((Collab with Kobaltic))

The night was cold and gloomy as a storm rolled in, drenching everything in cold water. Other than the occasional thunder, the neighborhood would have been quiet. Only if the inclusion of crying and heels running across the concrete didn't exist.

A blonde-haired nephilim ran across the sidewalk to find her brother, after running away from home. She knew that with her brother, she could be safe from the mess of trouble she had back home. 

She eventually found her brother's house and rang the doorbell, shivering and crying as rain drenched her dark cloak draped over her white dress and her otherwise beautiful blond hair. It was only half a minute before a man with golden hair and silver eyes opened the door with a sword in his hand. When he realized who was standing at his door, he dropped the blade and pulled her into a hug.

"Cain.." she whispered as she hugged back. "It's you.."

“Come inside,” Cain offered. “Let me get the fire going and whip up some hot chocolate for you.”

"Alright.." she said as she slowly entered the house. She looked around and examined the living space her brother lived in. It was relatively unfamiliar to her, but she still found it comfortable and homely. The fireplace in the corner erupted with new flame with a flick of Cain’s hand. As he rushed to the kitchen to begin preparing the drinks, his sister removed her cloak and sat down on the couch by the fire.

A few minutes later, Cain returned with a teapot full of hot chocolate and two empty mugs on a tray. Setting the tray down, he poured some of the hot chocolate into one mug and gave it to his sister.

"Thank you.." She said as she slowly sipped on her drink. 

Cain sat down in an empty chair after setting the teapot down on the coffee table in front of him. "Why are you here? It's almost 2 in the morning." He asked. "Shouldn't you be back at home with Zane?"

She didn't say anything as she hung her head. "I can't… I… I can't be near him anymore.." she muttered.

Cain's eyes widened. "You ran away? What happened?"

"It's Zane,” she replied. “I can't stand to be around him anymore! He yells at me and he beats me, even when I’m just trying to do my best to make him happy! If he isn’t bringing me down, he’s ignoring me! So I ran, and if he finds out that I ran away, he's going to kill me!" She replied, sobbing.

Cain pulled her into a hug, careful not to spill her drink. “Shh… It’s okay. I won’t let him anywhere near you, Mariposa.”

"Thank you… thank you so much.."Mariposa whispered to him, unaware that a blonde-haired, brown-eyed woman had some downstairs.

"Dad, who's this?" The woman questioned as she looked over at Mariposa.

“Your aunt Mariposa,” Cain replied as he turned to his daughter. “She’s going to be staying with us for a little while.”

"You never told me you had a sister." The woman said to her father as she leaned against a wall.

“Because I never thought she would ever visit,” Cain explained. “Still, I should’ve told you about her and I’m sorry that I didn’t.”

Mariposa looked over at her niece with curiosity. "So wait," she said to Cain. "If you have a daughter, then who's her mother?"

Cain was silent for a moment, his face a display of discomfort and sadness.

"Oh.. I'm sorry…" She apologized. 

"It's fine." He said as he composed himself. "You do realize everyone's going to be looking for you."

"I'm not going back with them. Not as long as Zane is there." Mariposa stated. "I had Marco help me escape."

“Well,” Cain replied, “I hope things turn out better than I think they will. For now, just relax.”

<<•○•>>

Marco sat under a large tree, enjoying the quiet while he was waiting for another assignment. But Mariposa leaving had him worried. He encouraged her to leave and get away from Zane, but he knew that he would be punished by Zane himself for it, and it worried him.

"Marco." He heard someone behind him. "I need to ask you something."

He turned around to find Michael, and was slightly annoyed. "What about?" He replied.

"You wouldn't by any chance know where Mariposa is, right? We can't find her anywhere." Micheal stated. "I was hoping you'd know, considering how much you and Mariposa spend together."

"I know where she is. But I can't say where. All I'm going to say is that she's as far away from Zane as she can get. She's safe now."

Michael soon looked concerned once Zane was mentioned. "What does Zane have to do with this?"

"You don't know what he's been doing to her? You've never seen how scared she is around Zane?" Marco questioned. "She ran away because Zane abuses her."

"That's absurd, Marco. Zane wouldn't do anything like that. He knows better." Michael stated. "Why would he abuse her?"

"Why don't you go find Mariposa yourself and ask her? She'll tell you everything." 

“Everything about what?”

They both turned to see a man covered in dark armor and wielding a greatsword. A dark helm covered his face, but both Michael and Marco knew who it was. “Zane,” Michael commanded, “you’ve been accused of mistreating a fellow angel. While we investigate, you’re on probation-“

Zane wasted no time grabbing Michael’s throat and tearing it out, watching as the archangel fell to the floor and choked on his own blood. “You’re a fool to think you have any power over me,” he growled, “and I don’t suffer fools.”

Marco covered his mouth in horror at what he witnessed, trying not to scream. He watched as Zane looked up at him and felt his heart stop.

"Now, where is she?" Zane growled as he approached Marco. Marco stayed silent as he just stood there in horror. Zane grabbed his neck and pinned him up against the tree.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" He roared. "WHERE IS THE GIRL?!"

"As… far away… from you… as… she can.. get…." Marco replied. "She's safe… from you… you're a horrible brother.. to her...."

Zane tightened his grip, and he felt bone shattering in his hand. “That was for not answering my question.” With a swift motion, he pulled his greatsword out and stabbed Marco, looking him in the eyes as the light of life began to fade. “And that’s to send her a message.”

Marco's body collapsed as it turned to dust, leaving behind a small spark of light. Zane sighed, closing his eyes, knowing there was no turning back after what he did. As his skin turned pale and his eyes darkened, he growled, “This is the fate that awaits for you, Mariposa. There is no avoiding it.”

<<•○•>>

Back on Earth, Mariposa felt a pain in her heart, and her eyes widened with realization. "No.." she whispered as tears began to fall down her face.  "Marco.."

“Marco?” Cain questioned, setting down the kettle. “What does he have to do with what’s going on?”

"He's dead…" She whispered. "Zane… he killed him…."

Cain looked down for a moment, sad that a friend of his was killed, before he looked back to Mariposa. “You loved him, didn’t you?”

"....Can you tell…? Is it really that obvious…?" She asked. After a few moments, she clutched her head. "He's coming for me. He's coming. Oh my god.. he's coming…" she muttered to herself as Cain sat down next to her and hugged her. "He's going to kill me."

"He's not going to find you here, Mariposa. What you need is some rest. I have a spare bedroom upstairs where you can sleep." Cain told her. "It's okay. You're safe here."

"Thank you so much.."

__

After a quick change from her white gown to some comfortable clothes Zara donated, Mariposa sat down on the bed in the spare bedroom and looked out the window. She wondered about what was going to happen to her. She feared that Zane would come and get her, but he had an entire universe to search. 

Cain gently opened the door to his sister's bedroom after noticing that the lamp was still on, barely illuminating the room. 

"Mariposa? Why are you still awake?" He asked. "You should be getting to sleep."

"...I just… have a lot on my mind.." she replied. "I can't stop thinking about Marco and Zane…"

"Why don't you get some rest? Maybe things will be better in the morning." Cain suggested. "I'll see you in the morning." and with that, he closed the door.

[The next morning]

Mariposa awoke to the sun right in her eyes, blinding her for a few seconds before she realized she was about to fall off the bed. As she felt gravity pull her towards the ground, she gave in and slid off the comfy mattress, only to freeze in place halfway down.

"I guess this is happening." She muttered to herself. "Now how does one get up?"

As if on cue, she felt herself being lifted back onto the bed and she watched as her blankets moved to cover her once more, enveloping her in familiar warmth.

"Wwweeeiirrrddddd…" she muttered to herself. "Very weird.."

It was at this moment that she heard a knock on her door. Mariposa's head immediately popped up, but soon fell back down to her bed because she was too comfortable to get up.

"Aunt Mariposa?" Zara quietly asked. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, I am." She responded as she managed to sit up in bed.

Zara slowly entered the room, careful not to tip the tray holding a cup of hot chocolate and a plate of heart-shaped pancakes topped with butter and syrup with two strips of crispy bacon on the side. “I brought you breakfast. Dad just finished making them.”

Mariposa's eyes widened at the sight of the pancakes. "Ooohhh…" She happily accepted the tray and immediately went for the bacon, relishing the first crunch.

“So…” Zara asked, taking a seat at the end of Mariposa’s bed, “what’s it like? Heaven, I mean.”

"...It's nice. Very peaceful.. when I'm not being abused…" Mariposa admitted.

“Abused?” Zara asked. “What kind of person would do that?”

"....Zane.." She replied.

“Oh…” It was clear Zara had heard of him, but wasn’t sure why her father was so reluctant to talk about him. Now, it looked like she knew why. “So, uhh… What sort of music do you like?”

"I've only ever heard worship music. That's all that there was."

“Well,” Zara replied, “maybe you and I can listen to what else is out there later today.”

"Maybe.."

"..Pardon me for asking.. but why is your name so different compared to my father's?" Zara asked.

"My mother gave it to me when I was born. It's Spanish. It means 'Butterfly'."

"Your mother? But.. I thought Angels didn't have parents. At least, that's what my dad told me." Zara questioned.

"Oh, no, I was adopted." Mariposa explained. After.. I died.. when I was four.. I went to Heaven.. where Cain and Zane adopted me. Of course, Cain treated me more like family than Zane ever did.."

“So,” Zara concluded, “you’re at least part human, right?”

"Yep. Half human, half angel." She confirmed.

“Me too!”

The two of them chuckled for a minute before they heard Cain come upstairs to check on them. Within moments, Cain was standing in the doorway. "You two alright?" He asked.

"We're fine. Just talking."

“Alright,” Cain replied. “Mariposa, you and I are going to go shopping later so you have a better selection of clothes.”

"Alright.."

“Zara,” Cain offered, “do you want to come with us?”

"Sure." Zara replied. "It'll give me a chance to socialize."

<<•○•>>

“No.”

Cain looked defeated, lowering the blue dress as he looked up at Zara. "You can't be serious. Every formal dress we've looked at you turned down. Mariposa didn't even fight as much."

"I told you, I don't like wearing dresses." Zara reminded him. "I don't like how much skin they show off."

“Are you kidding me?” Cain asked. “Everything I gave you covered almost everything! The last one almost didn’t have enough space in the collar for you to stick your head through!”

Mariposa was over in another section looking at shirts when she heard whispering coming from behind her. She quickly turned around only to find nothing.

"What in the world…" she muttered to herself.

“Excuse me, ma’am…”

She quickly turned, frightened by the voice. When she realized that it was only a cheery-looking worker, she relaxed. “Do you need help finding anything?” the worker asked.

"N-No.. I'm alright." She responded. As the worker nodded and walked away, she took a moment to catch her breath. She hadn’t been so afraid for her life since she accidentally burned the cookies Zane asked her to bake.

"He's coming for you, Mariposa.."

Mariposa ran back over to Cain and Zara in a heartbeat as soon as she heard the voice. She clung to Cain in fear, whispering. "We need to leave.. please…. We need to go, now." She whispered to him.

“Why?” Cain asked. “What’s wrong?”

"It's Zane… he's here… he's looking for me.." she replied. "We need to go.."

“Yes,” Cain agreed, “we need to go.” They dropped the clothes they had retrieved and rushed to the door, only to be stopped by a man in dark armor.

“Found you.”

Mariposa immediately hid behind Cain at the sight of Zane, only for Zara to hide behind him too. Cain simply sighed and asked, “Is there any chance I can convince you to leave us alone?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so.” With that, Cain thrust his palm forward, sending Zane flying through a storefront on the other side of the street and into the back wall of the store. Cain slowly walked towards his brother, his button-up shirt and jeans melting into armor that gleamed in the sunlight. A spear formed in his right hand and a shield formed on his left arm as he closed the distance between himself and his enemy.

Mariposa covered her mouth, trying not to scream as she stayed close to Zara. "Oh my god.." She said, muffled by her hands as Zane sat up and focused his gaze on her for a split second. She could see the anger in his eyes.

“Eyes on me, dark one!” Cain raised his boot and brought it down on Zane’s head hard. He recoiled to strike again, but Zane grabbed Cain’s ankle and threw him into an adjacent wall, shattering it. Zane then stood up and walked towards Zara and Mariposa.

Mariposa screamed as Zara stood in front of her, protecting her from Zane. As the brothers began to brawl, Zara led Mariposa away from the fighting and towards their home.

<<•○•>>

As the two of them entered the house, Zara immediately locked the door and grabbed a hidden short sword that her father keeps hidden should anything go wrong. Mariposa sat down in a chair, clutching her head as she began crying. "He's going to hurt me.. oh my god… he's going to hurt me again.." she muttered.

"Listen to me. He's not going to get near you. We're safe here. If he does somehow find us here. Then we hide." Zara told her. "He's not going to hurt you."

After mere minutes, the door opened. Standing in the doorway was Cain… most of him. Golden blood poured from where his arm once was, revealing the bone and flesh under his skin. “A little help,” he gasped before collapsing, revealing Zane behind him. Zane moved his brother out of the way as he stepped inside. 

He walked towards the two with pure anger in his eyes as Zara took a defensive stance to protect her aunt.

"Now, Mariposa, you will know the price for disobeying me." 

Mariposa hid behind Zara, completely terrified. Zane grabbed Zara by the neck and stabbed her in the stomach before tossing her aside. 

"No.. please… leave me alone.." Mariposa begged. "Just leave me alone! Please! I won't disobey you again-" her sentence was soon interrupted by Zane's hand going across her face, making her collapse to the ground. A whip formed in his hand, and soon began beating Mariposa with it, leaving Zara and Cain to watch the horrific sight and listen to her scream out in fear and pain.

"PLEASE! STOP!" Mariposa cried out. "PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP!"

"No one's going to help you now, Mariposa." Zane growled. As he raised his hand to strike her once more, he began to scream as his armor began to glow and melt. His flesh began to smoke and boil from the incredible heat. In the span of 6 seconds, Zane was brought to his knees, wailing in agony and covered in molten metal. 

Standing behind him was a beautiful woman with blonde hair. Her silvery eyes burned with hatred as she stared at the newly fallen angel. She looked like she was going to personally rip Zane apart, but took a deep breath and refocused on Mariposa. She approached, her blood-red skirt flowing behind her, and laid a hand on the nephilim’s shoulder. “Are you okay, dear?”

"No… I-I'm not…. But.. thank you…." Mariposa replied. "My brother and niece however… are in worse shape than I am.."

“Can you move to the couch?” the woman asked. “I’ll deal with everyone as I see them.”

"I-I can try.." She replied as she slowly sat up, eventually pulling herself up off of the ground with little difficulty, only to collapse to her knees again.

“Oh, my sweet child,” the woman lamented as she telekinetically moved Mariposa, Zara, and Cain to places where they could be treated.

Zara had already passed out from blood loss, and was barely breathing. Cain looked over at his daughter with fear in his eyes. "Zara…" he muttered. "Please… please be okay… please…"

The woman attended to Zara first, laying her hands on the wound and closing her eyes. She felt the wound close under her hands, turning into a scar and then fading in the span of a second. “She’ll live, but she needs rest.” The woman then turned to Cain. “Now, what to do to you…”

Cain gently grabbed Zara's hand and held it as tears fell down his face.

“Cain,” the woman reminded, “you’re missing an arm.”

“Right,” Cain replied. “I’m… I’m low on strength. I just need it patched up for a day or two.”

Mariposa glanced at her arms, bruised and scarred with open wounds that leaked blood. She winced as she moved her arm a little bit to get somewhat comfortable. The woman turned to see what Mariposa was doing and rushed to her, holding her still. “Don’t move, child,” she instructed. “You could make the wounds worse!”

"I'm… just trying… to get comfortable…." Mariposa told the woman. 

“Just hold still for a moment,” the woman replied as she laid her hands on Mariposa’s arms. Mariposa felt a warm, tingly sensation flow across her arms as she watched the bruises and cuts disappear. The woman worked her way across Mariposa’s body, healing every inch of her that had been hurt by her abuser.

"T-Thank you.. Lucy…"

“Rest, child,” Lucy calmly instructed. “Everything will be alright.”

"Okay…"

<<•○•>>

Zane’s lifeless body rotted on the ground in front of the throne room for several hours before the seraphim cleaned it up. The message was clear. The consequences were splayed out in a mess of flesh and molten metal. In the midst of it all was a small dim spark, quickly extracted and stored elsewhere.

“I can’t believe they’d go this far,” Michael commented. He turned to Marco, who stood next to him looking like he had never seen a fight in his life despite having his throat ripped out. “Still, I suppose it makes you feel good to see Zane like that.”

"...I don't know…. I'm more worried about Mariposa.." Marco admitted.

Michael nodded, then led Marco away. “I had a discussion with the Creator a few minutes ago. I mentioned that you had ties to Mariposa that would… affect your ability to do your work, but He believes it won’t be too much of an issue. Besides, he’s got more pressing issues, like the fact a darkling was able to hide in our midst for so long.” He stopped mid-pace, then looked Marco in the eyes. “He’s allowing you to go find her.”

"Mariposa's probably with Cain and his daughter." Marco replied.

“He also wants you to stay with her,” Michael clarified. “Something about ‘two parts of a whole’ or something.”

"W-Wait, what?" Marco questioned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

“Just… just keep an eye on her,” Michael summarized. “Talk to her. Make sure she’s okay.”

"Alright.." Marco replied. "I'll go find her."