They stood in front of the brick wall in the empty street. It was still broad daylight, however, and there were still the random passing citizen that would look into the alley in confusion and judge the boy and the girl as they conversed with the wall. They didn't appear to be the typical kind of couple that one would stumble upon in the alley and just see kissing in their supposed shelter. They didn't appear to be a couple at all. It was strange though. 

The boy wore strange clothes. Usually, a boy his age would wear something a lot more casual, maybe jeans and a random shirt he found on the floor of his room. His bright blond hair was gelled back and definitely resembled something that a boy his age around this century would dye their hair to, making his outfit even more of a puzzle. It was a grape coloured suit with golden swirls into it. A hideous choice that one would hope that he was wearing that for an ugly costume party. If he was heading to one, he was the clear winner. Why on earth he was wearing a suit of that pattern and those colours as an everyday outfit was beyond anyone's imagination. To make it worse, he wore a cape with the suit. In the July heat of Korea, it made no sense to why he was wearing a three-piece suit with a bloody cape that matched the grape colour. If the theory about an ugly costume party was truth, he better be the winner. There was nothing else on earth that was as hideous as that outfit the blond boy wore. If there was, you'd shoot yourself.

The girl on the other hand was easier on the eye. She wore, for whatever reason, a cream coloured frilly lace frock with long sleeves and high neck. Her hair was light brown, pulled into a high side ponytail. When she turned her face to look into the clearing, a person walking by would gasp at how pretty she was. A shame that she wore that hideous dress. She didn't necessarily look as bad as the boy accompanying her, but dear God, please get the two of them a sense of style! Her shoes were the only thing about her outfit that weren't horrifically horrendous. Sure, she wore them with white socks, but they were still nice; platform heels that, without the socks (or any other dress for that matter) would match her age perfectly. Still, people passed by the two, whispering their judgments to themselves.

In front of the wall, the two spoke in hushed voices. 

"Jackson, I swear to Mark's dad, hurry up or I will kill you." Krystal shot her friend an icy glare. He shivered.

"Krystal, do you honestly think I enjoy being in this Satan-approved suit any more than you do in that sinful dress?" Jackson turned back to the wall and closed his eyes, hand flat against the wall. He murmered a spell, something that would make the magical door to Hell appear again. 

Krystal tugged at the collar around her neck. It was itching like crazy, but she couldn't do much about it. She had to deal with it, even if it meant that later on she would have a nasty red line around her neck. She whined at Jackson to hurry up, but he motioned with his free hand that she was to keep quiet. Looking out on the street, Krystal saw another person walk by, look into the alley and give her a weird look. She desperately wanted to shout out that they were not crazy, but then they'd get sent to the special hospital for special people.

When she looked back, Jackson was still in the same position, chanting with his eyes closed, palm to the wall. After what seemed like an hour, Krystal saw the changes that he was doing. The bricks had begun to move. Similar to Harry Potter when they were entering 12 Grimmauld Place, the bricks moved apart into a formation to create a new door. Sure enough, there it was. A steel silver door clouded with rust and a rectangle at the top for people to look out with. Jackson knocked on the door thrice, then once, then twice more. They didn't have to wait for long before a piece of paper slid out from under the door. Krystal bent to pick it up and saw that it said: Appointments Essential.

"Come on!" Krystal shouted. With a tight fist, she punched the door as hard as she could, ignoring the pain that followed. The rectangle suddenly revealed eyes on the other side. 

"Name?" The person grunted.

"You know who we are, Ilhoon. Let us in," Jackson demanded.

Ilhoon shook his head. "Now, now. You know I can't do that. The King needs an appointment."

"He's the King of Hell, what meetings does he even have? What kind of torture to inflict?"

"Sassing me isn't going to get you what you want any faster, Jacksy." Ilhoon tsked. He seemed to look at the pair up and down, taking in their outfits. "But you did dress for the occassion. I'll see what I can do." He closed the box with his laughter echoing inside. 

Krystal looked to her friend. "He's gonna come back with a crowd, I hope you know."

"Yeah, but it also got us one step closer!"

They stayed in the alleyway as more people walked pass them and judged. They stood there for almost an hour before the door opened, with a bunch of demons welcoming them with hoots. 

"Hell yeah, now this is the kind of entertainment we need!" One shouted.

"Hey, the 1800s called, they want you to stop butchering their fashion!" Yelled another. 

Jackson rolled his eyes and pushed forward through the crowd, Krystal at his elbow. They marched to the throne room of Hell, having been there far too many times. It was almost a monthly visit to see the King. Why they continuously needed appointments were beyond them. There was no way that His Majesty the King of Hell was doing anything important.

The throne room opened before them. It was modelled after the Buckingham Palace throne room with the colours inverted. Queen Elizabeth's throne room was grand, rich ruby red walls with gold embellishments, a magnificent crystal chandelier in the middle. Hell was not as majestic, instead of red it was a strange dark grey green colour with stormy grey accents. There was no chandelier, but there were candles everywhere. They were red, the only homage to the room this one was made to look like. Buckingham Palace also had curtains and carpet. Hell had no such luxuries as expected. Unexpectedly, however, the throne was beautiful. It was a plush blood red colour with black t. It was the nicest thing that stood in the room, which looked like a dead Buckingham Palace. For decorations, there were also skulls everywhere. Jackson wished that that was the strangest thing in the room, but he had been here so often, he barely noticed the bare bones. Instead, to him at least, the weirdest thing in the room was the fact that there was an ottoman at the foot of the throne. It just seemed so out of place.

As they approached the throne, Jackson stared straight into the face of the King. His face stoic until the two were a metre away, bursting into a wide smile. Krystal shivered looking at his face, a magnificent smile with cold eyes. He was handsome, it was undeniable, but devilishly so. His bone structure was phenomenal and it was as if he had no concept of flaws. He moved with such fluidity and as if he was actually royal in his human life. He wasn't, he was actually a singer from China who got sent to Hell for basically being a . He put a finger up for them to stop.

"Well. This is a surprise." His voice was cool, and his smile grew wider so that he resembled the Cheshire Cat.

"Kris. Hello again," Jackson said.

King Kris blinked his eyes agonisingly slowly. He let out a purr. "It's been barely a month since you last visited. Miss me?"

"You know for the King of Hell, you know how to sweep a man off his feet."

"It's what I do. I'm the King of sin and I know temptations like you wouldn't believe." 

Krystal hated listening to his voice. It was too calm and irresistably sweet and welcoming. The deepness kept drawing her back to look him in the eyes. They made her even more uncomfortable, but there was something in his face that made it hard for her to look away. It bothered her for another reason that she couldn't name.

"What is it you need this time, Jackson?"

Jackson cleared his throat. God, he thought. I hate doing this.

"We need to talk to Lucifer."

It was as if time stopped. The candles that floated stopped, their flames no longer flickering. The moving shadows that belonged to no one seized their swaying. Even the aura of death seemed to surrender upon the name being released from Jackson's mouth. Kris stopped his blinking and stared at the two. After a few minutes, the tension broke, Krystal's blood seemed to flow again, and Kris started laughing at them.

"I thought we already went through the Apocalypse. As you recall, even I was on your side. You've got to be joking!"

"I most ceratinly am not. We just want to talk to him. We're not releasing him."

"What is this in regards to?"

"Information?"

"You're going to extort information from Satan himself?" Kris put a hand to his chest in mock disbelief. His face molded itself into a perfect reflection of shock, but his eyes remained the same.

"Not exactly. We just need one little thing."

Kris laughed. "You do realise that he's going to barter his release in exchange?"

Jackson pondered for a moment. "I have a feeling that he isn't going to refuse this."

Kris cocked his head to the side. "Oh? And why would that be?"

Jackson smirked and snorted. "Oh, baby, you're not even gonna handle it. Take us to see Lucifer, Kris. A dinner may be involved."

"Tell me and we'll see whether or not I decide to help you."

Krystal looked at the two of them flirting back and forth. She was in shock. She had no idea what was happening and no idea what she expected to go down with their trip to down under, but this wasn't it. 

"I just need an audience with the Devil. Remember, dinner's a promise."

Kris was silent for a moment, considering his options. On one hand, Lucifer gets free. On the other, dinner with Jackson. "Sorry, hon. Gotta know more details than that."

Jackson sighed. "Fine. A child. Lucifer's. We need it."

Kris's eyebrow shot up in the air. It was endearing. "Lucifer has a child? Well... Can't say no to finding out more about that! One condition though."

"Name it."

"I come with."

"Fine."

Kris rose from his throne, leading the two hunters into a labyrinth of screams and calls for help. It was a pit of despair which made Krystal and Jackson both want to scratch their eyes out. There was so much pain and sadness in there, their subconscious was picking up on it. It was horrible. As they went deeper, the feeling grew stronger, until there was such an intense anxiety swelling up in their chests that they had to stop and cry out in pain. The only one unaffected was Kris who seemed to think the feeling as happiness. It was sadism at its finest.

They reached an iron gate where Kris touched a three fingers to the handle. He murmered in Enochian as the fence slowly opened, the metal scraping against the ground, screeching at the hunters. They covered their ears, but the sound was so unearthly that it rung in their brains and it felt like a nail was being drilled into their head. The three entered the room which was bare and fire red, straw being the only thing present. There was an overwhelming sense of despair about the whole room and it reeked of evil. But in the centre of the room was a cage that had an old Enochian sealing charm carved into the metal. Inside was a tall man, sitting in the middle legs crossed and eyes closed. It was strange, a serene man in a room that screamed "GET OUT. DANGER."

Kris gestured for Jackson to walk closer. Krystal moved forward after him, but was held back by Kris. He smiled at her. "Only him, darling. But don't worry. We can look from up there." He pointed to the staircase that she hadn't realised before, and saw that it lead to an observing deck. Kris offered her his arm, which she had no choice but to take, and he lead her to the top. As they passed Jackson, Kris stopped and touched the other man's arm. "Love the suit, by the way. You certainly know how to get attention." He continued his track.

Jackson looked at the two of them as they turned their backs. He felt abandoned. Sure, Kris wasn't ideal company, but at least if he was there, Jackson wouldn't have to face Lucifer alone. he turned back to the cage and looked at the sitting man. He looked exactly the same as last time he saw him. He still had his vessel, a man named Henry Lau who was unfortunately tricked into accepting the proposal of being Lucifer's host. It wasn't fair that he was still in there having to witness all the horrors that Lucifer had done through Henry's own hands without any control. Jackson didn't know if he was still alive with the Devil burning through his life, but he hoped that he wasn't. It would just be easier if he had died during the Apocalypse. That way, if Lucifer ever left him for another vessel, Henry wouldn't have to suffer the guilt that came with hosting Lucifer. 

He made his way to Lucifer, who still sat cross legged with his eyes closed in the middle of the cage. Jackson tried to step as silently as he could to not startle the fallen Angel. Less than a metre away, Lucifer spoke. "Fancy seeing you here, Jacksy."

Jackson stopped in his tracks and looked up to where Krystal and Kris were standing. He didn't know if they could hear the conversation that would unfold, nor did he know if he wanted them to. Krystal looked concerned down at him, whereas Kris kept his smirk and unreadable eyes. His face was calm which did not help Jackson's nerves. He turned back to Lucifer, who now had his eyes open. Jackson shuddered. 

It was a strange sensation, seeing Henry's eyes but not Henry. The hunters didn't know the vessel of Lucifer very well, but they were certain that he wasn't as cynical as they assumed the host of the devil should be. He had a face that looked like it never knew the meaning of sadness, laugh lines around his eyes and the corners of his mouth was always perked up. His eyes were a welcoming, warm dark brown. But the eyes that analysed Jackson now were not Henry's. They reminded him of Kris. But where Kris's always gave away the feeling he was a demon, Lucifer's held something else. There was nothing in them that held any possibility that there was any form of Henry inside him, alive or not. They were dark brown but they lost their warmth. Behind their initial cold and dead appearance, there was something behind them. It was feral. But he didn't know what it was. In all the times during the Apocalypse that Jackson met Lucifer, he couldn't pin down what it was that made him so on edge.

"Hello, Lucifer," he said after a while.

He beamed. "You remembered! Now what do I owe the pleasure?" Henry stood up and went to the edge of the cage. He held on to the bars, and stared out to Jackson. He smiled, which made Jackson's blood retreat.

"I just need some information." Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "Please."

Lucifer straightened and crossed his arm. He smirked at the hunter and tsked. "Well, well, well. Look who came to get help from the first Fallen Angel. God's very own servant, Jackson Wang! I'm sorry, you're gonna have to pinch me, I believe that I have somehow fallen asleep and started dreaming." He laughed without humor.

A shiver ran down Jackson's back. He looked up to Krystal for support. Lucifer followed his eye. 

"Oh! You brought another! And my replacement, how adorable." 

Jackson stepped closer to Lucifer. "This is regarding someone we need to track down in order to stop Herodias."

"To stop Herodias. Yes, I heard you guys set her free. You thought I was the biggest threat. Bet you miss me."

"That's not... Look, we just need you to help us to find someone who is relevant in stopping her. Please, Lucifer."

Lucifer tilted his head. "It's not everyday I get you begging. Do it again."

"What?"

"You heard me. Beg. Again. Now."

Jackson shifted his feet. "Uhhh..."

"Do it." Lucifer pointed at Jackson's knees, and they instantly buckled. "Kneel." Jackson obeyed, kneeling at the Devil's feet. "Beg." Something constricted in his throat. 

"I beg you, Lucifer." He repeated the phrase for several minutes, each getting louder.

Lucifer laughed coldly. "That's enough, now."

The magic that controlled Jackson suddenly released him, and he choked and gagged on his knees for a while. He clutched his throat as it was raw from the yelling that he did. He looked to Lucifer. Oh, I hope Henry is dead. He got back up and stood a few centimetres away from Lucifer, as if that would make him out of reach of his magic.

"I'll help you. As payment for that delightful show."

Jackson glared at the wildness in Lucifer's eyes. "Your daughter. The one with Lilith. We need to track her down."

Lucifer's eyes widened in curiosity. "My child? Huh. Didn't know she was also released. I put her in with her, you know. Herodias. Fighting her for all eternity. I was so proud. It was the only thing she was worth. Not now that she failed, but for the few millenia, yeah."

For some reason, Jackson was shocked at what Lucifer revealed. Sure, he was the Devil, but that was his child. And he locked in the darkness and practically said that the only pride he felt in her was when he forced her to fight one of the most evil entities in all of history. Not even fearing her safety. But he didn't say anything.

Back on the top, Krystal and Kris looked down. They couldn't hear what was going on, but they tried. Unfortunately for Krystal, Kris gave up and tried to do small talk. 

"You know, you are an absolute delight, my dear. It's a pity you're a hunter." He carried on with those remarks and Krystal kept ignorning him. 

"Hmph," Kris finally said before shutting up. They peered down. A bright flash caught his eye, but when he looked, he saw nothing. He looked to Krystal, but she didn't make any expression that she saw what he did. Kris frowned and bent down to get a closer look at Jackson and Henry, occassionally keeping a look out for the strange brightness. It had him on edge because it had a feeling that didn't belong in Hell.

Hope.

"I'd offer you help on how to track her down. It's a little tricky. Only her parents can identify her. Sneaky little minx, that child. Always disguising herself as other creatures. But, her mother is dead and her father... Well... I don't need to tell you do I?" Lucifer said to Jackson. 

"No, I can see him clearly. So what do you suggest?"

Lucifer smiled a Cheshire grin. "I thought you'd never ask. See, the cage is not a very pleasant place. I don't have my family. My brothers and my sisters run the place I'm banished. My old lover is dead and my disgraced daughter is roaming Earth freely. You need to stop Herodias. I did that once. You say you need to find my daughter to help. I can do that. I can do everything you are hoping to achieve. But I cannot help if I am stuck here." He held his hands out and stared into Jackson's eyes. "You cannot do anything up there if I am stuck down here." Lucifer turned away from the bars and walked to the opposite side, hands behind his back and he whistled out a tune. 

"So you want out of the cage?"

Lucifer didn't stop whistling. He turned back to face Jackson and nodded. His whistling got louder and after a while, Jackson realised he was whistling out Kumbaya. 

"You know that I can't do that," Jackson said.

"I know you can't just let me out. But I'm not asking for that. This body can stay here while I'm free."

Jackson's brows knitted together. "So you're gonna leave Henry in here? To suffer in the deepest, darkest pit of Hell while you're at the top? You can't just do that! You can't just reek havoc and go back to Earth, starting a second Apocalypse! Henry's your only vessel! You can't leave him here. I understand that you're the Devil-" 

"I am not the pure source of Evil!" Lucifer bellowed, cutting Jackson off. "I have suffered long enough. You don't understand what it has been like. Locked here for centuries. You call me the Devil, you call me Satan. I am Lucifer. The Morning Star. I am an Angel. Fallen or not. I was God's favourite. And he cast me down. I didn't Fall on my own accord like my brothers. I was God's most loyal child. The child that loved him the most. And that was my big sin. You're told that I disobeyed him. You want to know the only order I disobeyed? To love your kind more than Him! I was sentenced to stay forever in Hell, away from my family. All because I loved him. Spare me if I do not care about your species, about leaving this pathetic morsel behind here. He is part of the race that got me here. I have no sympathy." 

Jackson stared at him in shock disbelief. He had never heard that before. He had never heard Lucifer express any emotion other than sarcasm and coldness. He didn't know what to say.

"Listen. I am willing to help your bloody Kind if you help me. It's a fair trade. Get me out of here, and I will help you hunt down my daughter and lock back Herodias."

Jackson knew that he shouldn't agree to the deal. But he needed the information. And he prepared for this. "What do you need."

Lucifer closed his eyes and sighed in relief. Real or not, Jackson didn't know. "A vessel. A new one." He opened his eyes and locked Jackson's eyes to his. Cold, dead brown eyes meeting lively, warm yet sad ones. He smiled.

Blood drained out of Jackson's face. "You don't mean..." He whispered.

"I see no one else. Just a little 'yes', Jacksy. It's the only way."

Jackson looked at Lucifer in horror. He couldn't respond.

"If you don't..." He didn't finish the sentence with words. He let his powers do the job for him. Slowly, Jackson's surroundings change and all he could feel was despair. It was as if a Dementor had suddenly come over him. Everything around him desaturated, but he was still in Hell, with Lucifer in his cage. Wait. His cage!

Jackson turned around hastily, running his fingers along the bars. They were solid and rusted. Jackson pulled and pushed, anxiety taking over his entire body. He felt as if he was crumbling. Krystal screamed.

Lucifer's voice was right in Jackson's left ear. "I'll make you say yes." It was a whisper, but his deep voice that was once Henry's cheerful tone was now menacing, and it coursed through Jackson's veins, chilling his blood. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't make it happen. Lucifer had started humming, the vibrations going through his entire body. Jackson cried, hot tears spilling down his cheeks.

"Yes."

The inevitable fate was sealed.

Hey, guys.... Long as chapter but... I didn't know where to end... 

So how have you all been? I hope you have been well. New chapter every week on Thursdays/Fridays depending on your location.  Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it ^^