Just the very idea of flying north instead of his usual southerly destination left an ugly taste in Lucifer's mouth. It wasn't the idea that he had a choice again; a place of cold versus a place of warmth; nor was it the idea of a torturous Hell versus a bright, welcoming Heaven: for Lucifer, the two places were equal in his distaste of locale.
No, this was different.
He could hear Linda's ever-prying voice in the back of his head, almost as if he were still in therapy with him. She would say something like, Perhaps it's not the place that scares you, but rather the people – or angels – who inhabit it? To which he would curtly and smoothly reply that nothing scared him, he was the king of Hell for crying out loud. But inwardly, he knew both himself and his inner Linda voice could tell when he was being less than truthful.
So it was after a quiet stroll by himself, leaving the bustle of the suddenly-busy working home of Penelope Decker, science fantasy actress extraordinaire, that Lucifer found himself in that state of not-scared (nervous, he kept insisting to himself) next to Amenadiel, who had just materialized his wings and was waiting, half amused and half pitying as he watched Lucifer.
"You remember the way?" Amenadiel asked, his voice light and joking but his expression offering sympathy to the weight of the situation. Lucifer sighed, looking upwards. As long as he could avoid dear old Dad, he would call the mission – albeit very, very short mission – a success.
"Of course I do, Amenadiel. I fell but I didn't hit my head," he snapped back, before sighing yet again – a reaction that was becoming rapidly too common. "This is much more difficult than I thought it would be, is all."
"Don't you think you deserve to return after all this time?" his older brother asked carefully. "You have earned your place back home, Luci."
"You didn't seem to think so only a couple years ago," Lucifer reminded him, knowing he was stalling an inevitable conclusion. "Our siblings don't have years to see reason."
"That's why I'm going with you. Take a deep breath, brother. You have earned your place back home. The Silver City would be better off with you in it."
"Well, don't get your hopes up for a long reunion," Lucifer replied under his breath. He sighed one more time and shot a final fleeting glance up at the sky. Then he shrugged his wings out, feeling the cool late-night breeze off the ocean flit across his feathers, caressing each one. His wings were happy to be out, as always. The ridiculous bloody white things were a nuisance, but anything beat the ugly leathery stereotypical wings that his subconscious had apparently pushed on him after killing Pierce. He looked at Amenadiel, who smiled, expression so calm, so sure. So Amenadiel.
"Let's go," his brother said simply. Lucifer nodded and left the earth with one quick motion.
The metaphorical ascension to the Silver City passed by much too quickly for him, especially since he had so far been able to pretend his first home was far enough away that testing the waters hadn't warranted the need for a visit. And yet, it was over as soon as it had begun – they landed gently on a bed of green grass, a lawn looking just a little too perfect. Lucifer frowned at the grass, delaying the inevitability of eventually looking up and letting his eyes receive the vision that would be in front of him. Amenadiel, thankfully, stayed silent as he fought this small inner battle.
And then he couldn't contain it anymore – Lucifer looked up from the ground at the Silver City.
The green grass led to a smooth, solid surface that faintly resembled a sidewalk back on earth, except it wasn't – not a single flaw, crack, or line could be seen. The surface was reflective and shimmering in the golden radiance that shown from above. His eyes followed his path to a set of gates – not pearly and white, but silver and delicate. Still, those delicate gates did their job in framing the city's magnificent structures against a bright yellow skyline. The city was indeed silver, as its name implied, but the radiance coming from above cast everything in that same golden glow the path in front of their feet reflected.
So many things were running through Lucifer's mind. He felt nauseated, he felt exhilarated, he felt – foreign. Everything was so familiar and yet still so distant a memory. This place was already giving him a headache.
"Are you ready to go?" Amenadiel asked calmly, and Lucifer turned his head to eye his brother, certain he would be basking in the "I told you so" attitude – but he wasn't. He was smiling calmly, eyes and skin reflecting the glow from above and giving Lucifer a reminder of what an angel truly was here. He glanced down quickly at himself, and groaned when he saw the exposed skin of his hands – sure enough, they were glowing too.
"This is embarrassing," he hissed, trying to shove his hands in his designer pants pockets – something the pockets weren't really designed for. "Shouldn't this all be gone? This has to be another punishment of Dad's."
"Luci," Amenadiel said calmly, putting his hand on his shoulder, "you need to stop thinking Dad has everything to do with this. Perhaps I was right. You are ready to return home."
"LA is my home," Lucifer snapped, huffing as he gave up on hiding his exposed hands. This wouldn't matter if his face was doing the same thing, anyway. "Let's just get this over with. I highly doubt they'll let me past the gates anyway."
Amenadiel laughed and rolled his eyes.
"Always so dramatic, my brother," he replied with a grin. "The gates are symbolic. Come on." With that, Amenadiel stepped forward onto the path. Lucifer checked his feet again, glaring at the grass, as he followed suit. His foot touched the path gingerly, but no rain of fire approached him. In fact, nothing happened at all. He was perplexed: the last time he had stood in this very spot, Michael had been shoving his ass out of Heaven. Why weren't there any repercussions to returning?
He had gotten lost in his thoughts, and Lucifer noticed Amenadiel hadn't stopped to see if Lucifer would burst into flame or something. Lucifer grunted and picked up the pace, lengthening his stride to match his brother's. His insides seemed to be having a party he hadn't been invited to as they approached the gate. Amenadiel pushed open the left side with ease, waving his hand to some new souls who had just arrived to enter first. They looked in awe as they stepped slowly through the gate, taking in the sight. Lucifer groaned.
"Come on, we need to get going," he muttered as he squeezed his way past the new souls. Amenadiel followed right behind him, leaving the gate open for a growing crowd of souls waiting for them to pass through.
"And where are we going?" a new voice joined the fray. Lucifer stopped short, the voice he hadn't heard in thousands of years resonating in his head. He whipped around and saw another of his brothers, arms crossed, leaning against the inside gates as he grinned mischievously.
"Gabriel," Lucifer responded, catching the wonder and curiosity in his own voice. "I should have known to expect a welcome party."
"Actually, Remi just felt you two pop up and I had to see it for myself," his brother said, grinning more. "After all this time, you finally show your face around here again."
"Well, I could hardly come back on my own, seeing as how the last time I was here, I left in a rather dramatic fashion," Lucifer reminded him as he crossed his own arms.
"Oh come on, you two," Amenadiel cut in, before addressing Gabriel. "We are on a mission. It's very important we speak to the family about –"
"About Michael, yes, we all know," Gabriel replied with a wink. "He hasn't exactly been the favorite sibling around the city. Even you were tolerable compared to him, Luci."
Lucifer let out a chuckle. "I'm sure, Gabe."
Gabriel lifted off against the gate and approached them. "Everybody is around, if you want me to call them together. Of course Azrael is a bit busy, and then we won't have Uriel joining us. Not that it's your fault or anything." He smirked. Lucifer rolled his eyes; Gabriel was ever the jokester about everything.
"That isn't funny," he retorted. "Uriel put me in a bad position, and it was my only option."
Gabe faux yawned and waved his arm. "Come on, Luce. I'll go grab everybody else and meet you in the courtyard." Within a moment he had disappeared, leaving Lucifer feeling rather odd. Gabriel had been one of his preferred brothers, but he had a tendency to take everything as a joke.
"Shit, he's going to call everybody," Lucifer voiced out loud then. "Hold on, I'm going to pray to him quick.
Don't bother Dad with this. I don't want him to be a part of this, Gabe, he threatened in his mind. Hopefully that would do the trick.
"Let's go grab Remi, I wanted to visit with her and mend old conflicts," Amenadiel announced then. "Last time I saw her, we fought over Charlie."
"That's right, I remember you telling me that," Lucifer said slowly. "Remiel, always the charmer."
"She has a job to do, just like the rest of us," his brother reminded him, before quickly adding: "But not you anymore, of course. Not like you used to do."
"Whatever," Lucifer said dryly. "I just wanted to get this over with, and I am not looking forward to facing all of them. Who knows what Michael has told them."
"Lucy, nobody likes Michael. They'll listen to you," Amenadiel reassured him with a smile. Lucifer did not feel very reassured, especially with all the souls around them. He felt rather claustrophobic.
"Can we go somewhere a bit quieter?" he asked lowly. "I feel like everybody is staring at me."
Amenadiel gestured them onward, leading the way. Lucifer confessed to himself that he did not remember every path in this city anymore, so he quietly let his oldest brother do so.
"They are staring at you, Lucy, because they know who you are," he said. "You've returned home, a true angel again."
"Stop saying that!" Lucifer snapped quickly, tugging his sleeves down. "You know I don't like it here."
Amenadiel didn't apologize, but by then they had crossed the entrance to the city and had joined the throng of the inner town. Tall, silver buildings rose up on either side of them, beckoning them in further. Amenadiel took a left at the fork in the road and left the busier throngs of people behind. Lucifer gratefully followed him, and they slowly left the din of the main city.
"Where are we going again? I don't recognize this path," Lucifer asked him.
"The courtyard," Amenadiel answered, "but we're making a quick stop first."
He paused outside an archway, turning and entering a large room. Lucifer recognized it immediately.
"Arms room, of course Remi would be here," he groaned and rolled his eyes.
"Do you have a problem with that, brother?" Remiel's voice spat out from across the room, making it apparent she had heard Lucifer's qualm. "Perhaps I need to test one of these weapons out on you?"
"That won't be necessary, Remiel," Amenadiel spoke calmly. "Lucifer is here in peace."
"So you say," Lucifer grumbled to himself. He met Remiel's stare with one of his own, glowering at her from slightly behind Amenadiel. "I'm here to discuss Michael."
Remiel rolled her eyes and slammed her spear down.
"You and Michael are so alike – stubborn and annoying. It's a wonder you two don't get along," she retorted. "Gabriel has called us to the courtyard. I'm inclined to listen."
Amenadiel nodded.
"I heard him too," he said. Lucifer frowned at the two of them, hanging behind while Remiel led the way out. He had not heard Gabriel's voice. Perhaps it wasn't directed at him? Puzzling at this to himself, he let his feet carry him slowly to the courtyard, nerves building in his stomach. He sent a silent prayer to Azrael, asking her to come if she could. It would help having his favorite sister involved.
The courtyard was just as Lucifer had remembered it from his last time in Heaven. The wide expanse of smooth marble coated the ground and offered more of that blasted reflection of the sky. Ornamental trees dotted the landscape and a silvery waterfall on the far end of the yard provided what was usually a peaceful place to meet. A set of smooth, stone chairs – thrones, Lucifer thought bitterly to himself – were arranged in a circle. Most of them were already full. He looked to where he remembered his to be – still a black scorched ruin, but a newer, smaller chair had been erected right next to it. He blinked in surprise. He had a new chair?
The courtyard was peaceful, save for the words exchanged by his siblings down below. He trudged behind Amenadiel and Remiel, feeling more and more anxious as he continued along. He hadn't seen most of his siblings in eons.
All speaking ceased as they entered the circle. Lucifer looked around at each of his siblings, studying their faces. Amenadiel took his place at the head of the circle, seated between Michael's empty chair and Raphael. Gabriel was lounging next to Raphael, feet swung over the side of his chair as he offered Lucifer a wink. Jophiel was looking down at her hands, not meeting his eyes. Ariel had her mouth set in a firm expression, not offering any thoughts. Chamuel was just sitting down and offered him a hard stare as he got comfortable. Azrael's chair sat empty, and if Lucifer looked hard enough, he could imagine he saw celestial cobwebs. Remiel, representing the lower host of angels, took her spot opposite Amenadiel, slamming her staff down again. Lucifer looked at her and she gestured impatiently at his new chair. Lucifer stared at the old chair again, remembering the exact moment it had broken, before quickly going to his chair. He unbuttoned his coat and sat down gingerly, expecting, yet again, to be cast out as he did so. Nothing happened. He settled in and began playing with his cufflinks, trying to ignore the obvious stares from his siblings.
"Why did you call us here, Gabriel?" Raphael asked calmly, not addressing the Lucifer in the room.
"That's for our long lost brother here to share," Gabe said with a big smile. "Lucifer, would you like the floor?"
Lucifer shot a glare at Gabe – damn, he could be so annoying. But he was here for a purpose and it was time he got it over with.
"Very well," he said with a sigh, standing up. Before he could speak, however, Remiel slammed her staff again.
"Azrael is coming," she said to the group, ignoring Lucifer. There was some surprised murmurs, but the courtyard again became silent as Azrael appeared in her chair, looking as if she'd always been there.
"Sorry I'm late," she said quickly, pushing her glasses up and beaming up at Lucifer. "Please continue."
Lucifer offered her a smile, taking heart in the fact that he knew one sibling would always side with him. Then he turned to address the group again.
