As Hopper and Steve fell through yet another hole, both could still only see the look on One's face as she sent them back home. The pain, the anger, the sadness...but mostly the fatigue. She had looked so tired. After living a life of constantly running and fighting, she had looked ready for it to all end.

Hopper tried to hold onto that image as long as he could. It wasn't the best memory he had of his daughter, but it might be the last. He recalled the final words that One had spoken to him: "You're a good dad. Don't forget that". But how could he be a good dad when he couldn't even protect his own child? He had lost her twice now, and all that was left of his heart was a pile of ashes.

They dropped on their feet onto a familiar gravel road, Eleven's unconscious body still clutched tightly in Hopper's arms. By either miracle or coincidence, One had been able to deliver them back to Hopper's truck and when they turned around to face it, they found an unexpected party waiting for them. 

"Where the hell did you guys go?" Joyce demanded once the initial shock of three people suddenly appearing before her had worn off. "And why the hell didn't you answer me?"

Hopper ignored Joyce's questions as he pushed past the other members of the party to his truck. Steve helped him to open the door and Hopper gently laid Eleven's body on the back seat.

"W-what happened to her?" Mike stammered once he saw his girlfriend lying unconscious. "Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine," Hopper reassured him. "But you guys need to get her to the hospital."

"'You guys'?" Joyce asked. "Where are you going?"

Hopper rested a hand on Eleven's knee before turning back towards the woods. "I've got to go back," Hopper answered quietly but determinedly as he began to walk in the direction of the rift that had taken them to the Upside Down less than an hour ago.

"Go back? Back where?" Max asked.

"Why is El unconscious?" Lucas asked next.

"Why do you guys look so upset?" followed Will.

"Where is Sarah?" Among the cacophony of everybody trying to ask questions at once, suddenly Dustin's voice rang above the rest. Everybody turned to look at Dustin once they realized that there was a member of their party missing. And then they looked to Steve and Hopper.

Steve hung his head, unsure how to answer. Although he didn't think he'd be able to answer even if he could. His eyes were swollen with tears and his throat was nearly closed shut. He had never felt a pain this strong in his life and it was ripping him apart from the inside out.

Hopper's pace slowed for a split second after he heard Dustin's question, but he kept pressing on. He didn't have any time to lose if he wanted to get to Sarah before James killed her. If she wasn't dead already. Hopper batted at his head to get rid of the intrusive thought and replaced it with a new one: He was going to get to her. He was going to save her.

Once Steve realized what Hopper was doing, he quickly followed after.

"I'm going alone this time, kid," Hopper informed Steve once he heard his footsteps crunching in the snow behind him.

"Like hell you are!" Steve retorted angrily, picking up his pace in retaliation. "I'm coming with."

"Hop? Hopper!" Joyce called after Hopper and Steve as they disappeared from view. "Jonathan, stay here with the kids," Joyce said to her eldest as she raced to catch up with the two.

Max, Lucas, and Dustin looked ready to object but they didn't have a chance to say anything before Joyce had disappeared into the woods after Hopper and Steve. Meanwhile, Mike was content to stand by the truck and watch over Eleven, whose chest continued to rise and fall with shallow breaths.

☆ ★ ☆

Despite the trek to the rift not having been more than a ten-minute walk the first time, this time it felt like ages. Hopper pulled the compass from his pocket to make sure that they were going the right way, but after another five minutes of walking they still hadn't found it.

"Where the hell is it?" Hopper grumbled to himself as he frantically spun in circles.

"Here, let me see it," Steve said, grabbing the compass from Hopper's hand. He walked a few paces in each direction, watching the little red arrow intently, but it never spun.

"It-it was right here..." Steve stammered as he continued to walk in circles, staring at the compass. He looked up and recognized the trees and plants around them. He even found remnants of their footprints in the snow from the first time they had gone to the rift. But no rift.

Hopper fell to his knees and began clearing away snow, rotting leaves, and small plants, until he could no longer feel his hands. Steve followed suit and Joyce attempted to help, but she didn't understand what to look for. After several minutes of searching, the three were unsuccessful.

"No, no, no, no, no..." Hopper whispered frantically to himself. "There's gotta be another rift somewhere...we—we'll get the demodogs to make another one..."

"The demodogs are all dead," Steve cut Hopper off to answer solemnly.

After a couple moments of soaking in this information, Hopper began to sob as he curled his chest toward his knees. His limbs went numb and all feeling began to fade from his body until he felt a warm hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Joyce.

"Hop, what happened?" Joyce asked in a near whisper between her own heavy breaths. Based on Steve and Hopper's reactions, she had formed her own theory, but she didn't want to say it out loud for fear that it would make it true.

"She's gone," Hopper choked out between cries. "Sarah's gone."

"No, no, no!" Dustin shouted as he slammed his hands down on the table. "How many times did I tell you not to engage? And now we're screwed!"

Mike, Will, Lucas, Max, Dustin, and Eleven were gathered in the Wheeler's basement playing Dungeons & Dragons. After Eleven had gotten out of the hospital and had time to recover, they decided to start a new campaign to distract themselves from the loss of Sarah and were nearly finished with it. Out of respect to Sarah, they had refused to continue the campaign that she was part of.

"I'm just drawing inspiration from Sarah," Lucas argued. "She definitely would have attacked."

"Yeah, and she also screwed us over! Or do you not remember the goblin?"

The party took a collective moment to fondly recall the memory of the last time they had played Dungeons & Dragons. It had only been three months since that night, but it felt like years, and there wasn't a day that passed that everybody in the party didn't think about their lost friend.

"El, honey, your dad is here!" Mrs. Wheeler called down into the basement.

Eleven glanced up at the clock to realize that it was already six o'clock. She would have tried to plead with Hopper for more time, but she remembered that they had plans to keep. Bidding goodbye to her friends, she raced up the stairs and met Hopper at the door.

"Ready to go, kid?" Hopper asked Eleven once she entered his sight. She gave him an eager nod and together they headed for the truck to drive back to the cabin.

Once Hopper and Eleven arrived home, they quickly got to work getting things ready. Hopper grabbed the box of Eggo's from the freezer and three plates from the cupboard while Eleven carefully selected two Western movies from the shelf. A knock drew their attention from their tasks and Eleven quickly jumped up to get the door.

"Harrington!" Hopper called after the door swung open to reveal Steve standing in his Scoops Ahoy uniform. "Right on time!"

"You got any openings at the police department?" Steve asked Hopper as he headed for the bathroom with a backpack in tow. "I hate this uniform."

Hopper chuckled to himself as he shoveled an equal number of the piping-hot Eggos onto the plates after they popped out of the toaster. Steve emerged from the bathroom a couple minutes later in new clothes and helped Hopper to bring the plates over to the TV.

"What movies did you pick for tonight, El?" Steve asked.

"'One-Eyed Jacks' and 'The Magnificent Seven'," Eleven read off the VHS covers. She hadn't realized it until now, but there had been a theme to her choices that set off a moment of chilling silence in the cabin.

After the moment had passed, Eleven stuck the first film into the VCR player and pressed play. The three settled into their respective spots with Eleven sprawled out on the floor, Steve on the couch, and Hopper in his recliner. They allowed themselves to be distracted by the smell of syrup and waffles, and the sound of neighing and gunshots as the film began, but the distraction didn't last long.

Ten minutes into the film, Steve's thoughts turned to Sarah. His hands subconsciously gripped the cushions of the couch as he thought about their first and only kiss in that same spot. He had only known Sarah for less than a month, and he hadn't seen her in three times as much, but the feelings he had for her were still burning strong.

The past three months had been hard on everyone, but Steve had been struggling even more than the others. Hopper and Eleven had each other, and the rest of the party had their respective families to grieve with, but when Steve went home at night he was usually alone. His parents always seemed to be away for some reason or another. When Hopper learned of this, he began inviting Steve over for weekly "Waffles & Westerns" nights, and slowly Steve started to feel better.

"I heard you that night, you know. When we were falling through the portal," Hopper said to Steve when he noticed the somber look on his face. He tried to keep his voice down so that Eleven wouldn't hear, but a knowing look remained on his face.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about..." Steve responded with a bright blush on his cheeks that glowed even in the dimly-lit room.

"I'm not mad," Hopper informed him. "I saw the way she looked at you. I may be a little tough on you from time-to-time, but I think you're a good kid. I think the two of you were good together."

"So you would have given me your blessing?" Steve joked with a corny smile.

Hopper took a moment to glare at Steve before answering, "Don't push it."

"I miss her." The words rushed out of Steve's mouth before he even realized that he had said anything. His smile disappeared as tears formed in the corner of his eyes and he was quick to wipe them away.

Hopper reached over to place a reassuring hand on Steve's shoulder as he looked him in the eyes. "Me too," he agreed somberly. "Me too."

"Me three!" Eleven shouted, popping up from the floor and startling both Steve and Hopper.

The surprise prompted Steve and Hopper to break out of their melancholic moment and the three collapsed into a fit of laughter as the movie continued to play in the background. As a fight ensued on the screen, the three were oblivious to the fact that another battle continued in another world and in another time.

The fight between One and James wasn't over.

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★