dead of night || ❝ i see what’s coming, it’s coming into light. ❞

[outlierdirector]

DEAD OF NIGHT

Carve the secrets from your bruised still heart.

Shape my story, tear every page apart
Inside this room, you left your mark
I burn away the shadows, I strike a spark CODE BY TESSISAMESS

Comments

[crazyisinevitable]

But I do feel bad about it, even if I had nothing to do with it. I meant what I said about getting you out of the Dark Place too, when you've gotten the answers you need.

[ He just can't imagine leaving anyone behind, but definitely not Tim. There's no way he could live with himself if he did.

Alan listens to Arish's explanation with rapt attention. This is important, maybe even critical. It'll give him an idea of if his sudden thought is even possible. He knows that Arish and others would most likely try to stop him, but as far as he's concerned, nothing is going to get in the way of him and Jesse being together after what feels like so many long years apart. ]

So all you have to do is find a way there using the elevator that doesn't work. But can the elevator be forced open? Or... [ He's trying to think of alternatives. ]

Is there a way into the elevator's corridor?

[crazywall]

[ Tim just gives Alan an easy smile. He plans on staying wherever he is until he can figure out this Warlin Door thing. Why he feels he's been hunted down by Door. Why it feels like he's moving from life to life, but still knowing who he is. Or, more or less, who he is. Tim Breaker. Uncle Frank died, Sarah went and joined the FBI.

He lowers his arms and knows that look on Alan's face. That's the look of a writer who is going to do something probably really, really reckless. Maybe even stupid without all the information. ]

Alan.

[ Arish sighs and puts his hands on the fold out table that is covered with documents. ] Well, unless Faden finds another way of making a way into it. I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, there's a way through a lab, but that you have to get to through a whole other department. [ Then, he looks up at Alan. ] Yeah, that way you came in? That used to go to the elevator. I mean, building shifts are one thing. This is on a whole other fuckin' level.

[ Tim is about to point something out when a ranger suddenly rushes up to Arish. He has something like a walkie-talkie in his hand. Arish thanks him, and presses down the button. Tim looks back at Alan and shakes his head. ]

Hello? [ Arish lets the button up and it suddenly crackles up to life. ]

"Hello? Anyone there? God, I hope so."

POPE? No fucking way, is that you? Where are you at? We're here in Central Executive---

"--Arish! Thank God. Yeah, I know. Jesse filled us in on the situation when she finally got to us here. Most of the main part of Research is secured now."

[ Arish smirks, looking up at the other two men. Tim gives a smile back, not exactly sure what is going on. It sounds like good news though. Jesse has found more of her people. Meaning Jesse must be alright as well. ]

Hey, is Faden there?

"Yeah. And you KNOW she's going to correct you again."

[ Arish turns his gaze towards Alan with an almost knowing look. ] You alright if I send a team in with a few rangers?

"I'm not sure HOW you're going to get to us. Jesse still hasn't lifted the Directorial Override. I mean, unless we have another house shift, but with Polaris' Resonance beating through the place, it should be pretty stable..."

[ Almost as if on call, Polaris gently tugs at Alan's mind. She pulls his attention down a hallway--the hallway they entered in. Except now, the hallway seems more like it fits with the rest of the building. A double set of doors open, revealing an elevator. ]

[crazyisinevitable]

[ That smile does little to ease Alan's worries, because even though Tim seems to be managing himself well in the Dark Place, and much better than Alan ever has, he knows that the darkness has a way of digging into a person when they aren't looking or expecting it. He wants better for Tim. He knows that he wants answers, and he can understand his need for them, but still, he worries. But all the warnings that Alan could give won't change Tim's mind. Still, he hopes that some of them linger in the back of his mind as he moves forward with his investigating.

By the time he registers the look that Tim is giving him, Alan's mind is already off and running. He needs to be doing something useful; he needs to find Jesse. It's not even that he thinks Jesse needs his help, because she doesn't. This building is her turf, even if said turf has been pulled into another reality, but even that doesn't change the fact that Jesse knows the Oldest House. ]

What? I can't just stand around here. What if I just took a gun and explored? Just exploring, not causing trouble.

[ He cuts himself off when he sees the ranger rushing up and Arish starting to talk to someone on the walkie-talkie. He listens carefully, listening for anything that might tell him about Jesse and her whereabouts.

An audible sigh of relief escapes him almost at the same time that Arish turns to him with a smirk. Wherever Jesse is, whatever she's doing, at least she seems to be safe. As safe as anyone can be in this mess. But then Arish's words register in his mind and Alan's eyebrows raise in surprise. He listens to Pope's response too, and he has about five seconds of feeling disappointment before a familiar tugging sensation pulls at his mind.

His gaze shifts in the direction of the hallway Polaris is pointing out for him, and from his vantage point, the hallway looks like it's shifting. Something else tugs at his mind as he notes the appearance of the hallway and the double doors that open to an elevator.

This is familiar. Why is this familiar? Have I seen this before? I think I've seen this before. ]

Hey, uh, there's something down that hallway. I think we should go take a look at it.

[crazywall]

[ Tim gauges all the information they've gathered so far. They're in another dimension that isn't the New York City he met Alan in. That dimension can connect to other places--somehow. Straight into the headquarters of the FBC. Which, apparently, has their whole crew in. Including the Director, Jesse Faden, that Alan has been looking for. The same red headed woman that he has been looking for, but not in relation to Mr. Door.

Honestly? He feels he needs a whiteboard.

As if to answer Alan's inner questions, a familiar chiming sound fills his mind. Polaris. Except, it isn't Jesse's voice that accompanies Polaris this time. No. It is the Writer's voice.

A message from long ago that he had sent the Director and her guide.

⸨ The elevator lights winked back on. The darkness receded like a memory. There was a new button on the elevator control panel: "Investigations Sector." Faden pressed the button. The elevator doors slid shut with practiced bravado. ⸩ ]

This seems like official Buearu business, Alan. I'm not sure we should get in the--[ Tim stops at the sound of something shifting. He and Arish look down the hallway to see the elevator reveal itself. Then, a shift in the air. Almost like the atmosphere is lighter. Humming. ] Uh...


Looks the elevator just came back. Guessing that means Faden has the place connected again. [ Arish talks through the radio but also to the other two men. ] I've got a team of Rangers I can send in to you. And a fewguests. Trust me, Faden is going to want to see them.

[ Tim looks to Arish who smiles and instructs the Rangers to lead Alan and him to the elevator. The sheriff follows along, making room inside the elevator with Alan. A button labeled "RESEARCH SECTOR" is pressed.

A hum fills the room that no one seems to notice.

The doors shut with practiced bravado. ]

[crazyisinevitable]

[ There's got to be a whiteboard around here somewhere. Maybe they'll get lucky and there'll even be donuts and coffee. Add in Tim's humming and Alan would feel like he's home in a place that's not even close to being home.

But then all thoughts seem to fly out of Alan's mind as that voice echoes in his mind. And in that one instant, Alan's back in the Writer's Room, desperately but purposefully typing out page after page of manuscripts... trying anything that might work, anything that could help him escape. He was a desperate man back then just as he's a desperate man now.

He's desperate to get home, desperate to find Jesse... desperate for things to be as close to normal as they can be. ]

Trust me, Tim, we need to do this. Or I need to do this; if you want to wait here, I get it. I'm always dragging you into things, but you don't have to be dragged into this too. But as for me, I'm going into that elevator.

[ Although if Arish told him to back off and stay behind, he would. This isn't his show, it's the Bureau's. He'd do it reluctantly, but sometimes even Alan can respect authority, even if no one really believes that.

Once they're inside the elevator properly, Alan feels a cold sweat forming on the back of his neck. He remembers this; he remembers writing about this, writing about what was in the Research Sector. Directing Jesse to it, getting closer and closer to... something. Danger. They could be getting closer to danger too.

He looks sideways at Tim. ]

You have a gun, right? Just in case?

[crazywall]

I'm not sure you're the one dragging me anywhere. So, if you need my help? No problem.

[ Door is the one that dragged him into that weird New York City. The man haunting his dreams for years. Jesse--apparently the Red Headed Woman--is something else entirely. Alan having gone missing and ending up in the same New York City? Something else entirely. He doesn't even think that why he's suddenly in a different dimension with hooks and gates and apparently the Federal Bureau of Control is Alan's fault.

If it was, could they even prove it?

He nods to Alan's question. ] Yeah. Though, I'm not sure what good it will do.

[ The elevator doors open.

The Rangers step outside. Down another hallway and then what opens to an expansive area. Winding cement stairs that lead up and down, a wide screen to the side that is turned off.

The place is a complete wreck. It's obvious that there has been a battle of some sort that took place. Pieces of the railing are missing, chunks of the floor uplifted, and Tim wonders what the hell could have done all that damage.

They come to a stop at the foot of one of the staircases. What few members of the Buearu Research Sector are there are huddled against a wall. The words PARAPSYCHOLOGY loom above in golden font. Below it, two women stand talking. A blonde who is shaking her head and sighing, while the one beside her with red hair and a pyramid clip holding it back has a hand on her hip. The other hangs at her side. ]

Director Faden! Dr. Pope!

[ Both women turn their heads as the group of Rangers come around the corner. The blonde waves the main Ranger over while the red head glances around. Her green eyes settle on the Ranger approaching them. A hushed discussion takes place.

Tim finds himself rooted in place. He can tell by looking at the apparent Director Faden that she's one of the people he has been looking for. The Red Headed Woman. Honestly? He never really thought to find or see her. Now, he finds himself standing and staring at her with various emotions running through his mind.

She's ...alive. ]

[crazyisinevitable]

You know, that really means a lot, Tim. I don't know if I said before, but I really appreciated having you around. I still appreciate having you around. If you were angry at me for causing you problems, I wouldn't blame you. Although I guess that something else brought you into all this before I even met you.

[ Something else, or someone else? He remembers Tim mentioning Mr. Door, needing to find him, and- isn't that how they got here in the first place? Maybe his memories are more scattered than he thought. But he definitely remembers that Door had something to do with Tim's situation; still, he knows that people around him tend to get caught in the crosshairs, and Tim seems to be no exception to that. ]

We don't know what we'll run into where we're going. Maybe having a gun will make a difference if something bad happens.

[ Maybe it's because Alan just anticipates the worst, but as the elevator doors open, he finds himself stiffened with grim anticipation. Nothing seems to happen immediately, so he follows the rangers down a hallway and then to another area that looks as though it's seen better days.

Clearly the place has been wrecked, but wrecked by what, Alan doesn't know. Alan glances sidelong at Tim before he resumes looking around at all the damage around them.

They get closer to one of the staircases, and that's when Alan spots other people, alive and as far as he can tell, mostly unhurt.

But it's not them that draw his attention; he spots a redhead standing next to a blonde, and a rush of breath leaves him all at once.

He finds himself rooted in place just as Tim is. He was looking for her, of course, but he didn't really expect to find her down here, wherever this is. ]