Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Now back in their hideout, the gang hung out upstairs on the second floor and did their usual thing. Nancy was in her room with Holly, putting her small night gown on her. "Mommy?" she asked her.

"Yes, Holly?" she replied.

"Is Uncle Mike okay? He looks sad."

She sighed, knowing what she was going to say to her was bullshit. "Yeah, yeah, he's fine."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Absolutely. It's just...it's been a long day." She nodded before putting her on a bed, next to the toys she's stolen for her. "I'll go check on him. You stay here until I come back, okay?"

"Yes, Mommy." She smiled at her before leaving the room and having her play with her toys. She was going to him to talk to him about tonight. It wasn't to make him feel bad, just...what he should do next time.

...

Meanwhile, the boy himself was in his bedroom above the ground floor, sitting on a chair across from his "bed" and somberly looking at his old clothes in his arms. What happened earlier was still going through his head. Nancy being mad at him like that earlier just felt like a stab to the chest. She had to understand that maybe, despite what he's done to their mom in the past, he didn't deserve to get killed. She had to-

A sudden knock on the doorway broke him out of his thoughts. He looked to see the girl herself standing there, looking just as somber as he was. "You mind if I sit?" she asked him.

He just shrugged and answered in a monotone voice, "Sure."

She sighed and sat on the edge of the mattress, lacing her fingers together and looking at him. "Listen, Mike." Though he didn't want to, he looked right at her to listen. "I was just like you once. That's why I'm being hard on you, because I see my past mistakes in you."

He took a deep breath, looking a little upset now. "He had two kids...a family."

She scoffed and shook her head. "So what? That excuses what he's done? We were kids too and he was part of the reason why we couldn't be PART of a family." This just made him feel more upset. Her eyes began to water as she pursed her lips. "Mike...I remember going into the rainbow room one day and...you weren't there. Day after day, you still weren't there." He had his somber face again as her voice slowly sounded more sad. "I kept asking, 'Where's Michael? Where's my little brother?' And I get no answer to that. I was alone...again." Now he looked like he was going to cry. "So, when my gift was strong, I used it to escape. But before I got out of the building, I...I looked all over for you. I wanted to take you with me." She sniffled and shook her head, her voice now sobby. "But I couldn't, so I just left without you."

She could feel a tear running down her cheek, so she wiped it and continued, "I promised myself that when I am completely ready, I'll go back there and rescue you." He gulped, sniffling as well. "But at the time, I wasn't, so I just ran. I ran as fast and as far away as I could. And finally, I found a place to hide, far away from that hellhole. It was a home in the far suburbs. The family there treated me well, just like Terry and the police chief probably treated you before things went south. I even fell in love with their son...Holly's dad." She paused to take a deep breath. "But after so long, they couldn't help me. So eventually, I ran away from them too...even Holly's dad." To Mike, that was so sad...to leave even his niece's dad behind...

"I struggled because I eventually found out that I was pregnant. I didn't know what to do because I would have to give birth to her, but I didn't know how. Then I found Mick one day and...we decided to stay together, eventually meeting Funshine and Axel too. When it was time, Holly was born, thanks to their help. She became very important to me and still is. I couldn't bear the thought of being found by...them and taking her away too, so...I decided to play the part, to stop hiding like a coward. I would use my gift against those sons of bitches that hurt us...and use them to get you back." Mike pursed his lips as well, feeling forlorn now. "Now you're facing the same choice, Michael. You can go hide and hope they don't find you. But you can fight and face them again."

Them... "Face who?"

"Those bastards from the Lab and the son of a bitch that's our dad."

He shook his head, still in denial that he was still alive. "Dad is dead...like the Doctor."

"Well, that man tonight disagreed," replied a voice Mike never thought he'd hear again. He turned himself around to see his dad, Nancy's dad, right before them, his hands behind his back. He could feel his blood run cold and his skin rise at seeing him again. He wasn't real...he was dead...how could Nancy even do this?

He stood up from his chair, his eyes almost about to release tears as he stepped towards him to see if it really was him she made him see. He stopped a good distance from him and muttered, "You're not real."

Fake Ted chuckled at that. "Oh really? All this time and you haven't looked for me?" He stepped closer to the boy, making him step back. "Why is that, son? Is it because you thought I was dead like the Doctor?" He stopped and tilted his head down. "Or were you just afraid of what you might find?"

He shook his head, not wanting to answer his question. "Go away."

"Like I did?" asked another voice he never thought he'd hear again. He instantly turned his head to his left and saw Dr. Brenner...as a living dead body. His skin was an unhealthy pale, a few bloody scars was on his face, his eyes had no life in them, and his clothes looked withered. The boy didn't scream, but he was terrified by what he saw. He chuckled and walked towards him too. "Well, Michael Eleven, that won't be possible."

The freckled boy sat back down on his chair, still shaking his head at the two as he looked about ready to cry. "Get away from me..."

"The only way that can happen is to confront your pain," Fake Brenner continued.

"Correct," Fake Ted added. "You have a terrible wound, Michael, a terrible, festering wound." The boy clenched on his old clothes tight before the two fake men got close to him.

"Do you know what that means?"

"When a wound festers?" He didn't answer the two of them, feeling upset, scared, and mad at the same time.

The two men crouched down to him and answered in-sync, "It means a rot...a rot that will grow and spread."

A tear escaped his eye as he closed them and told Nancy, "Stop it."

"This rot that will grow and spread...will eventually kill you."

He had enough, feeling how he felt when he argued with Terry and Hopper, so he yelled, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" The lights flickered in a violent and fast pattern before it went back to normal. Both Fake Ted and Fake Dead Brenner were gone, the boy crying and sniffling.

Nancy looked solemn as she moved herself in front of him, crouching down. "That was just as unpleasant for me as it is for you, Mike," she told him. He looked at her with sharp eyes. Though it hurt her to see him look at her like that, she kept her cool. "I showed you them to prove a point. You need to let it all go if you ever want to feel freed from them." He sniffled, not replying to her at the moment. She sighed and continued, "You're my little brother, Mike. I don't hate you. I told you before, I'm only doing this because the mistakes you made were the mistakes I made before. I'm trying to make you a better person." Was she? It didn't feel like it. "Let us continue to try and avenge our mom and heal our wounds together." She then hugged him, in which he didn't give back, before leaving the room and went up the stairs.

He wiped the tears from his eyes and clenched his teeth hard, feeling absolutely mad that Nancy had the guts to even show him those two men. How could she? Trying to make him a better person by pissing him off with that stunt...to him, that wasn't making him into a better person. That was being an asshole. Here, he thought he would call this place home...

But even though his actual sister and little niece was here, this wasn't his home.

...

As she arrived upstairs, she saw Holly out of her room, looking worried. She should have known that she would notice the lights flickering the way they did. She walked towards her and held her up. "Mommy, why were the lights like that?" she asked her.

"Oh, must be an electrical problem," she answered, lying.

"We haven't had that problem since the storm back in September," Axel stated before Funshine laid his deck of cards on the table.

"Haha! Full house!" he told him.

Out of anger, he swept the money away and got away from the table. "Screw this shit, I'm out."

Funshine continued laughing while Dottie got the money and replied, "Outta money, you mean. 'Cause you are BROKE!"

Nancy giggled at that, almost forgetting that she was getting upset about the situation with Mike. However, Holly asked, "How is Uncle Mike?"

She looked at her with wide eyes. "Oh, Uncle Mike, he's...alright." She then walked to their room as Dottie offered Mick to gamble with her and Funshine. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

...

Mike had got his bag and stuffed whatever he had inside of it, if it could fit. He grabbed his shirt and took a look at it for a bit. Just seeing this thing made him feel...nostalgic. It was like all his worries were washed away by his nostalgia. Wanting to feel it more, he closed his eyes and held the shirt to his chest. One memory came to him...

"Your real name's Michael?" Jane asked him. He nodded at her, making her nod back. "Alright, then...my name is Jane. Jane Ives." She pointed at herself before dropping her hand to her lap.

"Maybe we can call you Mike. Mike is short for Michael, after all."

He missed her...he missed her so much...if only he could see her again...

Another memory then came up, that one being when he saved Jane from falling to her death and Dustin as well from those mouth-breathers.

Dustin smiled and shouted at the running boy, "Yeah! You better run! You know why?!" He pointed at the freckled boy while Jane stood up, keeping her smile as she saw the two run away. "He's our friend and he's crazy!"

And then later, after he woke up from passing out...Jane told him...

"No, Mike. You're not the monster. You saved me. Please understand that, Mike. You saved me."

Oh, Jane...

And she wasn't the only one he missed...

"Com-promise?" he asked Hopper, separating "com" from "promise" as he spoke.

"It means something kind of in-between," he answered him kindly. "Halfway happy."

The man had ruffled his hair, making him grin and chuckle a little.

It wasn't his fault that he failed to compromise, right? And also...

"Mike!" Terry exclaimed when he stole the bag of candy from her. He wiped away the small amount of blood with his nose and chuckled a little. She gave him a stern look, though the stern look included a smile, and crossed her arms. "You're not eating that candy until Hopper comes back, okay?"

She was just being fair at the moment. Plus, she was able to watch scary movies with him all night before Hopper finally came back. He had a good time with her. In fact...

When he saw them for the first time in a while during winter, they both looked surprised. Terry sighed blissfully and walked towards him. "Michael." She then hugged him and he hugged back tightly. He then looked at Hopper, who greeted him with a friendly face and a simple, "Hey, kid."

When they were in the cabin, Terry asked him after talking about her grandparents' cabin, "What do you think, Michael?"

"Once we do fix this up, buddy, it'll look more nice than it is now," Hopper added.

"Exactly."

"This will be your new home." The two of them smiled warmly at him.

Home...that was it. His mom's home, Nancy's home...those places weren't his home.

His true home was Hawkins, Indiana.

Mike opened his eyes and found himself in the darkness. He was surprised he was here, though it made sense since he just focused on those memories and nothing else.

He suddenly saw...Terry and Hopper not too far from him. He walked closer, seeing that they were wearing scrubs the Lab provided them and in front of a machine that showed something. They looked nervous, doing some nervous gestures. They then looked at it, their faces now of shock, and leaned towards it. "Oh my God, that's the place."

"That's where Terry and I were at," Hopper added. "That damn graveyard..." This worried Mike a lot, making him think back to their apology to him he heard this morning. What Hopper called a "damn graveyard"...was that what he was talking about? That was the "something that came up" that had the both of them involved?

Before he could think further, he suddenly heard Jane's voice yell, "Let me through!" He turned and saw the curly-haired tomboy running before being held back by...someone, he assumed. She looked horrified, making his worry skyrocket. "PLEASE, I have to warn them! It's a trap! It's a TRAP!"

His jaw dropped, now wanting to reach out to her. "Jane!" he shouted out, running to her.

Her eyes were brimming with tears as she continued to shout, "IT'S A TRAP! IT'S A TRAP!" When he tried to touch her, she just disappeared into thin air, just like that. This made him feel more worried and sad than before.

"Jane!" he shouted, looking around for her. "JANE! JANE!" He didn't give up because he knew that, along with Terry and Hopper, that she was in danger. "JANE, WHERE ARE YOU?! JANE! JANE!"

Before he could shout her name more, he suddenly heard a loud bang. The loud bang became louder, making him look back with wide eyes. What was that sound...?

"Uh, Nance?" Axel said, getting into her and Holly's bedroom.

The two girls looked up at him, the teen asking, "What is it, Ax?"

"We heard some loud banging downstairs and I don't think it's your brother doin' it."

Her eyes widened in complete shock, that only meaning one thing...the police. "Oh, goddamn it." She stood up from the bed, Holly looking scared.

"What's going on, Mommy?" she asked in a voice that matched her expression.

She turned and pointed at her. "Holly, sweetie, stay with the rest of the gang. I'll be right back to get your uncle!" She then ran before her daughter could say anything else.

...

On the ground floor, one of the doors to the building was kicked open, making Mike break right out of his vision. He stuffed his shirt into his bag, swung it over his shoulder, and looked out his window to see the police swarming the floor. Now he felt terrified since they reminded him of...the Lab's soldiers.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, making him gasp and turn to see Nancy placing a finger on her lips to keep him quiet. She mouthed to him, "Let's go." He nodded as they both ran out of the room and up the stairs.

"FREEZE!" shouted one of the officers, all of them facing them. "DON'T MOVE!" They still did, as much as Mike wanted to freeze at that very moment.

They reached up to the second floor, seeing the gang and Holly looking terrified. "The hell's going on?" Axel asked.

"They found us!" Nancy answered.

"The...the bad guys?" Holly asked, looking more scared as she held onto Mike's leg. He held her close.

"Oh, for the love of Jesus-" Axel pulled out his pistol, but Nancy lowered it down.

"Nononono..." she whispered, spreading her arms and shushing everyone. She mouthed to them, "Stay still and be quiet." Everyone did so as the police came up the stairs and looked around. It seemed like no one was there because they didn't pay any attention to them, thanks to Nancy's power. Holly looked like she was about to cry, but her mom mouthed out to her, "Sweetie, stay quiet and they won't hear you." She nodded and kept close to her uncle.

One officer, the one that noticed them earlier, was passing by Mike and Holly, the two quietly moving away so that their cover wouldn't be blown. Everyone felt very tense and scared, staying as quiet and still as they could. After a bit, the police disappearing, making the teen tilt her head as gesture for them to escape. They all wasted no time to follow her down the stairs quickly and outside to go to their van.

Once they got outside, Funshine shouted, "Come on, go, go!"

But then, they got noticed by some officers out there, making one of them shout, "HEY!"

Axel began shooting at them with his pistol, making Holly scream before Mick scooped her up. "Come on, let's go!" she shouted at Mike and Axel. Axel shot at the cops a couple more time before he, Mike, Holly, and Mick got to the side of the truck, hiding from the multiple bullets being shot at them. The little girl was screaming and crying, Mick cradling her so she wouldn't get hit by the glass. Funshine was covering Dottie and Mike for the same reason. Axel got a couple more shots at the cops, but none of the bullets hit any of them. He released he was out of ammo and hid behind the van again as they continued to shoot.

Mike, Mick, Axel, Dottie, and Holly screamed as more shots came to the van. Nancy felt heartbroken to see her own daughter cry and scream like this since this must be traumatizing for her. "D-don't worry, sweetie! Mommy's going to fix this!" she shouted before closing her eyes and raising a clenched fist to her face.

"Any day now, NANCE!" Axel yelled. Her nose bled and she opened her eyes. The men have stopped shooting, which was good enough for everyone. They all went inside to their respective spots...except Michael. Nancy and Holly looked at him, the bleached-haired girl gesturing him to get on. "Get in, Mike!" she demanded him. But he couldn't...after seeing that those he cared about most back in Hawkins were in danger... "Mike!"

He sighed deeply and shook his head at her. "I'm sorry, Nancy, but I can't," he replied to her. "I have to go back." She looked absolutely appalled by that statement while her daughter looked confused. "My friends...all of my friends are in danger."

"What?" He was going to be out of her life...? Again...? But-

The guy with the mohawk chimed in by saying, "Hey, this ain't the time for a talk! We gotta go NOW!"

None of the three acknowledged what he just said, Nancy's eyes watering again as she shook her head. "Y-you can't leave...Mom sent you here for a reason! We're brother and sister! We belong together!" Now Holly began to look sad as well, continuing to cry. "What the hell are you going to find back there, Mike?! None of them can save you!"

He felt so frustrated and awful, especially since he also has to leave his niece behind too...but it was for the best. He shook his head with tear-filled eyes, muttering, "No..." He gulped. "But I can save them." He remembered that after Jane told him he wasn't a monster, they hugged with Dustin, staying that way for a long time. That was the best reward he could get...comfort.

"N-no, Uncle Mike..." Holly whimpered, her lip quivering. "Don't go..."

He cried seeing her like this, but still... "I'm sorry, Holly." He looked at his sister, who was now crying, and said, "I'm sorry, Nancy." He then ran away from them, the little girl bursting into tears and sobs once more.

"Mike! MIKE!" Nancy yelled at him. "GET THE HELL BACK OVER HERE!" He just kept running though, crying. "MIKE! MIKE!"

Suddenly, the cops started shooting again, seeing that the wall Nancy made them see disappeared. Wasting no time, Mick made a quick three-way turn, Funshine shutting the van door, and sped away into the tunnel. Mike just kept running, feeling awful for leaving them like that. There was no turning back now...he has to go back to his home, Hawkins.

Inside of the van, Holly was crying and sobbing onto her mother's chest. She was crying as well, her cheeks stained with tears. She couldn't believe it...her little brother, her long, lost little brother...was out of her life once again. She got reunited with him yesterday and he left now because he felt guilty for leaving his friends behind?!

"What the hell was wrong with him?!" Axel exclaimed. "What was that?!"

"Why would he leave you two like that?!" Mick also exclaimed, being just as baffled as everyone else was.

Nancy only sniffled and wiped the blood off her nose with her glove. She held Holly close and petted her hair, looking out the window with teary eyes. Why would he leave his sister and niece like that...? Was he being a selfish brat...? Or did he care more about his friends...than his own blood?

Goddamn it, she didn't know...he was just...gone...again.

Mike had gotten into another bus to Hawkins and looked out the window. His eyes were a little pink from crying a lot earlier. It was truly difficult and frustrating for him to leave his own sister and his own niece like that. If he could stay with them and also save his friends, he would do it. But it was one or the other. As much as it hurt to leave them and the gang behind...

He would never forgive himself if he let Jane, Terry, Hopper, and the others die from the danger they were dealing with. He knew them longer than his own family...and he saved them once. It would eat away at him if he didn't save them again.

"Aw, are you alright, sweetheart?" asked an unfamiliar woman's voice. He looked away from the window to see an elderly African-American woman on the couple of seats next to his. She looked friendly and was touching his arm. "You looked a little sad there. Do you mind if I sit with you?" Not feeling like talking at the second, he just shrugged. She then moved herself onto the seat next to him, getting a closer look of him.

"Oh, you're quite young to be traveling alone, young man." He sighed and looked away from her. She smiled and looked down at her purse. "Well, quite the chatterbox, aren't you?" He could almost hear that in Hopper's voice, since that was something he would say. There was a word for it, but he couldn't remember. She looked at him again. "So, where are you headed to? Your parents?"

In a way.

He looked at her, feeling a bit calm now, and answered, "I'm going back to my friends." She nodded as he looked away from her and smiled when he saw that the bus was about to cross the Indiana-Illinois border. "I'm going back home." If he has the time...he could find and go back to Nancy and Holly. But for now, he has friends to save and a danger to eliminate.

And that's it for the completely Mike-centric chapters! What do you guys think of this chapter? Any typos or mistakes I might've missed?

I hope I wrote this whole thing well. I'm sure it's much harder for Mike to not only leave Nancy behind, but also Holly, more than Eleven leaving Kali behind. After all, he was leaving his own sibling and niece to go back home to his friends and who he considers his family. Just leaving them in danger would make him feel horrible.

Of course, his leave makes them both completely heartbroken...poor them, honestly...

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