This chapter is where it really starts to diverge from the original plot of the TV series Stranger Things.

Also, I want to make it clear that Leo (aka Eleven) and Mike are just friends and will not have a romantic relationship.

Guest- as of now, Nico and Leo will not become a couple, but that could change. At the very least, they will have a very good friendship (I'm going for one of those friendships that is so beautiful, it makes people cry, but we'll see).

Jenny.s.72- thank you for the wonderful compliments!

Allans- thank you, and I will try (key word try) to update again soon.

Supworld-issa-world- "Always a good day when I see one of your stories has been updated." That just made my day. Thank you so much, and maybe that will motivate me to update some of my other stories. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus or its characters, and I do not own Stranger Things.

Eleven wasn't sure how long he crawled until he poked his head out of the drain pipe and, finding the grounds empty for the time being, emerged from his hiding place.

The Lab was just as cold and intimidating as he remembered it as he crouched down just outside the building and glanced inside. Being late at night, the only ones there were the workaholics who practically lived at The Lab and the janitors; still, every time he saw a white coat, Eleven flinched, and he was hoping against hope that he didn't see Papa. He could handle any of the Bad Men, any of the scientists, any of the security, but if he came face to face with Papa, Eleven might just break down into tears.

Eleven yanked himself back, pressing himself flat against the wall, as a janitor opened the door and strolled casually into the building, unaware that the thing (the person, more accurately) that had caused so much commotion less than a week ago was standing less than three feet away from him.

Eleven grabbed hold of the door handle and slipped inside of the building.

Eleven shivered from both his apprehension and the cold air. The Lab smelled sterile and clean with the scent of medicine and cleaning supplies in the air. Frigid air seemed to radiate off of the cool metals that most of the equipment was made of. Eleven had to tip toe because the impossibly clean floors squeaked under his feet.

The flashbacks were coming faster, blurring together into a mess of colors and sounds.

Eleven remembered having his blood drawn, sometimes several times a day. Eleven remembered being pumped full of drugs to see how he would react to them. Eleven remembered being tied to tables when he became too… 'unruly,' as the scientists delicately put it. In other words, when Eleven had panic attacks before, during, and sometimes after some especially invasive and painful experiments. Eleven remembered being shocked during a lot of the experiments- the maze they made him run, the tests they made him do to test his intelligence, the tests they made him do to test his physical abilities (speed, strength, endurance, etc.), not to mention his powers, and that was just the tip of the ice berg. Eleven rubbed the crook of his arms and the backs of his hands because overall, he remembered a lot of needles and knew that if he ever saw a needle again, it'd send him into a panic attack.

Eleven shook himself out of his memories as he snuck down the back hall, passing his pathetic excuse for a bedroom (although he supposed he should be grateful that he had a bedroom. Some of the other tests subjects, who were being forced to participate in different experiments, were contained in cages), and found himself standing before the plastic sheet that covered the entrance to the hallway they'd roped off. The Lab where The Gate was.

Eleven swept aside the sheet and stepped inside the hall.

He coughed as he inhaled the particles floating in the toxic air; he'd overheard several conversations and knew the air couldn't kill you immediately, but if you were exposed to it for long enough (a few days, maybe even a few weeks, depending on your overall health beforehand), it would basically poison you and cause your death.

Eleven heard his sneakers tapping lightly against the floor as he traveled further down the hall, trying to avoid looking at the disgusting slime smeared across the walls or listen to the strange groaning that seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Eleven wandered into the destroyed lab, and he unconsciously gasped when he saw The Gate. He'd known it was there, had watched as the fabric of our universe tore apart just enough to create The Gate, but he'd never technically seen The Gate.

It was a hole in the wall, covered in slime and almost appeared to be breathing. A pinkish curtain made entirely out of slime covered The Gate, and Eleven crept towards it.

Eleven lightly touched the curtain, wincing at the ooze that covered his fingers, before pressing on it and tearing it until it fell limply beside The Gate.

Eleven stared at what appeared to be a tunnel, and it looked like it was inhaling and exhaling, the walls moving and undulating with each breath, and Eleven finally understood the saying 'going into the belly of the beast.'

Eleven pulled himself up and began to crawl, ignoring the way the tunnel squished under his hands, as he inched little by little through the tight, claustrophobic cylinder that this tunnel was. He covered his mouth with his sleeve in hopes of breathing in as little toxic air as possible, and he finally reached the end of the tunnel, where he slowly slid out of the tight space and into an open but much more terrifying setting.

Eleven saw that he was standing in The Lab, but it was different. Corroded and decayed, like it was a neglected building that had been sitting abandoned for years. It was no longer the sterile, clean environment Eleven had grown accustomed to. This place was dirty and rotten and nasty, an eerie and frightening place that looked like it had been yanked straight out of a horror film.

Eleven gulped before he began wandering down the hallway and exited the building without seeing a soul (not that he really expected to, honestly).

If possible, the outside world was even more terrifying than the eroded version of The Lab as Eleven walked straight up to the metal gate and found it already open with slime coating the lock. He strolled past dead trees and wilting bushes, squinting in the darkness but not wanting to use his powers to create a flame in his hands, for fear of the fire attracting unwanted predators.

Eleven finally emerged from the thick woods and stood where the forest met the town, listening intently but hearing nothing except for his own rattling breathing in the otherwise silent atmosphere.

Eleven closed his eyes and reached out with his powers, trying to search for any signs of life. He found only two living beings in the Upside Down town of Hawkins. One was at the school, and the other was in the woods behind the home of the Byers family. Eleven assumed that in this terrifying time, Will would want to remain close to home, so that was the direction he headed in.

Eleven wiped the blood from his nose and began the short trek to the Byers house and the woods behind it, hoping Will would still be there when Eleven reached the location.

Meanwhile, Mike sat on the couch in the basement, fiddling with the walkie-talkie in his hand. He didn't know what he was expecting- Will's voice, Eleven's maybe… but it didn't matter. All that mattered was the soul crushing crack in his heart, caused by being betrayed by his friend; he'd only know Evan for a short period of time- not even a week- but he felt connected to Eleven in a way he couldn't describe. Maybe it was the terrified, traumatized, and vulnerable look in his eyes that drew Mike in… or maybe it was something else. Dustin only felt connected to Eleven by a deeply rooted curiosity, wanting to know how his powers worked and where he came from and who be was and why he didn't remember anything from before The Lab.

Mike wasn't sure who he felt more betrayed by. Lucas for accusing Evan of being the monster or Eleven for proving Lucas right.

Mike stood up and attacked Eleven's makeshift bed, tearing it down and stomping on it like Evan, the boy he had called friend, had stomped on his heart.

A knock sounded at the back door, and Mike threw it open, ready to turn Evan away and scream at him for even thinking about coming back, but he stopped short when he saw Dustin.

"Oh, hey, Dustin," Mike muttered, stepping aside to allow his friend inside.

"Did Eleven come back?" Dustin asked.

Mike was shocked by the question. He never thought Dustin cared for Eleven, but Dustin sounded genuinely concerned.

Mike shook his head. "Why are you so worried? He hurt Lucas, remember?"

Dustin shrugged. "So did you."

"But I didn't burn him!" Mike exclaimed.

Dustin sighed. "Mike, you were distracted by your anger, and Lucas was distracted by pain, so neither of you saw the look on Eleven's face. Like Eleven believed Lucas when he called Evan a monster. He was horrified by what he'd done, and he ran off. I heard him sobbing and muttering I'm sorry until he disappeared into the woods. Would a monster be so distraught over something they'd done like that?"

Mike shook his head. "I guess not, but that doesn't make what he did okay."

"I'm not saying it does," Dustin responded. "But something's been bugging me. A really bad feeling, even more than usual. Mike, I know you're angry, but I know that you still care about him. Heck, I think Lucas even cares about him… deep, deep, deep, deep down… but he does. And I think Eleven is in danger. A lot of it, maybe even more than Will, and we're the only ones that can help him if he is."

Mike swallowed. "You got all of this from a feeling?"

"I know it sounds silly, but I think you can feel it, too," Dustin replied.

Mike didn't say anything because he knew Dustin was right.

"You need to apologize to Lucas."

"What? Me? He was the one that was out of line!" Mike yelled.

"You were both out of line, and you know the rule, Mike. You drew first blood," Dustin pointed out.

"But-"

"Mike, we don't have time for this! Eleven is our friend, and even if you're so mad at him that you refuse to even call him that, he's also our only link to Will. You can sit around here blaming everybody except for yourself, but if you do, you might be risking two lives here!" Dustin shouted.

Mike sighed. "Fine. Let's go."

Eleven shivered, pulling Mike's jacket closer around himself, using the scent of his friend and of the place he'd almost started to call home for the past week as a comfort. The air was cold and pressing in on him on all sides as he strolled through the woods, trying not to look at the dead tress or the blood spotted grass (and praying that the blood wasn't Will's).

A small fort came into view. It was made of twigs and the size of the average shed with a faded, dirty white sheet, blowing lightly in the wind.

A sign reading Byers Castle hung above the entrance. Eleven could sense the presence of a living thing inside.

Will.

Eleven pushed the sheet aside and found a small boy lying on a bed made out of blankets and huddling beneath one, shivering. His hair was damp and greasy; his skin was unnaturally pale; and the tips of his fingers and his lips were tinted blue from the cold. He looked exhausted and starved, and every time he drew in a breath, Eleven could almost hear his lungs crackling after such a long time exposed to the toxic air.

Eleven knelt beside Will and took his hand. Will pried his eyes open and barely managed to glance up at Eleven.

"Who are you?" He rasped, and Eleven flinched at his voice and worried over how dehydrated he was. Eleven didn't think there was any water in the Upside Down, and if there was, it certainly wasn't clean water, and he knew that if the toxic air didn't kill Will first, his obvious dehydration would.

"My name is Evan," Eleven murmured. "I'm a friend of Mike's." (if I even have the right to call myself his friend anymore.) "And I'm going to get you out of here, okay? But you're going to have to trust me."

Will contemplated that, but he didn't have any other choice. He was trapped in a freezing cold world with the Monster, and if Evan tried to hurt him, he couldn't exactly run. He looked like he could barely stand.

Evan closed his eyes and heated up his body a few degrees. Not enough to burn Will, but enough to warm the freezing cold child. After that, Eleven helped Will stand, nearly buckling under his weight, but Eleven refused to give up as he half-carried-half-dragged Will out of the fort and into the woods.

The fallen leaves and twigs cracked under their feet, and Eleven could just barely see the barbed wire on the top of the fence that surrounded The Lab in the distance… when he heard a familiar screech.

Eleven reached out with his powers, and his eyes shot open, widening when he sensed the presence of the Monster. It was coming towards them. And fast. It would be there within a minute for sure.

Eleven put Will on his feet, glad when he realized that the heat had given Will enough strength to stand on his own. He was by no means steady, but it was enough.

"Will, do you see that fence?" Eleven asked, pointing at it.

Will nodded.

"I need you to go there. The gate is already open. Go inside the building and stand out of sight of the door. Wait for me. I'll be there soon. Now go! RUN!' Evan shouted as the screech sounded, much closer than before.

Will didn't want to leave his savior alone to fight the Monster, but he didn't argue as he sprinted towards The Lab. He wanted to stay and help, but what could he do? He'd gone who knows how many days without food or water; he was still weak from the cold that had invaded his body during his stay in this dimension; and he was sure that this air was toxic if his constantly labored breathing told him anything.

Eleven turned to see the Monster approaching, and his eyes narrowed.

"You've hurt me enough," Eleven mumbled. "I will not let you hurt Will ever again."

He wasn't sure why he was so protective of a kid he'd only just met, but then again, he was also very protective of Mike, Dustin, and even Lucas. They were like his younger brothers, even though he's pretty sure at least one of them is older than him.

Eleven didn't remember much from his past, but he remembered one thing: nobody messes with his family and gets away with it.

Eleven vaguely wonders about the family he had before The Lab and how protective he must've been over them, but he didn't have time to think about it for any longer as he raised his hand towards the rapidly approaching Monster and felt his entire body heat up.

It was time to face the Monster for the first but certainly not the last time.

Lucas let them into his house, which surprised Mike, and Mike sighed.

"I drew first blood, so it's only fair that I step up and apologize. I shouldn't have attacked you like that and especially not when I was so angry. I'm sorry," Mike stated.

Lucas nodded. "You're forgiven. On one condition. The weirdo has to go."

"That's not going to happen."

"What?" Mike and Lucas squawked as they turned around to face Dustin, who had surprisingly been the one to speak.

"Lucas," Dustin said. "I barely know anything about this kid, and neither do you, but did you ever stop and think that maybe... he was trying to protect us? That he wanted to save Will, but he didn't want us to die doing it? Or… and while I hope this isn't true, maybe he was protecting us by not telling us that Will is in a really horrible place and that he's as good as dead? Did you ever stop and think that maybe he was trying to protect us and not hurt us?

"Lucas, I understand why you're nervous around this kid, but I know you care about him, and… I also know that we all have the same feeling. The feeling that Evan is in danger. And Lucas, if you won't admit that you care about him, he's also our only link to Will. We need to find him."

"Did you see what he did to my hands?" Lucas demanded, holding up his bandaged hands.

"Yes, but I also saw his face, Lucas. Neither of you did. Evan… he looked broken, ashamed of what he'd done. He ran away, crying and saying I'm sorry over and over again. Lucas, I know you think Evan is the Monster, but monsters don't have a conscious," Dustin pointed out.

Before Lucas could respond, Mike's walkie-talkie crackled with static somewhere in his bag.

Mike frowned and pulled the device out of his bag and stared at it before his eyes widened as the static became words.

"Who are you?" A weak mumble- an all too familiar voice- sounded.

"Will," Lucas gasped.

"But that's impossible. Evan isn't here, so how…" Mike trailed off as someone else on the walkie-talkie spoke.

"My name is Evan."

Mike gasped as Eleven's voice travelled over the walkie-talkie.

"I'm a friend of Mike's, and I'm going to get you out of here, but you have to trust me, okay?"

The walkie-talkie fell silent.

"How…" Lucas couldn't even get the words out.

Dustin's eyes widened as the truth hit him.

"Lucas, you said that Evan didn't want us to save Will when you yelled at him. What if he tried to prove you wrong?" Dustin asked.

Lucas frowned, not wanting to believe what Dustin was saying. He also didn't want to believe that he might actually care about the weirdo either, but they had bigger problems than that right now.

"You guys don't think Eleven would try to save Will by himself, do you?" Dustin murmured.

No one said anything for a long time after Dustin said that.

The Monster screeched in pain as its body heated up to an unbearable temperature. Evan aimed a fire ball at its feet, burning the monster's skin until it was in too much pain to stand before running off.

Evan made it several yards away from the Monster and was standing outside the metal gate of The Lab when he saw something glinting in the grass.

Evan picked it up and saw it was a strange golden coin. It looked like something they would use in Ancient times. Maybe Greek.

Evan slipped it into his pocket without giving his hand the conscious command to do so before sprinting inside the building.

"Will? Will?"

No response.

"Will!"

"Evan?"

Evan turned and sighed in relief when he saw Will standing in the shadows, well out of sight as Evan had commanded him to do so.

"Let's get out of here," Evan told the frightened and shivering boy before offering his hand to Will.

Will stared at the hand with caution, probably because he'd seen Eleven shoot a fire ball at the Monster. He made a judgment call.

Will gave Evan a small smile before taking his hand.

Dustin stared at his compass as they rode their bikes on the rarely used gravel road.

"Keep going straight," he ordered.

"Guys?"

Dustin glanced up at Lucas's slightly nervous tone, and he cursed when he saw Troy and his friend on their own bikes behind them… and they were gaining. And boy, did Troy look mad.

"Go!" Dustin yelled, and they began racing their bikes, but Troy and his friend had better bikes, longer legs, and better endurance. Hoping they could run into the woods and disappear amongst the trees, the three boys abandoned their bikes and continued on foot.

Troy and his friend followed their example and started chasing them. Lucas pulled ahead, easily, Mike a little farther behind, but Dustin hadn't gone a few yards before he couldn't run any further and started to slow down until he almost came to a complete stop.

Hands grabbed Dustin, and the scuffle started. Dustin was fighting blindly against Troy and his friend while Mike and Lucas returned to his side and entered the fight, attempting to free their friend.

Lucas was grabbed by Troy's burly friend, who only laughed when Lucas screamed and thrashed uselessly in the bully's hold.

Mike, the only one of them that was free, felt his eyes widen in fear as Troy pulled out a pocket knife and held it against Dustin's throat.

"What do you want?" Mike screamed.

"That kid! The kid who flipped me! Who is he?" Troy asked.

"He's our friend," Lucas answered. On a normal occasion, Mike would've been glad Lucas finally called Evan their friend, but right now, he was too scared.

"What's his name? I've never seen before!" Troy yelled.

"His name is Evan," Mike snarled. Not knowing what else to do, he decided to tell Troy an edited version of the truth. "We found him a week ago in the woods. He has amnesia and doesn't know where he comes from, so we've been helping him! Now let them go!"

"No! I want revenge on that kid for humiliating me," Troy spat. "And what better way to get my revenge than take my anger out on his little friends?"

He's officially gone crazy, Mike thought as he stared at the crazed look in Troy's eyes.

"Jump," Troy ordered, jerking his head at the edge of the ravine less than three feet away from them.

"Mike!" Lucas shouted. "Don't do it!"

"Maybe I should cut out the rest of his baby teeth," Troy muttered, tracing the blade down Dustin's chin.

Mike swallowed. "Okay, okay! Just hold on!" Mike begged before approaching the edge of the ravine.

"Mike, don't! Please! I don't need my baby teeth, Mike!'

"Mike, stop!"

He could vaguely hear his friends shouting in the background, but Mike's mind was elsewhere.

"Did you ever stop and think that maybe… he was trying to protect us?"

Mike's mind flashed back to all the times Evan had protected them, had helped them. He thought about Evan flipping Troy to stop the bully from pounding Mike. He thought about Evan using his powers to channel Will on the radio in Mr. Clarke's office, even though it almost killed him. He thought about Evan risking his friendship with Mike, Lucas, and Dustin to protect them by messing up their compasses. He thought about Evan using his powers to protect Mike from Lucas, even though he accidentally injured Lucas in the process. He thought about Evan's voice on the walkie-talkie and how he'd gone to rescue Will on his own, even though Evan knew better than anyone how dangerous the mission would be.

"Did you ever stop and think that maybe… he was trying to protect us?"

Friends protect each other. And Mike would protect Lucas and Dustin until the end.

Mike stepped off the edge of the cliff.

Everyone froze. Troy. James. Dustin. Lucas. No one dared to move for a few seconds.

Troy was horrified as he slowly lowered the knife from Dustin's throat. He never thought Mike would actually jump. He'd just wanted to scare them, not hurt them and certainly not kill them.

Dustin was the first to move, sprinting to the edge of the ravine, followed by Troy and James and Lucas.

Troy muttered an astonished curse under his breath as they stared down at Mike, who was hovering in mid air several feet above the water.

Mike whimpered in fear as he was jerked upward and carried through the air by nothing until he fell to the ground behind Dustin, Lucas, Troy, and James.

No one understood what had just happened… until Mike looked up, and a small smile came across his face.

The other boys followed his gaze and saw an angry looking Evan approaching them with a glare on his face. On a scale from one to ten, his death glare reached an eleven (no pun intended), and Mike could almost hear Troy and James's hearts thundering in their chests from where he lay on the ground.

Evan glared harder, and Troy screamed as burns appeared out of nowhere, spreading over his hands and arms and some parts of his chest.

James was shoved to the ground by an invisible force, and he stared at Evan in horror.

"He burned me! He burned me!" Troy wailed.

"Go," Evan ordered, stopping a few feet away from them.

Troy and James didn't need to be told twice as James shot to his feet, and the two bullies ran, disappearing into the distance until all that could be heard were their terrified exclamations far away from the four friends.

"Yeah!" Dustin shouted after them. "He's our friend, and he's crazy!"

Mike could hear Dustin saying something else, but he was entirely focused on Evan, who had blood trickling out of his nose and the tiny space where his ear met his head, the skin and cartilage torn.

Evan fell to the ground and didn't get back up.

Mike shot to his feet and knelt by Evan's side, clutching the boy's hand and whispering his name, urging Evan back into consciousness.

"Evan," Mike murmured in relief as his eyes opened.

Evan swallowed. "Mike," he mumbled. "The Gate. I opened it. Lucas was right. I am the Monster."

"No," surprisingly Lucas disagreed. "You saved Mike. You saved us all. You are not the Monster. You may have hurt me, but you didn't mean to, and you were only trying to protect us this entire time. I'm sorry for what I said."

Lucas, Dustin, and Mike pulled Evan into a tight hug, holding their friend close and finally starting to call Evan friend after such a long time of being unsure whether this boy was indeed a friend or an enemy.

After several long moments, Evan pulled away and looked at the three boys with a small grin. It was only then that Mike noticed that Evan was covered in some kind of purplish ooze and smelled disgusting, like the smell that lingers underground but ten times worse. Mike and the other two boys had been so distracted by Evan's return and the way he rescued Mike and chased off Troy and James that they hadn't even noticed his appearance until now.

"There is something else," Evan told them before glancing over his shoulder.

Mike followed his gaze, and the three other boys watched in astonishment as a familiar boy emerged from the trees surrounding the area. He was dirty and pale and sickly looking and slightly blue from the cold environment he'd been forced to live in for the past week, but they'd recognize him anywhere.

Will.

Please leave a review! Thanks for reading! Goodbye, everyone!