oceanview (different path) || ❝ lost in mist for days and days, now you see the sunny seas. ❞

[outlierdirector]

OCEANVIEW :: INTO THE DARK

i must guide my love through the night

Follow the deer to follow the owl
I'm fighting to save my love somehow
I cannot feel her by my side
Even in this place inside my mind CODE BY TESSISAMESS

Comments

[crazyisinevitable]

It's what you do, but what happens if you get killed? What happens if you go against the Dark Presence again and it finds a way to stop you for good?

[ It'll be my fault, that's what happens. I can't let her put herself in so much danger. ]

That's why I have to find the right ending now, before you or anyone else gets hurt.

[ He just has to stop being afraid and stop doubting himself and get to work. The story won't fix itself, and it's not being fixed while he's busy being scared of it and the darkness. ]

Okay... Keep going. Figure out the ending, write it down. I can do this.

[ He's already trying to think of what he can write that might satisfy the Dark Presence while also letting him come home. It's intricate because he feels it has to be, but it's not so complicated that he can't see the main plot points. ]

What if I wrote something to lure it out? Bait it out into the open so that you and your Bureau can stop it?

[outlierdirector]

That's a risk. Someone has to take it. Should I just feed my agents to it like canon fodder? No. And you wouldn't either.

[ She feels as if this is more Alan venting out his stress and worry rather than a conversation. Some back and forth in his own mind if he should willingly pull her along.

« Well, too late for that. He gave me a time and date. I'm here now. We both are. You wouldn't mind round 2. Would you? »

Polaris shimmers.

« I thought you wouldn't. » ]

And what sort of bait would that be? How would it look?

[crazyisinevitable]

But why does that someone have to be you? I'm the one who caused all this, the one who made all this start happening.

[ Something tells him she'll reject this out of hand, but right now, he can't see any other options. He won't put more people in harm's way. He can put himself in harm's way, because he sees it as something deserved and the natural consequence of everything that's happened. ]

What sort of bait?

[ His expression seems to darken briefly before he points to himself by way of an answer. ]

Make me the bait to lure it out, and then we can stop it. Trap it. Destroy it. Whatever we have to do to stop this for good.

[outlierdirector]

Because I'm the Director. [ Her tone is sharp but flat. Punctual and factual. ] I'm me. With Polaris. The best you have your arsenal and you know it.

[ « It's not as if he can remember anything else. »

A bitter thought but it's how she truly feels. Hurt and bitter. The Dark Place is refusing to return him to her.

« This is MY fight. »

She frowns at the suggestion. ]

You want me to put you on a stick and dangle you?

[crazyisinevitable]

Yeah, you're the Director, and you're good at it. You're a damn good Director, and me, well, I'm just a guy who's trying to fix the problems he caused. I don't think I'm doing that well at all, but maybe...

Maybe dangling me on a stick is what we need. Maybe it's what needs to happen to force the Dark Presence to get cocky. Does a dark entity get cocky? I don't know, but maybe it's like me: maybe it gets overconfident, thinks it's winning. Maybe it thinks it can take over everything just by snapping its fingers.

[ Alan's expression turns serious. Thoughtful. Maybe even a little reflective. ]

I used to think I was on top of the world, before- before things knocked me back down and made me realize I wasn't. Maybe it's the same with the Dark Presence.

[ He shakes his head. ]

You probably think this sounds insane.