Lucifer's hand gripped the burning handle, the screams from within like music to his starved ears. He quickly opened the door and stepped inside without a moment's hesitation.

What he found inside the room was shockingly familiar, yet not surprising. He was standing in a small room, watching as a reform officer stabbed two people, their bodies falling to the ground, their last cries echoing around the room, before launuching himself onto a spike, piercing through his throat and killing him. And there he was: the man Lucifer came to see. He was sitting in a chair, staring horrified at the scene before him, tears rolling down his cheeks as he clasped his hands together in prayer, begging to deaf ears for forgiveness. The young man beside him, his former apprentice, shouted some undistinguishable words of anger and disgust as the man continued to cry. Blood blossomed over his palms, slowly trickly up onto his fingers, and the man let out another cry of shock as he looked down at his bloody hands. His whole body began to shake as he cried.

"Hello, Father," Lucifer said lazily, a devilish smile on his handsome face.

Father Kinley looked up in surprise. "Lucifer?"

Lucifer nodded. "Pleased to see me?"

Father Kinley took a deep breath, and seemed to be trying to regain some of his composure, despite the tears streaking down his cheeks and his obvious desperation and horror. "I can't say that I am."

"What an interesting Hell loop," Lucifer said, watching as the loop started over again, and the reform officer stabbed the young victims again. "Although I'm not entirely surprised."

"You don't understand," said Father Kinley softly, unable to keep his eyes off of the dead bodies. His voice became stronger. "None of this is my fault."

"You obviously don't believe that," said Lucifer, leaning back on the wall with his hands in his pockets. It gave him extreme pleasure to watch the torment that the Father was going through, that he had finally gotten what he deserved.

"I did what I had to do," Kinley muttered, still not looking at Lucifer. "Some sacrifices need to be made for the greater good."

"You think sending me back to Hell is the greater good?" Lucifer asked, pushing off against the wall and walking closer to Kinley. "Well, here I am, and yet there's still evil on Earth. Imagine that."

Father Kinley started to shake as Lucifer crept closer. The blood started to blossom on his hands again, and he attempted to wipe the blood off on his clothes, but it stuck to him like glue. "The prophecy…"

"It turns out that we misunderstood the prophecy," Lucifer said, the memory of his last moments on Earth rushing back to him. The Detective… Chloe… she was the reason this all happened. But he couldn't blame her.

"Eve was never your first love, was she," Kinley said. It was a statement, not a question, and Lucifer didn't respond. "It was the Detective."

"Apparently so," Lucifer said, unable to control the smile that crept onto his face at the thought of Chloe… remembering that Chloe loved him. Truly loved him. It had been thousands of years since he had ever felt loved, or even cared about.

Kinley groaned. "But what does it matter now?"

Lucifer contemplated this for a moment. "You know, Father, most people who I visit in their Hell loops beg me to help them. Offer to do anything in exchange for their freedom. Yet you haven't."

Father Kinley smiled as he watched the reform officer kill yet again. "I would never make a deal with the devil."

"Well, why not?" Lucifer asked. If he was honest with himself, Father Kinley somewhat scared him. He was used to humans breaking and bending, but Kinley was a different case entirely. The Hell loop was of course effecting him, but he was stronger than most. But he couldn't last forever. Nobody ever did. "What could you possibly have to lose?"

"My beliefs," Kinley said simply. "No matter what Chloe insists, no matter what you tell me… I know you are evil. I know that you lead humans down your dark and dangerous path, just to watch them burn. I know who you are, Lucifer Morningstar."

"You don't know a thing about me."

Kinley forced another smile. "If only I had better prepared myself… but I learned that I'm not stronger than anyone else. But I will learn how to resist you."

Lucifer let out a laugh even though he was not amused in the slightest. "Are you blaming all of this on me?"

Kinley did not answer, but watched as the blood trickled up onto his fingertips, his hands a bright crimson red. It took all of his reolve, but he eventually tore his eyes from the blood on his hands and looked Lucifer in the eye for the first time. "Yes."

Uncontrollable anger swept through Lucifer as his eyes burned bright red. How could Kinley possibly still blame him after everything that had happened? He was in Hell for a reason, not for Lucifer's own bloody amusement!

"Why do you think you're in here, eh?" Lucifer asked. "Why do you think you keep on watching the deaths that are on your hands, not mine? Why do you think it's affecting you like this?"

"No," whispered Kinley. "This wasn't me…"

"You don't truly believe that, do you?" Lucifer asked. "If you didn't know, deep down, that every bad thing that you or ANY of humanity is not my fault at all, but your own rotten souls destroying the world you promised to serve, then you wouldn't be in here. The doors are unlocked, Kinley. You could leave any time you want. But you don't because deep down, you know the truth."

Kinley started his uncontrollable shaking again. "No…"

"I am not evil," Lucifer said, but his voice broke on the last word. What he was telling Father Kinley could just as easily be applied to himself. He had went down to Hell three times for Chloe… but was it really to protect her? Or was it because deep down, he knew that he deserved it?

Father Kinley, sensing weakness, moved in for the kill. "Then why are you here?"

"I'm here because I have to be," Lucifer muttered. "To protect… those I care about."

A flicker of doubt crossed over Kinley's eyes. "I don't believe that."

"I never lie," Lucifer said simply, although he felt his eyes burning again. Father Kinley was questioning literally everything about him, and it brought up emotions in him that he didn't want to feel. Not anymore.

"I don't trust a word you say," Kinley said with obvious effort. "I'm immune to your charms."

This irked Lucifer more than anything. There was only one human being that was immunte to his devilish charms, and that person was nothing like Kinley. "Oh really? Then answer one question for me."

Father Kinley laughed softly. "Chloe told me all about your little trick, and I'm prepared. As long as I know who you are, you can't trick me."

Lucifer leaned in closer, and Kinley couldn't help but lift his chin and stare into the devil's dark brown, deep eyes that did not hide the pain behind them. He paused for a moment, relishing the moment.

"What do you desire, hmm? What deep dark secret are you hiding from pure evil?"

Father Kinley struggled for a minute, but he couldn't resist the the pull of Lucifer's eyes… calling to him, and the answer formed immediately on his lips, begging to be released, to be heard… and Kinley felt an overwhelming sense of relief as his desire was released from the cage it had been trapped in ever since Eve had slit his throat.

"I want… to get what I deserve."

"Oh!" Lucifer was surprised. "And what exactly do you deserve, Father?"

Father Kinley struggled for a moment, but the answer had immediately formed in his mind. "This."

A smile broke out on Lucifer's face, and all the worry over who, or what Father Kinley was immediately evaporated. Kinley wasn't any different than the rest of the tortured souls whose screams echoed throughout the burning wasteland, whose self-loathing ate them up from the inside until they were just empty shells of their former selves.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your time here then," Lucifer said, walking towards the door, ready to leave. He wasn't quite sure why he had decided to come and talk to Father Kinley, but this conversation had certainly boosted his mood. And distracted him from thinking about Chloe. Bollocks. He was thinking about her again.

"Actually, before I head out," Lucifer said, turning around and facing Kinley, but the Father's attention was entirely on the blood dripping sickeningly over his knotted hands, "I was wondering if you could tell me something."

"No," Kinley said, his face purple with the exertion of refusing Lucifer's request. "I won't tell you anything."

"Oh, I don't want any information regarding your religion or your colleagues who would probably also like to destroy me, I just want to know something."

Kinley didn't answer. Lucifer took this as a sign that he should continue, but the words got stuck in his throat. "Did she… the Detective… did she truly want me gone?"

The words sounded as though they were coming from someone else… young and childish, full of foolish dreams and the insane idea that someone cared about him… someone who didn't know that he was destined for pain and heartbreak wherever he wound up, whatever he did.

Father Kinley tore his eyes from the murders, staring deeply into Lucifer's eyes. Lucifer felt the urge to look away, to hide the pain and suffering that was surely shining through, but he would never let this tortured soul dominate him.

"Why wouldn't she?" Kinley whispered.

Lucifer's eyes burned bright red, and he stormed out of the room. The echo of Father Kinley's last laugh reverbated throughout the room, echoing in Lucifer's head even after he had slammed the door shut.