Rachel lay wide awake, her burning, tired eyes fixed on the map by her bed. She wasn't sure what time it was, but she felt certain it was useless trying to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she would see the horrors Max had described from her future. The secret bunker beneath the Prescott barn. Her body buried in a shallow grave in the junkyard. Chloe's own lifeless form sprawled atop her own.

Or if not those, she would flash back to the exact moment when lightning came roaring down towards her, how her body turned incandescent as she was enveloped by white-hot plasma, how the superheated sand beneath her glowed with a pale brilliance that didn't leave a single burn on her skin. How she had fled across the beach to where Max lay dazed, pulling the other girl to her feet and scuttling back to her home like a pair of frightened rabbits.

There was no explaining any of that and she dared not think deeper on it. She thought she might go crazy if she tried. What the hell even is an "Incarnate"?

The sheets rustled as her bedmate stirred. Carefully, Rachel moved to lay on her back as she glanced at Max. The other girl faced away from her, curled up like a mouse.

On an unspoken accord, they gave each other a wide berth, as if lightning still lived beneath Rachel's skin and would harm Max if they touched. It was more than awkward, but Rachel was grateful for that space. Connecting with someone—even Chloe—was the last thing on her mind right now.

Rachel didn't know how they had even made it past dinner. She had spent it gazing down at her plate, pushing food from one side to the other, and leaving Max to deal with her parents' cheerful banter. They were lucky her dad offered to put Max up for the night—it had completely slipped Rachel's mind to ask.

She didn't know how to feel towards Max, this girl who knew her worst secrets yet had apparently just saved her life. Part of her felt incredibly grateful, like a condemned prisoner getting pardoned at the last minute before the noose.

Yet another part of her was screaming and clawing to undo everything she had learned and for the love of God get her old life back. Bland and disappointing as that life was, it was normal.

Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. She slipped out of bed as carefully as she could and made her way to the door. A glance over her shoulder told her Max hadn't moved, so she let herself outside, went down to the kitchen, and poured herself a glass of wine from the bottle her dad had stashed in a French display cabinet. She then sat down on the sofa in the living room sofa, sipping her drink, lost in thought.

Moments later, the telltale creak of the stair told her she was not alone.

"I can hear you over there, you know," she said without turning.

A moment later, Max sheepishly stepped out from behind the bend of the stairs. "Sorry."

Rachel shrugged, took another sip of her wine. "Can't sleep either, huh? Well, you might as well join me."

After a moment's hesitation, the other girl crept into the living room. She sat down beside Rachel—careful to maintain that bit of space between them. "I was dozing. But I felt you leave, and, um..."

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on sneaking out tonight. I just...needed to calm down a bit." She raised her glass. "Drink?"

Max gave a wry smile and shook her head. "Alcohol kinda doesn't agree with me."

"Well," laughed Rachel, "alcohol and I've never argued once. This," she held up her glass, "is about the only thing that can help me sleep now."

She took another long sip, prompting Max to ask, "Are you okay?"

Rachel clamped her eyes shut as she wiped her hand across her lips. "I can't begin to get into the many ways to answer that with no. Today feels like the longest fucking day ever."

Max hugged her knees close to her body. "I've had longer."

Rachel paused, then set her glass down on the coffee table. "You have, haven't you? I believe you, Max. I do. What other choice do I have after everything I've seen?" She also drew up her knees, mirroring Max. "Just thinking about all the shit you and Chloe went through because of me...God, Max." She hid her face in her arms. "I fucked up. I fucked up royally. What you must think of me."

Max shook her head. "I'm not here to judge you, Rachel. You were a victim too. You weren't responsible for what Jefferson and Nathan did. And as for whatever happened back then between you and Chloe—that's something you two should talk about yourselves."

"Thank you, Max. I mean it. Even if you hadn't exactly seen me in the best light, I-I want you to know—I've never, ever wanted to hurt Chloe. I'll always want what's best for her. If you can believe one thing about me, please believe that."

Max nodded once. "I do believe you, Rachel."

"Again, thanks. It's going to be hard enough dealing with that and with—with what I really am." Rachel sighed. "So. Where do we go from here?"

"I still have to a task to do," Max replied.

Rachel nodded. "To 'let me choose.' Whatever that means."

"Yeah." Max laid her chin on knees. "I wish I had time to question those women who sent me here."

"They remind me of the Weird Sisters in Macbeth, only this time, shaping the future instead of predicting it.

Rachel hesitated, then in a small voice asked, "Max, is it possible for you to...to take this back? Can't I just surrender this power and give you back yours?"

Max's face fell. "I don't think that's how this works, Rachel."

"No. No, of course not. Why would it be that easy." She pressed a hand to her face. "Sorry, Max, that was incredibly selfish of me. Jesus, you already went through hell, and here I am asking if you could do it over again."

"You don't have to be sorry. I think I'd feel pretty much the same if I were in your shoes." Max laid a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Rachel, I know this is beyond difficult for you. But I want you to know—I'm here to help. Even if I don't have my powers. I'll do everything I can to keep you and Chloe safe. You don't have to do this alone." She paused, her expression hardening. "You don't have to face him alone."

Rachel's brows gathered like storm clouds. "Jefferson."

"Jefferson," Max agreed, and the name raced between them like an electric charge. "We need to stop him before he can hurt anyone else."

Rachel shut eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. To go from beloved mentor to sworn enemy in a matter of hours. Longest fucking day ever.

And yet, it felt good to have a cause. Taking down Jefferson lent her focus, marshaling her thoughts and easing any doubts. Already she could see her step one.

"Before we go any further," she said, "there's someone we need to have onboard."

Max bit her lip. "We need Chloe on our side."

"Yeah." Rachel raised her head to smile at Max. "She was so wrong about you, you know."

"Huh?"

"She told me that Max Caulfield spooks easy. But as far as I've seen, you're one of the bravest people I've met."

"Oh." Max's cheeks turned an interesting shade of red. "Th-thanks, but really, Chloe exaggerates. Like a lot."

"She also said you were bad at taking compliments. In that sense, you're two peas in a pod." Rachel cast her eyes down again. "Hey, could you do me just one favor?"

"What is it?"

"When the time comes, once we've dealt with Jefferson for good...let me be the one to tell Chloe about what I did. Till then..."

Max stiffened, the shadows hiding her face. "Rachel, she's the last person I want to keep secrets from. It would be totally unfair."

"You won't have to keep secrets, not for long. I swear, I will have that conversation with her. Just, for now...it's like you said—we need her on our side. So...please?"

More silence. For a moment, Rachel feared she was going to refuse. And why wouldn't she? Max had already saved her life—what else did she owe her conniving, cheating ass?

But to her surprise and immediate relief, the other girl gave a tentative nod.

"For now."

"So. Why are we out here again?" Chloe asked.

She dropped her batch of dry twigs inside the low steel drum which formed a makeshift fire pit in the grassy clearing. Brushing her hands of dust, she watched as Max and Rachel added a few more onto the growing pile.

The fire pit lay not ten feet away from the edge of a sheer cliff that dropped some thirty feet straight into the water. This ledge lay in the southern part of town, the counterpart to the cliff with the lighthouse. From this vantage point, one could get a breathtaking view of the entire bay.

Chloe was familiar with this place; it's a popular hangout for kids from Arcadia Bay and nearby towns. Just someplace to sit and booze and shoot the shit. You could even get some private time by the trees over there—not that she was going to volunteer that info to either Max or Rachel.

Right now, though, the place was deserted, which seemed to suit them just fine.

The two girls had surprised Chloe by showing up at the garage just as she had finished work with Pops. She'd been scrubbing the grease off her hands when the Ambers' Volvo rolled up to the driveway, Rachel behind the wheel and Max waving from the passenger seat.

Truth be told, Chloe was more than a little peeved that neither one bothered to text her the night before—maybe they were having a little too much fun on their own. But Rachel had only needed to lower her aviators, flash that smile, and say, "Hey stranger. Can we take you for a ride?" And Chloe, grinning madly, had fairly leaped into the backseat.

It had seemed almost surreal, sitting there listening as the two girls—whom she'd never expected would meet each other in this life—seemingly got along. Chloe had barely been able to get a word or two in, mostly because she was a bit too lost in wonder to talk. The morning sun diffusing through the windshield had brought their features into stark relief: the woodland green of Rachel's eyes, the cut of Max's cheekbones, the way their small hands drifted through the sunlight as they talked. Rachel had been regaling Max with behind-the-scenes stories of the Drama Club, while the more subdued Max had asked how Dana and Juliet were doing. How she knew them, Chloe had very much wanted to know, but had been too distracted to ask.

The plan was to drive Max to Portland so it'd be easier for her to get a bus back to Seattle, but Rachel had surprised her again by going off the road to this clearing. When Chloe had asked about the little detour, both of the girls had simply evaded the question—Max demurring and looking to Rachel, who merely smiled and promised, "You'll see. But first, help me gather some wood."

Now that their task was done, Chloe raised an eyebrow at Rachel, who was inspecting the woodpile in the drum. "I think we're good," the blonde announced, before nodding to Max.

All three of them were standing around the fire pit now, looking like they were about to start a witches' coven. Rachel seemed more subdued and pensive, the way she was right before a performance. Max, on the other hand, seemed jittery and watchful, worrying the lapels of her jacket as she checked the dirt road for an approaching car. Whatever it was they were doing, it seemed like it might get them into trouble.

Chloe liked trouble. She just wished she knew what kind this was.

"Nice," she muttered, "but if you ask me, we're short some meat and exactly one grill."

"We're not throwing a party, Chloe," Max said. "We just want to show you something."

"This would go a lot faster if you'd tell me what this is all about."

"It's something of an experiment, Clover," Rachel said. She was no longer smiling, but stood there with her arms crossed, her mouth a staid line as she frowned down at the firepit.

"Ooookay. So, what're you gonna do, make a burnt offering? And for fuck's sakes, don't call me Clover."

Max raised her hand. "Um, can I call you Clover? I think it's really cute."

"No."

Rachel took a deep breath and held out her hand to Chloe. "Lend me your lighter?"

"Uh..." Chloe's mind reeled back to a very distinct memory of a night three years ago. The trees here were far away enough to not be a problem, but there was still quite a lot of grass around.

"It's okay, Chloe," said Max, giving a small, encouraging smile. "Rachel's got this."

"Yeah, yeah, fine." Chloe reached into her pocket and handed over her lighter. "It's just that the last time I did that, it didn't turn out so well for the Overlook Park. Just lookin' out for the Bay is all."

"Sweet of you, Chloe." Rachel flicked the lighter once to test it. "I guess I'll need something for tinder."

"Oh, here," Max pulled out a slip of paper from her jacket. A receipt for yesterday's muffins.

"Thanks." Rachel lit up the receipt and slipped it in a little space beneath the twigs. It didn't take long for little tendrils of smoke to start rising from the pile. No flames, though.

Chloe couldn't help but feel relieved as she took her lighter back from Rachel. She looked down at the smoking pile and shrugged. "That's not going anywhere. Or is that the point?"

Rachel just turned to Max again. "Uh, I'm not sure how this is supposed to work. What should I do?"

Max bit her lip, hands clenching and unclenching beside her. "The first time it happened," she began, "I was under a lot of stress. I had just seen something terrible happen in front of me, and I wanted— had to stop it." Her brown eyes flickered towards Chloe before locking back onto Rachel. "I wasn't thinking at all. My feelings drew me along. I reached out my hand and...that's all it took."

Rachel nodded. "I think I see. If I could just remember how it felt like back then..."

"How did what feel back when?" Chloe asked. But Rachel was glaring down at the pit now, her hand reaching out as if to grab the smoke curling up through the air. Her frown grew blacker, her pink lips parting in a grimace. That expression—Chloe had seen that rage and anguish only once, the night Rachel had burned her dad's picture.

For a second, an unspoken terror seized Chloe's throat. But only for a second.

Whoosh! A rush of warmth filled the air as the entire woodpile burst into flames.

"What the fuck!" Chloe took an involuntary step back. The fury had left Rachel's face, replaced by surprise. She snatched her hand back as the fire quickly grew larger and fiercer, devouring the pile beneath it.

"Jesus Fucking Christ, how did you do that?" Chloe watched as the fire licked upwards. Then, like a rocket igniting, it shot up towards the sky. The burst of hot air knocked her back on her ass. She flapped a hand against her beanie—it hadn't caught fire, thank God.

"Shit," said Rachel, backpedaling. "Shit! SHIT!"

Max had also scrambled back from the now volcanic pit. "Rachel, put it out! It's burning way too hot!"

"I'm trying!" Rachel reached out as if to beat out the fire with her hands, but it only rose higher, twisting upwards like a tornado. Now sparks were winking through the air like a swarm of fireflies. "Fuck, I don't think I can stop it!"

"You kind of have to, Rachel!"

"That's way useful, Max!"

Chloe hadn't even gotten to her feet; she just stared dumbfounded at the towering pillar of flame, so hot it made beads of sweat appear on her face. Like in my dream, she realized, and it was as if her ribs were squeezing around her heart.

"Just try something!" Max was saying.

"Water!" Rachel shouted. "We need water!" She looked around, her hair flying wildly, before turning to the cliff and bringing both hands in a pulling motion.

The ocean...bulged. In an instant, an enormous white-capped wave began curling towards the cliff. Chloe felt like she was going insane.

"Oh God," Max said, "RUN!"

None of them needed to be told twice. Max and Rachel yanked Chloe to her feet and together they made a mad dash for the car. Behind them, the ocean uttered a guttural roar. Chloe looked back just in time to see a wall of white water barrel into the cliff. It swallowed the burning pillar whole—and kept right on going.

They were twenty paces from the car when the water hit them, knocking them off their feet. Chloe choked on salt water as she rolled onto the grass. Beside her, Max had shrunk into a ball with her hands around her head. Then, as quickly as it had come, the seawater receded around them with a hiss.

Lying prone, Chloe coughed out water and looked to her sides. All three of them were drenched from head to foot. Max lay on her back in the muck, her hair now resembling a wet mop. Rachel was on her hands and knees, mascara dripping down her cheeks like black tears.

Chloe found her feet and looked behind them. All she could see was a clearing of muddy grass; the ocean had swallowed both the burning pillar and the makeshift fire pit.

She turned to Rachel, mouth gaping as she struggled to form words. Finally, she said, "You...you have...powers?"

Leaning on her arm in a mermaid pose, Rachel pushed the hair from her eyes and laughed. "I think we've proven that beyond reasonable doubt."

"You. Have. Powers."

"There's more to it, Chloe. Max was telling the truth. She was the one who showed this to me. She really did come from the future."

Chloe rounded on Max, who has wringing water from her jacket. "What?"

"I think we broke her, Max," Rachel giggled. "She's been reduced to monosyllables."

"What? What? WHAT?"

Max shook out her jacket, sighing. "We're gonna need a change of clothes."

"WHAAAAT?"

It took an hour for them to head to the junkyard, dry off on some towels, and get changed from their cache there. Rachel seemed pleased to get some of her own clothes on Max. "You're just my size!" she said, delightedly laying out an array of tees and pants on the couch. They even found her a pair of old sneakers to wear.

That done, they decided to stop by the Two Whales for lunch. After ordering burgers all around, Max and Rachel sat together on one side of the booth with Chloe opposite them.

It fell to Max to explain the entire story of her timeline. Beside her, Rachel listened carefully, picking at her fries, head bowed, face expressionless as Max went through the details of their investigation. For her part, Max kept her word: she only gave only cursory information about Frank's involvement with the drug supply, and not a breath about Rachel and Jefferson.

Throughout it all, she watched Chloe's expression darken little by little. By the time Max finished, the blue-haired girl's face had turned red with rage.

"That's it," Chloe declared, jumping to her feet. "We're going to that barn right now!"

"What? Chloe, no!" Max said.

"We're burning that fucking bunker down to the ground before that piece-of-shit motherfucker can ever use it to hurt anyone again!"

"We can't just show up there! He's got security cameras—"

"I don't give a flying fuck if he's got a robot dinosaur with bazookas coming out of its ass! 'Coz he's next!" Chloe was rolling up her sleeves. "He wants a pretty picture? We'll give him one—he'll make the front page once we light him on fire!"

"Chloe," said Rachel.

"And when we're done with him, I'll pay Nathan a visit and feed him his whole gun—one bullet at a time!"

"Chloe," Rachel said. "Enough. I know how upsetting this is—"

Chloe barked her laughter. "I'm just getting started!"

"—but you can't rant about it in public, and not someplace where cops regularly come to lunch. Please, sit down. We need to think this through."

Chloe was about to say something, but clamped her mouth shut and took her seat again. She slammed her fist into the cushion for good measure. It was a childish thing, but it endeared her to Max. She had no doubt that the punk would've taken out both Jefferson and Nathan all by herself if they hadn't stopped her.

"Rachel's right," Max said. "We need to be really careful, Chloe. We can't make anyone suspicious of us right from the get-go. Remember, I don't have time powers anymore. I can't just fix things on the fly!"

"Okay, maybe so," Chloe countered, "but Rachel obviously has powers! She's got nature powers, for fuck's sakes! Who's the police going to arrest if Jefferson spontaneously combusts, or if poor little Nathan's car blows up while he's on the way to school? We're bulletproof, Max!"

Max shook her head. "It's not that simple, Chloe! There's a lot going down that we don't know about. Remember, I received a warning."

"From the three witch doctors, I get it—"

"Max is correct," Rachel said. "She was sent here for a reason. I have these powers for a reason. It's likely that this goes deeper than what we know, and what we don't know can hurt us. Besides..." She gave a rueful smile. "From what you've seen, we're still not clear exactly what I'm capable of, or even how to control any of it. If I mess up, we may just kiss all of Arcadia Bay goodbye."

"Alright, fine!" Chloe folded her arms. "Consider their sentences delayed. But they've still got to pay, one way or another!"

Scowling, Rachel reached out and gripped Chloe's arm. "I swear, Chloe. They will."

Chloe echoed her expression, but then her face lit up. "So how'd you find out about your powers, anyway?"

Max's breathing stilled, but Rachel's reply came swiftly. "I brought Max to the beach yesterday," she said, holding Chloe's gaze. "She told me the whole story and, well—I kinda got so upset hearing it that I wound up calling in a thunderstorm. I even got hit by a lightning bolt."

Chloe's eyes went saucer-wide; she slapped her hands on the table and leaned forward. "You can summon fucking LIGHTNING!? SHOW ME!"

"Shhh!" Max hissed.

"Jesus, Rachel, we gotta test your powers some more, find out what else you can do! With you around, nobody can touch us! You're like a—a friggin' superhero!"

Max bit her lip and turned away, praying neither of them noticed. It was not three weeks ago when Chloe was telling her the exact same thing.

"Actually," Rachel said, "What I need to do is learn how to control these abilities. Otherwise, I'm as much a danger as I'm a help."

"What about Max here?" Chloe asked. "Why doesn't she have her powers? We sure could use a little time traveling."

"I don't know," Max replied, deflating in her seat. With Chloe on board, she felt even more of a liability. "I'm still trying to figure out what's wrong. I think it's because of the way I was sent back here."

"It'll be okay, Max." Rachel laid her hand on Max's shoulder. "We can figure that one out later. Meanwhile, I think you can help me with something equally important."

Max faced her, blinking. "Me?"

"Yep. Remember, of all of us, you're the first one to ever get powers. You learned how to control them." She grinned. "Maybe you can teach me to control mine?"

"Oh." Max hadn't thought of that. "I'm not sure how much help I can be, but sure, we can give it a try."

"Holy crap, yeah baby!" Chloe wheeled to Max, face lit up like Christmas. "We'll be unstoppable! Sensei Max, Tempest Queen, and me!"

"Can you please not be the one to make up codenames," Max groaned.

"Oh yeah, I will. I'M going to be your loyal chauffeur and sidekick—like a punk Kato," Chloe mimicked a one-inch punch in the air. "So what do we do now?"

"We need to get organized," Rachel said. "Here are our non-negotiables. We need to create a scenario where none of us ends up in the ground. That means preventing a storm or anything like it from destroying Arcadia Bay."

"And we need to find out how far Rachel's powers go and how to control them," added Max. "We also need to figure out why she has them in this timeline, and what she needs to do."

"And finally," Chloe seethed, "we need to take down Prescock and Jeffershit."

"Without any of us winding up in jail," Rachel finished.

Nods of assent all around.

"But before any of that," Rachel squeezed Max's shoulder, "we need to get this one to Portland and on her 2 PM Boltbus, or her parents'll find out she's gone and we'll be permanently down one member."

"Oh shit, you're right!" Chloe stuffed the rest of her burger into her mouth. "Move that scrawny ass, Max, we're outta here!"

Max was about to protest that her ass wasn't at all scrawny, but Rachel was leaning towards her. "We'll see you again next weekend?"

Max nodded, answering Rachel's conspiratorial grin with one of her own. "Friday night, if I can swing it."

"Bitchin'. Now let's get you safely home."

When they were out the door and making their way across the parking lot, Chloe took Max's elbow. "So...uh, you told Rachel everything about this."

"Um, yeah."

"You told her first and not me?"

Max had expected this and was ready with a reply. "I'm sorry, Chloe," she said, "I had to. I wanted you on our side, but I couldn't do that without proof that would convince you. It would've been different if I had my powers, but since I didn't I had to rely on Rachel instead. She was the proof I needed."

Chloe nodded, seeming to accept this explanation. Then she drew Max into a hug. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I'll never doubt you again, Max."

For a moment, Max was a mess of emotions. Her own arms lifted up to return the embrace. She couldn't believe how good it felt to be held like this again. "Chloe, I—"

"Just shut up and accept it, okay? Do you know how often I apologize?"

"About as often as you shower?" Rachel called from her car.

"Shut up, Amber! I'm tryna have a moment here."

"Well you can have it in the car," Rachel replied, slipping into the driver's seat. "We've got exactly two hours to get Max on her bus or that's the end of our weekend plans."

Too soon, Max had to disengage from Chloe's arms. But as she sat in the backseat, listening to Rachel and Chloe's excited chatter, she would sometimes close her eyes and relish the moment over and over.

She had Chloe back.

And Chloe was right. The three of them—together—felt unstoppable.

Thankfully, Rachel got them to Portland in just a hair over an hour and a half.

She and Chloe stood side by side as Max boarded her bus. The brunette even took one last smiling wave at them before getting on board. The pair remained where they were, reluctant to leave until the bus pulled into the main avenue and out of sight.

Neither said a word as they trudged back to the Volvo for the long trip home. Lost in thought, Rachel's mind still swirled with the complications that lay ahead, the nearest problem being school tomorrow and the possibility of running into Jefferson.

Mostly though, her thoughts kept returning to the image of Chloe hugging Max in the parking lot, and the way Max's eyes drifted shut as she sank into Chloe's arms. It warmed Rachel to see them reconciled, even as her chest tightened at seeing them so close. It was so petty of her, she realized, that she even couldn't resist trampling on their moment before it could fully—

She nearly collided with Chloe when the punk suddenly rounded on her and grabbed her by the shoulders. Rachel was about to ask what's wrong, but her words fell at the cold fury in Chloe's blue eyes.

"I'm not losing you, Rachel."

Rachel gazed at her blankly; Chloe had said it with such force that she didn't quite know how to respond. "Chloe, c'mon. You don't really think I'd—"

But Chloe's hands coiled even tighter around her. "They won't get you. I'll kill them all before I let any of them touch you." Rachel stiffened as Chloe pulled her into a tight embrace. All she could do was stand there, unable to think, unaware of anything but the warmth of Chloe's arms. So strong. She had no idea Chloe could be this strong.

Trembling, throat tightening, Rachel let herself melt into the embrace, lips touching Chloe's neck as she breathed in her girl's scent. She'd almost forgotten how wonderful it felt to be cherished like this. She wanted nothing more than to stay in this bubble, blissfully cut off from the rest of the world. Her arms lifted to return the hug, then froze.

For now.

Rachel's hands drifted back down to her sides like fallen leaves.

"Who am I, Chloe?" she murmured. "What is this?"

"You're Rachel Amber," Chloe answered, stroking her hair. "And they're in for a lot of trouble, 'coz they got no clue. No fucking clue."

"About?"

"Just how far I'll go to protect you."