Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

The lab vehicles and others after them had came to a screeching halt when they entered the lab premises. Will, who was screaming in complete pain and crying, was being escorted to an emergency room by several doctors, Joyce and Jane following them and telling him that they were there for him. They hoped to God that he'll be alright. Jane had also hoped that her mama would be alright as well.

Terry and Hopper were brought to different disinfection rooms. She was bare-naked as two female workers in hazmat suits began to clean her, one spraying a water hose on her back and the other brushing the dirt and muck with a body brush. She grunted at the pain, but tried to pull through with it.

As they got into the emergency room and the doctors tried their best to treat Will, Jane looked completely horrified for him, almost about to cry. She covered her mouth with both of her hands as he yelled that it hurt everywhere. He had to be sedated, one of the doctors sticking a needle in his arm and injecting him. Joyce was crying, Bob hugging her to give her comfort. Jane just looked away, a couple tears being released before she wiped them away. It hurt her as it hurt Joyce to see him like that...god.

...

Later, while Will was knocked out, Jane and Bob sat near him, draped with blankets the personnel gave them. Jane sniffled a little, wiping her nose. The cheerful man looked at her and frowned, feeling very bad for her. He knew how close they were and how Will felt about her. He would feel awful to see her like this, like he was right now. "Hey," he said to her softly before hugging her to his side. She looked up at him as he continued, "I know you must be worrying a lot for him. I am too. But how about we keep our hopes up that he'll wake up the next morning and be alright?"

She really wanted him to be alright the next day since that must have been hell for him, so she nodded. "Okay," she replied as they both looked at him. Another person had also appeared on her mind. "I hope that Mama will be alright too."

He smiled a little. "From what I've seen, she's just as tough as Joyce. I never expected her to be like that since she was a shy nerd back in high school." He chuckled a little while she just grinned. "But that's a good thing. I believe she'll pull through." She smiled, happy to hear him say those words. Bob was always so nice, no wonder Joyce liked him.

With the spare tapes Murray had lying around, he and the two teens had created multiple copies of what Kali has recorded and shipped them to multiple news companies. It was a rather lengthy process, but they were finally done. This led them to celebrate with the watered-down vodka, each of them having one cup. Murray laughed and held up his cup. "To taking down the man," he happily proclaimed.

"To taking down the man!" the two teens repeated as they clanged their cups together and drank the watered-down vodka.

"Man, those commie bastards sure know how to make a spirit, am I right?" The teens set down their cups and got up, Kali grabbing her purse. The man looked confused and asked, "Hey, where're you two going?"

They stopped when they were about to walk off, looking down at him. "Home," Kali answered plainly.

"Yeah, our parents would-" Jonathan added before the man cut him off.

"Be proud if they knew what you guys were up to." Kali knew her mom was already proud of what she and Jonathan were doing, but they really needed to go. "Plus, it's getting pretty late. You can tell them you're at a friend's house and take the guest room or the sofa."

The auburn-haired guy looked down at his friend to see if she wanted to stay, but her expression showed otherwise. She shook her head and replied, "No thanks. I mean, I really need to go home because my Mum and Steve-" She stopped the second she dropped his name, thinking she was stupid for saying it.

"Steve?" He then grinned and stood up. "Aaaah, the boyfriend, am I right?" He pointed a wagging finger at her while she looked a bit embarrassed. "You're pretty worried about him, aren't ya?"

That was something she couldn't deny, so she closed her eyes and answered, "Well, yeah-"

"That's why you didn't bring him with you and your platonic friend over here." Her eyes widened at that as he walked a bit closer. "You don't want him to get in trouble with you, so you left without telling him a single thing. Am I right?" The fact that he read her motives like a book kind of scared her actually. She should've expected it since he was a conspiracy theorist.

She looked away from him and didn't answer, which was the answer he needed, making him grin again. "Aaaand you seem to not fully accept yourself."

What? She scoffed and looked him again. "I do-"

"Not." She looked quite offended by what he said there. "I could hear it in your voice when you told me about Barbara. You sounded guilty, self-loathing of letting her die. You don't want anyone else to suffer from your mistakes again-ANOTHER reason why Steve was left behind." Again, she felt very uncomfortable having herself read like a book to him, especially since...well, he was right.

He spread his arms out and continued, "Well, guess what? You've done all of this work, so your friend's death wasn't in vain. That means you can cut the 'woo is me' bullshit, alright?" He then smiled. She didn't reply, but was processing all that he told her.

Jonathan just stood there, pretty much in awe at how good Murray was at analyzing people, kind of like him. The bearded man then turned to him. "Now it's your turn."

He was kind of startled that he was going to do the same to him now. "Me?"

He scoffed. "'Course not, I was talking to the wall-yes, you." He walked towards him a little. "You're a bit more simpler than her, but I digress. You wanna go back to your mom and little brother, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, of course-"

"Like this Steve is to Kali, they're pretty important, especially your little brother. Since you guys told me that your brother spent an entire week in this-" He used air quotes. "'Upside Down-'" He stopped using them. "He's probably still deeply affected by the experience 'cause I'm pretty sure the Upside Down's not filled with sunshines and rainbows." The auburn-haired guy gulped, feeling just as uncomfortable as Kali was about being analyzed like this. "You wanna go back home ASAP to make sure he's alright, despite your absence." He was very right and it made him a little scared actually.

He grinned and looked at the two teens. "So, how'd I do?" Neither of them answered him, both being speechless by how impeccable his analyzation of them was.

...

The two teens exited out of the building, Murray holding the door with his shoulder as he handed Kali the bottle of vodka. "Here, for your travels..." he said as she grabbed it. He then handed the liquor that watered it down to Jonathan. "...and to water it down." He grabbed it, the two of them smiling.

"So...thanks for everything," the Indian girl said to him.

"Oh, don't thank me yet. Gotta keep your eyes on the papers, alright?" They both nodded at him as he continued, "And if you need to reach me again...don't bother." He then slammed the door and locked it, startling them both. He just did that like they were complete strangers. Well, they kind of were.

"Jeez..." Jonathan muttered before heading to the car. "Could've closed it more nicely, don't you think?"

Kali chuckled a little and headed to the car as well. "At least what's done is done."

"Thank God." They got into the car, Jonathan starting up the engine before they drove off back to their hometown.

"You can drive all night, right?"

"Probably. I don't feel tired." The two remained silent for a while, listening to the rock station that tuned up the second the car started. Then he suddenly stated, "Guy's nutty."

She grinned and looked at him. "What'd you expect from a conspiracy theorist? Subtlety?"

He laughed at that. "I mean...he's only known us for a few hours and suddenly, he's got us all figured out?"

It was pretty unbelievable, Kali looking straight at the road. "He's drunk...but he was probably right about you worrying about Will."

He scoffed, his smile disappearing. "No shit." He turned at the curb of the road they were on. "I'm his brother. I don't want to stress him out by being absent for too long." He paused for a bit. "Of course, you'd be worrying about Steve." She sighed and crossed her arms. "I mean, your mom knows what we're doing. What about Jane?"

"She thinks I'm at a friend's."

He nodded. "Okay, then that just leaves Steve." They were silent for a bit, then he asked, "This is probably a stupid question to ask, but do you believe in the rumors?"

That was a bit of a heavy subject to her. She looked at him and asked, "Do you?"

"Honestly..." He shrugged. "I think they're bullshit. Steve was an ass last year, but he sure as hell isn't now. From what I've seen, he'd never take advantage of you that way. Also, he looked pretty serious when I saw him carry you out of the party."

She thought he was right about Steve. He's changed and that was good. Suspecting that he had sex with her while she was drunk was stupid anyway, as expected from the assholes that attended Hawkins High. "I don't think they're true either, but I still want to ask him about what happened that night."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Right when she comes back, she'll confront him and ask him about what happened. If he still wouldn't answer, she'll find a way to force it out of him.

It was morning, but to Terry, that didn't matter because she was too busy throwing up bile in a bucket due to the air she breathed in the Upside Down. She was still in the decontamination room, now wearing a hospital gown the Lab offered to her and also having her hair down. She has been sick before, but this was the worst sickness she ever felt.

She heard the door open, making her slowly look back to see Dr. Owens enter in with Jim in a hazmat suit and carrying another one. He looked saddened to see her like this before the doctor said, "Teresa Ives. Think this is the first time we meet face-to-face."

"What do you want?" she asked in a weak yet irritated-sounding voice.

He chuckled at her response. "Straight to the point, I see," he muttered under his breath before telling her, "Well, Jim here's gotta present for ya."

The man walked to her and handed her the suit. "Dr. Owens needs to show us something," he said to her.

She looked a bit puzzled, rubbing her temple. "What is it?"

He shrugged. "Beats the shit outta me."

She sighed and glared sharply at Dr. Owens. "Could I see my daughter first? Is she still here?"

"Yes," he answered. "Your daughter's still here, but you and Jim need to see this right now."

She scoffed before standing up and putting on the hazmat suit. "Make it quick."

"You don't need to treat me like your ex, you know?" That made her and the police chief glare daggers at him. He visibly showed that he knew he shouldn't have said that, so he just looked down at his watch and turned around. "I'll assume you two are behind me." He then exited the room.

"Bastard," Terry muttered under her breath.

"Imagine talking to him every month," Jim replied, making her grin a little. "Let's go." They both then followed him.

They eventually went to the lowest level of the Lab, their hazmat masks on as they exited the elevator and saw Dr. Owens on a pulley weight with another employee, both also in hazmat suits. He pointed at the hole below the weight and warned, "Watch your step, you two." They both sighed as Jim got on the weight first, then pulled Terry onto it. The doctor then signaled one of the personnel inside of the mechanics room to lower them down and so they were descended into the hole. The woman felt slight vertigo from it, leaning on the man next to her, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders to keep her closer.

They were seeing darkness for a bit before the employee turned on the light on the weight. The two then looked at the hole in complete shock, Jim letting go as he and Terry leaned on the rails for a closer look. It was definitely more gigantic than before, having the former Lab employee in utter disbelief that this was the same one she entered into last year. "Oh my God..." she muttered under her breath.

"All living organisms developed defense mechanisms when they attack," Dr. Owens said to them. "They adapt, try to find a way to survive." This was one hell of a defense mechanism and it scared the hell out of the both of them.

The weight reached to ground, where most of the other workers were. The employee opened the door and let everyone out. Terry and Jim looked around, now more shocked at what they were seeing...which were multiple entrances to the tunnels. "Jesus..." the police chief muttered.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Dr. Owens continued. "It's been spreading and growing right underneath us like cancer cells."

"Then why aren't you burning it?" Terry asked.

He clicked his tongue and looked at her. "You see, there's a complication with that..." She and Jim looked at him once again as he pointed at her. "And it involves your daughter's friend." Her eyes widened more at that. Will was...?

In the emergency room, Will was still sleeping and Jane was sleeping as well, still wrapped around her blanket. Joyce was explaining to Bob what he needed to do since he was beginning to know everything, eventually realizing that Will really didn't get lost in the woods. "And Terry used to work here?" he whispered to his girlfriend.

She sadly smiled before it disappeared and she nodded. "Yeah...but she never liked it here. She didn't do anything bad here."

"But she still has to sign those documents?"

"Yes, especially since she used to work here." Man...and he only thought that this stuff only happened in comic books and movies and TV shows...

...

As they talked some more, Will woke up and called out to his mom, making Jane stir awake and look at him. She was glad that he was alright because...he didn't look so swell last night. Bob went out to call out for a doctor before coming back in and greeting him. However...he doesn't seem to recognize him, asking if he was one of the doctors. That made them all concerned. Why couldn't he recognize Bob...?

Jonathan managed to drive for about three hours before switching to Kali. Now they seemed to arrive back into Hawkins in the morning. She smiled when she saw the welcome sign, glad to be back because honestly, she was getting tired too.

The radio was still on, now playing some talk show, while Jonathan was sleeping. She'd have to wake him up when she drives back to her home because she wasn't going to keep his own car.

They were getting up to the Byers house, but it was just to pass by. However, she noticed that there was no car parked there. That made her curious. Were they out getting breakfast? Maybe they were to cheer Will up.

...

Finally, they arrived at her home, Kali parking the car on the driveway. She unbuckled herself and shook her friend to wake him up. "Hey, sleeping beauty, wake up," she jokingly said to him. He groaned a little, beginning to stir awake. "I'm at home now. You can drive back."

He looked at her with half-lidded eyes and plainly replied, "Okay." He then yawned and unbuckled himself as well. They both got out of the car to stretch a little, the Indian girl coming right up to the front door and seeing the note on the door. She read it to herself, looking a bit concerned before shrugging. "Well, Jane should still be here, right?" she asked herself as she rung the doorbell again. Another minute passed and there was still no answer, much to her confusion.

After he was done stretching, Jonathan saw his friend continuously pressing the doorbell, making him walk to her. "No one's answering?" he asked her.

She groaned and stopped doing it. "Unless Jane's sleeping in..."

"Or at someone's house." That was also a possibility too. "Maybe mine's. She must be worried about Will." Yeah, that made sense, but...

"Actually..." She looked up at him. "I passed by there and saw nobody."

He looked pretty surprised at that. "What?"

She shrugged again. "I didn't see your mum's car, so I thought she was taking Will out to breakfast or something."

He looked away, muttering, "Probably with Bob." He then looked back at her and asked, "Well, what now?" That was a pretty good question.

What now?

Now in scrub robes, Terry and Jim followed Dr. Owens back to the emergency room to check up on Will. When they entered in, Will, Joyce, Bob, and Jane looked at them. The tomboy instantly got off of her seat and raced to hug her mom. "Mama!" she cried out, hugging her tightly as she looked up at her. "Are you alright?"

She smiled at her reassuringly and answered, "I am, don't worry, sweetheart."

Will watched this with a blank look on his face. He thought he could remember that woman's name...she was Jane's mom, right?

...

Dr. Owens shined a small flashlight on both of the boy's eyes before putting it away and asking, "You know your name?"

"Will," he answered plainly.

"Your full name?"

"William Byers."

He nodded a little. "What about me?"

He closed his eyes for a bit before opening them. "You're...a doctor."

Everyone who was watching felt very uneasy about this before he asked, "Have we met before?"

Will shook his head a little. "I...don't remember."

He frowned a little. "Huh, so you don't remember me?" He then nodded. "Okay." He pointed at Jane. "You remember this young lady?" Jane felt stiff that he now put her in the spotlight. Her friend looked straight into her eyes, so she nervously smiled and waved at him. "You know who that is?" He didn't answer right away, so he patted his shoulder. "It's alright, take your time, kid." The girl began to worry if he even remembered her, his first very best friend, at all.

Will's breathing became a little heavier, trying to know who that girl was and why he was feeling warm all of a sudden. He shouldn't. Everyone was looking...even "him". Then it hit him. "She's my..." he began to answer before trailing off. He was about to say crush, but he knew he shouldn't blurt that out, especially in front of her. "Friend...Jane."

The tomboy sighed in relief and smiled, glad that he was able to remember her. Terry, Jim, Joyce, and Bob were smiling too, the dirty-blonde-haired woman asking him, "How about me? Do you remember me, Will?"

It didn't take long for him to say, "You're Jane's mom."

She smiled and nodded a little. "Right, but do you know what you call me?"

What did he call her...? Her last name had to be the same as Jane's, but he couldn't even remember her last name, so he shook his head. Her smile disappeared, but she nodded again. Jane was worried again. Could he not remember their last name?

"And me, bud?" Hopper asked him. He looked at him, his face not ringing a bell to him, and shook his head again. "Y'know, the doctors told me-" He pointed at Terry. "-and her-" He dropped his hand to his side. "-that you saved us both last night. You remember that?" Nothing came up for the boy, so he shook his head again. Now everyone was worried about him again.

"You don't remember anything last night?" Dr. Owens asked him, the boy glancing. "Not even a little?"

Only one thing...one painful thing. "I remember...that they hurt me." The parents, the police chief, and the curly-haired girl felt their blood run cold, remembering how he was screaming and thrashing around the night before.

"The doctors?"

He shook his head. "The soldiers."

"The soldiers hurt you?" None of them remembered them being near him at all...

"They shouldn't have done that. It upsets him." Their blood continued to run cold. He wasn't acting like he was before...

The old doctor pulled out a photo of Will's drawing of the shadow monster and showed it to him. "Is this 'him'?" The boy nodded again. Everyone felt more uneasy than they did before. It was like...he was possessed by it.

The doctor put the photo away and said, "Okay. Lemme try something." He opened up a folder and continued, "It'll seem a little odd at first, but I think it's really going to help us figure out what's going on." He placed a hand on his shoulder. "Is that okay?"

He nodded and answered, "Okay."

...

Later, one of the personnel reeled in a chopped off, yet live vine from the Upside Down on a cart. It was encased in a glass box that was open. As the door closed, Dr. Owens told Will, "Now, you're going to tell us if you feel anything, alright?"

He nodded once again and said, "Alright."

Everyone watched as the scientist lit up a lighter and slowly hovered the fire over the vine. It screeched a little and squirmed. Everyone saw that Will's heartbeat hasn't changed. The old doctor asked the auburn-haired boy, "You feel anything?"

He gulped a little and answered, "It stings a little."

"Stings? Where?"

The fire got closer to the vine, making it screech and squirm around even more. That made him suddenly grasp on his chest and groan out, "My chest!" Joyce and Bob were quick to come to his side and comfort him. The old doctor gestured the scientist to keep getting the fire closer to the vine, so he did, the vine screeching more.

"How about now?"

"It...burns!" The instant the fire touched the screeching vine, he went stiff and screamed a little, his heartbeat rising quickly.

"Where-"

"Everywhere!"

Everyone looked scared as the fire continued to torture the vine, torturing Will in the process. "That's enough!" Joyce shouted to the scientist.

The vine hit the glass, cracking it as Hopper yelled, "You hear her?! That's enough!" He still kept at it.

"WE'RE TELLING YOU TO STOP RIGHT NOW!" Terry also yelled, now the scientist pulling the fire away. The boy's heartbeat gradually went back to normal as Joyce whispered things to him in a soft voice. The dirty-blonde-haired woman sighed and grabbed the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. "You guys haven't changed at all..." The scientist going onto torturing the vine and Will like that...it gave her bad nostalgia of working in this place.

Jane heard that and felt both sad for Will and angry at the scientist for going on with burning the vine despite the protests. Maybe they really haven't changed since Mike...

...

Outside of the room, Dr. Owens told most of the adults, "Our best guess as of now is that he's infected with some sort of virus that's causing this...neurological disorder. Now, typically...when a virus attaches itself to the host, it duplicates, alright? It spreads, eventually hijacking its host." Joyce began to cry, but was quick to wipe it off. "A virus is alive, it has an intelligence. That's not unusual." Now Joyce looked at the ground, her eyes brimming with tears. Both Terry and Jim felt sorry for her. "What IS unusual here is that this virus...it seems like it's making Will communicate with other infected hosts. There seems to be this hive intelligence going on with the virus and its connecting all the hosts." Jim ran a hand through his hair in frustration, Terry crossed her arms and sighed heavily, and Joyce looked up at the doctor with watered eyes. He gave her a reassuring look. "Now, the good news is that a virus can be cured. We're gonna continue running tests and we're gonna what we'll find." That didn't come off as good news to them at all though.

"Wh-what happens when he can't...remember anything?" Joyce asked in a somber voice. "Wh-when there's nothing else there?" She moved closer to her, her voice now almost a sob. "Wh-what's going to happen...when my boy...is gone?" She then began to cry and sob, making both Terry and Hopper feel absolutely awful for her. The man gave her a side-hug to comfort her while her friend placed a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed it. Dr. Owens just stood there silently, not answering her as he got a solemn look on his face.

Stopping right here. What do you guys think of this chapter? Any typos or mistakes I might've missed?

I hope you guys liked the change with the scene with Murray. Instead of him looking through Kali's relationship with Jonathan (because they ain't interested in each other in this fanfic), he pretty much reads them off like books. Also, they get to leave earlier than in canon, but only to see that no one else is around...

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