Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Stranger Things.
A/N: This took me longer than I had wanted but I had to play around with it for ages to get it right. I hope it doesn't disappoint, please enjoy and if you feel like it, please let me know what you think. Your feedback is inspiration to my creativity.
Chapter 21: "The pathway to Justice"
Everything faded out into darkness, light shrunk down to nothing less than a pinpoint. Only ringing and the sounds of distant muffled voices remained.
"El!" someone shouted, who was it? The voice was so stifled, so unclear to her waterlogged ears. Frantic scurrying across the tiled floor, the sound of thudding feet above her. The "chink" of tin on glass, pounding repeatedly. But then—everything became lighter, images became clearer-- brighter. She wasn't in the tank anymore, she was fine, standing amongst her friends, like it hadn't even happened. But Billy was shouting, kneeling on the floor, with everyone crowding around him. It wasn't until she moved in closer that she saw it.
It was her; Billy was pounding into her chest, he was afraid- broken- desperate. If she couldn't feel his touch, surely there wasn't any connection to this other her. All she could do was kneel next to him and hope he could feel her as she tried to reassure with him with a touch to his arm, "Billy, I'm here, it's okay." She whispered. He couldn't hear her," Billy!" she shouted again, he continued his desperate attempts. She raised herself from the floor and paced around her friends, "Max!" she shouted right into her face—nothing.
"Don't you dare leave me, not after forcing your way in," Billy cried out, with a persistent compression to her chest.
"Billy, I'm not leaving you!" she raced back over to him.
Couldn't he hear her? She was standing right there, right next to him, "BILLY!" She sobbed again.
What was happening? Was she in her void? Was she dead?
And then it dawned on her, she was dying. It should have made sense before, but everything had been so foggy and confused. She was dying, she'd drowned in the tank and Billy wasn't ready to let her go. He had that habit, things could seem completely hopeless, but he'd always come for her despite it.
She watched his desperation turn into forsaking the inevitable, he pulled her limp body up into his arms to cradle her. His body shook violently, as he choked back tears, so they couldn't be heard. El continued to kneel next him, but soon her hearing began to become distorted again and the room before her began to phase out into darkness. The small pull that she still had to her body, began to fade away and with it she felt a pull into another direction—into the unknown.
--That was until she felt the brush of erratic lips against hers, and the inflation of breath into her lungs. The light began to return, the pinpoint that had once faded out, began to grow and voices began to phase back in.
--
"PLEASE-- NO—" Billy pleaded, as he roughly caressed El's motionless face. With both hands he held her face firmly and planted a desperate and chaotic kiss on the side of her mouth. How was he suppose to live without her, when she'd somehow weaved herself into his very soul. Everything hurt and ached at the thought, only a hole and weakness could ever remain.
In Billy's mind he'd prayed to every higher power, every God, every universal being, that could've possibly read his thoughts, "please no—please don't take her." Was this karma, for being horrible to so many people? Was it because of his shitty attitude? Or maybe it was simpler than that… Was he just unworthy of love and happiness? It had to be a sick joke. The one person that had walked into his life— that had actually made him happy, wouldn't leave… So what? she'd just be taken from him?
No.
"No," he growled with certainty, this couldn't be it for her, she deserved so much more. Their connection alone, didn't allow him to give up on her, on them. With red eyes, he quickly but carefully placed El's limp body back down onto the ground. He shamelessly wiped away the few stray tears against his cheeks, then snapped himself back into a state of determination. His eyes were dark, angry, as he attempted to breathe life into her one final time.
"Don't-- Let him..." Max reprimanded Steve firmly with a hand to his shoulder. She moved in between where he and Lucas stood and knelt next to Billy, "You're right, she can't die here." She whispered with a gentle hand to her brother's shoulder.
Billy met the red head's gaze momentarily; desperate, heartbroken eyes said it all. It wasn't time to give up. Steve had considered stepping in again, stopping Billy from making the situation even more painful, but he stopped himself. If Billy needed closure this way, then he'd let him do what was necessary.
Using one hand to pinch her nose and the other to hold her mouth open, Billy injected the first breath into her lifeless body. Her mouth stayed parted, and her body vibrated as he continued his rhythm of compressions. With one goal in mind, he synchronised his actions perfectly, "Come on, GODDAMNIT BREATHE," he shouted hysterically. His efforts would have appeared brutal to an outsider, hell, maybe they were. Billy himself feared that he might crack one of her ribs, but it'd been a small price to pay for her life.
He placed another breath into her still parted lips, then, placing his hands back onto her chest he pumped furiously once again. "COME ON," he growled, "EL BABY, don't fucking do this to me--" his voice cracked, "BREATHE!" He pressed harder and faster this time. Suddenly his eyes raced up back from her chest, to her face, disbelieving the sound he thought he'd heard.
The sound of a faint cough.
He hadn't imagined it.
El's eyes squinted from the burning sensation coming up from her lungs, obviously caused by the water forcing its way out through nose and mouth. Billy smiled uncontrollably as more pitiful, choked coughs followed with each purge of water.
She was breathing, she was alive.
It had to be real, she was looking right up at him, the look in her eyes stating that to her, he was the most precious thing this world had to offer. And the giddy laugh that had snuck out from between his lips, said that he felt exactly the same way.
Contrary to his resuscitation training, he ignored his instinct to roll her onto her side. Instead he yanked her up to his chest and pinned her against his body, "I thought you were fucking dead," he cried into her ear. "I didn't know what..." he trailed off longingly into soaking locks.
"We thought we'd lost you and man do I feel like a 'class A asshole' for trying to step in." Steve smiled down from where he stood, his humour quickly dispirited when he remembered that time was not on their side. "Billy, we have to go, the others have the place ready to blow, we NEED to get the hell out of here."
El's fogginess soon wore off, and panic overtook her, "Where is he! Where is six?" She partially choked on her words, soaking wet and terrified, she abruptly unpinned herself from Billy's clutch to peer around the room.
"He's in the tank—" Max pointed but was rapidly taken a back at the sight of its now empty contents. "He was right there a second a go!"
"Seriously, could this turn into any more of a shit fight?" Lucas ran a hand down his face.
So, caught up in El's resurrection, and the disappearance of Six, the group failed to notice Dr. Brenner begin to find his feet. "YOU BROKE MY NOSE!" he shouted, Billy's eyes snapped into his direction, "and the tank! Do you have ANY idea what you've done!" He pointed an accusing finger to Billy. His confidence soon thinned as he watched Billy raise up onto his feet and steady El's onto hers. "Eleven, surely you understand papa—you understand why I had to do it?" He shook nervously.
Dr. Brenner would have been better off playing dead, because from the moment he had decided to open his mouth, he had sealed his fate. Billy stomped furiously towards him, shouting before he had even reached him, "I know exactly what I've done! Do you have any fucking clue, what you've done?" He yanked him up the rest of his way to his feet, only to intimidate him further, "And you think your stupid nose IS ALL I'll break?" He shook him violently, "I told you, I'd come back for you." He smirked darkly; he wasn't the type to go breaking a promise.
With a knee to Brenner's stomach, Billy shoved him back onto the ground, only to stand over him to continue to chisel his face with fists. He could have finished him off, it would have been no problem at all, in fact he wanted to— more than anything. But a strong arm to his shoulder pulled him back from his rage.
"Come on Kid, that's enough."
Hopper.
"He can go down with this place, let's go." Hop reassured calmly, "don't let him steal that part of you, you'll never get it back, trust me." He patted his shoulder knowingly, before pointing back to where El stood shivering, with a familiar bewildered look on her face. "she needs you a hell of a lot more then this bastard does—some things are more important than revenge."
Wow, was this the chief's way of giving him his blessing?
He'd take it.
Hopper hesitated for a moment, looking back at the group of kids, to Joyce, then finally laying his eyes onto El—his daughter. She'd been hurt so many times by this man, by this lab. He too, wanted to kill Brenner with his bare hands, just as much as Billy did. The logical side of him knew that he should just arrest him, take him into custody; that was the right thing to do, the lawful thing to do. But a cold and angry voice inside him told him something else.
"Kiddo, do you think you have enough juice to close the gate?" he looked back to where she stood, "yes," she nodded. "good, Joyce and I will meet you outside. Ten minutes, hurry." He dismissed them all with an urgent tone.
"wait," El, staggered towards the white-haired assailant on the floor, Billy followed in closely behind her, placing a hand around her waist for support. "Come on, let's go, you don't need to see that piece of shit ever again," Billy attempted to sway her into the direction of the door.
"No." she protested, gently shrugging him off, "I want him to—" she continued to walk forwards.
She staggered in closer, locking sad, pained eyes with his, "—you hurt me, my friends… Mama-- I should kill you," she held back her tears, "but then you won't see," she breathed out.
"Eleven! Everything that I have done, has been for you…. For your protection… protection from yourself…. you must know that? LISTEN to what papa is telling you." he pleaded with an outstretched hand.
"You manipulative piec--." Billy started but was stopped when El caressed his arm softly, she gazed into his eyes and with just a flicker, he could almost hear her message spoken as words,it's okay, I can do it—don't worry.
"I don't have a papa, I now can see that.-- 'surely you understand why I have to do this.'" She mocked while raising her hand into his direction.
She stretched an arm out and with shaky fingers she closed her eyes. "I feel…. Stronger." She breathed in deeply. Releasing the breath, she opened her eyes and with them, she released a shockwave of invisible power. Billy glanced down to El then back to Brenner as he heard his helpless pleading, "ELEVEN PLEASE, STOP, DON'T DO THIS." He fell to his knees and pulled at his hair, "ELEVEN STOP, YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO PAPA." But she felt no mercy, she held him there with just the force of her one, small hand. --
No one dared tried to stop her, maybe it had been the shock, or maybe they just agreed with her course of justice. —or possibly they didn't feel they had the right to stand in, not really understanding everything that she had been through at the hands of this despicable man.
"Holy shit," Steve gasped from the back. Watching and listening as Brenner's cries soon dwindled down. His face met the floor with a powerful thud and El found herself panting from the exertion of it all.
"What did you do to him?" Hopper creased his brows.
"I hurt his mind." She blinked vacantly, "like mama—now he knows... what he's done."
Well I'll be damned, on the pathway to justice.
"Alright, all you kid's out of here," Hopper shook the shock. "Get down to close the gate, I'll hold back his men and whatever else comes your way." He gave El a achingly hug goodbye, "I guess I don't even need to wonder if you've still got it in you to do it, huh kid?" he lightened the mood with a nudge to her chin.
Hopper watched as they filed their way out of the room, he paid close attention to Billy and El, as she gently stroked his cheek and attempted to dismiss his worry. "I'm fine, don't worry about me—I can walk on my own." Billy's persistent fondling suggested his reply had been along the lines of, "don't be stupid, you almost just died," and if Hopper had read them correctly, it would have appeared that Billy was ignoring her dismissiveness. He once again clutched her waist and won the battle with a final blow, "you're a pain in the ass." He had murmured.
As the pair reached the doors threshold Hopper decided it was also time to get his final word in. "Hey kid, I meant it when I said—you're too old for her." He smiled sincerely, but it was wiped clean from his face when he received the reply, "She's seventeen next month chief." Billy gave a sly wink, "Cheeky shit!" Hopper hissed, "Here, take the walkie," Hopper chucked the walkie into his open hand. With a smirking salute the bad boy was out the room and down the hall.
The protector of virtue in Hop' hated it, but the father in him, who wanted nothing but the best for his daughter knew that there were no safer hands other than his own. Billy had saved her countless times now and protected her with every fibre of his body. For those reasons, Hopper had to be reasonable, well as reasonable as Hopper could be. He'd silently give his blessing… for now. "I don't believe it... the kid's in love with her," he snorted to himself, "how the hell did that happen?"
"She's a special girl," Joyce smiled up to him, "so… what are we going to do with him?" she pointed to the sobbing man on the floor.
As the police chief looked down to the helpless "scientist" on the floor, he sighed, "Well doctor, what are we going to do with you, I really don't have a lot of time, gotta be back in my hospital bed, before my nurse knows I'm missing." He pulled the white-haired man to his feet. Patting him patronising on the chest, he knew that what he did next, wouldn't be cop worthy-- but it would continue them on their pathway to justice.
--
Billy and El raced back down the stairwell, leaving Max and Lucas to make their way back to the lab's entrance. "it's too dangerous," El had stated, "I don't know where Six is, you guys get out and we'll meet you." She had tried to have Billy join them, but of course, there was no way he would allow it, "yeah right since you do so well on your own." He had scoffed. Armed with a shot gun he held her hand tight as they made it to the bottom of the stairs, to the basement—to the gate.
Ramming the door open they came face to face with an unknown creature. It resembled a scorpion of sorts but was in no way did it belong to the same family. If Dustin had been there, he'd have called it by some ridiculous name, and when questioned how to kill it, he'd have most likely told them, "yeah… it's just a game."
It clawed its way towards them, with quick erratic movements its legs unnervingly clicked into the floor. Its stinger came down fast and hard, attempting to stab at them. Billy grabbed a hold of El, pulling her away, just inches from its extremity meeting her neck. Then a series of ear piercing "bangs" followed, accompanied by "chings," numerous shell casings dropped to the ground.
He needed to reload.
Standing in between them, El stepped forwards, she raised both her hands up, and released every power within her mind willing the creature to split from head to stinger. The creature shook and let out an unearthly screech, it rolled down to the ground attempting to comfort itself through its unbearable turmoil. With blackened eyes, she held it steady ensuring she reached her desired elevation. With a sudden drop of her arms, she broke it apart in two pieces, leaving only a pile of slimy guts and a stringy mucus like substance behind. Shaking slightly from fatigue, she breathed out heavily, and wiped the blood from her nose onto her sleeve.
She could see the gate now and it couldn't wait any longer, more would come. She looked back to Billy, "DO IT, quick," he shouted, reloading the gun he let off more rounds, holding off the Demogorgon entering from the side.
Though exhausted, she felt so much stronger, had the tank done something to her? Had almost drowning, opened another part of her brain that harvested even more power? Still wondering how her attempt at closing this gate for the second time would go down, she bolted towards the hole in the wall. So much red light was on its way out, crackling flicks of lightening pierced through, shining on her face like a disco ball rotating around. She could feel everything inside its cavity, all the evil and hurt that wanted to make its way out. The mind flayer, he was there, he could sense her, he knew she was standing at just a tentacle reach away. It wouldn't touch her this time. It wouldn't touch any of them this time. She'd make sure of it.
She closed her eyes momentarily, trying to centre herself. At first, only trying Kali's approach; she focused in on all the pain, suffering she'd endured, all her festering wounds and in its defence, it did begin to close. But in the back of her mind she could hear Billy, he was struggling, the sound of bullet's flying and feet scampering, tampered her focus. She had to protect him, just like he always seemed to do for her.
So, she tried a different approach, she thought of all the good, the happiness that she'd had in her life, remarkably most of those memories were Billy. She thought of Starcourt, how her touch had broken his anger, the feeling of his tears falling, wetting her face as they rolled off his cheeks. She thought of his mind. His beautiful, complicated, pained mind. His kiss, his touch, his love. And with these thoughts—the most spectacular fire came from within her and the whole room became white. Just like a polaroid camera flashing, blinding you from seeing what's in front of you and then quickly dispensing. It was a flash of divineness—and with its briefness it took all the darkness and flashes of red with it, in its single strike.
It was closed.
El hadn't realised the extent of the power that she had just harnessed until she turned around to see Billy's arm still cocked, frozen in shock, shielding his eyes from the mere blindness he'd almost endured. He was ready to strike something with his unloaded gun, something that with in the flash of a second had disintegrated into mid-air. "What the hell was that?" he dropped the gun and trudged towards her, "You're fucking incredible," he held her face in his hands and penetrated her eyes with the most empowering look of adoration. "How did you do that?" he placed a hungry kiss onto her lips, ignoring both their sweat and blood. It didn't matter he has to taste her.
"You," she mumbled into their kiss, "me?" he asked, releasing his lips from hers.
"Yes, you." She smiled, "you make me stronger," she wrapped her hands around his neck to pull him down for another kiss.
"you scare the absolute shit out of me... not this stuff. But the way I fe-.-." He started.
"YOU TWO, HURRY UP, WE'RE LIGHTING HER UP." The walkie blared, with a ruffling of static.
A/N: I started the chapter with what El was experiencing I thought it was kind of necessary even though the whole "outer body experience" is sort of cliché. Also, as you probably have noticed, Six has escaped, which leaves a sequel. Sorry, not sorry. THANK YOU FOR READING and sticking with me this long, this bad boy is nearly done.
