He wakes up with a jolt and finds himself unable to move. It's dark, but being the devil has its perk so he can see clearly, the wood in front of his face.
Why a coffin of all things, he isn't sure. But what he's sure of is that he needs to get out.
His restrained movement adds to his building anxiety, and the fact that his belongings were stripped off sent him over the edge.
Crawling his way out shouldn't be an issue. But he finds that he's actually in pain. 'Is the Detective nearby?' was his initial thought, which, if true, would mean that his chances of survival would be slim to none or that she's in trouble herself.
But then he feels for whatever material is stuck on his right side and recognizes it as Maze's blade. There's no mistaking it. The intricate carvings and its unusual shape, and the fact that it was able to penetrate him were proof enough that he may be in real trouble. He may actually bleed to death if he pulls it out, so it has to stay in place until he figures out his next move.
Except it wasn't the only wound. His suit is wet. Soaked, even. He gives himself a pat-down and feels several stabs all over his body. Whoever did this must have hated him so much.
Lucifer wonders how long he's been in and out of consciousness, but he surmises that it could only be a few hours. The Detective will eventually notice him gone. Or maybe Amenadiel or Maze, or even Linda.
But he has to let them know how to find him, and that seems to be the apparent problem.
Chloe plays the voice message again. While it's positively thrilling (in Lucifer's words), her partner of 2 years has a tendency of taking one step forward and two steps back, so she's not holding her breath.
But it's nice that even for a little bit, he's at least trying to open himself up.
That is until Monday morning, and he's nowhere to be found. The Detective surmises her partner is blowing off steam after recent events, and well, that's just the way he is.
Back to work, she supposes.
Lucifer puts his hand in prayer, hoping for Amenadiel to swoop in and help him get out of this literal hell hole. But he's been at it for what seems like an eternity, and his brother has not answered. And then he remembers that his older brother is quite like a human these days which means, no power… how could he even forget that?
His choices at this point were to crawl out or wait for death to come. The second option is simply unacceptable, yet the first one seems improbable. Not with this much damage.
Lucifer felt dizzy mainly because he's been leaking blood for several hours now. His celestial constitution allows for fast healing, but the weapon from Hell is preventing his invulnerability from kicking in. But if he pulls it out, he'll bleed faster and bollocks; he's in a pinch.
Whoever did this to him knows about the hell-forged blade. Any other day and he'd applaud them for being able to outpower Mazikeen (she never lets anyone near it unless she's stabbing them with it.), but who even is strong enough to do that?
Anyhow, this is not how he wanted to go. It seems anti-climactic. He wanted to go out with a bang (with the Detective, preferably and then some) and not be buried alive.
It's Wednesday now, and the Detective still hasn't heard a peep from her partner, and she's beginning to worry. Their last conversation was normal, but maybe he's having second thoughts now about telling her the truth?
Who knows with him these days?
Chloe huffs, irritated, but even so, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was up.
So she makes her way to the penthouse, a little unnerved at what she'll find. Hopefully, he's not fornicating, although she'd prefer that over seeing white sheets over his furniture again.
Chloe breathes a sigh of relief at finding neither, but it is unusual for her partner not to be here at this time of day. She tries his phone again and gets redirected to voicemail.
She checks his room and sees the bed hasn't been slept on and that his coveted piano was covered in dust. This is extremely suspicious for a neat freak like Lucifer, so she decides to ask Ella for a favor.
Chloe goes to the last known location of his GPS: Saint Claire's. She finds his corvette sitting in the parking lot and that it's been there since Linda was admitted.
The security tapes confirm this as well, and now an investigation is in full swing after she catches a glimpse of him being dragged unconscious to an unmarked vehicle.
Shit. That was three, no, four days ago.
Mazikeen wakes up in a room. She remembers duking it out with some asshole who managed to knock her unconscious. Her blades are missing, and the fact that said room is full of pictures of her King and the people he interacted with, causes her alarm bells to go off at a terrifying rate that she sets off to Los Angeles in haste.
A lead finally comes to fruition leading the search team in the Mojave desert.
This doesn't look good.
Chloe thinks, fearing the worst. They find an abandoned vehicle, the same one that she saw Lucifer being dragged into. In the van were several things: ropes, shovels, chloroform… typical stuff that kidnappers have. But the dried pool of blood indicates something more ominous.
From the get-go, the ground where they're at seems to be undisturbed. But upon closer inspection, there was one spot that stood out, and that was where they began to dig.
Six feet deep later and they find a wooden coffin. It's sealed shut, and with the limited space, there was no way they could open it without damaging any evidence. So they had to wait for equipment that would take it out of the hole.
He couldn't get out. Any further attempts would prove fatal.
Resigned to his fate, he lifts his hand to pluck the blade and uses the same to scribble words.
He endured for as long as he could and he's tired. He closes his eyes and succumbs to the darkness.
Chloe's world fell apart when they finally pry that contraption open. There lies Lucifer Morningstar, soaked in his own blood, dirty and disheveled and… lifeless. There were definitely signs of struggle, but in the end, they're simply too late.
Ella says that he'd been dead for days, and that he probably took his last breath several hours after he was taken. Though in truth, he did last for two full days, doing all he can to save himself. It just wasn't enough
The words on the cover read, "I'm sorry." Chloe doesn't understand what he's actually sorry for when she's the one who should feel sorry for not checking on him sooner.
Now she'll never know what it was he wanted her to see.
Maze makes it to Los Angeles in record time, but the sense of dread is so strong, she couldn't breathe. Something in the air has definitely changed, and it's not for the better.
When she found out what happened, she set off on a hunt. She can't bring him back, but she sure can inflict pain when she catches the one responsible.
Nothing made sense after that.
Amenadiel couldn't do a thing because he's stuck as well. No wings, no power, equally guilty as hell.
Maze caught the perp, who turned out to be Cain. She paid him with the same courtesy and locked him in a steel coffin, and dropped into the depths of the ocean where he'll suffer more.
Pain and suffering are her specialties, after all.
Chloe, on the other hand, mourned for her partner for years until her death. She's not aware of it, the loop she's in where she sees her partner dead no matter what she does.
Lucifer watches on from the sides, helpless.
It's not fair how guilt works. For all the good she's done, she deserves to be in the Silver City. Not here, rotting.
But then again, no soul has ever walked out of Hell before, even if this soul is a literal miracle.
Note: Eh, sorry...?
