EDIT: apparently when re-uploading this book forever ago I accidently skipped this chapter, so... lol whoOPS

||3rd Person POV||

"It's not like it was before," Hopper recounts to the rallied group in the kitchen. "It's grown."

He leans against the counter, everyone is packed inside the kitchen with him. The majority circle the table but everyone is listening intently regardless as Hopper continues.

"A lot. And, I mean, that's considering we can get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs."

"Demodogs." Dustin quickly corrects.

Lucas and Y/n meet eyes and shake their heads in matching disbelief. Somewhat dramatically, Y/n rolls her eyes and drops her forehead on top of Lucas's shoulder in exhaustion. She shakes her head and he chuckles weakly and noiselessly down at her before they return their attention to an equally aggravated Hopper.

"I'm sorry," he says flatly. "what?"

"I said, uh, Demodogs. Like Demogorgan and dogs. Like, you put them together, its sounds pretty badass--"

"How is this important right now?" Hopper demands, cutting him off.

"It's not. I'm sorry," Dustin mumbled.

El speaks up, looking directly at Hopper knowing he might resist her statement.

"I can do it."

Hopper and Mike share a brief and subtle look before Hopper shakes his head at her protectively.

"You're not hearing me."

Never blinking, her eyebrows raised in a challenging manner right back at the man.

"I'm hearing you. I can do it."

"Even if El can," Mike cuts in, looking around the room. "there's still another problem. If the brain dies, the body dies."

"I thought that was the whole point," Max asks.

"It is, but if we're really right about this... I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the Mind Flayer's army..."

"Will's apart of that army." Lucas finishes.

Mike nods gravely. "Closing the gate will kill him."

A heavy silence befalls the room, and soon all are wearing the same grave and fearful expression as Mike. All apart from Joyce Byers, who's eyes sit wide and her heart racing.

She had an idea.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Everyone follows her closely into Jonathan's bedroom where Will slept.
She looks at his sleeping form. He was completely on top of the blankets, as he had been sleeping the past few nights. The final pieces click into place when her eyes trail to the open window. The curtain dances in the air as a steady stream of chilly autumn air was being pumped into the room.

"He likes it cold." She mutters.

Hopper looks on in confusion between Joyce and Will. "What?"

"That's what Will kept saying to me," Joyce mutters. "He likes it cold."

She marches across the room and shuts the window without hesitation. She turns to the others, agitated.

"We keep giving it what it wants."

Nancy nods in thought.

"If this is a virus, and Will's the host, then..."

"Then we need to make the host uninhabitable," Jonathan confirms.

"So if he likes it cold..."

"We need to burn it out of him." Joyce nods.

Several hearts spiked at the conclusion, but none more so than a certain individual lingering at the edge of the group. Her mind had been racing at inordinate speeds as they developed their theory. Her mouth ran bone dry, and her throat felt like sandpaper. But much like El just minutes ago, she knew that despite the risks, she had to what she had to do.

She steps forward into view, catching everyone's eye, looking to Will sadly. The state he was in was enough to assure her of her decision, to put to rest any lingering unease. She eyes Hopper and Joyce, and with a definitive nod, Y/n speaks.

"I think I can help with that."

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

The house was now completely abuzz with activity as everyone prepares. Will's sleeping form - now wrapped in the Byers' warmest and thickest blanket - was now being carried outside by an urgent Hopper.

"Take Denfield, then you'll see a large oak tree." He orders to Jonathan quickly.

After a brief, but hefty catchup on Y/n's developed abilities - a conversation that rose many questions, and was news to some - the final details of their plan began to fall into place.

"Sweetie, what are you saying?" Joyce had asked.

Her, Jonathan and Nancy were the last to receive the shocking news of her origins. Hopper only asked one question, and it did not surprise Y/n as to why seeing as he had discovered and previously possessed the Missing Experiment files.

"You're the one they were looking for all those years, aren't you?"

Y/n nodded and pulled out the files from her jacket again. She handed them to him and he examined the folder in surprise. It quickly evaporated before he returned his gaze - and the files - to the girl, nodding.

"I always wondered, but I thought it was too big of a coincidence." He mumbled.

Y/n shrugged weakly, with a hint of a deflated smile. "Guess not."

Now the matter at hand was getting Will somewhere he wouldn't be able to recognize.

Hence their trip to Hopper's cabin.

It was decided fairly quickly they would need to split up. Groups were formed even quicker. Y/n would go with the Byers to Hopper's cabin, where hopefully they would be able to smoke the Mind Flayer out of Will. This group was inappropriately but rather aptly named by Dustin as the MacNeil Team after his favorite horror film, the Exorcist. But not without some hurried scolding from his sister.

Dustin, that is literally the least important thing right now!

Hopper would be escorting El to the gate so she could close it once and for all. Another group coined by Dustin, as the Gatekeepers. Dude! And the rest would remain stationed at the Byers home, on-call should either group need assistance. And much to everyone's great agitation, Dustin declared them the Brady Bunch.

"You're gonna swing a right. That road is gonna dead-end," he continues. "And it's about a five-minute walk from there."

Hopper lowers Will into the now open car, Jonathan gripping the edge of the door tightly as he runs through the checklist in his brain.

"Okay. Denfield to oak tree. Swing a right." He repeats, nodding. "That's it. But it's channel ten, right?"

Jonathan swings the door closed, and Hopper nods, placing his hand on the kid's shoulder.

"It's channel ten. Listen," he pants, still out of breath from the sudden rush of things. "You let me know when that thing is out of him."

Jonathan manages a nod, and Hopper stalks off. He shifts around to face the car, and peered inside he sees his brother. He looked so fragile, but it was also threatening knowing what was inside him. A great sigh escapes Jonathan and he pulls his hand down his face in a nervous manner. Before tearing his gaze away to help the others prepare, he makes a silent promise to his sleeping brother.

'We won't give up, Will. I promise.'

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Two shaky beams of light skitter across the pile of discarded things in the Byers backyard. They grow larger and larger until Nancy and Steve stand at the edge and begin fishing through the storage, flashlights in hand. Crickets and the sound of the wind snaking through the trees nearby fill the silence created by the two. Finally, Steve speaks without meeting her eye.

"You should go with him,"

Nancy looks up at Steve questionably. "What?"

"With Jonathan," Steve replies.

He's now kneeling beside the heap, his eyes are hollow as he holds the bundle of Christmas lights from the previous year. His mind is flooded with chilling memories.

"No, I'm," Nancy scoffs lightly. "I'm not just gonna leave Mike."

Steve dropped the heavy bundle of lights, rises to his feet, and nears Nancy. His eyes spotting a useful contraption among the clutter.

"No one's leaving anyone." He assures simply.

Seeing it too, she pulls a large summer fan by the handle and holds it up, allowing Steve to dig for the heater buried beneath it. He pulls it from the heap and smiles sadly, though a hint of pride in his voice as he thinks of his brief time with the kids.

"I may be a pretty shitty boyfriend, but..." he laughs weakly, his smile still lingering. "turns out I'm actually a pretty damn good babysitter."

He hands her the heater and she takes it reluctantly, her gaze finds his bittersweet stare. The guilt she had previously shelved in the past few days returns and all she can find herself saying is his name.

"Steve..."

His tone matches his eyes, and he shakes his head softly. "It's okay, Nance."

"It's okay." He reassures her.

She wracks her brain for the words, but by the time she manages a syllable, he's already walking away. Nancy watches sadly, his words bouncing around her mind as she watches him disappear into the house, leaving her with nothing but the heater and her thoughts.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"Just be careful, alright?" Mike pleas. "I can't lose you again."

El shakes her head definitively and gazes up into Mike's wide and glassy eyes. The ones that had always made her heart flutter.

"You won't lose me."

The last of the preparations had been made, and everyone had begun to split up, not without plenty of heartfelt goodbyes, Mike and El among the last.

Mike's cheeks are already pink from crying, and she watches sadly as a single glossy tear streaks down his face. She can hear the sadness in his voice, and her grip on his hands tighten in a reassuring and gentle squeeze.

"Do you promise?" He croaks.

El swallows the lump in her throat and puts on a sad smile.

"Promise."

Their eyes lingered on one another and as they both so longed for during their time apart. Slowly, they drew closer, their eyes flickering to one another's lips.

And all too quickly the moment ended at the sound of Hopper's perfectly timed voice.

"El," he took a puff from his cigarette, his eyes glazing over Mike's in a warning. "Come on, let's go. It's time."

With a deep and shaky breath, she turns back to look at Mike. They share a sorrowful and understanding nod filled with a thousand promises.

They would see each other again.

Tentatively she backs away, not wanting to part from Mike any more than he did and that's when she spots Y/n on the front porch. She was locked in a bone-crushing hug with Dustin, who didn't seem to want to let her go. His eyes were squeezed shut and his hat was pushed up higher against his head as he tucked himself further into the hug, and she saw his lips moving as he spoke something to her. No doubt words of encouragement and pleas to come back safe.

El smiled sadly.

"El, what is it?" Mike followed her eyes over his shoulder, and his face hardened a bit.

El tore her eyes away from the tearful siblings - feeling quite tearful herself - and back at Mike. Her thumb stroked the back of his palm lightly, bringing his attention back to her.

"Mike..."

His lips were still pressed into a firm line, but he eases immediately when he saw El. "Yeah?"

"Try to understand,"

"Understand what?"

"She was keeping you safe."

Mike searched her eyes, not quite knowing how to react.

"Because I made her promise."

Mike bit his lip in thought, his emotions battling one another. El saw this and squeezed his palms once more before locking her gaze with his to assure her word.

"'Mike needs to know'"

"Huh?"

"That's what she told me. When she saw me. She wanted you to know."

Mike looked taken aback, and timidly he looked over his shoulder once more at his friend. She pulled away from Dustin, a sad and sniveling smile on her face before she sensed eyes on her. She turned her head to find Mike looking at her, and for a moment she didn't know how to react. She just waited to gauge his reaction before offering him a weak smile. He looked back at El before the moment could dwell any longer.

"El," It was Hopper, he was now climbing into the truck. "Come on."

She returns her gaze to Mike one final time and nods before departing.
Mike feels the presence of his friends collecting behind him in front of the porch. They all watch with a worried stare as their friends and loved ones pile inside their respective vehicles. Nancy climbs into the front seat with Jonathan, El does the same with Hopper. Y/n, meanwhile, joins Joyce in the backseat of Jonathan's car to be with Will. With sinking hearts, they watch as they disappear down the driveway and into the night. Unable to do anything but hope they will see one another again.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

El's head rests against the seat as she watches the trees fly by her window. Neither her nor Hopper have spoken a word since they left the house, but Hopper quickly changes things.

"So, what? We just not gonna talk about it?"

Without leaving the seat, her head lazily rolls across her shoulders to face Hopper. "About what?"

Hopper shrugs halfheartedly. "Oh, I don't know, just curious why all the sudden you look like some kind of MTV punk."

El looks back at the scenery, not answering and Hopper continues.

"I'm not mad, kid, I just wanna know where you've been... That's all."

Hopper spares a few moments away from the road to look at her, gauging for a reaction then she finally speaks.

"To see Mama."

His head snapped back to the road in shock, his heart plummeting and guilt swept over him. It's quiet for another moment as he processes this, and he speaks again his voice is gentle and listening.

"Okay...?"

Silence.

"How'd you get there?"

"A truck." She answers.

His heart leaps into his throat, and he does a double-take. He tries to suppress his onslaught of emotions, knowing he can't let his worry for her fester into anger again. As best as he can, he tries to remain calm.

"A truck?"

She looks at him. "A big truck."

Jesus, this wouldn't be easy.

"A big truck? Whose truck was it?"

Her answer did not calm him in the slightest.

"A man's."

"A man's?"

"A nice man."

His mouth hangs open in a small gasp as he tries to process the information, his head, all the while whipping back and forth between her and the road.

"Okay. So let me just get this straight in my head, so a nice man in a big truck drove you to see your Mama, and then what? Your Aunt Becky gave you those clothes and that make-up?"

El ponders this for a moment, her mind returning to her interaction with Y/n just days ago. And without tearing her eyes away from the road, she wonders aloud.

"Nobody likes trucks. Why?"

Hopper finds himself bewildered at her comment.

"Wh-? Why does everyone hate trucks? Whatya mean, kid?"

"Y/n. She didn't want to ride with the nice man." She finally looks at Hopper. "She said he might hurt us,"

He eyes her cautiously. He had no previous reason to believe anything had happened to her, and he firmly believed she could have kicked his ass had anything happened. But he had to ask! He still cared about her, and that kind of shit left a lot of baggage.

"Well... he didn't, did he?" He asked gently.

Almost offended, but quite confused as to why no one trusted her or the nice man who helped her, she frowned. She was growing quite agitated, didn't anyone understand the term 'nice man'?

"No." She answered shortly.

"Good," he mumbled, glad that part of the conversation was over. He cleared his throat. "Well, Y/n was still right El, that's very dangerous."

"Why?"

He sighed, taking one hand off the wheel to rake down his face anxiously. It drops into his lap, and he thinks for a moment and glances at her, shaking his head.

"That's a discussion for another time," Another car passes them during their silence, the headlights jumping from Hopper's face to El's and he sighs. "So Y/n came with you to see your Mama?"

No answer. She just stared out of the window.

"'Kay, well those files of hers were at home, so I can only assume you found them and gave them to her? Maybe that's when you two left with the," he sighs deeply. "the 'nice man'?"

Again, no answer.

"Again, kid, I'm... I'm not mad," he tries not to choke on his words. Without his eyes leaving the road, he shrugs, the lump in his throat growing. "I just worry about you... 's all."

He sighs again, and for a few minutes, the car is filled with silence again. The only sounds filling the car is the hum of the engine and the occasional rush as cars zoom by in the other lane. He is surprised when she is the next to speak.

"I..." And then he feels her wide brown eyes on him, her voice is raspy showing she is trying not to cry. "I shouldn't have left."

"Mmm-mmm," he mumbles. "No..."

She feels her gut sink and twist at what she assumes is his agreement with her. He sounds disappointed. And it hurts her. But what she doesn't realize yet is he feels the same. And even though she speaks the words he had been looking for just days ago, they strike daggers into his heart now and all he knows now is regret.

What shocks her is when he continues, he shakes his head in great disappointment, but it is not in her.

"no, this isn't on you kid. I should have been there."

Her lips part slightly in shock, her throat grows sore as she fights back tears but already one is already threatening to spill.

"I should have never lied to you about your Mama... Or about when you could leave."

Her hollow gaze is now fixed on the road as she processes his words as he speaks them.

"There's a lot of things I shouldn't have done."

Her eyes fall to her lap, her heart is pounding faster as the minutes march on, but still, she listens, entranced. His voice is genuine and hoarse.

"Sometimes I feel like..." he stops to fight the tears threatening to spill, years of suppressed heartbreak rushing back to the surface at once. "Like I'm just some kind of black hole, or something."

Her eyes are as foggy as is, but she manages to look at him and speak clearly enough. "Black hole?"

A silent tear breaks through the dam and cascades down her cheek as he answers, unaware.

"Yeah, it's a, you know it's this thing in outer space... it sucks everything towards it and destroys it. Sarah had a picture book about outer space, she loved it." He sniffled.

"Who's Sarah?"

"Sarah?"

He does another double-take, surprised at himself for not sharing that fact of his life sooner with her. Especially since she had reminded him of her all too well and in the nicest ways. He's suddenly aware of the blue band around his wrist again, something of Sarah's he never, ever took off.

A small smile of pride twists his lips, but it's been touched by sadness.

"Sarah's my girl. She's my little girl."

El saw the sadness in his eyes, and as she spoke the words aloud she feared she knew his answer.

"Where is she?"

"Well, that's kind of the thing, kid. She, uh," he says sadly, taking a brief moment to glance up at the stars. The things she loved most. "She left us."

"Gone?" El choked on the word.

"Yeah," he nods. "the black hole... It got her. And somehow... I've just been scared, ya know?"

Another tear escapes her eye, and she feels her head being pulled towards Hopper at what he says next.

"I've just been scared that it would take you too."

He begins to choke up again, and she sees that his eyes are welling with tears.

"And I think that's why I get..." his voice goes away for a moment, and he shakes his head trying to will it back through his tears. "so mad. I'm so sorry. For everything. I can be so... so..."

"Stupid?"

They both crack a smile, and their chuckles break through the air and warm their hearts, melting away the last of the remaining tension and hard feelings. Hopper shakes his head, and on his face sits a wide grin he finds hard to shake.

"Yeah," he laughs. "Stupid. Just really stupid."

Her eyes fall from his smile to the hand that still sits in his lap, and she reaches over to intertwine it with her own small hand. She smiles weakly.

"I've been stupid, too."

"I guess we broke our rule," he chimes, making her smile. "I don't hate it by the way."

His hand gives hers a quick and gentle squeeze before taking it away to gesture to her outfit.

"This whole," he fights a smile. "look."

She looks down at her new outfit and the small sense of pride from before returns. Hopper's hand returns to the wheel, and he smirks at the road, trying not to sound too much like a cheesy dad.

"It's kinda... cool."

The warmth in El's chest spreads, and she finds a grin creeping up on her face at the new word she had taken a liking too.

She nods.

"Bitchin."

The grin on Hopper's face stretched wider, a feat he did not previously think to be possible. He nods, trying hard not chuckle, not wanting her to confuse his happiness as amusement.

"Okay, sure," His grin stretched nearly to his ears. "Bitchin."

No sooner did he speak the word - his eyebrows shooting up in an amused manner now with every intention of being a cheesy and embarrassing dad - did El burst into a quiet fit of laughter. She looked away, wiping the tear away from her cheek but utterly unable to rid herself of her beaming smirk.

El couldn't recall a time she had felt this happy, this hopeful - this at home - in a long time. And neither could Hopper. Even with the frightening and strenuous task before them, they couldn't quite shake the smile off their faces even if they wanted to. And for the first time since he had taken her in all those months ago, they finally felt at home with one another.

Both of them were the missing family they had been looking for.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"Alright," Dustin pants, swiping at his nose. "He-It should fit."

Steve stands across the kitchen with a deadpan look on his face and a dead Demodog wrapped in a blanket in his arms. Dustin had just finished dumping the contents of the freezer onto the floor, shelf and all, so they could store the corpse temporarily.

"This really necessary?" Steve asks.

"Yes, it is. Okay, this is a groundbreaking scientific discovery. We can't just bury it like some common mammal, okay? It's not a dog!"

Steve's eyes widen briefly, mumbling a 'yeesh' under his breath as he steps towards the fridge.

"Alright, alright," He sends a scornful look at Dustin as the boy steps aside. "But you're explaining this to Mrs. Byers, alright?"

In one swift motion, he swings the dead weight up onto the ledge, but it struggles to fit. It's limp petal-like jowls scrape against the rim of the freezer and when its pulled back, several thick layers of slime remain stitched between it and the fridge. Steve grimaces as he tries to maneuver the Demodog in with little luck, and with disgust still obvious in his voice, he calls out to Dustin over his shoulder.

"Help me out, would ya?!"

After a great deal of shoving, and a whole lot of arguing the boys had managed to close the fridge door with the creature inside. They both sigh, staring at the fridge once again wondering how things had turned out this way. Steve brings up one hand and places it on top of Dustin's head, and ruffles his hat into curls before stalking off.

In the living room, Max knelt before the pile of broken glass where the window had shattered. Using a dustpan and brush she had managed to find lying around, she set to work cleaning up the glass, less no one gets hurt, hoping it would keep her mind somewhat occupied. Lucas had soon joined her with a broom he had remembered being in the kitchen and wasted no time in helping. The silence was much more tolerable in each other's company. Though Mike was no help to their nerves, his footsteps echoed around their skulls non-stop as he paced.

"Mike, would you just stop already?" Lucas breaks.

Mike turned to his friend, his face hard as stone with worry.

"You weren't in there, okay Lucas? That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs."

Dustin's voice carries across the house from the kitchen. "Demodogs!"

Mike rolls his eyes, what little patience he had wearing wafer-thin.

"The Chief will take care of her!" Lucas assures.

Max rolls her eyes, muttering under her breath. "Yeah, like she needs protection."

"Listen," Steve said joining the conversation, Dustin lingering by his side as he dries his hands with a rag. "If the coach calls a play, bottom line, you gotta execute it, alright?"

"Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game," Mike retorts. "And second, we're not even in the game, we're on the bench."

"Ri-uh-we-" Steve stammers. "So my point is,"

The kids all stare at him expectantly, but he just stares off into space as he tries to find the words that never come. Finally, he nods.

"Right, yeah. We're on the bench, so, uh, nothing we can do." He stated, throwing his used dishrag over his shoulder.

"That's not entirely true," Dustin says hopefully, grabbing everyone's attention. "I think these Demodogs, they have a hive mind. And when they ran away from the bus, they were called away."

Lucas spoke up excitedly, latching onto Dustin's thinking.

"So if we get their attention,"

"Maybe we can draw them away from the lab," Max adds.

"And clear a path to the gate!" Mike concluded.

Steve folds his arms, growing more anxious as they grow excited.

"Yeah and we all die!"

"Well, that's one point of view," Dustin argued.

Mike's eyes grew wide as the gears in his brain began to turn, and hurriedly he stalked off passed a bickering Steve and Dustin.

"No, dude, that's not a point of view, that's a fact," he corrected in what was almost a concerned tone.

"I got it!" Mike called, drawing the others after him into the kitchen.

They find him kneeling in front of the fridge, he points feverishly to the large open spot on the map.

"This is where the Chief dug his hole, this is our way into the tunnel!"

Suddenly he jumps back up to his feet and scurries over to where the hall meets the living room.

"Here, right here!" The others catch up and pool around his sides as he points to the large blue spot beneath his feet. "This is like a hub. See where all the tunnels feed into here?"

He drops to his knees, his eyes widen as the plan begins to solidify as he speaks and he gestures around the map excitedly. "Maybe if we set this on fire--"

"Uh, yeah, that's a NO," Steve scolds, completely appalled. And ignored.

"The Mind Flayer would call away his army!" Dustin chimes.

"They'd all come to stop us!"

"Hey!" Steve tries, growing far more worried.

No was listening. Not to him. They all kept feeding into one another's ideas.

"We circle back to the exit-"

"-guys?" Steve chuckles nervously.

"-by the time they realize we're gone..."

"-hEY?"

"El will be at the gate!"

"HEY! HEY!" Steve shouts, even clapping his hands to get their attention.

Finally, though, it works. They all turn around to find him glaring at them with his hands rested on his hips, the dishrag still hung over his shoulder. His eyes are wild with panic and he wags his finger at the map and at them, shaking his head.

"This is not happening."

"But-"

"No, no, no, no!" He rebukes. "No 'buts'! Listen, I promised I'd keep you shitheads safe and that's exactly what I plan on doing,"

Max rolls her head back in annoyance and Lucas sighs as he scolds them.

"We're staying here, on the bench, and we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?"

"This isn't a stupid sports game!" Mike whines.

Steve rips the rag off his shoulder and jabs it in Mike's direction, seething. "I said does everybody understand that?"

Nobody answers.

"I need a yes," he demands.

Still, nobody answers. Mike merely glares at the floor, Max stares boredly at the ceiling, Lucas looks at Steve weirdly, and Dustin just gives him the same deadpan and unimpressed stare he gave earlier.

He's about to say something, his fuse dangerously short when suddenly the obnoxious sound of an engine revving in distance pulls everyone's attention to the living room window. Everyone seems confused at first, except for Max whose face immediately drains of all color.

She races to the window, having heard that sound far too many times in her life for it to be a coincidence. She jumps on the couch and has to crouch a bit to look outside the of the window, but it's unmistakable.

She feels the cushions shift beneath her and a presence beside her, it was Lucas who was the next and only other person to catch on as to what it might be. They watch in horror as a bright pair of headlights approach the house at an alarming rate, and Max knows she has no more time to gape.

"It's my brother," she chokes out. "H-He can't know I'm here, he'll kill me!"

Her wide and fearful blue eyes meet Lucas's, and he recognizes at once she worries just as much for him. Sure enough, she speaks confirming his suspicions.

"He'll kill us."

Steve's head shoots up at her words, his heart thumping. He knew exactly who her brother was, the guy who seemed a little too obsessed with "taking his title" at school. Something about him was off-putting to Steve. But what scared him was the fear in the kids' eyes and her words of course. He had no trouble believing her, and he knew with absolute certainty these kids were in danger.

His eyes flew to the door, knowing what he had to do.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
CONTINUE FIGHTING FOR BLACK LIVES. BLACK LIVES MATTER. BLACK LIVES ARE PRECIOUS. BLACK LIVES ARE BEAUTIFUL.

"We've got to make noises in greater amounts!
So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!"
- Dr. Suess

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