"Harrington. Kid, it's time to wake up."

Once again, Steve opened his eyes to brightness, but this time, he knew exactly where he was. He knew exactly what was going on. And it didn't scare him as much as before.

Hopper was standing closer to Steve, and gestured to the door, where Brenner and the same two guards were standing.

"It's time, Nineteen." Brenner said, and Steve got to his feet, scowling. "How are you feeling?"

Steve didn't respond, he refused to give Brenner the satisfaction, but he was thankful to see that he was feeling stronger, more confident. He still mourned the loss of his powers, he still felt that worry in the back of his mind that told him that he couldn't help, yet physically, he felt better. Steve would take all of the wins that he could, especially now.

"Nineteen?"

"How's El? Can we see her now, Sir?"

Hopper grinned at Steve's response, and Steve smiled back. Brenner, under the professional look he never let go of, looked a bit displeased.

"Yes. She's waiting in the study labs. She's just about ready for you.."

Hopper and Steve, after exchanging a nod, followed Brenner out, the two guards following behind, their guns trained on their backs. And Steve followed along quickly. Before ,when Steve could access his powers, the weapons behind him wouldn't have scared him, he'd been shot before too many times to count, and survived every injury. But, now, without his powers? He was a lot more eager to avoid that fate.

Without his powers, his skin wasn't bulletproof. His wounds won't heal like before. He couldn't heal anyone else.

He knew that he and Hopper had to be cautious, now more than ever.

The group walked through the white halls, white halls that were too familiar, until they descended some stairs. The walls changed from a clean, perfect white to a metallic gray, rust and scratches evident in the surface.

"Ran out of paint, Brenner?" Steve said with some snark, and one of the guards shoved their weapon into Steve's back momentarily.

"This is an older lab." Brenner responded, his voice as even as ever, "It was the only lab that had the tools that Eleven needed to unlock her memories. Our other lab fit with the same perks was unfortunately destroyed."

Hopper chuckled softly, "That you, kid?"

Steve nodded, wanting to laugh along with him, but a memory came to the forefront of his mind, one that he had forgotten in all of the excitement.

Tom. Tom was the man who had helped them take down the other lab, who had helped Robin and Steve run, who gave them a home and protection. He had said that Brenner was taken by the police, right? It was the only reason Steve allowed himself to go back to Hawkins.

But, Brenner clearly wasn't in jail. He was here, taking kids again, doing experiments and who knowed what else. But why? Shouldn't he have been locked up[, on trial or something?

Tom wouldn't have lied to them, right? Robin said that he was truthful, and Steve trusted him with his life. Brenner had tons of evidence against him, how would he have avoided getting jail time?

"Weren't you put in jail? You know, after we destroyed the place you tortured us in?" Steve asked loudly, and Brenner stopped in his tracks, turning to him with a smile.

"Yes, I was. Only temporary. But, I had support. People who rallied and assisted me during that time. People who knew that my studies weren't harmful, that they were beneficial to society. I can only hope that you may one day believe the same thing and come home."

"Keep on dreaming, Brenner." Hopper said gruffly, "Keep on dreaming."

Steve accepted Brenner's response solemnly.

Among the darkness and people lingering in the hallway, Steve could see a large room open up in front of them, and a metal tank with a large opening at the top, a cage that reminded Steve of his own cage where he drowned.

He shivered at the memory. But this wasn't about him. It was about El.

"When you see Eleven, you must convince her to explore the memories she's scared of. Those memories are what we may need to save Hawkins." Brenner said, leading them to a side room full of computers and graphs. Hopper didn't respond to Brenner's words, so Steve didn't, either.

His eyes focused on Doctor Ownes, who stood in front of a bed, talking to someone wearing a white suit, hair buzzed short. It didn't take him long to realize that it was El.

He fisted his hands together. She looked so sad. So broken.

Why couldn't Brenner just leave her alone? All she deserved was a life free of pain, to be a young girl, to go to school, have friends! Not become a lab rat like she was before.

"El!" Hopper exclaimed, and the guards couldn't stop him as he rushed over to her. She looked over at his voice, tears in her eyes but a relieved smile on her lips.

"Hop!"

She jumped off of the bed, and the two embraced. Hopper muttered something in her ear, Steve was sure that it was probably words of reassurance. As Steve stood by awkwardly, Brenner shot him a glance, leaving the room, and the guards, joined by Doctor Owens, followed him. But Owens stopped right by Steve as he left, and gave him a smile, one that Steve didn't return.

"Steven, it's good to see you."

"We trusted you. And you brought her back here. You let them lock Hopper up. I think we're past the point of being pleasant towards each other."

Owens sighed, running his hand over his face. "I had to, Steven, it was the only way to save Hawkins.

Steve felt anger course through his body, and he didn't bite back his reply.

"Just go back to your boss. I bet he's paying you well, right? Or do you enjoy this?" Owens opened his mouth, but Steve continued on. "We're going to save Hawkins, and then El is going to get far away from you and Brenner. You're never going to see her again. I can promise you that. And my name is Steve."

Owens didn't reply, and he left the room in a rush. As soon as the door shut, Steve let himself breath. The windows overlooking the tank were still open, so Steve could see Brenner and the others staring up at them, but he tried to not let it bother him. He was thankful to even get a bit of privacy with Hopper and El, no matter how long it lasted.

"Steve! What are you doing here?" El asked, and Steve turned around, smiling as El ran to him to get a hug. He wrapped her in his arms, not knowing how much he needed that until this moment, how much he missed her until she was in his arms.

From the moment El found out that Steve had powers, she was an unwavering pillar of support, and Steve had begun looking at her like a sister. And he had missed his little sister.

"El, are you okay? What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?"

She pulled away, shaking her head. "He just got rid of my hair, he's helping me remember. But why are you here?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. He wants Hopper and I to help you."

"But how? Weren't you in Hawkins?"

"I was, but then Brenner got the police to think that I was killing the kids. But, it's fine. We'll work it out."

"How's it been going with retrieving your memories, kid?" Hopper asked, turning the attention away from Steve, and Steve was thankful. He didn't know how much time they had alone before Brenner came back, and the attention was getting to be a bit overwhelming. He was glad that Hopper seemed to have a sixth sense for those things. Or maybe he carried the same wariness of Brenner that Steve had.

El turned back to Hopper with a sigh. Within seconds her bright, smiling face was diminished to a frown, and she wrapped her arms around herself. Hopper didn't waste a second taking her into his arms and taking her back to the bed, rubbing her back gently.

"What's going on, kid?"

"I…I think I'm a monster."

Steve frowned, worry building in his stomach, and he grabbed a chair, sitting beside them.

"Why do you think that, El? You're not a monster. You're the furthest from it!" Hopper argued, but El shook her head, more tears forming in her eyes.

"I killed people. I remember."

"What do you remember, El? Steve asked, and she turned her gaze to the floor, sniffling.

"Blood. Bodies. All of the kids were dead. Papa walked in and asked me what I did. There was so much blood. I was covered in blood. I did it."

"You don't know that. Brenner could've killed them." Hopper said, but El shook her head.

"He was scared. Horrified. And there was so much blood on me. I don't want to see what I did next. I know it's going to be horrible."

Hopper wrapped El in a hug, Steve wasn't sure if he knew what to say to her or not, and Steve didn't know what to say, either. But, he had to try.

As much as he didn't want to help Brenner, the older man was right; in order to save Hawkins, El needed to remember. And he needed to help her. She was El, strong, capable, but hurting. He needed to help her feel better, it was the only thing he could do now.

"Hey…you're not a monster. You would never kill innocent kids like that."

"But you don't know that!" El cried, and Hopper shushed her gently, "You don't remember what I remember! You don't know!"

"But I know you, El." Steve said calmly. "I know you. You would never do that. You're kind, protecting, selfless…you wouldn't do that. There's got to be a puzzle piece that you're missing, a memory that will make everything clear to you. Right?"

Hopper nodded. "He's right, El, you never do that. There's got to be something you're missing."

El shook her head quickly, covering her mouth with her hands. "I don't want to go back there. I don't want to know."

Steve put his hand on her knee, hoping that it would give her comfort. "But we'll be right here, I promise. I'll make Brenner let us stay."

El's lip was trembling, and she looked to Steve with wide eyes.

"Steve. Papa…he said that I…my brain buried these memories because they were painful. Shouldn't they stay buried if they hurt me?

Steve didn't know what to say to that right away. He looked down onto his hands, at the watch that covered his tattoo, and had a small idea.

"People hide things because they're afraid of what will happen. I hid my tattoo so that no one will hurt me or the people that I love, right?"

El nodded, so Steve continued.

"But, sometimes, the hidden things have to come to light. Everyone else found out about me, right? Once I told Dustin and the others what happened to me, everything got better. They helped me. Sure, I was still scared, but at least I didn't have to lie anymore. At least, then I knew that the Party wouldn't treat me differently. And, I felt free."

El's eyes focused on his, and Steve took it as encouragement to continue.

"And, I think, if you follow this memory, if you find out what really happened, you'll be free, too. You'll know the truth. Who knows? Maybe things aren't as bad as you think. And, if they are bad, then you'll be able to start making things right. Living in fear won't do you any good. Believe me, I know."

"Things can't stay hidden forever, no matter how much it might want to be." Hopper added, and Steve gave El's knee a comforting squeeze. "It'll probably be painful, it'll probably be hard, but I think you have to do this. You have to know the truth, before things get worse."

"You're stronger than any memory you have, El. Remember that." Steve said with a smile, and El managed a hesitant smile back.

"You promise?"

Hopper nodded, and Steve did, too.

"Absolutely."

"And we'll be here. The whole time." Steve added, and El wasn't hesitant to wrap him up in a hug.

"Thank you. Thank you."

"You can do this, El. It'll be okay. It'll be okay."