"Wait...let me get this straight."
Chloe crossed her arms, looking around the beach at all of the nicely-dressed souls enjoying the beach. There she was, her wardrobe screaming out her interrupted schedule of sleep and work; hair in a messy ponytail, her brown leather jacket barely shining in the sun. And there was every other woman who had died with no regrets, with their flowing dresses and flowing hair, bare feet touching perfect sand. Chloe wondered if any of them felt as tired as she did. Then Dan's voice brought her attention back to him.
"You're actually picking hell... A place of eternal suffering... Over me?"
"No. I'm picking my daughter over... Not having my daughter," she concluded, after giving a partially-crazed laugh of tension and motioning with a hand. "Not to mention I'm picking Lucifer over Charlotte."
He stared at her, finally withdrawing. "Wow. You think―what, you think I love her more than I ever loved you?"
"I think you moved on. Which you are more than welcome to do, but so am I."
He turned, watching her descend onto the beach. "Chloe, how could you just...move on, after a day?"
She spun to face him, eyebrows going up. "What?"
"Yeah, there's...there's only been one sunset up here since I died in your arms."
"Well, there's been about 730 on earth." She paused, and there was an awkward silence as they both considered what it meant. "I guess Trixie hasn't noticed I'm gone..."
"Right... Trixie. Yeah, what about Trixie?"
"Well―you know, at least no matter what, she'll have one of us."
"No matter what?"
She nodded, giving him a Look. "Come on, Dan. You know, Amenadiel...who's God, now, by the way―uh, tried to―"
"He's freaking God?"
"Yes, listen, he tried to comfort me, you know, by saying we don't have anything to worry about and she'll end up here, and I'll end up here... Uh, but that was before she changed, and I changed. My mind. Uh, but no, you know..."
"Wait. Wait."
She descended into silence, biting her lip and not meeting his eyes.
"Chloe, it sounds like you don't think either one of you is gonna be here."
He waited for her to comfort him, finally speaking when he realized that she couldn't. "Chlo, you have warned her, right?"
"Well," she drawled. "I, maybe... You know, I keep..." Her words trailed off and she rubbed at her neck. "Insinuating?"
"You really want my advice?" he asked, and gave her that smile she had so missed. "Show her. Ask everyone to show her. I mean, you do whatever it takes to keep her outta that place."
"You mean to keep her away from me."
"No. We could all be in one place, but we're not. Chloe, I blame you for that...but this is about what's best for Trix."
She was giving him a dirty look, but she knew he was right, about everything. She also knew that eventually, she would have to return to earth, and who knew how long it would be before she could visit heaven? Unfortunately she had a feeling that her life would kind of take precedence. Not willing to ruin now, she gave a nod and took his hand in hers, comforted rather considerably when she felt him squeeze.
"Just outta curiosity, uh... I mean, you'll visit me after, right?"
She tilted her head downward while maintaining eye contact, giving him a serious look. "After I die?"
He shifted nervously. "Yeah," he muttered, his tone matching his demeanor.
"Yes, Dan. As much as I can. And, please, I'll be dead; think of all the spare time I'll have. One sunset every two years?" she pressed, succeeding in making him smile. "That's a lot of Chloe. You may even get tired of me."
"Oh, no, that's just not possible. Uh, but are you sure Lucifer'll be willing to fly you up here as much as...you want?"
"I won't need to ask him," she said, and upon observing his confusion, she smiled and released his hand, stepping back. In slow motion, to minimize the surprise, she opened her feathery, plum-colored wings; only when they were unfurled and he was staring at them did she allow them to snap suddenly erect. The simple motion of opening her wings made her feel like the coolest, if not the prettiest, person on the beach; only added to by the fact that everyone froze in their activities to gawk at her. Suddenly it didn't matter that she was not wearing a flowing little dress. She was an elected angel; she had a three-way pass to every realm...and only up here could she show it freely. Well, here and hell.
"Wow," Dan uttered. Endearingly, he didn't know which wing to look at.
"Yeah. So, um, I'll have to work around my schedule, but I don't need to wait until I die, either."
His smile was huge. "That's cool."
She hid them with a practiced motion, like she had been doing it all her life.
"Wow, you're, uh... You're good at that."
"I needed lessons. Didn't really want to become a pancake on the sidewalk," she said, with a nervous chuckle.
"And, um, the angel baby Lucifer told me about?"
Chloe smiled, putting her hands on her deceptively small stomach. "Right here."
Dan quelled the urge to feel the baby bump that did not exist. "Wow. Again, uh... I am capable of saying other things," he chuckled. "Uh―so do you think the pregnancy's gonna be nine months, or... Or do you think it'll be longer, you know, because she's gotta be at least half-immortal, right?"
Chloe hesitated, staring past him at the perfect sand. "Huh. You know, I never thought of that. Hopefully it's just nine months. Oh!" she barked, snapping her fingers. "It was nine months for Linda."
He made a confused face.
"Oh, Dan," she moaned sadly. "Uh, okay, Linda had an angel son."
"She did?"
"Yeah, yep. Can you imagine, him getting flying lessons from me?" she asked, with a big grin.
"Yeah, that―that would be funny!" he said, and they shared a forced laugh before falling into another awkward silence. Finally Dan said, "Uh, Lucifer told us to make a day of it... Do you think he knows how long the days are here?"
"Yeah, I do, yeah. He used to live here, I mean―"
"Right. Well, maybe it...changed."
"No. No, that's one thing I do know. See, because Eve told us it never changed up here."
"Right," he repeated. "Right, well, there is that, that's a good point."
Chloe nodded, studying him, then said, "Do you want to go for a walk or something?"
"Yeah."
They began meandering along the shore, in complete silence, listening only to the waves and the laughter of the dead. Dan savored the feeling of her brushing up against him, even mustering the courage to take her hand again; a courage found only in that she had held his. Still, she felt weird to him now. She had wings, for God's sake. His human, mortal ex-wife had wings. It was so bizarre, even with all he'd seen and all he knew... And he knew, damn well, that she would not have been given wings if they were still married. For the simple fact that he wasn't Lucifer.
More accurately, he wasn't the devil... Why would a loving god do something incredible for him of all people? Sure, he'd gotten into heaven, but he'd been assured that it was all on him.
His dark thoughts suddenly struck him as humorous, and he let out a bitter chuckle. Instantly concerned, Chloe glanced at him; sensing her attention, he looked at her and their eyes locked.
"What?"
"I recognize your tone," she said, and watched him face forward again. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong."
She hesitated, then gave a nod and a smile. "Okay then. Everything's good."
He was unresponsive―save for another bitter laugh. Then Chloe was trying to figure him out, even as random souls were drifting past. "You're upset because...Charlotte was glued to you for two years, but as soon as Lucifer showed up, she took off with him?"
"What? No, come on. He's giving us the day."
"Okay... So it bothers you that Lucifer actually is as important as he claimed to be."
They stopped on the hill, and she waited for his response as he turned his head, giving the sunny beach another glance. Finding his words, he turned his back on paradise and began meandering down the directly adjacent rocky path within a forest as old as heaven itself. "Chloe, I'm not on trial here," he said, his voice rather bitter. "I'm just a dead man."
"I know. I'm just trying to...you know. Communicate."
"Well, let's―let's talk about something else. I mean, maybe I don't want my life and my afterlife to be all about Lucifer."
"So then just tell me. What's bothering you, Danny?"
The term of endearment had him halting noisily on the rocks. He turned to look at her, standing in the sun and smiling at him. "Uh, Lucifer," he admitted with a nervous chuckle. "But, no, let's just drop it. It's not every day you're in heaven. Look, come here. Look at this," he said, and suddenly he was sprinting through the woods. Chloe pursued him, glad she had training in speedy movements, sudden turns, and a sharp eye. It came in handy; she never lost sight of Dan. When they stopped, they were standing in a clearing, listening to birdcalls that resonated in the forest. Countless butterflies of all types delighted in a vast lily garden, and a rather sparkly fog swirled around their feet.
Dan pointed upward, and she craned her head back to see impossibly tall trees, shooting straight up into nothingness. Past their imperceptible tops was only a void the size of her fist.
"Wow," she whispered. "What's up there?"
"Yeah, no one knows."
His eyes snapped down as she began taking out her wings. "Whoa. Chloe, are you experienced enough?"
"I want to see it. I need to see it."
She began to flap her wings, and Dan looked at the butterflies as the momentum pushed them away from the flowers. Sitting nearby, Lucifer and Charlotte's conversation was interrupted when the butterflies tumbled and spilled past them; and amused with their inelegance, Lucifer looked around to find the source, only to see Chloe―
"Ah, excuse me. Bloody hell," the devilish angel muttered, as he hurried towards his winged detective. Accidentally shoulder-checking Dan, he grabbed Chloe with one hand, snapping his fingers in front of her eyes. "Chloe, are you with me? Detective, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, Dan, I hear you," she murmured. Her wings had stopped moving and her hand touched his, which assured him she was alert and didn't want to flap her wings in his face―but she was still looking up at the void. Still not resisting its pull.
"Ah, buggers. Forgive me, Detectives," Lucifer said politely, then he grabbed Chloe and slung her over his shoulder, spitting feathers out of his face. Suddenly realizing she was being carried out of the forest, Chloe snapped to attention, shutting her wings. His vision no longer obstructed, Lucifer picked up his pace, going from a blind shuffle to a confident stride, and deposited the bewildered detective on her feet beside Charlotte. She stumbled away, not making eye contact and moving slowly.
"What just happened, man?" Dan asked.
"Right, well, heaven is filled with hidden...temptations meant to drive you to your doom."
"That makes no sense. She's an angel."
"An elected angel," Lucifer corrected, as Charlotte's huge eyes went to Chloe. "She's still mortal."
"But heaven's supposed to be paradise," Dan persisted.
"It is, for you, and Charlotte, and everyone else. But Chloe is alive...filled with unresolved guilt. She's still persuasible. Now, if your guilt is too strong, following that...pesky little siren will strengthen it 1000-fold, and sort of thrust you into hell. But the two of you don't feel the temptation at all."
Dan spared Chloe a glance. "And hell? Does hell have temptations?"
"It does indeed... None of which lead to here."
Charlotte nodded, understanding him perfectly.
"All they do is make resolving your guilt even trickier, by provoking in you feelings of responsibility for things you didn't do, things you'd never do, so as to trap you down there."
"But why does heaven have a...hell portal?" Dan demanded.
"To keep out visitors," Lucifer said, motioning to the lethargic, quiet Chloe. "It would give you a one-way ticket to hell, more or less, and she'd have died there, as a mortal. And then, she'd have marched off to her cell like a soldier volunteering the line of fire."
"And you didn't think to mention this?!" he blurted.
"Well, I would have, if I'd known you were going to bring her here," he pointed out. Then he shifted restlessly. "Now, can we relocate? I'm not impervious to the sirens' call, either," he informed them, and the group quickly left the glory of the forest.
Eve wasn't in the garden, and she was also a living, mortal woman. Not to mention there were apples in heaven. Maybe she had held one or tasted one, started thinking of Adam, and was now in hell...wondering what happened. Lucifer walked beside Chloe, and in front of Dan and Charlotte, fretting quietly. Having recovered, Chloe clung onto him, her irritation the only lingering effect.
If she was made for Lucifer, then was the hell portal made for her? Did an all-powerful being hate her―eons before she had taken her first breath?
"There she is," Chloe said, pointing. At least Lucifer's problem was solved.
He grinned and squeezed her close as they changed course, heading towards the first woman.
"EVE!" Lucifer shouted, and she turned to face him, with a smile brighter than heaven. She walked towards him, grabbing his free hand with no regard to his pregnant wife.
"Guess what!"
"Uh, you found out you're actually the second woman?"
"Nope! I ran into your parents, and they invited me to this big...dinner thing!"
"No kidding. Chloe, too?"
"Uh-huh, all of us!"
"Oh, that's great," Lucifer said, insincerely.
"Yeah! But listen! They know you want to visit hell, so it's actually starting now."
"Well, B-E-A-U-tiful! That's fantastic," he said, still insincere.
Eve turned around, and the smile slid off her face as she walked away from the group. "Come on, I can't wait! To get it over with," she added under her breath. She walked forward with a deliberate bounce in her step, and Lucifer shook his head, wondering how she could always be so happy. Still, he made sure to give Chloe a big smile.
"This is going to suck, isn't it?" was her response.
Grateful he could drop the charade, he visibly relaxed as he muttered, "Uh―yes, ginormous...donkey balls."
He would never know it, but he even made Dan smile.
Chloe's attention was soon diverted to the massive golden estate, sparkling in the light and appearing to glow, against the backdrop of large white and pastel pink clouds. Smaller clouds drifted past its radiant spires, visible to anyone who looked out the windows, and several winged figures could barely be spotted sauntering around the kingdom. Not far from it was a pond, home to three playful swans.
Wondering if the swans could die, Chloe still hung onto Lucifer as they entered the holy home.
She had expected it to be...homey. Instead, she stood in a very large, very empty room. There was no furniture at all; not even plants or pictures. Only the angels, and two mortals, were in the room. A magnificent arch led to another part of the divine dwelling, but it was the only one. A flickering blue light emanated from that part of the house, and Chloe sort of leaned, vying for a glimpse of the ethereal beacon.
"Chloe Decker," the voice pronounced her name like it tasted bad, and she swung her wide eyes to the handsome, intimidating angel who now stood before her. "The devil's plaything itself."
"Back off, Ibriel," Lucifer said quietly.
"I should back off? This is my home, not hers. Say goodbye to your little guest."
"Or what... I don't get any dinner?"
"I'm sorry, excuse me," Chloe butted in, "Yes, I'm a plaything, and yes, I'm comparatively small, but I'm a she."
"Whatever you say... Pinoccleo."
Chloe's eyes briefly went to Gabriel, who ducked her head and disappeared into the divine crowd.
Suddenly Ibriel was shouting. "She's a mortal! She doesn't belong here!"
His rant heated up several others, all of whom, with unique words, began ordering Lucifer to get out and take her with him. Chloe stood still, wishing she had another magical Azrael's-blade pistols. Not that she would kill anyone, she just secretly desired the ability to tap into their fears. Then suddenly she noticed that Lucifer, Eve, Charlotte, and Dan were all drifting away from her―leaving her completely exposed to the wrath of multiple immortal beings. Before she decided to freak out, she met Lucifer's eyes. He was smiling, and gave a little nod. Taking her cue, Chloe willed her wings to explode out, fully erect. The angels descended into stunned silence.
"And it's Chloe, by the way," she added.
Seeing the obvious favor bestowed on her, the angels were mostly quiet as she folded her wings away and wandered into the illuminated room behind her. All she could hear was her own gasp of amazement. There, in the center of the unfurnished, living-sized room was a large floating sphere, a representation of Earth that slowly rotated on a nonexistent axis. It looked just like the image in books and on TV―except, of course, it was turning and glowing, like the coolest night light ever.
Sensing the presence of four people, Chloe looked over her shoulder, up at Lucifer's tall, welcome form. Behind him was Dan. She looked over her other shoulder at Eve, and one of Lucifer's sisters...or at least it was a safe bet.
"Saraqael, is it the same as I remember it?"
"Yeah."
Lucifer stepped closer, lifted his hands, and pressed a finger against the sphere. The globe stilled, and moving his hand, he turned it faster and tapped on a location, then immersed his hands into the light of the sphere. Spreading his hands apart, he began zooming in on the earth, like he was using a smartphone. When he couldn't spread his hands much further, he brought his hands close together and continued interacting with the sphere, beginning the motion anew. They were viewing earth from a top-down angle, as though they were watching footage from from a drone; and all at once they observed a jet passing through their range of vision, leaving a contrail in its wake. He ignored it, continuing to zoom in as trees and tall buildings began to emerge. Finally, they started seeing smaller buildings and water.
Captivated by its simple beauty, the mortals, alive and dead all the same, couldn't bear to look away.
"Dude," Dan whispered. "That's freaking cool, man."
Lucifer was unresponsive as he continued checking out the events happening approximately 7,000 miles below. Even while touching the sphere, the life under his hands continued to move, even though the sphere itself was stationary.
"What are you looking for?" Saraqael asked.
"Oh, nothing really," he sighed. "Just thought I'd venture back into my earliest customs whilst I'm... Here," he finally concluded, while zooming in on a rather familiar demon.
"Maze," Eve uttered, moving closer.
Charlotte's brows went up as she recognized the woman who had hit on her...several times.
"My precious demon. I've found you..."
Dan and both mortal women cringed or withdrew in shock as Maze halted in her tracks and began to look around.
"Lucifer?" Maze called out.
"I'm sorry, you said it's the same. Can she hear me?" he asked his sister.
"No. Well, she shouldn't."
After a moment of silence, Maze brushed it off and continued to prowl through the night.
Suddenly Amenadiel's voice had all three turning around when he said, "I'm glad you're here."
But it was still just the four of them standing in that room. They looked back at the glowing, floating ball.
"Really? Why?"
"It has been foretold that you would return to hell. Thank you, Mazikeen, for not wasting my time."
"Yeah, well, I'm not doing it for you. Actually, I'm going back for your dad."
"I must say, I find that hard to believe, Mazikeen."
She smiled, shaking her head. "Amenadiel... Your father made everyone in his image except for demons. We're soulless, terrifying, unlovable things born in hell," she continued, stepping slowly closer to him. "I hate him for that. So I am going there...so I don't take my blade...and slit...his...throat."
She stopped, her body pressed up against his and unblinkingly meeting his eyes. He stared at her, silent, emotional.
"Bugger," Lucifer whispered, and both Maze and Amenadiel broke apart, observing the quiet woods.
Deciding nothing was out of the ordinary, Amenadiel looked back at Maze. "Then go. Go now, Maze, because hell is where you belong."
Suddenly she tried to knife him, and he easily grabbed her wrist, stopping her attack. "I'm not just an angel anymore," he reminded her, and pushed her away. "Go, before I force you. And enjoy your eternity with Michael, because you're not leaving again."
"You can't stop me. I belong to Lucifer."
"Not anymore. I'll provide him with another demon."
She chuckled humorlessly. "Good luck with that. We're all the same!"
"No. You had your chance at having a soul, and having love. You blew it."
She hesitated, then turned and took two steps, vanishing into the shadows of the forest.
Lucifer dropped his hands down to his sides, and the image in the sphere began to zoom out, slowly at first but gradually picking up speed; until they were looking at earth from a distance once again and it was turning quietly in its place.
"Mazikeen," Lucifer uttered.
Chloe stepped back, crossing her arms. "Well...I mean, at least you can see her when you visit."
"Yes," he said brokenly. "Yes."
"For what it's worth," Dan butted in, "I think you're really cool now. And I'm sorry for all the shit that went down when I was alive."
Lucifer looked at him, barely. "You're a good man, Daniel. I'm glad you made it to heaven."
Dan chuckled. "Thanks, man."
Lucifer walked out of the observatory, feeling more vulnerable than ever. When the group stopped, he looked out at all of his brothers and sisters, realizing he now had to mingle and have dinner with them. "Oh," he said, in almost a whimper of disappointment.
Chloe made the mistake of looking over at Eve, startling when she saw the way she was smiling at her.