seaoftroubles | Season one catchup preplay

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Season one catchup preplay

There'll be more detail in the OCD, but the basic shape is this:

As You Were: Duke and Octavia head back to Haven for Audrey's surprise birthday party (braced for troubles). They head out to a remote island off the coast where everyone's gathered at an old, closed down hotel. The proprietor turns out to be a shapeshifter that kills the people it turns into. Everyone wonders who the baddie really is. The ME dies, Lucifer sends up a demon to possess her body and yell at Duke for dragging Octavia back into his world's bullshit. Audrey is revealed to be the shapeshifter, but didn't die because She's Different. They all go back to the mainland, where Duke reveals that he's the kid in the Colorado Kid murder picture, and Audrey emotionally blackmails him into sticking around longer to answer some questions.

The Hand You're Dealt: Duke and Audrey hunt down and question a couple of the other people in the Colorado Kid photo. Meanwhile, Nathan and Audrey try to track down someone with a fire trouble. Duke's old babysitter turns out to have death visions when she touches people, and after getting blown up by the fire trouble, tells Duke how he's going to die right before she dies herself.

The Trial of Audrey Parker: ~~Audrey talks Duke into hosting a poker game before leaving. Two of the other guests hijack the boat to try and get something Duke's smuggling for a client.~~ Honestly there are a lot of holes in this thanks to the way things are shaping up with Fandom in the mix. Why would Octavia let Duke stick around when now they KNOW someone in Haven is going to kill him? Octavia isn't a good replacement for Julia, Julia's a ninny. Octavia would just beat the shit out of the baddies for being mean to Duke. And getting the boat cracked delays them too much in going back to Fandom. Maybe we should skip this one. It doesn't really add much to Duke's character development that hasn't kinda been covered by Fandom anyway.

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As his father tried to explain the crack, Nathan looked from it to the chair in the corner, where he'd been tied.

Where he hadn't known he'd been untied, until his hands had dropped to his sides.

He rubbed his wrist, unable to feel his own skin, and looked at Audrey.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

Audrey nodded. "Yeah. Hey, listen, this is gonna get worse before it gets better. So we need to find some way to call for help."

Nathan nodded back, a faint up and down of his head. His vision blurred faintly as tears sprung to his eyes. "Do you trust me?"

Audrey frowned. "Yeah, of course I do."

Nathan took her hand, rubbing it between both of his. Nothing.

"Are you okay?" Audrey asked slowly.

Nathan shook his head. "No. I'm not." He pulled her in for a deep, firm kiss.

Nothing.

He pulled back while Audrey was still reeling ("what the hell are you doing?" she asked) and drew his gun from the back of his pants ("oh no -- please!")

And shot her in the chest.

Octavia wasn't sure what she'd expected to see when she rushed over from the next room, skittering to a stop in the doorway with her knife in hand, but she knew this was not it.

"Nathan," she said, half warning, half question.

... Mostly question, honestly.

Audrey was still breathing, panting really, on the floor. Staring up at Nathan with wide eyes as he crouched over her.

"You killed my friend," Nathan hissed.

"H-how did you know it was me?" Audrey -- the chameleon asked.

Nathan leaned in, his answer for her alone. "Audrey. I can feel her touch. I can't feel yours."

"What did you do?!" Vince demanded.

Nathan didn't take his eyes off the woman on the floor as he answered. "She's the chameleon."

"How can you be sure?"

Octavia felt this was something of a obvious question. Not to mention a necessary one.

"The real Audrey was his partner," the Chief said with a grim look. "He knows."

"I'm sorry," the chameleon said, choking. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone. The doctor. . . . she saw who I was. And Audrey . . . I was weakening." She wheezed, struggling to breathe. "And I thought she could help me. Like Lucy."

Duke was shaking faintly. Audrey was gone, and this thing had taken her place. He hadn't known her long, but when he'd been stuck here for that month, she'd been one who'd been there. All those late nights in the hotel when he couldn't sleep. When he'd grieved for Geoff.

And now she was gone, too.

"If you thought she could help," he said, grinding the words out through his teeth. "Why did you kill her?"

"She's different," the chameleon said. "She sh-should have died. . . ."

Nathan's eyes went wide. "She's alive?" He grabbed the chameleon, shaking her. "Where is she? Where is she?!"

Edited 2020-09-19 21:24 (UTC)

Now, that question Octavia had nothing to add to.

So she just stood there with her knife. You know. As encouragement.

There was blood on Nathan's fingers, blood on the floor where the chameleon lay. And suddenly it was all Duke could see.

The chameleon choked out something about a trunk. A broom closet.

Duke hardly heard it. There was a ringing like feedback in his ears. The shaking got worse as he stared, watching the growing puddle as a troubled killer bled out on the floor.

It got noticeable enough for Octavia to see it from the corner of her eye, and she immediately cursed herself for not realizing sooner.

She freed one hand by finally setting the bottle aside, so she could grab for his hand. "Hey. Hey, stay with me."

Duke sucked in a breath when her hand hit his and tore his gaze away. Just in time to see Nathan pause on his way past and frown at him.

Duke wondered what he would say if he ever learned what Duke really was.

"Broom closet," Nathan barked. "You going to help or not?"

Duke nodded and followed after him, tugging on Octavia's hand to bring her along.

Following him, Octavia held on tightly. Like an anchor.

For now.

The broom closet was in a crawl space, tucked under the stairs. The door stuck, swollen with the damp of the storm; it took Duke and Nathan together to finally yank it open.

"It's in here." Nathan rushed to the trunk, Duke just barely behind.

"Someone find the lights," Duke ordered.

Nathan yanked the trunk open. Duke landed on his knees at one end, where Audrey's head was revealed, and gently lifted her upright. Her head lolled bonelessly (he tried not to think about Ted) as he felt for a pulse. "She's alive."

"Parker?" Nathan called. He picked up her hand, squeezing it. "Parker! Julia, some help?"

Octavia was the one to get the lights.

The time for fighting had passed, so it wasn't as if her particular skill set would be of much use to Audrey.

Nathan kept calling to her, kept patting her hand while Julia did a quick check of Audrey's pulse and pupils. Duke just cradled Audrey's head and tried to remember to breathe.

He'd lost too many people this summer. Whether they died or disappeared or just left. She wasn't allowed to be another one.

"Hand me that disinfectant," Julia ordered.

". . . I don't think she needs to be disinfected," Duke said.

"The ammonia will act as a smelling salt."

Octavia tossed Julie the disinfectant. And then just stood and watched, with the rest.

She could feel herself sliding towards something unfeeling, again. Blamed it on the adrenaline beginning to wear off.

Edited 2020-09-20 08:39 (UTC)

Julia soaked a tissue in the disinfectant and held it under Audrey's nose. "Audrey? Can you hear me?" She picked up Audrey's wrist. "Pulse is getting stronger. She's going to be okay."

Nathan let out a series of relieved breaths, rocking faintly as he stroked Audrey's hand, bringing it to his lips. "Parker. You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay."

Duke watched him, recognizing that look in Nathan's eyes. He glanced down at Audrey as she started to stir, a little flare of jealousy lighting up in his chest.

This was what Octavia felt every time Nathan was even around, wasn't it.

Audrey groaned softly. "Are you crying?" she murmured. And smiled. "'Cause crying will not be tolerated."

Duke laughed, recognizing his own words reflected back at him, then glanced back, looking for Octavia.

He'd put her through hell today. So he could spend time with other people he loved. When she was already going though a hell of her own.

Lucifer had been right to send Ted to yell. Duke had fucked this up hard.

Oh, but Octavia's dislike of Nathan had always come from all the hurt - both physical and otherwise - that the man had repeatedly inflicted on Duke. It had never been about jealousy.

Until today, anyway.

When Duke looked back, she wasn't there anymore. As soon as she'd heard Audrey speak, she'd had enough confirmation that they were out of the woods with this one, and she'd turned on her heels and silently walked out of the room, then out of the house.

Let them celebrate Audrey's continued survival together. They didn't need her for that.

That was . . . problematic.

Duke looked down, flashing Audrey a wobbly smile as he helped her sit up a little more, then slowly let her go.

"I'll, uh. I'm gonna go see if I can get that radio working. Call us a boat."

They'd all had just about enough of Carpenter's Knot.

And Octavia?

She sat out on the front steps, breathing in the night air, letting the rain soak through her clothes. Stared at nothing.

And waited to go home.

(Whatever the hell that even meant.)

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Season one catchup preplay

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