They had been having coffee for a good fifteen minutes while Alastor talked to his mother, explaining his Radio Show in Hell (without the murder part) and even a bit of what he was doing for the Hotel. It was heartwarming to watch him talk with his mother like this, the easy smile on his face and the occasional sight of his ears twitching on top of his head. For her part, Granny watched him like he hung the sun in the sky and as if she was starved of his affection. Probably was, not having her son around for so long had to hurt. Alastor's been in Hell for at least a hundred years almost, and he died before she did. That was a long time to go without knowing what happened to your son.
Now knowing he was in Hell–well, that had to be a different type of cascading emotions. But Lucifer is starting to believe, by watching her and the way she observes her son, that she's starting to connect the dots. Thinking back to what happened in life, the way that Alastor died, the body they found with him that he had been burying. She might have tried to be ignorant, but the math does itself. The police would have investigated, searched his apartment, the bayou, they might not have been certain of everything Alastor did. They might not have decided serial killer, but murderer would have at least been a title that they gave him.
Certainly, the mother of that person would have heard that news. Would have seen the evidence presented to her. Lucifer knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that she more than likely tried to deny it. Wanting to preserve the image she had of her son in her head, tell them that they're wrong, that her baby wouldn't do something like that. But now, with the realization of him sentenced to Hell, backed up by the devil himself no less, she wouldn't be able to deny it forever.
Even with all of that dawning on her though, she still watched her son the way she did. Like there was nothing he could do that would take this from her. The single few minutes she had to see her son again. This was entirely worth the trip up here, seeing the pride and love of a mother for someone she cared about. Alastor was more than important to Lucifer, he was such a big part of his world and this right here was what he wanted for him. To remember there are people who care about him, who would want to be there for him if he just let them.
It would be better if they didn't have a hoard of people waiting outside for them ready to drag them off to a tense meeting that was intending on consuming him alive. As much as he was enjoying this moment with Alastor and his mother, he was worried about what came next. Lucifer never anticipated or thought about returning to Heaven, much less for something like this. For what he was intending to do but more so–the people he was intending on doing it in front of.
He was scared about standing in that room full of his siblings, voicing his thoughts again to people who never learned how to listen. He doesn't know how this was going to go, but the thought of how it always went? He knows he shouldn't let the past weigh him down that much, the entire point of his argument up here was that people can change. To not hold his siblings to that belief too, it was hypocritical.
But they've burned him once before, and he doesn't want to be burned again.
If they prove him right, that they still hold what happened in Eden against him, he doesn't know what he'll do. Lucifer isn't naive, he knows a big part of who he is and what he is, will play a part in this meeting. But how much it might is what made him nervous. Lucifer doesn't want who he is to ruin this.
He wants them to hear and see the argument, not the person making it.
The door to the diner opened, the bell ringing above it, and Lucifer drank down the rest of his coffee as someone stepped up to the side of their table. Setting the empty mug down he tilted his head back and blinked up at the Archangel standing beside it. "Time already?" He asked and Gabriel pinched his lips together tightly before nodding once. Sighing he turned his head back around and pulled a smile onto his face. "It's been a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am." Let no one say the devil was without manners. He slides his gaze over toward Alastor. "Take a few more minutes, I'll walk out with Gabriel." They deserved a chance to say goodbye, even if it cut into his five hours of his meeting.
Standing from the chair he pushed it in against the table and turned to his brother, motioning for Gabriel to make his way outside. Tucking his own hands behind his back, cane in both his grips, he followed behind his brother to the entrance of the diner. They stepped outside, returned once more to his armed escort, and the King of Hell stopped beside his brother. Gabriel motioned for the soldiers to move back a bit, to give them some space and when they had more room to actually breathe he turned to face him. "I'm glad to see you're doing better, Lucifer. You had worried us."
Us implied more than him. The only other angels he'd count within that us were Emily and Zadkiel. The others were probably hoping for his demise. "I heard what you did for me. I do appreciate it, Gabriel."
"Lucifer, I'd do anything for you, don't you know that?" The Archangel frowned and took a small step closer toward him, reaching his hand out to gently touch his shoulder. "You're my brother." That word always seemed to mean so much to Gabriel, as if there was some invisible bond tied to that word that bound them all together. That just wasn't true. If it was, they wouldn't have all turned on each other the way they had.
It wouldn't have unraveled.
To him, the only one of his siblings he can ever count on, is the one standing in front of him. Gabriel had more than proven he was on his side, that he wanted to be there for him, that he wanted some form of a relationship with him. Lucifer wouldn't mind that either, especially if it meant Charlie got to have a little bit more of that family he robbed her of by damning them all down there. Sure, she had the Sins and of course Lucifer considered them family, but it was only one half of the family he had. She doesn't get everything that Heaven does offer because of him and she has some big ideals and expectations of whatever was up here.
If she could have a relationship with Gabriel, get to see him and maybe even Emily, that was more than he could expect.
"Thank you." He repeats again, smiling easily at his brother and reaching his hand out to gently tap him on the arm. Dropping it back to his side he twisted the cane in his other hand in front of him and gripped it in both for some stability. All of this was certainly a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for him, but he felt he had a rather good handle on it all. He hadn't broken down and given his ability to be prone to tears under immense emotional stress–he was rather proud of that. No panic attacks, no tears, no emotional breakdowns. He's handling it and he feels he's doing incredible at that.
Tears were not going to solve any of his problems up here. If at the end of this it crashed and burned? Then he could have his breakdown, when he was safely in Hell once more and alone in his own room. But not a moment before, not when Alastor just got to see his mom and Lucifer still had the rest of what was going on up here to get through.
"I really don't know what I would have done without you, Gabriel, you know that?" The smile on his face was light, the warmth of it pulling at the corners of his mouth easily, like when he found all of those adorable pictures of Alastor on the wall. The immense joy he felt toward his brother for everything that he's done for him was genuine. "Helping me with the exterminations, when I was sick and now getting this meeting. You've been one of the biggest supporters I've had." Alastor was still the person he owed most in this, but that didn't mean he was naive in the debt he owed his siblings. Even if Gabriel didn't want anything in return for what he's done.
"I only did my job." His brother argued and Lucifer shook his head at him. "I have, that's really all it was. You filled out some paperwork and I took it to Father. That doesn't require you to feel so much gratitude toward me."
"It does. No one else would have done this. You listened. Sometimes, that's all it takes." It was. All he ever wanted in the very beginning was someone to hear him and where that person initially was just Alastor, he feels it's now grown. That he had more people willing to listen to him, willing to stand beside him and hear him out. To be in his corner and he's grateful for that. Even if his brother thinks he doesn't have to be.
Gabriel nodded and smiled himself down at Lucifer. "I will always listen if you'll let me." Which was something he's learned too, that he had to let people in if he was going to get any help. Lucifer's stubbornness, his habit of locking himself away and shutting doors in peoples faces, in ignoring the things he had to actually deal with? Those were his undoing. Those would be the habits that ruined him if he didn't stop. He was getting better at that though, in leaning on other people to help him.
He feels he can let Gabriel be one of those people, he just wasn't sure about any of the others. But one out of the seven still felt better than none of them.
"Gabriel! Lucifer!"
Both of them picked their heads up and blinked at the sky, watching as Emily swooped in down at them and landed in a messy flutter of wings. Lucifer blinked as one of her feathers drifted toward his face, landing on his forehead and dangling in front of his eyes. Reaching his hand up he picked the feather off of his face with the tips of his claws and dropped it down to the ground. "Ah, Emily, there you are. Here I thought you snuck out and didn't intend on coming back."
"Oh, of course not! I'd never be such a rude host!" He believes it too. He still can't help teasing her though. Emily, with a messy flutter of her wings and twisting of her dress, took several steps closer toward them excitedly and started shoving her hands up at their faces. She was almost the same height as him, he probably had an inch or so on her, but Gabriel had several on both of them. She was trying to compensate for both of their heights while shoving whatever she had at both of them. "Look! I went and found one just for you!"
He would love to look but all he had was her elbow in his eyes. "Emily, little angel dear, do take at least one step back." Gabriel coaxed gently and her face lit up a bright shade of gold at that. Quickly taking several steps away she tripped on her own dress and the two of them fumbled quickly to try and catch her. They grabbed her arms and hauled her back to her feet, attempting to keep her from falling over. Once she had her footing beneath her properly, they turned their gazes to her hands again.
Emily smiled brilliantly and held her hands at a reasonable height this time as she opened them up. There, tucked between her palms, was a fluffy little baby yellow duckling.
Lucifer's eyes widened and he took in the fluffy little creature with such a feeling of excitement and hope he very well might combust at it. "A duck!" Turning his head up to his brother he motioned toward the little one. "A duck, Gabe!"
Warmth bloomed on his brother's face and he smiled at the both of them. "Yes, I can see that. Did you go all the way to the ponds for that little one, Emily? I do hope you remember where you got them from, returning them to their proper flock is important."
"Of course! I even wrapped one of my ribbons around the tree near the pond I got it from to make sure. I remember everything we were taught about the ducks." She seemed quite proud of that, and it was incredibly adorable watching the pride that swelled in her at it. Content she did the right thing, she turned her gaze over toward Lucifer and held the little duck out. "Here, you should hold them."
He wants to. He really does want to hold them, but his heart fills with hesitation over the idea of taking the little creature in his palms. Every time he ends up holding something, it ends up breaking or twisting into something horrible. The last thing he wants is to cause something to happen to the little duck. She had gone to such lengths to get the them, and just seeing it was more than enough to bring him unfathomable joy, he doesn't need to hold it too and ruin the moment. "You should–ah–probably take them back. Ducks, especially little ones, get very anxious when they're removed from their flock and without any other ducks around."
"I will, I promise! But don't you want to hold them first?" Emily asked, her smile slipping as she held the little yellow creature closer to him. As if that would change Lucifer's answer over it.
Still, he hesitates and tucks his hands behind his back, staring down at the baby duck with an incredible sense of longing in his heart.
"Oh, what's this?"
A hand reached over Lucifer's shoulder and plucked the little yellow duck up from Emily's palms, taking it in their own and flipping it around in their grasp. Lucifer twisted and raised his gaze up at Alastor, watching the Radio Demon poke the tiny duck on the head with a clawed finger. "How sickeningly pure. The ones in Hell are far more entertaining than this thing."
"Alastor!" Lucifer snatched the tiny duck up from him and narrowed his gaze threateningly at the Radio Demon.
Emily, however, only caught on to what he said. "You have ducks in Hell!?" She exclaimed, excitement dancing in her eyes as she moved closer to the both of them.
"Um, well, ducks might be a generous term for what they are." Lucifer laughed awkwardly and held his hands out to offer the little one back to Emily. They were so soft in his hands, wiggling around in his grip and their wings brushing against his thumbs. They were getting overstimulated at all the touching and Lucifer doesn't blame them at all. Especially if they were more used to just being in the pond with their flock.
They wouldn't like all the touching and they'd be anxious to return to their family.
"Cannibalistic, bloodthirsty, heinous creatures is a more proper title for them." Alastor replied, far too cheerfully at that too and Lucifer wants to take the duck back to the pond himself and drown in it.
"Five hours. I just need you to be normal for five hours, Alastor." The King dropped the duck into Emily's hands gently and turned to face the Radio Demon. "Please don't scare the innocent Seraphim while we're up here."
"So you don't want me to answer her questions?"
"I would like you to answer them in a more normal way."
Alastor grinned at him. "Oh, but that was normal. For us, anyway." Which was, unfortunately, far more true than he'd like it to be.
Sighing quietly he rubbed his forehead and tried to will some patience into himself. "Did you finish talking with her?" When he dropped his hand down he caught the nod the Radio Demon gave, not providing any more information than that. They could have that conversation in private, when there weren't so many people around eavesdropping on them. Alastor doesn't like being seen as emotional and weak. It bothered him. He wouldn't force him into that situation, no matter how curious over how things went with his mother when he was alone.
"We should get going." The reminder from Gabriel brought them back to the moment and Lucifer turned to face his brother, seeing him checking his pocket watch in his vest. "It's already fifteen minutes past when I was supposed to collect you, Michael and the others will be wondering where we are."
"Of course, Gabriel." Lucifer nodded and turned back to Alastor, dragging the warm smile back onto his face. "If you're ready, Alastor."
"No time like the present, Sire."
Taking a breath and steadying the stress that filled him, Lucifer turned back to Emily and smiled warmly at her. "Thank you for bringing us over here, and for showing me the little duck. It really does make me happier than you could understand." She was such an incredible angel, truly what one would expect them to be like. What he thought himself and his brothers were like when they were younger. She had gone out of her way for them for this small amount of time they had he really did appreciate getting to see that adorable duck.
Emily lit up at the words and grinned brightly at him, every bit of her practically radiating as she soaked up the praise from him. "Of course! I'll take this little guy back home." They watched her twist up into the air and fly in the direction of what he figured was the pond.
Once she was out of sight Lucifer turned to Gabriel and nodded his head at his brother.
The courthouse they were using for this was more accurately a meeting room. Heaven didn't exactly have buildings they used for bringing charges against someone, it certainly wasn't a normal commodity and what Lucifer himself was doing was a first.
The glaringly obvious angelic design they put on everything was nauseating. It was before when he was up here, and it's even more so now that he's here again for what almost felt like the same purpose as before. He has to remember though that he's not fighting for his dreams this time, but an actual crime, facts. No matter how sickeningly familiar this was, it was different. What he was doing was important.
Gabriel led them through a large set of double doors with wings on them and into the actual meeting room itself. The meeting room was one of their traditional style buildings. Far too much white once more, blue walls, darker blue floor, golden chairs and the angelic decorations. He's fairly certain the circular shape of it was supposed to be symbolic or something but Lucifer couldn't say what that was. The moment they stepped through the room his gaze was drawn upward to the high winding platforms that wrapped around the place above them. There was that feeling of being looked down upon again.
Spotting Michael in one of the booths was easy. His twin was sporting an incredibly bored expression, his fingers tapping against the banister of the booth he was in, glaring down at Lucifer with unrestrained irritation. He pushed himself back a little bit and stood from his chair, leaning over the railing to look down at him. "One hour. You only got one hour. It's been an hour and a half."
"Terribly sorry, was I wasting your time?" Lucifer chirped back, inclining his head up further to properly look at his twin. "Because it certainly felt like all of you were wasting mine by lecturing me repeatedly that I only got six hours up here. I've heard those words so much my ears could bleed from it."
Even from down here he could see how hard Michael clenched his jaw at that. "The only time you wasted was your own. Now you get four and a half hours to argue whatever you're actually wasting our time for."
Lucifer shrugged. "Don't care." Twisting around he made his way over to the booth on the floor meant for them. He did catch the concerned look that Gabriel gave him, the hesitation his brother had over this. He probably wanted to argue for the full five hours but both of them know a losing argument when they see one. Michael won't give him back that thirty minutes and it's fine. Not a single second of that was wasted to him, other than the ones stolen by Cassiel and Michael himself. Alastor getting that extra time with his mother was worth it to him.
He slid into the booth and moved to the side, making room for Alastor to step up beside him. He nodded his head at the Radio Demon and turned back around, raising his gaze up to the platforms above them and the Archangels seated comfortably in them.
All seven of them.
"I'm going to ask the first question." Lucifer's gaze darted to the side at the only Archangel with black hair. "What's that?" Their hand waved toward Alastor beside him and the Radio Demon tilted his head to the side at the particular wording choice. Tapping the banister in front of them he popped the same seal he had used before against Michael into existence and picked it up, spinning it around on his clawed finger for the room to see.
Lucifer provided words for his actions. "This is Alastor, Leviathan has permitted him to act as my legal help." A small wave in the direction of the Sinner beside him. Without removing his gaze from the Archangel above him, he provided information to his partner. "That would be Azrael, the Angel of Death and the Virtue of Patience."
"So I gathered. He stands out a little bit."
"Yeah, pretty sure the hair color was a result of what he was created for." The rest of them, all of his siblings, had blonde hair in some shade. Cassiel's was the darkest, being a more dirty blonde. Gabriel's was the brightest, being nearly white. All of them shared similar traits to each other in their facial structure, but they still carried parts of who they were meant to be. None of them more than Azrael though.
"Are we actually allowing this, Michael? A Sinner in Heaven?"
"I don't have a choice, Raphael. Gabriel said that Father would humor the one request he made when I went to pick him up. We all expected it to be his daughter, apparently he brought the Sinner." Michael waved his hand down toward Lucifer and shrugged. This was news to him and he slid his gaze from his twin over toward the Archangel in question. Gabriel shrugged his own shoulders a bit and darted his gaze off to the side. Guilt that he forgot to mention that. Oh well, it turned out fine anyway.
"Besides," Michael continued, "Leviathan is letting him act as the legal counsel. Do you want to go argue with Father over whether that's something Heaven adheres to or not?"
"We don't have to argue about it in front of him. The answer is sitting right there." Raphael pointed his hand out across from them at Gabriel. "So, Gabe, does Heaven adhere to the legal system the Ring of Envy created for Hell in Father's opinion?"
"I do love to be the center of chaos already." Alastor whispered to him and Lucifer actually snorted, biting his lip to keep the sound quiet as he elbowed the other in the hip.
Put on the spot so suddenly Gabriel looked incredibly uncomfortable, shifting in his seat and dropping his gaze down to the ground beneath him. He sighed and closed his eyes, taking a minute to search for the answer. There's no physical reaction to what he does, as he had told Alastor it was more like another sense. The answer that he always gives, when asked on their Father's opinion, didn't always reflect his own. Sometimes, Gabriel and God agree on the same thing, but there's been moments where he's actually seen Gabriel get frustrated over the answer he's had to give. Typically he saw that when it came to delivering his word to the mortals. This time, when he opened his eyes back up, the expression on his face was quite satisfied.
The Voice of God stood and tucked his left hand behind his back as he waved his right down toward them. "There is nothing wrong with him being here. Lucifer is allowed legal counsel and it's only fair for it to be someone he's comfortable with. An angel should not represent him if he does not believe they can be impartial to his cause or defend him justly." Turning his head to the side he looked over at Raphael. "Does that satisfy you?"
The Archangel shrugged. "I don't particularly care, I was just curious if we were humoring this legal system Hell built. Apparently we are."
"Question." Lucifer raised his hand and drew all seven of their gazes down to him. "How much of this is actually cutting into my four and a half hours? Seeing as none of this has anything to do with the reason I am up here. I do have a realm to run and a daughter to raise."
He didn't expect his question to have all of them turn on each other and start arguing about that. Michael wanted it to count, Gabriel said that was unfair and to his absolute surprise–Azrael agreed with Gabriel. His gaze darted between the six of them arguing, watching it like a tennis ball match, and then suddenly out of nowhere the remaining seventh one was flying down quickly toward him.
Lucifer's head whipped to the side and found his hands grabbed by Uriel, the very pink dressed Archangel tugging on him none too gently. Beside him he felt Alastor take a step closer, his cane held tightly in his grip as if expecting this to suddenly take a violent turn. Despite his concern though, the King didn't sense a single bit of animosity from his sibling.
"Your daughter! Charlie, right?" Uriel asked and Lucifer nodded his head. "Do you have pictures of her? I want to see my niece."
Does he have–of course he has pictures of his daughter but his head was swimming over the idea of any of them taking an interest in Charlie. Tugging his hands gently from Uriel he reached down into his pocket and retrieved his phone, sliding it open to pull up his camera. He brings up the newest picture he took of Charlie, of her painting with the residents of the Hotel and offers it to Uriel. He snatched the phone up and stared at it intently, a bright and eager smile on his face before he started flipping through the other pictures on Lucifer's phone. All of them of Charlie in some way, a few of the ducks he makes, but his phone was only ever full of his daughter.
Then the angel was leaving, flying up toward the rest of their brothers and immediately moving to Azrael's side. "Oh Zadkiel, you were right, she's adorable!" Uriel pressed himself up against Azrael and shoved the phone at him, the Angel of Death forced to take it or have it pushed right into his nose. He held the phone away at a reasonable distance and started flipping through the pictures himself.
The pile of Archangels was quickly growing when Raphael joined the two of them, followed by Zadkiel himself and even Gabriel. They all crowded around each other, watching the pictures that Azrael flipped through and soaking up the sight of their niece. He was incredibly happy that his daughter could bring such a reaction out of them, that they seemed to be taking a small interest in her, but again–how much of this was cutting into his time?
"That is a lot of pink." Alastor commented beside him, watching the gathering above them with an expression of distrust. He agreed, if they cut into his time with this, he was going to be pissed. It was them who kept reiterating that he only had a certain amount of time up here and he did want as much as he could to argue about Lute. He needed every minute that they were going to give him, no matter how much he was enjoying the fact they seemed interested in his daughter.
Taking a breath he nodded his head up toward his siblings. "That's Uriel. God's Light, the Archangel of Truth and the Virtue of Chastity. He kind of–" Lucifer waved his hand in a circle. "Bounces between genders. Male, female, neither. Uriel doesn't really care. I did not expect him to… ah…"
"Be so welcoming?" Alastor provided and Lucifer nodded slightly. Perhaps that was the best way to word it and the most accurate. It was true as well. Out of any of his siblings, including Gabriel, that was the nicest welcome he's gotten. Certainly the most normal one too, all things considered. "They seemed very excited over Charlie."
"Emily probably had something to do with that. She seems rather close to Zadkiel so I bet when they got back up here she went around talking about the Hotel." She was going to be an incredible friend if Charlie got to hang onto her.
His brothers seemed to finally get control over themselves and Uriel flew back down, offering his phone out for Lucifer to take. The King quickly pocketed it back up and nodded his head in thanks to his sibling. Uriel shifted a little bit closer, the smile on his face gentle as he seemed to take in every inch of Lucifer in front of him. "I missed you." The admission throws him a bit but Uriel doesn't seem swayed by the doubt on his face. "Your little rubber ducks are adorable. You made one of the Sinner next to you?" Ah, did he have a picture of Sir Duckstor on his phone? Uriel twisted his head toward Alastor and ran his gaze along the demon curiously. "Sorry, who are you again?"
"Alastor! A pleasure to be meeting you Saint Uriel, truly a pleasure."
"Granny's son?" Uriel asked, his eyes widening at that and then suddenly Alastor had his hands grabbed in excitement by the Angel of Light. "Haha! She loves talking about you! She told us that once when you were five you had brought a baby deer home and tried to hide it in your closet thinking she wouldn't find it! That you tried to raise it and when she found it you had sobbed your eyes out not wanting her to take it away. Granny said that normal children bring stray cats and dogs home but you went into the forest and brought a fawn home nearly the same size as yourself somehow."
Lucifer watched the twitch that developed on Alastor's face with unrestrained amusement. The Radio Demon was trying so hard to pull and twist his hands out of Uriel's grip without making it directly obvious he was doing it. Uriel didn't even seem bothered by this, just continuing to cling to Alastor tighter as his brother vibrated in excitement at dropping this information for all of them to hear. Honestly? The idea of Alastor bringing home a baby fawn and trying to raise it is one of the most adorable things he's gotten to hear all day.
"Don't listen to my mother, she embellishes stories. Certainly I was intending on raising and butchering the deer." At five? Well, he wouldn't put anything past Alastor so that wouldn't surprise him either. His words surprised Uriel though, enough that the Radio Demon did manage to free his hands from the Archangel, wiping them on his coat and taking a step back from Angel of Truth.
"Ha… haha… he is certainly charming, Lucy."
Sighing gently he reached over and pat Uriel on the shoulder. "So he is. I'm glad you're happy about all of this Uriel, and I am very happy to see you as well." He was, any of his siblings he got to see that actually wanted to see him, made him happy. He hadn't expected any of them to actually be pleased with the fact he was up here, but so far at least three of them were eager to see him. That was more than he could have ever expected.
"Uriel." Michael's voice cut through the both of them and Lucifer raised his gaze to his twin, watching the Archangel motion toward the booth that Uriel was supposed to be in. "We need to move on with this, return to your seat."
"You don't have to be so uptight all the time, Michael. It's been literally eons since we've seen Lucifer, I'm allowed to be excited to see my brother." Uriel rolled his eyes but did fly back up into his booth, slipping behind it and taking a seat in his chair once more. "All the rest of you got to see him before he came up here, it's hardly fair."
Huh, this doesn't feel like an argument they were having for the first time. Lucifer slid his gaze over toward Michael, catching the look of annoyance that his twin was throwing Uriel, one that did effectively silence the angel. With a sigh Michael turned his head back around and dropped his gaze down to Lucifer beneath them. "Though we are at an impasse. Since it seems unjust to count this last–hour?–against you, we won't start the timer until you actually make your opening statement for why we are gathered here. Is that fair?"
More than fair, actually. "Sure."
"Great. Now, does anyone else have any questions?" Michael turned his gaze to the room and immediately Uriel's hand shot into the air. This time he actually catches the roll of his twin's eyes. "Any questions that pertain to the reason we are here." Uriel dropped it and sulked in his chair. When no one else moved to interrupt, Michael nodded and turned back to Lucifer once more. "Then, Lucifer, please tell us why you asked for the meeting."
This was it. This was the moment the four and a half hours started. The moment that everything he's been working toward came to fruition. This was his chance to try and change the way that Heaven viewed themselves. That the rules they wanted to force on the mortals and Hell applied to everyone. That no one was above Sin, that if they did enough horrible things they could join him right down in that damned pit that they enjoyed keeping him chained up in. Angels couldn't do whatever they wanted and expect to still be able to stay up here, just like him. He couldn't do whatever he wanted, and when he tried to he was thrown from the clouds violently and painfully.
He fell because he sinned and if they weren't careful, they were going to end up right down there beside him. Stained with sins and their soul as black as his own. He has to prove it, and this was that moment. His chance to do it.
His heart was beating rapidly in his chest, the fear that he's been trying to swallow down finally starting to rise up, all those countless times he's tried to argue his point before dragging through his mind and threatening to consume him. The words that he should speak, that should absolutely leave his mouth seemed to gather in his throat like a lump, his mouth drying up. He could hear his heart in his own ears, thumping with the rush of his own blood.
Lucifer had frozen and he couldn't seem to make himself move or speak. All of their eyes on him suddenly seemed like too much and he wanted to just vanish into the ground.
At his side he feels Alastor leave him, stepping around the booth and moving across the floor till he was in the center of the room. Lucifer's gaze flicks up toward him and he watches the Radio Demon proudly raise his gaze toward the Archangels above them, flickering along each one. He tapped his microphone a few times and grinned widely as he started to speak, projecting his voice just a slightly bit louder than normal. "If I may as the legal counsel, we have gathered you all today because of a rather grand problem that was brought to our attention."
The room remained quiet, not interrupting Alastor or demanding that Lucifer speak instead. The Radio Demon turned in a circle, moving along the space like he was possessing it and continued speaking. "All of you are aware of the previous agreement between Heaven and Hell with the exterminations, correct? This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone? Once a year, per what was signed by our own King and Saint Michael, Heaven was permitted to exterminate the Sinners of the Pride Ring in exchange for protection for the Hellborns and Hell Native Demons. Correct?"
He spun around and raised his gaze up to Michael, his brother's own expression completely neutral and impassive. "Question for those gathered. Who did Adam report to? Which one of you actually manages the exterminators? Do they count as part of your Angel Soldiers?"
"That would be me." Michael stated, nodding his head down at Alastor. "As the Sword of God I manage the heavenly army and the exterminators. Adam was managing it for a while and then after he met his end, the management of it fell back onto me."
"How much involvement did you have with it while Adam was in control?"
The question drew a slight frown from Michael and he tapped his fingers against the banister in thought. Eventually, he shrugged. "Adam made reports after each one. We held a few meetings. I manage a lot of things, alright? Whatever Sinners he was cutting down didn't really matter to me. It was supposed to be an easy thing to deal with. Go down once a year, control the population before it becomes a problem for Heaven, and submit a report." He makes it sound so simple, like it doesn't matter they were murdering souls that their father created, that were no different than the ones up here, that had just made mistakes. He spoke like none of it mattered.
"How lovely." Alastor stated, the smile on his face sharpening a bit. He took another few steps forward and dropped the end of his cane onto the ground as he leaned against it. "So then, as the one who manages the exterminations, I have another question. Does Heaven keep a report of the names of the Sinners that they kill? Or do you just keep a head count?"
Michael narrowed his gaze at Alastor and pressed his lips together, watching him like a bug that he very much wanted to step on. His twin had tried that once, he was probably wishing now that it had stuck. "The exterminators only report numbers, not names. If you want names of deaths, you would have to ask Azrael. He can bring up any name from the Book of Life and Death."
So they really were just numbers. Lucifer was willing to bet it was like a game to them. Who can kill the most, who brings back the highest headcount, who was employee of the year for killing the greatest number of Sinners. They couldn't care at all about who exactly they were cutting down, just that they got to do it. When Lucifer was first backed into this corner, he knew it had been wrong. Who wouldn't? Murder was murder, it doesn't matter if the life taken had committed crimes or not. Some of the Sinners down in Pride, they weren't stained as heavily as people like Alastor. Not all of them were murderers or down there because they wanted to do the wrong thing. Some of them had real reasons for the things they did.
But Heaven doesn't care about that.
Sins are sins, actions are actions. The reasons for taking the actions didn't matter in the least to them. But was that really fair? Some Sinners didn't want to do what they did, and those that made their choices might even have regretted them. He's said it before–but it's just not that simple. The system isn't black and white.
Alastor hummed, the sound curious and very judgemental. "So you were not aware then," he says, watching Michael closely, "that they killed a Hellborn?"
The room fell deathly silent. Lucifer couldn't even hear the static that usually came from Alastor. All of his brothers eyes were all on the Radio Demon, some of them full of doubt, others of horror and surprise. Michael though was keeping his expression carefully blank, his gaze still locked with Alastor's but it seemed as if he was attempting to read through the Radio Demon rather than the question that was asked. To see whatever angle it was that Hell was playing with this. It wasn't an angle, it wasn't a trap, it was the genuine truth. That was what happened and it was only part of the reason they were up here. Lute killing Weiss won't drag her into Hell, all of her actions combined will.
This was just the first piece moved on the chessboard and that was why Alastor brought it up first. Now they had their attention.
Michael narrowed his gaze at the Radio Demon. "Heaven didn't break the agreement with Hell. The only souls ever taken during the exterminations were Sinners. If a Hellborn did die then it wasn't reported, or it wasn't intentional, and I wasn't aware–"
"You're lying!"
Lucifer snapped his head from his twin to the right. Uriel had shoved himself from his seat, his hands resting on the banister in front of him. His attention was focused entirely on Michael, jaw set tightly as anger filled his expression.
"Uriel!"
"No, Michael! You are lying to them! Don't you dare try and tell me I'm wrong, it's my job to know when someone is telling the truth or not! You knew!"
"It's not that simple." Michael stated and Uriel shook his head several times.
"How is it not? It's yes or no, it's I did know or I didn't. Either your exterminators claimed the life of a Hellborn or they didn't! Regardless of the way in which it was done, if a Hellborn was killed, that broke your agreement with Hell long before the incident at the Hotel." Uriel waved his arm in Michael's direction and then down toward Lucifer. "Which only happened because you permitted Adam to do that! You let him move the exterminations up, you let him harass our niece, you let him go right to her front doorstep with the intention of killing her and don't you dare tell me that was not what Adam was going to do. You lost control, Michael!"
Across from Uriel, Cassiel suddenly stood and pointed at Michael. "So what if he did? Adam swung at the Hotel because Charlie came up here attempting to argue for Sinners to be allowed into Heaven. You can't tell me that sounds alright to you, Uriel. Do you actually want a bunch of rapists up here, Virtue of Chastity? The idea she posed that Sinners can be redeemed for the crimes they committed to get into Heaven is nothing short of a joke."
"But was she wrong?" Uriel argued. "Didn't it actually work?"
"We don't know why Sir Pentious got up here and I still think we should send him back down! How do we know this isn't some sort of ploy? Some game that Hell is playing to sneak into Heaven."
"Are you still on that!?" Lucifer's gaze darted over toward Zadkiel, shocked the Archangel of Kindness actually raised his voice. "How much more proof do you need that he doesn't have some hidden agenda? For Heaven's sake, he spends all of his days laying on the beach sunbathing with his eggs! He's terrified of walking on the clouds!"
"You're just too naive, Zadkiel." Cassiel shook his head and tossed himself back down into his seat, rubbing at his forehead to nurse a headache. "I for one understand every reason that Adam went at the Hotel. Is it right he wanted to hurt Charlie over that? No. But from what I understand, no one in that meeting was in the right." He inclined his head to the side. "I don't blame her for defending herself. None of us do. That's why we didn't seek retribution for Adam's death."
Zadkiel opened his mouth to speak and Raphael waved his hand at him. "Stop. I'm sick of this argument between you two and now is really not the place for it." Turning his head to the side he set his gaze on Michael. "Answer me right now. Did you knowa Hellborn was killed?"
A heavy sigh slips from his twin's lips and Lucifer watches him shake his head but not at the question. "There was an incident at one of the exterminations. Adam reported it with all the others and at that point, there wasn't anything we could do about it anyway. It's not as if they were clean from sin anyway."
"What does that mean?" Raphael demanded and Michael raised his gaze to his siblings.
"They were a cannibal."
Several looks of disgust were given at that and Lucifer can't blame them for the reaction. He can fault them for thinking that holds more weight than the loss of a child who was born in Hell. Regardless of who they were, of what they might have done, of the fact they were in Hell… they were still a Hellborn. They were still one of the lives that that agreement was supposed to protect. They were still a death that Michael had covered up because he knew it was wrong. No matter the details of the situation that pertained to the sins they might have committed, that was the fact. And covering something up because he knew it broke the agreement was wrong.
"I didn't know the agreement allowed for you to kill Hellborns if they committed a sin." Alastor interjected finally, drawing the Archangels' gazes back down to him. "Oh wait, it didn't." Shaking his head the Radio Demon grinned widely and continued to watch Michael above him. "Saint Michael, what would you call covering up a murder by your holy standards?"
Gaze narrowed the angel leaned forward in his seat. "Do not press your luck, Sinner."
"Ah, that's right!" Alastor swung his cane up and pointed it at Michael. "A crime."
The room fell quiet again, the demon's words drawing the Archangels' into thoughtful silence. Michael was still staring at Alastor as if he truly wished he had managed to cut him down that day. Practically attempting to set him on fire and return him to Hell that way with his gaze alone. He didn't see the look that Raphael was throwing him, which was nothing short of unrestrained rage. The Archangel of Justice clearly was not happy with this situation at all, which Lucifer had speculated was going to be what happened.
From beside Michael, Gabriel stood and drew the room's attention to him. "As… enlightening as this is, Alastor, that agreement between Heaven and Hell does not exist anymore. We cannot return the life to you that was taken that day, and the one responsible for it is dead. Adam's soul was shattered during the fight for the Hotel, he cannot be brought back in any form. As Michael said, by the time he learned of the situation, there was nothing he could do." His gaze flickered briefly toward the angel before returning to Alastor. "He was wrong for burying it of course, but what do you wish to be done about this?"
"I'm afraid, Saint Gabriel, that is where you're wrong." The Radio Demon glanced toward Michael himself, and then snapping his attention to the Voice of God as he continued. "The one who killed the Hellborn still breathes, and we have many more charges against her." Widening the grin on his face, Alastor flashed all of his yellowed teeth at the court. "Your favorite head exterminator killed them, the angel known as Lute."
"Gabriel." Michael turned his head to the side to look at their brother. "Did Lucifer fill out a form for this?"
"Uh, yes of course." The Archangel waved his hand and popped the golden papers and folder into his grip, setting them down on the desk. He sorted through them, pulling out the files he needed and setting them to the side. "Father went over them personally rather than myself, and I had the Seraphims validate his evidence. Speaking off…" he picked up the folder that Lucifer had sent up and tossed it down.
The folder drifted to Alastor who caught it easily, peering down inside and fetching out the papers and small chip given to them by Vox. He tucked everything back inside after making sure it was there and headed over toward Lucifer, setting the folder down in front of him. Up above, Gabriel found the form he was looking for and duplicated it with his magic, giving each of them a copy.
"All the correct channels were followed for this meeting, he has proper authorization for the charges he wishes to bring to the court." Gabriel stated, raising his gaze from the papers to Michael. "Father has approved this."
"Fine." Setting the paper down, Michael snapped his fingers and a Soldier popped into the middle of the room. "Bring me Lute."