"You realize how crazy you sound right now, right?"

"Victoria, there are two moons outside. We passed up crazy a long time ago."

Victoria sighs heavily, scrubbing her hands over her face.

"Hey, at least you didn't have to live through it," Max says.

"Yeah, well, I'm not completely convinced you did either," Victoria snaps.

Max internally groans. "Yeah, well, unless you want the earth exploding or something, you're going to have to at least play along, okay?"

Victoria grumbles something incomprehensible under her breath. "You know, just because I liked Madoka Magica, it doesn't mean I actually wanted my life to become an anime."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

In one motion, Victoria reaches into her trash can, pulls out a pink box, and throws it at Max. "You're the one who got me the Ultimate Madoka figure, you bitch!"

Max swats at the box but it still hits her in the face. "I already told you, I don't remember anything because I'm not from here!"

Victoria crosses her arms and pouts. "What, so we're not friends where you're from or something?"

Max bends down to pick up the box. It's covered in Japanese text, save an English title, and has a little pink haired anime girl at the bottom. The price is crossed out but it's definitely three digits long. She really got something like this for Victoria?

'Were we really that close?'

Victoria's pout falls further into a disheartened frown. "We weren't, were we." It's not really a question.

Max shakes her head. "More like enemies."

Victoria bites her lip. "I want my Maxine back," she mumbles.

Max frowns. She supposes she can't blame Victoria. Still, it stings a little anyway. "If you want her back, then help me."

"I still think you're crazy," Victoria says. "But I'll help you. What do we need to do?"

"I…" Max trails off. What do they need to do? "I have no idea."

Victoria grabs the nearest pillow and hurls it at Max.

"Would you stop throwing things at me!"

"No!" Victoria grabs another pillow and throws it but it misses by a foot. "This hasn't exactly been easy for me either, you know! First you tell me time travel is real and then you tell me my best friend isn't really my best friend anymore and that the earth might explode if you don't go back in time and make sure we never become friends in the first place!"

"Yeah, well," Max throws the pillow back as hard as she can. It hits the wall and flops unceremoniously to the bed. "Try finding out you killed two people already and more are probably going to die because you fucked up that badly!"

"Whatever, Homura! Nothing's going to change if we don't even know where to start!"

"I don't even understand your reference! That never happens to me!"

"Watch the anime! Look!" Victoria jumps up, throwing her arms up in frustration. "Whatever! Just… We need to start somewhere, okay! So where? What were you doing in your timeline before you fucked it?"

Max sighs. How did the other Max ever manage to put up with this shit? "We were looking for someone," she says. "Kind of. Rachel Amber."

Victoria arches a brow. "Rachel Amber? What does she have to do with any of this?"

"She's missing in my timeline, too. Me and Chloe, we were trying to find her. And figure out what happened to Kate."

"I thought you said Kate was alive in your world."

"She's only alive because I talked her off the roof. But here…" Here, that didn't happen. Here, she jumped. Here, she's dead.

Everything's so fucked up here.

"What happened to her?" Victoria says slowly. "I mean, in your world."

Max drops heavily onto the bed. "Same thing that happened here, I'm assuming. She went to a Vortex Club party and got dosed. She said she was taken somewhere bright and white but she didn't know where. She woke up outside her dorm the next morning."

Victoria sits beside Max. Her hands shake in her lap. "She was drugged?" She scrubs her hands over her face. "I can't believe… I never even considered…"

The urge to comfort her is almost overpowering. Even here, even knowing that this hasn't changed, that Victoria still…

Max places a hand on the small of Victoria's back. Despite everything, she'd been there when Max needed her. She was there for Taylor, too, in another life.

In another life… If Kate was dosed here, too, does that mean…

"Nathan," Max says. "Nathan's the one who dosed her in my timeline."

Victoria stares at her for what must be a solid minute, face going from shocked to confused to almost angry. "Um, I don't know what Nathan's like in your world, but there's no way he'd do something like that here," she says with so much conviction, Max almost believes her.

"What makes you so sure?" Max asks. "Things might be different but they can't be that different. The Prescotts still own this town and Nathan is still unstable at best- Ow!"

Victoria cuts Max off with a hard pinch to her arm. "Don't say that. He's worked really hard to get where he is! You of all people should know that."

Max groans, rubbing her arm. "I know the whole 'I'm from another universe' thing is going to take some getting used to, but you really need to get used to it."

Victoria frowns but doesn't apologize. "He's taking his medication and seeing his therapist twice a week, you know. And he stopped doing drugs because you told him to."

"Because I…? Wait, what?"

Victoria shrugs. "He listens to you, you know. He says you give good advice or whatever."

Max's brain takes a second to get up to speed. Nathan Prescott… listens to her? He thinks she gives good advice?

That's… kinda gross actually.

Max shudders. Nathan Prescott listening to her, what the fuck? 'Oh god, what if we're…'

"Me and Nathan, we're not like…?" Max can't even make herself say it. It's too gross and weird and bizarre and Max needs to not be in this timeline anymore.

Victoria snorts. "Calm down, would you? You don't need to worry about that; Nathan's even gayer than I am."

Max rubs her temples. She really didn't need to know that but that's one worry eliminated at least. "Either way," she begins slowly. "He's the only lead we had in my timeline. It couldn't hurt to talk to him here."

Victoria nods. She stands and grabs two coats, tossing one to Max. "He'll be at the party."

Max tilts her head. "Uh…?"

"The End of the World party?" Victoria clarifies. "We were going to go together before you had your meltdown. Was that not a thing in your timeline?"

Oh, shit, that's right. That was tonight?

"It was a thing," Max says, putting on the coat. The sleeves are too long but it's soft. "I just wasn't invited." Well, not at first.

Victoria clicks her tongue. "Huh, so Courtney doesn't like you where you're from, either."

Max shrugs. "Guess some things really do never change."

"Well, whatever. You're invited now. So let's go."

Victoria grabs Max's hand and drags her through the door. Good to see she's still as demanding as ever.


Max has never been one for parties and now she knows why. The End of the World party is full of drunk assholes all crowded into a room together while loud music and weed smoke assault her ears and nose. Max wonders, not for the first time, how the hell alternate her put up with this shit.

"He'll be in the VIP section!" Victoria shouts over all the noise.

They weave their way through the bodies, Victoria's hand clasped firmly around Max's. Strobe lights flash and Max steps on more than a few empty solo cups, alternating between annoyed and disgusted that students could be partying when Kate's dead and there are two moons outside. How the hell is this a school sanctioned event, anyway?

'End of the World, huh? Fitting.'

The VIP section is no better, still too loud and too bright with too many people. "How are we going to find him?" Max shouts.

"Keep looking! He's not answering his phone!"

Victoria drags Max through a group of people, all very wasted. They knock shoulders and step on toes but Victoria doesn't seem to notice any of it.

"What's she doing here?" a feminine voice calls and it's only then that Victoria stops walking. "She's not on my guest list."

"Courtney," Victoria sneers. "I made some last minute changes. You got a problem with that?"

Courtney stares at Max, disdain evident in her eyes. At least that's not much different. "You know I hate when you do that."

"Yeah, well, I hate when my bestie doesn't get invited because you're a whiny piss baby!" Victoria growls. "We're looking for Nathan. Seen him?"

Courtney glares, clearly biting her tongue, but she doesn't retort. "He's with Hayden. Not smoking, mind you." She directs her glare at Max. "Hasn't done that ever since you came along, you know? He's like a completely changed man," she bites sarcastically.

"Something like that," Max mutters under her breath.

Courtney doesn't reply, not that Victoria gives her much time to. She drags Max though the crowd and into a more secluded seating area filled with half empty liquor bottles and a half dozen shit faced teenagers. Nathan sits among them, looking surprisingly sober.

"Nathan!" Victoria yells.

"Vickie!" Nathan strides over, smile wide and arms extended and it's the single scariest thing Max has ever seen. "And Maxie! Glad you could make it!" He throws his arms around the two of them and it's all Max can do not to scream. What. The. Fuck.

Victoria, at least, is completely unbothered. She grabs Nathan by the collar and tugs him along. "We need to talk to you."

"Geez, Vic, chill," Nathan says but he makes no effort to pull away from her. "Are you on your period or something?"

Victoria kicks open the locker room door with a surprising amount of force and all but throws the two inside. At least it's quieter.

"Number one, no," Victoria says, hand on her hip. "Number two, we need your help. You're not high, are you?"

Nathan frowns. "You know it messes with my meds, Vic."

Victoria sighs. "Just making sure."

"Are you guys, like, okay?" Nathan asks, concern evident in his voice.

"We're fine," Max chimes in. "We just need to talk to you."

"It's about Rachel," Victoria says.

"Rachel Amber?" Nathan says. "What about her?"

"What do you know about her?"

"Uh, that she used to go here and how she's missing? What's with you two? Why's this important?"

"It just is, okay?" Max snaps. Nathan flinches and it's so, so wrong.

"Look," Victoria interjects. "To make a long story short, this Max isn't our Max."

Nathan blinks. "You lost me."

Max fidgets, just short of pacing. She can't believe she's going to rely on Nathan fucking Prescott and that he actually seems willing to listen to what she has to say. "I'm not from here," she says slowly. "I know it sounds crazy but you have to listen. I went back in time and I did something bad and now everything's messed up. I think I can fix it but I need your help."

Nathan gives her the same look Victoria did less than two hours ago. "You're right, that does sound crazy."

"Well, it's true!" Max throws her hands up in frustration. She doesn't have time to tell this whole story again. "Look outside, Nathan! Look at all the weird shit that's been happening! There's two moons! That's not just weird weather, that's me, fucking with the universe and messing up everything!"

Nathan bites his lip, eyes darting between Max and the floor like he's thinking about something. "And now a storm is on its way to wipe out the town," he whispers.

What?

'The storm, the one from my dreams, it's really…?'

But that… it can't be.

"Look, okay, I believe you," Nathan says. "I think… I think I can help, but we can't talk here."

"Nathan, what's going on?" Victoria asks. "What do you mean there's a storm coming?"

"I'll tell you on the way."

Nathan bolts from the room without giving either of them a chance to respond. They've got no choice but to follow.


Applause drown out the music only momentarily as Mark reads the name aloud. 'Odd,' he thinks to himself. Seems the winner of the Everyday Heroes contest is suspiciously absent and so are her friends.

Mark clicks his tongue. He'll just have to tell her in person then.