Chapter 5: Still Breathing

Time's racing (Please slow down)

I got to find my way out

I'm hopeless (But hoping)

My lungs won't fail me now

'Cause I'm still breathing

It's hard to be a man

But I'm doing all I can

I'm ready to give this all I have

I'm ready to be amazed

'Cause I'm standing here alone

Trying to make this life my own

And nothing will keep this heart from beating

I'm still breathing

"Maze!" Lucifer shouted as he made his way through Lux. "Ah, there you are."

The demon behind the bar did not look very happy as she glared at the man walking towards her.

"What?" Lucifer asked and took a seat on a nearby barstool. "No welcome home?"

Maze grabbed a bottle of expensive bourbon, slammed a glass in front of her boss and began pouring a generous amount. The Devil immediately perked up as he heard the splash of liquid.

"Thank you," Lucifer smiled and began to reach for the glass.

With cat-like reflexes, Maze snatched the half glass of bourbon away from the man sitting in front of her and took a long swig.

Lucifer frowned. "Not funny."

"Neither is leading me to believe that I was going to home," Maze said evenly.

The Devil responded lowly. "I can take you back anytime."

"What?" Maze asked and set the bourbon down. "What are you talking about?"

Lucifer only pointed upwards before disappearing.

With a growl, Maze stalked towards the elevator and angrily pushed the button. When she walked through the doors into the penthouse, Lucifer was reclining in a chair with his hands behind his head.

"You have your wings back?" she shouted, half angry but also half surprised.

Lucifer smirked.

"How?"

Ah, there was the question. Bringing up dear old Dad again. Thanks, Maze.

"My Father," Lucifer said stiffly.

Maze put her hands on her hips. "I was all set for Amenadiel to bring me back to Hell. I did everything you asked of me. The staff had been taken care off. As per your instructions they were all given two months' worth of pay and recommendations."

Lucifer was silent.

"I even checked in on your pet detective and her daughter," Maze glared. "Then you walk through those doors last night and collapse on your bed. What happened?"

The King of Hell sighed. "Detective Decker was in danger," he explained. "I asked my Father to let me save her."

"What did he ask in return?" Maze asked suspiciously. She knew that Heaven rarely worked deals without demanding something back.

"Nothing, I only asked to be sent back to save her. I was fully prepared to return to Hell afterwards."

"Then why are you here?"

Still a little bitter about earlier with the bourbon, Lucifer walked over to his bar and poured a glass of his own. He needed to find a way to stock Hell with better alcohol.

"Lucifer."

After taking a gulp he responded. "I hear you."

"Then answer me," Maze demanded.

Lucifer's eyes flashed red for an instant. "Remember who you're speaking to, Maze," he growled deeply.

Maze only nodded.

"I am on vacation, according to Dad," Lucifer continued after taking a breath. "Couple decades then I go back to ruling Hell."

"Couple decades, huh?" Maze whispered.

Lucifer eyed her. "If you want to go back so badly, Maze, I'll take you." He said and took another drink of bourbon.

He placed his glass on the bar and walked back over her while trying to figure out what she was thinking. Did he want to lose his right- hand demon? No, of course not. But he did want her to be happy, and if she wanted to go back, he would take her.

"No," Maze replied, her eyes hard. "I took an oath when you created me."

This Lucifer did not expect, he was so sure she would jump at the chance to go back.

"I told you I would protect you from all threats."

"Even ones I don't see coming," Lucifer finished her sentence and smiled. "I remember."

"So, if you're going to stay, then I will stay as well, someone has to watch your ass."

Lucifer chuckled. "That's my Mazie."

Monday

"Mommy?" Trixie asked as she stirred her bowl of cereal.

Chloe looked up from making a couple of sandwiches. "Yeah sweetie?"

"Are you going to see Lucifer today?"

It seemed that her daughter's fascination with the actual Devil hasn't wavered in the slightest. In all honesty, it was a mystery to the detective. She didn't understand why Trixie liked Lucifer so much, especially since it he made it quite clear that he hated children.

"Maybe," Chloe answered. "I hope I do."

A huge smile appeared on the small girl's face. "You do?"

Chloe set the knife she had been using in the sink.

"Trixie, honey, we have to leave in ten minutes. Eat your breakfast."

The smile didn't leave Trixie's face, but she still obeyed her mother.

"Okay, mommy."

Almost exactly ten minutes later, Chloe rushed out of her house, two lunch bags in one hand while the other searched for her keys. After getting Trixie situated in the back seat, she was running late and drove off, at slightly faster speed than she normally would have. Although, Lucifer still would have called her driving comparable to a "narcoleptic sloth."

Would he actually show up today? Chloe wasn't sure.

When the man returned from Hell, she was still wrapping her head around that by the way, he seemed different. But after their talk on Saturday, she though he was doing better. It was a lot to take in, not only did Heaven and Hell exist, her partner was the ruler of the latter.

Lucifer Morningstar: Lord and King of Hell.

It did have a nice ring to it, but it made Chloe really think for a second. Now she wasn't a particularly religious person, after all neither of her parents were, but she did know enough about the Christian religion.

She knew enough to know why Lucifer acted like he did.

"All of humanity's sins are the Devil's fault, right?"

He feels that the world's been against him from day one, seeing him as nothing but a villain.

Chloe knew better though. To her, Lucifer Morningstar was not the Lord of Hell, he was just Lucifer, club owner, borderline alcoholic, and her partner. Maybe the alcoholic part was wrong, she'd never seen him drink enough to even present the signs of intoxication.

"Okay honey," Chloe said as she dropped her daughter off at school. "Daddy is going to pick you up after you're done today. He's on vacation right now, so you'll be staying with him for a few days."

Trixie nodded. "Say hi to Lucifer for me."

"I will," the detective smiled and handed her daughter her lunch. "Have a good day, Monkey."

"I will, Mommy."

"He's on my desk."

Chloe had barely walked into the station when she spotted Lucifer sitting on her desk trying to balance a pencil on the bridge of his nose. And if that wasn't bad enough, a couple fellow officers were even cheering him on.

"Ah, there you are Detective," Lucifer said, his attention still on that stupid pencil. "Is that a case file in your hand?"

Rolling her eyes, Chloe flicked the item away, and found herself on the receiving end of a glare.

"What the bloody hell?" Lucifer squawked.

The detective wondered what she had done to deserve this. She breathed in deeply and held up the manila folder. "Come on, we have work to do."

Lucifer pushed himself to his feet. "Lead the way."

As the two were walking up to the crime scene, Lucifer could sense that something was wrong. There was a faint smell of sulfur in the air. He quickly took a quick scan around. If it was a demon or an escaped soul he could normally pinpoint them.

"Lucifer? You coming?"

After scanning the crowd one last time, Lucifer followed without a word.

The victim was a priest by the name of John Luther from a nearby church. Chloe started talking to another detective and a member of the forensics team.

"What was the cause of death?" Decker asked.

"Multiple bullet wounds to the torso," Detective Miller replied. "The man was new to the area. Just moved here a week ago. He most likely didn't know his killer. This was probably a mugging gone wrong or maybe he saw something he shouldn't have."

Chloe took a better look at the body. "His eyes are burned out."

Despite being several feet away, and being in the middle of a crime scene with several other people, Lucifer's hearing still picked up on her words. They made his blood ran cold. A demon must have escaped Hell. He growled below his breath. Amenadiel was supposed to be guarding the gates. What the hell was he doing?

He was about to join Detective Decker when he stopped. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end all at once. Lucifer turned around and zeroed in on a tall man in the crowd with dark green eyes and long brown hair. His eyes narrowed.

"Raum," Lucifer gasped. "Father dammit Amenadiel, can you do nothing bloody correctly?"

The man, well demon, separated himself from the crowd and began to walk away. Lucifer's eyes flashed red and began to follow.

"Hey Lucifer can you–?" Chloe turned around and stopped midsentence when she saw her partner stalking towards another man. Oh no, she had a bad feeling about this.

She quickly excused herself from Miller and chased after Lucifer. After a few seconds of following the pair, the brown-haired man broke into a sprint. The Devil let loose a monstrous snarl and took off after him.

"Lucifer!" Chloe shouted, but the club owner didn't hear her.

The two men were so far ahead of her she would have been surprised if had heard her cry. They were about one hundred meters in away when the other man disappeared up the side of a building. In a blink of an eye, Lucifer unfurled his wings in one fluid motion and flew up after his prey.

Jesus Christ.

Chloe stopped and tried to catch her breath and sighed.

Stairs it is then.

"Raum!" Lucifer roared as he tackled the demon to the ground.

"Ah, my lord," Raum replied as he took another punch to the face. "I was wondering when you and your pet detective would show up. Three hours, not bad."

Lucifer's eyes blazed. "How did low level demon like you get out?"

"Oh that," the demon smiled. "That was easy when…"

"When what?" The Devil snarled, his patience was running dangerously thin.

Raum's dark eyes moved to peer over his former boss's shoulder. "When I had help from an angel."

There was no time for Lucifer to even react before a body came hurdling out of the sky at him. He grunted in pain as he felt himself slam into the rooftop. A crushing sound could be heard as his skull was ground into the concrete.

This much raw power and ferocity could only mean one person.

Abaddon.

Shit.

Just his luck, he was up against the angel whose name literally translates to "destroyer." And who also has a hair trigger temper like no one's business.

Fucking Mondays.

Lucifer could feel the other angel's knee digging into his back as he lay pinned in place. This was just wonderful and quite frankly insulting. He tried moving but Abaddon just added more weight.

"Hello, brother," Abaddon hissed into the Devil's ear. "Missed me?"

"Piss off," Lucifer growled back. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Abaddon smirked and stood up to his full height. He had long, black hair that reached to the middle of his back and amber eyes like a hawk. Now that he thought about it, Lucifer never liked Abaddon all that much because he thought his brother was way too uptight, hence the permanent scowl on his face.

"Bringing you back to Hell, of course."

"Dad gave me a pass," Lucifer said as he pushed himself to his feet. "Haven't you heard?"

The Destroyer shrugged. "That's just what Gabriel said. How do I know that message actually came from Father?"

"Gabriel is the Messenger," Lucifer growled, his temper almost at its breaking point. "He's the only one that dear old Dad does talks to anymore."

"We shall see," Abaddon replied smoothly.

Lucifer saw Raum move out of the corner of his eye. The demon had moved behind the Devil so the two traitors had him caught in the middle. Two on one, not great odds all things considering, but he never ran from a fight. At least he had left the detective at the crime scene. No reason for her to be caught up in his messed up family affairs.

Fine, if they wanted a fight, he'd give them one.

"So be it," Lucifer said sighed and released his wings. "Let's get this over with."

Without warning he blasted Raum with a wall of air, knocking the demon towards the edge of the rooftop. Smirking, Lucifer turned his attention to his brother, who honestly, was the real threat here.

Abaddon looked a little surprised.

"So," the rouge angel sneered. "Father gave you your wings back."

"Jealous?"

Abaddon narrowed his eyes and lunged forward, his black wings spread wide behind him. "Jealous of a piece of shit like you?" he shouted. "Never!"

The thing about the Angel of Destruction was, he was very powerful, but also insanely predictable with his attacks.

"A piece of shit who happens be Dad's favorite," Lucifer sneered as he avoided his brother's fist.

There was a snarl and Abaddon spun around brought his head forward. With the fighters being so close in proximity, it was impossible for Lucifer to dodge. He almost saw stars as the two angels collided painfully.

Lucifer backed up and dropped to one knee, holding his head in his hands. If nothing else his brother had a hard head that's for sure.

He heard Abaddon advance and rolled to the side to avoid another strike. While most of his brothers and sisters were physically strong, he preferred to be faster and more agile. He jumped to his feet and delivered a swift knee to Abaddon's torso.

Abaddon grunted in pain.

Lucifer didn't give his brother anytime to recover before hitting him with a right hook. The Destroyer hit the ground hard, leaving a sizeable dent in the stone.

"That all you got brother?" Lucifer mocked. His razor-sharp wing moved near his brother's throat.

Abaddon lashed out with his own set of wings. Acting purely on instinct, Lucifer dodged the attack by taking to air.

The Devil crossed his arms. "Can't you feathered assholes just leave me the bloody hell alone?"

"Unfortunately not, sire."

Lucifer turned his gaze down to the demon he'd nearly forgotten about since the beginning of the fight. He scoffed at the gun held in Raum's hand. Human weapons had no effect on angels, the demon should know that.

A gunshot rang through the air cutting through Lucifer's thoughts.

He waited for the impact, expecting to just shrug it off. Instead, Lucifer's eyes widened in shock when he felt the bullet rip through the right side of his chest. He looked down and watched as his white shirt slowly turned red.

It took a second before the pain set in.

Lucifer grit his teeth and had to steady himself so he didn't fall out of the sky.

"What?" he gasped. "How…?"

Raum smirked. "I brought some weapons forged in Hell topside and melted them down. Figured this was the only way I would even get a hit in."

"Coward," Lucifer spat, blood dripping from the sides of his mouth. "So that priest…"

"He was just to get your attention."

Lucifer ground his teeth. Another innocent life taken because of this stupid game his family insisted on playing. Just like Father Frank. Was all of humanity nothing but pawns?

"Time to go back," Abaddon growled as he regained his footing.

Raum nodded. "Indeed."

Every fiber of his being was on fire as Lucifer tried to move away from the pair, but his wings refused to listen. He heard more gunshots and braced himself. This time however, Lucifer couldn't stop a scream from escaping his lips as both of his wings were riddled with bullets.

Lucifer's vision began to cloud as the world began to tilt, and as much as he wanted to fight it, he couldn't. He felt his stomach lurch as his wings stopped working.

He was falling.

Chloe paced around the entrance of the building where Lucifer disappeared. As it turned out, it belonged to a business and was closed for the day due to an electrical outage. She was going to give him another five minutes before going back to the crime scene.

The sound of multiple gunshots caused the detective to look up. She gasped in horror as she recognized the body plummeting towards the earth.

"Lucifer!"

The detective threw her arms up to shield her face as the Devil came crashing down on top of a car, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. Lucifer groaned as he lay indented in the metal, blood pooling around his body.

Chloe raced forward. "Lucifer!" she shouted as he reached him, taking in the sight of his bloodied wings "Oh my God."

"Please stop talking about him," Lucifer whispered as the edges of his vision started to go black.

"Lucifer, stay with me, okay?" Chloe said frantically. "Focus on my voice."

Lucifer blinked rapidly, trying to do what she said, but finding it increasingly difficult to do so. He smiled sadly, at least her face would be the last thing he'd see.

"Sorry, love," he replied, his eyes starting to close.

Chloe put her index and middle finger to his neck, trying to find a pulse. It was faint, but there. "Lucifer, I need you to keep your eyes open!"

She couldn't do anything but watch as his eyes slid shut and didn't re-open. Taking her thumb, she gently wiped away some of the blood from the corner of his mouth. Tears began to run down her cheeks at how broken he looked.

"Lucifer?" she whispered. "Lucifer, c'mon, this isn't funny."

He didn't respond.

Chloe looked around. She had only minutes to figure out what to do before people started to notice a man with huge wings lying on top of a crushed vehicle. What was she supposed to do? Pick him up? Lucifer was by no means a small man. If she had to guess, he was at least six feet three inches tall and probably weighed around 185 pounds. There was no way she would be able to move him in time.

She was starting to panic. Even if she were to call Dan he wouldn't get here before someone noticed the two of them.

Wait.

Gabriel. That was the name of the angel she met at her house a couple days ago. It was worth a shot, after all, she didn't have many options available.

After giving Lucifer one last look, Chloe closed her eyes and prayed.

Updating a day early since my fiancee is visiting on Sunday.

Let me know what you think, and get ready for a new episode Monday!