synthneon | oceanview || ❝ made a promise i'm coming out alive. ❞

oceanview || ❝ made a promise i'm coming out alive. ❞

OCEANVIEW III

and now i'm wide awake.

Oh, I died like a million times.
Through the waves, I break
The nightmares finally over CODE BY TESSISAMESS

"Take care of things on this end, Tom!"

"Try not to fuck it up!"

[ The remaining members of The Old Gods of Asgard raise their hands and step into the Lake. The threshold opens. They walk into the swirling patterns. The threshold closes behind them.

Alan Wake stands on the shores of Cauldron Lake once again.

Ahead of him are two FBC Agents, sitting on containers left from the fight. Agent Estevez looks at the broken containment cell, a wrap around her leg. The Ranger Captain sits opposite of her, arm pressed to his chest with a dislocated finger or two. A lamp is on giving safe harbor... just in case.

Agent Saga Anderson is missing in the Lake. Agent Alex Casey is missing period.

Everything has gone to hell.

The Director Jesse Faden is also nowhere to be seen, but the two FBC Agents don't seem to be worried by the notion. In fact, Estevez has turned her attention to the writer covered in mud, blood, and a jacket that doesn't belong to him. ]

"Wake! You ARE Wake, aren't you? With the Shadow out of you?"

Oh, it's him, Kiran. [ Steve gives an affirmative nod. ] So, situation update--

"The situation is fucked. I haven't seen an AWE this screwed since Eagle River. The Shadow is now in Alex. Anderson is gone. We need to figure out how to salvage this."

[ Steve looks at Alan. ] The Director went ahead, Wake.

[ Alan straightens up slowly, feeling like his head wants to pound right out of his skull. He's definitely had better days, he thinks, as he tries to wipe off some of the blood and water from the lake from his face. After a second, he says: ]

Yeah. I’m me again. Mostly. The Dark Presence is gone... for now.

[ He glances around, taking in the ruined containment cell, the agents who survived but also look like they've been through hell. He notes the people who are missing, and a sinking feeling takes over him. ]

This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. [ It's my fault. It's always my fault.

It takes him another minute to focus again, and this time, he tries to take a few steps closer to Estevez and Steve. ]

I don't know if there is a way to salvage this. At least, not for you guys. [ It takes what feels like a monumental effort, but Alan squares his shoulders and tries to not look scared. He knows he is; he's terrified, even, but he can't let that stop him. ]

But first, before I do anything else... Where did she go? [ He thinks he knows. He has a feeling, and yes, he doesn't like this feeling, but there's no other choice. Maybe there never was a choice. This was how it had to go all along, wasn't it? Jesse knew it. Alan knew it. He wishes he didn't, but wishes mean nothing anymore. ]

This won't end like this. It can't.

"Well, that's a relief." [ Estevez is almost bitter about the situation. ] "We gathered what supplies we could left over after the fight. I've NEVER seen something break out of a containment cell like that."

We're practically on it's hometurf. [ Steve points the fact out with a nonchalant shrug. He doesn't seem to be phased or bothered by any of what is going on. ] "Supposed to" doesn't matter once the plan has been blown, Wake. We make a new plan from this point on. Which I'm sure Faden has something in mind.

"Something I'm guessing she isn't big on sharing with the class? She just darted off." [ Estevez sighs and pushes herself off the supply box for Alan to rummage through. Then, she takes her seat next to Steven. ] "It better not end like this."

[ Steve raises his broken fingered hand to the path ahead. The one that winds up from the beach, up the side of the hill, and to where the General Store used to be. Where the FBC monitoring system has been placed on the path. Further up is the parking lot that people would use to get to various locations when the public still had access to the Lake. ]

That way. Guessing she went up to secure the parking lot and take out whatever is on the way there.

Well, I'm glad you think it's a relief. No, really, I am. [ Alan just thinks that the road ahead of him is still as long as ever, and probably just as dark. But that's just the way his life is, isn't it? ] I wish that you didn't have to see that... See me like that, I guess. [ He's still surprised that one of them hasn't put a bullet in him yet. ]

Maybe you should take what's left of the supplies in case there's any Taken hanging around. [ He wouldn't mind arming himself a little, but where he's going, he probably won't need it. They'll need it more if the fight doesn't end. Not that he really wants to think about that right now. It's taking a lot for him to steel himself to just keep going, to keep walking forward. ]

Yeah, well, the plan blew because of me, didn't it? [ This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Saga wasn't supposed to end up in the lake. Tor and Odin, well... He didn't anticipate that, but they're tough for old guys. They'll be able to handle themselves. They have the power of rock and roll and moonshine working for them. Or something. ]

I know we need a new plan. [ This new plan that Alan is coming up with doesn't involve any of them, simply because it can't. He hasn't wanted to accept it; he hasn't wanted to even think about it, but now he knows he has no choice. Estevez and Steve might accept it readily enough. He know of one person who will not want to accept it, but she doesn't have a choice either. This is one conversation he isn't looking forward to having. ]

But don't worry, it won't end like this. It won't end here. I'll make sure it doesn't. [ He pauses. ] Are you two good with staying here?

[ Alan marvels at how calm he sounds, when inwardly, he's anything but calm. He's scared: scared of what's coming. Scared of how Jesse will react. Scared of not being with Jesse. Actually, the list of what he's not scared of would be a lot shorter. ]

Edited 2025-04-24 07:53 (UTC)

"The plan blew because none of us knew the Shadow was inside you. Did YOU even know? Just what the hell is thing capable of? The Lake House should of told us." [ Estevez aggressively sighs. ] "Tell me you have an idea what to do, Wake. This all revolves around you."

[ Steve looks over at Alan with a straight but concerned look. It seems they Captain Ranger knows more than he let's on--just as he has for this entire loop. Still, all he does is gesture once more with his broken fingers. Whatever happens is going to happen at the top of the campgrounds. It seems the Director already knows. ]

"Just, do whatever you're going to do. Get this fixed." [ Estevez shakes her head. ] "So much for the power of rock and roll."

The Old Gods did great. I always wanted to see them in concert. Pretty sure Faden did too. You know she's a big fan.

"Stop trying to change the subject, Captain. Even if you are technically my superior."

[ Director Jesse Faden is glad she isn't apart of whatever banter she figures the three of them are having. It's part of why she left the beach once Estevez and Steve were in the clear, but before Alan regained consciousness. She cleared a path as Steve had said, and it is evident where she had been by the damaged telephone poles. Rocks out of place. Trees slightly bent. Not quite a warpath but a path that certainly shows how she feels even if everything is masked.

Now, she sits on the trunk top of the car that Saga Anderson used to drive to their location. The keys are in her hand. In the other is the manuscript page that this version of the story didn't need. A promise from loops ago that ended up so ingrained into this version of "Return" that it shouldn't exist at all.

An outlier, just like her.

Jesse looks at the folded paper in her hands. Polaris chimes slightly, reacting to the light that exists in the "safe spot." Taken were still appearing which meant the threshold hadn't closed entirely. The Dark Presence was roaming around somewhere. She knows Alan will know where it is because of how the two have been linked. Linked longer than she's even known him... from before how he reached out over the Hotline.

Her braided ponytail is slightly undone with pieces of hair falling around her face. A gash is on the side of her head. A present from Scratch in the conflict between him in Saga. He didn't appreciate her being involved yet. She frowns slightly at that. The fact Scratch has plans at all for her makes her uneasy.

Still, this is her roll in the story. Get Alan to where he needs to go... or secure his way there at the very least. Be part of the clean up from the AWE. Be the Director not necessarily the woman from Ordinary.

And certainly not the hero. ]

[ Alan feels himself flinch slightly, involuntarily. To him, Estevez sounds angry, or at least pissed off. Frustrated that the plan went to hell. He gets it. He keeps his voice low, like he hates the words as much as he needs to say them. ]

No, I didn't know. I thought- I thought I could sense him coming, but I didn't know he was...

[ He pulls himself to stand up straighter, grimacing like the movement itself hurts more than it should. It's probably a little deserved, honestly. ]

But yeah, since you asked: I have an idea what to do. I know what I need to do, and I know that... Well, someone's not going to like it. [ They can probably figure out who that someone is.

He feels Steve's glance land on him, and he almost wants to look away so he doesn't have to see that concerned look. He doesn't deserve concern. Worry. Anything. ]

Here's what I know: it’s trying to end the story on its terms. It's been doing that this whole time, probably, like some insane push and pull between the story it wrote and what I've been writing to change it. It's going to twist everything into a nightmare that never stops. We- I can't let that happen.

[ Alan feels like he's just pulling words out of the air, because he's probably way, way off base, but she did ask about his plan.

He eyes Steve, and then Estevez, feeling this odd compulsion to say thanks and goodbye or something like that. But if he does that, it'll feel final. Too final for his liking. ]

So, you guys are gonna be okay, right? I figure the banter's a good sign you're gonna make it.

[ His gaze travels over in the direction they said Jesse went. His mind starts to wander as the two banter back and forth.

Maybe she's better off keeping a distance. She'd throw something at me if I said that, but the story has teeth. It bites whoever gets too close.

What if she wants to get out before it can bite? I wouldn't blame her, not really. I owe her more than just the ending to the loops, to the story. I owe her a way out. Except isn't an ending to the loops a way out? Kind of, I guess. But maybe she wants to be out of the loops for good. I know, she'll say she wants to be out of the loops with me. Maybe we'll get that. Eventually.

He pulls himself out of his thoughts long enough to think that maybe he should just get going, but once he does, the pieces will start moving again and they won't stop until they get the ending. ]

Well, uh... See you two around. [ So much for the big dramatic exit. But that comes later, probably. ]

There's not much about the situation she likes. [ Steve points out.

The two members of the FBC quiet when Alan begins to explain what he knows. A nod from Steve to show he understands and that the pair of them will be fine. He's seen worse, even if Estevez seems to be putting everything on a scale of "bad" to "worse." This AWE has definitely been a shitshow, but, he'd say what happened at the Oldest House has been far worse. ]

See you later, Wake. On the flipside.

[ The statement once again implies the Ranger Captain knows more than he lets on. Then again, it seems everyone but Estevez is aware of what will happen next to some degree. Alan is going to square off with the Dark Presence once more without the help from the FBC. He'll find a way to bring Saga and Casey back. He may not call himself a hero, but maybe, he'll see it as taking responsibility.

Jesse runs her thumb over her keychain. She's pretty sure Alan lost his somewhere along the way. It's fine, really. Just a stupid idea she had about the two halves finding their way back to one another. If anything? now, they'd be Altered Items. Things that Emily would insist she keep locked up in the Oldest House for study. Something that Jesse frankly won't allow for long. It's hers... and probably the only thing she'll have from all this shit to prove any of it happened at all.

The manuscript page in her hand is going back with Alan.

That happened last time, didn't it? All the manuscript pages were taken with the Dark Presence back into the Lake and through the Threshold.

She simply glances to the side as she hears Alan approach. The keychain is slid back into her pocket. Elbows rest on her knees as she keeps her gaze focused on a spot in front of her. Blood has started to dry against the side of her head and in her hair. This is it. The moment that Alice had hinted at would need to happen. The reason why she and Polaris had been pulled into this story... to make sure he got on the path to get himself and everyone else out of it.

« The guiding star... the north star. » ]

You're going to need a way to get back to Bright Falls, you know.

Yeah, I know, and that's my fault. I'm an asshole, you know. [ Alan hates that he's been forced into this role, and that he's had to force others into roles too, when that's really not his place. If it was up to him, he'd burn this entire story and make it so no one was ever hurt by it, but it's not up to him.

He nods when Steve says his goodbye, treating it like something casual, as though they'll meet again at some point. They probably will, but Alan finds himself caught between wanting to believe he'll see them again and knowing that he won't. Not that he intends to say that out loud to anyone.

As he makes his way back over to meet with Jesse, a stray thought enters his mind: Didn't you have something that was yours? Yours, and hers, and it fit together somehow. What happened to that?

Maybe it existed and maybe it didn't, or maybe it just appeared and disappeared whenever it wanted, kind of like the Clicker. He wants to believe it existed, of course, but when he tries to think too much about it, it just seems to slip away from him. It's probably one more thing that contributes to his status as an asshole.

That thought lingers in his mind as he walks up to her. If this is the last time he sees her, he doesn't want to make this any worse than it already is. ]

Yeah, I know. That's not what I want to talk about, though. [ Well, he doesn't really know what he wants to talk about; anything but saying goodbye, probably. ]

[ The familiar sound of gunshots and Taken screaming echoes. That means Alan is on his way. Tightness takes her chest and Jesse frowns to try and suppress it. Being upset won't make any of this easier. She can be mad and hurt and whatever else afterwards. ]

What else is there to talk about?

[ They've talked endlessly through loops she's sure. What they could change, what they wanted to change, how they wanted this story to end. None of it amounted to actually changing any of it--except making sure Alan can change it. That Alan is freed from the Dark Presence and can write what he needs to bring all of this to an end.

He knows her well enough to see that she's trying to push down everything that this moment truly signifies. That she know she's going to drive off into the night and she'll most likely never see him again. Maybe he'll find a way to speak to her over the Hotline. Maybe they can find a way to slip notes back and forth underneath the door in the Oceanview Motel. That's not the same and never will be the same. ]

[ Once, Alan might have thought that walking off leaving gunshots and screams from Taken behind him would have been dramatic, maybe even cool. But now he's just tired of it all; he's tired of this story, of having to write the ending again and again until it worked. But this story is his fault, isn't it? It's his fault the story is even a story. Part of him thinks he lost the right to complain about it a long time ago.

So when he steps towards her, he does it quietly. At least I'm still me, for now. Hopefully I get to stay like that, but "hopefully" doesn't mean much of anything anymore.

He can instantly tell that it looks like she's bracing herself for something, something unpleasant or something she doesn't want to face. He can't really blame her for that. ]

Something. Maybe nothing. I just know I don't want to leave you like- like this.

[ But maybe that's what she wants. Maybe she wants him to just leave without dragging it out more.

In a strange way, it reminds him of how he left the first time, back in the Well-Lit Room, except that time, he was the one who wanted to go. He still has a reason for needing to go now, a purpose that means walking back into the Dark Place, but now... he has even more of a reason to want to stay here, and that makes him hesitate. ]

I guess if you want to yell at me, now's your chance.

[ Green eyes dart to look up at him then. It's not a pointed look, but a flat one. In what other state is there to leave her in? Happy and proud that he's going back and fixing the mess? She is, to some degree. She's proud he's managed to pull himself back from the brink enough to make the decisions on his own. That he could write the story to be at this point. That he's obviously free of the Dark Presence and can be Alan Wake again.

She just wishes she was there along side him to fix the rest of the mess.

« This is what heroes do, right? In stories. They have to make sacrifices to save the day. This is mine. Letting him go.

I hate it. » ]

What's the point in yelling about it? That doesn't change it. Nothing about any of what I do changes any of this. This is yours and Saga's story, Alan. You know that. I'm.. just the side character. Polaris is the on that points you in the way to go. That's how it has to go in order to get you where you need to go to end it. We both know that.

Sorry. All three of us know it.

That's- Damn it, that's not it. That's never been it.

[ Alan's tone is suddenly harder, more tense, almost like a rubber band about to snap. ]

You're not just a side character, not to me, and I don't give a damn about what the story says.

[ Unfortunately, what the story says is what they have to follow. ]

You know I'd take you with me if I could, or hell, I'd just stay right here. [ His hands clench into fists and a frustrated look takes his face. I hate this. She knows I hate this, doesn't she? ]

It's not fair. [ Nothing about any of this has been fair, but this feels even more unfair than everything that's happened before. ]

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oceanview || ❝ made a promise i'm coming out alive. ❞

OCEANVIEW III

— return 7: summoning.

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