ββ πππ ππππ π πππππ - ππ ββ
A/n: 37k reads?!?! Guys π₯Ίπͺπ thank you!!!
Warnings: Domestic violence, and a homophobic slur. Ugh, just Billy's dad in general. jc, this guy sucks. If you feel you need to skip this scene altogether, I completely understand. I will place the usual marker [βββ] at the beginning and end so you can scroll quickly. Safe reading, loves!
||3rd Person POV||
As Hopper gazes into the inky darkness, a great unending bellow erupts from within the pit. The elevator cables are struck by something below, indicated by their sudden whip that fell into a dull vibrating blur and soft twang. Immediately, a slender grey claw erupts from the shadows digging into the concrete edge. Emerging after it, was the figure attached, the beasts they could barely make out on the live feed. The same monster from the previous year, that thing this damn lab unleashed unto El and her poor friends. Hopper couldn't believe his eyes or his piss poor luck. Seemingly, neither could Dr. Owens who had numbly stepped closer to the window, next to Hop.
"Mother of God."
With stilled silence, everyone watches, eyes trained on the creature not knowing what to expect. And upon first glance, neither does the mutant. It stalks forward. It's eyeless bud-shaped head inspecting the glass before it rises to its hind legs, placing it's front claws on the glass. On the opposite side, Hopper leans closer to the pane, brows furrowed and ears perked as he takes advantage of seeing this unknown species up close.
The advantage doesn't last long, however, when the mutant takes one glance at Hopper and Owens individually - as if sizing them up, frighteningly enough - and it lets out a foggy huff before ramming its now open head into the glass. The two men jump back alarmed as it continues this, each strike against the glass is with more and more force and aggression.
"It's... It's polycarbonate. It can't get through." Dr. Owens utters, shuffling back despite his words.
On cue, the four-legged Demogorgan split it's head, and a bone-chilling shriek pierced the air. The shrill cry carried through the air, bouncing off the walls and deep within the caverns, continuously feeding into itself. The echo was enough to worry everyone, that was until they saw the elevator cables begin to move once more. It was then they realized, it had not been an echo, but the voices of dozens of its siblings. And they were all scrambling up the walls, out of the pit, and to its aid.
"Mother Mary and Joseph," murmured the man at the coms.
Another screech and they all fell in line taking orders. Not a single creature hesitated, and it was only a matter of moments before the pristine, spotless glass was near shattering. Hundreds of webbing cracks painted the glass to a point the creatures became harder to see.
"You sure about that glass?" Hopper piped.
His face flushed, Owens steps back to the panel, knowing what has to be done.
βΉ βΉ βΉ
The shrill alarm has reached the rest of the lab, bouncing off the cold white walls and alerting Bob and Mike.
"What the hell?" Bob asks, his protective grip on Mike feigning.
"We're too late," Mike realizes, voice grave.
"What?"
"We're too late!"
Mike escapes Bob's grip with ease, sprinting for Will's room where Joyce rises from her seat beside Will.
"What's going on?"
"We're under attack." Mike pants, face flushed.
βΉ βΉ βΉ
"What's going on down there? Does anybody copy?"
The officer's voice echoes out of the speakers in the control room, though stifled by their panicked cries and the scuffle of their shoes on the floor as they run. Hopper is the last to exit, assuring everyone has made it out safely. The steel door slams shut just in the nick of time, no sooner does the splintered glass windows shatter into a thousand pieces, and the swarm floods in.
In the hall, Hopper and Owens flee with the other workers. That is until Owens finds a shortcut.
"Stairs, stairs!" He pants, shoving Hopper for the door. "Come on,"
The two men are able to safely retreat to the next floor, returning to the main floor. The same could not be said for the remainder of the team, who found themselves cornered in the elevator as the army broke free.
In Will's room, Mike spots the bottle of anesthesia and quickly snatches it up in his hands, turning to Joyce.
"We need to make Will sleep," He orders.
"What?"
"He's a spy! If he knows where we are, so does the Mind Flayer!"
Will sits up, his actions are suddenly frightened and hasty. He's furious. His once hazel eyes are almost completely black now. He quickly turns to Joyce and cries out.
"He's lying!"
"He killed those soldiers and he'll kill us, too!" Mike warned.
This only angered Will more, he shot up in his bed now fighting against Joyce's efforts to hold him down. He is screeching now, utterly infuriated and desperate as he fights against Joyce.
"He's lying! He's lying! HE'S LYING! HE'S LYING! HE'S LYING!"
The elevator has arrived on their floor, and when the designated guards arrive, the doors open revealing the several torn up bodies of the extraction team. The army of Demogorgan mutants don't hesitate on their newest targets, they stalk forward, their speed quickly climbing. In a flurry they scramble for their guns, shooting the evermoving targets as they pounce.
The gunfire echoes throughout the entire floor, including Will's room. Bob is at Will's bedside, aiding Joyce in restraining him, and he is the first to hear them.
"Those are gunshots!"
Everyone looks to the door, but their attention is quickly pulled back to Will who is still fighting.
"He's lying! HE'S LYING!"
Frightened, and short-fused, Joyce grips Will's arms.
"Okay, Will, Will, listen, listen. Do you know who I am?"
Will only looks dumbstruck, he looks at the woman before him, his body still half attempting to escape. At that moment, she knows Will is in there, but he has to fight for control.
"Do you know who I am?" She yells.
"You're..."
He falters, sending another crack through her heart as he searches his mind for her identity. And every moment seems to last an eternity, but when he finally spoke, she knew Will was losing his battle.
"You're... You're Mom."
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she looks to Bob with a determination in her eyes. Her pain is turning to anger.
"Hold him down."
Bob complies as she retrieves the needle and vial from Mike. Will comes alive, his anger - the mind flayer's anger - erupts from his frame and he is kicking and screaming with every ounce of energy he can muster.
"No! NO! LET GO! NO! NO! LET ME GO! LET GO!"
She steps forward, needle in hand, and quickly pins his arm down. She knows it is the mind flayer's doing, but she can't help but see the look of terror in Will's eyes and feels a wave of guilt. But she does not stop.
"LET ME GO! LET ME GO-!"
"I'm sorry," she cooed, fighting to keep his arm down. "I'm so sorry."
"LET ME GO!"
Mike tries to cover his ears, Will's frightful and all-too frightening shrieks pierce his skull and heart. And he can't help but think, he knew now more than ever it was the Mind Flayer, not his best friend. The only other time he had seen him this angry - this threatened - was with Y/n.
The needle breaks his skin and not a moment sooner does his cries begin to die down, and from there, it is only seconds before he is completely subdued by unconsciousness. At that same moment, Hopper and Owens burst through to the door, to find an unconscious Will, and Joyce, needle in hand. They manage to put the pieces together when without warning, a thunderous crash and inhuman howl grab everyone's attention. Everyone turns to see the pair of oak doors at the end of the hall begin to crack and splinter, piece by piece falls to the floor with each forceful strike. The creatures have reached the main floor.
Hopper pales. "We gotta go. We gotta go,"
He spins on his heel, racing for Will's bed and he swiftly sweeps the boy's small frame up with ease. Joyce, Bob, and Mike follow, not without making off with more morphine before their haste escape. The new group makes it to the outer rim before they witness a pack of these creatures take down several lab employees just up ahead. Before they can flee from where they came, the sound of rapid gunfire comes first. They are forced to pilot away and out of the hall through a narrow doorway where they find themselves in one of the labs' surveillance rooms.
Owens is the last to enter, closing the door behind him and Bob is the first to take note of the chaos unfolding on the many screens.
"Oh, my god," he gasps, drawing everyone's attention to the screens.
Everyone stops to gape at the many images of scattered bodies sprinkled throughout the labs' otherwise empty halls. Every monitor displays the contorted figures of the otherworldly creatures stalking the halls, prowling. Hunting. The lab is overrun.
The fluorescence lights above their heads begin to flicker, and just as quickly, all power has been lost, the monitors first to go. Amidst the pitch back, the group huddles close as the strident battle cry of the swarm echoes through the darkness making one simple fact abundantly clear;
Hawkins Lab has officially become the hunting ground for the army of the Upside Down.
[βββ]
On the other side of town, Neil and Susan Hargrove pull into their driveway in a rusty '71 pickup. Stepping inside, placing her shopping bags onto the dining room, Susan calls out to her daughter and step-son.
"Hey, guys, we're home." Receiving no reply, she wanders down the hall in search of any sign of life. "Guys? Hello? Max?"
She reaches Max's room first, opening the door to find the room empty, save for the abandoned taped up skateboard, and the open window. The drapes dance in the wind, reflecting the soft yellow light from the girl's bedside lamp, and it was clear to her that the room had not been touched all evening. Attempting to stifle her growing concern, she steps forward and closes the sliding window shut disregarding the chill the autumn night brought.
Inside his room, heavy rock music blaring from his stereo, Billy takes a long and deep breath, letting the smoke of his third cigarette of the day fills his lungs. He bounces on the balls of his heels to the rhythm of the beat before his mirror as he preps himself for his night out. The moment is almost perfect had it not been for the persistent knocking on his door and the sound of his stepmother.
"Billy?"
"Yeah, I'm a little busy in here, Susan," He calls.
"Open the door," Bellows his father. "Right now."
Now his night was completely ruined.
Stuffing down his fear and anger, Billy marches across his room and throws open his door. As it always seemed to go, he found his father looking down on him, seething, and a troubled and anxious Susan at his side.
"What's wrong?"
"Why don't you tell us?" His father spits.
Billy shrugs, perturbed. "Because I don't know."
"We can't find Maxine," Susan says.
"And her window's open."
Billy looks away, hiding his inward sigh. Getting on his father's bad side was never a good thing. It was rare to come out on the other side without a welt or bruise or two. And Billy was always his favorite target. That is after his mother left the picture. Whatever hell Max had just cooked up, was more shit he'd have to pay.
"Where is she?"
Biting the bullet, Billy shrugs.
"I don't know,"
"You don't know?" Neil scoffs, rage quickly rising to the surface.
All Billy can do now is throw water on the fire, but he knows he's only buying moments.
"Look, I'm sure she just, I don't know, went to the arcade or something." He says, retreating into his room. "I'm sure she's fine."
Neil follows, swiping at his mouth, a habit of anger as he follows his son to his closet.
"You were supposed to watch her," He growls.
"I know, Dad. I was," Billy sighs, throwing on his coat. "It's just you guys were three hours late, and, well, I have a date."
Pulling his mullet out from under his coat, straightening out he shrugs. "I'm sorry, okay?"
His father crosses his arms, glaring at him as he gestures to his mirror. "So that's why you've been staring at yourself in the mirror-like some faggot instead of watching your sister?"
"I have been looking after her all week, Dad." Billy snaps. "Okay? She wants to run off, then that's her problem all right? She's thirteen years old. She shouldn't need a full-time babysitter. And she's not my sister!"
Billy steps forward, slamming the off button on his stereo. The music stops just as he feels the force of his father shoving him into the wall. Neil steps closer, his grip on Billy's jacket tightening.
"What did we talk about?" He growls.
His son does not answer, and his fist swings up to meet Billy's cheek. Susan looks away fearfully, unable to witness his beatings yet neglects to step in. Neil brings his hand near Billy's throat in an act to threaten him, his sign of warning.
"What did we... talk about?"
Billy swallows the urge to fight back, no matter how demanding and he has to spit out the words his father wants to hear.
"Respect and responsibility," He repeats, hating himself for the waver in his voice that his father always seemed to bring out in him.
His father nods. "That is right,"
He shoves Billy further into the bookshelf, the boy fights a wince as his spine digs further against the wood.
"Now, apologize to Susan,"
Billy takes a deep, shaky breath. The only thing keeping him from any act - any sign - of defiance is the fiery, hostile glare he is held under.
"I'm sorry, Susan," He says.
The woman shifts uncomfortably in the doorway. Fearful of anything she says, less it inflict more pain on Billy, or herself.
"It's okay, Neil," she eases. "really, I-"
"No," he roars, jostling his son once more. "it's not okay. Nothing about his behavior is okay."
He waves a stubby finger in Billy's face, reluctantly letting him go and stepping back once he felt assured the lesson had been instilled.
"But he's going to make up for it," He turns around to look in her frightened eyes. "He's gonna call whatever whore he's seeing tonight and cancel their date. And then he's gonna go find his sister. Like the good, kind, respecting brother that he is."
He returns his attention to his son, who stands frozen, tears misting his eyes.
"Isn't that right, Billy?" He steps forward at the boy once more, voice rising when he receives no reply. "ISN'T THAT RIGHT?!"
To the best of his ability, Billy swallows the lump in his throat, his voice hoarse. "Yes, sir."
The man sighs heavily, inching closer, head turned. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you."
"Yes, sir."
Somewhat satisfied with Billy's response, his dark eyes return to Billy's, drilling holes with his threatening glare.
"Find Max." He orders.
Finally, he falls back, marching past his wife - who quickly steps out of his way - leaving a vulnerable and broken Billy behind. The door closes and only then does he let his tears fall in heavy streaks down his cheek. Expressing his emotions the only way he knows how, he chucks the nearest object - in this case, a cologne bottle - and it shatters at his feet. Another broken mess.
[βββ]
Max kicks yet another chunk of gravel in her path as she walks, trying as best as she can to keep up with Y/n's tale. How Max found herself in the middle of this confusing shitstorm, she would never know.
Steve, on the other hand, having known only half the story from the previous year, was gaining new information himself. About Eleven, Y/n, the experiments, everything. Just when he thought he knew everything about his hometown.
"You mean, he actually, like, yelled at you?" Lucas gaped. "Will?"
Y/n nods, eyes trained on the tracks below her feet. After a confusing roundup, the group found themselves walking the path the swarm had disappeared on. Having no choice but to answer their many questions, Y/n was recounting to them - without mentioning El or her trip to Chicago to the best of her ability - the events in the past 48 hours. It was proving a very difficult feat.
"'Get the hell out of my house', does not sound like Will. Like, at all."
"Exactly," Y/n insists. "I'm telling you, he's not himself."
"Clearly," scoffed Dustin.
"So I left. He didn't want me there, he made that clear enough."
"That still doesn't explain why you're dressed like that, or the fact that you came in, hands blazing, and fought off an army of Demogorgons,"
"It's complicated, alright?" She snapped defensively, rubbing a hand over her eyes. "I..."
The words died on her tongue, not even knowing what they were. She had no idea how or where to even begin. All she could do was choose her words carefully.
"I had to clear my head," she paused briefly when she saw the worried look in her brother's eyes, and sighed. "I had to get away, so...I did. Long story short-"
"Too late," Steve quipped.
"-I ran into some trouble. My clothes got trashed, so I got my hands on some spares, and I made my way home."
Satisfied with her careful recount of the events, she continued.
"And on my way, I-" she sighed once more. "Well, I figured out how to use my... powers."
The word still felt foreign on her tongue, still felt silly to say.
"Turns out, facing your shit helps."
"Wait, what does that mean exactly?" Max asked.
Y/n shrugged. "I was hurt, and angry, and confused. Apparently, that helps me control it."
An uneasy quiet falls over the group and she looks around to see her friends staring at her with intrigue. Even Steve stole a few glances at her hands, but she merely stuffed them in her oversized pockets.
"No," she scoffs, hiding a small smile. "You were all there at the junkyard, you already got a glimpse. Besides, I need to save my energy for those things."
Confusion flashes across her face and she looks between the four. "What about you guys? Why the hell are we fighting these things?"
Lucas looked past Y/n, gesturing to Dustin who had grown awfully quiet. "It's all thanks to Dustin, and his little 'pet'."
Y/n frowned. "You're sure that thing was Dart?"
"Yes," Dustin nods. "He had the exact same yellow pattern on his butt."
"He was tiny two days ago," Max pointed out.
"Well, he's molted three times already."
"Wait, m-malted?" Steve asks.
"Molted," Dustin corrects. "Shed his skin to make room for growth like hornworms."
"Well, when's he gonna molt again?" Max asks.
"It's gotta be soon. When he does, he'll be fully grown, or close to it. So will his friends."
Y/n grows more and more concerned by the moment. "Like, actual Demogorgan size?"
"Possibly."
"Yeah," Steve cuts in, scoffing. "and he's gonna eat a lot more than just cats."
Everyone halted immediately, Y/n's eyes grew wide and Lucas throws a hand out at Dustin.
"Wait, a cat?"
Dustin freezes, his eyes as wide as saucers they flick nervously in Y/n's direction and Lucas gives him a firm push.
"Dart ate a cat?"
Y/n steps forward, advancing slowly. "Dustin, what is he talking about?"
He scoffs nervously, shaking his head.
"No, what? No,"
"Dustin-"
"What are you talking about?" Steve asks, clearly confused. "He ate Mews."
"WHAT?"
Max looks feverishly between everyone, once more completely lost. "Mews? Who's Mews?"
"You let that thing eat our cat?!" Y/n shrieked, now stomping closer to her brother.
Max gapes, having gotten her answer.
"I knew it!" Exclaims Lucas, joining Y/n's side. "I knew it! You kept him!"
He jabs an angry finger in Dustin's chest
"No!" Dustin shot back, albeit a bit weakly. "No. No, I... No, I... He missed me. He wanted to come home."
"Bullshit!" Lucas spits.
Dustin sees the pointed looks of his friends, more importantly, the hurt in his sister's eyes and it is hit with a wave of guilt.
"I- I didn't know he was a Demogorgan, okay?" He looks to Y/n, reaching out for her. "Y/n-,"
He only manages to graze her shoulder, and he notes she is hot to the touch, proof that her powers were bubbling to the surface. She flinches, shoving his hand away and he winces at her scalding hands.
"Don't touch me," she huffs, avoiding his gaze. "You knew! You knew this whole time, and you kept him! We talked about this, Dustin! As a group. We agreed he was from the upside down-"
"He was my responsibility-"
"and you kept him and it murdered our cat! And, to top it all off you sent Mom on a wild goose chase-"
Steve groans, knowing the fight will only intensify.
But the siblings did not hear him, the fight had now turned into a screaming match.
"Like you're one to talk, you went off on some idiot side quest playing dress-up while the rest of us-"
"Excuse me?!" She turned on him, her fist bunch up at her sides and several waves of heat radiated off them. "That's some sexist hunk of bullshit! While the rest of you what, Dustin-?"
She gestures wildly around her.
"Yeah, 'the rest of us' are cleaning up your mess-!"
"Guys," Max tried. "It doesn't matter. Who cares, let's just-"
"It does matter!" Lucas retorts. "It does! You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!"
"So did you!" Dustin shot back, pointing his flashlight at Max, gesturing to her. "You told a stranger the truth!"
Max guffawed, now just as invested and just as furious. "A stranger?!"
By now, Steve contemplates whether or not to leave the herd of bickering children and continue on the path alone, seeing if they'd follow or even notice. But something in the distance catches his ear.
"Real nice, Dustin. Don't try and blame anyone else-"
He creeps forward, flashlight in hand, and aimed into the darkness of the trees. All the while, the screaming match continuing uninterrupted behind him.
"You wanted to tell her too!"
"But I didn't, Lucas, okay?" Dustin shrieks. "I didn't tell her!"
Steve hears the sound once more, the sound of distant cries - the same cries he heard at the junkyard. The swarm was close.
"We both broke the rule of law, okay? So we're even. We're even!"
"-No, no! We're not even. Don't even try that!"
"You're so not even Dustin!" Y/n fires back. "At least when he broke the rules, it didn't end with a dead cat!"
"Oh, you're never gonna let that go, are you?"
"Let it go? I just found out!"
"Jesus, is that what really matters right now?" Max shouts.
The broken party was now at war with one another. They all continue to shout at each other, besides Steve, who is now completely on edge, wary of their surroundings.
"Hey, guys?" Steve calls.
"Your dumb pet could have eaten us for dinner!"
"He wasn't gonna eat us!"
"Oh, so he was just coming to say hello?"
"GUYS!"
The children stop finally, looking up at Steve and his angered - and frightened expression. They have only seconds to question his worry until another screech echoes through the trees. Everyone pales, and Steve's spiked bat comes to rest over his shoulder as he marches off into the woods, the founding members of the party following. Leaving an exasperated new member behind; Max.
She is suddenly filled with dread, and she shakes her head along after them.
"No, no, no. Hey, guys, why are you headed towards the sound?" She asks, getting no answer. "Hello?"
She watches dumbstruck as they disappear over the small dirt hill, and into the trees.
"Hello?!"
She huffs, her head practically rolling off her shoulders and cursing herself for what she is about to do.
"Shit,"
She breaks out into a light jog, begrudgingly joining the rest of the group.
They follow the unending calls to the top of a hill, overlooking a small portion of Hawkins. Fog covers the lands, and the only other noise filling their ears are the croaks and ribbits of the marshy lands nearby.
"I don't see him," Dustin says, defeated.
A small click brings everyone's attention to Lucas as he takes out his binoculars, unfolding them. The lenses scan the town below until they stop on a darkened building Lucas recognizes all too well.
"It's the lab,"
His voice is grave, and it infects the others who all quickly dawn a similar, horrified expression.
"They were going back home."
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