Hey everybody! Super early posting this week, because tomorrow I'm headed to Washington DC for the weekend. I'm excited to go, it's my first time visiting there. Enjoy this chapter, it certainly starts with a...bang. ;)
Lucifer didn't think twice. He brought the gun up and fired two shots straight at his brother. The force of the kick surprised him but he kept the barrel trained on Michael as he watched, a tightness suffocating his chest, Michael remain completely unharmed.
Seeing Michael after all this time, after the eons of separation with that one last fateful encounter being the forefront of his mind, made Lucifer feel way too many emotions at once. Shooting had been his reflex, with the nerves pounding in his stomach accompanying the loud bangs.
The audible gasp from Chloe shook him from his trance-like state. He brought the weapon down and flicked the safety on with his wrist, eyes not leaving his impassive brother's face.
"Justified," he said shortly in the detective's direction. Out of his peripherals he saw her step forward. She pulled the gun from his hands – barely a minute in the ring of finally being trusted to use a weapon and it was already gone – and trained it on Michael as he had just done. That was good. Better than good. It made the detective feel more confident, he knew, despite the lack of it working.
"Dan, get Trixie out of here," she said calmly. Lucifer broke the hard staring contest with his brother to watch Dan get the child to safety. This was for the best, of course. He didn't care where they went, as long as it was miles away from here.
"Detective," he began, but was interrupted but the oh-so-familiar, gut-wrenching voice of Michael.
"I knew you would be back," the other said, voice expressionless as he continued to stand in front of the kitchen door. "With the proper motivation."
"What the hell does that mean?" Lucifer snapped, feeling his eyes flash red. Michael shrugged, looking disinterested with the conversation already.
"I simply mean that it takes a level of…persuasion to obtain a reaction from you, brother," he answered. "Push the right buttons, and here you are, like a good dog."
Lucifer growled, starting towards Michael. This was ending now and it would end in his favor.
"Lucifer, wait," Chloe cautioned from next to him. "He's just provoking you."
"Well it's working," he snarled. "This time I'll win."
"Stop," she said again, bringing him to a halt – temporarily.
Michael was watching her again, aloof interest passing his features.
"Smart human you've imprinted on, Samael." Michael smirked.
"It's Lucifer now, actually," Lucifer snarled. He set his jaw. The anger that had flashed up at the sight of Michael was barely containable, and in the back of his mind he cautioned himself against losing himself in Chloe's presence. She may be okay with his role back in Hell, but he didn't want to tempt fate and lose complete control.
Michael shrugged again.
"Samael is the name our father gave you, and it is the only name I will associate with you," he said. "Which I don't associate with you much anymore, since you fell."
"It was more of a push, if I remember correctly," Lucifer retorted. "Now get the hell out of his home. You have no right to be here."
"Neither do you," Michael pointed out with hard eyes. "You have no right to be on earth altogether. You were given a job and you need to remain there for the rest of eternity. It's your punishment, Samael."
"I'll show you punishment!" Lucifer roared, jumping forward again.
"Lucifer, stop."
He hated how he slowed instantly, but knew Chloe was right. Pummeling on his least favorite brother was not ideal in these cramped circumstances. This made Michael's smirk more pronounced.
"She has you on a leash," he chuckled. "This is pathetic. Imagine what the rest of the angels will think of this."
"They don't think much of you, brother," Lucifer said. "Out of the two of us, I was always preferred. This struck a nerve and Michael's eyes flashed dark and his smirk disappeared.
"You lost the privilege of calling me brother when you betrayed the Silver City," he sneered. "Now what is it going to take to get you back where you belong?"
"You have it all wrong, Michael," Chloe chimed in. Lucifer shot one more glare at Michael before turning his head to look at her. She had watched for a few minutes, only supplying the occasional reminder not to break out into a full-blown brawl in Dan's – dead Dan's – house. Her jaw was set and her eyes were hard, gun still trained on Michael. Seeing her like this brought a sense of pride through him – this strong human with her never-back-down attitude had chosen him. She was standing next to him throughout all of this. He had to be the luckiest being in existence.
"Was Hell really a punishment? Or was it a lesson to learn?" she asked then, continuing her train of thought. "Did God really cast Lucifer from Heaven just to torture guilty souls for all eternity? Or did he put a guilty angel in charge of teaching others to forgive their guilt?"
Michael looked a little taken aback at a human speaking to him in such a way, but he quickly composed himself, as he always did. The bloody wanker.
"You guess at the meanings behind my father's decisions?" he shot, "you, a human who has barely been alive for thirty-five years, thinks you know what our God meant when he cast down his son?" He took a step forward, prompting Lucifer to quickly sidestep in front of her.
"Lucifer, move," Chloe said. "I'm not done."
"Yes, Samael, move," Michael said dangerously, crazed smile appearing on his face. "Perhaps bringing this one straight to Hell will keep you there for the rest of eternity. The other human wasn't enough for you."
"Other hu…" Lucifer trailed off, putting two and two together. Chloe must have, too, because that seemed to be the last straw for her. She shoved around him before he knew what she was doing, weapon firing round after round.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" she yelled, composure lost. Michael didn't look threatened but he did look slightly surprised.
"I will come for you, Detective Chloe Decker," Michael promised with a glint in his eyes. "I will come for you and I will ensure my former brother's return to Hell is permanent this time."
Lucifer snarled and started after him too, but Michael took the last step out the back door, pushed out his wings – gray, impressive things with sharp, thorn-like feathers – and was gone in the blink of an eye.
Lucifer was breathing heavily, he realized then. His brow was covered in sweat, and his eyes were leaking tears that he didn't realize he was crying. The emotional toil of seeing Michael, in all his glory, had been traumatic. The memories that had kept trying to resurface with the result of him shoving them deep down now came flooding open, lingering on each little detail that seemed perfectly designed to inflict even more pain on him.
Chloe brought down her weapon and holstered it. Lucifer could see her hands shaking. She had just been threatened by an angel from the Silver City, and a pretty powerful one at that. Despite all of his emotions that had been brought to the surface, his heart ached for her. He crossed the few steps between them in a few precious seconds and pulled her into an embrace.
"He killed Dan…" she whispered through her own shock and horror.
"Somehow he used his charm to get to the coach, but yes," Lucifer agreed gently. "It would appear so."
"What are we going to do?" she asked, voice wavering in uncertainty.
"I don't know, Chloe." He stroked her hair and let himself calm down internally, which was more difficult than what he had hoped it would be.
"Is it over?" Dan asked, voice cautiously coming from the top the stairs. He hadn't ran miles after all, like Lucifer had hoped. He had cowered upstairs in a very obvious move that Michael would have seen in a heartbeat.
"Yes," Chloe called back up, voice breaking. She coughed a bit, embracing Lucifer back. Her arms were shaking but comforting, fingers rubbing his back through his suit coat. He took a shuddering breath of his own, organizing his thoughts.
"First things first," he said. "Dan, I need you back in Hell for now. I will escort you there myself and make sure Maze stays with you. Chloe, you and Trixie need to get some place safe. I'll call Amenadiel and Azrael and have them help you. It's best if I don't know where you are."
"Why not?" Trixie piped up, still cheerful from her exposure to Michael's charm.
"It's like a scavenger hunt, monkey," Dan quickly answered before Lucifer could reply. He shut his mouth, glaring at the other. "But we don't want Michael to find you. He's not a good guy. Does that make sense?"
"Okay," Trixie shrugged, grinning. "Can I have some cake?"
"Of course, Trixie, help yourself," Chloe said, wiping her eyes and disengaging herself from Lucifer. The absence of her body against his was immediately noticeable. He felt lonely. This was going to be tough for him.
"So what's the plan?" Dan asked. Lucifer felt this was very repetitive of the last time he was up here. He was getting tired of making plans.
"Yeah, what's the plan?" Ella chimed in, walking into the kitchen and surprising them all – Lucifer hadn't even heard the front door open or close. "And what's going on? We have a pretty noticeable bloodstain on the floor in the living room."
Dan cleared his throat awkwardly. Lucifer jumped to answer, quickly composing himself as well.
"Well, Detective Espinoza here got himself into a spot of trouble," he said lightheartedly. "I brought him back to get his affairs in order, but he's…" he trailed off, at a loss as to how to put the next word as nice as possible.
"Dead," Dan finished calmly. "I died."
Ella's face turned shocked, crestfallen, and finally confused.
"How can you be dead? You're right there," she pointed at him. "You don't look dead to me."
"He is," Chloe said. "Lucifer brought him back from Hell, which is not where he should have been in the first place." Lucifer watched with mild interest as she glared at him.
"Michael was just here, that's whom you saw," Chloe said to Ella then. "He instigated the entire thing. He…wants to kill me next."
"Well, not necessarily kill," Lucifer emphasized. "He wants to drag your soul to Hell, which would indeed kill you, but Michael himself wouldn't kill you, Hell would; he doesn't like getting his hands messy."
"Kill her?" Ella shrieked. "Well that's unacceptable! What do we do? Can we fight him? Is there jail in Heaven? Can we contain him or something?"
"Not really," Lucifer sighed. "Hence involving my brother. If anybody can keep you safe from that absolute prick, it's Amenadiel."
"What about me? I really don't want to relive that…you know, again," Dan said lamely, putting a hand behind his neck. Lucifer could tell he was uncomfortable and petrified to return. He could sympathize.
"You won't have to, I can sort of 'turn off' your Hell for the time being. Maze will stay with you. Since it is your personal Hell, you two can just wander around fake LA and pass the time. Time definitely goes slower down there, but it's the safest place for you."
"Maze will be with me?" Dan's eyes lit up, seeming a bit more hopeful. Lucifer nodded. "All right then. I can do that."
"Hold on just one moment then." Lucifer turned his back on them and put his hands together, ignoring the fact that they hadn't come up with a solution to stop Michael yet. He was feeling wary about that even being a semblance of a possibility. Perhaps involving a step higher up was a good idea… He chuckled to himself, shaking his head. Definitely not time. It would never be time to involve his dear old dad. Instead, closed his eyes and focused.
Time to call the troops.
