NO ONE'S POV:

Robin: Not to be a wimp, but maybe can (Y/N) and I sit in the car for this visit?

Steve: Gross. Are you guys gonna...?

(Y/N): Not in Nancy's car. Unless...

Robin: You're joking, right?

(Y/N): Yeah, obviously.

Robin: I want us to stay in the car 'cause this is gonna totally and royally suck.

Nancy: It'll be fine.

Robin: I just can't stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie's break again. I really, really can't.

Steve: At least he can drink himself into feeling better.

(Y/N): I don't think he'll be feeling better.

Max: It's what my mom does.

Robin: Why don't we give it a trial run? "Hey, Eddie. Uh, good news this time. We got you some Dustin-approved junk food and that six-pack you requested. Oh yeah, and we found Vecna. Only the bad news is that he's in that other, darker, much scarier dimension, that we told you about and the gate's closed, so we have no way of getting to him. He's entirely shut off to us, so basically you're screwed. And, no, I know you were already screwed, but now you're doubly, triply, screwed."

Lucas: Wait. Maybe we don't put it like that.

Nancy: "We're one step closer to finding Vecna." That's what we say. That's what's important.

Steve: See, Robin? Positive spin can make all the difference.

Robin: Uh-huh.

Nancy: Oh shit.

(She drives up to Reefer Rick's to see a bunch of reporters & police. This listen to Chief Powell off to the side.)

Chief Powell: As many of you know, the Roane County line received a call a little after midnight...reporting a homicide here on the lake. Officer Callahan here and myself arrived first on the scene. We made our way to the shore of Lover's Lake, about ten yards from the house you see behind me. It was there that we found the victim, an 18 year-old senior from Hawkins High, Patrick McKinney. His limbs...his body, it was disfigured...There was an eyewitness on the scene...We also identified a person of interest. Eddie Munson. We encourage anyone with information to please come forward.

Steve: Oh man. This is not good. Really not good.

Eddie: [on walkie] Dustin, can you hear me? Wheeler?

Dustin: Eddie. Holy shit. Are you okay?

Eddie: Nah, man. Pretty...Pretty goddamn far from okay.

Robin: Where is he?

Dustin: Where are you?

Eddie: Skull Rock. Do you know it?

Dustin: Uh, yeah. That's near Cornwallis and--
Steve: Garrett, yeah. I know where that is.

(They follow Steve.)

Dustin: Hold tight. We're coming. We're coming.

(Cut to them on their way to Skull Rock. We see Y/N walking with Robin & Nancy. Robin looks back at Max & Lucas.)

Robin: [scoffs] Oh my God, they're so adorable. I just wanna squeeze them, you know?

(Y/N): Oh definitely. Pups in love.

Robin: Why do you always call them pups?

Nancy: You called Mike, Eleven, and Will pups too.

(Y/N): Uh, I thought it was obvious. I call them pups because...they're the babies of my...pack.

Robin: Aw!

(Y/N): Yeah, yeah.

Robin: Am I a part of your pack?

(Y/N): Duh. You're my mate--[clears throat]

Robin: [chuckles]

Nancy: Who's all in your pack?

(Y/N): Well, everyone here, Lucas' sister, your brother, Will, and Eleven. Jonathan as well. Eddie's in consideration.

Robin: I can't wait to ask you who's who in the ranks.

(Y/N): I bet.

Robin: If I'm permitted to see a silver lining in this end-of-the-world doom and gloom, it would be the rekindling of old flames that frankly never should've been snuffed out. I didn't mean that as a hint or anything.

Nancy: Right.

Robin: But if I did mean it as a hint, would that be so terrible? To wish for happiness for my friends?

(Y/N): Need me to be blunt? I'll be blunt, you should break up with Jonathan and get back with Steve. There, I said it.

Robin & Nancy: (Y/N)!

(Y/N): Jonathan's an omega anyway. Not like Steve and myself.

Robin: I really want to know your ranks now.

Nancy: [scoffs] You think I'm not happy?

Robin: I...I'm sure you are. It's just the other day in the library, I mentioned Jonathan and you flinched or winced or something.

(Y/N): She did?

Robin: She did.

Nancy: I didn't flinch or wince.

Robin: Okay.

Nancy: Jonathan and I are fine.

Robin: Got it.

Nancy: We're good.

(Y/N) & Robin: Right.

Nancy: It's just...[sighs] He was supposed to be here for the break, and then he backed out last minute for some vague, mumbly Jonathan reason. And, to be honest, I'm not even that surprised because I've been feeling him pulling away. And I don't know if it's because we're 2,000 miles away or he met someone new or what. And now I can't find out why because apparently he's blown up his family's house phone or something. So, yeah, if...if the mention of his name caused a slight muscle spasm on my face, that's...probably why.

Robin: Seems like a perfectly reasonable reason to flinch, wince, or something.

Nancy: You said, "the happiness of your friends." So does that make us friends? As in, officially?

Robin: Uh, yeah. I...I mean, right?

Nancy: Right.

(Cut to them with Eddie, who's explaining what happened to him.)

Eddie: When I got to shore, I tried calling you guys, but, uh...my walkie was busted, man. Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now, apparently. I ran. [chuckles]

Nancy: Do you know what time this was? The attack?

Eddie: Yeah, no, I...I know exactly what time it was. My walkie wasn't the only thing that got soaked.

(He tosses his watch to Nancy which reads...)

Nancy: 9:27.

Robin: Same time our flashlights went kablooey.

Steve: Which means what, exactly?

Nancy: That surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick.

(Y/N): Well, we're one step closer.

Robin: We know how Vecna attacks.

Lucas: And where he attacks from.

Max: So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart.

Robin: If he even has a heart.

Steve: A stake? Is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?

Max: It was a metaphor.

Eddie: A bullet should work on him, right?

Lucas: I say we chop his head off.

(Y/N): I should be able to rip, bite, or slash his head off.

Nancy: I say all of the above but we can't do any of that 'til we find a way into the Upside Down.

Max: We need El to get her powers back.

Steve: Everything was way easier. We had this girl. She had superpowers.

Eddie: Superpowers. Yeah, you mentioned her. Hey, uh, Henderson's now, uh, cursed, is he?

Steve: Cursed? No, no. He's fine. Mental? Absolutely.

Dustin: Boom!

(This catches everyone's attention.)

Dustin: Bada...bada...boom. I was right. Skull Rock was north.

Steve: Seriously? You're serious?

Dustin: Mm-hmm.

Steve: This is Skull Rock. Okay?

Dustin: Mm-hmm.

Steve: You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now.

Dustin: Yes. And no.

Steve: Oh my God.

(He takes out his compass.)

Dustin: This compass worked correctly when we left the Wheelers'. It was correct when we got in the car on Curly. 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: So you're using faulty equipment. You're still wrong.

Dustin: Except it isn't faulty. Lucas, remember what can affect a compass?

Lucas: An electromagnetic field.

Dustin: Yep.

Robin: I'm sorry. I must've skipped that class.

(Y/N): Same.

Dustin: In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power. So either there's some super big magnet around here, or...

Lucas: There's a gate.

Nancy: But we're nowhere near the lab.

Dustin: But what if, somehow, there's another gate? A gate we don't know about. It'd have to be smaller. Way less powerful.

Robin: Snack-size gate.

(Y/N): How?

Steve: Why?

Dustin: No idea. All I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen anything like it, it was a gate. And I hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna. And a shot at freeing Max from this curse.

(He starts walking away.)

Steve: Where are you going? Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Eddie's still a wanted man. We can't just go for a hike in the woods.

Dustin: This little steel capsule might be the key to saving both Max and Eddie. What say you, Eddie the Banished?

(They all look at Eddie.)

Eddie: 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. But, uh, the Shire...the Shire is burning.

Eddie: So Mordor it is. Plus, we've got Draugluin on our side.

(Y/N): That name sounds familiar.

(They begin to follow Dustin.)

Steve: What is Mordor?

(Now, late at night, we see them following Dustin.)

Dustin: Something's happening.

Eddie: Dustin? Can you slow down? Dustin?

Dustin: I think we're getting close.

(Eddie stops him from stepping into the lake.)

Eddie: Watch your step, big guy.

Steve: Oh man.

(Y/N): Knew I smelled water.

Steve: You gotta be shitting me.

Eddie: Yeah. I knew these woods were familiar.

Robin: Lover's Lake.

Dustin: This is confounding.

Max: There's a gate in Lover's Lake?

Nancy: Whenever the Demogorgan attacked, it always left an opening. Maybe Vecna's the same way.

Steve: Yeah, only one way to find out.

(Steve & Eddie push the boat onto the edge of the lake.)

Robin: Yeah, I'm just gonna do that.

Robin: Thank you.

Steve: Yeah, that works too.

(Eddie & Nancy step onto the boat. Dustin is about to join them but Eddie stops him.)

Eddie: Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us? This thing holds three people tops, okay? That includes you, wolfman.

(Y/N): Absolutely not.

Robin: (Y/N), stay.

(Y/N): [groans]

Nancy: It's better this way. You guys stay here with Max. Keep an eye out for trouble.

Dustin: You keep an eye out.

Dustin: It's my goddamn theory.

Robin: You heard Nance.

Dustin: Who put her in charge?

Robin: I did. I can do that since I'm an alpha.

Dustin: A what?

Robin: Right, (Y/N)?

(Y/N): Yup, she can do that.

Nancy: Compass.

(Dustin hands her the compass & Steve tosses him his bag.)

Dustin: Ow.

(Steve hops onto the boat as goes off shore.)

Dustin: You said three.

Steve: [whispers] Sorry.

(Y/N): Why does Steve get to go? Why am I the one left behind to watch the pups?

Steve: I thought you loved pups? And no one needs to see your doggy paddle.

(Y/N): [scoffs] "Doggy paddle." We were on the swim team together!

(The boat group gets further away from shore.)

Max: Could you stop calling us that?

(Y/N): Once you're all 18, I will.

Robin: Bedtime at nine, kiddos. (Y/N) sleeps outside!

(Y/N): Wow.

Robin: Miss you already!

(Cut to them in the middle of the lake where Y/N & the pups are watching.)

Lucas: They're stopping.

(Y/N): I see that.

Lucas: What are they stopping for?

Dustin: [speaks into walkie] Guys, what's going on? Come on, talk to me. What's going on?

(Cut to the boat group.)

Robin: Uh, Dustin, your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital "aah!"

(Steve takes off his socks.)

Nancy: Steve, what are you doing?

Steve: Somebody's gotta go down there and check this out. Unless one of you three can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then...it's gotta be me. No complaints, all right?

Eddie: Hey, I'm not complaining. I do not wanna go down there.

Lucas: Ugh. When'd Steve get so hairy?

Dustin: Right? He's starting to look like (Y/N). I keep telling him he needs to tame that jungle, but he claims the ladies dig it.

(Y/N): Worked for me.

Dustin: Gross.

Lucas: Ugh.

Max: Let me see.

Lucas: What?

(She takes the binoculars.)

(Cut back to the boat where Eddie hands Steve a flashlight in a plastic bag.)

Eddie: Good luck.

Steve: Thanks.

(Eddie's about to light a cigarette but Robin takes it away from him.)

Nancy: Steve?

(He turns to face her.)

Nancy: Be careful.

(Steve dives into the lake as we cut back to Y/N & the pups.)

Dustin: You guys realize, if there's a gate down there, it's technically a water gate.

(Y/N): [chuckles]

(Lucas & Max don't laugh.)

Dustin: Watergate. (Y/N) gets it. [chuckles]

(As they're watching the boat group, some cops' flashlights come through the forest causing them to duck down.)

(Y/N): [sniffs] Okay, I smell three. I'll go knock them out and I'll be right back.

Dustin: You are not knocking out police officers.

(Y/N): Why...not?

(Meanwhile, underwater with Steve, he finds the gate & starts swimming up to the surface. However, a tentacle comes out of the gate after him. Cut to Steve at the surface.)

Steve: I found it.

Nancy: You found it?

Steve: I found it. Yeah. I found it.

Robin: [speaks into walkie] Dustin, you are a goddamn Einstein. Steve found the gate--

(Dustin turns his walkie off.)

Max: Cops.

Dustin: Shit, shit, shit.

Lucas: We can't let them find Eddie.

Max: You two stay with me. (Y/N), stay here.

(Y/N): Wait--

(She stands up.)

Max: Hey, officers! Over here! I found the killer! This way!

Lucas: Shit.

(Dustin & Lucas follow Max as Y/N goes to the lake.)

(Y/N): They'll be fine, right? It's the police and they're resourceful pups anyway. [sighs]

(He looks at the boat as we cut to them.)

Steve: It's pretty wild. It's more of a snack-size gate than a mama gate, but still, it's pretty damn big.

(The tentacle pulls Steve back down.)

Robin: Steve!

Nancy: Steve!

Eddie: No! No!

(Y/N overhears all of this.)

(Y/N): *worried* What is going on over there...?

Eddie: What the hell was that, man?

Robin: Nancy, really, what happened?

Eddie: Jesus!

(Max, Lucas, & Dustin are running from the cops as we see Nancy about to dive in the lake.)

Eddie: Wait, wait, wait. You're not going in there, are you?

Nancy: Just wait here.

Robin: No, Nancy!

Eddie: Nancy!

(She dives into the lake.)

Eddie: Goddamn it!

(Cut to Y/N who just watched what happened.)

(Y/N): Why would Nancy dive in the lak--Where's Steve?

(The police catch them as Y/N watches Robin about to fall back into the lake.)

(Y/N): No, no, no, pretty bird. Don't.

(Cut back to the boat.)

Eddie: No, no, no, no, no, no. What are you doing? She said wait.

Robin: Yeah, I heard her.

Eddie: She's in charge.

Robin: Are you kidding me? I'm an alpha.

(She looks at Y/N who's now ankle-deep in the lake, looking at her.)

Robin: And the other one, is on his way.

(Cut to Y/N.)

(Y/N): [groans] She looked right at me!

(He starts turning into a werewolf & swims over to the boat.)

(Y/N): Now I have to save all four of them!

(He dives underwater.)

(Y/N): [muddled growling]

(Cut to Eddie on the boat.)

Eddie: Goddamn it...Son of a bitch! Oh, this is so stupid. This is so stupid. This is so stupid. Shit! Shit! Shit!

(Eddie dives after them. Meanwhile with Steve in the...)

Upside Down

Steve: [screams]