Michael couldn't deny that his confidence plummeted when he caught sight of the look his father was giving him. Sure, he knew his father wasn't happy with him from the moment he interrupted the fight, but he was still sure he could convince his father he was innocent and that his twin deserved everything he did to him. Even when his father started berating everyone who hurt poor Samael's feelings, which nauseated Michael, he was still sure he could persuade his father that his twin wasn't worth anything. Now, he began to doubt that. The look he was getting was worse than the one his father wore all night. There had to be a way though. It wasn't the first time he convinced his father to see things his way. He could do it again. He would. He wouldn't let his unworthy twin win.
"Michael, you should remember that I am capable of listening to your every thought," God said in a hard tone. Despite the fact that he had used the gift quite a bit tonight, he generally chose not to, which was why Michael had gotten away with so much. Listening to every single thought from everyone he came across would drive even him insane. "I advise you to assume I am listening. If I can't trust your words, I'll have to rely on your thoughts."
Michael gulped in response. Things only kept getting worse for him.
"We have much to discuss, Michael. Your sins are numerous. Normally, we'd start at the beginning, but there is so much that not even I can be sure where the beginning is, so we'll start with your smallest offense and work our way up. You brought harm to my grandson, which prompted your brother to completely stop time.
"That's his smallest offense?" Amenadiel asked in disbelief. Then he remembered where he was and who was speaking. "I apologize, Father."
God smiled slightly at his eldest, letting him know it was alright. "I'm afraid it is. It's quite telling, isn't it?"
"Father, I didn't do…
God's demeanor changed in an instant as he turned back and interrupted Michael loudly. "Do not lie to me!"
Michael flinched at his father's vibratingly loud voice.
"I know that you brought harm to Charlie. I don't know why you would do that. I don't know if you were simply trying to incite fear in your brother or if you had some other sinister purpose. I don't care either. It doesn't matter. No matter what your motives were, you harmed your brother's child!" God snapped at Michael.
"I…I just wanted to see what would happen. I figured there was no better way to determine if he was a celestial or not. If he was, it wouldn't have had any effect on him," Michael said.
"You used my son as an experiment!" Amenadiel snarled.
"I didn't do any damage. It was just a stupid cold. The weak, little human would've gotten one eventually anyway," Michael said.
"Enough!" God bellowed. "As I said, I don't care for your reasoning. You caused harm to a member of your own family to play some sort of game with your siblings. Although, I shouldn't be surprised that you would cause harm to someone in this family. It wouldn't be the first time. As I said before, this was the least damaging thing you've done. Before this, you impersonated your brother in order to destroy his life, you revealed his identity to a human, and then you later kidnapped another human!"
Lucifer smirked a little. Now that Michael was the subject of his father's ire, he was beginning to enjoy himself. The little bastard was finally getting what was coming to him. Lucifer wouldn't even try to suppress his delight.
"I didn't hurt her. I was never going to. All I did was hold her for a while. I only wanted Samael to suffer for a little bit. He disfigured me!" Michael said as he pointed to his face.
"Which you brought on yourself when you impersonated him," God said.
"I had to. Everyone had to see that he was the Devil, that he belonged in Hell," he said.
"I was already in Hell, you idiot!" Lucifer snarled.
"He would've left eventually, Father. He wouldn't have completed his responsibilities," Michael said.
"Of course, he would've left. Because I would've let him!" God said. He yelled the last part. He'd allowed Lucifer to sacrifice himself and return to Hell because there were things that needed to be addressed there. Keeping the demons from returning to Earth was only one problem. Demons had begun lacking in their responsibilities, which weakened the Hell loops. Lucifer needed to return to affectively frighten demons into continuing their purposes, and it had to be Lucifer because he was the only one they'd listen to. When that was done, God fully intended on releasing his son. In fact, Michael had only sped up the timetable by a short time. Lucifer had effectively gotten the demons back in line, and he doubted they would ever be stupid enough to disobey again.
"But he belongs there. He rebelled," Michael argued.
"Yes, and that brings us to worst of your misdeeds, so I do thank you for bringing it up. I'm sure that when you were boasting to your brother about manipulating him into rebelling against me, you didn't expect that I might be listening," God said coldly.
Michael's eyes widened and he gulped. No, he hadn't expected that. He knew that many of his siblings, like his twin, believed their father saw and knew everything, but Michael knew that not to be the case. He knew his father chose what he saw, and that what he chose to pay attention to had become less and less with each new creation. There was just too much in the universe for his father to pay attention to everything.
"You are correct," God said after hearing his son's thoughts. "I don't watch your every move. I didn't feel I needed to, however, when I realized that you were on Earth, where your siblings were, I decided to keep an eye on you."
"If you heard about what he did, why didn't you do something then? Why did you allow him to keep messing with the people I care about?" Lucifer asked angrily.
"In part, because I wanted more information before I dealt with him, and because my anger was so deep that I feared what I would do to him. No matter how angry I was, I could not allow myself to get to the point where I'd do him irreparable damage. And before you even bring it up, Lucifer, I never plotted your death. Your mother lied about that," God told him.
Lucifer nodded after a minute. Truthfully, a part of him had always doubted what his mother said to him. He wanted to believe her simply because he wanted a reason for her to abandon him, but a part of him always had his doubts.
"Father, I was lying. I was only trying to mess with Lucifer," Michael said. His only chance of getting out of this was to make his father think he lied, like his twin originally believed.
Lucifer laughed at his brother. "Oh, really? But you were so convincing. You even made your reasons for doing what you did clear. It was because of your petty jealously. That's how I knew you were telling the truth."
"I was just screwing with you," Michael said before turning back to his father. "Father, I swear, I never…"
"Enough, Michael! I have already warned you not to lie to me. I said that one of the reasons I didn't confront you right away was that I wanted more information, so I went back and viewed your actions during that time frame. You used your gift to incite fear in your brother. You overwhelmed him with a non-existent future dictating his every move and severe punishment should he go against it. Then you gave him the idea to plan a war to prevent it," God said angrily.
Lucifer glared at his twin. He remembered that now. He'd been upset about his lack of choices since humans were created, but he didn't really have any intention of acting on it until suddenly a fear of tyranny creeped up inside of him. He should've known Michael had been behind it. The fact that he was so frightened should've given it away.
Michael felt his whole world falling a part. His father knew almost everything. He couldn't deny it anymore if his father had actually looked at his actions. All he could do was try to minimize what he'd done. "I didn't make him do anything, and he probably would've done it anyways. He was already…"
"Silence, Michael! I am not done. That's not even the worst of what you did," God said.
Lucifer raised a surprised eyebrow. That wasn't the worst? What else could he have possibly done that could be considered even on par with inciting the rebellion, let alone worse?"
Amenadiel, meanwhile, was shocked by the whole thing. He never considered that Michael could be behind Lucifer's rebellion. It disgusted him and made him feel guilty. After the rebellion, Amenadiel had turned on his brother, many of them had. He brought his brother to Hell over and over when he left. Now he learned that none of it was ever Lucifer's fault. It had all been instigated by Michael.
"The catalyst was when you told me how your brother had damaged your wing after you tried to talk him down," God said, rage laced in his voice.
"What?! I never touched him!" Lucifer protested.
"I know, son. I'm very sorry, but I'd determined that it was one of your weapons that injured him, and I saw no reason to believe he would do it to himself," God said sadly. As furious as he was at Michael, it was his fault too. He allowed himself to be manipulated. If he'd looked into Michael's actions, as he recently did, much of the heartache Lucifer suffered could've been avoided.
Lucifer's eyes went bright red when he realized what happened. One of his daggers had gone missing just before the rebellion. He always suspected Michael took it. The bastard had used it to frame him for attacking him. He had to wonder if it was that act that solidified his sentence to Hell.
Lucifer's anger began to boil over, and he got up to attack his brother. "You little bastard!"
God was out of his chair in seconds and at his son's side. He got his arms around Lucifer mere moments before he could reach Michael. "No. Lucifer, stop."
"Let go! He ruined my life! He orchestrated everything!" Lucifer yelled.
"I know, child, but it won't help," God told him as he held the struggling angel tightly.
"Lucifer, he'll only get off more on it," Chloe said next to him. She felt sick right now. She had already felt a lot of guilt after the verbal beating she'd just received from God. Now that she knew all of what she betrayed Lucifer for was a lie, it was even worse. Lucifer was not the Devil. Michael was. He was responsible for all of it. And, yes, she did know that Michael had something to do with Lucifer falling because Lucifer told her, but she didn't know it was to this extent. Lucifer obviously didn't either.
"He will be punished, my son. I promise you that. Please sit," God said before gently easing Lucifer back into his chair. He then placed his hands on Lucifer's shoulders, both in an effort to comfort him and restrain him.
God turned back to Michael and glared. "I've given a lot of thought to what I'm going to do with you."
"Father, please…"
"I said stay quiet!" God yelled in a thunderous tone. "You orchestrated your brother's rebellion. As far as I'm concerned, that makes it your rebellion. Your brother was punished harshly for eons. You ought to suffer the same fate."
Michael's eyes widened in fear. This wasn't right. He wasn't the one deserving of Hell. His less than twin was. He always stayed loyal. Yes, he orchestrated the rebellion, but it wouldn't have happened if Samael wasn't already questioning their father's decisions. He deserved Hell just for that. "You… You're sending me to Hell?"
"Oh, I considered it, extensively. After all, why shouldn't you receive the exact same punishment that was inflicted on your brother because of you? But I've come to the conclusion that it's too risky to leave you in charge of Hell. You see, I trusted Lucifer much more than I trust you now, and I won't risk you instigating demons or creating chaos with human souls down there. Your brother did a lot of work to create order in Hell. I won't have that destroyed. No, your prison will be here," God said.
"That's not a punishment!" Lucifer snarled before trying to attack his brother again, but he was firmly held in place by his father's hands on his shoulder.
"Yes, Father, I don't mean any disrespect, but Lucifer's right. He won't be able to come after us anymore, but remaining in the Silver City is no punishment for him," Amenadiel said.
"Not to worry, boys. Your brother will find this far from enjoyable," God said before turning back to Michael. "You will not be allowed out of the Silver City for at least as long as your brother was forced to reign over Hell. After that, I may show you leniency if I see true contrition. It should go without saying that your wings will remain dormant. I won't take them, not they no longer have any purpose. You will also be losing your ability to bring out fear permanently. I will not allow you to use your gift to harm people again."
"You're taking my powers?! Father, you can't! Not for him!" Michael exclaimed as he looked at his twin in disgust.
God waved his hand, removing the power he decreed he was taking away. "I just did, son. Be thankful I don't take them all. Now, we are not done. Being sent to Hell was not the only way Lucifer suffered. Now, I don't know when or why they started referring to him as 'The Devil' or what made them think to blame him for their mistakes, but it is yet another price he paid for your actions, and it will stop!"
God turned to Lucifer, his face and voice immediately softening. "I know you thought that that was my doing, but I swear to you it wasn't. I should've put a stop to it, but I worried about interfering with humanity too much. I've begun to rectify that mistake."
Lucifer didn't speak. He had no more words at the moment. He felt so much right now. Rage was a strong emotion. Michael had taken everything from home. He always blamed his father for taking away his free will, but Michael was the one that had taken it. He'd influenced his choices in order to ruin him, and it worked. He was sent to Hell and the world hated him because Michael made sure he rebelled. Lucifer knew that it was ultimately his own choice, but he didn't think it would've happened if Michael hadn't incited fear and given him the idea. His life could've been very different. Now, he wasn't sure if he'd want it to be different, but the point was that he hadn't gotten the chance to really choose a different path. His choices were influenced by his twin. He was so angry, but he was also hurt and overwhelmed. Everything he knew had pretty fallen apart. Yes, he had known before today that Michael had a hand in his rebellion, but he didn't know the extent it went to.
God squeezed his son's shoulders. He could see that Lucifer was on the verge of falling apart. He'd had more than enough. "We're almost through, child. I only need you to give me a little bit longer. Then you can rest."
Michael looked at his father and twin in disgust. Of course, Samael was automatically the favorite again, if he ever even stopped being that. It didn't seem to matter that the little bastard had still made the choice to rebel. Their father had absolved him of any responsibility and placed it all on Michael. It wasn't right.
God looked back at Michael and glared. He'd, of course, heard all his thoughts. "Watch yourself, Michael! My patience with you has long since been gone! For your information, I love all of you equally. Despite what you've done, I still love you, just as I have always loved your brother. I will, however, tell you that I do not like the man you've become. It takes an awful person to do the things you have. You should know that your siblings agree with me. I have informed them of your actions, and they are all very angry with you."
Michael snorted in response. "Of course, they were. He didn't really expect any different. They had already been gushing about how wonderful Lucifer was when he went back to Hell to protect Amenadiel's brat."
"We should get back to business. I was speaking about how your actions affected humanity's perception of your brother. I said I was going to put a stop to that. Currently, everyone believes Lucifer to be the Devil, all because of a fight that never concerned them. I am correcting that. Gabriel has been sent to start whispering in the ears of religious leaders. It will take time, but in a century or two, humans will all know that Lucifer was scapegoated by you. You will no longer be hailed as the archangel that stopped the Devil," God said.
"So, I'll be the villain, and him the innocent victim," Michael said with a sneer.
"Yes. You will experience what he went through. The only difference is that there will be no lies told about you. Humans will have a clear picture of what you did. They will judge you on those actions, not on lies that were passed down and contorted throughout centuries," God said. He really regretted allowing that to happen to Lucifer, and while he was tempted to let that fate also him Michael, he wanted people to know the truth about what Michael had done.
Amenadiel smirked a little. It was the perfect punishment. Michael would now learn what it was like to be Lucifer. He would be hated by everyone, just like Lucifer was.
"We're done. Get out of my sight," God said before waving his hand, sending his son to his own quarters.
Lucifer placed his head in his hands. He was done. He felt like he could collapse at any moment. This night had shaken his whole world.
"Amenadiel, take Detective Decker home, please. Lucifer will stay here tonight," God said.
"Yes, Father. Come on, Chloe," Amenadiel said before standing up from his chair.
Chloe reluctantly got up. She didn't want to leave Lucifer there, but she knew she had no choice. She didn't dare argue with God. She couldn't give him any reason to smite her or something. He already didn't like her, so it probably wouldn't take much.
God didn't even wait for them to leave before turning back to his other son. "Come, Lucifer. You need to lay down and rest.
Lucifer let his father gently pull him to his feet. He didn't have the energy to fight him, and didn't know if he even wanted to, so he let him lead him from the room.