Best Friends. Forever.
A/N: I was honestly thinking of breaking this up into more parts-or simply making it longer and adding more, especially when I saw a few positive reviews to the first 'part', however I had already written most of it, and I could have added more in but I wasn't sure it would've been worth it, probably would have just dragged on. With this, I think I got through the message I went in wanting to get through, and IF there was ever an alternate ending, I made the one that I would have wanted to see. Hope you enjoy.
P.S: I am, though, considering making more fanfics if this one gets positive feedback enough. I stopped writing fanfics some years ago, and these days I only write when I get really inspired, but Life is Strange is something special to me. So, if you like this, I'm probably willing to write more fanfics based around other points in the game, and whatever I might come up with.
On with the show.
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Go. Do it right. And don't make it worth nothing.
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Click.
The bathroom. The butterfly. She was back here, again. For a moment, she wondered if, perhaps, she had already gone through this before. Wincing, she reached one hand up and held her head for a moment. It always hurt when she jumped this far back, at least for a minute or two.
No time to waste. Do it right.
She turned on her heel, pulling the picture she had just taken out of the camera. She traced her thumb gently across the photograph. Think. Saving Chloe here is what caused the chain reaction, the storm. That meant, Max realized, that whatever had caused her to be destined to die had been before this moment, otherwise saving her would not have mattered.
How do I go back further? And what moment is it?!
An entire life was filled with so many moments, infinite moments, and countless choices and decisions…It would be like trying to find an imaginary needle in a huge, constantly changing haystack. Every change made changed everything else.
She had to push those thoughts aside, though. She knew it had to start with finding a way to go back before this moment in time. But how? It was always so difficult to exit the boundaries of each of these photo memories, things got blurry and hazy if she tried to leave the area—
The photo.
She peered around the corner of the stalls. Nathan hadn't come in, not yet. The photograph she had torn, her 'everyday hero' photo, still laid in two parts on the ground before the sink. She stepped around the stall, and slowly raised her right hand in front of her, closing her eyes and hoping this worked.
Time rewound, slowly, but surely—and she found that it required quite a lot of effort to rewind in a memory. Gritting her teeth, she cracked one eye open and watched as the two halves of the photograph slowly crept back together, and then leapt up into her hand, not even a trace of a tear left on it.
'This is going to hurt', she thought, but did not hesitate. She stepped back around the stall into the corner beside the fire alarm, looked down at the photo, took a breath, and focused.
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She snapped back into consciousness, her mind reeling as she was thrown into her body after a second jump back, and this one was even further.
Gripping her head and groaning in pain quietly, she looked around the inside of her dorm room. It was late evening, her room lights were off other than the lanterns hanging above her mural of photographs. All was peaceful, and quiet. The photo she had taken was hanging out of her camera. She had come back here, once already, to tear the photo and stop herself from winning the contest. This time, though, she needed to do something else.
Okay. I have time to think here. Chloe isn't going to die here if I don't do anything, so I can think about what to do next. The dorm seemed like a safe haven in this flurry of memories.
Blood, however, began to drip from her nose, and she winced in pain again, wiping it away. "Fuck.." She muttered, shaking her head, "Okay, think, think Max, think.."
Was this far enough back? It was a while before the events that began to unfold the day she saved Chloe, certainly. Did something between then and now happen that destined her to die? Or was it even further back than this? She wasn't sure she could go further back; her head was already killing her.
No. Able to or not, I have to.
She turned to look at the camera and the photo hanging out of it. Taking out the photo, she set it aside on her bed. Then, she stepped around the camera, and set the timer, before walking back in front of it, taking a deep breath, and turning with her back to the camera, facing the photos again.
The dim lights flickered softly above her, illuminating the photos. Memories, dozens of them, all in front of her. Pictures, of life captured in time, frozen for eternity in dozens of single moments. Maxine closed her eyes, and the camera clicked. A second copy of the almost identical photograph slid out of the camera, and she turned around, taking it and slipping it into her bag. Then, she turned back to the mural, looking at each of the photos.
Which one do I try? How many do I have the energy to try if the first doesn't work?
It seemed impossible, but she did not hesitate. Instead of the mural, she walked to one of her drawers, opened it. She found the first photograph she thought to try; one of her and Chloe, when they were young. It was before Chloe's father had even died; a far jump back.
They were dressed as pirates.
She leaned forwards, peering into the depths of the photo, letting the memory seep into her mind, a single tear rolling down her cheek, and she was gone.
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The two were out in the yard, smiling into the camera, and Chloe began to laugh after it was taken. She was sitting on the swing, a huge grin across her lips. "That's a keeper!" Chloe said immediately, looking at the photo as it came out of the camera. Max managed to smile and nod, and an instant later her head felt like it may explode. A splitting pain came across her. She had never done this many jumps before, and it immediately seemed like a bad idea. The edges of the memory were even more hazy than usual. She thanked whatever powers there were above that she had done it at all, and that a nosebleed hadn't started yet; she would have to make an excuse when Chloe asked about it if one did.
"Okay…Push me!" Chloe cried with a smirk. Max couldn't help but smile, despite the pain. She gave a small nod and slowly stood straight, turning and stepping behind the swing, pressing her hands against the base, and pushing forwards. It swung forth, then back, and Max pushed again.
"Wee!" Chloe yelled, laughing. A tear rolled down Max's cheek. Oh, how much Chloe had been hurt by the loss of her father, and Max leaving. She should have never left her. None of this would have happened—
Was that what caused it? Did Max's leaving destine her best friend to die?
Max suddenly stopped pushing the swing, shuddering at the thought. Had even that been her fault? "Oi, why'd you stop pushing me? Getting tired already, SuperMax?!" Max managed another smile at the name. Those pictures of them as super heroes they had drawn so long ago. She had the powers for real; now, all she was lacking was the 'super'.
Chloe stopped, stepping off the swing and frowning, turning to look at Max. "Max..? What's wrong? You look.." Max winced and rubbed her head. "H-Huh? Oh, n-nothing..Just uh, just a headache, don't worry about it." She gave a firm smile, which Chloe hesitantly returned.
They both sat down on the two swings, now, side by side. Max tilted her head back, looking up towards the clouds, sighing through her nose. Shortly, Chloe looked at her, and did the same, peering up at the skies above. A happy family, a best friend, a peaceful town…This is how Max wanted to remember it.
I can't, though. Saving William…I already tried that. That destined her to die eventually, too. Paralyzed, first, but she died slowly after that. So is that where the timeline split, where she's destined to die in either direction?
If so, what could she do to fix it? Find some way to make herself stay in Arcadia Bay? That would alter the timeline completely, it wouldn't keep things exactly the same like Warren had advised—in fact, things may happen to make them not meet, or any number of consequences, and she didn't have the time or power to try that alternative.
Should I just save William again? That timeline was peaceful, at least, and she was..Happier, until the end.
No, she came back to save her, not just have her die happily. Besides, Max herself was a different person in that timeline; different friends, and while she might be able to change some of that, she couldn't be certain.
There had to be something else, in the original timeline, that she could change. Had to be.
"You look like you're real deep in thought, Max. What's up?" Chloe asked quietly. Max, her head still killing her but the pain having stabilized a little now, turned to look at her, snapping back to reality. "Huh? Oh…It's..Nothing. I just.." She paused.
"I hope we're together like this. Forever. Y'know?" Chloe smiled at this response and nodded. "We will be! No matter what. We're a duo, ya know? Totally gonna rule the world."
Max smirked. "That'd be…Hella awesome." Turning her head away, she hid one tear that rolled down her cheek, swiping it away briefly. "But uh…What if we ever, were like..Far apart, or something?" Asking this, she turned to look at Chloe again.
Chloe seemed to consider this for a while, peering up at the sky, before grinning and giggling quietly. Bringing one hand up, she poked Max over where her heart was. "Then, we'd find a way back to each other. We'll always be right here, wont we?"
Max almost couldn't stop herself from crying, then. She smiled shakily, and nodded her head. "Right!"
Chloe leaned forwards, now, and hugged her arms around Max, almost as if she sensed something was wrong, though she smiled still.
"Chloe…No matter what, I want you to know…You're the coolest girl I know. I don't ever want us to grow apart, no matter what. I don't ever want us to change."
Chloe, leaning backwards and grinning, gave Max a thumbs up. "Best friends, forever."
A breeze rolled through the yard. The grass swayed gently, a leaf blowing across the fence. Somewhere across town, Max knew, young Victoria, and Stella…Evan, Daniel, and Warren, they were all here, somewhere. Growing. She wondered, now, what they were doing, how all of their individual lives and memories were being shaped.
Best friends, forever. Who even says that anymore?
"Forever." Max replied. Telling Chloe things like this while they were young might help her, she knew; help her to cope in the future, but she did not feel that this was the memory that could stop what shifted her destiny.
The memory began to fade, as they smiled at each other, giggling. Joyce called to them from inside for one reason or another. Then, she was gone.
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She was back in the dorm, and quickly reached up, wiping blood from her nose. Some of he pain relieved when she had come back.
Okay. The timeline didn't change very much from that conversation, because I still end up in this dorm at this point. I don't have time to worry about how much Chloe has changed or whatever, I need to think of another memory.
She turned to look back at the mural of photos, after taking the one she just used and putting it back in the drawer, closing it. Nothing about the photos looked different, and she still had her Everyday Hero contest photo. That was good.
That pirate photograph was a good start—it had been sitting there in her dorm the whole time, she had looked at it so many times, yet she hadn't thought of it until now. But it might not have been enough.
So which one? Which photo should I choose, she asked herself, glancing between all of them desperately. She looked at a photo at the lighthouse she had taken, once. It was the day that they had drawn on that tree stump, carved their names into it to make their mark.
I have an idea.
Leaning forwards, she braced herself for the pain, and she jumped back in time.
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Her head nearly split from the pain again. It seemed to be getting worse. Maxine wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up. "It's awesome!" Chloe exclaimed, looking at the carving on the stump of the tree and smiling proudly.
Max, rubbing her head, nodded and smiled lightly. "Y-Yeah. Now our mark will be here forever." Perhaps not forever, but she knew it was there when they were adults in the future.
She pulled the picture out of the camera. Chloe hopped over to the bench beside the lighthouse, brown hair swaying in the wind, and she plopped down to sit on it. Max walked over and sat down beside her.
The sun was slowly beginning to set. They couldn't stay out here too much longer, their parents would be worried, and angry.
Everyone she knew and loved, right there.
The town seemed peaceful. Cars drove around down on the streets. Light shimmered across the water in the bay, and one or two fishing boats could be seen. No fire, no storm…No death.
"Think we should head back soon?" Chloe asked, turning her head to look at Max.
With a shrug, she replied, "Probably…Don't want your mo—your parents, to be worried." Chloe raised an eyebrow, and ignored the stutter, smiling and nodding. "Bah, we shouldn't need a curfew! We can take care of ourselves." Max actually laughed quietly for a moment. It felt so normal.
"Hey, Chloe?" Max whispered quietly.
"Yeah, Max?"
"Don't ever change." Max said simply, smiling softly.
Chloe gave her an odd look for a few moments, before smirking and laughing. "You're acting so weird lately, Max. Of course I won't change. Come on, let's get back." Chloe stood up. "Race you!" She turned and began running towards the path.
Max stood up, and Chloe called back over her shoulder, "Come on, slowpoke!"
Cupping her hands to her mouth, Max called out in reply, "I'll catch up!", before turning to look out over Arcadia Bay. For some reason, Nathan popped into her mind. I wonder what you're doing right now, Nathan. Were you already sick, or did your stupid family cause it?
With a sigh, she turned, determined, and walked to the tree stump. Picking up the same rock they had carved it with, she knelt down, and she knew what to do. She wrote below it.
Afterwards, she stood up, and turned around, remembering something. She walked around the small building beside the lighthouse, and looked on the back of it. It was clean, and smooth, with nothing drawn on its beige-white wall.
She rustled around in the bag she carried around for her camera, and pulled out a spare cartridge for it. Pressing it against the wall, she broken it open, and dipped her fingers in it.
Reminds me of…The wind.
She drew the symbols that she remembered seeing once, on the wall. Had she done this once, in the past, without remembering it when she saw them later as an adult?
Remember, Max. Remember everything when you see this.
She tossed the empty ink cartridge away down the hill, turned, and began to run.
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She came reeling back into consciousness in her dorm room, hissing in pain and grabbing her head. Dammit, this is taking a lot of effort. It seemed like nothing major had changed again. Good. Still, though…
Was it enough?
She turned her head, looking over towards her bag. Taking a few steps across the room, she opened it and pulled out her cellphone. It was almost time for people to be sleeping, so she hoped nobody would answer the phone.
She dialled Chloe's home phone number.
A dozen rings later, and the voicemail machine came on, Joyce's voice speaking up. "This is the Price home, please leave a message and your contact information." Beep.
She hesitated, but only for a couple of seconds. "H-Hey, uh…This is um, Max. You know, Chloe's old….Best friend. Chloe, if you hear this first, uh, hi. Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know…I'm back in town, I can't come get together just yet, but…I'm around. Anyway, I really have to go! Bye!" Click. She hung up the phone. Then, she sat down on her bed, and let the memory fade out.
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The bathroom, again. This was only one jump back from present time, and her head didn't hurt as much. It was time to find out if it worked. Leaning her back against the side of the stall, she waited, and listened.
A minute passed. Nothing. Nobody came into the bathroom. No Nathan, or Chloe. Oh my god, I actually-
The door opened. Nathan Prescott stepped in, muttering to himself.
No! No, no, no! Dammit, it didn't work! She still ends up here!
"If you wanted, you could blow it up..!"
Dammit! What else can I do?! What can I do to stop this version of destiny?
She considered saving Chloe again. Wouldn't it just restart the cycle? Bring them back to right where they were? Was there anything she could do inbetween now and then to change her destiny? According to Warren's theory, no. She had to change whatever had set Chloe up to die in the first place.
She had one more thing to try before going back to the present.
Reaching into her bag as Chloe entered the bathroom, she pulled out the selfie she had taken in class. Blood dripped rapidly from her nose, one drop onto the photo, yet still she began to focus.
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She was in class, a searing pain in her head. Not as bad as when she had done three jumps back, this was two back from the present, but she found that it was taking a great deal more effort to actually make the jumps. She was discovering the limits to her powers very rapidly, and she felt tired.
"Shh, shh, shh. It seems that Max, has just taken what you kids call…A 'selfie'. A dumb name for a wonderful tradition…"
She tuned him out, for the moment. Turning her gaze over to sad and embarrassed looking Kate, she glanced down at the paper ball laying on the ground to her right.
"The Daguerrian Process, invented by French painter Louis Daguerr around the 1840's." She answered at once, having not even fully heard him ask the question, automatically. Mark Jefferson raised an eyebrow. "Well, that was easy for you." He said simply. Victoria looked over towards Max, that snobbish, looking-down-her-nose gaze again. She tuned out Jefferson again, for the moment, looking at the selfie she had taken. Standing up when the bell rang, she gathered her things.
"And yes, Max, I see you pretending not to see me." Jefferson walked back over to his desk.
Maxine grabbed Victoria's arm before she could walk over to Jefferson. "What are you-?!"
"Hush, Victoria. Listen. You're a good artist, okay? Be comfortable with your talents." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "You see poor Kate over there? How she looks? Do you really see her?" Victoria, who had her mouth open as if to yell or insult her, turned her gaze over to Kate. She slowly closed her lips.
"You're better than that, Victoria. She doesn't deserve that." None of you do.
Victoria, wordless, frowned and looked at Max, before pulling away from her arms, gathering her things, and leaving the class. Jefferson raised an eyebrow again, watching the scene, and Max approached him.
"Max—" He began, but she cut him off.
"I'm sorry, sir. I haven't had time to get a good photo yet. But I'm on top of it, don't worry. I think John Lennon once said, "Life is what happens when you're too busy making other plans".
Jefferson smiled lightly. "You're on fire, Max. I have faith you'll get it done."
"Oh…Sir, there's…One thing I wanted to talk about." Max said quietly.
"Oh? And what's that, Max?" Jefferson asked, looking down at her with a gentle smile.
"It's..Nathan. Nathan Prescott? I know he's part of the rich family, so the principal probably wouldn't believe me, but…He's been acting really weird today. I don't know, just…He's sort of scaring me." Max frowned lightly.
Jefferson blinked a few times, considering. "Prescott? Is he, now? Well.." He paused, considering. "I'll have to look into it. I'll see what's up." Another smile.
Max forced a smile in return. If only this was the real you, Jefferson. You wouldn't have made such a bad good guy. "Thanks, Mr. Jefferson."
The memory was beginning to fade, but she had one more thing she had to do. She turned and walked over to Kate, who looked up at her. "Oh, hey, Max…"
"Hey, Kate. Listen, I…I just wanted to say, if you ever need somebody to talk to, or to just be around…Hanging out, in silence, whatever…I'm uh.." She paused, clearing her throat. "I'm here, alright? I care about you, and that will never change. So, just…Don't forget about me, okay?" Kate blinked a few times, before smiling widely, her eyes tearing up a little.
"Max, uh..Where's all that coming from? Jeeze, I..That's the nicest thing I've heard all week. Th..Thank you, Max." She swiped at her cheeks quickly, trying to make sure no tears rolled down and that she didn't cry.
"Stand up so I can hug you." Max said quietly.
She did.
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The bathroom.
Nathan Prescott walked in through the door.
Dammit! Did Jefferson not do anything in time?!
"If you wanted, you could blow it up…!"
Max gritted her teeth. That was the last thing she could think of, at least right now, and she felt exhausted. She held her hand up to her nose, blood running down onto her fingers, her head aching, and her vision hazy.
It seemed she had lost track of time, because she heard Chloe's voice ring out, "…You are gonna get in hella more trouble for this than guns—"
Max covered her ears. Oh god, was she going to get shot again? Please, no.
"Get that gun away from me, psycho!"
Max turned to break the fire alarm and rewind if necessary, despite what the consequences may be, almost instinctively…
No gunshot rang out. Nathan pulled the trigger as Chloe swatted his hand, and there was a quiet click. The gun was empty. Chloe drove her knee up into his groin, and he stumbled back, falling on the ground with the gun sliding aside. "Gah-!"
Shit, if I don't pull the fire alarm, she doesn't find out that I saved her back in her house. That might not change everything, but it could.
She decided she could do the inbetween, and rewound just a few seconds, to the instant before Nathan's gun clicked. She broke the fire alarm just as Chloe was driving her knee upwards, and the alarm rang out as Nathan fell down. Her blue haired friend turned and ran out of the bathroom.
The blue butterfly fluttered at the sound of the alarm, and flew up out of the window. Max walked around the corner just after Nathan had left, took out her Everyday Hero photo, tore it in half once more, and dropped the two pieces to the floor at her feet.
Holy shit, I think I actually did it!
The memory began to fade out as she walked for the bathroom door.
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She opened her eyes, crying out in pain, and fell to one knee. Grabbing her head, she looked at the ground below her, her vision blurry, almost seeing double.
"Max?!" Warrens voice. She looked up towards him, his face blurry. "W-Warren.." Chloe, too, knelt down beside her, a worried look over her face. "Max, what.."
"I..I did..-"
No. Oh no, no, no, NO!
Thunder ripped through the air. Lightning flashed. Rain poured down upon them, and the storm crept closer towards Arcadia Bay, the tornado pulling up the water and sand in its wake.
"H..How?! I—"
Dammit!
"Max..What did you change?" Warren asked quickly, looking her over and wiping some blood from her nose and lip.
"I…Chloe…Remember Nathan, in the bathroom..?" She nodded her head. "I…I told Jefferson before…and..He had no bullets, instead of..Instead of shooting you, his gun was empty..It should have.."
Warren bit his lip, and then grit his teeth. "Dammit. I don't think doing that stopped her destiny, it was just another loop that saved her life when she was meant to die."
"N..Noo..!" Max cried out, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Chloe spoke up next, her voice shaky. "M-Max..I don't know how long it took you do go back and do that..I remember the gun being empty, but…You're hurt…I don't think you can save me. You…You have to…"
Diary.
"W-Wait!" Max cried out, tearing open her bag. She pulled out the diary. Rain poured down upon her and her book, the pages becoming soaked. Everything she had written down, recorded. The words became muddy and stained, her drawings gone.
"Max…Your art.." Chloe mumbled.
Jefferson hadn't burned the diary in this timeline. She should have done this from the start!
The pictures were still intact, despite the rain. She pulled open the page and, in desperation, focused on the first one that caught her eye.
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Pain tore through her head. It felt like she had a personal tornado of her own whirling around in the middle of her head, tossing her brain around like a ragdoll. "O-Oh, shit.." She muttered in pain, reaching up to grab her head.
Click. The camera slowly slid the photo out. A squirrel sat beside the tree. Good, she could go back to any of those photos she had taken over the course of this week and see if she could do anything. But dammit, she was feeling weak.
The memory seemed shaky and blurry, a few holes around in the ground and the air itself.
If I'm not careful…I might break completely…Or be stuck in a memory forever…
She cursed herself silently and turned around, looking around the courtyard in front of the dorms. Victoria was sitting in front, on the steps, with her friends. Samuel shuffled by, sweeping the path, and glanced briefly at the squirrel.
Samuel.
"Oh, you're not looking so good, Max." He stepped over and pointed at her nose. Her eyes widened and she reached up, quickly wiping away the blood that was leaking onto her lip.
"U-Uh…Just a nosebleed..I'll be fine…Too stressed.." She tried to come up with some excuse.
"You sure do look stressed. Samuel thinks it's better to sit back and relax, sometimes, like the waves out in the bay, and just let things flow."
Max blinked a few times. "S-Samuel…I uh…I have a big choice to make, soon, and…I'm not sure exactly what to do, what decision to make…" Why was she telling him? Why was she asking for his advice, suddenly? The words just came tumbling out of her.
"Well, Max, Samuel thinks that the hardest choices are the best ones. The only way to learn anything is to experience, and to do that Samuel thinks we have to be tested, like an exam." He paused, and then brought his right hand up, placing it on her shoulder.
"But Samuel thinks..That when the time comes, you'll always make the right choice, Max." Across his lips, played a soft, almost knowing smile.
Maxine Caulfield looked past him, to a Missing Persons poster on the wall. She racked her brain, trying to think, desperately trying to think of what point in time Chloe had been destined to die after she left Arcadia Bay. The things from her visions, the people, the texts, what could possibly have—
And then she knew.
The posters that Samuel had in his shed, the objects.
Max turned her head, wide-eyed, and saw the ghostly doe standing by the totem just on the hill. Its eyes locked onto hers. The doe stood proud, and bowed its head once more.
Rachel.
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She snapped back into reality beside the lighthouse, in Chloe and Warren's arms, blood leaking down across her lips quicker than before. Fuck, the pain. She felt like she was about to pass out, to collapse.
"M-Max..Stop, please! You're killing yourself!" Chloe yelled desperately. Warren turned her face to look at her, wiping the blood away, and spoke out next.
"Max..Max please…It's not..It's not working, you have to stop..You have to.." He looked so worried. Tears in his eyes. Or was it just the rain?
"I…I can't…I know how to…I know when it happened..When destiny…" She gulped, breathing shakily. She didn't know what would happen, she had never pushed herself nearly this far. Would she faint? Would she die?
Will I lose my powers?
She looked down into the diary again.
"Max…MAX WAIT, DON'T-" Chloe began to yell over the thunder.
"Don't worry…I'm going to…Fix this!" Max said…And she focused.
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The pain was blinding. She almost couldn't see straight at all, much less stand. But she forced herself to. She quickly put the camera, and the picture of the statue with the bird on top out front of Blackwell Academy, away.
Turning, she walked across the front lawn, trying to keep herself composed, holding one hand to her head and nose, the other by her side.
Just a little further…Come on..
The memory was shifting in its existence, twisting and contorting in ways it shouldn't be, as if it were a computer program that were glitching.
She approached the picnic table, and Evan looked up at her.
"Hey, Evan…I was really curious about your portfolio, and I was wondering, uh…Could I have a peek in it?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You aren't looking so good, Max…"
"D-Don't worry, just..Just a headache." She replied with a faint smile, seeing double of Evan.
"Uh..Right, well..Sure, I guess you can..Have a look.." He reached over to his black portfolio and hesitantly pulled it open.
No artist question this time? Good. I don't think I could have managed to remember the answer. I think my own memories are starting to disappear.
She leaned over the portfolio, and tried to focus on the picture of Rachel Amber.
She had never jumped back through a photo of a scenario she wasn't involved in before, it always reverted her to whatever age she was in that scenario, what position she had been in. She wasn't sure she could even do this one, or how much energy it would require, or if she would be halfway across the country—
A searing pain blinded her. She could not focus on the photo when she tried.
Please…Please, I have to…Don't fail me now, please…
The pain became more immense. A vision filled her head—no, a memory. Rachel's memory. She saw Evan drawing her.
Pushing past the immense pain, she let the memory overflow her.
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Blinding.
Blood.
Evan gets up, runs to get a towel, or a tissue, or something to help Rachel stop the bleeding.
Who am I?, she asks herself.
Memories intertwine. She swears she could hear a voice say 'This shouldn't be possible.'. Max's voice—the younger Max. Was it Max, though? Or Rachel? 'Going too far.'
Max barely gained control. Her memories were mixing with Rachel's, and the pain was unbearable. She couldn't remember what it felt like to not be in pain. Almost completely blind by it.
She had not even considered what she could do to change things, and she never expected this. She wasn't in control of Rachel, not entirely, but—
Unconsciousness. A vision, like the nightmare before, but it's a class. Max sits at a table, with Rachel sitting across from her.
"Who are you?" Rachel asks. A shared nightmare, linked across time. They were so similar, they realized. Perhaps that is why this was happening.
Max could not believe what was happening, but she had no time to figure it out. The pain had almost completely subsided, for the moment. All she knew was this classroom, this woman.
Why am I here?
She could not remember. Who was she? How did she get here? She knew it was a nightmare, and she knew this woman was Rachel, but why?
Her memories were slipping through her fingers, like water.
"I…" She began. "I don't…"
Rachel looked down, at the bag hanging beside Max's waist.
Max's hands dove down, tearing it open, and she pulled out her diary. It was intact.
Please. I have to remember.
She knew she had to remember.
"Who are you?" Rachel asks again, more firmly this time. "How are you here?"
She looked through the pictures in her diary, of her school, of campus…And she came across one of a blue haired girl dancing on her bed.
Chloe.
She remembered now. She had to stop Rachel from disappearing, from being killed by Nathan. But if she did that, everything else would change. Her and Chloe might not be friends. They wouldn't remember everything else. In fact, Chloe might hate her. The past week would never happen.
'What do I do?!' She screamed mentally to the powers above.
And then she knew. It was cruel, she knew, and heartless, and she could have chosen to let Chloe have a life with Rachel, but it's not what she came back to do.
"You…Do you know someone named Chloe?" Max asked. An echo through the class, a gentle murmur through the air.
"Y..Yes? She's…She's my best friend."
"Leave. Go for your modelling career." She took a breath, trembling, but she seemed unable to cry in this place. "Don't stay for Frank, not for Chloe…She's a wonderful, wonderful friend and person, but…But…" She bit her lip. "She wont be able to rule the world with you, not like she is right now."
"..Who are you?" Rachel asked again.
"Max."
"..Max. You mean…The Max?" Rachel asked quietly, leaning forwards.
Max blinked a few times. "Ch…Chloe talked about me..?"
Rachel nodded her head, and paused, for what seemed like eternity. "She misses you, Max. She thought you two would be together forever. She says…" She paused, and sniffed. "She says you're still in her heart."
Best friends, forever.
Max bit down on her lip harder at this.
Rachel paused again, and then; "Max…Come back to her. Come back to her and never leave her side. Make her happy again, make her better. You're what she needs. Her best friend. Promise me you'll do that, and I'll go. I have to know she'll make it."
Max's heart beat faster. Could she do it? She nodded her head quickly. "Y-Yes..I swear…Rachel, I swear to you, I come back to her, and I'm going to make sure she never feels alone again."
Rachel nodded, her blonde hair bobbing gently. "I don't know…If this is real, or what, but…It's really strange, Maxine." She managed to smile, even in this situation. A beautiful smile.
"Don't just drop her like a hot potato. Be as nice as you possibly can, but leave." Max said quickly. The vision seemed to be starting to fade. "Please…Don't let me down! This is her only chance to make it!"
With only a moment's hesitation, and a pause, Rachel nodded. She extended her right hand forwards. "It's a promise."
Max reached forwards, took Rachel's hand. In that moment, in Rachels face, she saw herself, her younger self, and she saw Chloe, too. 'We're all intertwined', she thought, as she grasped her hand and shook it. The vision became a hazy red.
Max reeled back into Rachel Amber's eyes, seeing through them again, that incredible pain clouding their head as one. Evan was kneeled down in front of her, holding a tissue up to her, asking if she was alright.
In a matter of moments, the memory, for Max, vanished.
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She was back beside Evan, who was sitting at the table. The photo of Rachel was still there. The nosebleed and pain had likely come, for her, when Evan had just taken the picture.
"M..Max, your nose, you're—You're bleeding. Should I get a teacher-?"
Max shook her head. "I'm..I'm fine, everything's…" She could barely speak. Her memories were twisted and contorted. She could barely think, let alone remain conscious, but she turned and began to walk towards her dorm, where Warren's flash drive would be waiting if everything else was still the same.
Please let everything be the same, except for her. We'll never go looking for Rachel or her body, so what will happen now? Did I fuck up?
She didn't know how she did what she had done with Rachel, but she suspected she would never be able to do it again.
In another moment, the memory faded.
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Max was thrown back into her body. She was in someones arms. She didn't understand.
Where am I? Who..?
Warren. Chloe.
Their voices, distant, came into focus after a few seconds.
"Max…Max, please, speak to us..Max, can you hear me?!" It was Chloe.
"No, no..Max, please, Max, stop this.." Warren.
Max looked out over the bay, though she could barely see at all.
Thunder boomed. Lightning flashed. Wind coming from the tornado ripped over the hill, the trees swaying. Another fell over.
No…It didn't…It didn't work…Please, no…
She had no more energy. It was the end. She was about to faint, or worse, and she knew she could not go back to try to save Chloe again. It came back to the choice, in the end; she had to sacrifice Chlo—
Thunder roared out across the clouded skies. Lightning flashed across the darkness, like fireworks from the heavens above. The winds whipped Max's hair about in all directions, and began to calm. The tornado, one moment stronger than any storm before it, began to twist and shrink. Debris fell down about it in the water in great splashes, sending water up in all directions and waves flowing about. Thirty seconds later, the tornado was gone. It had not reached the shore. The clouds hung in the sky, thunder clapping, more distant now, the last few strikes of lightning flashing by, weaker.
"..M..Max?" Warren said softly, in awe, looking out towards where the chaos had been just a minute before. "Did…?"
Chloe's eyes were wide. Her mouth hung open, and she threw her hands up, cheering wildly, laughing. She turned to Max, hugging her tight. Max, despite her exhaustion, on the border of falling into unconsciousness, smiled, and shut her eyes.
"Max, you did it! You really are an Everday Hero, Max!" Chloe shouted, though the thunder and wind had died down.
Warren, though, looked more concerned than happy now. "..Max? Max, are you alright?" He stared down at her. She tried to mumble something, but found that she couldn't. Within a few moments, she was no longer conscious. "Max..?! Max, stay with us! Stay with me Max, come on, wake up!"
The wind blew across the bay, the waves gradually beginning to calm. Cracks were opening in the clouds above, light seeping through to the ground below. The storm was over.
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She heard the quietest hint of a groan. Everything was black. Her existence was spinning. For a few moments, she couldn't even tell that she could feel anything, and when consciousness seeped in, she decided it felt like she had received a dozen concussions at the same time.
"Oh god...I think she's waking up." Was that...Chloe's voice?
She felt something underneath her, and what felt like a hand brush the side of her head. "Max?" Warrens voice.
She slowly opened her eyes. Light crept through the window from the outside. Her head ached, but consciousness was coming back to her, and she was aware of her senses again.
Holy shit, that messed me up.
She finally gained control of her gaze again, and blinked. Chloe was standing at the foot of the bed. They were in Chloe's room. "Ch...Chloe?"
She smiled widely. "Max..You're okay.." She walked over beside the bed and reached down, taking one of Max's hands into her own, running her thumb gently against her skin.
"How long was I...?" She turned her head, looking beside her on the bed. Warren laid there, and he smiled lightly when she looked at him. Had he been here the whole time, while she was out?
"Warren..Chloe...Did I-Is it over?" She winced in pain at the effort of speaking, her head throbbing. Warren grinned widely and nodded his head. Chloe squeezed her hand tighter and spoke first.
"Yeah..Max, yeah. You saved me...All of us. It was.." She smirked childishly. "Hella awesome." Max couldn't help but laugh quietly for a moment, before wincing with an "Ow.."
"I'll go wet a towel and get a glass of water for you or somethin', don't go anywhere." Chloe turned and headed out of the room towards the bathroom.
"Max...I'm.." Warren took a breath. "I'm glad you're alright."
Maxine smiled, and nodded. "Me..Me too. Ow...Um, were there any, like..Changes to the-I guess you wouldn't realize they're changes, would you? Okay, uh...What happened to Rachel Amber?"
Warren raised an eyebrow. "Rachel? She went missing a while ago, remember? Just, like, up and left town to go start a career or something." He paused for a moment, before realization dawned on him. "...Is that something you-"
Max laughed quietly again for a moment. "It's a long, long story, Warren...Maybe I'll tell you later.." She shut her eyes, and leaned her forehead against his chest. He chuckled.
"Yeah..Alright. Later. Rest for now. Even SuperMax needs some RnR after kicking some major time ass, right?" This made her snicker, and shake her head.
Chloe watched through the doorway, smiling lightly and rolling her eyes. "Alright, get a room. Y'know, not..My room." Warren blushed faintly at this, which made her laugh. She walked over to Max with a glass of water and a cool towel, as promised, placing the towel on her head. "Drink too much last night, Max? Got one hell of a hangover."
Max laughed again. "O-Ow..Stop, laughing hurts, ahah.." She shook her head, sitting up to take the glass of water.
They would celebrate, and cheer, and dance, and listen to music, later. And perhaps forever afterwards. But not just yet.
Outside, a doe stood by a tree on the side of the road, looking up towards Chloe's bedroom window. Its ear flicked gently, before it turned, and wandered off back towards the forest.
The sun was rising. The light shimmered over the water of the bay, the waves rippling gently, lapping against the shore. A gentle breeze blew through the streets. People bustled around, picking up the pieces, fixing the little damage there was, and talking about the miracle of the disappearing tornado.
Mark Jefferson, at that same moment, was being pushed into a police car in front of a barn, a stern look on his face, his teeth clamped together. David Madsen had the last good shove, and make sure to bang his head on the metal on the way in. Gently, of course.
Victoria, as it turned out, had come around sooner than before and her personality had softened sooner. In turn, she wasn't kissing up to Jefferson at the party, believed what Max had told her, and left. She helped a few friends push a big metal sign that had fallen into the campus's front yard out onto the side of the road, out of the way.
Joyce, knowing Chloe and Max had safely made it back to the home last night, had gone back to the diner in the morning and began cleaning up, with the help of a few people that Max helped out on her way there.
As for Nathan Prescott, well. He sent that voicemail to Max, thinking Jefferson was coming for him, but before Jefferson could get there, Victoria got to him first; she thought she would find his dorm empty and do a little detective work on her own, but instead found him crying on the foot of his bed, waiting for Jefferson to come.
Max finished her glass of water, with Chloe and Warren sitting next to her. She wrapped her arms around both of them, they wrapped theirs around her, and Maxine cried.
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Max stood on the cliff next to the lighthouse. It was about noon, the day after she woke up-two days after the storm.
She looked down at the tree stump, Chloe and Warren standing nearby. A soft smile slowly spread across her lips, before she turned and walked over to them, looking out towards the bay, and the sun. She looked down towards Arcadia Bay.
Everybody I know and love. Right...Here.
Her smile widened. Warren slowly reached over, taking her hand gently, and she gave it a squeeze.
On the tree stump, below the heart where their names were forever carved, were three words.
'Always Right Here.'
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Most people don't get second chances. And sometimes sacrifice is necessary, no matter how hard it may be. So don't waste the time you're given. Cherish every moment. You never know what can happen.
Life is strange.
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A/N: As I said at the start of this 'chapter' and final part, I'm fairly interested in continuing to write more fanfics if this gets positive feedback. If you want me to write more, let me know. In fact, if people want, I'd be interested in continuing the story after the ending-either this one or the official canon one.
Regarding the official endings to Episode 5, I have to admit, I loved them. I did not write this ending because I didn't like the ending. In fact, I think the 'sacrifice Chloe' ending was better than the one I've written here. It fit with what the game was trying to teach us perfectly. This was about Max, how she grew, and how we grew with her. I love this game even more after its ending. I know some of you may not feel the same way.
I wrote this ending because many people didn't like the current one, and sudden inspiration popped into my head, basically 80% of the plot for what I wrote here came to me almost all at once. I love writing, and I thought I might be able to supply an ending that people would enjoy. And, frankly, I loved writing it.
I don't think I've ever loved writing anything more than this 10,000~ word fanfic. So I hope you loved reading it. If you didn't, feel free to criticise! And if you liked it, let me know! I can totally do more, especially about Life is Strange, it gives me tons of inspiration. If you want to see an 'epilogue' or simply a story built off of this ending, let me know, or I can just continue off of Episode 5's canon ending (Probably the 'Sacrifice Chloe' option) and that'd be super cool too.
Hope you all enjoyed the wild ride!
-CD