Blessed Saint Gabriel, Pray for Us

~ Blessed Saint Gabriel, Archangel, we beseech you to intercede for us at the throne of divine mercy. As you announced the mystery of the Incarnation to Mary, so through your prayers may we receive strength of faith and courage of spirit, and thus find favour with God and redemption through Christ Our Lord. May we sing the praise of God our Saviour with the angels and saints in heaven forever and ever. ~

"Hey, what's up."
Gabriel looks up, surprised by sudden greeting. He nods amicably at the demoness beside him. "Miss Mazikeen, what a surprise." Maze leans casually against the railing. Her knives swishing back and forth between her fingers.
"Finally, here to pay back those fifty bucks?"
Gabriel laughs, "He hasn't forgotten then?" Maze just smirks and the knives keep moving. Gabriel sighs. The demon would be no match for him, but he knows Lucifer is rather fond of her, God knows why. "I am not here for him." Maze cocks her head, narrowing her eyes in interest.

"Michael." A statement, not a question. Gabriel is surprised by her sharp mind. Most demons seem to be little more than children, but this one is quite something. He nods in agreement, not feeling the need to explain. "So, what did he do to you?"
A smart observation. What didn't he do? They used to be so close. Fighting on the edge, teaching the younger angels. Twin blades, Fear and the Voice. Brothers in arms. They used to have each other's backs. And then... The memories of that day are still seared into his memory. The screams, the pain. Michael breaking down despite him being the catalyst. The way he maimed his own wings, the way his back twisted and his Grace fractured. Michael's manipulations had doomed them all. Still, he came for his brother when the trumpets sounded. When Lucifer rebelled and they had to fight their own siblings. After Sodom and Gomorrah, he came to his brother for comfort but had to provide it instead. Gabriel came for him when Michael tore open his wounds time and time again until they would heal no more. He was left to pick up the pieces, command the Legions. A task he never wanted for himself! He came to save him from humanity only to find his brother high as a kite on fear. Disgusting! Michael made disastrous decisions time after time and pulled down everyone else around him. He didn't even care, he was too busy feeling sorry for himself. Corrupted, filthy, unworthy... The last straw had been when Michael had beat the crap out of him. Left him bleeding and injured on the floor just so he could go and destroy his Twin's life. A life Lucifer had built for himself despite Michael's mistakes. And now, everyone seemed to jump at the chance to take him back. To provide the comfort and safety Gabriel had been lacking. To wash away the blood that clung to his brother's hands. He clenches his fists, and his russet wings ruffle up.
"That's none of your business demon."

Maze raises an eyebrow at that. She moves like a cat, sliding up against the angel's chest, purring at his agitation. Gabriel glares at her with flat bright eyes, and she can suddenly understand Lucifer's dislike of ginger humans. Gabriel does look like he has no soul. She can empathise with that. "It is my business, angel. He has promised me something and I'm going to have it."
Gabriel regards her through his eyelashes, thoroughly interested. "What could a demon like you possibly want?"
"You first." Mazikeen leans up to press a kiss against the angel's smooth jawline and Gabriel chuckles at her audacity.
"I'm going to send my darkest brother to Hell, my dear Mazikeen."
Maze looks up, surprised. "But Amenadiel said Hell no longer needed a warden?"
Gabriel guffaws, "Who said anything about him becoming a warden?" Maze frowns, if the archangel gets in the way, her chances of getting her own soul are getting slimmer. Michael didn't sound too hopeful when she overheard them talking at Linda's. 'There's only the end...' Damn it. She needs to get to Michael before Gabriel does, but Lucifer and the humans keep getting in the way. She takes the angel before her into consideration. Maybe she can work with this.

Gabriel regards her with curiosity. Mazikeen is one of Lucifer's most loyal servants and yet, here she is instead of at the Lightbringer's heels like a dog. He steps forward, his body pressing close to hers, forcing her off balance.
"What is it that you want?"
"A soul." He waits for the punchline, frowning when it doesn't come. "What?! Do you also think I'm just a demon?!" Mazikeen grabs her knives properly, aching to lay into the angel before her. They are all the same aren't they. So above it all. Gabriel raises both his hands, palms out. He frankly couldn't care less if demons got souls. What he wants is justice.

"Mazikeen," he says her name with a poisonous smile. "How would you get one, hmm? My brother always lies. Though," he looks at his fingernails with faked confidence, "if there is someone who could make him bleed the truth, I'm sure it would be you." It feels wrong to play these games. Gabriel had always been straight edged, a follower rather than a leader. He had looked up to Michael before his fall. His brother had always seemed so strong. The commander they would have followed to the end of days. He had also learned quite a few of his brother's tricks.
"How do you plan on sending him down there anyway? He can still fly." Ah, a good question. One he had been agonizing over for the last few days. Killing his brother would not necessarily result in him being sent to Hell. What he needs is guilt to trap him, and Mazikeen is going to find it.

Lucifer stares into his drink, still reeling from the centuries old secret Azrael had dropped on him. He had left Michael in the park with Ella and drove back to LUX. Michael did have a daughter, and that daughter was Ella Lopez. He was still fuzzy on the details, but he had seen how they were drawn to each other. And not like lovers, no… There was something deeper there. Something he thinks he might be feeling for the Detective's spawn. Love… Lucifer shivers. Such a dangerous emotion. One wrong move and you could lose it all. Desire is much more straightforward. He could fulfil the child's desires, but he isn't sure he could fulfil her need for his love. What if he failed? He is torn from his thoughts by the sound of the elevator opening.
"Luci, you in?" Amenadiel's eyes fall onto the desolate form of the devil sitting in almost total darkness. "Awww Luci, what has gotten into you? Was it Michael?" Amenadiel cracks his knuckles. Might be fun to try and see if he still can give his famous atomic wedgies. Lucifer sighs and puts down his still full glass.
"I saw Michael's daughter today." Amenadiel freezes in the middle of the living area.
"So, it's true then…" He whispers to himself before sagging into one of the leather armchairs. "How do you know?" he looks up at his brother, his expression sad.
"Azrael."

"Ah." Amenadiel sighs and rubs his face. "Please don't tell me it's Ella." Lucifer chokes on a mouthful of scotch.
"You knew?!" He exclaims, coughing and spluttering. Amenadiel looks sheepishly at his brother.
"Ella saw me at the precinct."
"Yes, and…?!"
"Time was still frozen…" Lucifer gapes at Amenadiel, his jaw slack in shock.
"And you never thought about telling me this?" Lucifer is starting to get angry now. How is it that he always knows things last!
"Well, I don't know Luci! So much stuff was happening at the same time I thought I had imagined it. And Father…"
"What about him?" Lucifer grounds out through his teeth.
"Father never mentioned it." They both sigh, looking down at their hands in thought. "Does Ella know? Does Michael?" Lucifer shakes his head. This seems like the best kept secret ever. "Do we know why she was hidden?" Amenadiel looks at Lucifer intently.

The devil doesn't want to lie, but he doesn't know if the truth will set him free. He doesn't know if what he had learned about Elaine applied to Ella too. Unlike the former, Ella does have fully human parents. She just has been burdened with a Celestial soul. Still the information is too dangerous to spread around. Azrael had sent her to him to keep safe and safe he will keep her. Instead, he opts for a diversion.
"How did Maze find out about Lilith?" Amenadiel looks up, surprised by the sudden change in topic. He huffs a breath through his nose in irritation, but he knows he can't make Lucifer talk if he doesn't want to. He'd end up with a mess of half-truths, and he just doesn't know how to read between his brother's lines. That has always been Michael's speciality, but then things usually got even worse, because he'd end up with an even bigger mess of half-truths and lies.
"I don't know, but I did see Lilith down below." Lucifer lifts his head from his hand in surprise.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, apparently she had a run in with Michael before she died." Ah, Lucifer already suspected that Michael had seen Lilith. Something had changed in his Twin between their first fight and when they saw each other again at the precinct. His desires had burned darker, more desperate. And the fact that Maze knew he had kept her mother hidden from her… Seems like Michael had messed up more of his life than he had expected. Had he killed her?

"This is about your ring, isn't it Luci? Creation without Will isn't empty, is it? Humans have Will too."
'What?' If the shocked expression on his face hadn't given it away, his loss for words would have. "How?"
Amenadiel shrugs. "I went through your library when you were gone."
Lucifer huffs a disbelievingly laugh. "I see privacy is overrated."
"Says the Devil who doesn't have any doors." Amenadiel glances at the onyx ring on Lucifer's finger.

Well, the proverbial cat is out of the bag now, isn't it? He tells Amenadiel about Lilith and Michael. How not Samael but his darker Twin had lain with the human. How he had thought to save Michael from himself by dragging him down to Hell with him but couldn't go through with it. How Michael's Grace has fractured and been syphoned away to the point where his brother has almost faded. Faded like most if not all of the angels that fell with Lucifer. About soulless demons, Michael's infernal children. He ignores the growing horror on Amenadiel's face. The shock of the truth, of what Michael had been going through for millennia. Lucifer's voice breaks when he finally tells Amenadiel about what Michael has asked him to do…

Amenadiel doesn't know what to say. So much suffering and he knew so little of it. He wished Lucifer would allow him to touch him. His brother looks absolutely wrecked and he can now see that Michael wasn't doing any better. Father was right. They should never have been separated. They are torn from their thoughts by a rustling sound. Lucifer's eyes turn red, glowing with eternal Hellfire. He gets up soundlessly and stalks towards the sound.
"Mazikeen! How nice of you to drop by." He grabs her wrists roughly before she can cut him up with her blades. "I'll take those thank you." He grabs both knives, throwing them at Amenadiel who catches them with ease. He leans in, his face mere inches from hers. "How much did you hear?"

She got out with her life, if barely. She stumbles into the abandoned warehouse near the harbour and leans against the wall, spitting out blood.
"Miss Mazikeen…" Maze turns around with a bloody snarl. Relenting when she spies the archangel lounging on some shipping crates. He's dressed in tight jeans with a funky T-shirt and black leather jacket. It clashes delightfully with his red hair and light eyes. Gabriel smiles and spreads his arms wide. "You like it?"
Maze regards him with those dark brown eyes of hers. Her hands are most notably empty of swishing Hell forged blades. Gabriel frowns and cocks his head in question, but Maze only shrugs.
"Lucifer took away my blades as a time out I guess." She still has all her other knives, so she is hardly defenseless. But she hasn't been without her blades since her birth, and Lucifer took them away as if she were a mere child. It stings! 'He doesn't deserve me anyway.' Mazikeen scowls into the growing dusk

Gabriel casually leans against wall next to the demoness, touching his elbow with hers. "So, how did it go?"
"I know how we can trap him." She reaches into her bodice, pulling out a little black feather. She shows it to Gabriel whose body language changes from relaxed to furious in the blink of an eye. He takes a deep breath. There is no need to get so worked up over a single covert. Not when he has seen Michael pull out handfuls of them. "But how will you kill him?"
Gabriel sighs, "We will need to get a Celestial blade since you just lost your little toys to my brother." Maze growls a curse at him in the language of the Lilim, but since he doesn't understand it, it doesn't bother him. "Sticks and stones my dear Maze." He crowds into her space, pressing her body against the concrete. His hand finds its way into her hair, and Maze smirks. All God's sons want what they cannot have.
"Can't you just fly up to get one then?" Gabriel huffs a laugh in her ear.
"If only it were that simple my dear Mazikeen." His lips are warm against her neck and his breathing is picking up. Seems like a shame not to go for a ride on the angel express. She undulates against him, feeling the effect she is having on the archangel.
"So, unless you got one hiding inside those nice tight jeans of yours, we are screwed?"
"Not necessarily. I can feel Michael's blade here on Earth though I don't know exactly where it is." He chuckles darkly. "Seems fitting right, for the Sword of God to be killed by his own blade?"
Michael doesn't even deserve to die by Gabriel's sword. He will not sully the precious steel with such unworthy blood. Mazikeen smirks and sucks the side of his neck. An angel to torment until the end of time… To have a go at the dark angel herself. The Father of all Demons. She licks her lips. What would he taste like? What would he sound like when she laid a flogger to his skin? Would he scream like his brother did?

"Oh, I know where to find it. But I want you to do something for me too."
"Oh?" Gabriel leans down to kiss the side of her face, down her neck, nipping at her clavicle.
"Get me my soul."
"Deal."