seaoftroubles | Preplay, ep 4x01 Fall Out

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Preplay, ep 4x01 Fall Out

Duke already did the very first scene, so the trick here will be to connect him -- and Luce and Tavi -- to Jennifer. I'm thinking that maybe, the same way I relocated Duke's mom to Baltimore, Jennifer could be in Baltimore for handwavy reasons, too? And she could go see this new therapist in town. Who listens to her story about hearing voices, recognizes the same things Duke has told her about the meteor storm and the barn, and goes "uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so here's a thing you probably don't want to hear and I might lose my license but can I put you in contact with someone?" and clues Duke in?

Duke talks to Jennifer, figures she must be troubled, and tries to contact Haven again -- this time getting through only to be told that Duke Crocker's been dead for six months. He calls Dave, who he finally gets to listen, and finds out that Nathan is on the run. He talks Lucifer and Octavia into coming with him and Jennifer up to Maine to see if they can find Nathan and Audrey and find out what's going on

They find Nathan outside a biker bar, letting people punch him for money. Jennifer is apalled. Octavia is, I'm guessing, unimpressed. Maybe Lucifer makes the first move to say "hi" instead of Duke? I can totally see Duke getting ready to go over and Lucifer being all like "NAH LET ME GET A SHOT IN, THEN" and getting Nathan's attention

Arrival in Haven. Jennifer has caught Nathan up on what she heard from the barn bout how to end the troubles forever. There's a welcoming committee in town made up of Guardsmen with guns, led by Jordan. Duke catches Jennifer up on who's who in the crowd as the Teagues and Dwight show up to try to defuse the situation. Nathan tells the Guard that he's going to get Audrey to kill him to end the troubles forever. Enter a MFING TORNADO. Everyone takes cover, Vince convinces the Guard to clear out and let Nathan help defuse the weather trouble, Dwight offers to take folks back to the station to clue them in

I'm picturing the group splitting up here. Duke gets Jennifer to head to the Gull to get something to eat while he and Nathan work on the trouble. Octavia could go with her, show her the way to the Gull, maybe meet Wade? Or would she be unwilling to leave Duke with Nathan and Dwight? I'm guessing Lucifer will go to the station to find it deeply country and lacking in comparison to the LAPD. Anyway, either way, Dwight gives Nathan and Duke (and anyone who tagged along) a rundown on the weather events happening in town. Nathan remembers about Marion and her weather trouble. They decide to go check it out.

At Marion's house. There's a GIANT FUCKING STORM overhead, so it's hard to miss. Nathan, Duke, and Dwight go in to try to talk to Marion, but it's like the inside of an over-clocked meat locker. Ice and frost coat every surface. Dwight and Duke are immediately shivering. Nathan can't feel it though and sends them out so he can talk Marion down. This might be a fun place for Lucifer to step in and help out? I kind of like the idea of freshly capable of saying ILU Lucifer seeing a woman completely freezing up over her loved one's death. Nathan tells her that she has to learn to let go, uses his own example of not being willing to let Audrey go and thus ruining the end of the troubles as an example for this. Lucifer . . . responds like Lucifer? Anyway, Marion is eventually talked down (though not before trying to freeze Nathan solid). Meanwhile, outside, Dwight, Duke, Vince, and Dave watch the storm head towards town and lightning blow up Dave's old camper van

At the Gull: Duke expected it to be closed down since he wasn't around to run things even over the phone for six months (also they think the owner is dead), but the place is hopping. If Octavia has come with Jennifer, then maybe she texted? Maybe the text got lost/delayed due to Marion or maybe Duke is less nonplussed on arrival, either way. Anyway. Wade shows up all "OMG DUKE YOU'RE ALIVE" and Duke is all "oh fuck my brother is here, we have a killer trouble and he's a total nincompoop, he's doomed"

At some point during/after all this, Duke tells Lucifer and Octavia he needs to stick around at least until they find out what happened to Audrey. Nathan is a self-destructive wreck, Haven has lost its collective goddamned mind and appointed DWIGHT as chief of police, it's a shitshow! He brings them to his in-Haven boat (Lucifer is unimpressed with its tininess I'm guessing), and they talk about being stuck in yet another shit situation in someone's homeworld.

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Jordan stared at his hand on her wrist, then at Lucifer. “You can’t feel it?”

She looked like that fact might make her knees buckle.

“What does she mean?” Jennifer asked Duke.

“Jordan’s like — a human taser. Her touch hurts most people. That’s her trouble. Luce . . . isn’t most people.”

"Whatever weird little trouble you have?" Lucifer asked, as he let her wrist slip from his fingers. "No. I'm not human, darling."

Octavia's eyes darted from Lucifer to Duke.

He didn't think it was necessarily the best idea to advertise that part, either, right? Even here, where 'human' could be a relative thing.

Duke didn’t love it, but he was under no illusions about how long Lucifer would be willing to keep it under wraps.

“Yep, that’s right,” he said. “My boyfriend is the literal Devil. Surprising possibly none of you.”

Dave blinked, mouth open. Vince frowned, but nodded slowly. Jordan looked like she wanted to cry, and Nathan looked stoic as ever.

Dwight shook his head. “What.”

The chances of reeling in Lucifer in any way were small to none, yes.

Lucifer adjusted his jacket. "As I said, I'm Lucifer Morningstar, nice to meet you," he said, "Now can we please all stop attempting to put holes in one another? There's at least one or two humans here I actually care about."

Octavia looked briefly unimpressed.

Then she shifted in place just a little, making sure Jennifer was still behind her. She wasn't exactly convinced this revelation - as much as the people around them actually even believed it - wouldn't make anyone more likely to try any stupid moves.

“That’s fine,” Jordan growled, collecting herself. “Just give me Wuornos and the rest of you can go.”

“You start shooting,” Dwight said, pulling off his vest, “the only one you’ll hit is me. That what you want, Jordan?”

Jordan snarled and threw her hands up in disgust.

“You told us Duke was in the Barn with Audrey,” Vince said to Nathan, a dark tone in his voice. “When it was destroyed!”

“He was,” Nathan said, then raised his voice, talking to the whole crowd. “Which means Audrey is still alive!”

The Guardsmen reacted in shock, lowering their guns and muttering amongst themselves.

"And it's all you'll be able to get him to talk about for the forseeable future, trust me," Lucifer said.

“Quiet!” Vince ordered, and the muttering amongst the Guardsmen stopped.

He was clearly the man in charge here.

“Where is she?” he asked. Nathan shook his head.

“That’s why I came back. To find her.” Nathan scanned the crowd. “Audrey and I are going to end the troubles!”

Lucifer sighed, shifting back until he found Duke. "We need to design some kind of drinking game around that obsession of his."

Octavia, for her part, was finally looking at Nathan again.

It wasn't just to avoid making any comments on who else might share his obsession. (She was trying very hard not to think about that. Had been trying the entire time they'd been here.)

“We all want the troubles to end,” Duke said, flicking Lucifer a frown. “Audrey’s our best bet for that.”

“Yeah,” Jordan said, glaring at him. “Her going into the Barn. Look how well that went.”

“There’s another way,” Nathan said. He angled his head towards Jennifer. “This is Jennifer. She’s troubled, connected to the Barn somehow. She heard Audrey and Howard talking.”

Jennifer fidgeted, looking uncomfortable, and shot a glance at Octavia.

Octavia caught it from the corner of her eye, but her gaze was flicking through the crowd around them.

"And talking's all you're going to do with her, either," she announced, her voice like gravel. "So don't get any funny ideas."

"Octavia's very stabby," Lucifer added helpfully.

He tossed Duke another look.

"I'm more 'throw-y', if anyone's going to get any funny ideas about making me take his histrionic nonsense seriously."

"Jennifer?" Nathan prompted, studiously ignoring Duke's partners. Jennifer swallowed and nodded slowly.

"Howard told Audrey that there was another way that she could end the troubles." Her voice wobbled, showing her nerves. "Not just for 27 years, but for-forever."

Vince frowned, listening intently. "How?"

"By killing the person she loves the most."

"Now that sounds downright Shakespearian," Lucifer muttered.

Was it bad that Octavia's first instinct was to wonder whether that person wasn't Audrey herself?

(Her opinion on Audrey had really tanked after Duke's last visit. She couldn't help it.)

She said nothing. Just looked tense.

That was as good a guess as any, really.

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” Jordan asked.

“Nathan’s telling the truth,” Dave said. “That’s exactly what Arla said when Vince and I were holding her prisoner!”

“So you can kill me, Jordan,” Nathan said. “Get your revenge. Get to live the rest of your life troubled. Last touch you will ever get to feel will have been mine.”

“Well,” Duke said, pointing. “Lucifer’s. Technically.”

"Honestly I'd be happy to go back and touch her more thoroughly just to spite you," Lucifer added, "But I think my partners would be upset."

He was not entirely sure who was the enemy here, but he was beginning to lean towards 'everyone except the spooked deer they picked up earlier'.

At least he and Octavia were largely in agreement about that?

... She still cast a dry little glance Lucifer's way after he spoke.

Edited 2022-01-15 18:06 (UTC)

Jordan let out a horrified noise that didn’t entire cover the sheen of longing in her expression.

“I will find Audrey!” Nathan said, doing his best to ignore all of them now. “I’ll convince her to kill me. The troubles will end forever!”

... Oh. Of course that was what he thought.

Well.

"Least you can do is let him try."

"It would fix multiple problems," Lucifer agreed.

“You expect us to believe this?” Jordan asked.

“Hey! Crazytown!” Duke wasn’t nearly as . . . enthusiastic as his partners about this plan, but he masked it well. “You know Nathan. You all do! All he’s ever wanted to do is protect Haven! And he’s willing to give his life to do that.”

Or, you know, he had a death wish after being on the run for six months. Six, half-dozen, yadda yadda.

Octavia's head turned to watch him. For what was really the first time since they'd gotten here, ended up in this ambush situation. It was easy for her and Lucifer to say these things, and much, much less so for him. She knew that.

But she was filing all of that away for later. For now, she was impassive.

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard

Re: Haven streets, the whole gang plus Dwight, Jordan, Vince, and the Guard