Disclaimer: Same as chapter 1 and I'm not writing it all out again...

WARNING: MIGHT BE SOME MILD SWEARING – SO BE WARNED. READ AT OWN RISK.

All reviews, and constructive criticism, gratefully received – but no flaming please; and I will try to update regularly.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

Summary: Michael is finally awake – what will he make of Ariella and her 'Pack'? MichaelxOFC

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An Archangel's Heart

Chapter Five

She flashed a smile at him "hello sleeping beauty; be thankful I didn't wake you with a kiss….." she pointed at herself "this face has driven many to head for the hills….."

Michael stared – though not a stunning beauty like Becca, she was more captivating; something in her pale blue eyes trapped him. He sincerely doubted men would run from her; he wouldn't. However, he swallowed "where am I? Who are you?"

Ella rolled her eyes "thanks for saving me" would be a more appropriate response about now, buster…"

"My name is Michael….."

She nodded "oh I'm completely clear as to who you are – you are the Archangel Michael. You are also the patron saint of warriors, the sick and injured and also mariners. Seems you get around when it comes to the whole patron saint thing." She smiled to let him know she was teasing.

However, he was clearly not in the mood "you know me and yet I still live?"

"Why would we kill you? You've gone above and beyond for much longer than the last twenty-five years for the human race. You were there for us from the day God made us. But especially since the Extermination war you've been endeavouring to keep us alive as a species…."

"You have not heard of my actions at Vega….." Michael sighed closing his eyes in defeat.

She flicked his forehead making him jump "yes, actually; we have. But why would one moment of madness – justified in my eyes with what was happening – negate all the good you've done? Why would that moment of rage make us turn our backs on you?"

He pulled himself up, eyeing the children who were watching him in rapt attention. "What of you? Do agree with her? Do you think I am still this side of redemption?"

Soskai nodded "I don't know what redemption means; but if Ariella says we should give it to you, then sure." The little boy pointed at Ella.

Michael looked at the woman beside him "your name is Ariella?"

She smiled and nodded "yes, and yes I do know what it means. It's the female version of the name 'Ariel' which means lion of God. Ariella therefore means lioness of God." She shrugged "my mum often told me the meaning; she said I was born to be a warrior."

"Were you?"

"I've been fighting since I was twelve years old and the world went mad."

Michael nodded "I see – many children lost childhoods that night."

"Yes, you're right – we did. But even more have never even had one" she nodded towards the small children surrounding them. "So I don't think I had it so hard – at least I had a bit of a childhood and I had a some fun growing up."

"Which you teach them."

"How do you know? I could be a real slave driver and these kids could be living in abject misery."

Michael pointed to the children who were laughing hysterically at the silly picture of them she was painting "their reaction tells me that's all a load of bull."

Ariella rolled her eyes at the children "you lot spoil all my fun – remember I have a rep to protect at Vega; those guys will never believe I'm the Ghost all the time you lot let them think I'm a pushover."

Michael's eyes widened "you're the Ghost?"

Ariella sighed "you don't have to sound quite so surprised and incredulous."

He shrugged stiffly "you're not what I imagined..."

"Well, neither are you - seems we were both fated to be disappointments, weren't we?"

He caught the momentary flare of annoyance and...hurt. He sighed; he was under no illusion that anyone else had fought to save him - so this woman and her strange collection of children were the only ones. Yet he'd hurt her - it was a sudden concern he was turning into his brother. Gabriel too wouldn't have cared about the feelings of those who helped him.

Soskai frowned, deciding he had the courage to pat Michael's arm "you're never going to be like your brother - he's a real mean bully and very scary. You seem nice..."

Michael wanted to question the boy as to how he'd seemingly read his thoughts, but felt it could wait - he wasn't yet strong enough to fight his brethren and if he upset the children he could almost guarantee this strange woman would toss him at Gabriel's feet without a second thought, despite her assurances.

Soskai's frown deepened and he dared to poke the arm he'd just been patting "Ariella would never give you up to Vega, let alone your brother, so stop thinking bad things about us - especially her!"

Michael looked at Ella "how does he do that?"

"Do what?"

"Read my mind?"

Ariella shook her head "he didn't; he's just very astute."

Michael's voice echoed his obvious disbelief "he's about four."

"He's very astute for four" Ella replied with a shrug.

Before Michael could say more Abigail came over, her face showing her annoyance at the Archangel "can I hurt him? He's being mean.."

Ella rolled her eye's, as she leant against the wall and folded her arms "no; you cannot. You have literally watched me fight to save him; so no."

Abi scowled once more at Michael even as she spoke to Ella "but he's mean."

"No, he's rude; there's a difference."

Michael broke into the stand-off as he looked at a small girl under ten and with huge blue eyes and a mop of blonde hair "short of 'cuteing' me to death, how could that child hurt me?"

"You'd be surprised. Don't let the angelic look fool you - after all, right up until the Extermination War most people thought angels sat on clouds with fuffy white wings and strummed harps. Boy, did we learn the truth the hard way. Well, my little angels are the same - just like me, they may look weak and vulnerable, but every one of them has killed at least one of the angelic dogs, the ones we call 'Eight Balls'."

Again Michael's disbelief was evident on both his face and in his voice "them?"

"Them."

Knowing that even the Archangel Michael would never win an argument with Ariella, especially where her Pack were concerned, Rusty gathered the children up "c'mon little bro" he nodded to Soskai "time to go scavenging. Let's leave Ariella to chat for a bit alright?"

With a nod to Ella and Michael he herded them all outside. Michael turned his attention to the woman beside him, as realisation began to dawn "they're not like others are they?"

Ella shrugged this time in genuine dismissal, knowing there was no way she could ever really explain what they were because even she didn't truly understand it "we're all a little...complicated. Just the way it is...I take them because no one else would - your lot frightened the snot out of people, so anyone even remotely...different would not survive well anywhere, even here where we're more accepting than most."

"So it's my fault?"

"I never said that – you had a job to do; which you didn't, but I get it. Orders are orders – it's just you broke yours."

"Would you? Would you have done as I did, or as my brother?"

Ariella smiled "oh I'd have followed you, no doubt, no question. Condemning the entirety of humanity to death breaks a promise God himself made after the Flood. He promised Noah that he would never again wipe out mankind – the fact He did…well, that's on Him."

Michael smiled ruefully "you speak as if you know Him…"

Once again she shrugged unconcernedly "I grew up with a devoutly methodist Irish grandmother and an ex-communicated catholic English grandmother. My Irish grandmother would make Sundays spent with her all about God, the bible and religion. Went to Chapel twice…." She smiled at a memory she'd all but forgotten "I recall I had a white coat, white beret, white crocheted dress, white tights, white shoes and white gloves…."

"Gloves? How old were you?"

"Oh yes, even I had to wear gloves we were in Chapel after all and I was six."

"All of it was white and you were six?"

Ariella chuckled at his obvious surprise "I know right? AND I was such a tomboy – climbing trees with my cousins running around and being an urchin…..me wearing white was tempting even God's miracles I'm sure. But I always managed it – mind you, I was always the last to dress up and the first to get changed, so I always had it on for the minimum amount of time – why tempt fate, right?"

"You sound a….."

"Rapscallion – that's what my Irish grandmother called me; I was a rapscallion…..well, until I turned eight – then I became a little hellion….I know rapscallion meant I was a little scamp and hellion meant I was a troublemaker. But I think it all just really meant that until I was eight she thought I could still be made to be girly, that one day I'd love to wear dresses and bake; but when I became eight she finally realised I was always going to be a tomboy – someone who was more at home outside digging in the vegetable patch or up a tree reading a book, or helping in the fields of a local farm than I would be sat inside crocheting or knitting whilst wearing a frilly pink dress."

Michael nodded "I agree – I couldn't picture you doing the latter…."

She gave him a mischievous grin "hey I didn't always look like this – when I was a kid I was teeny and cute as a button; everyone said so. When people discovered I could fight better than the boys, and I mean real boxing, not just the 'slappy bitey' thing most girls do; that I could climb trees, race, dig and do everything better than the boys, they were always shocked."

"So you were the leader?" he smiled, warming to her. There was definitely something about her that drew him in.

"Yeah, not that I wanted to be; it was just that all the kids came to me if they had a problem, were hurt or were scared. I was eleven when I was told that when I grew up and Gramps died, my Irish grandfather, then I would be the head of the family, the chieftain of the clan." Her smile faded as she once again realised all those she held in her memory were now long dead – for all she knew she was the last of her family, her blood. Sighing she added "well, not now obviously – they're all dead and there's only me, so no clan to herd – just a load of kids that make herding cats look easy."

Michael touched her hand as she sat on the bed "I'm sorry – I'm sorry your world died when you were still so young and unprepared."

She shook her head "not your fault; you did your best to save us – but places like Vega with the Reisens and Wheles running them has shown me perhaps God and your brother weren't wrong – maybe we are too stupid to learn. I mean instead of trying to be fair like we are here; you get Resen and Whele, and a myriad of leaders of other huge settlements, all living in luxury whilst the people beneath them grovel around for crumbs to live on."

He could tell she was getting angry "I don't think that was how general Reisen wanted it to be – but David Whele…" he tailed off.

She nodded "he was a televangelist – says it all. Wow, must've been as much of a shock for him as the atheists when he realised what was happening. I get that bad stuff happened to him – but he wasn't a good person and his own cowardice was what got his wife and daughter killed."

Michael frowned "how do you know?"

"I just do – it's weird; but there you go. Just one of my many quirks, trust me."

Michael looked at her closely "are you an angel? You need not hide from me; I see what good you do here….." She laughed then; a really cheeky, genuine laugh and Michael couldn't help but smile "I take it I'm wrong?"

Before she could reply, Rusty came racing in – grinning from ear to ear, hotly pursued by the other children all laughing and giggling as well – "you made her laugh; wow, Ariella rarely laughs, not properly like this!" He slapped Michael on the arm "thank you Michael, thank you!"

Michael felt sad that to hear their de facto leader laugh out loud was so clearly a rarity that the children reacted so animatedly. As he nodded and smiled at the happy young boy before him Ariella just waved a hand "sorry, but that was just wonderful – I've been called many, many things in my life, Michael but an angel is not one of them….."

He frowned slightly "you consider it an insult?"

"No, actually I don't so long as you mean an angel like you – one who does what is right. I've always considered angels to be the good guys; of course I was wrong for the majority of them – but then there's you and the many you protected who just wanted to be neutral to the whole war. I can respect that; not everyone wants to pick a side."

He shook his head "you're too astute."

"Well that and I heard what happened to send you off the deep end at Vega. For what it's worth, I'm on your side with that – what they did to those angels was disgusting; they were neutral – not a threat to either side. But I have no doubt that David Whele was behind it; it has his fingerprint all over it. Just like the little kid that that Alex was pals with – Bixby wasn't it? Yeah, he snuffed her out just like she was a candle. To me anyone who can kill an innocent child is capable of anything. I would no more trust him than I would your brother….."

Michael shook his head "Bixby was badly injured and died from those injuries. Everything was done to save her – but how do you know about Alex?"

She rolled her eyes "I told you – I just know this stuff. It's not like I want to – but I do. So I'm telling you…..David Whele did kill the kid called Bixby. So to butcher and torture angels was merely part of his every day to him; of course he would never get his own hands dirty on something like that – Bixby was one thing; best way to keep a secret is to tell no one. So it was better for him if he ended her life himself. But the angels were too explosive – therefore let others follow his orders, verbal of course; that way he has complete deniability. In your shoes I'd have done the exact same thing….."

"I was wrong…."

"You were angry – you were right to be angry. If someone hurt my pack" she nodded at the children "I would torch the world….."

He could see she meant it "it doesn't make my revenge just…."

"Perhaps not; but it makes it understandable." As he went to speak again she held up her hand "there's nothing you will say that will make me condemn you, Michael – so better to save your breath."

Rusty nodded "when Ella decides you're a friend nothing will make her betray you. When she trusts you it's implicitely; no question. Now we better get back to our chores." He hugged Ariella tight "it's nice to know you still laugh Ariella; it made our hearts happy."

She ruffled his hair "you all make my heart happy all the time, Russ."

The children left and Michael smiled "he must have excellent hearing; I didn't think you laughed that loud."

"He doesn't and I didn't. Like said – we're complicated."

Michael nodded "that you did….." and for the first time in almost forever, he felt as if he'd finally come home. For the first time since the War began he had hope….a tentative one, a tiny flame barely flickering in the darkness – but it was there none the less.