S4E01 - What Could Be - PART 1

by N.P.Lucifan

Here s a little side project I started on winter break this year. I had too much time on my hands and couldn t stop thinking about how Eve could be introduced to the series, so I ended up writing this version of what I hope the outcome will be, or something along the lines of it. The story is pretty long, so I divided it in 4 parts. Cheers!

SCENE 1 PART 1

A paradise lays before a young woman, clad only by the rich brown hair that flows down her back like a cascade captured in time. Her eyes are wide with awe and heart lightened by the beauty of the world she sees before her.

Standing on a hilltop, she watches the golden sunlight shine on the virgin landscape below her. There, thousands of leaves of the lush forest's trees glimmer iridescently in innumerable shades of gold as the sun's rays reach their surface.

Behind the young woman stands the man whom she is destined to be with for the rest of her life, a fact which shone light into her heart every day, one even brighter than the golden hues of the sun itself; it was bliss.

She watches indeeringly as the young man picks fresh fruit from a small tree, his dark, wavy hair dancing in the cool breeze around his cheekbones. He too, wears just as much as the woman.

'Figs' he would call the fruits that he was picking.

''They're just as sweet as the one who picks them'' she whispers to herself in loving admiration of him.

A soft rose blush warms her cheeks and a smile appears on her lips. Everything is as it ought to be, she thinks; this, is paradise.

In that moment, the breeze changes directions and pushes an even sweeter scent her way, one she hasn't smelled before. Until this point, she thought she knew her paradise like the back of her hand. She's intrigued.

The young woman looks towards the direction of the forest that grows at the foot of the hill, begins walking towards this new scent that emanates from it, completely compelled by curiosity. What could possibly smell sweeter than a tree filled with sun ripened figs, she wondered.

The young woman walks down slowly towards it, appreciating with every step the technicolored pastoral flowers that were in bloom at her feet.

As she approaches the edge of the forest, the scent becomes intoxicating, making every wonderful sight she passes dim to a dull gray in comparison.

She stops at the feet of a gargantuan tree. Its leaves are the color of young olives, and bark, the smoothest of browns. Its trunk is decorated with crimson colored moss, garnished with tiny lustrous yellow flowers in boom within it, giving the appearance that specs of gold had been dusted over the plant by the heavens.

However, the most captivating part of this tree is not its mosses, neither its height nor the fact that its branches are filled with thousands of pale pink flowers. What captivates her attention the most is the strange serpent that moves about in its branches. It circles almost rhythmically around the only ripe fruit she could see hanging in all of the tree's crown.

The young woman recognizes this fruit at once; for all of its beauty, as red as a ruby, as big as her fist and ripe for the taking, it was a known danger to her, the only fruit she was forbidden by her creator to eat in all of Eden; the apple.

Eve looks back anxiously at her beloved, trying with all her might to force herself to flee this place, but does so in vain; another gust of wind twirls around her, begging her to look back at the apple and the serpent, and so, she does, relinquishing the thought that her legs would carry her back to the safety of Adam`s fig grove.

She can hear the serpent hissing passively as it continues to weave itself within the branches surrounding the apple, it's movements, mesmerising her, only adding to the intoxicating feeling she experiences as she breathes in the aroma of the tree's blooms. In that moment, the woman decides to surrender her senses completely to the enthralment of the tree's powers and to those of its inhabitant. She lets her mind fall deep into a trance as she continues to watch the snake weave and twine slow circles around the low hanging fruit, and lets her world be overwhelmed by these new sensations, fearing that she would never again have the chance to experience such a unique sense of exhilaration.

In her transic state, she hears the snake speak, offering her a taste of the only thing she had ever been denied. The serpent whispers to her all the many more intoxicating moments she could have such as these, how she and her loved one could experience sensations even sweeter than the scent that had brought her to him, should she truly desire it.

A moment passes where she briefly recounts having been warned that serious consequences would befall onto her and her love if they were to consume this fruit, but in all her life, she had never been injured, knew nothing of suffering, and lived at ease with herself and the world that had been created for them.

She is naive, young at mind and of heart. In her current state of intoxication, her inhibitions begin to dwindle. Her conclusion to this dilemma is that trying this fruit, and only just a bite, is an acceptable risk and one worth taking. 'What's the worst that could happen?' she wonders, knowing nothing yet of the true horrors and pain the world has to offer those who dare to stray onto the wrong path.

The young woman reaches out towards the apple, raises herself on the tips of her toes in order to grasp it, but the apple lies just, beyond, her reach. To her surprise, only a moment before she was going to give up the task, the snake asks her a simple question, but one in a voice so shockingly sultry in comparison with the low whispers it uttered before that she shivers at the sound of it; it sent a warm, liquid sensation trickling down her spine and deep into her core.

''Is this what you truly desire?'' he asks her clearly.

''Yes.'' she answers, impatient to grab hold of the ruby apple and see what wonders she could experience once she consumed a part of it.

Not a moment after her answer was given, the snake winds itself tightly around the tip of the branch where the apple hung. With one quick contraction of his body, the branch snaps, falling along with the apple down towards the eager woman's hands.

As the apple descends within her grasp, the light in her surroundings begins to fade; clouds begin to form and one by one the sun's rays are cast out of sight, but all Eve can truly see is the apple in her hands. From a far distance, she can hear her loved one scream her name but doesn't have a mind to reply.

As if compelled by every desire and ever need she had ever felt, beyond any reason and any doubt, she feels she must consume a part of this fruit. And so, Eve takes a bite of the forbidden fruit.

For a moment, she truly knows bliss; every ounce of juice that spills from the fresh fruit down her chin and onto her chest is like a sensual touch from her love experienced for the first time. The taste that explodes in her mouth with every chew is like reliving every moment of elation and happiness she had ever felt, and when she swallows the bite, she would later swear that she could see flashes of how the universe has been created, how the angels were made, how she and Adam were made.

These new sensations and visions soon end, allowing her sight clear and mind to refocus just in time for her to see a great flash of uncanny purple lightning come from the darkening clouds, striking part of the forest not far from where she stood. Seconds later, a deafening 'crack' resonates through the air, its sound travelling miles. She feels this deafening noise resonate throughout her whole body, leaving the hair of her arms raised high and her eardrums ringing.

Any remaining positive feeling that came from the tantalizing bliss experienced as she ate a bite of the apple is nullified by that sound which she interprets as the arrival of God's wrath and punishment.

Panic, terror and an overwhelming sense of guilt possesses her as she watches a blaze set in the trees that were struck by lightning. The odor that was only moments ago helplessly intoxicating begins to manifests as a foul stench so strong it burns her nostrils, makes her cough and her stomach turn. The cool grass beneath her feet turns brown and brittle. The trees' leaves, all but those that hung on the ruby fruit's branches, begin to wither, crisp and fall to the ground.

Her knees buckle beneath her, traumatised by the nightmare that just replaced the paradise that was once her home. Through her tears and the smoke of a burning forest, she sees a warped image of the apple on the ground, still radiantly red and untouched by the disaster that was unfolding around her.

The young woman grabs hold of the apple, clinging to the foolish hope that her salvation rested in this fruit and its tree, the only pieces of her world she could see that had not yet darkened by her sin, but she soon realises that there is no salvation for her to be had; all the ecstasy, all the revelation and all the secrets of the world that she experienced in that brief moment was nothing more than ephemeral satisfaction, just as were the beauty, the contentments and the bliss her Eden had brought her. Happiness is circumstantial and true moments of it, brief. She forgot to cherish them, truly, and risked it all in a moment of rebellious defiance, not knowing how quickly Heaven could turn to Hell.

She' hears Adam crying out to her in worry and anger again. She tries to reply, to apologize, to attempt to explain, but all she can muster are soft, broken whispers through gasping sobs. The only audible words she manages to speak, she repeats over and over while clutching the damned fruit between her hands;

``What have I done? God forgive me, What have I done?'`

Suddenly, she feels a hand grabher from under her shoulder, ushering her to get up. She wants to move, but in shock, no muscle will comply with her demands. All she can see are Adam`s legs until he crouches down in front of her and looks deeply into her eyes. She looks back at him. Her own eyes are wide open with terror and sodden with tears. Her love pries the fruit away from her hands, throws it far away from them and holds her in his arms, rocking her gently, signing to her their favorite song with a steadiness that mocked her trembling body and racing heart.

She closes her eyes and sobs into his chest as the home they loved continues to decay and burn around them.

He continues to sing even as another bolt of lightning strikes one of the forest's trees, this time even closer than the last. Before they have time to realise what was happening, the burning tree that had just been struck by lightning falls onto the couple, killing them both instantly, still entwined in each other's arms.

SCENE 1 PART 2

The young woman opens her eyes. A paradise lays before her. Standing on a hilltop, she watched golden light shine on the virgin landscape; leaves of the lush forest's trees are shining iridescently in innumerable shades of gold as the sunlight reaches their surface, while further down below, thousands of pastoral flowers bloomed in technicolor within the tall green grasses.

She notices another woman, one with dark hair and exotic brown skin walking up towards her from the foot of the hill. Upon seeing her, the young woman begins to sense that somehow, she's lived this moment before, but that this stranger wasn't supposed to be a part of it. A gut wrenching feeling almost makes her heart stand still from the agony as she realised that something is very wrong and has been for a long time.

The young woman looks back at her loved one and watches as he picks sun ripened fruits off a small fig tree. She's seen this moment before too, but how many times and why, she wonders.

Confused and alarmed, she looks down again towards the unfamiliar woman who still marches upwards in her direction with determination and haste. Parts of her body are covered, she notices, and by something black in color for which she has no word. More alarmingly, her feet resemble a deer's whose hooves had fused together into one larger hoof and covered in a material not unlike what covers her body. She doesn't seem to be human, thinks the young woman, but was else could she be?

''Who - who are you?'' calls out the apprehensive local to the approaching stranger.

''The one who's going to save you from this hell loope.'' answers the stranger with a smile on her lips and a look of confidence in her eyes.

The new arrival places her hands on her waist with assertion now that she stands in front of the young, naked Eve. She takes a deep breath and nods towards her.

''Hi. I'm Mazikeen.'' she spoke, slightly out of breath.

''Hello, I'm… I - '' Hesitates the young woman.

''Oh, I know who you are. You're Eve, one of God's first human pets.''

Fear and hatred raced throughout Eve`s body at the mention of God. Her fists tighten into balls and her nails begin to cut into her palms but before she keeps her calm beyond this point as she's desperate to understand what the stranger just said..

''You said a.. 'hell - loop', what is that? Are you suggesting... that I'm in hell?'' Eve begins, more frightened of the answer than she's letting on.

''Oh, you are, trust me. You've been here even longer than Lucifer's mother has, and that's a really, long time.''

Eve ignores what Mazikeen says about this Lucifer and his mother whom she doesn't know. Her thoughts are stuck on the affirmation that she and her love were not actually en Eden, but in Hell.

''And he… Adam -'' Eve starts but doesn't have the heart to finish her question aloud. Tears of regret, tears of remorse, tears of pain for a loved one's suffering caused by her own selfish hands begin to swell in her eyes. She's rendered speechless by the weight of her guilt.

Unexpectedly, as if Mazikeen could hear the thoughts Eve didn't have the heart to speak, she answers Eve's question planely.

''Oh, that's not actually Adam. This is a hell you created to torment yourself out of the guilt you feel for having committed your sin. If it makes you feel any better, I heard he went to Heaven because it turns out you were the only one who broke God`s one rule and condition for your stay in his little paradise on Earth.''

Shock follows relief, and then self-loathing, the later. Her loved one is safe, his soul in Heaven. Good. Eve knows he wasn't to blame. It was her own desires that were the cause of their downfall. His innocence, in her eyes, was plain to see. But then, having both seen their home be destroyed by God's wrath, and all because she had bitten into a fruit that had been forbidden by her creator, this, to her, was a punishment in and of itself, and one that precluded an unmerited and cruel end to her Adam's beautiful life. If she was able to see his innocence in all of what happened, why hadn't God, she thought in anger. Why take his home and his life away for an action that she alone had committed?

Mazikeen responds to the anger that radiates in Eve eyes,wanting to take advantage of the fury that was beginning to manifest in the young woman, a fury she knew all too well herself.

''I'm here to help you, Eve. I'm here to help you out of this hell and into a new world where you'll be free to live again. But, in return, I'll need you to do something for me.''

Eve gives Mazikeen a look of incredulity. Who is this stranger, she wonders, what is she and why does she want to help me? How can she help me?

''Listen, I know you're probably scared right now, but you have nothing to be afraid of. Just listen to what I have to offer you and then decide. And once I'm done making my proposal, all you'll have to do is say the word and I'll leave.''

''Alright, I'm listening.'' Replies Eve, arms crossed and eyes fixated on this stranger promising her everything. Surely the cost would be too high, she thinks to herself. This transaction would most likely to be as ill-advised as a deal with the devil, she concludes. But then again, she was a soul condemned to imprisonment in Hell. Both her love and her home were taken from her definitively, leaving everything she cherished most in her life gone for ever. In retrospect, she has nothing left to lose, and everything to gain.

Mazikeen had already broken Eve`s loop momentarily upon entry. Whether or not Eve had realised this was another matter altogether. Looking back at this small success of hers, Maze assesses that everything is going according to her plan thus far. All she needs to do now is convince Eve to accept her deal and walk out from her cell guilt free. It was going to be quite the uncomfortable reversal of her normal role in Hell as Lucifer's best torturer, but it would serve its purpose.

''OK.'' responds Mazikeen with an eager smile, exuberating confidence.

''Here's how it's going to go down. I'll help you leave your hell loop, guide you through the labyrinths of Hell that exist beyond... this,'' she sais, pausing briefly to take a took at the same scene within which Eve had been torturing herself for millenia. Part of her feels pity for the woman in this moment, but another part of her thinks it was a job well done.

''...once out, we`ll march into the Devil's layer where he keeps a few rare coins with special abilities. Just one of these coins will let you go back to the world of the living, alive, well and as hot as you look now. All you have to do for me is get between the snake that taunted you to eat that apple and his happiness, just like he did with you and yours in Eden.''

Eve is taken aback by her proposal. As much as the idea of avenging the one she loved appeals to her, she feels as if it wasn`t the serpent`s fault at all, but her own, mostly. It wasn't as if it had lied to her or mislead her in any way. She doubts that the serpent truly deserves to go through such pain, or if it was even capable of such an emotion as happiness to begin with.

However, Eve begins to think further on what happened that day and a new fury begins to boil inside her. She realises that she would have never been able to reach the apple had the snake not broken its branch free from the tree. If it wasn`t for its enticements and its actions, she would have left the apple be and returned to Adam`s side, she's sure of it. The serpent truly was the catalyst that provoked her demise. Upon realising this, some of the guilt she feels is alleviated.

Her mind is made up. What Mazikeen asked of her is something she's willing to do. But she still doesn't understand how any of this could be possible; there are many details in Mazikeen's plan that doesn't make sense to her yet.

''Wouldn't the snake have died along with the rest of the life in our paradise long ago?'' Eve asks, worried that the new life Mazikeen is offering her is just a cruel joke concocted by a twisted mind. She is in Hell, after all.

''No, that was actually Lucifer, the Devil, one of God's immortal sons. He was bored and angry with his father so he decided to play with the old man`s new pets; you and Adam.

''So, the snake was really the Lord of Hell in disguise, and also the one who's happiness you want me to end?''

''That about sums it up.''

''I see.``

It would be a greater challenge than she originally thought, thinks Eve.

``But why would… Lucifer, transform himself into a snake? It seems like a strange thing to do for such a powerful creature. Surely it would have been easier to accomplish his goal if he were in his true form?''

Despite Eve's question, she begins to believe Mazikeen. She isn't sure if its out of intuition or out of hope that there can be some form of justice for what happened to Adam, but she keeps listening to the answers that are offered, accepting them as the truth.

''That' easy.`` starts Mazikeen, ``Lucifer can be childish now, I can only imagine how childish he was a few thousand years ago... he came to you as a snake just to mess with you and Adam, so his father wouldn't notice him there, so he could get away with making God angry at someone else for breaking the rules besides him.``

``Does Lucifer have any redeeming qualities?`` Eve asks without thinking, unimpressed that an archangel, former or not, could behave in such a way.

``I hate to admit it, but he has real talent in bed.``

Eve`s cheeks turn red at Mazikeen`s answer. She looks down bashfully, not sure how to respond.

Mazikeen slowly begins to walk down the hill, leading Eve towards her cell`s exit without the young woman being aware of it. Mazikeen can feel it; Eve is going to take the deal and walk straight out of that door primed and ready for the task at hand. Wanting to add more fuel to Eve's growing anger towards the Devil, she then divulges another one of Lucifer`s talents to her.

``I probably should mention, Lucifer also has a way of bringing out people's deepest desires. It's a unique power of his. Once he has someone under his spell, the person normally reveals all of their desires to him or acts on them immediately if they're strong enough. Unfortunately for you, your desire to bite into that apple got the best of you. Honestly though, I don't believe you would have ever done it if it wasn't for him using that God given ability of his.''

Eve`s heart sinks like led within her. Every horrible thing that had ever happened to her had done so only for the sake of another`s amusement.

''You're offering me not only the chance at living outside my confins in hell as well as a new life amongst the living, but also the opportunity to get justice for what wrongs were done unto me and Adam, and all you want in return is for me to do the same thing to Lucifer which he did to me all that time ago? To come between him and his happiness?

``An eye for an eye.``replies Maze with a sinister smile.

``It can't honestly be that simple. Also it still seems like all the gain is mine and you`re to walk away from this arrangement with nothing. What are you keeping from me?''

''Alright, let me tell you a bit about myself and how I ended up here in this moment. A few years back, Lucifer decided that he was bored of ruling Hell, so he went for a little vacation on Earth and he brought me along with him. He began to change, grow vulnerable, weak. He even stopped playing with humans and began working alongside them. Him. The Devil. Having enjoyed himself so much, Lucifer eventually decided that the vacation was going to be permanent, whether I liked it or not. He could have brought me back home at one point, but he chose to keep me there, a prisoner in his new playground. I went through more than my fair share of pain and punishment in that place. It was the closest I ever came to living a type of hell myself, but he didn't notice... no, he did notice, he just didn't care. After years of loyalty, of great work done for him in Hell and even greater sex, he left me to suffer on Earth. That's what thousands of years by his side got me.''

Makizeen takes a moment to calm herself down as her anger begins to spiral out of control. A deep breath and a sigh later, she begins to finish her explanation.

''I originally wanted to ruin his chances at happiness on Earth so he would return home with me, to Hell, but now that I found my own way back - thanks to an angel who recently got his wings back and owed me a favor - I need someone to torment him in my place now that I'm back here in Hell, someone that wants to hurt him just as much as I do, because he still deserves every bit of that punishment I had planned for him and we deserve payback. Also, I figure I'd have a little fun down here while I'm at it; while you'll be keeping him occupied up there, I plan on taking control of things down here and give my own try at ruling Hell. I think that's equal return, don`t you?''

Cold chills pass through Eve's spine at some of the words she just heard. She wonders who this woman - if she is one at all - could possibly be - or have been through - to willingly stay in Hell, let alone try ruling it during its Lord's absence.

''I see. It seems that we've both had our homes taken away from us by the Devil in one way or the other, and both have something truly magnanimous to gain from this arrangement after all. But as far as I can remember, my Eden, your Earth, was left in ashes, destroyed by God's wrath long ago. Are you telling me there are people like us living in that wasteland?''

''Well, I don't know exactly what happened after you and Adam died, but somehow the trees grew back, more humans were born along with thousands more of God's pets. It might not look like this anymore, but it sure as Hell doesn't look like the place after you bit into the apple either. And just so you know, we might have a common enemy, but I'm not 'people like you'. I was created in Hell, a demon sworn to the duty of torturing souls for as long as I remain alive.''

Eve is taken aback with fear for a moment at the idea that she`s face to face with a demon. She did suspect from the beginning that Mazikeen isn`t the same type of being as her when they first met. In the end, it doesn't matter to Eve what Mazikeen is; as much as their appearances do vary, they share just as much similarities along with common goals. This is more than enough reason for the young woman to continue listening to the proposal. She wants out of the hell loop more than she cares to admit and this is the only way out.

''Well, that explains the feet.'' Eve sais, while looking down at Mazikeen's black leather high heeled boots.

It takes a moment for the demon to understand what Eve just said, but the instant she does, she begins to laugh.

''Oh, honey, my feet are just like yours underneath what you see. These are called boots and people wear them to keep their feet from getting hurt while walking on hard surfaces, mostly. Remind me to explain to you what clothes are if you decide to go along with this deal.``

Mazikeen`s amusement then turns to seriousness.

``No.`` she begins, ``This, '' she sais, revealing to Eve her true face, ``is what sets my appearance apart from a human`s.``

The reveal is unexpected and sincerely frightens Eve. Her eyes betray her current sentiment which she tries hard to conceal from Mazikeen. She is reminded of the death and decay that surrounded her in her last moments in Eden before her death. However, she reminds herself, nothing could ever come close to frightening her or devastating her as much as that moment had. She realises then that it isn`t Mazikeen`s appearance that frightens her but the memories it provokes. Aftercoming to this conclusion, she feels that initial fear of the demon's face transform into fearlessness within her. Why fear at all when one has nothing to lose, she thinks.

''It's ok if you're afraid, Mazikeen spoke frankly, I get that a lot''

''I'm sorry. You're true face caught me by surprise, but I'm not afraid.''

''Alright.'' sais Mazikeen, nodding her head in satisfaction, pleasantly surprised by the fact that the world's first woman didn't run away or scream in terror like she initially thought she would. That`s strong stuff, just like Trixie, she caught herself thinking, but quickly buried the thought before it would leave her unfocused.

''What do you say?`` asks Mazikeen to Eve who still walks calmly beside her; they`re nearly at the cell`s door, but Eve is unaware of this. Mazikeen doesn't tell her only because she knows that Eve won`t see it herself until she`s truly ready.

``Do we have a deal? Your escape from Hell and a chance at life again for Lucifer's misery on Earth?''

Eve is silent for a moment. She looks down in thought then lets out a short breath through her nostrils as she smiles wryly. This is it, she thinks quietly to herself. She was going to leave one hell only to enter another with the hopes that she could avenge her loved one. Punishing the one that set the events in motion that lead to Adam`s death by slithering her was between him and his happiness would be her new purpose in life. This time, it was she that would play the part of the serpent, and he, the helpless fool. But she would have to outsmart the Devil himself if she wanted to succeed. This would be no small feat, but she has confidence that it can be done. All she needs to find out is what he desires most, and from there, she would find a way to bring him to his knees.

Eve looks up and answers Mazikeen with confidence.

''Yes. We have an agreement.``

Mazikeen`s eyes are gleaming. A smile stretches beautifully across her face at Eve`s response.

``I do have one last question for you, Mazikeen.'' the young woman asks.

''And what's that?'' replies the demon.

''What makes Lucifer so happy on Earth? Even at its best, Eden didn't seem to interest him beyond destroying the happiness and beauty me and Adam knew within it.''

''It's not what, it's who.'' replied Mazikeen with a crooked smile and a devilish look in her eyes.

SCENE 2

Back in LA,

Lucifer wakes up in his own bed. The sun hasn't yet set, but dusk is only a few hours away.

It's the evening of the shooting. Part of him expected to wake up to the dark landscape of Hell, or again to the scene of his brother Uriel being murdered by his own hands, but he`s comforted to see the familiar surroundings of his bedroom at LUX.

He looks under his sheets and sees that he's free of the blood-soaked suit he wore during the shooting earlier that day; he had been changed into his favorite pair of Egyptian cotton pyjamas bottoms by means of hands other than his own.

His body still aches with pain from the bloody gun butchery. `Doctor's orders. I really shouldn't get out of bed.` he reminds himself as he contemplates getting out of bed. However, laying still isn't an option anymore; his mind is rejuvenated and it feels like it's running a 10k marathon as it processes everything that happened between himself, the detective, Cain and his men. Body's pain be damned, he sits himself up, relinquished the hope that he would have woken up fully healed, and begins the second part to what`s proving to be one of the longest days of his life.

He begins to paces in his bedroom. He catches a glance at his reflection in the mirror and stops to look. He doesn't look that different than he had the day before. His chest was still chiseled and his body, still looking to be in fine shape considering the massacre victim he could have been, were he not immortal. His hair isn't styled, curls out of sorts and hanging over his brow, but this is something he can easily fix.

Still in disbelief that his devil face returned as punishment for having killed Cain, and shocked even more-so that Chloe might have seen it, he tries revealing to himself the face he used to love but was beginning to despise, hoping that it was just a hallucination induced by the pain of having been shot so many times. He breathes in sharply through his nostrils at what he sees. His brow furrows and a look of fury settles in his eyes.

To his greatest discontent, it was no hallucination after all; his devil face truly has returned. This would turn out to be one of the most precarious times he had ever lived, he thought, completely disheartened. After all. if he allows himself to be honest, the only real reason he stayed as long as he had on Earth was to be at detective Decker`s side. If she were to distance herself from him, or worst yet, if she were to run away from the sight of him as did all the other humans who had seen his devil face up to this point, he would no longer have any great reason to remain here in Lux, in LA, or even on Earth.

His eyes burn red in his skull, infuriated by how everything had happened. He also feels frightened, frightened because he knows there's nothing he can do to take away the fact that Chloe had seen his devil face, frightened because her reaction is completely out of his control, and he does not take well so such delicate matters being left to fate.

He had denied her this bit of truth out of fear that it would scare her away from him, or that it would diminish any feelings of love she might feel towards him. He surprises himself as he realises that, oddly enough, the later of those two reasons is his worst-case-scenario. He really had fallen in love with his father`s miracle child after all.

This possible outcome alone, out of all the other lines of logic he had to justify keeping this part of himself concealed from his partner, brings him the most anxiety and makes an aching pain soar vividly through his chest every time he thinks of it. It was a risk he was never willing to take, but now, to make the relationship worst between him and his father, God chose that exact moment to return to him the face he took away.

Lucifer conceals his aspect of the devil, looks up and shouts furiously, ''Was it all some sort of sadistic game, Dad? Taking away my face just so you can give it back while Chloe's was looking?''

He grabs a crystal decanter from the table below the mirror and throws it at the wall across from him with all his strength, making it shatter into thousands of glinting pieces which now lay scattered in a pool of the brown liquor it contained.

He's surprised by the sound of approaching footsteps. He quickly turns towards the doorway to see who it is.

''Knock. Knock.'' sais Linda passively but with an air of caution, having heard his outburst from the other room.

``Well hello, doctor! I thought you had gone home after having helped clean me up.`` he sais with forced enthusiasm and a smile, but he fools noone.

Lucifer looks towards his friend in earnest and sighs, letting go part of the fury he felt moments before along with any pretence that he was in a good mood. But even in a state of upheaval, the devil should still look somewhat composed, he then reminds himself, so he attempts to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary, that he wasn't overwhelmingly distressed over what Chloe had seen of him, that he wasn't still in pain.

He discretely straightens his posture, smiles warmly at his friend and takes a few steps away from the shattered pieces of the decanter, leading her gaze away from its remnants, hoping that not seeing the mess would make Linda forget of his most recent outburst. Despite his best efforts, Lucifer still isn't fooling her.

When she looks at him, she notices his chests rise slightly unevenly as he breathes in. His hair is tousled and his eyes, bloodshot from lack of sleep, from anger, from the pain and the stress he undoubtedly feels over everything he had just lived through with Chloe and Cain.

''How are we doing here?'' Asks Linda with a calm and caring voice, but with a mind filled with uneasiness as she steps over shards of the broken decanter to get closer to her patient and friend; she worries that one wrong step would result in her slipping forwards and onto the injured angel or make a shard lodge itself in one of the openings of her open-toed heels.

Lucifer looks at Linda in silence for a moment, unsure of how he should answer her question. He works through an answer that wouldn't reveal too much of the internal chaos he was feeling, but just enough to satisfy the therapist in her.

''Well, asides from the fact that my body still has a few bullets left to spew out, he starts, turning his back briefly to Linda so she could see the last of the bullet holes that were healing after his encounter with Cain and his thugs, ''I think I'm doing rather well, don't you think?'' he answers with a quaint smile

''So the need to shatter what was probably a really, really, expensive crystal whiskey jar was because you're doing so well?'' she replies sardonically.

``Touché, doctor. But I can't honestly say that my being furious about my fathers actions is something quite out of the ordinary. Otherwise, I promise I'll refrain from breaking anything that might have a higher than average monetary value from now on, if it make you feel more comfortable.``he answers plainly..

Linda frowns. His deflection begins to irritate her.

''You know that's not what I was getting at.''

He does know this, but he's in no mood for a psychological analysis of his condition at the moment, and so, will continue to deflect as long as it takes for Linda to understand that he has no intentions of divulging anything concerning the inner turmoil he`s suffering, fearing that it will only make it worse for him if it were out in the open.

''Yes, well, as much as I appreciate you bringing me back here while brother of mine was off stretching his newly acquired wings, I'm not much in the mood for therapy just yet. But a tall glass of whiskey, that on the other hand, I am in the mood for.''

On that note, he steps away from Linda and begins making his way to the bar. She follows in behind him while keeping a reasonable distance to give him the space he needed.

''You almost died, Lucifer, and protecting Chloe, again -''

''And see, you just answered your own question, Linda. I clearly am fine with all of this because it's something I've done before. I even killed my own brother a few years back in order to save detective Decker from my family drama. This isn't so different, is it?'' he finishes as he pours himself a generous helping of whiskey he retrieved from his personal stash behind the bar.

Linda sighs.

''That might be true on some level, but putting the near-death experience you went through not even a day ago aside, you kept repeating in the car on our way here that Chloe saw your devil face. I don't know how that`s even possible given the fact that your father took it away, or what it all means, but what I do know is how you felt about revealing that part of yourself to Chloe before it was taken from you, and if I'm right, that outburst had more to do with that than it has with the pain you're clearly still in.''

''Did I say that?`` he answered innocently ``I must have been delirious with pain.''

''Oh I don't doubt you were, 'cause at one point you called my car Amenadiel and started yelling at it for flying too slow-''

''You see? I probably would have mistaken you for my mum if I'd been shot a few times more.``

``Ha.`` Linda lets out, looking down towards her feet as she tries to cleanse her mind`s pallet from the seriously negative emotions that came with remembering Lucifer's mother. The thought that he could ever mistake her for the Goddess of all creation that nearly burned her alive leaves her tongue-tied and disgusted for a moment, but she hides it from him well.

''Lucifer,`` Linda began sternly after a brief pause, ``you and I both know that you weren't that out of it yet. Why are you deflecting away from the subject? You can be honest with me, Lucifer. I'm your friend. And you therapist.'' she adds in response to the walls he was creating between them and the issue at hand, all while refilling a small glass of bourbon she had started while he was asleep.

Lucifer gulps a large sip of his whiskey, reflecting silently on what he could possibly say to avoid giving Linda the answer she's waiting for and merits. By the time he finishes swallowing the drink, he realises that there would be no more dancing around the subject, especially not with the good doctor being on high alert. With this concluded, he takes a deep breath and decides to throw the doctor a bone;

''You know at first, I didn't even realise that my devil face had come back. I thought detective Decker was in shock because I had just killed her ex finacé... but then I saw my reflection in a pool of Cain's blood.``

A moment of silence passes before he finished what he has to say as he indulged in another sip of his drink.

``By the time I looked up again, she had already gone up the stairs and away from sight.''

Linda is taken aback, not only by his candidness, but also because she always expected Chloe to react better than she had the first time she saw Lucifer's devil face.

Linda needs a moment to figure out how she can possibly comfort her friend, all while channeling the objectiveness she manages so well with her patients. She stalls by helping herself to some more of her bourbon. She can't help notice in this moment that despite all the pain she knows he must be feeling, if someone who didn't know him were to take a glance at him now, he or she would find that Lucifer stands tall, well composed and radiates with masculine elegance. That along with the fact that if she continues to stall and give herself time to think of what to say by taking long sips of her bourbon she would soon be drunk before she could truly manage to help her friend.

Can there really be a balance between the roles of friend and therapist at a time like this, she wonders. Lucifer nearly died, protecting the first person he's ever loved, and again, at that too. He kills a man, and only out of self defense given the amount of bullets he took, but nevertheless he broke Angel Law. His devil face is returned to him - a reflection of his guilt, maybe - and now he faces the possibility that the woman for whom he did it all, that the woman he's fallen in love with so sincerely not only rejects him, but fears him as well? What could she possibly say that could make him feel any better, she wonders.

If she was going to figure out how to remedy the situation and help her friend get back onto his feet - emotionally more so than physically - she had to think of something and quickly. She knows the longer she sits quietly sipping on her drink, the more the window of opportunity to say anything about it closes.

''You know,`` she starts through savored sips of her drink, ``it took me some time to deal with the reality that you're the devil at first, but I'm still here now. '' she decides to remind him in an effort to keep the door open as long as she can.

''Yes, you are, and I'm eternally grateful for it, Linda.''

Spoken with sincerity, this gives Linda hope that she might still be able to make headway. Sincerity in such conversations between them was usually a tell-tale sign of movement in the right direction. Alas, then comes his next response, making her doubt that any progress would be made at all on the subject of his fears about Chloe's reaction.

''Speaking of which, if it hadn't been for you dear doctor, arriving so quickly after I gave you that ring, I probably would have passed out on the side of the street giving the cops and EMTs a chance at having their way with me. Fun things aside, we both know that letting humanity have a piece of divinity in their possession wasn't an option, don`t we?''

She sighs, letting her shoulders slump with discouragement. He doesn't take notice of it. He's deflecting again, Linda thinks, but realises that pushing the issue right now would probably make things worse for Lucifer than they already are. Linda takes another sip of her bourbon and decides to go with the change of subject for Lucifer`s sake. Truth be told, she had also miscalculated the amount of bourbon she could drink before it would start to affect her; Linda`s mind at this point is far too relaxed to continue a cunning game of mental chess with the Devil; she had gotten a few pieces but he just won the game.

''Speaking of divinity, how are your wings? Last I saw them, they were so mangled you could barely bring them into your back to get into my car. Wouldn't it be better if you just… let them breathe? I mean, won't they get infected or something if you keep them inside you when you're still healing?''

Lucifer lets out a wry laugh at the mention of any part of him getting infected, but he wasn't in disagreement that letting his wings out would probably help hasten the healing process.

''Well,`` he starts, ``now that Chloe isn't around, I think it safe to say that getting any sort of infection isn't a risk. This being said, I think it might actually help if I let them ''breathe'' a little, as you said. Bloody things... I swear, if Mazikeen hadn't been off playing fetch with felons somewhere, I'd have her cut them off right here without a moment's wait... Say, Linda, you wouldn't mind - ''

''Yes, I would. We`ve had this discussion before.'' she cut in, secretly repulsed that her friend would mutilate himself this way, and just to spite his father, no less.

''I told you I would never help you do this to yourself before and my answer still hasn't changed.''

Lucifer sighs, discouraged, although not entirely surprised by her answer.

''I might recall you having said something along those lines once or twice before. I suppose they would just end up growing back my tomorrow morning anyway.''

And with this said, he takes a few steps away from the bar, closes his eyes and focused on liberating his wings from confinement.

Unevenly and painfully, they stretch out from between his shoulder blades, leaving an alarming amount of bullets to fall free from between their feathers in the process. One fell, two, then three and eventually, by the time his wings had fully extended, there were more bullets on the floor than Linda could count.

''Oh- my God.'' She cries out under her breath without thinking, shocked by how many times Lucifer had actually been shot, to the point that tears begin to fill her eyes.

''Normally, I would object to someone bringing up my father's name in such a way, however, in this particular situation, I think he really does have something to answer for.'' he says with complete disregard to the copious amounts bullets or irreparably damaged crimson-stained feathers that had just fallen onto the floor around him.

Linda doesn't hear his comment. She's too focused on the fact that close to three dozen bullets just fell at his feet. A white, blood soaked feather gently falls onto her lap as he lowers his wings. Attempting to hold back the tears she feels coming, she looks up, takes a deep breath and gathers her wits before speaking.

''Lucifer, you could have died. For real this time.''

''Yes, I thought I made myself abundantly clear of that when I called you asking for help.''

''No you didn`t. You just said Cain was dead, you got shot a few times and you needed help getting back to your home before the cops and EMTs got to you. Lucifer, this isn't just a few bullets. This is a whole lot of bullets. The worst part is that I know you felt every, single, one of them.''

Quick to make light of things, Lucifer replies with a light tone and a smile on his face, ''You forget I'm immortal, my dear. No need to worry, really. If I've learned anything from this situation it's that after a certain number of bullets taken in detective Decker's presence, I tend to heal far slower than I normally do even after I remove myself to a safe distance. Just another reason why I'm so grateful you came when you did, Linda. I still can't thank you enough.`` he says, a smile beaming as he places a gentle, consoling hand on her shoulder.

``Without you,`` he concludes, ``who knows what would have happened to me? I mean honestly, what good are wings if I can't fly myself out of a criminal infested building once the adrenaline that comes from saving the one you love wears off, am I right?''

Lucifer realises what he just said only a moment too late. He desperately wants to say something that will distract Linda from his profession of love, but the damage is already done and he knows it; he knows this isn't a subject she would drop easily after almost a year of having slowly and carefully tried to pry the words out of him.

''Lucifer, you just admitted that you love Chloe.'' she tells him with a tone of excitement and surprise.

He sighs, unpleased with his own lack of tact.

''I suppose I did.''

Linda`s surprised that he finally said it. She knew Lucifer loved her even before he was ready to admit his feelings for her were anything other than carnal fascination. But there it was, heard as clear as day. Any doubts Linda might have had that Lucifer had indeed fallen in love with Chloe are finally put to rest.

As happy as part of her is, elated that he was finally able to be honest with himself about how he felt about Chloe, another part of her is distraught; after everything he had done for this woman over the last three years, there's now a possibility that she won't be able to cope with the fact that Lucifer is who he is. Linda knows that this would leave him heartbroken, and by his first love, no less. If she's honest with herself in turn, having to deal with a heartbroken devil is something that worries her a great deal. He can be reckless enough as it is, she thinks to herself. Take away the reason he became more human, more kind, more careful and considerate overtime and what recipe for disaster does this leave humanity with? Cold shivers run down her spine at the thought of what hellish aftermath the Devil would incite if Chloe were to truly break his heart.

Before her thoughts evolved further on that negative note, Linda walks up to her friend and takes a closer look at the damage his wings sustained. She approaches him much in the way a person would approach a wounded, wild animal, afraid that he'd lash out at her, sensitive as he was about his wings already without her inspection of them.

She wants to pry. She wants to ask him more questions about how he came to the realisation that what he feels for Chloe is truly love, but she knows that he didn't say it intentionally. He was already in enough pain, so she holds her tongue in spite of her curiosity and hopes this helps ease the suffering she imagines both his mind and his body are still enduring from the entire ordeal.

''Do you mind if I - '' she hints at his wings, at a loss for words, carefully choosing her steps between bullets and bloody feathers as she moves closer towards him.

''Not at all, doctor. Please, take a gander. And the offer still stands; if you spontaneously have a change of heart while you`re back there just let me know and I'll go fetch one of Mazikeen's demon blades from the toy chest… I'm sure she left one behind somewhere.''

Linda laughs sardonically.

''Not a hope in Hell.'' she replies.

Lucifer stands still, glass of whiskey still in hand as Linda examines his wings. She tries hard to suppress a gasp. She`s mortified as she realises that the bullets on the floor were only part of the real number that his body had taken in; some of the bullets were still slowly being rejected by his body.

Tiny little scars remain where the most recent bullets were expelled from his body. Multiple small patches of skin are visible on his wings where there ought to be feathers. In others, new feathers had already started to grow. Those remaining are as lustrously white as midwinter`s fresh snow, showing no signs of being soaked with his blood as did those which fell on the floor when he first liberated his wings.

She moves her hand towards a place over one of his wings were she can see a small part of a bullet that was in the process of being cast out of his body. Part of her is fascinated by his ability to heal as fast as he did, while the other is repulsed; she couldn't help feel a bitter mixture of hatred and disgust at those who would attempt to butcher such a magnificent, divine creature in this way, Devil or not.

''See anything interesting back there, doctor?'' asks Lucifer, startling Linda who was deep in thought.

She quickly brings her hand back to her side and reminds him of how lucky he is that he isn't human.

Lucifer slowly turns to face Linda.

In a serious tone, he tells her, ''I'm beginning to wonder if things wouldn't be better, or simpler, at least, if I was only human.''

''Then you would be dead, and it wouldn't matter if Chloe had seen your devil face or not.''she responds with a sternness he wasn`t expecting.

''I suppose you're right.'' he agrees, but the faint smile he wears on his lips can't hide the look of dismay that`s carried in his eyes.

Lucifer takes another sip of his whiskey, finishing his glass and remains in silence, contemplating many things he doesn't dare share with Linda. Finally, he walks towards the window wall and takes in a panoramic view of LA`s nightscape, leaving Linda alone to finish her bourbon as she stood and contemplated a world of things behind him.