I don't even know who that is yet. I need to figure that out. I'm going to need to do that on my own.
Maze almost didn't turn around. She almost let Eve walk away without bearing witness to it. But if she was going to let that woman break her heart, then dammit, she would watch.
Except when she turned in the direction Eve had left, she was no longer in Los Angeles, but in the woods. It was no longer night, but judging from the light in the sky, early evening. And she had no idea where the fuck she was.
"Eve!" she called out.
"Lucifer?" Was this retaliation, somehow? Not from Lucifer, but from his father. Maze tried to get her bearings, see if there was anything she'd recognized, but it wasn't as though she took up hiking as a hobby. Even if she'd been in these woods before, she wasn't going to recognize them.
She heard someone before she saw them, taking cover so she could get a good look at whoever it was. They looked just as out of place in the woods as she did. Were they there for her? She was debating how best to corner the stranger and was already reaching for one of her blades when she heard it.
Maze's heart started racing, the stranger immediately forgotten as she followed the call that thrummed through her, as impossible as it seemed. She moved effortlessly through the woods, quickly tracking down the place that was sending her a beacon, guiding her in.
She entered Pandemonium, unlike any hell she'd ever been in and yet she immediately felt very much at home. The sound of growling didn't startle her, she merely looked for its source. Of course. Three hounds of hell awaited, watching her every move.
"Hello, puppies. One of you be a good dog and fetch Lucifer, for me?"
It made no sense because this wasn't the hell she knew, but when one of the dogs disappeared, she figured she must be on the right track. So she kept exploring as she awaited Lucifer's arrival.
The hounds knew that the mortuary was out of bounds for them. Salem had made it more than clear after they had tried the first time to follow him home and take up space on Sabrina’s bed as well. He’d chased them out and back to Hell’s palace, screeching at them the entire time. It was bad enough that he had to share a room with the warlock--even if he did give good treats and scratches. But then Nick had brought home the wolf pup and all good will had been immediately erased. Though the cans of tuna were helping.
Salem let out a hissed as Cysgod appeared in Sabrina’s room, swiping at the creature that was much larger than he was. “Stop being a grouch,” Sabrina chastised as she picked up the cat, depositing him on the top of the bed before heading over to the hound, ignoring Salem’s answering whine.
“What’s the matter?” she asked the hound who was looking anxiously at her before running her fingers through his fur. She let him link up telepathically with her to show her that someone had entered Pandemonium. Sabrina blinked, not recognizing the woman at all.
Hopefully it wasn’t a lost witch from one of the covens because she really didn’t want to try and explain Pandemonium and the energy it could give off. She teleported with the hound over to her palace, Salem following after her and letting out a whine over her leaving without him. Oh hush.
“Cysgod says you’re looking for my father.”
It certainly wasn't Lucifer who appeared along with the returning hound, but when the blonde teenager spoke, Maze couldn't help herself. She laughed in disbelief, and then answered, "Oh, I don't think so. I'm looking for Lucifer. Morningstar? This is hell, right? Some gaudy version of it, at least."
She was probably a sight, having just fought other demons as they'd tried to steal Linda's baby. She knew she would be bruised to hell later. But the worst wouldn't have set in yet.
“It’s not all of Hell. Just a piece of my version of it.” Sabrina shrugged. It was gaudy because the Lucifer she knew was a theatrical asshole who enjoyed his weird dragon and snake symbology. “Sabrina Spellman. Sometimes Morningstar. It’s a thing. Is it a demonic almost goat version or the guy who sometimes runs Lux and thinks he’s amazing at the piano that you’re looking for?”
Her version of it. That was an odd thing to say, but it fit in with the questions that Maze had. At the mention of Lux, however, she arched her scarred eyebrow. "So you do know Lucifer then. The one who runs Lux who specifically hates goats or any association with them." She smirked, as she still found that amusing.
"I'm Mazikeen. Where can I find him? And while I'm at it, where am I that there's more than one version of hell, more than one Lucifer including one who has a daughter? And why did that hound perk up when I said my name?"
She looked at the dog with the glowing red eyes, clearly the cutest of the pack.
“Oh!” Sabrina clapped her hands together at that, practically bouncing. “You’re his Maze! He’s told me all about you. Well, probably not all about you, but about you! But he’s here and probably at Lux right now. Or out with Chloe somewhere. I don’t think he’s on patrol today.” Not that she actually knew the patrol schedules anyway.
“Um, but that’s Mazikeen.” The hound headed over to Sabrina when she said her name, nuding her for pets as Salem sulked and headed off to explore the palace. “She’s a Dip. Prefers mortal blood as diet of choice. Dad helped me name her when she showed up because he thought she was as intimidating as you, I think.” It had been something like that anyway. “You’re kind of in an alternate world now. Did no one from the DOA find you to give you the rundown?”
Alright, well that tracked, though it was unsettling to see this teenager with so much enthusiasm at meeting her. She eyed off Sabrina before turning her attention to Mazikeen the dog. "Perfect." There wasn't a better animal who could pull off her name.
"Oh, was that who followed me? I was getting ready to pin someone to a tree with one of my blades when I heard this place calling out to me, so I ditched them." She had no idea what DOA stood for, but she also didn't care. It seemed like an unfortunate acronym.
"An alternate world, huh? So you're from some alternate version of hell where Lucifer somehow fathered spawn?" It wasn't criticism, exactly. There was something almost endearing about Sabrina and her enthusiasm at meeting a demon and her comfort level around hellhounds. Maze probably would have shown more interest, but the conversation with Eve was still draining, even if it had been pushed out of her mind. For now.
“Probably. They’re pretty good at showing up where anyone randomly appears in the world.” It wouldn’t be the first time that someone didn’t check in with them on arrival though. Sabrina knew that not everyone was all that trusting. “I mean...technically he probably could in your world too considering Uncle Amenadiel managed to.” Some days she wondered if he would with Chloe down the line, but Sabrina didn’t really want to think about it.
She knelt down so she could give the dog the attention he was seeking, but kept her gaze on Maze. “How did you find Pandemonium?”
Another perfectly arched brow.
"Did you just refer to Amenadiel as uncle?" There was more to this story that she needed to learn but Maze was distracted by Sabrina's next question, assuming that Pandemonium was in fact where they were. Very Miltonian.
"I told you, it called to me. Can you not feel it? This place thrums through my veins."
Well. That answered that. Sabrina had wondered who else might feel the place. She knew that she did and Nick and Lucifer. She supposed it made sense that it would speak to Maze as well.
Sabrina shrugged. “I usually ignore it. Gave up the crown and all. But my puppies like it here.” And it wouldn’t burn down or let her blow it up. She’d tried multiple times when it’d first arrived. “So it works for them.” And kept Salem from going crazy with them having their own separate space.
"You're a weird kid," Maze said, looking at Sabrina, wondering what she meant about giving up the crown. "I kind of like it. And the dogs, especially Mazikeen."
This time her namesake wandered over to her so Maze bent down and pet her. "Lucifer did good. Speaking of, you said I could find him at Lux? How…?" If they were in an alternate world, how was Lux present?
Sabrina would take weird as a descriptor. One couldn’t grow up in a mortuary and not be used to being called that.
“It’s in the city.” Had she not seen the city? Sabrina frowned. If she’d arrived in the woods and come straight to Pandemonium that would make sense. “I can take you there. If you don’t mind teleporting? Or can you do that on your own?” Some demons could in her world but not all of them.
"There's a city, then," Maze replied. "Good thing. I can't imagine Lucifer living without civilization." More so than just Lux. "Take me there." Though Maze was reluctant to leave this altered version of hell, and how at home she felt presently. There were more pressing issues and she wanted Lucifer around for them.
This sudden change of environment had served as a worthy distraction as well, and she wanted to keep that going. Where better than at Lux?
“I think he did okay in the snowglobe, but that was probably more because of all of the life and death situations.” Not that either of them could die, but others could. And that would have sucked.
Salem. The cat headed back to her side, wrapping around her legs before hissing at the dogs once again. “Lanuae magicae,” Sabrina murmured, bringing Maze, Salem and her to the inside of Lucifer’s apartment. She let Salem go as soon as they were in it, watching as he headed over to his usual sunning spot.
“Daaaaaaaaaaad!”
What.
They had no sooner arrived in Lux's penthouse that Sabrina was shouting out Dad to call for Lucifer? Maze immediately began to look around, noting the differences. Such as framed photos of Sabrina and Lucifer.
It was clear that Lucifer wasn't there, but Maze was no stranger to this place, so she wandered freely. Peeking into one of the bedrooms, she spotted a race car bed.
"Is this Trixie's room, then?" she called out, as Sabrina had mentioned Chloe.
“No, that’s my room.” Not that she used it much, but it was still nice to have. Especially the bed that she’d won in a bet. Even if it was the most ridiculous thing ever. “Trixie isn’t here.”
She’d heard a little about Chloe’s daughter but the girl hadn’t ever showed up. Which was weird but Vallo was annoying like that. “You can probably reach him on the network though.”
So much of what Sabrina was telling her was met with incredulous looks, including the child's room that she apparently occupied. But at the mention of a network, Maze pulled out her phone, and found it was trying to connect her.
Whatever. She could work that out. But first she needed a drink as the day clearly demanded one. So she walked over to the bar and reached for two glasses.
"What's your poison, kid?" she asked Sabrina. It was rude not to offer, after all.
Sabrina sat down on the couch, kicking her shoes off so she could get more comfortable on the couch. “Vodka, but I’m good for now.”
Salem took that opportunity to leave his spot and head over to her, wanting to curl up on her lap. “I think he keeps the best stuff up top but you probably already knew that.”
She watched Maze, curious about the demon she’d heard bits and pieces about, unable to help wonder what had been going on in her dad’s homeworld when Maze had left it. But it was probably a good idea not to delve into that. Arriving in Vallo was insane enough without bringing up everything else.
"Mmm most of it," Maze agreed. But Lucifer always had a bottle of whatever he happened to be drinking most recently within reach, and she found that easily enough. She was hardly particular about what she drank, as long as it was the quality she'd grown accustomed to.
She took a long sip, willing her focus on this new place and not the world she'd just left behind. It was time to find Lucifer and get answers to questions. Like why he had a teenager who called him dad making herself at home in his penthouse.