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BROOKE KEEPS TRYING TO keep track of how many times the thunder strikes above them but after five, she keeps losing count. Branches of the trees keep scaring her in the distance. "Couldn't we have tried a road, or something just slightly less creepy?" Robin asks, dramatically shivering.

   "I think we're getting close. We're almost out of here. Don't worry," Nancy reassures the blonde. Paisley has had a grip on the back of Robin's cardigan this whole time, every movement in the trees or sound, she whips her head at, "I'm still gonna worry, Nance."

   "If anything happens, I have powers, okay? Let's take a breath," Penelope tells the nervous girls, such kind words out of her character but no one audibly questions it. Brooke jogs forwards, grabbing onto Penelope, "That was pretty badass, by the way."

  Penelope glances at her briefly and then at Brooke's grip, "Oh. I know—I mean—thanks, Martel." The four girls walk ahead of Steve and Eddie who trail in the back.

   "Eddie," Steve whispers, trying not to alert the girls of their conversation, "Eddie. Hey, man. Uh.....listen, I just, uh....I just want to say thanks. For saving my ass back there." Eddie walks alongside him now, "Shit. You saved your own ass, man. I mean, that was a real Ozzy move you pulled back there," Eddie compliments Steve. The other boy raises an eyebrow, confused at Eddie's comparison, "Ozzy?"

   "When you took a bite out of that bat. Ozzy Osbourne? Black Sabbath? He bit a bat's head off onstage. Brooke would've laughed," Eddie scoffs. Steve bites his lip, "I don't—"

   "Y'know what? Doesn't matter," Eddie gives up, "It's very metal, what you did. That's all I'm saying."

   "Thanks," Steve whispers. A beat of awkward silence falls between them again, "Henderson told me you were a badass. Insisted on the matter, in fact—"

   "Wait, Henderson said that?" Steve smiles at the idea. "Oh yeah. Shit. Him and Brooke. Well, she complimented other things," Eddie nudges him and Steve awkwardly smiles at the thought of his girlfriend telling Eddie Munson about their sex life, "Kid worships you, dude. Like, you have no idea. It's kinda annoying, to be honest. I don't even know why I care what that little shrimp thinks, but, uh, guess I got a little jealous, Steve. I guess I couldn't accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually a good dude. If Henderson is vouching, that's crazy but if Brooke Martel is vouching? It's gotta mean something," Eddie says, "Rich parents, popular, chicks love him. Not a douche? No way, man. No way. That, like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe and my own personal Munson doctrine."

   He leans in, "Still super jealous as hell, by the way. Which is why I would never have jumped in that lake to save your ass. Not under any, uh...normal circumstances—" A branch snaps somewhere around them and then a growl. They both glance towards the girls who are seemingly unaware of the noises just heard. Eddie begins to talk about how he's no hero, how he runs in the face of danger.

   "See, the only reason I came in here was 'cause those ladies came in straight after you," Eddie points at the girls, Brooke jumping on Paisley back as they look at them, "Now, I was too ashamed to be the one stayed behind. But Martel right there, she didn't waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in. I've known Brooke for a while, okay and I never thought I'd see her in a relationship. Her and uh, Casey Windward, they didn't match but the way she speaks about you and looks at you. I'm not a love expert, clearly but you got through to her. I've seen Brooke at some of her worst and I'm sure you've seen her even worse. I beg of you, man. Don't let her go."

   Steve stares at his girlfriend in the distance lovingly, silently taking in Eddie's words. At that moment, while on Paisley's back, Brooke smiles brightly as she realizes that Eddie and Steve are calmly speaking, dare she say even bonding.

The smile is wiped clean off her face when the loud rumbling comes back, shaking the world around them. The shake is so intense that Brooke falls off Paisley's back and right into the girl's lap when they all hit the ground.

   "Second on my list of least favorite things, earthquake!" Robin shouts, "Seriously, I'm unsteady enough as it is."

  "Robin, I want you to know if the world wasn't shaking right now, I would've laughed at that," Brooke says and Robin lets out a nervous chuckle. Their grips on the trees are becoming looser the more everything rumbles. But through the rumble, Nancy sets off. "Nancy!" Penelope calls out, running after her. "Guys! Guys!? Where are you going?" Paisley shouts, forcing herself off the ground. Nancy and Penelope get out of sight. "Shit," Brooke curses, running after them as best as she can.

  She finds her standing at the edge of the forest, "Guys, what the fuck?" Everyone catches up to them, thunder booming that rattles their bones. When the red strikes the land, Brooke sees the Wheeler house and realizes this is why Nancy booked it, she knew where they were. "That's your place," Penelope points. "Come on," Nancy says and they walk towards the house that should feel like another home to Brooke but now it just feels unrecognizable.

    ON THE OTHER SIDE of Hawkins, Dustin is desperately calling for Steve and the others through the walkie. The kids and Stella are sitting in the kitchen of the Wheeler home still. The parents that actually decided to show up have been talking with the police while Max is still getting asked a million questions.

   Stella is leaning against the counter, clenching her jaw overhearing the conversations. Dustin finally comes back. "Anything?" Lucas asks with hope. "Nothing," Dustin responds. Stella scoffs and kicks off the counter, "If he's not already dead, I'm going to kill Eddie. What the hell happened?"

    Lucas frowns in realization, "You don't think they went through....."

    "Through Watergate? Without us? Without a plan? Without weapons? They wouldn't be that stupid," Dustin tells him. Stella raises an eyebrow at how much hope Dustin has in that group's intelligence. "Maybe they're laying low because they saw the law get us?" Danny suggests but even that idea sounds stupid, "No, I'm sorry but Brooke would be stupid enough to go through," The younger Martel shakes his head.

He glances at the family's phone on the wall. He misses Will and just the Byers in general but mostly Will. It feels weird going through something that all started with him, without him. It just feels odd without Will Byers by his side.

   "The law?" Erica mocks Danny, "What is this, Gunsmoke? The Stupid and the Ugly? Should I round up the posse? Saddle the horses." Lucas glares down at his little sister, "Erica! Please, just go away." But Erica doesn't listen, leaning against the island with a juice box in hand, "Here's the deal. Either you tell me what's happening or I tell everyone here what I found under your bed."

  The look on Lucas' face is pure fear. Stella twists her face in disgust, "Please, please don't tell us." Dustin and Danny whipped their heads at Lucas. "Please, no," Lucas quietly pleads. "Spill your guts, cowpuncher," Erica demands. "What'd she find?" Dustin asks. "Nothing!" Lucas hastily answers. "Clearly something!" Danny retorts. "Is it gross?" Dustin asks Erica who nods yes, "Scale of one to ten."

  "A hundred," Erica says. Stella's jaw drops, happy she'll never have to deal with living with a teenage boy. "A hundred?" Danny, Stella and Dustin shout in unison.

  "The serial killer is a dark wizard from the Upside Down. And we've been looking for him, but he's in the Upside Down, which we can't reach. At least we thought we couldn't, until we found a gate at Lover's Lake. That was the reason why we were there, but these stupid cops grabbed us. And if you tell anyone about this, that's including Mom and Dad and Tina.....especially Tina, I....will smother you in your sleep. Do you understand?" Lucas ends his ramble.

  "Hmm....." Tina hums.

   "Erica?" Lucas slides forwards, "Do. You. Co—py?"

   "The smothering in my sleep part, but not much else. Why would they open a gate at Lover's Lake?" Erica questions. Stella rolls her eyes, crossing her arms, "Who's they, Erica?"

   "The commies," Erica answers. The answer makes Stella drop her head to look at the ground, completely frustrated with the situation she's in. "The commies didn't make the gate," Danny tries to explain. "Then who did?" Erica asks. "Nobody!" Responds Lucas. "So it just opened up for fun?" Erica asks another question.

   Dustin looks back at Stella as the argument between the Sinclair's breaks out. "Erica, you have no idea what you're talking about," Lucas yells. "No, she doesn't, yet she raises an essential question. How did Watergate open up? Only two gates have opened so far as we know. One by El, one by the commies. But it's not the commies or El this time, so it......" Realization dawns on Dustin, "Holy shit. Wait, wait, wait, wait."

   Danny cocks his head out, "What? Dustin, you're gonna cause me a mental breakdown." Dustin begins to pace the kitchen, "Danny, I will never be the cause of that," He deadpans before continuing, "There's one thing we've never understood. Which is why Vecna is killing people. What's his motive? Killing teens? It always just seemed too random. Too prosaic. On top of that, how does the Mind Flayer figure into all this? Maybe this is it. This is the answer."

   "Vague. Details, please," Stella anxiously gestures her hand for him to hurry up but Karen Wheeler and an officer walk in. They all rush towards the staircase together to get away from Mrs. Wheeler and the officer.

  "Okay, just hear me out. How did El open the Mothergate?" Dustin asks, trying to jog the boy's memories because Stella nor Erica have the answer to that. "She contacted the Demogorgon," Lucas recalls. "With psychic contact. Just like...." Dustin waits.

  Danny gasps, "Like Vecna with his spells!"

  "Exactly. So, what if, with each kill, he's not simply killing them, he's making a powerful psychic connection with his victims? A connection powerful enough to rip a hole in the fabric of time and space," Dustin rambles his theory. Stella scratches at her neck, every word of Dustin's theory playing in her head as she tries to sort it out. "He's opening more gates," Lucas figures out.

   "Bingo," Dustin says and as soon as he does, a grandfather clock eerily chimes, echoing the house and a police strolls past, speaking into his radio, "Copy, we're still at the Wheeler house."

   The group moves around the house again. "Why would he be opening gates?" Dustin asks as they move through the home. "To take over the world, I assume. This has always been about power," Danny claps his hands. "Who do we know that wants to take over the world?" asks Dustin. Stella's jaw clenches and her heart rate increases.

   She stares down at the floor, "The Mind Flayer. That fucker that killed Casey," Stella looks back up and sympathetic eyes are on her. Dustin takes a deep breath, "So, if the Demogorgon was just his foot soldier, Vecna is his five star general. A five star general with the power to open gates."

  Processing all of this, both Danny and Lucas let out a, "Holy shit!" Dustin copying them.

   "Holy shit. That was incomprehensible. You lost me at Mothergate. Please be kind. Rewind," Erica sasses and Dustin begins from the start of last year—with the Russians.

     BROOKE'S SNEAKER HITS THE vine filled floor of Nancy Wheeler's house in the Upside Down. It feels much colder as the dust particles fall around them like scary snow. Vines line the walls from ceiling to floor, making them all watch their step.

   Though Brooke knows the layout of the house, it feels like a whole new place. To her left when she walks in is the dining room, just like normal. "I think it's time to get a maid, Wheeler," Robin laughs. "You okay?" Penelope asks, gently grabbing Nancy's wrist to get her attention. "Hm? Uh, yeah. Come on. I don't want to stay here longer than we have to," Nancy rushes them upstairs. Hand in hand, Steve and Brooke start to go up the stairs with Brooke in front.

  A wispy, familiar voice bounces off the walls suddenly. Brooke and Steve stop in their tracks, looking at each other and rushing back down the couple stairs they went up. The voice sounds like Dustin but it's faint. "Was that....."

   "Dustin, right?" Steve finishes for Brooke, stepping back into the dining room. The words sound backwards the more he speaks. "Oh God, this is where we lose our minds," Brooke sighs, putting a hand over her mouth. "No, no, we must both be losing it then," Steve lets go of Brooke's hand, "Dustin?!" He shouts to the walls. Brooke worrily stares at her boyfriend as he jumps around shouting for Dustin.

    "Brooke, you heard him! Help! Dustin!" Steve shouts some more, "Can you hear me? Dustin!" The others come rushing down the stairs to Steve wandering the dining room and a worried Brooke. "Du—Hello? Hel...Hello?" Steve yells.

   "Brooke, get your psycho boyfriend," Penelope giggles at Steve's performance. "No, I heard him too. I just didn't want to shout to the walls," Brooke shrugs. "Maybe he really does have rabies," Robin whispers.

   Steve spins with his flashlight in hand, "Hello? Hello?!"

   "Okay, enough," Paisley walks up to him and grabs onto his shoulders from the back, "Steve, what the hell are you doing?"

   "Hello!" Steve shouts once more, spinning to face the group and shining the bright light in everyone's faces in the process. "Ah! You fucker!" Paisley shoves at Steve to get the light out of her face. He gently shoves her back, moving around her, "He's here. Henderson. That little shit, he's here. He's like.....he's in the walls or something. Just listen. Brooke heard it too!" Brooke nods, pressing her lips together and throwing an awkward thumbs up at her boyfriend. Obviously she believes him, she heard it but that doesn't make her feel less crazy.

      To help her boyfriend not look too insane, Brooke cuffs her hands around her mouth, "Dustin!" She shouts as well as Steve now. They're both just shouting Dustin, Dustin as their friends think this might be the craziest thing they've seen today. After a few seconds of yelling, Dustin's voice comes through again.

  "Steve, shut up!" Brooke yells when she hears Dustin's voice again.

   "That brings us to the question you first raised. How and why is there a gate at Lover's Lake?" Dustin's voice is clear now. With big smiles, the couple turns to their friends. "Holy fuck. I heard him," Paisley says, jaw agape.

   Penelope runs her hands through her hair, "Okay, okay, let's scream to the walls for the weird kid. Dustin!" She begins yelling and now everyone has joined in. Brooke feels silly running around the house calling for their curly haired friend. Every so often her arm reminds her that it's hurt, cut and still bleeding. She hasn't been able to see the blood so it hasn't bothered her but now the thought, the remembering that it's there and open is starting to fuck with her. Her calling for Dustin becomes slurred for a moment but she shakes her head, forcing herself to be okay and continue to call for him.

   "Alright, either this kid can't hear us or he's being a total douchebag," Steve comments. "Will found a way," Nancy says, "He found a way to speak to Joyce—through the lights!" Nancy rushes over and flips the lamp switch but nothing goes on. Steve points to the light switch for the chandelier and Nancy hits it, "It's not working!" Nancy yells frustratedly.

  There's a glistening noise above Brooke. It sounds like an overdramatized cartoon when something sparkles. She looks up at the chandelier above her. It's sparkling gold as the light gets bright, buzzing with electricity. "That's not, uh, normal," Brooke says, catching everyone's attention. Dustin's voice begins to faintly come back to their world, back to the Upside Down.

   Nancy walks over, slowly reaching her hand into the glitter. It hums with every move of her finger. Brooke's jaw drops like an excited child. With much less hesitation than Nancy, Brooke shoves her hand into the glittering light, biting her lip in excitement, "Oh, this is so fucking cool!" She turns to Steve with a big smile. Even in such a scary place like the Upside Down, Brooke's smile lights up Steve's life. The conversation with Eddie from earlier comes back, him saying not to lose her.

   Steve smiles, taking a step over and next to Brooke. Her eyes are on the light again and the sparkles reflect in her eyes, she looks angelic. Brooke always does but with the light it really emphasizes it. His heart feels warm. Even though he had promised it to himself when they started to go out and even before that, Steve glances at Eddie with a smile, promising him now that he won't let go of Brooke.

  "Woah!" Eddie exclaims. Brooke bounces from foot to foot, "Eds, come touch this shit, bro. It feels like how you described doing coke."

   Eddie deadpans, expecting wide eyes at her words but they all just nod. "Oh," Eddie runs over and reaches his hand up and into the glitter. Now everyone's hands are wiggling around the light, smiling and completely immersed with it. "It....tickles," Steve says.

   "It kinda feels good," Robin adds. For the first time since the group has hit the ground of the Upside Down, there's proper smiles on their faces, a dazzling in their eyes from the bright reflection of the sparkles.

   Nancy pulls her hand away, "Does anyone know morse code?" She asks. The rest of them pull back, answering with a collective no. Everyone except Penelope. Nancy glances at the older girl, "Penelope...."

  "I know SOS. And other things. Thought morse code was a basic skill," Penelope shrugs with a smug smile. Eddie shoves his hands in his pockets, "So, SOS counts? Because...I know SOS." Penelope's smug look drops when Eddie speaks up. The super senior has the same skill as her.

   All eyes are on Eddie. "Is that....is that good?" Eddie asks. "You've failed calculus 3 times but know morse code?" Brooke's eyebrows knit together.  "That's not fair. It's calculus, come on now," Paisley laughs nervously because she too failed that class last year. "Okay, am I doing the code? What's going on?" Penelope taps her foot. "You can do it at the same time, children," Brooke crosses her arms, hissing when her hand touches her wound. Steve notices, "Brooke, you okay?"

   She widens her eyes. She hadn't realized that a noise had left her mouth at the pain. "Yeah, I just fucked up my arm earlier. I'll be fine. Are you okay?" Brooke changes the subject to Steve. He clicks his tongue at that but nods his head a shaky yes. "Well, let me see it—"

"No, no, Steve. Really, it's fine. We don't have time to mend such insignificant injuries," Brooke flinches when Steve tries to reach for her arm. She has no idea how bad the cut truly is but when it hasn't stopped bleeding since she got there, she gets a good sense. Steve's injuries are much worse though.

    "Would you move?" Penelope hip checks Eddie as they both do the morse code for SOS. "Well, I can but," Eddie hip checks her back, "You can too." Penelope stumbles yet still does the code. She takes a deep breath, catching Nancy's warning look across from her. No insult leaves Penelope's mouth and she just continues to do the code with Eddie alongside.

   The chandelier blinks with every touch of the glitter. "They have to see it by now," Brooke anxiously bites the inside of her cheeks. She's worried for the kids, for Stella. Why the kids are even at the Wheeler house is still a mystery to everyone. "It's working," Robin says. "Is it?" Paisley whispers, leaning closer to Steve. "It has to," Steve whispers back.

    Brooke holds her arm to her chest, feeling the mix of dried blood and new blood against the palm of her hand. A shaky breath leaves her mouth, eyes never leaving the chandelier.

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