Chapter Text
Start of episode 5. The scene starts on Joyce’s face, she on the ground, surrounded by fire and destruction, watching over the area where her son and his friend stood unharmed.
Joyce sat in shock, unsure about what had just happened. She was bracing herself to watch helplessly as Mike Wheeler, a boy she had known for over a decade, was about to be torn to pieces by a demogorgon. Only it didn’t happen, Joyce was glad about that, but was shocked to see her sixteen-year-old son seeming to control the monster.
“Will!”, she croaked out, trying to yell but still winded.
Will and Mike were still looking at each other as Joyce moved towards her son.
“Will”, She yells a little loud, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“Mom!” He yells back.
“I don’t understand, what happ-” Joyce started, but was interrupted by Mike running towards him.
“He’s a sorcerer. A real-life sorcerer.” Mike spoke as he hugged Will.
A hug so strong that it almost knocked them both over, Mike tightened his grip on Will. Will let out a soft ‘Mike’ and he returns the hug.
After a few long moments, they parted, hands lingering on the other's arms. They both looked at each other, looking into each other's eyes, smiling before quickly breaking apart, flustered and blushing a little.
Joyce looked at the two teens, unsure about the meaning of Mike’s words. She was sore and a little dizzy, still trying to process the last ten or so minutes.
“I don’t understand?” Joyce spoke.
“The hive mind, Will can control it. He stopped the Demogorgon” Mike smiled a little.
“But we failed, the kids. Henry took them.” Will looked sad, worried about the fate of the kids.
“Derek, Mary and Glenn”, Mike spoke sadly.
“I got knocked out. When I woke up, the demogorgons were talking them back to the Mac.” Mike added as he has placed a hand on his ribs, wincing a little,
“No, He got them all”, Will pleaded out, tears staying to form.
“Oh, you saw”, Mike spoke softly. Understanding
“He tried to go after Lucas and Robin. I stop those too,” Will spoke, then his face fell “Lucas, he is hurt in the tunnels.”
Mike's face fell as well. Sirens and the sound of helicopters could be heard overhead.
“We’ve got to go”, Joyce called out, trying to grab the boys, but yelped out in pain.
“Mom”, Will called, holding her up.
“I’m okay, we have to go now” Joyce shook her head. The three make their way to the RadioShack store.
*******scene change******
Robin is sitting up against the turnaround van, holding her bruised cheek. Staring at the corpse of the demogorgon, as it was better than looking into the empty cab at the back of the van.
“Holy smoking cracker dump. Is that a.. How did that happen?” Murray walked round to Robin. Looking shocked at the dead monster lying just ahead of them.
Robin just shook her head, unsure of how to explain what had just happened.
“Are the kids okay?” Murray asked, already trying to climb up to check on them.
“They're gone, we failed”, Robin spoke quietly.
“No, no no no. I really thought we could make it.” Murray whispered.
The two remained in silence until a faint voice called out.
“Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? What is going on? Hello?”
****scene change*****
Erica is sitting up in the clock tower, watching the military base in flames. Scared and unsure of what is happening.
“Hello? Will someone please answer me?” Erica called into the walkie again. No one had answered in nearly half an hour, 24 and a half minutes, she had been counting. She was very worried. She did her job sitting and keeping watch, but then shit blew up, literally.
“Erica, I’m here. What is going on?” Robin’s voice came through the walkie. Erica breathed a small sigh of relief.
“Thank god, no one is answering. The military base has literally blown up.” Erica told Robin over the walkie. She looks through the binoculars, trying to see if she can see anyone she knows.
“What happened?” Robin asked, sounding scared.
“I don’t know, I was watching. The military had Will, Mike and Mrs Byers. And three of the kids. Then suddenly there were gunshots and explosions, and now I can not see them.” Erica tried to remain calm.
“Is Lucas with you?” She asks hopefully.
“No, and we failed. Vecna got the kids. Come back to the squawk, and if they are not there, we will plan to look in the tunnels. Are you safe?” Robin starts to talk, then asks if Erica is okay.
“Yes, they haven’t seen me. I will meet you at the squawk. Over and out,” Erica puts down the walkie and packs up her things and quickly heads down, going fast, hoping that her brother is okay.
****scene change****
“Lucas?” Mike called out in the tunnels. He was walking ahead of Will and Joyce.
“Tell it to me again?” Joyce asked, confused.
“The hive mind, I am connected, and Mike wondered if I could hijack it. And I did. I stop the demogorgons. I’m still not fully sure how.” Will explained again.
“You took out three demogorgons, Will. That is amazing,” Mike turned around and stopped to smile at Will. Will smiled back.
“Okay, but when you were possessed last time, is that the same?” Joyce asked, worried about what happened last time.
“No, this time is different, I think he left some type of… I don’t know, like in Hawkins, I can feel the connection when he is here, but when we were in Lenora, I felt nothing.” Will tried to explain, placing a hand on the back of the neck. “But they have to be close, I can’t feel anything else.”
“Lucas!” Mike calls out, starting to run, causing the two Byers to follow.
Lucas was lying down on the ground, bleeding from a gash on his bicep. Mike kneels to check the wound.
“It’s okay, nothing too bad to worry about”, Mike tries to help his friend feel better.
Lucas points over to his bag, where he had packed some simple medical gear.
“You’re prepared," Mike smiles as he starts to get a gauze and tape out of the bag.
Will and Joyce help Lucas with his shirts to get a clear view of his wound.
“It’s not too deep. I can do a quick fix here, then get a better look back at the station.” Joyce says, placing the gauze down in the wound, (Lucas wincing) and taping it up.
“You might get a badass scar,” Mike tries to cheer Lucas up (Lucas lets out a small chuckle).
“Yeah, plus you had a nice swing,” Will complimented Lucas.
Lucas looks confused, then his eyes dart over to the dead, broken demogorgon lying not too far from them.
“That was you? How?” Lucas spoke in confusion,
“The hive mind, I was able to control it, to control them. I stopped three of them, who were going after you, Mike and Robin. I stop all three of them,” Will says shyly.
“At the same time,” Mike adds.
“Holy shit, real like Will the wise”, Lucas said, smiling as Joyce and Mike helped him up.
“Will’s more like a sorcerer because his powers are innate”, Mike explains the important difference before smiling at Will.
“You gave me the idea I couldn’t do it without you” Will smiles back, and the two teens look into each other's eyes before quickly looking away.
“Yeah, okay”, Lucas said with a little suspicion in his voice as he watched two of his friends sensing the weirdness between the two, but unsure what it was.
Mike and Will lead the way, walking close to each other as they navigate the tunnels. Joyce and Lucas follow behind them, and Lucas squints his eyes each time they bump into each other.
*****end of scene*****
The new scene starts with loud sirens ringing out on the military base in the upside-down, as the door to the safe room is broken down by soldiers. Revealing an unconscious Kali. Troops are searching every space. Dr Kay walks into the safe room, staring at her prisoner.
“Find her, I want her back here now” She damaged
“They seem to have gone; we scared them off, and this room was still secure”, Akers replied.
Dr Kay just stares at him with so much anger on her face, the Akers shifts a little in fear.
“They are still in the area, this place and the Mac-Z is locked down,” She stated to her officer as if he were stupid.
“That is the other thing Sullivan has not responded since his last transmission, and there has been no word that has come out from the Mac-Z in the last 45 mins. We have been sent back up.” Akers explained.
Kay looks at her subject and at the once locked door.
“This was the distraction; they didn’t know about the subject. She wanted the kids. Find her now, kill anyone standing in the way. She has followers in town, round them up as soon as you have sorted the mess at the Mac-Z. That is an order,” Kay shouts out,
Akers nods and moves his team out of the room. Dr Kay smirks at eight and turns to walk away, but stops, confused about something in the vision in the corner of her eye. She turns back to the still Eight, noticing a little flutter in her hand. Kay moves her finger out to poke her subject, only for Eight to blow away like smoke.
She screams out in anger as the scene turns to where Kali is.
*****End scene***
Kali is sitting in the back of a truck, blood runs down from her nose, with her sister Jane sitting next to her. Hopper driving.
“I lost the connection, too far away now”, Kali speaks as she wipes her nose.
“That is okay, we have placed a good amount of distance between them. They won’t know where we are, so they will circle back to where we hid out last time and go from there. When we are on the other side, at the cemetery. We will meet the others and then sneak past into the Mac-Z, and easy peasy, we are back and then can plan the next move.” Hopper explained.
“No”, Kali protested. “I could hear them; the Mac is on lockdown, and I am drained of my powers,” She added.
‘When was the last time you had some food?” Hopper asks worriedly. Kali just shrugged.
“Jane, give her some of the battery in my bag”, Hopper tells his daughter.
Jane pulls a face as she pulls some of the beef jerky out of Hopper’s bag and passes it to Kali.
“Sorry, this is all we have, and it is gross,” Jane says, and Kali lets out a little chuckle.
“No, I like jerky”, Kali says in a small voice.
Hopper lets out a laugh, “Glad someone enjoys it.”
‘You called me Jane.” Jane speaks up after a moment of silence.
“Yeah, it is your birth name, and you said that you are your own person. Why don’t you like it?” Hopper explains.
“No, I like it,” Jane smiles, as does Hopper.
“Kali, did you hear anything else?” Hopper asks gently, not wanting to push her.
“They want Jane; they will kill anyone in the way, and they want to capture her followers” Kali stops to think, then adds, “Something about kids”
“Yeah, a young girl went missing. Holly Wheeler, she’s only nine.” Hopper said sadly.
“No, they said kids as in more than one”, Kali clarified.
“Okay, we need to get back to the others and come up with a new plan, all of us together. Do you think you can leave a metal plate?” Hopper asks Jane as he thinks of a new plan.
“Possibly if I rest and charge up. But you said that all the plates were being watched.” Jane wondered,
“Yes, but not as much in the woods. Something has changed, and we don’t have enough info, so we will meet up with the group and get back to Hawkins. If the others are in danger from the military, we have to warn them. Okay?” Hopper explained,
“Wasn’t that your boyfriend's name, Wheeler?” Kali asks.
“Yeah, it’s his sister,” Hopper answers
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Jane says with annoyance.
“He’s not, since when?”
“Lenora,” Jane said
“What? That was eighteen months ago, I’ve been disliking the kid for no reason.” Hopper says with bewilderment.
“Why?” Jane asks, confused.
“Not important, do you understand the new plan?” Hopper asks, Jane nods.
“Good, now eat some jerky,” Hopper said.
We end the scene with the truck continuing to drive closer to the cemetery.
****** new scene*****
Murray and Robin come up to the WSQK, dragging something in a trap.
“My word, this is heavy,” Robin grunts out.
“It’s an eight-foot monster, what did you expect it to be like, a feather?” Murray laughs at his joke. And Robin rolled her eyes.
“Where the hell have you been? I can’t run two search parties. You bald bastard,” Erica yells out, with worry.
“Sorry, took longer than expected,” Robin apologised.
“Why am I getting all the names?” Murray asks, sulking.
“Robin is cool,” Erica states. Robin lets out a little chuckle.
“Am I not cool?” Murray asks.
“No,” Robin and Erica repeat at the same time.
“Rude” Murray returns the tone.
“Why did you drag this here? And what happened to it?” Erica wondered
“We drag this because an overturned car is suspicious, but an overturned car and this dead thing is too suspicious. And we don’t want the goons with guns knocking on the door.” Murray explained his madness.
“It was about to get me, and it froze, then lifted, and its bones broke, and something killed it. I'm not sure I understand what happened. Hopefully, the others have some answers.” Robin says, a little shaken.
The three help drag the demeogorgon, the last of the way. Before seeing a flashing light, walk up close to the station.
“It’s them,” Murray calls out.
The three run towards them. Mike is holding a flashlight, turning it on and off to signal the other group.
“Lucas,” Erica calls out, running to hug her brother. She gives a quick hug and pulls back to give a little punch to Lucas, but stops when she sees blood on his shirt.
“Is that your blood?” Erica asks worriedly.
“It’s only a flesh wound,” Lucas tries to reassure his little sister.
“Once that is healed, I’m punching you in the stomach,” Erica stated before hugging her brother again, for longer this time.
Erica parted as the group entered the squawk. Mike walks up behind Lucas and pats him on the back
“Sisters are mean, am I right?” Mike laughs, then pauses as he realises he has no idea where his sisters are. It dawns on him how bad the situation with his family is; his parents are injured in the hospital, and his sister is lost in the upside-down. He takes a breath and forces a smile, keeping his worries to himself.
Lucas wasn’t fooled; he caught the look in Mike’s eyes, seeing his worry and sorrow in that, which plagued his mind.
‘Nancy is a badass, she’ll be okay. And we will find Holly and the rest of the kids,” Lucas tries to reassure his friend.
They entered to hear Will explaining what happened.
“He spoke to me, Henry told me he wants to take over the world, but in a way that he writes it, and that is why he is using the kids. He thinks that they are weak and easy to use. He told me that I was weak and helpless to stop what was coming, and he was going to make me watch as he killed Mike, Lucas and Robin.” Will paused as his eyes were full of tears, then he turned to look at Mike.
“Mike said earlier that because I am part of the hive mind, I may be able to control it or that I was already subconsciously. So I thought about times when I felt the happiest, where I was free and truly myself and I stopped them all.” Will smiles through the tears.
Robin does as well, understanding that her words to Will about accepting himself were so helpful that they helped save their lives. She follows where Will was looking, seeing him at Mike and Mike looking back. She watched Mike for a moment and noticed two things: one, he bit his lip, and two, he swallowed. Mike was nervous watching Will; she had seen them earlier that evening, talking, well, more like flirting from Will, but Mike didn’t seem to dislike it, and Will did ask what signs someone wants to date. Mike is acting nervously with what can only be seen as longing in his eyes. Robin's eyes go wide. Will likes Mike, and Mike almost definitely likes Will back. Robin is ninety-nine per cent sure.
“Oh my god,” she exclaimed. Everyone stopped to look at her, apart from Mike, who kept looking at Will.
“That is amazing what you can do, and hey, thank you for saving my life” Robin laughs, hoping that her personality helps hide the fact that she is having a huge revelation.
“You’re welcome,” Will says in a soft voice,
“Okay, well, I should get some ice on this (she points to her bruising temple), and Mike (Mike snaps out of his mind, hearing his name), you should clean that cut on your temple.” Robin tries to get someone else to talk; thankfully, Murray is Murray and immediately talks.
“Okay, two questions,” He begins.
“One, so you killed that thing with your mind,” Murray asks Will. Will nods back modestly.
“Well, hot cook me with a fire stick, you killed it good,” Murray exclaims.
“He killed three simultaneously,” Mike boasts, holding up three fingers.
“Yeah, that's some real wizard shit,” Murray says cheerily.
“He’s more of a sorcerer,” Mike corrects
“Yeah, his powers are innate,” Erica adds.
“Does it matter?” Lucas asks.
“It matters,” Mike and Erica say at the same time.
“Just let's get back on track. What is the second thing?” Joyce asks Murray.
“Why are these two damp?” Murray asks, pointing to Will and Mike.
“Broken pipes,” Mike explains.
“That's why it is a bit musty in here,” Murray laughs.
“Okay, Will, can you still feel Henry or this hive mind?” Joyce asks her youngest son, trying to get everyone back on track.
“No, not anymore. I think he’s gone to where I could feel, and Jane couldn’t find him.” Will says sadly.
“What if we strap you on top of the van and drive you around?” Robin asks genuinely.
The rest of the room stops and looks at her.
“What?” Will asks confused
“Bad idea? Well, I do need to get some ice and have a sit-down for a bit,” Robin jokes.
“Yeah, none of us has had much sleep in the past few days, and it is close to midnight, so how about we rest and get some food in us, and in a few hours we will sit and think when we are in a better headspace. Agreed?” Joyce asks, not wanting to push anyone past their limits.
Everyone nodded and started to move more into the station.
“Okay, good. Lucas, I’ll have another look at your injury.” Joyce goes to move over to where the first aid kit is, but stops as Lucas speaks up.
“Wait,” Lucas speaks. He turns to look at Mike before turning to his sister.
“Erica, I need you to go home- no, listen before you argue. I want you to go home, wake mom and dad, and bring them here. And to call Dustin’s and Max’s mothers and tell them to come here. If Vecna is planning on taking over the world, then our parents need to know the truth.” Lucas finishes,
“He’s right, Erica. I wish I had let my parents know, and maybe they might have been safe, but no more lies.” Mike pleads; he is sick of all the lies.
“Okay, yeah, I will do that” Erica nods and gives Lucas another hug before heading off.
Lucas turned back to Mike. “No regrets, right?”
Mike nods as he watches Will sit down on a chair “Yeah, no regrets. I’m going to go clean the scratch”
Scene end with Mike walking into a bathroom, and he looks in the mirror, shaking a little and breathing fast
****new scene****
The truck pulls up to the church. Steve’s car is stuck in the wall with the boot open.
“Wow, Harrington’s car looks like it has seen better days,” Hopper says, whistling out.
“Guys. Hey, are you here, guys?” Hopper calls out as he heads into the church, only to find it empty “Son of a bitch,” he yells out.
He storms back to the truck and pulls out his walkie.
“Hey, I told you guys to stay put. Where are you? Nancy? Jonathan?” Hopper calls into the walkie. He stormed into the church to hear better.
Kali stood by the car, looking up at the wall. Jane walked up next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Where are we?” Kali asks.
“You don’t know, my friends call it the upside-down. Down here (she stomps on the ground) is the real town,” Jane tries to explain to her sister.
“They took me, and then I woke up in that room. I don’t know what they wanted or why they did it. I also escaped once I was two doors away, but that would not have mattered in here,” Kali explained.
“He seems nice,” Kali changes the topic, trying not to think about the cold.
“Hopper, yeah, he looks after me. What happened to your frien- family?” Jane asked.
“Died, all dead, I think,” Kali says somberly.
Jane moves to hug her sister. “I’m sorry,” she says.
“I lost my family, I won’t let you lose yours. I will help you kill One” Kali promises.
“Hey, I’m getting no answer. Let’s wait inside for a bit, and I will try again later. Let's hope they don’t do anything stupid.”
Kali and Jane move into the church to wait. Hopper likes to look up to the sky as another red bolt flashes across the sky, hoping that everyone is okay.
****end scene****
The new scene starts on Nancy, Steve, Jonathan and Dustin walking into the lab. Steve is holding the nail bat that he keeps in the boot of his car.
“Well, this looks promising," Steve says sarcastically
“It's the lobby, Steve,” Dustin replies bitterly.
Nancy rolls her eyes.
“So what are we looking for again?” Jonathan asks.
“Have you all seen Return of the Jedi?” Dustin says.
“No,” Nancy responded.
“Once,” Jonathan replied
Steve just made Ewok noises.
“Okay, we are looking for anything weird,” Dustin sighed.
They move further in until they come up to the stairs.
“Up or down?” Jonathan says.
“Split up, how about you and me, Nance?” Steve suggested.
“Excuse me?’ Jonathan asks, annoyed.
‘We need some space from each other,” Steve spoke. Dustin rolled his eyes.
“Fine, how about you and me?” Jonathan asks as a compromise.
“Nah, we need some space too,” Steve replied.
“Oh, sure, apart from Nancy, right?” Jonathan accused.
“Stop all of you, Jonathan and I are going down, and you two go up. That is final,” Nancy looks annoyed at all three of them.
Nancy and Jonathan go down, and Steve and Dustin head up the stairs.
****** New scene****
Robin sits on the couch with an ice pack on her eye, Joyce to properly bandaging up Lucas’s wound. Murray is sitting on the other chair, eating a bag of chips. Robin turns to see Will calling her over with his hand.
“Gotta go,” She says, moving around from Murray.
Moving to the desk studio, where Will is waiting for her.
“I want to say thank you, your words about finding myself and accepting myself really helped.” Will smiled. And Robin smiles back happily.
“You are welcome. I understand feeling different and how scary it is, but once you accept and love yourself for who you are is the best feeling in the world.” Robin explains, happy to help another queer person.
“You know how I ask about knowing if someone wants to date, I want to tell him,” Will beams confidently, but not letting Robin know who it was.
“You have grown in confidence, I'm sure Mike will love that,” Robin says, smirking a little with a knowing look. Will’s eyes open in shock.
“I never said it was- is it that obvious?” Will asks.
“To me, back I knew what I was looking for. I saw the two of you early, and I saw you flirt with him, and it looked like he enjoyed it. And just now the way he looked at you and I know that his favourtie song is Smalltown Boy. That song, I should have just been listening to the lyrics, they are- oh god I sound like Steve.” Robin stops to pause at the thought.
“Steve?” Will says in shock and a little horror.
“Oh yeah, he knows about me, the first person I told. He was cool with it and saying those words out loud for the first time, and being accepted is so comforting, you know?” Robin explains.
“It is, you are the only person I’ve told” Will smiles
“You think that Mike may like me back?” Will asks.
“Yeah, I think so, I mean, I don’t know him that well, but you wondered about signs, so you must think that there is a chance” Robin hypes Will up.
Will smiles. “Yeah, he and Jane broke up a while back, and it’s hard to explain. But there seems to be this feeling between u,s and I am nervous to tell him,” Will fiddles with his hands
“Understandable, but it is worth it to take a chance, I did with Vicki” Robin smiles.
Will nods and takes a breath.
**
Lucas placed a blue WSQK jersey as his old one was covered in blood. He turns to Joyce and thanks her.
“I’m going to talk to Mike. I think he is worried about his family.” Lucas speaks.
“Yeah, I think that is wise, thank you, Lucas.”
Joyce watches as Lucas moves to the bathroom, where Mike is. She goes over to the sitting area and sits down with her head in her hands.
“Penny for your thoughts, Joyce,” Murray asks
“They are going to hate me,” Joyce mumbles.
“Who?” Murray wonders.
“Their parents, I’ve lied to them so much, they are my friends.” Joyce lets out.
“Okay, well, maybe at first, then when they see the monster, they will be so scared that they will forgive you,” Murray explains
“Not helpful,” Joyce responded. They sit in silence for a bit before Joyce talks again.
“I knew him, Henry Creel; he was a few years younger than Jim and I. He was shy, I thought getting him in the play would help him make friends, and he was even sweet on a girl. Then suddenly we heard that his father killed him and his family. But that was not true. I'm just unsure I can believe it.” Joyce confessed.
“Who knows what goes on in people's heads? and it was not your fault,” Murray smiles.
Joyce smiles as she hears a car pull up.
**
“Mike?” Lucas asks as he knocks on the door,
“Is everything okay?” Mike answers as he opens the door, holding a cloth next to his eye.
“I want to talk to you, seriously, you have been through a lot, you can not hide in it anymore. I’ve seen Dustin lose himself hiding his emotions. I don’t want to see that happen to you, as well.” Lucas explained.
“Okay,” Mike replied, letting him in.
“I know you are worried about your family, but I feel like something more is going on with you. Am I right?” Lucas asks, seeing something worry his friend for a while.
“Yeah, something is eating me up,” Mike confessed a little.
“Is it something you regret doing, something to do with El?” Lucas asks, still unsure about their breakup
“No, it was only ever friendship between El and me. I know that now, it’s just now-” Mike starts to explain, but gets scared a little.
“You have feelings for someone else, who is a girl at school?” Lucas
“It’s complicated, it’s-” Mike starts again, but can’t finish the words; he wishes Lucas would just drop it, as he can feel himself getting angry and a little panicked.
“Who is she? Is she in our lab class? What is her name, Kimmy? Kelly? Or that girl on Halloween. She seemed to...” Lucas began to speak, but was interrupted by Mike.
“It's not a girl,” Mike said, frustrated, then his face turned to horror as he realised what he had just confessed to. His breathing started to go fast, and he started to have a panic attack.
“Mike, Mike, hey, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Lucas says softly, rubbing his friend's back as he cries.
“It’s okay, Mike, so you like a boy. That is fine. Who is it? Is it W-oh?” Lucas stops as he understands the tension he had been seeing from Mike and Will over the past few months.
“I also thought you were close. I just thought it was because you have known each other the longest. Does he know?” Lucas asks gently, hopefully not pushing too much.
“No, he doesn't like me like that,” Mike let out a sob.
“Did Will tell you that?” Lucas asks, and Mike shakes his head.
“Well then, how do you know if you don’t tell him? Is that what you mean by no regrets?” Lucas asked. Mike stood up and wiped his eyes with the cloth.
“I want to tell him, Lucas, I’m just so scared to lose him,” Mike admitted.
“The world might end in two days, so you tell him how you feel. Before it is too late.” Lucas smiled, hoping that his friend would take his advice.
Mike smiles and nods.
And we end that scene with the sound of a car pulling up