That Part Chapter 35: An End

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.

ALEX

I looked at Jash as he meditated. He was sitting on the floor of an office with his legs crossed, arms on his knees, eyes closed, and his tail forming a circle around him. Ever since we had entered the police station, he had refused to talk.

If anyone else had acted like he had, I would have been angry. But if he was quiet now it meant whatever he was going to tell me would be important. He would never let anything happen to me.

“Didn’t think something like that could ever look peaceful.” A woman’s voice said and I turned briefly to see Kiran.

“Jash is peaceful when he wants to be.” I replied.

I heard Kiran walk away as I returned my focus back to my husband. I had all of his memories and so knew exactly how he looked when enraged. I knew how he could look nonchalant when committing the most heinous murders.

Jash opened his eyes and I turned to follow his gaze. I couldn’t hear anything but trusted my husband if anything was going on. He hadn’t jumped up and rushed to the front which must mean we weren’t under attack.

I started walking to the front and heard Jash follow me. If there had been an attack happening he wouldn’t have allowed me to go before him. He was a selfless ****. When I got close to the front I heard Saga right before seeing her.

Saga and Kiran went silent when they saw me followed by Jash. It was good to see my partner again after all this weird ****. I had trusted her countless times and now I felt more certain with her by my side.

“Your partner, Alex Casey, is safe.” Kiran said after briefly turning to see myself and Jash. “You three can get out of Bright Falls and allow the FBC to do our job.”

Saga held up what looked like a clicker as if it were a weapon. Things had gone ******* insane so it might just very much be a weapon. Though I couldn’t understand how a clicker could ever be used as one.

“This is the Clicker.” Saga said curtly. “Alan Wake needs this to make everything right again.”

Did she mean that Alan needed the Clicker to save Logan?

“I’ll give it to the writer.” Kiran said and held out her hand. “You have my word.”

“We are all characters in the bard’s story.” Jash said as his crest seemed to blow in an unfelt wind. “Our actions serve the purpose of not only being our own but of making a good tale.”

“You’re a writer now?”

“I originally went to Skyrim to be a bard. So, yes, the art of weaving a story is something I am well acquitted with. And with my years of study I can tell you that in a pivotal moment a well established character must shine. While I am sure you are talented in your own rights, Kiran, we only just met you.”

Kiran glared at Jash but I could see her walls slowly crumbling. All it would take was for Jash to say the right things and then the FBC agent would let us through again.

“There is also another reason why Saga is better suited to give Alan the Clicker.” Jash continued. “Unlike you, Saga has the ability to see reality as it is. She can tell when something has been changed.”

That explained about how well suited to her role as an FBI agent Saga was. It explained how she had been able to know things that would have taken anyone else hours or weeks to decipher. She was able to just know what was actually real. She must not have consciously done this or else she would have told me.

“Are you saying that Saga Anderson is a Parautilitarian?” Kiran asked.

“Do you mean if she has powers that extend beyond mere human abilities?” Jash replied and Kiran nodded. “Then yes.”

“Then, Saga, you’ll be able to better handle what is going on in Bright Falls.”

Kiran didn’t stop Saga, myself, or Jash as we made our way back into the police station. Even though all this madness would be over soon, it felt good to have Jash watching over our backs. He would do everything in his power to protect myself and Saga.

But I didn’t want it to come to that. I wanted to live the rest of my life with him.

“I had a strange thought recently, Saga.” I said. “I thought that Logan was dead and you were divorced. If Jash hadn’t used the By My Soul Shout I would think she had actually died.”

“Alan put Logan into the story. To him she was the motive that would help me save him. When I give him the Clicker he can rewrite his story so she isn’t a part of the story. He can make sure my daughter is safe. Alive.”

“Are you sure Alan can save Logan?”

“If he’s not able to then the Dark Presence won’t be the only thing he has to worry about.”

I had no doubt that Saga could be a bigger threat than the Dark Presence. Saga would fight harder than ever to save her daughter. She would fight to save her marriage.

A strange thought went through my mind as we had criticized Alan’s talent. I felt bad for saying anything about his writing as I had grown to like him. He had wormed his way under my skin and now I wanted to consider him a friend.

I looked over my shoulder briefly to see Jash. He looked calm. No, not calm, his body had relaxed like it always did right before a fight. He was as nervous as I felt. Did I show any of my nervousness to him or Saga?

I had no reason to be nervous as this would all be over soon in a few short moments. I would feel better when I was in Skyrim with my husband. I cared about Saga, Logan, and Alan but this world had taken too much from me. Everywhere I looked was a reminder of the past.

It wasn’t just a need to leave this world, it was the fact that Jash would be with me. Without him, I would have lost myself long ago. In Skyrim Jash could provide me with the emotional and physical comforts that had been denied me.

As we entered the jail, my fingers grazed the bites on my neck that marked me as Jash’s. The moment my fingers made contact with the bites I realized exactly why my husband was nervous.

Shortly after we had found Alan Wake on the shore of Cauldron Lake, Jash had mentioned the writer having something off about him. At the time I had been dealing with my loathing of Alan and trying to keep my mind focused on the investigation at hand.

When the Cult of the Tree had attacked the lodge, Jash had left Alan to fend for himself. My husband would protect a charge of his with his life. Alan was not a fighter and so Jash would be an even better protector because of that. He would even make sure that those who wronged those he cared for paid the harshest price. Whether that be with their life or something more precious.

I had been blinded in my trust for Jash to not look at his actions too closely.

Besides Jash’s actions, there was also a clue in Alan himself. He had mentioned having an evil doppelganger that took his place in the real world. He called this doppelganger Mr. Scratch.

Was I being a ******* idiot by still trusting and loving Jash when he had hid the fact that Alan Wake was the host of Mr. Scratch?

The words I would say started to form in my head as my mouth got ready to say them. At the same time Saga had begun to hand the Clicker to Al-no, yes. He was Alan but once the device was put into hands, Mr. Scratch would take over.

My lips had barely begun to part before Saga hesitated. She was a better person than I could ever be. If she had known what I had, she would have figured out the truth much sooner. But if Jash had to run from a fight, why did I think Saga had a chance against the Dark Presence?

Saga took a step back as Alan grabbed his head and screamed in pain. The room felt much colder as I recalled when Mr. Scratch had tried to possess me. The feeling was almost like rape and yet so much worse. It was hard to describe and I didn’t want to remember feeling so hopeless. If not for Jash, the entity would have fully taken control of me.

Even if I could reassure Alan in this moment, I didn’t have the words to do so.

Mr. Scratch was able to easily to take control of the writer. Even though it had felt like hours, it had probably only been a few seconds. The Dark Presence teleported to the cell holding the screaming Koskela brothers. Their screams ended when the demon killed Ilmo and was painted with his blood.

Or had Mr. Scratch killed Jaakko? Was Ilmo alive and Jaako’s blood dripping off of Mr. Scratch?

“Give me the Clicker!” Mr. Scratch yelled with emotionless eyes.

Mr. Scratch teleported out of the jail cells and started walking towards me. This was a thing that Jash had to flee as he must have found no way to defeat it. If it wanted to kill me, I didn’t want to think of the possibility of possession, there was no way to stop it from doing so.

I started to unholster my gun before Jash put up a ward of pure light around the two of us. I let go of my gun as I saw a brief glimmer of pure hatred in Mr. Scratch’s eyes. My husband and the thing that had taken over Alan must be too equally matched for either to kill the other.

“Run!” I yelled to Saga as I saw Mr. Scratch reassess his situation.

The word wasn’t off of my lips before my partner started racing out of the jail followed closely by Mr. Scratch.