Maze had been tracking the other demon going on two days now. Despite her care, Namaah must have gotten suspicious, since she got close enough to a human be spotted, on purpose. It took more than one human before an alert went out, but police started showing up quickly after that, cutting off trails and herding people out of the park. Namaah was counting on the fact that Maze wouldn't risk revealing herself around a mortal; she had no problem with it herself, but she knew she was pushing it, knew Lucifer didn't view such things favorably. On the other hand, she wouldn't get clear of the park without Maze on her ass either, so for all intents and purposes she was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Maze, after a long morning and a sleepless night, had the other demon dead to rights, about to close in, and then Cain appeared up the trail, 'jogging', the bastard.

Well, this looked fun. Immortal soul vs. no soul at alll. She could just sit back and wait for the dust to settle, depending on what happened next.

Namaah approached him, in her human guise, looking a tad harried. She was wandering off-trail, aware she was being hunted. A distraction could work out nicely for her, and she needed one if she wanted to remain at large. It was only a matter of time now before she'd be too exhausted from running, so she really needed to find a place to hole up in. She'd been wearing the same clothing for a few days now, and it showed, the hems were all dirty and her hair a mess. Demons didn't need to eat per se, but it supplemented energy reserves and she looked a little thin on everything.

Cain came to a stuttering stop, glancing around for observers. Didn't see Maze, naturally. She wasn't noticed if she didn't want to be, and she didn't. He stepped back from the ginger-haired demon, a hand on a knife holster, as she closed in on him, smiling lightly. He seemed uncertain about her true nature, hesitating to draw a weapon. Maze carried one of her blades, stilling herself from thumbing a curved edge and making even that much noise. The other remained tucked away for the moment.

Namaah eyed him positively predatorily, then cleared her throat. "Sir, I'm terribly lost, could you point me out of here? Maybe escort me?"

"Sure? We can go back just a few miles that way, an hour or two," he gestured behind him with his thumb. "There are miles and miles of trails here in every direction; if you don't know where you came in it's pretty easy to get stuck going around in loops forever."

Maze smirked. Cain winced as if he heard her amused thoughts, or he just realized what he said.

He shivered but let her get closer to him, right up to his side. His body wound up and tense as she paused nearly touching him, he said, "I know what you are."

She stopped, cocking her hips to one side and touching her lips. "Do you now?"

His throat ran dry. He cleared it, looking down at her. "Something that doesn't belong here."

Her face pinched, a little. "I could say the same of you. You reek of something old. But I like your eyes." She bit one of her nails lightly, worrying it. "We could make a nice, fair trade. The best sex of your life in exchange for getting me the fuck out of here." She smiled playfully as she spoke.

The idiot appeared to consider it, at least from this angle. She shook her hair out and it was suddenly clean and shining in the sun, lying loose about her face. She unbuttoned her tight shorts one-handed, moving seductively, slowly. "You could have me, here and now, later, both, keep me at your place, yours to use as you will." Namaah licked her lips, her gaze pitched demurely at the ground near his feet. "All you have to do is give me safe passage out, tell me where to go and I'm yours."

The look Cain gave her was dangerous and Maze thought he was considering the proposition not from a sex standpoint but from having his own demon at his beck and call. As much as any demon would bind herself to such a promise.

As Namaah slid ever closer, snake-like, she shrank an inch or two in height, restricting her glamour to make herself less threatening. She glanced up at him through thick black lashes.

Then she made a serious mistake.

"You could have me, I can please you more than I ever did Lucifer. He was so easy that I had him on his knees with a word. You look hard, like I'll have to work for you, like you could have me for hours at a time before breaking a sweat." She dragged her finger along her tongue, making a small noise that would have worked on most humans, male or female.

Cain's jaw tightened. That's when he clocked her with a resounding right hook. "I don't trust demons."

She ducked away, staggered, touching her face where blood came dripping down her chin and tongue where she bit herself from the force of the blow.

Then she smiled, a different kind of smile.

Oh, the memories that came racing back with that smile.

"You want it rough? You could hit me all day and I won't fight back. Or maybe you want me to, until you catch me and hold me down and fuck me senseless with your hands around my throat. Even he wouldn't just take me without asking, I bet you won't be so restrained. Don't you want me?"

He rubbed his own throat, maybe remembering something, then shook his head. "No deal. Those fantasies aren't my thing anyway."

"Fine." Naamah turned ash-flecked black without warning, her reddish hair vanishing into nothing. She was missing a single claw as the rest of them became exposed, lengthening her finger digits into unnatural spindly jointed things. Her clothing barely remained on her body, jean shorts and a simple tee that stretched as her shoulders expanded. Her shoes split, and she glared down at her feet briefly, annoyed. She shook one foot with a jerky motion and it reminded Maze so much of a pissed cat she nearly laughed aloud.

Maze easily remembered how everything feels in full demon form. It was intoxicating and difficult to resist the flood of emotions that came with the change. Heightened senses came quickly with inhuman features. Maze herself missed it deeply, but it wasn't safe to assume it outside of Hell. Not for her and not for those around her. Her blood sang for it though, another demon in full form demanded a challenge, regardless of location.

She didn't exactly care if living things around her got hurt, but Lucifer had destroyed demons for lesser transgressions than injuring mortals. Luckily, there weren't any mortals around. She feared Lucifer's wrath more than she craved embracing her truth self. Maybe she still could. Once she did, Namaah would see and smell her instantly. For now, she was effectively in stealth mode. What was it humans called it? Low aggro? She licked her lips, watching Cain with half-lidded eyes, hungry.

She missed Hell. It tugged at the core of her being, under her feet and unreachable alone.

Maze swallowed and calmed herself. Striking from cover was all well and good. Striking with another enemy present was altogether something else. She would not put herself in a position that put her back to either.

In Hell, Maze's full demonic form had always been half-human looking; the corrupted side almost seemed to present especially twisted, marred, in an effort to make up for the other, straight down the middle of her body. The right side with a gentle brown eye, nearly unheard of in the underworld, barely useful there and prone to water and itch in Hell. Worthy of being mocked. Expanses of smooth and unblemished skin on that side of her body marked her as potentially frail, a deformity if you will. Demons who came into existence with more than a handful of human-like features didn't last long. A fully half human body made her a target over the millennia for other denizens of Hell who thought her weaker for it.

She proved them all wrong.

She was already strong when Lucifer found her, impressed with her will and ability to survive, despite her deformity.

Namaah wiped her chin with her forearm, streaking it with acidic blood.

Maze hadn't had an excuse to let her demon visage out in too long, let alone a full curtain drop. Maybe this was it.

Cain drew a black-bladed knife and assumed a ready stance, setting his feet.

Namaah reacted to it, hissing and drawing back slightly. It didn't look like one of Maze's knives, but it did look hell-forged, short, nasty and serrated. He didn't seem worried about whether or not it would be effective.

The ebony demon lunged from a standing position, faster than a hawk felling prey in a screaming dive.

Cain was ready - thought he was ready, but he didn't have either supernatural strength or reaction time. He went down hard, on his back, the wind knocked out of him as the pair slid along the trail several feet with a nasty crack and a tearing of fabric and skin.

Black fangs closed down on his throat, releasing a spurt of blood as he struggled to push her off him, the knife already fallen from his grip and flung away with the flattening pounce. They fought each other for a grip, her skin smooth and slick and him trying to hold back her clawed hands. He shoved between her arms against her chest with a hoarse cry, tearing at his own neck to remove her. It didn't work. Namaah's jaw closed with a snap, piercing his throat deeply enough to crush his windpipe, tearing up and back with flesh in her teeth.

In a flash of white and with no forewarning, Lucifer came out of nowhere and knocked Namaah away from Cain, pinning her flat to the ground with the joint of his right wing and giving himself plenty of room between his body and her with his wingspan. She landed much as Cain did, hard and with the sound of bones stressing to the point of breakage and past it. She didn't slide as much. Unlike Cain, she was still alive and not lying in a pool of her own seeping blood.

Lucifers feathers looked borderline unkempt, slightly separated and puffed out thickly in aggression. The pinned demon spat and cursed through bloodied teeth, her solid white eyes focused on him with burning hatred, but she stopped squirming after a second or two, falling limp in supplication.

He hissed in the language of Hell, "cease this nonsense at once! Explain yourself!"

She glared in no particular direction, rolling her eyes wildly while trying to breathe; her ribs likely were all fractured. "Can't...can't…"

He didn't let up, glaring with almost visible ire radiating from him.

Her claws retracted slightly, twitching in surrender. Maze caught a look from Lucifer; he knew she was there, the others did not. He didn't spare her more than a casual flick of the eyes, not diverting his attention more than required.

This was almost like the old days, but without the constantly falling ash. Her mouth watered. She shifted her grip on her blades, watching, scanning.

Namaah wheezed. "Want what you have, is all."

He may have allowed her a fraction of a moment of pity, no more. He switched to his more familiar accented English. "You aren't built that way. You can't have an earthly life. Your immediate continued existence itself is currently up for debate."

She nearly coughed, but didn't have the air for a full breath and it hitched painfully. "You aren't, you did."

"I'm no demon."

"Lousy angel though."

He blinked at that. "You aren't supposed to be here, darling. Who let you out?"

"Snuck. Clever. Cracks."

He frowned.

"Don't wanna go back."

Maze rose from her hiding spot, moving forward.

From the trail, Cain choked, the skin on his throat starting to close up, his neck returning to something looking like normal, if still bloody. He spat several mouthfuls of blood off to the side, breathing shallowly and annoyed he was still alive. "What are you doing?"

The Devil looked up. "Dispensing celestial justice. What are you doing, other than resembling something a large angry feline literally dragged in, murdered, ate, then threw up again on the floor mat?"

"I hadn't been killed by a demon, yet. Seemed like a good chance to try it."

"Congratulations, you've succeeded in being violently dispatched by a demon. You'll be the first to write a book about it. Are you done?"

Namaah struggled under the hard bony edge of the wing, keening. Both the other immortals flatly ignored her.

"Doesn't mean you can't still help me out. After you deal with your mess here."

Lucifer sounded offended. "This cluster is hardly my fault!"

Cain swiped at his neck, his hand coming away coated in blood. He looked unfazed, attempting to lean up on his wrists and palms. "You're the one who left Hell without anyone in charge, aren't you? Isn't that how that bitch got out in the first place?"

Lucifer grunted, shifting his weight to keep the wing securely on the demon. "Not like I trusted anyone else to run it."

"Oh, so I'm sure anarchy in Hell is so much better than a shitty ruler. I bet she's not the only escaped demon. It's a shame I can't have you arrested for those murders."

He stiffened, his blood racing, fists clenching. "I'm not responsible for the actions of others!"

"Even when they escape Hell? I'm assuming if you were still there, she wouldn't have gotten out, right? When was the last time a demon got out alone anyway?" Cain's neck had completely healed, his voice clearing as he talked. Namaah licked her char colored lips.

She suddenly twisted hard against the ground, defying her injuries, turning to sink nearly a full set of claws into the top corner of Lucifer's wing - deep into his feathers and further into the joint. He winced and yanked back, but she clung on to him, hissing and spitting like an angry deranged cat. Blood flecks from her mouth and claws stained his wing and she gripped tighter. "Remember my touch, my love? Never did it his way." Her voice from a demon throat was unchanged, sweet and teasing. Had any mortal been close enough to hear it, it would be disorienting.

Disgruntled, he flapped both wings hard in an attempt to free himself, planting his feet to the ground. "Nor will we. If you prefer a prolonged death though, I can accommodate you."

Feathers pulled out of the wing in bloody, bunched handfuls with a wet ripping sound as she flew backward into the brush. More feathers floated loose in the air, falling to the ground rapidly under the weight of immortal blood.

Maze took her opening and dove forward to pounce on Namaah, but she twisted again, leaping to kick off the scraps of her shoes clear of her legs and free her foot claws. Her true demonic form grew dagger-like curved dew claws on her lengthening upper ankles. She brandished them like a rooster or a raptor, turning to attack Cain again, who sat a mere meter away from where she was thrown.

It was a feint.

Maze screamed a war cry, diving for the other demon at the same time she detoured for Lucifer's other wing, leaving a clean gash across Cain's chest as she used his body for a launch platform. Maze missed by inches, nearly slicing Cain open in the process. She turned, but the other demon was scurrying fast.

Namaah claw-climbed up his left wing, diving for his head. He raised the limb quickly to dislodge her, but she held on with all sets of claws. He grunted as feathers on both wings started to match in color, bloody and torn. Her eyes flashed, tongue lolling as she panted for breath with broken ribs. Blood streamed from her jaw, bright on black skin.

Lucifer instinctively tried to summon his devil face. And failed. He looked his coming death in the eyes and spat a curse.

She tilted her head, breath hissing and her maw impossibly wide, aiming to latch down onto his neck and crush it.

Shots rang out, one of which slammed into her and threw her sideways. The violent wrench combined with a slug in her shoulder was enough to wrench one forearm free of his wing and it tore free clutching a handful of feathers. She cursed in Infernal, shaking free the few feathers that stuck to her clawed hand. She let go with the other to take a new swipe at his face.

He brought up a hand and threw light into her face, tearing her free of the wing and throwing her back. She hit the ground in an uncontrolled roll that snapped something else. Lucifer looked surprised himself, sweeping his wings back and up, out of the way. The inside curve of each remained mostly untouched, gleaming and bright.

Cain looked a bit unfocused, staring at the unfolded wings.

Maze used the opportunity to jump on the demon and sink her curved blades deep between her ribs. They bit into her like closing teeth. Namaah's scream of rage turned to a gurgling choke as blood seeped and pulsed out of her body and ran down around her ribcage.

Maze looked down at her hands and noticed the left bore her demon corruption. She'd taken her full true form in the battle, unintentionally. Well, no reason not to enjoy it.

Cain looked like he would recover. That wouldn't do.

She pulled her knives out of the still body as it began to dissolve, letting off smoke and starting to congeal into the ground, liquifying before her eyes slowly. Above them and up a hill, Chloe had her firearm drawn, shaking. She kept distance, wanting to help but not wanting to trigger Lucifer's vulnerability problem. For some reason, Dan stayed back too. Whatever kept them at bay was better for the two mortals.

The humans had guessed around a hundred feet was enough, and it seemed to be. If none of the shots had landed, it still would have distracted the attacking demon, probably. Maze mentally thanked them for staying back. They shouldn't be even this close, and Lucifer could only get more hurt if they came in.

Plus, they were out of range for this next bit. She unfurled her own wings, one of onyx-black feathers on her 'human' side, one ash-white and black-tipped dragon wing on the other. The spread wingspan blocked some of the view up the hill. They were far smaller than Lucifers set, and not meant for flight, but functional for her purposes all the same. And it felt damn good to stretch them.

Maze yanked her knives free from the body gradually melting into mush and air. They were covered in blood and gore, dripping thick ichor. She rose, took two long steps to Cain, and slit his throat with a clean, fast jerk. For good measure, she buried the other knife into the middle of his chest, shoving him back to the ground hard with the momentum and cracking the back of his skull against the hard ground.

She didn't actually intend for him to pass out from that, but she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to do a variety of damage either.

Lucifer merely straightened, wincing as his wings attempted to fully unfurl. "You done?"

"It probably won't take anyway. As long as you have your wings out, you should try crushing his ribcage with them, or maybe his face. Now would be a good time to give it a shot."

Chloe broke into a run, Dan not far behind. Lucifer let the thought register for barely a half-second, then considered what the visual would do to his humans. Not to mention anyone else if Cain actually stayed dead for a change and he had to have Maze deal with the body. It could potentially take her quite a bit of time to gather up pasty smears of Cain, and police search helicopters weren't far away. He didn't really want to scar the detectives for life more so than they already were.

Lucifer glared at the demon sludge melting away and the maybe-not-actually-a-corpse of Cain. "I never should have engaged in that deal to start with. Circumventing Dad never really works. I still can't seem to stop trying though." He sighed and fluffed his wings again, feeling the blood on his feathers start to dry and itch. His blood, demon blood. The left wing in particular felt a bit wrenched and sore. He had enough problems right now without adding 'body disposal' to the list.

Cain coughed, spitting more blood as his throat closed, again. The detectives looked completely horrified as he sat up, giving him a wide arc of space. Chloe had her gun out but pointed at the ground, still ready for danger. Dan had a hand on his holster. The worse-for-wear Lieutenant pulled his shirt away from his body, glaring at the bloody stains and cuts on his clothing.

Maze drew a cloth from somewhere, settling her demon form back into human appearance with little visible effort outside of a shudder. She gave a regretful sigh, letting go of her preferred form, aware of the problems of running around looking as though she couldn't decide between zombie apocalypse and Goth Angel. She started to clean one of her knives, eyeing the remaining non-mortals and mortals alike. In a silent signal exchange, Dan went to Lucifer and Chloe approached Maze. "Are you okay?"

The demon nearly dropped her dagger at the concerned tone, regarding her suspiciously. "Of course. This wasn't my first fight. Felt good though, needed a workout. You?"

Chloe swallowed, holstering her gun. The pale cast to her skin began to give way to her more usual skin tone as she digested everything, accepting how strange her life had become. The sharp mind behind those human eyes filtered, assessed and moved on. Finally - though seconds later - she stared at the spot on the ground where the other creature died, addressing her demonic roommate. "Is she...uh, dead-dead?"

Maze nodded at the black puddle that dried to nothing over another minute, sparing it barely another glance. "Demons don't have a soul. She's destroyed."

"And you're sure you're okay? She didn't get you at all?" Chloe visually searched her clothing, visible skin, looking for injuries. She didn't miss Maze' remark about souls, but didn't pursue just now either, much to Maze' relief.

Maze couldn't say she wasn't at least a tiny bit touched. She shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, thanks, Decker. If you want to spare some gratitude, you can always skip asking for this month's rent." She sheathed one blade after inspecting it carefully, then started on the second. She'd have to give them both a proper deep cleaning, but this would do for now.

"Sure, done." She turned to her boss, who looked none better, but didn't go to him. Cain wasn't up to getting up yet. She toed the knife he dropped. "Is this special, Maze?"

"Yeah, another Hell blade. He shouldn't have one." Maze appreciated her restraint in not randomly picking up a Hell item. She retrieved it herself, turning it over in her fingers.

Chloe watched curiously. "Yours are unique, right? Is this one part of a set too?"

Mazikeen wrinkled her nose. "Not always, but maybe. I'll look into it." She sheathed it somewhere Chloe couldn't quite make out. A disgruntled "Hey!" came from Cain as it vanished on her person.

The demon smiled at him. "You want it back? Come get it."

He snarled but lay still on the rocky trail, gathering his strength.

She turned it over. "It's not Namaah's, but I don't know offhand whose it is. I can go digging. The Armorer might know, remember it."

Dan and Chloe both heard a capital letter in there somewhere. Dan asked, "of...Hell?"

"Natch. Vulcan." She hissed at the confusion on Dan's face. He started to ask, "Like the alien-"

"No. Other way around. Barely."

Under his breath, Dan muttered something.

"If you must know, Amenadiel is the Trekkie, not me."

"But you know what a Vulcan is?"

"Who doesn't? You'd have to live under a rock."

Chloe muttered something under her breath about paperwork regarding murders, bodies and weapons. Maze ignored it. No one helped Cain up.

Dan wanted to hug Lucifer but he seemed a bit flighty. Lucifer still had his wings out, shifting and about to play his vanishing act. He looked miserable but hung around a moment longer on their behalf. As Chloe spoke to Maze, Dan asked quietly, "How are you? Can you uh... teleport or fly or whatever right now?"

Lucifer shot him an annoyed look.

Dan bit his lip and clarified, "no, I mean all of us? I think we need to get you cleaned up, the sooner the better. Preferably in your penthouse, by us." He tried very hard not to blush a little as he said it, but was unsuccessful.

Chloe came over at the last words, nodding. Lucifer's suspicious look warmed up considerably as Dan's skin flushed. "Can't wait to get my clothes off again, can you, Daniel?"

Cain dusted himself off, clearly thinking about interrupting, while not thinking about any of them naked..

Chloe carefully put her arms around Lucifer's waist, keeping them clear of his wings, pressing her head to one side of his chest. "That makes two of us. But you do need a scrubbing. And I'd like to help with that."

Maze enjoyed the cascade of expressions on Cain's face immensely. She made a note to try and sneak in to the apartment later and take photos. Just for him. Well, maybe herself too. And to bring a second phone so she could capture his reaction to those photos.

The Lieutenant got his feet under him. "What am I supposed to say about the missing murderer?"

Lucifer groaned. "Whatever you intended to tell them originally, assuming your suicide-by-demon plan didn't work."

Eyeing him, Dan offered, "You can always just say you got beat up and thrown around by a ninety-pound woman. I'm sure that won't raise any eyebrows at your image."

Lucifer tilted his head. "That's half true, I suppose. Her human form was smaller than Maze. If you'll excuse us, I believe the detectives and I are taking the afternoon off. I'll fly back here later for the car."

Chloe flinched slightly. She wasn't one to blow off work. Then again…She let go of Lucifer for just a moment. She walked over and addressed Cain. "It's going to be really difficult for me to work for you from here on out. I strongly suggest you change careers and find a new job. Private investigator maybe. In another city. Or state. Maybe continent."

He glowered in response. "I'm not retiring just because you know about me. Anymore than Lucifer is."

"Suit yourself. Now that the murderer is dealt with, we're still taking the afternoon off." When Lucifer grinned suggestively, she added, "And don't think you're off the hook either. I'm not going to miss more wing grooming, but you're going to answer some more questions."

Lucifer chewed his tongue, debating on taking the long way home. "Detective!-"

She walked back and kissed him. "Don't worry, it won't hurt. Much."

Dan checked him over for damage but he seemed healthy enough. The bleeding wings worried him, and he didn't know if Lucifer was just showing off to appear mostly unhurt, but some of the wounds appeared to still be actively seeping.

Wings began to wrap around the three of them. "Maze, love, please don't murder Cain again. He's had a long day."

She pouted. "Another day?"

He nodded. "Certainly."

They vanished.