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)

"Where's the first aid kit?" Octavia called back.

There were more important and pressing questions than 'how are you?'

“That’s what I meant,” Duke said. Then: “Black-eyed?”

It made sense. It was also terrifying.

“Fuck.”

"Third cabinet from the left, above," Luciffer hollered down the stairs.

He looked to Duke. "'Fuck' would be my description, as well."

Octavia nodded to herself, and went to the third cabinet from the left.

Faster she got this done, faster she'd be able to join them upstairs.

“I can’t do this,” Duke said lowly. “I won’t. She cut her finger and I tried to tar her apart. I’m not doing this!”

Lucifer's attention had drifted back to the stairs.

Now his gaze snapped to Duke. "Do what?"

“Living this way.” Duke wanted to scream, but he was trying hard to keep at least a little chill. “I’m tired of it. Aren’t you tired of it?”

"Extremely," Lucifer agreed, warily. "But what's the alternative?"

“I don’t know yet. But there’s got to be something. This — letting my body just get hijacked by trouble after trouble. I’m not just letting it happen anymore.”

Octavia had bandaged up her finger probably much too thoroughly - but she didn't want even the slightest possibility of anything bleeding through.

And now she was finally coming up the stairs, checking her hands for any blood she might have missed, and trying to make out what they were saying.

"Then what?" Lucifer asked, his brows knitting together in a heavy frown. "Go back to Haven, shake people until they find a solution?"

“Maybe?” Duke admitted. “It’s not my favorite, but it beats having to tiptoe around my snogon or risk needing to be taken out by my boyfriend on a regular basis.”

Oh. Lucifer was still on the landing.

Octavia came to a stop at the top of the stairs.

Edited 2024-11-19 18:54 (UTC)

And Lucifer-- paused, looking over his shoulder. "Octavia," he said plaintatively, "He's-- we're-- having terrible ideas."

“If you have a better one, I’m all ears,” Duke said. He tried to peer past Lucifer without getting up. “Tavi. I’m so sorry. This is not how date night was supposed to go.”

Octavia stepped onto the landing - and then rounded past Lucifer, and into the room, towards the bed.

Reaching for Duke with the uninjured hand, keeping the other one and its bandages behind herself.

Edited 2024-11-19 20:15 (UTC)

Lucifer watched them for a moment, still a touch-- nervous. But he didn't want his fussing to get between them right now.

"It's a bloody disaster," he muttered.

“You’re okay,” Duke said, confirming rather than asking. He took her hand and tugged it to pull her into a hug. “I don’t ever want to do that again.”

Octavia kept her injured hand away from him, but otherwise didn't hesitate at all in sinking down to sit next to him and hugging him back with the other arm.

"Ai get daun in," she murmured. And, "Moba."

(She'd been the one who'd insisted he should get close to her, and the one who'd cut herself, and the one who'd spilled it on him.)

Lucifer ran his fingers through his hair, taking a moment to finally find-- some kind of calm.

He entered the room after a moment, keeping his eyes on them. Saying nothing. Thinking.

Duke shook his head at Octavia. “It was an accident. It shouldn’t have been anything. That’s why we need to fix this.” He looked up at Lucifer. “Even if it means going to Haven. All of us. To get rid of these troubles, mine and Tavi’s, once and for all.”

Octavia pulled back enough to look at Duke. Eyes a little wider, now. Eyebrows raised, cautious.

"You want to go back to Haven?"

"It is an insane idea," Lucifer said, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

And yet there he was, not protesting too loudly.

“I don’t want to,” Duke said firmly. “I just can’t think of anything else that’s better. If we track Mara down she’ll just figure out a way to make this even worse.”

Octavia could've made a comment about semantics, but didn't.

Instead, she looked to Lucifer, with something like a question in her eyes.

Re: The bloodening and the decision

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Re: The bloodening and the decision

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Re: The bloodening and the decision

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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