DISCLAIMER: Life is Strange is a product of DONTNOD Entertainment and Square Enix as well as Jean-Luc Cano and Christian Divine; and the characters, setting, and game itself is, in no way my own.

I am simply here to add my creative twist to the story

A New Day, Redux

Max once again woke up to Zeitgeist Gallery, this time in a life largely different than before.

She woke up, returning to that day in 2008 with her opportunity and walk with Chloe and William to help Joyce on groceries. She managed to save the lives of Chloe Price from a terrible car accident with her red pickup truck (a gift from Max with help from William and Max's father) which included every safeguard available. While Max couldn't prevent leaving Arcadia Bay, she did manage to keep in touch with Chloe and reunite (again, with William's help) to the trip to France, opening the door to them on school and photography. They managed Skype calls, phone calls, text messages, even occasional summer reunions.

This alternate timeline also reintroduced Max to Rachel Amber, this time in a new light. Max initially was worried, given the fact that Rachel Amber, while a close friend and a great person, was indeed a troublemaker with her liberal attitude. Yet, with Max meeting her, the hipster managed to influence the rebel-rouser and still keep Rachel involved in both modeling and international law. Yet, conversely, the two did come close, especially with Rachel using Max's photographic talent for her modeling profile, allowing the two to get closer.

Largely, Max retained her friendships, expanded her group of close friends and even changed her personality a bit. Rachel's open attitude towards others placated the relationship with Victoria (not to mention Max knowing her back in Seattle helped), while Max befriended Kate early and much better onwards, curbing her from the dark path of depression. And, while a relationship with Warren wasn't in her tastes, she nevertheless befriended him as best as she could and even hooked him up with Brooke. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Mark Jefferson was caught shortly after she turned in her project for the Everyday Heroes contest.

As for Chloe's family, William and Joyce were stronger than ever together. They even welcomed a new child, a boy named William, Jr. but commonly nicknamed as Billy. Chloe, with her car and haphazard best friends, did manage to achieve her success as a graphic artist as well as a major science and math nerd (which Max never let Chloe live down). Yet, she took a year off in order for Max to join her in Paris. Joyce, with the open opportunity after the downfall of Sean Prescott (and subsequent hospitalization of Nathan).

Rachel, nevertheless, disappeared in March 2013 as before. Max, however, knew where she was and kept quiet about it, if only to play things out. After Jefferson's arrest, Max would go on to win the contest and go down to San Francisco to talk to several art reporters and schools. And, as luck would have it, she would still keep David Madsen alive, this time as a shop teacher. Yet, sadly it was only temporary. While David was alive and even friends with William and Joyce, his demons from war still haunted him, suffering from PTSD and depression. And, despite every effort of assistance, David gave up and shot himself in April 2013, writing that his demons wee too great to fight and that he was sorry for leaving this way, but insisted "This was my pain, my suffering. You did nothing wrong.". Despite that, Max was devastated. She knew that this was a consequence of the loss of her powers, but the guilt remained.

It did, however, help her win the contest with a picture of David being consoled by William and Joyce with their backs faced to the camera. And as she arrived to the Zeitgeist Gallery with Prinicpal Wells and Chloe, she knew that the picture would speak strong words to those who saw it.

"Man, this is some serious shit" Chloe said, looking st the amount of people at the Museum as well as the art reporters and those she called snobs. Her hair remained the same blue, but with a tint of purple on the one side covering her right eye with blonde roots. Her hair went down to her shoulders, but she still held all her tattoos and her leather jacket (something Max became strongly attracted to with Chloe, just to say the least).

"You're telling me" Max said, back again with her tan blouse, white tee-shirt, black pants, and dream-catcher necklace (a gift from both Rachel and Chloe years back). The nerves were on her moreso than ever, not just for her career in photography, but also what to expect next. Rachel has been here in San Francisco since March, trying to stay low under the radar. And, it's not even sure if she's still here or if she's gone off some deep end. Or, if what happened on that bench truly was real.

"Hey" Chloe said, noticing Max's fear and nerves, placing an arm around her shoulder to soothe her. "You'll do amazing regardless. And look at it this way: You'll be in Paris learning about art itself and capture many fantastic pieces. And staying with your badass gal."

Max smirked as Chloe kissed the side of her forehead. "Yeah, but the 'no emojis' rule is a bitch to get through."

"You'll manage" Chloe said nonchalantly before making a face to Max, taking her hand and going into the crowd of critics.

The crowd largely liked Max's piece, garnering requests from Iris-In Magazine, the Berkley People's Herald, even a rep from NPR about interviews, pieces, and even discussions on her piece and photography. She garnered support from the "art snobs" to the fellow hipsters, from the occasional dabbler, to the workers. That said, every now and then was an occasional criticism of the piece, from "the death of art" to "anybody could be an artist now". Even Chloe managed to play up the story of the picture and garner some support. Man, that woman is amazing, Max thought to herself as she saw her. All in all, Max's second chance provided her with the one opportunity that she lacked before: falling in love with Chloe all over and giving her a better life than she had before. Maybe that will never be recognized and maybe that there will never be any recognition about what happened to everyone. But, at least Max can take the good fact that she has altered the rules just a bit so that she can enjoy what she saved and build on it and mature.

Max left Chloe to her stumping and serenading of the crowd as she strolled around to the other pieces there, admiring the positions and the angles of the photographs and its subjects. As she faced the entrance of the building, she saw someone. A skinny figure with a flannel shirt, a blue and purple feather earring on her left ear, faded blue jeans, and a complexion of a model that would love to be the subject in a picture. Max knew right then and there, no matter what she doubted over the years, that what happened with Rachel was real. And as she went down the stairs, she aimed to prove herself right.

Rachel Amber walked over to the list of the winners of the "Everyday Heroes" contest, taking in all of those that attended, but stopped on the name she heard a million times before: Max Caulfield. All the distant dreams of hugging her on a bench, the phone calls and yearly visits over the summer, the picking on a rising hipster photographer, the hugs and wild memories, the promises made and the promises kept. She grinned at that name, but froze when she heard a familiar voice.

"Rachel Amber?" Max stated, a shade of fear and nervousness hiding in that voice as she stood to the left of Rachel, hoping deep down she remembers.

Rachel, turning, took in the look that she saw from Max, from her tan blazer to the dreamcatcher necklace, how she matured since before those dreams and even when she visited on the summers, and how beautiful she looked, even if a hipster. Rachel took one scan of Max, looked back at her face and smiled.

"You know, I knew you were adorable, but not stunning, too"

Max, realizing her nerves are no longer necessary, melted into a grin and ran into Rachel's open arms for a tight hug. After five years of a do-over, the memories and hurtful feelings of what happened, the consequences of what had happened through this second chance, and everything she had learned and attempted to do to prevent a repeat disaster, this - this very moment, was all that it was worth for. The warmth from that hug, the joy she felt holding that skinny, yet bashful woman, and receiving the fact that she now has a partner in crime, a good friend, and a photogenic, beautiful model in her life.

The two reminisced over recent events, from jailing Jefferson, to the loss of David Madsen and preparations for life after the Zeitgeist for Max. For Rachel, it was some modeling jobs, some discussions and interning on international affairs, even her push to be a muse for some artists and photographers within the city. One picture of Rachel actually won a separate contest for an artist and gave her some financial assistance, staying at an apartment near the bay. She even won some contests for a scholarship in studying abroad and insisted that it be France. Yet, the two never once stopped holding hands, or goofed off, or enjoyed the moment they were in, of unbounded joy and relief and jubilation of being together.

After about five minutes of talking, both heard the unmistakable voice of Chloe looking for Max. Rachel, willing to milk a moment ran to hide from Chloe's view as Max called Chloe over.

"Hey, where the hell have you been" Chloe asked

"Just admiring some of the pieces" Max said coyly.

Chloe, knowing that Max was lying decided to chirp back, "Uh huh, and yet you weren't nearby to admire me. Come on, some of the snobs want to see you and I may or may not have inflated some things about you to garner some attention."

Max rolled her eyes in embarrassment, but insisted to stay in order to play out the surprise.

"Wait, Che" she said, "I just want to look at you in this moment"

"And you have yet to see me in others" Chloe quipped back, "Come on, what's so important about right now?"

Rachel, just after Chloe said that, came up to scare Chloe. Chloe, jumping a bit, turned around with the intention to punch whoever shocked her. The moment she saw Rachel's face, however, she froze and began to cry as she held her other best friend in her arms.

"You assholes!" she sobbed as she held Rachel and cried in joy at her return.

Max hugged Chloe and Rachel. For once, she was happy in a life full of drama and loss. And while Chloe may be sobbing in the fact that her other "Angel" is back , she made sure that Max did not feel left out as before and whispered in her ear.

"Thank you"

For once, it was a good moment.

A/N: Alright, a bit of explanation and reasoning.

This may not be the most amazing chapter, but it was something to finish on and something that I had planned in an effort to finish this story. However, I have had family drama and employment issues related to said drama and, therefore, the story had to take to the backburner for some time.

The picture, I agree, seemed really ridiculous to actually be considered something of "revolutionary" in photographic media (It's a selfie, for fuck sake). Therefore, I redid the picture to have it as William and Joyce being there for David. The bit of David and the Prices is actually loosely based on a photo of my mother and my two aunts. And, like David, the youngest of my Mother's sisters, was a military woman and a vet and did suffer from mental issues after her service. And, like David, she wrestled with her demons but wasn't inherently a bad person. So, it wasn't an accident that I killed him off, it was a personal touch.

Any and all critique is welcome. I will be considering whether to do an epilogue with this or separately over time. But consider this coming to a close.