There was pounding on the door. Beth woke with a start, Eddie's arm reflexively tightening around her waist.

"Eddie? It's Steve," the voice behind the door said. "Nancy's ready to talk, come on. And where the hell is—"

Steve jumped back in surprise when Beth cracked open the door. "Steve. You can't just bang on someone's door when they're wanted by the police. You're going to give us a heart attack. We'll be there in five minutes." She closed the door on Steve's dumbfounded face.

"Beth?" Eddie looked at her through squinted eyes. "How awake are you?"

"Barely. Why?"

"Pretty sure you just clued in Harrington to…us."

Beth let this observation work its way through her still-drowsy brain until she finally shrugged. "Eh. It's not the end of the world."

"So…It's the end of the world," Beth murmured.

Nancy had just explained what she saw under Vecna's trance: armies of Upside Down monsters invading Hawkins. Gates crisscrossing the town—one for each kill Vecna made. All he needed was one more to set his plan into motion.

"Jesus Christ," Eddie whispered. "Jesus Christ…" Beth leaned her head on his shoulder as Max turned and picked up the phone to try calling Eleven in California. Apparently their phone line had been busy for days. What's the point anyway? Beth thought. She doesn't have her powers. She can't save us.

Nancy had worries of her own regarding Eleven. "Whatever's happening in Lenora is connected to all of this. I'm sure of it," she said. "But Vecna can't hurt them. Not if he's dead." She turned to the rest of the group. "We have to go back in there. Back to the Upside Down."

Immediately, people started shooting her down, most of all Steve. "No, no, no, let's think this through-"

"What's there to think through?" Nancy shouted back.

"We barely made it out in one piece last time-"

"Not to be a bitch, Steve," Beth said, "but you barely made it out in one piece last time. The rest of them saved you. Nancy's right. I mean, wasn't this the plan anyway? Find a gate, kill Vecna?"

Nancy nodded. "We'll get weapons, we'll prepare-"

"He'll kill us," Steve insisted. "The only reason you survived is because he let you. He's not afraid of us."

"And with good reason," Robin added. "We've learned something new about Henry-slash-Vecna-slash-One. He's a number like Eleven—only a sick, evil, male, child-murdering version of her with really bad skin—my point is, he's super powerful. He could turn us inside out with a snap of his fingers. It's not a fair fight-"

"When has it ever been a fair fight?" Beth pressed, standing up from the couch. "It wasn't a fair fight when he killed Chrissy! It's not a fair fight that he cursed Max! And it sure as hell isn't fair that Eddie's been blamed for it all! Screw the odds, I say we follow Nancy into battle." Nancy gave her an appreciative nod, which she returned.

"And the fact that he's like Eleven gives us the upper hand," Dustin said. "We know Eleven's strengths and her weaknesses-"

"Exactly!" Beth said. "If Eleven lost her powers, so can Vecna. Do you know how she lost her powers?"

"Um," Dustin said. "Well, that was the Mindflayer, so that probably won't be an option, but," he continued, seeing Beth's deflation, "when Eleven remote-travels, she goes into a trance-like state. I bet the same is true of Vecna."

"That would explain what he's doing in that attic," Lucas realized.

"Exactly! I bet when he attacks his next victim, he'll be back in that attic. Completely defenseless."

"Defenseless? What about his army of bats?" Steve asked, pointing at his wounds.

"True, we just have to find a way past them. Distract them."

"And how do we do that?" Eddie wondered.

"I don't know," Dustin admitted, much to Eddie's chagrin.

"But," Beth said, "You've already beaten them once. We can do it again."

Robin remained unconvinced. "But there's no pattern to Vecna's killings. At least, none that I can decipher. We don't even know who Vecna's next victim will be!"

"Yes we do."

All eyes turned to Max and her intense expression. "I can still feel him. I'm still marked. Cursed. If I ditch Kate Bush…I draw his focus back to me."

"Max, you can't. He'll kill you," Lucas said, his voice hushed in fear.

She remained stoic. "I survived once. I can survive again. I just need to keep him busy long enough for you to get into that attic. Then you can chop his head off, stab him in the heart, blow him up with something Dustin cooks up…I honestly don't care how you put this asshole in his grave. Just, whatever it is, whatever you do…try not to miss."

Nobody said a word for a while. Beth had felt energized by the idea of going into the Upside Down and bringing the fight to Vecna's territory, but this? She drew the line at live bait. Her eyes drifted to Eddie, who looked just as concerned—but also, to a degree, inspired. "You're really willing to put your life on the line like this?" he asked her. Max nodded. Eddie chewed his lip. "Well shit. If you're brave enough to do that, I don't see how the rest of us can just turn heel and run."

Eddie stood up. "Where's your Yellow Pages?" he asked Max, flipping through once she pulled it out until he got to the listing he was looking for. "Check it out," he said. "The War Zone. I've been there once before. It's huge. It's got everything you need for…uh, killing things, basically?"

"Do you think fake Rambo has enough guns there?" Robin marveled. "Is that a grenade? How is any of this legal?"

"Well luckily for us it is," Eddie said with a shrug. "This place is just far enough out of Hawkins. As long as we stay clear of the main roads, we should be able to avoid cops and angry hicks."

"If we wanted to avoid angry hicks, we should probably avoid a place called the War Zone," Erica pointed out.

"Normally I'd agree," said Nancy, "but we need the weapons…"

"But how are we all supposed to get there?" Beth asked. "All we have right now are bikes."

"We're not taking bikes," Eddie said.

Steve made a face. "What, do you have a car we don't know about?"

"It's not exactly a car, Steve," Eddie said, a mischievous smile on his face. "And it's not exactly mine…but it'll do." He turned to Max. "Hey, Red, do you have a bandanna or a mask or anything?"

Soon, the entire crew was running through the trailer park, led by Eddie in an old Halloween mask. They rounded the back of a Winnebago, its owners sitting out front drowning themselves in beer and watching a small TV setup. Eddie slid a back window open, and one by one they hoisted themselves through.

"Wait," Beth hissed, grabbing Eddie's shoulder. She pointed out the wide windows on the driver and passenger sides of the camper, and of course the windshield. "Either you need to put the mask back on…or you can tell me how to do whatever it is you're planning."

"I'm planning on hotwiring this thing, Beth."

"Alright then. You've already been accused of three murders," Beth said with a shrug. "Let me take the grand theft auto. Just tell me what to do."

Eddie smirked. "Because you're so good at following other people's leads?"

"Shut up and teach me."

Eddie crawled to the door to lock it while Beth went for the driver's seat, wirecutters in hand. "Okay," said Eddie, sliding back behind the driver's seat, out of sight. "There should be a bundle of wires just behind the steering column. Yank 'em." He walked her through which wires to cut and how to whittle the rubber casing off, revealing the bare copper beneath. "Alright, now you have to rub the red and the black wires together until it sparks, and be careful—don't touch the bare wires, you'll electrocute yourself. Might not happen the first time, just be patient..."

Steve had sidled up to Beth, watching her eager work with disdain. "You really feel good about committing a felony right now?" he asked. "Honestly, I think Eddie's a bad influence on you-"

"Jesus Christ, Steve, stop being such a boy scout," Beth said. "And anyway, according to Jason and Chrissy's mother, I've always been a bad influence. This is…kind of refreshing."

"Are you sure you're…comfortable driving this?" Robin asked tentatively.

"Beth's just starting this sucker," Eddie assured her. "Harrington's got her…don't ya, big boy?" Beth snorted at Steve's discomfort.

The wires sparked, and the Winnebago rumbled to life, eliciting a yelp of excitement from Beth as Eddie pounded the floor with his fist in celebration. Moments later there were yells from outside and the owners' enraged faces loomed at the window. "Oh look," Beth said with a smirk and a wave. "Our first angry hicks of the day." She switched places with Steve, who muttered some words of self-encouragement before yelling at everyone to hold on tight.

"You did good," Eddie told Beth, smiling as she clung to his waist, the camper lurching its way out of the trailer park.

Beth grinned. "You know, in a weird way…it finally feels like spring break."

Given that their names and photos had been circulated as associates of Eddie Munson, Dustin and Lucas were left in the camper with Eddie and Beth while the rest of the gang took on the War Zone. Beth busied herself around the Winnebago, raiding drawers and cabinets for anything that could come in handy for battle. "Ugh," she commented, holding up a neon –colored nylon fanny pack. "Tragic…but useful."

"Gotta hand it to you, Beth," Dustin said. "Didn't expect you to be so on board with this plan."

Beth shrugged, pulling out a bag of chips to snack on. "I'm tired of just sitting back and watching everything go to hell. Besides, the faster we can put a stop to Vecna, the faster we can start implementing my plan to save Eddie."

"It's less of a plan and more of a theory," Eddie reminded her. "And a far-fetched one, if I'm honest."

"It's the most solid plan we've got, and I'm not going to give up until it works."

"What is the plan?" asked Lucas.

"Okay," Beth started, pausing in her tool-gathering mission to lean against the wall and explain. "So Nancy told me about how the government is aware of the Upside Down and Eleven and all of it. So somebody, somewhere, has to know all this Vecna shit isn't being done by some teenager. And they must know that people are becoming aware of it all, or else they wouldn't have caved and shut down Hawkins Lab after that exposé came out about Barb Holland's death. And Powell has to already know these murders couldn't have been done by Eddie, he's seen the bodies. So we just have to find the right people to lean on in order to get them to declare Eddie free and clear of any wrongdoing. Nancy figured out how to get justice for Barb, and I can do the same with Eddie. I'm not saying it won't take a lot of work, but come on," she said, looking at the stunned looks on Dustin and Lucas's faces. "We can't just let Eddie take the fall. Not when we know there has to be Feds who know he's innocent."

Dustin and Lucas looked at each other for a tense few minutes. "Uh…so your plan is to go up against the government department that imprisoned Eleven?" Dustin asked.

Beth swallowed. Nancy hadn't said imprisoned. "Well… I thought she was their asset."

"She was," Lucas said slowly. "Until she escaped."

"These aren't…good people, Beth," said Dustin. "Let me tell you a little story about when we first met Eleven. Hawkins Lab figured out she was hiding out in Hawkins, and they hunted her down. Like, I mean literally chasing me, Mike and El in vans while we were on our bikes."

"Down a residential street," Lucas added.

"We were eleven years old at the time," emphasized Dustin. "They didn't give a shit if they ran us over. The only reason we lived to see another day is because El flipped their van with her powers."

"They're ruthless," warned Lucas.

"El had to fake her death to get out from under them, Beth. If you think you can just talk them into doing what you want…" Dustin shook his head. "El's mom tried to get her back. They caught her and gave her electroshock therapy until she was a goddamn vegetable. You don't want to mess with them. They'll destroy you."

"Holy shit," Lucas said suddenly, turning to Dustin. "What if that's why we can't reach them in Lenora? What if they finally figured out she's still alive? What if the government does know about what's happening here…and they think it's El? We know Vecna's like her…"

Dustin's face showed the weight of this new theory. "Holy shit…"

Their voices became a blur as Beth watched their focus shift back to Eleven, her plan to save Eddie forgotten. Shot down. Absolutely no second thoughts of how they could make it work. And they said it in front of Eddie. No, she thought, her heart in her throat. No, no, no… She didn't even realize she was saying it out loud, nearly yelling it, until she realized Dustin and Lucas were looking at her again.

"No! You don't—that was all I had," Beth exclaimed. "That was the best I could come up with, and now you're just saying it's impossible? That we shouldn't even try? Eddie's life is just going to be ruined? He could get life in prison, and that's if he's lucky. He could also get the death penalty! We can't just give up, he's innocent, he doesn't—Eddie needs to live. I need him to live." Beth wiped the hot tears off her face with the heel of her palm. "I…I want more time. I need more time. He can't just go to prison forever when he's innocent, it's not fair, I need more time…"

"Beth, holy shit, breathe."

"No," Beth repeated, shaking off Eddie's hand on her shoulder. "I need to figure this out. Because you can't go to prison and you can't keep hiding, you need to be able to live a normal life. I want to see what it's like when it's normal, what we're like when everything is normal. I-I want to see your band play at that shitty little bar in town. I want to make you listen to the music I like and see if I can get you to like it too. I want to meet your uncle and hear stories about when you were a kid because I know there have to be some crazy ones. Because I missed it, I screwed everything up and now there's no goddamn time left…"

Beth tried to slow her breathing, bent with her hands on her knees. When she looked back up, she suddenly became very aware of the three terrified faces looking back at her. Great. Now they all think I'm crazy. Maybe I am. "I just…need a minute. There has to be…" Beth found the door to the ridiculously small bathroom and shut herself inside.

"You need to go in there."

"What the hell am I supposed to say, man?"

"I don't know, but you can't just not do anything!"

"Do you think she's cursed?"

"Lucas, that's not how Vecna works-"

"Can you three idiots stop talking like I can't hear you?" Beth said, head in her hands. She'd barely been in this joke of a bathroom for two minutes before the boys had started barely whispering to each other about how to handle the mess. The volume on the camper radio went up; there was a knock on the door.

"Beth, let me in?"

She sighed. "Eddie, there is definitely not enough room for two people in here-"

"Come on, just let me in. We need to talk. They're not gonna hear us out there."

Beth rolled her eyes and unlocked the door. "Fine. Go for it."

Eddie opened the door, which almost immediately bumped into Beth's legs. She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. From her position sitting on the closed toilet seat, her knees touched the sink cabinet. "Shit." He awkwardly stepped over her legs and ultimately took a seat in the sink, kicking the door back closed. "You weren't kidding."

"I have no reason to lie."

"You lied last night." Beth looked sharply at him, but Eddie's observation was matter-of-fact and without accusation. "When you said you were okay. When I came back into the room, I could tell you cried yourself to sleep. Is this…why?"

"Sort of, I guess." She slid her eyes away. "What, no lecture on how it's insane that I could fall asleep listening to metal?"

"I'm not in here to make jokes. Beth, this isn't good. It's not like you to lose it like this."

"You've seen me lose it like this before-"

"Yeah, over Chrissy. That made sense," Eddie said. "Losing your shit over me? I'm not w-"

"Don't finish that sentence," Beth warned. "Or I swear…I'm in the perfect position to punch you in the dick."

"Jesus H. Christ," Eddie whimpered, reflexively taking on a protective position. Beth sucked her lips in, trying not to laugh. But he snorted first, and the tension broke just a little bit. "Save the threats of violence for the battlefield, sweetheart."

"Shit." Beth put her face in her hands again. "What was I thinking, unloading all this crap right before we have to go into the Upside Down? Like we need the extra drama."

Eddie shrugged. "Better we say the things we want to say now, I guess. You know…whatever happens, it won't be your fault," Eddie told her. "You can't hold yourself responsible for what happens to me. As much as I love your absolutely boundless confidence in your ability to make shit happen…I've always known. I'm most likely going to prison." He sighed. "It's a fact."

Beth closed her eyes, feeling tears threaten to fall. "But you're innocent. You shouldn't-"

"I know. But it's still a fact. You can't beat yourself up for it any more than you can beat yourself up for what happened to Chrissy. You're not letting me down because you can't change the way the justice system works." Eddie reached out to thumb away the tears on Beth's cheeks. "Hey, don't get mad at me for this but…in seventh grade, after the whole Snow Ball thing…I used to dream about seeing you get all weepy with regret over what you did."

Beth scrunched her face. "Well? Was it everything you hoped it would be?"

"Turns out…it sucks." Eddie looked at her with sadness in his eyes. "I don't want to see you fall apart. Especially not over what happened in the past. You forget, Beth: I did a lot of the screwing up myself. You wouldn't have done what you did if I was never an asshole about Chrissy."

"But I didn't have to-"

"You did, because if you hadn't, you'd have been betraying yourself. You don't let anyone get away with hurting your friends. People might think you're mean and scary but what I've figured out is that it's almost always for a good reason. And we need that right now," Eddie reminded her. "We're not going to beat Vecna with you deciding you're going to become a Zen Buddhist." Beth chuckled despite herself, which made Eddie smile. "I don't want you to lose that storm inside you, ever. Promise me that?"

She sighed, and he nudged her knee with his leg until she said, "Okay, I promise. Or I promise that I'll try, at least."

"Good." He gave her a half-smile. "Will you visit me in prison?"

"Eddie-"

"I'm not kidding Beth, I need someone pretty to look forward to when I'm locked up."

Beth rolled her eyes. "Fine, yes, if the worst happens, I'll visit you in prison and I'll bring a cake with a file in it, the whole prisoner's girlfriend deal."

"Thank you." Eddie awkwardly stood, pulling Beth up into a hug, planting little kisses on her temple as he did. She breathed in the refreshing smell of his clean shirt, black with Metallica emblazoned across the chest. "And thank you," he whispered, "for finally saying you're my girlfriend."

"…You've got that smug grin on your face, don't you?"

"Yup."

"Well," said Beth, "Might as well, timing be damned. Enough people know, I think. I'm pretty sure Nancy figured it out. Steve. Now Dustin and Lucas."

"But who's going to break it to Robin?"

"Shut up and figure out how we're going to get out of this goddamn cupboard," Beth said as Eddie cackled, trying to manoeuver herself out of the door's way.

The gang drove out to an empty field after gathering supplies at the War Zone; the trip had been cut abruptly short due to the arrival of Jason and the rest of the basketball team. As a result, they had one gun and a random assortment of crap to turn into weapons for their battle against Vecna and his Upside Down monsters. Beth thought they'd done decently, actually—spiked shields built out of trashcan lids, knives strapped to poles to make spears, and classic Molotov cocktails. Nancy commandeered the gun, sawing off the long barrel in the day's second felony. Beth sat off by herself, watching the group get used to the weapons. Eddie and Dustin seemed to have the most fun, play-fighting with their shields like little kids. That's the guy you want to kill, Jason? she wondered, thinking of him now armed with a gun. This overgrown boy pretending to slay dragons?

"Hey." She turned to see Robin approaching her. There was always something so timid about Robin—but then again, Beth supposed, she'd never given Robin a reason to feel at ease around her. "What are you doing by yourself?"

She sighed. "Trying to reconnect with my inner storm."

"Oh…trippy." Robin awkwardly hovered for a moment. "Uh, so, this is weird, but I'm just going to rip the Band-Aid off. Dustin said something to me last night about, um, Eddie? And I just want to say that that's not something that would happen. Not that Eddie isn't a good person, he's just not for me, and not that you'd even care either way, I just somehow find myself reassuring people I'm not interested in certain other people a lot this week-"

"Oh my God, Robin," Beth interrupted. "It's fine. Just…stop being so nervous. Sit down." Robin obeyed, her tall frame slouching as she sat cross-legged next to Beth. "So I guess you somehow know."

"Just…call it a hunch?"

Beth rolled her eyes. I call it Steve Harrington can't keep his mouth shut. "It just…kind of happened. You know how sometimes, you find someone that just…sees you? Like, every part of you, good and bad, and they just…completely accept it all? I feel like this past week, Eddie and I just…finally saw each other."

Robin smiled wistfully. "It must be nice."

"It's bizarre, given the timing."

"Maybe that's just what it takes—the end of the world as you know it—to finally see things clearly."

Beth sighed. "Sometimes, I wonder what would have happened if I wasn't there when Chrissy died. Would I assume Eddie killed her, like everyone else? I think I might have, and I hate it. I hate that I would've assumed the worst of him. I just…really hate who I've been."

"If it makes you feel any better, I definitely think you're nicer now," Robin told her. "Still scary. But nicer. To contradict Steve from this morning...I think Eddie's been a good influence on you." They shared a smile. Robin pulled up bits of grass, looking contemplative. "So…when did you decide you weren't going to keep it secret anymore?"

Beth shrugged. "It's not like I specifically wanted to hide it...It was just bad timing. What with Vecna and everything."

"So if everything goes perfectly and Vecna is destroyed and Eddie doesn't get arrested…you'd just be with him? Out in the open?" Robin's questions seemed oddly loaded. "Because even before the Vecna attacks, Eddie wasn't really well-respected in this town. You'd be taking a serious hit on your reputation. That…doesn't scare you?"

"I didn't think you cared about popularity," Beth observed.

"I don't. Not like that." Robin sighed. "Look, it's none of my business anyway. I just wish I had an ounce of your bravery, that's all."

"Why would it take bravery to just be with who you want?" Beth asked. "Reputation is just what others think of you, and if you accept the fact that everyone else is an idiot and you know what you want, it doesn't matter. Or at least, that's how I've always thought of things."

"Ah yes. I've heard of that," Robin said. "I think they call it confidence."

"If you need to find some, go ask Dustin. He can't seem to understand why you're not every guy's dream girl," Beth told her. "And anyway, if we manage to save Hawkins, I don't think going after what you want will feel so scary. It's just dating." Robin smiled to herself in a way that made Beth wonder who exactly she had her eye on, if the possibility seemed so unlikely. "So," she said, pivoting the conversation. "Level with me. What exactly tipped you off to me and Eddie?"

"Um, the entire hike from Skull Rock to the lake? You two practically had little hearts floating around you. It was kind of obvious—well, obvious to me and Nance. Steve's in denial," Robin said. "Actually made a bet with us that there was nothing going on with you two. Twenty bucks each. Maybe if we survive Vecna, I can collect now."

Beth raised her eyebrows. "Wait. So it wasn't Steve that told you?" Robin looked at her quizzically. "He's known since this morning. When he came over to the trailer to wake us up?"

Robin opened her mouth in shock, then turned to shout towards Steve from across the field where he was standing with Nancy. "Hey dingus! You owe me and Nancy twenty bucks! Each!" Beth laughed as Steve looked back at them, annoyed, while Nancy smiled. "Can't believe he was going to try to weasel out of that," Robin muttered.

"Steve hates being wrong," Beth said with a shrug. "You really think he'd be used to it by now." She looked at Robin. "So, what do you think our odds are? For saving the world?"

"Terrible. But that's what I always thought the odds were of getting genuine life advice from Beth Forrester." Robin smirked. "And unlike Steve Harrington, I'm perfectly happy to be wrong."