Worlds Colliding (Stranger Things) Book Four

chapter 9 - Beginning of the End

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Same Night - Day One

Kamchatka, Russia

Night - Church - Outside

Dmitri, Nadyr, Apollo and Murray were getting the plane out of the plane shed behind the church.

Joyce brought over the fuel for the plane, so they could all fuel it up, but knowing that they could not yet leave knowing that every gun in Russia would be aimed at them.

Murray looked at Nadyr, Apollo and Dmitri. "It's perfect. Yeah, I can totally see it. You in Indiana."

"Indiana?" Nadyr repeated in amusement.

"Yeah," Murray answered. "Well, you are an Ivanov, Nadyr. And Natasha, Nadia and Niko fit in there just fine." Nadyr looked down at Apollo. Apollo frowned at Nadyr's look, not knowing what it was for, but gave a smile in return. "Apollo, I'm sure that once we find your sister Calliope, you two could fit right in too."

"Maybe," Apollo replied. "Not like we have anywhere else to go."

Nadyr shrugged in agreement.

Murray pointed to Dmitri. "Plus, you have a certain stoic--more Clint Eastwood than..."

Nadyr shook his head, walking away inside.

∰

Inside - Main Room

Joyce had gone back inside after giving the boys the plane fuel, to change her clothes from the clothes that she had been wearing on the mission.

Nadyr walked in, noticing Joyce just now finishing pulling on her shirt, turning away. "Sorry. Guess I should've knocked."

Joyce turned to face Nadyr. "It's fine. I'm done." Nadyr looked at Joyce. Joyce chuckled knowingly. "Murray talking your ear off again?"

"Yeah," Nadyr answered. "Ranting about how well Apollo and I would fit in in Hawkins with all of you, like Natasha, Nadia and Niko. Calliope too, if we find her."

"Well, I don't know much about Calliope besides meeting her one time at a dinner, but I do know you and Apollo fairly good by know," Joyce replied. "Several missions in a row and saving each other's lives constantly will do that to people." Nadyr chuckled in acknowledgment. "I think that you would definitely fit in there, Nadyr. Apollo too. And I know that since Calliope was looking for him when I did see her, that Calliope would stay wherever he did."

"Yeah," Nadyr agreed. "Apollo and Calliope just deserve a home where they feel safe and loved."

Joyce nodded in agreement. "So do you, you know." Nadyr looked at Joyce, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I know from what you've told me, before this... you said that us back in Hawkins are like a big happy family, and in some ways, we are. Since we all protect each other and fight together like family, even with all the near-death experiences and the trauma. You asked me if I would trade that for not having those people in my life."

"And you told me that you would like to think that you could live without all the danger and trauma, but still have everyone that you all know and love," Nadyr reminded her. "But that all those experiences were what bound all of you together as a family."

Joyce nodded in agreement. "And I meant that. I do wish that we don't have to deal with the danger, but I still want those people in our lives, to surround us as family."

Nadyr was thinking, tilting his head. "Right. Yeah. I understand that, given everything my family and I've had to go through."

Joyce nodded, sitting down. "All the things that you had to do and grow through. With Mikhail and the program. You never had a choice."

"No," Nadyr agreed.

"Natasha spoke about brainwashing," Joyce told him.

"Yeah," Nadyr answered. "As kids, we experience psychological conditioning. As adults, we experience chemically altering brain functions to be forced to do everything they say. There was only one gas that could break us free from the influence, and Valkov found it during a mission, freeing himself, and then me, and then Natasha. While we were taken over, we were fully conscious, but we didn't know which part is us. Was us. I'm still not sure. If Mikhail's still alive, he's going to take more. Children who don't have anyone to protect them. Just like Natasha, Valkov and I when we were small. Like Grigori tried to do to Hailey. Maybe one in 20 survives the training, becomes a weapon of mass destruction. Especially if they have to go through experiments like Natasha, Hailey and I did. The rest, they die because of wounds, or their body can't survive the process, or he kills them because they're too weak. To him, we are just things. Weapons with no face that he can just throw away. Because there is always more."

Joyce looked at him sadly in concern. "But you got out. You and your sister and niece and nephew."

"Yeah," Nadyr agreed. "We got out. And we had to split up to stay safe and hidden all these years. That, and they thought I was dead. At least Natasha, Nadia and Niko, they finally found a home, a place to stay. They got to have you and Hopper, and all those kids as their best friends. Even when they were in constant, never ending danger, they weren't alone anymore."

"And you?" Joyce asked. "Are you in constant danger, Nadyr?"

Nadyr scoffed a laugh. "No. No, uh, not anymore. My life is boring compared to all of yours. I haven't had to deal with anything in years."

"But you..." Joyce trailed off. "You're alone?"

Nadyr nodded barely, sighing. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm alone. And you know the strangest part? I would trade in an instant."

"Trade what?" Joyce asked.

"My life's been so uneventful and downright safe even if I've been in hiding, for so long," Nadyr admitted. "But I was alone. And I would trade safety and security for danger and near deaths if it meant that I got to be with my family again. That I got to have what they have now with all of you."

Joyce took all this in, smiling softly. "So you don't have to be alone anymore."

"Yeah," Nadyr answered. "I know it's stupid."

Joyce shook her head. "No, it's not. It's not stupid." They both had a soft smile as their eyes met. "So does that mean that you want to go back with us to Hawkins, for good?"

"Yeah," Nadyr answered. "I think I do."

Joyce smiled. "So, what did you do, if you weren't being a super spy anymore?"

Nadyr laughed lightly. "I was renovating fucking houses."

Joyce smiled. "Is that right?"

"Yeah," Nadyr answered. "Whenever I had to move on to stay on the low, I would get different jobs, under different aliases, to be safe still be able to afford a place to live and food to eat. I've been a construction worker, a science teacher. Couldn't do much on the phones though, for obvious reasons."

"Right, yeah," Joyce agreed.

"But I'd give it all up," Nadyr admitted. "To be a family with Natasha, Nadia and Niko again. For a life like theirs. To be a part of Apollo and Calliope's lives. Apart of yours."

Joyce nodded in understanding, smiling at the last part. "I'd like that."

Nadyr smirked a slight smile. "Would you?"

"Yeah, I would," Joyce answered.

They smiled slightly at each other.

∰

Back Room

Natasha and Hopper were waiting by the phone.

Natasha took out clothes for them to change into. "You should be lucky that I thought to pack a change of clothes for the both of us." Hopper chuckled lightly. "I've been in this for a minute and am already dying to get out of these clothes, so I can only imagine how you're feeling."

Hopper nodded. "Pretty sure you don't need to do much imagining with being in prison yourself for the past year."

"True," Natasha agreed, tilting her head, nodding.

Hopper looked at the clothes that Natasha brought for him. "How exactly did you know that I would've lost so much weight?"

"I know how that kind of prison works," Natasha answered.

Hopper clicked his tongue, smirking a bit in amusement. "Right."

The two exchanged a long look.

Natasha pointed to one side of the room. "I'll go over here."

"Okay," Hopper agreed.

Natasha and Hopper walked to opposite sides of the room so that they could change, pulling off their jackets and shirts and jeans, changing into the new clothing. Both of them were wounded and healing from everything they had gone through for the past year, glancing back at each other a couple times, yearning, longing.

Hopper found some bandage gauze, wrapping it around his arm, which was wounded from the Demogorgon's claws.

Natasha walked toward Hopper, looking over his wounds on his shirtless form. "Jim..." Hopper turned toward Natasha. Natasha was not even surprised by the state of his wounds and bruises, but looked furious, protective, as she always was. Hopper glanced down, knowing the anger she must have felt after seeing this, how protective she was over the ones she loved. "I could kill them all again just for this."

Hopper chuckled barely. "Yeah. I know. I think once was enough, Natasha."

Natasha shook her head. "Not nearly."

"You know, it's not that bad," Hopper told her. "You know, I needed to lose weight anyway. It's actually given me time to think, you know? About who I've been and... and what I've done."

"You wouldn't be the only one," Natasha admitted.

Natasha and Hopper looked each other in the eyes with pure understanding, carrying a lot of their demons with them, healing from them, learning, making an effort to right the wrongs of their pasts.

Hopper noticed the wound in Natasha's shoulder. "Come here."

Natasha stepped closer, so that Hopper could wrap the gauze wound Natasha's shoulder gunshot wound. The two couldn't keep their eyes off the other's.

"It's impressive you can even look me in the eye after I told you everything," Natasha whispered. "About Mikhail, Sabina, Nazary... all that I've done."

"I've done a lot of bad in my life, too, Nat," Hopper told her. "And I've been trying to make up for it. Hell, I even thought that I was a curse ruining everything and everyone around me."

"You're not," Natasha told him. "Not by a long shot."

Hopper shook his head. "Doesn't change the fact that I felt like I was. After everything that happened. Like Nadyr said earlier. You've changed. You've turned into a hero. To me, to El, Nadia and Niko. To all the kids back home. To all of us."

Natasha managed a small smile. "Three years ago, knowing everything that you know now, would you choose to still let me become your partner? And everything that followed from here to now?"

"I chose to become partners with you to help everyone back home," Hopper pointed out. "And I would choose it again, even knowing everything that I know. I would."

Natasha chuckled. "I'm glad to hear that. Because, you know, we do still have that date to get to. Remember?"

Hopper laughed. "Remember? I've been dreaming about it."

Natasha smiled. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," Hopper answered. "I have it all planned out."

Natasha was pleased to hear this, tilting her head curiously, the small smile still on her lips. "Pray tell."

Hopper held up two fingers. "I'm getting two orders of bread sticks. Two. Those things knock your socks off. Enzo puts some spice on 'em. I don't know what it is, but it's good. And you dip it in olive oil? Forget about it. And, uh, I'm wavering on the main course between the veal and the lasagna. But I think I gotta go with lasagna, right?"

Natasha chuckled. "We've been in prison for a year, on diets of watery soups, moldy bread and maggots, so I think we gotta get both."

Hopper smiled. "Both. Yes, that's perfect. You get it."

Natasha and Hopper laughed.

"Yeah, well, I've been dreaming about a nice meal for a while too," Natasha replied. "But I've also been dreaming about other things."

Hopper looked at Natasha knowingly, smirking slightly at how bold and smooth that was. "Really?" Natasha nodded. "Mm. Can't imagine what else you could've been dreaming about."

"Take a wild guess," Natasha replied.

Hopper smiled slightly. "In that case, should I have been dreaming about something else?"

Natasha shrugged slyly. "You tell me."

"Well, wine's good," Hopper told her.

Natasha nodded. "Wine's good."

"I was thinking about a nice 'Cheeanti'," Hopper admitted.

"Chianti," Natasha corrected.

"Chianti, right," Hopper agreed. "Then there's dessert."

"You gotta have dessert," Natasha agreed.

Hopper nodded. "Gotta have dessert."

Natasha bit her lip, raising her gaze to meet his. "And after that?"

Hopper stepped closer, eyes never leaving hers. "I don't know."

Natasha leaned in a bit. "Use your imagination."

"Who needs imagination?" Hopper asked.

Finally, unable to resist any longer, Natasha and Hopper closed the distance with a sweet, passionate, tender kiss, as Hopper wrapped his arms around her waist, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They continued to make out feverishly. Natasha turned them around to back Hopper against a crate, both exclaiming slightly, laughing, holding each other close as they kissed.

The phone nearby rang, ruining the moment, making Hopper and Natasha pull away and turn their heads toward the phone with groans of annoyance.

"Fuck," Natasha complained, letting go of Hopper as he let go of her.

"Damn it," Hopper complained, walking toward the phone, knowing he would be the least likely to be recognized and traced on the phone out of the two of them.

"Remember, they're listening," Natasha told him.

Hopper picked up the phone.

∰

Hawkins, Indiana

Woods

Steve, Dustin, Robin and Eddie got out of Hailey's car, parked in the woods nearby the trailer park.

Nancy, Will, Calliope and Mike were in the armored car next to them.

Steve, Dustin, Robin and Eddie headed toward Eddie's trailer.

∰

The Upside Down - Woods

Hailey, Nadia and Niko walked through the woods until they reached next to the trailer park, stopping right where the others had left the cars.

"You think this is the spot?" Niko asked.

Hailey could sense the others through the barrier of realities, eyes and gem flashing red. "This is it. I can sense them."

Nadia nodded to her. "Go for it."

Hailey stood calmly but nervously, holding out either hand to her side, letting the sclera of her eyes turn black, irises glowing red, as her red aura started to appear and glow around her, swirling, as she had to let it be as chaotic as it could be, letting the glowing aura cycle around her like a tornado, letting her dark urges take over as she let her power burst out of her, releasing a feral scream sounding like a mix of a scream and screech, head tilted back and arms down at her sides as her aura of red glowing energy exploded out of her, all around, coming from her hands and her chest, tornadoing all around as it shot out at the air in front of her, lashing out at the air, ripping a hole through time and space to make a portal in the shape of a star to Hawkins, tearing it open with a violent flash of glowing red light.

Nadia and Niko watched her worriedly but awed by what she was learning to do with her own power.

As Hailey let her powers fade and stumbled back slightly, Nadia and Niko reached out to steady Hailey by the arms, holding her steady.

The armored car drove through the portal, joining them in the Upside Down.

Nadia, Hailey and Niko sighed in relief to see that it worked.

Hailey turned to the Gate once the armored car was through and used her powers to close it with a burst of red glowing aura.

∰

Eddie's Trailer (both sides of the Gate)

In Hawkins, Steve, Dustin, Robin and Eddie ran up to the trailer, inside, turning on the light, looking at the sheet in front of them, hanging from the ceiling through the Gate, making sure that it was still good to go through.

Dustin looked at Steve. "Be careful."

"Thanks, buddy," Steve replied, grabbing onto the sheet. "Here goes nothing."

Steve started to climb up the rope sheet, which held perfectly still despite nothing really holding it up.

When Steve passed through the Gate and into the Upside Down, he was suddenly hanging upside down despite going the same way as he had when climbing up. After moment, he flipped down from the rope, and landed on his feet, looking around, then looking up through the Gate toward Dustin, Robin and Eddie with a smile.

Robin muttered sarcastically. "Whoa. What does he want us to do, applaud?"

Steve moved Eddie's bed into the living room of the UPSD version of the trailer, putting it down as the landing pad for the others. "All right, let's go." Next one through was Robin, as she fell down onto the landing bed. Steve offered Robin a hand. "Gotcha."

Robin took Steve's hand, letting him help her up, getting out of the way.

Dustin and Eddie tossed their bags and nail trash can lids through, which Robin and Steve moved out of the way.

Next one through was Eddie, as he fell down onto the landing bed. Steve offered Eddie a hand, which Eddie took, letting him help him up, getting out of the way.

Dustin came through last, as he fell down onto the landing bed, sitting up, breathing heavily.

Steve and Eddie both reached down to grab Dustin by the hoodie, pulling him up from the bed.

Once they all were up and all had their stuff, they headed out.

∰

The Upside Down

Woods

Nancy, Will, Calliope and Mike got out of the armored car with their bags and weapons, walking toward Hailey, Nadia and Niko.

Steve, Dustin, Robin and Eddie walked toward the group once they left the trailer park.

"I take that as a sign the trailer Gate is still good?" Niko asked.

"Yeah, broken, but still good," Dustin answered.

Hailey nodded. "Good. You'll need that for later when I'm not here."

"We know," Eddie agreed.

"Okay, I wanna run through it one more time," Nadia told them. "Phase one."

"We meet Erica at the playground," Robin answered. "She'll signal Ruby, El, Max, Lucas, Billy and Jonathan at the Creel house when we're ready."

"Phase two?" Nadia asked.

"Max and Billy bait Vecna," Steve answered. "He'll go after them to get to Ruby, which will give her and El an opening to go into their heads and fight him off."

Nancy nodded. "Ruby burns Vecna all to hell, and since she gets the same injuries in real life that she gets while projecting into someone else's mind, Vecna will be the same way."

"So that Ruby and El can kill Vecna all while in the mind fight," Eddie agreed. "Even though he's connected to Mirage and reality warping level of power."

"Phase three?" Nadia asked.

"Me and Eddie draw the bats away," Dustin answered.

"Four?" Nadia asked.

"We use your tracking power to lead us to Mirage's newly bat-free lair, and head inside," Will answered. "Hailey dreamwalks to find his mirror, and Niko and Hailey bring you and him to his mind."

Niko nodded. "So that we can open the door to his reality/nightmare mind lair."

"Five?" Nadia asked.

"We beat the hell out of Mirage in his mind lair," Hailey answered. "While Calliope, Mike, Steve, Nancy, Will and Robin go after Mirage's crystal in the real-life lair to destroy it. and his connection to Vecna, so that Vecna's reality warping power is gone, so that Ruby and El can kill him."

"And since we all know that Mirage will send monsters after all of us during all of this, we fight them all off to complete each phase and finish the mission," Calliope finished.

Nadia nodded, satisfied. "Nobody moves on to the next phase until we've all copied. Nobody deviates from the plan, no matter what. Got it?"

They all answered. "Got it."

Steve turned to Dustin and Eddie. "Hey, guys, listen. If things here start to go south, I mean, at all, you abort. Okay? Draw the attention of the bats. Keep 'em busy for a minute or two. We'll take care of Mirage, and Ruby and El take care of Vecna. Don't try to be cute or be a hero or something. Okay? You guys are just--"

"Decoys," Dustin finished at the same time as Steve. "Don't worry. Nadia, Niko, Hailey, Ruby and El will be the heroes, Steve. You guys can help."

"Absolutely," Eddie agreed. "I mean, look at us." Dustin and Eddie exchanged a look. "Look at us. We are not heroes."

Hailey walked toward Dustin, clearly nervous. "Dustin..."

Dustin reached out to take Hailey's hands. "Hailey, you got this. More than any of us. Okay? You're not a monster. You're a hero."

Hailey chuckled lightly. "Well, even without powers, you're still a hero to me. Just don't get hurt or killed."

"I won't," Dustin promised. "I know that you think there's a chance that you won't make it out of this. And I want you to know that... I need you to know... that I understand why you're doing this. I love you. I will love you forever. No matter what happens tonight."

Hailey was thankful, relieved to hear him say this, embracing Dustin tightly. Dustin held her just as firmly, terrified of losing her and what could happen to any of them, but knowing that they had to do this. They pulled away, looking at each other for a long moment, smiling with glistening eyes, kissing long and passionately, finally pulling away.

"I love you too," Hailey said softly. "I always will."

Dustin nodded, sniffling, taking Hailey's hand to kiss it, giving her a reassuring smile. "Whatever it takes?"

Hailey smiled in return, sadly, backing away slowly, letting her hand slip out of his. "Whatever it takes."

Will, Niko, Steve and Nadia looked at them sadly in concern, but moved by the moment.

Calliope, Robin, Nancy, Mike and Eddie were even moved.

Eddie looked at the group heading out. "Hey, guys?" They all looked at him. "Make them pay."

They all nodded in agreement.

Will, Niko and Mike all gave Dustin a hug as the three other boys went to leave with Hailey, Steve, Nadia, Nancy, Calliope and Robin.

Steve and Nadia gave Dustin and Eddie one last look, patting Dustin on the arms, as he held their arms for one moment longer, before they followed the others.

Calliope, Robin, Nancy, Mike, Will, Niko, Nadia, Steve and Hailey walked toward the armored car.

Nadia, Niko and Hailey jumped onto the hood of the armored car, holding onto it tight, knowing that they could hitch a ride on top of it without a problem.

Steve got into the driver's seat of the armored car, while Calliope, Robin, Nancy, Mike and Will got in behind him.

Dustin and Eddie watched as the armored car drove away through the darkness of the Upside Down woods with Nadia, Niko and Hailey on top of the car, red lightning cracking across the black sky in the distance behind them.

∰ Worlds Colliding (Stranger Things) ∰

Hawkins, Indiana

Creel House - Outside

The Creel House group (Ruby, Eleven, Lucas, Max, Billy, Jonathan and Erica), were talking at the playground across the street from the Creel House so they could discuss their plan without Vecna overhearing from the Upside Down version of the Creel House.

Ruby, Billy and Max were listening to their songs through headphones, which were resting around their necks so they could talk with the others.

"So you said that you guys had a way to protect Max and Billy when Vecna comes for them?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes," Eleven answered. She took out a pen and paper, drawing two stick figures to show an explanation of the plan. "This is Max and Billy. When Vecna attacks, he'll be in their minds. But Ruby can do that too, mental astral projection. And when Billy was flayed, when Ruby, Niko and I combined our powers, we went into his mind to see his memories."

Jonathan remembered this. "Right, right."

"We can go into Max and Billy's minds again," Ruby stated.

"Niko's not here to combine your powers, though," Max pointed out.

"Well, I'm thinking that we don't need him to be with both of our powers upgraded," Ruby admitted. "I can carry El from her Void to Vecna in Max and Billy's minds."

Eleven nodded. "I can piggyback with Ruby. I can help her protect Max and Billy from Vecna. Fight him from here."

Lucas pointed at Ruby and Eleven. "Mind fight."

"Wait, so you actually think this can work?" Erica asked.

Eleven nodded. "A bathtub would help."

Billy frowned. "Bathtub? What the fuck for?"

"It's a sensory deprivation tank," Jonathan answered. "It helps El calm down and focus on her powers."

"There's a tub in there, and it's pretty big," Lucas pointed out. "But there's not enough salt here."

"How much salt do we need?" Erica asked.

"Well, depends on the size of the tub, but a lot," Max answered.

Billy and Ruby exchanged a knowing look. "The Alibi."

"The Alibi?" Lucas repeated. "You mean the place where Ruby, Nadia and Hailey just got abducted and we were all almost killed by Sullivan's guys when they destroyed Ruby's loft by blowing it up?"

Ruby frowned, pouting slightly at losing her loft. "My one true home my entire life where it was safe, and it gets destroyed in a fiery burst of flames. Sounds about right. Just my luck."

Billy glanced at Ruby.

"The same place where Ryan and his goons will be waiting for us to show back up after you guys kicked their asses?" Max added.

"Do you guys have another place where we can get a bunch of salt from?" Ruby replied. "There's tons of salt there for food and drinks and shit."

"Okay, well, fair enough, but none of us can go back there," Erica pointed out. "Cops will be looking for us there too."

Jonathan got an idea, tilting his head, shrugging. "You guys can't go back there, but I can." They all looked at Jonathan. "No one's gonna be looking for me, and we just dealt with Sullivan's guys. Doubt they'll be back any time soon. Most of them would be dead anyway because of Nadia, Niko, Hailey, Ruby and El. Just tell me where it is and I'll get all the salt we need."

Billy shrugged. "All right. Thanks, I guess."

Ruby tossed the keys to Nadia's car to Jonathan. "If I were you, I'd hurry." Jonathan nodded in agreement, catching the keys. "And Jonathan?" Jonathan looked at her. "Thanks."

Jonathan gave another nod.

Erica and Eleven stayed on the playground for now, while Ruby, Billy, Max and Lucas walked across the street toward the Creel House, heading inside.

∰

Inside - Every Room

Ruby, Max, Billy and Lucas walked inside, splitting up, each grabbing a lantern which had blue lights, walking through the house separately to see if they could find Vecna through the veil of realities with the lights, searching each room silently.

∰

Dining Room

In the dining room where Henry and Cheryl had started the slaughter of their family, Ruby looked around uneasily, reliving when Vecna showed her this memory, making her watch the memory where he had killed his mother/her grandmother, before killing Alice and destroying Victor.

In her hand, Ruby's lantern glowed brightly as if Vecna was close, just on the other side of the veil, almost taunting Ruby with the memory.

Ruby glanced around, placing down her lantern on the dining room table, walking out of the room, finding Billy in the hallway, showing him a note pad, which she had wrote "Found Henry".

Billy followed Ruby into the dining room, where Ruby's lantern was glowing, pulsing with energy on the table.

Max and Lucas walked into the room from the other side of the table, exchanging a look with Billy and Ruby as the four watched the lantern.

The closer that Max, Lucas and Billy brought their lanterns, they started to buzz and pulse and glow just like Ruby's.

Lucas pulled out his notepad and pen, writing down "Phase one?" to show Ruby.

Ruby nodded.

Lucas walked to the window that looked out across the street toward the park, shining his flashlight two times in a signal to Erica and Eleven.

∰

Park

Erica and Eleven saw the signal from Lucas.

Erica started to climb up the jungle gym up to her radio.

One of the men from the town's meeting, one that sided with Ryan and Jason, while searching the town for the fugitives or anything suspicious, saw Erica climbing, seeing Eleven running across the street toward the Creel house, before walking away.

∰

Field

Ryan and Jason were practicing shooting with their guns, hitting their targets.

A trash can barrel nearby was on fire.

Andy ran toward them. "Hey. I think we got something."

"Send someone else," Ryan replied. "I don't wanna waste any more time with bullshit leads."

"I don't think you'll wanna send anyone else on this one," Andy told them. Ryan and Jason turned to face him. "You know the murder house on Morehead? Nearby the trailer park?"

"Yeah," Jason answered. "What about it?"

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Church

Natasha, Nadyr, Apollo, Joyce, Hopper and Murray were sitting down to discuss the phone call with Dmitri.

"Okay, and, uh, who exactly was this mystery woman?" Murray asked.

"Not sure," Hopper admitted. "I mean, she wasn't exactly Miss Talkative. You know, I spent five minutes trying to convince her I was real. I'm supposed to be dead, remember? Anyway, I finally get around to half-convincing her, she starts to open up a little, then says that she's..."

∰

Flashback

Night - Phone Call

The female agent from previous episodes/chapters on Sabina's side was in a phone booth. "A friend of Sabina's."

"Great, so am I," Hopper replied. "Friend of the entire family. Now put me on the phone with Sabina."

The agent sighed. "I'm afraid she's indisposed."

∰

Now

Night - Church

The Russian group was still talking.

"Indisposed?" Apollo repeated.

Hopper nodded. "It gets worse. You were right, Apollo. Sabina was with Niko, El and Will. The woman said that Calliope, Jonathan and Mike went looking for them. And that all the kids went off to fight some evil in Hawkins. Then they all went off-grid. Sabina, the kids, everybody."

"These are your children?" Dmitri asked.

Natasha nodded, worried. "Mm-hmm. And if they all went off grid, it means that Mikhail did it. He took down Corinth and everybody inside. Including Sabina."

"That explains Sabina's goodbye," Nadyr admitted, gazing off at nothing.

Natasha and Nadyr took a moment to process the fact that Sabina really could have died, having been in denial about it before, but now they couldn't be, grieving.

Joyce tried to reassure them. "It doesn't mean that Sabina's dead. No matter what she said to you two in that mind space. You said it yourselves, she would've gotten the kids out of there if it was the last thing she did, all of them. She could've gotten herself out of there too."

"She could've," Nadyr agreed. "But then she would've contacted us to let us know that everyone was safe."

"Which means Sabina and Corinth are gone, and the kids are all fighting monsters in Hawkins all over again," Hopper told them.

Joyce, Hopper and Natasha were insanely worried for their kids, and all the other kids.

Apollo and Nadyr looked at them in concern. Apollo was worried for Calliope, while Nadyr was worried for his niece and nephew.

Murray looked between them. "Okay, I... I see the mood here is bleak. And understandably so. But I do think we need to consider the very real possibility that this mystery woman is, in fact, KGB. And she's--"

"No," Joyce cut him off. "She's telling the truth. When we were in the lab, those particles we saw, they were alive."

"And that Gate that I was drawn to, that nightmare I had," Apollo added. "Those monsters. If they're all here, and this Gate just opened up, it means that there's a Gate open in Hawkins."

"Gate?" Dmitri repeated in confusion. "What does this mean?"

Hopper stood. "It means we have to go home right now."

Murray stood. "It's moot. Even if your kids were in some kind of imminent danger, even if we were to leave this very moment, we wouldn't make it in time. The earliest we'd get there is late tomorrow, and that's if we're lucky enough to avoid being shot down from the sky with every gunman in Russia looking for us."

Natasha stood, pointing between them. "No, we don't have to make it back. Not tonight. Whatever this evil is, we know it's connected to the hive mind. And now we know part of that hive mind is in Russia. So we don't need to get back to Hawkins to fight it."

Nadyr pointed at Natasha, realizing. "All we need to do is close the Gate here and destroy those particles. Those monsters."

Joyce nodded in agreement. "And if we're lucky, it'll hurt it enough to give the kids the upper hand."

"Wait, time out," Apollo told them. "We're talking about the alternate dimension monster stuff inside the prison? The prison that we just narrowly escaped from?"

Hopper ran a hand over his head. "We broke out. We can break back in."

Murray gave them a look. "Guys, the entire Soviet army is looking for us."

Natasha went to open a crate full of guns. "Sure. And we'll be exactly where they least expect."

Hopper walked closer.

Natasha handed rifles to Hopper and Murray.

Hopper easily took hold of his rifle, while Murray held his awkwardly.

"All right, there is a fine line between courage and stupidity, and this falls very far on the side of stupid," Murray told them. "This is Dirty Dozen stuff. Except there are, uh, seven of us."

"Six, actually," Nadyr corrected, turning to Dmitri, walking toward him. "Breaking back in's gonna be easier than breaking out, which is why we're gonna need an airlift. This is where you come in. When we're ready, you get that bird in the air."

Dmitri nodded in agreement. "On it."

Dmitri turned around, walking away.

Joyce was racking her brain for one of the many things that Yuri had been yapping about before. "Yuri mentioned something about a flamethrower, right?"

Hopper opened another crate to find the flame thrower, taking it out, smirking. "Oh, yeah. This'll do. This'll do just fine."

"Ready to go back with you guys to kill the monsters in the prison?" Nadyr asked.

"Oh, yeah," Apollo answered.

"To cause untold pain to whatever monsters the kids are facing back in Hawkins to try and give them an upper hand against the villains that are impossible to fight and too slippery to kill?" Nadyr asked.

"Hell yeah," Natasha answered.

Nadyr bit his lip, tilting his head. "That sounds like a shitload of work."

"Yep," Joyce agreed.

Nadyr shrugged, smiling. "Could be fun, though."

"Yup," Hopper agreed.

Nadyr smirked. "Let's fucking do this shit. Whatever it takes."

Joyce and Hopper smiled. "Whatever it takes."

Natasha, Nadyr, Apollo, Joyce and Hopper smirked, while Murray face palmed with a groan of complaint.

∰

Hawkins, Indiana

Creel House - Outside

Jonathan pulled up Nadia's car to the Creel house with all the salt they needed, along with a gallon of water.

Billy and Lucas walked outside to help Jonathan carry all the salt and the gallon of water into the house.

Erica watched them from the playground equipment across the street, waiting for the other signal that they were ready.

∰

Inside - Bathroom

Ruby, Max and Eleven had made sure that the bathtub was safe enough to use.

Billy, Jonathan and Lucas brought in the salt and the jugs of water. They handed the salt packets to the girls, while they opened the jugs of water and poured the water into the tub.

Ruby, Max and Eleven stood, opening the salt up and pouring them into the tub.

"We need to get this done," Ruby started, whispering.

Erica nodded in agreement. "Whatever it takes."

"ASAP," Ruby and Jonathan both said.

"Jinx," Ruby said, reminiscing about the days when she used to go by Jinx, still going on a bit like her sanity power needed a little more time to completely kick in. "A, B, C, 1, 2, 3. Personal padlock."

Jonathan frowned, confused. "Can you not--"

Ruby pointed at him. "You can't speak."

Billy, Max and Lucas couldn't help but smirk, while Eleven was confused but amused.

∰

Upside Down

Eddie's Trailer - Outside

Meanwhile, Eddie and Dustin were boarding up Eddie's trailer, barricading the windows and doors and every entrance they could think of, while the Creel House group continued to set up Eleven's sensory deprivation bath, using drills to seal the windows off with slabs of metal.

∰

Hawkins, Indiana

Creel House - Bathroom

Jonathan took out a pair of glasses that they could use as goggles for Eleven, handing them over to her.

Ruby trailed a finger through the salty bath water, using a tiny burst of golden light energy to heat the water to just the right temperature for the sensory deprivation trance.

Eleven felt the water's temperature to make sure that it was good, nodding to Ruby to let her know it was.

∰

Upside Down

Eddie's Trailer - Outside

Once they were done sealing off the trailer, Dustin and Eddie stood back and admired their handiwork.

"Not bad," Eddie remarked.

Dustin gave a smile. "Not bad at all."

Eddie chuckled, patting Dustin on the shoulder. "Now for the fun part."

∰

Inside - Eddie's Room

Eddie and Dustin walked into Eddie's room.

Eddie's eyes went wide at the sight of his guitar on the wall covered in vines. "Jesus Chri..." Dustin chuckled. Eddie stepped closer to her guitar. "It's like... she was destined for an alternate dimension. What do you say, Henderson?" He grabbed his guitar off the wall, turning toward Dustin. "Are you ready for the most metal concert in the history of the world?"

Dustin stepped closer, raising his eyebrows. "That a rhetorical question?"

Eddie put the guitar strap on around his neck, determined no matter how nervous he was. "Let's do it."

Eddie spun the guitar around his body to have it rest on his back, walking out of the room.

Dustin followed.

∰

Playground

The armored car was parked in the woods nearby the Creel House, as Nadia, Hailey and Niko slid off the top of the armored car and walked up to the playground equipment that Erica was on in their world.

Nadia set up her radio. "Come on, Erica."

Steve and the others remained in the armored car.

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - Outside

Hopper drove the van right up to the prison, with Natasha in the passenger seat, and Nadyr, Apollo, Joyce and Murray in the back of the van.

They were all confused by how abandoned the prison seemed to be now.

"Where are all the guards?" Joyce asked.

"We know that Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo killed a bunch of them, but not all," Murray remarked.

"Bite me, Murray," Nadyr replied.

"Maybe this'll be easier than we thought," Hopper told them.

"I don't know, Nadyr," Apollo admitted. "I got a bad feeling about this."

They drove right past the open gates of the prison to head toward the buildings.

In the destroyed booth by the gates, yelling and gunfire and monstrous screeching could be heard over the radio, accompanied by terrified screaming.

Reaching the same tunnel they escaped through before, the group got out of the van and started to climb down into the sewer tunnels to get back into the prison.

Natasha stopped mid climb when she heard gunfire and monstrous screeching from the prison, looking up toward the prison, before finishing the climb down, readying for battle.

∰

Hawkins, Indiana

Creel House - Dining Room

Ruby and Billy were sitting in the dining room, but Ruby's lantern was no longer acting up, assuring them that Vecna was not in the room with them in the Upside Down.

They were both wearing their headphones on around their ears to listen to their songs and keep Vecna out of their heads until it was time.

Ruby looked around, unnerved to be in this house, her family's home. Looking around at all of the pictures, knowing that Cheryl was her mother, and Henry was her uncle, and now Vecna, and what they did to their own family, including her, made her sick to her stomach, especially since she knew that it was nowhere near over. She turned toward Billy.

Billy looked at Ruby, as Ruby was already looking at Billy. They both knew that they couldn't speak without Vecna hearing them, and both were nervous and scared about what could happen tonight, to them and to Max, but both reassured with them having their friends to help and being there together.

Ruby couldn't help but flash back to all of the horror that Vecna had showed her to try and break her, of the past, present and future, rattled, but determined to not let it get the best of her, out to take Vecna and Mirage down once and for all, no matter how she felt about it all now.

Billy knew the conflict in her mind and how personal it all was for her, taking her hand, snapping her mind out of seeing the flashes of horror, bringing her out of it.

Ruby looked at Billy, surprised but thankful, giving a small smile of reassurance, nodding, mouthing, 'I'm okay'.

Billy raised an eyebrow, knowing that she was prone to lying about that so that he wouldn't worry about her, mouthing, 'You sure?'

Ruby nodded, mouthing, 'You?'

Billy shrugged, shrugging, mouthing, 'Will be. You will be too'.

Ruby nodded slightly in agreement, looking at Billy for a long moment, reaching up to trace a finger lightly across his cheek, brushing a bit of his hair back as the two looked each other in the eyes. Even while ready for battle to save those she loved, it didn't stop her from being terrified about the image of losing them, fearing that it would turn into a reality, but determined to not let it. She whispered softly. "I love you."

Billy knew how scared she was after everything Vecna showed her, brushing a piece of her hair back from her face as she leaned her head against his, whispering just as softly in return. "Love you too."

Ruby and Billy kissed softly, but passionately, with their usual heat and longing and desire, but showing just how real the danger was, their fear of losing it all, all over again, but determination to try and keep them both safe and alive, along with everyone they cared about.

∰

Living Room

Max and Lucas were sitting in the living room, waiting for the signal, while Max was listening to her headphones.

Max picked up her notepad and pen, writing a note for Lucas, turning the pad to face him: Hi.

Max smiled.

Lucas smiled, picking up his notepad and pen, writing a note for Max, turning the pad to face her: Hi.

They both chuckled.

Max wrote another note to show Lucas: I'm glad you're here.

Lucas gave a small smile, writing another note to show Max: Me too!

They smiled at each other, chuckling.

Lucas wrote another note to show Max, nervous: Movie Friday?

Max instantly started to doodle her response on her notepad. When Lucas leaned forward to try and see what it looked like, Max hid the paper from him until she finished. When Max turned the pad to face him, it showed a simple drawing of the two of them at the movies, her way of saying yes to the date, causing both to smile once again.

When they saw a light flashing from outside the window, Lucas and Max turned their heads toward the window, standing, walking toward the window to look outside.

∰

Playground

Erica was in the playground equipment, flicking her flashlight on and off, flashing it as the signal. "Come on. Come on." Lucas returned the signal. Erica spoke through the radio. "Okay, the Creel group has copied. Max and Billy are moving into phase two: Distracting Vecna."

∰

Upside Down

Playground

Hailey, Niko and Nadia heard Erica through the radio.

"So far, so smooth," Hailey told them.

Niko looked toward the armored car. "Yeah, we're not even at the hard part yet."

Nadia looked across the street toward the Creel house, glaring. "Take the bait, you son of a bitch. Take the bait."

∰

Hawkins

Creel House - Foyer

Lucas and Max walked through the foyer.

Jonathan was standing on the stairs.

Lucas nodded up to Jonathan.

Jonathan turned around, walking up the stairs toward the bathroom.

∰

Bathroom

Jonathan walked in, looking at Eleven. "Get ready."

Eleven nodded in agreement.

∰

Dining Room

Max walked into the dining room to join Ruby and Billy, making them realize that it was time.

Max, Ruby and Billy hesitantly took off their headphones and turned off the music.

Ruby's lantern started to buzz, glow and pulse again, as if Vecna was with them in the room on the other side of the barrier.

"Hey!" Max called. "Asshole! We're here. No more music. No more games. Do you hear me?"

Billy could barely contain his anger or patience. "What are you waiting for, huh? Do you want us or not, you fucking son of a bitch? Or should I say brother of a bitch?"

Ruby couldn't help but smirk at Billy's taunt about Cheryl/Melody.

Ruby's lantern continued to buzz for a moment, before it faded.

Max's lantern in her hand started to glow, buzz and pulse as Vecna led them out of the room from the Upside Down.

Max and Lucas looked at Billy and Ruby, before turning around, walking out of the room.

Billy and Ruby stood, following them with their lanterns.

∰

Foyer

Max, Lucas, Billy and Ruby followed the lights into the foyer, where Henry and Cheryl had killed Alice and drove Victor out of his mind.

Ruby flashed back to that memory, shuddering at the thought.

They continued to follow the lights up the stairs.

∰

Bathroom

Eleven removed her socks.

Jonathan brought over a radio, putting it onto a static station.

Eleven put her goggles on top of her head.

Eleven and Jonathan looked into the hallway, seeing Max, Ruby, Billy and Lucas, the six of them exchanging a long look and nodding to each other.

Eleven laid down in the tub with Jonathan next to her, watching her friends, looking at Max and Ruby worriedly, before lowering the goggles down around her eyes.

Max, Billy, Ruby and Lucas walked away, as Jonathan stayed with Eleven to make sure she was safe while going into her trance.

The lights started to flicker.

∰

Attic

Max, Ruby, Billy and Lucas followed the lantern's lights up to the attic.

In the Void, Eleven watched them, ready to piggyback from Ruby whenever the time was right.

When the four reached the normal spot where Vecna usually was in the attic, the lanterns glowed blindingly blue, causing Max, Ruby, Billy and Lucas to exchange a nervous look.

Lucas nodded reassuringly.

Max closed her eyes nervously.

They were all ready for something to happen, when all the lanterns suddenly powered down again.

"What are you waiting for, asshole?" Billy asked. "Hmm? We're right here. We're right here!"

∰

Bathroom

Jonathan was by Eleven's side. "Okay, El, what's going on?"

"It's not working," Eleven answered, relaying the information while she was still in her trance.

Jonathan sighed worriedly.

∰

Attic

Max looked at the lantern in her hand as if she was looking at Vecna. She came up with a backup plan to lure Vecna after them. "I know you can hear us. I know you can read my thoughts. Even the worst ones. Maybe mostly the worst ones." She set down her walkman and lantern, sitting down, looking at Ruby and Billy. "Did I ever tell you two why Running Up That Hill is my favorite song?"

"No," Ruby answered, wondering where Max was going with this.

Max sighed. "It's because of the meaning of the song. About wanting to feel how it's like for someone else's pain, being in their shoes, but... for me, it's so much more than that. 'You don't wanna hurt me but see how deep the bullet lies. Unaware that I'm tearing you asunder.'... that was what it was like for you and me, Billy. At first, you didn't want to hurt me, but as the years went by, you started to get darker, and..."

"Crazier," Billy finished.

Max nodded, swallowing, tears in her eyes. "And you started to lash out at me. You never hit me. Never touched me. But that's not the only way you can hurt someone. But I know that a lot of it was because of how your dad used to punish you every time that I did something wrong, that I rebelled. I didn't know it at first, but after a while, I realized that every time I did something bad, you got a beating for it, like we talked about before, and... that's why you were taking everything out on me."

"It doesn't make it right, Max," Billy said, hating the way the past was. "And I've been trying to make up for it."

"I know," Max agreed. "So have I. 'If I only could make a deal with God and I'd get him to swap our places'. I wish that I could trade places with both of you, to take away your pain, since you both have already been through so much, from outside threats and illnesses in your own minds that turned you into people that you both hated and didn't want to be, and now you're fighting every day to make sure that you don't go back to those people, even though it takes all of your strength not to go back to how you were before. I don't want to lose either of you to the monsters targeting us, or to your insanity that is fighting to take control again. I know you think it's stupid, but..."

"I don't think it's stupid," Ruby answered.

Billy took a deep breath. "I just don't think I deserve that kind of love or for you to want to switch places with me or take my pain after all I've done."

"Everything you've done, even before possession, was because you were sick, but Ruby helped you get better," Max pointed out. "And since then, you've gotten so much better."

"Treating Max better, protecting her, becoming almost-friends with all of our friends," Ruby agreed. "Sacrificing yourself to save us all before. You more than earned redemption and forgiveness."

Max nodded, sniffling. "Everyone deserves someone to love them like that. But I didn't always think that."

"What do you mean?" Billy asked.

Max hated to have to say this, but she knew that it was the only way to get Vecna to come after them. "It goes back to what Vecna said, when he came after us before. About how I wanted you to die that day. I thought he was just trying to upset me. To anger me. But he wasn't. He was just telling the truth." Billy looked down. Lucas and Ruby listened intently. "When you lashed out at me... and made my life a living hell... sometimes, when I would lie in bed at night, I would... I would pray... I would pray that something would happen to you. Something awful. I knew that you drove too fast, so I would imagine you crashing. Dying in that stupid car." Max could not meet Billy's gaze. "I just... I wanted you out of my life. Forever. I wanted you to disappear. The day in the mall... I think that's why I just stood there. Watched. Not because I was scared or... weak. But because... I didn't know if you deserved to be saved. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Billy looked down, releasing a shaky breath, not surprised like he had known this and thought this about himself time and time again; he couldn't even find it in himself to be angry about the words, even if he was a little hurt, knowing that in a way, it was deserved after all that had happened between the step siblings over the years; even if neither of them were at complete fault, they both blamed themselves horribly.

Billy could barely look up. "You think I don't know that, Max? You think that I don't think that about myself every single day since I started to get better? Even before the possession? You think that I would've blamed you for that?"

Max looked up at Billy, crying. "I don't know. But I know that you felt that way about yourself. And I didn't... I didn't want to make it worse... by saying that I used to feel that way too." She looked between Billy and Ruby, letting out a shaky, broken breath. "And I... blamed myself for what happened last year. Like I... manifested the Mind Flayer coming after you, taking Billy, hurting you, Ruby... everything that happened. That almost led to both of you dying. And you losing your powers. And maybe that's why I wanted to help you both so badly after everything that happened. To make up for what I felt, and what I wanted to happen before that. But also because... we genuinely all got so close, and I... I couldn't stand myself for any of it. I hated myself."

"Max..." Ruby trailed off.

Max looked down, crying. "And I've tried to forgive myself. I've tried, but... I can't. I can't. So now... now, when I lie in bed at night... I pray that something will happen to me. That something terrible will happen to me."

Billy and Ruby were both near tears, but they and Max were still stoic and angry about the entire situation, not at each other, but at Vecna.

Billy wiped a hand along his lip. "You wouldn't be the only one." Ruby closed her eyes, knowing that Billy felt the same way, a tear falling down her cheek. "Sometimes I wish that I was dead... because of the guilt of what happened to you and Ruby because of me. And I can barely deal with the guilt of everything else. And I'm scared... that I'll go back to that if I lose control. That I'll hurt both of you all over again. And I would rather be dead than do that."

Ruby opened her eyes, knowing that Vecna was getting this confession just like he wanted, to torture all three of them before he came after them, glaring out at nothing, shaking her head, whispering to herself more to anything, but knowing that Vecna would hear her. "You're a fucking bastard, Henry."

Billy raised his head. "So that's why we're here. Take us away. Make us disappear."

Suddenly, in Billy and Max's minds, Lucas spoke up. "Is that all true, Max? You wanted Billy to die."

"Why are you talking?" Max asked.

Lucas turned to look at Max. "You ever have thoughts like that about me?"

Max stood. "What? No, Lucas, never."

"Normal people don't fantasize about killing other people, Max," Lucas told her. "You realize that, right?"

"Lucas, please," Max begged.

Billy knew that this wasn't real, shaking his head. "Max..."

Ruby turned toward Max, tilting her head, giving her a dark look. "You said that you felt so guilty about what happened to both Billy and me. That I almost died and lost my powers because of what you wished for. That you helped me so much after to make it up to both of us. Does that mean you have those thoughts about me?"

Max shook her head. "No. Ruby, no."

Ruby looked at Billy in mock disappointment. "And you. I thought you were getting better. But you're not, are you? You are still sick."

"Ruby, you don't mean that," Billy stated.

Blood started to drip down from both Lucas and Ruby's eyes, which were completely white now, as they stalked toward Max and Billy, making them back away, closing in on them menacingly with sinister, dark, evil smiles.

"Maybe it's good he takes both of you," Lucas told them. "Maybe it's for the best. In fact... I'm glad it's going to be you."

Ruby's voice started out as herself, before becoming distorted and monstrous like Vecna's. "You'll be the chosen ones. The last ones. The final sacrifices. It's going to be both of you that break the world."

Max and Billy continued to back away, glaring.

In reality, Lucas and Ruby were kneeling next to Max and Billy, who were both in a Vecna trance, worried.

"Max?" Lucas asked. "Can you hear me? Max!"

Ruby waved her hand in front of their faces. "Billy? Max! They're gonna be okay, Lucas."

Eleven was watching from the Void, relaying the information to Jonathan. "He has them."

Lucas looked at Ruby, nodding. "Ruby..."

Ruby nodded, taking a deep, shaky breath, tears still on her cheeks. "Show time."

In the nightmare, the darkened, evil versions of Lucas and Ruby continued to close in on Billy and Max as they backed away.

Ruby still spoke with her voice mingling with Vecna's. "Max, Billy, where are you going? Don't be scared."

Max glared. "Stay away from us."

Lucas spoke with his voice mingling with Vecna's. "Max, I thought you said you were ready. You were ready to disappear, Billy!"

As the dark Ruby lunged closer, Billy pushed her away. "Max, go!"

Max grabbed the nearby lamp, slamming it over the dark Lucas' head, making it shatter and snapping Lucas' head to the side. "Stay away!"

Max ran away.

The nightmare version of Lucas disappeared.

The nightmare version of Ruby turned into Vecna, as he turned to look at Billy.

Billy was already taking off down the stairs after Max. "Go, go, go!"

∰

The Void

Ruby mental astral projected herself into the Void with Eleven, so that they could kneel next to Max and Billy, who were both in a trance in reality.

"Ruby, it's okay," Eleven told her. "We'll save Max and Billy."

Ruby nodded, looking at Max and Billy. "We're coming. We're coming. Just hold on a little longer." She laid a hand on both Max and Billy's shoulders. "El, grab on."

Eleven nodded, grabbing Ruby's shoulder to piggyback off of her scrying power.

Ruby scried them both into Max and Billy's minds.

Their combined powers like this were causing all of the lights, all over the Creel House, to flicker, buzz and glow.

In a flood of memories, they heard Max in 4.04: "I'm so sorry, Billy."

They heard Max's mother in 4.04: "Max, sweetie."

They heard Max and Lucas singing Never Ending Story to tease Dustin and Hailey in 3.08: "Turn around / Look at what you see."

They saw a montage of all of Max's best memories with her friends, including going to the mall with Hailey and Eleven, going to the dance with the party, going trick or treating.

In Billy's mind, they saw all of his best memories with Ruby, the happiest ones, and the turning point of his relationship with Max, when he saw Susan help Max get ready for the dance in 2.09, and all of the close sibling moments they had gotten in book four after their relationship got better.

They heard Billy's voice in 3.03: "This is my girlfriend Ruby and my sister Max."

They heard Ruby's voice in 2.04: "You up for a little chaos or destruction?"

They heard Billy's voice in response: "Always."

Within the rush of memories, the last one they saw before they were transported into their minds was of Ruby, Max and Billy's embrace in 4.04, before being attacked by Vecna.

∰

Billy's Memory

Day - Hawkins City Pool

Ruby appeared alone at the town pool, seeing the memory of one of the happiest moments that Ruby and Billy had in 3.01, before everything was thrown into chaos that very night.

Billy had been lifeguarding, while Past-Ruby had just gotten out of the pool.

Billy put his whistle to his lips again.

Past-Ruby smirked, clearly affected by the way that he could still get to her, trying to appear unaffected, pressing her lips together. "So how did I go to having perfect form to needing lessons?"

"Well, swimming wasn't exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned perfect form," Billy told her.

"Oh, really?" Past-Ruby asked sarcastically. "Mm, and you'd know 'perfect forms' so well because..."

Billy gestured to himself. "Have you seen mine?"

Past-Ruby couldn't help a smirk, biting her lip. "I've seen."

Billy smoothly asked her out. "Shall we say tonight? 8:00?"

Past-Ruby looked down, considering, placing her hands slightly over her sides where the scars would be. "I don't know if I can do that."

"Do what?" Billy asked. "Have fun or stop hiding when you have nothing to hide? Gorgeous body." While Present-Ruby smirked, Past-Ruby couldn't help but laugh, blushing lightly. Billy smiled. "Ruby Charlize can blush. I didn't know that was something I could achieve."

Past-Ruby chuckled sarcastically. "You know, Billy, I've been fine my entire life with what you call 'hiding', and I'm doing just fine with swimming. I don't think I need to stop hiding or need lessons."

Billy nodded, unconvinced. "Oh, you see, I think you do, for both. I just don't think that you've had the right teacher or the right person to help you out. It will be the workout of your life. Might possibly change it too." Past-Ruby heard all the double meanings and innuendos, as neither she or Billy could help small smiles. "Or we could skip the swimming and go out and do something fun."

"Like what?" Past-Ruby asked.

Billy shrugged. "You tell me."

Present-Ruby watched with a bittersweet, haunted look, missing the days when it was so simple, before all the chaos, destruction and heartache, before everything got so dark.

∰

Max's Memory

Day - Skatepark

Eleven appeared in Max's mind, in a childhood memory at a skatepark, looking around in confusion.

Jonathan spoke to Eleven from the bathroom in the Creel House. "What's happening now?"

"I think I am in a memory," Eleven answered. "A Max memory. Ruby's in a Billy memory."

Eleven walked through the skatepark, seeing many kids skating around on skateboards.

"Do you see her?" Jonathan asked. "Do you see Max? Can you see Ruby and Billy?"

"No," Eleven answered. "But Max's here. She has to be here."

∰

Reality

Night - Creel House - Attic

Lucas, still in the attic, shone his flashlight out the window, giving Erica the signal.

In the park, Erica returned the signal, speaking into her radio. "Okay, they're in. Initiate phase three."

∰

Upside Down

Playground

As soon as Hailey, Nadia and Niko got the message, they ran toward back over to the woods to get to the armored car.

Steve, Robin, Nancy, Calliope, Mike and Will were standing outside of the armored car.

"Phase three?" Mike asked.

"Yep," Niko answered.

"All you, Nadia," Will told her.

Nadia knelt to the ground, placing her hand on the ground, closing her eyes in concentration. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing purple.

Nadia was stunned that even her tracking power of following a sense of where her target was heightened. In this heightened state of her power, she could see flashes of Mirage and Vecna, of different monsters. At first it was overwhelming, but she was in awe.

"Are you all right?" Hailey asked.

"I can see everything," Nadia admitted. "Hear everything. This is amazing."

"Focus," Niko urged gently. "On Mirage, on where we need to go."

Nadia focused enough to be able to see a clear path to Mirage's lair.

The amount of power and focus Nadia had into this, caused a small sphere of purple psionic energy to appear in front of Nadia, glowing and spinning as she slowly rose to her feet. It was easy for Nadia to almost get lost in with all the flashes of the Upside Down, almost getting trapped in the hive mind, due to the fact that Mirage's power, part her power, was trying to draw her tracking power into the hive mind, but Nadia remained focused enough to stop that.

Steve placed a hand on Nadia's back to keep her anchored and focused so she didn't lose herself in the flashes and visions, making it easier to see. "Nadia?"

Nadia, feeling more in control and anchored, followed through with the vision toward Mirage to track him. As she did, the spinning purple sphere in front of her burst open with a small bit of power, releasing a purple psionic glowing energy wave that radiated outward, and changed the entire scenery around them, to show everyone where the lair was in the psychic projection of Mirage's castle, causing everyone to watch in shock and awe, even if it was just a power projection showing them where to go.

"Holy shit," Mike said.

"At least Nadia's powers upgraded enough to where we're not going someplace blind," Niko pointed out.

"A fucking dark castle?" Hailey asked. "Actually, not surprised by that."

Nancy looked at Nadia. "Do you know which direction?"

Nadia nodded. "Yeah. I can still see the path straight there."

Robin nodded in understanding. "That's really creepy but really awesome."

As Nadia let her power fade away, the power projection of the castle disappeared, and her eyes returned to normal.

Calliope tilted her head, shrugging. "Let's go."

Steve, Robin, Calliope, Nancy and Mike got back into the armored car, while Nadia, Niko and Hailey climbed onto the top of it again.

Steve started to drive the armored car away.

In the armored car, Robin spoke through her radio to let Dustin and Eddie know. "They're in. Move on to phase three."

∰

Eddie's Trailer - Outside

Dustin and Eddie were standing on the roof of the trailer.

Dustin spoke into his radio, turning to Eddie. "Copy that. Initiating phase three." He put the radio down, hooking up a sound system that would carry the sound throughout the entire Upside Down. "Let's hope they hear this."

Dustin nodded to Eddie.

Eddie nodded, taking out his guitar pick. "Chrissy, this is for you."

With a yell, Eddie started to play his guitar.

(Song:) Master of Puppets - Metallica

Dustin grinned as he watched Eddie start to rock out to the song, with red lightning crashing across the black thundering sky behind them in the distance.

The sound carried throughout the Upside Down, luring the Demobats away from the places they were guarding, and in the general air vicinity all around the town, and leading them across town toward the trailer.

∰

On the Road

Steve was driving the armored car down the road with Nadia, Hailey and Niko sitting on top of it.

"Okay, it's working," Hailey called out to all of them in the car. "Let's do this."

"Punch it!" Niko told them.

Steve drove them faster down the road.

∰

Max's Nightmare

Night - Creel House - Foyer

Max ran down the stairs toward the front door, trying to escape, but stunned to see that it was boarded up from the outside, blocking any form of escape.

Lyrics: "End of passion play / Crumbling away."

∰

Upside Down

Eddie's Trailer - Rooftop

Dustin and Eddie were rocking out as Eddie played the guitar.

Lyrics: "I'm your source of self-destruction."

∰

Max's Nightmare

Night - Creel House - Foyer

Vecna stalked down the stairs after her. "Where are you going, Maxine?"

Max spun around, worried when she didn't see Billy. "Where the hell is Billy?"

Vecna chuckled darkly.

Max took off out of the room.

Lyrics: "Veins that pump with fear, sucking darkest clear."

∰

Billy's Nightmare

Night - Parking Garage

While Vecna was busy chasing Max through her mind, he thrust Billy's mind into a nightmare.

Billy ended up next to his car in the middle of the darkened, abandoned parking garage.

Neil appeared, swinging a baseball bat toward Billy, just like his previous nightmare before in 4.04.

This time, Billy was prepared for this, ducking out of the way, making the bat slam into the window next to him, making it shatter. "That's not gonna work this time, motherfucker."

Billy punched Neil in the face, kneeing him in the stomach, trying to punch him in the face again. Neil backed out of the way, making Billy hit the car instead, leaving a dent from Billy's strength. Billy punched Neil in the back of his head. Neil grabbed Billy, turning around, throwing him into the windshield of his car, making it shatter.

Lyrics: "Leading on your death's construction."

∰

Ruby's Nightmare

Night - Ruby's Loft

Vecna, knowing what Ruby was trying to do and wanting to torment her even more all over again like he always intended to do, distracted her from finding Billy and Max to protect them at the same time with another nightmare.

Ruby was back in her loft, looking around in confusion. "What the fuck?" She heard a creaking of the cabinet opening in the kitchen behind her, the same cabinet where she had seen hallucinations come from before. Ruby slowly lowered her hands, looking over her shoulder to see the cabinet right open. She stood, walking into the kitchen, seeing bloody footprints, of a baby, all over the floor. "Oh, fuck."

Ruby heard the sound of the baby crying, turning around, following the sound of the crying back to her photography set up, looking at the baby on the floor in the middle of it all, in the middle of a pool of blood.

This was clearly Baby Ruby, since Vecna/Henry blamed the birth of Ruby period for Cheryl and Charlie abandoning him, starting this war between Ruby and Vecna before she was even born.

Lyrics: "Taste me, you will see."

Hearing the heavy breathing of monsters from the cabinet, Ruby leaned against the wall behind a shelf for cover, waiting.

The monsters peered around the corner at Ruby, snarling, as they reached for her.

Lyrics: "More is all you need."

Ruby leaned her head against the wall behind her. "When all else fails... fuck it."

When the monsters came into Ruby's view, it was revealed that the monsters were Melody and Anthony.

Lyrics: "Dedicated to..."

"Did you really think that you could finally be happy?" Melody asked. "You know this too well."

"Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination with you and your family, with any of us," Anthony told her. "We've always been the monsters in your mind, Ruby."

"We'll be the monsters for everyone until the end of time," Melody continued.

Lyrics: "How I'm killing you!"

Melody and Anthony spoke together. "The beginning of the end."

Anthony smirked. "Oh, Ruby. You're broken. Damaged. Useless. You can't protect any of them. You'll lose them all."

∰

Upside Down

Eddie's Trailer - Rooftop

Eddie was still rocking out, while Dustin grinned and headbanged to the music.

∰

On the Road

Hailey and Niko were using their powers to levitate/fly, while Nadia was sitting on the edge of the armored car, and Steve, Will, Mike, Nancy, Robin and Calliope were in the armored car, driving as fast as they could down the road toward the castle. Hailey levitated with red energy on one side of Nadia and the armored car, while Niko used blue fire to fly on the other side.

Nadia's eyes were glowing purple, since she could still see the path ahead, she needed to see to lead them to Mirage's castle.

Since Mirage knew what they were doing and was trying to distract them, they saw several Mirage monsters being created from orange and purple energy, flying closer.

Lyrics: "Come crawling faster."

"Steve!" Hailey told him.

Steve started to fire the rifles on the armored car at the Mirage monsters. "Come on."

The monsters behind the car started to attack the car to destroy it.

Hailey spun around in the air to almost lay back while levitating with red energy, shooting red energy blasts of aura from both of her hands at the monsters behind her; since they were Mirage monsters, they were easily destroyed by Hailey's powers as her powers were a lifeline to reality, the antidote to Mirage's reality warping, as shown before. The two monsters there dissolved into nothing but atoms.

Niko looked up at the monsters ahead, eyes flickering with blue fiery lightning, as he glared, and thrust out both of his arms, sending an insane amount of blue fire out at the monsters, engulfing them in an explosion that killed them all, frying them completely, taking them all down.

Lyrics: "Obey your master."

As more Mirage monsters flew closer, Nadia conjured her purple glowing whip, and flung it up around the water tower up ahead, using all of her strength to pull it down, to make it crash and pin the monsters in front of them down on the ground, so that Hailey, Niko and Nadia could all shoot blasts of red, blue and purple powers at the monsters trapped to burn them all intensely, killing them, while Hailey's monster dissolved into fragments of atoms.

Lyrics: "Your life burns faster."

Steve had to spin the armored car around so that they didn't hit the water tower in front of them, facing the many monsters coming at them from behind the car, as Steve backed the way away from the monsters down the road quickly, with Nadia still on top of the car. Niko and Hailey flew after them while firing blast after blast of their powers at the monsters (along with Nadia's powers), and Steve fired the guns on the armored car.

Lyrics: "Obey your master, master."

The monsters continued their pursuit, and Nadia nodded to Steve.

Steve nodded, spinning the car around again, helping Nadia with a boost to her jump so that she could wrap her whip around a building and swing herself toward one of the monsters, conjuring her intricately designed, purple blazing sword in her other hand, as she ran it through the monster in front of her, ripping him apart with the sword, shaking the body off from the glowing psionic energy blade, as she swung toward the building, crouched up against it as she held onto the whip over her head.

Lyrics: "Master, master."

∰

Hawkins

On the Road

Ryan sped his car down the road toward the Creel House and the playground across the street.

Jason was in the passenger seat.

Andy was in the backseat, pointing to Erica in the playground. "You see her?"

"Yeah," Ryan answered. "I see her."

Seeing the car and knowing who it was, Erica instantly stood to make a getaway.

Ryan pulled his car over to a screeching halt.

∰

Upside Down

Eddie's Trailer - Rooftop

Eddie was still rocking out on his guitar, headbanging all the while.

∰

Hawkins

Playground

Erica slid down the slide of the playground, taking off running.

Andy got out of the car, chasing after Erica.

∰

Max's Nightmare

Night - Creel House - Living Room

Max was on the run from Vecna, as the lights flickered over her head. She opened another door, only to find that exit bored over, and she couldn't break the boards down, desperately running away to find another exit.

∰

Billy's Nightmare

Night - Parking Garage

Neil walked closer furiously, trying to punch Billy. Billy caught Neil's arm, putting it in a leg-lock, twisting until they could hear bones breaking, letting go, kicking him in the head, making him back away, spinning off of the car, walking closer. Billy tried to punch Neil. Neil ducked, trying to punch him. Billy caught his arm, kicking his leg, spinning to elbow Neil in the face, making him stumble back, punching him in the face, making him fall to his knees, then Billy spun to kick Neil in the face, making him roll across the pavement.

Lyrics: "Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings."

∰

Ruby's Nightmare

Night - Ruby's Loft

Still facing the nightmare versions of her parents, Ruby looked down at her wrists to see that in the nightmare, she had suddenly become handcuffed, as if that would stop her from fighting at her best.

Anthony ran closer, trying to attack. Ruby ducked and spun out of the way, turning to face him, raising her cuffed hands to block another attack, grabbing his wrist, spinning around to throw Anthony into the wall. Anthony turned back, raising his hand to shoot a blast of golden psionic energy toward Ruby. Ruby ducked the blast, spinning to elbow Anthony in the face, snapping his head back, ducking down into a crouch, doing another spin to kick his feet out from underneath him, making him fall to the ground, standing, rolling away from him, standing up to her feet, spinning to face him. Anthony rolled up to his feet, running at Ruby to throw her into the wall, making her fall.

Lyrics: "Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams."

∰

Upside Down

On the Road

Monsters were destroying the armored car, ripping off the top to roar at Steve, Will, Mike, Nancy, Robin and Calliope inside.

Will instantly used Nadia's sword to behead one of the monsters, killing it.

Mike shot another monster in the eye with Ruby's bow and arrow, hitting it with the bow, making it fall to the ground as it died.

Nancy fired her shotgun, while Robin and Calliope fired pistols.

Steve slashed one's head off with a spear.

Hailey and Niko flew closer, tackling the remaining monsters away from the armored car, engulfing the monsters with their powers to destroy them completely.

Lyrics: "Blinded by me, you can't see a thing."

Nadia jumped toward a monster, who grabbed her and dangled her in the air, along with two other monsters that flew closer to attack Nadia. Nadia held them off with a hand at either of their throats, and her whip around the third one's throat, pulling on the whip to behead that monster, headbutting the first monster, punching the other in the face, now left to deal with only two monsters, as the headless body of the third one fell to the ground. Nadia spun around in the air to turn her whip into a spear, driving the glowing purple spear into the head of the first monster, killing it, ripping it out, slashing it at the second monster to behead him. The headless bodies of the two monsters fell, but that also left Nadia to fall, knowing that this fall would mean her death.

Lyrics: "Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream."

Niko flew up to Nadia to catch her by the back of her suit, making sure Nadia was safe and flying with him. "You're welcome."

Nadia smiled. "Little brother." Niko smiled. They saw a monster up ahead. "Give me a boost."

Niko threw Nadia through the air toward the monster several feet away.

Nadia threw her glowing purple spear into the head of the monster to kill it, soaring closer so that she could grab the body and use it like a surfboard, standing on the body of the monster with her spear in her hand as they fell all the way toward the ground. As soon as Nadia found a roof close enough for her to get to, Nadia turned her spear into her whip, and threw the glowing purple whip around the roof ledge, swinging herself through the air to safety, landing on the ground, rolling over the pavement, rising to her feet.

Lyrics: "Master, master."

∰

Eddie's Trailer - Rooftop

Eddie was still shredding the song.

Dustin looked through his binoculars into the distance, seeing Demobats flying closer from all sides.

∰

Max's Nightmare

Night - Creel House - Dining Room

Max ran into the room, trying to open another door, which remained locked, so she ran away to find another exit.

∰

Billy's Nightmare

Night - Parking Garage

Neil stood. Billy pushed Neil face first against his car window. Neil broke free of his hold, turning to face Billy, backhand punching him in the face. Billy grabbed Neil, flipping him onto the roof of his destroyed car, pulling Neil off, throwing him to the ground. Billy pushed Neil over the hood of the car, making him flip to the ground on the other side, stepping onto the hood of the car, jumping toward Neil, punching into his back with all of the strength he had as he landed on the ground behind him, making him fall to the ground.

Lyrics: "Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream."

∰

Ruby's Nightmare

Night - Ruby's Loft

Ruby noticed that one of her cuffs had popped open during the fight, smirking, grabbing the unlocked cuff as Anthony walked closer, grabbing Ruby, lifting her up from the floor, pushing her against the wall, raising a blade to go in for the kill. Ruby locked the other cuff around his wrist of the hand that he had against her chest to keep her pinned just as he thrusted the blade toward her, using her free hand to catch the sword and turn it away to the side before it could kill her, punching him in the face, pushing him back as she ran at Anthony with a yell. Anthony swung them around by their cuffed wrists, trying to punch Ruby. Ruby ducked, tackling Anthony over the floor, making them both roll and fall over a raised floor, the chain of the handcuffs linking them together getting caught by a sharp wall accessory which broke the weakened chain, causing both Ruby and Anthony to fall to the ground below, both landing on their backs, the breath knocked out of them as they gasped for breath.

Lyrics: "Needlework the way, never you betray."

Ruby and Anthony both noticed that they were no longer cuffed together, instantly getting up, both thrusting out a hand to shoot glowing golden light at each other. Anthony tried to overpower Ruby, but Ruby was clearly the stronger one, golden glow filling her eyes as she thrust her arm toward Anthony, shooting both of their beams back at him, taking him down.

Lyrics: "Life of death becoming clearer."

∰

Upside Down

Eddie's Trailer - Rooftop

Eddie threw his head back while shredding the guitar, shouting into the sky.

Dustin banged his head to the beat.

∰

On the Road

Niko flew down closer to the other members of his group, seeing a bunch of Mirage monsters getting close, shooting blue fire and lightning out of either of his hands at all the buildings on either side of the road, spinning through the air as he did to make sure that he got everything, causing all the buildings to come crashing down with explosions of blue glowing fire, to ensure that all the monsters were burning and dying, crushed to death by the concaving structures.

Lyrics: "Pain monopoly, ritual misery."

As the monsters destroyed the armored car, Steve, Will, Mike, Nancy, Calliope and Robin had to jump out of the broken top to try and get to safety, but the monsters almost got them, just as the armored car behind them exploded, almost killing them.

Hailey flew closer just in time, using her red aura energy as a shield to block the monsters and the explosion away from Steve, Will, Mike, Nancy, Calliope and Robin, by circling them with the energy as a protective shield, groaning in pain as the explosion burned her powers, but she still managed to pull Steve, Will, Mike, Nancy, Calliope and Robin away to safety, just as her energy faded, and they fell to the ground, a little jarred, slightly hurt from falling, but quickly standing and using their weapons against the monsters that came for them.

Lyrics: "Chop your breakfast on a mirror."

Steve had the spears that Lucas and Erica had made. Nancy had her sawed off shotgun. Robin was holding Nancy's pistols. Mike had Ruby's bow and arrows. Calliope had her own assortment of weapons when needed but could mostly rely on either daggers or her guns. Will had Nadia's sword.

Lyrics: "Taste me, you will see."

∰

Max's Nightmare

Night - Creel House - Kitchen

Max ran through the kitchen to get to the back door, opening the door, only to stop in shock when she saw the sauna door from 3.04.

Flayed!Billy, one of Max's traumatizing nightmares, slammed himself against the door, screaming. "Max! Let me out of here!"

Max backed away in shock.

Lyrics: "More is all you need."

∰

Billy's Nightmare

Night - Parking Garage

Neil saw a metal staff, taking it, turning to hit Billy in the head with it, making him fall. They both stood, facing each other, glaring.

Suddenly, within the nightmare, the pavement started to crumble.

Billy backed away quickly, grabbing two staff-like poles.

Lyrics: "Dedicated to..."

∰

Ruby's Nightmare

Night - Ruby's Loft

Melody jumped down behind Ruby, trying to punch her from behind, but Ruby raised an arm to block the move without looking at her, spinning to punch Melody viciously in the face, snapping her head to the side. Melody tried to punch Ruby, as Ruby ducked to make her miss, trying to kick her. Melody raised an arm to block the move, punching Ruby in the chest, making her fall back into the wall behind her with a groan, spinning to try and kick her in the face. Ruby ducked out of the way, spinning to face Melody. Melody instantly turned to face Ruby, jabbing Ruby in the throat, punching her in the face, grabbing Ruby in a choke hold with an arm around her throat, now standing behind her, and holding one of her arms to restrain her. Ruby used her other arm to grab the arm around her throat, and used the arm that Melody was restraining to grab onto hers, spinning them both around, walking along the wall as Melody still had Ruby in the restraint, jumping from the wall and flipping through the air to flip them to the ground, making them both land in a position that made Melody let go of Ruby, as Ruby rolled up to her feet. Melody instantly stood, but before she could do anything, Ruby turned to her and grabbed her arm, spinning around to flip Melody through the air, over her shoulder and to the floor in front of her. Melody tried to get up. Ruby instantly ran toward her, kicking Melody viciously in the chest, making her hit the wall behind her.

Lyrics: "How I'm killing you..."

∰

Upside Down

On the Road

A monster tried to attack Steve. Steve drew his spears, spinning them around, slashing the spears through the monster's arms, cutting the arms off completely, impaling him in the chest, ripping the spears out to kill him.

Nancy slid beneath a monster as she drew her gun, aiming the gun up at his head, pulling the trigger, blowing the monster's head off, as the goo-like blood fell and coated her skin and hair.

Lyrics: "Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings."

Another monster tried to use tendrils to wrap around Calliope. Calliope ducked each tendril, jumping up, kicking the monster back, flipping through the air to land in a crouch, standing, spinning to kick the monster back, shooting it in the head chest, distracting it enough so that Will could take the sword and swing it through the monster's head, killing it.

As Robin was firing her gun at another monster, the monster took Robin down, using its tendrils to grab hold of her and restrain her completely. Nancy and Calliope both fired their guns repeatedly at the monster to save Robin. Mike fired an arrow into both eyes of the monster to kill it. Will used the sword to cut Robin free from the tendrils, as Calliope helped Robin up to her feet.

Lyrics: "Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams."

∰

Hawkins

Woods

Andy caught up to Erica, tackling her to the ground, the 18-year-old boy holding the 11-year-old girl down, pinning her.

Erica struggled to get away. "Get off!"

∰

Max's Nightmare

Night - Creel House - Kitchen

Flayed!Billy slammed against the sauna door. "Max! Open the door!" Max turned to run, but her path of escape was blocked by more boards. "Open the door!"

Flayed!Billy yelled, slamming through the glass in the door, screaming.

Max jumped, turning to face him, backing away.

∰

Ruby's Nightmare

Night - Ruby's Loft

Melody glared at Ruby, smirking, knowing that saying the same words that Anthony had would push her off her limit. "Broken. Damaged. Useless. You can't protect your loved ones, silly. You'll lose everyone."

Ruby glared furiously in rage, releasing a scream of insanity, running at Melody, tackling her to the ground. She found Anthony's knife on the floor nearby, picking it up, slashing it down at Melody. Melody raised a hand to make the knife go through her hand instead of stabbing her, grabbing Ruby, flipping her to the ground to try and turn the knife around on Ruby and stab her, smiling widely, wickedly, letting out a crazed, insane, cackling laugh. Ruby held the knife at bay with both hands and all her strength, kneeing Melody in the stomach, making her let go, ripping the knife from her hand, stabbing it through Melody's cheek, mouth and out through her other cheek, spearing her head on the knife, making Melody scream in agony. Ruby ripped the knife out, pushing Melody to the ground, instantly getting up to straddle Melody down as she brought the knife down over and over in a crazed, frenzied rage, stabbing Melody repeatedly with the knife over and over with the screams of her own accompanying Melody's, stabbing her at least 20 times before she finally stopped, breathing heavily.

Ruby had needed to let out all of the anger, betrayal and pain that her family had put her through, from years of abuse, from turning her insane like them, and everything that was happening now because of her mother and father, not just to Ruby, but all of those she loved.

Lyrics: "Blinded by me, you can't see a thing / Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream."

Intercut with Ruby going nuts on Melody with the knife, Eddie was shredding his guitar, Billy was beating Neil, Nadia and Will were using their swords, Steve was using his spears, Calliope, Nancy, Robin and Mike were using their guns and arrows to shoot, and Niko and Hailey were using their powers to destroy more Mirage monsters in the UPSD, as Ruby was taking out all of her anger and frustration and conflict on Melody, the reason behind for most of the trauma that all of the teens had gone through because of the Upside Down.

Lyrics: "Master, master."

∰

Upside Down

Eddie's Trailer - Rooftop

Dustin looked through the binoculars again, seeing that the Demobats were getting close. "Eddie! We gotta lock down in T-minus 30 seconds!"

Dustin held up one hand with three fingers raised, while holding up his other hand in a 0 shape to emphasize the point.

Eddie nodded but continued to play the rest of the song.

Dustin banged his head to the beat with a grin, in time with 'master'.

Lyrics: "Master, master."

∰

Max's Nightmare

Night - Creel House - Kitchen

Flayed!Billy yelled, running at the sauna door to slam against it, trying to break the door down.

Max jumped back in fear.

Flayed!Billy slammed again.

∰

Ruby's Nightmare

Night - Ruby's Loft

Ruby still pinned Melody on the floor, kneeling above her, covered in the blood of her parents.

Melody was covered in her own blood, laughing weakly. "There it is, Ruby. You're just like us. Like we said. Beginning of the end. What about ours?"

Ruby gripped the back of Melody's neck to pull her head off the floor, holding the knife up to her neck with her other hand, leaning in close to whisper mockingly in rage. "Here it comes."

Ruby slit the blade across Melody's throat, watching her bleed out with bated breath, raising both her arms to swipe the blood off her blade.

∰

Upside Down

On the Road

Hailey looked at the remaining monsters and released a yell of power, letting an aura of red energy burst out of her and radiate out to destroy the remaining monsters that surrounded her, destroying them, making them dissolve out of existence, as the Upside Down group all watched in awe.

Lyrics: "Where's the dreams that I've been after?"

∰

Billy's Nightmare

Night - Parking Garage

The stone pavement of the parking garage continued to crack and crumble from the intense fight between Billy and the nightmare version of his father.

Billy got an idea, smirking, tilting his head, looking at his father with a wicked grin. "Thing about street fights, Neil? Street always wins."

Neil walked toward Billy.

Billy hit Neil twice with either staff, and with a cackling laugh, back flipping out of the way of the cracking pavement, jumping down with every ounce of strength he had, kneeling to the safe side of the ground, hitting either of the staffs to the ground on the shattering side to make the ground fall through, taking Neil with it. Billy stood, backing away instantly, watching as the shattering ground buried Neil alive underground.

Lyrics: "Master, master."

∰

Eddie's Trailer - Rooftop

The bats got closer and closer to the trailer, as Eddie was shredding the guitar solo.

Dustin held up one hand with two fingers and held up the other hand in a 0 shape. "T-minus 20!"

Eddie nodded, still shredding.

Lyrics: "You promised only lies."

∰

Max's Nightmare

Night - Creel House - Kitchen

Flayed!Billy almost broke out. "Max! Let me out!" Max closed her eyes, focusing intently, knowing that she couldn't keep running. "Max! Max!"

All Max could think about, her happiest memory, was the Snowflake Ball in 2.09, dancing and kissing Lucas.

Flayed!Billy was still raging as he tried to break free.

Lyrics: "All I hear or see is laughter."

∰

Ruby's Nightmare

Night - Ruby's Loft

Ruby, covered in her own mother's blood, stood, backing away from her body, turning to where Anthony was still alive in nightmare form.

Anthony was starting to get up, but Ruby instantly held out her hand, and released a deadly amount of her own golden power, burning the nightmare of Anthony away until he disappeared entirely.

Lyrics: "Laughter, laughter."

∰

Billy's Nightmare

Night - Parking Garage

Billy walked closer to the edge of the fallen, shattered ground, looking at Neil below, pinned by debris, breathing heavily.

Billy saw a gun nearby, grabbing it, and aiming it at Neil, shooting him repeatedly in the head until he blew his brains out across the debris.

Lyrics: "Laughing at my cries."

∰

Upside Down

Eddie's Trailer - Rooftop

Eddie was still shredding.

Dustin held up one hand with one finger, and the other hand in a 0 shape. "T-minus 10!"

Lyrics: "Now your life is out of season."

∰

Max's Nightmare

Night - Creel House - Kitchen

As Flayed!Billy was about to break free, Max still had her eyes closed in concentration.

All Max could think about, her happiest memory, was the Snowflake Ball, and dancing with the party, becoming officially one of the members.

Lyrics: "I will occupy / I will help you die."

∰

Billy's Nightmare

Night - Parking Garage

The ground suddenly started to shatter again, nearly swallowing Billy whole to bury him alive with his father.

Billy backed away quickly to safety nearby his car. He closed his eyes in concentration, thinking as hard as he could.

All Billy could think about was his happiest, albeit a little dark, memory, was in 3.08, after Ruby had saved him, months afterward when he spent recovering from nearly dying and being possessed, when Ruby lost her powers, and Max was helping them heal, the first time that Ruby and Billy had said, in their own way, 'I love you'.

He heard his own voice from 3.08. "Not only did you save me from the monster that tried to get me to kill you, you're saving me from my dick of a dad."

He heard Ruby's voice in 3.08. "You saved me too. Never thought that two former psychos could find love. I'm not good with feelings or expressing them, but I think that much... that feeling... is obvious. Even for us."

Billy spoke the same words that he had said back then. "Hell, yeah."

In the memory, Billy and Ruby smiled and laughed lightly. They looked at each other for a moment that was filled with intense longing and relief, heated love. Billy put a hand to her cheek, kissing her passionately, intensely and heatedly. Ruby returned the kiss in kind, holding him close. They pulled away, looking at each other, smirking slight smiles.

Shortly afterward, Max walked over to Ruby and Billy. They all smiled small smiles, chuckling, as Ruby and Max embraced, and Max reached out to take Billy's hand.

Lyrics: "I will run through you / Now I rule you too."

∰

As Eddie was shredding the guitar solo, he closer that Flayed!Billy got to breaking out in Max's nightmare, and the closer that the shattering, crumbling ground got closer to swallowing Billy whole and burying him alive in his nightmare, the closer that the Demobats got to the trailer in the Upside Down.

Dustin counted down. "Five..." Flayed!Billy broke free and started to run at Max, the same time that the shattering and crumbling ground gave way and started to make Billy fall underground. "One!"

Eddie finished the song with an epic swell.

(Song Ends)

∰

Max's Memory

Night - Hawkins High School - Gym

Max mentally brought herself into the memory of the Snow Ball, which was empty aside from her, but it was decorated just like the Snow Ball. She looked around in awe and relief, safe for now. "Holy shit."

Max smiled.

∰

Billy's Memory

Day - Hargrove/Mayfield Old House - Living Room

Billy mentally brought himself into his memory, which was empty aside from him. He looked around in shock and relief, safe for now. "Holy shit."

Billy smirked.

∰

Ruby's Nightmare

Night - Ruby's Loft

With both nightmare versions of her parents dead, Ruby was now standing alone, and let out a heavy breath of relief, even while she was covered in their blood. She closed her eyes and continued to scry for Max and Billy to keep them safe from Vecna, now that this distraction was over.

∰

Upside Down

Eddie's Trailer - Outside

Dustin and Eddie jumped down from the roof, running for the front door.

"Move, move, move!" Eddie ordered.

"Let's go!" Dustin told him. "Eddie, come on! Hurry! Go, go! Shit, shit!" The bats got so close to the trailer. Dustin and Eddie ran through the patio gate. "Eddie, shut it!" Eddie closed a gate in front of the door to block the bats from getting inside, as the two ran into the trailer. "Come on, come on!"

∰

Inside

Eddie and Dustin ran into the trailer, slamming the door behind them.

Dustin looked at Eddie, exhilarated. "Dude! Most metal ever!"

Eddie smiled. "Oh, my... Oh, my God."

Eddie and Dustin both started jumping up and down like excited little kids, cheering, hollering.

∰

On the Road

With all of the monsters here gone, Hailey, Nadia and Niko let their powers fade.

Nadia and Niko walked closer, joining everyone else.

"Yeah," Mike said. "We got this."

"Car's gone," Will pointed out.

"How do we get there now?" Robin asked.

"We walk," Nancy answered.

"We don't have far," Nadia assured. "We're close. I can feel it."

"Makes sense why all these fuckers were here then," Calliope remarked.

"Let's go," Niko told them.

"You guys ready?" Steve asked.

Hailey nodded. "Ready as we'll ever be."

The group walked down the road together, following Nadia as she was leading them there, her eyes glowing as she could see the path leading them there.

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - Lab

The Russian group crawled up through the opening in the floor that they had escaped through before.

When they looked around, they saw that absolutely everything was destroyed, including the cages that had held the monsters before.

They all realized the monsters were free and killed everyone in the prison.

"Oh, dear God," Murray said.

Apollo looked at Natasha. "We've gotta contain that Gate, now."

Natasha nodded in agreement.

∰

Gate Room

Apollo, Natasha and Nadyr led the way down the stairs toward the Gate, which was very much still open, but still weakened.

Hopper, Joyce and Murray followed, each one with a weapon ready.

They found one guard still left alive, but barely.

Natasha walked toward the guard, kneeling in front of him, speaking in Russian. "What happened here?" The guard strained for breath, wheezing, speaking in Russian. Natasha translated in English. "The monsters got in. The guards, they tried to stop them. The gunfire shattered the tanks. The others came alive."

"The particles," Joyce told them, looking between Nadyr and Natasha. "Ask him about the particles."

Nadyr spoke in Russian to ask him.

When the guard spoke in Russian, Nadyr translated to English. "He says they call it 'the shadow'. The shadow went into them."

"Into who?" Hopper asked.

Nadyr asked in Russia. "Into who?" When the guard didn't answer, Nadyr repeated himself in Russian. "Into who?"

The guard didn't have a chance to respond, as he bled out and died in front of them.

The others exchanged a look.

Further in the prison, they heard the monstrous bellowing of not just the Demogorgons, but Demodogs.

Hopper ignited the blow torch in his hand.

Natasha stood, turning around. Natasha, Apollo and Nadyr were ready to use their powers at a moment's notice.

They turned toward the security feed on the screens in front of them.

Apollo pointed to the screen. "I think this answers your question, Hopper. The shadow is in them."

∰

Hawkins - Upside Down

Woods

Nadia's power led the Upside Down Group through the woods.

Robin looked around nervously. "Uh, I don't mean to freak anyone out, but I swear we've seen this tree before."

"That's impossible," Nancy told her.

"That would suck, right?" Robin asked. "If Vecna and Mirage destroyed the world because... 'cause we got lost in the woods?"

"We're not lost, Robin," Nadia told her.

Robin started to run ahead of them.

"Robin, hey," Niko told her. "Watch out for the vines! Hive mind. Remember?"

"Thank you," Robin replied.

Calliope followed Robin, keeping up with her so that they all knew that everyone was safe.

Steve and Nadia were walking together.

Steve looked at Nadia. "Uh, don't worry about her. She's just stressed. You know, scared."

"Yeah, I know," Nadia agreed. "It's just..."

"She's a super klutz," Steve finished.

Nadia chuckled. "She did tell us that it took her longer to walk than most babies, so..."

Steve chuckled. "You know, I shouldn't laugh. When I was a baby, I actually crawled backwards."

Nadia looked at him in amusement. "Crawled backwards?"

Steve nodded. "You know, I'd push with my hands like this." He illustrated pushing the ground, where a baby would end up going backwards. "Beep, beep. Always in reverse, you know? Come on, it makes sense. You push to move, right?"

Nadia chuckled. "No, no, it doesn't make sense."

"Well, it did to my tiny little Harrington brain," Steve replied. "That is, until I reversed my baby butt down a flight of stairs and thumped my head really good." Nadia looked at him in surprise. Steve nodded. "Yeah."

Nadia smirked teasingly. "Wow. That explains so much."

Steve laughed. "Yeah. I think it kinda does. I think, like, right out of the gate, like, I'm super confident. But I'm also, like, an idiot. Which is just... I mean, it's a brutal combination. But, I mean, the good news is, I get a big enough thump on my head, I can change, you know? I can learn. I can... crawl forward. Listen, I guess what I'm trying to say in a really stupid, roundabout way is, um..." They stopped walking, facing each other, as Steve clicked his tongue. "Is thank you."

Nadia raised an eyebrow in surprise, confused. "Thank me?"

"Yeah," Steve answered.

"For..." Nadia trailed off.

"For giving my head the biggest thump of its life three years ago," Steve answered.

"You're talking about all the times I dragged you down?" Nadia asked.

"Yeah," Steve answered. "About the way I treated Hailey, about how I was acting exactly like the guys that made her life a living hell. You took her under her wing and protected her and taught her how to protect herself, when I didn't. And you hated that I didn't protect her like I should've, and you didn't waste a chance to tell me. You loved giving me a thump in the head about it all. And it really did help me learn. Help me change. I needed it. It's changed my life." They continued walking, as Nadia couldn't help a small smile. "And now I'm crawling forward."

"Yeah, now you're a mother of nine kids helping me protect them and fight for them," Nadia teased.

Steve chuckled in amusement, reminded of their earlier conversation because of what she just said, turning to face her, as they stopped walking again. "Remember the dream I told you about? About the Winnebago? About seeing the country with my six lil' nuggets? It's all true, every last word. But I left one part out. It's the most important part. You were there. You've always been there."

Nadia smiled, not surprised in the least, but definitely touched, in awe that anyone wanted that with her, especially Steve. "I want to be there."

Steve, having been nervous about her response before, returned the smile in relief and awe, so relieved that she wanted the same thing.

Nadia just looked at Steve for a long moment, before giving into temptation, unable to resist any longer, placing a hand onto his cheek, and Steve immediately met her halfway in a passionate, tender, sweet kiss, savoring every moment of the short intimate scene.

Finally, they pulled away, and Steve smiled. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"

Nadia shrugged slightly, using Steve's words from 3.08 when they had kissed for the first (and one of the only) times. "Any of us could die tonight, so I might not see you when this is over. So I figured if I'm gonna do this, this might be the only time I can."

Steve recognized the words and couldn't help a soft laugh. "You're stealing my lines."

Nadia smiled, taking Steve's hand to lead him along. "Come on. We don't have much time."

Steve couldn't keep his smile off his face as the two looked at each other.

Mike, Hailey, Will and Niko could hear them from further back, smirking knowingly in amusement, happy for Steve and Nadia and hoping that they got another chance together after tonight.

Even Nancy had a slight smile.

Niko and Will whispered to themselves, laughing lightly.

"Nadia and Steve are literally so in love that it hurts," Will told him.

"I know," Niko agreed. "Believe me." He looked at Will hesitantly. "There is a chance that this won't work, Will."

Will took Niko by the hand, looking him in the eye seriously. "Don't talk like that. I know you better than you know yourself, Nikolai Rostov. And you, Nadia and Hailey are strong enough to do this. All of us are. We can do this. Whatever it takes."

"You don't have to be here when we do," Niko told him. "You can just run with the others."

Will shook his head, placing Niko's arms around his neck, wrapping his arms around his waist to hold him, comfort him and reassure him. "I'm not leaving you. Not after everything we've been through together. We've survived everything that these monsters and everyone else have thrown at us, Niko. We'll survive this too. And if we don't... at least we go down together."

Niko nodded, accepting it. "Almost like a death pact if we don't make it. Till death do us part?"

"Without the wedding, but yeah," Will answered.

Niko and Will smiled small smiles, looking at each other for a long moment, kissing passionately and sweetly as if it could be the last time, because they knew that there was a chance that it was. They pulled away, leaning their heads together, breathing deeply.

Niko breathed his words against Will's lips. "I love you, William Byers. I never stopped loving you."

"I love you too," Will whispered. "So much. I've always loved you."

They both had glistening eyes, though they were determined and strong.

"We'll always love each other," Niko told him.

Will nodded.

Hailey walked past Niko, Will, Nadia and Steve. "Come on, lovebirds."

The four of them smirked and rolled their eyes, while Mike and Nancy both followed Hailey with a smile.

The group went to catch up with Calliope and Robin, as Nadia's power continued to lead the way.

Calliope called after Robin. "Ro... slow down! Ro--Robin!"

Nadia led them straight to Mirage's lair.

When they reached the end of the woods, they noticed Mirage's castle lair in the distance, looking at it in shock.

"That's Mirage's lair?" Nancy asked.

"Just the reality part of it," Niko answered. "The nightmare part of it is a hell of a lot more trippy."

"Remember, when we get close, talk as little as we possibly can so we can at least try to sneak up to him from either side of reality," Steve told them.

"He already knows we're coming, but yeah, stealth is key right about now," Calliope agreed.

"All right," Will understood.

Mike nodded. "Yeah."

Hailey sighed heavily, tilting her head, shrugging. "We got this."

Nadia nodded. "Let's do this."

The group started to walk toward the castle.

As they approached, purple and orange energy appeared, circling, creating another Mirage monster that shot up through the ground, the energy fading away to reveal that it was a storm monster, which roared at all of them, causing them all to stop in shock.

"Oh, shit!" Hailey said.

"What now?" Steve asked.

"Hailey, Niko and I fly through that motherfucker," Nadia answered. "You all get in through the tunnels. Got it?"

They all nodded. "Got it."

"Is this even possible?" Calliope asked.

Hailey shrugged. "We stopped tracking what's possible a long time ago."

"Go!" Niko told them. 

As the two groups started to split up, Calliope called back. "Bye."

"See ya," Niko replied.

"Miss you already," Calliope said sarcastically.

Niko shook his head. "That's weird."

Steve, Nancy, Mike, Robin, Calliope and Will ran away from Hailey, Nadia and Niko toward the tunnels.

The storm monster tried to go after them, but Nadia, Hailey and Niko distracted the attention to themselves, ready to go in.

Niko let fire shoot from his hands and feet as he flew up to the storm monster.

Hailey and Nadia held onto each other as Hailey shot glowing red aura energy out of her hands and levitated them into the storm monster, almost like they were flying.

Niko, Hailey and Nadia soared through the glowing purple and orange inside of the storm monster. Hailey and Nadia had to land on two of the debris pieces inside the storm as Hailey's levitation had a limit especially right now, both using the pieces of debris to float through the sky, while Niko flew after them.

They looked around at everything around inside the storm monster, hair whipping around.

"Whoa," Niko said. "That's awesome."

As lightning struck down toward them, Nadia stood, conjuring her purple glowing whip, and flung it around the lightning strike, wrapping it up tight, and used her whip to ride the lightning through the sky almost like she was flying, swinging from one piece of debris to another.

Hailey, Niko and Nadia took formation on all sides of the storm, as Hailey was using red energy to levitate, Niko was using blue flames to fly, and Nadia was using her purple whip to ride the lightning. They all conjured enough of their power, glowing all along them, and within their eyes, along with Hailey's gem, shooting out their combined power to radiate throughout the storm monster, destroying it completely from the inside within seconds, dissolving it into nothing with flashes of their power.

Once the monster was gone, Hailey, Nadia and Niko let their powers fade enough so that they could land on the ground safely, each one on their feet, crouching down as they landed. They all looked up, slowly standing, looking at the dark castle in front of them with the glowing red gem that was similar to Hailey's gem in her head, causing them to look at it apprehensively as Hailey raised her hand to touch the gem in her head.

Hailey, Nadia and Niko exchanged a look, sighing, walking toward the front doors of the castle.

∰

Inside - Castle

Hailey and Niko pushed the doors open as they and Nadia walked into the dark castle, continuing to walk, looking around apprehensively, taking in the sight of the medieval structure.

"There's definitely nothing like this in Hawkins," Hailey stated. "Bastard created this just for himself." Nadia and Niko nodded in agreement. The doors behind Hailey, Nadia and Niko closed, causing them to look behind them at the doors, uneasy, but knowing they didn't have time to waste. "I'll dreamwalk and find his mirror and help Niko bring you guys through so we can do the rest, Nadia."

Nadia and Niko both nodded in agreement.

"I've gotta take Nadia into my own mind lair, the Sanctuary, for us to be able to do that again, though," Niko explained.

Nadia tilted her head. "Then let's do it."

(Song:) Enter Sandman - Halocene feat. Violet Orlandi & Lauren Bubic

Hailey let her eyes turn black and red, as her gem glowed red, starting to dreamwalk already.

Niko and Nadia sat down, as Niko was trying to connect to Hailey telepathically, eyes closed. His glowing blue headpiece appeared around his head, as he started to levitate in the air, conjuring a web of glowing blue psionic energy and matter all around him and Nadia. Nadia conjured spheres of purple psionic energy to connect to Niko's glowing blue web, so that they could use their combined powers to pull Nadia into his mind lair with him. They could see through little windows of energy to try and find Hailey and find a way into her mind lair to aid in her dreamwalking, each window connected by lines of energy like a spider web, looking through each window in the magic web, causing the web to spin and cyclone around them until they found the right one. Niko's head piece flared with blue light.

As they did this, the entire room's background changed into a black background with stars.

Lyrics: "Say your prayers, little one / Don't forget, my son / To include everyone."

∰

Niko's Mind Lair (The Sanctuary)

Niko and Nadia were in Niko's mind lair, able to bring Nadia into the mind lair with Niko's telepathy and Nadia's empathy connected.

Nadia looked around in awe. "Holy fucking mind lair."

Niko smiled. "That's what I said. Come on."

Niko walked forward, standing at the base of the altar of the sanctuary. The water in the altar started to glow blue, swirling around, as a gem in the middle on metal within the water glowed blue. Glowing sparks of power around the altar started to appear, encircling around the altar to create a base of a tree.

Lyrics: "I tuck you in, warm within, keep you free from sin."

Niko's energy circled around the entire tree, building it to full size in a beautiful display of power, flowers blooming from blue fiery and lightning energy.

Nadia watched in shock and awe, walking closer to stand beside Niko.

Lyrics: "Till the Sandman, he comes."

The tree glowed with different colors depending on the minds that Niko tried to connect to. When Niko was ready to get into their mind, the energy from the glowing tree shot out toward the door in front of Niko and Nadia in a beautiful, powerful blue fiery blast, opening the door completely.

This time, it glowed red and black for Hailey/Dark Hailey, the energy from the glowing tree shooting out toward the door in front of them in a powerful blast, opening the door.

Lyrics: "Sleep with one eye open / Gripping your pillow tight."

Niko and Nadia looked around as the tree along with all the flowers had changed from blue to red, smiling, walking away from the altar, toward the open door, past the wave of Niko's energy that opened the door, and walked through the open door into Hailey's mind.

Lyrics: "Exit light."

∰

Maze of Mirrors / Dream Walking

Hailey was searching through the mirrors within the maze, when she heard a rattling from behind a mirror, slowly walking down the way toward it apprehensively, resting her hand on the mirror.

Lyrics: "Enter night."

The mirror suddenly shattered, the glass raining down around Hailey, revealing nothing but flames behind the glass, as Hailey was ripped past the shattered glass right into the flames, screaming as she flung herself into dreamwalking.

Lyrics: "Take my hand / We're off to never-never land."

Hailey next appeared on a dock over a black ocean, kneeling down, looking down at the water, seeing no reflection. She let her eyes turn black and her irises and the gem in her head glow red, allowing her hand to glow with red energy as she passed her hand through the water, making the black ocean water glow red from within, the stars in the sky glowing red above.

Hailey let her powers fade and her eyes return normal as she looked into the water.

In the red glowing reflection in the black water, a reflection of Hailey was glaring up at her, like it was Dark Hailey instead of Hailey herself, her eyes and gem glowing red, the sclera black, while Hailey's eyes and gem were normal.

Lyrics: "Something's wrong, shut the light, heavy thoughts tonight."

Hailey slowly reached down to the reflection, but Dark Hailey reached up from the water to grab Hailey's hand, pulling her into the water, dragging her down through the black ocean that glowed red from their power.

Lyrics: "And they aren't of Snow White."

Hailey swam away through the red glowing black sea to escape from Dark Hailey, using her powers to catapult her away from Dark Hailey, knowing that she couldn't let her dark alter ego stop her from the mission. Dark Hailey used her powers to catapult herself forward to catch up with Hailey, but Hailey managed to swim up ahead and flip over Dark Hailey through the red glowing black sea, making Dark Hailey catapult several yards ahead, as Hailey stayed behind her, buying herself some time, looking around.

Lyrics: "Dreams of war, dreams of liars, dreams of dragons' fire."

Seeing a mirror underwater, Hailey dove through the watery reflection, leaving this dream and going into that of another.

Lyrics: "And of things that will bite, yeah."

In the dream, fell from the watery sky and landed in the middle of a crossroads in a crouch, looking up as water splashed around her landing. Hailey stood, taking in the sight of the crossroads in the middle of nowhere, soaking wet from the black sea, looking around in shock as she gasped for breath.

Dark Hailey appeared to be huge in size as she grabbed the crossroads from the ground and ripped it up, picking it up along with Hailey.

Hailey fell from Dark Hailey's grip, falling through the air, and as she fell, she traveled from this dream to another.

Lyrics: "Sleep with one eye open."

In another nightmare, Hailey, still falling, seemed to land on an executioner's dock in the past, with a rope being wrapped around her neck. As the fall away door fell through in an attempt to kill her, Hailey used her power to destroy the rope around her neck before it could snap her neck, and she fell through the door, into endless darkness below.

Lyrics: "Gripping your pillow tight / Exit light."

Hailey fell through the endless darkness, which turned into what appeared to be an Upside Down underground tunnel with vines and tendrils all around. Hailey crashed into the walls a couple of times as she fell, but she managed to spin in the air and start to dive without touching the narrow walls around her, going faster, taking control of her own journey.

Lyrics: "Enter night / Take my hand."

Reaching the end of the tunnel, Hailey seemed to dive right through the eye of a red and black thunderstorm, ending up on the beach in the middle of nowhere. She rolled across the sand and rose up to her feet, standing tall, exhilarated from the rush of dreamwalking. Her eyes were swimming with red glowing color as she looked around.

Lyrics: "We're off to never-never land / Yeah, yeah."

Hailey noticed a serpent next to a gem on the sand of the beach in front of her. The snake lunged forward to attack Hailey, but Hailey held out her hand and wrapped the serpent with her red energy, destroying the snake within seconds, making it dissolve into sand.

Lyrics: "Now I lay me down to sleep."

Hailey turned toward the ocean, walking into the water.

Lyrics: "Now I lay me down to sleep."

The water started to float and make a passage all around Hailey, soaring into the sky like an upside-down water fall on both sides of her. The passage wrapped around Hailey to trap her inside, the water falling all back down to trap her from above.

Lyrics: "Pray the Lord my soul to keep / Pray the Lord my soul to keep."

Now completely submerged in water, Hailey felt more trapped than ever, her eyes and gem starting to glow red as her sclera turned black as she started to lose control, holding her head in her hands, screaming in rage and determination, causing a burst of red energy to explode out of her in all directions, evaporating all of the water surrounding her, breaking free completely.

Lyrics: "If I die before I wake / If I die before I wake."

Hailey stood alone on the California beach, looking over the waves, the people around the beach.

Lyrics: "Pray the Lord my soul to take."

Everyone around her seemed to disappear with a shimmering wave, causing Hailey to look around in confusion.

Lyrics: "Pray the Lord my soul to take."

Through the glaring sun, Hailey saw a silhouette walk toward her, but she was too blinded to see who the outline was. The outline shimmered in and out of view before disappearing.

Lyrics: "Hush, little baby, don't say a word."

Turning around, Hailey noticed the formerly bright beach was becoming darker, twisted, overrun by shadows and vines, all over the ground, like the Upside Down.

Lyrics: "And never mind that noise you heard."

The water in the ocean was drying, rotting away, disappearing within seconds.

Lyrics: "It's just the beast under your bed."

Red and black thunderclouds rolled into the sky, lightning, thundering.

Lyrics: "In your closet, in your head."

The mirror for Mirage appeared, and Hailey knew that it would lead them right to Mirage's mind.

Lyrics: "Exit light..."

Hailey turned behind her, seeing a mirror that would link her directly to Niko and Nadia, as Niko was using his telepathy and clairvoyance to bind his powers with Hailey's once again in order for them to pull Niko and Nadia into the dreamwalking state with Hailey, like Niko and Hailey had done in 4.07.

Lyrics: "Enter night..."

Nadia and Niko were in the Maze of Mirrors, as Nadia looked around and took in the sight of the mind lair. Through the mirror, they saw Hailey on the beach with the red and black thunderstorm and Mirage's mirror in front of her.

Lyrics: "Grain of sand..."

Niko put his hand on the mirror in front of them, making the mirror glow blue.

In the dreamscape, Hailey placed her hands on the edge of the mirror, allowing her irises and gem to glow red, as her sclera turned black. Her glowing red energy aura appeared all around her, uniting with the mirror, making it glow completely, almost turning the mirror into a water like reflection.

In the Maze of Mirrors, Niko put his hands on the mirror, letting his eyes glow blue, making blue energy glow alongside the red energy within the watery reflection.

Lyrics: "Exit light."

Niko and Nadia touched the glass of the mirror in front of them, as their hands went through like water. They started to walk through the mirror, passing through the glowing red and blue water reflections like layers surrounding them, until they reached the dreamscape.

Lyrics: "Enter night."

In the dreamscape, as Niko and Nadia almost fell through the rest of the watery mirror, Hailey steadied both of them with a hand on their arms. The three of them took each other's hands, knowing they needed to for this next part, as Hailey's hand holding Nadia's glowed red, and Niko's hand holding Nadia's glowed blue, making her hands glow purple as well.

Lyrics: "Take my hand."

Hand in glowing hand, Hailey, Nadia and Niko turned toward Mirage's mirror, and started to walk through the mirror, passing through the glowing red and blue water reflections like layers surrounding them, joined in by purple glow from Nadia, until they reached their destination.

Lyrics: "We're off to never-never land."

(Song Ends)

∰

Max's Memory

Day - Skatepark

Eleven was still searching the skatepark, finally finding Young Max.

Young Max was sitting on the ground with a busted knee, sitting next to her skateboard.

A boy walked past Young Max. "Shouldn't you be playing with dolls or something?"

"Shouldn't you bag your face?" Young Max replied, flipping him off.

The boy scoffed, walking away.

"Max," Eleven called, her voice echoing. "Max!" Young Max walked past Eleven, skating away. Eleven updated Jonathan. "I found Max."

∰

Reality

Night - Creel House - Bathroom

Jonathan stood by Eleven's side at the bath.

"But she's young," Eleven explained. "She can't see me. Can't hear me."

"You don't see Ruby or Billy at all?" Jonathan asked.

"No," Eleven answered. "It's like... they were ripped away... somehow. But I still feel Ruby using her powers. They're still alive."

Jonathan sighed in relief, but still worried. "Do you see anything weird in this memory? Any sign of Vecna, Mirage, or--or the Mind Flayer?"

∰

Max's Memory

Day - Skatepark

Eleven looked around the brightly lit skateboard. "No, everything is normal."

(Song:) Every Breath You Take - The Police

Eleven looked up at a road bridge above, which had a bus sitting on top of it.

The Snow Ball dance table with the record was sitting at the side of the road bridge, playing the song that played at the Snow Ball, but it was distorted, staticky.

Eleven frowned. "There is something that doesn't fit. I think it is another memory."

Eleven walked toward the bridge.

∰

Max's Memory

Night - Hawkins Middle School - Gym

Max was sitting at a table at the Snow Ball, completely alone, but listening to the song. She knew that Vecna would be trying to split her away from Billy and Ruby again to make it harder for them to protect each other, but she was completely unnerved, waiting anxiously to see any sign that they were okay, especially after her earlier admission.

(Song Ends)

One by one, balloons all over the dance started to explode into a rain of blood and flesh.

Max jumped up with a gasp, looking around in shock and horror.

(Song:) Dream a Little Dream of Me (Single Version) - Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong

The song on the record distorted and changed into Victor Creel's favorite song.

Max turned to look at the record in shock.

Soon, all of the banners and pictures on the walls, and all the belongings nearby, withered and died, covered in blood, the gym turning dark and blue, covered in vines, the entire scenery changing to look like it was in the Upside Down right before her eyes, snow-like flecks starting to fall from the ceiling.

The red and black thunderstorm appeared outside, lighting flashing and thunder cracking.

∰

Billy's Memory

Day - Hargrove/Mayfield Old House - Living Room

Billy was alone in his memory, trying to play his usual classic rock songs on his stereo.

Soon, all of the pictures on the walls, and all the belongings nearby, withered and died, covered in blood, the house turning dark and blue, covered in vines, the entire scenery changing to look like it was in the Upside Down right before his eyes, snow-like flecks starting to fall from the ceiling.

Billy looked around in shock.

The song on the stereo flipped to Dream a Little Dream of Me, causing Billy to turn to look at it in confusion.

The red and black thunderstorm appeared outside, lighting flashing and thunder cracking.

∰

Max's Memory

Day - Road Bridge

Now, Eleven was walking across the road bridge above the skateboard, toward the dance table with the record, hearing Dream a Little Dream of Me.

Ruby scried into the memory looking for Billy and Max, hearing the song, turning toward the road bridge, as she was standing in the skatepark below, recognizing the song from the memories Vecna showed her, uneasy, knowing this wasn't a good sign.

Mirage, helping Vecna distract Ruby and Eleven so that he could go after Max and Billy, conjured a monster within the mind meld Max memory out of orange and purple energy, creating a large monster with one eye and tentacles for legs like an octopus, up on the road bridge with Eleven, as both Eleven and Ruby stared in horror and shock.

∰

Reality

Night - Creel House - Attic

Ruby was vulnerable in her scrying state, sitting on the floor, holding Max and Billy's shoulders, who were both vulnerable in their hexed Vecna state.

Ruby was extra vulnerable than she usually was during scrying, because on top of being in the middle of scrying, Vecna had captured Ruby in a hexed state so that Ruby couldn't pull out of their minds, leaving her completely defenseless to the outside world.

Lucas watched them worriedly, seeing Ruby's change in demeanor when Ruby saw the monster going after Eleven in the mind memory meld, and realizing that Vecna had put her into a hexed state on top of her scrying state. "Oh, shit." He ran toward the window, trying to give Erica the light signal with the flashlight. "What the hell is taking so long?"

∰

Woods

Andy was pinning Erica down to the ground, holding her down.

Erica struggled with all she had. "Let me go, you meathead!"

Andy glared. "Shut your mouth or I'll break your arms. You hear me, you little shit?"

∰

Creel House - Bathroom

Jonathan was standing by Eleven, who was vulnerable in her Void trance, but hearing creaking of the wooden floor out in the hallway, he turned to see Ryan and Jason walking upstairs, ducking down out of sight so that they wouldn't come into the bathroom, trying to keep them away from Eleven while she was so vulnerable.

Ryan and Jason walked past the bathroom without noticing anything odd because the door was mostly closed, walking up to the attic.

Jonathan knew that Ruby, Billy and Max were even more vulnerable in their states, cursing under his breath. "Oh, shit."

Jonathan knew that Lucas would need his help, looking at Eleven.

∰

Attic

Lucas tried the light signal again, which of course was to no avail. When he heard the creaking of the floor behind him, Lucas turned around, stunned to see Ryan and Jason walking in. "Shit. Ryan? Jason? You can't be in here right now, guys."

Ryan and Jason were both focused on Ruby, Max and Billy, frowning in confusion at their states.

Ryan raised an eyebrow at Lucas. "The hell have you done?" He looked at Ruby and Billy, of course assuming they were the monsters hurting Max. "The hell did they do to her?"

"Guys," Lucas tried again. "You need to leave."

Jason was sweating, looking crazed, dazed, walking closer to Ruby, Max and Billy. "Is this what they did to Chrissy?"

"Just listen, guys," Lucas told them. "You need to go, man."

Ryan ignored him, nudging Max. "Hi. Can you hear us?"

Lucas stepped closer. "Ryan, don't touch her. Don't touch any of them. I'm not messing around."

Jason waved a hand in front of Max's face. "Hey."

"Please just--" Lucas started, stepping closer to hurriedly stop them.

Ryan drew his gun, aiming it at Lucas. "Hey, back up! Back up!"

Lucas backed away in fear.

Jason drew his gun, aiming at Lucas.

Jonathan walked in, seeing this. "Lucas!"

Ryan turned to aim his gun at Jonathan to keep him back. "Not another step."

Lucas and Jonathan both raised their hands.

Lucas was stunned by how far they were willing to take this. "Wait, wait. We don't have to do this. We don't have to do this."

"I hope you're right," Jason told him.

"Wait," Jonathan told them.

"Is there anyone else in the house?" Jason asked.

Lucas and Jonathan both lied to protect Eleven. "No. No."

"Turn around," Ryan told them.

"What?" Lucas asked.

"Turn around!" Ryan shouted.

Jonathan gave Lucas a look for him to listen at the moment until they could catch Ryan and Jason off guard. They both turned around.

Jonathan kept his hands up. "Okay, okay. Relax."

Jason looked at Lucas. "And put down your flashlight."

Lucas put the flashlight down. "It's okay. Okay."

"And empty your pockets," Jason added. "Empty your pockets!"

Jonathan and Lucas both did as told. "Okay, okay, okay."

"Now, this is what's gonna happen," Jason told them. "We're gonna back away to the top of the stairs there. Then we'll watch as you wake them up from whatever the hell this is."

"We can't," Jonathan told them. "Ryan, Jason, if we wake them too soon, we all die."

Ryan cocked his gun. "No. You don't wake them up right now, you both die, Byers. Just you."

∰

Mind Meld Memory

Day - Skatepark

The one-eyed octopus monster started to charge at Eleven.

Eleven started to run as her first response, running right to the bus behind her for some sort of shield to use, but the monster flung a tentacle and sent Eleven flying into the bus, trapping her inside, wrapping his tentacles around the bus and dangling it from the ground.

Eleven gasped and started to fall but caught onto a railing in the bus to save herself from falling and getting hurt. She held out one hand, telekinetically destroying the bus around her, making the walls fall, so she could get free before the monster could kill her. She let go of the bar over her head, falling toward the ground, but telekinetically moved a piece of bus wall underneath her feet to glide it down to the ground so she could slowly and gently lower herself to the ground to save her life, without the danger of falling to her demise. Once she reached the ground, she ran away as fast as she could, wiping the blood from her nose as she did.

Ruby instantly let her glowing gold psychic energy shine through her body, shooting it out of her hands and feet to fly herself up to the road bridge above, flipping through the air and landing n the road bridge.

The monster followed Eleven, wrapping a tentacle around her, lifting her up from the ground.

Ruby shot a gold glowing beam out at the monster, burning the tentacle around Eleven to make it let her go, so that Eleven could land on the ground and run to safety toward Ruby up ahead, breathing heavily.

"You okay?" Ruby asked.

Eleven nodded, gasping for breath. "Never better."

Ruby and Eleven looked at the monster ahead of them, whose eye widened in shock to see both of them standing together to face him, both glaring and ready for battle, roaring at them loudly in rage, heading closer to fight.

Ruby ran toward the creature as it got closer, and as a tentacle launched out at her, Ruby ducked, sliding over the ground. Another tentacle went to slam down on her, but Ruby pushed herself up and spun away, using her golden light to fly up and spin through the air to dodge another tentacle attack, instantly thrusting her arm forward to shoot a golden beam at the monster, burning it on contact, making it screech in agony. The monster tried to swing a tentacle at Ruby, but Ruby flipped through the air, over the tentacle, still flying, spinning around, shooting more light at the monster, hitting him right in the eye, burning him intensely, making him scream in agony and anger, smirking in amusement, smugly, but that didn't last for long, as the monster was quickly recovering and ready to attack again.

The creature roared at Ruby. Ruby returned the roar to mock it, unintentionally hilarious, flying closer, flipping over a tentacle, shooting it, burning it with more golden psychic energy, making it scream in agony as she burned another tentacle. The monster wrapped a tentacle around Ruby, restraining her with her arms down, as blood trickled down her nose. Ruby struggled immensely, but remembered that with her power up, she could make her entire body glow with the energy. Ruby closed her eyes, making herself illuminate with glowing gold psionic light, making it shoot out and burn the tentacle through every inch that was wrapped around her, so much so that she could cut the tentacle off from the rest of the monster's body, making the creature let her go, instantly flying away, flipping through the air, letting her light fade, landing in a crouch on the ground.

Eleven ran closer, as Ruby stood and backed away from the monster, wiping the blood from her nose.

The monster used a tentacle to wrap around a car and throw it toward Ruby, and Eleven several meters back.

Eleven held out her hand, using her power to catch the car midair before it could even get close to Ruby, thrusting her hand toward the monster with a yell, sending the car flying back toward the monster, hitting him right in the eye with the car, making it roar in agony, but it did nothing to kill it, even though it did weaken it severely, making it slower, but still quite dangerous and deadly.

Eleven ran toward Ruby as the two stood side by side, glaring at the monster. Ruby let her eyes, hands and chest glow with golden light as she shot it at the monster, screaming with the exertion it took to keep burning the monster, and Eleven thrust out her arms, using her telekinesis to sever off the tentacles that he sent their way, cutting them off, making them fall to the ground ahead of them.

Ruby looked at the monster's eye, knowing that it was the only way to kill it, using the light shining over her entire body, shooting from her hands and feet, to fly into the sky. "El, light pole."

Eleven realized what Ruby was going to do, nodding, holding her hand toward the light pole, using telekinesis to rip it from the ground, levitating it, turning it onto its side like a spear, throwing it toward the monster and Ruby.

Ruby caught the light pole as she was flying, infusing the spear-like weapon with her light as she spun around, and threw the light pole, added with her searing, blinding, sunlight-like light energy, right into the monster's eye with a scream of power.

The monster didn't have enough time to react, his eye widening in shock and realization that this was the end, just before the light pole, infused with Ruby's light, shot into its eye and into the building behind him, pinning him to the building, destroying everything in the body right behind the eye, definitely killing it, as the pole sunk down and ripped the eye out, which was burning away into ash from Ruby's light as it fell to the ground.

∰

Mirage's Mind

Russian Psionic Program - Hallway

The farther that Nadia, Niko and Hailey went into Mirage's mind, the less it looked like a castle, and more like the Russian lab building, as Niko was leading them to where Mirage's signature felt the most powerful since their powers were the same, but by the time they got to where they needed to be, it basically looked completely like an abandoned lab building.

Hailey looked around. "Why does this place look like a lab?"

"It's the lab back in Russia," Nadia explained, as Nadia and Niko both had to fight their trauma on that alone. "This isn't Mirage. This is Andrei. And the part that he can't hide from himself."

Niko led them to where they needed to be. "Here. This is where Mirage's signature feels the most powerful." They looked at the Ouroboros symbol on the wall. "Ouroboros."

"Snake eating its own tail," Hailey stated. "That's a little on the nose, isn't it?"

Niko shrugged. "Well, the symbol means the unity of all things, material and spiritual, reality and fantasy, which is exactly what he did when he created this place out of reality and psionic dream energy. These type of these never disappear but perpetually change form in an eternal cycle of destruction and recreation. This is it. I found the lock to the doorway to his mind. You think you can break the lock so I can open the damn gate, Hailey?"

"Do you even need to ask that?" Hailey replied.

Hailey stepped forward, letting her sclera turn black and her irises and gem glow red as she held out her hand, red aura energy dancing in a sphere within her hand, moving her hands elegantly to illuminate the symbol on the wall in front of them, making it glow completely, making the symbol fade, and revealing the door behind it that Mirage had been hiding before.

"Niko, you're up," Nadia told him.

Niko nodded in agreement, letting his eyes glow blue, holding out his hands, which blazed with blue glowing fiery aura, magically twisting the wheel handle on the lab exit door. "Open sesame."

Niko thrust his hands forward to shoot fire out at the door, tearing it off its hinges, making it fall away to reveal Mirage's reality warping mind lair.

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

Pieces of the castle were floating in the sky within the black and red thunderstorm, debris and destruction everywhere, and the gem sitting in the middle.

Niko jumped down from the door floating in the sky, and landed on the middle floating castle piece, near the castle's throne.

Nadia and Hailey exchanged a look, nodding.

Nadia jumped down from the door, landing on the floating castle throne room next to Niko.

Nadia and Niko both looked up at Hailey.

Hailey jumped down, landing on the floating castle throne room next to Nadia and Niko.

The trio looked around the mind lair, completely taken by surprise, except for Niko, who had already been there before.

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - Gate Room

The Russian group were still in the Pit, preparing for Natasha and Apollo to contain the Gate with their powers.

"I know that we have to contain this Gate, but what about all the monsters running through this prison?" Hopper asked. "We can't take them all out all across the damn building."

Natasha frowned in thought, turning to Joyce and Murray. "Maybe we don't have to. You both turned off the fence, when we broke the glass around the pit, right?"

"Yeah," Joyce answered.

Nadyr realized where his sister was going with this, pointing at her. "Then you can turn it back on."

Apollo chuckled nervously. "Natasha, Nadyr, you wanna clue us in on what you're thinking here, or are we just supposed to read your minds?"

"That pit was designed to trap monsters," Natasha told them. "We get them in there, we lock it up, we rain hell down on them. Our powers, fire from the blow torch, everything that we can get our hands on, and we hope to hell that gives Nadia, Niko, El, Hailey and the other kids an upper hand."

"Okay," Murray said. "I'm with ya. Except the whole, uh..." He chuckled sarcastically. "'Getting them all in here' part."

"It's a hive mind," Hopper pointed out. "You draw one, you draw 'em all." He handed the blow torch to Murray. "You're the grill master."

"Okay," Murray said.

Nadyr tossed a rifle to Hopper, which he caught, before Nadyr looked at Joyce. "And you, you're the jailer. You get that fence turned on. And once they're all in here, lock that door behind 'em."

Joyce looked between Natasha, Apollo, Nadyr and Hopper. "What about you?"

"Natasha and Apollo got to contain that Gate," Hopper pointed out. "Nadyr, you wanna play bait with me?"

Nadyr smirked, shrugging. "Why the hell not? Let's do it, Hopper."

Hopper smirked.

Natasha gave Nadyr and Hopper both a look. "Be careful."

Nadyr and Hopper nodded.

Apollo turned to the screens to see which ones would be easier to lure, pointing at one. "That one there. See him? In the laundry room? It's not far from here."

Nadyr nodded. "He's all alone. He's our target."

Joyce was upset at the sight of Demodogs even through the surveillance screens, flashing back to when she had to watch Bob be torn apart by Demodogs in season/book two.

Natasha placed a hand on Joyce's arm comfortingly, knowing what she was thinking about. "Hey." Joyce looked at Natasha. "It's gonna be okay. We're all gonna die someday. But it's not gonna be today."

"I don't know, Nat," Joyce admitted.

"This time is gonna be different," Natasha told her.

Joyce gave her best friend a look, looking between Natasha and Hopper, glancing at Nadyr and Apollo as well. "It better be. I am not having another funeral."

Natasha and Joyce embraced, before pulling away.

Nadyr gave an embrace to both Natasha and Apollo, before leaving the room, followed by Joyce and Murray.

Hopper looked at Natasha, the two sharing a soft kiss, before Hopper left so they could do what needed to be done.

Natasha and Apollo both turned toward the Gate.

Natasha looked at Apollo. "You ready?"

Apollo nodded. "Yeah. Let's do this."

∰

Hawkins

Upside Down

Eddie's Trailer

Dustin and Eddie were standing tense within the trailer with their weapons, circling around to be on the lookout for anything.

They could hear the Demobats slamming against the walls and fence outside, trying to tear their way inside, all growling, snarling, screeching, but suddenly, all the noise stopped.

"Hey, dipshits!" Dustin called mockingly. "Give up that easy, huh?"

"Shh!" Eddie shushed. "Is that really necessary?" They heard the bats up above. "They're on the roof."

Dustin followed the sounds with a spear and his trash can lid/shield filled with nails. "Shit, shit, shit." Eddie followed with his own weapons, identical to Dustin's. They saw a small grate opening which had a flimsy cover on it. "They can't get in through there, can they?"

The first Demobat slammed through the opening, making Eddie and Dustin both jump and gasp, backing away.

As the Demobat screech, Eddie and Dustin yelled a battle cry, attacking the bat with their spears, stabbing it repeatedly to kill it. "Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!"

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

Hailey, Niko and Nadia were looking around the mind lair.

Hailey stumbled slightly as if she felt intense pain, groaning.

Nadia and Niko both reached out to catch Hailey's arms to steady her. "Hey."

"You okay?" Niko asked.

"I don't know," Hailey admitted. "I... I just felt the pain from before. Like I was using too much of my power, or dark me was trying to break free."

"Let's just get through this and we'll figure out what to do about that after, okay?" Nadia asked.

Hailey nodded.

Mirage monsters were waiting to ambush them, coming out from hiding underneath the castle floor landings, having been hanging on underneath, climbing up now to attack the trio.

Hailey instantly shot a blast of red aura coming from herself out at the first monster, grabbing the monster with the energy, and ripping her arms apart with a yell as her eyes turned black and red, and her gem glowed red, illustrating tearing the creature apart as her power literally tore him apart; her power as a lifeline to reality was the antidote to Mirage's reality warping and could very easily destroy monsters within seconds as seen before.

Niko shot blast of fire and lightning into each monster that came for him, incinerating them. His hand rested on the sheath for his sword Starchaser, but he knew that he didn't need that just yet.

Nadia lunged at another monster, throwing it against the wall of the castle nearby, conjuring her blazing glowing purple sword within a second as she instantly drove the sword into its stomach, ripping the sword out, decapitating the monster with her sword, watching the body fall, turning toward Hailey and Niko, tilting her head, spinning the glowing purple sword in her hand. Another monster lunged toward Nadia, but Nadia ran at him with a yell, flinging her glowing purple whip around it to tackle it through the air, pulling it with her like a pet on a leash, swinging the whip around to throw the monster into another wall. The monster growled at Nadia. Nadia flipped through the air and landing on the castle landing in front of the monster, instantly driving the sword through the neck of the monster to behead it, watching the body fall as she removed the sword and stood straight, ready to fight any monster that came her way, swinging her sword through each monster that flew closer, slashing them to bits, her blazing glowing purple sword leaving lines of blazing purple power in its wake with each wound it left.

Mirage stalked closer to Nadia from behind. "Nadia Rostova." Nadia spun to face Mirage, eyes widening slightly at his bigger, more threatening snake form. Mirage commanded his monsters to stop coming for Nadia. "Hold!" The monsters stopped. Nadia looked around, before her gaze fell onto Mirage once again, his snakely gaze never leaving her. "This one's mine. She's always been mine."

The monsters all backed away from Nadia.

Nadia glared at Mirage furiously. "I belong to no one."

A monster went after Niko before he could go help Nadia. Niko held out his arm to block the monster's move, punching it in the arm to make it let him go, shooting a burst of fire into his chest to send him flying back through the air and off the castle landing, making him free fall through the black and red storm clouds.

Dark Hailey appeared behind Hailey, using her glowing red energy to grab Hailey and throw her to the ground, tilting her head with a smirk. "Missed me yet, Hailey?"

Hailey glared at Dark Hailey, tilting her head. "Should've known you'd show up in a world that's more nightmare than reality."

Dark Hailey smirked, punching down toward Hailey. Hailey rolled out of the way, making her punch the ground instead, spinning up to a standing position, twirling to kick Dark Hailey, making her flip backward through the air. Dark Hailey shot red energy out of her hands to levitate herself and stop herself from falling, flying back over to Hailey, grabbing her, throwing her through the air several feet.

Hailey looked down to see several pieces of castle landing passing by her at lightning speed as she soared through the air, hoping that when she landed, she could land on one of them, shooting red aura out of her hand to levitate herself and slow her fall, managing to land on a castle landing, rolling across the stone before coming to a stop, looking up.

∰

Memory Mind Meld

Day - Skatepark / Road Bridge

As Ruby and Eleven were trying to find Billy and Max, more monsters ran closer, but these ones were smaller, easier to deal with one on one.

Ruby grabbed a monster by the jaw, shooting light right into his mouth with so much strength that she exploded his skull, letting the body of the monster fall to the ground, glaring at the others.

Eleven held her hands toward two monsters, telekinetically throwing them back.

The monsters all ran closer from all sides.

Ruby let her eyes glow gold, kneeling down to slam her fist on the ground, releasing a huge blast of glowing golden psionic light, which radiated out and threw all of the monsters back, burning them intensely as they fell to the ground, all roaring in pain.

Eleven telekinetically shook the entire foundation of the bridge and the buildings around them, making it start to crumble and crash down around the monsters to crush them.

Ruby, with light dancing down her entire body, used the light to fly down to the ground to fight the monsters. A monster ran right toward Ruby. Ruby ran closer with a yell, hand completely coated with glowing gold light as she punched him in the face, the blast shooting into his skull and sending him flying back through the air and to the ground as the blast killed him instantly.

Eleven thrust her arms toward two monsters with a yell, telekinetically throwing them back against the wall, restraining them with telekinesis, before she ripped them apart with her power, hands ripping away from each other to illustrate, letting the pieces of the bodies fall.

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle - Outside

Steve, Will, Mike, Nancy, Calliope and Robin were trying to find another way into the castle, since all of the tunnels seemed to be blocked off by vines and weeds or tumbling rock, but the storm monster was completely gone.

Purple and orange energy appeared, circling, creating another Mirage monster that shot up through the ground, the energy fading away to reveal that it was dragon, who roared at all of them, causing all of them to flinch in shock.

"Oh, shit!" Mike said.

Steve, Calliope and Nancy stood in front of Mike, Will and Robin protectively as they stared in shock.

The dragon growled, starting to charge toward them, causing them to run and split up, but staying close outside of the castle.

The dragon rose, spreading its wings, growling, hurling fire toward each one. Steve, Calliope, Nancy, Mike, Will and Robin all ran for cover, taking shelter behind castle walls and columns for safety.

Steve ran out of hiding, drawing the dragon's attention away from the others so they could have a chance. "Come on!"

As the dragon blew fire toward Steve, Steve rolled over the floor into cover to avoid being burned, safe. He saw the wall, able to climb up along it.

Will stood, holding his sword ready, spinning it around so he could try to slash into the dragon, but the dragon was flying around to make Will miss.

Robin, Calliope and Nancy were firing their bullets, and Mike was firing arrow after arrow, but the dragon was protected by its armor like skin.

∰

Memory Mind Meld

Day - Skatepark / Road Bridge

As two monsters ran toward Ruby, Ruby shot an endless stream of golden psionic power into the two creatures, the force and strength behind the beams powerful enough to send the monsters flying away from Ruby, but Ruby, still getting used to her upgraded power, was also thrown back by the force, as all three hit the walls on either side of the room, all falling to the floor, though the monsters that Ruby blasted with her power were incinerated by it, dead.

Ruby pushed herself up, looking around, standing.

A monster tried to attack Eleven, but Eleven held out her hand, catching him with her power, suspending him in the air, glaring, as she twisted her wrist, using her power to break every bone in his body, letting the monster fall to the ground, dead.

As a monster ran toward Ruby, Ruby punched it in the face, blocking its arm from striking her, sending another punch to its face, jumping up to spin through the air and kick the monster in the head, landing on her feet, spinning to face the monster, shooting two blasts of glowing golden light at the monster, incinerating it within seconds, watching as it burned to ash, walking away.

Eleven focused on another monster, glaring, yelling. Her power, without much force, was strong enough to make the monster's head explode from within, with a rain of blood and flesh.

Ruby raised her eyebrows, impressed. "Holy shit."

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - Corridors

Hopper and Nadyr split up, walking down the corridors alone, past all the blood and the body parts; Hopper held his rifle ready, while Nadyr was ready to use his powers at a moment's notice.

They found their way toward the laundry room on either side, looking inside, searching for the Demodog, as it was tearing a guard to pieces.

Hopper whistled to get the Demodog's attention.

The Demodog spun to face them, roaring.

Nadyr shot a blast of plasma out at the Demodog to knock it back down, but not enough to fully injure it, turning to Hopper. "Go, go!"

They ran down the corridor, luring the Demodog after it, along with many others that followed suit as planned.

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

Once again, Hailey seemed overcome with pain, but she powered through it for the battle she knew was set to come.

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - Gate Room

Natasha and Apollo stood on either side of the Gate as the energy of the Gate started to collapse, allowing their eyes to glow, clear-gold for Natasha, and crystalline green for Apollo, their hands illuminating with the glowing power as they prepared to contain it.

∰

Upside Down

Eddie's Trailer

Dustin and Eddie stood back-to-back.

Dustin was stabbing the Demobats repeatedly with his spear. "Eddie! I need you!"

Eddie ran closer. "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" With a yell, Eddie slammed his trash can lid with nails over the opening that the Demobats were trying to get through, holding them at bay. The nails in the lid kept it on the ceiling. Eddie was breathing heavily. "Holy shit. Holy shit."

Dustin nodded, impressed. "Nice."

"Thanks," Eddie replied.

They high fived.

Dustin suddenly looked worried again. "Are there any other vents?"

Eddie realized. "Oh, shit. Shit!"

Eddie jumped down and ran toward his room.

Dustin followed. "Shit, shit, shit, shit."

As soon as they ran into Eddie's room, they were swarmed with Demobats that burst in through the vent, causing Dustin and Eddie to run back out of the room and slam the door behind them.

When the Demobats started to attack the door, they both backed away as fast as possible, toward the Gate in the ceiling.

"That's not gonna hold!" Dustin yelled.

"Let's go, let's go!" Eddie told him. Dustin quickly started to climb up the rope sheet. "Come on, quickly!"

Dustin fell onto the bed in their world, yelling up for his friend. "Eddie, come on!" Eddie turned to the Gate, tossing down his weapons to start to climb up, before he realized that if he did, the bats would just follow them into Hawkins, and kill him, Dustin and whoever else they could get to. "Eddie, come on, let's go! Eddie, you're so close! Eddie! Let's go!" Eddie stopped climbing, letting himself back down, much to Dustin's confusion. "Eddie." Eddie grabbed his spear from the floor. "Eddie! What are you doing? Eddie, no!" With a yell, Eddie swung the spear through the rope sheet, cutting it in half, making both pieces fall to the floor on either side of the Gate. Eddie quickly moved the bed out from underneath the Gate, hoping to keep Dustin from coming back without the landing pad. "Eddie, no! Eddie, stop! Eddie, stop!" Dustin held his head in his hands, desperate, not knowing what to do. "Stop, stop!" Eddie grabbed his nail shield and put the spear on his back. "Eddie, what are you doing?"

Eddie looked up at Dustin. "I'm buying more time."

Eddie ran off out of the trailer.

Dustin screamed after him, desperate. "No! Eddie, please!"

∰

Outside

Eddie ran out of the trailer, getting the attention of all the bats, as he grabbed his bike, and started to ride away as fast as he could, with the bats following, red lightning crackling across the black sky behind him.

∰

Memory Mind Meld

Day - Skatepark / Road Bridge

Another monster ran toward Ruby, tackling her to the ground, making her hit the ground face down. Ruby held out her hands over her head, shooting two golden psychic beams of light out of her hands against the wall, destroying the wall with a burst of light/flame, with so much strength that she sent herself back into the monster holding her down, lifting them up and breaking herself free from his hold, instantly taking him down and making him fall, while she flew up to the sky and aimed her beams at the monster, burning it away with the light until it turned into ash, flipping through the air as she let the light fade, landing in a crouch. Two monsters ran closer, and Ruby had her arms crossed, thrusting them out to uncross them while she shot the sunlight-like streams of psychic energy out at both monsters, sending them flying into the walls while she burned them entirely, making them hit the walls and fall to the floor, screaming from the pain of being burned before they turned to ash.

As two more monsters ran closer, Eleven held out her hand, telekinetically levitating them and all the debris around them, thrusting all of the debris at the monsters with a scream, impaling them with everything she threw at them, ripping her hands apart to show her power telekinetically ripping the monsters apart, killing them all.

A monster took Ruby down, as Ruby struggled to keep him off at bay. She shot psychic light beam energy out of her feet, levitating herself off the ground to the height of the monster, shooting the light out of her hands to burn him intensely, weakening him, taking him down to where now she was hovering over him, having him weak, burned and nearly dead on the ground, turning him into ash as she finally killed him.

Another monster ran closer, but Eleven was ready, turning toward him, holding his hand toward him with a glare, clenching her fist as she focused her power on the monster's heart, crushing it with her mind, killing the monster as its heart was destroyed, watching as the monster fell dead.

Ruby walked toward Eleven, curious. "What the fuck did you just do?"

"I crushed his heart," Eleven answered.

Ruby nodded, impressed. "Nicely done." Eleven smiled. "Let's go."

"Where?" Eleven asked.

Across the park, a black and red thunderstorm formed, lightning flashing as thunder crashed.

"I'm guessing that's a good place to start looking," Ruby answered.

Ruby and Eleven exchanged a look, walking across the way toward the storm.

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

Each time that Mirage or Vecna got hurt, it seemed that the Haileys (normal Hailey and Dark Hailey) felt every bit of the pain, but Hailey, as usual, acted like the pain was nothing, thinking it was nothing at first, to focus on continuing the battle.

Nadia tried to attack Mirage, but Mirage shot a burst of his power out at Nadia, flinging her hard into a castle wall, trapping her, though she ended up absorbing the power he shot at her, as half of it was hers. Nadia had the breath knocked out of her, as the stone beneath her back broke and cut into her skin.

Mirage stalked closer to Nadia. "You were wrong, Nadia. Those people, humans? They don't deserve your help. They only deserve destruction." Nadia was shaken, trying not to let her trauma get the best of her knowing that he was the man that tortured her as a child, and the monster behind all the destruction on her family and friends both in the past and the present. "I'm not your enemy, Nadia. I'm the only one who truly knows you and who truly knows them as you soon will. They have always been and always will be weak, cruel, selfish and capable of the greatest horrors..." As Mirage got close enough to attack, Nadia spun out of the way, making his attack hit the castle wall behind her and shatter it to bits, the same instant that she formed her glowing purple psionic energy sword, swinging around to slash it toward Mirage, but Mirage had seen that coming and disappeared. Nadia turned around, seeing Mirage standing behind her several feet away, out of reach. "I know you fancy yourself as a monster slayer, Ten."

Nadia glared at him. "That is not my name."

Mirage ignored her. "But I am no ordinary monster you can defeat."

Nadia turned her sword into a purple whip, flinging it around Mirage. "You sure about that?"

Mirage barely budged, even though it was flaming, searing into his skin, causing untold agony.

Nadia was suddenly overwhelmed by the power of the whip, gasping, breathing heavily, stunned enough to be distracted by what she was feeling.

Mirage chuckled knowingly. "I see that your empathy power has gotten an upgrade as well, my dear. You can channel it through the energy, can't you? You can feel everything I am feeling as of this moment." Nadia couldn't answer, as Mirage was intentionally making it more overwhelming for Nadia through his own telepathy and empathy combined, distracting Nadia with visions and crushing, overwhelming emotions. "Mankind has always been a poison. And for the longest time, I was the only one wise enough to see it. All these years, I have struggled alone. Until Henry was banished here just as I was. And we both realized that we had similar ideas, fairly quickly."

Nadia could see the memories and feel all of the hatred, the anger, the rage, the bloodthirst, breathing heavily, trying to let go of the whip and release Mirage so that she couldn't feel it anymore, but he wouldn't let her release, making her see and feel everything. "Stop."

Mirage continued. "Humans are a disaster waiting to destroy themselves in every possible way they can. But it has never been enough. Until you. When you first arrived, I was going to crush you. But I knew that if only you could see what the other psionics can not..." Suddenly, in a memory, Mirage and Nadia appeared to be back at the Russian lab, where Nadia still had the whip around Mirage, but Mirage could make her relive the death of Valkov at the hands of Grigori and Mikhail all over again, making Nadia clench her teeth and close her eyes as she looked away. "Then you would join me, and with our powers combined, we could finally end all of the pain." Nadia opened her eyes, watching as the painful nightmare faded away, replaced by a beautiful dream of a field filled with sunlight. "All the suffering, the distractions they bring. And we could return this world to the paradise it was before us. Forever."

Nadia overcame the overwhelming thoughts and emotions that were passing from Mirage to Nadia through their powers, and she finally released him. "I could never be apart of that."

With the whip no longer holding Mirage and him no longer able to influence her newly amplified power, the nightmare/dream image around them faded, leaving them back in Mirage's mind lair, where Nadia didn't waste a second to fight him off, conjuring a glowing purple sphere of psionic energy in her hands that she threw at him with her full force, yelling as her eyes blazed glowing purple. The stream of purple energy threw Mirage away from her, through the air, and to the ground on another piece of floating castle. Nadia ran toward the edge of the floating piece she was standing on.

Fighting monsters, Niko saw Nadia and shot blue fiery lightning into the sky to help her.

Nadia flung her glowing purple whip around Niko's lightning strike to ride the lightning, swinging through the air toward Mirage.

Mirage used his power, glowing purple and orange energy, to lift up debris, and throw it at Nadia from all sides in attempts to get her to fall.

Nadia used her suit's protective cuffs as shields, blasts of purple energy emanating from both cuffs as they destroyed the debris that Mirage sent her way, rendering the pieces to ash that fell harmlessly through the air, as Nadia flipped through the air and landed on the floating castle piece where Mirage was standing, and instantly flung her whip toward him with a yell.

Mirage conjured a great wind that kept the whip from touching his face, blowing the glowing purple blazing whip around. "Oh, my dear, you still have so much left to learn."

Nadia instead wrapped her whip around a castle column, using enough strength to break the stone column free from the castle, spinning around to throw the stone pillar toward Mirage, but Mirage used his power to throw himself into the air to make Nadia miss, though his power touching hers caused an explosion just beneath him, and several feet in front of her, that caused them both to fall to the ground, landing on the shaking piece of floating castle beneath them.

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle - Outside

As the rest of the Upside Down group was in a battle with the dragon.

Steve jumped from the wall above down onto the dragon's back, stabbing the dragon in the back with his spear, making the dragon roar in absolute pain. The dragon flew through the air, flying down to try and grab Will, Mike, Nancy, Calliope and Robin with either of its hands or gigantic mouth, but they all ducked and ran for cover, ducking down into safety before it could, but they ended up slashed by the dragon's claws or fangs in the process, all more than a little hurt.

Steve drove his other spear into the back of the dragon to distract it away from them so that he could try and save them. "Damn you!"

The dragon slammed into the castle walls as it flied, trying to get Steve off his back, trying again and again. While Steve was hurt in the process, it did not throw him off or kill him, so instead, the dragon flew toward spikes coming from the ground, flipping through the air to flip Steve off of him toward the spikes. Steve was flung right toward the spikes, barely managing to duck to the side in time to avoid being stabbed to death.

Calliope grabbed Robin's arm. "Grab the chains, follow me."

Calliope and Robin ran to grab the chains.

The dragon was still very much in pain with Steve's spears stuck in his back, but turned toward Nancy as she was shooting him, whipping around to use its tail to knock Nancy to the ground, trying to stomp on her with its oversized limb to crush her to death. Nancy rolled out of the way to safety, making the stone beneath her crack, as she rolled up to her feet, looking over her shoulder at the dragon, standing, spinning to face it as she used her shotgun to slam into its head, spinning it around to shoot him in the chest, backing away toward Mike, as Mike shot an arrow at the dragon. The dragon used its tail to destroy a column nearby Nancy and Mike, making the column fall right toward them the same time that the dragon hurled fire at them, but Nancy and Mike both ducked to safety behind another column before they could be crushed and/or burned to death, taking cover.

The dragon turned toward Calliope and Robin, roaring, blowing fire toward them, but Calliope and Robin rolled over the ground into cover to avoid being burned, safe. The dragon ran closer to try and attack them, Calliope and Robin, hiding between two rock faces, meant that the dragon could not follow, unable to fit through the gap.

Robin smirked. "Didn't see that coming, did you?"

Calliope took the distraction and the second entrapment of the dragon to toss the chain into the dragon's mouth, locking it around his fangs, so that when the dragon did break free and flew into the sky, with Calliope and Robin both holding onto the chain, caused the two to fly through the air with the dragon, flipping over him to land on its back next to the spears Steve had left in the back of the dragon.

Nancy, Will, Steve and Mike watched in shock.

"How the fuck do we kill a goddamn dragon?" Steve asked.

"Aim for the throat and heart," Will and Mike answered.

Nancy and Steve both gave them a weird look.

Will shrugged. "Dungeons and dragons."

Steve rolled his eyes.

∰

Memory Mind Meld

Night - Hawkins Middle School - Snow Ball

(Song:) Dream a Little Dream of Me (Single Version) - Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong

In the dark, nightmare, Upside Down version of the Snow Ball dance, Max was building a barricade in front of the door to try and defend herself, going back for another chair.

Billy appeared in the room, walking closer. "Max?"

Max turned toward him in shock. "Billy? Is it really you?"

"You're not the only one trying to run from this fucker," Billy told her. Max sighed in relief at the classic, expected response. "I'm guessing he tormented you with me again."

"Yeah," Max answered. "Your dad?"

"Yeah," Billy answered. "Kicked his ass this time though."

Max chuckled, before returning serious. "How did you get here?"

"I'm not really sure," Billy admitted. "Just... my happy memory turned down like this fucking place, and then I ended up here."

Max nodded in understanding. "Okay, well, I'm building a barricade to buy us some time, so..."

Max turned toward the barricade with the next chair, but when she did, she saw that the barricade had disappeared, and was replaced by the front door of the Creel House, with the rose stained glass window, shocking both Max and Billy.

The door slowly opened, as they heard Vecna's voice. "Billy, Max, you can't hide from me." The song playing on the record became demonically distorted, as Billy stood in front of Max, glaring at Vecna. Max backed away in fear, but tried to stay calm and focused, grabbing Billy's hand, trying to will them into another memory, a safer place, but this time, it didn't work. "You think I don't see what you're doing? You think I don't see everything?" Vecna filled their minds with images of what was happening to their friends in real time, fighting with monsters on all sides, and Lucas and Jonathan held at gunpoint by Ryan and Jason. "You thought you could trick me? You thought your friends could stop me? I see them. I see your friends. Just as clearly as I see you. I can feel them. I can feel them dying. Max. Billy. It's time."

"Show your face, your fucking coward," Billy snapped. "Fight me without your fucking powers."

They both knew that wasn't going to happen, looking around for any sign of Vecna, as the song drowned out.

(Song Ends)

Red lightning flashed over the sky outside and illuminated the inside completely.

Vecna appeared behind Billy and Max, making them both jump and turn to face him. "It's time."

Billy wasted no time punching Vecna in the face, snapping his head to the side, running to tackle him away with a yell, about to attack more, but Vecna held out his arm, and telekinetically threw both Billy and Max through the air, making them crash into the wall, pinning them there, rendering them unable to move or fight back, making Max cry out in pain.

Vecna stalked toward them.

∰

Hawkins

Creel House - Attic

Lucas and Jonathan were still held at gunpoint by Ryan and Jason, while Ruby, Billy and Max sat on the floor, helpless in their trances.

"Their names are Vecna and Mirage," Lucas explained. "They live in another dimension. That's why you can't see them, unless they want you to, like Mirage did at the lake when he killed Patrick in front of you two."

Jason had clearly completely lost it. "And Ruby Charlize, Billy Hargrove, Eddie Munson and his--his Hellfire acolytes, what, you all summoned these things?"

"No, no," Jonathan answered in annoyance. "You're not listening. Just listen. There--there's no cult. There never was."

Ryan scoffed. "You expect us to believe that?"

"It's the truth," Jonathan told them.

"Then why was Chrissy at Eddie's trailer?" Jason asked.

"She was buying drugs," Lucas answered.

Jason clicked the safety off, yelling. "Liar!"

Jonathan gave him a look. "Lucas..."

Lucas knew that Jonathan meant be careful with what he said, trying to calm Ryan and Jason down. "Okay. Look, Chrissy... she was seeing things. Terrible things. Things Vecna forced her to see. She was scared."

Ryan glanced at Jason.

Jason shook his head. "No."

"She just needed help," Jonathan told them.

"See, that's how I know you're lying," Jason told them. "If Chrissy was scared, if--if Chrissy wanted help, she would've come to me! Not Eddie! Not that freak! Never!"

"You're wrong about Eddie," Jonathan told them. "And you're wrong about Ruby and Billy."

Ryan clicked his safety off to keep Jonathan back. "No, we're not." He looked at Lucas. "But we were wrong about you. We never should've let you in the door."

Lucas glared. "And I never should've knocked." Jonathan and Lucas slowly lowered their hands. "I thought I wanted to be like you. Popular. Normal. But it turns out, normal's just raging psychopaths."

"You have five seconds to wake them up," Ryan told them. "Or I'll blow Billy's brains out. Ruby's next. Either way, it's a good end for our side." Lucas and Jonathan glared. "Four. Three."

Lucas suddenly ran to tackle Jason, making his gun go off, but dodging the bullet, as he slammed Jason into the wall behind him with a yell.

Just as Ryan tried to fire his gun at Billy and Ruby, Jonathan caught Ryan's wrist, aiming his gun at the ceiling to make the gunshots go off through the roof, punching Ryan in the face.

∰

Woods

When Andy heard the gunshots, he let go of Erica out of distraction, looking toward the Creel House.

Erica instantly sat up, turning to face Andy, kicking him hard in the crotch, making him yell in pain and double over, standing up, grabbing her flashlight from the ground, turning to face Andy. "Crit hit!"

Erica slammed the flashlight brutally across Andy's face, snapping his head to the side.

∰

Creel House - Attic

Lucas punched Jason brutally across the face, snapping his head to the side. Jason punched Lucas in the face twice in return, throwing him to the ground next to the walkmens for Ruby, Billy and Max.

Jason stepped closer, destroying one Walkman by stepping on it.

Lucas shot up, worried. "No, no!"

"What, don't like that?" Ryan asked, firing two shots into the other two walkmans to destroy them.

Jonathan and Lucas were in absolute shock, horror, knowing that this meant they couldn't wake up Ruby, Billy and Max from their trances.

Jason kicked Lucas in the face, punching him. Lucas tried to punch Jason, but Jason ducked, grabbing Lucas by the torso, and tackling him to the floor, making them roll across the floor, away from the others.

Ryan aimed his gun at Jonathan's head. Jonathan sighed in annoyance, pushing Ryan's arm away holding his wrist to point the gun down at the floor, turning his back to Ryan so that he could elbow him in the face with his other arm. Ryan raised his arm with the gun, which Jonathan still had a hold of. Jonathan spun to face Ryan, using his other hand to grab his arm as well to keep Ryan from using the gun, removing the magazine from the gun without Ryan realizing yet, punching Ryan in the face, flipping him to the floor. Ryan rolled away across the floor away from Jonathan, before standing, turning to face Jonathan, aiming his gun at Jonathan, pulling the trigger, confused when nothing happened.

Jonathan breathed deeply, a barely noticeable hint of a smirk on his lips, holding up the gun magazine with the bullets inside. "Missing something?"

Jonathan threw the bullets out of the magazine, which all fell to the floor in a rain of clattering noises to the floor, before throwing the magazine to hit Ryan in the face. Ryan groaned, throwing the now useless gun at Jonathan to hit him in the face in return, running closer to punch Jonathan in the sides with either arm, punching him in the face, trying to punch him again. Jonathan caught Ryan's arm, restraining it. Ryan tried to punch him with his other arm. Jonathan caught his other arm with his free arm, restraining both, throwing his head forward to headbutt Ryan in the face, making his head snap back. Ryan, reeling, fell to the floor.

∰

Memory Mind Meld

Night - Hawkins Middle School - Gym

Billy and Max were still pinned to the wall, unable to break free, struggling all the while.

Vecna stalked closer, standing close to them, watching them struggle.

Max whimpered in fear with Vecna so close.

Billy growled in fury after everything that Vecna did to Ruby and Max.

Vecna watched them in curiosity. "You are brave, Maxine. And you are fierce, Billy. I see why Ruby loves you both so. But in the end... you are weak and fragile, just like her. Like all the rest of them. And you... will... break."

Vecna raised his hand to cast his curse on them.

Ruby and Eleven arrived.

Eleven used telekinesis to rip Vecna away from Billy and Max, levitating him in the air up high.

Billy and Max, released from Vecna's power, fell to the floor.

Ruby and Eleven walked toward Vecna, as Eleven held her arm toward him to telekinetically restrain him, twisting her wrist to turn him to face them.

Billy and Max looked up at Ruby and Eleven, sighing in relief, while Billy smirked slightly.

Ruby walked closer to Vecna, glaring at him furiously. "Not before you do."

With a yell of fury, Ruby illuminated with glowing golden light, shooting the energy beams out of her hands and into Vecna with so much strength that she threw him all the way across the room into the bleachers, breaking the bleachers and setting them ablaze with light in the process, and burning him intensely all the while, making him scream and screech in agony, wiping the blood from her nose with a smirk, finding so much satisfaction in that.

Eleven wiped the blood from her nose with a small smirk.

Billy smirked, glaring at Vecna, pushing himself up from the floor.

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

Nadia glared at Mirage, pushing herself up from the ground, running toward Mirage without hesitation.

Mirage raised his arms, using his reality warping to break the ground underneath Nadia's feet, making it rise up in an avalanche to try and trip her and stop her from reaching him, and when she remained steady on her feet and continuing to run, Mirage broke up a piece of the castle and put it up in front of Nadia in an attempt to block her path, but Nadia shot glowing purple psionic energy into the barrier, blowing it into pieces, and ran through the broken stone, continuing her path right for Mirage. Mirage levitated himself over the ground to keep out of Nadia's reach, destroying the rest of the floating castle floor they had just been standing on to try and make Nadia fall.

The same time that Niko shot another blue fiery lightning strike into the air, Nadia shot enough glowing purple energy from her hands to levitate herself up into the sky, close enough to Niko's lightning to fling her whip around the lightning stride, riding the glowing blue, fiery lightning through the sky as she swung right toward Mirage, tackling him down out of the sky, as they both soared through the air and landed on another floating castle floor; the combined power of Nadia and Niko slamming into Mirage, who was holding both of their powers already, created such a wave of energy that it caused Nadia and Mirage to land on the ground badly, the castle floor around them crumbling piece by piece.

Mirage stood, and knowing that he couldn't use his power directly on Nadia without making her reach reality warping level, instead used his purple/orange energy to wrap around another castle landing up above them, and flung it down toward Nadia in an attempt to crush her underneath.

Nadia saw this coming, and turned her whip into an intricately designed glowing purple, blazing scythe without a second thought, spinning around and slashing the scythe straight through the castle landing, cutting it in half, leaving both parts blazing with purple psionic energy from her power, as the pieces fell to the ground without harming her in the least. In the process, Nadia ended up close enough to Mirage that she punched him straight in the face, with enough strength to send him flying to the ground, making him slide away from her.

Dark Hailey suddenly appeared behind Hailey and drove her darker, more powerful and chaotic, red glowing energy tendrils straight through Hailey's back, dangling her from the ground, as Hailey yelled in pain.

Niko saw this, angrily worried for his best friend. "Hailey!"

Dark Hailey used her red energy to grab a piece of stone debris from the air up above them and thrust it down toward Hailey to try and crush her, but Hailey, even while stabbed in the back with energy tendrils, still thrust out her arm and shot a blast of red glowing energy out at the stone debris above, their combined power destroying the debris in an explosion of red energy and raining stone. Dark Hailey threw Hailey to the ground, and Hailey had to recover from being stabbed in the back by her own psycho alter ego.

Niko instantly conjured blue fiery energy to throw into Dark Hailey, the searing heat causing both Haileys to scream/screech in pain, as Niko threw Dark Hailey away from Hailey to the ground. Dark Hailey stood, glaring at Niko, hands glowing with her red aura as she used the aura to grab Niko and throw him to the ground, searing his skin with the excruciating ice burn. Niko shot out a blast of fiery lightning to hit Dark Hailey, sending her flying away from him to the ground, so that he could use fire to fly away from her to buy himself to heal from his wound.

Mirage appeared next to Hailey, pushing her onto her wounded back, and stabbed a long snake talon from his clawed hand into Hailey's forehead, straight into her gem, making it glow, as Hailey screamed in agony. In the process, Hailey let out an energy wave of red aura that threw Mirage off of her to the ground. Hailey used her red energy to levitate herself off the ground and through the sky to get away from Mirage to buy herself some time to heal and recover from her wound, letting herself fall toward a castle landing, energy fading as she landed, rolling over the stone, propping herself up on her side, groaning in pain.

Niko landed on the ground next to Hailey, healing already from his Dark Hailey wound, as he knelt next to Hailey, using his power to heal her wounds, both in her head and in her back. "Are you okay?"

Hailey nodded barely, breathing heavily. "I just needed a minute."

"Same," Niko agreed. "Let's kick their fucking asses."

Hailey nodded, before seeing Dark Hailey coming behind him. "Niko!"

Dark Hailey used her red energy to grab Niko and levitate him off the ground from in front of Hailey, burning him with the coldness of her power, thrusting her arms to the side to throw Niko through the stone pillar, making the pillar shatter and Niko start to fall through the thunder-storming sky. Niko used blue glowing fire to fly up to safety, reaching a castle landing.

Hailey used the pillar behind her to push herself up. Mirage lunged at Hailey from the other side of the pillar, trying to deliver an excruciating snake bite. Hailey spun out of harm's way toward the other side of the pillar. Mirage lunged at Hailey from that side, but Hailey used her red glowing aura to grab hold of Mirage, catching him before he could finish the attack, her power starting to melt away the mirage of the snake around him, pieces dissolving just a bit to reveal the damaged Andrei underneath, before Hailey thrust both arms toward Mirage, sending him flying back with a burst of red glowing aura, making him fall to the ground.

Mirage slowly stood, not bothering to fix the mirage of the snake form, not caring that it was dissolving each time Hailey hit him with her power, little by little.

Niko reached his sword that he had left at the center of the lair, picking it up, waving Starchaser around as he glared around with blue glowing eyes. Dark Hailey flew closer with red aura, landing behind Niko. Niko spun to face Dark Hailey, raising his sword to block Dark Hailey's attack, spinning his sword around, channeling blue glowing fire and lightning through the sword to swing at Dark Hailey, slashing into her skin, burning her intensely.

Hailey obviously felt the pain from Dark Hailey since they were two halves of a whole, as both Haileys were screaming in pain from the fire and lightning.

Mirage seemed distracted like he felt some pain, hissing in agony, but struggled not to let the pain show, like he did every time a monster from the hive mind got hurt in the battle against the people of Hawkins.

Niko took advantage of Dark Hailey's pain and distraction to shoot a burst of fire at her, sending her flying through the air, making her hit another castle landing, and roll across the stone, using blue fire to fly after her, landing on the castle floor next to her, swinging the fire/lightning charged sword down at Dark Hailey. Dark Hailey used red aura glowing from her hands and chest to shield herself from the sword, keeping Niko at bay, glaring at him with black scleras and red glowing irises and gem, shooting the aura out at Niko to send him flying off of her to the ground, sitting up, smirking, tilting her head, rising to her feet.

Meanwhile, across the way, a monster ran toward Nadia. Nadia slashed her glowing purple sword through his chest diagonally to cut him down to size, lines of blazing purple power left in the place of the wounds, as Nadia turned away from the falling pieces of the body toward another monster that tried to attack her, raising her sword to cut off his arm, spinning around on the other side of him to drive her sword back into his stomach, leaving the sword within his torso to burn him with the psionic energy from the inside out, making it scream in agony, before ripping the sword out and slashing right through his head, lines of blazing purple energy left behind by the sword with each slash, watching as the headless body fell to the ground.

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle - Outside

Calliope and Robin were still on the dragon's back.

Nancy and Mike both fired the shotgun and the arrows at the dragon's throat, but the dragon kept flying, making them miss.

The dragon flew upward to try and get Calliope and Robin off its back.

A tendril launched up and grabbed Robin by the ankle, trying to pull her off, but if she fell from this height, she would surely die.

Calliope reached down to catch Robin's hand, while her other hand kept them both up on the chain that was attached to the dragon, trying to save Robin's life, both of them struggling to keep hold of each other's hand and stay alive, breathing heavily, as Robin cried out in pain as the tendril tried to rip her away. Calliope was struggling to keep hold of the chain and of Robin's hand.

Robin knew that eventually, if Calliope didn't let her go, that they would both die. "You have to let me go." Calliope shook her head. "Let go!"

"No," Calliope denied. "I'm not letting go."

Robin looked at Calliope in surprise, gratitude.

On the ground, Mike sighted up his shot, holding the bow steady, releasing the arrow, which shot right into the throat of the dragon, much to his own shock, not having expected to hit his mark from here. "Holy shit."

Nancy smiled proudly.

Will threw his sword through the tendril that was trying to rip Robin away from Calliope, severing the tendril to save both of the girls.

Steve smiled in relief, running over to get the sword back from the other side as it fell to the ground.

With Robin now free from the tendril, Calliope swung her up onto the back of the dragon with her, as they both held onto the spears that were still its back to stay safe, ripping the spears out of the dragon's back so they could use them to kill him completely.

∰

Upside Down

On the Road

Eddie was riding his bike as fast as he could down the road, with the bats chasing him. "Come get me, you sons of bitches!"

The bats flew after him as fast as they could, but Eddie remained fast on the bike, staying just out of their reach.

∰

Eddie's Trailer (both sides of the Gate)

In his own world, Dustin moved the bed out of the way, putting a chair underneath the Gate, backing away, looking up at the Gate, knowing that this was going to hurt, but knowing that he couldn't do nothing. "Screw it."

With a yell, Dustin ran up to the chair, climbing up it, jumping up to the Gate, grabbing hold of it, pulling himself through the Gate.

∰

On the Road

The bats finally caught up to Eddie, knocking him down off his bike, making him roll across the ground.

∰

Eddie's Trailer

Dustin fell from the Gate into the Upside Down version of the trailer, landing badly on his leg, which clearly snapped, a fracture at best, a break at worst, making Dustin scream in pain.

∰

On the Road

Eddie stood as a cyclone of bats circled around him in a swarm, all ready to attack, running away as fast as he could at first, before he suddenly stopped running.

He remembered what he told the others in 4.02. "I didn't know what to do, so I--I... I ran away. I just ran, and I left her there."

He remembered what he said earlier in 4.09. "I mean, look at us. We are not heroes."

Resolute, determined, even though he knew that it would end in his death, Eddie turned to face the army of bats, knowing there was no way that he was going to be able to outrun them all on foot anyway. He took the nail shield and the spear off of his back, drawing them, holding them ready in either hand, terrified, but so brave all the same.

As the bats flew closer to attack, Eddie held up his nail shield, and bellowed a loud yell as they all flew past.

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - Corridors

Hopper and Nadyr were running through separate corridors, leading Demodogs and other monsters to the pit. "Shit!"

∰

Control Room

Joyce was watching everything through surveillance as she was setting up the fence again, looking utterly terrified and worried, before noticing stun guns on the walls nearby.

∰

Gate Room

Natasha and Apollo were in the process of containing the Gate, attempting to, at least.

Apollo and Natasha stood on either side of the Gate, using their powers to create shields to try and contain the Gate's energy, clear gold-tint molecular shield for Natasha, and a glowing green crystalline construct hardlight shield for Apollo that created from the green glowing mist around his hands, both of them groaning in pain and exertion from the power it took to try to contain it, struggling to do so.

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle - Outside

Calliope and Robin were still on the back of the dragon.

Robin looked at Calliope, nodding. "Go."

Robin and Calliope stood, running across the back of the dragon toward its throat, sliding down the slimy scales toward its head. Robin nearly fell from being too unsteady, but Calliope caught her hand as they continued to run, firing their guns at the dragon's head to cause it pain and distract it enough so they could reach its head, stabbing the dragon in either side of the neck, making it cry and scream and screech as it fell to the ground, both girls having to hold onto the spears for dear life as they caused the dragon to crash onto the ground with Calliope and Robin on top of it, barely able to stay on the dragon.

Calliope and Robin held the dragon at bay with the chain, and with the spears in its neck, while Nancy continued to fire her shotgun, and Mike continued to fire his arrows.

Steve grabbed Will's sword, spinning it around, throwing the sword to Will.

Will caught the sword, holding it ready, throwing it over his head through the heart of the dragon, impaling it right in the heart.

As the Mirage monster was killed, it started to burn brightly, glowing with orange and purple power, causing everyone to turn away. Calliope and Robin ripped the spears out of the throat of the dragon and ran for cover, covering each other for protection.

Steve covered Will for protection, while Nancy turned to cover Mike for protection.

The dragon exploded into ash, raining down around them. They all looked up when the light faded, standing, walking closer to the ashes, looking at each other in shock.

Mike and Will both started to laugh in awe.

"We just killed a fucking dragon," Mike cheered.

Mike and Will cheered and high fived, causing Steve and Nancy to give them a look, but Calliope and Robin couldn't help but smile.

Calliope and Robin handed Steve his spears back.

"I believe these belong to you," Calliope told him.

"Thanks," Steve replied.

Nancy picked up the sword, handing it to Will. "And you."

Will smiled.

"And we're not even close to being done, so might wanna hold the celebration off until later," Calliope pointed out.

Robin nodded. "Let's go."

∰

Hawkins, Indiana

Playground

Erica quickly ran from the woods, across the playground, toward the Creel House across the street.

∰

Creel House - Attic

Lucas/Jason and Jonathan/Ryan were still in a brutal fight.

Lucas and Jason were wrestling, grappling each other in a life-or-death manner, spinning each other around to slam each other into the walls, trying to weaken the other as much as they could. When Lucas slammed Jason against another wall, Jason threw Lucas off of him to the floor, trying to attack him from behind. Lucas sent his elbow flying back into Jason's face, standing, spinning to face him, punching Jason in the face, snapping his head aside and making him spin away from the force of his punch. Jason found a glass vase nearby, picking it up, spinning to face Lucas, slamming the vase over Lucas' head, knocking him to the ground, walking closer to attack him some more.

Ryan grabbed Jonathan, throwing him into the wall, trying to punch him in the face. Jonathan ducked, making Ryan hit the wall over his head instead, turning to backhand punch Ryan in the face, snapping his head to the side, punching him in the chest, kneeing him in the stomach, making Ryan double over in pain, slamming his elbow into Ryan's back, grabbing him with either hand held against Ryan's stomach and back, lifting Ryan up to throw him into the wall with a yell, kneeing him in the stomach, making him crash through the broken wall and fall to the floor.

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

Mirage grabbed Hailey, slamming her against a stone wall floating through the air. Hailey growled, eyes turning black, glowing red along with her gem, as she used immense strength to throw Mirage off of her, several feet through the air, as he landed hard on another castle landing, looking up at Hailey. Hailey glared at him, shooting a blast of red glowing power out of her gem straight at Mirage. Mirage used purple/orange energy to grab a stone wall nearby to pull it in front of him as a shield, knowing that Hailey's power could do more damage and reversal to him and his power and lair. Hailey's blast of power instantly destroyed the stone wall as soon as it made impact, making it dissolve away into fading pieces of raining stone, as it faded from existence. Hailey, seeing the way that her powers were affecting the lair, shot out red glowing aura out at the pieces of castle on either side of her, destroying them, making them fade from existence in the same manner. Mirage hissed in fury, knowing that Hailey was figuring out how to destroy his entire home, shooting a blast of orange/purple power at Hailey as she was distracted, sending her flying back into a stone wall, making her fall to the floating castle floor beneath it.

Niko slashed his flamed/lightning sword toward Dark Hailey. Dark Hailey used red aura glowing from her hands to block the move, releasing a scream as energy tendrils trailed from Dark Hailey's back, and lunged at Niko, grabbing him, wrapping around him, constricting, burning him intensely with the freezing power, before throwing him into a stone wall, making it shatter with a burst of power from both of them, making it explode, the explosion of blue and red glowing power throwing them both to the ground, the heat and cold agonizing to either of them, injuring both of them, but both powered through, using their powers to fly. Dark Hailey shot a burst of red glowing aura out at Niko to send him flying back into a wall, her power destroying the wall behind him with showering stone fading away out of existence. Niko shot a burst of fire and lightning from either hand out at Dark Hailey, sending her flying away to the ground, making her land on another castle landing.

On another landing, Nadia turned around, seeing a monster slash his talons toward her just in time, back bending to make the monster miss, flipping through the air, rolling across the floating stone floor, rolling up into a crouching position as she turned to look over her shoulder, standing up instantly as the monster ran back for her, flinging out one hand with a purple glowing dagger to slash into its leg, kicking its feet out from underneath it, making it fall onto its back, driving her sword through its throat into the ground to completely behead it, flipping the glowing dagger in her hand, catching it, pulling the sword free.

Mirage was towering over Hailey once more, using the orange/purple power to give her excruciating pain, bringing her to her knees, going for the gem in her head once again, but Nadia and Niko saw this from either side of the sky.

Nadia ran over the many jumps and obstacles of castle landings and debris in front of her, as Niko shot lightning into the sky to give Nadia a chance to ride the lightning with her glowing purple whip and swing herself through the air at a high-speed flight, before flipping through the air, kicking Mirage away from Hailey, landing on the ground, turning her whip into a sword as she spun around, slashing the glowing purple blade through Mirage's legs, leaving a trail of purple blazing power, before spinning up to her feet, stabbing him in the stomach with her sword, making him scream in pain as it seared him from the inside, causing every monster in the hive mind, including Vecna, such agony. 

The Haileys both felt agony, the pain seeming to come from more than just Mirage and Niko's powers torturing both of them.

Mirage swung his clawed arm toward Nadia, but Nadia flipped through the air to make him miss, while still having the sword buried deep into Mirage's stomach, jumping into the air, spinning to kick him in the face, knocking him off of her sword as she ripped it out of him, making him fall to the ground, as she landed on her feet.

Dark Hailey used red energy to fly at Nadia from behind, shooting her with the aura, burning her intensely with freezing cold, making her scream. Nadia rolled out of the way of harm, up to her feet, spinning around to slash her glowing purple sword at Dark Hailey. Dark Hailey used her red aura as a shield, glowing from her hands, before pushing the sword away from her. As Nadia swung the sword at her legs, Dark Hailey flipped horizontally through the air, landing on the other side, spinning around to backhand punch Nadia in the face, spinning again to try and kick her in the head. Nadia ducked the kick, spinning around to slash Dark Hailey in the side with her sword, making her screech in agony, before flipping through the air and kicking her in the stomach, kicking her to the ground next to Mirage.

Dark Hailey and Mirage both glared, as they, and Nadia, Hailey and Niko, were all recovering from all their wounds.

Nadia used her whip to fling a castle column toward Mirage. Mirage held out his hands, using a blast of his power to destroy the column, sending the pieces flying back toward Nadia. Nadia conjured a shield from her purple psionic energy, using her energy to absorb the power that Mirage used against her, making her become stronger as she took her power back from him, the powers clashing together creating a burst of energy that threw Mirage away from her to the ground.

Mirage stood within the flames of an explosion, calling pieces of castle and metal to surround his body in armor, as he stalked through the flames toward Nadia.

Nadia glared at him without fear, running closer to attack.

Mirage thrust bursts of energy at Nadia, throwing her to the ground, but Nadia absorbed that power as it was hers, becoming even stronger. Mirage lunged forward, trying to strike Nadia with a metal and stone blade that he created from his crumbling lair. Nadia easily managed to duck, raising her cuffed wrists to shield herself from the next blade strike. Mirage flung a chain around Nadia's arm, which she used as a shield with the cuff, as Mirage flung her through the air by the chain, making her fall to the ground.

"You will help me destroy them, Nadia," Mirage told her, swinging the chain and blade down at the ground, making it crumble and fly up with a burst of his power with fiery sparks, sending it straight toward Nadia. Nadia ducked to the side, making the attack miss, as it completely destroyed the castle wall behind her. She touched the power left behind to absorb it more. "Or you will die."

Nadia turned toward Mirage, eyes flaring purple. "No. You will."

Nadia jumped into the air, as purple glowing psionic energy danced along her arms and concentrated at her bracelet cuffs, as she slammed them together to release a deadly, disastrous wave of energy that radiated out in every direction, destroying many debris and castle pieces, as well as threw Mirage through the air, off the castle piece he was standing on, and nearly sending him falling through the storm clouds.

Mirage managed to blast himself to the nearest castle floor, rolling across it to safety, barely managing to escape death, extremely burned from Nadia's powers, weakened.

Niko, Hailey and Dark Hailey were battling it out.

Dark Hailey, with her scleras black, irises and gem glowing red, conjured her glowing red energy tendrils from her back as she glared. "There's no saving you now, Hailey. All that's left is pain!"

Dark Hailey thrust her hand forward with a screech, sending all of her energy tendrils out to attack and stab Niko and Hailey. While Niko and Hailey were stabbed a few times, and delivered excruciating pain because of it, they managed to use their powers of blue flames/lightning and red aura energy as a shield from the rest of the tendrils, saving themselves.

Niko slashed his flaming, lightning-ed sword through Dark Hailey's energy tendrils, the heat causing both Haileys massive pain.

Mirage groaned in pain.

Dark Hailey retaliated by thrusting out her arms and sending a blast of red energy out at Niko, throwing him to the ground.

Hailey lashed out, screaming. "Enough!"

Hailey's red energy tendrils, glowing, darker and more violent than they had ever been before, grew from her back, and launched out at Dark Hailey, stabbing her from all sides, while Dark Hailey was able to block the rest with red energy aura.

Even while Dark Hailey was in pain, she was laughing. "There she is. The monster you were meant to be. But you're never going to reach your full potential if you keep siding with those insignificant little ants. They make you weak. I thought I had driven the weakness out of you. I thought I made you strong. But you're as pathetic as you ever were. You will never let them go." She let red energy trickle down her arm, forming it from a tendril, sharp as a blade, resting against the palm of her hand as she glared at Hailey. "That's why I'll always be stronger than you. You have the greatest power within you. A power you have wasted on nothing but cheap sentiment! Do you still believe that love will conquer all?"

Hailey glared at her. "Maybe not all. Just you."

Dark Hailey thrust her blade-like energy tendril straight toward Hailey, stabbing her in the shoulder, making her cry out, sending a blast of red energy into Hailey's chest to send her flying out over the black and red thunderstorm sky. Hailey managed to conjure enough red energy to levitate herself to the next castle landing over, letting it fade before she landed, so that it didn't destroy the castle landing, needing to rest and recover from her wounds for a moment, gasping for breath in pain.

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle - Tunnels

With the dragon gone, Steve, Nancy, Robin, Mike, Calliope and Will were walking through the sewer tunnels to get into Mirage's castle, through the utter darkness, unable to see a thing, feeling their way along the darkened stone corridors, each one with their weapon ready. Hearing the faint splashing and inhuman sounds approaching from afar. Just barely a whisper at first but getting ever louder. Knowing that some unspeakable horror approached them in the dark and they had no means of escape.

"What is that?" Mike asked.

"We gotta go," Calliope told them. "We gotta get out of here now."

"Mirage monsters, or actual monsters?" Will asked.

"Does it matter?" Steve replied. "What's the fastest way through?"

"Go, go, go," Nancy urged.

They continued their way through the darkness, trying to be as quiet as they could be, to find their way through, knowing that one way or another, they would end up fighting in a battle, but wanting to minimize the risk of one of them being hurt or killed. They made their way through the tunnels. Every second became a minute, and every minute became a lifetime, as an unimaginable agonizing fate approached them, screaming and roaring for the only thing that would sate their sickening lust, their hideous and torturous deaths.

Steve crawled through an opening in front of them into the actual castle, walking out of view, looking around.

The others held their breaths, staying completely silent, dreading and worrying about what could happen. For a second, when Steve didn't return to their sight, they began to fear the worst, tense and scared but willing to go to war.

When Steve stepped into view to signal that it was safe, they all sighed in relief and relaxed only slightly, but knowing they couldn't relax completely because they knew the danger was still very real. One by one, they each climbed through the opening and followed Steve into the castle. Calliope was the last one to go, as she was aiming her rifle around the tunnels with her flashlight, keeping watch to make sure that there were no monsters about to attack them from behind. Once they were all through, Calliope lowered her gun, knowing that it was her turn, turning to climb through, but paused when she heard something behind her.

Calliope knew the threat, and instantly turned and raised her rifle, her flashlight illuminating a group of five Demogorgon-like monsters (but not quite Demogorgons) as they they lunged toward Calliope. Calliope opened fire, shooting each monster in the head as she backed away toward the opening behind her.

"Calliope, come on!" Robin told her.

Steve and Robin reached through the opening to grab Calliope and pull her through to safety on their side in the foyer of the castle.

Nancy was firing her shotgun at five more monsters on the other side to provide cover for them, buying them enough time to save Calliope. "Mike, now!"

Mike shot an explosive arrow at the opening as ten more monsters were trying to climb through, as Mike, Nancy, Robin, Calliope, Steve and Will all backed away quickly, taking cover just as Mike's arrow exploded, making the opening ahead burst into flames and kill the monsters trying to come after them.

Will led the way down the corridor. "Go, go, go, come on!"

"Let's go!" Steve urged.

They all ran as fast as they could down the corridor, turning around a corner and bolting down that corridor.

Monsters ran toward the group from another corridor.

"Faster!" Mike demanded. "Faster!"

While still running, Calliope raised her rifle, Robin raised the pistols, and Nancy raised her shotgun, so they could fire at the monsters behind them, buying Mike enough time to shoot another explosive arrow at the group of ten monsters, making the arrow explode into flames and kill the monsters behind them.

"Fall back!" Calliope insisted. "Fall back! Go, move!" Robin was frozen in shock from the situation, but Calliope grabbed her arm. "Robin, come on, move!"

Calliope pulled Robin down the corridor at a run to follow the others, leaving the flames behind them.

∰

Memory Mind Meld

Night - Hawkins High School - Gym

Billy helped Max up to her feet. Max embraced him tightly in relief, much to Billy's surprise after their earlier forced confessions, but he sighed deeply and closed his eyes in relief, returning the embrace. Max was even more surprised after what she had said, but gratefully relieved.

Ruby instantly ran to embrace Billy and Max to make sure they were okay. "Oh, my God."

Billy and Max returned the embrace tightly, all three wrapping their arms around each other.

Once they pulled away, Eleven ran to embrace Max. "Max, Billy, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Max answered.

"We're okay," Billy answered.

When they heard creaking, they walked through the dangling streams toward the the bleachers.

Vecna was slowly recovering from Ruby's blast of power (and all of the other pain he felt through the hive mind), pulling himself up out of the destroyed bleachers, severely burned, but otherwise fine, tilting his head, cracking his neck.

Ruby glared at her uncle as she spoke to her loved ones. "Stay back." Ruby stalked toward Vecna, just as Vecna stalked toward her, both glaring each other down. Billy, Max and Eleven watched worriedly. Ruby looked at Vecna in rage. "If you touch them again, I will kill you."

"I've killed you before," Eleven told him, walking closer to stand beside Ruby. "I can kill you again."

"Is that what you did?" Vecna asked. "Hmm? Did you kill me? Ruby, Eleven, I am so glad that you both are here. This... is going to be beautiful." Thunder clashed, while red lightning flashed from outside, illuminating the inside. Vecna held his arms out to either side of him, telekinetically levitating all of the broken pieces of the bleachers behind him, aiming the sharp shards at Ruby and Eleven. "So beautiful. And it's all thanks to you, Eleven. And Cheryl."

Ruby glared at Vecna for the mention of her mother.

Vecna thrust his arms forward to send the weapons he levitated toward the two girls.

Eleven easily held out her arm and thrust it to the side with a grunt, telekinetically diverting the sharp wooden pieces to the side, throwing them to the ground or into the wall, but rendering them harmless to herself and Ruby.

As Ruby started to glow with golden light, before she could shoot the blast, Vecna telekinetically levitated Ruby in the air, along with several pieces of debris around them, before throwing Ruby against the wall, slamming her against it, and using the pieces of debris to lock her arms and legs against the wall, trying to put a barricade around her so that she couldn't break free.

Ruby groaned in pain. "Okay, first thought, just totally spontaneous, unfiltered, off the top of my head... ow."

Vecna telekinetically threw Eleven to the ground with a nod of his head, levitating her up and throwing her down again onto a table, knocking the table and Eleven over to the ground.

Angry and protective of Eleven as well, Ruby started to glow completely with her golden psychic light, as the light traveled from head to toe, illuminating her, even through all the debris barricading her against the wall, burning it all, as she sent the barricade flying toward Vecna along with her endless stream of golden light, hitting him in the chest as she sent him flying back, burning from the beam, and thrown back by the force of it and the barricade that she threw back at him, taking him down as she freed herself. She opened her eyes, which were also glowing gold completely like sunlight. She thrust out her arms, sending a burst of power from both her hands and her chest out at Vecna, which exploded out and threw him to the ground, searing everything around her, profusely burning Vecna on the ground with contact of the light. The beams faded, but she remained covered in the glow of her own power, including her eyes, as her red hair flowed through the glowing energy, until Ruby let the glow fade into darkness.

Ruby tilted her head at Vecna. "You are the monster version of period cramps. Time to start the dying."

Even while weakened and burned badly, Vecna couldn't help but chuckle. "I couldn't agree more."

Ruby, with light dancing down her entire body, used the light to fly straight toward Vecna. Vecna's eyes widened slightly, as he had been unaware that this had been part of her power ups, taken off guard. Ruby smirked as she tackled him back across the ground, burning him completely within the aura of her light, as he screamed and screeched, both of them falling to the floor as Ruby tackled him down, burning the floor around them in the process. Ruby instantly sat up, taking advantage of Vecna's stunned and burned state, hand completely coated with glowing gold light as she punched Vecna in the face, the blast burning him profusely and sending him flying back through the air to the floor, but as Vecna was more powerful than any of the Mirage monsters they had faced, and was more powerful connected with Mirage's reality warping power through the crystal, the blasts didn't kill him, but did injure him both in the mind fight and in reality.

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - Corridors

Hopper was tackled to the ground by a Demodog, almost eaten alive.

Nadyr shot a blast of glowing red plasma at the Demodog to burn it severely, sending it flying off of Hopper and into the wall, making it fall to the ground, saving Hopper's life.

In the process, Nadyr didn't see the Demodog charging at him, which launched at Nadyr to tackle him to the ground, trying to eat him alive. Nadyr held his hands around the Demodog's mouth to keep it closed, hands glowing with red plasma to burn him, but could barely fend the surprise attack off.

∰

Gate Room

Natasha and Apollo were still using their shields to try and contain the Gate. The Gate's energy was too much, as it shattered the shields, breaking out, and radiating all over the prison, shooting into the sky, causing a red and black thunderstorm to appear in the sky, as the regular night sky seemed to be shattering, showing lines of the Upside Down show beneath it, causing everyone to look around in shock.

The ground seemed to be shattering all around them as well, bits and pieces breaking, as orange and purple Mirage power seemed in through the cracks, swirling, forming, creating the biggest monster it had made yet which would only get more so, constructed out of all the elements. Fire, earth, water and air, which effected all manners of weather and storms all around the prison, as Natasha and Apollo both watched in complete shock. The monster itself seemed to be formed out of storm clouds, burning orange from within, lightning flickering out at everything around, growing in size and seeming to be closer to to destroying the prison all together and everyone inside of it.

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

Niko stood, glaring at Dark Hailey, thrusting his hand out with a yell, shooting fire and lightning toward her. Dark Hailey levitated herself up with red energy to make the blue fire and lightning shoot past her into the sky, launching a red glowing aura tendril out at Niko to stab him in the arm. Niko used his sword to cut into the tendril before it could cause much harm. As Dark Hailey sent over another tendril, Niko flipped through the air to make her miss, rolling over the stone ground, up to his feet, slamming a hand against the stone ground, sending up a blaze of glowing blue fire up in an arch straight toward Dark Hailey in the sky, lightning bursting out of the fire and striking Dark Hailey in the face, making her roar in pain as she was thrown out of the sky, having to land on the castle landing nearby Niko. Dark Hailey got up to her feet instantly, as Niko slashed toward Dark Hailey with the sword repeatedly. Dark Hailey ducked, dodged and dipped every sword slash, until Niko sent his elbow right into Dark Hailey's face, snapping her head backward with a groan. Dark Hailey raised her head with a wicked, dark, evil glare. Niko tried to stab her with his sword, but Dark Hailey caught the edge of the sword with red energy, sending another burst out of her other hand right into Niko's neck, sending him flying back and flipping through the air, hitting the floor beneath him, making him flip backward over the floor.

Dark Hailey let her red energy tendrils slither down from her back, wrapping around her arms like snakes, the points sharp as blades, as she glared down at Niko. "Are you ready, Rostov?"

Niko pushed himself up, breathing heavily as he glared at Dark Hailey. "More than you."

Dark Hailey screamed and threw the energy tendrils out at Niko.

Niko used the sword to cut both tendrils down the middle, destroying them, standing, running toward Dark Hailey, jumping into the air, slashing the tip of his sword across Dark Hailey's cheek, turning her head to the side as he landed on the floor in front of her. Dark Hailey glared with blood dripping down from the cut on her cheek, thrusting another red energy tendril toward Niko in an attempt to stab. Niko used the sword to block the tendril again, cutting it in half, swinging the sword toward Dark Hailey's neck. Dark Hailey caught the blade of the sword in one hand, pulling Niko toward her, twisting the blade down away from her to punch him in the throat, making him gasp for breath. Niko swung the sword back down toward Dark Hailey, which she parried with an energy tendril like she would a sword, pushing the blade away from her, punching Niko in the face. Niko grabbed Dark Hailey by the back of the neck, spinning around, slamming her head against a stone pillar in front of them, making Dark Hailey let out an angry yell/screech. Dark Hailey spun to face Niko, shooting another red glowing energy tendril out at him. Niko flipped through the air horizontally to make it miss, making it shoot past him as he fell to the ground, landing in a crouch, looking up at Dark Hailey in front of him as she stalked closer, standing. Dark Hailey screamed, releasing four energy tendrils to stab toward Niko, but Niko swung his sword around in a blur, using the blade to slash through each of the tendrils before they could even touch him, making her scream in agony. In furious retaliation, Dark Hailey sent a backward red glowing energy tendril up, slithering through the air around them until she stabbed Niko in the back, where he couldn't see it coming, lifting him up in the air with the tendril in his back, making him cry out, ripping the tendril out of his back and letting him fall to the ground.

Nadia flipped through the air to land on the castle landing Mirage was on, glowing purple whip flowing in the air behind her. Mirage stood, throwing power at Nadia. Nadia flung out her whip to wrap around the orange/purple power, absorbing it through the whip, lashing the whip beautifully through the air at Mirage twice, hitting him in the face and chest, searing into his skin, leaving a trail of sparks and blazing energy in the whip's wake, making him scream in pain. With a yell, Nadia wrapped the whip around his arm and pulled Mirage to the ground, pulling him up closer to her to knee him in the chest and kick him in the face, making him snap backward. Mirage tried to lunge at her with a snake bite twice, but Nadia ducked to either side to make him miss, wrapping the whip around his neck and around his wrists, behind his back, to restrain him, the whip burning, blazing into his skin, making him scream and hiss in agony, before spinning around and throwing him down the slanted castle piece next to them to try and get him to fall off the edge and into the clouds below.

Mirage dug his talons and fangs into the stone to catch himself, slithering back up across the floor toward Nadia, rising to his feet, furious, lunging toward her at lightning speed to grab Nadia by the throat, talons clawing into her neck on either side, making her gasp for breath. "Is that all you have to offer?"

Mirage levitated them both in the air within a swirl of purple and orange energy, before turning around and throwing Nadia through a castle landing, making it shatter and crash down around her as she landed on the landing underneath it. Nadia rolled up to her feet, her weapons faded from the crash landing, but about to create them again, nose bleeding heavily. Before Nadia could create her weapons, Mirage beckoned, and with his orange/purple energy, metal wrapped around Nadia like a casing, trapping her with her arms down at her sides, so that she couldn't make her weapons and fight, restraining her, making her fall to the ground, the metal pinning her down against the stone, breaking the ground underneath her as it dug into the stone to try and keep her buried down.

Nadia gasped for breath, trying to break free. "No..."

Mirage lowered himself to the castle landing next to Nadia, standing next to her, smirking, hissing. "It is futile to think you can win. Give up, children. Join us."

Nadia looked toward Hailey and Niko as they were fighting against monsters and Dark Hailey.

Dark Hailey managed to restrain Hailey and Niko and bring them to their knees, her aura tendrils wrapped around them to keep them down, the icy burn of her powers searing both of them intensely, making them cry out and scream, unable to break free.

With all three restrained, hurting and weakened, Mirage created pockets of orange/purple energy to show Nadia, Niko and Hailey visions of the Creel House group (Jonathan and Lucas fighting Ryan and Jason brutally, in a position where Jonathan and Lucas were getting pummeled), as Ruby, Eleven, Max and Billy were restrained and almost killed by Vecna in Vecna's mind space, and the UPSD group where Steve, Will, Mike, Nancy, Calliope and Robin were all in danger of dying, along with Dustin and Eddie's predicament where they were both hurt and on the verge of being dead, and the Russian group at the prison where Natasha, Nadyr, Joyce, Hopper, Murray and Apollo were in dire circumstances with a humongous elemental monster as well, distracting them enough, causing them untold pain.

Nadia, Niko and Hailey were horrified and worried for all their friends and family, as they were trapped in place by Mirage and Dark Hailey, scared of losing their loved ones. They all got so angry, agonized, that they screamed in pain and rage, releasing enough power, which exploded out of them in bursts of purple, blue and red energy, and threw Mirage, Dark Hailey and the monsters away from them to the ground, ripping the metal entrapment around Nadia to shreds.

As soon as she was free, Nadia instantly stood, standing next to Niko and Hailey.

Dark Hailey glared at them, pushing herself up, and sent blast after blast of red energy at them.

Nadia used her bracelet cuffs as shields to protect both Niko and Hailey until they recovered, and ran toward Dark Hailey at her fastest, using her bracelet cuffs as a shield to each blast of power that she threw at her, charging her cuffs enough to slam them together and release a devastating blast of energy, purple tinged with red, as it shot out, radiating everywhere, and threw Dark Hailey to the ground, searing her with Nadia's intense heat, as Nadia threw her arms and head back to release more power that she shot out at Mirage, screaming in order to do so, burning him so intensely that he was flung to the ground.

Mirage stood. "Pathetic. You all deserve to burn."

Nadia flung her whip up to latch onto lightning, riding the lightning through the sky as she swung toward Mirage, flipping through the air, tackling Mirage to the ground, yelling in rage as she punched him twice in the face. Mirage used his power to throw Nadia off of him into a castle column, making her fall, summoning his energy to throw the column down onto Nadia, but Nadia conjured her blazing glowing purple sword within a second and used it to slash the column in half, the blazing halves of the column falling to the ground on either side of Nadia with no harm done.

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle - Tunnels

Rounding another corner, the UPSD group was brought short when they saw another group of monsters running toward them from down the corridor in front of them, and they were blocked from turning around by another pack of monsters running in behind them, forcing the UPSD group to turn around another corner just in front of them and run into another room of the castle, as the two groups of monsters followed them, lightning fast.

Getting into the throne room of the castle, Mike instantly turned around and shot another explosive arrow at the door, setting off an explosion that killed the group of five monsters just before they ran into the room.

Some monsters still managed to make it through the flames, not quite dead, but Calliope, Nancy and Robin opened fire on those monsters with the rifle, shotgun and pistols, and Mike shot another monster in the head with another arrow, each one the first line of defense, killing the monsters coming for them.

Another monster lunged at Steve, tackling him to the ground. Steve rolled over the ground to get to a kneeling position, raising one of his spears, stabbing the monster in the head with it to kill him. As another monster lunged for Steve, Steve spun around his other spear and stabbed it into the monster's head to kill him, ripping both of the spears out of the monsters' heads, letting the bodies fall.

A monster lunged at Mike. Mike ducked back to the ground, landing on his back as he shot an arrow into the monster's head, standing, shooting another arrow into the head of another monster, drawing another arrow as he spun around and faced another monster, not having the time to fire the arrow, as the monster grabbed Mike and slammed him against the wall. Mike struggled to hold the monster off, arrow still in his hand as he stabbed the monster with it, but couldn't kill it. The monster roared in Mike's face in pain from being stabbed by the arrow, about to lunge forward to kill.

Will grabbed the monster and pulled him away from Mike, his arm around its neck in a headlock, flipping it to the ground, slamming it down. The monster pushed Will onto his back, lunging at Will's face to kill him, which was what Will wanted, as he held his sword up and ready, making the monster impale itself on the blade of the sword, which went through the monster's mouth and out the back of his head, killing it, pushing the body off of him to the ground, taking the sword out of his mouth, standing, breathing heavily.

When Robin had to stop shooting in order to reload her pistols, a monster lunged at Robin from the side and tackled her to the ground, going in for the kill. Calliope shot the monster with her machine rifle to save Robin, running closer to kick the monster in the head, making him roll off of Robin to the ground, slamming her rifle against the monster's head, drawing a knife, throwing it into the monster's skull, buying enough time to flip her rifle around and shoot the monster dead. Another monster lunged at Calliope from behind, grabbing her, trying to bite her, but Calliope held him off with her rifle, jamming her elbow back into its head. The monster spun around, throwing Calliope into the wall, making her hit hard and fall to the ground. Robin stood, having managed to reload one of her pistols during the distraction, and shot the monster in the back to distract it away from Calliope, the shots from both Robin and Calliope making the monster fall to the ground. Calliope stood, grabbing the monster by the head, and twisted its neck so fast with so much strength that she snapped its neck.

When a monster ran at Nancy to tackle her, Nancy ducked and rolled out of the way, spinning up to a crouching position as she aimed her shotgun at the monster, firing a shot into his head, killing him. Another monster jumped at Nancy from behind, knocking her to the ground. Mike ran up to use the bow to block the monster from getting closer to Nancy to save his sister, twisting the bow around to push the monster away, kicking him to make him stumble back, swinging the bow to hit him in the head, before firing an arrow into his chest, while Nancy shot the monster in the head with her shotgun, both siblings killing the monster together. Mike offered Nancy a hand, and Nancy took it to stand.

∰

Memory Mind Meld

Night - Hawkins Middle School - Gym

Vecna used telekinesis to throw Ruby and Eleven both to the ground, weakening them as much as he could.

Ruby started to push herself up, but Vecna used his power to shoot a piece of the broken bleachers right into Ruby's stomach, through her side where her wounds from the car crash, where she had nearly been paralyzed, were, making her scream in pain.

While in reality, in the attic of the Creel House, Ruby started to bleed through her shirt and jacket as well, due to her astral form being injured. Like as Vecna was whenever he got hurt in the mind fight, injured in real life.

Billy and Max were horrified, worried. "No!"

Billy tackled Vecna from the side when he was distracted, punching him repeatedly in a rage for what he just did.

Trying to take advantage of the distraction, Max ran closer with one of the pieces from the broken bleachers to stab Vecna, almost able to do so because of Billy's distraction.

However, Vecna saw what Max was planning on doing and used his power to throw Billy and Max through the air to the floor, making them hit hard, sliding them across the floor into the walls, making them slam their heads against the walls to knock them out for now.

Eleven pushed herself up, storming toward Vecna, thrusting her arm toward him.

Vecna held his arm toward Eleven, telekinetically and telepathically restraining her from using her power before she could unleash it on him, stalking closer, throwing her into the wall, making her hit her head hard enough to knock her out temporarily, making her fall to the floor.

Ruby ripped the jagged wooden blade from her side, crying out, glaring at Vecna as she pushed herself to stand up, having a little struggle because of her wound.

Vecna took advantage of the struggle, holding his hand toward Ruby, telekinetically and telepathically restraining her from using her power before she could unleash it on him, stalking closer. Ruby groaned in exertion, trying to break free, but the pain in her mind and in her body was preventing her from doing so. Vecna slowly levitated Ruby into the air, moving her closer to him, keeping her restrained as he walked closer to her, until they were face to face.

"How did you like killing your parents just as I had, Ruby?" Vecna asked. "You wanted to just as much as I did."

Ruby let out a furious, seething breath in response. "I didn't. They weren't real."

"Real enough to you," Vecna replied. "We're more alike than you want to admit." Ruby just glared at him, not wanting to believe that this was true. "Billy enjoyed killing his father in his nightmare as well. Seems we're all more alike than you believe." Vecna stepped closer to Ruby, looking from her to where Billy and Max were unconscious on the ground. "Before I kill you... I want you to watch."

Before Ruby could break free, Vecna sent Ruby flying backward toward the Creel House front door behind her, which opened a type of portal to his mind lair within the red clouds, throwing Ruby through it.

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

Nadia slowly walked down a castle landing, holding out her arm, causing a wave of purple glowing psionic energy to dance along her arm, creating a glowing purple armor with a sword in her hand, which dragged across the stone, and the flickering glow of the purple psychic energy sliced clean through the floor without any pressure behind it, just by touching. Her eyes glowed completely purple.

Nadia slowly walked toward the shadow monster that Mirage had created from the Rostov childhood just to torment them. "Shadow, monsters and trauma, oh my."

Nadia ran toward the humongous shadow monster, jumping into the air, swinging her glowing purple armed sword, slashing it deeply across the back of the monster, burning it and the organs inside, making it roar in absolute agony. From her other hand, Nadia shot glowing purple psionic energy out at the monster's head, burning its face and its eyes to blind it and render it unable to attack.

Fighting against monsters, Niko used blue energy fire to fly through the air, crackling with fiery lightning as he did, landing on the castle floor landing below him in the middle of a group of monsters, eyes glowing blue as he threw out his arms, the landing plus the energy he shot out now radiating out and electrocuting the five monsters around him and throwing them to the ground, killing them with fiery lightning energy.

As more monsters ran toward Niko, Niko spiraled through the air, releasing a spiral of fiery lightning that struck three monsters around him, zapping them dead and making them fall to the ground, as Niko landed on his feet. A monster tried to attack Niko. Niko raised his arm to block the move, punching him in the face, fiery lightning adding strength to his punch, the power throwing the monster back through the air as it was burned to ashes by flame and lightning. At the same time, red lightning flashed across the sky behind Niko.

Dark Hailey was breathing heavily, recovering from Niko cutting so many of her tendrils, needing to heal, while Niko had already healed himself from their fight.

Hailey, healed enough to fight, went after Mirage as he was going after Nadia again, blocking his path, glaring at him in rage, levitating herself up, holding out her glowing red hands, eyes black and red, gem glowing red, as she used red energy to levitate all of the debris and castle pieces around her and below her, throwing them all at Mirage, hurting him just in time for all of the debris and castle pieces to dissolve into a shower of stone and rock, fading out of existence. Hailey wasted no time throwing blast after blast of red energy at Mirage, hurting him, melting more of his image of the snake away, revealing more of the real, destroyed Andrei underneath with each blast. Mirage raised a large metal blade as a shield, using it to slam against Hailey's head, knocking her down to the side onto another nearby castle landing.

Still in full form glowing purple psychic energy armed sword and eyes, Nadia flipped through air, landing on her feet on another castle landing toward Dark Hailey, swinging the armor sword around. "Nowhere to run now."

Dark Hailey smirked, tilting her head. "Like I'd want to run anyway."

Nadia spun to slash her sword toward Dark Hailey, using her armor to burn and slash and wound her so deeply that she screamed with each hit. Dark Hailey used red energy to fly, shooting red tendrils from her back and hands down at Nadia to attack her from all sides. Nadia was stabbed quite a few times, screaming in agony from the intense ice burning agony of her power, but also managed to use her glowing purple sword and scythe in either hand to slash through the tendrils to stop them from causing more damage, the heat making Dark Hailey scream and stop her attack, the tendrils snapping back into her body. Nadia jumped through the air to slash Dark Hailey in the face with her glowing purple sword and punch with her armored hand to deliver another agonizing burning blow, slashing toward her again. Dark Hailey backflipped through the air to make her miss, using red energy to levitate, and to grab Nadia, wrapping tendrils around her, constricting, burning her with the intense cold, throwing her to the nearby castle landing, making her land so hard that Nadia nearly broke her arm. Nadia rolled backward to her feet. Dark Hailey levitated a stone pillar and threw it toward Nadia. Nadia raised her armored arm with the sword, using the purple glowing psychic energy to rip the column in half on touch, making the halves fly past her to the ground without harm, while Dark Hailey's power on top of that dissolved the column into a shower of stone pieces before fading from existence.

Two more monsters ran toward Niko, but Niko shot out lightning/fire from either hand toward both of them, incinerating them within seconds. As three more ran toward Niko from up ahead, Niko shot out a powerful blast of fiery lightning to strike them all down. Another three ran toward Niko from another direction, but Niko kicked the first one in the chest, sending a burst of fire/lightning shooting out of his foot and straight through Monster 1, and out through his body to attack the two monsters behind him, incinerating them all to death. As another monster ran closer, Niko spun around to backhand punch him in the face, lightning and fire lashing out at him and burning him to a crisp, making him fall dead.

Niko spun around with a sword in his hand, channeling fire and lightning through the sword to shoot out multiple bursts of blue glowing lightning out at three monsters around him, killing them, while slashing the lightning-fused sword through the neck of another monster, decapitating him, the extra lightning on the sword shooting out and frying three more monsters that ran toward him, killing them, watching all four bodies fall.

Hailey pushed herself up in time to see Mirage slashing the blade down toward her head, holding up her hands to use red glowing energy as a shield to save herself. Mirage was struggling to push the blade down onto Hailey with all of his strength, but Hailey was holding him off with relative ease, tilting her head with a dark smirk, using red energy tendrils to stab into Mirage on all sides, over and over, making him scream and hiss in anger and agony, thrusting more red aura energy out of her hands up at the blade above her, destroying it completely, knocking Mirage back away from her. Hailey stood, holding her glowing hands toward Mirage, as she used the energy to grab him and levitate him over the ground, along with several pieces of castle and stone debris, plucking away at his image of the snake form around him, melting it away completely the longer that she kept him covered in her lifeline reality energy, as he screamed in agony, the snake visage fading completely, leaving nothing but destroyed Andrei in his place, as the castle and stone debris pieces around him effected by Hailey's power dissolved into nothing.

∰

Vecna's Mind Lair

Ruby landed on the ground harshly in Vecna's mind lair nearby the broken debris pieces of the Creel House, groaning in pain because of the wound in her side.

Eleven was thrown through the portal to land on the ground nearby Ruby.

Tendrils slipped out from the stone pillar behind Eleven, wrapping around her wrists and ankles, dragging her up to the stone pillar to tie her to it, another tendril slipping down around her throat.

Tendrils slipped down from the front door of the Creel House behind Ruby, wrapping around her wrists and ankles, dragging her up to the door to tie her to it, another tendril slipping down around her throat.

Ruby raised her head, looking around the mind lair, hating to be back here. She looked over her shoulder at the rose stained glass window behind her on the door. She looked ahead, seeing Eleven restrained to a stone pillar, barely conscious, and seeing Chrissy and Aaron's bodies displayed from their stone pillars.

The grandfather clock floated in the air, ticking, chiming.

Ruby looked over to Eleven, hoping to wake her. "El. El!"

Eleven started to raise her head. "Ruby?"

Vecna walked past them, telekinetically carrying the half-unconscious Billy and Max to two free stone pillars in front of Ruby and Eleven.

Eleven gasped in horror and worry.

"Max!" Ruby told her. "Billy! Wake the hell up!" Vecna used more tendrils to suspend Billy and Max in the air, tying them to the stone pillars. Billy and Max were starting to wake. Ruby tried a last resort to stop Vecna. "You're right." Vecna turned to face her, curious. "Cheryl and Charlie. Melody and Anthony. Two and Three. Whatever you want to call them... they're to blame for all of this." Vecna slowly walked closer. Ruby tried to keep her breath even, even while in pain. "They made you... into this. They did it to me too. They're the monsters, Henry. Not me. Not you."

Vecna stopped in front of Ruby. "You're right. They were the monsters. And they made both of us this way. You. And me." Ruby couldn't help a tear as it fell down her cheek. Vecna reached a clawed finger up to Ruby's cheek to wipe the tear away, seeming curious. "Hmm. They shaped us... changed us into monsters. But in the end, they weren't as strong as us. Do you not see, Ruby? We... are... the same." Ruby just glared at him, not knowing what to say to deny the words. Vecna turned toward Eleven. "But they weren't the only ones that made me into this, Eleven. You did too."

Eleven realized what Vecna meant, when she banished up.

Vecna showed Ruby, Eleven, Billy and Max his memories to explain, wanting the truth to torment them all even more.

∰

Flashback - 1979

Upside Down

When Eleven first banished Henry, he was struck by golden lightning from the sky, screaming with each strike, which changed him into half of the monstrous being he appeared as today.

Vecna: (voice over) "At first, I believed you had sent me to my death. To Purgatory. But I was wrong. I was somewhere new."

In his destroyed form, Henry walked through the realm, discovering everything about it, including a baby Demogorgon nearby.

Vecna: (voice over) "I became an explorer. An explorer of a realm unspoiled by mankind. I saw so many things. And one day, I met Andrei. Before he became Mirage. He was just as much of an explorer as I was. Having been here for just a few years longer than I."

Henry and Andrei were shown meeting, in their destroyed clothing, their destroyed forms, but before they had truly become Vecna and Mirage.

At the same time, Mirage was showing this memory to Nadia, Niko and Hailey in his own realm, making them see everything.

Mirage: (voice over) "Together, we discovered what we could do together, and with our own powers apart. And we found the most extraordinary thing of all. Something that would change everything."

Henry and Andrei discovered the shadow particles, shapeless in the sky.

∰

Flashback - 1959

Night - Creel House - Attic

Young Cheryl and Young Henry were sitting together, surrounded by candles, as Young Cheryl was holding a black widow, and Young Henry was drawing a big, black spider that looked just like the Mind Flayer. (and just like the drawing that Will did of the Mind Flayer in season/book two).

Vecna: (voice over) "We saw a means to realize our potential. To transcend our human forms. To become the predators we were always born to be. And somehow, it always linked back to my bond with Cheryl. To a predator that we both adored."

∰

Flashback - 1979

Upside Down

Henry held out his hand toward the shadow particles, using telekinesis to shape and change the shadow, forming it into the giant, spider like monster that everyone had grown to know as the Mind Flayer.

∰

Now

Vecna's Mind Lair

Ruby, Eleven, Billy and Max were all still trapped, horrified by what this meant when they realized.

Billy glared at Vecna for the things that he made him do, everything he did to him and Ruby and everyone else before, and everything that he did to them this year.

Ruby had tears of furious anguish in her eyes as she processed the fact that everything the Mind Flayer did, to her, to Billy, to Will, to everyone they loved, it was always controlled by Henry, as he had created it. "It was... it was you. Always you."

Vecna had been waiting for this reaction, smirking smugly, sadistically pleased. "Why do you think you and Billy played such a big part of my plans last year, Ruby? All of that work, all that pain..." Ruby, Eleven and Billy all flinched at the words, remembering them clearly from 3.06. "All of it... for you. All we needed was for someone to open the door." Vecna turned to Eleven. "And you did that for us. Without even realizing it." Eleven flashed back to opening the second Gate. "And when you did realize, you chose to resist. All of you did."

There were flashes of all the psionics ruining the Upside Down's plans, killing their monsters, closing their Gates, even Billy breaking free from the Mind Flayer's control and stopping his tendril from going after Ruby with nothing but pure strength, etc.

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

Dark Hailey was trying to restrain Hailey with her power.

Hailey glared at Dark Hailey, looking around at the ten monsters standing around her, before thrusting out her arms to either side of her with a yell, releasing a massive explosion of red aura energy that threw the Mirage monsters through the air, away from her, destroying all of them within a second as they faded out of existence. She ran toward Dark Hailey, tackling her off the stone landing, as both used their energy to fly through the sky. Hailey threw burst after burst of her power out at Dark Hailey, hurting her as much as she could, but Dark Hailey seemed barely affected.

Dark Hailey laughed in mockery. "Come on, Hailey!"

Hailey threw more. Dark Hailey absorbed the power into her and threw twice the amount back at Hailey. The more energy that Hailey threw at Dark Hailey, the more monstrous they both looked, seemed, becoming darker looking, not just in attitude, but physical appearance. Dark Hailey was able to link their powers due to them being the same and the amount of power that Hailey was throwing at her, causing an endless stream of red power to flow between them, knowing what this meant, laughing chaotically, cackling wildly with evil satisfaction.

Dark Hailey and Hailey both absorbed all of the red energy passing between them, screaming in pain at the release and intake that could potentially tear them both apart.

Within the stream of red energy surrounding them both in a chaotic, dangerous but beautiful show, the red/black power enveloped their bodies from head to toe like a coating of solidified, slimy monstrous but humanoid skin, becoming taller, thinner with elongated limbs, faces lacking human facial features, except for large black eye spots stretched across the top part of their faces with their eye spots and gems in their heads glowing bright red. The flesh of their faces unfurled like flowers to reveal "petals" lined with many sharp teeth, around a huge open mouth.

Nadia and Niko watched in absolute shock and horror as the red energy faded away completely to reveal the half-human Demogorgon forms.

"Oh, God," Niko said.

Nadia shook her head. "No, no, no."

Andrei, laying weakly where Hailey left him after making the image of the snake fade, laughed. "Why did you think Hailey was able to open temporary doors to the Upside Down? Why we needed her most of all? Why her dark side wants to be on our side? Why she's so connected to our realm and able to sense everyone on the other side of the barrier. All the pain that she's felt since the lot of you have started to kill our kind again. Your grandfather's men left her with Demogorgon DNA just like he did to your cousin Nazary. And gave her what she needed to be able to transform. And now Hailey's one of us. She always has been. Now... more than ever."

Nadia and Niko were completely shocked.

Demogorgon!Dark Hailey laughed, her voice deep, monstrous. "Eyes, lungs, hearts, oh my. So many snacks, so little time."

Demogorgon!Dark Hailey and Andrei released enough power that it weakened Demogorgon!Hailey, Nadia and Niko enough to where they could restrain them, albeit temporarily.

Mirage looked from Nadia to Niko. "The control that Henry and I have over the hive mind... meant that people close to you were always the ones hurt. First with Will. And Barbara." Nadia and Niko looked sick to their stomachs, as Mirage were forcing them to see how they were taken and killed in Barbara's case or possessed in Will's. "Everyone that you love. While he was focused mostly on his niece and causing her as much pain and heartache as he possibly could. While I wanted to do the same to the both of you. With all of you resisting and fighting back and closing our way in... and killing our soldiers that could open the doors for us... we had to seek a means to open our own doors." Mirage extended his hand toward Demogorgon!Hailey. "We sought... your power. Hailey... you have freed us. All of our kind."

Hailey flashed back to being experimented on, the gem put into her head, dying and coming back to life, and everything that she had done with her powers since, including opening Gates, both of her will and not of her will, her monstrous side, her screams and roars that sounded like screeches of squeals, losing control so many times, killing people without meaning to, sensing blood and people on the other side of the Veil with almost super senses, healing from wounds, stronger, faster, but just having thought that was her training. She could not believe that this was happening to her, that she really was a monster all along.

∰

Vecna's Mind Lair

Vecna had just relayed the information that Hailey was half-Demogorgon to Ruby, Eleven, Max and Billy, who were all in shock.

Eleven begged Vecna. "You don't have to do this. You can still stop this."

"It is over, Eleven," Vecna told her, raising both clawed hands to touch Ruby and Eleven's cheeks, making them both flinch. "Your friends have lost."

Eleven sobbed.

Ruby glared, almost defeated.

∰

Upside Down

Eddie's Trailer - Outside

Dustin was quickly limping out of the trailer as fast as he could even on his busted leg, crying out. "Eddie! Eddie!" He used his spear as a cane to help him along. "Eddie!" He went around the corner, looking into the distance, seeing the bat swarm surrounding Eddie several yards away, horrified, worried. "Eddie!"

Dustin continued to limp his way over as fast as he possibly could.

Eddie stood in the middle of the warm of bats circling around him, looking up all around at them, circling around with either weapon in hand. When they dove down toward him, Eddie would fend them off as much as he could with his nail shield and his spear, yelling. "Come on!"

A bat's tail wrapped around Eddie's neck, strangling him, pulling him back to the ground.

Dustin continued on his way, screaming. "Eddie!"

∰

Hawkins

Creel House - Attic

Jason and Ryan managed to get Lucas and Jonathan pinned, punching them repeatedly, over and over.

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle

Steve was using his spears to cut and slash into two monsters, managing to stab them in the heads to kill them. Another monster lunged at Steve to push him back against a stone table behind him, slashing him in the shoulder, making Steve groan in pain, but he instantly drove a spear into the head of the monster above him before the monster could lunge in for the kill, using the other spear to slash against the monster's throat, the head and throat shots enough to kill the monster, kicking the body off of him as he removed his spears, letting the body fall, standing up straight.

Will was tackled to the ground, crawling away from a monster behind him as the monster tried to grab him. Will managed to grab his sword which he had been forced to drop on the ground when he landed, picking it up, rolling himself and the monster around to switch the positions so that Will was the one pinning the monster to the ground, sword raised in both hands as he did, instantly driving the sword through the head of the monster to kill it before it had the chance to throw him off. He raised his head, looking around as he pulled the sword out of the body's head.

A monster lunged at Will from behind to throw him into the wall and make him drop his sword. Will crawled back in defense, scared as he glared at the monster, trapped and cornered.

Before the monster could lunge forward and kill Will, Steve came up from behind the monster and drove his spears right through the back and through the head of the monster, the spears protruding through the monster's mouth and chest on the other side, yelling as he spun around and flung the monster's body off of his spears to the ground.

Will closed his eyes, breathing heavily in relief, instantly picking up his sword, standing. As a monster lunged for Steve while he was distracted getting the body off of his spears, Will spun around and slashed his sword through the neck of the monster, decapitating him to save Steve, just as Steve had just saved Will.

Will and Steve looked at each other in relief, nodding.

Calliope had to reload her rifle, when a monster lunged at her and pinned Calliope to the table behind her. Calliope held the monster off at bay with her bare hands, struggling to do so, coming within inches of losing her life as the monster was so close to her face, when Robin fired her pistols at the monster, distracting it from Calliope and making him fall to the ground, buying enough time for Calliope to reload her rifle, as Calliope pushed herself up and backed away toward Robin. As the monster stood to lunge toward them, Calliope and Robin both aimed their guns at the monster and opened fire, killing it together. As another monster lunged at Calliope from behind, Calliope spun around and swung a knife of hers through the head of the monster, cutting the head clean off, watching the body fall.

∰

Vecna's Mind Lair

Vecna continued to taunt the restrained Ruby and Eleven. "There is nothing... nothing you can do to stop this now."

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

Fighting against another monster, Nadia formed a glowing purple, blazing, intricately designed shield and sword made from her glowing energy, using the shield to block every move a monster tried to make against her, swinging her sword repeatedly to slash into them to wound them deeply, running closer, jumping up and landing on the monster to stab her sword deeply into its chest, ripping it out, causing so much damage to the body, swinging her sword to cut off its head, but the monster ducked. Nadia swung the sword again, but the monster darted out of the way, making the sword cut through the stone walls without issue, making an avalanche of rock debris cascade to the ground. Nadia lunged at the monster through the smoke, driving her sword into his stomach. The monster used its tendrils to lift Nadia up, restraining her, almost killing her. Nadia used her sword to cut through the tendrils to break the restraint and sliced all through the monster in every which direction, cutting him to pieces, watching the pieces fall to the ground, as she landed in a crouch, looking up with completely glowing purple eyes.

In another part of Niko and Andrei's fight, a train seemed to fly through the middle of the thunderstorm, out of place, without a track, but flying on a path without a destination, as Niko slammed right into the train, groaning in pain, pulling himself up onto the top of the train to stand up.

Andrei waved his arms, conjuring enough purple/orange power to summon all kinds of castle pieces and debris from all around the thunderstorm lair, hurling them at Niko to trap him in a circle of stone and debris.

As Niko tried to fly away, circles of energy opened and made Niko fall in a continuous loop, stuck in place, before he managed to break free and fly away with blue flame. Niko noticed glass shards all around him in the air, and realized something he could do, eyes glowing blue as he threw out his arms, releasing a blast of blue energy that radiated outward and shattered all of the glass in the air around them, destroying the mirage of infinite shapes and out of this world images.

Andrei was cut by all of the pieces of falling glass, screaming/hissing in pain.

Niko used fire to fly right toward Andrei, thrusting out his hand to conjure lightning from the fire, and using the lightning to grab Andrei, restraining him in a construct of blue lightning from both hands, burning him intensely as he electrocuted him. "It's over, Andrei."

"This certainly isn't ideal, but I always have contingencies," Andrei replied. "Dark one?"

Demogorgon!Dark Hailey shot a burst of power at Niko, making him release Andrei and sending Niko flying backward through the air, making him scream as the icy burn of her powers seared into his skin and thrust him into the side of a broken piece of the castle.

Demogorgon!Hailey broke free because of her distraction and thrust her own red glowing energy tendrils out at Demogorgon!Dark Hailey, wrapping around her monstrous wrists and legs, slamming her against a stone wall, roaring in her face, her own voice deep, thundering and monstrous. "How's that for a fucking power up?"

Demogorgon!Dark Hailey used red glowing aura energy to throw Demogorgon!Hailey off of her across the sky toward another stone landing. Demogorgon!Hailey flipped through the air and landed easily on her feet, turning toward Demogorgon!Dark Hailey, both of their mouths opening like a flower to reveal their petal, razor sharp teeth inside as they roared at each other, leaping through the air toward each other, tackling each other down to the ground, landing on a stone platform underneath them, nearly shattering it with the force of their combined strength. As Demogorgon!Dark Hailey grabbed Demogorgon!Hailey from behind to strangle her and try to bite her head off, Demogorgon!Hailey grabbed her by the arms and flipped her over her head, making her fall. They both wrestled and fought for dominance, pretty evenly matched, in rage mode. Demogorgon!Hailey used red energy to fly into the sky, holding Demogorgon!Dark Hailey by the tendrils, swinging her around to slam her into each stone wall, floor, platform and debris face she could hit her with, before throwing her several yards through the red and black thunderstorm sky. Demogorgon!Dark Hailey flung out her energy tendrils and aura to stop her path of flight, glaring at Demogorgon!Hailey as she flew right back toward her, slamming into Demogorgon!Hailey with such strength that she sent her flying back across multiple stone platforms, making her bounce off each one and destroy each one with their powers combined as they faded out of existence, until Demogorgon!Hailey hit the center of the mental lair, slamming into the throne, breaking it into pieces, as the floor crumbled and broke underneath her, making her groan in pain as Hailey had to switch back to human form.

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - Corridor

Just as Nadyr was about to be overpowered, Joyce arrived, and drove a stun gun into the Demodog's side, electrocuting him to save Nadyr, buying Nadyr enough time to shoot plasma into the Demodog with his hands free, and sent it flying down the corridor.

Nadyr stood, with Joyce's aid. "Joyce, hey."

Joyce whimpered in relief, embracing Nadyr out of instinct, as he wrapped an arm around her comfortingly.

Hopper stood.

They noticed the shaking of the prison as it started to be destroyed by the elemental monster that formed from the collapsing Gate, which they saw rising up to destroy the entire prison roof, all looking at it in shock and horror.

Nadyr led Joyce and Hopper away, hoping to lead the monsters to the pit still, and meet up with Natasha and Apollo there like they were supposed to. "Go, go, go!"

Nadyr, Joyce and Hopper ran as fast as they could, leading the monsters directly after them.

∰

Upside Down

Trailer Park

Eddie was restrained to the ground by the army of bats, which started to eat as his flesh, causing him to scream in absolute anguish.

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle

The UPSD group was very well outnumbered, and about to get slaughtered if they didn't get to safety soon.

Calliope shouted to them all. "Go! Go, go, go!" Nancy was firing her shotgun at two monsters to kill them, backing away toward the others. Calliope saw a ladder, getting an idea. "Up the ladder, go!"

Calliope urged Robin to go up the ladder, staying on the floor.

Robin started to climb up the ladder.

One by one, Will, Steve, Mike and Nancy followed Robin up the ladder.

Calliope stayed below, as she was covering them, firing her gun at the monsters all around to keep them from coming near, buying them all enough time to get up the ladder.

∰

Vecna's Mind Lair

Vecna continued to taunt the restrained Ruby and Eleven, cupping Ruby's cheek to make her look at him, since she refused to look him in the eye, making her do so. "Hawkins will burn and fall. And the rest of this senseless, broken world. And I will be there."

∰

Hawkins

Creel House - Foyer

Erica ran into the house, up the stairs. "Lucas! Jonathan!"

∰

Attic

Jason and Ryan were strangling Lucas and Jonathan.

Vecna: (voice over) "I will be there to pick up the pieces when it does."

Erica tried to open the attic door, but it was locked, banging on the door. "Lucas! Jonathan!"

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle

Once the others were all up, Calliope turned to start to climb up, firing her rifle at the monsters below her that tried to attack her as she did.

However, while she was climbing, it meant that she couldn't fire at all the monsters, and some of them almost managed to drag Calliope down.

"Calliope!" Robin called worriedly.

Even from up above, Robin and Nancy were firing their guns.

Steve took one of his spears and threw it downward toward a monster that almost latched onto Calliope, spearing him right through the chest and making him fall away from Calliope down to the floor.

Mike fired an arrow at another monster, but he was almost out of arrows, though they had already bought enough time for Calliope to get up the ladder and join them.

"I'm out of bomb arrows," Mike worried.

The monsters were quick to start climbing.

Calliope pulled out a grenade. "I got it covered."

Calliope pulled the pin and dropped the bomb right down below.

"Take cover!" Steve shouted.

The group took complete cover, as Nancy wrapped her arms around Mike protectively, and Mike held onto his sister. Steve held his arms over Will for protection, both covering against the wall, while Calliope turned toward Robin, taking cover with her as her arms covered Robin's thin frame, both ducking down together, just as the bomb below exploded, shaking the entire castle as the flames destroyed the ten monsters below, rattling the group above.

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

A monster lunged for Nadia. Nadia conjured purple glowing, blazing, intricately designed curved blades to slash the monster's arms and make her let go, backing away, spinning the blades in either hand to cut into its chest, leaving two blazing lines of purple power in the wound's wakes, spinning the blades around in either hand, joining them together to create one long sword, spinning to drive the sword into its stomach, spearing the monster through and through. Another monster came up from behind Nadia to grab her, but Nadia drove the sword through its arms to make it let go, spinning to face it, breaking the sword apart in her hands into two blades, slashing them in a blur of motion to leaves cuts and deep gashes all over its body with blazing purple lines left in the wounds, spinning, raising the sword to stab into its head, killing it instantly, ripping the sword out, holding it pointing downward with her arms raised.

Andrei turned toward Niko, conjuring a nightmare around him.

Niko could only see a black void around him now, surrounding him in darkness. He knew that he could do this, sighing heavily, closing his eyes in concentration. "Come on, Niko. You've got this."

Niko started to run with his eyes closed, relying on his instincts and abilities rather than sight, so that Andrei couldn't use them against him with his nightmares.

As monsters lunged out of the darkness toward Niko, Niko could sense them coming, flipping through the air over one to dodge it, using fire to fly over the next one to make it miss him, in midair as a monster lunged right for him, but Niko caught it before it could get to him, and used blue blazing fire to burn the monster out of existence within seconds, rendering it into ash, blue fire aura surrounding him as he flew through the darkness with his eyes closed, able to evade every single nightmare that came for him without ever seeing what they actually were, shooting his power out at the void in front of him, his power clashing with Andrei's power, creating an explosion of orange, purple and blue energy, which threw Niko through the air and shattered the fabric of the nightmare around him, breaking him free from the nightmare, as he ended up right back in Mirage's lair, flying through the air, tackling Andrei to the ground, shooting blasts of blue fire into his body, burning him intensely, making him scream, the fire lighting up all of the stone around them, setting the castle floor landing around them ablaze.

Niko stood over Andrei, breathing heavily, glaring at him.

"You're a good person, Nikolai," Andrei told him. "That's the most disappointing part. Such a weakness."

Niko was not buying the distraction, as he knew that the Andrei in front of him wasn't the real one, as the real Andrei shot a burst of energy right toward Niko from another location, but Niko conjured a shield of blue fiery energy in front of him that absorbed the power that Andrei threw at him, becoming even stronger, glaring with blue glowing eyes. "You can't trick me anymore. You can't hurt or scare me any longer."

With a yell, Niko threw the blue fiery aura shield right at Andrei, setting him ablaze with blue fire, causing him to scream in utter agony.

With Hailey still recovering from the battle, Dark Hailey, back in human form, went after Nadia, even with both of the Haileys in utter agony because of Andrei's pain.

Nadia spun her sword around. "You really wanna fight me, dark one? Again?"

Dark Hailey smirked, shrugging. "I've always wanted to."

Nadia spun around, swinging her glowing purple, blazing sword toward Dark Hailey, who caught the sword by the blade, enduring the searing pain of heat. Nadia turned the sword into an ax, slashing through Dark Hailey's hand, spinning around to slash at her head, but Dark Hailey ducked. Turning the sword into a curved blade in one hand, the ax in the other, Nadia slashed at Dark Hailey repeatedly in a blur of motion, slashing and wounding her immensely with each move, spinning closer with each step to crowd her back against the wall, but Dark Hailey released a blast of red energy aura that threw Nadia back, burning her intensely with the coldness of her power. Nadia turned her blades into a shield to protect herself from more harm, spinning around the beam of energy to slash toward Dark Hailey with another blade that she conjured during the spin. Dark Hailey shot a blast of aura into each energy weapon repeatedly to break them, backhand punching Nadia in the face, grabbing her by the wrists, using energy to fly them toward another wall, slamming Nadia into the wall behind her, making her weapons disappear.

With Nadia pinned and no weapons at her disposal, and Nadia incredibly winded from using all that power, her nose bleeding heavily, Dark Hailey, even with her nose bleeding, smirked, and made the complete transformation into her Demogorgon form, making Nadia watch in shock, energy tendrils growing from Dark Hailey's back, aimed at Nadia, mouth opening like a flower to reveal her teeth as Dark Hailey prepared to eat Nadia whole.

Hailey, having seen Nadia in danger, took no time at all to complete transformation into her Demogorgon form, and shot a blast of red glowing energy at Demogorgon!Dark Hailey to stop her from killing Nadia, leaping through the air as she grew her red energy tendrils from her back, and stabbed them deeply into Dark Hailey's eyes with a roar, making her let go of Nadia.

Nadia started to fall, but Demogorgon!Hailey jumped down in order to catch Nadia in her arms. Demogorgon!Dark Hailey jumped down behind Demogorgon!Hailey, slitting the back of her ankles with her energy tendrils, stabbing her in the back with two more, making Demogorgon!Hailey roar in pain, throwing Nadia and Demogorgon!Hailey through a stone wall that shattered like glass when it was destroyed by the Haileys' lifeline reality powers.

Demogorgon!Hailey was hanging off the edge of the platform when they landed, holding onto Nadia's arm to try and make sure that she didn't fall through the sky into the clouds below. Nadia looked up as Demogorgon!Dark Hailey continued to stab Demogorgon!Hailey repeatedly, making the good Hailey roar in agony and have to let go of Nadia.

Niko used blue fire to fly past, catching Nadia, and shooting them up to the nearest, one of the only, stone landings left, landing, letting the fire fade, looking at his sister in relief. "You okay? I got you."

Nadia nodded in agreement, breathing heavily.

Nadia, Niko and Hailey were all exhausted with the power usage by now, bleeding heavily from the noses.

∰

Vecna's Mind Lair

Vecna continued to taunt Ruby and Eleven, still holding Ruby's chin to make her meet his gaze. "And remake it into something... beautiful." He looked Ruby in the eyes. "There was a time when I had hoped to have you by my side." Ruby remembered being attacked, and almost flayed by the Mind Flayer (Vecna) in 3.01, alongside Billy, but her power had protected her, and no matter how many times they tried to use Billy to get to her, she always ended up defeating it with the help of her friends last year, which only infuriated Vecna more. "But now I just want you to watch."

Vecna finally let Ruby's chin go, turning to walk toward Billy and Max.

Ruby closed her eyes, flashing back to all of the memories that made her strong enough to power through the telepathic restraint that was blocking her powers, so that she could save Billy and Max.

Ruby's left hand glowed with golden light, burning the tendril around her arm until it let her go. She shot tiny blasts at each vine holding her right hand, ankles, and neck, to make them all let go, flipping down from the wall, landing on her feet in a crouch. She instantly stood, punching Vecna furiously in the face repeatedly, spinning around to kick him back, shooting a blast of energy at his legs to burn him intensely, knocking his feet out from underneath him as she slammed him down onto the ground, punching him in the face. Vecna telekinetically threw Ruby off of him to the ground, standing as quickly as he could. Ruby spun over the ground to kick him in the legs, shooting a blast of golden energy into his face, making him scream, as she flipped up to a standing position, screaming at him mockingly to taunt his scream of pain, grabbing Vecna by the head, slamming him down against her knee which she drove up into his head, making him fall back. Vecna stood, telekinetically throwing Ruby to the ground, stalking toward her, glaring. Ruby shot two blasts of golden light from her hands out at Vecna with enough strength to send him flying back through the air, as the strength of her power also sent her sliding back in the opposite direction across the ground. Ruby used light to fly up to her feet, flying toward Vecna, her aura of light burning him, trying to punch him. Vecna used telekinesis to throw Ruby into a mirror which was watery like in substance as it struggled to contain her and put out her light so that she couldn't fight.

Vecna stalked closer. "It's cute how hard you try." Ruby was pulled through the watery like substance, trapped, shown every memory of her tragic past. "But remember..."

The first memories that played were of Ruby's childhood, being abused, verbally, mentally and physically, by Melody and Anthony.

Vecna: (voice over) "You're weak."

The next, the crash that killed her parents and nearly killed/paralyzed her.

Vecna: (voice over) "Flawed."

After that, memories of several different foster homes, each one abusive over the years, once again, verbally, mentally and physically, some of them objectifying, sexualized from the worst foster fathers.

Vecna: (voice over) "Helpless."

Which lead to Ruby wanting to be stronger, having to join a gang before returning to Hawkins, in order to protect herself from the horrors of her life, even before all of this.

Vecna: (voice over) "Broken."

Then everything that happened since returning to Hawkins. Aaron's abuse, finding out about her powers and losing control of herself, her mind and her power in book two and three. In book three, losing Billy to the Mind Flayer, set against Ruby and nearly killing her, or helping the Mind Flayer take control of her in 3.08.

Vecna: (voice over) "Damaged."

Everything that had happened in book four leading up to now, from Aaron's attack and drugging, and nearly being sexually assaulted in 4.01, to being cursed along with Max and Billy, nearly killed by Mirage monsters, and everything Vecna had done to her in 4.04, 4.07, and now. Remembering all the horrible things that her parents did to her even in hallucination.

Vecna: (voice over) "Useless."

Ruby started to fall through the watery trap and ended up back in Vecna's mind lair.

Vecna stood in front of Ruby, thrusting his arm toward her, telekinetically throwing her into the door behind her, making her hit hard and fall to the ground. He waved his head around, telekinetically moving Ruby all over the ground like a plaything just to taunt her, slamming her into everything he could, before holding his hand toward Ruby, levitating her up from the floor, psychically restraining her, holding her hostage in the air, telepathically restraining her mind so that she couldn't use her powers, rendering her unable to move. "You can't save them. All you can do is watch."

Ruby's limbs were trying to fight back, as Vecna was trying to snap her bones. Eventually, Vecna was able to start breaking her bones.

∰

Reality

Creel House - Attic

Ruby levitated just as her mental astral form did, much to the shock and worry of Jonathan and Lucas as they were being strangled and pummeled by Ryan and Jason, who both didn't notice because they were lost in a crazy rage of beating them.

Jonathan broke free from seeing this, punching Ryan in the face, snapping his head to the side, pushing him off into the nearby wall. Ryan ran closer, kicking Jonathan in the shoulder. Jonathan punched Ryan in the face, grabbing his shoulders, kneeing him in the gut, pushing him against the door, making the door fall through and making them slide down the stairs on top of the door. Ryan stood, grabbing Jonathan, throwing him into the wall. Jonathan kicked him back into a wall behind him. Jonathan picked up something from the table nearby, throwing it into Ryan's stomach to make him fall back into the wall. Ryan pushed the table toward him. Jonathan grabbed the table, kicking up against the wall, leaning back to kick Ryan in the head, making him fall to the floor, kicking him in the side to make him fall again when he tried to get back up.

In both reality and the mind lair, Ruby's right arm snapped, followed by her left, then her left leg, then her right, cracking and bending painfully at irregular angles, even her spine breaking with such an injury, that even if she survived, it would leave her paralyzed, making her scream in both reality and nightmare, starting to go for her eyes, making tears of blood slip down her cheeks. Ruby screamed in absolute pain, but Vecna wouldn't kill her, as he wanted to make her watch as he killed everyone she loved.

∰

Vecna's Mind Lair

Billy, Max and Eleven all screamed for Ruby, unable to do anything. "Ruby!"

"No!" Max cried.

Billy glared at Vecna in fury. "You son of a bitch."

Vecna kept Ruby levitating in the air where she could see everything that he did to Ruby and Billy to torment her, breaking her mind, spirit and body completely. He ran a finger along Max's cheek to wipe a tear away, speaking tauntingly to all three of them, knowing that Billy and Ruby would recognize the words immediately, since these were the words that Billy had to say to Ruby (and other flayed) in book three. "Don't be afraid. Try and stay very still. It will all be over soon."

Ruby and Billy both flinched at those words.

Eleven couldn't break free from the tendrils and psychic, telepathic restraint, and her own wounds. "Max!"

Ruby cried out brokenly, unable to do anything after what Vecna did to her, screaming. "No! Billy! Max!"

Vecna held his clawed hands over Billy and Max's heads.

In reality and the mind lair, Billy and Max levitated.

In the attic, seeing Billy and Max levitating, Lucas was even more horrified with the sight of Max in the air, knowing she was about to be almost dead, just like Billy, along with what just happened to Ruby.

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle

The UPSD group were making their way to the throne room.

Mike got an idea, knowing how dire things could be, and touched the tendrils on the walls next to him, knowing that if he spoke and let Vecna hear him, it meant that Eleven, who was now in Vecna's mind lair, could hear him too. "El! El, can you hear me? El! El? El! El? I don't know if you can hear this, but if you can, I want you to know I'm here. I'm right here, okay? And I love you. El, do you hear me? I love you. I'm sorry that I don't say it more. It's not because I'm scared of you. I'm not. I've never felt that way. Never. But I'm scared that one day you'll realize you don't need me anymore. And I thought if I said how I felt, it would somehow make that day hurt more. But the truth is, El, I don't know how to live without you. I feel like my life started that day we found you in the woods." Eleven was listening to every word emotionally. "You were wearing that yellow Benny's Burgers T-shirt. And it was so big, it almost swallowed you whole." Eleven chuckled. "And I knew right then and there, in that moment, that I loved you. And I've loved you every day since. I love you on your good days. I love you on your bad days. I love you with your powers. I love you without your powers. I love you for exactly who you are. You're my superhero. And... I can't lose you. Okay? Do you hear me? I can't lose you. You can do anything. You can fly. You can move mountains. I believe that. I really do. But right now, you just have to fight, okay? El. Do you hear me? You need to fight. You have to fight. Fight! Fight!"

∰

Vecna's Mind Lair

Eleven looked toward Ruby, Billy and Max, and all of her self-doubt and shot confidence faded away, taking Mike's words to heart, focusing every bit of her being into fighting and breaking free, causing all of the lights in Creel House to flicker in the process. She telekinetically broke free from the tendrils tying her to the stone pillar, slowly.

Vecna still had the broken Ruby watching from the ground as he did the same exact thing to Max and Billy, but this time with the intent to kill them in front of her.

∰

Reality

Creel House - Attic

Lucas broke free from Jason in a desperate attempt to try and save Ruby, Max and Billy, pushing Jason off of him, punching him repeatedly, until he knocked him down.

Ryan stood, trying to punch Jonathan repeatedly. Jonathan raised both arms to block the moves. Ryan punched him in the face, trying to punch him again. Jonathan ducked, spinning around him, turning to face him. Ryan turned to face him to kick him in the head, making Jonathan fall to the floor. Jonathan spun into a standing position, kicking Ryan in the face in the process, making him fall. Jonathan saw a wooden plank nearby, picking it up. Ryan stood, running closer. Jonathan rammed the plank into his stomach, grabbing Ryan flipping him to the floor, punching him repeatedly, slamming the plank over his head, knocking Ryan out.

As Jason started to stand, Jonathan tossed the plank toward Lucas, and Lucas caught it, using the plank to slam across Jason's head and knock him out.

Lucas and Jonathan turned toward the levitating Ruby, Billy and Max behind them.

Ruby was completely broken, blood spilling from her eyes, nose, ears, down her clothes, from her side wound, but still levitating in the air because of Vecna's powers.

In both reality and the mind lair, Max and Billy's right arms snapped, followed by their left, then the left leg, then the right, cracking and bending painfully at irregular angles, starting to go for their eyes, making tears of blood slip down their cheeks.

With each broken bone, it showed someone else in immense danger. Eddie being torn apart by bats, with Dustin running to him screaming "Eddie!" The Russian group at the prison. Hailey, Nadia and Niko in Mirage's lair. The UPSD group in Mirage's castle.

Lucas was absolutely heartbroken to see this happen to the girl he loved, screaming. "Max!"

∰

Vecna's Mind Lair

Eleven finally broke free with a scream.

In utter pain, the color of Ruby's eyes faded slightly as she was half-blind from what Vecna did to her, her limbs and spine fractured, Ruby tried to focus enough to break free and use her powers.

She remembered, that despite each time that she got hurt, no matter who it was by, Ruby, child, preteen, young teen, and the young adult she was now, always rose from the ground and got back to their feet, ready to keep going. Whether it was abuse from her parents when she was eight, or recovering from the crash after they died, all the trauma and abuse that she went through as a child, fighting against the Upside Down monsters and Mirage monsters ever since she got back to Hawkins, even after fighting against Flayed!Billy, and against Aaron when she was drugged and beaten in 4.01, still powered on.

Ruby's nose and both her ears were bleeding now as well. A lot of her blood was dripping down onto her clothing, but still, she was powering through Vecna's telepathic restraint, her hands starting to flicker with glowing gold light, which started to coat the rest of her broken body, making her fly over the ground, literally rising to power. Ruby raised her head to glare at Vecna, eyes starting to glow completely gold, flaring like the sun.

Vecna frowned in disbelief, worry crossing his monstrous face.

The same time that Eleven thrust her arm toward Vecna with a scream to telekinetically throw him through the air, even with her arms broken, Ruby screamed, throwing her arms out toward Vecna, releasing a devastating amount of golden gold light, shooting the beams toward Vecna from both her hands and her chest, with enough strength to throw Vecna backward through the mirror behind him, shattering it as she pinned him to the stone pillar behind the glass. Light exploded out of her body, spreading in an aura around her, destroying everything close to her, incinerating everything to ash, burning Vecna completely with her power.

As Eleven and Ruby rose to power, the entire mind lair around them started to crumble down, the pieces of the house, debris, raining down from the sky, crashing down all around them.

Because of this, Ruby, Billy and Max were all able to fall to the ground, both in reality and mind lair, no longer being restrained by Vecna's power.

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle - Corridor

The UPSD group almost reached the throne room where they needed to get to the gem.

They heard a banging as a monster got closer.

"Hey, that can't be good, right?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, no shit, Steve," Robin told him.

They saw a monster with a humanoid head and broken, twisted limbs.

"Oh, just another monster," Mike said as casually and calmly as could be.

The humanoid head decapitated itself from the body and rolled across the floor, landing in front of the group.

Spidery-tendril legs started to protrude from the monster head, making it form a spider.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," Calliope complained.

The spider head monster laughed at them mockingly, before roaring with razor sharp teeth and its face opening up like a Demodog or Demogorgon, crawling around to try attack any one of them.

The group all used their weapons to keep the spider head monster at bay, as Nancy, Robin and Calliope fired their guns, Mike fired an arrow, and Steve and Will slashed at it with their spears and sword, all ducking and dodging as the monster jumped at their heads, each with yells knowing that the monster was fully capable of killing them.

The monster suddenly scampered off out of sight.

"Where the hell did it go?" Nancy asked.

They all looked around, taking a moment to calm down.

"Is everyone all right?" Will asked.

They all nodded, looking around cautiously for the spider head monster. When they heard a noise up from above, they all slowly looked up, seeing the monster on the ceiling over their heads.

"Oh, there he is," Mike deadpanned.

The monster screeched at them, jumping down toward Mike. Mike yelled as he held the monster off with both hands, but he was tackled to the ground, with the monster head almost eating Mike's face.

"Mike!" Nancy yelled. "Mike!"

Calliope held out her hands to stop Nancy and Robin from shooting since they knew that if they fired a shot, they could hit Mike on accident. "Don't shoot, don't shoot!"

"Oh, my God," Robin said.

Steve drove the end of one of his spears through the head of the spider head to kill the monster before it could bite Mike's face or kill him, using the spear to throw the monster to the ground.

Immediately, Will slashed his sword over and over into the spider head monster, slashing and hacking it to pieces, killing it. "Son of a bitch!"

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - The Pit

Natasha and Apollo reached the pit the same time that Hopper, Joyce and Murray did, leading all the monsters into the center pit, including the storm monster that chased Natasha and Apollo.

Nadyr and Natasha ran to get Hopper and Joyce to safety behind the gate blocking off the pit, while they and Apollo climbed up the pit walls with Apollo's stepping stones in order to get away from the monsters, up to the scaffolding and balconies above, to get to safety.

Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo ran across the scaffolding and balconies of the prison to duck, dodge and maneuver all around the elemental monster, having to evade strikes of electricity, bolts of lightning, attacks of water, and fight against huge gusts of wind in order to make it through their own mission.

The elemental shot lightning out at Natasha. Natasha raised her arms to form her clear gold-tint shield to protect herself, thrusting her arms out at the lightning strike to make it deflect back at the monster, hitting it, making it roar in pain. As it shot a huge amount of fire toward her, Natasha took out a grappling hook and shot it into the roof to swing herself off of the balcony, soaring through the air above the pit, to the other balcony across the way, flipping through the air, landing in a crouch on the balcony.

Nadyr absorbed the energy around him, processing it into plasma, as it started to emanate from his body, swirling his hips around to create rings from the plasma energy, before thrusting them forward at the monster, hitting him over and over, damaging him greatly, making it roar in agony. "Guys, comms check. This thing seems to be absorbing everything it touches and gets stronger and bigger."

"We have to make sure that it doesn't absorb everything and becomes unstoppable," Natasha told them.

Just as the monster was about to absorb a statue in the pit, Natasha raised her arms to form the clear gold-tint shield all around the base of the statue, using it to compress the statue so intensely with enough power that she was able to make it explode into tiny fragments, small enough to where the monster couldn't absorb it to make itself stronger.

On another balcony, Apollo's ethereal, cosmic, gel like glow, glowed green as it shone along his arms. The light, as it left his body, hardened, solidifying into crystalline, as he thrust out his arms, using the crystalline light to create weapon constructs, throwing them into the monster repeatedly. These weapons the monster could not absorb, and they were harming the monster a great deal, making him roar in agony.

Apollo spoke through the comms. "Guys, I think the only things that could hurt this thing is my and Nadyr's powers."

"He's right," Nadyr agreed. "It's the light."

Sensing that the monster was going to shoot lightning at him, Apollo held up his hands, letting a glowing green light mist and waft away from his hand, before conjuring it out to create a glowing green light crystalline construct of stepping stones in the air for him to run across, having to be careful and step right on the stepping stones so he didn't fall, dodging each strike of lightning that the monster threw at him.

Natasha raised her hand to form her shield in front of herself, thrusting her arm toward the monster to distract him from Apollo, sending the shield flying into the monster and throwing the monster into a nearby wall of the prison.

In the process, the monster released a lightning bolt toward Nadyr on the opposite balcony. Nadyr ducked and rolled out of the way, into the railing, catching himself from falling by holding onto the railing over his head, as the lightning bolt hit the wall behind him and set it ablaze.

Nadyr looked toward Natasha with a 'seriously' look.

Natasha called over to her brother sheepishly. "Sorry!"

Nadyr pulled himself up onto the balcony, standing.

Sand formed from the elemental monster, forming a hand, which grabbed Natasha from her balcony and lifted her high into the air. Natasha could not break free, and her shield saws couldn't cut through it as it was mostly intangible.

Apollo, still on his stepping stones, held up his hands, letting a glowing green light mist and waft away from his hand, before conjuring it out to create a glowing green light crystalline construct of a sphere like weapon, throwing it into the monster, able to hit it and harm it with light, snapping him to the side and sending him tumbling to the ground, but in the process, Natasha, still stuck in the monster's grasp, started to fall with him. "Oh, shit!"

As Natasha was falling through the air, Apollo held up his hands, letting the glowing green light mist and waft away from his hands, before thrusting out both hands repeatedly, conjuring it out to create a glowing green light crystalline construct of platforms in the air large enough to catch the falling Natasha, though with the strength and speed at which she was falling, each time she hit a construct, she shattered it and continued to fall, which was why Apollo had to create many each time to slow down her fall and gently let her land on the ground to save her.

The monster shot lightning up into a structure up above in the process, making it start to fall toward himself and Natasha on the ground, to kill Natasha with it while also trying to absorb it so that he could become stronger, but Natasha saw it coming and raised her hands, forming her clear gold-tint shield large enough to keep the structure from crushing her to death, and keeping it away from the monster so that he couldn't absorb it.

Nadyr shot plasma blasts into the structure to set it ablaze with red fire, so that the monster couldn't absorb it without hurting itself because of the light/flame, allowing Natasha to use her shield to throw the structure aside to the ground so that she could let her shield down and roll away from the monster, backing away from him within the pit.

As the monster started to create a sandstorm around Natasha, Natasha used another grappling hook to shoot into the roof of the prison, gliding herself up through the air at a speed that got her away from the monster and out of the middle of the sand cyclone quickly, as she jumped from the grappling hook and landed on a balcony nearby Nadyr and Apollo, rolling to safety across the floor.

Apollo and Nadyr helped Natasha up to her feet, all three making sure each other were okay.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Natasha asked.

"We're clearly not very good at working as a team," Nadyr answered. "I've never really had to work in a team before, except rarely."

Apollo nodded in agreement. "Me too."

"Yeah, well, luckily for you two, I've always had to work in a team in Hawkins," Natasha replied. "Look, all we gotta do is focus, trust our instincts, and coordinate our attacks. Okay?"

Nadyr nodded. "Yes, okay. We pick one thing to focus on."

"We take the threats out one at a time," Apollo added.

Natasha pointed at them. "Now you're getting it. All right, let's do this."

Nadyr and Natasha turned to the edge of the balcony.

Apollo reached out to touch their shoulders. "Wait, wait, wait." Nadyr and Natasha looked at Apollo. "I know we just met and all, but... I love you guys."

Nadyr and Natasha couldn't help but smile slightly, touched, especially since they knew that Apollo was their family.

Nadyr patted Apollo on the shoulder. "You too, buddy."

Natasha nodded, biting her lip. "Thank you. Same to you. Let's do this."

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle - Corridor

An even bigger monster formed, as the same spider monster from before, but this time even deadlier, gigantic, causing the group to shout over each other in shock and horror.

"Oh, my God," Robin said.

The monster roared, raising its clawed leg, and sent it straight at Nancy to spear her through to kill her.

Mike ran right toward his sister. "Nancy!"

Mike tackled Nancy out of the way, making them roll over the ground and away from the spider monster, taking shelter as they had a chance to recover.

Steve, Robin, Calliope and Will ran over to help Mike and Nancy to their feet, handing them back their weapons that they dropped, which Steve and Calliope had picked up on the way over.

The monster started to run at them, galloping closer on its larged, taloned legs, roaring.

The group started to run.

"Go, go, go!" Steve told them.

"Come on, come on!" Calliope told them. "Go, go, go, go, go!"

"Run, run!" Will yelled.

The monster slashed its talon-ed legs at each member of the group as it chased them through the castle, but the group managed to duck, dodge and outrun the monster, even though it kept close behind.

"Go, go, go!" Robin urged.

"Split up, go!" Calliope told them.

The group each had to split up in order to dodge the monster as it got closer and closer to killing one, or more, of them.

Calliope and Robin ran down one of the castle corridors.

Nancy and Mike ran down another.

Steve and Will ran down another.

One by one, in each corridor, the group started to be closed off, as gates started to fall closed between Calliope/Robin, Nancy/Mike, and Steve/Will, causing them all to yell in shock and confusion, as they could no longer see each other, but in reality, it was only in their minds, as they were each pulled into a separate hallucination/nightmare. In each of their minds, they felt the illusion of being ripped right out of the castle and flung into flashbacks and nightmares, thrown into them violently.

∰

Calliope's Flashback / Nightmare

Calliope's nightmare involved finding her mother Calysta, only to lose her so soon.

In a car, Calysta was calling Young Calliope at home, speaking in Korean. "Did you get the gift I sent you?"

In their apartment, Young Calliope also spoke in Korean for the duration of the phone call. "The police are looking for you, keep following me around. They say I'm a gangster's daughter, so no one talks to me at school."

"What is this about?" Calysta asked. "You should have told me about this."

"What are you talking about?" Young Calliope asked. "You never answer my phone calls or my letters. And you never tell me where you are! What did you do this time? Why do you keep doing this?"

Calysta sighed. "That's not it. No, you're wrong. Callie. I'll settle everything and come back to you, okay? So please just wait."

Young Calliope gazed off. "I won't wait anymore. I left Judas to look for you, and now he's dead. And for what? This? Don't come back, you're dead to me now."

Young Calliope hung up.

Calysta sighed, hanging up the payphone, walking away, getting into a car, lighting a cigarette, smoking as she pulled out some of Calliope's letters to read from.

Some of them read: "Do you know what I'm going through because of you? Have you forgotten about me? Am I not your daughter? The cops are still outside the house. Everyone in the neighborhood knows. Mom, where are you? Please call me. Please write me back. Please come home."

Calysta let out a deep, heavy, pained and regretful sigh.

Calysta was going home to their apartment building, seeing the cops outside of her home.

When one cop got out of the car to relieve himself, Calysta stepped out from behind the building and instantly punched him in the face twice, punching him in the stomach, grabbing him by the neck, twisting him around to slam his head on the cop car, knocking him out, letting him fall unconscious.

The second cop, in the car, tried to get out of the car to stop her. Calysta slammed the door closed to keep the cop inside, punching her hand through the window, shattering the glass, grabbing the cop by the head, slamming it against the steering wheel hard enough to knock him out.

Inside the building, Calysta walked up the stairs toward her apartment, looking over her shoulder, starting to unlock the door. "Calliope. It's Mom."

Calysta tried and failed to unlock the steel door, ringing the doorbell.

Young Calliope woke up inside due to the doorbell, sitting up, walking toward the door.

Calysta was still standing outside in the hallway, waiting for her to open the door.

When Calysta heard a man approaching behind her, she looked over her shoulder, and got severely alarmed very suddenly, turning her back to the door, turning the keys in the knob to make sure that the keys kept the door jammed closed, drawing a knife.

The man walked closer, dressed completely in black with a mask over his face, gun in hand.

In the apartment, Young Calliope walked toward the door, looking out through the peephole, but all she saw was Calysta with her back to the door, blocking the view of the man with the gun. "Mom?" Young Calliope undid all the locks on the inside of the door which kept Calysta from unlocking it and opening it in the first place, trying to open the door, but Calysta kept the door jammed closed with her keys still there. Young Calliope looked through the peephole again, just as the sound of a gun went off, as the man fired the gun right at Calysta. Young Calliope gasped in shock and horror, ducking down in fear. After a moment, she heard Calysta groaning in pain on the other side of the door, trying to open it. "Mama. Mom. Are you okay?"

Calysta didn't care about her dying. All she cared about was protecting Young Calliope. "Please. Not my girl."

Young Calliope started to bang on the door in an attempt to get out. "Mom!" The man fired the second gunshot right through Calysta. Young Calliope gasped in horror and fear again, before she banged on the door more. "Open the door!"

The man, knowing that Calysta was done for, turned around, walking away, leaving the carnage behind.

Calysta slid down the door to the floor, gasping in pain. "Don't come out, Callie!"

When Calysta fell to the floor, her keys slipped out of the knob with her, but her weight against the door kept Young Calliope from opening it.

Young Calliope continued to try and get out. "Mom, are you okay? Open the door. Please, Mom! I wanna come to you." She knew that Calysta was dying, and she didn't want her daughter to see, crying. "Please let me out. Please."

Calysta laid down against the door, keeping Young Calliope inside. "Callie? I'm sorry. Ever since you found me, I've made your life so hard."

Young Calliope shook her head in denial, crying, sobbing. "No! No, it's okay! It's okay! Please, open the door! No, Mom! Open it!"

Calysta was bleeding out, closer and closer to death. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault."

Young Calliope couldn't stay standing, falling to her knees, crying. "No. No, it's not your fault."

Calysta closed her eyes weakly. "Callie. My dear Calliope. To me... you were..."

Calysta never got the chance to finish what she was trying to say, taking her last breath, sliding to the floor completely.

Young Calliope was horrified but in denial about the truth, trying to open the door. "No. Mom, I'm coming. Hold on, Mom. No, just wait. No, please!" She finally got the door open, only to see Calysta's body on the other side, breaking down in horror and despair and devastation, kneeling down to take Calysta in her arms, screaming. "Mom! No, Mom. Mom!" She cried hysterically, screaming, tearing the knife out of Calysta's hand, throwing it to the ground. "No!" She tried desperately to wake up her mother. "Mom. Mom. Mom! Wake up! Please wake up! Mom. Please. Please. Mom. Mom. Please." She rocked back and forth with her mother's body in her arms, crying, screaming. "Help! Someone help! Someone help!" She buried her head in Calysta's chest, sobbing. "Someone please help my mom! Someone. Please, someone."

∰

Robin's Nightmare Part 1

Night - Hawkins High School - Empty Classroom

Robin was sitting alone in the dark.

Calliope walked over to join her, sitting down. "What are you doing sitting here alone, Robin?"

"I'm not sure," Robin admitted. "I just... I don't remember what I'm supposed to be doing. I just... I guess I'm just worried that none of us will be the same after the battle."

"Well, as long as we all make it out alive and get to hang out, who the fuck cares?" Calliope asked. Robin smiled slightly. "I like hanging out with you."

"I like hanging out with you too, Calliope," Robin agreed.

The two looked at each other, as Calliope took Robin's hand.

Robin felt drawn in unexplainably, leaning in close, as if to kiss.

Calliope suddenly pulled back, acting surprised and cruel. "I meant as a friend, dumbass. You really think that I would date with someone as annoying and disgusting as you? No matter what you do, you'll always be you."

Robin looked heartbroken, dejected, standing as if to run off, but stopping when she smelt smoke, turning to look at Calliope again.

Calliope's head was suddenly monstrous and on fire, as she looked evilly delighted at Robin, her voice mingling with Mirage's. "And least I'll have you to consume."

Robin's eyes widened at the realization that it wasn't Calliope at all, turning around, and running out of the room as fast as she could.

∰

Hallway

Robin ran down the hallway, looking for a way to escape.

Calliope, still on fire, was chasing after Robin.

Robin ran to the school doors, but they were chained shut, so she ran to the lockers, climbing into a locker to hide inside, closing her eyes, breathing heavily, hoping not to be found. "It's not the real Calliope. It's not Calliope."

Robin looked into the hallway but didn't see anyone out there.

In the darkness of the locker behind her, Robin sensed something, turning to see a monstrous version of Calliope behind her, screaming.

"Give me a kiss," Monster Calliope mocked.

Robin burst out of the locker, and fell to the floor, on her back, facing the lockers.

Monster Calliope started to climb out of the locker, looking like a humanoid, Upside-Down horror version of a crab monster, with giant claw pinchers clawing at the locker doors on either side of her, stalking toward Robin.

Robin slid away across the floor. "Just leave me alone!"

"Alone?" Monster Calliope mocked. "Oh, but you've always been alone."

Robin shook her head. "That's not true. I have real friends."

Robin stood, turning around, running as fast as she could through the series of the school corridors, trying to find escape.

Monster Calliope chased Robin every direction she went, becoming more of a monster and less human with each pass, until Robin suddenly froze in place, something holding her psychically in restraint to where she could not move no matter how hard she tried.

Robin yelled, screaming for help. "Steve! Calliope! Nancy! Mike! Will!"

In her nightmare, Robin was alone, so there was no help to come.

∰

Calliope's Nightmare Part 1

Night - Cemetery

Calliope snapped out of her flashbacks, spinning around, breathing heavily.

She appeared in the cemetery, looking around in confusion.

Calliope slowly walked toward the cemetery, seeing the headstones listed before her, for her father, Judas, Apollo and Calysta, looking horrified and upset when she saw that their bodies were laying on the ground above their graves. "Oh, my God. Mama? Judas? Apollo?"

Calliope walked closer, falling to her knees next to their bodies in tears.

Judas looked up at Calliope. "I know what you're thinking." Calliope looked up in alarm. "You should've died with us."

"We can help you with that," Apollo told her.

Judas took out the gun that he had used to kill himself to shoot Calliope in the stomach, making her cry out in pain.

Apollo shot the gun at Calliope, hitting her again.

Mehcad and Calysta, zombified just as much as Judas and Apollo, appeared behind Calliope to stab her in the back with two long blades, making her scream. The zombified, nightmare version of Calliope's family embraced Calliope from all sides, dragging her down into the ground with them.

Calliope was screaming and struggling all the while. "No, no, no!"

"Why are you fighting with us?" Calysta asked. "You wanted to join us before. Now you get to."

∰

Steve's Nightmare Part 1

Night - Street

Steve and Nadia stood together, kissing, making out heavily.

Steve pulled away. "What was that?"

"Shh," Nadia told him.

"I thought I heard something," Steve told her.

"It's okay," Nadia told him. "You're with me. Everything's fine."

Nadia continued to kiss him.

Steve was confused by the way this fake Nadia was acting. "What are you doing, Nadia?"

"It's okay," Nadia told him. "It's fine, Steve. Don't worry."

Nadia wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply.

Steve turned to where he was standing where she had been and she was standing where he had been. "Hold on. Nadia, this isn't you."

"What?" Nadia asked. "What do you mean?"

"This isn't you," Steve told her. "This isn't real. This is a trick. It's a trick." The night sky around them was dancing with the red and black sky. "This can't be real."

Nadia turned dark and monstrous, smirking, raising her eyebrows at Steve tauntingly and smugly, backhand punching him in the face, making him fall to the ground. "Doesn't really matter if I'm real or not if I can hurt you like this, does it?"

Steve slid away.

Nadia stalked toward Steve, laughing tauntingly.

Steve slowly stood, glaring. "Get the hell out of my head."

Steve, having to fight the nightmare to defend himself, swung two punches at Nadia.

Nadia caught both of Steve's arms, pulling them down in front of them, restraining Steve close to her, laughing. "Get out? I'm never leaving, Steve."

Steve kicked Nadia off of him, spinning around to backhand punch her in the face, looking around, as Nadia had seemed to disappear. "What the hell?"

Nadia appeared in front of Steve, driving her purple glowing sword through his stomach, out through his back, making him yell in pain, holding him standing against her shoulder, smirking, holding the back of his head to keep him up. "Steve, shh. It's okay, Steve, it's okay."

Nadia drove the sword deeper into Steve's stomach, twisting the sword.

Steve, even though he knew this wasn't real, felt the searing heat the sword would cause, letting out a scream of pain, gasping in agony, trying to push Nadia off of him. "Stop. Nadia..."

Nadia pulled the sword out of Steve's stomach with such force that it caused Steve much more agony, pushing him to his back on the ground. Steve held his stomach in agony, looking up at Nadia, gasping for breath.

Nadia smirked wickedly, swinging her glowing purple sword through the air tauntingly. "This, my love, is where all heroes lay to rest. It's the beginning of the end."

Instead of stabbing Steve, Nadia drove the sword into her own chest with a yell.

Steve exclaimed in shock and horror. "No! What..."

Nadia laughed, suddenly appearing desiccated, as her skin grayed, appearing hollow with blood dripping from her eyes, nose and lips, before she fell and disappeared from existence completely.

Steve didn't have time to process before he suddenly heard Young Hailey screaming from behind him. "Steve!" Steve spun around to see Young Hailey laying on the ground within the flooding street. "Help me, Steve!" Young Hailey looked up at him, fearing for her life, trying desperately to hold on, while something seemed to be pulling her into the storm drain behind her. "Steve!"

Steve looked at his sister worriedly in horror. "Hailey!" Young Hailey screamed, which echoed all around, as she was ripped away, swept into the storm drain, leaving a trail of bloody water in her wake. Steve ran to the storm drain, sliding over the flooding street toward the drain. "Hailey!"

Steve slid into the storm drain without a second thought.

∰

Will's Nightmare Part 1

Hallway / Mines

Will started to hear a banging noise, gasping, turning around. He slowly stood, making his way toward the banging noise, looking into a darkened hall. "Hello? Somebody." Will followed the hallway down to what appeared to turn into mines, seeing many men hacking away and working, including his father Lonnie. "Dad?"

The men all stopped working, turning to look at Will, who froze in confusion and shock.

Lonnie stepped closer to Will. "Will. What did you do?"

"What do you mean, what did I do?" Will asked.

"You ruined everything," Lonnie seethed. "Everything that happened to Jonathan? To your mother? To your friends? It's all because of you. You got yourself taken by that monster." Will was shaking in fear and trauma as he was forced to relive everything that happened to him, backing away from Lonnie as his father advanced on him. "They put themselves in danger time and time again to try and find you. To bring you back home. And what happened when they finally did? You let the shadow claim you for its own. You just stood there and screamed 'go away'. Like that would stop it from doing anything! You let yourself get possessed. You killed everyone in that damn building when you sent those men to die and let those dogs in to kill everyone you love. You killed Bob. Almost killed all your little friends. That little piece of the Mind Flayer that was inside you... that you let inside of you... even when your friends were closing the gate, because you let that inside, you left a piece of him in your world. And that piece of him took over Billy. Almost killed Ruby. Everything Billy did after that? All the death and pain and destruction caused? Then... and now? That's all on you too. Everything is on you."

Will screamed. "No!"

∰

Nancy's Nightmare Part 1

Night - Wheeler House - Nancy's Room

Nancy slowly walked into her room. The lights were flickering around her. She heard glass shattering from behind her, turning around to see the mirror there was starting to crack and shatter in the shape of the Ouroboros symbol. The mirror was glowing with Mirage's light. Nancy walked toward the shattering mirror in curiosity. When she got close enough, her eyes in the reflection were revealed to be glowing the same orange and purple, as the glowing light reflected off of Nancy's face. The glass of the mirror exploded, bursting all around her, making her scream.

Nancy suddenly spun around and saw Jonathan behind her. "Jonathan?"

Nightmare Jonathan drove a knife into Nancy's stomach, making her gasp in shock and pain, nearly making her fall, holding her standing against his shoulder. "Shh. It's okay, Nancy. It's okay."

Jonathan ripped the knife out of Nancy's stomach, making her cry out, pushing her to her knees, taking out a rope, wrapping it around Nancy's neck, pulling it tightly, strangling her. Nancy gasped for breath, unable to breathe, struggling to break free.

∰

Mike's Nightmare Part 1

Night - Hawkins Town Pool - Locker Room

Mike was suddenly standing in the pool house locker room, where he and Niko had lured Flayed Billy into the sauna in 3.04. "What the fuck?" He heard someone, turning around, looking. "Who's there?"

Mike spun around.

Eleven stood behind him, but she was clearly a nightmare version of her, smirking evilly, laughing. "I'm here. I'm the only one here."

Eleven thrust her hand toward Mike with a yell, using her power to throw Mike back into the sauna, closing and locking the door on him.

Mike hit the wall with enough strength to break the bricks, falling to the floor, groaning in pain. He looked up, hurt, knowing. "This can't be real. El, stop! Let me out!"

Eleven held her hand toward Mike, using her power to bring him to his knees, smirking, chuckling hysterically.

Mike managed to break free, but when he stood, he realized that Eleven had disappeared.

An animal trap sprung from the ground below Mike, snapping closed around his ankle, trapping him, making him scream in pain and fall to the ground. An animal trap sprung from the ground, snapping closed around his arm, making him scream, trapping him. A spear sprung from the ground, piercing him through the neck and out through his throat.

Mike knew that this couldn't be real, and that he had to get himself out of this before he was hurt just as bad in the waking world.

∰

Reality

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - The Pit

Apollo let his glowing green light shine through his body before conjuring it out from his hands to create a glowing green light crystalline construct of a bridge. Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo jumped off the balcony onto the hard light bridge, running across it toward the monster that was rising up from the ground, flipping through the air and starting their attacks on all sides of the monster, taking out each individual threat they saw, including the Upside Down monsters that Joyce, Hopper and Murray were fighting off and dealing with.

The huge monster used a lightning strike to destroy the hard light bridge that Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo were on, but Natasha held up her hands to form her clear gold-tint shield around herself, Nadyr and Apollo to make sure that they weren't harmed by the lightning in the least, as Nadyr shot a blast of glowing red plasma energy from his chest out at the monster, making him scream in agony, as Apollo let a glowing green light mist and waft away from his hands to conjure it out and create a glowing green light crystalline construct of a platform below Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo to catch their fall when they started to fall from the broken bridge. Each time the platform underneath them broke and left them to fall, Apollo created more and more platforms to slow their fall and ease them gently to the ground, all the while Natasha and Nadyr were using their powers to distract, hurt, or protect themselves and Apollo from the monster.

Once they hit the ground, Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo split up to take the monster on from all sides.

∰

Calliope's Nightmare Part 2

Night - Cemetery

In the pouring rain in the cemetery, Calliope managed to climb out of the grave that her family drug her down into, just barely, covered in blood and mud, sweat and tears as she struggled to reach the surface of the ground, crying and yelling, powering through.

Suddenly, Calliope was overwhelmed with so many voices in hear head all at once, holding her head.

Apollo appeared in front of Calliope within the nightmare. "You hear them, don't you? The voices, the screams. Of the people you killed, of the people you left behind, of the ones you love. You're drowning in guilt and self-loathing from it. And you think it's what you deserve. Maybe it is. The dreams, the screams that keep you awake at night. If you wanted to die, to be buried, to be punished, for all you've done, you can be, for good."

Apollo lifted his foot from the ground, slamming it down with such force that it made the ground crack and crumble around them. Calliope turned to watch the ground crack toward them, backing away toward the hallucination of Apollo in shock and confusion to get away from the falling ground.

Judas, Calysta and Mehcad all crawled up from the cracking ground, grabbing Calliope and Apollo, dragging them down. The ground continued to crack toward Calliope and Apollo, making them fall into the grave with nowhere else to go. Once they were in the grave, the ground started to piece itself back together above them to trap them.

Calliope was desperate, kicking the ground above her and below her in an attempt to break free in any way she could. "No! No! I'm not ready. I'm not ready!"

∰

Robin's Nightmare Part 2

Black Pit

Robin ran out of the school, but she ended up falling from the school door and into a pit down below, yelling in pain. She looked up and around in confusion and horror as dirt and soil began to rise all around Robin, trapping her, as she couldn't climb out from the pit herself, since the climb was too high, and the soil was slowing and holding her down. She got increasingly terrified as she knew that at the rate that it was rising, she would end up smothered by soil all around her. "No! No, help me!"

She heard Mirage laughing mockingly in her head. "All that time. All the friends you've made. And you still knew that you would always die alone."

Robin shook her head, determined not to let that be true. "No! Screw you!"

She heard Calliope's voice as if it was right above her. "No! No! I'm not ready. I'm not ready!"

Robin got hopeful at hearing her voice, raising her voice to a yell in hopes that Calliope could hear her too. "Calliope! Calliope, can you hear me?"

∰

Calliope's Nightmare Part 2

Night - Cemetery

Being buried alive, Calliope, still kicking and punching at the entrapment of the ground around her, heard Robin as if she was just below. "Robin? Robin, is that you?"

"It's me!" Robin answered.

Calliope was further fueled in her mission to escape, screaming each time as she kicked and punched at the ground above and below her, cracking it with each kick and punch, until the ground below her gave away.

The cracking ground underneath Calliope allowed her to see Robin it the pit below, almost buried alive within the soil.

Calliope reached out her hand to try and take it. "Robin!"

Robin saw Calliope, gasping in shock and relief, and jumped up as much as she could manage, able to just barely latch onto Calliope's hand with her own.

Calliope used her other hand to grab Robin's, as she used all her strength to lift Robin out of the pit and up to her. In the process, they both fell to the ground, with Calliope on her back and Robin on top of her, face to face with the other, both looking at each other in shock and intensity, so much so that they hadn't yet noticed that neither of them were in the ground anymore, but above ground.

They heard the monstrous screech of the crab monster.

"Oh, shit," Robin said. "Whatever it takes, right?"

Calliope nodded. "Whatever it takes."

Robin and Calliope instantly stood, ready to fight. Now that they were no longer trapped or restricted, they had access to their weapons again, each one drawing their gun and aiming for the crab monster as it stormed into view, starting to fire.

∰

Steve's Nightmare Part 2

Tunnels

Steve landed in the water, looking around desperately for Hailey. "Hailey, come on!"

Young Hailey appeared behind Steve, sitting above. "Why, Steve?" Steve turned toward her. "Why did you have to act like the people that were making my life a living hell?"

Book/Season One Steve, the renowned asshole that made life difficult for everyone including Hailey, walked out of the shadows behind Steve. "If you hadn't been acting like the jackass that was ruining her life, if you had been protecting her like you were supposed to, then she never would have had to learn to fight. She never would've gotten mixed up with Nadia, Niko and Natasha. She never would have gotten on the radar of Hawkins Lab or the Russians that killed your little sister and brought her back as a monster set to destroy the world. She's suffering, everyone is suffering, because of choices that you all made. But if you had just decided to be a better brother before all this, then maybe it never would've affected you or Hailey at all. You're the reason why she suffers. And you? You're weak."

"While I was being tortured, while I was dying, you were having the time of your life," Young Hailey told him. Steve remembered being drugged and carefree the entire first night that Hailey had died and came back with powers and instantly started to spiral into darkness. "How can we expect anything less?"

Bad Steve stepped into the water to face Steve with a gun in his hand. "You deserve to die just as much as she did."

Steve knew better, despite his guilt for all that happened, shaking his head. "No. I may have been a shit brother before, but I did everything I could in my power to take care of Hailey, no matter what. And I might not be able to handle a lot of the shit she does, but that doesn't make me any worse of a brother."

"She died because of the shit that we couldn't handle," Bad Steve retorted. "She is the monster that is going to destroy the world because we couldn't protect her from it."

"She's not a monster," Steve replied. "And I'll be damned if I ever stop trying to protect her, no matter how many times I may have fallen short on that before. Everything that happened, it's not her fault. And it's not mine either."

Bad Steve pulled the trigger, but nothing happened.

∰

Will's Nightmare Part 2

Night - Hawkins Lab - Lobby

Will was thrust out of the first part of his nightmare with his father, and right into another nightmare.

Now, he was in Hawkins lab, the night of the 2.06 massacre.

Will looked around at all of the bodies, of human and Demodog along, looking horrified, and insanely guilty, blaming himself for being flayed into helping with this massacre and almost getting everyone he loved killed, and getting someone that he did care about actually dead, even though none of that was his fault.

Will heard whimpering, turning around, walking toward a figure in blue scrubs on the ground, slowly nudging the figure with his foot to roll it to face him.

Bob was there, wounded and bleeding from the attack of the Demodogs, looking up at Will with fear and pain in his eyes.

Will gasped. "Holy shit. Oh, my God."

"Help me," Bob begged.

Will knelt next to Bob. "Oh, shit. Okay, okay, okay. Let me see." He put his hands to Bob's wounds to try and apply pressure enough to save him, but Bob cried out in pain at the wounds, making Will flinch back in guilt and concern, not wanting to hurt him more. "Oh, God. Let me see, okay? Let me see." Bob held onto both of Will's arms, as Will was starting to be covered in Bob's blood. "It's okay. You're gonna be okay." Will turned to yell for help. "Help! Somebody!"

"I don't wanna die," Bob told him.

Will shook his head, tears in his eyes. "You're not gonna die. You're not gonna die. I'm not gonna let you die again. You're gonna be okay."

"Don't leave me alone," Bob pleaded.

Will looked at Bob with horrified eyes.

In the distance, Will heard the monstrous screeching of a Demodog, turning his head, but he had to ignore that and look at Bob. "I'm right here. I'm not leaving you. Okay?" Bob was fading quickly, two hectic, panicking breaths falling into silence as his head dropped to the ground and he looked up at the sky, the light fading from his eyes. Will realized, but was still in denial, shaking his head, starting to cry. "No. Bob? Bob!" He started to break down. "No. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Several mini monsters of different species crawled and slithered toward Will, making Will stand and back away in shock and horror, raising his sword.

∰

Nancy's Nightmare Part 2

Night - Woods

Nancy was walking through the woods.

She suddenly heard Barb's voice screaming her name. "Nancy! Nancy! Nancy, come help me, please!"

Nancy was in shock, running in the direction of Barb's voice. "Barb? Barb!"

"Nancy, Nancy, help me," Barb begged. "Come help me, please!" Suddenly, when Nancy reached the Harrington mansion, vines and tendrils shot out toward Nancy to try and stop her or kill her, obstacles in her quest to save her fallen friend. Nancy ducked, dodged and managed to shoot the vines that came for her. "What's taking you so long? Why aren't you here?"

Nancy slowly stepped toward the pool, not knowing what she would find, looking scared, but daring to hope that she would find her friend alive and well. "Are you okay?"

Nancy looked over the edge of the pool and found Barb lying at the bottom of the pool, alive, but strapped down and restrained by the tendrils.

Barb looked up at Nancy, crying. "He's coming. You've gotta get me out of here."

Nancy quickly jumped down into the pool to use her gun and a knife to try and cut Barb free. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

They heard the roar of the Demogorgon nearby, both jumping.

"You've gotta get me out of here," Barb begged, crying. "He's coming! He's gonna kill me, Nancy. Help me!"

Nancy continued to cut at the tendrils, but each time that Nancy cut through them, they suddenly reappeared around Barb, keeping her locked down and restrained, unable to set her free. "No!"

As the monster got closer, very much like the Demogorgon, Nancy was suddenly restrained with vines and tendrils, and pulled back away from Barb, making her fall to the ground and drop her shotgun in the process.

Barb cried, screaming. "No! I knew you would leave me! You always left me! You left me to die!"

Nancy nearly broke down into tears.

∰

Mike's Nightmare Part 2

Night - Hawkins Town Pool - Locker Room

Mike had managed to get free from his previous nightmare entrapments, just barely, as he was covered in his own blood from his wounds, which weren't really real to begin with, but was still trapped within the sauna.

Blood suddenly started to pour in from underneath the door of the sauna, and in the vents, filling up quickly, the vicious blood rising up to Mike's waist within seconds, before he knew what was happening.

Mike was in shock, horrified and scared. "Fuck! No!"

Mike climbed up on the bench of the sauna, holding onto the pillars of the wall to hold himself steady from the waves of blood lapping at him all around, almost falling from the force of the blood trying to drown him, just barely able to hold himself over the surface to stay alive. From time to time, Mike's grip slipped as they were getting wet from the blood, and he was dragged down completely. When he burst through the surface, he was covered in blood from head to toe, gasping. He quickly regained his hold on the beams above to try and keep above the surface.

A monster from outside the sauna tried to break its way into the sauna.

Mike, seeing just the fingers of the monster in the doorway, instantly kicked the door closed with both feet, cutting the monster's fingers off with the kick, in the process losing his grip and falling into the blood again, but quickly pulling himself up by the beams, as the blood level got up to his neck. He continued kicking at the door until he broke it open, and all the blood spilled out. Mike dropped to the ground, able to fight the monster now, albeit covered in blood.

∰

Calliope/Robin's Nightmare Part 3

Night - Hawkins High School - Outside

Calliope and Robin were thrown back into the brick wall behind them.

The monster stabbed its metal, crab like legs into the wall on either side of their heads, making Robin cry out in absolute terror, and Calliope gasp, as the monster looked right at them. Like the Demogorgon, its mouth could open up like a flower with razor sharp teeth, roaring in Calliope and Robin's faces.

Calliope realized. "Robin, mouth."

Calliope fired her gun into the mouth of the monster, which Robin followed suit. They fired repeatedly until they knew that the monster was dead. Once the monster disappeared, Calliope and Robin were allowed to fall from where they were pinned on the wall. As they fell from the nightmare, they fell right into reality.

∰

Steve's Nightmare Part 3

Tunnels

Bad Steve tried to shoot Steve again, but still nothing happened.

Steve took the gun and turned it around on Bad Steve, pulling the trigger, shooting the bad version of himself in the head, making his head snap backward.

Bad Steve raised his head, with razor sharp teeth, monstrous looking, as he started to shake and convulse, but since Steve killed the monster, he was released from his nightmare.

As soon as the monster was gone, Steve started to be pulled right through the air, as if he was falling from the nightmare. As he fell from the nightmare, he fell right into reality.

∰

Will's Nightmare Part 3

Night - Hawkins Lab - Lobby

Knowing that Will had no choice but to defend himself against the tiny, multi-creature monsters around him, Will started to scream from anger and frustration, raising his sword and hacking it down at each monster, slashing into them over and over, killing at least 10 mini monsters that came for him, taking out all of his pent-up anger and trauma on all of them after everything he had seen in his nightmares.

As soon as the monsters were gone, Will started to fall. As he fell from the nightmare, he fell right into reality.

∰

Nancy's Nightmare Part 3

Night - Woods

The monster attacked Barb, his face opening up as it started to eat and kill Barb.

Nancy screamed. "No!" She stood, grabbing her shotgun, firing the shotgun at the monster. The monster ran at Nancy, pushing her against the pool wall behind her, trying to kill her. Nancy held the monster off with her shotgun, and shot it clean through the head, making it explode from beneath his skull up into his brain. "Go... to... hell!"

As soon as the monster was gone, Nancy started to fall. As she fell from the nightmare, she fell right into reality.

∰

Mike's Nightmare Part 3

Night - Hawkins Town Pool - Locker Room

Completely covered in blood, Mike faced down the monster in before him without having really seen it before, but now he could.

Tendrils cracked through the ground to join the monster and make it join in towering height over Mike, looking much like a monstrous centipede.

Mike aimed his bow and arrow at the monster, but before he could release the arrow, the centipede monster flicked a tendril at Mike and threw him across the locker room into the wall, making him fall to the ground and land harshly.

Mike was not willing to give in or do down without a fight, pushing himself up from the ground, glaring at the centipede monster as it was towering over him and ready to attack.

As the centipede monster opened its gaping hole of a mouth, four snake like tendrils slithered out and aimed toward Mike.

Unwilling to back down, Mike fired an arrow into each of the mouth tendrils that came for him from each side, ducking and dodging attacks as needed. When the centipede monster got close enough, Mike drew his last arrow, spinning it around, raising his bow, lining up the shot, and releasing the arrow right into the mouth of the centipede monster, making the arrow spear itself through the mouth and into the brain of the monster, killing it instantly as the monster started to fall to the ground in front of Mike, destroying everything around them in the process.

As soon as the monster was gone, Mike started to fall. As he fell from the nightmare, he fell right into reality.

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - The Pit

All of the monsters started to fill the Pit, having just now recovered from all of the battles going on in Hawkins with Ruby, Eleven, Nadia, Niko and Hailey taking on Vecna, and Mirage, and all of Hailey's pain herself.

"Murray, now!" Hopper yelled.

Murray stood on the balcony above with the flame thrower. "Hey, assholes!"

Murray set the flame thrower on fire, engulfing all of the monsters in flame.

Through the hive mind, every creature from the Upside Down was caused untold agony, added with the the battles going on in Hawkins. The flame thrower, added with those battles and powers, were finally giving the good side the upper hand they needed. Vecna, Mirage, both Dark and Light Hailey were screaming.

∰

Upside Down

Trailer Park

All of the bats, destroyed by the battles in Russia and Hawkins and the mind lairs combined, all fell dead.

∰

Mirage's Castle

The UPSD group woke up back in their bodies, in the corridors of the castle where they had been all along. They ran back to meet up with each other before anything else could happen.

"Phase four," Steve told them.

Robin nodded. "Flambé."

"As soon as we get past that fucking thing," Calliope agreed.

They went to confront the spider monster together.

The spider monster extended his tendrils to try and wrap around Nancy to kill her, but Nancy ducked out of the way to avoid being trapped completely within the tendril. However, the spider managed to grab Nancy by the ankle and pull her up into the air, as everyone yelled for her.

Mike shot an arrow at the monster to distract it from Nancy to save his sister. "Hey, asshole! Let her go! Let's dance! Yippee-kay-yay, motherfucker!"

The spider monster threw Nancy to the ground and sent out a tendril toward Mike to wrap around him and lift him up from the ground.

Steve threw his spear right into the opening mouth of the spider monster to stop it from eating Mike, saving him. "Take that!"

Will was hacking away at the huge monster with his sword, while Nancy, Robin and Calliope were firing with their guns.

Mike fell to the ground once they got him to let Mike go, landing harshly on his stomach, groaning in pain, but he didn't waste a second to fire another arrow, hitting the monster right in the eye as the others all continued to attack with their weapons as well.

Finally, the group managed to make the monster fall back onto the sharp center piece of the throne room which held the crystal, impaling the huge monster on the center piece through and through, weakening it severely, killing it together.

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - Pit

There were some stray survivors of Demodogs and Demogorgons in the Pit, even while they were blazing with fire.

A Demodog ran toward Natasha to attack her from behind, but Natasha saw it coming, raising her hand to form her clear gold-tint shield in front of herself to block the Demodog's attack, thrusting her arm forward to send the shield flying into the Demodog and throwing it into the wall, making him fall to the ground, forming a shield saw in her other hand, throwing the saw through the neck of the Demodog to behead it completely within a second, walking away without ever stopping. As another Demodog ran closer, Natasha held her hand toward the Demodog, forming her shield inside of him, in his own body, expanding it little by little, to the point that she made him explode in a rain of blood and flesh, walking away.

As another Demodog tried to attack Apollo, Apollo let his glowing green light shine through his body before conjuring it out from his feet to create a glowing green light crystalline construct of boosters that helped him flip through the air impossibly, so that he could grab the Demodog, and flip them both through the air and threw the Demodog away from him over his head, as Apollo landed on his back, sitting up from the ground, instantly creating a hardlight ax, as he stood and spun to face the Demodog, swinging the hardlight ax through the Demodog's neck, beheading him, watching as the headless body of the monster fell to the ground.

Apollo let his glowing green light shine through his body before conjuring it out from his hands to create armor all around his body, protecting him from harm while also making him appear bigger than normal, creating glowing green light crystalline constructs stepping stones that allowed him to run across toward the monster, creating a huge fist, that he used to hit the monster with enough strength to take it down for a moment, before spinning around and using the arm light construct to slam into his the surrounding Demodogs, taking them all down. The moves were powerful enough to release blasts of radiating green glowing light that threw the monsters all to the ground and caused them great harm.

The explosion also caused a great deal of huge debris to fall right toward Hopper, Joyce, Murray and Dmitri as they were fighting off Upside Down monsters, but Apollo used his hardlight armor and heightened strength to catch those pieces in either hand, straining to do so, but able to keep them from being crushed to death, as they all ducked down in instinct. "I got it."

Apollo tossed the debris down to the ground.

As soldiers were trying to get into the prison, Apollo, still in his body armor, was strong enough so that he could smash a car with his huge fist, generating a shock wave strong enough to send two nearby cars flying away and crashing to the ground. He looked up to see a helicopter running closer and reached up his largened body armor arm to shoot a massive shockwave of green glowing light at the helicopter, shooting it down from the sky, making it crash to the ground and release another shockwave of green light, much to everyone's shock, as the helicopter burst into green flames.

Everyone watched in shock and awe, impressed.

Nadyr shot a huge amount of glowing red plasma energy at the huge monster, grabbing its attention away from Natasha and Apollo while they were distracted. The monster formed a cyclone of sand around Nadyr, as Nadyr started to climb up a structure to get away from it, but the sand surrounded him and started to pull him underneath the sand completely, trying to smother him. Nadyr absorbed an insane amount of energy to transform it, illuminating with red glowing light from within, even visible from beneath the sand, releasing the glowing red plasma with a scream, shooting the plasma from his hands and chest out at the sand around him, the light turning the sand into tiny crystal-like beads as they all fell to harmlessly to the ground, freeing Nadyr, as he breathed heavily, letting the glow fade from his body.

Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo stood together in front of the monster, glaring. The monster shot lightning out toward them, but Natasha and Apollo both used their powers to create shields to defend them, clear gold-tint molecular shield for Natasha, and a glowing green crystalline construct hardlight shield for Apollo that created from the green glowing mist around his hands, blocking the lightning strike from touching them.

While Natasha and Apollo kept the shield up, Nadyr illuminated with red glowing light, shooting plasma from his chest out at the monster with a yell, making it roar in pain as parts of him were set on red glowing fire. Just as Natasha and Apollo's shields shattered, before the monster could strike them with another lightning bolt, Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo all rolled out of the way to safety, taking cover, separately.

The monster slammed his arms down on anything it could touch to try and absorb enough to make it more powerful, releasing devastating amounts of flame as it set fire to everything around, but the other elements like water kept the fires from completely taking over the prison. The monster found Natasha's hiding place, roaring, trying to punch her. Natasha created a shield in front of her, stepping onto the shield, back flipping through the air high enough (with the shield's aid) to make the monster's fist completely miss her, as she landed on her feet, backing away from the monster as she watched the fist hit the wall where she had just been, making it shatter and burst into flames. As the monster turned to kick Natasha, Natasha held up her hands to form her shield, and while it protected her from the flames, the monster's strength was enough to send Natasha flying back through the air and slamming into the wall on the other side of the pit, making her fall to the ground. The monster closed in on Natasha, as she was recovering from being hit so badly.

Nadyr and Apollo ran over as soon as they could to help, as Apollo held up his hands, glowing with green mist, to conjure hardlight out into a glowing green light crystalline shield over their heads, all around himself, Nadyr and Natasha to protect them just as the monster slammed his arm down to try and strike, sending cracks spidering through the hardlight shield. Nadyr shot plasma blast after plasma blast out of his hands and chest out at the monster to buy themselves some time, harming him a great deal as the monster screamed and roared in agony, buying Nadyr and Apollo time to help Natasha up and run for cover behind a wall.

"You all right?" Nadyr asked.

"Yeah," Natasha answered. "He's getting bigger. We gotta hit him with something he can't absorb."

"You guys go left and I go right," Apollo told them.

They all ran out to split up, having to run, duck, jump and flip over attacks of lightning, water, sand, air and fire as they did, able to avoid most of it, though they were hurt quite a bit by now.

Natasha slashed her arms through the air to send flying shield blades through the air into the monster, cutting through his limbs to buy themselves some time, cutting them completely in half, making the limbs fall to the ground. As the monster roared, he released a cyclone of fire and water toward Natasha, but Natasha created a large shield to protect herself, thrusting her hands out to send the shield flying into the monster, sending him falling to the ground since he had lost his limbs to steady himself, destroying much of the prison in the process.

Natasha looked at Apollo and Nadyr on either side of the monster. "Hit him, now!"

Apollo let his glowing green light shine through his body before conjuring it out from his hands to create a glowing green light crystalline stream of light, as Nadyr absorbed the energy around him to transform it into plasma, emanating with red glowing light, creating a glowing red stream of plasma light, which they both shot at the monster, blasting a powerful hole straight through the chest of the monster, which seared with red blazing fire on top of it. The monster screamed in utter agony.

The monster got away just enough to absorb a lot of the debris from the crumbling prison.

"No, no, no," Nadyr said.

The monster slammed his foot on the ground with enough strength to send a cracking line of elements that shot out at everything around, but Natasha and Apollo used their shields to protect themselves, Nadyr and everyone else.

A lone Demogorgon stood from the flames.

Firing his rifle at the Demogorgon to no avail, Hopper reached for a sword on the ground, spinning it around.

The Demogorgon roared.

Hopper raised the sword, glaring at the monster.

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

(Song:) Running Up That Hill (Totem Remix) - Kate Bush

Both of them in agonizing pain because of the hive mind, Demogorgon!Hailey got the better over Demogorgon!Dark Hailey. She broke free completely, and started to stab her dark alter ego's Demogorgon form with her own red energy tendrils over and over, both of them weakened and near the point of fainting or death from all the pain and suffering and power usage, but Demogorgon!Hailey continued to stab the dark Hailey over and over and over again, until she no longer could be a threat to her and her friends, throwing her off the edge of the stone landing, making her fall through the sky.

"Hailey!" Nadia and Niko called worriedly in horror, worried about the state that she was in.

Hailey returned to human form, making her way weakly over to Nadia and Niko, seeing that they were standing over the burned, half-dead body of Andrei, who was completely wiped out after all of Nadia, Niko and Hailey's powers against him, all three glaring at him.

Nadia forced enough power to conjure a glowing purple, intricately designed but blazing sword, holding it over Andrei.

Andrei managed to chuckle. "What are you going to do, Nadia? Kill me when I have no way of fighting back? You have all the power I stole from you back."

"We will after we destroy your gem," Niko replied.

"We get to die here alone," Nadia told him. "A slow, drawn out, agonized death. You're never gonna make it out of this, Andrei."

Andrei scoffed. "Doesn't mean I can't take one of you with me. How are you going to use enough power to destroy this place and the gem?"

"We've got that covered," Hailey replied.

Andrei glared.

∰

Vecna's Mind Space

Eleven stalked closer to Vecna with her arm still raised to telekinetically pin him against the stone pillar that Ruby shot him against.

Vecna just glared at the two, breathing heavily.

Ruby, still broken and bleeding completely, still managed to use her light to levitate, fly herself closer, as she glared at Vecna with nothing but fury, agony and hatred.

Vecna strained to even speak. "You and your friends believe you have won. Don't you? But this is only the beginning. The beginning of the end." While he was speaking, the UPSD group in Mirage's castle were about to Molotov cocktail the throne room to destroy the gem. "You have already lost."

Ruby allowed her eyes to flare with sunlight-like glow. "No. You have."

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle

While the group was getting ready to destroy the throne room of the castle to destroy the stone, a lone Demogorgon, weakened by the battle going on, stumbled into the castle.

The group all turned to glare at the monster, knowing they could handle it with how weak it was.

Will stared at the Demogorgon, the type of monster that took him as a child, and raised his sword, glaring.

Steve held out a hand to stop the others from interfering, knowing this was something that Will needed to do on his own, which he could.

In both Russia and the UPSD, Will and Hopper ran toward their Demogorgon with a sword raised, as the Demogorgon ran toward them, using their swords to cut off the arms and the heads of the Demogorgons, killing them.

In the mind realms, the Haileys, Mirage and Vecna could feel the pain of more UPSD down and screamed in agony.

In the castle, Calliope and Robin used the distraction to throw the Molotov cocktails at the gem, setting the altar aflame with an explosion that made everyone duck, and start to crumble the castle.

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - The Pit

Natasha held her hands toward the water and fire, using the little molecules she always used to create shields, to create a clear gold-tint barrier to be able to control the water and fire, raising her arms, using all of her inner power to be able to create a storm of her own out of water and fire, sending it hurling toward the monster, distracting it and harming it just enough to buy them time.

Apollo realized what he had to do, turning to Nadyr. "I know what to do. I need to absorb your power."

"What?" Nadyr asked.

"Just enough to make sure that I can combine our powers and destroy him," Apollo told him, leaving out the most important part because he knew that Nadyr would stop him.

Apollo grabbed Nadyr by the hands, his hands glowing with green mist and hardlight energy, making Nadyr's hands glow red with plasma energy. The green glow mixed with the red light of Nadyr's power, causing their powers to mix together as Apollo was surrounded by a glowing green light around him that appeared as crystals and gems, but was just energy that was conjured due to their powers mixing together, and due to how much power Apollo had to use to absorb enough of Nadyr's energy and power to do what needed to be done. Though the red light was burning his hands as he did, and his glowing green light around him was burning Nadyr, and the power passing between the two was making them both scream.

Lyrics: "Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

Meanwhile, Natasha had to hold off the monster with shields and saws but watched in shock.

Apollo had gotten enough of Nadyr's power, letting go, backing away from him, as red light joined the green aura of light around him, looking at both Nadyr and Natasha with tears in his eyes. "Whatever happens, I'm glad we met."

"Apollo, what are you doing?" Nadyr asked.

"What I have to," Apollo replied, absorbing the energy around him to create more plasma from within himself, illuminating with red and green glowing light.

"Apollo, don't do it!" Nadyr told him, trying to stop him.

Apollo used the aura of red and green light to levitate himself toward the monster, out of Nadyr and Natasha's reach before they could stop him, diving into the chest of the monster, creating a large hole of green and red light.

"Apollo!" Natasha yelled.

The monster was soon glowing with green and red light as Apollo unleashed all of the combined power of his and Nadyr's light inside the monster, making the green and red light completely illuminate from the monster, destroying him from within.

Nadyr knew that they had to finish this, tears in his eyes at the thought of Apollo sacrificing himself for them. "Natasha, contain this."

Nadyr absorbed most of the energy left around him to transform it, glowing with red light, shooting plasma from his chest and hands right at the monster, with a raging, devastating yell, using all of his power to do so.

Natasha had tears in her eyes as she thrust out her arms, using her clear gold tint shield to create the biggest shield all around the monster to contain Apollo and Nadyr's light all around the monster, all of their noses bleeding heavily; Apollo was majorly hurting from the inside, Nadyr was majorly hurting from the outside while Natasha was trapping the monster so he couldn't escape as well as making sure the major damage stayed all inside of him. The monster roared in agony as their powers were destroying him, just before the monster exploded, Natasha's shield containing the monster's explosion, and while Apollo and Nadyr's light exploded, Natasha's shield kept all of the major damage inside the monster to make sure that the monster was destroyed, but a wave of light managed to escape, not enough to cause much harm, but it was still beautiful and dangerously powerful.

Lyrics: "It didn't hurt me / Yeah, yeah, yeah."

∰

Vecna's Mind Lair

While Eleven still held Vecna pinned, Ruby was still levitating with light, blood coating her broken body.

Lyrics: "Do you wanna feel how it feels? / Do you wanna know, know that it doesn't hurt me?"

*The horror sounding portion of the remix*

Vecna glared at the two girls, already flaring with Ruby's light that was burning him intensely, as he struggled against the restraint Eleven had on him to stalk toward them, but Eleven held him back with her power. the darkness of Vecna's glare was matched by Ruby's.

Ruby raised her head to glare at Vecna, eyes flaring like the sun as she screamed, releasing the biggest blast of glowing gold light that she had ever before, to shoot the beams toward Vecna from both her hands and her chest, with enough strength to destroy the stone pillars all around them, and burn Vecna to a near crisp, making him scream in utter agony, incinerating everything else close to her as she burned Vecna completely, using all of her power to do so.

In reality, in the UPSD version of the Creel attic, Vecna was glowing gold from within from Ruby's power, burning, from the inside out, as he screamed in utter agony.

In Mirage's lair, the Haileys and Mirage screamed in pure torment, feeling as if they were the ones burning from the inside. Each monster from the Upside Down could feel the pain and screamed and screeched.

In Vecna's mind lair, the entire mind lair still crumbling down around them, raining down from the sky, crashing down all around. Ruby and Eleven's combined powers, as they were screaming, were enough to send Vecna flying away and down a cliff of sorts that appeared in the mind lair as it was tumbling and dissolving.

Vecna knew that if he didn't leave now that he wouldn't make it out alive, ending the connection, disappearing in a whirl of shadow, and the entire mind lair, all the pieces of the house raining down, disappeared with him, as Ruby and Eleven looked around in shock, everything around them turning into shadow and smoke before disappearing.

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

*The epic sounding portion of the remix*

Hailey was recovering from all of the pain.

Niko took Nadia and Hailey by the hands, using what power he still had left in his system to telepathically link them and their powers like he had done repeatedly with the psionics in the past (for Nadia, Niko and El in 1.07, and Niko, Ruby and El in 3.06, now Nadia, Niko and Hailey).

Niko started to use his mental healing/channeling strength power. His hands glowed blue, and the energy seemed to be going and passing through the three of them all at once to show how connected they were, becoming stronger and more level, purple and red energy joining the blue flowing through each other, able to balance each other out, the toll equal between the three-power wise. In this state, they could channel all of each other's powers, feeling Nadia's empathy, hearing Niko's telepathy, each one feeling each other's feelings and hearing each other's thoughts, feeling each other's pain, but able to triple their power for what needed to be done. They channeled all of their power into Nadia's glowing purple sword, making her sword as strong as it possibly could be, and the biggest it could possibly be, infused with all their power. When Nadia, Niko and Hailey opened their eyes, Nadia's eyes were glowing purple, Niko's eyes were glowing blue, and Hailey's scleras were black, while her irises and gem glowed red.

Andrei knew that he had no power or strength to fight them, and that his injuries were already leading him to death, closing his eyes, knowing the power of the three of them combined the ultimate doom to him and all of his creations, including his own world. Even while accepting his fate, he would take one of them down with him, having one last trick up his sleeve as he closed his eyes, making a telepathic connection with Billy.

∰

Hawkins, Indiana

Creel House - Attic

With Vecna's mind lair destroyed, Ruby, Max, Billy and Eleven were all released back to their bodies, gasping awake. (Ruby, Max and Billy in the attic, and Eleven in the bathtub.

Billy was on his death bed, knowing that Max and Ruby were too.

Lyrics: "Do you wanna hear about the deal I'm making?"

In his mind, only for Billy to see, even when he was blind, Mirage appeared next to Billy. "You're just like your father, Billy. You destroy everything you touch."

Billy shook his head, furious but in so much pain, near dead. "I never wanted to end up like my father."

Mirage hissed. "But in the end, that's exactly what you became to be, isn't it? You turned just as insane and just as abusive as your father. You'll always be that pathetic little boy looking for validation. That's why you needed Ruby to save you, isn't it? Not just from Henry. Not just from the Upside Down. But from yourself. Max hated you for what you did to her because of your own insanity until Ruby started to save you for the both of you. Now who's going to save them? Make a wish. Make a wish, Billy. You're going to die either way. You know all of you are seconds away from dying. I can bring Ruby and Maxine back as your own... dying... wish. Because we both know you would rather take their place."

Billy swallowed, blood dripping down his face like tears of blood. "That's my wish."

Mirage knew that Billy thought that by bringing Max back to life, it would also stop Vecna and Mirage's plan, but Mirage knew that it wouldn't stop it, smirking evilly, manipulating Billy into thinking that it would in order to make the wish that he thought was saving both Ruby, Max, and everyone else. "Then make your wish."

A candle seemed to grow from Billy's hand, the wick flickering with flame. It caused Billy pain as it grew from his own skin, but he could barely feel it, as it was nothing compared to all the pain he had endured before.

Billy closed his eyes before blowing out the candle, making his wish to save Ruby and Max, thinking that it would stop the monsters' plan and save everyone else as well, obviously not thinking clearly given the agony he was in and the situation it was.

Lyrics: "And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God / And get him to swap our places."

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

With red and blue power flickering over Nadia's purple glowing, giant sword, she raised the sword high into the air, and stabbed it straight through the center of the castle, through the gem throne. Their power combined exploded, radiated out throughout the entire foundation of Mirage's reality/nightmare mind lair.

Lyrics: "And be running up that road."

The entire mental realm shook and became even more dark, a vortex of Nadia, Niko and Hailey's powers, in purple, blue and red, cycloning all around them, shooting up and down through the sky, creating the eye of a storm all around them, as they looked up through the tunnel in shock, wind blowing air around them chaotically as they watched the cyclone spin around them dangerously.

Lyrics: "Be running up that hill."

Hailey's power within the cyclone tornadoed all around as it shot out in either direction, lashing out at the air, ripping a hole through the barrier of reality and dreamscape, making a portal in the shape of a star, which ripped open with a violent flash of glowing red light, tinged in purple and blue.

As their powers cycloned around them, it was destroying the entire mental realm dreamscape all around them, everything ripped away into oblivion, dissolving, fading out of existence. Nadia and Niko helped the weakened, almost drained Hailey through the portal, as they watched as their powers were tearing the realm of Mirage apart, leaving him for dead with it, making it evaporate and fade into nothing.

Lyrics: "Be running up that building."

The scene with Apollo, Nadyr and Natasha destroying the elemental monster, the scene with Ruby and Eleven vs. Vecna, and Hailey, Niko and Nadia destroying Mirage's mind lair, and the UPSD group destroying the gem in reality, were all intercut.

As they jumped through the portal, Hailey closed the Gate with another flash of red light just before the lair exploded, causing the castle in the real world of the Upside Down to rumble, shake and start to crumble as well, violently as if in an earthquake, as Hailey, Nadia and Niko fell straight to the ground, the fall enough to make them fall unconscious, if not nearly kill them, added with all they had endured during the battle.

Lyrics: "See, if I only could..."

The USPD group were all in the castle and saw this, running to their sides instantly in worry and horror.

While in the mind lair, Andrei was watching his realm disappear bit by bit, the eye of the storm, made of Nadia, Niko and Hailey's powers, closing in on him at the center by the throne, set on taking him last.

Andrei smirked, even while he knew that he was about to die and be wiped from existence, because he had time to do one last thing.

∰

Reality

Creel House - Attic

Ruby was not dying like Max and Billy did, but very close to it, her broken body not much better than theirs, though she was only surviving because Vecna didn't want her to die yet.

Max and Billy were completely broken and seconds away from death.

Mirage appeared above them, visible for them all to see, knowing what this meant, floating with purple and orange power swirling around his snake form.

Ruby shook her head desperately, as she could more sense Mirage there than see him. "No. No, no, you can't have them!"

"Yes, I can," Mirage replied.

Billy whispered. "It's okay, Ruby. It means you and Max and everyone else are safe. I made a wish. Took your place."

They realized what had just happened.

Max shook her head desperately. "No, Billy. No. No!"

Ruby tried to conjure enough power but was burnt out. "No!"

Mirage held out his hands, glowing with power, using that power to wrap around Billy, taking levitating him in the air, making him scream, and started to consume his soul.

Max and Ruby both flinched at the sound of Billy's weak, dying scream, screaming in horrified, devastated denial. "Billy!"

Jonathan and Lucas flinched, both in tears and not knowing what to do, unable to do anything.

White soul energy started to leak from Billy's body as his white, bloodied eyes glowed white. The soul energy was floating toward Mirage, so that he could start to consume Billy's soul energy.

Lyrics: "And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God / To get him to swap our places."

∰

Mirage's Mind Lair

The cyclone of Hailey, Nadia and Niko's power closed in on Andrei completely, eating away at him, dissolving him into a swirl of orange and purple energy, killing him and erasing him from existence before he had the time to finish consuming Billy's soul.

Lyrics: "Be running up that road."

∰

Reality

Creel House - Attic

With Andrei/Mirage dead and vanished, and unable to finish consuming Billy's soul, his soul leaked back into his body, though Billy's body looked half-hallow, desiccated like, like the rest of Mirage's victims. He fell to the ground next to Max and Ruby.

Max and Ruby both broke down into tears, knowing what Billy did for them, for everyone, but that he was in such a place where he could be so easily manipulated, the price of this more than any of them could pay.

Lyrics: "Be running up that hill / Be running up that building."

(Song Ends)

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - The Pit

The light faded away, and the monster disappeared without a trace, as it had been completely incinerated out of existence.

Natasha, Nadyr, Hopper, Joyce and Murray all looked toward Apollo, on the ground.

(Song:) When It's Cold I'd Like to Die - Moby

Nadyr instantly stood, running toward Apollo, kneeling next to him in shock and denial, refusing to believe that he had just lost his son. "Apollo? Apollo, wake up!"

Nadyr took Apollo in his arms, holding him, tears in his eyes.

Natasha ran closer, kneeling next to her brother and her nephew, in shock and horror, hoping beyond hope...

Apollo slowly started to stir, opening his eyes, seeing them. "Nadyr? Natasha?"

Nadyr sighed in relief, hanging his head. Natasha smiled in complete relief, tears in her eyes. Both of them embraced Apollo tightly. Apollo sighed heavily in relief, returning the embrace.

Hopper, Joyce and Murray watched them with small smiles.

Once Nadyr, Natasha and Apollo pulled away, they all rose to their feet.

Natasha instantly went to embrace Hopper, who held her tightly in his arms.

Joyce went to embrace Nadyr and Apollo both as first instinct, causing both of them surprise, but they smiled and returned the embrace.

Murray smiled at all of them.

When they heard a plane up above, they all looked up, seeing Dmitri ready for them in the plane.

Murray smiled, laughing. "Son of a bitch!" Dmitri smiled, giving them a salute and a wave. "Yeah! Katinka!"

∰

Upside Down

Mirage's Castle

Steve ran to Nadia, Niko and Hailey's sides, kneeling next to them instantly, as they would not wake up after their battle and the way they destroyed Mirage's mind lair, with their help from this side, and how they crashed into the castle, as it was still unsteady and threatening to come down at any moment. "Nadia! Hailey! No! Niko?"

Will ran closer to kneel next to them. "No! Niko? Hailey? Nadia, wake up."

Mike, Nancy, Calliope and Robin ran closer, keeping their distance, but stayed close.

"Are they breathing?" Nancy asked.

"You need to keep their heads tilted up, all right?" Calliope asked. "Keep it back like this." Calliope knelt next to Hailey to show Steve and Will, so that they could do it to Nadia and Niko, which they did. "Pinch the nose, keep the head tilted. You two breathe into them, now. Go."

Nancy and Mike ran closer to help with chest compressions, while Steve, Will and Calliope helped with breathing for Nadia, Niko and Hailey.

"Come on, Hailey," Mike told her. "Niko, come on." Robin held her hands over her mouth in shock and horror, as they were all in denial and fighting back tears. "Come on, Nadia!"

Steve was trying not to freak out as he looked between the three. "Goddamn it. You come on, you breathe."

"Go, go, breathe," Robin told them.

Steve, Will and Calliope breathed for Nadia, Niko and Calliope.

"Come on, Niko," Will told him, starting to cry. "I need you to breathe. Come on, Hailey. Nadia1 Come back. Come on, guys."

The castle shook on its foundation, crumbling into pieces and debris that could end up crushing them and burying them alive, as they all looked up in fear.

"Come on, we gotta get them out of here, or this thing's gonna kill us all," Calliope told them.

They lifted Nadia, Niko and Hailey up to leave the castle before they could be killed.

∰

Trailer Park

Eddie was left weakened, bleeding out on the ground.

Dustin ran toward him as much as he could. "Eddie! Eddie!" He knelt next to him, in shock, horror. "Oh, God. Oh, God, Eddie."

"Bad, huh?" Eddie asked.

Dustin shook his head. "No. No, no, no, you're gonna be fine. We just gotta get you to a hospital, okay?"

"Okay," Eddie sputtered.

Dustin tried to get Eddie up. "All right, all right, come on."

Eddie stopped him, unable to get up, in too much pain, too weak, and he had lost far too much blood. "I think I just... I think I just need a second, okay?" He, even while choking slightly, gave a forced smile, emotionally crying as he knew that he was dying, but was proud of himself for what he did. "I didn't run away this time, right?"

Dustin shook his head, crying, sobbing. "No, no, no, no. You didn't run."

"You're gonna have to look after those little sheep for me, okay?" Eddie asked.

"No, you're gonna do that yourself," Dustin told him.

Eddie shook his head. "Nah, man. Say, 'I'm gonna look after them'. Say it."

Dustin broke down into tears, knowing that he was losing his friend and there was nothing he could do about it. "I'm... I'm gonna look after..."

"Good," Eddie told him. "'Cause I'm actually gonna graduate. I think it's my year, Henderson." Dustin nodded tearfully. Eddie struggled to speak the next part. "I think it's finally my year." He put on a brave face for Dustin, no matter how scared he was. "I love you, man."

Dustin closed his eyes, tears streaming free as his voice trembled. 'I love you too." Eddie's head turned to the side, a single tear falling from the corner of his eye, as he sputtered, struggling to stay alive. Dustin shook his head, tortured. "Eddie... Eddie? Eddie? Eddie!" Dustin had to watch Eddie die in his arms, crying, sobbing. "Come on." Dustin shook Eddie's body, wailing. "Eddie!"

Dustin held a hand to his head, continuing to break down.

Steve was carrying Nadia in his arms, Mike and Nancy were helping carry Hailey, and Will and Calliope were helping carry Niko, as they and Robin reached back to the trailer park to get to the trailer Gate, since Hailey clearly wasn't awake to open the Gate.

They saw Dustin up ahead but didn't see Eddie's body yet.

"Dustin!" Steve yelled. "Dustin, we gotta get them out of here!"

Dustin looked up, still devastated with the loss of Eddie, when he saw the state that Hailey, Nadia and Niko were in, pushing himself to his feet, even more heartbroken and devastated, in denial, shaking his head. "No, no, no, no. Not them to. No! Not them."

"They're not dead, they're just not waking up," Calliope admitted.

"But we don't know if they could die or not," Robin added, knowing that didn't help anything, but knowing that Dustin deserved the truth.

Dustin shook his head in pained denial, anguish, refusing to lose someone else, especially the girl he loved, his mother figure, and one of his best friends. "Hailey? Hailey! Hailey, come on. Wake up. You have to wake up. I can't lose you too. No, no, no, no. Nadia, come on, wake up. Niko!"

"We've tried all that," Will told him.

"What's wrong?" Nancy asked.

Dustin looked back toward Eddie's body, near a breaking point all over again. "I..."

They were all shocked to see Eddie's body, horrified.

Other than Dustin, Mike was the most upset, since they were the only two out of this group that really knew Eddie. The only other two that really knew him out of their friends at all were Ruby and Billy.

"No," Mike said. "Eddie? Oh, my God."

Dustin took Hailey from Mike and Nancy. "Hails? Please, wake up. You have to. We can't lose you."

"Dustin, let me help with..." Mike trailed off when he saw Dustin's leg, offering to help carry Hailey.

Dustin shook his head. "No. I will."

Steve was devastated but numb, refusing to believe that they lost them, looking at Nadia in his arms, then Hailey in Dustin's, and Niko in Will's. "Come on. We're not gonna lose them."

∰

Hawkins

Creel House - Attic

Eleven had gotten out of the tub and ran up to the attic door, where Erica was still locked out, using her power to bust the door open, the two running inside to see the scene before them.

"Lucas!" Erica cried out.

Lucas was holding the broken, bleeding, near dead Max in his arms.

Jonathan looked back at Eleven and Erica. "We need a doctor! Call an ambulance!" Erica's eyes were wide in horror and shock. "Hurry, call an ambulance!"

Erica turned around, running out of the room to do as told.

Ruby was trying to pull herself toward Max and Billy's barely alive bodies, but she couldn't do it with her own broken body. "Jonathan, please..." She sobbed brokenly. "Please help."

Jonathan helped Ruby closer to Billy and Max, so that she could be close to them.

Billy was barely breathing, his skin desiccated slightly, still looking a bit hollow on top of the Vecna wounds leaving his body broken and his eyes without color and bleeding, but he was just barely alive.

Max shook her head, crying. "No, Billy. Why?"

"I had to make sure you both lived," Billy answered weakly, barely able to speak over a whisper. "Even if it means I didn't."

Ruby could not even shake her head much given the spine injury, but she sobbed, crying, breaking down over Billy, as their broken arms tried to hold each other as much as they possibly could, which wasn't much. They tried to reach for Max, as Max tried to reach for them, but without their sight, and with their broken bodies, they couldn't, which pained them more than anything else, all three of them breaking down.

Eleven walked closer slowly, breaking down into tears from guilt, blaming herself a lot for not being able to break free sooner to be able to help Ruby stop this.

Lucas was sobbing, breaking down with Max in his arms.

"Lucas?" Max asked.

"Yes, yes, I'm here," Lucas answered. "I'm here."

"I... I can't feel or..." Max trailed off brokenly with a gasp. "See anything."

Lucas tried to comfort her as much as he could. "I know. I know, it's okay. We're gonna get you guys some help, okay? Just--just hold on."

Max sobbed. "Lucas, I'm scared. Billy, Ruby, I'm so scared. I'm so scared."

Ruby broke down with her head against Billy's chest, unable to do much else, her voice breaking. "I know, I know, I know."

Max's voice break. "I don't wanna die. I'm not ready. I don't wanna go! I'm not ready."

Billy shook his head. "You're not gonna die, Max. You're gonna make it. Ruby, you're gonna be okay."

"How?" Ruby cried. "I can't---I can't lose you. He can break my body and my mind, I don't care, but he can't take you two from me. No!"

Eleven sunk to her knees next to them, crying, sobbing.

Jonathan was utterly shocked and effected by what was in front of him. Even if he wasn't close with any of them other than Eleven, it still brought him to tears, wrapping his arms around Eleven to comfort her. Eleven held onto Jonathan tightly like an anchor.

Lucas tried to keep Max awake. "Max. Max, Max! No, no, no, Max. Stay with me! Ruby!"

"Lucas," Billy whispered, causing Lucas to look at him. "They make it, you gonna look after them, yeah? You take care of them."

Lucas nodded rapidly, not caring about their history, as Billy was showing trust that Lucas would take care of both of them. "I will. I will, Billy, I swear. Stay with us! Don't go, Max. Max, stay with me. Just look at me, Max. Max, look. No, stay with me, Max."

Eleven sobbed. "No. Max, hang on a little longer. Ruby, you're gonna be okay. We're gonna get you help. Billy..."

Eleven tilted her head back, crying, sobbing.

As Max and Billy were clearly seconds away from dying, Ruby was starting to lose consciousness.

Jonathan tried to keep Ruby awake. "No, no, no, stay awake, Ruby. Help's on the way. We..."

Lucas cried for his sister. "Erica, help!"

Max and Billy seemed to die, with Max in Lucas' arms.

Ruby, with her head on Billy's chest, could hear his heart stop. "No. Billy? Max?" When she received no answer from them, she was even more distraught, broken, closing her eyes, knowing what it meant, in complete denial. "Hey. Hey. Billy. Billy! Max? Max, wake up! Hey. Breathe. Stay with me, please. Hey." She had to put her faith into Billy's wish, and that it wasn't even completed, to make herself believe that they would wake up, because she could not deal with any other possibility. "You're okay. You're gonna be okay. The wish. It's gonna wake you two up. You have to wake up. Stay with me. Stay with me, stay with me. You both stay! Stay!"

Lucas was just as in denial. "Max? Max? Max? Max! Max, stay with me. Max, stay with me. No, no, no! Max! Max! Please, stay with me!"

Ruby laid her head down in defeat on Billy's chest, just wishing that she could hold them in her arms, or that Billy could have held her, absolutely breaking. "No. No, no, no, no! Billy! Max!" She sobbed, breath trembling. "No, please! Please!" Her voice broke completely. "I can't do this without you."

Lucas wailed in absolute pain. "No!"

Eleven cried out. "Max! Max!"

Ruby's devastation and desperation was overwhelming her to the brink, as was her rage with losing them to her uncle in this sick, twisted game to destroy her. She screamed in pure fury, anguish and loss. "No!"

As the song faded, it was replaced by the loud ticking of a clock, and the clock chimed on either side of the barrier in either world, six times.

(Song Ends)

∰

Trailer Park

Steve was carrying Nadia in his arms, while Dustin carried Hailey, and Will and Calliope were helping carry Niko toward Eddie's trailer to try and get through the Gate, followed by Mike, Nancy and Robin, but they had to stop when they realized what was going on.

Suddenly, they could hear the echoing of the clock ticking and the chimes throughout all of the Upside Down, signaling to everyone what happened.

"Six chimes," Robin said.

Nancy looked shocked, horrified. "Max. Billy."

The group looked at each other in horror.

The Upside Down erupted into an earthquake, knocking everyone down to the ground, all of them forced to lay down next to the unconscious Nadia, Niko and Hailey, and Eddie's dead body.

Hailey's body started to glow completely red, signaling what was about to happen.

Steve was in shock, worried for everyone. "Everybody get back!"

Everyone had to run and duck away from Hailey, with Steve and Will taking the unconscious Nadia and Niko with them to keep them safe, everyone having to duck behind something for cover.

Hailey's eyes suddenly opened, the sclera of her eyes turned black, irises glowing red, as her red aura started to appear and glow around her, swirling. This was more power, with more chaos, and power strength than ever before, as she was completely in a comatose, catatonic state even while in power form. She felt the excruciating deaths of Billy and Max, screaming in agony, which mixed with the roar of the Demogorgon, her aura glowing around her, cycling around her like a tornado, bigger, wider, more violent than it had ever been before, as this was the last stage, her power bursting at the seams to be set free.

Everyone had to keep down in cover, but Hailey's power, and the Gates that it was opening, was enough to destroy everything around that they could use for cover, which caused them to back away quickly in order to try and get to safety before they could be burned by the excruciatingly painful coldness of the power.

Even when in this catatonic state, Hailey released a feral scream sounding like a mix of a scream and a screech as her aura of red glowing energy exploded out of her, all around, coming from her entire body, tornado-ing all around as it shot outward, sweeping out across the entire realm of the Upside Down, starting to charge each of the Gates that it had opened before.

∰

Hawkins

All the Gates

The Gates in Lover's Lake, in Eddie's trailer, in the tree nearby, in the road where Fred died, and the supersized Gate that was being ripped open in the Creel House charged by both Billy and Max's deaths, glowed with Hailey's red energy, ripping open, as tendrils grew out of the Gates that traveled in ragged, uneven lines, destroying everything in its path, spidering out in every direction it could get, to try and consume the entire town.

Just as Ruby had described.

In the Creel House, when the Gate was being ripped open, Eleven, Jonathan and Lucas quickly pulled Ruby, Max and Billy out of the way to safety, hiding against the wall of the attic to take cover and stay safe.

The Gate in the attic continued on until it hit the unconscious Ryan and Jason on the ground, who both watched in shock, and screamed in agony as the Gate was ripping them in half, melting them, killing them with absolute ease within seconds.

The rest of the Creel House was starting to crumble as the Gate's line traveled out to try and meet with the other Gate lines from the other Gates, all in jagged, uneven lines.

Eddie's trailer was destroyed in a similar fashion.

All of the Gates open, all the destruction it was causing, created an earthquake in Hawkins so intense that the earthquake alone could have destroyed the entire town.

In the Wheelers house, the earthquake shook the entire house on its foundation, causing Holly to scream.

Karen ran to Holly's side, ducking down to wrap her arms around Holly for protection, holding her close, covering her head. "Holly! Holly!"

All of the teens were rattled and afraid by the earthquake and the damage it caused, and what it could mean for them later.

As the Gate lines continued to grow bigger, the red glowing lines started to swallow roads, trees, destroying buildings and causing avalanches, anything that it could consume, until the lines all met in the middle, with an explosion of red energy, which radiated out in all directions.

∰

Upside Down

Trailer Park

Once everyone was safe, Dustin ran out of hiding, limping over to Hailey as fast as he could manage, kneeling next to her, taking Hailey in his arms, trying to wake her up, crying. "Come on. I know you're in there. I know you're in there. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up."

∰

Hawkins

Creel House - Attic

Ruby slipped completely into unconsciousness, as Eleven and Jonathan held her steady.

Eleven cried, shaking her head. "No. Ruby, you can't fall asleep. You can't die too. You can't." Lucas and Jonathan looked so broken and defeated. They couldn't wake up Ruby, but they could feel her heartbeat, even if it was faint. Eleven looked from Ruby to Billy and Max, refusing to let her lose them to Vecna after everything that he had already done to her, and refusing to lose one of her own best friends. "No. You're not going. No."

Due to Billy's wish, Max's heart gave a beat, barely there at all, but it was enough for Lucas to feel it as he was taking her pulse.

Lucas looked up in shock. "I just felt her heart."

Eleven, Lucas and Jonathan looked at each other in shock, hopeful.

"Billy's wish," Jonathan whispered.

This encouraged Eleven, as she remembered every good memory that she had ever had with Max, with just the two of them, or the two of them with Ruby in book three, or the two of them with Hailey, or the entire party together.

Eleven focused her telekinesis on Max's heart, giving a slight pump of her heart with telekinesis without damaging her heart, to aid the wish in bringing her back. She focused on Billy's heart to do the same, having to work harder since a wish wasn't helping her with resuscitating Billy, but she was able to do so, gently and carefully.

As she was doing this, Eleven was remembering all of her best friendship moments with Max, including going to her in 3.02 before heading to the mall with Hailey.

She remembered her saying to Hopper in 3.03. "Max wanted to have a sleepover."

She remembered Max showing Eleven comic books in 3.03. "Which one?"

She remembered Max telling Eleven she deserved her own style instead of the style she got from her boyfriend and adoptive father. "Not Hopper. Not Mike. You."

She remembered, Hailey, Max and Eleven having all kinds of fun together at the mall in 3.02.

She remembered Max smiling in 3.03 when they were about to Void-spy on the boys. "Holy shit, this is insane."

She remembered Max laughing with Hailey and Eleven in 3.02. "See, what'd I tell you? There's more to life than stupid boys."

She remembered Eleven and Max, and Hailey, Eleven and Max embracing in 3.08 and 4.08.

An aerial shot view of Eleven resuscitating Max and Billy was shown overhead, with Ruby's broken body being held and cared for by Eleven and Jonathan, while Lucas was holding Max's. The shot spun around and around until it faded away.

∰

Day Two

Hawkins Hospital - Nadia, Niko and Hailey's Room

Nadia, Niko and Hailey were in the same hospital room, in comas, as their loved ones spoke to them.

Steve stood with Nadia and Hailey, looking at the girl he loved and aspired to be with, and his sister that he adored and always took care of, with utter pain, just longing for them to wake up. "It's only been a day, but everyone left a lot of gifts and flowers. For you three and Ruby, Max and Billy. If you keep letting these go to waste, I'm gonna have to take them. I'm kidding. They'll be here when you wake up. We'll all be here when you wake up. Nadia, Hailey, they need you. They need Niko and Ruby. And Max and even fucking Billy after what he tried to do for us... sacrificing himself for them and tried for the rest of us... again. Dustin, Will, Mike, Lucas, Eleven, Nancy, Robin, Jonathan, Hopper... they all need you guys. Natasha needs you. Your uncle Nadyr if he really does come back with them. He needs you too. Just like everyone else. And so do I." He took Nadia's hand, kissing Hailey's head, crying. "Come on. We promised each other that you both would be okay. You promised. I promised."

Dustin was sitting next to Hailey, in tears. "Oh, come on, Hailey. You have to come back to us. There's no way we're getting through this without you. Okay, we're all falling apart without you, and Nadia, Niko and Ruby. And Max. Nobody can hardly believe what Billy did for us... again. And I know what you're thinking. Even in a damn coma, I know what you're thinking, and I know that you're thinking that this is all your fault. Because of what Vecna, Mirage and Dark Hailey did, using you to almost end the world. But maybe you can wake up so I can tell you that it's not your fault. And maybe I can cheer you up in the way only I can. And you can cheer me up in the way only you can. We're hopeless without you guys, Hailey. And the party needs you. I need you. Hail, you have to wake up. I can't lose you too."

Will was holding Niko's hand. "Niko. I know you're hurting right now. Everyone is hurting so much right now, and I know that you, Nadia, Hailey and Ruby are at the top of the list, with Max and Billy. But I want you to listen, focus for me. You promised that you would be okay. That you wouldn't get yourself killed. Okay, and I already lost you more than once. I lost you when I got taken to the Upside Down. And I lost you when we both had to leave Hawkins. I almost lost you again in Corinth. And I will be damned if I lose you now. So please, Niko. You have to wake up. All of you do. You promised me that I wouldn't lose you again."

Niko still had his eyes closed. "And I keep my promises."

Steve, Dustin and Will looked at Niko in shock, looking over at Nadia and Hailey, who were both starting to stir as well, the three boys holding their loves by the hands, looking at them in shock and relief, as Steve reached over to take Hailey's free hand with his own.

"Oh, my God," Dustin said.

Everyone was in shock that they were awake, laughing or crying in relief.

Nadia, Hailey and Niko opened their eyes weakly, breathing heavily.

"Didn't think you could get rid of us that easily, did you?" Nadia asked.

They chuckled hysterically.

"What'd we miss?" Hailey asked.

They all looked at them sadly.

∰

Ruby, Max and Billy's Room

Ruby, Max and Billy were clearly a lot worse off than the others, broken and unable to wake, blinded.

Ruby was the only one out of the three off them that could have a better chance at waking up, but even her odds didn't look good, especially with the news of what the damage of the battle did to her body permanently.

Lucas was sitting by Max's side, looking at Ruby worriedly, glancing over at Billy numbly.

Erica was sitting with Lucas comfortingly, there for her big brother.

Steve, Dustin and Will led the newly awakened Nadia, Niko and Hailey into the room carefully.

Lucas and Erica looked at Nadia, Niko and Hailey in relief, standing instantly, walking closer to embrace them.

"Niko," Lucas said in relief. "Hailey."

Niko and Hailey instantly returned embraces from Lucas and Erica on instinct.

Once Lucas and Niko pulled away, Lucas turned to Hailey so they could embrace tightly in relief.

Nadia held her arms around Lucas and Erica protectively. "They're gonna be okay. We woke up. So will they."

"I don't know, Nadia," Lucas admitted. "It was so much worse for Ruby, Max and Billy."

"The doctors said that Ruby has a better chance of waking up," Erica explained. "But it's not much better than Max and Billy. And either way, their eyes... their bodies..."

"Ruby's spine is shattered," Will explained. "Even if she wakes up, she'll be half-blind and paralyzed. If she does at all. And Max and Billy..."

"They wouldn't be any better than her," Steve finished.

Lucas looked down, causing Steve to rub his arm reassuringly, hoping for the best.

Hailey closed her eyes worriedly. "Oh, my God."

Nadia and Niko looked sick with worry for their friends, horrified that this happened to them.

Niko looked at them, shaking his head. "No. As soon as I get enough power back, I'm going to start healing Ruby and help her. Maybe it can't fix everything, but I'm not letting her die. And Max and Billy were both crushed by psionic energy when Vecna and Mirage did this to them, so..."

"You can heal Ruby, but you might be able to for Max and Billy too," Dustin finished.

"Let's just hope," Nadia told them. "I promised that this wouldn't happen, and it did. I'm so sorry."

Lucas shook his head. "It's not your fault."

Hailey was gazing off. "Vecna did it. He paralyzed Ruby. After all this time, he finally paralyzed her like he tried to do when she was eight." The others looked down sadly. "And Max and Billy..."

Hailey shook her head, not wanting to think and fear the worst.

While there was nothing going on in Max and Billy's heads except for darkness, Ruby was having nightmares about after the crash that killed her parents and almost killed her.

∰

Ruby's Nightmare / Flashback

Night - Hospital - Young Ruby's Room

Young Ruby was lying, half-broken in the hospital bed, black and blue all over, switches covering all of her body. When she was told that her parents were dead, she was close to crying but trying to shut it all out, not wanting to feel anything. When they told her that she had to go into foster care, she wanted to scream and fight back, but knew that she didn't have a choice, and not knowing that things would only get a lot worse for Ruby.

∰

Now

Day - Hawkins Hospital - Hallway

Eleven, Mike, Nancy, Jonathan, Calliope and Robin were all in the waiting room waiting for news about Nadia, Hailey, Niko, Ruby, Max and Billy, and especially there for Steve, Dustin, Will and Lucas given what they must be going through, while Erica was still with Lucas.

Jonathan and Calliope were talking to themselves.

"Well, we did get through this, so..." Jonathan trailed off. "This could be a good place for you, Calliope."

"Yeah," Calliope said. "Maybe. All I wanted to do was help you guys kill the son of a bitch that killed my brother."

"Yeah," Jonathan whispered. He took out Calliope's necklace, holding it out to her. "I kept this safe for you. Just like you asked."

Calliope took the necklace back, sadly and numbly. "Thank you, Jonathan."

Jonathan nodded, sniffling. "I'm glad you're okay. That you made it. If that's okay to say."

Calliope managed a small smile, sniffling. "Yeah. Never thought that I would say this, but... Me too."

Jonathan smiled. "I think this place could be good for you, even if you didn't think so at first."

Calliope shrugged. "Yeah. Maybe you're right. Besides, I don't really have anywhere else to go."

Jonathan gave her a sympathetic look. "At least here, you know that you wouldn't be alone. We're all damaged kids with special skills. Even those of us without powers."

Calliope smirked slightly. "Guess that's true. And some of you could definitely use some more tutoring in fighting so you guys don't get your asses kicked all over again. I'm assuming that Nadia, Niko, Steve and Hailey don't have time to teach all of you, especially since they're weakened and Ruby and Billy are out of commission. You guys need all the help you can get."

Jonathan nodded sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Oh, ha ha."

They both managed small smiles.

Eleven, Mike, Nancy, Jonathan, Calliope and Robin all looked up when they saw Nadia, Hailey, Niko, Steve, Dustin, Will, Lucas and Erica walked into the waiting room, standing in surprise and relief.

Instantly, Eleven went to embrace Nadia, Hailey and Niko, who all returned the embrace, with Nadia holding Eleven, Hailey and Niko protectively. Steve watched them with sadness but relief, patting Niko and Hailey on the shoulders, nodding to Eleven, who nodded in return.

Once they pulled away, Nancy instantly embraced her best friend. "Nadia."

Nadia returned the embrace. "Hey, Nancy." Jonathan and Robin both embraced with her once Nancy pulled away, one after another. "Jonathan. Robin."

"I'm so glad you're okay," Jonathan told her. "All of you."

Nadia nodded in agreement.

Eleven, Mike, Hailey, Niko, Dustin, Will and Lucas embraced tightly, so worried for their missing party member Max, crazy aunt Ruby and former psycho uncle Billy, but relieved that Hailey and Niko were back.

Everyone looked at each other sadly in concern, hoping for the best.

∰

Day Three

Morning - Town Line

Several cars, packed up with belongings, were driving out of town and not looking back.

Argyle drove his pizza van into Hawkins, looking around the destruction that was caused throughout the entire town.

Smoke was rising into the air, remnants of the damage two nights before.

Helicopters were out flying around over town.

As Argyle drove through town, he saw many more people packing to leave, and disaster relief stations set up all over town, the busiest one being at the high school, along with seeing all the destroyed buildings and streets, military soldiers directing traffic, etc. As he drove past the church as people were going in, he saw a sign that was written in red "DO NOT BE OVERCOME BY EVIL BUT OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOD".

Reporter: (voice over) "It's been less than 48 hours since a 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocked the quaint town of Hawkins, 80 miles outside of Indianapolis, in an event that seismologists are calling 'a natural disaster of near-unprecedented scale'. The death toll now stands at 24. But with hundreds more filing Roane County hospitals and many more still missing, officials expect those numbers to rise. This is only the latest tragedy to befall this once-safe town. Most recently, a string of high school students and an asylum escapee were killed in a series of ritualistic murders, which have been linked to a local satanic cult known as 'Hellfire'."

∰

Wheeler House - Living Room

Ted was sitting and watching the news.

Holly was sitting nearby, playing with her Lite Brite.

Reporter: (on TV) "Eddie Munson, the leader of this cult, and prime suspect in the murders, has been missing since the earthquake and is presumed dead. Ruby Charlize and Billy Hargrove, other suspects in the murders and friends of the latter, have been reported nearly dead and in comas from the damage the earthquake caused. Ruby's home and bar, the Alibi, has also been destroyed in the chaos, along with everyone inside. But this offers little comfort to the people of Hawkins, who are scared, angry, and searching for answers. Why their town? What have they done to deserve so much suffering? A growing chorus believes the two recent tragedies are linked, claiming the murders opened a doorway between worlds. A doorway, they say, into hell itself."

Ted changed the channel, looking into the kitchen toward Karen. "Are you hearing this? They're now calling it a doorway into hell."

Karen carried a box into the room. "Great. More hysteria. Just what we need."

"Well, it's the news," Ted pointed out. "Now indistinguishable from the tabloids."

∰

Outside

Nancy, Mike, Jonathan, Calliope and Eleven were standing outside, helping with cleaning up the damage on the Wheeler house and sorting things out for giving away to the disaster relief shelters.

Karen walked outside with the box. "Hey, Nance! I found some more of your old stuff in the attic."

Nancy walked closer, looking into the box, gasping, picking up a stuffed animal rabbit. "Mr. Rabbit."

Karen smiled. "It's okay if you wanna save him, you know."

Nancy shook her head, putting the rabbit back, taking the box from Karen. "No, he'll be more loved in a new home."

Nancy carried the box over to the car.

Karen, hearing squealing tired, turned her head to look at who was driving. "Someone order a pizza?"

"Pizza?" Mike repeated.

Nancy, Mike, Jonathan, Calliope and Eleven followed Karen's gaze.

Argyle drove his van closer, honking his horn in a song. He pulled over, getting out of the van.

Mike, Jonathan and Eleven smiled.

Calliope couldn't help but smirk.

Argyle walked closer, and instantly Mike and Jonathan hugged it out with him.

Calliope waved. "Argyle."

"Yo, what up, amigos?" Argyle asked, laughing.

Karen walked up to Mike. "By the way, I forgot to tell you. You are never going on vacation again. In fact, you can forget about college. You are staying right here."

Karen and Mike embraced.

Mike's radio went off, causing him to pull away. "Sorry, Mom, I gotta take this. I might be news from the hospital."

Dustin's voice was on the radio. "Mike, do you copy?"

"Yeah, I copy," Mike answered. Nancy, Jonathan, Calliope, Eleven and Argyle glanced over, while Karen watched intensely. "Any news?"

"Ruby's starting to wake up," Dustin answered.

Mike, Nancy, Jonathan, Calliope and Eleven exchanged an intense look of relief.

Karen tilted her head in thought.

∰

Hawkins Hospital - Ruby, Max and Billy's Room

Max's drawing of her and Lucas at the movies was pinned to the wall next to her bed.

Niko was sitting at Ruby's bedside, holding her hand, his hands and eyes glowing as he was using his telepathic healing on Ruby enough so that she could slowly start to wake, the energy passing from Niko into Ruby, igniting a golden glow in her hands, but nothing else.

Ruby was just now waking up, barely able to think, coming to slowly.

Lucas, Erica, Nadia, Niko, Hailey, Steve, Dustin and Will were already here.

Lucas was sitting beside Max, reading a book, hoping that this could help Ruby wake up completely and ease her mind, while trying to get Max and even Billy to hear him and try to wake them up. "'He opened his eyes, and further words died in his throat. He forgot about the need to sick up that horrible parody of wine. He forgot about his mother, and Uncle Morgan, and his father, and almost everything else. Speedy was gone. The graceful arcs of the roller coaster against the sky were gone. He could feel the hair stirring on the nape of his neck, could feel a goofed-up grin pulling at the corners of his mouth.'" To their surprise, Lucas' reading was helping pull Ruby further into consciousness as she was closer to waking up completely, much to their relief. Nadia sat next to Ruby, holding her free hand, while Niko was still holding her other to heal her, nodding to Lucas for him to keep going. Lucas nodded in agreement. "'Speedy! I'm here, my God! I'm here in the territories!'"

Ruby slowly opened her eyes, gasping softly.

Nadia, Niko, Hailey, Steve, Dustin, Will, Lucas and Erica all looked at her in surprise and relief, but worry knowing that just because she woke up did not mean that her suffering was over, as it was long from.

"Ruby?" Nadia asked softly.

"Nadia?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, it's me," Nadia answered.

"Niko and Hailey?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, we're here, Ruby," Niko answered. "Steve, Dustin, Will, Lucas and Erica too. The others are coming."

"The others?" Ruby whispered.

Hailey nodded. "Mike, El, Nancy, Jonathan, Calliope and Robin."

As if on cue, Mike, Eleven, Nancy, Jonathan, Calliope and Robin walked in, all looking at Ruby in shock and relief, worry.

"Ruby?" Mike and Nancy whispered.

"Oh, my God," Eleven said.

"Are you..." Jonathan trailed off.

Ruby managed a broken chuckle. "I'm alive." The others were pained by the sound, as they knew it was a pathetic attempt at trying to make sure they weren't worrying about her, to pretend she was okay like she always did. "Max? Billy?"

"They're not awake," Steve told her softly. "But they're in here, with you. This is your room with them."

"How are you feeling?" Robin asked worriedly.

Ruby moved her head as if to look around; she was devastated but unsurprised by the fact that she was still missing her sight, as the color of her eyes were faded. "I can't see anything. I can't feel anything." The others looked at her sadly, none of them surprised. "I can't move. Why can't I move?"

Will hesitated. "During the fight... Vecna... after what he did to you... he didn't just break your limbs, Ruby."

"He fractured your spine," Dustin finished somberly, sadly.

"The doctors... said that you're paraplegic," Erica stated.

Ruby was not surprised but crushed by the news. "He did it. He finally fucking did it."

"Yeah, but Niko's going to keep healing you, Ruby," Calliope told her. "He's going to see if that can make a difference."

"I'm not gonna hold my breath," Ruby whispered, absolutely defeated. The others were heartbroken but understanding of the defeat in her statement. "Max and Billy. Do they know when they're going to wake up? Tell me."

"No," Steve answered.

Niko looked down sadly. "They say they might not."

Ruby started crying from the words.

Hailey took Ruby's hand to try and comfort her, but realized that Ruby couldn't feel that or see it, so it would do nothing to reassure her. "But they said the same thing about you, me, Nadia and Niko. Okay? But we woke up, Ruby. All of us did. They can too."

Nadia nodded in agreement. "And they will. I swear to you, they will."

"How?" Ruby asked, her voice breaking.

"Niko's starting to heal them too," Eleven answered. "We think that can help, but we need to find them in their minds. I went into the Void but I couldn't see them, and Nadia couldn't feel their emotions, and Hailey can't see their dreams."

"But that doesn't mean that we can't find them and bring them back, just like you guys did," Mike told her. "Don't give up, Ruby."

Lucas knew how hard it was for Ruby to keep hope after what happened. "Their hearts stopped for over a minute. They died. I--I mean, clinically, but then they came back. El... thinks she did it, by restarting their hearts."

"Which means there's a chance," Erica pointed out.

Ruby took this all in but didn't feel more assured. "What happens... when I leave here?"

"The Alibi and your loft were destroyed by Sullivan's men and the earthquake," Dustin explained.

"But Nadia and Niko want to take you home with them, Ruby," Jonathan stated. "Their grandmother Sabina had a boarding house in town, and they're going to stay there."

Will nodded. "El, Jonathan and I've been staying with them since getting back to town. Calliope, too."

"There's more than enough room for you, too, and they can help you with everything you need," Nancy told her softly. "You'll be okay."

"And so will they," Robin assured. Ruby didn't know if she could believe that. "You're not alone in this, Ruby."

"You don't have to be alone ever again," Nadia agreed.

Ruby swallowed. "Thank you. For coming."

They all nodded sadly.

"We'll let you get some rest, okay?" Calliope asked.

"Yeah," Ruby whispered.

Lucas and Erica stayed with Ruby, Max and Billy, but everyone else started to leave reluctantly, knowing that.

∰

Outside

Everyone was leaving and heading separate ways.

Steve took Nadia by the arm, leading her to the side a bit. "Nadia, hey."

"Hey," Nadia replied.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked.

Nadia nodded. "I will be. I promise. I'm just worried about everyone else."

"I am too," Steve agreed. "But I'm worried about you too."

Nadia took Steve by the hands. "And I'm telling you that I am fine."

Nadia leaned her head against Steve's, both of them closing their eyes and just processing the fact that they were here, together, trying to take a little moment of contentment out of all the pain and darkness.

"You scared the hell out of me," Steve told her.

"I know," Nadia agreed. "I'm sorry."

"You, Hailey, Niko, El, Jonathan, Will, Mike and Nancy gonna fix up the boarding house?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," Nadia answered. "As much as we can to get ready for..."

"When Ruby comes home with a wheelchair," Steve finished.

Nadia nodded sadly. "Yeah."

"Okay, you do that," Steve told her. "At least the boarding house's out of town enough to where you, Niko and El will be safer. Ruby too."

"And you and Hailey promised to come to the boarding house too in case Sullivan and his men come back, or people like them," Nadia reminded him.

Steve nodded in agreement. "Oh, trust me, I'm not taking chances after what happened before, and neither is Hailey. But I'mgoing with Dustin and Robin to the disaster relief shelter at school to see if we can help, and she says that she'll meet us there after helping you guys at the boarding house. Hailey needs this after what happened. Like it would set her mind and guilt at ease, but..."

"I get it," Nadia assured. "You guys go. We'll be okay."

Steve nodded, leaning his head against Nadia's once again, wrapping his arms around her. Nadia returned the embrace.

"I love you," Steve whispered.

Nadia pulled back, meeting Steve's gaze, managing a small smile. "I love you too."

Steve and Nadia shared a soft, sweet, tender but passionate kiss.

∰

Hawkins High School - Outside

Steve, Dustin and Robin arrived at the high school to help with the disaster relief shelter, carrying boxes with them inside.

∰

Inside - Gym

Steve, Dustin and Robin walked through the disaster relief shelter, carrying boxes up to the disaster donations, putting the boxes down on the table.

"Hi," Robin greeted. "Uh, so these are blankets and sheets. And some--some clothes and--and some kids' toys."

The lady there looked through the boxes. "Wow. It's already so organized. We appreciate that. Do you want a tax receipt for it?"

"Um, no," Robin answered. "I don't think we need one. Thank you, though. Is there anything else that we can do to help?"

The lady nodded in agreement.

Moments later, another woman led Steve up to clothes donated for the disaster relief. "Then we sort by age. We've got infants, girls, boys, men, women... Oh, if anything is in too bad shape, we really don't want that."

At a nearby table, Robin was starting to make PB&Js.

Calliope walked out of the kitchen to bring more, having already arrived to do disaster relief. "I found another jar of peanut butter, and it's crunchy..." Robin spun around at the sound of her voice, looking at Calliope nervously, thinking about their intense adventures two days before. Calliope was not surprised she was here. "Robin."

"Calliope," Robin replied, insanely nervous. "Hi. What are you doing here?"

Calliope held up the peanut butter, making her way to the table next to Robin. "Making PB&J.s."

Robin nodded, rambling a bit. "Right, yeah, no, duh. Of course. Uh, I--I am also making PB&Js, as it so happens."

Robin chuckled.

Calliope nodded, starting to make the sandwiches. "Cool."

Robin let a moment of silence pass before finding the courage to speak up. "Hey, uh, I--I'm sorry if that came out weird. 'What are you doing here?' I didn't mean it like, 'what are you doing here?' I just meant, 'Oh, what are you doing here?' Like, 'nice surprise. Great to see you'. Uh..."

Calliope raised an eyebrow at Robin. "Yeah, I didn't take it as anything negative."

Robin sighed in relief. "Okay, good. Good. No, I-I-I... I'm sorry. My brain's been a little frazzled lately, 'cause..."

"Of everything," Calliope finished.

"Yeah," Robin agreed. "You were right. About us not winning this one."

"We didn't completely lose either," Calliope pointed out. "If we had, everything would have been so much worse, for everyone."

Robin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know. It's just... people are out there suffering. Our friends are suffering. Well, my friends, since I didn't think that you would actually stay in town after all of this, but..."

"Jonathan convinced me to stay," Calliope admitted. "And it's not like I have any other place to go, and if I can't do anything about Apollo, I sure as hell can do something to help, so..."

"Right," Robin said. "Sorry. And I just made a peanut butter on peanut butter monstrosity." Calliope managed to chuckle. "Uh..." Calliope picked up a jar of jelly, moving it to put it in front of Robin. Robin looked up at Calliope, their eyes meeting, as the two managed small smiles. Calliope turned to make more sandwiches. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Um, it's like sometimes my mouth is moving faster than my brain, and it's like this runaway train, and I cannot seem to get it to stop, no matter how hard I try. You know what I mean?"

"I wouldn't know what it feels like, but yes, I think I know what you mean," Calliope answered.

Robin smiled in relief, before moving one of her peanut butter breads over to Calliope. "It's a gift."

"Oh, for me?" Calliope asked sarcastically.

Robin smiled. "You're welcome. Mm-hmm."

"Oh, you really shouldn't have," Calliope remarked.

Robin grinned. "Oh, but I did. But I did."

Calliope shook her head. "I just don't even deserve it. I mean, thank you."

Robin laughed. "Think of it as an early birthday present."

"Oh, oh, wow," Calliope chuckled.

Steve was watching Robin and Calliope from where he was sorting clothes, smiling knowingly, proud of Robin for talking to someone that she clearly liked a lot especially after the last couple of days, and seeing that Calliope possibly liked Robin just as much, even if she wasn't as obvious about it.

∰

Sabina's Boarding House - Outside

Nadia, Niko and Hailey were spearheading cleaning up the boarding house from the years of abandonment and adding alterations to the boarding house with ramps and other accessibility needs for Ruby when she was able to leave the hospital.

Eleven, Will, Jonathan, Mike and Nancy were helping as much as they could.

Jonathan and Nancy were setting up a ramp to the front door, holding it steady.

"All right, that's good," Jonathan told her. "Hold it right there."

Nancy held the ramp in place while Jonathan nailed it down.

Nancy looked around. "This place is actually really nice."

"Yeah, it is," Jonathan agreed. "Not much to fix up. And it's away from town, so El, Nadia and Niko are safe here. Hailey and Steve say that they'll be here if they need to hide out from people like Sullivan, which is looking more than likely, and at least when Ruby gets out of the hospital, she'll be okay here too."

"Right, yeah," Nancy agreed. "And Calliope is staying with you guys too. Is she staying in town?"

"Yeah, looks like it," Jonathan answered. "I know what you're thinking, and it's not like that, Nancy. Calliope's not into guys like that."

Nancy frowned, but was reassured, nodding. "Okay. I didn't think that you two were like that. But thank you, Jonathan." She looked away, noticing Argyle in the garden outside of the boarding house, picking mushrooms. "What... is he doing?"

"Looks like he's gathering mushrooms," Jonathan answered. "He's a little on the eccentric side."

Nancy raised her eyebrows with a slight smile. "Welcome to the club, right?"

Jonathan smiled slightly. "Yeah, welcome to the cub."

Nancy nailed down the other side of the ramp, looking up in concern. "Do you think that's enough to help Ruby with living here?"

"I don't know," Jonthan admitted. "But we'll figure it out. We all know that she won't be happy with having to be taken care of."

Nancy raised her eyebrows. "Understatement."

"But we want to," Jonathan finished.

Nancy nodded in agreement. "Hey, Jonathan?"

"Yeah?" Jonathan asked.

"I'm glad that you were with Mike, and Will, Niko and El," Nancy told him. "And that you and Calliope became friends."

Jonathan nodded. "And I'm glad you were here too. I'm sure you helped a lot with Nadia, Hailey, Ruby, Max, Billy, Lucas, Erica, Dustin, Robin and Steve."

"Yeah, as much as I could," Nancy answered.

Jonathan looked at her curiously. "Hey."

"Yeah?" Nancy asked.

"Are we okay?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah," Nancy answered. "Yeah, totally. Yeah, it--it's just... you know, it's hard. I feel like life keeps throwing things in the way of our big plans."

Jonathan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sure seems like that."

Nancy glanced around. "You think it's too late to throw 'saving the world' on your college resume?" They smiled slightly. "Your... your application letter... Not that it matters at all anymore, but... did it ever come?"

Jonathan thought back to the advice Calliope had given him about his conflict with college and his family and Nancy and all, tilting his head. "Um, can we actually talk about that later? When all this isn't going on?"

Nancy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, of course."

∰

Inside - Living Room

After Eleven was done, she walked into the room where she was staying, using her power to close the door, but left it open three inches.

Nadia, Hailey and Mike all saw this, while working on the house.

"Did she... talk to you at all?" Hailey asked.

Mike shook his head. "Not much. I mean, a little bit." He sighed. "Sabina. Before Corinth went down, she had doubts that we would be ready. And now she's thinking that she was right."

Nadia tilted her head. "We might not have been able to stop everything, but Mirage is dead, Mike. If El and Niko hadn't come back, if you, Will, Jonathan and Calliope hadn't come, then me, Hailey and Ruby would likely be dead, Max and Billy would've died for real, and then everything else would've been destroyed."

"I know," Mike agreed. "It's just, um... she's never lost before. Not like this."

Nadia sighed heavily. "Yeah. We all have these losses. We just have to hope that it doesn't get as bad as it did. But be grateful that it wasn't worse."

Hailey and Mike nodded in agreement, sadly.

"I can't believe it got as bad as it did," Hailey admitted. "I can't imagine what we would be going through if it had been worse."

Nadia wrapped her arm around her. "Either way, it still wouldn't be your fault."

"She's right, Hailey," Mike agreed.

Hailey leaned her head on Nadia's shoulder with a sigh. "I know. It doesn't make it any easier, though."

Nadia stroked Hailey's hair. "I know."

∰

Hallway

Will and Niko were making more accessibility points for Ruby.

"Who knew that after everything, this would be what we'd be doing after the battle's won?" Niko asked. "Or, well, half-won. We still lost more than we did win."

Will looked at Niko in concern. "But we'll finish it next time, Niko." Niko nodded. "Are you okay? Everything with Mikhail and Sabina in Corinth, and now here after everything. You, Nadia, Hailey, Ruby, Max and Billy in comas. Two of which who may never wake up. And one so broken that she needs all of this in order to survive."

"Yeah," Niko agreed sadly. "It's a lot. I'll admit that. But I'm more pissed off than anything, Will. You know that." Will nodded, putting his arm around Niko from behind, leaning his chin on Niko's shoulder. Niko looked at Will with a slight smile. "I know we kissed on the rooftop. When Corinth was falling. And again on the way to battle. Does this mean we're finally back together?"

"What else would it mean?" Will replied, causing them both to smile. "Just so long as we don't get torn apart again."

Niko turned to face Will, wrapping his arms around him. "Never again. Not even Vecna, or Mirage, who I hope burns in hell after we finally killed his ass for good this time." Will wrapped his arms around Niko in return as they looked each other in the eye. "We could live a thousand years, and nobody could tear us apart again."

"Promise?" Will asked.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Niko answered.

"Could have used another promise besides that, because you almost did," Will replied. "And I don't want that to ever happen again."

Niko kissed Will's forehead and cheek. "It won't. I promise."

Will cupped the back of Niko's head as they kissed passionately, breaking away just to lean their foreheads together, eyes closed, relishing being in each other's arms.

"Do you think that you can help heal Ruby enough that she'll be able to walk and see again?" Will asked.

"I don't know," Niko admitted. "I hope so. But even if I can, this might take years for me to fix, Will. And same with Max and Billy, whether or not we can get them to wake up." Will nodded in agreement. "God. I feel so bad for Ruby."

"Me too," Will agreed. "Mirage is dead. I know that. I can feel that." Niko nodded. "But Vecna's not." Niko looked at Will. Will's voice was wavering. "Like I said. Now that I'm back in Hawkins, I can feel him. And he's hurt. He's hurting. But he's still alive. It's strange, knowing now who it was this whole time, but... I can still remember what he thinks, and how he thinks. And he's not going to stop. Ever. Not until he's taken everything. And everyone. We have to kill him."

Niko cupped Will's cheeks so that their eyes would meet, nodding. "And we will. We will."

Will nodded, reassured.

∰

Living Room

Niko and Will returned to the living room where Nadia, Hailey and Mike were, when the four of them heard a car pulling up from outside, walking toward the front door, looking outside, nervous and on edge given that they were on the down low to stay off the radar of the military.

∰

Outside

Nancy and Jonathan tensed nervously as they watched a black government car pull up to the boarding house, worried.

"Government," Jonathan said.

Nancy and Jonathan looked at each other worriedly.

∰

Inside - Living Room

(Song:) Deep - Peter Sandberg

Nadia, Niko, Hailey, Mike and Will backed away from the front door in case they needed to fight if necessary.

When the door opened, they tensed, as Natasha and Nadyr walked in.

Nadia and Niko both gasped softly in emotional relief, tears immediately coming to their eyes after they saw their mother and uncle that they both thought had been dead.

"Mama," Nadia whispered. "Uncle Nadyr."

Nadyr smiled. "Well, there's my favorite niece and nephew."

"I think you mean your only niece and nephew," Niko replied.

Natasha walked toward Nadia and Niko, looking at her children with tears in her eyes. "Nadia. Nikolai..."

Nadia and Niko both looked on the verge of tears as they instantly wrapped their arms around Natasha, holding her for dear life.

"We missed you, Mama," Niko told her, his voice sounding small and innocent, like the children they both had been desperately longing for their mother. "We never stopped looking for you. Or Hopper. We did everything we could to find you."

Natasha held them close to her, as the three of them cried in relief. "I know, Niko. I missed both of you too. And I'm so proud of both of you. I'm back." She stroked both of Nadia and Niko's hair, wiping their tears, knowing that they needed every reassurance that it was okay, and that they were together again. "I'm back. We're back."

Nadyr wrapped his arms around Natasha, Nadia and Niko, closing his eyes in relieved, repressed emotion.

Once they pulled away, Nadia pushed Nadyr emotionally in the chest. "How could you?"

Nadyr stepped back. "Whoa. Of course you would be like Natasha and want to kick my ass after ten years, Nadia."

Nadia pushed Nadyr again, overwhelmed with relief but frustration and happiness, the tornado of emotions completely enveloping her. "You let us think you were dead. You went back there because of me. I..."

Nadyr took Nadia by the hands, calming her down. "Shh. It's okay. It's okay." Natasha and Niko watched with a slight smirk, smiling emotionally. "I was protecting you."

"Protecting us?" Nadia repeated, giving Nadyr another push. "You were protecting us? We don't need your protection, Nadyr. We needed you. Our family."

Nadyr put his arms up to calm her down. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You're okay. We're all okay." Nadia broke down into tears as she wrapped her arms around Nadyr tightly, not wanting to fight, just happy to have Nadyr back no matter the frustration she felt with her uncle. Nadyr smiled, returning the embrace just as tightly. "Oh, Nadia. Ever the loving niece that'll kill for her family and kill her family with tight embraces once they return from the dead." Nadia took the hint, pulling away, smiling, giving a hysterical laugh. Nadyr put a hand on her cheek, smiling fondly, wiping away a tear on her cheek. "I missed you, too, niece." Niko walked closer. "Hello, Niko."

Niko looked at Nadyr emotionally in relief, smiling. "You're back. You're really back."

"I'm really back," Nadyr agreed.

Niko laughed hysterically, nearly tackling Nadyr with an embrace, making Nadyr laugh as he held his nephew tightly in return.

Natasha smiled emotionally, happily at seeing them like this, embracing her family, as they held each other tightly, tears in their eyes, starting to cry from happiness from finally reuniting after everything that had happened to all of them, the happiest they had been in what felt like forever.

Hailey, Will and Mike watched this with happy smiles for the family.

Hailey was overwhelmed with relief to see Natasha okay, since the last time that she saw her was when they thought Natasha and Hopper die.

Hopper walked in. "Hey, Nadia. Niko."

Nadia and Niko looked at Hopper, smiling emotionally, giving Hopper a hug, much to his surprise but happiness as he returned the embrace.

"Thank you for your message, and keeping us safe from Mikhail," Nadia told him. "Or trying to anyway. It means everything, Hopper."

Hopper nodded in agreement. "Of course."

Natasha walked toward Hailey, knowing how badly she must have been feeling. "Hi, Hailey."

Hailey looked like she could break down and cry. "Natasha."

Natasha wrapped her arms around Hailey, holding her close. "It's okay, it's okay, sweetheart. You're okay."

"Are you?" Hailey asked.

"I am now," Natasha answered. "Back home with my family. Including you."

Hailey couldn't help but smile at the words, which was Natasha's goal.

As they pulled away, Natasha cupped Hailey's cheeks and wiped her tears.

Hailey took a shaky breath. "I kept thinking about what you told me. The night I turned. Even when you were gone, you helped me. With control. With power."

"I'm glad," Natasha whispered. "It's all right."

Hailey sniffled. "I'm just glad you're here."

Natasha nodded. "I'm here. We're all here." She noticed the two boys nearby. "Will. Mike."

Will and Mike smiled. "Hi, Natasha."

Hailey waved to Hopper. "Hopper."

"Hailey," Hopper replied.

Apollo walked in. "Hiya, guys."

Nadia, Niko, Hailey, Will and Mike frowned in confusion.

"Who's that?" Niko asked.

Nadyr scratched his head. "Uh, speaking of twists and turns in family trees and 'dead' family members coming back to life. This is Apollo."

Nadia, Niko, Hailey, Will and Mike looked at them in shock.

"Apollo?" Nadia repeated. "Calliope's brother?"

Apollo waved. "Yep. What's up? Speaking of, where is Calliope?"

"And where's El?" Hopper added.

Nadia, Niko, Hailey, Will and Mike were still processing about Apollo, as they pointed toward Eleven's room to answer Hopper's question.

Hopper walked away.

∰

Eleven's Room

Eleven was sitting on the bed, tears in her eyes, mourning the loss of the battle, and the state that Ruby, Max and Billy were in, blaming herself so much for their states.

But she heard the chatter from the living room, standing, cautious.

Hopper walked into the room. "Hey, kid."

Eleven let out an emotional gasp, utterly relieved to see her dad, chuckling as she started to cry, her voice cracking. "Hi." Hopper walked closer, and Eleven instantly embraced him. Hopper held her close and comfortingly, kissing her head. "I kept it open. I kept the door open three inches."

"I know," Hopper agreed.

They pulled away to look at each other.

Eleven shook her head. "I never stopped believing."

Hopper chuckled, smiling fondly. "Oh, I know. It's okay. It's okay." Eleven sobbed. "It's okay. I'm here." Eleven nodded in agreement. "I'm here."

They sat down on Eleven's bed.

Hopper took off his hat, revealing his shaved head.

Eleven sniffled. "You look..."

"Not fat?" Hopper suggested.

Eleven laughed, reaching up to Hopper's head. "And your hair."

Hopper smiled with tears in his eyes. "My hair?" He touched Eleven's hair. "Look at yours. Longest it's ever been." Eleven smiled. Hopper cupped her head, kissing her forehead. "Yeah. I kinda stole your old look, kid."

Eleven smiled. "Yeah."

"Well, what do you think?" Hopper asked.

Eleven nodded with a grin. "Bitchin'." They laughed, embracing again, holding each other close. Eleven heard voices from outside, realizing, smiling. "Natasha too?"

They pulled away.

Hopper smiled, nodding. "Yeah, but Natasha's not the only person you know out there that's back from the dead."

Eleven frowned in confusion.

∰

Living Room

Hopper and Eleven walked out into the living room.

Joyce was hugging Will and Jonathan close, as neither brother could let go of their mother.

Natasha was still in an embrace with Nadia and Niko, who couldn't let their mother or uncle go either. Nadyr and Apollo smiled at them.

Natasha, Nadia and Niko embraced with Hailey, the four of them holding each other close as well.

Hopper placed a hand on Eleven's shoulder. "You're not the only one that didn't stop believing."

Eleven smiled emotionally, happy to see Natasha alive and reunited with her family, glancing at Nadyr and Apollo, shocked to see Apollo, walking closer. "Ten?"

Apollo smiled. "Hi, Eleven. You can call me by my real name, though."

Eleven gasped in shock. "Okay. Apollo." Apollo and Eleven embraced tightly, the two friends holding each other close, as they had been decently close in the program before everything that happened. The others smiled. "Oh, my God. Calliope. She's going to be so happy to see you."

Apollo smiled. "Well, I can't wait to meet her. I know Calliope never stopped looking for me. So I'm really excited."

"As you should be," Mike agreed. 

Natasha walked toward Eleven, smiling. "El."

Eleven gasped softly in relief to see her, wrapping her arms around Natasha instantly. "Hi, Natasha."

Natasha held Eleven close. "Hi, sweetheart. It's okay. We're home now. We're all home."

They pulled away, as Natasha wiped Eleven's tears, and they smiled at each other emotionally.

Natasha let Eleven go.

Eleven walked toward Joyce so they could embrace, pulling away, glancing from Joyce to Natasha and Hopper. "I'm happy you went to your... conference."

Joyce smiled. "That was quite the experience."

Eleven smiled.

Mike walked up to Hopper. "Hey."

Hopper nodded. "You've grown."

Mike nodded in agreement. "Yeah. You've shrunk."

Hopper chuckled, pulling Mike into an embrace, which he returned.

Everyone was happily chatting in reunion and meeting in Nadyr and Apollo's case with Eleven, Will, Mike, Jonathan and Nancy.

Nadyr placed his hands on Apollo's shoulders. "Okay. I think Apollo needs to go see Calliope now."

"Absolutely," Apollo agreed.

Natasha glanced around. "And where are the other kids? What happened to everyone? Ruby, Steve, Lucas, Dustin, the rest?"

The kids looked at each other sadly, prepared to have to tell them.

∰

Hawkins Hospital - Ruby, Max and Billy's Room

Lucas and Erica had left the room to get something to eat and drink for Ruby.

Ruby, left in her bed, broken and blind, was pleading with Max and Billy to wake, unable to see them, crying desperately. "You have to wake up. You can't die like this. Okay, this is not how you die. I want to blame Henry for this. I want to blame him for everything. But this? This is on me. He wanted to kill you... just to break me. You're in this mess because of me. And I can't lose you. So you need to come back. Okay? If you die, it's because of me, and I can't live with that, Billy. I can't live with that, Max. I can't live without you. Not like this. So you have to live. Please. We can't lose you."

Ruby closed her drained-colored eyes, focusing all of her power into scrying, using the sounds of their beeping heart monitors, including her own, to focus.

But when Ruby projected into the minds of Max and Billy, all she could see was never ending darkness. Her astral form was normal, as her astral form had no sign of the damage that was done to her actual body. She looked around the darkness with a gasp. "Max? Billy? Max. Billy. Billy! Max! Billy?! Max?!" She cried out desperately, holding her head in her hands as she cried. "Billy! Max!"

(Song Ends)

∰

Sabina's Boarding House - Living Room

Hailey, Apollo, Nadia, Niko, Natasha and Nadyr were talking alone now.

Natasha was stunned after the news of what happened. "Oh, my God. Poor Ruby, Max and Billy."

"Yeah," Hailey agreed sadly.

"Well, I think you kids made the right choice, setting this place up to take Ruby in once she can leave the hospital," Natasha told them. "We'll take care of her. We should head to see her soon." The kids nodded in agreement. "She's not alone in the hospital, is she? If Sullivan comes back..."

"Lucas and Erica are with Ruby, Max and Billy," Niko answered. "They'll radio us if anything happens."

"Okay," Nadyr agreed. "Good thinking."

"Yeah," Nadia agreed.

"I'm sorry about all that," Apollo told them. "I should go have my own kumbaya moment with Calliope, so see you losers."

"Wait, do you even know where the school is?" Natasha asked.

"And maybe some protection," Nadyr added. "Since you don't have your powers after taking that monster down."

"And a car," Niko added.

"Or somebody to drive you," Nadia added.

"I can drive, and protect," Hailey offered. "I'm heading to the school anyway, where Calliope is."

"Thanks for that, Hailey," Apollo told her.

"Yeah, well, Calliope's gone through enough thinking that you were dead, Apollo," Hailey told him. "Figured it's the least I can do."

Apollo nodded, holding up some car keys. "As for the car, I'm hoping whatever car these are for is the red one outside." He took out a dagger. "And I can manage without Hailey's protection."

Niko and Nadia's eyes widened as they patted themselves when they saw their items.

"Hey, those are my keys," Niko complained.

"And my dagger," Nadia added.

Natasha looked at Niko with a frown. "You have a car?"

Niko nodded, looking at Hailey and Apollo. "I just stole it, so watch it."

"Not anymore he doesn't," Apollo said, turning around. "Peace out, Ivanovs."

Hailey took the keys from Apollo. "Give me those. At least I can drive."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Harrington," Apollo replied.

"Hey, be careful," Nadyr called after them.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get attacked while we're gone," Hailey stated.

Natasha, Nadyr, Nadia and Niko spoke together. "No promises."

"Hey, Nadia, Niko, I can already tell you two are gonna have one thing in common," Apollo told them, turning toward them, but backing away with Hailey toward the front door.

"What?" Nadia and Niko asked.

"Being a pain in my ass," Apollo replied, giving them a smile, walking out the front door.

"Yeah, well, eat shit," Niko replied.

Nadia rolled her eyes. "Asshat."

Hailey smirked, spinning the keys around her hand. "We'll be back soon."

Hailey walked out of the house, closing the door behind her, leaving with Apollo.

Natasha shrugged. "So that went well."

"Is Apollo always like that?" Nadia asked.

Nadyr smirked. "He grows on you."

Niko pursed his lips. "He's a little shit, but..."

"I kinda like him," Nadia admitted.

Niko nodded in agreement. "Exactly."

Natasha, Nadyr, Nadia and Niko exchanged a look, starting to laugh, smiling.

Nadyr sat down on one of the couches, pouring himself a drink. "Now I know we have things to deal with, like Ruby and the hospital stuff."

Natasha sat down on the couch across from Nadyr. "But can we please talk before jumping to the next catastrophe?"

Niko nodded. "I think I could use the break."

Nadia sighed. "Besides, we have a hell of a lot to talk about."

Natasha tilted her head, giving Nadyr a look. "Don't we?"

Nadia and Niko noticed the look.

"What was that?" Nadia asked.

"What was what?" Nadyr asked.

"The look you two gave each other," Nadia answered. "You just gave a look."

Nadyr took a drink. "Did we?"

Niko's eyes glowed blue for a moment as he read their minds, gasping in shock. "Holy shit. He's your son."

Nadyr coughed on his drink. "What?"

Nadia's eyes widened. "Son? What son?"

Natasha looked at Niko in surprise. "Did you just read his mind?"

"Boundaries, nephew," Nadyr chided.

"It was an accident," Niko defended. "It just happened."

"Excuse me, what son?" Nadia repeated.

"Nadyr's son," Natasha answered.

"He is not," Nadyr started, but stopped since he knew that it was a lie.

"Who is not your son?" Nadia asked.

"Nobody," Nadyr said at the same time Niko said, "Apollo."

Nadyr threw his arm up, giving Niko a look. "Dude."

Niko put his hand to his mouth. "Shit, my bad."

Nadia processed this in shock. "Apollo is Nadyr's son. Holy shit."

Nadyr tilted his head, giving Natasha a look. "See what you caused?"

Natasha shrugged, taking Nadyr's glass, taking a drink. "Sometimes you just got to yank the Band-Aid right off."

Nadyr rolled his eyes, smirking.

Nadia and Niko were both still processing, not knowing what to say.

Nadia took a deep breath. "Nadyr?" Nadyr looked up. "Are you staying?"

Nadyr gave a small smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm staying. We're all together again. I'm not looking to mess that up. You have a family here. I want my family back. I'll figure things out with Apollo. But I want to be here with all of you."

Nadia, Niko, Natasha and Nadyr smiled emotionally.

Nadia and Niko both poured themselves a glass.

"What should we drink too, then?" Niko asked. "Your return from the so-called dead, or the fact Apollo's your son?"

"Both," Natasha answered, looking around sadly at the boarding house. "And Sabina. The reason why we're all still here."

Nadyr, Nadia and Niko nodded sadly in agreement, raising their glasses as they were all mourning her despite everything that happened. "To Sabina."

They clinked their glasses, drinking.

∰

Hawkins High School - Gym

Hailey and Apollo arrived at the disaster relief center.

Apollo was very nervous. "Oh, my God. It's finally happening. Me meeting Calliope. I don't know what to say."

"I don't think you have to say anything," Hailey admitted. "Just you being here will make everything better, you know."

Apollo chuckled lightly. "Thanks, Hailey."

Hailey patted Apollo on the shoulder, nodding, walking away, calling back over her shoulder. "Good luck."

"Don't need it," Apollo replied, walking away, searching the crowd, until he saw Calliope and Robin at the food drop table, walking closer nervously.

Calliope and Robin chuckled as they were still talking away.

"No, I'm serious," Robin said. Calliope looked away, her attention caught on Apollo as her voice drowned out in shock from seeing her brother who she had believed to be dead just before this. "Calliope?" Robin followed Calliope's shocked gaze to Apollo. "Who is that?"

Calliope was in shock and disbelief, but desperate for this to be real. "My brother."

Robin's eyes widened. "Apollo?"

Calliope nodded, walking away from the table, meeting Apollo halfway.

Apollo looked at Calliope nervously, managing a small smile. "Hi... Calliope."

"Apollo?" Calliope whispered. "Is it really you?"

Apollo smiled. "Yeah. It's me. I'm really here." Calliope touched Apollo's shoulder as if to make sure he was real, causing Apollo to chuckle. "Yeah, I'm here." Calliope instantly had tears in her eyes that were about to fall as she gasped softly in shock and relief. Apollo smiled in relief at her reaction as tears started to fill his eyes as well. "I'm not sure what else to say. Since we don't know each other."

Calliope shook her head. "You don't have to say anything. We'll get to know each other. I promise." Finally, after all these years of looking for him, Calliope was able to pull Apollo into her arms, holding her protectively in shock. "I'm just glad you're here." Apollo returned the embrace as they both started to cry. "But how? I thought you were dead. The Hawkins Lab massacre..."

They pulled away to look at each other.

"I did almost die there," Apollo admitted. "But I'm here. It doesn't matter here."

"I never once stopped looking for you," Calliope whispered.

"I know," Apollo agreed. "I saw you. My power. Even when you didn't know me, you loved me. And you did everything you could to find me. So I wanted more than anything to find my way back to you. Naui jamae. [My sister.]"

Calliope cupped Apollo's cheek, absolutely stunned and relieved, as Apollo leaned his head into her hold, their eyes meeting as tears fell down their cheeks. "Naui hyeongie. [My brother.]"

Apollo and Calliope embraced, holding each other close, not willing to let go, desperately needing this reunion after all they had been through to find each other, and after all they had been through and lost, their pain and sorrow starting to fade now that they had finally met and united, crying in absolute wonder and awe to be with each other finally after all these years.

Hailey, Steve, Dustin and Robin all watched this with a slight smile, relieved and happy for both of them.

Hailey looked around at all of the hurt and recovering people with intense, numbing guilt, blaming herself for this given that all of these people were hurt because of her powers, knowing that now, she really was a monster that was used to try and start the end of the world, wanting to do anything she could to make up for it.

Steve and Dustin looked at Hailey sadly, knowingly, each one taking her hand.

Hailey looked at them sadly, nodding. "I'm okay. I just want to help. I need to."

"Okay," Steve agreed.

"Then let's help," Dustin told her.

Dustin and Hailey started walking through the gym, handing out water to the injured people and the ones that were resting on beds and benches.

"H2O?" Hailey offered. "Vital for all forms of life."

Hailey felt such nerve-wracking guilt as she looked around.

Dustin noticed Wayne Munson at the 'missing' poster board in the gym, which was already full of people missing from town ever since the earthquake hit.

Wayne saw that Eddie's poster was graffitied with a satanic cult symbol, taking it down, replacing it with a clean poster for Eddie.

Dustin walked closer, limping because of his injured leg. "Mr. Munson?" Wayne glanced back at him. "I'm Dustin Henderson. Can we talk?"

Hailey watched Dustin and Wayne, but stayed away, knowing that Dustin needed to do this himself, still passing out water to the people of Hawkins.

Wayne turned toward Dustin. "I can't imagine we got anything to talk about. My nephew is innocent." Dustin nodded. "He's still missing. I'll put up as many posters as I need until he's found." Wayne grabbed his bag, walking past. "Good day to you."

"I was with him," Dustin admitted. Wayne stopped. Dustin turned to face him. "I was with him when the earthquake hit."

Wayne hesitantly turned toward Dustin, already knowing the answer deep down. "And... where is Eddie now?"

Dustin, missing his friend so much, started to cry, taking out Eddie's necklace, holding it out to Wayne, his voice quivering from pain and grief and guilt. "I'm so sorry." Wayne took the necklace, running his hand over Eddie's guitar pick on the chain, crying, breathing shakily, walking over to sit down on a bench. Dustin limped closer, sitting next to him. "I wish everyone had gotten to know him. Really know him. Because they would've loved him, Mr. Munson. They would've loved him. Even in the end... he never stopped being Eddie. Despite everything. I never even saw him get mad. He could've run. He could've saved himself. But he fought. He fought and died to protect this town. This town that... hated him. He isn't just innocent. Mr. Munson, he's... he's a hero."

Wayne sobbed, weeping in grief, but incredibly grateful for the words.

Hailey watched them with tears in her eyes, looking down, a tear falling.

Wayne stood, walking away.

Hailey walked over to Dustin, placing down her tray, sitting next to Dustin.

Dustin turned to Hailey, crying. Hailey instantly wrapped her arms around him comfortingly, as Dustin returned the embrace to comfort her just as much with what happened to her, while she tried to help ease Dustin's pain over the loss of his friend, running her hand softly through his hair to calm him down gently.

"It's okay," Hailey whispered. "It's gonna okay. I'm so sorry about Eddie."

"I know," Dustin whispered. "Thank you."

Hailey nodded, kissing Dustin's head, as Dustin laid his head on Hailey's shoulder.

∰

Hawkins Hospital - Ruby, Max and Billy's Room

Lucas and Erica returned with a Walkman for Ruby.

Lucas also held a tape. "Are you sure you wanna do this, Ruby?"

Ruby sniffled. "I have to keep looking, Lucas. I can't give up on them. I won't."

Lucas nodded in understanding. "Okay."

Erica opened the Walkman for Lucas to put the tape inside, placing the Walkman down on Ruby's stomach.

Lucas put the headphones on Ruby, easing it down over her head and onto her ears, hitting play, starting a song that would keep Ruby focused on Billy and Max, as this song was by the same artist that Billy used for his song to keep him safe from Vecna before.

(Song:) Skyfall - Vandenberg

Ruby closed her eyes, trying to focus enough to scry into Billy and Max's minds again.

But she was overcome with a sense of dread and foreboding, as Ruby's drained-colored eyes still seemed to glow with complete golden light.

Lucas and Erica jumped back in surprise.

Ruby's glow spread through her body while she was still trying to scry, or mentally astral project.

Added with the feeling of what was happening, Ruby didn't just mentally astral project. Her astral form actually started to leave her body, rendering her actual body unconscious. Her astral form was smoky, ghostly with a faint golden glow.

Lucas and Erica watched this in shock. "Holy shit."

Ruby's astral form floated until it was completely separated from her body, and her feet touched the floor. Once they did, the golden, ghostly appearance seemed to fade enough to where Ruby's astral form looked normal, as she was able to walk while in astral form, as none of the damage from her actual body applied to her astral form. "Yeah. Holy shit."

"How is this happening, Ruby?" Erica asked.

"Guessing it's part of the new power ups," Ruby answered. "Actual astral projection instead of just mental scrying."

"Oh, my God," Lucas said.

Ruby, with her sight in her astral form, turned toward Max and Billy, and nearly broke down into tears from the sight of them just like her own actual body, putting a hand to her mouth as she shed a few tears. "No."

Ruby walked toward Max and Billy, trying to take their hands, but her astral form's hands passed right through theirs, unable to touch them, which only made her more devastated as she cried, sobbing, not caring about staying strong anymore.

Lucas and Erica looked at Ruby sadly in understanding, sympathetic knowing all that happened was because of Ruby's uncle trying to torment her and break her for good.

Ruby could still sense something wrong, barely able to tear her eyes away from Billy and Max, drawn to the sense of danger and darkness and unable to resist trying to follow the sense of it, turning toward the windows of the room behind her to look outside.

∰

Hawkins High School - Gym

Hailey and Dustin were still in each other's arms.

Suddenly feeling something wrong, Hailey looked up in confusion. Dustin noticed. "What?"

Hailey stood, walking toward the windows of the school, a sense of dread and foreboding washing over her as she sensed her own power from the Gates. "Oh, no."

Dustin, Steve, Robin, Calliope and Apollo all noticed and looked at Hailey in confusion.

∰

Sabina's Boarding House - Outside

Natasha, Nadia, Niko, Nadyr, Joyce, Will, Jonathan, Hopper, Eleven, Nancy and Mike were still trying to finish things up at the boarding house for Ruby's new paralysis.

Will stopped when he felt the same thing that Ruby and Hailey felt, the sense of dread and foreboding sweeping through him like ice, putting a hand to the back of his neck, turning around to look up at the sky.

Storm clouds gathered in the sky, dark and dreary, dangerous.

The others all followed his gaze.

Small white flecks fell from the sky, exactly like the white particles in the Upside Down, much to their worry and concern.

Nadia raised a hand to catch a particle on the tip of her finger.

∰

Wheeler House - Living Room

Holly looked out the window to see the white particles, smiling, calling behind her. "Mom, it's snowing!"

Karen walked closer, standing behind Holly at the window as she looked outside, glancing around, looking concerned, as if she knew more than she ever let on before.

∰

Hawkins Hospital - Ruby, Max and Billy's Room

Lucas and Erica followed Ruby's astral projection form to the window, as they saw the storm clouds and the white particles outside, exchanging a look.

Ruby's astral form disappeared with a whirl of golden glowing light.

Lucas and Erica were confused and concerned as they continued watching outside.

∰

Hawkins High School - Outside

Hailey walked outside, following her sense of power, as the gem in her head started to flash in and out with red glowing light, as well as the irises of her eyes.

Steve, Robin, Dustin, Calliope and Apollo followed Hailey outside, seeing her eyes and gem flashing, knowing that something big was happening.

They all looked into the sky above, seeing the storm clouds and the white particles.

Hailey led the way toward the woods, following her power. Steve, Robin, Dustin, Calliope and Apollo followed.

∰

Woods

Will walked through the woods, following the sense he was feeling, as Natasha, Nadia, Niko, Nadyr, Joyce, Jonathan, Hopper, Eleven, Nancy and Mike all followed him.

∰

Creel House - Outside

With a swirl of golden glowing light, Ruby's astral form appeared in front of the ruins of the Creel house, which had been destroyed by the Gates opening. She looked at the house in front of her in shock and hate, dreading to be back here after all that happened.

Ruby looked around, seeing that all of the plant life and flowers around her were slowly dying, the color draining away and leaving them dark and colorless. When she turned around to look out over the fields on either side of the house, and the park across from it, she saw the red and black thunderstorm forming, and the glowing red lines of the Gates, as the Upside Down was bleeding into Hawkins, black smoke rising into the air all around, forming the red and black thunderstorm overhead, as red lightning flashed and thunder crashed.

Ruby watched in absolute shock and horror.

On the field, coming from Sabina's boarding house, Will led Natasha, Nadia, Niko, Nadyr, Joyce, Jonathan, Hopper, Eleven, Nancy and Mike to the sight of what was happening.

In the other direction, coming from the high school, Hailey led Dustin, Steve, Robin, Calliope and Apollo onto the field to see the bleeding of the Upside Down into their world.

They were all horrified to see what was happening, looking at each other in shock, stunned to see Ruby's astral form ahead of them in front of the Creel House, at the heart of where the Upside Down was bleeding into Hawkins.

Ruby turned around when she sensed them, seeing most of her friends, her found family, behind her in the field, all of them locking eyes with the others as they took in what was happening.

Steve stood beside Nadia as the two took each other's hands.

Natasha reached for Hopper's hand, as they laced their fingers together.

Dustin took Hailey's hand as she was looking at the bleeding of the Upside Down in heartbreak, knowing that this was because of her power, trying to be there for her and reassure her that she was not a monster, even if she was part Demogorgon, and the monsters used her to start this.

Will laced his fingers with Niko as they stared ahead.

Nancy/Jonathan and Mike/Eleven were already holding hands in shock and a show of comfort to each other.

Nadyr and Joyce looked at each other in shock and worry for everyone.

Calliope reached for Apollo, as Apollo stood close to Calliope, his eyes never leaving the damage in front of them, but Calliope and Robin exchanged a look of concern.

Natasha, Nadia, Niko, Eleven and Hailey were determined to help put a stop to this once and for all.

Ruby watched everyone, knowing that she truly did not have to be alone anymore unlike she thought before, and knowing they would all need each other to combat this new threat and get Max and Billy back, turning around to glare at the Creel House where her life, body and loved ones were destroyed, and glaring at the bleeding of the Upside Down into Hawkins, ready to do anything that it took to stop this and get revenge against Vecna all over again.