A/N: Hello, so I know it's been awhile and I will explain myself down below because I want to avoid spoilers for any of those who may have clicked on this out of curiosity. Complete episode 5 before reading this!
-If you have not completed episode 5 I wouldn't read this, because it will spoil the episode.
Max buried her face into Chloe's shoulder seeking any comfort she could possibly have a time like this as she heard the destruction behind her. The tornado wreaked havoc upon their home while Max's mind scrambled to try and make everything stop. The wind, the rain, the noise, all of it serving as a weight weighing down on her fragile heart that was already heavy with the life altering decision that had been made.
She thought of Warren who was always there for her, defending her from Nathan whether it was in the parking lot or at the dorms. He was always such a good friend and the one who made this moment possible. Even when everything was at an end, he believed Max without question.
She thought of Joyce and her breakfasts that she absolutely loved. Seeing her at the diner was always a highlight and Joyce was always so happy to see her. She had welcomed Max back to Arcadia Bay with open arms and now. . .
Max felt tears swell up in her eyes as she listened to the tornado and thought about how close the diner was to the ocean where she knew they were staying. All she could do now was turn from Chloe's shoulder for a moment as the destruction neared the shore.
"I'm so sorry, Chloe," Max said as she turned back quickly and grabbed Chloe's shirt before crying into it hard.
Chloe didn't say anything, she just simply wrapped her arms around Max as she watched the horrific sight of Arcadia Bay being washed away like she had once wished for. It wasn't a wish now as she thought of all the people she knew, all the places she had been, and all the memories she had made being torn away.
"Did I do the right thing?" Max cried as Chloe looked down to her.
"Max, you saved me," Chloe said as Max looked up at her momentarily before glancing back at the town. "Hey, don't look at that," Chloe said turning Max's face back to her with a grab of her chin. "Just look at me, Max, everything will be alright, I promise."
Chloe felt tears of her own start running down her cheeks as she kept her eyes on Max's broken expression. Even with all the rain, she could see that Max was crying harder than she ever had before.
"You did what was right in your heart and that is all that matters!"
Max let her head drop a little before being pulled into a tight hug. Chloe couldn't even imagine what Max was feeling right now, but she was sure she didn't want Max to see anything that was happening. It was hard enough for Chloe to deal with as tears ran down her face. Their home was being destroyed and there was now officially nothing they could do about it.
"Come on Max, neither of us should have to watch this," Chloe said Max lifted her head a little as they both glanced back at the town they called home for one last time. This moment would be forever burned into their minds.
The next morning. . .
Chloe jumped awake as the sound of a car driving by startled her. She blinked once or twice as she took a deep breath, she was exhausted. She glanced down to Max who was still asleep laying up against her. Chloe could help but feel bad for her, even in sleep Max looked troubled and on the verge of tears.
She sighed a little as she glanced out the driver side window and took a deep breath to try and fight the tears she felt coming herself. She had helped Max back to her truck the day before, it served as their shelter tonight and even though she wasn't directly in town the wreckage was evident. Remnants of what was homes, businesses, vehicles laid all over.
"Chloe. . ."
She glanced down to Max who was twitching in her sleep a little before taking a sharp breath in.
"Max, wake up, Max," Chloe said with a shake of the girls shoulder as Max's eyes popped open. Chloe couldn't bear to see or hear that right now.
"Where am I?"
"We're in my truck, Max. . . The storm is over."
Max quickly sat up at the mention of the storm as she looked around outside the vehicle before her eyes settled on Chloe. "Is this real, Chloe? Am I still dreaming?"
"Max."
"What if I can still change this?" Max asked her breathing become more rapid.
"Max."
"I can still go back, I can save everyone."
"Max!" Chloe yelled this time before pulling her close and kissing her as firmly as she could when all she really wanted to do was cry. "There is no more going back. . . This is it."
Max swallowed as she thought about what that meant.
"The future is what we make it from here on out. What's done is done and even if we do decide that one day we want to change it we can't, we don't have any pictures to go back with. When that day comes though, I will be there to help you through it. . . I mean it, Max. I'm never leaving you, no matter what happened. It wasn't fair to ask you to make that decision and... I know even if I say I wouldn't that I would have saved you in a heartbeat."
Chloe took a deep breath as she glanced out the driver's side window again feeling tears this time in her eyes. "I love you, Max and I'm glad you chose me."
"Will you be when we enter town?"
Chloe glanced back to Max who wasn't looking at her but she could see the serious expression. This was weighing heavy on her.
"Yes. . . Even if it is hard to accept what we find, I will not blame you, Max."
Max looked to Chloe for a moment looking as if she was ready to cry again. "Chloe, I'm so sorry for anything that has happened. I just. . . I just can't let you go."
Chloe sniffled a little as she nodded and started the truck, "I know Max. I know. . . The only thing there is to do now is go find what we find."
Max just simply nodded as Chloe pulled onto the road, "I just hope it's worse than it looked."
About ten minutes later. . .
Chloe sighed as the truck came to a crawl, seeing the main road full of so much destruction was hard to look at. They both signs from buildings that they recognized. Chloe glanced to Max for a moment who was just covering her mouth. She didn't have any words, she knew there was nothing she could say to ease her pain especially when she couldn't even ease her own.
"Let's go check out the diner, it's just down the road from here."
Those would be the only words spoken as they slowly drove through the debris and destruction left behind by the tornado. The street they both knew so well would never be the same, it didn't need to be said.
"This is crazy."
Max glanced to Chloe who was busy looking around. She was in too much pain to say anything.
"The diner is just over there, but I think we are going to have to walk," Chloe explained as she stopped the truck in the middle of the road just before a downed sign.
"Chloe, there is something I need to tell you," Max said feeling that guilty feeling in her heart.
"What is it, Max?"
Max sighed glancing towards the direction of the diner, "when I was trying to find my way back to you, I ended up at the diner. Warren was there and gave me a picture so I could save you."
Chloe took a deep breath, she could tell by the tone in Max's voice that there was more and it wasn't good.
"Chloe, Joyce was also in that diner and. . ." Max's overwhelming emotions stopped her from continuing.
"Max, I've already thought about what I might find there, but I can't just leave without knowing for sure."
"I can't either, I just. . . I just want to make sure we are both aware of what we might find there."
Chloe nodded as she gave Max a smile even though tears were running down her face at the thought of losing her mom. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
Max leaned in and hugged Chloe tightly for a moment, "I'm sorry. You asked me to let you die and I."
Chloe put her fingers over Max's lips to stop her from talking anymore, "Max, I already told you that none of this is your fault. I will never blame you, like I said, it's not fair for one person to have to make a decision like that."
Chloe took a deep breath to calm herself as she glanced out the front window of the truck. "The worst thing we can right now is wait. If mom is still al…" Chloe chocked up for a moment before shaking it off, "we need to help her."
Max took a deep breath herself at the thought of Joyce being gone, "you're right. Let's go look."
Both girls jumped out of the truck before meeting in front of the truck to hold hands as they walked around the downed sign and saw what was left standing of the diner.
Max could feel Chloe's grip tighten a little from the sight before them. The walls were still standing, but it looked like the roof was torn up pretty bad.
"Oh shit," was all Chloe could get herself to mutter as a feeling of dread washed over her.
With a quick glance they started walking again towards the diner.
"The front door wasn't working when I tried last time, I had to go through the back," Max said glancing over towards the door which still seemed to be standing.
She sighed inwardly once they got to the door and opened it. The shelves with cans of food were still standing, but the cans themselves had been thrown all over the place.
"Max, whatever happens, know that I will never leave you," Chloe said as they approached the door that led to the dining area. She took a deep breath before slowly pushing it open.
She glanced to her right immediately noticing Frank's lifeless body sitting up against the counter.
"Oh my god, Frank," Chloe said as she quickly went over to him and shook him only to watch him slouch over. "H-he's dead."
Max swallowed as she closed her eyes for a moment.
"Mom?" Chloe called out as the diner remained silent. "Mom are you here?"
"Chloe," Max said with a tear in her eye as she looked at a message written on the diner's main serving area.
"Chloe, I don't know where you are right now, but if you find this know that no matter what happens, I love you."
Chloe took a deep breath as she raised a hand to her forehead, "oh my god."
Max quickly stepped forward to stabilize Chloe who looked like she might faint.
"This can't be real. She has to be here still."
"Mom!" Chloe shouted before heading into the backroom.
"Mom!" She shouted again as her emotions started making their way into her voice.
Max looked down at the message and closed her eyes as the sound of Chloe's screams brought her to tears. "I'm so sorry, Chloe," Max said never taking her eyes off the message. "This is all my fault, I should have. . . I should. . ." Max covered her face with her hands as the tears let lose.
"Mom!" Chloe cried as she rushed back into the diner to find Max curled into a ball crying.
"This is all my fault," Max cried as Chloe got down on her knees in front of Max. "I killed, Joyce."
"No you didn't, Max."
"I'm so sorry, Chloe. I should have just stayed out of your life," Max cried as she glanced over to Frank before being pulled into a hug.
"Don't say things like that, Max. I need your right now, we're not done searching yet. . . And even if… Even if the worse is true, we both knew this could happen."
Max sniffled but nodded, "I know, I just. . . Can I have a minute please?"
Chloe nodded as she stood again and wiped her own tears. She glanced down to the message quickly for heading out into the diner to check the bathrooms.
Nothing.
Chloe sighed, she was actually glad that nothing was there, because the back was clear too. She glanced up to the big hole in the ceiling though and wondered for a moment. She wiped her eyes again and sniffled before making her way back around to Max who was looking up at the big hole above her. They both had the same thought on their mind.
"The good news is she isn't here. Unfortunately that leaves the question as to why Frank is still here."
"Chloe, I. . ."
"Save it, Max. I don't want to hear you say anything bad about yourself anymore."
Max looked down at the floor for a moment before getting up on her feet with the help of Chloe, "thanks."
"Don't worry about it, it's the least I can do for as many times as you've picked me up," Chloe said as she grabbed a marker from behind the counter. "I'm going to leave a message for my mom just in case she comes by here. . . God, I really hope she does."
"Me too," Max said as she watched Chloe sign the message.
"Let's grab some food while we're here. We might want to grab enough for a few days, we don't even know if my house is still standing."
"If it's not we will have to check Blackwell. It's getting colder at night, we can't live in your truck forever."
Chloe smiled, "you're right, but let's worry about that later. I'm sure we could pick some blankets up from the nearby store. I doubt they'll need them anymore."
Max sighed with a nod, "let's just hope the entire town isn't destroyed."
A/N: Alright so this will be the actual author's note for this chapter. I usually put them up top and will continue to do so after this chapter. I have some explaining to do because I have Caught Together unfinished still. No, I have not forgotten about it and yes, I still plan on posting it. My school schedule has been rather hectic and has really cut me off of Fan fiction entirely as I've been putting all my free time into other things. That being said my classes have changed (I'm doing accelerated courses) so now I don't have as much to do. I should be getting back into the swing of things here. This chapter was written literally within 2 hours of beating episode 5 which I am still extremely torn up about. I am so sad that the game is over, I can't even express it. These are my favorite types of games and I will say that Life is Strange is my favorite of them. This will be a game I come back to and play again down the line.
That being said, it is also a game that I want to write for so bad it hurts. I chose the ending to save Chloe because I am a horrible monster. Realistically though, this story is kind my answer to that decision. However, I unfortunately was not very pleased with the ending I got. I watched both of them after beating the game and just cried the entire time for the other ending, it was one of those moments where you just sit in silence and wonder why you are alive because you feel so dead inside.
Unfortunately, I got the ending where they drive through the town and just kind of "oh hey everything is dead and Max just seems slightly depressed. Let's drive off into the sunset without checking literally anything. The end." No, I will not accept that, I am not super upset about it, but this left so many question I personally wanted answered unanswered and #$% #$ # I wanted to see them kiss again! So this is my vision of how it ended and err continued past that point. I started this chapter off right during the moment you decide to save Chloe and tear the butterfly picture in half.
I may have to play through the chapter a few more times to get everything straight in my head, but I already know a few things that are going to happen in this story. This is the first chapter and I hope you really enjoy it. My mind is fully on this right now and I am excited to get to the next chapter, I will post these as I go which is typical.
If you have any questions or just want to talk about the game (I need someone to talk to D: those feels. . .) and or this story PLEASE send me a message, I would love to hear from you.
Added note for the MSGM fans that may read this. Mind Games, I haven't forgotten, I've just been beaten temporarily. I have been thinking of that story too lately, I will come back to it, I just need to find where it's going again because where it was I wasn't happy with.