The shaking became so intense that One lost her balance and fell off the stool she was standing on by the bookshelf. Steve tried to get to her to check on her but had troubles staying upright and knocked into several pieces of furniture along the way.

After One had assessed herself to make sure she was still in one piece, she looked up to the top shelf and was disappointed to see that the portal was gone.

"Are you okay?" Steve called out from the spot where he had fallen halfway across the living room.

"Yeah, I'm fine," One answered. Her voice sounded like she was talking into a fan.

One and Steve became startled when a sound even louder than the rattling began to fill the room. The howling of wolves accompanied by musical beats entered their ears as Thriller by Michael Jackson blasted through the space and nearly deafened the two. One and Steve threw their hands over their ears but the music didn't get any quieter.

♫ It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark... ♪

Just as Steve was about to ask what the hell was going on, the front door slammed open so hard that it was nearly torn off its hinges. One's mouth dropped open as a haunting and familiar sight greeted her from the other side.

♫ Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart... ♪

Dark clouds of smoke licked at the door frame and poured into the room in slow waves. A rotten smell introduced itself to their nostrils and the lights blinked out their own sporadic dance. But what was more terrifying than once again facing the hellish nightmare of the Upside Down was the man standing inside it.

♫ You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it... ♪

"Hello One," Dr. Brenner smiled. The creepy smile accentuated a scratch that worked its way up from the top of his mouth to the spot where his left eye was supposed to be. In place of his eye was a black hole that seemed to go on forever. He may have survived, but the Upside Down hadn't left him unscathed.

♫ You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes, you're paralyzed... ♪

"No," One whispered, eyes wide and brimmed with fear.

"My favorite subject," Dr. Brenner continued to speak. "I've missed you."

One swallowed the lump of fear that had manifested itself in her throat. "I haven't missed you," she retorted.

Dr. Brenner's smile grew as he chuckled at her response. "We were supposed to do great things together. We still can."

"Never," One spat.

"What are you...without me?" Dr. Brenner asked.

"A human being with a family and friends who love her." One could feel the old anger and hatred she had harbored once more brewing inside her. What was she without him? No. What was he without her?

"Your portals haven't been working the same since you left the Lab, have they?"

"How did you..." One's anger and bravery were jolted by his question.

"Come back to me, my child, and I can help you grow your powers to be stronger than they ever were." Dr. Brenner held his arms out wide to her. "We can be a family again."

"Family?" One scoffed. "You were never my family, you lied to me!"

"And you think Jim Hopper is your family?" Dr. Brenner retorted. "The pathetic, drugged-up, alcoholic Chief of police? You would have been wasted if you had stayed with that man. I lied to you to keep you safe. I am the only person who has ever cared about you."

"That's not true!" Steve's voice entered the conversation and surprised both One and Dr. Brenner. "I care about her!"

"Oh look, you've made another little friend." Dr. Brenner's voice oozed with fake sincerity. "Just like Seven." Dr. Brenner stepped aside to allow another person to come into view. They looked beaten and bedraggled, but even with their head hanging down One could still recognize them in a heartbeat.

"James!" One shouted. He didn't seem to register her voice because his chin remained attached to his chest. "What have you done to him?"

"Why don't you come see for yourself," Dr. Brenner cackled. An ominous echo followed after that would haunt One for the rest of her life.

Steve watched One's movements closely, worried about what she might do. He could see in her face and the twitches of her muscles that she was considering taking up Dr. Brenner's offer. He tried to come up with a plan to prevent her from acting drastically but ultimately he knew he couldn't stop her. She was closer to the portal than he was to her and the shaking was still too intense for him to remain stabilized. He could only hope for a miracle.

And somehow a miracle came. The portal was shattered as the door swung sharply on its hinges from the opposite way. The Upside Down was replaced with the woods, and Dr. Brenner and James were replaced with Hopper and Eleven. The music immediately stopped but not without leaving one last ominous message:

♫ Darkness falls across the land, the midnight hour is close at hand...Creatures crawl in search of blood to terrorize y'alls neighborhood... ♪

"What in the hell happened here?" Hopper shouted at them through the door frame.

One looked to Steve before answering, "It's begun."

"What's begun?" Hopper asked as he stepped inside. He began to inspect the door but gave up on it ever functionally working again pretty quickly.

"Dr. Brenner appeared to us in a portal...or a mirage..." One began to explain. Now that she thought of it, she wasn't sure that Papa and James had ever been there to begin with. How could Hopper and Eleven have opened the door if it had already been open? Answer: it hadn't. "He has James."

"Seven?" Eleven asked.

"Yes, he's in trouble," One answered.

"I don't like this Seven kid, or whatever his name is," Hopper said to no one in particular. One ignored this comment.

"He needs our help! My help!" One exasperated and fell onto the couch in frustration. She couldn't stop seeing James' limp form standing beside Papa. "I need to go after him."

"We can't go running into the Upside Down without a plan," Steve argued, sitting down next to One on the couch. "That was clearly a trap. You heard Dr. Brenner, he wants you back as part of his 'weird little family'."

"He what?" Hopper exclaimed.

"Yeah, he called you a 'pathetic, drugged-up alcoholic' too," Steve mentioned.

Hopper blinked his eyes several times in disbelief and opened and closed his mouth as if looking for the words to say. He could feel his blood boiling. Before he could manage to say anything, however, One occupied the space with her voice.

"I should go alone," One said determinedly. "It's too dangerous and I have powers."

"No, no, that's not a good plan..." Steve tried to argue.

"Absolutely not," Hopper added.

Steve and Hopper continued to bicker aimlessly until Eleven interrupted them. "I'm coming with," she stated. "I have powers too."

One looked at Eleven with a mix of curiosity and appreciation. She felt unable to argue with Eleven both because she could hear the determination in her voice and because One couldn't deny that having powered back-up would be helpful.

One knew that the same anger that lived within her also burned inside Eleven. Papa had taken everything from Eleven as well and One didn't feel that she could deny her her revenge.

"Okay," One said with a slow nod. "Eleven and I will go together, but we need to go soon."

"Did you not hear me?" Hopper asked incredulously. "You're not going and you're not going and that's final." With each "you're" he pointed aggressively at One and Eleven.

"I can't just leave him--" One began to argue when Hopper cut her off.

"No, nuh-uh, I'm not losing you again," Hopper exclaimed. "Either of you."

"Why don't we all go? Then nobody is leaving anybody," Steve recommended. He was getting irritated with all the arguing when they should be spending that time planning. "I agree with Sarah, we can't just leave her friend to die. But we're going to need all the help we can get, powers or no powers."

"Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin, Max?" Eleven asked.

Steve nodded his head. "Anyone and everyone that will help."

Steve looked to One for confirmation of his plan but she found herself unable to speak. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously while her knees bounced up and down like pogo sticks. She would do whatever it took to save James but she was terrified of risking the lives of her friends and family.

"Okay," One said at long last. Her response was met with a long sigh from Hopper but he didn't contest it. "But I'm in charge."

"Deal," Steve agreed immediately.

"Deal," agreed Eleven pretty soon after.

That left Hopper.

"Dad?" One asked. She tried to catch Hopper's gaze as it floated around the room and up to the ceiling. Eventually it fell back down and landed on One.

"Deal."

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★