This was supposed to be Chloe and Lucifer having their chat after Endymion left, but I am having a really hard time writing this. A lot harder than I expected, so much to my own annoyance this is again shorter than I normally allow.

Enjoy.


"What was I thinking!" Lucifer snarled. It took all of his self control to not throw his glass at the nearby wall.

It was a good question, what had he been thinking yesterday? Why did he ask the detective to come over today? It wasn't like she could possibly understand what he'd done, she wouldn't even believe him being the devil.

What could he possibly say to make her understand he killed his angelic little brother?

He didn't have long left until the detective arrived. He hoped she would forget and not show up, but this was the Chloe. She would be here either on the dot or right after. There was no escaping this one.

Lucifer's frayed nerves had at last reached their breaking point. He was seconds from smashing the glass against the the bar of his penthouse but the sound stopped him.

His head whipped about to follow the source and found somebody was sitting at his private piano playing.

Lucifer opened his mouth to demand this intruder identify himself when his mind caught up with his ears. Many times Lucifer had played on this instrument, many songs had been played on its keys by his skilled fingers.

Even in his current emotional state, Lucifer had to appreciate talent.

The music was quiet, with an almost haunting beauty to it. Lucifer didn't have a clue how, but hearing it was already making him calm down somewhat. Before he even realized it, Lucifer's body was relaxing as the notes continued to play.

With some of the turmoil abated, Lucifer took a good look at the man sitting at his piano. At first he didn't seem all that special, save the long dark coat. But even it wasn't anything that weird in L.A.

Once Lucifer got a good look at his neck, the former ruler of Hell knew this man wasn't quite right. There were various symbols and glyphs covering the skin. Judging by the pattern, they continued further down but were concealed by the coat. These were not simple tattoos either, Lucifer had seen more than enough to recognize when something was branded into flesh. All it took was one look for Lucifer to know the markings were supernatural in origin but it was impossible to tell just what they were meant for.

Just as suddenly as it began, the soothing notes of the piano stopped.

"My thanks for not interrupting." The player spoke at last. "It has been centuries since I was allowed to play. The Dikorak requiem is usually only played once every hundred years with the passing of an elder. It is supposed to be performed by the next of kin but I am sure Uriel would understand the sentiment."

At the mention of his slain brother, Lucifer felt his unease reform into rage at this man's audacity. He was just about to yell at him for talking about Uriel but when the stranger spun around on the bench to face Lucifer, even the Prince of Darkness was caught off guard.

Lucifer had seen much while Lord of Hell, very little was capable of genuinely surprising him these days. But the pair of eyes now staring right at him definitely did so. The irises seemed to shine like polished silver, and this was no trick of the light either. His eyes were actually silver colored. Did such a thing exist in his father's creation?

"Sorry for my manners." The stranger rose from his seat, in the process revealing what looked suspiciously like armor beneath that coat. "I haven't been around sentient people in some time. Most usually call me The Traveler, but you can call me Endymion."

Lucifer shook the outstretched hand, but he was too caught off guard to voice his thoughts for a minute.

"Who in the blazes are you?" Lucifer finally got his mind back together. " And what are you doing in my penthouse? Did father send you?"

After the debacle that was Uriel, Lucifer really hoped his dear old dad didn't inspire another 'messenger' to come after him and the people around him. Lucifer didn't know if he could endure another of his brothers or sisters coming for another round.

Endymion said something Lucifer didn't understand. It was words, sarcastic if the tone was any indication, but the language was most certainly not anything made by humans. Lucifer was about to question it but Endymion switched back to common English. "No, I'm here of my own volition and it has nothing to do with your family. I'm fairly certain they'd be shaking in their boots if they knew a magi was on Earth."

"A what?"

"Not important." Endymion deflected. "I'm actually here to help you." Lucifer was about ready to counter but Endymion didn't allow him to. "If you say one word that sounds like 'I don't need any help', I swear to the deep lords I will punch you."

"Do you have any idea..."

"That you're the devil? Of course, and I'm not afraid of your father in the least bit, do you really think I'd be afraid of you? Anyway, even you need help sometimes. And no you don't get a choice in the matter because you're the one responsible."

"I had no choi..."

"I'm not talking about what happened with Uriel, that was unavoidable." Lucifer was growing severely agitated about being interrupted so many times. The only one he would even remotely tolerate that from was Chloe...

Damn!

Lucifer had completely forgotten about the detective coming over to Lux imminently. She could be in the elevator right now for all he knew, and Lucifer still had no clue what to say to her.

"We still have a bit until she arrives so relax." Endymion reassured. "Look, I'm going to level with you here, you changed things. For better or worse, remains to be seen."

"Changed what?" Lucifer was growing more and more tired of his cryptic guest by the minute.

"Would you believe me if I told you that you were not supposed to invite Chloe to Lux today? You were supposed to go to Dr. Linda like Chloe suggested. At that meeting you two would finally reach a breaking point about all the 'metaphors' and you would reveal to her your true face. More than that, I won't say."

Once more Lucifer was dumbstruck.

"Endymion continued on, completely unperturbed. "You are having a crisis, that's why I am here. You need to trust the detective, even if every part of you screams you shouldn't, you need to. Don't reveal everything at once of course, but open up further.

"But she'll never understand." What did Lucifer really have to lose by listening to a stranger at this point? He couldn't be more screwed than he already was.

"People always say that." Endymion looked out the window at the nearby L.A. skyline. "Until they try, then they realize they were wrong. She will understand far more than you think she will. And before you finish the thought, no she isn't going to just abandon you because of what happened with Uriel. I bet you won't even have to tell her everything. Just the main details, I'd skip out on the why though. She may not even care."

"She's an L.A. detective." Lucifer deadpanned. "If I tell her I killed someone there would be all kinds of problems." Chloe may believe in bending the rules slightly when necessary, but some things not even she could let slide.

"Do you really think you're the only person this ordeal is tearing apart?" Endymion turned to face Lucifer again, his gaze making even the devil himself whither beneath it. "She has tears of her own to shed, just for another reason."

"Like she has much to weep about."

"Really?" Endymion pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're not the only one in pain, but your agony is Chloe's agony. Whether either of you like it or not."

Endymion's advice was not doing much to alleviate Lucifer's worries. But it didn't matter, he was going to have to figure something out.

Lucifer had plenty more to both say and ask, but Endymion looked off to the side. As if he could hear something Lucifer couldn't. "Chloe has tripped the wards I set on the doors of Lux. You have until she rides up the elevator."

Wait... what?

"Remember what I said." Endymion stepped out the door onto the balcony that housed Lucifer's pool. "I cannot make you do or say anything. Rest assured, I have not yet begun to guide you."

At this, Endymion jumped over the railing.

Lucifer dashed over the the edge but when he arrived, there was no sign of Endymion. It was like he vanished the moment he was out of eyesight.

Whatever puzzle that was The Traveler, Endymion, it was going to have to wait. Lucifer had just heard the door of the elevator open.

Steeling himself, the devil turned around.


Next chapter will definitely be out favorite pair's talk. As soon as I figure out how to do it. I literally spent three hours on their discussion that was going to be at the end of this chapter and got nowhere. So I'm pushing it to the next chapter.

To know more about Endymion, go read my other traveler stories. Either that or wait, more about his character gets explained as the story goes.

As always suggestions are very welcome, writing Lucifer is proving to be harder than I thought. Reviews\comments help immeasurably in this regard too.