1

I pushed my bangs from my eyes as I freed Lucifer from his captors. I had let my hair get a little too long recently. Though I could blame that on how busy I had been. Never actually thought being a demon would make my life harder. But here we were.

"Never thought I'd see you again, Doll," Lucifer whispered.

I scoffed. That fucking name. It was like he had forgotten all that it had entailed. All that it had meant all those years ago on that damn island. I smiled down at the humanized devil as I walked back around him. He hadn't changed much. Still, the same young face I had let drag my best friend through the rift almost five years ago, but now with some new laugh lines and a twinkle of proper age in his eyes. He still looked far too good.

"Stay away from my family." And so did she, even as she hissed those words at me. 

Elly's voice was still as sharp as it had been the night I'd said goodbye. Her blonde hair still flowed like beautiful satin waterfalls over her shoulders. And, even with the age that was visible on her face, she still held that tense strength in those ocean-blue eyes. She held the gun in her hands steady, no doubt that the end was pointed for a perfect kill shot.

"M…mom!" The young blonde Lucifer had been trying so hard to defend yelled out.

Mom? So they had started a family. That felt so…quaint. 

"You're still the blonde bomb shell I remember you as, Elly," I said, looking into those dangerous blue eyes. The surprise on her face filled my blood with warmth. "You've aged like a fine wine, too."

"Alex?" Elly questioned, the gun in her hands lowering. "You're dead…you shouldn't be here…"

"And yet," I threw my arms out with a laugh. "Here I stand!" I dropped my arms to my sides. "You're welcome by the way. Totally saved you."

I jumped and stiffened as Elly pulled me into a desperate hug. And now that she was closer to me, I could see just how much age had taken to her. Her blonde hair was darker now, with small strands of white throughout. And her eyes, though still bright, now showed experience and adulthood rather than excitement and adventure. But I hadn't lied. She was still gorgeous. I hugged her back tightly. When had been the last time I'd seen them? It had to have been close to twenty years for her. But for me, it had been just under five. Though it felt so much longer some days. I let her go and cleared my throat. It had been a long time since I'd had a real hug like that. 

I turned as Lucifer got ot his feet, clutching his still-bleeding arm. I stepped closer to him and looked him over. It dawned on me just how much he had aged as well, despite the grace he still undoubtedly had. But who knows? A changed man could have used it up by now.

"It's gonna be weird to be on the other side of this." I sighed, reaching out my hand and gently touching his arm. 

It wasn't as graceful as an angel's healing, but his wounds did close as a cool rush of energy left my fingers. I dropped my hand as soon as the bleeding stopped. I turned away from his confused looks and stepped over to Elly again, who had gone to untie their daughter.

"Hey, sweetheart. I'm Alex." I smiled at the younger blonde. "Don't be scared, I don't bite."

The fear in the young girl's eyes didn't subside until she was free and in her mother's arms. They looked so much alike. The younger a spitting image of the older. Like the god of this world had simply copied and pasted Elly. Though she was shorter, her long golden hair looked like sun rays. And those brilliant blue eyes glowed like gems, even as she cried.

"What're you doing here, Doll?" Lucifer asked, coming up behind me. 

I tensed at the name again. He had to remember how much I had grown to hate it. Maybe he was saying it on purpose. A reminder of what had gone unfinished. But he stepped away from me and stepped over to his family. The younger girl moved from one set of arms to the other. Lucifer whispered soothing words to her as she clung to him.

"We can talk about that later. There's more to the pack and I would rather you not be here when they get here." I explained as plainly as I could, knowing the questions to come could be answered later. "Let's get somewhere safe first, please."

I watched as the couple had a silent conversation of looks before Lucifer nodded, scooped their daughter into his arms, and started walking toward the exit. Elly turned on her heels and followed him out. It was silent as we walked down the quarter of a mile back to where Elly had parked her car. Seeing it made me smile. She drove a beautiful '60s Pontiac in black. Something even Dean would marvel at.

The air grew tense as we heard sounds coming from the old barn house. I silently motioned for everyone to move faster and in seconds we were all piled in and tearing down the dirt road. It was good to see her driving style hadn't changed either. In that regard, she seemed to take after Sam. He had always been the one to drive fast even when we weren't in danger. It was one reason Dean didn't let him drive Baby often. The memories of them reminded me that I still needed to talk to them. 

In the moments it took me to think of them, and the memories to play through my mind, we had left the farm far behind and now pulled into a large driveway. The house we stopped in front of was huge, with much more room than a family of three needed to be comfortable. It looked to be made almost completely of old red brick with black trim around the stone roof and windows. One side of the house had a rounded cut-out that I had no doubt Elly used for reading. The two-story building was surrounded by a large iron fence that separated it from the garage and road. 

I sat wondering why they had gotten something so large. I knew Elly didn't have much family that she cared for save for her mother. And Lucifer had none to speak of here. And it wasn't like this blended in very much. And they didn't seem to have any other children to speak of. So what was the need to have a huge house?

I looked over Elly again. She didn't look like she worked. I had never intended to run into them so I hadn't looked into their lives since I had been out of it. But she still looked like she was more 'stay-at-home' than an office worker. And that meant Lucifer had to work. What had he found to do? They would've had to forge any documents for him. So maybe he worked in a factory or at a diner. Something where he could disappear easily and never be missed.

I got out of the car as the rest did and stood staring at the building as Lucifer walked their daughter inside. It felt so weird to see them like this. A normal family who dotted over their only child and seemed to have a stable, happy life. It wasn't what I had imagined for them at all. 

"He's an entrepreneur," Elly said as if she could read my mind. She folded her arms over her chest as she came to stand next to me. "He couldn't decide what to do, so he does a lot of everything. Mostly buys and sells companies. He woodworks and sells furniture in his free time. Likes to make things, ya know?"

"And you?" I asked softly, gazing around the rest of the neighborhood. It might as well have been a gated community. Every house on the block looked like it belonged to come wealthy family.

"I stay home most days. Mostly…well I kind of became my mom." She snorted as she laughed. God, I had missed that sound. "Do the laundry. Clean the house. Make dinner. I'm a glorified maid. Tonight felt good. Normal even. I had no idea how much I missed it. It's not what I ever wanted for Alex though."

I smiled. "You named her after me?"

"Only because I thought you died." Elly shot at me. Her eyes grew wide and she turned to face me, slamming her fist into my arm as she did.

"What was that for?" I asked, tensing through the momentary pain.

"You're not dead!" She yelled. "You have so much fucking explaining to do before I'm not mad about that! Come on. I'll get you a drink." She started towards the house and I followed her heels. "I'm sure we have something you'd like. Luci likes to splurge on his alcohol like Ketch."

I stopped in my tracks at the name, my heart twinging painfully with it. Elly stopped after she noticed I wasn't following her anymore. She turned back to me, those blue eyes curious.

"You and him are still…" I shook my head before she could finish asking. "You're still wearing the ring."

"I haven't…" I cleared my throat, clutching the ring that hung on the chain around my neck. "He disappeared after the night we sent you back. No one even knows if he's alive."

"What about Sam and Dean?" Elly questioned, taking a few steps back towards me. "Or your mom?"

"They're fine. Mom's busy with hunts. Sam's got his law degree finally." I smiled, "Dean, Cas, and Jack are hunting in their spare time. He's a good kid, Jack. Enjoys sports."

"You sound like you memorized a file. Have you seen them at all since that night?" She had always been good at asking the hard questions.

I shook my head again. "They don't even know I'm alive."

Elly licked her lips and sighed. "I think you need that drink. Come on."

I followed her inside. Sure. It had been a hard few years for me. The most recent was harder than others, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I had been struggling with the new abilities, the new world I ruled over, and the decision to tell the ones closest to me. It was harder than anything I had ever been put through. But this was my life now, and it was something I had to take responsibility for.

The necklace that hung around my neck, holding the beautiful dark ring I was too heartbroken to wear any longer, felt heavier than it had in a long time. The weight of that unknown, undeserved love hurt more than any injury I had received in my life or unlife. I knew I felt guilty for not looking for him longer. For not telling everyone sooner. They all deserved the truth, whether they accepted me or not. But those things would have to wait just a little longer. I took a deep breath as I followed Elly over the hearth.

I blinked in the large entree way. It was arched and looked like it was made of the same red brick that lined the outside. It opened up into a small hall that seemed to then open again and connect the entire downstairs area. There was a rather large living room to the right. Large windows lined the far wall and looked out into a dimly lit yard, a well-fed garden visible along a tall wooden fence. A large rock fireplace sat in the center of another wall, and several chairs and a couch big enough for a family of four to sit comfortably without bumping into one another sat in front of it. A large flat-screen television sat mounted above it all. To the left was a kitchen that would make any Home Improvement family jealous. Marble countertops, a stainless steel sink, and a large fridge sat in awe of the fully stocked bar fashioned out of the center island. A beautiful redwood dining table sat just beyond the kitchen in a dining room that matched the same aesthetic. The only thing that seemed out of place was the small door that stood ajar between the kitchen and dining room, a set of wooden stairs descending into the darkness beyond it.

I watched Elly as she strode into the kitchen, pulling off her flannel and revealing quite a few more tattoos than I remembered her having before. There was a beautiful watercolor bird on the back of her shoulder that just peeked out through the sleeve of her tank top and a revolver on her upper bicep. She moved to the bar with such ease and grace that it looked like just another Monday evening. The bottle she grabbed was filled with a dark amber-colored liquid that she then poured into three glasses. Elly put the bottle back under the bar before sliding one of the glasses down to me. I took it almost greedily, the dark liquid part of the only things I still remembered the taste of. 

I followed Elly back into the living room as she took one of the other glasses into Lucifer. He took it in his free hand, the other gently rubbing their daughter's back as she sobbed into her hands. He threw the glass back, quickly downing the liquid before setting the empty glass on the coffee table in front of them. Elly took the seat on the opposite side of their daughter and I tried to not sit awkwardly as I took the recliner next to them. 

"I..uh…I'm sorry you had to see that kid." I said softly, taking the cool glass and putting it to my lips. The smooth burn of the alcohol as it rushed over my tongue and down my throat was a welcome one, even if the actual alcohol didn't have any effect anymore. "Do you have any idea why they were after you anyway?" I set the glass down carefully on the table. "There shouldn't be that many supernatural things in this world."

"The best idea we have, " Elly gestured to herself and Lucifer, "Is that something happened to the rift as we came back through." Elly took a long drink of her whiskey. "They've been multiplying like crazy for a while now. We've been trying to keep up, but hunting is like it is over there. We don't have a team or 'network' of hunters. It's just us and a few doomsday preppers." She laughed at her joke. "But this is the first time in a while they've gotten this close to us."

"You know why they were interested in her?" I motioned towards the kid as I leaned forward onto my knees. I had a good guess why the wolves had gone after her, just like I had a good guess about the rifts, but I wanted to hear their theory.

"They wanted to open a new rift and thought they could get grace from her," Lucifer said, his voice as steady as usual. "She's a Nephilim after all. Probably thought she'd be powerful enough to get them somewhere new."

The young girl, Alex, jolted up at this and whipped tears from her face. "I'm a what?" She choked out, her voice scratchy from crying.

"Half human, half angel, sweetheart," I replied as gently as I could. I was sure this was a major shock to the kid. 

"Don't call me that! I was the one who was kidnapped! I was the one who almost died…"

"You didn't 'almost die'." I scoffed. "You're dad would've never let that happen."

"I still think I have the right to know what the fuck's going on!" The kid finished.

I couldn't stop the grin that formed on my face as Elly frowned. The kid was strong, just like she had been. But this was probably the furthest thing from what Elly wanted for her child. I could imagine how she'd wanted her to have a normal life and never know monsters were a thing other than on TV or a word for a bad boyfriend. 

"Language, Alex…" Elly scolded softly.

"I could care less about my fucking language right now!" The reflection shouted at its mirror. "What the hell have you been hiding from me? Things like Werewolves aren't supposed to be real! They only exist in that stupid old TV show you used to watch."

I finished the rest of my drink and chuckled softly. I rested the empty glass on the table again and leaned back into the chair, shoving my boots onto the table next to the glass. "Hun, that 'old TV show' is my life." I sighed, and relaxed deeper into the chair, closing my eyes. "A lot of it didn't happen exactly as they show you. But Sam and Dean, my brothers, are very very real and do all those very real things."

"Bullshit!" The kid forced a laugh.

I opened one eye and watched Elly roll hers. She seemed to have no control over her whirlwind of a daughter. It was so obvious that she was a daddy's girl. How unfortunate.

"Please, listen to your mother, Sapphire," Lucifer demanded of his daughter, patting her knee softly. "You know better than to swear in the house."

"She's got quite a tongue, Feathers." I smiled and closed my eyes again. "Kinda like you did."

"I haven't gone soft if that's what you think," Lucifer said, those deep blue eyes boring into me even if I couldn't see them.

"Oh, I just meant to say, you've been clipped," I smirked. "I would never call you 'soft'."

"What the fuck is happening here?!" The kid demanded, breaking up our scuffle.

Elly huffed, "This is my old friend, Alex." She started to explain. I opened my eyes again at the introduction and stared the kid down as I found my knife and cleaned it on my shirt.

The kid rolled her eyes. "I gathered that much. I'm not stupid."

Elly sighed and focused her deep blue eyes on me. "Alex…you were dead."

"I was," I answered the unasked question, picking my nails with the knife tip.

"So you're a demon now?" Elly rubbed her eyes and pushed blonde locks from her face. 

The smile that had never left my face widened as I felt my eyes flicker to their all-black state. "Sweetheart, I'm the damn queen of Hell." My eyes flickered back to their natural brown state. "And you have no room to judge. You married the devil himself."

"He's a different person now. Aren't you?" Elly questioned, her voice pleading to move the topic from any more fighting.

"I'm still the prince of darkness. I have no idea what you're talking about." Lucifer answered, his stare steady with mine as I met his eyes. The oceans in them rolled with the coming thunderstorm that wanted so badly to break.

"You've been dethroned. It's all mine now little blackbird." I stated, not taking my gaze from his. I wanted to challenge those storms. Wanted to ride them out and wait until day broke beyond them. Wanted to…

"What about Crowley?" Elly's question broke my thoughts from where they had gone.

"He's relaxing in a condo somewhere on a remote island of Hawaii."

"Stop ignoring me!" The kid grumbled again, standing suddenly from the couch and walking over to one of the windows. "Are you all just going to keep fighting? I want to know what's going on."

"Alex…"

"But I don't want to hear it from you, Mother." The girl's voice was cold and harsh. She stood solid with her arms crossed over her chest, with no care for the wound she'd just given her mother.

Elly looked taken aback by the sudden outburst. Hurt the other thing on her features. "I need another drink." She mumbled before standing and swiftly leaving the room."

Lucifer stood and marched after her. "Elizabeth, we need to talk about this."

I looked over to the kid I had been left alone with. She looked like she was about to cry again as she clutched herself tightly. I couldn't blame her. Her whole world was crumbling down around her. I felt obligated to say something to try and break this thick ice.

"Your mom saved my life once," I said softly. "Actually. I few more times than just 'once'."

"Really? She never seemed like the type." The kid sniffled and looked up at me, those brilliant blue eyes still shining. There was no questioning why Lucifer had nicknamed her Sapphire. "But I guess there's a lot I don't know about her."

I chuckled. "Ya, when she first came to my world I would've never thought she would save my life either." I could leave out how she was part of a demon deal and how my life was tied to her. The kid didn't need to know that yet. "But there we were. Fighting off a pack of werewolves, I got overrun. Your mom placed three good shots into the monster. A head shot, and two to the chest." I mocked firing a gun and laughed. "She was the best shot we'd seen in a long while. Beat Dean at his own game more than once."

"My mom can shoot a gun?" Her arms slowly dropped to her sides. "I've never even seen her be violent before tonight."

I sighed, pushed off from the chair, and stretched a little as I stood. "Because they never wanted this life for you. You said you've seen the show, so you know what 'hunting' is?" I asked, walking over to the window to stand next to her. "The life I lead was and still is full of death and destruction. My brothers and I have died more times than anyone but Death herself can count."

"But you came back to life." I stared out into the dark yard. "Did my mom ever do that?"

"Oh ya. Your dad saved her once. Though it was kinda my fault." I smiled softly at the memory.

"He did that?" She turned to me now. "I don't…I'm not sure what to think of them anymore. Am…" The young girl sighed heavily and lowered her head until it thunked gently against the window. "Am I really the devil's daughter?"

I turned a little and leaned against the window, still smiling. "It doesn't make you the antichrist if that's what you're worried about." I reached out and ruffled her hair lightly. "In my world, you would be a princess. Feared by some, but worshiped by many." I could leave out the part about Nephilim being hunted for their powers and grace.

"Princess?" She scoffed. "I was ditched for homecoming not twenty-four hours ago. I couldn't be a princess even if I wanted to be. And a princess of what anyway? Didn't you say you were a 'queen'? How could I compare to that?"

"Kid, the closest I got to 'homecoming' was a dance my older brother threw for me after I almost died getting tricked by a shapeshifter." I laughed at the memories. 

It had been on one of the rare occasions John had left us alone after a hunt. He'd said 'Stay here and keep quiet', but Dean had seen how upset I'd been and wanted to fix it. He found some old boombox in an abandoned truck and had the thing up and working in an hour. I couldn't even tell you how he'd found the mixtape he'd played on it, but once he did, he'd surprised me with his find and we'd danced together until I was too tired to stand. That was the first moment I knew I wasn't truly a burden to him anymore. The first moment I can remember feeling like he saw me as his sister and loved me. The smile fell from my face.

"I was born a hunter." I sighed. "My dad tried so hard to keep me from the hunting life but in the end, it caught up to us and…" I wanted so badly to say 'And he died', but this wasn't the time for a sob story. "My position in Hell is temporary. If your parents come back with me, like I want them to, then your dad is more than welcome to take it back. And even if he doesn't." I gently took her chin in my hand, forcing those sapphire-blue eyes to look up at me. "You are their princess. You are the most important part of their world, and no matter what happens that will never change. You will never compare to me because you are already above me in every way."

"I don't feel like I'm above you. I couldn't even save myself from being kidnapped." She let out a heavy sigh and pulled away from me. "Is Hell a democracy or something? How can you just give it all back to him?"

I laughed a little. "How do you think I became a demon in the first place? In the end, I couldn't save myself either." I smiled more. "And Hell is whatever it wants to be. It doesn't listen to me on most days, but your dad scared the shit out of them."

"He can't even kill a fly. He might get a little loud when he drinks but he's never once yelled at me on purpose." Her blue eyes looked brighter now. "He's like one of the most gentle people I know. More so than even Mom. How could he control Hell?"

"He ruled with an iron fist. Your dad was once the most feared person in my world. They even locked him up in a…" I broke off when the shouting reached us. I looked up to catch Elly and Lucifer in a fight in the kitchen. "I don't remember them fighting like that. Do they do that often?" I asked softly.

"Not really. They fought a lot less when we lived at the old house though." She sighed. "I always felt like they didn't belong here. Like this wasn't the life they were supposed to be living. The money and vibe just don't fit them."

I had to give the kid credit. She was smarter than she looked. She had the sass of her father and the strength and beauty of her mother. And it didn't take much to agree with her. I had always thought Elly wouldn't be here long after she'd come back. I'd stopped waiting for her to return after the second year. 

"It doesn't suit them." I nodded. "Looks like they might be a while."

The kid shrugged. "They'll start making out soon enough like it never happened. I try to just ignore it."

I laughed again, then looked over this Sapphire. "You shouldn't be so rough on your mom."

"Don't try to tell me what to do." Her tone suddenly changed. "I don't know you, and you're supposed to be dead anyway." She wiped at her eyes again before exhaling deeply. "I always knew they were keeping secrets. My dad's name, the business trips, the gun safe in the closet, the books on monsters around the house, the rooms I'm not allowed in or keep locked." She brought a hand to her head and rubbed her temple. "I just thought maybe they were secretly doomsday preppers or something harmless."

"Nah. They're just hunters with a kid. Well…" I shrugged, "At least your mom is."

"And you're a demon?" She asked. "I always expected them to be more…more..," Sapphire gestured with her hands like she was trying to search for the right word.

"Evil?" I offered with a chuckle. She gave a little nod. "I prefer the term businesswoman."

"Sapphire?" Lucifer called from the kitchen. "Come here please."

The young girl gave me a concerned look before complying and going to her parents. I watched as Lucifer tried to wrap his arm around her and she shrugged out of it. The devil shoved his hands in his pockets after that as Elly spoke softly. It was softer than I could hear until the kid threw her arms into the air and started shouting.

"No!" She yelled.

"Sapphi…." 

"Don't 'Sapphire' me!" She spat at her father.

"Ali…let's just talk about this." Elly was trying her best to keep her calm. "Alex would only be here if…"

"I'm not going! I have a whole life here. I have friends. School. A job!" I couldn't blame her for being frustrated. "You already dragged me out here so you could 'work'. I'm not being dragged to a whole other world if I don't have a say in the matter!"

"We're not fighting over this." Lucifer's voice was stern. "We're not leaving you here."

This was going to be easier than I thought if they weren't even going to ask me why I was there for them.

"You don't even know what she wants!" Maybe she was too smart for her good. "She's a fucking demon!"

"And I am the fallen angel Lucifer!" He had gotten in her face now, "Do you want to go over this again?"

Sapphire fell silent, took a large step back from her parents, and ran out of the room to another staircase off the side of the living room. I could hear the stomping until a door slammed closed. I watched Elly sink into her hands as she fell back into a bar stool after that. Lucifer's hand on her back as he rubbed it.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" I started as I walked over hesitantly. 

"We know Alex." Elly muttered from behind her palms. "I just didn't ever think we'd have to tell her. Or at least not this soon."

"Why are you here? You at least owe us that." Lucifer said with a deep breath, still holding onto Elly's shoulder.

It was nice to see that they were still together. I wasn't sure what would've happened if she'd ever left him. If monsters could exist here, it was a new question of how strong he was. A question I wasn't sure I wanted to find the answer to yet.

"It's a long story." I sighed, taking another of the bar stools. "I opened a new rift."

"How did you have the grace for that?" Lucifer questioned.

"Gabe has been around." I gave a quick smile. "He lent me enough to get here, we'll need yours to get back." I leaned across the counter and took one of Elly's hands and gave it a small squeeze. She squeezed it back. "But it doesn't look like you're in any state to open one."

Lucifer bit his lip. "I don't have a lot left. I used a good bit of the leftovers tonight. But we can always give it a try."

"Why come to us now, Alex? What has changed in the last nineteen years that you're here now?" Elly finally said, lifting her face from her hands. She still held onto mine, it was like she was afraid I'd disappear if she let go.

"I…I need help. All the help I can get." I said. "Hunters have been scarce for a few years now. Mostly because we got the number of monsters under control, so most have gotten out while they can. The only things left are the super rare ones and your usual large group of monsters that never really seem to go away." I smiled at her. "I could use the help getting the last few and ridding my world of them all for good."

"You have all of Hell. Why do you need me? I wasn't even the best hunter you had back then." It was a good question. But one I was still prepared for.

"You're a better shot than most of the good hunters I still know. And with Sam and Dean out I needed someone I could trust ." I bit my lip. "And you have…well…feathers and a Nephilim."

"You don't need me. You need your brothers, Jack, and Cas." Elly rose from her chair, letting go of my hand to grab a dirty glass and begin to clean it at the sink. "I stopped hunting a long time ago."

"That's not what I saw tonight." I was desperate to get my point across. Desperate to have them come home.

Sure I hadn't been truthful with them just now but that's all they needed to know. They didn't need to know about Heaven dying. Or the slow decrease of soul contracts. Or just how much having a second nephilim would help. They could learn all that as we went. What was important now was doing anything and everything to get them home. 

"What I saw tonight was a woman who knew how to take down a pack of werewolves like she'd just done it yesterday." I taped the counter with my fingers. "It's not something you just forget how to do, Elly."

"But why would you need another Nephilim? What's so special about my daughter?" She huffed.

"Elizabeth," Lucifer said softly as he went around the counter to the sink. "We just agreed we'd go. That's what we just told Sapphire. It isn't fair to your friend to lead her around now."

"Your kid is the best chance we have to end this in the next hundred years, Elly. With another Nephilim on my team, we can be done before the alphas know what hit them." I said, all but ignoring Lucifer. "That's why I need her."

"She's not just going to walk through the rift and know how to be one. She's never had them in this world." Elly sighed, turned off the facet, and placed the very clean glass on a drying rack. "The only way I survived was knowing what I was getting into already. She has no idea."

"Then we can get Jack." I felt like I was begging now. "You said it yourself. I need to talk to my brothers anyway, and while we're there we can ask Jack to teach her."

"Alex…" Elly whispered, still looking away from me.

"Please, Elly. I need you." I pleaded.

"I don't want her to become me…" There it was.

"You?" I all but laughed. "You mean a strong, independent woman who could give less of a fuck than the devil himself? That doesn't sound like a bad thing to me."

"She can be all that without being a hunter," Elly said softly.

I stepped around the counter now too, and placed my hand gently on her back. "You told me not a few hours ago now that it felt normal to hunt again. She'll fit in there. You know she will. Just like you know that world is your home."

"She has a point," Lucifer said, doing his best to help. "She belongs there as much as you and I do. There's no fighting that."

Elly dried her hands on her pants, and finally turned around to face us both. "I'll go help her pack." She said with a small nod.

I gave her a small smile. But it felt short-lived as I thought about the next piece of the puzzle. The biggest problem was going to be guaranteeing a way back now. I knew Lucifer had some grace left, but was it enough? And how were we going to get the rest of the ingredients before several years had passed in this world? I suspected it had already been a few hours since I'd left it. I went back to the counter and leaned against it, my head in my hands now as I thought.

"Do you know where to get the rest of the stuff we need for a rift?" I asked Lucifer.

The devil laughed. "I wasn't the one who got us through a rift in the first place. It was all Elly."

I let out a low groan. "That's helpful."

"If I remember correctly," Elly said, turning more to her husband. She placed a gentle hand on his chest. "An apple, some blood, and a shiny rock, right?" She kissed him softly. It must have been some sort of inside joke I didn't understand. "I'm sure we have that somewhere. Take her to the study. I'll start packing."

I smiled as she headed for the stairs and he took the opportunity to smack her ass. I loved that they were still together. At least one thing in my unlife had remained somewhat normal. They reminded me of…memories that were too painful to think of right now. I swallowed them down again and turned ot Lucifer, giving him a knowing smile.

"She's a keeper, huh?" I asked, more as a joke than anything.

He didn't answer anyway. His smile dropped as he turned to me, and then pushed past me to the door that was still ajar. He pulled it open the rest of the way and beckoned me to follow as he started down them. There was a second door at the bottom of the steps, one he reached for a key for before pushing it open and flicking a light switch.

I felt my jaw slack as we entered the large room. I hadn't felt like we had gone down that far, a story maybe, but this room stretched on like it took up the entire first floor. The entire thing was lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves of books, documents, specimen jars, and artifacts. Stairs and ladders separated the shelves here and there as well as platforms that held comfortable-looking chairs and small work tables with lamps. Large wooden pillars that had been painted gold lined the corners of each shelf, and marble statues of angels, the ones that almost looked alive, sat motionless in small arches carved into two of the outer walls. The furthest wall had a smooth pillar of white stone separating two of the largest shelves, a fireplace cut into the bottom of it. Like the one upstairs, it was surrounded by plenty of seats and another set of lamps, even though large ceiling lights hung above.

"Stopped hunting my ass." I finally got out as we stepped further into the room. "You make money legally?"

"You know as well as I do that Elizabeth would never allow me to make it illegally," Lucifer said, his voice dull now. "Everything's alphabetized."

I moved over to the first section he'd pointed at and ran my fingers over the books there. "You've let her fuck with you, Morning star. You don't have your man card anymore, let alone a demon card."

"Oh please," He scoffed. "You're not worth the dirt they buried you in."

"You're not worth those shiny rocks you loved to make so much," I shot back, turning around to face him again.

"At least I actually made a difference in the world." There were those rolling storms again.

"Was that before or after you fucked Eve and tricked Adam?" I pushed.

"You weren't even good enough to fuck, Doll." He said the name on purpose this time.

"You were the one who finished first, Baal." I hissed. I wanted to play this game. No matter how stupid it was. It was something new, and it felt so good.

"What are you talking about?" Elly asked from the doorway, interrupting our verbal fight.

"Nothing," I replied with a smile. I turned back around to the shelf of artifacts and dug through them until I found a vile of blood. I turned it over in my fingers until I found the label. A Most Holy Man. Perfect. "He and I just butt heads. Always have, always will. You're the only thing we seem to agree on."

"She doesn't want to talk to me," Elly explained with an exasperated huff to Lucifer. I moved across the room as she spoke to him, pulling a ladder to me so I could climb to a higher shelf. "As usual." She sounded almost defeated. "Will you go talk to her, please?" I didn't hear an answer from Lucifer, but soon his footsteps left the room.

"You've changed him, Elly. Made him into a dad." I called down once I was sure he was gone.

"He was the one who wanted to be a dad. I…" Elly fell silent. I looked down to see her sitting in one of the chairs, rubbing her face. "I didn't want her. Does that make me a horrible person?"

"Of course not hun. No one wants to be a parent the first time around." I said, trying to comfort her. "At least you stayed around and didn't leave her like my mom did."

"Third shelf down is what you're looking for." I looked back at the ladder and climbed a little higher, looking through the shelf until I found a piece of dried fruit in a glass box. It looked somewhat like a pomegranate. "She's an amazing girl." Elly continued. "I love her so much. But…she doesn't care about me. I have no idea what to do about it." I climbed back down the ladder with the fruit. "When she was little, I was the hero. She wanted nothing to do with Lucifer. But that just changed overnight. She suddenly wanted him to read to her. She wanted him to play catch with her in the yard. 'Learn guitar with me, dad.' 'Let's go see a movie, Dad.' I just…" Elly huffed and looked down at the ground. 

I felt awkward here. I had never been great with kids, and not having my own I wasn't sure I was the right person to talk to about this. I never even wanted to be a parent. Never even thought of my brothers having kids. We didn't have the best parents growing up either so who was I to try and give her advice on this? I had nothing to say here.

"I…I'm sorry Elly. I think you're a great mom." I tried, looking around the room for where the crystal could be.

"Over there. In the S's." Elly pointed to another shelf.

"Why do you have all this stuff?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

"Just in case," She shrugged, her voice softer now. Or maybe it was just the distance between us now as I went to the new shelf.

"Right. But how did you even find it all?" I looked through the lower shelves. "This world shouldn't have any need for this."

"We found the bunker. It was all still intact." Elly said, her voice raised now so I could hear her. "We've just added more to it since finding it. I'm honestly not sure how it got here."

"This used to be the bunker?" I asked as I reached for a chain sticking out between two books. 

I pulled it to me, thinking it was the seal, and almost fell back with laughter as a set of nipple clamps greeted me. I looked back at Elly, doing everything I could not to smile or laugh out loud. So that was what they were into? Had they used it more as a sex dungeon than the library it was? I turned back to the shelf, cheeks red and hot as I took a deep breath. I looked a few books down and found the actual crystal on a small metal pedestal. I picked it up and turned back to Elly.

She gave a small laugh as she thought about what I said, "I think it's our fault there's a subdivision here now. We built on top of the bunker. Made this whole house. The rest of the bunker is under our feet." She pointed down. "We just moved everything we could up here because it was easier to say 'stay out of the library' than 'stay out of the basement'. Wouldn't you be more interested in a weird basement you weren't allowed into?"

"You know I would've been, hun," I said, smiling with her. "Then again, I was always the trouble child."

Elly nodded, still a little out of it. I watched her wipe a tear from her cheek as I got closer. She turned her smile to me. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too, Elly," I said, reaching for her hand to pull her up and into a proper hug.

"Alright, Alex." She said after a second, pushing away from my chest. "Spill it. Why are you really here? That story about the monsters has to be bullshit."

"It's not. We have gotten rid of a lot of them. And hunters are dropping out to retire like flies. That is why I'm here, Elly." Not because I've been cleaning up the mess of accidentally opened rifts and the monsters that wandered through them for a while now. And just happened upon your family by almost complete accident. "I may be a demon but I would never lie to you."

"You've never gotten that close before. And most of the alphas are dead, right?" Elly continued to question.

"Ya, but now the rare ones are teaming up. I'm talking about Dragons and Sirens together in one den. It's like they're trying to retake the land they lost to the vamps, wolves, and shifters." I sighed. "I'm not sure how to deal with them. There's not anyone I can call."

"Dragons? Like multiples?" There was the spark in her eyes I had missed. The hunger to hunt again.

It made me chuckle, she had never once given up on hunting. Maybe she had been able to swallow it down to be a mother, but once you were a hunter, you never really stopped being one.

"Ya, I found a nest of three of them before I came over here. And we're seeing increases of others too." I could feel the excitement building in the room. "We found a nest of Kitsunes for the first time in a few million years. Cut down all four of them the week before the dragons."

"Are you talking about Pokemon?" Elly asked, her eyes filled with new questions. "The nine-tailed dog things?"

"The fuck are Pokemon?" It was my turn to act confused now. I watched her face turn to disbelief. "Stop making up words. They're like were foxes."

"But you don't know…"

"Of course, I know what fucking Pokemon is!" I laughed, watching her face relax now. "I just wanted to tease you. You deserved it after whatever it was you tried to tell me about sailing."

"Ships." Elly corrected with a smile.

"Ya ya, whatever. Just tell me." I said, pulling her close again. "Do you still dabble in the magical art of writing gay porn about my brother and his angel?"

"You what?" Came Lucifer's voice.

"Good timing, Beelzebub." I grumbled, letting Elly pull away from me again as we turned to face him. Their young Sapphire followed behind him with a backpack slung over her shoulder. She still looked like she disapproved of this. "Everyone ready to go then? No PTA meetings or bake sales to go to?"

"I'd rather be going to a bake sale," Sapphire grumbled, obviously not impressed with the library. It made me think she had been in here before. 

"And I rather burn at the stake sometimes." I teased as I snatched a decorative bowl of fruit off a table and emptied it. "Which is a thing that could happen if we run into a witch." I dropped all of the ingredients into it before looking back up and chuckling at the girl's face. "I was joking, kid," I said with a grin. "The trick is to burn them first."

"She's joking about that too, Sapphire," Lucifer said, trying to reassure the kid.

"I wish," I mumbled more to myself than any of them. I took the crystal from the bowl and laid it on the table before looking at Lucifer. "Grace please."

Lucifer stepped towards me and pulled a knife from his pocket, flicking it open before handing it to me. I held the bowl under his neck before dragging the knife across it. We all watched as the beautiful blue grace flowed slowly from the gash and into the bowl. I looked back to the young girl as she gasped, a hand over her mouth.

"You're all fucking insane!" She said.

Lucifer's blue eyes turned sad as he healed himself up. I couldn't imagine how hard this was on them. I couldn't blame the poor girl for being scared either. It was a lot to take in in one night and it made me think back to the night we had banished the demon from Elly. It had messed her up for the longest of times. But there wasn't time ot worry about those things right now. I took the knife and used it to shave a few hairs off my arm and into the bowl as well.

"Koth Munto Notox," I said softly as I held the crystal above the bowl again. 

A small flash of golden light came from it and shot into the open air, creating the thin line of gold energy I knew all too well as a rift. I set the bowl down on the table and looked back at the family of three. I tried to smile at them as I took the steps backward towards the rift.

"Just do as I do," I said, letting myself fall back into the dancing golden thread of reality.