HAWKINS, INDIANA — 1985.

"THE MIND FLAYER, IT BUILT THIS monster in Hawkins. To stop El, to kill her and pave a way into our world."

The kids were currently having to explain to Hopper, Joyce, and a man with whom Tess was not familiar what was happening. That there was yet another threat from an alternate dimension trying to kill them all.

Nancy continued after Mike. "And it almost did. That was just one tiny piece of it." She was referring to the creature that El had just removed from her leg.

Hopper nodded. "And how big is this thing?"

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

"Yeah..." Lucas winced. "It sorta destroyed your cabin. Sorry."

Steve finally said something, confused about the entire 'Mind Flayer' that they were describing.

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

"Yes," Mike responded.

Steve gave a nod. "But instead of like, screws and metal, the Mind Flayer made its weapon... with melted people."

"Yes, exactly," Mike nodded back.

Steve made a face. "Yeah, okay, just– just making sure."

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

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

Will looked around at all of them. "But if we close the gate again–"

"We cut the brain off from the body," Theresa said with realization, standing up straighter.

"And kill it," Lucas added, then shrugging. "Theoretically."

Their group conversation was interrupted just then, the unknown man calling for them.

"Yoohoo!" He waved his arms with papers in his hands.

Tess raised an eyebrow, glancing around. "Who the hell is this guy?"

He threw the papers on the nearest table, everyone gathering around him as he spoke.

"Okay, this is what Alexei called 'the hub'. Now, the hub takes us to the vault room."

"Okay, where's the gate?" Hopper asked, scanning over the map.

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

Theresa shook her head, opening her mouth to correct him when Erica said exactly what she was thinking.

"More like five hundred," Erica said to him, the man giving her a look.

"What, you're just gonna waltz in there like it's commie Disneyland or something?"

The man shook his head. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Erica Sinclair. Who are you?"

He blinked. "Murray... Bauman."

Theresa interjected before Erica could say anything else, knowing she could not control what came out of her mouth.

"Look, Murray," Tess eyed him. "She's right. We were down there for an entire twenty-four hours."

Murray shot her back a look. "And you are..."

"Theresa Sinclair," she was quick to reply, making a face. She was not sure she liked this man.

Erica finally said something else. "Yeah, Mr. Bum-an, I'm not trying to tell you how to do things. But with all due respect, if you all do what this man tells you, you're all gonna die."

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

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

"Erica!" Lucas exclaimed, but Theresa did not reprimand her. As a matter of fact, she was a little amused.

Tess looked to her left where Dustin stood, watching as he pulled a pen out of his vest and took a seat at the table.

"Look," he drew a circle on the map. "This is a storage facility. There's a hatch in here that feeds into their underground ventilation system. 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."

Hopper raised his eyebrows. "You can show us the way?"

"Don't worry, you can do all the fighting and the dangerous hero shit, and we'll just be your... navigators."

"Yeah, no," Theresa cut in. "Neither of you are going back down there."

Hopper nodded in agreement.

They all scattered as Hopper began to gather weapons while the others sat around. Tess had gone to get more supplies for Eleven's leg, to try and clean the wound as much as possible.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you," Tess said, glancing up at El while she wrapped her leg with gauze. "I just wanted to get that thing out of you."

Eleven met her eyes, giving a nod. "I know. Thank you."

Theresa paused, looking around. She stood up a moment later, saying, "I'll be right back. I'm going to get some tape."

She walked back to the restaurant where she had taken the first aid kit from. As she was gathering what she needed, Tess did not notice someone else had followed.

"Tess?"

Raising her head, Theresa saw Max standing there. She gave a brief smile, grabbing the roll of medical tape she had been searching for.

"Hey Max. What's up?"

Max glanced around. "Nothing. I just, um... can I ask you something? Er, some advice?"

Tess laughed a bit. "Depends on what kind of advice. Shoot."

The redhead drew in a breath, twisting her fingers. Theresa noticed, seeing that Max seemed to have a similar nervous tic to her.

"Why are teenage boys so–"

"Stop right there," Tess raised a hand. "I have no idea."

Max held her gaze, the both of them starting to laugh.

"Sorry. What were you trying to ask?"

Max leaned against the counter in the restaurant, glancing up.

"I guess I just don't understand why boys act the way that they do," she finally said, Theresa giving her a small smile.

"I'm guessing this is about Lucas?"

Her eyes darted to the side, but Max nodded in confirmation. Tess sighed, shaking her head.

"All teenage boys lack maturity. It's just a phase that we all have to go through. Girls usually mature faster, so sometimes it hard for us to be on the same pace with boys our age. But trust me, it just takes time."

Max pursed her lips, soaking this all in. "Right. So... why does Lucas act the way that he does?"

Theresa chuckled softly. "The most honest answer I can give you is that... he really likes you. And Lucas– Lucas doesn't know how to show it sometimes. I guess that's a thing that runs in the family."

There was a hint of a blush across Max's face, Tess smiling to herself. She was aware of how much Lucas liked Max, since he talked about her practically all the time. Theresa really hoped they would stay together.

"Thanks," Max responded at once. "I should come to you for advice more often."

"I guess that's what I'm here for," Tess replied, starting out of the restaurant while the other girl followed.

"Oh, and by the way– if Lucas does anything stupid, all you have to do is tell me. I promise, I'll get it straightened out."

As they walked back to where everyone else was, Theresa was caught off guard as a pair of keys were tossed to her.

She looked down, then back up, seeing that Jim was the one who had thrown them to her.

"What are these for?"

"We're going to Weathertop, c'mon," Dustin slung his backpack over his shoulder, heading toward the mall exit with Erica and Robin following.

Tess raised an eyebrow as Steve approached her, confused.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You're helping us navigate," Hopper impatiently explained.

She blinked a few times. "Okay then."

Theresa and Steve followed behind the other three, walking outside to see a very expensive, off white Cadillac sitting there.

Steve turned his head to Tess, holding out a hand. "Look, I can drive if you want me to–"

"No thanks," Theresa interrupted, a smile forming on her face as she jingled the car keys in her hand. She opened the driver side door, getting in.

Robin was in the passenger seat, Steve giving her an expectant look.

She glanced around. "You're in the back."

Steve scoffed in disbelief, reluctantly climbing into the backseat with Erica and Dustin. Theresa started up the car, putting it in reverse.

"So– where exactly is 'Weathertop?'"

"I'll show you," Dustin responded.

Theresa only sighed, pressing on the gas.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

     "DUSTIN, HOW FAR IS THIS PLACE?"

"Relax, we're almost there," he replied.

Tess rolled her eyes. "So you're telling me you built this whole thing just for Suzie?"

"Well– yeah."

She glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "I'm gonna need a picture of this girl, because there's no way she's as perfect as you say she is."

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

Erica leaned forward. "She sound made up to me." She looked at Steve. "She sound made up to you?"

Steve faltered, Dustin taking note.

"Why are you hesitating, Steve?"

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

Dustin narrowed his eyes at Steve.

"Left, turn left!" he suddenly shouted, alarming Theresa.

"What– there's no road!"

"Turn left now!"

She swerved to the left, seeing nothing but a field ahead of her.

"Dustin, where the hell are we going!" she yelled over the wind, gripping the steering wheel.

"Up!"

Her knuckles were turning white, but Theresa only pressed on the gas harder as they went up a hill. She could feel the car slowing down, knowing it would not make it up the hill.

"Yeah, we're gonna have to walk the rest of the way." Tess pressed the gas but the car would not move, stalling in its place.

She put the car in park, shutting off the engine. They all got out, gathering Dustin's things and continuing up the hill.

"Jesus Christ," Theresa wheezed, clutching her chest. "Why are we all the way up here?"

"It's the highest point in Hawkins," Dustin remarked proudly, gesturing to his contraption that stood in the middle of the field. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

Tess threw up a hand, panting. "Let's just get this over with."

Dustin knelt down, taking his walkie-talkie out of his backpack.

"Bald Eagle, do you copy? Bald Eagle, I repeat, this is Scoops Troop, do you copy?"

A second later they got a response from Murray. "Yes, I copy."

Dustin let out a chuckle. "Call sign?"

"...Bald Eagle."

"Please repeat," Dustin replied.

"Bald Eagle, this is Bald Eagle!" Murray snapped impatiently.

Dustin nodded. "Copy that, good to hear your voice Bald Eagle. What's your twenty?"

"We reached the vent, I'll contact you when I need you. Until then, silence."

"Roger that Bald Eagle. This is Scoops Troop, going radio silent. Ten-ten, over."

Theresa placed her hands on her hips. "Is all the wannabe military lingo really necessary?"

Dustin turned his head to her, scoffing.

"Let me have my fun, Theresa."

She rolled her eyes. "What do we do now?"

"Wait," Dustin replied.

Tess huffed, taking a seat next to Steve and Robin in the grass.

At once, Murray cut back in on the comms. "I've reached another junction."

"This is the fourth junction," Erica informed Dustin.

"Alright, so if my memory serves, this is right after the My Little Pony thesis."

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

Dustin gave a nod. "Fly right, Bald Eagle. Fly right."

Theresa furrowed her eyebrows curiously. "What– what is the My Little Pony thesis?"

"Don't get him started," Erica replied.

"Hey guys?"

They all looked up to see Steve standing a distance away, looking at something. Tess scrambled to her feet, hurrying over to him. The others all followed to see what he was looking at.

There was a clear view of Starcourt Mall from where they stood, and they could all see the lights flickering rapidly. Which meant nothing good.

Dustin ran back over to the walkie-talkie. "Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop, do you copy? Over!"

He repeated his sentence over and over again as Theresa and the others collapsed beside him. Then they heard a strange, monstrous shriek through the radio.

"Shit shit shit," Tess ran a hand through her hair, finally standing up. She felt for the keys in her pocket.

"What are you doing?" Steve questioned, climbing to his feet as well.

Theresa was starting toward the car. "We can't just not help them! Come on!"

"Wait!" Dustin tossed a walkie-talkie to Robin, who was going with Tess and Steve. "Keep in contact."

"Got it."

The three teenagers all raced to the car, Theresa starting it up and getting out of there as quickly as possible. There was a sense of urgency with how fast she was driving, hitting one hundred miles per hour as she sped down the road.

"Be careful!" Steve said, Tess only rolling her eyes.

"For your information, I'm an excellent driver!" she shot back.

She swerved into the parking lot of the mall, squinting as she saw another, very familiar car.

"Is that Billy?" Steve asked, craning his neck to get a better look.

Theresa's stomach sank as she watched Billy rev his car engine, heading full speed toward all of the others trying to get the station wagon to work.

"Yeah, it's that asshole," Tess muttered through gritted teeth, making a sharp turn and pressing all the way down on the gas.

Billy was only seconds away from impact with the station wagon, Theresa speeding in from the side to try and stop him. He got closer, closer, only a few feet away when Tess collided head on, both cars spinning as she hit the brakes.

"Holy shit," Steve exclaimed breathlessly, Theresa putting the car in park and letting go of the steering wheel.

Robin turned her head in awe, completely stunned.

"You... are so badass."

Tess did not have time to reply, as she was now more focused on what was on top of the roof of Starcourt Mall. Her eyes were as big as saucers as some giant, arachnid-like monster crawled over the entire mall, Steve having to shake her and pull her out of the car.

Jonathan pulled the station wagon up next to them. "Get in!" Nancy said.

The three of them complied, jumping into the vehicle as fast as they could. Theresa turned, looking out of the back window as the Mind Flayer started to pursue them. Her heart was pounding out of her chest.

"Oh hell no."

notes.
no one:

tess: beep beep bitch xoxo 🚗

next chapter will be the last one for season 3 🤧 my incompetent ass was gonna make THIS chapter the last one but i need to finish plotting some shit out first

this was kind of a boring chapter, oh well at least i updated 😍 tess and erica cleared murray as they should

the lil max & tess interaction <3 love them sm, they have my heart

i'll try to get this next update out quicker! i hate the writer's block i've been having 💔

thinking of a lil sex scene i may write... we'll see 😏 i think theresa has a mommy kink tbh