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Flashback 1 - Calliope's Mission

Day - Train Tracks

In the middle of nowhere, Calliope was speeding down the road with a man, Kirill, in the car next to her, as they were headed right for a Clandestine mission.

Two people were already in a car near the train tracks where they were supposed to be meeting. Their names were Rachel and Daniel.

Daniel checked his pocket watch. "They're late."

Hearing the train horn in the distance, Daniel started the truck, as Rachel picked up her rifle. The two exchanged a look with a nod, as Daniel sped them right toward the train, driving alongside it.

Inside the train were many people of the Russian and American programs in chains, drugged out of their minds so that they couldn't break free.

Calliope and Kirill were driving closer from across the field, right for the other side of the train.

Calliope spoke through a radio. "Rachel, coming up behind it. Keep 'em busy."

"Hang on," Kirill told her.

Calliope held onto the edge of the car, since it didn't have a car door, to keep herself steady.

In the other car, Rachel stood, aiming her rifle at the train, firing away, making the two men driving the train duck for cover as the windows next to them shattered from the bullets.

Daniel laughed.

Train Driver 1 looked at Train Driver 2. "Call it in!"

Train Driver 2 spoke through the radio. "Transport 0-1-niner. We got trouble on the railroad. Mile 23, send backup! Send backup!"

An airplane started to fly closer. "Roger that. On our way."

Kirill drove his car right onto the train tracks behind the train, coming up onto it quickly, looking at the girl in his passenger seat. "All you, Calliope!"

Armed soldiers on the train walked outside on the railings around the train, firing at Daniel and Rachel in the truck, making them both duck for cover while driving.

Daniel fired his own gun at the soldiers.

Calliope took off her seat belt, standing up within the car without doors, holding onto the car railings to keep her from falling as she climbed onto the car hood, an iron hook in her hand. "Get me closer!" Kirill drove them closer to the train. Once they got close enough, Calliope hooked the car to the train, jumping from the car hood up to one of the ladders on the back of the train, holding on tight. "Come on, Kirill!" Kirill climbed out of the car onto the car hood. The tire burst on the car from riding on the train tracks for so long, causing the car to tilt diagonally, making Kirill fall and almost land on the ground at such a speed that would surely kill him on the train tracks with his car still going the same speed as the train. "Kirill!" Kirill managed to catch himself, standing up. "Jump!"

The hook keeping the car attached to the train was almost loose.

Kirill leaped from the car hood to the train, onto the other ladder next to the one that Calliope was on. They both looked behind them as the car behind them flipped and crashed, going up in smoke and flames.

"Shit," Kirill said in shock.

Calliope looked over her shoulder toward the crashed car. "Let's go."

Before they could, Kirill spotted the plane in the sky. "Hey! Plane!"

Calliope looked behind them again to see the plane flying closer, knowing that it was one of Mikhail's pilots sent to stop Rachel and Daniel in the truck, since the train's drivers didn't know about Calliope and Kirill yet.

The pilot spoke to the train drivers. "0-1-niners, be advised. You've taken on boarders at the rear. We're engaging the truck now."

The pilot dropped guns from the base of the plane.

Calliope raised her radio to speak to her friend in the truck. "Hey, Rachel, you got company!"

Rachel looked at Daniel. "Go, go, go!"

Daniel drove them as fast as he could to get away from the plane and its guns which were already firing at them. "Watch out! Holy shit!"

Rachel spoke through the radio as she and Daniel were making their escape. "Calliope, Kirill, you're on your own. Don't die."

Calliope nodded. "Good luck!" She looked at Kirill. "We gotta move. Come on!"

Calliope and Kirill climbed to the top of the train.

Since the airplane pilot had alerted the train to Calliope and Kirill, armed soldiers were making their way across the top of the train toward the back, but they still had several crates to go before they could even get into shooting range from how long the train was.

Calliope and Kirill ran across the train containers at the back of the train until they reached the one where the the people in the Russian and American programs were chained up and held captive against their will to be used as brainwashed warriors.

Kirill saw the armed soldiers making their way toward them, jumping down to land on the train floor, looking up at Calliope. "Give me the bag!"

Calliope tossed the bag down at Kirill, jumping down next to him, drawing her gun, aiming out at the soldiers on top of the train containers, firing, able to hit many soldiers and take them down.

All the while, Kirill was working on breaking the link between the container that held the hostages and the rest of the train.

Calliope continued to fire her gun. "Kirill?"

Kirill left a device on the link. "We're set! Cover your ass! Take cover!"

Kirill and Calliope ran to the container with the hostages, on either side, holding onto the ladders there so that they could use the container itself as cover from the bomb that Kirill had rigged on the train link, blowing it up to break the container off from the rest of the train, as the train kept driving away with the soldiers on it, taking the soldiers away from Calliope and Kirill before they could be shot and killed, while Calliope and Kirill, and the container they were holding onto, came to a stop since it was no longer being pulled along by the rest of the train.

Calliope and Kirill jumped off the container, running to the front of it, looking at the other few containers behind it. They looked down the train tracks as the train started to come to a stop, but it had to take a while to stop given how fast they had been going.

Calliope turned her head to look toward the field, putting her fingers between her lips to whistle loudly through them. "Indi!"

Indi was a thin boy who got out from behind a rock hiding place right near the place where Calliope and Kirill had broke the containers off. He gestured to two more people, Miriam and Logan, waving them over. "All right, come on, let's go. Come on!"

They ran toward the train containers.

Calliope walked along the train containers, banging on them, calling out. "Apollo! Apollo, can you hear me?" All the prisoners on the inside of the container started to shout for help. There was only one container full of prisoners. Indi ran toward Calliope. Calliope tapped on the container next to her, which was the one with all the hostages. "This one. This one!"

Indi instantly pulled on his goggles and his gear to start his work with Miriam and Logan's help.

Calliope and Kirill looked out over the field toward the train, seeing that it had gotten to a stop, and that the soldiers were coming for them.

"Oh, shit," Kirill said. "It's gonna be close."

∰

Field

Daniel and Rachel lured the plane to a field in the middle of nowhere while being shot at, both loving the thrill of the chase, before they came to a stop where they needed to be.

The pilot spoke through the plane's speakers. "Come out with your hands up."

Daniel and Rachel exchanged a look, smirking.

"We got 'em," Daniel told her.

Several guards stepped off the plane with their guns, walking outside to face Daniel and Rachel, aiming their guns.

Rachel and Daniel got out of the truck, hands raised.

"Stop right there," a guard ordered. "Don't move." Rachel and Daniel both took a step back. "I said freeze, asshole!"

The guards stepped closer.

Daniel smirked. "Whatever you say, hermano."

Rachel smirked, waving mockingly.

A booby trap was sprung, a trap door underneath the sand falling through and making three guards fall into the ground underneath.

Rachel and Daniel instantly took advantage of the distraction and drew their guns, aiming at two of the guards.

A man named Craig popped up out of hiding from behind a rock, aiming a gun at the last guard. "Y'all don't wanna do that now."

"Hey, Craig," Rachel told him.

"Good to see you guys," Craig stated. "Go on, back up."

The pilot was still in the plane, seeing what was going on, about to go outside to deal with the issue himself, only to stop cold when he saw someone behind him.

A girl named Jessica stood behind the pilot with a gun aimed at his head, smiling mockingly. "Hi."

∰

Train Tracks

Calliope and Kirill were on top of the train container with the hostages, hooking ropes and claws into the container.

"Indi, how you doing?" Calliope asked.

Indi was down below with Miriam and Logan, each one wearing goggles and cloths while using blow torches to burn and saw right through the clips/links on the container hooking it to the train.

"Don't rush me," Indi told them.

The soldiers were closing in, firing, making everyone duck, but they were still doing what they had to do in order to get this done.

Calliope held up her rifle, firing at the soldiers. "Indi, get up here!"

"Almost there," Indi told her.

Kirill jumped down from the train, drawing his own gun, aiming at the soldiers, firing.

Calliope was an excellent shot with her rifle, taking down at least five soldiers. "Indi!"

Indi finished the job at the bottom of the train, climbing up to the top, ducking down next to Calliope as she was shooting at the soldiers. "Where the hell are they?"

"I don't know!" Calliope replied while still shooting the rifle. "Logan, Miriam, come on! There's too many of them!"

Kirill, Logan and Miriam all climbed up to the top of the container to duck down beside Calliope and Indi.

The plane started to fly over their heads, hijacked by the Clandestines on mission, as the ones on the ground, including Calliope, all looked up at the plane and smiled in relief.

The soldiers all froze on the ground.

Daniel was flying the plane with Rachel and Craig right over his shoulders. "All right, boys, we're here!"

Craig fired the plane's guns right at the soldiers.

Rachel ran toward a button on the wall, pressing it, dropping a large hook down from the bottom of the plane.

Calliope jumped up to grab the hook, as Calliope and Indi hooked the crane to everything else attached to the train container below their feet.

"Go, go!" Calliope called.

"All right, we're clear!" Craig called to Daniel.

Daniel started to fly them up, lifting the train container with the plane, along with the hostages inside the container, and Calliope and the others on top of it.

Even as they were flying into the air, Calliope continued to shoot at the soldiers as they shot at them, only stopping when they got so high that they were safe from being shot, stopped or captured.

Once they knew that the mission was a success, Calliope and the other Clandestines all cheered in victory and relief.

Calliope raised her fist in the air. "Yeah! We're going home, baby!"

∰

Clandestine Hide Out

Indi was using a blow torch to destroy the door to the train container so they could break it open.

Calliope opened the door, walking in, looking at all the hostages from the program inside, the ones that were trained to become soldiers without powers, like Valkov and Grigori. She looked heartbroken to see all of them like this; scared, traumatized, chained and restrained.

Several others of the Clandestines walked in, as they had been on this mission trying to find their own family members as well.

Rachel saw her brother, gasping in relief, running toward him. "Aris. Are you okay?"

Aris was in shock to see his sister. "Rachel. I'm okay."

Daniel, Craig, Miriam, Indi, Jessica, Logan and Kirill all found their loved ones within the container as well.

"It's okay," Daniel told them. "You guys are safe."

"All right?" Craig asked. "Just hang on."

"We need the bolt cutters," Miriam told them.

"I'll get them," Indi told them.

Jessica looked at her sister. "I'll be right back, okay?"

Indi and Jessica went to get their two pairs of bolt cutters.

Calliope walked through the room, looking at all of the faces of the non-super powered teens and children that they had saved. She was so relieved that they had saved them, but she was devastated with not being able to find Apollo. Since even though he was in the American program, he wasn't classified with this group.

"Calliope?" Kirill asked, noticing her reaction.

Calliope gasped softly in worry and sadness. "He's not here. Apollo's not here."

∰

Now

Same Night - Day One

Lenora Hills, California

Night - On the Road

In the middle of nowhere, Argyle was driving insanely down the road after what the California group had just escaped. "Shit! Oh, shit, oh, shit, oh, shit!"

Calliope was waking up from passing out due to blood loss, having been shot in the torso, right under her rib and above her hip. She had been dreaming of the mission when she had passed out briefly.

Jonathan was keeping pressure on Calliope's wound, looking at Mike for him to do the same for Agent Harmon, who was much worse off than Calliope. "Keep pressure on it."

Mike put his hands on Harmon's wound to keep pressure on it, shocked and horrified to see blood dripping out of his mouth. "God. It's not slowing."

"Keep putting pressure on it," Jonathan told him, doing the same for Calliope. "More pressure. Get the napkins."

Jonathan and Mike put napkins over Calliope and Harmon's wounds, as they didn't have anything else at the moment.

"It's not slowing," Mike repeated, freaking out.

"Argyle!" Jonathan yelled. "Get us to St. Mary's!"

Argyle glanced back at them. "I don't think praying's gonna help them."

"No, you idiot!" Jonathan snapped. "St. Mary's Hospital."

Calliope shook her head. "No, no. No hospital."

"No, we're gonna get you to the hospital, Calliope," Jonathan told her. "You're shot."

"Just a little wound is all," Calliope replied weakly. "If we go to a hospital, those people are gonna find us."

"Well, we've gotta do something," Jonathan replied. "We're not gonna let you die."

Harmon was on his death bed, but tried his best to help them get to where they needed to go. "You need to warn... Sabina."

"Sabina, okay," Jonathan agreed.

"The psionics, they're in danger," Harmon told them.

"Okay, how--how do we find Sabina?" Jonathan asked.

"Nina," Harmon said weakly. "Nina."

"Nina?" Mike repeated. "Who's Nina? Come on." Harmon took out a pen, holding it out for one of them to take. "A pen? Okay, shit."

"Here's the number," Harmon told them.

"Number," Jonathan repeated. "Number."

"He wants to write something," Mike stated.

"We can call this Nina?" Jonathan asked, looking at Mike. "Grab a magazine or something. Mike, get something."

Mike was looking for something, glancing at Calliope and Harmon. "Wow, they're really bleeding a lot." He found a map, putting it out for Harmon. "Right here. Come on, hey. Write the number."

Calliope looked at Harmon weakly, watching as he was already fading out. "Hey. Look at us. Come on."

Harmon slowly died in front of them, shocking Mike and Jonathan as both were breathing heavily.

Calliope tilted her head back, groaning in pain as she held a hand to her wound, and Jonathan was still keeping pressure.

Argyle realized something must have happened. "Oh, shit. Hey, yo, yo. Wait, wait, wait. Why is it so quiet back there, huh? Yo, is he dead? Jesus, man. Huh? Talk to me!"

"Calliope, we're getting you to the damn hospital," Mike told her. "We're not letting you die like him."

Calliope groaned in pain, knowing that they needed her help anyway or they could get killed, nodding. "Fine. But not St. Mary's. I know an abandoned hospital nearby. Clandestines use it when they're on the run."

"Okay, is there anyone there who can help us now?" Jonathan asked.

"Do I look like I know?" Calliope asked.

The conversation was interrupted when they heard a car chasing after them, looking outside.

"Shit!" Argyle said.

Jonathan was insanely more worried. "We should get off the road."

"Argyle, Ar-Argyle, get off the road, now!" Mike told him.

Argyle didn't notice the car chasing them. "Shit, he's dead, isn't he? She's gonna die?"

"Get off the road," Calliope told him.

Argyle was still in hysteria. "This is real bad."

Jonathan, Calliope and Mike all yelled, "Get off the road!"

Argyle took a sharp turn and took them squealing off the road, looking for a place to hide until they could get Calliope to the hospital she told them about.

Calliope was struggling to stay awake through all of this, and struggling not to seep into more memories that would torment her all over again.

∰ Worlds Colliding (Stranger Things) ∰

Safe House - Living Room

Sullivan was here with his team, looking over the damage left by the soldiers that attacked the safe house in 4.04, as they were looking for any clue as to where Calliope, Mike and Jonathan could have gone, along with Niko, Will and Eleven.

Sullivan walked toward Agent Wallace, who was shot and bleeding against the wall, kneeling next to him. "Listen. I know you know where the psionics are. And if you wanna live... you're gonna tell me where they are."

∰

Day Two

Morning - Sabina's Beach House - Living Room

Sabina was getting things ready since they were leaving soon.

Will walked downstairs, seeing Sabina, awkwardly stopping at the stairs, holding two books.

Sabina didn't have to look at him to know that he was there. "William, I might not be a teenager, but my ears still work. So does my telepathic abilities to read your thoughts, which work without touch unlike my grandson."

Will nodded sarcastically, walking closer. "Of course they do."

Sabina looked at him. "Anything I can help you with?"

Will handed her a book. "I found this upstairs."

Sabina took the book, looking it over. "Oh, yes, old research notes. Any particular reason why you're reading this?"

Will took a seat at the table across from where she was standing. "How long has Owens been working for you?"

"A while," Sabina answered. "He's an old friend."

"It was you who sent him to Hawkins to keep the psionics a secret and deal with the Upside Down residues, wasn't it?" Will asked. "That's why Owens was so willing to make a deal with Natasha, Nadia and Niko right away to keep them secret. Why he was so willing to help Hopper adopt El and to keep Ruby a secret too, and helped her get out of trouble with the cops last year when they thought that she was starting fires when really she was losing control. And why he helped us destroy Grigori's files on Hailey to keep her secret too."

Sabina nodded. "I needed to make sure there was someone I trusted in the town where my family settled."

"And you just let them think you were dead?" Will asked.

"It was for the best," Sabina pointed out. "I've always found it best to not look into the past."

Will rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no offense, but that's a load of bull." He handed her a photo album that Sabina had saved of baby pictures of Natasha, Nadyr, Nadia and Niko. "Because if that were true, then why keep this then?"

Sabina chuckled. "I can see why my grandson likes you."

Will managed a nervous chuckle. "That's a complicated matter. But you know that this puts you directly against Mikhail, your ex, the psycho dick."

"I know that," Sabina answered.

"Also known as the person you helped destroy who knows how many lives," Will added.

"Yes," Sabina agreed.

Will frowned skeptically. "So just like that, you're turning on the very person and thing you devoted your life to."

Sabina shrugged, speaking softly. "I did ten years ago too."

"You only did ten years ago after Valkov already died," Will replied. "If you had done something before that, then Nadia and Niko would still have their father. Natasha would still have her husband. Luckily she finally started to move on with Hopper, but that pain is still holding her back."

Sabina sighed. "Well, it is never too late to change."

"And you have really changed?" Will asked.

Sabina tilted her head. "All this about me and you still haven't answered my question."

"Well, I am about to trust you with the lives of two people I care about, aren't I?" Will asked.

"You are," Sabina answered.

"But you're kind of evil," Will told her. "No offense."

Sabina shrugged slightly. "None taken. Never said I was an angel."

"Yeah, so, I just want to make it clear that if thigs get too much for them, I'm gonna be right there," Will told her.

"This might be a little above your knowledge," Sabina pointed out.

Will tilted his head. "I'm a smart kid. I think I'll manage."

"Are you now?" Sabina asked.

Will nodded. "Smart enough to understand the research in there. Including about your own powers. But one thing that I don't get, what happened to your portal powers?"

"Those don't work," Sabina answered.

"Why not?" Will asked.

Sabina sighed. "Well..." She held her hands together, trying to form a portal with her powers, but all that created was a spark made of glowing bright blue, purple and pink light. "See? Nothing."

"What happens if you tried harder?" Will asked.

Sabina held out one hand, her eyes glowing bright blue-purple-pink, the glowing colors sparking along her fingers as well as she created a portal next to her hand, and as she focused much power into opening a returning portal above their heads, both portals of which were very small. She picked up an object, throwing it through the portal next to her hand, sending it to whatever destination, before it returned, falling through the portal above their heads. Will caught the object as it fell in front of him, seeing that it was completely destroyed.

Sabina let the portals fade, along with the glowing in her eyes, wiping the blood from her nose away.

Will looked at the destroyed object in his hands, starting to connect the pieces of how her powers worked. "So your psionics allow you to make a teleportation vacuum between one place and the other?"

Sabina was impressed that Will could figure that out so quickly. "But now if I can even manage to open one, whoever, or whatever I send, doesn't make the trip."

"When did it start?" Will asked.

"Once I helped Niko, Nadyr, Natasha and Nadia escape, I was hurt, and I fell through a portal," Sabina explained. "But since my mind wasn't in the right space..."

"You ended in the space between," Will finished.

Sabina nodded. "I don't know how long I was there, but once I came through, I ended up with Owens. He saved my life. Been friends ever since."

Will nodded slowly. "I'm still not sure if I trust you, but we do need your help. So we might as well be a team about it."

"I do suppose that will be for the best," Sabina agreed, holding out her hand. "So, teammates?"

Will shook her hand. "Teammates."

Sabina took her hand back. "One thing though. What's with your hair?"

Will was surprised by the change in subject especially to his hair, chuckling. "Seriously?"

Sabina waved a hand slightly. "Well, apologies, but all this time and all the pictures, you haven't changed it at all."

"Well, my mom cuts my hair, because we can't afford a real stylist, so..." Will trailed off.

Sabina tilted her head as if thinking of an idea, smirking.

∰

Weeping Willow Cherry Tree (Valkov's Grave)

The cherry tree was a beautiful weeping willow, with an altar at the foot of the tree that included candles and a picture of Valkov.

Niko slowly walked closer, seeing all of this, taking a lighter and lighting a candle, scoffing. "Lighter. Primitive." He took his father's picture, passing his hand over it, smiling a sad smile, putting it back, tears in his eyes as he started to cry. "I messed up, Papa. I messed up in ways that I feel like if you were here, you would be so disappointed in me. It just feels like I've been messing up my entire life, and that no matter how hard I try, I keep failing to be good, to do good. I feel no matter what I do, there's always gonna be this voice in my head telling me no matter what I do, I'm not gonna save the people I love, because I'm just not strong enough. I don't know what to do, and I really wish you could tell me. Just give a sign or something. Weird things have happened, so just give a sign.

Niko heard a noise, turning his head to look at the box that Valkov had left him, seeing a device in it, and another small box. He took out the device, turning it on. The device started, and Valkov appeared, revealing it was a recording.

Niko gasped at seeing his father again, even if it was just a recording.

Valkov smiled softly. "Hello, starlight." Niko chuckled sadly, tears falling. "God, I don't know how to start this. Your mama was always the better speaker. I guess if you find this, it means I didn't come back from my last mission, saving you, your sister and your mother. I have no idea how this message will find you. A little boy outside free in the world, a teenager with an attitude that needs a good lesson, or just a kid needing advice from his Papa. So I guess first things first, if you're anything like your Mama, you will be blaming yourself for what happened to me. Please know that wherever I go next, I will be at peace as long as you three are okay. And I hope you grew up to be exactly what you want to be. If you find for some reason you hate American alcohol, social interactions and strawberries." Valkov pointed at the screen. "That's all me, okay?" Niko chuckled softly, nodding as if to say that he did hate all of that, as did Nadia. Valkov was trying to be strong, some tears falling. "God, I love you and Nadia and Natasha love so much, Niko. From the moment I held you in my arms, I looked to everyone and just showed you off. I said eto moy syn moy syn. [This is my son, my son.] And I looked in your big, innocent eyes... Having you and your sister was the greatest thing that ever happened to me, and I need you to know that, okay? I wouldn't change a thing. Even knowing the end, I would do it all again if it meant having you two. I love you more than anything."

Niko let out a choked breath. "I love you too, Papa."

"I put something inside the box," Valkov explained, showing the necklace around his neck, which had two rings. "My Papa gave this to me when I was small, before I was taken for the program. And he said we give this to the person we love the most. So I did just as he did. And please listen to me. I know this world is hard and troublesome, and you might feel like someone like us has no place in it, but we make our own place, and we find people who make it better, and maybe you feel like you're bad and complicated, but complicated..."

Niko realized what he was saying, the same thing that Will said to him in 4.03, finishing along with Valkov. "Doesn't have to mean broken."

Valkov had an emotional smile. "Carry on, and you take a look at yourself. I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me. I love you, starlight. Never let that go."

The video finished

Niko was crying, smiling sadly at hearing his father's last words to him, taking a deep breath, looking around aimlessly. "I don't know if you can hear me. I don't even know if I believe in something that would make you hear me. But I hope wherever you are now, you're at peace, and that if you do hear... I just need you to know that I'm gonna fix this, okay? And that I can't promise you I won't make more mistakes, but I'm gonna keep trying, and I'm gonna get up and gonna give it my best shot. Because I'm a Rostov. And that's what we do. And I'm gonna do right by our name."

Niko put the device back in the box, and placed that smaller box back into the big box, seeing the necklace with the two rings, putting on the necklace with a determined look on his face, taking one last look at Valkov's picture, before standing up, picking up the box, turning around, and walking away with a new found hope.

∰

Beach House - Guest Room

Will's hairstyle:

Niko was getting his bag ready, putting his box from Valkov into his bag, and picking up Nadia's box from Valkov as well, not having opened it yet since clearly it was for his sister, placing it into the bag so that he would be able to bring it back to Nadia when he saw her again.

Niko didn't need to turn around to know who was standing in the doorway behind him. "Hey, Will, almost done, so we can finally go. You're not gonna believe what happened."

Niko turned around, finally seeing Will, stopping in surprise.

Will had a new, much better haircut, smiling. "What do you think?"

Niko smiled. "What did you do?"

Will's smile faltered just slightly. "You don't like it?"

"No, of course I like it," Niko answered. "I love it. But when did you get time to get a haircut?"

"Your grandmother," Will answered.

Niko raised his eyebrows skeptically. "You let my grandmother get near your neck with sharp things?"

Will shrugged. "Yeah, it was a surprise for me too, but she did a good job at it."

"Yeah, totally," Niko agreed, nervously going into a ramble. "It looks great. I mean, you look great. I mean, not that you didn't before. You always look great."

Will walked closer, smiling, instinctively reaching out to take Niko's hand. "Nikolai, breathe. Thank you."

Both Niko and Will seemed surprised but not bothered by the gesture, as they locked gazes for a moment with small smiles.

"Right," Niko said. They realized how close they were, blushing, taking a few steps back. Niko took a deep breath. "So, uh, I went to my dad's grave."

Will frowned. "Wait, Valkov's body is here?"

"Yeah," Niko answered. "Sabina took his body here and planted a weeping willow cherry tree, since that was his favorite one. He left me a recording, and I heard it there."

"Are you okay?" Will asked.

"I don't know," Niko admitted. 'But I know I guess I feel better, a little, knowing he's not just decaying in some backwater somewhere. But at least he's resting where he would have liked it. I mean, he would have loved this place."

Will nodded sympathetically. "Maybe it's good. I know you always felt bad because you couldn't do much to help him, but at least now you know he's resting. Maybe he found peace... after..."

"Yeah," Niko agreed. "Yeah, I guess that's a good point."

Once again, Will took Niko's hand. "I'm sure that means he would want you to find peace too."

"I'm not sure I can do that," Niko admitted. "I'm not that evolved."

"Well, that's clear," Will replied sarcastically, smiling teasingly. "But we're all works in progress."

Niko scoffed a laugh. "Jeez, thanks."

Will chuckled. "You're welcome."

"You know, I realized today just how much I wish you had met my dad," Niko admitted. "He would have loved you so much."

"You think so?" Will asked.

Niko nodded. "Yeah, I do."

They looked at each other, managing small smiles, still holding hands.

∰

Outside

Niko, Will and Eleven were putting their bags in Niko's car (which he and Will stole in 4.04).

Eleven turned to Will, looking at his new hairstyle, smiling. "Bitchin'."

Niko smiled. "Totally bitchin'."

Will playfully waved his head around to show off his hair teasingly. "I know, I know."

Sabina walked outside. "Are we all set?"

"Yep," Will answered.

"We're leaving now?" Eleven asked.

"Sure hope so," Niko replied. "We don't have time to wait around anymore. Who knows what could've happened in Hawkins just since we've been here."

"We're leaving now," Sabina answered, looking at Niko. "Don't worry about your car. I'll send someone to get it."

"Then how are we supposed to get there?" Will asked.

Just then, they heard a helicopter getting closer. Niko, Will and Eleven's eyes widened as they looked at each other, turning around to look at the helicopter flying closer.

Sabina smirked, turning to look up at the helicopter as well. "Like that." As the helicopter got closer to the ground to land, the spinning blades and wind blew back Niko, Will, Eleven and Sabina's hair as they looked up at the chopper. "Owens is here."

Owens was flying the chopper, looking out at the four of them, waving with a slight smile.

∰

Corinth:

The City of Corinth

Sabina and Owens were in the front seats of a helicopter, flying over the ocean, wearing headsets to speak over the noise of the helicopter.

Niko, Will and Eleven had fallen asleep in the back of the helicopter on the way to their destination, but were waken up by the rough ride. They were also wearing headsets to tune out the helicopter, but also to speak to Sabina and Owens.

"Apologies for the bumpy ride, kiddos," Owens told them. "We would've had it on land for easier access, but... kinda ruins the whole 'top secret location' thing."

Sabina looked back at the three teens. "Did you get some rest?"

They nodded.

"A little," Eleven answered.

"Good," Sabina replied. "I have a feeling you're gonna need it."

"Where are we?" Will asked.

"I thought you were taking us to where we'll get our powers back," Niko told her.

"I am," Sabina answered, before speaking into her com. "This is Sabina Ivanova. We are clear for landing."

A dome, and the city that it was around, rose out from the middle of the ocean.

Niko, Eleven and Will looked at it in shock.

"What is this place?" Will asked.

"This is just the garage," Sabina answered.

The top doors of the dome slid open large enough to allow Owens to fly the helicopter down into the dome, and into a garage.

The top doors closed as the dome submerged itself underwater again.

"So this is it?" Will asked.

"Of course not," Sabina answered. "This is simply where we keep the transportation." She pointed to a plane on the far side. "Like that one. Specially made to go past the bubble."

"Bubble?" Eleven repeated.

"What bubble?" Niko asked.

Owens and Sabina exchanged a smirk.

"Follow us," Owens told them.

Owens and Sabina started to walk away, causing the three teens to follow them.

∰

The City

Owens, Sabina, Niko, Will and Eleven had taken an elevator, and once the door opened, they saw what Owens and Sabina meant, stepping out of the building, where a car was waiting for them.

Niko, Will and Eleven looked around as they were taking in the sight of the entire city built under the sea, surrounded by the dome.

Sabina held out her arms on either side of her as she turned to look at them. "Welcome to Corinth. Otherwise known as the secret city."

"What is this place?" Will asked.

"A place I created for psionics and soldiers that broke free from Mikhail's grasp, where they could be safe," Sabina answered.

"You told me, Mama, Nadia and Nadyr that we could come here when you had the idea to create this place 10 years ago," Niko remembered.

"That's right," Sabina answered. "But Natasha and Nadyr are independent and would rather be out there in the real world. I'm sure you and Nadia are the same."

Niko shrugged in agreement. "It's better being out there living actual lives than being sheltered in a giant bubble."

"Perhaps," Sabina agreed. "Why do you think I have my beach home?"

"Plus, shortly after, we thought you and Nadyr died, so we never thought of coming here," Niko added. "Mostly because we didn't know if you ever got the chance to actually build this place."

"Also true," Sabina allowed. "But the people here, they choose to be here because they don't want to risk being out in the real world. Either because they don't think they can handle it, because they don't want to, or they just don't want to risk being found and captured all over again. I don't blame them for that. They're the reasons I built this city in the first place."

Owens opened the backseat door of the door. "After you."

Sabina and the three teens got into the back of the car, which was like a mini limo. Owens got into the car after them.

The driver of the car started to drive them through the city, and Niko, Will and Eleven were looking out of the windows in shock and entertainment like kids at a theme park for the first time, stunned by everything around.

Sabina watched their reactions in amusement, smiling softly.

"You created this place?" Will asked.

Sabina shrugged. "I had some help."

"From the people you telepathically mind control?" Niko asked.

Sabina tilted her head, biting her lip. "And every single one of them got to forget this place even existed or that they helped build it, because I can't risk having people I don't trust knowing where this place is. For everyone's safety."

Niko, Eleven and Will were looking out at all of the psionics and soldiers, the ones that had been brainwashed and controlled by Mikhail, were roaming free throughout the city, living their lives, children having fun. They all smiled at the thought that they did have a place to be safe in.

"Where are we going?" Eleven asked.

"To Sabina's headquarters," Owens answered. "That's where we need to be."

∰

Sabina's Headquarters - Outside

The car pulled over outside of the skyscraper that was Sabina's headquarters, which was surrounded with many of the other skyscrapers in the city, which was small, but beautiful and advanced.

Owens, Sabina, Niko, Will and Eleven got out of the car, looking up at the skyscraper in front of them.

Sabina gestured for them to follow. "Come on."

∰

Inside - Lobby

Sabina and Owens led Niko, Will and Eleven through security, as they walked toward an elevator.

Niko, Will and Eleven were taking in everything around them.

∰

Top Floor - Lab

Sabina, Owens and the three teens took the elevator up to the top floor, walking through a lab where scientists were working.

"Anne, Tracy, morning," Sabina greeted.

"Morning, doctors," they replied.

Everyone was staring at Niko and Eleven.

Sabina smirked. "Yeah, you'll have to forgive the staring. You're bit of celebrities down here. Along with Nadia, Hailey, Ruby and Natasha."

"We are?" Eleven asked.

"Oh, yeah," Owens answered. "You kidding? You--you're bigger than Madonna to them. The psionics that refuse to stay hidden, but use their gifts to do what they can to defeat monsters that no one can even begin to comprehend."

Niko smirked smugly. "Well, I'm glad that some people recognize our excellence and give credit where credit is due."

Will gave Niko an amused look.

Sabina chuckled. "They've all given up their lives, their jobs, their families to come work on this program, 'cause they believe in the cause. They believe in all of you. Just like I do. And in Nadyr, though he's had to lay low for so long while on the run. But now he's stepping up to the plate, just like the rest of you."

They walked through a door into another lab room, where there was a huge computer tank.

"We call her Nina," Owens explained.

"What is it?" Eleven asked.

"That is going to help me get your powers back," Sabina answered, looking at Niko. "And to help teach you how to get Nadia and Ruby's powers back after I help you with yours. It's also going to help me unlock long forgotten, or rewritten, memories, so that you two can know the truth about something... something that could help you both help your friends win the battle against the monsters that your friends are now facing. But I will warn you. These memories are not pretty. They are dark and traumatic."

"What else is new?" Niko replied.

"And neither of you will like what you see, but you need to know," Sabina told them. "Are you both ready for that?"

Niko and Eleven nodded.

"Whatever it takes," Niko replied. "You said that we had to be clear of mind or this thing wouldn't work. That it could kill us. Right?"

"Yes," Sabina answered. "You've already gotten to a clearer state of mind. Eleven, do you think that you're ready for this? It means going back to the past and bringing up everything you've had to go through. And I know that's hard because I've been there with you for some of it."

Eleven frowned. "I know. I've seen memories of you. Flashes. But I don't remember much else."

"Because I had to change some of your memories, because some of them got to be very traumatic," Sabina explained. "As I've said."

"What happened?" Will asked. "What are the memories of theirs that you have to bring back?"

"Well, if I told them now, then it would ruin a clear state of mind and would likely get them killed during this process," Sabina pointed out. "And I can't risk that."

"We get the risk," Niko told her. "I'll do it. El?"

Eleven sighed. "Okay. I think... I'd like to try. But Sabina?" Sabina turned toward Eleven. "We called you Mama. Before you left. Right?"

"Yes," Sabina answered. "Like you called Martin Brenner Papa."

"When I went to see Number 8... Kali..." Eleven trailed off. "Someone told us that he wasn't dead. Is that true?"

"It's true," Sabina answered. "Brenner's alive." Niko, Eleven and Will looked at her in shock. "He barely survived the attack of the Demogorgon, as you kids call it. But he did. And he tracked me down, we got into an argument about the past, and he tried to attack me, so I locked him away. He's in a prison cell, right in this very building." Eleven swallowed nervously. "He cannot hurt you anymore, Eleven. That I can promise you."

Niko and Will looked at Eleven in concern.

"Are you okay?" Niko asked.

Eleven bit her lip, fighting tears in her eyes. "I don't have to see him. Do I?"

"Of course not," Sabina answered. "Only if you want to. To tear into him and give him a piece of your mind like Nikolai's already done with me."

"You deserved it," Niko replied. "And so does he."

Sabina tilted her head in agreement. "But if this is going to keep you from allowing your mind to be clear, and you go into that chamber while having these kinds of thoughts in your head, it most likely will kill you. So think very hard about what you want to do first, Eleven. You don't have to see Martin, or even speak to him if you don't want to. But find a way to clear those thoughts out of your mind so that we can do this as safely as we possibly can. Okay?"

Eleven swallowed, nodding, looking at Niko and Will, who both looked at her in concern.

Eleven and Niko had no ideas what their memories had in store for them, but they knew that they had to do this, nodding slightly to each other.

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - Torture Room

Hopper was being beaten brutally after his escape and re-capture.

A soldier yelled to stop them, speaking in Russian. "Enough! He is not yours to kill. Fools." He knelt next to Hopper, speaking in English. "What I tell you, American? No run. You don't listen. Now is going to be much pain. Much."

∰

Fighting Ring

Hopper was dragged through the fighting ring that would be later used, dragging him past a mace on the ground which was covered in blood, before they threw him into a cell on the side of the fighting ring, making him fall to the ground, closing and locking the cell, walking away to leave.

Hopper was breathing heavily as he started to push himself up.

Dmitri was in the cell as well, in regular clothes for the first time he had been shown. "It could be worse, American. At least you have company." Hopper looked up in confusion. Dmitri was standing with his back to Hopper, hand resting against the bars in front of him, turning his head to look at Hopper over his shoulder. Hopper looked at him in disbelief and confusion, slowly standing. "Your eyes don't deceive you." Dmitri turned to face him. "I'm a prisoner now. Like you. Yuri, the smuggler, he betrayed me. Betrayed us. He was working for Mikhail the entire time."

Hopper was furious at the words, punching Dmitri viciously in the face, grabbing him, slamming him against the wall of the cell.

Other prisoners were watching from the cell next to theirs.

A man smirked, speaking in Russian. "The pig's in trouble now."

Hopper shouted at Dmitri. "You said we could trust him! You swore to me!"

"Because I believed we could," Dmitri told him. "You think this is what I planned? I have lost everything. Everything! We both knew the risks. Both of us."

The prisoner watching spoke to Hopper in Russian. "Do us all a favor. Finish him!"

Dmitri spoke to Hopper in English. "We gambled.  And we lost. We lost."

"Finish him!" the prisoner shouted in Russian.

Hopper slowly started to calm down, releasing Dmitri, turning around, pacing away.

The prisoner grunted, spitting in annoyance.

Dmitri slid down the wall to sit down on the bench below him.

Hopper sat down against the wall on the bench, becoming worried. "Joyce and Murray? What about them?" Dmitri turned his head to look at Hopper. "And if Yuri was working with Mikhail the entire time, what does that mean for Natasha, Nadia and Niko? Or Nadyr?"

Dmitri tilted his head, sighing.

∰

Nome, Alaska

Nadyr's Safe House - Living Room

Nadyr had taken Joyce and Murray to his safe house so they could recover from the plane + car crash that they had been incredibly lucky to survive.

Murray was in the shower now, but Nadyr and Joyce had already taken theirs, changed into clean clothes.

Joyce looked around the safe house. "This is yours?"

"I set it up before finding Fish N' Fly, so we would have a place to lay low safely while I hack the hard drive and get Natasha and Hopper's coordinates," Nadyr explained. "They're not going to be in the same prison, either. Mikhail would have Natasha in his own prison for psionics and soldiers. Hopper would be in a prison for normal people, but my father still has ties to that prison."

"Right," Joyce agreed, rattled, holding her head in pain.

Nadyr finished setting up the computer hacking program on the hard drive. "This will take a while, but it's automatic more than anything." He noticed Joyce holding her head in pain, taking out a bottle of Tylenol, opening it, taking out two pills, holding his hand out to Joyce. "Here." Joyce looked at Nadyr. "For the pain."

Joyce looked relieved, appreciative, holding out her hand below Nadyr's so he could let the pills fall into her hand.

Nadyr handed a glass of water to Joyce, which she used to take the pills.

"Thank you," Joyce told him. Nadyr nodded. Joyce sat down at the table across from Nadyr. "I'm not even sure how the hell we survived that."

Nadyr shrugged. "Extremely lucky, I guess."

Joyce chuckled. "Yeah, it seems that happens a lot to the people that I love."

"So I've heard," Nadyr remarked. "Sabina and I don't really know much about everything, but we do know most of the headlines because of Mama being in Natasha's mind, and mine, to set all of this up. The rescue mission."

"That's how you knew where to find us," Joyce realized.

Nadyr nodded. "Mm-hmm. I'm sorry."

"For what?" Joyce asked.

"For both you and Murray being targeted because of being close to my family," Nadyr answered. "The way that all of you have gotten involved with Natasha, Nadia and Niko... the way you've all gotten involved with each other and another dimension that's already almost killed all of you more than once..."

"Yeah," Joyce agreed. "Well, that's not their fault, or yours. We made our own choices that led to this, Nadyr. And Natasha, Nadia and Niko are like family. To all of us. Couldn't imagine it any other way."

Nadyr chuckled. "So all of you back in Hawkins. You're like this one big happy family."

"In some ways, yes," Joyce answered. "We all protect each other and fight together like family, so..."

Nadyr nodded in understanding. "Sounds great... other than all the near death experiences."

Joyce couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, that is the one draw back. It's a pretty big drawback. A pretty constant one."

Nadyr smirked in amusement. "But would you trade that for not having those people in your life?"

Joyce had to think for a moment. "I would like to think that we could live without all the danger and near deaths, but still have everyone that we know and love. But to be fair, all those experiences were what bound us together as a family. Experiences I wish we never went through because everyone went through so much pain. My sons Will and Jonathan included. So I would wish away the danger, but not the people that surround us as family."

Nadyr nodded in understanding. "Though it seems like you can't have one without the other, Joyce."

"I can dream," Joyce replied.

Nadyr shrugged in acknowledgment. "That you can."

Nadyr was trilling his fingers, tapping.

"What are you doing?" Joyce asked.

"Oh, this?" Nadyr asked. "Piano. I took up piano. As a kid, my father hated it when I did it. He always thought of me more like a thing than a person. Same for Natasha, Nadia and Niko." Joyce looked concerned and sympathetic for all of them at the sound of this. "My mother wasn't the best by far, but at least she wasn't as bad as him. Helped us get free. Only after Valkov died, but..."

Joyce frowned in concern. "They never told us how hard it was. Their past. About you, or your parents."

"Well, the past is hard to talk about," Nadyr pointed out. "Especially if it's hard. Especially if it hurts. And especially when you think it's over. But it's never over. Not in our lives."

Nadyr raised his gaze to meet Joyce, and she was surprised by the pain but distance that his eyes held, even more sympathetic.

"I guess I owe you," Joyce told him. "For saving us. Thank you."

Nadyr shook his head. "You don't owe me anything." Joyce shrugged slightly, which only caused her to wince in pain, and Nadyr noticed. "You didn't tell me how bad you were hurt."

Joyce tilted her head with a slight chuckle. "I guess I thought it was nothing compared to how it could've been."

Nadyr stood, walking around the table to grab a first aid kit, turning to Joyce, sitting in front of her, opening the kit up to take out burn treatment ointment for Joyce's burns. "That's true, but don't want these to get infected, do you? Could still become pretty bad."

"You don't have to do this," Joyce told him. "I can do it."

Nadyr shook his head. "I destroyed the plane and made it explode and threw us across a landing strip. Nearly killed us. Least I could do."

"Yeah, though you were doing that to save us," Joyce replied.

Nadyr tilted his head. "Joyce. Let me make it up."

Joyce chuckled. "Okay." Nadyr started to treat Joyce's wounds, eyes downcast to focus on treatment. Joyce looked at him curiously. "I know that you did all that to save us so that you could get the hard drive to find Natasha. To protect her, and Nadia and Niko from your father."

"I did," Nadyr answered. "But I would've saved you two either way. I've done a lot of bad in my day, Joyce. Even if it was while being under Mikhail's control. I'd like to make up for it."

"Well, thank you," Joyce told him.

"You can stop thanking me," Nadyr pointed out. "We still have a long journey ahead of us where any of us could get hurt or killed. You don't have to go."

"I know I don't," Joyce agreed. "But Natasha's my best friend. And Hopper's a close second. They've helped save our lives, and helped me get my son back, more than once. So there's no way in hell I'm not going to save them."

"Making up for it," Nadyr realized. "Like I am."

"If that's how you want to see it, yes," Joyce answered. "But mostly because I just want to save my friends. Like you want to save your family, Nadyr."

Nadyr accepted this with an nod, chuckling. "All right."

Joyce bit her lip. "But I don't know if I could do something like what you did to save us. I can't fight like that. I don't have powers or an advantage."

"People like you can still do anything that they set their minds to, especially in the heat of the moment," Nadyr pointed out. "You don't need to know how to fight or to have powers to save the people that you love. And you love Natasha and Hopper. And Nadia and Niko along with the rest of the people in Hawkins. That I can respect. And need I remind you that you did save my life last night too? I would've flew right out of the plane if it wasn't for you."

Joyce chuckled. "That's true. Though, since we are going in for another round of near death experiences to save people that I love, and save your sister... if it came down to me saving your life... would you trust me to do it?"

"I would now," Nadyr answered. "Though I'll try not to let it come to that. And you? Would you trust me to save your life again if it came down to it? Even if there's nothing in it for me that time around?"

Joyce chuckled, knowing that he was mostly joking, but nodded. "Yeah. I think I would." She used his words against him. "Though I'll try not to let it come to that."

The two couldn't help small smiles.

Murray walked out of the bathroom, dressed. "I'm gonna make breakfast, if you two eat that sort of thing."

Nadyr and Joyce looked away from each other to look toward Murray.

"Knock yourself out," Nadyr told him. "It's gonna take a while for this thing to decrypt." Murray nodded, walking into the kitchen to cook. Joyce and Nadyr exchanged a look, chuckling. Nadyr finished treating Joyce's wounds. "There. All done. Wasn't so bad, was it?"

Joyce smiled. "No, not so bad." Nadyr sat back in his chair with a slight smirk. "What about you? Anything I can help with? You know, return the favor?"

Nadyr shook his head. "Any wounds I had, I treated while you were in the shower. All we have to do is wait for the hard drive to decrypt so we can set this plan in motion."

"You do have a plan?" Joyce asked.

Nadyr smirked slightly. "I always have a plan."

∰

Karachi, Pakistan

Alley

Natasha had managed to contact a Clandestine, and was waiting with Apollo in a car.

The Clandestine, who happened to be Kirill from the flashback in the beginning, arrived for the meeting.

Natasha looked at Apollo. "Stay here."

Natasha got out of the car, gun in hand as she saw that Kirill also had a gun in hand, both paranoid and protecting themselves, but trying to be civil.

Natasha opened the trunk of the car, taking out a black duffle bag of rifles, walking toward Kirill, dropping the bag in front of him.

"Just like that?" Kirill asked.

"Yeah, just like that," Natasha answered. "I need to go after Mikhail, and I want the boy out of here. I know his sister Calliope is part of you Clandestines, and their mother used to be the leader before she died. Just reunite Apollo and Calliope and make sure they're safe. That's all I care about."

"Why?" Kirill asked.

Natasha shrugged. "'Cause I do."

Kirill nodded in agreement.

Natasha waved over to Apollo in the car.

Apollo got out of the car, closing the door, walking closer slowly.

"There's a chopper waiting for both of you on the other side of the east bridge," Natasha explained. "There's two blockades between here and there. I'll do my best to draw them away from both." Apollo looked at Natasha worriedly. Natasha looked from Apollo to Kirill. "You get him to the other side."

Kirill nodded.

Apollo walked up to her worriedly. "Natasha."

Natasha patted him on the shoulder. "You're gonna get to see Calliope soon. Okay? I promise. I'll see you soon."

Before Natasha walked away, Apollo gave Natasha a tight hug. Natasha returned the hug, before pulling away and walking away to get the job done.

∰

By the First Road Blockade

Natasha stood in a building with a sniper rifle, looking down outside the window toward Kirill and Apollo in their car down below.

Kirill nodded to Natasha, who nodded in return.

Kirill put a bandana over his face to hide his identity. "Do you trust her?"

"I do," Apollo answered.

Kirill nodded in acceptance.

Natasha aimed her rifle at the police car on the blockade, firing at the gas tank, causing an explosion that made everyone scream and duck for cover.

Kirill looked at Apollo. "Seat belt."

Apollo pulled the seat belt on.

Natasha reloaded her rifle and fired at the other police car's gas tank, causing another explosion that threw the cops around it to the ground.

Cops and military fired up at Natasha's spot, but Natasha couldn't be hit, as she was firing her own rifle down at all of them, having a much better shot than any of them, taking most of them down, killing them.

This was distraction enough to buy Kirill time to speed away past the blockade, getting away.

Natasha noticed that one of the soldiers outside was getting ready to fire a grenade at her spot. "Oh, shit."

Natasha ducked for cover just as the grenade shot into the room, and used her clear gold-glow tinted shield to protect herself from the explosion.

As two soldiers made their way in, Natasha drew her hand gun and fired shots into their heads, killing them instantly, watching them fall as she rose to her feet, making a run for it.

∰

On the Road - Second Blockade

Kirill and Apollo were trying to drive past the second blockade, but there was an intense traffic jam, blocking them in.

"We'll have to go on foot," Kirill told him.

Apollo put on a hat to hide his face.

The two got out of the car and started to make their way through the crowd, trying to keep unseen, hidden, while trying to get to their destination on the east side of the bridge.

∰

Building Rooftop

Mikhail walked across the rooftop, toward his soldier. "Have any eyes seen Apollo?"

"Not yet," the soldier answered. "But we've seen your daughter. The kid must be near."

Mikhail looked through binoculars toward the rising smoke from the gunfire and explosions. "It's a distraction."

∰

Road

Natasha was making her getaway, firing guns at soldiers that came for her, and throwing grenades that exploded and took them out, but she was kept safe by either ducking into cover or using her shield to protect herself, continuing on her way without pause.

∰

Bridge

Kirill and Apollo were trying to cross the bridge.

A guard noticed them and tried to stop them, shouting in a foreign language, before saying in English, "Stop!" Kirill turned to look at the guard. "Take his hat off. Let me see his face."

"Huh?" Kirill asked. "I don't understand."

"His hat," the guard repeated. "Take it off."

Kirill hesitantly nodded, turning to look at Apollo. "Do what he says. Take off your cap."

Apollo slowly, hesitantly started to take the cap off, but before the guards could react, Kirill instantly drew his gun and shot out three guards, killing them all, buying themselves enough time to run for cover to hide from anymore guards. As guards came closer, Kirill expertly shot out each guard from behind a car, taking them all out, including a sniper at the top of a building.

Apollo held up his hands, letting a glowing green light mist and waft away from his hand, before conjuring it out to create a glowing green light crystalline construct of a sphere like weapon, throwing it into a group of soldiers, sending them tumbling to the ground.

When a few more guards came, Kirill took out a grenade, pulling out the pin, tossing the grenade over to the guards, making it explode to kill some or distract the rest, so that he could shoot out all the remaining guards, killing them.

∰

Building Rooftop

Mikhail and his soldier were watching the smoke rise from the bridge.

"Take two more units to the bridge," Mikhail told him.

The soldier spoke into his walkie. "Two units to the bridge. Hurry!"

Mikhail called out. "Chiara." Chiara walked closer, holding out her hand. Mikhail took her hand to siphon her power of electricity so he could use it in battle against Natasha and Apollo, his hand glowing green as he did. "Thank you."

Mikhail walked away.

∰

Bridge

Kirill led Apollo behind a car for safety. "Stay here. Stay down. I'm gonna draw them away from you." Apollo nodded. "Go."

Apollo went to take cover.

A helicopter was flying closer, shooting at Kirill, as Kirill was shooting his rifle at the chopper, drawing it away from Apollo toward the end of the bridge, ducking behind cars for shelter, but when the helicopter started to hit the cars, making them explode, Kirill was thrown to the off the bridge.

Apollo saw this and instantly held up his hands, letting the glowing green light mist and waft away from his hands, thrusting out both hands to create a glowing green light crystalline construct of a platform beneath Kirill to catch him and to keep them from falling to his death. But when the gunshots from the helicopter kept shattering the platform, Apollo kept creating new hard light platforms underneath Kirill to catch him each time and bring him safely to the ground.

Apollo wiped the blood from his nose.

Kirill spoke through a walkie. "Rostova, we need you on the bridge."

Natasha had stolen a motorcycle and was already on the way with a grenade launcher strapped to her back, which she had stolen from the soldiers she had taken out. "On my way."

Until Kirill could recover, Apollo was on his own defending himself from the soldiers.

Apollo let his glowing green light shine through his body like armor before conjuring it out from his hands to create a glowing green light crystalline construct of a huge fist, that he used to hit a soldier with enough strength to take them out, before spinning around and using the arm light construct to slam into the surrounding soldiers in a straight line as he spun, taking them all down.

When Natasha got to the bridge, she pulled the motorcycle over, and instantly aimed the grenade launcher at the helicopter, and took the shot, firing a grenade right into the back of the helicopter, setting it flame into chaos, and making it break literally in half, before it started to fall, crashing into the bridge on the way down, falling into the river.

Kirill was taken down by a soldier and nearly killed, but he managed to shoot the soldier in the head before he could kill him, pushing the body of the soldier off of him to the ground. He stood, taking cover by a bus as he was firing at all of the other soldiers.

Sadly, with his focus on taking out the soldiers on the bridge, Kirill never had the possibility of seeing the sniper at the end of the bridge, who fired a shot right through his head, killing him as he fell to the ground.

Apollo and Natasha were both in shock, but knew that they had to keep fighting.

Before Natasha could even know where to find the sniper, she was shot deeply in the side, gasping in pain as she put a hand to her side, falling to the ground.

Apollo yelled worriedly. "Natasha!"

Natasha had to take cover underneath a car so that the sniper couldn't hit her again, aiming her own gun, breathing heavily, searching for the sniper through her rifle's sights, until she finally found the sniper, and pulled her own sniper rifle, blowing a hole right through his head, watching as he fell dead through her scope. Even with the soldiers taken down along with the sniper, Natasha and Apollo had nearly zero chance to get away as they were both wounded and bleeding heavily.

Natasha had to lean against a car for support, breathing heavily.

Apollo ran toward Natasha, kneeling next to her, holding her hand, crying.

Their helicopter ride was finally able to make it to the bridge.

"You see that helicopter?" Natasha asked. "I need you to run for it as fast as you can."

Apollo refused to leave Natasha, shaking her head. "No. I told you that I wouldn't leave you. Please, get up."

Natasha swallowed heavily. "Apollo. If you don't, you don't get the chance to see Calliope. You'll be used to find her and everyone I love, and who knows what my father will do then. Go." Apollo hesitated but knew that time was running out. He really didn't want to leave, but Natasha pushed him forward. "Go!"

Apollo started to run for the helicopter, tears in his eyes. He almost reached the helicopter when he looked back and saw Mikhail coming for Natasha. "No! Natasha!"

Natasha turned to follow his gaze, seeing Mikhail on the bridge.

Mikhail walked toward Natasha. "I think that's enough games, don't you?"

Natasha weakly conjured her clear gold-glow tint shield saw, thrusting her hand toward Mikhail to try and kill him, but the shield saw was weakened by Natasha's weakened state, as Mikhail could use a blast of electricity power to blow it to pieces.

Having to gather her strength, Natasha raised her arms instantly to conjure her clear, gold-glow tint shield in front of her to protect herself.

Mikhail walked closer with his hands glowing with blue electricity, waving his hands around, conjuring a ball of electricity from the power, throwing it right at Natasha's shield with enough strength to blow her and everything around her back. Though the shield still protected Natasha from being killed, it didn't stop her from being flung through the air and landing on the bridge in a painful way, especially given her wounded, incredibly pained state.

Apollo, worried and horrified, took off running toward them, going back for Natasha in a desperate attempt to save her.

Natasha instantly stood, and even in this state, she was giving it her all to protect herself and Apollo and trying to kill Mikhail for all he had done. Each time Mikhail sent a blast of electricity, Natasha ducked, dodged or flipped to avoid, forming her shield, throwing it against Mikhail, sending him flying to the ground.

Mikhail sat forward and instantly threw his hand out, shooting out a blast of electricity, forming a construct/restraint around Natasha, lifting her up into the air, intent on electrifying her to the point of near death. "You really thought that you could outsmart me, Natasha? Me? You and Nadyr have already tried and failed to take me down before. You thought you could do it now? You think that Nadia or Niko or Sabina would be able to? All of this? It was just one big game. To prove to you that you will always be my puppet. I needed to do business here, but needed a way in, and you making this huge mess only helped me. I knew the entire time that you weren't under the mind control. I just needed you to prove to me yourself. And now? You're going back. So is Apollo. Your children. Brother. Hailey, Eleven and Ruby. They'll all be with you soon. Hell, Apollo there is going to help me find Corinth, his sister Calliope. And then you and everyone you both love will suffer."

Apollo ran closer in pure anger and protection, furious. "No!"

Apollo let his glowing green light shine through his body like armor before conjuring it out from his feet to create a glowing green light crystalline construct of boosters that helped him flip through the air impossibly, so that he could grab Mikhail and flip them both through the air and threw Mikhail away from him over his head, as Apollo landed on his back on the ground.

Mikhail landed badly on the ground, and Apollo attacking him like this broke his concentration so that he would have to release Natasha.

The electricity construct/restraint around Natasha faded, and she started to fall, but the height at which she was falling added with being electrocuted and shot, a fall like this would likely kill her.

As Natasha was falling through the air, Apollo held up his hands, letting the glowing green light mist and waft away from his hands, thrusting out both hands repeatedly to create glowing green crystalline constructs of platforms in the air large enough to catch Natasha, though with the strength and speed at which she was falling, each time she hit a platform, she shattered it and continued to fall, which was why Apollo had to create many each time to slow down her fall and gently let her land on the ground to save her.

Natasha laid on her back on the ground, breathing heavily, trying to recover.

Apollo fell to his knees, nose bleeding heavily from all the power he had to use yesterday and now today after he had just woken up from the cryo nap, drained.

Mikhail was pushing himself up and about to attack once again.

Natasha sat up, glaring at Mikhail, and held up her hand to conjure a clear, gold-glow tint shield saw, which was spinning at its fastest and most deadliest. Mikhail saw this and ducked for cover behind a soldier's vehicle just as the shield saw hit against the place where he just ducked from, which cut the car that had been behind him completely in half with a shower of sparks. Natasha stood as she slashed her arms through the air to send flying shield saws through the air, taking out the soldier's vehicle that Mikhail was hiding behind, cutting it completely in half. Mikhail thrust out his arm to send a burst of electricity toward Natasha, but Natasha created a large shield to protect herself from the blast, thrusting her hands out to send the shield flying into Mikhail, sending him flying to the ground, and destroying the cars around him in the process.

Mikhail landed very badly on the ground, cut and badly bleeding from the shield and the saw that Natasha managed to nick him with.

Natasha stormed closer to Mikhail, forming a shield saw that could end it, as blood was gushing down from her nose from the insane amount of powers she had to use yesterday, now today, and now to finish her father off once and for all.

Before she could, Mikhail shot a blast of electricity at the car that was nearby Natasha and Apollo, a few feet behind them, causing the car to explode into flames and shake the already shaking and crumbling bridge, and throwing Natasha and Apollo through the air, which they couldn't stop, as they were burned and insanely weakened, both falling to the ground on the other side of Mikhail, several feet away. The way they landed knocked both of them unconscious, leaving them both vulnerable to be taken by Mikhail all over again.

Mikhail smirked smugly, wiping his nose which was bleeding profusely, victorious.

∰

Nome, Alaska

Nadyr's Safe House - Living Room

Nadyr, Joyce and Murray were eating breakfast when Nadyr's computer beeped.

Nadyr instantly put his food down and went to the computer.

Joyce sat forward nervously. "Is that it?"

"Did you get it?" Murray asked.

Nadyr looked at the decryption of the hard drive, smirking in relief, looking at Joyce and Murray, nodding. "Oh, yeah. We got it. Get ready to go."

Nadyr printed out the coordinates.

Joyce and Murray instantly stood and gathered their coats and hats for the cold.

Nadyr pulled on his coat, grabbing his mission suit that helped him control his powers, putting it over his arm as he grabbed the paper with the coordinates and handed it to Joyce.

Joyce put the paper into her jacket, noticing Nadyr's suit. "What's that for?"

"It helps control my powers," Nadyr answered. "As you've both seen, they can get a little out of hand."

"Yeah, I'll say," Murray agreed. "And you said you knew how to fly a plane?"

"Yep," Nadyr answered.

"Where are we gonna get one?" Joyce asked.

Nadyr shrugged. "Well, Fish and Fly has another one. One that's definitely better than the one those assholes tried to take you two on."

Joyce and Murray exchanged a look.

∰

Fish N' Fly

(Song:) Travelin' Man - Ricky Nelson

Nadyr drove his car straight to the Fish N' Fly with Joyce in the passenger seat and Murray in the back.

They saw that a couple guards were surveying the damage left behind in 4.04, but it was something Nadyr could handle with ease, as he pulled over and jumped immediately out of the car to attack the guards before they could stop him.

Nadyr grabbed Guard 1's head, slamming it against his car, making him fall, kicking him in the side twice. Guard 2 grabbed Nadyr, rolling him onto the floor. Nadyr kneed him in the crotch, making him fall off of him to the floor, standing up, grabbing his arm, twisting it behind his back forcefully, making his bones crack and him scream, kicking him in the head, knocking him out. Guard 1 stood to try and attack again, as Guard 3 ran closer. Nadyr punched Guard 1, slamming his head on the car hard enough to make him fall unconscious, spinning to backhand punch Guard 3 in the head, kneeing him in the stomach, kicking him in the crotch, making him kneel over so he grabbed his head and slammed it down on the ground as he knelt to do so with all his strength, knocking him out.

Nadyr stood, smirking, turning to Joyce and Murray in the car. "Come on. Let's go." Joyce and Murray were both stunned by how quickly and brutally Nadyr handled that. "Let's go!"

Joyce shook her head, getting out of the car, closing the door. "I shouldn't be surprised. Nadyr's just like Natasha, Nadia and Niko."

Murray got out of the car, closing the door. "How long will it take to get there?"

"Luckily, Alaska and Russia are just separated by a long body of water," Nadyr pointed out. "We'll be there in five hours, six max."

Joyce and Murray nodded in understanding.

Nadyr, Joyce and Murray got onto the more stable plane that they needed.

Murray sat in the back, buckling up.

Nadyr got into the pilot seat, buckling in, putting on the headphones.

Joyce sat in the seat next to Nadyr, putting on the headphones as she buckled in. "Ready to see your sister after 10 years?"

Nadyr smirked. "Even more ready for the fact that she'll kick my ass after we break her out." Joyce chuckled. "You two sure you wanna do this? Last chance to back out."

Joyce shook her head. "Like I said. No way I'm backing out. I can do this."

Nadyr looked at Joyce, as Joyce gave him a determined look, nodding.

Nadyr smirked, impressed, nodding. "All right then." He glanced back. "Murray?"

"Just get us going, Nadyr," Murray told him.

Nadyr nodded, starting the plane up. "Here goes everything."

Nadyr started to fly, taking liftoff.

∰

Karachi, Pakistan

Airport

Natasha and Apollo were sedated and bound, unconscious, while being loaded onto a plane.

A doctor was treating Natasha's gunshot wound.

Mikhail walked onto the plane. "Fix that wound up. She doesn't get to have the mercy of death after what she's pulled. I need her and Apollo alive if I'm to get to Nadia, Niko and Nadyr, and the others."

"Yes, sir," the doctor answered.

"They have a lot yet to learn about our family after all," Mikhail remarked, turning to the pilot. "How long until we're back in Russia to the prison?"

"Four hours, sir," the pilot answered.

Mikhail sat down. "Get us moving, then."

The plane started to fly, while the doctor was still treating Natasha's wound with as much as medical supplies they had at the moment, keeping her alive.

∰

Hawkins, Indiana

Lovers Lake

Two men were fishing on a boat, listening to the song playing over the radio, hearing clattering over from Reefer Rick's place.

"When'd Rick get out of jail?" Man 1 asked.

Man 2 shook his head. "Justice system's a goddamn joke."

(Song Ends)

∰

Reefer Rick's Place - Kitchen

Eddie was looking around the house for food, not finding anything. "Nope." He opened another cabinet, finding a can of Spaghetti-Os, taking it out. "Yeah, you'll do." He cooked up his food, using his walkie to try and contact the others. "Hey, Dustin, this is Eddie the Banished. You there?" In Ruby's loft, Hailey and Dustin were sleeping on the couch, with Dustin's arm around Hailey, and Hailey's head against Dustin's shoulder, her arms wrapped around him. Lucas, Robin and Nancy were sleeping in chairs, so clearly none of them heard the walkie. "Hailey, can you hear me? Earth to Dustin and Hailey."

Nancy woke up hearing the walkie, grabbing the walkie from the floor. "Hey, it's Nancy."

"Wheeler!" Eddie said. "Hey. How are Ruby, Max and Billy? Are they..."

"They're fine," Nancy answered. "Hailey managed to save them, barely. Long story."

Eddie sighed in relief. "Thank God. Um, I know you guys are dealing with some heavy shit, but I'm gonna need a food delivery, like really soon, unless you want me going out into the world like Billy did."

Nancy shook her head. "No. No, no, no. Don't do that. Look, Billy doesn't have much of a choice right now since even if we saved him, Ruby and Max from Vecna..."

"Mirage monsters could come after them still," Eddie finished.

"Yeah," Nancy answered. "Yeah, they already almost got Nadia, Dustin, Steve and Lucas. And me, Ruby and Robin."

"Damn," Eddie said. "You guys good?"

"We're trying," Nancy answered. "We're figuring it out. Just stay where you are, and we'll be there as soon as we can."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Eddie agreed. "Listen, um, can you pick me up a six pack? I know it's stupid as shit, drinking right now, but a cold beer would really calm my jangled nerves."

Nancy looked around the loft, seeing Dustin, Hailey, Lucas and Robin all sleeping, but not seeing Nadia, Steve, Ruby, Max or Billy. "Hey, I'm gonna have to call you back."

"No, don't you dare," Eddie told her. "Wheeler? Wheeler?"

∰

Ruby's Loft - Living Room

Nancy hurriedly woke Hailey and Dustin up. "Hailey! Dustin! Wake up. Aren't you supposed to be on Ruby, Billy and Max watch?"

Dustin rubbed his eyes. "Yep. Yep, yep, yep."

"Then where are they?" Nancy asked. "And where're Steve and Nadia?"

"I was in the Maze of Mirrors when I was sleeping, Nancy," Hailey told her, wiping the blood from her nose away to prove her point. "Ruby, Max and Billy aren't there. Don't worry."

"Okay, but that still doesn't answer my question," Nancy pointed out. "Hailey, I know you had to get rest because of yesterday and all that power, but Dustin, seriously?"

"I only dozed off for..." Dustin trailed off, checking his watch, looking sheepish. "An hour."

Hailey tiredly swatted Dustin on the head with her hand, as the two let each other go and stood.

∰

Downstairs - The Alibi

Steve and Nadia were downstairs, keeping an eye out on the window on the door leading to the alley out back, which let them see Ruby, Max and Billy outside, giving them space but making sure they were okay.

Steve noticed that Nadia was still insanely tense after yesterday and her own nightmare coming true and almost killing them, sitting at the bar, pouring a drink for them both, offering to Nadia. "Hey. I know it's not the right timing, but looks like you could use it."

Nadia looked over at Steve, even more distant than she had been if possible, shaking her head, still emotionally and mentally affected by yesterday. "I prefer my mind to remain unaltered for the time being."

Steve tilted his head, shrugging. "Weird. I feel the exact opposite." He took a drink. "You can relax. Ruby, Billy and Max are okay. They're playing those songs non stop through their Walkmans. Hailey's drained, sure, but she'll be okay."

"These monsters are like literal ghosts, Steve," Nadia told him. "They could be anywhere, after anyone at any time. And we know that they're gonna come after us again when we least expect it, like they always do. We have to be prepared."

Steve knew that that wasn't the only thing still bothering her. "I know. Are you okay?"

"Oh, I haven't been 'okay' in a long time," Nadia replied. "But I'll be better than what I was yesterday."

Steve nodded a bit, biting his lip. "Guess that's all I can ask for."

Nadia sighed, walking closer, sitting next to Steve at the bar, taking the second glass. "What the hell?" He took a drink. Steve managed to chuckle. Nadia put her drink down, gazing off. "Ask me."

"What?" Steve asked.

"I know you wanna ask, so just ask," Nadia told him. "I know you aren't right now because you don't wanna be rude or make me feel worse. But nothing could be worse than yesterday, so just ask."

Steve looked down. "Those monsters. That memory with those men. Who were they?"

Nadia bit her lip. "I never knew their names. Or saw their faces. They were all the same. They were orderlies and a doctor in the Russian program. They got off on hurting me. And hurting the other girls like me. They made us cry. Tortured us. Sexualized us. And it made them smile"

Steve was horrified by this, looking sick to his stomach. "Did they..."

"Sexually abuse us?" Nadia finished. "No." Steve closed his eyes in relief at that part, but knew that it was still horrible in every other way. "If they had, other doctors, the superiors, would have found out, and there would have been even more hell to pay than there had been later. They wore those masks to try and keep the superiors from finding out who they were. My grandfather and grandmother. Sabina and Mikhail. Our last night in the program, Niko found out who one of them was, the doctor. And he told me, Mama and our uncle Nadyr."

"You have an uncle?" Steve asked.

"Did," Nadia replied, not knowing the truth about Mikhail, Sabina and Nadyr being alive yet. "I never mentioned them before because they're dead. Nadyr, Mikhail and Sabina."

"I'm sorry," Steve told her.

Nadia nodded. "After my papa got Mama, Niko and I free, and he died... because of Mikhail and Grigori... Sabina and Nadyr helped us escape. When Niko told us about the doctor, the one that did what he did to me, and the orderlies..." She had tears in her eyes as she looked away, as Steve was incredibly pained by her pain. "Nadyr went back and found out who they all were, and he killed them. But that led to his death. So..."

Steve closed his eyes, sympathetic and horrified about just a glimpse into Nadia's past horrors as a young girl. "My God. Nadia, I am so sorry."

"I thought I buried it," Nadia admitted. "But apparently Vecna and Mirage can dig up everything that you thought you'd buried. The monsters that attacked us are what I saw them as. In my dreams and every waking nightmare. So of course Mirage creates them just as how I saw them. And I'm sorry, Steve."

"For what?" Steve asked.

"For shutting down and falling apart yesterday," Nadia answered. "I could've gotten you killed. Or--"

Steve shook his head, instinctively laying his hand on Nadia's hand on top of the bar. "No, no, no. You don't get to take blame for that." Nadia looked at his hand on top of hers. "You were literally ambushed by nightmare monsters of your worst memories of what people did to you." Nadia looked at Steve. Steve shrugged. "Trauma's trauma. You can't control how you react to that. And Dustin, Lucas and I helped you through it. And we're all fine. Okay? We all made it through."

Nadia looked at Steve, as he tried to give her a reassuring smile.

Nadia nodded, swallowing. "Okay." She took a drink, biting her lip, letting out a shaky breath. "There's an old proverb that says inside every person, there are two sides, forever locked in combat for your soul. One side is all things good. Compassion, love, trust. The other is all things evil. Fear, shame and self-destruction. We all had to face that battle literally yesterday."

"Yeah," Steve agreed. "And guess what? The good side won."

Nadia looked at Steve, managing a small smile. "Yeah. Guess it did."

Nadia didn't mean to let a tear fall, but it did. Steve, acting on instinct, reached up his other hand to wipe the tear away, surprising both of them slightly, but neither of them minded one bit, eyes locking.

"Sorry," Steve whispered.

Nadia shook her head. "It's okay."

Hailey, Dustin and Nancy walked downstairs in a rush, only to see Steve and Nadia sitting at the bar together and completely fine, other than the emotional toll on Nadia given yesterday.

Steve and Nadia looked away from each other to look at them.

"Oh, hey," Dustin said awkwardly.

"Are you guys okay?" Hailey asked.

Steve looked to Nadia to be sure she was. Nadia gave a slight nod.

Steve looked at the others. "Yeah. Yeah, we're good."

"Where are Ruby, Max and Billy?" Nancy asked.

Steve and Nadia nodded to the back door and the window on it.

Hailey, Dustin and Nancy walked over to look out the window, seeing Ruby, Max and Billy outside.

Nadia turned her head to look at Steve, speaking softly. "Thank you."

Steve nodded reassuringly, giving Nadia's hand a slight squeeze, making them both realize that Steve had never taken his hand off of hers.

∰

Outside Alley

Ruby, Max and Billy all had their headphones around their necks, playing their songs, but not wearing the headphones on completely so they could talk.

Max was sitting on Ruby's motorcycle.

Ruby stood next to her, teaching her. "Okay, so what's the first thing you do?"

Max started the engine of the bike, smiling at Ruby slightly. "Start it up."

Ruby returned the slight smile. "Very good."

Billy watched from a few feet away, chuckling lightly, taking a drink of beer. "That part's obvious, though."

"Shut up," Max replied. "I finally get to learn to drive this thing."

"Well, promise is a promise," Ruby pointed out. "Swore that I would teach you if we made it out of yesterday alive."

"Yeah, but I didn't think you would be doing it right now," Max admitted. "But thanks."

"Well, we finally have a free moment, so why the hell not?" Ruby asked.

Billy shrugged in agreement, raising his can. "Why the hell not?"

Max smiled at them, though all three of them were still tense given yesterday, but just glad to be alive and to have a moment like this, a small moment of happiness no matter how fleeting.

Ruby stood next to Max, showing her how to actually drive, which ones to use for what. "Pull back on the left hand, kick down to put in gear." She reached for the right hand on the throttle, pulling back on the lever first, pulling down around Max's fingers. "Front brake." She twisted the throttle, making the engine rev. Max smiled at the sound of the engine revving like that. "Throttle. Back brake for stopping."

"You got all that?" Billy asked, slightly teasing/taunting.

"Yeah, I got all that," Max replied, sassy but still happy and sarcastic, excited that Ruby was teaching her.

Ruby smiled. "Show us."

Max went through the motions of what Ruby just showed her. "Pull back on the left hand and kick down to put in gear." She pulled back on the lever on the right hand. "Front brake." She twisted the throttle, making the engine rev, which she smiled at doing so herself this time. "Throttle." She pointed to the back brake. "And back brake for stopping."

Ruby clapped her hands. "Yes. Now, I can't take you out to actually drive this thing with everything going on right now, but I will once all of this is over and we're free and clear, okay?"

"Yeah," Max answered. "At least I got the basics for now."

"Yep," Ruby answered. "And who knows, maybe during one of our many trips on a mission, I can teach you to drive for real." Max smiled. Billy smirked, shaking his head. "But remember. Balance..."

"Is key," Max finished.

"Yeah, and not ramming into things," Billy remarked. "Or driving too fast and wiping out."

"Says the guy that drives like a maniac," Max replied. Billy chuckled. Ruby smirked. "And Ruby drives this thing super fast too."

"Yeah, but not when you're on it," Ruby pointed out. "I slow down a little when you're with me on this thing."

"Yeah, a little," Max agreed, putting emphasis on 'little' to prove her point. "I bet you two haven't driven slow a day in your lives."

Ruby and Billy shrugged in agreement.

Billy nodded to the bar. "Come on. Can't stay out here for too long. I shouldn't even be here."

"Yeah, well, you don't have a choice as long as you're cursed and a target for Vecna and Mirage," Ruby told him. "We can't help protect you if you're out hiding away with Eddie, who could get hurt in the process."

Billy sighed. "I know. And after yesterday, really don't wanna leave you two anyway."

Ruby and Max managed small smiles.

"Good," Max said. "Because we don't want you to leave either."

"We just gotta find a way to make sure we all stay safe," Ruby agreed.

Ruby, Max and Billy gave small smiles, before walking to the back door of the bar.

∰

Inside

Hailey, Dustin and Nancy moved away from the back door quickly, walking toward the bar to sit down next to Nadia and Steve, who both smirked slightly.

Ruby, Max and Billy walked in.

"Hey," Hailey told them.

Max walked over to Hailey to sit next to her. "Hey. Keeping an eye on us?"

"Maybe," Dustin answered.

"Can't blame us," Hailey quipped.

Max smiled a little.

Ruby and Billy smirked slightly.

Robin and Lucas walked downstairs to join them, while Robin was holding a bunch of little papers that had drawings on them.

"Morning, guys," Robin told them. "Everything okay?"

Nancy nodded. "Yeah, everything's okay."

Lucas nodded, walking over to sit next to Dustin, Hailey and Max, on the other side of Max. "How long you been up?"

"A while," Max answered.

Nadia glanced over at Max. "How's bike riding lessons going?"

Max smiled. "Good."

Steve shook his head, looking at Ruby. "I still can't believe you're teaching her to drive the damn bike after knowing that she almost crashed Billy's car two years ago."

Billy raised his eyebrows, looking at Max.

Max shrugged dismissively. "But I didn't."

Max glanced at Lucas with a smirk. Lucas smirked.

Ruby chuckled. "Get over the protective Mama bear routine, Steve. At least Nadia's the fun dad."

Dustin, Hailey, Max and Lucas smiled.

Steve and Nadia rolled their eyes. "Ha ha."

Steve and Nadia exchanged a look, which only caused Ruby, Billy, Dustin, Hailey, Max, Lucas, Robin and Nancy to smirk.

Dustin pointed to Robin. "Then we got ADHD cousin Robin." Robin smiled. Dustin pointed to Ruby. "Crazy aunt Ruby." Ruby shrugged. Dustin pointed to Nancy. "Responsible but distant aunt Nancy." Nancy chuckled. "And recovering psycho step uncle Billy."

"Watch it," Billy replied, but didn't deny the claim, which caused the kids to smile again.

"Insane little family we've got here," Hailey remarked.

Lucas pointed to some food behind the bar. "Hey, Ruby, Billy, can we get some of this?"

"Sure," Ruby answered.

"Yeah, why not?" Billy asked, slightly sarcastic. "Take us for all we're worth."

Dustin gave a cheeky smile in response. "Okay."

Dustin and Hailey instantly stood and climbed over the bar to get food.

Lucas stood and jumped over the bar.

Max smiled, standing, sitting on the bar to slide her feet over to the other side and slide off behind the bar.

Steve and Nadia were not surprised, shaking their heads.

Nadia pointed to the kids. "Classic."

Steve nodded sarcastically. "There you go. This is what happens when you let Ruby and Billy let the kids run wild."

"That's why crazy aunts and uncles are cool," Hailey replied.

Billy rolled his eyes, but couldn't help a smirk.

Ruby couldn't help a small smile.

Nancy and Robin smiled in amusement.

Dustin, Hailey, Lucas and Max put together some food to eat.

Lucas looked up at Robin, noticing the papers in her hands. "What are you holding, Robin?"

Robin just now remembered, walking toward Ruby. "Right, yeah. Ruby, did you do these last night?"

"Yeah," Ruby answered. "I couldn't sleep because Dustin and Lucas kept blasting music in my ears." She looked toward Dustin and Lucas, who both smiled sheepishly while eating. Billy smirked slightly. Max nodded. "And I couldn't get last night out of my head, so I did what I always did and drew it."

Robin held up a drawing of Aaron and Chrissy's bodies on pillars. "And these are..."

"Yeah," Ruby answered. "It was like they were on display. And then there was this red fog everywhere. The red thunderstorm like the Upside Down."

"Or Maze of Mirrors," Hailey remarked.

Ruby nodded.

"I'm betting that this was like Vecna's Maze of Mirrors," Nadia told them. "His mind lair. I'm sure that Mirage has one too, and that his victims like Fred would be there on display too."

"Do you realize how insane it is that we're actually saying that and it makes sense?" Billy asked.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Do you really think that this was a mind lair, or that Vecna was just trying to scare Ruby?" Nancy asked.

"With showing me Billy, Max and my parents?" Ruby asked. "Yeah. But when I made it here... I don't know. Something was different. He seemed surprised, almost. Like he didn't want me there."

"Maybe you infiltrated his mind," Dustin pointed out. "He invaded your mind, right? Is it that big of a leap to suggest you somehow wound up in his?"

Lucas pointed at Dustin in agreement. "I mean, your scrying power was literally astral projecting your mind into other people's minds. Going into other minds too."

Ruby shook her head. "No, no, don't say 'too'. I don't want to be compared in any shape, way or form to this asshole."

"And Ruby doesn't have her powers, scrying or not," Billy added. "So how did Ruby end up in his mind?"

"Does it matter how?" Steve asked. "The point is, that it happened."

Hailey pointed to Ruby's drawings of Vecna's mind lair. "This is like Freddie Krueger's boiler room."

Ruby let out a breath. "Fucking Freddie."

"These nightmares were sure a hell of a lot like that," Billy muttered, sitting down.

Nadia looked up at Ruby. "Look, power or not, you somehow unlocked a backdoor to Vecna's world. His mind. Maybe the answer we're looking for is somewhere in this drawing."

Nancy frowned as if this gave her an idea. "Robin, place those out on the bar."

Robin shrugged, placing the drawings out on the bar, as they all saw floating pieces of the Creel house in different parts of the drawings on several different pages. "Okay. Not sure what..."

Ruby's gaze caught onto the drawing of the door with the rose stained glass window. "I keep seeing that fucking door. That window."

"What do you mean, keep seeing?" Nancy asked.

"First, it was in my dream, the night before we found out we were cursed," Ruby answered.

Hailey remembered this, nodding. "Right, right. The dream I saw. The house was deteriorating, almost unrecognizable."

Because of this, they all realized that the floating pieces in the drawing, in Vecna's mind lair, were pieces of the broken house.

"Pieces of a house," Max stated.

Ruby, Nadia, Hailey, Nancy and Robin stood in front of the bar and put each piece of the drawing together piece by piece until they created the house, having to fold up some of the papers in order to do so, including of the part with the door and window, just to show how the pieces fit together to create the house. Billy, Steve, Dustin, Max and Lucas stood around the bar to watch them piece it together intently.

"Not just any house," Nancy told them, grabbing one of the articles for the Creel killings that was on the bar from where the group left them, showing them the house in its full form. "It's Victor Creel's house."

They all looked at each other in shock.

"We couldn't see the rose window in the picture because it's old and a bad picture," Robin admitted. "But Victor said that his daughter, Cheryl Creel, loved the rose stained glass window in the door."

"Holy shit," Steve said.

"Wait, why was Ruby seeing this house in her dream?" Lucas asked. "Before we found out that she, Max and Billy were cursed?"

Ruby frowned in confusion, shaking her head, overwhelmed. "I..."

"It doesn't matter," Nadia said, knowing that Ruby was overwhelmed. "All that matters right now is that we got our next lead."

Ruby nodded in agreement. "The Creel house."

∰

Eleven's Mind Space

Day - Hawkins Lab - Eleven's Room

Eleven was on her bed, her eyes snapping open with a gasp. She was breathing shakily, sitting up, looking over herself, wearing the typical hospital robe that the psionic patients always wore, her hair buzzed.

Even though Eleven knew that the process of going into the machine added with Sabina's telepathy would bring her back here, she was still traumatized, more than she thought she would be, with these memories resurfacing, thinking that she would have had a better handle on her emotions and mental state. She didn't mean to let a tear fall, but it did.

Eleven turned her head to look at a drawing, stick figurines of Eleven, Sabina and Brenner saying "Mama and Papa". With a rainbow over them.

Another tear fell as Eleven turned her head away, and another still as she placed her hands to her head to feel it buzzed. "No."

Eleven heard laughter from outside the room, lowering her hands, turning her head to look at the door, slowly putting her feet on the floor one at a time, standing, walking to the door, opening it, peaking out into the hallway.

∰

Hallway

Eleven walked into the hallway slowly and cautiously, inching forward, looking around anxiously, making her way down the hallway toward the rainbow room double doors at the end.

∰

Rainbow Room

Eleven slowly walked in, looking around the room, seeing several other young psionics sitting around the room, playing with toys or practicing their powers with the toys.

Young Apollo (Ten) was one of them, sitting at a table as he was putting a puzzle together.

Two older kids of the program, teenagers, were sitting at a table, playing chess. They glared at Eleven as she walked by.

A man who appeared to be nothing more than an orderly appeared, walking toward Eleven. His name was Henry. "Well, well. Look who finally decided to join us. Someone's a sleepyhead this morning."

"Where am I?" Eleven asked.

"I guess you're still not quite awake, huh?" Henry asked.

Eleven looked around, disoriented, calling out. "Sabina? You said I could ask you..."

The lights flickered as Henry gave Eleven a slight smile, causing the entire room to appear creepy, most of all Henry.

When the lights stopped flickering, the scene had repeated.

Henry walked toward Eleven. "Well, well. Look who finally decided to join us." Eleven turned to face him. "Someone's a sleepyhead this morning." Eleven circled around Henry to go to the door, breathing heavily, shakily. Henry turned to watch her go. "Don't go too far, sleepyhead. Lessons begin promptly at 10:00."

While backing away, Eleven knocked over the building blocks, gasping, backing toward the door, having no idea why just seeing Henry put her on edge and triggered something within.

∰

Hallway

Eleven ran down the hallway, going through another set of doors, only to end up back in the rainbow room.

∰

Rainbow Room

Eleven looked shocked and confused as to how she ended up back in the rainbow room.

Henry appeared. "Well, well. Look who finally decided to join us. Someone's a sleepyhead this morning."

Eleven turned to face Henry, breathing shakily in distress, shaking her head.

∰

Niko's Mind Space

Russia Psionic Program - Rainbow Room

Like the American program, the standard psionic wore a hospital robe and had their hair shaved, so this was the same for Niko and Nadia when they had been in the program.

Niko walked through the hallway to end up in a room that was much like the rainbow room in America. He looked overwhelmed, closing his eyes so that this place couldn't trigger a panic attack, as he could already see vague memories from when he was four, added with the memories that he had used his telepathy to see in Nadia and Natasha's minds.

A little girl ran up to Niko; this was the same girl in the Mirage visual of Nadia's memory of what the "smiley men" did to her. "It's about time you woke up."

Niko was stunned to see the younger version of his sister. "Nadia?"

Young Nadia looked around, putting a finger to her lips. "Shh. You know that Mama and Papa weren't supposed to give us names. We're just supposed to be a number like everyone else."

Niko shook his head in confusion, stunned by how all real this felt, when he knew that it was only in his mind. "I..."

"Dr. Fedorov will be in soon," Young Nadia told him. "We have another lesson."

Niko looked unsettled by the doctor's name, not knowing why, shaking his head. "No. Uh, no, we're not doing that."

"We have to," Young Nadia told him.

"None of this is even real," Niko told her.

Young Nadia frowned. "I'm not real?"

The lights flickered as Young Nadia gave a look, causing the entire room to appear creepy.

When the lights stopped flickering, the scene had repeated.

Young Nadia ran up to Niko. "It's about time you woke up."

Niko sighed. "Look, Nadia--"

Young Nadia looked around, putting a finger to her lips. "Shh. You know that Mama and Papa weren't supposed to give us names. We're just supposed to be a number like everyone else. Dr. Fedorov will be in soon. We have another lesson."

Dr. Andrei Fedorov walked into the room. "Okay, kids, gather around. Lessons are about to begin. I'd like to start with some questions."

Young Nadia looked at Andrei uneasily.

Niko looked at Andrei like he triggered something inside him, frowning in confusion, shaking his head. "Fuck this."

Niko turned around, walking out of the room.

∰

Hallway

Niko ran down the hallway, going through another set of doors, only to end up back in the rainbow room.

∰

Rainbow Room

Niko looked shocked and confused as to how he ended up back in the rainbow room.

Young Nadia ran up to Niko. "It's about time you woke up."

Niko was frustrated. "What the fuck?"

∰

Reality

City of Corinth

Sabina's Headquarters - Nina Lab

Sabina was sitting in a chair, wearing a headset that would help her use her powers for long periods of time without being drained or heavily damaged by it, as her eyes were glowing bright blue-pink-purple, using her powers to help both Eleven and Niko.

Will was watching worriedly, watching the monitors that allowed them to see into Eleven and Niko's minds thanks to technology added with Sabina's powers. "Their heart rate's now 120. They're rejecting it."

"Give them time," Sabina told him.

Will shook his head. "No, no, no. You said that you would stop if it got to be too much."

"Yes, and this isn't," Sabina pointed out. "They'll be fine. We have to keep going or you know the danger that your friends face in Hawkins. Without Niko and Eleven's powers, without Ruby and Nadia's, helping Hailey face the two monsters that can control her and kill all your friends, what do you think will happen?"

Will sighed in frustration. "But they're going to drown in there."

"No," Sabina disagreed. "No, they're going to swim."

∰

Lenora Hills, California

Abandoned Hospital - Operating Room

Mike, Jonathan and Argyle got Calliope to the abandoned hospital.

"What do we do?" Mike asked. "What do we do, what do we do?"

"First things first, I need you to stop the bleeding," Calliope answered. "Until you do, I can't go anywhere."

The boys laid Calliope down on the table, as she groaned in agony.

"We have to get a doctor," Jonathan told her, placing a cloth over Calliope's wound to slow the bleeding. "We should've taken you to a real hospital."

"No," Calliope denied. "We can't involve the authorities. Mikhail and Sullivan's men are everywhere. If we ask the wrong person who might end up working for one or the other, then we're done. We're dead. They'll kill us. You understand? Find something to wrap around this."

Argyle ran to grab a wrap, walking closer to wrap it around Calliope's wound, tying the cloth that Jonathan held to Calliope's wound there so it wouldn't fall.

"So we save you, you save us, and if we fail, we all die," Mike told her. "We get it."

Calliope swallowed, tilting her head back. "We'll be fine. Just hold that right there." They nodded in agreement. "If I can get enough strength, I can sew it up myself."

"You have medical experience with trying to treat a gunshot wound?" Argyle asked.

"Well, I patched me and Jonathan up before, didn't I?" Calliope replied.

"That was just in the shoulder and the arm," Jonathan replied. "This is..."

"Something I can handle," Calliope told them. "Trust me."

Argyle was pacing. "This is so messed up, man. This is so messed up. This is so mess up! This is so messed up!"

"Shut up," Calliope told him.

"What about the agent?" Argyle asked, freaking out. "He's probably got a family, you know, kids and a wife. All that shit. We gotta go to the cops with this, man. We gotta lay it all on 'em. Your superpowered friends, bad government dudes, the Upside Down dimension planet thing--"

Jonathan rubbed a hand over his face, while Mike gave Argyle a look like he was stupid. "No!"

"But--but listen!" Argyle told them. "They could save Calliope. 'Cause she might die, and then the bad government dudes are after your super friends, right? Right?! Okay. So maybe cops can help us find out where they are. 'Cause they're gonna kill them, man. And if they kill them, they're gonna kill us."

"Hey!" Jonathan told him.

"Actually, they might kill us before they kill them," Argyle continued to freak out. "I don't know, man."

"Argyle!" Jonathan said.

Argyle paced. "Actually, I don't know what order they wanna go--"

"Listen," Jonathan told him. "Hey!"

"Eeny meeny miny moe, shoot a--" Argyle started.

Jonathan raised his voice. "Argyle! Listen!"

"What?" Argyle snapped.

"We can't focus to fix this and save Calliope if you keep doing that," Mike answered.

"So shut the fuck up," Calliope told him.

Jonathan continued helping Calliope. "Look, I think we can figure this out, okay? We just gotta open our minds."

"Open our minds?" Argyle yelled. "There's a dying girl in front of me, man! You want me to open my mind? What are you talking about?"

Calliope glared at Argyle before looking at Mike and Jonathan. "Get him to shut the hell up or I'm gonna kill him with my dying breath."

Jonathan grabbed Argyle's shoulders to stop his ranting. "Hey, listen! Dude, hey! Just relax, okay? Why don't you just go out to the van and do your thing, huh?"

Argyle was finally calming down, nodding. "Purple Palm Tree Delight."

"Right," Jonathan answered. "Right."

Mike rolled his eyes.

Argyle managed to chuckle. "It's all worn off."

"It's just worn off," Jonathan repeated.

Argyle nodded. "I'm all emotional."

Jonathan nodded. "You're emotional."

Argyle was breathing uneasily. "Okay." He looked at Calliope. "I'm sorry."

"Apologize by leaving," Calliope told him.

Argyle walked out of the room.

"Jonathan?" Mike asked. Jonathan turned to face him. "Is more weed really a good idea right now?"

"Got a better idea to keep him calm long enough so we can save Calliope?" Jonathan replied, walking closer. "Let's just get this done."

Calliope was getting enough focus to try and talk Mike and Jonathan through trying to help her. "Okay. The bullet went in right below my rib. Right above the hip. Which means that no major organs were hit by the bullet. But I can still feel the bullet inside of me."

"So if the bullet didn't come out?" Mike asked.

"Afraid one of you has to help me remove," Calliope answered. "Can you see if there's a sewing kit somewhere?"

Mike found the sewing kit, picking it up. "Yes, yes."

"We're gonna have to remove the bullet by hand," Calliope told them. "Can you guys get your hands on any alcohol? It's just like when you dissected a frog in biology class."

"I haven't done that," Mike told her.

Jonathan took the sewing kit from Mike. "I got it." He looked queasy, but knowing that he could do this. "There's so much blood."

"You can do this, Jonathan," Calliope told him. "You're gonna go into the wound with your thumb and index finger. On the count of three. Are you ready?"

"Are you?" Jonathan replied.

Calliope nodded. "One, two, three. Mike, alcohol." Mike poured the alcohol over Calliope's wound, making her gasp in pain, but it was sterilizing and numbing it a moment later, so that Jonathan could put his thumb and index finger into the wound. "Can you feel the bullet? Can you feel the bullet?"

"I think so," Jonathan answered, finally able to grab it. "Yeah."

"Pull it out," Calliope told him.

Jonathan pulled the bullet out. "This is not how I thought today would go at all."

"You and me both," Calliope said weakly.

"What if they kill us all?" Mike asked. "I haven't really accomplished anything. Not like everyone else."

"You got a bucket list or something?" Calliope asked.

"Maybe," Mike answered.

"What's on it?" Calliope asked.

"I'm not gonna tell you," Mike replied.

"What about you, Calliope?" Jonathan asked. "A bucket list of what you would want to do to live before..."

"I don't know," Calliope admitted. "I've always been fighting to survive. Looking for my brother. I don't think I'd know how to just... live if I got the chance. Never had dreams like that."

"Well, we can work on those once the world isn't ending," Jonathan told her.

Calliope started to fade.

"Calliope?" Jonathan asked worriedly. "Calliope, please, look at me. Focus."

Mike walked closer worriedly. "Calliope."

Calliope gasped, her eyes opening wide as she arched back in agony, green veins starting to appear through her body up to her face, making her scream.

Jonathan and Mike both took a step back in shock. "What the fuck?"

Jonathan stepped closer worriedly. "Calliope? Cal, talk to us."

As Calliope fell unconscious, the only thing she could see was her horrifying, traumatizing childhood.

∰

Flashback 2 - September 7, 1979

Pierce House - Judas' Room

In the memories, Calliope seemed to be watching her own childhood play out, with her father and her other younger brother Judas, from her black side of the family, while her mother Calysta and Apollo were from her Korean heritage).

12 year old Young Calliope sitting with a 7 year old Judas, as the two were playing with toys.

They heard their father's voice from outside. "Judas! Where the fuck is Judas?"

Judas tensed in fear.

Young Calliope stood, putting the toys away. "Shit. Come on." She led Judas into the closet, hiding him with a blanket. "You'll be okay."

Young Calliope closed the doors, before going to hide under the bed.

Calliope turned to face the door.

The father, Mehcad Pierce, walked into the room. "Left his fucking bike in the garden again. Judas? Judas!" He looked around for his daughter when he didn't see his son. "Calliope?"

Calliope glared at Mehcad in pure anger. "Leave them alone, you cunt."

Calliope tried to strike Mehcad, but couldn't touch him, as this was just a memory/nightmare.

Mehcad walked toward the closet, opening it, trying to find Judas.

Young Calliope, hiding underneath the bed, coughed to get Mehcad's attention and drag him away from the closet to protect her younger brother.

Mehcad walked toward the bed. "Gotcha." He grabbed Young Calliope and pulled her out from underneath the bed. "Come here. Come here. Where is he?"

"Who?" Young Calliope asked.

Mehcad punched Young Calliope in the face, making Calliope flinch as she watched the memory. "Don't fuck with me. Where is he? You fucking snotty little cunt."

When Young Calliope refused to answer, Mehcad took off his belt and started to mercilessly beat on Young Calliope, making him yell in pain with each strike, refusing to stop until she was bleeding and bruised.

Calliope closed her eyes, trying to shut the memory out of her head, but she saw a flash of another memory, of herself punching Mehcad repeatedly, the punches lining with the strikes of the belt that Mehcad was using on Young Calliope.

Mehcad walked out of the room.

Calliope had tears in her eyes.

Young Calliope sat on her bed. "Judas, it's okay."

Judas slowly left the safety of the closet, holding a towel, walking toward Young Calliope, sitting next to her on her bed, using the towel to treat her wounds, looking at her guiltily, knowing that Young Calliope went through that to protect her little brother so he didn't have to.

Calliope watched in pain and grief.

The lights around her started to flicker, making Calliope look around in confusion, just as the entire room went dark. Calliope turned to the side, seeing that the closet door that Judas had been in was now glowing green, confused, walking toward it, but once she looked inside, it seemed to be nothing but darkness. She took a deep breath, walking into the darkness, the door closing behind her.

∰

Flashback 3 - September 10, 1979

Day - School

Calliope opened her eyes, seeing that she was in her old school in another memory.

Young Calliope was in trouble at school. "Please don't tell my old man."

"You were selling marijuana, Calliope," the principal told her.

"It was to get enough money so I could search for my mother," Young Calliope admitted. "And I need to get Judas away from our father. He hates me the most because he blames me, since I remind him of my mother who left and never came back, but he takes it out on Judas too even though he's not even my mother's son, just to get at me. I can't go back there, and neither can he."

Calliope was watching sadly.

"I'm sorry, Calliope," the principal told her. "You know I have to tell him. And we both know your dad. You're a smart girl. I'd just hate for you to... turn out like him."

The principal went to pick up the phone.

Young Calliope was so angry and scared of what would happen if their father found out, and she finally just snapped, jumping over the desk to get to the principal, punching him over and over again, beating him just like her father always beat her. "Fucking cunt!"

Judas stood in shock when he saw this from the hallway, running into the office. "Calliope, what are you doing? Stop! Callie!"

When Judas grabbed Young Calliope's arm, Young Calliope swung around and hit Judas in the face, but quickly realizing what she did, she was horrified, worried. "Fuck, Judas. I--I didn't mean to. I... I-I'm-I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

A short time later, Mehcad was picking Young Calliope and Judas up. "The world's an ocean of shit, kids. You either sink. Or you swim. Today, Callie, my girl, you swam. Some cunts need a slap. Don't they?" He handed Young Calliope a drink. "Here. Judas, you ought to take a page out of his book. You don't want to be a fucking little poof all your life."

Calliope slowly walked toward Young Calliope and Judas. "Don't you listen to him. Don't you listen to that son of a bitch. Not a fucking word."

Everything seemed to disappear, leaving Calliope alone in the hallway. She looked around, seeing the glowing green door again, this time in front of her at a classroom, knowing that whenever she went through it, it led to another memory, not wanting to see another one, so she turned around, but when she did, the green door was there again.

Calliope sighed. "Fuck this."

Calliope opened the door, seeing the same infinite darkness, walking into it, the door closing behind her.

∰

Flashback 4 - September 11, 1979

Night - Pierce House - Living Room

Calliope appeared in the memory where she had last seen Judas alive. "No. Not here."

Young Calliope couldn't take it anymore. She had to go, and was about to run away.

Judas walked toward her. "So that's it, then, Callie?"

Young Calliope jumped at his sudden appearance. "Jesus, Judas."

"Just gonna leave, no goodbye or nothing like that?" Judas asked.

"I'll be back at Christmas, once I get everything sorted," Young Calliope told him. "I'm gonna find my mother, and I'm gonna get us out of this place. For good. I promise."

"But you can't take me with you now because you can't take care of me without money," Judas finished.

"And you need your doctor appointments and medicine, and I can't do that on my own either," Young Calliope answered. "If you come with me, you'll be in so much worse shape than here with him."

"Callie," Judas pleaded. "Please don't leave me alone with him."

"I can't take care of you out there on our own," Young Calliope pointed out. "Not until I get help, get money, get your medicine for ourselves. There's no way that I can do that alone right now, and you know that. You'll be all right until I get back."

Calliope watched with tears in her eyes, shaking her head. "No, he won't. Fucking listen to him."

Young Calliope looked at Judas. "If I stay, I'm gonna end up killing him, get sent to prison, and what that's gonna do to you, hmm? Without him to take care of you? Without me to take care of you? Besides, the old cunt hates me the most. So maybe if I'm gone, he'll leave you be."

Calliope shook her head, starting to cry. "Don't you fucking leave him."

Young Calliope looked at Judas with tears in her eyes. "I got to go, Judas."

Young Calliope turned to leave.

Judas reached out to grab her arm. "Callie, please."

Young Calliope turned to face him. "For fuck's sake, Judas. I'm doing this to get us both out of here, with a way to make sure that you're taken care of. So I don't have to lose you too." Judas held onto Young Calliope tightly in an embrace, as Young Calliope embraced him close, closing her eyes to shed a few tears, kissing the top of his head. "I'm getting us out of here. I promise. I love you."

Young Calliope turned around, walking out of the house.

"Please," Calliope said as she watched the memory, crying. "Don't go."

Judas ran up to the door, watching Young Calliope leave.

As this memory faded away, Calliope turned around, confused by the next part of the vision/hallucination, since this wasn't her memory.

Judas was in the kitchen, taking down a box. "You served me up to him on a plate."

Calliope frowned, shaking her head. "No, I... I didn't. I--I wouldn't."

"It's been months, and you still hadn't found a way for us to survive away from him," Judas told her. "For me to survive with you on our own."

"I was looking for a way, for both of us," Calliope told him. "I found leads about my mother and I found her, and she told me that she was gonna help, but she couldn't at the moment. She told me where to meet her, but then she was killed right in front of me. But I found her. Her research. About Apollo. My other brother. My mom... she was used as a psionic mother, and they told her that Apollo was dead after giving birth, but she didn't believe it. She never told us."

"Never told you, you mean," Judas replied. "Apollo was never my brother. Just yours. You failed to try and save me, and you'll fail to try and save him too. Of course, he might already be dead by the time you find him. Just like I was already dead by the time that you came back for me."

Judas opened the box, revealing a gun.

Calliope shook her head in horror. "Oh, Jesus, please. Please, Judas, no."

"He's beating the living shit out of me, Callie," Judas told her. "Day in and day out. I can't take no more."

Calliope cried in horror that her own mind was making her watch this and she could not do anything to stop it. "Please, Judas, don't. Stop. I'm here, okay? I'm here this time. Just take me, please."

"You fucking knew what he'd do," Judas told her. "It's your fault. If we had both stayed, we both would've died. If I would've gone with you, I would've died. Either way, you were always going to fucking lose me. Just like you lose everyone. And it's gonna be the same with Apollo."

Calliope shook her head. "No, don't say that. That's--that's not true."

"Face it, Callie," Judas told her, loading the bullets into the gun. "Everyone that you get close to dies. Me. Dad. Your mother. Your new friends have already almost died. And Apollo, the last person on God's green earth that might be able to save you from yourself. When he dies, and he will, if he's not dead already, then no one can love you. Can they?"

Judas turned his back to Calliope, aiming the gun at his head.

Calliope could do nothing to stop him, screaming. "No! Judas, no!"

As the gunshot rang out, blood splattered onto Calliope's face, making her cry and sob as she fell down to her knees.

In her mind, she saw flashes of what came after this, when Young Calliope had come home to find out about Judas killing himself, and Mehcad trying to beat her for running away to try and find them a way to take care of themselves away from him, but Young Calliope, as shown in the flashes earlier when Mehcad had beaten her with the belt, had beaten Mehcad over and over until he was the one dead instead of her, killing her father in self-defense.

∰

Reality

Day - Abandoned Hospital - Operating Room

Mike and Jonathan were worriedly trying to wake Calliope, horrified with the thought that she could be dying. "Calliope. Calliope. Calliope, please. Calliope!"

Calliope finally gasped awake. "I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Jonathan asked.

Calliope gasped shakily. "Jonathan?"

Jonathan nodded, trying to calm her down. "Yeah, it's me. It's okay, Calliope. It's okay. You're all right."

Mike gave Calliope some water. "Here. You're okay."

Calliope was still shaken up by the memories, her entire body shaking, as she seemed to feel so sick.

But with Mike and Jonathan's help, Calliope managed to sew her wound closed, able to survive.

"Hey, don't listen to Argyle," Jonathan told them, knowing both of them were shaken up and trying to reassure them. "He's stoned out of his mind. Doesn't know what he's talking about."

"That doesn't mean he's wrong," Mike pointed out. "I mean, if that guy would've lived one more second, one more second, then we would know where they are. Why didn't he just say the number?"

Argyle walked into the room with Harmon's pen and a pizza box, looking at Calliope. "Oh, you're looking better. Still kicking. That's a badass girl, man. Hey, so we still gotta hide the agent's body, right? Does anybody know his name?"

"What?" Jonathan asked.

"The dead dude," Argyle clarified. "I'm making him a headstone."

"You do realize we will have to spend the afternoon hiding the body?" Jonathan asked, knowing that a headstone defeated that.

"Well, I'll just write, uh, 'Here Lies Unknown Hero Agent Man'," Argyle stated. Jonathan raised his eyebrows skeptically. Calliope rolled her eyes. "Yeah. 'Saved Argyle, Calliope, Jonathan and Mike from certain death'."

"You--You're gonna write our names on the pizza box?" Jonathan asked.

"Are you trying to lead those assholes after us?" Calliope asked.

Argyle didn't get the big deal. "They're pretty common names."

Calliope, Jonathan and Mike all rolled their eyes, knowing that it was useless to argue with him.

Jonathan shook his head. "Okay, dude. Uh, do your thing. Jesus Christ."

"His name was Harmon, by the way," Calliope told him. "Agent Harmon."

"I like Unknown Hero Agent Man better," Argyle stated, trying to write on the pizza box, but the pen wasn't working. "Come on, man."

Mike realized. "That's his pen."

"What?" Calliope asked.

"Unknown Hero Agent Man, that's the pen he gave me right before he died," Mike answered. "Why would he give me a pen that didn't work?"

Calliope realized, taking the pen from Argyle.

"Hey, man, I'm using that," Argyle complained. Calliope twisted the top off of the pen. "What are you doing?" Calliope turned the pen over, shaking it, causing something to fall out, which Argyle caught. "Something fell outta that pen, man."

"Wh--what is it?" Jonathan asked.

Calliope took the small roll of paper from Argyle, unrolling it to show the number they were looking for on the paper. "It's the number. We've had it this whole time."

"We got his digits, man?" Argyle asked.

Mike and Jonathan smiled in relief.

Calliope chuckled barely, but was too lost in the memories that she had to just relive in order to show any other reaction.

Jonathan looked at Calliope in concern. "Hey. You doing okay?"

Calliope gazed off, her hand shaking slightly. "Yeah. Just had to deal with some ghosts of the past. Haunting history. The past is never just the past. That's the thing about it. Past sins. They always comes back to bite you in the ass."

Jonathan frowned in concern, but instead of clarifying, Calliope looked away.

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Prison - Fighting Ring

The guards were cleaning up an insane amount of blood the fighting ring from the last time they had prisoners in this ring, where they had clearly been massacred.

A guard stopped to take a breather.

The lead guard, Ivan, walked over to see this, snapping at him in Russian. "Did I tell you it's okay to break? Over there, there is a hand. A hand!" The guard ran over to pick up the severed hand. "Are we animals?"

Ivan walked away to smoke, standing by the prisoner cells on the edge of the fighting ring.

Dmitri whispered to him from his and Hopper's cell. "Psst. Hey, Ivan. Ivan!"

Ivan walked up the stairs toward the cell, hitting his baton against the cell bars with a clang, speaking in Russian. "Stop calling my name. You trying to get me in trouble?"

Dmitri also spoke in Russian. "I don't know what they've told you, but it is all lies. I'm here by mistake."

Ivan shrugged, uncaring. "I'm sorry. I cannot help you."

Ivan turned away.

"I can make you rich," Dmitri told him in Russian. Ivan turned to face him. Dmitri placed his arm against the bars to lean against, while turning to look at Hopper behind him, who was sitting on a bench. "See this American? He comes from money." Dmitri looked at Ivan as he stepped closer. "Old money." He spoke to Hopper in English. "Tell him, American. Tell him how you will make him rich." Hopper didn't respond. Ivan walked away, leaving the two alone in their cell. Dmitri sighed, walking to the other side of the cell. "You're a real help, American. You know that? A real help." He turned to look at Hopper, clapping his hands. "Hey, you want to die here? You want to die? Is that it?"

"That's what we've been brought here to do," Hopper stated.

"So that is it?" Dmitri asked. "You give up, then?" He walked to the bench, sitting down. "What about your woman, huh? She's captured, yes, but still alive. We can still save her, and your friends."

Hopper clicked his tongue. "'Save them'."

"That is amusing to you?" Dmitri asked.

"You don't get it, do you?" Hopper asked. "You don't get it. Natasha can always find a way to save herself. But the closer I get with people, the more danger they're in."

Dmitri looked away. "You're not thinking straight, American."

"No, I think I am," Hopper told him. "For the first time in my life, I think I'm thinking straight. I used to think I was cursed. Ever since I was 18. Got some letter of induction in the mail. Uncle Sam wants me to go fight some war in the jungle. Charlie's moving south like a plague 'cause of commie bastards like you, and... you know, I'm happy enough to go. Prove to my old man I'm not the piece of shit he thinks I am. I get over there, I must test well, and they put me in the Chemical Corps. There I am. I'm just... a kid, you know. I'm 18 years old, 8,000 miles away, and I'm mixing up these... 55 gallon drums of Agent Orange. With just these kitchen gloves, you know? We used to clean out these buffalo turbines after a run and just be inhaling the stuff. No masks, nothing. 'It's not chemical warfare. It's just herbicide to kill plants. Harmless'. That's what they told us. Then I get back to real life, and these guys I worked with, the ones that made it back, they started trying to get back to normal, you know? Having families. And then things started going wrong. Kids born stillborn. Dead in the womb. Crooked spines, eyes popped out." Dmitri processed this in shock and sympathy. "The horror... followed us, clung to us. My wife Diane, she wanted a baby. I did too. We had a baby, and she was, um... she was born healthy. She was perfect. You know, Sara. And then she died. It wasn't an easy death. She... suffered. I knew the risks, but, I, um... I hid them. And then Diane left me. She didn't blame me. Not with words. After that, I was just... I just hid myself in drugs and alcohol. And then people started coming into my life. This girl El, and Natasha just happened. She needed help when on the run, and her kids Nadia and Niko... we had to keep them hidden, keep them safe, so something like what's happening right now didn't happen. And I told myself they needed me. But that wasn't true. That's a lie. They didn't need me. I needed them. I needed them. You were right, what you said, I knew the risks, breaking out of here, but I did it anyway. Thinking that I could help Natasha. But I... now I can't. And the minute I sent for Joyce, the minute I sent for her and Murray, I sentenced them to death. Just like I did with Sara." Dmitri looked down sadly. Hopper was on the verge of crying. "Everyone I love, I hurt. See, I was wrong this whole time. I wasn't cursed. I am the curse."

The emotional moment was interrupted when they heard a distant, shrill snarling in the distance, both Dmitri and Hopper jumping as they looked up.

Hopper recognized the sound.

Dmitri walked toward the bars of the cell. "I've heard rumors of monsters. From America." He turned to look at Hopper. "I don't know if what you say is true, American, if you're truly a cursed man, but you're right about one thing. We are going to die in here."

∰

Russian Psionic Prison - Glass Cells

Natasha was waking up, starting to come to, standing too quickly, groaning in pain, putting a hand over her wound underneath her suit, which caused her to realize that her wound was completely treated and stitched closed. "Of fucking course the bastard wants me alive to torture me."

Natasha looked around, seeing she was trapped in a glass cage, quickly holding out her hand, creating a clear gold-glow tint shield saw, throwing it out at the glass, but the shield saw bounced off the glass and ricocheting around her, all over the glass cage. Natasha had to duck down to protect herself from being slashed by her own saw. Finally, once it was done bouncing around, it faded into nothing.

Apollo was in the glass cage next to her, leaning against the glass. "Already tried. It's no use."

Natasha looked at Apollo in relief to see that he was alive, but worried about the state they were both in. "What happened?"

"Your psycho father kidnapped us again," Apollo answered. "Which might be the least creepy thing, considering he put us in these ridiculous things in our sleep."

Apollo pushed away from the glass.

"Fuck," Natasha whispered.

"FYI, your family sucks," Apollo told her.

Natasha turned to see the scientists around them. "Hey, I don't know what you think you're doing, but I'm telling you that this kind of thing doesn't end well for the nameless scientists."

Mikhail walked into the room. "Now, now." Natasha and Apollo glared at him. "There's no need to be rude. These people are just doing their jobs."

"Which is what exactly?" Natasha asked.

Mikhail shrugged as he paced around the room, turning his head to look at them. "Well, there's no need to spoil the fun just yet. Which is why we can't have you two running away again or trying to, at least." He gestured to the glass cages they were in. "Hence these amazing polycarbonated fish bowls."

Apollo looked away in annoyance. "Jesus Christ, you are a cunt."

"And you are quite the hot head," Mikhail replied. "You remind me of my son when he was your age."

"Was he as disgusted as I am of you as well?" Apollo asked.

"More," Mikhail answered.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Enough of the theatrics. What the hell do you want?"

"I want what I always want," Mikhail answered. "Ever since I was a little boy and discovered my powers."

Apollo frowned in confusion. "Wait, you were born with your psionics? Outside experimentation?"

"He was," Natasha answered.

"Then why experiment on your descendants?" Apollo asked.

"Because, due to the fact that I could only use power of the energy I siphoned from the air or anything worth power, or now other psionics after I led the creation of more, I couldn't pass on the psionic gene," Mikhail answered. "At least not technically. But my offspring, and their offspring, all became so powerful in their own due to these experiments activating their latent natural psionic DNA." Natasha frowned in confusion, since as far as she knew, Nadyr didn't have a child, which caused Mikhail to smirk at her knowingly. "But as Prometheus once gave fire to humanity, I wanted to give to my descendants, to share my gift."

Apollo raised an eyebrow, turning to Natasha skeptically, speaking in Korean. "Saekkienun geunyang jasin-eul sin-e biyuhan geonga? [Did this cunt just compare himself to a god?]"

"He rehearsed it, I'm sure," Natasha told him, rolling her eyes. "And by that, he means he wanted to use us as a personal kill force."

Mikhail spoke loudly to get their attention. "As I was saying." Natasha and Apollo both rolled their eyes, turning to look at Mikhail boredly, having no choice but to listen while stuck in these cages. "I want the world to kneel before me." He stepped toward Natasha's cell. "And before, I had no hope of getting there, but now I do. You know, part of me thought you didn't survive when you escaped the program that night with Nikolai, Nadia and Nadyr. But then imagine my surprise when Grigori calls me and tells me that you were all alive, living a silly little life in a silly little town, with a makeshift silly little family. And now my time and hope is coming back."

"What are you talking about?" Natasha asked.

"I mean, now thanks to you decided to be..." Mikhail trailed off, speaking the next words sarcastically, mockingly. "To be some hero and save the world..." He turned to Apollo. "And to you for existing..." He looked between them both. "I have everything I need for my ascension."

Apollo raised his eyebrows. "Oh, shit. You really think you're some god? Doesn't surprise me. You are a mediocre white man with a delusion of greatness."

Mikhail rolled his eyes, turning away. "I don't have time for this."

"And you know what else you are?" Natasha snapped. "A cowardly little boy who couldn't kill me, not even by putting a whole army out for my head. And the only time that you could fight me head on is when I was shot and drained. Because you know that if I hadn't been, I would've taken you out within moments. I'm looking forward to trying all over again."

Mikhail glared. "That fire. You really are my daughter. Fear not. You are going back into the program, and soon enough, I won't have to worry about my dear love Sabina keeping you safe from it."

Mikhail beckoned a hand toward a scientist, who pressed a button.

Smoke was starting to seep into each cage, making Natasha and Apollo cough.

"What is this?" Natasha asked between coughs.

"Like I said, daughter," Mikhail told her. "I don't have time for chit chat. I have a world to conquer."

Apollo glared at Mikhail, coughing, trying to concentrate to using his powers, making his hand be surrounded by his glowing green mist that wafted around his hands, conjuring it into making his hand be surrounded by a hard light crystalline construct of a large fist that would grant him extra strength, screaming as he punched the glass cage, creating a sound wave of green light that caused a fracture in the shape of a star to shatter in the glass, making it spider and splinter outward, nearly destroying the glass completely.

This shocked Mikhail and Natasha, but most of all it shocked Apollo.

Apollo smirked slightly. "Holy shit."

Natasha looked at him in surprise. "What the fuck?"

But before Apollo could do it again, Mikhail hit a button near him, making the special suits that Natasha and Apollo were wearing release an electric shock, making them groan in pain before passing out, falling to the ground within the cells.

∰

Hawkins, Indiana

Trailer Park

A car pulled up into the trailer park, and the female agent from the beginning of 4.04, and two other agents got out of the car.

The female agent pointed one agent toward the direction where Aaron had died, toward the tree. "You, in that direction." She looked at the other agent. "You, follow me."

The female agent walked up to Wayne's trailer, knocking.

Wayne opened the door. "May I help you?"

The female agent showed him her badge. "We need to take a look around."

∰

Munson Trailer - Living Room

The female agent and male Agent 1 were looking around.

Agent 1 had a machine that was beeping the closer he got to the place of Chrissy's death, to the site where Hailey's powers had charged the place of death.

The two agents inside noticed that the ceiling was cracked and blackened.

Wayne tilted his head. "Yep. I think it's some kind of leak. I haven't had a chance to fix it with everything going on."

The female agent knew that it was much more than that, turning to look at Wayne. "Pack your things. We're moving you."

Wayne sighed, but walked away to do as told.

∰

Outside

The other male Agent 2 was using the same device around Aaron's site of death, around the tree, causing it to beep the same way.

The tree was just as cracked and blackened as the ceiling in the trailer.

The female agent walked closer. "It's the same inside. We should move everyone in the park. We can't risk anyone seeing any of this."

∰

Church - Funeral

Many people were here for Chrissy's funeral, including Ryan, Jason, Patrick and Andy, who all wore funeral suits.

Chrissy's mother was standing at the podium. "The devil is here. I can feel his presence... growing stronger each day. But I know Chrissy's in heaven now, looking down at us, smiling. Happy to see all the lives she touched and brightened. But I also know she's frustrated. Angry. That the monsters that did this to her are still out there. Still. Hurting others. Like the other victim that night. How can they live, while my angel is gone? I know God has a plan..."

Suddenly, in Patrick's mind, he saw Ryan next to him with snake-like eyes. "Whoa. Ryan, what the hell?"

Ryan turned his head to look at Patrick, though clearly, this was a hallucination from Mirage. His voice was distorted, echoing and demonic, as the sound of a snake hissing filled the air, and snake scales seemed to appear along his skin, as thorns grew alongside his face, his teeth rotting and sharpened like snake fangs. "How sweet. Isn't it? That a mother and a father could love their child so. Unlike you and your father. Your father ruins your life every day of it. And your mother stands by and watches it happen. To you and your sister. And you just want it to stop. Don't you?"

Patrick was completely confused and scared.

In reality, Ryan shook Patrick's shoulder to snap him out of it. "Patrick. What the fuck, man?" Patrick was disoriented by being snapped out of it, looking at Ryan in shock, seeing that he looked completely normal. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Patrick realized that it was just in his head, looking away, confused. "Nothing. I... nothing."

"Then pay attention," Ryan told him, looking away.

Chrissy's mother sobbed. "Lord, I've prayed. And I just do not understand it. I see no reason." Jason looked completely cold and distant as he looked at Chrissy's coffin, lips pressed into a hard line. "I see no reason."

∰

Ryan's House - Basement

The basement was set up more like a gaming room for the jocks, who were all still in their suits. Ryan, Jason, Patrick and Andy of course were all here, but so were a couple others.

Ryan tossed out pictures all over the table. "So I finally got ahold of Cappelletti. Photos for the '86 yearbook."

Patrick picked up one of the pictures. "God damn."

The pictures were of the Hellfire Club, which included Eddie and his band mates, Dustin, Lucas and Mike.

"Sinclair?" Andy asked. "Goddamn traitor."

"All the bullshit he spouted about wanting to get even with Billy, even though he's Max's step brother?" Ryan asked. "Fuck that. He's friends with Dustin and Hailey, so he screwed us over with that, and getting an answer about Ruby being involved with the killings or not too. So Dustin, Hailey, Lucas and Max, the Hellfire Club? They're hiding Ruby, Billy and Eddie."

"Maybe we should bring all this to the cops," Patrick told them.

"The cops who think Chrissy's a drug dealer?" Jason asked. "Who are letting these... these psychos go around killing people?"

"I'm just saying, what if this cult is doing shit to us?" Patrick asked.

"Doing what?" Andy asked skeptically.

"They already know we're after them," Patrick pointed out. "What if they cursed us or some shit?"

Ryan smirked skeptically, sarcastically, thinking it was just a joke to make fun of. "Patrick think he's cursed."

The boys snickered.

"Hey!" Jason snapped. "None of this is funny. Look, I don't believe in that supernatural crap, all right? But this cult is dangerous. We have to be smart about this."

Ryan took out a piece of paper, setting it on the table. "I made a list. Everywhere these freaks have been seen. We divide and conquer. Check 'em out one by one. Smoke 'em out. And somebody's gotta start keeping an eye on the Alibi at all times, because we don't know if they're ever gonna go back there."

"They wouldn't be stupid enough to, would they?" Andy asked.

Ryan shrugged. "They would if they knew that we wouldn't check there again anytime soon. So we keep checking it out."

The boys nodded in agreement.

"We should add Reefer Rick's house to this," another jock told them.

"What?" Jason asked.

"Reefer Rick," the jock answered. "He's Eddie's supplier. He's supposed to be in prison, but someone spotted him back in his house. Now my parents are freaking out and shit. It's probably nothing. I don't know."

Jason pointed at him. "No, that's good. That's good. No stones unturned."

Ryan picked up a pen, spinning it around in his hand, writing Reefer Rick's house down on the list, underlining it.

∰

Creel House - Outside

Billy, Hailey and Nadia's cars pulled up outside the Creel House, which was luckily in the middle of nowhere and completely abandoned.

Billy, Max and Ruby got out of Billy's car.

Hailey, Steve, Dustin and Lucas got out of Hailey's car.

Nadia, Nancy and Robin got out of Nadia's car.

"Can I just say that we're lucky that this place is in the middle of fucking nowhere?" Billy asked. "And that nobody wanted the Creel house after what happened here." The others nodded in agreement, as all walked up the steps to look at the house, which was in shambles, but still standing in opposition to Vecna's mind lair and Ruby's nightmare about the house. Ruby frowned in confusion, slightly overwhelmed as she looked at the house. Billy noticed, looking at her. "Ruby?" Ruby looked at him. "You okay?"

Ruby nodded. "I think so."

"Was your dream like this?" Nadia asked.

"There was water everywhere and the house was almost completely disintegrated," Ruby answered. "But, uh... yeah. This is definitely the house."

"Yeah, that's not creepy," Hailey remarked sarcastically what both she and Ruby were thinking.

Ruby nodded in agreement.

In moments, Steve and Billy were working on prying nails out of the board that was covering the door to remove the board, while everyone else was watching.

"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for in this shithole?" Steve asked.

"We're not sure," Nancy admitted. "We just know this house is important to Vecna."

Billy nodded, still confused about all this, but trying to accept it and move on. "Because Ruby saw it in her dream and in Vecna's red soup mind world."

"Basically," Nancy answered.

Steve nodded sarcastically. "Great."

"Maybe it holds a clue to where Vecna is," Dustin pointed out. "Why he killed the Creels. Why he's back and teaming up with Mirage. And how to stop them before they come back for Ruby, Max and Billy."

"Or anyone else," Hailey agreed.

Lucas frowned. "We don't think he's in here, do we?"

Max raised her eyebrows. "Guess we'll find out."

Nadia patted her sword sheath. "I'm just glad I brought this."

Ruby patted her bow which was on around her torso, and held up her quiver of arrows. "And I brought these."

"Yeah, better keep those things close after the last two nights," Robin agreed.

Steve and Billy got all the nails out of the board over the door.

Steve looked at Billy. "Ready?"

Billy nodded.

Steve and Billy pulled the heavy board away from the door and let it fall to the porch floor, with a loud thud and a release of dirt into the air that caused everyone to close their eyes to avoid getting dirt in them.

Ruby looked at the door, at the rose stained glass window within the door, flashing back to her dream and to Vecna's mind lair, stepping closer slowly, reaching up to place a hand on the glass, confused and overwhelmed, but trying not to be.

While she did this, she could hear Vecna's voice in her head. "Ruby." She flashed back to being in Vecna's mind lair and hearing his voice when he realized she was there. "What are you doing in here, Ruby?"

The others looked at her in concern.

"Ruby?" Billy asked.

Ruby snapped out of it, looking to Billy and Max, then to the others, stepping away from the door.

"You okay?" Max asked.

Ruby swallowed, nodding.

Nadia tried to open the door. "It's locked."

"Of course it is," Hailey replied. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Should I knock, see if anybody's home?" Steve asked.

Nadia and Hailey gave Steve a 'seriously' look, tilting their heads.

"No need," Robin told them, causing everyone to look at her, holding up a brick, tilting her head, looking at the brick before looking at the others. "I found a key."

Nadia, Hailey, Ruby, Max and Billy smirked, stepping out of the way of the door. Steve stepped over to Nadia and Hailey on the right side of the door, while Ruby, Max and Billy were on the left.

Robin threw the brick through the window, shattering a big chunk of it.

∰

Inside - Foyer

Nadia reached in through the window to unlock the door, opening it from the inside, walking in, followed by the others.

Lucas tried to turn the lights on, but of course that didn't work. "Looks like someone forgot to pay their electric bill."

Everyone but Steve took out a flashlight to turn them on.

"Where'd everyone get those?" Steve asked.

Dustin gave Steve a look. "Do you need to be told everything? You're not a child."

"Thank you," Steve told him sarcastically.

"Huh," Dustin said.

This caused Nadia, Hailey and Ruby to smirk in amusement.

Hailey took out another flashlight from her bag, tossing it to Steve. "Catch." Steve caught the flashlight. "Dumbass."

Steve nodded sarcastically.

Everyone shone their flashlights around, seeing every belonging that was left behind by the Creels.

"They just left everything," Nancy stated.

"Like Billy said, I guess a quadruple homicide isn't good for resale value," Robin stated.

Billy gestured to Robin.

Ruby saw a picture of Victor, Virginia, Henry, Cheryl and Alice, looking at the picture curiously in confusion, glancing at each face. She turned away from the picture, shining her light around, stopping when she saw something, but given her state of mind even before being cursed, she didn't know if it was real or not. "Hey, guys? You all see that, right?"

It was the grandfather clock.

"Yeah," Nadia answered.

"Yeah," Max and Lucas answered.

Nancy looked at Ruby, Max and Billy. "Is this what you saw? In your visions?"

Ruby, Max and Billy nodded.

"I mean, it's... just a clock," Robin tried to reassure, seeing how overwhelmed Ruby and Max looked, and how Billy tried not to be. "Right?"

Nadia stepped up to the grandfather clock, wiping away the dust over the glass on the clock face. "Just a normal old clock."

"What about any of this is normal?" Billy replied.

Steve frowned in confusion. "Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks? Maybe he's, like, a clockmaker or something?"

"I think you cracked the case, Steve," Dustin told him sarcastically.

"Clockmaker, seriously?" Hailey asked. "What monster in his free time makes clocks?"

Steve gave Hailey a look.

Ruby looked around. "All I know is that the answers are here. Somewhere."

Nadia looked around, already having a plan. "Okay, everyone stay in groups of two."

"Not a problem," Max replied. "Lucas?"

"Yeah," Lucas answered.

Max and Lucas walked off together.

"Keep an eye on her, Sinclair," Billy told him.

Lucas gave a salute in response, before walking out of the room with Max.

Max couldn't help a smile at how far her relationship with Billy came when it was clear that he was being protective, definitely not used to this.

Ruby looked at Billy, smiling slightly. "Wow."

"What?" Billy asked.

Ruby shook her head. "Nothing. Let's go."

Ruby and Billy walked off out of the room.

"Robin, upstairs," Nancy told her.

Robin saluted. "Aye aye."

Robin and Nancy walked upstairs.

"Steve?" Nadia asked.

"Yeah," Steve agreed.

Nadia and Steve walked out of the room.

Hailey and Dustin were left in the foyer, exchanging a look, shrugging.

"Just us again," Hailey told him.

Dustin smiled. "I like it like that."

Hailey smiled slightly. "Yeah. Me too. Come on. Let's go."

Hailey and Dustin walked out of the room.

When no one was in the foyer, the lights buzzed to life, without anyone in the room to notice.

∰

Eleven/Niko's Mind Spaces / Reality

Day - Hawkins Lab / Russian Psionic Program - Rainbow Room

In both their mind spaces, Eleven and Niko were making their way through the hallway, opening every single door, only to find that the rainbow room was behind every single one. They were frustrated but knowing that they agreed to this and that they didn't have much other choice, sighing, walking into the rainbow rooms of their own mind space.

In Eleven's mind space, Henry appeared, walking toward her. "Well, well." Eleven turned to face him. "Look who finally decided to join us. Someone's a sleepyhead this morning."

In Niko's mind space, Young Nadia ran up to Niko. "It's about time you woke up."

In both their mind spaces, Eleven and Niko turned away, looking into the mirrors behind them, both stunned to see that it wasn't their older selves' reflection looking back at them, but their younger self; when Eleven was nine in 1979, and when Niko was four in 1975.

Suddenly, they both heard Sabina's voice in their heads through telepathy. "In 1786, Nicolas Dalayrac wrote an opera called Nina."

(Song:) Quand le bien-aime reviendra - Dalayrac

Eleven whispered to herself. "Mama." She shook her head, trying to break that habit. "Sabina."

"It's the story about a young woman whose lover was killed in a duel," Sabina explained. In reality, Sabina was sitting in her chair, wearing her headset, her eyes glowing bright blue-pink-blue, as she spoke to both Eleven and Niko. "Nina was so traumatized that she buried the memory. It was as if it never happened. Every day, she would return to the train station to await her lover's return. A return that would never be. If only Nina could know the truth."

In reality, Will was next to Sabina, looking at her, then at Nina, looking concerned for Niko and Eleven.

In her mind space, Eleven closed her eyes, shaking her head. "This--this isn't real."

"No," Sabina agreed. "But it once was."

In his mind space, Niko looked up. "Memories."

In reality, Sabina nodded. "Very good."

In her mind space, Eleven frowned in confusion. "How?"

"Never mind how," Sabina told them.

"I thought you said that you would get us our powers back," Niko told her.

"And I will," Sabina answered. "I'm working on it as we speak. But first, as I told you both before, you both have memories of the past. Memories that I have erased long ago because the trauma was too much to bare. For you, for Nadia and Natasha. I rewrote those memories too. But now I need to unwrite them. You both need to know the truth. It's the only way that you'll figure out how to stop the enemies you're now facing. That Hailey, Ruby, Nadia and all of your friends are fighting against. Leave your train stations. Stop waiting. Focus. Listen. Remember."

"I don't understand," Niko whispered, before yelling. "I don't understand!"

In Eleven's mind space, Henry appeared behind Eleven, walking toward her. "Well, well. Look who finally decided to join us. Someone's a sleepyhead this morning."

Eleven eyed him warily, circling around him to back away from him.

Henry turned his head to look at Eleven, raising his eyebrows slightly.

In Niko's mind space, Young Nadia ran up to Niko. "It's about time you woke up."

"I don't have time for this, Nadia," Niko told her.

Young Nadia looked around, putting a finger to her lips. "Shh. You know that Mama and Papa weren't supposed to give us names. We're just supposed to be a number like everyone else."

Niko and Eleven heard Sabina's voice in their heads. "Focus. Listen. Remember."

Niko and Eleven both knew that they had to play along to get the answers they needed and to get their powers back in the long run, both sighing, giving in, closing their eyes.

As Henry spoke again, his voice became severely distorted. "Well, well. Look who finally decided to join us. Someone's a sleepyhead this morning."

As Young Nadia spoke again, her voice became severely distorted. "It's about time you woke up."

In Eleven's mind space, Young Eleven and Eleven's voices mixed together as she spoke to Henry, Young Eleven's reflection seen in the mirror behind Eleven, as the visual between Young Eleven and Eleven flickered back and forth. "I'm sorry. Am I... in trouble?"

"Trouble?" Henry repeated. "No, why do you think that? You're just missing out on all the fun. Training starts any minute."

In Niko's mind space, Young Niko and Niko's voices mixed together as they spoke to Young Nadia, Young Niko's reflection seen in the mirror behind Niko, as the visual between Young Niko and Niko flickered back and forth. "Good morning, Nadia."

Young Nadia looked around, putting a finger to her lips. "Shh. You know that Mama and Papa weren't supposed to give us names. We're just supposed to be a number like everyone else. Dr. Fedorov will be in soon. We have another lesson."

∰

Eleven's Mind Space

Day - Hawkins Lab - Rainbow Room

Eleven/Young Eleven looked down.

"Hey," Henry said, causing her to look up. "There's nothing to be nervous about. You're going to do great today. I just know it."

The keypad beeping caused Eleven to turn her head toward the door.

Sabina and Brenner walked into the room.

Immediately, all of the kids, including 6 year old Young Apollo, went to line up on either side of Sabina and Brenner.

"Good morning, children," Brenner told them.

The kids all spoke, "Good morning, Mama. Good morning, Papa."

Eleven went to line up with the others, standing next to Young Apollo, looking at him curiously, confused.

Young Apollo gave Eleven a smile.

"How are we feeling today?" Sabina asked.

The kids all replied, "Good, Mama."

Sabina nodded. "Number 12, would you be so kind and open the door?"

"Yes, Mama," Twelve answered, walking to open the door.

Brenner led the way out of the room. "Please, follow us."

Sabina and the kids all walked out of the room.

∰

Niko's Mind Space

Russian Psionic Program - Rainbow Room

Andrei walked into the room. "Okay, kids, gather around. Lessons are about to begin. I'd like to start with some questions. Well, group therapy, if you will."

Young Nadia looked at Andrei uneasily.

Young Niko/Niko looked at her in confusion. "Are you okay?"

Young Nadia looked at him. "I think so. We can't be late."

Young Nadia walked over to sit down with the other kids.

Niko hesitated before following, sitting next to Young Nadia.

Moments later, Andrei was leading the group in discussion. "Yesterday, I asked you to think of the first time your powers manifested. Would anyone like to share? Ten? Twelve?"

Young Nadia and Young Niko/Niko looked up.

Answering with how his four year old self answered, Niko had a sock puppet on his hand, shaking his hand back and forth like the sock puppet was shaking his head.

"No," Young Nadia answered.

"Look, we can't help each other unless we talk to each other," Andrei told them. "I've said this a hundred times. This program can't help you if you refuse to participate. So, Ten, why don't you start?"

Andrei gave Young Nadia a look, raising his eyebrow.

Young Nadia was so unnerved by the look he gave her that she gave in in hopes that he would stop. "For empathy, I was a baby, so I don't remember all that well. But I learned recently that I can control the emotions of other people. I helped Grandmother feel more at ease with anxiety. And it felt... amazing. To help her." Andrei nodded. "And with my purple energy... to generate shapes and weapons... I was six. Grandfather and Grandmother took me for a run in the woods."

Andrei gave a slight smile now that he got what he wanted. "And how did you feel?"

"Free," Young Nadia answered. "The most free I'd felt my whole life."

"Twelve?" Andrei asked.

Young Niko looked up. "I was a baby when my grandparents found out about my fire power. I don't remember how I was feeling."

"Fair enough," Andrei allowed. "And your telepathy?"

"I found out by reading N--Ten's thoughts," Niko answered. "I went to Grandmother, and told her. After Ten helped her ease her anxiety, or fear... and she started to cry. Happy crying. So we were both happy too."

Andrei nodded to both Young Nadia and Niko. "Very good. I'd like you all to think very carefully about how you'd like to use your time here. And how long you want that time to be."

Andrei looked from Young Nadia to Niko significantly, causing both of them to tense under the gaze, uncomfortable.

∰

Reality

City of Corinth

Day - Sabina's Headquarters - Nina Lab

Sabina was still sitting in her chair with the head set on, her eyes still glowing.

Will saw that their vitals were stabilizing and sighed in relief.

Owens walked closer. "How are they doing?"

"Very well," Sabina answered. "They're swimming now."

"Good," Owens said. "'Cause I just got off the phone with Stinson. We don't have much time."

"Well, then they'll just have to swim faster," Sabina told them.

Will looked to the Nina tank in concern, hoping this would work, but hoping that it would be safe for Niko and Eleven, worried about whatever they had to remember, knowing by Sabina's warning that they were traumatic memories.

Inside the Nina tank, Niko and Eleven were floating within water, wearing white water suits and white water caps with wires attached. As their were screens on the ceiling of the tank displaying their memories, the line of those screens shone down around them. Their eyes were closed for most of the time, but when they opened their eyes, their eyes were glowing bright blue-pink-purple.

∰

Lenora Hills, California

On the Road - Van

In the middle of nowhere, the pizza van was driving up to a phone booth.

"All right, there's one," Mike stated. "Argyle, slow down."

"There's one what?" Argyle asked.

"Slow down," Mike told him.

"Stop barking orders," Argyle replied.

"Argyle, slow down!" Mike repeated.

Argyle pulled over to a squealing stop right outside the phone booth.

Calliope groaned in pain, holding a hand to her wound. "Fucking asshole. If you make me rip my stitches open and make me hemorrhage to death, I'll kill you."

"Gotcha," Argyle said nervously.

"We shouldn't have left the hospital yet," Jonathan stated in concern.

"We had to," Calliope replied. "Mikhail and Sullivan's men would have found us there eventually. I know you're worried about me, Jonathan, but I'm fine."

∰

Outside

Mike, Calliope, Jonathan and Argyle stood outside at the phone booth.

Mike was inside the booth, putting a quarter in, making the call, while Calliope and Jonathan were standing behind him.

Calliope was supporting her weight against the edge of the phone booth, reading the number from the piece of paper. "202-968-6161." Mike typed in the number, and instead of hearing someone answer, he heard a trill ringing over the phone. "Is it ringing?"

"No, it's just making a bunch of weird noises," Mike answered.

"Busy?" Jonathan asked.

Mike shook his head, holding the phone out to Jonathan. "Listen to this." Jonathan frowned in confusion. Mike held the phone out to Calliope for her to hear. "That remind you two of anything?"

Calliope shook her head. "Should it?"

Jonathan realized. "WarGames. Oh, my God. We're not calling a phone. We're calling a computer."

Calliope raised her eyebrows in surprise.

A moment later, Mike grabbed a map from inside the van, walking toward Jonathan, Calliope and Argyle at the back of the van. "I don't know if Nina's a computer like Joshua or Owens' lab, but Unknown Hero Agent Man gave us access to it for a reason."

Calliope rolled her eyes, sitting down in the back of the van, as the back door of it was open, looking from Mike to Argyle. "Are you two allergic to just saying 'Harmon'?"

"Yeah, man," Argyle replied.

Jonathan rolled his eyes.

"We just need to find the computer," Mike told them. "We find Sabina and Owens, then warn them. Then we warn Eleven, Niko and Will." He showed them the map. "We just need a hacker. The only hacker that I know lives... in Utah." He pointed at the place. "A friend of a friend."

"Wait, Utah?" Jonathan repeated.

Mike nodded. "Salt Lake City, to be specific. Jonathan, you know the girl I'm talking about. At least everybody heard her before."

Jonathan frowned in confusion, his arm resting against the van. "What the hell are you talking about, Mike?"

Instead of answering, Mike sang a verse of Never Ending Story to reference when Suzie got Dustin to sing the song to Hailey when everyone could hear in 3.08. "Turn around / Look at what you see..."

Jonathan looked away, putting his hand to his face. "Oh, my God. Oh, no."

Calliope frowned. "Why 'oh, no'? 'Oh, my God'? What the fuck is he going on about?"

Jonathan shook his head, not knowing how to explain.

Argyle pointed at Mike. "NeverEnding Story. That scared the shit out of me. The Nothing, man? That's some proper existential shit, dude."

Argyle was playing with a yo-yo.

Jonathan looked at Mike. "You can't be serious."

Mike pointed along the map. "If we take the I-15 north, we'll get there by morning."

"Oh, you're being serious," Jonathan said sarcastically.

"I know it sounds insane, but Suzie saved the world last year," Mike pointed out. "Maybe she can save it again."

Jonathan realized that Mike was right, sighing heavily.

Calliope looked between the two. "Do I even wanna know what happened there?"

"Oh, so it looks like Calliope Pierce doesn't know everything about us after all," Mike said sarcastically, hoping to lighten the mood.

Calliope gave him a push. "Watch it, Wheeler. Are we going or not?"

Jonathan gave Calliope a look. "We need to talk about what all happened back in the hospital first, like when you passed out, and what the hell happened to you then."

Calliope stood, walking around them to get into the van. "Not right now we don't. We got places to be and your friends to save, and Apollo to find. Let's go." Mike, Jonathan and Argyle exchanged a look, stunned, so Calliope repeated herself in annoyance, easily agitated even when she didn't mean to be. "Let's go!"

They all piled into the van, starting to drive away.

∰

Hawkins, Indiana

Reefer Rick's Place - Shed

Eddie was sitting alone in boredom, tossing rocks into a paint can to pass the time, when he heard a car approaching from outside, turning to look out the window behind him, but staying low out of sight.

∰

Outside

Ryan drove up in his car, parking, getting out of the car, still in his suit, holding a crowbar.

Jason, Patrick and Andy got out of the car, all wearing their suits still as well, holding different weapons in their hands.

Ryan, Jason, Patrick and Andy walked toward the house to search.

Eddie watched from the shed. "Shit. Shit."

Eddie moved to the other window to watch them and make sure that they weren't coming toward the shed.

By the house, Ryan noticed that the door was open. "Look like Rick's had company."

∰

House - Living Room

Ryan, Jason, Andy and Patrick made their way inside, looking around.

∰

Kitchen

The jocks walked into the kitchen.

Jason noticed the Spaghetti-Os in the bowl that Eddie left behind. "It's them."

∰

Shed

Eddie was freaking out, looking out the window to keep an eye on the house, using his walkie to try and contact the others. "Hey, Dustin. You there? It's Eddie. You remember me, right?" In the Creel house, Dustin's bag was left on the floor in the middle of the foyer, so no one heard the walkie. "Hey, if anyone's there, I really think I might be in a bit of trouble here. Okay? Hailey? Ruby? Anybody?!"

Eddie turned the radio off in frustration, trying to figure out what to do.

∰

Creel House - Hallway

Hailey and Dustin were walking together through the dark, shining their flashlights around.

"Hey, uh, Dustin?" Hailey asked.

"Yeah?" Dustin asked.

"Could you maybe clarify what sort of clues we're supposed to be looking for here?" Hailey asked.

Dustin spoke in a British accent to try and lift the mood and cheer her up. "'The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes'."

"Thanks, Sherlock," Hailey told him sarcastically. Dustin smiled at the fact that Hailey immediately knew the quote, but could tell that Hailey was distant and pulling away, his smile fading slightly. "That's great. Thanks. That's great. Real helpful. Real insightful. But not sure how that helps us here and now."

Hailey turned away.

Dustin reached out to take Hailey's arm. "Hailey." Hailey turned back. "Talk to me. Please."

Hailey sighed heavily, knowing that she wouldn't be able to avoid talking much longer, letting out a deep breath. "It took everything I had to save Ruby, Max and Billy last night, Dustin. And I could barely do that because of whatever control Vecna and Mirage have on me, or the dark me, or whatever. And I almost exploded with power last night because of it, and I could've ruined everything. Hurt you, or Steve, Nadia and Lucas. And definitely could've ruined our chances to save Ruby, Max and Billy."

"That wasn't your fault," Dustin told her. "And none of this is your fault. I don't know how Vecna and Mirage have a control over you and why they do, and why your powers react the way they do when they make a kill, but we'll figure it out. And we'll stop them from messing with you, or hurting Ruby, Max and Billy."

"I was really hoping to avoid a speech," Hailey admitted. "Heard too many of them lately."

"Yeah, well, given the circumstances, looks like we all could use a speech," Dustin replied.

Hailey shrugged, tilting her head, looking away. She sighed, looking down. "This is all my fault." Dustin shook his head. "And it's taking everything in me not to run away from you. Because I'm scared. Of all of this. Of me. And of me... hurting you. Again. But in an even worse way than I have before."

Dustin stepped closer to Hailey. "There is nothing that you could do to me that can hurt me like that." Hailey raised her gaze to meet his. "Just don't push me away. I can help you control it. But only if you let me."

Hailey let out a shaky breath. "I know. Even with all of this going on, being with you, just trying to be ourselves. It's the first time that I've felt like myself in months. It's been so long. I forgot what that... what that felt like. All I know is that you make me feel like me. Not the dark me. And not any stupid phase. And I don't want to push you away, Dustin. I just don't want to hurt you."

Dustin took Hailey's hand reassuringly. "And I don't want you to get hurt. Whatever happens, I'll be right here with you. And both of us will be okay. I promise."

Hailey couldn't help a small smile. "You're good."

Dustin smiled, nodding confidently, teasing to try and cheer her up more. "Oh, I know."

Hailey's smile got bigger as she chuckled, which was his goal. "Wow. You may be a nerd, but you've got one of the biggest egos I've ever come face to face with."

Dustin mocked a gasp of fake hurt, both of them smiling and laughing. Hailey placed a hand on Dustin's chest, and he placed a hand on her cheek as the two looked at each other adoringly, kissing softly, passionately.

∰

Den

Ruby and Billy made their way into the den, shining their flashlights around. Their songs were playing faintly through their headphones, which were resting around their necks so they could still talk.

When the tape decks clicked to signal the end of the song loops, Ruby and Billy both were quick to rewind the tapes to the beginning.

"Fucking loops," Billy muttered. Ruby looked at another picture of the Creels on the fireplace mantle, frowning curiously. "Ruby?" Ruby looked at him. "What's up with you?"

Ruby shook her head. "I don't know. It's just this house. I... don't even know how to explain because I don't know what the fuck is up myself."

"Okay," Billy agreed.

"I know you're just checking in, but I'm fine," Ruby told him. "So far, we all are."

"For now," Billy agreed. "We almost weren't yesterday though." Ruby nodded in agreement, looking down. "I can't believe we went through all that shit last year, and you guys went through all the shit the two years before, just for this to keep happening."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed. "Me neither." She turned to look at Billy. "But listen to me. I didn't fight through literal hell to get you back just for some monsters to take you away again. And they came after the people that I care about most. So for that alone, the demon-y sons of bitches will pay."

Billy chuckled in amusement, nodding in agreement. "You've always been a lot better than me, Ruby, but if anyone makes you angry or hurts someone you love..."

"I get very mean and vengeful," Ruby finished. "Yeah. And these things came after you and many of the other people that I love, including your stepsister. And I know that after everything that happened, you're actually really worried and protective of her now, as you proved earlier when you told Lucas to keep an eye on her." Billy shrugged in agreement, looking away, slightly sheepish. "So what do you say, Billy?" Billy looked at Ruby curiously. "We take these things out together like we did the Mind Flayer monster? Ready for a little chaos and destruction?"

Billy smirked, nodding. "Always."

Ruby smirked a slight smile in return. Billy reached up to cup Ruby's chin, the two's eyes locked on the other in determination and protectiveness, leaning in to share a kiss, brief but heated and passionate.

They heard their tape decks of their Walkmans click to signal that the rewinds were finished, causing Ruby and Billy to pull away.

"Rewind over," Ruby said, as they both hit play to listen to the songs through the headphones around their necks. "You never said why you liked Vandenberg's Shadows of the Night. Ironic that our favorite songs are called the same thing, by different bands. Billy chuckled in agreement. I mean, it's not as hard metal as your other tastes."

"Both of us literally have to ride or run through shadows of the night in our own minds or in reality," Billy pointed out. "Plus Vandenberg's describes how it's been like since last year. Or technically since you started to help heal my mind and I started to get better. 'Bad mistakes, I made a few, bit off more than I could chew, keep on running, can't stand still, get in trouble while looking for thrills, burned some bridges along the way, past intentions went astray. Shadows of the night, into the darkness I'll ride, far away from the lights, I will fly. Been around, sailed the seas, breaking barricades, chasing dreams. I'm only human, I make mistakes, I try to fix them, set things straight'."

"So it relates to what we're always going through, mentality wise or monster wise, and because you wanna make up for how you were in the past, like apologizing to everybody like you did," Ruby finished.

Billy nodded, shrugging slightly. "Yeah. Plus like you said, definitely ironic that your go-to song is named the same thing." Ruby chuckled. Billy smirked slightly. "You? Benatar's Shadows of the Night? Not as hard as your usual hard rock."

"It's helped tuned out my parental hallucinations," Ruby answered. "Or any kind, really. So it's fitting it does now too. Always felt like I was literally running with shadows of the night because of these hallucinations. Because of the madness. But always thought that eventually it would go away and it would be okay. And I finally got that chance with my powers the last two and a half years, but, uh, not now." Billy nodded in understanding. "Plus some of the lines talking about a cold when when you keep it all to yourself, and that you can't hide from the pain on the inside. That's what I always did, or tried to do. And 'use every alibi and words you deny that love ain't meant to last'. Obviously, Alibi." Billy chuckled. "And just basically why I isolated myself for so long, from everybody, besides not wanting to hurt them. It's because I didn't think anyone would care enough, or I thought that they would love me long enough, to stick around, so isolation seemed a lot better than constant heartbreak."

Billy processed this, nodding in understanding. "Not anymore, though, right?"

Ruby looked at Billy, managing a small smile. "No. Not anymore." Billy gave a small smile in return. They walked together through the house to continue looking around. Ruby found an air vent on the floor, walking toward it, kneeling next to it. "Hmm."

"What?" Billy asked.

"These things are always good hiding places I used," Ruby answered. "Picked that habit up from my parents."

Billy nodded barely in understanding.

Ruby opened the air vent, looking inside, shining her flashlight in, finding several jars inside the vent, reaching in, picking up one of the jars, shining her light on it, revealing a black widow in the jar.

Billy stepped closer to see for himself. "The hell?"

Ruby noticed a black widow now crawling up her jacket sleeve, shining her light on it, but not knowing if it was real given everything. "You're seeing this too, right?"

Billy saw the black widow and stepped closer. "Ruby."

Ruby stood, careful and slow, showing no sign of fear, reaching up with her hand to guide the black widow off of her shoulder. "It's fine."

"Fine?" Billy repeated in amusement, raising an eyebrow. "Never knew you to be a spider lover."

Ruby shrugged. "One that is not monster sized, anyway."

Billy chuckled. "But I guess that I shouldn't be surprised."

Ruby smirked slightly, placing the spider down on the fireplace mantle. "Come on. There's nothing in here besides black widows."

Ruby and Billy walked out of the room, though Ruby cast one more glance toward the Creel family picture on the mantle before walking out.

∰

Dining Room

Nadia and Steve were making their way through the dining room, shining their flashlights around.

"How you feeling?" Steve asked.

Nadia shook her head. "Don't."

"Don't what?" Steve asked.

"Don't feel like you have to check up on me," Nadia answered. "I'm fine, Steve. I'll get past this. Like everything else."

"Okay," Steve agreed softly. "So you moved on. Like we can all move on from things. Nightmares or people."

Nadia looked over at Steve. "Yeah." She knew that Steve wasn't trying to talk about what went down with them, but Nadia would rather talk about that than her past with the smiley men, and her emotional states, and the fact that Steve helped her with everything since what happened, made her start talking about it, even when she didn't really mean to start talking about it. "Like you moved on." Steve frowned. "Glad. Said that you should when I told you not to wait for me."

"You know I would've," Steve told her. "And I did. For months."

"I know," Nadia agreed. "And I didn't want you to keep doing that, because I didn't know if I could ever have a normal life again. I didn't know when I could stop running, Steve. And I didn't want to lead you on with the thought that it would be soon, because I had no idea, and it wasn't soon. I thought, and I still think, you deserve better than that. Clinging to the hope, to a possibility, of this, of us, actually having a real chance without putting anyone else in danger. Deserve someone who's not completely riddled with baggage."

"Everyone's got baggage," Steve replied. "And I know why you told me not to wait for you, Nadia. And I hate it, but that's one of the things I liked most about you."

"What?" Nadia asked. "Willing to call this off with the one chance that you would forget about me just so you could move on and find some actual happiness, far safer and saner than me?"

"If there's anything I can tell you, it's that I could never forget about you," Steve told her. "And yeah. That part of you that does what it has to, even if it means not being happy yourself, to protect the ones you love and give them what they deserve, trying to keep them safe and happy even if it means sacrificing that for yourself. What you don't realize yet is that you deserve to be safe and happy too. You deserve to get whatever you want. And not have to sacrifice everything you do."

Nadia was stunned to hear someone, anyone, say those words, managing a small smile, chuckling lightly. "Thank you. So you didn't forget about me. You put on a good show that you moved on."

Steve chuckled barely. "Yeah. Well, not good enough, apparently. I was trying to distract myself with dating or hooking up, trying to move on. I'm not proud of it. I just couldn't sit and think about it all too much without driving me out of my own damn mind." Nadia nodded in understanding. "But one thing's for certain. I didn't really convince myself. Let alone anyone else. And they never hesitate to tell me that. Especially Hailey and Dustin. Or Ruby and Robin."

Nadia couldn't help but smile knowingly, chuckling, nodding. "Yeah, Ruby, Robin and Nancy had some things to say to me about that too." Steve nodded, not surprised. "And if I told you the truth..."

"Please do," Steve replied.

"I obviously haven't been able to convince myself that either," Nadia told him. "I tried to close off again."

Steve raised his eyebrows, nodding. "I can tell. But you're still not the ice queen you used to be."

"I know," Nadia agreed. "I just didn't want to get my hopes up again."

"For what?" Steve asked curiously.

"For finally finding something that really made me happy only for it to be torn away again," Nadia answered. "Because, like I said before, the normal life, a normal family, that's just not something that's meant for me, apparently. No matter how much I wish it could be."

Steve frowned, sympathetic, caring. "Maybe it could be. Eventually."

Nadia shrugged slightly. "It's a pretty long eventually."

"Yeah," Steve agreed. "But you deserve it. No matter how long it takes. Or who it's with. Even if it's not with me."

Nadia looked at Steve in appreciation as they continued to walk along, giving a small smile, about to say something.

When suddenly, because Steve wasn't looking where he was going, walked right into a spider web, jumping and kind of freaking out from the surprise and realizing that it was a spider web, making sure that there were no spiders on him.

Nadia was surprised but slightly amused, reaching out to him, helping him take the spider web off his neck and face. "Whoa, whoa. It's okay. Scaredy-cat."

Steve laughed sarcastically. "Very funny."

Nadia smiled slightly, noticing that a web was still in Steve's hair. "Oh, oh." Steve stepped forward. "Wait, just..."

"What?" Steve asked, walking toward a mirror. "Is there something? Shit."

Nadia walked closer. "Stop moving."

"Okay," Steve agreed.

Nadia shone a light to see exactly where to grab to take the whole web out of his hair. "I got it. I got it."

Nadia dropped the web.

"Thank you," Steve told her.

Nadia nodded. "Yeah."

Steve frowned, remembering what Nadia said about the girls talking to her about him. "What exactly did Ruby, Nancy and Robin say to you? About me, or us, I mean?"

Nadia smirked slightly in amusement, shaking her head. "Guess you'll never know."

Steve tilted his head. "Nadia, seriously." Nadia chuckled. "So I knew that you were friends with Ruby and Robin, and they were friends with each other since last year. And you've been friends with Nancy for three years. So I'm guessing she's friends with all of you now?"

"Yeah," Nadia answered. "Basically, yeah."

"And Billy's not exactly the worst anymore," Steve added. "And Jonathan's in California but I'm not his rival anymore either." Nadia chuckled. "Maybe after we find Vecna and Mirage, kill them, save the world and stuff, maybe we can all go out or something. You know? Me, you, Nancy, Robin, Ruby, Billy once we clear his name maybe, Jonathan when he's back."

"Ironic that I've never had friends before moving to Hawkins, yet when I move here, I get all of you plus a party of younger kids constantly calling you and me their parents," Nadia remarked.

Steve smiled. "Yeah. And calling the others their aunts, uncles or cousins."

Nadia nodded. "To answer your question... Robin just told me what you told me. About dating and trying to move on even when you couldn't. And they said that we deserved to be happy."

"Huh," Steve said.

"I know Dustin and Hailey are always teasing you, but what did they say this time?" Nadia asked.

Steve chuckled. "Just that I still had a thing for you. And that I was trying to make you jealous at the video store when talking to that girl."

"Yeah, that part I know because I was there," Nadia reminded him.

"Right, right," Steve agreed, tilting his head sheepishly. "And I might have been trying to make you a little jealous. To see if you still felt something. For me, I mean."

Nadia already knew this, smirking, crossing her arms over her chest with a sarcastic nod. "Might have?"

Steve nodded, smiling a bit, cutely embarrassed. "Yeah, just might."

Nadia bit her lip over a slight smile. "Okay. Well, I might have been a little jealous." Steve looked only slight surprise by the admission, looking up at her. "Because it's obvious I never stopped feeling something, dumbass."

Steve smiled at the teasing, knowing it was just her classic self. "Likewise."

After a moment of looking at each other with slight smiles, Nadia broke eye contact and looked around. "We should get back to the others."

"Yeah," Steve agreed, nodding slightly, holding out an arm toward the door. "After you."

Nadia smiled slightly, walking past Steve toward the door. Steve turned to follow.

∰

Parlor

Max and Lucas were looking through the room.

Max was playing her song through her headphones.

When the tape deck clicked to signal the end, Max was quick to rewind the tape.

Lucas frowned in concern. "I wish we had a longer loop for you guys."

Max looked up, shrugging slightly. "46 minutes isn't bad. I think there are bigger concerns. Like, what if, by listening to these songs over and over, we get sick of them, and suddenly they're not our favorite songs anymore? Will they still work? Or will Kate Bush, Pat Benatar and Vandenburg, like, lose their magic power or something?"

"One, Pat Benatar is like a rock legend," Lucas pointed out. "And Kate Bush? Never."

Max gave him a surprised look. "You're a Kate Bush fan?"

Lucas nodded like it should have been obvious. "Uh, yeah. Now I am."

"Really?" Max asked.

"Yeah, mega-fan," Lucas answered. "She--she helped save your life. Besides, we're hot on this creep's trail." He placed a hand on Max's shoulder. "We're gonna find Vecna and kill him before he even thinks about messing with you guys again. And then Mirage so he can't mess with anyone else again. All right?" Max nodded. Lucas smiled, walking toward the piano behind him. "In fact, I bet if we hit these suckers in the right combo, we might just open a door to a secret lair." Max walked closer. Lucas was clearly trying to cheer Max up and make her smile, hitting a few discordant notes on the piano. "Viola."

Max and Lucas both smiled, laughing.

"You're such a dork," Max told him. "I thought you were, like, one of the cool kids now."

Lucas frowned, feigning offense. "I'm not cool?" Max laughed. Lucas looked at her tenderly. "I've really missed that."

"Missed what?" Max asked.

"Your laugh," Lucas answered.

Max looked like she was about to say something, before she heard the tape deck of her Walkman click to signal the end of the rewind. "All done. Work your magic, Kate."

Lucas smiled slightly. "We should get back out there. There's nothing here."

Max nodded in agreement.

∰

Hallway

Ruby and Billy were walking when they saw Robin and Nancy in the hallway, listening to their music.

"Hey," Ruby told them.

"Hey," Nancy and Robin replied.

"You guys find anything?" Billy asked.

Nancy and Robin shook their heads.

"Nothing," Nancy answered.

"Nada," Robin agreed.

"Great," Billy said sarcastically. "That's just fucking great."

Ruby looked away when she saw a flickering light of a lamp nearby. "I promise I'm gonna stop asking this, but... you're seeing that, right?"

Ruby, Billy, Nancy and Robin walked closer to the flickering light.

"Yeah," Nancy answered uneasily.

Ruby slowly reached out to touch the lamp shade, but suddenly the light went off, leaving them in darkness.

Robin looked around, finding another lamp down the hall started to flicker and pulse. "Look."

They followed the light.

∰

Foyer

Ruby, Billy, Nancy and Robin followed the lights into the foyer. Whenever one light stopped pulsing, the next one after it did, leading them right to the foyer, causing the four of them to exchange a look.

∰

Eleven's Mind Space

Day - Hawkins Lab - Training Room

Sabina and Brenner were overseeing the training that day.

Number Four (one of the older, teen psionics) was wearing a headset, focusing his powers to make a light flicker nearby, into a perfect circle, as several lights were put into a circle structure. He moved the light from one to the next, going very fast, spinning the lights round and round.

"Stop," Sabina told him. Four stopped, opening his eyes. "Very good, Four. Very good."

Sabina handed a treat to Four, gesturing to Henry.

Henry walked closer, removing the wire head set from Four's head.

Four stood, walking back to the line up.

Brenner looked at the other psionics. "Now, which brave soul would like to follow that? Hmm?"

Some of the younger children raised their hands, repeating "Me" repeatedly in hopes of being picked.

Young Apollo raised his hand. "Me."

"Your power is a little too advanced for something like this, Ten," Sabina explained. "No, we need a telepath or telekinetic for this one. But don't worry, we'll have something for the rest of you with other powers throughout the day. What about you, Eleven?"

Eleven hesitated, looking to Young Apollo next to her.

Young Apollo nodded, the six year old giving her a smile. "You can do it."

Eleven went to sit down in the chair. Young Eleven was visible in the mirror behind her.

Henry walked closer, placing the wire head set on around Eleven's head. "Remember to stay focused. Find the energy. Feel it."

Henry gave a slight smile, standing, walking away.

Eleven focused on the lights as much as she could, trying her hardest, training, but she couldn't do it, breathing heavily.

Other subjects, minus Young Apollo, laughed.

Four muttered to Five. "Why do they waste so much time with her?"

Henry walked behind the line of psionics, glaring at Four. "Hey. Quiet."

Four instantly shut up.

Sabina walked over to Eleven, leaning down to whisper to her. "They're laughing. At you. They think you're weak. Show them, Eleven. Show them." Eleven focused again, and this time, she made one of the lights turn on. "Good. Now make it move."

Eleven tried to make it move, but she couldn't do it, giving up with a desperate look on her face.

Four shook his head. "Waste of time."

Eleven's nose was bleeding. She reached up to wipe it away, but was shocked when she saw that her hand was covered in blood. She looked at her other hand to see that it was also stained in red.

Eleven looked around to see that she was suddenly alone in the room.

When she heard a scream faintly in the distance, Eleven jumped and turned toward the door.

∰

Hallway

Eleven walked down the hallway, blood still dripping from her nose.

Lights were flickering constantly.

Eleven walked through the hallway, stunned to see that it was littered with bodies and stained in blood.

∰

Niko's Mind Space

Day - Russian Psionic Program - Nadia/10's Room

Young Nadia was sitting on her bed, arms around her knees, gazing off emptily at nothing, clearly traumatized by what she was going through.

Niko slowly walked into the room, looking at the eight year old version of his older sister in concern. Even his four year old self knew that something was wrong and was worried. "Nadia?" Young Nadia looked up. "What's wrong?"

Young Nadia shook her head. "Nothing, Niko. Just go to your room. You don't want to get in trouble with Grandfather and Grandmother again."

Niko walked closer, sitting on Young Nadia's bed. "Please tell me."

Young Nadia was only keeping quiet because of the threats the smiley men made when they hurt her, and how scary and traumatizing it was for an eight year old girl, which she didn't want to fall onto her little brother too, knowing how badly it could scare him. "Please just go to sleep. Get some rest. It'll be a long day tomorrow."

"Nadia..." Niko trailed off.

"Niko, go," Young Nadia told him, tears in her eyes. "Please." Young or present day, Niko wouldn't listen when he knew that his sister was scared and in pain, placing his hand on Young Nadia's arm to use his touch telepathy power to see what was wrong, due to being so young he didn't know how to talk to her about it any other way. Young Nadia instantly pulled her arm away, hoping to not let him see any of it. "Niko!"

Unfortunately, Niko had seen it; felt his sister's pain and fear and heard her screaming in her memories, horrified; present day version of Niko was absolutely disgusted and angry, shocked that he could ever forget something like this, while the four year old Niko was scared and confused. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Young Nadia told him desperately, struggling not to cry. "Just go to your room, Niko. Go to sleep."

Andrei heard the raised voice of Young Nadia as he was walking past her room, looking in to see Niko there with her. "What's going on in here?"

Young Nadia quickly wiped away any tear that might have fallen. "Nothing, doctor. Twelve and I were just saying goodnight."

Andrei grave Niko a look. "That's a good idea, Ten. It is time for bed, and you wouldn't want to get in trouble with your grandparents again, would you, Twelve?"

While Niko now wanted to tell Andrei off, he had to follow the course of the memory, which was Young Niko shaking his head. "No, sir."

"All right, then," Andrei told him. "Off you go."

Niko had no choice but to stand and walk to the doorway. "Okay."

Andrei gestured for Niko to head to his room, before walking away, keeping a close eye on the room to make sure that Niko actually left. He turned around, looking into Young Nadia's room.

Young Nadia cowered under his gaze.

Both Young Niko and Niko glanced back at their desperate and incredibly pained sister, as Young Nadia was hiding her face, burrowed into the arms that she had resting on her knees, which were pulled in, tucked to her chest, moments away from crying when she could be alone in her room.

Andrei smirked at the sight of Young Nadia cowering, closing the door, turning to Niko. "Time for another exercise, Twelve. You're not going to bed just yet. Follow me."

Niko frowned. "Okay."

Andrei led Niko down the hallway, into an interrogation room.

∰

Interrogation Room

Andrei led Niko inside, making sure the cameras were off so that no one would see what would come, turning to the door, using a buzzer button to open it.

Two guards brought in an orderly, forcing him to sit down in a chair in front of Niko.

"This is a bad man with a secret," Andrei told him. "I need you to look inside his mind and tell me what it is." Niko hesitated, as Young Niko was clearly clearly confused, lost about the entire situation. "Don't make me ask twice."

Niko followed the role of what Young Niko had done back then. He stepped closer to the orderly, placing a hand on his arm, using telepathy to look into his head.

The orderly was clearly trying to struggle not to let Niko into his mind. "Please don't."

Niko looked to Andrei. "He's scared. He thinks you'll find his family and hurt them because he knows something he shouldn't."

"Dig deeper," Andrei told him. "Tell me what he knows."

"He doesn't want to think about it," Niko admitted. "He doesn't want me to know."

"Then try again, just like we talked about," Andrei told him.

Niko shook his head. "Please, don't make me. He's so scared for his family."

"You know the rules, Twelve," Andrei told him. "Do you care about his family, or yours? I can pay a visit to Ten just down the hallway."

The orderly looked up in alarm, as if that was the secret that he knew.

Before the memory could continue, everything seemed to disappear.

Suddenly, Niko looked around to find that he was completely alone.

The roof seemed to be ripped to pieces, crumbles and shambles everywhere on the floor, as bodies were littered everywhere, covered in blood.

Niko looked around in complete shock.

∰

Reality

City of Corinth

Day - Sabina's Headquarters - Nina Lab

Sabina was still in her chair, using her powers to help Niko and Eleven, eyes still glowing.

The machines started to beep rapidly.

Will stood in worry. "What is happening?"

"They're risking going into arrest," Sabina answered.

Will drew the line, shaking his head. "Okay, that's enough. Pull them out." Sabina was gazing off in pure concentration to help Eleven and Niko calm down with telepathy. "Pull them out!"

While inside the Nina tank, Niko and Eleven were shaking, vibrating the water around them, eyes glowing bright blue-pink-purple, but the glow was fading in and out.

Sabina ordered her men to pull them out before they could go into cardiac arrest, keeping them safe and with as little pain as possible, avoiding a major ordeal.

∰

Kamchatka, Russia

Russian Psionic Prison - Machine Room

Apollo was still unconscious, being attached to a machine with a wire put into the back of his neck, and when it was set, it made him wake up and groan in pain. "What the fuck?"

Mikhail walked around the machine, head turned to look at Apollo. "Oh, you're awake. Good."

"What are you doing to me?" Apollo asked.

"I hope you like my new invention," Mikhail told him. "It makes it to where soundwaves will be going into your body, no matter how long you try to force it out, and it will show me what I want, whether you want it to or not."

"You do know this will kill me?" Apollo asked, beginning to be a little scared.

Mikhail shrugged. "Maybe, but I don't have time to care. There's a 50/50 chance it'll kill you. The other half chance is that it leads you to fall into a coma. Either way, I'll get what I want."

Apollo noticed one of his was not strapped down yet, willing to do whatever it took to make sure Mikhail didn't get what he wanted; which was to hurt everyone, seeing one of the scientists had a hair pin, acting quickly, taking the hair pin, pushing the scientist away. "Fuck this."

Apollo broke the hair pin into a sharp point and tried to stab himself right in his carotid artery, but his hand was stopped by an invisible force.

Mikhail turned to face Apollo, holding out his hand, revealing he was using siphoned telekinesis to stop him, walking closer, taking the pin from him, laughing. "You would really kill yourself just to stop me from getting what I want. That takes guts, child."

The scientist stood up quickly, strapping down Apollo's hand.

Apollo tried to struggle and break free, but couldn't, glaring at Mikhail. "You know, your daughter said you were a coward, and honestly, I think I see it. 'Cause you're not fighting me one on one. It's what a little bitch would do. And all the things that you've done to your family, that I just heard about? To Nadia and Niko as your grandchildren?" Mikhail smirked slightly in irony. "To Nadyr and Natasha as your children? That all screams little bitch to me."

"Shut up," Mikhail warned.

"So I guess the truth is, just like Nadia, Niko, Nadyr and Natasha say about you, you are a pathetic little bitch," Apollo mocked.

Mikhail lost his patience, punching Apollo in the face, making his head turn. "Enough!"

Apollo turned his head to look at Mikhail, not intimidated, sitting up to spit the blood in his mouth right into Mikhail's face, making him step back in disgust, smirking. "Like I said. Pathetic little bitch."

Mikhail wiped the blood from his face, chuckling, pointing at him, speaking in Russian. "U tebya ogonʹ ivanov na tebe malenʹkiy malʹchik. [You got the Ivanov fire in you, little boy.]"

"What the fuck does that mean?" Apollo asked.

"If you survive, you'll find out," Mikhail told him, turning to the scientist. "Let's begin."

Apollo struggled. "Wait, no. No, stop! Let me go! Let me go!"

The machine was turned as the metal rings around the machine started to spin.

Apollo started to hear a painful ringing in his ears, making him yell in pain. The machine made Apollo forcefully absorb the soundwaves and hear every sound that was being produced, or that had ever been produced before at a universal level through echolocation, as a glowing green light radiated all around Apollo, shooting outward in a wave that enveloped everything around him, going the farthest it had ever gone before, making everything it touched appear to have a smoky aura as he was forced to track the source of the targets Mikhail wanted him to find. Apollo's eyes started to glow green as he was forced to keep searching through the waves, expanding all over the world as he heard everything.

Through the visual side of his power, Apollo could see smoky apparitions of every person that his power crossed, which looked almost like stars fading in and out. In addition, his glowing green hard light power shone through Apollo's entire body like armor, and conjured itself out of his body, creating a glowing green light crystalline construct of the entire world, ring constructs spinning all around the construct of the world, which looked like it was created by green stars, glowing green lines of light connecting to each target that Mikhail was forcing Apollo to search for by the machine. Making it to where even when Apollo would never say anything to Mikhail to give him what he wanted, he didn't have a choice but to show him.

Mikhail reached up for the crystalline construct of the world, looking at the glowing lines of green light connecting to each construct, seeing that three were in the USA, Indiana. "I'm guessing that's Nadia, Hailey and Ruby." He looked to the other lines pointing him to another location in the middle of the ocean. "And that's where Sabina took Niko and Eleven. To Corinth. You and Natasha have been more helpful than you could ever realize, Apollo. Though I'm sure Nadyr will be here any second to save his sister, who we both know won't leave you behind. And soon, neither will Nadyr. Ever."

∰

Outside

Nadyr was flying the plane right above the prison, wearing his power compression suit to help control his powers.

Joyce and Murray were in the plane with him.

Nadyr set the plane on autopilot. "I'll be back soon. Joyce, I already showed you what you have to do. This thing is mostly on autopilot. It'll be fine long enough for me to get in and save Natasha and get out."

Joyce nodded nervously. "Okay."

"Trust me, you got this," Nadyr told her.

"Oh, I trust you," Joyce replied. "I'm just not sure that I trust myself with this."

Nadyr patted on Joyce. "Like I said. You got this."

Nadyr tied a rope around his waist and to the plane, looking down below to make sure there was only two guards outside, while the rest were inside with the prisoners.

"Nadyr, be careful," Joyce warned. "For all of your sakes."

"I'm always careful, Joyce," Nadyr told her, walking toward the plane door, opening it. "Can't promise how safe we're gonna be though."

"Then give 'em hell," Joyce told him.

Nadyr smirked, tilting his head, shrugging. "That I can do."

Nadyr used the rope to glide himself down through the air, flipping through the air, landing on the upper level in a crouch, looking up, using the rope to pull himself off the balcony, swinging to kick a guard off the balcony and down to the ground below, before landing with his feet on the ground, spinning around to kick the gun out of another guard's hands, making the gun fall to the ground below, finishing the spin to kick the guard with his other leg, making him hit the railing next to them. Nadyr sensed another guard coming from behind him, turning to throw a knife right at the guard's helmet with enough force to knock him down.

Two more guards walked closer, firing up at the plane, making them lose a little bit of control, as it got too close to Nadyr on the balcony, the airplane blades almost slicing into him.

Nadyr ducked and slid away, narrowly avoiding being cut up by the plane's blades. "Seriously?"

Joyce and Murray looked outside in shock.

Joyce struggled to get the plane under control again, moving further away from Nadyr before they could kill him. "Sorry!"

Nadyr stood. "What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me? Back up!"

Murray gave Nadyr a thumbs up. "We're all doing a really good job."

Nadyr stood, rolling his eyes, shooting plasma blasts out at the two guards with the guns, sending them backflipping in the air and falling to the ground, burned but knocked out.

Once Nadyr had taken down the guards outside, Nadyr jumped down from the upper level to land on a balcony below, jumping off once again, landing on the ground, rolling over the ground to stand up, about to break into the prison.

∰

Inside - Hallway

Nadyr broke into the prison, walking along toward the side of the prison where he knew that Natasha would be.

Two guards behind a glass pane and counter called out to him in Russian.

"What's wrong with you?" Russian 1 asked.

"What are you doing here?" Russian 2 asked.

"Call security," Russian 1 told him.

Before they could do anything, Nadyr punched through the glass, grabbing Russian 1, pulling him through the barrier, making it shatter as he threw him to the floor. He grabbed Russian 2, slamming his head against the beam in between them, knocking him out, kicking Russian 1 in the head to knock him out.

Nadyr picked up a key card from the unconscious men, spinning it around his hand nonchalantly as he walked through the hallway toward Natasha's cell.

Natasha was laying, recovering in her cell, while wearing another mission outfit, still wounded from being shot in the side.

Nadyr walked up to Natasha's cell. "It's your lucky day, Natasha."

Natasha looked up, stunned to see her brother alive for the first time in 10 years. "Nadyr."

Nadyr gave her a small smile. "Hello, little sister." Natasha was speechless for a moment, standing, walking to the bars. Nadyr couldn't help a little smugness slipping into his smile. "Wow. I think this is the first time I've ever seen you speechless. Thank God it's because of me. Missed your big brother that much?"

"I will gladly kick your ass and the smug right out of you as soon as we're out of here," Natasha replied.

"Knew you would," Nadyr quipped with a smirk before starting to unlock her cell door. "Missed you too, Nat." Nadyr opened the cell door. Immediately, Natasha stepped out of the cell, her arms instantly going around Nadyr tightly in an embrace, tears in her eyes emotionally. Nadyr returned the embrace, just as emotional. "I can't imagine that this means I'm out of a round of family tradition later?"

"You're not that lucky," Natasha replied.

They both pulled away, smirking slightly.

Nadyr reached up to wipe the tear away from Natasha's cheek. "We're going home, little sister."

Natasha shook her head. "I'm not leaving without Apollo Pierce."

Nadyr frowned in confusion. "Calliope Pierce's brother? Sabina's been updating me as much as she's been updating you."

"Yeah, but there's one thing that she's not updated on," Natasha told him. "The fact that he's alive. She thinks he's dead."

"You've been with Apollo?" Nadyr asked. Natasha nodded. "Mikhail has him, I'm guessing."

"Yeah," Natasha answered. "He can use his powers to track down Corinth. Meaning..."

Nadyr realized the danger of the situation. "We'd all be screwed." Natasha nodded in agreement. "All right, let's get the kid and go. 'Cause obviously you care about Apollo now, Nat."

Mikhail walked closer before Natasha and Nadyr could walk away. "Oh, you have no idea how right you are about that, Nadyr." Natasha and Nadyr both glared at him, as Nadyr had to get over the shock of seeing his father alive again. "Is this your plan, just to help them escape?"

"That's the end game," Nadyr answered. "First, my plan includes killing you to make up for the last time we tried failing."

Mikhail raised his arms on either side of him, beckoning each hand. "Go on, then. Give it your best shot."

Before Natasha and Nadyr could do anything, soldiers stormed into the hallway, surrounding them, aiming guns at them to keep them at gunpoint on each side to keep them from making a move, making both Natasha and Nadyr annoyed with their father.

"Cheating, as usual," Natasha told him.

"You never could stand to fight a fair fight with anyone, could you, Mikhail?" Nadyr asked.

"Why fight fair when I can get what I want?" Mikhail replied, speaking the next sentences mockingly. "How else would I be able to just hold a conversation with my dear children without them trying to kill me? I just want to talk."

Natasha rolled her eyes.

Nadyr glared at Mikhail. "You really feel nothing for what you've done to me and Natasha? Valkov? Nadia and Niko?"

Mikhail just laughed. "Is this your haunted past? Believe me, that's not the most haunted of your past, Nadyr."

Nadyr stepped closer furiously. "Did you feel anything when we killed Nazary?"

Mikhail shrugged. "By doing that, you gave me my most greatest weapon."

"What do you mean?" Natasha asked. "Is Nazary alive or not?"

Mikhail chuckled. "You'll find out eventually. You ran away to fight in the wrong war. Real wars are fought in the shadows."

"You didn't fight in the shadows," Natasha told him. "You hid in the dark."

"Real power comes from undetectable influence," Mikhail told them.

"If no one's noticed, then why do it?" Nadyr asked. "You're nothing. You have nothing."

"There are 50 people on this planet just like us, Nadyr," Mikhail told him. "You, Natasha, Nadia, Niko. Eleven, Ruby and Hailey? All the people that I've created here, and the ones that Sabina helped create from Henry and Cheryl Creel in the United States? My mission--"

Natasha rolled her eyes. "I don't give a fuck about your mission. Just stop."

Mikhail suddenly raised his voice to a shout. "Don't tell me to stop!"

Natasha looked at Mikhail mockingly. "If I don't tell you when to stop, then how will you know when to shut up?" Nadyr smirked. Mikhail punched Natasha in the face, but Natasha only laughed. "Come on. Think I can't take a punch?"

Nadyr pushed Mikhail away. "Why not try fighting your child that hasn't already almost died from a gunshot wound." Mikhail punched Nadyr in the face. Nadyr laughed mockingly. "Goddamn it, you're weak. No wonder you always have to cheat."

"You're certainly a lot less stronger than you used to be," Natasha agreed, frowning curiously.

They both noticed black veins trailing along Mikhail's hands.

"What the hell is that?" Nadyr asked.

Mikhail chuckled sarcastically. "One of the many things I wanted to speak to the two of you about. Why I wanted to find Corinth."

"Using Apollo Pierce to do it?" Nadyr asked sarcastically.

Mikhail smirked, shaking his head. "You've no idea the irony of that, Nadyr." Nadyr frowned. "One of the main reasons why I wanted to find Niko. Other than using him, Nadia, Ruby, Hailey and Eleven along with the two of you and Apollo? He's the only way that I'm ever going to survive."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Natasha asked.

"What do you think all of those experiments I did to myself have done to me?" Mikhail asked. "The experiments I tried to use to make me able to hold the power I siphon for more than half an hour. To be able to keep some form of power on my own, and not have to rely on siphoning from a source?"

"You're dying," Nadyr realized.

Mikhail nodded. "I am. And Nikolai? He's the key to fixing this virus. Though I'll give it up for this virus. It was definitely something I could use to weaponize against all of our enemies to kill them eventually, even if they survive their attacks."

"Niko's never going to help you after all you've done to us and Nadia," Natasha told him. "So you can burn in hell."

"The two of you wouldn't be so glib if you had any notion of the scope I've built," Mikhail told them. "I own this world. Me."

Nadyr nodded sarcastically, not caring. "You seem desperate to impress us. Trust me, I'm not impressed."

"I don't need to impress you," Mikhail told them. "I don't need to impress anyone. These world leaders, these great men, they answer to me and my soldiers. My soldiers, my spies, one command and they will crumble empires. One command and one corner of the planet will starve. They can start and end wars. They can make and break kings."

"Enough of this bullshit," Natasha snapped.

"Where is Apollo?" Nadyr asked.

Mikhail laughed mockingly. "Hmm. Ironic that you're already asking about Apollo. You know how I used my children for the possibility of creating more psionics, Nadyr. Letting Natasha and Valkov be together so they could have Nadia and Niko to be apart of the program. Under my control. And you and others like you..."

"You basically forced us to be sperm donors when we were under control so that you could use us to impregnate the woman involved with volunteering for the program to give birth to the other psionics," Nadyr finished. "Yeah, I know. I was there. I'm not fucking brainwashed anymore, no thanks to you. What does that matter?"

"Who do you think you fathered?" Mikhail asked. "Some random psionic? No, no, no. The boy that all of this is about. Why do you think Apollo is so powerful, Nadyr? Why his powers resemble Nadia's creation and Natasha's shields? And so... much... more."

Natasha and Nadyr realized what Mikhail was saying, both in shock.

"You're saying that Apollo..." Nadyr trailed off.

"Is your son," Mikhail answered. "Do with that what you will. Enough of this." He looked at the soldiers. "Lock them up. I'm heading out. Make them suffer."

Mikhail walked away, leaving the soldiers to try and lock up Natasha and Nadyr as he headed outside.

The soldiers swarmed around Natasha and Nadyr, guns still aimed at them from all sides.

Natasha and Nadyr exchanged a shocked, but annoyed look, knowing that they couldn't process what Mikhail said about Apollo right then, but they had to focus on getting out of there.

Just as the soldiers went in to attack and lock them up, Nadyr drew energy power from the air around him as he spun around all around Natasha, facing each soldier around them as he started to emanate with red glowing light, shooting plasma blasts at the guns to destroy them, meanwhile, Natasha spun around Nadyr in the opposite direction (to where they were both spinning in a circle clockwise) to circle her arms around her to conjure her clear gold-glow tint shield all around the two siblings, one arm waving in a half circle from one side to spread the shield around her, then waving the other arm in a half circle back toward Nadyr to spread the shield around Nadyr, creating a circle around them to protect themselves just as Nadyr's power was creating miniature explosions from the guns meeting plasma energy blasts, sending the guards flying back on the floor on their backs, badly burned from the tiny explosions of gunpowder and plasma, but with Natasha's perfectly timed interference, neither she or Nadyr were harmed in the least.

Nadyr smirked as he looked over his shoulder at Natasha. "I forgot what a good team we made."

Natasha looked over her shoulder at Nadyr, tilting her head, shrugging. "I didn't."

"Seems like you got an upgrade," Nadyr remarked. Natasha nodded. "Clear a path outside. I'll get Apollo."

Natasha looked at Nadyr worriedly, but nodded in agreement.

∰

Machine Room

Apollo was strapped down to the machine, unable to move. It forced the soundwaves of echolocation inside and into Apollo, making him feel on the verge of exploding, screaming in pain. His powers started lashing out, as the machine started to malfunction given that Apollo's powers were too much for it. Glowing green sound waves, which had been forcing their way into Apollo's body, now started to explode out of Apollo in steady pulses, causing more and more damage with each pulsing sound wave, shattering everything around him, throwing so many people to the ground. Glowing green hard light crystalline constructs appeared all around Apollo as he screamed, the glowing green sound waves still pulsing out of his body. The constructs created more and more damage, tearing down walls, destroying so many things around him. The jagged edges of the constructs were so sharp that they could impale and kill someone, spreading throughout the entire prison, creating mass destruction.

∰

Hallways

Out in the hallway, as the prison building was being torn apart and sound waves were radiating through the building, Nadyr had to lean against a wall to help him stay standing and pull himself toward the room where the power was coming from, knowing that it was where Apollo was, his hands glowing red with plasma bursts that weren't released, but they helped him gain enough strength and power to walk against the sound waves without being blown back, avoiding every deadly crystalline construct, using plasma blasts to destroy them before they could cause him any harm, getting them out of the way in order to make it to Apollo.

In another hallway, which was just as deadly and difficult to manage through as the hallway that Nadyr was in, Natasha had to lean against a wall to help her stay standing and pull herself toward the exit of the prison, using her molecular shield power to help push her along without falling, and using the shield against every deadly crystalline construct to protect herself, or using the saws to destroy them to be able to get outside.

∰

Machine Room

Apollo looked like on a complete breaking point, unable to deal with all of the pain and suffering anymore, his body feeling like it was going to burst from all the torture of the machine, his ears still ringing from having his echolocation power used so intensely against his will on a big scale, his powers still lashing out chaotically and dangerously, his nose bleeding heavily as an insane amount of his power was being used all at once.

Nadyr got closer, shooting blasts of plasma out at the hard light constructs surrounding Apollo to destroy them, shooting more and more plasma blasts at the constructs to keep them from going too far and killing more people than the ones already dead or injured, reaching Apollo as he blasted the ones blocking his path away. "Apollo! Apollo?"

Apollo looked up at Nadyr, confused, straining to contain his powers. "Who are you?"

"I'm Nadyr," Nadyr answered, slowly walking closer.

"Nadyr?" Apollo repeated. "Natasha's brother Nadyr?"

"That's right," Nadyr answered gently, still in shock over the revelation that his father just gave him, reaching Apollo's side, unstrapping him from the machine, trying to stop the machine from draining Apollo completely to the point that he would either fall into the coma or die, while also trying to stop Apollo's powers from lashing out and destroying everything, possibly including them. "Apollo, look at me. You're gonna be okay. It's gonna be all right."

Apollo leaned his head back weakly. "There's no stopping it."

"Every machine has an off switch," Nadyr replied.

"Not this one," Apollo returned.

Nadyr noticed wires attached to Apollo, moving around him to see that they were attached to a piece that stuck right into his neck, knowing that if he didn't take it out right, that it could paralyze or kill Apollo as it was right over his spinal cord, looking horrified, but keeping composure so that he didn't scare him more. "It's okay. It's okay. I'm gonna figure it out."

Apollo shook his head, breathing shakily. "You should have never found me."

Apollo reached for Nadyr's gun, taking it from him, aiming at him.

Nadyr held up his hands harmlessly, backing away slightly, holding onto the machine to keep from being blown back by the glowing gold sound waves still pulsing out of Apollo and the machine. "Apollo... I'm just trying to help."

Apollo had a broken, haunted look on his face. "People have been telling me that my entire life. But all they want to do is use me for my powers. I have to keep Calliope safe. My sister. I have to keep them all safe."

Apollo aimed the gun at his head, tears in his eyes that were threatening to spill.

Nadyr was shocked by this, concerned and worried. "No, no, no."

"Mikhail tried to take everything from me, but I was strong," Apollo told him, his voice breaking as he started to cry. "I was really strong. I didn't want to give him the location. But he made me."

"Of what?" Nadyr asked.

"If I tell you, you won't go back," Apollo admitted. "And then we're all dead anyway."

Nadyr shook his head, treading carefully, just trying to get through to him softly, gently and carefully. "Stop. Stop, stop."

"I can't stop Mikhail, but I can stop myself from killing all of you," Apollo told him.

"Apollo, put the gun down and let's talk, okay?" Nadyr asked. "You're the only one who can tell me what really happened here. What Mikhail is going to do, what he used you for. Who he's going to hurt. I can help you stop and save us all, without you doing this. Put the gun down."

Apollo was so close to breaking. "I can't, Nadyr. I can't, I can't. All those people... I killed all those people. I could kill all of you."

"You didn't do anything," Nadyr told him. "This was not you, Apollo. This was Mikhail. You tried everything to stop him, and you could have run far and fast. But you went back for my sister to save Natasha. Because that is clearly the person you are. Anyone who just met you can tell that's true. Including me. None of this is your fault. I understand exactly what you're feeling right now because I've felt it my entire life. I know what you're feeling, Apollo. It's guilt, but it's not fault. It's not your fault. I had to come to that realization. You have to, too. I know that I don't know you very well, but it's clear that you're strong. So strong. Like you said. You're stronger than this. You know you are. You just have to prove it to yourself." Apollo looked emotionally overwhelmed, tears in his eyes. "Put the gun down, Apollo. You have people who love you, who care about you, who don't want to lose you. Calliope, who's been searching for you ever since she found out about you. You want to find her too, don't you? I can help you do that. Natasha cares about you so much already. She's fought through hell to protect you. To try and save you. Calliope loves and needs you. Natasha cares so much that she will love you. I'm sure that once you and I get through this and know each other, I'll feel the exact same way. And Nadia and Niko and everyone else that you could possibly wish for. You're not alone anymore. You'll never be alone again. You don't have to hurt anymore."

Apollo was slowly talked down, looking at Nadyr in utter sadness, his hands shaking. He slowly lowered the gun.

Nadyr stepped closer and took the gun from Apollo, putting it in his waist band, still holding onto the machine to keep from being blown back, while starting to work on removing the wires from the back of Apollo's neck carefully but as quickly as possible.

Once Nadyr got Apollo free, as Apollo cried out in pain but relief, all of the pain stopped, and all of Apollo's powers faded away.

All of the sound waves and the crystalline constructs disappeared before they could cause anymore damage, saving most of the building and people inside it, and outside of it.

Apollo gasped in complete relief that it was over, looking at the man next to him in complete shock that he did it. "Nadyr..."

"It's okay," Nadyr told him. "It's all right."

Apollo started to break down. Nadyr pulled Apollo into his arms, holding him tightly in the embrace comfortingly. Apollo returned the embrace, crying silently. Nadyr sighed in relief, closing his eyes, hanging her head, utterly stunned and shocked by everything.

∰

Hallway

Now with Apollo's power no longer losing control and making things difficult, Natasha reached the south end of the building, finding a steel door blocking her escape. Natasha raised her arms to form her molecular shield all around the door, using it to compress the door so intensely with enough power that she was able to make the door concave on itself, before thrusting her arms out, making the molecules rip the door apart, almost like it exploded, letting the pieces fall to the ground.

∰

Outside

Natasha ran outside.

An armored car tried to drive right toward Natasha. Natasha formed her shield against the car, thrusting her hands toward it to send the car sliding down the road and into another oncoming armored car, creating a violet car crash that bought herself some time. The car crash was brutal enough to cause the engines to spark and almost cause a fire.

Another car drove right for Natasha. Natasha raised her arms to form the molecular shield all around the tires of the car, using it compress the car and tires so much that she causes the tires to burst and the wheels to break completely with loud bangs, smoke flaring out from the wheels with a large burst of electrical explosion.

A truck drove right for Natasha. Natasha held out her hands to form a ramp of shield on the road ahead of the truck, making the truck drive up the ramp and fly through the air over her head and land on the ground several meters away in a large crash. If that hadn't killed the driver, the fact that the car was about to blow would. Natasha formed a shield in front of herself to protect her from the explosion.

Mikhail looked over from where he was trying to get into a car to leave, seeing Natasha and what she was doing, knowing that Nadyr would be getting Apollo. "For the love of God." He glanced up at the plane in the sky, knowing that it was Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo's ride. "Not today."

Mikhail reached for a psionic, siphoning his power, his hand glowing green as he did, before walking away.

∰

Inside - Hallway

Nadyr and Apollo were quickly making their way through the hallway, while Nadyr had to support Apollo, since clearly Apollo had expended so much power that he barely had any power juice left to use, and he looked on the verge of passing out from all he had to endure, definitely not in the best fighting shape, but still mostly able to keep going and do what needed to be done.

"Come on, we need to find Natasha and kill my father and get the hell out of here," Nadyr told him.

"Your entire family is so fucking weird," Apollo told him.

Nadyr tilted his head at that irony, not sure how to take it yet. "Yeah, don't need to tell me that."

A guard came from behind them, calling out with his gun out. "Freeze!" Nadyr and Apollo stopped, both turning halfway to see the guard there, facing each other, rolling their eyes. "Stop now or I will shoot."

Nadyr and Apollo exchanged an annoyed look, both raising their hands, as Nadyr absorbed the energy around him and transformed it into plasma, emanating a bright glowing red, and Apollo let his glowing green light mist float away from his hand, conjuring it out to create a glowing green light crystalline construct of a sphere, throwing it into the guard the same time Nadyr shot him with a plasma blast, both powers throwing the guard all the way down the hallway and through a wall, breaking a large hole into the wall as the guard fell to the floor. Both couldn't help but smirk.

Nadyr turned his head to look at Apollo, taking his arm, leading him along. "Come on, let's go."

"Why?" Apollo complained. "Let's finish him."

"He who fights and walks away lives to fight another day," Nadyr quoted, trying to set a good example.

Apollo pouted in disappointment. "That's some lame ass shit."

Nadyr sighed, sounding equally as disappointed. "Yeah, I know, I know."

∰

Outside

More soldiers were running outside.

Natasha ran toward Guard 1, spinning around him and grabbing his gun before he could fire, ending up on the other side of him as she snapped his arm, making him scream and drop the gun, spinning to kick his feet out from underneath him, making him fall, still having his gun, aiming the gun up at the sky.

Nadyr and Apollo burst outside.

Mikhail walked toward the prison, looking up at the plane above, his eyes starting to glow bright red, revealing that the power that he had siphoned was the power of heat rays (through his eyes), shooting heat rays up at the plane, damaging it severely.

In the plane, which was still on autopilot, Joyce and Murray were freaking out, trying to stay calm, as Joyce had to get control of the plane again.

Alarms were going off on the plane's engine system to let them know that there was severe damage to the plane.

A guard ran at Nadyr and Apollo. Nadyr let Apollo go, pushing him to safety before spinning to kick the guard in the face, finishing the spin to kick him with the other leg, knocking the gun out of his hands, catching the gun within his own hands, spinning it around to hit him in the head hard enough to knock him down and out.

Apollo raised his eyebrows. "I see why you two are siblings."

Nadyr smirked slightly. "Come on."

While Natasha was in the middle of another fight, Mikhail came up from behind Natasha, eyes glowing bright red as he shot heat rays at her side. Natasha saw just in time and barely managed to duck in time, not having enough time to conjure her shield, groaning in agony as a part of it seared her wound from being shot. Mikhail ran toward her as Natasha was getting up, flipping through the air to try and kick her. Natasha used her shield to block the kick, throwing Mikhail to the ground, forming razor like shield blades, trying to throw the saws into Mikhail. Mikhail ducked, making the saws hit the wall behind him and destroy the wall. Mikhail got closer and closer while punching, kicking and trying to hurt Natasha, but Natasha used her shield to block each blast of heat rays, along with her own fighting. Mikhail managed to grab hold of Natasha's shoulder and siphoned just a bit of her power, making her yell in pain as his hand glowed green, conjuring a shield saw to throw at Natasha. Natasha ducked to make him miss, making it obliterate the wall behind her, spinning around, kicking Mikhail into the wall of the building, making him fall, punching him viciously in the face. Mikhail picked up a rifle from the guard that Natasha took down, trying to aim it at her, but Natasha spun around and kicked the gun out of Mikhail's hand, making it fall to the ground, kicking it away, slamming Mikhail's head into the wall, then into the railing next to them, throwing him down, conjuring a molecular saw to send flying at Mikhail, but Mikhail spun out of the way, making the saw obliterate the concrete.

Nadyr was worried about his sister. "Natasha."

Nadyr ran up behind Mikhail, slamming his arm into the back of Mikhail's head, knocking him down through a pane of glass, making the glass shatter.

Mikhail looked up from the ground, a faint of a smirk on his lips. "Nadyr."

"You should've stayed in hell," Nadyr told him.

Mikhail stood, running closer to attack. Nadyr spun out of the way, backhand punching Mikhail in the face, slamming him into the railings next to them. Mikhail grabbed Nadyr and turned to slam him into the railings instead, siphoning power from Nadyr from the touch, making Nadyr groan in agony. Mikhail absorbed the energy around him, transforming it into plasma, starting to emanate with it. Nadyr punched Mikhail back and ducked out of the way before Mikhail could use his own power to kill him. Mikhail shot a burst of plasma from his hand at Nadyr, knocking him down to the ground, walking closer, grabbing Nadyr by his arms, pulling them behind his back with his knee pushing against Nadyr's back to injure him.

Natasha stood, running toward them, jumping up and wrapping her legs around Mikhail's neck, spinning around him and flipping him to the ground, knocking him down in the process. "We have to go."

Nadyr stood. "Apollo!"

Mikhail ran toward Nadyr, slamming him against the wall, hand around his throat, strangling him as he let his eyes glow bright red, trying to shoot the heat rays out at Nadyr. Nadyr punched Mikhail in the face before he could, cutting him off, before the rays released, punching him in the face and chest repeatedly. Mikhail tried to punch Nadyr in the face, but Nadyr ducked, making Mikhail hit the wall behind him instead, dodging to the side. Mikhail spun to punch Nadyr, but Nadyr narrowly avoided the punch to the face by ducking back, punching Mikhail repeatedly, trying for one more punch. Mikhail caught Nadyr's fist in one hand, punching Nadyr in the face with the other, trying to punch him again. Nadyr caught Mikhail's fist with his other hand, making both of them gripping each other's fists to stop each other's blows. Nadyr shot a small glowing red plasma blast from his chest out at Mikhail, hitting him in the chest, sending him flying back and landing on the ground with a yell, screaming as the plasma blast was burning his his chest intensely, but did not kill him.

Mikhail stood, glaring at Nadyr. "You really had me going there for a minute, Nadyr. But it's time to end this."

Mikhail let his eyes glow red as he shot heat rays out at Nadyr.

Nadyr ducked to the side, making the heat rays hit the structure behind him and set it aflame. "Couldn't agree more."

Nadyr took more time to process more energy around him to conjure a much bigger blast of glowing red plasma, which was sure to burn Mikhail alive if it hit him, shooting it out of his chest toward his father with a yell.

Mikhail ducked to the side, running for cover, staying low, so that Nadyr could not hit him with the plasma blast no matter how Nadyr turned to shoot the blast out at his father.

Mikhail ducked behind a structure for protection, which the plasma blast hit, instantly destroying it and setting it aflame as it started to fall right on top of Mikhail.

Mikhail rolled out of the way before he could be hit by the flames and the structure, rolling up to his feet.

Natasha walked closer. Mikhail stood, eyes glowing bright red as he tried to shoot heat rays out at Natasha, but Natasha raised her hand to form her clear gold-glow tint shield in front of herself, thrusting her arm toward Mikhail to send the shield flying into Mikhail, throwing him into the wall, taking him down, walking closer without ever stopping. Mikhail stood and instantly tried to punch Natasha in the side, hoping to wound her gunshot wound, but Natasha caught his hand and twisted his arm, using her other arm to punch Mikhail viciously in the stomach and chest twice. Mikhail broke free and punched Natasha twice in the face. Natasha slammed her head against Mikhail's in a vicious headbutt, knocking his head backward. Mikhail didn't waste a second to punch Natasha in the face in retaliation, then the side at her gunshot wound, making her groan in pain and back away as he was taking advantage of her serious, almost fatal wound to weaken her during the fight, punching her in the face again. Natasha grabbed Mikhail by the throat, trying to punch him with her other arm. Mikhail caught her arm, punching her in the stomach with his other arm, making her groan in pain because of her wound, letting his eyes glow bright red to shoot heat rays out at Natasha. Natasha conjured her clear gold-glow tint shield in front of herself to protect herself, using the shield to deflect the heat rays back on Mikhail, making him duck, spinning around as she held out her hand to conjure her spinning shield saw, finishing the spin as she threw the saw toward Mikhail, aiming for the throat. Mikhail barely managed to duck in time, but still got nicked pretty badly in his shoulder in the process, screaming in pain as he fell to the ground. The shield saw continued on its path into the structure behind Mikhail, slicing clean through the leg of the structure with a spark of power, making the structure almost fall on top of them. Natasha and Mikhail both had to duck and take cover to make sure that they weren't crushed by the structure.

Nadyr watched with a smirk. "Not bad, little sister."

Mikhail stood, eyes glowing bright red to shoot out heat rays directly at Nadyr. Nadyr shot blasts of plasma from his hands out at the two heat rays, both powers glowing gold, and meeting in the middle in a deadly stream, both fighting to conquer the other.

Apollo was trying to get his powers to work given that he had been so drained, and finally they did, his hands surrounded by the glowing green mist around his hands, conjuring it out to create a glowing green hard light crystalline construct of a sphere, throwing it into Mikhail's legs, making him fall to his knees, sending him tumbling to the ground, giving Nadyr the upper hand, as Nadyr shot his two hand-created plasma blasts toward Mikhail.

Mikhail spun over the ground to avoid being shot to death by the blasts, making them hit the ground, setting the ground aflame. Mikhail instantly stood, shooting heat rays toward Apollo.

Apollo, still using his glowing green mist, conjured it out to create a glowing green hard light crystalline construct of a shield to protect himself from the heat rays, throwing it directly at Mikhail to throw him into the wall, making him fall. Mikhail started to stand as Apollo ran closer, punching him in the face. Apollo kneed Mikhail viciously in the gut, punching him in the chest, kneeing him in the crotch to make him double over to his height, so that he could punch him in the face, snapping his head backward against the wall, making his head slam against the wall painfully.

Natasha and Nadyr came up from behind Apollo ducked back out of their way as Natasha and Nadyr both swung their fists at Mikhail's head to smash it against the wall. Mikhail ducked just barely in time, making Natasha and Nadyr hit the wall behind him, breaking it. Mikhail turned to shoot heat rays from his eyes out at Nadyr, kicking him to the ground, turning to Natasha, punching her viciously in the side over her wound, grabbing her, slamming her against the wall, hands around her neck to strangle her.

Apollo let his glowing green light shine through his body before conjuring it out from his feet to create a glowing green hard light crystalline construct of boosters that helped him through the air impressively, so that he could land on Mikhail's back, punching him repeatedly in rage to make him let go of Natasha, spinning around his head to wrap his legs around his neck and flip them both through the air, throwing Mikhail away from him over his head, landing on his back on the ground.

As Mikhail stood to go after Apollo, eyes beginning to glow bright red, Natasha ran at Mikhail, tackling him to the ground, holding him down, her knee digging into his back. Nadyr ran closer to help Natasha pin Mikhail down.

Natasha looked at Nadyr. "Do it."

Nadyr, unfortunately, had to take a little bit of time to generate a big enough blast of red glowing plasma that it would be enough to kill Mikhail, just about to shoot it and kill him, but Mikhail managed to break free just in time, throwing Natasha and Nadyr off of him to the ground.

Nadyr's plasma blast instead shot out at the structure/balcony above them, destroying it, as it started to fall and crash to the ground all around them.

Natasha stood, using her clear gold-glow tint shield to protect herself from the falling debris that could very easily kill anyone.

Apollo was about to be smashed by a piece of the falling balcony, not seeing it coming. Nadyr saw this and instinctively ran toward Apollo, jumping at him, grabbing him, rolling them through the air and over the ground as they landed to save him from being crushed to death by the destruction, as the two exchanged a look, breathing heavily.

"Thanks," Apollo said breathlessly.

Nadyr nodded. "Yeah."

Mikhail easily took this chance to escape, knowing with the way that he was injured by all three of them, that they could easily kill him if he didn't escape.

With the soldiers trying to shoot Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo, Natasha conjured her gold-glow tint clear shield, and Apollo used a glowing green hard light crystalline construct of a shield to protect both of them and Nadyr.

"What the hell are we waiting for?" Apollo asked.

"The spies and soldiers," Nadyr answered. "That's what Natasha was waiting for. Same here."

"You're waiting for the spies and soldiers that we should be running from because they're trying to kill us?" Apollo asked.

"So we can set them free," Natasha answered. As the spies and soldiers got closer, Natasha spoke to them. "We don't want to hurt you. You don't wanna hurt us."

A guard ran closer, trying to attack with a weapon. Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo backed away with the shields still in front of them.

Natasha caught the weapon that the guard was using, which was like a small whip, and tore it from her hands, using it to hit her in the face, taking her down.

Another guard kicked Nadyr in the leg, making him fall to his knees, but Nadyr instantly got up and punched the guard in the face, catching his arm as he tried to punch, spinning around to kick a guard behind him, flipping the one in his hold to the ground, taking them both down.

Natasha used the small whip to slap a guard in the face, snapping his head to the side, catching his arm when he tried to punch, twisting his arm to break it, pushing him away, kicking him in the chest, making him fall. Another guard tackled Apollo, but they both rolled across the ground, facing each other, and Apollo sent a glowing green sphere crystalline construct to soaring toward her to throw her to the ground.

Nadyr grabbed a guard and threw them to the ground. He shot bursts of plasma from his hands out at each guard. Three guards ran at Nadyr to push him back into a beam, trying to strangle him with a collapsible staff, but Nadyr broke the staff and used the pieces to hit the two on either side of him in the faces, knocking them down, and grabbed the one in front of him, flipping him through the air and to the ground.

"Do you have it?" Natasha asked.

Nadyr saw that the grenade device was finally ready. "It's good. Good to go."

"Do it!" Natasha told him.

Nadyr tossed the grenade device into the air, which soon exploded, destroying all of the vials, and releasing the gas from within the vials. The gas spread through the air and down below, reaching all of the spies, freeing all of them from the control, saving them.

Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo looked around at all the spies and soldiers, who were all standing in shock, no longer fighting them.

"What to do now?" a girl asked.

"Get as far away from here as possible," Natasha answered. "You get to make your own choices now."

"You really did break them free," Apollo stated. "How?"

"With the same chemical Natasha's husband used to break us both free ten years ago so we could escape with Nadia and Niko," Nadyr answered. "We'll explain more on the way out of here. We just need to get you the hell out of here, Apollo."

Apollo looked around. "Well, now I know why you two weren't going for the kills as much this time."

Natasha and Nadyr shrugged slightly.

Sadly, the snipers saw that the soldiers were free and started to fire once again, making everyone duck, as they were all on the chopping block now due to the spies and soldiers were no longer under their control, and the snipers were determined to take them all down now.

"Except for those assholes because they're not under mind control," Nadyr said in annoyance.

"Nadyr, take out the damn snipers!" Natasha told him.

Drawing as much as he could, Nadyr absorbed the energy around him to form it into plasma, which now emanated from his body, before he shot plasma rays from both his hands out at the towers where the snipers were shooting from, making the towers glow with red plasma energy before they exploded into flames. "Ha!"

The explosions of Nadyr's power started to cause an avalanche in the snow-covered mountains around them, as Natasha, Nadyr, Apollo, Joyce, Murray and all the soldiers watched in shock.

"Whoa," Apollo said. "This would be a cool way to die."

Murray yelled down at Nadyr, Apollo and Natasha. "Tell me that's a good sign for us!"

Nadyr looked at the soldiers. "Run, go!" The soldiers all started to run for the nearest shelter, which was sadly the mostly destroyed prison that had been nearly obliterated by Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo's powers, but it was the safest place they had so close. Nadyr looked up at the plane. "We gotta get up there."

Natasha looked at the wall. "Come on, let's go."

Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo ran for the stone wall, as all three ran up along the stone wall. Natasha used her molecule shield to wrap around herself, Nadyr and Apollo, pushing them up and against the stone wall so that they could grab onto a bar very high in the air, almost like Natasha made them levitate with just her shield, before they pulled themselves up onto the upper level.

"That was fucking awesome," Apollo told her. "That was almost like me using the platforms and stepping stones to run on air."

"Well, you definitely have to show me that one," Nadyr told him. "That sounds fucking amazing."

Apollo smiled. "When I have more strength, yeah."

Natasha smirked, rolling her eyes. "Let's go."

The soldiers down below were screaming and running inside to save themselves.

"Go, go, go!" Apollo told them. "You can make it!"

"Way to go, Nadyr!" Natasha told him.

"You're welcome!" Nadyr replied. He called up to Joyce and Murray. "Get us out of here!"

Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo had to jump up to the next level of the upper level, reaching a bar that could help them pull themselves up to the top level.

Nadyr jumped from the balcony to catch onto the rope hanging from the plane, pulling himself up, reaching down toward Apollo. "Apollo! Take my hand."

Apollo let his glowing green light shine through his body before conjuring it out from his feet to create the glowing green light crystalline construct of boosters, so that he could use them to launch himself into the air and up to Nadyr, grabbing onto his hand. Nadyr pulled Apollo up to hold him against the rope so that he couldn't fall, as Apollo was still very weakened and could very likely fall if he didn't have someone helping hold him up.

The plane was so damaged that Joyce had difficulty flying it, moving away from the balcony and Natasha before she could get onto the rope on accident because of the plane's condition, destroying another tower in the process, and creating an explosion from that tower. Nadyr and Apollo had to swing themselves away from the explosion before it could burn them, as Joyce flew them higher into the sky to try and make sure that Nadyr and Apollo didn't die from being burned.

The avalanche was advancing so fast on the prison, destroying everything in its path.

Joyce flew the plane back toward Natasha on the upper level.

Just as the avalanche reached the balcony where Natasha was on the upper level, Natasha had to raise her shield all around herself to save herself, expending most of her power during this prison break and this entire battle.

Apollo had barely any power left in him in order to do this, but he was able to form a hard light glowing green crystalline construct of a platform in front of Natasha, while he and Nadyr were holding onto the rope. Natasha jumped onto the platform, holding her side, which had ripped stitches after the battle, and she was bleeding, but not gushing blood, though she could very well soon if they didn't get her help right away. Apollo used the rest of his power to levitate the platform up to carry Natasha up to him and Nadyr on the rope, and Nadyr reached down to grab onto Natasha's hands, the two siblings clutching each other's hands tightly, as Apollo used his platform to keep them from falling in case they did lose hold of the rope. The three were surrounded by the snowy mist that came down with the avalanche, but they were protected from getting injured by Natasha's shield while Apollo's platform kept her from falling to her death.

The soldiers had run for cover, only stepping out when they noticed that the avalanche had stopped, and that Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo were getting away on their plane. The soldiers themselves were safe and sound, and completely relieved that the siblings had saved them instead of killing them, setting them free, all cheering happily in relief and gratitude, causing Natasha and Nadyr to smile from where they were hanging onto the rope with Apollo.

Even Apollo couldn't help but smile slightly.

Nadyr and Apollo were able to help pull Natasha up the rest of the way, so that she could grab onto the rope as well, so that Apollo could let the platform fade, as he could no longer maintain the power to hold it up.

Joyce flew them away from the prison, both her and Murray looking down to see Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo at the end of the rope, hanging on for dear life, and Natasha letting the shield fade when they got far enough away from the avalanche, seeing that they were all okay.

Joyce smiled in complete relief, emotional to see her best friend alive and well.

Murray laughed, cheering. "Ha! Yes! Whoo!"

Obviously, by the end of all of this, Natasha, Nadyr and Apollo's noses were bleeding the most heaviest they had ever bled before, and all three looked ready to pass out.

Murray ran toward the rope, pulling it up to pull Nadyr, Natasha and Apollo into the plane, both of them climbing to do so as well.

Nadyr wiped the blood from his nose, yelling out at the prison in Russian. "Farewell, douchebags!" Apollo couldn't help but laugh, wiping the blood away from his nose. Natasha sat down, breathing heavily, holding her side in pain. Nadyr, despite the revelation and family war drama, was breathing heavily from the excitement of the adventure. "Oh, that was exciting."

"Not the word I would use, Nadyr," Natasha told him.

Apollo shrugged. "Well, aside from the terrifying near death, I would."

Nadyr nodded, walking over to Natasha, kneeling next to her to check on her stitches. "We'll get this fixed as soon as we get to the hotel room, okay? Looks like you're gonna gave to wait to fight it out with me."

"Not for long, trust me," Natasha replied.

"Natasha, if you think that you can go old school family tradition on me after all that and not bleed out and die--" Nadyr started.

Natasha shoved Nadyr in the chest. "Shut up."

"I'm serious, Nat," Nadyr told her. "We don't have time for that."

"Time enough," Natasha replied. "We'll continue this later when we're not about to die in a fucking plane crash after you already started an avalanche that almost killed us."

"Yes, Mother," Nadyr replied sarcastically.

Apollo frowned in confusion and concern. "Are you gonna be okay, Natasha?"

Natasha nodded barely. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be okay, Apollo."

"We need a little help up here," Murray called back to them.

"This thing is gonna go down with all the damage it's taken," Joyce told them. Apollo closed the plane door. "Nadyr, I could really use the help."

Nadyr walked to the cockpit, going to Joyce, touching her shoulder, causing her to look at him. "I got it, I got it." Joyce got out of the pilot seat so that Nadyr could slide into the seat and take control, of the plane. "Buckle up. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

∰

Hawkins, Indiana

Night - Creel House - Foyer

Now, everyone was gathered around the chandelier, which was buzzing brightly with lights.

"It's like the Christmas lights," Nadia stated.

"The Christmas lights?" Max repeated.

Nancy nodded. "Yeah, when Will was in the Upside Down, the lights... came to life."

Hailey gazed at the lights, looking distant and sort of dark, but not much darker. "Vecna's here. In this house. Just on the other side. I can sense him."

The lights faded to darkness.

"I think we just left the room," Robin remarked.

"Did he hear us?" Ruby asked, worried about the thought.

"Can he see us?" Steve added, just as worried.

Lucas looked at Ruby, Billy and Max. "Headphones."

Ruby, Billy and Max quickly pulled on their headphones to listen to their songs.

Dustin looked at Hailey in concern. "Can you still sense him?"

"I think so," Hailey answered, walking to the doorway, turning off her flashlight.

"I really don't think that's a good idea, Hailey," Steve told her, but of course Hailey didn't listen, waving Steve off. "Jesus Christ."

Hailey walked to the stairs, her eyes and gem starting to glow and pulse, though the sclera of her eyes remained white. "Oh, I think he's moving. He's moving. He's moving."

The others were stunned by the fact that her gem and eyes were glowing while tracking Vecna.

"Not creepy at all," Billy remarked. "Where?"

Hailey started to walk upstairs, followed by the others, turning to look around, sensing him going upstairs further, turning toward a door behind her, walking up to the door, opening it.

Upstairs in the attic, they could see the lights flashing on and off, pulsing.

"It's an attic," Robin said nervously. "Of course it's an attic."

They all started to walk upstairs.

"Hold up, guys," Dustin told them. "What if he's leading us into a trap? Guys. Guys. Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit."

∰

Reefer Rick's Place - Shed

Eddie was still hiding out, looking out of the shed window toward the house, seeing all the lights on.

∰

House - Bedroom

The jocks were looking around.

"They're not here, seriously," Andy told them.

Jason raised his voice to snap at him. "Shut up and keep looking."

Ryan glanced over to Jason, raising his eyebrows at how he was slowly but surely spiraling into insanity, looking away, clearly not caring. "Hmm. 'Kay."

They split up to keep looking.

Ryan walked toward the window, looking out toward the shed.

∰

Shed

Eddie tried to radio to the others. "Dustin? Please. Are--are you there?" He turned to look at the boat behind him. "Never mind."

∰

House - Living Room

Patrick was standing alone.

Mirage's purple and orange smoky aura suddenly wafted in, creating a cloud to show Patrick a memory (like he did to Nadia in 4.04) of his father beating Patrick and his little sister.

Patrick was in shock. "What the fuck?"

Mirage spoke in a demonic voice, only heard in Patrick's head. "Make him stop."

Patrick really thought he was losing his mind. "Who is that?"

Mirage spoke slowly. "I can help you make him stop. I can help you."

"What do you mean?" Patrick asked. "How?"

"Make a wish," Mirage told him.

"What?" Patrick asked. He groaned in pain as a candle suddenly seemed to grow out of his hand, lit. "Ow. What the fuck?"

"Make a wish," Mirage repeated in his demonic, snake-like voice. "Say it."

Patrick closed his eyes. "I wish my father was out of my life."

Patrick blew out the candle.

Like last time with Fred, Mirage took his time granting the wish in his murderously ironic way, just to play with his victims slowly.

All evidence of the living nightmare disappeared, the smoke with the mirror dissipating, and the candle vanishing from Patrick's hand like they had never been there.

Ryan popped up next to Patrick, grabbing his shoulder, making him jump. "Come with me."

∰

Shed

Ryan kicked in the locked door, making it burst open, walking in. Jason and Patrick followed him into the shed.

They looked around, noticing that it was empty, and that the boat was gone.

∰

Lovers Lake

Eddie was rowing the boat out onto the lake, hoping to escape.

Ryan, Jason and Patrick walked outside, looking out toward the lake, seeing Eddie.

"Holy shit," Patrick said.

"Hey, freak!" Ryan called mockingly. Eddie looked over his shoulder. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Shit," Eddie said, instantly turning to try and rev the boat engine to life.

"Where're Billy and Ruby?" Jason asked. "We know they're part of this!"

Eddie was trying desperately to start the boat. "Come on. Just... come... on!"

Ryan and Jason took off their suit jackets and shoes.

Patrick hesitated.

"You scared of some water?" Ryan asked. "Let's go!"

Patrick took off his jacket and shoes.

Eddie tried to start the boat again. "You piece of shit! Come on. Gotta help me out here, man." Ryan, Jason and Patrick ran into the water. "Come on. Come on, you piece of shit!" Ryan and Jason were swimming closer instantly. "Goddamn it!" Eddie slammed his hand on the engine. "Nope? Okay. All right. Okay."

Eddie started to row with the oar again, as fast as he could.

Ryan and Jason were gaining quickly, incredibly swimmers.

Patrick was swimming, but he seemed woozy, out of it, disoriented.

∰

Creel House - Attic

Hailey led the group into the attic, her gem and irises still pulsing with red glowing light, as she looked up at the light above their heads that was pulsing.

The others followed, their flashlights now off, but the closer they got, their flashlights all started to pulse too.

"Flashlights," Nadia told them.

They all stood around the light, shining their flashlights up at the light, making all of the lights glow even more brighter.

Hailey's gem and eyes glowed even more brightly as she looked up at the bright lights, which reflected on her face.

"Okay, what's happening?" Billy asked.

The shot of them standing around the light slowly panned to turn upside down, to transition to show Vecna in the Upside Down version of the attic.

∰

Upside Down

Creel House - Attic

Vecna was very well aware that they were there but knew he didn't have to do anything to any of them  then and there. He stood still as the tendrils attached to his back, and levitated him over the ground.

∰

Hawkins

Creel House - Attic

Hailey felt weirdly sedated, like she could feel each tendril attaching to Vecna, as her own power started to appear. As her gem and irises were still pulsing with a red glow, her sclera turned black, as one by one, glowing red tendrils of energy glided out of her back, in time with each tendril attaching to Vecna in the Upside Down.

This caused the others to back away in confusion and concern, only because of Hailey's powers being so cold that it could cause intense, painful cold burns.

"Hailey?" Max asked.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked.

Hailey raised her black-red gaze to look up, as if at the place that Vecna was levitating in the Upside Down. "Get back."

∰

Lovers Lake

Eddie was still rowing away from the jocks, as Ryan, Jason and Patrick swam after him.

Patrick only stopped swimming when he heard the chiming of the clock, six times over the course of the others talking.

Eddie swung his oar at Ryan and Jason as they got too close to the boat. "Hey, stay back, guys! Stay back! Stay back!"

Ryan looked back at Patrick. "Hey, come on, let's go. We almost have him. We'll get answers about Ruby and Billy."

To them, it just looked like Patrick was in a trance.

"Hey, Patrick," Jason said. "Patrick!" 

"Patrick!" Ryan told him.

In his mind, Mirage showed Patrick everything he was doing in Patrick's own home to his family.

While Mirage was still in the Upside Down, and in his mind lair to reach past into Hawkins by psychically connecting to Hailey like Vecna was doing, he was able to make a Mirage monster in the form of Mirage himself, just an illusion, as he clearly couldn't teleport between worlds.

The Mirage of Mirage appeared in the McKinney home in his snake-monster glory in the living room of his room, where a fireplace was lit.

Patrick's father, mother and little sister were all there, in shock to see the snake monster, as Patrick's little sister screamed in fear, and their parents looked on in shock.

Patrick was so confused. "What are you doing? No!" The mirage of Mirage wrapped his tail around Patrick's little sister's neck, lifting her up from the ground, strangling her, making her stop screaming, hissing into her face viciously to make her the most scared, before throwing her into the fireplace, burning her alive. Patrick screamed in agony and denial, powerless to stop it. "No! Stop!" Patrick's parents were screaming in horror but unable to save their daughter. The mirage of Mirage lunged toward the mother, biting into her neck, poisoning her with venom that was quickly spreading through her and instantly killing her, tearing her head off with his teeth. Patrick screamed again. "No!"

The mirage of Mirage drove his large clawed hand into the stomach of Patrick's father, lifting him from the ground, killing him brutally as he was pulverizing his insides, ripping his arm from Patrick's father, dropping the body to the ground, disappearing from the house.

Patrick couldn't stop screaming, which caused Jason, Ryan and Eddie to look at him in confusion, as he did really scream in real life.

"Patrick!" Ryan told him. "What the fuck is going on, man? Hey, Patrick. Hey, Patrick!"

"Patrick!" Jason told him.

The mirage of Mirage appeared over the water, floating with purple and orange power swirling around him, much to the shock of Patrick, Jason, Ryan and Eddie.

Jason, Ryan and Eddie were completely helpless to stop what was coming.

∰

Creel House - Attic

Hailey's eyes were still black and red, her gen glowing red, and her glowing aura tendrils of energy floating in the air around her, almost aligned with how the tendrils were attached to Vecna in the Upside Down. Only then could see sense what Mirage was about to do, realizing that Vecna lured them up here and did this to distract Hailey so she wouldn't sense it before. "Oh, God. Get back!" The others all looked at her in confusion. "Get back, get back, get back!"

"Go, go, go, go!" Nadia told them.

Hailey's power caused all of the lights to shatter in the room at once, leaving them in utter darkness.

Realizing what was about to happen, Steve, Nadia, Dustin, Nancy, Robin, Ruby and Billy all took cover around the attic behind anything they could find to protect themselves. Lucas was confused because this was the first time he saw this, but Max grabbed his hand and pulled him into hiding, so that both could duck for cover.

Ruby and Billy hid behind a dresser, both breathing heavily, holding an arm over both their heads.

Max and Lucas hid on the other side of the dresser, but away from Hailey, looking at each other in shock and worry.

Steve and Nadia ducked down next to each other, both looking at each other in shock and worry for everyone, as they both covered their heads.

Dustin, Nancy and Robin ducked down nearby each other, covering their heads.

Dustin looked out toward Hailey in utter worry and concern.

Once Patrick's fate was sealed, while Hailey's sclera was still black, her irises and gem still pulsing glowing red, and her tendrils out, her red aura started to appear and glow around her, swirling, even more chaotic than ever, like each kill Vecna and Mirage made made it even more chaotic when it burst out of her.

In her mind, Hailey could see what Mirage was doing Patrick, but this time, she couldn't stop it as it was too late.

∰

Lovers Lake

Mirage held out his hands, glowing with power, using that power to wrap around Patrick, levitating him in the air, making him scream, and started to consume his soul. White soul energy started to leak from Patrick's body as his eyes glowed white. The soul energy was floating toward Mirage, so that he could consume the soul energy, only becoming stronger. The energy faded from Patrick completely as Mirage consumed his soul whole, leaving Patrick's body looking like a hollow, empty corpse, letting his body fall into the lake.

Ryan, Jason and Eddie watched in absolute horror and shock.

Eddie screamed and ended up falling off the boat and into the water.

∰

Creel House - Attic

Hailey, still in full power form (with her aura tendrils lined up with Vecna's in the Upside Down), felt every step of the painful death Mirage inflicted on Patrick, feeling the hallow feeling of his soul being consumed, her aura glowing around her cycling around her like a tornado, her power wanting to burst out of her which she tried to stop, but was failing to keep it in. She released a feral scream sounding like a mix of a scream and a screech, head tilting back and arms down at her sides as her aura of red glowing energy exploded out of her, all around, coming from her hands and her chest, tornadio-ing all around as it shot outward, sweeping out of the building and across town toward its destination.

Everyone was keeping down, ducking for cover, all horrified knowing what this meant; another victim, and that they couldn't stop it, and couldn't stop Vecna and Mirage from toying with Hailey and using her for their own gain, even though they didn't know what for.

∰

Lovers Lake

Hailey's red glowing aura lashed out to the specific point of Patrick's murder.

Mirage watched the power with a smug, victorious laugh.

Ryan and Jason were breathing heavily in shock and disbelief, horrified.

Eddie watched Hailey's power, utterly stunned.

Hailey's power dove right into the water after Patrick's body, ripping at the air all around it, before disappearing entirely.

Mirage disappeared in a flash of orange and purple power.

∰

Creel House - Attic

Hailey's powers faded, as she was left utterly exhausted, blood bleeding heavily from her nose, falling to her knees on the floor, gasping softly.

Once everyone was sure that the power was gone and it was over, they all started to stand, looking at each other worriedly.

Dustin ran toward Hailey, kneeling next to her. "Hailey."

Dustin held Hailey up from the floor, comforting her as much as he could.

Hailey was close to crying in exhaustion and pain. "You were right, Dustin. It was a trap."

"Just not for us," Ruby told them. "For Hailey. To stop her from saving the next victim."

"Who was it?" Lucas asked in concern.

Hailey looked up at Lucas in concern, since she knew that out of all the jocks, Patrick was the most sane and reasonable (even if that wasn't saying much) and he had been nice to Lucas. 

Steve and Nadia walked closer to Dustin and Hailey to kneel next to them, making sure that Hailey was all right. Nancy, Robin, Lucas, Max, Ruby and Billy walked closer, standing around Steve, Nadia, Dustin and Hailey on the floor, as everyone looked at each other in concern and worry, but no longer shocked by the chaos and destruction that the monsters were making, and making Hailey make.