July 4, 1985
Night

Ally and Dustin had tried to contact Mike with Dustin's walkie talkie, but the device suddenly cut out.

"Don't tell me it just died." Ally sighed as Dustin smacked the supercomm.

"Shit! Not now!" Dustin hissed. "Please, not now. Mike!"

"Dustin-"

"Mike!" Dustin yelled into it, the only reply being distorted audio.

Ally rolled her eyes and snatched the device.

"What was that for?!"

"It's dead, Dustin." Ally told him before pressing the button.

There was silence.

"See? Nothing."

"Wait, uh..." Dustin started searching his pockets. "I should have-"

"What are you doing?" Ally asked her friend.

"I need batteries." Dustin replied. "Ah-ha!...shit!"

"What?" Ally groaned. "You have four."

"It's not enough." Dustin told her. "Come on."

The two got up and ran back to the movie theater.

"If my walkie talkie needed more than four batteries to work, I would throw in the trash." Ally rambled.

"Unfortunately, this thing needs twice as many as I got." Dustin told her.

"You know you could have just said eight like a normal person!" Ally exclaimed.

"Shh!" Dustin shushed her as they entered the theater.

They walked over to their seats, squeezing past people and eventually sat.

"Do you have any batteries?" Dustin asked Erica. "Double A?"

"Why would I have batteries?" Erica frowned.

"I always carry batteries." Dustin scoffed at her.

"Then what's the problem?" Erica quizzed.

"He needs eight of them." Ally told her.

"Eight?" Erica raised her brow.

"I also don't have any batteries. So don't ask me." Ally admitted.

"Shit." Dustin sighed. "Guess we'll have to go to plan b."

"Plan B? What's Plan B?" Erica questioned.

Dustin scanned the theater, "Where...are they?"

"What do you mean?" Ally asked as she leaned to look towards Steve, Robin, and Brandon. "Oh shit."

€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

Steve, Brandon, and Robin had left the theater to get a drink from the water fountain. Steve was currently drinking some water while Robin and Brandon stood next to him.

"That's amazing." Steve panted before he started drinking more water.

"So, like, I wasn't totally focused in there or anything but...I'm pretty sure...that mom was trying to bang her son." Robin explained.

"Wait, wait, the hot chick was Alex P. Keaton's mom?" Steve questioned.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." Robin nodded.

"But wait, aren't they the same age?" Brandon questioned.

"No, but he went back in time." Robin said.

"Then why is it called Back To The Future?" Steve quizzed.

"He has to go back to the future because he's in the past. So, the future is actually the present, which is his time." Robin explained.

"Wait what?"

"Wh...what?"

"No, no, it's my turn. You've had enough." Robin pushed Steve away from the fountain and started taking a sip herself.

Brandon groaned, "Okay, that's enough. Let me have some." He said after a few seconds. Robin moved out the way and Brandon went to drink some water.

He drank some water for a couple of seconds before he heard Steve, "Hey, Robin, Brandon. You gotta check this out."

Brandon and Robin walked up to him and looked to see him staring at the ceiling. They looked up as well and thought it looked so pretty.

There was shining lights and everything began to get dizzy. The three turned in circles as they began to get dizzier and dizzier.

They suddenly didn't feel right and felt sick to their stomachs. They all put their hands over their stomachs. The three quickly ran towards the bathroom, where they began to throw up in the toilets.

€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

Back in the supermarket, El was searching for Dustin and Ally. The girl had blood running down her nose and American flag bandanna was around her eyes.

Lucas held a new coke in his hands and the boy pulled the metal can's tab and it opened, making a fizzing noise.

"Quiet." Max hissed.

"Oh, sorry." Lucas apologized before taking a loud sip.

Mike grimaced as he drank it, "How do you even drink that?"

"Because it's delicious." Lucas told him.

"What?" Mike, Max, and Beth asked him in disbelief.

"It's like Carpenter's The Thing. The original is a classic, no question about it." Lucas explained. "But the remake-" He took a sip and sighed in satisfaction. "sweeter, bolder...better."

"You're insane." Mike shook his head at him.

"So, you prefer the original thing?" Lucas quizzed.

"What?" Mike exclaimed. "No, I'm no talking about The Thing, I'm talking about new coke."

"It's the same concept, dude." Lucas told him.

"Uh, actually, it's not the same concept."

"It is the same concept."

"No, it's not."

"Yes it is." Lucas yelled.

"It's Coke! It tastes the goddamn same!" Beth groaned.

Eleven yanked the bandanna off her face, "Hey!"

"Sorry."

"Sorry." Mike apologized. "Did you...find him?"

"The mall." El replied.

"Starcourt?" Max asked.

"Movies." El nodded.

"The movies?" Lucas asked as he pushed the cart full of fireworks. "They're so freaked out about the gate, they decide to go watch a movie? Yeah, makes total sense."

"You're positive Dustin said gate and not great?" Max questioned.

"Exactly. Like, this movie I'm watching is great." Beth agreed with Max.

"It sounded like gate." El shrugged.

"Which would explain how the Mind Flayer's still alive." Mike added.

"Yeah, we just have to shut it again." Nancy said.

"Then the monster dies." Will finished.

"But if not, we always have Lucas' fireworks." Max mocked as she helped push the cart out the door.

"Keep mocking my plan, Max." Lucas glared at her. "Keep mocking it. I wanna hear you say it again, because you keep doubting me. You keep doubting me!"

"Ridiculous."

"Will?"

"We're gonna prove 'em wrong, right?"

"I think it's a cool plan, Lucas." Beth smiled at him.

"Thank you! Someone appreciates my brilliant plan!" Lucas exclaimed for Max to hear. Beth rolled her eyes playfully as they walked out the store.

€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

The three had stop throwing up a long time ago. Brandon felt his head pounding and heard it so loudly in his ear. He couldn't believe how he loopy he was and how weird he was while he was drugged. He felt weird. Super weird.

Steve was in the stall next to him and Robin was on the right of Steve. Brandon looked up at ceiling and saw it wasn't spinning anymore. He let out a sigh of relief as he leaned against the stall door.

"The ceiling stopped spinning for me." Robin whispered to the boys. "Is it still spinning for you two?"

"No." Brandon said.

"Holy shit." Steve replied. "No. You think we puked it all up?"

"Maybe. Ask me something." Robin said. "Interrogate me." She said in a Russian accent.

Steve chuckled, "Okay. Interrogate you. Sure."

"Um...when was the last time you, uh, peed your pants?" Steve asked her.

"Today." She admitted.

"What?"

"When the Russian doctor took out the bone saw." Robin laughed.

"Oh my God." Steve laughed.

"It was just a little bit, though." She laughed.

"Yeah, it's definitely still in our system." They both laughed.

"What about you Brandon?" Steve questioned the boy.

"What?" Brandon asked.

"The question I asked."

"Oh, um...I don't know. I think it was about a week ago. Beth said something about our grandma's weird clothing styles, and it was super funny." Brandon explained making the two others laugh.

"Oh...all right, my turn." Robin stopped laughing.

"Okay. Hit me." Steve said.

"Have you two...ever been in love?" She asked.

Brandon sighed and replied, "Uh...yeah. Before I left Florida. I had a girlfriend and I really loved her a lot. But I kinda had a little too much to drink at a party, and kinda told her I didn't love her. She got super pissed and broke up with me. I never dated anyone since after that."

"Damn. Sorry dude. That must have been tough." Steve sighed.

"Yeah."

"Okay, Steve. What about you?"

"Nancy Wheeler. First semester, senior year." Steve imitated a gunshot and chuckled.

"I remember that. You were head over heels for her." Brandon laughed.

"Oh, my God. She's such a priss." Robin replied.

"Hm. Turns out, not really."

Robin scoffed, "Are you still in love with Nancy?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I think it's because I found someone who's a little bit better for me." Steve told her.

"It's crazy." He chuckled. "Ever since Dustin got home, he's been saying, "You know, you gotta find your Suzie. You gotta find your Suzie."

"Wait, who's Suzie?" Robin asked.

"Dustin's girlfriend from camp." Brandon replied.

"But that's not-that's not really the point. That doesn't matter. The point is, this girl, you know, the one that I like, it's somebody that I...didn't even talk to in school. And I don't even know why. Maybe 'cause Tommy H. would've made fun of me or...I wouldn't be...prom king." Steve explained, making Brandon sigh and form tears in his eyes.

"It's stupid. I mean, Dustin's right, it's all just a bunch of bullshit anyway. Because when I think about it, I should've been hanging out with this girl the whole time. First of all, she's hilarious. She's so funny. I feel like, this summer, I have laughed harder than I have laughed...in a really long time. And she's smart...way smarter than me. You know, she can crack, like top secret Russian codes and...you know? She's honestly unlike anyone, I've ever met before." Steve explained and Brandon felt like he was going to cry.

The truth was Brandon liked Steve Harrington. And not as a friend. He tried to tell himself it was nothing but the truth was, he couldn't fake it. He liked Steve. He really did, but Steve didn't like him back. He knew it.

"Robin? Brandon?" Steve questioned. "Did you both just OD in there?"

"No." Robin sighed. "I...am still alive."

"I'm okay." Brandon sniffed, wiping away his tears. He got up and pushed open the stall door before walking over to Robin's and sitting down next to her. Steve suddenly slid under the wall between the stalls sitting across from Robin and Brandon.

"That's disgusting. You could've just walked over here, like I did." Brandon gave him a look.

"Yeah, well, I already got a bunch of blood and puke on my shirt, so..." Steve said. "What do you think?" He turned to Robin.

"About?" She questioned.

"This girl."

"She sounds awesome."

"Super cool." Brandon sighed.

"She is awesome. And what about the guy?" Steve asked.

"I think he's on drugs, and he's not thinking straight." Robin told him.

"Really?" Steve quizzed. "Cause I think he's thinking a lot more clearly than usual."

"He's not."

"Look...he doesn't even know this girl." Robin admitted.

"And if he did know her, like-like really know her, I don't think he'd even want to be her friend."

"No that's not true. No way is that true." Steve argued.

"Listen to me, Steve. It's shocked me to my core, but I like you. I really like you. But I'm not like your other friends." Robin admitted. "And I'm not like Nancy Wheeler."

Brandon zoned out on their whole conversation but what he did get was that Robin didn't like Steve. She liked a girl named Tammy Thompson. But Tammy liked Steve and Robin was jealous. Brandon then realized what Robin was trying to say. She liked girls.

Steve quickly realized this and felt super embarrassed and confused. Brandon then zoned back in to hear Steve talk.

"I mean, yeah. Tammy Thompson, you know, she's cute and all but...I mean, she's a total dud." Steve said.

"No she's not." Robin argued.

"Yes, she is. She wants to be, like a singer. She wants to move to, like Nashville and shit." Steve explained.

"She has dreams."

"She can't even hold a tune. She's practically tone-deaf. Have you heard her?" Steve asked.

Robin laughed. "All the time." Steve said.

"She kinda sounds bad, Robbie." Brandon spoke up and Robin playfully rolled her eyes.

"You can see me now tonight." Steve mocked Tammy's singing.

"Shut up." Robin laughed.

"You see me.."

"She does not sound like that." Robin disagreed.

"She sounds exactly-" Steve retorted back. "That's a great impression of her."

"She does not."

"You sound like a Muppet, dude. Like, Kermit the Frog." Brandon admitted.

"She sounds like a Muppet. She sounds like a Muppet giving birth." Steve replied making the two others laugh.

"And if you could hold me tight..." Steve began singing again.

"We'll be holding on forever!" Robin and Brandon joined in.

"Exactly!"

"I know!"

The three started to burst out in laughter when suddenly the door flew open. Dustin, Ally, and Erica entered the room to see the three.

"Okay. What the hell?" Dustin questioned.

The three just looked at each other and started laughing again.

€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

Dustin, Ally, and Erica found the three now sobered adults in the bathroom. They scolded them and pulled them to the door.

At the door, they saw people exiting the door, showing that the movie ended.

"And...blend." Dustin ordered.

The group stepped out of the bathroom and began to walk with the other people.

"It is so good!"

"Well, shit, that worked." Erica told Dustin.

"Course it worked. We just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes, and home sweet home, here we come." Dustin explained.

"Uh, Dustin."

"What?"

"Yeah, we might not wanna go to your house." Steve mumbled.

"Why?"

"Well, I might've told them your full name." Steve admitted.

"What is wrong with you?!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Dude, I was drugged."

"So?"

"So?"

"So, you resist. You tough it out. You tough it out like a man." Dustin told him.

"Oh yeah, it's easy for you to say." Steve scoffed.

"Well, what about my house? We can go to mine. I'm sure my parents won't mind." Ally suggested.

"Uh...yeah...no...that's...that's not a good idea." Brandon muttered but Ally heard him. She furrowed her brows and looked at him.

"Why not?" She questioned.

"I may or may have not had mention you too, and kinda said you were friends with my sister." Brandon admitted and Ally widened her eyes. "But I didn't say Beth's name!"

"But you said mine!" Ally shouted. "God, I swear."

"Hey, I was loopy on that shit they gave us." Brandon put this hands up in defense, as Ally scoffed.

"Guys?"

They all stopped walking when they saw a Russian guard talking to a civilian, asking if they knew the six.

"Abort."

The guard glanced over making eye contact.

"Abort!" Dustin ordered. "Abort."

The group began to run away, as the Russians chased after them.

"Shit."

They came to a stop when they saw the escalator they stood in front of was closed.

"Okay." Robin quickly slid first down the middle of the two escalators.

"Come on, come on, let's go, let's go." Steve ushered everyone down.

€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

The Russians made their way to the lower level where the Scoops Troop was hidden. They were behind a counter. The Russians communicated with each other in Russian and searched the ground floor.

The six were holding their breaths from where they were, trying not to be found. Steve had accidentally moved his sneaker, making it squeak.

Brandon elbowed him lightly in the side, hoping they weren't just caught.

Loud footsteps were heard from the guards, as they stood in front of the counter, holding out their guns to shoot.

When they reached them, the display car from behind them started blaring loudly and the lights began to blink. The Russians quickly turned towards the sound and aimed at the car.

The car then was thrown towards the guards as they collapsed on the ground. Up on the balcony, Eleven and the others appeared.

Ally, Brandon, Steve, Erica, Robin, and Dustin peered from behind the counter and stood up. They saw the car and the now dead Russians. Then they looked up at the upper level to see their friends.

They all jumped over the counter and ran towards them. The others reached the stairs went down, going over to their friends.

Eleven and Mike walked over with Eleven limping, as Dustin ran towards them.

He laughed before embracing Eleven, "You flung that thing like a hot wheel!"

Erica suddenly noticed her older brother, "Lucas?"

"What are you doing here?" Lucas shot back at her.

"Ask them." Erica pointed to the three older teens. "It's their fault."

"True. Yeah. Totally true." Steve nodded. "It's absolutely our fault."

"All our fault." Brandon spoke up and Beth noticed that he had a bruised cheek, and she widened her eyes.

She walked towards him, "Holy shit! What happened to you? Are you okay?" Beth then jumped into his arms as they hugged each other super tight, glad the other was alright. Brandon let go and grabbed Beth's face making sure she wasn't injured. He sighed in relief when he saw nothing, "Don't worry about me. I'm okay. It's just a small bruise. Are you okay?" Brandon asked and Beth nodded.

Beth then spotted her best friend. "Ally! Oh thank god you're okay!" She pulled the girl into a hug which Ally returned. Beth pulled away and noticed the bruise and gash on her forehead.

"Holy shit! Your head! You okay?" Beth asked and Ally nodded. "I'm fine, I just hit my head and had two concussions but don't worry I'm okay!" Ally answered making Beth widened her eyes but then nod.

"I don't understand what happened to that car." Robin spoke and pointed to the car.

"El has superpowers." Dustin told her.

"I'm sorry?"

"Superpowers." Steve repeated. "She threw it with her mind. C'mon, catch up."

"Yeah, Robbie. It's very simple." Brandon crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's El?" Erica pointed to the girl limping with a bloody nose.

"Who's El?" Robin questioned.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Nancy asked.

"I'm Robin." She introduced herself. "I work with Steve and Brandon."

"She cracked the top secret code." Dustin said.

"Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians in the first place." Steve added.

"Russians? What Russians?" Jonathan questioned.

"The Russians!" Steve yelled, pointing to the car.

"The ones El just trampled with the car!" Ally exclaimed.

"Those were Russians?" Max furrowed her brows.

"Some of them." Erica shrugged.

"What do you mean some of them? There's more?" Beth exclaimed.

"Way more." Her brother replied.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas furrowed his eyebrows confused.

"Didn't you hear our code red?" Dustin turned to Mike and El.

"Yeah." Mike answered. "But I couldn't understand half of what you were saying."

"Goddam low battery." Dustin sighed.

"How many times do I have to tell you with the low battery?" Steve snapped.

"Exactly!" Ally agreed.

"Well, everything worked out, didn't it Steve?" Dustin smiled.

"Worked at?" Erica scoffed at him, "We almost died."

"Yeah, but we didn't, did we?" Dustin asked.

"It was pretty damn close." Steve reminded as Brandon went to stand by his side.

"Okay, Russians? As, in they're working for the Russian government?"

"What is it you're not comprehending?"

El walked from the group as she started panting. Their voices turning into echoes.

"Am I not speaking English? We have a full blown red dawn situation."

"So this has nothing to do with the gate?"

"It has everything to do with the gate!"

El's head started to pound as she started hearing a ringing, and she covered her ears. She then fell to the ground with a thud feeling pain in her leg again.

"Woah, woah, woah."

"Eleven?" Ally ran to the girl and crouched down.

"El!" Mike fell to her other side.

"El?"

"Hey? Are you okay?"

"What's wrong with her?"

"What's wrong?" Mike asked her.

"My leg." She panted. "My leg."

"Her leg, her leg. Okay."

Mike pulled up the bottom of her pant leg and pulled it up to reveal her wound.

"Get that off."

"Okay."

They pulled off the bandages to see a massive bump on her leg.

Everyone began to gag and groan in disgust.

"What the fu-"

"Jesus."

"Holy shit."

"Oh my God."

El started to squirm and groan as something in her leg began to move.

"El! El!"

"El! El! Are you okay?"

"El?!"

"El? El?"

Instead of responding, El let out an blood curling scream.

Another chapter has been finished!! Holy shit this took me forever!! I made it extra long to add the bathroom scene and man did that take forever!! But, what did y'all think of that?....Brandon likes Steve!! All of you had been shipping him and Steve since season 2 and I'm happy you guys liked their relationship so much!! However, they're not together yet unfortunately but they will be soon...maybe.....

But Strandon has officially set sail!!

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this long chapter and I hope you have a good day!!

Love you all!!

-Mary💗