Author's note: Hello my friends! There it is. I tried to write it quickly this time. I find myself very restless to end this story. A huge thank you to my wonderful Beta, Apparition, for going through this chapter. It always sounds better afterwards. And again, thank you so much to everyone who write me reviews or comments and who are following me. It always pushes me forwards when I read you and to know you love my story. And now, place for the story. Enjoy!

When she woke up, everything was unusually dark around her. She had the impression that something startled her awake, but couldn't say what exactly. Something was definitely wrong though. Very wrong. Her light night was off. Or, as she soon understood, it wasn't there at all. In fact, the walls around her were not where they were supposed to be. And it wasn't even her bed! Panic started to rise inside her in strong waves as her breathing quickened. She desperately hugged Miss Alien who fortunately was still in her arms, as if it could give her courage and strength. It actually did help. A little.

After a moment, her vision started to adapt. It wasn't as dark as she'd first thought after all. Light was coming down from what appeared to be a staircase on the other side of the room and some glow could be seen through a couple windows close to her. She sat up slowly, still trying to recognise her surroundings, when she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Mommy?" She whispered tentatively.

The person in the shadows walked closer to her without answering. That human shape was nothing like her mother's. Trixie felt tears build in her eyes and her lips started trembling with an onslaught of fearful emotions. She wished it was all just a nightmare. But no, it felt way too real for that.

"I'm afraid not! Human child." Answered the being with a smile in its voice.

When its face reached the light, Trixie discovered a beautiful woman with long golden hair displaying a false grin. And she could also see the dark aura surrounding the being. She immediately knew what she was facing.

A demon.

While Maze was displaying more and more colors around her with each passing day, that demon's aura was mostly composed of dark reds and black. It reminded her of Vasariah's, except that it was clearly a demon's fainter aura who was missing a soul to make it brighter.

So she had been kidnapped! Damn!

Her parents had to be in real panic! But how did this happen? Last thing she remembered, she'd gone to bed with Maze watching over her.

Maze…

She forgot her fear and lifted her chin in defiance. "What did you do to Maze?"

The demon smiled dangerously. "Right as we speak, I believe that traitor is dead!"

The demon's emotions were difficult to read, so it was hard to say if it was true or not, but the possibility was real and terrifying. Maze would never have let her be taken without a fight. She knew that for a fact. So it meant she could very well be gone forever… It was just too horrible a thought to entertain. The tears started running freely along her cheeks without her noticing. She held Miss Alien tighter in her arms for support.

She wanted to ask what was going to happen to her, but the demon turned away to walk towards the base of the staircase where she stopped to call upstairs.

"The human is awake!"

Trixie heard movements on the upper floor, and people speaking between themselves. There was at least three different male voices. Soon, she heard them walking towards the stairs. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by fear. Lucifer's face suddenly surfaced into her mind. Lucifer could protect her, he would never let anything happen to her.

Lucifer…

Remembering his new ability to hear her prayers, she reached to him, almost screaming in her mind.

«Luciferrrr! Help me!»

She opened her eyes in hope of seeing him appear before her. But he wasn't there. Why wasn't he there? He said he would come if she was in danger. Maybe he didn't hear her clearly. So she closed her eyes once more and tried again.

«Please Lucifer, come get me. I'm so scared!» She thought she should keep talking, in case it took him longer to find her. «There's a demon guarding me, and others are coming down. Please, don't leave me!»

Hearing people now coming down to her, she opened her eyes again. To her dismay, Lucifer still wasn't there to save her. She was tempted to return to her praying, but remembered what Maze had said about Vasariah and his demons not knowing Lucifer had his wings back and that this fact was playing to their advantage. So she refrained from praying again so overtly. To her greatest relief, the female demon close to her didn't seem to have noticed what she had done. She would make sure it remained that way.

Strong light suddenly came to life, illuminating her surroundings and blinding her. She squinted her eyes against the assault. When she could see again, her impressions were confirmed. She was in the basement of an old house with dirty little windows, surrounded by half-torn boxes full of old objects and used furniture.

It wasn't time to gaze around though, for people had now reached the basement and were watching her. No, not people. Vasariah and a new demon.

Trixie dried her eyes with her pyjama sleeve and sniffed a few times, trying to control her crying. She wouldn't give that angel prick the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She would stay strong and make her parents, Maze, and Lucifer proud of her. She looked at him right in the eyes with her chin held high while trying to keep her lips from trembling. She thought she did a good job.

"Well, well, well! Look who's awake." Said Vasariah.

She thought he looked and sounded like a snake instead of the angel he was supposed to be. To her horror, he walked slowly towards her with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He stopped only once he was looming over her.

"I was looking forward to meeting you properly," he said in a sweet voice, "without any unwanted interruption this time, I'm hoping. After having had a go at your mother as well as at your father, I can only wonder; which one do you take after? Are you strong like your mother, or weak like your dad?"

Trixie started shaking in fright. She had seen what he had done to her parents, seen the marks on their necks. She didn't wanna die. She doubted she'd be able to survive what her parents had gone through.

With a horrifying smile, Vasariah grabbed her neck with one hand. She was immediately assailed by images of the recurrent nightmare that plagued her lately and in which Vasariah attacked her, night after night. It was a terrifyingly similar situation, as if she had foreseen it before it really happened.

His grip around her throat was not as strong as she had feared though. Apparently, he was not trying to choke her to death. At least not yet. In spite of her increasing panic and her struggling against his hold, she focused on his eyes. To say the truth, it was hard not to gaze into them. They were as blue as the sky and a mesmerizing shine was dancing inside them. Her struggle loosen slowly as she felt herself sinking into that gaze, until she felt him try to invade her mind. There was no other explanation for what she felt. His presence was everywhere around her, pushing, and pushing at a barrier she was trying desperately to hold into place to keep herself whole. All her being rejected him, trying to deny him access.

With a scream, she pushed back, violently!

Even though she had not lifted a single finger in that last attempt at self-preservation, the effect was immediate, and as violent as she had wished it to be.

Vasariah released her straight away with a moan of agony escaping his lips. He grabbed at his head in apparent suffering and backed away from her as if she were a dangerous animal. The two demons behind him also took a few steps backward, just to be safe. It took Vasariah a long moment to recover from whatever she did to him, breathing laboriously and looking wildly at her in clear shock and incomprehension. It gave her the precious time she needed to regain a semblance of composure. She had no idea what just happened, but whatever it was, she was ready to do it again if needed. She lifted her chin once more in defiance.

Finally, Vasariah's angry gaze settled on her. "You little rat!" He made a move as if ready to strike her, but apparently thought better of it, for he lowered his fist at his side where he kept it clenched tightly. Maybe he was now afraid to touch her. Good!

"What are you?" He whispered cautiously, almost in awe.

Trixie didn't know what to answer to that. She wasn't that special, that she knew of. And yet, she knew that seeing auras was very rare among humans, according to Lucifer, and she had just demonstrated another unusual ability. There was also that golden glow that surrounded her mother and herself that she had never seen around any others, except for angels and demons, that is. It scared her a little to think of herself as being different.

Vasariah was apparently still waiting for an answer.

"I'm just my Mother's daughter." She managed to say as steadily as she could.

Vasariah frowned, visibly thinking about her words. Then, something in his eyes told her that he had caught on something in all his reasoning. A smile slowly appeared on his evil face. She didn't like that smile one bit.

"I believe you are. What an unexpected turn of events!"

Strangely, he now looked happy, almost ecstatic. No, Trixie didn't like it at all.

He continued, his strange smile still in place. "Now, small human, you better behave yourself if you want to stay alive. I won't hesitate to kill you if you give me any more reasons to do so."

Her fragile grasp over her emotions was about to dissolve with the terror overwhelming her. She thought back on her training with Maze. Her friend had taught her to fight and to hander a blade, which was not very useful at the moment, but she also told her countless times how much bluffing and the appearance of being in control could be useful in certain circumstances. Even Maze claimed to be using it as it sometimes came handy to bluff since the LAPD didn't like it when she mishandled her bounty.

Trixie tried to clear her mind and think of what she had learned from Lucifer and Maze about Vasariah, and about what could be used against him. Something that Lucifer once said came back to her. She appealed to all the courage she could muster and fought with what she had.

"You know angels don't have the right to kill humans, right? Your Father would be very angry at you if you did."

He narrowed his eyes at her dangerously. "Maybe, and yet, I don't think my Father can punish me more than he already did by sending me to Hell. Don't you think?"

She wasn't sure her comment had helped her at all. The angel apparently had nothing to lose anymore.

He let the silence linger between them before continuing. "You shouldn't worry that much though, little weasel. As long as you stay quiet and don't try anything funny, nothing bad should happen to you. All we want is for Lucifer to give us «The Piece», then we'll release you." His face split into a malevolent smile that made her flinch. "And remember, hurting you is not forbidden, even for angels. So be careful with that sharp tongue of yours."

Oh! Oh! Giving him dark ideas was not what she had planned for with that comment. She wanted to believe that he would not hurt her unless she provoked him, but somehow, his aura was full of deception and malevolence. There was no way she could trust him to keep his word. All she wanted was to stay in one piece until Lucifer could get here to save the day, but it seemed less and less probable. Remembering how disturbed Lucifer had looked after she had first been attacked by Vasariah at her father's apartment, she couldn't imagine how mad he would get if he found out Vasariah had hurt her. That thought gave her another idea.

"Hurting me might not be a wise idea either." She threw at him confidently. Vasariah lifted an eyebrow in amusement at her words. She tried not to be deterred by it as she continued with her idea nonetheless. "You know how bad Lucifer is at dealing with his emotions. If you harm me, he will get very angry and risk not listening to you before acting. If you want a chance at getting what you want, you should think about keeping me unmolested."

He seemed to think about it for a few seconds, gauging her words and their logic. He looked a bit unsure. She thought she might have gotten to him after all.

"If you think I'm afraid of Lucifer you're dead wrong." He finally threw at her.

She could have believed him if his aura was not suddenly tainted by fear at his mention of Lucifer. Got you! She thought. Vasariah might not be afraid of God, but the same could clearly not be said about Lucifer. She didn't confront him with that truth though. That new knowledge was enough to reassure her a little and give her hope of keeping him at bay for a while. So she stayed quiet and tried to look afraid, which was not very difficult.

She made sure to look subdued until he left her there with her demon guard to return at his plotting upstairs. At least they didn't think necessary to tie her up. A mistake that she certainly planned to use to her advantage.

Trixie turned her gaze to the female demon to find her looking straight at her threateningly. "I'm personally not afraid of Lucifer. So don't cause me any trouble or I'll make sure you can't walk ever again."

Unfortunately, Trixie believed her. There was not an ounce of kindness in that being and fear was probably not part of her vocabulary. The little girl kept quiet and curled up into bed with Miss Alien in her arms, keeping her back to the blonde to hide what she was about to do.

She resumed praying to Lucifer with even more fervor. But it didn't do any good. He was obviously not coming to her rescue, whatever the reason. But why wasn't he coming? Didn't he care? Frustration rose inside her, followed soon by shame at thinking ill of him. Of course he cared, she should never doubt him. If he couldn't come now, he had to have a good reason. Whatever the explanation, she would not stop believing in him. And since he could not answer her prayers with words, as he thoroughly explained to her, she had no way to know if he even heard her properly.

What else could she do now? She wanted to keep talking to him, in case he had difficulty hearing her or that he only had a hard time finding her. She just hoped he was not hurt or unconscious. She wondered what else she could tell him in case he was listening. What information would be important enough to help him find and save her? She looked around herself, truly analysing where she was for the first time. She started describing her surroundings to him, then her ears caught a familiar noise. It was the sound of crashing waves coming from an open window. So they were close to the sea. That had to be a useful clue. So she told him that too. Stimulated by her finding and the potential of passing on information, she proceeded to tell him everything she saw and heard, about the house, the demons who kidnapped her, and her conversation with Vasariah. It was probably not all relevant, but Lucifer would sort it out, if he could hear her… She clung to the hope that he did, and that she was doing a smart thing. The more she talked to him, the less she felt afraid and the calmer she got. Without even being there, Lucifer was already helping her. A small smile grazed her lips when she realised that.

When she was done telling him everything that came to her mind, she was ready to say goodbye. Her bottom lip trembled a bit when she sent him her last thoughts.

«I Love you Lucifer! Tell Mommy and Daddy that I love them, and that I'll be strong. I hope… I hope Maze is ok… If she's still… Tell her I love her too, and that I'll make her proud. Please, come soon, Lucifer!»

She cut the link before dissolving into tears.

Lucifer put down the pen after the link was severed. He kept silent for a moment to regain control over his emotions. Hearing the urchin being so vulnerable had broken his heart, and her last sweet words to him and her family had torn it apart. Beside him, Chloe was anxiously waiting for him to say something, as were also Amenadiel and Azraël. They had watched him silently while he wrote down every information Trixie gave him, as they tried to read over his shoulder.

Lucifer swallowed audibly before turning to Chloe. "She's going to be fine. She is a strong kid, and a very clever one."

Chloe hugged herself, doing her best not to cry again. "I want to hear everything she told you, Lucifer, and don't skip anything."

Lucifer had planned to leave a few things out for her own good, but her asking him directly to be honest cut the grass right under his feet. So he proceeded to tell them everything Beatrice had said, using his notes to not forget anything.

To her credit, Chloe tried to stay professional and focus, analysing every little bit of information for clues. She deduced that the old house had to be fairly isolated since they didn't care letting the window open even though Trixie was not gagged and could scream anytime. The fact that it was very close to the ocean was the most promising information to locate her. The demons Trixie described matched two of those seen around Lilim the last weeks, and the fact that she only heard one other male demon talking upstairs was letting them think that Vasariah might not have brought up more demons from Hell than the ones they had already encountered. Very good news. A female demon was missing though. Either she was upstairs or out doing errands. Trixie had observed a few weapons at the demons' belts, besides the usual demonic daggers. Something they had not been wearing while going around the city.

Chloe felt shivers run along her spine at hearing that Vasariah had tried to invade her baby's mind. She remembered all too well how it had felt and how terrified she had been at the time. To know that her little girl had gone through that was killing her. However, it might not have been as painful for her as it had been for Chloe since her amazing kid was apparently more special than she had ever suspected. Chloe couldn't begin to understand what Trixie had done to protect herself and hurt Vasariah, but in that moment, she thanked God with all her heart for that gift. She let a chuckle of pride and amazement escape when Lucifer proudly explained how she manoeuvered Vasariah to not hurt her by playing on his fear of Lucifer. They didn't further discuss Trixie's impression that Vasariah could still hurt her eventually, even if he said he wouldn't, and that he was way too intrigued and excited about her daughter's ability to resist him. Chloe was just not ready to talk about the possibilities.

She managed to keep herself together while Lucifer told them everything he knew, until he related Trixie's last words of love for them. The emotion she saw in Lucifer's eyes when he said it gave her a faint idea of what her daughter might have felt at that moment. She then lost the fragile hold she still maintained over her feelings and fell into Lucifer's arms for comfort, as she shook with sobs.

After giving them a minute to calm down, Azraël racked her throat. "Lucifer, as much as I agree that we need to do anything in our power to bring back Beatrice, you can't seriously consider giving «The Piece» to Vasariah in exchange for the child? The potential for disaster is too great!"

Lucifer lifted his head from where it rested against Chloe's to look daggers at his sister. "I'll try not to, but if it comes down to it, I will give it to him if it means saving the little one. I would just have to deal with the consequences afterwards." When he saw her open her mouth to argue, he cut her short. "Nothing will stop me from getting her back, Azraël! Don't waste your breathe trying to discourage me. I'll do what I have to." He embraced Chloe a bit more firmly to pass on to her his determination.

Azraël was stunned into silence. Her gaze searched Amenadiel's for support, but the dark angel lowered his eyes so as to let her know that he would not fight Lucifer on that subject. He probably knew it was in vain to ever think to make Lucifer change his mind about that. She exhaled slowly in defeat.

Lucifer softened his tone a little at seeing Azraël's disconcerted expression. "But before we get to that extreme measure, there's still a chance we could find a way to counter Vasariah's plans." He wasn't a fool, even he didn't want for the Gates of Hell to pour out on the world all the evil it contained.

He turned to Amenadiel to pursue his idea. "Go get that old book you talked about that could contain some information about the medallion. Find me something that can explain how «The Pieces» work. We need to learn as much as possible about it if we want to avoid the worst."

So his brother went to retrieve the book in question in Maze's room while Lucifer brought Daniel in Beatrice's bed to make him more comfortable while he recovered. His shaking had lessen a bit. It could only be a good sign, right? Even though Lucifer resented the Douche for what he did, he could only hope that he would indeed recover, if for no other reason than to kick his ass for being such a damn fool.

Amenadiel easily found the Hebrew book translated from Sumerian a few thousand years ago. It looked indeed very old and fragile, with pages almost coming apart if not carefully handled. The fallen angel laid it on the kitchen counter, the only elevated surface that had survived the fight between the female demons. Everyone gathered around it with stern looks on their faces. They all knew that it was their last chance at finding any useful clue.

Cautiously, Amenadiel turned the pages to reveal their content. It took him a time to find what he was looking for, but when he did, all eyes around him widened in excitement. The drawing on the page was the exact replica of the medallion they found in the cave.

Amenadiel stayed silent longer than Lucifer could stand. "Damn it, Brother! What does it say?"

"I'm trying to decipher it. A good translation can't be rushed. You know how true it is, especially with older tongues." Amenadiel did his best to stay patient with his devilish brother.

Lucifer was clearly not in the mood for patience. "Then think aloud at least, so we won't have to wait hours before having an idea of what it says."

"Alright! Alright! That first passage tells of two identical medallions such as the one drawn on this page. Their creator and the material in which they were made was unknown, but it was believed to be otherworldly. Apparently, the drawing was made by a seer who received a vision. The second passage translates the two Enochian rows of writings around the central pentagram. Or tries to translate it, I would say. The linguist who worked on it did a poor job, I can tell you. But he got the general sense nonetheless, understanding that it could open a passage between two worlds. However, since the translation was poor, he thought that this other world was a perfect one and didn't get the warning in it. As I told you, the way I would translate it sounds more like: Be wary of opening the path between worlds, for once opened, that path could lead to destruction."

Amenadiel stopped speaking for a moment to read the third passage. "Here, hypotheses are formulated as to the meaning of the central symbols. Obviously they didn't understand it any more than I do, because they talk again about utopic worlds with good Gods and Goddesses."

Lucifer snorted in contempt. "Utopic worlds! What a farce! Those symbols are demonic. One stands for «Hell», another for «Hell's door», the next means «Passage» or «Path», this one is for «Earth» and the last one, «Hell's hordes». It's pretty strait forward. This text is useless, it doesn't help us at all." He was getting more and more frustrated.

"Wait a second, Brother. The next part seems promising. It's about the rest of the seer's vision." Amenadiel translated it slowly for them as he read it. "The two medallions need to be placed on both ends of the passage, one here on Earth, at the confluence of divine forces, and the other one at the entrance of this other world. The third «Piece»…"

Amenadiel lifted his gaze towards Lucifer in shock at the revelation of the existence of another artefact. He cleared his throat before pursuing. "The third «Piece», must be used to unlock the magic that will open the passage between worlds."

"A third piece? What piece? Azrael, have you ever heard of another one?" Lucifer was clearly trilled by this new revelation.

"No! And Michael never mentioned any other artefact being stolen in Heaven nor anything closely or remotely in relation to another element in the equation. I have no idea what it refers to. Isn't there anything more about its nature in this text, Amenadiel?"

"Let's see… It is written that the third «Piece» belongs to both worlds, while at the same time being touched by another celestial one. It doesn't make any sense!" Complained Amenadiel.

"Maybe it does." Interjected Azraël. "That piece could belong to Hell and Earth while being blessed by God."

Lucifer narrowed his eyes in thought. "When it says «belongs» to both worlds, it could be a possible mistranslation. There weren't a lot of words in the Sumerian language and one word could have different meanings, depending on the circumstances. We could read it as «forged by», «created by», «touched by», «tinted by», and any number of other terms that don't really seem to apply in this case."

Lucifer shook his head in frustration. "I don't know. I can't begin to deduce what that third «Piece» could be, but it definitely is different than the two medallions."

Then his frustration seemed to turn into something more positive. "What is possible though, is that Vasariah might not even have heard about that «Piece», or that he didn't find it yet. It's a thin hope, but if it turns out to be true, it could give us a chance to avoid the worst if we have to give him the medallion in exchange for Beatrice." Lucifer smiled faintly at Chloe who was holding his hand tightly and apparently clung to that hope as much as he did.

Azraël approved. "If Vasariah knows of it, the fact that he hasn't called us yet to make the exchange might mean that he doesn't have it in hand. You need to move fast before he gets it."

"You're right, we wasted enough time as it is." The Devil turned to his hound. "Doom! Come with me!"

The Hellhound followed him eagerly to Beatrice's bedroom. Lucifer retrieved a piece of clothing belonging to the child and presented it to the creature.

"Find that human child for me, and protect her with your life. She means a lot to me." Lucifer infused enough strength in his command to make sure the hound would understand the importance of succeeding.

Immediately, Doom started sniffing around the room, but soon ended up turning in circle, whimpering in defeat.

Lucifer swore when he understood what it implied.

"What's happening? Can't it find a simple track?" Chloe thought Hellhounds to be greater trackers than that.

"It would, if there was a track to be followed. In this case, I fear there are none. My best bet is that Vasariah took Beatrice himself then disappeared without leaving a trace to follow."

Lucifer tried to have Doom follow Lilim's track, but like Vasariah's, it started right in Beatrice's room and didn't go outside the apartment.

"So Vasariah just popped up in here with Lilim, then disappeared." He concluded. "Which explains why Maze has not been finished off by another demon; there were no other. I'm sure Vasariah did it on purpose so we could not track him back to his lair."

"Where will we search for Trixie then? We only know that she is close de the ocean. That's not enough to find her." Chloe spit out, defeated.

Lucifer tried to lift her spirit. "We also know they must be in the southern part of LA, according to what Maze said about the demons she tracked and lost in that area this week. It's too bad she can't tell us more about where she last saw them though."

"She did tell me!" Amenadiel cut in. "Or more precisely, she showed me on a map, and it was quite close to the ocean, which reduces considerably the area to search. Still, it won't be an easy task."

A devilish grin spread across the Devil's face. "It would be tough yes, if we didn't happen to have a Hellhound with us."

At his words, Doom lifted its head in anticipation, from where it was lying on the floor at Lucifer's feet.

The Devil looked down at the Hound.

"Ready for a hunt?"

Doom answered him with a dangerous grin and a snarl.

"Wait a second Lucifer!" Chloe's hopes looked to have been rightfully revived, but she was obviously worried about something.

She continued when the Devil's attention turned to her. "We need more help. I might not be very useful against an angel and four demons with only my gun, which leaves you, who are already wounded and partially drained by the Leech, Amenadiel, who is also wounded, and despite his fighting skills is still pretty much powerless," that comment made the powerless angel in question grimace in indignation, "and finally Doom. That's far from enough if you ask me. I want to save Trixie, not die trying!"

Chloe's concerns strangely echoed his own on the subject. Lucifer knew she was right. The four of them could probably overcome their enemies, but not without exceedingly endangering Beatrice's and Chloe's lives. He turned to Azraël, ready to ask for her help. The angel though broke his hopes rapidly.

"You know I'm not a warrior, Lucifer. I wouldn't be of much help in a fight. However, I could stay here to watch over Mazikeen and Daniel, and offer them some protection."

Lucifer couldn't object to that. His sister actually never trained as a warrior, unlike Amenadiel and himself. And he also knew exactly who he should be calling to fight by his side. He'd just been denying the necessity to do so, hoping he would never have to get there. He finally sighted in defeat, then stilled himself with determination.

"Alright! I think it's time for me to call Michael…"

Author's note: Hey! Hey! Hey! Michael will be back, for better or for worse. Some of you wanted him back and I agree, it will be fun! Let me know how you like the turn of events and you can always tell me of your wishes for the following few chapters. There is still place for new ideas before the end. Thanks for reading and commenting.