Chapter Eleven: The Mind Flayer

"The Mind Flayer. It built this monster in Hawkins to stop El, to kill her and to pave a way into our world," Mike's explanation offered help to those in the group who were still missing a few pieces of the puzzle. Although, in Lydia's case, she certainly felt that she was missing more than a few.

"And it almost did," Nancy added, continuing on. "That was just one tiny piece of it."

"Hi, sorry," Lydia was the first to interrupt. The single fact that what had come out of El's leg was only one tiny piece of this monster was unnerving her. "How big actually is this thing?"

"It's big," Jonathan replied. "Thirty feet, at least."

Lydia nodded, exhaling slowly. Okay, the Russians she may have accidentally signed herself up for, but gigantic thirty feet monsters? Definitely not.

Lucas turned to Hopper. "It sorta destroyed your cabin. Sorry."

"Okay, so, just to be clear, this– this big fleshy spider thing that hurt El, it's some kind of gigantic weapon?" Steve asked, seeking clarification.

"Yes," Nancy answered.

"But instead of, like, screws and metal, the Mind Flayer made its weapon with melted people?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Yeah, okay," Steve shrugged. "I– Yeah, I'm just making sure."

It turned out that Max's older brother, Billy Hargrove, had been possessed by the Mind Flayer, who was using him as a vessel to create another...host? It was all very complicated. Lydia felt like she had skipped several classes.

"Are we sure this thing is still out there, still alive?" Joyce questioned.

Lydia had no idea how any of them had ended up in this mess – especially Rich, like, where the fuck did he come from? – but she was especially confused at how Joyce Byers, of all the parents, had ended up in this situation.

"El beat the shit out of it, but, yeah, it's still alive," Max told her.

"But if we close the gate again–" Will started.

"We cut the brain off from the body," Max finished with a nod.

"And kill it," Lucas added, glancing at everyone. "Theoretically."

"Sounds like suicide," Rich spoke up, sparing a glance at Lydia. "Actual suicide."

"Yeah, there's been a lot of that going round today," Lydia said.

"Yoo-hoo!" A man with glasses interrupted. He stood at one of the tables in the food court, waving papers above his head. "Yoo-hoo!" Everybody turned to look at him, starting to wander over. Rich exchanged a look with Lydia, who simply shrugged, the pair of them following after the rest of the group.

"Okay," glasses man began, setting a pile of notebooks down on the table. "Okay, this is what Alexei called the hub," he informed, tapping his finger on a box drawn on the paper. "Now, the hub takes us to the vault room."

"Okay," Hopper said, stepping closer to examine the map. "Where's the gate?"

"Right here." The man tapped the area. "I don't know the scale on this, but I think it's fairly close to the vault room, maybe fifty feet or so."

"More like five hundred," Erica cut in. "What, you're just gonna waltz in there like it's commie Disneyland or something?"

The man turned to face her, looking down. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

Lydia bit back a smile, knowing the amount of sass that was about to be unleashed on him.

"Erica Sinclair," she responded, eyebrows arched disapprovingly. "Who are you?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Murray Bauman."

"Listen, Mr. Bunman," Erica began, placing her hands on her hips. Lydia choked out a laugh, covering it up with a cough as she and Robin exchanged amused looks. "I'm not trying to tell you how to do things, but I've been down in that shithole for twenty-four hours. And with all due respect," she faced the others. "You do what this man tells you, you're all gonna die."

Murray straightened up. "I'm sorry, why is this four-year-old speaking to me?"

"Um, I'm ten, you bald bastard!"

"Erica!" Lucas scolded.

"Just the facts!" She sassed back.

"Yeah, and she's right," Lydia backed her up. "You should listen to her."

"Yeah, you're all gonna die, but you don't have to," Dustin said nonchalantly, walking towards them. "Excuse me. Sorry, may I?"

"Please," Murray smiled sarcastically at him.

Dustin slid the map towards himself, picking up a pen and circling an area. "Okay, see this room here? This is a storage facility. There's a hatch in here that feeds into their underground ventilation system." He drew a line across the map. "That will lead you to the base of the weapon. It's a bit of a maze down there, but between me and Erica, we can show you the way."

"You can show us the way?" Hopper asked disapprovingly.

"Don't worry," Dustin waved his hand dismissively. "You can do all the fighting and the dangerous hero shit, and we'll just be your navigators."

"No," Hopper shut down, causing both Dustin and Erica to frown. "Nope."

"Well, that settles it," Dustin said, turning to the others. "He's gonna die."

"They're gonna die," Erica affirmed.

"You can navigate," Hopper told them, tossing a walkie-talkie towards Dustin. "Just from someplace safe.

"It's not that simple. The signal won't reach. Not with this," Dustin said. "You need something with a high enough frequency band to relay with the Russians' radio tower," he explained. "But for that to work, you need someone who has both seen their comms room and has access to a super-powered handcrafted radio tower, one preferably already situated at the highest point in Hawkins." Dustin grinned up at them. "Oh, wait. That's me. If you want us to navigate, you got us. But we need a head start. And a car."

Hopper looked expectantly at Rich, who shook his head. "Not a chance, man."

Rich's white Peugeot was his actual pride and joy. They could be in the literal apocalypse (which, to be fair, they might well be) and he still wouldn't let anybody else drive it.

Hopper sighed, digging into his pocket and tossing a set of keys at Steve, who caught them swiftly in his right hand.

The groups were divided quickly, Lydia teaming with Robin, Steve, Dustin and Erica again, who were now aptly labelled 'The Scoops Troop.' She kinda loved it.

"Be careful," Rich pleaded with Lydia before she left, both hands on her shoulders. "Don't do anything stupid, just stick to the plan."

Lydia scoffed. "When have I ever done anything stupid?"

"I mean, I'd say getting trapped in a Russian elevator was pretty fucking stupid," Rich retorted.

She shrugged. "Yeah, fair point."

The two parted ways, promising to keep in contact. With the plan set in motion, the Scoops Troop left the mall. As they stepped outside and into the parking lot, they were met with the flashiest car Lydia had ever seen.

Steve grinned. "Oh, man, now this this is what I'm talkin' about!"

Lydia whistled. "That is one sweet ride."

"Toddfather?" Robin questioned the license plate as they approached closer.

"Oh, screw Todd! Steve's her daddy now," he proclaimed, pulling open the drivers side door.

"Did you just talk about yourself in the third person?" Robin asked, heading towards the backseats. That meant Lydia was in the passenger side, which, she had to admit, felt like a slight set up.

"Also, did you just call yourself daddy?" Lydia asked, quirking an eyebrow at Steve as she slid into the seat beside him.

He met her eyes, smirk resting on his lips. Lydia shook her head, glancing away. Steve inserted the keys in the ignition. "All right, where are we going?" He asked.

"Weathertop," Dustin responded, clambering into the backseat.

"Weather-what?"

"Just drive!" Dustin barked.

"Okay, Jesus!" Steve started the engine.

The headlights beamed, light flooding the parking lot. Steve placed his arm behind Lydia's head-rest, looking over his shoulder as he reversed out. Lydia's gaze trailed over him, muscles flexed, veins running down his arm, hand drifting towards the gear stick...Oh hell no, she needed to snap out of that immediately.

Dustin spent the next half an hour calling directions to where they were going, which had proved much further than Lydia anticipated.

"Jesus, how far is this place, man?" Steve asked as he turned the car down one of the back country roads.

"Relax, we're almost there," Dustin assured.

"Suzie must be pretty special, huh?" Robin asked. "I mean, if you built this thing and lugged it all the way to the middle of nowhere just to talk to her?"

"I mean, nobody's scientifically perfect, but Suzie's about as close to being perfect as any human could possibly be," Dustin smiled back. Adorable.

"She sounds made up to me," Erica stated, glancing at Steve through the rear view mirror. "She sound made up to you?"

Steve opened his mouth to respond, but then stopped. "Why are you hesitating, Steve?" Dustin snapped, leaning forwards.

"I'm– I'm– I'm not!" Steve stuttered. "I'm not! I think she sounds real. You know, totally, absolutely real."

"Left!" Dustin suddenly instructed. "Turn left!"

"There's not a road here," Lydia pointed out, eyeing the fence running alongside the road.

"Turn left now!" Dustin shouted.

"Jesus!" Steve swerved quickly. "Hang on!" The car smashed through the wooden fence. Lydia gripped tightly onto her seat. "Whoa! Henderson, where are we going?!"

"Up!"

A huge hill was ahead of them. The car tilted as it trudged upwards. "Oh, Jesus."

"We're not gonna make it!" Robin panicked.

"Yes, we are," Steve said determinedly. He hit his fist against the steering wheel. "Come on, baby. Come on, baby! Come on!" The car sputtered and slowed as the incline grew steeper. "Come on, come on, come on!"

They reached a ditch in the ground, tires wedging stuck as the car came to a complete stop.

"Guess the Toddfather has its limitations."

—

"Scoops Troop, this is, hm, Bald Eagle," Murray stated reluctantly over the radio. The corners of Lydia's mouth tugged at the nickname."I've reached another junction."

"This is what?"

"The fourth junction," Murray replied.

"All right, so if memory serves, this is right after the My Little Pony thesis," Dustin turned to Erica for confirmation.

"We went left, so he has to go right," Erica worked out.

"Right," Dustin brought the walkie to his mouth. "Fly right, Bald Eagle. Fly right."

"Roger that, flying right."

"What's the My Little Pony thesis?" Lydia asked curiously.

Erica rolled her eyes. "Don't get him started."

"Get him started?" Robin queried, also intrigued.

"Hey, guys?" Steve called out nervously. Lydia turned her attention to him, immediately realising what he was staring so worriedly at.

Stood on the hill, they could overlook almost the entire town of Hawkins. And dead in the centre of it was Starcourt Mall. The lights inside were flickering wildly and in different colours, which only meant one thing – the others were in trouble

Dustin's eyes widened. He quickly snagged the radio from the ground. "Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop! Do you copy? Over!" He shouted urgently. "Griswold Family, I repeat, this is Scoops Troop. Do you, Griswold Family, do you copy? Do you copy?!"

A loud screech from the other side emitted through the radio. Lydia's stomach dropped. They were in major trouble.

"Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop. Please confirm your safety!" Dustin tried again. "Are you en route to Bald Eagle's nest? Please confirm your safety! Someone, please just answer. Is anyone there? Just answer!"

"Where are you going?!"

Lydia tore her eyes from the mall as Steve rushed in the direction of the car. "To get them the hell outta there!" He shouted back. "Stay here, contact the others!"

The logical side of Lydia's brain knew that walking straight into a mall death trap was a very, very bad idea. But Lydia rarely used her brain for good, so what the hell.

"Hey, wait up!" She called, jogging to catch up with him.

Steve turned around, looking at her in bewilderment. "What are you doing?"

"You're not going alone," Lydia told him. Steve went to speak. "Don't bother arguing."

"Wait, Robin!" Dustin exclaimed. Robin turned around at the top of the hill. "Stay in touch," Dustin told her.

"Got it."

Lydia opened the passenger side door and got in the car. Once Robin had hopped into the back, Steve twisted the key in the ignition. "This better start."

There was stillness, and then engine roared to life. Lydia leaned back in her seat. Steve looked over at her and nodded. "Hold on tight."

He reversed down the hill and sped through the main roads, even running a few red lights. As the mall dawned on them, Lydia shifted uncomfortably in her seat, anticipation building for what was to come. She hoped that the others were safe and they weren't too late to help. She also really fucking hoped they weren't about to get themselves killed.

Steve made a sharp turn around the corner and into the parking lot. Another car engine was revving loudly, with what looked like Billy Hargrove in the drivers seat.

"Is that Billy?" Lydia squinted to get a closer look. "Shit."

The vehicle was pointed in the direction of Nancy Wheeler, who was stood firing bullets from a shotgun, protecting her car that held Jonathan and the kids inside.

Steve switched gears. Meeting Lydia's eyes, they exchanged a nod. "Hold tight!"

With that, he slammed his foot on the gas pedal. Lydia fell backwards, hands clutching her seatbelt as she braced herself for the oncoming impact.

There was an almighty crunch as the cars crashed, sending Billy's vehicle spinning away from them. Lydia lurched forwards, colliding with the arm Steve had protectively thrown out in front of her. The three of them sat in silence, breathing heavily.

"Are you guys ok?" Steve asked.

"Ask me tomorrow," Robin breathed out.

Steve watched Lydia in concern. She took a moment to compose herself before she turned to face him. "That was fucking awesome."

He let out a breathy laugh, but it was overshadowed by the monstrous growl that echoed around them. Lydia's expression faltered, attention landing on the mall as a huge creature hovered on the building.

"Oh, shit!" Robin shouted.

Lydia was almost captivated by the sight, unable to believe what she was seeing. Looking like an overgrown spider, with gigantic claw arms and scaly skin, the monster roared again and jumped closer towards them.

"Holy fuck shi–"

Lydia was cut off by the screech of breaks as another car pulled up beside them. Nancy leaned her head out the window. "Get in!"

Without sparing another second, the trio clambered out of the car. Steve threw open the trunk door of Nancy's vehicle and ushered Lydia and Robin inside. He hopped in after them and slammed the door shut.

Lydia scrambled as far away from the door as she possibly could, watching in horror as the monster climbed down from the mall and stormed after the car.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Lydia exclaimed, legs pulling to her chest."What the hell did you guys get me into?!"

"You're telling me this isn't the highlight of your summer?" Steve asked through a teasing smile, still breathless from the entire ordeal.

"Dusty-bun, you copy?"

Their attention shifted to the voice emitting through the radio.

"I copy, Suzie-poo. It sounds much better now, thanks." That was Dustin.

The backseat trio turned to one another, eyes widening in realisation. "Suzie!"

"Okay, so, listen, do you know Planck's constant?" Dustin questioned his girlfriend.

"Do you know the Earth orbits the sun?" She responded sarcastically.

"Okay, so I know it starts with two sixes," Dustin began. "And then a...what is it?"

"Okay, let me just be clear on this," Suzie said. "I haven't heard from you in a week, and now you want a mathematical equation that you should know so you can save the world?"

"Suzie-poo, I promise, I will make it up to you as soon as possible," Dustin assured.

"You can make it up to me now," she said firmly.

"What?"

"I want to hear it."

"Not right now," Dustin declined.

"Yes, now, Dusty-bun," insisted Suzie.

"Suzie-poo, this is urgent," he stressed.

"Yes, yes," Suzie sighed dramatically. "You're saving the world, I heard you the first time, but Ged is also saving Earthsea and he's about to confront the shadow, so this is Suzie, signing off."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Dustin shouted quickly. There was a long pause. Lydia glanced at Robin unsurely. "Okay. Okay. Okay. Shit...Turn around look at what you see in her face, the mirror of your dreams..." Dustin sang.

Lydia's jaw dropped.

"Make believe I'm everywhere, given in the light, written on the pages is The answer to a never-ending story."

And then the two even began to harmonise. The entire car fell silent in disbelief until, eventually, the singing faltered out.

"Planck's constant is six point six two six zero seven zero zero four," Suzie finally informed.

"You just saved the world."

She sighed. "Gosh, I miss you, Dusty-bun."

"And I miss you more, Suzie-poo."

"I miss you more, multiplied by all the stars in our galaxy."

"No, I miss you–" Dustin's voice was abruptly cut off.

Lydia looked up, biting back a smile. She had a feeling that had been Erica's doing. "Well, that was an experienc– oh fuck!"

The car was jerked around as the monster landed heavily on the road behind them. Lydia scurried backwards, staring up at it fearfully. But then something entirely strange happened. The monster halted in its tracks and slowly turned back in the opposite direction.

"It's turning around!" Steve announced to the others.

"What?" Nancy whirled around in her seat.

"It's turning around!" The backseat trio shouted simultaneously.

"Maybe we wore it out?" Lucas suggested.

"I don't think so," Jonathan said. "Hold on."

The car screeched to a sudden stop. Lydia lurched forwards unexpectedly. Steve attempted to catch her, but the pair ended up colliding heads again.

"Jesus, Harrington," Lydia groaned, clutching the top of her head.

"God, Dolan, why's your head so damn hard?" Steve complained.

"'Cos I have a big ass brain, what's your excuse?" She shot back.

"I–" Steve didn't finish his sentence, his eyes locking with Lydia's as she raised her brows expectantly.

Neither broke eye contact until Robin sighed over dramatically. "For the love of Christ, just kiss already, we're gonna die anyway!"

Lydia and Steve simultaneously turned towards her. "Really, Robin?" Steve said. "Really?"

"What?" She shrugged.

Jonathan upped the gas, speeding back to the mall. Lydia prepared herself this time, clutching onto the interior handle.

Jonathan swerved into the parking lot slammed on the breaks. "Everybody out!"

"Inside!" Nancy ordered. Robin flung open the car door and they flooded outside.

They sprinted through the mall entrance and upstairs, splintering into smaller groups. Robin snatched a basket full of fireworks that the others had left behind earlier, preparing to fulfil the original plan. She, Lydia and Steve stationed themselves together behind one of the pillars, out of the monster's sight, but close enough to hurl their fireworks.

Lydia crept closer to peer over the ledge, watching as Billy carried El in his arms. He stopped in the centre and placed her down on the ground, leaning over to whisper something in her ear. It made Lydia's skin crawl.

As Billy backed away, the spider monster began to approach. Robin's fingers inched towards the lighter. Lydia glanced across at the other kids, set up around the top floor of the mall, all with fireworks at the ready.

"Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!"

The first firework burst through the air, smacking into the monster. It shrieked, whirling on Lucas, who launched another into it's mouth. The firework exploded inside and the monster stumbled backwards.

Robin quickly lit a flame, hovering it underneath the trios fireworks before pulling it back. "Hey asshole!" Steve shouted.

Lydia moved her arm back and then, with as much force as she could muster, launched the firework through the air. The monster was hit in the face, firework exploding with a crack.

They reloaded swiftly and continued. Explosions were coming from all different directions, and certainly seemed to be having an impact on slowing the monster down, but it wasn't enough to stop it completely.

"We're almost out!" Robin warned them.

"Dustin, we're out of time!" Steve exclaimed into the walkie talkie.

Robin grasped the last firework from the basket and used both hands to fling it. Steve reached for Lydia's hand, pulling her around the corner and out of the way.

Her back was pressed up against the wall, Steve's hands landing either side of her head to stop himself from falling. "Hey."

"Hey," Lydia whispered back. Her gaze drifted across the cuts and swollen bruises on his face, the hits he'd taken to keep them safe. And then she thought back to what she'd overheard in the bathroom, how he really felt about her.

Steve reached a hand out, tucking fallen strands of hair behind her ear. His stare lingered on her mouth and Lydia knew what that meant. Her eyes flickered up to meet his. She wanted to stop him, she should stop him – there were far more important things happening around them – but her lips were itching with the desire to meet his, and that was wrong, that felt so wrong, but suddenly Lydia couldn't breathe and he seemed like the only viable source of oxygen...

And so, with fireworks cracking all around them (and not to forget the gigantic tarantula in the background) Steve finally decided to take his shot.

And it was fine. Lydia was fine. He was leaning in, eyes closed, inching closer to her face. But then her fucking brain short circuited and she panicked because, like, this was Steve Harrington attempting to kiss her.

Instinctively, she placed a hand on his chest. "Steve." He opened his eyes and she caught the flicker of disappointment crossing them. Her heart dropped. As it turns out, Lydia really did want to kiss him. But, instead of admitting it, Lydia did what she was an expert at – deflecting. "We're about to die and you want to kiss me?"

A slow, sheepish smile crossed his lips. "Bad timing?"

"Terrible timing."

He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, no, sorry."

Lydia's eyes softened as he took a step back, lowering his head. She felt bad. She felt really fucking bad. Like, she was never going to emotionally recover from this bad.

"We're out!" Robin informed.

Lydia forced her attention away from Steve as Robin joined them. Crouching down, the trio silently watched as explosions of colour surrounded the mall. But, just like they had ran out, the fireworks dwindled and the noise quietened.

The monster menacingly crept closer to El. Billy had risen to his feet, standing indignantly. El scooted backwards as the monster flung debris at them. Billy moved into the monster's path, blocking it from reaching El.

Lydia, who had been under the impression that Billy was still possessed by the Mind Flayer, was thoroughly confused as she watched him grab hold of the monster, his face scrunching in pain and concentration. Further arms branched out from the monster's body, slicing through Billy. He let out a pained scream that horrifically pierced and lingered in the air.

Lydia's hand covered her mouth as the monster dropped Billy onto his knees. He stared up at it with narrowed, determined eyes. Lydia watched in horror as another part burst through the monster's mouth and impaled Billy straight through the chest.

"BILLY!"

Max lurched forwards as her brother's head drooped unconsciously. The monster yanked itself out of his chest, blood spilling out. But then it wailed, shrieking as it fell down writhing. It's limbs were torn apart, flying into the walls. Finally, the monster dropped to the ground, it's movements stilling.

Lydia had a hand clutched onto the railing, holding tightly as she waited, expecting the monster to get up again, to terrorise them once more. But as the seconds passed, the silence became more and more defeating.

"Billy!" Max cried, falling to her knees beside him. "Billy?! Billy, get up, please!"

Lydia removed a trembling hand from the railing, arms wrapping around her middle. Despite never knowing Billy beyond his bad reputation, witnessing anybody being killed was hard to process, but knowing his actions had saved all of them saddened her even more. Mostly, though, Lydia's heart broke for Max.

Comfortingly, Steve wrapped his arm around Lydia's shoulders. He did the same to Robin, gently pulling both girls closer towards him. "It's over," Steve reassured quietly. Lydia leaned closer to him. "It's over."

A/N

Rip Billy I did not care for u <3