Ed. Note: I loved this game. but I had an idea...one you will read in the story itself. Because of the nature of the game, this story assumes a few things, and SPOILER WARNING BE HERE, so stop reading and go play the game if you haven't yet, then come back:
- Max dies at the hand of Mr. Jefferson. He still gets arrested when David Madsen discovers his lair.
- Victoria was never in the bunker.
- When Max died, the tornado mysteriously dissipated.
Disclaimer down below, but to reiterate, I own NOTHING. DONTNOD owns EVERYTHING. Except for Mr. Richardson. So enjoy!
***Life Is Strange - Inbetween***
Chapter 1: A New Power
Dreaming?
Or dead?
Or both?
It turned out getting killed at the hands of her teacher wasn't the end at all. Rather, it was just the beginning of an entirely new power for Maxine Caufield. Case in point, according to her faculties she was very much alive, but at the same time, she didn't exist according to how others reacted to her.
That, and when she entered her art class and pulled her seat back to sit down for her lesson, other students jumped back as if the chair she pulled moved on its own. She thought this was all very odd, and what the new art teacher said made it all the more strange.
"Hello everyone! I am your new art teacher Mr. Richardson."
Great, Max thought, another teacher for Victoria to hit on...
"I'm sure your hearts are heavy with the death of our very own Maxine Caufield. She had a bright future here I am told, and will be missed terribly."
It was at this time Victoria gave one of her patented snarky remarks. "Yes, I am sure we will all miss her selfies!" She giggled. "I'm sure we'll all be just fine without her."
Mr. Richardson scowled at Victoria. "Victoria Chase, please see me after class." But Victoria had other plans and quickly left the classroom. Idiot. Now she'll be in even more trouble than she would have been. At least everyone now saw the REAL Victoria.
Just then, Max got a wild idea. If she moved the chair...maybe...
But she had to move carefully. Things to her were still solid, and if she moved or bumped into ANYTHING, it would freak out the rest of the students and cause mass panic since she couldn't be seen by them. She carefully slipped out of her chair and crawled under her desk. Now she was free, but had to wait for the right moment to slip out of the classroom.
It came during a discussion of painting techniques used by Pablo Picasso. During a question and answer session, she quietly slipped out into the hallway, and hoped no one saw the door opening on its own. Too bad she could not use her rewind any longer. This power was equally as amazing thoough, she thought. And it would get even better.
Apparently, Mr. Richardson saw the door opening, and came out of the classroom to investigate. At the same time, Principal Wells was in the same area, heading towards his office. Stopping Wells, Richardson asked him if he was the one that opened the classroom door. Attempting in vain to get her rewind power working, she ended up instead technically posessing the Principal.
It was through this power she made the Principal tell Mr. Richardson..."Just checking to see if everything's okay", and immediately after was violently yanked out with a horrible headache, and Richardson, seemingly satisfied with the answer, returned to continue his lecture.
"I have...woah, Persuasion power now. Max, you can use this to get back at Victoria. I have to be careful though...this headache is killing me..."
She found Victoria in the girls bathroom, sitting on the floor in the corner. Apparently she felt sorry about what she said in the classroom, and was feeling out of it. Maybe this was not the best time to go after Victoria, Max thought. But then again, all her years at Blackwell she was ridiculed by her, and wanted to get her comeuppance.
She hit a bathroom stall, which immediately made Victoria jump. Now Max would get her revenge for the months she had to endure the little brat.
More banging on the stall made Victoria cower even further in the corner. "This isn't funny, Warren!", she shouted, apparently thinking he was pulling a prank on her. But when she tried to escape, she hit an invisible wall - a result of Max standing in the doorway.
Victoria was trying to process all of this, which made Max grin with delight. She also pondered to suggest to Victoria to go back to her art class, or to keep her here and torture her some more. Of course, letting her go would cause her to think Blackwell was now haunted and tell everyone within earshot, so she elected to keep her in the bathroom as long as possible.
She then tried to punch Victoria, which to her seemed like she was getting hit from nowhere. "OKAY, OKAY I GIVE, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT WITH ME? Listen, I know Mr. Jefferson was in the wrong...and I feel sick for flirting with him...but I am getting freaked out right now, and I don't know why..."
Max grinned even wider, and went into Victorias head. "How does it feel, bitch?"
"Max?" Victoria looked even more freaked out, but still could not get past the invisible assailant in the doorway. "LET ME OUT! HEEEEEEEELP!" she screamed, but no one could hear her.
Max went into her head again. "Never mess with the dead, Victoria."
This was the last straw for Victoria. She started backing up into the corner, too frightened to even scream at the moment, and every time she tried it came out as a whimper. That mean look she usually had was also gone, replaced with genuine horror. When she finally did speak, it came out in a fluttering whisper. "What...did I do...to deserve this...?"
But Max figured she knew all too well what she did, and Max was determined to screw Victoria up beyond intervention. That is, until Victoria started spilling her deepest secrets.
"Okay, okay, I was bullied too, and I learned if I pull myself down to their level, it was the only way to make me feel...worthy. Being rich has its downsides, and I alienated many friends because of it...I tried to blackmail Dana...and I did love Nathan...and I had sex with Mr. Jefferson..."
It was at this point that she decided to let Victoria go, after which she immediately bolted from the bathroom, and immediately headed for the art room. Perhaps some higher power thought she still had work at Blackwell? Whatever the case, she wondered what effect she had on Victoria, and if that would be enough to "fix" her into being a good person. She didn't have to wait long.
During the period change, Max went back into the art room, and Mr. Richardson indeed was consoling Victoria, who looked like she had just seen some kind of large disgusting monster.
"...So I ran back here and...I think Max is still here...and I think she's getting back at me for what I did to her...please..."
Max then entered Mr. Richardson's head, and used him to tell Victoria that Max indeed did not like her for what she did, and it is entirely possible she is now stuck in between this word and the next, and can interact with everything in this world, but no one can see her. This was a bit of a longer session, so afterwards Max had a migraine from Hell, causing her to sit in a chair close to Victoria. She was careful not to move it though, as that would tip Victoria off.
Soon Victoria calmed down enough to offer glimpses of her old self, though she was visibly still quite un-nerved. She appeared to be sorting everything that occured through her head, and soon came to a realization - it was not only Max she had treated like shit, it was countless others as well. So, she decided then and there she would immediately stop acting like a self-entitled ass, and more like a normal human being, whatever "Normal" meant.
Satisfied, max smiled as she watched Victoria leave the room.
My first submission here, but this game speaks to me...I love it. DISCLAIMER, All characters and locations are owned by DONTNOD Entertainment, except for Mr. Richardson. That dude's mine. Also, if people like this one-shot, I will try to make 4 other chapters, just like the game. Perhaps the same length of the game chapters too, just like this one :)