"Pass the jam," Mai asked Yuri over breakfast the next morning. We had hit up a small café that was nearby Lux… horribly overpriced but Mai had teased me that I could afford to BUY the damn place so complaining about spending 15 dollars on food was being a cheapsake. It was a little bit later than when I normally ate, about 9am, but Chloe had sent us a text message that we didn't need to rush out as she was planning to come in late herself.

'Most likely spending time with Lucifer,' I thought sadly. 'They should be able to spend every day together, if they want. Not just a few stolen moments because they can't risk some future timeline that hasn't happened yet.'

"What are you grumbling about, Captain?" Renard asked and I realized I must have been scowling as I tucked into my hash browns and bacon.

"Thinking about Lucifer and Chloe," I said quietly, aware that I needed to be careful that no one heard me mention the Devil's name. They were trying so hard to maintain the secrecy that he wasn't there and I wasn't going to be an ass and ruin it just because I disagreed. "I hate that they can't be together because of the whole Future Daughter thing."

"It's a time loop right?" Yuri said. "Predestination and all that?"

"I get it, believe me I do," I said. "Time shouldn't be rewritten. There is no way to alter the future because its already happened. Time is just a construct. In another reality I'm a fucking Time Master, blah blah blah."

"You are never going to let go of the fact that you're Booster Gold in another reality, are you?"

"Never," I said with a smirk, only for my smile to fall. "But it still sucks royally. It isn't fair to them. And hey, time works differently in this reality. The movie showed that."

"What movie?" Renard asked.

"Bonds Across Time. Yugi Muto, Jaden Yuki, and Yusei Fuedo all meet up, the latter two traveling back in time. And if I remember correctly them traveling back in time does alter the past. I think Mr. Muto died in an attack? Pegasus too?" I shook my head. "I can't remember. But I think time can be changed in this reality."

"So what?" Mai said. "You're going to break the rules and alter Future Daughter's timeline?"

"I want to… god I want to." I rolled my head back, staring at the sky… and checking to make sure Amenadiel wasn't looking down at me. Amenadiel was God now… that was odd to think about. Especially when Selene and Brom and Zorc were running around as well. "But I can't just do it without thinking about it carefully. I don't want to become the Chaos Lord Victorious."

"The… what now?"

"Doctor Who," I said. "Because that's all I ever steal from." My friends all scoffed at that, far too used to me quoting things they didn't know about. "The point is that Lucifer said I am a Chaos. Or rather he called me the Chaos Lord but I think he was being sarcastic. Point is… I change things. And I told him last night that I do change things but I try hard to change them for the better. But this would be different. This isn't future knowledge from watching a tv show. This is me deciding to muck around with time itself and I need to be careful. I don't want to go too far."

"But you do want to change it," Mai pressed.

"I want them to be happy," I said softly. "They deserve to be happy. So many issues in their lives that kept them from being together. Lucifer's mother. Cain. Chloe's fears. Having to go back to Hell. And other things… I'm still not sure about everything. I just know that they have a daughter and because they made a promise to her they have doomed themselves to be unhappy. Lucifer has to return to Hell, Chloe has to raise their daughter on her own-"

"An apparently she grows up hating Lucifer," Yuri said. I glanced at her, surprised by that outburst, and she shrugged. "What? Maze talked. Told me everything." She flashed me a flirty smile. "I think she wants me to join her and her wife for a threesome."

Mai shot me a look.

"No," I said firmly, already knowing what the minx would say.

"Oh come on."

"Mai, I am a one woman man."

"Then you can watch me and Yuri. Or me and Renard. Or you and Renard." She smirked. "I know you aren't totally straight Edwin…"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Really? You want to discuss having a foursome with our best friends at breakfast?"

"We can use another term. An orgy. A gangbang." I felt Mai's foot reaching up to rub my crotch.

"Mai…"

"What?" She said teasingly. "Could be Renard."

"He's wearing boots."

"Yuri then."

"Its not me," Yuri said with a chuckle. "If you'd like me too though Edwin…" I shifted as I felt a second foot now rubbing along my thigh.

"I feel very lonely in this conversation," Renard commented with a smirk.

I shot Yuri a dark look but the fucking little troll wasn't bothered at all. "I thought you saw me too much as family to be interested in this."

"That's Tea," Yuri stated. She pulled her foot away and Mai, thankfully did the same, but that was only because Yuri leaned over the table, her features growing serious. "Edwin… you saved me from the Domino City Police. You gave me a home when I was completely lost. Do you have any idea what that does to girl when a boy sweeps in like that? Why wouldn't I be attracted to you? The only reason I didn't try and stake my claim is Mai got to you first and that's okay… for me its mostly just lust and I'm happy with getting my jollies elsewhere." She darted out her tongue, wetting her lips. "Still… you do tend to walk around after you and Mai work out, not realizing what you do to me…"

I let out a groan at that. "You three will be the death of me."

"I didn't even do anything," Renard pointed out, munching on some toast.

"Yeeeeetttttt," Yuri sang.

"Lucifer is into all types," Mai pointed out, pulling out her phone and browsing it. "And Chloe was an actress. If a foursome bothers you we could see about adding more. Maze and Eve too for a nice solid eight."

My loved ones enjoyed tormenting me far too much.

"Maze. Info. Speak. Now."

Yuri pulled back and smiled. "We aren't done discussing this." But she also relented. "So according to Maze during the summer Rory came from the future, all wanting to kill Lucifer though that was before she realized she was in the past and would wipe herself out if she did that before she was conceived. Then it was just about yelling at him and being a bitch. Anyway, apparently she helped Lucifer realize that Hell isn't for torture, its for rehabilitating guilty souls. And Lucifer is actually really good at that."

"Okay, following you there. Not getting why he has to remain in hell and abandon his family and friends." Except as I said those words I DID get it. "Fuck. Time Paradox."

"Yup," Yuri said as she grabbed a muffin and cut into it. "If he just treats it like a day job then Rory grows up with her dad, never goes back to the past, never inspires Lucifer. So she forced him to promise he would abandon her…"

"…and forced him to become like his own father. And the whole "He would never find out" is stupid because it makes him out to be an idiot that needs her to save the fucking day."

Yuri nodded. "Yeah, Maze wasn't too happy either. Apparently Rory didn't want herself 'to change' so wanted to maintain the timeline."

I growled at that. "Can I hate someone if right now they are just a fetus? Asking for a friend."

"It is a horrible situation," Renard admitted.

"It's a fucking stupid situation. I can think of… five different answers." I began to tick them off. "Multiverse. That Rory didn't timetravel she dimension hopped, meaning that this is just creating a chain of abandonment because the Rory that will now be abandoned will hop to another dimension and continue the fucking cycle. Sinister enemy. It really isn't Rory, its an enemy who is pulling a Weeping Angel bit of destroying your enemies in the kindest way possible. They have altered the timeline and the real Rory just got erased. Manipulation. Rory actually DID grow up with her dad but an enemy brainwashed her into thinking she didn't in order to alter time. This one is also the solution to prevent a time paradox: Rory is hypnotized before going back in time to believe a false reality to let Lucifer know the truth but she fucked it up and made him promise because it was done too well. And finally… fuck that Rory, she was a broken woman from a bad timeline who selfishly decided she wanted to make herself, her family, her friends, everyone around her miserable because "I like me!"." I flexed my fingers in agitation. "It's a chain of misery that shouldn't happen… all because of that woman fucking up with time."

Renard glanced at me, clearly concerned by my anger. "Captain… you are sounding a bit like your Chaos Lord Victorious."

"Maybe I am," I muttered. "And maybe its right in this case."

"Its done though," Yuri said. "Future Yuri is back in her time. Lucifer made the promise. You can't change it." She sighed. "Listen, there are things I don't like either. Trixie… she's a sweet little girl. Its horrible that her dad died young and she will never see him again." She made a face. "Or she will but only when she's dead. But I can't fix it. I can't make him alive again."

I pressed my lips together.

"Edwin…" she said slowly, "don't you dare try to resurrect the dead."

"Halloween Filler Episode," I murmured.

"Edwin, no!" Yuri said, grabbing a napkin and smacking me. "Bad! Bad Edwin!"

I let out a huff but smiled at her. "Okay, fine, I won't resurrect Dan." But in my head I added, 'But I might have another solution…' It would require getting time with Amenadiel and for him to be better than Lucifer when it came to trusting me but if I could pull it off I could provide the next best option for Dan and Trixie.

"Edwin…" Mai said slowly.

"I said I wasn't going to resurrect him," I commented only to see Mai staring at her phone. "Uh…"

"I need you to confirm something."

"Okay…" she slid her phone over, Renard scooching his chair closer so could see too. "This is Lux two nights ago," I said before looking at Mai. "Paul Logan's video?"

"They posted a video right before his death?" Yuri said. "Ugh."

"No, this was a live stream and people are passing it around. I had to do some searching but I noticed something." She hit play and I watched as Paul began to yammer on about how cool Lux was, about how he couldn't want to get a Duel Disc, how he was SURE that Seto Kaiba would give him a free one ('Not fucking likely asswipe'), wondering if he would be able to duel anyone-

"Holy shit look!" he suddenly called out, panning the camera around… and revealing Mai and I walking into the club. "Mai fucking Valentine. Man, I'd love to lay her face down before flipping her face up."

"If you are trying to convince me to let his killer walk free…" I said only for Mai to shake her head. "Okay, what is it?"

"Look, right here." She said, pausing the video and pointing at a woman in the background who seemed to be staring rather intently at Paul. "She's in the entire shot. There are people cheering behind him and laughing and further back you can see people moving but she is always just standing there."

"Okay, so she's watching him," I said, not getting the point.

"I watched other videos… I recognize her." Mai took her phone back and scrolled for a moment before bringing up another video. This one had the Logan Brothers at some bar playing Beer Pong but instead of cups they were using hats that looked like the Magical Hats. Honestly it wasn't a bad idea and I made a note to talk with Seto and Pegasus about making such things.

"Ugh, what the fuck is that?!" Doug shouted as he had to drink down a mini hat, only to spit it out.

"My pee!" Paul cackled.

"I vote we give his killer a fruit basket," Yuri commented.

"Wait," Renard said as he stopped the video and pointed towards the back of the bar. "You're right… that is the same woman."

"A stalker," I murmured.

"One that was there the night he died," Mai said.

I clicked my teeth together. "I'm calling Chloe."

~MC~MC~MC~

"I did ask her… I did," Maze said, glancing over at Yuri Gardner who merely smirked at her.

"Did you actually ask?" Eve said on the other end of the line. "Or did you do that thing you and Lucifer and every other immortal does-" Oh, how Maze was pleased that Eve knew it a BAD idea to mention her having any connection with angels; her wife was such a fast learner, "-where you say you asked but you didn't? You just dropped hints and then are surprised that no one understood a word you were saying?"

"…okay, so maybe I didn't come out and flat out ask her."

"Uh huh. What did we talk about just last week?"

Maze let out a groan at that. The stupid fight… which she hated to admit was completely her fault. She had wanted to get Chinese food but hadn't actually told Eve to pick it up. Just assumed when she told her, "Shit, the sun is hot today." That she would understand that she was remembering when they had gone to the beach and gotten Chinese food and then had wild passionate sex on top of Linda's car.

"I have to spell things out for people."

"I didn't say it like that but close enough. Is she there?"

Maze smiled a little. "Yeah…"

"She have her hair up like in the photo?"

"Yeah."

"Ask her if she dyes everything."

"I will I will…" Maze told her.

People saw Eve and thought she was all sweetness and niceness and sugary goodness. But it turned out humans got their kinky sides from the First Woman because Eve liked her partners to be utterly radical and wild. And when Maze had shown her a picture of Yuri Gardner…

"I have to go… I'll try and ask her later, okay."

"if not then I'll ask when I pick you up. We're taking Trixie Trick Or Treating, right?"

"With Linda, Amenadiel, and possibly Chloe, if she can get off. We might also have the Chaos and his goddess join us if that Mokuba kid wants to go."

"Mmmm, a goddess and a Chaos."

"You don't even know what a Chaos is," Maze said with a smirk.

"She's called a-"

"He."

"He's called a 'Chaos'. That means he has to be wild."

Maze looked over at Edwin who was chatting with Carol. "He looks more like a lumberjack."

"Even better," Eve purred. "Ask them all. It will be my treat tonight."

"I will, I will," Maze said just as Chloe entered. "I need to go." She quickly hung up and looked at Chloe. "Took you long enough Decker."

"We needed to triple check but we found her." Chloe gestured at Seto Kaiba, who had joined them in the conference room. "Mr. Kaiba was able to use his staff to run the facial recognition software."

"Something you should have," Kaiba replied huffily. "I'll be donating the latest in KaibaCorp Face-Tech Software to the LAPD later today."

Chloe raised an eyebrow at that. "I should tell you that you don't have to but that would be a big help so thanks." She hung up a photo of a woman who looked to be in her late 20s, perhaps early thirties, with a lean face and short red hair. "This is Ann Marie Walters, also known as LoganFan01."

"No, that's the daughter from Castle," Lucifer said in the earpiece. "Which, might I add, is a decent enough show but no where nearly as good as Bones. It really went off the tracks when they introduced that serial killer angle… I mean Pelant wasn't great in Bones but come on now. And Castle's father being a spy was-"

Maze ignored him and focused on Chloe.

"16 months ago Miss. Walters won a contest to appear in one of Paul's videos. She was told that it would be a date in a grand city. Instead she was flown to Toledo."

"Already hating it," Edwin said.

"Do NOT get started on the evils of Ohio," Mai muttered.

"REMEMBER THE TOLEDO WAR!" Edwin roared in outrage, throwing his fist into the air.

Everyone just stared at him.

"…he's from Michigan," Mai said, as if that explained everything.

"Ah, that would explain it," Carol said in solidarity.

Chloe rolled her eyes and cued up a video on the monitor.

Maze frowned as she watched Paul Logan take Ann Marie into what he said was a fine restaurant. At first things looked to be going well… until Doug Logan came out as the waiter. He was horribly rude and insulting to Ann, mocking her weight (which Maze didn't get as the woman was very trim), being condescending with her order, and finally dumping a pot of soup right on her, the rest of the restaurant bursting into laughter as she sat there dripping wet.

"I hope his hell loop is painful," Edwin snarled low, Maze just barely able to hear him.

"Everyone deserves redemption," Lucifer said quietly, "but I do believe I'll let Mr. Logan wait a few thousand years before I get to him."

"What isn't show is that the soup he dumped on her contained prawns, which she is allergic too. She was hospitalized for several days but that didn't stop the Logans from putting the video up on their website. Since then Miss. Walters has not posted on a single video or in their Discord server. But, as discovered by Mai-" Chloe brought up a new screen, showing 14 different videos within the last few months, "-she has been clearly stalking him. You can see in this one that she is escorted out by their security." The video, showing Paul 'cutting' an opponent's duel monster deck with a hatchet, zoomed in to show Ann Marie struggling against some bouncers who were moving her towards an exit.

Kaiba glowered. "I want Doug Logan banned from all tournaments. Destroying Duel Monster cards like that-"

"What?" Edwin said, leaning back in his chair. "He should have just challenged an old man to a card game and given him a heart attack?" The teen shot Edwin a dark look but the blond merely smirked back. "Don't worry, I will ban him so you don't look like a hypocrite."

"You know, there are cells in Hell were watching these videos would be considered cruel," Maze muttered.

Kaiba's phone rang but rather than reach into his pocket he touched the collar of his jacket. "What is it?"

"Mr. Kaiba," a man said, his voice crisp and clear, "we've managed to locate Miss Walters. She's at a memorial that has been organized by several Paul Logan fans at Griffin Park."

Chloe at once nodded. "Alright. We need to grab her and we need not to make a scene. Maze?"

"Gonna cost ya, Decker," the bounty hunter teased.

"I know and its covered. A bonus if you don't maim her."

"Better be a big bonus." She stood up only for Chaos and Renard Volpe to join her. "I don't need backup."

"But you might need a distraction," Renard pointed out. "Edwin is good at distractions."

"…fair enough." Maze motioned for the two to follow her. "Alright, you better have a vehicle-"

"Oh no, there is no need for that," Edwin said, touching his glasses. "Troy?"

"I've found a photo, sir. Restroom… it appears to be about half a block from the site of the memorial."

"Alright, I got it," Edwin said and Maze started when a golden relic suddenly emerged from his chest, dangling from a cord. Maze leaned back in surprise, staring at the item in shock.

"A Millennium Item."

"Know about these, do you?" Edwin asked.

The demon nodded, trying to force herself to smirk, to look confident and tough. "We got quite a few Hell Loops surrounding those things."

"I imagine so," Edwin stated, not at all surprised by her comment. "A lot of people suffered at the hands of these things… and that's not including the souls of the Thieves of Kul Elna that were sealed within them in order to act as a energy source towards Zorc's power."

Maze raised an eyebrow at that. "So you know that that thing has been touched by someone that calls themselves the 'God of Evil' and you still wear it?"

Oh yes, Maze knew all about Zorc. The Dark God had been an utter annoyance for Lucifer for quite awhile, until he'd ended up sealed away in the Millennium Puzzle (not that they'd known that at the time… Lucifer had thought Zorc had been scared off by him puffing out his chest and telling him that the next time he was on Earth he'd kick his dragon dick from the African coast all the way to the Australia ). Many of Zorc's actions had ended up attributed to Lucifer or the Lilim, to his frustration and anger. Lucifer had been VERY vocal that he wasn't evil. He was a punisher of evil but he just wanted to be free. As for Maze and her siblings they hated it whenever someone pinned shit on them because it was giving them credit for things they didn't do… and they caused enough anarchy without the help of some Dark God and his scaly orc-like minions.

"Believe me, I wanted nothing to do with this bugger," Edwin commented, glancing at her. "It got forced on my by a ghost."

Maze frowned at that. "I hadn't heard of a soul managing to escape Hell."

"I think he ended up in Heaven," Edwin said but Maze shook her head. "Oh?"

"I doubt anyone that knew about the items ended up in Heaven. Who was he?"

"A tombkeeper. Shadi."

"Oh yeah, he went straight to Hell. Or should have. He would have known all about those things and how much blood is literally on them."

"Not sure how he's walking around, so to speak, but he is. Used the Key to enter my mind, explored for a bit, and then said I was worthy and grafted the damn thing to my chest." He shrugged. "I can't get rid of it… keeps coming back."

"Well, looks like you'll be meeting some of my family soon enough."

But Edwin merely smirked. "Not likely. The souls of the Thieves of Kul Elna that went into powering the Key have been freed. I purified it."

Maze shook her head. "That's… that's not possible. If it was then it would be powerless."

"Unless it was using my own soul to power it."

"No one's soul is powerful enough to power a Millennium Item all by itself."

Edwin grabbed the knob of the door leading into the evidence room and swung it open… revealing Griffin Park stretching out before them.

Maze's eyes went wide and she looked into the window beside the door, able to see the shelves full of contraband. She looked back to the door and saw the park stretched out before her and beyond it LA itself. Renard stepped through the door and walked to where the window would be but she couldn't see him! She swallowed her nerves and stepped through and found herself outside of a restroom, the doorway revealing the precinct. She took a step back in, one foot in the park, the other at the police headquarters.

"You would really make my day if you said, "Its bigger on the inside," Edwin said as he walked towards her, Maze leaping out of the doorway and into the park. Edwin shut the door only for Maze to run back to it, swinging it open only to be greeted with the familiar stink of a public restroom.

"…Chaoses," she muttered.

"At this point I wouldn't mind being the Chaos Lord, thank you very much. I need a new title after I retired from being the Guardian Devil." I paused. "I'm being sarcastic."

"Don't let Lucifer hear you say that," Maze said before looking about. There were mothers spending more time drinking their iced coffees and gabbing with their friends than watching their brats, a group of college boneheads playing soccer, and beyond that- "There's the memorial," she said, nodding towards an archway of blue and white balloons. She could just make out the poster that showed Paul Logan's grinning mug on it. "Alright Chaos boy… time for you to distract them so I can grab our stalker."

"Right… right…" Edwin rolled his neck, cracking it before he rotated his shoulders. "Maximum effort."

And with that he began walking towards the congregation.

"By that he means Maximum Asshole," Renard said with a smirk.

"I'd gathered as much," Maze said.

"By the way, I'm pretty sure Yuri would be open for some time with you and your wife, if you just ask." He shrugged. "Just be attentive… she deserves a good time."

Maze raised an eyebrow at that. "What? You playing big brother?"

"Nope. I'm just the guy she fucks when she needs some release."

"Damn, I knew you Japanese were kinky."

"European but I see what you mean." The moved towards the back of the crowd, careful to try and blend in even though it was rather impossible, seeing as most of the people gathered there looked like they spent their days smoking weed and arguing which movie ruined which franchise. Nearly half of them had out their phones, streaming the event as some guy in a plaid shirt and with a man bun waxed on about how amazing Paul Logan was, how funny he was, and how many lives he had touched.

"Would anyone else like to say a few words?" the man said… and Edwin quickly pushed his way to the front of the crowd.

"Dear friends… today's the day the Chaos cried," he said dramatically. "And he cries not for the passing of one man, but for the death of a dream. The dream that he would someday taste the ultimate victory over his hated enemy." The mourners frowned at that, beginning to murmur in confusion. "For it was Paul Logan and his stupid ass videos that made me the annoying soul I am today. How I agonized over the perfect way to thank him for that. Perhaps with a cyanide pie in the face. Or an exploding whoopie-cushion playfully planted in his overpriced shit car."

"Is this a bit?" Maze asked as people began to scream at Edwin, cursing him out for his comments.

"With Edwin everything is a bit," Renard stated.

Edwin continued on, ignoring the rage from the crowd. "But those dreams were dashed by the weaselly little gunsel sitting there in our midst!" He pointed at the man who had asked if anyone had wanted to say anything, much to his confusion. "The cowardly insignificant gonif who probably got lucky when Paul slipped on the slime trail this loser left behind him. This mound of diseased hyena filth who's not fit to lick the dirt from my shoes-!"

Edwin paused, gathering himself.

"But I digress." Now the crowd had begun just confused again, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Come on," Maze whispered to Renard and they began to make their way towards Ann Marie.

"The time for sorrow has passed. It's time to look to a future filled with smiles. And I'll be smiling again just as soon as we take that man THERE..." he jabbed his finger at his target, "and put it in that box… where's the box?" Edwin suddenly looked around wildly. "Seriously, who forgot to bring the box!?" He shook his head. "Cut! Cut!" He let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead with his index finger and thumb. "Damn it, that ruins everything… no one was live streaming that, right? If so I need you to delete it."

"What… what are you doing?" someone finally said.

"Paul's final request," Edwin stated. "He wanted us to reenact the funeral scene from The Man Who Killed Batman. Everyone knows it was his favorite show!"

That made the crowd murmur.

"Seriously? None of you got the email?" Edwin smacked his palm with his other hand. "Well come on then! Go get the casket! We need to do this right!"

Everyone stared at him.

"GO!" he roared and at once the crowd of mourners rushed to do as he commanded, Maze clapping her hand on Ann Marie's shoulder. "Oh baby… you are so talented," Edwin said with a smile, "and they are so dumb."

"I can't believe that worked," Renard muttered.

"I can," Maze said, smiling at Ann Marie. "Hi… so we need to ask you a few questioned about Paul Logan. So if you'll- SON OF A BITCH!" Maze cried out as Ann Marie snapped her head back, smacking Maze right in the face. It didn't break anything but it startled her enough that she let go of the young woman who took off in a dead run. "Oh, gonna make me work-"

A golden cord suddenly shot out past Maze, startling her into a stop.

The line rocketed through the air, wrapping around trees and benches, creating within seconds a net right in front of Ann Marie. She wasn't able to stop in time and landed right in it, the cord wrapping around her tight before it suddenly snapped off, causing her to fall to the ground completely trussed up.

Maze turned… and saw in Edwin's hand a whip.

"…what the fuck?" Maze said in shock, staring at the weapon. She took a step towards the Chaos, eyes wide as she took in the whip. "That's… not infernal. And its not celestial. What-"

"Gleipnir's Cord," Edwin stated. "Forged by the Huldra Brother from, among other things, an unbreakable leash, the mercy of spiders… and the blood of Chaos." At once the whip twisted on itself, turning into Edwin's cane.

"I don't-" Maze said, unable to put into words what she was feeling.

"This is a weapon the likes of which doesn't exist on this Earth… unless Thor is real."

Maze didn't answer, still staring at the whip. 'Is this what its like for Decker?' she thought to herself. 'Is this what she felt when she saw Lucifer's Devil Face? No… no wonder she ran away.' Maze wasn't frightened… no, she wasn't. She had faced off against the likes of Uriel. Stared down the Goddess of Creation. What she was feeling wasn't fear… it was the crushing realization that the world was far bigger and far stranger than one could ever imagine. There was no going back from that… no ignoring it. Everything… had changed.

~MC~MC~MC~

Chloe frowned as she looked at Maze, who was staring at her with the oddest expression. "Uh… are you okay?"

"Yeah… yeah… I'm just…" Maze let out a tiny laugh. "I am just really surprised by you, Decker. You're stronger than you look. And I owe you an apology for not saying that sooner."

"Thank you?" Chloe said before deciding to chalk it all up to a demon thing. "So are you Maze. I mean it." She smiled before looking back at the interrogation room, where Ann Marie was looking about utterly bewildered. "How are we going to explain getting her here so fast?"

"She was knocked out when she tripped," Yuri suggested.

"We'd have to report it," Chloe argued.

"Not really. She tripped and fell. And if she pressed the matter what is she going to say? Edwin has a magic key that lets him make portals? People will laugh that off."

Chloe opened her mouth to state they would NOT do that but quickly shut it; how many times had she hand waved away things Lucifer had done, after all? 'Honestly, I'm surprised Lucifer doesn't just walk around with his wings out… most people would just ask him where he got the cosplay gear.' Out loud she said, "You want to come in?"

"I think I'll watch from in here," Maze said and Chloe realized she was looking at Edwin who was idly rocking his cane back and forth. Chloe's detective senses were tingling and she suddenly wondered just why a man that clearly didn't go all in on appearances save for his suit would carry around such a nice looking cane when he didn't need it.

"Something has Maze spooked," Chloe whispered as quietly as she could.

"Perhaps she just wants to spend some time with Miss Gardner?" Lucifer said in the ear piece. Chloe remained quiet and after a moment he sigh. "Yes, I don't believe that either." Maze had refused to wear the Silver Lucifer pin that day, saying Chloe's was enough, but now she was curious just what had happened in the park.

Chloe entered and motioned for Carol to begin; while she was being forced by Kaiba to be part of the investigation she wasn't going to step on Carol's toes.

"So…" he said, "mind telling us why you decided to run?"

"Strange woman walks up and grabbed me."

"She also told you she needed to talk to you about Paul Logan. I would think, considering your love for him ], that you'd want to talk."

Ann Marie nodded. "Of course I'd love to talk… and to help catch the person who killed him."

"Brillaint," Lucifer said, "so she can toddle right into a jail cell then."

Chloe though spoke up. "You know, no one would blame you for being angry with Mr. Logan. How he treated you…"

"Paul was gentlemen," Ann Marie stated.

That made Mai scoff. "Then you've been dating the wrong guys."

"Paul WAS a gentlemen," Ann Marie repeated.

Mai shook her head and Chloe decided to let her speak; she wanted to see what angle she was playing at. "I get it. When you have had a string of bad boyfriends… the things that once bugged you suddenly just feel like the norm. You begin to wonder if that is how it is in relationships. That Hollywood lies and there is no golden romance where partners are equal and its gentle touches and sweet words. That maybe everyone gets scolded or treated like dirt or seen as just a prize. And it gets to the point where you begin to treat other people like that, so that you are the bad one in the relationship, and you don't understand why your partner is upset.

"But that isn't true. There are good men in this world. Good women too. Ones that are worthy of our love. What Paul did to you… it was horrible. Awful. Disgusting. And it wasn't the norm."

"Paul didn't do anything to me," Ann Marie said fiercely.

"Really?" Carol said, drawing her attention back to him. "You didn't mind at all that he made you a joke?" He pulled out screen shots of the videos, showing her stalking Paul, laying them out on the table like a dealer throwing out cards in a high stakes poker game. "If it had meant nothing… why constantly follow him around?" He tapped on the last photo, the one showing her in Lux. "You were there the night he died, his throat slit. You wanted him dead."

"No," Ann Marie said. Not flustered. Not angry. Just… casual. Calm. Utterly collected.

'That doesn't mean anything,' Chloe thought to herself. 'I've seen killers break down sobbing and I've seen them remain like stone.' Speaking up she said, "Because it wasn't you who did it, was it? Not really. It was like someone else grabbed that knife and slit his throat. Like… watching a video, right?" And with that Carol pulled out the final photo of Paul and set it down, the one taken after he was killed.

Ann Marie squeezed her eyes shut.

"Oh, I think we have her, detective," Lucifer said.

"I… wish I could have saved him," Ann Marie whispered. "If I hadn't left… maybe…"

"Or… not," Lucifer stated slowly.

"What do you mean, you left?" Carol pressed.

Ann Marie smiled bitterly at that. "I got a call. A friend was having a bad time, needed someone to talk to. She got fired recently and she was looking at things she could sell that might help out… she has unemployment of course but that only gets you so far in LA. She thought it would be fine, she's sold stuff off before but doing it because she needs to? That's different. She was upset. I talked her down." She squeezed her eyes shut, a tear trying to wiggle its way free. "By the time I was done the ambulances were coming back and he was dead."

Everyone was quiet for a long moment.

"You want us to believe…" Edwin said slowly, "…that you still cared for him… after he mocked and embarrassed you like that?" Ann Marie snapped her gaze up to glare at him. "He put you in the hospital."

"And he visited me the next day," Ann Marie said with utterly finality. "He apologized. He had no idea what Doug was planning."

"Doug?" Chloe asked. "Paul's brother?"

"Yes," Ann Marie said and now there was anger in her voice. And disgust. "Everything changed when Doug came on board. Paul did his prank videos but they were harmless and funny. Putting a watermelon in a stroller and trying to feed it. Buying lingerie for a sock puppet. It was Doug that pushed him to do more gross out and cruel videos. The Duel Monster stuff too. Paul hated. He admitted it in a reddit Q&A. He loved to play the game and thought doing videos mocking it were horrible. But Doug can't even shuffle cards right so he's always pushing to do TikToks and shorts."

"Doug was the one that did the prank on you?" Chloe said and she thought back to the video of the 'date'. It… had been all Doug. Him as the waiter. Him dumping the soup on her. Him leading the jeers.

"Paul told me I didn't have to sign the waiver. That because I went into the hospital that they needed further permission to use the footage. But I told him it was okay… I didn't mind. It was a nice date before his brother ruined it." She looked back at the photos. "I kept trying to meet up with him, to let him know that he should stand up to his brother, that his real fans would support him. I was hoping…"

She trailed off.

They asked her a few more questions but when there was nothing else Chloe and Carol told her they would be checking her records. If the timeline matched up with the phone call they'd let her go.

"It'll match," Carol said.

"Yeah," Chloe said, shaking her head as they all stared at Ann Marie the glass. She had asked for them to keep the photos in the room. "Why didn't we talk to Doug?"

"We did, briefly," Carol said. "He claimed he was on the other side of the room getting a drink thrown on him."

"Act like an ass in order to get an alibi?" Edwin suggested.

Chloe nodded. "I want to know where he is. Contact Salvadore."

"Detective?" Lucifer suddenly said. "That might be a problem."

"And why is that?" Chloe asked, pressing her finger to her ear, ignoring the befuddled look Carol gave her.

"Well, I did some digging while you were finishing up… those last few questions were honestly rather boring. You could have at least spiced it up-"

"Lucifer," Chloe hissed.

"Right. Well… I looked into Doug Logan's recent activity. It seems that he hasn't posted anything since the night his brother was killed."

"Not surprising… yet completely surprising," Chloe said.

"Yes, the leech managed to restrain himself. Or, rather, his fight or flight instinct was fully in flight. LoganTracker on Twitter is reporting he was spotted in La Jolla."

Chloe's eyes went wide. "Carol… we need a bolo put on Doug Logan… I think he's trying to flee the country."

~MC~MC~MC~

"Maze told me about your little item," Lucifer said into the microphone.

"…I'm free to talk," Edwin said quietly. "Chloe and Carol are getting the word out on Doug Logan. So… I'm assuming you want to know about Gleipnir."

"You have a dwarven weapon. Something not of heaven or hell but which can compete with it. Honestly, I've always been impressed by the dwarves and their ability to make such things. Truly impressive. It always was wonderful to spit in my Dad's eye that someone was able to make something that rivaled the Silver City."

He thought of how many times Amenadiel, as he was dragging Lucifer back to hell, had ranted and raved about the dwarven forged weapons or the creations of the Greek Smith. Oh, how he would fume that there were tools about that could rival the great pieces of Heaven.

'Especially since so many of our own weapons were lost,' he thought with a smirk. Amenadiel's gauntlet. The hammer and tongs that Lucifer himself had used to forge the stars. Raphael's Staff. Michael's dagger (and oh how his brother HATED that it was a dagger and not a sword… he would whine endlessly that it was 'too big to be a dagger'!). Some were locked away in the great Vault of Heaven, for their Father worried what might be done with them. Others had been destroyed through one event or another. Others were actually lost, misplaced and lied about. 'Amenadiel hated it that Poseidon was running about with his trident while his precious gauntlet was-'

"And the hell-forged blades," Edwin added.

Lucifer pressed his lips together at that. "Yes, quite," he said. "Now… while I am willing to give you a chance, Edwin Chaos, you must understand that I am a touch leery about letting you run around with a weapon that is classed by some as a 'god-killer'. So-"

"A deal," Edwin said.

"…what?"

"I'll make you a deal, Lucifer. I promise that I will only use Gleipnir, when it comes to those you love, in their defense, to protect them from harm. To ensure that they are not in danger. I will not use it to harm them."

"And in return?" Lucifer said slowly.

Edwin smirked. He couldn't see it but he KNEW he was smirking.

"I get to pick out what Halloween costume you wear this year."

"Ah, embarrassment is your cost," Lucifer said. "Well… there isn't much you can shame me with so you have yourself a deal. We'll shake on it when you arrive back here."

"Very good."

And with that Edwin switched off the mic.

Lucifer let out a little chuckle.

…and then he wondered why he suddenly had a bad sensation in his stomach.