Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lucifer Kane woke with a start to the sound of shouting.

Brutus Feels shouting, to be specific.

It had been about a month since they reunited after their adventures in Wonderland, and they had easily settled back into routine. Oddly enough, there hadn't been any new clients, or cases. It'd been a pretty quiet month, which was welcome news, and gave the two detectives time to catch up.

Recently though, for the past few nights, Brutus had begun having terrible nightmares again. Awful ones that would leave him shaking and have him waking up screaming. 

So Kane hopped out of bed, and walked carefully down the hall, trying to compose himself enough to comfort Brutus. 

He pushed the door open gently, peering in. Sure enough, there was Brutus, curled against the wall, legs drawn up to his chest, with his face tucked between his knees. He jumped slightly as Kane picked his way across his room and flicked on the lamp next to the bed. 

"Hey, Luce." he said, his soft voice muffled in the blanket and shaking like Kane had never heard before.

He sat down next to Brutus on the bed and looked him over. He seemed very small in that moment, all folded up. He tilted his face up to look at Kane, and he saw that Brutus had been... crying.

Oh.

His face was flushed and wet with tears, and he looked exhausted. He sighed heavily, and maybe with relief, unfurled from his position against the wall, and leaned his head on Kane's shoulder. 

Kane flinched slightly at this, but then relaxed, and put his arm around him. "Do you... need to talk about it?" He asked hesitantly, unsure of how Brutus would react.

Brutus Feels was silent for a long moment.

"There was.. a man." He said finally, voice cracking a bit. "And.. and a town, in America, I think, and there was- there was um.. there was aliens I th- I think? And there were eyes." His voice got very low and quiet, and thick with fear. "There were so many eyes, Luce. They were red and burning and they knew I didn't belong there, and th-" 

Kane interrupted him, his voice sharp and steady. "Where? You didn't belong where, Brutus?" He hated himself for sounding so mean and commanding, but Brutus would ramble on for ages unless he corralled him and his thoughts.

Brutus drew in a shaky breath. "The, um.. the twilight z-zone? Where um.. where Alice was? The.. the Void." 

Kane felt a chill go up his spine, but Brutus wasn't finished.

His voice was dark, and low, and.. scary. "There was a man in the Void. He was trapped, just like Alice. I saw him, Luce, he was just standing there, and he turned to me, and he looked so so scared. He asked me, 'Is anyone looking for me? Does anyone know where I am?' I told him that I didn't know, and he was quiet for a very long time. 'My name is Jack Wright. Please, is anyone looking for me? Do you know Sammy? Sammy Stevens? Blonde, tall, blue eyes, he has a sleeve tattoo? On his right arm, please you have to- ' as he talked, he tried to walk towards me, and I tried to reach out, to grab hold of him, to help him, but he faded away, still asking me frantically if I knew... if I knew-" Brutus's grey-blue eyes filled with tears. "I couldn't save him, Luce. I couldn't.. I couldn't save him. It was like Alice all over again, I lost him." 

He shook, holding back tears, and Kane frowned. The details of his dream seemed far too specific, yet again. This was not the first time Brutus had encountered this "Jack Wright". In fact, all of his recent nightmares had involved the Void, and Jack, and a town that Kane understood to be called "King Falls." 

"It's going to be okay, Brutus. We'll crack this case, just as we do with all the others. Do you think you can fall back asleep?" Kane asked, voice soft (for once).

Brutus hesitated. "Do you think- do you think you could sit in here with me? Just until I um- just until I fall back asleep."

Kane sighed and nodded. "Of course."

Brutus looked at him, relieved and grateful, and lay back down, curling up with his back to Kane. It only took a few minutes for him to begin snoring softly, and Kane almost laughed. 

He was hesitant to leave though, for as much as he acted standoffish and as rude as he could be, he really did worry and care for his friend. He knew how bad Brutus's nightmares were, and he didn't feel right abandoning him.

 What if he had another nightmare? 

So Lucifer Kane settled against the wall, one hand on Brutus's back, just as a reassurance, and took out his phone, and pulled up Google.

Using one hand, he typed in "King Falls Sammy Stevens"

He pressed search, and gasped softly as it popped up. 

"Gotcha."

Chapter Text

[About two months later]

Sammy Stevens and Ben Arnold were having a nice, quiet, peaceful night in the Station where they ran their late night radio show. 

Almost TOO quiet.

"You've heard our story, now let's hear yours! We're going to the phones." Sammy said, rattling off the stations phone number.

Elsewhere, two men sitting in their rental car perked up.

"Did you get that?" The taller man asked, leaning over.

"Yes! Now shh!" The smaller of the two replied sharply.

Back in the radio station, the caller board was lighting up. 

"Got a topic for tonight, Ben?" Sammy asked, glancing at his tiny friend.

"Nope! Just thought we'd taking it easy, dude." Ben replied cheerfully, leaning back in his chair.

"Alright!" Sammy laughed, "Let's see, lucky line three, you are live!"

A voice crackled through Sammy and Ben's headphones.

The voice was unfamiliar, and had a British accent. Ben looked nervously at Sammy. The only person in this town who had a British accent, or at least pretended to, was the weird spider cult guy, and they were NOT in the mood.

"Hello? Hello? Is this, um... is this King Falls AM?" asked the voice, sounding uncomfortable.

"Yessir, you are live." Sammy replied. "May I asked who's calling?" 

The voice was quiet for a brief moment. "My name is Lucifer Kane. I'm a private investigator." He said. "I'm here with my colleague, Brutus Feels. We, ah... we think we can help."

Sammy and Ben exchanged glances. 

"Uhhh... help with what?" Ben asked, leaning forward.

"Oh please, Benjamin." Kane said.

"Wh-" Ben started to say, confused as to why this weirdo knew his name already.

"Jack Wright." He interrupted, voice echoing in their headphones. "We can get him back."

Both men in the radio station were silent.

Sammy's hands shook, and his mouth felt dry. The world around him faded to background noise and color. His head spun and it was hard to breathe.

They couldn't possibly know about Jack, there was no way, this man wasn't from here, he had no way of- this wasn't right, something else was going on. They couldn't possibly know the connection, how did he know? How did they know? They cant know, they can't they can't theycanttheycanttheyCANTTHEYCANT-

Sammy Stevens couldn't breathe.

Ben's voice broke the silence.

"Pssh. Yeah, right." He scoffed, trying to sound unimpressed, though there was a waiver to his voice that suggested otherwise. "They probably just looked us up. This Lucifer Kane guy even just SOUNDS crazy, dude."

Somewhere, in a car, Brutus Feels stifled a laugh.

"Lets just take another caller, Sa-" Ben began, but was cut off by Sammy.

"Wait, Ben." His voice was low, and shaky.

There was a pause, static in the radio silence crackling throughout the broadcast.

"Lucifer Kane, was it?" Sammy asked, finally.

Kane smiled, and leaned back in the driver's seat, knowing he had won. "Just Kane is fine."

"...right." Sammy replied, "Meet us at Roses Diner, at 6:30."

"WH-! SAMMY!!!" Ben exclaimed, sitting straight up and looking at Sammy in astonishment.

Kane grinned and suppressed a triumphant laugh. "Right-o, chap! We'll see you there!"

He hung up, and gave Brutus a high five.

.
.
.

Elsewhere in the sleepy little town, a group of men exchanged looks. This wasn't good. 

The Heart, the Protector, the Promised, and the One were already too strong on their own.

They were aware of the Anchor and the Shaman, of course, they were aware of all things. When they had heard that the two had been reincarnated and reunited in London, they thought they'd be safe this time around. They could finally finish their plans, after years of waiting (and after killing off the last reincarnation of the Anchor and Shaman). 

They should've known that the Anchor would eventually receive a message, or a sign from the Forgotten, for Jack Wright was stronger than the others they had lured into the Void. But now the Anchor and Shaman were aware, and it was only a matter of time before all hell broke loose, and they discovered the truth.

Unless they could do something about it. 

Unless they could split the Anchor and the Shaman.

Chapter Text

The diner was busy.

But it was busy in a cosy way, where there's a sense of routine, and familiarity, of safety and warmth.

Brutus and Luce were sat in the back corner, near the window. Feels had opted to sit near the middle, to avoid any further suspicion, but Kane had insisted that they sit in the back. He had made some argument (which Brutus had been too tired to contradict), but Feels suspected Luce just liked the aesthetic of 'The Two Out-of-Towners Sitting in the Back Corner of the Local Diner'.

Well, more like Brutus was sitting, and Lucifer was kneeling on the red vinyl bench like a hyperactive child, leaning over the back in an attempt to spot the two radio hosts. 

"Where are they?!" he complained, bouncing on his feet.

"Dunno, Luce." Brutus replied, ever so patient with his partner.

"They should be here by now."

"I know, Luce."

"They stood us up!"

"Hmm." 

It was only 6:32, and Luce was still annoyed with them. 

Brutus sighed, rested his head on his hands, and hoped they got there soon. He didn't want to have to drag Kane kicking and screaming to the car, cursing their names and generally being difficult about the situation.

...Again.

Kane flopped dramatically back onto the seat, and put his head on Brutus' shoulder, sighing loudly.

"They're never going to show up." He whined into Brutus' dark grey over-coat, voice muffled.

Brutus had to laugh then, and patted Kane on the back. "Oh, I'm sur-"

The bell over the door rang out softly through the hubbub of the diner, letting everyone know that someone had arrived. A few heads lifted, and turned to look, but most went about their business.

Lucifer Kane's head shot up like a dart, eyes wildly focused on the door. 

In through said door walked Sammy Stevens and Ben Arnold, looking a bit uncomfortable and disgruntled. They both peered around for a moment, before Ben noticed the two strangers sitting in the back corner, equally uncomfortable about the situation. 

"There they are!" Lucifer hissed, almost standing on the seat again and grinning like a madman.

Brutus waved at the duo, and Ben nudged the taller man, and pointed. Sammy looked over, realized that they were the people that they were looking for, and made their way across the diner to the detectives.

"Are you Kane?" Sammy asked, shifting nervously on his feet with his hands shoved in his hoodie pockets.

"And Feels, yes," replied Luce, gesturing towards Brutus, who smiled reassuringly at them. "You're Sammy and Ben, I presume? Please, sit."

Ben slid into the bench across from the two detectives, followed by Sammy. The four men regarded eachother for a moment, before Sammy spoke up.

"Um... right, okay, explain yourselves." he said, putting on his Dad Voice.

Kane sighed heavily. "Very well then. If you insist." He sat straight up in his seat, making eye contact with the radio hosts.

"It all started after our last case, when Brutus began having nightmares again. Upon waking, he'd ramble about a town in the middle of no-where, about abductions and red eyes, and... a man. A man named Jack Wright."

Sammy inhaled sharply.

"At first," Kane continued, "we both agreed and assumed it was probably the after effects of stress or trauma, and we brushed it off. Upon a bit of research, though, we realized that that couldn't be further from the truth."

"So you DID look us up." Ben muttered, squinting at Brutus, who swallowed nervously and tried to give him a friendly smile.

"Hush, Ben." Sammy elbowed him in the ribs, glaring.

"Yes, well, anyways, after some further..." Kane paused and thought back to the many seances and rituals done in an attempt to contact Jack. "...investigations, we got a flight to America, (a pilot I knew owed us a favor) and we've been staying in a hotel on the outskirts of town, tuning into your show every night for about a week or so. It was only tonight that we decided to make contact."

Sammy nodded, and the group was silent for a moment, before he spoke up again.

"S-so you've seen him? Jack?" he hated how shaky his voice sounded.

"Yes." Brutus replied, his heart aching for the tall and sad looking blonde that sat across from them.

Sammy nodded again. "Well, I know I believe you. Other people have had similar dreams..." he paused. "I do have to ask, of course, how're you gonna get him back? Do you have a game plan?"

Brutus furrowed his brow, and glanced at Kane, who looked at him, equally confused.

"Well, I'm going to go into the Void, and get him out." he said.

"Yes, I thought that was clear." Kane said, nodding.

"WHAT?!" roared Ben, sitting straight up.

"NO WAY! Absolutely NOT!" Sammy said at the same time, astonished.

Brutus flinched, and looked at Kane, panicked. "No, no, wait- it's okay!" he stumbled over his words.

Kane placed a reassuring hand on Brutus' shoulder. "Brutus has gone into the Void before! He has gone in, and retrieved someone." he explained calmly.

"We- I don't care!" Ben exclaimed, clenching his fists. "We've both lost people to that thing." 

Sammy nodded harshly. "Ben is right. Besides, Jack already made contact. He made it clear that he's... he's not coming back." He looked away, his face dark.

Kane tilted his head to one side, quizzically, like a puppy hearing something new. "Wait a moment, what do you mean Jack already made contact?"

Sammy sighed softly, anger forgotten and now just looking sad and hurt. "Jack... showed up, last winter. He um, he tried to pull me into the Void. Luckily Lily, Jack's sister, and Ben were there to stop me, but Jack... we couldn't get him back, we couldn't get through to him.  He's too far gone."

Ben reached under the table and patted Sammy's knee reassuringly.

Brutus and Kane again regarded eachother for a moment, before looking back at the radio hosts. 

"...Well, first off-" Brutus began.

"-that wasn't Jack." Kane finished, drumming his fingers on the table. 

"The Void, the Buffer, whatever you wanna call it, plays tricks. It messes you up, disorts things. Its most likely that it dragged your most vulnerable emotions to the surface, taking the form of your fiancé to get to you." Brutus explained, running a hand through his curly hair. "It tricked me, thats for sure. So, Jack's still in there, yes, but he's in no way too far gone."

Sammy's heart jumped at the sliver of hope this mans words gave him as he blinked back tears and painful memories.

"Which is why we're gonna get him back." Kane said, resting his head on one hand. "With or without your support. Something big is coming, and Brutus and I need to act fast and get him back as much as you do."

There was a long pause as the four men regarded eachother again, none of them quite trusting the other duo completely.

"Alright." Sammy said, voice low. "You're hired."

Chapter Text

The rest of their meeting passed uneventfully, the four men making small talk, ordering breakfast and exchanging contact information, before going their separate ways.

Brutus leaned against the rental, this time making sure he was on the drivers side, and waved goodbye to the radio hosts. "They're quite pleasant to talk to, huh?" He mused, drumming his fingers on the roof of the car, watching them go. 

Kane nodded softly, and turned to Feels. "Something is up with th- with Sammy. He seems... I don't know, there's something off."

Feels furrowed his brow, and tilted his head. "A bit, yeah. I'm wondering... Jack is in the void, right? Like, we know that for sure?" He slid into the drivers seat, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Kane sat in the passengers seat, immediately putting his feet up on the dash. "Yes, he is, but- hmm. Well, Bru, I think it's gonna be a lot harder to pull him out of there." He replied, as Feels started the car. "I told them that he wasn't too far gone, which he isn't, but he's gonna be a bit reluctant to leave, I think."

Brutus nodded in understanding as he pulled out of the parking lot and started up the road that would take them into town. 

Both detectives were quiet for a while, taking in the scenery, almost feeling like they were on a normal trip, just as friends, exploring the world. 

That feeling was shattered as Brutus spoke up again. "You- I'm- you will be there to help me, though, right? Like you did with the- the suicide demon, and with Alice? You'll be able to guide me?"

Lucifer looked out the window, hand reaching up to rub the bright red stone that hung around his neck. "Of course I will." He said reassuringly, though his voice shook a bit through the lie. 

He honestly didn't know. This culmination of the Buffer was stronger and... darker than anything else they'd encountered. He knew there was a good chance he could lose his partner in there, and never see the guy again. And that terrified him. 

He clenched his fist, and made a decision. If Brutus got stuck, he would go in after him. What is the Shaman without his Anchor? There would be no point.

Aside from that, Brutus was his friend. His family, almost. He wasn't going to let the universe take him away without a fight. 

Brutus smiled softly, and glanced at his partner. "Thanks, bud."

There was another moment of silence as they sat companionably at a stop sign, waiting for a big black van with a red stripe down the side to go by. 

"...so! Who are we supposed to meet with, again?" Kane asked as they crossed the intersection. 

Brutus's fingers tapped to the beat of the quiet and grainy music filtering out of the speakers. "Some kid, um... Pete Meyers? I think they said? He lives down Lukas Road, which should be- not this one, but the next one over... He apparently had a visitation too, from Jack." 

Kane stretched, stifling a yawn. "Huh. It's weird th- well, it's weird that he'd visit you, of all people. You don't have any connection to the Void, or Jack, or anything. Why would he make contact with you, and in such a different way than the others? From the sound of it, they're all seeing a manifestation taking the form of Jack, which eventually culminated into whatever tried to pull Sammy into the Void last winter. But Jack... He actually talked to you, told you where to find Sammy. Isn't that odd? That he'd send a stranger a cry for help, but not be able to manifest to his family?"

Brutus smiled as he turned down Lukas Road, towards Pete Meyers house. "Maybe he knew that the worlds greatest paranormal investigators would be able to get him out?" He said, laughing as Kane swatted his shoulder. "But you're correct, as always, it is a little odd. There's gotta be something we're missing, huh? We all must be connected somehow. Maybe you can try the string theory again?"

Kane nodded absentmindedly as they pulled in the driveway next to a beat up old Toyota. A sticker on the back boasted a logo for "Pete Meyers Gardening Services"

They both got out of the car, Brutus pausing to breathe in the clear morning air, before the duo walked to the door, and knocked.

Feels looked around the yard and the front of the house as they stood side by side on the porch. "Hm. This kid does know what he's doing. Maybe we can ship him over to the flat when this is over to bring our houseplants back to life? You know, the ones you dumped th-"

"Oh my gods, Brutus, would you let it go?? I accidentally water the plants with salt water one time, and you're still bringing it up!"

"You killed the plants, Luce! They're dead! We got them when we moved in together and you ki-"

"Can I help you?" asked an unfamiliar voice, shaking both of them out of their argument. 

The voice belonged to a smallish, thin man who stood about two inches taller than Lucifer, in his mid-twenties, standing in the doorway. He had dark burgundy hair that stuck up in all directions, framing a face that wasn't bad looking, considering the way Sammy and Ben had talked about him. He wore a loose yellow shirt that read "plants r friends" in a simple black text over black basketball shorts. He squinted at them, annoyance written across his face.

Brutus visibly jumped, surprised by the newcomer. "Ah! H-hello! I'm Brutus Feels, and this is my partner, Lucifer Kane. We, uh, Sammy and Ben sent us here. We're investigating Jack. You're Pete Meyers, correct?"

The guy nodded, sighing. "Yeah, that's me. Um- yeah, come in, I can tell you about my... my dream. Sammy and Ben told me you were coming."

He held the door open for them as they walked in. 

The inside of Pete's house was a jungle. Literally. There were plants everywhere, pots clustered on every available surface, houseplants towering over the furniture, casting everything in a faint green light. Giant, branching leaves and vines covered the walls, which were painted a light, earthy green. Every shelf and table had at least three succulents or cacti on it. The back wall of the house was a giant window, with a sliding door off to the side. The backyard was similar to the interior, but with a huge garden taking up the back half. 

Brutus marvelled at the decor as he sat down at the proffered barstools at the kitchen counter, Kane sitting next to him.

The kitchen was similarly decorated, but with much less overgrowth. The only plants were the many, many pots of various herbs on the window sill and surrounding area.

Their host took his position across from them, perched on the counter. "So uh- well, I don't get many people over, um, do you want coffee? Or tea?"

"Coffee would be great." Brutus said kindly, sensing the kids nervous energy. 

Kane shrugged, not taking his gaze off of Pete, as if he were trying to figure something out. "I'm good, thank you."

Pete nodded and turned to make it, humming something that sounded like Hozier under his breath. 

As he did so, a large blue and yellow parrot landed on the counter in between the detectives.

"Agh!" Kane yelped, startled.

"Oh!" Feels gasped at the same time, both surprised and delighted.

Pete turned and looked sheepish. "Ack, sorry. That's Tyler. He's chill, but I can shoo him away if you want."

Brutus shook his head immediately. "No! Not at all, I love birds. I always feed the pigeons and crows that hang around our flat."

Pete grinned. "Cool. You can pet him if you want, he's usually fine with new people."

Brutus smiled widely, running his hand down the parrots cool feathers. "He's so soft... Luce, feel-"

Kane reluctantly put his hand up and stroked the bird once, casting nervous glances at Brutus, who simply smiled reassuringly.

The bird opened its beak suddenly, and spoke. "Avoid the Void!" 

All three men jumped, and Tyler made a noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter.

"Damnit, sorry, he's been doing this since... since my nightmare." Pete frowned at the parrot, which fluttered off as he set a mug in front of Brutus. "Which I suppose you'll be wanting to hear about, hm?" 

Kane nodded as Brutus thanked the kid and sipped his coffee, which was surprisingly well made.

"Right." Pete sighed, "I had the nightmare about a month ago. Right after I had quit working for Mr.- for HFB3. It was weird, driving away, I felt sick. This guy had treated me like shit and tried to get me in his weird cult, and I still felt terrible for leaving. I still do, sometimes. The whole week leading up to the nightmare, I had this creeping sense of.. of malaise, and unease. Just... really really bad vibes. I thought maybe HFB3 had cursed me or something, or that I was connected to his estate somehow, in a supernatural sense."

He paused for a moment, fingers tapping on the countertop. "It was cold. That's what I remember, mostly, the chill. I woke up, cold and shaking, and I saw h- it. I saw it. It was standing at the foot of my bed, a dark shadowy figure in the shape of a man. I say shadow, but that's not quite right? It was more like... like ink? Or oil? It was solid, but it had the oily, liquid motion and texture to it, shifting in the red light that- that came from its eyes." He stopped again, exhaling slowly. "It's eyes were almost the worst part, they glowed a bright red, red like you've never seen red. They pierced through me, glaring and hollow, and I wanted to cry. It reached slowly towards me, inky substance dripping off of it, and I yelled, scrambling, pressing against the wall, and I shut my eyes tight. For what seemed like forever, I shut my eyes and prayed it would leave. I don't know if it worked, or if the thing just left, but when I dared open my eyes again, it was gone. Normally I would have written it off, but I'd been listening to Sammy and Ben's show, so I knew it was what they're calling Jack."

Kane nodded again, and sat back on his stool. "..it d- did it say anything to you?" 

Pete was very quiet for a bit, picking at a loose string on his shirt. "Well... it.. it did, but it doesn't make sense. It just hissed 'Martyr' at me and at that point I was closing my eyes and hiding."

Lucifer frowned. "Martyr? You do know what that is, correct?

"Of course I do. I'm not exactly thrilled about this revelation, but at least now I'm officially in the 'eldritch nickname' gang with Sammy and Ben."

Brutus almost choked on his coffee. "Sorry- sorry, what?"

"They didn't tell you? Yeah, the Void, or whatever is in the Void calls those two, Lily and Emily these weird nicknames/titles. Sammy is the Protector, Ben is the Heart, Lily is the Promised, and I think Ms. Potter is the... One? The Forgotten One, maybe. And I'm... 'the Martyr'. Not a great title." Pete winced, and laughed hollowly. "Why, what's wrong?" 

Luce and Brutus exchanged a look. 

"Everything is.. fine... Mr. Meyers, did you know that we've been called the Shaman and the Anchor?" explained Brutus, voice low. "We thought we were a duo, we didn't know that there were... others? Sorry, this is a lot to wrap my head around."

Pete raised his eyebrows. "Whoah. Do Sammy and Ben know about it?"

Kane shook his head. "No. Th... this has been very informative, Mr. Meyers. Thank you." He proffered his hand for a handshake. "We must be leaving now."

Pete shook it, his grip firm and solid. "Call me Pete. I'm glad I could be of help." He smiled softly at them.

Brutus clasped Pete's hand in turn, his giant hand almost engulfing Pete's slim one. "Of course, my man. Thank you again for the coffee." He returned Pete's soft smile as they headed out the door.

Just before the door closed, they heard a voice ring out again, shrill and squawking. 

"Avoid the Void!"