Author's note: Hello everyone! I am very excited to present you the second chapter of this sequel. I'm so glad to see that you are still following me in this journey. Thanks a lot for all the encouraging words and kudos, it means a lot to me. And thanks to my wonderful Beta and friend, Bebec, for making sure of the quality of this chapter. And now, place to the story. Enjoy!


Chapter 2

Hell's Fury

Maze shifted her gaze awkwardly.

A nervous laugh escaped Amenadiel's lips. "This can't be! Tell me that Trixie is mistaking. Demons don't have souls." He didn't sound so certain though.

Maze lifted her eyes to him, looking hurt. "Why? Because you think I don't deserve it? Aren't you the one who said I was worthy, only a few day ago?"

"That's not what I meant! I mean of course you are worthy." He blurted out clumsily. "It's just that..., something like that is unheard of. I don't see how it could have happened. There has to be another explanation for what Trixie is seeing."

Maze snorted at him with disdain. "Your Father happened!"

"What? Are you sure you haven't been dreaming, Maze?"

She narrowed dangerously her eyes at the black angel. "Oh believe me, I would prefer it to only be a nightmare, but I can feel it crawling inside me. Dreadful thing!" She shuddered in revulsion. Though she wasn't about to admit that her newly acquired soul was also diffusing a warm feeling of peace inside her.

Everyone was intently listening to their back and forth exchange, neither daring to interfere. It was clearly a celestial matter in which the three humans didn't feel equipped to take part.

Amenadiel closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his mind in turmoil. "Okay! For the sake of argument, tell me what you think happened with my Father."

"What I think happened!? That's funny!" She chuckled humorlessly. "So, for the sake of argument," she emphasized the words, "your Father rewarded me, as He put it, for protecting Lucifer all those years and if it wasn't surprising enough, He added that He also thought me to have a good influence in your life, Amenadiel. He claims that Lucifer's healing powers would have otherwise killed me if He hadn't given me a soul. Now if the damn prick lied to me I'm gonna have His skin, I promise you," she added with clenched teeth.

Chloe couldn't keep herself from asking in disbelief to Amenadiel. "It could be real, right? Lucifer himself said that his powers could as well kill her as it could save her life. God might very well have appeared to her for real."

Amenadiel didn't seem convinced. "I don't know..." He looked at the demon suspiciously. "And you say He did it simply to reward you, from the bottom of his heart, without asking you anything in return?"

Maze fidgeted nervously in her seat. "He didn't actually ask anything specific of me..."

"Then it doesn't sound at all like something my Dad would do. You dreamed the whole thing up Maze, it makes no more doubt to me." He declared confidently.

Glaring at the angel, Maze put down her glass on the floor and rose up slowly with an air of danger about her. Chloe, Beatrice, and Dan stepped aside to give them room.

"You really think I'm delusional?" She accused him threateningly, walking towards him like a lioness about to attack. "Then what do you make of THAT!"

With a «woosh» sound, a wall of black feathers suddenly spread out behind her back. Amenadiel's jaws dropped in a ridiculous fashion while the three humans gasped in awe.

"Maze! They're gorgeous!" Proclaimed Trixie in admiration.

And they were, thought Chloe. The demon's feathered wings looked a lot like the angelic ones she had seen so far, with regard to their celestial appearance and their radiating a faint otherworldly glow, but the similarities stopped there. The glow in question was more a reddish one, contrarily to the soft silver-white light she was now used to see around angels. And their length was way shorter than anything she had seen, yet certainly still wide enough for flight. Their shape had clearly been designed for combat though. Even Chloe could see that. They looked way more manoeuvrable and sported long deadly feathers at their extremities that were sharper than angel's.

Maze's gaze didn't leave Amenadiel's confounded one. The latter had to clear his throat a couple times for his voice to come back.

"Maze... He made you an angel!" He whispered in complete astonishment.

Maze did a gagging sound. "Please! Don't insult me! Apparently, I'm a Valkyrie." She corrected.

Amenadiel startled. "Valkyries don't exist!"

Maze lifted her eyebrows sarcastically, as if saying «Have you looked at me»?

"What is a Valkyrie?" Asked Trixie innocently.

Chloe and Daniel were also very interested to hear the answer.

Amenadiel looked at the little girl as if just remembering that there were other people in the room. He stammered a bit in his answer.

"Well... As I said, they're just a myth..." A quick glance back at Maze made him rephrase it. "I mean... they should be, since the whole concept came from a huge misunderstanding that happened about a thousand years ago."

Maze urged him on with a silent glower.

With a sight, he continued "It's actually a funny story." A smile appeared at the corner of his lips at the recollection of the event in question. "I wasn't there myself, but Azrael had to explain herself after her mistake so that's how I know about it. See, she was doing her duties on a battlefield during a war between two hordes of Vikings in Northern Europe around the years 800. She was in the process of helping some disoriented new dead souls to follow their path towards Heaven or Hell, when she was careless enough to get spotted by a bunch of warriors. For obscure reason, she let her guard down for only a moment, which never happened before nor after that, if I'm not mistaking. Unfortunately, the humans in question obviously saw enough to understand in part what she was doing there. I still don't understand though why she didn't take away their memories of the event. Anyways, it turned out that from that moment on, the Vikings talked of the Valkyries, which they described as beautiful women, winged or not, who would sort out the dead warriors to choose the worthy ones who would go to the afterlife hall of the slain, called Valhalla, where the god Odin was supposed to rule. The Valkyries also appeared in some stories as lovers of heroes or other mortals, even though I admit having no idea how that part of the myth came to life. So as you can see, Maze, Valkyries never really existed."

"Well, obviously now they do. Don't they?" Maze challenged him. "And before you ask, I'm not the one who chose that name for myself. Your Father called me «Hell's Fury», The first Valkyrie."

Once again, Amenadiel was left speechless for a moment. "But... what does it even mean?"

Chloe took a step towards Maze, looking suspicious, bordering on angry. "So you are working for Him now?"

"No! Of course not!" The demon answered defensively. "I told Him clearly that I would never bow to him, and He didn't make me. He just asked me...," she hesitated to pursue.

Chloe was almost nose to nose with her, acting as if Maze had made the worst betrayal ever by leaguing herself with God. "Yes. What did He asked of you, Maze?" She asked dangerously.

Maze couldn't look at her in the eyes. "He was enigmatic, saying how Earth would be needing someone like me in the near future, and asking me only to continue doing what I do best. He only made me swear..., that I would always do what I think is just with that gift." Maze looked totally ashamed of having sworn something of the kind. "I'd like to think that I had no choice in the matter, but He did give me a choice after all. I could have decided to die instead. But I didn't." The new Valkyrie lifted her gaze to finally look right at Chloe. "Can you really tell me that I made the wrong choice?" Her lips were trembling while she waited to hear her friend's judgement.

The hardness in Chloe's features melted before she hugged her best friend fiercely. "I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me. I should never have doubted you Maze. I'm so glad you're alive! I know you, and I know you would never work for Him. I still don't understand why He did it though. It doesn't make any sense." Chloe released Maze to continue her ranting against God. "Why would he reward you for taking care of Lucifer while He is busy locking him down in Hell?"

Maze softly shook her head. "I have been asking myself the same question, Chloe. And there is something else that God said that doesn't make sense. He claims to love Lucifer as He does all his other children and to be only doing what is best for him. Could it be possible...? I mean, is there even the smallest chance that Lucifer being held in Hell could mean something entirely different than what we think?"

Chloe stepped back in outrage. "Are you kidding me? Don't tell me you believe that sick bastard now? Not after everything He did to Lucifer and me!"

Maze lifted her hands to appease her wrath. "I'm not saying I trust Him, just that it looked genuine when He said that he loves Lucifer. Maybe there are things we don't know and that God is not hell-bent to make Lucifer suffer as we always thought He was. That's all I'm saying."

"Well, I certainly hope for His sake that it's the case! Because I intent to give Him a piece of my mind if I get to meet Him in person one day, believe me." Chloe took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself.

Trixie took the opportunity to ask in a small lost voice, "Lucifer is locked up in Hell?"

As one, everyone turned to the child. Trixie was fixing her mother intently with a trembling lip. Chloe brought her hand to her own mouth to repress a sob as her eyes filled up with tears. Try as she might, she couldn't find the strength to answer her daughter and tell her that Lucifer was gone...

Gracefully, Amenadiel took upon himself to answer her daughter. "We don't know exactly what's happening with Lucifer at the moment, Beatrice. He had to leave for Hell to counter Vasariah's plans and protect Earth. And as it turned out, we have no idea when he'll be able to come back. He can take care of himself though. I'm sure he'll be okay and that he is already working on a way to come back to us as soon as possible."

A few tears escaped Trixie's eyes. "Mommy?" She asked in confirmation.

Chloe nodded wordlessly as she opened her arms to welcome her daughter and lift her up in her embrace. She rocked the little girl softly to calm her while kissing her head numerous times. They both needed the comfort. "Lucifer will come back to us. I know he will, Monkey. We just need to keep believing in him." She heard her daughter sniff her tears back and felt her nod in acknowledgement.

"Talking of Luci..." Chloe almost choke on his name. She took a deep breath and tried again. "Isn't there any fresh news of Lucifer? From Azrael maybe?"

"None I'm afraid." Answered Amenadiel sadly. "But Azrael did come back here about an hour ago to say that she mobilised the great majority of our siblings to Lucifer's cause. I admit that I never even entertained the possibility, but most of them already went to Father to appeal for Lucifer's release from Hell."

Chloe was stunned. Lucifer always told about how much his siblings despised him and wouldn't lift a finger for his sake. She remembered that only a week ago none of them even cared enough to answer Amenadiel's call to help save Lucifer's life when he had been deadly wounded. And now they were risking God's wrath by talking on Lucifer's behalf? It seemed incredible, and completely unhoped-for. Could they finally have understood that Lucifer was a wonderful and selfless being? Well, he could be, at least when it really mattered.

"Do you think it could make a real difference? Did God ever came back on a decision?" There was a sparkle of hope starting to blossom in Chloe's heart.

Amenadiel grimaced. "Heuuuuu... I don't know. I'm not sure I ever saw my Father change his mind about anything of importance." When he saw Chloe's face drop, he added quickly, "but that doesn't mean he couldn't."

Chloe's hope had been short-lived. For a long moment after that, no one said anything. They were all lost in their own dark thoughts. Dan sat back on his chair while Amenadiel went on the couch.

Maze was looking at her new wings, obviously irritated. "How do I fold the bloody things now?"

Amenadiel started answering when Maze's wings just disappeared all of a sudden.

"I was about to say to just wish them to go, but I guess you already caught on that part. You're a quick learner." The angel complimented her.

Maze just rolled her eyes and sat back on the couch. She would never get used to this!

Still standing with Beatrice in her arms and stroking her gently, Chloe's gaze fell over the new silver arm band around Maze's right arm, which she had observed for the first time only this morning. She remembered the strange feeling that had overcome her when she'd noticed the small onyx stones inlayed in it. It reminded her very much of the one on Lucifer's ring.

She gestured at Maze with one hand. "Where did you get that, Maze?"

The demon followed her gaze to discover with a frown what Chloe was pointing at. "What in Hell...?" She took it off to observe it from every angles. "I've never seen it before. But there's an eerie vibe coming off it... It feels suspiciously celestial." Maze clenched her jaws in annoyance. "Another poisoned gift from Him I guess." She chuckled as she lifted her gaze upwards. "Oh no! I am not going to wear a leash that marks me as Yours, You sick bastard!"

"Maze!" Amanadiel stopped her, sounding outraged. "My Father never put a leash on any of his subjects. It's most probably simply part of your agreement with Him. You can't refuse it! You said He saved your life in part because you could help in the near future. I have a mind that those demons that were released upon the world today might be what my Father was talking about. What if that arm band could help us stop them? God also asked you to continue doing what you do best, and chances are that your abilities to track and catch anything that deserves punishment might be what He expects you to continue using. I strongly believe that He gave you that arm band for a good reason and that it has something to do with your talents. My Father is usually very consistent when He has something in mind."

Maze considered his words for a moment, then put the silver band in her pocket. "I'll think about it."

Amenadiel knew it was the best he would get from her, for now.

Just realising that someone was missing, Chloe inquired about it. It's not like she was worried or anything. "Humm! Where is Michael? I thought he would stick to me like a moth to a flame. Not that I'm complaining he's gone, mind you."

"I wish!" Complained Maze. "He's just taking a nap in Trixie's bedroom until Amenadiel and I have to leave to go hunting." She winked at Beatrice in apology. "Sorry kiddo! I know it sucks to have that angel sleeping in your bed. But the smell might go away if you wash the drapes very thoroughly."

Trixie giggled at Maze's joke, but turned concerned almost instantly. "Michael is in my bed? Isn't he supposed to be as bad as Vasariah?"

"Far from it child! My brother is determined to keep you and your mother safe, for as long as Lucifer will be away." Assured Amenadiel.

Chloe grimaced in annoyance. "That's exactly what worries me. Don't take me wrong, I appreciate Michael's concern for our wellbeing, but I won't have him looking over my shoulder all the time for an extended period of time."

"We'll think about something that will accommodate you when things calm down a little, Chloe. But for now, please, accept his protection. Otherwise Maze and I won't be able to track down those demons and protect you at the same time."

Chloe grimaced at the mention of demons in front of Trixie. Her daughter had probably heard too much already. She silently warned Amenadiel not to say more in front of the child. She brought her daughter down on her feet and looked at her reassuringly. "Hey Monkey! Why don't you take Doomy and go play in my bedroom form a moment?"

To her greatest relief, Trixie didn't insist to stay and hear more about adult's talk. She called Doom who followed her cheerfully upstairs.

When they heard the bedroom's door close, Chloe looked in turn to Maze and Amenadiel. "So you two are going to track some of the demons tonight? Do you have any kind of plan?"

Maze lifted her chin in the TV's direction. Chloe just noticed that it was on, with the sound set very low. "We got an interesting news about something that happened a few hours ago in Southern LA, not that far from the Abbey. Three tramps were found dead in an alley and a forth one claims to have witnessed everything. He tells of a story of pale livid creatures with big round eyes and long claws. Of course, that witness wasn't taken seriously by the authorities since he was obviously drunk, but the description fits a bit too much some creatures that can be encountered in Hell for us not to take it seriously. The official theory leans more towards an animal kill, probably the work of a bear or a puma. Fortunately for us, the tramp's story is still going around as a good sensational news."

Chloe took the free chair and turned it to face Maze before sitting down. "So..., how many demons are we talking about? Do you have any idea?"

"You mean in total or only in that area of the city?" Asked Maze.

"Both!?"

"Well. It's hard to say. I'd guess that two to five of them could be responsible for those deaths. That kind of demon always comes in small groups. As for the total number of demons who escaped Hell, we're not sure." She gazed at Amenadiel uncertainly.

The black angel took the relay. "Michael and I estimated their numbers to a minimum of fifteen to a maximum of about thirty. We can't be more precise than that. What is certain is that Lilith escaped with at least five of her most loyal guards and that we saw from afar at least a dozen other demons of all kinds escaping. We might very well have missed more who could have been too far for us to spot through the trees and hills."

Chloe's eyes widened in surprise and fear. "That many? How is it that LA is still standing if there are so many of them loose?"

It was Maze who answered her. "My best bet is that they are not used to the sunlight and that they are presently hiding. It might not go as smoothly tonight thought. That's why Amenadiel and I have to go on the hunt, first to find that small group who already killed, then to try and catch a few more who could still be around. We're just hoping that they won't disperse too much or it might get very tough to find them all unless they leave a clear path of death of destruction."

Chloe shivered at the thought. Lucifer may have saved Earth, but they were not out of the woods yet. "Alright! You should take Doom tonight to catch as many of them as possible. Michael is going to be here with us tonight as protection."

Amenadiel was hesitant. "I don't know Chloe. Lucifer wouldn't like that."

"What Lucifer wouldn't like is for his sacrifice to get wasted. Go get those demons! Trixie and I will be safe with Michael. I trust him to protect us."

Amenadiel accepted reluctantly at a nod from Maze. "Alright, we'll take Doom with us, but you'll pray to me at the smallest sign of danger. Okay?"

All of Amenadiel's powers had apparently come back along with his wings, giving him a new kind of self-assurance that suited him well.

"Deal!" Answered Chloe.

She looked back at the news channel still running on the TV screen in hope of catching the report about the killing of the tramps. Instead, to her utmost amazement, she saw images of the celestial column of power that opened up a path between Hell and Earth at the Abbey, and of the fires that scorched the area after Lucifer's use of his Lightbringer's power. The recordings were bad and shaky, and from far away, but some hellish creatures could be seen here and there over the landscape, even though they looked only like small moving undistinguishable dots on the screen.

Chloe stood up abruptly in alarm. "It's on TV?"

Maze stood up too and put a hand on her friend's arm in reassurance. "Calm down Chloe. It's not like humans are going to figure it out. As it is, word is out that the Abbey was probably the site of a military experiment and that the creatures supposedly sighted there also had to be part of the experiment. The fact that religious zealots claim it to be a sign of the upcoming apocalypse and that others talk instead of an extraterrestrial invasion only helped reinforce the idea that it had to have been a military experiment."

Chloe sat back heavily on the chair. "Damn! We're in so much trouble! And Trixie should so not see these images. She's stressed out enough as it is with everything that happened to her."

"Chloe... You know perfectly well that she'll learn about it as soon as she'll go back to school." Maze reminded her.

Chloe gripped her head with both hands in desperation. "You're right! She'll hear about it soon. But I want to try and protect her from those disturbing images for as long as possible." She lifted her head to look at the three people around her. "We're all clear on that?"

Everyone nodded their understanding.

After everything had apparently been said, Chloe decided to start preparing dinner for everyone. It felt strange and wrong to go back to domestic chores when her world was upside down and all she wanted was to go back to bed and cry her life out. She was constantly on the verge of tears and felt like she was going crazy. Somehow, she managed to keep back her tears and soldiered-on.

She'd just started getting out some ingredients from the fridge when she heard someone approach slowly behind her. Turning around, she discovered a sheepish Dan fidgeting with his eyes downcast.

"Chloe... I... I'm..."

She lifted a hand to stop him unceremoniously. "Not now Dan! I'm not ready to talk to you. Not after what you did." She still had a hard time looking at him in the eye. Yet she could see how her cutting words affected him. He was on the brink of tears, but she couldn't bring herself to care. "I understand that I shouldn't take you responsible for Vasariah manipulating you, but right now, I can't do otherwise. Our baby girl might be broken...," she made a strangled sobbing sound, tears starting to build again in her eyes, "and I lost so much..." She couldn't say more, the pain was becoming overwhelming, constricting her chest and throat.

"I'm so sorry..." He said in desperation.

Anger took over and she snapped. "I said LEAVE me the HELL alone!"

He backed away a few paces at her outburst, nodding wordlessly. He finally left her alone in the kitchen, shaking and panting in rage and pain.

Maze arrived and instead of displaying her usual carefree attitude, she was looking really concerned. "You okay, Decker?"

Lips trembling, Chloe only shook her head, supporting herself on the counter with both hands. To her greatest amazement, Maze's eyes filled with tears and she opened her arms to her.

"Come here!" Whispered the demon, and took her friend in her arms.

Chloe broke apart in her warm embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I lost him, Maze! I lost him!" She whined, feeling small and forlorn.

Maze's voice trembled. "I know... I miss him too. But he'll come back! He'll never stop fighting until you're reunited."

Chloe contented herself with nodding, unable to find her voice.

Their hugging lasted a long moment. Chloe even heard Maze sob softly against her shoulder. She realised that she had never seen the demon so emotional before. She marvelled at the new Maze she was discovering. Could this new soul of hers have heighten up her emotions to the point of rending her more human? It was a very interesting concept.

At last, Chloe released her hold on her friend and wiped her tears with her sleeve while Maze discretely rubbed her wet eyes.

"I just can't look at Dan right now. Am I a bad person for taking it all on him?"

"Certainly not, Decker! He deserves it, and much more. Besides, you're not the only one. Charlotte refused to talk to him on the phone now that she knows that his stupidity cost Lucifer his freedom. Dan is lucky she severed the bond he had with Vasariah before she learned that, otherwise she might have never bothered to help him."

Chloe grimaced. "Lucifer's mom is not a very good reference when talking about good behaviour. But thanks for the pep talk!"

Maze winked at her playfully. "Anytime, Sis!"

That brought back a small smile on Chloe's face.

While Chloe returned to cooking, Maze and Amenadiel made preparations for their hunt, debating about the best weapons they should take with them and talking strategies. When it was time to eat, Chloe found her daughter upstairs, sleeping all cuddled up against Doom in her bed, dried tears visible on her lovely face. She remembered Lucifer trying to stress out to her the importance of giving clear boundaries to a Hellhound at the risk of otherwise spoiling him. But she couldn't find the heart to reprimand Doom. She was just glad that her little girl could find comfort with the beast when she needed it. Chloe thought it would always be time later to try the boundary thing.

Around nine o'clock, when it was almost time for Maze and Amenadiel to leave for their hunt, Chloe received an unexpected phone call.

"Miss Decker, I am Frederic Pearson, Lucifer Morningstar's lawyer. I realise that this call may come to you as a surprise, but we need to meet tomorrow first thing in the morning to go over the reading of M. Morningstar's will."

"What? I don't understand. He isn't even officially declared missing and he is certainly not dead. I don't know where you took your information, but there's obviously a big misunderstanding here." Chloe's heart was beating madly. What the Hell was going on?

"I can assure you, Miss Decker, that there isn't any mistake being made here. Lucifer Morningstar came to my office last Monday to sign all the papers in prediction of a day when he would have to leave on short notice. He called me again last night to add the date and time as of this morning, 9 o'clock, moment that started a countdown of twelve hours at the end of which, if I didn't receive any news from him, I was given the duty to make his will effective. I therefore face the obligation of calling you, and a certain Mazikeen Smith, for the reading of M. Morningstar's will."

Chloe could hardly focus on the rest of M. Pearson's explanations. She felt in shock. Lucifer had planned for this? He had foreseen such an ending? She suddenly felt dizzy and had to sit down.

Understanding that something was bothering her, Maze took the phone from her hands to discover what it was all about. Chloe stayed silent while her friend took note of the rest of the details about their meeting of the next day.

What did this mean? Did Lucifer even planned to come back? Chloe tried to convince herself that he had probably only been far-sighted, but it was hard not to have doubts in that instant. Her hope of ever seeing him again was diminishing at an alarming rate.

After the call ended, Maze crouched in front of her and put her hands on Chloe's knees.

"Chloe! Look at me!"

Eyes at first unfocussed and shifty, Chloe finally settled her empty gaze on Maze's.

"Listen to me carefully, Chloe. This means nothing! Lucifer probably just covered all his bases now that you two are into a relationship. He had no way of knowing what was really going to happen. He may have seen this outcome as a possibility, but it doesn't mean he can't still comeback at any moment. We just don't know what is happening in Hell. But what we do know for sure is that he would never give up on you, Chloe. It makes absolutely no doubt in my mind and it shouldn't either in yours."

Chloe dropped her gaze and nodded. "You're right! He wouldn't give up. Deep down I know that. It's just... It makes his absence so much more real, so much more painful." Grasping Lucifer's pendant to feel closer to him, she took a shuddering breath to control her voice for what she was about to say next. "Last night we... we agreed that we would live together and share everything we had and were. So, officially ending up with all his properties was probably just a matter of time. I just... I just wish we could have had more time together before it came to that." She was proud of the way she kept her tears from spilling.

Maze patted her knees softly. "And I'm sure you'll have plenty more time together after he comes back, Chloe. This is just temporary."

Nodding vehemently, Chloe tried to sound convincing. "I know! I know we will."

"Good! That's good! Maybe you should go to bed now, Decker, you look drained."

Chloe snorted at the understatement. "And I feel the part. I might just do that and bring Trixie to bed with me. I don't want her to sleep alone tonight, especially without Doom around to make her feel safer. Do you really think you'll be ok tonight with just Amenadiel and the hound to take on all those demons?"

An amused smile grazed Maze's lips. "Decker! I was made for that!"

Chloe chuckled. "Yeah! I tend to forget that part. But, seriously Maze, be careful, okay. I can't lose you too."

Maze used her best demonic smirk. "Don't worry, Decker, after all, I am «Hell's Fury»!


Author's note: I hope you had fun reading it. Next chapter will be full of action and you will learn a lot more about Maze's new powers. Comments and suggestions are always more than welcome. Thanks for reading!