The rough fall brought One back to consciousness, her spine tingling from her hips to her head as she sat up with a sharp gasp. Her wide eyes stared up at the gray sky above her and her hands groped the damp ground beneath. She dug her fingernails into the dirt like roots, trying to firmly plant herself in this reality as memories of another reality flashed forward in her mind.

"Oliver."

"I'm sorry."

The power.

Blue then white then...

Black.

She had thought she was dead. She was certain she was dead. There's no way she could have survived destroying the Mind Flayer, destroying the Upside Down...two things that didn't feel real but she knew to be true...but here she was. Alive, albeit barely.

With a groan, One pushed herself to her feet and stumbled into her surroundings. A ragged cry escaped her dry throat as her eyes landed on the familiar wooden structure before her, the structure she had called home for what had only been a week but felt like a lifetime. Hopper's cabin.

With the front door locked in her sights, One tried to run but she only made it two steps before she found herself back in the dirt and snow. She ignored the exhaustion and the pain that rippled through her body as she tried again, and again, and again, each time falling back to her knees, but still getting up every time, until she was finally there.

With a firm grip and a blinding smile, One braced herself for Eleven's and Hopper's hugs as she turned the knob, but was surprised when she was met with resistance. The smile on her face quickly faded as she jiggled the door knob to no avail, even trying so hard as to lean her shoulder against the door and push her weight against it, but nothing worked. The door was locked.

Confused, One glanced towards the driveway where Hopper parked his truck and was even more confused to find that it was gone. They must be at work and school, or running errands, or...One's mind filtered through all the possible excuses, but none seemed to settle her queasy stomach.

One let her foot dangle over the step, ready to drop her full weight onto it and begin the trek to find her family when a sudden feeling in her gut told her to look through the windows. One hobbled around the building trying to see inside, but every window had its curtains drawn. Her only reprieve was a sliver between the curtains at one of the back windows that allowed her to peer into the living room.

She had to push herself onto her tiptoes, ignoring the shooting pains that came with it, to get a good glance. And that glance confirmed a fear only her gut seemed to have known: the cabin was empty.

No people, no furniture, no knick-knacks, only dust. Lots and lots of dust.

They left you.

The thought came before she could stop it, a thought that had been gnawing away at the back of her brain since she was a kid at the Lab, given a renewed hunger by the emptiness she found inside the cabin. But she knew it wasn't true. There was a reasonable explanation. She just had to find it. To find them.

One took a step back, her eyes scanning the surface of the cabin until she found a spot to focus on. Having no idea where they were, she'd have to focus on them and let the portal find them for her. A small crack next to the window caught her eye and she stared at it as she envisioned Hopper...his thick moustache, his welcoming smile, his tired, but kind eyes...but nothing came. She stared at the crack until her vision became blurry, all the while keeping Hopper's face at the front of her mind, but still nothing. No portal.

Maybe she needed to try someone else...

This time, she envisioned Eleven and was met with a few crackles and sparks as a small circle of light began to appear before her, but she couldn't push it open far enough for her to get through, let alone see through. It closed immediately.

One just about dropped to the ground in defeat, but a new thought kept her standing. She was pretty tapped out...Maybe, in her current state, she could only portal within a certain range...Maybe she needed something closer...

This time, One envisioned the Byers' house. The portal appeared slowly and took its time to grow to a size large enough for her to fit, but it was there. She had done it.

Once One was through she found herself in the front yard, near the end of the driveway. Her eyes darted past the two parked vehicles to the front door, but in her excitement her mind had only registered that this was the correct number of cars for the Byers' household, not that they were the incorrect make and model.

After two firm knocks the door swung open on its hinges, revealing not Joyce, not Jonathan, not Will, but an elderly man with wrinkles around his eyes and an unlit cigarette in his mouth. He frowned upon seeing her, removing the cigarette to speak. "Can't you read the sign?" he snapped, pointing towards the piece of metal that read "NO SOLICITING" posted above the doorbell. "I don't want your Girl Scout cookies."

One found herself too stunned to speak, until the man began to slam the door shut and One jumped into action. "Wait, please!" she called, grabbing the door before it completely closed. The man's scowl deepened but he waited for her to continue. "I'm looking for Ms. Byers, is she home?"

"Byers?" the man repeated, sticking the cigarette back into his mouth and holding it with his lips as he spoke. "Ain't no Byers live here. Not anymore."

"Wh-what do you mean?" One stammered. She could feel her face growing paler. First, Hopper and Eleven, now the Byers? Where was everyone? "Where did they go?"

"I don't know, California or something," the man replied, the cigarette bouncing at the corner of his mouth. "I bought the house from them about a year ago."

Once again, One was too stunned to speak, but she didn't want the man to shut the door on her again before she got more answers so she forced the next question through her teeth. "I'm sorry, what year is it?"

The man squinted at her, trying to assess what was wrong with her and coming up short. "Did you hit your head or something? It's 1986, dumbass." And with that, he slammed the door shut on her.

1986. It had been March 12, 1985 when she had gone to the Upside Down to save Eleven and fight James. Had she really been out that long? With a sigh, she realized that no, it was more likely that she had time-traveled when she left the Upside Down.

Then another thought struck her; the empty cabin, the missing truck...If the Byers' had moved away, did that mean that Hopper and Eleven did too?

They left you.

Shut up.

One paced as she contemplated her next move. As badly as she wanted to get back to the time she came from, she didn't have the juice to do so. For now, she'd have to cope with 1986. It was better than being dead, or even worse, stuck in the Upside Down. She just had to find a familiar face.

With the Byers' gone and Hopper and Eleven MIA, the next person on the list was Steve Harrington. A warm smile spread across her rosy cheeks and her stomach fluttered as Steve's face came to mind. His dark brown eyes. His corny smile. His stupidly good-looking hair.

Focusing on Hopper and Eleven hadn't worked, but her hope remained persistent that she'd find somebody she knew. She only hoped that Steve was still in Hawkins.

One was too excited about the possibility of getting to see Steve that she didn't notice the old man watching her through a slit in the living room curtain as she opened a portal on his front step and disappeared through it, his cigarette falling from his lips to the ground.

☆ ★ ☆

One's portal brought her to the sidewalk outside of a video rental store. The sign hanging above her read, "FAMILY VIDEO", and a cardboard cut-out of a man with long, blonde hair, brooding eyes, and skin-tight pants was displayed in the front window. Her eyes found it hard to avoid the large bulge protruding from the man's pants and with a blush, she quickly opened the door and ducked inside to break eye contact.

"Are you really saying that you're jealous of a cardboard cut-out of David Bowie?" a woman's voice said, catching One's attention as the door shut behind her. Her eyes searched out the source of the voice until they found Robin, who was standing behind the cash register. And standing next to her...

"No, I'm just saying that it's throwing my game with the ladies," Steve responded.

One just about melted to the floor.

Another customer beat One to the cash register, blocking her from Steve's sight as she approached. She hid behind them while they checked out as she tried to steady her racing heart and form the right words to say.

Hey, Steve, I'm alive...

Steve? Remember me?

Hello, hot stuff--

No, none of those were right.

The customer finished up faster than One had anticipated, leaving her wide open and wordless. Steve's eyes lingered on the register as he sorted the cash into the drawer, but when he looked up a large smile had replaced the concentrated line where his mouth sat. He quickly pushed his way around the counter and One's world suddenly began to glow around her.

With each step he took closer to her, One's heart beat faster, and faster, and faster...until he walked right past her.

"Henderson!" Steve cried, and One turned to see Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and Max standing behind her. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't even heard them enter the store.

Steve and Dustin completed a complicated hand-shake before embracing in a half-hug. "Do you have it?" Dustin asked, his tone turning serious.

Steve immediately rolled his eyes. "I still can't believe you guys want to watch this total chick-flick," he said, grabbing a VHS copy of Pretty in Pink off the shelf next to him and handing it over to Dustin.

"Dude," Dustin replied, gripping the VHS tight. "Molly Ringwald."

"And James Spader," Max added with a dreamy look in her eyes. Lucas jabbed her with his elbow but she didn't seem to notice.

One saw her chance to intervene and took it. "Um, hi," she greeted them with a nervous smile. The group ignored her, instead continuing a heated debate about who was more attractive: James Spader or Andrew McCarthy.

"If you need help finding a specific title, Robin can help you at the counter," Steve answered her, waving her aside without even glancing her way.

"That's not what I--" One began to reply but stopped herself when she felt a cry catching in her throat. She was hurt, and angry, and confused...Why was Steve treating her like this? Why were her friends ignoring her?

Irritated, Steve turned to answer her but stopped when he got a good look at her. "Actually, forget Robin, she's incompetent anyways. I can help you!" he said with a smile and an arched eyebrow.

"Every. Damn. Time," Robin grumbled from the register. "It was my turn, you jackass!"

"So, what can I help you with?" he asked One, his smile unfazed by Robin's retort and her continued grumbling about how Steve always got to flirt with the cute girls and never left any for her.

Confused, One glanced between Steve, Robin, and the group, trying to figure out what was going on. Was this some sort of prank? "Do you--" she began, stopping herself as the words fumbled on her tongue. "Do you not recognize me?"

"I'm pretty sure I'd remember a pretty face like yours," Steve answered with a wink. A series of groans erupted from Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and Max.

One found herself unable to speak because her heart was in her throat, choking her, killing her. How could he have forgotten her? She surely hadn't forgotten him.

"So," Steve continued. "Do you come around here of--"

"Where's Chief Hopper?" One asked, cutting Steve off. She couldn't process her current predicament so she had to move on to the next before she completely broke down.

"Oh, uh..." Steve answered, his eyes glancing towards Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and Max for help. "He's not around anymore, but if you need help, Chief Powell--"

"What do you mean he's not around anymore?" One asked, cutting Steve off once again. A chill slithered down her spine and she crossed her arms over her body to warm herself. "Did he move or something?"

"No, uh..." Steve once more struggled with answering, his hand instinctively rubbing the back of his neck. "He died. Last year."

One stumbled backwards, nearly collapsing into a Top Gun display. The room felt like it was beginning to close in on her, ready to snap her up in one swallow.

"How?" One demanded. Tears coated her eyes, making her vision blurry. That's why the portal didn't open.

"The official story is a fire at the mall."

One suddenly felt dizzy and had to grab onto the shelf next to her to steady herself, causing a stack of VHSs to clatter to the floor. A million thoughts began to race through her head, but two rose above the rest. She hadn't been there to save him. She hadn't been there for Eleven. Eleven!

"And what about Eleven?" she asked, pushing aside the weight on her chest to speak. She could barely hear her own words coming out of her mouth over the blood rushing in her ears.

It was now Steve's turn to be confused. "How...How do you know that name?" he asked. "You shouldn't know that name."

It was at this point that their conversation caught the attention of Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and Max, who up until that point had still been arguing over whether James Spader was more attractive than Andrew McCarthy.

"Back," Mike said curtly to Steve, his eyes glancing towards a door that said "EMPLOYEES ONLY". "Now."

☆ ★ ☆

The group reconvened in the small back room, wedged between cleaning supplies and boxes of overstock. One stood with her back to the door, her hand resting on the handle.

"Talk," Mike demanded, his arms crossed firmly over his chest. "How do you know El?"

"First, you tell me where she is," One replied, her tone equally harsh. It softened when she added the next part, "And whether she's okay."

"She's safe," Lucas answered, eliciting a sharp glare from Mike. "She's in California with the Byers'."

One felt her heart tighten to hear that Eleven was so far away from her, but she was glad to know that she was at least safe. Alive. "She's my sister," One explained with a deep breath. She was on the verge of breaking, but her confusion kept her tears at bay. For now.

"But El doesn't have a sister," Dustin replied in disbelief after the group had stopped murmuring amongst themselves. His eyes widened as a thought came to him. "Unless..."

"What did you say your name was?" Max asked, her brows narrowed in suspicion.

"I-I didn't," One answered. Her eyes glanced around the room, blinking when they landed on each person. "It's One."

"One?" Lucas repeated. "Like the number, one?"

Instead of answering, One rolled up her sleeve and held out her wrist for the group to see. Everybody crowded in closer to take a look, making the small space even smaller.

"Now, I've got some questions of my own," One announced as she rolled her sleeve back down. Steve, Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and Max remained silent as they waited for her to continue. "First, what happened in the past year?"

The group looked between each other, until Mike stepped forward and took the lead.

"Last year..." he began, taking a breath as he tried to formulate exactly what he was going to say. "Well, a lot of things happened last year. The Russians opened a gate to the Upside Down and the Mind Flayer came to Hawkins--"

"The Mind Flayer?" One cut him off, her brows knotted in a look of confusion. "No, I killed the Mind Flayer. I destroyed the Upside Down."

"No...El killed the Mind Flayer...at Starcourt Mall..."

One took a step backwards and bumped into the door. Her heart and thoughts were racing in tandem, her face flushed, her palms clammy. The realization hit her like a bag of bricks. She hadn't just traveled to a different time...

She had traveled to a different universe.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: In honor of 500K reads, I decided to do something a little different! This bonus chapter is an AU of my AU, where One goes to the universe where the show takes place! It doesn't follow the rest of the story, as it branches off right after One defeats the Mind Flayer and destroys the Upside Down, but I thought it'd be fun to explore an alternate ending! When "001" hits 1 million reads, I may continue it!

It's still crazy to believe that "001" has gotten this far. It's been an unbelievable experience, and in honor of that, here's some edits I made for the story (that you can also find on my TikTok, @ dashofclarity.wp)! Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my story and support me. It means the world to me ♥️

https://youtu.be/IQH1hddYSXw

https://youtu.be/_XKf80pn_lo

https://youtu.be/svbj2ds_woU

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