"Okay, G, lay it on me," Chloe said, "what the hell happened?"

"I...thought we were pretty screwed," Max said, keeping her eyes on the road in front of them, "up until Prescott had butler-man dump my emergency photos all over the table."

"I know! I couldn't fucking believe it!" Chloe said, "how could he have had zero clue as to what those were for?"

"Well...what I can do with the photos is pretty crazy, if you think about it," Max said, "I think...I think the photos are kind of like the artifacts. And I don't think it ever occurred to Prescott that I could use them that way."

"So where did you go?" Chloe said.

Max described going back to Prescott's study in the past.

"So wait," Chloe said, "while I was out exploring the house during our epic raid, it was you back in the study, not Beta Max?"

"Yeah, at least this time around," Max said.

"Did...you change anything big?" Chloe said.

"I...I'm really sorry Chloe," Max said, looking to Chloe, "it's my fault that Prescott had that needle in your neck. It's...you know that flashdrive I grabbed from the bookcase?"

"The one with the break-in footage?" Chloe said, "yeah."

"When I went back to Prescott's study, I hid the flashdrive so he wouldn't have evidence of us breaking in," Max said, "and when I came back, Prescott was so much angrier and aggressive...I think it was because he didn't have the leverage to scare us. They...didn't have that needle the first time around."

"Max," Chloe said, putting a hand on Max's leg, "that's not your fault. That's all Prescott. I mean yeah, I'd've really preferred that that never happened. That shit was fucking awful; I've never had anything hurt that bad...and I got fucking shot," she shuddered, "but I'll take that trade-off...you made the right call. I got fucked up a little but now I'm fine and definitely sorta high...and Prescott doesn't have shit on us. Oh, and...um...timeline check...you know, to make sure nothing else changed: so...um...I took you on a first date to our pirate fort and it was fucking awesome...we also broke into the PI lair with the help of a ton of your...um...our Blackwell buddies...and after that you made a move on me. Then we went to Portland over the weekend. On the way you told me that you love me and boom: I dropped that right back at you. In Portland we got you some decent clothes, ate hella awesome breakfast, bought too much shit at Powell's...and you made another move on me and fucked my brains out...and again the next morning...and last night. That all sound the same?"

"Yes," Max said, breathing out, "I'm so glad I didn't change any of that. I'll have to check my journal to see if all of the little details were the same but at least all of the big stuff didn't change."

"Hey, I'm glad you didn't change any of that either...aside from that bullshit back there, these have been the best days of my life," Chloe said, patting Max's leg.

Max smiled and said, "me too."

"Anyways," Chloe continued, "you managed to figure out everything from Prescott's study? Including how to deal with this storm shit?"

"Not...exactly," Max said, "I got information on how to get us out of Prescott's study...and found out way more about Prescott's plans. He...um...he wants the storm because he thinks it will make him immortal and stuff."

"You're joking," Chloe said.

"Nope," Max said, "he had one of those weird letters...just like the ones we found at the cabin in the woods. It...made it sound like you become...er...sort of godlike if you show up after the storm has done its thing."

"I thought he was bullshitting about there being something else with the storm," Chloe said, shaking her head, "just like his bullshit about him having superpowers and the stuff about Rachel."

Max glanced over at Chloe; Chloe stared back.

"Max...what did you find?" Chloe said, her voice quiet.

Max breathed out and said, "after I came back from the past the first time, I went back into another photo...this time it was one of my room. I needed a place to just think," Max said, "and then...I thought that if it was true that Rachel could see into the future, maybe things were going as she intended...not as Prescott intended. And that made me think of the envelope again...the one that Rachel had Dana hide...I was sure it had to be in my room."

"But you looked everywhere for it and couldn't find it," Chloe said, "I remember...you hella trashed your room."

"It...turns out that I didn't look everywhere," Max said, "it was behind my mirror."

Chloe was silent and Max glanced over. Chloe stared out the windshield at nothing in particular.

"What was in the envelope?" she finally said.

"A photo," Max said, "of your room."

"Of...my room?" Chloe said, her brow furrowed.

"Yeah, and a note on the back saying, 'you know what to do,'" Max said.

Chloe stared at Max.

"Prescott wasn't lying," Max said, "I went back and...I met Rachel."

"You...you saw Rachel? You talked to her?" Chloe said, her eyes wide.

"Yeah...and...Beta Max was there too," Max said.

"I...what? Fuck...I think my head's going to explode," Chloe said, squeezing her eyes shut.

Max put a hand over Chloe's fingers, which still rested on Max's leg.

"Chloe, I know...it's really weird. It was really weird to be there...to see...another me standing there. And we were both kind of...ghostly since we weren't really there," Max said, "and Rachel...I...I think I understand now, everything people say about her. I really...I really wish I would have had more time to get to know her."

"The two of you would've been hella good friends," Chloe said, wiping her eyes with her other hand, "I just...can't believe you actually met her. Where was I?"

"Taking a shower," Max said.

"That's fucking insane...you're saying that while I was in the shower one day, Rachel was in my room talking to you?...to two versions of you?...how the fuck is any of that even possible?" Chloe said.

"It was all Rachel; she actually did have the power to see into the future," Max said, "but Prescott had it too and even though Rachel was stronger with it than he was, he had more experience and resources. By the time Rachel figured out what was happening, he'd boxed her in. He was trying to do with Rachel what he did with us. And she knew, because she could see more than Prescott thought she could...she saw that he intended on killing her, you, and Frank. There was no way out of it at that point so...she...she set it up so that she would die. To save you and Frank and...it sounded like plenty of other people too. And even after she died, she's still been helping us. She's the reason that there's two of me...to give us the time we needed to start figuring things out before Prescott could snatch us up. She gave me visions of the storm...storms, I guess. She's been showing up as the doe...and in your dreams. It was all her...and all of it has been to give us a leg up; to help us survive and stay a step ahead."

Tears streamed down Chloe's face.

"She saved me too, Chloe," Max continued, "when I got my power, it sort of overloaded Prescott...he couldn't use his power anymore because he couldn't navigate all of the fucked-up criss-cross timelines I was creating every time I rewound. Even when I was just doing things like keeping Alyssa from getting hit by a roll of toilet paper. Rachel's been feeding images to Prescott to keep him from realizing that I was blocking him...otherwise he would've had me killed."

"Shit," Chloe said.

"And Chloe," Max said, putting a hand on Chloe's leg, "she told me to tell you that she's sorry...sorry for what she put you through and not telling you. I...both of me...wanted so much to do something...anything...to save her. But she said that there was nothing I could do. That's...that's why she never told you. And she's sorry for not...being able to be for you what you really needed. She said that she could never really provide that and...um...she said that you needed me."

Chloe let out an audible sob.

"And...she wanted me to tell you that she loves you," Max said, tears filling her own eyes.

Chloe scooted over and put her head on Max's shoulder; Max tilted her head to rest against Chloe's. They drove through Arcadia Bay in silence, the sky darkening rapidly above them and wind whipping leaves and loose trash across the road in front of them.

They left the main part of town and Chloe sat up.

"Where…," she said, her voice hoarse; she cleared her throat and continued, "where are we going?"

"To finish Rachel's revenge," Max said.

"What?" Chloe said.

"You know the Tobanga?" Max said.

"The creepy totem pole at Blackwell? Yeah," Chloe said.

"It's an artifact, like the others," Max said, "and its purpose is to soak up that power Prescott was babbling on about."

"Shit," Chloe said, "then what the hell are we doing out here?"

"It's okay," Max said, "all part of Rachel's plan...the Tobanga at Blackwell is a fake. Rachel had someone create a convincing prop and then Trevor and Justin moved the real one."

"Damn, Rachel...you clever bitch," Chloe said with a small smile, "so where is it? The real Tobanga?"

"Out at the edge of Bayley Point," Max said, pointing out ahead of them.

"What do we do when we get there?" Chloe said.

"In the vision, Rachel...er...as the doe spirit thing, showed me where it is," Max said, "and then Rachel herself said that we need to stop Prescott from getting to the Tobanga...we can't let him touch it."

"Isn't he probably sitting in a bunker near Blackwell right now?" Choe said.

"Right under Blackwell, actually," Max said, "but he's probably discovered our escape by now and might've figured things out. We may not have much time."

"And how the fuck are we going to stop him?" Chloe said.

"I think we'll just have to improvise," Max said.

"Rewinds and tranq darts?" Chloe said.

"Pretty much," Max replied.

Max pulled off of the road before it curved sharply to the left.

"I think this is as close as we're going to get," Max said.

They stepped out of the car. Wind howled around them and the tree branches above swayed dangerously. Max grabbed Chloe's hand and they rushed into the woods.

"Do you know where you're going?" Chloe shouted.

"Generally speaking," Max shouted back.

A few moments later, Max caught sight of an animal in the distance.

"Hey, do you see that?" Chloe said.

"Yeah," Max said.

They ran towards it. Sure enough, it was the ghostly doe.

As they approached, it turned and trotted away. They followed and it matched their pace. Rain began to fall, driven at an angle by the wind. Max held her arm up to shield her eyes, panting as she ran and squeezing Chloe's hand. Bright flashes began to light the sky above, followed by the boom of thunder.

I really hope we don't run right into a wall of lightning, Max thought grimly.

"How much farther?" Chloe said, "I'm not...exactly...a distance runner."

"On those...freakishly long legs?" Max said back, "you're...better off...than me!"

"You mean...on your freakishly sexy legs?" Chloe said.

"If we...run into that storm...and die...that's kind of...a lame...last thing to hear," Max said, her feet pounding against the damp ground.

"Okay...then how about...your taste in music is questionable...ditto fashion...but I love you," Chloe said.

"I'll take it," Max said, "and I...love you too."

They ran in silence, following the doe.

The wind and rain grew more intense and the temperature around them rose, quickly becoming unnaturally warm for October.

Suddenly, the doe stopped out in front of them and Max halted; Chloe ran into Max's back and they both nearly toppled to the ground.

"Max!" Chloe shouted, "a little warning next time!"

"Tell her that!" Max said, gesturing to the doe.

"Er...Rachel! A little warning next time!" Chloe said.

The doe blinked at them and then walked slowly away, fading and vanishing.

"Come on," Max said over the growing thunder, "I recognize this area."

Max led Chloe up the ridge in front of them and out to where the trees thinned. They stopped at the edge of the treeline, staring out.

"Fuck," Chloe said, her eyes wide.

Max merely nodded in agreement.

In front of them, a treeless triangle of land ended at cliffs that dropped vertically away. And beyond that, above the roiling ocean, a mass of dark clouds crawled slowly towards the bay with a forest of pink-hued lightning flashing beneath.

"Look," Chloe said, pointing.

There, in the middle of the clearing, stood the Tobanga, dark and foreboding.

Max squeezed Chloe's hand and they started towards the totem pole, catching their breath as they walked.

As they drew closer, the sounds of thunder and wind seemed to die down. The rain seemed to sting less...and then not at all. Around the Tobanga was a space of eerie calm and quiet. Max and Chloe stopped a few steps away and Max looked up at the Tobanga; as usual, she felt uneasy staring at it.

"Don't touch it," Max said.

"No kidding," Chloe said, frowning, "why is it so...quiet now?" She looked out at the raging storm.

"The Tobanga is a mysterious thing," Max said, her eyes still glued to the topmost totem.

"Fucking annoying is what it is," Chloe said, shaking water out of her hair and glancing around, "hey, let's go to the other side, keep this thing between us and whatever douchebags come out of the forest."

Chloe pulled on Max's hand and they circled around to the other side.

"What now?" Chloe said.

"I guess we wait," Max said.

The stood in silence, hand in hand. Chloe tapped her foot and frequently leaned out to look around the Tobanga at the treeline. Max glanced over at the storm every few moments, watching as it inched closer, its volume rising even under the strange dampening effect of the Tobanga. And every time she looked, an unformed thought tugged at her mind.

She finally glanced over at Chloe and another of Rachel's requests, buried beneath the frenzy to stop Prescott, floated to the surface of her mind.

"Chloe?" Max said, drawing Chloe's gaze, "um...Rachel also had another message for you...and since I'm not sure how this is going to turn out, I'd better give it to you now."

"Okay," Chloe said, tilting her head.

Max stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Chloe, squeezing her tight. Whatever piece or echo or reflection of Rachel there might be in Max, she tried to put it into that hug.

When she stepped back, she gazed up at Chloe's face, damp from rain and tears.

"This too," Max said, grabbing Chloe's hands and standing on her tiptoes.

She kissed Chloe...and she tried to do it how she'd imagine Rachel kissing: confident but coy, loving but...a little aloof.

Should I feel weird about this? Max thought, kissing Chloe as if I'm someone else?

She began to back away but Chloe grasped Max's hands tightly and she held on, pressing her lips onto Chloe's.

Chloe's grip slackened and Max fell back onto her heels.

"I...thanks, Max," Chloe said, her voice strained, "that...I'm not sure I can explain it but...that...it felt like I finally got to say goodbye."

Chloe stepped into Max's arms and Max held her, stroking her hair.

"I'm so glad you're here, Max," Chloe said, "everything...went so wrong. But you...you've brought it back. The good stuff."

"Chloe, I love you...and we're going to make everything right," Max said, "we owe it to Rachel and we owe it to ourselves."

Something about saying that left a twinge in Max's heart and she couldn't quite trace it.

There's something I'm missing, Max thought as Chloe stepped back.

"Max!" Chloe shouted suddenly.

Max jerked her head up to see Chloe's eyes wide, staring back the way they'd come. She started turning to see what Chloe was looking at...and a loud crack sounded over the thunder. Max jumped and finished spinning around to see two men, clad in black, pointing guns at her.

They both had confused and frustrated expressions on their faces and their hands were twitching. Max furrowed her brow and opened her mouth before noticing something in front of her. She leaned forward and saw, hovering in the air, a small piece of metal. She looked closer and then quickly stepped back: it was a bullet.

"Chloe…," Max said, turning to see Chloe with her arm stretched out, her mouth open in shock.

Max looked between Chloe, the bullet, and the men.

"Max?...I...I…," Chloe started.

The two men tossed their guns aside and sped towards them; Max quickly grabbed Chloe's arm and rewound. She went past the point where ghostly images of the men disappeared backwards into the trees and continued until her and Chloe's images also vanished into the trees. She stopped and turned to Chloe.

"Chloe? What just happened?" Max said.

"I...I don't know," Chloe said, "I saw them...saw them point their guns at us and I...I just raised my hand. I don't know what made me do it. And I could...feel one of them pull the trigger and then I could...I could feel the bullet heading towards you and...and I...I stopped it."

She stared at her hands.

"And," she continued, "and then I held their triggers out. I...holy shit...Max? I think...I think I can…"

She spun around, scanning the ground while Max simply stared, open-mouthed.

"There!" Chloe said, pointing to a branch on the ground.

She held out her hand and the branch rose off of the ground, hovering in the air.

"Dude...I...holy fuck, no way!" Chloe said, laughing and moving her hand back and forth; the branch twisted around in the air.

Chloe swung her hand to the side and the branch flew off of the cliff.

"Max!" Chloe said, "I can fucking...move things with my mind! I can fucking move things with my mind! Fucking...holy shit...I can't even believe this," she put her hands on her head, "do you know how awesome this is?"

Max's open-mouthed surprise turned into a lopsided smile and she said, "I...think I have some idea."

Then her mind caught up with what just happened.

"Chloe?" Max said.

"Yeah?" Chloe said, flicking her hand to levitate pebbles and toss them off of the cliff, each one glowing pink from the lightning before falling out of view.

"You just saved my life," Max said.

"Wait, what are...oh shit, you're right," Chloe said, turning to Max.

A wide smile lit Chloe's face and she stepped forward, putting her hands on Max's shoulders.

"I saved your life! I can totally be your bodyguard now...for real," Chloe said, "No one messes with Max or I'll fling those motherfuckers off of a cliff."

She swept her arms out and an avalanche of pebbles and rocks cascaded off of the cliffsides.

Max's eyes widened and Chloe cringed.

"Oops," she said.

Max laughed.

"I guess you don't know your own strength," Max said.

"Yeah, no kidding," Chloe said, "bet it's this bracelet thing."

"Oh right," Max said as Chloe kicked her ankle out, "you can probably do some crazy awesome stuff...I...wowser...I can't even believe this...this is so amazing. You have a superpower!"

Max grinned.

Chloe grinned back and said, "I know...this is...so hella sweet. So fucking awesome. And...well...I feel like this puts our relationship at a whole new...level," Chloe said, reaching an arm out.

"Huh?" Max said...and then she felt herself being gently lifted into the air.

"Oh no," Max said, "why do I have the feeling that you're going to abuse your power?"

"Because I am going to abuse my power," Chloe said, "but only in cases where it's awesome."

"This is the kind of conflict that only escalates," Max said, chuckling.

"Maybe," Chloe said, lowering Max back to the ground.

"Because," Max said, "you never know…"

She brought time to a standstill and strolled over to stand right behind Chloe before allowing time to resume.

"...when I might sneak up on you."

Chloe jumped with a yell and spun around, grabbing Max's shoulders.

"Somehow I think this little conflict might end up being hella fun," Chloe said, planting a kiss on Max's lips.

They broke apart and Max said, "well, we'd better deal with our most pressing issues first." She pointed at the treeline.

"Oh right," Chloe said, "goons incoming..."

"Yep," Max said.

"And now Chloe Price is in the superpower business too," Chloe said, webbing her fingers together and cracking her knuckles.

"Eww, I hate that," Max said, shuddering.

Chloe chuckled.

"Okay," Max continued, "there's nowhere to hide up here so when the goons appear, I need you to stop their bullets or yank their guns or something long enough to get them to come closer so that there's some space behind them...then I'll freeze time and use the tranq gun."

"Sounds good," Chloe said.

Max pulled the tranquilizer gun out of her bag and they waited, watching the treeline, lit by the ceaseless lightning behind them.

"You know," Chloe said, "this opens up some new possibilities."

"Professionally? Artistically?" Max said.

"Sexually," Chloe said.

"Ah yes, one-track-mind Chloe on the high speed train to Dorkville," Max said.

"Hey, Dorkville is awesome," Chloe said, "you know that you're a frequent visitor there."

"More and more, it seems. Okay, I'll bite...what possibilities do you speak of?" Max said.

"So, name a famous place," Chloe said.

"The moon," Max said.

"A place on Earth," Chloe said.

"Tyrell Corporation headquarters," Max said.

"A real place on Earth," Chloe said.

"I feel like you're stifling my creativity," Max said.

"Oh don't worry, I'll let you be creative in other ways," Chloe said.

"Okay fine, the Space Needle," Max said.

"Oh...tricky...um...are there any large public spaces there?" Chloe said.

"Oh no...where is this going?" Max said.

"Okay, get this: we can go to a big public space...you can stop time and I can take us up to the ceiling and we can totally do it...no one would ever know," Chloe said.

"Er...I hate to burst your bubble but I think one or both of us might, you know, lose the concentration necessary to maintain that particular trick when we're, well, doing it," Max said.

Chloe thought for a moment and said, "damn, you're right...spoil sport."

"It's okay, I'm sure we can come up with plenty of other creative things to do," Max said, "for instance, you can lift me up to places to get some amazing shots."

"Oh yeah," Chloe said, her eyes widening, "that would be awesome...and I could lift us up to roofs and the top of the lighthouse. We can go anywhere and you can get shots of anything."

"We could even build a pirate fort that no one else could get to," Max said, smiling at the thought of a truly private retreat from the world...for just her and Chloe.

"Yes: that...such a hella good idea. And dude, we could also pull some epic pranks," Chloe said, "we could…"

"Chloe, look," Max said, pointing.

Two figures stepped out of the trees and headed straight towards them.

"Alright, let's kick these guys' asses," Chloe said.

The two men spotted them and raised their weapons, jogging towards them. Max stayed close to Chloe, gripping the tranquilizer gun. When they were close enough for Max to make out their facial features, a bright flash emerged from the gun on the left, followed immediately by a sharp popping sound that stabbed through the sea of thunder around them. But Chloe already had her arm out...Max squinted and saw the bullet hovering in the air before it dropped limply to the ground. The men strode closer and both fired their guns; again, Chloe stopped the bullets and they fell to the ground.

"Dude, this is so fucking amazing!" Chloe said, grinning.

The two men continued moving towards them, glancing at one another.

"Okay," Max said, "my turn."

"Have fun," Chloe said.

Max reached out and stopped time. She stepped forward, feeling a gentle pull back to where she'd been. She glanced up at Chloe, frozen with an expression of amused concentration on her face, her hand held out towards the men.

Max walked quickly forward between the two men. Behind each of them, she pulled the trigger of the tranquilizer gun twice, leaving a pair of "MC" labelled darts hovering inches from their necks. She nodded to herself and resumed time.

She immediately found herself back next to Chloe and the two men in front of them stopped in their tracks, their suddenly confused expressions turning blank as they both fell to the ground.

"Welp," Chloe said, "I'm kinda wondering if you even needed me for that."

"You know, now that I think of it, I guess either one of us could have done it alone," Max said, shrugging.

"But…," Chloe said, grinning.

Max sighed and said, "but it's much better to do it together."

"Oh, yes it is," Chloe said, chuckling and holding out her fist. Max smiled and obliged her with a fist bump.

"I wonder where Prescott is," Max said, her gaze drawn back out to the storm.

"Speak of the devil," Chloe said, her eyes narrowed.

Max turned back to the forest to see a single figure emerging from the trees. It was, unmistakably, Sean Prescott. Max tilted her head.

He looks ridiculous, she thought.

Prescott wore what was undoubtedly a very expensive suit, soaked through with rain and covered in pine needles. His sandy hair was plastered to his forehead from the rain and he squinted behind his glasses, clearly adjusting to the bright lightning in the bay. He strode forward slowly, a large weapon in his hands.

Max's eyes widened.

"Chloe?" she said.

"That's some automatic shit right there," Chloe said, "not one hundred percent sure I can stop the bullets from that."

Max nodded and was about to reach out to rewind.

"But," Chloe continued, "I can do something else instead."

She held out her hand and Max did too, ready to rewind.

Prescott's gaze finally fell upon them...and the two goons facedown nearby.

"No!" he shouted, raising the weapon to his shoulder.

Chloe squinted and closed her fist, yanking her arm back. The weapon flew out of Prescott's grip and arced over to land in Chloe's arms.

"Fuckin' sweet," Chloe said.

Prescott stood motionless, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. Chloe grinned at him and Max kept her arm partially raised.

Prescott's eyes darted between them and the Tobanga...and then he broke into a run straight towards the totem pole.

"Ha, no you don't," Chloe said, throwing the large gun aside and lifting her arms.

With a yell, Prescott rose into the air, his limbs flailing. For a brief moment, a triumphant smile lit his face...but it quickly fell into an expression of horror.

"No," he shouted over the storm, "not possible. This can't be happening." He stretched an arm out towards the Tobanga...but it was still far out of reach.

"Chloe Price has a super power now, douchebag," Chloe said, twirling her hand and making Prescott flip end over end in the air.

"Not possible," Prescott wailed.

"Sorry, Mr. Prescott, but it turns out that you're not as informed about things as you thought you were," Max said, stepping around the Tobanga.

Prescott glared at Max before Chloe flipped him over again.

"In the end, Rachel was one step ahead of you," Max said.

When Chloe rotated Prescott to face Max again, his eyes were bulging and his face contorted in confused rage.

"What? Rachel? What do you mean?" he said.

"Sorry, not going to explain," Max said, "but I'm sure you'll have a long time to think about it. You can talk it over with Jefferson...maybe they'll let you share a cell. Just know that you'll never get what you want...and that is Rachel's revenge, asshole."

She carefully pulled a "CP" labelled dart out of her bag. She stood on her tiptoes under Prescott and Chloe lowered him down. He snapped his arms out towards Max.

"Don't you fucking dare," Chloe said, practically cackling as she curled her fingers, causing Prescott's arms to bend behind his back.

He cried out in pain and Max jabbed the dart into his neck. His cries died away and he passed out.

"You really think he'll go to jail?" Chloe said, dropping Prescott to the ground with a thud, "don't rich people normally get out of it?"

"Not this time, I don't think," Max said, "with us and everything that's happened, I imagine we have enough dirt to get him locked up. Between the kidnapping, attempted murder, accessory to murder, and whatever other shit he's been up to? He's going down."

Chloe walked over and kicked Prescott in the side; Max winced.

"Sorry," Chloe said, "needed to express myself."

With Prescott and his goons knocked out in front of them, Max looked out to the water, where the massive storm was now inching into the bay.

Now what? Max thought, feeling a rising panic, we did what Rachel asked us to do...but it's not over...that storm is still coming...we were so focused on stopping Prescott...

"Hey, Max? You okay?" Chloe said.

Max continued to stare out at the storm.

And this storm...it's my storm, she thought, recalling Rachel's words, I'm the one who created it...and because I created it, I'm the one sustaining it.

She began walking away from the Tobanga and towards the cliff. As she drew further away, the sounds of the storm increased, the rolling thunder shaking her body. The rain, which had been like a mist next to the Tobagna, drove harder and harder, stinging her skin.

After Rachel was stabbed...and nearly dead in the hospital, her forest fire went out, Max thought, I wonder if she did die then...if only for a few moments.

"Max?" Chloe called out from behind.

Max neared the edge of the cliff and looked down. She watched as waves crashed up against the side of the cliff below, lit a haunting pink by the lightning.

And when Chloe died in the bathroom, it stopped her tornado from ever happening, Max thought.

A lump rose in her throat.

Rachel was ready and willing to die for the people she loved...and she did, Max thought, turning around to face Chloe, who stood several paces away, the Tobanga behind her. She stared at Max, her face worried.

And Chloe...she asked me to go back...to let her die...she was ready and willing to die too...to save everyone in the town, Max thought.

She glanced over towards Arcadia Bay, it's lights dim and feeble in the face of the ferocious storm.

As long as I'm here, that storm keeps going, Max thought, biting her lip, as long as I'm here, the entire town gets blasted to pieces...and maybe Chloe does too. I can't let that happen...I just can't...Rachel made this decision, Chloe made this decision, and now I have to follow...because there's only one way to be sure.

She took a deep breath and glanced behind her to the water below.

I wonder if it will hurt, Max thought.

"Max!" Chloe shouted, stepping forward, "what are you doing?"

"Stop," Max shouted back.

Chloe took a few more steps and then stopped, her eyes wide.

"Max, what's going on?" she said. Max could barely hear her.

"Chloe...I...I have to go," Max said.

"What do you mean?" Chloe said, "go where?"

"The storm," Max said, "it's mine. It's my storm. As...as long as I'm here, it keeps going."

"Max, that doesn't make any sense!" Chloe said. She took a step forward and Max took a step back towards the edge. Chloe came to a lurching halt.

"Rachel explained it," Max said, "the fire...the forest fire that she started...that was her storm. And it stopped when she nearly died."

"But what about the tornado? Didn't you make that too?" Chloe said, her eyes darting between Max and the storm.

"No," Max said, "that was yours. It was your storm, Chloe. It...you triggered it after running out of the bathroom."

Max could tell that something about that clicked for Chloe; she squeezed her eyes shut and her head tilted down. But then her head snapped back up and her eyes opened.

"But wait," she said, "that storm kept coming...even when I died! It doesn't work like that, Max. Please...it...it can't work like that."

Max shook her head, "that tornado kept coming because of what I was doing...all of my rewinding was creating all kinds of temporary timelines. The tornado was feeding off of the possibility that you were alive."

"But then that would happen here too," Chloe shouted, tears mingling with rain on her face, "the possibility...you…"

"Chloe, I'm the source of the changes to the timeline," Max said, "once I...once I go, there are no more possibilities."

"No, Max...no," Chloe said, "please no."

"I'm so, so sorry, Chloe," Max said, tears streaming down her face, "I'm so sorry...I love you so much. I don't want to do this...but I can't let that storm keep going. It could kill you too. It's...look at it."

She turned and they watched as a bolt of lightning struck the cliff beneath the lighthouse on the other side of the bay. Chunks of rock, big enough to see from so far away, flew out in all directions.

Max turned back to Chloe and she thought of Kate and Warren...Joyce and David. She wondered if any of them were huddled together in the Two Whales...if people were taking refuge there like last time.

"I have to do it," Max said, her voice strained.

"No, Max...please," Chloe said. She took another step forward and Max stepped back again. She felt a swooping sensation in her stomach. It felt like her body was beginning to comprehend what she planned and was starting to rebel against her.

"Good bye, Chloe...I love you so much," Max said, tears slowly running down her face.

She thought of the waves and rocks below. Terror seized her heart in a tight grip...but she took a deep breath and, thinking of all of her friends...and Chloe, she reached a serene calm. She closed her eyes and willed herself to turn around...to take the leap.

But she couldn't.

She opened her eyes...she couldn't move: her arms were locked to her sides and her feet wouldn't turn.

She looked up, her eyes wide, to see Chloe's arms stretched out.

"I won't let you do it, Max," Chloe said, "I won't...I'm not letting you go."

"But...I have to do this," Max said, trying to move her arms, "I have to."

"No, you don't," Chloe said, "you promised me that we'd always be together, Max. Don't go back on that now. Don't give up. I'm holding you...I'm supposed to hold you."

"No...I...what are you talking about?" Max said, stopping her struggle to free herself.

"My dad...and Rachel...in the dream," Chloe said, "they told me to hold you. I didn't know what it meant. But...you were there in the dream...by a cliff...and they said to hold you...to not let you go. And I won't. I won't let you go, Max. They said I need you...they said you need me. They...they said it takes two to share love, Max...and I love you; I never want to lose this...and...and they said it takes two to keep a storm going. They...they wouldn't have told me that unless it meant something, Max. So I'm...I'm going to hold you," she sobbed and continued, "because if you go over that cliff, I'm coming right after you."

"Chloe, no...I…," Max started and then stopped.

It takes two to keep a storm going, Max thought, two to keep a storm going? Why...why would they say that in Chloe's dream? It can't be a coincidence...Chloe's right: it must mean something. But two...to keep a storm going...that doesn't make sense. It didn't take both Rachel and Chloe to keep that fire going. It didn't seem to take both Chloe and I to keep the tornado going, did it? No...that can't be it...but then who…

She looked past Chloe to the Tobanga, standing dark and inscrutable.

She remembered Rachel, sitting in Chloe's chair, saying, "the Tobanga is the key to it all."

And then she remembered one line, burned into one of the mysterious letters they'd found in the old cabin:

...in their hubris they made what destroyed them.

It takes two...it was in Prescott's notes too...he assumed it meant two people. But it didn't say that. It just said two. And the Tobanga...it's the one that gathers power from the storm, Max thought, but what if that's not all it does? Maybe the people who made it never intended for there to be storms...but the Tobanga brought them...and sustained them. That must be it...that's what fits...the last piece, her eyes widened, the Tobanga is the key, just in more ways than Rachel meant.

"Chloe," Max called out, "you can let me go."

"Max, if you rewind yourself off that cliff, I'm not fucking kidding...I will jump after you," Chloe said, her voice cracking.

"I know," Max said, "I'm...I'm not going to do it."

Max felt the pressure withdraw from her arms and legs. She immediately ran forward and wrapped Chloe in a hug.

"Chloe, I'm so sorry," she said, her tears mingling with Chloe's, "you're right. There's more to it...I shouldn't have...I almost left you behind again. I'm sorry...I'm so sorry."

"Max," Chloe said, holding her tightly, "don't you ever fucking do that again."

"I promise," Max said, squeezing Chloe, "I promise."

"Now what the hell is going on?" Chloe said, "I'm...so fucking confused."

"Your dream," Max said, stepping back to look up into Chloe's face, "they knew I was going to...going to try to jump...they knew to tell you to hold me. And they told you that it takes two to keep a storm going."

"Fuck...does that mean we both have to go jump?" Chloe said.

"No," Max said, "I think that my storm partner is right over there." She pointed at the Tobanga.

"Prescott?" Chloe said, "sure, I'll knock his ass off the cliff."

"No, the wooden one," Max said.

"The Tobanga? How...oh, wait...dude, it's totally connected to the storms...how did we not think of that earlier?" Chloe said.

"We've...had a lot going on," Max said.

"No fucking kidding," Chloe said, grabbing Max's hand and holding it tight.

They hurried back to the Tobanga. As they walked, Max tried to suppress nervous feelings of nausea...her body was not happy over what she'd nearly done; her heart was still beating rapidly and her nerves were on fire with adrenaline. It seemed that her body was telling her exactly what Chloe had: don't you ever fucking do that again. She heartily agreed.

Thank you, Rachel...thank you, William...and thank you, Chloe, Max thought.

The sounds of the storm faded again as they approached the Tobanga.

"Now what the fuck do we do?" Chloe said when they stopped in front of the totem pole.

"I...I'm not entirely sure," Max said, "that letter in the cabin seemed to say that the Tobanga is...um...connected to the earth. So maybe if we knock it over, it will be like taking a plug out."

"Er...doesn't it also have some super secret immortality power knocking around in there?" Chloe said.

"Yeah? Maybe?" Max said.

"Well...what if we just took it?" Chloe said, "that might shut the storm down...or if what you said before is right, we'd get some goddamn god powers, right? Then we could just, like, squish the storm."

"I don't know," Max said, shaking her head, "if we knock it over it might do something crazy...like blow up or something...or the storm might just keep going. And if we try to take the power? I don't even know if we could both get it. It...might just be one of us."

She squeezed Chloe's hand.

"I don't like the sound of that...but I trust your judgment on this, Max...as long as it doesn't involve a cliff," Chloe said, wiping her eyes, "you've been...time warping your way all over to find out about this shit. We've gotta checkmate the hell out of this and you're the chess master here."

Max stared at the Tobanga, hoping that it would somehow provide an answer...but it was as silent as ever. She thought back to everything Rachel had said...to everything Prescott had said...to everything she'd read in the letters and notes. Nothing suggested the correct solution...and she wasn't about to risk fucking everything up by photo-jumping back to find out more.

It looked like this was her decision alone.

Do I try to take this Tobanga power with Chloe...and risk losing her? Max thought, or do we knock it over and risk "unplugging" the wrong thing?

She bit her lip and intertwined her fingers with Chloe's, hoping for some inspiration...but receiving none.

Behind them, the storm crept closer to the town.


Author's Note: Yep, there are two endings to this story! When I started the story, I hadn't planned for there to be two endings: I was worried that it might've ended up being gimmicky or forced...but as everything developed, it ended up fitting better than a single ending. I'll release both endings one right after the other as the next two chapters. They aren't in any particular order and I personally don't think one is better or more fitting than the other...so it's up to you to decide which one you prefer! That being said, I imagine that Beta Max and her Chloe are faced with the same choice as G-Max and her Chloe...and that one pair would have a leaning towards one and the other to the other...but that's just me.