0 0 1 ━ [ 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 ]

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟺𝟽: 𝙶𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚜

Eventually Eleven stirred and One let out a huge sigh of relief, but she knew it wasn't over yet. It wasn't clear to One yet whether the electricity had actually canceled out James' control over Eleven and either way she still needed to get Eleven out from underneath his grasp. "Eleven!" One called over the deafening winds in an attempt to attract her sister's attention.

Eleven looked over to One and a huge smile broke across her face. "Sarah!" she shouted back.

One couldn't help but smile herself because now she knew that James was no longer controlling Eleven. "El, get out of there!" One instructed Eleven as she aggressively pointed up at James' still-frozen limb.

Eleven noticed the threat just in time to jump out of the way as the tentacle came slamming down. One used the last of her remaining energy to crawl towards the spot where Eleven landed. She could feel the blood soaking through her jeans as the rough pavement scratched up her knees but she didn't care, she needed to get to her sister.

"El!" One called out again as she finally closed the distance between the two. She latched onto the hand that Eleven extended towards her and held on tight. A single tear formed in the corner of her eye that matched the one in Eleven's and a collective smile appeared on both their faces.

"Can you open a portal to get us out of here?" Eleven asked after their moment of joy had passed.

One nodded her head and tried to focus but her concentration was broken by a rushing sound above her head and she looked up to see another one of James' limbs coming down towards them. One was able to push Eleven out of the way but it didn't allow her any time to save herself. She was just barely able to hear Eleven's scream over the deafening wind as the living cyclone pressed down upon her.

One braced herself for the impact, for the crushing blow that would use her body like a cookie cutter in the pavement, but it never came. Was this part of the merging that James had been talking about? Or was she already dead?

When she had calmed down enough to feel warm breaths leaving her nose and a beating rhythm in her chest, she concluded that somehow, she was still alive and still her. One peeled open her eyes that she had instinctively clenched shut to see what miracle had saved her.

With a bright red river of blood flowing down half of her face and brows furrowed so tightly they threatened to tear her features in two, was One's savior. Eleven.

Eleven held a strong stance with both arms extended over One. A silent scream escaped her open mouth and One's own mouth mimicked Eleven's expression as she looked up to find James' limb fighting against an invisible force that was slowly pushing it away from them.

"You won't be able to hold this forever!" James seethed. His message was for Eleven but One could hear it in her mind too.

"Leave. My. Sister. Alone!" Eleven yelled between heavy breaths. It was evident that this was quickly draining her and One knew she had to act fast.

One rolled out from under the shadow of James' tentacle to rush to Eleven's aid. The wind had died down enough for her to get to her feet, but it was still a battle to move them.

"I've had enough of this," James growled. "I only need one of you."

With this, two of James' other limbs ripped through the sky and came barreling towards Eleven like missiles locked on target. Eleven was defenseless to stop them because her powers were focused on stopping the one above her from crushing them both, but there was somebody else who could. Right before the appendages could make impact with Eleven, a portal opened up on either side of her like whirling shields. The two limbs entered the voids and were immediately severed when the portals closed upon them. The Mind Flayer reeled backwards in shock and a terrible noise echoed within One's and Eleven's minds as James screamed in pain.

"Come on, let's go!" Eleven shouted, grabbing One's hand to pull her along while James was distracted.

One turned to leave with Eleven when she stopped to look back at James. He was still stumbling around, trying to regain balance from the sudden loss of two of his limbs, but the limbs were growing back quickly and it'd only be a matter of time before he was at full strength again. Snippets of what he had said about killing and taking over dimensions ran through One's mind. Even if she escaped, she knew that he wouldn't stop. Unless somebody stopped him first.

One sighed a deep breath and looked back at Eleven with watery eyes. "I can't," she said.

"What? Why not?" Eleven asked in disbelief. The ground trembled beneath their feet as the Mind Flayer stomped about angrily, knocking over buildings and power lines.

"Somebody has to stop him," One explained. "Permanently."

Eleven turned to face One and took both of her hands in her own. She looked into the eyes of her big sister with a trusting smile and wiped away a tear that had escaped down One's cheek. The two girls stared at each other for a moment before Eleven broke the silence that had seemingly enveloped them despite all the chaos happening around them.

"Then we do it together."

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