Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
*WARNING: Long chapter ahead!*
Meanwhile at Murray's, after everything Alexei had told the two adults, Joyce did not think more as she got up and went to the phone to call Terry about this. "Joyce!" called out Murray. She looked at him as she was about to dial the number. "Whoever you're calling, you got two minutes! Nothing more!" She just nodded as she faced the phone and used the rotator to put in the number.
Unfortunately, when she called her home, there was nobody answering. Becky, Carl, and Tina must have headed out. So she called her own phone number, maybe thinking with the kids and this Andrew guy, they were there. There was no answer. She began to worry. Maybe...at the Hoppers' cabin?
In the cabin, everyone was either standing around or sitting down. Will and Jane still haven't came back yet. Mike was staring out at a window. Suddenly, the phone rang, everyone looking at it. It continued to ring, everyone looking at each other to see if anyone can answer it. At the same time...should they? Who knew who would be calling this cabin? Maybe a telemarketer, or one of the farms Kali called...or one of the Flayed...or even worse...
The phone continued to ring, then finally Terry, who was closest to the phone now, picked it up and answered slowly, "...hello?"
Joyce let out a sigh of relief, a small smile on her lips. "Terry, thank God."
She gasped when she heard Joyce's voice. "Joyce?" Everyone looked surprised, especially Jonathan.
"Mom?"
Her face became solemn. "I only have two minutes, so you need to listen to me."
The dirty-blonde-haired woman looked puzzled. "Wha-"
"Th-the hole that Mike closed last year? It's reopening."
Terry looked like she was struck by lightning, her jaw dropping. "Reopening?!" Everyone looked as scared as she was.
Lucas and Max looked at Mike. "You think that means...?" he whispered.
He shook his head, eyes wide in complete shock. "It can't be. I closed it, I made sure."
"But it's not by the Lab this time. It's the Russians."
"Russians?" Everyone looked puzzled now, but Kali looked...worried.
"I-I know it sounds weird, b-but..." She sighed. "Has anything weird been going on since Ji-Hop and I left?"
Terry sighed as well. "More than weird...we think the Mind Flayer is back."
Joyce's eyes widened in shock. "The...Mind Flayer?"
"Yes and he's possessed more people this time. Don't worry, the kids are alright, especially yours."
That was a relief to hear, almost making the brunette less tense. "But...we think it's also making new monsters out of whoever he's possessing."
Her breath hitched at that. "My God..."
Terry looked extremely worried. "Do you think...?"
Joyce gulped and finished for her, "That the Mind Flayer is back due to the gate reopening?"
She nodded, though she knew her friend wouldn't see. "Yes."
"Yeah..."
"Joyce," Murray sternly said, pointing down at his watch.
She cleared her throat and said quickly, "I have to go. Stay safe. Take care of my boys and the kids." She then hung up and let out a deep sigh, processing all of the new information she had digested.
Terry heard the dial tone, making her ask, "Joyce?" She sounded like she was in a hurry, so she and Jim must be running away from...something. She hung up and turned to everyone else.
"I-is my mom alright?" Jonathan asked her.
She nodded a little. "She sounded fine, but in a hurry..."
"'In a hurry'?"
"What's reopening?" Mike asked.
Terry gulped and faced him, looking like she didn't want to break the news to him. "The gate." Everyone looked horrified.
"What?!"
"The gate's being reopened?!" Max exclaimed.
"By who?!" Andrew asked.
She gulped. "Joyce told me...the Russians."
Kali looked horrified to hear that while Lucas and Max asked in confusion, "Russians?"
"Russians?!" the teen girl exclaimed, getting her mother's attention and concern.
Suddenly, Will and Jane came back in, both looking fine now. But then they looked worried because of how everyone else in the room looked. "Uh, what's going on now?" the tomboy asked.
After a failed attempt to get the scissors in the room while being binded to a chair together, Steve had heard Robin laughing, pretty much embarrassing him. She told him that she couldn't believe she'll die in a secret Russian base with Steve "The Hair" Harrington, but he tries to assure her to they won't die, that they'll find a way out.
And then she started talking to him about being Mrs. Click's class...how late he was, how he always had the same breakfast...damn, he couldn't even remember her from that class. But she knew that he didn't, calling him a real asshole at the time, in which he confirmed that he was. And then she said that it didn't matter that he was an ass, she was still...obsessed with him.
He didn't know how to take that, considering the fact that Kali must be worried as all hell over him right now and he would give anything right now to see her again. He still...loved her.
Robin then added that even though losers like her act like they're above it all, they still want to be popular. He assures her that it's not all what it seems. "Everything that people say is important, or that you should care about when being in that position is just...bullshit," he told her, chuckling. "It only takes you messing up to realize what's really important or what you should really care about."
"And...what is that?" she asked him.
He shrugged, looking thoughtful. "The future...like, what job you want, where you wanna go...and also who you wanna be around." Unknown to him, Robin looked curious about that last statement. "Y'know, like...people who can call you out on your bullshit but also support you at the same time." She nodded. "You get me?"
"I think so. I just feel like my life's been...one big error."
He chuckled at that. "I thought so too."
"What made you change your mind?"
He sighed, thinking about his girlfriend. "I think you mean 'who'." It didn't take long for the freckled girl to put two-and-two together.
"Who? Like your girlfriend?"
He nodded. "Mm-hmm." She then frowned, looking down and taking a deep breath. "Though I kinda wished I knew ya in Click's class."
She looked up and tried to look back at him. "You do?"
"Yeah, then I would've passed." That made her laugh a little. "Maybe instead of being here, I would've been on my way to college now."
She had a small smile on her face. "And if you were, I would've never guessed that there were evil Russians beneath our feet and I would be happily slinging ice cream with some other schmuck." They both quietly giggled together, enjoying each other's company. "But...you didn't meet her that year?"
"Nah, but I had an eye on her."
She scoffed. "I think she's sweating bullets over where you are right now."
He took a deep breath. "Yeah...I think so too." Maybe she thought, by now, that he could be gone due to the Russians. But what could she do? That thought scared as much as it would her. "Sometimes, I feel like I don't deserve her."
Robin sounded like she was suppressing a snicker. "Really?"
"Yeah, since she's been doing better for herself and I'm just..." He shrugged again. "I'm just..."
"A complete screw-up?"
He grinned. "Yep." They both laughed again. "But of all the guys she could be with, she still stuck with me. She's still trying to encourage the best of me and...well, we're still happy together." His eyes then became watery, him not giving a shit that his black eye was stinging with tears. "I never thought...I would be with a girl like that, y'know? I hope..." He sniffled a little. "I just hope I can get back to her."
Hearing all that, Robin couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He sounded like he...really cares about her. Sure, she knew that they've been together for a few years now, but she still never expected this from him. It was he had feelings.
Feelings she wished she could have with-
Suddenly, there was a loud buzzing sound and the door began opening. Unfortunately, they knew what this meant.
"W-wait a minute," Will said as everyone was gathered around the living room spot. "S-so my mom called..."
"And then she told you the gate's being reopened?" Jane added. "By Russians?"
Terry nodded. "Yes," she answered. "And we think this and the Mind Flayer being back have something to do with each other." She then looked at Kali. "You shouted about the Russians, sweetheart. Is there something you need to say about that?"
When she nodded, all eyes were on her. She sighed and said, "During my investigation into the rats, I went to the mall to check up on Steve and Dustin. It turns out that on Dustin's new invention, um..."
"Cerebro?" asked Lucas.
She nodded. "Yes, Cerebro. It actually picked up a Russian communication signal, a code they use."
"A Russian code?" Max questioned in disbelief.
"You know what it is?" Will asked.
"Um..." She closed her eyes and tried to think. "'The week is long, the silver cat feeds...when blue meets yellow in the west.' Steve had a coworker translate it. He said that he and Dustin will get to the bottom of it since the signal came from the mall, but..." She sighed deeply, shaking her head and looking down. "I haven't heard from him for the last couple of days."
The kids looked at each other, horrified. "Any of you heard from Dustin...?" Jane asked, getting the shaking of heads as an answer.
"Oh no..." Terry muttered, looking just as horrified.
Jonathan then looked at Kali and whispered, "You didn't tell me all of this because...?"
"Would you believe me if I told you about that theory on top of the rats?" she whispered back. He couldn't argue with that, so he sighed and leaned back against the wall he was on.
Mike then blinked and looked like he was thinking of something.
Steve and Robin were semi-aware of the fact that they were under the influence...but because they were, they didn't care as much. While being interrogated by the Russians, Robin saved Steve from getting his nail pulled by telling the Russians that there was a code...that they cracked within a day...using a kid's invention. Unfortunately, when the Russian asked who knows that they were there, Steve answered, "Ah, Dustin knows."
That made Robin's eyes widen, making her turn her head to him. "Uh, Steve?"
"Yeah, Dustin Henderson, he knows."
"STEEEEEVE!" Robin exclaimed.
The Russian commander's face turned from angered to curious. "Dustin Henderson..." He slowly walked over the jock. "He is your curly-haired friend?"
He nodded and smiled. "Ah, curly hair, great hair, like a 'fro, yeah, him."
"Where is he?"
"Loooooooong gone, asshole." Robin giggled as his smile got wider. "And he probably went and told my girlfriend and then my girlfriend's telling Hopper and Hopper's calling the U.S. calvary." He began laughing. "They'll come here, commando-style, gun's a-blazin', and kick your sorry rat-loving asses to Russia. So yeah, you both are gonna be pieces of toast." He and his co-worker began snickering.
The Russian commander looked confused at the mention of "rat-loving", but leaned down at him and asked, "Is that so?"
"Yup." He and Robin began laughing, making the commander laugh and look at the "doctor". He merely smiled before looking at the teenager, ready to-
Suddenly, the alarm went off, catching their attention. That could only mean one thing...
Mike watched as Dustin charged into a room and tased...whoever he was tasing, with an electric stick-thing. Steve looked bloodied in the face, but was tied up in a chair with...someone behind him. Steve was acting very weird...
"...and Dustin is very serious," he said, blindfolded while a TV was playing static. "Now they're running away." Kali and the kids sighed in relief as he took off his blindfold and turned to everyone. "I think they're safe."
"Good," Kali replied.
"Yeah, that's really good," Jane added.
"I just hope they'll be safe."
"Me too," Lucas said.
...
As Mike got up to get himself a glass of water, everyone else was talking about what they should do next.
"So now what?" Will asked, everyone looking at him. "We know the Flayed are in the steel mill, but Mike still can't find them and see the layout. My mom and Hopper are on the run and we don't know when they'll come back-"
"If they come back," Jonathan said, worried. "If they're on the run because of the Russians..."
"They don't mess around, I'm sure of that," Lucas added.
The auburn-haired boy sighed. "And then there's Dustin and Steve trying to escape their facility, which is somewhere in the mall."
"Probably hidden underground," Kali added.
"But we don't know how they would get there," Max replied. "I don't know any place in the mall that would allow them to go underground or something."
"Maybe a secret elevator?" Andrew suggested.
"It's possible," Jane said.
As that conversation continued, Mike drank down the entire cup he filled up and set it down on the counter. He realized that there was a cereal box next to where he set the cup. It was Lucky Charms. He grabbed and looked at it...specifically the rainbow. Suddenly, flashes of what his mother showed him last year began appearing in flashes:
Images of the rainbow, sunflower, young Mike & Nancy, the safe, his mom getting shock therapy, Nancy crying out to her, and Martin and Ted appeared rapidly as he heard his mother say quickly, "Rainbow, four-fifty, four to the right, two to the left, breathe, sunflower, rainbow, four to the right, two to the left, four-fifty, breathe, rainbow, sunflower..." Everything became more and more fast before it ended in...
"Rainbow."
His breath hitched as he set it down. He took a deep breath to relax himself. It had only been half a year since he knew about his past, but...it still hurt, even if those two men were dead.
And seeing Nancy again hurt him more.
He hoped that she and Holly are alright, despite him leaving them. He didn't regret it, even to this day, but still...
As he looked out the window, he thought he saw some sort of figure in the woods. He was puzzled before blinking, seeing that they weren't there anymore. Was somebody really there? Or was it just a part of his imagination? He couldn't tell.
"...can see if they're in the steel mill as well," Max said to everyone else. "Maybe they're aware of what they're doing."
"But Billy and the others probably wants him to look for them," Will stated.
"And that makes it a trap," Terry added.
"There's no way we can make Mike risk that," Jane said, worried.
"But what other choice do we have, Jane?" Lucas asked. "There's nothing we can do for everyone else."
Kali looked thoughtful. "The mall is still open tonight though," she said. "Maybe Jonathan and I will go there to see if Steve and Dustin made it out. Russians are dangerous, but they're not stupid enough to do anything suspicious out in public." Terry took a deep breath, having Andrew put a hand on her shoulder. She frowned at her, saying, "Mum, listen-"
"Kali," she said, looking up at her daughter. "It's okay. I trust you." Her lips drew to a thin line. "I just need you two to be careful and okay because...we don't know what those Russians are like."
The teen girl nodded. "I will, Mum, I promise." The woman nodded back before she looked at her friend. "So Jonathan?" He looked at her. "You wanna catch a movie later?"
He grinned a little. "Sure, as long as it doesn't suck." They laughed together.
"So that's it for Steve and Dustin," Will said. "So...we're gonna have to make Mike find Billy?" Hearing that name gave the freckled boy an idea.
Jane sighed. "You guys, I-"
"I will," Mike said, walking towards everyone and having their eyes on him.
She looked worried. "But Mike-"
"It's a trap, I know." He swallowed. "I'm willing to risk that." Jane looked hurt, but understanding. "And I figured out a way to find out what the layout of the mill is. I just...need him." Most of them besides Jane and Terry looked curious.
...
He sat in front of the TV again, blindfold ready. Kali and Terry were talking as well as Jonathan and Will.
"Make sure you check in every hour, okay?" Terry asked her oldest daughter as she handed her one of the walkie-talkies.
She nodded and answered, "Of course, Mum."
"Stay safe."
"You too...and Jane." They hugged.
"Can you also look if Mom and Hopper comes back too?" Will asked his older brother.
Jonathan smiled and squeezed his shoulder. "If they are there, we'll tell you through the super-com." His smile dropped. "Meanwhile, I want you to be safe with the others. No playing the hero."
"You too with Kali."
He smiled. "I promise."
The boy smiled back. "Me too." They hugged before releasing. Jonathan went to Kali and they both have exited the cabin, going to their cars and about to drive to the mall.
Meanwhile, still worried, Jane got off her seat and knelt down next to her boyfriend. "Mike," she whispered, having him look at her. "I know you think you have to do this, but you don't." He frowned. Looking at them while getting something to drink, Lucas rolled his eyes away from them. "I mean, you've only done this once. Your mama, she loved you and wanted you to know what happened with you and Nancy." He pursed his lips and looked down. "But Billy..." She shook her head. "He's not like that. His mind's sick and twisted because of the Mind Flayer."
He looked up at her, shaking his head. "He can't hurt me, not there."
"But we don't know that. What if-"
"Jane." He shifted closer to her and held her hand, squeezing it gently. Her eyes were getting a little watery. "I know how much you care about me...but I need you to trust me, okay?"
She swallowed. It wasn't like she didn't trust him...she just wanted him to be safe. But thinking about it...it did come off that way, didn't it? She sighed heavily and nodded. "Yeah...yeah, I trust you. I'm sorry."
He shook his head, giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't be." She smiled back at him before they released each other's hands. She looked up at Lucas, who sat down at the couch and raised his eyebrows at her. She never did apologize to him about what she said before...
She walked towards him, much to his confusion. She sat next to him, opposite of Max. Mike had finally prepared himself, putting on his blindfold and getting into the darkness. She took a deep breath and whispered, "You know, Lucas..." He didn't turn his face to her, but glanced at her. "I never really did apologize to you about what I said to you at the mall...and in that conversation Mike spied on." He raised his eyebrows again, looking pleasantly surprised. "So...I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I was so angry and so stupid. You're still my best friend and no matter what, we stick together."
He was actually happy that she said this. Last night at the hospital, when he and Max made up, she told him that Jane was actually sorry about everything and that she wanted to make up for it. Since they were friends since kindergarten, he knew that she would come around from her shitty behavior. Besides, from what's she said earlier and also during that time at the mall, it made him think that he was acting just as shitty too.
He looked at her and smiled. "Apology accepted, Jane," he whispered back. "And I'm sorry too. I REALLY shouldn't've encouraged Mike to spy on you guys, or bring him to the mall in the first place. I just thought..." He shrugged. "I gotta shoot my shot. But that doesn't matter and you're still my best friend too. I won't act stupid if you don't act stupid."
She giggled and had her hand out. "I promise."
He grinned and shook her hand. "I promise too."
Max looked at that and smiled at the two of them. It was great seeing her best friend and boyfriend be on good terms now...and learn something new. After all, she did both as well.
They let go of each other's hands and they joined the others, watching Mike.
In the Void, he had spotted Billy from afar. When he got closer to him, he saw that he was sitting on a bed...just staring blankly.
"I found him," he said to everyone.
"What is he doing?" Max asked him.
"He's just...sitting on his bed, doing nothing." Max looked baffled.
Andrew looked at her. "That's not normal for him?" he asked her.
"On the 4th of July?" She shook her head. "No."
He felt like needles were going through his veins as he got closer to Billy, but he ignored that. He needed to get to him.
Finally, he was in front of the teen, looking down at him. Of course, he was sweating. He was also just staring straight, but not at him. Mike took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. He then grabbed Billy's hand and held it up, latched. He still didn't look up. He gulped and said softly, "Billy." He still didn't move. "Can you hear me?"
In his room, he just sat there, staring straight. Then his door opened, making him look to at that direction. It was Stacey, wearing a cream-yellow shirt, knee-high jean shorts, and sandals. They looked at each other, almost like they knew what was going on.
He wasn't looking at Mike, who sighed heavily. "Please let me see. I want to see what happened."
He continued looking at her, then she nodded.
And then...he finally looked up at the boy. His breath hitched at the look of his dilated pupils. Then he roughly grabbed his arm, making him panic.
Mike was shaking and hyperventilating, his nose bleeding. That worried everyone, especially Jane and Terry. "Something's wrong," the girl said, her voice shaky.
"Michael, are you okay?" Terry asked loud enough for him to hear.
He didn't respond and continued to panic.
The telekinetic boy tried to get out of his tight and rough grasp, but he couldn't. Then the teen started pulling it, making him scream a little. "STOP!" he yelled. "STOP IT! NO!" He continued to struggle against his grip. It seemed to loosen up, so he kept trying. "NO! NO!" The teen looked cold as he continued to pull his arm. "NO!"
Finally, he was released from his grip, but he began to fall backwards, a horrified look on his face. As if time was slowing down, he saw flashes of memories before he hit the ground: his time in the sauna, the Mind Flayer for a second, him choking Mike, him leaving Stacey and the Holloways to get possessed by that monster, him seeing Mike the night he got Heather, Heather getting out of the ice-covered bathtub before getting sucked down...the night Billy tried to run away from the Mind Flayer and got pulled into the basement of the mill, and then Billy's crash.
...
He fell on...water, not the liquid from the darkness. He was soaked and the sky was too bright. He heard distorted noises as he tried to get up. He saw that he was on wet sand...and that he was getting up from a wave. He looked around, seeing a flock of seagulls fly up. He squinted his eyes, shielding them from the sunlight. He looked around again before standing up.
A small wave crashed against his ankles as from the outside, he could hear his girlfriend ask in a panic...
"Mike, are you okay?! Answer us, please!"
He had stopped panicking and he took another deep breath. "I am," he answered, his voice cracking just a little. That was a relief to her, Terry, and everyone else.
"What happened, Michael?" the dirty-blonde-haired woman asked him. "What's going on?"
"I'm...on a beach."
Everyone looked puzzled. "Okay, there's no beaches in Hawkins," Lucas stated. "I'm pretty sure of that."
Curious, Max asked him, "What else do you see?"
His vision was blurry, due to the sunny sky, but he could see a feminine figure not too far from him. It cleared up to show...
"A woman." He paused. "A...pretty woman, like Terry." The woman mentioned smiled a little.
"What is she doing?" Andrew asked.
"I..." He paused again. "I think she's looking at me?"
She was smiling and laughing, waving at Mike, or so he thought. She then whooped, making him tilt his head and look confused. "Yeeeeaaaah!" she cheered, clapping her hands, even though one of them held both of her sandals.
He heard some footsteps behind him, so he looked back, seeing a young boy with a surfboard running towards the woman. He dropped it and approached her, the seagulls flying away as he got closer.
"There's...a boy."
"Did you see that, Mom?!" the boy happily asked the woman.
"Yeah, I saw that!" she answered, kissing his forehead.
"That was at least seven feet!" Mike continued watching the conversation curiously.
The woman sighed. "I don't know what it was, but it almost scared me!"
"Ten more minutes?"
The woman looked at the water, then down at her son. "Okay, ten more minutes." The boy looked happy and ran to get back his surfboard. Mike moved out of the way. "But no longer than that or Dad is going to be mad!"
"Okay!"
As the boy ran to the water, the woman called out, "Billy!" The boy stopped as another wave crashed against his feet. She looked worried and Mike looked surprised. "Watch out for rip currents!"
"I know!" Billy replied with a smile on his face. He then went into the water.
"The boy...he's Billy."
Max looked thoughtful, then stated, "Then it's California...it's a memory."
He watched young Billy get on his board and swim further to the ocean. But then he heard distant rumbling...storm rumbling. He looked forward, seeing a gray and red storm from afar.
"I think I see it...the way to the layout." Everyone looked at each other, having nervous anticipation.
He gulped and began walking towards the storm.
Kali and Jonathan went into the mall, seeing that it was still busy, despite the holiday. It was close to the evening, so they had a limited amount of time. "Okay, I look at the west..." Kali said.
"I look at the east," Jonathan added.
"We'll buy or bribe tickets to the movie..."
"And we'll meet up in an hour in front of the theater."
She shrugged and looked up at her friend. "Seems easy enough."
He looked down at her and grinned. "Easier than the shit we've done before."
She nodded. "Oh yeah."
"Let's go." They both nodded before splitting up at the main lobby, Kali having the walkie-talkie in her purse.
...
Kali had looked around the east side of the mall, every corner and secret spot, but there was nothing. And there were no signs of Steve or Dustin. She only had a bit of time left, so she went to the theater, seeing people going out. She went to the front, seeing no other than Keith in the ticket deck. "Hey," she said to him. He looked up and smiled at the sight of her.
"Hey," he greeted back, sounding surprised and obviously deepening his voice for her.
She sighed and got out her wallet. "How much for two tickets for..." She looked up at the available movies. "The Stuff?"
He gave her a confused look. "The Stuff?"
"Yes, The Stuff."
He shook his head, still looking confused. "They're...sold out."
She sighed heavily because of course it was sold out. "Then, um..." She looked up again. "Return to Oz?"
"Sold out."
She swore under her breath. "Day of the Dead?"
"Sold out."
"Back to the Future?!"
He looked down at the sheet and opened his mouth, but closed it to look at it again. He sighed and looked up at her. "$7.68." She sighed in relief as she got that much money and handed it to him. "What, you and your boyfriend have a date?"
She wished she and Steve were on a date instead of everything happening, but not everyone gets nice things. "No, I'm hanging out with a friend." His mouth open, he just nodded as he got some tickets and gave them to her. She then walked away from him, thankful that she didn't have to bribe to get inside the theater. Now all she has to do was wait for Jonathan.
Stopping here. How was this chapter? Any typos or mistakes I might've missed?
Soooooooooooo, Griswold Family and Bald Eagle get to learn about the Russians earlier on. I figured since Terry and Joyce are friends in this AU, it would make sense for Joyce to fill Terry in on what's going on. And Kali and Jonathan are in the mall now! I wrote that in for a reason though, a reason that'll come through in the future.
Hope I wrote that scene between Steve and Robin well. I think when Steve's really in love, he would say something like this in this kind of situation. Poor guy...
Keep on supporting this fanfic like you guys do and I'll see you in the next chapter, which will be intense and longer!