Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Parking near a motel, Jonathan and Kali got out with their bags. He opened the door, letting her in before him. As the door closed behind them, they looked around. Since it was a motel, it looked pretty cheap with the lighting and the setting, not that it looked badly cheap. The two arrived at the front desk, seeing an older woman eating takeout and looking at a magazine. They looked at one sign that read, Ring the bell for a room. Kali decided to do so, ringing the bell and hoping to get the lady's attention. Weirdly, she didn't. It was as if she cared.

They both looked weirded-out at each other before looking at her again, the girl asking, "Hey, m'am, can we get a room?"

"We got those," the desk lady replied plainly, still eating her takeout and reading her magazine. "You wanna single..." She then looked at them. "Or a double?"

They looked weird again and answered in-sync, "Double." There seemed to be no doubt in their voices when they answered that...

...

In a room, they were in their pajamas and sitting on their own beds, their blankets over them and the two being quiet and looking around awkwardly. Finally, after what felt like forever, Jonathan grinned and said, "Kali?"

She looked at him, crossing her arms. "Hmm?"

"I've been thinking of something."

"What?"

"How we would always team up to fight against something."

She began to chuckle at that. "Now that you mention it, we do. First, it was the Demogorgon..."

He looked at her, keeping his grin and also chuckling. "Now it's Hawkins Lab."

Now she giggled. "We killed a monster and now we're gonna kill the Lab's reputation."

"In a way...we're like a couple of vigilantes."

She kept her grin. "Two teenagers fighting for justice, even if it meant breaking the law..." Her grin softened a bit as well as his. Her lips then went to a flat line. "First, it was for Barbara's death and Will being in the Upside Down..." His grin disappeared as well when she said that. "Now it's to make sure they weren't in vain."

He nodded. "Yeah..." Those bastards never really apologized for having his little brother be stuck there anyway.

She looked away from him, looking down at her blanket. "I hope things go well tomorrow. I'd hate it if those bastards know what we've done."

He frowned and shifted himself a little. "Hey." She looked at him again. "They wouldn't know. You were very discreet about recording them."

She shrugged, remembering the camera in the room. "Was I?"

He reached his hand over to her and held her shoulder. "If they knew we were recording them, they would've intercepted us again. They haven't because they don't know. They'll never know."

She guessed he was right. Maybe that could be passed off as a sign of nervousness. She hoped it did anyway. She gave him a friendly smile and said, "Maybe."

He smiled back at her as he released his hold from her shoulder. "Hold onto that thought, okay?" He knew he was. He couldn't think of the worst now, thanks to hanging out with Steve. He and Kali couldn't look that suspicious since they allowed themselves to be caught.

Kali spotted the scar from his hand, continuing to smile. "You still have that?"

Jonathan looked a bit puzzled. "What?"

"The scar."

He realized what she was talking about, laughing a little. "Oh, yeah." He put his scarred palm on the drawer, showing it off on the light the lamp emitted. "You still got yours?"

She nodded as she put her scarred palm next to his. She laughed at the difference between the two. "Mine's bigger. Who knew?"

He chuckled and said, "Congratulations."

"Thanks." They then got their hands off of the cabinet, the Indian girl thinking of something else she just realized now. She laid her head against the pillow and asked, "Jonathan?"

He did the same, replying, "Yeah?"

"Back then, I kinda figured you'd disappear because you were a loner."

He chuckled once again. "I would, to be honest with you, but..." He shook his head. "I like hanging out with you, Kali."

She smiled at him. "You do?"

He nodded at her. "Yeah. You seem to be more friendly than I thought you'd be."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Really. You also seem to be a bit badass too, so..." They both laughed. Kali did have to admit, she kind of was. She would never be the way she is now if it weren't for...well, the things that happened.

"Well, you seem to be pretty down-to-earth and mature."

He nodded once again. "Yeah."

"Except the time you beat my boyfriend's face into a pulp."

He shot up at that, pointing at her and having wide eyes. "Hey, he said some unnecessary shit, okay?"

She nodded, her smile disappearing. "I know, and he apologized for it."

"Thank God." He laid back down, looking up at the ceiling. "Took me a while to get used to him." She giggled at that, making him do the same. After a bit of silence, he then asked, "Why didn't you want Steve to be involved in this?" She sighed and looked up at the ceiling with him. She did want Steve to be out of this, but why...? She didn't know, much to her surprise. "Is it because of the rumors?"

She scoffed. "That's a problem on its own, but..." She trailed off, trying to think of the reason why she didn't want Steve to be involved. She finally reached to a conclusion and answered, "I guess I just wanted to protect him."

Jonathan looked at her weird. "Protect him?"

"I mean, he did help us fight against the Demogorgon last year, but..." She paused, shrugging again. "I don't know, I just...I just don't want him to be involved, for his own safety."

Huh. Usually, it would be the boyfriend that would protect his girlfriend, but knowing Kali, he shouldn't be surprised to hear this from her. She was different from other girls, after all. He decided to sarcastically ask, "So, you wanted to protect your boyfriend by not letting him get into this, but it's absolutely fine to bring ME along?"

She scoffed, looking at him once again. "Come on, we've both worked together and went through hell before he even came by. I trust you enough to do the same again. You wouldn't be here otherwise."

He thought she had a point there, a point he can't even argue against because it was true. "I guess." After a bit more silence, he reached to the light switch and said, "Night, Kali."

"Night, Jonathan," she replied. He turned off the light and the two began to fall asleep, hoping their plan will come well the next day.

Now being morning, everything was quiet in the Byers home...until Will suddenly woke up with a loud gasp and heavy breathing. That woke up Jane, who was sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag. She yawned and looked up at him, worried. "Will?" she asked. "What's the matter?" He looked at her with wide eyes, trembling at what he saw.

"J-Jane..." he managed to say to her before gulping. "I saw them."

She sat up, emerging out of her sleeping bag in concern. "Them?"

The boy knew she wasn't going to like what he was going to say. "H-Hopper and..." He gulped again. "Your mom."

Her eyes widened at that, now standing up. "What?"

"I-I think they're in trouble..."

She looked puzzled. "W-wait, what are you talking about?" Her mom wrote that she was only taking extra hours...

"I...I saw them, Jane...they're together."

She felt so aghast to hear this. There was no way, her mom, she...actually, she remembered her mom asking her if she saw something strange. Maybe...maybe she left the note to go investigate whatever was happening, with Hopper...again. "Wh-where are they...?"

He didn't answer for a bit, then said, "S-somewhere...dangerous." Her blood ran cold at those words, now breathing as heavily as he did as she looked down at her feet. Her mom...being somewhere dangerous with Hopper.

He felt worse than he did for telling her that since she became this way at this piece of news. He just wanted to...comfort her in some way. "I-I think..." She looked up at him, making him feel warm...even though "he" didn't like it warm. "They could survive if they...hold out for a long time." That made her sigh in relief, making him feel a little better now.

"Alright, come on, we need to tell your mom this." He nodded as he slowly got off of the bed and walked with Jane to his mom, who was in the living room, focused on piecing his drawings together. The boy grabbed his mother's shoulder and shook her a little. "Mom...Mom."

She broke her concentration and looked up at him with a smile. "Oh hi, sweetheart," she greeted him. "What's going on?"

He and Jane continued to look solemn as he replied, "I saw them."

Her smile disappeared. "Saw who, baby?"

"Hopper...and Ms. Ives." She looked both shocked and puzzled at him saying both of their names.

"What...?" How did he see both the man she slowly began to care for and her dear friend since high school? And why were they together again?

"They're in a dangerous place...we need to find them." He was so serious saying this. She looked over at Jane, who looked away and had a saddened expression on her face. It must have hurt her to find out that her mother was in a dangerous place...

But...how were they going to "find" them?

Terry had tried to wake up Jim, but it was no use. She still didn't give up on the possibility that he was just unconscious, but she was getting tired. That was why she was sleeping against the wall in a sitting position, being near him. His loud gasp made her begin to stir from her sleep. He tried to regain his breathing, feeling sweaty...and nauseous.

As he tried to stand up, the woman finally opened her eyes, seeing him do so before also feeling a little nauseous too. She gasped and rushed to help him up. "Jim!" she exclaimed as she tried to get him back up on his feet. He coughed out some black bile, the woman still supporting him. "Don't worry, I gotcha."

When he got a hold of himself and finally stood, he looked down at her, being surprised to see her down here. "T...Terry...?" he asked.

She nodded before hugging him. "I'm so glad you're alright."

He was glad he was too, but there was the matter of HER being down here. "How the hell did you get down here...?"

She released the hug and sighed, crossing her arms. "When I heard you grunting and coughing, I looked down and saw that you were unconscious. I accidentally slipped through and..." She deeply sighed again, grabbing her sleeves tightly in shame. "I fell down here. The hole repaired itself and I couldn't use the rope." Her throat began to swell and her eyes about to water, the woman feeling ashamed. "I'm so sorry..."

The man frowned before returning the hug she gave before. "Hey, don't be. You were looking out for me. It was an accident." She sniffled before letting out a sob, the two holding each other tight for a bit. At least they were alright...for now.

They released the hug as Terry's nausea increased. She coughed, covering her hand for a bit. Jim instantly held her shoulder as she suddenly got to the ground and threw up the same black bile he did. She spat out the rest and wiped her lips. "Shit..." She never experienced this when she was in the Upside Down...but she WAS wearing a hazmat suit. She wasn't now.

"It's okay, it's okay," he whispered to her, realizing what this meant from him being sprayed by...whatever the hell sprayed at him to the black bile. "You went to the Upside Down in a hazmat suit, right?"

She nodded, trying to regain her composure. "Y-yes."

"That means that we shouldn't breathe this."

She looked up at him. "Well, how are we going to cover our faces?"

He instantly thought of something before handing her his flashlight. "Hold this and shine it to my arm."

She did so with a concerned look. "Why?" She then saw him pull out his knife and cut his sleeve off with it. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Creating a mask."

"With JUST your sleeve?"

"What else is available, Terry?" She sighed, guessing that he had a point. In fact, since she was wearing an old shirt...

When he finally ripped off his sleeve, he wrapped it around his mouth and went for the other one for Terry, but was stopped by her saying, "Wait, hand me the knife." He gave her a concerned look, but hers was now stern. "Please, Jim."

He sighed before giving it to her and getting back his flashlight. "You gonna do the same?"

"Of course, now shine that light to my left arm." He did so and she proceeded to cut the sleeve.

"You know you're going to destroy that shirt."

"I doubt you were thinking that when you did it." That made him chuckle, something he never thought he'd do in a situation like this. "Besides, this is an old shirt. I can afford to destroy it." It made sense since they were getting themselves dirty by digging earlier.

When she was done cutting her sleeve, she tried to rip off with the help of Jim, then wrapped it around her mouth as tightly as she could. They both finally looked at each other, him saying, "Let's find a way outta this place."

She nodded. "Right." The two then walked to the open path.

...

Later, as the two continued to walk, they saw two open paths before them, making them stop and look at them. They began thinking of what to do, Terry coming to a conclusion. "Maybe we should split up," she suggested to the man.

He shook his head. "I'm the one that has a light source, Terry," he told her. "We need to stay together." She sighed, but knew he was right. Without the flashlight, this "vine" would be dim to the eyes, barely having any light.

"Well, you got a preference?"

He looked at the left and right open paths a few times before shining the left path and answering, "We'll take this one first, see if there's a way out from there." Now with the flashlight on one hand, he reached into his pocket and got out a pack of cigarettes, handing it to the woman. "You rip a small part of the cigarettes and drop them on the ground every few steps, alright? We'll need to come back here when there's no way out from there."

She knew that made sense, so she nodded at him. "Okay."

He took a deep breath. "Alright...let's go." And just like that, they began walking the left path. Terry did what Jim told her to do: ripping a small part of a cigarette and dropping it at every few steps. They both held onto the hope that they will get the hell out of there and reach up to surface level. After all, they got things to do...like taking care of a certain boy and for Terry, taking care of Jane.

Oh Jane...the mother hoped she will be alright. Maybe she'll be hanging out with friends today. Still, she had to come back, for her and Kali when she comes back.

A truck drove at the edge of Hawkins, slowly stopping when the driver saw a mailbox with the address "515 Larrabee" on it. When the truck came to a complete stop, he said, "Alright, buddy, I think this is it. 515 Larrabee, right?" He looked at the boy in the passenger's seat...the boy being Michael. Today, he wore yet another multi-colored, collared shirt, a plain blue jacket over it, sandy-colored pants, and a pair of sneakers. He also had a bag with him, a bag he found while exploring the cabin.

He nodded a little and answered, "Yes. Five-fifteen."

The man chuckled. "Okay, five-fifteen."

He kind of smiled at him and unbuckled himself before opening the door and saying, "Thanks, sir."

When he got out, the driver said, "Hey." The freckled boy looked up at him once more, seeing his friendly face. "You apologize to your mom, alright? She must be scared half to death." Mike thought she probably was until yesterday. "How long has it been?"

He didn't need to think much to answer with, "Too long." He then closed the door and got down to the ground, the truck driving away. He watched it drive away before looking at the mailbox. 515 Larrabee...he knew he had the right address, he saw it when he tried to find out where she lived in the darkness...so why was he feeling so nervous about this? Was it because he was finally going to see his mother for the first time in his life?

Maybe it was, but he had to be strong. He had to push that nervousness back so nothing could go wrong.

He faced the leaf-covered path before him and began to walk straight down to the home.

...

After a couple minutes, he finally saw the home, being surprisingly nice-looking for a house in the woods. He walked onto the porch and stopped in front of the door. He took a deep breaths, trying his best to relax and not get nervous about this. He saw the doorbell and pressed it to ring it. He heard the ringing in the home, as well as some muffled voices. He looked puzzled. Was Karen not alone?

The curtain of the door rose up to reveal Nick looking at him through the glass. Mike froze up a little at his stare. He saw him roll his eyes and hear him groan, dropping the curtain and saying something muffled to the other people. The boy wondered why he did that, so he decided to knock on the door. That made the man yell, "Hey, go away!" Mike froze up at that again. The man sounded hostile...was this really his mom's home?

After some more muffled talks, he heard the door unlock and it opened. It revealed Giana dressed like a housewife with a clothed, dark-blonde-haired baby sitting on her arm and sucking his fist, possibly being her son. She looked at Mike and said, "Listen, sweetie, we don't mean any harm, but we don't have time to deal with your school's fundraiser."

He gave her a puzzled look. "Fundraiser?"

"Or your 'word of God'. Whatever you want from us or whatever you're selling us, we're not interested, okay? I'm sorry."

As she was closing the door with her free hand, he shouted, "Wait!" However, she closed the door and locked it, the muffled talking happening once again. He sighed deeply. He knew this was the house, despite hearing strangers. If they weren't going to let him in...then he'll do so himself.

He tilted his head down and focused on the door, using his power to unlock it.

...

Inside, Giana went to Nick and said, "I think I made him go away."

He sighed in relief. "Good. You were always better at shooing people than I am."

She giggled a little before handing her son to him. "Take Caleb to the kitchen so he could eat, okay?" He nodded as he held him with his arm and her husband and his wife appeared before them.

"Who was at the door, honey?" Nick's wife asked him.

He looked at her and answered, "Just some damn kid, Jen."

"Hey." Giana gave him a stern look since he swore in front of Caleb.

He chuckled a little and said, "Sorry."

"You did get him away though, right?" Giana's husband asked.

She turned to him and answered, "Yes, John. He should be away by now-" Suddenly, they all heard the door suddenly unlocking. They all looked both shocked and scared, wondering what the hell was happening. The door then opened up, revealing Mike with his head still tilted down and his nose bleeding. Who the hell was...

"Where is my mom?" he asked them sternly. They all looked puzzled. His mom...? What was he...

Suddenly, Nick and Giana came to the same conclusion after what they've seen him do, the two looking at each other with wide eyes.

...

They led the boy to the living room, him hearing the TV play a game show. Nick and Giana stopped near the doorway with their spouses, the two of them looking solemn while Caleb was still sucking his fist and not knowing what was going on. "Here she is, sweetie..." Giana said to Mike, her head tilting towards the room. He looked in there and...finally saw Karen...finally saw his mom. She was still in her rocking chair and still wore her night gown, but now wore a white sweater over it and still had on her pink slippers. Her hair was also still in a messy bun. She was watching the TV, murmuring things under her breath. The boy felt his throat swell. It was her...it was really her...

"Good luck," Nick told him before leaving to put Caleb in his stroller in the kitchen.

He gulped and slowly walked into the room, asking, "Mom?"

As he got closer to her, he heard her murmuring, "Four to the right...two to the left. Breathe...sunflower...rainbow." She was still looking at the TV like she didn't even know he was there, making him worry.

"Mom, can you hear me?"

"Four-fifty...breathe. Four to the right...two to the left."

The boy's eyes began to water, still seeing his own mother murmuring things and watch the TV. When he got close to her, he knelt down, looking sentimental. "Mom...it's me...Michael." He then held her hand as Nick came back. "I'm here now." Karen stopped murmuring and finally looked at Michael, making his breath hitch and having him feel a flurry of emotions. It was just like when he visited her in the darkness...it was the same look.

However, she said in a loud voice, "Breathe...sunflower...rainbow...four-fifty." He looked so baffled at that. Why was she saying that stuff?

Hearing and seeing all of that, Nick and Giana looked heartbroken, the woman about to cry before John pulled her into a hug. Jen also hugged Nick to make him feel better. So it was really him...it was really Michael...

He looked back at them and asked sadly, "What's wrong with my mom?" Nick tried his best not to cry while Giana released a sob. How were they going to explain it to him...?

Awake and out of the motel now, Jonathan and Kali drove to their destination, the car radio blasting a rock song. The Indian girl kind of moved her head at the beat of the song, much to Jonathan's bit of amusement.

They finally arrived at what looked like a rather dirty and unkempt building with vines growing around it and a bunch of junk lying around. Jonathan stopped the car and looked at Kali, asking in concern, "You sure this is the right place?"

She got out the business card she had before looking at the number of the building. "This is 3833," she answered before scoffing. "What a shithole." He chuckled before removing the keys and the two unbuckling themselves. They got out of the car and walked straight to the door on the junkier side of the building. It had "Keep Door Closed" spray-painted in red on it.

Jonathan rang the doorbell, the two wincing when they heard the shrill buzzing it made. After it stopped, a man's voice through a speaker demanded, "Look at the camera." They both looked puzzled, looking around to find the camera.

"What camera?" Kali muttered as her friend tried to ask him that through the loudspeaker.

"Not the loudspeaker, genius. Above you, at the right." Jonathan huffed as he and Kali looked up at the camera. So that's where it was...

The two tensed up a little when they heard the door unlock and open. Murray Bauman was shown, wearing a red, black, and yellow robe, a white tank top underneath, dark baggy pants, and a pair of slippers. He looked at the two plainly, greeting in a rather condescending voice, "Kali Ives, Jonathan Byers. You two are a long way from home." They looked pretty surprised at him knowing who they were. He stepped aside and gestured for them to come in, the teens doing so. After a few seconds of looking out, Murray closed the door.

...

He opened the fenced gate to what looked like his living room, the three entering inside as the teens looked around. It was all untidy, but what did they expect from someone like him? "Well..." he began to say. "I hope you two didn't come ALL the way here to talk about the bear in the Harrington kid's backyard." He turned to them with a smartass grin. "I've heard that story already." They both knew it wasn't a bear, but it wasn't like they were going to tell Murray that anyway.

He continued walking along, the two teens following him once again.

...

Through what looked like his personal library, he slide-opened a door to his office. The two looked with concern as they all entered inside. They saw many pictures, notes, and news articles hung up, strings attaching some. They knew he was an investigator, but a conspiracy theorist? Jeez. "Go ahead, take a look, don't be shy," he told them. They both walked closer to the wall, Kali looking at the part concerning Barbara in particular. "I followed up on 200 tips, most being bogus, but that's how these things go along, alright? I know every step Barbara took that day and every last person she talked to. The answer to what happened to your best friend should be up here somewhere. I just gotta connect the right dots."

He sounded so confident about that, making Kali scoff and cross her arms. "The timeline's wrong," she told him.

He actually looked surprised about that. "Sorry?"

She smirked and looked back at him. "The timeline you set up is wrong." He looked a little offended at that.

"Also, the boy with the buzz-cut?" Jonathan added, pointing at a drawing of Mike from last year. "He's not Russian."

Kali nodded. "Yep, he's from Hawkins Lab. From what I can remember, he's called Michael Eleven, or M11 for short." Murray looked even more surprised and baffled than before.

Jonathan smirked and said, "You might wanna sit down for this." Perhaps he should...

Stopping here. What do you guys think? Any typos or mistakes?

I WAS going to post this yesterday, but yesterday was my 18th birthday, so I was busy. Had fun though and got some new stuff like a new laptop since my old one was breaking down!

But I digress...

I liked writing the friendly dialogue between Kali and Jonathan. It gives a little more to their friendship. :)

So originally with the scene with Hopper and Terry, I had them split up. But then I remembered that Hopper the one with the only light source because the Upside Down is supposed to be a very dim place, so I made them go through one path together.

Poor Mike...and poor Nick and Giana too, seeing their nephew even though they were told that he was miscarried...

I always figured Kali would be more confident when it comes to correcting people, so I added that little characterization for her.

Follow, favorite, review, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!