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[thisducks]

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[1926]

[The initial reaction boggled him. Well, he wasnt going to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he hadn't known Lucifer to get into working out lately. ...oh hell! Was he trying to get stronger to reboot the apocalypse? Fuckfuckfuck--

But the next reaction detailed that thought entirely in a monumental train crash. He didnt blink often, out of not needing to with his serpentine eyes, but he was left blinking owlishly at the other. He tipped his head slightly and the black shades concealing his eyes slid down his nose so he could look over the rims at the other.]

Uhh... Look, mate... Mammon didn't put me up to anything. I don't know how to tell you this, but that's me. Eden's Serpent. [A snake like tongue poked out with a subtle flick to drive the point home.]

[thisducks]

[ Well, now they were blinking at each other in equal confusion. When the other revealed the edges of his eyes and the tongue, it turned Lucifer's expression into pure surprise. So in silent reply, he did the same thing in turn, flicking the tip of his own fork-tipped tongue. ]

That is my sigil. ...I wouldn't call myself Eden's Serpent, though people have favored the whole snake thing... I talked to them in my true-

[ Why was he saying any of this- who was this guy?! ]

Who are you? [ Now with far less of his jovial tone and one more defensive while simultaneously biting. This wasn't funny any more. ]

[1926]

[.........

Give Crowley a moment.

Sure, all demons in Hell had traits that reflected them in some way. It was why, even in this corporation, his serpent eyes couldn't be hidden by magic. But this was just too much. He got a closer look at the sigil the other was looking at and beside the serpent was another he'd just... overlooked.]

Anthony J. Crowley. ...who are you? [There was a weird, sinking feeling in his gut that he wasn't going to like this answer. Not if that sigil was anything to go by... This wasn't Lucifer. He knew Lucifer. Did Lucifer have another kid? Did Adam have a brother now?]

[thisducks]

[ What an oddly... mortal sounding name. Lucifer's second brow lifted to join the first before he straightened up further. This clearly wasn't someone human, nor angel, and yet he couldn't quite pin down what the other felt like other than 'demonic', which was why he assumed he was a Hellborn.

Crowley really wasn't going to like this answer. ]

Lucifer.

[ But getting a better look at the sigils explained a few things. There was overlap - now which one they meant was another question, but foolish humans weren't want to throw down any symbols they thought had power without understanding what they truly would mean. ]

You look so... human. [ Well. Mostly. The eyes were quite the show weren't they? ]

[1926]

[The former angel bristled at the name, taking an involuntary step back. Just gonna stand on THIS side of the holding circle, thanks.]

You're not--ngk! Wh-what? No. Nonono. No.

[The urge to retreat was strong! But the next comment stayed his panic a bit.]

Human? I can't very well walk among them otherwise... I've been living on Earth for six thousand years. Be a bit obvious if I walked around sporting my wings, wouldn't it? Or worse yet, as the snake form I was cursed to.

[thisducks]

[ They unknowingly had that in common as well. However, he was surprised to see the other's reaction and frowned at the intensity of it and more so, the nonsense this man was spitting! Lucifer crossed his arms over his chest, tapping the toe of his boot against the floor of the circle holding them. ]

They... let you walk among the humans. [ Statement and question, with his brows knitting together. ]

...and you're considerably younger than me. [ His lips pressed together before he gestured with a finger. ]

Alright, I'll bite. What's with this whole... snake thing?

[1926]

Let. [The ginger scoffed. Well, at first, it was an order. But over the centuries, he'd really grown to like it. So, maybe he was being 'let' walk among them after he'd grown so keen on the weird little blue-green marble.] Those were my orders. Go up and cause a little trouble. Sway souls and all that. ...is this some kind of test? Because whatever game you're playing at, I'm not biting.

[No, seriously, what was going on?! After a beat, he shifted, his form melding from humanoid like playdough. Skin became glossy black and red scales, golden eyes stared back at Lucifer as the serpent coiled around himself on the other side of the circle. When he spoke, his mouth didn't move, but a hiss carried words.]

The form I wasssss cursed to take when I Fell. Upon thy belly ssssshalt thou go, and dusssst sssshalt thou eat all the daysss of thy life. Or ssssome nonssssensssse like that.

[thisducks]

Sway souls? ...Sway soul to what? Be less shitty? Go up... from where? [ His head pulled back with wide eyes, pointing at Crowley. ] What game I'm playing?? What game are you playing--

[ Aaaaaand then that turned into the most unnerving shapeshifting he had ever seen, making his nose briefly wrinkle before the snake said a word that unnerved him even more deeply. ]

...Fell. You... were an angel, too. [ Was this some mockery of him? Every word unsettled him further.

Eden's Serpent.

Fine. If that was the game they were playing-

In a poof! of golden glittery magic, Lucifer changed.

...Why did everything have to be bigger than him? ]

[1926]

[The serpent was so confused. Lucifer should damn well know he'd been sent to earth to encourage sin!]

Of courssssse I Fell! I-- [The snake was getting huffy, making little puffy snake sounds when he spoke. But hey, if it helped, Luci, Crowley was just a massive serpent in general. The little white leucistic serpent was... cute.] ...I assssked too many quesssstionsss.

What are you really? You're, [The black tongue tasted the air.] sssstill holy.

[The serpent didn't much enjoy this form. So, with another thought and disquieting shift, he pulled back into a more humanoid shape again, dusting off his jacket.]

[thisducks]

[ WHO THE FUCK NEEDED TO ENCOURAGE IT? They can't STOP it! Go encourage a few people to be less shit so hell could stop being as full as it was!

But Lucifer poofed back, realizing what Crowley was suggesting. He hadn't felt anything holy from the other. ]

You Fell... but you don't feel holy. That's why I assumed you were one of the Hellborn. [ His arms returned to being crossed over his chest, debating with himself. This wasn't exactly something he enjoyed discussing, but this needed to be cleared as nothing added up! ]

A Fallen angel, if you need to be dramatic about it. The Devil, but frankly I think most people imagine Satan when they think of 'the devil' rather than me. The Ruler of Hell and every other fancy title that people like to give it, as if I chose to be in charge of the place.

[ Crowley had sensed on the air the holy blood that lived within him, but it didn't feel like an angel, even a high angel. Something that turned the sweet-honey taste of the truly angelic bitter.

...Lucifer certainly fit no visual description of angel, devil, demon, or any namesake that had been brought up tonight, other maybe than the color of his eyes and those sharp teeth. ]

[1926]

[If anything, Lucifer looked more like an angel except for the eyes.]

Of course I don't! Everything holy was burned out of me on my way down. [Guess who also doesn't like talking about the Fall? Just guess. He liked to shrug it off, but much like a couple of the Sins Lucifer knew, he hadn't wanted to Fall. It had just... happened.] Twisted into... something not.

[Crowley worked his jaw, listening to Lucifer, not sure he liked this at all. He couldn't see the lie here. Even if he could, he couldn't see the reason for it.]

...you can't be him. I know him. He's not... whuhhh... well, he's not this! [Crowley gestured with both hands at Lucifer in his entirety.] You sound more like-- [Like him. He sounded a bit like Crowley...] If this is some weird punishment for stopping the End Times, you're going about it all wrong. ...but I'm not going to give you bloody tips on how to terrorise me! So forget I said anything...

[Sorry, Luci. He's still a bit on edge, even if he WANTS to like you. It just feels like a trap.]

[thisducks]

[ What had been taken from his physical form was minor compared to what he had lost within. Heaven had taken up the spear and in the process, taken from him the worst thing of all - hope. ]

...You sound like one of my fellow Sins. [ Ironically, Satan, or perhaps Leviathan. The ones who had, along with Mammon, likely lost any part of what made them holy once.

But with those words, Lucifer admits something else, if Crowley had the knowledge to put it together... that and the lack of panic. But what this supposed Fallen angel was saying was starting to be almost insulting as much as it was confusing. ]

Whoa, whoa there! What- I'm not going to terrorize you! I don't even know you! And I am me and I'd remember another Fallen! What are you talking about, the End Times? You just keep spouting... nonsense!

[1926]

Fellow Sin? [Okay, what? He often touted jokingly that he was the original sin, but this sounded more literal. Something was off. Not off in a 'Heaven or Hell is fucking with him' kind of off, but off in an... off... way.]

...one of us doesn't belong here. Or maybe neither of us do? Some things aren't adding up. You'd remember another Fallen? How could you keep track? How many of us Fell from your Heaven?

[He could taste it now. He should have tasted it before. That slight flavour... it was off. This man wasn't angel or demon that he knew. He wasn't Lucifer, at least not that he knew. But that magic... That sweet, crisp, apple flavour in the air. It wasn't from around here.]

[thisducks]

[ Finally, something they could agree on. Even if he didn't quite follow the other's line of thinking, he couldn't help but think he was right that one of them didn't belong... here.

Lucifer looked around the circle, then added dryly- ] Frankly I'm not sure if either of us belongs here- [ with an indication of the circle ] -but nothing is adding up so far.

[ So, with a deep breath. ] After I Fell, several others disagreed with the court's decision. Those that spoke up for me... they were cast out - three of them. Another three were disgusted by Heaven's choices and Fell on their own. Seven of us in total... no more. ...or no more that survived the Fall.

[ Sins. Seven of them in total. ]

Did- are you suggesting you're the only one who Fell?

[1926]

What? No. Nothing like that. So. Seven of you. The seven deadly sins. [He was quiet for a moment, debating his words.] Hundreds fell. Some openly defied Heaven, others just... were too curious and that's apparently a crime. Everyone who so much as raised an eyebrow at Her word was cast out of Heaven.

[Sorry, hasn't he explained?]

One of us was pulled through the cracks, I think. You or... me. If I discorporate, that would send me back, I'm certain. Without a body, I can't be here. But that would send me right back to Hell and all of Hell wants me exterminated. So, that's not an option.

[thisducks]

Hundreds..!

[ The very idea of hundreds of angels being cast from Heaven was completely incomprehensible to Lucifer. There weren't even that many to be cast out! He would safely assume there was now a days, but then again Crowley seemed to be younger... wait. ]

...Her? Whom do you speak of? And dare I ask why Hell wants you- [ That word. It sent a shiver down his spine to suggest in this way. ] exterminated? It sounds like you've pissed off pretty much everyone, Anthony.

[ Well, it was the same given to him! ]

[1926]

[Something sparkled in ochre eyes. That spark of curiosity that got him in so much trouble in Heaven. It had never left him, not fully.]

Her. Creator of all. You... do have... well, you know, a Creator? [That was something Crowley never lost. Something Aziraphale liked to point out from time to time and it frustrated him. He'd never fully lost his love for Her, even if he felt a bit--monumentally--betrayed.] Well, everyone except the one angel who matters. And I think I'm quite good with Earth. I helped stop the great war. The apocalypse. I rather like humanity. Couldn't just let Heaven and Hell have their pissing contest here and destroy all the marvels humans have created. Kind of gets one put on the terrorist list for Heaven and Hell. They say I've gone native.

[Someone was not as evil as he likely first seemed...]

[thisducks]

[ Crowley wasn't the only one. Lucifer leaned forward, and while this was usually one of the topics he would never discuss, hearing such a different existence and yet similar in other ways had him curious as anything. There was so much information to take apart in just those few sentences! ]

...yes. My- Father. [ The look away, the grit of his teeth, the tone of his voice suggested that Lucifer's relationship with his creator was considerably different. ] I stopped a war that might have consumed all of Heaven and Hell, though it sounds like in very different fashion. Humanity has yet to prove itself to me it's worth anything at all, but my daughter? Well. She believes they can be redeemed. [ Look at that brief proud papa smile. ]

Do you have any kids of your own?

[1926]

[Something in Crowley melted at the mention of a daughter. Sure, he'd met Adam, even liked the kid. He'd proven to be a champion for humanity in the end, even without their interference. Just letting him grow up human had been enough. But this Lucifer had a daughter? And she believed in humanity too?]

Spend some time with them. Sure, there's good ones and bad ones, but apparently that goes for angels too. I know one. He's really the only good one, in my opinion, but I wouldn't give him up for anything. Thought I had once... [His expression fell at that memory. But he shook his head.]

Kids? No. Not... I mean. Not of my own. Can't. Don't have the bits for that. Not real ones, anyway. But I've... I've raised human kids. [There was a bittersweetness there as well. Part of being immortal was watching mortals grow up. ...grow old. And then the loss.] What's your daughter's name?

[thisducks]

[ Man could their Adams not be further apart if they tried. At Crowley's suggestion though, Lucifer shook his head. ] I can't. Other than the very, very rare occasion someone has managed to pull this off- [ with a circular gesture of a finger to indicate the circle ] -I can't leave Hell. We might have made Hell into something better than Heaven could have thought of us, but it's still my prison.

[ There was a darkness in his voice, looking off to the side as he reiterated ancient words from memory. ] You will govern all those who give into temptation by way of your gift, to bear witness with your own eyes and see why it was forbidden. To see the darkness in humanity that was locked away until now. The light of Heaven will never again touch your cheek.

[ Bitterness fills those final words, hearing Michael's Voice as clear as the day it happened. Their Father's words.

Hearing that Crowley couldn't have children, that filled him with confusion- more so when he mentioned not having 'the bits'. That sounded... well, like Hell, but he wasn't going to say that aloud. Raising human children, only to lose them to their afterlife... it sounded like it's own breed of punishment. ]

Charlotte- Charlie. [ A warm smile, that subtle sign of his affection for her cutting through the bitterness of memories. He pulled out his phone, knowing reception wouldn't be possible but he could unlock it, open up the pictures and flipflipflip until he found a relatively recent picture of them together in front of the hotel, taken by Razzle. He turned the phone around and held it up for Crowley to see. ]

[1926]

[Crowley's smile fell at that. Lucifer couldn't leave because he was cursed to only see the bad in Humanity? That... that was very different from his Hell and his Lucifer. His Lucifer hated humanity. wouldn't care that there was good in them.]

You're really quite different. My boss, the you I know, gave me specific orders to corrupt and lead souls down the path of temptation. Full disclosure: I didn't really need to do a bloody thing. I just send reports back, claiming Humanity's darkest hours as my doing. They're far more creative than any demon in Hell when it comes to awful things. But... there are more good ones than bad. Brilliant, inventive, clever little humans with a hunger for knowledge and exploration. Ones that want to help others and be better.

[If asked, he would have explained that angels, and consequently demons, had no real genders so no real genitalia. Their corporations were always a depiction of their presenting identity and those could be given the proper human genitals that didn't exactly matter. But some... like Lucifer, used magic and miracle to create life. It could be done, but was forbidden.]

Charlie? [The softer expression returned as he watched Lucifer try to find a picture. He leaned in and looked when shown.] Oh! She's far older than I would have expected. The Antichrist, Adam, is still so very young. Good kid, a champion for Humanity, but barely a teen, that one and bares no resemblance to his father. Charlie looks just like you. Happy, too. Was that... was that taken in Hell?

[thisducks]

[ Well he would have agreed with that notion in a sense. They might look more male or more female but that’s only the forms they’ve chosen. Their true forms certainly have no gender or genitalia, after all. Lilith had been female, and when he had looked at the new animals and heard her singing, he had gone with a form that looked more like her mate on some strange instinct. Had stuck ever since. ]

Well, I couldn’t imagine you’d need to do anything. Every sinner would I’d come into contact with prior to Charlie’s friends and her guests had been awful. Massive overcrowding… you wouldn’t believe how much I’ve had to expand the Pride Ring just to give them more space— but if there are good ones like you’re saying… I wouldn’t know. They would end up in Heaven and. Well. I suppose the rest explains itself. Heaven likes to use the overcrowding to give their Exterminations a purpose but it’s bullshit. [ Lucifer huffs with that, but waves it off.

After all, Crowley drops that name and /Anti-Christ/, Lucifer ends up staring at the other in utter shock. It actually takes him a few seconds to get his brain to try and form a few words. ]

Adam. As in. The first man? …a kid?? What- or are we talking about someone else here??

[1926]

[Oh, Crowley already caught onto just what Lucifer was subjected to with that explanation earlier. This one didn't hate humans. Not initially, anyway. This one was being punished so that all he could see was the bad, leading him to dislike them. And frankly, that just pissed Crowley off more.]

Because you're only given a curated tiny sample size. The worst. It's as if there's a beautiful painting out there, spanning buildings wide with the most breath taking imagery imaginable, and they've given you a tiny spyglass and locked it in place on the one piece of canvas that was damaged in a fire. All you see is that damaged portion and they're not letting you see what the painting actually looks like, so you're left assuming it's all a horrible charred mess. [But that word 'extermination' that caught his attention and he shuddered. He didn't like his fellow demons, but that didn't mean he'd wish them all bathed in holy water. He'd done that once out of sheer necessity and it still plagued him!] What... do you mean, Extermination?

[Blink. Stare. Oh. Oh, that made sense.]

Heaven's no! Not that Adam. The Antichrist was raised by a human family. He was named biblically, from what I understand, so named after the first man. In the end, he gave up his powers and hellish lineage to just be human after we thwarted the end of the world.

[thisducks]

...You've quite the way with words, Anthony. [ The words were quiet, Lucifer's lips pressed tightly together on the back of them. ] Thankfully, even though she's known nothing other than Hell, Charlie is a better soul than me. Somehow... somehow, she could not only tell that the painting was beautiful outside of that spyglass... but saw something good even in the charred mess.

[ Oh, hell, explaining the Extermination... ] I have... multiple questions about what, precisely, an anti-christ is but I get the feeling I won't like it any more than you're going to like what I have to tell you.

[ Lucifer sighed, then gave a swirl of his fingers in the air. Golden energy followed his gesture, creating almost like a television screen that began to play with his words. ] ...As humanity's numbers began to expand, so did how many sinners ended up in Hell. [ What Crowley saw was nothing like the Hell he knew, but a giant sprawling city beneath a crimson sky, a pentagram high above. The city grew, and grew, and grew. ]

In the Rings below Pride- [ as if that makes perfectly logical sense, but he can't imagine what Hell would be like otherwise so it didn't even occur to him ] -more Hellborn were being born, too. So, Heaven started to become nervous... and decided to take action.

[ Lucifer's face was a challenge to read as he stared at the 'screen', but it was clearly from his point of view, flying over head. ] One night, we heard screaming. ...So much screaming. It felt like it came from everywhere, from every Ring. So sudden and out of no where, we had no time to mount a defense or even understand what was happening.

[ Winged forms against the night sky, with blades of gleaming silver and bright golden holy light. Angels. Below the view, creatures of all sorts, dead in horrific ways. Male, female, children, it didn't matter. ]

...In a single night, despite what we attempted to do to stop them, they killed thousands on thousands of Hell's population. Sinners and Hellborn... it didn't matter to them.

[1926]

[At the compliment, there was a moment, ever so brief, where the ginger demon might have looked... flustered?] Oh, I don't know about that. She got her heart from somewhere. But she is one of the good ones, I'd say. Where I'm from, angels can feel positive emotions in others. Demons can only feel the negative ones. Designed that way for us to nurture our respective sides and corrupt or enlighten souls. There's a lot of darkness in you, but... there's a lot more light.

[Lucifer was right, though. He didn't like the what Lucifer was explaining. Though, he understood the ring logic. Hell where he was from had multiple floors, like the rings, and the lower you went the worse it got. But the Hell he was looking at on that magic screen? It looked like a lot more fun than the one he knew. He made a small sound of displeasure in the back of his throat, looking squirmy.]

Heaven has gone more corporate where I'm from. I'm not sure even half the angels would remember how to lift a sword proper. Those souls... they're human? I don't quite understand what a Hellborn is, but... that was brutal. This... extermination is... ngk... I... [Use your words, Crowley.] I'm sorry. Condolences, I suppose.

The antichrist is... well... he was to be a tool. A child of Satan. Used to start the apocalypse on Earth so Heaven and Hell could fight it out and see just who really is the strongest. In the end, all humanity is to be wiped out and ascend or descend, depending on the victor. Oceans boiling, blood rain, locusts, the like. The horsemen razing the Earth. A whole big thing. Not a pleasant to-do. As someone who rather enjoys Earth, Humanity, and all they create, you can see why I took issue with this.