⚠️: signs of PTSD, panic attacks and detailed descriptions of gore. <<all of which are contained solely to the section READER'S POV. Afterward, you should be safe! If I'm wrong, feel free to lmk and I'll happily make adjustments
📝: I sense people might complain about some stuff w/ yn this chapter but its all for good reason. I'm trying to squeeze in an character arc of sorts lmao
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THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 122K, I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH IT HURTS😭💕 ALSO WHO'S READY FOR COSMIC 4?!
❓: Is this your first time with this series? [If so, welcome, I hope you're enjoying!] And if not, thank you so much for re-reading and what makes this series worth coming back to? 🤔 Either way, I'm flattered and happy to have you! <3
||𝟑𝐑𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕||
The truth lay before their eyes in a fiery explosion of violets and marigolds as their very world was ripped apart at the seams. It was here and undeniable; the thing they had sought so hard to find-the thing El had fought so hard to close. It was all for naught. All this time it had been tearing back open right under their very noses and welcoming back the darkest forces Hawkins had ever seen.
The two present survivors to recognize the sight turned to one another, their faces painted in the violet lights and horror.
"The gate," They breathe.
"I don't understand," Robin pressed to the Dingus Duo as they all fled back down the stairs. They had said something about an upside-down gate and she could have sworn she heard them utter the words 'we're so screwed'. Needless to say, she was eager to know more. "You've seen this before?"
When Steve answered, his voice was firm and grave. She wasn't used to hearing him so serious. "Not exactly,"
"Then what exactly?"
"All you need to know is it's bad," Dustin adds, earning a firm nod from Steve.
"It's really bad,"
"Like end-of-the-human-race-as-we-know-it kind of bad,"
Robin halts, the others stopping around her. "And you know about this how?"
A new and weary voice cut in. It was Erica, who was eyeing a spot on the floor with a raise of her brow.
"Um, Steve? Where's your Russian friend?"
In sync, everyone's eyes plop to the drying spot of blood on the grated floors; the only trace of the officer Steve had confronted. But no officer. In that instant, what seemed like the entire facility was bathed in flashing red light and wailing brass alarms-it perfectly matched the alarms going off in their systems.
It's Steve who jumps into action first, and when he does the others stand by in calculated silence. A mumbled curse hissed under his breath as Steve runs to the door through which they had entered. Something he wished he hadn't done-as he now found himself the subject of attention when he stuck his head through the cracked door for a peek. In retrospect, not one of his brightest ideas. Not that it would have mattered in the end-the previously unconscious officer to have seemingly vanished was already giving away their presence in that very instance.
"Halt!" Came the first of accented cries to Steve's ears as he frantically dove back inside, slamming the door after him. "HALT!"
Breathless, out of ideas, and scared shitless, Steve turned to the others with both hands glued to the door and an apologetic look in his eyes. "Shit," That was all the confirmation they needed.
They were already scampering up the stairs cursing a blue streak under their breath-specifically Dustin-by the time Steve ordered them to run.
"Move!" Steve could hear his voice wavering as he yelled for Erica, Robin, and Dustin ahead of him. They had already busted back through the door at the top of the stairs and were throwing open the very barrier they had dared not cross not but a minute ago. As usual, his instincts brought him to the back, where he could ensure everyone had passed, unable to bring himself to care if his desperate cries were heard. "Let's move!"
Had he been a cartoon Dustin was sure his heels were kicking up dust how fast he came skidding inside. He was the first of their little troop to come face to face with the many scientists who-until now-had seemed none the wiser to any intrusion. Where would they go? What would they do? None of these questions even had the time to present themselves let alone be answered by the time Erica snapped him out of his trance: Let's go, Curly!
The blaring of the alarm in their ears seemed to all of them so intense it shook the room like an earthquake as they ran. Or perhaps, that was just the thunder beating in their chests. Their arms trembled dangerously fast as they gripped the railings, using them to sling themselves down the metal stairs they now found themselves on. Their legs struggled not to give out as their muscles seized up in overexertion, practically trembling as they willed them to move faster. And they certainly hesitated to count themselves lucky they barely heard the shouts of the officers hot on their trail over the mysterious, tumultuous top-secret contraption they now shared a room with-whether it alerted them or not.
Another slew of officers awaited them on the grated catwalk. Something they didn't have the luxury of preparing for. Dustin remained in the lead, mentally saying his last goodbyes to Y/n and their mother as he charged head-on at the first opponent to cross his path. Whatever happened, would happen. He didn't exactly have a plan.
What did happen, was a righteous last-ditch effort that consisted of Dustin shoving his opponent full force into the railing as a less-than-dignified screech jumped up his throat. "yeuUACH!"
The scientist in question remained knocked back, stunned by the sudden action. So stunned, they hadn't the mind to stop the rest from following the shrieker-nor immediately process the disapproval from the officers in pursuit.
"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!" Dustin cried when they reached a dead end and an aptly named one. The end of the catwalk was abrupt. The scorching energy beam pulsing inches from them and burning their skin the longer they stood near it was surprisingly more appetizing than the endless abyss stretching out before them. The gate was farther than it looked, the chasm they stood before now had to stretch twenty feet across, at least, and from one nauseating glance, it appeared bottomless. Dustin couldn't bring himself to stop the exclamations of fear, no matter the fact they were nearly drowning in the roar of the machine at their feet. "Holy shit! Holy shit! Shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!" a deep breath of air stops him momentarily, and then- "HOLY SHIIIT!"
"Guards!" Erica's warning snaps them all from their collective stupor a second time. Her widened eyes locked on the armed men storming their way over as they closed in. "Go!"
"This way!" Steve calls, making sure everyone heard him.
Not unlike the young Henderson boy, he throws himself into the newest obstacle, using his entire almost like a battering ram. The hazmat-suited scientist-who Steve tries not to think about having contaminating himself on-stumbles back in time for the others to make it safely to the ground floor. The shouts of the Russian guards above their heads tell them all they're too close for comfort.
And they were only the first of their troubles.
Their sneakers squealed against the polished stone floors as they fled for their lives, Steve in the lead. His eyes were locked on the exit-a plated door hidden in an alcove under the control room he wouldn't have spotted from anywhere other than where he stood on the catwalk. He had to rely on the sound of scurrying feet to know the others were close in toe, but he should've expected to hear more sooner or later.
Halfway to the exit, another pack of soldiers rounded a small tower of steel barrels in a hidden tunnel. Steve had already hurled the barrels into the guards, buying everyone just enough time to make it to the door by the time the reality of everything that had transpired came crashing down on him. But he didn't allow him-he WOULDN'T allow himself to let that get in the way of protecting who he could.
Always the last to enter, Steve slammed the door shut with such force he was half surprised the window hadn't shattered in the aftermath of his adrenaline. He threw himself against the door, willing every fiber of his being to keep the door in place as long as he possibly could. But he didn't need the growing noise and force on the other side of the door to tell him he was overpowered.
"ROBIN!"
The others were in a scatter-Robin called away from her spiraling thoughts, Dustin panic-stricken pacing as he realized they might never make it out, and Erica. Erica who already found the nearest grate in her fight or flight response, and wrestling to get it open.
Steve's anguished pleas for help and the wavering of the door against his back were enough to send Robin into action.
She had just collapsed against the door, putting everything she had into keeping it shut when Erica finally spoke up. "Here! Come on, let's go!"
Dustin was already at her side, helping her to heave the metal grate from the floor as he called to the two. "Come on!"
A thick layer of sweat was evident on both of them, as he was sure was on all of them from the stress of the last few moments alone. And yet, as he saw the struggle in their stance and the deep grimace etching itself onto their young faces-every FLINCH-that came with each fist pounding the door to get in. Dustin saw it all and he KNEW before steve ever cried out the words that pained him.
"Go! Just get out of here!"
They refused to acknowledge such a thing. There was time, he told himself. "Go, come on, NOW!" He urged, lowering himself into the rafters after Erica.
"No! Just go get us some help, okay?"
Dustin found himself frozen as he witnessed the sacrifice. Not only from Steve but Robin.
"What are you doing?!"
It was with a heavy heart he finally realized the weight of what this very moment carried. What might be the last goodbye between him and the young man who had come to be one of his best friends-an older brother, even. And he couldn't waste what he or Robin were giving him and Erica.
"Go!" They cried.
His chest swelled as he cried out, much to the two's frustration. "I won't forget you!"
"GO!"
And with a deep grimace, they watched him disappear into the rafters just before the door gave under their combined efforts.
⊹ ⊹ ⊹
Will had known there was something not quite right about the silence that lingered in the air. Things were never this quiet, and he should have known. They all should have. Perhaps that's why he felt so determined to keep Y/n close to his side this time around.
Her wide and curious eyes were finally torn away from the shifting atmosphere around them all when she felt a hand snake down her arm, finally clasping around her own and drawing her close. The others, who had already taken notice and risen from their seats, drew in closer to one another as the chill in the air sharpened. But to Will, had he not been anchored to the beacon of warmth at his side, he would have been sure he had been plunged into ice.
But something he noticed, something perhaps just as alarming as the threat charging their horizons, was her touch; the warmth was fading with every labored breath she tried to conceal. His hand bore the strain of her growing grip on his as her fears kindled.
He gave Y/n's hand a long squeeze, willing her to feel the guilt he felt having to utter the next words aloud.
"He's here,"
||𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕||
He's here.
Time slowed and the white noise of the ER seemed to fall away when Will said those words, leaving behind a stubborn ringing in my ears that refused to go unnoticed. While I knew logically from the strobing lights and the absence of Nancy and Jonathan that these words were true, it hadn't truly sunk in until this moment. It was as if the reality of just what that meant had hit me all at once, and my head lightened as the blood left my face-like I stood up too fast.
He had found us too fast, barely a day. Maybe I was being too unrealistic-that I was lucky to get that much time. But the worst of my injuries were still healing, even at my speeds. And the memories of last night were much too fresh for my liking. I knew this would come eventually, but the thought of it coming so soon was enough to summon that shit-awful sludge back into my already twisted stomach.
The feeling of Will's hand tracing down my wrist and coupling with my own had tethered me, but it still felt like my blood was steadily freezing over-it actually felt as if it was slowing in my veins as it thickened, turning to slush. I squeezed his hand harder, and all time and sound came rushing back faster, and louder than ever.
We were running down the hall, ignoring the calls of the nurse at the front desk-Hey-! Hey! Two at a time!-before I ever processed Will's call to action. "Come on," he'd urged us, no doubt in fear for his brother and Nancy. I didn't dare let go of Will's hand, not even when we reached the elevators. Had my mind not been so clouded with thoughts and the workings of my anxiety and my spiraling attack I just might have questioned why they bothered trying the elevator at a time like this.
"The stairs," someone said, I'm not sure who. And then I was pulled another which way.
Everything felt so out of place, or maybe it was me that was. Moments passed by in flashes like I was living my life through a real-time projector. Or maybe it was the strobing fluorescents. Either way, none of it was enough to keep me from noticing the state of the stairwell. It was dimly lit and looked abandoned. Mostly used for storage for construction supplies. Above all, I noticed the temperature dropping rapidly the higher we climbed.
All of that was quickly forgotten once we heard the screams. Sound carried far more generously in the stairwell, and that included Jonathan's horrified cries for Nancy. He was just one more flight up, but he sounded so close. So agonizingly close.
If we didn't get to them in time...
It was just grim enough to redirect my fears into something good, something productive. I felt an extra spur of adrenaline pump into my legs faster and to the front of the group. The squeaking of our sneakers ping-ponged off the enclosed walls, winching my shoulders tighter and tighter in anticipation. My heart was beating so surely and strongly in my chest that it sent shudders through my bones, it was a wonder it was going as slow as it was going. The walls were closing in around me, the darkness of tunnel-vision steadily swallowing me and any remaining light. But all I saw was the door at the top of the last flight of stairs, and it was all I cared about. I wasn't even completely sure if I registered what Mike was saying, but, undoubtedly, it was the worried pleas for his sister to hold on as long as she could.
It was the sight of Jonathan desperately hurling an O2 tank into a door far down the hall, blood and sweat drenching his clothes, that I put together the thudding I felt prior was the effect of his noises, not my heart. And it was his actions-these noise-that had led us to him through the strobing maze. Pumping my legs faster, only now freeing Will's hand, I called out to the young man who had so long ago become like family.
"Jonathan!"
Immediately, he stumbled back and out of our way as we came to a skidding halt-Will's arms landed on my sides as I nearly slipped on a strange goo on the tile I hadn't noticed until now. My arms were already leaving my sides as I attempted to shove my fears to the back of my mind. After all, wasn't it just supposed to be some little old lady?
The door flew off its hinges with a boom like thunder, somewhere behind me I half sensed the others' hands flying to cover their ears. And at that moment-just that single half-second-I felt I could take anything on. But nothing, including the past two years of my life, could have prepared me for the sight that lay ahead.
A monster unlike anything I had ever seen towered over Nancy's trembling form over nine feet tall; its grotesque, mutated arachnid-like form took up nearly the entire room. But the stench... it was overpowering. And it told me everything I already suspected. I don't know how, but the thing was made up of blood, organs, and bone that had malted into some sort of sentient goo that lived and breathed. And it was now looking right at me, and as it did so, its spine unsheathed bone by singular bone in a rippling wave along its back, almost like a hissing cat.
"Jesus!"
"What the fu-?"
The creature howled with a booming roar so contradicting to the shrieks of warning it had given upon our arrival. It swallowed all noise, from Max and Mike's exclamations to the ringing in my ears that had returned with a vengeance. Unlike moments ago, time didn't slow. It didn't even stop. It was as if this exact moment I was living, and the events of last night, had been tossed in together like some twisted chef's salad. It was like I could still feel the heat of the sauna drawing beads of sweat to my forehead despite the freezing temperatures. And the stomp of every bloody stump across the floor as the monster charged its way towards me was the sound of Billy breaking free, ready to put me six feet under with his own two hands.
I hadn't even realized I was frozen-or heard the call of my name from somewhere in the group-until I felt myself stumble just as the monster was hurled into the wall at the sound of a familiar cry. Just before it could reach me. grasping the doorframe to have caught me, I watched in a mix of awe and fright as El wrenched her clawed hand across the room, taking the creature with it. It peeled off the walls before it crashed into the opposing side, crushing the walls beneath it. A pathetic string of whines voiced its distress and frustrations before it was hurled to the ceiling with another cry from El. And then the floor.
My chest tightened. Not only at the sight of El's shoulders heaving up and down as she struggled to catch her breath, but Nancy's figure which was now sat huddled under broken debris, trembling in fright. The guilt was already preparing itself, but not just yet. Not when the monster hiked up one arching stump after another as it brought itself up to stand. Its mouth parted, showing off its many rows of teeth made up of what had to be (once) human fingers as a growl grew in its belly.
But it never left. El had beat the monster to the punch as she threw her arms to the creature and screamed her throat raw. It was gone, traces of the glass window where it had made its forced exit littered the floor, and the sound of what I could only assume to be whatever the hell that thing was reaching the concrete.
"Go!"
Jonathan didn't have to think twice about El's demand and squeezed his way past me as he called out to his girlfriend. El was slipping around my shoulder and off down the hall, the others following. I worked harder to pull myself from the daze I've been growing in since we got here, my feet steadily shuffling after the group, but my eyes locked with Nancy's.
"I'm sorry," I croak, already feeling myself gently pulled away from the scene by two hands on my back and waist.
Neither of us said anything as we sprinted through the halls, hot on the Party's heels. It wasn't long before we reached them, blending in with them as we all once again found ourselves on the steps of the winding stairwell. It brought me some comfort knowing both Jonathan and Nancy were no longer in immediate danger-at least not any that we knew of. The image was still burned into my brain-its bloody, mutinous haunches towering over Nancy. Her cowering form huddled in the shelter of the broken wood as El stepped up to bat because I failed to stop it. It was angering. Angering to a point I could steadily feel the slush in my veins thawing away as rage took over.
I didn't know what I would do once I saw it. I didn't even know if I could do anything-I could freeze up again, just like I did, and put more people at risk. But I did know I was embarrassed. Embarrassed, scared, and so fucking done with this interdimensional bullshit.
By now I had matched El's speeds, bringing me to her side just as we came into sight of the exit doors. Lights still flickered around us but not nearly as much. Floods of red light pooled out onto the concrete from the EMERGENCY sign outside where, even from our sprint down the hall we could spot the shower of broken glass surrounding something in the night. My heart was working hard to escape my chest the closer we got but I pressed on, throwing my arms out in sync with El as we throw open the double doors and spill out into the warm summer night where our opponent lay.
My self and the others (including Nancy and Jonathan) had skitted to a halt when El's arm's swept out protectively. We all stood before the creature, swallowing involuntary gulps of air that unfortunately held the stench of the Flayed. It had shrunken down to a molten puddle that was working itself across the pavement in steady slithers. The sound of it all was repulsive. It matched the sight to a tee.
I could see it bubbling and hissing as it crept towards the storm grate, dissolving limb by severed, half-digested limb. They were becoming more prominent as it sunk into the sewers, ever so slowly draining away as the grate acted like some fucked up strainer leaving behind-to our horror-a leg, half a spine, and what I guessed to be part of a hip bone; it was all that was left of the Mind Flayer's latest victims.
||𝟑𝐑𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕||
As It sunk further and further into the chilling depths of the sewer, amongst the city's man-made rot, it finally began to feel more at ease. The subtle fire left in the air was already fleeting. It was new to life and any concept of thought, but it knew two things as it slunk through the path of the drainage systems beneath Hawkins; it knew the already kindling fire set ablaze within itself when the child had appeared that made it hate her so, as naturally as evolution. And just as well it knew the unceasing pull that had led it here, to the very depths of Brimborne Steel where the Mind Flayer awaited it; the final piece to slip itself into place, completing the Mind Flayer's final form.
It stood tall and proud. Whole. And though it now did so through the means of discarded human flesh and blood, for the first time in a physical form, even still the Shadow Monster stayed true to its name and cast out shadows looming even in the darkest corners of Brimborne. Shadows that bathed the two remaining hosts at its feet who waited patiently for their master to return home to them: Heather Holloway and Billy Hargrove.
"It's time."
Dawn was close to approaching and yet another squad of officers on patrol marched their way through the underground maze of tunnels. A rhythmic thrum of rubber boot heels against cement floors echoed the halls. Suppose it was ironic that the very Russians to have managed an entire hive-mind like operation under the noses of the citizens of Hawkins (not unlike the monster they were seeking out from the year prior) were none the wiser to two of the town's brightest youth hidden within their air ducts, perfectly undetected.
"...So, when we set fire to the hub, it helped Y/n face off against the Mind Flayer and its hive-mind while also drawing the Demodogs away. And, in turn, El was able to close the gate," Dustin concluded. He was partially squinting against the harsh rays of Erica's makeshift headlamp as he disassembled the circuits of the latest ventilation fan to block their path. Erica, all the while, provided the illumination as she was caught up on the events she had missed out on in the past two years. "But now, for some insane reason, the Russians appear to be trying to reopen it, which just destroys everything we risked our lives for."
Dustin wasn't exactly surprised by the air of skepticism surrounding the girl. "By 'we' you're including Lucas?"
"Yes, of course," Dustin answered, not really seeing her point.
Erica didn't seem too convinced. Again, this was no surprise to Dustin. But her exact skepticisms were beginning to. Was the heat of the ducts finally getting to him or was she serious? She seemed quite amused.
"So, all that shit you told me, Lucas was there?"
"Yeah."
"My brother, Lucas Charles Sinclair?"
"Yes!"
"I don't believe you," she says simply.
"Okay, let me get this straight," Dustin says, fully pausing his task and turning to her in disbelief. "so you have no trouble believing the fact that we fought interdimensional monsters-like the Demodogs and the Mind Flayer-and were hunted by evil government agents who were trying to kill and/or capture some of us," Erica nodded along. "or-OR-! The fact that not only is one of my best friends an escaped, superpowered experiment, but so is my sister. Who, by the way, you've known since you were six years old," she nods again. "...You only question your brother's involvement?"
"That is correct."
All Dustin can do is shrug it off. 'Sure,' he thought. "Makes total sense," he mumbles.
"Um, you need help with that?"
"No," he grumbled. Okay, the heat was getting to him. He was anxious to move on and get out of here, but not nearly as much as he was anxious to rescue Steve and Robin. Who knew if they were even still alive?
"Well, I mean, it's taking a while, so--"
"--Yeah, no shit Sherlock," he snapped.
Erica wasn't exactly happy either. "All right, so if we don't find a more efficient method to stop these fans, we're never gonna find help, and your ice cream buddies are screwed."
Dustin looked over to her slowly, stuffing down his culminating frustrations. "Yeah, with that attitude, they are. Jee-zus!"
"I'm just being realistic," she says. She checks her watch as he crankily continues his work on the small power box.
Not yet tampering with it. But removing the cover, which he was still working on.
Erica's point was making itself as the pocket screwdriver did only half the work that was required of it, more than doubling their escape time.
"I mean we've made it about point-three miles in... nine hours?" she speculates, doing the math out loud as Dustin eventually turns his attention to her. "Then we had to walk three hours down that tunnel, so I'd estimate ten miles back to the elevator, which should take us approximately twelve-and-a-half days."
Erica was met with a look of shock from her less than desirable travel companion, not yet understanding why.
"Did you just do all that in your head?" is all he asks.
She shrugs. "I'm good with numbers,"
"Holy shit," a look grows in his eyes that she does not at all like to see. "You're a nerd."
"Come again?" she scoffs, disgusted and frankly offended.
"You. Are. A. Nerd!"
"Okay, you better take that back, nerd," she warns.
A triumphant smirk blooms on his face that sets her teeth on edge. This nerd was way too cocky for her liking. And so clearly misinformed.
"Can't put the truth back in the box,"
"But it's not the truth,"
"Let's examine the facts, shall we? Fact one: you're a math whiz, apparently,"
"That was a pretty straightforward equation," she reasons. Hey, she couldn't help it if he couldn't do simple math.
"Fact number two: you're a political junkie,"
"Just because I don't agree with communism as an ideology--"
"--And fact number three: you love My Little Pony," Dustin finishes, unfazed with her reasoning. He takes her backpack in hand, presenting the seemingly undeniable evidence directly to the defense.
"And what does My Little Pony have to do with this?" she questions, taking the backpack from his grasp protectively and returning it to her side.
"Ah," he wistfully hums. "let's recall the ponies' latest adventure, shall we?"
Uh, what?
"The evil centaur team and Tirek turns Applejack into a dragon at Midnight Castle, and then Megan and the other ponies have to use Moochick's magic to defeat his rainbow of darkness, saving them from a lifetime of enslavement."
All Erica could do was sit blinking in shocked silence. Was this nerd for real?
"All the pink in the world can't disguise the irrefutable fact that centaurs and castles and dragons and magic are all standard nerd tropes. Ergo, My Little Pony is nerdy. Ergo, you, Erica, are a nerd."
"And how do you know so much about My Little Pony?" she anticipated the answer as soon as she asked it. Even still, she did so with a brightened smile and her hand tucked sweetly under her chin.
"Because I'm..." Dustin finished, at long last pulling back the metal cover of the circuit box and turned definitively to Erica, driving his argument home. "a nerd."
She threw him a warning glare like ice, but he was already ripping out the inner workings of the fan's circuit power. To his left, the whirling fan blades in their path slowed to a stop and unlocked the next level of their treacherous travels. It's with fond memories-and a bit of smugness-he's reminded of a campaign her very own brother had run for them all where the party had to work together to counter the spells littered throughout an enchanted maze that blocked their path. It was indeed, quite nerdy. And yet here she was, suggesting helpful ideas and supplying helpful tools from her-dare he say it-bag of holding along the way.
"Let's go..." He looked to her again-not bothering to hide the triumphant look in his eyes-and beckoned her on along their very own enchanted hedge maze. "nerd."
Dustin left her no time to parry. He was already ducking under the once deadly fan blades and missing the scathing glare burning into the back of his head. "You..." she hissed, knowing she had no choice but to follow suit in their race against time and capture. And yet no retaliation came.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
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