Trixie could see the flashing red and blue before they reached the intersection. Paying her driver, she hopped out and lingered in the darkness across the street, watching paramedics load a body into the ambulance. Fearing the worst, she broke into a jog, jaywalking across four lanes. The night was quiet, until she got halfway across the third lane; all at once, she was struck with the headlights of a speeding car. She barely had time to look up―and it was like time slowed down for a brief moment, then the danger had passed.
Then Ella was in her face. "Ohmigod, are you okay? That was hella scary, I mean it was like shoom!" she said, with a demonstrative wave between them.
"I'm okay," Trixie said, squelching the urge to ask Ella how old she was.
"Good. You know...I think someone up there likes you."
"Oh, please, not you, too," Trixie said bitterly. Oblivious to the tall, man-shaped shadow with moonlight bouncing off his bald head, she crossed her arms and continued addressing the annoying scientist. "So, what happened? Who died?"
"Not sure. And you should get back to your mom, kiddo! We have a murder scene here, this stuff is way dangerous."
"Right. Way," Trixie muttered, watching her turn and start babbling to the other detectives in a hybrid language of genius and idiot. Wearing a shirt of a Kawaii cupcake with a face and arms.
"Hey, Trix!"
Trixie turned to look up at Maze. "Oh, hi. What are you doing here?"
"Don't ask. You should get back to that little home of yours."
Trixie glowered a little. Suddenly Monkey wasn't so demeaning. If this were two centuries prior, she'd likely be a wife, maybe a mom. Suddenly hating all of them, she turned and walked boldly past several strangers who were likely detectives, and entered Lux. Her eyes traveled over the dusty surfaces and the cobwebs; her ears only caught the sound of indistinct radio chatter outside.
"What are you gonna do?" Ella's nervous voice bounced off the marble.
"Prove to everyone I'm not a dumb kid. With a drink."
"You'll get tossed into juvie!"
"Then I'll just have to get tossed into juvie." Trixie went to the elevator and pushed the button, and as it was already on the ground floor, the doors opened immediately. She stepped inside, stifling an eye roll as Maze and Ella got into the elevator with her. She pushed the button and they began riding in silence, until Ella let out a random chuckle that garnered the attention of both women.
"I stand-corrected. You're not a kid," Maze grumped.
The door wooshed open and Trixie stepped into the musty penthouse, going behind the counter and grabbing a bottle and a glass.
"Why are you acting like this?" Maze demanded.
"Acting like what―a little demon?"
Maze shifted awkwardly, her face registering her discomfort. She spared a glance at the frozen scientist, then crossed her arms, studying the little human who seemed to ignore her, more interested in pouring her beverage. She didn't seem afraid... Then again, she did seem like she was drowning in denial. Drinking her cares away, same as Ella had.
"Just...stop it, okay? Please? A little help here, Maze?"
Maze met the scientist's eyes and shrugged. "What? She's not my spawn."
The sound of the cork popping off resonated throughout Lux.
"This is going to devastate Chloe," Ella pointed out.
"Fine. I'm sick of doing favors for you humans," Maze grumped, as she walked up to the counter. Single-handedly, she whacked the bottle out of Trixie's hand, and when she looked back at the demon―
Trixie stumbled back, horrified by the sight of her mutated face. With a frown, she had enough time to realize that she had seen that face on one Halloween night before the ground seemed to break apart under her feet. No, she was falling. She was hitting the counter...
Ella ran up to Maze's side, watching Trixie pass out, then turned to ask Maze a question that immediately died on her tongue.
Realizing Ella was just gawking at her in silence, Maze met her eyes, suddenly regretting her actions and feeling shy. "What? Haven't you ever seen a demon before?"
"Uh, no..." she stammered. Then she tilted her head, squinting at her.
"You owe me a favor. Deliver the spawn." Maze turned and began wandering throughout Lux, turning back when she realized the penthouse was eerily quiet. To her credit, Ella was still conscious, and watching Maze's every move. Finally realizing she had been assigned a task by an immortal beast possessing supernatural strength, Ella began inching towards the counter, still unable to tear her eyes away from her demonic face. Until she kicked Trixie.
"Oh, for Pete's sake," Maze told her. "You knew about this, Ellen."
"I never saw it! I never... Never thought I..." Ella's words ran out and she sobbed.
"You're useless, Ellen." Maze pushed her way behind the bar. "Stay here and have a drink."
Ella moved slowly back, watching how gently the monster touched Trixie's face. "Come on, kid. I don't have a lot of time, and you've got a whole lot less. That's it," she coaxed, when Trixie's eyes began to move.
Opening her eyes, Trixie saw Maze's totally human face gazing down on her. She could hear someone crying softly.
"Congratulations, you're the first one," Maze said ambiguously.
"Uh...to do what?"
"To pass out in a bar before drinking." Maze let out a soft laugh as she began helping Trixie get up.
The elevator doors came open again and Corbett walked inside, one hand on his injury. He looked around, seeing a collapsed minor and a crying girlfriend. "Uh, Ella, are we still on for tonight?"
Ella paused, looking at him and making a hasty decision. "No. Actually, um, I don't think this relationship is working out."
"What? Why not?"
Instead of telling him he was possessed by the goddess of all creation, Ella ducked her head and moved quickly into the elevator. "I'll see you at the precinct," she muttered, and pushed the button. The elevator doors whooshed shut between them and she was gone.
"Okay. Ouch," Corbett said, and checked his shirt for blood.
"What did you expect?" Maze asked, "You treated her like a ten-day-old trash bag."
"You have no idea what I've done for her. Look, I really don't think a Tiffany's necklace and tickets for a romantic cruise is mistreatment."
"Mmm, but calling her an annoying bug on her birthday sure would."
"Whoa, I never..."
"Did. It's okay, I know why you did. And I know the cure." Maze smacked her hands together, leaning on the bar. "You need a new body."
"Not until the LAPD knows how this one got here."
Maze smiled, raising her eyebrows at him. "You want to know how the body got here?"
"Well, that's kind of my job, isn't it."
Maze turned to Trixie. "Go wait in the lobby."
Trixie meekly obliged, disappearing into the elevator. Alone with Carol, Maze turned to face the half-man. "She was here because of me."
Corbett stared for a moment. "What?" he finally asked.
"Yeah, I struck a deal with the goddess inhabiting your body. She's also the one who smashed your relationship into pieces."
He hesitated, then pointed at her. "You've had too much to drink. Okay, or you're insane. If you have nothing to add to this investigation, then stop interfering with police work."
He turned and went back to the elevator, and fascinated by his Danness, Maze checked him out.
Alone, she turned and crossed the penthouse, going up the few stairs and peeking into Lucifer's room. Abandoned, just like her. What a waste. The city could demolish it after all. Who cared about a couple of doomed, damned souls anyway?
She descended and turned right, going to the balcony and letting herself out. The night air was cool, and a breeze whispered through her dark curls. A beautiful demon, she stood in the darkness, feeling broken and bruised.
"I can help you, Maze."
She opened her eyes, disheartened to see that the city lights were blurred. She wiped away her tears, knowing that stupid omniscient Amenadiel was all too aware she was crying. "Yeah? What can you do?"
"Well...anything. And I would do anything for you, Maze."
She hesitated for a moment, then turned to face him.
"But you need to break your alliance with Mother."
"She promised me whatever I wanted before you did."
"She will not deliver. But I will. I don't want you to slaughter one human after another trying to earn a reward!"
She pondered his words deeply before meeting his dark, serious eyes. "There are two things I want."
"I know what they are. But are you certain?"
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," she said vehemently. She paused, seeing the barely masked combination of hurt and concern in his eyes, and crossed her arms. "Having a soul is more trouble than it's worth. I've tried suffocating it, but it's a lot easier to grow a soul than to destroy one. I want to go to hell alive... Not one of the tortured. Please, Amenadiel―please kill my soul."
He seemed to relent, raising his head and pushing his shoulders back; then met her eyes again. "It's done," he said simply.
"Really? Impressive. You're getting really good at this whole God thing."
"It's pretty easy, when you know everything."
"Thanks, Amenadiel," she said, feeling an indescribable rush of relief.
"You're welcome. I'll talk to Eve tomorrow; I should see Linda next. She's upset with me."
"Ugh, humans. So emotional."
He suddenly smiled at her, making the night a little less gloomy. "You're getting good at this soulless demon thing."
"Yeah, yeah. Go hold your human's hand."
He chuckled and departed from the balcony door, walking with heavy steps back into the penthouse. He stopped in the center of the room and began glowing, brighter and brighter, until Maze had to shield her eyes. She watched him disappear into glorious light―a fierce emotion inside her heart that was certainly not demonic.
"Oh, damn it," she muttered, remembering Trixie. She let herself back into the room and shut the door, her eyes flicking up to the moon when she saw movement. Sure enough, a winged figure was flying far overhead. Definitely not Amenadiel; now that he could go to the opposite side of the earth, he wouldn't fly anywhere. Who would? Lucifer was busy in hell; that just left 3,199,998 other angels. Wait, could Michael fly? If Lucifer and a goddess could die from a defibrillator, what was stopping Michael from self-actualizing his wings back?
There was so much she just didn't understand. Because she was just a demon. Soul or no soul.
She was awesome. She was in the loop. She was hot. And yet nobody liked her.
She looked highly displeased as she entered the lobby. Glancing up, her graceful steps became clumsy as she surveyed the empty interior. She halted, wondering if asking Amenadiel to come back and tell her where Trixie had gone off to would be asking too much.
"You have got to be kidding me."
She walked to the door, flinging them open and startling the lingering detectives. "Hey! Where's Decker's kid?"
"Romero's got her. Said he'd get her home."
"Make sure she gets there."
"I'm busy, he's a good guy, and you're not my sup―okay. I'll―I'll make sure," the officer backpedaled, when Maze took half a step towards him.
She nodded and turned around, walking off into the dark.
Linda sighed, shuffling to the door in her slippers and housecoat. She looked through the peephole, surprised to see Amenadiel standing on her porch. She pulled open the door and stared at him, not saying a word.
He hesitated, briefly averting his eyes. "I'm sorry. Being God is a big job, Linda... And what kind of god would I be if I singled out my friends?"
"I'm not just your friend, Amenadiel. I'm the mother to your child."
"And I'm the father to the universe."
"I don't...want to hear it," she said, carefully keeping her voice calm. "As you might know, my dad was a security guard. He worked late, night after night... Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries. I don't think they spent one important night together throughout their entire marriage. My mother was crushed, Amenadiel. I watched her heart break every night. Because every twenty-four hours, he would let her down. And it was such a...small job."
"The world needs me."
"Charlie needs you. I need you. And you're going to be everywhere but here, deciding which prayers are worthy of your time. Deciding which cat gets adopted and which cat gets run over. I-I don't want my heart breaking over you. If I had known you would let me down, in the biggest way possible, I never would have let myself conceive. Because I'm just as responsible for letting Charlie down."
"Linda, I... I don't want to let anyone down."
"You chose a seat over your son. Just like your father."
He raised his eyebrows, stricken by her words. She shut the door in his face and resisted the urge to open it again when he began to knock; which inevitably woke Charlie. He began crying. She went over to him and picked him up. "Oh, it's okay, baby. Mama's here... Someone's here," she murmured, cradling him in her arms. She kissed him and began rocking him, while peering around the house and hoping Amenadiel would magically appear, promise to forsake the throne, and be the only kind of father she wanted him to be.
But he didn't; and Linda surrendered to sadness and cried with her son.