Lucifer's head felt like it had been used as a demonic pinata. He groaned, trying to piece together where he was and what had happened. The last thing he remembered was facing down that souped-up Rebis, and then...
"Oh good, you're awake. I was beginning to think I'd have to draw a mustache on you or something."
Lucifer's eyes snapped open. He found himself lying on a worn couch in what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Sitting cross-legged on a crate nearby was the purple-haired girl they'd spotted in the entertainment district.
Upclose, she was a beauty to be marveled about. Facial features set on a perfect facial frame, blemishless, with a saffron tint to her silky skin. She chested two perfectly giant lovenut-sized tits, that wobbled to the rhythm of her breathing, threatening to split out of her dress.
"You!" Lucifer tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness forced him back down. "Who are you? Where am I? Where's Ezra?"
The girl's lips quirked in an amused smile. "In order: Yes, me. Valeria. A safe place. And your girlfriend's fine, she's scouting the perimeter."
"She's not my—" Lucifer began automatically, then shook his head. "Never mind. What happened? The last thing I remember is..."
He trailed off, fragments of memory flashing through his mind. Power. Darkness. Wings of shadow and flame.
Valeria's expression grew serious. "You tapped into something big, Lucy. Something that a lot of very powerful beings would love to get their hands on. Including that trigger-happy priest and his merry band of zealots."
Lucifer frowned. "Xavier? What does he have to do with this?"
"Everything," a new voice said. Ezra stepped into view, her face grim. "The Divine Templars aren't just hunting demons anymore. They're after you specifically, Lucifer. You and... whatever it is you're carrying inside you."
Lucifer felt a chill run down his spine. "But I don't even know what I am," he lied. "How can they be after something I don't understand myself?"
Valeria laughed, a sound like tinkling bells that seemed at odds with the seriousness of the situation. "Oh, honey. Since when has ignorance ever protected anyone? You're a walking, talking nuclear weapon of demonic energy. Whether you know how to use it or not doesn't matter to them."
Lucifer's head was spinning, and not just from the aftereffects of his power surge. "Okay, time out," he said, holding up a hand. "Let's back up. Who exactly are you, Valeria? And why are you helping us?"
Valeria's smile faded, replaced by a look of ancient sadness. "I'm... complicated," she said softly. "Let's just say I have a vested interest in keeping the balance between worlds. And right now, you're the fulcrum that balance is teetering on."
Before Lucifer could press further, a distant explosion rocked the warehouse. Ezra was instantly alert, her hand going to her sword.
"They've found us," she said tersely. "We need to move. Now."
But as they scrambled to their feet, the wall of the warehouse exploded inward. Through the dust and debris strode Xavier, his eyes gleaming in the dim light, his sword crackling with energy.
"End of the line, demon," he snarled, his eyes fixed on Lucifer. "Time to send you back to the pit you crawled out of."
Lucifer felt equal parts panic and anger rising in his throat. He reached for that wellspring of power he'd tapped into before, but it felt distant, unreachable.
"Any time you want to go all wings-of-shadow on this guy, feel free," he muttered to himself.
Ezra stepped in front of him, her ever flowing, yet solid sword at the ready. "You'll have to go through me first," she said, her voice steely with determination.
Xavier's laugh was cold and cruel. "Gladly. I've been wanting to test my blade against a Sword Saint for a while now."
He lunged forward, his sword a blur of motion. Ezra met him head-on, her own blade slicing through the air. The clash of steel on watery-steel rang out, a deadly duel of flashing blades and superhuman reflexes.
Lucifer watched in awe and terror as Ezra held her own against the Divine Templar. But he could see that Xavier was stronger, faster. Each blow drove Ezra back a step, her face a mask of concentration and growing fatigue.
"We have to do something," Lucifer said desperately, turning to Valeria. "Can't you help?"
Valeria's eyes were fixed on the battle, a look of intense concentration on her face. "I am helping," she said softly. "Just... not in the way you might expect."
Before Lucifer could ask what she meant, the air around Valeria began to shimmer and distort. A low, thrumming vibration filled the warehouse, setting Lucifer's teeth on edge.
Xavier faltered mid-swing, his eyes widening as he sensed the buildup of power. "What in God's name...?"
With a sound like reality tearing, a massive shape burst into existence beside Valeria. It was vaguely humanoid, but twisted and ethereal in a way that hurt to look at directly. Great wings of light and shadow spread from its back, and its eyes glowed with an unearthly radiance.
"Holy shit," Lucifer breathed. "Is that...?"
"A Rebis," Ezra confirmed, her voice filled with awe and a hint of fear. "But like nothing I've ever seen before."
Valeria's eyes blazed with power as she directed her creation. "Blorp," she commanded, her voice echoing with unearthly resonance. "Subdue."
The Rebis – Blorp – moved with impossible speed. One moment it was beside Valeria, the next it had Xavier pinned against the wall, its massive hand wrapped around his throat. The Divine Templar's sword clattered to the ground, holy energy fizzling out as it left his grasp.
"Impossible," Xavier choked out, his face purple with lack of oxygen and impotent rage. "No demon can control a Rebis like this. What are you?"
Valeria approached slowly, her purple hair floating around her as if suspended in water. "I told you," she said, her voice tinged with something ancient and terrible. "I'm complicated."
She reached out, placing a delicate hand on Xavier's forehead. The Divine Templar's eyes rolled back in his head, and he went limp in Blorp's grasp.
"He'll live," Valeria said, turning back to Lucifer and Ezra. "But he won't remember the last few hours. It should buy us some time."
Lucifer stared at her, a mix of awe and fear churning in his gut. "Who... what are you, really?" he asked.
Valeria's smile was sad and knowing. "I'm like you, Lucifer. A piece that doesn't quite fit in the grand cosmic puzzle. The sooner you figure out your place in it all, the better chance we have of preventing total chaos."
As Blorp gently lowered the unconscious Xavier to the ground, Lucifer exchanged a look with Ezra. Her face mirrored his own conflicted emotions – relief at their narrow escape, wariness of Valeria's immense power, and a growing realization that they were in way, way over their heads.
"So," Lucifer said, trying for levity and probably landing closer to hysterical, "I don't suppose any of this is going to be on the math final, is it?"
Ezra's lips twitched in what might have been a suppressed smile. "Come on," she said, taking his hand. "We need to report this to the Organization. And you," she added, turning to Valeria, "have a lot of explaining to do."
***