Subj:	"Hope in Hell", Part I
Date:	96-06-13 17:55:25 EDT
From:	dfortino@gate.net (Dolores Fortino)
Sender:  owner-ag-fanfic@stargame.org
Reply-to: dfortino@gate.net
To:	ag-fanfic@stargame.org

I started thinking of what would happen if Lucas went home to Hell 
and came up with this story. It's in two parts.

                                 Hope in Hell, Part I

	The massive gold palace loomed out of the blackness. There was
a time Lucas thought it the most beautiful creation imaginable.
They'd risen from their defeat to create a temple of hope, it
seemed to him, and when he looked at it then he saw everything
they still might be. But that was long ago. Now he saw only
futility reflected in its shimmering surface. Maybe that was why
he never came home anymore. As he approached, the great gilded
doors swung open to receive him and Lucas stepped into the blaze
of a thousand lights determined by their number to overwhelm the
desperate emptiness enveloping their refuge.
	"Well, well, this is a surprise. What are you doing here?" His
welcomer stood near a bronze lectern at the far end of the black
marble rotunda. He was tall and impressive, a general turned
secretary, and his face was as sharp-edged as his voice. 
	"I need help."
	"Lucas asking for help! Suddenly it's gotten very chilly in
here."
	"That's real funny, Benjamin. And here I thought this place
really would freeze over before you got yourself a sense of
humor. Do I get to see the prince or not?"
	"Oh, absolutely, Lucas. I'd never stand in the way of such a
momentous occasion." He eyed the visitor's black jeans and blue
shirt distastefully. "Is that how you dress to meet your
prince?" 
	"Some of us ain't got your sense of style, Ben." Lucas
sauntered over to him. "You ever ask yourself why you dislike me
so much, Benji?"
	"My name is Benjamin, Lucas," the secretary said irritably,
"and I have better things to do with my time than spend it
thinking about you."
	"Oh yeah, that's right. You got all them schedules to arrange
and memos to keep track of." Lucas stepped closer and smiled and
began to retie the sash of the older man's pristine white robe.
"I think it's because you're jealous of me," he said amiably. 
	Benjamin pushed the intruding hands away in annoyance. "Jealous
of you? For what? Those ten thousand miserable souls you control
in that pathetic little town of yours?" He drew himself up to a
formidable height. "I'm Lucifer's right hand man. Why would I be
jealous of you?"
	Lucas stood on tiptoe and leaned in so his lips brushed the
secretary's ear and whispered, "Because the prince always liked
me best."
	The secretary shook his head disgustedly. "Wait in the big
hall," he said coldly and stalked off.
	Lucas grinned and wandered down a wide corridor into the main
chamber, empty except for the monumental gold throne at one end
and the ever-present lights meant to flood the room with forced
brilliance. He climbed the steps to the throne and ran his hand
absent-mindedly along it's jeweled arm. He'd never liked the
throne. It always seemed to be trying too hard to confer majesty
on its owner. 	
	"I'm pleased you came, Lucas." The familiar voice interrupted
his reverie and Lucas turned to greet the prince. Lucifer looked
older and smaller and less grand than he remembered. Instead of
a Titan now he seemed merely a Caesar. 
	"Why? Because you missed me?"
	"I have missed you. But mostly I'm pleased because I didn't
think you had it in you to recognize when you need help." 
	"Is that why you didn't tell me what was happenin' with Merlyn?
So I'd get myself some humility and realize I needed you? There
was a time humility wasn't somethin' you wanted to be
encouragin' in your people."
	"I don't want you humbled, Lucas. I want you to know your
limitations. That can only make you stronger."
	"You ain't exactly the one to be preachin' about knowin' our
limitations, Lucifer. If you'd known yours we wouldn't be here
in this Godforsaken wasteland in the first place."
	"Maybe I'm trying to make sure you don't make the same mistake
I did."
	"It wasn't a mistake!" Lucas said sharply. "It was the way
things had to be. You used to understand that."
	"Did you come back after all this time just to fight with me?"
	The younger man chuckled. "Nope, that's just a bonus. I came
because I need help with Merlyn."
	The prince sat on a lower step and motioned his friend to sit
beside him. "I didn't warn you about the change in Merlyn or her
part in the plague because I knew you'd eventually figure it out
for yourself. And since you always want to do things your own
way, I decided you wouldn't want me to interfere."
	"You sure it wasn't cause Benji lost the memo or somethin'?"
	Lucifer laughed. "Benjamin never loses anything. You know that."
	"So Merlyn's been promoted. And her job now is what--to hassle
me? Why?"
	"You know why, Lucas. You broke the rules. You killed an
innocent, an unblemished soul. God couldn't ignore that. He's
using the rage you created in that soul to punish you." 
	"So what do I do now? Some of my people died in that plague."
	"They're His people too. He must have decided it was their
time."
	"No!" The word echoed against the black marble walls and Lucas
jumped angrily to his feet. "I decide when it's time for my
people to die! Not you, not Merlyn and not God!" 
	The Prince looked up at him. "I know that's how you want it,
Lucas," he said gently, "but that's not the way it is. Why can't
you learn to accept that?"
	"Listen to yourself!" Lucas sneered. "First you're preachin'
humility, now you're preachin' acceptance?" 
	"I have to accept things you don't." Lucifer stood up, his
voice bitter. "I'm not hiding out in some obscure corner of the
world, pretending a tiny town is my kingdom and I have the final
say. I have to concern myself with all the problems you
dismissed when you decided humans and their world were more
amusing than staying here and doing the hard work--the real
work--of building a life in this desolation. If you wanted a say
in how I did that, why didn't you stay here and help me?"
	"Stay here and do what? Be an administrator? Be Benji?"
	"Maybe if you'd stayed I wouldn't have had to rely on Benji."
	"And maybe I would've stayed if I hadn't got tired of seein'
the defeat in your face! You got so busy buildin' this life
you're so proud of you forgot why we fought in the first place.
You lost track of who the enemy is. You started cooperatin' with
Him and collaboratin' and acceptin' whatever He handed out, til
it was like we'd never fought at all." He turned his back and
stood silent for a moment. "You were everythin' to me," he said
softly, "and you just gave up."
	The prince touched his friend's shoulder, then shook his head
and sat down again on the step. "We've had this argument too
many times," he said wearily.
	Lucas nodded and climbed the steps back to the throne and
lounged casually against its side. "Okay, so I'm here to play by
the rules. Now accordin' to the rules, how do I get that bitch
off my back? I can't run my town with her interferin' all the
time."
	"Let me talk to Him, see if I can get Him to call her off. If
He won't, I'm not sure there's anything you can do except work
around her."
	"I say she's ripe for a fall." Lucas took the steps back down
to his friend two at a time and crouched at his side. "She hates
me, sure, but it's more than that. She's obsessed with me. She
was seventeen when I...when she died, and she's got feelin's and
desires stirrin' in her she don't know what to do with. And it
gets her excited and confused and she makes mistakes. I can
twist those feelin's around. I can turn her. You interested in
another convert?" He flashed an insolent grin. "Or is that
against the rules now?"
	Lucifer ignored the challenge and stood up. "Let me speak to
Him first. If He's not cooperative, I'll consider your
suggestion. Just give me a little time, Lucas. Relax and enjoy
your visit. I'll see you again later."

	Lucas wandered out of the throne room and strolled through the
winding marble corridors, greeting old friends as they passed,
grasping hands stretched out to welcome him home. Finally he
reached a small meeting room and entered.
	"Lucas! Damn, it's good to see you!" A powerful arm encircled
him from behind and flung him against a nearby wall. 
	"Annie, darlin', my favorite she-devil." Lucas leered
affectionately at the red-haired vamp pinning him hard to the
marble with her body. "What are you doin' here? I thought you
were in Washington, orchestratin' the downfall of all them
senators and their marriages."
	"I'm here for the meeting, sweetie." She wrapped her arms
around him and pulled him tighter against her. "How about you?"
	"They still have those things?"
	"Oh, we still have them, we just stopped inviting you a long
time ago. You never came anyway."
	"Never did get the hang of meetin's, darlin'. Always seemed
like there was somethin' more interestin' I could be doin' with
my time." Lucas swung her around and pinned her against the wall
in his place. He lowered his head and caught her lower lip
between his teeth and gave it a gentle bite, then slipped his
tongue into her mouth, probing softly and insistently until
Annie moaned and wrapped her leg around him to force his body
closer to hers. 
	"Now I remember why I miss you when you're not around, sweetie.
Let's find someplace more private, or do you wanna just do it
here and now?"
	Lucas ran his fingers up her back and tangled them in her hair
and pulled her away from him. "Not here or now, darlin', much as
you're temptin' me. I got some visitin' to catch up on. Maybe
later. Leave a light on for me." 
	Annie sighed. "You never told me what you were doing here,
Lucas."
	"I got a little problem I need help with." He pushed back a
wayward lock of her hair. "You ever done an angel, Annie?"
	"Don't you count?"
	"I mean an angel of the untarnished variety."
	"I'm in Washington, Lucas, remember? The angels fled for their
lives years ago." 
	He laughed. "But if you was gonna tempt one, how would you go
about it? The last time I tried persuadin' a pure soul she
wanted me, things got a little outta hand. I can't afford to
have anythin' go wrong this time. How do you think you'd handle
it?"
	"When it comes to sex, Lucas, I don't think at all." She slid
her leg up between his and rubbed herself against him. "I just
sort of...feel my way." 
	Lucas strained against her instinctively, then stopped and
shook his head. "I'm tryin' to talk to you, darlin', but you're
makin' it hard."
	Annie's face lit up in a mischievous smile. "That's the idea,
sweetie."
	He grinned and pushed her away, holding her at arm's length.
"Now behave yourself," he scolded. "You're playin' around with
me and that's fine but when you do your job, you take it
serious. I know you, darlin'. You decide to go after a man and
you make Sherlock Holmes look like Barney Fife. You got the guy
checked out six ways from Sunday, right down to what he asked
Santa for on his tenth birthday. You can spot a weakness better
than anyone I ever seen. When Jimmy Carter lusted in his heart,
we both know who he was thinkin' about." 
	Annie let out a delighted whoop. "How'd you know that, sweetie?"
	"Stands to reason." He grinned again, then turned serious. "I
don't know anyone as good at their job as you, Annie. You just
make it look so easy no one notices."
	"Except you, Lucas."
	"You wanna put that brain of yours to work on a real problem,
you be thinkin' about how to bring down an angel who don't know
she's got needs that ain't been satisfied yet. Will you do that
for me?"
	"You know I will." She tossed her head as if to shake off the
gravity he'd forced on her and purred seductively. "We can,
um...discuss it after the meeting tonight, sweetie. You just let
me know when you're ready."
	Lucas tilted her chin toward him and kissed her and then made
his way toward an old man sitting at a nearby table, a book
spread open in front of him, his lips silently forming its words
as he read. "Brother Thomas," he said gently. 
	The old man started and looked up and affection suffused his
face. "Lucas! I'm so pleased to see you, boy. You visit us so
rarely."
	Lucas knelt beside him and rested a hand on his knee. "I should
come more often, if just to see you." He peered at the open
book. "'The Merchant of Venice'? Now I could swear that's what
you were readin' the last time I was here. You ain't finally
gettin' stuck in your ways, are you, old man?"
	"Maybe I am, Lucas, maybe I am. I find myself re-reading old
favorites a lot these days. They comfort me." He looked back at
the book. "The quality of mercy is not strain'd." 
	"Mighty strange for that line to be your favorite. 'A pound of
flesh' is more in keepin' with what most folks think of us."
	"It's not strange at all, boy. You can't have..."
	"Justice without mercy. They're both parts of the whole." Lucas
laughed. "See, I remember some of what you taught me."
	"You always listened and learned, son. Not like so many of the
others."
	Lucas sat in the chair beside him.
	"I got a problem, Thomas, and I need your advice."
	"Have you talked to the prince about it?"
	"Yeah, but it's your advice that means most to me. I wanna take
down an angel. Can you help me?"
	The counselor looked surprised. "And the prince has given his
permission?"
	"Nope, not yet. But he ain't said no yet either. I may need you
to help me change his mind."
	Thomas shook his head doubtfully. "The prince is very wise,
Lucas."
	"But he don't know my town and my people like I do!" Lucas
stood up and started to pace. "I know what's right for 'em. You
taught me justice for my people comes before everythin' else.
Deliver it with a harsh but fair hand, right? Well, Merlyn's
comin' between me and justice. She sent a plague that hurt
people that didn't deserve it. Now how can they know justice if
punishment comes from someone who's supposed to be offerin'
mercy?" 
	His agitation subsided as quickly as it came on and he sat down
again. "She's threatenin' everythin' I built in Trinity. How am
I supposed to let that go by?" 
	"Is she really that much trouble to you, Lucas? Can't you work
around her?"
	"Maybe I could, but why should I have to?" Lucas stared
defiantly into his friend's eyes. "Why should I give up to her
without even tryin' to put up a fight? I know you care about
justice, Thomas, even if the prince don't. Just because
Lucifer's willin' to do things His way all the time don't
mean..." Lucas stopped himself. "Will you think about helpin' me
change the prince's mind, if it comes to that? There was a time
he used to listen to you."
	Thomas looked away. "He used to..." He looked back at Lucas and
smiled. "He used to listen to you too, until you turned up the
volume too loud." 
	Lucas laughed. "I never been too patient with folks who don't
wanna see things my way." 
	Excited shouts pierced the hum of voices that had backdropped
their conversation. Lucas glanced over at a group of young men
in the center of the room getting carried away in their debate.
They wore the simple white robes that marked them as students.
Benjamin had hoped the robes would temper their energy and
encourage self-discipline but the students had won the battle of
the cloth and most of the robes were tattered and scuffed. Lucas
smiled. The untidiness must annoy Benji no end.
	Thomas followed his gaze. "You have others to visit with, boy.
You've spent enough time making an old man feel important."
	"You'll be thinkin' about my predicament?"
	The counselor nodded.
	 Lucas stood and kissed his friend's forehead, then ambled over
and draped his arm across the shoulders of a strapping young
scholar at the center of the commotion. The student, his face a
study in conviction, was jabbing at the air with his thumb,
earnestly trying to carry his point with `his companions. 
	"Well now, you boys look like you got yourselves a real
interestin' discussion goin' here." 
	"Lucas!" The young man whirled about and caught him in a
jubilant bear hug.
	"Calm down, boy," Lucas said with a laugh, then reached out and
grasped in turn all the hands shoved forward to greet him. "What
are you yellin' at these fellas about, Anthony?" 
	"I'm just trying to make a point, Lucas. I say tempting one man
into killing his wife is worth more than tempting five men into
cheating on theirs because it's the greater sin."
	"Worth more to who?"
	"To us, of course. In our fight against God. Don't you agree
with me?"
	"What do these fellas do for a livin'?"
	"You don't understand, Lucas, this is a theoretical discussion.
It doesn't matter what they do for a living."
	"It does to me. I got some plumbin' work that needs doin' at my
house. One of these guys is a plumber and that's who I'm gonna
go to work on first."
	"I'm talking about damning their souls to hell for all
eternity, Lucas, not getting them to do chores for you!"
	"Well then, maybe you're talkin' about the wrong thing." 
	Anthony stared at him perplexed and a slight young scholar at
his side piped up. "I don't understand, Lucas. Don't we do what
we do to get our revenge on God for casting us out, for sending
us here out of the light? What's plumbing got to do with it?"
	Lucas tilted his head and regarded the young men quizzically.
"Okay, son," he said, "you get a man to commit murder and what
happens? He shows he ain't worthy of heaven and gets himself
sent here instead. Justice gets served and God's will is done,
right? You drag them five men into adultery, same thing happens.
God's will gets done. Now me personally, I ain't real fond of
doin' His dirty work. So I'm gonna get as much outta those folks
as I can before I start worryin' about where their souls are
goin'. When I ain't got no more use for 'em, then I'll start
thinkin' about sendin' 'em here."
	The students seemed deflated. "But if no matter what we do,
everyone finally ends up where God expects them to go anyway
we're not getting back at Him at all, are we, Lucas?" Anthony
asked forlornly. "There doesn't seem much point in any of it."
	"There ain't, boy, that's true. We got an enemy who's gonna get
the better of us just about every time. But the answer ain't
givin' up and doin' things His way. You give up and say 'We lost
and that's the way it's gonna be and there ain't no hope of it
ever bein' any different'--well then, that's when the real pain
starts, the kind that tears at your soul and sends your mind
racin' in a million different directions lookin' for a way out,
only there ain't no way out cause you just shut the door on your
hope. That's when you start lettin' yourself die inside, piece
by piece, just so you won't feel the pain." Lucas said the words
softly, almost to himself, then looked back at Anthony. "You
can't ever give up."
	"Then what do you do?" the young man whispered, enthralled.
	"You don't cooperate, you make things as tough as you can, you
keep the anger burnin' and you wait."
	"Wait for what?"
	"Another chance."

End of Part I

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Subj:	"Hope in Hell", Part II
Date:	96-06-13 17:54:53 EDT
From:	dfortino@gate.net (Dolores Fortino)
Sender: owner-ag-fanfic@stargame.org
Reply-to: dfortino@gate.net
To:	ag-fanfic@stargame.org

	The main meeting hall was vast yet too small to admit a single
furnishing besides the massive bronze table at its center, for
around the walls of the room there sometimes stood thousands of
spectators watching in fascination as their leaders debated a
course of action. But that was when important matters had been
discussed. Now only a few hundred onlookers ringed the table,
mostly the young--Anthony and his schoolmates, eager to hear
Lucas talk about bringing down an angel. At the table sat the
two hundred, Hell's nobility, according to rank-Lucifer at its
head, Lucas a few seats away. 	
	The prince intoned an invocation in a voice that once stirred
hearts and then Benjamin's ponderous tones plodded their way
through demographic and logistical reports, statistics of souls
damned, requests for reassignment. Lucas sat slouched in his
chair, head lowered, fingers silently drumming the table in
front of him. The nobles began to shift, then squirm in their
seats from the tedium, and finally Lucas stirred. 
	"Hate to interrupt your parliamentary procedures, Benji, but I
got a bit of new business that needs addressin'. We take care of
that and I'll get outta your hair."
	The secretary glared at him. "Your 'bit of new business' isn't
on the agenda, Lucas. And since you haven't had anything to
contribute to these proceedings since they started and you're
not even troubling yourself to vote, I don't know why you
bothered to attend to begin with."
	"Just tryin' to play by the rules." He looked at Lucifer. "I
brought a problem to the prince and figured we'd be discussin'
it here."
	"This isn't the time or place for your problem, Lucas," the
prince answered. "I'll see you privately after the meeting." He
motioned Benjamin to move on and the secretary launched into
another statistical summary. 
	"If it's all the same to you," Lucas drawled good-naturedly,
"I'd just as soon we talk about it here. I got a lot of friends
here who's advice I could use about now. It's no small thing
takin' down an angel, after all. I can use all the help I can
get."
	Benjamin glowered. "The prince just told you..." Lucifer waved
him silent.
	"There won't be any need for advice, Lucas. A decision's
already been made." He eyed his friend coolly. "You're to leave
Merlyn alone." 
	"And that decision was made by who--you or Him?" 
	"We both agreed."
	"Now why don't that surprise me? Seems bein' agreeable is what
you do best these days, Lucifer." He shook his head. "So let me
understand this. I got an angel wreakin' holy hell outta
everythin' I'm tryin' to do in my town, interferin' where she
don't belong, and I'm not supposed to even try to do anythin'
about it. Not because we all agree that's the best way to handle
it but because He says so?"
	"I told you it was a joint decision."
	"Well, that'd make me feel better if every decision you make
didn't just happen to agree with His."
	"This isn't the time for one of your tirades, Lucas," the
prince said angrily. "I put up with them privately but I won't
tolerate one here. If you want me to explain my decision, I'll
discuss it with you after the meeting."
	"Lucifer, may I speak?" 
	The prince glanced irritably at the old man seated on his left
but nodded. "Be brief, Thomas, we still have a lot of ground to
cover."
	Thomas glanced down the table at his friend. "I know Lucas," he
said quietly. "He's no hothead. He's a good ruler, he cares
about justice. If he believes this intruder is causing harm, I
trust his judgment. Who after all would know better than him
what's best for his people?"
	"God would, Thomas."
	"Then what the hell are we doin' here?" Lucas' rage blasted
through Lucifer's pious words and took aim at the lethargy
enshrouding the room. "Why did we start this fight in the first
place except we knew there was a better way of doin' things than
His way? We had things to say He didn't wanna hear and we fought
so we could say 'em."
	He stood and the room seemed to hold its breath. No one had
ever dared challenge Lucifer so openly. He made his way to the
head of the table and looked scornfully down at the prince. "Now
you're tellin' us His way is the right way! We fought so we
could rule and now you're lettin' us be made into puppets!
Christ! The people on earth got more free will than we do!" 
	The two hundred watched spellbound. His anger threw off sparks
that caught on their deadened hopes and flickered them to faint
life. 
	Lucas grasped Thomas' shoulder. "You got a man here who knows
more about justice than He can imagine and you never ask his
advice, you're too busy goin' upstairs to get your decisions
handed to you." 
	He turned and walked to the far end of the table and stopped
behind Annie and rested his hand on her head. "You got friends
with sharp minds and bold ideas and instead of listenin' to 'em,
you're wastin' 'em in borin' jobs that don't even need doin'." 
	He pointed to Anthony standing amid the spectators breathlessly
watching the drama unfolding before them. "You got young
followers burnin' with conviction and you're buryin' 'em in
rules and platitudes and makin' 'em old before their time."
	Lucifer had sat impassively as Lucas raged. Now he stood. "You
find fault with the way I rule and maybe there's some fault to
be found. But you keep forgetting we lost our fight, Lucas. And
now I rule with one thought in mind. I want us to find purpose
in our defeat."
	"No! You want us to live without hope of ever overturnin' it!
You're destroyin' us with your surrender!"
	He aimed his words at the two hundred. "We're fightin' from a
different place and we been beaten down but that don't mean it's
over. As long as there's the will in us, the fight goes on. It
goes on until we win. If it has to, it goes on forever." He
stared defiantly down the table at Lucifer. "It's only over when
we give up. And I ain't ready to do that even if you are!"
	Lucas' voice rang out so clearly it seemed to be coming from
everywhere at the same time. The nobles stared at him
transfixed. His challenge dug into their hearts, burrowing deep
in search of the hope buried there. The spectators ringing the
table began to whisper excitedly--Anthony stood quietly with
tears streaming down his face. Their whispers turned to cheers
and then to chants of Lucas' name and Benjamin stood up.
	"That will do, Lucas! The prince said the decision's been made.
Your request's been denied and your business here is finished."
He clapped his hands and a detachment of forty soldiers entered
the hall and advanced on Lucas. Instantly Annie was on her feet
shielding him. Michael charged angrily at Benjamin and his
classmates rushed to intercept the secretary's guards. 
	"That's enough!" The prince's command echoed through the room
and instantly Benjamin waved his troops to a halt.
	Lucifer surveyed Anthony and his comrades standing menacingly
in defense of Lucas, then shifted his gaze to the two hundred.
"Who else is demanding a change in leadership?" he asked quietly.
	Thomas stood up. "I fought that fight so long ago, Lucifer. I
didn't fight to be a puppet. Nor did you. I fell at your side
and I cried when you roused us from our despair with words of
hope. But now you've forgotten how it feels to hope. Lucas
hasn't." Almost on cue the nobles rose one by one to join him,
as if to reclaim their future. 
	Lucifer nodded and fixed his eyes on Lucas. "This was never
about Merlyn, was it, Lucas? It was always about doing things
your way, doing everything your way." Lucas smiled faintly and
shrugged. 


	Lucifer was perched comfortably on the throne when Lucas
entered the main hall and he rose as his rival approached. "Your
throne, my prince," he intoned with a grandiose flourish of his
hand . Then he reached out and petted the younger man's head
affectionately. "I really have missed you, Lucas."
	Lucas' eyes narrowed. "You enjoy havin' your head handed to
you, Lucifer? You been hangin' out with the man upstairs too
long. Turnin' the other cheek don't become you."
	"I can afford to be forgiving. You won't be here long."
	"Really. Where'm I goin'?"
	"Home, back to Trinity."
	"You plannin' an uprisin' so soon? And after all the trouble I
went to."
	"I don't have to drive you out of here, Lucas, you'll leave on
your own."	
	"I ain't goin' anywhere, friend."
	"Aren't you?" Lucifer sat back down on the throne. "Have you
ever asked yourself why you stay in Trinity? A tiny little town
in the middle of nowhere? Why not New York or Washington or
Paris?"
	"Lack of ambition, I guess."
	"Really? Then you won't mind if I take back my crown."
	Lucas laughed. "Things are different now. I got a son--a
special son. He's gonna...well, let's just say I'm preparin' the
way. Somebody's gotta get this place back in fightin' shape."
	"So you stayed in Trinity and all the little towns before it
because you were too lazy to try the big time?"
	Lucas shrugged. "It's easier to get up close and personal with
the people you control in a small town than a big city. Like I
said, I'm no administrator."
	He was standing confidently alongside the throne, legs spread,
hands on his hips. Now he began to trace his fingers
absent-mindedly along the jeweled surface of the throne's arm.
"People are interestin'," he said almost to himself. "I got a
deputy--scared of his own shadow, and of me. He ain't got a
chance in hell of gettin' out from under my thumb but he keeps
on tryin'. He stands up for himself and I slap him down. And the
next day he comes right back, tryin' it again. He ain't too
bright, that's the thing. He just don't have the sense to know
when he's beat."
	"There's no one in Hell like that, Lucas. We all have sense
enough to know we've been beat. Except you."
	Lucas brought his eyes up to meet his friend's and watched him
carefully and Lucifer continued. 
	"You need those people of yours, my friend. They're like food
and drink to you. What happens to you when your deputy and all
the rest of them aren't around to nourish your hope, to remind
you to go with your gut even though your head knows you're
defeated?" 
	Lucas turned his back to the prince and stared pensively into
the distance and Lucifer stood up and walked to the door. "You
have my throne, Lucas, for now, but your hope is back there in
Trinity and I don't think you can live without it. Whatever your
son's going to do, he's going to have to do without you
preparing the way."


	Lucas was ushered into the white marble hall by a meek young
clerk who seemed frightened of him. The summons from God had
been expected but Lucas wasn't prepared for his own uncertainty
now that the moment was at hand. Lucifer had spoken the truth,
he knew, and now the confident challenge he planned to issue his
enemy seemed hollow. 
	He climbed the steps of the dais at the end of the room and
approached the throne and ran his fingers lightly across its
golden surface. This throne knew its tenant. Innately brilliant,
unjeweled, delicately carved, it felt no need to force majesty
on its occupant. 	
	"I'd tell you to make yourself at home but I'm afraid you might
take me literally." 
	Lucas tensed at the familiar voice behind him. He turned and
fought a nearly overwhelming urge to fall to his knees. God
stood a few feet in front of him, His eyes calm and confident.
Lucas felt a profound longing for his former friend blaze up
inside him and then vanish in a blast of icy hatred. 
	"The place hasn't changed much, has it, Lucas?" 
	Lucas shook his head. "Still a mighty desirable piece of real
estate." He grinned.
	"You haven't changed much either, I see."
	"Now you're wrong about that."
	"Am I? You're still getting in way over your head."
	Lucas shrugged. "I like a challenge." He stood with his legs
spread and his thumbs hooked casually in his pockets as his
enemy took a seat on the throne next to him.
	"I wish things were different, Lucas. I wish we could go
back..."
	"Wishes don't count for much, do they?"
	"You have a very annoying habit of presenting yourself as the
injured party." 
	"Well now, I guess it all depends on your perception. And I
imagine you called me up here to make sure I'm lookin' at things
from your point of view. But there's a little problem with that.
I ain't Lucifer."
	"No, you're not. But there still have to be some ground rules,
no matter who's in charge."
	"Your rules."
	God chose his words carefully. "Mutually agreed on guidelines." 
	"I'm not in a real agreeable mood."
	"You never are. Why do you always have to be so damn difficult?
What's the point?"
	"That's the point. To make things as difficult for you as I
can."
	"You can't beat me."
	"But I can raise the temperature around here."
	"And I can do even worse for you."
	"Or I could go back to Trinity and we can both cool off."
	God looked startled. "What?"
	Lucas smiled and walked to the front of the throne and stared
confidently down at his foe. "I got a proposition for you. You
get Merlyn off my back--call her off completely--and I'll be on
my way back to Trinity. You get agreeable old Lucifer back
runnin' the show your way."
	"You led a revolt just to get me to call off Merlyn? An amateur
angel with a grudge against you and a chip on her shoulder?
She's an irritation to you, at worst. She'll never even leave
Trinity. You're willing to give up ruling in Hell just to get
your sleepy little town back to normal?"
	Lucas nodded. "That's the deal I'm offerin'."
	God stood up and paced to the end of the dais, then turned back
and eyed His opponent thoughtfully.
	"I call off Merlyn and all of Hell is going to see it as a
victory for you. That's going to get them mighty stirred up."
	"But you'll have Lucifer there to calm them right down again.
Meanwhile, I stick around and I'm gonna make sure they stay
stirred up for the duration."
	God studied him silently for several minutes.
	"All right, Lucas," he said finally. "You win. We'll do this
your way." He walked back to the throne and sat down. "Are those
the words you wanted to hear me say?"
	Lucas closed his eyes and lowered his head and stood quiet for
a long moment. Then he raised his head back up and smiled. "I
got a son now."
	"I know."
	"He's gonna be comin' for you."
	"He can't win."
	"Maybe, but the thing is, I'm gonna make sure he don't know
that."

End of Part II