Eternal Nexus Warrior requested this a while back, but I had to get reacquainted with the world first. Fair warning, there are references to 'A Different Kind of Vampire', and some of them would be considered spoilers.

Vilnius/Mari belongs to Eternal Nexus Warrior.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Rise

Vlad smiled, looking at Lovino, who was using his chest as a pillow. While Lovino's nightmares had grown less frequent, he was still recovering from the abuse that Ivan had inflicted on him. Lovino had told him everything that had happened in that room – every single nightmare that had haunted him. Vlad had experience with the Room of Night, and knew that it would take a while to recover.

Neither Ivan nor any of his pets had bothered them in the last two weeks. Vlad didn't even know if Ivan realised that Vlad was still alive. Even if he knew, it was too late. Vlad couldn't become a demon anymore.

The only one that was in a worse state was Marcello, who felt guilty for Jack's comatose state. The angels had never heard of something like that before, and they were trying to help Jack, but there was another complication. The angels of justice heard about what Jack had done, and Marcello had no intention of allowing them to judge Jack. Marcello felt as though he had failed him, but was trying to protect him now.

Vlad tensed as he sensed a presence on the roof. It wasn't a demon, and it felt familiar. He had a feeling that the presence was there for him.

As carefully as he could, he got up from the bed. Lovino groaned once, but was soon asleep again. Vlad smiled, before he brushed a few strands out of Lovino's face. At the contact, he left the seeds of a pleasant dream.

Since the third floor didn't have any windows, he had to go to the second floor. He left through the window of one of the unoccupied rooms, spreading his wings and flying to the roof. There, he found someone that he definitely didn't expect to see.

"Mari?" he asked.

The angel of innocence smiled at him. She was a friend of Alexandru's, since their types of angels resembled children. She was normally shy around the older-looking angels, but got along well enough with Vlad, even after her brother became one of Ivan's underlings. The sword she kept strapped to her waist was Vlad's clue that she still clung to the memory of her brother.

"Hey, Vlad," she said, her eyes flickering towards his wings. "Um, I see you're doing better."

Vlad looked towards his white wings. It was still strange, after seeing them black for so long. He frowned as he looked back towards Mari.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you," he said. "But… why are you here, and why so late?"

Mari shifted under his gaze. When she looked up again, he was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

"I… I wanted to know…" she stammered. "Since… After all this time, you… I… I want to know if T-Toris… could be redeemed."

He closed his eyes. Even though he hadn't gone to heaven since his fall and apparent redemption, he knew that everyone was speaking about what had happened with him, and how a fallen angel had risen again. That must have been what inspired Mari to come visit him.

"I have no idea," Vlad admitted. He sat down, and Mari copied him. "Toris and I had different positions. I was only a fallen angel, while Toris is a demon. And… I still don't understand all of this. I don't even know if I'm a true angel again. It's been so long, and I completely forgot what it feels like."

Mari bowed her head. Vlad could see that the first tears had started to fall.

"I haven't seen him since he was still a fallen angel," she sniffed. "The last time I saw him, he told me to never go near him again. And then, the next week, I found out he's a demon. I miss him."

Vlad reached out his hand, gently taking hers.

"I think he told you to stay away because he knew what was happening to him," Vlad said. "And he didn't think that he would be able to fight it. He didn't want to hurt you, while he still had the capacity for caring about you. He chased you away as a final act of love."

Mari looked up and gave him a brief smile. The smile was gone before long.

"Is… is it really true that demons don't care about anyone anymore?" Mari asked.

"They may have some capacity to care," Vlad said, "but it's twisted. They care more about power and influence than they care about anyone else. Toris… He's one of Ivan's underlings, so he doesn't have much influence. But… he definitely has a fondness for hurting people."

She flinched. It was hard for her to think of her brother like that. Vlad remembered how Toris would always play with Mari. For an angel of war, he was very gentle with her.

"What… what if he found his heartwing, like you did?" she asked. "Would… would that help him?"

"I don't think so," Vlad said. "Usually, when demons find their heartwings, they're more interested in getting their heartwings to be like them. I've never heard of a demon that didn't do something like that."

"Is… You've seen Toris recently, didn't you? Is there anything of the old him left?"

Vlad had to think for a moment.

"He still has a bit of honour left," Vlad said. "And he doesn't go out of his way to torture anyone. He won't hesitate doing something like that, but he doesn't seek out victims. And when left to his own devices, he's not too unpleasant to be around. I still don't know if it's safe for you to approach him."

"…This isn't fair," Mari groaned. "The only reason why he's like that is because Ivan dragged him. If not for him, then Toris would still be an angel, and I could still talk to him."

"…I don't know if it'll help, but… There might be a chance that the process could be reversed. I mean… There was no chance that I would have become an angel again, but look at me now. Granted, I haven't gone back to heaven yet, and I don't know if I want to, all things considered. But, if Toris wants to… Then there might be a way."

Mari smiled.

"Thank you," she said. "Um… If you ever see Toris again… Could you tell him that I miss him?"

Vlad slowly nodded. If there was some part of Toris that could still be saved, then perhaps reminding him of the sister he left behind would show Vlad that it still existed. Mari smiled, before she stood.

"Thank you for everything," she said. "And… I'm happy for you. I think I'll come again. I'd like to meet your heartwing."

"He'll like you," Vlad said. "But I warn you: he's a bit prickly when you first meet him."

"He's your heartwing. I'm sure he's a good person. Bye, Vlad."

Vlad smiled as she flew away. Even though he couldn't tell her what she wanted to hear, he still felt as though he had managed to ease her mind in some way. And he vowed, the next time he saw Toris, that he would see how he reacted when he mentioned Mari.

Vlad glided back down to the window. He quietly closed it and went back to his room, where Lovino was still sleeping soundly. He smiled, slipping in beside Lovino. The Italian snuggled against him, and within a few seconds he was using Vlad's chest again as a pillow.

Vlad smiled and placed a kiss on Lovino's head. He truly was lucky for having Lovino as a heartwing.

While I was rereading 'A Different Kind of Vampire', I also came across quite a few mistakes. Small mistakes, but I'm going to edit the story.