see the signs

I do for you

[yougoevermore]

The Courtwater's palace is infiltrated while Regina and Oliver are off fighting the war or in diplomatic talks by wizards from the opposing kingdom looking to use Lucas for their cause. It had already been planned to secretly get Lucas out of the country to safety with one of their allies, and in the chaos Lucas gets out of the city and starts heading for the border. Meanwhile the attack in the palace in crushed and control regained, and while soldier go in search of Lucas to make sure he's safe the palace keep fact of the attack and that Lucas isn't there anymore from getting out to the public, though of course there are rumors.

So there is Lucas trekking through the countryside toward the border in the mountains when everything just starts steadily getting bad. He's spotted a few stray enemy wizards flying by overhead, it's getting darker and foggier, and this part of the country is notoriously dangerous anyway what with the witches and beasts said to wander these parts. Which is when the moving castle comes shuffling along and ends up kind of inviting him in (probably no fire demon but still going with that part of Jerry's soul is running this thing so of course it would invite Lucas inside), and between the fact that the wizard of this castle is only known in rumors and ghost stories for devouring women's hearts and that the castle gives him oddly safe and protective vibes, Lucas goes inside for the night.

There's no one around but it's warm, and Lucas waits around for a bit wondering if someone will show up, before just dozing off on the couch. Jerry comes back during the night to find Lucas sound asleep, and so of course it's an initial shock but with Lucas sleeping there's some time to get his composure and realize Lucas never has to know it was him. He can just go up into the castle, magic Lucas some breakfast or something, and send him on his way and that will be fine.

Only his nerves are still going and he ends up accidentally waking Lucas while he's preparing breakfast. It's that awkward, shocked moment of them being face-to-face, the really halted conversation of "It's you," "Yeah," etc with Lucas steadily getting internally worked up because omlit'sJerrysomanyquestionsomlJerry before Jerry is quick to, with some hesitance that Lucas at least can pick up on, quickly begin the process of sending Lucas on his way. A notion that Lucas wants to argue with until it dawns on him - the enemy is looking for him, and if he stays, he'll lead all that trouble right to Jerry.

So, Lucas lets Jerry send him off. Jerry gives him some food and some stuff to help him on his travels, and as he's heading out the door Lucas looks back up at him and tells him something to the effect of wanting to see him again sometime later. Jerry's still in that mindset of 'no just let me be alone go back to your perfect life' so he gives some kind of half-response and tells him goodbye. And it's just that moment of Lucas standing on the mountain path as the sun comes up, watching the castle move on, almost about to cry because Jerry was right there and he just walked away - let Jerry think that he was happy with just walking away. His best friend that he had been hoping to see again all these years and just in a blink of an eye they were apart again. But in the end he just makes this silent promise to find Jerry after the war is over and he turns to continue on to the border.

Pan back to Jerry, still dealing with seeing Lucas again, and starting to realize the implications of Lucas being out on his own with the war (which Jerry has just been trying to stay out of and so hasn't been following much) going on. And it doesn't take him long to do some checking around in the city and hear the rumors about the attack on the palace and the prince maybe or maybe not escaping. Now believing that Lucas is probably in grave danger, he flies back toward the mountains to search for him and make sure he's fine.

Lucas meanwhile is not fine, he's been discovered by enemy wizards and has been trying to evade them as he races toward the border, but he's running out of plans and they're closing in on him. He's already been knocked around quite a bit and ducks into a small cave to hide and try to catch his breath. But the wizards locate him, and Lucas is just pressed in the back of the cave praying as he sees them approaching the opening.

And it's that moment that the wizards get blown back away from the cave, and rather than caving in, stone around the cave lift up and form a wall over the entrance and Lucas can soon hear a battle going on outside. Jerry taking out all the enemy wizards and magically cleaning up the scene before finally going over to dismiss the wall over the cave opening and get Lucas. Cue more proper reunion starting with Lucas thanking Jerry and apologizing for leaving him but he didn't want to lead the enemy forces to him and feeeeels.

[yougoevermore]

Lucas' parents don't expect him home until late and it takes Jerry a long time to wake up and get his bearings. By the time anyone knows Lucas is missing Jared's already taken him far outside any kind of initial search area.

Guided by the demons or whatever he's calling on, Jared manages to escape with Lucas to this run down estate way off in the middle of nowhere, basically. Some friend of the family owned it long ago but it's fallen into disrepair and no one goes out that way anymore. The demons refusing to help anymore until Jared gives them some kind of results in his experimentation, Jared just hunkers down in this place, building up his research equipment, changing his appearance so he can go into town and get business done. He tells people he's the new caretaker of the estate, and no one really questions it.

Lucas is held captive there for two years, experimented on a repeatedly trying to escape, but each time dragged back by the demons or caught by Jared before he can get far from the estate. Jared's experiments going nowhere, he hurts Lucas a little more each time he drags him back, as Lucas in his eyes starts looking more like a symbol of failure than the ideal that he was before. And the more Jared injures him, things like a bad limp or scars showing, the more Jared hates him. But even as the situation deteriorates more and more, Lucas holds out hope that Jerry or someone will come for him, or that if he just keeps trying he'll get away. Jared tells him that Jerry is dead whenever he mentions anything about it, but Lucas really doesn't trust a word he says so far. And unknown to Lucas, on one of his attempted escapes, a woman out walking her dog in the fields caught a glimpse of him for a moment, though she thought nothing of it at the time.

Meanwhile, Jerry and Regina and the investigators have been searching for him, but as the years go by the number of people still invested in the case have dwindled. It's mainly just Jerry still tracking down every lead while Regina coordinates. But Jerry's getting closer, and the demons are chattering at Jared to hurry up and do something. The tension is rising and Lucas notices it. He knows he has to get away soon. The next is his best attempt yet, but he's still caught and Jared in his rage details how he gouged Jerry's eye out and left him for dead, before throwing Lucas in the cellar of the estate and going to set up for his last-ditch effort and making Lucas a demon vessel or whatever he wanted to do.

Jerry is in town, asking around about Lucas when he finally crosses paths with the dog walker, who after some talking suddenly gets this epiphany look. "You know, now that I think about it, I did see someone. It must have been over six months ago . . ." Jerry scrambles to contact local authorities and find out where the estate is.

Lucas is locked in the cellar, cold and bleeding, curled up in the back waiting for Jared to show up again and faced with the suddenly very real prospect that Jerry is dead. It's that first, brief moment on the verge of hopelessness, that even if he gets away he's lost the one person he's been surviving for, when there's noise upstairs. He stumbles to his feet as he hears what must be a dozen more people storming into the house.

But it's Jared that comes down the stairs, gun in hand, waving it wildly at Lucas, yelling that he's a failure too, that he's been plagued with failures. Lucas stops paying attention to him, though, when Jerry appears at the top of the stairs, his own gun trained on Jared as he slowly descends. Blocking out Jared's tirade, Lucas just looks past him to Jerry and smiles.

Jared calls for his demons one last time, but they don't respond. They've abandoned him too, Jerry so looking at him like the scum of the earth he is.

Jared shoots Lucas. In the next instant he's taken down by Jerry, who just runs over his fallen body to Lucas, who has what look to be fatal wounds. He's bleeding badly, not moving. But as Jerry desperately tries to stop the blood, check for a pulse, begs him to be alive, Lucas lets out a breath and his eyes flutter openly briefly, smiling so peacefully up at Jerry, his hand slowly moving over Jerry's that's holding the wound.

The police have swarmed the cellar, securing Jared, who isn't dead but getting there, but they stand at a distance around Lucas and Jerry as the EMTs are called to come into the house from where they were waiting outside for all the all clear.

Lucas opens his mouth to speak but he can't seem to, just weakly squeezing Jerry's hand, still smiling as he shuts his eyes for the final time.

AND THEN CUT TO A WEEK LATER LUCAS WAKES UP IN THE TOWN HOSPITAL WITH JERRY THERE AND HAPPILY EVER AFTER WITH SOME DISABILITIES ENSUED. Or something like that since the boys are impervious to death.

[yougoevermore]

Human. There was his chance. He could never have done it, but there it had been, right in front of him, like some kind of cruel joke. The chance to be able to see the sunrise again, to lose this constant chill in his bones, to never again feel that sick, gut-wrenching twist in his chest from the hunger, the pressure in his fangs, the headaches. To not have to survive through feeding on other people. To not always put the burden on Jerry of trying to make him feel better. To just be . . . normal. To not have to fear who he could hurt.

But at what cost? The image painted for him of where he would ultimately spend eternity sending another sharp pain through him that has him stopping in his tracks, shaking his head and looking around at the street he has come down. Rubbing his shoulder absently he sways slightly, considering, before his feet take him down a side-street and he settles into old childhood habits. He sits down behind a shop, where no one will see or hear him, with his back to the wall and lets a pained breath out, forehead on his knees.

It's like being stuck in a room with an infinite amount of radios, all turned on at various volumes, and no matter how many you turn off there's always more noise. The thoughts in his head, the images, of what could have been, of being human, of becoming a demon, of what he would be forced to do and all the things he would never have a chance at. In that moment feeling it is certain, now. The crumbling, temporary probably, of that tiny, absurd and childish hope. He will never be human, there's never going to be any kind of remedy for this, he's going to live to be hundreds, maybe thousands of years old and have to just keeping getting by or get used it. But he doesn't want to get used to it. He doesn't want to outlive Jerry. He doesn't want to be head of the coven.

But he can't, he could never give up his soul, he could never make that deal, get wrapped up with that side. At least right now he has a chance of this ending someday, some release. That he could still get to heaven despite what he is. And the demon had wanted him to lose that? To spend eternity condemning other people to hell? What kind of option was that? To buy humanity in exchange for becoming an even worse monster than he is now . . .

He lifts his head, hands going to cup over his mouth as he stares blankly forward. He's shaking now but he doesn't notice it, a soft, strangled moan in the back of his throat coming out before he takes a ragged breath and starts trying to calm himself down. Nothing has changed from earlier. He's right where he's always been. Nothing got worse. He's OK. He needs to let this go.

He can't tell Jerry about this. The thought comes to mind and he tips his head back, hands falling from his mouth and one returns to massaging his shoulder, and he sighs. Yeah, right. Jerry will know something's wrong the second he sees him. There's no trying to hide anything from him, they know each other too well. He just needs to . . . to calm down, bury some of this. The more upset he seems about it the more upset Jerry will be. He doesn't want to make this night about another one of his breakdowns. Better to make it happy, cook something, get the fireplace going and sit down and watch a movie.

"Stop," Lucas tells himself softly, pressing his hands over his face and dropping them again, starting to take deep, steadying breaths.  Mentally repeats the mantra that he's fine, that nothing bad actually happened, that all this is old pain and made up pain and he'll get past it. He just wants to be with Jerry. He feels alright there. 

Lucas pulls his sleeves up over his hand and stands up, takes another deep breath. You're fine, you're fine. Stop shaking. Nods to himself. In his head is still the soft, persistent droning of the radios in the background, there's still the knot in his chest, but he's thinking more clearly. He looks up at the sky but he's too far into the city to see the stars. 

He set his mind back on the view Jerry showed him, of happy they were there, and starts home. 

[jetparc-blog]

Photo by Chris Rivera

[yougoevermore]

Soul Mate Timer AU - They don't meet as kids but instead meet when they're older. Jerry the troubled wrong-side-of-the-tracks street rat and Lucas the kind hearted timid rich boy.

Nervously adjusting his tie as people hovered around, excitedly chattering about the timer. A large number of girls had gathered around a large screen that had the timer and constantly checked and double checked to see if their times synced up with Lucas's. There was chatter left and right, a desperate search to find the person who had the syncing count down with Lucas's counter. Thankfully, his mother was there to keep the crowd back and assure them that when the soul mate was there, they'd be there. She was ready to kick in the face of the next person that tried to twenty question Lucas about the whole situation.

Time ticked down and as the minutes became seconds, the room gradually grew hushed with anxiety. Everyone looking to their wrists and looking around in confusion when no one was synced up with the timer. Had they made a mistake? Had they not invited the person? Had they ruined Lucas's chance at finding his soul ma--

Suddenly there was a loud crash from the floor above the silent ball room. A few more thunks and thuds before something - no someone - fell from the ceiling. The crowds screamed and scattered, barely moving out of the way in time, before turning to stare at whoever it was that had fallen from the sky that was currently hidden in a cloud of dust. Security guards leaned over the hole, calling down to ask if everyone was okay. The soul mate count down was nearly forgotten, minus by a group of the children that still had their eyes plastered on the screen.

While a majority of the crowd had scattered, a few had rushed over to make sure the fallen person was alright. One of these people being Lucas, who had been the closest to the landing spot. Kneeling down as he fanned away the dust to get a better look at who it was, Lucas would be the first person to stare at the unconscious Jeremiah Burton. The moment he saw him, the kids that had been watching the counter began shouting "ZERO ZERO ZERO!" The room fell into a shocked silence, everyone freezing as Lucas just simply stared in a silent awe at his 'soul mate'. Unsure himself if he'd really found him, Lucas slowly looked over to Jerry's wrist to check his own count down, but...

Missing. He had nothing but scars there, the young man didn't have a count down. The boy looked like he had just been in a fight and for that matter, Lucas could see the signs of ailment as well with how pale and sickly he seemed. His hand slowly moved to cover his mouth. Not in disguist, but in sudden panic and a silent regret for having not being able to find this person in front of him sooner. Jerry while out cold would be fine for the most part. Lucas refused to leave the young man's side as an ambulance was called. As the guards from the floor above would come into the room, they'd come to a stop when the situation was explained. Muttering started to fill the room, Lucas and Jerry near the center still where the crowd surrounded them, watching and silently judging. Once the two were swept away to the hospital, the room would explode with confusion and mild chaos at the revelation of just who their heir's soulmate was.

It wasn't until the next day, Jerry would wake up in the hospital to Lucas sitting next to him, nervously shifting about and looking out the window in thought. Jerry didn't say a word, Lucas riddled with nerves and Jerry just confused before he slowly sat up. "... Who are...?" he began before Lucas damn near jumped out of his chair in surprise. The Courtwater boy turned to look at Jerry and opened his mouth a few times before shutting it, unsure of what to say to his 'soul mate' suddenly. Despite going through various scenarios again and again in his mind, in the end, he couldn't figure out how to approach Jerry. The tired and sickly boy just stared at Lucas in confusion, before slowly reaching over to him and setting his hand on his head. "I just asked who you are, don't have a melt down, alright?" he questioned, slowly retracting his hand and Lucas gave a nod. Bowing his head and shuffling slightly, Lucas softly explained.

"... I-I'm Lucas Courtwater..." His thumb slid over the timer on his wrist, before he held it up to show to Jerry the 0's on it as he looked up at him. "I'm... Well, you're my... We're..."

Jerry's eye slowly widen at the sight and he looked over at Lucas. The boy riddled with nerves but dressed up still in his suit as he had refused to step away for a moment should Jerry wake up. Jerry's hand went to his own wrist, nervously covering the scars from where his timer had been removed and he shrank back slightly with an apologetic look. There was a long pause before he mumbled "I didn't think I... You're really...?"

Lucas gave a curt nod (and thus begins the beautiful bromance )

[yougoevermore]

It's a rainy day near the bridge and he's sitting on the rocks by the small fast moving stream when he hears movement and looks up to see Lucas walking up to him and tilting his umbrella to shield them both from the rain. Lucas asking if he's okay, a bit intimidated by his eyes and Jerry just nods and scoots over to give Lucas room to sit. Lucas sits and asks if Jerry is lost and Jerry just shakes his head. The two fall silent, little!Lucas awkwardly worried he may be bothering this kid until Jerry looks over at him and quietly asks if he wants to see a magic trick. Lucas looks up at him and Jerry waves his hand in front of his face. When his hand slides up, his eye color inverts itself, the white returning and iris turning green, when his hand slides down, his eye color reverts back to normal. Lucas grins and excitedly asks how did he manage to do that and Jerry just gives a slight shrug and explains "It's all natural~"

The two begin chattering away at this point, up until Lucas has to go home. "You want me to walk you home?" Lucas asks and Jerry just shakes his head, turning to watch Lucas run off. Although the blond stops at the top of the hill to turn and call out "Can we meet here again tomorrow?!"

Jerry is caught off guard by that and struggles to think of what to say before he nods. "Ye-Yeah! That sounds great to me!"

In this version, Jerry would be more likely to have violent outbreaks, and may be even more so borderline evil at this point with only Lucas there to keep him from being an outright villain.

Lucas never becoming a wendigo in this timeline. Either Northshore doesn't happen, or events have been altered enough that they either aren't there or they're able to get to safety in time.

Possibly the academy spotting Jerry earlier on when someone witnesses one of those near-misses, enrollment there being offered to Lucas as well since he's in the know about supernatural things. So like before they're living nearby off-campus and they're well clear of Northshore when it happens, but other struggles arising as Jerry gets older and comes more into his demon side, and Jared still to detail with along with the school drama.

Jerry significantly stronger than his shapeshifter self, but he's definitely still got his old charm when you get pass his surface. He'd probably be colder to people but with Lucas he is his usual jolly self.

[yougoevermore]

So cut to five years later and Jerry's been an Arcanine most of that, with vague but distant and dream-like memories of the city and a blond human that was friendly and important, enough that he stays near populated areas for reasons he doesn't understand. Trainers passing through the area hearing about a powerful, one-eyed Arcanine that's elusive and has been impossible to capture, people continuing to try and making Jerry incredibly distrustful of humans so that he does pretty much go on the offensive until he can flee almost whenever approached, barring when it's a child in which case he just more gently bumps them off and leaves. Until that fateful encounter with Lucas, on vacation from school and beginning to travel a bit in a poorly-disguised attempt to find out what happened to Jerry. Neither fully recognizing the other at first but there's that subconscious pull on bother sides - the eye and lack thereof at least reminding Lucas of him enough, and after intial hostility something kicking in in Jerry's head, that ever-present undercurrent of /I know him, I have to protect him/. So he, grudgingly at first, ends up tagging along after Lucas, who is inviting and offers him food to eat and tries to make friends, and does /not/ try to capture him. The pair of them falling into familiarity and friendship again easily after a bit despite the species gap.

And eventually something happens to make Lucas recognize him for certain, or Jerry remembering, or something forcing Jerry to shift back into human form. Like the duo getting jumped and outnumbered by a gang or something, putting up a good fight but they're about to be beaten and Lucas is in immediate danger, Jerry emergency-shifting into a more versatile half-form without even realizing it and defeating the gang's pokemon and causing the group to flee because obviously they don't know what he is and don't plan on sticking around to find out. Lucas recognizing him and calling out to him and Jerry starting to get hit with the realization of what happened and it goes from there.

[yougoevermore]

The Others

Cut to over 100 years later. The old Courtwater estate has changed hands several times, but the one thing that remained the same is that the Burtons are still hired caretakers of it. Jerry's grandfather most recently; as usual Jerry ends up in his custody and more often than not accompanies him. They just about have full access to the estate, free to roam about for the most part and Jerry would explore the grounds and the massive house. During an early visit is when he first encounters Lucas's ghost.

Loads of ghost stories exist about the Courtwater house, ranging from the most sinister to the most innocuous. After all this time Lucas has little memory of what happened to him, and alone in this giant house - with the presence of his own killer still also lurking - he's reverted to the spirit of a young child, about Jerry's age, and spends most of his conscious hours hiding away. Reading sometimes, not bothering anyone but watching visitors come and go, or sometimes really hiding from the other thing lurking within the manor's walls.

Inevitably Jerry finds him hiding somewhere, scared. Jerry's level of spiritual ability allows him to interact with ghosts practically as though they were flesh and blood, and like usual the bromance instantly starts developing. Lucas at first just amazed because Jerry was the first person to interact with him at all that wasn't terrified because /ghost/, and Jerry excited because he's never really met/scene a ghost that acted so . . . normal and actually stuck around to be spoken to. So, Jerry spends much of his time sneaking up to estate - which Lucas is bound to and unable to leave - to play with Lucas. Especially so after his grandfather dies, and paranormal-obsessed Jared takes over and begins investigating the house - more interest in the dark presence there than Lucas, who Jared knows little if anything about.

So Jerry and Lucas pretty much grow up together as usual, as Jerry gets older Lucas progressing as well and slowly becoming aware again of his life and what happened to him. Jerry goes to school or whatever and sticks around the old estate (Dorothy took off to study abroad or something as soon as possible), always coming back to Lucas and by the time they're teenagers having practically moved into the estate, in part to avoid Jared. Everything's going about as good as it can be considering that Lucas is dead and unable to leave the grounds until he and Jerry are near to the age Lucas was killed at, and the anniversary of the murders approaches. At which time the ghost of the killer begins to severely influence Jared. Jared and the ghost gradually begin to go after Jerry and Lucas in earnest and they have to prevent history from repeating itself as the current owners of the estate arrive, looking into selling the place. Etc.

Possibly - At the end a revised will is discovered revealing that the estate was actually left to Jerry's great-grandfather, making Jerry the actual legal owner. They defeat the ghost of Lucas' killer and it frees Lucas from the estate, so he can leave it with Jerry with possibly Jerry's medium abilities allowing him to become somewhat corporeal while near Jerry. Cue traveling around on ghost hunting/ghost whispering adventures.

[yougoevermore]

Late one night, still up and working on learning how to read, a young Jeremiah Burton would be sucked into yet another tragedy as the one creature he feared would appear in his room. He tried to run, but injured legs got him no where, and when he called for help, no one could hear him courtesy of his uncle's abilities. The room was silent from the outside, but on the inside it was filled with terrified cries as Jerry asked for Jared to stop, that he didn't want to change and he didn't want to die. Ignoring his pleas, though, Jerry's struggle was fruitless and Jared would indeed sink his fangs into him. Forced to go through the process of changing into a monster, the hours would go by before finally Jared would vanish and the loud painfilled scream of Jerry would awake almost everyone in the house. Rushing to the room where Jerry was hiding under his bed, holding his wrist and refusing to let anyone see, he kicked and fougth to keep them away before finally a couple of grown men came in to drag the kicking and screaming child out and finally reveal the bites all over his wrist.

Immediately Jerry was moved from the room he'd been staying in and further into the Courtwater house, descending to the levels dedicated to vampiric research and work. As Jerry began changing, he was the subject of various attempts to reverse the process as well. For nearly a week of agony they fought and fought until it was too late and Jerry became a creature of the night. Locking him in one of the sealed rooms downstairs, it was then left up to Oliver and Regina to decide what should be done about the child now locked up in their house. One who Lucas was constantly asking about in worry day in and day out.

Jerry eventually gains control over his new state, and is able to move back into the main house, growing up alongside Lucas and eventually becoming embroiled in vampire and hunter-related conflicts.

[yougoevermore]

Carry On My Wayward Son

Jerry is coming over for the usual hang out after another hunt but as he comes inside the entryway, it's quiet, like... Uncomfortably quiet. "... Lucas? . . . Regina?" he calls out, making his way around the corner just in time to nearly get blind sided by whatever was in there taking off before it can be seen. Jerry is ready to chase it when he hears a weak voice call out "Jerry...?" The Burton boy quickly whips around to see Regina bleeding out on the floor and he quickly runs over and rips off his scarf to hold it against the wound. "No, nononono" he chants, before realizing Lucas was supposed to be home, too. He looks up before looking back down at Regina, obviously torn. It's obvious at this point, no one could possibly come here fast enough to save her and Jerry just tries to slow the bleeding. "It'll be okay, i-it'll be fine, you're..." he nervously rambles before Regina sets a hand on his cheek. He shuts up and lets go of the wound to hold Regina's hand in this silent acceptance. "What did this ... Wh-Where's Lucas?" he asks.

Regina explains the details the best she can before commenting that she locked Lucas in one of the rooms in the back to protect him from whatever it was. Jerry nods before he moves her hands over her wound and pulls off his jacket to hide the damage that's been done the best he can. "I'll protect him, I promise, it won't... Nothing will hurt him, okay?" he softly assures Regina who nods. Jerry scrambles to his feet and over to the door Lucas is behind and he finally opens it. Lucas is in a complete panic, especially when he sees Jerry covered in blood. He asks what's going on, where's his mom and Jerry quickly tells him "Just close your eyes, okay?"

Lucas hesitates but does so and Jerry qickly leads him down the hall. He takes a deep breath and says "Don't... Don't open your eyes. Just imagine mo-- your mom is in front of you and just say whatever you want to her. Like remind her how much you love her and..."

"Jerry, wha-what's going on?" "Just do it."

Lucas is completely lost but as Jerry stops in the living room by Regina, Lucas begins to say what he doesn't realize are his final words to Regina. When Lucas finishes, Jerry makes sure his eyes stay shut and guide him to the front entry way. "Stay. I'm getting your things. We need to leave here /now/." "What's going on?!" "I'll explain in a bit, just stay here, please!" Jerry cries, suddenly looking so desperate for Lucas to just do this and Lucas just caves and waits. Packing for Lucas and quickly taking him to safety, back in some hotel, Jerry explains to Lucas what had happened, sitting beside him as he explains the details and Lucas just falling apart in his arms that night. Jerry takes over investigating and hunting down the monster, and after all's said and done, Jerry comes back to Lucas and it's during this moment of a cold solemn silence that Jerry finally breaks the ice with another story of the 'warrior'.

"... The warrior's journey this time was the roughest adventure and beast he had ever faced. In his own kingdom, in his very important queen's castle is where the battle would start this time..." Jerry would begin and it would be then that Lucas starts to realize the warrior was never just some fictional no-named character Jerry came up with. Jerry this whole time was this warrior going out and fighting monsters and carrying this heavy burden and when Jerry tries to leave again, Lucas refuses to let him leave by himself, thus beginning their adventures together.

[yougoevermore]

Heaven Help Us

It's kind of like cold war Russia - you can't just leave if you live there. Starting at eighteen, assuming you are branded as holy and you have the money and influence to fund your pursuit, you can begin the process of applying for a passport. This can takes months or even years - and in theory these passports are only temporary tickets out, you are expected to return, and most rich people do because they're living it up there, though networks have formed on the outside to help people get free of the city's influence and set up lives on the outside. The Courtwaters being a major part of these networks - the Courtwaters still within the city doing a lot of work to fund passports for people and secretly back resistance movements.

The thing is, the government isn't just this radical pseudo-religious body. It's run by six fallen angels in disguise, who have created this city so they can basically be the gods of it. Their corrupted bodies are sustained by the immorality of the city, and the superior souls they're able to take to power themselves. They have immense power within the city, and pretend to be just the messengers to the "angels" that watch over them, shapeshifting every few decades to give the illusion of a changing government run by the people in rigged elections.

Lucas was branded as holy due to his family standing, but also because of his pure soul, one that the fallen angels more or less bookmarked to come to collect one day. Because of his family's history of mental disorders and Jared's in particular research into angels and demons which quickly got him arrested, Jerry was branded as unholy. The pair of course friends since childhood, the Courtwaters protecting them and the two pretty much growing up with the dream of getting passports and getting out of their as soon as possible. So all through their teens they're working to get Jerry re-branded as holy so he can get out, and they're really close, Lucas refusing to put his papers in until he and Jerry can do it together. But getting re-branded is a laborious process as well, and they've only just put the papers for that in by the time the boys are in their early twenties. It's when they're waiting for that application to go through, and they've started looking into passports, that the yearly lottery comes around.

Every year, a select number of people are chosen to be elevated to this primary citizenship position. They get to go live in a closed-off part of the city that's basically supposed to be heaven on earth. The lottery is rigged, of course, with the rich and powerful buying the winning slots, and the fallen angels choosing the others whose souls they want to take. This paradise is rife with decadence and rampant immorality, lust and gluttony and greed fueled. It feeds the fallen angels. And the citizens chosen to live here not only get to do whatever they please, they're also transformed into sort of lesser "angelic" beings, which gives the fallen angels direct control over them whenever they need it. As for those whose souls the fallen angels want to devour, they're left in this immoral place until they've hopefully given in and become less spiritually fortified, and then their souls are devoured and they become these soulless beings that are the direct underlings of the fallen angels, more or less acting as the city's secret police. They also reap and act as storage for the souls of the branded unholy that have been marked for "cleansing" - usually criminals and the like.

So Lucas gets handpicked as a lottery winner and is whisked off to this other part of the city. In his desperation to somehow get him back, Jerry is noticed by a seventh fallen angel - one that long ago had tried to stop the other and ended up getting sealed away within the core of the city instead. Now this seventh fallen angel wants to bring about their destruction for multiple reasons, not all of them particularly moral ones. He's mostly a good guy but still wants to be able to manipulate whoever he chooses for this quest, and mistakenly thinks Jerry's a good choice for that, rather than the numerous underground resistance leaders he had also been watching. He communicates with Jerry through astral projection or something and explains that he'll use the last of his strength to begin slowly transferring his power to Jerry through a weakness in the seals placed on him. So as Jerry goes on his search for Lucas and a way to break into the inner city and rescue him, he's slowly and hopefully temporarily being transformed into a something like these fallen angels. Meanwhile on the inside, Lucas is avoiding all the immorality and parties leading up to the winner's ceremony at the end of the year during which all the soul-stealing and transformations are set to take place. Lucas is instead digging around into the history of the city, finding out about the seventh angel on his own and eventually establishing brief, loose contact with Jerry when he finds the actual chamber under which the seventh angel is sealed.

Long story short Jerry eventually manages to slip in undetected with the use of his powers, which are nearing godlike levels at least as far as the city is concerned, and breaks Lucas out. However this throws the government into a frenzy, trying to hunt them down and reestablish their power, while at the same time the revolutionaries are using this moment to mount attacks on the government. So it's these demigod battles throughout the city, unearthing all the forbidden history, and also this timer on their heads because if Jerry keeps the power for too long it will eventually permanently change him - and the fallen angels cannot leave the city. Possible endings being they mostly dismantle the government and Jerry gives up the power in time, he and Lucas able to walk away with the knowledge that the revolutionaries are going to take the city back from the remains of the government - or another version where they defeat the government entirely but Jerry doesn't lose the powers in time, sealing him their but at least the other fallen angels are gone and thing will improve, Jerry acting as a kind of guardian and Lucas eventually convincing him to give him some degree of immortality so they can stay together. However there's further hope in that together Jerry and Lucas are slowly purifying the corrupted holy power in Jerry, so that one day he will be able to leave the city.

[yougoevermore]

Paint Who You Know

[yougoevermore]

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L&J

The bromance playlist.

[yougoevermore]

Look After You

Reversal AU - In which Jerry was rich and Lucas homeless. Lucas' parents' plane went down on the way home from a business trip. The money squandered by a relative or locked up in a trust, and the home situation awful enough that Lucas actually preferred the streets and city libraries and getting into homeless shelters whenever he could. He could go "home" but he hates it, the uncle with girlfriends always over, parties all the time and alcohol always flowing. Lucas is even quieter, doing odd jobs around local shops and restaurants for food. Until Jerry suddenly there and charging into the rescue just like he always used to.

Jerry's own home life is like that and he actually participates in that, but when he tries to get Lucas involved, Lucas is adamant on staying away and for a bit this puts distance between them before Jerry can't stand it anymore. He opts out of the parties and immoral situations to follow after Lucas instead, starting to take more in the bliss of simple things like sitting with someone and watching childhood favorite movies. Lucas is still the more domestic of the two, baking cookies for Jerry who is absolutely in love with the hand crafted treats.

[yougoevermore]

Inside the Fire

Purity AU - Lucas is this celestial being that Jerry is the guardian of.  However, Jerry is a corrupted creature of sorts that is only spared from damnation because of his place as Lucas's guard.  He protects Lucas from other monster that want to corrupt his purity. Lucas can purify these monsters in the fires that he lives in. and the only reason Jerry hasn't allowed him to be purified because he would lose his ability to properly protect Lucas.

[yougoevermore]

One Hell of a Butler

Black Butler AU - Jerry is killed by an unknown group and makes a deal to come back as a demon to protect Lucas from the impending danger. He simply returns one day, changed, going by a different name. Jerry having only been missing, it's bizarre but it's not like Lucas is going to turn him away. He acts distant at first just playing the role of the dutiful butler, practically pretending like they didn't know each other before, not wanting to get Lucas involved with the demon side of things and it's this whole tense affair as Lucas has no idea what's happened and Jerry behaving like that is wearing him down. And then Lucas is attacked and the whole story begins to come out.