They trudged through the dense woods, the crunch of leaves and the occasional snap of a twig breaking the otherwise still morning. Dustin led the way, his eyes fixed on a worn map in his hands.

"Dude, I'm telling you, you're taking us the wrong way," Steve argued, glancing back at Dove.

Dustin stopped, frowning. "It'snorth," he insisted, exasperated. " I'm positive. I checked the map."

Dove took a deep breath, taking in the familiar stretch of trees and the slight incline of the hill. "Dustin, Steve's right," she said, pointing to her left. "We need to go that way."

Dustin let out an impatient sigh, clearly annoyed. "And how do youknow that?" He looked between them, suspicion in his eyes.

Dove and Steve exchanged a quick look, each silently daring the other to answer. Robin's voice piped up from behind, breaking the tension.

"Oh, come on, Henderson. Do you really not know?" Robin's smirk was audible. "Skull Rock is likethemake-out spot."

Dustin froze, his face morphing from disbelief to amused horror. "Oh.." he started, looking accusingly between them, his face suddenly twisting in disgust. "Oh, ew."

Dove rolled her eyes,turning and starting to walk in the direction they needed to go, her steps confident as she moved through the underbrush. Dustin shook his head, clearly scandalized, but fell in line, allowing Dove and Steve to take the lead as they pressed on toward Skull Rock, the forest growing denser around them.

They pushed through the last of the bushes and found themselves at the base of Skull Rock, the jagged, familiar shape looming above them. "Oh, boom!" Steve laughed, turning around with a wide grin. "There she is, Henderson. Skull Rock. In your face, man. In your stupid, cocky little face."

Dustin looked around, bewildered, brows furrowing. "This.. this doesn't make sense."

Dove raised an eyebrow, smirking as she crossed her arms. "Guess this just proves that real-world experience will always beat just reading about it."

Dustin held up a hand, shaking his head. "Dove, I do not want to talk about your 'real-world experience' right now."

Steve couldn't help but chuckle, nudging Dustin's shoulder. "Even with it staring you right in the face, you can't admit it, huh? Can't admit you're wrong, you little butthead."

Dove turned to Steve. "Seriously, name calling?"

Eddie suddenly dropped down from above, landing with a thud and making Dove jump. He flashed a grin, brushing his wild hair back from his face. "Got to side with Harrington on this one, Dove—kid's a total butthead."

Dove's surprise melted into relief, and before Eddie could react, she pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're okay," she murmured, squeezing him a little harder. When she finally pulled away, she scrunched up her nose, giving him a playful look. "You reek like pond water."

Eddie shrugged, smirking as he leaned back against Skull Rock. "It's the new cologne, actually. Eau de Lovers Lake."

Dustin approached him next, quickly hugging him. "Jesus, we thought you were a goner."

"Yeah, me too, man" Eddie replied, his voice softening. "Me too."

"Eddie," Dove started, not sure how to breach the topic, "what the hell happened?"

Eddie sighed, stumbling back to sit on a rock, his hands shaking slightly as he took a deep breath. He began, his voice low and a little rough. He explained how Jason and his group had showed up, how he'd barely managed to make it to the boat. How Jason and Patrick had swum after him, desperate and relentless, and how Patrick had been killed in mid-air, just like Chrissy. "When I got to shore, I tried calling you guys, but.." He accepted a canteen from Dustin and took a long sip. "My walkie was busted, man. Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently. I ran." He let out a humorless laugh, his eyes dim.

"Do you know what time this was?" Nancy asked. "The attack?"

"Yeah," Eddie replied, fiddling with the watch on his wrist. "I know exactly what time it was. My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked." He ripped the watch off and tossed it to Nancy.

She examined it, reading the time out loud. "9:27."

Robin's gaze shot to the rest of the group. "Same time our flashlights went kablooey."

Steve, still processing, frowned. "Which means what, exactly?"

Nancy turned back, her voice steady. "That that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick."

Robin sighed, crossing her arms. "Well, we're one step closer. We know how Vecna attacks and where he attacks from."

"Actually.. two steps closer," Dove said, her voice hesitant. All eyes fell on her, and she took a deep breath, crossing her arms tightly as if she could make herself invisible. "I, uh.. I think I know why he's attacking. And possibly a pool of potential victims." Dove swallowed, feeling her heart race as everyone's attention stayed on her. She took a shaky breath, her eyes flicking between her friends, and finally let the words spill out. "Vecna.. he's been in my head," she began, her voice low but steady. "I've been having visions for months." She glanced down, her fingers fidgeting with the bracelet on her wrist. "And he's been.. talking to me."

Robin's eyes widened, her usual humor replaced with sharp concern. "Talking to you? Like, directly?"

Dove nodded, looking down as if the words themselves might break her resolve. "He said.. he said he wants me to be his vessel." She paused, feeling the weight of the confession settle in the space between them. "He says it's my only choice if I want to keep everyone safe."

Nancy's brow furrowed, processing the weight of Dove's words. "So, he's.. threatening your friends? Using us against you?"

"Yes," Dove replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "He told me that if I keep saying no, then.." She trailed off, fighting against the bile rising in her throat. "Then everyone I care about will keep getting hurt. He made it sound like.." She swallowed hard, glancing over at Eddie and then Steve. "Like every time he hurts someone, it's my fault." Dove gave a hollow laugh, her voice barely masking the tremor in it. "He's persistent, I'll give him that." Her eyes moved around the circle, lingering on each of her friends. "But I'm not giving in. I told him I'd never do what he wants."

Steve reached out, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Dustin, looking down at his shoes, finally spoke up. "So.. what do we do now? I mean, if he's targeting you and Max, and we're running out of time.. what's our next move?"

Dove looked around at the group, a fire igniting in her eyes despite the fear she felt deep down. "We're going to fight him. We'll use his need for me against him, sneak into his lair, and drive a stake through his heart."

"If he even has a heart," Robin quipped, crossing her arms and tilting her head skeptically.

"A stake?" Steve raised an eyebrow, his head cocked. "Is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?"

Dove shot him a look. "It was a metaphor."

Eddie raised a hand. "But like, a bullet would work on him, right?"

Lucas shrugged, his eyes narrowing. "I say we chop his head off."

Nancy cut in, her voice steady. "I'd say all of the above, but we can't do any of that until we find a way into the Upside Down."

"We need El to get her powers back," Max added.

"Everything was way easier then." Steve nodded, crossing his arms as he looked at the ground. "We had this girl. She had superpowers."

"Superpowers." Eddie interrupted. "Yeah, you mentioned her." His gaze flicked past Nancy, catching on Dustin, who was now pacing back and forth. "Uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?"

Dustin paused mid-pace, staring off into the distance, brow furrowed in a way that hinted he was barely listening.

"Cursed?" Steve scoffed, his eyes darting between Eddie and Dustin. "No, no. He's fine. Mental? Absolutely."

Suddenly, Dustin broke from his trance, whipping around to face them with a triumphant expression. "Boom!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Steve. "Bada. Bada. Boom. I was right. Skull Rock was north!"

Steve rolled his eyes, exasperation flickering in his expression. "Seriously? You're serious?" Dustin nodded and Steve gestured wildly toward the large, jagged rock behind him. "This is Skull Rock, okay?" Dustin nodded again, a smirk growing on his face, which only added to Steve's frustration. "You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now."

"Yes." Dustin agreed, his smirk steady. "And no."

"Oh my god," Steve muttered, throwing his hands up as if surrendering to the absurdity.

Dove sighed, crossing her arms, her gaze unwavering as she leveled it at her brother. "Get to your point, Dustin."

With a triumphant grin, Dustin held up his compass, the needle spinning slightly off-center. "This was working perfectly when we left the house this morning," he explained, his voice gaining intensity. "It was correct when we got in the car on Kerley. But it started to slip the further east we went. Now it's way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was."

Steve raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, gesturing dismissively. "So you're using faulty equipment. You're still wrong."

"Except it's not faulty," Dustin shot back, holding up a finger. He turned to Lucas, anticipation in his eyes. "Lucas, do you remember what can affect a compass?"

Realization dawned on Lucas, his eyes widening as he answered, "An electromagnetic field."

"Yep." Dustin nodded, spinning back to face the rest of them with a smug grin.

Robin crossed her arms. "I'm sorry. I must've skipped that class."

Dustin sighed, his excitement undeterred. "In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect toward that power." He pointed into the distance with a dramatic flourish. "So either there's some super big magnet around here, or.."

"There's a gate," Lucas finished, the words leaving his mouth with a newfound urgency.

Dustin's grin widened as he pointed back at Lucas, a silent confirmation.

Nancy's brow furrowed. "But we're nowhere near the lab."

"Or Starcourt," Dove added, glancing at the others in confusion.

"But what if, somehow, there's another gate?" Dustin's voice dropped, his words filled with a mix of fear and hope. "A gate that we don't know about. it would have to be smaller. Way less powerful."

"Snack-size gate," Robin quipped, her voice laced with uneasy amusement.

Steve's face twisted in confusion. "How? Why?"

Dove, her voice steady but grim, answered, "Because Vecna needs a way to this side to kill. He doesn't have enough power to waltz over by himself. So instead, he just opens up smaller gates and reaches through with his.. mind powers."

"And if there's a gate," Dustin continued, his voice now certain, "then we have a way to Vecna. A way to free Dove and Max from his curse." Dustin glanced down at his compass and started moving down the hill.

"Where are you going?" Steve called after him, halting Dustin in his tracks. "Eddie's still a wanted man. We can't just go for a hike in the woods."

Dustin held up the compass defiantly, his gaze determined. "This little steel capsule might be the key to saving Max, Dove, and Eddie." He extended his arms dramatically. "What say you, Eddie the Banished?"

Eddie, rubbing his ear as he considered the risky proposition, shrugged. "I say.. you're asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea." Steve nodded, but Eddie continued. "But, uh, the Shire.. the Shire is burning." Dustin started bouncing with excitement as Eddie got to his feet, determination replacing his reluctance. "So Mordor it is."

Eddie and Dustin led the way, and one by one, the rest of them followed, sharing glances of uncertainty and dread, their path forward now clearer than ever yet fraught with unknown dangers.

Steve fell in step beside Dove, his brow knitted as he asked in a low voice, "What exactly is Mordor?"

Dove chuckled, brushing a stray branch out of her way. "All those times you've hung out with my brother and he's never told you about The Lord of the Rings?" Steve shook his head and Dove sighed."Basically, it's the dark, evil place where the big bad lives."

Steve's expression didn't clear much, but he gave an exaggerated nod. "Right. Yeah, of course." He kept his voice casual, but she could see he was no less confused, his attempts to catch on endearing enough to bring a faint smile to her face.

They continued trekking through the woods, the daylight filtering through the trees slowly fading into twilight. Time passed in a blur of branches and roots as the sun dipped below the horizon, leaving the forest bathed in shadows. Silence fell over the group, their steps quiet, every crackling twig or rustling leaf seeming louder in the gathering darkness.

Dove glanced up, barely making out Steve's silhouette as he navigated the path ahead. Her heart pounded, a mix of dread and hope swelling with every step, knowing they were getting closer to the possible gate but also knowing they were heading straight into something unknown.

Branches snapped underfoot as they followed Dustin through the thick underbrush, his excitement nearly tangible. "Something's happening," Dustin murmured, pushing through a final row of bushes. He broke into a run, his silhouette darting ahead.

"Dustin?" Eddie's called after him, an edge of fatigue evident in his tone as he ducked to avoid a low-hanging branch. "Can you slow down?"

Dustin barely glanced back, his eyes wide. "I think we're getting close."

Eddie rolled his eyes, finally reaching Dustin and grabbing the collar of his shirt to pull him back. "Watch your step, big guy."

Dove's heart raced as she finally caught up to them. The trees opened up, revealing the sprawling, dark waters of Lover's Lake, still and foreboding in the twilight. Moonlight glanced off the surface, painting it in patches of silver, while fog seemed to cling to the edges of the shore, only deepening the eerie quiet.

"You've got to be kidding me," Steve mumbled, his tone somewhere between disbelief and frustration.

Eddie gave a tired, bitter laugh. "I thought these woods felt familiar." His eyes lingered on the lake, the same lake he had barely escaped from just last night.

Dove's gaze drifted over the water, an unsettled feeling twisting in her gut. The air around them was heavy, thick with an anticipation that made her shiver.

"This is.. confounding," Dustin murmured, a note of fascination clear in his voice.

"A gate in Lover's Lake?" Max asked, brows furrowing in disbelief.

"It makes sense," Dove replied, her gaze steady on the lake. "If Vecna has to open a gate to kill, of course the gate would be at the murder site."

Steve glanced around at them, his face set with determination. "Only one way to find out."

Eddie led them to a mound of branches nestled by the lake's edge, sweeping the foliage aside to reveal an old, slightly battered boat beneath a tarp. He pulled it off with a flourish, and him and Steve lifted the boat, struggling to carry it toward the water.

"Easy—easy, man!" Steve grunted as Eddie let go, the boat landing heavily on the water with a hollow thunk. Eddie shrugged apologetically, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Robin clambered in first, using Eddie and Steve's heads as leverage as she steadied herself. Once she was in, they helped Nancy, then Dove, before Eddie stepped in.

Finally, Dustin tried to climb aboard, but Eddie blocked him, his arms crossed. "Hey, you trying to sink us? This thing holds four people, tops."

Nancy nodded, her expression serious. "It's better this way, Dustin. You guys stay here with Max. Keep an eye out for trouble."

"You keep an eye out! It's my goddamn theory." Dustin scowled, crossing his arms. "Dove can't even swim!" he added, exasperated.

Dove leaned forward, catching her brother's eye. "Don't worry, we'll be right back, okay?" She gave him a reassuring smile, but his frown only deepened.

Nancy held out her hand. "Compass?"

With a final grumble, Dustin fished into his pocket, pulling it out and slapping it into her hand.

As they pushed off from the shore, Steve tossed Dustin's bag back onto solid ground before hopping into the boat himself, making it rock slightly.

"You said four!" Dustin yelled after him, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

Steve shrugged, grinning. "Sorry!"

Robin and Eddie took the paddles, and with a wink, Robin shouted back to the shore, "Bedtime at nine, kiddos!" She cupped her hands around her mouth, standing up to wave exaggeratedly. "Miss you already!"

Dustin huffed and crossed his arms, glaring at them as the boat drifted further out, while Max rolled her eyes, stifling a laugh.

Robin and Eddie kept rowing, the sound of the oars slicing through the water steady as Nancy directed them with quiet instructions. Dove nudged Steve playfully. "Well, this sure beats babysitting, doesn't it?"

Steve grinned, leaning closer to her. "Yeah, I'd take a haunted lake over a gaggle of teens any day."

"Guys, slow down!" Nancy suddenly instructed, and the boat wobbled as they all leaned forward, peering at the compass in her hand. The needle spun wildly, swinging back and forth as if caught in an invisible pull.

"Guys, what's going on?" Dustin's voice crackled through the walkie, "Come on guys, talk to me. What's going on?"

Robin picked up the walkie, her voice tinged with uncertainty. "Uh, Dustin, your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital 'aah!'"

Without a word, Steve bent over, starting to untie his shoes.

Dove looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Steve, what are you doing?"

Steve flashed a quick grin, tugging off his socks and tossing them into the boat. "Somebody's gotta go down and check this out. Unless one of you can top being Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then it's me. No complaints, all right?"

He straightened, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it at Eddie, who caught it with a grimace. Dove, focused, finished wrapping a flashlight in a plastic grocery bag. She extended it toward him, her eyes flickering just briefly to his chest. He took the flashlight with a nod, giving Dove a quick, reassuring smile.

"Be careful," she murmured, her voice soft but earnest.

He nodded. "Always." And with a swift motion, he dove over the side of the boat, sending ripples through the water and rocking them unsteadily. Dove leaned over the edge, squinting down into the dark lake as the dim glow of the flashlight slowly disappeared beneath the surface.

Robin shifted nervously, glancing from the water back to Dove. "Um, can we back up here for a sec? Did I hear Dustin right—you don't know how to swim? Are you, like, afraid of water or something?"

Dove shook her head. "No, nothing like that. I just never learned."

Eddie snorted, leaning back as he glanced her way. "Yeah, you look like someone who wouldn't know how to swim."

Dove squinted at him. "What does that even mean?"

Eddie just shrugged with a grin. "I dunno, like.. I just picture you on dry land. Nothing personal."

Robin chuckled, nodding with a smirk. "Yeah, actually, he kinda has a point."

Dove rolled her eyes but couldn't help the small smile that crept onto her face. "How long's he been down there?" she asked, looking over at Nancy, who was keeping track of the time.

Nancy glanced at her watch. "Almost a minute."

Dove's eyes went back to the water, a faint unease tugging at her gut as she scanned the surface. Suddenly, with a splash that sent her heart racing, Steve burst out of the water, gasping for air. Dove scrambled back in surprise, her pulse pounding from the sudden shock. She quickly leaned forward again as Steve swam up to the side of the boat, gripping the edge with a triumphant grin.

"I found it," he said, slightly out of breath.

Robin grabbed the walkie, her voice brimming with excitement as she pressed down on the button. "Dustin, you are a goddamn Einstein. Steve found the gate!" They waited for Dustin's reply, the silence growing more unsettling with each passing second. Robin clicked the button again. "Dustin?"

Dove's unease solidified, worry flashing across her face. "Something's wrong," she murmured, reaching for Steve to help him back into the boat. He took her hand, gripping the edge as he prepared to pull himself up. But just as his foot touched the boat's edge, an unseen force yanked him backward, and before Dove could react she felt herself being dragged down, the boat vanishing above her as icy water swallowed her whole. Her fingers clawed out instinctively, reaching for Steve as they both were pulled deeper, the dim light above fading into nothingness as they plunged into the darkness below.