-8-

"What?" Kali pulled back in surprise, gazing into Jane's brown eyes, wondering if she'd misheard.

"I don't want you involved," Jane repeated.

Kali was outraged. "So you don't want me around? After everything we've said…-."

"I do want you around! Don't twist my words!"

"Then why?" Kali suddenly sneered. "You want them around, right?" It was clear the 'them' was directed towards the others.

Jane glared back at her, looking distinctly unimpressed. "Can I explain, please?"

Kali pulled away and folded her arms, looking every bit the hurt and petulant child.

"Okay, I should have worded what I was saying better, but I do want you around, Kali. I always did," Jane's eyes shone with tears, her chest rising with emotion. "Creel is doing all of this because of my mistakes. Hawkins is falling to pieces, and he will tear everything and everyone apart, because of the mistakes me and Brenner made, so yes, I want to keep you safe. I've already exposed myself to everyone, I don't want you to be hunted down, too!"

Kali's anger faded, and she suddenly began understanding her sister's motives. "Jane…, what happened with Creel was not your fault."

"So my aunt tells me," Jane replied. "Yeah, I spoke to my aunt in the Void."

Kali smiled back a little uneasily, remembering enough of Jane's story from when they'd met for the first time in years. She had told her about reuniting with what was left of her mother, reading her mind and meeting her aunt. But she also remembered hearing how Becky Ives had tried to reveal Jane's presence.

It was only blind luck she had overheard. If she hadn't then they wouldn't have met again.

But Kali remembered something more about that meeting, her worries about her sister's mental health and her seeming lack of memories. She had been so startled by Jane's lack of memory she had worried if they would return to her.

"Your aunt told you not to blame yourself?" Kali asked while everyone watched, deciding to give the two girls their moment.

"Yeah."

"She's right, Jane," Kali said. "Creel would have found someone else. He only chose you because of your strength. It's really not your fault."

"But Kali-," Jane began to argue.

But Kali wasn't having it. "No buts," she glared angrily at Jane, suddenly tired of this blame game. "It was not your fault, and you are not to blame. If anyone's to blame, then it's Brenner. He's the one who took Creel in, and he kept him alive for so long for whatever reason when he knew he was not stable. And besides, who knows what would have happened if you guys hadn't had that fight in the Rainbow Room?"

Jane couldn't help but shudder at the reminder of that fight. It was one of the scariest things she had ever gone through, and now she remembered the details of it all she was just glad she had survived and come out of it alive.

She was about to open her mouth…but then she closed her mouth again, realising that her aunt and Kali were both right. It wasn't her fault. No, it was Brenner's fault. He had seen how dangerous Creel was, but he had allowed him to stay at the Lab; her best guess was Brenner had hoped he would recover, and be the program, but it hadn't worked like that.

Creel could have done any number of things; he could have found a way to remove the chip in his neck which stopped him from using his powers by himself and he would have slaughtered his way out, he could have found a way to persuade Brenner to let him go but that was doubtful since he might and had likely been trying that for years since the chip was put in, and more likely, Creel would and could have found someone like her and manipulate them in the same way.

Kali and Aunt Becky…they were both right.

Jane was about to say something when she heard something odd that caught her attention; the radio, which had been on in the background all this time, had announced; "….news has just come in from Lenora, of kidnapped students from Lenora Hills High School. Angela Starling, Jake Peters, Chad Biller, Stacy Meadows. According to eyewitnesses to the kidnapping of Stacy and Jake, a red hole appeared and the creature now known as Vecna or Henry Creel, appeared. He used his powers to stun onlookers, in the case of Stacy her parents and siblings, and then took them through the rip which then closed behind them."

"What?" Jane hadn't realised she had even said anything, and it took her a moment to realise she had leapt to her feet.

"According to reports, this group bullied and harassed the girl now known as Jane Hopper, aka Eleven," the newsreader said gravely, "so why did Vecna take the trouble to kidnap them in the first place? Are they meant to be bait? A test?"

Jane jerked her head, and the radio turned off, bewildered about what she'd just heard. "What was all that about?" She asked.

"Why would he kidnap Angela?" Mike asked.

"Vecna raped my mind," Jane said, "He'd know how I felt about her, so why? What's the point?"

"Maybe he plans to use them somehow?" Axel speculated.

"But how? When I smashed that skate in her face, I was so tempted to do it again and again until her skull split open- that's it," Jane gasped as she realised what Vecna was trying to do. "He wants me to kill them."

"What?" Kali leaned forward.

"He wants me to kill them. I think Vecna wants to do something which would make me kill them," Jane shook her head as she tried to run through Vecna's plans in her mind. It was exactly the sort of thing he would do, but it worried her about how he planned to do it. "If I raped his mind, and he raped mine, he'd know how I'd feel about them," she shook her head in disgust as she remembered what Angela did to her, all the bullying until that night at the rink o mania.

"I could have killed her," she confessed as she remembered. "With or without my powers, I was so tempted to beat her to death with that skate in my hand…but I didn't. He's going to find a way to control my mind, and I don't know if I can stop him." Suddenly she groaned out loud.

"What is it?"

"E-Jane?" Hopper was quiet as he took in what his adoptive daughter was saying. He was horrified, yes, but he knew how it felt to be tempted to murder. He knew Jane was more than capable of killing, but she wasn't one of those senseless psychos he'd dealt with in the past. She always went for those who hurt her, and Angela was not like a Demogorgon or worse.

"I've just had a nasty thought. What if what I saw in the void was not my mother, or Max, or Barb, or the others he's murdered?" A hollow look of pain was spreading over Jane's face that broke hearts, "What if it was just Vecna, and he'd found a way to disguise himself?"

Everyone took a moment to absorb that, and they exchanged horrified looks. Kali and her gang knew little of Vecna, but the ones in Hawkins, especially Dustin, Steve, Robin, Lucas, and Nancy, did. It would be just like him to find a way to manipulate Jane like that.

"But it might be!" Nancy pointed out.

"I know that Nancy, believe me," Jane said, shaking her head. "I'll just have to risk it." She closed her eyes. "I'm going to have to get back into the bath to be sure."

"But you've just come out!" Holly protested.

Jane smiled at the little girl. "I'm sorry, Holly, but it's the best way to use telepathy," she said.