"ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS?" Ruby turned to her little sister, casting a suspicious glance at the house they parked in front of. The redhead was utterly silent, her blue eyed clouded over as she gazed at the small house.
"I'm sure," Jasper confirmed with a nod, facing her sister curiously. "Don't you want to find out more about Mom, too?"
Ruby shrugged lightly, trying to ignore the sensation of Jasper's eyes burning into her skin. "To me, Mom died fourteen years ago when you were born. I don't know if a creepy lawyer from Ohio can change that."
Jasper blinked slowly, taken aback slightly. "Well, he could help us find her. And if we find her, that'll change things, won't they?" Her eyebrows pressed together incredulously as Ruby just gave her another half shrug before pulling the keys out of ignition.
"C'mon," Ruby gestured with a wave of her hand, sliding out of the car.
"Oh yeah, almost forgot!" Jasper chirped, her hands flying into her bag as she began fishing for something. "Are we gonna need this?" She questioned, Hopper's fully loaded pistol dangling in her hand.
"Jasper!" Ruby hissed, stomping towards the redhead and shielding the exposed weapon with her body. "What the hell? Where did you get this?"
The redhead raised an eyebrow challengingly, a smug smirk dancing on her lips. "My dad is the Chief of Police and you're asking me where I got a gun from?"
"I'm not letting you carry a gun," Ruby muttered, taking the weapon and angrily shoving it in the backseat of the car. "You are a literal child."
"It's a shame, really," Jasper sighed dramatically, her bright blue eyes focusing wistfully on the stored away gun. "Because I was really planning on using that on our one chance of finding out more about Mom."
Ruby simply rolled her eyes, ignoring the sarcastic comment from her little sister. Her boots thumped on the wooden floorboards of the porch as she led the way to the front door. Jasper watched the older girl raise her hand slowly, hesitating. "Are you sure about this?" She repeated for probably the fiftieth time, and Jasper just scoffed at her.
"If I wasn't, we wouldn't be here. Just knock on the damn—you know what? I'll do it," Jasper shoved past her sister impatiently, rapping her knuckles on the door violently. "See? Easy!"
Contradicting her carefree statement, Jasper felt her body tense up with anxiety as she awaited the door to open. Ruby stood next to her as stiff as a board, wide dark eyes fixed on the door knob.
That's when Jasper made a promise to herself. That no matter what this man said to her, she wouldn't let him see the terror she secretly wielded. Truthfully, Jasper was always terrified now. She hasn't stopped being terrified ever since Will went missing on that horrid night, the night she discovered her abilities.
Nothing really had ever been the same.
The door opened with a wide jerk, Carson Oakes appearing lazily in the frame. "Hey, listen, girls. You're probably the tenth girl scout troupe to show up at my door this week, and while I love those coconut cookies you girls make, I'm really not interested."
He began to swing the door shut, but Ruby swiftly jut out her hand, slamming it against the interior wall before he could close it. Carson jumped back, eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets as he met the storm brewing in Ruby's gaze.
"Actually, Mr. Oakes, I'm a cop. And I've got a few questions for you," she uttered smoothly, her intimidating stance leading to the lawyer to nearly choke on bile rising in his throat.
"Look, I haven't done anything, okay? If you're concerned about a case I did or something, you can take it up with my—" He froze on his words, snapping into a state of completely paralyzed horror. All because he finally shifted his gaze to look at Jasper, who had been staring at him with her signature fierce blue eyes.
"Something wrong, funny man?" Jasper raised an eyebrow, partially amused by the way his lower lip hung loose like a fish.
"You," he rose a shaky finger at Jasper, his feet sliding away from the doorway slowly. "You shouldn't be here."
"Wait, you know me?" Jasper questioned, confusion tickling her skin.
"Of course," Carson replied drily, waving a lazy hand in her direction before stumbling into his kitchen, the girls following. "How could I not recognize the daughter of Elizabeth Marrow? Now, do you nice girls want some coffee or tea?"
His offer was interrupting by a loud whack and his body following to the ground with a heavy thud. Ruby held the butt of her gun in the air, glowering at his body with a certain type of sharp bitterness. "Well, you didn't recognize me, asshole," she snarled under her breath, putting her gun back in its holster. "Come on, help me tie him up."
"Tie him up?" Jasper squeaked, skittering around the dining table to gawk at his unconscious body. "Rubes, what are you doing? We had him! You didn't need to knock him out!"
"Yeah you say that, but," the older girl's hands flew around the kitchen, inspecting under tables and cabinets. "Aha!" She exclaimed proudly, motioning for Jasper to come here. "Look at that," she jabbed a thumb at a strange button under one of his cabinets. "Panic button. That dickhead was probably waiting to call the cops on us when we weren't looking. We can't take any chances."
"Wow, I forgot how much of a badass you were," Jasper complimented her older sister, a smug smirk tingling on her lips. "Although I'm not sure if he could necessarily call the cops on a cop."
"You somehow survived a year in hell," Ruby fired back, ignoring Jasper's last comment as she raised an impressed brow. "I don't think I could even compare."
Carson woke up a few minutes later, his hands and ankles now bound to a chair with ropes that scraped at his raw skin. "Hey! What the fuck?" Carson began yelling distraughtly, tugging roughly at his restraints. "What the fuck? You girls better let me out! I'm serious!"
"Hey," Jasper slammed her hand down on the dining table, making her presence known. "Relax. Sorry about the ropes, they were just...precautions."
Ruby slid into a chair across from Carson, eyeing him warily. "Now we aren't gonna hurt you. As long as you answer our questions. You cooperate, and we'll get out of your hair soon enough."
"You girls are crazy! You two are fucking insane! I'm not telling you anything I know!" He shouted defiantly, continuing to wriggle in the large ropes.
"Oh really?" Ruby cocked an eyebrow, holding her gun threateningly close to his face. "You might want to reconsider."
"You won't shoot me," he narrowed his eyes at her challengingly. "You're a cop, yes?"
Ruby didn't answer his question. Instead, she aimed her gun and fired, shooting him right in the foot. He let out a constrained yell of pain, gritting his teeth together.
"Ruby!" Jasper screeched, eyeing his bloodied foot in horror.
Ruby didn't hear her, instead she slammed her gun against the wood of the table before pointing it at his head. "Just because I'm a cop doesn't mean I follow the rules," she snapped, waving the weapon in the air. "Now my sister here has some questions for you and you're going to answer them. Unless you want the next bullet to go into that skull of yours."
"Okay! Okay!" He gave in shakily, his gaze trailing down to his injured foot in terror.
"Okay, um," Jasper hesitated, attempting to keep her eyes from sliding downwards. "You worked with my mom. Why?"
"For you, of course," Carson replied sourly, explaining himself upon seeing the puzzlement ripple across her face. "The lab. They wanted to take you, turn you into one of their fucked up little experiments. But your mom...she was one of those experiments. She knew what kind of torture they would ensue upon you. She didn't want that for her precious little daughter.
"So she consulted my help, mainly because I've worked with Hawkins Lab cases before. I helped a father keep custody of his son over those mental fucking scientists. But your mother's case was special, of course."
"How?" Jasper inquired, leaning in with interest. "How was it special?"
"Well," Carson hesitated, a huge lump forming in his throat. "Your mother had some...complications with the lab. She was a patient, of course, but they had to let her go because of those complications. She signed a bunch of confidentiality papers, and had to make a sacrifice."
"Which is?" Ruby asked.
"She wasn't allowed raise you two. That's why Paul is taking care of you two. She had to move away, somewhere where she didn't pose a threat to the lab. And she couldn't take you guys with her. They promised to leave you, Jasper, alone, as long as she didn't make contact with the family. That's when she moved to Ohio and found me. She believed I could help her 'get her children back'." Carson answered, sighing as he began yanking his wrists back and forth again. "You know, I'd be way more agreeable if you'd take these damn things off me!"
"That's not happening," Ruby growled.
"Continue, please," Jasper urged him on impatiently.
"With my help, she wanted to blackmail the lab. She had a surprising amount of tangible evidence against them. Documents she stole, articles, photographs. I told her I wouldn't help her," Carson admitted, unable to meet the electricity brewing in Jasper's eyes. "This lab is dangerous. The only reason I was able to help that father was because I was able to prove the child didn't possess supernatural abilities. You were too young to prove anything, and with your mother's obvious abilities, it was too risky. They would've killed her, and maybe even you."
"That's why she assaulted you," Jasper nodded in understanding, remembering the article she read.
"Mhm. And she was arrested because of it. Which made me relieved, quite honestly. She can't make any reckless threats against the lab behind bars. But now, I don't know where she is. Or why you're here. I'm assuming you've found your abilities."
"You keep saying that like she has more than one," Ruby pointed out questioningly.
Carson's gaze darted from Ruby to Jasper, confusion apparent in his tone. "You don't?"
"No," Jasper stammered, nerves quickening in her heart. "Am I supposed to?"
"Your mother," Carson breathed, rapidly shaking her head. "She has many abilities. Many in which they gave to her. But all that power...she almost killed herself. That's why after her they only gave one ability to a patient."
"But then, I was born," Jasper murmured, fearfully glancing down at her own hands. "So...do I have more abilities?"
"It's possible," Carson responded. "I'm sure now that you've discovered at least one ability, you're bound to find more. But I'd be careful. Having that much power is dangerous. It's a blessing and a curse."
"Okay, I got a question. My friend, El, she's got powers too. And last year I discovered she can channel my energy, and when she does I can use her powers. But whatever happens to El, happens to me," Jasper explained in depth. "How's that possible?"
Carson let out a braying laugh, wiggling around in his seat in amusement. "You're kidding, right?" He beamed at her, but the bemused grin fell from his face when he met her serious eyes. "Honey, that ain't your friend El that's channeling you. You're channeling her."
"What?"
"Oh yeah. Ever heard of an energy vampire? They basically can use anybody's powers as long as they're in contact with them. Sometimes it has to be physical, but others, they just need a strong emotional connection with the person." Carson rambled on.
"But that's doesn't make sense," Ruby sputtered. "Last year, you went to the Upside Down because El disappeared to there. Surely it wasn't the other way around?"
"Oh, this is funny," Carson snickered, letting out another series of cackles. "You've got all this power and you don't even realize it, Strawberry Shortcake!"
"I didn't even realize I was channeling her," Jasper breathed in shock.
"Amazing, isn't it? It's really lovely to be one of the most powerful middle schoolers on the planet, huh!"
"You said there was complications." Jasper pressed, ignoring the insanity in Carson's teasing. "That she almost killed herself. What does that mean?"
Carson shifted uncomfortably in his chair, and sudden fear lit up in his eyes unlike before. "We shouldn't talk about this. It's too dangerous."
"Dangerous my ass," Ruby scoffed, raising her gun once again. "You've been giving us all this information but this you can't tell us?"
"It's seriously dangerous! Telling you about what your mother did legally, sure, that's fine. But talking about what she did in that lab...disseminating that kind of information is...deadly." Carson was trembling, the man appearing much younger than he was.
Jasper let out an annoyed growl, snatching the gun from Ruby's hands, roughly grabbing Carson's shoulder, and pausing time before the older girl could protest. The dark-haired Marrow froze mid-speech, leading to Carson letting out a confused shout.
"Listen to me, jackass," Jasper began yelling over his terrified whimpering, waving the gun at him. "I have waited an entire year to find out about my mother. I didn't even know until last year she was alive. You are going to tell me what the fuck happened to her, or so help me, I will shoot you while we're stuck in time so no one can hear you scream!"
"Okay, okay!" Carson accepted defeat, clinching away from the gun. "I'll tell you."
"Thank you," Jasper sent him a sickeningly sweet smile, releasing his shoulder and unfreezing time.
"What the hell, Jas?" Ruby demanded, taking her gun back from her little sister.
"Shut up. He's gonna tell us."
Carson let out a shaky breath, eyeing the two girls cautiously. "Your mother...was given the power to create."
"Create?" Jasper echoed.
"They wanted her to create some sort of...parallel world, connecting them to the Russians," Carson explained, growing more anxious as he did. "But your mother, she was angry. Angry from all the torture she experienced. Angry at Brenner. She was just...so furious. So, without thinking, she made something much darker."
Jasper felt dread deepen in her chest. "What did she create?"
Carson's lips rugged upwards in a nervous smile. "I think you already know."
"No," Jasper began rapidly shaking her head in disbelief. "My mother...she couldn't have. She...she didn't."
"I'm sorry, can someone explain what's happening right now?" Ruby interjected, her eyebrows knitted together.
"Your mother created a dark, alternate universe," Carson answered.
"The Upside Down," Jasper finished for him, her blue eyes boring into Ruby's. "Our mom made the Upside Down."
"Sure, if that's what you call it," Carson commented.
"That's impossible," Jasper declared, remaining skeptic. "There's no way one person—my mother—created that place."
"Oh, you don't have to believe me, sweetheart," Carson laughed bitterly, growing delirious. "But it happened. And now there's all sorts of freaky monsters looming there. I'm surprised Hawkins hasn't burnt to the ground yet."
"What does this all mean? For me, I mean," Jasper questioned.
"Well, if your mother created it, I'm sure you or her can destroy it, too. But, it's deadly."
"All this time," Jasper shook her head, leaning back in her seat with wonder. "All this time we're fighting Demogorgons and shadow monsters, and it was my mother who brought it upon us. And now I have to stop it?"
"You just don't get it, do you?" Carson scoffed, leaning forward and giving the redhead a dark, wicked smile. "Your mother created the Upside Down, and it nearly killed her. And now...now that place is going to eat you alive."
Jasper felt an indescribable, unfamiliar feeling of raw terror spread through her chest. It felt like she was in a warm bathtub that was suddenly poisoned with ice cubes. Her entire body was paralyzed with fear from his statement, and in that moment she felt like bursting into a fit of horrified sobs.
But she had a promise to keep. She couldn't show this man just how scared she was.
"Listen," Jasper narrowed her eyes challengingly, pushing down any fear she had and locking it away. "I was stuck in 'that place' for a year. I lived by myself in that shithole for 365 days, and I survived."
Ruby looked carefully at her sister, her pupils widening. The redhead looked at least five years older than she was, staring courageously in the face of this man.
"You say this place is going to kill me," Jasper declared, strength glowing in her gaze. "I'd like to see it try."
Before Carson could respond to her outrageously brave announcement, the girl flew back in her chair, eyes rolled up to where you could only see a sea of white. Both Ruby and Carson lurched away from the suddenly seizing girl, exchanging looks of horror.
"Jas? Jas!" Ruby began yelling, shaking her sister frantically.
"What the hell is happening?" Carson shouted over her, building the volume in the room.
Behind Jasper's eyelids, a nightmare vision danced in her head. She could make out the figure of Steve Harrington, the distraught teenager sprinting away from what looked to be a pack of Demogorgons. Her eyes darted around the dark, foggy space, recognizing it as the old junkyard.
"Steve, abort! Abort!" An all too familiar voice screamed in distress, and Jasper turned to see a teary eyed Dustin Henderson hollering from the open door of the bus.
"Steve!" Jasper tried screaming to alert the boy, begging her legs to dash towards him, but she was utterly stuck. Thunder boomed in the sky, lightning illuminated the glowing red clouds. The redhead looked up in horror, and the setting changed rapidly to inside Hawkins Lab, at the gate.
It was massive. Jasper felt sick staring at the vibrant scarlet light flowing from the opening slash. Several more images began flashing in her head, so quickly she almost couldn't depict what she was seeing. Will Byers screaming, swirling blackness eating at his skin. Demogorgons bursting from the open gate and rampaging through the lab.
All the images stopped at once, however, to reveal the enormous looming shadow peeking through the gate. Jasper felt hot tears spill onto her cheeks as she simply watched a furious tornado of darkness reach out of the gate, its target being the redhead herself.
The moment the blackness made contact with her chest, an overwhelming amount of pain washed over her skin like electricity. She let out an agonized scream, her eyes shutting as more tears gushed from them.
Then she jerked awake again, back in the quiet house of Carson Oakes. Ruby was gawking at her sister in complete concern, tears threatening to spill onto her olive cheeks. "Jasper, are you okay? Are you hurt? You started screaming."
Jasper was speechless. Her blue eyes slowly slid to Carson, noting the surprise his own gaze held. "That," she gulped. "That wasn't my first vision. This," her quivering hands reached out and firmly clutched Ruby's, attempting to steady herself. "This is a new ability."
"What did you see?" Ruby questioned worriedly, running her hand along the top of Jasper's hair.
"I saw what will happen to Hawkins," Jasper breathed shakily. "What will happen if El and I aren't there."
"Wait, what—" Carson began.
"We have to go back," Jasper interrupted him, cadet blue eyes trained on her sister. "I have to go back. Now."
"But, Mom—"
"We can't find Mom right now," Jasper cried, surprised to feel tears burn her skin as they slipped down to her neck. "We still don't know where she is, and my friends—my family is in danger. I have to go back."
"Haven't you been listening to anything this man has been saying?" Ruby demanded, stroking the wet cheeks of her little sister. "This battle will kill you. You can't fight this, Jas. The Upside Down could destroy you."
Jasper just shook her head slowly, and in that moment she thought of her best friend Dustin. She would never forgive herself if she sat idly by, knowing such a beautiful, curly-haired boy was in grave danger.
"Well then, I guess that's a risk I'm willing to take."