"So what's your plan?" Lily asked Eddie, looking up at where he sat in the grass next to her, watching where the others still lingered about in the field, taking a few minutes of rest before it was time to get back on the Winnebago.

"Hmm?" he murmured, looking back down at her.

"For the bats." she explained. "You mentioned earlier that you knew how to lure the bats away."

"Well, I figured if it's loud noise they want, why not give them a show?" he asked, a small smirk turning up the corners of his mouth. "If Nick and I can set up the amps I have back at the trailer, along with the versions of them that are in the Upside Down, that should be plenty of sound for them to hear it all the way from the Creel house. Dustin can turn them on when it's time and keep track of them, and you and Nick could be on standby, kinda like my own personal bodyguards. It won't be quite a Corroded Coffin show, but it'll still be pretty metal."

She leaned her head on his shoulder while he told her the plan, musing it over. On the one hand, it'd be almost guaranteed to lure the bats away, especially with double the equipment he usually had back at home. At Forest Hills, she could often hear his guitar through the thin walls of the mobile homes, so twice the noise should reach the Demobats with no problem. On the other hand, however, she still knew all too well that one misstep in the plan could have catastrophic consequences for all of them.

"Well, then it better be the best damn show the Upside Down's ever seen." she said adamantly, forcing her last thoughts out of her brain. "What are you playing? A Corroded Coffin classic? Black Sabbath?"

He shook his head, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I was thinking about that conversation we had the other day back at Rick's, before Jason and the others showed up, about the cassette tapes. About how I'd love to get the chance to play 'Master of Puppets' one day. I'm pretty sure I have it down, and this might be my only shot to play it for a crowd, right? Sure, it's not the five drunks at the Hideout, but at least you three will get to hear it."

"You'll get to play it for a crowd." she assured him. "As soon as this is all over, once this plan works and Vecna's six feet under. Even if I have to play Jeff, Gareth, and Todd's parts all on my own."

He chuckled softly, pulling her closer. "Well, that would be a sight to see." he mused. "So what happens after this?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Neither of us have the privilege of naivety, Lils." Eddie said, his smile slowly fading. "We both know it doesn't look good for me back in Hawkins right now, even if we do defeat Vecna. How do you clear a name like mine when the monster they're looking for is a sorcerer from another dimension? If I try that, that'll get me a one way ticket to Pennhurst, rather than just throwing me in jail."

"We'll figure out a way." Lily promised him. "Once Vecna's dead and Hawkins is safe again, I will do whatever it takes to prove your innocence, Eddie. I don't care who I have to testify to that you didn't touch Patrick the night he was killed, but you're innocent, and everybody is going to know that. Okay?"

Eddie shut his eyes, taking a deep, shaky breath as he finally nodded in agreement. Lily reached a hand up to rest against his cheek, and he opened his eyes again, now watching her intently.

"So if by some miracle this all works," he said, still watching her. "This plan tonight, and clearing my name, what happens next for us?"

"What happens next is you finally take me for pizza and the arcade and we celebrate." she said with a sly grin. "But just remember, no forgetting the milkshake."

Eddie smiled, leaning down and kissing her softly. She kissed him back as his arms tightened around her, and he finally pulled back, the smile still plastered on the boy's face as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers.

"Hey lovebirds," Steve called from where the group had slowly started to congregate around the RV, Nancy now pulling bags of supplies from the vehicle to distribute. "You guys ready?"

"I guess," Eddie agreed, reluctantly rising to his feet and grabbing Lily's hands to pull her up alongside him.

Lily followed Eddie over to where the group now pulled new clothes from the War Zone out of the bags, army green now covering all of their friends who belonged to groups venturing back into the Upside Down. "Here," Robin said, pulling out a vest of the same forest-colored shade and handing it to Eddie before reaching back in to grab a jacket and a black bandana and passing them to Lily. "And these are for you."

"Thanks," she said, pulling on the jacket before tying her hair up into a ponytail. Once her hair was secured, she tied the bandana around her head, preventing any flyaways from falling down into her face.

"Alright," Nancy said, eyeing the group. "If everybody's ready, grab your things and head onboard."

Lily nodded, reaching for a spear and shield where they sat down in a pile with the others. Once the weapons were in her hands, she followed Sarah onto the Winnebago, moving to the back where Max already sat on the couch, staring out the window. She took a seat next to her sister, the others piling onboard and, once everyone was seated, Steve started the vehicle, pulling out of the field and onto the nearest road.

"How are you feeling?" Lily asked Max quietly, the two sisters alone on the couch.

Max shrugged. "As good as I can be," she admitted. "Just waiting for this whole thing to be over and Vecna to be six feet under."

"Yeah," Lily agreed, nodding. "Me too. But you've got this, you know?"

Lily wasn't sure if she was trying harder to reassure Max or herself, but either way, she was grateful when her sister nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," she said. "I've got this. I can do this."

"After tonight, we can finally go home." Lily said. "And then, I know we've got a lot of figuring stuff out to do."

"Yeah," Max chuckled humorlessly in agreement. "We sure do." The girls fell into silence for a bit as Max's gaze moved briefly to the floor below them before moving back up to Lily. "I'm sorry, by the way. For how I disappeared after Billy died. We used to be so close, and we told each other everything, and I let myself become a stranger to you."

"You have nothing to apologize for." Lily assured her. "I did the same thing. I wasn't there for you, and I should have been. You're my little sister, it's my job to protect you, and all I did was worry about myself, and try to save myself. I'm so sorry, Max."

Max reached forward, pulling her older sister into a tight hug, and Lily hugged her back with equal intensity, the Mayfield girls clinging to one another as the Winnebago continued to move through the streets outside Hawkins as the sun began to set, casting a golden glow around the interior of the vehicle.

"Once this is over, we're going to figure all this out." Lily insisted. "We've got a lot of making up to do, and I promise you we'll get back to the way we were. And I was thinking, what if, wherever I end up for school, what if you came with me? What if we got out of Hawkins, got our fresh start somewhere safe? Actually safe, this time."

Max smiled. "That sounds nice," she said, her gaze moving briefly to a figure sitting at the dining table, and Lily followed her eyes to see Lucas sitting across from Erica, staring out the window.

"Or not, if there's something here that makes you want to stay." Lily whispered, low enough that the others couldn't hear the older girl talking. "Maybe it's time you two finally figured things out."

Max chuckled softly, still holding tight around her sister as they continued to cling to one another. "Maybe we will," she whispered back. "I'll think about it, as long as you finally figure things out with Eddie, even if he's just somebody you casually make out with behind RVs."

"Oh shut up," Lily huffed softly, trying to suppress the smile that threatened to grow. "The RV was a one time thing."

"But it doesn't have to be." Max pointed out.

Lily smiled. "We're figuring it out." she said. "I promise."

"Good," Max agreed as the Winnebago slowed to a stop, accompanied by a dull screech as Steve put the vehicle in park, and Lily's heart dropped as she looked out the window to see the Creel house looming over them in the golden light. "Well, I guess this is it." Max said, rising to her feet, and Lily stood up next to her, pulling her in tightly for another hug.

"Be careful." Lily said. "I'll see you when this is all over."

Max nodded. "I will. I love you."

"I love you, too." Lily said, finally releasing her sister from her embrace as her gaze moved over to where Lucas was now standing next to the dining table. "Lucas?"

"Yeah?" the boy asked.

"Keep an eye on her." Lily pleaded. "Keep her safe."

"I will." Lucas assured her. "I promise."

Lily sat back down to watch from the window as Erica opened the door to the Winnebago, the three Sinclair siblings piling out onto the asphalt beneath them before Max stepped out last, shutting the door behind her, lanterns held firmly in their grasps.

As soon as the four of them were off the RV, with the door shut behind them, Steve shifted the gear back into drive as he stepped on the gas, slowly peeling away from the Creel house and back onto the road. Lily watched from the window as the group stepped closer to the house, growing smaller and smaller in the distance as the Winnebago moved further down the road, before Steve rounded the corner, causing them to disappear from view.