A/N: One more chapter!

Warnings: guns, gunshots, blood, violence, slight PTSD, mentions of death/dying, murder, blood and guns

Word Count: 8581

Eleven's screams and wails of pain grew louder and more pitiful as she laid there on the ground, everyone else staring at her and each other in shock and fear and worry. Doc was at her ankle, not wanting to upset the creature even more than she already had.

"What is that?" Erica squinted her eyes at the creature that moved in El's leg.

"There's something in there." Mike somewhat answered.

"It's part of the Mind Flayer. It attached itself to her after it bit her."

Max frowned at Doc's explanation. "How do you know that?"

"Because this happened after it bit me."

"Wait, what?!" Mike and Nancy exclaimed. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

"Didn't matter then, doesn't matter now. I got it out. The point is, I can feel it." The veins that had disappeared from her hand reappeared when she hovered it over the wound. "I can try taking it out, but the more I try to move it, the more-"

El's scream was enough to finish Doc's thought.

"We need to open the wound."

Jonathan nodded and got to his feet quickly. "Alright, keep her talking. Keep her awake, okay?" With that, he was sprinting away.

"Hey, hey, hey. Stay awake, stay awake." Mike urged when he saw El's eyes start to flutter.

"Here, let's get her into a better position," Doc's words were rushed, but they understood. Steve, Dustin and Nancy helped her adjust El so that her head was resting in Mike's lap, careful of her leg.

"You know, it's not actually that bad." Robin spoke, earning everyone's confused attention. "There was a... The goalie on my soccer team, Beth Wildfire, this other girl slid into her leg, and the bone came out of her knee, six inches or something, it was insane."

Steve shook his head. "Robin."

"Yeah?"

"You're not helping."

"I'm sorry."

And just like that, Jonathan was at El's feet with gloves, a wooden spoon and a knife. "Okay. Alright, El? This is gonna hurt like hell, okay?"

"Okay." She sobbed.

"Need you to stay real still." He said as he slipped the gloves on before picking up the wooden spoon. "Here, you're gonna wanna bite down on this, okay?"

Mike took the spoon from him and placed it between the girl's teeth. As soon as the knife neared her skin, Mike took hold of one of her hands while Doc took hold of the other. For a second, Jonathan hesitated, looking around at everyone for confirmation. He found it in Doc's eyes, the girl staring at him in determination.

"Do it."

The knife sunk into El's wound, the girl screaming through the spoon as she crushed Mike and Doc's hands with her own. All anyone else could do was stare in horror as Jonathan cut through the infection, more blood spilling out when the skin was broken. As soon as it was open, he dropped the knife and swallowed the bile in his throat, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do.

El let out a long screech when Jonathan sunk his hand into her wound, the creature quickly moving away. Everyone exclaimed, but no one was as loud as Eleven, her cries turning into whimpers as Jonathan shifted his hand under her skin.

"Jonathan, stop, I got it!" Doc screamed, the teen immediately stopping and pulling his hand out, El crying out at the sting. Doc took Jonathan's place and flexed out her fingers. The creature could be heard shrieking as it squirmed, but didn't move from its spot. "Shit." She quietly cursed at its stubbornness, twisting her wrist quickly in hopes it would move, but it only pained El more.

"No! Stop it!" El spit out the spoon. "Stop! Stop!"

Doc instantly relented.

"I can do it." She quietly cried.

"El, no, I got it."

"I can do it." She grunted and sat up a bit.

"No-"

"Doc!"

"El, please!" Doc teared up. "A-At least, let me help..."

When El nodded, Doc was on her other side in half a second, clutching her left hand in both of hers. Their beaded names on each other's wrists quietly clacked against one another as Doc closed her eyes to concentrate on her power. With comforting hands on her back from Dustin and Mike, and Doc's power flowing through her veins, El reached her right hand out.

The creature within squirmed when it was grabbed. "God!" El wailed as she slowly dragged it to the opening of her wound. "God!" The pain was a white-hot, searing, stabbing, continuous pain as she dragged it across her damaged tissue and injured skin, the tiny shrieks and chittering of the creature within her growing louder the closer she dragged it.

Doc rested her forehead on El's shoulder as a tear slipped down her face. That pull, that bond between them was fading the more Eleven used her powers. It was why Doc had been so adamant on doing this for her. This could quite literally kill her sister.

El let out a long, shrill, earth-shattering scream as the creature poked out of the opening, the glass window behind them shattering to pieces with how much power between the two girls was being used. Everyone gasped and covered their heads, moving away from the glass as El continued to scream.

She brought her hand up, and with it came the small creature, shrieking loudly as it was pulled from her skin. Doc looked up with wide eyes as El continued to scream at it, rearing her hand back and throwing it across the room. The creature laid there for a moment before getting up with a chitter and scurrying away. It didn't get very far before a boot came down upon it and squashed it.

El slowly lifted her head, making direct eye contact with her father, flanked by Joyce and Murray.

After Eleven and Doc were given drinks to replenish their health, everyone grouped together to share knowledge. Hopper sat on a bench with El's head in his lap. He held a wet rag to the wound on her head as she tiredly sipped on her drink, Joyce sitting next to the girl's outstretched legs. Across from them was everyone else standing in front of the fountain, Doc sitting upon it and also sipping on her drink as Dustin gently massaged her shoulders.

"The Mind Flayer, it built this monster in Hawkins, to stop El, to kill her, pave a way into our world and take Doc." Mike explained.

"And it almost did." Max added. "That was just one tiny piece of it."

"How big is this thing?" Hopper asked.

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

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

Hopper let out a silent sigh before Steve stopped his pacing to talk. "Okay, so, just to be clear, this... this big fleshy spider thing that hurt El and (Y/N), it's some kind of gigantic... weapon?"

"Yes." Doc nodded.

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

"Yes..."

He took note of her sadness that time. "Yeah, okay. I- Yeah, I'm just making sure."

Joyce frowned at the kids. "Are we sure this thing is still out there, still alive?"

"The girls beat the shit out of it, but, yeah, it's still alive." Max nodded.

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

"We cut the brain off from the body." She finished.

"And kill it." Lucas added. "Theoretically."

Doc let out a long, tired sigh as Dustin smoothed a knot from her aching shoulder blade. She wasn't sure how much more her body could take from these endless battles, but she knew she couldn't stop. She had to keep going, even if it killed her in the end.

"Yoo-hoo!" Murray stole everyone's attention, waving papers in both his hands as he walked to the group. "Yoo-hoo!"

The papers were slammed onto one of the tables, displaying a drawn layout of the Russian facility. The conspiracist pointed to a part of the layout as everyone gathered around him. "Okay, this is what Alexei called 'the hub'. Now, the hub takes us to the vault room."

"Okay, where's the gate?" Hopper asked from beside him.

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

Erica marched up to him. "More like five hundred." She furrowed her brows at the dumbfounded look Murray gave her. "What, you're just gonna waltz in there like it's commie Disneyland or something?"

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Erica Sinclair. Who are you?"

"Murray... Bauman."

She sassily held her hand up. "Listen, Mr Bunman, 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 turned to face everyone else around her. "...you do what this man tells you, you're all gonna die."

Murray straightened with furrowed brows and motioned to the child. "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!"

Dustin nodded from behind her. "She's right. You're all gonna die, but you don't have to," He walked up to the table and reached for the paper. "Excuse me. Sorry, may I?"

Murray painted an exasperated and sarcastic smile on his face. "Please."

With a nod, Dustin and Erica sat at the table, the former taking a pencil out of his pocket. "Okay, see this room here?" He circled a part of the layout. "This is a storage facility. There's a hatch in here that feeds into their underground ventilation system."

He drew a line from the storage facility in a diagonal path to another part of the layout. "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 raised his brows at their confidence.

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

Hopper nodded. "No."

Their smiles fell as they watched him shrug and shake his head.

"Nope."

So, it was decided that Murray and Hopper would venture into the facility while everyone else went to Murray's home. Erica watched in disinterest as Hopper collected weapons off the dead Russians.

"Well, that settles it," She walked over to Dustin. "He's gonna die. They're gonna die."

"Yep, most likely."

Lucas gave a one-shouldered shrug. "You guys survived."

Dustin turned to him, Mike and Will. "Barely. We could've really used you guys down there."

Mike nodded with a small smile. "Could've used you up here, too."

"Yeah, man." Lucas agreed. "We missed you, dude."

"Yeah." Will grinned. "Big-time."

The original Party gathered into a little huddle, glancing at each other with soft smiles. This was the welcome Dustin deserved.

"Big-time."

"Please, don't cry, nerds."

Rolling his eyes, Lucas broke away from his friends to cut a look at his sister. "Erica."

"Keep saying my name, see what happens."

Hopper's booming voice interrupted their sibling banter. "Hey, heads up." He tossed a walkie to Dustin. "You can navigate, just from someplace safe."

Dustin frowned. "It's not that simple."

"The signal won't reach." Erica added.

"Not with this. You need something with a high enough frequency band to relay with the Russians' radio tower. But for that to work, you need to have someone who has both seen their comms room and had access to a super-powered handcrafted radio tower, one preferably already situated at the highest point in Hawkins."

A smug smile smacked Hopper right in his pride as Dustin pointed the antenna of the walkie to his own chest. "Oh, wait. That's me. If you want us to navigate, you got us. But we need a headstart."

Hopper tiredly nodded.

"And a car."

After the keys were handed to them, Steve and his team burst through the double doors of the mall to be met with a yellow Camaro that Hopper had stolen from some poor sap who happened to cross his path. "Oh, man, now this... this is what I'm talkin' about!"

"'Toddfather'?" Robin questioned the license plate at the front.

"Oh, screw Todd! Steve's her daddy now."

"Did you just talk about yourself in the third person?"

"Did he just call himself daddy?" Erica climbed into the car with everyone else.

"Alright, where are we going?" Steve asked.

"Weathertop." Dustin answered.

"Weather-what?"

"Just drive."

"Okay. Jesus!"

Doc's heightened hearing picked up the sound of the Scoops Troop departing. From where she sat beside Lucas on a bench, she craned her neck up to look at Jonathan and Nancy, who were listening to Murray's instructions on which key was which in the abundance he held.

She'd heard the stories the both of them told her of how they combined forces with Murray last year to take down Hawkins Lab, but she had never put a face to the name until now. It was also safe to say he was the reason the two were even a couple in the first place.

Her gaze moved over to Joyce and Will, the former urging her son to stay safe and listen to Jonathan. Whatever Will had said to her in response caused her to tearfully pull him into a hug. Doc smiled softly at them. For once, the roles were being reversed with Joyce in a deadly situation, and Will sitting in worry.

She hated the thought of her having to do the same. It made sense, the Mind Flayer was after her and El, so the two of them should stay away as far as possible. But it would be so much easier if she went into the facility herself and destroyed the machine with her powers. She would be useless at Murray's house.

On the edge of the fountain, El and Hopper sat together, their hands clasped and his thumb tucked under the blue hair tie on her wrist. "My battery's low, but... it will recharge." She nodded at him.

"I know it will, kid." He nodded back. "I know."

"I can fight."

He smirked. "Better than any of us. But right now, I need you safe. This thing is after you. It's not after me. And I need you to look after your sister," He glanced over his shoulder at said girl, who sat with her head in her hands. "She's not looking so good. I need you to keep each other safe. Do you understand?"

When she didn't answer, he gingerly pushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Hey... I need you to understand."

Her tired eyes stared into his before she gave a short nod.

"Hey."

They looked up to see Mike standing there with Max by his side, Lucas helping Doc up from the bench. "We should probably go."

Hopper heaved a heavy sigh, allowing his daughter to go one last time. El watched him for a second before throwing her arms around his shoulders in a hug. He let out a small hum as he hugged back, burying his face into her hair. He knew then and there he needed to make it back. For her.

When she pulled away, she stared deep into his eyes, asking one more time for reassurance. Hopper gave it to her with a nod, one that brought a grin out of her, and pulled one from him as well. Mike approached them and wrapped an arm around her waist, assisting her to her feet. Max joined them and held her other side. Hopper watched them go with Lucas and Doc following close behind.

"Mike?" He called out, the boy breaking away from his girlfriend and turning to him, slightly fearful. Hopper closed his eyes for half a moment before straightening. "Be careful."

Mike knew what Hopper meant by that. Look after Eleven. Keep her safe. It was one of the few things he and the kid had in common, their love for her, their determination and need to keep her safe. If there was one thing Mike would be willing to do for the Chief, it would be to keep his daughter safe. With a nod to him, Mike returned to El.

"And (Y/N)? You and El look after each other."

Doc glanced back at the Chief with a smile. "Yes, sir." She saluted with two fingers before Will came up to her other side and helped her walk as Nancy and Jonathan followed behind. Hopper smiled a bit after Doc. She was truly his favorite Wheeler.

His neck craned up when he felt a presence beside him. Joyce stood at his side, heavily sighing as she watched their family go. Hopper furrowed his brows when she didn't move, causing her to frown at him.

"What?"

This was not the plan.

As the three-man team left for the Russians, the kids were exiting the mall. Nancy and Jonathan led the lot of them to Mrs Wheeler's station wagon that sat proudly in front of the building, the two superpowered girls being escorted there by their friends. El grunted in pain every time she was forced onto her wounded leg. Max worriedly looked down at her injury.

"El, you're bleeding."

"Are you okay?" Mike asked her.

"Yeah." She croaked.

Lucas reached over and opened the back of the car for the two girls to lay in, allowing El inside first. Doc felt several hands hoisting her into the back, instructing her to lay opposite of El beside her. She let out a long and relieved sigh as she felt her muscles relax. Mike nudged in next to her before closing the door, the rest of their friends taking the seats in front of them.

"Hey, you okay?" Mike whispered to his sister.

"Yeah," She grunted in pain. "My side is killing me, though."

"Do you want me to take a look?"

"No, no." She shook her head. "Maybe if I focus enough, I can figure out this new healing thing."

Mike smiled a bit and brushed a tear from her face she hadn't even noticed was there. Everyone looked towards the front of the car when they heard the engine sputtering. Nancy blinked in confusion before trying the key again, resulting in the same effect.

"What's wrong?" Jonathan asked from the passenger seat.

"I don't..." She tried again. "I don't know."

No one said a thing, but it was clear that panic was settling between the group.

"You can't be serious." Nancy tried again and held the key to the ignition, prolonging the sputtering. "Come on!"

"Didn't your mom just buy this car?" Lucas asked.

"Yes," She irritably waved him off. "I'm sure it's fine."

"Did you leave the lights on?" Will leaned forward.

"No."

"Do we have gas?"

"Yes!" She shouted at Lucas before forcibly turning the key. "Come on!"

Jonathan quickly stopped her before she could do more damage to the car. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Just stop, stop!" He turned and opened his door. "Pop the hood."

As the two of them exited the car, Doc sat up with a start, the pain in her side singing with regret. "Something's here." She alerted her brother. Despite her wound, she twisted her body to look in the direction she felt the presence. Just as Jonathan announced the ignition cable was missing, an engine roared.

Just as Doc suspected, there in the middle of the parking lot, a pair of headlights spotlit the group. Behind the shattered windshield of the very familiar blue Camaro, Billy revved the engine, his teary gaze set on the two teens. The kids fearfully stared at the car, unknowing of what to do.

They nearly jumped out of their skin when Nancy was suddenly banging on the window and urging them out of the car. "Back in the mall!" She shouted, ripping the door open. "Back in the mall! Go!"

The back of the car opened and Doc felt Jonathan grab her, careful not to irritate her wound in his haste. Mike pulled El out of the car, he and Max assisting her back into the mall with everyone else.

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"Jesus, how far is this place?" Steve complained as he sped his group down an empty road.

"Relax, we're almost there." Dustin stared forward in determination.

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

A proud, lovesick smile slowly spread across his face. "I mean, nobody's scientifically perfect, but Suzie's about as close to being perfect as any human could possibly be."

Erica shook her head and leaned forward. "She sound made-up to me. She sound made-up to you?" She pointed to Steve. The Harrington man took a glance in the rearview mirror, then to Robin, then to Erica, and then back to the road, all without speaking. Dusin raised his brows at him in offense.

"Why are you hesitating-"

"I'm-"

"Steve?"

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

Dustin was going to continue the argument until he recognized where they were. "Left. Turn left."

"There's not a road here!"

"Turn left now!"

"Jesus! Hang on!"

The revving of the Camaro's engine sounded throughout the field as Steve swerved the car onto the grass, driving right through the wooden fence. "Whoa! Henderson, where are we going?!"

"Up!"

The car radio sang as the hill lifted them higher and higher towards Cerebro. The farther up the hill they went, the slower the Toddfather charged. "Oh, Jesus!" Steve screamed as he swerved a bit.

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

"Yes, we are." He patted the steering wheel encouragingly. "Come on, baby. Come on, baby!"

The car engine strained just as they drove into a stubborn patch of grass, halting their journey. "Come on. Come on." He grunted, pressing on the gas harder, the wheels singing against the grass. "Come on!"

Robin rolled her eyes. "Guess the Toddfather has its limitations."

When Steve reluctantly stopped pressing on the gas, Dustin climbed out of the car. A bit irritated, Steve threw an annoyed look in Robin's direction before getting out with the rest of them. From the top of the hill, Cerebro called out to the lot of them with Mike's voice.

    "Scoops Troop, do you copy? Scoops Troop, do you copy? Scoops Troop, do you copy? Scoops Troop-"

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"-I repeat, do you copy?" Mike spoke into his walkie as he paced the food court. "We're trapped in the mall and in need of emergency transportation."

At one of the tables, Eleven watched Lucas practice his aiming with his wrist rocket.

"Scoops Troop, do you copy? Billy has found us. He has disabled our car and we are trapped in the mall."

Doc, Will and Max stood before Nancy, who fished ammunition off the Russian corpse that laid between them on the floor.

"Repeat, Billy has disabled our car and we are trapped in the mall."

Max inhaled as she watched Nancy cock the gun. "You're gonna kill him, aren't you?"

Nancy shook her head with a one-shouldered shrug. "This is just a precaution, okay?"

"And not just against Billy," Will informed. "If he knows we're here, so does the Mind Flayer."

"He hasn't moved." Doc wrapped her arms around herself from Will's other side. "I can feel it. He's exactly where we left him. It's like he's waiting for us."

The three winced before Mike's voice stole their attention, turning to watch him pace about. "Scoops Troop, I repeat, we are in need of emergency transportation. Do you copy? Scoops Troop, do you copy?"

As he passed by the overturned car, Nancy lazily grinned and turned to Jonathan, who had just joined them. "No chance that thing'll drive, right?"

But Jonathan didn't return her amusement, his face dropping in realization. "We don't need it to drive. We just need the ignition cable."

And with that, they were all atop the counter, grunting as they pushed against the car. El, Doc and Will watched as the car lifted just a bit, but it was far too heavy for them to turn over on their own. Once their muscles couldn't take it anymore, they let go of the car, the vehicle slamming right into the counter again.

"Let me try." El spoke. Mike panted and gave her a look.

"El..."

But she gave him a look right back, making a point to step forward and wobble onto her bad leg. "I can do it."

"I'll help." Doc stepped forward.

"No, Doc," El turned to her. "I can do it."

"So can I."

"You just got your powers back. You can't lose them again. I can do it."

Doc swallowed the lump in her throat and clenched her jaw. Everyone slowly climbed off of the counter and moved behind the two girls, watching them intently. Sighing through her nose, Doc shook her head and took a step back.

El's expression softened into an apologetic look before she turned back to the car, stretching her arm out. Doc worriedly watched her sister as she felt the bond between their powers weaken. She could hear the squealing metal, but other than that, it didn't even budge. Had El been given this task a few days ago, that car would have been turned over by now. But it wasn't, and that didn't mean anything good for Eleven or their situation.

Eleven huffed and panted as she strained her power, blood already dribbling from her nose. As hard as she tried to reach out to the car, to grab hold of it, she could never reach far enough. She let out a short yell as she tugged on it, but still, nothing happened.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and then her sister's voice. "I got it, El. It's okay."

Defeatedly, El nodded and traded places with Doc. Just as she stretched her arm out, Mike appeared at her side. "Doc, I know this is the easiest option, but El has a point. You just got your powers back. We can't waste them on something like this."

"Mike, we don't really have the time to worry about that. We need to get the hell out of here."

It was Lucas's turn to speak. "Why don't we figure out a way to help Doc, so we aren't just relying on her powers?"

Doc hummed and scanned the area, her eyes falling upon a group of stanchion posts near Sam Goody. She hadn't even realized Mike was staring in the exact same spot, pondering the exact same idea. Simultaneously, they perked up and snapped their fingers.

"Got it!"

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"Bald Eagle, do you copy?"

At the top of the hill, beside the proud tower that was Cerebro, the Scoops Troop were trying to get in contact with Murray. "Bald Eagle, I repeat, this is Scoops Troop, do you copy?" Dustin spoke into his radio.

    "Yes, I copy."

Murray's annoyance was hardly concealed. The four chuckled in amusement before Dustin pressed the button again to respond. "Call sign?"

"...Bald Eagle."

"Please, repeat."

"Bald Eagle. This is Bald Eagle!"

"Copy that. Good to hear your voice, Bald Eagle." Dustin giggled. "What's your 20?"

"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. 10-10, over."

As he ended the transmission, Steve proudly patted his friend on the shoulder.

-------------------------------------------------

"Push!"

Doc watched from her spot as her friends, back in their places on the counter, used the tops of their stanchion posts to push the car off the counter. After the siblings had given them a quick rundown of their physics knowledge, they were immediately on board. They strained and grunted and panted, pushing upwards until the car was on its side.

"Alright, great," Jonathan straightened. "(Y/N), is that good?"

"Yeah, I can take it from here." She nodded and stretched her arm outwards. "Thanks for the help."

Her power tickled her fingertips as they reached to the other side of the car and grabbed hold of it. Doc curled her middle finger towards her, then stretched it out the same time she curled in her index finger. She continued this, her fingers in a walking motion until the car was gently back on the floor, on all four of its wheels.

Proud of their conjoined work, Mike looked around at his friends. "Told you."

"Physics." Doc nodded.

Jonathan and Lucas were the first ones off the counter, helping their girlfriends down afterwards. The teen couple went to the hood of the car and tried to open it, but it would stop short when they pulled on it.

"How do we get it open?"

"Uh, there should be a latch," Jonathan pointed towards the steering wheel. "Check under the wheel."

Mike smiled as he approached his sister, the two sharing a high-five. "Nice job. Was that new?"

"The finger thing? Yeah, I was just trying something out. It's less exhausting than just slamming stuff down."

From beside them, Max was staring in the opposite direction. "What's she doing?"

They followed her gaze to see Eleven hastily digging into one of the trash cans. The three shared a look before walking to her. Doc could see that El was trying to crush a soda can with her powers, she could tell by the way her head was tilted downwards. She stuttered in her steps when she realized she couldn't feel her sister at all. El's powers, their bond, it was completely gone.

"El." Mike called out as they approached her. "You okay?"

When she didn't respond, Doc walked up to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. El's frightened and panicked eyes met hers, but Doc didn't show her worry. She couldn't, not if she wanted to keep El from spiraling like she did when she had lost her powers.

"It's okay. We'll figure it out."

The hand on Eleven's shoulder suddenly tightened as Doc stiffened. She inhaled shakily and turned her body in one specific direction. Upwards.

She could feel it.

Her eyes met Will's from afar, who was holding the back of his neck with a fearful look on his face. Max noticed the two of them and frowned in confusion before slowly craning her neck upwards.

First, it was a rumbling, then pounding footsteps, then the skylight glass clinkling.

"Mike."

The Wheeler boy turned to Max and then followed her gaze. The clinkling grew louder along with the footsteps, the roof shaking with the strength of it. Just as the ignition cable was ripped from the car, Doc and Mike's voices rang throughout the food court.

"Nancy!"

At that, everyone was on high-alert and staring upwards, where the Mind Flayer loomed above the glass. In the next second, Mike was pulling Doc and El away with Max right behind them.

In the very next second, the skylight glass shattered and rained down upon the mall, the Mind Flayer following right behind, shaking the building when it landed on its feet. It took a couple steps forward, shrieking, snarling, and then letting out a thunderous roar.

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    "Scoops Troop, this is... Hm. Bald Eagle. I've reached another junction."

Dustin looked up at Erica in question, continuing their job at guiding Murray through the ventilation system. "This is what?"

"The fourth junction." She answered.

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

"We went left, so he has to go right-"

"-Right," They ended together before Dustin pressed the button on his radio. "Fly right, Bald Eagle. Fly right."

    "Roger that, flying right." He grumbled.

Robin, who was crouched between the two children, decided to voice her confusion. "What's the My Little Pony thesis?"

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

"Get him started? Just tell me-"

"Hey, guys?"

The three looked up at Steve's call to see him staring out in the distance. They joined his side to see what had his attention. From the top of the hill, Hawkins seemed so small. The town was dark and asleep for the night.

Except for Starcourt Mall. The view they had didn't provide them with specific details, but the vibrant lights wildly dancing across the building was enough to have them charging back to the radio. Dustin snatched it up and spoke into it frantically. "Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop! Do you copy? Over!" He pleaded their call sign. "Griswold Family, I repeat, this is Scoops Troop. Do you-"

A monstrous shriek responded, all four of their hearts plummeting to their feet.

"Griswold Family, do you copy?! Do you copy?!"

This time, a roar responded before the other side went to static.

-------------------------------------------------

    "Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop. Please, confirm your safety! Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop! Please, confirm your safety! Are you en route to Bald Eagle's nest?"

Dustin's distorted call from the broken walkie carried throughout the food court, the Mind Flayer's thunderous steps sounding louder every time it moved. From behind the car, Lucas, Nancy, Jonathan and Will hid, their hearts beating loudly as they kept silent. Will shuddered, his knees to his chest, trying not to let out a whimper. This was all too familiar to him. The hiding, the fear, the panic.

It was just like the Upside Down.

The Mind Flayer moved across the food court in search of Eleven and Doc, snarling all the way. As it went, it found the piece of itself that had been removed from El's leg. The small creature shrieked as it crawled to the monster, becoming one with it.

From under a firework booth, Max, Doc, Mike and El hid. Doc knew the easiest solution would be to use her powers, but if she reached out to the Mind Flayer, it would instantly detect her location. And then everyone would be at risk.

"I have a plan." She whispered to her brother. "I'll run out and distract the Mind Flayer to give everyone a chance to find an opening-"

"Absolutely not."

"Mike-"

"(Y/N)."

At the use of her real name, she knew just how serious he was being. She sighed out in exasperation and turned her body to face him. "Mike, you need to trust me-"

"No, you need to think. The whole point of all of this is to get you away from the Mind Flayer. I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself."

"It won't kill me. It wants me alive."

"So do I."

Her face softened at the genuine worry in Mike's eyes. Suddenly, the two flinched at the roar the Mind Flayer let out. Once it was quiet again, Dustin's voice on the radio could be heard again.

    "Griswold Family, do you copy? Griswold Family, do you copy?"

-------------------------------------------------

"Griswold Family, do you copy? Do you copy?!"

Steve suddenly sprang to his feet and sprinted away.

"Where are you going?!" Erica hollered after him.

"To get them the hell outta there!" He began his descent down the hill. "Stay here, contact the others!"

Robin cursed and followed after him.

"Wait, Robin!" Dustin called out before tossing a walkie her way. "Stay in touch."

She caught it in her hands. "Got it." She nodded and hurried after Steve.

"Bald Eagle, this is Scoops Troop." He spoke into his radio. "What's your 20?"

    "I told you, radio silence!"

"Yeah, but we have a problem."

Hopper's voice was the next to respond. "What kind of problem?"

-------------------------------------------------

Mike peeked over the booth to see that the monster was no longer facing their direction. He felt a tug at his shirt, so he silently lowered himself back down to face his sister. "It's turned away. If we go up the stairs now, we'll make it." He whispered.

"No way," Max shook her head. "Not with El's leg and (Y/N)'s side."

"We have to try."

El leaned over to speak to them. "There's another way... to get out. Through the Gap."

Mike risked one more peek at the Mind Flayer before nodding. "Okay. Now." He grabbed El and Doc's hands and pulled them to the Gap with Max following. They were almost in the clear until the broken glass that El had shattered clinked under their footsteps. And if that wasn't enough to grab the monster's attention, then it was the post that fell over in their haste and Max's frightened yelp.

It took half a second for the Mind Flayer to be stomping its way over to them, snarling and shrieking and roaring as it went. It stomped its foot into the opening of the store, but it was far too large to go inside. Two of its tentacles slithered in opposite directions, seeking out its two favorite targets.

Behind a pillar, it caught sight of a figure wearing El's shirt and snatched it up with a blinding quickness. But when it saw that it was just a mannequin, it roared into the featureless face and flung it across the store.

Mike, El and Max flinched hard when the mannequin smacked into the wall and then crashed to the floor just beside them, the three hiding behind one of the display tables. From behind a different display table, Doc crouched back into hiding, having seen what had just happened. She covered her mouth to keep herself from crying out when she felt a sharp pain in her side.

Her stitches must be coming out.

-------------------------------------------------

    "Bald Eagle has landed. Repeat. Bald Eagle has landed."

Dustin and Erica shared hopeful smiles at the good news received. A few seconds later, Hopper's agitated voice sounded.

    "Come on, how much longer?"

"I don't know, I've never done this before!" Murray shouted at him. Another few seconds went by before he spoke again. "Get ready, lovebirds, you're almost up to bat."

-------------------------------------------------

One of the tentacles slithered through the air, quickly rounding a corner and screeching in the now empty hiding place the three were just at. It clicked in confusion before retreating backwards, unaware of the three now hiding behind the register, closer to Doc. She watched them with wide eyes before pressing the back of her head into the display table she hid behind.

She needed to think of something.

Lucas crouched back behind the car after getting a peek at the Mind Flayer terrorizing his friends. He furrowed his brows and panted.

He needed to think of something.

His wrist rocket. Without a second thought, he pulled out his trusty weapon and dug some ammo out of his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Nancy whispered.

"Don't worry." He whispered back.

Doc spotted the tentacle nearing the register. She needed to do something now. Shutting her eyes, she tried to remember what she had seen within the mall to cause a distraction. She remembered the food court, the posts near Sam Goody, the balloons outside of the store-

The balloons.

Lucas shot up from his cover and aimed the wrist rocket at the monster.

The screeching of the tentacle grew closer as Doc focused on the balloons.

Lucas changed his target from the monster to the balloons at Sam Goody. He let go and launched his ammo forward.

Just as he popped the white balloon, Doc popped the red and blue ones.

At the sound, the Mind Flayer retracted its tentacles and screeched, stomping over to Sam Goody. Jonathan watched it until it was far enough for them to escape. "Go!" He urged the three with him. "Go, go, go, go, go, go!"

Lucas, Will and Nancy hopped over the counter and escaped through the back of the pizzeria with Jonathan right behind.

"Let's go." Mike pulled El to her feet and hurried away. Max grabbed Doc by both her hands and helped her on her feet, the Wheeler girl crying out in pain.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." She lied when she saw the worried look on Max's face. "C'mon." She let Max pull her through the back of the Gap with Mike and El.

-------------------------------------------------

    "Murray? Your goddamn code... is wrong."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Well, I- I suppose it could be wrong."

"How could it be wrong?!"

"The code is a number, a famous number. Planck's constant. I-I- I thought I knew it."

Dustin widened his eyes at the argument between Hopper and Murray over the radio. "Planck's constant..."

"You know it?" Erica raised her brows.

"Not by heart. You?"

"I'm not a nerd-nerd." She sassed with an unimpressed look.

    "He told me it was Planck's constant, which I know. Why would I need him to give me a number I already know?!"

At the rising panic between the two men, Dustin began turning dials on his radio, static hissing as he did. "What are you doing?" Erica frowned, but received no answer.

They needed that number to retrieve the keys that would stop the machine from opening the gate. They needed backup. And in order to obtain that, he needed to reach Utah. Specifically...

Salt Lake City, Utah.

-------------------------------------------------

"Go, go, go!" Jonathan shouted as the four of them sprinted back to the station wagon. Lucas and Will jumped in and just as Jonathan and Nancy went to put in the ignition cable, an engine revved from the middle of the parking lot.

Billy scrunched up his face as he pressed on the gas tauntingly. And while the rest of his expression told that he was out for blood, his eyes wanted no part of this. They swam with dread and regret, hurt perhaps.

"Get the car started." Nancy ordered as she rounded the car. "Go!"

Jonathan slammed the hood of the car closed and climbed into the driver seat as Nancy cocked her gun and aimed it at the blue Camaro. Jonathan put the key in and turned it, gasping when the engine sputtered. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Come on."

Challenge accepted, Billy put the car in drive and sped right for Nancy, the screeching of the tires echoing in the night and leaving white smoke in their wake.

"Shit... We gotta go!" Lucas screamed.

Nancy shot once, then twice, but Billy didn't falter. She shot thrice, and then a fourth time. The headlights were so close that they were blinding, but she kept firing.

"We gotta go!"

Tears freely rolled down Billy's face as Nancy Wheeler's frightened face shone brightly in his headlights. She gasped and ducked down in hopes of dodging the car.

There was no need, though, for a yellow Camaro slammed into its rival blue, sending Billy spinning across the parking lot. The yellow car spun in one full circle before it halted its movements, causing Steve and Robin to violently jerk to the side with the force.

Nancy stood to her full height, watching both the cars with wide eyes, heart beating out of her chest. From the blue Camaro, a fire started and scattered across the windshield, but Billy hadn't even been conscious to notice.

"Are you okay?" Steve panted. Robin turned to him with wild eyes.

"Ask me tomorrow?"

In front of them, monstrous snarling sounded. The two gasped as they slowly rose from the car to get a better view of the Mind Flayer perched on the top of the mall's roof. Before they could meet their demise, a car horn blared.

"Get in!" Nancy yelled from the passenger seat of the station wagon, the vehicle now up and running. They wasted no time in hopping out of the Camaro and into the back of the station wagon.

Targets in sight, the Mind Flayer stepped off the roof and used its several legs to chase after them.

-------------------------------------------------

"Suzie, do you copy? Suzie, do you copy? Suzie, do you copy?"

    "This is Suzie. I-I copy."

Dustin's face lit up at the feminine voice that responded to him. "Suzie!"

    "Dusty-bun?!"

Erica was taken aback. "'Dusty-bun'?"

    "Where have you been?"

Dustin brought the radio close again. "I'm so, so sorry. I- I've been really busy... uh, trying to save the world from Russians and monsters."

    "Of course, you have." She cutely giggled.

But Erica was having none of this. "Get the goddamn number already!"

    "Who was that...?"

Dustin waved the Sinclair girl off. "I- uh- It was, uh... I don't know, actually. I think it was just some interference. So, why don't we, uh, change frequency to 14.158?"

    "Copy that, shifting frequency. Standby."

-------------------------------------------------

    "Dusty-bun, you copy?"

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

Steve and Robin tore their eyes away from the terrifying sight of the Mind Flayer chasing after them, to the walkie that had come to life, then to each other's shocked gazes.

"Suzie."

-------------------------------------------------

"Okay, so, listen, do you know Planck's constant?"

    "Do you know the Earth orbits the sun?"

Dustin snickered at her joke. She was so funny.

"Okay, so I know it starts with two sixes, and then a... W-What is it?"

    "Okay, let me just be clear on this. 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?"

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

    "You can make it up to me now."

"What?"

    "I want to hear it."

His eyes widened at the tone of her voice. "Not right now."

    "Yes, now, Dusty-bun."

"Suzie-poo, this is urgent."

    "Yes, yes, 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."

Before she could return to her Ursula K Le Guin novel and remain angry with him, Dustin desperately called back to her. "Wait, wait, wait! Okay. Okay. Okay." He lowered the radio and inhaled deeply. "Shit..." Exhaling just as deep, he slowly raised the radio back to his lips and pressed the button. Everyone would hear it, he would never live it down, but hell...

It was for the greater good.

"Turn around

Look at what you see"

He had to physically turn away from Erica's horrified stare to continue.

"In her face

The mirror of your dreams"

Steve and Robin stared in confusion as Suzie joined Dustin in harmony.

"Make believe I'm everywhere

Given in the light"

Dustin's giddy grin was so wide that the apples of his cheeks were already growing sore.

"Written on the pages is

The answer to

A never-ending story

Aah-ah, aah-ah, aah-ah"

Held against every single situation going on at the moment, this was the most outlandish thing to happen so far.

"Reach the stars

Fly a fantasy"

And no one could see it, but Hopper, Joyce and Murray were just as dumbfounded as everyone else listening.

"Dream a dream

And what you see will be"

Will and Lucas, who were once facing Steve and Robin, slowly turned forward in utter shock, disbelief and confusion.

"Rhymes that keep their secrets will

Unfold behind the clouds"

And out of all of them, Erica had to be the one to witness it with her own two eyes. Her only two eyes.

"And there upon a rainbow is

The answer to a never-ending story

Aah-ah, aah-ah, aah-ah

Story

Aah-ah, aah-ah, aah-ah."

Their song coming to an end, Dustin let out a lovesick chuckle. She was so amazing.

    "Planck's constant is 6.62607004."

"You just saved the world!"

    "Gosh, I miss you, Dusty-bun..."

"I miss you more, Suzie-poo."

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

"No, I miss you-"

The radio went dead. "Enough!" Erica demanded, putting everyone out of their misery.

-------------------------------------------------

The fiery blue Camaro opened and spit out a coughing Billy, the young man groaning as he forced himself to his feet. He didn't know what his next steps were, but he needed to act fast. And as if his wishes were being granted, a buzzer sounded.

Mike and Max walked through the opening gate with El's arms thrown around their shoulders, Doc close behind. As soon as they set their sights on him, they were back through the gate with hurried steps. Billy turned his body towards them and stalked his way over.

Gasping, Doc spun back around and ran over to the control system, slamming on the button to close the gate and sprinting back to her friends.

This was more than enough to grab the Mind Flayer's attention, the monster stopping in its tracks, turning around and walking back to the mall.

"It's turning around!" Steve announced.

"What?" Nancy whipped around.

"It's turning around!"

"Maybe we wore it out." Lucas suggested.

"I don't think so." Jonathan shook his head. "Hold on."

The station wagon swerved in a sharp U-turn and sped after the monster, the not-so-ideal scenario.

Back at the mall, Doc was desperately trying to keep up with the three in front of her, but she was losing blood faster than she'd like to admit, feeling the warm stickiness of it under her shirt and seeping through the fabric a bit. The flickering of the lights in the employee halls weren't helping her case, either.

Doc steadied her walk by holding onto the wall as she ran. Max, El and Mike were becoming smaller in her vision the slower she ran, but she couldn't help it. She wouldn't get far on her own and she knew that.

At the feeling of a presence, she slowly turned around to see Billy making his way down the hall, the flickering lights shrouding him in darkness every other second. And every time the light would shine again, he would be closer.

Painfully groaning, Doc stopped running. She needed to buy them time, and Mike was none the wiser in such a nerve-racking situation. He couldn't stop her now. "Hey..." She rasped, pushing off the wall and standing up straight. "You want me?"

She stretched her arm out towards him, the man only that far from her.

"Come and get me."

Invitation accepted, Billy shoved her arm down, grabbed a fistful of Doc's hair and rammed her face into the wall. Doc felt the world slow down as she unwillingly tilted her head back. Billy let the back of her head fall into his palm before he repeated the action. This time, blood followed.

He caught her head and did it again, and again, and again, and again. By now, the wound in her forehead was beginning to leak, the jerking of her body forcing more blood out of her side and through her shirt, and a bloody imprint of her head was now left in the wall.

The ringing in her ears muffled all sound around her, her pain was growing dull, and her blurry vision was darkening.

Billy watched Doc collapse, blood trailing from various parts of her body. Humming, he used one arm to drag her off the floor, her headscarf left on the ground after coming loose from her hair. Holding her bridal-style, Billy turned in the opposite direction and walked away.

He was doing just as Doc assured herself he wouldn't.

He was taking her away.