That Part Chapter 37: The Plan

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

Jash, myself, Saga Anderson, and Kiran Estevez were all gathered in the one office that had taken the least damage. We had removed the lonely corpse from the place and now stood around a desk looking at each other.

Jash and I were worried about our future together being ripped from our grasps. The one shard of happiness that had helped me breathe.

Saga had the goal of saving her daughter no matter the cost.

Kiran had a duty to the Federal Bureau of Control to save the town of Bright Falls.

“We have to save Alan Wake.” Saga said.

“You still feel that way even after he took your young?” Jash asked.

“I can’t forgive him for harming an innocent child just so he could escape the Dark Place. But he is trying to make things right.”

“The Dark Presence is scared of him. Something evil wouldn’t be afraid of an equally vile person.”

Saga gave a curt nod in agreement. She, like me, must have developed a soft spot for the writer. She couldn’t forgive him now but she also couldn’t let him suffer any longer.

“The FBC has a cage that should hold him.” Kiran said. “Which leaves the question of how to lure him inside.”

“Lure him in and then turn the lights on him.” Saga mused. “Mr. Scra-“

“Scratch.” Jash corrected.

“Scratch will leave Alan.” Saga corrected herself.

I felt as though Scratch was squeezing my heart. Each heartbeat seemed more distant than the last. Saga’s plan was too similar to what Jash had described. The Dark Presence would leave Alan and possess Jash. Just as my husband had planned.

“So how do we lure Scratch out?” Kiran asked.

“We go to his hunting grounds.” Jash suggested. “If we make some commotion on the shores of Cauldron Lake, Scratch will have no choice but to come to us.”

“The Anderson brothers are my relatives.” Saga said. “Tor is my grandfather and Odin is my great-uncle. They’ll help us. Hell, they probably have a song planned already.”

“So what?” I asked. “The Old Gods of Asgard are going to serenade Scratch?”

“Works of art are like crack to the Shadow.” Kiran said, agreeing with Saga. “If you paint, write, or create another form of art you can influence reality. That’s why Scratch is so interested in Alan Wake. I agree with Saga’s plan. My only concern is what’s the plan if things go wrong.”

I knew what Jash would say. I was afraid of hearing him say it. I was afraid of everyone knowing the dark future I would have to endure if Saga’s plan didn’t work. A plan too similar to Jash’s plan.

Jash met my eyes. He must see the fear in them. He must see that he needed to keep quiet so I wouldn’t break.

“I have a plan.” Jash said and I gritted my teeth. “It is already in place. Though I loathe myself for enacting it.”

Saga looked at me and she responded, though very subtly, to the pain I felt. She knew that whatever Jash was about to say would eat away at my ****** soul. In response to my anguish, she had a promise of comfort.

“And the plan is?” Kiran asked.

“I have shown Scratch that I am not one to be trifled with.” Jash answered. “If he is dislodged from Alan, he will possess me as a form of revenge.”

“There will be another way, Jash.” Saga said in response to my suffering. “We are not losing you.”

Jash chuckled without pleasure. His crest blew in a vicious unseen wind. A few feathers stayed, some went one way, and the rest went the other. A nearly silent sound left his lips. It was him crying out in pain which only those who could comprehend Jel would understand.

“Saga, if your plan works then there is no need for my backup plan.” Jash said. “Alan will be freed and I can return to Skyrim with Alex. If he will still have me when the time arrives.”

Of course I would go with Jash no matter the cost. But I guess he and I were too similar in some respects. He thought he didn’t deserve me. I was afraid of living outside of a major city. Even though there were cities in Skyrim, they weren’t like New York City at all. He thought I wouldn’t be able to handle living with a cannibal.

I was terrified.

“If your plan doesn’t work then I can buy you time.” Jash continued. “In that time you can figure out something better.”

Saga turned to me and we talked without moving our lips. Her stern face promised to talk Jash out of his plan. I trusted her to talk the devil himself from evil, but my husband was different. He could not be moved.

“I tried to talk Jash out of his insane plan before this meeting.” I said and even though I struggled, my tone sounded confident. “He believes in his plan and has the bad habit of sacrificing himself for others.”

“I will make sure my plan works.” Saga promised.

“You better, Saga.”