aumemecomm | Underworld

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Underworld

THE UNDERWORLD

There are many names for it, and many purposes. To some, it's simple the land of the dead, good or bad. To others it's a place for sinners. Or the realm of monsters. Be it a firey pit, a barren wasteland, or a series of caves, it's not a place for mortals to tread on their own. Perhaps you're a denizen of this space. Or you've ended up at the gates and you can't quite recall how. Or you're on a quest to save a loved one. Or you're hapless fool who read the wrong latin passage allowed and now you're trapped. No matter how you got there, good luck getting out.

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Why not? [ She waved her hands, shook her head. They didn’t have time to argue. ] Doesn’t matter. We’ll hash this out later. Right now, all that matters is you find someone to run the gates and meet me back on the...land of the living...?

[ That was what it was, wasn’t it? ]

Mortal world. [ Ugh ] Whatever—Earth.

Oh, right—how many ways in and out are there?

Only through the gates...

[ If it was bad enough for her to even find a way down here, he was going to need Amenadiel and Mazikeen. That left few options for who could guard the gates, but he had an idea. It was risky, but he absolutely could not leave such an avenue open to any ambitious demon seeking a leg up. ]

I'll go, just tell me what's happened.

[ While he continued to try and cope with the fact that Chloe was in hell. Dead, and in hell. It still had him rooted to the spot. How could Chloe end up in hell?! ]

Are you familiar with a man named John Constantine?

[ Chloe folded her arms and stood there, jaw setting as she said the name. ]

[ He considered the name for a moment, even though it didn't ring a bell right away. A lover, perhaps? Maybe one he hadn't managed to get a name from. There had been several named John, after all. But after a moment, he just shook his head. ]

I can't say that I am. By that vein in your neck, I feel I should be.

He came by last week for a little “chat”. About you. About demons. About Hell.

[ And boy, he had a lot to say. ]

I don't see why that's such an emergency. Plenty of people know about demons.

[ There was a slight, frantic edge to his words. What wasn't she saying? ]

In a biblical sense, Lucifer. People know about demons and you through the Bible.

[ Chloe then gestured sharply to the doors behind him. ]

You're here for nothing, do you understand?

[ There were two responses that jumped to mind. The first being that there were indeed many people who knew either him or Mazikeen in the "biblical" sense. The other being that he meant people like her, or Linda. People who knew the actual truth. Mostly terrified people he'd flashed his eyes to, but still.

But her question killed both of those before he could utter either. Or rather, the implication of those words. It made his blood run cold. ]

You're saying that there are still demons on earth?

There’s been sightings.

[ Chloe wasn’t sure how he didn’t know. He was the King of Hell. Wasn’t there some kind of demon spidey-sense that came with the position? It baffled her, standing there now as she was staring at him, her surprise shown in the raise of her brows. ]

New York— Lucifer, the church... [ Her brows dropped. She took a step forward. ] There was an explosion.

[ That was all he needed to hear. In fact, all he needed to know was there'd been sightings. That froze him in place for a moment. Not out of fear, but out of fury. They'd disobeyed him right under his nose. He would not stand for this.

Chloe had barely stopped speaking when he grabbed her hand. ]

You should have led with that!

[ It was all he said as he went for the door. ]

[ Her heels dug in and she was tearing her hand from his before he could grip too hard, before the grip became unbreakable. They didn’t have much time. ]

Stop! I have to go back first. Linda is—

[ And just like that, Chloe was gone. Up top, in the hospital bed, she came awake. Alive. She took her first breath, sucked it in loud, body jolting beneath the paddles as Linda leaned over her. The air burned her throat. ]

[ He'd started to ask "Linda is what?" as he turned to look at her, but she wasn't there anymore. ]

Detective? DETECTIVE!

[ He looked for a moment as if he might actually find her in the room, still. Even though he could feel she was gone.

Meanwhile, on earth, what seemed mere moments later, he appeared in the room with her. While they were all distracted with her waking up there was a sudden burst of wind in the room and he was there. He pushed Linda aside, standing over Chloe's bed. ]

Right. Like I said, you should have led with demon sightings. Where are they and how many?

[ He’d barely given her time to get her body to lay completely flat on the bed when he was appearing. She’d just voluntarily died to go to him, to seek out his help. Why wouldn’t he start off with his demands? So like him.

Chloe stared up at him. She was still as pale as the sheets, breathing ragged, waiting for it to calm before trying to speak. Her voice was hoarse, a croak; it was a struggle to push up onto her elbow. However short a time she’d been down there, dead, it’d felt too long for comfortable. ]

Lucifer... [ Linda was speaking up for her behind him, a warning tone. It’d been easy for him to die and come back. But a mortal? ] She needs a moment.

[ He half spun, half stepped back, looking as if he was surprised Linda was there. Even though he'd just pushed her out of the way. ]

And you! There ARE easier ways to get in touch with me! Your dear-- [ What did he even call them? ] --Baby Daddy for starters! How did you even figure out how to get the Detective of all people into hell? I told you the last time a soul has to be destined there in the first place, and there's no way she was supposed even be there!

[ Linda was no stranger to Lucifer’s outbursts. Calmly, the paddles were placed back and she smoothed her hands down over the scrubs she’d “borrowed” as if wiping them clean of what she’d just done. Second time wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be. Her chin tilted up as she faced the Devil. ]

Right now, Lucifer, that’s not important. Just know that I always keep an extra card up my sleeve when it comes to you.

[ This was giving Chloe the time she needed to push past the dizziness that came with sitting up, a hand gripping the bed rail. She was going to be sick, she could feel it, the bile burning at the back of her throat. ]

[ He looked genuinely offended at that. But not for the obvious reasons, because he always anticipated Linda to be sharp. ]

You don't understand. Sending a soul to hell that doesn't belong there has consequences! You're lucky I found her when she did, she was nearly eaten alive! Well, eaten dead. But the concept still applies!

[ Unfortunately the good doctor was distracted by Chloe waving her over and she hurried to her side with the closest thing at hand: a small garbage bin conveniently filled with a bag already. Just in time for the sickly detective to duck her head into it, stomach heaving up her lunch. Linda shot Lucifer a look, knowing Chloe would hold the bin close while she emptied her stomach, moving to make sure her hair was gathered up, hand rubbing her upper back. ]

She’s going to need some water.

[ A very pointed look; don’t argue with her on this, Satan. ]

[ He was about to point out some of the complications that could come out of this, when he heard that awful sound. It made him recoil, as if what came out was about to land on his shoes. He looked horrified by it. He was going to say more when Linda started giving him orders, sort of.

He wanted to demand what she expected him to do about it, but that look cut him off before he could utter a word. He wanted to protest, but it he could feel anything she'd say in response. So in the end, he just deflated.

After casting a helpless glance around the room, he stepped away. A few moments later, he returned, having found a dixie cup and the sink. Mortal danger was one thing. But being sick? He was at a complete loss of what to do. ]

[ Likely he didn’t know what to do with a mortal who’d gone to hell and had come back and was now experiencing some sort of illness. Mortals who enjoyed his club and drank too much, to the point of getting sick, that was something else. An every night adventure. Linda thanked him for the water and helped Chloe take it in sip by sip, ready with the bin. ]

M’fine, [ Chloe began, nudging the bin away and taking the water. The collar of her scrubs and down the back, the blue material was stained dark from the cold sweat that usually accompanied vomiting. Finishing the water, she was moving to the side of the bed to slide her legs over, ignoring Linda’s protests. ] I won’t get in to how I got down there, other than the obvious.

[ Aka Linda. She wouldn’t throw Constantine under the bus. ]

We just need to deal with this.

[ Any mortal vomiting was a problem for someone else, in his book. He had bartenders and other staff for just such reasons. And in the end, he was left standing awkwardly, unsure of what he should do. This was usually the point where he'd pull out his flask or his phone, but he didn't have either at the moment.

So he jumped at the chance to actually do something. Or at least to change the topic. Because he didn't want to be left considering why he felt so uncomfortable with Chloe being ill, especially with his therapist standing right next to him. ]

Yes. We must stop this Constance fellow and whatever demons he's brought here.

[ Okay, maybe he'd made a few assumptions with what little detail Chloe had given him. ]

Constantine, [ she corrected him while somehow managing to muster up an annoyed little look that was sent his way. It was time for her to try testing her legs and if they would accept her weight.

Linda stepped around Lucifer and the bed, picking up on the movement, reaching to catch her should she buckle. And thank the Lord Himself, her legs held, even as she laid a hand in Linda’s. ]

It’s not that he’s brought demons here, they followed him. He has ties to Hell, which surprises me that you’ve never heard of him or even met him down there.

[ At the time, he'd been so wrapped up in the fact that Chloe was in hell that he hadn't stopped to think about the man's name much. Only now that the works of the threat was gone did he actually mull it over. Especially with this new information that he wasn't someone evil, necessarily. Then it clicked.

A young man that had shown up in hell, very briefly. A suicide, it seemed. But that brief visit was hardly remarkable. They had temporary visitors all the time. It was some of the higher ranking demons that made it remarkable. Complaining so much about what the man had been doing that he'd barred it from being discussed. As far as he was concerned, the man was doing him a great service, sending demons who disobeyed him back to hell. But it had become an out-of-sight-out-of-mind situation. ]

You mean the exorcist? I would hardly say he has ties to hell, no more than that bastard Malcom did. It's what he did with it after. Finally got in over his head, did he?

Shouldn’t you be thankful?

[ All Chloe had been told was that Constantine was an exorcist and delivered demons back to hell. If there was any other side story in all of that, she had no idea. Either way she was thanking Linda and moving on her own, heading slowly over to where her backpack sat that held her clothes and gun and badge. She needed to change, splash some water on her face. Fix her hair. ]

Anyway. New York. The explosion. Whoever did it is still being possessed.

[ Thankful for what, exactly? That she'd put herself in absolute peril? That she risked being trapped in an eternal nightmare, or worse? He was still working out what to say about that when she changed the topic. Which presented a whole new set of problems. ]

We don't exactly get CNN down in hell. You're going to need to be a bit more specific. Starting with what explosion?

[ They needed to be out of there, fast. This meant that she had no time to go off into the bathroom and change. Chloe went with turning her back to them as she began to tug off the scrubs. She wore only her bra. Her shirt came down over her head, answering him over a shoulder, redoing her hair back into a loose bun. ]

The Archbishop was holding some kind of a ceremony. Hundreds of civilians were there attending, children included.

[ Wiggling out of the pants, Chloe turned and kicked them off, replacing them with tugging on her jeans. She didn’t care that this was like a little show for him. ]

Constantine was headed there to intercept any further demonic possessions. And to locate the Archbishop’s body, as it never turned up in the search.

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