seaoftroubles | Haven end run preplay part 2: the bloodening

Haven end run preplay part 2: the bloodening

Duke gets his trouble triggered by Octavia in a kitchen accident and our crew discover that post-trouble bomb, it is EVEN MORE DIRE as he goes black-eyed and can't stop himself from trying to stalk whoever set him off
Lucifer and Octavia stop Duke from doing anything bad (has Octavia make him bleed maybe so he can use his massive power supply to knock Duke tf out?). Duke recovers and says "fuck this, we need to end it" and suggests they go back to Haven one final time to figure out how to end the troubles forever.
They arrive in Haven and Duke IMMEDIATELY goes into convulsions and vanishes in a burst of green smoke. OOPS.
Lucifer and Octavia find Gloria (and Dwight maybe? And/or Nathan?), find out about the "no marks killer" who has been going around killing troubled folks -- and all the troubles that are going off like crazy without Audrey around to talk them down. I imagine there's some "okay, that sucks but WHERE THE FUCK IS OUR BOYFRIEND????"
Duke is spotted around town murking folks, but they can't quite catch him
I may or may not write a scene of Duke and Croatoan while Duke is under his control
Trap set for Duke? Not at the police station. Gloria's house or the hospital/morgue, maybe, since she's coronering. Duke takes the bait, Lucifer pounces again to keep him from, getting away. After a false start or two during which Croat!Duke is DEEPLY UPSETTINGLY CREEPY AT THEM, Lucifer and Octavia manage to talk him around. (Possibly using Duke's new joy at being the subbiest sub who ever subbed!)
Duke starts leaking troubles when Croatoan realizes he's broken his hold. He panics, and Octavia or Lucifer cover his eyes to keep the troubles in. Gloria goes "I'll get some drugs!" and scoots to find something to drug Duke with if need be (and gets out of harms way ;D). Duke takes over the eye-covering -- and goes into muscle contractions as Croat tries pull aether out by another route. This doesn't last long before Croatoan APPEARS DRAMATICALLY IN THE DOOR looking like a gremlin cosplaying as a noir detective. Duke can't even see him -- he's covering his eyes -- but goes "FUCK THIS SHIT" and starts launching the troubles he still has control over at the guy. I really like the idea that at least one of them is radioactive. Maybe Croat!Duke killed the lady from the nonsense trouble episode and got her "shooting microwaves" power. Lucifer and Octavia also fight. Eventually Croat EXPLODES (or . . . dissolves . . . or otherwise dies grotesquely) and our three spend a moment just panting for breath and looking at each other, all "omg, is that it? did we win?"
Duke collapses dead. Weeping and gnashing of teeth. Lucifer gods the fuck out, wiping out the troubles in a giant aether-nado, and resurrects Duke, who's spent maybe 30 seconds dead -- but that's [mumble mumble] amount of time in Hell so he's still a littttttle bit fucked.
They go home and have more angsty h/c times yay!
(Also probably Octavia checks on Gloria first and maybe convinces her to retire to Baltimore XP)

Octavia took off after him, but... keeping a distance.

She wasn't going to get swiped at again. No matter how clearly unconscious Duke was right now.

"Can you open the door?" Lucifer asked, as they approached the mansion.

He stepped aside, leaving her room to pass.

Octavia still gave them a wide berth as she darted past.

The door hadn't closed properly after them, no surprise. She yanked it open - with the hand that wasn't still bleeding - and stepped aside.

Lucifer waited until she was far enough away before entering. He carried Duke to one of the first floor bedrooms - one of the ones with a lock on the door.

He lowered Duke gently onto the bed, making sure his head was on the pillow. Pulled up the blankets.

And then backed out, to grab the key and lock the door behind him.

Octavia remained near the front door. She watched Lucifer go up the stairs, then listened, running through things in her head.

She thought she heard the door close, and then a key against the lock.

"That's only gonna slow him down," she muttered, to herself.

If he was still --

Edited 2024-11-18 16:18 (UTC)

Lucifer reappeared at the top of the stairs. He ran a hand through his hair.

"We may have to sleep on your boat tonight, darling."

Octavia looked up, and immediately shook her head.

"You should stay with him."

There was a flash of alarm in Lucifer's face. "Octavia," he said, "I am not leaving you alone tonight."

"I'm not giving you a choice," Octavia replied, much firmer than anyone here had likely been expecting, stepping up to the bottom of the stairs. "He is not waking up alone in an empty house if he's back to himself, and if he's not, you're not letting him roam free on the island."

Duke, meanwhile, has as blinking his eyes open.

Everything hurt. Everything. It felt like he might have managed to pull his eyelid muscles trying to fight the compulsion.

Which, thankfully, was gone.

“Fuck,” he groaned. Then started to take stock. He was in one of the bedrooms in the mansion. The light out the window was about what it had been before — everything.

And he was alone.

“Fuck,” he said again with feeling. Then shouted it. “Fuck!”

"Oct--"

Duke's shout cut straight through whatever Lucifer had been about to say, and he spun around, towards the stairs. "Duke?!"

Octavia started up the stairs, on an unchecked reflex, but stopped before she even made it up halfway.

Duke didn't quite sound like he had, but what if?

“Yeah,” Duke said, hoarse but not strangled. He sat up with a faint groan and rubbed his forehead. “I’m . . . me. Is she okay?”

Lucifer approached the door. Slowly. Carefully.

He held an arm outstretched behind him, as if to keep a barrier between Octavia and Duke. "She's okay," he said, staring at the door. "Are you... you?"

Edited 2024-11-18 19:36 (UTC)

From further away, Duke's voice was a lot more muffled now that he wasn't shouting anymore. Octavia crept up a few more steps.

He sounded... better, from what she could tell. But she was holding her breath all the same.

He was using multiple syllables at a time! Decided improvement.

“Yeah,” he said again. “I’m me. And we are never doing that again.”

Lucifer glanced over his shoulder at Octavia. "Keep your distance," he said quietly.

He put the key back in the lock.

"I'm coming back in," he announced.

Turned it.

Octavia was looking down at her hand. Her finger had just about stopped bleeding, but there was dried blood all over her skin.

She had absolutely no intention of following Lucifer.

The door had been locked. They’d had to lock him in. Oh good.

Duke leaned his elbows on his knees and watched. Bracing himself in case the fucking poison inside him decided to react again.

Maybe they should just keep him locked away from now on.

There was still a smear of Octavia's blood on Lucifer's sleeve, too. He noticed it as he pressed his hand to the door to open it.

"Right, just a second," he muttered, shrugging quickly out of the jacket, casting it far behind him.

Then he opened the door in full. "Duke?"

Duke’s lip quirked into a tired, ironic smile.

“Hail the conquering hero.” He didn’t bother looking for Octavia. She’d be hovering well out of arm’s reach for a bit. “She’s really okay?”

"She is," Lucifer confirmed. After a moment's thought, he... closed the door behind him. "Besides the fright you gave her."

Octavia had been about to call out something reassuring, about how she was just right out here, just couldn't come in --

And then she heard the door closing. And, well.

Nothing much she dared to do past that.

Duke nodded. “Yeah. Can’t really blame her there.”

He was also terrified.

“Fuck, man. Just — fuck. The hell are we going to do?”

"I don't know."

Lucifer took a few... cautious steps towards him. Until he stood at the foot of the bed, and he could get a good look at him.

"Look me right in the eye for a moment, will you?" he asked.

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision

Re: The bloodening and the decision