Life is Strange: True Colors

-The Contract-

Summary: It's done. Alex Chen finally has found justice for her older brother's death. She thought that this was it. That her struggle was over and she could finally enjoy her new life with her girlfriend, Steph. But life isn't certainly easy and big choices mostly bear big consequences, and as Typhon makes her a big offer, she has to face a very hard decision.

Chapter 1

'How are you feeling? Pft, I can't even count how often I heard this stupid question. Probably every so often that it's enough for two lifetimes. Still, people are asking, though nowadays...they actually care. Yet, that doesn't make it any less annoying'

She played a few chords on her acoustic guitar.

'But I don't want their pity. Not for Gabe's death and certainly not for gettin' almost killed by my friend's father. I survived and Gabe got justice. That's it. Case closed.'

She closed her eyes, letting the fading sounds reverberate in her mind.

'Pft, Dr. Lynn always felt pity for me. She thought that I didn't see through her act. But in fact, she already stamped me as the typical problem child that nobody would ever care for, since the first foster family brought me back and they stuck me into this fuckin' group. But in the end I found a home, and a family. I found people that care about me.'

She suddenly played a loud, short riff and opened her eyes.

'Fuck you, bitch!'

Then, it knocked on the door.

The sudden knock on her apartment's door brought Alex Chen back from her deep thoughts back into the real world.

"Alex?" chimed a female voice through the wood. "The council's all accounted for and we're waiting for you."

'Steph… I still can't believe that she's my girlfriend and has given up her dream of hitting the roads again as a musician just for me. She's so dedicated, but...do I deserve it?'

Alex was lying in her bed, her guitar on her belly while her fingers were randomly pulling the strings. It was some sort of meditation for her as it gave her mind some rest and the possibility to reflect everything that had happened. Her brother's death, Typhon, her new life and home, Steph, her friends, plus all their emotions she could feel.

Now that she wasn't suppressing her power anymore, it had become even stronger. Not too long ago, she had to focus to read them, but now she mostly did it by looking at a person and only had to focus when she tried to block them.

Alex heard that the door opened and Steph walked in.

"Alex?"

Not a second later, Steph Gingrich - a lanky brunette 25-year-old woman with chin-long brown hair that was most of the time covered by a beanie - was standing beside her bed.

Alex shifted her gaze towards her girlfriend and gave her a soft smile. It was a common thing she was doing whenever people started to worry about her when she needed some alone-time. It mostly defused the situation as it did right at that moment as well, evident as the purple aura of fear around Steph immediately took the golden color of joy.

"I'm okay," the younger woman simply replied and right away Steph got caught by her charming dorkiness and chuckled. "I'll be down in a minute."

She loved Steph's giggles...and her smile...and...well, just everything about her. Steph was in fact a queer, nerdy, LARP-loving powerhouse. Full of energy and motivation, but also caring and supportive. Short: exactly what Alex needed. A strong emotional wave-breaker full of joy.

The golden glow around Steph started to pulse and became stronger as her toothy smile grew wider and she leaned down to press a passionate kiss on Alex' full lips.

She loved it when their emotions merged. How they became one and Alex could feel them both. Yet, it was even more disappointing for her when such a good moment ended.

"Just take your time," Steph eventually whispered after breaking their kiss. "We'll wait for you."

Then, she was gone again. For another minute, Alex enjoyed the silence and waited until the intensity of the last emotional surge had abated enough. Then, she got up with a sigh and leaned the guitar against the side of the bed, before walking into the bathroom.

She stopped in front of the sink and looked into the mirror, where an Asian woman with short cut black hair with a side bang gazed back at her.

Alex didn't think of herself as cute or attractive. At least when it came down to the modern public's opinion. Nerdy, big glasses on her nose, a round face and a very curvy body. Yeah, she wasn't model material, but thank god she didn't care about that. A hard lesson she had learned in foster care, where those arrogant bitches always had made fun of her.

'Until I broke one of those fuck-faces' nose. Well, she wasn't that pretty anymore after that, but...it cost me three weeks without my guitar and a shitload of trouble.'

After taking off her glasses and laying them aside, Alex filled her cupped hands with cold water and splashed it in her face. It was refreshing and was literally washing away those memories from her time in the foster care system. Once more she checked her appearance in the mirror. The healing wounds from the attempted murder over two weeks ago were still visible. Especially that scratch from the gunshot had left a deep mark, whereas the doctor had told her that there's a chance that it'll become permanent. Faded, but permanent.

'I guess I should be glad that I survived this. Ryan said that the shaft was over a hundred feet deep and that it was sheer luck that I survived the fall. So, a scar shouldn't be a problem, I guess. But my ribs are still hurting like fuck.'

Sighing once more, Alex put her glasses back on, checked her appearance once more and then made her way downstairs to join the others.

The Black Lantern was the town's most renowned bar. Once owned by Haven Springs' fallen public hero Jedidiah 'Jed' Lucan, it was now run pro forma by his only son, Ryan Lucan, since his father had been arrested for negligent homicide and fraud. The same counted for the arrested man's position as head of the town's council.

The council originally consisted of five members, whereas for the time being Ryan was now one of them.

Then there was Eleanor Lethe, an older woman in her sixties, who wore glasses and had short grey hair. She was the owner of the local flower shop and the kind soul of the town, warm-heartedly and friendly to everyone. But she also wore a dark secret. A secret that Alex swore to keep for herself, which she indeed had done so far.

Next, there was Reginald McCellister III, who everybody just called 'Duckie'. He was the embodiment of the perfect gentleman despite his rather awkward exterior. Long, white hair, a full beard and his Texan clothing let him seem out of the picture, but in truth, he was the most polite and beloved person around town.

Another member was Charlotte 'Char' Harmon. Not only was the black-skinned woman the owner of the local dispensary, but also Gabe Chen's former girlfriend. She once hated and blamed each and every one for Gabe's death, but now, she reflected all her anger towards Typhon.

The last seat in the council always belonged to the town's deputy, in this case Jason Pike. From his tall appearance and the brownish uniform, every stranger would think that he's a man of strict authority...of law and order. But as soon as he put on his wry smirk and started to do some Smalltalk, you'd realize he rather solved a problem by drinking a beer at the bar and talking things through than giving you a ticket.

As Alex came downstairs she was greeted by everyone with a friendly smile and a golden wave of joy. Yes, they were all happy to see her being well, like a real family.

By clearing his threat, Ryan then caught every person's attention as soon as Alex had sat down beside Steph. "Alright, everyone, listen up! I know that a lot has happened in these last few days, and normally my dad would be standing here, holding one of his famous, encouraging speeches. But he isn't here and we all know why." He paused for a moment and Alex could see the red aura of anger around him. "He lied to us all and left us with a big bunch of problems. Problems, which we have to deal with. First of all, since he was the president of this council, we need to elect a new president and fill his empty seat."

"By law, even without him, we're still a full functioning council," spoke Duckie, one of the oldest and far more experienced members. "We just need to elect a new president and I suggest that Eleanor indeed has the guts to do it."

"Oh Duckie, always such a gentleman," the older woman answered with a soft smile, which quickly faded as the purple aura of fear appeared around her. "But I sadly have to decline your offer and…"

She paused. Just for a short moment, but it was enough for her aura to change into blue, the color of sadness.

"...I'm also gonna resign from my membership of this council."

Everyone stared at the older woman in silence. It clearly came as a surprise for them, apart from Alex, who knew about her condition.

"Elle…" spoke Charlotte, softly touching her shoulder. At the moment, nobody needed Alex' power to realize that Eleanor was very sad.

"It's time," she said with a heavy voice, nodding slightly before gazing at Alex with a weak smile. "I thank you so much for helping me to hide it for so long, especially from Riley. But I think now's the time."

For the upcoming announcement, the gray-haired woman got up, letting her sight wander around the group of friends.

"Two months ago I got it official that I'm suffering from dementia. The doctor said that I'd have more time, but...it got worse. I forget things and…"

Charlotte was the first one to get up and soothingly fling an arm around her shoulder. "You know we got your back. Whatever you need, just say the word, okay?"

Eleanor nodded and the others concurred as well, yet Ryan crossed his arms, saying sternly "You should tell Riley, Elle. She's a right to know."

"No, please!" she countered. "I'd just be a burden and she shall follow her dreams, not nursing her foolish nanna. This is what retirement homes are for."

"And you think that she won't blame herself for not noticing earlier?"

"Ryan," Alex eventually intervened as a red aura started to appear around Ryan and Eleanor's became purple once more. "It's her decision. She's still a grown-up and Riley...she's smart enough to understand when the time comes."

"Alex is right," added Duckie to the conversation as he stood up as well. "Eleanor can still make her own decisions and we'll kindly accept them. Yet, it will leave us with the enormous problem that the council won't be able to vote anymore."

"So, we need to organize a new election as soon as possible," completed Ryan everybody's thought and immediately a conversation started about this topic.

Gladly, Alex would've loved to follow this conversation. However, the presence of a strong negative aura began to distract her. It was hate. Strong, burning hate and it didn't come from a person inside this room. She could hear faint words like incompetence, hickhole, peasants, filth and kill.

It was coming closer and closer, affecting her more and more, and as a strong wave hit her, it almost blew the poor young woman off her feet, only her tight grip on the bar's counter prevented her from doing so. Breathing heavily, her nails dug deep into the wood and her teeth gritted, she shifted her sight towards the front door, where the bright red light was seeping through the gaps. And as it swung open, Alex could only see the black silhouette of the person that was radiating it.