seaoftroubles | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

okteiviakom

"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.

From:

betterthanaplan

"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.

From:

my_own_advocate

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.

From:

okteiviakom

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.

From:

betterthanaplan

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?

From:

my_own_advocate

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."

From:

okteiviakom

"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.

From:

seaoftroubles

Duke slowly stood, peering over the edge of Lucifer's wing. Nathan followed suit shortly after.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Welcome home," Dwight muttered. He was giving Lucifer the fish eye. "Seriously? Wings?"

"There was a tornado here!" Jennifer said. "Now there is no tornado! Seems like a bigger issue!"

From:

my_own_advocate

Lucifer shot Dwight a pointed look back. "Your counterpart had a lot less trouble handling 'angel, not human'," he said as he straightened himself. "Do try and keep up."

From:

okteiviakom

"Guessing this is a trouble thing," Octavia told Jennifer in a flat rasp as she was straightening up. "Like they said, welcome to Haven."

She hated it here.

From:

seaoftroubles

"If he's the Devil, why does't he have horns?" Dave asked, rushing over towards Duke.

"Don't be foolish, Dave!" Vince said, coming up behind him. "The Devil was always one of the angels!"

"Back to the tornado," Duke said. "This been happening a lot?"

"No," Dwight said, still side-eyeing Lucifer, but setting his questions about the man aside. "No, this is something new."

"Alright people!" Jordan barked. "Take Nathan and Crocker to the safe house and sit on them!"

Aaaaand here came the men with guns again.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia automatically tried putting herself between Duke and the nearest gun.

"Seriously? You think that's even remotely an option?"

From:

my_own_advocate

Lucifer, his wings already retracting into his back, had much the same idea. Though it involved standing in front of both of them, seemingly casual.

He was not.

"And we've had the gun conversation," he said patiently, "If you don't put them aside, I will take them from you."

From:

betterthanaplan

“Those two have already ruined one chance I had to be normal,” Jordan hissed. “I’m not letting them do it again!”

“To be clear,” Duke said. “I was for Audrey going in the Barn.”

“You shot me!”

“You shot Nathan!”

“Hold up!” Dwight ordered. “You saw what happened at the bookstore this morning! I found another body down at the beach and whatever that was? I need Nathan and Duke’s help.”

From:

okteiviakom

"You're not putting them in a cage for that."

Yes, she was kind of awkwardly half behind Lucifer. No, that wasn't going to stop her glaring at everyone.

From:

my_own_advocate

"There's not really a scenario where this ends with any of you walking off with Duke," Lucifer agreed. "Mr. Failure to Rise over there, on the other hand, I can take or leave."

From:

betterthanaplan

“Nobody is walking off with anybody,” Duke said. “My partners and I are here to help find Audrey, that’s it.”

“That’s all I’m here for too,” Nathan said.

“You want me to convince the Guard you’d do anything for Haven?” Vince asked. “Even die? Maybe start smaller. Start now.”

Nathan scowled. “Fine.”

“Okay!” Duke clapped his hands. “Right. We’ll go solve the trouble. Jennifer, this might take a minute. You want to crash at . . . well, the Gull will be closed, but the apartment upstairs should be okay. . . .”

“Is it safe there?” Jennifer asked. “I just want to be safe. Away from guns and tornadoes.”

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia hesitated for half a beat.

And then rasped, "That's going to be relative everywhere in this town." Sorry, but she did not have the best impression. Especially not right now. "But I can go with you."

She looked from Duke to Lucifer, and back again.

"If you two stick together."

From:

my_own_advocate

"Wasn't actually planning to leave him to the wolves," Lucifer said.

If people kept ignoring him around here, he really was going to start throwing them.

From:

betterthanaplan

“Fine, whatever,” Dwight said, as Vince started order the Guard to check the surrounding area for casualties. “We’ll head to the police station, I can show you guys what I’ve got so far.”

Duke let out a tiny sigh. “Home sweet home,” he muttered.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia tried to catch his gaze.

"I mean it, jaka," she said, quieter and just a little bit softer than she'd said anything since -- well, since they'd ended up here. "Yu na kamp raun oso skaifaya, ait?"

So no, Lucifer, it wasn't your part in this she had any worries about. Haven had a way of getting to Duke.

From:

betterthanaplan

It did, and Duke knew it.

But he wouldn't be able to avoid it.

"Sha, gona," he said, meeting her eye. "Skaifaya en ai throu daun ogeda."

Dwight frowned. "What is that, Arabic?"

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia ignored him, and just nodded at Duke, appeased. She sent another look Lucifer's way (still softer, still letting some of that part of herself show through), then turned to Jennifer, faintly squaring her shoulders.

"Time to go."

From:

seaoftroubles

[note to self, maybe switch out language guesses on that last ping, Dwight would be used to hearing Arabic in Afghanistan]

Jennifer nodded a little jerkily, then flicked Duke a smile and hurried over to her. Octavia had very quickly come to mean "safety" in her head. Something about the woman just radiated "fuck with me and I will murder you". "Thanks."

Duke smiled back, the very image of a protective older brother, then looked at Dwight. "Lead the way, 'Squatch."