Author's Note: Overwhelming vote was for Azrael (though there were some interesting suggestions for the depiction of Death from various other stories). You all flatter me (and in this biz, it gets you everywhere). This took a while for several reasons. Real life got real busy, and I was working on a one shot for Lucifer as a fic exchange (which still isn't done, but it's closer) as well as updating a couple other stories. Also, this chapter went in a totally different direction than I was planning on. I think I like it. Annnd one more thing: I have totally not completely figured it out yet, but I am now officially on tumblr as disappearinginq. Feel free to drop in, say hello (especially all you guests - some of you have questions I would love to answer but I can't PM on this site). There might be some "alternate scenes" from this fic over there, just so I can show you just how much I change things on a daily basis. Enough delays. ONWARDS!
Chloe wasn't sure where she expected when Gabriel and Michael suggested they go looking for Death. Maybe a field trip to hospice care, or a funeral home, or even the middle of a battle.
Even in her wildest imagination, this never even made it on the list.
"You have got to be kidding me," Chloe said, looking around at the crowded room. It was standing room only, and even then, it was edging near fire hazard occupation levels. "We're going to find Death at a stripper club?"
The building was lit up like its own personal Vegas strip, a converted neo-industrial warehouse now adorned in neon lights promising girls, girls, girls, and the neon silhouette of the woman atop the roof flashed from an angel halo above her head to devil horns and a forked tail, and because no part of this trip could not involve a double entendre, the name was of course Saints and Sinners. There was a line out the door, and the bouncer's checklist seemed longer than Lux's inventory report. Apparently, it was some sort of celebration for one man, who looked like he belonged in the financial district behind a desk with a double tall espresso than in the ridiculously themed club with enough empty shot glasses around him, it suggested divine intervention that he wasn't dead from alcohol poisoning already.
At least, the balloons tied to his chair seemed to suggest the party was for him. Chloe was pretty sure the balloons said something like 'Happy Retirement', but there was also one with a unicorn on it, and another one had a 'It's a Boy!' message, so either his co-workers were cheap and raided the dollar store, or they shared the same sense of humor as Lucifer did.
"Well, not Death Death. Death the Horseman is kind of hard to get ahold of, and he's not big into picking sides, so he probably wouldn't help anyway," Gabriel clarified cheerfully. He paused, looking thoughtful. "And there's that whole weird relationship between Death and Samael anyway, because the Horsemen had to be made to carry out Samael's jobs and he's kind of like a weird Adam's Rib creation, soo …that makes it pretty awkward."
"We are lucky she was nearby," Michael said. Chloe almost felt bad for him. Gabriel seemed perfectly comfortable no matter where he was, and had already made friends with at least six different people and was currently chatting up another in between bits and pieces of explanation that explained nothing useful. Michael, on the other hand, was trying to avoid touching people at all costs looking thoroughly disgusted – whether by the people or the venue was a toss up, since Chloe was pretty sure she remembered one of his brothers mentioning Michael didn't actually like people. Whereas his personality effected Dan to the point that he still refused to stand near him (even after Michael prevented him from getting killed in their argument with Samael), it didn't seem to have any effect on the people of the club.
Apparently, no one feel the need to be judged at a strip club.
However, Chloe was finally beginning to see the similarities between Lucifer and Michael – especially when a particularly drunk older woman flung her arms around his neck and whispered something in his ear that made the archangel turn an electric pink in embarrassment. He had the same horrified 'NOW WHAT?!' Lucifer had when children would approach him – and both brothers had the same level of tact for getting rid of unwanted affections. Michael had snatched the first drink within reach, holding it aloft like a dog treat and using it to lure his admirer into releasing her grip around his neck and then handed it to the first available male he could grab. The woman followed after it like a cat with a laser pointer, and Michael heaved a sigh of relief.
"So who exactly are we looking for then?" Dan asked, his head turning to watch a particularly fine looking young woman who was dressed similar to Maze walk by as Gabriel mirrored him.
"Not her," Michael snapped, and swatted his younger brother upside the back of his head at the same time Chloe elbowed Dan.
"That hurt," Gabriel whined, rubbing at the back of his head, glowering at his older brother.
Michael was completely unmoved. "Do not ogle, and I will not hit you."
Gabriel stuck his tongue out for a brief moment before turning back to Chloe, still rubbing his head. "Anyway, we're looking for Azrael," Gabriel explained. "She took over as the actual angel of Death when Samael was retired."
"She?" Dan echoed. "I didn't think there were any female angels."
"What the human race knows of angels could fit on the end of a pin," Michael sniffed indignantly. "Of course there are."
Gabriel waved off his brother's gruffness. "Azrael is sort of like Aphrodite. She's one of us, but she's not exactly a relative. After the fiasco with Samael, Dad sort of rewrote the job description. There's Death the Horseman – the one who is responsible for everyone and is an unbiased third party, and then there's Azrael. She also wasn't made specifically for her job, she actually won it in a contest so she's kind of…" Gabriel glanced to his brother for help. "How would you describe her?"
"An agent of chaos," Michael deadpanned.
"She isn't that bad, Negative Nancy," Gabriel protested. "I'd say more…free spirited."
"Whatever she is," Chloe interrupted before they could start arguing. "The question is where she is."
Before Gabriel could answer, the lights dropped down low over the crowd and they began to cheer.
It wasn't the stage that lit up, however. It was the bar.
In a completely over the top theatrical poof of smoke, a woman appeared, standing in the middle of the bar as the spotlight hit directly over her, the top hat keeping her face obscured in shadow. In a costume somewhere between a Gothic ring master and a magician, she wore satin gloves up to her elbows, boots with heels that could kill a man that laced up past her knees, and a black Playboy Bunny bodice, she looked less like a stripper than some crossover with burlesque and coyote ugly style performance. Midnight black hair cascaded down her back in waves Chloe couldn't hope to achieve in a hundred years, and with a sly toss, the light finally hit her face. Decorated like a Dia de los Muertos sugar skull that looked more realistic than artistic, when she winked, it looked more like an empty socket than simply makeup, and when she smiled, her lips pulled back what seemed inhumanly far.
"Hello, boys and girls," she purred, her voice like smoke and shadow, sultry, dark, and inviting.
Chloe had to clap her hand to her mouth to smother her immediate giggle as the crowd whistled and cheered because as soon as she heard the first lyrics to Sia's Reaper remixed into Southern Gothic style, and the woman began her routine on the bar counter, she knew they didn't have to look any further.
"Ah. Knew she was around here somewhere," Gabriel said cheerfully, before putting his fingers to his lips and whistling loudly in support. "Yeah, go RaeRae!"
Dan looked like he was about to give himself whiplash looking from Gabriel and Michael to Azrael. "That's your sister?!"
The way that she fed off the crowd, the way that they seemed to feed off her, the almost electric tang in the air made Chloe think of Lux, when Lucifer was in his good moods and had the entire club on their feet and inhibitions gone.
"Actually," Chloe mused, "this is the first relative of Lucifer's I totally buy."
And same as she felt when watching Lucifer in his element like that, Chloe was a little jealous of Azrael's obvious confidence even with every set of eyes in the room on her as she continued through her routine.
As the song started to come to an end, at the far end of the bar, Azrael spun on one of her impossible heels, grabbing onto the supporting metal pole in the corner and bending backwards, her free hand holding her top hat out and away from her in a "that's all, folks!" pose, she placed a theatrical kiss on the birthday man's cheek, one leg lifted high in the air in a vertical split for balance.
"Happy retirement, honey," she said, before hooking her leg around the pole to pull herself back upright.
The man was too stunned to do more than touch disbelieving fingers to the black lipstick kiss on his cheek.
Yep. Lucifer's sibling.
Azrael gave one last bow before tipping her hat to the crowd and vanishing in much the same way she appeared to the roar of the crowd.
Chloe couldn't help the smile, or joining in with the clapping – it really had been an impressive show – and she wondered idly if this was Azrael's hobby in the way Lux was Lucifer's, or if she was here for someone in the crowd, and just enjoyed theatrics.
Dan took a minute to actually remember how to speak. "Got any other sisters?"
As Michael shot him a scathing glance, there was an ear piercing squeal of delight before someone bodily shoved past Chloe, hurling herself into Michael's arms with such force he stumbled backwards even as his hands came up to catch her. Apparently, Azrael was a bit of a quick change artist – she was completely changed out of her costume and in much less conspicuous party clothes and no one seemed to make the connection she was the woman who'd just been on stage because no one batted an eye.
"Michael!" Azrael cried, wrapping her legs around her brother's waist and her arms so firmly around his face it was a fairly effective gag. She planted one black-lipsticked kiss against his cheek with an audible smack before she hugged him even tighter. "Oh em gee, bro! What're you doing here?! I haven't seen you in like, ages!"
Michael may have answered, but considering his mouth was completely obscured by Azrael's arms, it didn't matter.
For being so non-touchy feely by comparison to his brothers, Michael didn't try and push his sister off or extricate himself from her octopus hold even as she chattered a mile a minute in a language Chloe didn't understand. Even if she couldn't see his mouth, she could tell he was smiling affectionately at her.
Out of her getup, Chloe hadn't realized just how short Azrael was. Admittedly, she'd been on a bar four feet off the ground and in stilettos that had her almost on tiptoes, but still. She didn't look like anyone in Lucifer's family tree – not even Amenadiel. All the guys – at least, out of the whopping four she'd met – were all well over six feet and physically imposing. Lucifer often used his height to loom over suspects, and she had a feeling he actually enjoyed the fact that on the few occasions she'd hugged him, she came to just beneath his chin.
Azrael was maybe five foot three without her heels, and without her makeup and the costume or even the harsh overhead lighting, she reminded her more of Dan's cousin Esperanza. There was no mistaking her for being an ex-patriated Brit. Long, absolutely jet black hair was held up with an elegant twist of a comb, and where her brothers – especially Michael – seemed to be solid muscle mass, Azrael looked practically pixie like.
She seemed to make up for size in enthusiasm though.
"Hey! How come Michael gets all the love?" Gabriel demanded, holding his arms wide. "What am I, chopped liver?"
Pausing long enough to bend her head impossibly back to look at him upside down, Azrael stuck her tongue out, mirroring him from earlier. "I saw you last Wednesday in Budapest."
"So?"
Rather than roll her eyes, Azrael flashed that impossibly wide grin, hopped down from Michael and immediately bounced back up into Gabriel's waiting arms.
Considering the last family reunion Chloe and Dan witnessed, she was thoroughly relieved that they seemed on better terms with their sister than their other brother. She really didn't want to see another throw down between angels.
"So what're you two doing here?" Azrael asked, not releasing her hold on her older brother. Gabriel seemed unbothered. "Especially you, Mike. I know how you feel about people." And then, as if just noticing Chloe and Dan – or perhaps just noticing that they were with her brothers – she offered a cheerful wave. "Hi Chloe! Hi Dan! Nice to meet you!"
Dan didn't seem quite recovered from Azrael's performance, and given some of the moves, Chloe could hardly blame him. Hell, she was a little starstruck after that. All he managed was a half strangled "Hi" that made her think of Stitch from Trixie's favorite movie.
"Hello," Chloe said, offering a short wave of her own because she wasn't entirely sure how to greet Death. Especially not a super affectionate one who talked like Malibu Barbie. "You…know us?"
Azrael waved her hand. "Of course, silly. I know everyone."
"Everyone?" Chloe echoed. Maybe she'd misinterpreted what Michael and Gabriel meant about there being two versions of Death. They'd made Azrael out to be more like a Valkyrie than a grim reaper, but maybe she had it backwards?
"Well, yeah…Death comes for everyone, right?" Azrael explained cheerfully. "Well, I come for the ones who believe in Dad. I don't get involved in other's sand boxes. That's just rude. And a violation of union laws…"
It was really hard to take anything she said seriously when she was still wrapped around Gabriel like Trixie used to do when she didn't want to be put down for bed. Angel of Death or not.
"So what are you doing here?" she asked. "Do you run the club, or…?"
Azrael laughed. "No. No, I do not. Bart over there and I have an appointment tonight, around 1:13 AM. And I really quite like him, and he's been really nice and it seems kinda shitty to die the night you retire, so I thought I would give the old guy one last thrill before he goes, you know?" She sounded wistful, craning her neck over her brother's head – the only chance she had to see over the crowd from ground level - looking for 'Bart' in the crowd.
Currently, he was hard to miss, standing on one of the table tops with another dancer, awkwardly trying to match her moves and failing, but it didn't look like he cared.
"We have a favor to ask," Michael said. "We were hoping you could oblige."
Azrael extricated herself from Gabriel's hug, driving one fist into her opposite palm. "Excellent! Who we gonna fight? Is there money on it? Is it a cage fight?"
Both Michael and Dan snorted simultaneously.
"Ah, about that," Gabriel hedged, scruffing up the back of his head. "We don't need you to fight anyone. We need you to find someone. Someone who is going through a lot of trouble to avoid us."
Lower lip jutted out briefly in a pout at the idea of not getting to fight someone for her brothers – though that thought alone made Chloe wonder, because Michael and Gabriel were archangels and her older brothers, she now could only picture Azrael as a honey badger in pocket sized pixie form – Azrael heaved a sigh. "Laaaame…" she groaned. "Fine. Who do I need to find?"
"Lucifer," Chloe said at the same time as Michael, Gabriel and Dan all answered "Samael."
Azrael cringed. "Uh, you wanna run that by me again?"
"Lucifer wound up on the wrong side of Enochian magic and some whackadoo people trying to use him as their own personal assassin," Gabriel explained. "Long story short: Samael is the one you're looking for, so we can fix what they did to him."
Azrael shook her head, waving her hand at Gabriel. "Nope. Nuh uh. No way, dude. I never even met the guy and I don't want to find him. I mean, judging from the stories Amenadiel, and Ragiel, and Metatron and – you know, everyone who knew the guy – you shouldn't even need me. Just look for some place where the population has gone berserk and he's probably standing in the middle of it."
"It is not the real Samael," Michal offered. "Chloe was right. You are looking for Lucifer. And we need to find him before Ragiel does. Or worse, before Lucifer does something he will truly regret."
Azrael didn't seem moved by her brothers' plea, folding her arms across her chest. "No."
Chloe couldn't believe it. So much for thinking the siblings were on better terms with Azrael than each other. "Why not?"
Azrael turned to look at Chloe, mouth opened to protest loudly, but when she caught Chloe's eyes, she faltered. "You really like him, huh?"
"Of course I do," Chloe said, not seeing a reason to lie or try and downplay it. If time was of the essence, denial was not the game to play here. "He's my partner, and probably my only real friend."
Azrael's face fell a little at the last word. "You know you're his, too?"
Chloe fumbled for words, because she really didn't have any. She knew, on a peripheral level, that Lucifer, despite his lifestyle, was incredibly lonely. Things like family didn't quite compute with him, even though she now knew he had one of the largest extended families of anything in creation, and friends were…well, usually restricted to one night stands. It just seemed so much more painful when someone else voiced it.
"You talk to him?"
Azrael offered a small, genuine smile. "Yeah. Lucifer and I talk a lot actually. Usually it's just business. He did this gig way longer than I have, but he's also really the only other one of us who hangs out here on a semi-permanent basis. Gabriel is here a lot, but he's sort of like an inter-office messenger between Dad and a select few. Lucifer's a pretty decent older bro. Which brings me back to my previous answer. No."
Chloe opened her mouth to protest, but Azrael stopped her.
"Look, it's not what you think. This isn't just me being an unhelpful bitch. If you were looking for Lucifer, then I would totally help. In a heartbeat. But you're not. You're looking for Samael, and Samael isn't Lucifer. If I look for Samael, he'll know. And he'll know it's me." Azrael shuddered, rubbing her hands against her bare arms. "And I don't particularly want to die."
"Look?" Chloe echoed. The emphasis Azrael kept putting on the word made her suspect it was more than just glancing around a crowd and pointing him out. If it was that simple, she could think of no reason why Michael or Gabriel couldn't manage it before.
Azrael huffed, blowing a wayward strand of hair out of her luminous eyes. "It's like Professor X and Cerebro. I can find anyone – comes with the job description. No one can hide from Death. But when I have to go specifically looking for someone, they can feel it. Humans tend to refer to the feeling as 'like someone walked over your grave'. But while you don't know how to explain the feeling, Lucifer will know, and since I'm the only one who can do it, he'll know who, too. And while I've got a pretty solid relationship with Lucifer, I don't know how well that holds with his evil alter ego." She gave a scathing look towards Gabriel who suddenly found the ceiling incredibly interesting. "And considering what he did to Michael's face when they were kids, I don't particularly want to test the theory. So…no."
"So this was just a waste of time?" Chloe snapped, unable to stop herself.
Azrael's eyes flashed threateningly, and it wasn't just a metaphor. They really flashed like lightning strikes, and Chloe felt a chill spread up her arms that had nothing to do with the temperature. "I know I'm not as intimidating as the rest of my family, human," she snarled, her tone dropping several octaves. "But don't forget what I am, or what I can do."
It was actually harder than Chloe would've thought, remembering that Lucifer, or his siblings, weren't humans. Lucifer was so very human, it was difficult to reconcile with what she knew of him now. But not with Azrael.
Azrael's eyes flickered back to her deep brown, and she visibly shook herself, a brilliant smile painted on her face. "Anyway, not a total waste. I am, after all, the smart sibling. I'm not going to stick my nose where it doesn't belong, but hey. I can't stop you. Free will, and all that jazz. If you want to find Samael so badly…he is still an angel. Same rules apply. He'd answer for you."
At first, Chloe had no idea what she was playing at. From the earlier fight, and even from earlier discussions, Lucifer or Samael weren't like the other angels. None of the rules applied, even the ones his own father enforced. And if she was perfectly honest, it had taken embarrassingly little effort to take on all three of his siblings, and from what she gathered, the damage done to Amenadiel had been no minor thing. She doubted ripping off an angel's wings was remotely close to pulling those off a fly.
And then something in the way Azrael met her gaze made something click into place. She could kick herself for being so stupid, but she generously chalked it up to the fact that the supernatural had only been real to her for a few hours, not a lifetime.
But she didn't want a repeat performance of last time Samael was around his family. And if she was wrong about what Azrael was implying, she didn't want anyone else to get hurt either. A crowded room with two of Samael's least favorite siblings at the moment was not where she wanted to try it. "Can you…" she started, but Azrael's grin widened, and suddenly Chloe was looking at the Death's head makeup again. Except it wasn't makeup.
"Of course I can." She suddenly reached up with both hands, which were unbelievably cold to the touch, placing them on either side of Chloe's face. "See you later," she whispered, and planted an audible kiss on Chloe's cheek.
And just like before, in the space of a heartbeat, she was miles away, back at Lux. Not in the bar, but hundreds of feet in the air, twenty stories above LA, standing on Lucifer's balcony, and this time she was alone. She wondered for a moment if Lux was the greatest place to try this, but it was Lucifer's home. Maybe Azrael had a reason for picking it out of all places in the world. She really hoped she knew what Azrael had been implying, because if it wasn't, this was going to be a really short conversation.
Chloe ducked her head, chin almost touching her chest, and did something she couldn't ever remember doing before.
She prayed.
There wasn't a whole lot of tangible thought to it – just that she wanted to know that Lucifer was alright. That he was safe, and...how much she wanted to be able to talk to him again.
She almost screamed when she heard the ruffle of feathers, but managed to keep it to an undignified squeak of surprise.
Samael stood on the railing, standing silently and little more than a shadow against the starry night sky.
"Detective," he said mildly, sounding more curious than angry. "You rang?"
Author's Note: Sorry, not sorry, Azrael's scene is a little short. Two reasons. 1) Spoilers that I am not sharing. 2) Because having too many characters that stick around becomes a serious problem writing wise, and I didn't want to devote a lot of space to describing someone that was basically a guest appearance. You'll note anyone introduced in season 2 has never made an appearance here, which is only partially because when I started, they didn't exist yet. Besides, I like to think of Death - angel or otherwise - as merely being someone who can offer advice that no one else could come up with. Anyway, enough of that - I just wanted to give a shout out to EVERYONE who has read, commented, and favorited this story! And a specific shout out to Maybemalapert for being a sounding board for this.