Heavy footsteps raced through the alley, echoes bouncing off the brick walls. It was abandoned at this time of the night, the only thing in sight was the tall man running. If someone looked out into the alley from their windows or if they were passing by, they would not see what he was running from. Just a man in ripped jeans, an orange hoodie and white sneakers. Nothing out of the ordinary, except for the fact that he was running. His bright hair glowed strangely brightly in the dark. He paused for a while, walking into a space he hoped would hide him.

Mark breathed fast, catching his breath. He hadn't known how long he'd been on the run, or when they found him. It must have been when he stayed with Jinyoung searching for the Nephilim. He thought the bunker wasn't on the angel radar, but he'd thought wrong. That, or either they just caught up to him in that time. Either way, his short stay with his friend was about to cost him his life. Mark bent over, touching a hand to his rib cage. He had a stitch, something he had never had before. His Grace was fading. He looked into the clearing, left and right, before making the judgement that he was safe. He swallowed and sank down, his breathing slowing down. He kept his eyes open for any of them in case they found him. Eventually, he found that he was safe and that they hadn't found him. Mark figured that he needed to keep moving just in case they found him again. He couldn't risk staying there because it wasn't safe. His hand tightened on Jinyoung's necklace. It was his anchor.

Slowly and quietly, Mark moved out of his little shade and moved, keeping an eye out to the space that was open for people to look in. Dark and quiet, except for the generic street noises. Safe. He turned to the other side and was immediately met with a knife to his throat. His heart stopped, everything around him moved in slow motion. The noises slurred and the person at the hilt moved into his vision in agonising slowness. My half brother, what actual hell.

Kai's face became clear. His expression was blank and he bored his empty eyes into Mark's. He tilted his head before smirking, the only emotion on his face. His eyes were still cold and empty. Mark remembered when he fell that day, when he left Kai alone in heaven. His best friend, his brother. He had been on the run since. At some point, Kai must have gotten help from the other brothers and sisters because now there were a bunch of them hunting Mark down. 

"Hello there, brother," Kai said coolly. His eyes glazed over, smiling lazily. "It's been a while." Around him, Mark saw his other siblings. His heart sped up. "You have something that we want, Marky. Just hold still, and I promise, you won't feel a thing." Kai's voice was gentle, trying to hypnotise Mark. He didn't need Mark to stay still on his own; he tapped his foot and the others pinned Mark to the wall. Their hands kept him still by his arms, legs to his legs. He exhaled a shaky breath. He knew exactly what Kai was after. His Grace.

Staying still under the arms of his strong brothers, he had no choice but to anticipate the excruciating pain that would come from the blade in Kai's hands. Mark's eyes were wide open, watching as the point neared the base of his neck. He held his breath, fear filling him up. In his clammy fist, he felt a sharp pain. Jinyoung's amulet. The tip of the blade touched Mark and he felt Kai start to slide across when he found his strength. He spat forward to Kai's eyes.

Blinded, Kai stepped back, but it wasn't enough to stop the blade from slicing. Mark felt the sting and the blinding pain as the knife slid to half way before leaving his vessel's flesh. Kai was wiping his eyes, shocked by the temporary sting that Mark's saliva had caused to his eyes. Stupidly, his brothers let go of him to check on their leader. Mark quickly put Jinyoung's necklace into his jean pocket as his own blade slipped from his sleeve as he pressed a hand to his neck, healing himself. Instantly, he felt himself weaken. 

"Didn't Father ever tell you not to demote a son?" Mark asked.

Kai snarled. "Didn't Father ever tell you not to fall?!"

Mark looked to his other brothers. "Bobby. Dongho. Nice to see you again." 

Their eyes glowered. "I wish we could say the same to you, Mark."

Kai got up and lunged for Mark. His blade stopped just before his crown before Mark caught his arm and twisted it. Kai yelled in pain, his arm twisting further to a way it shouldn't be. Bobby ran to his aid, but Mark smacked the hilt of his blade into his nose before anything could happen. Scarlet blood ran down his broken nose. Dongho tackled Mark, releasing Kai, smacking the blond man into the brick wall. 

"Didn't Father ever tell you not to resist punishment?" He spat.

Mark kicked forward, making contact with ribs. He heard a crunch but couldn't celebrate a victory. Knife if hand, Bobby made a swing that almost connected with Mark's neck had he not moved. He sliced at Bobby's stomach, but the other man in and drew back. Kai kicked the back of Mark's knees. He fell forward, his brothers quick to pin him down on his stomach. Kai teasingly traced his blade on Mark's cheek. He crouched next to his face.

"You have something that belongs to us. Surrender now, or I will kill you."

"Bite me, you son of a !" Mark growled.

Kai did a fake frown. "Your funeral then, Marky."

He pulled Mark up from the hair, his neck exposed. In one quick movement, the base of Mark's neck was split open again. Mark screamed in intense pain. His vision was washed in red. He felt his warm blood spill, and a part of him leave his body. He saw from the corner of his eyes a wispy glowing blue and white substance flowing into a little tube. It danced around freely in there. Mark felt empty and suddenly vulnerable to death. There was a cut at his neck. He was going to die.

Kai's lips curled into a cruel smile. Mark's heartbeat pounded in his ears. He saw Kai say something, but wasn't aware. This was where he would die. Except he felt a hand to his neck. His vision cleared and he saw Bobby pull his hand away from his neck. Mark looked to Kai, who just smiled.

"I'm not having my brother die on me just yet. I want just one last fight. Even if you are human."

Mark's eyes flashed to the tube that held his angelic Grace, the very thing that made him an angel, his very being. He still felt tired, the pain in his neck burning. He felt his body being lifted as someone took a swing to him. He felt punches and kicks to all areas of his body. Blood filled his mouth from his nose and teeth. Tears or sweat came with. 

"Come on, Marky, fight a little harder than that!" Bobby laughed. 

Mark opened his only good eye. The other was swollen. His face was red and black with dirt and blood, hair matted with the red substance. His entire body was battered. He saw Dongho slap him, the sound ringing in his ears. He felt another sharp sting flare up, and blood pouring from his cheek. In an effort to make them stop, Mark lifted his hand and poked. On his finger, he felt a soft yet hard orb. He stabbed it forward and felt it squish. He heard someone scream. He saw that it was Bobby, a hand over his eye.

He couldn't help but comment. "Ew, oh my Father, was that your eye, Bobby?"

Bobby growled loudly and lunged for Mark, nails scratching at the cut on his cheek. "I have always hated you, Mark. Always thinking you're the favourite. Don't forget that you were the one who fell. You were the one who abandoned us. And for what? For that hunter?! We know your deepest secret, Mark. We know your weak point. You're in love with-"

Mark reached out his hand and choked Bobby's neck. "Don't you dare, Bobby." 

Dongho hit Mark's back, making the fallen angel let go of his grip on his brother. He turned to Dongho and made a swing for his temple. Dongho dodged the almost fatal blow.

"You're hated Number One, Marky. You're on the hit list of every angel. You have devastated us, Mark." Dongho's words hit a string in Mark, but he didn't have time to worry about his hurt feeling. He made another effort to kill his brother until he felt Kai slam him aside. 

"I trusted you." He swung at Mark who ducked. "You were my brother." He stabbed forward. "I thought it was us against the world." Mark could hear the hurt. "But you left it all. You left because of your love for humanity. You left me." Mark grabbed Kai's neck and forcefully pushed him into the brick wall, head first.

He was dying from exhaustion and blood loss, but he couldn't give up. He couldn't stop to take a breath. Mark saw Bobby recover from the eye stab and the choking, and advance to Mark, Dongho following him. Mark grabbed a blade that had fallen from before. He held the two blades in his two hands and twirled them expertly. Now let's see who's the freaking boss around here.

As his brothers drew closer to him, Mark got ready his blades. He ducked and dodged the other two's blade, his movements quick as their attacks came in all directions. Mark himself made random stabs and slices through the air, unsure if he was causing harm. He eventually got down and swung his leg around, knocking the other two over. Kai got up and picked up a stray knife. A sharp clang of knife against knife was heard as the two engaged in a battle. Mark felt uneasy all of a sudden, as if he couldn't bring himself to kill his brother, even if he had made his entire family turn against him.

Before he fell, Kai and Mark were the greatest of friends out of all the angels. When Mark fell, he lied to his friends about staying in contact with Kai, not wanting to lose their faith in him because he followed their brother, Lucifer's, footsteps. Or because he so easily lost his family's trust in him. He remembered every secret Kai told him. The first search for God was Mark all by himself, but he told Jinyoung that Kai was going with him so that he could go. Truth was that he hadn't seen Kai, or any of his siblings, since they gave him an ultimatum: humanity or heaven. Well, he didn't need to remember which he chose now, did he?

Kai was still his brother. Even if Mark was human now, or if Kai hated him, or if Kai could never find it in himself to forgive Mark, he couldn't kill him. He wasn't a killer, despite the things he did. Despite the angels he smited and the humans he scorched the eyes out of. But that wasn't what he was feeling in this moment. He felt invaded. Which was strange because he just had his Grace taken away from him. If anything, he should be feeling empty.

Don't kill him, Mark. Just because he wants to kill you, he is your brother. Do not kill him.

Mark's eyes widened. It was a thought, but it wasn't his. The voice in his head was not his. It was enough to make him go against the voice and kill Kai. Then again, was the little voice in his head ever his? Mark couldn't ponder. He hesitated to kill Kai.

Look at his rage. Is this really the brother you remember? Obviously it isn't. Don't do it, Mark, don't do it.

Mark shook his head clear of the voice.

I have to.

He paused and it didn't return. He jumped to the side and Kai made a stab. He wasn't fast enough. Mark still felt the blade graze his side. He screamed in uncontrollable pain. It burned in his blood, his entire left side felt like acid was thrown on him. Black stars danced in his vision. Still, he wasn't going to let that stop him. 

He sliced forward and felt one of his blade meet resistance. There was a sound of flesh being sliced open. He tried to focus his vision and saw Kai crouching over a wound on his stomach. Immediately, Mark felt bad and wanted to apologise, but he had to fight the other two. He used the hilt of his blade to smack into the top of Dongho's head, hearing a hard knock of something knocking on bone before Mark turned his attention to Bobby.

Bobby spat a red glob of saliva onto the ground. His eye was bleeding. Mark was flailing, losing energy. The graze on his rib was obviously worse than he thought. And I can't even save myself. Bobby ran toward Mark.

Mark made a random slash through the air. He heard a clean slice of his blade cuting into Bobby. He thought he saw a cut at his throat. He was probably hallucinating. But the screams that followed confirmed his suspicion. Mark blinked several time as if it would help him clear his vision. It worked to a certain extent. He stumbled toward Bobby, who was on his knees clutching his throat. Before he could heal the wound, Mark pulled Bobby's head up by his hair the way he did to him before. He pulled the angel's hand away from his neck and tried to focus on where the slit was. Base of the neck.

Mark! No. Stop!

The voice had returned. But he had no choice. He was going to die and he needed to find God. He needed, more than anything, to help Jinyoung win this war. He needed to help. That's all he ever wanted to do.

Mark put his hand on the top of Bobby's head and put the tip of the angel blade at the slit. He put his head back and opened his mouth. From Bobby, a wispy blue-white light poured into Mark. Immediately he felt energy return to him. It was an alien energy. It made him whole and yet he still felt empty. When he opened his eyes again, they glowed a very bright blue. His vision cleared and he felt his wounds heal. 

"MARK!" Kai screamed.

Mark turned to look at Kai and swiped his hand. The angel was silenced. He turned back to Bobby, looking at Mark with mercy. But the fallen angel felt no such thing. With his knife, Mark forward, feeling the crunch of bones and the squish of organs through the blade. Bobby screamed, but no light came from him because he lost his angelic power. He lost his Grace. In a split second, blood poured from his mouth and his head lolled. Dead. Mark pulled the knife out of his brother.

What have you done, son?

There was a warmth coming from his jean pocket. Mark remembered the amulet and saw it glowing faintly. His heart leapt.

"Father?" He wondered out loud.

No one answered him. Ignoring Kai and Dongho, Mark moved around the alley. It seemed so familiar now that he could actually see it. Why didn't he realise before? Symbols in Enochian graffitied the walls. He read them and he knew immediately where he was. But why would God be here?

He was standing in the doorway of Hell, an amulet that glowed in the presence of God lighting up like a faint beacon.

Hey guys... hope that wasn't weird... I really wanted to put in a chapter for Mark because I want him to be apart of the story as much as he can and this advances the story quite a bit... I'm sorry if it feels too rushed, but I'm still new to this. Thank you for reading and putting up with the inconsistency though ^^

Back to the hunters next chapter!