Serenity

The smog covered most of everything, except the boat and the weird, human-goat creature overhead. The young woman sighed, not enjoying the little scenery there was. Something changed about this place since the last time she was here. Soon enough, the boat came to what ominously stood to be an obsidian castle upholding what could be mistaken as a ceiling but was actually a spell for escapees, but it served for both purposes. There was a dock for the boat on the right side of the castle, two goats with a closed third eye on each forehead stood on either side of the landing.

Serenity observed the goats and the long flight of steps she'd have to climb that sat just down the way from the dock. She left the boat quickly, annoyed by the constant grunting from the creature who manned the boat for all eternity. Wonder what this guy does for fun...

Serenity's gait was dauntless, quickly skipping up the steps, not bothering to hesitate at them and mentally complain about the steepness. When she finally came to the black and red, intricately designed doors at the top of the steps, the goats floated back to the dock, leaving her to push open the doors dramatically as air rushed out, blew into her face, and through her hair. There was only one place this pair had opened up to, escorts were no longer needed here.

She cleared her throat half nervously, half out of shortness of breath. She walked forward at a brisk pace, wanting so desperately to stop at the black desk in the middle of the room, there was water there...

"Did not know the water was allowed here now," she whispered to herself, shifting her gaze intently at the glass floor that had millions of souls scratching, fighting each other and clawing at the glass, fruitless attempts at escape. Her pace slacked a bit more as she admired the tormented souls. She looked away slowly, feeling the dark energy of the souls in every step forward, some of them following her movement beneath her.

She stopped at the desk and slapped the bell, clearing her throat as her skin began to crawl at the sound of the receptionist's scales. She appeared from green smoke, stuffing something into her mouth. "Ah, you again. It's been a long time. You look... horrible." She had a flat sound, like the dry eyes guy... or "Bueller... Bueller... Bueller," but feminine.

The reptilian female smiled and grabbed a cup, placing it on the opposite side of the desk for Serenity to fill. She walked to the water jar and poured some into the black stoneware. "Thanks."

The woman smiled, a strand of hair in her teeth. Serenity cleared her throat again and gestured to her mouth as she spoke out. "You've got a bit of, er, hair..."

The woman stopped smiling and immediately checked her handheld mirror for the remains of her lunch in her teeth. "Oh, excuse me. Anyway, what can I do for you, Serendipity?" The woman smiled again as she gingerly pulled the hair from her mouth, staring at it a bit and shoving the piece back into her mouth, a sweetened look gracing her ugly features. Serenity groaned inwardly and contorted her face into an expression of disgust.

"It's Serenity... and I need to see him. By the way, where do you keep that handheld? Does it just appear or do you have hiding places?"

"Oh... well, I never noticed where it comes from. It... just exists in my general area..."

Serenity lowered her eyes at the woman with a baffling glare as she looked down the list of names for the souls to see Luci. "Ah, Seren-"

"You know, I'm in this place a lot and I have never known your name..." Serenity looked at the squamous woman expectantly.

She smiled slightly, almost showing off a glimpse of gratitude for such a random question. No one evr asked her for her name for she was just the Devil's assistant. "My name is Gita."

"Thanks, Gita."

The scaly bitch shooed Serenity off into the direction of the "Man Downstairs" and disappeared into her smoke again. Serenity pushed open the red door to Luci's office and walked through, recalling some things about her time here a few thousand years ago. Some things were new, some out of place, and modernized just enough to fit the setting of 'American Psycho'.

"I find it rather appalling that your name is Serenity. You're not very peaceful doing the work I ask of you... And anyhow, you're not even a child of the light. I have to change it at some point. How is my little devil doing?"

She hummed in response, knowing that he wouldn't care either way. "Good answer, my little minion. What brings me the honor?"

She noted that he had not turned in his seat while he spoke as he usually does. Something was happening over there that Serenity cared nothing for but was slightly disturbed by.

"Uh, I'm not sure this time, sir. You've changed a lot of things since I've been here last, including the way you summon me back here."

He hummed, almost chuckling, but not at her.

"Maybe... er, should I come back another time, sir?" She stumbled slightly over her words, unsure of how he might react to being asked for a rain check, especially given his history with her specifically...

He flicked his left wrist at something, red smoke appeared and a hint of a zipper being pulled on could be heard.

"Now is fine. I've established a new burden for you that I need you to start on immediately. Your last burden will be dealt with. Take it and go."

Serenity sighed and got a load of the white envelope with a picture of Lucifer on the front where an address or name would normally be. This is certainly the newest and by far most shocking change here...

"Gosh, what happened to you, Lu-Lu?"

"Your mother. Get out."

A light chuckle found its way out of her mouth as she turned and left his office, coming immediately to the dock instead of the reception desk, the boat already awaiting her. She was taken back to the gate which she entered and returned to a modern world, arriving in a smokescreen of slate grey dust. She was somewhere in modern-day Oregon, close to the ocean and that was all that mattered. She didn't see the ocean again for a long time after she became what Lucifer transformed her to. She would have liked to be somewhat nice and give thanks to Lucifer for the chance to be near one this time. Maybe he did favor her.

She pulled herself from her thoughts and took one last, longing view of the ocean from the mountain she stood on. She hummed in dupe thought and looked down at the white envelope and committed the address to memory, walking into the neighborhood on the far end of the road, leading away from the ocean she desperately wanted to swim in. It stood out heavily in her mind; someone she knew lived here, but she couldn't recall the person.

She would find out soon enough.

The young demoness used an ability granted to her by Mr. Devile, a Wiccan who worked for Lucifer ever since he had fallen. She was the only demoness in her league who had mastered the art of transfer flawlessly. She quickly teleported on the front lawn of her final destination. The scent of burning sandalwood and a faint trace of apple pie permeated the air; perfect for the rainy, chilly weather. The lights were on and she could hear the sound of children playing, adults discussing various topics amongst themselves, and nostalgia. It smelled like a home she once knew...

She sighed and started to turn away, going back to beg Lucifer for another assignment, anything but what she had to do here. The door opened and Serenity looked up at the human, almost choking on her saliva.

Why did it have to be this person?

The only being in this world- in this universe- that could make her do anything without question. It was someone from her past that had altered her life in several ways, what drove her to become what she is now. Was this another change Lucifer pioneered in addition to his full Hell makeover?

"Serenity..?"

Fuck.