#chapter 24

“What are you doing here?” She immediately greets you with an interrogation. “Why are you not at the crawl?”

You walk into what used to be your shared room and set down the things you had picked up at the store in your quick pit stop before you walk to her bedside. “Dad said you were sick, so I came. I thought it was just a cold on my way here, but you look terrible,” you lightly tease her before you press the back of your hand on her forehead and feel how hot she is.

“It’s not so bad,” she tries to downplay her symptoms even though her red, teary droopy eyes, and her warm forehead tell a different story.

“You know one has to wonder how someone who never goes out gets sick?” You keep poking fun at her, making her smile weakly.

“Hop said it’s because I went out with my hair wet,” she says and you can’t help but laugh since it’s something you've been told hundreds of times but was never proven right until now.

“Yeah, that does it,” you quip before you walk away, causing her to sit up and instantly question you.

“Where are you going? Are you going back?”

You walk to the dresser to grab the movie you had brought with you and show it off to her to answer her question before you also respond verbally. “No, I was just grabbing this, ‘Hello, Dolly’. You like it so I thought we could watch it. Unless you want me to bring Mike? He said he’d be here after the crawl but to contact him if you need anything.”

Eleven lies her head back on the pillow as she’s quietly comforted by the fact that you aren’t intending to leave anytime soon.

She’s never been one to get sick all the time. Or at least not that she can remember. The last time she was sick she just had the sniffles, so it wasn’t as serious as it is now. Right now, even if she doesn’t tell you, she feels like she’s dying.

“No,” she says. “It’s okay. I don’t want to get him sick.”

“Oh, but it’s okay to get me sick?”

“No. Please go,” she says halfheartedly, hoping you’ll do anything but leave, and luckily for her you don’t have the intention to do so. With your role as a volunteer in the military, it’s better if you don’t risk going with Steve and Dustin to keep track of your dad, so you don’t really have much to do while they’re doing the crawls. Thus, you’re here with nothing but time. Besides, where else would you be while she’s sick?

She hardly gets sick and the last time she was she swore something was wrong with her, so you want to keep her company and help her for as long as you can. Or at least until your dad gets back home.

“I was just teasing you,” you reassure her before you walk to the tv to pop in the movie, letting silence accompany the two of you until you get the movie to start playing. “Dad said you ate some soup Joyce made, so let me get a wet towel to put on your forehead so I can lie down with you and watch the movie!” You let her know and try to make your way out, but she stops you.

“No, it’s okay. You came to check on me. That’s enough,” she says more seriously now, but it’s not something that’s up for debate so you just glance at her over your shoulder before you go grab that wet towel and return to lie beside her, caring not one bit that you could possibly get sick too. All that matters is her so you spoon her as you press the towel against her forehead.

However, she turns away from the TV, letting it talk to itself to face you and make you switch hands.

“Will you be coming back home soon?” She asks innocently and as much as her hopeful look tears at your heart, your intention to return to live with your dad is not something up for debate either.

“No, I’m sorry, babygirl,” you say apologetically. “I think if I want to keep having a relationship with dad it’s best if I stay with Steve.”

Eleven's gaze flickers down and she frowns with disappointment, so you grab her chin with your knuckle and try to comfort her the best you can.

“But I’ll come visit often. We can have dinner together here and more movie nights. It’ll be like I never left.”

“Okay,” she mutters softly before she swallows thickly whilst she takes a heavy blink, making you stroke her cheek and whisper hoping this will lift her sick spirits.

“Steve and I have been talking and after this quarantine is over. After we’ve killed Vecna, we want you to come with this on our roadtrip.”

You smile sweetly and see her strain to offer you a reflection of that smile.

“Neither one of us has seen all fifty states so I think it’ll be fun seeing that for the first time together, don’t you think?” You try to paint a picture of a far-out trip to get her excited. However, you had sold your plan the moment you pitched it.

“There’s many fun landmarks we can see and we can get a shirt of every state and make a quilt out of them,” you keep trying to sell your plan.

“A quilt?” She asks with amusement and confusion.

“Yeah!” You giggle. “I hear some people do that so why don’t we? It’ll be fun and something that’ll remind us of our trip forever.”

Eleven offers you another strained smile and offers you her approval. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

You hum and stroke her cheek again as you realize how hard she’s trying to stay awake to keep talking to you. “For now why don’t we sleep, hm? So you can feel better in the morning.”

“Will you stay with me for the night?” She asks without thinking and out of a moment of vulnerability.

And without thinking, you reassure her. “Of course.”

Eleven offers you one more weak smile before she turns around, letting you spoon her against you and lay your head behind hers without having the intention of falling asleep, but as you watch the movie playing on the TV, and the darkness of the room blankets you, you can’t help but slowly be lulled to sleep with Eleven in your arms.

That’s the sight your dad walks into when he returns with Steve from the crawl, and even though he was sent to fetch you to return home, who would he be to disturb such a peaceful slumber?

Yet, he doesn’t walk out of the room right away. He walks in to turn off the tv and then lingers by the door to admire his two girls sleeping together because there's nothing more precious, and there’s nothing he wanted more when he was in that cold Russian prison than to see the both of you even if you were sleeping, so he stays under the doorframe to capture the moment and store it in his memory so he can never, ever forget such a simple yet peaceful sight.

——

*NOW*

A thick lump of concern slowly drags down your throat as you steal one more glance at a glum and pensive Eleven, because that’s all you can do, swallow your concern because her answer to every concerned-filled question is, “I’m fine.”.

She’s honestly sounding like a record with how many times she’s used that single phrase, but if she doesn’t want to say what she’s obviously hiding you can’t force her. Thus, you watch her for a second longer hoping to uncover something, but all you get is one last wave before she turns away and starts heading towards the lab with your dad, her sister, and Murray, and before you climb onto the passenger seat of the truck to keep Steve company as he drives you all to the Squawk tower.

Perhaps you should’ve stayed in the back to talk to Mike though, he would’ve been good to talk to about Eleven. Perhaps he's also noticed her strange behavior—no, he definitely has, so you could’ve discussed that with him and tried to come up with some comforting answer, but you’re with Steve and have no intention of stopping him just so you can switch spots, thus, you start a conversation with him in hopes he’ll offer some insight. Something you’ve missed.

“Something feels wrong,” you break the silence and perhaps it was the wrong way to start because he looks at you wide-eyed and concerned.

“What? What do you mean? Is it—”

“Oh!” You exclaim as you pick up on what he’s assuming. “No, no, it’s not the baby. It’s…Eleven,” you assure him, making him touch his chest and let out a relieved breath before he probes.

“What do you mean?”

You bite your cheek and look out the window, seeing nothing but that white crap running past the window. “She’s been…I don’t know. She’s been acting weird all day,” you share your thoughts out loud. “But ever since she returned from helping Murray with the truck, she’s been even more weird and quiet, and every time I ask she just brushes me off with ‘I’m fine’, but it sounds rehearsed. And I obviously don’t want to pester her but I just…I know something's wrong,” you finish with a deep breath and then turn your gaze away from the window to look at Steve to see what he thinks.

“Well,” he exhales deeply and purses his lips together as he thinks about what you told him before he shrugs a few moments later and briefly meets your gaze. “Maybe she’s just worried about this, you know? Killing her psychotic brother.”

It’s something you’ve considered, but with so much running through your mind you never let that set as a certain possibility. It still doesn’t set, but you consider it and feel less troubled by your concern.

“I have noticed her being distant from Mike today though,” Steve points out, making your face light up as you realize that he’s also picked up on her behavior and he’s not just trying to comfort you.

“She was going to leave the truck without saying goodbye until he made her turn back.”

“Yeah,” you breathe out pensively before he continues but ventures off topic.

“And have you noticed Jonathan and Nancy? They’re kind of weird since we saved them from that room.”

“I haven’t noticed,” you admit considering there’s been other stuff in your mind.

“And then there’s Vickie and Robin, but I guess that there’s nothing wrong with them. I should be happy because Vickie knows the truth, you know, but I can’t help but be a little jealous.”

That catches all your attention, so you slowly turn your head to look at Steve with your eyebrow quirked. “You’re jealous of a lesbian couple?”

“No!” He blurts and throws out his hand. “I mean jealous of Robin. I mean, she just saved her girlfriend from a pack of Demo-dogs. That’s a big hero moment! What have I done?”

You start to smile in amusement, forgetting all your worries for that moment. “You’ve saved me,” you assure him, but he quickly rebuts.

“No, the first time it was a group effort and the Demo-dogs ended up running past us at the end. In the summer you saved me and Robin. And then the following year you ended up completely saving me! Twice! Again!”

You chuckle and then shrug all smugly. “What can I say? But for your sake, I could uhm, let you have one last hero moment when we’re up there in that other dimension. I can pretend to fall and you can swoop me up bridal style.”

Steve meets your gaze with a pout and then groans, so you reach over and squeeze his arm. “Oh don’t pout. I like being a kickass team. I don’t like being the damsel in distress. It blows.” You squeeze his arm again and flash him a smile. “So don’t be jealous. I think they should be jealous of us. We work so well together. They, well, they kind of don’t. Don’t tell them that though.”

“Well, I guess that’s right,” he mumbles with some satisfaction. “But still…it was kind of cool.”

You smile brighter at your friends' heroics and nod. “I agree.”

The rest of the ride to the radio tower is made with small chatter here and there, but mostly you ride in a pensive silence as your thoughts find their way back to Eleven and how there’s something you can’t uncover. Something that bothers you so much it makes you sit uneasily.

You hope you’re wrong and Steve is right, but you can’t know. Not now, so when you arrive at the radio tower you try your best to put all your focus on the task at hand.

“Hey, uh, Robin, yeah, uh can you please tell me that that was you guys and not more of those, like, mutant Cujos?” You hear Vickie panic through the walkie as you help your friends down from the back of the truck.

“It’s us, and it’s too early to be stressed, Vic. Save it for later,” Robin puts it how it is in a gentle manner.

“Yeah, no, copy that, yeah. No. Bottling…bottling emotions,” Vickie ends the conversation and goes radio silent, making you and Robin share an amused laugh before she passes by so you can help the others.

Once everyone is on the ground, you all gather around each other and can’t help but gawk at the radio tower that looks impossibly taller in the Upside Down. Or does it feel that way because you know you have to climb it? Either way, it looks almost intimidating.

“No sign of an evil moving planet,” Lucas comments as he looks through his binoculars.

“Well, that’s good,” Jonathan inputs. “‘Cause this is gonna take time. All right, we should split up. Use both ladders.” Jonathan points at the ladders at either side of the intimidating tower. “Don’t rush. Okay? Pace yourselves. There are platforms along the way, so use them to rest. All right. Let’s do this.”

With a deep sigh you set off after Steve and end up climbing behind him because he demands to lead the way up just in case you come across danger.

Luckily, it’s quiet all the way to the top. Which is…more ominous than good, but you don’t wait for danger to come. Nor do you wish for it as scary as the silence is.

You don’t take a break either as tired as you grow. It’s too much of a hassle and the air is not fresh and crisp to breathe, so you keep climbing and climbing until finally you reach the top and find a second of relief until you realize how high off the ground you are.

“It’s pretty damn spectacular,” Dustin finds a way to muse about the view.

“Until we’re falling to our deaths,” you add morbidly and turn away from the ground that would turn you into nothing more than a splatter of blood and a pile of bones if you fell from this high.

“It’s almost too bad we have to blow it all up,” Lucas adds to Dustin’s comment seconds before there’s a loud crack in the sky that doesn’t come from the thunder you know that much, so you look up and there peeking out of the clouds are pieces of land slowly descending upon you.

“Mother of God,” Dustin muses without fascination in his voice. Instead, there’s disbelief.

“It’s starting,” you mumble and shift closer to Steve as if that would help from the impending doom that’s slowly coming towards you threatening to squish you as if you’re nothing but bugs under a rock.

“This plan of yours better work, Harrington,” Robin quips as she moves back towards the railing.

“It’s working so far isn’t it?” You defend your boyfriend, but you start to feel panic pumping through your blood as your body starts to wonder why in the world you’re not running for your life as the other world is coming down on you. It almost takes everything in you not to go with your instincts, but you somehow manage to preserve and stay at the top with the others, hoping that the other world doesn’t stop getting closer before you’re able to reach it to go to the other side.

“No, no, no, guys, guys,” Lucas calls for everyone’s attention. “It’s not lining up.”

You immediately swing your head back to look up and see the flashing red light at the top of the rod pointing at the rock instead of the rift.

“What do you mean it’s not lining up?” Steve asks as he walks over to Lucas to look up.

“Look, look,” Lucas points out. “The tower needle, it’s not lining up with the rift.”

“Shit.”

“If the Abyss hits the needle—”

“Then this tower is going down too,” you finish for Will.

“Well, that’s great,” Steve mutters. “That’s just great.”

“Dustin the walkie,” you demand, and put your hand out so he can hand you what you asked for with the antenna sticking out all the way so you’re able to reach your dad.

“Hey, Dad,” you say through the walkie with a sense of panic so he knows it’s urgent. “We’re going to need El to stop this planet. Like, really soon. Please.”

“How soon?” Your dad asks.

You look over at Dustin and he gives you an estimate. “30 seconds?”

“30 seconds,” you repeat back to your dad.

“All right I’m going to give her the signal,” he lets you know, leaving you to watch the planet getting incredibly closer. To the point, Dustin snatches the walkie from your hand to yell at your dad.

“Chief, talk to me. What’s going on in there?!”

“I don’t know. I can’t talk to her,” your dad exclaims in return. “I gave her the signal.”

“Well, nothing's happening over here and we’re about to be squashed by a moving planet. So give it again!”

You swallow thickly and feel Robin’s sweaty hand wrap around yours, so you glance at her and tighten your hold as you reflect the same look of terror on your faces. When the planet gets closer to hitting the needle, you and Robin let your hands go to instead hold onto each other as tightly as you can.

“Shit!” Dustin cries before you hear a chilling crash as the descending planet destroys the needle and keeps crushing it, causing the tower to shake violently, and making you and Robin cling to the tower's railing for some stability. However, the planet keeps coming down and destroying more of that needle in its path, so it makes the tower unstable.

Even so, you keep clinging to the railing.

“Look out! Look out! Look out!” You hear Steve warn, so you look over and see a part of the tower's needle split in half and come falling towards the tower where Steve is, so you start to hope that it would miss hitting the platform, but as it comes rushing down, it slams against the railing, tearing apart some of it and making the tower lean towards the side.

Thankfully though, you all are able to cling onto the remainder of the tower and avoid falling over, or so that’s what you thought, because in your quick scan to make sure everyone is still on the tower, you catch Steve falling over the platform left without a railing thanks to the needle falling over.

“Steve!” You cry with desperation and agony before you start pulling away from the railing.

Yet just as the cold air hits your palm, a sweaty hand immediately grabs ahold of you, stopping you from going after Steve as he falls over the edge.

“NO!” You bellow. “Steve! Robin, let go! Steve!”

You snap around to try and free yourself from her tight grasp, but she finds the strength to keep clinging onto you. “No, Robin,” you grimace and keep fighting her until she lets go of the railing herself to grab onto you and turn you around, making you think that she's playing some cruel joke by making you watch the love of your life fall to his death, but when your eyes fall where he was, you see that Jonathan has a hold of him.

It’s such a miraculous and beautiful sight, but nothing brings you more relief than seeing Steve on the platform on his own two feet.

“Oh my god,” you cry and gently shake Robin before you free yourself from her to run to Steve alongside Dustin.

“Oh god, baby,” you say through frightened pants.

“I’m okay,” he assures you and Dustin.

“Yeah,” you chuckle breathlessly before you hug him tighter and let your frightened heart calm down.

“Shit!” Dustin exclaims as he pulls back to face Steve. “I thought you were toast.” He chuckles with relief and Steve laughs along with him, letting you take this moment to let Steve go and rush over to hug Jonathan.

“Thank you!” You breathe out with tears in your eyes. “Thank you.”

Jonathan awkwardly pats your back. “Uh, yeah. No problem.”

“Hug me back, idiot,” you snap, making him chuckle before he returns the embrace.

“Thank you,” you say one more time before you let go of him to offer him a thankful smile before you return to Steve’s side.

“She did it,” Steve points out as he wraps his arm around your shoulders, letting you wrap your arm around his waist. “El, stopped him.”

You look up and only now realize that the planet is no longer threatening to crush you and a rift is just in reach. Which works perfectly because you can go through now, but there’s one big question that has to be asked; who’s going through first?

“So we move on to our next phase,” you remind the group. “Who wants to go first?”

You all look at each other and Steve grips onto your shoulder, telling you without a need for words that you won’t be the one risking your life. And as much as you want to argue, you’ve made a compromise so you keep your mouth shut and let Nancy volunteer herself this time.

“I will,” she says before she proceeds to fix all the straps around her to make sure that they’re secure around her body before she climbs on the steady railing and grabs ahold of the piece of rock above your heads without protest from anyone. If you were to protest you’d make no progress so no matter how much you see Jonathan wanting to stop her, he holds his tongue and just helps her pull herself up all the way to the rift where she breaks through like a chick breaking through the membrane of their egg.

This however is much grosser progress because goo rains down from the rift, making you all step back and groan in disgust while Nancy manages to go to the other side without any problems.

Only seconds of silence follow where you all hold your breaths as you’re all left in the dark hoping that she hasn’t been killed.

You almost part your lips to call out for the girl in the other dimension, but you’re all then relieved when you hear the echo of her voice coming from above. “All clear!”

You smile softly and then return your gaze to the group huddled below the rift, catching Dustin volunteering to be the second person to climb through before the others follow with the same difficulty he and Nancy had because all that stands between you and your deaths is nothing. Nothing will catch you if you tip over the railing, so one by one you all carefully scale to the other side.

When it's eventually your turn to climb to the other side you never attempt to look down at the impending doom hiding through the clouds. You just focus on climbing up and thank whatever higher power that exists that you don’t fall to your death. You thankfully manage to arrive at the dry canyon-like terrain that is the other dimension and that is nothing like the Upside Down.

This new dimension is not covered in darkness. The sky is a mix of yellow and orange as if the sky is on fire under the thick and dark cover of clouds, forbidding the world from being any brighter and giving off a foreboding atmosphere that is quite the same as the Upside Down. It actually looks like there’s a sun somewhere beyond, but even if there is, it’s still as cold as the Upside Down is which your mind finds conflicting given the bright ferocious sky.

“I should’ve brought a camera,” you muse as you can’t take your eyes off the grand horizon offering more and more dry terrain that all looks quite the same.

“One small step for man. A giant leap for humanity,” Steve muses to himself, making you giggle before Robin corrects him.

“A giant leap for mankind dingus.”

You flash him your smile before you offer him a sympathetic pat and then follow Robin towards the others standing on a cliff that overlooks the fiery horizon.

“Where to now?” Lucas asks the important question. “This place is not like the Upside Down. We could go forward and get lost forever.”

“We move forward as if it were the Upside Down,” Will shares, making all eyes fall on him.

“Are you sure?” Robin is the one who expresses the group's doubt.

“No, but I just know,” he offers little comfort, but what other choice do you have but to listen to him? You don’t have a map to follow to where Hawkins Lab would be in the Upside Down, so with no other choice, you start trudging forward, hoping that nothing scary is around any corner ready to attack.

“Are you okay?” Dustin finally gets the chance to ask you, making you grab onto your speargun's shoulder strap and nod with an assuring smile.

“Yeah, all good. Just trying to make sure I remember this place. It’s kind of…beautiful up here.”

“Cold,” he points out. “Eerie, but yeah it’s beautiful too. Scientists would go nuts for this. Makes me wish I could uncover it to the world and become some renowned space traveler or something.”

You chuckle. “Well, since we can’t, why not be secretly smug that we’re doing what most people can only wish to do?” You try to offer him an alternative, which is lame you know that, everyone knows that, but unless you want to risk going to jail or being killed by the government then there’s nothing else to do but silently gloat.

“It’s not the same.” He sighs, making you nod lightly.

“Yeah, I know, but it’s better than being killed.”

Dustin nods in agreement with disappointment before Robin walks over and pushes herself between him and you to grab ahold of your shoulders.

“So is anyone going to tell me why we’re coddling you?” She directs at you as she shakes your shoulder. “All I’ve heard all day is everyone asking if you’re fine. Are you hurt? Is something,” she pauses and her eyes go wide with panic. “Is there something wrong that I’ve missed? I-I’ve tried to be you know, uh, attentive to everyone, but with Vickie, I’ve just had so much on my plate!”

You and Dustin share an amused look at your friends rambling before Dustin parts his lips.

Yet in a flip of a switch, you glare at him and shake your head stiffly to forbid him from saying anything that might uncover your secret.

And so, without needing to be told anything else, Dustin shuts his mouth, licks his lips, and just comes up with something else. “Well, considering Vecna is after her, I was just concerned. And you know how Steve is.”

Robin lets your shoulders go and then skips forward before she spins around and walks backwards to be able to face you and Dustin. “Yeah, I forgot about that,” she says, so without giving anything away with your look, you offer her a smile before you skip forward to fall at her side and turn her around so she’s walking straight and doesn’t risk tripping like the klutz she is.

Everyone else, as per usual, walks at their own pace without straying far from each other; Steve and Jonathan walk behind the train of people while you, Robin, and Nancy take the lead. Or Nancy does, you and Robin just stick by her while everyone else stays in the middle, making conversation while being wary enough to not get surprised by anything.

Albeit much like the Upside Down, it’s eerily quiet. There’s not even thunder rumbling or lightning brightening the sky. The clouds don’t move, the natural light doesn’t dim or brighten and nothing lurks near or beyond what your eyes can see. It stays as it was when you crossed dimensions. It’s eerie.

“Once this is all over and that stupid quarantine is over we should do something,” you offer Nancy and Robin while also trying to distract yourself from the chills crawling down your spine. “Just us girls.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that,” Robin supports your idea with a big smile. “But what?”

You shrug. “Anything. Lunch. Getting our hair done. Our nails. Getting new clothes after falling behind the fashion trends for a year! Anything, let’s just get out,” you groan with desperation for some fun that doesn’t involve being stuck in the perimeters of the small town.

Without the mall, there aren’t many places to go to waste your time. And without much merchandise from the outside world, it’s like you’re stuck in 1986.

“As fun as that sounds, let's focus on trying to get out of here first,” Nancy doesn’t try to get her hopes up, but that's the opposite of why you offered your idea for future plans in the first place.

Robin gets you though.

“No, I think it’s awesome that we start looking forward to something that has nothing to do with anything regarding Vecna or the Upside Down, so I say we plan now! So that means no one can die!”

“I second that!” You back her up gleefully. “I say we drive out to the city and start with lunch, then we go get something done that makes us feel nice, and then we finish our day by buying something up to date! No boyfriends or girlfriends either. Just us ladies.”

Robin grins at you. “That sounds like a great plan. Nancy?”

Said girl sighs deeply and looks ahead with uncertainty before she can’t help but let herself smile faintly and give in to the idea. “Well, my wardrobe is in desperate need of some new clothes and it would be nice to…finally get out of here without having to fear something.”

“See? A nice plan for the future makes all the difference,” Robin teases, making you all laugh and smile for a moment that takes you out of hell for a second. It’s not long, but it’s enough until like a punch to the gut, your smiles and laughs come to an abrupt end when you come across something straight out of a nightmare.

It still is some ways away, but it stands out against the dry and brown terrain with its large black form that’s shaped like a dead spider with its legs pointed to the sky.

“I,” Robin gapes. “I’ll get the others that are falling behind.”

You wave her off unable to say a word as you’re captivated by the horror that is the giant…well…whatever it is. Rock formation? Corpse? Lair?

“Hey, lovebirds!” You hear Robin shout as she doesn’t go far. “You’re gonna wanna check this out.”

She then runs back and not so much later, Steve and Jonathan catch up and gawk like the rest of the astonished group.

“That’s it,” Will says. “That’s what I saw in my vision. The kids are in there.”

You swallow thickly as you realize that there’s nowhere else to go but forward, towards the giant nightmare incarnate.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Nancy quips ruthlessly and starts to lead the group again, this time with an actual destination in mind. You’re not just walking and hoping you’re going the right way. The giant spider-shaped mystery is your destination and you can’t help but feel queasy while another wave of chills that is much stronger than the others hits you, causing every hair on your body to stand up, making your body go frigid as you walk, and making your heart start to pound wildly.

A part of you also expects something to jump out at you, or descend from the sky, but there’s nothing but the same eerie tranquility and that’s what keeps everyone walking in silence. That eeriness. You most of all because even in between all that, halfway through your walk you start to feel like something is watching you. Not just from one spot either, you feel eyes everywhere.

It’s like you’re being stalked.

By what though? You can’t figure it out. Maybe it’s just your discomfort and fear since you’re walking towards a nightmare incarnate.

“Hey!” Lucas suddenly exclaims before you hear him running up to you to drop his hand on your shoulder as he falls between you and Steve.

“Lucas,” you greet suspiciously.

He puts on his best helpless look and shares why he suddenly chose to come up to you. “I was just wondering. Hoping really if I could use your shotgun pistol. I just, well, have a slingshot and with that,” he points ahead. “Looking down at us, hiding god knows what danger, I’d feel much safer if I had something deadlier with me.”

You and Steve share a puzzled look considering Lucas is trying to use some kind of charm on you which doesn’t work. All he had to do was ask normally. He just sounds like he’s trying to prove something.

“Oh, uh, sure,” you give in and unbuckle your holster to hand him the gun and bullets. “Just be careful and remember to load often. It doesn't hold as many bullets as regular guns.”

Lucas pats your shoulder and grins. “Thank you. Have I ever told you that you’re my favorite?”

“Hey?!” Steve remarks. “What am I? Chopped liver? Who taught you all your best moves?”

Lucas looks over at your boyfriend and winks before he slips away and falls back with Mike, making you and Steve look back and see him show off the gun.

“See? This is a real gun,” Lucas gloats.

“Are you planning to blind something to death with those flares, Wheeler?” Steve taunts, making you and Lucas snicker.

“Nancy, what the hell?” Mike then exclaims at his sister as he sees the unfairness of the matter. “You think this is a joke? What the hell am I gonna do with a flare gun? Gimme a real gun like she,” he points at you. “Gave Lucas one.”

“You see, Mike,” you chime in. “Lucas is actually a good shot.”

Mike gasps with disbelief whilst Lucas turns smug. You’re going to add something else, but the sight of Will standing far behind the group with his eyes rolled back steals your attention.

“Will?! Joyce, something's wrong with Will!” You point out, making the entire group turn around and run towards Will.

“Hey, Will!” Mike calls out, and as if that’s all he needed, Will snaps out of his stupor and watches you all run up to him.

“Will!”

“Will!” Joyce calls out while Mike is the first one to reach his friend.

“Hey!” You hear Mike say. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

You all then proceed to huddle around the boy and hear him share what held him back.

“It’s Henry. He’s alive,” he reveals before he suddenly bends over.

“He’s alive and he’s found them,” he adds between pants. “He’s found Holly and the kids.”

“Okay, what about El?” Mike asks before you could since you know that Henry still being alive means that she hasn’t been able to kill him yet.

“Do you see El?” Mike keeps probing. “Or Kali? Or Max?”

“They’re alone. They’re all alone,” Will says what he knows and you feel your heart skip a beat as you think about what that could mean.

“Could you stop him?” Robin wonders. “With your powers?”

“I can try,” Will strains to say. “Just keep going.”

“Go! Go!” Joyce urges everyone, making you all set off. Well, everyone except for Jonathan.

Steve has to pull him away to get him to move with the group that now travels at a sprint and with no breaks in between. Everyone is so pumped with adrenaline that no one knows exhaustion. Your minds are solely focused on reaching whatever that giant terrifying spider-like formation is because that’s where the kids will be, that’s where Vecna has been hiding, and that's the source of the sudden gut-wrenching feeling that suddenly slams into you before you hear her; El.

It's not like before where you’re completely relieved at the sound of her voice. This time her voice is strained as if she’s in pain, but it only sounds once…

Or so you thought because then you hear her again, but this time she cries out your name as if she’s being tortured and it’s the worst sound in the world. It completely paralyzes you, and makes you come to a sudden halt to spin around frantically to try and locate where she is because she sounds close. She’s here.

“El?!” You cry out in panic and fear for her life. “Eleven?!”

She continues to cry out again, but louder this time and with more pain laced in her cry, making you desperate to find where her voice is coming from.

Yet, you can’t. It’s…everywhere.

“Eleven?!” You cry out, and in response, you hear Steve calling out to you, but it’s confusion that fills his voice rather than fear and pain. Moreover, it’s coming from behind you, so you snap around, but…there’s no one there. In the distance, there’s only the sight of that monstrous spider-like formation. You should see Steve and your group of friends, but the horizon is just that…monster.

“Steve?” You call out before you hear another voice, deeper and in just as much pain as Eleven sounded.

This time though, it’s your dad that you hear behind you, at your left, right, above, and in front of you. Yet everywhere you look he’s not there. You just hear him crying out for you before Eleven joins him along with your aunt, your friends from Oregon, and everyone that you care for and love.

They’re calling you from everywhere and everyone is in distress, pulling at your heartstrings because you can’t help, and overwhelming you because you don’t know what’s going on. Every part of you is yelling at you to act, to save them from whatever is torturing them, but you're completely crippled and helpless.

And it doesn’t end there. Their voices grow sharper and the pain in their voices intensifies making it unbearable to stand so you slap your hands over your ears in hopes that would help, but they only get louder and it almost feels like the intensity of what’s happening is weighing you down, so you fall on your knees and press your palms harder against your ears.

Nevertheless, it proves to be a pointless endeavor because a different voice then overpowers all the others.

“I got you,” it taunts without fear or pain laced in its voice. It’s deep and gravely, threatening, and terrifying to the point that goosebumps run down every perimeter of your flesh and your heart stops. The other voices that were once tormenting you also go suddenly quiet as if terrified by the sudden interruption, leaving a deafening silence that’s perhaps more tormenting than all the voices were combined.

Moreover, this voice is easy to locate. It comes from behind you, so you slowly crane your head back and finally see Steve and the others coming at you, but behind them is it, the spider-like formation. That’s where the voice came from and that’s where an invisible force is suddenly pulling you towards.

It doesn’t make sense, Vecna is not within sight and it’s not his voice that you heard in your mind just now. Plus, nobody who’s coming towards you is able to lift you off the ground and throw you back towards the spider-like formation, so who’s making you fly through barriers of space? Who makes you fly past Steve and your friends?

Who's pulling you towards the monster if not the monster itself.

“Steve!” You plead as loud as you can as you see him get further away, but also start to chase after you in an attempt to take you from the invisible force pulling you away while everyone else is stunned. You can see it in their faces, but as they see Steve pushing past them, they continue to run. However, this time besides trying to reach the monster, they’re trying to catch up to you too, which is the last thing you wanted, but you can’t stop them and a part of you doesn’t want them to stop.

Thus, you keep calling out helplessly and desperately. “Steve! Jonathan!”

Tears you didn’t know you had find themselves to your eyes and break out, but are immediately run off your face as the wind snatches them away.

“Please!” Your voice also gets lost in the air, but the fear and desperation aren’t lost. It’s what pushes Steve to run faster than he thought possible.

“Steve!” You plead again and reach out for him as if that alone would somehow bring him closer. It doesn’t, but you try desperately and never let down until suddenly something wraps around your chest and then makes you feel completely incapacitated as you’re feeling the air in your lungs escape you as you slam into the ground. Just as it wanted.

It wants to leave you gasping and struggling for the most important necessity your body needs, so the vine that's wrapped around you and yanking you towards the monster can slither up to your neck to push itself up and open its head like a flower and hurl itself at your mouth.

It’s a desperate move. You’re not within the monster where the kids are, so it feels like it was done out of necessity to be able to gain the upper hand on something that you don’t know.

Nevertheless, in between your struggle, you muster the strength to throw your hands up and capture the vine before it hits your mouth.

It’s slippery, thick, and it feels like raw flesh. It’s also strong so it’s another struggle piled on you, but you manage to keep it away as you're slowly starting to capture your breath again.

Albeit, it feels you fighting back and it starts to squeeze you harder, making your hold weaken, and making that control on your breath slowly start to falter as you’re forced to start gasping for air again. Yet it doesn't make you stop trying to keep holding it back. You keep straining every muscle in your arms even as it squeezes harder and you start to slowly lose yourself to unconsciousness.

That is until an additional force takes the vine from your grasp and pulls it away, but doesn't offer salvation. Not yet. You continue to slip away until you hear faint screeches and then are saved from unconsciousness as the vine loosens around you and lets you gasp for sweet, sweet air.

It's such an amazing resource that you hardly ever think about, and only think about for a second until you're completely captivated by the glorious sight of Steve getting dragged with you as he grips onto the vine with its blood dripping out of his mouth and running down his chin.

Albeit, unlike you, he has more control of his body. You can see his heels deep in the ground so he doesn’t trip over by the speed the vine is traveling at as he’s getting pulled. And when you look back at his face you watch him open his mouth and sink his teeth deep into the vine, making it screech again, and letting you find the strength to slither your hand down into one of your many pant pockets. to find your handy pocketknife.

Once you feel the cold body of your handy pocketknife in your grasp, you pull your hand back and push it towards Steve.

When he sees what you’re offering him from the corner of his eyes, he spits the vine out of his mouth and takes the pocketknife from your grasp to quickly flip out the blade and then stab the vine over, over, and over again until it writhes in pain and falls limply to the ground, causing the hold around your chest to drop upon its demise, and finally setting you free from its grasp.

“Holy fuck,” Steve gasps as he falls on his knees beside you. “Fuck.”

Between pants and the sound of your pounding heart in your ears, you slip the remnants of the vine off your body and then with Steve’s help, you sit up and hold his gaze as you both try to catch your breath.

“You,” you struggle to stay between pants. “You saved me.”

He scoffs and looks offended by the statement. “Duh.”

“No.” You shake your head. “You had your hero moment. You…saved me.”

A glimmer of realization shines in his eyes as he remembers your conversation from earlier today. Yet instead of saying anything in return, he slowly starts to smile, making you mirror his gesture before you both start to laugh.

It’s a short moment that you steal before he cups the back of your head and pulls you towards him so he can press his forehead against yours.

“Thank you,” you whisper as you lift your hands to cradle his face.

“Don’t,” he rebuts. “I was not going to let it take you.”

The corner of your lips twitch to a tender smile and the look in your eyes reflects awe while Steve looks at you with nothing but relief and adoration.

“Guys!” You hear Dustin yell in the distance, making you both look over and see him and the others getting closer.

They’re just not with you yet. They’re near, but then every single one of them stops in their tracks as loud cracking sounds start to echo from behind you, causing you and Steve to look back and see the spider-like formation start to break apart, forcing you to realize that it is in fact a monster. It is a giant fucking spider and not just some rock formation in shape of a spider. It’s a real fucking spider and it's waking up and dropping its legs.

In your shock, neither one of you moved so you and Steve are still on the ground watching one of the legs falling towards you at a quick speed. When you realize that the leg is descending on you though, you immediately grab onto Steve and pull him with you out of the way, causing the two of you to roll on the ground until you come to a stop with you on top of him the moment the leg comes crashing down on the ground, throwing dust and debris over you.

“Have I told you that I loved you? Because I do. I love you.” Steve says with fascination as you’re straddling him.

“I love you too,” you return with a cheeky smile before you press a small peck on his lips and then throw yourself off of him to help him off the ground and start to sprint towards the gawking group.

“Run!” You and Steve both command at the same time as they just stand there. “Go!”

Even so, they stay frozen there watching the monster behind you, so you peek back to see what has them so captivated and see that the monster is on all its legs with its body off the group and its head pointed to the sky, looking absolutely unbelievable and threatening.

“Run!” You and Steve bellow at the group again, but it’s not until the monster behind you lets out a mighty roar that they listen and run. By that point, you’re already caught up to them so you run as a group and try not to fall behind, or be thrown off your feet by the monster piercing its legs in the ground every time it takes a step.

However, it’s a difficult task because as its legs pierce the ground it causes the ground to tremble and dust to blow out which is another force that threatens to throw you off balance.

“Dustin!” You hear a piercing yell that makes you snap your head back and see said boy on the ground with one of the monster's legs falling directly towards him.

“Dustin!” You cry out and prepare to shift your feet to run towards him along with Steve, but thankfully, Lucas manages to save him by quickly pulling him away before he’s crushed, making both boys thankfully hit the ground away from their impending doom.

“Come on! Come on!” You hear Nancy urge before you see her and the others going to Dustin and Lucas.

When both boys are on their feet and running again you all turn back around and continue to sprint away. Albeit, you don’t make it far because then one leg falls in front of the group before another follows, caging you in and forcing you to a stop.

The monster then proceeds to lift its head and open its mouth, showing off razor-sharp teeth that all come towards you as it leans its head forward, making you grab onto Steve as you look up at the monster in horror.

That is until out of nowhere a rock slams into its face, knocking it to the side just as it was going to eat all of you.

As to who your savior is, you don’t have the time to identify them, but one person comes to mind. You can’t see her just yet because Jonathan doesn’t hesitate to usher everyone away.

“Come on, go! Go, go, go!” He yells and you all follow until you make it to a clearing and stop to see your savior in the distance; your sister.

As to when she got here? You don’t know that’s something you’ll ask her later. As for now you can’t help but grin with awe that only heightens when you see her not back down even if the monster is going towards her. She instead runs to it and when she’s knocked off her feet she doesn’t fret, she quickly gets back up and continues to get closer until she's close enough to its head to use her powers and throw herself off the ground.

When she’s in mid-air you see her rip an opening on the monster's body that lets her push herself through it to land where Vecna is hiding with the kids.

“Way to go, El!” You can’t help but praise your sister even though she’s not here.

And as if in response the monster suddenly staggers back and roars in pain, meaning only one thing; she hurt him. She hurt Vecna.

“She’s hurting it,” Lucas proclaims what you now come to realize.

“How?” Jonathan asks, making Mike offer him a response.

“She’s fighting Vecna.”

“Hive mind,” Robin points out, making you nod in agreement before you shout at the group.

“We have to do something to help her!”

“Exactly,” Mike backs you up, but then Nancy follows with a question.

“How?”

“Okay, the hive mind works in both ways. If we hurt the Mind Flayer, then we hurt Vecna,” Mike shares his plan before you can.

“What, hurt Godzilla over there?” Robin expresses her doubt.

“The only way to damage anything of that scale, we spread out,” Dustin shares. “Flank it on all sides. Just chip away at its hit points.”

“Hit points?!” Steve retorts. “What are you talking about hit points?”

“There!” Lucas points and walks past everyone, making you follow his finger and see a canyon.

“One of us draws it to that canyon,” Lucas shares what he came up with. “The rest take positions on those cliffs. Ambush it from above,” he finishes sharing before he turns to face everyone.

“Okay, that’s good,” you praise him before you speak on the one thing he left out. “I’ll be the bait then,” you don’t hesitate to volunteer yourself at the same time Nancy does.

“I admire your bravery,” you share your thoughts out loud to Nancy. “But it’s a guarantee that it’ll come after me if I offer myself up as bait, so it should be me.”

Nancy huffs and steps up. “That’s all great, but I’m still coming with you. Two is better than one and we’ll be able to guarantee that it keeps its attention on us if we both go, so take it or leave it.”

She offers a tough bargain, but it’s one you don’t have to debate.

“Alright then,” you give in without taking time to think about it. “Let's go.”

Nancy offers you a small smirk before she starts moving towards the monster, making you turn on your heels to follow after her without waiting to hear any protests because it has to be done. You just follow her and offer Steve an assuring look.

When you and Nancy put some distance between you and the group that should be heading towards the canyon, you come to a stop so Nancy can lift her gun and start shooting at it.

Once you successfully have its attention, you look back at the group still lingering behind you. “Go!” You demand as Nancy keeps shooting. “Go!”

As soon as the group starts moving and you steal one last lingering look with Steve, you look back at the monster and see it almost seem to zero in on you before it takes Nancy into account and lets out a roar as she keeps shooting at it.

“Now it’s our turn!” You tell her as the monster starts moving towards you. “Let’s go! Let’s go!”

Without protest, Nancy starts to run with you as the monster successfully chases after you without getting distracted.

“Come on!” You bellow at the monster. “Come on! Come get me!”

As if in response the monster lets out an enraged roar before it throws one leg on the ground right behind you.

Thankfully though, neither you nor Nancy manage to fall over. You keep running away with all your might without having the intention of stopping even when you run into a crevice in the canyon. You just keep running and the monster keeps chasing you with a passion that makes it throw its head forward and crush the environment around you, causing a thick cloud of dust to fall over you and almost blind you.

Almost though, because then you enter through a smaller crevice that offers clean air, but no more way to run. You come across a fucking dead end.

Even so, neither you nor Nancy back down. She reloads her and you pull out your speargun, so while the monster tries to fit its head through the small crevice, Nancy shoots her gun, and you shoot a spear at its flesh before you land a second one in its mouth.

Now, you do have explosives, but you’re entrapped in a small space so you don’t risk throwing one. Instead, you keep falling back as it manages to start ramming its way through until it destroys every piece of rock that kept it away from you and it, bringing its mouth incredibly close to you and Nancy, and making you ask yourself what good are spears with it being so close? And what good is a gun with no bullets?

Thus, with no other option but to hope salvation is near, you and Nancy hold hands and press yourselves against the rock wall.

When the monster roars and flashes its mouth, you both turn your heads away and shield your faces from the spit and smell, but also the horror of its teeth-filled mouth.

It almost feels like salvation wouldn’t come, so you and Nancy embrace each other and wait for death or salvation.

“Please,” you plead as you close your eyes and wait.

It's not a long one, but you think that you'll be greeted by death. It's a moment of weakness until it’s salvation that greets you just in the nick of time in the form of fire. When you feel the heat and hear the monster cry in pain, you open your eyes and see the fire hitting it across the face, and make it abandon all thought to consume you, leaving you and Nancy the space to escape the dead end you were trapped against and continue with your mission to keep hurting it.

Thus while it’s distracted by its attackers, Nancy changes from her rifle to her shotgun, and you reload your speargun to continue shooting the weakest part of its body that you can see. All while it's overwhelmed with more pain that comes from the fire and its other attackers.

It tries to find a way out, but through the pain, it can only stagger, letting you and Nancy keep inching forward as you keep shooting at it without missing once or regaining its attention.

Eventually, as you knew you would, you run out of spears so you swing the gun over your shoulder and pull out your explosives to light them on fire and throw them in its mouth since it keeps crying out in pain and leaving itself open.

Of course, the explosives don’t kill it or make it far since you’re quite far and since it’s so big, but the explosives go off against its cheek and send off a scalding pain that makes it screech before it drops pools of blood from its mouth.

Unfortunately, you didn’t bring more than two explosives since you didn’t want to weigh yourself down, so you run out fairly quickly. Luckily, Nancy was overpacked and hands you a fully loaded revolver.

“I want that back,” she warns you as you take the gun.

“Wasn’t planning on losing it,” you assure her with a smug smirk before you point and shoot.

Now, the gun is not as powerful as spears, but the bullets hurt it nonetheless, so you just go off guns ablazing until it lets out a booming cry of pain to the sky as it stumbles back and doesn't stop there. It then crashes its legs into rocks as it begins to lose its strength and starts falling to the ground with continuous cries of pain.

It only goes quiet and still once its burning head hits the ground.

Even so, you and Nancy don’t move. You watch it in disbelief for a moment as you take your deep and exhausted breaths.

“Is it—?” Nancy asks after a couple of minutes of silence.

“Yeah,” you answer before she can finish as the monster no longer moves or threatens any one of you. “It’s dead.”

Nancy chuckles, making you look over at her and laugh in relief and disbelief. Neither one of you wanted to die or wished for death. You hoped and assumed it would die, but still seeing it unmoving and dead before your eyes is still something unbelievable and incredible.

“Shall we go get our sisters?” She suggests once your laughs die down.

“Yeah,” you don’t hesitate to agree. “Let’s go.”

Without regrouping with the others and trusting that everyone is alive and well by all the firepower that was hitting the monster moments ago, you and Nancy make a beeline towards the monster and manage to find the opening Eleven had torn apart in its chest to enter it.

Once inside there’s only one path to follow so it’s impossible to get lost. However, you do start to fear that it’ll somehow rise from the dead with every step you take.

Thankfully, it doesn’t rise and you find El in the middle of a weird and disgusting room infested with spikes sticking out of every inch of the room.

“El!” You exclaim as you push aside your disgust, making said girl suddenly snap around to look at you with her face quickly softening at the sight of you.

“Oh, El!” You breathe out the moment you run into each other's arms. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” You immediately ask about her well-being, making her pull away to grab your shoulders and glance at Nancy approaching the two of you.

“I’m fine. Are you? Is everyone else okay?” She follows up with questions of her own after she quickly assures you.

“Yeah, everyone’s okay,” Nancy answers for you, so you’re given the chance to pull your sleeve over the heel of your palm and wipe the blood off El’s nose.

Once there’s not even a stain left on her skin you step away to let Nancy and El share a short hug before Nancy pulls away to look around until she finds what she was looking for.

“Holly!” Nancy exclaims with relief before she runs over to her sister who’s trapped in a cocoon made of the monster's flesh and unconscious because of the vine over her mouth.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” You ask El one more time as Nancy pulls her sister out of the cocoon.

“Yes, I am positive.”

You smile softly with relief before you wrap your arm around her shoulder and pull her against your side, making her wrap her arm around your waist to keep you close as you watch Nancy drag Holly to the ground to try and wake her.

“Holly?” She calls desperately. “Can you hear me?” She shakes her. “Holly? Holly? Holly, come on. Come on.”

Said girl then begins to cough awake, offering the three of you relief for only a second because then you're concerned all over again when black smoke shoots out of her mouth.

However, thankfully it doesn't gather anywhere like you thought it would. It dissolves in the air, letting you exhale and unstiffen before you look back at the sisters across the room and smile as you hear Holly’s hoarse voice.

“Nancy?”

“Yeah,” said girl nods with a grin. “Yeah, it’s me. I’m here.”

They proceed to hug so you and Eleven hold on tighter to each other before, from the corner of your eyes your friends all walk into the room. Battered and tired, but they all come.

“Steve!” You cry and meet Steve halfway in an embrace as Eleven greets Mike before he finds his sisters.

“Holly?!” You hear Mike call before he runs off as you hold onto Steve’s who stinks so bad that it stings your nose.

You don’t care enough yet. You just hold onto each other as you’re relieved by the fact that you’re both here and not hurt.

You want to say it’s over. It’ll offer a wave of relief and comfort, but it’s not over until you’re safely at home with the Upside Down and this dimension just a memory. So, you just hold him and kiss his cheek before he holds your face and kisses your forehead before you let go of each other so you can greet the others with the same joy.

After you’ve made your rounds and returned to Steve and Eleven, you catch a glimpse of the eleven other kids and snap the group out of their stupor so you can all help break the other kids out of their cocoons.

So, while the others are busy helping other kids, you break the flesh barrier that's trapping a small girl with glasses and dark hair, and then yank out the vine that’s keeping her unconscious before you drag her down to the ground.

However, just like Holly she doesn’t wake up right away, so you sit her up and pat her back as if you’re helping her get water out of her lungs and don’t stop until the black smoke runs out of her body and disperses in the air.

“It’s okay,” you speak gently as you shift around to be able to face her with your best kind and reassuring look. “You’re okay. I got you. You’re going to be okay now.”

The little girl clings onto your arm that’s wrapped her shoulders and then speaks with a quivering voice. “Can I go home now? I want to go home. I'm scared.”

“Yeah,” you soothe her as you crouch further down to be at her eye level. “We’re going home now, but it’s okay, you don’t have to be scared. I won’t let anything hurt you, okay?”

She nods as her bottom lip trembles, but instead of crying, she surprises you by throwing her arms around you and embracing you.

“You’re okay,” you coo. “It’s all going to be okay.”

Your words however leave a bitter taste in your mouth when you hear someone start to cough and choke because when you follow the sound, you see that it was Vecna.

In your urgency to reach Eleven and assure that she was okay, you hadn’t even noticed him impaled on a spike in the middle of the room. Not until now as his choking sounds catch your attention.

“It’s okay,” you tell the little girl as you help her to her feet and pull her behind you to shield her from whatever may happen or…whatever Vecna may say since he can’t even pull his body off the spike. He just stays there coughing out blood and making all your friends gather a safe space away from him to watch with disbelief.

You want to join them, but the little girl doesn’t seem to want to let you go, so you have no choice but to bring her with you where the group gathers to watch in silence as Vecna continues to choke.

Joyce and Will then walk into the room unscathed and equally as stunned by the glorious sight of such a dangerous foe taking his final breaths. Yet it only takes Joyce a moment to let the shock settle before she takes out her axe.

“You fucked with the wrong family,” Joyce sneers before she approaches Vecna and swings the axe back.

Before she can hit him though, Vecna roars and tries to push himself up, but it’s too late and he’s too close to the brink of death that he can't stop the axe that slams into his throat over and over again.

Even once his chest is no longer moving and his arms flay limply at his sides, Joyce keeps swinging, but it never feels like it's too much. Each swing is gratifying after all he’s done to so many people. To El, Will, Holly, and the kids. Max, and you.

Then again once nothing is holding his head to his neck and it falls on the ground, splattering out blood, you can’t help but shed a couple of tears. Not because you feel bad, but because you’re relieved and happy that he’s gone and can no longer torment and hurt anyone else you love, or…hurt and torment you and the baby it so badly wanted to take to turn it like him.

Finally, he’s gone. The evil he brought. The death. The horror. It’s all gone once and for all.

——

*LATER*

“Dad? Hello? Dad, are you there?”

“Yeah, yeah,” said man doesn’t let a silence settle, which is actually good because it sounds so good hearing his voice. “I copy. What’s going on?”

You sigh with relief and make sure he hears it from the other side of the walkie you’re talking through. “Well…Vecna or Henry, whatever you want to call him, is dead. We’re back in the Upside Down with the kids.” You smile as you turn around to watch Jonathan help Steve load the kids in the back of the truck.

“H-how is everybody? Is everybody okay? Are you?” Your dad proceeds to ask, making you scoff softly.

“Yeah, I’m okay. We all took a hell of a beating, but we’re all okay.”

“What about El?” He hesitates to ask and so as not to keep his heart overworking with worry, you assure him as you look over at her with Mike helping the last kid off the radio tower.

“Everyone is okay,” you say with an obvious bliss in your voice as you watch your sister. “So what do we say you guys turn on the music to once and for all destroy this hellscape?” You chuckle breathlessly. “Let's go home.”

“Yeah,” he finally responds with an ease in his voice. “Copy that. I’ll see you on the other side.”

“I’ll see you on the other side,” you bid him goodbye, and then put your walkie away to run over to the truck and help Steve and Jonathan load the rest of the kids into the truck.

Once every kid is accounted for and you’ve double-checked that they’re all there, you climb onto the back too, catching Steve by surprise.

“Whoa, whoa, you’re not riding with me up front?”

You glance at Eleven waiting to get on to make sure you're not seeing things, and then look back at Steve and respond quietly. “No, I’m going to ride back here and uh…make sure this is all real. It’s just been a hell of a day. I need to make sure.”

Steve scoffs softly and nods in comprehension. You proceed to gently hit his shoulder before you grasp it and tease him because you feel so light at the moment. Everyone you love is well and accounted for. No one got seriously hurt. Everyone is going home and Vecna is dead, so it feels right to smile and make jokes.

Everything feels possible.

“Drive carefully. It’d suck to survive all this only for you to get in a car accident and die,” you poke at Steve, making him roll his eyes before he lolls his head back towards you to mirror your tender smile before he strokes your chin with his thumb and pointer finger.

“It’s all real by the way,” he makes sure to assure you, making you smile at him with admiration before you steal a quick peck from his lips that makes him grin before he hops off the back of the truck and makes you watch him round the corner to go to the driver's side.

When there’s nothing but air and weird particles where he once was you turn away and catch Eleven climbing on just in time, so you help her up even if Mike was also doing that, and then take her away from him when she’s standing on her own two feet in the back of the truck.

“Are you ready to go home?” You ask as you rub her back.

El turns her head to meet your gaze with a faint but happy smile which is expected and well-received considering that she lost her sister, Kali earlier today when they were in the lab.

And yes, perhaps you didn’t know her well so you can’t say her death affects you, but she died trying to get rid of Vecna, and Eleven cared about her so you’ll always appreciate her.

“Yeah,” Eleven says quietly. “I’m ready. Are you?”

You hold her gaze and smile brighter. “Yeah, I am, so let’s go home.”

She hums and rests her head on your shoulder so you proceed to rub her back and walk down the truck to find seats on the floor as Jonathan and Mike close the door.

However, since there are more people now than when you came with, there's limited space to sit at, so you end up finding a seat across from Eleven to let Mike sit next to her.

He makes her happy so you let him take her side, besides, there’s nothing better to reassure yourself that she’s real than by watching her, so you sit contently across from her and watch her with nothing but a smile. A smile that brightens even more when you see her smile so sweetly at Mike, and he smiles at her just the same.

After all that’s happened over the past couple of days. After all the fears that have riddled you it’s such a beautiful sight that makes you feel nothing but hope.

Seeing everyone alive and well. Happy and laughing, is such a beautiful sight that fills you with overwhelming bliss that eradicates the tension you’ve been holding onto for the past couple of days.

The sun is shining in this dark and frigid place and you bask in its glory.

“Hey, miss,” a small little voice breaks you from your train of thought and makes you loll your head down to see the same little girl from before. The one you helped.

“Yes?” You ask.

She swallows thickly and gets her hand closer to yours before she reveals the reason for her interjection. “Can I hold your hand? I’m still scared.”

You blink in disbelief but when you notice that fear she just spoke of, you smile at her and nod. “Of course you can.”

The little girl smiles with relief and happily wraps her little hand around yours, feeling your comfort vanquish the fear that had clung to her. Which comes as quite a surprise to you even if you’ve done the same for your sisters, but it’s a temporary feeling. And when that surprise passes, you can’t help but feel more warmth in your heart. There’s also some excitement that flutters in your stomach as the baby comes to mind at the feeling of the little girl's hand on yours

Yet, right now, nothing makes you happier than seeing Eleven coming home with you after fearing she wouldn’t. Her presence warms this abyss and you like the sun, and you can’t help but admire her radiance.

When she eventually catches you looking, she locks eyes with you and offers you a tender smile that makes you smile at her in return with your whole heart.

.

.

.

.

.

A/N- enjoy this little high my friends

She hesitated, still watching him suspiciously as she climbed in. “This isn’t a kidnapping situation, right? I feel like I should confirm.”

“Obviously not,” he said, faux-offended. “If I wanted to kidnap you, I’d do a much better job. You’d never even see me coming.”

She rolled her eyes. “Right, of course. How silly of me.”

Lando pulled out onto the road, the Monaco night glittering around them. The city lights blurred past, casting golden reflections across his face. He drove without his usual recklessness, which was enough to raise her suspicions again. No sharp turns, no unnecessary speeding, no sudden lane changes just to mess with her. Just steady, smooth driving.

“…Are you feeling alright?” she asked after a few minutes, glancing over at him.

“What?”

“You’re driving like a normal person.”

Lando scoffed, shaking his head. “I’m trying to be considerate, you muppet.”

“That’s new.”

“The muppet bit or the consideration bit?”

“The second one.”

“”Wow. Rude.”

She laughed, tucking her legs up onto the seat as she settled in. “So? Where are we going?”

“I promised to show you around, didn’t I?” Lando shot her a quick glance, lips twitching. “Figured I’d start with the best Chinese food in town.”

Her eyebrows shot up, surprised. “Oh? And you’re this confident it’s the best?”

Well, it’s got three Michelin stars, so…

“Yeah, I’d say so.”

They weaved through the streets of Monte Carlo, the city glowing in gold and deep navy hues. When Lando finally pulled up in front of the restaurant, she let out a breath, eyes widening slightly.

The building was stunning—sleek, sophisticated, with elegant gold-accented décor visible through the glass windows. Soft lighting spilled out onto the street, creating a warm glow against the night. It was effortlessly beautiful, modern yet steeped in quiet luxury.

The restaurant itself was a blend of sleek black and gold, polished marble, and soft ambient lighting that spilled onto the pavement outside. It looked like the kind of place where reservations were made months in advance.

“Holy shit.”

Lando smirked. “Told you.”

“This is—this place is for Chinese food?” she asked, staring at the building.

“The best.”

Her eyes darted to him, lips parting slightly before she let out a small laugh. “And this is what you call casual?”

“Obviously,” he deadpanned, stepping out of the car.

She turned to him, suddenly self-conscious about the hoodie and jeans she had thrown on. “Liam—”

“Don’t worry about it.” He was already stepping out of the car.

“Liam, I feel underdressed,” she insisted, still sitting in her seat.

He leaned down, peering at her through the open car door with that infuriatingly unreadable expression of his. “Not many people come here anyway.” 

A lie.

She squinted at him, skeptical. But with a shake of her head, she got out of the car, and he led her inside.

Inside, the atmosphere was somehow even more stunning—deep emerald and gold tones, plush seating, and an air of quiet exclusivity. It smelled incredible, rich spices and crisp, fresh aromas mingling in the air. The table he led her to gave her a chance to admire the interior design up close – ornate yet modern, a delicate balance of traditional elegance and contemporary luxury. She barely had time to take it all in before she noticed something odd. The restaurant was… empty. Not a single patron in sight.

“Are we early or something?” she asked, glancing around.

Lando didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, something like that.” 

No one else is allowed in, but sure. That works too.

In reality, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo had taken it upon themselves to cover the entrance and exit, ensuring the place stayed clear for the night. Max Fewtrell had coordinated with the staff, and a generous tip had been paid to keep the doors locked to anyone but them. If that hadn’t worked, well… there was always the gun option. But Lando preferred tipping. It made things less complicated.

A waiter appeared almost instantly, as if summoned by some invisible force, guiding them to a private table set by the window. The skyline of Monte Carlo stretched beyond the glass, glowing under the night sky.

She sat down, still glancing around, unsure. “This is—”

“The best Chinese food in town,” Lando finished smoothly, already picking up the menu.

Lando glanced at her, watching the way she took everything in, eyes bright with curiosity. He liked showing her things—pieces of his world, places he had frequented. It felt… grounding, in a way he hadn’t expected.

They were barely seated when he grabbed the menu, skimming it for all of two seconds before setting it down.

“Alright, I already know what I’m getting. Are you good to order?”

She lifted an eyebrow, amused. “That was fast.”

“I have a system.”

She glanced down at the menu, scanning it. “Okay, so what’s your go-to?”

“Truffle dim sum, and—”

She snorted, looking incredulous. “Truffle dim sum? Wow. You really are fancy, huh?”

Lando shrugged, unbothered. “I have taste.”

She rolled her eyes but was still smiling. “What else?”

“Spring rolls. Obviously.”

She hummed, scanning the menu. “How many?”

“...Yes.”

She blinked at him, then burst out laughing. “Liam.”

“Seventeen.”

She simply stared at him, speechless.

“What?”

“You cannot order that many spring rolls.”

“Watch me.”

She shook her head, looking way too pleased with herself. Lando shrugged, lounging back in his seat. “Let’s call it a healthy appreciation.”

Her laugh caught in her throat, and she bit her lip to keep it from escaping. “You’re ridiculous.”

But even though she said it with affection, she couldn’t ignore the small knot of tension in her chest. There was something different about him tonight. Something that didn’t quite sit right. It wasn’t just the way he acted so confident. It was the sharpness in his eyes, the way he kept his distance in his own quiet, knowing way.

And for the first time in a while, he wasn’t thinking about work, or deals, or the person he had to be outside of moments like this. He could shed that skin, leave it at the door. Here, with her, he wasn’t the Reaper. Just Liam.

And Liam had very strong opinions about spring rolls.

As they settled into their booth, a phone rang on the table beside them—his phone.

The screen flashed with an unknown French number.

Lando didn’t even flinch. He glanced at it for a second, then swiped the screen off without answering. His focus stayed entirely on her, and for just a second, it was as if the call never interrupted them in the first place.

But before the mood could shift, his mind had already found something else focused on something else entirely. When the waiter returned, Lando leaned in, hands folded as though this was all just a normal dinner, a normal night.

Except nothing with Lando Norris was ever really normal.

Lando listened with half a smirk as she rambled on about something—he wasn’t even sure what anymore. A book she was reading? Some debate in class? Maybe it was about that stupid little café cat she claimed had a “deep, ancient soul” despite the fact that it was probably dumber than a box of rocks. It didn’t really matter.

What mattered was the way she talked, the way her hands moved animatedly, the way she stole one of his spring rolls off the plate with absolutely no remorse. He let her.

Somewhere between her ranting and the dim glow of candlelight flickering against her skin, the thought struck him.

When was the last time he went on a date?

This would be a nice place to take someone on a date. The ambiance, the exclusivity, the fact that they had an entire Michelin-star restaurant to themselves. He could picture it—soft laughter, shared plates, whispered conversations over expensive wine…

Not that this was a date.

Obviously.

But if it were—hypothetically—it wouldn’t be a bad one.

He shook the thought away, refocusing just as she finished whatever she was saying, looking at him excitedly. He wondered briefly how they’d gotten here, this level of familiarity– how someone so strange and unusual had fallen into the melodrama that was his life. He wondered when she went from someone he barely tolerated to someone he saw himself having dinner with. Usually, he preferred to have dinner alone in his office where he could work or unwind as he pleased without risking being disrupted by anyone else.

He found that perhaps having dinner with company wasn’t so bad after all. He could get used to this, perhaps once in a while.

This wasn’t a date, obviously. But still.

It was a nice place to take someone on a date. Dim lighting, good food, a quiet corner of the city where no one would bother them. And she looked—well. She always looked nice, but tonight, even in casual clothes, she looked like she belonged here in a way that made his chest feel tight.

Maybe that was why he had done all this in the first place. Not because he was trying to impress her, but because—

Because he just wanted to see her smile before he left.

He cleared his throat, suddenly restless. “M’leavin, by the way.”

She blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

“Just to Brazil, for a couple’a days. For a business trip,” he clarified. The words tasted foreign in his mouth. Business trip. He supposed that’s what it was, in a way. Not one he could ever explain to her, but still.

She groaned dramatically, slumping against the back of her chair. “That’s annoying.”

His brow furrowed slightly. “Why?”

“Because how am I supposed to study without you? It’s like you want me to fail.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “Yeah, that’s my master plan—sabotaging your law school dreams. Clearly.”

She huffed, rolling her eyes. “At least bring me back something to make up for it.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re giving me homework?”

“Call it extra credit,” she quipped, propping her chin on her hand. “How about some Brazilian coffee? Or—wait! Something cool, something I can actually keep.”

“I’m going for business, not shopping.” His lips twitched. “You’ll survive.”

“Debatable.” She leaned back, eyeing him. “Since you are abandoning me, I want a souvenir. Something special. Coffee or—” she paused, thinking, “—actually, surprise me.”

He scoffed indignantly. “I’ll be busy– I do have things to do, you know.”

She waved a hand dismissively. “You can multitask.”

Lando rolled his eyes, but there was something warm in his chest, something unfamiliar yet not entirely unpleasant. He raised a brow. “You’re very demanding for someone who’s getting nothing.”

She gasped. “Liam.”

He bit back a grin at her scandalized expression.

“I’ll think about it,” he said, standing.

“Yes!” She exclaimed, looking like she’d won the lotto instead. Immediately after, she seemed to remember something, so she shrugged. “You know, school’s gonna suck without you anyway.”

His fingers drummed against the table. “School sucks regardless.”

“Yeah, but it sucks less when you’re there.”

It was casual, easy—just a throwaway comment—but something about the way she said it made him pause.

She rolled her eyes and stood as well, nudging his arm as they walked out of the restaurant together. The night air was cool, the streets quieter at this hour. They reached his car, but she hesitated before getting in.

“Give me your hand.”

“What? No, m’not doing that.”

She looked up at him, and something about the way the streetlights casted their swathed her in their light made her expression seem almost sad. But he blinked, and it was gone.

“Please?” 

Fuckin’ hell.

With a resigned sigh, he extended his wrist. Then, without warning, she turned to him, pulling something from her own wrist—a bracelet, woven threads of charcoal grey and deep green, slightly frayed at the edges from wear.

“Here.”

He blinked, taken aback. “What’s this?”

She didn’t answer right away, just took his wrist, wrapping the bracelet around it with gentle fingers, tying a knot to secure it.

Something about the way she did it—focused, delicate, like it was something important—made his throat feel tight. He could feel the warmth of her fingertips against his skin, the briefest, softest grazes. Maybe he was imagining it, but each touch seemed to linger.

Lando stared at it.

“This is—”

“A souvenir,” she finally said, voice quieter now. “Something to remember me by.”

Lando stared down at it, feeling oddly… unsteady.

It was just a few threads. Nothing expensive, nothing particularly significant. But he knew she’d worn it for a long time. He glanced from the bracelet to her, caught off guard in a way that felt unfamiliar and unsettling. A stupid little thing, really—frayed edges, uneven knots—but he couldn’t remember the last time someone had given him something just because. He flexed his fingers, watching how the bracelet moved with him.

Then he looked at her.

She grinned. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

His jaw tightened for half a second before he gave a slow nod. “Yeah.”

A pause.

Then—so quick he almost missed it—she leaned in and pressed a light kiss to his cheek. Just a brief warmth, nothing more.

Lando barely managed to suppress whatever instinct made his breath hitch.

She pulled back like it was nothing, still smiling. “Safe travels, Liam.”

He forced a smirk, ignoring the way his fingers curled slightly against the table. 

“You’ll , uh, be careful, yeah? Take care n’ all that?” His voice was lower than he meant it to be.

She smiled, bright and sure. “Of course. I’m not going anywhere.”

He nodded, opening the car door for her. She slid in, and as he rounded to the driver’s side, he caught himself glancing down at his wrist again. It was only a few threads, tied with a simple knot. And yet, for some reason, it felt heavier than anything he’d ever worn before.