Maze stood with Amenadiel at his place. She explained everything that was going on with Chloe and his mother, as well as Michael's sudden involvement.
Amenadiel was dumbfounded. His mother and brother were one thing. His mother hated his father, and she was determined to return to the Silver City. It made sense that she would be involved, and it was pretty easy to believe she could manipulate Michael into helping as long as he got something out of it. Chloe, however, was another matter entirely. How could she possibly think she could take on God? "Is she crazy?"
"Kind of. She's determined to save Lucifer," Maze said.
"Lucifer does not need to be saved! It's not like he's in Hell. No offense," Amenadiel said, adding the last part when she saw the death glare Maze was giving him. "I knew Chloe was upset when Lucifer went home, but I assumed she'd accept it."
"So did I. We both underestimated Decker. We should've realized there was a reason Lucifer was drawn to her," Maze said.
"Lucifer wouldn't want this. He knows what comes from taking on God. I don't see how Chloe could possible think she'd succeed," Amenadiel said.
"She didn't. That's why she went to your mom," Maze said.
"Why didn't you tell me when you found out? I could've tried to stop it by now. Now Michael's involved and Gabriel is watching. He probably knows everything by now. Father isn't going to take kindly to any of this," Amenadiel said.
"I didn't think you could do much. You have no powers. How would you handle your mother. I'm only telling you now because I can't think of anything else to do, short of getting involved myself, which I refuse to do," Maze said firmly,
Amenadiel sighed. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to get involved. His father might have some mercy for a human, his son, and maybe even his ex-wife, but he would have none for a demon. "Maybe it's not so bad. It doesn't sound great, but Mom still has no way of gaining access to the Silver City, unless Michael takes her, but I doubt he's even that stupid. Of course, it is Michael."
"I don't care what your crazy ass family does. I'm here about Decker. Someone has to get her to back down before her ass is on the line too. Your dad doesn't care about her right now, according to your brother, but that could change," Maze said.
Amenadiel nodded. "I'll try to talk to her. I think that's all I can do."
"One more thing. Decker says your mom wanted Michael to get something for her from Heaven. Decker didn't know what," Maze said.
"That doesn't sound good. I'll have to inform Gabriel."
"Hey, maybe you can talk to Michael too. From what I've heard it's unlikely, but maybe you can get the idiot to back off," Maze said.
Amenadiel snorted. "Getting Michael to see reason is a loss cause. His ego's too big to consider that anyone else might know better than him."
"Well, good luck in keeping your relatives from war then," Maze said before heading for the door.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Lucifer spent days searching with Azrael for her blade. It was nowhere to be found. Finally, he took her aside into a conference room. "Alright, Rae-Rae. Time's up. Your blade isn't here. You need to tell Father."
"Just let me look again in a few places. Sam, I know I didn't leave it on Earth. It has to be here," Azrael said in a pleading tone. She really didn't want to tell her father that she'd lost the blade again, and that she'd kept it from him for days.
"It's not here. Come on, you can survive one of Dad's lectures. Then he'll retrieve the blade, and it will be over."
"It's not that simple. He said he suspend me from my duties if this happened again," Azrael said.
"So you get an extended vacation. I don't really see the problem," Lucifer retorted.
"I like my job, Sam, mostly anyway," Azrael said. It wasn't even the punishment she was dreading. It was mainly the disappointment. She always hated disappointing her parents or siblings.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but perhaps it will be good if it teaches you to be more careful," Lucifer lectured.
Azrael scowled at her brother. "You sound like Dad. That's exactly what He's going to say."
"Don't throw that in my face," Lucifer grumbled. He knew he sounded like his father. He hated that fact, but in this instance, his father might be right.
Just then, the door opened and Gabriel stepped inside. "Hey. I've been looking for you, Sam. I'm heading to Earth for a while. Do you need anything first? What are you guys doing in here anyway?"
"Nothing. Samael doesn't need you for anything. You can go," Azrael said quickly
"Hey! Allow me to speak for myself, would you?" Lucifer asked irritably before turning to his brother. "More errands for Dad?"
"I'd tell you if I could. Hey, did you ever find Michael?" Gabriel asked.
Azrael scowled just at the mention of their brother and her last encounter with him. That had been the beginning of her bad luck. In fact, she realized her blade was missing soon after. And with that realization, a horrible thought occurred to Azrael.
"Yes, unfortunately. In fact, I need to make sure he's stayed put like I ordered him to once I'm finished here," Lucifer said.
"Oh, man. Sam, I think I know what happened to my blade," Azrael said. Her tone was far from relieved.
"You lost your blade again? Dad's gonna be pissed, Rae-Rae," Gabriel said with a wince.
"You know where it is? Good. You can retrieve it and I can go relax for a bit before I track down Michael," Lucifer said pleased.
"Um, one, it's not that simple. Two, I don't think you're going to track down Michael. I'm pretty sure Michael stole my blade," Azrael said.
"What?!" both Lucifer and Gabriel exclaimed at once.
"Close that door," Lucifer told his older brother. The last thing he wanted was for his other siblings to hear what was going on.
Gabriel walked further inside and shut the door behind him.
"Look, I don't know for sure that he has it, but I noticed my blade was missing not long after Michael bumped into me. I think that whole exchange might have been a show so that he could take it and cover up that he'd taken it," Azrael explained.
"This is bad, Azrael. Who knows what Michael could do with that blade. It literally destroys souls. Michael obviously wants to use it on someone," Gabriel said.
"Uh, it actually may be worse than that," Azrael said.
"I don't even know how that's possible," Lucifer said.
"I'm not supposed to tell people this, but my blade is actually the centerpiece of the Flaming Sword," Azrael said.
Lucifer and Gabriel were rendered completely speechless for several seconds. Finally, Gabriel spoke. "Your blade is the one thing in the universe that can penetrate anything?"
"Well, not yet. It's not assembled. There are two other pieces that are scattered around," she said.
"But if Michael gets those pieces, he will have the most powerful weapon in existence," Lucifer said.
"What does he plan to do with it though, assuming he knows it's the Flaming Sword? Attack the Silver City with it? I mean, Michael's an ass, but he's not devious enough to plan a rebellion of this level, not on his own." Gabriel said.
"No, he's not, not alone. Someone must be whispering in his ear, the one who pulls his strings," Lucifer said.
"Mom? It's not possible."
"Why not?" Lucifer asked.
Gabriel hesitated. He was under strict orders not to tell his brother about his mission, but things had quickly gotten out of hand without him even realizing it. If Samael was right, things were going to get bad. "I've been watching Mom. Dad was sure she was up to something. He asked me to watch her."
Lucifer frowned. "Why would he have you hide that from me. Clearly, he thought this somehow affected me, other than it just being Mum."
"Mom hasn't been working alone. She's involved with your detective friend," Gabriel said.
"What? That's ridiculous. The detective has nothing to do with Mum, and Mum wouldn't work with humans," Lucifer said.
"Chloe Decker aligned with Mom after you came home. She wanted Mom to help bring you back. She knows everything and worked with Mom because she thinks she has the power to help you. But Mom's manipulating her. She hasn't told the Decker woman that what she wants is to start a war," Gabriel said.
Lucifer was overwhelmed. He didn't even know what to try to deal with first. The fact that the detective knew everything and apparently didn't hate him? That she'd aligned with his mother to save him? That his father and brother had kept it all form him? Or that Chloe was on Earth with both his mother and most despised brother? There was also the danger to the Silver City to consider, but right now, his mind was on the detective. "Why would she do this?"
"For you. Look, I know this is upsetting, but we have to act. Michael's got the Flaming Sword in his possession, and if you're right about his involvement with Mom, it could endanger all of us," Gabriel said.
"I have to get to the Detective," Lucifer said before preparing to leave.
Gabriel grabbed his brother by the arm. "Sam, you can't leave the Silver City."
"I don't give a damn about Dad's bloody punishment right now!" Lucifer yelled.
"It's not just about Dad's orders. This is likely what Mom was planning. She's using Chloe Decker to draw you out," Gabriel said.
"Well, it's going to work."
"Samael, stop for a minute! I get that you're worried for your friend, but there are bigger issues. Mom and Michael pose a big threat to the Silver City if they assemble the Flaming Sword. We have to find Dad. We have to stop them, which means we have to think things through," Gabriel said.
"I'm not leaving her alone. I'm going," Lucifer said. Gabriel was probably right, but he wasn't staying hidden away while Chloe was in danger.
Gabriel sighed. He couldn't stop his brother. He supposed he could tell his father, but Samael would be gone by then, and by the time his father could bring him back, it might be too late. "I'm going with you then."
Lucifer nodded and turned to Azrael. "Azrael, follow us to the gates and then seal them closed behind us. Gabriel is right, this is a threat that can't be taken lightly."
"Seal the gates? That's never happened before," Azrael said.
"We have no choice. Human souls will still be able to pass through, but no one else will," Lucifer said.
"If I seal the gates, Dad will realize. He'll find out you're gone," Azrael said.
"Stall him. Tell him what happened, but leave out my parts. Tell him you decided to seal the gates yourself when you couldn't get to me," Lucifer said. He hated what he was asking her to do, but he needed time to secure the Detective.
"You want me to lie?" Azrael asked. He'd never asked her to do that before. He hated liars.
"If you must. Please, Rae-Rae," Lucifer begged.
Azrael nodded, unable to deny her brother when he was this scared. This human obviously meant a lot to him.
Gabriel led the way out of the room. "Sealed gates won't stop Mom and Michael if they have the Flaming Sword."
"They don't yet, but they may not know the sword has more parts to it. They may try to get through. This buys some time," Lucifer said.
"We won't be able to get back in unless Dad lets us back in himself," Gabriel reminded his brother.
"I'm not concerned that we won't be able to get back in. I'm more concerned about getting back in prematurely," Lucifer said as they hurried towards the gates.