Joyce drove her car in silence. Hopper is dead. That sentence kept playing in her mind. Hopper is dead. Sitting beside her was an exhausted Steve. Erica, Robin, and Dustin were crammed into the back.

Joyce parked her car in front of the Starcourt Mall. The group could only stare in awe at the burning building. The group climbed out of the vehicle. "Ma'am, you can't be here," a cop said. "There is a fire."

"My sons are here," Joyce argued.

Dustin's heart stopped when he saw a body bag. Dustin looked around, seeing all of his friends except for one. The name tag on the body bag confirmed Dustin's biggest fear. Dustin had to be held by Steve as he broke down.

Will sat on one of the surrounding benches. After all the crying, he felt numb. He was staring at the ground, not thinking about anything.

A paramedic rushed over to him. "Are you hurt?" she asked.

Will looked up at her. "I'm fine," Will said. It was barely audible. However, she was able to read his lips. She went to go and take care of other witnesses. That was a lie. How could he be okay? The love of his life was in a body bag. Will had to watch him die.

Joyce managed to get under the barricade. She ran over to her youngest son. "Will," Joyce said, her voice cracking. Will looked at his mom with a blank expression. "Oh, Will."

Joyce pulled her son into her arms. She buried her hand into her son's hair. She whispered soothing words into his ear. "I'm so happy you're okay," she would whisper.

"Mike is gone," Will sobbed. His mom was here. He could finally break down.

"Oh, my baby," Joyce whispered. She kissed his head.

"Can we go home?" Will whispered.

"Of course," Joyce said. She finally let go of the hugs. Eleven was sitting with Jonathan. Joyce and Will walked over to them. "We're heading home. El, you're coming with us."

"Why?" Jonathan asked.

"Where's my dad?" Eleven asked. Joyce felt the tears return to her eyes. That gave them their answer.

A few hours later, the Wheelers were called into the coroner's office. "I don't understand," Karen sobbed. Ted stood strong, wrapping his arms around his wife's shoulders.

"Mike sustained injuries during the mall fire," the coroner explained. "We believe he died getting his friends out."

Nancy and Jonathan were watching the former's parents. "I feel bad for lying to them," Nancy muttered. "They're his parents. They're my parents, too. They deserve to know the truth."

"Do you think they could handle the truth?" Jonathan asked. He wrapped his arm around Nancy's shoulders, pulling her close.

Will lay in his bed, facing the wall. He didn't get a minute of sleep that night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Mike impaled on the tentacle of the Mind Flayer. That mental image caused Will to throw up three times. The only reason he wasn't throwing up right now was because he had nothing left to vomit up.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Will said, his voice cracking.

Will didn't see who it was, but he knew it was his Mom. "Hey, baby," Joyce said in a gentle voice. "How are you feeling?"

"Numb," Will muttered. "Angry. Sad. I think a bit of everything."

"Do you want to eat something?" Joyce asked.

"If I ate something, I'd probably just throw it back up," Will muttered.

"You need to get something in you," Joyce whispered. "How about some ginger ale?"

"Okay," Will said. Will listened as Joyce exited the room.

"How is he?" Will heard Jonathan ask.

"He's not doing well," Joyce answered. "How about El?"

"She's the same," Jonathan responded. "She's still trying to use her powers. No luck."

Stop being selfish, Will. You're not the only person who lost someone last night. Eleven lost her friend, her dad, and her powers. You should be with her, being a shoulder for her to cry on. What about the Hayes's extended family? They lost so much. There were more people in the shadow monster. People who had loved ones. Get over yourself.

Will flipped so he was face down on the pillow. No one else had to watch their loved ones die. They didn't have to watch the same monster that tormented them the year before.

The pillow became wet. "Why?" Will screamed and sobbed. "Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't it have been me again? We were supposed to be together and crazy forever. I wasn't ready to lose you."

The last time the party went to a funeral, it was Will's. That time, they had the benefit of knowing Will was still out there. Today was different. Today, there was no reprieve. Mike wasn't coming back.

Will couldn't even look at the casket. Will was grateful that the funeral was closed-casket. He couldn't bear to look at Mike's body again. He had seen the dead body of Mike Wheeler enough.

The preacher went on his usual funeral spiel. Ted and Karen Wheeler both gave eulogies. Will and the rest of the party were asked to give eulogies too, but they chose not to. Will was too scared to say something he'd regret on the stand.

After the funeral, Will stepped out of the church to be alone. Will sat on a bench. He was alone for about five minutes. "Hey," Lucas said. Will looked up, seeing Lucas, Erica, Max, Eleven, and Dustin in front of him. Will felt like a douchebag. For the last week, he was ignoring them. Will was too busy with his self-pity to be there for anyone else.

"Hey," Will responded. There was another moment of silence.

"Did you know Suzie was real?" Erica asked. "We heard her. Specifically, we heard her sing. She and Dustin gave us a duet."

"I didn't know about that part," Max chuckled.

"We got a full performance of Neverending Story," Erica explained.

"What do you say, Dustin?" Lucas asked. "Encore?"

"No," Dustin answered. "My voice is for Suzie and Suzie alone."

"Come on, Dusty Bun," Erica encouraged in a mocking tone.

"Turn around," Lucas sang. "Look at what you see."

"In your face, the mirror of her dreams," Max sang.

"Make believe I'm everywhere, hidden in the lines," Max and Lucas sang. Something in that line resonated with Will. Maybe Mike was everywhere but he couldn't see him. Maybe Mike was sitting beside him. Will wasn't a religious person. Jonathan and his mom weren't super religious either. However, after the last two years, he hoped that the afterlife could be a real possibility. "Written on the pages is the answer to a Never Ending Story!"

"Come on, Dustin," Lucas called.

"My baritone is for Suzie's ears only," Dustin refused.

"Your what?" Erica asked.

The group was laughing. This was the first time they had "laughed since that afternoon on the hill. "I'm sorry I haven't been around much," Will answered. "I know things have been hard for everyone, but I can't bring myself to leave my house."

"Will, we understand," Eleven said.

"I keep going to his house and expecting that I'll knock on the door and he'll open it," Lucas explained solemnly.

"Me too," Dustin responded.

Lucas got an idea. "I think everyone is going to get lunch together," Lucas said. If you guys aren't doing anything afterward, we should go to the arcade. You know, like old times."

"I would like that," Will said with a slight smile.

"Me too," Dustin responded.

"I gotta make sure I still have the high score on Dig Dug," Max declared.

"Hey, Erica," Dustin said. "You're free to join us."

"No thanks," Erica said. "I've had enough of your nerd squad for a lifetime."

"We're moving?" Jonathan asked.

Once Will and Eleven got home from the arcade, we received some disturbing news: the Byers, plus Eleven, were moving to California. "I've thought about it for a while," Joyce explained. "I think a fresh start is what we all need. I wouldn't be telling you if I hadn't put a lot of thought into this."

"Our lives are here," Will argued.

"I'm about to be a senior," Jonathan added.

"This town has too many painful memories to stay here," Joyce explained. "What happened with Hopper and Mike just solidified my decision. El and Will, you're about to start high school anyway. You'll be going to a new school anyway. Dr. Owens is going to make sure we're taken care of. It'll be an adjustment, but we've been through worse."

Will gathered the party in the Wheelers' basement. He didn't tell him why they were there. "What are we doing here?" Dustin asked.

"This is where everything began," Will said. "All of the Dungeons and Dragons campaigns we played down here. This is where I decided I wanted to say goodbye. By the end of summer, Mom is moving me, El, and Jonathan to Lenora Hills, California."

"You're joking, right?" Max asked. The tears in Will's eyes told her everything she needed to know.

"I wish," Will said.

"I can't believe we're going to lose another friend," Lucas sighed.

"You won't be losing us," Will reassured Lucas. "We'll write and visit. It's not goodbye forever. It's just goodbye for now. It's a new chapter."

Dustin began to cry. "Why is it so hard?" Dustin asked with a voice crack.

"Goodbyes are just always hard," Will answered. "Again, it's not a forever goodbye. I painted something. I want everyone to sign it."

Will unrolled a drawing be brought with him. It was the entire party as their Dungeons and Dragons characters. Mike was the paladin, Eleven was the sorcerer, Will was the warlock, Dustin was the artificer, Lucas was the ranger, and Max was the rogue. "I want you all to sign it," Will said. "I want to hang it up in my room."

Will signed his name with a black Sharpie. Eleven signed it next, but she wrote her name as Jane. Max went next, followed by Max, Lucas, and finally Dustin. "You will always be my favorite party," Will said.

"Will," Nancy called. She rushed downstairs. "We were going through some of Mike's things. I think he'd want you to have this."

Nancy handed him an old arm cast that Will immediately recognized. "This is from when Mike broke his arm when he turned nine," Will explained. "He let me draw all over it. I can't believe he kept it."

"He never threw away anything you drew for him," Nancy promised. "He has an entire binder full of your artwork."

Will cried into his hand. The entire party, plus Nancy, hugged him. "Do you know when you're leaving?" Dustin asked.

"The first week of August," Will cried.

"That gives us three weeks," Dustin said. "Let's make these the best three weeks ever. Let's give you two one last extravaganza."

"I would like that," Will responded. "One last hurrah."

"Let's start with a bicycle ride," Dustin said.

"El can ride on the back of mine," Max volunteered. "Or you can finally learn how to drive one."

"No thank you," Eleven laughed. Will smiled faintly. We're not okay now, but we're getting closer.

Lyrics: Never Ending Story - Limahi