Haha, so funny story guys, I'm back at home after being at college for only a week! We did COVID-19 testing randomly at our campus and over 70% of cases are positive, so they sent us home for two weeks in hope that the virus phases through our entire student population. Bad news is I still have class, but good news is I have a lot more privacy to write. I didn't anticipate me actually making good friends at college, but it turns out I actually did, so I was a lot more busy than I initially thought. Expect updates to go even slower then I predicted, since it takes me a while to write these when I'm not totally focused. I'll try and get ahead so you all have more chapters to read in the meantime.
Xenocide250- Yeah that's the idea. He may be underestimating El and the others a little bit. Steve's father and Ted Wheeler pretty much just want their sons to succeed for their own satisfaction. Once Steve stopped succeeding, he stopped caring. It's sad really, but this actually happened a lot back in the 80's. People were just having kids just for the sake of it, not out of love. Glad you're enjoying this!
Holiday Raptor- Yeah I REALLLYYY enjoyed that series. I'm patiently waiting for the next chapter update currently lol. It was one of my favorite stories ever, much less fanfic.
Jbg- Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Good luck in school!
Vmmi36- glad you enjoyed it so far! Sorry for the inconsistent updates, my life has just been crazy lately.
Shrike176- Thank you! Good luck on your future endeavors as well.
FavStarngerthings- We stan mom El.
FavStarngerthings- Haha, yeah them getting separated isn't ideal but I feel like it's definitely going to be a route ST explores.
FavStarngerthings- Haha, thank you for your comments, glad you made it over to my story! I'm doing well and you should see more updates in the coming weeks.
Luna 0603- Glad you enjoyed it! As for the party being united… We should see it very soon.
Guest- Honestly I didn't have the initial format of Stranger things in mind when I wrote this. I wrote it more like a book, and since it's hard and difficult to incorporate Stranger Things style into a book, there are a lot more chapters than you would typically see. So I would range this entire book into one season of Stranger Things, divide it how you see fit.
Guest- Ted's going to get a foot up his ass, don't you worry about that. :)
May 5th(Seattle Washington)
Hopper awoke on a concrete ground of the same prison cell he had entered the other day, but for some reason felt more safe then he had in 8 months. He was still trapped, and by Brenner no less. But this time he was surrounded by old friends. People he had gone to hell and back with.
The faint light near the back of the cell still showed the unconscious body of Joyce Byers, with Murray Bauman lurching over her. Hopper quickly made his way over to them.
Murray smiled as he saw Hopper approaching, "Get a good sleep, Jim?"
Hopper shook his head. "Better than you would think, actually. How is she doing?"
Murray gave him an emotionless expression Hopper couldn't quite make out, and reached over for the bucket of water. "I heard her mumbling in her sleep, so she's at least alive. I figured she would be awake by now though. I don't like how long she's been incompasitated. "
"Anything I can do?" Hopper asked.
Murray rolled his eyes as he started dabbing Joyce's face with a towel. "What do I look like to you? A doctor? I honestly have no idea. Our best bet is to wait this out. When Joyce fully recovers, we can work on a way to get out of this place."
Hopper nodded, and knelt down near Joyce. Without even thinking about it, he started stroking her hair. There was so much he wanted to say to her, but he didn't even know where to begin. For now, just existing near her felt nice.
"She never stopped blaming herself, you know." Murray said. "It's one of the reasons I left for New Mexico. She needed her space to get over you, and she wasn't going to get over it when she had me and my conspiracies to distract her."
"It wasn't her fault," Hopper shook his head. "She saved the town, the world. She made the right call."
"Well," Murray shifted his weight. "It looks like the world didn't like being saved. This whole situation is a lot more fucked up than it ever was. The Russians… Man."
Hopper had spent hours catching Murray up on everything he knew about the upside down. Together they came to the conclusion that there were multiple portals all around the world, Russia being the hub.
Hopper shook his head. "I don't know what we can do to stop this, Murray. But I know damn well that I'm going to try to do something. I need to keep El and all those kids safe. It's the least I can do at this point."
Murray sighed. "Too bad they're coming here on a one way ticket to death. The entirety of Washington has been locked down and evacuated for a reason. These kids are driving into a death trap. Especially if your daughter is still missing her powers."
That was another thing, Murray had informed him that El had lost her powers at Starcourt last year, making herself more vulnerable than ever. It only made him more worried that she was going to try something stupid to save them. Especially if Wheeler was the one making the plans.
"We just have to be ready," Hopper brushed it off. "I'll die before Brenner lays one finger on that girl. Or any of the kids for that matter."
Murray looked him up and down, and returned to Joyce. "You shouldn't underestimate the man, Jim. This isn't some small town cult anymore, this is worldwide. These people he's working with….." He shook his head.
Hopper knew the stakes better than anyone, and that only made him more sure he would put his life on the line to save the ones he loves. He already cheated death once, and it was time to make use of it.
Before Hopper could rebuttal, Joyce coughed below them, like she had just received cpr after drowning in a pool. Only liquid wasn't coming out of her mouth, and her coughs were dry.
"Water!" Murray yelled to Hopper as he was trying to set Joyce up. Hopper ran to grab the bucket of drinking water from behind them, and brought it right next to her. Joyce was now fully conscious, and when Hopper gave her the bucket, she all but poured the entire thing down her throat. Murray had to manually slow her down to make sure she didn't choke herself.
Joyce was awake, but she looked anxious. Like she was missing something. Hopper was afraid she was on the verge of a panic attack until they locked eyes, and Joyce began to calm down.
"Jim?" She croaked out. The look of confusion merged with her anxiety perfectly, creating a look of petrified shock.
"It's me Joyce," Hopper confirmed. "It's Jim."
He barely had time to register what was happening before Joyce sat up and threw her arms around him. For the first time in 8 months, Hopper at peace.
May 5th( Washington)
Mike's foot had barely left the gas pedal since they escaped the ghost town in Idaho. The town they lost Steve Harrington in. He didn't want to think about complications, like the fact that they stole a car and that he wasn't even legally allowed to drive(not to mention he had 3 other minors in the car with him).
He most definitely did not want to think about Steve. Instead, he kept his mind trained on the little things. Like the fact that he only had a couple of bullets left for his revolver, or that he had no idea where El was. Even if he did know where she was, there was no way to contact her. Mike hadn't even mentioned that the closer they drove towards Seattle, the more it seemed like they were launching themselves into the eye of a hurricane. Heavy winds blew around them, and there wasn't a single car in sight.
Sooner rather than later however, Mike came to the realization that he couldn't keep driving forever. He hadn't slept yet, and considering he didn't really know how to drive, he was doing more harm than good by driving them along.
The others were still sleeping(or so he thought), so he made the executive decision to stop at a roadside shop. The windows were boarded up and the place looked deserted, but Mike was hoping he could break in and steal some ammo, or a better gun for that matter.
When he had finally stopped the car, he felt at peace. He had actually managed to drive a car with minimal past experience, and had gotten his friends into Washington with minimal issues.
The peace lasted for all of five seconds, until a huge wave of hurt passed over him. Mike quickly there was no repairing the hole in his heart that was Steve Harrington. He had saved them all for what? For Mike to get them killed? For them to charge into Seattle unarmed? For the first time in weeks, Mike's focus wasn't even on El, it was on him. What were they going to do?
He quickly stumbled out of the car to sit on the ground, and began to sob. He was a failure, he had failed to be the leader his team needed. Maybe if Nancy was here instead. Maybe she could have….
Mike's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car door opening, and Mike was surprised to see it was Max. The curly haired girl had eyes that currently matched the color of her hair, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Mike?" she asked, as she made her way over to him. He couldn't even bear to look at her as she approached.
"Mike you need to look at me," Max said as she tugged at his arm. It took all the strength he had to look Max directly in the eyes. The look on her face wasn't anger, it was concern.
"Were worried about you," Max said. "All of us. Nobody blames you Mike, you did what you could. It was a shitty situation. Steve being gone…. It hurts. We get it."
Mike silently wiped a tear from his eyes, and was surprised to see his two other friends make their way out of the car. Lucas looked shaken, almost like he hadn't recovered from the events that happened nearly 10 hours ago. Dustin on the other hand….
Mike had never seen Dustin look distraught. He figured it was an emotion the boy was capable of producing, but boy was he wrong. Dustin looked like a part of his soul had left his body. Pain looked like it was exploding from every nerve in his body.
Despite looking and probably feeling like absolute hell, both boys made their way over to him. "Mike, I know you blame yourself for what happened to Steve. But there's nothing you could have done. He saved us. He was a hero. That was his choice." Lucas said
Dustin looked like he wanted to stay something, but ultimately slumped next to Mike in defeat. The morale of the entire group was so low, Mike could have been carrying the One Ring all the way to Mordor. He could have ended up dying right then and there, and wouldn't have even thought twice about it.
Yet, there was something tugging in the back of his head that urged him to keep going. El. If Mike stopped now, Steve's sacrifice would be for nothing. Not to mention, El could be in grave danger. She was one of the only things in the world he still cared about. He needed to keep moving, for her. Steve's last words to him were to lead the others to Seattle and save El. Mike intended to keep that promise, until the day he died.
All of a sudden, Mike was filled with a burst of energy. He stood up quickly and surveyed the others. They were all currently looking at the ground, looking defeated. Without a second thought, Mike took out his revolver and shot a single bullet into the sky. The others quickly looked at him in confusion.
Mike cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "Steve was one of the greatest people I had ever met in my life. I wanted to be like him, we all wanted to be like Steve Harrington. But you know what? He didn't want us to be like him, he wanted us to be better."
The others still looked at him in confusion, but they were starting to listen to him more intently. Which was good, considering Mike was starting to find his groove.
"Nice guys finish last is what Steve always told me," Mike continued. "Douchebags and psychopaths shape their own life, they don't let life shape them. That's why Steve used to be a jerk, because he didn't want to finish last in life. Then he told me he started to realize, what's so bad about finishing last?"
The others were listening intently now, and Mike felt himself start to smile. "He told me by finishing last, you get all the things people pass up on. The nerds, the weirdos, the freaks, people like us. He started to realise that maybe people weren't passing up on these people because they're the worst. It's because people would never give them a chance. They were overlooked for the normal kids. I don't know about you guys, but I'm glad I'm not normal. And I think Steve was too."
Awkward silence filled the air as Mike began to slump back into his seat. Until Max spoke up. "When I was having trouble with my parents or my brother, Steve was always there for me. He didn't want me to tell anyone, but he used to help me with school, or give me rides home when Billy couldn't. He was a great guy, and what happened to him sucks."
Everyone gave Max a moment of silence, and a minute later, Lucas spoke up. "Steve would still talk to me after we all split up. He wanted to make sure I was in a good place, and to know that he was always there if I needed help. I used to just shrug him off, but now I regret it. I'd do anything to tell him I'm sorry."
Mike wasn't anticipating Dustin to even say anything, but the curly haired boy hobbled over towards them despite his bad ankle. "Steve…. He was my brother. There's no other word I would use to describe him." The pain in Dustin's voice was enough to make Mike break down and cry, but he decided to hold it together for the others. "He was my best friend, the guy I would always count on. I never really knew my dad, he abandoned my mom and I when I was really young. But I didn't really even feel like I had a void in my life where he should have been. Steve filled that void for me.
He then turned towards Mike, and it was the first time he had gotten a good look at Dustin. His eyes were dark, and his entire face was red. But he didn't look sad necessarily, he looked angry. "I want revenge. I want them to die. Whoever these people are, we need to put a stop to this."
Mike looked around at the group of people he had around him, and all of a sudden the morale didn't seem so low anymore. This group of people he had around him, his friends, seemed special. They weren't going to let Steve die in vain.
Mike pointed towards the roadside shop. "Let's get stocked up." All at once, the group moved towards the door. It was locked, but that was just a minor inconvenience. Mike picked up and rock and smashed through the doors, allowing them to pass through easily. Luckily for Mike, it seemed to be filled with weapons and ammo, so he began to stock up.
He opted to take an AR-15 hunting rifle rather than something a little closer distance, like a shotgun. Plus it was easier for him to carry the ammo in his bag. He loaded the other kids up with pistols, urging them not to shoot their guns unless it's absolutely needed.
"These things can slam back and knock you in the face, it's better to learn control later. Only use them for an emergency," Though none of them seemed to be listening. They mostly just seemed amazed they were handed guns.
Along with the guns, the group put on black vests and dark jeans, which will make it easy for them to move as well as staying blended. Lucas insisted they all put on some eye black, but that was as far as Mike was going. He didn't want to start looking like a ninja.
After slinging his rifle onto his back, and tucking his pistol and newly acquired hunting knife into his belt, Mike was ready to go. The rest of the group looked to be ready as well, and Mike couldn't help but notice a change of maturity in the room. They had always been more grown up than other kids based on their past experiences, but Steve's death really did age them a full ten years. They were no longer kids.
One last edition they all made was to grab a baseball bat from the back wall. A wooden louisville slugger in memory of their friend Steve. Mike had trouble fitting it onto his back, but he made it work. Right before they were ready to leave, however, Mike started to get a pounding headache.
"Mike?" Max asked, rushing to Mike's side. He had completely collapsed onto the ground and it felt like his body temperature had raised ten degrees. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he was almost positive this had something to do with El.
"It's El," Mike grumbled, his headache starting to become manageable. "She's in danger."
"Shit," Lucas said, "Any idea where? Or how far?"
"I-" Mike groaned, digging deep into his sub consciousness, but suddenly he had found the location. He wasn't sure how to explain it, but he knew exactly where El was.
"She's close," He responded. "Really close. But we need to hurry."
"Any ideas?" Dustin asked. "I'm assuming we're outnumbered."
The very minute Dustin said that, a plan did end up forming in Mike's mind. It was risky, and he wasn't sure if it was all that necessary. But he wanted to make a statement. A statement telling this organization they shouldn't be messed with.
May 5th(Washington)
The group ended up spending the night at the gas station. Both because Alice suggested Will needed to rest due to the amount of blood loss he suffered, and also because Jonathan's car got completely destroyed in the recent attack. The car just wouldn't start, on top of two of the four tires being popped. They decided that in the morning they needed to ditch it, which maybe wasn't their smartest decision.
So currently the group was making its way across a Washington in stormy weather. El could barely see five feet in front of her, much less tell where they were going. Slowly but surely the storm began to slow down a little bit, at least the rain did. But it was still a miserable walk, on top of still being a three hour drive away from Seattle.
The walk there was mostly silent, though Conner and Jonathan started to get into a conversation about some movie El had never seen, and Alice was constantly making sure Will was doing ok, offering him snacks and assistance every ten minutes. El mostly kept to herself, enjoying the peace as well as making sure she had control of herself.
What she had done before had been the strongest showing of her powers ever. Like Conner said, it was like she had evolved. And healing Will from a surely fatal wound? She still wasn't sure how she had pulled that out. She had tried testing her powers after that, and it was almost too easy for her to lift up things that would have been hard for her before. She felt too strong now, like if she wasn't careful, she could end up seriously hurting someone she loves.
Slowly into the walk, Will slid up alongside her. "Hey," He greeted with a smile.
"Hi," El responded, more curious to see what he had to say.
"I know it goes without saying, but thank you for saving my life yesterday." Will said. "What you did, that was incredible. Even after I treated you like garbage for an entire year, you still loved me enough to save my life. So I just wanted to say thanks, and I'm sorry."
El could have left it there, she really could have. But she really wanted to know the reason Will had disliked her so much, even from the start. "But why," El asked. "Why did you not like me? Why were you always so angry with me and Mike. I don't understand."
Will was quiet for a while, and El was starting to think she had gone too far. But after a while, Will spoke up. "There were a lot of reasons why I didn't like you at first, El. When you sacrificed yourself, it's all the guys would talk about. How brave you were, how good of a friend you were. It was like I missed the greatest thing that ever happened to them. So I was a little envious."
"But after awhile, I got used to it. It was like you were an urban legend, like Superman. But when you actually returned for good, it was weird for me. You and Mike were super close, and everyone just accepted you like you were part of the group. It felt like no one cared about me, and all the attention was on you."
"I started to think about what it meant for the Party, and I suddenly realised everyone was growing up. My three best friends had girlfriends, and it was all they ever wanted to talk about. It felt like I was being left behind like always. In a weird way, I almost preferred being stuck in the upside down. Knowing people cared. It was selfish."
He turned to El now, his eyes dead serious. "But the main reason I disliked you El was just how well you adjusted. With all the trauma you went through in your life, I didn't think you would ever be normal. Yet you were, and even you were growing up faster than I was. I envied how well you adapted, how well you fit in."
He wiped a tear from his eyes. "But all this hatred, it blinded me from the fact that you were a great person, one of the best people I had ever met. And I'm sad it took me so long to realize that. I was blaming my own struggles on you, which just isn't fair. I'm really sorry El, and I'm glad to have you as my sister."
Will reached out for a hug, and El quickly accepted. Just knowing how Will felt improved her mood tenfold. Her entire life she was worried about being accepted into society, and here Will was going through the same thing.
The only problem was the entire group was so distracted by what had occurred between El and Will, no one had noticed the cars coming up from behind them. Before El could even turn around, A wire planted itself into her neck and shocked her entire body, making her collapse onto the ground.
She heard shouting from behind her as two men grabbed her arms and blindfolded her face. El heard one man speak into his walkie talkie: "We have her sir, she's sedated. What do you want us to do with the others?"
Before the man on the other side of the radio could respond, El kicked the man to her right in the groin area, allowing her to remove her blindfold. Before she could raise her hand, about seven different men emerged, pointing guns at every one of her friends. "Don't even think about it," One of the men said. "Any sudden moves and we shoot."
El was going through the scenarios in her head. It was possible to kill them all at once, but it would require her to move just a little bit. She couldn't risk one of the men shooting any of her friends.
Her only option seemed to be surrender, at least for the time being. Maybe she could bide her time and get them to let go of her friends, make the kills less risky. Unfortunately, she never even got that far, as she heard the whizz of an engine coming from in front of her. It was a car, similar to the one Nancy drives back in Hawkins, and it was about to slam fully into the back of one of the vans.
At the last minute, El pushed her and her friends out of the crossfire as the car rammed into the back of one of the men, killing him instantly. The crash caused enough confusion for El and her friends to be temporarily forgotten.
"What the-?" Connor said. "Who are those people on the hill?"
Still dazed and confused, some of the men started to notice the four figures making their way down the hill, guns in hand.
Before one of the men took a shot, El used her powers to push the man into the van, giving the people on the hill free reign to shoot at the men. One of the figures in the distance started to shoot with deadly accuracy, immediately killing two of the men. El started to take care of the rest, throwing them around like rag dolls until they dropped unconscious.
Soon all the men were gone thanks to El and the unknown soldier off in the distance. The four started to make their way closer to El and her friends.
"I told you that would fucking work!" a familiar voice said. "That was totally badass."
"That was pretty cool," A female voice said. "Let's go see if they're ok."
El started to help Alice and Conner off the ground until she caught sight of the four figures. These people were no soldiers, they were her friends.
"Holy Shit," Will said next to her. "Dustin?"
Slowly a curly head boy got closer to them, and sure enough, it was Dustin Henderson. One of El's best friends. Will practically tackled him with a hug, and Dustin gave her his classic toothless grin behind Dustin was Max, and behind her was Lucas, and behind Lucas was….
"Mike!" She screamed, tears streaming down her face. She pushed away the rest of her friends, going towards the tall freckled face kid that had stolen her heart. Seeing his face light up when he saw her just about made her year.
She practically tackled him as she jumped into him, sobbing into his chest just like she had so many months ago. He started to rub circles into her back like he always used to, and suddenly El felt right at home.
"I missed you," She said as she kissed him.
"Words can't even describe how much I missed you," He smiled. It was as he had gotten even more handsome since the last time she saw him. He was taller, and looked older almost.
"Since when can you shoot?" El pulled away suddenly taking in Mike's outfit. She can to the sudden realization he must have been the sharpshooter she had seen on the hill. He was deadly accurate with that rifle he was shooting.
"I was bored," He shrugged. "Nancy was insistent I learned to defend myself. Shootings in the Wheeler blood I guess."
There was a sadness in his face El couldn't quite place, but she decided to push past it for now. She was just so happy to see Mike, to see all of her friends together again. It was satisfying in ways El couldn't explain.
After El reunited with the rest of her friends, she decided to introduce Conner and Alice to the rest of her friends. "Guys, this is Conner and Alice, two friends from our hometown. Unfortunately they got stuck with us."
"Trust me, I know the feeling." Max said. "These nerds seem so nice and inviting, then bam! You're getting hunted by wild dogs in the forest."
"Wild dogs?" Alice asked.
Will brushed her off. "They helped us get El's powers back. Or at least figure out what was wrong with her. She's as strong as ever now."
"Really?" Mike asked with such curiosity it made her blush. "That's great!"
"Yeah," Alice looked Mike up and down. "I'm assuming your Mike? Man El's probably glad to see you. It's nice to get to know the guy that gets her all hot and bothered."
El glared at Alice, causing the others to burst into laughter.
"Man," Lucas said, wiping a tear from his eyes. "Some things never change huh?"
They decided to fully exchange story's in one of the vans the bad men dropped off, but El was sure to grab Mike's hand on the way in. She wasn't letting him go this time, and hopefully won't have to for a long time.
Welp, Mileven is finally reunited! Hopefully that satisfies a lot of your guys' hopes. I know it's awkward right now, but they have so much to go over. I haven't even gone over the fact that Mike has like 5 people now lol. The big chapter you're all hoping for should come this weekend, with Hopper finally finding a way to escape(hopefully).
As previously mentioned, I got sent home from my university for two weeks due to massive COVID outbreaks, and I actually contracted the virus myself for the second time. I feel like it was a false positive since I had a cold pretty much for like 3 days, but I'm trying to keep it serious. I'm obviously going to be fine, but keep the people who I could have given the virus in your thoughts/prayers. Like my grandparents, other kids etc.
Other than that, please leave a review if you have any suggestions/comments about my story, and I'll be sure to have another chapter out in about a week. Hope your all doing well!