((Another story me and Ko made.
Zane belongs to him, Marco and Alison belong to me. I am not planning on using Marco that often. This is a new story. All stories published after this one will be new as well.))

The sanctuary was at peace. Birds sang, flowers bloomed, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Some would say it was a beautiful day. The only one who would argue otherwise was the nephilim crying under an old oak tree.

Alison Connors felt alone, but she was sitting by her friend Marco, a servant of heaven with a love of making others laugh and a eye for art. Marco’s eyes showed great concern while his friend wept next to him. He swept aside his dark hair which hung in front of his right eye as he sat down next to Alison.

“Look, if you want to talk about what happened, I'm here to listen. Tell me what's going on, Al.” He said to her. Alison looked at him and wiped away the tears that were falling down her face.

“Marco,” she replied between sobs, “I know you want to help… But are you sure you want to know what's going on..?” Tears began to run down her cheeks again.

“Tell me,” Marco replied. “I want to know what you’re dealing with.”

Alison sighed and relaxed, then looked down at her feet. “My brothers and a couple other people keep saying that I've… fallen…”

“What?! What did you do?!” Marco asked her, shocked by what he just heard.

“That's the problem; I never did anything! I would never do anything bad to anyone.” Alison replied with emphasis. Marco knew that this was the truth. He knew Alison better than anyone else here, all aside from Him and Alison's brothers.

He asked himself what could’ve caused this. He knew next to nothing about her activities on Earth, but he knew she would do everything in her power to avoid the corruption that took her brother. Despite this, he knew that even if one tried to avoid it, stains from previous issues remained… including…

“It might be about what happened all those years ago.. when Lucif-” Marco started to state but stopped himself when he saw Alison back away from him in fear, her eyes widened as memories of the event flooded back into her mind. That event left scars in her psyche, and she was deathly afraid of the fallen scribe after what he did to her.  

“Sorry.. I forgot you don't like that subject..” He apologized.

Alison sighed, relaxing a little. “It's fine.. But I doubt that could be the reason. After all, do they really expect someone and something like me to be strong enough to fight off Lucy? If we were put into a fight one on one, I'd instantly fail.” She stated.

Marco couldn't deny that fact. Alison was never supposed to be as strong as Lucy. “All that matters, is that she tried to fight off Lucy. And I'm glad she made it out alive…” Marco thought to himself. “Poor Alison.. that must have been horrible for her..”

As he let his mind wander, he blushed a little bit. Alison didn't notice through the tears in her eyes.

Marco would never outright admit his feelings towards Alison, and he believes that he's not allowed to have such feelings for mortals and/or other angels, but he can't seem to help it. Alison on the other hand, was clueless about Marco's feelings towards her.

“So.. Anything else that's been happening..?” He asked her.

Alison sighed again and tried to relax herself. “I'm just exhausted.. They all keep forcing me to live up to their impossibly high standards. So what if I'm not at their standards? Can they really blame me? Being half human, I have my own limitations.”

“Maybe they’re holding you up to angelic standards, since you’re part angel too,” Marco suggested. “If you can rise above the limitations of your mortality, you could easily become one of the greatest angels in history.”

She shook her head. “I can’t, Marco. I.. I’m unable to do that.. I could never do something like that in my entire life. Even if I tried.”

She then looked back at Marco. “So.. what's been going on with you? Any more drawings?”

Marco's mood seemed to change as he got up and took his sketchbook out from a hidden place. “Actually, I do.” He told her as he sat back down and opened up the sketchbook to some more recent drawings. Some were just random doodles of plants and flowers, and the rest were new designs for old structures.

“Marco.. What in the world have you been doing..?” Alison asked him as she flipped through the pages and studied every little detail.

Marco chuckled a little bit. He then stated, “Well.. it's just my opinion.. but I think some of the older structures could use some new designs and stuff like that..  I’ve seen every structure and design that exists and I've memorized every little detail. It would be nice to have something new for a change. But again.. it's just my opinion.”

Alison soon became concerned. “Does… He.. know about this..? About your talent…?” She asked him.

Marco soon seemed nervous and a bit terrified.  He then replied, “I… I don't know… I'm honestly a bit scared on how He would feel about all of this.”

She then put a hand on Marco's shoulder, assuring him that everything was going to be okay. But as a result to this, Marco began blushing a little. Alison then became confused by him blushing. “You okay..?” She asked him.

“Um.. Y-Yeah… I-I'm fine..” He responded.

Alison glared at him, clearly able to see through the lies of the angel. “Marco.. What's going on?” She asked.

“I-I… um….” He stuttered, blushing more than before. “W-Well… I-I uh….” Marco couldn't keep from stuttering at this point. Alison rolled her eyes at him.

“Marco, tell me what's going on with you.”

Marco didn't answer as he tried to relax, but he couldn't. “Al.. Please… I-I can't…” He managed to say to her. “Please.. let's change the subject…”

Alison sighed and laid back against the tree, suddenly feeling calm and at peace for the first time in months. “...This feels nice… I honestly can't remember the last time I was at peace like this..”

Marco blushed slightly and smiled a little bit. “Yeah,” He said. “It does feel nice..” It was then he looked around, and noticed something was missing.

“Wwwwaaaaaaiiiiittttttt a second. Where's my sketchbook at?” He asked. Alison's eyes widened as she looked around. She couldn't find it either. Oh no. She thought. Where is it?!

After frantically looking around the tree for the sketchbook, they never found it.

Marco was extremely frustrated at this point and he felt like screaming. “Marco.. calm down. We'll find it.” Alison ensured him. “It HAS to be around here somewhere. It'll show up eventually.”

Marco grunted in frustration as he tried to calm down. “I just don't understand how it could have disappeared.” He said as he leaned against the tree.

Alison then looked worried, “Marco.. Why do I have the strangest feeling that someone or something took your book..?”

“I'm thinking the same exact thing. Also, isn't Zane supposed to be looking for you-?” He stopped when he remembered that Zane didn't know that him and Alison were friends, and he knows how overprotective Zane can be towards Alison. He quickly hid behind the tree as Zane appeared next to Alison. “Hey. How are you feeling…?” Zane asked his sister.

Alison panicked from Zane’s sudden unannounced appearance, but then relaxed against the tree once she realized who had arrived. “I could be better..” She replied. “I'm just confused about all of this.. You keep saying that I've ‘fallen’, but I haven't. I never did anything wrong. And you of all people should know that I would never do anything bad.”

“Yeah, about that,” Zane sheepishly began as he sat down next to Alison. “It just so happens that someone who looks, acts, and talks almost exactly like you has been behind the sins we’ve been blaming you for. We have no idea who or what it is, but it’s extremely dangerous. So, that means I get to go hunt this thing down.”

“What? Someone else? Are you sure?” Alison asked. Marco them silently sighed with relief, but was curious as to what he meant. Alison then stated, “That can't be possible. Though I am glad that I didn't do anything bad.. Not that I did anything bad.. I didn't. I swear.”

“Alison,” Zane asked, “do you know what a shade is?”

“A what?” Alison asked, now filled with confusion. “I have no idea what that is.”

“I was talking with Kobaltic… You remember him, right? He discovered one feeding on the negative energy an arguing couple were projecting by arguing. Once he had it captured, he sent it to an expert to have it analyzed. He discovered that it could also take whatever appearance it wants, which explains certain… events…”

“What events?” She asked him.

“Acts of debauchery, murder, and some casual blasphemy, nothing interesting,” Zane sarcastically replied.

“What!?” Both Marco and Alison said at the same time. Marco then covered his mouth, now terrified of what's going to happen.

Zane, unphased, greeted, “You really didn’t have to hide, Marco. I could sense your presence.” Returning his attention to Alison, Zane continued, “We still don’t know why this is happening, nor what could be gained from these acts.”

Marco slowly came out from behind the tree. “..Hi..”

Alison then became a little nervous. “Yyyeeaaaahhhh… reason why Marco is here was because he came here earlier to comfort me.. he showed me some of his new drawings, then the sketchbook disappeared on us and we have no idea what happened to it. We looked. We could not find it.” She told Zane.

Zane then became confused. “Wait, how do you two know each other?”

“Marco's a really good friend of mine,” Alison replied. “We've known each other for YEARS now.”

“And you just now tell me this?” Zane asked with annoyance. Alison hung her head a little, while Marco put a hand on her shoulder.

Zane sighed. “Marco, after this, I want to speak with you.”

Marco soon became scared. “Yes, sir..” He said quietly. Afraid of what was going to happen. The last thing he would never want was to never be able to be with Alison again.

Alison was worried too, afraid of what Zane was going to do with Marco. “Zane.. please don't yell at Marco..” She thought to herself. “He never did anything wrong..”

Zane sighed. “It doesn’t change the fact that we have a new complication on our hands. These shades can appear to be anyone or anything, and they can influence emotions easily. We need to be vigilant.”

Alison sighed. Worried about what's going to happen in the near future. “I gotta go check on Henda and Maddie..” And with that, she disappeared.

Marco was now terrified, he didn't know what was going to happen.

“So.. how long have you known Alison? How did you two meet?” Zane asked.

“I lost track of how many years it has been. But I remember meeting her when she had encountered a human spirit.. She was.. so kind and gentle towards him.. after they got done talking, Alison had fell down over tripping on a high root from a tree. She landed on her ribcage. I helped her up and.. well you can pretty much figure it out from there.”

“I see..” Zane remarked. “Well, thank you for helping her.”

Marco nodded a little bit. His sketchbook appeared above him from thin air and landed on his head. “Ow! What the-?” He looked up and didn't see anything. He then picked up his sketchbook and realized there was a folded note carefully taped on to the front of the sketchbook.

His eyes widened and decided to look at it later.

“What is it?” Zane asked, curious as to what the note said.

Marco looked up from the note. “It's nothing you should be worried about.” he replied.

“Listen,” Zane admitted, “I know how you feel about my sister. I can see it in your eyes every time you look at her. These feelings are normal, but acting on them will jeopardize your position in Heaven. We are professionals, and professionals have standards. You two can be friends or whatever, but nothing more. Do I made myself clear?”

Marco hung his head, he was very upset and angry at this point. He subconsciously clenched his hand into a fist, not realizing it. Zane noticed this and started to grow angry. “Marco.. Do you understand me?”

“Alison's not a professional like us,” Marco bluntly replied, “and yet you still hold her to standards she could never keep up with. When will you understand Alison will never be like us? She's different, and that's a good thing. Have you ever thought about how Alison would feel if she was exactly like you and all the others? She'd be miserable!”

“That’s enough,” Zane sternly interrupted. “Talk about her feelings all you want, but you have to look at things objectively if you’re going to draw unbiased conclusions. I was tasked with teaching her to be like us. If she didn’t have the potential to achieve that goal, I would never have been instructed to do so.”

Marco softly growled, feeling the urge to punch Zane, but he forced himself to not do it, he felt like yelling, but decided against it. “You obviously don't know your sister all that well.”

“And what, you do?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. There's a lot of stuff she doesn't want to say directly to you. She's frustrated with you. She wants to yell at you, but she never had the courage to do so. She's got a heart of gold, and she is the nicest angel I have ever met. And she's tired of you treating her like a child. Have you ever stopped to consider the fact that she's tired of you being so d*mn overprotective of her?”

Zane's eyes widened. Then he became even more frustrated. He began to shake, and his hands clenched into fists.

“Why don't you just let her be who she is? And stop trying to make her become someone else?”

“Because she’ll fall!” Zane’s sudden outburst echoed in Marco’s mind like a cannon. Tears began to stream from the guardian’s eyes “You wouldn’t understand because you didn’t personally know anyone that rebelled. I’m trying my hardest to make sure that no one else in my life succumbs to the temptations of the darkness, but no one seems to understand that!”

“....Yes.. I do.” Marco said as he hung his head. “I know how that feels..” A wave of confusion hit Zane. Tears began forming in Marco’s eyes. “I never really talked about my brother… after what had happened… I really don't have a reason to bring him up anymore. He's dead to me.”

Zane's eyes widened a little. Marco then fell to his knees, trying not to cry. “My brother was in the rebellion, several times I begged him to stop. But he never did. He even abused me sometimes. I didn't know how to fight back at that time, I couldn't win against him anyway.. I'm nothing but a servant… that's all I'm ever going to be for the rest of my existence..”

Zane approached Marco and put a hand on his shoulder. “Who was your brother? What role did he have in the rebellion?” He asked Marco.

Marco tried to speak but he immediately covered his mouth with both hands, it was like something has possessed him and silenced him from revealing it. This not only made Zane worried, but curious as well.

Marco then uncovered his mouth and said, “I'm sorry.. I… I can't say…” As he looked down at his hands, he noticed they were shaking.

Zane's anger faded away. “Marco.. I'm.. I'm sorry…”

Marco then stood back up on his feet, wiping the tears of his face and tried to relax.

Marco thought for a moment, trying to get his mind off the subject. “...I just realized something…” He told Zane.

Zane's eyes were filled with curiosity. “What is it?”

“The more Alison continues to mature, the more she shows some.. similarities, in terms of mannerisms and a small fraction of her personality, to you, Braden, and… our creator. I've only met Him a few times, but it's something I've noticed…” He paused for a moment. “I find it rather interesting to be honest. She has some abilities that full angels don't possess. Empathy powers, controlling light projections such as her vines and spikes. The vines made out of light projections of your standard telekinetic abilities.. the spikes… I have no idea where those came from. But it's interesting nevertheless. There's something… special and unique about her… I just don't know what.”

“Okay,” Zane replied. “First, empathy is something we are capable of, and it isn’t a superhuman ability. Second, angels have all sorts of abilities. We may not discover all of them, depending on our duties, but we have similar capabilities.” He held out his hand, and tendrils of light rose from his palm, twisting and twirling into a recognizable symbol: a three-pointed star. “Few ever have to utilize every ability we possess, but that does not mean we do not possess them.”

Zane’s attention drifted off as the light dissipated, looking out into the rest of the sanctuary. “She is unique though,” he admitted. “When we met Alison for the first time, our creator called her a gift. To be honest, no one really knows what he meant. Is she going to be a great guardian, or is she going to be an ambassador, or perhaps even a martyr? Only time will tell…”

“Isn't her current job a caretaker? How could she switch jobs? I always thought that angels could never change occupations.. That's what I was always told. Plus, how could she be a guardian and still be able to take care of Maddie?”

“Wait, how do you know about her daughter?”

“She brought Maddie here a couple times. That little girl is an absolute sweetheart.” Marco told him. “And she is so cute.”

“Yeah,” Zane admitted, “She is a sweetheart.. She kind of reminds me of when Alison was little.” He mind wandered a little bit but soon grown concerned as he remembered something Marco had said. “Wait a second.. Who did you say Alison had some similarities to?”

“You, Braden, and.. our creator.” Marco told him. Zane's eyes widened a little bit at the last one.

Marco soon became confused, “What is it?” He asked. “What did I say?”

“I need to bring Alison back here. I need to see this for myself.” And with that, he disappeared.

Marco the looked back at the note,as he slowly opened it, he saw a seal on the inside of it, and immediately knew who this was from. All Marco could do now was read what was written and hope that he wasn't in trouble.

Marco sighed with relief. It was just a note saying that his suggestions will be taken under consideration. He was glad he wasn't in trouble. But he still worried about Alison.