Everyone lowered their weapons as their eyes laid on the girl in front of them, Olivia's jaw dropped. Mike walked up to the girl slowly with tears in his eyes, Olivia noticing that it had been the first time he smiled that day.
"Eleven." Mike muttered, the two quickly walking up to each other as they breathed shakily.
"Mike." El gasped as she hugged the boy, tears now in both of their eyes. Olivia watched the interaction, complete shock washed over her as she stared at the girl in front of her, not actually believing that she was alive.
"I never gave up on you." Mike muttered, pulling away from the hug with tears. "I called you every night. Every night for-"
"353 days." El finished with a smile, Mike's smile immediatly falling. "I heard."
"Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?" He questioned, looking down at her outfit. Everyone's heads turned as Hopper spoke.
"Because I wouldn't let her." Hopper confessed, Mike's mouth opening in shock. "The hell is this? Where you been?"
"Where have you been?" El retorted, everyone watching in confusion as the two hugged, Hopper running has hand along El's back as they closed their eyes.
"You've been hiding her." Mike realized before shoving Hopper's back. "You've been hiding her this whole time!"
"Hey!" Hopper shouted. "Let's talk. Alone." Hopper muttered before Mike stormed off in anger, his face turning red. Olivia finally closed her jaw as she watched Hopper follow Mike, El quickly running to Olivia. The older girl laughed as Eleven attacked her with a hug, squeezing her tight. Everyone watched the interaction, Steve looking down at them with a smile.
When Olivia pulled away, she frowned. "You're hair." She smiled, looking at the long hair Eleven had, remembing her with a buzz cut. "And your outfit."
El laughed, looking down at her clothes.
"It's cute." Olivia nodded, El nodding too.
"Bitchin'." Olivia's eyes widened as she reluctantly nodded, not really understanding how she had learned that, but she smiled away.
"Mmm. Bitchin'." Olivia muttered unsurely before the younger girl moved over to Lucas and Dustin, giving them both hugs.
"We missed you." Lucas muttered with a smile.
"I missed you, too." El replied with a smile.
"We talked about you pretty much every day." Dustin told her as they pulled away from the hug. El suddenly drew her brows together before moving her hand to Dustin's mouth, the boy pulling away in confusion.
"Teeth."
"What?" Dustin muttered in confusion.
"You have teeth." Dustin quickly beamed, nodding to Eleven.
"Oh. You like these pearls?" Suddenly, Dustin purred, Olivia and Steve sharing a worried look before the girl laughed, shaking her head. El flinched slightly at the interaction before Lucas shook his head with squinted eyes.
"Eleven?" Max muttered softly, walking up to El with her hand out. "Hey. Um, I'm Max. I've heard a lot about you." She smiled, although when El completely ignored her, walking past and making her way to Joyce, everyone's smiles fell, especially Max's.
After Eleven had gone to see Will, she had returned to find herself looking down at the paper which said, 'Close gate.' She frowned, looking down at the paper in confusion. "You opened this gate before, right?" Joyce questioned.
"Yes." She whispered, everyone going into the kitchen to see what El and Joyce had been speaking about.
"Do you think if we got you back there, that you could close it?" Joyce questioned, which Eleven once again responded with a 'yes'.
***
"It's not like it was before. It's grown." Hopper told the group, everyone standing or sitting around the table. Olivia was sitting in between Max and Lucas, Steve behind her with his hand on her back. "A lot. And, I mean, that's considering we can get it there. The place is crawling with those dogs."
"Demo-gods." Dustin corrected, turning to look at Hopper. The room fell silent as everyone looked at the annoyed Chief of Police.
"I'm sorry, what?" He question in disbelief after sighing.
"I said, uh, Demo-dogs." Dustin said flatly. "Like Demogorgon and dogs." Olivia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You put them together, it sounds pretty badass-"
"How is this important right now?" Hopper cut in aggressively, everyone watching awkwardly.
"It's not. I'm sorry." Dustin concluded, turning back around torwards the table with his head hanging low and his lips pursed.
"I can do it." El cut in, looking up at the man hopefully, which Olivia found sweet how he became a fatherly figure to her during the past year, but still confused how nobody knew. Everyone's eyes trailed over to Eleven, who was looking at Hopper with a side eye.
"You're not hearing me." Hopper shook his head, already making a decision.
"I'm hearing you. I can do it." She reassured him, everyone looking over at Hopper's hopeless expression.
"Even if El can, there's still another problem." Mike muttered. "If the brain dies, the body dies."
"I thought that was the whole point." Max questioned, her brows furrowed in confusion as she turned to Mike.
"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 a part of that army." Lucas and Olivia spoke in unison, the two looking at one other as they spoke the same words.
"Closing the gate will kill him." Mike finished. Everyone's faces fell in worry, now proposing another essensial question. How do they stop it without killing Will? Olivia sighed, looking down at the table in sadness, Steve rubbing small figures on her back in hopes to comfort her.
They all watched as Joyce got up from her seat, walking down the hall. Everyone shared reluctant glares before running after her to see her walking in Will's room. He was laying on the bed, his arms and legs straight out while his head was straight up. Olivia's heart ached to see someone she loved so much to be hurting inside, and she wished she could so something.
"He likes it cold." Joyce muttered, facing the open window. Olivia's brows drew together in confusion as Hopper questioned what everyone was wondering.
"What?" Hopper questioned.
"It's what Will kept saying to me. He likes it cold." Joyce muttered before quickly scurring over to the window, slamming it shut and locking it. "We keep giving it what it wants." She said angrily.
"If this is a virus, and Will's the host, then..." Nancy started.
"Then we need to make the host uninhabitable." Jonathan finished, sitting on the floor next to Will.
"So if he likes it cold..." Olivia started. "Then there's no other choice..."
"We need to burn it out of him." Joyce finished with a facial expression forming in worry. Olivia looked up at her, knowing it was just the sad truth and it was the only way to keep the mind flayer from controlling Will and having a hold on him.
"We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time." Mike mentioned, matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, somewhere far away." Dustin agreed.
Hopper thought to himself for a while before leaning off of the wall and crossing his arms. Everyone turned to him at his sudden change in demeanor before he finally spoke up. "I know a place."
***
Jonathan walked outside first, Hopper right behind him as he carried Will to the car. He gave Jonathan directions of the place he had been thinking of, Joyce following after the two. A few minutes later, Olivia follwed Mike and the boys outside as Mike held El.
"Just be careful, okay? I can't lose you again." He muttered, a hopeful tone in his voice.
"You won't lose me." The girl shook her head, looking Mike in the eyes longingly. Olivia's expression softened as she watched tears form in the Wheeler boy's eyes, her heart hurting for him. She knew how broken he was when he thought he lost her, and now having her back only to possibly lose her again was a risk for everyone.
"Do you promise?" He questioned as tears fell down his cheeks.
"Promise." El nodded, looking up in his eyes. Just as El began leaning forward torwards Mike's lips, Hopper called out for her.
"El... Come on, let's go. It's time." Hopper muttered flatly. Just as Hopper and El began getting in the car, Olivia ran up to the much taller man, wrapping her arms around his torso. He smiled softly in shock before wrapping his arms around hers, closing his eyes.
"We're gonna be okay, kid. You stay here with the rest of these little shits." Olivia laughed, small tears in her eyes as she hugged the man that was much better at being a maternal figure than her own father.
Olivia went around the car, quickly giving Eleven a hug, who had tears in her eyes. Steve and the rest of the kids watched her as she hugged El, then shut the door for her once the girl was in the car.
Olivia stood in the drive way as the two cars drove away, watching El look out at the group. Olivia smiled to the girl, who gave her a small smile back before turning around with tears in her eyes. Olivia turned around before starting torwards the kids and Steve, the Harrington boy smiling down at her. The oldest girl put her hands on Mike and Max's shoulders. "Come on, you guys. Let's get back inside, yeah?" Mike nodded softly before turning around and walking into the house first, Olivia following after him before everyone else was on her tail.
"You okay, bud?" Olivia muttered, turning to look at Mike as the group all parted seperate ways in the house.
"I'm fine." He muttered, keeping his face away from her as he wiped his nose. She frowned, knowing that he was lying to her and knowing that he had been crying. She tilted her head before putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Don't lie. It's okay if you aren't." She told him, to which he scoffed at. "I'm serious."
"Stop. Just stop treating me like a child, like, like I'm some baby. I'm not a baby anymore!" He raised his voice as he dropped down on the couch, Olivia wanted to yell at him. But, instead, she kept calm because she knew he was angry and yelling at him wasn't going to make the situation any easier.
"The hell you aren't." She agreed with him as she sat on the couch next to him. "Mike, look at me. I'm sorry that you though I wasn't treating you fair. Why didn't you say anything?" She questioned.
"Because it doesn't matter and you wouldn't believe me." She tilted her head at his sniffled words.
"Mike, I'll always believe in you." She muttered, to which he slowly hugged her, the girl smiling softly as she held the boy, noticing the small tears that fell down his cheeks. After he had gotten up and went somewhere down the hall, Olivia got up from the couch, walking into the kitchen to see Steve shoving the lifeless demo-dog into the fridge, it's slimy body wrapped in a blanket.
Her eyes widened quickly as she crossed her arms, leaning on the door frame. She tried to hold back her laugh as he struggled, his eyes trailing over to Dustin who had just been standing behind him.
"Get the door, man." Steve grunted, having the whole body now in the fridge space. Olivia looked down at the pile of foods and racks on the floor of the kitchen, shaking her head at the un-humane sight.
They both quickly slammed the door shut, Olivia clearing her throat once they had fit the monster into the fridge. They both turned around quickly to see her smiling by the door frame, her arms crossed. Steve quickly pointed to Dustin, who scoffed at the boy. "Uh- What? It's, like, a ground-breaking discovery." Dustin shrugged, walking off as Olivia snorted a laugh, shaking her head at the curly-haired boy.
"So, that's how you spend your time now? Putting demo-dogs into refridgerators?" She questioned.
Steve shrugged, washing his hands and slinging a towel over his shoulders. Olivia walked over to the kitchen counter, watching as he put his hands on his hips while panting. "I mean, if you enjoy it, why not?" She shrugged, earning an eye roll and a smile from the boy.
"Shut up." He stressed, shaking his head as he leaned down at her, his hands snaking around her waist while he connected his lips with hers, Olivia smiling into the kiss. She moved her hand to his hair, but quickly pulled away when she heard Lucas yelling at Mike from the living room. She gave Steve a questioning glance before two two walked into the space.
"Mike, would you just stop already?" Lucas begged, Olivia and Steve walking in to see Lucas holding a broom whiile Max was on the floor with a dust pan. Mike had been pacing the room in worry.
"You weren't in there, okay, Lucas?" Mike snapped back. "That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs."
"Demo-dogs!" Dustin shouted aggravatedly at the boy as he walked into the area.
"The chief will take care of her." Lucas reassured the scared boy, who scoffed at Dustin's remark.
"Like she needs protection." Max muttered with raised brows, the two girls not getting off on a good start. Olivia sighed, watching as all of the kids looked at one another with annoyed expressions.
"Listen, dude, a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it. All right?" Steve walked up to the group, Mike opening his mouth in disbelief.
"Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game." Mike started. "And second, we're not even in the game. We're on the bench." Mike ranted, Olivia pursing her lips as she nodded, agreeing with the Wheeler boy. "I mean, he has a point." She agreed, Mike nodding matter-of-factly.
"So my point is..." Steve froze, looking around anxiously. The room fell silent as everyone looked at him, waiting for some answer to come from his mouth. "Right, yeah, we're on the bench, so, uh, there's nothing we can do." He concluded, Mike's head falling back in annoyance.
"That's not entirely true." Dustin suddenly spoke. "I mean, these Demo-dogs, they have a hive mind. When they ran away from the bus, they were called away." His words suddenly caused Olivia to remember about the huge scratch marks she had on her leg, the girl looking down with a slight grimace before shrugging it off.
"If we get their attention..." Lucas started.
"Maybe we can draw them from the lab." Max finished her thought out loud.
"Clear a path to the gate." Olivia muttered, everyone nodding to one another.
"Yeah, and then we all die." Steve cut in, his arms crossed as he looked around at the kids, his eyes them trailing to Olivia. "You're really buying into this?"
"If it means saving El, then yes." She shrugged, to which Steve scoffed.
"That's one point of view." Dustin raised his brows.
"No, that's not the point of view, man. That's a fact." Steve muttered to Dustin, Olivia watching as Mike gasped, quickly running to the kitchen and smacking his finger down on the drawing taped to the fride. "This is where the chief dug his hole. This is out way into the tunnel. So..." Mike trailed off torwards The living room again.
"Here, right here. This is like a hub." He said, standing onto the big circle of joining vines. "So you got all the tunnels feeding in here. Maybe if we set this on fire..."
"Oh, yeah? That's a no." Steve quickly interrupted, pointing at Mike with his adult glare.
"The mind flayer would call away his army." Dustin continued.
"They'd all come to stop us." Lucas stated.
"Then, we go back to the exit." Olivia added on, the group all ignoring Steve's protests from behind them as they sought out their plan.
"By the time they realize we're gone-"
"El would be at the gate." Max finished, nodding down at Mike, who was sitting at the joining circle of drawn vines.
"Hey. Hey! Hey! This is not happening." Steve clapped, everyone quickly turning to look at him, almost as if they were just now remembering his presence in the room.
"But-"
"No, no, no, no, no. No buts. We promised," Steve said, pointing to him and Olivia. "We'd keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what I plan on. We're staying here. On the bench." Steve concluded, everyone sighing as they listened to him, even Olivia. "And we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everyone understand?"
"This isn't a stupid sports game." Mike retorted.
"I said does everybody understand that? I need a yes." Steve raised his voice, Olivia rolling her eyes before holding her hands up in defense. "Yes, mom." She muttered, Steve glaring over at her with a deap panned look.
Before anyone else could protest, they all turned their heads at the sound of a car engine revving loudly. Olivia's brows furrowed in confusion before she ran to the window, everyone shortly after following her. Max ran to her side as they all sat on the couch, looking out of the window. Olivia's eyes widened as she spotted the Chevrolet Camaro standing outside with the engine revving. She sighed before cursing under her breath.
Billy.