seaoftroubles | The New Girl preplay

Directly off the end of last episode! Jordan decides to murder Nathan since Audrey isn't Audrey. There's a fight and lots of running and shouting. Eventually Lexi fires into the air to get everyone to stop. Duke says he can maybe clear things up if he talks to Vince, and gets Vince to agree to not kill Nathan right away so they can make Lexi fall in love with him and kill him instead.

So basically, DUKE STALLS LIKE WOAH

Vince decides the best way to get Lexi in love with Nathan is to have her tag along on a trouble investigation like Audrey did. They head out to a case where a kid flipped his lid and tried to kill his girlfriend on a date, only to end up locked in a freezer. Nathan, Lexi, and Duke go to face him down, and see him end up slitting his own throat.

Duke ends up leading the questioning of the kid's girlfriend, because Nathan is being all strong silent type. Signs point to a hospitalized kid named Tyler being involved, he's in the hospital because he was paralyzed in a big car accident both the victim and his girlfriend were also in. Lexi just wants food. Duke is all "Nathan, come on, I know you have no game BUT THIS IS THE WOMAN YOU LOVE. SORT OF."

Duke and Nathan question Tyler while Lexi goes to get a CT scan. Tyler says that he felt like he was out of control when Katie looked at him, like she's troubled. Nathan gives the kid his card, and then Duke gives him a little "prescription" for free drinks at the Gull.

Meanwhile, Katie throws herself in front of a car. Fun!

Duke gets Jennifer to go home for awhile. If anyone goes with her, they may get to see Jordan hit on Wade. If not . . . that'll just happen off screen. I'm guessing Luce and Tavi will be stuck to Duke for most of this?

Lexi says maybe it's Tyler because Josh and Katie were clearly getting it on behind his back. They all go back to the hospital, but find a dead orderly instead of Tyler. Duke goes to find a nurse -- this is where he gets possessed, and possibly where we start to go our own way because he has actual loved ones around who worry about him in our version.

Tyler-in-Duke sidetracks Lexi and Nathan and locks them in a walk in cooler. He tries to dodge Luce and Tavi too. I'm guessing it doesn't work well.

Perhaps they take him back to the Gull? He manages to get a minute alone with Wade to get the idea to kill his own body so he can stay in Duke's. He manages to get away from Luce and Tavi somehow and heads for the hospital, possibly with a very confused Jennifer in tow.

Lexi (and probably immune Lucifer?) heads in to deal with Tyler and keep him from murdering anyone, only to at the last minute "chicken out" and let Tyler try to kill his own body. This sets off Duke's trouble, which override's Tyler's trouble, saving Duke from the possession. Hurray!

Duke manages to pull Lexi aside at the Gull to point out that Audrey totally would have known what would have happened, and she admits to only pretending to be Lexi. Show ends here. Pretty sure Duke will want to stick around to try to clear things up/get rid of Wade, and this is where Lucifer and Octavia DRAG HIM BODILY HOME IF NECESSARY.

And then it's all over but the moody moody aftermath, mmmmmm

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

betterthanaplan

Nathan was just working with her perfectly today!

"Your trouble kicked in after the car crash, didn't it, Tyler?" he asked, voice even. De-escalating, even. "Then you figured out how you could use it to kill Josh."

Tyler scowled, the gun wavering between Octavia and Lexie. "Josh was an accident.
I was lying there in that bed, paralyzed, and then suddenly I was in Josh when he was out with my girlfriend, and I found out what they were doing. . . ."

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia tuned out most of what he was saying.

(He sounded like Duke. He didn't sound like Duke.)

She was watching the gun. And watching his face, hoping Nathan kept drawing the kid's focus to himself.

From:

betterthanaplan

"So you killed them both on purpose?" Lexie asked, drawing Tyler's attention back in her and Octavia's direction.

"My life was ruined!" he cried. "And they they were supposed to be my friends." That came out so young even Duke, tucked back in the corner of his own brain, couldn't help but pity the kid. Until his voice turned dark again. "But then I realized what I could do. It was my chance. They got what they had coming."

Fuck you, kid.

From:

okteiviakom

Goddammit, Lexie.

Octavia shifted away from her as much as she dared - which was definitely not a lot. Just a subtle, slow shifting of her weight onto her other foot.

From:

betterthanaplan

"You need things, don't you," Nathan said. Tyler listened, but kept focused on the girls this time. "Objects? The real you holds on to something, and that lets you control whoever gave it to you. When you possessed the orderly, you were holding a remote he gave it to you."

"And Josh and Katie They gave you get-well cards," Lexie said, easing slowly towards Tyler -- and away from Octavia.

"Duke gave you that drink ticket," Nathan said.

Tyler looked back at him. "Right after you gave me your business card, so don't try anything."

From:

okteiviakom

This would have been a great time for a one-liner, but Octavia wasn't really that kind of person.

So she just acted, abruptly. Trying to play to the element of surprise, surging forward and grabbing at the arm holding the gun to wrench it to the side.

(A risky move, yes, but so were all moves when someone was waving a gun at you.)

From:

betterthanaplan

If it had actually been Duke in control -- or anyone else with actual gun handling training -- it might have gone a little better for her. They would haven't known better than to try to tighten their grip when she grabbed him, and wouldn't have just fired the damn thing wildly.

Lexie shrieked at the gunshot. Nathan shouted, and Tyler flinched hard. In the back of his mind, Duke went very very still. The running commentary he'd been providing cut off in to the dull, stressed static of helpless terror.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia's ears were ringing. She gave a muted gasp, staggering backwards a step, grabbing at her upper arm.

It didn't hurt yet. It would in a second.

Blood seeped between her fingers.

Edited Date: 2022-03-31 02:18 pm (UTC)

From:

my_own_advocate

There had been no sign of anyone like the man Duke had described - at least, not anyone Lucifer could place as present in the room where they'd found the body. And so he had started to make his way back slowly, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, and...

...

That was a gunshot.

He broke off into a run, blind panic striking him deep inside the heart.

From:

betterthanaplan

Octavia might just be the calmest one around right this moment.

Tyler stared at the blood in panic -- and . . . hunger? -- his body swaying towards it, then jerked upright and aimed the gun at Lexie.

"That's right, I will shoot! So don't fuck with me and get in the vault!"

"Shit, okay, okay," Lexie said, hands up. She came over to guide Octavia inside, where Nathan was frowning and tugging his jacket off to staunch the wound.

"Move, move!"

"Tyler, you can't keep this up," Nathan said, voice low but full of urgency. "It was on your charts. Your real body is falling apart the more you possess people. You're gonna die."

Tyler smirked, urging Lexie and Octavia in with both the gun and the door. "Which is why I'm trading my body in for this one. Permanently."

From:

okteiviakom

There was, for the first time, fear in Octavia's eyes.

And that feeling overpowered anything else. She didn't feel her feet move at Lexie's urging, although they did. Didn't feel the pain begin to burn her arm, even though it did.

That she was standing in the vault, now, didn't even register.

She stared at -- Tyler.

(At Duke's face.)

From:

betterthanaplan

Duke hadn't recovered yet, either. Which only made Tyler smile as he shoved at the door, using it to force Octavia and Lexie the rest of the way in.

That's right, bitch. Hot pieces of ass like her fawn all over you, don't they.

I mean. Over me, now.

Duke simmered in his corner, wishing there was something, anything he could do to wipe that look off of Octavia's face.

From:

okteiviakom

The door closed with a thunk. Octavia's head whipped around as she looked at --

Four walls, far too close together. No other door, no windows.

Now the reality of the small, closed space was beginning to rapidly sink in. A wave of panic threatened to surge up, over where she was, over what was about to happen to Duke, and that feeling was hopeless.

But there was still something else, and she clung to that thought with all she had when she gasped in a breath, and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Lucifer!"

From:

my_own_advocate

Lucifer would hate himself for not getting here sooner, later.

But he was here, now. Rounding the corner, eyes big and panicked. "Duke!" he yelled, his eyes falling on his boyfriend first, and then the closed door-- "Octavia!"

From:

betterthanaplan

Tyler rolled his eyes and waggled the gun at Lucifer. He'd had enough of playing pretend; he just wanted to skip town already. "I fucking shot her. Now get out of my way, fancy pants, or I'll shoot you too."

idiot, Duke managed.

Fuck off, answered Tyler.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia could hear something, but couldn't really make out what was being said. But she banged her fists against the door.

Well.

One of them, anyway. Her other arm wasn't doing great, not that that kept her from trying.

From:

my_own_advocate

That was a fantastic way to make yourself, rather than Octavia, Lucifer's first priority. Gold star, Tyler.

Lucifer's eyes flared red. "You get out of him," he snarled, taking a step closer. "Right. Now."

It was more of a hellish growl, really.

Edited Date: 2022-03-31 03:45 pm (UTC)

From:

betterthanaplan

Tyler let out a disgusted, frustrated noise, and shot at Lucifer.

Look, it had worked on the scary goth chick, okay?

From:

my_own_advocate

There were some real disadvantages to being physically vulnerable to your partners, even if their bodies were currently hijacked by an absolute moron who deserved punishment. The bullet buried itself in Lucifer's chest, tearing through a muscle that held his shoulder in place.

He made a raw, unearthly noise, his body rocking back--

--and then lunged forward at him.

He was still a bloody celestial.

Edited Date: 2022-03-31 04:01 pm (UTC)

From:

betterthanaplan

And Tyler had no idea about that, so he'd started running the minute he shot, assuming that the guy would be down and out, but that the hospital would be coming to investigate the gunshots at any moment.

He made use of Duke's long legs and agility to bolt around Lucifer and out the door while he was still reeling.

Duke had moved from static to screaming obscenities in a multitude of languages, which only made the adrenaline in his body pump harder and drive him faster.

Get used to this, bitch. We're never seeing those two again.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia had heard another gunshot.

The banging on the door was extra frantic, now.

From:

my_own_advocate

Lucifer twisted around, eyes still red. He was going to get this bloody body snatcher and his wrath would not--

Octavia.

--and then the noise penetrated his mind. He hissed a curse and ran towards the door. There was no need to yank it off its hinges. No need at all.

But he did.

From:

okteiviakom

Octavia gave a gasp when the door shifted - and then there was no door.

And she was standing there, with Nathan's jacket haphazardly wrapped around her arm, a part of it drenched a deep red. Lexie was standing beside her, Nathan behind them.

Octavia's eyes were wide, and wild.

And the first hoarse thing out of her mouth was, "Where is he?"