Chapter Text
September 4, 2001; Los Angeles, California
Frankie Stone stood at the bar in the nightclub Lux, looking around at the empty room. It was the middle of the day and apparently, the cleaning staff had just left, restoring the club to its pre-Labor Day End of Summer Bash state of cleanliness. Frankie always found it a little disconcerting to see the place so quiet and empty, she was used to seeing it at night and active.
Frankie, with help of a fake ID, had managed to score a job at Lux as a bartender. She had worked there mostly at night, enjoying the fast pace and great music…and all the sexy women who paraded through the club only to be scooped up by its owner, Lucifer Morningstar.
Frankie was one of the few women to step foot in this club that didn’t immediately fall at his feet and that made her stand out to him. Frankie had quickly become his favorite and before too long, Frankie was brought into Lucifer’s inner circle and trusted with the truth of Lucifer’s identity. Frankie had seen his devil face and it hadn’t scared her.
Lucifer Morningstar walked down the stairs from his private elevator, smiling when he saw his favorite human, Frankie, waiting for him. He had asked her to meet him there and he hoped she would accept what he was about to offer her.
“Frankie, darling, thank you for meeting me here,” Lucifer said, his voice rising a little to carry over to her as he crossed the room to the bar.
Frankie smiled at her boss and friend and said, “anything for you, boss. What’s up?”
There was something about Lucifer that made Frankie feel safe and relaxed. She never held it against him that he was the actual devil, he’d never been anything but kind to her.
Lucifer smiled as he walked behind the bar and poured them both a drink. Despite the fact that Frankie was not legally old enough to drink, it never mattered to him. Honestly, he never understood why humans put age limits on things like alcohol. “Well, I asked you here because I have something for you.”
“Yeah? What?”
Lucifer reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. He handed it to Frankie. “This.”
Frankie frowned as she took the envelope from her friend and opened it. She read the words on the card and looked up at him. “What does this mean Lucifer?”
Lucifer smiled, “well, after you helped me with…that vile little man, it occurred to me that I couldn’t have done it without your help so…this means I owe you a favor. So, this is my I.O.U. to you, my dear. One favor, to be cashed in whenever you need it. Good for eternity, even after death.”
Frankie took a moment to think about what he was saying. A favor from the devil, for anything she wanted. Frankie had been around for a few of the times he had been asked a favor and had seen the results of his help. “So, if I cash in this favor, does that mean my soul would belong to you, like those others to who you gave favors?”
Lucifer frowned, “No. This is different Frankie. Those others came to me and asked for a favor, which I granted, for a price. This is a favor owed to you by me for your help. No price tag attached and no conditions either. Whenever you decide to cash this favor in, I will fulfill my promise and that will be the end of it. A clean slate, even-steven. Your soul will forever be yours.”
Frankie thought about that for a moment then she smiled, “well…in that case, thank you. I’ll have to give it some serious thought then, I don't want to waste this rare opportunity.”
Lucifer smiled, “take all the time you need my dear. We have eternity.” He paused for a moment then said, “now, let’s toast to the end of another summer…the heat reminds me too much of home.” He raised his glass and clinked it with hers.
A week later, Frankie was contacted by her Aunt Vanessa and blackmailed into leaving LA for Pine Valley, Pennsylvania. Not wanting to drag Lucifer into her aunt’s world, no matter how badly she wanted to use her favor to get rid of her aunt, Frankie didn’t tell Lucifer why she was leaving but that she hoped to be back before the new year. Little did she know that her decision to go to Pine Valley would be the beginning of the end of her life.
December 2001
Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil himself, was sitting in his usual booth at Lux just enjoying the scenery. He wasn’t quite ready to find a lovely lady for the night yet, it was still early, and he had plenty of time and no shortage of willing beauties.
It had only been a few months since his favorite human, Frankie Stone, had left Los Angeles for a place called Pine Valley at the request of her aunt. Lucifer had a bad feeling about the whole situation, but he knew he couldn’t force Frankie to stay. That pesky “gift” called free will that dear old dad had given all these humans ensured Lucifer’s influence was minimal.
Still, he missed the young girl, feeling almost like a big brother to her. She was the only woman he’d met so far that he had never had a desire to bed. Not that Frankie wasn’t attractive, but it was more that she was only 16 when he first met her and there are some lines even the Devil doesn’t cross. By the time Frankie had matured properly, Lucifer already considered her off-limits. She had seen his true nature by then and she hadn’t run screaming for the hills or turned into a blubbering mess and that made her far too special to risk losing her.
Lucifer was about to order another drink when Mazikeen, a demon from Hell and the closest thing he had to a friend now that Frankie was gone, sat down at his table with a glass of whiskey in one hand and a bottle of Macallan 21 in the other. She placed them both in front of him before she spoke.
“You might need this,” Mazikeen stated, her voice oddly reserved.
Lucifer turned to face her, his expression curious, “Why?”
“Someone…new has entered Hell.” Mazikeen didn’t normally monitor the Gates of Hell, but she had tagged a select number of humans for immediate notice if they passed through the gates. Mostly, humans who deserved to be there that she might enjoy torturing for a while but also a few who should never be there. Those humans she tagged so they could be redirected to the silver city if possible. One of those humans had crossed over and Mazikeen was dreading her self-appointed task of informing her boss. She knew he would want to be told as soon as she knew.
Lucifer eyed his demon companion; she didn’t usually care about the humans who entered Hell. “Oh? Who?” Lucifer asked, he was expecting to hear that some thoroughly rotten human had died, and Maze wanted to return to Hell to torture them.
Mazikeen took a breath then leaned in as close as she dared to considering Lucifer liked his personal space when it came to the demons he ruled over in Hell. Being on Earth didn’t really change that so Maze knew to be careful of overstepping boundaries. “Frankie.”
Mazikeen leaned back, prepared to exit the booth if necessary. She knew what Frankie meant to him, she meant something to Maze as well, being the only human who knew the truth about them meant she could really talk to the young girl, learn how to blend in a little more so that she didn’t do something careless and give away the truth.
Lucifer had a hard time processing what Maze had just said, it wasn’t possible. Frankie couldn’t be dead and in Hell of all places! She was only 19! She should’ve not only had a long life ahead of her, but she definitely shouldn’t have ended up in Hell! “What? How?” Lucifer’s eyes flashed red briefly before he got them under control.
“I don’t know. All I know is she triggered an alert when she crossed the gates. She’s in a room in her own loop.”
Lucifer downed the drink Maze had brought him before he stood up. His mind was made up. “I’ll be back. Keep an eye on things Maze.” With that, Lucifer left the club and went up to his apartment on the upper level. He stepped out onto the balcony and took a deep breath.
He was suddenly thankful he hadn’t removed his wings yet. Frankie had talked him out of it, and he shook his head at the irony of the moment, without his wings he would need Amenadiel’s help getting back to Hell.
Lucifer released his wings and took off into the sky, heading for the spot in L.A. where only celestial beings could get into Hell. He was going to get to the bottom of this and fix things. No way was Frankie staying in Hell! One way or another, Lucifer was going to fix the situation—even if he had to once again defy his father’s laws regarding humanity.