Eleven stared at the destruction as they drove towards the police station. The entire town was in ruins. They had to divert down different streets or alleys several times, as the ones they had been driving on were either cracked in half or covered with debris from shattered buildings. Fires burned everywhere, caused by the destructive red lightning and fueled by the strong winds. Embers, ash, and spores filled the air, and along with the portal covered sky, covered the town in an unnatural twilight. Vines were now covering some buildings as smaller portals opened inside houses and on trees, letting more of the Upside Down into their world. Everything seemed to be drained of color as it began to take on the grey hue of the Upside Down.
She saw the high school where she had had hopes of living a semi-normal life. Half of the west wing was gone and the east wing was on fire. She saw the ice cream shop Mike had taken her after school her first week, where she had fallen in love with the cold and creamy treat. Blood covered the windows and walls, as if a slaughter had taken place on the inside.
She had seen so much death today. Bodies covered the ground, some of them still being feasted upon by the creatures. She teared up as she thought of Steve's sacrifice to save Dustin. She hadn't known him all that well, yet the few times she had interacted with him, he had been funny and patient with her, answering all of her questions. She thought of baby Holly and Mike's parents, their lives taken all too soon by that evil demon who had started all of this suffering. She felt even worse about it, as she had not told Mike when it happened, as she wasn't sure he would have been able to function if he knew that information.
"Friends don't lie," she heard herself think, but she shook the thought away. Hopper had told her that sometimes you have to not tell someone something or even lie to make them feel better, so that's what she had done. She could tell him later.
As they got closer to the police station, she began to see more and more signs of decay. Vines covered nearly everything in sight, and it was much darker. It was almost as if Hawkins was being transformed into the Upside Down. The got out of the van to approach on foot. Hopper figured that they should at least try to have the element of surprise. They carefully stepped around the vines as best as they could, making sure to get grabbed accidentally. She glanced around them and noticed a bright red bulb glowing in a house to their left. It was unlike anything she had seen before, but before she could go and investigate, Hopper grabbed her and pulled her close, whispering the plan to her, and she forgot about the bulb.
He and Four would come in down the left street while she and Kali came down the right. Kali would try to use her powers to make Twelve see duplicates of them all, so she would be confused and not know which to hit. Now that she was possessed by the Mind Flayer however, she wasn't sure if she would be able to influence her mind anymore. El and Four would be the heavy hitters, throwing everything they had at her. Hopper was there with his rifle, and he would be trying to distract her with bullets and blocking them instead of the stronger attacks from the superhumans.
They split up and began to sneak towards the station. El could see an enormous amount of decay there, and there seemed to be a permanent red glow emanating from the windows. She could see the girl now, standing front of the station with the demon-like grin on her face. She knew they were coming. She and Kali crouched behind an upturned car and looked over to Hopper and Brett some ways away. They nodded, and El stood up, throwing a blast at Twelve, and the battle begun.
Abandoned house, Hawkins Downtown
The basement was silent except for the quiet sounds of the wind and thunderstorms raging above their head. The ground had been shaking so long by now most of them didn't even realize it anymore. There were less spores and ash down her as well, as the door had been shut and the house was still standing. They would occasionally hear a howl from somewhere above, but no creatures bashed against the locked door above.
Dustin and Nancy were over by Steve's body. Now that the wound had been covered and the blood from his mouth cleaned away, he looked peaceful, as if he was just sleeping, and in a few hours he'd wake up, call them his little shitheads, and then take them out for ice cream.
But that wouldn't happen. He would never wake up again. Never ruffle Dustin's hair again. Never drive them places or hang out with them again. It was hitting everyone hard but none more than Dustin or Max. He had been the missing father figure in their lives, always there to give advice or deal with their problems. Max sat in a corner, silently rocking herself as Lucas held her close to him, and Dustin cried silently over at his body with Nancy.
Jonathan and Joyce were sitting on a couch with the foreheads together, talking quiety under their voices. Mike couldn't hear what they were saying as he and Will sat across from them on a chair, studying the D&D manual for anything that could help them. He tried to focus on what Will was saying to him.
"So, the Mind Flayer can take over people's minds right? And make them do things like spying. Well, what if it possessed Twelve and is amplifying her powers somehow. Maybe that's how it plans to spread beyond Hawkins?" he asked, waiting for Mike's thoughts on his hypothesis.
Mike thought it over for some time. It made sense. The girl was already evil, and with the Mind Flayer controlling her, it being such a powerful entity, it would make sense that the girl's powers would also be amplified. "Is there any kind of monster that relates to that?" he asked. They had gotten lucky with the Demogorgon and Mind Flayer having D&D counterparts, so maybe it could happen again.
Will nodded. "Just one," he said pointing to it on the worn-out page. "A Mind Flayer Lich. It is an outcast of the other Mind Flayers, and using magic to enhance its powers."
"So Twelve is basically the Lich then?" Mike asked. It wasn't a perfect analogy, but it worked well enough.
"I think so, and here is the really interesting thing. Whenever a Lich is in play, it spawns in several red bulbs," he said excitedly.
Mike was completely lost. Even as the Dungeon Master, he didn't know every monster's rules perfectly. "So?" he asked.
"Well, they help it spread its magic further, but if they are destroyed, it weakens them."
After a few seconds Will saw Mike's face break into one of surprise. "So, if these exist in the real world too, and we find and destroy them, it'll hurt it?"
"I think so. We could use fire, like you guys did with the vines last year."
Mike jumped up from his seat and clapped his hands together twice, getting everyone's attention. He motioned for them to come closer and one they were all sitting near him, he cleared his throat. "I think me and Will found a way to help El and her friends fight this," he said. Lucas, Joyce, Nancy, and Jonathan all perked up at his words, but to his astonishment, Dustin and Max stayed quiet, looking even more sad at his words. He had expected Dustin to jump up and begin to make plans for another adventure.
"Mike, we can't," he said, shocking everyone.
Max nodded in agreement. "We-we already lost Steve. We can't afford to lose anyone else today."
Mike looked around to his friends for support. "Guys, El is in danger. Twelve is super powerful and we might have away to even the playing field a little bit," he said, glaring at his two friends. Yeah, Steve had died, but so had a bunch of others, and maybe El or Hopper if they weren't careful.
"Mike, I just don't think we can. Do you want to die too?" Dustin asked.
"Of course not, but I don't want El to die either. A party member-"
"Requires assistance. I know."
Mike looked at his friend and saw the pain in his eyes. "Dustin," he started softly. "Steve came to your assistance, don't you think he would like it if his sacrifice wasn't for nothing? If we stop her and the Mind Flayer, this will all be over for good. "
Dustin wiped the tears away from his eyes. "Alright. Let's kick their asses then," he said, and everyone cheered and began to get their stuff. Joyce and Nancy would be staying behind with his body, but everyone else began to go. They got all their ammo and reloaded their guns, making sure they had every last round. They got knives from the kitchen upstairs, and found two gas cans in the garage, which they would need to make these things burn, if they existed. They assembled at the doorway and were about to go out before Dustin ran downstairs and came up a few seconds later holding the nail bat.
"Let's do it," he said, and they stepped into the storm. From the time they had spent in the basement, things had only gotten worse. The winds had picked up even more, and they had to walk hunched over to avoid being blown away. Spores and ash were so thick in the air the visibility was next to nothing.
Mike called out to Will as loud as he could to be heard over the roaring wind. "Where will these things be?" he asked.
"Probably near Twelve. Near the police station. They don't hide or anything and they emit a bright red glow, so they should be easy to spot!" he called back. After finding a street sign, they got their bearings and headed towards the station. As they got closer, the noticed how it began to look more and more like the Upside Down. Vines began to snake around the ground everywhere, making them take each step cautiously. It also began to get darker and everything had a sheen glistening of slime on it.
They heard a growl and stopped in their tracks. A few yards in front of them, two Demo-Dogs had walked out of an alley and were sniffing the air, as if they were searching for their group. Callahan and Jonathan moved forward a little before hitting each one with a blast, killing them. They waved the kids forwards and entered the house. The downstairs was clear, but upstairs in the half destroyed bedroom, Lucas found one. It was at least 6 feet tall and bright red and glowing. It pulsed as if it was breathing, and emitted a low growling sound. Jonathan and Mike each took a gas can and pour the gasoline around the base of the the bulb and then some on the top. They stepped back and Jonathan pulled out a lighter from his pocket.
"I sure hope this works," he said, chucking the lighter onto the bulb, setting it ablaze.
Police Station, Present Time
Eleven crouched next to Kali behind a broken brick wall, wincing as she heard another bolt of lightning hit the other side of the wall, blackening it and chipping little bits of it off. She looked over at her sister, noting the blood on her face and how she was covered in dirt, breathing heavily. El knew she didn't look any better, as she was bleeding from a cut on her arm and was just as tired and dirty.
"You weren't kidding Jane. This girl does mean business. It seems like Brenner got what he wanted after all of this time," her sister said as she projected an image of Brett running across open ground. The trick was successful, and she heard a howl as the bolt of lightning hit the illusion and evaporated.
Somewhere across the street, she heard Hopper let off a few rounds at the girl before most likely ducking back down as she sent a car flying at his positions. She then heard the roar of flames come from Four, and then a scream as they connected, burning the other girl. She cried out and El felt a shock wave get sent out through the ground, knocking her to her face. Seething in anger, she stood up and through a car directly at the girl, and since she was still distracted by her brun, it connected directly, showing her backwards. She got up, her left arm bent at an impossible angle, but she showed no signs of pain as she sent another bolt of lightning at Eleven, who barely managed t get out of the way in time.
Hopper ran across the gap as Brett sent a fireball at her. He slid into place next to her and grasped her leg with his hand. "You okay kid?" he asked.
"Yes. You?"
"Tired but still kicking," he said, and she looked at is legs which happened to be very still. "It's an expression. It means I'm still alive and okay," he said, and a few seconds later he began to laugh, and she joined him. Here he was fighting a possessed girl with powers from another dimension along with three other enhanced persons with powers he would never understand, and he was giving El a speech lesson.
"Guys! If you are done joking around, Twelve is still alive!" they heard Kali yell, and their attention turned back to the battle. Brett was currently locked in an engagement with Twelve, his fire stream connecting with her lightning.
"I'm going to make her see 10 different versions of him running around in a few seconds in an attempt to confuse her. If it succeeds, I want you and Brett to throw everything you have at this girl. We need to end this!' she yelled, and they both nodded in agreement. On three, Kali sent the images out, and the girl widley looked around at the several Brett's running around her. She began to shoot bolts of lightning at them, but was so panicked she missed every single shot. Eleven quickly sent a concussive blast towards her as the real Brett sent two long streams of blue fire towards her. They both connected and she was sent flying backwards. They breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was finally over.
They heard the sounds of rubble creaking as she moved it out of her way. Her neck and arms and legs were all obviously broken, but she still stumbled towards them. She was covered in severe burns, and her black eyes were lifeless as she screamed and raised her arms. But suddenly, she fell over, and began to cry out in obvious pain.
One block away
They had just lit their third bulb on fire, and as they walked out of the house, the noticed an immediate change in the atmosphere. The wind seemed to die down a bit and the ground shook a little less.
"Do you think it's working?" Dustin asked.
"I don't know. Hopefully," Mike said, looking in the direction of where El was.
Just as fast as everything had calmed down a little, everything suddenly grew ten times. Worse. Mike was blown off of his feet when the wind suddenly increased tenfold, and hit the ground hard, bruising his left side. Everyone else was in similar states as they fell down due to the ground shaking or the wind blowing them off of their feet. Lightning sparked across the sky and struck the ground with a fury they had never seemed before. A cry seemed to split the air, and just as quickly as it had started, the storm ended. The ground stopped quaking, no more lightning sparked from the clouds, and the wind fell silent. The spores and ash remained and the portal was still open, but the elements had calmed.
They all stared at each other, wondering if it was over.
"Is… is it done?" Will asked.
Mike didn't answer. He just began to run over to the station, hoping he would find a living El and a dead Twelve.
Police Station, 5 Minutes ago
They all slowly and cautiously began to approach the writhing girl on the ground. Her screams echoed off of the buildings around them. Everything seemed calmer, as if the air had decided it was tired.
"We have to end this, now," Kali said, and they all nodded in agreement.
"I'll do it," Hopper said, raising his rifle and aiming it at her forehead. Eleven felt sad. Once upon a time, this girl had been normal and was living a happy life. And then she was taken by the bad men, and turned into a monster. El knew that it could have very well been her standing in her place if she hadn't escaped and found Mike that night in the woods.
Her thoughts were interrupted by three loud gunshots. To their amazement, the connected but seemed to melt as if her body was molten hot.
"NO!" she screamed, show how managing to stand up to the pain. She sent out a blast of purple lightning streaking towards El, who barely managed to catch it with her powers, and suddenly they were locked in a desperate battle of sheer will. All around them, the storm started back up with an intense fury, and a force field seemed to form around them, pushing everyone else back 10 feet.
The girl screamed, taking a step towards her, trying her hardest to make her lightning connect with Eleven's body. But she would not give up. She wanted a normal life with Mike, who she loved, and with Hoppe, the man who had no obligations to her but had decided to raise her anyway. She thought of her friends, Dustin, Will, Lucas, and Max, and how they had all helped her one time or another. She thought of all the people that had died because of what this girl did. Steve, Callahan, Mike's family, and countless others. She thought of how her Papa had ruined her life and Twelve's and so many others.
These thoughts angered her, and she used it to increase her powers beyond anything she had ever done before. Blood pooled on her lip and dripped down the side of her face from her ears. Her veins popped out from her forehead and eyes, darkening them.
"NO! YOU CANNOT WIN!" the girl screamed, her voice dark and low from the Mind Flayer possession.
Eleven screamed and raised her other hand, and began to push the lightning back towards its sender. The girls eyes grew wide with fear as she saw it creeping back towards her. Despite all her effort, it connected, sending her spinning through the air. The storm stopped, although the spores and ash and portal remained. Eleven didn't collapse as she had when she had closed the gate. Instead she felt stronger than she ever had before.
"Is she dead?" she heard Hopper ask from behind her.
She nodded. "Yes."
A black streak flew from the girl's lifeless body. It was the Mind Flayer, or at least the piece of it that had resided inside her. It seemed to hover in the air for a little, observing the four individuals in front of it. It began to streak towards El, who simply stuck up a hand and dissolved it, not unlike what she had done with the Demogorgon two years ago.
She heard footsteps running up the street behind her, and she turned to find her friends running towards them all.
"El!" he called out, smiling at her.
She smiled back, but before she could go to him, she heard the loudest unearthly howl come from behind her, and turned to see the Mind Flayer come out of the portal behind them. She sent Mike flying backwards into Dustin to prevent him from getting too close.
The Mind Flayer raised its tendrils and sent them flying at her. She stood in front of her family and friends on a pile of rubble, facing the demon. She raised her own hands and stopped the tendrils in midair. It let out a howl as it was stopped from reaching her, and it sent more and more shadowy tentacles flying at her, but she caught each and every one of them, stopping them before they got too close.
It thrashed around, trying to break free, but El wasn't going to let it get away. It was time to end this once and for all. She began pushing them back slowly but surely, and felt her feet leave the ground as she expelled more power than she ever had before.
The monster began to be pushed back through the hole and on the edges of town, it began to close. It was much bigger than it had been last year, but it was if the size didn't matter anymore. Later, she and her friends would laugh at this, as when she said it to them they realized it was almost an exact quote from Yoda. Currently however, they were staring in awe as she raised to 20 feet above the ground and screamed, pushing the monster back.
Back.
Back to the hell it had come from.
Back so far it would never be able to come back.
Never be able to hurt her friends again.
With one final push, she sent it flying through the hole, and motioned her hands inward and clapped them together, closing the portal completely. The sky could be seen again now, and it was just about sunset. It was painted with beautiful oranges and yellows and pinks that she admired as she lowered herself. About 2 feet from the ground she finally felt her strength give out, and she dropped like a stone. She heard feet running towards her and felt someone pick her up.
"El? El? Are you okay?" It was Mike. She weakly wrapped her arms around him.
"It's done," she said, and then she felt her eyes close and she fell into a blissful sleep.
Epilogue
2 years ago, if you asked anyone if they had heard of Hawkins Indiana, they would have almost certainly said no, as it had been a small town with a small population in the middle of nowhere. A year ago, more people would know the name Hawkins, as there had been that controversy over Barb's death caused by the chemicals from Hawkins lab.
Now, you could ask someone in Australia if they had heard of Hawkins Indiana, and they would almost certainly say yes. In the days and weeks and months that followed the "ET Incident" as it would become known as in the following years, Hawkins Indiana was swarmed with government officials. The president even visited. Scientists took samples of the spores and vines that covered the ground. The world was forever changed, as they now knew of a world beyond their own. Panic swept the globe as the governments of the world tried to reassure them that there was no danger.
Most of the town had been completely destroyed. Over half of the population had been killed by the fires, earthquakes, and creatures that had swarmed the town. Mike had cried on El's shoulder when they went to his house so he could see what had happened, but as they had been walking away, they had heard a noise coming from the wreckage. He had sprinted faster than he thought was possible and began throwing boards and bricks away, feeling several splinters enter his fingers, not that he cared. A few minutes later, he had unearthed a dehydrated but living Holly, who had survived by hiding under the kitchen table.
Dustin's house was still standing, but when Hopper checked it first, he had found his mother with her throat slashed. He had covered her body with a sheet and let the boy cry against his shoulder.
Lucas was a little luckier than most. His mom and sister had been killed when their house had caught on fire, but his dad had managed to make it out. Max's stepdad and step brother were killed, but her mom had survived.
They had all gathered at Hopper's cabin, which had survived unharmed as it was so remote. They had to plan their next moves. Nancy, Holly, Mike, and Dustin were all orphans now, and the government would soon be swarming the place as there would be no way to cover this up. They had agreed that they all had to leave town, or else the enhanced individuals would be blamed for the destruction as a scapegoat.
They had all gone back to their homes and packed their clothes and most valuable possessions, such as photographs of lost family members or their super comms, Dustin placed a kiss on the sheet before leaving his house and shutting the door one final time. Hopper made sure to get anything valuable out of the houses for something he had been planning all morning, and he would certainly need a lot of money for it.
They all gathered near Mike's house again and got into the several cars that would be transporting them to Detroit. They would rest there with Kali for awhile before figuring out where to go from there. They drove through Hawkins, observing the damages done. Bodies still covered the streets, but some survivors were beginning to clean up. They were all tearful as they passed the "Leaving Hawkins" sign, as it would be the last time they did that.
They all quickly fell asleep though. Hopper looked in his back seat and saw El and Mike and Dustin all sleeping on each other. He smiled. They had taken a lot of loses, but most of them had gotten through it. Brenner and Twelve were dead, and the Upside Down was hopefully contained for good now.
They had reached Detroit and went back to the warehouse. Everyone there wanted to know where Kali had been, and why she had so many people with her. She simply put up a hand and told them to wait. She, along with Hopper and Joyce, had gotten all of the kids situated on mattresses and they all quickly fell asleep, Max and Eleven clutching their boyfriends like their lives depended on it, and Dustin, Will, and Nancy all shared a bed too. They had been through so much shit together by now, they were closer than any family. Hopper, Joyce and Holly, Mr. Sinclair, Mrs. Mayfield, and Jonathan all sat around the table and explained with Kali what had happened to the rest of Kali's friends.
They weren't skeptical, as Kali had told them about the lab and she obviously had powers. Over the next few days, Hopper prepared his surprise for them, and the kids planned funerals for everyone they had lost. While they didn't have the bodies, they did have their memories and stayed up late telling each other about their fondest memories of their lost loved ones.
While none of them would ever admit it during the day, they were all plagued with nightmares, and several times a night, one or more of them would wake up screaming or crying, and then would have to be comforted and lulled back to sleep. They never wanted to be alone or have the lights off.
About a week after they had arrived in Detroit, Hopper realized that he had been right. Every newspaper, every magazine, every news channel was talking about Hawkins and interviewing residents. Their story had a few holes, such as Eleven missing and Twelve being evil, but they got the whole another dimension existing down pat.
That day, he returned to the warehouse to find everyone huddled around the table eating lunch. They had nearly been inseparable since the portal had opened, so he wasn't all that surprised.
He clapped his hands together. "I have an announcement to make kids."
They all sat up at this, wondering what he could have to tell him. They looked at him expectantly, and he smiled at the other parents. "Well, I talked to the other parents, and we all agreed that you guys have been through too much together to separate you guys. So, since we were all displaced, we thought it would be best to move into a large house together," he finished.
Their faces lit up one by one as they realized what that could mean. Mike jumped up with the rest of his friends and they all pulled each other into a group hug. "Guys! We'll get to see each other every day!" he yelled.
"Endless D&D campaigns!" Dustin yelled, much to the amusement of the others.
"Mike, we can share a room!" El said to him, and he nodded happily. Hopper didn't have the heart to ruin the moment by telling them that it would probably not happen, but maybe if they also shared with Dustin or one of the other boys.
And so, that was how the families left a few days later and drove to Idaho. Their house had been found by Hopper on a public computer, and he had quickly called the number and told them he wanted to buy the house. It was large enough for all of the kids to have separate rooms, although he knew that would most likely not happen. There were guest rooms for Jonathan and Nancy as well, and rooms for all of the adults. It had been expensive, but since they had the money from all of their families combined, it hadn't been too bad.
Life went on. Nancy went to Harvard to study law, and Jonathan went to NYU to study photography. The kids all started at the local high school, where the teachers and kids all thought it was odd they were so close, but no one asked about it. Hopper and Joyce got married in 1986. They managed to all eventually get jobs in the town they had moved to, and life was good.
All of the kids got accepted into the same school, as it was a scientific school and all of the boys were pursuing majors in science. El and Max decided to major in speech therapy and early education respectively. In 1992, Mike and Eleven got married. It was a small event in their backyard with their friends and family. Everyone was surprised it had taken this long, as they had been inseparable since they had met and it was obvious they were going to get married. Stacy Terry Wheeler was born on December 2nd, 1995.
Dustin met Rebecca Baker the first semester of college, and the two of them had hit it off immediately. They had been very attracted to each other due to their similar personalities and interests in Star Wars and sweets. They had gotten married in 1996.
Will got his major in biology and a minor in art studies, and became a very well known painter for his paintings of a dark and mysterious world that was inspired by personal experiences, or so he told the interviewers. He met Robert Imwell in 1995, and the two married each other in 1997.
Max and Lucas had both gotten their degrees and gotten married in 1993. Steve Sinclair was born on August 1st, 1997.
Now it was December 31st, 1999, and they were all gathered at their old house to reign in the New Year together. Joyce embraced her daughter and son-in-law when they walked in the door, and El had gone to help her in the kitchen while Mike talked to Hopper and Mr. Sinclair about Stacy and her experiences in Preschool.
Soon, the house was filled with people and warmth and good smells coming from the food Joyce had prepared for the night. Everyone talked about their jobs and how the year had gone for them. While they had less time nowadays, the boys still tried to get together for a D&D campaign at least once every two months. Eleven smiled at the children playing from the doorway when she felt arms slip around her waist.
"Hey there," she said, turning to kiss her husband.
"Hey," he said after they had separated. He saw tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked.
She smiled up at him. "Not a damn thing," she said, pulling him close for another kiss.
They both still woke up some nights from nightmares, but they had lessened over time. Time healed all wounds. The pain from the deaths of all those people in 1985 had lessened over time, and the memories had faded. Mike glance at his wife's wrist. Everything faded with time, including tattoos.
The End
Well, that is the end of this story. I hope you all enjoyed the ending and the epilogue. I know the ending was a little too perfect, but I'm a sucker for happy ending. Thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you check out my other story! I will be writing more hopefully soon, so look out for that as well!
