((AN – Don't hate on me, my brain just got hung up on the idea of these two characters in the same room and went off on a tangent. No, this is not the start of a crossover, it's just my brain having a moment. Hence why it wound up here. Yes, the timeline is a little off, there is about a four-year gap between the story arcs that I chose to overlap, but what's four years between immortals? Skip or enjoy, as you wish. :) ))
"Setting up shop in Hell-A, that's a little on the nose for you, isn't it?" a voice with a vague Southern drawl said from behind Lucifer. He turned from his position at the bar.
"Well, I'll be damned," Lucifer muttered as he registered who it was that had spoken to him.
"Aren't we already?" the man with the honey-blond hair asked with a chuckle as he smiled and extended his hand. "Hello, Lucifer. It's been too long, my old friend."
"Come now, it's only been a century," Lucifer shook his hand an pulled him into a quick hug before leaning back to look at him. Even in the light of the bar he could see the paleness of his skin and how dark his eyes were. "Shall we?" Lucifer asked as he gestured toward the elevator. The other man simply nodded and followed him. As they rode up to the penthouse Lucifer could feel the tension coming off the man at his side. It was unusual; he was usually very much in control of not only his emotions, but his abilities. Something was clearly wrong. When they stepped off the elevator, Lucifer put his hand on the man's shoulder and looked closely at him, his eyes were almost pitch black. "You're thirsty. Care for a nip?"
"I appreciate the offer, but I'm, uh, on the wagon, as it were," the man replied with a strange grin.
"How is that even possible?" Lucifer asked.
"Long story," the man shook his head. "And one for another night. For tonight, I need to strike a deal with the devil."
"Is it the end of days already?" Lucifer asked snidely. "Because I seem to remember quite clearly that you, Jasper Whitlock, swore that would be the only time you would agree to any sort of deal with yours truly."
"Yes, I remember. I was an arrogant, impudent, cock-sure newborn and I stupidly swore I would come to you only when the world was at an end," Jasper admitted. "It is in a way, for my family at least. That's why I'm here," Jasper acknowledged.
"Family? Well, you have certainly thrown Vampirism One-Oh-One out the window, haven't you?" Lucifer remarked as he poured himself a scotch. He walked toward the couch and gestured to Jasper to follow him. "Come on then, I can feel the urgency and desperation coming off you. Give me the CliffsNotes version so we can sort this all out." He settled onto the couch as Jasper nodded and followed him.
"Back in the 1940s I met a woman, a young vampire named Alice. She sees visions of the future and saw me before I found her, knowing we were soulmates before I even knew she existed. She also saw us joining a coven of vampires, a family, truthfully, who don't feed on humans," Jasper paused and had to chuckle at the expression on Lucifer's face. "I know, it took a long time for me to get used to the idea too. I'm still not fully acclimated to the lifestyle, honestly. Controlling the thirst has never been my forte. But that's besides the point at the moment. Almost two years ago, one of my brothers met and fell in love with a human girl, his tua cantante."
"So her blood sang to him, interesting," he'd heard of it happening where a vampire encountered a human whose blood was irresistible to them, but this was the first time that he'd heard of one of them falling in love with that human. "Does he have abilities as well?" Lucifer asked.
"He can hear the thoughts of those around him, human and vampire alike, with the exception of her. She's the only person he's ever encountered that is completely immune to his gift, her mind is utterly silent to him," Jasper explained.
"Well, that must be dreadfully frustrating," Lucifer retorted. He wondered what it would be like to meet someone who was able to not only resist his powers, but be utterly unaffected by him. He snorted at the ridiculousness of the very thought.
"My brother being who he is, married her and managed to get her pregnant, which came as no small surprise to the rest of us. She survived the pregnancy only because he turned her immediately after the child was born. So now there is a half-human, half-vampire child who is part of our family. Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding with someone who saw the child; they went to the Volturi who now believe that we have created an immortal child."
"An act punishable by annihilation of both the child and the creator, not to mention any who would harbor them," Lucifer mused. He tended to keep his distance from vampiric affairs; the only thing worse than a human on a power trip was an immortal who felt they had authority to dictate the actions of other immortals. Still, immortal children was one matter that he had stepped in on.
The Volturi had already been ruling for centuries when he went to Aro and insisted that the practice of immortal children be stopped. Aro had kept his name out of things as Lucifer had instructed, insisting that the wisdom of banishing the practice had been his own. He didn't need or want involvement in the day-to-day goings-on of the vampire world, but he also wouldn't tolerate the turning of innocent children. He'd been pleased that Aro had followed his instructions and that he hadn't needed to get more hands on with the entire situation.
"Yes, and therein lies the problem because she's not an immortal child. She was conceived and born, she has a heartbeat and she grows every day. My wife and I left our family to try and find others to show proof that she poses no threat to our secrecy or existence. We've heard whispers that there might be others like her somewhere, but it'll take time to find them and that's a luxury we don't have. The Volturi are planning a full assault on our family; they'll come soon, and they'll destroy everyone I care about," Jasper sighed as he looked out at the skyline.
"The favor you want is me pointing you in the right direction to find the ones you seek. The halflings like your niece," Lucifer surmised.
"Yes," Jasper whispered. "I realize, given on our past, I have no right to come to you for help…"
"But that's how important this is to you and the lengths you're willing to go to in order to protect your family," Lucifer finished the sentence. Jasper nodded. Their history was certainly tumultuous, to say the least.
He'd known of Jasper before he was turned by Maria, his ability to influence those around him had drawn Lucifer's attention and he'd been keeping tabs on him from afar while he was human. After he was turned, his abilities became so much more powerful, they almost mimicked Lucifer's own talent for pulling desires out of someone. However, Jasper could actually alter what someone was feeling rather than just drawing it out, enraging them or causing them to cower in terror with a thought. Had he the notion to, he could cause someone to fearlessly walk into their own demise by having them step in front of a train. That was why Lucifer had gone to him, to ensure he recognized that his powers were not to be abused, contrary to what Maria was encouraging.
Young and bloodthirsty as he'd been at the time, Jasper had proven more resistant to Lucifer's advice than he would have liked; they had battled each time Lucifer confronted him about controlling himself. It took decades of randomly checking in to finally get through to him, which only happened after Jasper had gotten away from Maria and her corrupting influence.
Eventually Jasper took Lucifer's guidance to heart and they had become friends. Both of them being able to pick up on the other's energy and desires as they were, they'd shared a bed on more than one occasion, but those escapades had been fueled solely by lust and a mutual animalistic draw. The bond they'd developed had survived even their multiple trysts.
"Hence why I'm here asking for a favor, no matter what I have to do in return. I'll do whatever I must to protect them," Jasper acknowledged.
Lucifer stood and went to one of his bookshelves. He grabbed a large, ancient tome then went to the desk in the corner of the room and turned on the computer. As it booted up, he flipped through pages of the book while Jasper watched silently from the sofa. After several minutes of Lucifer shifting his attention back and forth between the book and the computer, the printer on the cabinet beside the desk began spitting out pages. He took them and walked over to the bar where he spread the pages out. Jasper joined him without a word.
"There might be someone in Paraguay, but they're unlikely to be helpful to you and you'll waste valuable time following local legends in search of them. The Brazilian and Bolivian forests will likely be your best options, I suggest you start there. These are the most likely areas to find those you're searching for," Lucifer told him as he circled several parts on the maps he'd printed out. "Find a vampire named Huilen and her nephew Nahuel; he's a halfling like your niece." He pulled a card out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Jasper. It was heavy stock, matte black on both sides with only a glossy, elaborate, embossed LM in the center of one side. "If they don't agree to assist you on their own accord, give them that and inform them that helping you is how they repay me."
"One of them owes you a favor," Jasper commented. "I'll keep an eye open for one of these to come my way in the future," he added as he slipped the card into his own shirt pocket now.
Lucifer shook his head. "No need. Consider it a special rate for friends and family."
Jasper looked at him in confusion. "Why?" It wasn't like Lucifer to hand out favors without an expectation of reciprocation.
"Let's just call it Devil's Prerogative. You owe me nothing for this, Jasper, you have my word. However, I do hope that once all is settled, you and your wife will come for a visit, I'd very much like to meet her. And get the full story of how you and your family exist without consuming human blood, I confess I'm quite intrigued by that." Lucifer smiled as he gathered the papers up and handed them to Jasper.
"We'll be back, as soon as we save our family and prevent a full-scale vampire war." Jasper assured him. He hugged him tightly before stepping back. "See you soon, old friend."
"Well, off you go to save the world then," Lucifer remarked with a smile. "Be careful, young one."
