Author's Note: Umm.. I'm sorry?

When It's All Over

Calling to the afterlife
Can you hear us when we cry?
Call out to the after life
Can you show us how to fight?
It's all gone wrong
Heaven hold us
We've lost the sun
Heaven told us
The world was strong
Heaven hold us
Where do we go
When it's all over?

A sting to her left cheek is what wakes Dani, her head lolling to the side as pain explodes all over her face. She groans and whimpers and attempts to curl up on her side, but a hand shoves her shoulder back down.

"Dani? Dani, wake up! The kid's gone."

She squints and waits for her vision to clear, she then blinking up at Billy. "Wha-?"

"Get the fuck up, Lewis. El is gone!"

"Did you- did you just slap me?" She slurs.

"Not the time." Billy quickly stands and pulls Dani to her own two feet, she leaning against the wall as Billy limps over to shake awake Mike and Max. Dani inhales and exhales deeply, centering herself before Billy comes back over to check her over once again. "What happened? What happened to your leg?"

"Heather kicked our asses and shot me. You good to go?"

She frowns. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so."

"El? El?!" Mike shouts. He turns in a circle, eyes a bit crazed. "Where is she?!"

Billy bristles at the kid's tone. "How the hell am I supposed to know? I got knocked out just like you."

Max reaches out a hand to lay on Mike's shoulder, she shaking her head at him. She, better than anyone, knows that now is not the time to rile up Billy. An explosion sounds and everyone's head whips towards the same direction. The Mindflayer roars and suddenly they're running towards it.

Billy bursts out first, panting heavily and putting most of his weight on his one good leg. Dani is right behind him, Mike behind her, and Max bringing up the rear. The two younger kids skid to a stop, bumping into Dani and Billy as they stare up in sheer terror at the Mindflayer being pelted by fireworks.

"I need to find El," Mike mutters. And before Dani can stop him, he and Max are running off together.

"That that little shit is going to get herself killed," Billy hisses.

Dani can see Steve and Robin up on the second floor, and knows the others are up there as well given the fireworks coming from various directions. She glances around frantically, her mind only on one individual. And when she spots her- Heather hovering over Eleven- her heart practically falls into her stomach. Heather's got a hold on Eleven's shoulders, she slamming the younger girl over and over on the ground as the younger screams and kicks out in an attempt to free herself.

"No." Dani stares in horror as Heather does her best to keep Eleven down in preparation for whatever the Mindflayer has planned for her. She's not even concentrating, not really, and all she can think of is how urgent she's needed by her sister's side. From one moment to the next, Dani can feel something mounting within and then it just.. it clicks into place. "No!" She screams this time. And from one blink to the next, Dani appears just mere feet from Eleven and Heather in a whirl of black shadows. She sees nothing but red, her anger fully consuming her. "Get off my sister!"

Without thinking, Dani reels back with her right arm before flinging it forward as if she were skipping a stone across water. Shadows rise up, black crystal-like shards forming from within the shadows and flinging themselves at Heather. With shards sticking out from one side of her body, Heather glares at Dani and screeches. Black veins practically pulse all over the possessed girl's body and Dani wastes no time in reeling her other arm back and then flinging it forward again. This time, Heather is forcefully shoved a good twenty feet from Eleven and is impaled on a steel rod from some fallen debris from the ceiling.

With the smallest threat taken care of, Dani blinks and she can suddenly see clear again. Her whole body feels heavy and she collapses with a groan, and Eleven slowly crawls over to her as she cries. "D-Dani?"

"Yeah?" The two girls grab onto one another, hugging as they collapse together back on the ground. "It's okay. It's going to be okay."

Someone suddenly slides up on their knees next to them, Billy crashing into the girls before quickly righting himself. "What the hell was that, Lewis? I thought you could only open shadow portals."

"M'not sure. I never really explored exactly what it was I could do."

"That was one hell of a way to find out." Part of the ceiling comes crashing down and Billy shields the girls from most of the debris. Pushing his hair out of his face, he says, "We need to move. Now."

"Okay."

Dani and Eleven help one another up, and Billy guides them around the Mindflayer as it's roaring and attempting to strike out at those bothering it. But just before they can get to safety, the fireworks suddenly stop. The kids are yelling up on the second floor, but the Mindflayer has a goal in mind- that goal being to go after Eleven.

"Run!" Dani screams.

Billy takes off just ahead of them, clearing somewhat of a path for them to follow. The Mindflayer is immensely pissed off, it's legs stomping and tentacles snapping out with the intent to kill.

Dani trips over a mangled chair from the food court and Eleven goes down with her. Hard. The girls ignore their pain and are trying to scramble back up to their feet as fast as they can, with the others screaming insults to get them moving faster, when the Mindflayer takes advantage of their sudden misfortune. Positioning itself near the girls, the creature roars and Dani's heart sinks. They're too slow. So wanting to take the brunt of the attack, Dani wraps herself around Eleven and turns them so her back's to the creature just as a tentacle snaps out from it's mouth.

But the tentacle never touches her. Instead Billy starts screaming in pain and Max is screaming for Billy.

"Go! Get out of here!"

Dani glances over her shoulder and her eyes tear up. "No. No, no, no." She and Eleven scramble up to their feet, they stumbling to the side as Billy fends off the Mindflayer single handedly. Both his hands, up to their wrists, are engulfed in the mouth of the tentacle that was meant to harm Dani and Eleven.

"Go!" Billy shouts again, struggling. Dani sobs as Eleven tries to drag her away, a scream being ripped from her throat as another tentacle attaches itself to his ribs.

"El, I can't- I can't leave him," she cries. Dani glances between Eleven and Billy, her brain telling her one thing while her heart says another. Eleven must see something in her expression because she eventually nods, she letting Dani go and stumbling back into Mike's arms as he suddenly makes an appearance.

Billy screams once more and Dani's mind immediately shifts into focus. Her hands are fisted at her sides as she starts limping back towards the chaos, her hands then opening and fingers tensed in a claw-like gesture. The shadows seem to follow her along the floor, black wisps drawing themselves in towards Dani. Side by side with Billy then, Dani lets out a piercing scream as she thrust both her arms outward. Black shards fly from the shadows, penetrating the flesh of the Mindflayer and sending it stumbling back with a screech as it lets go of Billy.

Max is immediately at Billy's side, she and Steve doing their best to help drag him away.

Dani screams again, more larger shards appearing from the shadows and hitting the creature.

"Holy shit," Dustin muses. "Did anyone know she could do this?"

"Come on. We need to get out of here," Jonathan says, urging the group into motion.

"Not without Dani," Eleven frowns.

Huddled together, the group watches as Dani continues to scream. Every scream is accompanied with a volley of shadow shards, the Mindflayer screeching and squealing in pain. Wind suddenly comes out of nowhere and the group are struck speechless when Dani's feet lift off the ground. The shadows are carrying her.

"Dani!"

Dani's head whips in their direction, her eyes pitch black. "Leave." Even her voice is different. And with a wave of her hand in their direction, an inky portal opens up right next to the group. "Go." Her expression crumples then and her eyes clear. "Just go."

Eyes blazing, Billy limps forward. "No. Not without you!"

She smiles faintly at him, but before Dani can return her attention to the threat at hand, a tentacle is latching itself directly in the center of her chest. Dani gasps, eyes wide, and the winds immediately stop. The Mindflayer screeches victoriously before slamming her into the ground and the shadows start to retreat in mourning.

"No!"

The portal is the last thing Dani has a semblance of control over and she glances at her friends once more. "Go," she pleads, tears leaking from the corner of her eyes. "Hurry." The portal flickers, and Jonathan and Nancy are quick to drag Mike and Will through it even as they shout their refusal.

The teeth attached to Dani pull and she arches in pain. Billy, Max, and Eleven are screaming at her to fight back, but Dani's accepted that this is her time. So long as she can get her friends and family to safety, she's done enough. So with the last of her strength, she forces a smile for them.

"Dani." Billy's voice is broken as his bottom lip trembles, eyes glazed with unshed tears and anger. "Please, I-"

"I'm sorry." And with a flick of her arm, she sends the last of her friends through the portal towards safety.. and lets the portal close. The Mindflayer roars as if it knows what she just did and it presses down on her chest. Dani coughs, blood splattering her chin and neck, and heart aching. "Come on, you asshole. Do you worst."

Arms spread out at her sides, Dani closes her eyes. She rather not watch the killing blow. But before that blow could even land, the Mindflayer screeches and the tentacle unlatches from her chest. Eyes flying open, Dani watches in shock as the Mindflayer practically vibrates in agony before collapsing silent. It's.. it's dead.

Laughing hollowly, Dani rolls over onto her stomach and pushes herself up onto hands and knees. Crawling away, she cries in both relief and terror. The events, the agony she's in.. it's all crashing down on her and all she wants is her dad.

The ground beneath her suddenly rumbles and Dani's heart thuds. "No. Not yet," she whimpers. She can hear an explosion from down below and barely has enough strength to stand up and throw herself behind the counter in a shoe store before everything around her explodes in noise and heat.

- X -

"Dani! DANI!" The explosion startles the group of kids waiting at the furthermost edge of the parking lot into silence and then Billy's attempting to make a mad dash back towards the mall. "No, no, no," he murmurs frantically.

It's a struggle to keep him from rushing back into the mall, and it takes both Steve and Jonathan to keep him back. Even injured, Billy manages to get a few hits in on the other two boys.

"Goddammit, Hargrove! Quit it!" Steve snarls, shoving the boy back. "It's done. She's gone, man. I'm-"

"Don't say that!" Billy explodes. "She's not gone! She's-"

"Billy," Max's soft cries garner his attention. When Billy glances at her, the tears stream down his step-sister's face as she shakes her head. "Stop. Please."

"I"m sorry," Steve says, the fight draining out of him as Billy momentarily ceases his actions. "But come on, man. The building exploded. She's-"

"No. No, she can't be-"

The noise of rumbling engines resonate throughout the night and helicopters zoom by overhead. The kids and older teenagers all huddle together as ambulance sirens pierce the air and police lights light up the dim parking lot.

Military men jump out the back of the trucks, they all rushing towards the flaming mall. EMT's immediately start pulling the kids aside and towards the back of the ambulances, and question after question are fired at them as they're being patched up.

"Look!" Max exclaims, pointing off in the distance. "They made it."

Joyce Byers is stumbling in the middle of the parking lot, glancing around with all chaos going on around her. Will and Jonathan immediately make a beeline for their mom, and she embraces them with a sob. Nathan and Murray are next, but Nathan is being supported by his new friend. The clearly beaten man is led to an ambulance of his own, and Max and Billy stumble over to him.

"Where s'my daughter?" Nathan slurs. He's got a gash above his right eye, a busted lip, and a gnarly bruise forming around his neck. "Where s'my baby?"

"N-Nathan?" Billy calls out. The EMT tries to shoo the kids, but Nathan stops him from doing so.

"Billy? Where's Dani? Is she okay?"

Max hangs her head and Billy's hand lands on the back of her neck, squeezing periodically- not to hurt her, but to ground both him and her with the news he's about to deliver. "I-" His voice cracks and his blue eyes swim with tears once more.

"No," Nathan whines, expression crumpling as he shoves the helping hands away. "No, not my baby."

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Lewis."

"No, no, no," he sobs. "Not my baby. Please, not her."

Max hides her face in both her hands as she cries and without thinking Billy turns her around so she can hide in his side. Her arms wrap low around his waist and he averts his gaze as more EMT's rush to the ambulance to sedate the now grieving father. But as Billy glances anywhere but at Nathan, his gaze ends up landing on Eleven. The girl is standing on her own, expression contorted into pure grief as she sobs out her own sadness. There's no Chief of Police being bandaged up anywhere and Billy has an uncomfortable knot in his stomach.

It appears as if someone else didn't make it out.

"Hey, shithead," he rasps, nudging Max. "El needs you."

Searching for Eleven, Max soon spots her friend wrapped up in her own grief and rushes to embrace the girl. Mike joins them right after, the other kids following as they all envelop Eleven in a massive group hug.

Steve and Robin are the first to sneak off, the two having to make sure Dustin and Erica were okay. Lucas goes with them since he needs to get his sister back home as soon as possible, and then Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler are pulling up and gathering their two children to take home after having been alerted to their children's whereabouts. Neil and Susan Hargrove show up too, but they only take Max with them since Billy refuses to leave Nathan's side. It becomes uncomfortable for everyone involved when Neil quietly threatens his son to get his ass in their car, but an EMT steps in and mentions that Billy is one that's going to need a trip to the hospital. Neil had sneered, but ended up leaving after telling Billy to find his own way home then.

One military man in particular starts talking to Nathan after asking about Jim Hopper's whereabouts, and Billy listens as Nathan tells the man all he knows. It's a somber affair given Nathan is half out of it from the sedatives, and Billy takes it upon himself to fill in what happened inside the mall with Dani and the other kids. The man promises to look for both Jim and Dani before taking his leave, and Billy pulls himself inside the back of the ambulance. So long as Dani is still out there, Nathan refuses to leave without knowing what happened to her.

And since the injuries they're all sporting is nothing really major, everyone else opts to stay behind as well.

As the rain starts to come down in a steady drizzle, Billy climbs into the back of the ambulance with Nathan. Eleven pops up, eyes puffy and red. Billy scoots over and she climbs in, her bottom lip trembling as she and Nathan meet gazes.

"Mr. Lewis?" Her voice is absolutely wrecked. After Billy has seen what this girl is capable of, he's surprised to see her so meek. "I know now's not the time, but.. what's going to happen to me?"

Nathan struggles to sit up, so Billy helps him. Then once up, he reaches out for Eleven's hand to grasp within his own. "Jim had a plan should the worst happen," he tiredly tells her. "There are custodial papers already signed in his desk and I have the copies in my office. He wanted you placed somewhere you didn't have to hide who you were and Dani-" his voice cracks and Eleven squeezes his hand tighter as she sees Nathan's expression fall. "He, uh, he knew how you looked up to Dani so he wanted you with us. You'll be staying with me, kid."

Eleven sheds a few more tears before sitting back against the wall of the ambulance. Nathan reclines once more and Eleven glances at Billy. He's tense and she can practically feel the grief wafting off him. She knows he's not the nicest person, but she also knows enough to know that everyone needs some form comfort when going through such a tragic affair.

Hesitantly reaching over, Eleven's hand lands on Billy's left fist sitting atop his thigh. He jerks under her touch and she startles, but then she slowly reaches for him again. He glares at her, but she doesn't let his anger deter her and cautiously flattens his hand to hold between both of her own. Shakily exhaling, Billy calms himself and Eleven tucks herself closer to him.

Hours later, as the sun is finally coming up, the military man returns and Nathan sits up with a pained grunt. Billy sits up straighter and nudges Eleven awake who still has a hold on his hand.

"Did you find anything?"

The man shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Lewis. There's no sign of Jim or your daughter Dani."

Numb, Nathan falls back into his bed as the military man offers his condolences before taking his leave once more.

"This is such bullshit," Billy seethes. "How can they not find her?"

"If she's not there," Eleven weakly mumbles, "then where is she?"

Nathan is lost to his grief as Eleven and Billy share a baffled look. Where indeed.