Early in the morning, Ella, Rae Rae, and Jophiel were sitting around the kitchen table, chatting comfortably, when the Antichrist stumbled into the kitchen. Seeing the women watching, he stopped suddenly and looked at them in turn. A gentle smile played on the lips of the three women, for there was no trace of Antichrist to be seen. What they saw was a boy of thirteen in his boxer-briefs and T-shirt, his wild curls sticking out in all directions, and those green eyes that were still more than a little sleepy. They saw his mischievous smirk slip around his lips, and he asked softly:
"What's the matter, ladies? Never seen a demigod before?"
Ella wondered if this boy was even up to mischief in his sleep and dreams. He heard a "Good morning, Alex" from Ella and Rae Rae and a "Good morning, My Prince" from Jophiel. Alex looked around for a moment and then asked, playing confused:
"Strange, I see no throne room, no ceremony, and no official function, Jophiel. I must have misheard you using my title."
Jo's face turned a little red, and he shuffled towards his Italian coffee machine, muttering:
"If that surfer got it into his head to disassemble my machine again, I'll burn him..."
Fortunately for Sandalfon, he found the machine in perfect condition and hurried to make a cappuccino the way he liked it—lots of milk and a little coffee. He then dropped into a chair at the table near the ladies present. After taking a sip or two, he asked:
"Has anyone seen Maze?"
Jophiel replied:
"Just try and get her away from her place by the door..."
Alex said:
"Hmmm, I think I'll pass. No point having a pissy Demon hanging around my neck this early in the morning."
Lucifer had entered the kitchen unnoticed and had just heard Alexander's last words and asked, not quite understandingly:
"Why do you have a pissy Demon hanging around your neck?"
Alexander looked at the devil, narrowed his eyes to slits, and said quietly:
"Never mind..."
Lucifer ignored the answer and asked:
"Jophiel, is Doc Linda available? I think I need to have a word with her."
The Angel nodded and said:
"Yes indeed, she is as good as recovered, thanks to Raphael."
A visibly nervous Lucifer, playing with his cufflinks, muttered:
"Good, good..."
He started to turn and go look for Linda, but Ella stopped him for a moment:
"Lucifer, are you going to the precinct later?"
He looked at her with a puzzled expression and said:
"Probably. I need to talk to Captain Monroe, I think."
This answer made Ella think. But she said nothing, just asked:
"Could you drive me to work, please?"
Lucifer's eyes shot to Alexander for a split second. However, this one did not seem to pay any attention to what was going on around him. He had simply laid his head on the table and closed his eyes again, holding his cup of cappuccino in his hand. The devil looked Ella straight in the eye:
"Why do you need a ride, dear Ella? Not that I wouldn't be happy to, you know, but why?"
"Well, Lucifer, I have to work today, and my car is still at Lux's. So..."
Now he looked at her a little confused:
"So how did you get here?"
Now it was her turn to look back, confused, and everyone heard Alexander muttering from the table:
"Oh, for Grandma's sake..."
Ella ignored the boy and answered Lucifer's question:
"Well, with your Aston Martin, but you know that; you saw me drive off in it."
Lucifer nodded:
"So?"
"It's your car, Lucifer. I can't possibly keep driving around in such an extravagant car. It was very cool to drive around in it for a while and have some fun with Alex, I admit. But..."
"But what? If you have fun with this or any other car in my little collection, then go ahead. Have fun. I almost never drive them myself. Unleash that little speed demon in you, and as far as I'm concerned, blow up the engines. As long as you have fun, darling."
With that, Lucifer turned on his heels and disappeared towards Linda's bedroom. Jophiel and Rae Rae had noticed that a small, soft smile had appeared on Alexander's lips at Lucifer's words.
With his long legs, it was not long before Lucifer was one floor up and appeared at the door of Linda's bedroom. Maze was still faithfully guarding the door. A smile appeared around the Devil's mouth, and he said:
"Mazi, how are our dear Doc Linda and little Lucas?"
Mazikeen looked at Lucifer intently for a moment and saw that his face looked more relaxed than it had in ages, but she also saw a certain nervousness in his eyes.
"Linda and the baby are fine, Lucifer. You and I need to talk!"
The Devil knew exactly what the Demon wanted to talk about and replied:
"Tonight, the penthouse. Or would you rather I come here, because you don't seem too keen on leaving your post any time soon? I hope you realize that both are perfectly safe, yes? There are two angels in the house, and Rae Rae really is no kitten to be handled without gloves. Amenadiel and his zealots are more or less under house arrest in Heaven, thanks to Alexander. They would have to be suicidal to go against Michael now that he has sided with Alexander, and against all odds, Father has made himself perfectly clear for once."
Mazikeen looked at Lucifer strangely, and he didn't think it would be just Ella and Maze who would look at him strangely that day. Many people would look at him strangely during or after talking to him during the day. The Demon was not used to Lucifer giving her space for where and how a serious conversation between the two would take place. Lucifer read her thoughts in her eyes and said softly:
"Mazi, I am no longer your king. Alexander is your king now, having more or less forced me into retirement. In fact, he has given you your freedom, and you are now the Princess of Hell. The least I can do is to accommodate your wishes as much as possible."
Struck by his sincere words, Mazikeen could only nod for a moment as Lucifer knocked on the door and entered after Linda answered. Before he was completely inside, Maze said briefly:
"Tonight, the penthouse!"
The Devil nodded again and shut the door.
Lucifer turned to see Doc Linda lying in bed with baby Lucas in her arms, and he smiled broadly.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite therapist and my favorite nephew."
Linda laughed softly and said:
"Join us, Lucifer."
Although Linda had intended he should get a chair and sit by the bed, Lucifer simply lay down on the bed next to the little blonde and made himself comfortable. She noticed immediately that something had changed in the Devil, that he was more relaxed. As if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders, he moved through existence in a more carefree manner. She asked:
"So, Lucifer, what can I do for you?"
As she asked, she handed him the baby. The gentle way he took Lucas from her without the slightest hesitation confirmed her suspicions. Before answering her question, he said to the baby:
"Hello, Lucas, are you being a good boy for your mummy?"
Linda gasped for a split second as Lucas lit up completely for a moment; literally, a golden glow was visible. Lucifer laughed and said playfully:
"Hmmm, it will take some time before you get that under control, Lucas, boy. But don't worry, you've got Alexander by your side to teach you, and in case of emergency, your mom has the Devil on speed dial."
Lucifer looked at Linda and said:
"Dear Doctor, some things have changed."
Linda shot into her therapist role and asked:
"And what are those things, Lucifer?"
"Well, for a start, I am no longer the King of Hell, as you will have gathered from our little group conversation in the penthouse. You might say that I have been knocked off my throne by a thirteen-year-old boy. Something that boy was very clear about."
"How do you feel about that?"
He thought for a moment and said:
"I never wanted the throne and the title. It was something forced upon me when I was banished to Hell. Father punished me for my rebellious behavior by sending me to Hell, but he did not strip me of my Celestial powers. I didn't have much of a choice; either I became the king of Hell and made the Demons bow to me, or I became a plaything for the Demons. Normally I have no problem serving as a plaything, but then I have to be able to have some fun myself. I had figuratively distanced myself from it all by coming to live here in LA with the intention of never going back. Now that I am literally off the throne and released from the title, it is, frankly, double. On the one hand, I am happy. On the other hand, I'm worried."
"Worried about what?"
He said without the slightest hesitation:
"Alexander... He is still so young. A stay in hell is not something I would call pleasant. It is a necessary evil, I believe. The souls of the depraved have to go somewhere. The Demons from the Circles aren't exactly made to roam the Earth either. That's why, for thousands of years, I have forbidden Demons from wandering the earth and possessing people. A certain depraved look, that is. The deeper you go, the worse they become—more sadistic, more bloodthirsty, less intelligent, more beast than sentient being. Dis, the city where the palace stands, is a different story. That's where Mazikeen comes from. But then again. I have always hated hell and my place in it. Now... now a boy of thirteen has taken it upon himself to be the king of Hell, of that terrible place. Every fiber in my body screams that he does not belong there, just as the Urchin should never set foot there. That children like those two, have no place in Hell."
"But?"
He was silent for a few seconds, looking Linda sternly in the eye:
"This boy is used to hell. In the universe he grew up in, he's the Crown Prince of Hell; he's been there many times. I cannot help but believe that the ideas contained within his blond, curly head will cause both Heaven and Hell to experience a headache. The boy is a force of nature, and what we have seen of his strength and willpower so far is nothing compared to what lies beneath the surface."
Linda nodded:
"In other words, we shouldn't worry too much about him as far as Hell is concerned."
Lucifer shook his head:
"No, I don't think so, and he's got Maze on his side. He is smart, Linda, much smarter than I am. Less than an hour after our meeting, he confidently told her that he trusted her with his life. The next day he did what I should have done a thousand years ago. He freed her from her forced service and gave her her own throne in Hell. Although I am convinced that he is more than equal to anything Hell and its inhabitants can throw at him, I don't feel good about it."
Linda said quietly:
"This may all be so incredibly new to all of us, but especially to you, Lucifer, but it is normal to feel this way. You will have to get used to the idea, but Alexander is your son, and yes, he is still so young. That's why you don't feel comfortable with the idea of him sitting on the throne of Hell."
"You are right, Doctor. I thought it was simply impossible that I could conceive children, and then suddenly there was Alexander. It really does take some getting used to."
"But that is not the only thing that has changed, I think."
The devil shook his head.
"I don't know, not yet, what Alexander, Michael, and Rae Rae were cooking up. What I do know is that it wasn't planned for him to show up here already. That it was planned for later, if it ever came to that at all. I fear that I am the reason he felt compelled to leave his home and family and come here."
Without going into too much detail, Lucifer explained what Chloe had told him about her crisis after seeing his devilish face, her flight to Rome, and her idiotic plan to team up with a priest to send him back to Hell. Linda listened intently, although she looked much paler afterward and was seething inside at Chloe. She asked:
"How did Alexander know what was going to happen?"
He replied:
"Rae Rae. Not only did Michael tell her to keep an eye on me a long time ago, but she is the Archangel of Death. A human soul does not appear on her list until the person is dead or very close to death. For a Celestial like me? I have no idea; my name could have appeared on her list hours or even days before it actually happened. Somehow Alexander's parents had arranged for her to be able to travel between universes. Logically, she informed him, and he showed up here without too much preparation. His landing, or better, the way he collided with this universe the moment he crashed into the penthouse, is an indicator of that fact. Changing universe made him temporarily vulnerable, something to do with all the sudden being connected to the thrones in this universe but also still being connected to the thrones in the other universe. Apparently that seems to be temporarily a bit of a nuisance to his celestial being."
Linda thought for a few seconds and then said:
"So he came here to rescue you no matter what it could do to him and what he had to leave behind?"
Lucifer nodded and replied quietly:
"Yes, and in doing so, he has more or less cut himself off from his home, his family, his parents, and his twin sister, as he calls Casiel."
"How does that make you feel, Lucifer? That someone you don't know at all, who you didn't even suspect existed, decided that you were worthy to partially sacrificing his own existence for?"
He sighed deeply and said truthfully:
"I really don't know what to make of this doctor. Since last night I have been struggling with a contradiction. I was on the verge of losing my way, of breaking down after the detective's betrayal. Suddenly Alexander appeared out of nowhere, and we had what you might call an enlightening conversation."
Suddenly his eyes light up with pleasure, a mischievous smile appears around his mouth, and he continues:
"He calls me an idiot, and I don't blame him. You all know that I can be rather chaotic at times, jumping into things without thinking, which can often be described as idiotic in retrospect. But he also made it clear to me that I have been an idiot for millennia because I identify with the devil and that this devil that people believe in and I have come to identify with does not exist, that it is a fictional personification. Something on which mankind can hang all their sins. That the devil is not a person."
Linda pondered these words for a moment and said:
"He's right, you know. When people talk about the devil, we don't think of a real person. We do not think of a man with a first and last name, who has a job and a life. We think of something that's an amalgam of, I don't know, how many myths and stories. The devil is evil and responsible for everything that is bad or wrong. The same with God. For us, God is not a real person either, but, to use Alex's words, a personification. Everything good and loving comes from God. I have heard enough of your stories to know that this is not so."
There was a moment of silence between them, and Linda asked:
"What are you going to do about the situation with Chloe Lucifer?"
He sat up straight on the bed and carefully handed the sleeping Lucas back to his mother. He replied:
"That is my next decision, dear Doctor. I have no intention of giving up my work for the LAPD because it gives me so much satisfaction. It brings a sense of enlightenment to my soul. That's why I think I need a new partner, because I can't bring myself to work with the detective anymore. I don't want to avoid her completely or burn all my bridges. But I just can't be around her day in and day out or spend hours in the car with her. It's time for a change."
"Not so long ago, you would have shut yourself off completely. Plunged into drinking, drugs, and partying just so you didn't have to think or feel anything. Now you want to face the situation head-on and refuse to be pushed away or sacrifice yourself. What has changed, Lucifer? Alexander?"
He stood up, pulled the jacket of his three-piece suit straight, and looked her sternly in the eye:
"My son thinks I'm an idiot, doctor. In his apparently stubborn head, I'm still the Lightbringer. I don't know if the boy wants a father-son relationship with me, because he has a father and a mother who have obviously raised him well and love him. But I am determined to show him that I can be a responsible Devil."
She nodded and said:
"Such a big change will not happen overnight, Lucifer. Nobody's asking you to, and I'm sure Alex wouldn't want you to change just for his sake. If it is to improve yourself, to grow, and to broaden your horizons, that is another story. Growing in life is something we should all strive for every day. Changing at your own expense because of someone else's or because someone else expects us to isn't healthy."
He smiled gently at her and said:
"Yes, Doctor, I realize that. Chloe wanted me to become someone I am not. I am Lucifer Morningstar, and I want to remain myself. But Alexander is right. There is a method to accomplish this while simultaneously refraining from being an idiot and causing harm to my friends, even if it is never my intention.
With that, Lucifer left the bedroom and walked towards his Corvette. Ella was waiting for him with obvious joy in her eyes as she played with the key to the Aston. He saw her big smile, tilted his head slightly, and got an equally playful smile:
"Hmmm... Miss Lopez?"
All she said was:
"Race you..."
Jumping behind the wheel of the Aston, she revved the engine which made it sound like an animal with a growl straight out of Hell and sped off, tires screeching. Lucifer laughed out loud, just kicked his long legs over the door into his car and tore off after her. The two sports cars, with Ella and Lucifer at the wheel, slalomed through the early morning LA traffic. With his superior speed and reflexes, Lucifer could have easily overtaken and passed her, but he made sure to stay just behind her each time. They arrived at the station in much the same way. They both got out, and Ella, smiling from ear to ear, said:
"Wow... It's been a long time since I've had this much fun behind the wheel."
Seeing her smile, so warm and genuine, did something to Lucifer. It was so different from what he was used to with the detective. Chloe would never do such a thing; she would have called it utterly irresponsible. The Devil knew only too well that Ella had been in complete control of the Aston Martin every second of the ride. Yes, they had broken quite a few laws along the way, and he was going to have to do some damage control as he had clearly noticed that they had been flashed a couple of times. Or he could just pay a bunch of fines. It would depend on whether or not he felt like making some diabolical deals. His smile was no less broad when he replied:
"Miss Lopez, I didn't know you had a little racing driver in you. If you thought that was fun, you need to get the McLaren Senna out of the garage."
At the mention of the name of this exclusive ballistic car, Ella almost started to drool, and she could only nod as Lucifer read the desire for the car more than clearly in her eyes. He said:
"Well, that seems to be settled then. My little collection has finally found someone to actually breathe life into it."
He offered her his arm like the gentleman he was and asked:
"Shall we miss Lopez?"
"Yeah, we'd better get started before I go back and do a bunch of crazy stuff in LA. Lead the way, Devil Man."