Sera had finally pried Sapphire out of Lucifer's grasp, one finger at a time. While Sera, Rosalyn, and Lucifer were grappling over Sapphire, Sires had cautiously come to the gathering. Once Sapphire was released, collapsing to the ground and gasping for breath, Sires snatched the pendant from Lucifer's neck and fled.

"Break it!" Rosalyn screamed at him.

Sires threw it down and stomped on the pendant with his boot. When that didn't work he picked it up, tossing it to Rosalyn. Sera grabbed it mid-air instead and fled upward out of the torchlight. Simultaneously, Lucifer whipped around and with lighting speed tore into Sires. Sires screamed with agony, a sound many of them had never heard before, as he was swiftly eviscerated.

Marcus jumped on Lucifer, biting and clawing, but Lucifer twisted and grabbed him around the waist. Flying up into the air with the once faithful vampire, Lucifer then turned head-down, slamming back into the ground directly on top of Marcus. They hit with such force a small crater was formed. Marcus laid, not moving.

"Marcus!" Zoë screamed from where she had been cowering besides Sapphire who was still struggling to breath.

~

"Please," Lucifer said to Hakan and Vince, extending his normal-looking hand to two white chairs that magically appeared across from him, "have a seat."

When the pair didn't move, he gave a genuinely friendly smile. "Please."

With nothing else to do, they went and sat at the table.

"Why are you doing this Lucifer?" Vince asked hesitantly.

"Please, call me Morningstar."

"Oh. Um. Uh, okay, Mr. Morningstar."

To both of their mild horror, Morningstar laughed a rather delightful, twinkling laugh. "If calling me that is what makes you comfortable..."

"Is this really happening?" Hakan asked him, bewildered.

"Yes," Morningstar replied, blinking. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because you're so—so—so—"

"Different," Vincent finished for him.

Morningstar smiled sadly.

~

Lucifer was then in the air, hurtling towards Sera, trying to catch up to him. Time seemed to slow; Sera tossed up the necklace, took his sword, and slashed it. It broke into thousands of shimmering pieces seconds before Lucifer's outreached hand could grab it. Sera looked smug while Lucifer's face contorted in pure, undiluted rage.

~

"This is my true form," Morningstar replied simply with a shrug.

"What happened?" Hakan asked.

Morningstar frowned. "Well...I Fell."

~

Lucifer screamed unintelligibly, ramming into Sera. The pair disappeared into the deep shadows of the tall ceiling. Flashes of light and screaming could be heard. After a short but intense battle, Sera's sword fell from above, covered in blood. Seconds later Sera fell, landing next to his sword in a bloodied, mangled heap.

~

"It didn't have to be like this," Hakan told him gently.

Morningstar chuckled bitterly and looked off to the side briefly. His pretty eyes then flicked back to Hakan. "Have you ever been discarded like a piece of garbage?"

Hakan straightened and narrowed his eyes a little. Wordlessly, Vincent took his hand. "Actually, Morningstar, I have."

~

"Sera!" Rosalyn cried, running to him.

Unexpectedly Lucifer appeared in front of her, standing in between her and Sera's unmoving body. Lucifer was a mess, cut and bloodied. Any sanity appeared to have left Lucifer, this fact etched all over his face.

He picked Rosalyn up by the wings and crushed them as though they were nothing more than paper.

She screamed.

Enraged, Lucifer grabbed one of them with both hands and tore it off from her body. She shrieked both in pain and shock. Lucifer discarded her, letting her fall to the floor.

~

"By whom?"

Hakan swallowed. "My father."

"Ah," Morningstar replied, eyes flicking away again to avoid their gaze. "Then you should understand."

But Hakan shook his head. "No, Morningstar. I do not understand you, and I will never understand you."

Morningstar turned his eyes back to Hakan, looking genuinely surprised.

~

Lucifer looked around himself, panting. His wings, face, and various parts of his body were bleeding. His one arm was bent at a disgusting angle.

In agitation he cracked his jaw over and over. His eyes were still glowing, and his homicidal rage made him oblivious to his mortal injuries.

Jeanette was crying behind a pillar. In such a short time, everyone was down. She worried that Sera, Sires, and Marcus were outright dead. She could hear Sapphire coughing and gasping, Zoë sobbing, and Rosalyn moaning and screaming; it sounded like she was flopping around.

"Child," Lucifer called in a disturbingly pleasant, sing-song voice. "I feel you. Come out, come out wherever you are..."

~

"Why do you hurt people?"

"Because I have been hurt," Morningstar replied without a moment's hesitation.

"That's childish," Vince scoffed. He crossed his arms, glaring off to the side.

"Of course you wouldn't understand," Morningstar said simply as a fact.

"What I don't understand," Hakan replied, "is how you could betray your Father like that?"

A flash of anger briefly fluttered across the angel's face. "Excuse me?"

~

Jeanette squeezed her eyes shut, biting her lip until the point of blood. She wished she wasn't here. She wished none of this had happened.

There was a loud boom as Lucifer punched one of the pillars, followed by a loud cracking sound. It collapsed moments later.

"I'm not fucking with you!" Lucifer screamed so loudly his voice was shrill and cracking. "Show. Yourself. Now!"

Jeanette peaked around the corner. Marcus was slowly crawling out of his hole, making his way to Sires who laid in a pool of blood. Jeanette covered her ears and shut her eyes tight.

~

"He betrayed me."

"Why did you Fall?" Vincent asked, switching gears.

"Because—because—"

Morningstar surprised them again with a look of shame.

"Because I was too curious."

Hakan rose an eyebrow. Morningstar sighed, holding his head in his hands.

"I think," he said quietly, "I think I was a mistake."

~

Jeanette wished this hadn't happened.

Why? Why did Lucifer do this? What did he accomplish by making innocent people suffer? What did it prove except heartache? And wasn't there enough of that in the world naturally?

As she thought on this, a calm slowly began to settle over her. She didn't notice, but her chest began to glow with golden light.

Lucifer laughed, sniffing the air. "Oh...you're a powerful little firecracker, aren't you? I can smell the power welling in you..."

Jeanette ignored him, instead focusing on what she wanted. She knew there was good in the world, you just had to look for it. There were families who loved each other. There were innocent children in every country who knew nothing of hatred and hardship. She also knew there were plenty of children who were scared, alone, starving. Refugees, abused. Why? Why must the innocent suffer?

Jeanette got to her feet and opened her purple eyes. It didn't have to be like this.