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Saga (V.O.): What’s going on? Am I in the field office? No… it’s the Mind Place. I can’t sense anyone. Nothing’s working. I can’t think straight. Where is everything? My work. It’s all gone. What the hell is happening? I can’t leave. Why can’t I leave? The Dark Presence took over Casey. Stole the Clicker from me. The last thing I remember is him throwing me into Cauldron Lake.
Other Saga (V.O.): I’m in the Dark Place. I’m lost. I don’t know how to get out. I don’t know what to do.
Saga (V.O.): That wasn’t me. Was it? What? Failed who? What’s happening to the Case Board? The board says I failed them. Who’s “them”?
Other Saga (V.O.): I let everyone down. Logan. Casey. Myself. This is my fault. My daughter is dead. My partner was taken over by a monster. And I’m trapped in the Dark Place. Powerless.
Saga (V.O.): I’m not powerless. What is happening here? This isn’t me. Logan. I
Other Saga (V.O.): I neglected my family for my job. I was too thrilled by the cases, the mysteries. I liked how dangerous the work was. And now that danger has destroyed my family. Killed my daughter.
Saga (V.O.): No. Casey.
Other Saga (V.O.): Casey depended on me and I let him down. I wasn’t watching his back. I got wrapped up chasing the wrong lead. He needed me. Now he’s turned into a monster.
Saga (V.O.): He needed me.
Other Saga (V.O.): Scratch took Casey and it’s my fucking fault. I’m a failure. This is what I deserve. I’m a terrible mother. I let my daughter die.
Saga (V.O.): Scratch. He’s using Casey now, like he used Wake. Something is very fucking wrong here. The story.
Other Saga (V.O.): My life, my family is just part of a book. Another white asshole deciding what I get to do, how I get to do it. He took my daughter from me. I’ll never be free from this story. From him.
Saga (V.O.): He used her. She’s not dead, god damn it! No, I’m done with this. It just keeps coming back.
Logan (V.O.): You took me away from Dad.
Saga (V.O.): Casey was being corrupted and I did nothing. Scratch was Wake. How could I miss that?
Other Saga (V.O.): There’s no way out!
Saga (V.O.): Casey was hurt. I should’ve been watching his back. This case… this room… Is any of it even real? Night Springs… Logan and David love that show. Their weekly ritual. I never should’ve trusted these. It feels like I’m trapped in a nightmare. Stuck in an echo chamber with all my fear, my doubts, my insecurities.
Logan (V.O.): I hate it here.
Saga (V.O.): It was so obvious the Koskela brothers were behind the Cult. I spent too much time away from Logan. Logan. The horror story used her.
Casey (V.O.): I’ve had it with you cultist maniacs!
Saga (V.O.): I never should have left Casey at that hotel by himself. The Cult was just the beginning of the spiral. I hate this, but it’s all true. I had tried to silence these thoughts, focus on the case. But I can’t escape them anymore. I’m drowning. I need a way out, before I’m dragged under. No… There has to be a way out. I need a way out. I need a way out.
Other Saga (V.O.): Oh, god. None of this is real. I’ve lost it. I’m not even here. The Mind Place isn’t real. A case about supernatural darkness? I’m having a full on psychotic break. I dragged Logan away to a tin can in Watery. She’s dead because of me.
Saga (V.O.): There has to be a way out. I need a way out!
Other Saga (V.O.): It’s over. There’s no point trying. Everything is lost. There’s no way out. No way to fix this. No way out. I’m stuck here forever. Just me and my past. My guilt. My mistakes.
Saga (V.O.): I’m not getting anywhere. I’m stuck. But this is my Mind Place. My mind. Everything I need is here. It has to be.
Other Saga (V.O.): Augh!
Saga (V.O.): The lights! No, no. I’m not giving up. Focus, Saga. The answers I need are here somewhere. I just have to look.
Logan (V.O.): I saw this online and it made me think of you. Okay, what are you doing – don’t make a big deal out of it, Mom. No hugs. No hugs!
Saga (V.O.): My badge. Never should’ve taken this case.
Logan (V.O.): Hey, Mom, I made you a charm bracelet, for good luck. I made a matching one for me, so bring back something cool from Washington.
Saga (V.O.): No. I’m not reading anymore.
Saga (V.O.): I’m honored by this award, thank you. While our agency must continue to improve, the work we do here — protecting communities, pursuing the truth — it’s the most important work there is. Hey. Just calling to say thanks for your note. Sometimes I just get in my head too much, so thanks for pulling me out. You’re really the best, Mom. Really. Okay, talk soon.
Casey (V.O.): Anderson, look, after Miranda left, it was, well, I was in a bad place. You dragging me to those dinners at your house, with your family, it really meant a lot. Thank you.
Saga (V.O.): Scratch was too much for us… I should have made Casey stay behind.
Casey (V.O.): Stop blaming yourself, Anderson. A knife in the arm is just part of the job. If you’re going to keep fussing you can get the hell out… but leave the whiskey.
Saga (V.O.): Our job is dangerous. Casey himself told me that. It’s no one’s fault.
Other Saga (V.O.): It is my fault. It is. It is.
Saga (V.O.): It’s not too late. I can still save them.
Other Saga (V.O.): No matter what I do, someone will get hurt. I don’t know what to do. I’m afraid.
Saga (V.O.): I’m my own worst enemy. The fears in my head are stopping me from trying. From leaving. No, this is all real. I know it is.
Other Saga (V.O.): I’ve lost it. The FBI will kick me out. I’ll have nothing.
Saga (V.O.): I can’t let this palace make me question myself. I know what I’m doing.
Other Saga (V.O.): I have no idea what I’m doing.
Saga (V.O.): Logan isn’t anyone’s plot device. She’s my daughter, and she’s not dead.
Other Saga (V.O.): She’s dead! She’s dead! I didn’t save her!
Saga (V.O.): It’s okay to be afraid. But I can’t let this end here.
Other Saga (V.O.): I can’t, I can’t, I can’t! I just – I just want it to stop.
Saga (V.O.): Giving up won’t make this stop. Logan needs me. Casey needs me. I’ve made mistakes. I’ll make more. But I can do better. And I can start by leaving this room.
Other Saga (V.O.): I’m afraid. It will hurt. But nothing will hurt more than not trying to save them.
Saga (V.O.): It will hurt. But I will fight. The Dark Place tried to trap me here. The only way to leave is facing it head on. Wake called it a nightmare. I need to dive into that nightmare and find a way back home.
Alice: Saga, wake up.
Saga (V.O.): The payphone was ringing. Somehow I knew the call was for me.
Saga: Hello?
Unknown Caller: It’s me again. You need to go to the statue at Parliament Tower Plaza. To make your ending come true, you will need what’s inside the shoebox there.
Saga: The ending? Shoebox? Who is this?
Unknown Voice: (humming)
Tim: Agent Anderson! Is it really you? Sorry, this palace likes to play tricks.
Saga: Sheriff Breaker? What happened to you? How did you end up in the Dark Place?
Tim: I was brought here. Snatched away from the morgue by a man named Warlin Door. I’ve been trying to piece it together for… well, it feels like a long time.
Saga: Who is this Door person?
Tim: He’s here, somewhere. I’ve been seeing his face in my dreams for years. This whole thing is insane. He’s much more than he seems. He’s connected to all of this.
Saga: I need to get to Parliament Tower Plaza. Do you have any idea where it is?
Tim: This place, it’s like trying to find your way around in a dream. I’ve been trying to map it, but it keeps looping and shifting. Like there are many versions stacked on top of each other. But there is a page. It describes Door finding his way through this place. I tried to follow the steps, but no luck.
Saga: Can I see that page, Tim?
Tim: Of course. In fact, it’s the page I tried to give you back in the morgue, in Bright Falls. Huh. Now that I think about it, maybe Door brought me here to keep you from reading it. Here. I’m going to keep looking for Door. The closer I get, the closer I feel to waking up. I need to find the man behind the curtain.
Alan (V.O.): Warlin Door walked across the rain slick tiles of Caldera Street Plaza. He stopped at the door to the construction yard. A poster for his talk show hung there. He stepped through, willing it to take him to Parliament Tower Plaza.
Saga (V.O.): I know what I need to do. The door to Parliament Tower Plaza was at the construction yard.
Saga (V.O.): This is the first time I’ve seen a page about Warlin Door. Who is he?
Mr. Door (V.O.): A door that stands between two rooms is in both. A door that can lead anywhere is everywhere. That door is the center. He governs the currents of reality.
Saga (V.O.): With all the powers mixed up in this, it’s hard to know who is playing who. Opening too many doors. This isn’t important right now, I can look into it later. The page describes him moving through the door. How can I do that?
Mr. Door (V.O.): The Dark Place has many faces, and many names. It is a mirror reflecting all possible realities. The family of Doors have the power to shift between these realities. Here, and elsewhere.
Saga (V.O.): If I can find a way to navigate through this nightmare, maybe I can find a way to get back home.
Saga (V.O.): I made it. I need to get up to the street and find that statue.
Logan (V.O.): You let me drown! You pushed me under!
Saga (V.O.): Enough already. There’s the shoebox. The Clicker! And some kind of bullet, shining with light? How did the Clicker get here from Washington? The phone again.
Saga: Yes?
Unknown Caller: Hello. You don’t know me, but you need to listen.
Saga: Hold on. How did you know the Clicker would be there?
Unknown Caller: This is important. Alan’s lost. He doesn’t have the ending. He needs your help to finish the story.
Saga: How am I supposed to help him from here?
Saga (V.O.): Okay. I’m in the Dark Place, Wake is in Washington. I could talk to him in Overlaps before. My Mind Place is more powerful than I ever knew. I can try to contact him.
Saga: Alan. We need to talk about the ending.
Alan: Saga? What is this.
Saga: My Mind Place. I’ve reached out to you like this before, but I understand more about it now.
Alan: You see visions too? I used to think they were ideas, inspiration, but they’re real. Just like this, now. I tried to use them to make the story come true.
Saga: So is this coming from both of us? Maybe that’s how we could communicate in the Overlaps. We can use this to stop Scratch.
Alan: First, I need the ending.
Saga: So there’s a problem with the ending?
Alan: I don’t have the ending. It has to be perfect but I don’t have time to figure it out. I don’t know what to do. Fuck. I’m so sorry. This whole thing is a fucking mess.
Saga: I agree, but we can still figure this out. What exactly does “perfect” mean?
Alan: The elements of the ending need to come from the story’s pre-existing parts. To make matters worse, this is a horror story.
Saga: You don’t need to tell me this is a horror story.
Alan: Right? The ending has to fit the genre if it’s going to work. In a horror story, there are only victims and monsters.
Saga: There must be a way to bring a hero into the story.
Alan: And if there is a hero, they ultimately pay a heavy price.
Saga: I can’t let the horror story take Logan and Casey. They were dragged into this. They need to survive. Non-negotiable.
Alan: Not just them. We need to try to save everyone. I have an idea how to help Casey. He’s a real person who I twisted into a character. He isn’t my creation, so he isn’t a suitable host for the Dark Presence. I can write that into the ending to drive that fucking thing out ot him.
Saga: So the ending has to be earned, set up by the story. You can’t build a case without supporting evidence.
Alan: That’s the only way to make it stick.
Saga: If the ending has to fit the story, this is how I see it. “Return” is a story about a story that comes true. And I’m a character in this story.
Alan: Not just a character. The hero.
Saga: Okay, a hero. In any case, I’ve been through hell to be here. And this is my life. It feels “earned” to me that I rise above the story and be there to create the ending.
Alan: Yes! That’s what we’re doing. Here, now. We are figuring out the ending I need to write.
Saga: This isn’t Scratch’s ending, but this isn’t your ending either. This is our ending. You aren’t the only one deciding these things anymore.
Alan: You’re right. I can’t do this alone. Every time I write, things only get worse.
Saga: You beat this thing back in 2010, Alan. And here you are, doing the same again. You’re a hero too. We’re in this together.
Alan: Then let’s bring it home.
Saga: The ending will have to be dark, no matter what. The more people we save, the greater the cost. And the hero must pay the price.
Alan: One of the heroes. The scales always need to balance. Fuck it. Let’s go with this.
Saga: Are you sure?
Alan: There’s no time for anything better. Scratch could be here any second.
Saga: Then that’s our ending. I have the Clicker. I’ll find a way to get it to you.
Alan: And I’ll get the pages done. See you on the other side.
Saga (V.O.): I need to retrace my steps back to Caldera Street Plaza. I arrived in the Dark Place through the fountain, maybe I can leave that way too.
Logan (V.O.): I wish you weren’t my mom! I hate you!
Saga: Alan?
Alan: Saga. I finished it. The ending we talked about.
Saga: I have the Clicker. And the Bullet of Light. Let’s do this. I have to be the one to do it.
Alan (V.O.): I feel like I’ve always been on this journey.
Alan: Okay.
Alan (V.O.): It must end here. This darkness. What lies under the surface now shifts. A play of shadows catching my eye. Thrusting my face into the water…
Alan: He’s here.
Alan (V.O.): … it’s shockingly cold — past the mirror of the surface, and I will see.
Saga: Casey!
Alan: Scratch. Now!
Alan (V.O.): A white searing light of truth that, for a flash, pierces the shadows and reveals the hidden horror.
Alan: Aah!
Alan (V.O.): And in that moment of silence, the whispered message, finally heard.
Alan: Come on, you motherfucker. Come on! Come home! Aah!
Alan (V.O.): What if there is nothing waiting to be revealed? The play of shadows fooled us all. Subterfuge to get our price of admission. Darkness not as a monster, but as emptiness. We are none the wiser. No answers. No truths. The hero turns to look inside, is destroyed by what he sees, and is redeemed. Saga said we are both heroes. I’ll pay that price. So will she. We are here to kill the monster. I pray nothing comes after this. Nothing but sleep. This is how we win. Is it too easy? What if this is still the Dark Place? Another dream to wake up from. Always coming back to the beginning. The memory of what came before burned away by this terrible realization. Maybe it’s a mercy, forgetting. To know nothing when we loop around, back to —
Casey: Is it over? Anderson?
Alice: This part is just for you. After the haunting started, I got in touch with an organization that was still looking into what happened in Bright Falls. I went to their offices and… something happened there. After I got home, I could suddenly remember everything. I remembered being trapped inside that lake, a dark ocean with echoes of myself, my fears, my photos. Inside a dark tide of madness. The same events and images, looping again and again. Then I saw a light. Your light. You dove in just as I swam out. You never drowned. And you’re still there, reaching out. That is what the haunting is. I can see you because I’ve been there too. I chose to come back to the Dark Place. This is why I put on this exhibition. I had to mislead you, so that I could get you to where you needed to be. The only way out of your loop is destruction or ascension. Light or dark. And we’ve covered the destruction part, many times over. We’re getting to the ascension, bit by bit. Time means nothing here. You’ll still need to go through the loop. But I will keep showing you the images you need to see, the light you need to see, until you’re ready. Alan, I think we’re getting close.
Alan: It’s not a loop, it’s a spiral.