Michael still regrets the day he struck down his twin Samael, resulting in the latter's fall to the fiery pits. It wasn't his intention; he just wanted his brother to stop the war from progressing further, but both parties were enraged, so Michael did what he thought was the right thing to do.
The commotion stopped as the rest of the rebels were thrown out of the Silver City.
Michael wanted to check on his twin after the fiasco, but he couldn't bring himself to do so, perhaps due to his guilt or shame; he's unsure. But when he's finally ready to bridge the gap between them, thousands of years have already passed.
Michael's been watching Lucifer's progress ever since the devil abdicated his throne, and he wanted more than anything to help this time around; bring one Chloe Decker back to Los Angeles. It wasn't that hard to tail a human, but he couldn't get as close as he wanted because he and Lucifer had the same exact face. So he watches over her. Her every move.
And it irked him how easily she's swayed by a fanatic — a specialist sent by the Vatican or so he claims — despite having spent years with Lucifer. Yet, to err is human, he supposed. He must put a stop to this, one way or another.
Chloe and Kinley are seated on the pews, with the latter hell-bent on convincing the former that she has to go through with the plan: to banish the devil from Earth.
Michael's been listening to him whine about a prophecy, which is complete and utter bullshit for him, but what he couldn't believe is how easily he manipulated the Detective to agree.
He's heard enough. He's not going to stand idly by this time around.
"Well!" The archangel exclaimed, copying Lucifer's accent. Their heads turned to the sound so fast it made Michael smile. He can sense the fear from the Detective, but the priest is something else. "Someone's been naughty,"
"Lucifer, what are you doing here?"
"Does it matter? To think I've been drowning myself in booze for the past weeks hoping you'd come to terms with the truth, yet here you are planning my demise."
"No, it's not like that,"
"Oh? So you're not sending me back to Hell?"
"I —"
"I'm quite disappointed with you, Detective. I thought we were friends, partners, even."
"You don't understand, I —"
"I suppose we can talk about it someday. But, don't ever lie to me again, Detective. As for you, Padrè, we both know where you're headed; I guess I'll see you down there...sooner rather than later, I hope."
"I am doing God's work!"
"Sure, you are," Michael said mockingly, imagining how Lucifer would say it, dripping with sarcasm. "Lovely chat, but I must get going."
The archangel turned his back, but Kinley had other plans.
"You're going to drink the liquid from the vial, or I'm going to kill her," The priest starts, and Michael whips around, a smirk on his face until he sees the former has his arms around the Detective, and it's super annoying.
Michael scoffs, "Surely, this isn't God's work? Threatening to kill His beloved creation?"
"Sacrifices must be made for the better good!"
"Oh, Padrè, you've clearly lost your marbles. See, this is what I'm talking about, Detective. True believers like him are mere fanatics; just look at how fast he turned on you just to get what he wants. But he won't get it."
"I swear I'll kill her!"
"Go right ahead. In the grand scheme of things, you're all insignificant."
Chloe feels her blood run cold at Lucifer's words. It isn't like him to be such a menace. Maybe there's some truth to what the books say, but she can't be certain at this point, not with the knife to her throat.
Her life flashes before her eyes as she feels the blade touch her skin but just when she resigns herself to fate, she's suddenly free from the evil priest's grasp and into the Devil's arms.
"You're alright, Detective. Now, be a dear and call the authorities to have this prick arrested."
"You saved me," She states, shocked. "But you're the Devil,"
"Indeed, I am." Michael arranges his cufflinks just as Lucifer would.
"I'm not letting you get away!" The priest yells from a few feet away after being flung towards the altar. Michael sees a device on the priest's hand, and he's watched enough television to know it's a detonator, so he rushes to unfurl his wings.
He grabs Chloe by the waist and flies horizontally out of the church as fast as he can before the blast propels them forward. He made sure to shield her with his wings from the debris — a feat Lucifer wouldn't achieve unscathed — but honestly, what a nightmare that priest was—even offing himself and his church and guise it as God's will.
The Sword of God is seething. He folds his wings away and surveys the wreckage; the church is still burning, and he can hear faint screams of people on the verge of death. He can't help them.
"How many?"
Chloe is still trying to regain her bearings when she hears the question. There's no one else in the immediate vicinity, although it would seem it's not mainly aimed at her. And did his accent just change?
"I don't —"
"Hush, Detective."
Michael closes his eyes and utters a silent prayer as Azrael tells him there are about a dozen apart from Kinley, who she has to ferry to the afterlife.
"Man, that guy is cuckoo." The Angel of Death comments and shrugs after receiving a non-response then leaves as soon as she arrives.
"Oh, My God!" Chloe finally took in the state of her surroundings and gasped at the destruction Kinley had caused.
"So, do you still think the Devil makes people do things?" He doesn't even look at her, and she couldn't really answer just yet.
First things first, the fire needs to be put out. She takes her eyes off of Lucifer for a second to dial emergency services, and when she looks back, he's gone.
Michael lands on Lucifer's balcony at the same time the elevator doors open.
"Well, look who's here. What do you want?"
The older twin understands Lucifer's hostility towards him, and he deserves it, so he doesn't snark at the Devil.
"I got acquainted with your Detective in R—" His words were cut-off when the younger twin barrels towards him and grabs him by the neck.
"What did you do to her?"
"I saved her!"
"From me?"
"No! She was colluding with a fanatic who wanted to send you back to Hell." Lucifer's grip tightens around Michael's throat. He resisted at first but then dropped his hands to let the younger twin know he isn't fighting back.
Lucifer releases the older twin and tells him, "The Detective would never do that to me. You're lying."
"Of course, she wouldn't be able to, now, because I stopped it," Michael pauses and tries to soothe the afflicted area and continues, "and before you lash out on me again, the priest who's trying to manipulate her, offed himself, the rest of his church — what a lunatic, if you ask me — and the church's occupants. I got your Detective out."
'What's your angle?"
"Nothing."
"Liar. What do you want, Michael?"
"I want us to be brothers again," The older twin admits unabashedly, and Lucifer knows he's telling the truth. "I know how much Chloe Decker means to you, so I thought I'd help her realize that you're still the same person despite being the actual Devil. But, when I found out what she was about to do, I had to do something. I won't let anyone send you back to Hell."
Lucifer scoffs, "Why? Because you want to send me back yourself?"
"No. You should be where you most feel at home. I'm sorry for what I've done eons ago. I know nothing I do will make up for what you've been through in Hell, but I really hope that you and that Detective would pull through,"
Michael doesn't wait for Lucifer to respond, so he calls forth his wings and flies away, leaving the latter slack-jawed.
Lucifer is skeptical, but it's annoying that he can tell if anyone is insincere and Michael is anything but.
Three days later, Lucifer was just about to make his way down to the parking garage when Chloe Decker showed up at the Penthouse.
He doesn't make any sudden moves to let her know she's in a safe space.
"Detective, you're back," He speaks first "A-are you okay?"
Chloe nods and crosses the gap to wound her arms around his midsection. He stiffens at the contact but eventually loosens up to return her embrace.
"I'm so sorry for how I reacted when I saw your face. It's stupid, and I," She stammers and tightens her hold on him.
"Nonsense, Detective. Anyone who's seen that face would have a similar reaction. I'm just glad you're back."
"I'm glad you showed up when you did, in Rome. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I made you leave. I'm so, so, sorry."
He pulls back from the embrace and says, "Water under the bridge, Detective. Much as I would love to take the credit, it wasn't me in Rome. It was my identical twin brother, Michael."
She takes him for his word because Lucifer never lies, "But he sounded just like you. Dressed like you,"
"Ah yes, we used to imitate each other on a regular basis eons ago — Michael will apologize to you for that personally, one of these days — it would be hard to tell save for a few mannerisms. In any case, I'm glad you're safe. And no, I didn't send him there to spy on you. I didn't even know where you were. I wanted to give you the space you needed,"
"I know. I'm still sorry."
"So, partners?"
"Yes,"
Celestial hearing in place, Michael smiles while dangling his legs on Lux's rooftop, ecstatic of the turnout of events. It may take a while, or never, for Lucifer to forgive him, but it's a start. For the meantime, he's going to drop by in Hell and see the look on Kinley's face. Michael would never be Hell's King, but he could play the part just this once to ensure this lunatic gets what he deserves for eternity.
Notes:
Conversation-centric and I just love how many possibilities there would have been if Michael wasn't such a dickhead.
Anyway, hope you like this one.
