Part 10

Sunday morning, at the gates and the walls of Mount Segur ...

Lucifer: I hate Sundays …
Uriel: Where is Raph? He'll be late again if he doesn't show up soon.
Lucifer: Ts, doesn't come as a surprise to me. I should have stayed in bed too. Why do I even bother to show up here?
Uriel: Because we don't want to raise suspicion, that's why. Remember?
Lucifer: Yeah, yeah, we play the game. … Ah, there's Michael.
Uriel: Hi, Mike!
Michael: Hi, folks. Isn't it a 'kin great morning? The sun is smiling, I am smiling, Uriel is smiling, Luce looks threatening …
Lucifer: Haha, very funny. Just thinking about the next hour makes me throw up.
Michael: Come on, it's not gonna be that bad.
Lucifer: You're right, it's gonna be even worse. Each Sunday the same scenario … Rod flanked by his army coming down from the Sanctuary …
Michael: Actually, you're right. I better get up there. See ya later.
Uriel: Yeah, see ya. And don't forget about tonight …
Lucifer: … the other angels awaiting him faithfully at the gate …
Uriel: Shit, Raph's still not here. I should have dropped by his cloud after all. Now I feel bad.
Lucifer: … Raph, late as usual, gets gently reprimanded by his All-Forgiveness. I get sick when I just think about it …
Uriel: Gabe is also missing, that's unusual.
Lucifer: … choir of angels starts with the "The Sign of the Cross", of course with a solo from Gabe, our Voice …
Uriel: Well, the Voice hasn't arrived yet.
Lucifer: What? … Well, maybe he had the sense to wake up Raph on his way.
Uriel: I hope so. Raph has to play a harp solo today. He's been practicing like crazy for it. Elaborating on every single note. I wonder why he doesn't just improvise. Would be less time-consuming.
Lucifer: Gabe's probably still tousling his hair, that's why they're late. ... Ah, two minutes to showtime! Here descends Rod, flanked by Michael and Sariel in full gear. I still think it's a bad idea to let Sariel into our group.
Uriel: We'll see tonight, ok? Don't worry now. ... Finally, here's Gabe and Raph.
Lucifer: Raph, you're really a hopeless case.
Raphael: You know, Sunday mornings suck. Why can't Rod hold his speeches on Sunday evenings?
Lucifer: Gabe, everything ok?
Gabriel: Well, yes, all's fine with me. Had to wake up little Raphy here. We wouldn't want to miss his infamous harp-solo today, now would we? Well, not infamous really, since we've never heard it before. Hmmm.
Raphael: I'm so tired, I'll probably fuck up the whole solo.
Uriel: No, you won't, I know that. You prepare so much, you never fuck up your solos.
Raphael: Thanks, Ury, you're a mate.
Uriel: Don't mention it, mate.
Lucifer: Are you two done mating each other? ... Gabe, for tonight, everything ok? You'll be there?
Gabriel: Of course I'll be there, don't worry.
Lucifer: Ok, glad to hear that. ... And ... about last time ... well ... you know ... I probably overreacted ...
Gabriel: Yeah, yeah, don't worry, I know.
Lucifer: Well, ok then, great.
Uriel: Great to see you make up, folks. I'm happy. Oops, Rod is looking in our direction, we better stop talking.
Gabriel: Aw-kay, I better get going then. My vocal chords are wanted in the choir. See ya later.
Raphael: I feel sick ...
Lucifer: Raph! This is not your first solo. Don't get a stage-fright now. Pull yourself together.
Raphael: I haven't developped it enough. The down-tuning probably was a bad idea.
Uriel: It wasn't, it sounds great. And you've practiced enough, stop worrying.
Raphael: I'm going back to bed ...
Lucifer: You stay here! We cannot let Rod get suspicious of us. You play that solo!
Raphael: Fuck, Ury, can't you improvise something?
Uriel: You know I could do that. But it's your turn today. I don't think Rod would like a change.
Lucifer: Of course Rod wouldn't accept change, that's why we're changing it for him. And soon, you can bet on that. Come on Raph, it might be the last Sunday you have to get up early.
Raphael: Is that a promise? I'm starting to like this revolution thing.

... An hour later, after the speech:

Lucifer: I survived. I thought I couldn't bear it a minute longer.
Uriel: See, it wasn't that bad.
Lucifer: Aren't you listening? It WAS that bad.
Uriel: Well ...
Gabriel: Hey, guys, it was great, did you hear my crescendo?
Lucifer: Yeah, yeah, we all heard your crescendo, the window behind me started to quiver.
Gabriel: Thanks for the compliments, Luce. Ah, here comes Raphy, the healer and heavenly harpist. Hoops, so many H's, we should start calling you H. Haha, lame joke.
Uriel: See, you worried for nothing, your solo was a blast. Cool down-tuning.
Gabriel: Yeah, didn't even know one could do that with a harp.
Raphael: Well, actually it's quite simple. You just take the lowest chord and replace ...
Gabriel: Yeah, yeah, sounds really interesting, can't hear enough of it.
Raphael: Huh? ... Oh, ok.
Gabriel: For the meeting tonight: are you gonna lie down again or what? Cause I don't feel like waking you up twice on the same day. You know, Acacia Heavenview is a huge ...
Raphael: Can you stop making fun of me all the time? No, I'm not gonna lie down. I'll be on time, I promise.
Gabriel: Your word in Rod's ear ...
Lucifer: Well, glad to hear that. And for once, try to keep your promise, ok? I have something very special for us all tonight.