A little expansion on the ending. I honestly loved everything about this game except the end.
Like surely not everyone died in the tornado.
Anyway enjoy the Pricefeels
As Max buried her face in Chloe's shoulder, she forced herself to breathe evenly. She could hear the storm in the distance, destroying her town and probably killing everyone. It's easy to say sacrificing one life to save hundreds is easy. Perhaps it should have been. No doubt would it have been easier if the one life needed for sacrifice was not Chloe Price's. The girl she had spent so long trying to save, the reason for her powers, and the person that she had fallen into something deeper with.
"Holy shit." Chloe cursed, eyes wide as she watched the town get sucked up. Max almost wanted to look, if only to be as brave as the girl that was holding her. But she didn't, she let her eyes squeeze shut and her stomach twist as reality set in. It was hard not to think of the diner from her nightmare. Everyone had begged her not to kill them, their eyes were so sad and they had pleaded for her not to let them die. But she did. It had been easy to dismiss it as a cheap scare tactic at the time, but now she realized just how true their arguments were.
She wondered if anything she had done to save the people of Arcadia during the storm transferred over to this timeline. Hopefully Joyce would survive. Even if everyone else was killed, Chloe didn't deserve to lose another parent. She knew it was highly unlikely, but she had to have some type of hope that people would survive.
"I'm sorry." Max mumbled into her best friend's shoulder, her voice barely heard over the raging storm. Chloe eyed the top of her head as if questioning, but even Max didn't know what she was apologizing for.
"Fuck, I am too." Chloe's voice, though laced with pain and confusion, was oddly reassuring.
"I don't regret this choice." Max's voice was full of emotion and she squeezed Chloe as if to further reiterate her point. She couldn't regret her decision to save Chloe. Never. It killed her to think about going back and allowing Chloe to die alone in a bathroom. She never would have known Max still cared, she wouldn't know where Rachel was and part of her would still feel guilty for her father's death. It all seemed so… Wrong. To force that death on Chloe, no matter how willing she seemed to be. Somewhere in Max's mind she could hear her own voice, sharp and accusing, saying the town should be more scared of Chloe killing them all than Jefferson. She did her best to ignore it.
"God, I hope I'm worth it." Chloe spoke, trying to wrap her head around everything Max was telling her and also what the girl was leaving out. She wondered what she would have done in Max's situation, what she would have chosen.
"You're worth it to me." Max practically whimpered, turning around to fully embrace her best friend and trying to ignore the tears running down her face.
Chloe's eyes slid closed at the admission, her arms wrapping around Max's shoulders and holding her close as the tornado continued. Neither girl was sure how long they had stood there, Chloe trying to focus on anything other than how broken Max was because of her. Max was trying to get her nightmare out of her head, instead focusing on the feeling of Chloe alive and well with her.
"It looks like the supernatural shitstorm has passed." Chloe said, after opening her eyes to find the tornado gone. The sky was still a threatening gray but the tornado had vanished out of thin air and took the creepy lightening with it. All that remained of the storm was a few drops of rain.
"Do I want to look?" Max questioned, not making any move to release Chloe.
"There are still some buildings standing." The words didn't sound as reassuring as Chloe was hoping, but they were true. Max sighed from her spot against Chloe's chest before reluctantly pulling away and looking at the damage she had caused. She made sure to keep in contact with Chloe though, their hands intertwined and sides pressed together as they surveyed the damage as best they could from a distance.
"I was down there once." Her confession caused Chloe to turn, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "I saved some people… I." Saved them just to erase it and let them die. Max shook the thought off. "I tried to make a difference."
"You did. Maybe you sent off some texts while I wasn't looking and, since you were time tripping, you wouldn't remember either right?" Max just shook her head. Chloe had a point, she wouldn't remember doing that. A small flicker of hope rushed through the brunette, but was gone just as quickly as it had come.
"We, we should go search for survivors." Max breathed, unsure if that would be a wise course of action. She was half expecting the tornado to form right on top of them, but the clouds were dispersing. Her eyes remained fixated on them and Chloe glanced between the sky and the brunette before taking a step backwards, towards where she parked her truck.
"The tornado won't come back, Max. You ready?" Seeing the brave face Chloe was putting on made some part of Max slide back into place. She nodded, following her ever faithful companion down the hill, towards the parking lot.
"Did you carry me up here?" Max's quiet voice pierced through the heavy atmosphere. It was a question that seemed irrelevant to Chloe but she didn't want to leave Max in the dark.
"I did." She conveniently left out the part where she had begged Max to wake up for four solid minutes and her panic attack at the thought the brunette had been killed from all her time travel. Carrying Max back to her truck and up the hill seemed small in comparison to everything that had happened that day.
"Thank you." Chloe's eyebrows furrowed at the sound of Max's voice. The girl sounded so… detached. Not that Chloe would blame her, of course. It just hurt her to see Max so damaged. The brunette looked up and poorly attempted to smile. Chloe couldn't even pretend to smile back, she just squeezed the shorter girl's hand and walked her the rest of the way in silence.
Driving into the city was hard, not just because of all the obstacles, but there were people lying dead on the street. Chloe kept glancing at Max, making sure she wasn't going to panic or do something irrational. They pulled to a stop in front of the Two Whales. Both were reluctant to exit the vehicle, but Chloe took Max's hand and pulled her out on the driver's side.
As she glanced around, Max saw the broken neon that spelled out DIE in bright, judgemental letters. As if accusing her for her decision. The second thing she noticed was that the RV that had caused the explosion in an alternate timeline did not have a trail of gasoline in this one. Although her mind was numb, she hoped that was a good sign. Chloe pulled them towards the front door, only to be redirected towards the side door with a soft tug. The punk followed Max wordlessly towards the back. Max looked towards the homeless woman's shelter and noticed with relief that it had been abandoned. Apparently she still heeded Max's warning in this timeline.
When Max tried the side door, she realized it was jammed somehow. After a few failed attempts to push it open, Chloe placed her hands on Max's shoulders, moving her away from the door before attempting to turn the knob and ram it open with her shoulder. After a few tries, and some seriously painful looking body rams, the door fell open, practically falling off it's hinges in the process.
"No goddamn door is gonna stop me from finding my mom." Chloe growled, rubbing her shoulder with a grimace. Her hand sought out Max's and they both entered the diner.
"Is someone there? Help!" Max immediately took the lead as Warren called out. A quick sweep of the diner and Max let out a relieved sigh. The inside of the building looked the same as it did during her alternate timeline, only the people seemed to be missing.
"Warren?"
"Max, I'm over here!" They found the boy on the other side of the counter, lying against it with Joyce next to him. She felt Chloe tense, and immediately knew the girl must have seen her mom.
"No, no, no! Fuck, no." Chloe quickly rushed to her mother's side, a familiar lump growing in her throat and tears burning her eyes. Max's heart immediately went into overdrive. She had let William die, and now Joyce?
"She's fine, I promise!" Warren quickly reassured, staring over at Chloe. "She got knocked out during the tornado so I came around to help her. When she woke up she complained about her head so I did a small memory test, she knew where she was and even remembered what my order was before the huge ass tornado. I only let her sleep because her concussion is minor, and she has a pretty busted arm. I wrapped it as best I could but… I'm no doctor." Chloe glanced at the boy then her mother. She put her fingers against her mom's neck and allowed a small smile to grow on her face when she found a pulse.
"Thanks Warren." Chloe spoke, sounding as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. The boy tried to smile, only for it to come out as more of a grimace. His pained expression made Max look more closely at him. It was odd he had not stood up or rushed over when he was screaming for help.
"Holy shit Warren, why didn't you say anything?" Max chastised, kneeling beside the boy and looking at his leg. His left thigh had a large gash, and a piece of glass was embedded in his stomach. Obviously he hadn't been able to treat everything on his own.
"Well, you both were worried about Joyce I didn't want to be a pain." Typical Warren move, Max thought. Her familiar thoughts quickly changed as she reminded herself she had caused this. She was the reason Warren might bleed out.
"Okay, White Knight" Max ignored the bitter taste in her mouth that came with that label, trying not to think of flashlights and dark rows of lockers. "Tell me what to do." The boy gestured over his shoulder.
"All the first aid kit stuff I gathered fell off the counter." Max went to stand but his hand on hers stopped her. "Max, don't go back there. Someone… A trucker… He died and his body is back there." Warren's warning caught Chloe's attention, and before anything else could be said, the girl was hopping the counter and picking the supplies off the ground. She did a good job of ignoring the bloody corpse that was on the ground mere inches away. No way was she going to let Max see another dead body she would blame herself for. When Max and Warren both gave her questioning looks as she returned, she just shrugged them off.
"You saved my mom, I owe you." Max felt a pull in her heart at those words, but tried to ignore it. It wasn't the time nor place to be sucked back into that portion of the nightmare.
"Okay, now what do I do?" Max questioned, redirecting Warren's attention back to her.
"Don't take the glass out, just hand me a lot of gauze. I can hold it on my stomach and try to stop the bleeding there. I just need to you take care of my leg. Hold pressure there until the bleeding slows down then we can disinfect and wrap it. I'll probably need stitches but it's not a ton of blood so I don't think it's too deep or hit an artery." Hearing Warren be so optimistic about his wounds melted some of Max's tension. Joyce groaned from her spot against the counter, her eyes cracking open.
"Mom?" Chloe prompted, leaning closer and placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. Joyce's eyes practically flew open at the sound of her daughter's voice.
"Chloe?" Joyce lifted a hand and rested it against her child's cheek. "Oh my God, thank everything that you are alright. When I saw the storm and you wouldn't answer your phone, I was so scared. Jesus, I'm so happy you're alive." Joyce pulled a very surprised Chloe into a one armed embrace.
"I'm glad you're okay too, mom." Chloe whispered, trying to hug back as best she could while trying to avoid her mother's injuries and ignore the pain in her body from ramming a door. Max watched the interaction with the beginnings of a smile on her face. Despite the fact so many had died, Chloe and her mom were still together, which wouldn't have happened had she gone back and let Chloe get shot. For the first time, Max felt like sacrificing Arcadia wasn't just the best choice for her, it was also the best decision for Joyce as well.
"Max Caulfield. I want to thank you for keeping Chloe alive and safe with you." Joyce's words had more impact than she would ever know. Max couldn't respond, she didn't know how. Chloe looked over at Max with a heavy look. One they both understood. They were the only one's who knew just how true that statement was.
As time went on, Max could feel her unease growing. The silence was destroying her, everyone had gone quiet after she had finished helping Warren bandage his leg. She kept thinking of all the different timelines, her different decisions. She kept going back to the dark room. She wondered what had become of Victoria in this reality. Would she be dead or was she saved by David? With all the different timelines it was hard for Max to remember what had happened and what she had changed. Chloe stared hard at her best friend, watching as the girl's eyes slowly became glassy and haunted. She wondered if she would be enough to keep Max from driving herself insane.
"Max, remember that time we spilled wine on the carpet?" Chloe was really struggling to find a way to distract Max without bringing up any potentially triggering subjects. She was proud of herself when Max's eyes lost their glazed over blankness and snapped up to meet hers. Talking about the past and ignoring the present was odd and difficult but it was something everyone seemed to need. Even Warren looked grateful for the distraction.
It seemed like years before they could hear sirens and the sound of vehicles. After that, everything seemed to happen so fast. David burst into the diner, immediately going to his family while the EMTs with him turned their attention to Warren. Max just stood out of the way, watching everything through unseeing eyes. How many people had died? Was Kate alive? Did any of her choices matter? Everything she had done seemed insignificant. Maybe there was another reality she could've jumped to. She didn't even realize one of the paramedics was talking to her until he shined a light in her eyes.
"Excuse me, miss?" Max flinched away from the light, she could hear the shutter of a camera. In her head, she heard Jefferson yelling at her, speaking to her in hushed tones as he took more pictures. When the man lifted a hand to her cheek, she immediately squirmed away. Tape constricted her wrists, leaving them trapped to the chair.
"No!" She begged, pulling away from the man and taking a step back. Chloe's head snapped up at her friend's distraught voice and she immediately dashed over to the two.
"I'm sorry miss, I was checking to see if you had any head trauma, your eyes were dilated." Oh the pictures you're taking of me now.
"Fuck off." Max grumbled, immediately slamming her eyes shut. She wanted to throw up or run away but Chloe was pulling her into a hug before she had a chance to do either.
"Hey, hey, Max? Everything's cool." When Max pushed her away, Chloe stumbled back without protest, her hands up. "I'll take care of her." Chloe snapped at the man, who looked unsure of what to do. He decided to listen to the girl, and made his way back to Warren. Max shook her head, trying to clear it.
"Max. We're at the diner, my mom and Warren are getting medical attention and they're alive. You're safe too." Chloe spoke slowly, not moving towards her best friend. Frightened blue eyes shot around the room. Max looked like a scared animal, ready to be killed or tortured and the sight broke Chloe's heart. She wished she could go back in time and kill Jefferson herself.
"No." Max begged, her eyes wide.
"Max. I want you to listen to me." Chloe jumped when David's voice sounded from behind her. "Are you having a flashback?" The brunette stared at the man hard, trying to regulate her breathing. Chloe looked like she was about to speak when David laid a hand on her shoulder and they both took one step closer to Max.
Was it only a flashback? It felt so real. She could've sworn she felt the prick of a needle and the rough tugging of duct tape on her bare arms. It took some time but when Max seemed to have a better grip on reality, David continued.
"What happened Max?" The girl looked to Chloe before her gaze went to her feet. There were no traces of bindings anywhere on her.
"The light in my eyes. I-it reminded me of the flash." Max admitted, her head still down.
"Fuck." She heard Chloe curse but didn't dare to look up. She wasn't sure she wanted to see Chloe's pity. Pity was the last thing on Chloe's mind, she felt nothing but the need to comfort her partner in crime.
"The flash of what, a camera?" David probed gently, eying the girl warily. He was thoroughly disappointed in himself. He hadn't been quick enough to stop Jefferson from terrorizing Max or Victoria. Both girls were alive, but the things they had been subjected to were sick and cruel.
"Yes. He touched my face when I had a nosebleed." Max continued, her eyes narrowing at her feet.
"Do you feel comfortable talking about it?" The brunette seemed to debate with herself before shaking her head in the negative. "Okay, that's fine. Just remember, that was then and you are no longer there. You're safe. Victoria's safe. Kate Marsh is safe at the hospital as well. He won't be hurting any of you again. Chloe and I won't let anyone hurt you, we're here for you." David's change in character had a way of making Max feel safe. Perhaps it was because he had saved her in an alternate universe. Or perhaps it was because she knew he only wanted to help.
"Yeah." Max nodded to herself, looking back up at David and Chloe.
"You know Max, I've had my fair share of flashbacks of the war. If you ever need to talk, I'll be around." David nodded at her before shooting a meaningful glance to Chloe and stepping away.
"Thanks David, I really appreciate it." Though the words seemed insufficient to how grateful she really was. A thin smile stretched the man's lips as he walked away.
"You feeling better?" Chloe reluctantly asked, not sure what she should do. Her arms dangled uselessly by her sides as she tried to assess the situation. Max shrugged, her face void of any emotion.
"I don't know I just keep going back and I'm tired. Isn't living through it enough?" Max whispered, taking a step closer to Chloe and grabbing her hand. "Can we go outside? Maybe go for a drive?" Without asking any questions, the punk told her mother they would be back and led her best friend out of the musty diner. Being amongst the carnage seemed like a terrible idea to Chloe but Max had asked and she couldn't deny her.
The moment the duo made it outside, the brunette took a deep breath. Being able to breathe helped clear her head immensely. The dark room had been so stuffy and the claustrophobic, the diner had been the same way.
"Thanks... And I'm sorry for flipping shit." Max glanced over at Chloe before averting her gaze to the rubble around them. It was surprisingly difficult to meet Chloe's gaze. Max was unsure why.
"Max, there's no reason to apologize. You've been through hell these last few days, and if you need a freak out I'm here for you. And I'm hear to listen. I was drugged too, not to the extent of yours but I get it." Chloe stood in front of Max, noticing the tense grip the brunette still had on her hand. Her other hand came up to rest on Max's shoulder in what she hoped was a reassuring notion.
"Still. I just feel so fucked up. It's over, I know it is, but it doesn't feel like it. It's like I'm waiting to wake back up in the dark room with Jefferson being a creepy asshole." Max's strong voice faded until she was almost whispering. "Or for you to be dead again."
"Max, I'm not dead. You saved my life. I promise I won't throw it away being a dumbass. And you totally busted Jeffershit and he's going to be in prison for a long time." Chloe promised, ducking down to look in Max's eyes.
"But did I do my best? Did I make a difference?" Max asked, finally looking at her companion. Uncertainties ran through her mind.
"You made a difference to me Max. Shit, I know I'm just one person but you literally changed my life. And I don't want you to regret choosing me." When Max's expression didn't change, Chloe pressed on. "I'd choose you too. It wouldn't even be a question." Something flickered in Chloe's eyes that Max couldn't decipher. Her heart flopped in her chest and she wished she had the words to tell Chloe how she felt.
"So, I'm not a terrible person for being selfish?"
"No, you're just a person. I think you're the best one I have ever met." Chloe smiled wholeheartedly, mildly disappointed when Max just nodded and looked out towards the bay.
"What if I could've had you and Arcadia Bay?" Max tried to think of another way for that to happen, only to come up blank.
"Sometimes you can't get both." Rachel flashed through Chloe's mind. Her advice was true for herself as well. She'd have to accept the fact she couldn't have Rachel and Max. "As long as you don't regret choosing me, I think we'll be able to move on… Together, of course." It was silent for a few moments before Max spoke.
"Can we go for a drive? Just out of the city. We can come back after my head clears a little." Chloe nodded, already leading Max towards her parked truck. They were driving down the road when Max's far away look caused Chloe to pause and when the brunette's hand found hers, she decided to throw her truck in park despite being in the middle of the street.
"You know I chose you because I love you, don't you?" Max's voice was soft, as if she hadn't wanted to share that secret. Chloe's heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest, so she did the only thing she could think of. She brought the brunette in for an awkward but perfect sitting hug. "You know how I meant it, right? Like, you know?" Max mumbled into Chloe's shoulder. Chloe pulled away with a smile.
"I know how you mean it." Max nodded, glancing back towards the window. She didn't want to seem too disappointed that after everything, her feelings were not returned. "You mean it the same way I do." Chloe's words made Max's heart leap into her throat and the only thing she could do was look over and smile at her companion.
They weren't okay, they both knew that. They were both broken and traumatized but they would get through it together. It would take time to rebuild themselves and the town. But Max believed that destiny had brought her to this moment. Driving down the road with Chloe, their hands laced between them was how it was meant to be. Her and Chloe has always been connected and they had always had a relationship that went beyond mere friendship.
Everything was messed up, some things beyond repair. She knew she couldn't dwell on the past anymore. She had made her choices and they would have consequences. But with Chloe smiling at her from the driver's seat, Max knew she would do it all over again. Anything to keep Chloe Price alive and happy was worth it. She would always be worth it.