More to the Story

by MischaLoth

Something is wrong in Hell- other than the usual- and Lucifer has to take it upon himself to get to the bottom of it. But when old faces from Heaven pay him a visit, things are turned on their head as Lucifer starts to realize things go way deeper than he first thought. Will include a mix of lore including Lovcraftian Mythos. Subplot Pairings: Chaggie and Adam's Apple.

46. Lu Lu World 2: Electric Boogaloo

"Cain, you made it." Lucifer opened the door to reveal the rocky Overlord looking rather annoyed, hands shoved in the pockets of his coat. "So nice of you to stop by."

"You told me if I didn't come, you would come to my office and pour antifreeze in all my potted plants." Cain wasn't exactly thrilled to be there but the Devil needed him.

"And look at that, you found time in that incredibly busy schedule of yours to come visit. How truly gracious of you."

"I don't think you realize how close we're getting to this being a hostage situation." Cain's reply was flat, but he let out a cry as Lucifer grabbed him, dragging him inside by the wrist. The doors behind him swung shut.

"There's nothing hostage-y about this. You're just being a bitch." Lucifer retorted as he snapped his fingers and the doors behind Cain locked themselves up to prevent his escape. "Not that it's surprising since your dad is a bitch... that apple didn't fall far from the forbidden tree now, did it?" Cain snorted.

"My dad is kind of a bitch though."

"See? You get it."

"CAIN!" As if on cue, Adam burst out of a particularly reflective vase that Lucifer kept near the door. The Devil made a conscious effort not to jump as Adam had the horrible habit of crawling out of reflective objects like something out of a horror movie. Adam fell on his face before reorienting himself quickly and grabbing Cain by both shoulders, looking him up and down. "There you are! Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine," Cain tried to shove him off.

"Your dad's been worried sick. You're lucky he was able to get help for you when he did. This could have been a lot worse." Lucifer might as well give Adam a little credit for sending help. Sure, Gabriel had done the brunt of the work, but Adam's desperation was definitely a driving force. (And the guy could use a win.)

"I mean, I would have just called you, but your track record isn't great." Cain gave up on shrugging Adam's grip off of him and instead refocused his attention on Lucifer. (Which wasn't easy as, like his father, Cain only had one working eye in his Sinner form and currently Adam was occupying about ninety percent of his vision.)

"And you didn't call me." Lucifer ignored the comment about his track record because, as true as it was, it was now irrelevant as the Devil had turned over a new leaf. Because he cared. It had nothing to do with Michael's guilt-tripping lecture. If anything, that was simply Lucifer's contribution to the Archangels. He helped solve the Mystery of Michael's Corruption. He was practically a goddamn hero. (So long as everyone ignored what happened at the Luck of the Pharaoh Hotel.) "You called your dad."

"Ughhh..." Cain let out a loud, arduous groan. "Fine. Whatever." He looked Adam in his eye. "Thanks, I guess."

"You don't have to thank me. It's my job to protect you. I'm your dad." The smile on Adam's face reminded Lucifer of Eden. It was the most genuine he had seen him (aside from the night before, of course, but that had just been a disaster from start to finish.) "I'm just glad that you're okay. At least, mostly okay," Adam turned his attention to Lucifer- which might have been for the best because Lucifer could almost feel Cain gearing up for a snarky comment. "He is seeing Raph, right? He needs to be checked over."

"He is." Lucifer patted Adam on the arm, urging him to release the almost death-grip he had on the Overlord of Agriculture.

"Okay, good." Adam did finally let go.

"Who's Raph?" Cain immediately took a step backward the moment he was free. Lucifer figured honesty wasn't the best policy when it came to things like this, as Cain while being his long-time friend, was still an Overlord. He would probably be more suspicious if he knew the Archangels were just hanging around Hell, visiting whenever they wanted and being The Devil's biggest inconvenience. Lucifer sighed.

"My personal doctor. Remember that whole sickness thing I told you about that was affecting the flowers?"

"Yeah." Cain nodded.

"He's going to make sure you didn't get contaminated."

"Are they going to pour that acid on me again?" Cain looked rather skeptical of the whole ordeal, and he had every right to be.

"They might. I dunno. But it's better to have holy water than Corruption." Lucifer had informed Cain of the very basics of the situation rising in Hell. He would tell him about the Archangels, if he didn't think that it would make Cain more on edge.

"Ugh, have you asked Pestilence to just lay off? The last thing we need with this overcrowding is a disease." Cain made a face.

"I think this is outside of Syriel's jurisdiction." Lucifer mused. If only things were that simple and Pestilence could just put a stop to this and Lucifer and Adam could go back to living their lives- separately. Living their lives separately.

"Well then that's bullshit. Why do we even have horsemen?" Cain let out a sigh of exasperation. "Other than to bother me specifically."

"I'm surprised you even know the Horsemen." Lucifer knew that Balaam and Azazel (now Abdiel) were considered diplomats, important Hellborn (or Fallen in Balaam's case) who did mingle with the Overlords at big events, but it wasn't as if the general public were aware of the exact nature of their jobs. Some might be able to assume as much, given Abdiel's weird habit of bringing the horse into situations that absolutely did not require a horse.

"Are you kidding? I hit Famine with my shoe." Cain's reply drew a snort out of Lucifer and an outright laugh out of Adam.

"Nice."

"What was the leadup to that?" The Devil knew there was a story there, and he just had to ask. Cain shrugged.

"There's a food crisis in Hell, he's Famine. He got too close to my crops so I reacted accordingly. It was entirely justified."

"He may have just been walking, you know that right?" Lucifer raised an eyebrow. Cain didn't seem to budge.

"Entirely justified."

"I'm proud of you son. Fuck that guy." Adam's words of reassurance seemed to make Cain reconsider his prior stance.

"Maybe I did overreact."

There was another knock at the door that brought a welcome distraction from the Eden family drama that had been building in Lucifer's living room. He had locked it to keep Cain in, however, the Overlord was no longer a flight risk, or at least, he was far enough inside that the Devil felt confident in his ability to tackle him before he made it out. So, all the locks undid themselves and the door swung open revealing Lucifer's favorite person in Heaven or Hell. "Char-Char!"

"Hey dad!" Charlie wrapped her arms around him tightly as she came inside. Lucifer hugged her back, snapping his fingers so the doors sealed shut once again. (Cain was looking a little flighty. Lucifer didn't trust him.)

"Princess, what brings you here?" It was weird to hear Adam being polite to Charlie. Though, Lucifer wasn't sure why since, even on their impromptu vacation to Treachery, Adam hadn't really been his usual, asshole, self toward Lucifer's beloved daughter. Charlie smiled, seemingly not at all concerned with Adam's behavior.

"I just wanted to see how my dad was doing."

"Hey, hey Charlie!" Cain immediately brightened as Charlie made her entrance. "How is my favorite niece?"

"Uncle Cain!" Charlie hurried over to him, giving him a big hug. "I wasn't expecting to see you here! How are you!? It's been way too long!"

"Oh, for sure." Cain hugged her back. "You know, I think that Hotel you're running would attract even more Sinners with a big, extravagant garden."

"I think a garden would be wonderful!" Charlie clapped her hands together in excitement. Adam looked between the two, rather confused.

"Uncle Cain?"

"You already know she calls him that, dipshit. You had this whole conversation before. Remember? Cain has just been in her life since she was little." Lucifer snorted at the reaction. Adam liked to forget things that challenged him. It was probably just jealousy making him question Cain's relationship to the royal family.

"I just figured she needed a positive male role model in her life, since I know what it's like to grow up without one." Cain put a hand on Charlie's shoulder.

"Hey, fuck you." Lucifer pulled Charlie away from Cain. At the same time, Adam looked as if he had been struck across the face.

"I was present!"

"Eh... ish." Cain shrugged.

"Uncle Cain, Adam has been rather concerned about you since he got here." Charlie, ever the peacekeeper (which was a terrible position to have in Hell, of all places), tried to undo a few millennia of family drama in one fell swoop.

"I am glad he remembered I exist." Cain did seem at least more receptive to Charlie, but that wasn't saying much. Lucifer cleared his throat.

"Well, this has been a real treat for me. Usually if I want uncomfortable family drama, I have to watch one of Vox's stupid sitcoms. But you guys give me a free show. Still, I brought you here for a reason. So, you guys keep fighting, but I am going to get my doctor. Don't trauma-dump anything really juicy before I get back. Jonagold, you can come with me."

"Of course." Charlie was probably also happy to get out of the room. Lucifer hadn't intended to subject her to this, but her visit was poorly timed. Still, he was glad she was here. He had made the executive decision to keep Charlie involved, and he was going to hold to it.

"Sorry about them." Lucifer looked up at her the moment they were out of earshot. Charlie met his gaze, shrugging her shoulders.

"It's not your fault." It kind of was, inadvertently. "But I really just wanted to know how you were feeling you know, after everything that happened."

"Oh, you know, I'm fine." He wasn't, but he was better than he had been. Charlie raised her eyebrow at him and he let out a laugh. "Nothing bruised but my ego."

"You could have been killed."

"Oh, you mean just like you could have been killed when you decided to go off to Port Gatory on your own?"

"I..." Charlie's gaze softened. "... touché."

"What can I say? You get your reckless desire to help honestly." Lucifer really hadn't changed much after the Fall. Even back then everything he had done was because he was trying to make things better. He knew better than the other angels, than the Metatron, than the hierarchy... or at least... he thought he did.

"I'm just glad you're still here." Charlie stopped walking so she could pick her father up, hugging him again. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"You would be Queen." Lucifer put a gloved hand on his daughter's cheek. "And you would be a strong, and wonderful one. Far better than I have been." He could see the glisten of tears in her eyes, so he let out an awkward laugh. "But that won't be for a very long time, crabapple! Your old man isn't going anywhere any time soon!"

"Okay, good." Charlie squeezed him a little tighter.

"When you finally become Queen, it'll be because I have retired." He remembered the conversation with Azrael, the plan they had made, his heart ached. "I'll be sipping appletinis and going on luxury cruises in Port Gatory."

"Do they have cruises? Aren't there only two boats?"

"We'll make cruises. Jazeerael and Jezebel aren't exactly busy right now."

"That sounds nice." Charlie laughed, she finally put her father back on his hooves. "Jezebel is a great cruise captain." She seemed content with the plan. After everything Charlie was going through with the Corruption Crisis, she would be ready to take the throne sooner than later. Lucifer was proud of how she was growing into her crown. He led her into his office where the Archangels had decided to make themselves at homes because Lucifer wasn't allowed anything for himself.

"Charlie!" There was a chorus of greetings the moment she stepped through the door. Charlie smiled, but Lucifer could tell she was surprised.

"Uncle Michael! Good to see you! Uncle Raphael! Uncle Gabriel! Aunt Uriel! You're still here!"

"They aren't your aunt and uncles." Lucifer had to speak over the course of 'hi Charlie' and 'good morning, Charlie' that erupted from the Archangels. He was really starting to feel as if his insistence was falling on deaf ears. Charlie was too damn nice for her own good.

"Yeah, we had something come up." Michael was standing behind Lucifer's desk where the Devil would usually sit. Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael surrounded him.

"Oh dear." Charlie looked concerned. "Is everything okay?"

"It should be." Michael smiled. It was good to know he learned absolutely nothing from the revelation on how he purged Corruption. "Gabriel took care of everything."

"That's good to hear." Charlie looked relieved. She hadn't known Michael long enough to know he was a lying piece of shit. So, Lucifer could forgive her for that. "Oh!" She clapped her hands together. "I have some good news! Vox came back to the Hotel all on his own! And he brought Velvette for some reason! I like to think it's because he sees the potential in what I'm doing. But I'm not stupid, so I'm guessing things didn't go well for him when he went back to work."

"I like to think he sees potential in your work, it is such a wonderful idea." Michael smiled; he was such a fucking suck-up. Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Though, it could also be related to the fact that he was attacked in the Doomsday District." Good to know he was still a dream-killer.

"Yeah, that would do it." Charlie sighed. "He didn't mention anything about an attack, but he also doesn't trust me. Or anyone at the Hotel."

"That's because he's an idiot Sinner." Lucifer put his hand on his daughter's back. "He doesn't know any better. Though, while we're on the subject, Raphael, Cain is downstairs."

"Oh, thank you." Raphael grabbed his bag from the floor. "I will see to him quickly." He headed out of the door, changing into his Sinner form as he walked.

"Is he going to help sort things out between Adam and Cain? Does he do therapy?" Charlie looked a little confused by Raphael's exit. Lucifer snorted.

"He does but he doesn't have the time to sort through all their bullshit. No, Cain was with Vox when he was attacked. So, he was exposed to Corruption."

"Wait, what attacked them?" Charlie really hadn't been told anything. "It wasn't Shoggoths was it?"

"Corrupted Sinners." Gabriel replied. He had been the one to go, Lucifer figured he could explain. "Victor might have spread the Corruption before we got to him."

"We are sending Raphael to see to he and Veronica once we see to Cain." Michael added. "And while he's there he can keep an eye on your patrons and make sure everyone is okay."

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" Charlie was visibly relieved by the idea of another visit from the Archangel of Healing. "Vaggie has been drinking the holy water as instructed!"

"Then her recovery should be swift." Uriel assured her. "Please, join us, we were just discussing what happened with Victor in the Doomsday district." She gestured for Charlie to take Raphael's spot. Lucifer circled behind the desk, standing right behind Michael who was clearly in his spot. He cleared his throat.

"Oh," Michael shifted to the side, "sorry." Lucifer replaced him. Would it be easier if they each took one side of the desk? Rather than Lucifer standing directly in the center and pushing Michael off to the side? Yes. But this wasn't about convenience, it was about proving a point.

"So," Gabriel waited for a moment to see if Lucifer would move, but when he didn't, the Messenger continued speaking, "there were several Sinners with rather severe cases of Corruption. I managed to lay them to rest, but I worry about the spread." Uriel looked thoughtful.

"If we could get Victor to open up about who he has been in contact with since his Corruption, we might be able to find Corrupted Sinners before it's too late."

"He's not going to do that." Lucifer spoke flatly. The downside of the Heavenly type was that they saw the best in people even when there was nothing good to see. "Whatever he's done, he thinks it'll get him in trouble, so he's just going to lie."

"What if I talk to Velvette?" Charlie piped up. "Who I am guessing is Veronica in this scenario?" Lucifer would need to teach Charlie how to see a Sinner's true name just by looking at them. It was an angelic ability, so, perhaps she was simply born without it, but she was his daughter and Lucifer refused to believe it. (Plus, it had been so long since they got to have any daddy-daughter magic lessons without Lilith interrupting.) The Devil nodded, putting his hand flat on the desk.

"She is."

"I can't guarantee she'll talk to me, we're not exactly close. But she did make me a dress at a photoshoot!" Charlie suggested. "Also, she lives in my Hotel, so I have the opportunity to talk to her."

"That sounds like a good idea, Charlie." Michael nodded in agreement. "I am sure we can figure something out if we all work together." The eyes in the halos shifted all day once, squinting at Lucifer.

"Teamwork makes the dream work." Lucifer's tone was flat as he squinted right back at the stupid, judgy halos.

"I could try talking to Victor." Gabriel suggested. "He does think he owes me two life-debts, maybe I could convince him to be a little more honest."

"That's a stretch." Lucifer didn't have much faith in the Sinners, and he had even less in the Archangels. "I think Charlie is our best bet."

"It's not a bad backup plan." Uriel patted Gabriel on the arm. "But we really should check on things in Heaven first. We have been gone for over a day."

"And the last time you assholes left Heaven on its own for an undisclosed amount of time, the Exterminations happened. So, yeah, I'm with Uriel." Lucifer was also just ready to have fewer Archangels hanging around. There was a brief silence before Uriel spoke up.

"He has a point."

"I want updates on Heaven." Michael didn't seem to have a protest, which was a little surprising. "I don't like it being unprotected for this long."

"It's not completely unprotected. The Metatron is there, we restored the primary defenses, and we do still have Sera stationed there." Gabriel explained. Lucifer couldn't stop himself from making a noise of disapproval.

"And we all know the last time Sera was left in charge things went great."

"He has a point." Michael, shocking, looked at Gabriel, seeming to be agreeing with the Devil's protest. The eyes in Gabriel's halos narrowed slightly.

"Well, we would have had more options if you would take on more Seraphim-"

"I respect your perspective, and I know you are coming from a place of genuine concern, but- I say this lovingly, my brother- we are not having this discussion again." The room felt as cold as Michael's smile. Lucifer and Charlie exchanged uncertain glances. The Devil had just been making a snide comment at Sera's expense, he hadn't expected to stumble onto some sort of weird Archangel drama in the process.

"So, we'll be heading back." Uriel interrupted before the pleasant disagreement could get any more uncomfortable. "And we'll send you our notes on Heaven."

"Thank you." Michael and Gabriel both seemed to relax and the temperature returned to normal. "I'll keep researching from here."

"And I'll talk to Velvette!" Charlie added helpfully. "Maybe she'll be a little more open with everything than Vox."

"Before that, Honeycrisp, I'm heading to Lu Lu World after this with your uncle, Adam, and the staff. Did you want to come along? Maybe bring Vaggie?" Lucifer always wanted his daughter to feel invited, even if she had missed the last trip.

"Oh! That might be fun!" Charlie immediately perked up. "I know I just dragged her to Treachery. But, between you and me, it might not be the worst idea to get her out of the Hotel before she kills someone. Things have been a little hectic with Vox and Velvette moving in unexpectedly." Lucifer smirked at the mental image of his future daughter-in-law resisting the urge to stab one of the Overlords in the face. (Though if she was going to take out one, that Radio asshole would be the far better option.)

"That's the theme park, right?" Michael looked at his notes. "Well, while you're busy with that, I guess I can do some more work here at the mansion."

"You can come along, Uncle Michael!" Charlie spoke up before Lucifer could say anything. "You'll love Lu Lu World! It's so much fun!"

"I'm sure it is, Charlie, and I appreciate the invitation." Michael smiled up at her. "But I have plenty to do here at the mansion. Also, your father doesn't exactly like it when I wander around Hell. Last time I did, I accidentally went to your party."

"I mean, you are shit at pretending to be me." Lucifer snorted. "I have never once accidentally attended a party." The Archangels' halos all exchanged looks with one another. Lucifer's cheeks tinted golden. "We don't talk about that one time in Heaven."

"I mean, Azrael really appreciated you attending her painting party." Uriel giggled. Lucifer had almost forgotten the incident in question, as he had still been Luciael at the time, and the human race was just one guy named Adam. Azrael wasn't even Death yet, as there was no death for the humans in Eden. He had wandered in to ask Azrael a question only to find out she was hosting a painting party to help inspire the Arcs to create new animals. He didn't know until he was already in the room, and then it would have felt rude to leave, so he just painted a variety of ducks until the party finished.

"It's fine." Michael waved his hand dismissively. "I have plenty on my list to keep me occupied." He summoned up that little tablet again and Lucifer saw Uriel and Gabriel look at one another as Michael was scrolling. Michael noticed it as well, the eyes in his halos also looking at the other two and narrowing (there was something to be said for the full range of Vision of the archangels who could see from all their eyes at one time making them nearly impossible to sneak up on.) "What?" Michael looked a little indignant.

"It's just... it might not be a bad idea for you to go, right? It's just for one afternoon. And it might be good for you to..." Gabriel seemed to be searching hard for the correct words. "You know... take a break?"

"I just took a break; I went to Treachery." Michael replied flatly. Lucifer made a show of shaking his head vigorously. He didn't want Michael to come along, necessarily, but he also wanted to see his stupid clone get put in his place.

"He was working for most of that. He had his stupid list out for like... ninety percent of the time we were there. He also wasn't sleeping."

"Hey!" Michael protested. "Traitor."

"I'm the traitor?" Lucifer gestured to himself looking appalled by the accusations. Everyone in the room was quiet. "The Fall was a matter of perspective." He had been rethinking that day a lot recently but he wasn't ready to give up on his reality just yet. "Also, Michael cut my fucking wings off. So, there's that."

"Are you going to bring up the wings every time we argue?" Michael looked rather exasperated by the disagreement.

"I mean, I haven't talked to you since the beginning of the human race. So, I don't have a lot of recent beef. But the wing thing is a pretty big deal." Lucifer replied with a shrug. "I don't know if you have ever had your wings cut off, but it hurts, and it's traumatic." At that moment, the door opened and Raphael walked back in.

"What's I miss?"

"Nothing-" Michael started to speak, but Lucifer wasn't about to let Mr. Perfect off the hook. He would say, on later retellings, he was doing it solely to be an ass, to cause trouble for Michael, whom he still hated. However, Lucifer couldn't help but remember just how tired Michael looked the night of the break-in. Michael was the Archangel of Judgement, the Virtue of Humility, the Leader of Heaven's Legions... he wasn't supposed to look so... so exhausted. Lucifer felt compelled to interrupt. For once the Devil had the truth.

"We were going to Lu Lu world, because I promised to take Adam and Cain, but Michael is being a workaholic and won't come with us."

"Michael." Raphael's eyes all narrowed. "My beloved brother and esteemed leader, I feel the need to remind you that you are supposed to be taking things easy. That's why you came here."

"Respectfully, I disagree. I came here to help with the investigation, and because Hell is a better environment to monitor symptoms. I am still working." Michael protested. The atmosphere in the room was getting tense once again. There was definitely some kind of backstory between the Arcs that Lucifer was no longer privy to, as he had been kicked out of their little club. However, he wasn't the only one in the room who was missing information.

"Wait... what are you talking about?" Charlie finally interrupted the rather tense back and forth between the Archangels. "Uncle Michael... are you...?"

"Corrupted? Not entirely, but I have been exposed. It's fine though, Charlie, we have everything under control." Michael spoke so gently to the Princess; his smile was sincere though his words were not.

"I understand your desire to help with the current crisis at hand, and I fully comprehend its urgency. However, as a medical professional I feel the need to remind you that your overall progress would be better if you would take a break." Raphael had never been one to shy away from speaking his mind. He was a patient, understanding angel, but he would stand his ground, especially in matters of medicine.

"I hear you, Raphael, and I respect you as my brother and as the medical professional you are, who has done so much for Heaven, however," Michael took a deep breath, "I literally just got back from that holiday trip to Treachery! And I went to Charlie's Halloween party! We can't forget about that."

"I love you as my brother, and value you as our leader. Though, I must respectfully remind you that Halloween was in October." Raphael pinched the bridge of his nose. "And did you actually relax on the vacation? Did you take time to have fun?" Angel fights were weird. Lucifer was just ready for someone to throw the first punch.

"I built a snowman with Charlie and Vaggie." Michael retorted, looking indignant at having been called out at all. Charlie's mouth drew into a thin line.

"Uncle Michael, that took less than an hour."

"Right, but we did have fun, which is the important part." Michael was getting stressed out, the temperature in the room was dropping, as much as Lucifer was enjoying seeing someone else on the other side of the Archangel Firing Squad, he knew that this was only going to make things worse.

"Mikey, I have the utmost admiration for your work ethic, and I acknowledge your desire to do more." Now Gabriel was getting involved. "But I really think we should take Raphael's expertise into account when we are making decisions." The wind in the room picked up, which was to say, there was now a breeze in Lucifer's closed office, meaning that Gabriel was now getting agitated. The Devil looked over at his daughter who shivered in the windy, freezing office.

'What is happening right now?' Charlie must have noticed her dad looking at her as she mouthed the words to him. The Archangels were too focused on one another to realize what was going on. Lucifer sighed heavily. It was best to deal with this before Raphael and Uriel started getting upset and he ended up with some kind of blizzard/hurricane in his office. The Devil knew he had to intervene.

"I acknowledge your concern, Gabriel, and I am appreciative of how you care for me. However, I feel-" Michael was about to make another point, but Lucifer felt the need to cut him off. If he heard one more I feel or I respect statement, he was going to start swinging.

"Look, Michael, if you don't want to spend time with Charlie and I, that's fucking fine. You aren't going to hurt my feelings, but at least apologize to my daughter."

"Oh, Charlie," Michael seemed caught off his guard by Lucifer's interruption. "I do absolutely want to spend time with you! I loved our vacation! It's just that I have work-"

"It's because I'm a devil, isn't it?" Charlie instantly figured out Lucifer's angle. He was quite proud of his daughter as she put on a truly sad face. "I mean, you didn't tell me you were Corrupted, now you don't even want to spend time together, it's fine. I get it."

"I, honestly, figured you already knew about the Corruption thing?" Michael was clearly struggling, and the Devil wouldn't lie, he was enjoying being in the seat of power for once. "I am so sorry, Charlie."

"No, it's fine. It was probably a stupid idea to go to Lu Lu World anyway." Charlie let out a heavy sigh. Michael looked genuinely sad to see her mood shift. "I could be working on getting through to Velvette."

"You're still allowed to have a break, Charlie, if you overwork yourself, you'll be more susceptible to Corruption. Having fun and allowing yourself to feel positive feelings is actually a great way to combat the negative effects!"

"Right, but I just had a vacation to Treachery." Charlie was making her father proud. The other Archangels were keeping quiet, watching the Princess at work.

"Yeah, but that was for work. Then you had to deal with an Elder God attacking your dad, that had to be scary for you. It might not be a bad idea to take it easy, surround yourself with positive emotions, and..." Michael trailed off as the realization of what he was saying seemed to catch up with him. "Ah."

"You make some good points, " Lucifer put his elbow on his desk, resting a rosy cheek in his hand as he gave a large, toothy, shit-eating grin to Michael that nearly bisected his face with how wide he was smiling.

"Great! We will have so much fun!" Charlie hugged Michael tightly and Lucifer was torn between being annoyed that his daughter would give this wing-cutting asshole the time of day; and amused because Michael basically went limp in her embrace like a ragdoll, looking clearly defeated.

"This will be good for you Mikey!" Gabriel gave him two thumbs up. "By the time you get back, we should have updates on how Heaven has fared in our absence."

"And if anything happens-" Michael craned his neck from his position in Charlie's hug, to the point where it looked like he had no spine with how his back was bending.

"If anything happens there isn't shit you can do from down here anyway." Lucifer wasn't afraid of cutting Michael off, nor was he bound by the angelic custom of politeness. Charlie put Michael back down and Michael's body shifted to match where his head was facing while his head stayed completely stationary.

"We will let you know, Mike, we promise." Raphael replied calmly. "But until then, remember it's important to let yourself relax."

"Of course." Michael smiled, but Lucifer could tell that expecting the Archangel to have any degree of fun, was sort of like expecting Lucifer to act in a selfless manner, it could happen, but it would happen with incredible difficulty and resistance. "Thank you so much for agreeing to have me along." He turned to face Charlie who beamed at him. Lucifer was proud of his daughter for manipulating the Archangels to get her desired outcome, but the fact that he now had to take Michael along with him on what was supposed to be a trip to get Adam's panic under control, hadn't gone unnoticed. Oh well. If it made Charlie happy, he could deal. (He's put up with Michael for this long. Plus, he could use this as a chance to show off just how fine with everything he really was.)

"Then we'll head back!" Uriel smiled. "You guys have lots of fun, okay! Let us know if anything comes up! Oh! And take lots of pictures!"

"Please leave." Lucifer felt like goodbyes took far too long with the Divine. He was just ready to have his house back (or mostly back).

"Bye Aunt Uriel! Uncle Gabriel! Uncle Raphael!" Charlie gave each one a hug in turn. "Oh! Uncle Raphael, before you go, you wanted to see Vox and Velvette at the Hotel, right?" Raphael nodded to her.

"I'll be back. I'm just going to go back to Heaven really fast to restock. I don't think either is in immediate danger from what Gabriel has said. But I'll be by tomorrow morning at the latest, I promise."

"Thank you!" Charlie looked relieved. Lucifer would share her sentiment once the other three were out of his fucking house. "See you all soon!"

"Bye!" The Archangels gave their wave before Gabriel opened the door to the office. Lucifer could see the shine of Heaven on the other side. The three Archangels walked through and the door closed and they were gone. Charlie whirled around.

"Uncle Michael, how long have you been sick?"

"Right before we came here is when the incident in question occurred, it's why my siblings and I were heading back to Heaven." Michael was honest enough, but it wouldn't push him over the edge to purge, which was good news for Lucifer's carpet. Charlie looked quickly back over her shoulder at her father.

"Did you know?"

"I did." Lucifer had promised to be more open with Charlie and he was going to hold himself to it, prove how capable he was at holding to his word.

"It wasn't his secret to tell." Michael, weirdly enough, seemed to be standing up for Lucifer. "I'm sorry, Charlie, it wasn't my intention to hold this from you, it was just that everything has been happening one thing after another and the time was never right." Charlie took a deep breath, and Lucifer could see she was carefully considering her next words.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine, Charlie, the wound is minor." And there was Michael with the lying again. Oh well, it wasn't Lucifer's place to correct him, (and he understood not wanting to make Charlie any more uneasy than she already was.)

"I believe you." She smiled. "But I am also going to make sure you have the best time ever at Lu Lu World! You'll be filled with so much positivity that you'll be better in no time!" She clapped her hands together. "I'll go get Vaggie!"

"I know you are going to show me a wonderful time." Michael smiled at Charlie as she ran through the door, most likely calling Vaggie to tell her of the impromptu trip. His face immediately fell once she was gone. "She is aware it doesn't work like that, right?"

"Yeah, I think she's just going to try her best to show you a good time because that's just the kind of person she is." Lucifer smiled, despite the fact that he was in a room with Michael. Charlie really was his pride and joy. Out of everything he had made before the Fall and after, she was the most amazing and perfect creation. He understood where Charlie was coming from, getting Michael to have fun gave her a feeling of power, of control over a situation that was constantly spinning further and further out of anyone's grasp. "Speaking of the trip, are you going as Virgil?"

"I assumed so." Michael shifted into his Virgil form.

"Cool, well, I best tell Cain that he's coming too." Lucifer opened the door. This was becoming quite the unexpected party. But maybe having more people could provide a buffer for the awkward family drama.

"Wait, Cain wasn't aware of the plan? What if he's busy?"

"I don't give a shit if he's busy. He's going."

"That seems less like a fun trip and more like your holding Cain against his will."

"And?" Lucifer was starting to think Michael was unaware of how things worked in Hell. "Hey Asshole!" Lucifer saw that Cain was standing outside the kitchen door, as Adam was showing him some vegetables in his arms from the kitchen doorway. Lucifer could see Quackers hovering behind Adam, staring Cain down like a predator watching his prey.

"What?" Cain and Adam both answered.

"Oh, um, the Asshole made of rock." Lucifer realized he would have to specify when both father and son were present. "We're going to Lu Lu world. My treat."

"No. I hate crowds." Cain made a face.

"I clear out the park. It's only for us." Lucifer assured him.

"Oh shit, then yeah, I'll go." Cain took considerably less convincing than Lucifer was expecting. Which was good, because Lucifer's attention was immediately captured by a crash, followed by the tinkling sound of glass falling onto tile, and a suspicious clopping that sounded strangely like the hooves of a horse, coming from his living room.

"God-fucking-damnit." Lucifer felt he should be alarmed but all he could bring himself to feel was annoyance as there was only one fucking horse that ever went through his windows. He inhaled deeply, mentally preparing himself, as he walked into the next room, Michael hurrying behind him. Neither Cain nor Adam seemed too interested in the horse sounds, whatever they were doing took president.

"Heya Boss! I heard we're going back to Lu Lu World! I'm so fucking excited, I came right over as soon as I could!" Sure enough, Lysander was on the back of War Horse, wearing one of the over-the-top apple hats, and a Lu Lu World T-shirt. Lucifer didn't speak. He simply stared at the horse and the son of the Horseman who owned it, wondering where in life he had gone wrong. The obvious answer would be: The Fall, but Lucifer was starting to think the deeper issue was his hiring practices. Lysander must have noticed the Devil's thousand-yard gaze as he gestured to the broken window behind him. "The door was locked."

"You didn't think about just texting" someone to let you in?" It was true that Lucifer had barred the door shut, but he expected his staff to be... somewhat capable of problem solving. Lysander dismounted from the horse.

"Yeah, I did."

"Lysander texted and called!" Syn came flying over, her hat was no longer on, but someone (most likely Adam) had put the sock back on her. Lucifer looked between the two, pinching the bridge of skin between his eyes.

"And you didn't tell me?"

"You were in a meeting!"

"And you didn't think to ask Adam to get the fucking door!?" Lucifer was aware that Syn wouldn't be able to unlock it, as he had used a deadbolt and she was still without arms or hands. She could activate the automated security, but that was different than just the regular door locks. (Though if he had known that War Horse was going to be around, he would have used the automated security because at least that protected his windows.)

"We did! Adam told us he was unsure if he was allowed because Cain might make a run for it! When questioned, Mr. Cain replied: Bitch I might." Syn parroted Cain's words in Cain's own voice and Lucifer made the executive decision that this wasn't worth the argument. The window was broken, and that was Michael's problem as the handyman.

"Yeah, so we figured, just use the horse." Lysander patted the silky black stallion on the rump and War Horse turned and galloped back through the broken window. Lysander turned, poking his head through the shattered glass. "Oi! Thanks for the ride, dad!" Lucifer was really starting to miss Azazel. He may have been a psychotic extremist, but he had never once ridden his horse through any of Lucifer's windows.

"No problem, son! Have fun at Lu Lu World!" The sound of Abdiel's voice was unmistakable from the other side of the window.

"Thanks! I will!" Lysander pulled his head back through. He finally noticed Michael, as Virgil, who had been quietly watching everything unfold. "Uh... sorry about the window, Virg."

"It's... fine." Michael seemed less concerned with the window, and more confused by the choice of entrance. "Sorry, if the door stayed locked, how did Charlie get out?"

"I didn't!" Charlie waved at them from the top of the stairs. "I was going to run home and get Vaggie, but the door was locked, and Syn told me that Uncle Cain was a flight risk, so I just went to my bedroom and called her to meet us here."

"It's true, I am a flight risk." Cain replied as he and Adam finally finished up whatever they were doing in the kitchen. "Though, I didn't think about using the window."

"That's why I'm paid the big bucks, always thinking ahead." Lysander tapped his temple. Lucifer folded his arms over his chest.

"You know the window is coming out of your paycheck, right?"

"Yeah, nah, that makes sense." Lysander didn't seem at all perturbed by the threat. "I'm rich as shit anyway. The job is just to help teach me work ethic. Princess!" Lysander seemed pleased to see her. Lucifer was surprised by how well his staff and his family all got along. "You coming to Lu Lu World!?"

"Yeah! Vaggie is coming too!" Charlie hurried down the stairs to join everyone else who was gathering in the living room.

"Aw, sweet!" Lysander pumped his fist. "She and I are going to have to play that fighting game! I heard she's great in combat!" The game to which Lysander was referring used blunt weapons and was on a precarious beam. It wasn't super dangerous (if you paid for them to remove the major hazards) so Lucifer didn't see an issue if they wanted to play.

"Oh, she is really good." Charlie assured him.

"I'm pretty good at the shooting game," Adam turned to Cain. "Maybe I can win you a prize." Adam would probably do even better at the gallery game now that he was more accustomed to his loss of depth perception.

"I don't care." Cain replied flatly.

"I could win you something, Char-Char!" Lucifer wasn't about to be outdone in the dad-department by Adam and his disinterested son.

"Aw, you don't have to do that." Charlie smiled. "I want to win something for Vaggie! I used to be so good at the ring a duck game! Maybe you could win something for Virgil?" Her eyes flickered over to Michael who was looking at his phone.

"I mean, I guess." Lucifer took a step back to look at Michael's screen. He was simply scrolling through his emails. It didn't look very urgent. The Devil cleared his throat and Michael looked up quickly.

"Sorry, I was just checking."

"It has been less than an hour. They are fine." Lucifer could already tell this was going to be exhausting.

"You know," Cain didn't seem to notice Michael and Lucifer talking (that, or he simply didn't care) "I have donated a few of the plant prizes."

"Oh yeah! I have one!" Adam immediately spoke up. "It's in my room; it's really a beautiful flower." Lucifer smirked.

"I won it for him because he was shit at all the games on his own and he wouldn't stop whining about it."

"O... kay?" Cain looked a little confused as he looked between Adam and Lucifer. The First Man's cheeks tinted golden.

"It was one game and you fucking cheated!"

"I'm just better than you." Lucifer would happily prove that fact once again. However, he was distracted by the sound of chiming, as someone rang the doorbell. Lysander glanced over at the door, folding his arms, his tail swishing.

"You know what? I could have just rung the doorbell."

"You fucking think?" Lucifer snapped and the door unlocked itself. Lysander opened it on the King's behalf, despite not being a doorman (though Lysander did occasionally fill that role as Lucifer's Palace staff was made up of a Sinner, a Hellborn, and two robots, neither of which were created with arms).

"Vaggie!" Charlie ran to her girlfriend who was standing in the doorway, picking her up into her arms and spinning her around. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

"Thank you for getting me out of that Hotel. I love our friends, but Velvette is going to make me stab someone." Vaggie grinned, leaning up to press a kiss to Charlie's nose. Lucifer couldn't help but feel a small smile on his lips, watching his daughter's face light up. He was just so incredibly happy to see someone who loved his daughter, and who strived to make Charlie's life even better. He could see how much his daughter loved Vaggie in the way her eyes sparkled when she saw her. Lucifer had that same look in his eyes once too. "Oh," Vaggie glanced over at him, "your window's broken, by the way."

"Yep." Lucifer's eyes narrowed and glanced over at Lysander. "It sure is." He clapped his hands together. "Well, if everyone is here, ready, and doesn't feel the overwhelming need to break any more of my things, I suppose we can- ADAM NO!" Lucifer looked up to see Adam with his hand raised near one of the vases that sat on a pedestal to decorate the foyer. Adam laughed, his hand falling back to his side.

"I'm just fucking with you dude."

"Yes, well," Lucifer laughed, despite himself, but coughed in an attempt to hide it. It was true, Adam hadn't broken shit purposefully in months. "Let's head to the park. I already let them know yesterday to have the park empty for us. So, this should be fun."

"What about the window?" Michael looked at the shattered glass still littering the floor. Lucifer wasn't about to give the Archangel an excuse to bail. Did he want him there? No. But this was for Michael's own fucking good. So, Lucifer snapped his fingers and the window repaired itself. "Oh." Michael blinked.

"I'll break it again for you to fix later, but let's actually go." Lucifer started ushering everyone out of his house. He was already having regret, but at least the family drama was going to be somewhat cushioned by Charlie, Vaggie, Syn, and Lysander. (Syn should, theoretically, be much better at talking to the Lu Lu World staff.)

By the time they got to Lu Lu World, Lucifer couldn't have been more relieved. The golden gates to the park shone like a beacon of peace and quiet after what felt like an endless wave of bickering. Since Lucifer had the park closed since morning, the rioting was reduced to just a low roar. It would disappoint Lysander, but the security intern was in trouble for breaking Lucifer's window anyway.

"We're here!" Charlie joined her dad at the front, looking excitedly up at the closed gates. "I can't wait to ride the Apple Turnover!" She clapped her hands together.

"You can ride whatever you want, play whatever your heart desires, everything owned by the park is covered by me today." Lucifer smiled at her before clearing his throat and turning around to face the group. "Welcome, one and all, to a piece of paradise here in Hell! My pride and joy, the best theme park in the seven rings- hi Virgil, I'm kind of giving an epic speech, if you don't mind?"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize we were here." Michael put his phone back in his pocket. He looked at the golden gates. He didn't seem overwhelmed by the greatness before him, but Lucifer could blame that on the mask-like face of his Virgil persona. It wasn't expressive.

"Thank you," Lucifer had to think back to where he was in his spiel, "right, so pride and joy, greatest park in all the rings, okay, so," he raised his voice again, "Welcome to the exclusive, the expensive Lu Lu World!"

"No correlation to Loo Loo Land. If you lost money there, the owners and staff if Lu Lu World are not responsible. Please take all complaints to Mammon."

"Yes, Syn, thank you." Lucifer was surprised she had already come up with a copyright disclaimer, given she had never been to Loo Loo Land, but he was appreciative nonetheless. He tapped the gates and they slowly opened. "Now let's have some nice, old-fashioned fun! Adam, don't steal, Syn, don't get lost, and Virgil if I see that phone one more time, I am going to drop kick you." Lucifer gave a toothy grin to everyone around him. "Sound good?" He didn't wait for a response. "Good." He stepped through the gates and suddenly the blazing red sun was no longer beating down on top of them. The air in Lu Lu World was cool, there was a gentle breeze wafting through the nearly empty park. Before him, stretched a beautiful array of buildings and rides each giving off their own, unique glow under the light of a false moon in a manufactured night sky. Lucifer had at one point been responsible for making the stars, and, while he had lost the full extent if that power, he used what he still had to create the atmosphere of Lu Lu World, reminding him of his time in in the sky making stars. It had given him purpose. He took a step forward on the golden path that snaked its way through the usually packed park. The stones beneath his foot illuminated, triggered by the touch. As most ran ahead, Lucifer hung back as he took in what little expression he could glean from Michael's Fallen façade. "It's nice, right?"

"It's... incredible." Michael sounded genuine; he was at least looking at the surroundings rather than desperately waiting to hear something from the other Archangels.

"I know." Lucifer smirked, walking back to the head of the group. "Now, the park is ours, so everyone can do whatever they want! Anything with my face on it is free! Otherwise, you still have to pay Adam."

"That was once." Adam huffed.

"You stole from Lu Lu World?" Cain cut his father off, looking over at him. "That's ballsy." Adam immediately changed his tone, looking pleased.

"Yeah, well, I'm a badass."

"I would like a hat!"

"You already have a hat at home." Adam reminded Syn.

"Affirmative, but I would like another hat. A smaller hat."

"We can get you a smaller hat." Lucifer wasn't sure if there were any hats that were Syn-sized, as she was small even by imp standards, but he might be able to summon something up.

"I wanna ride the Fall!" Lysander piped up.

"The Fall! The Fall! The Fall!"

"Oh yeah, that is like the most popular ride here." Charlie was really just explaining to Vaggie. "It is super fun and the animatronics are great, but I always preferred the Apple Turnover."

"Oh yeah, I read about that ride. It's supposed to be intense." Vaggie sounded rather interested. Lucifer had some reservations about that ride, he didn't mind the others going on, but maybe it wasn't the best first ride for Michael. So, he tried to come up with a plan as he fell out of the lead as they walked.

"It's not that bad." Adam waved it off.

"Adam screamed like a bitch." Lucifer replied pulling the photo back out to show Vaggie photographic evidence of Adam's first reaction to the ride. Vaggie snorted. Cain craned his neck to get a look at the photo in question.

"Wow, get shit on."

"I wasn't scared," Adam was desperately trying to save face with his son. "I was just surprised. There's a difference." Cain gave him a deadpan stare.

"Uh huh."

"Oh, you don't have room to talk." Lucifer grinned. The photo of Adam vanished and was replaced by a much older looking image, the colors were worn, but the picture was unmistakable. Cain was in nearly the exact same pose, sitting between Lucifer and Lilith, only, rather than grabbing the Devil, he was desperately grabbing to both Lucifer and Lilith who were cracking up. A part of him was suddenly sad, looking at a good moment from the past. He couldn't dwell on the feeling for too long, however, as Cain tried to snatch the photo from his hand.

"Why do you still have that!?"

"I told you I was keeping it." Lucifer forced the photo to vanish as he had already made his point. Adam started laughing as the Devil called out the First Murderer.

"You have no room to talk, bni."

"I haven't heard anybody use that language in a while. You know, because it's a dead language?" Cain almost did a double take. His reaction was warranted as Adam had used a rather old term meaning roughly: my son. Lucifer stiffened a bit, looking carefully at Adam's expression, but everything seemed normal. He looked... happy?

"We also haven't been around each other much since I died. I still use it here and there; it reminds me of home." Adam seemed coherent. He knew he was dead. He seemed to be aware of his surroundings. Maybe he wasn't symptomatic, he was just... nostalgic?

"Right." Cain rolled his eyes- or rather eye. "So how are we doing the Fall? Because we have way too many people to fit on one car unless some of you are bitches who don't want to go on."

"Lysander, you, Syn, Adam, and Cain can go together. Charlie, Vaggie, Virgil, and I can go on something else." Lucifer needed to keep those that didn't know Michael's true identity in one group and those who did in the other. He figured Adam, despite knowing the truth, would want to ride with his son. Which was fine. Lucifer didn't exactly want to go with Adam anyway.

"Aw, Virgil can't go with us?" Lysander looked a little disappointed.

"It's his first time at the park, lets ease him into everything." Lucifer had a feeling Michael wouldn't appreciate some of Lucifer's... more creative liberties he had taken with that particular ride, so he wanted to keep him away from the Fall. It was a fantastic ride, but Michael might not see it that way.

"Ah damn, I heard that ride was good." Vaggie looked a little disappointed. "But we can do that Apple Turnover you keep telling me about." She looked at Charlie who smiled back at her, their hands clasped together.

"We can do that too but I don't mind riding the Fall first!"

"Yeah! Let's do the Fall! Right, Virg?" Lysander was pumped up and raring to go. However, Michael seemed to be focused on other things.

"Ah, yes, I was very much invested in that ride." Michael finally looked up from his fucking phone. (He must have pulled it out when they were walking. Lucifer grabbed his wrist.

"Put. It. Away."

"I just heard from the others that everything is fine. I am putting it away now." Michael held up his hand as if he had been caught committing a crime.

"How can you think about work-stuff at Lu Lu World!? Tell the other handymen that you are off the fucking clock!" Lysander put an arm around Michael's shoulders making a grand gesture toward the park around them.

"Sorry, it was important." Michael used his free hand to put his phone back into the pocket of his coat. Lucifer narrowed his eyes at him.

"And now it's over so you can focus."

"Of course." Michael nodded. For an Archangel who valued truth and friendship, he really wasn't putting a whole lot of effort into the family trip he had agreed to attend. Not that it was a real family trip, given that Lysander, Syn, Adam, and Cain were tagging along, but he supposed it was technically Adam's trip. He had hoped having Cain around would help Adam relax after the attack. Lucifer had seen one too many close calls recently, stress levels were high, and the last thing he wanted was to see Adam relapse after all the progress he had been making- solely because he still needed information out of Adam.

"Woah." Vaggie came to a stop as they reached the sign of Lucifer and Lillith being cast from Heaven in silhouette. There were golden steps leading all the way up, past where the eye could see. Lucifer really hadn't been intending to come this way, but the group had migrated toward it naturally as that was the ride everyone seemed the most interested in riding.

"You go first." Lucifer gestured to Adam. "I look forward to seeing the picture of you all freaking the fuck out without me there to guide you."

"Oh, get shit on." Adam scoffed. "I'll make sure to flick off the camera on my way down." He grinned a bit, flipping up both his middle fingers before heading up the golden stairs.

"I have ridden this plenty of times before, asshole," Cain grumbled to himself as he started up the stairs as well. "It's not even that impressive."

"Lysander," Lucifer stopped the Hellborn as he headed up the stairway. "Hold onto Syn tightly, she is bad about escaping on rides."

"I value my freedom."

"Will do, Boss-Man!" Lysander gave a playful salute toward Lucifer as he nudged Syn along with his hand, gently. "C'mon, it's ride time!"

"Hurray!"

"I love the steps; that's a cool touch." Vaggie watched in awe as Lysander and Syn walked up the staircase (or floated, in Syn's case) and gradually vanished out of sight.

"Is that supposed to be the stairway to Heaven? It's nice." Michael tilted his head to the side, examining everything around him. Lucifer saw his gaze fall on the sign above, and he let out a small sigh. He was now more confident than ever that this particular ride was not a good idea for Michael.

"It's a metaphor." Lucifer replied, knowing fully well that the steps were technically the wrong color for what they were supposed to represent, but the Sinners wouldn't know that (and Lucifer didn't want to get sued for copyright infringement). "You don't have to go on it."

"No, it's fine." Michael dismissed his concern.

"I haven't been on it in years but I remember it being really fun!" Charlie assured him. Lucifer could tell Charlie had not been on it in a while because she had yet to see the issue Lucifer had been dreading.

"Maybe you should sit this one out, might be too intense for you." Lucifer gestured to the white floating bench outside. "You can do work stuff while we go on."

"Dad he's supposed to be on vacation." Charlie lectured. "We don't want him to be doing any work, remember?" Lucifer did remember, but he also remembered the ride.

"Yeah, but..." the Devil struggled to think of a way to explain to Charlie why her uncle might not find the ride as thrilling and inspirational as the rest of Hell.

"It's fine." Michael assured them. "You're right, I'm here to have fun." Charlie bounce on her hooves where she stood before bounding over to the stairs.

"Let's go!"

"... right, let's go." Lucifer and Michael took up the rear as Charlie and Vaggie ran ahead of them on the stairs. Gradually, the Theme park below vanished, the sounds of rides and machinery were replaced with the gentle sounds of harp music. Michael did seem to be paying attention. Lucifer could see him scanning around them, looking at the faceless angels floating in the distance. The stairs ended and there was a cloudy platform where the ride operator was waiting in the world's most unconvincing angel costume.

"Please step into the holy center of the room." The operator also had virtually no enthusiasm as she spoke. "All arms, legs, tentacle and other appendages must stay at your sides once the ride is in progress. Please place all items along the edge. They will be returned to you at the photo booth. Remember to pick them up because cleanliness is next to Godliness. Now stand still and enjoy the story of our brave and mighty King Lucifer and his rise to power in Hell." They were all ushered to the center of the room. "And have a blessed day." And with that, the Hellborn vanished from view as she closed the door behind her. He saw Michael put his face in his hand.

"Really, Lu? You turned the Fall into a ride?"

"I don't see how your surprised. I thought the name was a pretty big give away." Lucifer knew Michael had only been half-listening.

"Oh, I'm not surprised, I knew from the sign. Is this a cry for help? Do you want us to get you a therapist?" Michael put a hand on Lucifer's shoulder.

"I don't need a therapist." Lucifer shrugged him away. "I am fine with what happened. Which should be obvious because, you know I built a ride."

"Lucifer Morningstar!" The synthetic voice filled the room as suddenly the animatronics started to appear. The lights dimmed and the silhouette of Lucifer and Lilith appeared before them. An angelic figure materialized behind the silhouettes of the King and Queen, tall, looming, six blue wings and two halos over the head.

"Oof," Charlie made a small noise "I uh... I forgot about this part." The animatronic angel held out a flaming sword, surrounded in blue fire toward the Lucifer and Lilith, as well as toward the ride patrons.

"You have committed treason against your holy brethren, and broken our most sacred rule."

"You broke more than one rule if I'm being honest." Michael folded his arms over his chest looking defensively up at the towering silhouette. "I'm assuming that's supposed to be me?"

"It could really be anyone." Lucifer waved off the uncomfortable situation. Michael shed his disguise and shifted so he was right in front of the silhouette. Lucifer looked at the matching blue wings and the matching gold and blue eyes. "Yeah, I don't see it. That guy is way taller."

"For your crimes, you must suffer. No longer are you welcome in Heaven's divine light. You shall be cast out to the depths below."

"I literally never said that." Michael returned to his prior position, but he looked a bit like he was pouting. The eyes on his face were relaxed but the halos were eyeing the animatronic.

"Like I said, that could be anyone." Lucifer countered. Michael's eyes in both of his halos shifted so they were looking at Lucifer.

"That is clearly me."

"Maybe it was Gabriel? You don't know. It's a silhouette!"

"Gabriel never said that either!"

"But I only wanted to give the humans free will!" The small silhouette of Lucifer interrupted the argument as he held up his hands pleadingly toward the looming angel with the sword who could (theoretically) be anyone but Michael was narcissistically assuming was him.

"Really?" Michael folded his arms, raising an eyebrow at his not-brother. Lucifer shot him an annoyed look.

"For the love of- I took some artistic liberty, so sue me!"

"Sorry, Uncle Michael, I really forgot about this whole beginning." Charlie had her face in her hands. Vaggie patted her on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" She took Vaggie's hands in her own.

"I'm fine, hun." Vaggie, honestly, looked amused more than anything else. Lucifer was under the impression that Vaggie considered herself more of a demon than an angel anyway. She was so far removed from Heaven at this point, it was easy to forget that was once her home.

"Into the void with you traitor!" The Michael silhouette let out an enraged cry and Lucifer quickly grabbed the real Michael by the shoulders.

"Turn back into Virgil!"

"Oh, this is the best part!" Charlie clapped her hands as there was a burst of air like a sword slashing across the Devil's chest. He kept his hands on Michael as the floor dropped out from under them. Lucifer blinked.

"Michael, you're supposed to fall."

"Yeah, sweetie, it's part of the ride." Charlie's voice drew Lucifer's attention as he saw that, not only was he hanging off of Michael trying to drag him down, his daughter had been scooped up by her girlfriend who also had her wings out.

"Oh, sorry, reflex." Vaggie drew her wings back in and she and Charlie let out screams as they dropped down.

"Sorry." Michael was still looking at the animatronics, he didn't even have his wings out, he was simply levitating with his own power, but he let himself and Lucifer fall and they joined Charlie and Vaggie in the little car. The seatbelts wrapped around them as the car started to twist and turn. Exorcists appeared as the ride twisted, flipped, and turned, they would swipe the weapons at the group. The Devil could hear his daughter laughing. Despite the Exorcist imagery, it seemed like Vaggie was enjoying herself as well, her arms around Charlie, protectively as the ride was tossed about. Lucifer was a little worried Michael would fall out again, as he would be strong enough to resist the gravity of the ride if he truly wanted, but he stayed put until the ride reached its end. Lucifer cringed a bit as he saw the Lucifer and Lilith animatronics that were waiting at the ride's exit. It left that feeling in the pit of his stomach once again.

"I don't need Heaven. I know I did the right thing. And together we will build a city like no other!" Lucifer's own voice echoed from the puppet before them.

"So..." The real Lucifer looked over at Michael as they dismounted from the ride car. "You loved it right?"

"I was fun." Michael replied with a shrug. Lucifer's eyes narrowed, displeased with the almost emotionless response.

"You're supposed to be honest, you remember that right?"

"I mean, there are maybe some historical inaccuracies. The helmets look weird and are really only used for Eldritch warfare, and there weren't enough Seraphim. But yeah, it was... fun." Michael's voice sounded a little strained. Vaggie looked over for a second, but quickly looked away as Michael shifted, "so yeah, good time, very exciting."

"Michael," Lucifer had seen it with Adam, that Corruption made it difficult to do what needed to be done to purge it. But Michael should have been stronger than a human. "Remember what we figured out."

"There's Adam and the others." Michael ignored the comment as Lysander, Cain, Adam, and Syn returned to the rejoin the others. Lucifer supposed Michael might have been avoiding his true feelings so he wouldn't be vomiting in front of the group, but the Devil wouldn't give his not-brother quite that much credit. Michael was falling back to his old ways and being an avoidant little bitch. That was fine. It wasn't really Lucifer's problem, anyway. If Michael was going to ignore what needed to be done, so be it.

"Boss! There you are! Oh man, Syn tried to fight the Michael animatronic! You missed it! It was fucking incredible!" Lysander was terrible at reading a room, but the Devil supposed he couldn't expect much from a Hellborn who decided to ride a horse through his window.

"Oh?" Michael looked over at Lucifer, though invisible to the naked eye, Lucifer knew those halos were looking at him, probably being judgy. "It was a Michael animatronic? You don't say."

"I almost won."

"My dad screamed like a bitch." Cain was laughing, it was actually nice to see, as he and Adam both seemed to be in better spirits.

"I screamed?" Adam gave a loud scoff, "I remember a certain Overlord who was way louder than I was!"

"You both screamed at equal volumes."

"Check out how scared Cain looks," Adam held out the ride photo (thankfully it was one of the things Lucifer was covering for them, because there was no way in Heaven or Hell that Adam realized that was something he needed to pay for). Lucifer saw the picture, Adam and Cain both looked terrified as they clung to one another. Lucifer could see Lysander in the back struggling to keep a hold of Syn who was flying upward.

"Yeah, you two were hilarious." Lysander leaned over to look at the photo. "That's a good one. Virgil! Did you like it?" Lucifer cringed as the question came out of his intern's mouth. Michael was probably not in the mood to answer.

"That was a fun ride. The story behind it was a little surprising." Shockingly, Michael did respond, and he sounded pleasant enough.

"No one rides it for the story, mate." Lysander shrugged. "It's about that sick fucking drop! Now let's ride some other shit! Also, Vaggie!" He turned his attention to the former Exorcist. "I hear you're good with a pole-arm. You, me the battle arena."

"Oh, fuck yeah!" Vaggie sounded open to the idea, and the battle arena could be safe with the proper add-ons.

"I am so sorry, Virgil." Charlie lowered her voice as she turned her attention to Michael. He smiled up at her.

"It's really fine."

"Ooo, did you-know-who not take the ride well?" Adam also lowered his voice pulling Lucifer aside. "I mean... it is kind of a big fuck you to him in particular."

"Yeah, I tried to stop him." Lucifer threw up his hands, still keeping his voice low. Adam glanced over at Michael before looking back. "But he doesn't listen to me. He never listened to me. And you guys just had to make it sound sooo fun." That wasn't entirely Adam's fault because the Fall was an incredibly amazing ride. (Of course it was, Lucifer made it.) But it was also a bit if a giant middle finger to Michael directly.

"Don't look at me. That was mostly Lysander."

"Yeah, but now he's all pissy and he is going to ruin our good time." Lucifer really couldn't give less of a shit about Michael's feelings. But it wasn't fair to the others if he was just going to move around and bring down the overall mood of the trip. Adam glanced at where Michael was standing, quietly observing the others.

"I don't think he's that mad. Maybe his feelings are just a little hurt? Or maybe he's just nauseas from all the loops, I dunno."

"He doesn't have feelings." Lucifer countered, but Adam was right, Michael didn't really look mad even though his face was difficult to read as Virgil, the room didn't feel like Treachery. So, he wasn't seething silently. If anything, he looked... defeated. Lucifer took a deep breath, knowing what he should do and dreading every second of it. He couldn't care. He shouldn't care. He absolutely didn't care. This was Michael they were talking about and Lucifer had spent an eternity building up nothing but hatred for the guy. But at the same time... he maybe had to do something to stop him from pouting and ruining what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation. That wouldn't be fair for everyone else. And while, in general, Lucifer didn't care if Adam necessarily had a good time, Charlie, Vaggie, and Syn deserved better. (And, he supposed Cain and Lysander hadn't really done anything to piss him off recently- well... Lysander had just destroyed his window, so maybe just Cain deserved a nice time.) The Devil tried to resist the urge to ignore the heavy air and just go about his day as he turned to face the entire group. He had to do this. It was what Charlie would want. She wouldn't be able to enjoy herself if she was too busy fretting over Michael's brooding ass. (It was the right thing.) "Hey, I wanna talk to Virgil for a second, you guys go ahead."

"Let's do this fight thing!" Lysander looked at Vaggie for conformation. Vaggie turned to Charlie, who nodded, before she pumped her fist up in the air.

"You and me, security boy. I'm going to make you pay for closing the door in my girlfriend's face when we first met you!"

"That was months ago." Lysander blinked, obviously trying to remember the exact incident in question. He eventually must have figured it out, because his ears and tail perked up. "AH FUCK YEAH! GRUDGE MATCH!"

"I AM GOING TO FUCK YOU UP!" Vaggie was getting into the idea of a friendly fight- at least Lucifer hoped she remembered it was supposed to be friendly. (Also, the expression was fuck you up. Go figure.)

"A fight to the death!"

"No, Syn, no death." Charlie corrected quickly.

"Just until you take a limb off." Cain offered not-so-helpfully.

"No limbs off either, please." Charlie turned to her dad and Michael. "Hey, I can stay and talk too I feel so bad about-"

"Please go make sure no one is going to die." Lucifer grabbed both of his daughter's hands, nodding his head toward the group behind her. (He didn't think there was any real animosity between any of them, but things could easily get out of hand in those little fight rings once the blood got pumping. Also, they were designed to help people lose their senses. He needed to have Charlie there to be sure the game would be just that, a game. While there were no real weapons, there were still ways to get hurt.) Charlie hesitated.

"But I-"

"Go," Lucifer smiled up at her, taking a calming breath as he added, "your uncle and I will be fine. I just want to speak with him."

"O... okay." Charlie's expression changed into a soft smile at the word uncle despite how much it tasted like bile on Lucifer's tongue. The Devil released her hands and she turned to rejoin the others. Only Adam lingered. Lucifer squinted at him.

"What?"

"Is everything good?" Adam looked between the two.

"Do you care?" Lucifer raised an eyebrow at him. Adam cleared his throat, Lucifer thought for a moment he saw a tint of gold on the pale side of his face.

"No. I just haven't told you to fuck off and die today." And with that Adam hurried off. Lucifer refocused his attention on Michael. He started to walk in a slightly different direction than the others, gesturing for Michael to follow.

"We didn't get to see out photo."

"I guess not?" Michael seemed confused but politely followed along behind to the photo booth where Lucifer saw a photo of an empty car with no one in it. That made sense, they were all flying when the picture was taken.

"Not a very good photo, is it?"

"I'm... sorry..." Michael's shoulders drooped a bit.

"Ah, fuck it, those pictures are usually shitty anyway, come on." Lucifer started walking in a new direction, Michael following obediently along behind him.

"Where are we going?"

"Another ride."

"Oh."

"I know how much you loved the last one."

"It was fun. I liked all the loop-de-loops."

"I'm sure you did." Lucifer didn't like being alone with Michael, it felt... weird. It reminded him of Heaven, and Lucifer had a tendency to push things that reminded him of home as far away as possible. But he had let Adam in, as big of a mistake as that seemed to be, so the least he could do was... oh, how had Adam put it? Have a conversation because he was an adult? It was some bull shit like that.

"Please step carefully on the ride." The Hellborn operating their next ride stepped to the side to let Lucifer and Michael into a small little carriage. Michael looked up at the ride, it was a large, extravagant, multipart Ferris wheel that rose high into the synthetic sky. Lucifer took his seat and Michael hurriedly followed.

"What's this one called?" Michael looked out of the side of the car as they started to slowly move upward.

"The Eye of Pride." Lucifer relaxed. This one was slow moving, calming, and was mostly just to get a good view of the (typically overcrowded) park below. (Sinners and Hellborn loved to feel above it all.)

"I think I like this one better."

"You can change back. No one is going to see you all the way up here." Lucifer didn't want to look at Michael, but at the same time, the Archangel was a much easier read when he could see where those halos were looking. Michael closed his eyes and in a flash of blue light, he was in his default form, halos and all, looking out over the edge with his pupilless blue eyes. He seemed enthralled by the scenery.

"The park is beautiful."

"I know."

"You have always made such incredible things."

"Yeah, I'm amazing." Lucifer mused, spreading his arms out behind him, crossing one leg over the other as Michael sat across from him, looking outside. "So," he waited for the halos to look back at him. "You didn't like the Fall, huh?"

"It was a fun ride."

"The truth, Michael. All of it. Even the bad stuff."

"It..." He could see Michael physically struggling, which was expected as Corruption actively tried to fight against being purged, "... hurt my feelings. Seeing how you see me, how you remember that day... it hurt, just a little bit." Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "Okay... it hurt a lot." Michael covered his mouth looking a little queasy.

"Yeah, well," Lucifer summoned a trash bag and handed it to Michael who started to throw up, "it was the day you fuckers kicked me out, not exactly a great memory."

"It wasn't great for me either. I lost my older brother, my twin."

"You're going to have to pick just one of those. I can't be both." Twin really was a strong word as both Lucifer and Michael were actually hundreds if not thousands of years apart (it was hard to say given time wasn't something they really tracked back then).

"You can be, and you are."

"Agree to disagree." Lucifer waved his hand. Michael was right, of course, but Lucifer was stubborn, and that made him much more difficult to argue against. Quiet fell over them again. Michael seemed content to look down at the theme park below him. Lucifer didn't mind the quiet. He relaxed, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he saw Michael had his phone out. "Are you fucking serious!?" He sat upright.

"I was just making sure no one had tried to contact me!"

"God fucking damn it, Michael are you just allergic to relaxation? Am I boring you? Is that the problem? Or do you just not trust the other Arcs? I mean, I don't but you are supposed to be all about trust in one another and all that bullshit. Are they so terrible at their fucking jobs that if you look away for ten seconds the whole world will go to shit? Is that it?" Lucifer hadn't meant to raise his voice; he was a bit taken aback by the intensity of his own emotions.

"It's not that, I just, I worry-" Michael was stumbling over his words, trying to get an explanation in through Lucifer's barrage of questions.

"You're ignoring Raph's orders."

"I hardly think looking at messages is ignoring orders."

"What happened to all that team work fuckery you assholes are always preaching about in Heaven. You're a leader, sure, but you're also supposed to be off duty."

"I was just making sure-"

"If they needed you, you would know, Michael."

"What if I didn't!? I'm not in the mind-link anymore because I'm Corrupted!" Michael's voice cracked. Lucifer fell quiet for a bit. He knew what it was like to be exiled from the mental link the Archangels all shared. At one time he had been the head of it. He could feel the warmth, the love, the support of the other archangels, always behind him, always lifting him up. But when he Fell that warmth, that sense of community it was stripped from him in one, brutal blow. Suddenly he was alone. Completely isolated, cut off from his kind.

That was how Michael was feeling. Only where Lucifer had to deal with depression and guilt, Michael was left listening to the whispers of madness trying to rake its tendrils through the angel's mind to shatter it like glass.

No wonder he was stressed out to no end.

"... oh." That was all Lucifer could bring himself to say.

"Why..." Michael's shoulders fell, he put the phone down, that defeated expression was on his face once again. "Why do you even care?"

"I mean, I don't." Lucifer's response was automatic, but it only made Michael's halos cast their gaze down to the floor. "I don't care about you, because I hate you. But... Charlie is worried about you." Lucifer chose his words carefully. The eyes in the halos flicked up to meet his gaze, squinting at him uncertainly.

"Charlie?"

"Yeah! I mean, she really has gotten attached to you for some fucking reason. And like, Charlie is really worried that you might be... overworking yourself." Lucifer's fingers drummed on the seat beside him.

"Charlie told you that?"

"She tells me everything. We are super close. And she's just concerned that, with you being Corrupted, you're making yourself worse by trying to put everything on yourself. I told her that's just how you are, that you have to be the hero, but you know how she is."

"Charlie only learned I was Corrupted like four hours ago."

"Hey, shut up." Lucifer made a vague gesture in Michael's direction. "It's just... Charlie has never seen you so... tired before. You're Michael, you're supposed to be the poster boy of Heaven. But you are so weighed down with trying to do everything yourself... trying to protect those around you from the burden... that she is terrified that she might lose her uncle. And that wasn't something she ever thought could happen, you know? Her Uncle was always this... powerful... untouchable figure that would always be there. And now she's starting to realize that he..." Lucifer swallowed not sure why his eyes were stinging. "That he's not as invincible as she thought... and that is such a terrifying realization."

"I... see..." Michael had silver tears in his eyes. Lucifer looked away so as not to embarrass Michael for being overly emotional. Lucifer was fine. (But he did have to use the sleeve of his coat to dab his eyes because something had gotten in them.) "I'm not doing it to be a hero, Charlie knows that, right?" He let out a laugh, but it was almost joyless.

"So, you, uh," Lucifer swallowed, unsure of why his voice was shaking. It must have had something to do with the altitude. "So, you don't trust the others."

"I do, I trust the others with my heart and soul. I even trust you."

"Oh, wow. That's really fucking stupid."

"No, I think, when it comes down to it, you will make the right choices."

"That has absolutely no historical backing."

"Yes, it does."

"You gave me a whole ass speech the other day that completely contradicts this viewpoint." Lucifer still had the memory of Michael's angry rant- his first purge- fresh in his head. It wasn't every day that someone destroyed the ego of Pride itself.

"I'm sorry about how that went down."

"I know you meant it. Don't even try to backtrack now."

"I did mean it, you're right. And I'm not sorry for telling you how I felt. But I am sorry I didn't explain myself better. I think your actions were selfish. They were stupid, reckless, unbelievably dangerous-"

"If there's a but coming, I think you should skip to it, because you are killing our moment with this."

"BUT," Michael stressed the word, "I was upset because I know you're better than that. I have seen you at your best. You are an amazing leader. And you do care, even when you pretend you don't. If you truly didn't, then Adam wouldn't be in the state he's in now. And... neither would I. I was mad because you messed up, but also because I know you're capable of doing so much better. And if Charlie is learning from you, I know she's in good hands. I do trust you Lucifer, I trust you just as much as I do the others." Michael smiled, but Lucifer felt a weight in his stomach. "No," the Archangel's smile fell, "the reason I hold back is because I'm scared of burdening them." He reached out, taking Lucifer's hand in his own. "I can't lose another sibling."

"Burden...?" Lucifer repeated the word. Retroactively he recalled all of Michael's existence being one giant burden, but he knew deep down, that probably hadn't been true at the time. No... this was a reference to something specific. Something before the Fall... Lucifer shook himself; he didn't like thinking about that time. (Especially after seeing Adam all bright-eyed and happy the way he had been the night before.) It tore his stomach into pieces. "Well, you're not burdening any of them. They love work. It's in their programming. Except maybe Raph, you're probably stressing him the fuck out because you are the worst patient." Lucifer laughed; he wasn't sure why he was laughing but there was just something amusing about the conversation.

"I really am, aren't I?" Michael laughed too.

"I did better than you did, Blue."

"Blue!?" Michael immediately perked up. "You haven't called me baby blue since you-" Lucifer held up his finger.

"I called you blue, not baby blue. Don't push it." He wasn't sure why he had called him that. There was just something about seeing Michael so... vulnerable that reminded him of the newly made Archangel, following him around like a duckling. For the first time since their reunion... Lucifer almost saw his baby brother again through the unfeeling, monstrous image that the Devil had spent thousands of years crafting over all of his Michael-related memories. "Also, you need to change back, we're almost at the end."

"Oh, of course." In the blink of an eye, Michael returned to his Virgil form as the car reached the bottom once again and the door opened.

"We should probably see how that fight went." Lucifer got out quickly. Michael followed behind him, but even in his Virgil form, Lucifer could see the hint of a smile on his face (and the phone was nowhere to be found.)

"Sounds like a good idea. And Lucifer?"

"What?"

"I..." Michael grabbed him, stopping him. Lucifer turned to see Michael was looking directly at him, his Virgil form making up for the normal height difference between the two. (Michael was slightly smaller than Lucifer and that was a fact he would celebrate until he fucking died.) "I'm really glad we had this talk. I think..." Michael's head tilted up, Lucifer wasn't sure if Michael was looking at the serene sky above his head, or if he was simply tilting his head up so he wouldn't start crying silver, angelic tears on Lucifer's beautifully paved and rather expensive streets. (He hoped it wasn't the second option because Lucifer didn't want to accidentally get something else in his own eyes and need to wipe them again for completely unrelated reasons.) Michael was smiling again. "I think it was good for both of us."

"Yeah. Cool." Lucifer didn't know how to respond, so he just kept his voice flat. "We should probably make sure nobody died." He turned and started making a B-Line back toward the group. Michael hurried behind him.

"Of course!"

Nobody died. Though, by the time Lucifer and Michael reached the arena, Vaggie was doing a victory dance on the balance beam where the fight took place, twirling the battle baton over her head. (It looked like they were playing until someone fell off the beam. Good, it wasn't to the death). Charlie was cheering for her girlfriend but she saw her dad and ran over.

"Is everything-?"

"Everything is fine, crabapple." Lucifer patted her arm. Michael, for some reason, smiled as well, looking up at Charlie then back at Lucifer.

"Yeah, I think everything is... great."

They had more fun at the park. There were lots of games, rides, and food. Lucifer really underestimated how much Cain liked to critique the different food places. Charlie ended up riding the Apple Turnover about four times, and Syn only escaped three times. (Though, once she got her hat, she was much more content to stay put.)

Charlie won several prizes for Vaggie, only for Vaggie to win several prizes for Charlie. Lysander and Adam were neck and neck at the shooting game. Adam tried to give his prize to Cain, but it wasn't a real flower, but rather a stuffed flower toy. Syn wanted it, so Adam gave it to her instead. Cain won himself a few prizes, most of which were plants he had donated, so it seemed a little pointless in the long run. Lysander gave his prize to Michael, who seemed happy to just be included. Lucifer and Adam went head-to-head at the Test Your Strength game again, with Adam still not getting nearly high enough for a good prize. Lucifer, of course, won the largest award. This time the grand prize was a large stuffed cat.

"Here you go Charlie!" Lucifer presented the gift to her, but he almost couldn't see his daughter behind the pile of stuffed toys that Vaggie had won for her.

"Oh, Thanks, dad, but I think we're good!"

"I still say you cheat." Adam huffed as they were all walking toward the exit. They had pretty much closed out the park. It was most likely, really night outside by this point. Still, it had been a fun trip. Lucifer shifted the plush.

"I'm just stronger than you."

"Yeah, but you don't even try." Adam crossed his arms. He was the only one without a prize (even Syn had given Lucifer one of her little toys because it had been a duck. And Michael had won a prize for Lysander as a thank you for Lysander giving him a gift.) It was true, Lucifer didn't try, and he enjoyed making a point of that fact. Adam was human, after all, Sinner or not, so he wouldn't come close to the strength of an Archangel.

"No, I don't. Because I'm amazing." Lucifer shoved the stuffed cat into Adam. "Here, take it, if it'll make you shut up."

"I don't want your dumb fucking cat." Adam took the cat.

"It's actually a lion." Lucifer corrected.

"It's a panther." Adam narrowed his eyes. "I should know because I named it myself." And just like that, he fell into Lucifer's trap.

"Damn, you already named it? Guess it's yours then." The Devil clearly knew the difference between a lion and a panther.

"Fuck off." Adam kept holding the panther. Cain looked between the two uncertainly, before looking at the others. Charlie and Vaggie were talking with Michael and Lysander, and Syn was riding on Adam's head (Also, it was a bit impossible to get a reaction from Syn, as she didn't have a face, just a pair of googly eyes.)

"What's happening?" Cain finally spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Lucifer glanced over at him.

"Master and Adam are not getting divorced!"

"The fuck does that mean!?" Cain stepped back.

"Nothing! That's just something she says sometimes." Adam waved Syn off, but she stayed thoroughly planted on his head, and the First Man didn't seem to have the heart to move her by force. "Not sure where she learned it."

"The internet."

"Syn says weird shit all the time. Ignore it." Lucifer really needed to teach Syn to stop saying that. "I just gave him the panther so now I don't have to carry it." Cain looked unconvinced.

"Just have him carry it, isn't he your maid?"

"Yes, but also he had no prize and I didn't want to hear him crying about it all night," Lucifer quickly added, "I can sometimes hear him whining from the hallway as I walk by his room." Syn slowly started to lean toward Cain.

"SYN, CAN YOU TELL US A NEWS UPDATE!?" Adam practically shouted. Now Charlie, Vaggie, Michael, and Lysander were all looking over.

"In current news, one of the television towers of Voxtek was destroyed by fire in a freak, unknown incident. Investigation is under way."

"Oh yeah, I did that." Cain looked rather pleased.

"I thought Gabriel had done that." Lucifer knew there were Corrupted flowers on the tower from Gabriel's report, though, the archangel had said the tower was in poor condition when he had gotten there to remove the blooms.

"Yeah, he may have finished the job, but I did the brunt of it." The Overlord of Agriculture grinned. He looked down at the plants in his arm before handing a small pot with a white flower in it to Adam. "Here, if you're that bitchy about not winning something, take this."

"A gift from my son!?" Adam's face lit up as he shifted the panther to one arm and grabbed the flowerpot with his free hand.

"NO! Just... A gift from someone who's better than you at the break the bottle game." To be fair, Cain cheated on that game by making the ground tremble and shake when the ball would hit so the bottles would crash to the ground and shatter. The glowing green eye on Cain's stony features glanced between Lucifer and Adam. "So, are you like... friends now?"

"Oh fuck no." Both Adam and Lucifer replied in unison.

"They're learning to tolerate each other as part of my Redemption training." Charlie looked a little confused seeing Adam holding her dad's stuffed panther, but didn't seem nearly as weirded out as Cain did.

"We haven't even gotten that far." Adam added quickly. "Like I fucking can't stand this asshole. He's a sack of dicks."

"Yeah, listening to Adam is like having my ears split by fucking hot pokers, and I don't even have ears." Lucifer added helpfully. He looked at Adam. "I hate you." Adam nodded in agreement, meeting the Devil's gaze.

"I hate you too."

"Good. Glad we established that."

Lucifer was smiling despite himself.

It was the funniest thing.

Despite the uncertainly and chaos around them... For the first time in a long, long time, perhaps since the day Charlie was finally brought to life...

For the Devil, at least:

Happiness didn't feel like it was out of reach.