AN: So I was really trying not to add Lucifer's siblings seeing as I am not very versed in that sort of stuff, but here we are. So hopefully it played out alright. A bit of foreshadowing in this chapter and bit of warm fuzzies at the end. Poor Lucifer has had it rough the past little bit, he needs a win. XD

Previously;

"Very well," Sera started. " Lucifer, do you deny that you willingly sent a sinner to the mortal realm?"

Lucifer pulled at his collar again trying to keep his breath even. "I-uh- it's a bit more complica-"

"-Just answer the questions please," Sera cut.

He knew this was exactly what they were hoping for. He would be stuck having to answer her questions that would only cast him in a bad light. He couldn't win. His shoulders fell in defeat, giving them all what they were looking for. His eyes turned to the dark blue patterned carpet.

"I don't deny it. I sent Alastor to the mortal realm."

It wasn't exactly 'willingly' seeing as he knew the guy was going to cause him strife, but they wouldn't care about that part.

"And what exactly were you hoping to get from this?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Oh what does it matter? He openly admitted to breaking the charters. Those that have died can not be back on the earthly plane and he didn't care." An arm was waved in his direction. "It doesn't matter how lenient we are, he just keeps pushing his luck. What's next?"

"Gabriel, "Sera warned. "He has the right to defend his reasoning, whether or not it's good has yet to be determined." She fixed the heated angel a look before turning to her oldest brother. "Go ahead, Lucifer, the floor is yours."

Lucifer stood taking his hat off as he stepped forward, his hands curling the brim of his hat in nerves. "Earth is in danger-"

"-Yeah no thanks to you."

"Gabriel! If you can not keep your thoughts to yourself, you will be removed from the rest of this hearing."

Gabriel gave Sera glare but he sunk further into his seat, arms crossed his chest almost looking like a pestilent child.

Sera gestured for Lucifer to carry on. "Please continue."

He let out a breath giving her a grateful nod. "Earth is in trouble. It's not the sinner causing problems. He's there to help get rid of the actual problem, a human that has gotten ahold of demonic blood."

"That doesn't make sense. How could this human have it if the sinner was sent in afterwar-" Sera froze. "There's another demon there."

Lucifer nodded, his knuckles turning white from his tightened grip on his hat.

There were a few hushed whispers, but his focus was on Sera. She clearly knew more than the rest.

"You would recognize the name Dolion Tucker then."

He dropped his hat, having to swoop down hastily to pick it back up. Oh no, they knew a lot more. "I-I might know the name."

"The other demon."

Lucifer shook his head, his heart in his throat. They knew too much. How did they find all this out so quickly?

"If he isn't the other demon who is?"

"The child." The words left him before he even registered what he had done and upon realizing it he went pale.

"There is a demon child on earth?"

Lucifer's eyes moved to the clocking hoping they were at least close to the end of the hearing. Only thirty minutes had passed. Why didn't he just keep his mouth shut? He was always making things worse for himself and it was all unintentional! He couldn't even stick to the one rule he gave himself. He should have just let them make their assumptions, at least that way they wouldn't be pulling more information out of him. Idiot!

There was chatter above him, but he didn't hear it, his ears deafened by his blood thundering in his head. He needed to find a way to leave, get some air, maybe just leave and never come back. Preferably the last one.

"Oh no," Sera sighed. "Lucifer please don't tell me this child is of that mortal and sinner. I was told it could not be done."

He shrunk behind his hat hiding his grimace, his voice faltering a bit. Maybe if he didn't actually admit to it, they'd think otherwise.

"We've never had a mortal soul in Hell before…"

The response was an uproar, his siblings all shouting over each other. The only one still calm, watching with the same smug grin was Remiel. He raised a hand, three fingers held up. Then only two. Then one.

In the middle of the courtroom floor to his horror, a circled pentagram was being crafted in flames. Someone was summoning the devil.

The sudden change in light caught the attention of everyone else in the room. Faces a mix of horror, curiosity, intrigue and one smug look.

"What is that?"

It was the first time Lucifer had heard Uriel all meeting, but he knew everyone had the same question in their mind. This was probably the worst possible time for this. He couldn't tell them it was a portal to the mortal realm, that some dumb human had summoned the devil. Wasn't this the very issue they were discussing, accessing the mortal realm?

"It's a brief intermission." Remiel stood, stretching his limbs with a light sigh. "I'm going to go get some popcorn any of the rest of you want?" When no one responded, they all still staring at him blankly, he pressed on.

"What? Luci will be back in about thirty to forty minutes or so, but until then I'm not going to sit here twiddling my thumbs."

There was a few seconds of pause before Uriel raised a hand. "I'll take some popcorn."

Raphael also raised a reluctant hand, followed by Micheal,

Before turning to leave Remiel turned back to Lucifer. "Well what are you waiting for? Off you go."

The devil quickly put his hat back on before taking steady steps toward the portal. As he stepped through he silently hoped it wasn't going to be some cultists, he could never manage staying around them long, they did some weird stuff.

It was hard to force his demonic look seeing as he was grateful for this distraction, whoever or whatever it was. He blinked back in the dim light, finding the darkened room a bit familiar.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

He turned to find Julie standing with a smug look, arms crossed her chest, eyes twinkling in mischief.

"Julie?"

"And Ellen." She gestured behind her where he hadn't seen Ellen hidden in the shadows.

"What-" His eyes flipped between the two unsure if he wanted to risk hoping for something good. "What are you doing?"

Ellen moved forward with a shy smile on her face. "I thought you may want a bit of an update on how things are going up here. It's not a bad time is it?"

He wasn't sure if this was terrible timing or perfect timing. He rubbed the back of his neck finally tucking his wings back to land softly on his feet. "I've got some time…"

It wasn't long before the two caught him up with everything that had happened since they last spoke. He wasn't too happy about pushing humans to evolve, with Xander's blood, but it made him recall deaths' warning.

"And he's aging quickly?"

Ellen nodded. "I didn't get to see him, but Alastor said he looks to be about nine. Is that normal for demons?"

He only really had Charlie to compare to and that wasn't exactly the same. "Sinners don't have children, it's impossible to know."

"Right." Ellen turned her gaze away. "Well I guess you're all caught up now. Next steps would be trying to hunt down Dolion. Alastor is on that, so hopefully we hear back soon."

Lucifer nodded thinking. It seemed they were doing okay, and hopefully this would all be done the next few weeks or so. He only partially wished Alastor had joined them. He still had no idea how he was going to get Ellen to kill Dolion and if he didn't have a plan yet he was starting to run out of time.

Ellen suddenly turned to the shadows behind her, and for a moment he thought they may have caught unwanted attention. When she made no fuss he relaxed a bit.

"Come on out, we're almost done." Ellen was waving something from the darkness.

He squinted trying to see who she was talking to. She better not be bringing another human- He watched a familiar shadow slowly creep across the floor.

"Whoa. Is that Alastor?"

Ellen giggled, turning to Julie. "No, it's just his shadow. He's kind of his own being. Alastor probably just sent him to check in on us and see if we've wrapped up yet."

Julie just stared at it in childlike wonder. "I want one," she breathed just above a whisper.

The shadow chittered lightly swirling around Ellen's feet before it darted off to the devil staring at him curiously, head tilted to the side.

Lucifer's gaze narrowed a bit, a slight pout etched to his face. "What?" He wouldn't put it above Alastor to send his shadow to mock or harass him in some way. The guy was an ass like that.

Out of the void in the hands of the shadow appeared a black blob. It took a few seconds for Lucifer to realize what it was and when he did his eyes almost pooped from his head.

"You! You were the one that kept moving it!" He moved forward to take the little demon duck that had him in a tizzy the past month. No wonder he couldn't find it, it wasn't even in Hell. The shadow pulled it closer to itself, not wanting to give it up.

Julie leaned over to Ellen confused. "Uh what exactly is going on," she whispered.

Ellen shrugged. "Beats me."

Lucifer's expression turned scornful, shaking an accusatory finger at the shadow. "I had no problem with you moving it around, but stealing is bad. I'll make a special one just for you, but I need this one back."

"He didn't steal it."

Julie jumped at Alastor's voice, sounding from the darkness. He had just stepped down the last couple of stairs into the basement, hands resting on the top of his cane, red eyes and yellow grin glowing in the dim light.

"Your Majesty." He tipped his head in greeting, though his expression made it clear he wasn't too happy being there.

"We need to get him a bell or something," Julie mumbled, shaking her head. "How doesn't he make you jump?"

Ellen smiled, whispering back, "I learned to keep an ear out for him at all times."

"What do you mean he didn't steal it? Why does he have it?" Lucifer gestured to the shadow.

Alastor's smile stretched wider. "Why? Does this one hold some importance to you?"

Lucifer quickly snatched it from the shadow holding it close to his chest, turning to keep it from being stolen back. He would never admit to the stressed mess he had dissolved into when he found it missing. That and if Alastor knew it held any sort of importance, he would mock him for it. For decades. Maybe actually steal it. He wasn't about to give the overlord the satisfaction. Fuck that guy.

"No," he said defensively, still holding it close to his chest, now glaring at the sinner, silently daring him to try taking it.

"I think I understand the rubber duck thing now, "Julie whispered to her friend.

Alastor just hummed indifferently. "Then I suppose it does not matter, does it?"

Lucifer flipped him off with an angry pout before stepping back through the portal. Whatever desire he had to converse with the sinner died immediately. Dolion would be stopped somehow and right now that wasn't his problem. He did what he could, the rest laid in the hands of Ellen…and Alastor. Pah.

He had temporarily forgotten the chaos he had left behind, meeting with Julie and Ellen. It wasn't until he was back in the mock courtroom that he realized he had only walked back into fray.

"Lucifer!"

Startled, he quickly glanced up to Sera to find her staring down at him.

"I believe you have wasted enough of our time, now if you don't mind we have-"

"-It wasn't a waste of time."

The room became quiet watching Remiel as he tossed another handful of popcorn into his mouth, leaning back with his feet kicked up on the seat in front of him lightly kicking Gabriel, who looked fit to be tied.

"Discovered some important information, didn't ya Luci?"

Lucifer shook his head. He was not going to share what he had learned, it would put their plan in jeopardy. They wouldn't understand, they'd insist on being a part of it all. They would blame him. He shook his head watching Remiel very carefully, wondering who's side he was playing to right now. Was he looking to stir more chaos or maybe he understood the gravity of the situation and was actually trying to to help him out. Was it worth the risk?

His gaze moved down to the duckie in hands as his brothers now all started talking over themselves again, trying to get Remiel to reveal what he knew.

"What do I do now?" He whispered to his little buddy.

He looked longingly at the duck wondering if it was better just to air it all out. It seemed Sera had already discovered a lot, but there was no way they knew everything. They would insist on being involved, they would never trust him to fix this on his own. His shoulders slumped at the thought. Maybe they'd be right. Maybe he shouldn't be left to deal with this.

He turned and placed the duck on the desk behind him, giving it one more look before letting out a heavy sigh and addressing Sera.

"What do you know of Dolion Tucker?"

The room went quiet again; the only movement was Remiel sitting up, leaning in interested. Probably for the first time in centuries.

Sera cleared her throat slowly falling back into her seat, all the others following her lead.

"It was the name that kept resurfacing when speaking to the souls that had been whispering about the situation. I was under the impression he was the other demon, but you said he was human?"

Lucifer nodded, taking his hat off, using it to keep his nervous fingers busy.

"Ellen made it back to earth dying in hell during childbirth. I assure you the act is not repeatable, but it did leave the sinner, Alastor, with a half demon child."

A few voices started to speak out in outrage but were quickly silenced by Sera.

"So why would you send the child to the earthly plane?"

"I didn't. The only one I sent there was Alastor, because…" His brows furrowed. Why did he send Alastor up there? Oh! Yeah, death told him too. He needed to be there to…ensure Ellen did her job? To protect her?

"Because…?"

He blinked back from his inner thoughts . "Uhh, I don't really know why."

"You just sent a sinner up there for no reason?! See this is what I was talking about. We need to put a stop to this, deal with it ourselves."

Sera only glared at Gabriel, ignoring his comment.

"So how did this child get there?"

Lucifer stuck his tongue out at his brother before returning to Sera, who clearly saw the gesture, giving him a warning look.

He cleared his throat, a small flush creeping up his face. "Dolion Tucker took the child. Some deal was struck between Alastor and Tucker when he was alive."

"That's not possible. I checked the records, that sinner has been dead for over ninety years, there's no way this human should still be alive."

Lucifer chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, that's the problem. Well, one of the problems I guess, haven't got to the experimentation parts yet. Of course then there's Julie too, and betrayal, manipulation, planning murder…"

Sera shook her head. "Okay WHAT is going on here?"

Lucifer turned to his brothers, all watching him with intrigue. Remiel gave him a knowing nod and with a heavy sigh he explained everything that had occurred in the past few months, giving heaven everything he had been hoping to keep secret. He was surprised that Gabriel actually managed to stay quiet for the whole explanation. When he finished Sera shook her head in disapproval.

"You should not have involved that other human, it's bad enough Ellen is so heavily involved in this. We are going to have to send someone down there. Wipe her memories and hopefully return the child back to hell and be done with this as soon as possible."

Lucifer gaze Sera an incredulous look. "You can't send someone down there. Dolion already has demon blood. You're going to give him angelic blood too? Are you crazy?"

"We would not be be doing such a thing-"

"As soon as this guy finds out there's an angel floating around up there he's going to do everything in his power to get his hands on them. We don't know what he is capable of and seeing as he's over two hundred years old, it's probably safe to assume he's not just a simple human."

Sera's eyes widened in horror. "Two hundred years-"

Gabriel cut her off. "You expect us to sit here and do nothing? Leave this to you? Out of the question."

"How do we even know this…human is going to fulfill this task? Can we really leave this to chance?" Micheal looked around to see a few nods in agreement.

More voices erupted, filling the room with more questions and accusations. It went on a bit longer than usual, Sera seemed a bit lost at what had been revealed. When she finally got herself back together she raised her hands to silence the room.

"We can be in agreement that this other human girl, Julie, is not required in this issue. We'll send someone down to wipe her memories, maybe let Ellen know that she is not to involve anyone else in this."

The room was filled with nods and despite trying, Lucifer couldn't seem to find a reason to spare Julie this fate. He and Alastor had never really discussed anything with her, she wasn't really supposed to know in the first place. It seemed unfair to just wipe her memories of it all, she was a secret keeper, not one to let any of this out, but no one in this room would ever let that go. She was a lose end that needed to be tied up, removed.

"I-" He looked for something, anything to change their mind but came up empty. His chest ceased. Was there really no other option?

"I'm afraid she still has an integral role to play. She, too, is just as important as the other two in this."

The room turned to Remiel in shock. He wasn't supposed to interfere, play sides for the future, it was to unfold as it happened.

"Remiel…"

He silenced Sera's concern with a raised hand. "I believe we are all hoping for the same outcome. You all may not like it, but we must trust in our brother-" He gestured to the devil below them. "-for there are things in motion now that mustn't be disturbed." He gave Lucifer a small smile. "So brother, heaven stands behind you in this matter."

"You don't speak for us, Remiel." Gabriel glared at his brother.

Remial just leaned back, throwing his arms behind his head. "Perhaps we take a vote then. All in favour of leaving this matter to Lucifer so long as he keeps Sera up to date with developments moving forward?"

Everyone in the room had a hand up except Gabriel. Lucifer smiled up at his family. For the first time in eons, they were all on the same side, they were all in favour to support him. His lower lip trembled, wishing he could find the right words to express his gratitude to Remiel.

"I do believe that settles it then." He turned to look at the clock. "And with an extra fifteen minutes to spare."

"Meeting adjourned." Sera was the first to leave, giving Lucifer one final hesitant look before fading out, followed by the rest of his brothers.

Lucifer let out a big breath, a grin pulling to his face in astonishment. "Fuck yes!"

A chuckle stopped his celebrations short and he turned to find Remiel leaning over the balcony rail he was at. "You'll be on your own now Lucifer so remain cautious."

Lucifer nodded. "Thank you. I couldn't have done this without you."

Remiel waved off the gratitude. "It was what needed to be done, think nothing of it. Just do yourself a favour-"

Lucifer's face turned serious, nodding.

"-remember the phrase 'King of ducks' It will be important for you later on."

"King of ducks?" Lucifer giggled to himself, repeating the phrase multiple times to ingrain it to memory.

"I wish you luck Luci. I truly hope this goes over well."

Lucifer spent a few minutes just staring at the empty room around him feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He pulled his phone out to find three messages all from Charlie. The first wishing him luck, the second asking how it was going and the third telling him how proud she was of him.

A small tear slipped from his eye as he responded letting her know he would tell her how it went and that he would need her help remembering the phrase 'King of ducks'.

AN:Hey All! Happy New Year! Hope you all have a prosperous and fantastic 2025!