Despite Max's emotional episode the evening before, Rachel remained very understanding and supportive of Max. She meant what she said and even though deep down she still kind of envied the childhood bond that Chloe and Max once had, Rachel came long since to accept that she simply showed up later in Max's life. To her, what they had now mattered more and it was worth fostering and protecting.

Today, they were planning on checking out Grand Cayman after they would go to have breakfast.

"I still can't believe I lost every single competition between us yesterday.", Rachel said while combing her hair in front of the mirror.

"And I can't believe I actually managed to win at all. It seems like whatever we compete in, we always end up evenly matched, almost to a fault.", Max remarked.

"I noticed that, with some exceptions."

"You don't feel threatened, do you, Rachel?"

"In what way?"

"I mean, you always seemed to have a commanding aura. I had the impression from the start that you liked to be the one in charge."

"Max, you are the only one in the whole wide world that I truly consider equal in every way. I know we tease each other a lot, but I'd like to think that in actuality, we have a good balance. I don't consider myself to be in charge in this relationship, nor do I feel like you boss me around."

"Others might disagree on that."

"Let them. I do not stand above you and that is how I'd like to see and keep it."

"You are older though, even if not by that much."

"Max, you will find that eventually, the age gap means zip when it comes to how people act or behave."

Rachel turned to face Max.

"That is not a problem for you, is it? Me being older I mean?", she asked.

"Not at all, even if I admit I kind of thought of you like a big sister back when I heard about you from everyone. Both you and Chloe are older than me. Actually, I was wondering if our age difference mattered to you at all.", Max responded.

"It really doesn't... well not anymore."

"Not anymore? It mattered once?"

Rachel felt somewhat caught off guard by this and blushed ever so slightly.

"Not for the reasons you might think. Remember how we met all those years ago?"

"In an MMO, yeah you told me."

"Yes, so you see, at that time were both minors right? But once you moved to Arcadia Bay... things got a bit complicated, you could say."

"How so?"

"I was already 19 when you arrived, while you were still 17. Granted, you were like only three weeks away from turning 18, but I think you see the implication here?"

"Oh."

"Oh indeed. I had to restrain myself heavily for a while around you and it wasn't easy."

"Hold on.", Max said, seemingly having a realization.

"What is it?"

"We did a do-over of my birthday at one point."

"Yes, we did."

"You said something back then, something about how the day originally ended."

Knowing exactly was Max was talking about, Rachel's face was on fire by now.

"Rachel... was that when we first..."

"Yes.", Rachel interjected bluntly but with a knowing smile.

Now it was Max who turned red and she had to subdue a nervous laugh.

"I told you to use your imagination, remember? But you just had to ask.", Rachel said, still smiling away.

"Wow, you are a cougar after all! Like bonafide! You couldn't wait a minute longer than necessary to get your hands on me couldn't you?", Max teased, nudging Rachel's shoulder playfully with her fist.

"Now hold on just a second here, you seem to be missing some necessary info here.", Rachel said in her defense.

"Oh really? Like how you seduced poor little me? I can only imagine!"

"No, you dummy, I'm talking about the fact that it wasn't me who started it all."

"Wait, are you telling me that I actually made a move on you that time? For real?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying. As a matter of fact, I had to reject your advances once before that even happened! I stopped at kissing, but you were so impatient and didn't give a shit about any laws or morals, unlike me. Do you know how hard that was for me to keep you off myself? And I'm not just talking about the emotional aspect of that, just so you know."

"Wow, I had no idea I could be so bad.", Max said with embarrassment, covering her face with her hands.

"I'm not the only wild cat in this room, my dear."

"Oh my god, I can't believe that!", Max said, her face burning up.

"You better, you are talking to the only witness of that event."

"Wow, my previous me was a lot worse than I thought."

"Don't you dare blame that entirely on your previous self, you hypocrite!"

"Huh?

"I remember that night with the double moons and let me remind you in case you forgot. You flung me on my bed like you waited your whole life for that to happen, I could tell. That was all you and it was all too familiar to me. Admit it, Max, you get rowdy when you know you want something or should I say, someone. I think deep down you were always a minx and just didn't know it yet. I wonder what your old pal Chloe would have said if I told her all of this."

"She would never live that down, I can only imagine what she would say to me if she knew about this. I wouldn't hear the end of that ever, at my expense of course." Max said.

"I wonder what your former minion Victoria would have to say if I told her.", Rachel mused fiendishly.

"Not a word to her or anyone at Blackwell for that matter!", Max almost shouted.

"I'm just kidding, Max. I would never share such intimate details with anyone but you."

"I know, but just imagine if they knew!"

"Hold your head up high and take it like you don't care?"

"Easier for you than for me."

"Fair enough, are you ready to eat breakfast yet?"

"Let me brush my teeth and I'm good to go. You are still a cougar though."

"And you will never live that down, won't you?"

"Nope, it's all too easy."

It was a good thing Rachel still got a kick out of being called that by Max.

After filling up a variety of bread rolls and bacon for breakfast, they went to have a look at today's location, Grand Cayman. The island was off in the distance, as its harbor was too small for a massive ship like the Tempest. The sea was a bit rougher than the days before but still bearable. They would have to use a tender service to get over there though, which meant cramming into a small boat alongside everyone else that wanted to go one boat at a time. Rachel held on to the tickets that she secured the night before, anxiously awaiting a trip under the waters of the Atlantic.

They waited in line for what felt like an hour but they finally made it onto a tender. After securing seats for themselves, Rachel looked up at the Tempest. It was raining fairly heavily as well, so avoiding to get wet on this excursion was out of the question already. The massive size of the ocean liner can easily be forgotten once one was aboard, but from the perspective of this comparatively tiny ship, the Tempest looked like a giant sea monster.

"Say, Max, do you think sea monsters exist?", she asked out of curiosity.

"Not the time, Rachel."

"I mean it, there could be literally anything below us right now."

"I said not the time!", Max replied with slight panic in her voice.

"Are you afraid the Kraken will rise and pull our ship under or something?"

"If I said yes, will you stop talking about it?"

"Wow you are really afraid of something like that, aren't you?"

"I don't like to think about that, I can't even see three feet down there and there is nothing but water around us."

"I know, that's why theorizing about this is so much fun."

"For you, maybe. I'm terrified of sharks and stuff, don't even get me started on sea monsters."

"Don't worry, Maxter. I'm sure no one will rouse Cthulhu from his slumber in R'lyeh while we are out here."

"Rouse who from where now?"

Rachel sighed.

"Gosh, you really need to read more books, Max."

They arrived at the island and got off the tender. Max took what little time she had prior to their trip to take pictures, best she could considering the weather. Meanwhile, Rachel took in the atmosphere of the place.

"Figures it would rain here, so typical.", she said.

"What do you mean?", Max asked while snapping one more photo.

"This group of islands belongs to the United Kingdom, Max."

"That explains why the cars are driving on the other side of the road here."

"Indeed, beats the hell out of me how people get used to that."

"I guess it's not so bad when it's all you know."

"Yeah, I suppose. I can only imagine their confusion if they were to visit the US."

"Have you ever been to the UK, Rachel?"

"No, but I always wanted to go. Some of my favorite bands are from there too."

"I think Chloe might have mentioned at some point that you talked about going there, well the other you I mean."

"I wouldn't rule that out, it would certainly be a worthwhile trip."

They followed their fellow passengers who also signed up for the submarine tour to a small building next to a pier. Here, they had to wait for another boat to pick them up, which would then take them to the sub.

"Why don't they just bring the sub in here?", Max wondered.

"It's pretty big from what I read, it might not fit in here."

"Rachel, who's Cthulhu anyway? You mentioned that earlier and you got me curious now.", Max asked her.

"He's a fictional character, written about by H.P. Lovecraft in the late 1920's. Cthulhu is basically an otherworldly entity that is said to reside in the hidden underwater city of R'lyeh, where he lies sleeping. It is said that he resembles something like a cross between a dragon and an octopus and he is so mighty that merely beholding an image of him, like a statue, for instance, can drive you insane. Lovecraft wrote many stories involving creatures like that, whose mere existence cannot be comprehended by human minds. It is said if he were to rise, he would reclaim the world as his own but only if the stars are in the right spots. Oh and he's immortal too."

"That's... not scary at all.", Max said sarcastically.

"It's cosmic horror, my dear, it's different from your more modern slasher and zombie stuff. This is more about terrorizing your mind, not hacking you to pieces with an ax. It's a lot more subtle too."

"Interesting, I may just be tempted to give that a read."

"You should, though it's not for everyone."

"I used to love reading stories about monsters, but I think over time I lost my interest in that. My phobia of the ocean doesn't help either in this case."

"Are you afraid of the ocean or of what's in it?", Rachel asked.

"Probably what's in it. Once, I walked in on my parents when they watched Jaws when I was way too young for that stuff and ever since I can't watch anything with sharks anymore. Chloe made fun of that, but it's a real problem for me."

"You know that's all special effects right? The movies I mean?"

"Yeah, duh, but tell that to my mind that want's to run as soon as I see the image of a Great White."

"You used to be terrified of me too, once upon a time. But you ended up marrying me. What does that tell you?"

"That you are not a shark after all?"

Rachel giggled.

"Well, I'm not, but the point is you used to be intimidated, you got used to me and now we are inseparable."

"I suppose I could face my fear of sharks, but hopefully that won't happen today."

"I do think there may be some sharks around here, but I don't know if we get to see any."

The boat had then suddenly stopped. The submarine had surfaced nearby and was awaiting the arrival of its passengers. Getting inside, Rachel could feel ever so slightly claustrophobic, but she could bear it. For her part, she was more worried about Max than anything at this point. They sat down on seats next to each other, each facing a viewport that allowed a view below the surface. She could feel Max wanting to hold her hand and she held on to let her know that everything was alright. The sub moved a lot from the current, as the sea was far from calm, causing some slight discomfort for Rachel, hopefully, it wasn't any worse for Max.

Making it's way down to the local coral reefs, the sub quickly gained the attention of a fairly large school of silver-colored fish, which swam along the sub for a good while, coming right up to the glass.

"See? They aren't afraid of us either.", Rachel said to Max.

"They are all staring at me it feels like, it's weird.", Max said.

"Wanna bet they think we look weird too?"

"They probably do."

The coral reefs were massive, covering the entire seafloor and the rocks of the surrounding environment. At one point, the sub had reached it's maximum dive depth while hovering between the coral reef and a large, cliff-like dropoff that was as dark as the night, with no bottom in sight.

"That looks so terrifying, but why do I wanna know what's down there?", Max said out loud while staring into the abyss in front of them.

"Because it's also fascinating. We are drawn to things that are new and interesting, it's a shame we can't go deeper."

Turning around, the sub now made it's way back where it came from.

"Check it out Max, there's your super scary shark!", Rachel said, pointing out the animal in question.

A nurse shark was resting on the sand floor of the coral reef below, apparently not at all disturbed by the giant vehicle intruding on its territory as it passed by.

"He looks... harmless.", Max said.

"Nurse sharks are fairly docile, some call them the puppies of the sea."

"That's a big puppy, must be like twelve feet long or something. He's just chilling there."

"Still terrified of sharks Max? I doubt this guy would even notice you unless you get up in his face and I think he'd swim away more likely than anything."

"Maybe not of all of them then, but a Great White is something else compared to that one down there."

"Fair enough."

"The dolphins will be nice to see up close though.", Max said with much anticipation.

"I gotta admit, that should be an interesting encounter, to say the least."

"Rachel?"

"Yes?"

"How come you know so much? I know you've always been a straight-A student and all of that, but you seem to know everything. You know about all kinds of books, you play every game like you've played it your whole life and you always have an answer to any question. That and you speak other languages too. So tell me, are you using some kind of secret rewind I don't know about so you always know what I'm about to say?"

Rachel chuckled at the thought of being put on such a pedestal.

"Max, I don't know everything, but I'd like to think I know a lot. I think one advantage I have is that I always remember most of the stuff I learn and pick up. Knowledge is power, after all. And no, I do not possess that super awesome rewind power that you used to have, hell I was jealous of that ability of yours, remember? As for my language skills, that is something I guess I'm just good at."

"I suppose, but it's just another thing I envy you for. How many languages do you speak?"

"Well, obviously English, but I also speak some Spanish, French, Russian and a bit of German. So that makes five in total. I'm not fluent in all of them, but I can make basic conversation at the very least."

"Wow, you are incredible."

"Merci, mademoiselle.", Rachel responded in French, thanking Max.

Rachel spotted something in the water.

"You thought I knew everything? Here's a good example that says otherwise, Max.", she said.

"Hm?"

"I don't know what that is."

Another shark appeared, but this one looked different and swam parallel to the sub.

"That one looks scarier than the last, I think that's a reef shark, he's a local.", Max said, identifying the shark correctly.

"Well, there you go Professor Amber, you knew something I didn't!", Rachel remarked.

"This one stares at me too, why do they all have to stare?"

"Gotta be that blue hair of yours. I should know, it wowed me too."

"Oh shush!"

Once the sub arrived back at the harbor, they disembarked. The air inside the vehicle had become somewhat stale and the smell of fresh ocean air was a welcome reprieve for both of them, even if it was still raining.

After tendering back to the harbor and then to the ship, they finally made it back aboard. Max let herself fall on their bed.

"I had a lot of fun, but I gotta admit, if it weren't for the sea-sickness pills I probably would have thrown up in that thing.", she said.

"Same here. By the way, what time is it?", Rachel asked.

"It's 4:30 PM."

"Damn, we spent a lot of time out there!"

"Considering how long it took to get off the boat, on land, on the sub and back again, yeah it was a lot of time."

Rachel consulted the day planner for the upcoming day, their second last full day on the ship.

"Another formal night tomorrow.", she told Max.

"That means I get to see you in your knockout of a dress again."

"Yes, you will."

"Rachel, I know it's kinda early to talk about this and I really don't wanna detract from the mood, but what are our plans for when we get back to Arcadia Bay?"

This did, in fact, bring down Rachel's mood rather quickly.

"I assume you are referring to me and my parents?"

"Yes."

"Ugh, I don't know. I feel more inclined to visit my mom again, Sera. I want to know if she'd be interested in perhaps living with us. Would that be alright with you, I mean you don't know her at all, Max. Hell, I barely know her myself."

"I trust your judgment Rachel, if she's cool with you, she's cool with me, no matter what your dad says."

"I appreciate you trusting me on that."

"What about James and Rose though?"

Rachel did her best to subdue the smoldering anger that never really left her. It wasn't easy.

"I'm not hating on Rose, I just pity her and wish she'd kick his ass every now and then and not just let him do as he pleases. As for James... well, I don't know. If he were to literally come crawling to me on the floor and beg for forgiveness, I might tolerate him again. But he will never be the loving father that I once had and it's all his fault. Son-of-a-bitch tortured my mom.", Rachel fumed, her hands formed into fists.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything, I'm always so damn nosy."

"Not your fault, Max."

"Nope, this is on me, I brought it up."

"Why does that matter?"

"What do you mean, why does it matter? I clearly brought up something I shouldn't have."

"Again, it's all his fault, we wouldn't have to deal with this right now otherwise."

"Rachel, I'm terribly sorry, I cannot imagine how painful that must be."

"You can't, nobody does and nobody can. Nobody cares."

"I care, Rachel."

"Then you are the only one. Excuse me, Max, I think I'm gonna need some air this time."

Leaving the cabin, Rachel's anger guided her every step. She found herself alone by the railing of the ship, in the same spot that Max was at last night, even if she wasn't aware of this.

She faced the horizon, her mind recalling her past incidents and confrontations with James.

"It doesn't matter how far I go, you are like a tumor I cannot get rid off. There are no words for what you have done, father. I can only hope that one day karma will give you due payback. I truly, truly hate and despise you.", she said, spitting her words like venom. A part of her was shocked to hear those words coming out of her mouth, but she couldn't help it. Her feelings were hard to ignore.

Tears rolled down her cheek as she beheld the horizon. The weather had turned. Where it was previously merely raining, the winds started picking up now and out of the sudden loud thunder erupted in the skies. It was a tropical storm and a nasty one at that. Rachel's hair blew in the wind but she stood there motionless, watching the flashing lights in the sky as lightning bolts stretched across the heavens.

"I wish I could use one of those on you right now.", she said in spite.

"Rachel?"

Hearing the sound of Max's voice, she did not turn around.

"You shouldn't have come, Max. I said I wanted to be alone."

"I can't leave you to deal with this by yourself... wait a minute... that storm..."

Max walked up to her, standing beside her.

"Did... did you do that?", she asked, staring at the sky.

"No, it just sort of happened, who cares?"

"Rachel, that's no joke, this is a hell of a storm, I can feel the ship moving back and forth!"

Max was correct, despite the massive size of the Tempest, even it's mighty construction was a mere plaything when subjected to the powers of nature.

Suddenly, the speaker system came online.

"All hands, this is the captain. Due to inclement weather, all shore operations are canceled immediately and all tenders are to return to the shore. Once all remaining passengers are aboard, we will depart on course to Roatán ahead of schedule. We ask for your understanding and patience."

"This is serious, Rachel!", Max said.

Rachel turned around and faced her.

"Max, are you honestly implying that I intentionally summoned a freaking tropical storm?!"

"Rachel, after what I have seen, I'm not sure what to believe anymore. But no, I don't want to think so."

"What do you think I am? Next, you are telling me I caused that storm that almost destroyed our town and killed all those people! Is that it?"

"I would never dare say that, Rachel!"

"But you are thinking it, I can tell. You are terrified, it's all over your face, like an open book!"

Max's face was indeed covered in fear, her eyes most of all. Such things couldn't remain hidden from Rachel.

"Rachel, please just come back inside, I regret ever mentioning any of this."

Rachel thought about the possibility of what Max implied. If it is true that she created this storm, then what are the odds she wasn't somehow responsible for the last one? Could she really have created such a monstrosity of a tornado?

"Perhaps, you are right. Perhaps I did create that just now. Either that or I woke up Cthulhu after all."

"That is nonsense, that goes way beyond anything you have ever displayed before!"

"Does it? Every time I unleashed my power it was stronger than before, the last time it almost killed you. Who's to say this isn't just another aspect of it that I wasn't aware of yet? What if I do this often enough and the final result is something like that tornado?"

"Rachel, you couldn't have created that storm that hit Arcadia Bay! I saw that happen in my old reality before I ever came here. Your other you was already dead by then.", Max pointed out.

"Max... what if that was her final action though? Before she died? What if she had done something that ended up creating that thing as a result? It might have followed you here when it appeared!"

"But why? Why would your other you sic that storm on us?!"

"I don't know, only she would."

Rachel looked down at her hands, wishing she could rip this power out of herself somehow.

"I'm a monster, Max. I cause destruction no matter where I go. Fire, tornadoes, lightning, death, and wrath are all that entails this, there is nothing positive about it, I'm a monster!", she uttered, dropping to the ground crying. "Why am I cursed like this?! WHY?! What is the fucking point!? What is the meaning of this life of mine?"

Waves of guilt and sadness rolled over her, the rain washing away her tears. Then, she felt herself being lifted up by Max, who tucked her arm under her and pulled her up.

"I don't know why you have this power, Rachel. But you also have me and I'm not about to let you down."

"Max, why? Why would you put up with someone like me when you could have had Chloe instead? She wouldn't threaten you like this. Why me?", she said sobbing.

"I made my choice. I'm not going to let you slip into the darkness as well. Not after jumping through timelines and facing obstacle after obstacle. I don't care if you caused this storm or all the storms in the world. I swore to love you until the world stops turning and I intend to keep that promise. And there is nothing you can do about that."

"Nothing?"

"Hella nothing."

Max held on to Rachel all the way back to their room.

"Max... I'm sorry for doubting you. There are no words in the whole universe that could ever describe how amazing you are."