More to the Story

by MischaLoth

Something is wrong in Hell- other than the usual- and Lucifer has to take it upon himself to get to the bottom of it. But when old faces from Heaven pay him a visit, things are turned on their head as Lucifer starts to realize things go way deeper than he first thought. Will include a mix of lore including Lovcraftian Mythos. Subplot Pairings: Chaggie and Adam's Apple.

19. Party in Port Gatory

"Wow!" Adam looked to be in awe, it was nice to be able to get a better read on his expressions now that his face was back to what it looked like when he was alive. He looked... genuinely happier than Lucifer remembered. He resembled the Adam back in Eden, full of wonder and hope. But of course, he just had to keep talking, shattering any sense of empathy the Devil might be feeling. "This place is almost big enough to house your whole fucking ego."

"You seem to be in a good mood. Though, you've been through here before. I'm not sure why you're all that impressed."

"If you mean the Exterminations, I told you, I didn't go over the city. Which is a damn fucking shame because my girls would have loved this place!"

"Don't Exterminate in Purgatory, dumbass. These souls aren't processed yet." Lucifer made a face. It was still weird to hear Adam refer to his Exorcists as his girls. That sounded less like a military general and more like an excited dad taking his angsty teenagers to the mall. Then again, how much military training did Adam have? Over all, if he thought about it for any extended period of time, Adam wasn't actually a great choice for the Head Exorcist. Wouldn't Solomon or Joan have been far better options? People with actual leadership experience? There weren't enough people alive when Adam was on Earth to count as a battalion, nevertheless, an army.

"I meant the stores." Adam gave him an annoyed look. "I don't remember going through here when I died, but I kind of wish I did. Oh, shit a brochure." He was distracted from his own rant as they passed a stand with folded brochures boasting about the exciting Port Gatory and all its wonderful sights (It really had exploded in size over the last several hundred years. It made sense as to why, to account for the increase in human population, but still, there was so much more to do here in Purgatory now than there was the last time Lucifer had visited. He really should bring Charlie back by. Maybe she could bring Vaggie! It would be a nice family trip.) Adam unfolded his little pamphlet, looking at it with genuine interest. "Oh fuck! They have an ice-cream place! Can we go there?"

"We're not here for fun." Lucifer reminded him. (Though the ice cream place was legitimately very good.) "We're going to the Archive, and that's it."

"But they have a snow globe stand. I could get Cain a present... have you ever taken him here?"

"Why would I take Cain to Purgatory? I only came here with my family."

"I mean, Charlie calls him uncle Cain. So, I'm getting mixed signals here about how close you were to him." Adam narrowed his eyes, clearly displeased by the response. Lucifer cleared his throat.

"He was a good family friend, but like, Lilith wouldn't exactly want him tagging along on an entire vacation. We got so few of them and she really just wanted to spend time together."

"Right." Adam seemed unimpressed by his answer.

"You know what? You win." Lucifer gave a sigh, he didn't really want to discuss his family at the moment so if this concession got Adam off his back, it would be worth it. "We can stop at one place after the Archive. But we have to go there first."

"I'll forfeit the ice-cream then, to get Cain a present." Adam seemed willing to drop the topic. Not too surprising. Lucifer and Adam shared the same ex-wife. It was probably an equally sore spot for them both. "I mean he is already getting part of the golden cookware, but I have missed a lot of birthdays and death days since he and I got separated with me going to Heaven and him getting stuck with you for all eternity. So, I have to make up for lost time." Usually, things bought in Purgatory were destroyed when they reached one's final destination. But traveling with Lucifer himself, would allow Adam to keep his little souvenir. Or at least, it should. (Lucifer wasn't sure how his weakening powers would affect all that.)

"How very noble of you."

"So where is Uri's library or whatever?" Adam ignored Lucifer's comment, looking at the map that the brochure had helpfully enclosed. "I don't see it listed here."

"Uri?" Lucifer snorted. "Damn, I had no idea you were on a nickname basis with the big dogs. Look at you moving up in the heavenly hierarchy. Also, it's unlisted. It's not for regular souls. It's really for... well... I'm not really sure why they have an Archive all the way out here- by the way it's an Archive, not a library."

"I feel like those are the same thing." Adam squinted at him.

"They're definitely not, you're just uneducated. It's not your fault though, if you think about it. It's ours for not setting up some kind of school system."

"What could you possibly have to teach me? I'm the one who named all life on Earth." Adam puffed his chest out, looking quite pleased with himself.

"The difference between an Archive and a Library, for starters." Lucifer smirked as Adam gave him an annoyed look. "Oh, don't give me that. It's a subtle difference. And in your defense, an archive isn't life, so it's not like you forgot something you named. Now, that would be embarrassing."

"I like your costumes!" They were interrupted by a compliment from a human soul passing by, who gave the Devil and his maid a friendly wave.

"Thanks!" Lucifer returned the compliment with a smile and cheerful wave of his own as they passed. Adam looked behind them at the soul who was examining a brochure like the one Adam had picked up.

"That is gonna be really weird if he ends up in Hell." Adam kept his voice low, thankfully. "Also, why did he think I was in a costume? I look normal. I mean you still look weird as fuck, but that's not on me. Maybe I'm just being lumped in because we're standing together."

"Your robes aren't exactly high fashion in any culture." Lucifer replied flatly. "And like I said, I'm not weird looking, I'm beautiful. It's kind of a well-known fact. You should read literally any book about me." Lucifer glanced back at the soul in question who was reading over his brochure A smile crossed the Devil's lips as he examined the man more closely. "And it wouldn't matter anyway. He's going to Heaven. Not that he would remember this interaction if he did go to Hell, but you get the point."

"You can tell?" For once, it sounded like a genuine question, which coming from Adam, was a rarity.

"Yeah, I can see what's inside a soul. It's an Archangel thing." Lucifer couldn't help but be a little smug in his explanation as he never missed an opportunity to brag. "I don't use it all the time because it would really suck in Hell. I would just see every bad fucking thing the Sinners did, every contract they made, all that bullshit. But in Purgatory it's a lot less depressing." He was still looking at the man destined for Heaven, his soul was like a little light, glowing in his chest, surrounding him in a warm radiance. The Sinner souls looked darker, heavier. There were certainly more of them around, but they were mostly unbound at this point, so there was less visual clutter. And then he looked back at Adam and he felt his blood run cold. He forgot how fucking subtle Corruption could look in a human soul. His soul radiated the hot, red aura more akin to a Fallen angel than a Sinner. It surrounded his body in firelight. But if Lucifer squinted and focused, he could see something moving, writhing under the surface of the soul trying to tear its way out from beneath the façade.

"Take a picture; I'll even sign it for you." Adam remarked dryly.

"Huh?" Lucifer blinked and reverted his vision back to normal. Seeing all the souls around him wasn't necessary at the moment.

"I mean, you were staring at me, and I get that. I'm hot fucking shit." Adam gestured to himself. "So, if you want a photo, I'll sign it for you. For only a nominal fee."

"You know?" Lucifer started to walk again, trying to clear his head. "You are fucking shit; I can give you that much."

"Don't be pissy just because I'm amazing." Adam didn't ask why Lucifer had been staring, and instead chose to feed his own ego. Which was fine. Lucifer didn't really feel like giving him an explanation.

"Let's just get this over with." Lucifer quickened his pace. Seeing Adam's soul had refocused him on their mission. "If you see anything familiar, say something."

"I keep telling you," Adam hurried after him, keeping a steady pace, "I never flew out this way. Wish I had though; we definitely wild have stopped for some fucking ice cream. It's a long ass trip."

"We'll have to come back when I'm better and you can show me the exact route you took." Lucifer replied flatly. It seemed bringing Adam in hopes of triggering his memory had been a fucking waste of time. (Though, Lucifer would never admit it, it might be for the best that he had someone around who knew the situation... just in case. Of course, Lucifer wouldn't ever need Adam's help, it paid to be prepared.)

"Y... yeah." Adam's response sounded far less confident than Lucifer wanted. He turned his head to look at the Fallen, only to see Adam looking up at the sky. It was another perfect, sunny day in Purgatory. (No surprise, there was rarely anything but sunshine in the city. Nightfall only occurred outside of city limits and was considered an incredibly dangerous time as the night was favored by the creatures that lurked in the wilds.)

"Is something wrong?"

"No." Adam was too quick to respond.

"You just seem-"

"I'm fine."

"Right, fuck it." Lucifer didn't have the time or patience to pry. Not today. So long as Adam didn't start growling, he'd be fine letting him brood. He navigated the busy streets until he was able to find the red bricked building that housed the Archives. It was a place to share knowledge, allegedly, though Lucifer doubted there were many up-to-date texts. There was an emblem of a scroll carved in gold in the wall beside the beautiful, stained-glass doorway. "We're here. Try not to mess up anything. We don't need to piss off Heaven any more than they already are." (Though, if they made them mad enough, there was a chance Lucifer could get yelled at in person, then he could harass whichever Archangel was giving the lecture until he got direct contact with Raphael.)

"Yeah, okay." Adam looked around curiously as they stepped through the massive double doors. "I've seen something like this before, Upstairs." He looked above him at the beautifully painted ceilings, depicting all Uriel's favorite technology that had been and would be invented. Lucifer tried not to roll his eyes as he started to look around at the massive, looming pathways of books and scrolls lined around labyrinthine walls. God Uriel was so fucking extra. (And they kicked him out for pride. Double standard much?)

"That's Heaven's Archive. It's got all of the research Uriel has gathered from Michael and his merry band of bitches." Lucifer went back to the ancient scrolls he had sorted through before. He had been in a rush last time, perhaps, he didn't get everything. "It's way more extensive than this place. Though, Hell's research also ends up here. So, this isn't just from Up Top." While this was true, Hell's contributions had been lacking over the years. Lucifer didn't find it necessary to keep Heaven up-to-date on every Hellborn discovery. Why give them any upper hand? They probably used the old research Lucifer had submitted to feed to Adam so he would be better prepared to fight against Hell's natural defenses.

"Apologies! This area is off limits!" There was a voice behind the two visitors and Lucifer turned quickly to see one of the automated employees. (He could tell she was automated simply because she didn't feel... alive.) "Allow me to escort you outside. If you need further assistance, please feel free to ask! And enjoy your stay at Port Gatory!"

"I'm Lucifer Morningstar. I have access here." Last time Lucifer had visited, Jazeerael had taken care of everything so he hadn't actually interacted with the Archivist. (Really? Was Uriel so fucking pressed for help she couldn't staff an actual angel at the desk? The automated employees could be such a fucking pain.) The Archivist was staring blankly at him, looking toward Adam, and then back to him. Lucifer sighed. "He's with me."

"Humans are not supposed to be in the Archive."

"Since when?" Lucifer hadn't really dragged Lilith out this way, but he had just assumed she'd be let in. And Adam was no different from Lilith. (Well, Adam was actually a lot different than Lilith. But not in any way that mattered currently.)

"Some of these texts can be harmful to humans. It is a matter of safety."

"He won't touch anything. He can't even read." Right. Lucifer hadn't considered that there might be some writing in the language of the angels. Adam, being Fallen, wouldn't be able to even look at it.

"I can read, fuck you." Adam glared at him.

"Please do not fornicate in our Archive. If you wish to have relations, I can guide you to the hotel."

"Oh! Fuck. No. No, no, no, no, no. It's an expression." Lucifer almost choked at the Archivist's response. Damn, even angels weren't this fucking out-of-touch.

"I am expressing the rules that say you cannot engage in intimate acts in the Archive."

"That's not what I- ugh. Forget it." Lucifer had half a mind to just go get Jazeerael because at least he was real and would understand slang. "I'm looking for texts written by Raphael. Anything about the Old Ones and Corruption."

"One moment please." The Archivist wandered away quickly, leaving Adam and Lucifer wondering if she had just completely abandoned them both.

"So..." Adam glanced down at Lucifer, "is she coming back? Or like... are we on our own."

"The Purgatory staff are not Heaven's greatest creations. If I was Death and I had to deal with them all the fucking time, I would be pissed." Lucifer met Adam's gaze. "You'd think she would get better shit since she's one of them." Azreal, the Angel of Death, had always been more empathetic toward Lucifer. She understood what it was like to have a terrible fucking job.

"This... is the good shit. I don't know what to tell you." Adam's reply surprised him. "Cause- well... never mind, it's nothing." The First Man avoided eye contact, looking anywhere but at the Devil.

"Do you know something?" Lucifer wasn't sure if he could push, or even if he should because he didn't particularly want to stress Adam out too much when they were in a building owned by Heaven.

"Nah, not really I was just thinking." Adam wasn't going to elaborate, and that was fine for now. Lucifer could interrogate him later when this whole issue was resolved.

"That must be very difficult for you."

"Hey, fuck off."

"Lucifer Morningstar!" The Archivist reappeared out of a completely different aisle than the one she had walked down initially. She was somehow behind him. "My apologies but you are: four months overdue on your current scrolls." Her speech was more stilted than some of the other employees in Purgatory. Lucifer assumed it was because she wasn't meant to interact with human souls.

"Yeah, still using them. But what else do you have?" Lucifer had almost forgotten he had been given a return date on those. It wasn't like anyone else would need them.

"You cannot check out any additional material until you return your current scrolls. Thank you, and have a nice day."

"Fucking right." It was a waste of energy to talk to her. She wasn't capable of understanding the severity of the current situation. That was fine. He had other options. He could look himself. Between him and Adam, it would only take a few days to sort through everything, though Adam might burn himself on some of the more holy texts, given he wasn't as powerful as Lucifer. There was also the ability to just ask someone else. As much as it would be frustrating, Lucifer knew what he had to do. "Can you tell me where Jazeerael is?" Angels were, legitimately, the worst. But that being said, they could be reasoned with (or manipulated) whereas the automated staff were steadfast in their ways.

"Jazeerael is at the Ferry."

"Huh, I thought they got booted off of working on those." Lucifer was told on his last visit that the boats were automated. And he had just seen the Hell Liner without Jezebel. Still, the AIs had the best idea of where anyone was in the city. It was better just to listen, than to wander aimlessly in search of a singular soul. "Well, come on Adam, let's go and find him."

"Find who now? What about the books or whatever the fuck we were supposed to be getting?" Adam wasn't following Lucifer's lead. The Devil looked annoyed. He grabbed Adam by the arm, starting to pull him toward the exit. Fortunately, he knew where the Ferry was located. It wasn't too far from where the Hell Liner had pulled in. Meaning that they were making a giant fucking circle.

"We're still getting the scrolls; we just need to talk to someone else first. You might know him, he's an Angel."

"I don't know every angel, fun fact." Adam looked unamused by Lucifer's suggestion. "I don't even know every Winner."

"That is truly shocking because I assume it isn't very busy in Heaven." Lucifer mused. All that space for a small population, meanwhile his own Sinners were cramped on top of each other. "Then again, he spends most of his time here in Purgatory, so you literally routed your path to Hell to avoid him. You know they didn't know about the Exterminations here?" Lucifer watched Adam's expression, trying to gauge his reaction.

"I mean it was kind of a confidential thing, asshole. We can't just let every cherub know about that shit." Adam looked visibly uncomfortable.

"Well, he knows now." Lucifer had a feeling that Jazeerael wouldn't be too thrilled to see them, but in the Angel's defense, he had always treated the Devil with respect, which was more than his current company. They approached the boat to see Jezebel sitting on a plush lawn chair with a fruity drink in her hand, wearing sunglasses with her captain's uniform as she was staring at the Heaven Ferry. Lucifer hadn't expected her to be around as well. He walked past her toward the ferry boat. It was not nearly as large or lavish as Hell's cruise ship, but it was nice, quaint, pleasant. It gave off a peaceful, small-town sort of aura. There was a line of people waiting patiently off to the side, laughing and chatting amongst themselves.

"Yo, bro you can't go on the boat right now it's- oh hey boss!" Jezebel called out to him, but immediately changed her tune when he turned around. "You... uh... trying to get Upstairs? I feel like this is a roundabout way to get there."

"No." Lucifer turned back toward the ferry. He didn't see Jazeerael quite yet, but he assumed the Ferry had just come in from the way he could see the automated staff bustling about on the deck.

"Who's your plus one?" Jezebel was eyeing Adam as she took another sip of her drink. "New wife? Does Queenie know? You can buy my silence if she doesn't."

"Oh fuck no." Lucifer shut that shit down fast. "Housekeeping, maid, but really he's more like an unbroken house pet."

"Wow, fuck off douchebag." Adam turned toward Jezebel who was in her human form. "Ignore him, gorgeous. I'm Adam, First Man, original dick." He gestured toward himself. "You... busy later? Maybe I can buy you another drink?" He winked playfully. Jezebel, fanned herself.

"You know, I'm actually off work right now..." She walked toward him, her steps purposeful and slow as she put a hand on Adam's chest. Lucifer rolled his eyes, holding out his arm and pushing Adam back.

"She'll rob you blind."

"Aw, boss." Jezebel put her hand onto her hip, shifting her weight to one leg as she gave a little pout. "I was gonna kill him. This is the asshole who murdered our people." Adam took a visible step back, standing behind Lucifer.

"Why are the hot ones always fucking crazy?"

"I don't have time for this." Lucifer rubbed his forehead. He took a deep breath, looking at Jezebel. "Where's your coworker? I was told he was on the boat."

"Oh, he is." She abruptly seemed to lose interest in Adam the moment Lucifer had called her out. She returned to her chair, laying back and continuing to enjoy her drink. "He's doing routine maintenance or whatever. I dunno, I wasn't listening when he talked."

"That sounds important." Lucifer looked back at his own boat captain. "Shouldn't you be doing something similar on our ship?" The Hell Liner made way more trips than the Heaven Ferry. The wear and tear had to be considerably worse.

"Meh. I looked it over. It looked fine." She gave a shrug, picking up a book from the little table beside her chair and opening it. Lucifer highly doubted she had done any such thing. But he had more pressing matters, he spotted Jazeerael stepping off the Ferry onto the dock. He was in his human form as well, carrying a tablet in one hand that had his full attention. He was engrossed in the screen to the point that he walked straight past Lucifer and Adam, going to the waiting passengers.

"Thank you so much for your patience!" Jazeerael addressed the line. "The Ferry is ready to be boarded! Please have your tickets ready, and I do hope you all enjoy your ride." There was clapping and a small chorus of thank yous as the automated staff took charge and began to load the boat and Jazeerael began to walk away. Before Lucifer could even speak up to stop him, Jezebel took it upon herself.

"Hey nerd! Get your ass over here!"

"Jez, please." Jazeerael sighed, lowering the tablet before seeing Lucifer and Adam and quickly taking a step back. "I-is something the matter, sir?"

"Jazeerael, good to see you, buddy. Can we talk? In private?" Lucifer glanced at the happy faces around him. The angel cleared his throat, clearly thrown off by the Devil's arrival. But as Lucifer predicted, he was too polite to decline.

"Ah, yes sir. Of course, sir. We can go to my office or-"

"Let's chat in the Archive." Lucifer gestured for Jazeerael to follow him as he turned back toward the city. "It's quieter, and it will save soooo much time."

"I don't suppose this is about you returning those very overdue scrolls, is it?" Jazeerael didn't protest, but he also didn't sound thrilled with the idea.

"I need an extension on that." Lucifer dismissed the thought. He had read them all, however, he didn't want to bring them back in case Heaven decided to revoke them from the Archive he could access. It seemed a bit underhanded for Heaven, however, Heaven hadn't been playing very fair, as of late.

"Right. And why did you bring a human soul with you?" Jazeerael lifted the tablet and held it up in front of Adam. "Oh." He almost stopped walking looking at the screen. Jezebel, who had decided to follow them, started moving him with her hands, pushing him along behind. "This is Adam."

"Damn right, gorgeous." Adam gave Jazeerael a wink. "Man, myth, legend-"

"Fallen." Jazeerael didn't let him finish. "You woke him up, I see." He finally looked at Lucifer, shrugging away Jezebel's hands and walking on his own.

"Yeah, things are... complicated right now. Trust me, I wouldn't be here if this wasn't incredibly important." Lucifer kept his tone calm, but serious. Sera has ignored his concerns, but Jazeerael was an outsider, at least as far as Heaven was concerned. He didn't know about the Exterminations, Lucifer doubted Sera had forbidden him from assisting. Honestly, Lucifer wouldn't be surprised if Sera fucking forgot Jazeerael existed, since he spent all his time in Purgatory. Plus, Sera was Gabriel's head Seraphim and Jazeerael worked for Uriel- at least, distantly. (He was far too low ranking of an Angel to report to her directly.)

"I was hoping you were here about my reports." Jazeerael gave an annoyed little sigh.

"I'm not your boss." Lucifer reminded him. "And Jezebel's reports have all been just fine." At least he assumed they were. He hadn't read them. But surely if they weren't she would have said something to him.

"I stopped doing them like a hundred years ago." Jezebel gave Lucifer a thumbs up. "So, I dunno what you're reading, but it's not from me "

"Look," Lucifer made a gesture for her to shut up. "The point is, even if something is wrong in your report, I can't help you. That's out of my jurisdiction." That much was true. In fact, he believed Jazeerael when he said no one was interested in listening. Heaven had been pretty fucking bad about that these last few months. They reached the Archive and Jazeerael politely opened the door for everyone else before walking in himself.

"I suppose you have a point. But then, what do you want with me? I'm not your employee."

"No, but your Uriel's." Lucifer gestured around him. "I need every single book, scroll, or article about Corruption, the Old Ones, anything like that. Especially anything that Raph wrote." Jazeerael didn't move. He was staring at him. Lucifer clapped his hands together. "Well, get to it."

"What is going on?" Jazeerael stood firm. "The last set of scrolls you took were on the same topic." Of course, despite his low rank, Jazeerael was old. He would have remembered a time from before Adam when Heaven had something other than Hell to fight against. Lucifer took a deep breath, and in one fluid motion his clawed finger swiped across Adam's cheek, cutting a thin line across it, just enough to draw blood.

"Ow! Son of a bitch!" Adam brought his hand up, but Lucifer caught his arm, bringing it back down.

"Don't touch it."

"You fucking cut me you little prick!" Adam was mad, not that Lucifer could blame him. Jezebel's clapping probably didn't help.

"To prove a point just hold still." Lucifer held tightly to both Adam's arms to make sure he wouldn't wipe off the blood.

"I'm a little confused..." Jazeerael was watching the exchange, holding his tablet to his chest.

"This got surprisingly kinky." Jezebel put an arm on Jazeerael's shoulder, using him like an arm rest.

"Just... wait." Lucifer grabbed Adam's chin in his hand, turning his cheek toward the two boat captains. It took a little longer than Lucifer expected (which might be a good thing, a sign Adam was recovering) but sure enough, the golden blood dripping down his cheek became more viscous and turned a deep, jet black. Jazeerael dropped his tablet as he jumped back, clasping his hands together and muttering a prayer.

"Why would you bring him into the City like this!? We work very hard to keep Port Gatory safe for the souls passing through!" The angel was on edge, perhaps Lucifer had pushed a little too hard with his evidence. Jezebel had both hands over her mouth, she was stepping back as well.

"Oh fuck. He got the thingy-thing."

"Corruption." Jazeerael hadn't taken his eyes off of Adam. "He's sick. Why would you bring him here! That can spread!"

"Only if he bites you, pukes on your face, or you decide to lick his blood. Don't be so dramatic." Lucifer waved off the obvious concern. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to wipe the blackened blood from Adam's cheek. "And he'll do none of the above because he's with me." He tucked the cloth back in his coat pocket. He would burn it once his powers were restored. "So now you see why I need the texts?"

"Y-yes..." Jazeerael still seemed remarkably unsure, refusing to move any closer to Adam. "How did he get it? Something like this... it needs to go to the Archangels. I-I need to call Uriel-"

"We already reported everything." For once, Lucifer was being truthful. "And we were told, basically, that it was Hell's problem so we had to figure it out. And that would be a lot easier with every bit of information you can help me find."

"Of course. I didn't realize..." Jazeerael hurried away into the archives. It was only a matter of a few minutes before he returned with several scrolls under his arm. "Here." He held them out and Lucifer took them. He wandered to a nearby table, sitting down, and starting to go through what he had.

"Adam, sit and don't touch anything." Lucifer tapped the table in front of the chair beside him, not looking up from his reading.

"Can I help at all?" Adam took a seat without much protest. "I can read some of this."

"You really can't. Your eyes might burn." Lucifer didn't necessarily need to read the Celestial text, as Uriel had written translations down beside it. But he could if need be. He may be a Fallen Angel, but he was far more resistant to Holy magic than a Fallen Human. "Plus," he finished reading one scroll and was on to the next, "I'm much faster."

"This is bullshit." Adam put his hands on the table and rested his chin on top of them.

"That's what you get for wandering off the path in Purgatory and getting yourself Corrupted." Lucifer didn't bother looking up. Adam would live through a little boredom.

"Are you sure he got it here?" Jazeerael spoke up hesitantly. Lucifer glanced up at him for a moment before returning to his reading. "I mean... I know you can get it from... certain areas, it's just... Heaven should have caught it. There's a screening process I had to go through."

"Where the fuck else could he have picked it up?" Lucifer finished yet another scroll, but no important information was gained.

"The... human world?" Jazeerael sounded unconvinced of his own suggestion.

"I haven't been to the living world since I was, you know, alive." Adam shot down that option before Lucifer even had the chance. "Even in Heaven, they don't let you go back unless you sign up for that whole Guardian Angel program, and even then, you're basically just floating around unable to interact with anything. I mean, I don't know how it works exactly. I never signed up. By the time they offered the program all my immediate family was long dead."

"It's a good program, I know an Angel who works on it." Jazeerael spoke up. Lucifer glanced up again and Jazeerael cleared his throat. "But I digress..."

"Do you have anything more recent than this?" Lucifer took the natural lull in the conversation as an opportunity to speak up. He had finished the texts Jazeerael had located, and was no better for it. (Archangels were remarkably fast readers, after all.)

"Afraid not. This Archive is due for an update, but Uriel hasn't scheduled one yet. It's not exactly... high priority since really only like... nine people use it." Jazeerael gave a shrug. "Anything more recent will be in her Archive up in Heaven. I'm not sure how much they have about Corruption in that one, but I know all the high ups have contributed to it. It's kept up to date for sure." Right. Uriel's little passion project. Lucifer remembered approving it for her back when he was in charge. However, he had always operated under the assumption that the point of the fucking thing was to share information. Not just between the highest officials in Heaven, but with anyone who would need it.

"Do you have access to that Archive?" Lucifer put the last scroll on top of the pile, making eye contact with the Angel standing across the table.

"Y... yes?" Jazeerael looked a bit thrown off by the comment. "I mean, I don't go often because of work, but I still enjoy studying in my free time and I've read almost everything in here." Lucifer took a deep breath, he put both hands on the table, palms flat.

"Jazeerael," he looked the angel dead in the eyes, "I need you to do something for me."

"N-no." Jazeerael took a step back. "I mean, no sir. I can't-"

"Hear me out." Lucifer cut him off. "All I need is for you to go to the Archive in Heaven, and look for anything Raphael has written about Corruption. You don't even have to bring me the original text. You can just put it in the copier."

"We don't have a copier anymore, that's really outdated. I can just scan things onto my phone." Jazeerael's response was quiet, but Lucifer smiled.

"So... you'll do it?"

"No. I never said that. I was just explaining that your idea was just a bit... behind the times. No offense." Jazeerael faltered for a moment.

"Look," Lucifer leaned forward, "it's nothing illegal. It's literally just taking pictures of a text that would really help out poor Adam here." He put an arm around Adam's shoulders, squeezing him tightly. Adam gave him a weird look, but Lucifer shot him a: be quiet or I'll kill you sort of smile. "Look at him, a human soul, destined for Heaven, Fallen to Hell and Corrupted. He's suffering. And isn't that something angels hate? Human suffering?"

"I'm not so sure..." Jazeerael was getting visibly flustered. "It's true, we do hate human suffering, but-"

"But what? Is there some law in Heaven that says these scrolls are off limits to you?" Lucifer spoke up.

"Well... no."

"And is there any rule that says you can't make copies of Uriel's texts to study for later?"

"Not that I know of-"

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem," Jazeerael emphasized the word, "is that if this was so clear-cut, you would just ask Heaven to make copies for you." The Devil fell quiet for a moment. Okay, so the angel had a point. There was no fucking way, after the call they had just had, that Sera would be super open and excited to share books in Heaven with him. However, as far as Lucifer was concerned, those books were none of her concern. Jazeerael was more closely connected to Uriel than Sera.

"Okay, so... Sera and I did not hang up on the best of terms. Some things were said, mostly by her, that could be considered... rude. So, I'm not sure she's feeling super forgiving and generous right this very second. Like I said, we were sort of told to just... suffer with it? And I know I'm the Devil but come on, Jazeerael, if people in Hell are suffering it should be because of me- not because Adam decided to bite a bunch of people. You said yourself how quickly this can spread. Do you want to deal with a bunch of Corrupted Sinners trying to claw their way out of Hell into Purgatory, or worse- Heaven? You know what this shit can do, Jazeerael, do you feel safe taking the risk and just walking away?"

"Has he bitten anyone?" Jazeerael was looking directly at Adam. Lucifer laughed.

"No, not yet. But you know how these sorts of things can spiral out of hand very quickly."

"I... I'm not sure..."

"Jazeerael," Lucifer took a deep breath, slowly letting it out. He released Adam and got to his feet. He walked over until he was standing directly in front of the angel. If logic couldn't win this for him, he would just have to appeal to the emotional side of things. Lucifer had been an angel long enough to know what made them tick, what made their hearts bleed. "I'm not asking this as a deal, a contract, or anything with strings attached. I am simply asking as a King, desperate to protect his people. You know what can happen to the souls... the Hellborns if this spreads. Please, they need help... and you are the only one I can turn to for this..." He watched as Jazeerael's expression softened; he could almost feel the shift in the mood.

"Fine. I'll see if Raphael has anything, but please don't get upset if I don't find what you're looking for."

"Thank you!" Lucifer grabbed the angel's hand in both his own, shaking it vigorously. "Thank you so much, you have no idea how many souls you're protecting with this!" Hopefully there would be something in the Archive that would make this whole ordeal worth his while. Jazeerael should, in theory, have a quicker way up to Heaven than just flying or taking the boat. So, assuming he moved quickly, they wouldn't have to be here anymore than one or two extra hours.

"Don't thank me just yet." Jazeerael closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, the color had turned to red, red wings spread from his back, a golden halo appeared over his head. "Wait until I find something useful."

"Oh, don't be like that." Lucifer patted him on the back, the wings fluttered. "Just do your best, it's all I can ask for. Oh, and if it's not too much trouble... maybe don't mention why you're doing this." Not that anyone would ask, Heaven operated on a pretty strict 'trust-based- policy.

"Not loving that stipulation." Jazeerael's mouth drew into a thin line.

"It's fine, you'll be fine." Lucifer assured him. The angel took a deep breath and stepped away from the group.

"I'll be right back." He walked away toward the front of the Archive to where the Archivist was sitting behind her desk. He flared his wings out, giving a little bow. "Jazeerael requesting transport."

"Request submitted. You know he has overdue scrolls, correct?"

"I am aware." The Archivist and the boat captain both looked back at Lucifer who gave them a friendly thumbs up.

"I'll bring them back! Eventually."

"Transport request accepted." The Archivist ignored him as she ushered Jazeerael behind the desk. He opened the door behind her and in a flash of light, he was gone. Lucifer watched him go, before looking at Jezebel and Adam.

"I get the distinct feeling we're fucked if anyone asks him why he's there." It was difficult for angels to lie, even by omission, and the lower ranking the angel, the more unpleasant it was for them.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Jezebel smirked, hand on her hip.

"I'm fairly certain." Lucifer sighed. "But... that gives us some free time. You still want to get that snow globe for your son?"

"Oh, fuck yeah!" Adam seemed to instantly get on board with the idea. There was no reason to stay cooped up in the Archive, and Lucifer had promised him one stop before they left.

They went shopping, Adam ended up picking out a snow globe that had a garden displayed inside that Adam was insistent Cain would enjoy. It hadn't taken nearly as long as Lucifer was expecting, so he took Adam to the ice-cream shop as well. Some ice-cream never hurt. He even recalled some humans insisting it could be used as a cure for a sore throat, so if anything, it was medically necessary ice-cream. They were just finishing their sweet treats when Jezebel jumped to her feet.

"He's back!"

"Oh shit!" Lucifer raced back to the Archive to find Jazeerael pacing back and forth. He looked... uneasy. "Sooooo hey, buddy! Did you find anything?"

"Yes."

"That's great!" Lucifer clapped his hands together but Jazeerael's expression stayed stressed. "You... um... you don't seem to realize that this is a good thing-"

"Sera caught me." Jazeerael cut him off.

"The fuck was she doing by the Archives?" Lucifer had never known Sera to stalk out that way. It wasn't in her jurisdiction.

"I don't know I just-" Jazeerael raked a hand through his crimson curls, his pace quickening. "She started asking a lot of questions and I-" He took a deep breath, "I- oh this is so bad."

"Okay, so you gave her a heads up." Lucifer tried to reach up to touch the angel's shoulder but Jazeerael's pacing was too erratic. "It's not the end of the world." It wasn't exactly great for Lucifer, given that he was sure Sera would find some way to distort this whole interaction to make it look like some kind of threat against Heaven... but he could deal with all that later. "The important thing was that you got the texts."

"No! You don't get it." Jazeerael took a deep breath.

"What, did you piss her off?" Jezebel was watching the freakout with interest. "I mean, so what? She sounds like a bitch."

"She is a bitch." Lucifer agreed.

"An ultra-bitch." Adam added helpfully. "And not even in like... a hot way."

"See, bro?" Jezebel grabbed Jazeerael by both of his shoulders, giving him a little shake. "You'll be fine!"

"I LIED, OKAY!?" Jazeerael's outburst took them all a bit off their guard. He was breathing hard. "I lied to a higher up."

"Oh shit!" Jezebel slapped him on his back. "Nice fucking work!"

"It's not the end of the world, Jazeerael, lots of angels lie. It doesn't mean anything in the long run." Lucifer waved off his concern. "I mean, think of how much lying the Exorcists have to do every single fucking day."

"I personally lied a lot while I was in Heaven." Adam's reassurances may not have been as comforting as the First Man thought, as it seemed Jazeerael was only growing more stressed.

"It gets..." Jazeerael took a deep breath, "SO much worse." He closed his eyes for a moment as he reached into his nicely tailored captain's coat and pulled out a beautifully bound, green journal of sorts. "I lied... and I... stole... a book." Lucifer's breath caught in his throat and in an instant, he had grabbed the book out of Jazeerael's outstretched hand and was flipping it open.

"I am so fucking proud of you! Lying is one thing, but stealing!" Jezebel squished Jazeerael's cheeks in both her hands. "You know, this bad boy streak of yours will impress Cody."

"Please stop. I'm having an existential crisis." Jazeerael moved her hands off of his face.

"Who's Cody?" Adam looked between the two as Lucifer was reading the journal cover to cover. Every notation, every little comment Raphael had made was important. This was the good shit. Jazeerael had somehow struck gold.

"This Hellborn I introduced Jayce here to," Jezebel elbowed him as he started to slide down against the Archivist's oversized desk until he was sitting on the ground, knees drawn to his chest. "We... uh... sometimes go to Hell. You know, take some breaks."

"Why not go to Heaven?" Adam made a face.

"You think those bitches would let my ass hang out in Heaven?" Jezebel snapped and her skin turned a dark pink, her eyes went black. She grew long horns from the top of her head, parting her silky black hair. A tail swished around her feet, before moving to tap Adam on the arm. He jumped, before squinting, looking Jezebel up and down.

"Still hot."

"Thank you." She gave him a wink. "You know we could totally ditch these losers, go grab a drink. There's a bar here-"

"She's gonna steal your kidney." Lucifer finally closed to book. He took a deep breath; his hands were trembling. "Holy fucking shit. You got a medical journal." He looked down to see Jazeerael had curled up, looking a bit worse for wear. He kneeled beside him, lying, stealing... that can't have been easy for him. "Hey, you did good."

"I'm gonna Fall for this." Jazeerael curled his wings around himself. "Michael is gonna cut my wings off."

"You're not gonna Fall. I did shit like this all the time when I was an Archangel." Lucifer assured him. "And I promise, you aren't nearly important enough for Michael to give a shit about what you do."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?" Jazeerael peeked out from behind his wings.

"Yeah." Lucifer patted the feathers. "Trust me, if you're that concerned you can just blame it on me. People love to blame it on the Devil. Just tell whoever is mad that I made you do it, and it's basically a get out of Hell free card."

"Wait, that could work?" Adam perked up. Lucifer looked back over at him.

"Not for you."

"Aw balls." Adam took a seat on one of the tables. Nice of him to not bother using a chair. Lucifer turned his attention back to Jazeerael, placing his palm gently on his wing.

"Hey, listen to me. I promise you won't get in trouble, okay?"

"I..." Jazeerael unfolded his wings. Something in Lucifer's tone must have reached the angel through his rising stress, as he started to sit up. "Okay. I... don't think she'll even notice it's gone." He let out a long, slow breath. "And I helped. Right? I helped Adam. Helping a human soul can't be bad."

"It's not." Lucifer gave Jazeerael the room to sit back up. "And you have really helped him a lot." He hesitated for a moment. Jazeerael seemed to be in a better mood and as much as Lucifer would rather leave him to sulk with Jezebel, he still had need of Purgatory's angel. "And you could help one more time-"

"Oh, heck no-" Jazeerael started to protest (it was almost funny how the angel avoided swearing. It never seemed to bother Adam or his merry band of murderers. Maybe Jazeerael was just more "old school" in his beliefs.) Lucifer held up a hand to quiet him.

"Hey, hey, hey. Nothing big. Just need you to bless some water. Super easy, barely an inconvenience and not at all illegal."

"Why would you want holy water?" Jazeerael narrowed his eyes. He still looked rather suspicious despite the fact that Lucifer was giving his best innocent smile. "No offense, but that's not on brand for you."

"Well, I am so glad you asked." Lucifer opened the journal, he was taking it with him, hopefully Jazeerael would understand. Since it was stolen anyway, Heaven wouldn't even know it was missing. "Raphael has helpfully discovered a solution to our problem!" He cleared his throat, starting to read: "Low-level or early-stage Corruption can be cleansed with holy water. Soooo, I will take a few gallons. Please and thank you."

"I don't know how to tell you this," Jazeerael tented his fingers together, lowering his hands in Lucifer's direction. "But that " he tilted his head toward Adam, "is not low-level or early-stage Corruption."

"Yeah, but... humor me anyway." Lucifer didn't want to admit that it wasn't for Adam. The First Man was far past the point where a simple drink of holy water could fix the issue at hand. However, Lucifer could probably be right as rain if he could get his hands on it. Of course, it wasn't exactly something he could make in Hell, and it certainly wasn't something he kept on-hand.

"You're not telling me something." Jazeerael was eyeing him distrustfully. Dealing with any of Uriel's angels was always a fucking pain. They were naturally harder to deceive.

"Look," Lucifer held up both hands as if surrendering, "I may have told a teensy, weensy little white lie. But on my defense. You were already panicking and I needed you to stay level headed. It was for your own good." He had to choose his words carefully, obvious lies would just dig him a deeper grave. "Someone did get bit. Recently. I think we are still in the window where the holy water can fix it."

"Who?" Jazeerael wasn't budging.

"You don't know every demon and Sinner in Hell. I could tell you a name and it might mean nothing to you. It was a Hellborn who lives at the mansion." All of what Lucifer said was true on a technical level. And thus, should help get Jazeerael off his back.

"Why the fuck does it even matter?" Jezebel spoke up, crossing her arms. "What the fuck is he going to do with holy water even if it's not for helping?"

"I dunno..." Jazeerael seemed thrown off by Jezebel's interjection. "Holy water is dangerous to infernal beings, I just don't want it to be used to hurt anyone."

"Do you think I would lie to you?" Lucifer feigned offense. "Do you really think so little of me?"

"You literally just admitted to lying." The angel was remarkably unimpressed with Lucifer's antics.

"Jazeerael, listen." The Devil let out a sigh and sat so he could be more at eye level with the red head. "If I wanted to hurt someone in Hell, I wouldn't need your holy water to do it." Jazeerael was quiet for a moment, trying to get a read on the Prince of Lies. Finally, his shoulders drooped and he started to get to his feet.

"Fair enough. I suppose I can bless a gallon of water."

"See, I told you it was super easy." Lucifer stood as well, patting Jazeerael on the back while simultaneously also shoving him out toward the port. Lucifer didn't know where he would be getting the water to bless, but he could assume it wasn't from the Archive.

"I still feel like you're lying to me, just so you know." Jazeerael returned to his human form. He didn't walk far before they found a quaint little grocery store. He found a big jug of water, picking it up, muttering a prayer under his breath. The water began to sparkle even more under the beautiful sunlight.

"Thanks!" Lucifer swiped it quickly, tucking Raphael's journal into his vest. "Let's see how strong this shit is."

"You're not gonna splash me, are you?" Adam looked incredibly suspicious of the jug.

"No, I only get a limited quantity. If I wanted to burn you, I'd throw acid on you like a normal fucking person." Lucifer opened the jug, the water glistened under his gaze. He pulled out a different handkerchief than the one he had used to wipe Adam's blood. It paid to carry more than one when traveling with a sloppy disaster like the First Man. Lucifer pored some water onto the cloth, damn, it even smelled better than regular water. Fucking Heaven had to be so God damn extra with all their holy bullshit. "I can test it on my own skin to see if it'll be strong enough to affect the bitten Hellborn." Lucifer explained as both boat captains were beginning to stare at him. He took a deep breath, dabbing the cloth over the (Hopefully invisible) bite wound on his neck. He felt a tingling, but nothing else. That... didn't feel right. Lucifer looked at the jug and brought it to his mouth. He started to drink the water. It felt a little... spicy as it made its way down his esophagus, but it wasn't nearly strong enough. Jazeerael wasn't strong enough.

"What are you doing?" The angel was looking quite worried by Lucifer's reaction. Damn, he didn't even feel any acid reflux.

"Fuck, I need something way more potent than this shit. No offense." It was easy for Lucifer to forget how low rank Jazeerael was since he only dealt with all of one angel on a regular basis and it was Sera who was more or less Gabriel's right hand.

"I can't sneak back into Heaven for you. Sera's already onto me." Jazeerael was putting his foot down and rightfully so. Any more weird behavior from him and he really might get into trouble. As much as Lucifer was a selfish prick, getting Jazeerael into trouble would only end with him having yet another uninvited houseguest. He needed a permanent in with Heaven, he couldn't risk it. Whoever Heaven had to replace Jazeerael with. might not be as willing to bend the rules. (Years of working with Jezebel had worn him down.)

"No. And you shouldn't." Lucifer stressed the word. "You've been a huge help already." There had to be something else. "If I could get in touch with someone like Emily..." Lucifer looked at the water in his hand. "Even then, she's still in training."

"Uh... Lucifer?" Adam tried to speak, but Lucifer barely comprehended that he had opened his mouth. The Devil was too lost in thought.

"Florence is being a fucking bitch and not returning any calls. But the high ups never leave Heaven without one of the Big Four lurking over their shoulders." Even if his shape-shifting was working perfectly he wouldn't be able to creep by undetected.

"Hey, listen-" Adam tried again.

"Don't suppose Death is around?" Lucifer hadn't come across her yet, and he felt if she knew he was here she would stop by and see what he was up to. She had visited on his first few trips to Purgatory, but after Charlie was born, she hadn't been by. (Maybe she was avoiding him.)

"If she was, we wouldn't be dicking around here with you." Jezebel retorted, flatly. "But she's been fucking slammed recently."

"Right." Had he been receiving this information about any of the other three Horsemen, he'd be way more alarmed. But Death was always busy. Came with the territory. Ah well... back to planning. "Maybe I could crank call the Metatron, and when she calls back to yell at me, I have you try and use your fucked up mirror powers to sneak into Heaven." Lucifer looked over at Adam, deep in his scheming.

"Would that work?" Adam blinked at him.

"I have no fucking idea; your powers are still too new. But it might be worth testing." Lucifer gave a small shrug. "Regardless, I don't have a whole hell of a lot of options here, no pun intended."

"I feel like that pun was entirely intended." Adam replied flatly. "But look it doesn't matter because-"

"Shh, shh, shhhh. If I said it's unintentional, then you should trust me, blindly." Lucifer put a hand over Adam's mouth. He was playing a dangerous game as Adam could easily bite him, but Lucifer was confident that the First Man was currently too grounded. Adam glared at him before Lucifer felt something warm and wet against his glove. "Did you just fucking lick me!?" He pulled his clawed hand back, appalled. Adam just stood there, smirking back at him and making Lucifer really rethink his life choices that had led him up to this point. The first man finally spoke.

"Hey dumbass, what about Rochele?"

"Rochele?" Lucifer repeated dumbly. He hadn't heard that name in a long time. Last time he had seen her, she had flown into a tree while delivering souls.

"She only goes to Heaven once a year. She's got an office in the living world." Adam had lived in Heaven, so Lucifer shouldn't be surprised that he knew things about the holy hierarchy, and yet... he didn't think Adam had the attention span to pick up stuff like that.

"Sera's probably told her everything." Lucifer couldn't imagine the top Seraphim weren't constantly chatting amongst themselves at his detriment.

"She... isn't around enough." Adam seemed rather insistent. "Look, if you need someone high ranking, she's going to be your best bet. She's not in Heaven enough to be involved in any politics." It seemed... unlikely, but Lucifer might have to trust that Adam knew what he was talking about with this. He had been in Heaven far more recently. Lucifer hadn't even realized that Rochele spent most of her time in the living world. It made sense, given her job and the constantly growing population, but it hadn't really crossed his mind. "Trust me."

"I don't, for the record." Lucifer heaved a heavy sigh. "But at this point I'm fresh out of fucking options. So," he looked back at Jazeerael and Jezebel who seemed to be whispering amongst themselves. "Which way to the living world?" Purgatory was, after all, connected to many different realms. Not just Heaven and Hell. It would save Lucifer a lot of time and energy to just find the natural exit and go from there.

"Why would we know that?" Jezebel put a hand over her chest. "We're just good little boat captains who never stray from our designated posts."

"You literally said earlier you and Jazeerael partied in Hell." Lucifer didn't bat an eye at her display.

"For the record: I partied. Jayce just awkwardly stood to the side and tried not to look at anything too impure."

"I was chaperoning." Jazeerael was straight faced, but Lucifer could tell he was a bit flustered at having been called out.

"He was flirting or trying to." Jezebel nudged him playfully with her hip. "It was pretty funny; you should have seen it."

"So, I assume you two have... shall we say... spent time in the living world." Lucifer needed to get them back on track. Usually, he would be able to find the entrance on his own, but his wings had failed him once before, he needed to use them as little as possible.

"We might have." Jezebel grinned. "What's it worth to you?"

"You know I could just report you both to Death for abusing your positions." Lucifer was in a weakened state, sure, but he wasn't about to be swindled by one of his own.

"Oh, don't be like that." Jezebel's smile instantly fell. "It wouldn't kill you to give us a little something for our troubles."

"The entrance to the living world is complicated, we can move it around, but only so much without a human soul to anchor it down. As is locating Rochele's office." Jazeerael seemed disinterested in trying to milk anything out of the Devil (probably because he had committed a crime, and Lucifer knew it.) "Her location is constantly moving. I have some charts that can predict where it will be, but no matter where she is, she'll be way higher in the sky than the entrance to Purgatory can reach. Assuming we can even get you close you'll still have to fly the rest of the way, and quickly because if you linger too long it'll disappear again."

"Can you anchor it to Adam? He's human... ish." Lucifer didn't exactly have an unlimited number of humans at his immediate disposal.

"They have to be unassigned. Otherwise, it won't register." Jazeerael shook his head.

"So just grab any of the souls wandering around who don't have their ticket yet." Lucifer had been walking through Purgatory all day and there was no shortage of processing souls meandering about.

"Hold the fuck on, we have to find a soul that died in a location that will put you close enough to the fucking office so that you aren't zipping all around the human world with a Corrupted-ass human soul, drawing all of Heaven's attention." Jezebel held up her hand.

"I might be able to set something up, but you will not have long to get inside her office." Jazeerael was looking at his tablet again. Lucifer could almost see him running the numbers. "If you fail, we'll have to start the whole process over again with a different human and it will be incredibly tedious."

"You know I'm an Archangel, right? Like, speed is not a fucking problem." Lucifer forced a laugh. His ego wouldn't let him admit how screwed he was with this plan. "I can circle the planet in the blink of an eye."

"So... you don't need us to anchor the entrance close for you?" Jazeerael looked up.

"Well, you've already gone through all the fucking trouble, we might as well." Lucifer tried to look disinterested. He very much needed their help, but he couldn't admit it.

"Right. Okay. I have a list of humans that are currently here and could work." Jazeerael showed his list to Jezebel. She raised an eyebrow but nodded.

"He... hey." Adam spoke up, he sounded hesitant. "Random question but like... it doesn't hurt the human, right?"

"Oh, goodness no. They'll be perfectly fine." Jazeerael assured him quickly. "We usually just give them a headset and let them play some virtual reality-" He stopped himself quickly- "not that we ever use the entrance for non-work-related reasons."

"Yeah. Sure." Lucifer nodded, straight faced.

"I think he bought it." Jezebel leaned forward speaking in the most unconvincing stage whisper Lucifer had heard in a while.

"Jez, you take them to the entrance, I'll get the human." Jazeerael was back to looking at his screen. "We do not have long. So, I would walk very quickly." And with that he headed off toward the city.

"He is all business." Jezebel rolled her eyes. "I guess I can't blame him. It's not every day we get to impress the King of Hell." She began to walk more into the City. Funny, all the other entrances and exits Lucifer knew were outside the limits of Port Gatory, but this one seemed to be at its heart. There were plenty of books and spells that could take Lucifer to the mortal world, to the exact place he would need to be. And under any other circumstances, it wouldn't even be difficult to use those methods. Having his powers malfunctioning was forcing him to find other ways to solve his issues, and while he prided himself on his creativity, the idea of becoming reliant on others didn't sit well with his ego. Still, this was going to only be temporary. And Jezebel and Jazeerael, if they were suspicious, weren't showing it.

"I'm mildly impressed, as of right now." Lucifer would play along for the time being. He didn't need information about his current state spreading throughout Heaven and Hell. He just had to keep pretending everything was normal. What was that fucking slogan DamnWay was always pushing on people? Visualize then actualize? It was all a load of bullshit, but currently it described Lucifer's plan. Everything was fine, until he admitted otherwise.

"I should get a promotion or something." Jezebel mused as they approached a beautiful movie theater style building. So, this was where the entrance to Earth was located. That was a lot closer than he was anticipating. The building was a massive, red brick, kind of old-fashioned looking theater, but incredibly well kept. There were large, wooden doors at the front that Jezebel pushed open. Inside was much less crowded. There were posters for different 'movies' but they all seemed to be documentaries on different locations on Earth. There were a few souls wandering inside the theater. Most were dead, and were simply killing time while they were processed, but a few were still alive- or at least- were walking the fine line between life and death. It was weird to see the living (or the living adjacent, as the case may be) Lucifer hadn't interacted with them in a long time.

"You guys keep it in a movie theater? Really?" Lucifer was expecting something... different. Maybe like a giant hole in the ground with a fence around it that simply said: danger. Then again, he hadn't had any need to use this entrance before, so he really hadn't given it too much thought. Purgatory really was just left to their own devices a lot, at least as far as Hell was concerned. So, they could just do whatever they wanted. (He wasn't sure how involved Heaven was, but from the sound of Jazeerael's complaints, they had become pretty hands-off as well. Not that it was surprising. Heaven loved to uninvolve themselves once a situation got too sticky. Assholes.)

"It works. Plus, it gives the souls that are stuck something to do. We can't just have them interacting with the processing souls. Then things get messy when they have to go back to the theater rather than getting on a boat." Jezebel led them all the way to the back in a room labeled VIP. The room looked like a theater, but the chairs were all a high quality, soft, plush, a deep red with gold trim. There were headsets that rested off to the side of each chair. Lucifer saw automated staff in this room as well, walking up and down the empty aisle, dressed as ushers.

"What do you mean by: stuck?" Adam had seemed content to just look at the movie posters, but had now tuned back into the conversation. Awesome.

"Between life and death." Jezebel didn't seem to mind the question. It probably wasn't often she got to explain the more subtle nuances of her job. "Sometimes, someone isn't like... dead-dead. They're in a place where they could die, or they could live. So, we have to keep them here until it goes one way or another. It used to be really rare, but with population increases, we pretty much see it all the time. I assume that might be why we got taken off the boats? You know, to deal with that shit. But I dunno." She gave a dramatic shrug.

"It didn't look like that is what either of you were doing." Lucifer replied flatly. At least Jazeerael seemed to be doing actual work but Jezebel was from Hell, so he wasn't really sure what he expected.

"If that is what they wanted, then they gotta tell me. I'm not a fucking mind reader." Jezebel took a moment to sit in one of the plush chairs. "Oh, by the by, try and be on your best behavior around the soul Jayce is bringing. We don't want to freak them out." She was looking directly at Adam, who blinked.

"What? I'm literally always on my best behavior. If the soul sees that I'm hot and wants a piece, that's not on me."

"Was there a reason you brought him along? Or..." Jezebel's eyes flickered over to Lucifer who was impatiently watching the door.

"There was. But I'm starting to realize it wasn't worth it."

"Hey! Fuck you, I'm a delight." As if masking Lucifer's point for him, Adam flipped both his fingers up in the air as he spoke.

"Hey everyone!" The doors flew open and everyone got to their feet in an instant. Jazeerael came in with the soul of a young man, a future Winner, from the look of it. "This is Sawin. He has so wonderfully agreed to help us test out our new VR system! Isn't that nice of him?"

"Thanks, gorgeous, you're a real one." Adam shot finger guns at the soul who really looked more confused than anything else, as Lucifer grabbed Adam by his collar pulling him to his side.

"Stop."

"What? I was saying thank you." Adam looked annoyed.

"I'm just happy to help." The soul replied, cheerfully. Jazeerael gestured to a seat in the front.

"Now, Sawin, you are going to put this headset on, and you can think of any movie in the entire world that you want, and you'll be able to watch it. But that's not all, you'll get to experience it from the point of view of the character of your choosing! And you can switch perspectives at any point in time. Just have fun with it." He lifted the headset offering it to the soul. "You can even change movies, just by thinking about it." The soul looked genuinely impressed by the set up.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity. That sounds like a lot of fun!"

"Here," Jazeerael helped get the soul situated. Once the headset was on, the screen in the theater lit up. But not with any movie, but rather with the image of a small town on Earth. Jazeerael, turned to the others. "We have to move fast. So, this a five-mile radius around where our friend here died. I'm putting you right below where Rochele will appear. You have about five minutes once her office is in place, before it moves again. As for getting back?" He gave a shrug. "I would ask Rochele to bring you back to where you started and we'll let you back through."

"Okay, and she'll be pretty high up if I reca-" Lucifer was trying to get a plan in place but Jazeerael cut him off.

"You need to go now."

"Right." Lucifer grabbed Adam. He didn't trust that asshole in Purgatory unattended. Also, he might need him as a bargaining chip for Rochele. "So do I just-"

"Walk through the screen." Jezebel started pushing Lucifer toward the large theater screen as Jazeerael was focused on his tablet once again. The Devil pulled Adam along behind him as he jumped through the screen and-

Started to fall.

FUCK!

They had put him in the FUCKING air! Sure, it was closer to where Rochele would be but at the same time his wings had been acting like little bitches recently and he was in no place to get surprised like this. He heard Adam cry out as Lucifer forced his wings out, starting to flap, steadying himself and managing to pull Adam up, into his arms so he wasn't weighing him down on one side.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY TRYING TO KILL US!?"

"They were trying to help, I think." Lucifer saw beautiful fluffy clouds overhead. He strained to pump his wings, lifting them up, slowly higher. Fuck. They didn't have the time for Lucifer to leisurely make his way into the sky. He could feel that horrible fatigue starting to set in again but he tried to ignore it. Just... a little... further.

"Why does she have to be in the fucking sky anyway? That sounds incredibly unsafe." Adam was either trying to make himself focus on anything other than the situation at hand, or was simply enjoying the sound of his own voice. Lucifer glanced down at him, he was back in his Sinner form- made sense- they weren't in Purgatory, that masking aura was gone.

"I dunno, Heaven's big on the sky thing." Lucifer hated how breathless he sounded. Maybe he shouldn't talk. He pierced into the clouds. He could see nothing but white around him as he continued to climb up.

"Well when I get back, I'm going to have a few suggestions." Adam's voice was calm, but Lucifer could feel him holding on tightly. The devil kept his gaze on the sky above. All he saw was wafting white cloud- wait! There was the smallest shimmer above him. He beat his wings harder, they felt like fucking stone on his back, they were starting to hurt with every pump. But he could see a shimmering, marble floor peeking through the clouds. There it was.

God. He was so fucking close.

One of his wings started to freeze up.

FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!

Not now.

"Shit." Lucifer could barely get the word out.

"What's happening?" Adam must have felt him stall out.

"Nothing." Lucifer tried to flap harder, they were so goddamn close...

"Your neck..." Adam must have seen something Lucifer couldn't. His eyes were wide. He looked up at the hint of marble above them. He started to shift his weight, moving in the Devil's arm's causing him to struggle even more as he tried to keep hold.

"The fuck are you doing!? Are you trying to die, dumbass!?" Lucifer couldn't keep his grip as Adam moved so they were face to face.

"Hold on to me. I have a really stupid idea." Adam looked him dead in the eyes as he pushed on Lucifer's shoulders, almost climbing the Devil like a pole. Adam's legs were wrapped just below Lucifer's arms as he struggled to not plummet right from the sky. Adam's wings spread out and he tilted his body to stretch his white wing up. The very tip of a moonlight white feather touched the glistening marble surface and-

"What the actual fuck?" In a second, Lucifer went from fighting for his life in the air to feeling gravity shift and suddenly he was laying partially on top of Adam, but partially on something rather solid. Adam was sprawled out beneath him, wings flat, breathing hard as he looked up,

"I FUCKING DID IT!" Adam sat up, and Lucifer pushed himself off as he looked around. He could see clouds, but they looked... different. They only stretched out so far, and then the perfect white fluff was replaced by an inky darkness.

"You did... what exactly?" Lucifer tapped the ground. It was stone solid.

"THE FLOOR WAS REFLECTIVE, MOTHER FUCKER! AW YEAH! HEAVEN'S SHINY-ASS AESTHETIC IS BITING THEM IN THE ASS NOW! AM I RIGHT!? HA HA! SUCK MY DICK! I AM FUCKING AWESOME! I SAVED YOU- ah fuck." Adam's celebration was immediately cut short as he was struck by the familiar queasiness.

"Don't you DARE fucking throw up in this mirror." Lucifer's eyes widened as he realized that Adam had saved him, and that was horrible enough on its own. But it was made worse by the fact that apparently, despite the First Man saving himself as well, it had counted as a genuine good deep.

"Yeah, I can't stop it."

"Do something bad to counteract it! Hit me in the face or something!" Lucifer didn't know what would happen if Adam threw up the black gunk in the mirror. Could that keep it at bay? Or would it spread to every reflective surface nearby. It could go either way and Lucifer was in no state to gamble.

"Will that- ugh- work?" Adam was visibly struggling not to puke, hugging his stomach, squatting down.

"Worth a shot." Lucifer braced himself as Adam raised his fist. The first man swung, but no blow ever fell. Instead, Adam used the motion to swipe Lucifer's hat off his head and flip it over, vomiting inside. Lucifer started at him for a solid minuet as he wretched into a very expensive piece of clothing. "Really?"

"I saved you. You don't get to be a dick." Adam glared at him, as he lowered the hat from his mouth.

"You puked in my hat." Lucifer gestured to the object in question. He took a deep breath. He would have to move on from the hat-thing, as they had more important matters at hand at the present. "So, we're in the floor." He looked down at Adam, who was still couched down on the ground. "Good thinking on that." He hated to admit it, but Adam had technically saved him from having to do this all over again. "But... now what?"

"I legit panicked." Adam laughed. "I saw the wound opening up on your neck and it looked all kinds of fucked up and I was like... we are so gonna die unless I do something. So, I did! And we didn't. Good day all around." Adam got back into a standing position, shoving the vomit filled hat back into Lucifer's arms and putting his hands on his hips as he looked around. "Now, I am glad you asked about our next step because I have a plan! Kinda. I just need to find a reflection that'll lead us inside. Shouldn't be too hard. But it'd be easier if you let me keep practicing on the boat."

"You were being a menace on the boat." Lucifer reminded him. Adam had been like a kid with a brand-new toy, constantly messing about. But it had ended up saving them. That was almost worse than failure.

"Hey, you said yourself powers take practice." Adam was looking around, though Lucifer couldn't figure out what he was looking for. Adam moved the clouds aside, and Lucifer watched the cloud below move in turn. He looked back to see that Adam had stepped out of the reflected area into the darkness around it. Lucifer could see faint lights all around them, distant, but definite. They were all over, some looked to be on walls, some seemed to be directly above on what might have been a ceiling. Adam stepped into the dark and seemed to vanished.

"Adam?" Lucifer blinked. Where the fuck had he gone.

"There is SO much reflective shit in this place holy fuck." He could hear Adam's voice above him and he looked up to see Adam standing on one of those white lights. To Lucifer he looked like he was standing upside down, but Adam didn't even have his wings out and he was perfectly balanced. "I can get us inside super easy." Adam looked down at Lucifer. "Come on up."

"How?" Lucifer spread his wings, even when he flapped them, he could only rise until the light stopped, then he was blocked by an unseen wall.

"What the fuck?" Adam vanished again and reappeared beside him. "You can't just jump over to the next light?"

"It's your fucking power." Lucifer didn't want to say the next part of the sentence: you're stronger than I am in here. (Mostly because, that would not usually be true. As when Lucifer was at full power, he should easily be able to counter Adam). Adam looked above them, giving a little shrug.

"Okay then," he grabbed Lucifer by the arm and Lucifer felt gravity shift. Suddenly he was standing on a solid floor, he could see a warped looking office, everything tinted gold. There were cherubs and angels walking quickly past them, they looked... bigger than they should. What sort of fucking reflection had Adam dropped them into? Lucifer looked back at Adam who was pressing on the solid wall in front. He looked over to see Lucifer was watching him. He smirked. "You may want to hold on."

"Where are we?" Lucifer glared at him as he grabbed onto Adam, tucking the puke filled hat under his arm.

"Not entirely sure." Adam closed his eyes, focusing. He took a deep breath and started to push through the solid, glass-like wall as if it were nothing more than water. Lucifer held tightly to him, as Adam pulled himself free. Lucifer looked down, as he was still partially submerged in the reflection. They were coming out of some sort of... potted plant. The pot was a shining, glittering, and reflective golden color. But it looked only to be about a foot tall. Awesome. Adam didn't need to use fucking full-sized items to move in and out. This power just got better and better didn't it? (Why couldn't Adam have had extra arms or something fucking simple?) "HA! And we're in!"

"Real subtle." Lucifer pulled himself free the rest of the way, careful not to spill the contents of his hat. He could see every angel in the room staring at them both in complete bewilderment. He cleared his throat. "I beg your pardon," he gave a swooping bow. "I'm looking for Rochele."

"W... who should we say is calling?" A lower ranking angel stepped forward, they didn't look... scared, maybe more... confused. That was unexpected. Then again, Lucifer supposed not many of the newer angels could really identify him on sight. And while he had his wings out, his horns and tail were still concealed.

"Oh," he paused for a moment. He didn't want to get kicked out before he even had a chance to ask for what he needed. He sighed. He might regret this choice, but, "Luciael." He hadn't used that name in so long it sounded foreign on his tongue. But Rochele would recognize it, even if the lower ranking angels wouldn't. He just hoped her curiosity would overwhelm her innate hate of him, and draw her to answer.

"Of course, sir." The angel nodded, hurrying away. Lucifer had been correct in assuming they wouldn't recognize his old name. He held the hat close, standing awkwardly as, slowly, the others in the room began to go back to what they were doing. Lucifer rocked on his heels, looking over at Adam.

"Hey... um..." He cleared his throat, looking away, back toward the doors. "Thanks for getting us in here. That was... shockingly smart thinking." Adam scoffed, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.

"You don't have to sound so fucking surprised; you know."

"I just-" Lucifer's amazing response was cut short as the doors flew open and suddenly Rochele was before him. She had gotten taller since the last time he'd seen here. Her blue and white wings were outspread, the eyes on her halo and in her hair had all opened, they were watching him.

"Luci?"

"Rochele! Darling! Long time no see!" Lucifer was just happy she didn't have a sword out and at the ready. "Could I steal a moment of your time for a..." he glanced around him at the growing crowd, "private conversation?"

"Oh, yes, of course." Much to his surprise, she gestured for him to follow as she walked quickly through the halls into a beautiful office to the back. She was surrounded by windows, behind her the sun was glowing, casting a golden light around the room. There were many little trinkets on the shelves, things from throughout time and space. Lucifer even saw a small trinket he had made from back in his angel days. (It was a little bird that moved around in a small glass. Lucifer was... surprised she had kept it. He'd have thought it would have been destroyed after his Fall.) She snapped and the doors closed, leaving her alone with the Devil and his Sinner. "Lucifer... what in Heaven's name has brought you out here?"

"Oh, you know," he laughed, trying his best to keep his cool. He didn't want to let too much out. Just enough to get what he needed from her. Sera already had an upper hand on him, he didn't need all of Heaven knowing his plight. "Just hadn't seen you in a while. I was curious how you're keeping up with the increased population and all that." Half of him expected her to reach beneath her desk and grab an Exorcist mask and helmet and go all biblical on him. But she just took a seat, clasping her hands together. She looked him up and down, he could feel her analyzing him. God, he hadn't seen her since she was delivering souls all by herself. "Look at you, you've moved up! You've got a whole ass team! I'm impressed!"

"Yes, things are going well." Rochele's answers were slow, hesitant. "Sorry," she got to her feet and in a flash, she was looking down at Adam, towering over him. "Adam? Is that you?" She reached out a hand, cupping the shadowy side of his face. He could see Adam stiffen, but then relax. He gave the seraphim a toothy (and in Lucifer's opinion, douchey) grin, winking playfully.

"Same First Man, just in two brand new colors." Adam gestured to himself. Rochele paused for a moment, before taking the First man in her arms, hugging him tightly. Adam looked so small in her embrace it was actually funny. But Lucifer tried not to laugh as he could see tears in her eyes.

"They think you're dead." She pulled away, taking Adam's face in her hands again. "Abel is a mess." Lucifer wanted to comment something along the lines of: that's no surprise. But this seemed like a terrible time for jokes. (He'd just lie when recounting this to Cain and say he'd made a hilarious joke at Abel's expense.)

"You've seen my son?" Adam's eyes widened and he instantly lost his swagger, grabbing to Rochele's hand. "What about Seth?"

"I only saw Abel, but I assume he's just as upset. Oh Adam... my poor, poor little Adam." Rochele gripped his hands in hers. "How have you Fallen? What brought this about?" So, Sera hadn't told Rochele the truth. At least, not about Adam. (Either that or Rochele was actress of the year pretending not to know.)

"Clerical error. I'll be back before you know it." Adam avoided looking at her. Lucifer understood the response. Adam was too proud to admit any fault. So be it. Lucifer was the same way.

"He's Corrupted, Rochele." Lucifer spoke, completely calm. Rochele froze in place, before taking a step back.

"I... beg your pardon...?"

"He's Corrupted. Capital C. We think it's something he picked up in Pu-" He stopped himself, "in Port Gatory," God that name was fucking dumb, "but he started displaying symptoms as soon as he Fell. Which is why I've come to you." Just like with Jazeerael, Lucifer would need appeal to the angelic sense of justice that seemed to linger at the core of most holy beings.

"Why me? I'm not medical..." Rochele had both her hands clasped. At least she seemed to be taking Lucifer seriously.

"I've got everything pretty much under control," a pretty big lie, but Rochele wasn't one of Uriel's angels, and Lucifer hoped she was too overwhelmed with the information he was bringing to her that she wouldn't press any further. "But I need to stop it from spreading around Hell. I'm keeping Adam fairly isolated, but you know how... crowded things get. I don't need this getting out to the Sinners because it could spread like wildfire."

"I... understand your plight, but..." Rochele took a seat on the edge of her desk, "I fail to see how I can aid you."

"Holy water." Lucifer pulled the journal out of his vest. "Raphael says that holy water can cure early Corruption. So, even though Adam's a bit... far-gone, if you give me holy water, I can stop him from giving it to anyone else. Easy."

"Oh," she looked at the book. "Well if Raph thinks that's the answer, then I would be happy to assist."

"Thank you~!" Lucifer grinned, his tone almost sing-song. God, it was fucking impressive how far a name drop could carry him. Rochele had no way of knowing the journal was stolen. As far as she was concerned Lucifer had been sent here by fucking Raphael. Thank fucking Christ for angels and their blindly trusting nature. "So, if you don't mind, could you bless a few gallons of holy water for me?"

"Of course." In the blink of an eye, she was gone from the desk and opening the door. "Just wait here." And in another blink, she was gone. Adam looked over at Lucifer before looking back at the door.

"Wow, she asked like... no follow up questions. Gotta love Heaven sometimes."

"Well, I have one of Raph's journals. That's pretty fucking official." Lucifer waved the book triumphantly. Before they could say anything else, Rochele was back in the doorway, an arm full of massive jugs of glittering water.

"Will this be enough?"

"Oh yes, thank you." Damn Lucifer could literally bathe in the stuff with how much she was grabbing. Not that he would want to. Her holy water would be far more potent than what Jazeerael was able to produce. "You don't mind if I test it out really quickly? I have some um... Corrupted vomit in my hat. Adam got sick on the way over."

"You were just... carrying Corrupted vomit in your hat?" She looked rather nauseated by the idea. Lucifer forced a laugh.

"You know, I didn't want to risk staining any of your lovely floors."

"Right." She handed him a jug and he opened it, pouring the water onto the vomit. He swore he heard a sound almost like a scream as the black ooze bubbled and sizzled before completely vanishing all together. Okay, it purged the vomit, but what about..." Lucifer poured it onto the blood covered handkerchief he had tucked away earlier. Sure enough, the stain vanished. Lucifer could feel the sting of the water on his skin through his gloves. Oh... this might actually work. He took a deep beath and put the handkerchief over the invisible bite wound on his neck. "Um, Luci, please be careful! You could get burned." Rochele spoke up rather quickly when she saw what he was doing.

"Whoops! Silly me!" Lucifer laughed, trying to pass it off as a simple absentminded mistake. "I am just exhausted from partying on the Hell Liner earlier." It stung like a bitch but... Lucifer felt a little... better? Holy fuck, it was working. Even just that little bit was making a difference. If he used this... it might take a bit for his energy to fully restore, but this was the answer! "Thank you so very much for your help, Rochele dear. You are an angel."

"We... all are?" She looked confused by the comment. "Well, I am so very glad I was able to help."

"Hey, Rochele..." Adam looked up at her, his voice wasn't as loud or brash as usual. "Would you mind... next time you're in Heaven... telling my sons that I'm, okay? You can leave out all this Corruption bullshit and that I'm hanging out with this bitch right here," Adam gestured to Lucifer (ah yes, that sounded more like the Adam he knew). "But I just don't want them to think I'm gone..."

"Of course." She smiled at him.

"And if there's every anything you need from Hell," Lucifer gave a dramatic flourish, "you can say I owe you one."

"Oh, thank you. But I don't need anything." She smiled at him. "Though, maybe one day you can let me come visit. I know my souls down in Hell didn't make the best choices in life, but they are still my beautiful creations."

"I mean, yeah." Her comment made Lucifer a bit uneasy. Did... Rochele not know about the Exterminations? No fucking way. She probably just meant the souls that were left. "Maybe some time after all this gets settled. But thanks a ton, you are a real life saver." He looked at all the water, then at Adam, then back at Rochele. "Can you do me just one more solid? Can you open up a direct path back for us to Port Gatory? I just don't want to carry all this and Adam."

"Of course." She smiled muttering under her breath as she closed her office door and opened it again. Lucifer looked through the door to see the inside of the theater. God this was going to save him so much fucking headache. Lucifer gestured to Adam to help him grab the jugs of holy water and they carried them toward the exit. "Lucifer," Rochele called out to him as he stepped over the threshold.

"Yes?" He turned, to look back at her.

"Do be careful." And with that, the image of the seraphim and her office vanished all together. Lucifer looked at the jugs of water in his arms. He was holding the answer to that little problem Adam had caused him. If he used this, cleaned the wound, drank it in a small amount... he could be back to normal in as little as a few days.

"Did you get what you needed?" Jezebel looked amused by seeing Lucifer and Adam holding giant water jugs.

"Yes. This will do nicely." Lucifer smirked. He could feel his confidence returning. Turns out this trip hadn't been a waste at all. He couldn't wait to see the look on Sera's face when he called back. "And when I get home," he looked at Adam, "I think we have a phone call to make."

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A/N: Lol my dumb self was all ready to post this chapter on time but I got distracted with IRL stuff. Oops. I am here now! I hope you guys are ready. Things are gonna keep snowballing from here! I am SOOOOO excited for stuff coming up in the next few chapters I can't even wait. I have to stop myself from spoilers lol.