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For the later iteration if Return, see Return (manuscript)
A sequel to Departure. 
- ― Alan Wake
The cover of the manuscript
Return was intended to be the sequel to the manuscript Departure, which was the last thing noted at the end of The Writer episode. However in Alan Wake 2, it was revealed to be one of Alan's failed attempts to escape, as he did not realize he had to write Initiation before he could write the true Return.
The manuscript tells the story of an episode of Night Springs, which is the story of Alan Wake's American Nightmare where the pages are found.
List of Manuscript Pages[]
Rest Stop[]
| # | Image | Name | Act | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Alan Wake, the Writer | Act I | Lying on a pile of wood planks, after the canyon. |
| 2 | 
|
Hunting Mr. Scratch | On a oil ring in front of the diner. | |
| 3 | 
|
Rewriting Reality | On a rock in front of the cabin where the CD is found. | |
| 4 | 
|
The Devil is in the Details | Pinned on a fence next to the rails, near the gas station. | |
| 5 | 
|
The Splitter | On a rock behind the trucks parked in front the gas station. | |
| 6 | 
|
Too Many Legs | On a rock behind the diner. | |
| 7 | 
|
The Twisted Mirror | Inside one of the rooms of the Desert Shore Motel. This room can only be entered after finding the motel keys in the diner. | |
| 8 | New Reality: The Satellite | Given by Emma Sloan. | ||
| 9 | 
|
The Appearance of Mr. Scratch | Act II | On a small shed next to the oil derrick. |
| 10 | 
|
Pages and Instincts | Act I | On a fence behind the Desert Shore Motel's garage. |
| 11 | 
|
My Best Friend | Act II | Lying on the ground next to the portable office outside the oil field. |
| 12 | 
|
Wake's Friends | On a desk in the motel room in front of the crashed satellite. This room can only be entered after finding the motel keys in the diner. | |
| 13 | 
|
Night Springs, the Cult TV Show | Pinned on the burned RV on the right of the Desert Shore Motel. | |
| 14 | 
|
Night Springs, Arizona | Pinned on a fence below the dilapidated billboard found near the mine entrance. | |
| 15 | 
|
The Spectre | On a plank in front of the sinking Bird Leg Cabin, at the start of the chapter. | |
| 16 | 
|
Emma Sloan | On one of the tables outside the diner. | |
| 17 | 
|
Old Gods of Asgard | Act III | Pinned on a wooden pallet on the canyon, where the first encounter with the giant takes places. |
| 18 | 
|
Barry and the Old Gods | Pinned on the fence next to oil field entrance in front of the diner. | |
| 19 | 
|
Old Gods in the Studio | Pinned on the sign of the Desert Shore Motel. | |
| 20 | 
|
The Giant | On a table next to the Desert Shore Motel's pool. | |
| 21 | 
|
Emma and Mr. Scratch | On the bumper of the caravan found next to the Desert Shore Motel. |
Observatory[]
| # | Image | Name | Act | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Success | Act I | On the front bumper of the fire truck located near the Mount Redtooth National Observatory entrance. |
| 2 | 
|
Pressure | On a barrel outside the main observatory. | |
| 3 | 
|
The Genesis of Mr. Scratch | On the ground outside the main storage building. | |
| 4 | 
|
Fighting the Taken | On a concrete barrier in the visitor parking. | |
| 5 | 
|
The Spiders | Next to the container found outside the main observatory. | |
| 6 | 
|
New Reality: Fragment 1 | On the printer in the control room of the main observatory. Obtained at the end of the chapter. | |
| 7 | 
|
The Darkness | Act II | On the edge of the cliff behind the main storage building, near Dr. Rachel Meadow's car. |
| 8 | 
|
Lost in the Dark Place | On a rock to the left of the north observatory, next to the pipe. | |
| 9 | 
|
The Nature of Stories | On the back door of the delivery truck parked outside the main observatory. | |
| 10 | 
|
Cosmological Truths | On a box outside the main storage building. | |
| 11 | 
|
The Taken | Pinned on a delivery package found behind the main observatory. | |
| 12 | 
|
Dr. Meadows | On a container between the second and third liquid nitrogen tanks. | |
| 13 | 
|
New Reality: Fragment 2 | On the printer in the control room of the main observatory. Obtained at the end of the chapter. | |
| 14 | 
|
Everything Is as Real as Everything Else | Act III | On the concrete cactus planter outside the north observatory. |
| 15 | 
|
Dr. Meadows and Mr. Scratch | On a rock next to the "Observatory" sign, near the east observatory. | |
| 16 | 
|
New Reality: Fragment 3 | On the printer in the control room of the main observatory. Obtained at the end of the chapter. |
Drive-In Theater[]
| # | Image | Name | Act | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Bright Falls | Act I | Behind the office. |
| 2 | 
|
Alice | On the second safe haven in the Night Springs Light & Power Company generator building. | |
| 3 | 
|
What Really Matters | On the trunk of a brown car parked in front of the projection booth. | |
| 4 | 
|
The Grenadier | On a rock next to the Drive-In Theater sign behind Alan's car. | |
| 5 | 
|
A Car in Flight | On a rock near the path leading from the suvenir store to the parking. | |
| 6 | 
|
Survival in the Dark Place | Act II | On a table in the transformer. |
| 7 | 
|
Equilibrium | On the wooden handrail lookout behind near the suvenir shop. | |
| 8 | 
|
The Doppelganger | Below the projection screen. | |
| 9 | 
|
Mr. Scratch's Trap | In a derelict shed near the edge of a cliff not far from the projection booth. | |
| 10 | 
|
The Plan | On a rock between the projection booth and the derelict shed and mill. | |
| 11 | 
|
The Dangers of Creation | On a cloth sack outside the office. | |
| 12 | 
|
Serena Valdivia | On a wooden pallet inside the generator building, near its entrance. | |
| 13 | 
|
Focusing the Beam | Act III | On the table in the booth on the right of the parking lot. |
| 14 | 
|
Serena and Mr. Scratch | On a rock on the area below the theater parking, near the edge of the cliff. | |
| 15 | 
|
The Clothes | Pinned on a cactus to the right of the Drive-In Theater entrance. | |
| 16 | 
|
Alice's Film | On a rock in the outcrop in front of the office. |
Notes[]
- Alan Wake states that in order to try and find a way out of the Dark Place, he needed to write a sequel, called "Return".
- At the end of American Nightmare, we see Alice's film which shows Alan meeting with Alice, this then fades to reveal it is part of the Night Springs story stating that it is an insight of what is to come, showing him what he is fighting for.
- The credits at the end explain that this 'episode' of Night Springs was titled "Return", the same sequel manuscript that Alan began writing in The Writer.
- In Alan Wake 2, snippets from the Return manuscript pages can be found on signs around the Dark Place.
Gallery[]
Storyline