Gabriel didn't understand what Mica saw in that little boy. To him, he was just another worthless little monkey brat. Maybe she saw something special in him that he didn't, but Gabriel still wondered why.

After leaving the park, they decided to head back to the motel. Mica stayed close to Gabriel, who pushed away a homeless man that tried to get close to her. The man barely grasped the sleeve of her long white coat, but Gabriel could see the look of evil in his eyes. He had seen this man before on Earth, a rapist who served time in jail and got released about fifteen years ago. He hadn't changed, and was sure to commit the act again.

The two angels walked in silence most of the way back to the motel. When they were about halfway there, Mica looked at Gabriel and asked him, "What's on your mind, brother?"

"Nothing", Gabriel answered.

"Nothing?"

Gabriel stopped in his tracks and turned to her. "When are you gonna open your eyes, kiddo?" He asked. "You think these monkeys are good and have a reason for being here, like there's something special about them, but there isn't."

"You're wrong."

"I'm wrong? How am I wrong? Please, tell me."

"You were the one who taught me that humans are to be treasured and valued, remember? Or has your lust for vengeance clouded your mind?"

"Lust? Hardly appropriate for an angel to use that term", Gabriel retorted.

"I'm just trying to remind you of the angel you once were", said Mica. "Why can't you just see the good in these people and learn to love them again? Why must you insist on destroying everything our Father has created?"

"I don't want to destroy everything, Mica. I just want to watch the world burn before my eyes and see it recreate itself before the monkeys came around."

Sighing in disappointment, Mica turned away from Gabriel and walked over to a lamppost, hugging onto it for comfort. The Archangel remained standing where he was, allowing several people to walk by him while he stared at the angel girl, who kept her back to him, not wanting him to see her crestfallen face. Gabriel felt guilty for making her feel bad, but Mica was so naive on how the world really was. He had been around longer than she had and had seen enough of the world to know the difference on what people were really like. Yes, they were good most of the time, but half of them, if not most of them, were nothing but complete jerks and hypocrites who did sinful things everyday, from lying to cheating on their spouses to committing murder. Gabriel knew exactly what people were like, but with Mica being a daydreamer, the Archangel found himself stuck in the middle of another conflict.

Taking a deep breath through the nose, Gabriel went over to Mica to try to apologize. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, then stuck his hand into his pocket.

"Hey, listen, I'm sorry", said Gabriel. "Mica, I'm sorry. I mean it, okay?"

Mica heard him, but refused to look at him. She tilted her head to the left to lean it against the lamppost, her shoulder slouching as she angeled her head up a bit to let him know she was listening.

"What, you're not talkin' to me anymore?" Gabriel asked.

"It's not that." Mica turned around to face him that time. "It's just that I miss home."

"So, you're homesick. It happens to all of us, even me. I know what you're going through. You miss the Boss. You miss talkin' to Him and hangin' out with His Number One Son. You're worried about what's going on upstairs and wondering who's watching out for the angel children while you're down here taking a vacation."

"This isn't a vacation, Gabriel. This is a self-imposed exile. And the children are being cared for by Mary. She may have mothered one child on Earth, but in Heaven, she is the mother of all God's Children. I'm just a babysitter."

"Well, you always were good with kids", said Gabriel, matter-of-factly.

Mica looked annoyed by this at first, but then Gabriel flashed her a playful smirk, to which a smile started to spread across her lips. She couldn't help but let out a laugh. Gabriel laughed with her, and Mica wrapped her arms around him to give him a hug.

"Who else makes you laugh?" Gabriel asked.

"Nobody but you", Mica answered.

Suddenly, Mica broke away from the embrace, sensing danger as she stepped forward and turned her head to her left. She sniffed the air, using her high sense of smell to detect the strange, foul scent that was lingering about.

"What is it?" Gabriel asked.

"I think somebody's watching us", Mica answered.

Gabriel looked around, not seeing a thing, but knowing something was wrong, as well. His senses weren't as strong as Mica's, but he could definitely sense that something evil was lurking about.

Mica slipped a hand into her pocket and took out the keys, handing them to her brother. "Gabriel, I want you to go back to the motel and wait for me there."

"You really ought not do that", Gabriel told her.

Mica turned to him and said, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"You're gonna get yourself killed."

"Whatever it is, I don't think I should be around you. It wants me, not you, and I'm afraid it'll hurt you."

"How can you tell?" Gabriel wondered.

Mica showed a soft smile on her lips and said, "Because I can hear the voices of the angel children."

Gabriel looked upward towards the sky, then looked at his little sister. "The kids upstairs?"

"They speak to me all the time, Gabriel. You just never took an interest in them." With that being said, Mica turned around and walked across the street, and when a bus drove by, she had vanished.

Gabriel looked up to the sky again and said out loud, "You sure picked out a strange one to look after me, didn't ya?"

Mica flew away and went to perch on top of a tall building, observing people down below. The voices of the angel children told her to be careful and watch out for evil. The way they were trying to communicate with her and warn her meant that somebody else was watching her. It couldn't have been an angel. If it were, Mica would have picked up a sweeter fragrance. It certainly wasn't Zuliel, but maybe a friend of hers or some other dark and sinister being.

Mica waited until dark to head back to the motel. She walked instead of flying, wanting to take in some of the night air. As she took a shortcut through an alleyway, Mica stopped dead in her tracks, her nose picking up the same horrible smell from earlier. The foul stench filled the air, a sulfuric odor dripping with evil intentions.

"Go away", Mica said out loud. "I don't intend to fight you, whoever you are."

"Hello, Mica", followed by a soft, mellow voice. "It's been a long time since I seen you."

Mica stood frozen with fear, quickly recognizing the calm, quiet tone of the voice's owner. She shut her eyes momentarily, a feeling of doom and dread wrapping around her like a blanket made of ice. Turning around slowly and opening her eyes, Mica looked up and saw an attractive man in dark clothing with a beard and bright blue eyes. He was perched on top of a dumpster like a bird, plucking away the bright, colorful petals of a flower, then proceeded to eat what remained of the head.

"Lucifer", Mica breathed out, her voice quivering and sounding no louder than a whisper.

"That's right, little sister", said the fallen angel. His long, light-colored hair had become slightly darker since the last time she, or any other angel for that matter, had seen him.

"I think I should go", said Mica.

Lucifer jumped down and stood up straight, cornering her against the wall. Mica stared into the eyes of God's once favorite angel, all the evil and malicious intention imaginable reflected in those bright glistening orbs.

"What's the matter?" Lucifer asked her. "Afraid I'll rip all the feathers off your wings and use them as toilet paper?"

"I don't like the way you speak to me", said Mica.

"And I don't like puppies, but I still eat three of them for breakfast every morning. Would you like to know what cocker spaniel tastes like?"

Mica tried running away, but Lucifer grabbed her by her shoulders, slamming her against the wall. She heard him growl like a lion, threatening to hurt her if she didn't stop struggling and continued to fight him.

"Where are you going, Mica?" Lucifer questioned. "I just want to talk to you. Don't you want to talk to me?"

"No", Mica answered, sounding she was about ready to cry.

"Why not?"

"...Because you frighten me."

"Why are you so concern whether Gabriel gets back in or not?" Lucifer asked her, his moist, hot breath reeking of something foul and sickening. If she were a mortal, Mica would have thrown up in his face from just the mere stench of his putrid breath.

"If I didn't know any better", Lucifer continued, "I'd swear you were obsessed with him."

"He's one of us", said Mica, turning her head to avoid looking at Lucifer. "You could have been one us for all eternity, but you wanted more than what was offered to you. If only you had repented-"

Lucifer wrapped his hands around Mica's throat and spoke in a hissing tone of voice like a serpent, "Repented? I would rather eat my own shit than pledge my allegiance to that stupid old man upstairs!"

The Angel of Darkness started causing unbearable pain to her neck, but when Mica placed her hands upon his wrists and used her angelic powers to produce a glowing, white light from her palms, Lucifer loosened his grip and shrieked away from the brightness she created. Mica slipped away while Lucifer was still in fear of the light, then flew back home to Gabriel.