While waiting for news from Mazikeen down in Hell regarding Lucifer's whereabouts, Chloe deals with her guilt for running away while Michael learns more about humanity. What happens when a seasoned Detective and the Sword of God join forces to take down what's left of the Sinnerman Network, which is out to avenge their leader's death? And will Chloe and Michael finally get the news from Mazikeen they've been waiting for?

We're almost fully caught up! You can read the next three chapters right now over at Archive of Our Own, or you can take your time by reading it here. Enjoy!

Chapter IX: Waiting in the Wings

Chloe watched from the penthouse balcony as Michael flew away with Maze against the backdrop of the night sky, on their way to Hell. Today had been a long day for her. No, scratch that, today had been one of the worst days of her life. She'd gotten the news that she never imagined hearing: her partner had been killed, and his soul was trapped in Hell. Michael and Mazikeen had joined forces to save him, and she was left waiting in the wings for their return, unable to do anything else.

The heavy rain was finally letting up, leaving only a light rain in its wake. She wondered if all the rain was God mourning the passing of His son, and she was not impressed with the crocodile tears after He sent the angel who banished Lucifer from Heaven to punish him for killing Pierce, and then just leaving Lucifer in Hell without his body to suffer. If she ever met the Big Guy in person, she would punch Him in his Almighty Face.

And now she was alone, without her partner. She knew that, as a cop, losing a partner was always a possibility. She just never imagined that she would be the one to lose him, and what a big hole his absence would leave in her life. She never imagined that she would feel this way after learning that Lucifer was the actual Devil, and she ran away from him. She even almost went to Rome to research him at The Vatican. But upon hearing of his death, she packed up her bags, grabbed Trixie, and took the first flight back to Los Angeles. She wondered why she even ran away in the first place.

She was devastated, and full of guilt at running away. Michael told her that Lucifer wouldn't want her to feel guilty, but she couldn't help it. Lucifer could've been happy for one more day if only she hadn't run away from him in terror. She could've given him one more day before his brother showed up to take him away. After everything Lucifer had done for her, he deserved that much. He hadn't even been able to say goodbye to her in person, and he had spent his last day on Earth tormented with how he was going to lose it all.

She pulled out the bullet necklace from under her shirt, brought it up to her lips and kissed it, glancing down over the edge of the balcony, wishing that her prayers could carry to him. Feeling utterly helpless to do anything but wait for the news that may never come, she went back to Lucifer's bedroom and sat next to him. She took his hand in hers, kneading his knuckles, looking down at his still form. She could still smell his expensive cologne and that brand of cigarettes that he loved so much. He didn't look or feel like he had died. He looked like he was sleeping, waiting for a kiss or a tearful love confession that would awaken him, but she knew that it was a lie.

Chloe suddenly heard wings on the balcony, and she knew Michael had arrived from Hell. She didn't leave Lucifer's side as Michael walked into the bedroom with no wings. She couldn't help wondering where their wings went when they weren't using them. "Rough flight?" she asked, seeing him covered in ash from head to toe, but there was no joy in her words.

"I have taken Mazikeen to Hell," said Michael, trying to brush the ash off his jacket, and then out of his long hair, but that was not coming out without a proper bath. "She will send word when she has found Lucifer's soul. All we can do now is wait."

"You don't know how much I appreciate you working with her to save Lucifer," she said, stroking Lucifer's untamed curls. She remembered fondly how he never bothered to tame those curls when they first met. "I know it's not easy for you."

"I can set aside my disdain for demons long enough to save my brother's soul from the horrors of Hell," said Michael, still trying to get the ash off.

"And your… Dad?" she asked, looking at him with concern. She could tell that the question made him nervous. It couldn't be easy standing up to the Almighty.

"I imagine that Father will let His will be known sooner or later," he said. His thoughts wandered to his Father saying something like, 'How you have fallen from Heaven, evening star, son of the dusk' and he couldn't help but fear getting tossed out of Heaven like his brother. He feared losing it all. He didn't understand humanity like his brother did and he doubted he ever would. How could he make a life for himself here?

Suddenly, they heard the elevator doors opening again, and Chloe rushed to cover Lucifer's body with the blanket. She hoped that it was Mazikeen or whatever demon she had sent to tell them about Lucifer's whereabouts. She heard Dan calling for Lucifer, and she sighed, her hopes dashed. "Damn it, I was just about to call him to calm him down," she whispered.

"Can anyone simply walk in here?!" asked Michael, aghast. How many people had walked into the penthouse while he was here? He would have a talk with his brother about security when they found him in Hell and brought him back.

"Lucifer?" asked Dan, having obviously heard the voice.

"Hide!" she whisper-yelled at him, "I'll take care of him." Michael hid in the walk-in closet in front of a full-body mirror, while Chloe made sure that Lucifer was covered properly before she ran down the stairs to meet Dan. "Dan, what are you doing here?"

"Was that Lucifer's voice I heard?"

"I didn't hear anything," she lied.

"Did you come back because of Michael? I've been trying to call you since that freak got your location out of me with some Jedi mind trick. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?!"

"No, I'm fine," she sighed. No, she wasn't fine. She wasn't going to be fine until Lucifer's soul was back in his body, and she could hug him and kiss him and tell him how much she missed him and how sorry she was that she ran away.

"Did you come back to deal with Lucifer's disappearance?"

"Yeah," she said in complete honesty. Just not in the way you think.

"Look, Chloe, it's not looking good. Lucifer's been missing for almost twenty-four hours, and the last person to see him alive was Michael. We found his Corvette and his cellphone abandoned near the beach. We found blood on the beach where someone matching his description was reportedly stabbed and killed. I have no love for the guy after he caused Charlotte's death, but if Pierce's goons did something to him, who's to say they won't come after the three of us? We need to find out where he is and what happened to him."

"What if it wasn't them? We would be letting them know that Lucifer's missing. He may be the only reason they haven't gone after any of us."

"Maybe his own twin brother sold him out to the Sinnerman's goons," speculated Daniel, pacing around, worried. "Think about it, Chloe. Michael was the last person to see Lucifer alive. Lucifer wouldn't shut up last night about how Michael was going to 'drag him back to Hell' for killing Pierce, and Michael even confirmed it."

"Dan, you're really reaching here."

"Am I? Michael told me to my face last night that Lucifer would be brought to justice for killing Pierce. Then he made me give him your location this morning so he could tell you about the death of someone called Samael. I looked it up, Chloe, and 'Samael' was the Devil's name before the Archangel Michael kicked him out of Heaven. Who goes around pretending to be the Devil? Who told me to my face that he was the Sword of God? I think there's some serious foul play going on here."

"Dan, please, don't go advertising that Lucifer's missing while Pierce's goons are still out there. At least wait until we come up with a plan."

"We may already be in danger!" he insisted, "Marcus Pierce was the lieutenant, Chloe. Who knows how many people are on his side at the station? Even if they weren't involved in Lucifer's disappearance, even if Lucifer isn't declared missing, they're going to know something's up when he doesn't show up at the station for two days straight. We still haven't apprehended two of Pierce's gunmen! Who knows what they're planning?"

Michael was still in the walk-in closet, listening to everything. It made his blood boil that this human was accusing him of working with Cain against Samael. He wanted to warp a wall around Daniel again and watch him squirm. But there were more important things to worry about. If Lucifer being missing was a threat to Chloe and Trixie, then he would do whatever it took to protect them, as he had sworn to do. He saw himself in the full-body mirror, the Sword of God, and he knew what he had to do to save his brother's life on Earth.

Michael picked up Lucifer's sword and stood in front of the mirror. He removed the ponytail, letting his long hair hang loose for the last time, then held the sword with one hand and his hair with the other. He hesitated, but his brother had given his life for him, and the least he could do was cut his hair to save his loved ones. With one swift motion, he cut his beautiful hair close to the scalp, leaving it short like Lucifer's. He put the sword away and held his hair in one hand, looking at it sadly, but he told himself to get over it, that it was just hair, that it would grow back, and that his oath to protect Lucifer's loved ones was more important.

He combed through his hair, then he grabbed a pair of scissors and fixed his haircut to better match Lucifer's. He grabbed some of his brother's favorite hair product and applied it, then he grabbed the comb again and styled it properly. With the hair done, he moved on to the makeup. He looked for his brother's eyeliner and carefully applied it in front of the mirror. He even had the beard, courtesy of his angelic self-actualization. He looked at himself in the mirror again, and he couldn't find himself anymore.

I only need to look at you to see what I could become should I turn away from our Father's grace—he remembered telling his brother on that fateful morning—You are the Devil, a fallen angel, a murderer, and I will not become you.

"Only for you, brother." Then he went to face Daniel, who was still arguing with Chloe over his brother's disappearance. "But I'm right here, Douche!" he said in a perfect imitation of his brother's accent.

"Lucifer?" asked Daniel, mouth agape.

"Lucifer?!" she gasped. She stared at 'Lucifer' long and hard. He looked just like him. He had the scruff that she adored, and his hair was short unlike his twin's. She looked into his eyes, and the way he held himself, and she almost believed it was Lucifer. No, this was Michael pretending to be him, and doing a great job at it, too.

"Yes, Lucifer. In the flesh," said Michael, grinning.

"How do I know you're not Michael pretending to be Lucifer?" asked Daniel, looking at Michael intently, who just stared right back.

"Look at the hair!" exclaimed Michael, motioning to his short hair and scruff, "The perfectly arranged pocket square! Could Michael pull this off? I don't think so."

"Right, right. Why are you covered in ash? Where the hell were you?"

"Isn't it obvious? I've been through Hell and back. Why do you think I left my car and my cellphone behind? But I'm ready to get back into the swing of things."

"Riiight. How long have you been here?"

"A while. I was about to bathe due to me being, you know, covered in ash from head to toe. I heard you come in, but I was undressing at the time. Did you want me to come out here naked? Would that make you happy, Douche?"

"I don't want to hear about you being naked, man!" said Daniel, sounding frustrated, "Wasn't that awkward moment we had at the precinct enough?"

"And miss out on another chance to make you uncomfortable?" he said, grinning from ear to ear, even though he had no idea what Daniel was talking about. Had something happened between Daniel and Lucifer? He knew his brother quite enjoyed the company of women and men, or at least he did until he met Chloe, but Daniel? He decided he just didn't want to know.

"I'm going," said Daniel, pinching the bridge of his nose, looking completely done with all of this.

"It's okay, you can call off the search party. I'm unharmed. I wasn't stabbed and killed by a demon," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling naked without his long hair. Chloe elbowed him in the gut, and he stared at her in confusion. "I was joking!" Chloe let out a laugh, playing along with him, and he laughed with her.

"You say the weirdest things, man," he said, shaking his head. "Just… Don't leave town until the loft investigation is over, okay?"

"Make up your mind, Douche! Do you want to see me or not?"

"Just…" Daniel sputtered, frustrated. "You're friggin' impossible, man!"

"Why, thank you. I try," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

"I swear, he only exists to torture me," he muttered, then he turned his attention to Chloe, "Chloe, who's watching Trixie tonight?"

"Well, I'm staying with Lucifer. Can you go pick up Trixie and take her to my mom's? She's at my house with the babysitter."

"You're spending the night with this asshole?!"

"What did you call me?" he asked, glaring at him. He made a threatening move toward him, but Chloe put a hand on him to hold him back, and she was glad that he actually listened.

"Dan, you're way out of line. I think you should go."

"Fine," he said, huffing, "I'll go pick up Trixie and take her to Penelope's while we deal with this Sinnerman mess."

"Why should a complete stranger pick her up? She will be safe with us," said Michael.

"I'm her father! You're just a nightclub owner who barged into our lives uninvited!"

Oh, he is her father. Well, how was I to know? They look nothing alike! "You are behaving like a complete stranger right now," said Michael, successfully saving face. "And I understand, you're grieving for Charlotte. But that's no excuse to take it out on me."

"You're the one who got her killed!" yelled Daniel.

Michael looked at Chloe with a 'did I?' look on his face, and she just shook her head. "I did no such thing! Besides, Charlotte is in Heaven. My brother, Michael, can vouch for that. Do you want me to bring him out here?"

"Michael's a dick!"

"Dan, you're way out of line," she warned him, trying to hold Michael back once again. "I know you're grieving but it's no excuse to treat him or his brother like this. Go pick up Trixie, take her to mom's, and I'll see you at the station tomorrow."

"Yes, and I will be there as well, bright and early, to bring these criminals to justice," said Michael, "Isn't that right, detective?"

She tried to hide that Michael calling her 'detective' while pretending to be Lucifer stung, and she barely managed it. "Yep, like you always do."

"Fine, I'll see you two tomorrow," said Daniel, then he pulled 'Lucifer' out of earshot. "She's vulnerable right now, so I don't want to hear about you taking advantage of her, okay?"

"Take advantage? How?" asked Michael, honestly confused about what he was implying.

"Don't play dumb!" said Daniel through his teeth, "We both know you've been trying to get her into bed since day one, so don't even try it."

Michael stared at him for a while, struggling to understand, and then it hit him like a bolt of lightning. Did Daniel think he would try to…? "What?!" He had never even been with anyone in his long life, and Daniel thought he would try something with Chloe, Lucifer's beloved? He didn't know whether to be horrified or furious at the suggestion. Finally, he settled on righteous fury and indignation. "How dare you?!"

Chloe ran over and once again, she had to hold Michael back. "Dan, go. Now."

Michael watched him go, feeling severely tempted to put him through a wall again just to watch him quiver with fear. "Do I have your permission to put Daniel through a wall?" he said, reverting to his original accent.

"He didn't mean it, Michael. He's been like this since he lost Charlotte."

"But she is in Heaven. I told him as much. I saw her there with my own eyes. She was happily talking to Eve about her disappointment of a son, Cain."

"I don't know if Dan believes that. By the way, thank you for doing what you did." Sometimes looking at his twin brother was torture, especially now that he cut his hair and looked exactly like him. "Lucifer being missing could be a huge problem if this Sinnerman group is still out there looking for revenge."

"I thought it best to keep up the charade for you and your daughter's sake until my brother returns," he said, and he couldn't help absentmindedly rubbing the back of his head again, missing his long hair. She stared at him for a while, and he looked self-conscious. "What?"

"You were very convincing as Lucifer. I was under the impression that you two hadn't spoken since The Rebellion."

"We actually had not spoken since Moses died."

"Wait, you hadn't talked to Lucifer since The Ten Commandments and you managed to fool Daniel, who's known Lucifer for years?"

"Fortunately, I know my brother, Ms. Decker. And by doing this, I will prevent his life from falling apart in his absence. My brother should have a life to return to." He looked toward the elevator, thinking about Daniel's warning and how preposterous it was. "Even if that life includes… him."

"He's just looking out for me, Michael," she said, still looking at him suspiciously, but at least he was helping, even with his freakishly good Lucifer impression that made no sense because they hadn't spoken since The Ten Commandments, raising a ton of red flags with her. He was hiding something, and she was going to find out what it was. "Same as you."

"Yes, and I will not leave your side until the threat has passed."

"Michael, it's fine. I don't need an escort. We can meet here in the morning and I'll take you to the station. I'm sure you have no idea where that is. Or do you?"

"No, of course I do not know where this so-called 'station' is. And I am not leaving your side. If I have to unfurl my wings and follow you from the sky, I will. 'Watch over Chloe and Trixie', he told me, as he took his last breaths." He looked emotional, and the tears came back to Chloe's eyes. "I promised him that I would be your guardian angel, Ms. Decker, and I will not break that promise."

She stared at him, speechless, and she wiped at her eyes again. Even as Lucifer lay dying, all he cared about was that she and her daughter would be safe. And she ran away from him in terror, looking at him like he was a monster. The guilt came back in full force, and she momentarily found it hard to breathe. She wanted him to be Lucifer, to apologize for leaving him when he needed her the most, but he was no Lucifer.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You look just like him now," said Chloe, looking at him sadly, "I keep having to remind myself that you're not him."

Michael's face fell. "I… I…" He quickly looked away, feeling terrible for what his presence was doing to her. "I did not consider how difficult my resemblance to Lucifer would be for you," he said, looking ashamed. "Ms. Decker, I…"

"I'm going to change. It's late," she interrupted him, and quickly went to the walk-in closet to look for one of Lucifer's shirts to sleep in. She needed to feel close to Lucifer, and she always loved wearing his shirts, and she knew he secretly loved it, too. She looked through his closet and found one of Lucifer's white dress shirts, and quickly went to the bathroom to change.

Michael watched her go, feeling sad for her. He missed his brother, too, and he could tell how much Lucifer's absence was hurting Chloe, and his resemblance didn't help matters. Unable to do anything else, he went out to the balcony to watch the stars and give her some space. After a while, he heard her walking up behind him and he didn't turn to look at her, trying to spare her from seeing Lucifer's face when it didn't belong to the celestial she loved.

"There's, uh, nothing left for us to do until tomorrow morning, Michael. I'm going to turn in. It's been a really… really… really long day." She felt more tears coming on, and she sucked in a breath and let it out, telling herself to calm down. "Do you have a place to stay?"

"I have nowhere to go," he admitted, knowing that he couldn't return to Heaven while he was openly planning to defy his Father. "Ms. Decker, I realize that my resemblance to Lucifer is not helping you during these trying times. I do not have to be near you to protect you. I can do that from above just fine. Just tell me to leave, and I will leave."

"No, please, don't go." She went to stand next to him, but he just looked away. "You're the one who's going through Hell and back to bring Lucifer back to life. The least I can do is let you stay at the penthouse."

"And I appreciate that, but I believe it is best if I leave."

"I can't punish you for being Lucifer's twin brother. That's not fair to you." She leaned over the balcony railing, still not looking at him. "Look, I won't deny that it's hard seeing you next to me and not be able to hold you, or…" She took a deep breath and then let it out, trying not to cry again. "But you're sacrificing everything for your brother. I can sacrifice for you, too. Please, stay."

"I will stay then, for as long as you will have me."

"And besides, we still haven't apprehended two of the Sinnerman's gunmen from the loft. Who better than the Sword of God to help me catch these criminals?"

"They shot at you and my brother, did they not?" He glanced at her briefly, and she nodded. "Then they will be brought to justice. To that end, I place my sword and my powers at your service, milady," he said, giving her a small bow.

"It could be dangerous. You could be shot, too. Are you willing to take that risk?"

"I am not worried about human weapons. I am invulnerable."

"Wait, you're invulnerable?" Chloe had flashbacks about Lucifer getting hurt around her, again and again, and something wasn't right. "Well, why is Lucifer always getting hurt then? I watched as Malcolm shot him, and I… I shot him! What is this?!"

Michael recalled having this exact conversation with his brother on that beach. Apparently, he was only vulnerable around the detective. But why? He had no idea, and he imagined that it had something to do with angelic self-actualization and Lucifer's feelings for the detective. Or maybe it was due to her status as a Gift from God. Whatever the reason, he decided to let the two of them handle that topic when the time came. "I do not know why my brother is vulnerable, Ms. Decker. I suspect he does not know either. But I can assure you that I am not."

That was a conversation she needed to have with Lucifer when he was back on Earth. For now, they had some escaped gunmen who needed to be taken in before they could hurt anyone else. "Pierce's gunmen will be expecting Lucifer to be vulnerable," she said, thinking of a plan. "I guess you're my secret weapon, Michael."

"I go where you go, Ms. Decker."

"Good to know," she said, giving him a small smile. He nodded and turned to look at the stars, and she followed suit. After a while of looking at the stars, she bit back a yawn, and then she patted Michael's arm. "I'm going to get some sleep, Michael." She went to lie down on the couch and got comfortable. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Bright and early." Michael followed her back to the living room, went to the couch, grabbed a blanket that was placed over it and draped it over her. "I will watch over you."

"Good night." She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost instantly, dreaming about her Guardian Devil.

The next morning, after a mostly restless sleep, Chloe woke up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She was starving, and she needed to get ready for work. She remembered that she still had clothes from the Disneyland trip in a suitcase in the trunk of her car. She had been so distraught over Lucifer's death that she hadn't even bothered unpacking. She quickly went down to grab her suitcase and then came back up, dragging her suitcase up the stairs to Lucifer's bedroom. She stole one glance at him, and then she frowned and kept walking to the closet. She went into the bathroom, quickly undressed, and took a shower. She mostly just held herself against the wall, letting the water rain down on her, thinking about Lucifer and the hole he left in her life with his disappearance. She wondered if that's how he felt when she ran away from him. She felt the tears coming on again and she didn't stop them from falling.

Once the shower was complete, she dried off, changed into some clean clothes, put her hair in a ponytail and walked back to Lucifer's bedroom. There he was, looking as perfect as always. She sat next to him again and stroked his hair and face, wishing that he could tell her 'good morning, detective' in the way he always did, like his day was brighter just for being near her.

"Good morning, Ms. Decker," said Michael, suddenly standing at the door, wearing one of Lucifer's purple robes.

Chloe gasped and looked up at him, surprised to hear him. There it was, Lucifer's voice again. She sighed, reminding herself that it was Michael. "Michael, did you even sleep?"

"I do not require as much sleep as you humans. I spent the night reading my brother's extensive collection of books, trying to learn more about humanity."

"Then why did you change into the robe?" she asked, honestly confused.

"I thought it was a human custom to do so at night," he said, looking down at himself, "Does this custom require that I sleep as well?"

"You change into comfortable clothes so you can sleep better," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Ah," he said, nodding in realization. So, he was missing the other half of the custom, of course. Why was humanity so complicated? "I will keep that in mind for tonight, then."

"You need to go get ready. There's a shower and stuff in the walk-in closet. I'll make some breakfast for us as soon as I can find the kitchen."

"The kitchen is that way," he said, pointing at the stairs by the bookshelves leading down to another level. Chloe gave him another suspicious look, so he cleared his throat and went into the bathroom in the walk-in closet to get ready for the day. He could manage a shower. He stared at all the appliances around them, not knowing how to work them. He was wrong. He couldn't manage this. "How do you turn on the shower?" he called out from the bathroom.

"You don't know how to work a shower?!"

"I know next to nothing about human customs and technology. I have spent most of my existence in Heaven, Ms. Decker."

"Didn't you take a shower last night? You were covered in ash."

"I washed off at the beach. Was that wrong of me?"

"Oh, my G-…" she started saying, but bit her tongue, not knowing how an angel would react to blasphemy against their Father, no matter how much of a dick He was. "You see the knobs on the wall? Turn those," said Chloe helpfully, and she could hear him go 'ohh' like she just told him the secrets of the universe. "Use the soap to wash up. You can also use shampoo and conditioner in your hair. When you're done, you just wash it off."

"Yes, I believe I can manage the rest of it, thank you."

"Hopeless," she whispered, shaking her head, amused. Chloe found some eggs in the fridge, and some bread in the cupboards, and decided to make scrambled eggs and toast. There was also a ton of orange juice for some reason. She looked for some pans and set out to make breakfast for a soon-to-be fallen angel and herself. Her life had gotten so weird lately. Normalcy? What's that? "Why don't you get out of Heaven much? Are angels not allowed to leave?"

"It is frowned upon." He quickly took off the purple robe and got in the shower. He fumbled with the shower knob, trying to get the water started, "We are only supposed to come down at the behest of our Father."

Michael continued fumbling with the shower knobs until he finally got the water to come out. Then he let out a guttural scream when the scalding hot water hit him and his wings fanned out in surprise, knocking over a few things. He desperately fumbled with the knob, trying to turn it off while staying as far away from the stream of water as possible. Then he turned the knob the other way and got cold water rained down on him instead, and he let out a shrill cry and he curled his wings around himself, shivering, fumbling with the knob yet again, alternating between hot and cold. Finally, he found the middle ground, and he stood there, bracing against the wall, his entire body shivering, feeling cold and hot all over, frustrated at how complicated everything was in the human world.

"You okay?!" she asked, bewildered, from the kitchen.

"Of course," he replied, all too calmly considering his screams from earlier, "Forgive me, human technology continues to elude me."

"Are all angels as far behind on the times as you are?" she asked from the kitchen, hoping that didn't sound rude. "It's like you're straight out of the Dark Ages."

"Well, I was somewhat of a recluse after…" He trailed off, not wanting to dwell on that again. "Well, I never saw the need to understand humans until…" He frowned, once again thinking about falling from Heaven. The fear of losing it all and having to start over in a strange world that he didn't understand threatened to consume him, and he took deep breaths, trying to calm down, reminding himself that he was doing this for a worthy cause.

He went about the business of bathing himself, then he turned off the shower, grabbed a towel and dried himself off. Then he went back to the walk-in closet and stood before a full-body mirror, naked. Once again, he saw his brother staring back at him, and his words to Lucifer sounded in his head again—I will not become you. Sighing, he went to look for some clothes to wear. He settled on black shoes, boxer briefs, a dark brown jacket and matching pants, a lavender dress shirt and a purple pocket square. He put everything on except for the shirt and jacket, which would have to wait until his wings were completely dry. Then he styled his hair, matching Lucifer's, and applied the eyeliner. Finally satisfied with the look, he went out to meet Chloe and he found her in the living room setting the table.

"Something smells delicious," he said, looking at what she made.

"I hope you…" Chloe looked up at Michael, and her jaw dropped. He had beautiful, black, and very damp wings sticking out of his back. She'd seen them before on the balcony, but their splendor was lost in the night sky. Now she can see them in the light of day in full detail, and they were beautiful. In fact, they reminded her of the ones she saw at the religious auction, only in black instead of white. Was that what Lucifer's angel wings looked like? "Your wings…"

"Do they affect you? Some humans do not react well to their divinity. I can put them away if they affect you, but I would much rather not do so while they are wet. The feathers would get unsightly and malodorous, and I am rather vain about my wings."

"They're gorgeous," she said, still looking at them, awestruck.

"I know," he said with a big smile, getting an eyeroll from Chloe, then he went to sit on the couch in front of the table. Chloe sat across from him, and they both dug in. "Oh, this is divine. I do not think I have ever had…" He stared at the food, trying to figure out what it was. "Eggs, I suppose, served in this fashion."

"It's scrambled eggs."

"Ah. I am learning so much about humanity already," he said, smiling, and then it fell.

Chloe saw his distress, and she placed a hand on his, looking directly at him. He wasn't Lucifer, but she could tell he was hurting, too. "This can be your new home. I know Lucifer will take care of you."

He shook his head, doubting that. "I was not exactly kind to him when we fought on the beach. I do not believe we can ever be brothers again. There are many things that have gone unsaid since The Rebellion."

"Well, things have changed. You're already learning to think for yourself. You would've never even considered defying God before all this, right? Maybe this is exactly what you needed to come into your own and lead your own life."

"Lead my own life," he whispered, remembering his brother saying that he wanted to take their lives back from their Creator, just before plunging a sword through his shoulder. He cringed and absentmindedly rubbing at his shoulder. "I do not know how."

"Well, that's what you're going to have to figure out, Michael."

"I have decided that I do not like cars," said Michael, leaning back in his seat, strapped in by that 'seatbelt' contraption that Chloe had to put on him, feeling constrained and unhappy on their way to the station. He was initially excited about the idea of being in a car for the first time in his life, but his tune changed when he realized how uncomfortable they were, and the slow speed was maddening. He shifted uncomfortably as Chloe drove. "Is this what humans do every day to go from place to place?"

"Uh-huh," she said, having had to answer a myriad of questions by now.

"Why is this contraption so slow? What is taking so long? The cosmos was created in less time. Why are we not there yet?"

"Michael, if you ask me that again, I'm leaving you by the side of the road and you'll have to fly to the station," said Chloe, and he just huffed in response, slumped in his seat, and folded his arms, looking even more unhappy.

"I should have brought my sword." He rolled his shoulder, craned his neck to one side and tried to get comfortable. "I am the Sword of God, and I do not have my sword."

"Oh, there's no way you're bringing a sword into the police station. Besides, who brings a sword to a gun fight?"

He looked insulted. "Ms. Decker! A sword is a tool like anything else; it is only as good as its wielder. Besides, a gun will never have the style or finesse of a beautiful sword."

"I'll take your word for it," she said, trying to tune him out and failing. He could be as unbearable as his brother when he was displeased at something.

"Why are there so many cars? Does every human own a car? That is billions of cars. That is not good for the environment. Humans are destroying the Earth with these… cars," he complained, shifting in his seat again.

"Well, maybe God should've given us wings," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Hmph." He drummed his fingers on his thigh, clearly restless. "Why do you keep stopping at these infuriating red lights?"

"You stop at red lights, Michael. That's part of living in a society."

"We barely start moving before we are stopped by these red lights. I could have flown us to the precinct by now but instead, we are bowing down to the lights."

"I'm not showing up at the precinct without my car," she said, rolling her eyes again at his impatience. He obviously hated confined spaces, which made sense for someone with wings, she supposed. "And it's L.A. Traffic's always like this."

"Lucifer told me that he liked driving his car. I do not know how that is possible with this 'traffic', as you called it. He has the patience of a saint, and I am supposed to be St. Michael."

Chloe snorted and cracked a smile, taken by surprise by his comment, and then she instantly felt guilty for it. She tried telling herself that Lucifer wouldn't want her to be miserable. Maybe this was the best way to cope with her grief: focusing on work and helping his twin brother navigate this new world that he would soon have to call home.

"Here. Let's try listening to some music," she said, needing a distraction from Michael's complaints and thinking about Lucifer. She grabbed her mix CD full of 90's and early 2000's jams and popped it in the CD player.

How can you see into my eyes like open doors leading you down into my core where I've become so numb. Without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold, until you find it there and lead it back home…

Chloe frowned, listening to the lyrics of the song, reminded of what Lucifer was going through. Once again, she felt that guilt again at having run away from him, and she instantly moved to skip the song. "Let's try another one."

Show me the meaning of being lonely. Is this the feeling I need to walk with? Tell me why I can't be there where you are. There's something missing in my heart…

"Oh, come on," she hissed, and skipped to the next song.

If it takes forever, I will wait for you. For a thousand summers, I will wait for you. 'Till you're back beside me. 'Till I'm holding you. 'Till I hear you sigh here in my arms…

"How did that song even get in there?" she said, on the verge of tears, and then tried one more song, trying to hold on.

Close your eyes, and give me your hand, darling. Do you feel my heart beating? Do you understand? Do you feel the same? Am I only dreaming? Is this burning an Eternal Flame?

She quickly turned off the CD player, remembering when Lucifer sang that for her. "Nevermind," she whispered, choking back tears.

Michael watched the whole thing with the music, feeling her pain at losing Lucifer. That last song, however, sounded eerily familiar. "That song…"

"Yeah, 'Eternal Flame'. What about it?" she asked, sniffling.

"I believe I have heard that tune before." After a moment of searching his memories for any trace of that song, he remembered. His brother had briefly hummed that tune on the beach. Now he knew that the song was important to Chloe. He thought about his brother taking his last breaths with Chloe in his thoughts, and he felt that ache in his chest all over again.

"Where did you hear it?"

"I… I do not recall." He quickly averted his eyes and looked out the window again. The rest of the trip to the station was spent in complete silence, with both of them lost in thoughts of the Devil they lost.

Chloe parked the car at the station and watched as Michael fumbled with the lock, trying to free himself, and she calmly reached over, unlocked the door, and pulled the handle, opening the door. He stared at her for a moment, looking sheepish, then he quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, exited the car, and closed the door behind him.

"Finally!" He shot the car a hard look. "Blasted thing. Can we fly here next time, please?"

"No, Michael, we are not flying here next time," she said with a long-suffering look, "Now you know where the station is. Why don't you fly here next time and I'll drive my car?"

"Well, we both know I am not going to do that." He huffed and looked up at the building. "Are those cars I see on that roof?"

"Uh-huh. We have parking spaces up there."

"Cars can fly?! Well, why did we drive all the way over here in that blasted thing then?" Chloe just looked at him, completely and utterly dumbfounded, and he cleared his throat, realizing he said something completely disconnected from reality. "Ahem. So! This is the police station," he said, changing the subject, grabbing his shoulder, and rolling it again in discomfort.

"Yep. This is where I do my detective work." She exited the car, closed the door, and locked it with the push of a button. "You're a civilian consultant, if anyone asks."

"I assume I help you in your duties. But what exactly does a detective do, Ms. Decker?"

"Well, when somebody does something wrong, I find out who and arrest them," she explained, trying to keep it simple for him.

"Who says what is wrong?"

"Well, we have a justice system. Laws, penalties, assessments, that the people decide."

"You mean, the humans decide." He rolled his shoulder again, hissing with discomfort. He truly hated cars.

"What's wrong with your shoulder?"

"It is an old injury. It is fine most of the time, but it does not seem to like your car. Well, after you, milady."

She looked at him suspiciously again, and then she walked into the station with Michael close behind. Oh, yeah, he's definitely hiding something.

Michael was wandering around the station, amazed at all the humans mingling about, all wearing uniforms of some kind. Chloe had gone to talk to Daniel, leaving him standing alone. He wasn't worried; he could play Lucifer with the best of them. What he didn't expect was to be hounded by nearly everybody over Lucifer's last party at Lux.

"Great party the other night!" said one of the officers as he passed by, patting his shoulder.

"Yeah, man, we gotta do that again soon!" said another officer, patting his back.

"When are you going to have another 'free drinks for co-workers' party night?!" said another officer, who didn't get a chance to touch him because he quickly dodged him.

"Thank you, thank you! And trust me when I say that there's a lot more where that came from," he said, grinning from ear to ear, "You know how much I love a good party."

"Your cover of 'Like There's No Tomorrow' brought me to tears!" said one of the male officers, and he struggled to keep his smile even though he felt like he was dying on the inside, knowing that his brother still hadn't seen another tomorrow.

After a while of listening to praises about his brother's party, Michael ran into Daniel, who was giving him a steely look. He was still angry with him over the whole 'take advantage of Chloe' comment, and he would make sure he knew that. "Before you ask, Douche, I did not nor would I ever take advantage of the detective," he said, switching to Lucifer's nickname for her. "How dare you even suggest that?"

"I know, I talked to her. I admit, I was out of line, but it doesn't change anything," said Daniel, "You're still the reason Charlotte Richards is dead. I shouldn't have to tell you that we're not friends anymore." Then Daniel brushed past him without giving him a chance to respond.

"What is wrong with that human?" wondered Michael out loud.

"Lucifer!" said somebody behind him, and he paused in his tracks, recognizing that voice from somewhere. He turned around and saw Ms. López in front of him, the tipsy woman from the party at Lux who had shamelessly touched his hair, and she was holding a shoe in her hand. He wondered if that was some human custom that he was not aware of. Did humans simply carry their shoes around in their hands and wear nothing on their feet? Why even wear shoes then? Or gloves? Then the shoe came down hard on his shoulder, over and over again, and he realized he had completely misunderstood the shoe-in-hand custom.

"Bloody Hell!" he cried out, nearly dropping the façade at the random shoe attack.

"I can't believe you totally ghosted everyone after that party!" she yelled at him, hitting him over and over with the shoe, "You just ran off to who-knows-where and forgot about us! We thought you were dead when we found your Corvette and your cellphone at the beach! Dead! Somebody got stabbed there and we thought it was you!"

Michael eyed the shoe warily, and then he put on his best Lucifer charm. "Unfortunately, I had to run off that night, but I promise I'll make it up to you, Ms. López."

She stared at him for a while, glaring at him, still holding up the shoe in a threatening manner, and then she smiled and pulled him into a hug. "Oh, I can't stay mad at you! But don't you ever do that to me again! ¡¿No más de esa mierda, okay?!"

"No más," he promised.

"I can't lose another friend," she said, almost inaudible. He looked at her, worried for her, but her fear was gone almost as soon as it appeared. "But hey, you're here now!" she said, instantly cheering up. She pulled back and then motioned him to come closer, and his eyes darted around for a moment until he complied. "That was some Molly your bartender gave me at the party! Man, I was riding that rainbow for hours."

"Molly? Is that a woman's name?" he asked.

Ella just laughed and hit him again with the shoe, making him jump. "How much did you have to drink that night, hmm?"

"I had Coca-Cola," he said, smiling briefly, remembering the moment he shared with his brother over drinks. It was one of the better memories he had of Lucifer.

"Coca-Cola?! Riiiight! Is that what we're calling it now?"

"Well, I added some Vodka, of course," he said, grinning at her. He hated the smell of Vodka, and he imagined it didn't taste any better.

"Now that's more like you," she said, smacking him in the shoulder with the shoe again, but she did it playfully this time. "Also, you gotta properly introduce me to your brother, Michael! He seemed nice! And his hair was soooo long!"

Michael sighed, once again reminded of the loss of his hair. "Yes, I will introduce you to Michael, Ms. López. I'm sure he'll adore your strange customs." He rubbed his shoulder, staring at the shoe in confusion. "What is the significance of hitting me with a shoe?"

"Dude! La chancla!" she said, gesturing to the shoe in her hand.

Michael stared at her blankly for a second too long while she stared at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Oh, of course! Yes. 'La chancla'." What in Heaven's name is a chancla?! Why is humanity so complicated? Then he saw that Chloe arrived and he smiled from ear to ear. "Detective!"

Chloe stared at him for a moment with one eyebrow raised, then she snapped out of it. "Dan has the thug who was sent by Pierce to kill him in interrogation. He's ready to deal in exchange for a shorter sentence. He…"

"Decker!" yelled Ella, interrupting her train of thought, throwing her arms around Chloe, and pulling her into a bear hug. "Shortest vacation ever!"

"Yeah," said Chloe, returning the hug, "I had to come back to take care of a few things."

"I'm guessing you two finally made up. Whaaat? How did I know that? Lucifer invited me to eat at a restaurant, right? You know, Sol de Javier, the place that burned down?" she said, patting Michael on the shoulder, "Now, don't be jealous, Decker! All he did the entire time was talk about you and his evil twin, Michael."

"Of course, Michael is the evil twin. How Devilish! And I would know, because…"

"You're the Devil," said Ella.

"I really am," he said, chuckling. Chloe gave him yet another suspicious look. He just glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and then turned back to Ella, all smiles.

"Oh, man, Chloe, Lucifer wanted to talk to you so badly!" Michael waved his hands at her, trying to get her to stop, but she was oblivious. "I swear, he was acting like it was his last day on Earth or something. I told him I'd get in contact with you and you should've seen how his eyes lit up! And he was so miserable at Lux without you there, you know, before he totally ghosted me!" She threatened Michael with the shoe again, and he quickly put his hands up in defense. "I'm so glad you two are back together again!"

"Yeah," she said, feeling tears in her eyes, once again thinking about how guilty she felt about how much Lucifer suffered during his last day on Earth in her absence. Michael just looked at her, frowning, not knowing what to do to help her feel better.

"Also, he totally stole a picture off your desk. Don't think I didn't see that!" she said, grinning, smacking Michael in the arm playfully, startling him again.

"He grabbed a picture off my desk?" she asked, frowning. Well, that just made her feel even worse. Why couldn't she give him one more day? Instead, all he had was a picture to remember her by.

"Don't let this one go, Decker!" said Ella, patting Michael in the shoulder again. Her smile completely disappeared when she saw Chloe holding back tears. "Decker, are you crying?" she asked, gasping, and she pulled her into another hug, and then she pulled Michael into the hug as well and hugged them both at the same time. "Don't cry! It's okay! You're together now!"

"I just… I miss Lucifer." Michael stared at her, eyes wide, and she realized what she just said. "I mean, I…"

"Oh, man, you guys are giving me all sorts of weird vibes," said Ella, looking at 'Lucifer' pityingly, "Now she's talking about you like you're not here. Oh… Give it here, buddy!" And then she pulled Michael into a tight hug, and he just stood there, stiffly, not knowing what to do, giving Chloe a desperate 'help me' look. "It's going to be okay!"

"So, you mentioned a… uh… loft scene?" asked Michael, trying to get back to the matter at hand even with a human wrapped tightly around his person.

"Yeah, where you killed Pierce in self-defense," said Chloe.

"Pierce? Ah, Cain! Of course. Apologies, I may be… distracted," he said, glancing down at the woman who had him in her arms.

"Everything's going to be okay, buddy! Deckerstar all the way!" she said, still hugging Michael like her life depended on it.

"Lucifer?"

Michael was still trying to free himself from this human. "Hmm?"

"Let's go," she said, motioning for Michael to follow.

"Right! Right." He eagerly backed away as soon as Ella released him and then the Sword of God, the Archangel Michael, the one who banished the Devil from Heaven itself, the most powerful of all of God's angels, promptly fled from this petit human woman who liked to give out hugs and threatened him with 'la chancla'.

Chloe quickly caught up with him and noticed that he was staring in Ms. López's direction with a smile he was trying and failing to contain. "Lucifer?" He either wasn't listening, or he wasn't used to answering to that name. "Michael!" she whisper-yelled at him.

"What? Oh! You were talking to me?"

"Her name is Ella; in case you were wondering."

"Ella," he said, still staring in her direction, amused. "She hit me with a shoe. I never had anyone hit me with a shoe."

"You fooled the entire station with your Lucifer impression," she whispered, looking at him suspiciously. "These are people who've known him for years. You even reacted exactly as Lucifer would've when subjected to one of Ella's bear hugs."

"Oh, trust me, Ms. Decker, that reaction was genuine."

She looked at him suspiciously for a moment, and then decided that her suspicions could wait. For now, the Sinnerman needed to be taken care of. "The suspect is waiting in the interrogation room. According to Dan, the guy Pierce sent to kill Dan and two of the gunmen from the loft all refused to talk, so I may need your mojo on this. You have a mojo, right?"

"I suppose my 'mojo', as my brother would call it, is to draw out humanity's sins."

"Imagine that, going up against the Sinnerman Network with the ability to draw out humanity's sins. Okay, just do your eye thing when I give the signal and let's see what we can find out." She walked into the interrogation room and motioned for Michael to follow.

Chloe entered the interrogation room, followed closely by Michael. The man they had apprehended at Dan's apartment sat behind the table in handcuffs. Chloe sat across from the suspect, and then motioned for Michael to follow suit. "So, John Barrow, you were sent by Marcus Pierce to kill Dan Espinoza."

"And then you duct-taped me and strapped me down in a penthouse above a nightclub," said John, "Oh, and Dan threatened to shoot me, too."

"We have you dead to rights on attempted murder. But if you cooperate, I'll talk to the D.A. about taking some considerations regarding your sentencing."

"How's my sister doing?" he asked, giving her a cheeky grin.

"Sister?" asked Michael, looking at Chloe.

"He pretended to have a sister to lure us into a trap," said Chloe, glaring at him. "He's the one who led us to the loft."

"Oh, really?" said Michael, glaring at him, trying not to bend the table beneath his fingertips in his anger. "So, he's the cause of all this."

"Now talk, John."

"Sure, I'll tell you all about the plan to avenge the Sinnerman's death at the hands of your friend here," he said, gesturing to 'Lucifer'. "Killing Cain was a big mistake, man."

"You do not know the half of it," said Michael, still glaring at him, thinking about how everything spiraled from there.

"How did you know it was him? That information isn't public yet," said Chloe.

"Cain still has a few friends at the station," said John.

Chloe exchanged a worried look with Michael, now knowing for certain that there was a mole in their ranks. So, they really were looking for revenge. "They know I've got him on my side, right?" she said, sounding unconcerned, but she was putting up a front. Deep down, she was worried for herself, her daughter, and Dan and Ella.

"That's what they're counting on. They're going to use you to kill Lucifer, and then, once Lucifer's dead, they'll go after everyone who helped him kill Pierce. Our boss was always big on an eye for an eye."

Now she was really glad she brought Michael along to help with the case. If they knew Lucifer was missing, nothing would stop them from killing the rest of the people responsible for Pierce's death, especially with a mole in the police station. "Who is going to avenge Marcus Pierce?" asked Chloe.

"I need to know for sure that you cops will go easy on me. So, what's it gonna be, detective? You gonna help me or are you going to take your chances?"

"If your information pans out, I'll talk to the D.A. So, talk."

"Fine. Ever since our boss lost his mark, he grew paranoid about dying. He tried to get his mark back by killing Amenadiel, God's favorite son, but ended up accidentally killing Charlotte Richards."

"So, he didn't kill her because she was investigating him," she said, looking angry at how senselessly her life had been taken away, "She was just in the way." And to think she almost married that monster.

"Exactly, so our boss had to deal with that. Plan A was to have me call in a favor to plant some evidence at the crime scene to throw off suspicion. But then Lucifer confronted him at the precinct with Charlotte's death, and the boss needed a backup plan. So, he moved on to Plan B: the 'sister' was my queue to lure you and Lucifer into a trap so he could kill him. If that failed and Cain somehow ended up getting killed anyway, Plan C was for the new Sinnerman to take his place and avenge his death."

"New Sinnerman?" asked Chloe.

"Yeah, our boss always trained a protégé to take his place so he could come and go as he pleased, and the Sinnerman Network would still operate in his absence. One of them went rogue once and gouged his own eyes out. Dude was messed up."

"Okay, so who is this new Sinnerman?" asked Chloe.

"His name is David Samson. You two have already met him. He was one of the gunmen in the loft. He's the one who shot you."

"I don't even remember that. That gunshot knocked me out. I have no idea what happened afterwards," said Chloe.

"They opened fire and I was forced to use my wings to shield us from the bullets," said Michael, remembering his brother telling him that, glaring at John for luring Chloe and Lucifer into that trap.

"Yeah," said Chloe, frowning, imagining how much pain Lucifer was in, and then she ran out on him and left him alone to deal with his injuries. "So, this David Samson is one of the gunmen we still haven't apprehended. Okay, where do we find him?"

"I don't know where he's hiding out after the fallout at the loft, but I can tell you who might know where he is."

Chloe drove to the location given to them by John Barrow. Michael was next to her, once again looking uncomfortable in the car, but to her surprise, he wasn't complaining. Meanwhile, Chloe was focusing extremely hard on catching these gunmen, trying not to think about how Lucifer had to steal a picture from her desk just to feel close to her during his last day on Earth. It was also nagging at the back of her mind how Michael, a self-admitted recluse from Heaven who didn't even know how to work a shower, could know his estranged brother so well when they hadn't even seen each other since the time of Moses.

"That was too easy," said Michael, finally speaking up and breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?"

"Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. I did not even have to use my power over humanity's sins. That human had no guarantee that you would keep your word to lessen his punishment and he still told you everything you needed to know. What if this is Plan C? What if he is luring you and 'Lucifer' into another trap?"

"Well, if this is their Plan C, I'm not worried. I've got my secret weapon," she said, flashing him a smile. Finally, she spotted the house at the address John Barrow gave them and pulled over. "We're here." They exited the car and walked up to the door. She knocked on the door a few times, but there was no response. Then Michael reached over to the handle and forcefully turned it, breaking the lock. "Michael, we don't even have a warrant," she whispered, "Remember? I didn't try to get one because of the mole in the station? And we don't even know if the suspect is in here!"

Michael glanced at the broken lock with contrition. "Oh, was I not supposed to…?" Great, yet another thing about humanity that he didn't understand: doors. "…I can fix it." He put both his hands on the handle, ready to repair it, but then stopped to think. She ran away from Lucifer because she learned of his true identity. How would she react to seeing him using his half of the Demiurge? He didn't want to lose her, too.

"Lucifer, what are you doing?!" she whisper-yelled at him, seeing him with his hands on the broken lock, and then caught herself. She stared at Michael for a while, who stared right back, looking like he was waiting for a reaction from her so he could decide how to react himself. "Just… nevermind," she said, sounding emotional, then composed herself and walked through the door into the house. "LAPD!"

Instantly, they heard screams. There was a woman running past them, and a man running out without a shirt on, pointing a gun at them. The man tried to shoot them a few times, but the gun appeared to be jammed. "Damn it!" he cried out, smacking the gun, trying to get it to work, but to no avail.

"Is that one of the gunmen?" asked Michael.

"Oh yeah. LAPD, put your hands in the air, now!" yelled Chloe.

The man he threw the gun away and pushed through them, making a mad dash for the front door. Michael saw the man heading for the door and he quickly waved a hand to slam the door shut in the man's face. The man instantly slammed into the door and then stumbled backwards grabbing at his nose, letting out muffled cries of pain.

"You're under arrest for the attempted murder of myself and Lucifer Morningstar," said Chloe, as she whipped out her handcuffs. She stared at Michael for a moment, wondering how he did the thing with the door, but he just gave her a knowing smile.

"He's the Devil!" he yelled as he was being handcuffed from the back, squinting his eyes at the pain in his nose, "Are you really going to arrest me for trying to kill the Devil?!"

"You almost killed the detective," said Michael in a threatening tone. "First in the loft, and again just now."

"Thankfully, the gun jammed before he could hurt anyone," said Chloe, then she turned her attention back to the culprit.

"Fortunately," he said, even though it was him that stopped the gun from going off, but he'd rather not tell the detective about the full extent of his powers if he could help it. She handled the wings well enough, but this was different, and he feared her running away from him, too.

"Anything you say can and will be used against you," she told the gunman and hauled him off to the backseat of her car in handcuffs. She opened the backseat and pushed him in, then locked him in. She then went around to the driver's seat and stepped into the car. Michael followed suit, ridiculously proud of himself for learning how to work the car door, and finally buckled up. "That was easier than I thought it'd be," she said, starting up the car.

"Yes, wasn't it?" he said, looking out the window again, "A little too easy."

Once again, they were in the interrogation room, but questioning the gunman from the loft this time. Chloe pulled out a folder and spread some paintings across the table. Michael leaned over to look at the 'paintings' on the table, amazed at how intricate they were. He picked up one of them and looked it over, turning it this way and that, trying to make sense of it. Then he realized what he was looking at: his brother's blood-stained white feathers—the ones he lost from having to shield the detective from harm with his wings. He looked up from the picture and saw the human sitting in front of them. He wanted to put him through a wall and keep him there for a while, angry at the pain he put his brother through, but he restrained himself for Chloe's sake.

"So, Noah, you were one of Pierce's gunmen at the loft," said Chloe, "Why'd you run away instead of sticking around with your friends?"

"Dude, Satan himself totally knocked me off my feet with angel wings. Screw that! Why was I even fighting a guy with wings by myself anyway?! Hey, speaking of, how are your pretty little white wings doing?"

Once again, Michael restrained himself by grabbing at the table, trying not to bend it beneath his fingertips. Chloe must've noticed because she put a calming hand on him, silently telling him with a mere glance to stay calm.

"Noah, we have you on attempted murder and resisting arrest. If you cooperate and tell us where to find the new Sinnerman, we may go easy on you."

"You'll know who he is when he comes after you two," said Noah, looking between them, smirking. "It won't be long before he avenges the death of our boss at your hands."

Michael stood up and planted his hands on the table, glaring hard at the gunman, undeterred by Chloe trying to get him to stop. "You tried to kill Ms. Decker. You hurt an angel of God," he said, his eyes narrowing in anger. "And now you would threaten her again in my presence?"

"You? An angel of God?! Since when?"

"Now, tell me," he said, reaching out and grabbing the gunman by the front of his shirt, pulling him out of his chair and up to face him, "What is your greatest sin?"

"I…" The man's face went slack, and then he recovered. "You think I'm afraid of you? I watched you bleed. You don't scare me."

Michael looked at him, feeling helpless at his inability to draw out this human's sins. Maybe he wasn't the Sword of God anymore. Maybe he had truly fallen just for thinking about defying his Father. He was afraid—afraid that he couldn't protect Chloe like he promised, afraid that this Sinnerman would come after and kill her, and the more afraid he was, the more he reflected that on the man in front of him, and the more he could see the effect it had on him. For so long, he had focused on drawing out humanity's sins by putting the fear of God in them because that's what his Father had asked of him. He had almost forgotten what the true extent of his power was.

"Then answer me this," he asked, staring intently into the gunman's eyes, holding his gaze, "What is it you truly fear?"

"I…" Noah's face paled as he looked into the angel's eyes, "I'm afraid of going to Hell."

"Yes," he said, sensing the fear coming off him in waves. "You shot at the Devil's beloved, you almost destroyed the Devil's wings, and now you are afraid for your immortal soul. Well, you should be," he said, leaning in, while the gunman paled and shrank back in his chair, looking up at him in horror. His eyes glowed white and the room seemed to warp around them, closing in on the lowly human in front of him, and all the human could do was look around in complete panic. "There will be a special place in Hell just for you. I will see to that."

"Please, no," he whimpered, trembling, "I'll do anything!"

"I suggest that you cooperate with the lady's investigation and tell her what she needs to know." The gunman nodded furiously in response. Michael let go of him and watched as the human fell back into his chair, looking beside himself with fear. Then Michael sat back down, the room returned to normal, and he calmly looked at Chloe, who had been staring at the scene between them the whole time with her jaw dropped. "I believe he is ready to answer your questions," he said, gesturing to the man.

"Your mojo is fear?" she asked, still shocked at what she just witnessed, "I thought you told me you had the power to draw out people's sins."

"Through their fear of God," he said, then he nodded to the terrified gunman. "This man, however, was foolishly not afraid of God after watching the Devil bleed. Now he knows better."

"Right," she said, still staring at him, then she turned back to the gunman, who looked like he was about to wet himself. "Now, unless you want me to set him loose on you again, I suggest you start talking."

Noah looked back at Michael, whose eyes glowed white briefly, and then he trembled under his gaze. "Okay, okay! I'll tell you everything I know."

Chloe was busy cross-referencing the information that Noah gave them with Ms. López, and Michael was too ignorant about computers—and humans in general—to be of any help, so he just wandered around Ella's laboratory, noticing all the religious artifacts on the walls. He saw a cross, a rosary, and even a statue of St. Michael. "St. Michael, hmm?" he said, picking up the statue and examining it. Of course, the statue had him standing over Lucifer, pinning him down under his heel, holding a sword to the back of his neck. That's what he was famous for, after all. Inexplicably, they always showed him holding the sword with the wrong hand.

"Oh, yeah! Big fan. Patron saint of police officers, paramedics, and the military. Mad respect," said Ella.

"Really?" said Michael, holding back a smile. Maybe it was fitting that he was here on Earth, doing police work, or attempting to.

"I don't like what he's doing to Lucifer there, but that's what St. Michael is known for."

"Uh, Ella, maybe we should change the subject," said Chloe, thinking that The Rebellion may be a sore subject for Michael. It was easy to talk about it from an outside perspective, but Michael lived that. He was the one who cast Lucifer, his own twin brother, out of Heaven, and she didn't know how he would react to having that brought up again.

"It is quite all right, detective. Yes, that is what St. Michael is known for, but there is so much more to the story."

"Oh?" said Ella, looking at him with interest.

"They were brothers." Throughout history, countless stories told of how he vanquished the Devil and cast him down into Hell for all eternity. "Twins." These statues or paintings never portrayed the pain that both brothers were going through in that terrible moment. "Imagine having to banish your own brother, your own face, from the only home you've ever known to a place full of darkness and misery." There were no paintings about his brother falling from Heaven with broken wings, screaming at the top of his lungs, while the one who banished him was on his knees on the edge of Heaven, watching him fall, mourning the loss of the brother he had to send away. "It must've been the most painful thing that St. Michael has ever done, and he's applauded for it."

"Well, God can be a real jerk sometimes," said Ella, "I don't know how He can just sit on a cloud and watch innocent people suffer and die, over and over again. Like Charlotte, and you, when I thought you died yesterday." Chloe's shoulders started shaking, and Ella quickly put an arm around her. "It's okay! Lucifer's okay! I promise!" That just made Chloe more upset, so she pulled her into a tight hug. "I can't reconcile this many bad things with a just and loving God. So yeah, me and the Big Guy are on rocky ground."

"I understand that very well, Ms. López." Michael remembered his own pain after being stabbed following God's orders. He remembered Samael's desperate prayers while he burned in that lake of fire. He remembered getting the devastating news of Uriel's death from Azrael and Raphael. Then Lucifer died and went to Hell, completely alone and powerless. Over and over, throughout history and time, their Almighty Father did nothing as His children suffered. And then He would punish His loyal son for doing everything in his power to right an injustice by throwing him into a world that he did not understand, and from which he can never escape. "I cannot imagine how a loving Father could do nothing while His child suffers."

"Lucifer?" she asked, as Chloe disengaged from her and focused extremely hard on the work she had to do to avoid thinking about how much pain she was in. "Are you okay?"

Michael felt tears in his eyes, thinking once again about falling from Heaven for daring to save his brother from a fate worse than death. He couldn't save Uriel; how could he do nothing while he had a chance to save Lucifer? He cleared his throat and blinked back the tears, and then he looked back at Ms. López. "I am fine. I was just thinking out loud."

"Hey," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "We should totally get out of here for a while and take our mind off things. You guys wanna go grab some food? Maybe some coffee?"

"Thanks, Ella, but not right now," said Chloe, wiping at her eyes, "I just need to focus on work." And not on how Lucifer is suffering in Hell while there's nothing we can do but wait. "I, uh, better get back to work. Lucifer, come with me." Then she was gone in a flash.

Michael watched her go, wishing he could take her pain away. "Coffee sounds lovely, Ms. López, but perhaps some other time."

"Sure, and it'll be my treat. You paid the last time, right? It's only fair."

"Oh, of course. It's only fair," he said, nodding like he understood when he had no idea what all those words put together even meant. He smiled at this petite human who hit him with a shoe and invited him for coffee, and then he went to meet with Chloe.

"Okay, so we have the exact location of the new Sinnerman's hideout. All we have to do is wait for him to come out and he'll lead us straight to their headquarters. It's a long shot, but it's all we have right now. If this pans out, we can bring him in and deal a huge blow to the Sinnerman Network in the process."

"That sounds like a plan," said Michael, trying to hide his anger at this human who hurt Chloe and his brother.

"Let's go." She quickly exited the station, and he had to run after her to catch up.

"So, this is a 'stakeout'. And, of course, it is in a car," said Michael. They were near a plain-looking office building, waiting for this new Sinnerman to show himself. "Are you certain about the information that human gave you?"

"His information led us here. We just have to wait," said Chloe. "I brought coffee, doughnuts and Cool Ranch Puffs."

"My brother had an entire cupboard filled with these," he said, grabbing one of the Cool Ranch Puffs bags. She frowned at him when he spoke in the past tense about Lucifer, so he clarified. "I ate them all while making a life-altering decision."

"I don't blame you," she replied, a smile tugging at her lips.

"I was amazed at how much salt and sugar my brother loves to eat." He went to tear open the bag from one of the corners, and then Chloe took the bag from him, pulled on the front and the back from the top until the bag opened, and then she handed it back. "…Oh, is that how you open these?" He sighed, reached into the bag, and started snacking on some puffs. "Wonderful, another thing I do not understand about humanity: how to open bags."

"Can I ask you a question?" He nodded and motioned her to continue. "Before you came here, you hadn't talked to Lucifer since the time of Moses, right?"

"Yes, we had a dispute over his body. It is a long story involving myself, Lucifer, Amenadiel, Azrael, Raphael, and…" Uriel. Uriel was also there that day. "…and even our Heavenly Father Himself. Perhaps I will tell you that story someday." He shifted in the car again, trying to get comfortable to no avail. "There will be plenty of time for that later." He was filled with dread again, but he quickly bottled it up.

"Which brings me to my next question: why are you so good at imitating Lucifer?"

He stopped chewing for a second, eyes wide, and then he resumed chewing, slowly, until it was blatantly obvious that he was stalling. He swallowed and finally answered. "Well, we did fight on the beach. One can learn a lot about an opponent in battle," he said, clearing his throat rather loudly, and then he stuffed more treats in his mouth.

"I've noticed that, for someone who's been estranged from his brother since the time of Moses, you're very good at imitating him. You've got his accent down, his mannerisms, even the way he dresses and styles his hair. You fooled everyone at the station, and they've known Lucifer for years. I've also noticed that you're familiar with at least some modern human phrases even though you didn't even know how to work a shower. And don't tell me you learned all of that during your little dispute over Moses."

"Well, I do listen to humans who arrive in The Silver City…"

"You also knew exactly where Lucifer lived in Los Angeles and can easily find your way around the penthouse. I didn't even know where the kitchen was," she said, folding her arms, still glaring at him. He just popped more treats in his mouth and didn't look at her, and it was painfully obvious that he wasn't telling her the whole truth. "Spill."

Michael swallowed, confused. "I would rather not spill the coffee."

"Try spilling the beans."

"You brought beans? Whatever for?"

"Michael! Why are you so good at being Lucifer?"

"These are really, really good," he said, looking at the Cool Ranch Puffs bag, "No wonder my brother loves them so much. I hope you brought plenty."

"Michael, you're not getting out of this one."

"I, uh… I pay attention, Ms. Decker. I know a lot of things."

"Michael…" she said through her teeth, looking at him hard.

"Ms. Decker, if I am being evasive, it is because I do not wish to talk about it," he said, and then he popped more treats in his mouth.

"How long have you been stalking Lucifer?" she asked, refusing to let this go.

He chewed, slowly, but she was still giving him that look, so he finally swallowed and relented. "Very well. I told you that many things have gone unsaid since The Rebellion."

"Yeah, you mentioned that," she said, listening with interest, "What does that have you to with you stalking Lucifer?"

"I will get to that. As you know, Lucifer rebelled against Father. I was ordered to amass an army to put an end to his rebellion. He knew that only I could stop him, so he… he stabbed me through the right shoulder and wing in an attempt to defeat me."

"Oh," she said, cringing. She wasn't expecting that. She couldn't believe Lucifer would do that, but then again, that was eons ago, and she doubted that the Lucifer she knew, the Lucifer who had grown so much in Los Angeles while working with her, would ever stab a brother again under any circumstances. "Michael, I'm sorry, if you don't want to talk about it…"

"No, you are already suspicious of me, and I must make things clear if I am to protect you. For over two hundred thousand years, I had to live with a severely weakened right arm, a crooked shoulder, and a mangled wing while Lucifer carried on like nothing happened."

"That must've been terrible for you, being the Sword of God."

"Yes, I was crippled, but I learned how to handle myself very well with my limitations. They only served to make me stronger, Ms. Decker. I thought I had come to terms with my condition, but then Lucifer abdicated his throne, moved to Earth, and created a new life for himself. I grew jealous. Resentful. Angry. Why could he move on from The Rebellion but not me? I wanted to break his life like he broke mine, and I learned how to be him for that purpose."

"When was this?"

"This was before he met you, of course. I was waiting for the right opportunity to take his place and destroy his life. When the opportunity presented itself, I was ready to cut my hair and take Lucifer's place on Earth. But when I saw my reflection, I could not find the Sword of God. All I could see was the Devil staring back at me. I realized that I had to learn to forgive him if I did not wish to lose myself to my pain, which… was not easy."

"Forgiveness is never easy," she said, remembering how hard it was for her to forgive that paparazzo who tried to take pictures of her dad's funeral, and how hard it was for her not to shoot the guy who killed her father when she had him in front of her.

"And when I finally forgave Lucifer for stabbing me, I healed."

"Just like that? You healed?"

"You do know that angels self-actualize, right?" She just shook her head. "Well, we control what happens to our body based on our emotions. That is how my brother's wings returned, and that is how my shoulder and wing finally healed."

"Did Lucifer ever apologize for stabbing you?"

"No. He did not even mention it when we met again at the beach. He even told me that he had a 'high aversion to stab wounds' as if his words meant nothing to me. I imagine that he wants to forget what happened that day. But I do not need him to apologize to me, not anymore." He leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes. Why were his eyes so tired? "He gave his life for me. That is enough."

"He really has changed, hasn't he?"

"Indeed," he said, still keeping his eyes closed.

"I guess it's a good thing you did that. Your resemblance to Lucifer is how we're going to catch these guys. They're going to have the surprise of their lives when they find out you're not who they think you are."

"Our Father works in mysterious ways," he said, biting back a yawn.

"You want some coffee? I know you haven't gotten any sleep."

He blinked a few times and just stared at the building ahead. "I do not need as much sleep as you humans. Do not worry, Ms. Decker. I will not take my eyes off that building."

Chloe sat back in her car, drinking coffee to stay awake. Hours had passed, and there was still no sign of anyone. Michael had fallen asleep next to her, snoring lightly, as she suspected he would. She had offered him coffee multiple times when she caught him dozing off, but he had insisted that he was just resting his eyes. Now he was out cold. Even when he wasn't pretending to be Lucifer, he still reminded her so much of him.

Finally, she saw movement, and she smacked him in the arm a few times.

"What goat?!" he blurted out, looking around wildly, before his eyes settled on her. She pulled out the thermos and offered him the coffee, which he eagerly took. "If Raphael asks, tell him that I did not fall asleep in a car. I would never hear the end of it."

"I saw somebody leaving. It looked like our guy. Let's go." She started the car, turned off the lights, and followed the other car at a safe distance. They eventually arrived at the abandoned Hawthorne Mall, and the man she recognized from the loft scene made his way inside.

"That's gotta be the guy that shot me. Let's give it a few minutes and then go in."

"It feels like we are walking into a trap, Ms. Decker. I do not know much about police work, but this entire investigation feels like it has been too easy."

"I'm sure they want us to find the new Sinnerman so they can avenge their leader. What better way to take a shot at us than to lure us into a false sense of security? But they don't know about our secret weapon," she said, giving Michael a smile.

"Like I said, I go where you go, Ms. Decker."

"Come on, let's catch these bastards." They got out of the car and made their way into the mall. They went in through the front entrance and were greeted by a mall in ruins. There were two escalators facing opposite directions, one leading to the third level and the other to the first.

"Something doesn't feel right," said Chloe, reaching for her gun. Instantly, they heard guns training on them. Michael stood in front of her, shielding her as much as he could, looking around at all the humans that had appeared pointing their weapons at them.

"Well, well! If it isn't Chloe Decker and Lucifer himself," said the new Sinnerman, David Samson, standing in front of the escalator that led to the third level where the gunmen were. "You fell right into our trap, again. You never learn, do you?"

"You're the one who shot me in the loft."

"Because you shot at our boss."

"He was wearing a bulletproof vest, and you still shot me."

"You needed to be taught a lesson. Same as your friend, Lucifer, who had one of my men shoot me, and then killed our leader. Now, we'll finish what he started."

"You don't know who you're dealing with. I suggest you put your guns down and surrender yourselves before you make my friend here very, very angry."

"What, I wouldn't like him when he's angry?" Then he turned to his men and directed them to open fire. "Shoot them both."

Michael's black wings instantly unfurled, and he wrapped his arms and wings around Chloe, protecting her from the bullets. He felt the bullets pelting his wings over and over again, and even though there were no wounds or blood, there was an intense pressure every time the bullets connected with the feathers and the membrane. He imagined that this was one tenth of the pain his brother felt when they shot his wings, and it made him even angrier.

"They'll have to stop to reload eventually," said Chloe, burying her face in Michael's chest, reliving firsthand what Lucifer went through that day in the loft. She wondered why Lucifer's wings got bloodied while Michael's didn't appear to be suffering any injuries. Why was Michael invulnerable but not Lucifer? Maybe it was because he was an archangel and Lucifer was fallen? "Are you okay?"

"I will be." Furious, he crushed all the guns in their hands through sheer willpower alone, unwilling to hide the full extent of his power anymore after how they almost hurt Chloe and how they hurt his brother, even if he scared her away for good.

"Oh, shit. Shit!" said David, dropping his crushed gun, "That's not Lucifer!"

"How did you do that?!" asked Chloe.

Michael didn't answer that. Instead, he took Chloe to the front of the escalator that went to the first level. "You need to leave, Ms. Decker."

"I'm not going anywhere!"

"Then stay behind this wall."

"What wall? There's no -…"

Michael pulled apart part of the floor and used it to erect a wall in front of Chloe as he went to take care of the gunners. A chorus of swear words rang out as the men ran for dear life. Michael opened holes beneath their feet and closed the holes around them before they fell all the way through, trapping them all in the third level, all except for the Sinnerman himself, who was quickly fleeing up the escalator.

"I do not suppose you have a Plan D," said Michael, enjoying throwing his little plans back in his face. He calmly walked up the escalator, reflecting their worst fears back at the gunmen in the floor as he walked past them. All they could do was scream at the images he put in their heads from their worst nightmares. David panicked, grabbed another gun, and tried shooting the approaching angel, but none of the bullets hurt him or even slowed him down.

"Am I a dog," he said to David, "that you come at me with sticks?"

David jumped over the railing of the third level and landed on the second level, then he ran toward the second escalator that led to the first level, with Michael following close behind. Then David went behind the wall protecting Chloe and he pulled her away, pointing the gun at the side of her head. Chloe put her hands in the air, looking to Michael for help. "Don't make any sudden moves!" he threatened Michael.

Michael saw Chloe in that predicament and stopped in his tracks, afraid that he wouldn't be able to protect her. "If you do not let her go, David, I will crush you with a thought."

"Put your hands up or I'll shoot!" Michael put his hands up, glaring at David the entire time. "We're going to walk out of here real nice and slow, and you're going to be a good little angel and stay right where you are!"

Michael twisted the Sinnerman's wrist around with a loud 'snap' and he screamed in agony and dropped the gun. "Shall we try for the shoulder, Sinnerman? I can tell you from experience that shoulder injuries are extremely painful." Michael walked over to him, grabbed the gun, broke it in half, then tossed it. He watched as David crawled away from him in wide-eyed terror before getting back on his feet and running down the escalator for dear life. Michael waved a hand and collapsed the escalator steps, and David screamed and rolled all the way down to the first floor, trying to grab on to anything on his way down.

"How are you doing this?!" asked Chloe, looking at the guy sprawled on the first floor.

"I am one half of the Demiurge, Ms. Decker. I can control matter." Michael ripped the floor wide open and jumped down to the Sinnerman. On his way down, he gave his wings a mighty flap in David's direction, and all the bullets embedded in his feathers flew toward the Sinnerman at great speed. All David could do was start screaming, trying to shield himself from the bullets, which all narrowly missed him on purpose, but they had the desired effect of sending the man to his knees as a quivering mess.

"Who the hell are you?!" screamed David while he was down on the floor, on his knees before the angel, grabbing his broken wrist, trembling all over with fear.

"Perhaps you have heard of me," he said, towering over the quivering Sinnerman, "I am the Archangel Michael."

Chloe looked around at the men cowering at the furious angel among them. This was, after all, the angel who kicked the Devil himself out of Heaven, could mold his surroundings like putty in his hands, and could break bones with a thought, and they had just invoked his wrath. She knew she had a secret weapon in Michael, but she had no idea how powerful he truly was.

"You have angered the Sword of God." David suddenly fell through the floor as if it were made of quicksand and then it solidified around him, leaving him trapped in the floor with his head and shoulders sticking out. That's when the Sinnerman really started screaming, helpless to defend himself. "And now you will pay for your sins."

"Michael!" yelled Chloe, sliding down the collapsed escalator steps to try to reach them on time, "No, you can't kill him!"

"You think not? But I will not kill him. I will give this scum a fate worse than death. He will relive his worst fears until the end of his miserable life. He will beg me for a death that I will never grant him. So, tell me, Sinnerman," he said, looking down into David's panicked eyes, "What is it you truly fear?"

"Michael," she told him, grabbing his hand, and it gave him pause, "Let him go."

"He hurt you. He hurt my brother! Only Father knows how many innocents he has hurt. Worst of all, he is the reason my brother is in Hell; the reason I will fall from Heaven; the reason I will lose everything and everyone I love. I am stuck in this world that I do not understand and where I do not belong. And it is all because he dared to open fire on you!" he roared at him.

"Michael, I understand all of that," she said, still holding on to his hand, trying to reach him. "But you need to let him go. He will face human justice, I promise you."

"You forget, Ms. Decker, celestial justice is what I do, and I judge this human guilty and condemn him to the fires of Hell."

"Michael, if you want to fit in with humanity, you need to let the law handle this."

"Your human justice is flawed. How many innocents are trapped behind bars with no hope of ever seeing the sun again? How many more innocents will have to die at the hands of corrupt officials? You think I have not heard their prayers? You think I have not heard their stories in Heaven, Miss Decker?"

"I know, the system is far from perfect. But the change starts with you and me, Michael. And you know, maybe there's a reason the patron saint of policemen is here on Earth now. You said that your Father works in mysterious ways, right?" She put an arm around his, and some of the rage he was feeling melted away. "You haven't lost everything, Michael. I know you and your twin brother will have a better relationship when he's back from Hell. And you know, I'm your friend now. I know it's hard for you now, but we'll get through this."

Michael looked down at the Sinnerman, who had been watching the entire argument unfold in silence, and he finally released him. "Very well. Show me what human justice is all about."

Michael was standing on the balcony again at the penthouse again, looking at the stars in the night sky. The threat to Ms. Decker was contained. But now he was alone, afraid that Miss Decker wouldn't want to see him again after what she witnessed at the abandoned mall. Then he heard Chloe walking up behind him and he looked over his shoulder, surprised at her coming back to him willingly. "Ms. Decker?"

"So, the new Sinnerman was arrested and with him, all of the gunmen from the loft are behind bars awaiting trial. We finally have justice for what happened in the loft, Michael. And finally, we can give Charlotte Richards a proper funeral."

"Justice was served, I suppose."

"I don't think the Sinnerman Network will come back from this, now that they're scattered and leaderless without a new Sinnerman, but we'll be ready if they ever come after us again."

"There is still at least one traitor among your ranks."

"Yeah, but we'll deal with it. For now, I consider this a victory. Our victory." She went to stand next to him, leaning over the railing as well, looking at the stars. "Nice job out there, even if you went a little crazy at the end."

"Ms. Decker…"

"So, angels can control matter. Is that how Lucifer kept breaking into my house?"

"No, only I can control matter."

"And you can make people afraid."

"Just like Lucifer cannot create desires, I cannot create fears. I only expose what is already there, and the Sinnerman reeked of fear."

"I mean, who can blame him? With the whole David and Goliath thing playing out before his very eyes. I had no idea how powerful my secret weapon was. No wonder Lucifer was so afraid to face you," she said, feeling that guilt again, "And he still fought you because he wanted to stay with me."

"Ms. Decker, I… I had not told you of the full extent of my powers. I was afraid that if you saw what I was truly capable of, you would run away from me. Then I would be truly alone in this strange, new world."

"This is my life now, Michael. I won't run away again from any weird celestial stuff," she said, giving him a smile. "Even if you're kind of like a glorified Avatar. Trixie loves that show."

"A glorified what?" Chloe just started laughing under her breath, while he just stood there, confused. "Ah, I will never understand human slang."

They stayed like that for a while, the Sword of God, and a detective, just watching the stars that shone above. "What do you think Maze is doing right now?" asked Chloe.

"Hopefully, she will find Lucifer's soul soon. I do not know how long it would take to search the entirety of Hell. It has already been around three hundred years since I left her in…"

"Three hundred years?!" cried out Chloe.

"You… did not know that, did you?" he said, cringing.

"What do you mean, three hundred years?! How long has Lucifer been down there?!"

"Down there, time is different," said Michael, wishing he didn't have to tell her this, "Each day on Earth is the equivalent of around three hundred years in Hell. He could be in Hell for thousands of years by the time we find him and bring him home."

"So," she started, still trying to process this, "You're telling me that Lucifer has been in Hell for six hundred years waiting to be rescued?"

"Yes…" He never was good at delivering bad news. "I am sorry. I wish I could do more."

Chloe felt tears pooling in her eyes, feeling that guilt all over again. She could've given him one more day. Why couldn't she give him one more day? At least his last memory on Earth would've been a happy one. "Will he even be the same when you bring him back?" she asked, her voice breaking.

"Hell was designed to break the damned, using either their guilt or, in the absence of it, what they loved in life against them. He will have to be strong to survive in Hell."

"I shouldn't have been on vacation while Lucifer was here, facing the end of his life," she whispered, palming her face, wracked with guilt. "How could I have been so selfish?"

"I am certain that Lucifer understood why you left," he tried to reassure her, "He was fighting for you on that beach. And I have no doubt that he is fighting now."

Chloe ran back to Lucifer's bedroom, wracked with guilt, taking his hand, and holding it to her heart, and the tears flowed freely. All this time, she took him for granted—her quirky and sometimes infuriating partner who always brightened her days and just so happened to be the Devil. "I'm so sorry…"

"I will give you a moment," he said, and left her to her grief. He went back to the balcony and placed his hands on the railing, looking up at the night sky, gazing at the stars he created with his brother long ago, lost in thoughts about Heaven and Hell. He wished more than anything that he could simply fly down to Hell, recover Lucifer's soul, and reunite him with Chloe as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, all they could do was wait for Mazikeen to send word.

An hour later, Chloe was still with Lucifer in his bedroom, and Michael was by the bookshelves going over some interesting books from ages past. Michael hadn't heard anything from Chloe for a while now and he was almost certain that she had fallen asleep by Lucifer's side, but he didn't dare to pry. Then he heard the elevator signaling somebody's arrival.

"Daniel! Is that you again?" asked Michael, putting on the façade again. He put the book down and went to greet whoever had just arrived. "Are you here to insult me some more? It's nothing I haven't heard before, trust me!"

But that wasn't Daniel, or Linda, or Ella, or anyone he had come to know on Earth. It was a human woman who was deathly pale with blue-tinged lips, wearing a long, black dress, and sporting short, black hair. She was drenched from head to toe. He watched as she coughed up a lung-full of water, and instantly, he was on high alert.

"Who are you?!" he roared, ready to fight this apparition. He was soon joined by Chloe, who had her gun out, ready to protect Lucifer's body.

"Hey, Decker, Dick," she said, and then she coughed up more water. "Ugh, sorry, that's so gross. Yeah, sorry about the drowned woman and all. It was the closest one I could find given the mess that Hell is currently in." They just kept staring at her with wide eyes, unblinking, completely silent. "Guys, it's me. Mazikeen."

"Maze?" she asked, staring at her hard, "Maze?!"

"Mazikeen? You said you would send another demon to give us your whereabouts," said Michael in an accusatory tone, "Why are you not with my brother? Where is he?"

"I bring good news and bad news from Hell. The good news is that I found Lucifer."

"You found him?!" asked Chloe, sounding surprised, then elated, "How is he?!"

"Well, he's not being physically tortured by demons, so there's that. But the bad news is that he's not going anywhere. Two of the demons found him wandering aimlessly and stuck him in a Hell Loop with Pierce."

"What do you mean, a 'Hell Loop'?" asked Chloe, apprehensive.

"It's where you go to relive your guilt over and over. In Lucifer's case, he stabs Cain and watches him die, then Chloe comes in and makes him feel like a monster before running out on him, and then he falls apart and stabs Pierce again. He's been doing this for hundreds of years."

"Oh, God," said Chloe, palming her mouth, horrified. She'd looked at him like he was some hideous monster and then ran away from him, and now he was reliving that over and over. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he was feeling.

"I will fly down and get him out," said Michael, determined, "Where can I find you?"

"Meet me at the Throne of Hell. It's the tall one with the big star on top. You can't miss it. I'll tell you more there."

"I will meet you there." Michael ran to the walk-in closet to change into his armor. He had a feeling that he was going to have to fight for Lucifer's freedom.

Mazikeen walked to the elevator and pressed the button to go down. "Chloe, he wanted me to tell you that he doesn't blame you for running away." The elevator doors opened, and she stepped through. At Chloe's wide-eyed, questioning look, she elaborated. "He can hear your prayers." And then the elevator doors closed in front of her and she was gone.

"He can hear us," she whispered, palming her mouth, stunned, and so happy that her prayers actually go through. "Michael, he can hear us! He knew Mazikeen was looking for him, and he knew that you were coming to save him!"

"And so I shall," he said, putting his armor on and getting his sword and Lucifer's.

"Michael, I want to help. Take me with you."

"Hell would kill you instantly. I am sorry, but you must wait here."

"There has to be something I can do," she said, desperately.

"You can continue sending him prayers, Ms. Decker," he said, stepping out of the walk-in closet and going down to the living room in his archangel clothes, adjusting his leather gloves.

Chloe looked him up and down, seeing the silver breastplate accompanied by gold shoulder plates with engravings of the moon and stars on them. He had a black leather skirt and silver faulds like a Roman warrior, complete with sandals. He had a sword strapped to his hip, two smaller swords strapped to his lower back in an 'x' shape, and a large sword across his back. He looked like he was straight out of a Renaissance painting.

"What?" he asked, catching her staring.

"Nothing. Please, bring Lucifer home."

Michael gave her a small bow. "I will do what I can, milady."

Chloe watched as he went out to the balcony, unfurled his black wings, and flew away on his way to Hell. Once again, she was left standing on the balcony by herself, waiting in the wings. "Samael, I will wait for you," she prayed, holding the bullet necklace over her heart.

To Be Continued

Finally, we're going to get Lucifer's soul in Hell! But will Michael succeed at freeing him? Keep reading to find out! Let me know what you think so far!