"I didn't think it was anything at first. I mean, I think I just didn't want to believe it. The first time I felt it was at Day of the Dead." Will started explaining, petting my hair softly.
"Power went out that night, too." Mike exclaimed.
"And then I felt it again at the field near the Nelson farm the next day. Then again yesterday outside Castle Byers." he continued, making me bite my lip.
"What does it feel like?" Max questioned, curious.
"It's almost like You know when you drop on a roller coaster? It's like everything inside your body is just sinking all at once, but this is worse. Your body it goes cold and and you can't breathe. I've felt it before, whenever he was close." Will continued, looking at me worriedly.
"Whenever who was close?" Max pressed, making me shake my head.
"The Mind Flayer." Will answered, making me sob softly hearing that again.
"I closed the gate." El explained, shocked.
"I know, but what if he never left? What if we locked him out here with us? This is him. All of him. But, that day on the field, a part of him attached itself to me. My mom got it out of me and Eleven closed the gate.But the part that was still in me, what if it's still in our world? In Hawkins." Will drew a sketch of the Mind Flayer, explaining everything.
"I don't understand. The Demodogs died when El closed the gate. If the brain dies, the body dies." Max refuted, but I shook my head.
"I can't take any chances...W-We can't take any chances...We gotta assume the worst...A-And if that fucker is back...Th-Then...Then...Billy..." I put my hands in my hair in desperation, pulling at it.
"He'd need new me. A new host. And it's possible that Fox found the host." Will muttered, hugging me.
"How can you tell if someone is a host?" El asked softly, looking at us.
"Lets go to the pool. It's Billy's shift now." I offered, driving them to the pool and getting out the binoculars, spying at him.

He was staying in the life guard chair, with a long-sleeved sweater, a towel over his legs and an ice cold drink in his hand, sweating like crazy, which made me hit my head on the car.

"That's it...He's the host...He likes it cold, remember? The Sun is hurting him...And...And Billy doesn't wear long sleeved sweaters...He kept saying they're for nerds and he'd rather die than wear any." I choked out in a very depressed voice.
"Yeah, but he's lounging at the pool, which is, like, the least Mind Flayer thing ever." Max tried to reason, but Will shook his head.
"Not necessarily. The Mind Flayer likes to hide. He only used me when he needed me. It's like like you're dormant. And then, when he needs you, you're activated." Will told us, ready for a fight.
"Okay, so we just wait until he gets activated." the girl asked in confusion, looking at each of us.
"No. What if he hurts someone?" Mike asked, incredulous.
"Or kills someone. We can't take that chance. We need to find out if he's the host" Will said, hurrying to the pool with the other 2.
"Where are you going?" Max yelled after them, but they paid us no mind.
"I have an idea. Boys only. Just trust me on this one." Mike yelled back, not looking back.
"This is gonna end up so badly..." I muttered, sneaking inside the pool with El, while Max stayed behind to watch over her brother.

Inside, we started making our plan to work and we lay in wait for Billy to finish his shift, at night. Before anything, however, I looked at Mike and gripped his shoulders tightly.

"Mike. I think you're the most physically strong from the party. Look, I-I...I know how I can be...Wh-When we do our plan...C-Can you please make sure I stay back? I...I'm afraid I might do something to destroy the plan when I'll see him in pain...So if anything happens, can I trust you to stop me?" I asked, looking hopeful at him, my heart breaking at the idea.
"Sure, Fox. We'll all make sure everything will be okay. We promise." he reassured me, and I could only smile and sit down, scratching at my legs, waiting.

After what felt like a million years, the pool closed and Billy went to take a shower, and after he was done, we started our plan. I and El messed around a bit with the doors and lockers, making noise, while Mike put the dummy in the sauna room and duct taped the walkie to its waist, and called out Billy's name, making him follow the noises, until he went berserk and got in the sauna, where he confused the dummy with a human and threatened him.
But then, Mike told him to look behind, and El used her powers to slam him to the wall behind, making me cringe at the impact, feeling his pain, and the rest secured the door locked.

Billy then pressed his face to the door window and glared at us, pounding on the door, which made me flinch, Mike and Will holding my hands.

"Kat...Kat, let me out...They're holding you back, ain't they?...You kids! You think this is funny? You kids think this is some kind of sick prank, huh? You little shits think this is funny? What is this? Open the door. Open the door! OPEN THE DOOR! OPEN THE GODAMN DOOR!!" he yelled again, but somehow slid down the door with a grunt, and that was the last straw and I ran to the door, planting my hands on the door and looking through the window at the collapsed boy.
"Billy! Billy, are you okay? Baby, talk to me, please!" I raised my voice, trying to make him hear me.
"It's not my fault. It's not my fault. It's not my fault, Kat. I promise you, it's not my fault." he cried on the floor, pleading and praying at me to forgive him.
"What's not your fault, honey? It's okay, you can tell me! I'm right here!" I reassured him in a sweet voice, despite my heart ripping itself in pieces.
"I've done things, Kat. Really bad things. I didn't mean to. He made me do it." he implored, looking at me and sobbing.
"Who made you do it, sugar? I'm here, baby, it's gonna be okay, I promise! I'm here to protect you!" I put my forehead to the window, looking at him.
"I don't know, it's like a shadow. Like a giant shadow. Please, Kitten, please forgive me!" he begged and begged, rocking back and forth on the ground, making me sob and rake my fingers on the door.
"What did he make you do, sweetheart? I promise I'm not mad, so please, tell me what happened." I tried to persuade him to tell me,
"It's not my fault, okay? Kitten, please. Please, believe me, Kitten, it's not my fault. I tried to stop him, okay? I did. Please believe me, Kat. Please believe me!" he slid down on the ground, barely hanging up, holding the bench, which made my legs tremble.
"Baby, it's gonna be okay! I promise you, you'll be alright, honey! I will save you, no matter what!" I cried, cursing myself for not being able to just break down the door and hold him.
"Kitten, please..." he chocked, sobbing, looking as helpless as never before.
"It's gonna be okay, sweety, I swear! We want to help you, we WILL help you, I promise! I swear on my life! We will to help you, just have to talk to us, okay? You have to talk to us, sweetheart! I know it's not your fault, love, I know, I believe you! You are a good person, I know that. You let me see your good side, and you're such a lovely and sweet person who deserves the world...We'll figure it out together, okay? I promised I will always be there for you, and I will! Please, baby, I need you to trust me. Please...Please-" tears wouldn't stop falling down my face so hard that I didn't realise he wasn't Billy anymore just like that, nor that the kids were talking, warning me to step back.

It was too late when I realised, as I was barely able to side step the glass shards from the window as he broke it, glaring, cursing and threatening me.

"Let me out, you fucking bitch! Let me out or I'll fucking gut you! LET ME OUT!" he kept repeating, and I swear I never felt my heart hurt so much than now, seeing him in so much pain.
"Fox, get away from there!" Lucas yelled before hitting him with...Something. Something strong enough to make him fall back...And let the monster take over him.

Billy roared in pain as the monster took over him, and while I felt vulnerable as hell, I stood in front of the kids, wiping away my tears and standing my ground as he started pounding on the door like a mad bull, until he destroyed it.

"Billy...? I know you're in there. Please...It's me...Your Kitten...Please, baby, look at me and remember. You're strong, baby, you're strong, so fight that monster possessing you and come back to me, I beg of you!" I cried out to him, but it had no effect at all, his eyes remained unwavering...With the only exception of a stray tear falling down his face as he lunged towards me.

"I'm so sorry, baby..." I choked out, as I made the weights levitate and hit him, pinning him on the wall. "GET OUT OF HERE, ALL OF YOU! I'LL KEEP HIM BUSY!" I screamed at them, concentrating as hard as I could on pinning him but it wasn't that easy, for the monster overpowered me and made him throw the weights back at me, hitting me in the stomach, kicking out the air from my lungs, and in turn, falling over El.

I was barely able to take off the weights, that he took me by the hair and snapped my head back to look at him...But he wouldn't look at me, but at the kids, as he slammed his hand on my throat and raised me high into the air, choking me.

"B-Billy...! P-Please, h-hon-ney...P-Ple-ase..." I managed to choke out between gasps of air. My vision became blurry and I didn't realise that El used her powers to hit Billy with the weights again, making him drop me to the ground like a rag doll, until I stood up when he strutted towards them, and I levitated him in the air, this time the strain an infinite times worse, for some reason that I suspect would be the Mind Flayer's influence on his body.
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HIM, YOU MONSTER!!" I shriek in a shrill and desperate voice as I slammed his body so hard on the wall that he went through, running away, making me collapse on the floor, sobbing from the effort and seeing the love of my life in such a state.
"Fox! Fox, are you okay? Fox, look at me!" Will shook me desperately, screaming my name, and I could only throw my arms around his frail body wailing in pain, emotionally, for my body felt numb.
"WHY HIM?! WHY?! WHY DID THE FUCKING MONSTER HAVE TO TAKE HIM?! FUCKING HELL, WHY?!" I screamed my lungs out, letting out all my frustrations.
"It's okay, Fox, it's okay, I promise you we will save him. I promised you and I won't back down on my words, okay?" he held my face in his hands, looking into my eyes, and I could only nod and say a barely audible "Okay", before they helped me on my feet and we got out of there.

We went back to Mike's house where El and Max went to the bathroom to clean El up from the blood, while I just stood on the ground, looking at the ceiling, my mind completely blank, not being able to think of feel anything.
I couldn't hear what anyone around me was saying, arguing or doing, it was just me and my own world, thinking, overthinking, my head spinning and mixing like it was gonna snap and remain unfixable.

That is, until a sweet voice and a shook woke me up to reality, and I saw Nancy's gorgeous eyes looking concerned at me.

"When did you get here...?" I asked in a shushed voice, tilting my head slightly.
"We just got here. What happened with you...? Here, let me clean you up." she helped me get on the couch and took some watered tissues and cleaned my face.
"Billy happened. He's been possessed by the Mind Flayer. Fox tried her best to get to Billy's mind, but the Mind Flayer was stronger and it made Billy attack us...And her, especially." Will explained, licking his lips, afraid he might trigger another panic attack for me.
"It's fine, Will...I'll be okay...I am okay...He is not...As long as he's okay, I am okay..." I said in a very robotic voice, my vision still not focused on everything and I felt like rolling around in a limbo state.
"Your neck...Does it still hurt?" she asked, touching it gingerly.
"A bit. More when I talk...No big deal, no worries." I shrugged nonchalantly.
"Look at the body temperatures." Nancy said, showing us a paper with the victim's weirdly cold body temperature.
"He likes it cold." I muttered, glaring softly at the paper.
"Okay, so this crazy old woman who was eating fertilizer. What time was this attack?" Mike asked, a bit frustrated.
"Last night. Around 9:00." Nancy answered, making Jonathan look at her.
"You waited all night to call?" he asked, a bit shocked.
"I was waiting for the doctors to run some tests." she explained, looking down.
"You weren't there?" Will asked, making his brother shake his head.
"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" he tried to defend himself, but Nancy was annoyed and dramatically exclaimed "Hallelujah!", making Lucas go "Ooh." and me to facepalm at how badly and awkwardly they were handling everything.
"Um, so, what time was your sauna test?" Nancy asked, making us all answer in unison "Around 9:00."
"Well, that proves it. That proves my theory." the girl clapped her hands together, nodding at us in victory.
"She's flayed, just like Billy." Mike informed, making Jonathan look weird at him.
"Flayed?" he asked in confusion.
"The Mind Flayer. He flays people. Takes over their mind. Once they do that, they basically become him. If there are two flayed, we have to assume there are more." Will explained to them the matter.
"Heather Holloway. I'm sure she's been flayed. I've known about both of them since I saw them at her house." I muttered, biting my lip in annoyance.
"Then let's go to her house and see if we can find any clues!" Nancy exclaimed, rushing us to the car.

We drove back to Heather's house, which was a complete mess, and we found a mix of chemicals on the counter and the scene of the crime, where we realised that Heather struck her father with the wine bottle, then Billy tied them up and dragged them to a place where the Mind Flayer wouldn't want us to see, so now we have to unveil that secret.

Great!

And at the end...We went to visit the old lady that got Flayed, hoping that she'll be able to guide us to the place where it all started and we can save every-...Fuck that.

I don't care about everyone.

I'm not gonna lie anymore, fuck it.

I just want to save Billy and keep him safe.

Fuck the old lady.

Fuck Heather.

Fuck Heather's parents.

Fuck everyone else that isn't Billy Hargrove.

Back at home, El was in the other room, trying to locate Heather or someone so we could find out where the source is.
I've been trying to make her let me do it in her stead, since I'm practically running on a thousand miles per hour with worry and I can't stay still no matter what...So I just started pacing everywhere in the room, until she got back here and told us that she has to try another way to locate them.

"I am doing it. I'm done letting you do everything. I physically canNOT stay still any longer and I swear to fucking God that if I have to take another breath instead of looking for him, I will explode. So give me that scarf, forgive me for being such a bitch, and let me do this." I panted, gripping her shoulders and peering so deep into her eyes that I could practically see her soul.
"Are you sure, Kat? It could be dangerous. You've never done this before, right?" she blinked at me, worriedly, but I only shook my head.
"Please, El, I beg of you. Let me do this. It's killing me and I don't know if I can take much more of this. He's all alone out there and he needs me. It's...It's gonna be 4th of July, El. He promised he'd take me on a trip to the mountains, just us two...Just us, alone, with the forest, camping fire, the lake and or favourite rock songs that sing to me while playing the piano...He's scared, and El, my heart can't take thinking of him crying and hurting anymore. Please, let me do it. Please." I fell to my knees, hugging her tightly and sobbing in her shirt, begging her to let me do something so I won't feel as useless.
"Okay, Kat...But please be okay. Be careful." she sighed, petting my hair and giving me the scarf.
"Okay...Okay...So...I just stay here, TV open...And you guys shut up while I try to focus...And I do my thing...Kinda like how I did with Will, right? That should be it...I hope..." I hyped myself, sitting on the floor as I tied the scarf around my eyes and took a deep breath.

It didn't take long before the dizzying from searching vanished and I found myself in a dark place, walking on water, and there, in front of me, stood Billy on a bed. I rushed to him, taking in the cried face and the wound on his face, and my heart was so overwhelmed with emotions that I kneeled in front of him, taking one of his hands in both of mine, holding it on my face, calling out to him.

"Billy...? Baby? Can you hear me, sweetheart? ...Honey, can you hear my voice...?"

I called out to him again and again, letting a few stray tears fall down my cheeks, until his eyes, no longer fixed in one point, averted to mine.
At first, I could see a flicker of guilt, fright and recognision...But it all faded away as soon as it came and with the other hand, he gripped my neck tightly again, making me choke and gasp for air, and without realising, I used my powers to push myself from his grasp, and I fell -

And I fell -

And I kept falling and falling, and it felt like I was in slow motion, like sleep paralysis all over again, as flashbacks coming from Billy's mind, the car-crash, the fights, the victims, how he tried to escape the monster...Everything.

That is, until I found myself splattered on a beach, the waves wetting my clothes, making me get up...

I was scared, my head was spinning, the flying and croaking seagulls were making me feel sick and the sound of the water, trying to find a place to focus and stop the growing anxiety attack...

"Fox?! Fox, are you okay?!" I could somehow hear from outside this place.
"Yeah...I'm fine now..." I managed to mumble, not sure if my voice was heard.
"Can you see anything?" Will asked, trying to keep me grounded.
"I'm at the beach...California..." I sighed, moving on.

Looking around, I could see a little boy with a surf board, running happily to his mother, a gorgeous woman in a white dress, wearing a hat.

That was Billy.

"What can you see?" he questioned, his voice firm, but still gentle.
"I...I can see Billy...He's so young...And he's so happy...He's...He's smiling...And he's talking to his mum...He's going back to surf..." I informed them, before they both vanished as soon as I looked ahead and saw a huge storm with red lights. "I think I see the source." I said sternly, making a run for it.

Running was never my strong point, but now, I couldn't care less about my aching muscles or burning lungs.
On my way there, I passed by that shithead Neil, yelling, insulting and reprimanding Billy, which made me try to push him away, but my hands when through the smoke-like figure, and it pissed me off to no end, continuing to run.

I couldn't bear looking at the imagine of a kid Billy beating out a kid and calling him the same names his poor excuse of a father called him.

The storm kept getting harder and harder to pass through, the more his heart ached at those memories, including those where his father hit his mother, when she finally left them and he kept begging her to return over the phone, when his father remarried and showed him Max...And then...The car crash, how he got to that place...And that place had the monster take him.

I screamed out after him, but before I could process anything, that memory vanished and I was in the eye of the storm.
I passed his broken Camaro...And got to this dubious building, with must have been the source.

"Brimborn Steelworks." I told the kids as I looked at the huge letters on the building.
"Okay, Fox, great job, now get out of there!" Will called out, making me try to get back, focusing on leaving.

This made my head spin like crazy, and the feeling of falling from earlier felt even worse, as it was reversed, and I could see everything that happened to him, from the car crash, how we went to the phone, how he got dragged inside the building...How he turned Heather and her parents into one of them...How he attacked me...How he screamed in pain...Everything.

By the time I was able to take out the scarf and finally breathe again, I found myself all alone in the house, which made me panic even harder.

"Will?! MAX?! NANCY?! HELLO?! GUYS, WHERE ARE YOU?!" I screamed as hard as my lungs kept me, crying and pacing around in circles, until I heard a sort-of demonic voice called out from another room.
"They can't hear you." it said, as Billy came into the room, looking as robotic as ever. "You shouldn't have come look for me." he declared, approaching me. "Because now I can see you. We all can see you." he pressed on, walking towards me in a very intimidating and threatening manner, making me back away as fast as I could, all while looking at the tears that kept trying to escape and flow down his face.
"Leave him alone! Get away from him!" I barely managed to choke out as he smirked.
"YOU let us in and now YOU are going to let us stay. We've been building it for you. All that work, all that pain all of it for you. And now it's time. Time to end it." he grinned manically, trying to get closer to me.
"NO! SHUT UP! GO AWAY! LEAVE HIM ALONE! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!!!" I screamed as hard as I could, sobbing, crying, wailing like a cat in distress, but he didn't seem to disappear no matter how hard I tried to focus on making him disappear.
"And we are going to end you." I kept shaking my head, screaming at the top of my lungs for him to get out, but to no avail. "And when you are gone, we are going to end your friends." he said in an even darker voice, frightening me like never before.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!" I shrieked, falling to my knees, gripping my head in desperation.
"And then we are going to end everyone." he ended with a satisfied deadpan comment, making me let out a high pitched shrill scream, "GET OUT!!!", making my vision start to twist, as I somehow made Billy fly and slam into the wall behind him, but just as my whole vision went black, I could hear a very faint "I'm sorry, Kitten." making me scream in agony and somehow, fall to the ground in the real world, coughing blood and crying.

"Get back...Please...Please get back..." I managed to cry out barely audible, curling down on the carpet and wallowing in self pity.
"Kat...? Kat, what happened?" Nancy asked, kneeling in front of me and helping me stand, hugging me. "You get yelling for something to get out of your head...Did the Mind Flayer get to you?" she peered on, making me nod.
"Controlling Billy...He...He said that...They were gonna kill me...Me and El... And then all my friends...And then everyone...But...But at the end...I-I-I could h-hear h-his voice...Billy's...The real Billy...A-And...H-He said...He said 'I'm sorry, Kitten.' a-and I knew he was still there...And I want him back...I want him back, Nancy, please, I want him back..." I cried in her chest as she tried to calm me down by saying reassuring words that I doubt she believed anyways.
"Did he tell you anything else?" Will asked softly, trying not to scare me.
"He...He knows we are here...We were right here...In this place...A-And he said he can see us...And...I think they might be coming over...What do we do...?" I questioned them, my mind completely out of it. "Also...He's building an army...To kill me and El...So...I think I should leave this place before I put you in more danger..." I muttered, trying to get up, but Nancy held me tight.
"You're not going anywhere. We stand and fight someway. We need a plan." she reprimanded me like a mum would, making me sit still and sigh.
"Nancy...I-I think...I hear something from outside...Can you...?" I asked softly, looking up at her.
"...I do. Do you guys hear that...?" she asked in a hushed tone as she got closer to the window.

She dragged me outside, to see the fireworks, but the bad thing was that we could see the monster hitting trees and getting towards us, making me let out a shaky laugh and mutter "We're fucked."

We ran back in the cabin and closed all possible entrances, giving everyone weapons as everything started shaking and the lights kept flickering.

All of a sudden, e huge tentacle came through the window, aiming at Nancy, but Jonathan managed to hit it. Instead, the tentacle got mad and slapped Jonathan into the wall, which got Nancy to shoot all the Shotgun bullets at it, which made her the monster's trajectory.
She backed into the wall, but I got in between her and the monster and used my powers to stop the tentacle and make it back away, before another show out and attacked me.
I held both tentacles with my hands, but another came through the roof, biting my leg and I sure as hell wasn't expecting that.

I kept screaming out to them to help me, and it took all of them to hold me back and El to use her powers to get the monster to back off, not before she got her arm scratched as well.

But even after Lucas and El managed to sever that tentacle, making me fall to the ground, the teeth and head were still attached to my leg like a leech, making Nancy pull away at it, throwing it away, and me screaming in agony.
How the hell do I still have a voice after everything going on...

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM US, YOU, FUCKASS!" I screamed at the monster as it returned even after that, which made me royally pissed, and pulling myself up by tugging at Will's clothes, I use as much of my power as I can hitting the monster's head on the roof, getting help from El to then split its head in two, and making it get the hell away from us...Well, more like drawing back for a few seconds as it roared in pain.

I collapsed on the floor, clutching my leg in pain and cursing away life as it is, before Jonathan helped me up and we all got to the car, somehow fitting all of us and driving the hell away to the nearest market, where the kids got some freaky fireworks and I asked Nancy and Max to give me some stuff to nurse away my wound, despite my vision being blurry as hell from the pain.

I'm a doctor in training, who cares if I can't see, it's just a bite, it shouldn't be too bad, right?

As Max and I cleaned and disinfected my wound, El and the rest tried to see where the hell Dustin was, and in the end, we ended up driving to Starcourt, where El used her powers to knock over some Russians that were threatening Steve, Robin, Dustin and Lucas' little sister.

Yes, the reunion was lovely, everyone was trying to explain and fill in each puzzle piece, but I couldn't hear anything but a ringing, my leg hurt so much that it send shocks all over my body and I felt like throwing up worse than from those Vodka-days.
The state of vertigo was so bad that I collapsed to the floor, barely able to call out for Nancy.
The ceiling was rotating, maybe even I was, I couldn't tell anymore.
I gripped my head and started crying, my heart hurt in fear from this circling around, but my leg....My leg was killing me.

"Nancy...M-My l-leg...H-Help..." I managed to choke out, and the reactions they had as they revealed the wound was enough to scare me and not want to see it.
"There's something inside it. We have to take it out." one of them said, making me scream and cry in pain.
"M-Monster...I think...Out..." I tried to explain that I thought a bit of that monster was in my wound, but I don't know what they understood.

The girl instructed Jonathan to get a pair of gloves, a knife and some wood and as they got there, I panted a bit, coughing a bit of blood, before scowling.

"Two hold me down...One cut fast...I take out..." I managed to say between sobs, and that's just how it went down.

Robin and Steve held me down as I shrieked, biting on that wood piece, Nancy and Will were the emotional support while Jonathan managed to cut the swollen wound, shocking everyone.

"Me...Now...Off..." I panted after taking out that wood, trying to regain my courage.
"Come on, Kat, you're a strong girl! You can do it!" Robin encouraged me, hugging my side, and I could only nod absent-mindedly, screaming in agony as I used my powers to get that moving monster residue out of my wound and I collapsed again on the floor, sobbing.
"My only fear in life for so long...Has been pain...So why...Do I have to endure this...? Why...?...I just want Billy back...I just wanna go to California with him...And be happy." I tried to calm myself, closing my eyes, imagining my ideal life, away from all this mess.
"It's gonna be over soon." a voice I haven't heard in a long while called out, making me raise up my torso and see Hopper, with Joyce and another man, making me cry in shock and happiness.
"Jim...? Why are you here...?" I asked, smiling through my tears.
"Rescuing you, of course." he let out an amused breath, getting me and El to sit on the bench, holding us both as everyone started explaining what the hell was going on here.

Frankly, I'm not sure that we actually know for sure what the hell is going on here, not even with the proper information, but even so, we had to do SOMETHING.

"I can help..." I found myself saying randomly, despite not even knowing what they were talking about. My mind was still hazy and I was trying with much difficulty to put back together my sanity...For Billy...And for everyone here.
"No, missy, you're staying right here and that's an order. Both of you. We have a plan and we all gotta stick to it, roger?" he asked in a mock military voice, getting me to giggle.
"Roger that, Captain Hopper...Please return to me safely. Please. I don't want to live in a world without Captain Hopper, okay? There'd be nobody to visit me, call me regularly to make sure I'm okay and nobody to bring me food and water, 'cause I'm a forgetful klutz who forgets to breathe sometimes." I laughed weakly, making him chuckle in return.
"Don't worry, kid, I don't plan on letting the Russians get me...But...Here, take this. Don't open it until you're home, okay? Promise." he made me promise like we always did...A pinky promise, and I nodded my head and grinned, my heart aching at the thought of letting him go again, but I hooked my pinky to his nonetheless.
"And you please promise to take care of yourself and Joyce. Please." I looked at him in the eyes, and despite his sorrowful look, he nodded and got up.

We were in 3 groups...Again.

Jonathan and Nancy told us to get in the car so we could drive to a safer place, but on a closer inspection, Jonathan realised that the ignition cable was taken away and...Billy was in his Chevrolet, about to bust into us, so we ran back inside and looked for weapons and ways to keep ourselves safe.

I noticed El trying to move the car or make a soda pop burst open, and she couldn't, which panicked me a bit and I tried as well...

But I could do it.

Okay, okay, better reserve my energy for when the monster arrives-

Which is now...Through the roof...

A G A I N

"TAKE COVER!" I yelled at them, making Jonathan, Nancy, Lucas and Will hide behind a car, while I, Max, El and Mike behind a counter, trying not to breathe too loudly as the monster kept prowling around and Dustin was screaming into a Walkie talkie.

We distracted the monster so we'd go through the Gap, but we walked on glass shards which made loud noises, getting the monster onto our backs. We got saved by Lucas' amazing ranger skills since he popped a balloon and we could run away.

We all ran outside, and somehow Steve and Robin managed to run into Billy's car, making him stop following us, and got the monster to follow them, but at the same time, I and the other 3 had to get back in the mall because Billy was trying to attack us, and while sure, Max closed the gate, Billy was much stronger than all of us put together, and inside, he knocked all of us out and picked me up and offered me as some sort of sacrifice to the Mind Flayer.

"Billy! Baby! Honey! Sugar! Billy, love, can you hear me?! Please, don't let him kill me! Please!" I tried to call out to him, crawling away, but as the monster tried attacking me, the kids used those gunpowder fireworks to distract the monster.

The fireworks seemed to hurt Billy as well, since he fell to his knees, screaming away in pain while I tried to crawl away from there, but I suddenly felt a strong grip on my wound and I shrieked in pain, clawing at the ground to get away, until I got thrown to the ground and Billy put both hands on my neck, squeezing, dragging me up and down and I panted for hair and screamed in pain and fright.

But then he stopped.

And he looked in my eyes.

And I knew this was the opportunity I was looking for.

"Remember California, baby? Remember the waves? The seagulls? The sand? The sun? The water...Was 7 feet, you said...You were surfing, remember? And...And your mum was there...So beautiful...Long blond hair, a long white dress, a nice straw hat, her sandals in her hands...She looked like a princess...I guess that's why you are so beautiful, honey...You take after her..." I choked out, reliving those memories of his at the same time as him, as I put my hands on his face, wiping away the tears forming. "Baby, you were so happy back then...Happier than I could ever make you...And I'm so sorry I couldn't make you as happy as you deserve, because you deserve the world, sugar. I promised I'd keep you safe, that I would protect you, but instead, I let that monster take over you...And I'm so sorry, Billy, it's all my fault." I cried, realising that all parts of the monsters were gone by now, but he was too stunned to say anything at all. "Remember "Christmas, sweety? Remember our first kiss? Remember when we first slept together? Remember how flustered I was when you first called me Your Kitten? Remember how happy we were when we got our scholarships? We said we'd move to Cali together...Have fun and be happy...Together...Just us...Baby, today is the 4th of July, do you remember? We said we'd be going on a trip to the mountains...Just us two, together, in love, happy, nobody and nothing to bother us...My love, do you remember these necklaces? I am yours, and you are mine and everybody knew it..." I choked on my words, my heart hurting so much from everything going on, until I realised that the kids were out of fireworks and I had to do something, or we'd get attacked.
"I'm sorry, Kitten..." Billy managed to say, barely above a whisper, making me sob and throw my arms around his neck, holding him closer to me just for a few more seconds...I finally had my Billy back with me...And I was his Kitten once again.
"Baby...I love you so much, Billy. I love you with all my heart and please, please, never forget me. I love you to the Moon and back." I said between sobs as I pulled him in a deep kiss, before using one hand to push him away from me, while with the other I stopped one of the monster's tentacles that was threatening us.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM AND MY KIDS! YOU HURT ME, THAT'S ALRIGHT, YOU'VE DONE YOUR SHARE, OKAY! BUT IF YOU TOUCH MY BILLY OR MY KIDS AGAIN, YOU'RE GONNA FUCKING WISH YOU DIDN'T EXIST, YOU PIECE OF SHIET!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, letting out all frustrations, all feelings, all the pent up rage that residued my heart as it threw another tentacle at me, now stopping them both with my hands.

"FUCK OFF! GO BACK TO YOUR STUPID DIMENSION AND LEAVE US ALONE! LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID! YOU HURT HIM! YOU FUCKING HURT HIM!! DIDN'T HE GO THROUGH ENOUGH?! YOU FUCKING MONSTER!!" I shrieked, holding it off as best as I could, not even caring that my face was smeared with blood from my nose and eyes.

"YOU MADE ME HURT HIM! HOW COULD YOU?! HOW COULD YOU MAKE ME FUCKING HURT YOU?! AND WORSE, HOW COULD YOU FORCE HIM TO BREAK HIS PROMISE AND HURT ME AND THE KIDS?! AND HIS SISTER?! HOW COULD YOU FUCKING DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU FUCKING ABOMINATION!!" I had no idea if my words came out coherent anymore, for a 3rd tentacle circled around me and shot me through my right shoulder, making me writhe in pain, but I still stood my ground, crying.

"YOU THINK THIS IS GONNA STOP ME?! THEY'RE CLOSING THE FUCKING GATE RIGHT NOW! AND YOU'LL FUCKING DIE! YOU WILL BE GONE! NOBODY WILL REMEMBER YOU! DEAD! THAT'S WHAT YOU'LL BE! NOTHING BUT ASHES!" I raged at it, trying to stop my trembling legs as I coughed blood like never before.

"Guys...My vision's becoming blurry...Warn me if there's a new vine or whatevs shooting..." I mumbled, not sure if they heard me, until I heard a shrill "LOOK OUT!" and I felt my stomach get hit, making me vomit blood and choke for air, but still not breaking focus for one second.

"You fucktard...Really...Don't want me...To be happy...Do you? You can't...Let me...Enjoy my life...With the love of my life...And my friends...You disgusting piece of shit." I cursed it, as one another vine shot my already damaged leg, making me fall on one knee, screaming in concentration and anger.

"ARE YOU FUCKING HAPPY NOW?! I CAN'T FUCKING SEE! BLANK! ALL BLACK! NOTHING! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED?! FOR ME TO OVERUSE MY POWERS SO YOU CAN KILL ME?! WELL, THINK AGAIN! I CAN GO BLIND AND DEAF AND MUTE AND I WON'T BUDGE FROM HERE! YOU'RE NOT HURTING ANYONE AGAIN!" I shrieked, not even bothering to feel fear from being completely blind and unaware of my surrounding, just trying to hold that thing off as long as possible.

"Kitten, you're doing so well! It will be alright! You...We will be alright! Just hang in there a bit longer, and this fuckass will die! We're gonna have our revenge, baby!" I could hear Billy's voice called out from in front of me, confusing me slightly 'cause I knew he was behind me, but my mind wasn't rational anymore.

"CLOSE THE FUCKING GATE ALREADY! I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG I CAN KEEP THIS UP ANYMORE! COME ON! COME ON! COME ON!" I raged on, even more motivated and angrier than before, but thankfully, it didn't last long before all sounds stopped around me and there was no more pressure.

I was confused...Did I die, or did we win? Did they close the gate?

I found myself slowly turning behind me, licking my lips a bit, not sure how I was still standing anymore.

"Hey...Did we win...?" I asked, barely audible.
"Yeah, Fox, we won! The Mind Flayer is dead! We won the Campaign! Fox, you're the best Party Leader ever!" I could hear the kids screaming in genuine joy, making me laugh, but it felt more like coughing more blood.
"Are you all okay? Hurt, anyone? Billy?" I questioned, feeling my legs give out.
"We're all fine, thanks to you. You saved us, Kitten. You saved us." Billy's soft and gentle voice echoed from behind me, which made me sob of happiness and collapse to the ground, finally feeling all the pain surge through my veins as adrenaline vanished and relief took over me.
"I'm...So happy...So, so happy...That you're finally okay..." I cried out, burying my face into his chest, as he caught me and lowered me to the ground, holding me tightly, just before I hit the ground.
"We're finally together, baby. We'll move back to Cali together and there's no more Hawkins or monsters or anything. And Imma take you on that mountains trip very soon, I promised. So baby, smile at me. It's the only thing that kept me alive all this time." he kissed my forehead gently, make me giggle painfully, finally feeling safe.
"I missed you so much, Billy. Every day, every second, every time I'd blink or breathe, my heart ached so much for you...I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to save you...But now you're here, with me, and it's all that matters. I can die happy now...I can be happy for once..." I cried softly, not knowing if it was water or blood anymore and nor did I care.
"No, baby, no, you're not dying on me, I'm not letting you die. The ambulance is on the way, you'll be okay, I swear to you. I promise, so please, hang out, listen to my voice and don't fall asleep." his voice became shaky and I could feel his tears falling on my face, mixing with mine.
"Please, don't forget me, baby. Be happy, live your dreams, enjoy life...But don't forget me. I'm scared of being alone." my bottom lip quivered, barely able to speak.
"What are you even saying, you're not dying! I'm not letting go of you no matter what! Kat, stay with me!" Billy called out desperately, trying to make sure I stay awake.
"I just...I wish I could see you one last time...Stupid powers...Blinding me like this...How stupid...And I just wanted to see your beautiful face once again..." I sighed, biting my lip in resignation.
"You will see me again, baby, I promise. This isn't the end, I promise you. I swear on my life." he kept reassuring me over and over again, until he stopped dead in his tracks.
"Time, it needs time to win back your love again...I will be there, I will be there" I began, straining my voice to sing the lyrics that brought us so many emotions throughout the year.
"No, no, no, don't you dare sing that song..." he took in a sharp breath, desperate for my life.
"Love, only love can bring back your love someday...I will be there, I will be there" I kept panting for air as I put my hands on his face, smiling at him softly.
"Don't do this to me, Kitten, please, I beg of you, don't do this to me." he kept shaking his head, tears falling down his face like a river.
"Fight, babe, I'll fight to win back your love again...I will be there, I will be there" I gently wiped away his tears.
"You already fought a whole war just to save me...So please...Don't leave me now..." he kept sobbing, holding me close to his chest.
"Love, only love can bring down the wall someday...I will be there, I will be there" I raked my fingers through his messy hair, trying to make him look at me.
"You are the only one who saw me for who I was...Kat...Kitten...Honey, please...Don't break my heart, please..." he sobbed in my chest, gripping my clothes as tight as he could, afraid to let go, as if I was going to disappear.
"If we go again all the way from the start...I would try to change the things that killed our love" I sang in a softer voice, both out of energy, and only for him to hear.
"You already killed all the monsters, that's enough! Kat, keep your energy, stop singing! Stop this, you're hurting me!" he cried out, letting go a bit, to look at my smiling face.
"Is there really no chance to start once again...?" I managed to breathe out, clinging on his neck with dear life.

"I'm loving you" we both confessed in the most broken yet full of emotion voice that we manage to produce, before outright crying like two kids who scrapped their knees.

And that's when everything began to spin around in my mind, and seeing nothing apparently made it worse than anything.
Anxiety shot through me and I could fear the grip on conscience, on hearing, on my senses lose it's strength, and I felt myself falling into a limbo...

Falling and Falling and Falling, with no way to reach the ground.

Just an endless abyss of darkness and fright and no way to get out of here, just like being shackled inside a cage.

My mind went blank.