Surprise and Merry Christmas, for a new piece of fanfiction that I decided to write after over a year of radio silence. One specifically for Life is Strange and Pricefield fans, and something I've been working on for a bit ever since Double Exposure was released.
The short version of this story is like the title says; Max gets some therapy for all her adventures she's had. The long version is a bit more complex, as this technically a crossover between Life is Strange (specifically the comics, though other parts of the series are referenced) and my own original Beyond Reality series that I'm publishing on Amazon and other online platforms, though you won't need to read any of the latter to get the basic gist of what's happening here. But let's just dive right in, shall we?
Disclaimer: I do not own Life is Strange or any of the characters within. I do own Beyond Reality, however.
Max looked at the blue butterfly tattoo on her left wrist, a constant reminder of her time in another universe. She had a feeling that would become a lot more common now, especially given what she understood about the organization that had contacted her and her world. At least this time, Chloe, her Chloe would be with her, as she was right now, sitting next to Max with her arm wrapped around her shoulder. However, even for Max, she couldn't deny this was certainly far different from the original flickers that had exposed her to the existence of alternate worlds to begin with.
While her previous travels between realities had taken her to worlds that were basically identical to her own world, just with different people still alive or dead, here, the differences were far more vast, and definitely far more incredible and wondrous. Like something straight out of science fiction or fantasy. Aliens and supernatural creatures were all over the place, flying vehicles and cars were in the sky, it was just an incredible sight. And Max, Chloe, Tristan, Pixie, and quite a few others they knew all had one particular organization to thank for that.
The United Extradimensional Worlds, or UEW for short, was an organization with a reach apparently spanning well over a million universes. While most of those were admittedly just single worlds, according to the information that was freely accessible, there were also hundreds of galactic and multi-galactic polities among their ranks, something straight out of sci-fi that Warren and Tristan would love. It was frankly difficult to wrap their heads around, almost as difficult as the idea that these guys were otherwise completely benevolent and had no ulterior motivations.
With Chloe's history, that was something that had been incredibly difficult for her to accept, and even Max found that to be surprising. But after spending a few months working with the UEW, where everything in the organization was pretty much free, and the idea of needing to work in order to have basic amenities like food and shelter was seen as completely absurd, the two women found it exceedingly difficult to want to leave. They had also made clear their own goals for their Earth; to uplift it into a much more advanced and peaceful society and join theirs, but they also made it clear that such a process couldn't and wouldn't be rushed, and they needed help from people who were actually native to the worlds in question.
And it was because of Max's own adventures across time and space that she ended up drawing their attention in the first place, so obviously she and Chloe had been brought into the fold of knowing their existence. There was also no forcing them to do anything, no coercion. The UEW simply asked for their help and made it clear that if any of them said no, they would accept it. That particular fact, more than anything else, made Max willing to get over her distrust and give the UEW a chance, and in time, so was Chloe. And they were both glad they did, now that they could travel between worlds freely.
Money was no longer something they had to worry about back home, since apparently entire universes made of currency were something that could be found in the multiverse, so the UEW was more than willing to pay people millions or billions for simply helping them. But that was only the beginning of the kind of help that the UEW was willing to offer, especially given their own experience with superpowered individuals.
Currently, Max and Chloe were sitting in a hovering bus with a bunch of other passengers, though it fortunately wasn't very crowded at the moment. Some of the passengers in question were human, though others were from species that neither of them could have ever imagined. It was hard not to stare at some of them. Then again, if they weren't staring at the passengers in the bus with them, they would be staring at the world outside, with buildings and technology much more advanced than anything their Earth possessed, never mind even more variety in species from aliens, to supernatural beings, and even humans (some with superpowers) all interacting like this entire melting pot of cultures was just normal to them.
"Sometimes, I still wonder if I'm high." Chloe had to admit as she looked around. "Because this doesn't feel real."
"You're telling me." Max shook her head as she took Chloe's hand. "And I'm the one who can rewind time. Did you ever think that this would be our lives back when we were still kids playing pirates?"
"Not a chance in hell." Chloe shook her head.
"Same here." Max agreed as a smile came over her lips. "Still, even with everything about these guys, everything we've been through, there's still one thing I find more unbelievable than everything else."
"What's that?" Chloe's question was answered when Max took her hand in hers and held them up, pointedly rubbing her fingers against the wedding ring on Chloe's finger while simultaneously showing off her own. "You are such a sap."
"You still love me though." Max pulled Chloe in for a brief kiss, tasting her lips against hers and savoring it just as they both had on their wedding day.
"Hell yeah, I do." Chloe whispered against her lips once they broke apart.
The two of them had gotten married a few years after Max returned from the other reality and they had moved back to the rebuilt Arcadia Bay. Definitely one of the happiest days in both of their lives, especially given everything else they had lived through to get to that point. Chloe couldn't help but practically glow every time she was reminded of it, and Max knew she felt the same way.
Unfortunately, their moment was interrupted when a massive shadow fell over the city, causing the two girls to look up and outside the window. Both of their eyes went wide as they saw a massive alien vessel flying over the city skyline, with what had to be wingspan of at least thirty kilometers if not longer. The vessel seemed to almost be the size of the city itself, and for a brief moment, both Max and Chloe felt a wave of instinctive terror cross through them. But since none of the other civilians around them, aliens and human alike, seemed to be worried about the massive ship, with a few even seeming to take pictures, the two of them relaxed.
"Well, someone's compensating for something." Chloe couldn't help but snark.
"Oh, that's nothing." One of the other passengers on the bus spoke up, a vaguely humanoid alien with blue skin, four arms and three sets of eyes. "You should see some of the bigger ships that pass by from time to time."
"They get bigger?" Max couldn't help double-taking at the vessel before looking back at the person speaking to them.
"Oh yeah, much bigger." The alien shook their head. "Not really a military expert myself, but suffice to say, I've seen starships of all kind, hell, I've been on more than my fair share. That thing?" They pointed up to the shadow in the sky. "It's tiny in comparison."
"Huh..." Was all Chloe could say as she looked back outside herself. "And to think I once thought shipping vessels that passed by Arcadia Bay used to be the biggest things ever built."
"Yeah, I figured you two might be from a less advanced world, no offense." The alien replied with a snort. "The reactions kinda gave it away."
"Yeah, this is all... rather new to us." Max replied ruefully, trying to keep herself from staring at the alien creature sitting there.
"Hey, don't worry about that." They assured her. "Lots of people have the same reaction when they join the UEW, it's nothing to be ashamed of. I remember my first reaction to seeing magic firsthand."
"No kidding." Chloe muttered, as the bus came to a halt.
"Ah, this is my stop." The alien stood up as they spoke. "Anyway, have a good day ladies."
"Well, that felt... odd." Chloe shook her head as the creature got off the bus and no one else batted an eye.
"I think this is just the kind of thing we have to get used to." Max replied, even if she shook her head in disbelief. "Then again, after what we've seen just from a brief tour, I'm not surprised."
"Still wouldn't mind going back to that floating kingdom, that place was sick as hell." Chloe nodded, before turning to Max eagerly. "Do you think it's possible for me to learn magic myself?"
"Now that's a terrifying thought." Max snarked, to which Chloe playfully punched her on the arm.
"Oh come on, I'd be awesome with magical powers." Chloe boasted.
"And there's the DND nerd in you shining through." The time traveller teased, causing the green-haired punk to pout.
"I really hate that Steph told you that story." She crossed her arms, though relaxed slightly when Max kissed her on the cheek.
"I think it's cute." She assured Chloe. "And hey, if you can find a way to get magic powers, I'd be fully onboard."
"It'll definitely be something to keep in mind for the future." Chloe admitted, before shaking her head. "For now though, I wanna figure out my new life with all this before I do something like that." She noticed Max's smile, and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Nothing, just... still weird sometimes to see you all grown up." Max's tone was half teasing, but there was an undeniable swell of pride in her voice.
"Ha ha, very funny." Despite her words, Chloe couldn't help but grin at Max's praise, before embracing her tightly. "And what about you? How are you feeling with, y'know, all of this?"
"It's been better." Max replied, knowing exactly what she meant. "I mean, I already knew I wasn't the only one with powers to begin with."
"Still though..."
"Yeah, it took some getting used to." The time traveller nodded. "Ever since the UEW Agency first met us."
Apparently, the UEW Agency that dealt with various interdimensional anomalies and had tracked down Max in the first place was primarily composed of various superhumans themselves. As such, they were not only not surprised to know about her powers, but demonstrated some of their own. No rewinding time, but generating fire or electricity from one's body, or having the power of telekinesis, was just a tiny sample of what the UEW Agency alone had access to.
It was rather disconcerting at first for Max to hear her powers, as incredible and terrifying as they were, be talked about and considered, while not unimpressive, as something that was mundane. As if the ability to rewind time itself and go back in time via photos was nothing more than a parlor trick. It was even more disconcerting when she was looking through articles on the UEW's internet equivalent and found that compared to quite a few beings both inside and outside of the UEW, it really was a parlor trick. There were beings, from enhanced humans to outright Gods, that could manipulate and control time in ways beyond anything she could possibly do, some of whom were even part of the UEW itself. There were also universes where her time powers simply didn't work, as if the laws of time in those versions of the cosmos were actively refusing to be controlled.
"You definitely took it better than I did." Chloe acknowledged with a nod, bringing Max back to the moment. "Though I'm guessing it's also because of what they offered that made you really want to trust them?"
"You know that definitely helped, just as it helped you." Max countered, not unkindly. "While we can always talk to each other, or Pixie, or Tristan, it's hard to simply keep everything bottled up from everyone else that we know."
"I'm not disagreeing." Her wife assured her. "Back home, I would have doubted the wisdom of this, but now... it was undoubtedly the right call."
What the UEW had offered the most that Max hadn't realized she'd been missing was a therapist she could actually talk to. With complete honesty and acceptance over her powers. After all, while her specific powerset was relatively uncommon, it was still not unheard of, either. Not to mention that the UEW was quite used to people with powers having all sorts of adventures, not all of them pleasant. Hell, if what she had read was accurate, the UEW had entire armies full of superhumans, magic-users, psychics, and more. And it was clear that the civilian part of the UEW was just as full of beings with superpowers, who didn't have to hide who they were or what they could do from everyone else.
She knew she could talk to Chloe about anything, and often did, but at the same time, there were plenty of things she didn't want to burden her wife with. Which was why Max had taken the offer to see a therapist regarding her adventures in both time and space. She had taken to seeing the doctor quite regularly, and her talks with her therapist had made her feel lighter in ways that she hadn't felt in a long time. While initially skeptical of the whole idea, even Chloe had noticed her wife's improvements, and was nothing but supportive of Max's continued therapy sessions.
Furthermore, having seen how Max had become so much lighter from her therapy sessions here, it caused Chloe to try the ones the UEW had to offer. She had told Max that she had spoken about how it felt to lose her mom, her abandonment and trust issues as a result of everything she had been through prior to that point, and what it felt like to lose Max for two years while she was stuck in another universe.
It certainly helped for her to talk about it with a professional, but even the doctor she went to noted that Chloe had become an incredibly well-adjusted person herself in spite of everything she had gone through, having spearheaded the reconstruction of Arcadia Bay in the aftermath of the disaster. Chloe still went to therapy sometimes, and she could admit being able to talk freely about everything with Max instead of keeping it to a small circle of trusted friends was helpful, but at the same time, she didn't feel like she needed therapy as much as Max did, though she still supported her wife's decision to keep going there regardless.
"Speaking of which, this is our stop." Max signalled the driver as she realized that they were approaching the office where her therapist worked.
The two of them got off the bus as it continued its route, and despite all the alien, mystical and otherwise insanely advanced stuff that they had come to expect from their constant visits and borderline living in the UEW, this was the part that felt fairly mundane. Even the design of the building, sleek as it was on the outside, wasn't all that different from the myriad of similar buildings she had been to in multiple realities.
Following the same practiced routine, the two of them entered the building, made their way to the floor where Dr. Siento's office was, and entered the waiting area. When it came time for Max's session, Chloe would sit in the waiting room for however long it took for Max's session to be done.
"I'll see you in an hour." Chloe promised her as the receptionist directed Max to see the doctor, giving her a quick kiss before Max entered the office.
"Hello Max." Dr. Siento greeted warmly as Max walked into the room. "It's good to see you again."
"You too." Max smiled as she took her seat on the comfortable couch across from the doctor.
...
Flashback
Her first session with the therapist went above and beyond what Max had expected, with it starting off simply enough; Dr. Siento simply asked Max when her powers first manifested and what she felt while using them. From there, they kept talking about events in Arcadia Bay, having to watch Chloe die so many times, exposing Jefferson as the sick psychopath that he was, culminating in the storm that destroyed Arcadia Bay.
Max had started off fairly strong, but by the end she was at the brink of tears when recounting how she had the choice to stop the storm, but it would require sacrificing Chloe's life. And she just couldn't do it. She couldn't go through with letting her best friend and love of her life die after all the hell they had both gone through to get to this point.
"You still blame yourself for Arcadia Bay?" Her therapist asked once Max finished her story.
"Yeah." Max nodded. "I feel like I need to feel the pain I caused. Because everyone else who died can no longer feel it."
"Even if it wasn't your fault?" Dr. Siento asked gently. "Max, why do you think Arcadia Bay's destruction is on your hands?"
"Because I saw the timeline during the flicker!" She shouted in response, tears in her eyes. "Where Chloe died, and the storm never came!"
"You also saw another flicker where you and Chloe were both alive, and the storm never took place there either." Dr. Siento reminded her. "You don't know for certain if your choices were truly responsible for what happened to Arcadia Bay."
"But what if I was?" Max couldn't help but ask, to which Dr. Siento smiled softly.
"Even assuming you were, you didn't know that. You couldn't have known that. Not unless your powers have included omniscience that you never told us about?" The brief levity from the Doctor caused Max to tearfully chuckle slightly even as she shook her head. "You're not a god, Max. Believe me, we would be able to tell. You're a young woman who was gifted with incredible abilities, forced to try and master those abilities at a young age while facing things that no teenager should ever have to worry about. The fact that you managed to come through all that as who you are now, is nothing short of incredible."
That the doctor was saying this, knowing everything she did, meant a lot more to Max than she could put into words. Chloe had obviously forgiven her and didn't blame her for what had happened, which was helped by the fact that she had gotten closure from Max's view into the timeline where Joyce was alive. But Dr. Siento hadn't been at Arcadia Bay, and didn't have any emotional connection to either the people in the town or Chloe in general, so she was could look at the situation with a bit more objectivity. And it gave Max a bit more perspective on the event herself that her guilt never allowed herself to really consider.
"Max, the one person's forgiveness you need, more than those who lost their lives in that disaster, more than any version of Chloe who lost their mother, is your own." The doctor explained gently. "The question that you need to ask is; can you forgive yourself?"
Max was silent for a long moment.
"Yes." Max's answer was barely above a whisper, but her voice grew firmer as she nodded. "Yes, I think I can."
...
Since then, Max had found herself being haunted by the events of Arcadia Bay less and less. While she wouldn't ever allow herself to forget what happened, between Dr. Siento's visits and living in the rebuilt town, she could forgive herself and move on from what had happened. Today though, she was here because of a related but ultimately different problem, and once she and the doctor had exchanged pleasantries, Max decided to go right to the heart of what was eating her.
"I've been wondering if I should get my powers removed." Max said, causing Dr. Siento to raise an eyebrow. "I know the UEW has those options available to those who really want it."
"It's also not something we encourage without good reason. What brought this on?" The Doctor had to ask, a touch of concern in her voice.
"A recurring dream," Max admitted with a frustrated headshake. "One where Chloe and I broke up due to her believing I had been using my powers to manipulate her. Apparently, they'd also atrophied away when she accused me of doing that, but when I-that Max tried to explain that to Chloe, she didn't believe me- er, her. And even broke up via letter, a while after just walking out."
"Do you believe your Chloe would do all that to you? Simply because of your powers?"
"Of course not!" Max emphatically stated, feeling a surge of assurance in her core at those words. She knew Chloe would never do that to her, but as she thought about the dream, the more she knew that wasn't the only concern she had. "But that's not the only thing that happened there."
She went on to summarize what else happened in the dream, how she had moved to a different town and college, made new friends, only for events regarding her powers to create two whole new timelines, one where one of those new friends died and another where she didn't, with Max's powers developing to travel between the two timelines. In the end though, her powers went haywire, causing another storm that forced her to effectively merge the two timelines into one.
"You're worried that your powers might do the same thing here? Just like that Safi girl's powers you mentioned?" Dr. Siento summarized once Max finished her story.
"Not just hers. My powers ended up erasing a person from existence by accident." Max pointed out, shivering at the thought of completely wiping someone from time. "And the whole merging timelines thing, that would be concerning enough if I hadn't already gone through a course at the Multiverse Learning Center about the dangers of merging universes and how catastrophic that can be if it goes wrong-"
"Universes and timelines aren't the same thing, though." Dr. Siento interjected. "Sure, they can overlap, but there are distinct differences between them. Even if you specifically were powerful enough to split and merge timelines, doing the same to whole universes is still an entirely different ballpark." She shook her head. "Besides, you're getting more than a little worked up over a dream, even a vivid and recurring one."
"Aren't dreams also windows into alternate universes?" Max had to ask, recalling what else she had learned from the Multiverse Learning Center. "Meaning somewhere out there, all of that really happened?"
"That's not inaccurate." The Doctor conceded with a nod. "However, dreams don't solely function as windows, as you and Chloe, your Chloe, should remember."
Max blushed as she recalled what the UEW had told her and Chloe one day after talking to Pixie and Tristan about their shared experiences, that Max and Chloe having a connection transcending realities was actually more literal than any of them had thought. The two of them had actually shared dreams from across the dimensional walls, talking to each other and embracing while longing to be together again. Neither of them had actually realized this at the time, having just thought them to be particularly vivid lucid dreams they had while sleeping and nothing more.
Upon further study, the UEW science division they had talked to had confirmed that the connection was still present between them, though their actual shared dreams had become much more sporadic now that they regularly shared the same universe again. It still happened occasionally though, as once they realized it, Max and Chloe began comparing dreams regularly to see if they had actually been meeting within them. And more than a few times, they had. That said, the UEW still wasn't entirely sure what the cause was, and figuring it out would require further testing, including putting Max and Chloe in separate universes to test the connection.
Something Chloe rather vocally refused to do, and Max couldn't help but agree. After spending two years a reality away from her Chloe, repeating the same process, even for just a single night, was not something she wanted to ever do again. The UEW respected that choice, and even indicated that their preliminary studies suggested that their love may have given them that bond to begin with. A thought that caused Max to subconsciously rub her wedding ring with a wistful smile on her face even now. But the smile fell as she reconsidered the dream again.
"It all felt so real though." She shuddered. "Like I was in another flicker again. Maybe that's why this is affecting me so much."
"Well, that's definitely more concerning. And understandable why this would haunt you." Dr. Siento reasoned. "Rest assured, if that displacement were to happen again, we'll be able to find and bring you back much more quickly."
"That definitely helps." Max nodded with relief as she recalled some of the various interdimensional subjects she had learned at the Multiverse Learning Center, which was basically a UEW crash course for those like her who wanted to know more about interdimensional travel. She knew this wasn't some idle promise, the UEW Agency really could track and bring her back easily if something like that happened again.
"But getting back to the topic at hand: do you actually want to get rid of your powers?" Dr. Siento asked seriously. "This is not the kind of decision that should be made lightly, especially when powers naturally develop the ways yours did, without any outside force giving them."
"It's something I've been wondering for a while. Rewinding time hasn't been all that great." Max replied. "But I've still used it to help so many people... I don't know." She shook her head. "Even with all the good I've done, the storm still haunts me, and now with that dream... I can't help but wonder if it would be better if I don't have them."
"You also stopped an entirely different storm yourself with those same powers. In two different realities." The therapist pointed out. "In fact, in that dream of yours, that other version of you, did she ever use pocket time? Simply rewinding time in an isolated area without affecting the rest of the world?"
"No." Max shook her head.
"And your rewinding powers never atrophied like hers did." Dr. Siento continued. "You spent two years not using them in that other reality, and yet they worked the moment you used them to save Tristan's life."
"You're saying I don't have to worry about becoming her?" Max realized. "That I don't have to worry about turning out like that version of me because I already haven't?"
"Yes, and I think you know that already." Max smiled at the doctor's words.
"I said basically that exact thing to Rachel in that other universe when she asked me about how to not become my version of her." The time manipulator shook her head.
"Maybe you should take your own advice." Dr. Siento chuckled warmly. "The past doesn't need to define you unless you let it. Your powers aren't a curse, not if you don't let them be. You've proven as much already."
"Yeah, I guess I have." Max shook her head and looked at her hand and wrist, specifically the one with the blue butterfly tattoo. "It feels so silly now to have even considered it."
"These kinds of things happen to everyone." Dr. Siento assured her. "Though if you haven't told Chloe about this, I think she deserves to know. It's up to you, of course."
"I was thinking the same thing." Max agreed.
...
Like always, Chloe was waiting outside in the office waiting room once Max had finished her session. Her smile upon seeing her wife absolutely radiated the room and as always, it warmed every part of Max's soul.
"Hey." The green-haired punk wrapped Max in a warm embrace. "Good session?"
"Yeah, yeah it was." The time traveller nodded once they broke apart, though they still kept their hands held together. "It gave me a lot of clarity."
And so as they walked out of the building, Max gave a brief summary of what she and the Doctor had spoken about, specifically about the recurring dream and Max's own questioning as to whether she should keep her powers or not. Chloe had known about the dreams since Max had told her, but when she got to the part where she had been questioning whether she should keep her powers or not, well, Chloe's grip tightened around Max's hand.
"I wish you had told me sooner." Chloe said softly, a slight tone of sadness, but mixed with understanding, in her voice. "Now I just feel like an ass regarding our conversation about powers earlier."
"Honestly, I was still unsure about it all myself." Max shook her head as they sat at a park bench near the office, leaning her head against Chloe. "And while I'm definitely planning on keeping them, it's why I wanted to talk to Dr. Siento first and get her advice."
"Because you figured I would be all for keeping your powers?" Chloe asked, to which Max nodded. "Well, I won't pretend that I wouldn't have said exactly that, but I do need you to know two things."
"What's that?" Max asked, as Chloe gently grabbed her chin to look her directly in the eyes.
"First of all, any version of me who would dump any version of you is a fucking idiot." Chloe declared, bringing a chuckle out of Max. "I mean, seriously, what was that version of me thinking?"
"And second of all?" Max asked.
"I fell in love with Max Caulfield, not her powers." Chloe declared with a soft smile. "You'll always be Super-Max to me, powers or no powers. Nothing will ever change that."
"Chloe..." Max wiped the tears from her eyes as the two of them kissed, then whispered once they had broken apart. "I'm always your Max."
"And I'm always your Chloe." Her wife responded. "Partners in time."
Author's Notes: Like a lot of people, I wasn't a big fan of what Deck Nine did with Max and Chloe's relationship in Double Exposure. If they wanted to have Chloe out of the game's storyline, there were plenty of ways to have that happen without necessitating breaking them up, as quite a few other fanfics have already done. Hell, you can even keep the breaking up element, but given the nature of the games, it should be an option the players can choose, not something that's forced upon them.
Suffice to say, I much prefer the comics version, and this was my way of trying to tie that in with my own Beyond Reality series that I've written. You won't need to have read any of my works to understand the gist of what's happening here (though if you want to, I would greatly appreciate it, and you can look at the top of my profile for how to do so), but suffice to say, the United Extradimensional Worlds is one of the major factions from said series and they are basically exactly like I've depicted; a multiversal organization that is generally all about making things better for people, and are benevolent to both interdimensional travelers and superhumans as a whole.
And that's what I wanted to portray here, especially given what Max has been through. And no offense to Chloe, she's a great partner in time, especially in the comics (side note, I consider that to be a better continuation of Max's story than Double Exposure), but Max probably needs a therapist, someone she could talk to about her powers, and more to the point, be understood for her choices and what she did. So that's what she got here. Also, on another note, that bit about her and Chloe sharing dreams isn't something I made up, that did actually happen in the comics, though it seems neither of them actually realized it at the time.
Also, and this is more of a personal annoyance, but one particular aspect of Life is Strange I find annoying and it's something that seems to have bled into Deck Nine's own view with Double Exposure, but the way everyone treats Max as if she knew for a fact that sacrificing Chloe was going to definitively save Arcadia Bay was something that I wanted to push back against. Because she could not have possibly known that, as that whole event was just Chloe and Max randomly guessing and throwing shit at the walls to hope that something would actually solve the storm, they didn't know for certain that it was going to work. And yet judging from Double Exposure, part of the reason Max and Chloe broke up in the Bae timeline is because of that kind of fallout, where it was portrayed that they both knew for a fact that it would work when that's simply not possible.
All that said, I really hope everyone enjoyed this little one shot of a story and reviews are always welcome.