· 。ﾟ☆: *.☽
˚ ₊ ♡ ❰  𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙴𝚁  ❱ ˖⋆࿐໋ ⋆ ✰
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE ━━
a new hope

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     THE YOUNG GIRL WALKING INSIDE THE BYERS HOME looked very different from the girl Milo remembered meeting once upon a time. The small and terrified girl with a clean shaven head was now replaced by a brave girl, who looked ready to take on the world by storm. She was decked in a full black outfit instead of her hospital gown. Even her hair had grown out fully, dark locks that seemed to be gelled back and a small amount of blood trickling down her nose.

     Everyone watched on in silence as the girl walked further inside, her worn down converse hitting the hardwood floor loudly and then she sprung in motion, almost running towards Mike and embracing him tightly as she let of a small  sob of relief.

      "Is that..." Max watched on with wide eyes from where she stood between Lucas and Dustin, the two didn't give a verbal answer and instead nodded quickly, their gazes also completely focused on the reunion.

    "I never gave up on you." Mike pulled away from the hug to look at Eleven. "I called you every night for-"

    "Three hundred fifty three days." Eleven finished for him. "I heard."

     "Why didn't you tell me you were there." Mike asked confused, maybe even a bit heartbroken by her words. "That you were okay."

    "Because I wouldn't let her." This time everyone turned towards Hopper who approached the girl. "The hell is this? Where have you been." He breathed out, lowering his gun to the side

      "Where have you been?" She answered bitterly before she quickly wrapped her arms around his waist in a much needed hug.

    "You've been hiding her." Mike breathed out in realisation before it turned into anger. "You've been hiding her this whole time!" He shoved Hopper harshly but the chief barely budged.

   Jim turned around, trying to calm the younger Wheeler down. "Hey! Let's talk. Alone."

    Not much longer after they disappeared, loud shouting and screaming followed and Milo eyes flickered towards the room they were in until suddenly the noise stopped and soft cries filled the room.

     Meanwhile, Eleven had approached the two other preteens with a look of immense happiness etched on her face before she pulled the two kids closer to her.

    "We've missed you." Lucas whispered, even he couldn't be more happier about the return of their mage, even when he used to loath the girl so much.

    "I've missed you too." Her tone was sad, like she couldn't imagine going through not seeing them again.

     "We've talked about you pretty much everyday." Dustin stated, his own voice filled with relief before the three pulled away from each other.

    Slowly, Eleven stepped away before furrowing her eyebrows as she focused on dustin, or more precisely, his smile before she reached out and poked his teeth. "Teeth."

     "What?" Even Dustin seemed confused by El's sudden action as he looked up at the girl.

     "You have teeth." She repeated more clearly this time and it made Dustin chuckle in understanding.

     "Oh, you like these pearls." He purred excitedly sharing a look with Lucas as Eleven jumped surprised.

     "Eleven?"

     Milo looked at the redhead beside him as she slowly, almost cautiously approached the first girl-memeber of the party and timidly held her hand out. "Hey, uh, I'm Max." She smiled softly. "I've heard a lot about you."

    Eleven completely ignored the redhead and bumbed against her shoulder before she rushed over towards Joyce, tears streaming down her face as she held onto the woman. Quiet words were exchanged before El slowly faced Milo with a look of wonder, like she rememered their small encounter just as vividly as he did.

    Carefully, the dark haired girl approached him, her smiling growing larger with each step before she embraced the blonde teen with a strong hug while he wrapped his arms around her.

    Everyone watched confused by this unexpected reunion that they didn't even notice Jim and Mike return from their little argument.

   Jim watched the scene in confusion, not really understanding what was happening. And if he was honest with himself, the next words they spoke were a little heartbreaking for him.

    "Knight..." eleven whispered softly, but over the silence in the room it was very audiable. The nickname Milo had  introduced himself with when he was just a young boy brought unwanted memories to Jim.

     "Princess." Milo's voice was soft, and it reminded Jim of the way he used to talk to his little sister, the same caring and love was put in that single word.

     It was bittersweet to watch the two young children that shared so many horrors reunite while all he could picture was Milo and Sara, all grown up, being not only each others siblings but each other's best friend. But sadly that wasn't reality, nor would it ever be, he just hoped that maybe, in another world, in another life things wouldn't have turned out the way they did for the Hopper family.

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     THEY WERE ALL GATHERED AROUND THE DINNING ROOM table, staring at Dustin's handwriting close gate. "You opened this gate before, right?" Joyce asked carefully.

     El took in a shaky breath, "Yes."

     "Do you think if we got you back there, that you could close it?" Joyce implored as Eleven's eyes remained focused on the cardboard.

     "It's not like it was before," Hopper sighed, entering to conversation, running a hand through his hair. "It's grown. A lot. And this is considering if we can get back in there, that place is crawling with those dogs." 

     "Demo-dogs," Dustin corrected, to which he received a handful of glares and confused stares from everyone around him.

     "I'm sorry, what?"

     Surprised by the reaction of everyone, Dustin quicklty tries to explain, "Demodogs. It's like, uh, demogorgon and dogs. You put 'em together...and it sounds pretty badass--" 

     "How is this important right now?" Hopper stopped Dustin's rambling with a harsh tone, and Dustin sighed in defeat, turning away and back towards the table before muttering an apology. "It's not, I'm sorry." 

      "I can do it," Eleven anounced bravely, looking up at the Chief, who didn't seem so assured by her determination.

     "You're not hearing me," Hopper replied warningly, to which El gave him a look filled with determined.

      "I'm hearing you," she repeated firmly. 

     "Even if El can, there's still another problem," Mike spoke up, drawing the attention to himself. "If the brain dies, then the body dies." 

     "I thought that was the whole point," Max wondered, a look of pure confusion in her eyes.   

     "It is, but if we're really right about this, I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the mind flayers army..."  Mike continued until Lucas picked up on where he was going.

     "Will's a part of that army," Lucas realised as he breathed to words out, to which a looming silence fell over them

      Milo's eyes flickered towards the room Will was sleeping in, dread filling up every inch of his body when Mike finished his sentence

     "Closing the gate will kill him," Mike concluded, his own voice barely above a whisper.

      Joyce suddenly stood up from where she was sitting and walked down the halls into her bedroom, where Will had been placed to rest.

     It didn't take long for everyone follow suit, filling into the room while Joyce gaze was fixed on the open window bringing in a cold breeze. "He likes it cold." Joyce mumbled, more to herself than to the others in the room.

      "What?" asked Hopper, his voice laced in utter confusion.

       "It's what Will kept saying to me," the mother explained, nodding towards the open window before she carefully approaced the window and quietly closed it. "He liked it cold. We keep giving it what it wants!" 

     "If this is a virus, and Will's the host, then," Nancy softly spoke up glancing down at Jonathan, who was kneeling at his brother's bedside. "We need to make the host uninhabitable," he completed the girl's train of thought.

       "We're gonna have to burn it out of him," Joyce concluded, utter exhaustion written on her face but she seemed ready to march into battle if it meant saving her son.

     "We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time," Mike added. 

     "Yeah, somewhere far away," Dustin agreed, nodding quickly as they all looked at Will's unconscious body.

     Hopper spoke up from where he was lingering by the door. "I know a place."

     But the only thing Milo was wondering right now was that if Will's connection made him a part of the mind flayers army did it also mean his link towards the shadowmonster made him part of it. Part of the gate they were meant to close...?

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