A/N: So This is a little preview for a story I had thought of. If this is well received I will actually start writing it. This story came to me mostly because I hit a writers block on another story I had been working on, and I needed to get something written down. As I started writing it down, I found that I actually liked writing for Eleven and the gang, and although I don't get to really explore the characters in depth I really look forward into diving into their personalities.
This little piece is essentially a standoff between Eleven and Thirteen, another 'tool' used by the Hawkins lab. Up to this point, there would have been no direct confrontation between the two characters, but smaller things would be leading up to this point.
Without further ado, please enjoy this little piece of a story.
Eleven approached the gymnasium to Hawkins High school. She thought back to last year, when it had been decorated for the Snow Ball, as it would be in the coming weeks. That was the first time she reunited with Mike, at least when their lives were not in danger. Her thoughts were brought back to reality when Mike put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to do this, El. There could be another way." She shook her head, her long wavy hair matching her motions. "Mike, I do. He has been here, watching. I need to put an end to this." Eleven steeled herself, she wished that her group of friends weren't with her, truthfully it put them in too much danger for her liking. She pulled open the door on the side of the building and marched her way in.
He didn't even acknowledge the group making their way towards the middle of the gymnasium. The lights were off, the room was only illuminated by the pale moonlight streaming in from the windows overhead. The boy was staring up at the moon, hands in his pockets. He sighed before addressing the group, "I told you. Nobody else." His english seemed broken, and he struggled to find the correct words for this scenario. "They won't listen. That's the problem when someone...loves you." The boy's eyes met Eleven's, "Love?" He seemed perplexed by the word.
Dustin stepped in front of Eleven, "What the hell do you want with Jane anyways? She could seriously mess you up with her mind!" Dustin had grown a lot in the past year, he was the same height as Eleven, and his shoulders were starting to broaden. The boy in the middle of gymnasium stared at Dustin. "Jane? Who?" He didn't know who 'Jane' was. Dustin motioned to eleven, "You know, Jane." The boy shook his head, his longer hair waved with him, "No. That's Eleven. I need her, father needs her" the party almost collectively gasped. Nobody outside of their small collective knew Jane's other name.
"What is your name?" Jane asked. He blinked at her, "Thirteen." Pulling up the sleeve on his right arm to show her his tattoo. "I am supposed to bring you back. To father." Eleven stepped in front of her friends, "No, Papa is dead." It took a moment for Thirteen to process this information. He had been out of contact with his father for the last year, right before the Hawkins lab was shut down. He was tasked with a single mission, bring Eleven home, or kill her. "Dr. Brennan is dead." A small smile crept across Thirteen's face, "No. Wolcott. He is father. Brennan is donor. Just like you. You are donor." He put a hand to his head, the information was difficult for him to process. "Come, Eleven."
"We won't let you take her!" Mike cried out, pulling Jane's arm towards the door. With a flick of his head Thirteen closed the door they were about to exit from and slowly made his way towards the group. "Eleven. Come. I need...I need to make things right, I need to be...fixed." He struggled with his words again, frustration growing in his features. His thoughts were fixed on a time where Dr. Wolcott was talking about Eleven, and how Thirteen was broken, it was a conversation he was not meant to hear. "No." Jane all but whispered, "I will not go with you!"
Thirteen's face went through a range of emotions, "Why?" He said in a hushed voice. Jane flipped her head and sent a loose basketball at Thirteen who palmed it away. "Eleven. Eleven! Eleven! Always Eleven! Never Thirteen!" He was yelling now, blood gently dripping from his nose. The bleachers on the sides of the gymnasium were rattling, shifting slowly towards the walls. A wind had whipped up, Thirteen was stomping his feet and throwing his hand into the air. "Come! I need to be fixed! I need to...be...made...Right!" He continued to yell at them, stopping only when Mike rushed past Jane, closing the already small gap between the party and Thirteen. Mike was taller than Thirteen, and had more muscle. Thirteen was thin, almost scarily so. Regardless, Mike never made it, Thirteen tilted his head, sending Mike crashing against the mats that lined the wall. Mike crumpled to the ground holding his side. Nothing felt broken, but he was still in a good amount of pain. "Mike!" Jane yelled, as the threw Thirteen across the gym. He landed close to the far end, his head bouncing off the wooden floors. It sounded like someone had fired a starter's pistol. Jane rushed to Mike's side pushing some of his hair out of his face. He wasn't bleeding, which did little to lessen the worry etched on her face. "Go get Thirteen, we can take care of Mike." Lucas said to Jane, who nodded in reply.
Jane stood and walked briskly across the gym to the boy at the far end. He had begun to get up, and there was a blood smear across the gym from where he had landed. He raised a hand in defense and Jane, now bleeding from her nose, threw his against the nearby wall. "What does he want with me! Why are you after my friends!" She demanded. Thirteen struggled against his invisible restraint momentarily before giving up and allowed himself to be pinned against the wall. "He wants you… all he does is talk about you." Thirteen sniffled, but was unable to reach up and wipe his nose. "Never Thirteen... He said… get Eleven." Tears were welling up in his eyes. "Why warmth for Eleven?" He was staring at Jane. Jane shook her head, "I don't understand what you mean…" Her grip on him released as he sunk back towards the ground.
Thirteen put a hand over his chest, "Warmth! He feels warmth! For you! They feel warmth! For you!" He was pointing towards Mike, Dustin, Will and Lucas. "Only hate for Thirteen!" As he said this he fell to his knees in front of Jane. "Do you mean love?" Confusion wracked his face, seeming unable to process the question. "I don't know!" He screamed, Jane felt the invisible force push her back slightly. He was panting heavily, his eyes wide and unfocused. "They are coming…" Jane furrowed her brow, looking around the room. "Who is coming?" She didn't see anybody in the gym around them. Thirteen stood up slowly, rubbing his right arm, "The monsters from the grey. The bad place. They...follow me." He looked at the wall behind himself as is started to distend, contorting around heads and arms that tried to pierce the veil. Jane placed a hand over her mouth as she gasped, knowing what was attempting to breach the gap to their plane of existence. The was suddenly fissured and a black mold-like substance oozed from the crevice, glowing red at its epicenter. A gnarled hand began to reach out, grasping for anything it could get its cold hands onto.
"I brought them. You have warmth… I will go." Thirteen said, without looking back at Jane. He raised a hand and pushed the creature's hand back through the gate. He approached the gate, and turned to face Jane. "You have warmth, I will make right. Enjoy...Love…" He shook his head, the word sounded foreign on his tongue. Without warning he pushed his way through the gate, and within seconds it began to seal itself from within the Upside Down.