Sisters Meet

McChord Air Force Base

Tacoma, WA

June 25, 1986

Ignoring the pleas to stop coming from behind her, Eleven stormed forward across the grass and onto the runway, approaching the hole she had just torn into the side of the now crippled plane. In the bright afternoon sun, her eyes blazed a deep red, like blood on fire. The air around her practically crackled with electricity as she sought out the target of her rage, still enclosed within the metal tube. Behind her, Mike and a shattered Hopper helped along the barely conscious Kali. They had shared a knowing look after seeing the transformation that had come over Eleven; Hopper had seen the look just once before, the night she closed the gate, and it had nearly killed her. Still, they knew that whatever was about to happen was entirely out of their hands now.

She reached the plane and was preparing to climb inside when Dr. Brenner stepped up to the hole with Twelve by his side. For a moment, the three simply stared at one another. On Twelve's face was a strange mix of confusion over what had happened and a determined anger to protect her Papa from harm. On Brenner's was a disgusting look of utter pride; his grand experiment had worked out exactly as he always knew it would. Eventually, Twelve jumped the short distance to the ground and started toward her sister, unseen by Eleven as she fixed her hateful gaze on her Papa.

"You tried to kill me," she accused.

"Yes," he replied, as though it were the most natural thing to have done.

Arms still by her side, she reached forth and grabbed him, dragging him out of the plane and held him in the air as she threw the force of her grasp around his neck. She had shown Ray mercy, knowing he had been manipulated by evil and not wanting to deprive two little girls of their father. Papa was not worthy of such mercy, she thought, as she tightened her grip. Suddenly, she felt her hold pulled loose by a force of resistance. It was only then she realized her sister was standing halfway between them, glaring hard at Eleven while she held one hand raised toward Brenner, prying her grasp free.

"Let go of Papa," Twelve growled.

"No," she returned, throwing up a hand of her own to strengthen her grip.

"Let. Him. GO," she said, pouring out all her strength, desperate to pry Eleven's grip from him. The first drops of blood began to fall from her nose as she fought.

Brenner hung there, suspended several feet above the ground. He should have been terrified as his little girls pulled him to-and-fro, fighting over him the way sisters might fight over a treasured doll. Instead, his face was a calm mask of amusement and utter pride. "She's finally complete," he thought with a small smile. Eleven was everything he had hoped for and more.

Finally, Twelve's grip faltered and Eleven took the upper hand. While still suspending Brenner in the air, Eleven held her sister at bay as Twelve fought to overcome the resistance keeping her from Papa. Twelve's struggle lessened as she pondered her sister. Papa had always told her she was the strongest and that Eleven was weak and scared. How was it possible that this girl was holding her back now, without even breaking a sweat? She wasn't even using her full strength to keep her out as part of her focus was still being used to hold Papa in the air as well.

Barely noticed by Brenner and Twelve, the weary trio had finally caught up with Eleven, still reeling at the shock of what they had just survived. As they approached the edge of the runway, where dry grass met concrete, they suddenly found themselves unable to take another step forward. In addition to restraining both Brenner and her sister, she was holding them back as well, not wanting them to get hurt in the showdown taking place beside the plane.

Eleven finally spoke, never taking her eyes of Brenner. "Why did you try to kill me?"

"It was a test, to see if you could stop me," he replied, as calm as ever. "I wanted to see if you were strong enough to come home to your Papa and continue our work."

Eleven was startled at the effect Brenner's voice was having on her. She hated the man with every fiber of her being and yet, hearing that calm, even voice, she felt like a little girl again. She found herself desperate for his praise and terrified of his disappointment all over again.

"Your powers have grown to an amazing strength," he continued. "I think you've even surpassed your sister at this point, just as I always knew you would."

Twelve snapped her head around and stared at Brenner, her mind in shock at what he had just said. "He always said I was the strongest," she thought, "It has to be a trick. Papa's trying to fool her into letting her guard down. That has to be it, right?"

Brenner reveled in the look of confusion on both faces staring back at him. As strong and independent as both of them thought they had become, they were still his little girls, now and always. His praise or disappointment still meant everything to them.

"Papa?" Twelve began, her mind a confused storm of hurt.

"Of course she is stronger than you," he went on. "She's splitting her focus and still holding you back. This can't be a surprise. How do you think you finally managed those trials in the desert?"

Both girls stared back at him in stunned silence and he almost laughed at their confusion.

"Who do you think helped you hold back those last two blasts on the range? You couldn't do it on your own, so your sister had to step in and do it for you. She managed it from almost 2000 miles away when you couldn't do it in person." He turned his attention to a bewildered Eleven. "I knew you were there that day; I felt it as soon as you got in the car with us. I learned a long time ago what it felt like when you found me in the void and locked onto my mind. You were seeking me out with your mind long before you even knew what you were doing. You stood on the ridge with me that day and watched your sister fail time and again. It was no coincidence the last two - the ones she finally contained - were the two where you left me. I don't know how do you did it, but you've clearly become the strong sister, and I'm so proud of you."

He paused, letting the revelations sink in.

"Papa," Twelve began, barely containing the hurt in her voice. "You said I was the strong one. You said you were proud of me, and that there was nothing I couldn't do. You said she could never do the things I was able to do."

Unmoved by the turmoil of her world crashing down around her, he responded flatly, "Sure, there was a time you were stronger than Eleven, but those days have long passed. While she grew strong, you grew into a disappointment. Unfortunately, you were all I had, so I told you what you needed to hear, in the hope it would help you improve."

Eleven felt a little more of her sister's strength ebb away as she came to the startling realization that Papa had been lying to her for years, to achieve his own goals. Eleven still had questions of her own, swirling through her mind as she tried to unravel his plan.

"If you knew I was there, why didn't you say anything?" she asked, desperate to understand his motivations.

"Oh, come now. I thought you would have figured that out by now." he said, almost laughing at her puzzlement. "I couldn't reveal my secret too early, there were things I needed you to see. I knew I could use it to draw you out once and for all." Glancing up at Hopper, standing unsteady in the grass, and then looking back at Eleven, he smiled. "How do you think I knew when to have your sister break his arm?"

A fresh anger flooded through her as she tightened her grip further around his neck. She realized with sickening horror that it hadn't been a coincidence that her timing was perfect to witness the final torturous event that spurred them into action that morning. Papa had planned it carefully and waited until he knew she was there to give the order he knew would bring her running to the rescue. Even knowing that he was laying his traps, she had fallen right into his hands all the same.

Despite having difficulty drawing a breath, Brenner continued to look at Eleven with calm composure. "Let go of my neck, Eleven," he gently commanded.

She shook her head, fighting to hold onto her resolve, though the grip on his neck loosened all the same.

"See, you can't kill me, Eleven." he began. "I've raised you since you were a baby. I helped you grow, helped you to be strong. Look at everything you can do, because of your Papa."

Her resolve faltered again as his familiar, commanding voice worked its way deep into her subconscious. Somehow, even though she knew what he was saying was all lies, it felt like truth just because it was Papa telling her. She fought hard against the influence of his voice and reminded herself that her power was hers alone; he only ever wanted to use it to do bad things.

"You're place is with me, and with your sister," he continued. "We're your family, Eleven. It's time to come home."

"Home. There's that word again," she thought. She had spent years after leaving the lab trying to figure out just what that meant for her. A place to belong. A place where she was loved. A place where she was understood. She had found that with Hopper, and with Mike. Hadn't she?

Seeing he was breaking through to her, he went on, indicating the group assembled behind her. "I know you think these people are your family; that they understand you. What kind of a monster will you be, in their eyes, if you kill me? They'll never truly know you and understand just what a special girl you are, not like your Papa. This boy? A young man pulled to-and-fro by his hormones. He may say he loves you, he may even believe it himself. But what happens when some new girl comes along and his interest wanes? What happens when he decides you're too strong for him, that he can't deal with the amazing things you are capable of? Will he feel emasculated and leave? Will he demand you stop using your gifts?"

"He wouldn't do that," she growled, her anger renewed at the very thought that Mike would ever just discard her like that. Mike would never do that, would he? Everything Papa said was lies, but what if he was right?

"The stronger you get, the more these people will come to fear you. In the end, they will all betray you." He threw Hopper the satisfied look of someone about to spill closely guarded secrets. "Do you think you can ever really trust them? The boy? Your chief? Who do you think led me to you at the school that night? You're beloved chief handed you over on a silver platter the very first chance he got, all to save some insignificant boy."

A new fire of rage lit in her eyes. "Daddy. Doesn't. LIE!" she screamed, slamming Brenner back against the side of the plane. "He already told me everything about that night. And I forgave him."

Though winded by the impact, Brenner was nonetheless pleased with the reaction he was eliciting from her. He knew her resolve was breaking down. She would soon realize where she truly belonged.

"I know you've read the journals I kept, so you know that not everything I told you was true. There were things I had to hold back, to nurture your special gifts, but I never hid what my true intentions were. Yes, I worked tirelessly to shape you into a weapon of incredible strength. I'm sure these people who claim to love you have told you what a terrible thing that was. But surely you have come to see that the world could be a better place with people like you, trained to do what no-one else can. Do you remember when I taught you about World War Two, and the bad man, Adolf Hitler? How many lives could have been saved if there had been someone like you, able to find him wherever he hid, to steal his secrets and bring his terrible destruction to a swift end? No one else but you can do things like that. Not the other children we tested. Not even your sister has the kinds of abilities necessary to save millions of people around the world. You could save them all, but you chose to run. You ripped open the portal, let loose the creature inside and then ran away. How many people died because you ran away from the mess you created? If you had stayed, we could have fixed the mistake and continued our work. There are still monsters in the world, Eleven, far more terrifying and destructive than that creature you let loose. You are the key to stopping them, and saving all those whose lives they threaten every day."

A still silence fell over the runway as Brenner concluded his monologue. Twelve continued to fight against Eleven's grip, though her heart wasn't fully in it. Suddenly, she found herself doubting every line of praise or gently-spoken truth Papa had ever presented her with. Meanwhile, Brenner smiled in satisfaction witnessing the turmoil painted on Eleven's face; he knew he had broken through to her. Although she continued to temporarily re-tighten her grip as she processed everything he had just said, he could feel her overall grasp loosening. Eleven's mind was a raging storm of emotion and doubt. She knew Papa was a liar; all he had ever done was manipulate her for his own purposes. But what if he was right? She had spent a year in high school and watched countless couples meet, date and ultimately break up. She and Mike were different, though, weren't they? Daddy promised he would never let her go and he's not a liar, right? But what if she was wrong. With Papa, at least she knew what she was getting. No matter how much Mike tried to convince her otherwise, she knew deep down that she was the one who had opened the gate in the first place and so many people had died before she was finally able to close it again. What if Papa was right about the bigger evils in the world? If she went with him, she could keep Mike and Daddy and everyone else she cared about safe. But it could also be a trick, another of his traps baited with lies. Her mind raced around and around in circles, searching for the right thing to do. At the same time, she felt herself beginning to tire under the combined effort of holding back Twelve, suspending Papa and keeping Daddy and Mike from coming any closer. All she wanted to do was find a small, dark place to curl up and make the whole world go away, but she knew that was impossible. So onward her mind flew, weighing the possibilities. Kill Papa and become a monster? Go with Papa and keep those she cared about safe? Her grip around Brenner's neck continued to loosen. Whatever she chose, people would be hurt, maybe the best she could do was to go with him.

The silence was finally broken by a single gunshot that rang out across the deserted airfield around them, snapping everyone's focus to attention. Dr. Brenner looked down in shock. At first, no wound was visible, but within seconds a bright red flower began to blossom across the left breast of his crisp, white shirt. He looked up and coughed, the first drops of blood rising from his lungs on the outgoing breath. He looked around calmly, seeking out who had taken what he knew was a fatal shot. Locking eyes with the shooter, he realized it should have come as no surprise. He looked one last time upon his little girls, a small smile curling up the corners of his mouth. Moments later, his head slumped to the side, the light leaving his eyes forever.

Off in the grass, Mike Wheeler lowered the rifle and let it hang once more from the strap around his shoulders, a gentle plume of smoke still wafting from the barrel. He had seen the look on her face, the turmoil and hopelessness; Brenner had gotten through to her and she was all but convinced that returning to his side was the right thing to do. It wasn't what he had pictured, when he promised to save her at all costs, but when the moment came, he recognized it all the same.

All eyes turned and stared at him with shocked amazement at what he had done. Hopper looked over at the boy, scarcely believing he had it in him to pull the trigger. Once more, Mike Wheeler had saved his little girl; this time from the agony of having to kill the man who had raised her and had almost succeeding in convincing her she was nothing more than a weapon who belonged at his side. Eleven looked unbelieving at Mike, a small, sad smile on her lips. She knew she would never be able to thank him enough for doing that, saving her from the agony of choosing between impossible options.

She turned back to her Papa's lifeless body, the red blossom on his shirt continuing to spread. No longer a threat, she lowered his body to the ground and laid him out gently on the pavement. Looking at him, Papa, the man who had raised her, she felt everything and nothing all at once. Turning to face her sister, she saw the girl was staring at the lifeless form with shocked despair on her face. Twelve was no longer fighting her grasp, so she let it drop. Immediately, Twelve ran over to Brenner's body and wrapped her arms around him.

"Papa!?" she screamed. "No, Papa! Please wake up, Papa!. Don't leave me!" She collapsed on him then, her head against his chest, sobbing. "Papa, come back. Please don't go. Please don't leave me."

Eleven's heart broke for her sister. She wasn't evil. She wasn't bad. She was helpless little girl who had been brainwashed and shaped by Papa, just like he had tried to do with her. She just stood there, watching the lost girl pour out her grief on the silent runway.

Suddenly remembering she wasn't alone, Twelve looked up from Brenner's body, her hair matted grotesquely to the side of her face by his blood. She fixed her gaze first on Eleven, the tears in her eyes replaced with a burning rage. A moment later, her stare slid off Eleven and focused squarely on Mike.

"You! You did this!" she screamed. In a single burst, she grabbed Eleven and threw her sideways against the plane while slamming Mike across the grass and onto his back, knocking all the air from his lungs. She reached out to drag him to his feet again when she felt her grip blocked by Eleven.

"Don't you dare touch him," Eleven snarled.

Twelve turned around and squared off against her sister. "This is YOUR fault," she screamed. "Why didn't you die like you were supposed to?"

Throwing all her hatred behind it, she broke through her sister's defense and flung Eleven backward along the runway. Catching herself inches above the ground, Eleven stood and threw every ounce of strength she could muster against her sister, fighting to get a grasp of her own. It was a battle of wills as each tried to both grab hold of the other, while blocking the attempt coming back at them. She realized with a sinking dread that, among the many traits she and her sister shared, Twelve's strength had risen considerably with the seething rage now coursing through her. All at once, she broke through and got a grip on Eleven, raising her off the ground.

"Papa always told me you were bad," she accused, "He told me all about the terrible things you did and all the people that died because of you. He promised Mama, before she died, that he would keep us safe, raise us to be good, and now he's dead. All because of YOU!"

"Papa tells lies," Eleven countered, hoping there were some way to break through and help her sister see Papa for what he really was. "Papa stole us from Mama and convinced her we died. She never even knew there were two of us."

"What does that matter? She was dying anyway."

"She wasn't dying. She fought to get us back and Papa broke her mind," Eleven explained, still not sure how to describe the state he had left Mama's brain in. "Mama's still alive, Twelve."

Twelve's grip faltered just long enough for Eleven to break free and drop to the ground. She landed hard and rolled to the side, trying to dodge her sister's grab to regain control. Still, she couldn't get a grasp of her own on Twelve.

"You're lying. Papa told me all about you, all the terrible things you did. You let the creature out. You're the reason we had to leave home. You're…" she fought back a sob, "You're the reason Papa got hurt. You're the reason Miss Connie died."

Eleven had to think for a moment before the name solidified in her mind. Connie Fraizer, one of Papa's loyal agents; he had said to always address her as Miss Connie. She had only encountered the woman a few times, but each was a terrible memory. She brought her dinner once, when Papa was away from the lab, and had slapped her and taken away the meal untouched when Eleven had asked where the milk was that normally came with dinner. And, of course, she had been the one who killed Benny, the nice man who tried to help her when she escaped. She had nothing but hatred for the woman, and it had almost felt good when it became necessary to kill her. It was clear that Twelve's memories of the woman were far more pleasant than her own.

"You've spent your whole life by his side, so I understand you can't see it yet. But Papa was a monster. He never cared at all about either of us. We were just tools he was trying to shape to achieve his own twisted goals." Eleven countered.

In a sudden surge of rage, Twelve managed to grip Elevens legs and drag them out from under her, dropping her to the ground again.

"You hurt Papa, and now you're the reason he's gone. You, and that boy you care so much about." Locking eyes with Mike, but continuing to address Eleven, she went on. "I'm going to make him pay for what he did. Every hurt you caused Papa, I'm going to inflict on him one thousand times over. He's going to beg me to kill him, and I won't give him the satisfaction. And you are going to watch every second of it."

Realizing there was going to be no way to reason with her sister, Eleven dropped the pretence of holding back Mike and the rest of them, and threw her full strength at Twelve, quickly overthrowing her grip and tightening her own around her panicked sister. She slammed Twelve to her knees, pinned both arms behind her back and she rose to her own feet and walked slowly over.

"You won't lay a finger on Mike, or anyone else." Eleven growled, her eyes thin slits of anger.

Twelve fought with everything she had against Eleven's grasp, but it quickly became clear that she was no match for her sister.

Kneeling in front of her sister, Eleven tried to reach her with a gentler touch. "I know you're angry; that's all Papa taught you. It doesn't have to be this way."

Straining hard against her sister's hold, Twelve dropped her voice to little more than a whisper. "I will kill you."

Realizing that there was no other course of action, Eleven fought to push her own mind into Twelves and subdue her as she had with the guards earlier. Twelve did her best to resist, but Eleven could feel her sister's strength begin to fade and after one final lunge with everything she had left, Eleven managed to get where she needed to be. Breaking through, Eleven took hold of her sister's mind, cutting off her conscious control and brought her harmlessly into submission. Still, Twelve's unconscious mind fought to free her from her sister's grip and Eleven knew it would only be moments before she was loose and on her feet again. She was at a complete loss as to what to do with her sister, this terrified girl who had just lost everything.

As she wrestled with the decision of just what to do, the others walked over to join her. As much as he wanted to help, Hopper knew that this fell far outside anything he or Mike could do for her. Kali took another step forward and in that moment, the entirety of the world collapsed down to the three of them; Eight, Eleven and Twelve. Sisters in blood and sisters in circumstance.

"What are you waiting for? Kill her," Kali began, abruptly. Realizing she had been a little too callus, she continued "She's too dangerous to let go. She'll never stop trying to hunt you down; to hunt all of us," she added, looking first at Mike, then at Hopper.

"She's not bad," Eleven began, fighting back the tears beginning to form in her eyes. First Papa and now this, her emotions were taking hold and she knew her grip would fail from exhaustion soon. "Papa twisted her into a weapon, just like he tried to do with us. His lies are all she knows."

"All the more reason it has to be done. If all she has are Papa's lies, there is no hope for her," she urged. "I'll do it for you, if you need me to" she continued, glancing back at Mike, and the rifle still slung on his shoulder.

Mike stepped forward then and Kali thought he was bringing her the gun, but instead he stepped up behind Eleven and laid a hand on her shoulder. Though she hadn't seen him approach, she knew immediately it was him. His fingers radiated a warmth she would recognize anywhere. A pure, tender love flowed from his touch and she let her eyes slide closed, shutting out the world and trying to think.

"What do I do?" she asked herself. She thought of Papa and all his lies. She thought of Kali, and Mike and Daddy. Twelve didn't have anyone like them to support her and help her heal. Would death be more merciful? What would Mama think? What would Mama have named her? She never even knew she had a second little girl, lost to Brenner, and she never would. She had fought so hard to get her little Jane back, whichever of them that really was, and she never even knew she had a second daughter somewhere else in the building. Papa only gave her lies; lies she mistook for love. Mama would have given her real love.

She knew what she had to do, and hoped it was the right choice. She reached deep into Twelve's mind, searching for the place that would bring all of this to an end. It was deeply buried and hard to reach, as this was all still so new, but she found it. She could feel the remains of Twelve's subconscious fighting to keep her out but its own strength was fading as well. Eleven wrapped invisible fingers around the point and took a deep breath, steadying herself for what she was about to do.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, sadly, into her sister's mind.

SNAP.

Eleven slowly slid her eyes open again, and looked down at her sister, now slumped over on her side. Her eyes stared blankly ahead, unseeing. Mike dropped to his knees and wrapped both arms around Eleven's shoulders, giving her support but entirely at a loss for what to say. Kali and Hopper just stared, trying to grasp what they had just witnessed. One minute she was there, the struggle evident on her face, and the next, all the light was gone from her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Eleven whispered again, out loud this time, as the tears began to break free and run slowly down her cheeks.