"I'm afraid it's not quite that simple, my young friends."
They turned to see Xavier Hawthorne striding towards them, looking like he'd crawled out of a meat grinder. His priestly garb was more red than white, torn in a dozen places. But his eyes... his eyes blazed with the kind of fanatical determination that made Ezra's skin crawl.
"The Divine Templar," she growled, raising Monsoon. Its blade glinted eagerly, hungry for holier blood. "What are you doing here?"
Xavier's smile was cold and sharp as a knife. "The same as you, I imagine. Trying to save this miserable world from damnation. Though our methods may differ somewhat."
Lucifer tensed beside Ezra, his power flaring hot enough to singe her hair. "Yeah, somehow I doubt we're on the same page here, 'Padre'. Last I checked, your idea of 'saving the world' involved a lot of dead kids and broken families. You don't care about who gets hurt in the process."
Xavier's eyes narrowed to slits. "Sometimes, sacrifices must be made for the greater good. A concept I wouldn't expect a demon to understand."
The accusation hung in the air, heavy as an executioner's axe. Ezra felt Lucifer stiffen, saw the flicker of doubt and pain cross his face. Without thinking, she reached out and took his hand, squeezing hard enough to hurt.
"Lucifer is not your enemy," she said, her voice steady as steel. "He's fighting to protect this shithole of a city, just like us."
Xavier's gaze flickered between them, disgust twisting his features into something inhuman. "You fool," he spat. "Can't you see he's corrupted you? The great Morningstar, playing at redemption. It's a lie, girl. A trick to lull you into complacency before he strikes."
Lucifer's grip on Ezra's hand tightened, bones grinding together. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about," he growled, but Ezra could hear the undercurrent of uncertainty in his voice.
Before the pissing contest could escalate further, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble. The rift pulsed, expanding outward in a wave of dark energy that sent all three of them stumbling like drunks after last call.
"It's destabilizing," Xavier shouted over the increasing roar of the portal. "If we don't close it soon, it'll tear this entire city apart!"
For a moment, their differences were forgotten in the face of this greater threat. Ezra, Lucifer, and Xavier formed an unlikely trio, standing against the tide of demons that poured forth with renewed vigor.
Ezra's blade flashed, each strike precise and deadly. Where Monsoon bit, limbs flew and heads rolled. Black blood sprayed in fountains, painting her in a grisly image of demonic viscera.
Xavier's holy powers manifested in bursts of searing white light. He was without his sword this time around. Perhaps, lost in his encounter before.
Lesser demons caught in his blasts simply ceased to exist, their forms unable to withstand the divine assault. Those on the fringes howled in agony as blessed light ate through them like acid through paper.
And Lucifer... Lucifer was a force of fucking nature. His dual-natured power carved through the demonic horde like a hot knife through butter. White hellfire created a maelstrom of destruction that left nothing but ash in its wake.
But for every demon they felled, two more took its place. The rift continued to grow, reality warping and buckling around its edges like a bad trip. Ezra could feel exhaustion setting in, her movements becoming slower, less precise. A clawed hand raked across her back, tearing through leather and flesh alike. She bit back a scream, pivoting to separate the offending limb from its owner.
"We can't keep this up forever, where's Margot?" she panted, dispatching another imp with a well-placed thrust. Her arms felt like lead, each swing of Monsoon an exercise in agony.
Lucifer nodded grimly, "she's handling crowd control," his own attacks becoming more erratic as fatigue set in. A horned monstrosity got past his guard, its talons dragging across his chest. Lucifer's pained grunt was lost in the creature's death rattle as he incinerated it point-blank.
"I hate to admit it," he gasped, "but we might be in over our heads here."
Xavier, looking equally worn, turned to Lucifer with a fierce intensity that made Ezra's hackles rise. "There might be a way," he said, his voice barely audible over the sound of battle. "But it would require... significant power. More than any one of us possesses alone."
Lucifer's eyes widened as understanding dawned. "You want to channel my power? Are you out of your fucking mind? It could kill you!"
Xavier's laugh was bitter and hollow, the sound of a man with nothing left to lose. "Better to die closing this abomination than to live in a world overrun by hell's legions."
Ezra looked between them, confusion and concern warring on her face. "What the hell are you talking about? What power?"
Lucifer hesitated, then met her gaze with naked fear. "My true power," he said softly. "The power of the Morningstar. It's... it's not hellfire, but what I was created with, what everything was created with. It's not something I can control. But if Xavier acts as a conduit, using his holy abilities to focus and direct it..."
"It might be enough to seal the rift," Xavier finished.
Ezra felt her heart clench. The risks were enormous – not just to Xavier, but to Lucifer himself. Unleashing that much power, especially in his still-uncertain state, could be catastrophic. Images of Lucifer burning away to nothing, consumed by his own divine fire, flashed through her mind.
"There has to be another way," she insisted, even as another wave of demons crashed against their makeshift defensive line.
But even as the words left her mouth, she knew there wasn't. The rift was growing by the second, the very fabric of reality straining at its edges. They were out of options and out of time.
Lucifer seemed to come to the same conclusion. He turned to Xavier, his expression resolute. "Alright, 'Padre'. Let's do this. But if you try to pull any funny business..."
Xavier nodded grimly. "You have my word. For whatever that's worth to you."
As the two prepared for their desperate gambit, Ezra felt a surge of panic. She grabbed Lucifer's arm, pulling him close enough to see the flecks of gold in his eyes... and to rub her body against his.
"Lucifer, wait," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I... there's something I need to tell you. In case this doesn't work."
Lucifer's eyes softened, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. It left a smear of blood and ash on her skin. "Hey, none of that. We're going to make it through this, okay? And then you can tell me anything you want. Over coffee, remember?"
Ezra managed a weak smile, blinking back tears she refused to let fall. "You better not stand me up, Morningstar. Or I'll drag you out of whatever hell you end up in just to kick your ass."
***