Chapter Text
“What are you doing here, Sera?”
Sera turned to look at Lucifer, twisting away from the portrait of the King of Hell, the Queen, and the Princess she’d been looking at. He’d come in through a side door half-hidden by a planter. It held a red plant Sera didn’t know the name of, but it was pretty, and the flowers reminded her of apples, their color a sweet, gentle maroon.
Lucifer looked the same as the very last time she had seen him in Heaven, the fateful day of his Fall—gentle. Though he had glared at her, then, too. His expression held the same disdain for her now as it did on that day, and though it hurt Sera to see it, she could understand his feelings more than she liked to admit. She had been one of the many reasons he’d Fallen, after all.
“It’s good to see you, Samael,” she gently replied, hoping to keep the swell of emotions she felt in check.
She approached him, floating over the red carpet. The palace wasn’t tacky as she had thought it would be, but it was filled with all the things she couldn’t bear to see. The life this Fallen Angel had built after his banishment from Heaven. Sera had never thought she would see it, but it hurt more than anything else ever had.
Portraits of his family and friends hung all over the place, rubber ducks lined the walls and floors and spilled out of chests, and the palace was warm with golden lights, flowers and plants everywhere. It had a cozy feeling to it Sera hadn’t expected it to have.
“Spare me your pleasantries. What do you want?” Lucifer crossed his arms, looking up at her with a flat expression. “You’ve never cared to dirty your hands by coming down to Hell yourself, so it must be something important. What?”
Sera sighed heavily and pressed her hands together in front of her to keep her composure. There was no need for such animosity, but she could still understand where it came from. She hadn’t exactly been the best… friend. Because they had been. Friends, that is. Before everything bad had happened and Sera was forced to cast her best friend out of Heaven for good. His Punishment, one she could never forgive herself for, something she had helped decide.
In the end, she didn’t do anything.
“I’m here to discuss the matter of your daughter’s attempt at redeeming Sinners,” Sera eventually said. “She must stop.”
Lucifer was silent for a moment, then cocked his head to the side as he said, “You want my daughter to stop redeeming Sinners? Why? Isn’t it a good thing that she’s doing this? Hell’s overpopulation issue will be fixed and you won’t have to send any exorcists down to kill my people.”
“There is no evidence a Sinner can be redeemed,” Sera replied stonily.
“Uh-huh,” Lucifer mumbled, sounding unconvinced. “What about that snake guy? Charlie said he was redeemed. I believe Emily told her that.”
“A strange case, I agree. But I do not see how this one Sinner in heaven can be enough evidence that Charlotte’s hotel works.”
Lucifer snarled at her and took a step closer, “I won’t tell her to quit and give up on her dreams. At least one of us is doing something to help our people down here.”
“There is no way every Sinner can be redeemed. They are in Hell for a reason,” Sera snapped back, startling herself by her sudden emotion.
She floated backward and exhaled to calm herself down. She was just here to protect Heaven, and negotiate with Lucifer as to what they could do to keep his daughter’s delusions from hurting her precious home.
“You’re not wrong,” Lucifer growled, but he didn’t seem pleased to admit it. “This Hellhole is a Punishment of my own design, and even with all this free will to make it a better place, look what they decided to do with it,” he threw his arm out to the large window at their side, and Sera cast a cursory glance outside to see the rampage that always seemed to continue down here. “But not every Sinner is evil, Sera. Some of them just made mistakes, and they can learn from them. Charlie helped me see that.”
“I understand, but that does not mean they can just come gallivanting into Heaven. How can we trust them?”
“They’re human,” Lucifer protested, and his angry tone set off a partial transformation, horns peeking out of his forehead for a moment and his eyes turning a dark shade of red before he got himself back under control swiftly. “I won’t just let you kill these poor souls anymore. I can’t stand by and let you hurt my people any longer. I already hated agreeing to the extermination, even if I had my conditions. Then Adam decided to negate those. Our deal is null and void and you have no power here.”
Sera said nothing for a moment, watching Lucifer as he moved away from her back toward the side door. He was still so small and fragile, so full of dreams and visions. Or maybe not, she decided, as she looked at him. There was a defeated slump to his shoulders, one she had never seen before, and his eyes held less sparkle than they did back up in Heaven.
His Punishment was draining him of his joy. Sera could see it clear as day.
“Don’t ask me to stop Charlie. I never will,” Lucifer said, coming to a stop to look at her again, and his eyes held such sorrow. “She won’t stop, either. She has her Mother’s heart.”
Sera knew this well. She’d spoken with Charlotte, after all. And she could clearly see that the Hellborn Princess had a big heart for her people, but her actions were putting Heaven in danger, whether she realized this or not. Sera couldn’t allow this to go on any longer.
“What would it take to get her to stop?” she asked curiously, wondering if Lucifer knew.
“Hah!” the Fallen Angel laughed, surprised by her question. “You can’t be serious? Charlie won’t listen to you. She will continue to try and redeem Sinners. If the snake guy got redeemed, then there is a chance for all of them. Charlie sees the good in them.”
“And what if they have no good in them?”
“Then they don’t get redeemed,” Lucifer shrugged carelessly. “Listen, Sera, I couldn’t give any less of a fuck if they get redeemed or not. I can’t do anything against them either way. That’s part of my Punishment. But I won’t let anyone mess with my daughter.”
“You care a great deal for her.”
Lucifer gave her a flat look, “She’s my daughter, bitch. Of course, I care for her. I love her. I would do anything for her.”
“But you won’t stop her,” Sera stated.
“I would never crush her spirit like that,” Lucifer rolled his eyes. “I’d be the Worst Father in Hell.”
Sera was silent for a moment, letting Lucifer stare her down while she thought. Lucifer didn’t dare hurt his daughter, and it was clear they cared for each other, because he’d been helping with her hotel, and he’d been vital in the battle against Adam and his rogue exorcists.
Perhaps…
Sera smiled to herself. Yes. She could definitely use this.
“So the way to stop Charlotte is to crush her spirit,” Sera decided, her voice growing dark.
Lucifer blinked at her, completely startled by her sudden change of tone. His face fell and he looked somewhat concerned at Sera, taking in her clasped hands and her slowly widening eyes.
“Sera,” he said slowly. “What are you thinking?”
Suddenly filled with confidence that her idea would work, Sera floated forward, her face twitching into something slightly manic, though she would never admit to it. Her eyes were wide and a smile graced her lips that was anything but graceful. Lucifer moved backward as she came toward him until his back was against the door, his breath hitching as she leaned down to be face to face with him.
“The way to stop Charlotte is to crush her spirit,” Sera said again. “Thank you, Samael, for helping me find a way.”
“What are you talking about?” Lucifer snarled, and his Demonic form came out again, horns growing out of his forehead, his wings unfurling, and his eyes turning red. “I won’t let you harm Charlie!”
“I won’t be harming Charlotte,” Sera said immediately, almost taken aback, but she pressed on. “You care for her, and she cares for you.”
“Then what in the Unholy Hell are you talking about?” Lucifer asked, visibly confused.
“You are her spirit, Samael,” Sera stated as though it was something obvious Lucifer shouldn’t have missed.
Sera could see why he wouldn’t realize it. But Charlotte had his character, his dreams and visions, and the willpower to do what she had to. She’d gotten all of that from her father and he didn’t even realize it. This place was changing him. Sera didn’t like it. Not one bit.
“...What?” Lucifer whispered, his eyes widening.
“If you aren’t there for her, then Charlotte won’t be able to accomplish anything,” Sera decided, pulling away from Lucifer to twirl back into the hallway, gleeful with her discovery. “She relies on you to help her and protect her, you are her bridge between Hell and Heaven. But if you’re not there…”
“Sera!” Lucifer snapped, his wings carrying him up to her eye-level, and he looked furious. “I won’t leave Charlie behind and you can’t keep me away from her. No matter what.”
Sera blinked at Lucifer, smiled, said, “That’s not up to you, Samael”
The silence that followed was strange. Sera almost felt she could cut it with a knife. She held eye contact with Lucifer and saw the cogs turning in his head. His already wide eyes went even wider, and it looked almost comical.
“No,” Lucifer stated instantly. “You can’t.”
“I can and I will,” Sera said, determined.
She snapped her hand out and wrapped her fingers around Lucifer’s wrist, holding on tightly. His wrist was slender and warm, and Sera could feel the heat of his golden blood beneath his skin. Lucifer immediately tried to pull away.
“Let go!” the Fallen Angel demanded.
Sera didn’t. She used her other hand to summon a joug and the Angelic steel snapped itself closed around Lucifer’s throat. He made a choked sound of utter surprise and once again tried pulling away. A chain formed at the back of the joug and Sera grabbed hold of it, pulling Lucifer’s head back. He yelped and clawed at the Angelic steel encasing his throat with his free hand.
“Sera!” he shouted, his voice taking on a desperate tone. “Stop!”
The Seraphim didn’t listen and conjured two more jougs, though these wrapped around Lucifer’s upper biceps, scrunching up his shirt. Lucifer continued struggling, but he was so caught off guard that Sera could quickly subdue him. She conjured cuffs of pure light and they snapped Lucifer’s hands together behind his back, rigid and in place.
Then, she finally stepped back, and Lucifer sank to the floor, put on his knees by the strong Angelic power that held him in place. He snarled at Sera and his Demonic features seemed to strengthen a bit, but they quickly fizzled out, leaving him stuck half-Demon.
“Sera, what the fuck?” Lucifer barked, very visibly angry.
“I’m protecting Heaven,” Sera said sharply. “If that means dragging you back to Heaven to discourage your delusional daughter from redeeming Sinners, then so be it!”
“You want to do what!?” Lucifer’s voice cracked. “You can’t take me back to Heaven! I can’t leave Hell!”
“I can change that,” Sera huffed, unconcerned. “Now stop being difficult or I will make it more uncomfortable for you. I wanted to be nice, but you made me do this.”
Lucifer growled and shot upward, but the chains kept him from reaching Sera, though he still got close enough to snarl in her face. Sera didn’t step back, equally baring her teeth at him. Her conviction kept her in that spot, her anger manifesting as she glared down at Lucifer.
“You think you’re so righteous?!” the Fallen Angel laughed cruelly. “You can’t see that you’re the problem here, just like before. You refuse to see your faults and ask for forgiveness. At least I know when I’m in the wrong, unlike you!”
Enraged, Sera backhanded him and Lucifer fell to the floor with a sharp cry. Sera was surprised by her own actions, and watched in wide-eyed fascination as Lucifer crawled back to his feet, the side of his face bleeding slightly. There was a golden scrape along his cheek where her rings had caught him.
“Be quiet, Devil,” Sera snarled, leaning down to grab onto Lucifer’s horn and tilt his head upward, baring his collared neck. “You have no choice in the matter.”
Lucifer stayed quiet, wincing a little. Sera let go of him, grabbed onto the chain that was attached to the joug around his neck, and yanked him to his feet. She’d wanted to be kind and invite him back to Heaven, to show him her mercy and let him see his family again, but Lucifer was known to be difficult, even back when he was an Angel.
There was no more mercy to be given.
She opened the portal back to Heaven and stepped through, yanking Lucifer through as well. He cried out as he fell through the portal, his fire instantly extinguished. His wings fluttered, his body contorted, and Sera watched silently as he gasped through the sudden pain. She didn’t know what caused it.
Charlotte had been fine when she’d come here, as a Hellborn herself, but perhaps Lucifer’s Demonic side warred with his Angel side after having spent thousands of years in Hell.
He wasn’t used to Heaven anymore.
Sera didn’t care.
“Now,” she said. “Time to discourage that daughter of yours.”
She ignored the death glare Lucifer gave her, even if it stabbed her right in the heart.