When Micheal stepped in the car, he was given access to something he hadn't seen first hand. The world of Hell through the tinted windows of Ada's car.
The streets were littered with poverty and Micheal couldn't help but feel disgusted at the poor state of the impoverished areas they passed by. It was rather disgusting as he could see countless homeless demons on the streets, famine and suffering was prevalent in just about every corner. Vice and inhumanity was present just about everywhere and Micheal clenched his fist, doing his best to keep his expression neutral at the scene before him.
He wrinkled his nose, revulsion growing deep within his stomach,'Disgusting. Lucifer is very irresponsible with his realm. This place is far worse than Imagined. I know Lucifer's land is full of the worst of the wrist, but this world is truly a place of vice and sin. Suffering is so prevalent yet nothing is done about it. It feels like Lucifer just lets things fester unless they personally affect him...Typical…'
Even prior to the Fall, Lucifer always had a selfish streak and this no doubt got worse the moment he was exiled from Heaven as nobody was around to put him on a leash in Heaven. In Hell, he was the most powerful being around and no sinner or natural-born hellborn would be able to compete with his powers no matter how hard they tried. Since Lucifer had nobody to reprimand him on an equal standing, he was free to do as he pleased while everyone else suffered the burden of his actions or lack of action. All this while he ruled the land with an Iron Fist, ensuring that anything too powerful was disposed of one way or another. There wasn't anything Lucifer couldn't have and if he could, he'd buy everything in the world no matter what they price may be.
All these centuries of having to answer to no one had allowed him to develop an apathy to the living conditions of his realm to anyone that wasn't his inner circle and Micheal had the feeling his brother was too stubborn to admit that there was anything wrong with it and if he did, he'd likely excuse it as 'the way it had to be' and that there was no point in trying to change the way things were.
"Lord Lucifer?" Ada asked in a weary tone,"You've been staring out the window and haven't said a word since we got in the car. Is something troubling you?"
Micheal shook his head,"Nothing, Ada. I'm just concentrating. I've got a lot on my mind…"
"Well I'd hate to interrupt you and your thoughts, but I'm just letting you know that our destination is just up ahead…"
"It's fine," He said, eyes still focused on the hellish landscape of his brother's infernal realm.
When they arrived at their destination, Micheal noticed that it was a fairly large and well-kept building that seemed to be ancient due to the style it gave off. From the back of the car Micheal could make a large horde of upper class demons who were steadily making their way inside.
Ada quickly hopped out of the driver's side door before opening Micheal's side of the door,"Lead the way, your highness…"
He merely nodded in response as he stepped out on the red carpet.
The moment he got out, he was suddenly swarmed by reporters that had seemingly come out and were questioning him left and right. It was happening so fast that he could only make out certain sentences.
"Your highness, your wife has been rather silent about her pregnancy, is it true? Do you know where she is?"
"How many children will there be!? Is there going to be a competition for the throne between the kids?"
"Do you have any plans on having more kids?"
'The disrespect of these sensationalist reporters! They think they can just swarm me and back me into a corner just because they want a raise, huh? In that case, I'll show them what for…'
Micheal scowled, his eyes narrowing with hostility before coldly pushing them away,"For your information, Lilith's whereabouts are none of your concerns. All I can say is that she's doing fine but your other questions are far too personal to answer, especially in times like this. Now if excuse me, I'd appreciate it if you all backed off or else you'll suffer the consequences for your insolence."
This trick seemed to work and to Micheal's relief, his death stare and raised voice was enough to send the reporters cowering away,"Erm...we see your point, your highness.. If you don't mind, we'll just be going now…"
Micheal blanked when he saw the reporters take off in the opposite direction as they fled for their lives.
Ada blinked, she was about to get involved when 'Lucifer' got swarmed, but Micheal had already scared them off with his words and to be frank, she feared that it was going to get physical. Usually Lucifer responded with violence if anyone set him off, someone getting in his face and trying to forcefully pry questions was a death sentence and she figured that it would repeat itself in this scenario.
"Looks like those nosy reporters finally took the hint. Good riddance," Micheal admitted with a casual shrug,"Anyway, Ada, where were we again? I got distracted by those reporters that I lost my footing in my train of thought…"
"We were about to head inside to the Gala to join the rest of the guests…
"The what?" He asked.
"Don't you remember? Social events are usually where you conduct your business affairs. Is there something wrong with your memory, Lucifer? Because it seems like something is wrong if you can't recall something as simple as that and it's becoming too common for my liking…"
"I appreciate the concern, but it's fine. I'm just a bit distracted and I have a lot on my mind. Come on, let's go greet everyone inside…"
"As you wish my Lord…"
They made their way to the front of the entrance and upon locking eyes with Micheal, the guard immediately stepped aside and bowed his head,"Welcome to the Gala, your highness…"
"Hmph…"
As they made their way inside, you could imagine the gala was about as extravagant as they could come. There was sensual music playing in the background as a bunch of noble demons of a multitude of backgrounds danced together. Everyone was swaying to the beat and seemed to be in sync with each other.
Well, everyone except them that is…
Micheal narrowed his eyes, he had very little if any interest in dancing but he didn't want to look out of place. He noticed Ada hadn't moved from her spot beside him, her eyes darting around the room wearily.
"Something wrong, Ada? You look rather distressed…"
"I'm fine," She mumbled,"It's just that I don't have anyone to dance with. Normally Doom and I would dance together during these events but since he's not here, I'm left without a partner and I feel rather out of place without anyone to dance with…"
Micheal paused,"Oh. I see…" He had almost forgotten about Doom's existence up until now. This was probably why she was annoyed he was unable to 'make it' earlier. It'd mean that without him she'd have nobody to dance with at that party….
He resisted the urge to facepalm,'Great. I just transformed her dance partner into a cherub. That's perfect. Now she's going to be left out.'
Suddenly, an idea hit him from behind. Since Doom was...out of commission, why not offer himself? He didn't exactly have a partner and the meeting didn't seem to be starting anytime soon.
He then offered his hand,"Well in that case, Ada, why don't you be my partner?"
"Excuse me, My Lord? You're joking right? I'm not fit for being your partner…"
"Nonsense, Ada. You're just perfect. Trust me…"
"But what about your wife?"
Micheal shrugged,"I don't see the problem. It's not like she's here to see us is she? What's the harm? It's just a dance…"
"But-"
"You don't have to. I'm just saying the offer is on the table…"
Ada fell silent for a moment. She was tempted to say no, however she then remembered she'd be without a partner for the rest of the Gala.
Not to mention it was Lucifer, or at least who she believed was Lucifer, offering her a dance. Most other demons would be tripping over themselves for an opportunity like this and it'd be such a shame to put down such a chance.
Still, there was one thing she was concerned about.
"Are You certain you want to dance with me, Lucifer?"
"Yes? Why wouldn't I?"
"It's just that my claws tend to be a detractor for men…" She admitted,"Most guys are too scared I'll cut them to get close to me. Only Doom bothers to try and get close and even then, we're just friends…"
"It's alright," He assured, pulling her close,"Trust me, you won't hurt me. Just follow my movements and everything shall be alright…"
She didn't know how to respond but the utility decided to go with the flow. It wasn't like she'd get this chance again and if someone was willing to ignore her overly sharp claws then perhaps this dance would be tolerable. Besides, she couldn't deny he was attractive so why reject him?
As they danced, Micheal kept a calm smile on his face, gracefully dancing in sync with the music and carrying Ada around. It Was like time had slowed down and they were actually enjoying themselves for the first time in eons.
Micheal had never been this close to a woman while sober, but he certainly wasn't complaining. If he was going to be 'Lucifer' then he was going to enjoy himself while he was adorning his brother's clothes….
Micheal and Ada spent what felt like hours dancing together, however like all good things it had to come to an end. They were here for business after all and Micheal was responsible for managing Lucifer's state of affairs and maintaining his precautions while he was away with Lilith(likely only planning on coming back once the baby was born/close to being born).
In the meantime, Micheal was forced to deal with the more...boring parts of the job. As a ruler of Hell, Lucifer had a lot of affairs with officials to help manage his already dystopian and chaotic hellhole.
The issue was that he was BORED OUT OF SKULL the entire time the meeting was taking place. Do you want to know why?
Because NOTHING of substance was happening! All the officials in Hell seemed more concerned about their personal lives and who they were interested in screwing over/having sex with than the actual state of Hell and it's economy.
All this happened while Micheal was forced to watch from the throne positioned at the top of the stairs, head tilted to the side while using his hand on his cheek. His boredom was reaching his peak and it was only a matter of time before he ended up falling over.
'Sweet heavens, this is the worst meeting I've had the misfortune of just keeps getting worse and worse...' He thought to himself, a firm frown rested on his features. Here he was, the former King of Heaven, sitting on top of a gold plated throne listening to demons bicker amongst each other with no regard for anyone but themselves.
At this point, Micheal was wondering how Lucifer could allow such foolishness to take place as most of the people he put in charge are blatantly incompetent at best or ruthlessly petty at worst. Worst part was that it was hard to separate between those two lines given they were just that similar in his mind, especially given the hearts of the vast majority of demons were evil to the core one way or another.
'It's a miracle Hell hasn't collapsed on itself with how dumb the people in charge of it are. I question my brother's decision making skills if THESE are the people he let's into power. This Kingdom of his is more akin to a wild circus than any type of society. Almost everyone in this room is incompetent to a crippling degree and shouldn't be fit to rule a sandbox, let alone an actual piece of land…'
Suddenly, Micheal's train of thought was interrupted at the sound of feminine laughter. He blinked, now focusing forward at the dinner tables and spotting a noble woman who looked like she was dressed from the 1770's. She appeared to be a hellborn but appeared to be wearing an outfit resembling a Marie Antoinette, holding a fan in her hand and laughing like one of those haughty rich people(which she just so happened to be).
"And then I said, if the imps cannot eat bread then they should eat cake!"
The other demons seemed to find this phrase so hilarious. Everyone except Ada and Micheal, the latter of whom seemed unamused at what he was hearing. He supposed he should've seen it coming but Micheal was getting more and more annoyed at the lack of respect for life that the nobility held for those lesser than them.
Unable to hold himself back, Micheal spoke up from the throne, his eyes still half-lidded,"What a strange sense of humor you all have. To laugh in the face of others who cannot afford something as small as bread only to say 'why not eat cake' is just offensive…."
Everyone turned to him with a shocked look on their faces, clearly not prepared for such a response. Even Ada herself looked momentarily shocked at this, giving him a bewildered glance from the side. He paid no mind to her, still giving all the officials of Hell a disappointed stare from above, his gaze enough to pierce mountains.
"I have to admit, I am questioning how you people are in charge of anything with how little you care for the problems over the portion of land you rule. In fact, I find the state of this Kingdom to be disgraceful. Poverty is prevalent just about everywhere, others are starving on the streets and everyone's too busy trying to overdose on drugs to focus on the fact that buildings are falling apart. What a disappointing sight. Not only does it make everyone here look inept, but it makes me look like a blundering fool for allowing inadequate management of this kingdom to go unpunished…"
The tension in the room rose tremendously, from overlords to Goetic Demons, everyone was panicking at this newfound shift in Lucifer's attitude. It was just as shocking as it was terrifying, as Micheal's expression never wavered.
"You can't be serious, Lucifer!"
"But I am," He replied,"You see, I've gotten rather tired of this state of this sorry realm and I find it offensive you can make jokes about your incompetence. Aren't you supposed to look out for the needs of those in need? Or are your positions in power just supposed to enrich yourselves and dine to your heart's content without a care in the world?"
Nobody said anything at first, at least until one "brave" soul dared to oppose Micheal's statement,"you're hardly any better, Lucifer! You're richer than all of us combined and yet you're lecturing us? You have far more power than everyone else here and yet we're the ones who get a lecture? What type of logic is that?"
Micheal didn't seem fazed by this, coldly saying,"That is not the subject at hand. It's rather rude to try and deflect, especially since at no part in this conversation did I ever mention myself. If you think trying to weasel your way out of responsibility by blaming me is a good idea then you have another thing coming, because I have plans on actually changing things that have become an eyesore. This sector reeks of poverty and filth and I believe it's time someone did something about it…"
"My Lord, how do you plan on doing that again?" Ada inquired, still giving Lucifer a confused glance from the corner of her eye.
"Oh I have just the solution for that little problem..." Micheal said calmly,"The solution is rather simple, I'll raise the taxes on those who have been neglecting their duties and have that tax money going to food reserves to feed the impoverished demons. The same goes for any other necessity that is currently being neglected like water, harvesting crops and investing in a better healthcare system since the one we have is near nonexistent…"
This caused a lot of outrage among all the demon nobles, clearly upset their expenses were now going to the less fortunate members of the population. Ada tensed, fearing that everyone would get violent if given the chance, however Micheal seemed rather amused by the complaints he heard, as if he found them funny.
"You can't do that!"
"Yeah, this is completely uncalled for! We shouldn't have to pay for the lower classes care! That's not our responsibility!"
"And why is Lucifer lecturing us? He doesn't even do anything about these problems and yet he expects us to pick up the slack! This is so hypocritical."
"Hardly hypocritical, especially since I'm going to have my palace's food reserves included in that regard. I'll be doing my part, but that don't mean any of you get to slip by without paying up for your lack of responsibility. If you're going to act like this, you need to pay up and given the amount of money you all make, I'm certain a little raise in taxes wouldn't hurt…"
Still, no matter what Micheal said, this did little to quell the anger being felt by all the nobility present. To them, they were being punished unfairly for no reason and they were trying to protest against this, though Micheal showed no sign of reversing his order.
"But-"
"There shall be no buts," He interrupted,"My decision is final. Honestly, I don't even understand why you're all so upset when the taxes you pay are already so low that a little increase would hardly change anything. It's a tiny pinch but it's nothing major. Do I make myself clear?"
The moment someone appeared ready to oppose him, Micheal said,"25%."
"What?"
"25% in taxes will be added. Originally it was just going to be 15%, but the amount of whining I was hearing convinced me to up the tax…"
"That's too much-"
"60%..."
"Your highness-"
He pushed even more,"85%..."
The noble woman from earlier shouted,"Now you're just being unfair! Not even the poor pay that amount of tax! There's no way anyone is paying that!"
Micheal raised an eyebrow, a small 'innocent' smile growing on his face,"Oh really? Well in that case, I suppose that something can be arranged. If there's no money left to spend I suppose I'll just take your wealth from you and power because if you're so stubborn at the notion of giving a small portion of your riches, then you clearly don't deserve these privileges afforded to you. Given how your all my 'loyal' subjects I can easily have your privileges revoked at whim and it's not looking good for you by disobeying. Remember, you may all be nobles, but I am the King of this realm and no matter what the price may be, I can and will do what I believe is best with our without your input. If you're all this incompetent then perhaps being stripped of power would teach you some humility. I can always find someone better to replace you after all..."
There was a visible stammer in her voice,"Now Lucifer-"
"It's your highness to you…."
"Your highness. There's no need to go so overboard! We swear we'll pay the tax, just don't take away our titles!"
"You will? Interesting, you changed your tune so fast, it's almost remarkable to see someone turn coat so quickly. Almost as you're trying to have your cake and eat it too.."
"Please, our titles are everything to us! We can still prove to be of worth to you! Right everyone?"
The other demons were quick to follow this statement, agreeing and nodding their heads frantically.
"So that's your choice, huh?" Micheal grinned,"Wise decision. Since everyone is starting to cooperate I'll lower the tax rate to 55% as to remain generous. After all, I'm not that cruel!" He cackled mockingly,"But I should warn all of you one thing to keep in mind. If I dare even hear a whisper that anyone's getting any ideas on trying to avoid paying these mandatory taxes, perpetrators shall be punished severely for their crime. In fact, all those who defy me are to die..."
It was a bluff, a front in order get the message across. Micheal didn't desire to kill anyone, even the denizens of Hell directly, but he had to ensure they understood he wasn't playing around and threats seemed to be the only language they understood...
A chill passed through every noble present, especially since 'Lucifer' didn't seem to kidding. All their pleas had fallen on deaf ears, his mind made up long before. His gold eyes were cold and there wasn't an ounce of sympathy in that heart of his for their cries.
Believing they had gotten the message, Micheal's gaze drifted to Ada before calmly asking,"The sight is truly amusing is it not, Ada? Everyone tenses up in fear at the mere notion of having a tiny bit of their wealth stripped away. Had they just left it alone I would've let them have the lower increase honestly. Oh well, hardly my fault..."
Ada tapped his shoulder,"Lord Lucifer, are you alright today? You're acting...different today. This is a bit out there for you, I can't recall you ever caring for the well being of the poor before..."
"Change of heart," He said in a low tone.
"You know a lot of other demons won't be happy about this."
He narrowed his eyes,"I'm aware, Ada. And I don't care, their complaints won't change my mind and like I said before, anyone who defies me are to die so if they truly want to test me. After all, this meeting is far from over and there's still much to discuss..." He then cleared his throat.
"Do you want a drink, sir?"
"Hmm...I don't see why not," He shrugged.
She grabbed a bottle of wine that as expected was apple flavored.
Micheal sighed,'Oh great, more apple themed items. My brother really needs to get that obsession checked out. It's in about everything he eats...'
"My Lord, you don't seem happy. Has something changed about your tastes that this no longer suits you?"
"No," He lied,"I just lost my train of thought." He quickly took the bottle and drank a few sips. It didn't taste bad or anything, but he certainly didn't get why his brother would have his lackey's carry such a thing on them because it seemed to be his favorite beverage. He then warmly smiled at her,"Thank you..."
Ada didn't respond at first before rubbing the back of her head, Lucifer never really thanked anyone, at least not in a genuine manner. She wasn't certain if the drinks was affecting his speech pattern but he sounded a bit more genuine than the other times she talked with Lucifer.
'Don't get you hopes up,' She told herself,'He's just being overly nice today. It means nothing. He's not interested in me that way...'
She found it such a pity that Lucifer was married and while he did pursue others for sex, he never seemed interested in her in a sexual manner. Often she was the one who had to kick all of Lucifer's one night stands out of the house when they overstayed their welcome and she found it hard to not get jealous how those who didn't have her strength or beauty got picked. Either Lucifer wasn't a fan of women with giant claws or he simply didn't find her interesting enough to pursue her and she had the feeling it was both. Most guys in general were too scared of her demeanor/claws to approach her and the fact she was incapable of getting pregnant meant she couldn't start a family did kill her dating range.
"Ada, is there a reason you're staring at me?"
"No reason, My Lord..."
He raised an eyebrow, tempting to question her but ultimately chose not to.'Whatever she's thinking about is probably of no concern to me anyhow...I have far better things to think about...'
Thanks for 11,993 views, tell me what you think cuz we're going back to Vol and the others next chap.
TheColoristDemon: Yeah, I felt like a twin swap would make thins interesting honestly. Nice new nickname, I recently changed mine and I like it, I hope you like yours. Have fun with your stories. Maybe I'll check to see what they are when I have time.
Enigmus-288: And Micheal went easy on him(he legit could've killed him and be done with it). Lucifer was so reluctant to leave Micheal alone since he thought his brother would be easy pickings, meanwhile in reality Micheal is legit being the boss and while being less strict/cruel, is still able to instill fear when needed.
Yeah, no matter the dimension, some people just don't deviate from their counterparts all too much. The Val's and Doom's were pretty much the same and remained static while almost everyone else who we see changed in some way(For better or for worse is up to how you feel).