Stating the Obvious: The following fanfic is a sequel to "Second Chances".
Disclaimer: I have no right over the Prophecy franchise, the movies, the characters and whatnot. Nor am I versed in the mythology of the movies as a whole.
Author's Note: Ah, this chapter. This chapter. Kills me. Just kills me. It's odd how an already dead character makes me just want to...pinch cheeks. Sigh. And there I am again. Being odd. I'm sorry if this chapter comes a little late, especially since I already have the rest of the story planned out, but see, I don't like to release chapters so quickly because I re-read them a lot before uploading them, I add to it, I spellcheck (and yet some errors still slip by...sigh) and I think of other scenes that can go between. So, yes, not doing this on purpose...just giving myself a chance to improve the story :-) enjoy!
Chapter 9. Leah's Last Words
Allison wonders if her schizophrenia had been meant to be a curse, hell's parting gift after choosing her family as their treasured tragedy, or had it been meant to be a gift, one that allowed her the destiny of being the pawn of so many?
But a gift to whom? Not her.
She wouldn't have chosen this for herself – not even she is that self-sacrificing.
She was born into this, pushed onto the path, and now there's no turning back.
She follows Joseph into an electronics store, constantly looking around, waiting for someone to jump out from somewhere, someone like Belial or Stark or...John.
She closes her eyes, forcing herself not to think about it. Now is not the time. She has to help Joseph, to find Emma. Not because Gabriel told her to – it's never about who tells her what to do – but because it's the right thing to do.
Whatever the game is, whatever the end result may be, she knows which side she's on...humanity's side.
"Hey, Joseph, man, how's it going?" The clerk at the help desk is smiling as Joseph approaches, "I was wondering when I'd see you."
"Why's that?" Joseph is leaning on the counter, casually – he's obviously familiar with the clerk, so Allison doesn't really question it.
"Well, Leah's new laptop. Wait for me here, I have to go out back for it. We've been trying to call her, but we figured we could hold it for her, no big deal," the clerk smiles as if he's completely unaware of the meaning behind his words.
Allison and Joseph exchange glances. It's like Allison thought. Leah must've known they were looking for them and she must've kept Joseph in the dark...enough for him to not be instantly killed by them, but he had still been mislead, used.
She wonders, though...how did Joseph survive? They could've killed them both, but they didn't. They erased his memory. Why?
Something hasn't been making sense from the beginning.
Why go through all the trouble of having someone tortured, then leading them to suicide, when they could've just killed him, alongside his wife?
What are you up to, John?
"Here it is," the clerk brings back a black, sleek laptop, and Joseph looks at it, his expression a blank one, which doesn't tell Allison much, but she doesn't think...well, it doesn't look like it belonged to the Leah that she had seen in pictures. Maybe it's a work laptop. "When did Leah give you this?"
"Oh, almost a month ago. Let me check," the boy types a few keys into his computer and reads out the date. Joseph's face is pale, but he composes himself quickly enough. Allison wants to ask him what's wrong, but not here, not now.
"She had already paid for it, too. There wasn't anything wrong with it. I mean, I didn't look through it or anything...we did our usual virus scans, checked the hardware, made sure it was running good, performance-wise. She just asked us to hold on to it until you could come and get it for her. How's is she doing, by the way?" Off Joseph's blank look, the clerk continues, eyebrow quirked, "Is she back from visiting her cousin?"
Allison can see Joseph is about to break, about to lose his composure, but he is, surprisingly, keeping a rein on it.
Hold on just a little while longer...don't let loose on the kid.
"Which cousin?" Allison nears the desk, trying to smile, "It's a big family, there's lots of cousins."
The clerk looks at Joseph expecting him to respond, but then decides to respond for him, his smile a little too flirty for Allison's taste as he touches his hand to the counter, "Oh, you know, one of them. You know, come to think of it, I learned more about Leah that day than I have in all the times she came in complaining about her laptop – that's how I knew this was a new one. She kept telling me something about picking up her sister from this party up on Morning Star Hill, then they were going to visit their cousin...Allison!" He slaps his hand down on the counter, "that's the cousin's name, Allison. Yeah, they were going to see this really awesome tree. Something about it having a cool story but the terrain was dangerous or something. I thought she was pulling my leg, man, but she looked so happy. When I asked if you were going, man, she said no. She wouldn't let you go anywhere near that place. See, I asked her if she thought you weren't tough enough to handle it, but she said that wasn't it. She just wanted you safe. Then I told her, come on, have you seen the size of that man? A blizzard couldn't knock him down. Okay, what the hell, man, why aren't you laughing? Hey, Joseph, did I, wait!"
Allison watches as Joseph walks away. She can't follow him. Not then. She closes her eyes.
This is what happens when you get involved in the world of angels...you get caught in their web. Everything becomes a game, where someone knows everything, and you know only what they need you to know when they need you to know it.
"Did I say something wrong?" The clerk looks concerned now – genuinely concerned.
"Leah's passed away...recently." Off his shocked gaze, she forces a smile, not wanting to say too much, but needing to say it just the same. "I'm a friend of the family. I'm not her cousin, but I think...I think I would've liked to have been. I'm sorry, I have to go. Can I have the laptop...?"
The guy's face is as pale as Joseph's had been, "Uh, yeah, sure. I'm sorry. I didn't know. How did it happen?"
Allison takes the laptop, holding it close to her chest, sensing something around it...something that had been meant for her. "A car accident," she murmurs, though inside, she knows it was more than that.
Allison turns to chase after Joseph. When she steps out of the store, she sees him with his head against the wall. She notices red smudges on the wall and then looks at his hands. His knuckles.
"No hospital," he mutters through gritted teeth.
"Fine...just...let me drive, please," she waits till he places his keys on her hand and then hands him over the laptop. They both get in and she drives back to his apartment where he's mentioned he has a first aid kit. They can start working on his hands and then the laptop.
Clearly, Leah knew she was going to die, but instead of stopping it, instead of asking Joseph for help and bringing him down with her in her final moment, she set in motion a plan, one that would lead Joseph to Emma, with Allison's help. Allison doesn't know how Leah knew her name, how she even knew what to leave behind, if Joseph would even follow it, but one thing she knows without question.
Leah loved her husband.
The clerk had said, She just wanted you safe.
Leah had wanted him safe and Allison had been there to hear her final message.
She doesn't know how, but somehow, she has to keep Joseph alive.
For Leah.
"Lucifer, we have a problem." Lilith walks into the library again, and he's standing away from his desk, looking at the starlit sky through the window.
He loves this place – well, love is too strong a word – but in this mansion, rituals were performed, people were sacrificed, some were even eaten alive and the ghosts of the dead still remain, haunting any family, any one person who walks in. It's like surrounding himself with flowers that he himself sent.
But, Emma, oh, curious Emma, is impervious to such things.
"We often do." He turns from the window and almost cracks a smile – almost – when he sees Lilith wearing an apron. "I never thought I'd find humor in the term hell froze over. "
"Max," she says his name with distaste, and he knows she means Mephistopheles, "convinced the mortal girl that I'm some sort of culinary genius."
"And you went along with it?" He quirks a brow.
"Well, I was intrigued. I am not without a skill set. However, when the faucets keep pouring out blood instead of water...while I'm all for blood and gore, it doesn't go well in a beef bourguignon." Lilith throws herself on the nearest lounge chair, crossing her legs. "This place is ridiculous and that child is impossible. I've even tried to use my charm on her," off John's amused look, she glares. "Oh, why don't you try it, great serpent?"
"It doesn't interest me. Besides, Mephistopheles loves a challenge. He will win her favor, in time," he walks around the desk, standing on the opposite side, leaning back on it with his arms crossed.
"And here I thought you passed on her to avoid trouble with the missus," her smile is purely wicked and John would've applauded the insult, had he not been the creature that he is.
"Careful, Lilith, it's not that time yet," he murmurs.
She smiles, a kind of smile that he himself understands. She moves to stand, untying the apron before she lets it fall to her feet. She moves to remove her blazer next, then her pants, her hands working on her belt, pulling down the zipper, letting it fall, until she's standing there with nothing but a thong and a red buttoned blouse.
"But could you, Lucifer? If not her, could you take me? Could you prove yourself to be what we know you to be," she takes a step forward, "our prince," and another, "worthy to replace even Him," and another, "king of all kings," and another, "master of us all." Until they're face to face. "If you won't take the mortal, then, surely, you could prove me wrong by taking me. I am willing, Lucifer. Take me."
She inches her face close to his, waiting. He moves his hands, cupping her face tenderly, and she closes her eyes, ready to close the distance.
That's when the pain hits her full force. She can't even scream. Her voice – all of her senses – are gone and replaced only by one.
She falls to the ground – she doesn't really have a choice, as gravity does the task for her – and she can only shake, barely able to move away or fight back, as there is nothing to fight.
So much pain.
When it stops, she's curled on the floor, gasping for air. Once she stops shaking, her eyes open and sees him, crouched next to her, his face utterly calm.
"You have always been one of my favorites, Lilith...such a great talent. Don't waste it. It's embarrassing." He throws a handkerchief at her face and when she pulls it away, she sees the hints of red. Her nose is bleeding.
"Lucifer, when the time comes..." He knows she has tested him, granted him one more chance to change his mind. He has failed.
The look of determination on his face answers her question before he even speaks, "I look forward to it. Until then, do as you're told."
And she smiles.
She always smiles, John knows.
They have much in common, Lilith and him. She forsook her place in His paradise for equality, to prove she was equal, if not better, to man. He forsook his place in heaven for something similar, yet something much greater.
It's only fair for it all to end this way.
He's chosen well.
After thought: I honestly love how a character, even in death, can make an appearance that'll surprise anyone. I mean, wow. Even I didn't see that coming (but, shhh, she didn't do it on her own). Anyway, hate? Love? I was sooo tempted to let Lilith have her way with John but I realized he wouldn't have done it...even if he could've done it. It would've been easy, really, to turn off his emotions and go wham-bam-goodbye, but even I re-read my stories from time to time (while at work, if it's particularly slow and I'm running low on caffeine, reading between tasks keeps me awake and thinking) and something about John in these stories has gotten me. He's not a lust bucket. He's just drawn to Allison. Why? Really. If I have to answer that for you, you need to watch the Prophecy Uprising (the final scene, please, thank you) and then Prophecy the Forsaken (the scene when she asks for his help and the park scene). Watch them and then tell me what you think :-)