From a Different Angle

A Small Trip to A New Contract Part 3

I woke up to the sound of gears turning and the smell of oil surrounding me. For a brief second I believed that I was working in some factory, but as I looked around the "Romantic" room and saw Lucifer fixing up his busted arm I realized where I was.

"Slept well your all mightiness? Gotta say, for someone who outran so many mercenaries and death in general you sleep like a baby"

Lucifer said with as much sass as I could take at this time in the morning. I forgot that he was part robotic, and I had broken his arm to pieces the day before.

"Yeah yeah, make fun of me because I can actually get some proper sleep will you. How's the arm? Manage to fix it yet?"

I asked with both curiosity and worry in my tone. I knew I destroyed it to the last bit during our duel and may have caused some damage to the guy but I also wanted to know just where in the hell did he manage to get the parts to fix it to begin with.

"Wouldn't call it fixed but the damn thing can pick up stuff and punch people. Just about what I'll need in order to get around for a while."

He said as the mechanical arm rotated slowly until a loud click was heard and then it started behaving like a normal human arm. First thing Lucifer did was grab a nearby pillow and throw it at me as hard as he could.

"Hey come on that's not nice. You know you can't just throw items at peop-"

I wasn't able to finish my sentence before having another pillow thrown at me twice as hard, hurting a lot for such a fluffy and soft thing. Lucifer burst out in a small chuckle before standing up and grabbing his shirt then throwing me a bundle of new clothes.

"Put them on. We got places to go and people to avoid. Don't want to leave this planet with some high rank officer chasing us down"

"Aye aye captain. What time is it anyway?"

I responded back to him as I grabbed my phone to look at the time, barely seven in the morning. Scarlet said she would be at the place at nine, meaning we had time to spare at the moment. Regardless, laying low at a bar before being picked up did not sound so bad. I grabbed the clothes, took them to the bathroom, showered quickly then changed. They were some earth like clothes, simple black jeans, some trashy band tee and a rather nice denim jacket. I came out after a minute to see Lucifer changed into another outfit as well, but it was different than mine. He had a raider sort of clothing, and he purposely made his hair look as if he just went through hell.

"Damn. You really going for that edgy apocalypse look I see. Meanwhile you got me looking like a soft emo"

I said with a slight chuckle

"Gotta blend in with the crowd until we are out of the woods. Even if it means looking like a savage, it's far better than leaving a trail of bodies behind."

I nodded in agreement as I walked over to the trash can and threw my old clothes in it. I sighed and stretched out as I looked back at Lucifer still letting out a soft chuckle

"The bar isn't too far. We should be able to get a drink or two before hitting the road. Should wake us up enough to barter our prices with the red queen"

I said with air quotes, not taking the situation as seriously as I should.

"I am good, I would prefer to get some food actually but I think that can wait until afterwards. Let's focus on getting there first. Teleporting is out of the question since it's a quick downhill into being targeted so we gotta keep our heads low."

He said sternly, giving out orders rather than talking to me at this point.

"I know the drill. I may be an i***t but I didn't survive out of sheer luck out there."

I hissed back at him

"Wasn't saying it's luck but I believe having a game plan is better than throwing ourselves into the jaws of danger"

He responded like the voice of reason, if the voice of reason also sounded like a tired father done with their energetic children doing something stupid.

"Yeah. Yeah. Let's get going, don't draw attention to ourselves and don't cause a fifth world war I know"

I responded back to him as I turned off the lights and left a small tip for the housekeeper who would eventually clean the room.

We made our way out of the place without any fuss besides the person at the front asking about whether or not "you guys did it?" And also asking about details. Luckily Lucifer did not kill anyone and we were able to leave without blowing up the place. We started making our way out of the Red Light district and eventually we were back on the bar. It was silent like the day before, nothing changed besides a new face here and there. I checked the time, barely eight so we had some time to kill before Scarlet picked us up. We sat at the bar and I ordered two apple juices for us, something to kill the hunger.

"Glad to see you alive stranger. Specially after your little encounter with Lady mercenary"

The bartender said with a slight smile, a bit more charismatic than when we first met.

"Yeah, I am too. Lot happened yesterday so I was just glad I was able to get some rest."

I responded before taking a sip of the drink, followed by Lucifer doing the same. The bartender quickly took notice of my new friend

"You guys friends? Don't remember seeing you around. Gotta say, for someone who looks rather harmless you are hanging out with someone who looks like he went through a war"

Lucifer let out a soft chuckle as he drank his juice, drinking it all in one chug then setting the glass down

"Brother you wouldn't know half of it, but I'll take that as a compliment"

He said with a sigh as he looked at the time then taking a glance around the room for what I assume any could be hostiles but the bar was rather empty and any people there were minding their own business.

"Don't mind him, he is a half cup of water empty sort of guy."

"Then I am guessing you are the half cup of water full sort of guy. Ying and yang sort of thing."

He responded back to me as he cleaned some glasses

"Nah, I am more of a there is water in the cup. I'll take whatever life gives me, whether it's a traumatic event or a new person to be friends with"

I said sincerely, sure I could make life whatever I wanted and sure I could just make it all easy for me but then where would the human spirit go? What sort of dull life would that be? It would be no better than sitting down in an office all day with nothing better to do.

"One more corny line about friendship and I swear, my foot will go up your ass."

Lucifer said with a slight chuckle, shaking his head towards me then stretching his arms out followed by a yawn. I giggled lightly, knowing that I was able to befriend what could be my worst enemy if I remained as God gave me a sense of Irony I didn't expect. The bartender simply refilled his glass as he looked at both of us.

"You two gotta be one of the more entertaining pairs that have come to this place. Not gonna lie to you kid, I expected you to die out there yesterday. You seemed too naive and innocent for a planet like this but seeing you come back and with a friend that looks like that it reminds me why I opened this bar. To have a little place for adventures to stop and relax for a bit. Enjoy your drinks, they are on the house. A little something for reminding an old guy like me what it means to be an adventurer."

Lucifer and I looked at each other a bit confused, we did nothing but joke and tease one another since we walked inside the bar. Neither of us were sure as to what we did to make him decide to give us free drinks and talk to us like legendary adventurers.

"Are you sure? I don't know, I don't feel right taking a drink without paying."

I said still unsure about the decision that was being made by this man

"Its all good with me. Just promise me that you'll stop by once in a while, don't ask how but I feel like you'll bring a lot more people with you next time you are here. You'll have a party to go on adventures with, and I'll be happy to sell you some drinks then."

"If that's what you wish for then I'll abide. Thank you sir, I'll make sure to return here eventually"

I responded back, shyly accepting the offer as Lucifer drank his juice with no remorse in his mind. Meanwhile I took a minute to drink it, savoring every drop of it as it was now a gift from someone rather than a simple item I could buy.

"Come on. We gotta get going, otherwise our contractor may think we aren't taking the job"

Lucifer said as he stood up from his stool, I nodded back and looked back at the bartender one last time for reassurance that he did not want me to pay. He nodded with a smile then spoke.

"On your way brother. There is many things that await you in the future. Just don't forget to stop by once in a while"

I nodded with a determined look then quickly followed Lucifer out the door, taking one more glance back as I saw the man turn around and look at an old framed picture on the wall that displayed what seemed to be a group of people posing for a picture. He smiled, then gently wiped a tear from his eye as he remembered what I assumed were his glory days.