A/N: The gang comes up with a way to help the victims of the cracher-mortel.
The next morning, Sean dropped Lorelei off at the spice shop on his way to work. He had said he would feel better if she was around people he trusted to keep her safe. Rosalee was one of those people. "Please stay here until either I or your brother or Hank come and get you." He told her.
Lorelei nodded. "And you'll tell Nick about your brother?"
"I will." He leant over, pressing his lips to hers. "Be safe. I love you."
"I love you too. You be safe as well."
As she walked into the shop, Rosalee and Monroe looked a little surprised to see her, but not a whole lot. "Hey, surprised to see you here this early."
Lorelei sighed. "Yeah, well. Um, Sean just dropped me off. Apparently, his brother is in town, and he doesn't want me going anywhere alone."
"His brothers a Royal?" Monroe asked.
Lorelei nodded. "Yeah. A prince. If its ok, I'm just going to study in the backroom for a bit."
"That's fine sweetie. Take it easy." Rosalee told her gently.
Lorelei was able to get some study done before Nick and Hank arrived with an unconscious man, who they believed was a victim of the cracher-mortel. Apparently, it was pandemonium downtown. Nick and Hank had grabbed this guy and brought him to the spice shop to be examined by Rosalee.
"He looks dead." Monroe commented, peering at the guy laying on the loveseat in the shop's side room.
"Yeah, I know he looks dead, and he probably was for a little while, but he's not now." Nick said, putting handcuffs back on the man's hands.
"So far we've seen three just like him." Hank advised them, as he secured handcuffs to the man's ankles.
"Three?" Rosalee asked in disbelief.
"That we know of." Nick answered.
"Two were pronounced dead, then got up and caused a lot of trouble. So, we brought this one here." Hank continued.
"And we went through the books, and found something that we think, might explain it." Nick added.
"You mean the guy with the top hat." Monroe said.
"Yeah, yeah, the cracher-mortel." Nick said. "There was also a reference to a vodou priest, known as Baron Samedi, among other names." He glanced at Hank before looking back at Rosalee. "We were hoping you might have some information about him, what he's done here."
"I think I might. I've got several books on wesen dammerzustand – wesen trances. There's a pretty big pharmacology associated with this." Rosalee said, walking back towards the main shop.
Nick looked at Lorelei. "I thought you'd have been all over this."
"I'm sorry. I was trying to study since I am missing a class." Lorelei said. "Did Sean tell you about his brother?"
Nick nodded. "He did."
"Sean dropped me off here. He doesn't want me going anywhere alone. In case his brother tries to grab me or something."
Nick nodded again. "Yeah, he mentioned that. It's ok. You got a lot on your plate." He said, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. "Plus, like baby brain or whatever it's called."
Lorelei rolled her eyes. "Yeah, something like that." She said and Nick laughed.
"Hang on, so you're telling me this guy is gonna wake up?" Monroe asked, looking incredulous.
"Yeah." Nick replied.
"And not in a very good mood." Hank added.
At that moment, Rosalee came back in. "Ok. Alright. There are several categories of trance like states." She said, looking through the book she had grabbed. "Bhakti, maenads, rapture, bacchae, euphoria…Ok, here's the one we want. Dammerzustand." She said, as the rest of them gathered around her. "Caused by several different types of wesen including cracher-mortel, who can induce paralysis, cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucination, and the temporary illusion of death."
"Good lord, is there any treatment?" Monroe asked looking shocked.
"Seems to be but there are four stages they go through. First is paralysis, second is a drugged like state in which they can move, it progresses to the third stage which to all appearances is death, and then comes the last stage, oh, this looks to be super fun, increasingly violent behaviour which basically leads to murder and mayhem."
"So, we treat them in the first phase." Nick guessed, as Rosalee walked past them towards the table.
"No, we can't. As a matter of fact, the treatment would kill them in the first three stages" Rosalee said, looking up from the book. "It's only effective in the final stage."
"So, what is the treatment?" Hank asked.
"We have to stimulate the central nervous system." Rosalee told them, looking at the shelves behind the table. "And we can do that orally or with ointments, or ah, the most efficacious way, subcutaneous."
"So, we give them a shot?" Nick asked, as Rosalee grabbed a box, putting it on the table.
"Three simultaneous shots, actually." Rosalee said, opening the box up. "With a piqure-gigantesque." She held up some old school looking instrument. "It is not a pleasant experience."
They crowded around to have a look. "Oh man." Hank said, staring at it.
"How long does it take?"
"The effectiveness of the treatment is pretty fast, but it takes take a while to prepare the dosages. Fortunately, though, I think we've got everything we need."
"Ok, we'll we need to get back to the precinct." Nick told them. He glanced back at Rosalee, Lorelei, and Monroe. "You three ok if we leave him here with you?" He nodded his head toward the handcuffed man.
"Just as long as you keep him handcuffed." Monroe said, not sounding like he liked the idea. But what choice did they really have.
Nick reached into his jacket pocket. "Here are the keys, just in case." He said, handing them over to Monroe.
The two detectives left after that, leaving them alone with the handcuffed and unconscious man. Monroe inched toward him slowly. "Ok, let's get started. Lorelei, can you help me prepare the ingredients?" Rosalee asked.
"Sure."
"But when we start brewing the treatment, you will need to stay away. I have no idea if it's safe for a pregnant woman to inhale."
"Yep."
"You know, the morning started off so well." Lorelei heard Monroe mutter.
They got the ingredients prepared quickly, and then Lorelei stepped back to allow Rosalee and Monroe to start the brewing process. Lorelei stood a short distance away, but still in the room listening as Rosalee talked them through what was being done.
"One, alright." Monroe muttered under his breath as he used a long pipette to move liquid to a beaker. "We gotta get it into him before he…" At that moment, the unconscious man groaned. It appeared he was finally waking up. They glanced in his direction. "Oh, you're up." The handcuffed man was sitting up on the loveseat. He started struggling, trying to use his hands. "Ah, you're probably wondering where you are?" Monroe started walking towards him slowly. "Uh, we're your friends, and –"
"We just want to help you." Rosalee said tentatively. "We want to make you better."
He did not seem to like that. He stood up, yelling, still trying to get his hands free. With another yell, he kicked over a small table. "Ok, get the shot, get the shot." Monroe told Rosalee, as the man screamed and yelled, knocking over whatever he could. "I'm gonna hold him, and you're gonna shoot him. Lorelei, stay back!"
Monroe seemed to be fighting the urge to attack the man, as he advanced toward him. After a couple of minutes of chaos, Monroe ended up punching the guy in the face, after being kicked in the leg. The man fell to the ground, as Rosalee approached him with the piqure-gigantesque. "Ok, lift up his shirt, lift up his shirt!" Rosalee yelled to Monroe, who did as told.
Lorelei watched from a distance, frustrated that she hadn't been able to just run up and knock the guy out herself. But she couldn't. There was a risk he could have hurt the baby, especially after the kick he gave Monroe. All she could do was watch, feeling useless, as Monroe and Rosalee took on the man, shoving the piqure-gigantesque into his stomach.
It took a few hours but eventually the guy woke up and seemed to be of sound mind. He was, however, very confused and a little panicked, especially when he found himself handcuffed. The treatment had worked. He was untied, and received a cup of tea, seeming happy to answer their questions. He had no memories of what had happened to him. Monroe called Nick, as Rosalee and Lorelei took care of the man. Nick hurried down, Juliette in tow. Monroe brought them through to the side room.
"Juliette." Rosalee said, giving Juliette a surprised look.
"Learning curve." Juliette told her.
"Works for me." Rosalee said, before looking back to Nick.
Lorelei introduced the man, Al, to Nick. "This is my brother, Detective Burkhardt."
"He's the one that brought you in. Rosalee said, as Nick took a seat in front of the man.
"Hey, Al. I need you to tell me anything you can remember about your last call. Um, do you remember if he was wearing a hat."
Al thought about it. "He sure was. I mean, I remember that most. It was a top hat, like Lincoln wore, and…well, a lot of pain. It felt like my head was being crushed."
"And, um, what about the car?"
"It was a '73 Buick Centurion. Supposedly it didn't start. When I tried, it did. I just don't remember much other than that, and a big black room. I think he took me there."
"All right. Was there anyone else there?"
Al nodded. "There were others, I mean, a lot. I thought I had died and gone to hell."
Nick considered what he had said. "Do you remember where this was?"
Al shook his head. "Sorry, I don't. There was, like, moaning and yelling. Could have been, like, the sound of a loud horn?"
"A horn like, in a train or a ship?"
"It could have been a truck. I mean, I don't know."
"All right, anything else?"
Al thought about it. "Green. There was a lot of green. Before everything went black."
"What kind of wesen are you?" Juliette asked and Al looked at her surprised and confused.
"What?"
Everyone looked at Juliette, and Monroe stepped towards Juliette and started whispering to her. Rosalee distracted Al. "Hey, Al. How about some more tea, hmm?"
Nick glanced at Lorelei and nodded his head before getting up and walking off. Lorelei followed and so did Monroe. "That car we found was left across from the container yards, and some of those containers were green and I'll bet you it would be pretty damn dark in there if you got shut in one."
"Should probably check it out" Monroe said, as Rosalee joined them.
"Hi, what do you want us to do with Al? Because he's starting to ask a lot of questions, we don't have a lot of answers for."
"I'll send an officer to pick him up." Nick said, as Juliette joined them.
"He said there were others." Lorelei noted.
"A lot of them." Monroe added.
"Do you want us to treat them? You know, cause if you do, we're going to need a lot more antidote." Rosalee pointed out.
"Start making it." Nick told them.
Juliette stepped forward. "I want to help."
They looked at her. "Well, she's a vet, and we're going to be giving a lot of injections." Rosalee said.
"I guess she's sort of familiar with what we do here." Monroe added.
"But why is this guy doing this here in Portland?" Rosalee asked.
"I know. I mean, we have, voodoo donuts, but that's the kind of the extent of it."
"I was reading in the books, and there is a reference to one of these guys starting a revolution." Nick said.
"A revolution in Portland?" Lorelei asked.
"It might not be connected. But the captains brother is in town." Nick advised them.
Monroe's eyes widened. "A member of the Royal Family came here?" He asked. "That sounds kind of revolutionary to me."
Nick nodded. "And the captain said he was going to make a play for the key."
Lorelei hoped it really was just for the key. They watched as Nick removed the chain from his neck containing the key. "That means you, or Lorelei. Probably both."
Juliette looked at the key with interest. "What is that?"
Nick smiled at her. "I'll tell you later." He told her before turning to Rosalee. "I need you to hide this."
Rosalee nodded, taking the key. "Ok." She said, before walking off with the it.
Monroe looked at Nick. "So, I guess we should start making some more antidote. Does anybody know how much more we're gonna need?"
"As much as you can." Nick told him.
After an officer had stopped by to pick up Al, and they finished making as much antidote as they could carry, the others headed off. Lorelei decided to wait at the spice shop for them to come back. She didn't like the idea, but she couldn't risk going up who knows how many aggressive, zombie-like people. Lorelei had just settled down on the loveseat, trying to read a book to keep her distracted when she heard knocking on the front door. With a sigh, Lorelei got up and walked towards it. There was a man standing outside the door. "We're closed." Lorelei called as she approached the door. He kept knocking frantically on the door. "We're closed!" Lorelei repeated.
"Please, I need help." He called, sounding desperate.
Lorelei sighed. She couldn't exactly turn down someone needing help. Maybe there was something she could do. She wasn't as knowledgeable about this stuff as Rosalee, but she was learning.
"Please!"
Lorelei caved and opened the door, stepping back to let the man in. "Thank you. I am sorry, I know you are closed."
"It's ok. You must be desperate to come here so late." Lorelei told him, head back towards the counter when she suddenly sensed the man close behind her, grabbing her and putting a cloth across her face.
Moving quickly, Lorelei grabbed the hand and shoved it down, while elbowing the man in the stomach causing him to let go of her and swear in French. Before he had a chance to react, Lorelei punched him in the nose, unleashing a further torrent of French curses. Lorelei shook her head slightly, as her brain started turning all foggy. What was on that cloth? Hopefully it hadn't been on long enough to knock her out.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"Je ne te veux pas de mal. J'ai mes commandes."He told her, replying in French as he attempted to stop the blood streaming from his nose.
Lorelei stared at him. "Des commandes de qui?"
"Mon suzerain. Ne rends pas ça plus difficile qu'il ne devrait l'être." He answered
His liege? Was he referring to Sean's brother? Was this him making a play for her, for the key? Lorelei wasn't really interested in finding out. If this guy worked for Sean's brother, she'd kill him before he took her anywhere. Lorelei pulled her dagger out, his eyes widened slightly. "Désolé, je ne vais pas vous faciliter la tâche. Ou votre suzerain."
He didn't know it yet, but it would be a fight to the death. Preferably, his.
Lorelei looked down at the two dead bodies on the floor of the spice shop. She had just killed the first one, when another came in, no doubt investigating what was taking his friend so long. They had fought well, but Lorelei was able to take them down. She was still feeling groggy, from the effects whatever they'd tried drugging her with. Using what was left of her energy, Lorelei locked the door before collapsing beside the loveseat. She was aware she would need to clean up her mess, but for now, she had to rest. Her last thought before she passed out was wondering how the others were doing.
A/N: And that is Season 2 done. Sorry for the lack of badass fight skills from Lorelei. I just couldn't do the fight scene justice. Just imagine something like Black Widow in the MCU, taking down men twice her size. Season 3 will be posted tomorrow or not long after this one. Oh, and excuse that French. I had to use Google Translate as I do not speak or write the language. And I also don't know a whole lot about chloroform and how long it takes to take effect, so I decided to take some creative liberties.
Translations (courtesy of Google Translate):
Je ne te veux pas de mal. J'ai mes commandes (I mean you no harm. I have my orders.)
Des commandes de qui ? (Orders from who?)
Mon suzerain. Ne rends pas ça plus difficile qu'il ne devrait l'être. (My liege. Don't make this harder than it has to be)
Désolé, je ne vais pas vous faciliter la tâche. Ou votre suzerain. (Sorry, I'm not going to make this easy for you. Or your liege.)