Chapter 7
He comes to strapped to a gurney with flickering fluorescent lights passing overhead as he's pushed down a dingy hallway into what appears to be a basement. Another familiar form awaits strapped to another gurney in the room.
"Hello again, son!" Johnson greets him cheerfully, lifting his head from his flat pillow to watch him enter the room.
"Daaaaad!" Lucifer slurs, happily high on whatever the nurse had provided for him. He spreads his hands weakly, the expansive gesture aborted by the fact that his arms are strapped to his sides. The nurse places the gurney next to Johnson's, then moves over to a tray of instruments. "You're here too!"
"What did you tell the cops?" The nurse demands roughly of Johnson. She holds a scalpel against the man's bearded throat, letting the point touch the skin, but not drawing blood yet.
"I didn't have anything useful to tell them, Nurse Kipsy," Johnson says evenly, unmoving, but watching her closely with disappointed blue eyes. "But I guess I do now."
"This crazy consultant just got me to confess everything to him, and now I need to kill both of you!" she growls in annoyance, gesturing with the scalpel toward Lucifer. "I can't even imagine why he isn't in here, too. You two seem like you've got the same delusion—you think you're father and son!"
"That's not a delusion, Nurse Kipsy," Johnson says proudly, "he is my son, my Star of the Morning."
"Ugh," Nurse Kipsy groans, disgusted, "This is all my mother's fault, if she hadn't been such a manipulative bitch, I wouldn't be stuck in this mess…"
"Preaching to the choir, sister," Lucifer slurs, sending a narrow look at the man on the gurney next to him, "Evil parents deserve to be punished. You had every right to destroy her. But murdering the innocent orderly… I can't overlook that. I'll have to punish you."
"And why aren't the drugs working on you?" Kipsy rounds back on Johnson, whose concerned eyes are resting on Lucifer, back to staring happily at the ceiling and watching the pretty dancing lights there.
"Well it's obvious, isn't it?" Lucifer giggles, "It's because he's God! Normally they wouldn't work on me either, being the Devil you know, but the Detective is here, and I just found out that she affects my ability to get high! Isn't that exciting?"
"Shut up!" Nurse Kipsy barks at him, trying to decide what to do.
"O-kay," Lucifer sing-songs cooperatively.
"You know... they don't normally let patients wear belts," she muses, glancing down at the silver and turquoise buckle laying low on Johnson's hips. A malicious smile stretches her lips. "Suicide risk. So, thank you for getting a special dispensation for yours because now I've got it. God is gonna kill Lucifer, then hang himself. Poetic, don't you think? Just hang out here guys, I'm gonna go find a ladder."
"Oooh, a ladder," Lucifer chuckles, lolling his head so his eyes can follow her from the basement.
Chloe loses track of Lucifer while she speaks at length with Dr. Garrity about any suspicious-seeming staff members. She had seen his tall form making the rounds of the rec room, flitting easily from staff to patients without causing a ripple in the population. She'd moved from the shyly adorable Dr. Garrity to one of the orderlies, then to a nurse, and about an hour later has a chilling sensation as she realizes she hasn't seen or heard Lucifer for quite some time. She turns to Kim, the orderly she'd been speaking with.
"You don't happen to know where my partner is, do you?" She lifts her eyebrows in inquiry, but the orderly's face is politely blank. "Tall, elegant, British?"
"Oh, Lucifer!" Kim's face lights up, and Chloe manages not to roll her eyes at the blatant attraction in her expression. "He was wandering around in here talking to all of us, he said if I came to see him later, we could talk about my dream of opening a juice bar and tanning salon! He said he might be able to help me make it happen."
"Of course he did," Chloe murmurs, amused. "Did you see where he went? Where's the last place you saw him?"
"Hmm," she scans the room thoughtfully, "He was talking to Dale, then Marie, then Edwin… I saw him talking to God, then Nurse Kipsy took him away—"
"He was talking to G—to Mr. Johnson?" Chloe asks worriedly, "Did they seem okay?"
"Oh," Kim laughs lightly, "Yeah, I guess with a name like Lucifer he could have issues with a guy named God, huh? Lucifer seemed tense, but God wasn't agitated at all. He seemed like he didn't really want to leave the conversation when Nurse Kipsy took him away, but he went. I saw Lucifer talking to a few more people after that, but I can't remember who I saw him with last."
"Where would Mr. Johnson be now?"
"He… should be here, with the rest, but—" Kim scans the room again worriedly, "I don't see him now. Oh my God, Edwin!" her voice is sharp and admonishing. "Where did you get that lighter?"
A large, bearded man is standing against a wall with a silver lighter ignited in his hand, watching the tiny flame with hypnotized reverence. He cups the device tightly in his hand, and Chloe has a horrifying mental image of his beard going up in flames. "I found it! In the hallway there!"
"Give it here, Edwin, you know you can't have it." The nurse approaches him carefully, holding out her hand imperiously, and Edwin snaps the lid closed with a small whine before reluctantly handing it over.
Chloe steps forward, holding out her own hand, and the nurse drops it into her palm with a puzzled look. Chloe shows her the stylized initials engraved into the silver casing. "This is Lucifer's."
"Where did you find this, Edwin?" Chloe asks gently, as Edwin's eyes are still locked longingly on the lighter clutched tightly in her own hand. "Can you show me?"
He turns slowly and shuffles into a secluded hallway, gesturing vaguely to the floor beside a cart of supplies. "It was here, beside the wheel."
"Thanks Edwin, maybe you can go play poker with Cedric now," Kim shoos him off gently, jostling the cart and causing a stack of bedpans to nearly topple. She catches them, then tilts her head in confusion. "Hmm."
"What?" Chloe asks eagerly.
"These lock into place when they're stacked, we can't have them falling all the time, the noise upsets some of the patients." She starts pulling the stack down until she reaches the middle, where one of the pans is dented, causing it to be ill-fitting against the others. "These get sorted out immediately," she tells Chloe, "This one should have been in the infirmary, not in rotation."
"Unless someone got hit with it recently…" a surge of worry for her partner's wellbeing courses through her, "I need to find Lucifer, I think he's found our killer… and they might have him. How many places here are off-limits to patients? And maybe staff?"
"Let me get us some help," Kim offers, "we have a potentially missing patient, too."
"Now, I had no idea you were so angry with me," God watches His son carefully, perturbed.
"Really?" Lucifer's glazed eyes snap to him in surprise, "'Cause I... I've been pretty up-front about it."
"But to want to destroy me? That's pretty serious." His brows draw together as He takes in the befuddled expression on His son's face. "You mind telling me why?"
"Because... because I'm your son," Lucifer says earnestly, the drugs inhibiting his anger and showcasing his pain. "And... you rejected me."
"Oh," God's eyes widen with understanding, as they darken with sorrow. "Well, then I guess I can't say as I blame you. Fact of the matter is, I don't even remember why I was ever so angry with you to begin with. For what it's worth... I am sorry. I truly am." Lucifer's eyes widen in astonishment and he pulls in a shallow breath, gasping like a fish. The nurse re-enters the room with her ladder and sets it up, unnoticed by the two men strapped to the gurneys and absorbed in their conversation. "And I am proud of you, Samael. I am proud of the man you've become. So, what do you say... Wait, no. Not... not my belt. You can't take my belt. It's mine." Nurse Kipsy appears at God's gurney and pulls off the belt, but it gets flung to the side as Chloe bursts into the room, gun drawn.
"Patricia Hightower, LAPD. Don't move," Her voice is cold and professional, her hands steady as she takes in the scene. Lucifer is strapped down, he'd been staring intently at the man in the gurney next to him, but his head turns slowly to her at the sound of her voice. She holsters her gun and cuffs the nurse, then passes her off to one of the unis to read her rights and detain her until they can interview her. She crosses the room and cups his cheek briefly before she starts quickly undoing his restraints as the staff start to help Mr. Johnson. "You okay?"
"Honestly?" His glassy, dilated eyes find hers, and they hold a wonder and relief within their depths that she's never seen in him before. "I've never felt better."
He sits up, rubbing his wrists as Chloe fumbles with the straps across his hips and around his ankles. Meanwhile, the other man is causing a fuss as his restraints are removed.
"What-What just happened?" Johnson is demanding irately.
"What are you talking about? We just caught a killer!" Lucifer crows happily.
"Who are you?" Johnson glares angrily at Lucifer, who seems hurt at not being recognized.
"It's me, Dad. Lucifer."
"Does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?" he bellows exasperatedly, "Get me out of these damn things!"
Chloe's nimble fingers finish the last strap on Lucifer's left ankle, just as realization washes over him. His eyes narrow as his fogged brain re-processes the moments before the Detective burst into the room, finding Johnson's belt and the buckle lying discarded next to the gurney where Kipsy had thrown them. The pleasant high from the drugs lifts from him as his conversation with Amenadiel yesterday comes back to him.
"Okay, so," Amenadiel had looked over his notes from their interpretation session. "Well, uh, Father shattered the Flaming Sword into three distinct pieces. 'The Blade of Death.'"
"Azrael's." Lucifer supplied, and Amenadiel had nodded agreement.
"'The Medallion of Life,'" he continued, and a frown had crossed Lucifer's face.
"No idea what that would be," he shook his head as his fingers moved languidly over the piano keys, bringing forth a gentle melody. Now that the Detective had accepted him, his music had come rushing back to him, filling the empty void he'd been carrying for the past several weeks. "Looks like you have some more research to do, brother."
"And the key that binds them all together," Amenadiel continued doggedly.
"Well, keys don't bind, they unlock," Lucifer argued pedantically. "I think someone needs to go back to translation school."
"You're the one that translated it, Lucifer," Amenadiel pointed out sulkily.
"Then perhaps you misread it?" Lucifer goaded him, but his brother disappointingly hadn't risen to the bait.
"Oh, and guess who has the key," Amenadiel challenged.
"Well, don't leave me in suspense. Who is it, brother?"
"It says that God entrusted the key to his favorite son," Amenadiel had given a longing sigh, "Of course he gave it to you. It's always you, isn't it?"
"Don't look at me!" Lucifer had protested vigorously, interrupting his playing to randomly plink a few keys of his piano, "The only keys I've got are these."
"What else did you bring with you to Earth, Luci?" Amenadiel had pressed determinedly, looking around, before resting on Lucifer himself and laughing bitterly. "Your ring. I've never seen you without it; maybe that's the key."
"Well, we won't know until we find out more about this supposed 'Medallion of Life," Lucifer had pointed out ruthlessly, "so let's start there. Now I need to be going, I have an appointment."
"The piece is here," Lucifer murmurs, as he places the Medallion on the bar next to the sword.
"It fits perfectly," Amenadiel breathes reverently, sliding the Medallion onto the blade so it rests on the hilt, admiring the workmanship.
"I think that's what Uriel was trying to tell me," Lucifer admits guiltily, "Just before he died, he whispered in my ear, 'The piece is here.' I mean, I thought it was nonsense, but... this must be the Medallion of Life we were looking for. It somehow ended up on Earth, probably awakened when Azrael's blade ended up here, too. Which is when Mr. Johnson must've stumbled upon it."
"But why did he think he was father?" Amenadiel wonders, still staring at the sword in awe.
"Well, I mean, Azrael's blade inspired death. It would make sense that this piece activated the opposite... life. Healing. Gave him the power and knowledge of the divine. And when he found out that he could heal like that, he... he thought he was God."
"What's more important is that now the sword's complete, we can get on with our plan," Amenadiel puffs up his chest importantly. "Now, hand over the key, Lucifer."
"I've already told you I don't have any key," he groans, "my ring doesn't fit anywhere on there, and it was Lilith's before it was mine. Father didn't give it to me."
"Just… try and attach it to this," Amenadiel offers him the two pieces bitterly, shaking it at him in annoyance when he doesn't reach for it.
"Brother?"
"Hurry up, and we'll confirm what we already know," his mouth twists, as though the words are sour on his tongue, and Lucifer tries to interrupt him again.
"Brother..."
"That Father's favorite, despite everything that you have done, is and always has been you."
"Look down, you idiot," Amenadiel does, and gasps. His rod pendant, a gift from their father, is straining against its cord toward the sword, as though drawn by a magnet. Lucifer smirks, a sour taste on his own tongue now. "Is that the key around your neck or are you just happy to see me? He entrusted it... to you, brother."
Amenadiel's wondering gaze fixes on his brother, a wide grin of dawning realization spreading across his face.
Wednesday is a paperwork day for the Detective, wrapping up her interview reports and arrest report for the God Johnson case (now Earl Johnson once more). She calls Lucifer over her lunch, but he doesn't pick up. She rolls her eyes again at his outrageous voicemail greeting, and leaves him a request to call her back. She's hoping he'll come for dinner again, she has so many questions she wants to ask, and the precinct doesn't seem like the best environment for that. Dan and Trixie have a Daddy-Daughter event at school this evening, and Dan wanted to keep her tonight, so she had really been hoping to have the chance to get some answers from her partner.
When she doesn't hear back from him by the time her day ends, she throws caution to the winds and just drives to Lux. Despite the early hour, the waiting line of patrons already stretches to the corner of the block. She pulls into the valet lane and one jogs over to take her car, giving her a cheerful greeting as she tosses him her keys. Gareth nods to her at the door and steps aside to allow her entry, ignoring the mutinous muttering from the masses.
She steps off the elevator and into the middle of what has apparently been a blazing row between Lucifer and his mother.
"What do you mean you let him leave with it?" Charlotte rages, leaning into Lucifer's space. "I—we need that piece to get home, Lucifer! How could you let him take it?!"
"Mum, I can't force Amenadiel to continue helping you," he bellows back, turning away from her to pace in agitation. "Father gave him the rod, and now the Book of Eden says the final piece was gifted to Dad's favorite son, so now he has doubts about working against Him." He takes a deep breath and visibly calms himself before he turns and catches sight of Chloe. "I'm sure he'll come around, Mum, he just needs to get it out of his system. Hello, Detective, what brings you here?"
Charlotte whips around, a snarl contorting her delicate features. "We don't have time for distractions, Lucifer!"
Chloe doesn't shrink from the vehemence in the Goddess' tone, but she does glance at Lucifer warily. He crosses the room to stand beside her, angled subtly to shield her from his mother's wrath if necessary.
"Oh, is the Detective a distraction now, Mum?" he asks quietly, dangerously. "You didn't seem to think so when you were trying to manipulate us into becoming closer for your own scheming purposes."
"That's not… I wasn't trying to—" Charlotte seems to realize her mistake too late and turns back to him, scrambling to try to rectify it. "I was only trying to warn you about your father's manipulation!"
"That is not what you told me when you pulled me from my Loop, Mum," Lucifer points out coldly, "You said that you'd been stoking my anger toward Dad, that you'd pushed the Detective and I together, knowing it would crush me when I learned the truth."
"Lucifer, I—"
"Enough, Mum," he cuts her off ruthlessly, turning away from her in a purposely scornful dismissal, his hand hovering low over Chloe's back and guiding her with him over to his bar. "If you want Amenadiel to change his mind, then go find him. I can't light the sword with a piece missing, and I won't force him to give up the piece that was gifted to him."
"You can convince him," she pleads frantically, "Please, son… I… I need to go home."
"I'll ask again, why the hurry?" Lucifer demands, turning back to his mother with a lifted brow. "It's been millennia, what's another week or month?"
"Nothing at all, of course," her smile is tremulous, her laugh higher than it would normally be. She nervously fingers the bracelet on her wrist, and Chloe's sharp eyes notice a band-aid there. "I just… I miss my children so much, and I want us all to be together. I want us all to go back home."
"Then find Amenadiel," he smirks, "and work your motherly wiles on him. In the meantime I've promised the Detective my consulting services while I'm still here, and since I've already managed to find the other missing piece… if you've nothing to add please feel free to go harass your other earthbound son."
"I'll find him," she turns and nearly flees to the elevator, "He'll see sense. He's always been a reasonable boy. We'll be back soon with the missing piece!"
He watches her go with suspicious eyes, waiting for the doors to close before turning back to his Detective. "You seem to have developed a distressing habit for walking unarmed into my family drama, Detective."
"I've noticed," she deadpans, and he huffs a small laugh. "You didn't call me back, but… I wanted to see if you wanted to maybe have dinner and talk?"
"Did you need something else for the case, Detective?" his brow furrows in confusion, "I assure you I checked to make sure Mr. Johnson's belt buckle was not considered any kind of evidence before I purchased it from him, and he was quite happy with the amount I offered for it, especially after he found out he'd donated his entire fortune to charity."
He gestures to the room in a broad invitation to choose a seat, and she slides onto a stool across the bar from where he's standing. "It's not really about the case, but I would like to ask you some questions about… well, everything, I guess."
"Ah," his face falls a little before he smooths his mask back in place. He seats himself and makes a small 'after you' gesture with his palm. "Very well, go on then."
"Are you feeling okay?" Her first question clearly isn't what he expects, so she elaborates, "You still seemed kind of loopy when I dropped you off yesterday…"
"Oh, that," he waves off her concern easily, "I was fine the moment I reached the penthouse. You apparently have an odd effect on my celestial metabolism. I knew that you make me vulnerable, but I didn't realize that you impacted how other things affect me until yesterday. Unfortunate timing, I'll admit, but it isn't likely to be an issue long-term, so I'm not overly worried about it."
"Okay, wait," she holds up her hands, palms out. "Run that by me again? What do you mean I make you vulnerable?"
"You've noticed that I can bleed and burn when in your presence," he offers slowly, and she nods. Obviously. "That is not the usual state for me, typically I'm impervious to human weapons and injuries by mundane means. When I'm near you, though, I… seem to become mortal. I can be injured, or die as easily as any human."
"Oh my…" Chloe trails off before uttering the final word of her epithet, and Lucifer lifts an inquiring brow. "Maze said she… that you…"
"Hmm," he mutters quizzically as her words lapse into flabbergasted silence. "Not your most coherent statement, Detective, care to try again?"
"When you left my apartment, after I… after we fought, Maze said she was supposed to kill you so you could get the antidote for my poison from Hell." Chloe swallows hard, her eyes searching his and begging him to tell her she's misunderstood the situation. "And you said you'd bargained for my protection with your dying breath. What exactly does that mean, Lucifer?"
"It means that you're uniquely hazardous to my health, darling," he huffs a quiet laugh, his warm brown eyes crinkling at the corners, but she can't join in. "It's of no consequence, I made it back both times, and you're safe. That's truly all that matters."
"I'm… gonna need some more details than that, please."
He sighs, and quickly relates the situations in which he died to protect her (and her offspring), her face growing paler even as he carefully downplays his own mortal peril. "It all worked out in the end, so no need to make a fuss, Detective."
"And you never said a word?" she sputters indignantly, pressing her fingers to her aching temples.
"On the contrary, I told you exactly what happened both times," he corrects her, annoyed. "You even obtained a sample of my blood the first time, but my inconsiderate sod of a brother talked you out of testing it, so you didn't believe me."
"Bulletproof vests and bloodpacks…" she murmurs, and Lucifer barks a humorless laugh.
"Indeed, he told me about that little subterfuge afterward. One of his cleverer ploys, I'll give him that." He pours himself a glass of whiskey and offers her one with a gesture. She nods gratefully, feeling that she'll probably need it before the night is done. They sip in silence for a moment before Chloe introduces her next subject.
"So, this case hit a little closer to home than we expected, I think…" she ventures tentatively, considering Lucifer's interactions with the miraculously-cured 'God' Johnson. "Mr. Johnson obviously wasn't your dad, but… what was the story there? He knew you, and he called you something else. Samuel?"
"No, he was not my father, thankfully," Lucifer exhales wearily, still confused about the things the man knew, just from contact with the Medallion, "but he possessed an… artifact, which is now safely in my hands, that contained a tiny piece of my father's essence. It granted him some divine knowledge and an apparent ability to heal. That's how he recognized me. Once he was no longer touching the medallion, he returned to his normal state of being."
"Your name is Samuel?" Chloe's jaw drops a little before she recovers and closes it with a click, "That's… you… really?"
"Not quite," Lucifer's lip curls in a sneer. "My old name, the one my father originally gave me, is Samael. It is… unpleasant to me, so I chose to use Lucifer instead."
"It doesn't sound so bad," Chloe offers, "I mean, it's no worse than 'Jane'."
"The name Jane, while admittedly impossibly boring, means 'God is gracious'… though here in America it can also mean 'Gift from God'," he says wryly, and Chloe's jaw drops again, this time hanging until Lucifer reaches a long arm across his bar and gently uses the knuckle of his index finger to close it. "Yes, it's a bit on the nose, is it not? Samael, on the other hand, has a more negative meaning to it. Several, really. It means, 'venom of God' or sometimes 'blindness of God'. Lucifer, on the other hand, roughly translates to light bearer."
"I… can understand why you prefer Lucifer, then," she whispers, mortified at a parent choosing such a name for their child. But then… had Lucifer ever even been a child?
"Indeed," he agrees darkly, "I cut all connections with the old name when my family made me Outcast. It… well. As you saw, it makes me rather angry to be addressed that way."
"It's kind of ridiculous how easy it is for family to get under our skin, isn't it?" Chloe looks up at him, her mouth twisted in bitter sympathy. "They know how to pull our strings, because they tied them there…"
"That's certainly one way to look at it, Detective," he sighs, emptying his glass and glancing at his decanter as though considering a refill. "Though with most of my family I think the strings can be taken a bit too literally… I've felt like my father's puppet my entire life. It's why I came to Los Angeles, to cut them."
"LA seems to be a good place for that kind of thing," Chloe agrees absently, taking another sip of her whiskey, debating what to ask next. "The, um… the fight you were having when I came in…"
"Oh yes," Lucifer rolls his eyes and proceeds to pour himself another glass. "Mum's in an uproar because now we've located all three pieces of the Flaming Sword, but Amenadiel doesn't want to part with his precious necklace, because the Book of Eden says that the key was gifted to the favorite son, so now he feels he needs to protect Dad from Mum's plot to get back into Heaven."
"I thought you were the favorite son?" Chloe blurts, then gasps at her own rudeness. Lucifer snickers, but unease is evident in his eyes.
"Yes, well, if that were ever true, I'm sure a new favorite would have been chosen once I was ceremoniously tossed out to burn in Hell for millennia," he huffs mockingly. "Apparently, that was Amenadiel. I can tell you that I certainly never felt like Dad's favorite, despite the responsibilities he put upon me."
"Are you… still considering going back?" She's afraid of the answer, but needs to know.
"Detective, I… I don't know," he closes his eyes and his shoulders sag as though a heavy weight rests upon them. "Linda brought up some concerns that I hadn't considered yet, and… I don't know what to do yet. Mum's plans are getting more and more desperate and I can't let her stay here, but neither do I have a way to get her back to Hell with any assurance that she'll actually stay there this time. Her Door is unchained now, and with Amenadiel's wings gone, the only way I could ensure she stays locked up would be to die again and lock her in myself." He avoids her gaze and continues quietly, almost to himself, "And I can't even guarantee that I'd be able to accomplish that, because I'd likely get stuck again in my own Loop… with no one to pull me out of it this time. I just can't…"
"You and Maze have both talked about Loops… what are they?" She throws out the question when he doesn't seem like he's intending to continue his thought.
"A Loop is a soul's cell in Hell, and they are nothing you will ever need to worry yourself about," Lucifer declares rigidly. His eyes burn with intensity, and Chloe can't bring herself to ask more right now.
"For what it's worth…" she clears her throat and empties her glass boldly before placing it back on the bar, "I hope you stay here. It seems like you're happy here, and I… we would like it if you stayed."
"Sometimes I think I would prefer to stay here as well," Lucifer admits shyly, and Chloe smiles warmly at him in encouragement, "but then… Amenadiel brought up a point that I hadn't thought of, when he was still trying to convince me to help with Mum's plan…"
"What point is that?"
"My… my friends here—you, Miss Lopez, Linda, even the Urchin…" he swallows thickly before he continues, "When I was cast out, I was banned from ever re-entering the Silver City. Forever. All of you will die one day… you'll wind up in the Silver City, and I'll never be able to see any of you again."
"Lucifer," Chloe breathes, horrified at the thought of the price of his banishment.
"Amenadiel pointed out that… if I go back, if I help Mum… if we win, then I have a chance at seeing you all again when you reach the Silver City."
Chapter 8
"Lucifer," Chloe exhales again, reaching across the bar to grasp his hand sympathetically in hers, "I… I can understand the temptation, to be able to see us all again. I know I would love that, but… that seems like a lot of 'ifs'. There's still only the three of you, and didn't you say Amenadiel has lost his strength, and powers now? So… wouldn't it just be you and your mom against the rest of your family?"
"That's what I told him," Lucifer chuckles darkly, but his expression turns wistful. "And yet, the thought won't go away that death by fighting my family for a chance at seeing you all again might be better than the certainty of surviving another eternity alone."
"Will they have more of those weapons? The ones that, you know, destroy souls?" All she can see in her mind's eye is Lucifer getting mobbed by a flock of faceless angels, then slowly crumbling into nothing like the victims of Thanos' snap…
"Azrael was the only one that needed a sword with that particular specialization, since she's the one that guides the souls of the dead. I don't even think she's ever really needed to use it," he shakes his head. "I'm sure Mum wants me to wield the flaming sword against them all, but… I won't do that. I can't."
"But if you don't use that sword, what would you use?" Chloe asks worriedly, fidgeting with her glass, "Do you have your own sword?"
"My weapon was a staff, and I'm sure Dad destroyed it. Probably as bloody Michael was chucking me out." Lucifer's jaw clenches as he glares out the enormous windows, and Chloe knows it's aimed at his father.
She considers for a moment the forces working to tear her partner apart; his parents' scheming, his brother's attempted manipulations, his own ages-old loneliness and feelings of abandonment, and his desire to keep as many of his friends and family from harm as he can. She knows how very strong he is, but he's been besieged for so long…
"If you go back, but you won't use the sword… what… Lucifer, how could you possibly win?" she tries to keep the fear from her voice, but she's certain she doesn't succeed fully when Lucifer's anger collapses into hopelessness.
"I really don't think we can," he admits forlornly, and the lack of his typically unshakable confidence sinks into her guts like a knife. "Mum thinks she'll be able to turn some of the family to her side if she can only talk to them… and I'll admit I didn't think she'd be able to sway Amenadiel in the beginning. But now I'm wondering if his siding with her had more to do with the loss of his wings and powers than actually listening to what she had to say beyond that he can go home."
"What would they do to you?" Chloe asks quietly, reluctantly, "Would they… make you go back to Hell?"
"Hell supposedly needs a Celestial ruler—though it seems to run perfectly well on its own— and certainly none of my saintly siblings would want the throne," Lucifer sneers, "but as to what Dad would do, I don't know. I've already shown that I've no desire to rule there, or to stay in my kingdom, and Mum has proven that she's able to escape as well, so I doubt they'd be willing to repeat history. Not without assigning more guardians to keep us both in our prisons, which is not a coveted position by any stretch of the imagination. They would do better to kill me."
"But if you die, you go back to Hell?" Chloe says slowly, trying to follow his line of thinking. "How is that any different than them just throwing you back there?"
"If they kill me I'll wind up in my Loop, and without someone to come pull me from it, I'd never be able to break free. King or not," he shares grimly. "I don't know if I'd be able to rule as an inmate, but it's not as though they needed much from me anyway. Come to think of it, death would probably work for Mum now too, because she nearly got trapped in my Loop when she came to pull me out. She does have some guilt now, so I suppose it would make the most sense to kill us."
"You have to find another way," she stares up at him, appalled at his easy acceptance of the probable outcome of his mother's plan. "Lucifer, you can't go back there. It's… you need to move forward, not go back. Going backward isn't—it's not good for anyone. Not for your mom, your family… definitely not for you. You've come so far, even just since I've known you. You've grown, and learned things, and… you seem happier."
"I think I have been happier here these past months than I have been in the rest of my combined existence," he admits softly, his dark eyes finally meeting hers. The warmth in them ignites something in her, and she presses on the heels of his admission. "Then let's think about another way to solve this," she encourages eagerly, "You know we do our best thinking together, Lucifer, there has to be another solution that doesn't involve you offering yourself as a sacrifice to your family. What about the sword?"
"What about it?" Lucifer prods warily. His eyes flicker to his bedroom, where his safe resides. "I won't use it against my family. Not again."
"Again?" Chloe repeats and Lucifer flinches, pulling his hand from under hers, leaving her fingers resting against the warmed marble of the bar where his palm had been pressed.
"I had to use it once before," he squeezes his eyes closed, unwilling to look at her, to find the expression of loathing he knows he'll see on her face. "One of my brothers came to Earth to… he was targeting you, Detective, in an effort to force me to send Mum back to Hell. When I tried to talk him down, he threatened to wipe both of you from existence with our sister's blade. He managed to fight me, and defeat Mazikeen, and he was about to start the sequence that would bring about your destruction. I couldn't let him, I just… acted. I killed him, with Azrael's blade. I…"
His words choke into rigidly held silence as he curls into himself, his nose nearly touching the mirrored finish of the marble surface, and his hands fiercely gripping his hair. She doesn't stop to think, but finds herself rounding the bar and wrapping her arms comfortingly around his trembling body.
"You're right," she murmurs into his ear, "you're right, you can't use it against your family. I'm so sorry you've had to defend me so many times, and at such a high cost to you, Lucifer. It doesn't sound like he was willing to give you a reasonable choice in the situation."
He shakes his head against her shoulder, but doesn't move otherwise except for the tremors that wrack his lean frame. She feels his shoulders twitching as he suppresses his silent, hiccupping sobs, and all she can do is hold him in her arms. She slowly brings one hand up to stroke his right hand, massaging his clutching fingers until they loosen and she can pull them away, resting them back on the bar before doing the same for his left. Once he's no longer in danger of tearing his hair out, she gently turns him toward her so she can offer him a real embrace. He doesn't resist, but neither does he reciprocate. She only holds him tighter, pulling his head down onto her shoulder as she murmurs soothingly to him. After a long moment she feels some of the tension drain from him and his arms tentatively close around her, and she knows he'll let her in—will let her try to help him find a better way. A way to survive, and hopefully thrive.
She pulls away when he does, his eyes dry, but red-rimmed with grief and devoid of hope. "Why are you… How can you be so kind to me? I just… Detective, I've just confessed to being a murderer."
"You're no more a murderer than I am," Chloe defends him vehemently, and Lucifer draws back further in surprise as she steps back into his space. "I've killed in the line of duty too, Lucifer. To protect others—you've seen me do it."
"That's not the same at all!" he comes right back, defending her just as intensely. "That detective had already been to Hell, the only reason he was even back here on Earth was because Amenadiel wanted to use him to kill me, and he nearly succeeded in killing you and your offspring!"
"And it sounds like he did succeed in killing you before I managed to bring him down," Chloe challenges, "didn't he?"
"He… he did, yes," Lucifer sighs, and settles. Chloe doesn't cross back to the other side of the bar but sits supportively on the stool right next to him, shoulder-to-shoulder. "I think we've gotten a bit off-topic. Weren't we supposed to be brainstorming other ways of handling this situation with Mum?"
"I don't think we're done with this topic yet," Chloe warns him gently, "but you're right, we can talk about it more later. I was asking about the sword because you said something about it being really powerful—it can cut through dimensions or something?"
She feels utterly ridiculous even saying it out loud, like she's playing one of those role-playing games her college roommate had always been taking part in, but Lucifer nods seriously.
"It can cut through the dimensional plane to the Silver City, the proverbial 'gates of Heaven'," he considers for a moment. "I suppose that means it could cut into Hell as well, though that would probably not be a grand idea, since that could allow for some demons to escape."
"Are there any other dimensions?" Chloe asks, curious, "Somewhere your Mom could go and… just try to be happy?"
"Not that I'm aware of, Detective," but his expression is pensive as he considers. "At any rate, I don't have any way to find out unless Amenadiel is willing to give up the final piece. I just wish I knew why Mum was in such a rush. She's waited thousands of years, a week or three is nothing in comparison."
"Maybe she's just excited because she feels like she's so close?"
"Perhaps," he muses, but she can see he doesn't believe it. "Something has changed. She was subtle before, she took months to manipulate us toward each other, but now… there's a new desperation there, I just don't know why."
Something niggles at Chloe's memory, and she pulls in a breath as she works out what it is.
"Lucifer, is your mom invulnerable too?"
"Yes and no," he replies unhelpfully. "Mum doesn't actually have a physical body, she is… well, Light, I suppose. Same as Dad, but different, hers is all golden warmth, while his is icy silver. She's currently possessing the body of Charlotte Richards."
"Is… is Charlotte's soul still in there?" Chloe gasps, horrified.
"No, of course not," he reassures her easily, "Ms. Richards died in that hotel room and wound up in Hell. Bodies of Hellbound souls can be possessed by Hell denizens, though I outlawed demons from doing so ages ago. But Mum plays by her own rules; she managed to ditch Hell and hop into Charlotte's body."
Chloe gapes at his deadpan delivery of something that should sound insane… but apparently this is her life now. "So… your mother is a… light… that's possessing a human body. What if something happens to that body?"
"What are you thinking, Detective?"
"She had a band-aid on her wrist," Chloe offers the information nervously. "It's… technically a dead body, right? If it gets injured, what happens?"
"Well," Lucifer considers a moment. "If she were a demon, I would say 'nothing'. The wound wouldn't heal, but it wouldn't corrupt or get infected, or whatever else you humans have to worry about."
"But she's different from a demon?"
"Very," Lucifer nods, still thinking. "I had to stab her with that screwdriver when you caught the fellow that killed Ms. Richards and that other man… to explain that blood pool in her hotel room, and she bled a bit, but at that point her possession was fresh enough that it did heal up. Now though… oh, bollocks."
He slides off his stool and starts to pace. Chloe follows him with her eyes, giving him a moment to work through whatever just occurred to him.
"Mum's been getting stronger," he murmurs, thinking aloud as he strides the length of his flat. "If her strength builds to a certain point… it's possible that her human vessel won't be able to contain her any longer."
"What would happen then?" Chloe asks quietly, dreading the answer.
"I don't know," Lucifer confesses nervously as he pulls his phone from his pocket, "But I'm willing to bet it wouldn't be anything good for humanity, or Earth."
He continues to pace as he holds his phone to his ear, cursing under his breath the entire time. "Brother, it's me, Lucifer. The Detective and I may have an idea as to why Mum's suddenly pushing so hard to put her plan into action and it's bad, call me back or get to Lux."
He stabs the screen with his finger to disconnect the call and glares at it as though he'd like to fling it away in frustration, but tucks it back in his pocket in a rare show of restraint. He glances hopelessly at Chloe and heads out to the balcony, lighting up a cigarette and taking a deep drag. He pulls out the phone again and sends a series of texts as she moves to join him at the railing.
"Make sure you use words," Chloe reminds him, nudging his elbow with hers, "You know he doesn't understand you when you use emojis."
"If he can read Sumerian, there's no reason he can't translate emojis," Lucifer sighs in frustration, but sends two more lengthy texts, then places the phone back in his pocket again.
"Lucifer, I know you don't know, but… do you have any theories on what might happen if, um, if your mom's uh, body can't hold her light?"
"She's the Goddess of All Creation, equal in power to my father," his dark eyes meet hers as he spreads his hands helplessly before him, "it could be nothing, or it could result in an explosion that could take out the entire Western hemisphere… there is no historical context here, I'm afraid." They stand at the railing in contemplative silence while Lucifer finishes his cigarette. "Did you have more questions, Detective? We've nothing to do now for this situation but wait, unless we want to hire Mazikeen to hunt my brother down."
"I do have more questions, but…" she hesitates, biting her lip, "I think they can wait until we can figure this out. Rain check?"
"Very well," he agrees, managing to seem relieved and disappointed at the same time. "Shall I let you know if I hear from Amenadiel, then?"
"Please," she looks up at him with a wry smile, which he returns. "Or if you decide to hire Maze. See you tomorrow?"
"Call if you need me," he agrees, and walks her to the elevator. The doors slide apart and the scents of ozone and the acridity of melted plastic wash over them, their eyes widening in tandem as their gazes take in the damage.
The elevator carriage interior is scorched. The silver strips on the side walls are blackened, and the amber backlit panel of the rear wall is flickering, smeared with soot and melted in places. Lucifer closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, his nostrils flaring as he pulls in a deep breath.
"Bloody Hell."
Lucifer takes Chloe through parts of the penthouse she's never seen before to a larger elevator to get her to the parking garage.
"Why do you need two elevators?" Chloe asks curiously as her eyes take in the carefully curated details of the rooms she's passing through.
"Two reasons, really; pianos don't fit in the passenger elevator, and discretion," he smirks at her, but lets her draw her own conclusions. She rolls her eyes and changes the subject,
"How are you going to find her?"
"I'm going to hire Mazikeen to find my brother," he says grimly, pulling his phone from his pocket again. "If I've got him… or the final piece… Mum will have to come to me."
"You're… are you still thinking of going with her?" she asks again. He won't meet her gaze, and a cold weight settles in her chest. "Lucifer?"
"I don't know, Detective," his eyes are fixed on his phone as he locates Maze's contact and presses it. "I just don't know."
"I know my opinion doesn't really matter in all this celestial stuff," Chloe presses the button to call the freight elevator and turns to face him, "but… I really hope you stay. I want us to be able to move forward, and I hope we can do it together."
He stares at her speechlessly for a long moment, then the elevator doors open behind her just as she hears an annoyed Mazikeen answer his call. She tips up and presses another kiss to his cheek, giving him a hopeful wave as she steps into the carriage.
His blank eyes gaze at her for another moment, and she sees him snap out of his stupor just as the doors slide shut.
"Yes, Mazikeen, my apologies. I have a bounty for you, and I think you'll rather enjoy it—of course I'll pay you."
Chloe chuckles to herself as the lift descends to the parking level. She checks in at the valet office and retrieves her keys, heading for the space number Kyle provides. Lux has good security, but she keeps her keys ready in her hand and remains alert to her surroundings as she unlocks her door and climbs into the driver's seat. As she turns out of the parking garage, she catches movement in her backseat.
"Hello, Chloe," Charlotte's sharklike grin is reflected at her from her rearview mirror. "We're going to take a little ride, and you're going to help me encourage my son to convince his brother to donate the final piece of the flaming sword so we can go home."
Lucifer hangs up the phone with a growl after leaving another agitated message. His brother has turned off his cell now, it's just going directly to voicemail. He knows better than to check in with Mazikeen. She will find him, but he's so irritated that his dimwitted brother is choosing now to angst over which parent to side with, all because he's apparently the favorite. Lucifer snorts. No one had ever seen him blindly siding with his father back when he had supposedly been His favorite. But now… time is of the essence. If Mum is leaking enough light to melt the interior of his elevator… she could be set to go nuclear anytime now, and he doesn't have the slightest idea what the consequences will be.
His phone lights up with a call, and he answers it quickly without looking.
"Brother, I've been trying to—"
"Hello, son," the sardonic voice of his mother fills his ear, "apparently you've yet to locate your brother, but it's good to hear you've been trying."
"Of course I've bloody been trying, Mum, why didn't you just tell me you've been bleeding light?!"
"I didn't want to worry you—"
"You need to come to Lux so I can keep you safe until we locate Amenadiel, Mum, we can't have you risking the lives of the human population."
"Oh, don't worry, Lucifer, I'm perfectly safe, I've got your Detective to protect me."
"You what?" he pulls the phone from his ear and feels his heartrate double as he sees the Detective's contact photo displaying on the screen. "Mum, why are you calling me from the Detective's phone?"
"I thought that you could use some motivation to locate your brother. Your little miracle seemed like an excellent place to start."
"Mum, if you hurt her—"
"I've no intention of harming your little pet, so long as you bring the fully-functional sword to the Santa Monica Pier in the next two hours."
"The pier?!" he repeats incredulously, "Mother are you insane? There are far too many humans there to open the gates!"
"We don't have to open the gate here, but I thought a few more humans around might just add to your sense of urgency."
"My sense of urgency was already Dad-tier when I realized you melted my lift, Mum," he takes a deep breath, forcing calm for the Detective's sake. "Two hours isn't enough time. I've got Mazikeen hunting him, but he's shut his phone off and I don't have another way to find or reach him until Maze brings him to me."
"Then I hope your demon is very good at her job, because after two hours I might get a little bored," Ice creeps into his mother's tone, and skitters down his back. "And you know what happens to humans when I get bored."