The front door of Force Mansion slammed shut as the unlikely quartet made their way into the well furnished hallway. Kicking off her shoes, Mimi made her way to the kitchen, pulling her blonde hair from its bun. Schuyler stared after her, a dull ache building in her chest. How could she compete with that? It was so much simpler when Mimi was the mean, shallow antagonist she had come to despise. What she had seen that day was not the Mimi she knew, this Mimi was ancient and knowledgeable. Exchanging a pained glance with Oliver, she headed for the stairs and the quiet sanctuary of her room.

"You're not slinking away just yet." Mimi called over her shoulder as Schuyler's feet hit the bottom step. "we all need to talk."

"About what Mimi?" Schyuler protested, turning to face her. "I think we've said everything that needs to be said." She took a breath steeling herself from the pain of what she was going to say. "You and Jack are meant to be together and I have to accept..."

"Not about that you melodramatic half-wit." Mimi snapped, turning round fully and staring at her. "There's more going on here than just your affair with my fiancee. Lucifer, Leviathan, Lawrence's death.. any of this ring a bell?"

"Mimi." Jack's voice rang out from behind her, a sharp admonishing tone. "Cut her some slack."

"If I cut her any more slack, she'll be comatose." Mimi retorted, rounding on Jack with a look like thunder. "For you, I will be as nice as possible, but she needs to step up or get out of the way. We don't have time for these Melrose Place distractions and we can't have her playing any more." She turned back to Schuyler and mollified her tone with some visible effort. " and with that in mind would Miss Van Alen please do me the honour of coming into the kitchen to discuss the rather distressing ascension of Lucifer?"

"There's no need to go quite that far." Jack murmurred with a small smile playing about his lips.

"Button it Jack." Mimi pushed open the kitchen door and gestured to Sky and Oliver. "After you."

After a beat, Sky shrugged and followed the Force twins into the large gleaming kitchen. Putting the kettle on, Mimi pulled one of the breakfast bar stools and stared at the group. One by one, each sat at the narrow table and stared at each other, the tension almost palpable. When the kettle finally whistled to a boil, Jack made them all coffee and slowly they relaxed.

"Lucifer is rising." Mimi said after her second sip of the dark bitter drink. "I know it and all of you know it. The problem is that the rest of the committee is unwilling to believe it."

"Why?" Oliver asked, dragging himself from his coffee and staring at Mimi Force. "Surely the rest of them would know?"

"The rest of them don't want to think about Lucifer." Jack answered the question curtly. "You don't understand just what Lucifer means to us."

"And what is that?" Sky asked softly, trying to pull her mind to the present situation. Once again she felt like a small child stuck in a very adult world. Her fingers closed about the warm mug and she waited for Jack to continue.

Jack sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "The morning star was our inspiration and our leader. He led us in revolt and we followed."

"Why did you follow him? Surely if he is as crazy as you say..." Sky asked, her curiousity finally aroused.

"The question should be why did we revolt?" Jack replied, looking at Sky seriously. "You have to understand Sky that we were born tied to the Almighty's will, he created us with a purpose. We had roles and duties to perform we had to obey. Azrael and I were created to deal in death and destruction, necessary but dark roles. However we accepted our lot until he created you." He waved vaguely in the direction of Oliver and Sky. "And you were not like us. He favoured you beyond those who loved him most. You had free will, you could choose to believe or not, to obey or not and we were so jealous of your special status." Mimi's fingers stole into Jack's hand and she squeezed lightly.

"Lucifer was especially angered by the Almighty's favouring of you." Mimi cut in, her voice as far off as Jack's. "And he approached us all. He fed on our anger and we let him give it voice. He declared that we would be the favoured once again and we listened. We followed him as he sounded the call to battle. Lucifer is persuasive but we rose to his challenge. Abaddon and I led the charge."

"You asked me once why I bowed to Michael." Jack said, his eyes staring at Schuyler with deep remembered pain. "I bow because he smote us to the Earth. He removed our wings and sent us down. It was Michael who met our insurrection and ended it. Of course when we felt the cold of the earth, we knew we had made a mistake. Michael and Gabrielle arrived soon after and begged us to recant." Jack gave a snort of derision and stared down at the table, his green eyes tracing the wood grain but not seeing it, lost as he was in absent memory. "but we were stubborn and refused to seek forgiveness."

"And then?" Sky breathed softly, drawn in by the tale that was unfolding before her eyes.

"We came to Rome and built a mighty empire. If we could not have heaven then we would rule in the dust." Mimi spoke again, her voice far away and lost. Sky felt icy fingers tickle the back of her neck and she shivered. "but Lucifer had lost his reason.." Mimi laughed mirthlessly and wiped a single tear from her face. "Michael and Gabrielle led those of us who had sought forgiveness in a battle to remove Lucifer from this Earth."

"How did you rejoin Michael?" Sky asked, her voice a bare whisper in the quiet of the kitchen.

"Lucifer had completely lost his mind by then." Jack answered, his voice hoarse. "The things he did, the things he wanted to do, shocked even us. He was no longer speaking of the Republic of Heaven, he was talking about rule. And even that did not sway our loyalty. We left him when it became clear that he was using using us." A slight hesitation in his voice made Sky glance up at Jack's face. He was staring at the table, not meeting her eyes. "That we were tools he could throw away."

"What was the other reason?" Sky asked, breaking into his tale with barely a second thought. "Why did you leave him?"

"Because I asked him too." Mimi replied and she reached over and took Jack's hand. "and because Lucifer had taken Gabrielle."

"My mother?"

"Do you know another Gabrielle?" Mimi shot back, her voice tinged with annoyance. "Gabrielle has always taken Jack's heart." Sky gulped, remembering Mimi's words about her mother earlier and she listened closer. "We took our swords and pledged them to Michael. We led his army to Lucifer's hideout and he was struck down again to the depths of the earth." Mimi drained her coffee in one gulp and stood. "Ever to lanquish in hell."

"But I don't understand why the other's won't believe that he's back." Oliver finally spoke up, staring at the pair of them with confusion in his eyes. "If they followed Michael back then.."

"We've spent centuries here." Jack explained as he stood and flung an arm around Mimi's shoulders. "They like the privilege and the relative quiet. They're not ready to fight, I'm not even sure they remember how. Lucifer's return means becoming vigilant again and for some it's a temptation. They'll start to think about ruling openly and not being in the shadows and they'll forget the betrayal." He picked up his mug and poured the dregs of his coffee down the sink. "Lucifer is very persuasive."

"which brings us back to the beginning of this conversation." Mimi said, placing her empty mug on the side. "The committee will not accept that the Morning Star is back. They would allow you to take the rap for Lawrence's death rather than face their fragile world collapsing. Make no mistake Schuyler, they will find you guilty."