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It is rare for Lucifer to be truly at a loss for what to do. Even in the Celestial Realm, he was always the one who constantly had to save his brothers from any inevitable trouble they got themselves into. Although Lucifer would never admit it, he was a little fond of being the one to swoop in and save his loved ones from any harm, whether that be from petty arguments to genuine life or death scenarios. It made him feel like he was in control, something that Lucifer craved.
Now that Lucifer was alone, stuck in a cave, and surrounded by fog with no idea how to get out or find his friends and family, he had to admit that the rare instances where he loses that sense of control could be quite unsettling. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he took one cautious step followed by another one. The white mist covered his vision entirely, preventing him from even seeing his hand stretched out in front of him. Lucifer squinted while he slowly transversed the cave. It didn’t do anything to help his vision, but it still provided a little agency over his actions.
For now, Lucifer’s main plan was to find a way out of this cave, figure out what was going on, and find a way to dissipate the fog. If he came across his brothers or one of the others, then that would be a bonus. He briefly wondered if they were safe–if you were safe–but he quickly chased those thoughts away. Worrying would do nothing to fix the predicament he was in. Although he wanted nothing more than to get to the bottom of this and severely punish whichever creature was responsible for this, his priority was to get out of the cave.
The path in front of him cleared up, and Lucifer took a sudden step back. He balled his hands into fists and steeled himself for who, or what, would dare to cross him. You stumbled into view, and Lucifer’s arms dropped to his sides. You were safe. He let out a tiny exhale as relief coursed through his veins.
Wobbling slightly on shaky legs, you warily swung your head side to side. When you made eye contact with Lucifer, you smiled broadly. “Lucifer!” you ran forward and leaped into his arms, “I-I was so worried!” The fog closed in around the two of you, preventing him from seeing where you had come from.
Selfishly, Lucifer hugged you back. He buried his face into your shoulder and basked in your body warmth. Hidden within the expanse of the fog, he was more than tempted to allow himself the tiniest bit of vulnerability. He badly wanted to admit that he was the one who was terrified that something had happened to you and how glad he was to see that you were okay. He didn’t say any of that, though, because he knew that something was terribly, terribly wrong.
He pulled out of your embrace, “How do I know it’s really you?” His question was low and icy.
Your previous beaming face suddenly dropped, which tore Lucifer up inside. You whispered, “What do you mean? Did–did I do something wrong?” You anxiously wrung your hands together as you stared at him with wide, watery eyes.
“No, you didn’t,” Lucifer responded a little too quickly. He didn’t want to give his suspicions away so easily. He cleared his throat and continued, “It’s just that I believe a lower-level demon was masquerading as Raphael earlier. I am not certain of its intentions, nor its capabilities, so I want to ensure that–”
“I get it, I get it,” you fidgeted with the hem of your costume, “You want to make sure that I'm not an imposter. That makes sense,” you swallowed thickly, “Just, uh, give me a second to prove to you that I really am me.”
Lucifer gave a terse nod and crossed his arms as he waited for your next course of action. Slowly, you brought your hands to his face and cupped his cheeks. Lucifer stood rigid while his entire body flushed hot. You inched closer, and for one exhilarating second, he thought you were going to kiss him. You stopped short of his lips, but he could still feel your warm breath against his skin.
Your thumbs massaged circles into his cheekbones. “I love you, Lucifer,” you gazed at him with a dazed, half-lidded expression, “Is that proof enough?”
Lucifer forcefully pulled himself out of his brief trance, “Yes, that was proof enough.” He pushed you off of him, whatever ‘you’ were.
You staggered back and balked at him, “L-Lucifer…?” you yelped in a high-pitched whisper, “Why did you…?”
His expression hardened in a way that he hoped masked the painful pang in his chest. He now knew for certain some sort of creature was impersonating you, and he intended to make it pay. Lucifer aggressively stepped towards it, a whizzing purple ball of magic extending from the palm of his hand. Beads of sweat appeared on its forehead as it tried to slowly back away. It tripped on a loose piece of rock and fell onto the ground. It continued to crawl backward with short quick breaths.
“Don’t do this!” it pleaded as tears pricked in the corners of its eyes, “Please, I’m begging you!” That was just enough to cause Lucifer to hesitate and for the magic to fade from his hand. He stopped in his tracks and had to remind himself that thing just looked like you. It wasn’t you, no matter how much it cried, screamed, or shouted.
Lucifer heard someone call out your name somewhere from behind. He didn’t flinch and kept his eyes trained on the figure in front of him, who seemed as though it was about to vomit. He recognized that voice and didn’t need to look to know that Simeon had found him. That blasted angel couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Simeon ran up next to him and smiled, still a little out of breath. “You’re here, too, Lucifer,” he nodded in relief before turning toward the creature on the floor. He reached his hand out toward it, “I’m glad that you two are–” Lucifer jutted his arm in front of Simeon to block his way. “Lucifer? What do you think you’re doing?” He shouted incredulously.
“That isn’t them, Simeon,” Lucifer answered quietly, "It's an impersonator."
"Really? How do you kn–oh!" Simeon whipped his head from Lucifer over to where it was pathetically sitting on the ground. Just five seconds ago, tears were streaming down its face, but they were all dried up now, replaced with a deep and upsetting grimace. Simeon held his hands in front of his chest, "Oh, I see.
The creature rolled its eyes and swiftly stood up. Simeon took a couple of steps back while Lucifer growled under his breath. He stood on edge, steeling himself for whatever that creature would try next. It flashed a peace sign. "Well, gotta go!" It laughed and ran in the opposite direction, disappearing into the blurry expanse of the fog.
"What…" Simeon paused and chewed on his bottom lip, "...was that, Lucifer?"
Lucifer shook his head, "I suspect that it was some sort of lesser demon acting as them, but I don't know their motives behind this."
"Whatever it was, we need to stick together, so we don't get separated again."
"Yes, right now let's focus on finding a way out of this cave. We can figure out what this imposter wants later."
"That sounds fine, but," Simeon scratched his cheek, "how do you suppose we escape?"
Lucifer sighed. He could feel the wrinkles forming from all of this tension, "The only thing we can do is pick a direction and go from there."
Simeon shrugged and pointed in the opposite direction from where it had run off, "Then, I suggest we go there."
He didn't have any reason to object, so he nodded and began walking side by side with Simeon. This entire experience was uncomfortable, to say the least. Not only was he trapped inside a cave, but he was also trapped in a cave next to Simeon of all people. Lucifer spared a glance toward the angel. He was using his D.D.D. as a flashlight, but instead of using the app, he was using the screen to light the way. It kept falling asleep every ten seconds, so he continuously had to tap it to keep it on. Lucifer contemplated telling Simeon how useless he was being, but he decided to let it go. Even if Simeon had managed to get the flashlight working, it wasn't as though any sort of light could penetrate the thickness of the fog.
Lucifer and Simeon were only walking for a couple of minutes when Lucifer noticed a vague figure shrouded in the darkness standing in front of them. Simeon quickly put his D.D.D. away (without turning it off) and gripped Lucifer's shoulder, "Look, over there, is that them?"
You casually strolled out of the dark and into the small clearing that formed as Lucifer shrugged Simeon's hand off of him. You jerked your head up in brief acknowledgment, "Lucifer. Simeon. What's up?"
Lucifer internally groaned. Only you could be so nonplussed about getting lured and trapped in a cave. It infuriated him as much as it made him want to scoop you into his arms and never let go.
Simeon held his hand up to his mouth to stifle his laughter, "I've been so worried about you, and all you can say is 'what's up?’"
"Well, yeah," you kicked a random pebble. It flew away and disappeared into the white void, "I saw Barbatos and Levi earlier, and they were alright so…" you shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Simeon laughed out loud this time. He was about to walk about to you when Lucifer spoke up.
"Simeon, wait," he called out, stopping Simeon in his tracks, "I want to believe that this really is them, but we need to make sure." In all honesty, Lucifer was more than certain that you weren't the imposter. Nobody could mimic your standoffish attitude so easily like that, but he didn't want to take any chances.
You raised an eyebrow, "What?" Lucifer's chest tightened slightly, but he ignored it the best he could.
"Well, you see, earlier on we ran into an imposter masquerading as you," Simeon patiently explained, "So forgive us for being on edge."
"Oh, so, you want me to prove that I'm not an imposter?"
Simeon clapped his hands together excitedly, "That's right!"
"Cool," you pointed at Simeon, "On the day before your first birthday we celebrated together, we went to the Devil Planetarium, and you told me a story about a demon and a maiden."
Simeon's smile turned bashful as he ran his fingers through his hair, "Ah, you're, um, completely right," he chuckled slightly, "Only you'd be able to recall such an…important memory."
"And you," you flippantly gestured towards Lucifer's vague direction, "I'm pretty sure your favorite food is that Princess Poison Apple thing or whatever."
Lucifer clenched his jaw tightly when he heard Simeon snort next to him.
"Well, that's all the proof I need!" Simeon chirped as he walked over to hug you tightly, "I'm so sorry for doubting you. I'll make it up to you once we get out of here."
You stood limply in Simeon's arms until he let you go. It made Lucifer feel slightly smug, but he didn't dwell on those feelings for long. "Do you have any idea how to get out of here?" He asked you.
You shook your head, "Nah. The only thing I can suggest is that we start walking until we find a way out."
"No, if we walk around aimlessly, then we're just going to get separated again," Lucifer responded, "Let us try staying where we are for a while."
Simeon chimed in, "We tried to walk in one direction for a bit, but that wasn't particularly helpful,"
"But that's how we found each other, isn't it? So it did help."
"I suppose so…" Simeon said, "But I think Lucifer is right. If we stay here, then some of the others will find us eventually."
"Or we'll be stuck here forever in one place," you argued, tapping your foot against the ground, "It's better if we start walking."
Simeon tried to reason with you, "No, it's unsafe, especially considering how we don't know how this cave or the fog works."
Lucifer hung back, tuning out your argument with Simeon. He was too busy mulling over what happened with your impersonator earlier. He had known right away that whatever that thing was wasn't you. Its sweet words and soft, loving actions were the exact opposite of what you embodied. You were callous and harsh towards him, refusing to give him a second of attention longer than necessary.
Though it was alluring, your cold personality wasn't why he was attracted to you. Rather, he admired your confidence and can-do attitude. He was fond of your reckless nature, even when you got his brothers evolved. He even secretly loved how easily you disobeyed him: how you'd stand up to him, look him directly in the eyes, and declare with a full chest that you refused to follow any of his 'stupid and meaningless orders.'
However, Lucifer couldn't stand how clear it was that you despised him from the bottom of your heart. His chest grew heavy whenever you'd scoff, roll your eyes, or even frown at him with disdain. He wanted you to love him so badly, just as he had grown to be obsessed with you, but Lucifer knew this was all his fault. If only he had been nicer to you when you first arrived in the Devildom. He deeply regretted the times he had threatened you or attempted to take your life, for they had permanently driven a wedge between you two that Lucifer could never get rid of.
That was why Lucifer so easily succumbed to the affectionate gaze of the imposter. He leaned into 'your' warm embrace, drank in 'your' sweet, calm words, and soaked in every second of 'your' touch because he knew that he'd never get the chance to experience it again. Lucifer was so ashamed to admit that he was so desperate for your love that he willingly took it from someone he knew was trying to trick him. He let out a shuddery breath. He hated this. He hated feeling so weak, but that was how he felt whenever he was with you, and a part of him felt addicted to the feeling.
"Lucifer!"
Hearing his name snapped Lucifer back to reality. It sounded like Simeon, but he couldn't see him. The intensity of the fog around him had worsened, and he mentally scolded himself for letting himself get so distracted. The thick fog prevented him from seeing anything at all, so he stayed rooted in the same spot. Something dark moved in the corner of his eye. Lucifer snapped his head around to try to see what it was. He saw a dark mass that looked roughly like Simeon.
Lucifer could only watch as the mass tried to call out to him again, "Lu–" Simeon's voice faded into the fog, along with the rest of him. Lucifer looked around to see if you were still there, but he could see nothing but fog. You were long gone.
Once again, Lucifer was left alone.