Chloe opened her front door to find Amenadiel on the other side. "Hello, Amenadiel."

"Chloe. We need to talk. Can I come in?" Amenadiel asked.

Chloe nodded and stepped aside to let him in. Once he was inside, she shut the door. "Maze asked you to come, didn't she?"

Amenadiel turned to look at her. "Chloe, do you have any idea how serious what you're doing is? First of all, you're trying to challenge God himself."

"Yeah," Chloe said unabashed.

Amenadiel shook his head in disbelief. She was treating this like it was nothing. The last person who challenged his father ended up in Hell, and that was his son. No, not even just his son. His favorite son. Granted, it was a little more complicated than just challenging God. He'd staged an actual rebellion. Still though, Chloe was playing with fire, and that was before you even brought his mother or Michael into the equation. "Chloe, what you're doing is dangerous, and it's not what Lucifer would want."

"Don't even go there with me, Amenadiel. I know what Lucifer wants and what he doesn't. Now, he might be worried about me going to these extremes if he knew, but I know for a fact that he didn't want to be forced back to Heaven by your father. He sat by my side as he tried to say goodbye. It was breaking him! There is nothing he wanted less than to go back there!" Chloe ranted.

"Yes. There is tension between him and the rest of the family, especially our father, but this is a chance to repair some of that. In any event, Chloe, nothing you do is going to change it. You have no hope of winning a challenge with my father. Even working with my mother and brother won't change anything. I don't know you thinking working with them. What is your plan?" Amenadiel asked. He needed to know how much Chloe was involved with them and how much was manipulation. Exactly how far had his woman been willing to go?

"I don't like working with your mother, and I despise your brother, Michael, but like you said, I have no power to take on your father. Your mother does. We have similar goals," Chloe said. She knew Charlotte had her own agenda, but part of that seemed to be helping get Lucifer back.

"I promise you, you don't. She's using you."

"I know that, but…"

"No, you don't, not if you think she wants to help you bring Lucifer back to Earth. She spent weeks trying to convince him to return to Heaven. She was going to kill you to try to make him go back," Amenadiel said.

"What?" Chloe asked, truly caught off guard. While she was certain that Charlotte was capable of hurting someone, it did surprise her to know that the Goddess had been trying to kill her, and that she wanted Lucifer to go back to Heaven.

"She thought if he had nothing to stay for, he'd leave and take her with him. She thought the same when she learned Father was forcing him back. She was happy about it until Lucifer refused to take her back with him," Amenadiel explained. He loved his mother, but she was going too far. He couldn't let her use Chloe's pain to return to the Silver City. Plus, he was unsettled by the fact that Michael was involved and that they'd taken something from the Silver City. "I wish you had come to me before aligning yourself with her."

"I did go to you, Amenadiel. You wouldn't help me," Chloe said with a glare.

"I told you, I couldn't help. I have no powers," Amenadiel argued.

"You also said that you wouldn't help if you could," she reminded him.

"What I meant was that I wish you had come to me so I could tell you what a terrible idea this was. Now, you've put yourself in the middle of a possible celestial war," Amenadiel said. He honestly hoped he was wrong about that. He hoped it wasn't that extreme, but he had a feeling it was. His mother had made it clear that she had no qualms about going to war with his father, and the alliance with Michael further supported that.

Chloe couldn't deny being a bit nervous about Amenadiel's words. The idea that she might have helped bring about war between God and the Goddess was certainly frightening, but helping Lucifer was worth it to her. He'd have done it for her. "I don't care. I promised Lucifer I'd save him.

Amenadiel huffed in frustration. "Chloe, Lucifer doesn't need to be saved! No, he doesn't consider being in Heaven ideal, but it's not like he's being chained up and beaten."

"He may as well be from his perspective," Chloe argued. "He was forced back. His free will was taken away from him. That's everything to Lucifer."

"Did you ever wonder why he was brought back to Heaven so suddenly?" Amenadiel asked. He had purposely not told her before. He worried she'd feel guilty since Lucifer had done what he did to save her. But now he wondered if she should know. Perhaps she'd understand a little more.

"No. I don't need to know his reasons. Your dad's obviously a control freak," Chloe said. She supposed there must be a reason it had suddenly happened when it did. Lucifer did say he was being punished. It didn't really matter what those reasons were though. It was still wrong.

"I concur," a new voice suddenly said.

Chloe turned to see Lucifer standing in the doorway with a man she hadn't seen before. "Lucifer?"

Lucifer smiled at her and stepped closer. "Hello, Detective."

Chloe immediately ran into his arms.

Lucifer hugged her tightly. He'd missed her dearly in the last several months. It was the worst part about being in Heaven, not that there was anything particularly good about it. He only wished he could enjoy being back with the detective truly, but his happiness was suppressed by the fact that she was in danger and he had a war to prevent.

Amenadiel, meanwhile, was surprised to see his brothers on Earth. Gabriel not as much. He'd been keeping an eye on the situation with their mother, so it made sense he'd show up again. Lucifer, however, was ordered to remain in the Silver City. Amenadiel didn't think his father would change his mind so easily.

Chloe pulled away after a second. "I'm so glad you're here. I've been working like Hell to get you back."

"Yes, I've heard. Bloody hell, Detective. You've been working with my mother? She can't be trusted," Lucifer said.

"I don't trust her, but she was my only shot. She was the only one I knew who was powerful enough to take on God," Chloe said.

"Darling, you realize what you just said, right? Taking him on is not advisable. Believe me, I've been there," Lucifer said. It was still hard for him to believe she knew everything, and that she wasn't running as far away from him as she could. He always feared she'd be terrified and repulsed by what he was. Instead, she'd worked to bring him back.

"I didn't care what he might do. I swore I would do what I could to help you. It seems it worked too," Chloe said. She wasn't really sure why it worked, since they hadn't done much, but Lucifer being back was proof that it had.

Gabriel laughed. "You think this is evidence of your plan working?"

Lucifer sighed sadly. "Nothing worked, Detective. My presence here is temporary, and I can only imagine the punishment I will receive when I return to the Silver City. I'll be lucky if I'm ever permitted to leave again."

"Wait, you left without Father's permission. Gabriel, you let him defy Father's wishes?" Amenadiel asked in disbelief.

Lucifer glared at his oldest brother. "I had no choice with Mother using the detective this way. Why didn't you stop her? How could you let the detective get involved with her?"

"Hey. No one gets to let me do anything," Chloe said annoyed as she pulled on his arm to regain his attention. "I am not a child that needs to be stopped from doing something foolish!"

"Could've fooled me," Gabriel said.

"Gabriel," Lucifer said.

"Sorry, Sam, but your human seems pretty stupid from where I'm sitting. If she hadn't gotten involved…"

"Nothing would've likely changed. Now shut up!" Lucifer growled.

"So I guess all your brothers leave a lot to be desired," Chloe said as she glared at Gabriel.

"You involved yourself in something that had nothing to do with you, and you had no hope of winning!" Gabriel shot back at her.

"I was helping someone I cared about," Chloe said. She refused to back down just because she was less powerful than this jerk.

"Helping? You may have put him in danger," Gabriel said. Samael had wanted to come to Earth to protect the human instead of staying in the Silver City where he was safe. Both of them being on Earth put them in the line of fire.

"I said enough!" Lucifer yelled at his brother.

Gabriel held his hands up surrender and took a few steps back.

"Lucifer turned back to Chloe. "We don't have a lot of time. I don't know how long I have until my father realizes I've left the Silver City," Lucifer said.

"Come on, Sam, he already knows. Your stall tactics probably didn't even work for five minutes. If he hasn't yanked us back yet, it's because he's giving you a chance to fix it," Gabriel said. His father probably also realized that his presence would escalate a war, which he was probably hoping to avoid.

"Hold on, what needs to be fixed? I know Mom is working with Michael and that they took something from Heaven, but what could they…"

"They have the Flaming Sword. Part of it anyway," Lucifer interrupted.

"What? Father destroyed that," Amenadiel said in disbelief. If that was true, there was great cause for concern, much worse than he was thinking. His mother could do anything with that sword. She could destroy anything in her path.

"It seems it's more like he took it apart. He gave the main part to Azrael and spread the rest apart," Gabriel said.

"Azrael's blade is the Flaming Sword?" Amenadiel asked surprised.

"Wait. What is the Flaming Sword?" Chloe asked.

"It is as it sounds. It's a blade that literally fires up when it's intact, and it can cut through anything. It could kill my father if used against him, which I can only guess is why my mother wants it. That, and it can get her through Heaven's gates," Lucifer explains.

"She doesn't have all the pieces though, and she probably doesn't know that yet, so it gives us some time," Gabriel said.

"Does Father know all of this?" Amenadiel asked.

"I'd wager so by now," Lucifer said. By now, Azrael must have informed him.

"Alright, we have to do something. I know you only wanted to come for your human friend, but we have to try to stop Mom and Michael," Gabriel said.

Chloe was finally hit with the reality of all of this. There really was a war happening here. She had said she was willing to do anything, and she had even told Amenadiel that the risk of war was worth getting Lucifer, but that was before that risk became a reality. What exactly had she done?

"We must get the other pieces of the Flaming Sword before Mum and Michael can," Lucifer said.

"Hold on. I'm not sure that's a good idea. If we search for the other pieces, you could alert Mom and Michael to the fact that they exist and maybe even lead them to them," Amenadiel said.

"Yes, well, we can hardly do nothing," Lucifer said.

"Can't your father just stop them?" Chloe asked.

"Not at this point, not without a lot of casualties, which is why he's not here now. If he comes down now and he and Mom fight, it will be very bloody, especially for humans. It might come to that, but it's better if we can stop it now. And Samael is right. We need to get our hands on the other pieces of the sword," Gabriel said.

"Yes, and I also need to get my hands around Michael's bloody throat!" Lucifer said.

"No, this isn't the right way to handle it. It's too risky to go after those blade parts. We should lay low for now and wait for an opportunity to take the blade from Mom and Michael," Amenadiel said.

Lucifer shook his head. "That is too risky. That gives them a chance to get the rest of the blade themselves. I'll not sit and do nothing. We search now while no one knows we are here. After I make sure the detective is safe, of course."

"No, I said we need to wait," Amenadiel said with authority.

"You don't make those decisions right now, brother. I do," Lucifer said firmly before turning to Gabriel. He had no desire to throw his new position in Amenadiel's face, but he would assert his authority. Well, alright, he got off on it a little, but that was because Amenadiel could be a smug bastard at times when it came to his position. "Gabriel, start looking for the other parts of the blade."

"Sure. What about Michael? Do you wanna go after him?" Gabriel asked.

Amenadiel looked at his brothers in disbelief. Lucifer was giving out orders and Gabriel was taking them, like it was the norm, like Lucifer was in charge. Lucifer seemed to have replaced him, and that both hurt and made him angry. It wasn't right. Lucifer had betrayed them all, and now he was not only back as the favorite son, he'd been promoted. He'd been given Amenadiel's own position.

"Not yet. As much as I want to throttle him, I'd rather not alert Mum." Lucifer said

"Okay," Gabriel said before flying away.

Lucifer turned to Amenadiel, who was looking at him like he'd taken away all his toys. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't want this job, and it's not my fault you lost it. It's your own."

Amenadiel didn't say anything. He simply walked towards the door, leaving Lucifer and Chloe alone for the first time in months.