The blonde's words that they would be responsible for the destruction of either LA or the entire universe slashed. A cacophony of surprised voices could be heard from the seating area.
"Silence! Didn't you hear me the first time or was I stuttering for fuck's sake?"
It became silent again very quickly. Lucifer remained shocked and looked at Gabriel with his mouth open. The latter replied laconically:
"What is it Lightbringer? This is the first time I see you in our very long existence that your mouth opens with no words coming out."
Lucifer broke out of his trance and asked softly:
"Gabriel, what are you doing here? How long have you known Alexander?"
"What I'm doing here is saving what can be saved! And I've known Alex for 2000 years according to the Earth time-line, give or take a few decades."
Gabriel remembered the exact moment when he had met the young man but the latter was seemingly far from this story. If it was to be part of his story at all, which he very much doubted. That part was between him and Alex and Alex would never betray his trust. With the ping of the elevator, three things happened simultaneously. Azi appeared on the balcony with Daniel and Crowley with an overenthusiastic Beatrice. Rae-Rae just appeared in the penthouse with Ella and out of the elevator stepped Celine with an oblong wooden box in her hands. The blonde's attention went first to the new arrivals:
"Daniel, Miss Beatrice and Miss Lopez welcome. Please be seated."
Being her energetic self, Beatrice flew over to Chloe and Lucifer and planted herself between them. Daniel found a comfortable seat and Ella dropped down onto the love-seat of the sitting area. The facial expression on the young man's face became soft and loving. He looked Rae-Rae straight in the eyes, gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek and said:
"Soon, I promise, It won't be long now...."
Tears appeared in the Angel of Death's eyes at those words and she disappeared without a word. Lucifer no longer understood anything. Except for Amenadiel, he had not seen any of his siblings in millennia. Now suddenly two in a matter of minutes.
"If you start thinking any harder Lucifer you are going to give yourself a brain hemorrhage. Since your fall you feel abandoned by your siblings. Amenadiel could have told you the truth about why they couldn't visit you but he chose to lie, to make your pain worse, To torture you with words. What things did he say again? Oh yes, that they hated you, that they wanted nothing to do with you, that they thought you were pure evil, that you deserved to be the Devil. Now maybe you want to confess the truth Amenadiel? I've heard that Godfry is a great favorite of confessions so why shouldn't his favorite do it as an example to everyone else?"
Amenadiel completely ignored the young man so the latter went on by himself:
"No, okay. But rest assured we will talk about it today!"
The young man turned toward Celine who got down on one knee and held up the box for her Lord.... He rubbed it gently for a moment with the fingers of his right hand:
"Thank you Celine. Would you mind looking after her for me?"
"With my life!"
Was her resolute reply. She stepped toward the bar and joined the rest of the supernatural company, Gabriel, Crowley and Aziraphael. The young man lit yet another cigarette and turned to the seating area. Of the group of nine, six sat there like beaten dogs who understood that much worse was to come. The other three clearly understood nothing and were impatient for answers.
"For anyone who doesn't already know, my name is Alexander Marcus. Yes I understand that the name Marcus brings back unpleasant memories for you guys. Ella, Daniel your very wrong lieutenant Pierce was in reality none other than the one and only Cain from the Bible."
Both of them looked at Alexander with eyes round and large as saucers. Before they could say anything or ask anything Alexander went on:
"I once met Cain a very long time ago, a very unpleasant company. Knowing full well that he was immortal and I needed him out of the way for a while I thought nothing better of dumping a few dozen cubic meters of granite on his head. It must have taken him a couple of decades to dig his way out of there. That's probably why the name Marcus stuck in his head because he used it from time to time in his miserably long life."
He looked at Lucifer wearily for a moment and said:
"Thank you Lucifer for sending him to Hell! You can really pat yourself on the back for that! Cain was Godfry's favorite distraction, compare it to someone's daily soap opera on TV. As long as he followed Cain he paid less or no attention to other things happening on Earth. Now it has become more difficult for everyone to do the things that need to be done. For you with all your contacts in the upper and underworld and all your deals with people in your debt? You could have gotten him out of LA ten different ways from one minute to the next without it getting so out of hand! Or you could have done it even simpler and called the number in London after which Cain would have gone up in smoke within 24 hours, encased in concrete like radioactive material and dumped where the ocean is deepest. Neatly resolved for a few thousand years. But no you thought that if you helped Cain die that you could give your daddy the middle finger. Yes that plan turned out incredibly well considering the fact that you temporarily took Abel out of Hell, Charlotte's death and Decker's reaction to your Devil face! But what's done is done. So may I introduce my friends to you?"
Said Alexander as he pointed to the five in front of and behind the bar:
"Patrick the bartender you all know from Lux downstairs. Lucifer hired Patrick on my recommendation. Besides being probably the best bartender I have ever known and being able to make the best mix of my favorite drink, no not the best, simply the perfect mix of my favorite drink, Patrick has another special gift. He has an almost perfect photographic memory and can sketch like the best of them. So you can imagine that I have a thick face book of who comes in to Lux and could be a little seedy. By that I don't mean seedy as in mafia seedy but as in Amenadiel seedy. You have no idea how many crazies flock to a name like Lucifer Morningstar and need to get a little let's say curbed. On the far bar stool we find Anthony J. Crowley. Don't bother because the J doesn't stand for anything, he just thought it was cool to add to his name tag sometime shortly before World War II. Demon and in some circles better known as the Snake of Eden. So no more pointing fingers at Lucifer. Crowley was the apple and Lucifer more the banana. Right Eve?"
Eve nodded enthusiastically.
"Next to Crowley we find his life partner, Mr. A.Z. Fell, also known as Aziraphael, Angel and protector of the eastern gate of Eden. The fact that these two are virtually married, an Angel and a Demon will almost make our Amenadiel there vomit. Mazikeen there, has been keeping a very low profile since Crowley came in because she knows him all too well. He may not be too strong physically, but his powers can do more than enough damage when he gets pissed, including to Mazikeen. I myself think it is one of the best things that ever happened on Earth that those two are together. Speaking of Eden have you ever wondered why the garden had gates that had to be guarded by Angels? Outside there could be no one who wanted to invade the garden because the only people who existed lived in the garden. So the gates and the guarding had to serve to keep people in the garden. Hmmm, why would Godfry want to do that? But yes that is not important right now or I will be still standing here tomorrow teaching theological history. Anthony and Azi are idiots but they are my idiots and as crazy as it may sound they are getting results."
From behind him, he heard Crowley's favorite cry as he was sort of insulted:
"Oi! Demon here and a good one too!"
With a thick smile, Alexander replied:
"Yes absolutely a great fearful Demon Anthony. Now that we will get all the secrets out of the way here is one for you and Azi. Would you claim that you and your future husband aren't idiots if after six thousand years you still have no idea how it is that you two were able to live on Earth without Hell or Heaven constantly being on your case? Did you really spread evil or really do holy works during those six thousand years? Anthony do you remember how and with what words Lucifer sent you to Earth and with what mission? Remember the words; Go to Earth and do some mischief. Not a word about spreading evil. On the contrary, a prohibition to do evil and absolutely forbidden to injure people let alone kill them and as icing on the cake no physical violence towards Angels should you run into one. Demons were forbidden by Lucifer to go to Earth, let alone take over the bodies of innocent people. And yet the King of Hell sent none other than you to Earth with the status of being the only Demon allowed to reside permanently on Earth. That special status has at times caused you more than enough trouble with two bastards, Hastur and Lestur. Never wondered why those two had suddenly disappeared? Leaving you alone was a royal order. The fact that they tried to circumvent it time and again has not gone down well with me and they paid the price for their high treason. And you Azi how did you come to Earth? You were sent you to Earth as the permanent representative of Heaven. Your assignment? To minimize or nullify Anthony's mischief. And you were absolutely forbidden to use physical force against a Demon if you encountered one. Are you beginning to see similarities? You were constantly looking for each other. Anthony because he saw that Azi was not your average Angel. In the beginning of your friendship, Aziraphael did say that everything Godfry did had to be good and part of his great plan for humanity. But with each terrible deed, that belief began to crumble. And you Azi how quickly did you see that Anthony was not an average Demon, that he could not be evil through and through as Godfry said about all Demons because how many times did he save children when Godfry had ordered yet another disaster, plague or massacre? The longer you were on Earth the more you gravitated toward each other until finally you went out together and even did each other's work to make sure the other did not get into trouble with Heaven or Hell. The simple truth is that Lucifer and Michael sent you to Earth because neither of you would make it long in those hellish places. And what about those few times you were called back to Heaven or Hell because you had to come to the docket? Then you were never called to order in public and you didn't get more than a slap on the wrist. So those few times you were called back was to prevent suspicion. If that had never happened there would have been voices in both places asking why you were free to do whatever you wanted. Because today we are pulling everything out into the open, I was the one who claimed you as mine in Hell as in Heaven. That is why you have been living in relative peace for six thousand years and why every few decades you had to do a job that would have no impact on humanity as a whole. Because you are not your average Angel and Demon it opened the way for you to be able to marry in the future once you get your heads together. Something I hope will repeat itself. All Angels are brothers and sisters to each other so marriages between them are out of the question. But why shouldn't Angels and Demons, like yourselves, have the chance for romantic love?"
After these words, there was silence in the penthouse. All but three of those present thought this was a great vision of the future.
"Next to Azi, we find another Angel, Archangel Gabriel. Godfry's personal messenger. But since Godfry has seemingly been deaf to humanity for a few millennia, he doesn't have a lot of work to do. I have two best friends and Gabe is one of them."
Alexander was interrupted by Ella's voice speaking loudly:
"With all due respect Saint Gabriel but next time you see God will you give him this message from me?"
As Ella raised her middle finger, the big gulp of tequila the Angel was just taking came spewing out of his nose. When he had coughed out he said with enjoyment visible in his eye's:
"Oh Alex, I absolutely like this one! Her we can use in the second phase."
Alexander chuckled and continued:
"And finally next to Gabe my second best friend. Celine, my left hand, my confidante, my counselor, my personal bodyguard, my priceless friend, my mistress and also happens to be a Demon. By the way, the only Demon who wiped the floor with Mazikeen on a regular basis. Not just wiped, simply humiliated in a matter of seconds. A fact Mazikeen will never have shared with you I guess?"
When Alexander looked in Mazikeen's direction he immediately saw that he was right.
"Good, everyone now knows everyone and so we can start to clean up this circus and provide everyone with all the information so that everyone has an accurate picture of what is to come and what has happened."
He squeezed out his cigarette, drained the rest of his drink and Patrick immediately began mixing a new one.
"Other than those five there at the bar, there are only three people present in this room who have never harmed Lucifer or have any intention of doing so. Those three are Miss Beatrice who believed in Lucifer unconditionally since the day she met him, knew he was the Devil and never feared him for a second. Tell me miss Beatrice, why aren't you afraid of Lucifer?"
With a broad smile, she replied:
" Lucifer is my friend, he is funny, he is sweet, he is not evil, he is good."
Alexander winked at Trixie as he accepted his drink from Patrick without looking.
"Thank you Beatrice. You are such an innocent soul that I would love to protect you from certain things that will be discussed here tonight. Unfortunately, I cannot. Everyone needs to know the full truth and so certain words will hurt."
He looked at Ella:
"Amazing Miss Lopez. You have been aware for less than an hour of this whole Heavenly bullshit and thus that Lucifer is really the Devil and yet you have come. May we know why?"
"Oh I'm sure that crisis in my mind about the literal existence of Heaven and Hell will be coming like a fright-train but right now Lucifer is more important. Lucifer is my friend! Lucifer the actor as I thought for so long or Lucifer the Devil, the only difference is the job. Lucifer is Lucifer, no evil bone is his body. A friend who would walk through the fires of Hell for you. Well now that I know he really is the Devil that doesn't really seem special to me anymore walking through the fires of Hell, but my point stands. He is a friend you can trust blindly and build on, who is always there for you. And what I don't forget, Lucifer was before everything became a shitshow an Archangel. For us humans even the most important Angel. He is the Bringer of Light, without him no sun, without the sun no life on Earth."
"That's a unique perspective Miss Lopez, one I haven't heard very often in the last six thousand years. Thank you."
He turned to Daniel:
"And the third is Detective Espinoza. Daniel has suspected for some time that Lucifer is who he claimed to be all along. Unfortunately, he only got the ultimate confirmation tonight."
Alex turned to Lucifer and said:
"Lucifer if you are so keen on flaunting the fact that you are the Devil then perhaps it would be a good idea in the future, if there is going to be a future at all, to inform your friends a little sooner. To prove that you are literally Lucifer Morningstar and not the owner of an upscale nightclub who has taken a couple of blows from a baseball bat. Daniel may we know why you suspected Lucifer was really the Devil?"
"A lot of little things just didn't fit together logically and I couldn't fit them together in any rational way. Suspects who literally went crazy after talking to Lucifer and just kept going on and on and on and on babbling about the Devil and Hell. Chloe once had a flash drive with footage showing Lucifer doing something extraordinary. She initially thought the whole thing was some kind of magic trick, that he was some kind of mentalist, or something. Eventually she threw it in the trash. She no longer cared when she couldn't figure it out. As long as she got the eggs I think were her words. As long as Lucifer delivered results. I picked up the flash drive because at the time I thought she was right and wanted to have a go myself. The images made my head spin for quite a while. The moments of superhuman strength and the sometimes red glow in his eyes just couldn't be explained, nothing trick. But above all, I saw with my own eyes that he was shot and stood up again as if nothing had happened."
"And why weren't you scared Daniel?"
"As Ella said, there is no evil bone in Lucifer. Believe me I was raised Catholic and I really struggled with it for a while but the image just didn't match what the Church said. He can be tremendously frustrating and drive you crazy by his idiotic thoughtless behavior but there is not one evil thought behind it. I also thought that if Lucifer was really pure evil, that God would have thrown him into Hell as a prisoner and not as its ruler. That would be like appointing The Joker as head of the insane asylum. That would never end well for humanity. That thought came to me when I went to Church for the very last time."
Suddenly a bright roar of laughter sounded in the room. Alexander looked amused at Ella and asked:
"May we join in the fun miss Lopez?"
She nodded but it took her a few seconds to control herself:
"A while ago Lucifer asked me to do something for him. At that time I still thought he was an actor and so I played the game because he had to and would make a deal because it is the legend that the Devil always makes deals. So I made a deal with the Devil. I would do what he needed and afterwards I could claim my share of the deal."
The smile around Alexander's mouth suddenly became very wide:
"Well, well Miss Lopez make a deal with the Devil and get a blank check from him? You are indeed a very shrewd woman."
"Oh wait, you don't even know what my end of the deal was yet."
She held back for a moment because she was really struggling not to burst into another fit of laughter:
"He had to go to Church with me!"
Patrick dropped a glass and was shaking on his feet so hard he had to restrain himself from bursting into a fit of laughter. The four at the bar apparently did not have the bartender's capacity to contain themselves. Celine and Gabriel were yowling and roaring on each other's shoulders, Crowley had collapsed on Aziraphael's lap, Daniel was yowling with his head between his legs. Doc Martin sat speechless staring at Ella dumbfounded, Eve slid off the couch. Only Amenadiel, Chloe and Mazikeen looked as if they had just been given the most repulsive piece of information they had ever heard."
Alexander let go for a while:
"Miss Lopez, I think I'm going to have to keep an eye on you."
He said with a broad smile. But that quickly disappeared with his next words.
"Now that we have had these three, I regret to inform you that all the rest of you have harmed him in one way or another and there are a few more present here who have plans to do so again in the future. So let me start this therapy session with the one who did the least harm."