The Truth

It was late at night and once again, Michael, Alex and Noma were sleeping in an abandoned building. Since leaving Vega that was all they ever did, it seemed to Alex; they travelled, trained, talked and found old buildings to barricade themselves into for rest.

This time, they were inhabiting a small house which was easy to keep warm and Michael was sat before a large fireplace. Of course they couldn't light the fire; the smoke would give them away far too easily, but the amount of candles in the room was almost enough to compensate for the lack of light and heat. People had been forced to keep large amounts of candles during the war because all electoral power had gone to keeping people safe.

"Michael?" Alex questioned.

The Archangel only lightly raised an eyebrow to show that he was indeed, listening, but he didn't move or speak. "Don't you ever sleep?" the man asked.

"I'm resting," Michael murmured.

"No, you're meditating," Alex corrected him, "No one needs to mediate as much as you do."

"I wouldn't be meditating if it wasn't necessary."

"...That your way of telling me to leave you alone?"

"Of course not," Michael answered patiently. He opened his eyes and glanced from Alex to the floor, gesturing for him to sit down.

"Look," Alex began slowly as he sat opposite the Archangel. "I know you're hiding something from me and I'm tired of asking and not getting an answer. I want to know what make me so different from everyone else that I get these," he said, glancing down at the tattoos on his wrists.

"Alex..." Michael exhaled and Alex sensed that another refusal was heading his way.

"No, Michael," he quickly said, "Just tell me...please."

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Of course I do! Why won't you just tell me?"

"You won't believe me," Michael said evasively.

"Try me," Alex scoffed.

"...Those markings, there was a time when they were borne by a mortal, almost two thousand years ago. I am their keeper, their protector until their power is needed on Earth. They're passed through a very specific bloodline."

"I don't..."

"Do you know who your father is, Alex?" the angel asked suddenly.

"What? Of course I do, what's this got to do with..."

"Jeep loved you dearly...but he wasn't your biological father."

"...What?"

"Your father...your biological father, was a man descended from an ancient bloodline, a bloodline that I have watched over for centuries," the Archangel explained.

"Okay...what bloodline?"

"My father's," Michael said simply.

"I'm still not getting it," Alex shrugged but he sobered instantly when Michael shot him a very serious glance. "...You mean, I...you're joking, right?"

"No."

"Well, you have to be, I mean that's just..."

"Why would I lie? Besides, is it anymore unbelievable than anything else you've seen?" You know that angels are real, you know that my father is real, is it so hard to believe that he had a mortal son and that his bloodline survived?"

"But, this is..."

"That bloodline survives in you, Alex. That is why the markings came to you when mankind was threatened."

"No...they went to Jeep..."

"And he was your protector in lieu of your father."

"...Did he know?" he asked after a moment.

"I believe he suspected towards the end, but he never directly asked me; he didn't care. He saw you as his son, isn't that all that matters?"

"And what happened to...erm..."

"The eight balls killed him when they first attacked with Gabriel as you were born. He never knew you existed. I didn't have time to protect you both at the same time."

"And what about my mom, did she..."

"No, she knew nothing of this. Perhaps it was better that way. I watched over him, as I watched over you, he knew what he was but he wanted no part of it. He denied that any of it was real, after I spoke to him..."

"You met him?"

"Once, but after that I kept my distance because it was what he wanted. It was before the war so I had no reason to stay close by," Michael said.

"And he never had the tattoos?"

"No. It wasn't necessary."

"All this time you knew and you never told me..."

"For all intents and purposes, Jeep was your father. He loved your mother with no thought of himself and he loved you. When your mother thought about giving you up at birth, he did everything he could to convince her otherwise."

"She what?"

"After you were born, of course, he didn't have to convince her of anything. Charlie loved you the second she held you in her arms," Michael assured him honestly. "And Jeep loved you even before that," he added, uncharacteristically.

Alex sat in silence, in shock, absorbing all that Michael had told him; it wasn't very day that a person discovered that his father wasn't really his father...or that he was descended from the son of God.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"You had enough to contend with," Michael answered sadly.

"Yeah," Alex scoffed, ruefully.

"I may not be human. I don't pretend to always understand you and your kind but even after all this time, you can still surprise me," the Archangel gave him a slight smile. "Jeep was one of the most selfless humans I've ever met. He cared for his father for years when he was little more than a child himself, he helped your mother without any obligation to do so, knowing that she may never love him as he loved her. And he devoted years of his life to deciphering markings that were never meant for him, hoping to make your life easier when the time came...He even fought me when he disliked my decisions and not many of you can claim to have done that," he added, gaining a small smile from Alex.

"You really cared about him, didn't you?"

"Yes," Michael breathed. "And I didn't intend to keep the truth from you indefinitely, it just never seemed like the appropriate time to tell you."

"Hmm," Alex scoffed, "Y'know...I've seen some really strange things...but this is just..." he trailed off.

Perhaps he'd been better off not knowing. For all the times he'd been angry at Jeep for leaving him, he now had to consider that the man wasn't his biological father and that everything he'd ever done meant so much more because he wasn't. He'd had no obligation to Alex but he'd protected him anyway. He'd never wanted to leave but in doing so he'd given years of his life in an attempt to decipher the markings knowing that Alex would hate him when he returned.

"...Guess I see why you didn't tell me," Alex murmured, "But, I...just, promise me something," he began and the angel raised an expectant eyebrow. "No more secrets, even if you think it's for my own good," he said.

"Very well," Michael replied, after seeing Alex no nonsense expression. This clearly meant something to him and over the years it has become difficult to refuse the mortal anything.

"I mean it, Michael, I get why you never told me, really, I do, and it doesn't change how I feel about Jeep...but we're supposed to be on the same side."

"We are."

"Then promise me."

"I give you my word," the Archangel replied abruptly, "That I will keep nothing from you again."

"Good," Alex nodded, unsurprised by the archaic tone of Michael's vow "Hey...does this mean we're related?" he asked after a moment.

"In a way, yes," the angel answered.

"...Huh. Y'know...I think it's easier to believe I'm descended from the son of God," Alex said, "Than being related to an Archangel."

"One is inextricably linked to the other," Michael replied dryly.

"It's still..."

"But that means I'm related to Gabriel too, doesn't it?" he frowned, "You know I'm not gonna treat him like you do just because he's my brother as well. If he tries to kill me I'll flight back."

"I would expect no less from you."

"...Oh...well, good," Alex replied, surprised and they lapsed into silence again.