That Part Chapter 32: Darkness’ Face

This is a Skyrim/Alan Wake 2 fic. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

This chapter has been edited due to content. If you want to see the unedited version GO HERE.

JASH

Members of the Cult of the Tree could be heard clumsily moving around the lodge. I bared my teeth even though they wouldn’t be able to see them. Now would be the final moments to move into position.

“Go.” I told Alex.

“They want him.” Alex said and looked at the bard.

“I can handle a few dryskins. And, with how they’re moving, they don’t seem to be trained.”

“They’ll have numbers.”

“And I have skill.”

Alex finally relented and turned to rush outside.

“Can I have a gun?” Alan asked.

“Not a chance!” Alex retorted in an offhand tone as he disappeared.

“Don’t worry, bard.” I reassured him.

What I expected was a dryskin or two. What I expected was a mortal that was untrained and easy to disarm. What I didn’t expect was one possessed by darkness. Alan called them Taken. When there was one of them they were hard enough.

As a group they were a force of nature that made even Hircine take notice.

I threw the boiling cup of coffee at one of their faces and watched as the Taken continued its way towards me as if nothing had happened. Without knowing why, I twisted and turned in the air before seeing a Taken throw an axe towards me that skimmed my scales as another rushed at me.

The moment my feet slammed onto the floor, I sent out two Magelights so that the Taken gave Alan some space while I twisted away from five Taken of my own. As I conjured a sword, I realized that the way connecting me to my human form was severed.

That should have scared me but there was currently more pressing matters.

With my Bound Sword I had a weapon that could easily tear into the Taken. A few members of the Cult of the Tree had joined in and I had tried to disarm them. But I had found that I either disarmed them or the Taken killed them. So I ended up killing both Taken and cult members.

My vast history was the only reason my heart continued to beat and my lungs contained to breathe. I turned to see how Alan was reacting to my bloodbath. If he didn’t like my actions I would change.

Alan now clutched his head. A pathetic scream left his lips. Then his posture changed as the Dark Presence took over him. It was a transformation that would have left even Molag Bal a shivering mess. I wanted to do nothing more than cry and mourn the bard’s fate.

“Mr. Scratch.” I hissed.

“Scratch.” Scratch said with a wicked grin.

The piece of Darkness teleported all over the room and left most of the dryskins a pile of shreds. If the situation had been different, the scent would have been alluring. The speed would have also made the scene pleasurable with the way the killing lacked emotions if Scratch had been an ally.

With the foreplay out of the way, Scratch turned his speed and deadliness to me. It was hard to land a blow against him and I found it even harder to scrape him. But eventually I found myself matching his speed, though neither of us ever landed a blow against the other.

I used corpses and furniture as mere things to give my attacks enough speed. Scratch would teleport and I would twist. I would flip. I would slightly move a limb. My blade would move at his eye. A cult member of the Cult of the Tree would try to use our fight as a distraction to attack. Another corpse would be added to the field office.

“You can’t kill this body.” Scratch laughed mockingly. “But I can tear you limb from limb.”

“Then why don’t you?” I hissed.

Both of us turned to see a group of cult members rushing into the room. I grinned widely. He didn’t look happy and I knew why. As soon as they poured in I ran out and began my search for Alex. I didn’t bother trying to save the humans as they were already dead. If I knew how to defeat Scratch or the Dark Presence I would have fought, but that knowledge was currently beyond me.

So I ran out of the lodge and began to search for my love.

I smelled Alex and saw his tracks clearly. He had had no reason to try and hide them. Not that he was trained enough to cover them from me. I sent Magelight into a group of Taken I heard faintly running towards me. A few cult members were barely able to kill some Taken before being slaughtered themselves.

Even more Taken appeared. I used the cult members as a shield as I assumed my hybrid form. My first change was rising from nearly seven feet to eight feet. The next change was my scales melting into fur.

Lastly, wings and a tail tore from my back while vampiric fangs sprung from my mouth.

I let out a roar and the Taken took a step back and nearly tripped over the corpses of the cult members. In my hybrid form I was able to move nearly as fast as Scratch himself. That speed was deadly enough but added with Magelights on the tip of each claw, made my very touch lethal to the Taken. In almost a blink of an eye half the Taken were gone.

In the next blink they were all gone or had run after weaker prey.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw darkness rushing slightly above the trees. That was the only way to describe whatever Scratch was. Which me-Alex screamed. It tore at the very core of me to hear my heart scream in such pain.

It wasn’t the scream of pure terror. It was the scream of an animal fighting something much more powerful. It was the scream of prey moments before the predator tore it into shreds. With my powerful wolf-like legs I ran across the ground while my wings provided me extra speed. I was too distracted and so the Magelights on my claws went out.

If I had been thinking clearly I might have been able to teleport next to Alex in this form. But the cries of my love distracted me too much.

When my eyes finally saw him in the thin woods, I saw Scratch trying desperately to enter Alex. Meanwhile my love looked nearly exactly like Alan had when the piece of Darkness took control. I stood tall on my two hind legs and my wings opened wide.

“Naal Dii Sil!” I Shouted.

Scratch cried out and immediately left Alex. The piece of Darkness’ retreating form went towards the lodge but I couldn’t pay that any concern right now. There was only so much I could control in this world.

I caught Alex’s limp body as it fell into my arms. My eyes didn’t leave his chest until I saw him draw breath again.