"Once your friends see your true colors, they will happily aid me in my quest."
Was this what the priest meant with his declaration? Somehow the murder-happy priest must have got his hands on some sort of totem or talisman that could affect him. Perhaps that was the reason he couldn't punch his way out of the storage unit and not because of his proximity to Chloe. After all, the Devil could not be contained. Granted, he was restraining himself a little for the spawn's benefit. He didn't want her to get hurt in his escape attempt. But perhaps his failure to get out was due to whatever the priest was using.
Whatever that strange surge of energy he felt through his body before must have come from whatever talisman Father Kinley had in his possession. He probably activated it while he was talking – or rather monologuing – to everyone. And that caused his Devil form to come out beyond his control.
These thoughts raced through Lucifer's mind all in the span of his split-second realization that not only was he seemingly "stuck" with his Devil Face on for the time being, but that the Detective's spawn was seeing it. Immediately, he shuffled against the wall, further away from the young girl.
"Lucifer? What's wrong?" Trixie worriedly and hurriedly crawled closer to him, following his shuffle backwards, until Lucifer sat in the corner against the wall with Trixie sat right in front of him. There was no fear in her features, only concern.
"You're not…" Lucifer cocked his red head, "You're not scared of me?"
"Why would I be scared of you?" Trixie looked at him like he just asked the inanest question in the universe.
Lucifer slowly blinked his crimson eyes at this remarkable child.
"What? Because of your face?" Trixie finally understood, "Your face isn't scary. It looks like it hurts more than anything else. How did that happen anyway?"
Lucifer opened his mouth to explain about his Fall and the whole "Lake of Fire" thing, but thought better of it. The Detective probably wouldn't appreciate him telling her young daughter that story.
"Besides… Maze's face is way cooler," Trixie stated, her questions seemingly forgotten.
Lucifer did a double-take at that.
"Maze's face? When did you see Mazikeen's demonic face?" Lucifer asked.
"Halloween last year," Trixie replied with a no-big-deal shrug, "We got SO much candy… Hey, maybe we can ask Mom if you could go Trick-Or-Treating with us this year and get Maze to come too. We'd definitely triple our candy haul – even if your face is more burn-y than scary."
"More bur-" Lucifer was offended. His Devil Face was way scarier than Maze's demonic one. His Devil Face was his whole head for Dad's sake whereas Maze's was only half of her face. Perhaps she wasn't seeing it clearly in the dim lighting.
Trixie lips quirked up into a small smile.
Slow realization dawned on Lucifer. The Urchin was trying to make him more at ease by acting as if his Devil Face wasn't on full display – to treat him as she always did. Clever. Clearly the spawn truly knew he was the Devil and was completely unaffected by the fact.
Would wonders never cease?
"How long have you known I'm really the Devil?" Lucifer asked.
"Since you sat down next to me at school when we met," Trixie shrugged, "You've always said you're the Devil and you don't lie."
"And you're okay with it?" Lucifer cocked his scarred head.
"Duh… you're my friend," Trixie replied matter-of-factly.
A barely noticeable smile quirked on to Lucifer's cracked lips.
"Do you think this is what the evil guy was talking about?" Trixie asked, changing the subject as she shifted off of her knees and sat cross-legged in front of Lucifer.
"What?"
"He said something about all of us seeing your "true colors"," Trixie used air quotes, "Did he think if we all saw you looking like this we'd join him and try to hurt you or something?"
"I'd say that's a fair assumption," Lucifer agreed with a nod. He slowly made a move to get up, but stopped short. Trixie had said she wasn't afraid of him, but he still didn't want to risk any sudden movements and actually end up traumatizing the spawn.
"You need help getting up, old man?" Trixie saw his attempt anyway and quickly got to her feet. She reached out her hands to help Lucifer up.
"I am NOT old," Lucifer accepted her hands, her small hands joining his larger red ones as she helped him to his feet. In taking her hands, Lucifer accepted it for what the gesture truly was – to prove to him with finality that she wasn't afraid of him.
"I'm timeless."
Lucifer adjusted his suit and fixed his cuffs – the movements were familiar even in his other form.
Before either of them could say anything else, the sound of the storage unit door opening caught their attention. Trixie quickly jumped behind Lucifer in the implicit trust that he'd do everything in his power to keep her safe. She peeked around his back to see who was in the entryway.
The two of them were flooded with artificial light from the opening door. Standing right in the middle of the entryway, blocking out some of the light were two unfamiliar men. One of the men was a tall, thin black man with a medium build. He had a full black beard with a short afro. The other was a much shorter white man with a little pudge around the middle. They looked around the storage unit until their gazes landed on Lucifer.
"L-Lord Lucifer?"
Lucifer stepped slightly forward with Trixie still attached to his middle, peeking around him.
"Dromos? Squee?"
~*~
"What's the plan, Chlo?" Dan asked in a hushed tone. Who knew how much their crazed kidnapper could hear?
Chloe bit her lip in thought.
"Chloe?" Dan prompted.
"I'm thinking," Chloe replied as she casually looked around their makeshift prison. She didn't want to draw too much attention to their planning an escape just in case Kinley had their unit fitted with an unseen camera too.
"What do you think Kinley wants with Lucifer?" Ella asked.
"The more important question is why he wants to turn us against him or how he thinks we could even turn against him," Chloe replied as she continued to look around the unit, "This guy is taking Lucifer's whole Devil thing way too seriously."
Dan and Ella exchanged a look.
"Yeahhhh, about that…" Dan started.
Ella widened her eyes at him, silently telling him to shut up. It wasn't their place to "out" their friend's Celestial Truth.
"Ella… do you know how to pick locks?" Chloe asked. Chloe didn't hear Dan's almost reveal. She was too wrapped up in her planning to try to get them out of their temporary prison.
"Since middle school," Ella replied, "But how's that going to help us? Locks are always on the outside of a storage unit."
"Not this one," Chloe pointedly looked at a spot in the distance on the door to their unit. Wedged in the shadows at the very end of the door was a padlock.
"Well, how do you propose I get over there if Psycho Priest might be watching and listening?" Ella said out of the corner of her mouth as she turned around, feigning a casual move, just in case Kinley was watching them. The last thing they needed was for him to lip-read what they were saying if their voices weren't loud enough to be picked up on the probable hidden microphones.
Chloe bit her lip in thought once more.
"I don't think you can," Chloe said.
Ella darted her eyes back and forth from Chloe to Dan and replied flatly, "Gee… that's brilliant. How did I not think of that?"
Chloe rolled her eyes at the sarcastic response, but pressed on. Following Ella's lead of talking out of the side of her mouth, she covered her fingers over her mouth and elaborated, "I think this Kinley wants us to escape this unit."
"Why do you say that?" Dan asked in a whisper.
"He wants us to "turn" against Lucifer once we "see his true colors" – whatever the hell that means," Chloe started in way of explanation, the air quotes audible in her words, "So, maybe this lunatic wants us to run straight to Lucifer and Trixie. I just don't understand why he split us up in the first place if that's what he wanted to begin with… I mean, who knows what else this whack job might have up his sleeve?"
"What? So, we just play right into what he wants?" Dan wasn't too sure about that, but he trusted Chloe.
"Well, I think it's safe to say that none of us will turn against Lucifer," Chloe stated and looked pointedly at Dan, "Right?"
"Why are you looking at me like that for? Lucifer and I have been through a lot together," Dan remarked.
"Nothing could make me turn against one of my best friends," Ella declared, "I think the same can be said for you two."
Dan nodded and looked to Chloe. She nodded as well. That went without saying. Lucifer was her partner… and so much more.
"The sooner we all reunite, the better," Chloe said, "We're stronger together."
The three of them exchanged another look. It was a crazy plan to play right into what Kinley wanted, but it also was the best option. They all had faith in their friendship with Lucifer. They had faith in their friend.
"Well… with "Big Father" watching, lock picking it is. Let's go get our friends," Ella not so subtly headed over to the padlock to start working on getting them all out of their prison and to reunite with Trixie and Lucifer, "Hang in there, guys. We're coming."
~*~
"Lord Lucifer," Dromos, in his meat suit of the tall and thin black man, lifted his fist to his chest and tapped it once before dropping to one knee and lowered his head in a bow to the Devil. Behind him, Squee, in the shorter white man slowly lowered the unit's door until it was almost shut – just a sliver of space between the floor and the door was left open. He took a quick look at Dromos knelt down before Lucifer and quickly followed suit.
"What on Earth are you two doing on Earth?" Lucifer asked as Dromos and Squee slowly rose to their feet.
"We've come to bring you home, of course," Dromos replied, "You've been on vacation for such a long time."
"Back to Hell?" Trixie whispered before Lucifer could utter a response. She looked up to Lucifer from her position still hugging his middle. She tightened her arms around him. He couldn't go back to Hell. He belonged with them.
He looked down at Trixie, his crimson gaze quickly shifted from hardened to tender as his gaze landed on the young girl.
"What's that?" Squee noticed Trixie and not-so-subtly pointed at her as he took a few steps closer to them and excitedly asked, "Is that a mini human? I've never seen a real live one before! Or outside of a Hell Loop."
"That," Lucifer's eyes flashed a deeper crimson fire as his own arm came up around Trixie in a protective move. His voice took on a much more growling tone. Trixie could feel the vibrations of his words from her hold on him, "Is Beatrice and neither of you will lay a hand on her."
"You will address her with the same respect as you do me, understood?"
"Yes, my King," Squee took a timid step back and looked down. He began to nervously fidget with his hands.
Lucifer turned his gaze to Dromos who was still cocking his head at Trixie.
"Is that clear, Dromos?"
"Understood, Sire," Dromos finally tore his gaze away from Trixie and once again looked back up at Lucifer.
"I'll ask again… why are you here?" Lucifer asked, "Especially given the fact that I banned possession ages ago. You're lucky I haven't already incinerated you where you stand. I'm going to need a bit more information than you're here to take me back to Hell."
"The priest, he said he would help us bring you home," Dromos started.
Lucifer made a motion for him to continue. Demons… they weren't the most detailed bunch. One had to be direct.
"How did you even come upon Father Kinley? Or know where I was on Earth for that matter?" Lucifer prompted.
"It's… a long story," Dromos replied after looking at Squee and back to Lucifer.
"Well, you better start," Lucifer's eyes flashed again.
"It sort of started with the last soul I had been torturing," Dromos came closer to Lucifer until they stood face to face about a foot and a half apart.
~*~
Hell hadn't been the greatest since the King decided to take a seemingly never-ending vacation, but Dromos of the Lilim would not be deterred from enjoying the everyday luxuries of his duties – torturing the guilty. His latest assignment had been so much fun. Plus, rumor had it that this particular soul had crossed paths with their King on Earth. He had yet to see any evidence that it was true, but to be fair, he hadn't interacted too much with the soul. The Hell Loop had done most of the work, he mostly got to watch and every once and awhile, when the Loop would reset, he'd pop out the soul's eyes just for fun. That was his favorite.
Dromos slowly entered the soul's Hell Loop and took a look around. This reset, the Loop took on the appearance of a small diner. The soul, a man, was sitting alone at the counter with piles of various food stuffs surrounding him ranging from a stack of waffles, to steaks, hamburgers, sushi, chicken and rice, and various types of cakes and pastries. Each time he reached for something, it would quickly turn into ash before he could bring it to his mouth. Dromos couldn't help the snicker leave his lips as he watched the soul attempt to eat over and over again to no avail.
This particular day was especially fun because as an added bonus to the food turning to ash, the soul's mouth was sealed shut – a bushy moustache covered smooth skin from where his mouth would've been to the top of his bearded chin.
"Malcolm Graham," Dromos greeted the soul – it was about time he interacted.
Malcolm turned toward the voice. Bags hung under his eyes, his eyes appearing almost sunken. He looked gaunt. Slowly, his mouth began to reform under his mustache and he gasped in unnecessary air. Malcolm swallowed dryly and attempted to lick his dry lips, but they stubbornly stayed cracked.
"Y-You're not him," Malcolm rasped at Dromos, "I can tell."
"Is that so?" Dromos asked as he tilted his head in the guise of Lucifer Morningstar.
"Yeah, I know Lucifer Morningstar," Malcolm replied, "He's the reason I'm down here."
Dromos furrowed his brows at that. Apparently there was truth to the rumors. Well, there went a few thousand years of torture that he could've found that out sooner if he had decided to interact more than popping out the occasional eyeball. But who could blame him? Bashing in skulls and popping out eyeballs were the most fun aspects of the job and that didn't exactly line-up with actually talking with the souls.
He shifted from Lucifer's appearance to his own, "You know the King? How?"
"I met him in LA when I was alive," Malcolm replied. He shifted in his seat, "I take it the Big Kahuna's been gone awhile?"
Dromos nodded, "Feels like forever. We miss him."
"Maybe you should pop up to Earth for a visit and bring your King home," Malcolm suggested, "You'd be a hero to your brothers and sisters."
"Eh, nah, I couldn't do that," Dromos shook his head self-deprecatingly as he took a seat next to Malcolm at the counter, "The only way I could… Lord Lucifer banned that practice eons ago."
"Well… Lord Lucifer isn't here," Malcolm pointed out, "You've been hard at work while he's been gone. You deserve a break. And anyway, what's the harm in just popping up and retrieving him? I'm sure he'd forgive you after you brought him home. Just think about all that he's missed out on. Who knows? He might even be grateful."
"Good point," Dromos nodded, "He's been missing out on eons of torture. That's torture in itself."
"That settles that then," Malcolm patted Dromos on the back, "Leave me be for awhile and go get your King."
~*~
"So, Detective Porn Stache is the reason we're in this mess?" Lucifer deadpanned with a bite to the question.
"Well, he inspired me to begin my search for you," Dromos gestured to Lucifer with his palms upward. He didn't want to give too much credit to Malcolm, "My happening upon Father Kinley was just kismet. After leaving Malcolm Graham's Hell Loop, I began to brainstorm how I could reach you and that's when the perfect opportunity opened up."
"Let me guess. Kinley killed Wilson and you caught wind of the vacancy," Lucifer figured it out, "Then you possessed him."
"Not quite," Dromos said, "This Wilson guy got a hold of some book and tried to summon a demon and obviously it wasn't gonna work… his execution and pronunciations were atrocious."
At Lucifer's blank look, Dromos continued.
"Anyway, it was a few centuries later when Kinley killed Wilson and that's when the vacancy opened up and I uh, hopped a ride. I'm not sure if the connection was easier to sense because of the summoning spell or not... or if the spell had even worked."
Lucifer continued to return a blank, deadpan look.
"Right… not important. Anyway, Kinley figured out pretty quickly that I was a demon," Dromos continued to explain, "He said if I followed his instructions, it'd only be a matter of time until I would be led to you and you'd come home. And here you are!"
"You and this Father," Lucifer spat the title as if it were poison, "are sure to be sorely disappointed if you think I'd willingly go back to Hell."
"What?" Dromos' smile fell, "B-But… you've been gone for what feels like forever."
"As intended," Lucifer stated.
"So, you're really not going to come home?" Squee timidly asked. Lucifer looked back at Squee. He almost forgot the other demon was there.
"Hell may be your home, but it certainly has never been mine," Lucifer replied.
Squee exchanged a disappointed look with Dromos.
"Now," Lucifer stepped forward, squaring his shoulders, deepening his voice, he locked his gaze in a bounce between Dromos and Squee, "I think it's time for you two to Go. Back. To. Hell."
Lucifer tightened his protective grip on Trixie still hanging around his waist. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two demons and up at Lucifer. These two were definitely nothing like Maze.
"Or maybe we'll stick around for a little while," Dromos' expression jumped from disappointed to determined. He was undeterred by Lucifer's command as he began to walk backwards toward the storage unit's door, "Until you change your mind."
"Come on, Squee."
Hesitantly, Squee followed Dromos back out the storage unit's door as Dromos lifted it up and they exited. Squee took one last look at Lucifer and Trixie and slowly slid the door back down, but he wasn't able to close it all the way – thanks to the warped metal from Lucifer's earlier punch to it in his escape attempt. Trixie and Lucifer heard the two demons' retreating footsteps before Trixie released her hold on Lucifer.
"Are you all right, Urchin?" Lucifer immediately checked on the young girl. Her gaze was still where Dromos and Squee had just exited.
"I'm fine," Trixie replied back at him without looking, "They're not like Maze, are they?"
"Not in the slightest," Lucifer said.
"Why did they have blood on their clothes?"
Lucifer let out an uneasy breath, unsure how to explain demon possession and all it entailed to the child.
"Were they possessing dead people?" Trixie saved him from having to explain as she turned back to him. Clever girl – she is her mother's daughter.
Lucifer nodded.
"Well, they're not taking you back to Hell," Trixie folded her arms, leaving no room for argument, "I won't let them… and neither will Mommy."
"I don't plan on going anywhere, Urchin," Lucifer assured her.
He took a step forward toward the door, "Though it seems their visit helped us in one way."
Lucifer slid his foot under the slightly opened door and wiggled it, wedging it open slightly more. He kneeled down and began to lift the door a little wider, so it was now a little more than a couple inches off the ground.
"Damn it," Lucifer muttered as he rattled the door, "It won't go any higher. I think it's from that dent I made."
Trixie dropped to the ground, her belly flat on the floor and her ear pressed to the ground, as she squinted one eye to try to gauge the space, "I can try and see if I can fit under it."
"You're small, Urchin, but I'm not sure if you're quite that small," Lucifer knelt down next to her and turned his red head upside down to try to see out of the unit too. He was met with the sight of three pairs of feet under the door several feet down the way – two female and one male.
"I'd recognize those sensible dress shoes anywhere," Lucifer whispered as he sat up and looked to Trixie still lying on the floor, though she was propped up on her elbows.
"I think that's your mother out there with your father and Miss Lopez."
"Mom!" Trixie quickly crawled closer to the door until her face was in the open space.
"Trixie?!" Chloe exclaimed. Trixie heard those three pairs of feet hurry over to her. Positive that those footsteps belonged to their family – she quickly stuck out her arm and waved it.
"Trixie! Oh, you're okay!" Chloe dropped down to her knees as she gratefully grabbed her daughter's outstretched hand. Quickly, she laid down flat so both Decker girls could see each other under the storage unit's door, both their hands still entwined.
"Are you okay, Monkey?" Chloe tearfully squeezed her daughter's hand.
"I'm okay," Trixie squeezed back, "How did you guys get out?"
"I picked the lock," Ella dropped to her knees next to Chloe's head and leaned forward. She cocked her head so she also could see Trixie on the ground.
"You gotta teach me how to do that one day," Trixie looked in awe at Ella.
"Trix," Chloe began to chastise.
"What? You gotta admit, Mom, it'd be useful," Trixie countered. Chloe had to give her that one. Plus, it'd be a step in the right direction in comparison to the "lessons" that Maze had been giving her daughter. It was extra impressive given that Ella successfully picked the lock without any special lock-picking tools at hand.
Dan quickly joined the two ladies on the ground and let out a relieved sigh the moment he laid eyes on his daughter, "I'm so glad you're okay, sweetie."
"Is Lucifer okay?" Chloe's eyes scanned the floor behind her daughter and then addressed her question to the red-soled Louboutins she saw walk up next to her daughter's head, "Are you all right, Lucifer?"
Trixie let go of her mom's hand and sat up on her elbows as she looked up at the Devil. Even in his scarred visage, Trixie could see in his eyes he was wary. No doubt her mom didn't really know he was the Devil and with his Devil Face on full display…
"Um," Trixie began to answer for Lucifer as she laid her head back down on her folded arms to look at her mom once more, "Lucifer sort of has a… situation."
"What kind of situation?" Chloe grew worried. Since Lucifer never lied, the fact that he was letting Trixie speak for him truly spoke volumes. And who knew what had happened in the interim of their units being disconnected – for all Chloe knew, Kinley could've showed up and did something to her partner.
Trixie looked back up at Lucifer. He gestured at her to get up.
She turned back to her mom, "Just a second, Mom."
Chloe gaped at her daughter as Trixie quickly got to her feet. Chloe quickly shuffled closer to the storage door to see what she could see of her daughter and partner in the opening, but from her angle, all she could see were both of their legs. Ella tapped Chloe's shoulder and motioned for Chloe to get off of the ground.
"What?" Chloe asked her friend curtly.
"Nothing, I just thought we should give Lucifer and Trixie a second," Ella said.
Dan nodded in agreement.
"Maybe Lucifer's trying to figure out a way to get the door open wider so Trixie can slip out," Ella shrugged.
"But what does Trixie mean that he's in sort of a situation?" Chloe couldn't hide the worry in her voice, "Do you think that Kinley did something to him? I mean, who knows how they even got the door open that much to begin with… m-maybe Kinley stopped by and hurt Lucifer somehow and he protected Trixie or-or…"
"It's okay, Chlo," Dan put his hand on her shoulder. He exchanged a glance with Ella – both of them had an inkling as to just what Lucifer's "situation" could be and he had a feeling that Chloe was about to quickly be thrust into the "Celestial Insider's Club" – just as it seemed that if he was right, Trixie had already also joined. He could freak out later over the fact that his daughter had a close relationship with Beelzebub.
~*~
"My mom doesn't really know you're the Devil, does she?" Trixie bluntly asked Lucifer in a whisper as he ushered her closer to the other end of the room and closer to the door so that if Chloe had tried to look under it, as he knew she would, she wouldn't be able to see his face, given his height.
"No," Lucifer sighed, "No, she doesn't."
"What, so you don't want her to find out?" Trixie folded her arms and cocked her head up at Lucifer – not at all intimidated by their height difference.
"I'll have you know, I fully intended to tell your mother everything tonight," Lucifer returned in a harsh whisper, folding his own arms, "I just thought it'd be best to ease her into it instead of…"
Trixie caught on to his meaning as her defensive posture softened.
"I'm going to try to ease the door open a little more so you can squeeze through," Lucifer continued, "You all get to safety and I'll catch up… as soon as I can get a handle on my Devil Face."
"You're afraid of how my mom's gonna react to your face, aren't you?" Trixie wouldn't budge off the subject.
Lucifer's silence was answer enough.
"She'll be fine, Lucifer," Trixie told him, "She trusts you… don't you trust her?"
Lucifer let out a deep exhale.
"You're even more annoying when you make a good point, you know that?" Lucifer quipped.
Trixie smirked.
"Very well…" He shooed her back over to where Chloe, Ella, and Dan were waiting for them outside of the unit, "Lead the way. I'll see if I can try to get the door open more for both of us to get out of here. And if your mother doesn't run screaming in the other direction, we'll see what happens next."
Trixie simply smiled in response before hurrying back over to the opening.
"Hey, Mom!" Trixie pulled Chloe's attention away from Dan and Ella as Chloe hurried back over to her daughter. This time, instead of lying on the ground, she sat on her knees and bent her torso so she could see Trixie sideways.
"Lucifer, is everything okay?" Chloe's eyes jumped to his feet next to Trixie's head.
"I certainly hope it will be, Detective," Lucifer's reply was slightly muffled.
Chloe furrowed her brows at the tone in his voice before she jerked back at the sudden rattling of the door. She got to her feet as the opening at the base of the door slowly grew. After a moment, Trixie army crawled through the opening before slamming into her mom's arms in a bear hug. Chloe readily returned the hug as she pressed Trixie's head closer to her and she dropped a kiss to the top of her daughter's head.
Trixie came out of the hug with her mom and switched to hugging her dad who was right by Chloe's side. He smoothed Trixie's hair in a loving gesture, grateful that she was unharmed before Trixie turned to hug Ella too.
The three adults and Trixie looked to the door. Slowly but surely, Lucifer managed to get the door to lift past the dent and the opening widened even more with enough space for Lucifer to duck out to join his friends, but after a beat, Lucifer still hadn't come out.
"Lucifer?" Chloe called out, her voice tinged with worry in the uncertainty of what his "situation" could possibly be.
After a brief moment, Chloe saw a figure very slowly emerge from under the door. The figure wore Lucifer's perfectly tailored suit, but this man appeared to be severely burned. With the severity of the burns, it was a wonder the man could move at all. He gradually rose to his full height but stayed near the door as Chloe hesitantly stepped up closer to get a closer look.