They walked further down the unwelcoming hallways of the Energy Department, getting lost in the underground maze. The walk towards their unknown destination was painfully silent, forcibly following the guards and scientist. Occasionally a shoe would squeak against the linoleum white floor, breaking the silence.

Finally they reached the end of a hallway. The guards stood with rigid backs on opposite sides of the door, looking straight ahead. With a welcoming gesture the scientist lead them into the white room. Billy's eyes flickered around the room, taking in everything as his jaw was tight in defence.

The only colour that broke the whiteness was a metal table and three chairs. Two for them on one side, and one of the scientist across from them. Adjacent was a long mirror, and Diane had a strong feeling it was two-way.

As the scientist slid in nodded for them to sit. While Diane moved forwards reluctantly, Billy dragged the chair out and swung his legs across, giving the scientist a defiant look.

They stared right into the pale, sullen face of the scientist. The metal table which smelled faintly of bleach was all that separated them. Above, the sharp light whined. In front of the scientist was a manila envelope, and to his right as a black bulky recording device.

The scientists watery blue eyes regarded them shrewdly.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Mr. Ingraham, a scientist for the U.S Government." He said.

The words spilled out of her quickly, trying to appease the cold man. "Mr. Ingraham, I'm Diane Dobler. You might know my parents - they work here. I'm so sorry about crashing into your fence but this is just a misunderstanding and I'll pay for any damages to the government property."

"Yes," Mr. Ingraham readjusted his spectacles that perched on his hook nose, "I am quite aware of the situation."

Something in his tone implied he was far more knowledgeable about how they had crashed into the Energy Department in the first place. Billy and Diane shared a glance.

Mr. Ingraham gave both of them a tight smile. "Shall we begin?" He reached over and pressed a button on the recorder; a red light sprang to life.

"Yeah, how about we fucking do. Few questions I want answered." Billy said sharply.

"You have an objection?" Mr. Ingraham said, looking completely unfazed.

"Sort of." He sniffed. "Something about this whole forcing two kids into a fuckin' cell and then interrogating them strikes me as a little - oh, I don't know, weird."

Mr. Ingrahams eyes flashed to Billy; his expression was impenetrable. If Billy was getting a rise out of him, or if he even felt the thrill of intimidation, he didn't show it. Instead he continued to stare at Billy with faint curiosity, as if he just another experiment he was analysing.

After a long drawn out moment Billy narrowed his eyes. "Nothing to say, Doc?"

Finally Mr. Ingrahams eyes flitted down to the envelope in front of him. With a hum he reached inside and pulled out a piece of paper. "You must be Mr. Hargrove."

One bushy brow rose. "Managed to deduce that all by yourself, did you."

If Billy was concerned the state employee already knew his name, he didn't show it.

Mr Ingraham casually dipped into his coat pocket and pulled out a rumpled piece of paper, dabbing beneath his nose before tucking it back. Then he continued, "Your anger is understandable. It must be tough, moving to another state so suddenly."

"I get by." His lip twitched, threatening to pull into a sneer.

"Mmm, yes. You certainly do. In Indiana. Not much on your records here. But of course, in California, that is a different story, isn't it, Mr. Hargrove?" His continued speaking in a soft tone.

Billy stiffened at his words and his jaw tightened. "Well in California we don't have unnatural killer animals going after the local population. So yeah, I'd say it's a different story."

If Mr. Ingraham was surprised about the animals, or at all concerned about their well-being, it was impossible to tell. The look of detached interest was constant. Whatever they said, she was beginning to realise now wouldn't rattle him in the slightest. Suddenly she felt like a lab-rat on the other side of the cage.

"Mmm," he licked his thumb before turning the page and eyes scanned it as if he didn't already know what was stated, "An interesting ongoing case here, involving you, Mr. Hargrove, and your sister Maxine Hargrove. Not to mention Nei-"

"What do you want?" Billy snarled, surging forwards in his seat and slammed his arms onto the table. His chest rose and fell with the surge of fury that had exploded within.

Mr. Ingraham didn't blink. After a moment, his lip twitched as if fending of a coy smile. "We're not here to open up any investigations into you, as we have other more pressings matters to attend to. If you would like to be a priority, however, that can be arranged."

Billy's entire body tensed as the threat from Mr. Ingraham sank in. Anyone else on the receiving end of his glower would have been too intimidated to utter a word, but Mr. Ingraham wasn't like anyone she'd ever met before.

"Yeah I fuckin' got it." Billy sneered, arms crossed tightly across his chest as he leaned back in his seat like he was trying to distance himself as much as possible from Mr. Ingraham.

Then Mr. Ingraham leaned back, and fished a carton of Lucky Strike out of his pocket before sliding them onto the middle of the table. He gestured towards them. Without lifting a finger, Mr. Ingraham had ensured that Billy knew he wasn't the one in charge here; the moment he had stepped through the Departments door he had already been collared and placed on a tight leash.

Diane shook her head. Billy accepted one without hesitation. He lit the cigarette, then pocketed the scientists lighter. It was the only act of defiance he had left, and Mr. Ingraham let it slide.

Then the scientist turned his attention towards Diane. "So you admit you trespassed on private government property?" Mr. Ingraham asked.

"I mean-"

"Yes or no answers, please."

"Well, yes." Her pulse was beginning to jump up. This wasn't the way this was supposed to go.

"And you admit to you lied to governmental officials regarding your initial statement of events at Hawkins High?" Mr. Ingraham asked.

She opened her mouth to protest, then snapped it shut. With a heavy sigh she gave a short nod.

"Verbally, please."

"Yes." She answered through gritted teeth.

"You were also stalking and harassing government employees." He stated.

Diane blanched. Her heart was hammering against her ribs. Her eyes slid down to the metal table. "Yes." The admission was small and weak.

"You aren't going to ask me anything? Where I was, what I was doing, my horoscope sign." Billy threw in, arms folded tightly across his chest.

He had become more subdued, but his anger was still simmering beneath the surface. If anything he reminded her of a caged tiger stalking around in its cell waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"We are already aware of your activities." Mr. Ingraham answered in that same neutral tone he had been using since the beginning. Then he turned back to look at Diane again. "Ms. Dobler, you were at the Proud Stout earlier this evening. Entering into a venue underage and in possession of liquor? That's a Class C Demeanour."

"Was there a question in there." Billy drawled, littering ash onto the ground.

Mr. Ingrahams piercing eyes flickered up to regard Billy for a moment, before drifting over to look at the tape recorder.

"You witnessed a man interacting with two of our officials." Mr. Ingraham said.

Diane gave another soft yes. All she wanted to do was sink beneath the floor and then another six feet under the dirt. Billy had been right. She had been focused to the point of absurdity on something that had lead to nowhere.

Well, that wasn't true. It had lead to her breaking the law and being interrogated on her stalking tendencies by a US government official. She didn't stop to think about why Billy wasn't being interrogated at all.

"This stranger, did he give you a name?" He asked.

Diane shook her head. "No."

"A location he was staying at?"

She pressed her lips together for a moment. Then lied. "No."

There was something odd about his line of questioning now. Was it only to find out how much she knew, how much of a danger she was to any secret operations taking place? Or could it possibly be he didn't know himself?

Except of course he'd have to know, wouldn't he. And yet, a sharp edge had crept into his voice.

Taking two papers out of the envelope he presented each one individually to them before handing over an ink pen.

It was filled with legal jargon Diane would need at least a few days to properly understand. But she got the feeling this wasn't a document to take home and ponder over.

"This is a Non-Disclosure Agreement. It is part of the terms of your release."

Diane released a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding. Release. They were going to be allowed to leave. But of course, it was with an agreement that would work in the favour of the government. There didn't seem to be much of a choice for any leverage on their part.

If they signed this, they'd see the light at the end of the tunnel of this underground hellscape the Energy Department had turned into.

With a hasty scrawl from Billy and a meek signature from Diane they handed back the papers. Diane sank back into the seat in defeat.

"Everything you've said on that tape can and will be used against you if you break our Non-Disclosure Agreement. You will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law of you break this contract." Mr. Ingraham said. Leaning forwards he forcefully jabbed the 'end' button with his thumb. "Now, with that aside, we should get to the crux of the matter. I see you have found a certain creature associated with our laboratory."

Her eyes flickered over to the recorder, but it was still turned off. "What are they?" She asked.

"A much more complex question that you would assume, with an even more complex answer. A dangerous subject is responsible for this containment breach. It is an ongoing investigation, naturally. We expect to solve this discretely and quickly."

A containment breach? So those animals had originated from this lab. This lab which was much more than just responsible for electricity in Hawkins. "My parents. They're involved in this?"

"You mean are they aware you are having a conversation with me in the laboratory? It has gotten quite late, and we would hate to disturb them." He replied.

"My parents won't be happy to know I'm locked down here." She said, trying another angle to get out of this place faster. She hated feeling so powerless, so at the mercy of the Department and the scientist in front of her.

Mr. Ingraham's smile was tempered by the faux-pity oozing in his eyes. "Ms. Dobler. Your parents have given us liability over you."

Her mind jumped to worst case scenarios. "They're fine though, right? I mean they're not in an accident, or in a ditc-"

"This was two weeks post after your birth."

"What? Liabil- what, like you just own me? Like my parents just - what, sold me?" Her mind had frozen, trying to understand what Mr. Ingraham had presented as naturally as he'd present any other fact.

"We do have certain interest in you, Ms. Dobler. But you have received a great amount of autonomy for well near two decades now. Owning is not the word I would use, custody is rather more fitting."

His words went beneath her like water under a bridge. All she could hear was that her parents had sold her and for a moment the world seemed to tilt sideways. It couldn't be true. They wouldn't. Mr. Ingraham was lying.

"I assume you're here for a reason." Mr. Ingraham said. "Tell me have you felt anything out of the ordinary recently? Perhaps things you felt odd or inexplicable?"

"My parents sold me?" She repeated.

"No. They didn't sell you." He said with a small shake of his head and a smile like he found her words filled with devastation at the revelation as endearing. "There was no monetary transaction. Think of this as being a ward of the state."

"I don't believe you." Her words wavered. Out the corner of her eye she could see Billy regarding her. But she didn't want to look at him, if she did, she might just begin truly believing it. All night he had been testing her loyalty towards her parents. But he couldn't be right.

Back again. They'd welcomed her back. Because if it was true, what Mr. Ingraham was saying, then of course she'd be more familiar to them than just being the daughter to her professional state-employed parents.

"Yeah listen," Billy sneered, "coming here wasn't our first choice. We'd rather have crashed into a bar."

"Perhaps we can stop circling around the same droll line of questioning if you had a moment to read something." Then he reached once more into the envelope and pulled out another paper. How many did he even have in there? No wonder they were stuck in that cell for forever.

Every paper prior had been neatly stacked right next to the envelope; the bottom of each was perfectly aligned.

With practiced routine, Mr. Ingraham slid the paper across from them. Both Diane and Billy leaned forwards in their seats to look at what was written on the incrementing document.

Most of the paper was redacted, long and short black stripes littering the document. But her eyes were drawn to where his long finger was tapping. They were perfectly manicured, but with his clear attention to personal upkeep that wasn't surprising.

At the bottom was written her parents names, and below that, their signature. She recognised it well, having seen those looping names on multiple papers at home.

U.S. Government was stamped on the side of the paper.

But above all that was her very own name wherein it was stated that her parents signed over care of her to the state.

The world she knew slipped away. She felt like an astronaut in space, lost from her ship in the cold, vast darkness. Now she was hurtling into the unknown with nothing to grapple onto.

But she had to do something, so she pushed away the way the world was shattering around her and threw herself into logic and rationality which had become a safety net. Still, the holes in the net were widening and felt herself threatening to slip through into the abyss. "You say you have liability over me . . . what does that entail, then?"

"As we're both aware, it has been some time since we came across you last. We'd like to perform a routine health check-up."

Finally she glanced at Billy and they both seemed to have gotten to the same conclusion. Diane wasn't the only one. She felt her heart tighten with fear at she thought of scientific tests done on her like she was nothing more than a lab rat.

Everything had veered so far of course from normalcy all she was trying to do now was keep her head above water. Still, she felt like she was beginning to drown. At least she was sure Billy knew how to perform CPR from his surfing days.

He'd probably get a kick out of having to save her and she'd never hear the end of it. But at least that meant there were endless days in Hawkins where he'd be able to tell her, instead of stuck down here to rot.

"What sort of tests?" She asked, and felt a flash of pride at how cool her voice sounded.

If Billy was an inferno of pent up emotion, Diane was like frost tinting everyones vision to perceive her as cool and collected. She certainly didn't feel that way on the inside.

"A simple blood test." He said, and she wondered if there was a silent for now hanging at the end of his sentence. A shiver ran up her spine.

"What exactly will you be looking for?" She asked. "Am I sick?"

"You appear in good health. But our sample will give us further insight. It's nothing to be concerned about, simply a routine analysis. Albumin levels, potential chloride elevation, leukocyte count, among other standard tests."

"But why would you need to see if I have any issue with my liver? I've been fine since I can remember." She said, feeling mild annoyance at the way he was throwing out words with an assured air like she wouldn't understand what they meant.

Mr. Ingraham stared at her in appraisal. "You're a smart girl."

"I am my parents daughter." She said with force. Right now she couldn't face what they had done, and she still clung to a sliver of apprehension, that maybe there was a good reason for what they had done. And she wasn't going to let Mr. Ingraham see the way her reality was imploding.

"Yes, I'm well aware." He murmured, writing down something in one of the boxes.

The world shifted slightly again. Mr. Ingraham had a natural ability at muddying the waters of rationality. Every time she thought she was on even footing, he would give an answer she hadn't expected and somehow leveraged her into taking a moment to compose herself.

"We're testing for several things, including your alkaline phosphate levels. There are certain people of interest to us, and one thing we look for that is indicative of certain attributes you may still have is a low alkaline phosphate count; 22 to be precise."

"But that's way below normal levels." Diane breathed. Anything below 44 could begin being associated with anything from anaemia to hypothyroidism. At that level it would be noticeable. It didn't make any sense. All her yearly check-ups at Dr. Parry had given her the all clear with a pretzel to go. She rarely even got colds.

And what did that even say about her, that her count would be so low? If it even was, of course.

"It is indeed." He replied.

"What if I don't consent to giving you my blood?" She asked.

"I think you'll find it beneficial to work with us." Mr. Ingraham smiled.

The threat was implicit. They were at the mercy of the Department. They could either take a blood sample now, or later without her offering her arm free willingly.

Diane gave a stiff nod. In response Mr. Ingraham glanced over at the window, and a few moments later a doctor entered the room. He too was wearing a white lab coat and carried with him a small kit.

She rolled up the sleeves of the denim jacket and her sweater beneath; the materials bunched tightly around her upper arm. As she laid her exposed arm on the table, the cold metal seeped under her skin. The doctor dabbed her arm with rubbing alcohol, before wrapping a rubber band around near her elbow.

As the blood bag and needle were brought out she swallowed. Beneath the table their hands found each other, larger calloused hand threading his fingers through hers. Even with the unravelling revelations, a sense of comfort washed over her.

The needle hovered over her vein. Diane looked down at the table, and squeezed his hand momentarily as the needle pierced her skin. She looked away, staring at the floor as they took her blood.

As soon as the doctor had gotten what he came for he left as silently as he had entered.

"That's all for now. You're free to go." Mr. Ingraham said.

All of the papers were slipped back into the envelope. As he turned it around she caught numerals and letters on the front: A0-283-48B

While Mr. Ingraham walked over to the door he looked over his shoulder. "You'll be escorted out now."

It broke the spell that had them trapped to their seats, and slowly they got up. This time they walked even closer to each other, arms brushing against the other as they walked.

While Mr. Ingraham disappeared around a corner, they followed one of the soldiers through the hallways and up stairs. Finally, they came to the entrance.

The cool night air greeted them sharply as they stepped outside. At the bottom of the driveway the car was still there.

"Don't loiter." The guard said gruffly, before closing the door behind them. There was a click as the door was locked again.

She couldn't get away from the Department fast enough, and she strode faster than Billy towards the car. The feeling of deep unease was still roiling inside of her, and all she really wanted to do was run away from this place.

Reaching inside her pocket she dangled the key in front of Billy. Now she didn't care what happened to the car. Part of her hoped they'd just drive off a cliff and the entire thing would go up in flames. There was nothing for her to take hold onto anymore; she'd been thrown into free fall.

He plucked the keys from her hand.

As they slid into the damaged car they fought off the still deflating airbags. The car was sprinkled with broken glass.

They sat still for a moment. And then with a snarl Billy began hitting the steering wheel with unrestrained force. He let out a stream of swears. Twice his wild aim lead him to honking the car. He was a raging force barely contained within the confined space. She learned several new swears words during his tirade as he spit venom. Electricity was crackling through his rage, energising the atmosphere.

But Diane was no longer startled. She was too far adrift in her own mind. Finally he stopped, gripping the wheel while lowering his head for a moment. He held onto the steering wheel so hard his knuckles whitened.

A moment later he straightened, and then grabbed the keys he'd thrown on the dashboard.

After a few attempts, the car started up. As he began backing up he looked over at her, but she couldn't face him and looked out the window instead.

"Where to?" He asked, face red and eyes burning bright with all-consuming anger. But behind that, he couldn't mask his fear. But fear and rage were two sides of the same sharp sword. Fear could be turned into rage, and that was a weapon he wielded well.

"Anywhere." She replied.

A/N: Was on vacation, internet was abysmal. Back again. All your reviews have been amazing and I loved every single one. I'll be back to much more frequent updates now.

D-RavenxQueen: You are absolutely right. I threw this story out there while figuring out the direction and characters so the first few chapters are a wobbling train wreck. I'm currently re-writing the first couple of chapters to fit the tone and direction of the story better. But it won't affect the rest of the story of course. Your constructivism criticism is completely warranted.
Yes Hawkins Energy Department is mentioned in the first season for sure, and I can't remember if the name is explicitly brought up in the second season, though I believe it is. Oh yeah, I'm loving writing his redemption because I don't think he's done anything too reprehensible to be unredeemable. He's just misguided.
Never watched Buffy, but I'm getting around to it because it seems great.

Ladey Jezzabella: Ahhh it's been so engrained in me the belief that Xena was from the 80's I didn't even bother fact checking it. But I've updated that reference now to fit within the timeline better. Sticklers for details are always appreciated! (Especially as details are my weakness).

Katastrophex3: Why thank you! The slow burn is killing me too, but it'll be worth it I swear. I also can't wait to veer farther away from the original ST plot, and the changes of inserting her character will become more prominent as the story goes on. I'm still on the first part of Part I of this story, so the groundwork is being laid. And yes, Part I . . . there'll be three parts to this story. ST2, ST3, and then beyond.

Billy daddy: firstly, lol that name. As for where his character is in ST3, he may or may not be targeted by the Mind Flayer. Maybe someone else is at the wrong place at the wrong time instead. Or maybe he ends up in places he shouldn't be either. But I won't spoil anything ;)

Guest: That review just made me smile. I love writing dialogue so I'm glad you're liking it. The more I've been writing Diane and Billy the more I've been loving them together as well (is that a writers bias?). I'm a stucker for good plots, so I've been aiming on really ensuring there's a direction for this story with an eventual clear ending - but don't worry, there's still 2 1/2 more parts to this story before we get there. Anyway, here's me continuing this story.

ReidsLittleGenius213, , rain-and-smiles, MotherAiya, SummerThrowback, SuzyQBeats, the perks of being divergent, I-am-sarah123, Guest, telipei1 thanks for your reviews!