He had finally found the address by morning.
Tired, running on a tea-and-bun quickie he managed to snag from a cafe, he found the address in question. A run down, condemned collection of bricks formed into what
might be a Monastery in a pinch. Lucifer thought it looked somewhat disturbing, at least until he saw the rusted sign by the gate.
St. Giles Hospital for the Insane.
Oh.
Oh.
Was he at the right place? Cautiously, he pushed the gate and when it creaked open, he drew his case in with him and entered the grounds. Cautiously, he looked around. Didn't seem to be anything here...Not that he knew of at least. Gravel crunching beneath his feet, he flicked his eyes down and then back up as he walked through the doors.
The air had a strange stench behind it, one unidentifiable to him but enough to make him cautious. And away from the rising sun, in the dark he blinked and his eyes began to glow slowly. Just enough to tap into his night vision as he was soon moving through, avoiding the glass and on occasion, doing a skip and a hop as he hefted his case on his shoulder.
It wasn't until he walked into what looked to be the main ward that he ran into trouble.
Three shadows detached from the black and descended as one.
Lucifer, tired and on edge up to this point exploded into action.
He leaped and spun in midair, using the first move to fling his suitcase on an intercept move with one of the shadows. The next move, he was already discarding his jacket, flinging the puffy, old thing into the face of the second. Now clad in t-shirt and jeans, he had his arms free and just enough time to bring up his hands in a block.
Even so, the impact sent him flying and crashing into a table, the shattering noise filling the air. Lucifer flipped back to his feet, eyes blazing as he went on the attack. He calculated he had about five seconds or less before the other two distangled and returned to the fight...Which meant now, he had to press his advantage. The shadow swung in a haymaker, Lucifer grabbed it and twisted, using his shoulder and upper body to act as a fulcrum to flip his opponent down onto the ground, followed by a heavy stomp to the face.
Five seconds on the dot, pain shot up from his back as he was sent flying once more, both opponents double-teaming to kick him while distracted. He ignored it, shunted out the pain as he flipped and returned to his feet.
"Hold."
Everything froze and Lucifer, now that he wasn't fighting had a better view of his opponents. Some kind of black, jumpsuit material and masks. Adorning the eyes, goggles peered impassively on him and he frowned.
The one on the ground groaned and the quiet tread of boots echoed. Lucifer stared as out came what looked like a blond, icy figure of a Valkyrie in a suit. She looked at the body and then back at him before speaking.
"You're not a vampire. Half blood? Which court? Your eyes say the Red, but your waltzing in without respect for the boundary and your looks say White. You've not the rot of the Black and you act nothing like a Jade...Really, you have us for a loss."
She gestured and the two from before helped up their comrade as she looked around at the room. Lucifer, feeling foolish put his arms down as he cleared his throat.
"Er...I may have something to explain."
The letter was produced like holy writ and she read it with the intensity of a hawk before frowning.
"...Of course she would." Crumbling it in her hand, she stuffed it in her pocket and turned to examine him intensely. Lucifer swallowed hard.
"....You wish to train with us."
"....Yes. If you're who I believe."
"We've never accepted a monster before among our ranks." There was no insult in it, delivered in such a flat intonation. Regardless, Lucifer flushed and held up his fists.
"Now just one sec-"
She raised her hand and Lucifer stopped. She cocked an eyebrow in what passed for befuddlement on her. The sign in question was one in use among black ops in the Mundane...Meant to signal silence and Rain had used it till it was second nature for Lucifer to be quiet in such times. She sighed out and crossed his arms.
"Why do you seek our secrets?"
"To protect the people I love."
"And who are these people?"
"Everyone."
Up rose the eyebrow and Lucifer glanced around, finding his hat on the ground and walking towards it, he picked it up and brushed it off, collecting his thoughts as he did so. Putting it on, he sighed.
"I'm young. But I grew up knowing I was different. It was in the way my teacher taught me to slit the throat of a pig, why the blood- warm, fresh and hot charged me up like nothing else. I'd raised that pig from a piglet, did you know? I called him Mr. Ham because I thought it was a funny name. But moving on."
A twitch of the hat for comfort and he moved on.
"Sunlight felt horrible, but I was made to stay in it till I could shunt away the pain like pulling off a band-aid. There were nights I'd be sore from baseballs flung at me to increase my resistance to pain and to break through it...And for what? I did it because my teacher wanted me to, but I had to come up with motivation of my own. And it is this....People, are people...Are people."
He spoke quickly, seeing her growing impatience.
"They're so ignorant and funny, walking around with their hopes and dreams. Some rotten, others friendly and most of the time they're the same person! Can you imagine! The capacity of good and evil, so inherent in a person? The choices they might make? 'There but for the grace of god I go.' They deserve those chances. They deserve to walk in the sunlight, to sleep without fear of the dark or that their children may be snatched. If I can make that difference...If I could stand and make the monsters move, because I am one myself?"
He shrugged and sighed out.
"So be it. I'm ready."
"You've just condemned yourself to a lifetime of pain and suffering."
The woman noted in a neutral tone. Lucifer grinned and tapped beneath his eye, drawing attention to the blood-red coloration.
"Nothing new there."
She stared for a long moment once more, before nodding slowly as she spoke aloud.
"Take us down. You....Watch your head."
"What?"
There was a click and the entire floor began to descend like an elevator, Lucifer's eyes growing wide as the Sister smirked.
"Welcome...To the Burial Agency."
A beginning....
