The first thing Trixie-dad did was take him back to the scene of his own death.

It hadn't been immediately apparent, why they were in the woods again, and being in the place made him uncomfortable - the ghost of an anxiety that just left him irritable.

He saw his siblings then, arranged around two people.

His own wings caught his eye first and he smiled appreciatively. Until they walked around the frozen scene and he saw the mess that was his body - dirt everywhere and a big glob of it where his head wound had been. His eyes were shadowed, his skin pale. But the worst was his mouth, his jaw and cheek, crooked and bleeding, thanks to Remiel's punch.

Tsk.
Chloe saw me like this.

The sight of her stirred a multitude of emotions. The joy was immediate, followed by the longing to gather her up and shield her from what was about to happen. Then a deep concern - she looked so worried and tired.

A sudden sharp grief hit him horribly, and he found himself turning away as his illusory eyes mimicked the beginnings of tears.

Trixie's little hand looped through his own.

He grasped at it like a drowning man.

Seeing his own death was nothing compared to reliving Chloe's pain.

He closed his eyes as Trixie restarted everything, but the emotions still slid over him.

Are you going to undo this, Father? he murmured as they drew closer to Remiel, and the moment she diverted the bullet.

"You'll handle the bullets, Remy?" Amenadiel asked, his back to her, wings just unfurling to fly.

His brother was focused solely on getting them away, and worried about Lucifer's jaw. He thought pulling Chloe away first would help him heal.

Lucifer frowned. That was the problem though, wasn't it? It didn't seem that her proximity mattered anymore.

"Yes," Remiel answered.

He opened his eyes at his sister's voice, turning to look again just as the past version did.

Time halted.

Father? he asked, as Trixie still hadn't answered his question.

They were at this moment, perhaps he could...

He stepped forward and swung his hand at his sister's as her finger was moments from contact.

He passed through her, insubstantial. Ineffective.

"I can't," Trixie said flatly, studying Remiel's face.

Lucifer frowned, and focused on his sister. A revelation came from the moment.

She never forgave me for Uriel...

He hadn't known.

His sister's triumph spiked through him as the scene began to play again, dampened still by Amenadiel's power.

Trixie's gaze shifted to the Lucifer of this moment, and he followed suit, watching and feeling his own recognition of what was about to happen. The decision to save Chloe.

Trixie's face crumpled. "Look at what you did, Sammy. Look how beautiful your light is right now. I'm so sorry this happened."

Time restarted earnestly, released from Amenadiel's hold.

Lucifer watched Chloe intently as the bullet burst through his chest and tore through her arm, sending them both to the ground. Pain, confusion and shock shot through him from her, chased by a dawning horror and panic.

Chloe, he moaned, her pain growing too much, as she struggled to him, her arm pulsing blood. Father, please. Please stop this.

Time froze again, at the moment he lay in Chloe's lap.

Azrael stood over him.

Chloe's mouth was open in a soundless scream he still remembered.

Azrael's head turned towards them.

"Reviewing, Father?" Azrael asked Trixie.

Lucifer shook his head in disbelief.

Sister, you are terrifying.

The angel of death grinned at him. "Aww, thanks." She returned her attention to Trixie. "He was mortal, Father, I believe that's important."

Trixie lowered to Lucifer's body, nodding slowly. "Yes. Something happened to him that I did not foresee."

Lucifer waved at them both. I know I'm dead, but I am actually present here. Do you think you could stop talking about me in the third person?

Azrael merely smiled.

You knew I was going to die, didn't you.

She nodded. "Yes. I was not sure of the cause, but I knew your thread would be cut at that moment."

Well, thank you so much, dear sister, for saying absolutely nothing at all at the time!

Her face fell. "Oh my dear brother, I can't change what's about to happen. I don't have that power."

Arms crossed tightly about his chest, Lucifer scowled down at his prone body.

So I was vulnerable, Chloe was there. What is the point of this?

But even as he said it, he realized this was a half truth. He hadn't been simply vulnerable. He had been mortal. He'd first been shot when he was miles away from Chloe.

Trixie nodded again and rose. "Yes, let's see that too."

Oh, he snorted at her. Great. Let's.

"Bye!" Azrael said waving before returning her gaze to Lucifer's body.

And the world shifted again.

They were standing next to two men, dressed in camo gear and overburdened with supplies, on a small bluff overlooking the valley and river.

The men were hunting for Bigfoot.

The Guardian's a complete twat, by the way, Lucifer mumbled, irritated about everything.

"No, he isn't," Trixie snorted back at him, her hand seeking his again as she scanned the sky. "He's very kind, and he saved your life."

It was Lucifer's time to snort. Fat lot of good that did. I ended up dying anyway.

"True, but that wasn't his fault. He offered you shelter and food. If you'd taken it, you may not have died."

I would have, because both his food and his shelter were poison.

She rolled her eyes, then smiled at the sky. "Here you come!"

Lucifer looked up, frowning. Yes. Lovely. Fair warning - I was a little drunk.

The landing was not entirely graceful or angelic, as Lucifer's left wing clipped a nearby spruce. He almost tossed the bag of breakfast goodies over his head as he struggled to compensate, finally landing hard and staggering a few feet.

Lucifer slapped his palm to his face.

The men were so incredibly gobsmacked that they couldn't speak. Steve had raised his gun, hearing the commotion in the trees, his finger automatically seeking the trigger.

"Bollocks," the past Lucifer mumbled, checking his bag to make sure everything was fine. He then pointed over his shoulder. "Been flyin' around for hours... do either of you gents know where-"

A crack split the air - Lucifer twisted to his right with a grunt, dropping the bag, then grabbed at his side. Blood spilled over his fingers as he looked back at the men in shock.

"Fuck!"

He took to the air in a flurry of wing beats.

Steve fired three more shots in quick succession.

One clipped the very top of Lucifer's wing, another missed, and the last caught him hard against the temple.

Annnnd, down I go.

He fell, tumbling limply, out of sight.

"WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!" Art yelled, as Steve dropped to his knees in horror.

Everything froze.

Trixie frowned up at him.

Lucifer crossed his arms, feeling rather defensive.

I don't like camping, Father. I went into town, and thought I'd pop into the pub and have a few fingers of whiskey for the return flight.

"And?"

Lucifer frowned. And it hit me like a ton of bricks. He walked to the edge of the bluff and stared down at the churning waters below. I was disoriented, lost, and spent ages trying to find Chloe. Finally saw these two and thought I'd ask them.

"Thought you'd fly down, with big wings on your back, and ask two armed men for directions?"

He winced. I wasn't of sound mind, Father.

"Clearly." Trixie frowned. "It seems you were mortal before you went to town, Samael, otherwise the drink wouldn't have affected you."

He scowled, watching his body just starting to flail in the waters below.

How, Father? he asked, looking up at her with a terrible need. How is that possible?

"I think one last stop will answer this."

Lucifer sighed, and nodded, and bent over the bluff again.

IDIOT!


I enjoy Trixie and Lucifer's interactions so much :D Think I'll explain a few things here. Azrael is a little different from other angels, since she uses multiple instances of herself to collect souls. She's a little more outside of the rules of linear time than her siblings are. Speaking of time - some of the start stops that Trixie is doing in this scene affect Amenadiel's slowed time and then regular time. So sorry about any confusion over that.

I greatly enjoyed the idea of Lucifer crashing into a tree while drunk as well %) Poor dude.

In the next chapter, we find out how Lucifer lost his immortality. If you're enjoying the story, or not, let me know with a comment. And thank you for reading!