XL- The Unlimited Potential

Lucifer grew impatient as he leaned against the door of the small cottage. The Mortal Plane always left a terrible taste in his mouth, and he wanted to get on with his plans. He had waited centuries for an ally, and now that one had finally seemed to come his way, he was growing restless.

–Where could they be? It's not like they can go far.–

He began to pace back and forth, and heaved dramatic sighs as he walked. He quickly grew tired of treading aimlessly, and pulled a knife from his boot. He threw the blade into the tree trunk, embedding the weapon into the wood. He retrieved the knife, and repeated his assault on the tree. After a few throws, that too bored him, and he fell asleep against the door of the Hawthorne home. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

The couple left the Canden village after saying farewell to Teresa and her children. They began their walk back to the cottage, his fingers laced through hers. 

"That older man, Oliver…he said he saw me come into the town on the farmer's cart. He says I was a bloody mess before I was given to you. Was it really so bad?"

Ravenna bit her lip, not wanting to make him feel worse. His progress had been incredible, with only the deepest wounds at the top of his back remaining, stubbornly refusing to heal. She had been carefully cleaning the wounds, taking care of the expansive lacerations. "It was…well, it wasn't your best day."

The Seraphim sighed, knowing the healer was right, but having it confirmed by a stranger was disheartening to him. He wondered how many from the crowd had also seen him come into the village, broken and bleeding, only alive thanks to the kindness of a farmer.

"Do you see something in front of the door?" Michael spotted the sleeping man long before Ravenna, who became worried that one of her beloved villagers was ill and required her help. The couple approached the man, and noticing it was Lucifer back for Michael long before their agreed time, the angel roughly shook him awake.

"What do you want? You're being rude!" Lucifer flung his cape over his arm, rolling away from his assailant.

"What do I want? What do you want? You've come back much sooner than we've agreed. Why are you here?" Michael's voice was full of irritation; he had wanted the extra few days with the woman he loved, not with a man that annoyed him.

"I did some thinking, and decided, why wait? You've been without your potential for so long, why would you want to hold off being the ultimate form of yourself? I've got the abilities to transform you into something great, something so much more. It's time, Michael." 

Michael glanced at Ravenna, unwilling to leave her behind. She grasped his forearm, trying to encourage the man she loved. 

"He can help you more than I can, Michael. You've recovered a lot, but with Lucifer's experience, you will do better. From what I can tell, your kind heals much faster than humans do, but he might know something that will finish your healing, make it so you can be as close to normal as possible." 

The Seraphim placed his hand on Ravenna's cheek, tilting her face up to look at him. "Lucifer says he wants to break hidden powers free from me. What if it changes me? What if we don't like what I become?"

"We won't know until we try. If it gives you a chance at healing, I know you'll find your way back to being you." She nuzzled into his touch, placing her hand on top of his. 

Lucifer cleared his throat, turning the couple's attention toward himself. "That's very touching. Can we get going, now? I've got a lot of things I need to do before we get started on unleashing your pretty boy's powers." He grasped the doorway of the small cottage, hauling himself to his feet.

Ravenna fumed. "Why would you come here first if you had things to do? Especially when it looked like you were just napping while you waited for us!" 

Amusement sparkled in Lucifer's emerald eyes, reaching his smirk. "Because I enjoy that fire in your voice every time you hear something you don't like." He turned his attention away from Ravenna, who became more annoyed. "Well, Brother? Are you ready to become the version of you that the Ruler was too cowardly to unleash?"

Lucifer raised his eyebrow, smiled wider, and held out his left hand. He was offering his guidance, his powers, and unlimited potential. 

Michael's pulse quickened, and his eyes dashed between the woman before him and the Fallen man to his left. 

"Go on, Michael. He's the best chance we have at healing your back. I'll still be here for you when you come home." Ravenna squeezed Michael's arm, and gave the angel a small push toward the Fallen man. 

Michael hesitated, a fleeting feeling of indecision and doubt taking over in his mind. The way Lucifer smiled, the grin of a predator, and the look of hope in Ravenna's eyes; it was too much for him to take in. 

After a moment of reluctance, Michael drew Ravenna into his arms, holding her close. He stepped back, giving her a quick kiss before turning to Lucifer. "I'm ready."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lucifer let go of Michael's arm as they stepped between the realms together, the Fallen man guiding his new ally to his realm. 

Michael's vision slowly adjusted to the new realm. The flickering candlelight allowed the Seraphim to see that Lucifer had taken him to his throne room, and a wave of the Fallen man's hand ignited a series of fires in sunken firepits in the black marble floor, illuminating the room in a hauntingly regal fashion. 

As if silently summoned, a man with snow-white hair and skin appeared in a cloud of red smoke. He bowed as the smoke dissipated, his slicked-back hair flopping forward as he moved. "Greetings, Master Lucifer." The man's voice gave Michael chills; the way he spoke was eerily snakelike. 

"Good afternoon, Edward. The day we've waited for is here. I have brought the rogue Seraphim Michael to our realm, the one we saw murder the human in that Essence Fire." Lucifer gestured toward Michael, and Edward looked up, blood-red eyes trained on the new arrival. "Michael, this is my right-hand demon, Edward."

Michael's stomach clenched as Edward stood up, pushing his hair back in place, the sanguine gaze catching his own. Something in the demon's appearance made the angel uncomfortable, particularly the red of the man's eyes. He swallowed his unease, and held his hand out toward Edward. 

"He-hello Edward. Lucifer is right, mostly. I am the Seraphim Michael, but rogue feels a bit of a stretch..."

"You left the Kingdom, answered a prayer, murdered a human, and literally Fell for a human woman. "Rogue Seraphim" is entirely who you are." Lucifer interrupted Michael, trying to emphasize to the other Fallen man exactly why he was needed. 

Edward watched as his master squabbled with the new arrival to their realm, pulling his hand back. He could smell the discomfort on the Seraphim, and bit his tongue, trying to distract himself from thoughts on how exquisite the angel's blood would taste with the heightened emotions running through him. His master would certainly be displeased if he tried to taste the blood of the ally they had waited centuries for. 

Edward snapped his attention away from the blood and back toward his master and the new ally partway through their bickering. "... and she is not the only reason for my Fall! I've hated the way things were done in the Kingdom for decades! If it weren't Ravenna, it would have been something else! I wasn't meant to exist there!" The Seraphim seemed to have become agitated while Edward hadn't been paying any mind, and he tried to figure out what had happened to cause the argument. 

"Good! We need your rage, your resentment! Use it!" The angrier the new ally became, the happier his master seemed to become. "We need to tap into the Seven Sins to unleash your potential! We need your rage!"

Lucifer's antagonizing of the ally was interrupted as the other demons made their appearance in the Great Hall, breaking their master's focus. Each of the demons that arrived bowed to their master, who turned his attention to them. 

"Good afternoon men, Hellena. I've finally brought the rogue Seraphim home to us. Actually, I should call for Adam as well." He pulled a green stone from his pocket, stomping on it. The ground rumbled aggressively as the pebble was crushed.

"You have a demon who is summoned in a special way?" Michael crossed his arms, not fully trusting whoever this Adam was going to be, questioning why he had to be called forth personally. 

"How I run my realm is of little concern to you. But yes, Adam attends to his own business and ignores the regular summons. He is the Guardian of the Aether, ensuring that the Shapeless do not escape the Beyond. His job is to keep the worst of the worst souls in their prison. It takes a lot of magic to seal the Aether, and it is only temporary." A second earthquake shook the UnderKingdom, and Lucifer nodded. 

–Adam's sole responsibility is to keep the absolute worst souls in a separate prison? What kind of monster does Lucifer keep here?– 

"Adam will arrive soon. That was his sign back to us. William, you will finally have a chance to meet our Guardian." Michael noticed that one of the demons nodded, and shared a quick nervous glance with the other demons, who gave the one called William an encouraging look. "Edward, some drinks, if you don't mind. This is an exciting occasion for us, we should celebrate Michael's arrival before we bring out his powers." Edward vanished, leaving behind nothing but his cloud of red smoke. 

Moments after Lucifer's right-hand demon left, a second cloud of smoke signaled the arrival of a demon, and both Michael and William anxiously waited to see the last demon to appear. 

Adam became visible, stretching to his full height, and Michael and William shared a look. "Lucifer?" Michael glanced at the Fallen man. "This is the Guardian of the worst your realm has to offer?"