They stood there looking at the scorched earth, the smoke rising, the flames still engulfing the top floor, for only a moment before a strangled wail came from Max, her fingers digging into her cheeks. She ran to El screaming, "You have to go back! You have to go back!"

Eleven didn't even try to stop her, accepting the punch to her shoulder, the fierce grip and shake of her arm. She felt sick inside. Vindication came with no relief. Will pulled Max off her, but she still felt sick. The taste of the blood running onto her lips didn't help. She wasn't sure whose it was.

Max clung to Will's arm as she sobbed and the man looked over at the rubble and tried to breathe. Sirens rang out in the distance.

"You time traveled here. You can go back and save him," she whimpered. "Please, you have to go back."

They were interrupted by fire trucks racing up the block, the firefighters jumping down before the vehicles fully stopped. Lucas pulled El to the sidewalk, keeping an arm around her shoulders. The others followed and they watched as water overtook the violent flames. The tufts of orange disappeared, leaving a blackened roof, holes that had collapsed in, and broken windows on the second floor. Will sighed; no one would be living in that house for a long time.

Hopper thought it would be best for them to leave the scene and let him handle things, so the rest took off for Dustin's house. It was a quiet, mournful walk, the sun setting behind them, casting their shadows across the pavement.

"He's my brother, he's all I have."

They sat at the kitchen table, still covered in files. Will had wrapped Max's arm as best he could, but still wondered if he should take her to the hospital. She was still lobbying for El to go back and save Billy. El hadn't said a word since they left the other house. Dustin had offered her his bathroom to wash up, but she had simply sat in one of the chairs, curling up to make herself smaller. She wouldn't look at Max; she couldn't. She'd failed her, failed yet another friend. This was all her fault.

"Please?"

"Max, let's talk about it later," Will gently said.

"What if you went all the way back?" Dustin quietly asked, still thinking it through in his head.

"What?" Lucas asked.

"What if you went all the way back? To the beginning - to '83?"

"Dustin," Will said, a warning in his voice.

"I'm serious, you could save us all. You could… you could save Mike." El finally looked over at him, wiping a few stray tears from her dirty cheek. She didn't even bother with the blood that was quickly drying on her chin.

Will shook his head. "No, we can't send her back in. Who knows where she'll end up?!"

"Will, I think I can figure this out."

"I can't let you do this."

"But Mike, Will...Mike."

Will's voice dropped to a whisper, clearly conflicted inside. "She's a little girl, Dustin. She's just a little girl."

"I can do it."

They all turned to look at El, who was sitting straight up in her chair, face determined. "I want to do it."

Will shook his head. "El, it's way too dangerous. We don't know if you would even get back to the right year."

Dustin interrupted, "Will, I'm telling you, I can figure this out."

Will ignored him and continued to speak to Eleven. "You could have a normal life, you could live with me and Max. I would take care of you. You've done so much for us. Let us help you."

El shook her head sadly. "I wouldn't be happy. Knowing that I didn't do anything. I can do this."

Will opened his mouth to reply but Lucas spoke first. "I think we should let her do it. If that's what she wants, I'll support her."

El gave him a small smile and Will's shoulders slumped.

"Okay," he said. "Okay. Let's do this."

The next five days were a flurry of activity. Will and the girls bunked at Dustin's house, and Max was allowed the whole week off school. Lucas read through every file in the box and Dustin ran more calculations than he could count. Hopper was sent on another secret mission to the lab and El worked on gathering her strength, mostly through Eggos (she couldn't believe all the flavor options). By Saturday night the plan was ready to be unveiled.

Dustin sat at the head of the table, trying to contain his giddiness during this solemn time. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. This was a science dream come true. He cleared his throat before presenting the plan.

"Operation Butterfly is divided into two parts: return to 1983 and destroy the slugs. Through his extensive research of the stolen files, Lucas discovered that the lab found a way to kill all the slug particles, even the mucus, while still protecting the rats. Basically they created an antidote. Chief Hopper was kind enough to go back into the lab and steal some ingredients for us and...voilĂ !" He held up a tube filled with an opaque liquid. Everyone leaned forward in awe.

Max looked at Dustin, dumbfounded. "You were able to make the antidote?"

He smirked. "See, this is why you pay attention in science class."

"Cool," she said with a smile.

"What do I do with it?" El asked from the other end of the table.

"You're going to bring it back with you. And as soon as you're there, find Will and make him drink it."

Will jumped in. "Tell me you know about the slugs and the visions. Tell me you know I wash them down the sink. And tell me that it will save my family and friends. Maybe don't say that I sent you from the future though...I think that might freak me out."

El nodded seriously, taking everything he said into account.

"Will's right, don't mention the future thing. At least, not at first. Make sure he drinks the whole thing. It probably tastes awful. He might throw some of them up. If he does, burn them. Burn anything that comes out. So, I guess have him drink it outside."

"So what about the other part of the plan?" Max asked, foot nervously tapping the floor.

"El, you said you were somewhere else before you got to the Upside Down, right?"

"The black space. It's nothing."

"I think that's the key. What were you thinking when you were there?"

"I had to pull myself back together. I wanted to be whole again. I wanted to be safe."

"And I think that's where you jumped time. There in the black space. If you can get back in there, that's how you'll get back to '83. You'll need to specifically think about that time period. Concentrate on getting back to the school after you left."

"And she'll get back to that night?" Will asked.

"It might be off by a week or so. El, if you get there early, just lay low until that night, okay? And if you're late, that's all right, just find us right away. Find Will."

"How's she supposed to get back to the black space?" Lucas asked.

"I have to disappear again," El said, and Dustin and Lucas knew what she meant. The image of the science room had never left them either.

On Sunday they gathered on Mirkwood to see Eleven off. She stood in her freshly washed pink dress, looking exactly as she had when she arrived. Joyce clutched her close before saying goodbye, and Hopper shook her hand. She knew all that he couldn't say.

Max shuffled her feet and tried to look nonchalant when El stood before her.

"Good luck."

"I'll save him. I promise."

Max's lip trembled and she threw herself on El, wrapping her skinny arms tight. "Thank you," she whispered.

Will, Dustin and Lucas each hugged her, bittersweet expressions on their faces.

"Be careful," Will said.

"We'll see you soon," Dustin added.

"Thank you," Lucas finished. Tears filled his eyes.

She gave one last look to the group before crawling through the gate. They watched as she closed it up behind her. Then there was nothing. Just birds in the distance.

As they started the walk home, Lucas asked, "Do you think we'll know if it worked?"

"Well it really depends on what theory of time you're talking about," Dustin replied.

Will laughed as the two started to bicker, and stooped to let Max scramble up his back for a piggy-back ride. Even if he never saw Eleven again, he was glad to have known her.

The darkness was back.

El struggled as she kept her atoms from floating too far apart. She'd done as Dustin had instructed, closing the gate once she was in the Upside Down and tapping into her strength to shatter herself apart once more.

She was screaming again, and she concentrated on her friends as she pushed herself back together. Will, Dustin, Lucas, Mike. The school, the bad men, the Demogorgon, Mike.

Suddenly there was cold and dampness all around her and she opened her eyes to find herself lying in the Upside Down, the vial of antidote still secure in her hand. She was back in the science classroom. After letting herself catch her breath for a moment, she crept out of the room.

In one of the hallways she found a sliver of a gate, most likely left over from when the Demogorgon had burst through the wall. That was a good sign. She hooked her fingers in the tear and cautiously ripped it open.

Mike Wheeler rolled his eyes as he watched his two friends wrestling on the floor, knocking over their game pieces. It had been a whole week since Will had returned and their adventure ended, and the boys were at the Byers' house visiting Will. The latter sat on the couch, still weak, but happy to have his friends nearby. They were keeping him company while Joyce and Jonathan finished up their late shifts.

The idea had been to play Monopoly but Dustin and Lucas had apparently decided WWF was more entertaining. A tapping at the door distracted Mike.

"Guys, I think someone's at the door."

"Maybe it's Jennifer Hayes!"

"Shut up!"

"Mike, can you get it?"

"Yeah, sure."

He wasn't sure what he had expected but it wasn't a familiar girl in a pink dress. For a moment they just stood there looking at each other, Eleven shaking from her walk. She finally spoke.

"You're alive." He thought he saw the corners of her mouth tremble.

"I'm alive? You're alive!" Her entire face crumpled and he tentatively pulled her in for a hug, whispering in her ear. "Hey, it's okay. You're okay. You're home."

"Holy shit!" They heard as Dustin ran over. "Lucas! It's El!"

Lucas tripped over his feet in his rush to the door, and Mike released El so the others could embrace her. They started asking her where she had been and how she got back but she looked at Mike. "Where's Will?"

"Oh you haven't really met him! Here, he's in the living room." He made to lead her in, but she rushed past him. He frowned - was she more excited to see Will than him?

The boys found her hunched next to Will, softly talking to him as his eyes widened and his face paled. She brandished a small tube from her pocket and he nodded seriously before getting up.

"Uh, El, what's going on?" Mike asked.

"Will needs to do something," she replied. Will was grabbing his coat and shoes.

"Wait, why are you going outside? He's not supposed to be out, it's cold."

El grabbed his shirt and looked hard at him. "This is very important," she slowly said, emphasizing each word. "I promise," she added, her eyes softening. He trusted her, trusted her always, and nodded.

"Okay."

She smiled and followed Will out. The other three looked at each other before scrambling to put on their shoes and follow.

Will was drinking whatever was in the vial, and from the looks of it the stuff must have tasted awful. El patted his back until he was done.

"Uh...so why are we doing this?" Dustin asked. But suddenly Will started to cough, more and more violently until it turned to heaving. The boys started to protest in alarm but Eleven held up her hand.

"Wait."

Will gave one more heave and out of his mouth dropped a slug.

"What the hell is that?" Lucas exclaimed.

El pulled out a pack of matches from her pocket and lit one before tossing it on the slug. It was immediately engulfed in a greenish flame.

"Woah!"

"You have to burn them," El explained.

Will threw up two more slugs that night, and they were careful to burn them all. The boys desperately wanted to ask El what was going on, but sensed that she didn't want to talk about it. Even Dustin managed to hold back his questions. Mike thought she looked more tired than before, more worn. He wondered what happened to her during the past week. Whatever it was, it seemed to have greatly affected her.

Eleven never forgot her time in the future, a dream that haunted her through the years. When the Byers took her in, when Hopper and Joyce finally rekindled their relationship, it was there. When she went to the Snow Ball, when they won science fairs, when they had sleepovers, it was there. When she met the new neighbors, newlyweds, it was there. Smiles, fights, college visits, graduations, the entire year of 1988 - it was there.

A few months after she returned, El and Mike sat in his basement, talking about everything and nothing. After a lull in the conversation, Mike asked a question that had danced around his mind every night.

"What happened...before you came back?"

El stared off for a while before whispering, "It feels like a dream now."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want."

"Someday." She gave a tiny smile. "Someday."