Post by Bene Elohim on Feb 8, 2024 15:05:40 GMT -8
So much has happened, and although it didn’t appear to have taken any toll on the leader of the Children of Nephilim, nothing could be further from the truth. There were still so many details about all of this that no one knew.
Things he couldn’t share with anyone.
Even though he walked through the house in Hell with his head held high and his shoulders squared, he didn’t show the doubts that plagued him. They had lost two dozens of Demons in a short amount of time. They fell to either Valdemar or Anthony.
The Children of Nephilim were now fighting a war on two fronts.
Lucifer found himself standing at the door to the bedroom being used for the recovery of Maricela Reyes and knocked. A soft voice called out for him to enter and he pushed the door open. When she saw Lucifer, she sat up a bit and leaned back on the headboard, shock clear in her hazel green eyes.
He’d never been here alone before.
Closing the door behind him, he asked softly.
Lord Lucifer: "How are you feeling?"
She looked up to Lucifer, a soft shimmer in her eyes.
Maricela Reyes: "Estoy... bien. I'm as okay as I can be."
He stopped in the center of the room, crossing his arms over his chest.
Lord Lucifer: "You know it wasn't your fault. None of it."
Lightly, she touched the left side of her face. The damage has healed, but the scars from the carnival would remain. She was genuinely confused by his words and spoke up.
Maricela Reyes: "...I'm not sure I'm the one you should be saying that to. I don't regret what I did."
It was her decision, her own free will, to send Chelsea Pryce and the kids away. To face the behemoth-like Demon alone. She waited for a follow-up and it would soon come.
Lord Lucifer: "One doesn't have to feel regret, to feel pain. To feel less than they truly are because they didn't get done what they wanted. Now tell me. You and Martin? Do you have somewhere safe to go? For after this is over?"
These questions… why were they presented to her? The Latina Artist didn’t start with a straight answer, perhaps trying to gather herself.
Maricela Reyes: "We've talked about moving to Asheville. It's far more affordable and... I can be close to Danni. But I want Padre to be close to his daughter as well. They need each other."
She lowered her head a little, looking to get straight to the point.
Maricela: "We still have our apartment in Malibu."
Whether or not something seemed to be bothering her went straight over his head. He had gotten the answer he needed.
Lord Lucifer: "An apartment in Malibu. Good… good."
Maricela Reyes: "...Why are you asking me these questions?"
Even when she made eye contact, it was very difficult to read him. She didn’t expect any less. He was a professional.
Lord Lucifer: "Nothing you need to concern yourself with."
He offered her a faint little smile and inclined his head in a farewell, leaving her as confused at the end of his visit as she had been at the start of it. However, she was smart enough to realize that he had wanted something specific.
After he closed the door, Lucifer leaned back on it, letting his mind wander over his plan and the consequences of it. He would need these outsiders more than he had ever anticipated. He must keep Xaria and the children safe at all costs.
Guarding them was all that mattered to him.
Whatever was needed. Whatever the price and whatever the cost. He would pay it. He would shoulder the weight and carry on, protecting them from whatever came at them.
At the next door, he didn’t even bother to knock, choosing instead to just let himself in. Lying on the bed in the corner was the unconscious body of the blue-haired Maiko Adachi. The raven-haired Ashley Kenyon sat in a chair beside the head of the bed with one hand gently running her fingers through the woman’s hair.
Lord Lucifer: “How is she?”
Ashley looked up, her voice as quiet as his own.
Ashley Kenyon: “...Asleep… and in a lot of pain.”
Lord Lucifer: “And you?”
Ashley blinked and the softness that had been in her eyes instantly disappeared as she glowered at him.
Ashley Kenyon: “How the fuck do you think I am, Michael?! Her leg is broken because I couldn’t finish the fucking job!”
Lord Lucifer: “You never stood a chance of finishing it, Ashley, and no one made Maiko do what she did… But, more importantly, you are missing something.”
Ashley Kenyon: “What the fuck am I missing? Huh? What?!”
Lord Lucifer: “I was there for the fight, Ashley. I followed Maiko when I realized she was tracking you. I heard her.”
Ashley Kenyon: “Heard her?”
Lord Lucifer: “‘You won’t fucking touch her again.’”
Ashley Kenyon: “And this surprises you? It’s Twoey. I know how much I mean to her.”
Lord Lucifer: “Except… that wasn’t Maiko.”
Ashley Kenyon: “...The Demon?!”
Lord Lucifer: “You have done something rare, Ashley Kenyon. Asmodeus hasn’t trusted anyone since Joshua betrayed her. You won her. All of her. That is something to be proud of.”
Ashley Kenyon: “...”
Lucifer slowly crossed the room and stood in front of the tattooed woman and asked the question he was here to ask.
The real reason he was here.
Lord Lucifer: “What would you do for her, knowing this, Ashley? What price would you pay? What would you give?”
Ashley Kenyon: “...Anything. Everything. She is… all… that matters to me…”
Lord Lucifer: “...Good.”
Lucifer whispered and turned, leaving Ashley with a strange, confused look on her face. As he did, he felt the two folded objects in his coat.
Lord Lucifer: “Good.”
The plan was already coming together when he left the room the two tattooed women shared. He crossed the large central area of the house to the door leading outside. Footsteps carried him across the porch and down the stairs, crunching the soft damp grass beneath his feet.
Glancing back over his shoulder, he looked up and into the bedroom of the little four-year-old girl, Penny. Only he found her and the Harbinger standing at the window, watching him as he crossed the yard to meet with the trio awaiting him as he requested.
Martin West, Johnny Maverick, and Chelsea Pryce.
Chelsea Pryce: “You wanted to see us?”
Lord Lucifer: “ I have a job for you. A pick up.”
Martin West: “Just us?”
Johnny Maverick: “You beginning to trust us after all?”
Lucifer met the man’s eyes and his lips curled into a mocking smile.
Lord Lucifer: “I cannot spare anyone else.”
Martin West: “Then can we possibly spare the egos for a moment? What do you need?”
Johnny Maverick: “He’s into me…”
Johnny casually whispers this to no one in particular. Chelsea rolls her eyes at her boyfriend.
Martin knew at the heart of all of this was Penny and the Linette Twins. If nothing else kept him focused, his daughter's safety was more than enough.
Lord Lucifer: “Him.”
Lucifer held out a manilla folder that Martin took and opened looking down at the picture, short biography, and personal information.
Martin West: “What did he do?”
Lord Lucifer: “Doesn’t matter. If you bring him to me? I can end this.”
Raising an eyebrow, the Ice Queen wondered what, exactly, was in store. She could tell this wasn’t another one of Valdemar’s minions that Lucifer wanted them to drag into Hell. Still, if this task would help bring an end to this war...
Chelsea Pryce: “Just like that?”
They had to be sure.
Lord Lucifer: “Just like that.”
The three of them looked at one another and then turned and walked away, talking among themselves while Martin showed the other two the folder. Lucifer turned and started away, only instead of heading back to the house, he began deeper into Hell.
He only got a handful of steps before they became heavier. In the same speed and rhythm, but echoed.
He was no longer walking alone.
A half a step behind him walked the Twins, Ramiel and Ananiel, and the woman they called Sister Sara, all walking in silence.
Lord Lucifer: “Did you need something?”
There was only silence to greet him until the soft, nearly beautiful voice of Sariel answered directly over his left shoulder.
Sariel: “You sent them on an imperative mission, Sire. Have we done something to let you down?”
It was at that moment that Lucifer realized that his sons and daughter felt they had upset him in some way. That he had trusted Martin, Johnny, and Chelsea with this assignment because he no longer trusted them.
Lucifer let out a deep sigh and turned looking into the downcast faces of the trio. He hated this. He didn’t want to do this to them and yet he knew this was the only way. They had lost so much already and they were losing more by the day. More and more Demons were disappearing to Valdemar’s sheer numbers or Anthony’s skills.
Lord Lucifer: “You have done nothing.”
Ramiel: “ But you give…”
Ananiel: “...The others the…”
Ramiel: “...Jobs that should go…”
Both: “...To us.”
Lord Lucifer: “I have something else for you.”
From inside of his coat, Lucifer pulled out a folded envelope from the pocket and handed it to Sariel. The Twins gathered behind her and looked down over her shoulder as she opened it. The instant she saw what was inside, her face paled.
Sariel: “No…”
Lord Lucifer: “No?!”
Her eyes slowly came up, and within them, there was pure horror.
Sariel: “Please… You told us… Please…”
Lord Lucifer: “It is not your place to question me, Sara.”
Neither of the Twins spoke, but their body language said all they needed to say. They were extremely tense, the hairs on the back of their necks standing up.
Sariel: “...This isn’t who we are anymore, Lucifer… Please…”
Lucifer looked past them and pointed deeper into Hell. To the parts of the grounds that no one used, that no one ever went to. It was far from the house and on the opposite corner of Ashley’s target range.
Lord Lucifer: “Build it there… and Sara? Keep the Harbinger away from it. She’s not to come within a hundred yards of it.”
All three of them looked at one another and then back to Lucifer. All of them wore disbelief, as white as Maiko’s face paint, but they all knew what they needed to do. In unison, they simply answered--
Trio: “Thy will… be done…”
Lucifer turned and headed back toward the house and the others, leaving Ramiel, Ananiel, and Sariel standing alone. They were huddled together as if it would protect them against the chill. However, it was a chill that had nothing to do with the bitter December wind.
On the paper in their hands was the design for a Cabin.
One single Cabin.
The place Lucifer used to torture sinners in Hell.
Things he couldn’t share with anyone.
Even though he walked through the house in Hell with his head held high and his shoulders squared, he didn’t show the doubts that plagued him. They had lost two dozens of Demons in a short amount of time. They fell to either Valdemar or Anthony.
The Children of Nephilim were now fighting a war on two fronts.
Lucifer found himself standing at the door to the bedroom being used for the recovery of Maricela Reyes and knocked. A soft voice called out for him to enter and he pushed the door open. When she saw Lucifer, she sat up a bit and leaned back on the headboard, shock clear in her hazel green eyes.
He’d never been here alone before.
Closing the door behind him, he asked softly.
Lord Lucifer: "How are you feeling?"
She looked up to Lucifer, a soft shimmer in her eyes.
Maricela Reyes: "Estoy... bien. I'm as okay as I can be."
He stopped in the center of the room, crossing his arms over his chest.
Lord Lucifer: "You know it wasn't your fault. None of it."
Lightly, she touched the left side of her face. The damage has healed, but the scars from the carnival would remain. She was genuinely confused by his words and spoke up.
Maricela Reyes: "...I'm not sure I'm the one you should be saying that to. I don't regret what I did."
It was her decision, her own free will, to send Chelsea Pryce and the kids away. To face the behemoth-like Demon alone. She waited for a follow-up and it would soon come.
Lord Lucifer: "One doesn't have to feel regret, to feel pain. To feel less than they truly are because they didn't get done what they wanted. Now tell me. You and Martin? Do you have somewhere safe to go? For after this is over?"
These questions… why were they presented to her? The Latina Artist didn’t start with a straight answer, perhaps trying to gather herself.
Maricela Reyes: "We've talked about moving to Asheville. It's far more affordable and... I can be close to Danni. But I want Padre to be close to his daughter as well. They need each other."
She lowered her head a little, looking to get straight to the point.
Maricela: "We still have our apartment in Malibu."
Whether or not something seemed to be bothering her went straight over his head. He had gotten the answer he needed.
Lord Lucifer: "An apartment in Malibu. Good… good."
Maricela Reyes: "...Why are you asking me these questions?"
Even when she made eye contact, it was very difficult to read him. She didn’t expect any less. He was a professional.
Lord Lucifer: "Nothing you need to concern yourself with."
He offered her a faint little smile and inclined his head in a farewell, leaving her as confused at the end of his visit as she had been at the start of it. However, she was smart enough to realize that he had wanted something specific.
After he closed the door, Lucifer leaned back on it, letting his mind wander over his plan and the consequences of it. He would need these outsiders more than he had ever anticipated. He must keep Xaria and the children safe at all costs.
Guarding them was all that mattered to him.
Whatever was needed. Whatever the price and whatever the cost. He would pay it. He would shoulder the weight and carry on, protecting them from whatever came at them.
At the next door, he didn’t even bother to knock, choosing instead to just let himself in. Lying on the bed in the corner was the unconscious body of the blue-haired Maiko Adachi. The raven-haired Ashley Kenyon sat in a chair beside the head of the bed with one hand gently running her fingers through the woman’s hair.
Lord Lucifer: “How is she?”
Ashley looked up, her voice as quiet as his own.
Ashley Kenyon: “...Asleep… and in a lot of pain.”
Lord Lucifer: “And you?”
Ashley blinked and the softness that had been in her eyes instantly disappeared as she glowered at him.
Ashley Kenyon: “How the fuck do you think I am, Michael?! Her leg is broken because I couldn’t finish the fucking job!”
Lord Lucifer: “You never stood a chance of finishing it, Ashley, and no one made Maiko do what she did… But, more importantly, you are missing something.”
Ashley Kenyon: “What the fuck am I missing? Huh? What?!”
Lord Lucifer: “I was there for the fight, Ashley. I followed Maiko when I realized she was tracking you. I heard her.”
Ashley Kenyon: “Heard her?”
Lord Lucifer: “‘You won’t fucking touch her again.’”
Ashley Kenyon: “And this surprises you? It’s Twoey. I know how much I mean to her.”
Lord Lucifer: “Except… that wasn’t Maiko.”
Ashley Kenyon: “...The Demon?!”
Lord Lucifer: “You have done something rare, Ashley Kenyon. Asmodeus hasn’t trusted anyone since Joshua betrayed her. You won her. All of her. That is something to be proud of.”
Ashley Kenyon: “...”
Lucifer slowly crossed the room and stood in front of the tattooed woman and asked the question he was here to ask.
The real reason he was here.
Lord Lucifer: “What would you do for her, knowing this, Ashley? What price would you pay? What would you give?”
Ashley Kenyon: “...Anything. Everything. She is… all… that matters to me…”
Lord Lucifer: “...Good.”
Lucifer whispered and turned, leaving Ashley with a strange, confused look on her face. As he did, he felt the two folded objects in his coat.
Lord Lucifer: “Good.”
The plan was already coming together when he left the room the two tattooed women shared. He crossed the large central area of the house to the door leading outside. Footsteps carried him across the porch and down the stairs, crunching the soft damp grass beneath his feet.
Glancing back over his shoulder, he looked up and into the bedroom of the little four-year-old girl, Penny. Only he found her and the Harbinger standing at the window, watching him as he crossed the yard to meet with the trio awaiting him as he requested.
Martin West, Johnny Maverick, and Chelsea Pryce.
Chelsea Pryce: “You wanted to see us?”
Lord Lucifer: “ I have a job for you. A pick up.”
Martin West: “Just us?”
Johnny Maverick: “You beginning to trust us after all?”
Lucifer met the man’s eyes and his lips curled into a mocking smile.
Lord Lucifer: “I cannot spare anyone else.”
Martin West: “Then can we possibly spare the egos for a moment? What do you need?”
Johnny Maverick: “He’s into me…”
Johnny casually whispers this to no one in particular. Chelsea rolls her eyes at her boyfriend.
Martin knew at the heart of all of this was Penny and the Linette Twins. If nothing else kept him focused, his daughter's safety was more than enough.
Lord Lucifer: “Him.”
Lucifer held out a manilla folder that Martin took and opened looking down at the picture, short biography, and personal information.
Martin West: “What did he do?”
Lord Lucifer: “Doesn’t matter. If you bring him to me? I can end this.”
Raising an eyebrow, the Ice Queen wondered what, exactly, was in store. She could tell this wasn’t another one of Valdemar’s minions that Lucifer wanted them to drag into Hell. Still, if this task would help bring an end to this war...
Chelsea Pryce: “Just like that?”
They had to be sure.
Lord Lucifer: “Just like that.”
The three of them looked at one another and then turned and walked away, talking among themselves while Martin showed the other two the folder. Lucifer turned and started away, only instead of heading back to the house, he began deeper into Hell.
He only got a handful of steps before they became heavier. In the same speed and rhythm, but echoed.
He was no longer walking alone.
A half a step behind him walked the Twins, Ramiel and Ananiel, and the woman they called Sister Sara, all walking in silence.
Lord Lucifer: “Did you need something?”
There was only silence to greet him until the soft, nearly beautiful voice of Sariel answered directly over his left shoulder.
Sariel: “You sent them on an imperative mission, Sire. Have we done something to let you down?”
It was at that moment that Lucifer realized that his sons and daughter felt they had upset him in some way. That he had trusted Martin, Johnny, and Chelsea with this assignment because he no longer trusted them.
Lucifer let out a deep sigh and turned looking into the downcast faces of the trio. He hated this. He didn’t want to do this to them and yet he knew this was the only way. They had lost so much already and they were losing more by the day. More and more Demons were disappearing to Valdemar’s sheer numbers or Anthony’s skills.
Lord Lucifer: “You have done nothing.”
Ramiel: “ But you give…”
Ananiel: “...The others the…”
Ramiel: “...Jobs that should go…”
Both: “...To us.”
Lord Lucifer: “I have something else for you.”
From inside of his coat, Lucifer pulled out a folded envelope from the pocket and handed it to Sariel. The Twins gathered behind her and looked down over her shoulder as she opened it. The instant she saw what was inside, her face paled.
Sariel: “No…”
Lord Lucifer: “No?!”
Her eyes slowly came up, and within them, there was pure horror.
Sariel: “Please… You told us… Please…”
Lord Lucifer: “It is not your place to question me, Sara.”
Neither of the Twins spoke, but their body language said all they needed to say. They were extremely tense, the hairs on the back of their necks standing up.
Sariel: “...This isn’t who we are anymore, Lucifer… Please…”
Lucifer looked past them and pointed deeper into Hell. To the parts of the grounds that no one used, that no one ever went to. It was far from the house and on the opposite corner of Ashley’s target range.
Lord Lucifer: “Build it there… and Sara? Keep the Harbinger away from it. She’s not to come within a hundred yards of it.”
All three of them looked at one another and then back to Lucifer. All of them wore disbelief, as white as Maiko’s face paint, but they all knew what they needed to do. In unison, they simply answered--
Trio: “Thy will… be done…”
Lucifer turned and headed back toward the house and the others, leaving Ramiel, Ananiel, and Sariel standing alone. They were huddled together as if it would protect them against the chill. However, it was a chill that had nothing to do with the bitter December wind.
On the paper in their hands was the design for a Cabin.
One single Cabin.
The place Lucifer used to torture sinners in Hell.
A place he’d promised all of them was gone forever.
Ashley was right and he knew it. In order to end this once and for all it would require him to become the man he had once been. The evil that had plagued dozens of lives. It was a weight he would ensure wouldn't touch anyone else. If anyone was going to lose their soul to defeat Anthony and Valdemar?
It would be Lucifer.
