"ELEVEN," Mike said, staring at her like he'd seen a ghost.

"Mike," Eleven gasped before they crashed into each other, holding on tightly.

Max glanced over at Lucas, eyes wide in realization. "Is that...?"

Lucas and Dustin both nodded, confirming the unspoken question.

"I never gave up on you," Mike said, his voice full of emotion. "I called you every night. Every night for—"

"353 days," Eleven finished for him. "I heard."

Mike's face fell. "Why didn't you tell me that you were there? That you were okay?"

Kat looked down, guilt weighing heavy on her chest. She remembered all those nights El cried in her bedroom because she couldn't see him. It had been heartbreaking. But she also understood—El had vanished right before their eyes. Kat and Theo hadn't been with her, so why hide them?

A voice cut through her thoughts.

"Because I wouldn't let her," Hopper said, stepping forward. He walked toward El, his expression unreadable. "The hell is this? Where have you been?"

El stood her ground. "Where have you been?" she asked firmly, her voice unwavering.

Hopper hesitated, then pulled her into a hug. Kat glanced at Mike, who looked... betrayed.

And honestly? He had every right to be.

"You've been hiding her. You've been hiding her this whole time!" Mike's voice rose as he shoved Hopper's shoulder.

"Hey! Let's talk. Alone."

Hopper grabbed Mike and led him out of the room, leaving the rest of them in silence.

El turned to Kat and Theo first, a soft smile forming before she pulled them into a hug.

"I missed you guys," she murmured.

"We missed you too," Kat and Theo said in sync, then let out a small laugh.

Kat leaned back, looking over El's outfit. "So... who turned you into a total badass?" she asked, grinning.

"Our sister," El answered simply.

Kat blinked. "Sister?"

"Yes. I went to Momma's. Me and Aunt Becky found her. She's like us," El explained.

Theo exchanged a glance with Kat before smiling. "Well, we're just glad you're safe."

"Me too," El nodded.

She moved on to Dustin and Lucas, wrapping them in a hug before suddenly reaching out and pulling down Dustin's bottom lip.

"Teeth," she said, frowning in confusion.

"What?" Dustin blinked at her.

"You have teeth."

Lucas and Dustin looked at each other before grinning.

"Oh, you like these pearls?" Dustin asked, dramatically purring like a cat.

Kat gasped in horror, whipping her head toward Steve and then back at Dustin. "No! God, no, don't ever do that again!" she exclaimed, cringing so hard she almost felt secondhand embarrassment radiating off of herself.

Dustin rolled his eyes playfully before turning back to El.

From behind the boys, Max hesitated before stepping forward.

"Eleven?" she said cautiously. "Hey. Um, I'm Max." She stuck out a hand, smiling. "I've heard a lot about you."

El didn't shake her hand. Instead, she walked past Max, brushing against her shoulder slightly as she did.

Kat winced. Ouch.

Eleven went straight to Joyce, hugging her as tears welled in both their eyes.

"Hey, hey sweetheart," Joyce sniffled, holding El's face between her hands. "Hey."

El wiped at her face, her voice trembling. "Can I see him?"

Joyce exhaled, nodding.

At that, Theo perked up, his frown deepening at the mention of Will.

After visiting the unconscious boy, El made her way toward a table in the living room. Joyce watched her for a moment before glancing down at the piece of paper where Hopper had scribbled the Morse code.

"You opened this gate before, right?" Joyce asked, her eyes locking onto El.

"Yes."

Joyce hesitated, then asked the question that had been lingering in everyone's minds.

"Do you think that if we got you back there, you could close it?"

Eleven met Joyce's gaze, her expression unreadable.

Kat and Theo didn't need to hear her answer. They already knew what it would be.

"It's not like it was before. It's grown," Hopper sighed. "A lot. And that's assuming we can even get in there. The place is crawling with these dogs."

"Demo-Dogs," Dustin corrected, glancing up at Hopper.

Hopper frowned. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, uh, Demo-Dogs. Like Demogorgon and dogs. You put them together, it sounds pretty badass—" Dustin started to explain, only for Hopper to cut him off.

"How is this important right now?" Hopper snapped, clearly frustrated.

"It's not. I'm sorry." Dustin muttered, looking down.

Out of nowhere, El spoke up. "I can do it."

Everyone turned to stare at her.

"You're not hearing me," Hopper said, shaking his head.

"I'm hearing you. I can do it." El's voice was steady, unwavering.

Mike shifted uncomfortably. "Even if El can, there's still another problem. If the brain dies, the body dies."

Max furrowed her brows. "I thought that was the whole point?"

"It is, but if we're really right about this... I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the Mind Flayer's army..." Mike trailed off, hesitating.

Theo's expression darkened as he put the pieces together. "Will's part of that army."

Mike nodded grimly. "Closing the gate will kill him."

Everyone stepped into the room where Will lay unconscious.

"He likes it cold," Joyce murmured, glancing at the open window.

"What?" Hopper asked, confused.

"It's what Will kept saying to me. 'He likes it cold,'" Joyce explained as she walked over, shutting the window. She turned to face the others. "We keep giving it what it wants."

Nancy's expression hardened. "If this is a virus, and Will's the host, then..."

"Then we need to make the host uninhabitable," Jonathan finished.

Kat looked over at Joyce, realization dawning on her. "So if he likes it cold..."

"We need to burn it out of him," Joyce confirmed.

Mike's gaze flicked between them. "We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time."

"Yeah, somewhere far away," Dustin added.

Hopper nodded, his jaw set with determination.

"It should fit now," Dustin sighed, glancing at Steve, who was still holding the dead Demo-dog in his arms.

"Is this really necessary?" Steve asked, clearly unimpressed.

"Yes, it is, okay? This is a groundbreaking scientific discovery. We can't just bury it like some common mammal, okay? It's not a dog."

Kat shot Dustin a look, raising her eyebrows. "It's not even your discovery," she pointed out.

Dustin immediately glared at her, and she sighed. "I'm just saying! I grew up in that lab with them talking about these things."

Dustin shrugged it off and turned back to Steve. "All right, all right, all right."

Steve grumbled under his breath and walked toward the fridge. "But you're explaining this to Mrs. Byers, all right?"

He struggled to shove the Demo-dog inside, making a face. "Christ. Help me out."

"What am I supposed to do?" Dustin asked.

"Get the door, man."

Kat chuckled to herself as she walked away, leaving the two to bicker like siblings.

Kat lounged on the couch, half-listening to the others bicker.

She glanced over at Theo, rolling her eyes at their endless yapping about their plan. But then she smirked and looked at Steve. "I kind of like their plan."

Steve turned to her, giving her a look that screamed, Really? You're siding with them?

Kat just crossed her arms and shrugged. But when Mike walked over to a section of the map—made up of Will's drawings spread across the house—she stood up and followed.

"This is where the chief dog dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnels. Here, right here," Mike explained, pointing to a spot. Then, moving to another section, he continued, "This is like a hub."

"So you got all the tunnels feeding in here. Maybe if we set this on fire..."

Steve cut in, pointing at him. "Oh yeah? That's a no."

Dustin ignored him. "The Mind Flayer would call away his army."

"They'd all come to stop us," Lucas added.

"We circle back to the exit," Mike finished.

"Guys." Steve tried again, but they weren't listening.

"By the time they realize we're gone—" Mike continued.

"El would be at the gate," Max finished.

Steve clapped loudly to get their attention. "Hey. Hey! Hey! This is not happening."

"But—" Mike started.

"No, no, no, no, no." Steve cut him off. "No buts. I promised I'd keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what I plan to do." His expression was firm, leaving no room for argument.

Max rolled her eyes in frustration.

"We're staying here. On the bench," Steve continued. "And we're waiting for the starting team to do their job. Does everybody understand that?" He looked around, expecting confirmation.

"This isn't a stupid sports game," Mike shot back.

Steve didn't flinch. "I said, does everybody understand that?" He flicked a towel cloth off his shoulder.

"I need a yes."

Before anyone could respond, the sound of an engine rumbled from outside.

Max's eyes widened. She jogged toward the window, climbing onto the couch to get a better look.

"It's my brother," she said, her voice laced with fear. "He can't know I'm here. He'll kill me. He'll kill us."

Her gaze locked onto Lucas, panic written all over her face.

VERA SPEAKS !!

me? leaving you guys on a cliffhanger? i would never... anyhow! how do we like this chapter?. i'm not fully sure that i like this story, but i'm trying.