I blinked and at once let out a pained groan as I looked about.

"Oh god, its already that time again?" I muttered to myself, first running my hand along my forehead and then bringing it down along my cheek until it came to a rest on my chin. The moment I had found myself in what looked to be a private plane rather than Noah's Virtual World I had known at once what we were in for. "Maybe someone important died and this is just a one-shot?"

"You don't mean that," Mai said from her spot beside me, taking my hand and kissing my knuckles. We weren't in the standard seats one would have in an airplane, though I did see them nearby. No, we were planted on what more looked like a couch, which allowed Mai to scooch up right next to me. Her legs tucked under her as she cuddled up to me, running her fingers seemingly at random along my body.

"…no, I don't mean that," I muttered as I looked over at her. She was… well, she was surprisingly well dressed. Not that she wasn't always well dressed but in this case it wasn't her leg baring, chest revealing outfit that she tended to wear. Even after she had decided to not be as revealing for Battle City she had still loved to show off skin. And I never blamed her for that; she was proud of her body and wanted to flaunt it. It was, weirdly enough, her armor. It was her being "Mai Valentine, Pro Duelist", no different than me in my suit. I was secure in our relationship and it didn't bug me that others, men and women alike, enjoyed looking her up and down.

But today Mai was wearing slacks and a purple breezy blouse. One that she could easily pop the buttons on to show off her cleavage but also keep buttoned enough to be modest. A look down revealed that while at the moment she'd kicked them off there were a pair of sensible flats lying nearby, rather than the boots she favored. She looked ready to tackle a board room rather than a bedroom.

Sometimes I couldn't help but wonder how my life had ended up the way it was. Once I had been just a normal guy, living in my apartment, writing my fanfics, content with my life. Then I woke up in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!. At first that had been normalish too… I suddenly had a new uncle that was a rich media exec and my degree in Communications was being used to be a reporter rather than be a manager. And I was in Japan. But otherwise things were the same.

Then, in the span of a week… a single WEEK… I had found myself with a quarter share of both KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions stock, the sole member of the merged companies' board of directors, several million dollars in my bank account, and department heads looking to me to help them out after Seto had cleared house. I was friends with Yugi Muto and Joey Wheeler and the rest. I had become one of the Top 5 Duelists in the World. I had gained possession of the Millennium Key, which allowed me to tap into dark magics, including the ability to turn every doorway into a portal. And I was dating Mai Valentine.

Of course… a few months later, after I had gotten used to THAT… things had become more crazy.

I found out that I was the reincarnation of a Greek Mage. Mai was the human persona of Selene, the Greek Titan of the Moon, who wanted to make me a god so we could abandon Earth. The Multiverse was REAL and apparently one part of it was called the Chaosverse and filled with alternate versions of myself. I… I had died and met my mom just outside of Heaven and been told my purpose was to help the people of my new world.

Oh, and Filler Arcs were a thing.

'Why the fuck did I think about all that?' I thought to myself suddenly, confused by the recap I'd just rattled off for… myself.

"And be glad I'm not already in my Halloween Costume," Mai said as I came out of my thoughts, which led to me groaning. While Mai had become a much better person over the last few months (the depression she had felt in the DOMA arc would never happen… I had told her what had become of her and she'd been horrified that she'd side with the bad guy, swearing she'd help me take Dartz down) she was still Mai. "Yes, I checked my phone… I was up before you snapped awake. Its October 28th."

"Halloween Filler Arc," I muttered to myself. I looked over and saw Renard and Yuri blinking their eyes, clearing coming out of whatever 'sleep' they had been in. That's how it always was: one moment you were living your life, the next you woke up in the Filler Arc. Live through that, get through the holiday, and then you suddenly snapped back right where you'd left off with your "real" life.

Not everyone was aware what was going on. In fact everyone acted like it was normal and if you tried to press them they looked at you in confusion. But I had begun to 'infect' people with Meta Awareness. Mai first, then Tea, then Renard and Yuri.

Renard and Yuri. Our best friends, as unlikely as our foursome had been in forming. Renard had been an eliminator on Pegasus' island who, in canon, had never met Yugi and the gang and thus disappeared, his life unknown to me. But my appearance had ensured he met us and dueled us, proving he was one of the few honorable Eliminators. He had pledged himself to me and was my bodyguard and best friend after Mai. Yuri was Tea's half-sister (and considering that Tea and I had, after my brief stint being dead, pledged we were family now it made Yuri my sister too) who had been a cop until the corruption of the Domino Police Department had gotten too great. She'd quit, dyed her hair blue, gone full on punk goth, and become Mai's bodyguard. Though considering Mai could become a goddess suddenly and all that entailed (she was still working on figuring out how to call it forth herself) Yuri was paid to be her best friend mostly.

'Again with the recaps?' I thought before shaking my head and looking to the rest of the Chaos Crew. "Filler arc people. This time Halloween."

Yuri slowly worked her jaw before looking down to see she was wearing a suit, similar to Renard's though his had a long coat while she had gone without even a jacket. "I suppose that's better than dealing with the Multiverse again."

I grimaced. "Pharaoh and I dealt with that a bit ago. I JUST got back. Of course the Virtual World Arc takes place over a day or so… god, we'll have Christmas probably before we're done with Noah's bullshit." I sighed and looked around. "Okay so… what is going on exactly? What is the FAB we have to deal with this time? Team up with the Muensters? Going to visit Renard's cousin Gomez Addams?"

"This isn't a pleasure trip, Chaos," Seto said and I turned to see him coming from the back of the plane, Mokuba only a few steps behind. "That's why I refused to allow Tea to come along. If she had come then Yugi would have wanted to come and if he did I KNOW Wheeler would have demanded to be included. And then the rest of the little barnacles you call friends would have begun attaching themselves to our hull and we'd have ended up never getting anything done."

I suddenly had the image of Joey pressing his lips to the side of a ship, giving a thumbs up to all of us.

'Seto Kaiba,' I thought. 'The head of KaibaCorp and a teenage prodigy. He claimed the company from his stepfather Gozaburo Kaiba and has worked to turn it from a weapons manufacturer to something to help children- WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME?!'

The recapping. It was… new. I had never felt the urge to do that before. And yet now I found myself needing to recap fucking every person I knew in my own head.

What the fuck?

"Good morning to you too, sunshine!" I said with a grin, trying to shake away my startled feelings that something was wrong. Fucking filler arcs. There was a reason we had coined the term FAB: Filler Arc Bullshit. "So… what exactly is on the docket for today?"

Seto gave me an aggravated look. "Of course you didn't bother to read things over…" He stalked off and I kept quiet; I could actually call up the memories of what had led to the Filler Arc but I tended not to as it was very odd to sift though memories that weren't actually real, at least to me. "I set the PDF to you. Actually read it this time so you don't asked me any more stupid questions. Or so you don't mess things up for all of us."

With that he moved towards a door and disappeared.

"He really missed his life's calling of being the villain in a Dickens novel," Yuri said, causing me to snicker at that before I turned to Mokuba. My laughter died though when I saw he wasn't looking all that excited. "Sorry, we shouldn't tease-"

"What?" Mokuba said, having clearly been distracted. "No… its okay." He sat down in a chair across from me and sighed, swinging his legs back and forth.

'Mokuba. Seto's little brother who- NO! Stop it!' I mentally smacked my brain with a 2 by 4. 'Stop talking about how Mokuba is Seto's brother and you two developed a relationship that is like favored uncle and nephew after you saved him from one of Pegasus' eliminators on Duelist Kingdom- MOTHER FUCKING FILLER ARC BULLSHIT!'

I swallowed, took a breath, and settled myself.

"Nope," I said as I turned my full attention on Mokuba. I leaned over, tapping his knee. Mokuba stared at me but Mai had already shifted over and the kid, after a moment, hurried across to us, plunking himself down between me and Mai. I reached over to wrap an arm around him, Mai gently sliding over so Mokuba was bracketed by the two of us but didn't feel like he was trapped. "Alright, let's talk. What's got you down?"

"…I know that this business deal is important but I hate that it's happening now."

"Ah," Mai said after a moment. "Halloween?"

"Yeah," Mokuba complained. "We aren't going to be done until the 2nd so I'm gonna miss out on everything!"

I sighed. "Yeah… Seto probably didn't even think of that."

Mokuba rushed to defend his brother. "It wasn't his choice! The head of the KaibaCorp headquarters in California wanted to do this whole this and some of the guests he'd arranged to attend the party could only do it tonight! And then we have to do the meetings…"

I frowned as I began to dig through my brain to figure out what was happening. Thankfully the FAB was on my side as after a few moments the alternate memories of what we had been doing to lead to this arc came to me, not requiring too much digging. 'Alright, so Seto is setting up a North American branch of KaibaCorp, since Pegasus already has the Industrial Illusions NA Branch here and KaibaLand USA is being built here. And of course Seto put his in California because Pegasus put his in New York… classy, Seto, real classy. Seto is coming here to work out some details about where they will be setting up a new factory to manufacture duel discs and the head of the NA Headquarters is doing a launch party and-'

I stopped and snickered.

"Edwin?" Mai asked.

"Sorry, sorry," I said, unable to explain that the only reason I had been dragged along was that the head of the NA Branch, a Mr. Pine, had decided to hold the 'launch party' for the new Duel Disc system at some piano bar in LA… and Seto wasn't allowed in due to being underage. "I'm not laughing at you, Mokuba, I promise. Laughing at something with this deal." He stared at me for a moment before nodding; still down and upset but at least he wasn't mad at me. "Hey, it's not that big of a deal." I willed the Millennium Key out. "We can pop back to Domino any time and enjoy Halloween. Seto doesn't even have to know."

"He will though," Mokuba said glumly and he held out his wrist, revealing a rather nice looking watch. "MY brother put in a tracking device in this watch, so that he could monitor me at all times. He's worried I might get kidnapped while we're in Los Angeles."

'Admittedly that is fucking brilliant,' I thought to myself. "Well, we could get someone to wear it-"

"It will detect if I remove it," Mokuba replied. "Seto thought of everything."

I nodded at that. 'Damn it Seto, I get your heart is in the right place for once but…' I look Mokuba up and down for a moment, thinking things over. "Okay, so we can't go back to Domino. But there has to be fun stuff in LA to do for Halloween. I think I'm only going to be needed for this event tonight at the club so after that we can all sit down and figure out what to do."

"You mean making sure it isn't too spooky for you," Mai teased.

I glowered at her. "I. Like. Baby's. First. Halloween." She merely chuckled at that. "We'll figure it out, Mokuba, I promise."

"…okay." He smiled a bit bigger. "Thanks Edwin."

"Anytime, kiddo." Mentally though I added, 'And here is hoping that maybe, just maybe, we can have a normal Halloween for once, with no weird filler crap.'

~MC~MC~MC~MC~

"…see her reaching out for me and I try to grab onto her…" The woman squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered, tears fighting to break past her lids and run down her face.

Lucifer gently tapped a box of tissues over to her before leaning back in his chair, waiting for her to open her eyes and see the off brand Kleenex (for some odd reason if he got the best stuff it tended to burst into flames… a weird quirk of Hell). Thankfully Edna wasn't a hugger or someone that really liked physical contact. While he was willing to hold close the people he cared for it was rather awkward with his patients.

His patients.

How odd.

It had been thousands of years since he had been on Earth, had begun to work to heal the souls of Hell rather than torture them, and it still made him stop short when he thought about them as his patients. Not in a bad way, not at all. Just… it was odd. Unexpected. And pleasant.

He liked it.

He liked it a lot.

'I have spent billions of years down here, punishing the wicked and the guilty. But now I see the truth of it. I wasn't made to be a punisher… I am a healer. I help those that deserve Heaven but can't forgive themselves to move past their guilt and finally move into the light. My Father knew that, even when I didn't… and he was waiting for me to realize it on my own. Because if he had just told me I would have refused to listen to him. And as painful as it has been… I am glad for that. Yes, it might have taken Rory to help me figure it out… but I still figured it out in the end.'

Lucifer blinked at that.

It was… odd. What he had just thought was odd. Mostly because he didn't know WHY he had felt the urge to explain that to himself.

He shrugged and turned back to Edna. She was one of his latest patients and he had high hopes for her. He'd managed to achieve many victories over the last thousand years; there were no failures but there were patients that struggled deeply with their mistakes and even thousands of years and countless sessions hadn't helped them actually move on. They improved, they became aware of what was happening, but they struggled. Dr. Linda's ex husband, for one… Lucifer and him met several times a week and yet he refused to move on. He was happier but he still couldn't move past his guilt. That was how it was with many people in Hell, not helped by the Hell Loops and the demons.

Lucifer was working on both.

Many of the demons would take just as long as his patients to learn how to be more than torturers. There were some that were managing, learning how to help rather than hurt. Rather than torment those that were working through their guilt they were there to stop things when it became clear that the loop was becoming too intense and might lead to a backslide.

As for the Hell Loops he had begun tweaking them to remove the needless pain and let people focus on the root cause of their trauma. It was touch and go… there were several cases where Lucifer had thought he understood what the problem was only for them to work through that guilt… and realize there was something else entirely. Jimmy Barnes was a constant reminder that sometimes what you thought was the issue wasn't the issue at all. Luckily Lucifer had learned patience (and he could heard his siblings snickering at that) and was willing to work with them no matter how long it took.

But Edna was one of the ones he felt would be fixed up VERY soon.

"You must remember that you did all you could," he told her gently. "Yes-" he cut her off before she could speak, "-you pressed her to come with you rock climbing, even though you knew she was scared of heights. But she still accepted. Because she wanted to overcome her fear… she told you that. And you did all you could to save her, Edna. You didn't drop her. You didn't try to kill her. You tried to save her."

"But if I had just-"

He knew better than to let her go down that path. "We can't go back and change the past." He thought of Rory, his daughter from the future, who had come to the past only to wind up creating the time loop that saw Lucifer gone for her entire life, the very reason she had been so angry as to manifest her power. "We just… can't. All we can do is continue on."

"I know that here," Edna said softly, tapping her head. "But here?" she pressed her hand to her chest.

"Yes… but at least you understand that here," he said, tapping his own forehead. "That is the first step. One many people find near impossible to take. So I am very proud of you. And we will work-"

There was a knock on his door.

"Well, I suppose the coffee is early," he muttered before smiling. It was still a work in progress to get the demons on board with actually helping the souls in Hell… billions of years of habit doesn't go away quickly, or even after a thousand years. But some WERE getting there and he had begun having them run odd jobs, like making coffee. It was trial and error to get it right but thankfully his brothers and sisters had been helpful there. 'They feel terrible about falling for Michael's lies and schemes. So coming down here to bring me a French press or helping teach the demons to make cakes and cookies is something they are willing to do… and there I go again!' He shook his head; WHY this need to recap his own life?

So very odd.

He opened the door only to blink at the sight of not a demon but his eldest brother.

"Amenadiel!" he said happily, embracing his brother. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you, of course," his brother said, patting him on the back, his voice friendly and open.

"Yes, of course," Lucifer said. His brother… Heaven' Greatest Fighter. And now God himself, after their Father had retired and he had claimed the throne. He was working to bridge the gap between Earth and Heaven, while also trying his best to help Lucifer with Hell. They hadn't always had the best relationship, with much of their history seeing Amenadiel beat Lucifer senseless and drag him back to Hell, but during the 6 or so years Lucifer had lived on Earth they had become friends and now Lucifer always delighted in-

There it was again.

What WAS going on with him?

As if sensing his thoughts Amenadiel turned to Edna. "Do you mind if I borrow Lucifer?"

"Of… of course not," the woman said, shaken and startled. "You go ahead."

"Torok will show you back to your Loop. Remember, you control when to turn it on and off now, and you do NOT need to repeat that incident again. In fact I'd rather you not." He knew she would but he liked to remind her of that. It was better if she just… lived her life, for lack of a better term. He had been having the demons and his siblings bring down DVD box sets and now Hell had the best On Demand Service in existence. Literally any show or movie you could want. Reese, for example, was currently binging Saturday Night Live.

His brother gently patted her on the shoulder. "I hope to see you soon," he said and Edna began to cry again even as she smiled. Lucifer shook his head at that; Amenadiel might have just saved Edna several years more of therapy with that single gesture and wish.

Edna left just as the coffee arrived and Amenadiel took one of the cups (which were red with friendly little devil faces on them… the demons needed to have their fun), settling down on the couch while Lucifer took the chair. The office was a recreation of Linda's, as it always reminded him of his best breakthroughs. Even the window looked out on LA and it made him smile and remember happy times. "So… how are you, brother? The Silver City still silver? I always thought-"

"-that it should be pink," Amenadiel said. "I've heard that joke before, Luci." He chuckled and sipped his drink before looking at Lucifer. "Torok is one of the Lilim?"

He asked it innocently enough and normally Lucifer wouldn't have thought anything of it but the glint in his brother's eye…

"Yes," Lucifer said slowly, cautiously.

Amenadiel didn't frown, he merely considered his brother for a long moment. "Luci… who is Ella Lopez?"

"She's my friend who works forensics for the LAPD," Lucifer said at once, despite knowing it was VERY odd for Amenadiel to ask him that since he was friends with her too. "You know… she is deeply devout which is why I worried about ever telling her the truth, as even I am not cruel enough to shatter that kind of faith. And while it did cause her much stress I am pleased she now knows and can be there for Maze and Chloe and even you. She is currently dating Carol, a detective with the LAPD. She loves to give hugs despite how many times I remind her those gestures wrinkle my suit and she is best friends with our sister Azrael, who appeared to her when she nearly died as a child and told her she was a ghost."

Lucifer stopped rambling and leaned back.

"Bloody hell, again?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry, brother, but I seem to come down with a case of the Rambles. Much like Ms. Lopez herself."

Amenadiel though stared at him before saying. "I saw Linda recently. Linda was your therapist who didn't know you were the Devil, but when she learned about it she become panicked and locked herself away in her office till she learned to deal with the stress. We eventually became friends and later lovers, to the point that she gave birth to our son, Charlie, the first half angel child to be born in history."

The brothers stared at each other.

"Yeah," Amenadiel said with a grimace. "I was hoping you weren't affected by… this."

"And by 'this' you mean the impulse to share the backstories of everyone we know?" But then he frowned, eyes narrowed. "No… not everyone. I didn't describe Torok to you."

"Exactly, Luci," Amenadiel said. "It is affecting only certain people… and involves certain people. I was hoping it was only happening to me, since none of our siblings have begun rattling off details about each other…"

"Quite, that would be horrible up there, wouldn't it? Hundreds of siblings all repeating to each other who they were, who the other people were… goodness, it would be like the worst celestial family reunion ever." Lucifer shook his head, shuddering at the thought of it. "Well then… what is all this then and what is causing it? No, wait, let me guess… my granddaughter from the future is mad because I didn't give her a new pony. Or our Uncle Godder is revealing to all that he exists and he thinks he should take over the family business? One of the Endless?" He paled a little, his snark fading away. "Please tell me it isn't one of the Endless."

"Its not the Endless," Amenadiel assured him. "Though I don't know why that would bother you… Death and Rae Rae get along just fine."

"Yes but Death only sneaks into Rae Rae's place to steal her clothes; last I heard she didn't march in and roil up the demons into thinking we were being invaded and demand contests."

"You are never going to let that go, are you?" Amenadiel said with a smirk. After a moment though his own humor left him and he leaned forward. "Not the Endless. And not our family, for once. According to Gabriel-"

"Oh wonderful, the gossip," Lucifer grumbled.

"-what is happening are Recaps."

"Recaps?" Lucifer said. "That, first off, is a rather bland name. Second off what in Your Name are Recaps?"

Amenadiel sighed. "According to Gabriel some of us are being forced to go over the important players in our lives, either verbally or mentally. To… well… recap who they are, as if we were talking to strangers. She said it normally only happens when there is a crossover between universes and not that often even then."

"Oh, a crossover then, wonderful," Lucifer muttered; truthfully he wasn't THAT bothered by the idea of a crossover. All depended on who came over. John ConstaTYNE had been a bother but he had helped Maze so that was a bonus. The whole End of the World thing thanks to the Monitor had been a bit more of a sticky situation but they had made it through that well enough. But there had been other times that universes had crossed over that had caused problems. Issues that needed to be cleaned up. The less said about that pathetic waste of space that looked like the bugger from LOST claiming to be Lucifer Morningstar the better… Lucifer had been forced to deal with so many annoyed people because of that fraud.

On the other hand it had been amusing to scare the piss out of the Serpent of Eden and his little Angel when they'd taken a wrong turn and ended up in his neck of the woods. He was disappointed they'd never taken him up on his offer for a tumble-

"So, who exactly is coming over to visit? Angel? Demon?" His eyes lit up. "Is it Dr. Brennan? Tell me we are doing a crossover with Bones."

Amenadiel though sighed, clearly wishing he could be as optimistic as Lucifer… as startling as that thought was. The Devil looking on the bright side of things. "They've been here a few months already… or a few years. Seems there is a weird thing they are doing to time, we're all trying to figure it out…" He shook his head. It was time to get serious. "But they are heading to Los Angeles right now, brother." He leaned forward. "Luci… it's a Chaos."

"…I'm not familiar with that show. Is that the one where the lawyer is sleeping with the President?"

Amenadiel blinked at that.

"Well?"

"Uh… it's a Chaos."

"I heard you the first time," Lucifer said. "Repeating it doesn't clear things up at all."

Amenadiel let out a sigh, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling. "You honestly NEVER listened to Dad when he was explaining things, did you?"

"If I did that I would have taken Azrael's Blade and shoved it through my ear just to stop the pain," Lucifer jested. Amenadiel merely stared him down and Lucifer let out a huffing sigh. "Fine fine, this is apparently serious. What is a Chaos?"

Amenadiel's voice became calm and measured. Many humans would have equated it to a professor who was the master of their field or an aged priest preparing to deliver a sermon. "The humans have all sorts of ways of talking about the beginning of reality. In the beginning there was darkness and God said 'Let there be light'-"

"By that you mean he said, "Son, go do this for me while I work on making mercury." When his brother shot him a look Lucifer gestured for him to continue.

"God created the Heavens and the Earth. All that. But there is a lesser version that is actually correct: In the beginning there was Chaos. The Primordial Chaos. The building blocks of existence. And our Father and Mother shaped it into the universes and the heavens. But the Primordial Chaos rebelled, not liking that order was being forced into it… and not pleased that it was all in the name of some Plan." Lucifer was liking this better and better. "As such the Chaos condensed and hid itself away until it could be reborn within creation as living creatures, the avatars of chaos and change. They were named Chaoses.

"To be a Chaos one must be from another universe and travel to a new one. Not as a visitor but to make it their home. Since they are part of their universe they can't truly change its destiny… only by being made up of the Primordial Chaos of another universe can they function properly. They must have knowledge of that world… sometimes to the level of our Father, other times just enough that they understand it fully. And then they use that knowledge to alter the world."

"To what end?" Lucifer found himself asking.

"For change. Sometimes good… sometimes wicked. There is a Chaos in the realm of Narnia… he slaughtered Aslan and made his pelt into a cloak."

Lucifer pressed his lips together. "I wasn't a fan of that sanctimonious lion but even I think that's a bit harsh."

"He's healing, not that the Chaos that did that knows it."

"See, a bit of badness but it worked out."

"Another nuked his entire world."

"…come again?" And for once that wasn't a sex pun.

"A Chaos, born into a world where he was trapped as an infant, destroyed the entire Earth and all life on it before teleporting to another universe. At least that's what Raphael said. He has begun to watch out for Chaoses once we realized the one on our Earth was here. Not all of them are bad, of course… there is a Chaos that is a Time Master is from the world of your John Constantine friend-"

"Johnny is NOT my friend," Lucifer said stubbornly. "Though Zatanna…" He shook his head, deciding not to focus on what almost was… or the fishnets. "Alright, so Chaoses can be good or bad…" His mind went back to what Amenadiel had said earlier. "One is coming to LA?"

"Apparently he's been in our world for several months."

"Then why didn't you bloody well do something about him earlier?"

Amenadiel held up his hand. "I would have, if I had known. But he was in Domino and there are things going on there that are creating blind spots."

"Blind spots? You are God!" He wouldn't have minded if the Chaos was headed to Berlin or Kalamazoo. Who cared? But LA was HIS. It was where his family was. It risked Chloe and the Doctor and Beatrice and everyone else! Everyone he refused to name because he didn't want to recap at that moment!

"He arrived roughly around the time Father left, Luci. And even then… you know there are powers that can war with Heaven. After all, some of our biggest fights were when you stumbled upon a few."

Lucifer admitted he was right about that. Several times in their long history Lucifer had been having a grand ol' time when suddenly his brother appeared and rather than just demand he go back to Hell would viciously beat him until he was knocked out cold, Lucifer awakening in Hell with a swollen face and busted lip. Only later had he learned he'd accidently stumbled upon a power that Heaven feared he was courting… which was insane. Lucifer had no desire to fight his Father… it would mean having to see him, after all.

"So what is it then? What new magic has risen up?"

"Not something new… something old. Several old ones, in fact." Amenadiel sighed. "The Millennium Items."

Lucifer at once scowled. "I thought those bloody things, and I do mean bloody, were lost forever."

"Apparently not," Amenadiel stated.

"Damn it all, those were nasty pieces of work. There is a reason why I left Egypt despite how much fun teaching them how to summon monsters was." He had arrived during the reign of Pharaoh Aknamkanon and had taught the man and his court the secret to summoning beings from parallel realms. He had assumed they'd use them for orgies… Lucifer himself had enjoyed greatly his time with the Loralo the Mystical Elf and her broody Guardian. But the Egyptians had disappointed him. "The moment I realized they were using items created through blood sacrifice-"

"I know, Lucifer, I know," Amenadiel assured him. "Its why I never came after you for that. In fact its why the next time you arrived on Earth I left you be for 10 years. Father was pleased you were as disgusted by them as He was."

"Oh believe me, I enjoyed creating the Hell Loops for the crafters of those blasted things." He took a breath, settling himself. "They are back?"

"Yes. And the Chaos managed to get hold of one of the untainted one."

"As untainted as a relic made from blood sacrifice can be," Lucifer muttered. He knew that some of the Millennium Items had become tainted by dark magic, while others had remained pure. "So he's wielding that."

"Yes…"

"Spit it out, brother. Clearly there is something worse."

"He is the reincarnation of Selene's lover."

It took Lucifer a moment to place the man and when he did he scowled. "Endymion. He tried to steal Divinity." It was one of the reasons their Father had begun getting the Heavenly Host to stop visiting Earth as much as they had back in the old days. Fine for Lucifer as it had meant less need to worry about running into his family and he had never been worried about running into Endymion, as he tended to look for pleasures of the flesh rather than mages and the like. "Is Selene…"

"Yes," Amenadiel confirmed and Lucifer groaned at that.

The Greek 'gods', as they called themselves, weren't truly gods. Or, at least, gods like Amenadiel was now God. No, they were more the embodiments of different universal objects and concepts. Similar to the Endless yet not. Certainly not as powerful in Lucifer's experience. But they were dangerous beings to deal with, as they tended to be even more petty and vain than angels or demons.

"So we have a Chaos heading towards LA, wielding one of the blood soaked Egyptian Relics though at least it isn't tainted with the power of Zorc, who is the reincarnation of an Angel Hunter, and he has his goddess lover with him." Lucifer looked at Amenadiel suddenly. "And they are making us recap."

"Exactly. Which is why I need you to put every Hell Loop on sleep mode and get up to Earth."

Lucifer grimaced at that. While it was possible to freeze the Hell loops and keep the souls in them from knowing what was going on it risked causing cracking in Hell. It was like stomping on the brakes after going 90 miles per hour.

"Why me though?" Lucifer asked. "Can't you go down and just tell them to bugger off to another universe?"

"Chaoses are hard to get rid of," Amenadiel stated. "And this one… Luci, it was Endymion."

Lucifer at once understood. 'Endymion hunted for power. If he startled Amenadiel and managed to steal his Divinity…' The idea of anyone but his brother with the powers of God was… very concerning. "Then one of our siblings then," Lucifer stated. "Because there is still the issue of the bloody time loop."

Oh… how Lucifer hated that thing. The reason why he was separated from Chloe. Why he wouldn't be able to be there for his child. Why Rory would grow up so bitter and hateful, blaming him to the point of wanting to kill him; Lucifer had hated his Father but had never DREAMED of killing him. As much as he was glad he had discovered his purpose he truly wished he had discovered just a bit sooner, to ensure that the damn Loop wouldn't have to come into being. To prevent the paradox from being created.

'I promised her,' he thought bitterly, and not for the first time. Not bitter at Rory… she had been scared of what could happen. What the paradox could do to her. Of denying him a chance to know what he was meant to do and it being all her fault. She had begged him to promise her he wouldn't change a thing and he had agreed even though it was like cutting out his own heart. Just the thought of her being there now, even if she was still in the womb, and him not being there when she was born or when she took her first step… of her growing to despise him to the point that she would scream at her own family any time they tried to speak up for him…

The Time Loop. It wasn't just hurting him. It was hurting everyone he loved.

"I've thought of that," Amenadiel stated. "I've talked with Evangiel… and we think we've worked on a temporary fix." Lucifer perked up, motioning for his brother to continue. "Because I'm using Lux to help our brothers and sister learn about Earth… and because they aren't exactly the best at it… things needed to be done in order to ensure that they didn't reveal our existence. So we created a barrier around Lux so that humans simply… dismiss what they see there."

Lucifer chuckled. "Someone ripped off Harry Potter."

"I didn't rip off Harry Potter."

"Oh, you most certainly did. Just call it a Notice-Me-Not Spell, brother." He took a sip of his coffee. "By the way, while I might be all for healing souls down here I plan to let that little Terf run a few extra thousand years in her Hell Loop, so do warn those in heaven they'll have to wait for autographs."

Amenadiel continued on, ignoring that comment. "Evangiel helped me create it… you remember how he was responsible for making sure humans didn't see our little flubs when it came to miracles?"

"I do remember hearing about Azrael getting confused and killing the First Bread of Egypt. Oh, all those wasted loaves."

"Well, Evangiel thinks he can make it that only celestials and those tied to the most… mystical parts of the world can notice you. Anyone else will just see you as a random stranger. But our brothers and sisters will know its you. And so will Selene and the Chaos." He shook his head. "You won't be able to leave Lux-"

"I didn't plan to," Lucifer said tersely. "It would… be too hard." It would be bad enough seeing Chloe period… but to know that Rory was there? He wouldn't be able to do it. Wouldn't be able to abandon her again and again. He and Amenadiel had discussed when she was older possibly having Chloe go on 'business trips' that would allow them to meet but that was far, far off. "And this way we control who sees me, so they know not to mention a thing. As much as I love the good Doctor… I fear she would slip and reveal the truth." He let out a sigh, unable to believe he was doing this. "Right, so it has to be me. Can't trust our siblings to deal with him because they will never blend in. So… how is our Chaos showing up? I am assuming he isn't sailing in on some Viking pirate ship?"

Amenadiel shook his head. "Flying in on a private jet. Turns out that he's the sole board member of KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions."

"Ah, Duel Monsters!" Lucifer said with a grin. "That was just getting popular before I left… some of my last favors were helping to track down rare cards."

"Be careful how you handle him," Amenadiel told him. "He might be one of the good ones… apparently he died very briefly while I was down visiting Linda and Charlie and he appeared near the Pearly Gates. So its possible he's one of the ones that just tries to make things better."

"Maybe, but he can do that in any city but MINE." Lucifer smiled fiercely at that before focusing, freezing the Hell Loops in place. He winced as he felt everything come to a stop… but thankfully there were no rumbles or quake. "Now then… where might he be, exactly? I want to be able to pinpoint him rather quick and send someone to bring him to Lux."

Amenadiel shifted.

"…brother," Lucifer said slowly, not liking how squirmy Amenadiel was getting, "where… is he?"

~MC~MC~MC~

Mai watched as Edwin looked about the crowded club, looking ready to bolt. It amused her to no end how her boyfriend could command a room… but still would prefer to hide away in his condo than interact with the public. Oh, once she got him going he was fun but he HATED arriving there.

Or having to spend too long there.

'But he does so because he knows I enjoy it,' she thought with a mixture of fondness and sadness. She was glad he was willing to do things she enjoyed because he knew it would make her happy… but hated that it made him upset. Not miserable just… he wasn't comfortable with it at all. Edwin would have been so much better with a group of friends, sitting in a private hotel room sharing snacks and listening to music. The club… it was his own personal Hell.

"Well, a lot of women are about to have a horrible night, what with their boyfriends all oogling you," Edwin said as he leaned in towards her ear, his hot breath making the skin on her neck flutter in delight.

Well… who better to journey to Hell with than the Guardian Devil? Even if he had given that name up to Yugi and the Pharaoh.

The club (Edwin and Mai hadn't caught the name of it, so busy with getting unpacked and ready to go… and of course Seto hadn't cared at all since it had nothing to do with him) was filled with all sorts of rich and powerful players that one would find at an exclusive LA Event. There were businessmen and their pretty trophy wives who weren't nearly as vapid as they made themselves out to be. There were stars who were enjoying being able to drink and dance without any photos being taken (Kaiba had demanded that no images of the new designs for the Duel Disc system get leaked and thus any picture taking would result in one getting booted). Several Influencers too busy telling their phones how amazing the party was to actually experience how amazing it was. Tech bros who were interested in seeing if there was any way they could get a piece of the action. The children of the wealthy who were only there because 'everyone else was'.

Of course, because it was connected to KaibaCorp, nearly all of them had deck boxes on their hips or were taking out their prized cards and showing them out. There were several duels going on (though thankfully with no holograms) and several people desperately trying to make trades.

The club itself was rather interesting. Clearly high end, done up in reds and blacks and deep browns that made it look rather trendy but also rather timeless; it wasn't the kind of place that would suddenly be out of style in a week. There was a dance floor in the center of it with a piano on a raised pedestal, and around that a ring of tables before a set of short steps led to the second level with larger tables for dining as well as multiple booths scattered throughout. This was also where the massive bar was, several men and women at work pouring drinks. Another set of steps, much taller, led to the catwalk section where people could overlook everything. There were doors all over that led to what Mai assumed were private rooms and she saw several of them open with people already chatting away… or quickly moving to shut them for privacy. There was a small 12 by 14 poster sign near the door declaring that this was the KaibaCorp Launch party and welcoming everyone that was attending.

Even though they had been told it was a party Edwin had still decided to go with business dress for the event, choosing one of the variants of his Earth-2 outfit. Gray shirt, blue vest, black suit with a blue tie. Very professional and very stunning. Mai, for her part, had considered a dress but decided to go with a suit herself, as tonight she didn't want to be seen as Sex Kitten Mai Valentine but as Power Player Mai Valentine.

"You know," Edwin said, "I could trick Seto and Pegasus into selling some stock off with me only to buy it all for you."

"You just want to force me to help you with the work at the office."

"Not at all," Edwin stated. "I was thinking that we could hold board meetings." And the way her whispered the words made it VERY clear what he wanted to do in those meetings.

"Oh really?" Mai said softly. "Make sure the door is locked?"

"And soundproof the entire thing," he told her. "And tip Moose's cleaning staff extra for dealing with all the fluids."

Mai ran her teeth along her lip before taking a shuddering breath. "Let's focus on mingling for a bit then we can see about sneaking away. This club also has private rooms…"

"Whole tower does," Edwin stated. "It's why Mr. Pine chose it. Seto and Mokuba will be above us, we're right in the middle. Supposed to allow everyone to party as much as they want but considering I don't drink…"

"Well I plan too," Mai said, snatching a wine glass from a passing server as they moved to a table. "Yuri and Renard are patrolling, Edwin, I can afford to cut loose a little." She nodded to their friends who were moving about the club, quietly making sure everything was on the up and up. Edwin was utterly paranoid about being in a new place, even though she knew that with the Millennium Key he could easily get them out of there if there were any problems. His hands went to Gleipnir's Cord, which he had left in its cane form, running his hand along its handle. "Besides… you might like me when I'm all loosy goosey."

"Maybe…" he said, bending slightly to her promise. But then his eyes darted to her drink.

Mai let out a chuckle, taking a sip. "And don't worry, I will make sure to drink plenty of water."

"Ah, good idea," Mr. Pine said, breaking from the crowd to join them. "Want to make sure you don't get hung over in the morning."

He was a middle aged man but closer to his youth than his retirement, with chestnut brown hair and a clean shaven face. The typical Wall Street exec type except Seto had confirmed the man, while knowing his business, wasn't into underhanded deals or the like. After the Big 5 Seto had been sure to vet everyone he hired; Mai had ignored his comments about not wanting to make the same mistake as with Edwin. After all, Seto hadn't hired Edwin.

Mai knew that Edwin didn't mind Mr. Pine that much, other than he was utterly, as Edwin had said dismissively, a 'coaster'. Or a 'Hollywood elite'. Often she'd needed to tease him about that, as his Midwestern roots had shown in his dislike for some of Pine's ideas. Mainly the ones that were far too extravagant in his opinion. Mai of course had pointed out that she had spent several years in Los Angeles but he brushed that off as not mattering.

"Not quite," Mai said, deciding not to mention that, thanks to her getting better in touch with her Selene Powers she'd found it near impossible to get completely drunk. "Edwin doesn't drink so he won't kiss me if he can taste liquor on my tongue."

"That just means he hasn't found the right drink yet. We can figure that out tonight… they have a full bar and can make anything you might want."

Mai grimaced at that; Edwin had told her many times that many of his cousins had fallen into becoming alcoholics, drug users, and heavy smokers. He avoided those vices as much as he could to ensure he didn't fall into the same problems due to addiction being a genetic problem for him.

Mr. Pine, however kind and teasing as he was trying to be, was basically telling someone worried about rape to dress slutty.

"I want a pop," Edwin said curtly. "Pepsi, because if I say Coke I'll end up with the white powder."

Mr. Pine laughed at that. "Well, I think you should give it a try. The alcohol I mean. Loosen you up. We are celebrating the Duel Disc launch, after all! And the new factory. We have a who's who of the Hollywood Elite-" Mai saw Edwin's jaw work at that, "-here to party and test it out." He gestured to an area near the back where people where using the duel disc, modified to project miniature versions of the monsters.

"And if you had set this up anyplace other than a bar Seto could have come," Edwin said only to suddenly make a face. "Nevermind, just realized how much worse having SETO here would be than me. Good call, keep him as far away from the… elites… as you can."

Mr. Pine laughed at that. "Listen, I'm going to get a selection of wines and stuff and you can taste test them. We'll find one you like!" He got up and hurried off, missing Edwin's body slump.

"I don't want to live on this planet anymore."

"I'll drink them all for you, ya big baby," Mai said, rubbing his back.

"How much longer do we have to stay here?" Edwin complained.

Mai was about ready to tell him they'd just arrived when a suave British voice cut through the cacophony of party guests.

"Why, you can leave right now, if you wish," a sharply dressed man who was taller than herself and Edwin, with dark hair and a neatly trimmed stubble beard, said as he sat down across from them at the table. "In fact, I think I would prefer it. Out of the club, out of the building, out of the city, out of this universe."

Edwin stared at the man before squeezing his eyes shut. "Okay, is this a Halloween thing or a multiverse thing? Because I did get done battling Thanos a bit ago so it should be Halloween…"

Mai frowned at that. "Edwin?" She was used to him saying snarky things like that but he did try and be good about revealing multiverse stuff to strangers. After all, he hadn't really mentioned it to Joey or Mr. Muto until he'd literally been shot by his doppelganger Wyatt Chaos, a version of himself from a world where everything was a nightmare of tyrants and rulers carving up the world into their own private kingdoms. A bounty hunter who had tried to capture him only for Edwin and her, along with their friends, to attack his base of operations outside of Space and Time. So for him to be so open about it to a stranger? That was odd.

"Its okay," Edwin told her, taking her hand while staring right at the new arrival. "He knows about the multiverse. Don't you… Lucifer?"

"Lucifer?" Mai said only for her eyes to go wide. "Lucifer."

"Morningstar," the new arrival confirmed. "Or The Devil if you want to hang a title over my head. I would prove it by trying to draw your deepest desire out of you but that little trick doesn't work on celestials and immortals. Isn't that right… Selene?"

Mai though remained in control, much to her own relief. She always hated it when Selene took control, mostly because her goddess self tended to like to erase her memories of what she did while in possession of her full self. It was so utterly frustrating… Selene loved to tell all that she was Mai but she refused to allow Mai to know what happened when Selene regained everything. And yet on the other hand she was thankful because she hated what she became with those memories fully engrained in her brain; her friends tried to be kind but she knew she became a terror and a bitch when she was fully Selene.

"I am Mai," she said firmly. "Selene is… something else." She saw Yuri and Renard moving towards them from opposite directions but her relief at them coming to their rescue died when several of the staff suddenly got in their way.

"Well, if you want to be known as Mai I won't judge. I selected my own name, after all. I must say, you are handling this FAR better than I expected. Normally I tell people I'm the Devil and they accuse me of being a method actor."

"We're friends with Brom Bones," Mai commented. "After you have breakfast with a Death God? Nothing is too shocking."

"Right, he's one of Azrael's little helpers." Lucifer shrugged and turned to Edwin. "But we've gotten off topic. You need to leave, now."

"Believe me, I would love to leave the club but I am doing business here. I had no idea we were in Lux but if I did I would have skipped out." Edwin suddenly frowned. "Where are we at, timeline wise?"

Lucifer frowned before slowly nodding. "Right, my brother mentioned that for you Chaoses our existence is nothing but fiction. Sorry but I'm not in the mood to tell you… won't have you meddling in things that matter."

"At least tell me Cain is dead," Edwin stated and Mai mouthed the name. Cain? "I don't need to deal with that slab of douchebag."

"He's dead," Lucifer admitted. "And that's all you'll get out of me."

But Edwin merely smirked. "Oh… you don't lie. I remember that now. So you have to answer."

"No, I don't lie. But that doesn't mean I am magically compelled to answer everything you asked. What I am compelled to do, and it is by my own choice, is to get you out of this club and-"

Screams ripped through the air and at once Edwin, Mai, and Lucifer were on their feet, moving towards the source of the cries. That turned to source to be one of the private rooms… and the reason for the yelling was the corpse of a young man, maybe a few years older than Mai herself, throat slit so completely his head was nearly floppy off.

"…alright, so I was with you the entire time so you are NOT blaming this on me!" Edwin complained.

~MC~MC~MC~

Author's Notes: Much like with how I used to do with Authors Of Our Own Fate, for this fun mini series I am going to be doing a plot bunny every chapter, in hopes someone picks one of these up.

Plot Bunny 1

Episode 1. The Pilot. Literally everything happens the same. Delilah, Jimmy Barnes, all that.

Except… at the very end… while Chloe is in the hospital Amenadiel suddenly makes an appearance while Trixie is asleep in a chair.

"Why are you doing this? Can't you see it only hurts you… being around him?"

At which point Chloe gets out of bed, glaring at Amenadiel. He tells her that Lucifer doesn't even remember her.

"And whose fault is that?" she asks… before wings burst from her back.

In this reality angels were created in pairs. Not twins like Michael and Lucifer but rather two angels that are destined to be together, to love each other. With their partner they are truly vulnerable, thus why Chloe was hurt when Lucifer was around.

Now, maybe Samael still rebelled but his punishment was supposed to be temporary. Or maybe he volunteered to go to Hell and never rebelled at all. But when he was sent to Hell something happened that caused him to suffer brain damage that scattered his memories. He vaguely remembers Chloe but not what she meant to him; a shape in his dreams he's trying to reach for. Whatever the case he has forgotten her and became Lucifer. Chloe was forbidden from going to Hell and took to wandering the Earth, refusing to return and blaming the Heavenly Host for what they did to her husband. She found many humans and became friends with them, with the humans becoming her secret holders. Penelope and John Decker were two such people and when John died Chloe took on the guise of their sheltered daughter as her current life.

With her finding Lucifer she is determined to make him fall in love with her again, and perhaps have him remember her. But she knows she can't just rush it… she must woo him. Get him to connect with her… but also hide who she is due to his hatred of angels.

As an aside there are three ways to deal with Trixie: the first is that she is just a human Chloe adopted (yeah, Dan isn't her dad, he's just Chloe's old partner). The second is that she is a newly created angel that escaped Heaven (later revealed that God sent her because he knew Chloe needed someone to care for). And third is that angelic children taken millions of years to develop and grow and thus Trixie is the youngest of Lucifer and Chloe's children… with the reveal that Maze is the oldest, who also abandoned Heaven but, unlike Chloe, wasn't banned from Hell and took the guise of a demon to protect her father.

Just so we can have the shocking scene of Maze and Chloe meeting and Maze dropping the act and hugging Chloe, calling her "Mom"