This, and some more basic fact-checking. Chloe has (assumably) reacted as expected to mentions of Victoria, but maybe asking about other peers we (should) both know of? Something about Warren and Kate?
We should tell her this is super important, because in the original timeline it was a Prescott who set this whole time loop in motion and if she doesn't know him here that's a massive divergence.
Chloe flops down next to you on the couch with a grunt, sprawling her legs out and apparently not bothered by the lack of springiness under the cushions. You start. "So… there's some weirdness with the way things- uh. With the way I know things, I'm gonna ask some questions now if you don't mind? Just to get a clearer picture."
She shrugs. "Shoot."
"Right. Just to be super clear, Joyce works at the Two Whales Diner, and David is a Security Guard at the school you used to go to, Blackwell Academy?" Chloe raises her eyebrows at you.
"Actually Joyce just won the election for President of the USA, and Step-Dick has become a children's therapist." She says, irony heavy in her tone.
You give her a look and say "Chloe." She grins.
"Right, yeah, sorry. Yeah those are right, Mom still does all the work at the Two Whales, Step-Douche is finally helping my mom out with money, and I got kicked out of Blackwell the week I met Rachel." Her nose turns up at the thought of David. Interesting, so that's all in-line. You know Chloe's mentioned interacting with Nathan in the, um, not-past, but you guess he must've been not around even then?
You lean back, chewing on your lip thoughtfully. "Can you… talk about some of the people there? They might be… familiar."
She nods slightly. "Alright, but I wasn't exactly known for being a social butterfly."
"No?" You gasp in mock surprise, earning another tongue stuck out at you.
"Let's see... there was Drew and Mikey North? Never super got along with Drew, but he wasn't bad. Mikey was a friend of mine." She starts. You shake your head. You knew of them from… Chloe in other times, but they weren't directly relevant. "Uhh… Steph Gingrich?" Another head shake from you, same as the Norths. Chloe scratches her head. "Shit, well… what about Victoria Chase?"
You sit up a bit more. "Ya, I know Victoria."
Chloe snickers, "Piece of work, right?" You give a small smile back.
"So who're Victoria's friends?" You ask.
"You're aware I'm… not really up to date with the latest in Blackwell gossip?" She replies.
You shrug, "Doesn't super matter."
"Right. Well, I think she had a couple cronies in uh… Taylor Christensen and… Courtney? Something? Waters maybe?"
You nod. "Courtney Wagner. Right, that's normal." Chloe frowns a bit at the phrasing of 'normal.' "She's kinda the Queen Bee of the Vortex club, right? Is there a… uh. King, to go along with that?"
Chloe leans back into the sofa, lolling her head up at the ceiling. "Not really, she runs it like she's the dictator for life of her own personal Roman Republic, Ave Chase and all that. According to Rachel, at least."
"Someone oughta call Brutus…" You giggle. Hm. It sounds like Nathan's never been to Blackwell. That's a danger out of the way, but… ugh. Time Travel. Why do you have your powers if there was… never any moment for you to gain them? Like, the fact that you have them at all is a Paradox, right? A result from an event that never happened? You guess you did have them when you soft photojumped back into the past to try and save William, but is that the same? A mental shrug. You'll think about it later.
"What about someone named Warren Graham?" You ask, stretching out a bit.
Another shrug. "He was in my grade before I got kicked out. Probably still there now? Rach never mentioned him." You nod, that adds up, he's probably having an easier time without Nathan there too.
"And Kate Marsh?" You ask, though you're honestly not too hopeful about thi-
"Oh man, Kate! Fuck yeah I know Kate!" Huh. Okay? You give her a slightly bewildered look but motion for her to continue. Not really the reaction from Chloe you'd expect to…. Kate. "Ya, she goes to Blackwell, she's one of the cooler people there, only one I've hung out with at all since Rachel- uh. Y'know. We smoke together sometimes." She pauses. "And that's cool in my book, not Victoria's."
…
Kate Marsh. Smoking? With Chloe?
…
Unbeholden to your askance expression, Chloe continues. "I'm not really into the kinda new age stuff, but she's super chill to hang out with, super sweet too, which can be a nice break." Well at least the super sweet part fits. But… new age stuff? Smoking? With Chloe?
"That's a- uh. Huh. Hm." You mumble. Huh. "Huh." Chloe shoots you an eyebrow raise. You fumble to explain. "That's pretty, um, different from the Kate Marsh I know. But like. Super sweet, blonde, uh…" You try to think of something that sounds like it'd fit with this 'new' Kate that the one you knew had. "Likes tea?" You try.
"Hah! Yup, that'll be her." Chloe barks out a laugh. Hm. Victoria and her actions come to mind.
"And is she… doing okay?" You ask, trying to be casual.
"Uh. Yeah I think so, why?" Chloe looks at you sharply. I guess this Kate is one of Chloe's only friends right now.
"Oh, um. Nothing. The Kate I knew wasn't… doing very well but- You'd know! Believe me, you'd be able to tell if she wasn't." You try to reassure her.
Chloe looks at you a second longer before settling her gaze elsewhere, still a bit of a sharp look though. "If you say so."
You gather your thoughts and barrel onto the next topic. "Alright- uh. Not to sound like a broken record or anything, but I'm asking again because this is super important. You're sure you don't know anyone with the last name Prescott? Or even with the first name Nathan?"
Chloe frowns and snaps a look at you. "No Max. My memory's pretty fucking good, I'd tell you if I knew them, alright?"
You raise your hands up defensively. "Right, sorry Chloe. Just- It's a Prescott's fault I got saddled with all the… bullshit that's come with these powers."
Her frown holds on your for another moment before she nods and leans back. "Anything else?"
You think about what you wanted to bring up next. Your mouth works up and down, the pit of guilt in your chest that'd been dormant all morning weaseling it's way back up. You scooch a bit closer to Chloe, which she allows.
"Hey, so I know… things are weird. Trust me, I'm not super comfortable with what's going on myself… and I know it must be hard for me to just suddenly… appear back in your life. I-... b-before we start today, I was wondering… was there anything you wanted to say to me? Tell me? I sw-... I promise I won't get mad, or anything. I'm sure you have questions too." She's quiet as you go on, and for a few moments after.
Finally, she snorts. "Stuff to say to you? Max…" She turns to look at you. "This is all just… beyond fucked up, y'know?" You cringe and nod. "Like- here. Let me paint this picture for you." She stands up, gesticulating. "My dad dies, you disappear the day after for five years. I get a new g- uh. Best friend. She fucking disappears. Then you just crawl in my window, crying, with motherfucking superpowers that can 'Oh, maybe bring her back but also maybe not.' Like. Max. Seriously?" She pauses, gritting her teeth and searching for words. You're frozen on the couch, just looking at the ground. "Like… how am I supposed to be reacting? You say 'bad shit' keeps happening to everyone. But Max, like…" You feel her walk over to you, and see her kneel down in front of you. "What bad shit, Max? To who? You've clearly done some stuff before and talked to-" An uncomfortable look flashes across her face. "Other Chloe's. But suddenly you're here, and without full knowledge- any knowledge of why?"
She stands up and paces across the room, looking out to the backyard. "I just- It's scary, Max. I don't know how many times you did things before you wound up here. If this is your first time doing all of this…" She waves her arms, indicating everything, then looks back. There's a kind of palpable… almost frenetic fear in her eyes. "Then you'll be going back again… right? What happens to me, to everyone when you go back? I-" Her gaze turns back outside. "I don't want to just be a… testing dummy for whatever Chloe you stick with, y'know?"
"Chloe I would never-" You start when she turns fully and cuts you off.
"Ya, I know." She sighs and rubs her eyes. "You're Max Caulfield, you'd never intentionally do that to someone you care about." Your lower lip trembles as she continues. "But Max… do your actions match that? How many times have you just tried something, even risked someone, just to see if it would make things easier for you?" She pauses. "You… don't have to answer. It's- It's okay, I'm just…" A sigh. "Ya Max, there's stuff I wanna say to you, clearly. But it's gonna take time and it can't all be addressed right now. But please don't-" Another pause, you see her bite the inside of her cheek. "Just don't… make me get over these things… I want it to take time. Y'know? I need to come to terms with everything."
She looks at you. Her whole attitude is so much different from normal… she's still the smartass rebel you knew, but… she's taking this a lot more seriously. You guess showing up looking like a corpse made an impression. You set your lower lip and try to convey your sincerity with your tone. "I promise, Chloe."
She looks at you for a second longer, and lets a small, careworn smile onto her face. "Thanks Max…" She sighs. "Well, there goes almost half the day I guess." Her smile turns rueful. "Any plans for the rest of it, Maxtermind?"
You gape at her. "Maxtermind?" You ask disbelievingly. She grins in response. "That's sooo baaad!" You groan, putting your face into your hands.
"That's what makes it great!" She laughs, causing you groan again, but eventually you fall into giggles yourself. Stupid infectious Chloe laughter.
After a moment of calming down she turns back to you, her smile a bit brighter than before. "So seriously, plans?"
Current Point - October 9th, 2013, almost 12:00PM
October 7th, 2013, 9:47pm. In hallway of hospital, no clothes yet, and holding "borrowed" phone.
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, One other Photograph. (In Chloe's weed stash)
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, Two other Photographs.
[] Explore
-Where?
[] Research
-What?
[] Talk to
-Who?
[] Write-In
≅≅≅
Again, don't worry about random events, if they happen, they happen and I'll hold the rest of a plan's votes in my back pocket for you. The explore/research/talkto options are primarily suggestions. I feel bad just putting "Write-In" at the ends of posts (should I be feeling bad? Do you like suggested options?) so those are there just to get the ball rolling.
Also, damn, 10 updates in already, 16k words. I think this is giving me better writing habits, probably healthier to write 1.5 to 4k~ words a day regularly than slamming down 15k randomly when inspiration strikes over the course of a full day.
[X] Ask Chole if she knows Frank and if she still owes him money. Also ask if she knows or thinks he would know to get an unresgistered/stolen gun. David's isn't good enough.
-[X] It's turned into a fight before, hopefully we avoid getting ambushed and drugged this time.
-[X] Ask if Prfessor Jefferson works at the school and if he still has that super creepy photo shoot on display.
-[X] For the sake of levity tell Chloe how Kate was a super uptight, stressed out Catholic girl. Still sweet and a good friend, but a total 180 from a stoner.
[x] Optimized Gino
[x] "Thank you for telling me this, Chloe. I...you're right. I d-don't know where these powers come from, or why things are different here. A-And I've...I don't know what happens if I have to go back." (cue serious look) "That's why I need to make it right, the first time."
-[x] Ask if she really wants in on the full suite of alternate timeline knowledge, warning her that it isn't good and is very personal for Chloe, acknowledging that she wanted time to come to terms with everything. Tell her that if she doesn't want the personal stuff, there's more information we could share to try and keep her in the loop.
--[x] IF YES: Rundown how Professor Jefferson and (formerly) Nathan Prescott were luring in women in order to kill them, potentially including Rachel. We found out, and Jefferson killed Chloe and drugged Max with the intention to kill her. Politely decline to explain further right now unless she starts getting angry, then reveal that through Time manipulation David saved Max.
--[x] IF NO: Respect her wishes, but tell her about how we're worried The Storm is coming; it's the reason we keep jumping back. It kills everyone in The Bay, as long as Nathan doesn't kill Chloe in a confrontation. With Nathan gone...
---[x] Assure her that we will not let her die; it's the whole reason we keep coming back. (ideally teenage romance ensues as a sufficient distraction and segue)
[X] Ask Chole if she knows Frank and if she still owes him money. Also ask if she knows or thinks he would know to get an unresgistered/stolen gun. David's isn't good enough.
-[X] It's turned into a fight before, hopefully we avoid getting ambushed and drugged this time.
-[X] Ask if Prfessor Jefferson works at the school and if he still has that super creepy photo shoot on display.
-[X] For the sake of levity tell Chloe how Kate was a super uptight, stressed out Catholic girl. Still sweet and a good friend, but a total 180 from a stoner.
[x] Optimized Gino
[x] "Thank you for telling me this, Chloe. I...you're right. I d-don't know where these powers come from, or why things are different here. A-And I've...I don't know what happens if I have to go back." (cue serious look) "That's why I need to make it right, the first time."
-[x] Ask if she really wants in on the full suite of alternate timeline knowledge, warning her that it isn't good and is very personal for Chloe, acknowledging that she wanted time to come to terms with everything. Tell her that if she doesn't want the personal stuff, there's more information we could share to try and keep her in the loop.
--[x] IF YES: Rundown how Professor Jefferson and (formerly) Nathan Prescott were luring in women in order to kill them, potentially including Rachel. We found out, and Jefferson killed Chloe and drugged Max with the intention to kill her. Politely decline to explain further right now unless she starts getting angry, then reveal that through Time manipulation David saved Max.
--[x] IF NO: Respect her wishes, but tell her about how we're worried The Storm is coming; it's the reason we keep jumping back. It kills everyone in The Bay, as long as Nathan doesn't kill Chloe in a confrontation. With Nathan gone...
---[x] Assure her that we will not let her die; it's the whole reason we keep coming back. (ideally teenage romance ensues as a sufficient distraction and segue)
[x] Head for the Junkyard, while on the way talk about:
-[x] Ask if Professor Jefferson works at the school and if he still has that super creepy photo shoot on display.
-[x] Ask Chloe if she knows Frank and if she still owes him money.
-[X] Inform Chloe that even if her timeline's Nathan isn't around, there's still a chance of somebody hostile in Arcadia Bay who might fight and/or drug us, so be careful.
-[X] For the sake of levity tell Chloe how Kate was a super uptight, stressed out Catholic girl. Still sweet and a good friend, but a total 180 from a stoner.
This was a pretty clear signposting that we shouldn't try to fix everything right away. She's frustrated we're being vague, so we should offer her a clear decision on if she wants in on the full monte of Time Warrior information. Either way, we need to trust her with a little more of the Truth, like ya'll have been saying from early on.
We shouldn't go for getting a gun. We don't have training, we're sort-of on the run, and if the Prescotts are different there's no guarantee we can steal the bribe money.
We should go to the Junkyard regardless, since we're flying low enough to avoid instant Jefferson detection, and we need to confirm Rachel's status sooner rather than later. It's very possible she's alive, considering Jefferson didn't want to kill her and Nathan only did accidentally, but she is only useful/interesting to him for so long.
As a meta-note, I hate to keep bringing the tone down Alo, but this probably isn't an in-the-car conversation. Although if it's reasonably safe that we won't be overheard, you could have the first part of the plan take place in the Junkyard for better tonal consistency.
Not a bad idea, but it's less active that I'd prefer. They've both got anxious energy that they should probably burn off.
To be clear, I'm fully expecting to go to Rachel's grave and find her not there. When she isn't, it'll give Chloe (and Max) a spark of hope that they can actually do something (this time, in Max's case). There's a not-insignificant chance she's buried somewhere else, even another part of the Junkyard, but I think lighting that initial fire is key.
-snip-
As a meta-note, I hate to keep bringing the tone down Alo, but this probably isn't an in-the-car conversation. Although if it's reasonably safe that we won't be overheard, you could have the first part of the plan take place in the Junkyard for better tonal consistency.
Think of it less as a meta-note and more an instruction on when you'd like Max to bring things up IC. I take write-ins and plans as less of an in-character mental step-by-step that Max has consciously thought of (though sometimes it will, in part, manifest in the narrative as this), and more of a guide to what, narratively, you would like Max to do and when. When usually boils down to the rough order that they are listed in (with occasional re-ordering if there's no specific mentions or clearly implied direction of order), so if you do think a conversation would be better off on the ride to a location or after the ride there, don't hesitate to say so, I don't consider it micro-managey, merely a.... catalyzation of what you want happening. I'm not worried about tonal consistency in a conversational sense, if Max brings something up at a bad time due to Questor's instructions, people with her will react accordingly.
In this case, I would've taken it as "Conversation first in Price Household, followed by car ride and questions." While writing I would remember that someone (@Markala I believe?) mentioned not asking possibly angering questions while Chloe's driving, so I'd likely save Frank and "Possible Hostile" points for after the ride.
You'd have to be more clear with a fairly definitive answer on when to do the first part of the conversation though. Even with a fairly significant power to rewind time, if Max gets to the junkyard and doesn't feel safe about being overheard, she can't exactly go 30 minutes back in time back to have the talk at Chloe's house
Ultimately, quests are interesting because of the interplay between QM and questors. I'm interested in telling the story, and certainly have my own ideas pertaining to what will happen, but I'm equally as interested in all of you interacting with, and no doubt defying aspects of what's in my head (and planning documents lol.) I suppose if it makes sense, when writing an update there's a hierarchy of actions that goes:
"Random" Events (or story stuff that takes precedence, basically)
Questor input
The background noise of the story itself. Moving around, other character's responses, etc.
This kinda sets the stage for how I'll write an update and where/when things will happen with or without your input.
This post ended up a lot more rambling than I wanted it to be, and is not at all intended as a rebuff towards you Spector, but I hope that sheds a bit of light on how all y'alls input influences the quest.
I'm not offended, and that's a useful insight to how you go about writing updates. Safe was just to indicate that the house isn't being overheard, and so Max should make sure that they aren't in the Junkyard either, but I can see how that might not come across.
I was talking about how you tend to end updates with an implied call to action, like Chloe lightening the mood in preparation for a topic or scene change, but we keep bringing things back down.
I'm not offended, and that's a useful insight to how you go about writing updates. Safe was just to indicate that the house isn't being overheard, and so Max should make sure that they aren't in the Junkyard either, but I can see how that might not come across.
I was talking about how you tend to end updates with an implied call to action, like Chloe lightening the mood in preparation for a topic or scene change, but we keep bringing things back down.
Hah! Gotcha, my misunderstanding then, think of it as me gently reminding you that time is passing, if anything. Thanks for the clarification, and for your own plans.
I just realized, but Max never really experimented with her powers in-canon. If I remember correctly the "photojumps" were something she discovered accidentally, and she never attempted the Time Stop (really really slow Rewind?) a second time.
There's also how she makes extremely little use of her ability to rewind her own positioning, with the most notable usage being at the start of Episode 1. Mean, pragmatically it made sense for the developers to avoid doing really crazy things as consistent gameplay/narrative elements (with that one Frank encounter being notably odd).
She only intentionally timeline hops during Episode 5, and that's because her life literally was in danger. Really, there's a lot of (probably stupid) things she never tried.
Like time-cloning (things on her don't just disappear even if they should be retgoned), or limiting the targeted area for her rewinds. Could be entirely possible Max could restore herself, if only she focuses solely on rewinding herself and not Literally Everything.
Really, I think the main reason in-character she never did much was because she was more fixated on stopping the Storm and protecting Chloe. Even then, that's less "I'm a hero" and more just "I'm a decently good person".
Voting is now closed [X] Optimized Gino
Originally proposed by Gino
Optimized by Spector29
Markala, 7ime1ock, Teen Spirit, Spector29, TheRevanchist131, Gino
I'm tickled by the "optimized" description. Originator speedrun go.
Indeed! For the record as well, while Max certainly quantified her current abilities a bit better through her (fairly short number of) loops in this story, by no means has she truly experimented. She certainly can this time around though :^)
Edit: And I am counting abilities as things she can do on-command. Ergo Time Stop and the "Time-Jump" (for lack of a better name) we see in the beginning of the first episode where she teleports back in time to class after watching Chloe be murdered are not currently listed on her power sheet. I am certainly aware of them however.
Honestly, being a Time Manipulator is quite powerful if one keeps even scope in mind. Of course, the obvious problem of reducing Rewind's effective area is the resulting temporal asynchronous.
Granted, that's a deliciously cruel and inventive way to harm others. Ooh, turn Jefferson into some Frankenstein-ian abomination, for the sheer irony- to make him an insult to his own 'artistic' sensibility.
Huh, Max could also fake resurrection this way. Maybe going easier on Space-Time when Rewinding would make it less likely to lash out... Should she learn constant slow Self-Rewind?
She could no sell drugs and bodily harm that way, which would of made Episode 5 so much easier for her.
You feel a pang as you look at Chloe's smile. You can tell she's changing the subject so she doesn't have to hear you respond to what she said, but… you have a bit more ground to cover still.
You look away, and carefully start. "Before that… Chloe… Thank you. Thank you for telling me this, I-... You're right." You sigh and look at your right hand, at the brand new scar...burn… thing that resides there. "I don't know where these powers come from, or why things are different here. A-And I've… I don't know what happens if I have to go back." You look up and set your eyes and mouth straight, trying to pour every ounce of determination that you do genuinely feel into the words. "That's why I need to make it right. The first time."
She meets your gaze with an almost resigned air. A sheepish shrug, and "I- Thanks I guess Max. I mean, I appreciate it. But you'll go back if you have to right? I hope we get it right the first time, but how often do things go well the first time 'round, y'know? Most of us just have to live with it… you're outside that now."
You look away. "I'll- No, we'll be careful. I get what you're saying Chlo, really. Hard jumps only if there's no other option, not to improve on a success, okay?" You hope that you mean that.
She nods hesitantly. "Thanks Max, that's… reassuring, I guess."
"Also-... I know you seem- You don't seem comfortable with the whole… alternate timeline knowledge. But… would you like in on it? I can hit you with the full infodump if you want…" You weren't sure about this, but it'd be… wrong not to offer, right?
She's tempted. Hoooh is she ever tempted, you can practically see the gears - heh, clock imagery- turning in her head. She glances at your inquiring eyes. "Sorry, thinking." She says simply. You nod. She gets like this.
Finally, she grimaces and sighs, then turns to look at you. "Look. I think if you told me everything I'd just be straight up inviting Rod Serling over to scold me on the dangers of wanting to know too much." If you're in danger of that Chloe, then my Twilight Zone episode must have already ended. "Y'know, someone learning how they die and then obsessing over that." Her face freezes as she realizes what she said. Her eyes glance down at you. "Uh, don't respond to that. But with it said. There's probably dangerous stuff out there, right?"
You nod. She continues, "And stuff that I should be at least aware of?"
You nod again. "So what about no specifics? Tell me what the big dangers are but just… steer me on course for smaller stuff? I don't really mind non-life and death stuff, but you don't have to lay it all on me at once."
You sigh. That will probably work… but you'd been hoping to be able to have another person looking for patterns in the big picture. Maybe later. Maybe. You give her a small smile. "Ya Chloe, whatever you're comfortable with." She gives a small smile back. "I'll uh- Well here. Let's go to the junkyard first, since there's some stuff I gotta check, that'll give me time to get my thoughts in order."
She nods, and a grin splits her face as she dangles her truck keys from one finger. "Gladly! Right this way, Ma'am." She gestures towards the hallway. You smile and proceed, sneaking only a sidelong glance at David's security camera hidden in the smoke detector. I'll get you later.
≅≅≅
The only sign of life in the neighbourhood as you climb into Chloe's truck is a black van that cruises off as Chloe starts to pull out. I guess whatever's happening with the harbour is doing the Bay some good. You remember the neighbourhood being filled with despondent, out of work fishermen sitting out on their porches in another time.
"Let'sa go!" Chloe says with a grin, and hits the acceleration a bit harder than you're comfortable with. Yipee.
Not long after, you're bumping along the barely-maintained road to the junkyard. You shift uncomfortably in your seat. "Ever plan to get better suspension on this thing Chlo?"
She snorts. "Not likely any time soon. No cash." You nod. Frank…
A thought occurs to you. "So hey Chloe, you said the Kate Marsh you know is a bit of stoner, all new-agey?" This juxtaposition is just too good.
She grins and glances at you. "Ya, total hippie, like full on tree-hugger, you have no idea." She pauses. "Oh shit, you genuinely have no idea don't you? You said the Kate you knew was different?"
A wolfish grin crawls across your face. "Think of the most stressed out, born and raised, pure as a pew Catholic girl you can imagine." A moment of processing, and then Chloe's jaw drops open.
"No way. Kate Marsh?" You nod, and Chloe starts howling with laughter. "Hoooly shit, oh man, she would get a kick out of that idea."
You grin, but falter a bit. That's not totally fair to Kate. "Like, she was still a good friend, and really sweet, but- yes. Total sheltered Catholic kid." Chloe laughs for a while longer, seemingly more at the imagined reaction of her Kate than at the idea itself.
"That is hilarious Max, you've got to tell her at some point." You look at her sharply, and she grins back easily. "Trust me, if anyone in Arcadia Bay would be chill about superpowers, it'd be Kate. She's chill about everything."
Well. You're not so sure about that. "Play it by ear, maybe?" You say meekly.
Chloe just waves a hand. "Sure, sure, whatever."
Silence for a few minutes. Chloe turns the radio on, quietly though, quieter than normal. It's… nice. Comfortable.
"So… is there a Mark Jefferson at Blackwell? Photography teacher?" You ask, breaking the quiet.
"Oh my God! You too?" Chloe exclaims in mock anger, your face stays grave, however. "I swear, everyone's obsessed!" You nod slightly, that answers that question. It'd be too much to tell her about everything around Jefferson. One question can't wait anymore though.
"Does he still have that totally creepy photo exhibit out front of Blackwell?" You ask carefully, trying not to put too much weight into the question.
Another bark of laughter from Chloe. "Oh yeah. Every time I drive by I see all the photo-nerds, no offense, just salivating over them! Gah, even Rachel was obsessed." You cringe, an absurd feeling of guilt swells up in your chest. No. No. She asked not to, and Mark Jefferson is someone we can take down without even coming into contact with him.
"Haha, ya." You just respond instead. "It was even worse going there." Not technically untrue.
"God I can't even imagine." Chloe chuckles. She still looks slightly discomfited at the alter-knowledge, but that's a work in progress.
≅≅≅
Not long after, Chloe is pulling her truck into American Rust, the junkyard she and Rachel Amber call their own. "Do you think most junkyards have fancy names like this?" You muse.
Chloe gives you a slightly bemused expression. "I guess you gotta do something different like that if you want delinquent teenagers to really make it their home." You both chuckle a bit at that. Even despite all the shit that's gone down here, something about the atmosphere of the junkyard is relaxing. The walls of twisted metal and corridors formed by piles of trash lend it a fortress-like air. It feels secure.
Chloe hops out of the truck, and you follow suite, a bit more gingerly. "So! What did you wanna do, Max?"
You think for a moment. You wanna check on Rachel's body, most definitely, but it's as important to catch Chloe up to speed. "You have somewhere in here we can talk?"
She nods. "Yup! Have a feeling you knew that already though." With a smirk, she turns and starts leading you to her and Rachel's shed. You follow with a sheepish grin, you can take the hint that you don't need to dance around meta-knowledge at least, even if it makes her uncomfortable.
After a short walk, you're both situated in her and Rachel's hideout. Chloe's sprawled out across a dilapidated looking bench with some ratty pillows and a blanket strewn on top, and you're nervously perched in an uprooted car seat that seems fixed to the ground. Once the hideout is sealed up by Chloe -via pulling closed the corrugated metal "sunroof" and sliding the wooden debris over the doorway- it actually warms up a fair bit pretty quickly. By no means is it warm, but it's well insulated enough that with two bodies to heat it, it protects from the worst of the October chill.
"So, what else Max?" Chloe drawls. You'd spent a while getting comfortable and just relaxing, but Chloe looks ready to keep going. She seems more at ease here than she did in her own room.
You pick your words carefully. "So- There's... something coming to Arcadia Bay. It's the reason I keep jumping back. A Storm."
She watches you intently. "I guess it's not a small storm?"
You shake your head, the car seat suddenly wiggles precariously underneath you and you yelp as you're sent flailing to the ground. Chloe's laughter provides a musical accompaniment as you rub your hip. That's gonna leave a bruise. You give Chloe a sour look as you get up to take the wooden classroom chair that's parked on the wall behind you. "Thanks for the help, Punk."
"You're fiiiiine." She waves it away. "So, a Storm?"
"Yeah." You nod. "It levels Arcadia Bay and ther-... And the damage is… worse than you'd ever expect…" You break eye contact, remembering the gas explosion at the Two Whales that claimed Joyce's life. You were never able to figure out how to stop that one.
You look back at Chloe, fixing your eyes on her. "It's the reason I keep going back, to try and prevent it." After a long moment, she nods.
"When does it come?"
You sigh and look frustratedly up at the ceiling. "It usually comes on Friday, and each day leading up has, uhm. They call them 'meteorological anomalies.'"
Comprehension dawns on Chloe's face, she rights herself on the bench, looking at you seriously. "Like the snowstorm last night." A statement, rather than a question.
"Yes, but, that snowstorm usually comes earlier in the day, before the sun sets. It came at two AM last night." Chloe's face sets into that thinking frown you know so well.
"Still… that's not that far off. We still have to assume it's on track for Friday." She looks at you. "Have you tried getting the town evacuated?"
You give a nod, just a small one. "Ya… there's… a lot in the way of that. The biggest one is that the storm just shows up the day of. No lead up, no wind patterns, nothing that marks a coming storm. It sucks trying to convince people without that."
Chloe nods absently. "...I might have some ideas about that, but I need to do some research." Her eyes refocus and she looks at you. "Anything else?"
You nod. This chair is not comfortable. "Ya actually. Do you… uhm. Know Frank Bowers?"
Chloe's face immediately sets into something like a snarl. You're glad you didn't bring this up on the road. "Ugh. Yeah. Why, is he gonna be a problem?"
You shake your head. "It- ah. Depends. Do you still owe him money?" She grits her teeth and nods once. "Right… we can take care of that, actually pretty easily if this part is the same."
Chloe gets up. "Let's walk and talk, ya?" You nod and follow as she shifts the debris away from the door. Soon the two of you are walking aimlessly through the junk, Chloe with practiced ease, and you carefully picking your steps so as not to lose a toe. "It'd definitely be nice to get rid of that debt. You have no idea how much harder it is to buy weed when you're on Frank's bad side."
You mean, you guess that's a concern. You look around carefully, but you're not especially worried about running into Frank here today. Last times it was specifically because of the gunshots and him following you from the school. "Don't worry about it Chlo, we'll figure it out. He can be a… friend. In looking for Rachel."
She turns a bit to look at you sharply. "Is that so…?" She murmurs. Then abruptly turns and keeps walking… directly towards the train tracks.
"Ah- Chloe!" You yelp, trying to put some force into your voice. She turns and looks at you quizzically, the forest behind her. "Not- uh. Don't go near the train tracks." You try to impart the meaning into your words.
She pouts, - that's cheating - "But Maaax…" and mimes walking along with her arms both held horizontally.
"No, Chloe." You give her a look. She holds the look for a second before rolling her eyes and turning away.
"Fiiiiiine."
You sigh. It's probably time to check on… Rachel. "Chloe I think I'm… almost done here. Do you mind waiting at the truck? There's something I need to check." She scowls at you for a moment before shrugging and brushing past.
"Fine. Seeya there."
You breath out a sigh and try to amp yourself up, beginning to move hesitantly towards the burial site. Nathan's not here this time. He doesn't go to Blackwell. That doesn't mean Jefferson wouldn't take advantage of Rachel, and… do something. But it could help.
You're nearly there. Just turn this corner and-
You pause, and run forward, legs burning from the sudden exertion. You slow as you approach the spot where you'd seen that ethereal doe in another time. There's… nothing here. No scraps of flannel, no disturbed, up-turned dirt. No stench of rotting miasma. She's not here. A cold match of hope explodes into a flame in your belly, despite your internal worries. She could be buried elsewhere, maybe even elsewhere in this very junkyard. But… maybe… there's something you can do this time. Maybe you can help her?
You jump and turn around, eyes flickering desperately from left to right. Jefferson's not here. I'm safe. A few deep breaths. There. Okay, back to Chloe.
Current Point - October 9th, 2013, around 2:00PM
October 7th, 2013, 9:47pm. In hallway of hospital, no clothes yet, and holding "borrowed" phone.
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, One other Photograph. (In Chloe's weed stash)
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, Two other Photographs.
[] Write In
Anything left to do in the junkyard? If not, give me some evening plans for the duo.
≅≅≅
Max wasn't quite able to get it in that Chloe's the ultimate reason she's been going back, she was hesitant due to the whole "No life or death things unless they're super huge" stipulation. Not that Chloe dying isn't huge, but Max is conflicted. Feel free to decide for her whether to mention it at an opportune time.
I'm trying to keep things interesting despite them being kind of a couple of talking heads right now, hope it's not too boring to read.
Rachel might still be alive and captive in the bunker then. In which case we defintely need a gun, and probably more people.
Frank was all about Rachel so maybe if we got him his money and showed our powers he'd be down for breaking into the bunker, he's a got a gun at least.
I think it would be worthwhile for Max to test some obvious yet useful applications of her power. She definitely needs to try Rewinding her appearance, to avoid getting thrown back in the hospital. She can barely go anywhere right now, which is problematic for investigating things.
