Constantine checked on Lucifer and swore. Instead of throwing the flare he'd just activated, he conjured another circle of light with it. Once that was done, he started a different spell.

He waved his arms in circles while he spoke — well, shouted — a long Latin chant. Partway through, his eyes started glowing. Not the warm glow, nor even harsh light of Lucifer's wings, but instead the glow of hot embers. A fiery sigil appeared on his forehead as the spell progressed. The sigil unfolded itself into twisting lines of fire in front of Constantine, moving closer toward the portal. As the twisting lines expanded, they formed into an equal and opposite portal that seemed to suck the souls back in.

"What is that?" Chloe asked.

"Portal to Hell," Constantine answered. "I'm holding on to a loop here, so this won't hold long. I hope your boyfriend isn't out of tricks yet."

With the flow of souls redirected, the press of shadows around Lucifer had lightened. He was visible again, crouching on one knee. He leaned on the rod to keep upright. Slowly, he spread his wings. Their faint glow was barely strong enough to pierce the dark mass around them.

Then that glow intensified, spreading the same kind of harsh light that had come from the rod. Soon the light was breaking through the souls gathered around Lucifer with ease. They seemed to be recoiling from it now, no longer so eager to destroy themselves. Lucifer spread his wings wide, encompassing all of the souls within his reach.

"You might want to look away," Constantine said, but Chloe couldn't tear her eyes from the sight. The light that emanated from Lucifer's wings was still brightening. The dark stains on his feathers were bleached out by the glare. Chloe squinted.

Looking into that light felt strange. Like the light went straight through her, exposing all her flaws. Every wrong step, every erroneous decision came back to her. Could Chloe have done better? She should never have done Hot Tub High School. It had only made her a bigger target for paparazzi and made it so much harder to build any credibility as a police officer. Her credibility problems had both led to the Palmetto disaster and made the aftermath worse. And if she hadn't accused Malcolm or looked deeper into Pierce's past… Trixie would have been safer, would never have been stripped of her innocence so soon.

But these thoughts were silly. – Filming Hot Tub High Schoolhad just been some money at the time, and ultimately it was a harmless piece of fun to watch. Even if she didn't have fun filming it, there had been no way to know that beforehand. Malcolm had been guilty. Not accusing him would only have made things worse and might still have exposed Trixie to harm as Graham would have used both her and her daughter to get to Dan. Pierce had been her superior, someone she was supposed to trust, was encouraged to trust by the organization they both served. That he had misled her was on him, not her.

No, whatever judgment she might be offered, Chloe would take responsibility for her actions. She had always done what she felt was right, with the knowledge she had at the time. She could protect everyone best like that.

The light from Lucifer's wings was changing. It was still bright enough to hurt, but it was no longer so harsh. Instead it became warmer, welcoming and beautiful. Like sunlight on a clear winter morning. The souls around Lucifer were as drawn by this light as Chloe's gaze was. Even as Constantine's portal thinned the flow, those souls that remained were flooding toward Lucifer faster than ever.

Lucifer couldn't stay upright any longer. He dropped the rod and used his hands to keep his torso off the floor. Still, his wings gave off their light

The black mass that had been spewing souls faded and collapsed in on itself. The last souls expelled were quickly sucked into Constantine's fiery portal, which closed when Constantine dropped his spell. "Bloody hell." He walked over to the original portal and checked the spot, surprise on his face. "That shouldn't have worked this well."

With no more souls coming in to replenish those dissolved by the light, Lucifer was soon no longer overrun. He lay on the floor, wings spread wide. Chloe went to him as fast as her legs could carry her.

Lucifer was getting back to his knees and using the piece of scaffolding to push himself up further. His wings were still spread wide across the floor, a faintly glowing carpet of feathers. The stains on them were gone. Lucifer paused when Chloe halted before him, leaving him kneeling at her feet. He looked up at her, and she could see tears in his eyes. But he smiled at her anyway.

"Are you OK?" Chloe asked as she held out a hand.

Lucifer considered the extended hand for a few moments before taking it. As Chloe pulled him upright, his wings first folded back, then disappeared. "As well as can be expected, given the circumstances." He gave her a close look. "And you, Detective?"

"I just stood there and watched, Lucifer. Nothing even came close. I'm fine." Lucifer straightened his clothes, still looking more than a little pensive. "You don't look OK."

"I'm fine, Detective. It's just…." Lucifer took a deep breath. "In all the centuries in Hell, no one ever thanked me for anything. Every one of those souls was thankful, even as they dissolved into oblivion." He blinked a few times and ran a hand through his hair. "It's a little overwhelming."

Lucifer looked over at where Constantine was still studying the spot where the portal had been. "And it looks like we're not done yet."

Chloe joined Constantine. Behind her, Lucifer picked up the piece of scaffolding before he followed her.

With the portal closed, Constantine seemed to be studying a patch of bare concrete. "Is it over?" Chloe asked.

"No," said Constantine and Lucifer together. Constantine shot a look at Lucifer, then continued. "Can't close one hole with another. I did nothing that could close this one yet." He gestured at the spot where the portal had been. There was nothing to see.. Then again, Chloe hadn't seen anything at the hospital, either. "Those souls didn't stop coming because of what I did. Whoever or whatever was sending these souls through from Hell stopped the flow." He shook his head. "This'll start again at some point."

"Can you close it?" Chloe wondered. "Like at the hospital?"

Constantine checked his pockets and bag, pulling out four flares. He grimaced. "I can paper over the crack." He gestured behind him, implying the hospital. "This afternoon, that was enough. But so much came through here, this isn't a weak spot any more. It's a proper hole." He shook his head, then looked at Lucifer sideways. "And whatever I do from this end, it'll stay a hole."

Lucifer looked Constantine straight in the eye. "No." He shook a finger at Constantine for emphasis. "Never, John."

Chloe felt like she was missing part of this conversation. "What?"

"John is suggesting that the best way to close this breach is to close it from the other side," Lucifer explained.

Go to Hell, was what Constantine had suggested, then. And from Lucifer's response.… "No, no way." She was just starting to get to grips with all the crazy that had been going on around her — well, around Lucifer. And now he had to leave? That wasn't fair.

Lucifer blinked in surprise at her words. Then his eyes softened and his lips turned upward in the slightest of smiles. "I didn't know you still cared, Detective."

"Of course I care, Lucifer. Or I wouldn't be here." Chloe turned back to Constantine. "There must be another way."

Constantine looked from her to Lucifer and back. "Brilliant. We all care for each other. It's love and sunlight and kisses and whatnot." He swept out an arm over the location of the portal. "But when these things start coming out again, there's not going to be much left to care about."

Lucifer looked from Chloe to Constantine, his expression turning to thunder. He remained silent for a long time, but Chloe saw his eyes moving from her to the location of the portal, to Constantine, to the door, and finally the ceiling. The anger faded from his expression. Instead, he looked pensive. Lucifer thinking things through… now that was a new thing. "Lucifer, if you tell us what's going on in your head, maybe we can help."

Lucifer's eyes went to her and stayed on her. He looked her over from head to toe and back. His expression changed again. His shoulders twitched back, then dropped. He took a breath. "John… has a point." His eyes still didn't leave Chloe, but he gestured at the portal with his free hand. "This is just a respite. If we don't stop this, more souls will come through. They might have been contained here so far, but they won't stay that way indefinitely."

"How many can come through, anyway? Isn't there a way we could contain them here?"

"We could park him right here forever," Constantine butted in while gesturing at Lucifer. "That might work."

Lucifer winced at the suggestion. Chloe shook her head. "That's not an option either, Constantine." She turned back to Lucifer. "What would happen if we left the portal unchecked?"

Lucifer put one end of the metal bar he was still holding on the ground, then leaned on it as if he were a knight, resting on a sword after a battle. He sighed. "Reese warned me. He was offered his freedom on the condition that he would summon a demon when he got out. That means that in the best case, a soul gets through, finds a body quickly and manages to summon the demon sending them. That puts a demon on earth, unchecked."

"Right." Long before Chloe realized how deep this rabbit hole went, she'd been in pursuit of one rabbit that couldn't be called white by any stretch of the imagination: the demon that had been stalking Constantine and butchering people left and right. Such a bloody scenario didn't bear repetition. "So what's the worst case?"

"None of the souls coming through manages to summon the demon, and more and more souls come through. Eventually they'll get out and start taking bodies."

"Killing people."

"Yes."

Death either way. Chloe didn't see much to prefer in either scenario. But she didn't want Lucifer to leave, either. "So that hole needs to close. And you have to do it?" If there was really no other way out, then….

Constantine was studying her face almost as intently as Lucifer was. Eventually, he, too sighed. "Someone has to go to Hell and close this thing." Another pause. "I can get myself pulled down there, do what I can." He grimaced. "Look at me, volunteering."

Lucifer snorted. "And what are you going to do once you get there, John?" He held up a hand to forestall Constantine's reply. "I don't doubt your ability to create a ruckus among the higher level demons. You've done that plenty before."

Now he turned toward Constantine. "But once you're in Hell, you lose your biggest bargaining chip." Lucifer gestured to the portal. "And if you're, ah, tied up with that, this hole still won't be closed."

He faced Chloe again. "I can close this hole, find the demon responsible and deal with them." He smiled, but there wasn't any humor in it. "I'll be back before you even notice." He held up a finger. "And I might have help. One second."

He dug out his phone and hit a quick-dial button. "Maze? If you still want to go back to Hell…."

Lucifer trailed off and held the phone away from his ear. Chloe could hear Maze shouting through the speaker, although she couldn't get the exact words. Some profanity seemed to be involved.

Lucifer put the phone back to his hear "Yes, all right Maze, I understand. Please just… take care, then." He put the phone back in his pocket. "That's me on my own, then." He considered the piece of scaffolding he was still holding like it was a sword. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around the piece before presenting it to Chloe. "You should put this somewhere safe."

"Why?" The scaffolding was just a piece of aluminum, by the weight of it. Not even steel. You wouldn't even be able to hit anyone seriously with this.

Constantine supplied the explanation here. "It's been used to channel souls into oblivion. If it's used wrong, it'll channel your soul right out of your body."

Lucifer nodded, then pointed at Constantine. "And that means he should never get his hands on it, Detective." He smiled, a little more genuinely now. "If Miss Lopez's imaginary friend is still around, she'll know what to do with it."

Chloe hugged the jacket to herself and nodded. Lucifer knew about Ella's ghost? Had they ever discussed the subject? Then again, he was also on good terms with the forensic scientist himself. So maybe Ella had confided in Lucifer, too.

More proof they weren't done talking to each other yet. Damn it.

Lucifer's hands twitched, but he kept them to his sides. "I will come back, Detective. You have my word." He turned to Constantine. "That's another favor you owe me, John."

Then his wings appeared from nowhere, spread wide. A single beat, and Lucifer was gone.

"Don't I know it," Constantine said to empty air.

Intermezzo

"I hate you!"

With those words, my old front door slams behind me. And I'm on the streets. Again.
It's the same every time. I walk in to find my mother waiting for me with an angry expression. We get into an argument. And I can't stop the anger from coming out. Even though I want to.

I wanted this. I wanted a second chance to apologize, to make amends. And I see my mother over and over again. But both of us are always angry, and the fight starts before I'm even through the door.
I still remember the image of my mother, lying dead. But I never get to the morgue anymore. My life passes in flashes of hard work, of sleeping rough, of sleepless nights to finish my studies while working full-time on minimum wage. And I don't even get the satisfaction of the graduation – the certificate arrives in the mail while I'm at my other job. I find it when I come home to spend another night alone, staring at my phone.

The stranger who helped me took the one thing from me that I still had and disappeared. I haven't seen him again.

I walk up to my apartment. My phone buzzes.

So it starts again.