A/N: Some of the dialogue in this chapter is taken from It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World. Also, this is definitely my favorite chapter so far (although maybe that is just because I really like Lucifer...) so I hope you all enjoy it, too.

Chapter Six: Let It Burn

Gideon's clothing was singed and his hair was ruffled, and a dark bruise was already appearing on his forehead. There was blood on his clothing and on his hands. And something twisted in Leo's stomach and his heart burned with an intense desire to cause as much pain as possible to the Elder standing before him.

He clenched his hand into a fist, electricity dancing around his fingers.

"He made a deal with Lucifer, Leo," Gideon said, his voice hoarse and rough as he eyed Leo's closed fist. "With Lucifer. You cannot trust a word he says, you cannot trust him with your family." His eyes darted past Leo towards Chris still form. "We'll send him back to the future. He doesn't belong here."

"You don't belong here," Leo answered, his voice filled with raw anguish and fury. "How dare you pretend as though you care at all about this family while you stand there plotting to murder my son?"

"Leo, please… you have to understand," Gideon said, a pleading note in his voice. "I am only doing this for the greater good. I swear."

"How is killing a child ever for the greater good?" Leo demanded, striding forward. "Who are you to decide that?"

He looked over Gideon, and it took him only a moment to notice several things. Gideon was leaning against the doorframe, holding himself up with one arm. He was shaking from the exertion, his energy clearly drained. His skin was far more pale than usual, and there was a look of desperation in his eyes.

He was still powerful. And he was still dangerous. Or perhaps he was even more dangerous because of how desperate he was.

"I'm an Elder,' Gideon said evenly. "So are you. This is what we do."

"If this is what it means to be an Elder," Leo sneered, "then I am not one of you anymore." And he drew back his arm to punch Gideon in the face.

Gideon stopped the blow, one hand springing forward and closing around Leo's wrist in a vice-like grip. His eyes flashed, and he flung Leo backwards several feet.

"I don't want to fight you," Gideon said as Leo hit the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of him. "Please don't make me."

Leo extended a hand and a stream of pure electricity burst from his palm and raced towards Gideon. The other Elder simply extended his own hand and caught the electricity, holding it between his fingers.

"I've been an Elder far longer than you, Leo," Gideon said softly, looking down at the crackling electricity. "You can't beat me. But I don't want to fight you." He turned and tossed the electricity at Wyatt's shield, and though the shield managed to deflect it, Leo saw with no small amount of horror that the force-field flickered under the onslaught.

Wyatt started crying again.

"You son of a bitch!" Leo spat, surging to his feet and charging towards Gideon.

Gideon grabbed Leo's arm as the two collided and managed to throw him off-balance. Leo stumbled past Gideon, but steadied himself against the wall and then slammed his elbow backwards and into Gideon's nose. Gideon cried out in surprise and pain, and the momentary distraction was all that was required for Leo to grab Gideon by the front of his shirt and toss him out into the hallway.

Away from the nursery. Away from Wyatt.

Gideon rolled as he hit the floor, and then rose to standing. He reached out to steady himself on the wall once more, casting a quick glance behind him towards the stairs. Then he looked back at Leo and said, "Listen to me. You know what happens, you know what Chris came here to stop. Let me finish what I started. Let me save the future the only way it can be saved."

Leo saw red. The fire of his fury and anger burned brightly until everything in front of him became a shimmering haze of rage he couldn't control, and the electricity exploded from his hands before he realized what he was doing. Gideon raised a shield to protect himself, and electricity rebounded from the shield and hit the wall, creating a large hole. But the force of Leo's attack still knocked him backwards, off his feet.

And down the stairs.

He hit the ground level in a heap, but didn't stay down. He was on his feet before Leo could make it down the stairs, and he responded with an attack of his own, sending a bolt of electricity towards Leo. It struck Leo in the chest and sent him sprawling on the stairs, but it hadn't been strong enough to do much more than knock him over.

"Don't make me hurt you," Gideon said, his tone a mixture of pleading and anger. "I don't want this, Leo."

"You are the reason the future is threatened, Gideon," Leo spat. He tasted blood in his mouth and realized he had bitten his tongue.

Gideon narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Wyatt turns because of what you did to him," Leo pressed, stumbling down the stairs. "You, Gideon. You are the one who destroyed the future, you are the one who created the threat. And I'm going to end it."

"You would kill me?" Gideon asked softly. "I was your mentor, Leo. I guided you, helped you, took care of you. You were lost and scared and confused and I showed you how to become the white-lighter you were then, and the Elder you are now. I fought for you and Piper, fought for your dreams and your future. And you would repay me by killing me?"

Leo hesitated. Gideon had done all of those things, and hearing the words only made it that much harder to believe that the man standing in front of him was his enemy. This was Gideon, and as a young white-lighter, Leo had trusted Gideon long before he had trusted anyone else.

How could Gideon turn on him?

But he had. He had turned on all of them. There was no denying that.

Gideon was planning to kill Wyatt. Gideon would turn Wyatt evil.

Betrayal and fear filled his body, wrapping around every fiber of his being, and Leo's features hardened.

This time Gideon threw a bolt of electricity with enough strength and power to cause more than a little damage, and Leo only barely ducked away in time. The electricity hit him in the shoulder, and it felt as though his entire arm had suddenly exploded. The pain took his breath away and forced him to his knees. Spots danced in front of his eyes and his vision blurred.

He was numbly aware of the fact that, had he not moved as quickly as he had, the electricity would have hit him in the chest…

And killed him.

"I thought you didn't want to hurt me," Leo gasped, blinking in an effort to clear his vision.

Gideon loomed over him, an indistinct shadow. "I don't," he said sadly, and his voice sounded far away, as though it was reaching Leo from across a great distance. "But I will if I have to. You're blinded by your emotions, Leo. You can't see the truth… the necessity. I've sworn to protect the world, and I will. No matter the cost."

"Even if the cost is my son?" Leo murmured, struggling to catch his breath. "A child, not even one year old yet?"

"You need to stop seeing him as what he is now, and start thinking about what he will become," Gideon answered. "A monster."

"I won't let you kill him," Leo warned, forcing electricity into his fingers. Summoning the power took effort, and the strain left him even more breathless. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he smelled blood. His own blood, seeping into the shoulder of his shirt, staining the fabric red.

"You can't stop me," Gideon replied.

And then he was flung off his feet.

Leo turned his head and saw Chris standing at the top of the stairs. His eyes were unfocused and he was leaning heavily against the railing of the stairs, not quite able to stand upright on his own. But his right arm was extended in front of him, and his face was turned towards Gideon in a snarl.

It was all the opening Leo needed.

He surged to his feet and sent the electricity – powerful enough to kill – flowing from his hand. Gideon was taken by surprise, and did not react in time to stop the attack. The electricity hit him fully in the chest and he screamed, his face twisted in rage and pain.

"You… have no idea…" he cried out, gasping for breath as he uttered the choked words, "what you have… done…"

The electricity lifted him into the air and he hung there, body writhing, voice shrieking.

Until it was over. Until his dead body turned to ash.

Leo sunk to his knees.

Piper winced inwardly as Leo flinched away from her. She gave him an apologetic smile and he sighed. She sighed as well, and went back to cleaning the wound on his shoulder. She didn't want to hurt him, but there was nothing she could do to stop the pain he was feeling.

She wasn't really sure how much of it was due to the gaping hole in his shoulder and how much was due to Gideon's betrayal.

"I still don't understand why that didn't just heal itself," Paige said, frowning at Leo. "All of your injuries heal themselves. Why is this different?"

"Elder powers are like dark-lighter arrows," Leo said, wincing through clenched teeth. "We can't heal those wounds in our own body. It's just the way it is."

"We could get another Elder to heal him," Phoebe suggested. She was standing as far away from the others as possible, but it was clear from the strained look in her eyes that even that was not helping. Her empath powers were picking up all of the pain – both emotional and physical – in the room, and she could only just barely stand it.

Leo shook his head slowly, and Piper watched as he looked past her and met Chris' steady gaze. Chris had his lips pursed together, and his face was extraordinarily white.

"Not yet," Leo said quietly. "We can't go to the Elders yet."

"Why not?" Piper demanded, looking at Chris.

But it was Leo who answered. "We just killed one of them, Piper. I don't know yet how they'll react to that."

"He was going to murder my son!" Piper snapped. "They can't possibly defend him!"

But even as she said the words, she wondered if that was true. It was Leo who had actually killed Gideon. Would they be willing to heal him now? Or would they try to recycle his soul as they had threatened to do whenever he displeased them in the past?

Leo hissed out a breath and closed his eyes as she pressed slightly too hard against his shoulder with the cloth in her hand.

"Sorry," she said quickly.

Leo opened his eyes and gave her a tired smile. "It's okay," he murmured.

Chris made a sudden, jerky movement, his eyes focused on something behind Piper, and the eldest Charmed One frowned and turned to follow his gaze, tensing in case she needed to attack something.

Lucifer stood there.

"The Elder Gideon is dead," he said, his eyes surveying the room thoughtfully. "And you are all alive. I'm impressed. You are a more talented family than I had previously given you credit for." His blue eyes flicked to Chris. "Deal's done. I'm here to collect what is mine."

Then Lucifer waived his hand, and before their very eyes, Chris disappeared.

"Wait!" Piper called out, but it was too late. Chris was gone, and she stared at the place where he had stood and felt something sharply painful pierce her heart. Lucifer gave her a surprised look, and she let out a breath and murmured, "I just wanted to say thank you."

She had thought there would be more time. Or perhaps she had decided it would be best to completely ignore the deal Chris had made. Either way, she hadn't yet had a chance to tell him that she was sorry for all her doubts and distrust. He'd sacrificed everything for their family, and she wanted him to know that she was grateful.

It was clear now that, despite the manipulation and lies, his motives had been good.

"I'll pass along the message," Lucifer promised. "I haven't taken his soul yet, I've just sent him to a… well, something rather like limbo. I'll tell him that you are thankful for his sacrifice when I go collect his soul."

Piper raised an eyebrow. "Okay," she said slowly, not quite trusting him but at least able to take comfort in the fact that he would do as he said because, as Leo and Chris had repeatedly told her and she was now slowly beginning to accept, he could not lie.

Lucifer studied her for a moment, then added, "And just remember, should you ever decide you want to undo the deal and bring your white-lighter back, Wyatt will turn evil."

"Why would we want to undo the deal?" Piper asked suspiciously. Had he betrayed them somehow? Was there something he wasn't saying, some price they would all have to pay that she did not yet know about?

Would he come after Wyatt or her sisters? Or Leo?

Lucifer smiled serenely. "It's just a warning," he said softly, eyes flicking away from her to stare at the others in the room. "Nothing more."

"But… we won," Piper protested. "Wyatt is safe."

Lucifer met her gaze again with an inscrutable expression. "Wyatt is safe," he agreed. "But still… You lost." And then he disappeared as well.

It didn't take long for the Elders to call Leo.

Piper was flipping through the Book, obsessively looking for something that would explain Lucifer's cryptic last words. No matter how many times Phoebe tried to reassure her that it was just Lucifer trying to mess with their minds, trying to make things worse for them now that Wyatt was finally safe, Piper refused to let go of the fear that the devil's parting words had conjured for her.

Because Lucifer had told her that she had lost, and Lucifer couldn't lie.

Paige and Phoebe were there as well, playing with Wyatt. Or, more accurately, keeping an eye on him if only to assure themselves that it really was over.

And then there was the elephant in the room. Or, again more accurately, the elephant that was no longer in the room. That would never be in the room again.

Chris.

Leo knew it was bothering Piper, though he had a feeling she wouldn't be willing to admit to that any time soon. But no matter all the things Chris had done to them in the past – he had sacrificed his soul to save their son. And every harsh word Piper had ever uttered, every accusation they had thrown his way – no matter how valid and warranted it had been at the time – was now coming back to haunt her.

Leo wanted to say something to make it better. He wanted to ease her guilt about Chris and her worry about Lucifer's words. He wanted to hold Wyatt and promise his son that nothing would ever hurt him again.

And then the Elders summoned him.

Leo lifted his head towards the ceiling in acknowledgement of the call. Paige noticed this and straightened quickly, trading a pointed look with Phoebe.

"Paige and I were thinking that maybe one of us should go with you," Phoebe said quietly. She didn't say anything else, but it was painfully obvious to Leo just why she thought he might need their support. Like Leo, they were considering the possibility that his actions would have serious repercussions for him, and he might need their backing.

Or their firepower.

But Leo shook his head. Quite apart from the fact that he didn't want to drag them into this mess if he could help it, he also doubted the Elders would take kindly to him bringing any of the Charmed Ones to a meeting that was clearly intended only for Elders. It would be better to wait, to hear what they had to say. It would be better to play by the rules.

For now.

"Let me go on my own," he said, his eyes drifting from Phoebe to Wyatt. The boy was on the floor, playing with a few large plastic blocks. He seemed completely oblivious to everything happening around him.

He had no idea how close he had come to turning evil.

A lump formed in Leo's throat. "I'll let you know if I need… anything," he said, his words filled with emotion.

Paige didn't look convinced, and Piper had turned away from the Book long enough to give Leo a worried glance, but Phoebe just shrugged and said, "Okay. If you think it is for the best…"

"I do," Leo said. The call came again, this time more urgent. He rolled his eyes at the Elders' impatience, then said, "I'll be back soon."

And he dissolved into orbs.

He reformed in the white of Up There, in the center of a ring of five Elders. There was Aravis, who had first warned him of Lucifer's presence, and Sigmund, who had been Gideon's assistant at Magic School. There was Giselle, who Leo had only spoken to once or twice in his entire time as a white-lighter and then Elder, and Michael, who was rumored to have been alive during the Crucifixion, and Zola, who had shown understanding and compassion towards Leo more than once.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," Leo said, feeling slightly uncomfortable about the fact that they had him surrounded. He doubted they would attack without warning – he had to forcefully remind himself that they were not all like Gideon – but he still didn't like feeling exposed.

"You should have come the moment we summoned you, Leo," Michael said gravely, his tone filled with censure. "You know the reason for the summons."

Leo let his gaze sweep around the rest of Up There. It was devoid of all other Elders and white-lighters. Clearly, these five had wanted to speak to him alone.

He supposed he should at least be grateful that they had wanted to speak with him instead of convening all the Elders and holding a trial.

As if reading his thoughts, Zola said, "There are others who would sentence you for your crime, Leo, without hearing your defense first. We thought it would be best to avoid that… but don't think that this means we have taken what you did lightly."

"What I did?" Leo snapped, already forgetting his earlier determination to stay calm and hear what the other Elders had to say before starting an argument with them. "You mean protecting my son? Stopping an Elder from killing him?"

"I told you he would not feel remorse," Sigmund said haughtily, but then cringed almost the moment Leo spun around to glare at him.

"What is he doing here?" Leo asked angrily, gesturing towards Sigmund with an expression of contempt.

"Sigmund is here because he was closest to a Gideon and therefore represents…"

"Gideon tried to murder my son," Leo said through clenched teeth. "He would have turned him evil. How can you stand there and pretend that I didn't have every right to defend my family?"

"We are your family, Leo," Aravis said. "You are one of us."

"I don't know what I am anymore," Leo replied honestly. "Everything has changed."

"Just because of what Gideon did?" Giselle murmured disapprovingly.

"Just because of what Gideon did?" Leo repeated disbelievingly. "Just? How can you act as though his actions were anything but evil? How can you pretend like I should overlook the attempt to murder my son?"

"Good is not perfect," Michael said. "Sometimes it messes up. But that doesn't mean it isn't still good. And we are still good, Leo."

"Are we?" Leo retorted bitterly.

"He cannot be reached," Sigmund said softly. "He's beyond us, beyond our ability to help. He has hunted down an Elder and killed him…"

"Gideon was the one who attacked me!" Leo said furiously.

"Because the Charmed Ones tried to kill him," Aravis interjected coolly. "And you helped them with that, didn't you? Or would you really have us believe that they made it into Magic School and to Gideon without any of your assistance?"

"He was trying to kill my son," Leo said again, feeling as though he had repeated this one statement far too many times in the past few minutes. Why couldn't they understand that nothing would ever come before Wyatt? Why couldn't they understand that Leo would destroy anything that came after his child, whether it be good or evil?

"And what proof do you have of that?" Aravis asked.

Leo snorted derisively. "You mean besides Lucifer's word?"

"And what is his word worth?" Michael demanded.

Leo turned to face the eldest of the Elders present and wondered if it was really true that Michael had been around for so long. If it was, then surely he had encountered Lucifer in the past, or at least witnessed the results of the devil's actions.

He lifted his chin and said defiantly, "Are you telling me that Lucifer is now capable of lying?"

Michael stared silently back at him, and did not respond in any way.

Leo turned to Aravis and continued, "I also have Gideon's words. He admitted to being after my son, Aravis. I can show you the memory if you don't believe me. But he did admit to it."

"And so you decided to take matters into your own hands instead of reporting him to us?" Michael asked sharply.

Leo rolled his eyes. "If I had reported him to you, what would have happened? You would want to investigate it, would have wanted to look into every tiny detail, and you would have given Gideon plenty of time to escape and hide somewhere we couldn't find him."

"Well, we do like to be sure of the validity of our accusations before we execute people," Giselle said sarcastically.

"I was sure!" Leo spat. "What else did you want from me?"

"We wanted you to remember your responsibilities," Michael said sternly, "both to us and to the world. Killing Gideon has caused – and will continue to cause – quite a bit of strife among us Elders. It is never good for us to be divided. Our strength lies in our ability to…"

"My responsibilities to my son come first," Leo interrupted without hesitation.

"They are all your sons, your daughters," Aravis countered. "They are the ones you should be protecting… this entire world. They are the greater good. And you cannot protect them by single-handedly taking revenge upon one of our own."

"Gideon stopped being one of us when he went after Wyatt," Leo retorted.

"Oh, but that is not for you to decide," Zola replied. "You are but one voice in a chorus, Leo. We cannot allow you to take matters into your own hands."

"Gideon did," Leo argued.

"Yes, and look what he has wrought," Zola replied reasonably. "We know you believe that the future you were trying to stop was caused because of Gideon's attack on your son. A future of evil, of darkness, of despair. A world spinning out of control. And all because one Elder acted alone."

"I knew what I was doing," Leo growled.

"Gideon thought he knew what he was doing, too," Zola said simply. "And he resorted to murder. Just as you did. And you also resorted to working with the devil and allowing the Charmed Ones to use a spell that invoked dark magics. Because, just like Gideon, you were sure that you knew exactly what you were doing and that it was for the best."

"And, truth be told, Gideon was not alone in his thinking," Michael added. "There are others that share his fears of Wyatt, that your union with a Charmed One might've created too great a concentration of power."

"Wait, so you're on Gideon's side?" Leo demanded in disbelief. Zola's accusations made him shift uncomfortably because he really didn't know how to defend them, but Michael's words pushed away any guilt he might have felt. He had honestly believed that the other Elders, while displeased with his actions, would have at least agreed that Gideon was wrong to attempt to murder a child. How could they ever think otherwise? How could the leaders of Good believe killing a child was an acceptable way to protect the future?

"No," Michael said. "Gideon's methods for dealing with the concern were reprehensible. But the concern itself was understandable."

"The hell it was!" Leo retorted hotly. "Wyatt was only evil because of what Gideon did. He isn't a threat to you or to the world. He's going to end up being one of the greatest sources of good the world has ever seen!"

"The future isn't written in stone, Leo," Giselle said softly. "We don't know what will happen. All we know is that it is important that we continue to work together, to be united against evil. To trust each other. We have to know that you are on our side."

Leo narrowed his eyes, then said with a firmness in his voice that indicated how unwilling he was to compromise, "I am on the side of Good, Giselle. I always have been. And if you are, too, then we remain on the same side."

Giselle's expression twisted into one of dislike and barely concealed anger, but Zola cut in quickly, "We do not wish to fight. But this will not be settled easily, Leo. I will do my best to fix that cracks that have arisen between us due to your actions, but there may still be consequences. For now, it would be for the best if you were to return to the Charmed Ones and stay there until we summon you again."

Leo nodded.

"We will be watching you, Leo," Michael added. "Do not make us regret this leniency."

Leo bit back the acidic retort that it didn't feel at all like leniency, and merely orbed away in an angry silence.

"Piper wants you to know that she's grateful."

Chris started and spun to face Lucifer. He had not heard the devil approach, but perhaps it was because he had a few other things on his mind. For starters, he was currently standing over his body. The body – his body – was collapsed on the floor, and he – or his soul, or whatever he was at the moment – was floating in the air a few inches above it. It was a rather strange sensation, to be separated from his body like this.

It left him feeling helpless. He had no powers, and though he could float about the room, he was unable to leave it.

He stared at Lucifer, and slowly raised his hands to rub his eyes before realizing how absolutely ridiculous it was to attempt that given that neither his hands nor his eyes had any kind of mass.

"Piper's grateful?" he repeated dumbly.

"Yes," Lucifer said. "She wanted a chance to say thank you. Apparently, I took your soul too quickly for her liking." He clicked his tongue in disapproval and added, "I let you stay longer than I do most souls so she really has no right to complain."

"You took my body, too," Chris said, jerking his head at the lifeless form on the floor.

"I thought I'd hold onto it for a bit," Lucifer replied lightly. "It's not like anyone else is going to be needing it."

"It's not like you're going to be needing it, either," Chris countered.

Lucifer gave him an enigmatic smile. "Wait and see, white-lighter. Wait and see."

Chris opened his mouth to ask what Lucifer meant, but then paused and gave the devil a searching look. "You still have something planned," he accused. "This isn't over yet."

"I have your soul," Lucifer replied. "What else do you think I can take from you?"

Chris narrowed his eyes. There was a clue in Lucifer's words, something to tell Chris exactly what was going on, and all he needed was to find it. And then somehow figure out a way to stop it, or warn the Charmed Ones, or something.

"So what happens to my soul now?" he asked, stalling.

Lucifer raised his eyebrows. "Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?" he said with a smirk and a trace of malicious glee in his words. "It would ruin the surprise."

Chris shuddered, then forced himself to continue the conversation, hoping to buy enough time to figure out what Lucifer was planning. "I have a feeling even if I knew ahead of time, I still wouldn't be adequately prepared for it."

"Probably not," Lucifer agreed.

"So then why can't you tell me?"

Lucifer turned away from Chris and stared at his body instead. "Habit, I guess," he said softly, nudging Chris' still form with the toe of one shoe. He had a contemplative look on his face.

"You remind me of my brother," Chris commented.

Lucifer gave him a startled look, then his expression turned to one of amusement. "Really?" he asked, letting his gaze wander back to Chris' body. "Interesting." He tilted his head to the side. "I've always been the younger brother. I wonder what it would be like to be the older."

"It's the eyes," Chris murmured. "There's just something about the eyes." Something about the way Lucifer looked at him with a mixture of sympathy and taunting. Something about the way his gaze held both gentle understanding and icy cruelty. Wyatt had been a mass of contradictions as well.

Lucifer had said that there was nothing else he could take from Chris.

The Elders thought it was odd that Lucifer had only become active in order to make a single deal, and that there was no sign of him trying to turn anyone evil.

Phoebe had seen a premonition of Lola being vanquished, and it hadn't come true.

"Oh, God…" Chris whispered, feeling suddenly sick to his stomach.

Lucifer looked at him with a wide smile. "That," he said quietly, "was quite a bit faster than I had guessed. I am impressed, white-lighter. I didn't think you would figure it out so quickly."

"You sent that premonition to Phoebe," Chris accused furiously. "You planted it. You forced the Charmed Ones into this."

"Well, I had to get them involved somehow," Lucifer answered with a shrug. "A premonition seemed the easiest way to do it. They have such a habit of rushing off to investigate those premonitions without any thought as to the consequences of such actions, so this time would hardly be any different."

He turned away from Chris' body, apparently no longer interested in it.

Chris glared at Lucifer, wishing he had his powers. Or the ability to leave the room. He wanted to do something, anything, to fight this monster that was threatening his family. But he was powerless, and they both knew it, and Lucifer turning his back on Chris was just another way of driving home that particular point.

Lucifer was taunting him.

"Completely good people are boring," Lucifer said. "All those people who always make the right decision, who never screw up, never make mistakes… do you have any idea how incredibly easy it is to turn them? They've never tasted evil, and they have no protection against it. It's hardly ever worth the time or effort; there's no satisfaction in it." He turned around and considered Chris for a moment, then said, "But the Charmed Ones and their precious Elder… that is something else entirely."

"You won't turn them," Chris snarled.

"What makes you think my plan is to turn them?" Lucifer asked with a smile. "Though, I should point out that, technically, I never turn anyone. I just whisper words in their ears and they make all the decisions." He pursed his lips, thinking, then added, "And besides… the Elders talk so frequently about how I turn people, how I start wars, how I make people fight their loved ones… they completely ignore the fact that sometimes I just drive them insane. That's fun, too." Then he laughed callously. "It's all fun. All of it."

"You're different," Chris whispered.

"Ah... yes," Lucifer said, nodding. "I get that quite a lot. People say I seem so sympathetic and understanding when I first come to them, and then, later, when I have their soul, they say they see the real me and if they'd known what I was, they never would have agreed to the deal." He shook his head, amusement dancing in his eyes. "They lie, of course. Because, deep down, they all knew exactly what I really was, but they made the deal anyway."

Chris swallowed uneasily. He had no excuse, no way of pretending that he didn't know just what Lucifer was. He'd been desperate, so he'd taken the deal, believing that he could limit the cost to just his soul.

But now, staring at the blue-eyed being before him, he couldn't help but wonder how he had ever deluded himself into believing that he was smart enough to beat the devil.

In saving Wyatt, had he just made things worse?

"You're going after my family," Chris said numbly. "That's why you got them involved in the first place. So that they would know what I had done, and they would agree with it…" He trailed off in horror. "Oh, God. You're going to tell her. You're going to tell Piper who I am."

"No," Lucifer replied, "I'm going to let her figure it out for herself." He gave Chris a wolfish smile. "And believe me; she will. She and that ex-husband of hers."

"You're going after them," Chris whispered, horrified. "I was never the target. You're going after them."

"Indeed. Though gaining your soul is a definite fringe benefit." Lucifer gave Chris a smug smile and said, "I have a feeling this is far from over. And let me tell you, Christopher, my plans are going to be fun. Your family has no idea what is in store for them."

And then he extended his hand and took Chris' soul.