Impatiently, Lucifer Morningstar saw his new Jamaican housekeeper to the elevator then toured every room in the penthouse with a keen eye. There mustn't be an unfluffed pillow today, nor an overlooked smudge on glass, nor a forgotten dust bunny in any of the corners. There mustn't be a single imperfection at all and there wasn't. Unlike her predecessors, Mrs. Ronica Laird clearly knew her job and took pride in it for, try as Lucifer might, he couldn't find anything to fix or collect or hide. Still, that didn't stop him from taking a second tour and then a third minutes later just to be absolutely certain.

Tonight, on this – his first, official romantic engagement with the detective – everything had to be immaculate, and there was no time to lose. After all, she would be here in – Lucifer checked his watch and gasped – two hours.

Bloody hell, he needed to brush his teeth! And shower! And manscape in case…!

Lucifer zipped to the bar, downed a few fingers of whiskey to calm his nerves then fled to the bath with a silly smile on his handsome face.

He finally had a date.

With Chloe!

xXxXx

"Hey, Lopez, haven't you heard? It's quittin' time! Let's go, Chiquita Banana!"

The uni who had just barged into Ella's lab was a recent transfer to the L.A.P.D., a baby-faced twenty-nine-year-old barely wider than a string bean. What Mirko Jaksic lacked in bulk, however, he more than made up for with his exuberance. For the job. For making friends. For life itself. Ella loved having his company.

"Hey yourself, Mickey." She glanced up with a smile for the one colleague at the precinct who could give her a run for her money when it came to dispensing hugs then went back to peering through the eyepieces of her microscope. "Since when are you so eager to clock out?"

Mirko practically preened as he hooked his thumbs in the front pocket of his jeans. "Since I made the list."

"What list?"

"You know." Mirko rocked on his heels with a cocky smirk. "THE list. At Lux."

"Ah, you mean the Free-Drinks-List-for-Ultra-Cool-Members-of-the-L.A.P.D.? Is that the list you mean?"

"None other."

"Took you long enough." Ella said. "The rest of us made that list, like, a week after we met the owner."

Mirko's smile slipped as he studied her suspiciously. "Did not."

Ella straightened her back and looked him in the eye, her expression unnervingly serious. "Did too."

"Not."

"Too."

Mirko deflated. "Well, this totally sucks! I thought Lucifer was cool with me. I thought—!"

"Dude, lighten up! I was just kidding!" Ella exclaimed. "You made it around the same time as everyone else!"

She went over and gave Mirko a consolation hug which he returned automatically although what he really wanted to do was give a good yank on her ponytail as punishment. Ella seemed to read his mind since she promptly let him go then hightailed it to the other side of her lab table, a guilty smile on her lips as she busied herself preparing more slides for the microscope.

Mirko made a face at her then tipped his head toward the door. "Okay, you got me this time, Lopez, but you can make it up to yours truly by coming out to celebrate. C'mon, let's go. Drinks're finally on someone other than me for a change."

"Sorry, Mickey, not tonight. If we party at Lux, we're just gonna get drunk—

"Exactly!"

"—and then suffer massive hangovers—"

"So what? I'm off tomorrow."

Ella stopped what she was doing and whipped a pen at Mirko's chest.

"Well, I'm not! If I have to drag my ass to a new crime scene to work the clues, how am I gonna do that with a monster migraine slowing me down? Plus, I'll have you know I have, like, mondo personal plans!"

"Bull," Mirko said, catching her pen and tossing it right back to her. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Name one."

"See those?" Ella pointed without shame to the box of unaired footage the producers of The Cabin had lent their department when the investigation into Melinda Hagey's on set murder had kicked off two days ago. "I plan to watch every single one of those tapes before they have to go back."

Mirko strode over to the box and snorted in disgust as he read the labels on a handful of the cassettes. "Seriously, Lopez? You're rejecting my awesome company and free drinks at the hottest club in town just so you can go home, curl up with your pet chicken and watch a suck-ass reality tv show?"

Ella held her head high. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am."

Mirko dismissed that, refusing to concede defeat. "C'mon, Ella Bella," he coaxed with a dimpled grin. "You know you wanna come out with me. If you don't, I'm just gonna start calling you—"

"Do not finish that sentence." Ella pointed a stern finger at him, trying to suppress the smile that wanted to form. "I mean it. Don't you dare start."

"You know I can't help myself," Mirko warned. "I want what I want and there's only one way to stop me, Ella Umbrella … Foefella … Nutella … Mozzarel—"

"Okay, okay, you win!" Ella rushed over and clamped a gloved hand over his mouth, withdrawing it only to give him a hardy slap on the arm. "I am so not a cheese."

"But you are 'cheesed off' at me for messing up your plans tonight, right?"

Ella rolled her eyes at his lame joke and snapped off her gloves. "You bet I am, and if the first thing I do after I roll out of bed tomorrow is puke, you, hermano, are on my No Hugs List for at least two weeks, entiendes?"

"I can live with that."

Pleased with his powers of persuasion, Mirko helped Ella close up her lab for the evening. After that, he had to wait while she showered in the women's locker room then changed into the spare dress-up outfit she always kept at work now for impromptu tribe nights. Unlike his last two girlfriends, Ella didn't take super long, so the moment she returned to where he was hanging around now attired in a black mesh ruched minidress with glam sandals on her feet to match, Mirko perked up and grinned appreciatively. He took a few extra seconds to admire the way her long hair was free-flowing down her back for once and made a vow to himself to ask her out for a real sit-down dinner date one day soon. Finally, he offered her his arm.

"So, Chica, to Lux…?"

Ella smiled winningly and took his arm. "Yeah, yeah, Blackmailer. To Lux."

xXxXx

Remiel couldn't help but shake her head with a smile when she spotted her favorite big brother holding court below on the edge of one of the many colorful woodlands surrounding the Silver City. Amenadiel had announced to one and all before that he was moving to Los Angeles like Lucifer but from the looks of things, he was already back for a brief visit and taking the opportunity to rhapsodize yet again about the personal growth he'd recently undergone on Earth, a tale at this point that few angels in Heaven hadn't already heard. Remiel was sorely tempted to remain airborne and keep flying towards her current hunting grounds, but in truth, she'd missed her brother and mentor just as much as their siblings. Within seconds, she'd changed direction and landed beside him in a fragrant field of bluebells and lavender. Predictably, Amenadiel enveloped her in a hug, his already broad smile stretching ever wider.

"Remi, listen here! I was just telling everyone—"

"Brother, enough already about self-actualization," Remiel said, cutting him off gently as she leaned into his embrace. "We believe you."

Amenadiel paused long enough to consider then nodded once and released her, abashed at the realization that all of the surrounding faces had become very familiar. There wasn't a single angel in the group that hadn't already heard him expound upon the joys of having full control over oneself. Probably more than once. Oops.

"Forgive me, Brothers and Sisters," Amenadiel said somewhat sheepishly. "I didn't mean to bend your ears for so long. I suppose, well, I'm just so relieved that our father wasn't behind my Fall–"

"And I'm just grateful that we no longer have to see those gnarly so-called wings you had on your back," Jophiel declared from the mammoth tree he was lounging against. Beside him, Jeremiel slapped the top of his head. "What, Bro?" Jophiel squawked. "They were, like, totally hideous and you know it!"

"What I know is that I'm hungry," Jeremiel replied. He slapped Jophiel twice more for speaking out of turn, winked at Amenadiel then surveyed their siblings with a practiced eye. "Now, who will fetch Sacchiel so a proper feast can begin?"

xXxXx

It was time and the ding of the penthouse elevator had never been a more welcome sound. Lucifer stopped admiring his latest arrangement of the single rose on the table and turned toward the doors to face his partner, nay, soon-to-be girlfriend.

The one – the only – Chloe Jane Decker.

She was dressed casually in a dark sweater, capri slacks and low-heeled pumps, not one article costing most than thirty-five dollars, but her long blonde hair was loose about her slim shoulders and Lucifer could not imagine any runaway model looking more fetching.

She's here, he thought gratefully. She accepted my invitation to dinner and now it's begun. Our very first and utterly perfect date. Dad, if You're listening up there, thank You. I thank You from the bottom of my heart for putting the detective in my path.

As they greeted each other and engaged in idle chit-chat, the smile on Chloe's face seemed unnatural somehow and more than a trifle forced, but Lucifer quashed the latest round of alarm bells that tried to peal inside his head, alarms which had been going off more and more frequently this last week ever since her return from Italy. They had become especially strident these last two days throughout their most recent case on the set of The Cabin, but whatever they were trying to tell him, whatever subversive ideas those bloody alarms were trying to implant, were wrong, Lucifer told himself. They had to be. Old Scratch was done creating problems and inviting chaos where none previously existed. He was done self-sabotaging this night or any night going forward. Not if it affected his budding romance with the woman in front of him who finally knew what he truly was yet still consented to a private night out. Dad help him, this beautiful evening he had planned would not to fall apart. He absolutely forbade it.

Determined to push forward no matter the personal cost, Lucifer broadened his own smile and welcomed Chloe into his living room…

xXxXx

"Two more!" Mirko bellowed, gesturing for one of the three bartenders at Lux to approach. He raised his voice another notch to be heard over the pounding music as well as every other partier nearby. "Another Bloody Maria for the lady and a sidecar for me this time!"

"Hey, are you ever gonna have the same drink twice tonight?" Ella asked. She leaned on her dance partner a bit more heavily than she planned, giggled at her own clumsiness and made a mental note to sip her next drink instead of guzzle it. "It's like you're trying to taste everything on the menu at least once!"

"That's my goal!" Mirko shouted back. He accepted the new drinks he was handed, passed Ella's on to her then toasted their glasses. "To the best damn cop consultant I've ever met and the most generous! May we never have to buy another shot in this lifetime, Ella Bella!"

"To Lucifer!" Ella agreed and knocked back her drink. The urge to pee was growing but she ignored it. "C'mon!" she ordered, tugging insistently on Mirko's arm toward the center of the club. "Quit drinking and let's dance!"

xXxXx

I'm doing it, Chloe thought. For the first time in my life, I'm carrying out a crime. I'm no better than Dan now. I'm a police detective committing a felony…

Outwardly, Chloe Decker seemed to freeze the second Lucifer fell, but inside she was a whirlwind of mental activity, checking off each and every step that had led to this fateful moment. The sight of Satan in his true form, the panicked flight to Rome, the repeated talks with Father Kinley, the acceptance of his vial and now, this. Slipping a massive sedative to the Devil himself, the first step required to banish true evil back to Hell.

But was Lucifer completely evil?

Maybe he wasn't. How could he be when he saved so many human lives and helped bring dozens upon dozens of criminals to justice?

Maybe Satan had reformed.

Could such a thing be possible…?

"L-Lucifer?" Chloe whispered, uncertain.

For the briefest of moments, a trembling Chloe Decker wrung her hands and felt torn as she retreated to the Italian leather sofa behind her and watched her civilian consultant-slash partner-slash friend-slash-love interest convulse in agony in the penthouse far above Lux. From the floor where he'd fallen once the poison had truly hit his system, Lucifer was staring up at her, realization dawning oh so reluctantly in his brown eyes. The first human he'd ever truly loved, the woman whose hand in marriage he'd been determined to have someday even if it meant sacrificing his riches, his immortality, his very essence … she wasn't surprised by what was happening to him now. She wasn't concerned enough to act. She wasn't offering any assistance whatsoever. After all they'd been through together, all the repeated reassurances she'd given that she was fine with his devil face and his true nature, it was just … lies. All of it. She had done this to him. To him.

Oh, Detective…

Chloe saw the change in his eyes as his heart broke when he accepted her role in his current suffering, and the deepest kind of regret threatened to drown her.

Dear God, how could she have done this?

How could she have fatally drugged the man she'd cherished for years on the say-so of a Vatican priest she'd only met a mere month ago?

Chloe ran forward and dropped to her knees beside a foaming Lucifer, the cords in his neck distended as his celestial body tried to overcome the effects of the toxin coursing through his veins, and she pulled out the smartphone she always kept in the right back pocket of her jeans. No matter the promises she'd make the Catholic church, no matter the personal cost to herself, she had to call 9-1-1.

And then right before her eyes Lucifer began to change.

Unable to control his form, charred red skin pushed past his normally handsome exterior, flaming his features until no part of the Lucifer Chloe had come to love was visible. The beastly visage faded with seconds and was replaced once again by the angelic familiar, but it was too late. Chloe had seen and been reminded.

As Lucifer struggled to bring his shaking palms together in prayer, Chloe shrieked and scrambled backwards, her plans to get him to a hospital forgotten. Frantically, she scrolled through the contact list on her cell phone, desperate to reach Father Kinley…

xXxXx

In Heaven, the woodland gathering had expanded once Sacchiel the Angel of Prosperity and her assistants created a picnic with games and spirits and food aplenty. With the six youngest of all his siblings gathered in a circle around him, fascinated by his adventures amongst their father's playthings on Earth, Amenadiel delighted in having a captive audience once again. In the midst of acting out his nightclub battle with Cain (with the aid of fellow warrior Zoriel), Amenadiel suddenly froze, an uncomfortable stillness surrounding him.

"Brother?" Yzabel asked nervously. She glanced first at her twin sister Eriel then to Zoriel. "Zori, help him."

Zoriel was already on it. He lay a strong hand on his hero and squeezed lightly, even more concerned than his siblings at the way Amenadiel's expression had begun to darken. "Brother, what is it? What's wrong?"

Amenadiel came back to the present, his jaw pulsing as his gaze fixed on the Angel of Intensity. He unfurled his wings. "I need to leave, Zori. Lucifer's praying to me for help … or at least he's trying to."

"What do you mean 'he's trying to'?"

"I mean I can't understand him. His words keep breaking up like he can't think straight. I've never heard him like this. He must be in serious trouble. I'd better call Raphael."

"Why bother," Eriel scoffed alongside most of the others. "You'll be wasting your time, Amenadiel, and his." She scowled watching God's Firstborn persist in closing his eyes and bringing his hands together then said, "Fine. Go see what ails him, if you must. We'll wait for you here."

"But, Sister!" Yzabel flew to her feet yet looked conflicted, her eyes tearing between the eldest brother she admired and the twin whose side rarely left her own. She turned to the others as well, but none apart from Amenadiel seemed to share her fear for The Lightbringer, so she turned once more to her twin, her eyes pleading. "We must go as well to assist!"

"No, we must not. Father banished him," Eriel said, clamping down viciously on her wrist and forcing Yzabel to sit back down with the rest of them. She gazed around the circle and smiled in triumph when few showed an inclination to contradict her. Emboldened, she spoke louder as she raised her chin defiantly at Amenadiel, whose hands were still clasped in silent prayer. "You'll be making a mistake going to his aid, Brother. Samael is not worthy of our assistance. He's no longer one of us."

Amenadiel's eyes snapped open. "Then stay here, Sister! With that attitude, Lucifer doesn't need you and neither do I!" Amenadiel turned then to Zoriel and shoved his startled little brother in the direction of the Silver City's infirmary. "Rapha's not answering me. Go find him and tell him he's needed at Luci's penthouse. Did you hear me?! I said MOVE!"

Not much older than a fledgeling at the time of The Rebellion, Zoriel still had very clear memories of those dark days, which meant there was no love lost between him and the angel once known as Samael. In this moment, though, faced with God's Most Loyal Soldier barking commands in defense of The Fallen One himself, Zoriel didn't dare do anything but obey. Annoyed with himself for hesitating and thus disappointing Amenadiel, Zoriel took to the air and flew in a straight line toward the medical wing of the castle. He was determined not to be found wanting any further in the eyes of his mentor.

Amenadiel stared after him a moment to ensure the third youngest of all his brothers was taking no detours, then took to the air as well and began to beat his wings faster than he had ever had before towards Earth.

I'm coming, Luci, he prayed. Hold on, okay? I'm coming!

xXxXx

To Amenadiel, Detective Chloe Jane Decker looked and sounded like a dishevelled, panicking mess when he dove through the polluted clouds that hung over L.A. and approached the penthouse terrace far above Lux. With his superior senses, he had no difficulty at all making out her form as she paced the floor in front of the fireplace a safe distance from where Lucifer lay writhing, but it was the words she was shouting into her cellphone that caused his fury to rise exponentially.

"Father Kinley, where are you?! it's not working! Lucifer's still conscious! The tranquilizer you gave me isn't fucking working!

"What tranquilizer?!" Amenadiel demanded, his outstretched wings shattering the glass doors of the balcony when he made no effort to tuck them away in time. "Why did you drug my brother?!"

Chloe couldn't answer. She screamed and turned her back instinctively to the shards now flying into the room in a bid to protect her eyes, then stayed that way, unwilling to face Amenadiel.

For a split second, Amenadiel wanted to go to her so he could throttle the truth from her frail, human body, but just as quickly, he knew that couldn't be his first priority. He rushed instead to Lucifer's side … and then was absolutely appalled to see the Lord of Hell sprawled on the floor in such an undignified state, his appearance constantly changing from angel to devil then back again with no apparent control. In human form, Lucifer's hair curled with perspiration, his jaw and hands a rictus of pain as they clenched against the fierce tremors that were causing his body to heave and foam to pass his lips. In devil form, pus wept openly from Lucifer's burns and his claws were frightening in their size, brutally piercing his skin. Amenadiel took one look at his little brother, who had never once appeared so tortured, then whirled to face the backstabbing bitch who'd somehow managed to hurt him worse than she ever had before.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

The celestial cry seemed to rock the very foundations of Lux. Too frightened to support her own weight against such an onslaught, Chloe fell in an ungainly heap and began to quake almost as hard as Lucifer himself, terrified not only of Satan's possible resurrection but now of the wrath of an honest-to-goodness angel. She stammered as she answered Amenadiel, pointing a shaking finger her at the leftover wine on the coffee table. Coherency was fast departing her.

"I-I-I just – I– D-Devil – s-s-sedative!"

Amenadiel snatched up the bottle she'd indicated, took a sniff then set it back on the table and checked the glasses next. The one belonging to Chloe was upright and smelled fine just like the bottle of Grand Cru itself, but the same could not be said for the overturned glass on the floor by Lucifer's hip. Amenadiel brought that one to his nose and sniffed again, frowning at the faint scent he was picking up. No. No, it couldn't be. Father had destroyed all traces eons ago; the only remnants left were a million times more powerful and housed exclusively in Azrael's blade itself. Heart pounding, Amenadiel sniffed harder to be sure. All at once, he reeled and promptly hurled the glass toward the desk mere inches from Chloe herself.

"That's not a sedative, you fool! It's poison!"

Chloe's jitters intensified and she stuttered what might have been mindless apologies which didn't matter since Amenadiel refused to waste time interpreting them. He shot her a look of complete and unadulterated hatred then focused on the only being in the room whose condition truly mattered right now: his brother. Moving fast, Amenadiel braced himself mentally, yanked two dozen flight feathers from his own back then straddled Lucifer without sitting on him. Next, he held Lucifer's head off the floor to prevent his skull from knocking against it, his voice strained but gentle.

"Luci, listen. I need some of your feathers. Can you bring them out for me?"

Lucifer tried. Dear God, how he tried. With that one request, he knew what he must have ingested as well as the cure that was foremost in Amenadiel's mind, but the feathers of one archangel weren't going to be enough, not anymore. Given the state Lucifer was in and how many minutes he'd already been suffering, a minimum of two sets were now going to be required and since he and Amenadiel were the only two archangels in the room, Lucifer had to do his part to help.

Except he couldn't. He no longer had command over his muscles thanks to the ancient and powerful venom overtaking his body. It was all he could do not to catch his poor tongue between his teeth and sever it.

Amenadiel saw the task was futile and shushed him gently.

"Stop, Brother, it's okay. I'll do it for you."

What happened next was supremely uncomfortable but, as always, didn't take long. A sharp upward push into Lucifer's constricted sternum with the strength only a celestial could muster and the glorious white wings that belonged to The Lightbringer sprung forth. Amenadiel winced as he hastily plucked twenty-four of the largest ones, knowing damn well how much that hurt, but didn't bother to apologize for the additional pain he'd just caused. Both brothers knew it was necessary. The convulsions were getting worse.

Still quaking and cowering on the floor, Chloe gaped at the sight of Lucifer's enormous wings hanging listlessly off his back. Amenadiel's, too, had yet to be shrugged out of sight and her jaw dropped a little more as she witnessed him lifting his younger brother in his arms as though he weighed nothing at all then carrying him to the wet bar.

She should leave now while he was totally preoccupied, of that there was no doubt. Considering how utterly pissed Amenadiel was with what she'd done – and how easily he could annihilate a puny human like her – lingering in the penthouse at the scene of her crime was not a wise idea.

And yet…

Should she not stay and find out how freshly-plucked angel wings could reverse the poison?

Father Kinley had explained more than once how primeval the potion ingredients were and how effective they were reputed to be as a sedative against otherworldly beings. Obviously, he'd lied about the mixture only having a sedating effect, but he hadn't lied about its potency. Still, Amenadiel thought he could counteract it using nearly fifty angel wings and was making hasty preparations to do so. The Catholic Church needed to know this, surely, so she had to stay. Who else but her would get an opportunity to learn celestial secrets?

Chloe could think of no one.

She couldn't turn her back on her commitment to her fellow humans either. Father Kinley was counting on her to help him return the Devil to his domain and thus save humanity. Her mother, Trixie, Dan, Ella, all of them would remain in danger, if Chloe herself chose the cowardly route and slipped into the elevator to save her own skin. What kind of daughter, mother and friend would she be, if she did that? Chloe refused to find out, so she forced herself to calm down, stand up and position herself where she could see better.

"Wh-what're you doing?" she asked once she realized Amenadiel was pulverizing a multitude of feathers in one hand while doing his best to hold onto his shaking brother with the other.

"Saving his life," Amenadiel growled then lowered his tone for Lucifer. "Hang on, Luci. Just hang on a little longer. I'm gonna fix you."

"But-But he's the devil!" Chloe persisted, her voice becoming shrill. So much for remaining calm. "You shouldn't help him, Amenadiel! You're an angel!"

"So is he, Chloe! Being the devil was just his job. That's not who he is!"

Chloe instantly went off on some nonsensical tirade about priests, prophecies, wars and the endless catastrophes that would befall humanity as a whole should Satan roam the Earth any longer, but Amenadiel tuned her out as he felt Lucifer's eternal lifeforce beginning to ebb even as the convulsions wracking his body grew stronger. Amenadiel didn't dare put Lucifer down and create distance between their divinity, yet try as he might, he couldn't keep hold of him while also doing what he needed to in order to save his brother's life. He needed help. Praying once more for Raphael to hurry the hell up and join him, Amenadiel did the only thing he could in the interim. He hugged Lucifer tightly to his chest then turned to Chloe with one fist outstretched.

"You have one chance and one chance only to mitigate your mistake," he told her. "Blend these in something liquid now."

Chloe blanched and shook her head, retreating several steps, her hands out in front as though warding off his command. "No, I-I—"

xXxXx

In the nightclub a dozen stories below and grinding up against a new dance partner while Mirko had his own fun with a red-headed bank teller a few steps away, Ella soon realized she had to excuse herself. Her bladder would not continue to hold the half-dozen drinks she'd imbibed thus far for much longer, and having an accident on the dance floor at the age of thirty-nine was so not her idea of a good time.

Ella had only taken a few steps toward the stairs, though, when Mirko noticed her leaving and reached out to latch on. "Hey, Ella Bella! You're not leaving me already, are you? Where're you going?!"

"Bathroom! Be right back!"

"Go for me too, 'kay?"

A laughing Ella assured him she would then escaped upstairs, weaving through a packed crowd of sweating, jumping bodies.

The line-up to the ladies' room was at least twice as long as normal.

Ella took one look at it and spun on her heel to head for Lucifer's private elevator. As always, on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays when Lux was at the pinnacle of its weekly popularity, there was a beefy bouncer standing outside of it, but that posed no challenge either since Jorge recognized Ella as a close friend of the boss. He pressed the UP button for her then stepped aside to let her enter the car. Immediately thereafter, he resumed his station as guard and shook his head with a scowl when a few other giddy female patrons tried to hop aboard as well.

The elevator rose and Ella smiled to herself. She swayed on her feet in the muted silence, a number of thoughts passing through her mind.

This is fun. I'm glad I went out tonight.

I hope Luce isn't home. He said I could come over anytime, but I don't think he meant I should swing by just to pee and 'part.

Pee and 'part? Wa's that? Like the urinary equivalent of a dine and dash?

Woo-boy, it's official, amigos. I am totalmente cien por ciento drunk! Ha!

As Ella began to giggle to herself, the elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing a scene that never in her life the petite L.A.P.D. forensic scientist imagined she would witness.

"— I said blend these in something liquid now!"

"No, Amenadiel, I-I-I can't! He's evil!"

Ella blinked at the sight of three of her closest friends in the throes of a very heated argument – two of said friends with gigantic friggin' wings (!) spouting from their backs – and just like that the need to void her bladder dried up. She forgot about dancing. She forgot Mirko downstairs. She forgot the very world existed beyond the scene playing out before her. Ella froze in place, her brain spinning into overdrive as it hurried to process a veritable glut of new information.

O.M.G. It's-It's real. Lucifer 'n Amenadiel … they're angels … they're not adopted or foster brothers or anything like that … they're honest-to-goodness sons of God and they're frickin' REAL-ASS ANGELS! Feathers! Must touch! Squeeee! No, stop it! Later, Lopez, snap out of it! You need to pay attention! Dunno what Chloe's problem is yet, but right now, the bros clearly need a hand, so you need to sober up and frickin' focus!

"Here. Let me help," Ella commanded, pushing her way past Chloe over to the wet bar. She froze again and stared worriedly at Lucifer for a moment, concerned at the way he kept switching forms involuntarily in his brother's arms between the infernal and the angelic. Abruptly, she gave her head a shake, pulled herself together and shot Amenadiel what she hoped was a totally legit and reassuring smile. "Trust me, buddy. I got this; I got your backs. You need a blender, right? Okay, one blender coming right up."

"No!" Chloe cried. She hurried over and did her best to interfere as Ella methodically began to open one cabinet after another. "Ella, don't! You don't know what you're doing!"

"Out of my way," Ella said. "I'm helping friends."

Before Amenadiel could step in, the newly-galvanized scientist called upon muscles she'd developed years ago trying to defend herself against three bullying older brothers and shoved Chloe aside as she finally located what was probably a $600 blender. Within seconds, she'd also popped the top and emptied inside it a quarter carton of orange juice from the refrigerator. After that, she held it out to Amenadiel with only slightly shaking hands to deposit whatever it was he was still holding in his right fist.

"No!" Chloe recovered herself and inserted her body between them just as Ella put back the cap. "I can't let you do this! Either of you! Lucifer's evil! He doesn't belong here on Earth!"

"What the hell?!" Ella cried, trying to fight her off without dropping the blender or spilling its contents. "Decker, back off!"

"NO!"

The situation was devolving quickly. Lucifer had fallen unconscious even as his convulsions had increased, forcing Amenadiel to focus on holding him rather than helping Ella who was determined not to relinquish the blender that Chloe was equally determined to destroy. With the exception of Lucifer, everyone in the penthouse was yelling until all at once a major draft filled the room and Chloe was no longer a problem for the group. Ella gasped as the raving detective was suddenly tossed out of the way into the bedroom where she fell against the far window then slumped to the floor, out cold.

Talk about a perfect TKO.

Awed, Ella gazed up their saviour, a man who was obviously another angel but clearly had a bad boy streak if he could chuck someone aside like that so ruthlessly. With his handsome face, imposing height and coffee-colored skin, the new celestial seemed to be a mix of both his brothers, and for precious seconds, Ella could only stare at him in silent ecstasy, utterly mesmerized by the butterscotch flecks in his eyes that paired beautifully with his plumage. While she stared at him unabashedly, growing more aroused by the second, he plucked two dozen of the precious wings from his back then shrugged the rest away. Before Ella's breath could do more than hitch at the sight, he crushed the feathers in one fist, opened the blender she was still holding and dropped them in. He replaced the cap then nodded soberly down at Ella, his own gaze intensifying.

"Continue, please."

Ella had no idea how she managed to recover her senses. One moment she was starstruck and the next she was hurrying to plug in the blender, powering it on high. The second the mixture was ready, Amenadiel snatched the container from her and fled with it and Lucifer both to the living room sofa, absolving her of further responsibility. One part of Ella thought she should follow since Lucifer was still hurt and more help might be required. The larger part, however, was hopelessly distracted by the very handsome angel beside her with his honey-colored eyes and those gorgeous honey-colored wings to match. Tentatively, Ella touched his arm to keep his attention on her.

"Who are you? I-I mean what's your name?"

Amenadiel interrupted before the new angel could answer. "Rapha, get over here and help me! I can't get Luci to drink! I can't—!"

Amenadiel's tone was more distraught than Ella had ever heard it and she snapped out of her trance as the angel named 'Rapha' seemed to vanish from her side only to appear a split second later next to his brothers. She hurried to join the group and her scientific mind paid close attention as he calmly applied the palm of one hand to the Devil's swollen neck while the other settled under Lucifer's clenched jaw.

"Everything above his collarbone bone is 99% sealed thanks to the poison," he noted gravely. "I need to open it all back up." His eyes closed briefly then re-opened, their color even more dazzling than they had been a moment ago. "Okay, try again."

Whatever 'Rapha' had done worked. This time when Amenadiel poured the solution into Lucifer's now open mouth, nothing came back up and the more Lucifer swallowed, the faster his tremors receded. All watched as Amenadiel poured every last drop down the Devil's throat then passed the empty blender mindlessly to Ella, who clutched it like a lifeline. For several tense minutes, Lucifer seemed unable to waken, and when he finally did after 'Rapha' shut his own eyes in concentration again then lay a hand on his forehead, he seemed to lack the strength to sit up against Amenadiel or even have awareness of what he'd just endured.

"Is he…?" Ella turned to each brother nervously but didn't continue. She hesitated to finish that sentence, afraid to be told that her friend and favorite 'method actor' might be forever changed.

"Give him time," Amenadiel said quietly. He wiped the leftover sweat and foam from Lucifer's face then tightened his hold around his limp body and began to rock him a little. "He just needs another minute, right, Brother…?"

Amenadiel looked to 'Rapha' for confirmation who nodded back at him without hesitation, still as calm and quiet as ever.

Silence descended on the group until Amenadiel demanded to know how and when such an effective poison had made its way to Earth. 'Rapha' began to speculate, but Ella was no longer listening. She hugged the empty blender container to her chest then dropped to her knees to pray, begging The Big Guy to do something and fast. Whether it was her prayer that ultimately helped or the fact that Lucifer simply recovered on his own Ella would always wonder, but shortly after her prayer ended, Lucifer gasped, looked around then forced himself to stand up. He retreated several steps away from Amenadiel in particular, his cheeks pink at the realization that he'd been cradled like a baby on his big brother's lap in front of witnesses for who-knew-how-long.

Ella scrambled to her feet immediately and rushed to his side to deliver one of her most desperate hugs ever.

"Oh, Lucifer! Thank God-thank God-thank God the angel feathers worked! Thank God you're all right!"

Lucifer blushed deeper and patted her back awkwardly, unsure how to address her newfound proof of the divine. Since she seemed accepting of it, he decided such things could wait in favor of giving credit where credit was truly due.

"My father had nothing to do with my recovery, Miss Lopez. Kudos go exclusively to you and to Amenadiel." Lucifer's attention shifted to the second brother in the room, his expression flitting fast from one unreadable emotion to another. There was a pregnant pause and then he added grudgingly, "…possibly another."

Ella was too excited to notice the somber atmosphere. After one last squeeze for Lucifer, she turned and plowed straight into 'Rapha'. She embraced him hard as well then let him go and graced him with a truly brilliant smile.

"Hi, I'm Ella!"

Unlike his brothers the first time they had been on the receiving end of a Lopez hug, 'Rapha' seemed delighted by it. He stood a bit taller and beamed.

"Pleased to meet you, Ella. I am Raphael."

"The Archangel of Healing," Ella half-whispered in wonder. She reached out to touch him again then forced herself to stop, calm down and not act like such a fangirl. "What you did, Raphael – what I saw you do a minute ago – it was just … it was, like, completely beyond amazing. Thank you so much for coming."

"How could I not," Raphael said with a shrug. "Samael is my brother."

Amenadiel winced at that, knowing how a certain devilish sibling was bound to react to that statement but wisely decided to stay quiet and keep out of it. He held a breath and waited for the explosion.

Lucifer did not disappoint.

"Pardon me," he interrupted sharply, "but I have been your brother for literally forever, Raphael, yet when was the last time I saw you? Did you come to my aid when I was shot in the leg a few years ago? Did you come when my poor arm was practically burnt to a cinder? Of course, you didn't! You never once came to help me any of the times I was hurt since I began working with the detective!"

Raphael observed Lucifer coolly. "And you dare assume I didn't want to come?"

"Yes, I dare! You bloody better believe I dare!"

"Well, you're an idiot then, Sam, because the only thing that stopped me was you." As Lucifer's eyes promptly turned crimson and Amenadiel surreptitiously tugged Ella to his side so he could protect her if things took a violent turn, Raphael stepped forward into Lucifer's personal space, not the least bit daunted by his infernal appearance. "Apart from Dad, the distance that's grown between us is on you, Sam. You would never have allowed me to help you before today and you damn well know it. This time your pride couldn't get in the way and thank Dad for that. Go on. Tell me I'm wrong. Tell a lie."

Lucifer opened his mouth to retort but then shut it in impotent frustration. For a very tense minute, the red in his eyes glowed twice as fiercely, but gradually it faded.

Dad help him, it was true.

In Hell right after The Rebellion, with his banishment so top of mind and his ego in absolute tatters, Lucifer had not wanted to be reminded of any part of Heaven and that included the sight of his brothers and sisters. For thousands upon thousands of years, he'd licked his wounds in private, figuratively speaking, either sulking or barking orders at the demons day after day from his new throne in The Underworld until the urge to take a break from his punishment had grown too pressing to ignore. Earth had called him and he'd answered that call only to be confronted by Amenadiel scant weeks later and punished anew. In truth, it had been almost too much for the first brother he'd seen in millennia to banish him yet again to Hell. The agony of it had very nearly been more than even a celestial could bear.

But Lucifer did bear it. In time, in part to help maintain his sanity, he'd even started to think of it as a game, a contest to see how long he could partake of the delights on Earth and elude capture before God's Finest Warrior dragged him away.

Still, it hurt every time Amenadiel had come to escort him 'home' with never a kind word, and it hardened Lucifer's heart against all of his siblings. Raphael was right that his appearance would not have been welcome before now. It was only through significant trials on Earth these last few years that Lucifer had even come to trust Amenadiel, but that trust certainly did not extend to the rest of their brothers and sisters.

Facing off against Raphael now, Lucifer flushed several shades deeper at the humiliation of being called out by an older brother he was reluctantly beginning to realize just how much he'd missed. His lips parted to speak and say something only semi-cutting this time, but before he could, Chloe stumbled down the steps from the bedroom to the living room clutching her head, drawing all attention her way.

Ella's reaction was so swift and so violent at the sight of her that all three celestials in the room were momentarily taken aback.

"Madre de Dios, how could you poison Lucifer of all people?!" Ella shouted while removing one high-heeled shoe. She advanced on Chloe mindless of the fact that she was now limping, intent only on delivering a major what-for. She didn't care either that Chloe was unsteady on her feet or that her skull was clearly paining her from the callous way Raphael had knocked her out. She whacked Chloe first on one arm, then on her legs, her hips and everywhere else she could reach. "How could you hurt him like that?! Just because he's the Devil?! He's not evil, tucabrona de mierda! You know him! He's a sweetheart, tu loca pinche puta! Tu idiota desconsiderada y egoísta! Tu—!"

Lucifer listened to Ella ranting in English and swearing in Spanish while wielding her footwear and he tensed. He was touched that she cared so much for him, but hearing Chloe cry out with every blow was becoming wildly irritating. He didn't want to see a certain detective's face anymore and he definitely didn't want to hear the sound of her voice. After all she'd just done to him, she was persona non grata to him now and he told himself she would remain so for a very, very long time.

Intending to move closer to the fight only because he felt he had to, Lucifer took a step in their direction to break it up and send Chloe on her way, but that was as far as he got. Raphael put a hand on his arm and held him back, his expression now rigid.

"No," he growled.

"Fine," Lucifer snapped. Grateful that he didn't have to get involved after all, he motioned a hand in Chloe and Ella's direction. "If you want to take over for me, by all means, the task is yours. Just stop this, Brother, and quickly. I want that woman out of my house."

Raphael said nothing, only shook his head.

Lucifer looked to Amenadiel, but he, too, seemed satisfied by the leisurely retribution playing out before him. He crossed his arms over his chest, his expression even more pitiless than Raphael's.

"She can't leave yet, Luci, because she deserves everything she's getting," Amenadiel said, "and if I know our father, He will soon do much, much worse to her. He will want you to witness it, Brother, and frankly, Rapha and I wish to behold her true punishment right up close and personal. Let this be the appetizer."

Lucifer scowled and started to object that (a) their dad would ever loose His wrath on a human soul in defence of the Devil, and (b) this needed to be done here, in his home, but then a chorus of voices in total agreement began to ring around the penthouse.

"I, too, wish to see her punished."

"And I."

"And I.

It was Zadkiel, Remiel and Ibriel who was just spoken, and Lucifer was well and truly gobsmacked to see two more brothers and a sister under these circumstances. Unlike Raphael, these three he had never been close to, so why did they suddenly have his back? Lucifer wanted to ask but couldn't get his throat to work which was just as well since they were only the first wave of many to invade his home then stand by his side. Within seconds, the flapping of a great many angel wings was all anyone could hear as an ecstatic Ella forgot Chloe and stood fascinated as one celestial after another entered the penthouse then went straight over to Lucifer to touch his arm, squeeze his hand or exchange a word.

In several cases, he even received a hug.

Yzabel was the first to squeeze him around the waist, but she certainly wasn't the last. Many who'd stood with Lucifer during The Rebellion were there right alongside those who'd stood against him, including Raziel, Castiel and Hanjobadiel. Lucifer soon spotted Azrael making her way towards him through the crowd and was beyond heartened to see her again accompanied by Saraqael, Gabriel and Jophiel. He braced himself and looked for his twin next, not really expecting to see him though a miniscule part of him still hoped he would. He did. Michael was hunched in a distant corner on the terrasse beside an irritated-looking Eriel, both of them standing as far back from the man of the hour as possible. Neither appeared pleased to be there, but to The Lightbringer it didn't matter that Dear Old Dad must have commanded them to support him. They could have found a way to defy Father by perhaps hovering nearby but still out of sight, yet they had not bothered. They had come and deliberately stood where Lucifer could see, and that would always mean something to him. He locked eyes with each in turn then exchanged a tiny nod to show his gratitude for their loyalty, however grudging, before his attention was pulled away by the arrival of Raguel, Chamuel and others.

Unbelievably, still more siblings kept coming.

When the space around Lucifer himself grew too thick with family, each new arrival contented himself or herself with nodding silently at The Fallen One from wherever they landed. Finally, when the stairs down to the next floor were completely blocked and the balcony, the bedroom and the living room were full; when countless angels were crowded around the hearth and the library catwalk was jam-packed with angels of every height, shape, sex and color, the flapping of wings ceased. For the briefest of moments there was utter silence and then every new celestial to the penthouse shifted their focus from their barely-recovered brother Samael to the human who had nearly succeeded in killing him: Chloe Decker.

Bruised from both Ella's shoe and Raphael's vicious throw, and terrified still more by the baleful attention she was suddenly getting from what seemed like the entirety of Heaven, Chloe's mind couldn't help but crack. All her experiences on the police force, all the training she'd received over the years on how to handle pressure, they just evaporated. She threw back her head and screamed then seemed to recover enough of her faculties to realize escape was truly her only option left. Hobbling as fast as her battered body would allow, she weaved her way to the elevator and jabbed the button repeatedly, refusing to think how creatures that flew could easily follow her wherever she fled. Not that it mattered in the end. The elevator dinged but refused to open and Chloe knew, she just knew, the angels in the room were the cause. They were applying some kind of celestial sorcery to keep it shut it to her, to force her to stay put and lose her sanity completely as punishment for only following Church orders.

Where was Father Kinley?!

Why wasn't he suffering alongside her?!

Chloe had no idea. Oppressed by the unnatural silence, wishing she hadn't left her gun in her car and intent on fleeing by whatever means necessary, she scuttled to Lucifer's wall of liquor and snatched the closest bottle, not caring what it was nor how expensive it might be. She smashed it next against the counter and shook the jagged edges at the angels closest to her, her fractured senses insisting that this would work, that if Lucifer sometimes bled, other angels would too. She could hurt them and force them to let her go. All she had to do was get close enough.

"Get away from me, all of you! And open the damn elevator!"

It didn't work. Not realizing those dozen words were the last she would ever speak, Chloe jabbed and jabbed and hurt no one at all until eventually she dropped the broken bottle in defeat, her chest heaving with terror and sobs of frustration.

That seemed to be the moment everyone was waiting for.

Proudly, Gabriel stepped forward to pronounce sentence as dictated to her only minutes ago by her father. Her voice would ring with the thunder and power of The Almighty, and for the first time in millennia, Lucifer looked forward to the upcoming decree. He harbored no illusions that the love and support he was getting now from his family would last, so as lightning flashed outside and the fixtures in his ceiling began to rattle, Lucifer stood taller surrounded by his many siblings, determined to commit this moment, these feelings and every word The Angel of Messages said next to memory.

Gabriel waited for the loudest clap of thunder yet to shake the very foundations of Lux then spoke:

"Chloe Jane Decker, for the attempted annihilation of a son of God, you are hereby silenced forever. No sound shall you speak. No word shall you write. No other shall read your lips. You shall not spread your poisonous beliefs to a single living soul and you shall not seek The Lightbringer's presence from now to the end of your days. You are banished from this continent. Upon your death three years hence, you shall be consigned to The Void where you shall wander sightless and formless for all eternity with the full knowledge of your crime. So sayeth The Lord."

Lucifer's breath hitched before he could control it. The detective only had three more years to live? As intelligent as she was, her suffering in that time would be immense if she couldn't communicate and the effect this would have on her spawn…well, Lucifer honestly hated to think of it. Certainly, it was well-known the Devil did not care for children as a rule – they were generally far too whiny, clingy and irrational for his tastes – but Beatrice Espinoza had long ago bucked the trend and wormed her crafty way into his heart. Of course, Lucifer would never admit such a thing aloud, but he considered the urchin rather charming in her own chocolate-obsessed way, which meant she didn't deserve to suffer for her mother's lapse in judgment. Yet she would now, tremendously, and there was nothing to be done for it since Father was clearly furious. He would not rescind His ruling. He never did when He grew this angry. If one had doubts, all one needed to do was look at the example He'd made of Cain.

Lucifer was incensed at the growing fallout from Chloe's decision to forsake him. He was also conflicted by the love he still had for her deep down, and combined with the pity his ill-timed emotions were making him feel, Lucifer couldn't help it. He shook where he stood. On his right, Amenadiel put an arm around his shoulders in silent comfort. On his left, Yzabel took his trembling hand and held it.

Fifteen feet away, Chloe Decker also shook.

For her, it was altogether too much. She replayed Gabriel's words in her mind and tried to grasp the enormity of God's sentence, but it was impossible. She was only human. Her limited intellectual capacity could only stretch so far and already it was so very close to snapping for good. At last, her lips parted as she tried to defend the actions she had taken this night, but no sound exited her throat. Not a wheeze, not a croak, not a whisper. Only in her head did she hear the words she intended to say which meant her dreadful sentence had already begun. God had indeed taken her voice.

["But Father Kinley said—!"]

"The priest was mistaken," Remiel snapped contemptuously in answer to Chloe's desperate attempt to foist some of the blame on another. It was not normal for angels to hear the thoughts of humans, but if Father allowed it this one time, Remiel would not question it. She stepped closer to Chloe, speaking right in her face. "Your precious Father Kinley did not know our brother well, but you, Lowly Mortal, you did. There is no excuse for your betrayal."

["But his devil face! I was terrified! I-I—!"]

In her head, Chloe kept speaking, begging them all to understand her fears, be merciful and forgive her, but neither the Angel of Subsistence nor her siblings were interested any longer. In the weeks to come, once the pain of her treachery was not quite so fresh, Lucifer alone would be tempted to forgive and forget, if only for the sake of young Beatrice, but not the others. The remaining angels by his side would never forgive the traitor their father's miracle had become, how close she had been to eradicating one of their own. True, in the eyes of many, Samael would always be a disgrace to divinity, estranged from Heaven and all of its founding residents for a very valid reason, but his recent growth was undeniable, proving to the rest that he still was and always would be an archangel. Childishly severing his wings years ago had done nothing to change that, or Father would have made it so those wings could never again manifest. Instead, they'd come back just as white and glowing as they'd always been, reflecting the sacred best that still lay within The Lightbringer. Chloe Decker had tried to extinguish that light forever and for that she could never be forgiven. Not by any angel in the room who – for the first time since The Fall – were finally of a single mind: temporary injury to one of their own by one of their own was permissible according to their father even though it displeased Him greatly. Injury by a mere human to one of the Host, particularly one who had sacrificed himself unselfishly time and again for her, that was unconscionable. There could be no coming back from that. The King of Kings Himself made that exceedingly clear through Gabriel's pronouncement of Chloe's fate.

Impatient with her continued and very unwelcome presence before Lucifer when The Almighty had expressly forbidden it, Zadkiel, the Angel of Righteousness, took charge to rid them all of the babbling betrayer. He stepped away from his siblings and approached a silently sobbing Chloe, crowding her relentlessly back toward the elevator. When her shoulders struck the cabin door, he used his staff to press the button that would open the conveyor. The moment the doors slid apart, this time without hesitation, he ignored her tears and mental pleas, pressed his staff to her chest then promptly shoved her backwards into the car where she stumbled and fell, one ankle beneath her, the other leg jutting forward half in and half out of the cab.

"Leave now," Zadkiel commanded since the foolish human sprawled on her backside still thought pleading for clemency would work. "Our restraint is at an end, so if you value the remainder of your pathetic life, you will not even think to return." Zadkiel scanned the room at large then beckoned for two of his younger siblings to come forth. "Jackiel and Abigael, you will escort this vile woman to her home, help her bid goodbye to her daughter then take her to Eastern Siberia."

["Please! Lucifer, please, I'm sorry! Don't make me leave Trixie!"]

Zadkiel didn't reply and neither did Lucifer or any other angel. After Jackiel and Abigael eagerly stepped inside the car, the elevators doors attempted to close on Chloe's left leg, but her cry of surprise reverberated only in her head and engendered no sympathy whatsoever.

Ella rushed forward to kick her foot back into the car so Chloe Decker could finally get the hell out of Lux then went a step further and spat on her former friend as a departing gesture. Lucifer was surprised by it, but the diminutive forensic scientist had no regrets. With her faith in God fully restored, she swore at Chloe one last time in Spanish, grunted in satisfaction then spun on her remaining heel, squeezed her way through the crowd to Lucifer and hugged him anew. To her delight, he didn't fight it for once and hugged her back just as tightly in gratitude for her fierce defence of him.

That was all Ella needed to know.

As soon as she released him, she turned back to the room at large and surveyed the vast gathering of angels with both hands fisted at her sides, fighting to contain her joy.

"So," she declared, toes bouncing with excitement. "Who do I get to hug next?"