"El!" Hopper shouted, quickly grabbing El gently and laying her down on the floor of the plane, pressing his hands to the wound. El whined, tears falling out of her eyes, and all Steve could do was watch.

"Murray! Don't you have a first aid kit?"

"Coming! Keep pressure on the wound, Jim!"

"What do you think I'm doing?"

Steve weakly sat up, his arms shaking, and felt for the device in his neck. It didn't take him long to find it. If he could get this thing out…he'd be able to heal El. He just needed to get it out. He needed to save her.

"You'll be okay, kid, you'll be okay." Hopper was saying, but Steve could see that he was worried.

There was so much blood. He didn't think that El would make it. He had to do something.

"Hopper, do you have a knife?"

"What?"

Steve took in a frantic breath before continuing. "If we get this device out of my neck, I can heal her! We have to get it out!"

"No, we don't have time!" Hopper yelled, his eyes wide and desperate.

"She's not going to make it if we don't! Look at her! Just get me a knife!"

"Well I don't have one!"

Steve felt tears burn in the back of his own, tears of fear, of hopelessness.

"Murray, please tell me you have something!"

"I…I don't." Murray replied with a frown. "Listen, I knew that I was forgetting somethingー"

"Then what are we going to do? We have to save her!"

"I…" El whispered, gasping for air. "I can get it out. I've…I've…I've done it before."

"El, you're too weak, you need to save your strength." Hopper said, turning back to her, but she shook her head with a wince.

Murray quickly returned with a first aid kit, and Hopper quickly opened in, taking out bandages and gauze.

"Hop, he's…he's right." El said, shaking with suppressed sobs, and Steve painfully managed to get closer to her, holding her hand. "We have to take it out. We have to do it now."

"But, El the kind of accuracy you'd needー" Hopper argued, but El weakly put her hand on his, blood transfering from her skin onto him.

"I have to do it. I…I can do it."

"Okay. Okay, let's get you up." Hopper said after a moment, clearly reluctant.

Hopper gently lifted El up, and let her sit against the walls of the barren plain. She gasped at the movement, and Steve felt horrible for making her do this, but he needed to have his powers to save her.

"Keep applying pressure, Jim." Murray said, helping Steve sit up himself, and Steve gave him a weak nod in thanks. "This thing's in your neck, Harrington?"

Steve nodded, pointing right to it. "It's right there."

Murray quickly moved around the plane, handing Steve a cloth nearly instantly.

"Put that in your mouth. It'll stop you from screaming and grinding your teeth. Trust me, you'll need this."

Steve felt panic build in his stomach at the words, but he put the cloth in his mouth, biting down on it tightly. He nodded to El and she weakly raised her hand, staring at his neck with determination. Her breaths were shaky and wet as blood began dribbling from her lips and nose, but she didn't remove her focus from Steve.

Then he began to feel it, a tugging in his neck. It felt like something was alive under his skin, pulling, moving, prodding, and then came a slight pain, like a papercut that wouldn't heal.

El's hand was shaking. Steve was sure that he was shaking too. But, he gave her a nod, knowing that they were running out of time.

There was one last pull, and then pain erupted through his body, like fire, making him scream through the cloth. He could feel warm blood trickle down his neck, and he opened his eyes, noticing a blood covered pill like device on the floor of the plane.

She had done it. She got it out.

Something changed inside of him, and he felt stronger, if only by a little bit. He knew that it was his powers returning.

Not wasting another second, Steve rushed over to El, El, who had begun to slip into unconsciousness, who was held by Hopper, who was crying, and put his hands right on the wound. Ignoring the blood that soon covered his fingers, he pushed all of his newfound power into her, all of his strength, hoping that this would be enough. That he wasn't too late. That he would save her.

El's skin was pale, getting paler and paler by the second, and Steve had a feeling that this wasn't working. Something was working.

His own arms were shaking. He still felt scared. He felt so, so scared.

"Murray!' Hopper explained, his voice strained with emotion. "He needs to eat!"

Eat. Food. Right. That would help, right?

Soon Hopper handed him a granola bar, and Steve quickly took it and opened it, careful not to touch it with his hands, and shoved it in his mouth, quickly eating it. As soon as his hands were free, he returned back to healing El with as much strength as he could.

"Come on, El." Steve muttered, "Come on."

El wasn't getting any better, but she wasn't getting any worse. Steve hoped that that was a good thing.

He couldn't fail her. He had to save her.

Slowly but surely, Steve could feel the wound close under his hand, the bullet appearing in his hand when he pulled it away. He dropped it to the ground instantly, and put his hands on El's cheeks, hoping that she would wake up.

"Harrington?"

"The wound is healed, I just, I don't know if what I did was enough."

"She looks better." Murray said, standing over them, "She doesn't look like a ghost, that's something."

Hopper managed a small smile. "Yeah, she looks a lot better. I think that she'll be okay."

Steve nodded, feeling El's pulse beating strongly under his fingertips as soon as he found it on her neck.

"Her heartbeat is strong. We just need to let her sleep." Steve said with a sigh. He leaning back and took in gasping breaths, still feeling weak yet still stronger than before. Hopper put his hand on Steve's shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly.

"You did it, kid, she'll be okay."

Steve was too tired to respond, so he gave Hopper a smile instead.

"Why don't you get some sleep, Harrignton? I'll take it from here."

"We'll be in Hawkins in about three hours," Murray said, handing Steve a jacket, "Get comfortable, everyone!"

Hopper chuckled, gesturing around to the plane, the plane that lacked any sort of seats or cushions. Now, looking around, Steve noticed that it was completely empty save the first aid kit, a backpack in the corner, and themselves.

"How?" Hopper asked, and Murray groaned.

"This is the thanks I get for saving you, Jim?"

"Thanks, Murray." Steve said, "We owe you one."

Murray pointed to him, "I'll hold you to that, Harrington. Now sleep. From what I've heard Hawkins needs all three of you."

"Have you gotten in contact with Joyce?" Hopper asked, and Murray shook his head.

"Not yet, but we can. Care to leave your girlfriend a message?"

Steve laughed weakly at the comment, and Hopper sighed.

"Just let me talk to her."

"Wait." Steve said, suddenly remembering what Brenner had said before Steve got knocked unconscious, "What did Brenner tell you? About One?"

Hopper sighed once again. "It's…bad. One's going to open gates from the Upside Down into Hawkins. Every death is going to help with that. And, El used her spy powers to see how the others in Hawkins are doing."

"And? Are they okay? Is Robinー"

"They're all alive, for now. They're all together, all but Joyce, but she's okay, too. They're using Max as bait, and then they're going into the Upside Down to kill One."

Steve was relieved to hear that Dustin had managed to find the others, that Robin was okay, but he didn't feel the same about the rest of the statement.

"Wait, they're going to the Upside Down alone? They're using Max as bait?"

Hopper nodded gravely. "Yeah, it's a bad idea."

"It's a horrible idea, we have to stop them!"

"And we will. I'll call Joyce, and she'll call them. We'll stop them, you just rest and I'll wake you up when we get there."

Hopper got to his feet and followed Murray to the front of the plane. Steve weakly pulled himself over beside El, bundled up the jacket that Murray had given him, and helped her lay on the floor, using the jacket as a pillow. The plane shook as they flew through the air, and he leaned against the wall as soon as El looked as comfortable as she could be.

He didn't think that he would be able to fall asleep, he wanted to be ready in case El needed him again, he wanted to be ready to help everyone in Hawkins stop this horrible plan, but he let himself relax, at least for now.

As soon as they were back in Hawkins, things would get serious. He would stop them from their horrible plan. Everyone would share what they knew, and through that, they would take down One with a new plan. They would save Hawkins, before it was too late.

He couldn't wait to be home. He just hoped that they would win, and that they would all survive.

And he would do everything he could to make sure that that happened.

Robin watched as Dustin and Eddie played with their weapons, Eddie blocking Dustin's weak blow with his shield, and sighed.

They were hours from the final battle, and she was scared.

Steve was still with Brenner. Hopper and El were still nowhere to be found. And the rest of them were preparing to take on One, with improvised weapons and a foolish hope.

The Party was separated, and there was nothing that they could do about it.

And, she had a feeling that things wouldn't work out this time. It was a sickening feeling, a feeling that gnawed in her gut, a feeling that wouldn't go away.

But, what else could she do but prepare for the battle? Give up? She wasn't going to. She wasn't going to let anyone else get hurt because of One. He had already killed enough people. She couldn't let him destroy all of Hawkins.

The trip to the War Zone had prepared them, giving them new clothes that didn't reek of Upside Down air, weapons, and a warrior mindset, but there was still a lot that they had to do.

Her hands were steady as she made molotov cocktails, and she watched everyone around her, making weapons, talking, taking comfort in each other before things got bad. They all knew that things weren't hopeful, she could feel it. All of their hopelessness was rubbing off on her, yet Robin continued in her task, not wanting to sit around and wallow in it.

"Hey."

Robin looks up to see Max standing beside her, her Walkman securely attached to her waist. Robin managed a smile, patting the seat beside her, and Max sat down. Robin didn't let herself read Max's mind, but she could feel her uneasiness, her worry.

"Hey, what's up?" Robin said, and Max shrugged, looking out to the field, a distant expression in her eyes.

"I…I don't know. I'm just…worried."

"I think we all are. What we're doing…it's a big deal. Anyone would be worried."

Max nodded slightly. "Yeah. Hey, I just, If I don't make itー"

"Whoa, hey, you're going to be okay. I know comforting people is Steve's role, usually I'm just there, but you're going to be okay. We'll protect you, I promise. I may not be, you know, super cool with guns or can take a bullet without actually getting in, but I'll do what I can. Scouts honor. Though, I never was into any of that sort of thing."

Max looked sheepish at the words, but she managed a smile. "Thanks, I…I'll do what I can to help you, too. I don't think I could do much, but if I can distract him long enough you should be okay."

"Just remember to focus on the good memories. He'll hate it, I promise. It's like One doesn't have any joy in his life, like at all! How depressing is that?"

Max giggled at that, and Robin laughed, shoving Max playfully.

"Any clue what memory you're going to focus on?" Robin asked, and Max began to blush.

"Uh, yeah, I think so."

"Good. I bet it's a really good one."

"What would your memory be, if we swapped positions?"

Robin took a minute to think about that. What memory would she focus on, what memory was good enough to save her from impending doom?

She smiled when she remembered ice cream. Steve and her had gotten ice cream after escaping Brenner. She remembered him teasing him about the wigs that she tried, how she felt lighter than she had in a long time. She had felt free, then. It was a good memory. It reminded her of Steve, of how much he meant to her, how he would never leave her alone, how he was always by her side even when he wasn't. It was a good memory.

Though, really any happy memory with Steve was a good one. He was her best friend. He was her platonic soulmate, with a capital P, he was everything to her.

It was really hard to be away from him. To not know if he was okay.

She once again reached out with her mind, hoping to be able to hear Steve, but, yet again, there was nothing. There was nothing from El, either.

Max looked at her expectantly, and Robin opened her mouth to reply, remembering her original question, but was interrupted by Will, who hopped out of the trailer, his eyes wide with hope.

"Guys! Mom just contacted us through the walkie!"

Jonathan and Nancy both looked up from Nancy's gun at that.

"What? What did she say?" Jonathan asked, and Will smiled.

"Hopper got in contact with her. He, El, and Steve are coming home. They'll be here in a few hours!"

"Wait, Steve? Really?" Robin asked, jumping to her feet, joy filling her heart. Max followed her lead.

Will nodded eagerly. "Yeah, apparently they were all captured by Brenner, but they're all okay. Murray helped them escape. They told Mom to tell us to not go through with the plan, El knows what we have to do, and they want us to wait to do anything until we're all together again."

Robin was fine with that. She was so, so happy that Steve was okay, that they were all okay. She didn't want to fight One without Steve or El. Waiting was the best option.

And, she needed to know that he was okay. She needed to see him.

Nancy opened her mouth, pausing slightly before speaking up. "Do we really have time to wait? When is One going to strike again? When is he going to attack Max? We have to kill him as soon as we can. I don't think we should wait."

"Are you serious?" Mike scoffed, rolling his eyes. "We have to wait! What if we're missing something, a really important piece to this puzzle, that El can help us with? And are we really going to refuse the help of two people with superpowers? We have Robin, who is already a huge help, but with El and Steve One won't stand a chance! We'd be crazy to do this without them!"

"I have to agree with Wheeler. The younger Wheeler, I mean." Eddie said, raising his shield. "We have to look to their coming on the first light of the fifth day, and at dawn, look to the east! Then our allies will come, riding on white horses, an army!"

"Here, here!" Dusitn exclaimed, smiling brightly, and Nancy sighed.

"But what if waiting is going to be our downfall? What ifー"

"We shouldn't dwell on that, Nance." Jonathan said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We should get their help. We need them."

"I for one think we need all the help we can get." Erica said, speaking up from beside Lucas, "We'd be fools to attack without them. Fools."

"Then, it's decided? We regroup at Will's place and meet with the others?" Lucas asked, and Robin smiled as happiness surrounded her, leaking off of everyone. Nancy seemed apprehensive, but Robin could tell that she was glad that everyone was okay. After sharing a glance with Jonathan, Nancy sighed, and nodded.

"Okay. We'll wait."

"Yes!" Dustin exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Jonathan said with a shrug, "Anyone ready for another trip in the stolen RV?"

Eddie smiled mischievously, and Robin couldn't help but laugh at it.

"Okay, but Eddie's not driving!" Max exclaimed, and Jonathan nodded eagerly.

"Yes. We…had enough excitement for one day."

"Oh, come on, Byers, Mayfield! I'm not that bad at driving. And, don't forget, I was the one who started that baby up."

Robin got up, hitting Eddie's shoulder gently. "Don't bother, Munson. If Steve were here, he would kill you for driving dangerously with the kids."

"Don't fight it, Eddie. Jonathan's driving." Dustin said, and Eddie began muttering under his breath.

As soon as all of the weapons were placed into the RV, everyone piled into it, and they began making their way back to the Byers', where Steve would eventually be.

Robin still felt that things may go bad. But, at least everyone would be together. At least Steve would be back, and they could face this together.

It was amazing to have the Party, but her and Steve? She felt like they would be able to do anything together. They had already survived so much together, what's one more fight?

A dark, more hopeless part in her knew that this fight was big, bigger than any of the other ones, but she didn't let herself dwell on it. If she did, she would give up. And she was not going to give up.