The night sky was riddled with gray clouds. A full white moon shone brightly on a castle balcony. A single hole in the moon seemed to serve as it's eye as it gazed down upon two people standing on top of that balcony. A knightly looking dark-haired teen dressed in red garbs had a pained expression on his face. A small girl with teal hair who looked to be a few years younger and wore a white dress with a matching beret stood in front of him. All she could do was force a gentle smile to appear on her face as specks of rain began to fall from the sky. Icy cold air seeped into their skin, but they both did their best ignore the freezing weather, for this was far more important.

"Marie," the boy started, his voice nearly cracking from the heavy weight he was feeling in his chest.

"You don't have to say anything, Alto." Marie's eyes fell to the floor as she did her best to keep her smile from faltering. "I already know."

Alto felt his heart pound against his chest. The thumping only became more and more persistent as he stared at Marie's downcast face. There she was, the girl of his dreams. The girl he loved more than anyone else, standing before him filled with nothing but guilt. And he knew all too well why, even though he never wanted to admit it to himself, she represented everything he loved. But also everything he hated…

"Marie, listen," Alto slowly started to walk towards her. "I know that you're an angel." He clenched his fists as he remembered all the ruthless slaughter the angel attacks had brought him and his friends. The pungent nauseating smell of blood and burning corpses still ripe in his nostrils, the crackling of the flames still roaring in his ears, the sight of the collapsing buildings still fresh in his mind. He could never forget that travesty…that nightmare. And looking at Marie, brought all those feelings back to the surface. Even still…even still she was still the girl he loved. In spite of all those feelings that continued to gnaw at him over and over again, he still loved her.

"But that doesn't mean anything to me. You're still an important friend of mine. Just as much as Lisette, or Rusty, or Archibald, or the rest of the Tuning Knights."

Marie slowly looked up from the floor, while her gaze drifted aimlessly around the balcony. "You're sweet, Alto."

"I'm not being sweet, I'm being honest." He said that, but even Alto himself wasn't sure if that was the truth. Did he really bear her no ill-will for the Eclipse? For the angel attacks? For all the lives lost? For all the chaos and destruction it had caused?

"I'm an angel, and a part of Mother Qualia," Marie reminded him. "That's why even if I didn't directly cause it, I'm still to blame." Tears began to well up in her violet eyes as she clasped her hands together over her chest. "I promised to be Her Majesty's little sister, but she died because of me. I'm supposed to be Rena's best friend, but I killed her father…"

And finally, Marie managed to force herself to look at Alto, straight on in the eyes. "So you see, it's just like I said before. I'm really just a bad girl." That's right…there were so many people who she cared about who died in that attack, all because of her. She could still hear their voices crying out, filled with all of the suffering, pain, and agony that was forced upon them, all thanks to her. Even if she didn't kill them with her own hands, as a part of Mother Qualia, she is responsible for all of the other angels. Yet, she was unable to stop them. She was unable to save so many lives.

"You didn't kill anyone!" Alto's sudden shout surprised even himself. Nonetheless, he decided to keep going. This was something Marie had to know. But perhaps, even more than that, this was something he needed to convince himself of. "It wasn't your fault, Marie, it wasn't your fault."

The rain grew heavier, as it dampened Alto's and Marie's hair. They paid it no mind as they continued to look deeply into each other's eyes. "How can you be so sure?" Marie asked him. Almost as if she was asking him for confirmation that this was true, so that she could believe it. So that she could believe in herself.

Alto placed both his hands on the small girl's shoulders and keeping his eyes locked on hers he said, "Because you're you."

Marie looked away from Alto and muttered, "That doesn't say anything at all. I'm still an angel." She pushed Alto away from her and he stood stock-still in shock.

He couldn't believe she had just done that. Marie was always very kind and gentle, so her actually having been able to push him away came as quite a surprise to him. Though, he supposed that was only natural at a time like this, even for someone like Marie.

Then, she suddenly started singing. Her voice was as beautiful as ever. An elegant calming sound resounded through the balcony. Her voice was its own orchestra of violins as she continued to sing her signature song. Alto had come to love that song so much after all the times he's heard it. He felt that it fit her really well. A kind and gentle tune with just a hint of melancholy mixed in. Yeah, that summed up Marie pretty well.

White feathered wings with a light blue stripe at the top sprouted out from Marie's back. A heavy wind picked up, blowing her long teal hair around as Alto just stared at her wings in silence, his blue eyes wide.

The same wings that all of those angels had. He remembered the first time he saw that Marie had them as well. Back then, he wasn't sure what to think. Confused, shocked, enraged, saddened…conflicted. And even now, he still had some of those conflicted feelings left deep inside.

All the more reason to finally kick it to the curb. He had to do this, he had to find a way to make himself understand that none of that was Marie's fault. That she truly was different from the other angels. Otherwise, he would never be free of this burden that made him feel like he hated the girl he loved.

"Remember these? I'm one of their kind, a monster."

"You are not a monster," Alto said, his voice nearly breaking. "You are Marie, a girl who is always kind and caring. Sweet to everyone, always trying her best. Pure and innocent. A lovely, gorgeous girl."

"Gorgeous?" Marie's eyes widened at that as her cheeks were tinted pink.

"The girl that I fell in love with. That is who Marie is. That is who you are."

"You love me?" She raised her eyebrows and for a brief moment, a genuine smile came to her face. That smile quickly vanished however as she remembered those dreaded wings on her back. Those wings that symbolized her true nature, her true self. "You don't love me, Alto. It's okay, you don't have to spare my feelings. I understand if you hate me."

"No!" Alto yelled out, streams of liquid flowing down his cheeks. "You're not like them. I admit when I look at you, I'm reminded of all the terrible things that happened that day. And it hurts, it hurts a lot. But at the same time, whenever I look at you, I'm also filled with a sense of ease. Calmness and serenity wash over me, the more I look into your eyes, the more I remember that who I'm looking at isn't the same as those angels. The more I realize that this girl before me is Marie, the one I love more than anybody else.

"You keep saying that…"

Slowly and gently, Alto wiped the tears from Marie's face. "Because it's true. You may be one of their kind, but you're not one of them. You're a true angel."

Those words…those soft-spoken, kind-hearted words summoned another smile to Marie's face. And this time, it stayed put. She lifted up her chin as she sunk deep into Alto's eyes. "Oh, Alto."

"You don't deserve to carry any of the blame for what they did. You suffered from it just as much as we did." Yeah, that's right. She had cried over the deaths of their friends and she was unable to sleep at night. This girl before him wasn't a monster. She had nothing to do with the angel attacks. She was even the only reason most of their comrades had made it out alive. Marie was innocent. He could finally believe these words were true. He had finally convinced himself…that it was okay to love Marie.

Then, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and him, her waist. Their lips met as they held each other in a tight embrace. Her sweet-tasting lips on his sent pleasure running through his body and he felt as though he was drifting through the clouds. Peacefulness, tranquility, a warm homey feeling. That was what Alto felt as he continued to kiss Marie. Finally, the weight on his shoulders had been smashed to pieces. They were now light as a feather, letting him glide through the sky with ease. Doubt and confusion clouded his mind no longer. His vision was clear as day. He could finally see the girl he loved so dearly for who she truly was, and nothing else.

Carefully, Marie just barely pulled away from Alto's lips. At long last, she could believe it. She could believe…in herself. What Alto said was true, she wasn't a monster. She may be an angel, but she was innocent. She really was innocent after all…There was nothing to blame herself for. She could finally tell herself that, without guilt or hesitation. She now knew that it was the undeniable truth. And it was all thanks to the man standing in front of her. The man who had in spite of everything that had happened still loved her. He really loved her…Just that thought alone sent Marie over the moon and filled her stomach with butterflies.

She loved him too. But she never felt as though she deserved his heart. Now, however, after he told her all that, she felt that she needed his love. There was no one else, no one else in the world who could make her feel like this. Make her feel like she was this special. It could only be Alto. It had to be Alto. And so, before she went in for another kiss, she had one more thing to say to the love of her life.

"Thank you, Alto." And they kissed once more, the rain continuing to pour down on them as they did so. The droplets of water pattered against the balcony floor. They didn't mind their hair and clothes getting soaked, however. As all they wanted in that moment was to be as close to each other as possible. And so even in wet soggy clothes, the two continued to hold and kiss each other underneath the rainy night sky. For that was the night, a sorrow had ended, and a true love had begun.