This is Lisa Lopez with channel 5 news. Tonight, police are asking Los Angeles residents to remain in their homes as they investigate the string of homicides riddling our fair city. In what some are calling alleged serial killings, sixty-five bodies have been found around town in various states of dismemberment or disemboweling. There are no suspects in these cases and no leads. The only thing tying any of the victims together is that they were all members of various churches in town. We go to Jamie Flores at the scene."
Lucifer clicked off the television and tossed the remote on the table. No suspects. Oh this wouldn't do, he would have to make his presence known soon so the little humans would know what they were up against. Pity Father didn't truly care enough about his pets to save them.
"What do you think I should now, Douche. Perhaps rain down a bit of the good old fire and brimstone?"
Dan was tied up, his whole body crammed into a dog carrier. He got to see the true face of the devil as that creature shoved him in the small space and locked the little door. He was sure he had a few broken bones. He had tried to reason with this new Lucifer but there was no getting through to someone hell bent on destruction.
"Maybe, you've done enough, man. You're hurting innocent people. People who have nothing to do with your fucked up family. Trixie died, yeah, I get that upset you. It upset me, too, but maybe it was for the best. She's in a better place now, bro. Just let me out man, and we'll work through this, together."
"Better place? What's better than being alive on earth with the people who loved her? Of course, you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? To you, she was an inconvenience, a burden. If you had done as Chloe asked, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Pity for you, there's no getting out. I'll have my fun with you and then Maze will have her fun with you. But for now..", he picked up the cage and threw it at the concrete wall, making Dan yell out in pain. "You know, she made no noise when she was struck. Not a peep. Yet, you scream. Weak."
"I think you broke my arm, man!"
"Is that all? Maybe I should toss you a little harder. You know the human skull is a bit like an eggshell. Strong enough to protect it's contents but at the same time, fragile when struck hard enough. Shall we test my theory, Sir Douche?"
"No, Lucifer, no, no." Dan begged.
Lucifer knelt down and eyed Dan through the bars of his cage, "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, you're going to die painfully. Then your rotten soul will be sent to hell, where my minions will feast on your pain for all eternity. You will know nothing but endless, unrelenting agony. This is my vow to you." He gave the cage a swift kick back into the storage room. Sir Douche would be dealt with another day.
Back in his room, he poured a tumbler full of whiskey and slammed the glass back, downing it all in one drink. The warmth of the liquid filled his belly, fueling the fire inside. He felt the tears he had been holding in, threaten to break through his carefully crafted facade. No, no more. He was done with being in constant emotional pain. Now, it was all about the payback. As he sat at his piano, playing the tune he taught the child, the bell on his elevator sounded and a very drunk Chloe fell into his quarters.
"Detective, what are you doing here? This is quite unexpected considering how we parted ways."
"I brought you an invitation to Trixie's, Trixie's...her service." She couldn't make herself say funeral. "She would want you there. She adored you, Lucifer."
"And I her. In a way, she was mine, as well, detective. Thank-you for bringing this. I shall be there."
He turned his back on her expecting her to just leave until he heard her crying. She held out her hands like she didn't know what to do. He really looked at her taking in her appearance. She was gaunt and had bags under her eyes. She was also wearing the same outfit she had on two days ago. The day everything went wrong.
"Is there something else you, require", he said in his coldest voice. He had to distance himself from her, he had done enough damage.
Instead of taking the hint, she rushed at him and clung to him. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and patted her back. "I feel so alone, Lucifer, I don't know what to do. I'm so very sorry for taking it out on you. It wasn't your fault, it was mine. I should have just left work and picked her up myself. It's just so hard doing everything on my own. What I said was unfair. She wasn't your responsibility. Will you forgive me?"
Forgive her? No one had every asked for his forgiveness before. This human continued to surprise him. And he couldn't find it in his cold heart to hurt her again. As much as he wanted to shove her back into the elevator and tell her to go away, he couldn't. Moth meet flame.
"Okay, you reek. How about a shower and then you'll get some sleep? I have some clothing you can borrow. You're staying here tonight and I won't have any arguments out of you."
She nodded and followed him. She was in no shape to argue and she felt safe. At least she wasn't alone.
Trixie kicked God in the shin for the 10th time, "I wanna go home. Why did you kidnap me? Lucifer was right, you're a big old bully! I hope my mommy arrests you."
"Silence, child, you're giving the Almighty a headache!", God yelled.
"Liar, Lucifer told me you guys were invisible."
"I think you meant to say invincible. Now hush yourself. I am awaiting his next move. He must really care about you to go to such lengths to avenge your 'death', This is quite interesting."
"You know, for a dad, you're a messed up guy. Fathers are supposed to love their kids, not hurt them."
God nodded. She was right of course, but with Lucifer, he had to be pushed and tested. If there was fall out from this experiment, so be it. He was God, he could rebuild. It was about time for a refresher for Earth anyway.
Trixie grinned and turned around, walking away from God, "It's okay, I forgive you, for you know not what you do." Going to Sunday School was finally paying off.
Chloe was fast asleep in Lucifer's bed and he was next to her, with his arm around her waist since she begged him not to leave her. She had allowed him to bathe her without a fight. Her clothes were now in the washer, getting a much needed cleaning. She had soaked his suit as she cried into his shoulder but it didn't matter. Nothing did.
"Lucifer."
Amenadiel was on the balcony. Great, just what he needed, a visit from boring big brother. Probably there to chastise him and tell him to be a good devil. Nope, not happening. He watched his brother with disdain, his holy smugness was oh so annoying, "What?"
"Lucifer, for once I am not here to argue with you. I come with news. Father has gone too far this time and will not listen to reason."
"What did he do, Amenadude? Throw someone from Heaven again? Not answer a prayer..oh wait, he doesn't do that anymore."
"He has the Decker child."
"Of course he does, she was innocent. She would automatically go to him."
"She is there on purpose. He manufactured all of this. He wants to see how far you will go for her", he said as he pointed to the sleeping woman in Lucifer's bed. "Do what you have to do to reclaim the child, I will stand behind you, even if it means I fall with you."
"Well, brother, it is a lot more fun down here."
"Lucifer, I'm not interested in debauchery. I'm concerned with what may happen. He has the taken the child, what if her mother is next on his to- do list?"
"Then, I'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen."
"How do you intend to do that? Father has his ways."
"I'll just have to distract him."
"Tell me what you need me to do."
"My wings, go get them. I know you know where they are."
"Indeed. I shall return."
Lucifer paced the floor at the foot of his bed. He now knew what he had to do. He was once again going to wage war with Heaven. Father thought to test him, well, he was going to pass with flying colors.
He clicked the television back on just in time to see the field reporter talking to a man who found one of the bodies. The elderly man's whole body was shaking and he stuttered as he spoke, "If you saw the condition these folks were in, you'd agree, it was the work of the devil."
"Finally, credit where it's due."
Once again the elevator doors open. Maze came out backwards, pulling a struggling brunette by the hair, "I found it. What do you want me to do with it?"
"Are you sure this is the one?"
"She didn't even bother to wash her car. Kid's blood was all over the grill. No doubt about it, I got the guilty party."
Chloe sat up, rubbing her eyes, "Guilty of what? What's going on?"
Now was as good a time as any. Lucifer turned to Chloe, not bothering to hide his face, "How very good of you to join us. This is the beast that ran your daughter down. I was just about to dispense some justice like only I can. Don't interfere or try to deter me, Chloe Decker. This IS my job."
Chloe, it seemed, was also immune to his devilsh form, "Turn her around, I want to look her in the eye before she dies."
"My, my. I didn't see that coming. Where's the fainting, the screaming, the cries out to God in Heaven to save you?"
"Oh, shut up, Lucifer. You've been telling me you're the damn devil. Okay, now I believe you. Besides, why would I call on someone who's not here?"
"You, Chloe, are an enigma, wrapped in bacon and deep fried. Anyhoo, this is the one who struck down Beatrice. We will not be calling your L.A.P.D."
Maze pulled up a wooden chair and threw the woman into it, trying her hands behind her back. The woman had the nerve to look over at Chloe and grin,"Bitch!"
Maze backhanded the chick so hard, teeth and blood flew from her mouth, "Better watch you're mouth, he doesn't like anyone talking to her like that."
It wasn't enough for Chloe. She climbed off of the bed wearing nothing but a shirt of Lucifer's and roundhouse kicked the woman in her face, "Bitch? I'll show you a bitch, you baby killing, gutter slut!"
Over and over Chloe punched the woman in her face, neck, chest, where ever the blow landed, it didn't matter. Maze watched, nodding her head in approval. Decker had some moves. Twenty minutes later, Chloe finally ran out of steam, the other woman was slumped over in the chair, but she was still alive.
"So, Maze, who is she?", Chloe asked when she caught her breath.
"Her name is Pamela. About two years ago, I slept with her. It was supposed to be sex, nothing more but she wouldn't leave. I had to get a bouncer to escort her away. A few weeks later, she was on the tele, one of those daytime talk shows, saying she and I secretly married in a pagan ceremony. Took a bit of legal wrangling but it was eventually taken care of. She showed up here last week saying she had a dream that I came crawling back to her after she killed my wife and child. I thought she was trying to work her way back into my bed. Now I see, it was more of a warning", Lucifer recounted the tale.
"Your dad?",Maze asked.
"But of course. Amenadiel was here and confirmed my suspicions."
"What does your brother and dad have to do with this bitch killing my baby?"
"To be perfectly honest, and if you are still in disbelief that's fine, but I think the idea to run down our baby girl was put into her head by him. I want, no, I demand you stay here with Maze while I do what needs to be done. It's far too dangerous out there for you, anyway. You have no idea what hides in the dark. Promise me. There's too much at stake."
"Ok, I promise but can I ask you for one favor first?"
"You want a favor from the devil, Chloe Decker? Okay, I'll bite. But remember, I get to claim the debt whenever I choose, so tell me, what is it you desire?"
"Let's take this bitch down to the beach, run her over a few times and toss her in the ocean. Give her a taste of her own medicine."
"So, you do speak my language!"
"This is Lisa Lopez with a breaking news alert. Inferno-like fires have broken out all along the San Andreas fault. There have been multiply reports of sinkholes opening, swallowing cars and their occupants. More disturbing are the reports of newly discovered dead. Over three thousand bodies have been found as close as Pasadena and as far away as Ashland Oregon, all dead from the same M.O. The CDC has issued a virus warning, saying the deaths were most likely from a new strain of unidentified disease."
Chloe stood with her mouth hung open. "It looks like the end of the world."
"Not quite, but close", Lucifer told her.
Amenadiel landed slowly in the room, seeing Chloe awake and Maze with a human tied to a chair, beaten to a bloody pulp, "I got what you asked for. Hello Chloe. Why is she not insane after seeing your true face?"
"Not a clue. She's unaffected by me in many ways. Anyway, let's do this."
"Lucifer, I have to ask, is all that out there, your doing?", Amenadiel said as Lucifer unbuttoned his shirt.
"Absolutely. Stunning, isn't it? And I've only just begun."
"Oh, I'm stunned", Amenadiel said as he opened the portable storage and took out the wings.
Big brother slammed the wings into Lucifer's back and held them in place with both hands. He used the healing abilities Heaven afforded him and sealed the skin back in it's rightful place over the scars, forcing Lucifer drop to his knees as the blinding pain stabbed at his back. Putting them back on hurt more than cutting them off, but he knew this was the price he had to pay.
Chloe had to cover her ears as he howled. She was tempted to push his brother away from him but knew it wasn't her place. Taking what little she knew from the bible and the solid, in her face evidence, she concluded that those wings must be the source of power he needed for whatever he intended to do. So, she did what any mortal would do in her situation. She fainted. Good thing, Maze was there to catch her.
"Oh, now she faints. Bloody wings."
Trixie's whole face lit up as she watched Lucifer reclaim the wings of his birthright. God, on the other hand was saying bad words. Mommy would put soap in her mouth for saying that stuff. How was Lucifer a son of a bitch if he didn't have a mom, anyway? Or did he? "This is a lot to deal with for an 8 year old. Stupid grown-ups."
"Watch her, Maze and whatever you do, don't allow her to leave. Tie her up if you must. Your demon brethren have proven themselves to be more ravenous than I thought and they are spreading. I cannot have them unwittingly feast on Chloe."
"Wait, what about this", Maze asked, pointing to Pamela.
"Allow the detective to decide, I believe she asked for a favor. Grant it and bring her back here. That way I don't worry while I work."
Maze took a shot of her favorite whiskey and nodded. She knew what was coming. All hell was going to break loose in the most literal of she got to corrupt Chloe Decker in the process. Damn, it was good to be a demon.
Amenadiel and Lucifer stood side by side in the desert. Phase two of his plan was much worse than what he had already done and Amenadiel winced at the thought, "Are you sure you want to do this,Luci?"
"Oh, I'm quite sure. Not the first time I've taken on dear old Dad."
"If this is what it takes, I cannot stop it"
Lucifer opened the seal separating Hell and Earth. He then called out to the thousands of angels who fell with and the army of The Fallen were going to show humanity a real good time. He hoped Father was watching. "I'm coming Dad, it will so good to see you again, you miserable bastard!"