4. Ares

The plan seemed simple enough. Lucifer and I would powershare with Azazel, and he'd use his soulbond to find Diana. Once we arrived in whatever time period she was in, we'd camouflage with appropriate outfits and stop at nothing to bring her home.

Basically we were going to play it by ear, and hope for the best. Not my favorite plan, but I've accomplished much more with a whole lot less.

Remember that time you razed a whole city to the ground by sneezing?Voice's manic laughter hit me like a brick. You didn't need a plan to do that…

That was an epic disaster, and not something I did intentionally, I reminded him.

You fought Heracles without a plan, he said.

Yeah and he and Athena stabbed me… you're not helping…

Plan or not, this could not go south. We needed to get Diana home, no matter what. There was no room for failure.

"Ares!" my father in law shouted. "Pay attention, Azazel is going to need all the power he can get. We have no clue what time period she's in or if she cloaked her location in any way."

I cleared my throat in an effort to push my doubts away. I am Ares, God of War and Personification of Chaos. I didn't have room in my life to second guess myself, especially when it came to the love of my life. Whether she accepted it or not, she needed me. And I was gonna be there for her.

I don't doubt, I turn it out.I repeated my mantra to myself on repeat. Fake it until you make it would be my permanent state of being until I had my woman safely in her own time period, at home where she belonged.

We sat on the floor in Lucifer's barracks, holding hands in a triangle. Azazel's eyes were already turning milky white and shiny silver magic weaved around him, like opaque smoke in the air. After a couple of minutes, his entire body started to vibrate, and he inhaled a harsh gasp of air. Images assaulted my mind, like a flipping picture book. My ability to broadcast images meant that Lucifer and I saw whatever Azazel saw.

Mal spinning Diana around on a dance floor as she laughed and smiled. Strobe lights. Disco balls. Men in leather. Someone wearing cat ears. Flannel. Sweaty bodies crammed in a dark small space, writhing, dancing, jumping.

"New York City, Garment District, probably mid 1980's, if the fashion is anything to go by," Lucifer said, his deep voice cutting through the ringing in my ears. "They're at Swallows. Michael and I used to go clubbing there all the time. It's where we met Diana's mother."

I opened my eyes, returning to the here and now. That place wasn't safe, for so many reasons. It was dark, crammed. An absolute security nightmare. If her magic destabilized, she could hurt someone. Or someone could hurt her. Paranormals stayed hidden for a reason.

And what if some Leather Daddy Diana and Mal home? They look incredible and probably get hit on all the time,Voice said. They give off that two-for-one special vibe.

Shut the fuck up,I growled at him. I didn't want to think about either of them moving on. They were both mine, and nothing would change that, even me being an epic failure.

"Okay, let's bring her home," Lucifer encouraged us as he squeezed my hand.

He wasn't an overly affectionate or mushy man, unless it was toward Diana, but even that small gesture was more assurance than my actual father ever gave me. It was hope. Faith. Respect. He really believed we could pull this off, and so did I.

The room shook like an earthquake, shifting piece by piece like blocks as the room around me disappeared, changing into a dark, badly lit backstreet. The raucous noise of voices, jeering, and music came from the building we were behind. This must have been the club they were dancing in tonight.

"We need to make ourselves blend in. What do you suggest we wear?" Azazel tugged at his tank top and joggers.

Two men, clad head to toe in leather and a woman in fishnet stockings walked by, laughing at something the shorter man said.

"Okay…" I mumbled, trying to think of what to wear. Leather wasn't a hardship—I looked good in everything. Seriously, I could walk into the club in a burlap sack and still turn heads.

Walk in naked, and you'd break some necks,Voice cackled. Snap, crack.

I snapped my fingers, and Feathers' mouth dropped. Black biker boots, with black, low slung leather pants and a matching vest. The whole outfit put my carved chest on display…and my abs, all the way down to my victory belt. I added in some pierced nipples for fun, because I haven't had them pierced in a few hundred years.

"This?" I turned in a circle. "Or this?" I snapped again, and my pants were replaced by leather assless chaps. Poor Azazel was going to get dehydrated if he kept drooling like that. We needed him on his A-game.

"Put your ass away, now," Lucifer grouched. "For fuck's sake this is serious!"

"Fine." I changed back to the leather pants, and added a black bandanna around my forehead, to keep my curly hair out of my face.

You like what you see?I linked Azazel.

Huh?he said, not paying attention to what I was saying one bit as his eyes roamed up and down my body.

My eyes are up here,I teased, tipping his chin up so he wasn't staring at my victory belt any longer. I can give you a much closer look later. Let's go get LG.

Lucifer changed into a black blazer, a crisp white tee, and black jeans. Feathers opted for parachute pants and a matching windbreaker, because why not? We'd probably never get another chance to wear this style again.

Did we look ridiculous? Yes. Was it worth it to get Diana home safely? One hundred percent.

When we walked into the club, we followed Lucifer's lead. It was packed wall to wall with people dancing, gyrating, and doing much more scandalous things in dark corners of the club. Rainbow banners and strobe lighting decorated the rafters. The bar stools were upholstered in ROY G BIV fashion, complete with glitter legs.

"This was the hottest LGBTQ club in the 80's and 90's. It moved to Brooklyn in the early 2000s," Lucifer said. "They have a really good mango margarita."

We made our way to the bar, taking a red, orange, and yellow stool respectively. A lady with a bullring in her nose and strong gothic doll vibes got us our drink orders.

"I feel Diana. She's definitely here," Zaz whispered to me.

I used to envy him because he got to share something as profound as a soulbond with her. But right now, I was so thankful he had some kind of link to her, period.

"The best plan of action is to sit here and blend in. They'll come to the bar eventually and we'll close in on them. The extra people will serve as camouflage," I reasoned, sipping my tropical tequila punch. The alcohol in this was strong enough to level a mortal after two.

We sat at the bar, doing our best to blend in. After a half hour, we finally saw Michael. He led a gorgeous red headed woman and a tall, black haired man to the bar. They were laughing, touching each other in ways that made it clear that their little trio would eventually move to somewhere more private. Michael whispered something in the woman's ear and her pale skin pinked, from her cheeks all the way to her collarbone.

Michael's got some serious game,Voice said, astounded. Get it, grouchy feathers.Seems like when it comes to men, he has a type…

I took another look at the man Michael was with…he did resemble Lucifer. They had the same dark hair, stubble, and height. But whereas Lucifer had a built physique, this man was slimmer, with compact muscles. A low growl came from my left, and I realized that Lucifer noticed too. He got up from his seat, his entire body tensing as smoke billowed from his ears. He was going to completely blow our cover.

"Lucifer, don't," Feathers warned him. "We don't want to make a scene or be noticed…"

I grabbed his arm, which he promptly shrugged off. "Lucifer, this is our only chance to bring your daughter home in one piece."

He took a deep breath, then another. I saw his body lose tension, and the smoke billowing from his ears stopped. He sat down, taking a deep sip of his drink.

Then Michael kissed the black haired man and our entire plan went to shit. He popped out of his seat and stormed over to them, pulling him away from the couple by the back of his neck. Feathers and I followed him in case we had to help him hide a body or two.

"Hello darling. Do you want to introduce me to your friends," he seethed.

Michael's jaw dropped to the floor. His skin paled, almost matching his blond hair. The man and woman he was with froze. They may not know Lucifer Morningstar, but even a mere mortal could sense pure evil.

"Luci, you need to leave," Michael gritted out. "Now!"

Lucifer's eyes turned red, zeroing in on the couple. Their jaws went slack as their eyes zoned out. "No, they have to leave. Now."

The couple's eyes glossed over, their brains going offline as they mindlessly followed Lucifer's orders. Without argument, they hit the road. I'd seen his mind control powers in action with Diana's douchebag ex, but still felt a sense of awe watching the most powerful supernatural being of our time at work.

"So for hundreds of years, you can fuck around with whoever you want and break my heart a million times over. But as soon as I decide I'm finally done with you and move on, that's not okay?" Michael snarked. "Unbelievable. You'll never appreciate me or see my worth, but heaven forbid I find someone who does." He threw his hands in the air.

"Michael I swear to—" Lucifer started.

"Um, can you two argue later? We came to take Diana home," I interrupted. The longer they bickered, the easier it would be for our entire plan to go to shit.

"I think that's for the best. Her heart is broken, and I told her she had a week until we had to go back home. But we need to go back to our time period asap. She's having some issues with her magic." Michael wrang his hands together as he scanned the crowded club for his daughter.

"But you and Mal are fine?" Azazel asked.

"Mal is fine as far as I know. I'm just starting to have some stability issues, especially when using more involved types of magic." Michael worried his bottom lip.

"If Diana's magic is starting to destabilize, then she's a danger to everyone here. We need to split up and search for her. Lucifer and me. Azazel and Michael. Is Mal going to be an issue?" I asked Michael.

"As long as you all don't further hurt or upset Diana, no. He's fiercely protective of her, but he knows we overstayed our welcome."

"Okay, let's go." I clapped my hands together and took off to the center of the dance floor. We could work our way out from there.

I stood still, snaking my magic through the crowd as a feeler. I felt something. It was her signature, but it was stale. Off. Diana's magic always had a strong, steady presence after she learned to control it more, but now it crackled and fizzed the way soda did after you poured it from the bottle.

I motioned for Lucifer to follow me as we weaved our way through the crowd. Off to the left was Diana, dancing with her arms around Mal's neck. He bent down slightly to whisper in her ear as his hands rubbed her hips.

Found her, about two hundred feet from the exit sign near the women's restroom,I linked Azazel.

They swayed to the music with eyes for no one but each other. As if they had forgotten about me. About our family and the enemy we had to destroy to save the world.

"Your fists are crackling. You'll burn this place down if you're not careful." Lucifer warned me.

"Mhm," I grunted. The pain of seeing them so happy together when the rest of us worried so much over her grated me raw.

"All of you have royally fucked up with my daughter. But you can't stop trying to fix it," Lucifer said. "If she can forgive Mal, she can find room in her heart to forgive you, too. All of you."

"I hope so."

A high power blast of magic made the whole room shake. The decorations fell off the rafters, and some of the strobe lighting smashed on the floor. Then another one ripped through the room. It was Diana's signature, even though it felt extremely raw. The lights started to flicker, plunging the room into moments of complete darkness. There was a beat of silence before people started stampeding toward the exits.

The lights went back on, and Mal was on the floor, holding an unconscious Diana. His nose bled all the way down to his chin, pooling on his shirt, and his own power signature started deteriorating at a rapid rate. Fuck plans. Fuck thinking. I ran up to them, scooping her into my arms. Her head lolled to the side, mouth wide open as another burst of magic hit the ceiling.

"Ares what the fuck?! How did you find us?" Mal shouted over people"s frantic screaming.

"We'll talk about everything later," I promised him. And we would when we were safe at home. I was furious with him for being in danger like this. "Come on, we gotta find the others. Try to do something to neutralize this magic."

Mal erected a shield around us, which did little to help. Every time a bolt of magic left her, it broke through or damaged it enough that it wouldn't work.

Feathers, I got them. We need to leave.

We're together, near the front door. It's crumbled, and we're trapped. We need to meet at their apartment, he linked me.

Take us to your apartment, now!I shouted. Blood poured from Diana's nose and it stood starkly against her pale skin.

Mal grabbed both our hands, and within seconds we were sprawled out in the middle of his living room.

"Diana!" Michael shouted, running over to her. He threw himself on the floor, going straight to work on trying to heal her. "This damage is too bad for just me. We need a team of healers. She has to go home."

"No!" She screamed as a burst of magic tore through the ceiling. "I can't go back there."

She cried, but I doubt it was because of the pain she was in—Diana was much too strong to succumb to that. She cried because of her broken heart…a heart I had a role in breaking.

I picked her up off the floor, cradling her to my body. "Yes you can, Little Goddess. It's where you belong."

Azazel instructed us to link our hands, so I threw Diana over my shoulder so I'd have a free hand. As we traveled back to our own time, I prayed to the cosmos that she would be fine. That the timeline would be as it always was. And that there was a way she could forgive us all.