Chapter 1: The Immortals' Micracle

„Marcus, stop! Please, stop! How could you! Let Trixie go!" Chloe yelled against the harsh wind that tore at her hair and clothes. Desperation rose up in her like a nauseating wave. She could not believe the scene enrolling before her very eyes: Her boyfriend, the man whom she had trusted and even come to love, or so she thought, was pinning her struggling daughter in a crushing grip against his broad chest. He slowly but steadily moved backwards, facing Chloe, towards the edge of Lux' flat roof. "What do you think you're doing? Marcus, stop!" Chloe screamed, sensing a horrible, gut-wrenching danger.

"Mommy! Mommy, help me!" Trixie's frightened voice was barely audible over the gushing uproar of the approaching thunderstorm. "I'm here, monkey!" Chloe could not stop herself from yelling back. Her daughter fought like a little lioness, kicking and scratching the man who held her in an iron grip. "Lemme go! Back off!" she screamed at Pierce, writhing like mad, trying to scratch his face. Which only resulted in a stoic, tightening grip of his, pinning the little girls' arms to her side.

"Stop fighting, little one. It'll soon be over!" Pierce reassured the girl. His emotion-deprived empty voice sent a chill down Trixie's spine. What did he want with her? Kidnap her? Jump off of the roof with her? Trixie doubled her efforts to break free of her captor, crashing back her head into his face since she could no longer use her arms. She felt her head painfully collide with his nose with a horrible cracking sound. Pierce hissed in pain, grunted, shook her and tightened his grip up to the point where the girls' breath was squeezed from her lungs. Chloe watched in horror as Trixie's kicking and struggling became weaker. Marcus still moved backwards towards the rooftops' edge, the girl tucked under his arm.

Blood dripped from Marcus' nose, but he did not seem to notice. "Either you stop right where you are, Chloe, or you jump with us. Or you shoot me. But, oh, you don't have a gun! Pity!" "Why in God's name do you want to kill Trixie, Marcus? Set her free! Immediately, you bastard! Please!" Chloe's voice trembled between desperation, pleading and outright rage.

Damn! How could she have insisted on joining the party at Lux without having a gun with her, for once? She now recalled vividly how Marcus had tried to coax her into taking at least the little gun in her boot with her, teasing her, when the three of them had been ready for leaving for Lux. Trixie had been so exited to have been invited, too, that she had pestered Chloe until she was allowed to see Lucifer; Chloe had to admit to herself that Trixie had never warmed to Marcus the way she had adored Lucifer. Trixie had stubbornly stuck to her notion that Lucifer would have been the much better choice for her mum – and for her, too. The sign on her door still read "No boys allowed, only Lucifer and Dad!" Now that Chloe thought of it, Trixie had never changed that sign to say "Marcus allowed." And now... what the hell was Marcus up to?

Markus had teased Chloe about taking her gun with her - that Chloe needed to be armed against the Devil, her former partner! Chloe had outright declined, because the pure notion of Lucifer being dangerous to her was completely absurd! She knew that he would never harm her or Trixie. Chloe had felt so uneasy. She could not help but think about how it would make Lucifer feel if she turned up at his third re-birth-day party with Marcus, now that she and Lucifer were no longer partners. Lucifer came occasionally to the station to help with a case or suspect, here and there, and he was still in friendly contact to a lot of people at the station; now that he was working with other people she had noted how they all seemed to love him despite his Luciferness. Lucifer had even been working with Dan here and there, or with Charlotte...

Chloe had been hesitant to follow his invitation and go to Lux at all. There was always this bloody persistent, nagging feeling in the back of Chloe's head that she had made a grave mistake by choosing Marcus over Lucifer in the fist place. Only that Lucifer had never wanted to be with her, didn't he? After he had betrayed her trust repeatedly, and after he had talked about all this rubbish of Marcus being the Cain of the Bible, she'd finally had enough and she'd snapped, breaking up their partnership. She regretted it ever since!

How the hell could she let herself get distracted at Lucifer's party and let her daughter out of sight, if only for a minute? One moment she, Marcus and all of their friends and family had joined in a sad song that Lucifer had played at his grand piano. He was singing Bill Withers "Aint't no sunshine when she's gone" in this damn angelic voice of his, straight-out touching her heart. Catching her off-guard...

"Ain't no sunshine when she's gone,

And this house just ain't no home,

Anytime she goes away..."

Ella had placed herself next to Lucifer on the piano bench, singing joyfully along with him to cheer him up. Watching the two dark heads next to each other gave her the funny impression of playful siblings huddling together for comfort, Chloe thought. She feeling a tiny stich of jealousy for their closeness. How stupid of her! She had given up any claims she might have had when she had dismissed him. Back then, Marcus cheering her for it had been a consolation, but it did not sit right with her any longer. Chloe just missed... them... being partners.

Dan and Charlotte were slowly dancing to the song, enjoying their delicate blossoming friendship-turning-into-more, now that Charlotte had "opted against the dark side of the force", as Ella had put it. The new prosecutor had really turned out to be a valuable addition of their crew. Funnily enough, she often took advice from Lucifer. Chloe had watched them from afar, sticking their heads together, feeling, well, yes, left out.

Only Mazikeen was missing in their partying gang at Lux. She was on a hunt. Strangely, this time, Maze had no given any details about it, although she usually loved to go into detail about her recent bounty scumbag, her hunting strategies and her victorious catches. Maze had just mentioned darkly that it had something to do with Marcus, of all people. Since she, Chloe, was together with him, Maze had been tight-lipped.

Chloe had enjoyed the old gangs' company and the lovely moment. She revelled in how good it actually felt to see Lucifer again, be near him! She could not help but feel connected to him, it was pathetic, really, was it not? She had drunk in the sight of him: His slender, elegant figure in a bottom-up black silken shirt and a purple vest, his slightly messed-up hair with one untamed curl falling onto his forehead, and his long skilled fingers caressing the keys. And, oh yes, she noted that he wore these red-soled shoes she secretly loved on him... Chloe even had the brief impression that she could smell him: A mixture of sandalwood, whiskey and a special male-ness that was just so... Lucifer. Wait, did he have dark shadows under his eyes? Yes. Chloe narrowed her eyes. Lucifer upheld his playboy façade perfectly, but to her trained eyes he did not look as confident and cheery as she remembered him; rather, he radiated an underlying current sadness. Chloe had watched Lucifer and mused about how much she actually missed working with him, at the same time trying hard to squash the thought. Only her thoughts jumped back to him like playful kittens that did not follow any rules!

How could Chloe have let herself be distracted! One moment she was spent in thoughts about her former partner, in the next moment, she was nudged into the ribs by an elbow and she heard Linda's "Wait! What's Marcus doing there with Trixie?" Chloe had turned her head. Marcus left Lux, with her little monkey on his hand! What was he doing? Their glances had met across the room and she shuddered at the cold stare he gave her. Like a stranger, not like a reliable lover! As if a mask had slid away... she even had the impression he was challenging her! Marcus and her daughter had stepped into the elevator, with her daughters' entire body language transporting "I don't want to, let me go!" The last movement Chloe had witnessed was her little girl trying to break free from Marcus, to escape through the closing elevator doors; and how Marcus' hand had shot forward and forcibly pulled her back.

Linda, the skilled therapist that she was, had spotted the barely concealed violence in the entire action as well. Linda was quick and direct! "Chloe! I'll run downstairs, in case he's riding downwards with her! You go upwards! Hey! Amenadiel! Come with me, I may need your... strength!" Linda commanded, catching a startled Amenadiel by the wrist so that he spilled his Cosmos over his hoodie. It was almost funny how the tiny woman dragged the large, bulky man from the room. But Chloe could not loose time!

"Dan, DAN!" Chloe shouted, grabbing his arm while she dashed forward to chase after Marcus and their daughter. Dan snapped out of his day-dreamy dancing with Charlotte, both gaping at her, startled. "Dan! Marcus snatched Trixie, dunno what he's up to - she did not want to go with him! I'm going upwards to the roof, you search the penthouse, ok!?"

Many things that could be said about detective douche, but he was a loving, dedicated father to Trixie. Just the prospect of harm coming to his daughter made him grind his jaw. "What?" - A quick glance passed between him and Charlotte; the latter immediately getting what was going on. Charlotte gestured "get going" with her chin to Dan who went into full cop-daddy mode in an instant. "I'm on it, Chloe! I never trusted that guy anyway, boss or not! Let's give him hell!" Dan took two steps in a stride as he ran upwards.

Lucifer's head had snapped back from the melancholic song he had been suspended in, back to his surroundings. Trying to make sense of the action and bustling around him. Charlotte strode forward and quickly informed Lucifer and Ella on what was going on. Lucifer sprang up, toppling the piano bench with Ella on it backwards. He grinded his teeth. Lucifers eyes would have flashed red if he had his devil face. Now, the worst had happened! Lucifer had a vague idea what Cain's motives were when he had grabbed Beatrice. The girl was in danger, but so was Chloe!

Padraig, Lucifer's chief bartender, had watched the scene through narrowed eyes. A quick exchange of glances, a nod of his boss was all that was needed: Time for a distraction! Padraig nodded grimly and quickly opened the fuse box and flipped the circuit switch behind the bar. Lux plunged into darkness, accompanied by a "ooooww!" of the crowd (who expected a special light show performance, again!). Padraig heard a strange swooping noise and when he flicked the lights on just a second later, Padraig noted to his satisfaction that his boss was gone, so he let the expected light show sequence follow, grinning. How Lucifer did do that was a mystery, but Padraig had learned to accept many strange things around Lucifer Morningstar over the last two years. Plus, the art of distraction!

Lucifer hated to use his wings, but there were more important things at stage just now than his feud with Dad! He vanished from the floor of Lux the moment the lights went off. Concentrating hard he used his wings to cross through the infernal plane. Walls and doors were no hurdle in the oddly blue parallel world he was able to enter and cross with his wings restored. The penthouse was empty. Lucifer just catched a glimpse of Dan searching the balcony.

Lucifer found them on the roof of the building, Marcus with a limp, dangling Trixie squeezed under his arm, near the abyss. And a pledging, desperate Chloe just before him. The thunderstorm had closed in, the setting sun glossing the scene with a few last golden beams from under pitch-dark looming clouds. A hefty squall, rumbling thunder and the first splatter of large, heavy raindrops hit the floor. Lucifer kept in the shadows to evaluate the situation first. His heart ached as he saw the raw agony in Chloe's face as she pleaded with Cain.

"Marcus! Why? I thought you loved me, loved us? Why, why do you want to kill yourself? And why, in God's name, do you want to kill my daughter? Please, please! Leave Trixie out of this madness! I'd do anything, anything you want..."she swallowed, helpless. Lucifer would never ever forget the heart-wrenching desperation in Chloe's voice. Her panic, her lack of understanding, hear heartbreak. Lucifer berated himself. He had been such an idiot, he should not have left her in the dark for so long! It was his fault, he should have made her believe him, to warn her against Cain...!

Pierce's answer to Chloe's pleading was a maniacal laughter. "Haha, In the name of GOD, really?" he chocked, "GOOD one, Chloe! I told you to bring your gun for the Devil, didn't I? You could have simply SHOT me and saved your daughter, easily, right? But NO, you wouldn't listen to reason! "Lucifer would never hurt me!" Cain mimicked her voice in a horrible squeaky falsetto. His eyes bulged. "You know, darling (he snarled the word), it would have been so much easier if you'd just SHOT me! I want to die since thousands of years! GOD condemned me to walk the earth and never DIE, I'm living in HELL!" Chloe stared at him, speechless... had everything be true that Lucifer had said to her? Or was Marcus victim to the same delusion than Lucifer, sharing it? Cain turned and looked to the edge of the building, moving backwards again. "Now I have to jump, that'll be a bit messy! And I'll take her with me to make sure I die!" "No, Marcus NO! Please! I do anything...!"

Pierce took a deep, consolidating breath, cooling himself down. Then, in a cold and distant voice, "Relax, Decker! She'll just be going to the Silver City, anyway. A few years more or less for her, who cares? I've seen so many human lives come and go! It's all just in the blink of an eye, in the face of a hellish eternity!" He laughed, his voice cackling with glee. "Finally, finally I have found what makes me vulnerable - killable, actually! And wonder of wonders, who would have thought it? It's Chloe's daughter, the daughter of the Devils' God-damn miracle!" A lightning struck nearby, and two seconds later thunder roared, mixing with Cain's maniacal laughter.

Lucifer dashed forward, a cold fury radiating off of him. "Let Beatrice go, Cain! The girl is innocent!" Cain threatened to go over the edge, with the girl tucked in his grip. "Or what, Lucifer? You'll kill me? – Good one, you're both masters of heavenly FUN!" Cain shook with laughter, again. "Life's funny, ain't it? It just happens that the daughter of your asshole DAD's useless miracle Chloe Decker is actually MY miracle! I discovered that the girl makes ME vulnerable, ME! I bleed like mad when I hurt myself when she's near! I would even have succeeded and DIED already, if your stupid GOD-sent MIRACLE Decker would not have drawn me BACK from the threshold, after I got that electroshock in her household, by using a heart massage on me!" Chloe's mouth fell open. She could not believe what Cain was spitting at her! She had saved his life, back then, hadn't she?

Cain seemed to be beyond himself, now rounding in on Chloe. "You couldn't have just let me DIE, you bitch? OH NO, she HAD to get me back! And I had to play the grateful boyfriend ever after! It was PATHETIC!" Trixie, who had been dangling limb from Cain's grip, was slowly coming round again, since his grip on her had weakened during the shouting. She feebly stirred and tried to free herself again, crying silently.

Lucifer could sense Chloe's immense shock and disbelief at Cain's words, her struggling to understand, on top of her all-consuming fear for Trixie. Chloe's world had been shattered before her very eyes! The man she'd thought would be more reliable than Lucifer, the safe bet, the anchor and harbour against the storm - he was just a delusional maniac who was dangerous, and on the verge of killing her only child! Why had he called Lucifer "Devil"? Was he part of Lucifer's delusions?

Lucifer... he was here, again, by her side! How come she had discarded her loyal partner who had her back when it mattered most...? Lucifer squeezed Chloe's shoulder briefly. "Don't be shocked, now, my love", she heard his warm voice murmuring near her ear. Then he stepped forward in a swift, fluent movement.

As the next lighting struck and the thunder roared, two white, magnificent freaking wings erupted from her partners' back and everything happened fast. As in, really fast! Chloe's mouth fell open as she gaped at him. Or rather, his empty space. One moment Lucifer had stood in front of her, then he was gone but immediately rematerialized just behind Marcus' back. Lucifer gripped Trixie, crushed Marcus' biceps of his Trixie-securing arm in an iron grip and wrestled the girl from Marcus' hold, taming his abnormal strength to retrieve but not harm the girl. All of Lucifer's limbs, arms and wings, worked in perfect harmony: He used his right wing (rendered softly, not the deadly weapon it could be) to shove Trixie out of the danger zone, while he simultaneously threw a punch at Marcus with his left fist. The bulky man was also quick, he dodged the Devils' punches that did not hit him with full force and ran his head into the Lucifer's chest instead, with full force, to knock him off the building. Lucifer buckled briefly, but his flapping wings regained him his balance. Then he landed a straight right blow on Cain's jaw whose head snapped back. Hitting and wresting, both, the Devil and the Immortal, quickly sprouted wounds, the first being vulnerable in Chloe's and the other in Trixie's presence.

Chloe had immediately seized the opening and dashed forward, dragging a chocking and tear-stained Trixie out of the men's' fighting zone. Chloe panted, tears of relief were streaking down her own face. She cuddled her daughter who was breathing with rasping labour, in and out, in and out, making sure that her girl was alive and whole. As relief flooded her and har arms became jelly, Chloe propped the girl up against the wall of the edge rim. "Trixie, Trixie, Honey! Can you hear me? Please, wake up! Look at me! Everything's fine, mommy is here!"

Trixie blinked owlishly, breath rattling in her chest. She took in the ongoing fighting before her as if she watched a Disney movie. "See, mommy?" she whispered, "I told you that that Lucifer is an Angel! I dreamt it several times!" A ghostly smile briefly flashed across Trixie's features. She closed her eyes briefly, but then, slowly, the sense of the harsh reality came creeping back. It was not over yet!

Meanwhile, Cain was losing the battle, but not his wits. He bled from several wounds that Lucifers' sharp-like-knives primaries and iron fists had cut him. As strong as the Immortal was, the tall muscular man was physically no match for the winged former Archangel-slash-Lor-of-Hell in his full-fledged rage! But Cain had still an ass up his sleeve. He had lived on earth for millennia - a lot of time to perfect fighting techniques and tricks!

Cain collected all his remaining, quickly dwindling strength. He punched Lucifer onto the solarplexus as hard as he could muster and while the Devil chocked for a split second, he threw himself down to the floor and rolled out of his enemies' wings' reach. Cain lost no time! Up he was and in one swift movement, he grabbed Chloe, who was still kneeling close to her daughter, dragged her up and shoved her to the edge of the roof.

"NOW I'll give you something to DO, DEVIL!" he snarled and pushed. Before Lucifer could grab and hold her, in a flash of lightning, she stumbled. Lucifer could see Chloe's helpless glance of dawning horror, her legs and arms flailing as she tried to regain her balance. Then she fell over the edge and beyond sight.

The devils' desperate scream of fury and Cain's laughter mixed with the girls' scream of utter horror as she watched her mother fall. In one gush of thunderstorm and whirling wings, Lucifer was gone! Trixie jumped onto her feet to run for the edge. But when Cain, grinning like mad, advanced on the girl, she reacted instinctively. Her skater training payed off: Trixie dashed across the roof, her heart pounding frantically, zig-zagging like a rabbit, a roaring Immortal hot on her heels.

Lucifer's heart raced. NO! He could not lose Chloe! He knew that the Lux building had just a height of about 100 meters that allowed only three to four seconds of free fall. This demanded drastic actions: Lucifer mustered all his concentration and crossed the infernal plane. He emerged out of thin air at the midst of the building in a downward-diving motion, just as Chloe shot past him, screaming. Her arms and legs were stretched out and flailing, slowing her gravity accelerating fall. Lucifer sped up with his wings and pulled them in to skydive.

He managed to catch Chloe barely 20 meters before they both hit the ground. His wings slowed their fall but with her in his arms, even with his most powerful beating of wings, they were too damn fast! He pulled her towards his chest as her terrified large blue-grey eyes searched and found his dark ones in one desperate glance. Her mouth formed words he did not hear as their hearts pounded in their ears. Lucifer pulled over, to manoeuvre himself under her, so that he would take the blow of the impact. He closed his eyes to prepare for the pain to come.

The impact stalled. As Lucifer opened his eyes, he was hanging suspended in mid-air, just waist-height above the pavement, a frozen, immobile Chloe in his arms. What was more, he peered up into the face of his grinning oaf of a big brother, who still held his hands in his typical time-slowing gesture. "Luci, I did it again!" Amenadiel's voice was jubilant, his dark features radiated from within by a joyful smile. "Seems I can only do it when someone I love is in danger!" he mused, his features all white teeth and angelic joy. Next to Amenadiel stood a frozen-in-movement Linda, her eyes wide, her hands covering her moth. Linda's face clearly conveyed that they both had watched Chloe's fall in horror from down below.

Lucifer briefly closed his eyes as an overwhelming relief washed over him. Then he changed his awkward lying-on-the-back midair position (he looked as if he was draped on a divan, with him being Chloe's pillow) to an upright position, by flapping his wings and straightening himself. Lucifer still glowed in the wonderful feeling of Chloe's small frame scooped up securely in his arms, tucked against his chest, hear head under his chin. Lucifer heaved a mighty sigh. "Well, well, what do you know... I'll give you credit here, brother! Thank you! Please forgive me when I say I'd like to save the hugs for later..." A smile tucked at his lips as he patted Amenadiel on the shoulder, the most outspoken "I love you, brother, and I'm happy you were there for me" gesture the brothers had exchanged in recent history.

When Amenadiel let both his hands fall down, time, life and movement on earth started again but his enormous grin stayed. Chloe jerked forward with a tiny high-pitched scream and involuntarily clenched to Lucifer (who could not stop smiling, cuddling her, pecking her head with his lips). Until she realized in wonder that she was standing upright on the pavement, being carefully held in her partners' arms. Lucifers arms... really? Chloe blinked and tried to make sense of what had just happened. His warm whiskey-sandel-wood smell somehow calmed her down slightly. But still... what the hell had been going on...? Chloe glanced around, dizzy and befuddled. Lucifer immediately opened his arms to allow her free movement. "What... has happened...?" Chloe blinked around.

Linda saved the day, again: She rushed forward and pulled Chloe into a warm embace, to ground her friend, and give her back a sense of reality, standing there, lost between the two large Celestials. Not to forget about the skydiving revelation stunt that Lucifer and Amenadiel had just pulled. Linda was so glad, she laughed out her joy and relief! She drew back a bit and turned to the two large men, Chloe still in her arm, facing them. "Amenadiel, Lucifer, oh boys, you did it! You really did it! My Angels! You saved her!" Linda shouted, her voice cracking with emotion. Being a Celestial insider was paying off, she guessed: Linda looked at the befuddled Chloe and used her best "everything is-just-fine-we-just-analyse-it therapist voice.

"You see, Chloe, Lucifer is exactly who he always said he is. The Devil. Aka Satan, aka Lord of Hell, Old Scratch... whatever you want (Lucifer smiling at her like a Cheshire cat) aaaand he's a former Archangel, so there's that, right?" Chloe nodded at Linda like a girl at school, eyes round, mouth slightly hanging open. "Aha, mhm, I see", was all she managed to say, still sounding as if she did not believe a word Linda was saying.

Lucifer, foreseeably, pulled a face and muttered, "I'm the Devil, not a freakin' Angel!" at Linda who shot him a "shut-up-now" glance. Linda could see that it slowly dawned on Lucifer that his skydiving revelations would come with consequences for his relationship with Chloe. Ony that they had their lowest point already. So the revelation could only improve things between them, right?

"Aaaand Amenadiel's an Angel too, his gift is slowing time", Linda continued, voice still calm-therapist. Amenadiel grinned and nodded at Chloe, still victorious about his latest time-slowing success, Lucifer mutting "and here comes Daddy's boy again!" in the background.

"Aha", Chloe responded, again. Linda mused that she might not have taken in a word she had been saying about Amenadiel. Chloe still gaped at Lucifer as if she saw him for the first time: His hair wind-swept and all curly, his face shining with his overwhelming joy of having her alive and save. Now mixed with a dawning "oh-fuck-what have-I-done" sort of expression. The well-known sweet kicked-Lucifer-puppy-dog face she loved and hated. So far, so good, the usual Tuesday! But he had these majestic pure white, glowing wings on his back, folded neatly. With the wing shoulders lurking above his head. "Lucifer, what..." Chloe mouthed and moved her hand forward to touch his right wing. When her hand made contact Lucifer could feel her touch like an electrical surge through his body. The rumbling thunder echoed his feelings. Lucifer's shudder had Chloe draw back her hand.

"Tsk, tsk, not so quick! The proper etiquette is to ask first, and to touch only after permission," Amenadiel grinned at Chloe, who looked taken aback by her own daring, mouth still open in wonder. Lucifer shifted a bit uneasy from one foot to the other. Why did the detective not say something...? He did not mind if she touched him... it had been eons since someone had touched his wings with a loving gesture. "Please, go ahead..." Lucifer said while Chloe uttered a low-voice "I'm sorry...". Both peered at each other, lost in each others' eyes.

Before they could dive further into the niceties of Angel etiquette, however, a thin but piercing shriek had them all jerk their heads upwards. To their utter horror, they saw two tiny figures tumble down from the top of the Lux building – Trixie, held fast in the grip of Pierce! He had finally succeeded in catching the girl and he had thrown them both over the edge!

Lucifers jaw tightened. It was not over yet! He'd forgotten the offspring. Beatrice! The poor girl had been alone with a mad immortal Cain who was determined to end himself! In a gush of feathers, Lucifer vanished. He reappeared in the blink of an eye in mid-air next to the falling pair, grabbed them, pumping his wings. Chloe's heart stuttered in her chest as she witnessed a horrible air-borne fight for her daughter. Who looked like a rag doll in the grip of giants wrestling each other for the price!

The last thing Chloe heard consciously was how Amenadiel exhaled slowly. She and Linda saw him press his hands together, as if the air in between needed compression... Chloe blinked. The next thing she witnessed was a horrible tump of a body hitting the pavement. Then, silence fell.