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"I don’t know if this is all part of the plan … or if You can even hear me … but if You’re up there … Dad … I need a favor … I’ll be the son You always wanted me to be … I’ll do as You ask … Go where You want me to … I … In exchange, all I ask … is that You protect Chloe..."
XxXxXxX
Lucifer gazed at his new surroundings in shock then forced himself to blink repeatedly. Perhaps, if he did it enough, the hallucination that was currently playing out before him would vanish and he would not find himself – against all odds – back in Heaven. Surely, that's all he needed to do, right? Right??
Wrong.
The prismatic interstellar clouds that once formed his old 'ceiling' were still there far above his head and in the south corner, the flocculent bed he use to sleep in every night was right where he'd left it, still draped in his prized kadijma blanket, the inspiration for cashmere on Earth. Even the books he'd treasured long, long ago hadn't been removed from his private chambers. Unbelievably, the last one he'd been in the process of reading before his rebellion was still facedown on the floor by his desk, the golden pendant Mum had once given him for a bookmark forever peeping out amongst the middle pages.
Open-mouthed, Lucifer stared at the book longest of all then abruptly shut his trap and tried to take flight back to Earth. When he found he couldn't, that his return to Heaven had not yet restored the wings that Maze had hacked off years ago under his command, Lucifer set his jaw and stalked from the room in search of his father.
This was outrageous, all of it.
Malcolm Graham had just shot him in the gut and killed him. The Devil had no business returning intact to his old quarters in the Silver City after that; the lack of wings proved it. Hell, the Gates should never even have opened for him, so if this was part and parcel of the deal he'd unwittingly made with Dear Old Dad while he was dying – if returning to Heaven of all places was what was required to be the son his father always wanted him to be – well, it was definitely time to renegotiate!
Midway to God's throne room in the north wing in the colossal palace he'd grown up in, Lucifer was accosted by the youngest of his siblings. The auburn-haired girls were the eighth set of identical twins created by their parents and the only one that was female.
Eriel took charge and spoke first as always, her tone just as imperious and judgmental as Lucifer remembered it to be. "Samael?" she grabbed Yzabel's hand and squeezed it hard in silent warning then released her agitated twin and gathered the folds of her sparkling, floor-length dress close to her body. She circled Lucifer once, studying him suspiciously. "What're you doing here, Rebel?"
Yzabel didn't care. "Oh, Samael, you're back!" she exclaimed. "You're really and truly back home with us!" Not the least bit concerned for her own shimmery garments, or how proximity to Satan might 'contaminate' them, the adoring angel could restrain herself no longer. She launched her entire frame at her beloved big brother and held on tight in a way that would one day be highly reminiscent of an LAPD forensic scientist named Ella Lopez. "How I've missed you so!"
"Oh, really?" Equally touched and annoyed by sisterly affection that was clearly heartfelt but also long overdue, Lucifer allowed contact for ten seconds then promptly extricated himself. "Why didn't you visit me in Hell then?"
"Because you were in Hell," Eriel answered for her twin as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. She sniffed in distaste as she pulled Yzabel away from Lucifer then brushed imaginary filth from the heedless angel's dress. "Who wants to go there?"
Lucifer glowered at Eriel. "Precisely, Sister. I didn't want to be there either, but I might have found the bloody place somewhat tolerable if even one my many siblings had bothered to visit me from time to time!"
Yzabel flushed with shame as she suffered Eriel's attentions. "Amenadiel—" she began timidly.
"Doesn't count!" Lucifer's eyes burned in his head. "A jailor is not the same as a brother!" Not even Eriel dared offer a retort in the face of those fiery orbs, so Lucifer forced himself to take a breath and allow the brown to resurface. "Whatever. Where's Dad?"
The girls had no clue and thus could offer no suggestions. When Lucifer promptly huffed then continued his way to the Throne Room for lack of a better plan, Yzabel finally summoned the courage to escape her overprotective twin, and she hurried to catch up then keep pace with Lucifer's very determined stride. After a moment a mistrustful Eriel followed, intent on watching out for her little sis.
"Please don't be angry with us, Sammy!" Yzabel pleaded.
"Don’t call me that," Lucifer snapped. "It's not my name anymore. I respond only to Lucifer."
"Or Lu or Luci or Luce," Eriel couldn't help but add with disdain. Her upper lip curled at the thought of how easily their siblings Saraqael, Azrael, Amenadiel and Jophiel had acquiesced to the Devil's demands and vowed never to join their ranks. "You should know," she continued loftily, "that I don’t like any of those options, so I'm going to continue calling you what Mother and Daddy did before your Fall. Your name is Samael, which means that, and 'Rebel', are the only two names I'll ever have for you. Like it or lump it, Brother, as I’ve heard said by those pathetic humans you now wallow amongst."
Outside the antechamber to God’s Throne Room at last, Lucifer stopped in his tracks and turned to Eriel who gasped at the sight of his devil face in full terrifying view. "Call me that name and I will not answer you. Are you certain you wish to provoke the Devil?"
Eriel swallowed hard then retreated several steps. Once she deemed the distance between them safe enough, she uttered a haughty "Hmph!" then spun on her heel and flounced off.
Left behind, Yzabel gazed up at her big brother apologetically. "Never mind her, Lucifer. I'll call you whatever you want and I'm sorry too that I didn't visit."
"I don't believe you, Sister." Lucifer allowed his devil face to dissolve but that was all. As a flood of tears began to glisten in Yzabel’s brown eyes, Lucifer stared down at her and hardened his heart, his jaw pulsing from the pain of being rejected by a sibling who obviously had never stopped loving him. "If you really cared, why didn't you come?"
Yzabel hung her head. "I meant to," she whispered, wringing her hands and feeling wretched. "Truly, I did, but at first I was afraid of what Daddy might do to me and then I thought I would just wait for you to return to the Silver City." Yzabel chanced a peek upwards then took a deep breath, stopped fidgeting and did her best to stand tall in a manner she figured the family rebel was sure to respect. "No matter what everyone else said after your Fall, Lucifer, I always knew Daddy would let you come home someday. It was just a matter of time, and I was right because look! Here you are! Oh, please, please say you forgive me!"
Lucifer rocked on his heels as Yzabel promptly lost her battle with decorum and barrelled into him again. He shook his head then did the inevitable and hugged her back with a sigh. Along with Azrael, Yzabel was the one sibling against whom he'd never once managed to hold a grudge. He had no idea what made him think he would succeed this day.
"Fine," he grumbled. "You’re forgiven, I suppose. Is it too much to ask for you to let go? I do have places to be, you know."
"Daddy's Throne Room?" Yzabel guessed as she released him. She glanced at the enormous, gilded door that would lead to Heaven’s seat of power then shook her head. "I don't think He's in there."
"Well, He has to be somewhere," Lucifer said, disgruntled. It was only a few more steps to the chamber itself, but like Yzabel, he could sense his father’s absence from the room. He considered going in anyway then thought better of it and put his hands together.
With his eyes shut and his expression serene, Lucifer would have looked beatific to a human, but Yzabel was not human, and she could read her favorite brother well. Silent though he may be, he was, in fact, yelling for their father, and as the psychic echo began to reach even her despite his prayer being directed to another, Yzabel winced from the force of it and clapped her hands over her ears.
["DAAAAAAAAD!"]
"You bellowed, My son?"
God materialized in front of his two children, taking the anthropoid form they were most used to at this point, the one he’d fashioned for himself long ago shortly after beginning his humanity project. Tall, dark, and handsome (as his pets liked to say on Earth), God bestowed warm smiles on Yzabel and Lucifer both, which the latter, of course, did not return.
Shocked and, most of all, furious at being once again in the presence of the parent who'd unfairly sentenced him to Hell – a parent who hadn't spoken to him in literal eons and was actually daring to smile at him now after all He'd done – Lucifer worked his jaw a moment then raised his chin defiantly and got straight to the point.
"Dad, why am I here? More importantly, why can't I leave?"
God did not answer at first. He beckoned for His youngest daughter to approach then stood her before Him and placed both hands lovingly on her shoulders since a similar touch on Lucifer would surely be rebuffed. After a lengthy pause during which the Devil fumed at being kept waiting, God decided to torture him no more.
"You are here, My son, because you died on Earth."
"I know that!" Lucifer snapped. "What I want to know is why am I here, for Your sake! Why am I in the Silver City!"
"Because I’ve changed My mind about your future, and this is where you belong from now on," God said implacably. "I have decided your tenure in Hell is over, Samael."
Before the Creator of the Universe could elaborate or Lucifer could interject further, Yzabel immediately half-turned and looked up at her father. "Daddy? He doesn't like to be called that name anymore."
God ignored that comment, his eyes never leaving Lucifer's. "As for why you can't leave the Silver City, My son, why would you even want to after what you've endured elsewhere?"
"Why do you bloody think?!" Lucifer exploded. The very real possibility of being smited for disrespect came and went. "I left the detective in mortal danger, and I need to help her before she, too, is murdered!"
"Well, should that happen," God replied, nonplussed, "she'll be here momentarily, her and her adorable daughter both." God considered that possibility with a smile that made His Lightbringer want to throttle Him then said, "I must admit I do so enjoy watching that child interact with your demon Mazikeen. They've really developed quite the extraordinary bond, wouldn't you agree?"
"Dad!"
God frowned thoughtfully to himself and tapped one finger against his lips. "You know, son, I'm doubly glad you're here, so we can discuss this. I disagree with you that her nickname is that of a prostitute. Based on the current naming conventions on Earth, Trixie is a perfectly suitable —"
"DAD!" As God started and his eyebrows arched in that telltale way his son had not forgotten, Lucifer swallowed hard and forced himself to calm. In all the time he'd been up here, mere seconds would have passed on Earth, but for a gun-toting stalker like Malcolm Graham, every second that passed was precious. Much as it galled him to, especially in full view of one of his siblings, Lucifer turned pleading eyes on his father. "Dad, please. I am asking You respectfully to send me back."
God's voice now turned neutral. "And why should I do that?"
"Because." Lucifer enunciated carefully, struggling to keep his temper in check. "Because … I do not belong here in Heaven. I died and should have gone back to Hell, per Your rules, but for whatever reason You saw fit to return me to a realm I cannot stand. This will not do. I need to return to Earth, and I need to return now. I'm needed there. Not here. There. The detective is in grave danger." When God made no reply, Lucifer's composure shattered. "For the love of You, Dad, please! Just let me go home!"
"But Lucifer —!" As a devastated Yzabel broke in, no doubt to protest that her beloved brother was already home, God raised a hand and she vanished on the spot, safely deposited in her favorite garden outside the rooms she shared with Eriel.
"Are you truly turning your back on My munificence?"
Lucifer's eyes flashed angrily at the wording his father had just dared to used, but that was a battle for another day. He nodded stiffly. "Yes. I am. I don't have a choice."
"On the contrary, Samael, you do, so I urge you to reconsider. Are you certain, absolutely certain, you wish to return to Earth at this time?" God surveyed the family rebel with a practiced eye, disappointed but not at all surprised when the boy nodded again. He stared at his son wordlessly another moment then said, "If you choose this path, Samael, I warn you. I will strike from your memory the knowledge of My forgiveness. You will not remember that you began to reconcile with your family and the sisters you saw today will forget your return. In short, neither you nor they will remember that you were ever welcomed home."
Of course that would be the price. Unbelievable…
Lucifer released a bitter snort. "Heaven is not my home, Dad, and it hasn't been for a very, very, very long time."
"And our family?" God pressed. "Are you not ready to be reunited with Me and with your siblings? You wish to be alone for countless more millennia?"
"I am not alone," Lucifer retorted before he even realized that was true. He paused for the briefest of moments to reflect on his relationship with Linda before he visualized Chloe, Cacuzza and all the other officers and detectives at the precinct with whom he'd become friendly. There was also his staff at Lux, many of whom had been in his employ for years at this point, on top of which there was even God's Firstborn, the only sibling Lucifer had on Earth at the moment and who was actually fun to be with on the rare occasions he bloody well relaxed. Lucifer began to smirk at the memory of their recent battle against Tommy Campolongo's minions. "I'll have You know, Dad, that I have plenty of friends all over L.A. and I even have Amenadiel now, assuming You don't cruelly decide to steal him from me. I don't need anymore than that."
God harrumphed. "Aside from your brother, Linda Martin and Chloe Decker, Samael, you have not listed nor thought of a single person of consequence, which tells Me that what you truly desire is for your heart to continue to hurt needlessly. You wish to continue believing you are not loved by your true family. Is that correct?"
Lucifer's smile faded as anger resurfaced. "It is not correct, but since it's Your decision to flush my memories simply because I want to prevent the pointless death of a woman and her child who don't deserve to die, well, so be it. Send me back so I can forget I ever saw You."
"Very well." God observed Lucifer quietly a moment then reached out to cup his cheek with affection before the latter could pull away. "I suppose I can allow it since it will only be another few years until ..."
Lucifer scowled and waited on tenterhooks for his father to finish that enigmatic sentence then prompted Him impatiently when He remained frustratingly silent. "What? Until what?"
God didn't answer and instead, went off on a tangent. "Before I return you to Earth, My son, I want you to know upfront that you are forgiven for Uriel. It is not at all your fault that you will be forced to kill him—"
"Kill him?!" Lucifer's heart began to pound. "You must be joking. I haven't even seen Uri in centuries! Why would I ever—?!"
"—I also need you to bear witness in Hell. You'll know what that means once you get there and what you must do next. I promise you won't be there long."
"Bear witness to what?" Lucifer demanded, his voice rising. "What's happening in a few years and why are You making me hurt my little brother, Dad??"
"All in good time, son. For now, safe journey."
"Do not 'mysterious ways' me right now! I asked you what—?!"
XxXxXxX
Lucifer stared at the all-too familiar charcoal columns before him, signifying that he was back in Hell. It wasn't surprising, of course. After all, since he wasn't welcome in Heaven, there was really nowhere else he could have expected his soul to settle. Even that crafty degenerate, Malcolm Graham, had said as much right after he'd shot him in the stomach a minute ago.
Still …
Lucifer took a hesitant step forward then frowned and gazed down the desolate hallway to his left, convinced that he was forgetting something enormously important, something about his father and about siblings he hadn’t seen in millennia.
What was it though? And why couldn't he remember?
He ran a hand down the closest column and forced himself to think harder, but it seemed the greater his concentration, the faster his memory was determined to fade. Finally, Lucifer gave up. He glanced upwards at the ash forever falling from the sky then sighed and began the long, lonely walk towards his old throne, passing a hand once more over a column.
"Home sweet home…"