EMTs arrived just in time to save Angela's life. They put pressure on her wound and asked her questions to make sure she didn't suffer amnesia.
Mike, Elle, and Elvis stood in the crowd, still shocked about what happened.
Will sat at a booth nearby. He had his head down on the table. He was covering his face to muffle his cries. He hated Angela so much. He wanted to do what he did for so long now. But now that he did it, he realized he messed up badly.
"Hey, are you okay?" he heard a familiar voice ask.
He moved his head up and saw Jonathan there. Will hugged Jonathan and continued to cry.
Everyone left the rink and got in the car. Argyle drove everyone back to the Byers'.
"I know this may be, like, upsetting and shit," said Argyle. "But that bitch is gonna be fine. It was just rubber wheels."
"Plastic," Jonathan corrected. "Soft plastic."
"Yeah, but do you ever wonder why the wheels aren't wood or metal? So people don't get hurt when they get shmacked. It happens more than you think, man. Roller-skate attacks."
"At least it wasn't an ice skate."
"That nose would've been sliced clean off, man. It could've been so much worse."
"Yeah, it's just a tiny blip."
Jonathan and Argyle started singing "blip" over and over in the rhythm of circus music.
"Both of you, SHUT UP!" Will snapped.
That shut both of them up. They continued driving to the house in silence.
When they got back to the house, they walked inside to see the house empty.
"Mom?" Jonathan called out.
No answer.
When they got to the kitchen, they saw a figure in the kitchen. When he turned around, he revealed himself to be Murray.
"Hey, Murray," Jonathan greeted.
"Hey," said Murray. "You like risotto?"
Everyone gathered at the dinner table to eat the risotto.
"There I was, headed down to the I-5," Murray explained. "I was going to visit a client in Ventura, I was looking for a motel to stay for the night, and suddenly, BAM! It hit me. Didn't the Byers move here? I thought, 'Hey, you know what? Why don't I drop in and say hello?'"
"You should stay," said Joyce.
"I would, but you have that…"
"Right, the business trip."
"What business trip?" asked Elvis.
"I almost forgot," Joyce replied. "This thing came up at work at the last minute. I have to go to a conference tomorrow in Alaska. That's where their base is, the Brittanicas. Joan and Brian Brittanica. This means, Jonathan, that you'll have to take charge while I'm gone."
"What's going on?" Jonathan asked, having not been listening.
"Your mom's going to Alaska," Argyle whispered in his ear.
"Jonathan, what is wrong with you?" asked Joyce.
"Stressful day," Argyle replied. "A girl got shmacked in the head with a roller-skate. One of those vicious skate attacks. It wasn't an ice skate, though. It was a plastic skate. Or rubber. I'm not sure. She'll be fine."
"She didn't look fine," Mike retorted.
Will couldn't take the reminder of his mistake anymore. He got up without finishing his food and stomped upstairs.
"Will, where are you going?" Joyce called. "You haven't even finished your dinner."
"I'm not hungry anymore!" Will replied.
By the time he was done speaking, he was already upstairs.
"I sense tension," said Murray. "Does everyone hate the risotto?"
"Absolutely not," Jonathan assured. "It's incredible."
"This is shmacking," Argyle added.
"I have no idea what that means," Murray remarked.
Elle also couldn't get her mind off of the events at the rink. Ever since Mike asked, "What did you do?" Elle couldn't think back to some very vague visuals.
The Rainbow Room.
Kids left and right with snapped bones, no eyes, and no fluids.
Two survivors. Herself and her brother.
"What have you done?"
Stranger Things 4
Chapter 3
The Monster and The Superhero
Eddie woke up in the shed with a start. He was still getting used to his new living environment. He went to the window and watched for anyone wanting to hunt him down.
That's when the door burst open. Eddie grabbed a nearby wrench, ready to fight back.
Thankfully, it was just Dustin and his buddies.
"Special delivery," Dustin smiled.
As Eddie ate the food provided for him, Dustin spoke to him.
"We got good news and bad news," said Dustin. "What do you want first?"
"Bad news, like always," Eddie replied.
"We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro. They're definitely looking for you. They're totally convinced you killed Chrissy. Thankfully, your name hasn't gone public yet. But if we found out about you, it's only a matter of time before others do. Once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother will be gunning for you. Before that happens, we need to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence."
"Is that all, Dustin?"
"Yeah."
"Listen," Barb said. "I know what Dustin's saying sounds totally delusional, but we've been through this before. We got this."
"We usually rely on these super-powered twins," Robin added. "But they both moved out of state."
"Even then," Steve continued. "One of them lost their powers, and the other one has a very useless power."
"So we're technically in the brainstorming phase," Max finished.
"There's nothing to worry about," Dustin assured.
Eddie made a look signifying he didn't believe any of them.
That's when they all heard a siren. Everyone quickly covered Eddie in a tarp.
Everyone else went to the window and saw emergency vehicles driving right past their location.
Police arrived at the scene where Fred was murdered.
"Did you see who did this?" Powell asked Nancy.
"No," Nancy lied. "When I last saw him, I told him to stay at the picnic tables while I talked to Wayne. When I looked back, he was gone. I searched for him and found him like this. Have you heard of Victor Creel?"
"You mean that old nut? He's locked away tight. You don't need to worry about him. Now, you said he was by the picnic tables, right?"
It took a while for Nancy to answer. She saw Barb, Robin, Steve, Dustin, and Max pull up. She waved at them before simply nodding at the chief.
Back at the Byers', Mike, Elle, and Elvis were eating their breakfast. Will wasn't there to eat his breakfast.
Jonathan was looking over things for the kids to do over break.
"They're showing Police Academy 3 at 4:00," he suggested. "That could be fun."
"We might just stay home today," Elvis replied.
"What's this? Are you just gonna mope around all day?"
"No one's moping. The movie's supposed to suck."
Elvis then realized that Will wasn't likely to come down. He wasn't gonna let his crush starve. He grabbed the plate of pancakes and walked upstairs.
Mike turned to Elle. The events at the rink were still on his mind.
"I don't understand," he said. "Why didn't you tell me about Angela? I mean, you know I'm not Mister Popular at home. I've been bullied my entire life. You've seen it. I understand what you're going through."
"No, you don't," Elle retorted.
"What don't I understand?"
"I am different. I do not belong."
"You mean in Lenora?"
"Anywhere."
"You can't actually believe that."
"Everyone looks at me like I'm a nobody. Even you."
"What do you mean? I love you, Elle. I love you so much."
"Love. That's the first time you said that in so long. Why now?"
Elle showed Mike all the letters he sent. They all said, "From, Mike."
"You're being ridiculous, Eleven!" Mike shouted. "What is this? You know how I feel about you. You're the most incredible person in the world. You can't let these mouth-breathers ruin you. Ruin us. They're nobody. You're a superhero."
"Not anymore," Elle retorted.
They're argument was interrupted when they heard a knock on the door. Jonathan went to answer. Two cops were standing right there.
"Does William Byers live here?" the first one asked.
"Yeah," Jonathan replied. "What's this all about?"
"Is his mom or dad home?" asked the second.
"No, mom's out of town," Jonathan answered. "I'm his older brother. I'm sorry, what's this about?"
"You may or may not be aware of an incident involving Will at the Rink-O-Mania."
Will and Elvis came downstairs and heard the conversation.
"That was an accident," Elvis defended.
"A warrant here says otherwise," the second cop retorted.
"That's crazy, this doesn't need to happen," said Jonathan.
That's when the cops saw Will.
"Hey there," said the first. "Are you Will Byers?"
Will nodded, not knowing what he was getting himself into.
The cops grabbed Will and cuffed him.
"You're under arrest for assaulting a young girl," the second one said. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you."
The cops led Will to their car.
"Can you please tell us where you're taking him?" asked Jonathan.
"Are the cuffs really necessary?" Elvis asked. "Officers, answer me!"
The cops ignored Elvis. They forced Will into the car.
"Will, listen to me," Mike told him. "Everything's gonna be fine. We'll fix this. Just stay calm. We'll get you out of here, I promise."
With that, the cops drove away.
"Has Joyce's flight left yet?" asked Elvis.
Jonathan ran inside to call Joyce.
Joyce and Murray were already on the plane to Alaska. The seatbelt sign was on, signifying they were about to take off.
"Do you think I should've told them the truth?" Joyce asked.
"Tell who what?" asked Murray.
"The kids, about Hopper. It felt so wrong to lie to them like that."
"Right. Well, I'm not an expert in parenting, but for what it's worth, I think you did the right thing. Your children, bless their mischievous souls, they like to get involved. This way, what? They play nintendo, eat junk food, smoke ganja, pound beers, experiment sexually. What's the worst that can happen?"
A flight attendant approached Joyce.
"Excuse me, maam," she said. "You're gonna have to put your seatbelt on."
Joyce buckled up.
"Like this will save me if we crash," she muttered to herself.
Back in Hawkins, Nancy was just filled in about everything.
"So this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy," Nancy processed. "It's from the Upside-Down?"
"If the shoe fits," Steve replied.
"Our working theory is that he attacks with a spell or curse," Dustin added. "Whether he's doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer or just loves killing teens, we don't know. All we know is this is something different, something new."
"It doesn't make sense." said Nancy.
"It's just a theory."
"No, Fred and Chrissy don't make sense. Why them?"
"Maybe they were in the wrong place. They were both at the game, and near the trailer park."
"Hold on, Fred was acting differently when we got here. He was scared, on edge, upset."
"Max said Chrissy was upset too."
"But not here," Max replied. "She was crying in the bathroom."
"Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike," said Robin. "Maybe they saw this, Vecna…"
"I don't know about you," said Steve. "But if I saw a weird wizard monster, I'd report it too."
"Maybe they did," Max suggested. "I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelley's office. If you saw a monster, you wouldn't go to the police. They wouldn't believe you. You'd go to your shrink."
Everyone walked to Steve's car. Well, everyone except Nancy.
"Nance, where're you going?" asked Steve.
"There's something I want to check on first," Nancy replied. "It's a shot in the dark. I don't wanna waste your time with it."
"You're seriously flying solo with this Vecna on the loose? You're out of your mind. It's too dangerous." Steve turned to the others and tossed his car keys to Robin. "I'll stick with Nance. Take the car, check out the shrink."
"You don't want me driving the car," Robin replied. "I don't have my driver's license."
"I could drive," Max suggested.
"NO!" everyone shouted.
"I have a license," said Barb. "I can drive. I just got it last week."
"Why didn't you say so before?" asked Robin.
"I wanted to surprise you by driving up to your house."
"Alright, it's settled," said Dustin. "Steve and Nancy will do their thing, the rest of us will check out the shrink. Good luck, you two."
With that, Nancy and Steve walked away, while everyone else got in the car and drove the opposite way.
Meanwhile, Jason and his basketball mates were driving in search of Eddie.
One of those teammates, Patrick, felt a huge headache. It was worse than the others.
"Patrick, your nose is bleeding," said the other teammate, Andy.
Patrick wiped his nose, It was, indeed, bleeding.
Jason drove over to a house. He saw some members of Eddie's club playing music. The jocks got out of the car and approached the band.
"What do we have here?" asked Jason.
"You're early," said one of the bandmates. "Show's not until next week."
"We're not here for the show. We're looking for Eddie. He's in this band, right?"
"Well, he's not here."
Jason wasn't gonna accept that as an answer. He grabbed the drummer and punched him in the face. The other jocks grabbed the other bandmates before they could attack Jason.
"WHERE IS HE?" Jason yelled, grabbing the drummer by the throat.
"Dustin, Dustin Henderson," the drummer replied. "I heard he was looking for Eddie. He might've found him."
Jason let go. "See, that wasn't hard, was it?"
Mike, Elle, Elvis, and Jonathan made it to the police station. They went to the receptionist and asked if they could see Will.
"He's currently being processed," the receptionist replied.
"What does that mean?" asked Jonathan.
"It means once he's put in the system, he'll be transferred to juvenile hall."
"So you're putting him in jail?" Elvis yelled.
"A detention hall for juveniles," the receptionist corrected.
"Look, is there any chance we can see him?" asked Jonathan.
"Are you a parent or guardian?"
"I'm his biological brother." Jonathan pointed at Elle and Elvis. "Those two are his adopted siblings. Bottom line, we're his family."
"That's not enough. You need to be a parent or legal guardian. It's the law, and you're not gonna change it complaining to me. You want to see Will, find your mother."
Everyone walked out of the station.
"This is such bullshit," Elvis complained. "That woman wasn't even trying to help."
Mike saw the vehicle Will was in. He tried running after it, but it was too fast. Mike fell to his knees and cried.
Why is it always Will? he thought to himself.
Nancy and Steve walked over to the public library. Nancy just explained her theory to her boyfriend.
"Let me get this straight," said Steve. "Eddie's uncle thinks that Victor Creel escaped Pennhurst and he's the one committing all these murders, but Victor committed the eyeball murders back in the fifties?"
"Fifty-nine," Nancy corrected. "But yes."
"So that means these murders predate Eleven, Twelve, and the Upside-Down by thirty years?"
"Yeah. It doesn't make sense, I know. That's why I said it was a shot in the dark."
"When you said that, I thought you were being modest or hiding something super solid up your sleeve, but this was a true shot in the dark. We're like snipers wearing blindfolds after being spun around fifty times."
Nancy dung the bell to call the library. It took a while for the librarian to arrive.
"Can we get the keys to the basement archives?" asked Nancy.
"Sure thing," the librarian replied. "One sec."
It only took a second. The librarian gave Nancy the keys. She and Steve headed to the basement.
Max reached the counselor's house and rang the doorbell. Ms. Kelley answered.
"Hi," she said. "I'm sorry to bother you over break, but do you have a minute?"
"Yeah, of course," Ms. Kelley replied as she led Max inside.
Ms. Kelley found Max a chair. She sat down and spoke up.
"It's just, with everything that's happening," Max explained. "It's making everything worse again."
"It's your trauma, Max," Ms. Kelley explained. "The way you bottle up your feelings and pain, it doesn't take much to trigger them again, so when it rains, it storms."
"I know."
"Do you think you're ready to talk more about that night?"
The memory of Billy's death played in her head again. She took some deep breaths and calmed down.
"I live next door to where it happened," she said, referring to the other night. "Where Chrissy was murdered. The cops asked me some questions. Did they talk to you? I know you were seeing Chrissy."
"You know I can't talk about my other clients," Ms. Kelley replied.
"Yeah, but what if there's a serial killer on the loose in my neighborhood? Did Chrissy mention anything about this?"
"I can't talk about this. You wouldn't want me telling other students about you, right?"
"If I were dead, and it'd help catch the killer, then yeah, I definitely would."
"Then let's leave that up to the police."
"Right. The police have this under control. Hey, can I use the bathroom?"
"Sure. It's upstairs to your right."
Max walked upstairs. She saw some keys in a glass bowl. She found the keys to Ms. Kelley's office.
She ran out of the house. She got in the car.
"What'd she say?" asked Barb.
"Nothing, just drive!" Max shouted.
Lucas returned to his house after a long walk. He grabbed his walkie and called Dustin.
"Dustin, do you copy?" Lucas asked.
After a few seconds, Dustin answered. "Lucas, where have you been?"
"Are you looking for Eddie?"
"Yeah, we found him, no thanks to you. He's at a boathouse near Lover's Lake. He's safe."
"Has he said anything about Chrissy?"
"Lucas, you're so behind it's ridiculous," came Max's voice. "Just meet us at school. We'll explain later."
Will looked out the small window and saw he was on a highway in the middle of the desert.
How far is this juvenile hall? he thought to himself.
That's when he saw some cars following them. These cars surrounded the car he was in. She saw a woman in purple clothing talking to the driver.
"Are you transporting a Will Byers?" she asked.
"Yes," the driver replied.
The woman showed him a badge. "I'll take him off your hands."
Will saw the driver come out and unlock the back door. He quickly swung the door open, knocking out the driver. He then tried to escape whatever bad men wanted him. They grabbed him before he could run that far. He struggled to free himself. He stopped when he saw a familiar man in front of him. Doctor Sam Owens.
"Hey kiddo," he greeted.
The plane landed in Alaska. Joyce woke up Murray. They got their stuff and got off the plane.
Murray was surprised by all the snow. "This is Spring?"
Back at the library, Nancy and Steve were looking through news articles about Creel. All they were told was that Victor was charged for killing his family, took a plea bargain, and was locked up in Pennhurst.
"Did you find anything?" Steve asked. "Any mention of dark wizards or alternate dimensions?"
"I don't know," Nancy replied. "I had a feeling this would be a dead end, and that you'd get bored. Why don't you call Barb? She'll come pick you up. And I mean, I'm not really in danger here, so…"
Nancy walked off to find another newspaper. Steve followed her.
"Just so you know, I'm not bored," Steve assured. "And I don't think this is a dead end." Steve then found a certain paper. "The Weekly Watcher. These guys write about UFOs and bigfoot and other supernatural things. Maybe this will provide an answer."
The boyfriend and girlfriend ran over to the microfilm. After a bit of searching, they found it.
Victor Creel Claims Vengeful Demon Killed Family
The Murder that Shocked a Small Community
"According to several insiders, Victor believed his house was haunted by an ancient demon. Victor allegedly hired a priest to exorcize the demon from his home.
"Pretty novel for the fifties," Steve remarked. "The Exorcist wasn't even out yet."
"Keep going," Nancy requested.
"Victor claimed his exorcism failed but it angered the demon which then murdered the family by gouging their eyes. Victor believed he was spared as a punishment."
"That's super convenient," Nancy remarked.
"Or inconvenient," Steve added. "Victor was declared legally insane by the court, right? What if this is why? It sounds insane, it just didn't go public."
"The plea bargain. The records were sealed."
"What if a demon did invade Victor's home? It's just this demon wasn't just any demon."
"It was Vecna."
Nancy and Steve ran out of the library.
"Dustin, do you copy?" Steve called on his walkie.
"I copy," Dustin replied.
"Well, Nancy's a genius. Vecna's first victims date back to 1959. Her shot in the dark was a bullseye."
"Okay, that's totally bonkers, but I can't really talk right now."
"What are you doing?"
"Breaking into a school to get some confidential and extremely personal files."
"Can you repeat that?"
"Just get your ass over here, stat. We'll explain everything."
"I thought they were talking to Ms. Kelley," Nancy remarked.
"We leave them alone for two hours," Steve sighed.
With the stolen keys, Max made it into the counselor's office. She searched for Chrissy's file. She found it and another.
"Holy shit," she said. "Not only was Chrissy seeing Ms. Kelley, but Fred was too."
Owens and his agents led Will to the nearest cafe.
"Sorry about the theatrics," Owens apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you. But you got yourself into quite the predicament. I relocated you to Lenora because I thought, 'Safe town, small, dull, far from Hawkins. Nothing could happen here.' And what was it, a roller skate or something?"
"Am I in trouble?" asked Will.
"For the roller skate thing? No, no, no. We'll make it go away."
"That's not why you're here?"
"To be honest, I wish it was. Last night, I saw something. Something I've been dreading for some time. Hawkins is in danger. You have been taken by this evil before, and you always come back. But this evil is like a virus. No matter how many times you defeat it, it comes back stronger, smarter, deadlier. A war is coming to Hawkins. There are good people, brave friends, who have saved you in the past. But they alone can't win this war. Not without you. I know it's not fair to ask more of you, but I wouldn't be here if I didn't think this was the only way, if I didn't think you were the only one who might have a shot to hit this thing so hard it can't get back up."
"I don't have powers."
"But it does. It all lines up. Why you've been captured, possessed, almost sacrificed. This thing wants you because it sees you as a bigger threat than anyone else. I feared this moment would come, so I've been preparing, developing the means to help you control your abilities. A program that has the potential to make you stronger than before. I think you're the cure. If we're gonna do this, I'm gonna ask that you leave with me now. But you should know there's a big possibility that this program fails. If it does, you'll never see your friends again."
"My friends in Hawkins, are they in danger?"
"I'm afraid your friends in Hawkins are very much in the eye of the storm. You may feel the need to go to them now, but if you do, you will risk everything, everyone."
Max read through the files. Both Chrissy and Fred seemed to have headaches and nosebleeds.
Max thought back to the week before. She gained a headache, and some blood dripped out of her nose. She remembered what Ms. Kelley said.
"Max, what you've been through, it's a lot for anyone. And it's okay to not be okay."
"Max," she heard a deep voice call out.
Max followed the voice. She heard ticking and chiming. It got louder the farther down the hall she went.
After a while, she found the source. A Grandfather's Clock nailed to the wall. It ticked and chimed.
"Max," she heard the voice again.
"They're not the only ones in danger," Owens said. "It's life as we know it. This is why I'm here. Because I believe you're our best hope. Our only hope."
"What if I'm not good?" asked Will. "What if I'm the monster?"
"I don't know you that well, kiddo, but I'm betting the fate of the planet that you're one of the good ones. But I know you've spent most of your life being told what to do by people like me. I know that. So you say the word and I'll take you home, or come with me now, and find out for yourself."
Mike, Elle, Elvis, and Jonathan waited for any news about Will. They saw some cars pull up. They ran outside. Some people approached them. None of them were Will.
Will made his choice. He went with Owens. He was gonna try and save the world.
A.N.
This took me a bit longer to write than expected.
The biggest struggle I had was the debate over who should go with Nancy to the library.
1. I could stick with canon and have Robin go, so they can form a platonic bond.
2. I could have Barb go, because they're childhood besties and it's been a while since they had an adventure together.
3. I could have Steve go, because it's been a while since they went on an adventure where it's just them, no Jonathan. I was leaning towards Steve.
In the end, I decided my readers should have the final say. As of now, I have no results. Since I've been leaning towards Steve, I'm going with that. I'm still gonna keep the poll up for another week. If Barb or Robin get more votes, I'm gonna edit this chapter accordingly.
When I first watched the fourth season, I didn't notice the hints that Nancy and Steve were regaining feelings for each other. I didn't really learn that until I saw a youtube video or something. Upon rewatching now, I kinda feel stupid for not noticing that. Well, that little love drama is gonna be adapted out because Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan are in a poly ship in this universe. Those three are all endgame.
And there's the biggest twist I bet you weren't expecting. Eleven is not the hero of this story. Will is. I mean, it makes sense. Why else would the demogorgon capture Will in season 1, or the Mind Flayer possess Will in season 2, and in this fanfic's case, try to sacrifice him in Season 3? What better explanation than Will having powers, and he's much stronger than Elle, thus causing Vecna to view him as the bigger threat?
Besides, having Elle get her powers back was kinda stupid anyway. Why even lose her powers if she's just gonna get them back by the end of the next season? It's just like Hopper cheating death. It makes the events of Season 3 feel pointless and inconsequential.
Also, the show portrayed Mike and Elle's conflict this season as something super serious. Well, I'm not gonna do that. Since Elle isn't being taken by the lab, her and Mike's conflict will be resolved much sooner. Stay tuned.
With that, thanks for reading. Please favorite, follow, and review.