betterthanaplan | Haven, Maine and points beyond, Sunday, Fandom time

Duke & Havenites	The plan was . . . not great. But when were they ever? Jennifer and the Teagues had managed to find the "Heart of Haven" or whatever in Haven's lighthouse. The same one that Beattie/Helena had parked herself in ages ago -- from Duke's perspective. The same one where he'd nearly aged to death. So, you know, that was a fun association. (Was it the same one? That one had crumpled, hadn't it? And they'd rebuilt it? So it wasn't the same. He'd just tell himself that a few times and try not to think about the Ship of Theseus.) Under the lighthouse was a cavern, apparently, somehow not filled with sea water. Instead, it had a giant Guard symbol carved into its rocky floor. That was where the door was. The one that would lead to . . . whatever, somewhere else, somewhere they could dump William. They just needed four people from another world to do it. Audrey and William both came from another world, hence their weird powers, and Jennifer, hence her connection to all of this. No one mentioned that Octavia was technically an off-worlder, and Duke wasn't about to be the one to bring it up. It was bad enough Jennifer was involved. Which left one space vacant for -- "Dave is from another world," Duke mused, as they all started filing through the trap door in the lighthouse down to the cavern. "He was adopted," Vince said idly. "Yeah, that . . . explains a lot."
Octavia	Octavia wasn't saying anything. She was right on Duke's heels, looking wary. It had been a while since she'd descended underground. She had not missed it. And Haven was the last place she wanted to be doing it in.
Duke & Havenites	Duke looked back at her, reaching for her hand. He wanted to tell her it was almost over, but that kind of felt like an invitation to Haven to fuck them over in some new and creative way. Ugh. This whole thing was making his chest hurt. He swallowed a cough. Nathan was, unsurprisingly, less worried about giving the multiverse ideas, and was giving Audrey a little smile as he herded William into place. "Just hold on a little bit longer," he told her. "This'll all be over soon." "It's only just begun," William said with a sneer. "Do you actually think that when the time comes, she's gonna send me through that door? We both saw it, Nathan." The sneer turned into a nasty grin. "I've won." Duke sighed. "Why didn't we gag him?"
Octavia	There was no 'almost over' with Haven. Just 'not over' and, if they were very lucky, 'over'. Nothing else was worth thinking about. Octavia gave his hand an idle squeeze. And glared coolly at William, before taking in the rest of the space. (Noting the exits - or really, the lack of them.)
Duke & William	There was a really appalling lack of exits in here. Basically there was the way they came in. And theoretically whichever door they were going to open and shove William through. William clearly wasn't much concerned with Octavia's glare. Assuming he even noticed it. He was far too busy watching Duke now, that damned grin still in place. "What are you staring at?" Duke asked, his voice rough. That cough wasn't going to stay buried long. "A dead man," William answered cheerfully. Duke scoffed. "You know, that's big talk for a guy who's going where you're going. I hear it kind of sucks over there. Even more than it does here." "Oh, that wasn't a threat," William said, smirk firmly in place. "Just an observation."
Octavia	"No one cares either way," Octavia rasped, "so you can shut up now." She was still fighting a very real urge to step in front of Duke. Funny, that.
William & Duke	"Oh," William said. "But I think you do, honey. I see the looks you give him." William looked between the two of them, somehow totally at home even with his hands bound in front of him, in front of a door to what sounded like basically Hell with less charming management. "You two don't know what's happening inside Duke, do you?" Duke's chest seized for a moment. He could taste copper in the back of his mouth. He swallowed hard. "And you do?" William nodded. "Yes. Your family has been absorbing troubles into its blood for generations. When Audrey re-troubled you, she activated them." His smile turned positively shit-eating. "All of them."
Octavia	Octavia's expression cracked, eyes darting to Duke, and back to William, and back to Duke again. "That's bullshit," she spat. But already knew it wasn't. (She should have forced them into troubling her instead. She was never going to forgive herself, and neither was Lucifer --)
William & Duke	William's smile only grew. "Every trouble your family ever eradicated, all crammed in there, mutating, combining, becoming something more deadly than Mara and I could ever imagine." He shook his head, looking honestly impressed. "I just hope I'm there when they blow, 'cause it's gonna be crazy!" Duke stepped forward, the urge to wipe that look off the man's face overwhelming -- except his chest seized up again, and instead of throwing a punch, he doubled over, biting back a groan.
Octavia	Octavia was at his side in a flash, her hand gingerly on his lower back. "Duke?" Alarmed, and hiding it poorly, with her wide eyes.
Jennifer & Duke	She wasn't the only one worried. Jennifer had rushed over as well. "Duke!" Duke shuddered and coughed, leaving a small bloody spatter on his hand. He didn't try to hide it, just watched as it absorbed back into his skin again. Yeah, that was going to be fun. "I'm okay," he said, slowly trying to get upright again. "Just -- let's get this over with. Then we can deal with . . ." He rubbed his chest. It ached. ". . . Me."
Octavia	"You're coughing up blood!" Octavia hissed. She was somehow supposed to keep caring about literally anything else? Nothing else mattered.
Duke & Jennifer	"Can you fix that right now?" Duke hissed back. "Because I can't. But him?" He gestured wildly back at William. "Him I can help fix." He looked at Jennifer. "What does the magic book say to do next?" Jennifer looked at the book in her hands, swallowing hard. "There's no new text. We're all here. I don't know why it isn't telling me what to do." "Well, okay, what do you think we should do?" Jennifer shot a glanced at Octavia. "Not make Octavia mad at us?"
Octavia	"Too late." Octavia was already mad at the entire situation.
Jennifer & Duke	Jennifer let out a faint squeak. "Focus," Duke said. "Yeah." Jennifer nodded jerkily. "Okay. We need to get Audrey, Dave, and William on the figures." She looked over at Audrey hopefully. Audrey nodded back and headed for one of the figures. Nathan went to steer William into place, and Dwight and Vince took on Dave, who was wildly unhappy about the whole process. Duke watched all of that and nodded to himself. "Right." He felt like crap warmed over, but gave Octavia his best attempt at a smile. "We'll . . . get out of the way."
Octavia	"You're not off the hook." Was that reassuring? Maybe if Octavia had managed some sort of a dry-but-not-really tone, it could have been, but she just sounded mad. It was so much easier than feeling any of what was hiding right behind it. And yes, she was trying to herd him further away from the Guard symbol. With an eye to whether he looked at all like he needed support.
Duke & Havenites	Well, Duke was working extremely hard to not look like that, so. "You're all so busy trying to push me through that door," William said, dragging his feet as Nathan pushed him into place. "Does anyone want to hear what you're gonna let in?" "Shut up," Nathan said. The cavern shuddered as Jennifer stepped into her own place and lifted the book. A square in the center of the Guard symbol on the floor slid slowly downward until it vanished into a haze of grey-green fog. Dave shrieked in distress. Duke grabbed for Octavia's hand. "It's done," Jennifer said. "Push him in." Which would be when Duke's chest spasmed again and he crumpled towards the rock wall with a choked groan.
Octavia	An extremely effective way to make Octavia pay as little attention to the circle as possible, as much as a smaller part of her was still finding the strength to also be concerned for Jennifer. "Duke!" She had no idea how hard she was gripping his hand right now.
Duke & Havenites	Duke would try to reassure her, but right now he was only really able to breath in short bursts. He'd stopped tasting blood, which was nice? But now his head was starting to throb, like something was pressing against the back of his eyes. Dave and William were both loudly arguing, William trying to pretend cool even as he clearly wanted literally nothing less than to go through the hole in the floor. "You can't do this!" he shouted. "I know you all think I deserve it, but you have no idea what's over there!" "I don't care," Nathan said. He'd nearly managed to wrangle William to the edge of the hole, and was ignoring pretty much everything else in his focus on pushing the man in without falling in himself. William dug in his heels. "I can fix Duke!"
Octavia	Octavia's head whipped around. She didn't want to look away from Duke (also barely could bear to look at him when there seemed to be so little she could do), but this was the only thing that could make her. "Why would we believe anything you say?" she roared.
Duke & Havenites	"Have I lied to you yet?" William asked her. Dwight glared from behind Dave. "Yes!" "Not to her!" William protested. "Not -- worth it," Duke managed. His head hurt (pounded throbbed) and he felt shaky in a way he never had before, but there were too many people here he didn't trust for him to give into any of it. He tugged on Octavia's hand and stared past her at Nathan. "Do it!" Nathan nodded back, lowered his head, and -- Dave suddenly plunged towards the hole. "Dave!" Vince shouted. "Heeeeelp!" cried Dave. You know what? Duke was just going to lean his head back against the rock wall and let Nathan and Audrey handle this one.
Octavia	Octavia wasn't feeling much of an inclination to interfere either, though she now had her eye on William for any bullshit moves he might pull. She was also keenly aware of where Jennifer was. And yet the overwhelming majority of her concern was with Duke. "Jaka, keep it together." There was an undercurrent of pleading to her clipped tone.
Duke & Havenites	Duke nodded shakily, not trusting himself to speak. He gave her hand a firm squeeze. "He was afraid of it," Vince said, clinging to Dave's arm. "He warned me. I can't lose my brother!" "You're not gonna lose him," Nathan promised. "Pull, Dwight!" Dwight grunted, his arms wrapped around Vince's waist. "I am pulling, but there's something pulling back!" "You loved me once," William said, staring at Audrey. "Don't do this to me." With a lot of huffing and puffing and shouting, Nathan, Dwight, and Vince finally managed to yank Dave back out of the open pit. As soon as he was on level ground again, Nathan lunged for William. "Get away from her!" "You let him do this to me," William said, still holding Audrey's gaze, "and you'll be more evil than Mara could ever be." Audrey swallowed. "Wait. He's right. I can't let Nathan do this." William started to smile, but Audrey glared. "This I want to do myself." She grabbed William's arms and pushed. Before he tumbled, their hands brushed, and Audrey's eyes went wide -- And then William was gone. Duke let out a wet breath. "Jennifer, get that door closed now." Jennifer nodded, holding the book up, and the pit closed up with a thunderous rumble. Duke closed his eyes, relief barely making a dent in the way his whole body throbbed. But at least it was over. Jennifer collapsed.
Octavia	It was the only thing that could make Octavia bolt away from Duke, and bolt she did. "Jennifer!"
Duke & Jennifer	Duke was right behind her, anyway, forgetting his own issues in the moment to worry about Jennifer instead. "Jennifer! What happened?" Jennifer sucked in a weak breath, reaching a shaking hand towards Octavia. "Dave was right. We never should've opened the door." She shook her head, heaving in another breath. "William wasn't what we should've been afraid of." Her eyes fell shut, and she went limp.
Octavia	Oh no. Oh, no no no -- "Jennifer?" Octavia had been grasping her hand, but now that, too, was slack in hers. She let go, and shook Jennifer by the shoulder. "Jennifer!"
Duke	"Jennifer, wake up," Duke urged, leaning over Octavia with one hand braced against the wall. "Is she breathing? Jennifer. Jennifer!" He couldn't deal with this. He felt he'd dealt with everything else today really admirably, but he could not deal with this. "Jenni --" he started again, but his voice vanished halfway through the sentence as his lungs seized again. He felt like he was being squeezed, like something in his body was trying to shove his organs aside. Everything went blurry, and even holding onto the wall, he still swayed.
Octavia	"She's --" There was an end to that sentence, but it was lost when Octavia darted a look up at Duke. Whatever was happening to him, it was getting worse. Everything was falling apart. But Octavia wasn't allowed to get stuck in that feeling (Lucifer would hate her, Lucifer would --), so she turned her gaze to the others, and dug into every little bit of Blodreina still in her to bark, "We need to get both of them out of here!"
Duke & Havenites	"What's happening to Duke?" Nathan asked, watching in horror. Duke looked up, choking on his breath. His face was hot. His eyes burned. Everything was tinted red. "He's as good as dead," Audrey said. Her voice was hard. Cold. What happened next -- no one would ever know for sure. It could have been hours, days, or seconds. The next thing anyone would know, the lighthouse exploded, the occupants strewn across the coast.

Duke & Dwight	Duke was on a spit of rocks. He didn't know how he'd gotten there, but that didn't matter. The fact that Dwight was pulling himself to his feet about twenty feet away didn't matter. Only two things mattered. "Jennifer!" he shouted. He swiped at his eyes. His fingers came away hot and faintly sticky, and he caught himself on on a rock as he stumbled. "Octavia!!!"
Octavia	Octavia had been holding Jennifer's shoulder, and now there was nothing under her hands but sand. And that wasn't even the worst of it: the last thing she remembered seeing before feeling like she was getting violently shoved through space was something far too much like blood under Duke's eyes. Although her stomach was turning, she forced herself up to her feet. For an awful second, she thought she'd been tossed right back on to Fandom, alone, but then she parsed enough of her surroundings to recognize she was still in Haven. So she still had a chance. "Duke!" she screamed, as hard as she could. "Duke! Anyone!" There was no one near her. But some instinct already had her patting her pockets for that weird phone Duke had given her earlier.
Duke & Dwight	"Octavia!" Duke shouted again. "Can you hear me?" "Duke." Dwight came jogging towards him. "Duke, are you alright?" Duke shook his head, digging his hand into his pocket for his phone. "Yeah. I think so." He wiped at his eyes again. This time, his hand came away dry. "What happened?" Dwight asked. Duke shrugged. "I don't know." "Where the hell are we? Last thing I remember, we were in the cave underneath the lighthouse." Duke huffed out a groan. "I swear, coming to Haven is like being a blackout drunk."
Octavia	It took Octavia a little anxious fumbling to get a handle on the flip phone, since programming a few numbers into it hadn't really been enough to familiarize her with it. Still, after what felt like way too long (every second was too long when she'd seen Duke bleeding from his eyes) she managed to call Duke's number. Pick up, jaka, pick up.
Dwight & Duke	"What happened to you back at the cave, man?" Dwight asked. "Why were your eyes bleeding?" Duke shook his head, then yelped when his phone started ringing. "I don't know." "We should get you to a doctor." "Yeah, 'cause that's going to happen," Duke muttered. He got his phone out and answered it. "Octavia?! Tell me that's you!"
Octavia	Relief rolled through Octavia - or at least a little sliver of it. "Duke! Where are you?"
Duke & Dwight	"A very rocky beach that I could name but you wouldn't know where it is, anyway," Duke said. "Are you okay? Is Jennifer with you?" Dwight waited, hoping for good news.
Octavia	Yeah, that was exactly why the relief had only been a sliver. "There's no one here."
Duke & Dwight	“Fuck.” She hadn’t been breathing. (She had to be fine!) “Okay, where are you? Any landmarks? We’ll find you.” He looked up at Dwight. “Dwight’s here too.” Not Nathan or Audrey. (Or whoever Audrey had been when she was talking so coldly.)
Octavia	Octavia always felt this way, but right now it was with extra emphasis: they could worry about Audrey later. She rattled off everything she could see that she hoped would be distinct enough for a local.
Duke & Dwight	Duke listened closely, and with one clarifying question, was pretty sure he knew where she was. “That’s not too far. We’ll meet you there.” Dwight frowned, hurrying to catch up while Duke strode forward with purpose. “What about the others?” “They’re locals. They can find themselves. Octavia and Jennifer don’t know this town like we do.”
Octavia	Octavia was going to spend her waiting time on trying to call out for Jennifer. She'd been unconscious when Octavia had seen her last, but -- What else was she supposed to do? She couldn't go looking before Duke found her, first.
Duke & Dwight	She was close enough to walk to, but not close enough to dodge Dwight's attempts at small talk. "I heard about a shooting down at the Harker house." Duke shook his head. "Wow, you suck at small talk." Dwight tipped his head in a silent snort. "Investigating officer said they thinks it's a suicide. Open and shut." Duke sighed. "You need better cops." Dwight was giving him some kind of look. On anyone else, Duke would've called it 'pointed'. "We already had eight people dead. There was about to be twice that. If I still had my daughter?" He offered Duke a shrug. "I might come knocking on your door." Duke walked a little faster. He wasn't going to be able to outpace Dwight, though. Or apparently this conversation. "Haven needs more people who can walk point," Dwight continued. He reached for Duke's arm to get his full attention. "You're one of 'em." Duke showed his teeth in a mockery of a grin. "I dare you to tell Octavia that."
Octavia	They could tell Octavia whatever they wanted soon enough, because as soon as she caught the slightest glimpse of them in the distance, she broke off into a run. "Duke!"
Duke & Dwight	Duke's head snapped up at her voice, and he shook Dwight off to run towards her as well. Dwight watched them with a small, fond smile, and shook his head, holding back to give them their reunion. "Tavi," Duke said on a breath when he reached her. "Are you okay?"
Octavia	Answers would have to wait: Octavia's big eyes were searching his for blood. After her hands scrambled for his, anyway. Like she needed something tangible.
Duke	She wouldn't see any. All the blood had been reabsorbed into his skin. Except for the bit that had soaked into the rock he'd brushed. "You're okay," Duke said, giving her a once-over of his own. Her grabbing his hand was the only thing that kept him from grabbing her and giving her a big hug.
Octavia	Octavia could help that along. There was no blood, and no other outside sign of injury on him. She was free to tug him in for a tight embrace, now. Not that she'd forgotten anything else they needed to do. "We have to find her."
Duke & Dwight	Duke squeezed her tight in return. "We will," he said firmly. Dwight wasn't so sure, but chose to stay silent for now. "Come on," Duke said. "We'll head back to the lighthouse. Good a place to start looking as any."
Octavia	Octavia looked up at his face as she pulled back. "You think the lighthouse is still there?" Not that that mattered: he was right, it was the best lead they had. Octavia was already turning to -- Yeah, she still didn't know exactly where they were. She would have to leave the leading to him.
Duke & Dwight	"No idea," Duke said, shrugging. "But it's worth checking, right?" He gently turned her in the right direction, then took her hand to lead he way. Dwight watched them with a quirked eyebrow. His phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket to answer as he trailed after them. "Duke!" he called when he finished. "That was Vince. He and Dave landed together a couple miles out of town. I'm gonna go help him get Dave to a hospital." Duke nodded absently over his shoulder. "Go. We'll find Jennifer." Dwight let out a soft huff. "Yeah. Let me know what you find." He headed off in the opposite direction.
Octavia	"He's not being optimistic," Octavia muttered. She was choosing not to care about it, marching on.
Duke & a rando	"Yeah, well. He's an idiot." Duke didn't actually think that. But he was avoiding thinking about anything other than getting Jennifer and getting the fuck out of town. A man in a rumpled suit was ranting as they made their way out onto the spit of rocks that had once held the lighthouse. "This is impossible! The first time the lighthouse collapsed, we rebuilt completely to code for earthquakes. Then when it was hit by the meteor, we double-reinforced the new walls. They'll never get the town council to approve funding to rebuild again. The insurance rates alone, and the liability!" He turned towards Duke mid-rant. "If anybody died in there, this whole damn town is going to go bankrupt." "Couldn't happen to a nicer place," Duke muttered. If anyone died in there. Jennifer hadn't been breathing. . . . Duke wasn't thinking about that.
Octavia	Good, so he wasn't wasting his time on a worst-case-scenario assumption on his part. Octavia was not wasting time, period. She let go of Duke and stepped up to the guy looking like she was about to grab his suit by the lapels. "Did you see a short woman with brown hair here?" ... No, not this one.
The rando & Duke	"N-no," the man stammered. "But if she was in there, she's more physics than biology now, if you know meamph." His eyes went wide. "Mmphmmm!" Duke winced and flinched away. The man's lips had been sewn shut. Between one blink and the next. He really hated this town.
Octavia	Octavia flinched back, too, then darted a look at Duke. "What's happening?"
Duke	Duke swallowed. "A trouble." He backed up a step, shaking his head, while the man continued to try to yell through his sewn lips. His eyes were stitched now, too. "We should go," he decided. "Jennifer's not here." And the emergency personnel who were giving up picking their way through the lighthouse wreckage to rush to the man's side could deal with . . . all of that.
Octavia	Just another thing in Octavia's rotating gallery of nightmares, then. "Where next?" she asked, tightly.
Duke	"Uh." Duke looked around, hand running back into his hair, loosening his (already pretty battered) ponytail. ". . . That way." All he had was 'not the way we came from', so. He set off with a purposeful stride anyway. (He was trying hard not to think about the poor man trying to scream through sealed lips behind him. Add that to his list of things to dodge.)
Octavia	Octavia followed, already busy compartmentalizing her way out of feeling her skin crawling. If she swore in Trig under her breath, well, that was just for her.
Duke	Duke would never tell anyone. Haven was a small town, but it had a hell of a lot of coastline. Duke pulled out his phone as he walked, leaving messages for some of his old contacts to keep an eye out for Jennifer. "Let's try the marina. The Sanguine Moon is home for her, maybe she went there." Because she was clearly fine, physically. Just like he was now.
Octavia	"Yeah, maybe." It was the best hope they had, so Octavia wasn't going to argue. But her scraps of optimism didn't quite extend to Jennifer having gone anywhere by herself.
Duke	She should probably avoid saying that to Duke right now. Not that he was listening to much anyone else had to say right now. Just striding forward, taking full advantage of his long legs. If something had happened to Jennifer -- He wasn't thinking about that.
Octavia	Octavia was avoiding saying that to him. It helped her to not think about it too closely. Right this second, she was just glad she had experience with marching with a quick pace.
Duke	Jennifer was not on the Sanguine Moon. And two of Duke's contacts confirmed they hadn't heard anyone mention a woman washing up on any of Haven's various beaches. (They'd both ended up with their mouths, eyes, and ears stitched shut not long after they hung up with him. Not that Duke knew that, yet.) The third, though. "Where?" Duke demanded, free hand in his hair. "Gus, you gorgeous old crotchety asshole, I could kiss you!" He let go of his hair to grab for Octavia's hand.
Octavia	Octavia had been anxiously watching his face during most of this call the same as she had the others. He could have her hand. "Where?"
Duke	"Not far." He gave her a shaky attempt at a smile. "They found a woman. He said EMTs were on the scene." She'd be okay, she'd be okay, she had better be okay. "Come on, let's hurry."
Octavia	Octavia didn't need to be told twice. She was practically already going.
Duke & Havenites	The EMTs were on the scene when they arrived, clustered around a prone form on the rocks, calling instructions to each other. "Pause compressions." "Anything?" "It's no good. I think she's gone --" "Steve? Oh my god!" The focus of the clustered workers shifted from the person on the ground to their fellow EMT, who was grabbing at his face. Which had been stitched closed. Duke decided not to care. He shoved them aside, crashing to his knees by Jennifer's side. Her eyes were closed. She was soaked through, and faintly blue. But that was good, he thought. The cold would keep her brain alive even if she wasn't breathing. He rested his weight on one hand so he could use the other to check for a pulse, then flinched back with a hiss when he cut his palm on a sharp rock. He shook his hand out, a couple drops of blood spotting the ground by Jennifer's head. And vanishing. Duke shoved that observation aside too and pressed his fingers to the side of Jennifer's neck. She sucked in a breath and started to cough.
Octavia	Something about this wasn't sitting right with Octavia, but it was hard to examine the feeling any closer when there were so many obvious reasons for it. And so much of her focus was fixed on Jennifer. She gasped, with the first cough. "Jennifer?"
Duke & Jennifer	There was also just a lot to process. "Jennifer," Duke said on a breath. "Oh thank god." Behind him, a stretch of grass had turned black. In the water, several fish bobbed to the surface, also blackened with death and decay. Jennifer rolled onto her side, coughing up a marina full of water.
Octavia	Octavia should have felt relieved, but there was so little room for it. She'd noticed things, around them. "Duke, I -- I think something's wrong."
Duke & Jennifer	Duke shook his head idly. He wasn't really listening to her yet, too focused on Jennifer. "You're okay," he told her again, helping support her while she coughed and coughed. "You're going to be just fine."
Octavia	Well, Octavia certainly wasn't going to rush into sharing any of the conclusions she was currently drawing. She was looking at the black grass, then up at where the EMT's were still trying to deal with the man with the stitched-up face. Like had happened at the lighthouse --
Duke & Jennifer	"You're okay," Duke said one more time, as Jennifer took another shuddering breath, then blinked up at him. "I am?" she asked. He grinned. The stitches vanished from the EMT's face as quickly and cleanly as they'd appeared.
Octavia	Octavia saw it happen. And she bet the same had happened at lighthouse just now, too. Dread was starting to set in.
Duke & Jennifer	It would for Duke, too. Once the relief had ebbed enough to give it room. "Can you sit up?" he asked Jennifer. "We should maybe get you to the hospital. . . ." He trailed off, looking over at the EMTs, who were hurrying the one who'd been stitched towards the ambulance. ". . . Somehow. I think maybe that one is busy." Honestly, he couldn't really blame them for that.
Octavia	At least he'd felt relief? Octavia finally looked down at them, looking a little... shaken. "We'll figure it out," she muttered weakly.
Jennifer & Duke	"No," Jennifer said slowly, pushing herself further upright. "No, I think -- I'm okay. I feel fine." Okay, now Duke was starting to get some of that dread. "Jennifer -- you were blue a minute ago."
Octavia	It snapped Octavia just a little more into this part of their current situation. "And you were unconscious for a... really long time."
Jennifer & Duke	"Well, I'm wet," Jennifer said. "And -- and cold. And -- where even are we? What happened under the lighthouse?" Duke shook his head, sitting back and rubbing his hand over his mouth. (The cut on his hand was gone. Like he'd healed over when Jennifer woke up. . . .) "We don't know," he said. "Something happened and we ended up scattered all over the coast."
Octavia	"The lighthouse is gone," Octavia added, almost by way of explanation for that 'something'. She couldn't help the way her gaze kept darting to Duke.
Jennifer & Duke	"Gone?!" Jennifer squeaked. She sat up straighter, looking around like she might see the empty outline of a lighthouse in the distance. "But how -- and what happened to the fish?" "Fish?" Duke finally looked around. And noticed the fish. And the grass. And added them to the stitching that had happened and then suddenly stopped. And the fact that the feeling from before the lighthouse, like something was beating on the insides of him, trying to get out, had at some point gone away. Like the blood from his eyes. And the cut on his hand. He took a breath, mouth open as if to speak, then closed it again. Rubbed his mouth. He was . . . so very fucked, wasn't he.
Octavia	So much for hoping he wouldn't catch on quite yet. "Happened when she was... coming back," Octavia said, careful and quiet. "The grass, and the fish."
Jennifer & Duke	"What are you saying?" Jennifer asked, voice small. Duke swallowed hard. "It's me. I'm -- leaking." He got slowly to his feet. "Let's get you two somewhere safe." And he'd -- figure out what the fuck he was going to do after that.
Octavia	Cute that he thought Octavia would stay 'somewhere safe'. She offered Jennifer a hand up. "We'll figure it out." She'd already said that before, but now she was openly saying it about the same thing she'd already been saying it about before.
Duke & Jennifer	He was a little too focused on the whole "I'm leaking troubles" thing to think much past "get loved ones to safe distance" at the moment. She should just be glad he didn't know about thinnies yet or he might decide to try the whole "go into the Void to save the world from himself" thing early. Jennifer took the offered hand -- and then tugged to pull Octavia into a hug once she was standing. "Thanks," she said. "I'm . . . still definitely weirdly fine, though. Where's everyone else?" "Dwight's checking on Vince and Dave at the hospital," Duke said. "Okay. . . . And Nathan? Or Audrey?" Duke could only shrug. He was staring at those fish.
Octavia	Octavia was a little surprised by the hug, but remembered after a second or two how to respond to it, giving Jennifer a tight squeeze back. "We don't know where they are." Octavia hadn't even wondered. "Our priority was finding you."
Jennifer & Duke	"Oh!" Jennifer gave her a slightly sappy smile. "Really? Thanks. But also I kind of feel like we really need to know where Audrey is." 'He's as good as dead,' echoed in Duke's head. He pulled out his phone rather than say it out loud. "Got some texts from Dwight. I guess everyone at the hospital with the weird stitching is okay again now." Just like the EMT was. Because Duke had leaked. "Nothing from Nathan or Audrey though."
Octavia	Octavia sighed, heavily, as she pulled away from Jennifer. "Guess we could try Nathan." But please understand it pained her to say that. Which probably explained why she followed it up with, "Or we could just try and get the fuck away from here."
Duke	Duke gestured with his head in the general direction of town as he poked at his phone. The EMTs had taken off without so much as a 'goodbye' already. "Let's start back towards town, then. I'll make some calls." Fruitless calls. To Nathan and Audrey. And to Portalocity, because yeah. Getting out of here (and to their god-like partner who wouldn't be affected by leaking troubles) sounded like a really good plan.
Octavia	Octavia made sure Jennifer could get away from the rocks safely. She was trying to pull herself back together again, and guessed herding someone helped. Especially since she had no smartphone to prod at the Portalocity app on.
Duke & Jennifer	"Nothing," Duke said as they continued their trudge back into town. "Nathan's not answering, Audrey's phone is going straight to voicemail, and the gnome said Portalocity is 'down for maintenance'." He was so tempted to fling his phone into the sea right now. ". . . there's a gnome?" Jennifer asked Octavia, sotto voce.
Octavia	Octavia shook her head. "It's a thing with the portals we use, I don't really get it."
Jennifer & Duke & . . . someone	Jennifer nodded. "That's becoming the story of my life." "But hey, at least you've still got one," a voice said. It didn't sound . . . quite right. "All three of you do. And I was sure two of you were gonners." Duke jammed his phone into his pocket and turned towards the woman stepping out of the trees. "Audrey?" Mara smirked at him. "Audrey's not here anymore." She wiggled her fingers. "Now, be nice little worms and help me get home and maybe I won't make sure you're goners, next time."
Octavia	Octavia shifted in front of Jennifer without a second thought, even as a wave of something exhausted rolled through her at the sound of Audrey's (not-Audrey's) voice. This day was a pile-up of one horrible thing after another. "Save the threats," she said, in a drawl that came off almost bored, like she wasn't on-edge and on high alert again. (She was.) "We don't want anything to do with you."
Mara & Duke	"I don't care what you want," the woman said. She was dressed differently than Audrey had been last time they'd seen her, wearing a very business-y suit and peacoat, her hair pulled back from her face. Her face which was wearing a very openly vicious expression. "Anyway, don't get your panties in a knot, honey. I'm only here for her." She kissed her teeth and waved at Jennifer. "Though I'm not too sad that I haven't missed watching your boyfriend explode." Duke shifted to join Octavia in front of Jennifer. Tried not to think about exploding. "You're her, aren't you. The original. William's girl." "I prefer to go by 'Mara', thanks."
Octavia	The expression on Octavia's face was very openly 'no one gives a shit'. With a decidedly Blodreina edge of something very cold. It was a very familiar mask to wear. "We can't help you."
Mara & Duke	Mara strode up to her, body language challenging in every way. "I don't need you to help." Duke darted between them, hand up to keep her back. "You really don't want to do this."
Octavia	Octavia was doing a great job being a looming presence behind his much taller shoulder. She was doing an even better job not trying to pull him back and away, although she really wanted to. But he also made for a great cover for her wrangling a small knife out of her pocket. Just in case.
Mara & Duke	"Well aren't you so protective," Mara said. She placed her hand flat on his chest, a mimic of what Audrey had done when she retroubled him. "It's adorable. Especially considering you're probably going to get them both killed." "Right. And whatever you want Jennifer for won't?" Mara grinned. "Not immediately. But eventually, probably. You know what they say about omelets and eggs."
Octavia	"Don't touch him." What, was Octavia supposed to be giving Mara the time of day by actually listening to anything she was saying? Please.
Duke & Mara & Jennifer	“Tavi,” Duke said, not wanting any more of Mara’s attention on her than absolutely necessary. Too late. “Feisty,” Mara said. “I see why you like her.” She shrugged, letting go of Duke and circling to his right. “Not that it matters. Come along, Jennifer, we have an appointment with a thinny.” “Um,” said Jennifer. “No thank you.”
Octavia	"Wasn't an invitation to touch anyone else," Octavia rasped, shifting more firmly in front of Jennifer. (Calculating in her head where to sink the knife if Mara made one false move too many --) "All three of us are going home."
Jennifer & Duke	Jennifer let out a little "oh!" of surprise at that, but then glared over Octavia's shoulder herself. "Yeah! So there." Duke resisted the urge to pinch his nose. Any comment he might have made, though, was cut off by the staticky hum and glow that presaged a Portalocity portal opening. "And . . . there's our ride," he said, reaching for Octavia's hand (trusting she'd grab Jennifer's) to tug her in the direction of the newly opened portal.
Octavia	Well, Octavia hadn't specified whether they were all going home together. But now that the portal was there -- Sorry, Duke, that hand held a knife, so Octavia pulled it back with a muttered, "Swis, jaka." Her free hand grabbed for Jennifer's, though, with much the same intention he'd had. She kept her eyes on Mara.
Duke & Mara	Duke wasn't sure what "swis" was, but he didn't react outwardly to the avoiding of his hand. She had Jennifer. That would have to be enough. Mara's eyes went wide and hungry when she saw the portal. "Ohhhh, you have some good tricks up your sleeves." She darted for it, hot on Duke's heels.
Octavia	Well, the swis in question made a clarifying appearance right then, as it came out swinging for Mara. Mostly as a threat, though Octavia couldn't really pretend to feel bad if she managed to nick any skin. "Back off."
Mara & Duke & Jennifer	She caught Mara across the chest, just enough to slash her blouse. "I just got this shirt!" she yelled. Duke was through the portal. He turned back and caught Jennifer just as she flung herself through with rather more force than necessary. It was her first portal, okay? "Tavi, come on!" "Oh no you don't," Mara hissed, grabbing for Octavia. "Your trouble is just my style!"
Octavia	Octavia slashed at Mara's hands, stumbling backwards for the portal. It wasn't going to be a graceful landing on the other side, but it didn't need to be.
Mara & Duke & Jennifer	That it sure didn't. Mara lunged after her, mindless of her now-bleeding hands -- and the portal closed. Leaving Duke, Jennifer, and Octavia on the asphalt on the Baltimore side of the Fandom Causeway.
Octavia	Octavia was going to have a bruise on her ass from stumbling onto the asphalt, but right now she couldn't even feel it through all the adrenaline. "Everyone okay?" she asked, a little breathless, sitting up while her gaze darted around in an effort to orient her to their new surroundings. "... Is this the causeway?" She saw it. Saw the island on the other end of it, too. She just needed Duke to confirm he saw it too.
Duke & Jennifer	"Looks like it," Duke confirmed, pushing himself upright. He looked over at Jennifer. "Um. Welcome back to Baltimore?" Jennifer gave a shrug. "Better than whatever that lady wanted with me in Haven."
Octavia	There was blood on the blade. Octavia wiped it clean on her pants before putting the knife away. "Yeah," she muttered.