Eleven found it incredibly endearing how Mike knew the words of his favorite movies by heart. Although she had only seen one of the 'Star Wars', she found herself mouthing the words to the beginning of the film.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…
As the opening crawl began she pulled her blanket over her upper torso and snuggled up into Mike's side. She heard him chuckle softly and turn to her.
"Comfy?" He asked as she looked up at him and nodded, turning her attention back to the television as he gave her a gentle kiss on the top of her head. Eleven's eyes widened as she read the yellow text parading up the screen.
The Empire Strikes Back
It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy.
Eleven's smile of anticipation slowly disappeared from her face as her thoughts turned to the heroes of the Rebel Alliance. Han and Chewie, Luke and Leia. Were they alright? Would they be alright? Her heart sunk at the thought of losing any of them. Mike, sensing her uneasiness, was quick to speak.
"This one is my favorite El, I think it'll be your favorite too." He assured her.
"Ok." She muttered, readjusting her weight one last time to settle in as the opening crawl came to an end.
The evil lord Darth Vader, obsessed with finding young Skywalker, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space...
…
The battle for the icy world that was Hoth left Eleven feeling dejected. Even after a fierce battle, the motley rebels were booted from their home and into the unforgiving black gulfs of space, pursued by an unrelenting foe. It was hard for her not to draw comparisons between the Alliance and the Party. After the defeat of the Demogorgon a year ago, everything had gotten harder, not easier. Eleven's concerns shrunk however when the similarities ended there. When the Upside Down struck back, the Party was able to hold Hawkins, but just barely. Before Eleven could question if the Demidogs, as Dustin had called them, were the Imperial Probes rather than the AT-ATs she refocused on the movie. Watching as Luke struggled to lift his X-Wing out the swamps of Dagobah.
Eleven smirked ever so slightly at the scene. "Easy." She muttered, knowing that lifting the starfighter was well within her capabilities.
"Oh, you think so huh?" Mike asked her, to which she nodded enthusiastically.
"What's the biggest thing you ever lifted anyways?"
"Train car."
"Oh yeah, I forgot you told me about that."
The pair's attention turned back to the movie as Luke gave up on lifting his ship from the murky waters of the swamp planet.
"I can't…It's too big." He panted.
"Size matters not. Look at me! Judge me by my size, do you? Mmm? Hm... and well you should not. For my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it. Makes it grow. Its energy, surrounds us... And binds us... Luminous beings are we! Not this…crude mater!" Yoda grumbled as he poked his student in the shoulder with his walking stick.
"Mike?" Eleven murmured.
"Hm?"
"Do you think I could be a Jedi?"
"Well…we'd have to get you a lightsaber, and a teacher."
"Like Yoda?"
"Yeah like Yoda, someone who's wise."
"Will is wise." Eleven offered.
"Well he's Will the Wise but that's in our game. I don't know if he could help you be a Jedi. Although I'm sure he'd love to help."
"What about Steve. He helps Dustin, and Dustin says he's wise."
"Well, Steve is wise…in a different way. Not in a Jedi way though. He's helping Dustin with completely different stuff.
"Oh…" She murmured, sounding defeated.
"We'll find someone though, don't worry. It took Luke a long time to become a Jedi, but he did it eventually. You will too."
"What will you be Mike?"
"Well I-I don't know. I guess if you're like Luke, then I might be Han?"
"Han?" Eleven asked, sounding almost surprised.
"Yeah Han! The dashing smuggler.
Eleven raised an eyebrow at him.
"What you don't think I'm dashing?"
"Dashing?"
"Yeah dashing! You know like-"
"I know what it means Mike. I just…well…you're kind of a dork."
"A dork?!" Mike yelped, practically drowning out the orchestral swell that accompanied Yoda pulling Luke's X-Wing out of the swamps. He swore he could hear his sister dying of laughter somewhere upstairs.
Eleven snickered and nodded, sitting up and giving the boy a peck on the cheek before resting her head on his shoulder.
"You're my dork though."
Mike blushed furiously and turned his attention back to the movie where Luke seemed to be echoing his current sentiments.
"I-I don't believe it." Skywalker muttered, looking at his recovered X-Wing in awe.
…
Things had taken a turn for the worse for the heroes of the Rebel Alliance. Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca and the droids had been captured by the Empire on Cloud City after Lando Calrissian betrayed them. Eleven was now sitting upright with her legs pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around a couch throw pillow, watching in horror as Han Solo was prepared for carbon freezing.
"I love you!" Leia blurted out, surging forward a few feet to be closer to Han, only to be held back by a stormtrooper.
"I know." Han replied, his voice unnaturally calm. Eleven wondered if the loveable rogue had been in worse situations before. She expected something to happen. R2-D2 would deploy a smoke screen, Chewie and Leia would attack in tandem, maybe Luke would arrive and hold of Vader and his troopers long enough for the others to be freed from their bonds. Instead, she could only watch as Han Solo disappeared in a plume of smoke before reemerging, frozen in a slab of carbonite.
"No." She whispered as Mike looked over, offering his hand. She quickly grabbed hold of it and scooted over to be closer to him.
"Well Calrisian, did he survive?" Vader's voice boomed.
"Yes, he's alive…and in perfect hibernation." Lando affirmed.
Vader turned to the armored figure standing next to him.
"He's all yours bounty hunter, reset the chamber for Skywalker."
"Nooooo." Eleven protested quietly as she squeezed Mike's hand tighter.
Mike glanced at her with a hint of sadness. In this story, Leia knew Han was alive. What he would have given to know with certainty that Eleven was alive after everything that had happened last year. All he had back then was a hunch, a gut feeling that she was out there, somewhere and that eventually, she'd find her way home. Now she was home, and Mike felt better than ever like he could take on the Mind Flayer all by himself if it meant keeping her safe.
…
Darth Vader loomed over Luke, the ethereal blue glow of the carbon freezing chamber walls clashing with the bright orange light coming from the floor panels.
"The Force is with you young Skywalker…but you are not a Jedi yet." Vader growled as Luke made his way up the steps to face Vader on equal ground. Luke readied his lightsaber in the blink of an eye, but Vader took his time, drawing his weapon casually, drawing out the start of the engagement.
He was toying with Luke.
As their lightsabers clashed, Eleven could only watch in awe as the pair battled through the underbelly of Cloud City. Despite the fact that he was horrendously outmatched, Luke pressed on and continued to fight. Eleven could not but help compare herself to Skywalker once again, but this time it was a comparison that she was proud of. She and her hero had both returned to their friends in a time of need. She and Luke fought their demons and returned stronger. For Luke, It was Vader. For her, the legacy that her papa had left behind. The Byers family shattered, arguably beyond repair. The gate and the upside down, claiming another victim, a man named Bob and the possibility that her father was out there, still plotting against her.
Luke's screams jarred her out her thoughts, his hand had been chopped off by Vader and his weapon lost to the depths of Cloud City.
"There is no escape…don't make me destroy you." Vader warned.
Eleven looked over at Mike nervously. He was devouring the last of the popcorn, his eyes fixated on the screen. Between handfuls of popcorn, he was still mouthing the dialogue as a grin slowly appeared on his face.
"Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father."
"He told me enough!" Luke snarled as he clambered away from Vader.
"He told me you killed him."
"No…I am your father."
Eleven's jaw dropped as she glanced over at Mike and then back to the television. Mike could have sworn her eyes were as a big as the Eggo waffles she enjoyed so much.
"Mike, is it true?" She wondered.
"Watch." He told her gently.
"No...no... that's not true! That's impossible!
"Search your feelings. You know it to be true."
As Vader laid out his plans for galactic domination, she could only think of how her papa had tried to fill her head with such ideals. How special she was, how one day she could change the world, how the Russians nor the Chinese could ever assemble a force to challenge her.
"Come with me." Vader said, offering his hand to his son. Instead, Luke jumped into the darkness below. Eleven couldn't blame him, she would have jumped too.
…
As the film concluded, Mike was still chuckling at the fact that Eleven called Luke's new hand 'bitchin'. Eleven was already eagerly wondering when they could watch the last movie.
"Not sure, but we'll watch it soon." He assured her.
The two decided to lay down on the couch, legs pointed in opposite directions but resting their heads on the other's shoulder. Mike could only smile as he heard Eleven hum the Imperial March. To hear her be even just a little more vocal now, after a lifetime of being kept in Hawkins Lab at the mercy of those scientists, was a huge relief for him. Part of him hoped the Upside Down and The Mind Flayer were all behind them, with the scariest thing ahead of them being High School. But he saw how Will had been acting lately, staring off into the distance for extended periods of time and the nightmares about being trapped the Upside Down once again, or worse someone else he cared about being trapped in his place. Eleven had nightmares too, some mornings she would hug him a little tighter than usual or if it was really bad, Hopper would invite him over for dinner just so she had the option of talking to someone else other than him if she needed it.
Mike gave her a loving glance, pushing his troubled thoughts to the back of his mind. Right now they were here, together, and nothing was ever going to drive them apart again.
…
She was in the Upside Down.
They were all in the Upside Down.
Mike's eyes were someplace else, however, somewhere far away. Eleven was paralyzed with fear to see him lying on his side at the feet of her papa, shivering fiercely. In the distance, she could hear Will calling out for them, his voice becoming more and more panicked as the minutes ticked by. To her right was Lucas, standing with his slingshot at the ready while behind him was Max. She too was on the ground shivering furiously, eyes looking off into the darkness with an unblinking gaze. Dustin hovered over her, placing his coat over her tremoring frame.
"Eleven." Her father said flatly, directing her gaze back at him.
"He doesn't have much time." He chided, kneeling down to place a hand on Mike's forehead only for his hand to be seized by an unseen force. He struggled momentarily before scowling at her. Red lightning jumped across the darkened sky as she felt a burning pain reverberate through her skull.
"He's dying Eleven, but you can still save him. Open the gate, let him through. I know you can do it."
"No Pappa!" She snarled.
Her father's features hardened as he reached down towards Mike and opened his palm. Red tendrils of energy surged out from his hand and constricted Mike, causing him to writhe in pain. Eleven felt tears stream down her face as she tried to reach out and defend her friend, only to be greeted by the same pain from before. She was helpless.
"You can stop this Eleven! Now open the gate!"
The red lighting returned, turning the sky into a canvas of crimson and revealing the Mind Flayer, who presided over the confrontation, watching with an almost eerie sense of intrigue.
"Eleven! D-don't listen to him! You can't open another-AGRGHHH!" Mike protested before being subjected to another surge of power from her papa.
Jane tried to move forward only to encounter an invisible force struggling against her. She grit her teeth an pushed forward as her papa raised his free hand to attack her. The Mind Flayer, seemingly intrigued by the turn of events, leaned in closer to watch how things unfolded. Eleven stumbled but quickly got to her feet an pushed forward as Mike crawled away from her father to meet her halfway. He was crying too, but seeing him push through the pain helped her do the same.
"You two can't do this forever Eleven! Open the gate!" Her papa screamed, hitting Mike with all the power he could muster. The boy screamed and fell face first into the mud.
Eleven scowled at her father, reaching out and unleashing a scream of her own. Her attacker's hands crumbed in on themselves like cheap soda cans being crushed by a vice. He screamed and the Mind Flayer recoiled in surprised before rearing up on its hind legs and bringing its front legs crashing down on her and Mike with an alien screech that chilled the very blood in her veins.
…
"Jane, Jane!" Jim exclaimed as he shook Eleven's shoulder, trying to get her awake.
She sat up before shaking her head quickly, staring at the floor to avoid the concerned stares of Mike and Jim.
"I'm sorry…" She whispered, looking around the room with concern, hoping she hadn't broken anything or hurt anyone.
"Not your fault El." Mike said, putting an arm around her.
"I'll be upstairs… just come up when you're ready to go ok?" Jim told her.
She gave him a thankful glance at nodded, he smiled at her in return and playfully ruffled her hair before heading upstairs. Once Hopper was out of sight, Mike took Eleven's hand.
"You ok?"
She nodded quickly.
"Just a nightmare."
"What happened?"
Eleven pursed her lips and squeezed Mike's hand as she replied.
"Papa…he hurt you."
Mike frowned as she asked him something he wasn't prepared to answer.
"Will these ever go away?"
Mike let out a hefty sigh.
"I-I don't know El. I really don't know."
"I just…I just want to feel safe."
"El…Jane…look at me."
Her eyes met his, she was barely able to hold back the tears. Seeing her like this made his heart sink, he felt tears start to form in his eyes.
"You're with me, you're a member of the party. Our party. You've got my sister and Dustin, Lucas and Will. Y-You've got Hopper and Joyce and Johnathon and even Steve! I promise we'll do everything we can to keep you safe because Hawkins is your home and as long as you're home there are people here who will protect you. People who love you."
Eleven gave him a quick kiss, ending his panicked, but sweet, speech.
"I know." She told him, wiping the tears away from his eyes and then her own before pulling him into a tight a hug.
"Good night Mike." She told him before pulling away and getting up to leave.
"Night Jane." He replied as he began to tidy up the basement.
Jane felt a sense of warmth wash over her. She was home. In the past, her papa tried to turn her into a weapon for his own uses. Her own sister tried to use her as a tool to exact her revenge on the people that wronged them. In both cases, she always felt cold, trapped, and alone. Now she felt free, she felt like she could be anything. She can be Eleven or Jane. She could be a mage and maybe even one day a Jedi. Although, for now, she was content with being Jane Hopper, girlfriend of Mike Wheeler and best friend to Will Byer, Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson and Max Mayfield. It was simple, and in the grand scheme of things wouldn't be as glamorous as being a mage, a Jedi or a government superweapon but it was her choice and that was the most important thing.