loaded, but each of those missed. He hopped and skipped around each shot with ease. I ground my teeth.

"Shit," Gabriel reached into his back pocket for more ammo, "I can't get him."

As Pride sidestepped again, dodging Priscilla's attempt, I growled and threw it to the floor. "Because these won't work!"

When my pistol hit the floor, it fired, the bullet grazing the side of my leg. I hissed, but I wouldn't let my mistake stop me. I pushed forward and rushed Pride, aiming for his face. Of course, he dodged that, too, but I expected it. And needed him to do it.

My arm stretched out in the direction of his rapid movement. When the tips of my fingers found the back of his shirt, I grabbed it, gripped it, and pulled him toward me. He gasped, not expecting it, and once his back was against my chest, I wrapped my arm around his neck.

Digging his nails into my forearm, he laughed and tried to look back at me. "This is all you got, Octavio," he snickered. "Pathetic."

I shook my head as I squeezed his neck, looking down at the floor. At Gluttony. He slowly shook his head.

"Stop saying no!" I hissed at him. "He's trying to kill you!"

"I'm killing him because I can't kill you," Pride leaned his head back against my shoulder, "his baby bird."

"Shut up." I squeezed again, harder. This time he gagged. "I should fuckin kill you."

"You can't." Looking at Pride's face, I saw the corner of his eye as they shifted to black. The temperature of his body raised like I was holding fire. "No one can."

My chest burned. The gashes I had under my shirt, having healed for the most part, split. I felt fresh blood trickle down my chest.

Extending my nails, I sharpened my teeth, revealing my demon side. I had to let him go, or I'd die from his heat alone. But I needed to land a hit. My pride depended on it.

"Octavio!" Priscilla cried behind me.

Don't look back. She'll see your face and run.

A low growl slipped passed my lips as I focused on a spot on the floor, the same place stained with Gluttony's blood. Seeing his pain, the torture forced on him, gave me the rage I needed.

Shifting my gaze to Pride's face next to mine, my hands glowed blue.

"Oh, ho," Pride coughed out a laugh, "look at you, remembering the Seven's gift."

"Gift. My. Ass." I pulled Pride back by his neck and listened to his spine crack. He grunted, eyes, closing in his, but I wasn't going to stop. He needed to pay for the shit he'd done. What he put all of us through. The others obeyed him because they feared him. He used his pain to control others; we all knew that.

And that needed to end. Tonight.

Extending one hand, I spread my fingers, allowing the power of Envy to slide to the tips of my fingertips. I could slice his face with one swipe. Cut his eyes eye. Ruin that smirk that made me sick. Gluttony went through hell in this building tonight, but the rest of us had a lifetime of Pride's torment.

"Octavio, watch out!" Priscilla screamed.

Before I could wrap my hands around Pride's ego for an attack, I turned back at Priscilla's warning. A white missed dashed between her and Gabriel. Knowing what it was, Gabriel quickly reached for more ammo to refill his gun. But he wasn't as fast as the approaching demon. Once reloaded, he pointed and aimed, but it wouldn't do us any good. The mist solidified, smelling rancid, like the sewage in an alley. And Sloth's face appeared before mine, yellow teeth grinning at me.

I couldn't hit Pride. I recoiled and fell back. Sloth reached and caught Pride as he slumped forward. "I've got you, Pride," he whispered as Pride's head hit his shoulder.

With his long hair, I couldn't make out his entire face, but I did see the corner of his smirk as he stared at me with eyes that matched his teeth. His serpent-like tongue slithered out as he looked at me. "How dare you?" he hissed. "Attacking Pride of all demons."

I sucked in deep breaths. Looking down at my chest, I saw the blood soak through my shirt, drip onto the floor. Pride did damage without even touching me. As I lifted my gaze to look at Sloth, I shook my head. "You're choosing the wrong side, Sloth."

He snorted, cocking a brow as he pulled Pride away from me. "I didn't know we were choosing sides."

I stretched my fingers again, tensing with rage. But before I could say anything else, Sloth, Pride, and his white rancid-smelling mist disappeared.

"Shit!" Gabriel rushed forward, waving his hand at the smoke in the air. Priscilla followed him, spinning in a slow circle with his eyes on the ceiling. She did two full spins before stopping, her eyes landing on me. I couldn't look at her. I was furious with both myself and my poor attempt at getting Pride. Gabriel called me for a reason, and whatever expectations he had, I failed them.

"Octavio..." Gluttony's pained voice hit my ears. Snapping back in his direction, that hurt feeling sank further. There he was, sitting in his blood, and I was sulking.

Just help me.

Hurrying over to his side, I slid across the puddle of blood and reached around the pillar. His hands were bound by the warehouse chains scattered across the floor. Human chains. Something I thought Gluttony could break out of, but looking at the state of him, he couldn't do anything. He could only sit there as Pride burned, cut, and beat him—because of me.

Clenching my jaw, I inhaled sharply, wrapped my hands around the chains, and pulled. They snapped immediately. Gluttony's body dropped forward, and I fell back, wrapping arms around his back to hold him. The cuts around his shoulders were deep. "I've got you, Glutt," I whispered, pressing my head against his.

He chuckled as much as he could but let out a defeated sigh. His head rested on the crook of my neck. "I'm sorry," he breathed.

"Don't be." I looked at my fingers, sticky with his blood. It wasn't red, but dark, black, because he'd been bleeding for a while. But for how long? Pride was a sick fuck, but would he do this to one of his top Sins?

"No," Gluttony shook his head, "I let this happen..." He glanced at me. "I let actions repeat..."

Actions were repeating; I knew that. But I'd chosen to accept an assignment and not go through with it. Gluttony tried to stop me from the very beginning. This was my fault, not his.

"Hey, he's pretty bad. We need to get him out of here." Gabriel stood behind me. "We can clean him up and get him bandaged."

I looked back at the angel. With the moon's light coming in through the open door, I finally saw that holy glow I couldn't spot initially. Emitting off his dark skin, he looked like a majestic hero. If he looked like this when he first saved Priscilla, then I see why she wasn't afraid of her fate and the existence of both realms. Just looking at him made me feel like this would be all right.

"Come on." Priscilla's sweet hand landed on my shoulder before she knelt beside me. When I looked at her, she smiled. "This is the part I'm good at. I'll make sure he's okay."

Priscilla's glow was just like Gabriel's. Bright and full of hope. The only difference between the two... was that I loved her. I loved every part of her. And knowing that she wanted to be a part of this, to keep our souls united and secured in their current state, made me feel like this journey with its twists and violent turns... was worth it.

Extending a hand, I touched her cheek. Then I looked at Gabriel. "Help me get him up, please."

***

Once Gabriel pulled the car up to the house, I was the first to jump out. The back door hung open as I grabbed Gluttony's hand. "Come on," I whispered. "I've got you."

Gluttony lifted his pained eyes, looking at me. He stretched his hand to grab mine.

Priscilla came beside me, reaching inside, too. "I'll help," she said.

"Come on, let's move him." Gabriel came beside us, too, squeezing an arm opposite Priscilla to pull Gluttony out of the car. He placed the larger Sin's arm on his shoulder as he hoisted him up; I balanced the weight by carrying his other side. Priscilla quickly moved out of the way to give us space but ran to the house to get the doors open.

As we walked, his blood created a trail on the ground. The dark track of his injuries burned as we made our way inside.,

"Come on." Once in the living room, Priscilla reached around Gluttony and pulled my hand, leading me upstairs. I followed her without complaining because I did it enough in my head, following her spirit and soul.

If I hadn't left Gluttony to deal with my fight, he wouldn't be in this mess. He'd probably be out somewhere, messing around with Sloth, calling him an ass or a piece of shit, something in their weird friendship. But that crumbled now that Sloth showed which side he'd protect.

Keep your enemies close, isn't that the saying, Octavio?

Priscilla rushed into a bathroom to the right of the stairs, grabbed some towels, and looked back at me. "Why are they doing this?" she whispered. "All because you won't kill me?"

I nodded, biting my tongue. "Yeah. It's my fault."

She looked over the banister, at Gabriel and Gluttony downstairs, and sighed. "Don't blame yourself." Biting her lip, she looked back at me. "Someone who will fight like that to protect you really cares."

"How would you know?" I asked as she started down the stairs.

She looked back at me once, gripping the towels. "Because the same thing happened to Gabriel not too long ago."

What? I sucked in a breath as she added more questions to my plate. Who attacked Gabriel like this? It had to be a Sin. Not that I knew much about angels, but I doubted they attacked each other; I'd think their allegiance was stronger than the Sins'. Knowing—no, hoping—I'd figure all of this out soon, I followed after her, grabbed a towel from her stack, the quickly placed it on Gluttony's chest. Priscilla brought the others to put under his head.

"Okay, okay," Gabriel breathed as he looked back at the kitchen. "Is there still water?"

"Yeah." Pushing up from the floor, Priscilla rushed to the kitchen and grabbed two bottles. She tossed one to him, one he caught effortlessly, and the other to me. I saw it, looked at it, and waited for Gabriel's instructions. I'd never dealt with cuts like this by myself. Thinking about it, if this had happened to Gabriel and Priscilla had been the one to care for him, that had to be how she knew to bandage me earlier.

"Okay, open yours, pour it on his chest, then cover it with the towel." Gabriel looked at me. "You'll clean Pride's tar from his cuts and wipe out the poison."

My eyes widened. Poison? "Okay." I wouldn't wait. If doing this would help my friend, I needed to do it. Opening the bottle of water, I poured it on Gluttony's chest. It mixed with his blood and spilled on the floor. I ignored the mess because he hissed, and I was happy to get some reaction. It meant he was alive.

"Hey, hey," Gabriel gently slapped his cheeks, "I need you to look at me, Gluttony, okay? I need you to say something."

Gluttony's eyes opened, but they weren't their regular red. Their color was deeper, filled with blood. It hurt me to see him like this. Especially when he looked at me and smiled, showing his bloody teeth, I didn't know what to do or say.

I reached for his hand and squeezed. "Come on, John," I said, "you heard him. Say something. Anything."

He snickered, blood spilling down his lip. "Did you... get your... girl back?" he whispered.

I held my breath. He took a fucking beating, and his question was about my happiness, my same goal that put him through this?

"Come on," Gabriel slapped him again, "that's not the focus. Not now. I need you to let me know you're good," he forced his head to turn, he looked Gluttony in the eye, "let me know I ain't lost you yet, buddy."

Buddy. That's where Priscilla gets it from, isn't it?

"I am," Gluttony whispered, reaching for Gabriel's shoulder. "We can't... forget... why we did this."

"Okay, he isn't good." Priscilla rushed back up the stairs. "I'm going to find something to help! Just keep him awake!" she called down to us.

I locked eyes with Gabriel. "Is he talking about what you said in the car yesterday?" I clenched my jaw. "Or is there more?"

Gabriel used the towel to clean Gluttony's cuts again before locking eyes with me. "Sort of." He bit his lip. "The only reason we saved both of you... to bring down the Seven."

Priscilla returned but slowed when she heard Gabriel. Clutching fresh towels to her chest and a bottle of alcohol, she peered at us in the living room. I looked up and met her gaze. She'd been asleep when Gabriel opened up to me, but judging by the look on her face, he'd never told her this part of the 'story.'

Licking my lip, I looked back at Gabriel. "I don't think we need to talk about this now," I whispered, noting Priscilla's face.

"No, I think we can." As she approached. Priscilla handed me the clean towels and alcohol for Gluttony's wounds. "Was that the only reason you saved us?"

Gabriel didn't say anything. He reached for one of the towels in my hand to wipe at Gluttony's face. Priscilla scowled. "We're just pawns in your game?"

"Look, there's more to this," Gabriel said as he looked up at her. "But the two of you are a big part of it."

"Oh." Priscilla flattened a hand against her chest. "So I had to die because there's more to this?"

"Priscilla, this was a hundred years ago." Gabriel rubbed his temple. Irritation rang in his voice. But Priscilla had a right to question and be upset. Shit, I was, too.

"Yeah, but it is my life. Then and now." Priscilla shook her head.

"They were going to kill you anyway," he said. His tone made Priscilla step back. I admit it was uncalled for. I couldn't even say borderline; just a disregard for her life. He'd spent twenty years protecting it. Why wouldn't he act like it?

"I can't believe you right now," Priscilla said, sad and hurt. She turned for the stairs. "I have a right to live."

As her feet stomped up the stairs, Gabriel sighed. He glanced at me with an 'I messed up' face. I shrugged, pursing my lips and sliding my tongue over my teeth; I silently agreed.