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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"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.

Lucifer wasn't nearly as thoughtful. He just snorted loudly.

Duke's jaw twitched, but he didn't look over at them.

"That's the craziest thing I ever heard!" Dave said.

"Crazier than any of the other shit that's been going on around here?" Duke asked, spreading his arms. "And Nathan's saying he can end all that! And he's willing to give his life to do it." He dropped his arms in a shrug, looking at the gathered gang. "What do you all have to lose by letting him try?"

This was, quite possibly, the stupidest thing he'd ever had to argue in favor of.

Lucifer reached into his jacket and pulled out his flask. What? He had an exceptionally hard time coming up with a reason to get in the middle of this.

Because seriously. It was Nathan. What did they have to lose, exactly?

Of course, as he lifted his chin to take the big, contemplative sip of whiskey he deserved, his eye felt on something else. Something... grey and windy and ominous.

"Hm," he said, lowering the flask. "Hello, inconvenient plot device..."

Edited 2022-01-15 21:50 (UTC)

Octavia's eyes darted to Lucifer, then --

The sky.

She had a bad feeling, like the air shifting around them, and her hands reached back on instinct, blindly. One for Duke, one for Jennifer.

Duke frowned at them both -- just before the sky abruptly darkened further. Just off in the distance up the hill, a funnel cloud started to form over a church steeple.

"What the hell is that?" Duke muttered, not even realizing he was speaking.

Nathan, on the other hand, snapped into cop mode. "Take cover. Everyone, take cover!"

Duke spun, scooping Jennifer up with one arm and tugging on Octavia with the other, darting for the nearest, biggest truck to duck behind as debris filled the air.

Edited 2022-01-15 22:14 (UTC)

And left Lucifer as the only man standing upright, flask still in hand as he stared up into the clouds with a frown. "I didn't realize Maine had tornado season," he said, sipping from his flask as a chunk of metal flew right past his head.

"Lucifer!"

It wasn't that Octavia - huddled behind the truck, now - wasn't perfectly aware that nothing here was likely to have any power to hurt him. It was reflex, to still feel like he should get the hell out of the way of a tornado.

Not to mention any extra cover he might have been able to provide. But that thought was so secondary it barely registered.

"What the hell is he doing?!" Nathan asked.

Duke pressed himself against the side of the truck and peered over. "I told you, he's the actual Devil."

The funnel was getting long now, kicking up even more debris, and shaking the church on its foundations. The steeple creaked, and started to fall.

"I DON'T LIKE IT HERE!" Jennifer shouted.

Lucifer looked up at the church, and then back behind himself, at the others. At the church again, and-- "Bloody hell," he snarled, rushing towards the group by the tank.

He wasn't really thinking much, beyond that the truck didn't offer a lot of upwards cover, and he wasn't sure where all that steeple debris would be going, and--

His wings unfolded from his back, spreading wide above the humans huddled behind all that metal and tires and whatnot. "Get down," he snapped.

Octavia swore in Trig, not that anyone was likely to hear it through the noise of everything around them.

She was yanking Duke down, yes.

Duke let her, making sure that Jennifer was in the most protected spot in the middle of the huddle. Nathan and Dwight, who'd both taken cover with them, spent a moment just gaping like fish before the crash of the steeple had them ducking down for cover, too.

And, well, if the Teagues did their own gaping and cursing from behind their truck as well, that was their own business.

Duke looked up at Lucifer, thanks and love in his eyes. "If this thing touches down. . . ?"

He knew he and Octavia would make it out okay, thanks to Lucifer. But could he cover all of them?

Angel wings were large and strong. They stretched out across the length of the lot of them, though Lucifer would make no apologies about the fact their more tapered edges covered Dwight and Nathan, while the broad midsections shielded the rest of them.

"I have it handled, thank you," Lucifer said, tense. "Though I can't say much for this suit, and that's a bloody tragedy."

"We can worry about your clothes later!" Octavia yelled, looking past the edge of his wing at the sky, where the funnel was now right above them --

And then just... slid over them?

And began to dissipate into nothing as it moved towards the water in the distance, until it was just gone, and the sky was clear again.

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