Chloe walked to the kitchen table with two cups of coffee. She gave one to Lucifer, who was sitting at the table.

"Thank you, Detective. If only I had something stronger to put into it. Heaven had its perks. An endless supply of whatever I wanted. Well, almost everything," Lucifer said before taking a sip of his coffee.

Chloe rolled her eyes at him as she sat down. "Should you be drinking anyway? You should have all your facilities to deal with a possible war. Wait, does Alcohol affect you?"

"Yes, but it takes much of it over about a week. I actually tested it not too long ago. Dad wasn't pleased," Lucifer said with a smirk.

"Do you think you should go after Amenadiel? He looked upset," Chloe said.

"No, he'll be fine. He'll sulk a while and then come back," Lucifer said. Of course, he thought the same of Michael at first, but Amenadiel wasn't like Michael. He wouldn't betray them because he felt slighted. He'd just feel sorry for himself for a day or two.

"Why is he so upset anyway?" Chloe asked. She gathered it had something to do with how Lucifer seemed to be calling the shots and how he'd shot down Amenadiel's idea of how to proceed.

"Amenadiel was Dad's second in command. Anything Dad didn't need to do personally fell to him. Situations, like the one we're in now, would've fallen to him if Dad was unable to handle it himself. However, he broke several rules and acted without Dad's knowledge, so his powers were taken," Lucifer explained.

"Someone had to take his post," Chloe surmised. She didn't know the workings of Heaven, but as a cop, she was familiar with the chain of command. When a commanding officer couldn't do his job, it had to fall to someone else.

Lucifer nodded.

"You," Chloe guessed. It was pretty obvious with the way Lucifer had taken control. It did surprise her that he'd do that though. She would've thought that Lucifer would want as little as possible to do with this father or his command.

"Yes, unfortunately. My father manipulated me. Me led me to believe he was going to give the position to Michael. As he's recently proven, Michael's a bloody idiot, and one who thinks he's worth much more than he is. He would've doomed everyone and held it over our heads while he did it. I discovered later that Dad knew that and had no intention of giving him the position. He misled me to get me to do his bidding. I admit thought that seeing Michael's face when he found out I had the role was worth it," Lucifer said before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Except that he's betrayed you," Chloe pointed out.

"I doubt that was his intention. My guess is that he came down here to whine on our mother's shoulders and let her build up his ego. She is the reason it's so large to begin with," Lucifer said.

"Yeah, I definitely got that vibe from both of them," Chloe said.

"Michael's a bastard, and he'll pay for what he's done, but Mum is pulling his strings. I'm doubtful he even knows her intentions," Lucifer said. He loathed giving Michael the benefit of any doubt, but he knew how manipulative his mother was, and how much of an idiot Michael was. She could easily figure out how to work him.

"Are you saying you think he's a victim in this?" Chloe asked.

"Certainly not," Lucifer said with a laugh. "Even if I'm right, and Michael doesn't know Mum's plan, he knows her feelings towards our father, and he knows what she's capable of. Even he's not stupid enough to think her plan will be anything other than sinister. He helped her get that blade anyway, which means he things it will benefit him."

"If you don't think he knows, do you think maybe telling him will help?" Chloe asked. Despite the fact that she couldn't stand Lucifer's twin, she figured it might be worth it to try to make him see the mistakes he was making.

"Absolutely not. I don't trust Michael in the slightest. Best case scenario, he does something stupid and tips Mum off that we know what she's planning. Worse case, he decides that war with Dad helps him. As I said, he likely things that working with Mum is in his best interests, which is all he cares about," Lucifer explained.

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, he seems impulsive to say the least, even more so than you."

"Everyone keeps calling me impulsive," Lucifer pouted.

Chloe smiled. "You are, but your brother seems worse. He's a loose cannon."

"Did he hurt you?" Lucifer asked with concern in his voice.

"No, but there's no doubt in my mind he wanted to. Your mother kept him in line, but it was clear he thinks humans are beneath him," Chloe said.

"He thinks everyone is beneath him. I'm not even sure he respects Father. I think it's more likely he's too afraid of the consequences to challenge him too directly," Lucifer said.

"He's out for himself, and no one else. That's why you don't want to chance telling him Charlotte's using him. He has no loyalty or values," Chloe said.

"Exactly. He'd turn on anyone the moment it served his purposes. You can't trust someone like that. Plus, I just can't bloody stand him," Lucifer said.

"I guess I should've realized that. That if someone's that self-serving, you can't work with them. I knew your mom couldn't be trusted, but I chose to ignore it and work with her anyway," Chloe said. She was starting to really appreciate what she'd done. She thought she knew the risks of working with Charlotte, but she never considered the lives she might be putting at risk, including Lucifer's. Charlotte clearly didn't care about anyone, even her kids.

"It's not your fault. Everything she's done thus far, she would've probably done whether or not you became involved or not. She's determined to return to the Silver City and wage war with my father. She was long before I even went back to Heaven," Lucifer told her.

"Then why did she need me?" Chloe wondered.

"She probably plans to use you to get to me," Lucifer said. It was also possible that his mother thought the detective unknowingly harbored some sort of ability because she created through a celestial blessing, or that it would get his father's attention because of how she was created, but Lucifer didn't want to spring all that on the detective right now.

"And it worked. You came because you thought I was in danger. Now, you could be at risk," Chloe said.

"Chances are I would've come anyway. I would've feared for your safety and come. That's if we still would've put two and two together. Gabriel connected Michael's actions with our mother's because he knew she was planning something. He knew this because our father asked him to watch you," Lucifer explained.

"So you don't think anything could've prevented this?" Chloe asked.

"I don't think so. Perhaps if Michael wasn't a susceptible, self-serving idiot, it could've been, or at least been delayed, but nothing you did could've," Lucifer said.

Chloe nodded. "So what now?"

"I must get you and your offspring somewhere safe. If my mother finds out I'm here, she may use you to manipulate me. I won't allow that. I must make sure you're safe," Lucifer said.

"That might do more damage though. If we disappear, your mom will know you're here. You said you didn't want her knowing that yet," Chloe said.

"Yes, but protecting you is my first priority. If I reveal my hand by doing so, so be it," Lucifer said firmly.

"Can you even hide us? Your mother is the Goddess for crying out loud. Couldn't she find anyone she wants?" Chloe asked. She assumed the Goddess was much like God. She could see and know everything.

"Not in this form, no. I'm not positive exactly how much power she has, but she is significantly weakened by her human body. Her true appearance isn't corporal on Earth, plus it was weakened in Hell. She couldn't really do anything without a human host, but that host makes her more vulnerable," Lucifer explained.

"Is it the same with your father?" Chloe asked.

"Well, he's never come to Earth personally to my knowledge, but I don't think he needs a human body. Father's much stronger than Mother, which is why he was able to send her to Hell so easily. He can take a human host, but I don't think he needs to. Now, Mum having the Flaming Sword would change things. That blade can kill anything, including my father," Lucifer said.

"So if she gets the other parts, it could tip the scales in her favor," Chloe surmised.

Lucifer nodded. "And it will be all out war if that happens. Humans and angels will likely be killed. But I will make sure you're safe." He'd do whatever he had to in order to ensure both Chloe and her offspring were safe. He'd take them both to Heaven or Hell if he had to. Live humans had never been in either realm before, but he'd do what he must.

"What will you do if you can stop my mom and brother," Chloe asked. She understood enough to know that it wouldn't be as simple as just getting the other parts of the sword. It wouldn't eliminate the risk Charlotte posed. She would still be looking for war.

"I will take them back to Heaven. They will face Father's judgement," Lucifer said sadly. Michael, he didn't care about, but he couldn't deny not wanting to be the one to hand his mother over to possibly be executed. Even after all she did, she was still his mother. But she was never going to stop being a threat. Even sending her back to Hell didn't seem like it would be enough. It was his responsibility to stop her from threatening Earth and the Silver City.

Chloe grabbed his hand and squeezed it in comfort. She knew this was hurting him, and despite the fact that he said it wasn't her fault, she couldn't help but feel like it was.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Charlotte toyed with the Flaming Sword as she sat on the couch. Michael sat across from her looking non too pleased. She couldn't blame him. She asked him to return to Heaven. He'd come back saying the gates had been locked. There were no humans waiting to be welcomed in and no one there to welcome them. They'd been sealed shut.

Charlotte was a little displeased by this development. She knew it meant that her husband had figured out something. She didn't know if he knew everything, but he knew enough to lock the gates for the first time ever. However, she did believe this helped her as well. It just might be what she needed to convince Michael to help her take down her husband. Thus far, she hadn't told him everything because she worried he wouldn't help. Now she had a chance. "Darling, I know you're upset about not being able to get in."

"He looked the doors! It is clear to me that it was because of me. Why else would they be locked. It is Samael's fault, I'm sure. He's convinced Father that I'm some sort of threat! He is the threat! How can Father not see that!" Michael asked angrily.

"Your father clearly isn't thinking clearly. He brought Samael home. He refused to let you be his second when you're clearly the best person for the job. Now he's locked Heaven. Those doors should never be locked. I fear that he's going to make a mistake that will cost him and you and your siblings," Charlotte said with false concern laced in her voice.

"So do I," Michael said.

"So maybe we have to take matters into our own hands. Someone has to take charge and stop your father from destroying everything he and I built," she said.

Michael gaped in realization. "What? You want to start a rebellion? No, I am not Samael!"

"No, of course not, Darling. This is different. Samael rebelled out his selfish, unreasonable wishes. We're trying to help. We're going it for your father's own good, as well as everyone else's. Your father will understand once we make him see how far he's fallen. I know it may seem like a rebellion, but it's not. It's best for everyone. I will take over for a while, and you will be my second. Everyone will see you the way I do. You will get the respect you deserve," Charlotte told him.

Michael couldn't deny how much it appealed to him. No one at home treated him with respect. He hated it. They were all beneath him, but they acted like they were his equal, or worse, like they were better. He deserved to be respected, and perhaps his mother was right about his father as well. His father had made some terrible decisions, but involving Michael's despicable twin.

"Why don't you think about it? You could do with some rest. Give it all some thought," Charlotte said. She couldn't come off as too pushy. She'd said what she needed to. Michael would agree with little more persuasion. He already wanted to agree.

"Yes, that seems like an acceptable idea," Michael said before getting up and heading out of the room.

Charlotte smirked. Everything was coming together. She had the Flaming Sword and she had Michael. She had yet to get the Flaming Sword to work. She'd had Michael hold it a few times, without telling him what it really was, but nothing happened. It wasn't a big deal though. Once Michael agreed to help her, she'd have him try again. If it still didn't work, she knew it would work for Lucifer. She would get him to help if she had to. If he didn't agree willingly, she would make him. That was what his detective was for. She could easily persuade his son using her. She would take her husband down and return home where she belonged.