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COME ON, FIGHT!
ISADORA NEVER ONCE THOUGHT THAT THINKING OF A HAPPY MEMORY WOULD WORK.
And yet right now in this moment, she stood in the middle of the school auditorium and she smiled to herself as she looked around and made her way across the stage, remembering the day she had performed onstage with Billy. She remembered it had taken her completely by surprise, especially since she had been the one who had nearly ruined their relationship after she had believed the words of a girl and they had turned out to be nothing but fabricated lies. And yet, in that moment she had realised she was in love with Billy Hargrove, and she knew that was the reason why she had chosen this memory to hide in if she wanted a chance to survive and keep Vecna distracted long enough to give her friends a chance to kill him.
~*~
Billy looked up as flashes of red lit up the sky above the Creel House as the group made their way up the stairs and towards the house. As he followed the group, Billy looked towards Kendra.
"Do you think it worked?" Billy asked.
"Do I think what worked?"
"Is's plan to focus on a happy memory. I mean I know she had a plan to focus on a happy memory and hide there from Vecna but she wouldn't tell me which memory she chose so I have no idea which memory she even focused on," Billy told Kendra, who smiled as she looked towards him.
"Who are her happiest memories with?" Kendra asked him.
"I don't know," Billy shrugged.
"Her happiest memories are with you, Billy and if I know my best friend, I know she would've focused on one of those memories," Kendra said, as they followed Nancy, Robin and Steve into the Creel House.
"Oh, shit," Steve said as the group opened the door to the house and saw the vines that covered the ground. Billy knew they couldn't risk stepping on one as it was all a hive mind and he looked towards Kendra, who sighed as she shook her head.
"This isn't good," Kendra said before the group started making their way through the house, treading carefully to ensure that they didn't step on one of the vines and alert Vecna to their presence.
~*~
Eleven walked across a beach, trying to find any sign of Isadora and it wasn't long until she found a young blonde girl, who couldn't have been much older than about seven or eight, sitting on the beach and attaching the leg strap of her surfboard to her leg. As Eleven watched her, she knew the young girl was Isadora.
"Shouldn't you be playing with your dolls or something?" A teenage boy asked the blonde, who scrunched up her nose as she looked towards him.
"Get lost, Michael," the younger version of Isadora retorted, as she finished fixing her leg strap before standing up and grabbing her surfboard.
"You know her?" Another boy asked Michael, who shrugged.
"Her family lives next door to mine," Michael shrugged, as he and his friend walked away while Eleven walked past them and towards Isadora.
"Isadora," Eleven called out, but the young girl didn't seem to hear her as she made her way towards the water and Eleven watched her go before she spoke to Mike, Will, Argyle, Jonathan and Hazel, who were all watching her with curiosity, "I found her, but she's young. She can't see me, can't hear me."
"Do you see anything weird in this memory?" Will asked Eleven.
"Any sign of Vecna, or — or the Mind Flayer?" Hazel added in.
"No, everything is normal," Eleven said, as she looked around before noticing a speaker nearby that was playing a distorted version of You're The One That I Want and Eleven took a few steps closer, "There is something that doesn't fit. I think it is another memory."
"A memory within a memory?" Argyle asked and Eleven made her way towards the speaker, hoping it would help lead her to Isadora.
~*~
The sound of You're the One That I Want played in the background, as Isadora walked off the stage and down to where the chairs were set up before she spotted a book sitting on one of the chairs and she walked over to pick it up before running her fingers over the front cover.
"Alice in Wonderland," Isadora read the cover of the book, making her think back to the day Billy had found her in the gymnasium reading the book and he had snatched it from her hands before teasing her about it before begging her to give him a second chance and then asking her to the school dance. As Isadora stared at the book, she realised Billy had never given her her book back, which had once been her favourite book, and she couldn't help wondering if Billy still had the book. Suddenly, the sound of something exploding from behind her made her jump and as the book slipped from her hands and tumbled to the ground, as Isadora came back down to reality and realised now was not the time to be wondering if Billy still had her book, right now she needed to focus on distracting Vecna. Around her, the balloons and decorations that had filled the auditorium exploded and as Isadora looked around, she knew Vecna had found her. As the music changed, Isadora noticed things around her were starting to wilt and as she walked around the auditorium, she spotted the wilted copy of Alice in Wonderland before noticing everything around her was becoming darker and the sky above her flashed red.
"No!" Isadora cried, as there was another flash of red and her heartbeat increased as Isadora quickly realised that Vecna had found her.
~*~
Isadora started breathing heavier and Max her hand tighter as Lucas looked towards them.
"Oh, shit," he said before hurrying over to try and signal to Erica, "What the hell is taking so long?"
"What was that?" Max asked, as the sound of a door opening caught her attention and she stood up and turned around, right as Jason entered the room.
"Oh, no ..." Ellie muttered.
"Shit, Jason, you can't be here right now, man," Lucas said. Beatrix immediately stood up and moved to stand in front of Isadora to protect her from Jason.
"What the hell have you done?"
"Jason you need to leave," Beatrix snapped, as she stood in front of Isadora, making sure Jason couldn't get any closer to her.
"Is this what you did to Chrissy?" Jason asked, as he walked past Beatrix and closer to Isadora and crouched down beside her.
"Don't touch her!" Max snapped.
"Just listen, Jason," Lucas said, as he stepped forward.
"Hey."
"Jason, you need to go, man," Lucas tried again.
"Hi, can ... can you hear me?" Jason asked, as he gently touched Isadora and tried to get her attention.
"Jason, don't touch her. I'm not messing around," Lucas said.
"Hey," Jason said.
"Get away from her!" Beatrix yelled, as she rushed forward, only to stop as Jason pointed a gun towards her.
"Hey, back up! Back up! Not another step!" Jason snapped, as he kept the gun pointed at Beatrix. At the same time, Ellie grabbed Max and pulled her back behind Lucas, the two girls watching in horror as Jason kept the gun pointed towards Beatrix, as Lucas took a hesitant step forward, only to stop as Jason pointed the gun towards him.
"Wa ... wait. We ... we don't have to do this. We don't have to do this," Lucas said.
"I hope you're right."
"Max, take Ellie and get out of here," Beatrix ordered.
"Don't move! Is there anyone else in the house?" Jason asked, as he pointed the gun towards Beatrix again.
"No," Lucas told him.
"Turn around!" Jason ordered.
"What?"
"Turn around, all of you!"
"Okay, okay, relax," Lucas said, as the three younger teenagers turned around while Beatrix stayed beside Isadora.
"And put down your flashlight."
"It's okay, okay?" Lucas said, as the group put their flashlights down on the ground.
"And empty your pockets. Empty your pockets!"
"Okay, okay, okay," Lucas nodded, as the group emptied their pockets.
"Now, this is what's gonna happen. I'm gonna back away to the top of the stairs there, then I'll watch as the four of you wake her up from whatever the hell this is."
"We can't," Lucas said.
"Jason, if we wake her too soon, we will all die," Beatrix said.
"No, you don't wake her up right now, you die, Hargrove, and so do Sinclair, Mayfield and Hopper here," Jason warned. Beatrix heard the safety on the gun click off and she looked towards Lucas and shook her head, knowing they had to protect Isadora at all costs. If Jason ruined their plan and Isadora woke up too soon, everyone would die.
~*~
"Careful," Kendra warned Billy, as the group made their way into the house and up the stairs, moving carefully to avoid hitting any tentacles. As they reached the top of the stairs, the group started to pull their weapons out when suddenly, a rumbling sent them all stumbling backwards.
"I hate this place —" Billy said, as Robin suddenly screamed. Horrified, Billy watched as the vines wrapped around her and pulled her backwards, slamming her against the wall.
"Steve! Nancy! Kendra! Billy!" Robin cried, as she struggled against the vines. The group hurried forward and used their weapons to hit the vines, but suddenly, both Billy and Steve were pulled backwards by some of the vines and despite being pinned to the wall, Billy struggled against the vines in hopes of escaping. A moment later, Nancy and Kendra were both grabbed by vines as well and despite struggling, both girls were slammed against the wall and pinned there. As the vines choked them, Billy struggled against them and closed his eyes as he thought about Isadora and prayed that she was okay, but he knew if they couldn't find a way to escape and kill Vecna, all of this would have been for nothing.
~*~
Distorted music played through the auditorium as Isadora grabbed another chair and carried it over to where the door was and threw it on top of the pile of chairs she had already stacked by the door. She was doing everything she could to keep Vecna out, but she wasn't sure how long it was going to work for. She sighed softly as she walked over to grab another chair but as she turned around, she froze and stared at the door where the chairs had once stood, the chair she was holding slipping from her fingers as the door opened.
"You can't hide from me, Isadora," Vecna said, as Isadora closed her eyes and desperately tried to focus on another memory, but this time she struggled to focus on any memory and she could hear Vecna talking to her, "You think I don't see what you're doing? You think I don't see everything?"
"Please," Lucas begged and Isadora flinched.
"You thought you could trick me?" Vecna continued as he showed Isadora flashes of Eddie and Dustin struggling against the bats. As Isadora saw the flashes of her friends struggling for their lives, she kept trying to focus on a good memory, but all she could see was her friends fighting for their lives, "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."
"No!" Billy yelled and Isadora shook her head.
"I can feel them dying. It's time, Isadora," Vecna said, as Isadora's eyes opened at the sound of a clock chiming. As she looked around, the music became more distorted and Isadora shook her head as she walked backwards before she collided with someone.
"No!" She cried, as she turned and saw Vecna standing behind her as a flash of red lit up the room around them.
"It's time!" Vecna snapped before throwing her backwards and Isadora screamed as she flew through the air and slammed hard against the wall, Isadora whimpering in pain as Vecna held her there and made his way towards her.
~*~
"We call him Vecna. He lives in another dimension, that's why you can't see him," Lucas explained, as he tried to calm Jason down.
"And Eddie Munson and his ... his hellfire acolytes, what, you all summoned this Vecna?"
"No, no, you're not listening! Just listen, there's ... there's no cult, there never was!"
"You expect me to believe that?"
"It's the truth, Jason," Max said.
"Then why was Chrissy at Eddie's trailer?"
"She was buying drugs!" Max said.
"Liar!" Jason shouted, as he clicked the safety of the gun off and Beatrix watched in horror as he pointed it towards Max.
"Okay ... okay ... Chrissy, she was seeing things, terrible things, things Vecna forced her to see. She was scared," Lucas explained.
"No."
"She just needed help," Ellie added in.
"See, that's how I know you're all lying. 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."
"No, but I was wrong about you. I never should've let you in the door," Jason told Lucas.
"And I never should've knocked. I thought I wanted to be like you, popular, normal, but it turns out normal's just a raging psychopath."
"You have five seconds to wake her. Four, three —" Jason shouted and as Lucas tackled him, the gun fired and Ellie groaned as one of the bullets grazed her leg.
"Ellie!" Max cried, as she hurried to help the brunette, who put a hand to her thigh and held it there to try and stop the bleeding.
"I'm okay," she shakily told Max.
"Here, we need to stop the bleeding," Max said, as Ellie pulled off her jacket and handed it to Max, who took it from her and carefully wrapped it Ellie's leg, making sure to tie it tight enough to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, Lucas and Jason kept fighting each other, when Lucas accidentally knocked the walkman to the ground and Jason stepped on it, shattering it to pieces.
"No, we needed that, you asshole!" Beatrix shouted as she angrily hurried forward and punched Jason. Without that walkman, Beatrix had no idea how they were going to help Isadora if anything went wrong. At the same time, the door opened and Lucas turned his attention towards the person walking into the room. And as he realised it was one of Jason's followers, Lucas hurried to stop him before he could get to Isadora, Max or Ellie.
~*~
Isadora struggled as Vecna kept her pinned against the wall, and she whimpered as she closed her eyes, as Vecna got even closer to her. She hoped that she would be able to hear music playing so that she could escape form this place, but she could only hear the distorted music playing in the background and for the first time since she had come up with this plan, Isadora felt terrified.
"You are brave, Isadora, much braver than your boyfriend, but in the end, you are weak and fragile, just like him, like all the rest of them, and you will break," Vecna said, as he lifted his hand and held it over her face. Isadora knew she was in trouble and she could feel her heart racing but suddenly, Vecna was blasted backwards and Isadora fell to the ground. Shakily, she pulled herself up and looked to see someone approaching before she smiled to herself when she saw it was Eleven.
"Oh, thank goodness," Isadora whispered, as Eleven turned Vecna towards her.
"You."
"Hi," Eleven said, before she blasted Vecna through a wall. As Isadora watched, she smiled to herself and realised with Eleven here to help her against Vecna, maybe she would have a better chance at defeating him. With Vecna down, Eleven hurried over to Eleven before helping her up, "Isadora, are you okay?"
"Huh?" Isadora asked, as she started at Eleven, hardly able to believe that Eleven was really here.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Are you real? I mean, are you really here? How is that even possible?"
"I'm real."
"How?"
"I piggybacked from a pizza dough freezer."
"What? What does that even mean?" Isadora laughed.
"Uh —" Eleven started before they heard a clattering sound and the two girls looked at each other as they saw Vecna standing back up before he started walking towards them and as he approached them, Eleven looked towards Isadora, "Stay back."
"Okay," Isadora nodded, as Eleven started making her way towards Vecna.
"If you touch her again, I will kill you again," Eleven warned.
"Is that what you did? Hmm, did you kill me? I am so glad you're here, Eleven. This is going to be beautiful, so beautiful," Vecna said. Isadora watched in horror as he lifted boards into the air and she felt an uneasy feeling forming in the pit of her stomach as Vecna threw the boards at Eleven, who deflected them away from before before being flung backwards by Vecna. As Vecna flung Eleven across the room, Isadora knew she had to do something to try and stop him, so she grabbed a wooden stake from the wall before she hurried towards Vecna, but he turned towards her and blasted her backwards, the stake tumbling from her hand as her back slammed against the wall and she fell into a crumbled heap. Eleven attempted to blast Vecna again, but he was quick to stop her and lifted her into the air before pulling her towards him, "Before I kill you, I want you to watch."
"No!" Eleven screamed, as she was blasted backwards and she landed in a crumpled heap on the ground, as red fog surrounded her. As the vines lifted her and pinned her against the door with a stained glass window, Eleven opened her eyes and saw Vecna carrying Isadora's body before it was lifted by vines and Eleven knew she had to find a way to get both herself and Isadora out of there before it was too late.
"Papa is dead!" Eleven yelled and Vecna turned to look at Eleven as she spoke the three words and Eleven knew she had drawn his attention away from Isadora, at least for now, "I know what he did to you. You were different, like me, and he hurt you. He made you into this. He is the monster, Henry, not you, not you."
"You're right. You and I, we are different, and Papa did hurt me, but he was no monster. He was just a man; an ordinary, mediocre man. That is why he sought greatness in others, in you, and me, but in the end, he could not control us. He could not shape us. He could not change us. Do you not see, Eleven? He did not make me into this, you did. At first, I believed you had sent me to my death, to purgatory, but I was wrong. I was somewhere new. I became an explorer; an explorer of a realm unspoiled by mankind. I saw so many things, and one day, I found the most extraordinary thing of all, something that would change everything. I saw a means to realise my potential, to transcend my human form, to become the predator I was always born to be."
"It was ... it was you, always you."
"All I needed was someone to open the door and you did that for me without even realising it, didn't you? And when you did realise, you chose to resist, so I sought a means to open my own doors. I sought your power."
"All this time we've been building it for you," Eleven heard Billy's voice in her mind from the time he had been possessed by the Mind Flayer, as memories of the time she'd fought the Mind Flayer flashed through her mind and Eleven realised it had always been Vecna.
"So, don't you see? Once again, you have freed me."
"No, you don't have to do this. You can still stop this."
"It is over, Eleven. Your friends have lost."
"No!" Lucas cried, as one of Jason's friends punched him over and over again, as Jason shoved Beatrix off him, knocking her to the ground and Max hurried forward to try and help her sister.
"Eddie," Dustin cried, as he hurried towards Eddie, who was being surrounded by bats and attempting to fight them off, but there was too many of them.
Billy, Kendra, Robin, Steve and Nancy all struggled as the vines tightened around them more and Billy blinked back his tears. If they couldn't find a way to escape, all of this would be for nothing and Isadora would die.
"There is nothing ... nothing you can do to stop this now. Hawkins will burn and fall, and the rest of this senseless, broken world and I will be there. I will be there to pick up the pieces when it does, and remake it into something ... beautiful. There was a time when I had hoped to have you by my side, but now I just want you to watch," Vecna told Eleven, and as the vines choked her, she watched as Vecna walked over to where Isadora's unconscious body was being held up by the tentacles and as Vecna approached her, Isadora awoke before whimpering as Vecna ran a finger down the side of her face, "Don't be afraid. Try and stay very still. It will all be over soon."
"Isadora!" Eleven cried, as Vecna held his hand over Isadora's face and as he did, Isadora closed her eyes and whimpered as she tried to focus on all of her happiest memories, hoping and praying that those memories would help her stay strong and hold Vecna off for as long as possible.
~*~
"Isadora!" Ellie cried, as she saw Isadora starting to lift into the air. As he was being choked by the other jock, Lucas looked over and his eyes widened as he saw what was happening, as Ellie hobbled forward, "No, we have to help her!"
"How? Jason broke the Walkman," Max said.
"There has to be something we can do. We can't lose her," Ellie said.
"I know," Max said before gulping, as she looked towards Isadora. She knew they had to do something to save her from Vecna but Max wasn't sure what they would even be able to do to help her.
~*~
"El? El, can you hear me? El, come on! Wake up! Wake up, El!" Mike yelled, as he noticed Eleven was choking.
"She can't breathe," Hazel said.
"El, come on, get outta there! God, El, wake up! Wake up! Help me! Help me! Get her on the table!" Mike cried, as the group lifted Eleven up and moved her over to table, as Mike continued yelling, "El, El, can you hear me? El!"
"Mike, don't stop, okay? You're the heart, okay, remember that. You're the heart," Will told Mike, who looked from him and back towards Eleven.
"El, I don't know if can hear this, but ... but if you can, I want you to know I'm here, okay? I'm right here, and ... I love you. El, do you hear me? I love you," Mike said. Hazel put a hand to Will's shoulder and squeezed sympathetically as they listened to Mike talking to Eleven, "I'm sorry I don't say it more. I ... it's not because I'm scared of you, I'm not. I've never felt that way, never, but I am scared that one day you'll realise 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 with you. I feel like my life started that day we found you in the woods. You were wearing that yellow Benny's Burgers T-Shirt, and it was so big, it almost swallowed you whole, 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?"
"P-please," Isadora whimpered weakly as she felt herself starting to lose the fight against Vecna.
"You need to fight! You have to fight! Fight, fight! That's it, fight, El! Fight, fight!" Mike yelled and Eleven looked to where Vecna was and saw Isadora had stopped struggling against Vecna. Closing her eyes, Eleven willed herself to be free from the vines so that she could stop Vecna and save Isadora.
~*~
"No!" Ellie cried, as Isadora's arm snapped. Max caught a hold of the brunette and held her tightly, as Lucas strained to break free from the jock's grip before he punched him several times and knocked him to the ground, as Beatrix managed to pull herself up and punched Jason hard, knocking him down to the ground before she hurried over to where Isadora was and shook her head as she saw her broken arm hanging by her side.
"Is, no!" Beatrix sobbed softly, as she watched the blonde in horror, "Come on Is, please hold on. Please fight him, Issi. You can fight him, I know you can."
"Isadora, no!" Ellie sobbed, as Isadora's other arm and both legs snapped. Tears rolled down Max's face as she kept holding Ellie and praying that somehow everything would work out, that Isadora would be okay, but she had no idea how this was going to end. Suddenly, Isadora fell and Beatrix was quick to catch her, the two girls tumbling to the ground before Beatrix sat up and hugged Isadora tightly.
~*~
As suddenly as it had happened, Steve, Billy, Kendra, Nancy and Robin fell free from the vines and landed on the ground, none of them knowing anything that had taken place back in their dimension or in Vecna's mind space, but the group coughed before they all sighed in relief.
"What happened?" Kendra asked as she sat up.
"I don't believe in a higher power or divine intervention, but that was a miracle," Robin said, as the group stood up.
"Then we better not waste it," Nancy said, as they turned towards the attic door.
"I hope it's not too late," Billy said quietly.
"Phase four," Steve said.
"Flambe," Robin finished for him, as the group pulled their weapons out and then made their way into the attic to finish Vecna off.
"This has to work," Billy said, as he followed Kendra and she nodded in agreement.
"You and your friends believe you have won, don't you? But this is only the beginning, the beginning of the end."
"Let's finish this son of a bitch," Billy said, as he held out his bottle to Kendra, who nodded and lit it for him, as Robin did the same for Steve.
"You have already lost."
"Go to hell!" Billy yelled before he and Steve both threw their flambé bottles at Vecna, before the group jumped back and covered their faces, as Vecna went up in flames, causing him to fall free from the vines that had been holding him up. Billy and Steve hurried to light another bottle each before throwing them at Vecna before Nancy stepped forward and started shooting at him, sending him backwards before he was knocked through the window by the force of one of Nancy's shots. As he fell, the group ran to the window and looked out to see that he had fallen to the ground, consumed by the flames and they looked at each other before hurrying out of the house, only to find that Vecna had disappeared.
"What the hell?" Kendra asked, as the group looked at each other before looking at the spot where Vecna had been lying before Billy looked towards Kendra; had they failed?
~*~
"Issi, I've got you. You're okay," Beatrix said reassuringly, as she held tightly to Isadora, who was shaking, the whites of her eyes showing as blood poured from her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Max stumbled forward and tears rolled down her cheeks as she crouched down beside Beatrix.
"No ... no, it wasn't supposed to be you, Issi. It ... wasn't ... it shouldn't be you. It should have been me," Max sobbed.
"Lucas!" Erica cried, as she sprinted into the room.
"We need a doctor, call an ambulance! Hurry, call an ambulance!" Lucas yelled and Erica nodded as she hurried out of the room, as Ellie joined Max and Beatrix.
"B-Bea," Isadora choked out.
"I'm here, sweetie. I've got you. I'm right here," Beatrix told her.
"B-Bea, I ... I c-can't f-feel or ... s-see a-anything," Isadora gasped.
"We know, we know, Issi. We're getting you help. You're going to be okay, just hold on, please," Max said gently, as she held Isadora's hand and squeezed it.
"Please, Issi, you just have to hold on. You need to hold on ... for us ... and for Billy. Please hold on," Beatrix begged her.
"I-I w-want B-Billy. B-Beatrix, I-I'm s-so s-scared. P-Please, I-I j-just w-want B-Billy," Isadora sobbed.
"I know, Issi, I know."
"I-I d-don't w-want to d-die. I-I'm n-not r-ready. P-Please, B-Beatrix. I'm — I'm s-so c-cold," Isadora sobbed.
"You're not going to die, Is. Please, you just need to hang on," Max said tearfully.
"I-I want B-Billy. I-I d-don't w-want t-to g-go. I-I'm n-not r-ready."
"Please, Is, you just need to hang on, if not for us, for Billy," Ellie sobbed.
"Issi? Issi? Is, no! No, no, no, Issi. Stay with us. Stay with us! Don't go, Issi! Issi, please stay with us. Just look at me, Issi ... Issi, I know you can't see me but I'm right here, sweetie. I'm here and I'm not going to leave you. Please, stay with us, Issi. Hang on, just hang on," Beatrix sobbed.
"P-please ... I—I ..." Isadora gasped before she choked and her hand fell lifelessly by her side as her last breath escaped from her lips and her body fell still. As Isadora Jones took her last dying breath, the world fell silent before the sounds of a chiming clock suddenly filled the deathly silence.
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Honestly I cried writing this chapter 😭💔
Enjoy! Xo
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