Demons stacked books on top of books as Ashlinn watched them from half-closed eyes. She had gotten closer and closer over the course of her years in Hell. Nick's body had now been improved with sigils. While Lucifer wasn't at full strength, Nick's body was no longer burning from the inside out. As Ashlinn looked at the books, she tried to console herself with the knowledge that it had only been weeks on Earth. Despite what Lucifer told her, she believed that her friends hadn't given up on her yet.
As the demons left the room, one of them lingered behind and made sure that the others hadn't noticed him hanging back. Belphegor walked to Ashlinn and quickly whispered in her ear, "Your buddies are still trying to free you. I heard that they're making a plan. Prepare yourself to run."
Ashlinn gave his arm a gentle squeeze, and Belphegor quickly left the room. He had found Ashlinn not long after Lucifer had trapped her in Hell. Belphegor also knew the future, but his knowledge came from a slightly different source than Ashlinn's. He had lived it. After Castiel had killed him, Belphegor had awoken in this world with his memories intact. He seemed to believe that it had been due to his contact with Lilith's crook. When he had died, his memories had been transferred to a new world. While the demon wasn't Ashlinn's first pick in a friend, she didn't have too many options.
The door slammed open, and Ashlinn flinched. Lucifer walked into the room and gently tugged on a strand of Ashlinn's hair. Ashlinn kept her disgust hidden under her fear as she was afraid that it would set him off.
"My poor little bird," he said as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "You look so tired lately. Staying up late planning an escape?"
Ashlinn jumped up and backed away slowly while saying, "No! No, I promise! I haven't! I swear!"
Lucifer gently shushed her as he pulled her into his arms. Ashlinn froze, too afraid to do more than breathe.
"It was just a joke. There isn't a moment of your day that I'm not aware of… I know that you've been working very hard, but… I think that you should take a break. In fact, you're going to need one."
"Why?" Ashlinn asked in a whisper. He had stayed true to his word in that he had never once hurt her, but he hadn't needed to. All he had to do was torture a demon or a soul freshly sent to Hell or a random stranger off of the street. That was enough to make her give up the fight.
Lucifer's grip tightened on her before he twirled her hair in his fingers. After a moment of silence, he finally said, "Well, your family doesn't seem to believe that I'm treating you well. That's not true, is it?"
Ashlinn carefully replied, "You've never hurt me."
Lucifer chuckled at her response and continued, "I suppose that's fair… Your family tried to save you. Of course, it was all just a set up by yours truly. Dean and Sam got away, but… it wasn't a complete loss."
Ashlinn could feel a chill in her bones. He wouldn't have said that if everyone had gotten away.
"Bring them in."
Ashlinn nearly fell to the ground as a group of demons brought in Ash and Lily, but Lucifer gripped her tightly. Ash tried to run forward to Ashlinn when one of the demons knocked him down onto his knees. Lucifer put a hand over Ashlinn's mouth as she tried to plead with him.
"Shhh, my dear. I know. So, Lily, was it?"
Lily glared at him but didn't say anything. Soon, she was also pushed down onto her knees. Ash tried to fight the demons but was held down.
"So good to see you both. Although… you did try to let my little bird out of its cage. As you can see, she's doing well. I haven't harmed a hair on her head, but now I have a dilemma. You see, I thought we had a mutual agreement. Ashlinn belongs to me, and I don't need to wear a Sam suit. However… It seems like I wasn't stringent enough. Let him go."
The demons got off of Ash as he leapt to his feet.
"Let her go!" Ash yelled. "I'll be your hostage instead. I'm just as smart. Whatever you need, I can make. Just let her go."
"That is so sweet," Lucifer said before snapping his fingers.
Ashlinn let out a muffled scream as Ash was flung into one of the bookcases almost faster than she could see. She tried to run to him, but Lucifer kept her in place with one hand. The rest of the room went out of focus. Ashlinn watched in horror as Ash struggled to breathe.
"Now, Lily, I have an offer for you," Lucifer said and put a hand around Ashlinn's throat. "If you agree to become my new vessel, then you can save one of them. Choose carefully."
Ashlinn wanted to tell Lily about Lucifer's promise, but Lucifer kept covering her mouth. Unable to talk, Ashlinn tried to use her eyes to tell Lily to choose Ash.
Lily gave her a tearful look and said, "I'm sorry, Ashlinn."
Ashlinn felt relief as she waited for Lily to say Ash's name.
"You promise not to hurt her if I agree," Lily said, now focusing on Lucifer.
Ashlinn thrashed to try to escape from Lucifer's grasp as he calmly said, "I will never hurt her, and she'll be reunited with her family."
"Okay, I'll be your vessel," Lily said as Ashlinn gripped onto Lucifer's arm.
A glowing light rose into the air from behind her as Lucifer passed over her to collect his new vessel. Lucifer's previous vessel let go of her before collapsing on the ground. Now free, Ashlinn ran over to Ash. She touched him, and he let out a groan of pain. Healing had never been something that she was good at, not even a bruise. She needed an angel.
Ashlinn turned back to Lily… no, Lucifer. His glowing red eyes slowly faded, and he looked at himself in the window's reflection.
"Please, Lucifer… Please. I'm begging you. I'll do whatever you want. Just please," Ashlinn begged from the ground. "Please save him.
"Now, isn't that a sight…" Lucifer said with a smug grin. "But unfortunately this is a lesson that needs to be learned… If I don't give your friends consequences, then they won't take my words seriously. I'll give you some time to say goodbye."
Lucifer left her pleading on the floor. Ashlinn let out a hopeless sob before she turned back to Ash. She tried her best to heal him, but it only seemed to cause him more pain. Ashlinn gave up with another sob as she held onto Ash's hand. The feeling of a hand gently touching her cheek made her open her eyes. Ash looked up at her with worry mixed in the pain.
"I'm sorry, Ash," Ashlinn whispered as she felt her arm grow cold in the presence of death. She couldn't fix Ash, but maybe she could help him escape Lucifer's grasp. "I can't fix you… but I can make the pain go away. You won't suffer anymore."
Confusion clouded Ash's eyes for a moment before he rested his hand on hers in acceptance. They both knew that Lucifer could change his mind at any moment and decided to torture Ash before his soul could escape. Ashlinn closed her eyes and focused on her arm. Death hadn't given her instructions. She'd just have to feel it out. Suddenly there was a strange coldness in her arm, and she opened her eyes to gently place it on Ash's face. She watched as the dark sigils on her arm flowed down her arm and into Ash. For only a moment, the veins in her arm and Ash's veins turned black. Ash let out one last breath as he slipped away. His face was frozen in peace.
Ashlinn gripped onto his shirt and sobbed helplessly. She didn't even notice Lucifer in the room with her. Lucifer grabbed her arm and examined it carefully.
"So Death gave you a gift… How interesting," Lucifer said as Ashlinn pulled her arm out of his grasp.
"Let me go home. You promised Lily," Ashlinn said, keeping her eyes on Ash. "You told her that I could go."
"Well, not exactly," Lucifer said, and Ashlinn turned back to him in a rage. "I said that I would 'reunite' you with your family. Is Lily not your family?"
Rage took over Ashlinn as she finally snapped and charged Lucifer. He simply grabbed and held her arms until she wore herself out.
"Feeling any better?" Lucifer asked as Ashlinn collapsed on her knees. "Did you release all of that tension?"
"I hate you," Ashlinn spat out with as much venom as she could and looked away. She didn't like how childish she sounded, but she couldn't help it. "I hate you so goddamn much."
Lucifer hushed her once again as he pulled her off the ground and pinned her to him in a hug. "You feel that way right now… but time heals all wounds. And you're going to be with me forever, little bird, just as you are now. I'm never going to let you go. And once I've taken over Sam's body and killed Michael… we'll have the entire Earth. Just you and me… and Sam, of course, but he won't really be in the way, will he?"
Ashlinn looked up at him and realized that he had never said that he wouldn't use Sam as a vessel. He had her look into stabilizing his other vessel, but he had never truly cared about the progress. Lucifer had just been trying to keep her occupied.
"Please, Lucifer. I can show you something… Thule magic. Please let me revive Ash, and I'll never try to escape. Not even if they come for me. Please," Ashlinn begged, and Lucifer looked at her thoughtfully.
"You did just hurt my feelings. Saying that you hate me… And if he doesn't die, how will your family learn? It's not about punishment; it's about sending a message. And the message is: if you try to take what belongs to me, I'll kill you. Pretty simple."
With a snap of his fingers, Ash's body disappeared. Ashlinn asked once again enraged, "You have Lily's body! Why did you take it if you don't need it?!"
"Well, I honestly just wanted to try her on. Plus it'll be a lot harder for your family to fight a face that they care about… To be completely honest, I just don't feel like a woman. Her body just feels… a little wrong. I'm guessing that Sam's will feel just right."
Ashlinn tried to shove him away, but he kept her pinned just to show her that she couldn't fight him. As her strength started to give out, he picked her up off of the ground and took her to her room. Knowing that she couldn't win, she stopped fighting. Lucifer kissed her forehead before gently placing her on the bed. Ashlinn flinched at the touch, but Lucifer didn't seem to mind.
"Sweet dreams, my pet."
Ashlinn pushed herself up against the wall and wrapped her arms around her legs. Resting her head on the wall, she looked over to the door as the door once again opened. Belphegor entered the room. He quickly walked over to the bed, but he seemed to be at a loss for words.
"I need to get out of here… or die trying," Ashlinn whispered before she once again burst into tears.
Belphegor awkwardly held her as she gripped onto his shirt. Loss, anger, desperation, and hatred were all she could feel at the moment, but the hatred was the strongest. And Lucifer wasn't the only one she blamed. Was this all her fault? She'd been so sure that Sam had planned to sacrifice himself that she hadn't called to double check. Now Ash was gone. Her One-Point-O, partner in crime, fellow musketeer… Gone.
Belphegor soon had to leave before the other demons got suspicious but not before he passed Ashlinn a little glass vial. Demon blood. He advised her to only take a little, so Lucifer wouldn't notice. It would dull the pain and help her focus… and he had an idea for them to escape.
