•••

TWELVE FELT LIKE HE WAS IN A DREAM, a good one. Which is unusual for the young boy, but here he was standing in the AV room between Dustin and Five.

Five. Levi got his best friend back and he was over the moon about it, but what saddened him was that they were stuck in a world where monsters exist and they took Will Byers.

All the boy wanted to do was catch up with Five, but he had to focus. He had to focus on helping El find Will.

So now he stood behind Eleven as she sat down on the chair, a huge radio in front of her and the rest of the boys surrounding the table.

Mike messed with the knobs on the radio, before settling back in his position next to her. Levi glanced at Five who nodded at him reassuringly.

And it calmed him instantly, and Levi felt relief that he had the one person back that calmed him down more than anything...well other than Ben.

Eleven closed her eyes, reaching her hand over her shoulder. Levi grasped the girl's hand, moving to stand on the other side of her as Levi's eyes flashed white and focused on the ringing in his head.

Five watched with his arms crossed and his normal scowl painted across his face, waving off the worry in his stomach as he notices Twelve flinch slightly.

"They're finding him!" Mike exclaimed.

"This is crazy," Dustin said, smiling.

"Calm down. They just closed their eyes." Lucas mumbled, causing five to quietly snort while shaking his head.

Five's head snapped up as the lights went out, leaving them in darkness, while the others gasp.

"Holy..."

They all look back at Eleven and Twelve as they hear clanging come from the radio the sound intensifying every second passing.

"What is that?" Dustin said, glancing at Five who shrugged trying to keep a serious face even though he felt his heart quicken in fear.

He had never been afraid of anything, not even Dr. Brenner, but some things are his weakness and that's losing his friends and the upside-down.

 He had feared it ever since the day they watched their friend die viciously by the Demogorgon.

Five jumped slightly as they heard a whimper coming from the radio.

"Mom...mom..."

By the looks on the boy's faces around him, Five could tell this was their missing friend causing him to grow concerned.

"Will, can you hear us? We're here!"

Shouts coming from the boys were all that was heard as they continued listening to their scared friend.

"Hello? Mom?"

"Why can't he hear us!?"

"Four, Three! NO!"

Five gasped, feeling tears well in his eyes as he hears those names fall from the Byers' boy's lips, he could feel himself grow numb, he couldn't imagine what happened to the two.

"It's coming! Don't!"

Five's tears fell silently, clenching his jaw as he felt his heartbreak.

"It's like home, but it's so dark...It's so dark and empty. And it's cold! Mom? Mom!"

Five stifled a sob as he heard the next voices.

"Will! Hide! We have to hide!" Three and Four's voices shout.

They all jump back as the radio sparks catching on fire, the lights flickered back on, the fire alarm blaring loudly as Dustin grabs a fire extinguisher and blows out the fire.

Levi stared blankly, tears falling from his eyes. He had heard every bit of the conversation. Heard Four and Three's voices. He was numbly staring into space, hearing all the chaos around him.

He heard the familiar voice of Five telling him it was okay, that everything was okay. But they both know it wasn't.

Four and Three were stuck in the upside-down with Will, they know the two would protect Will, but who will protect them?

Levi finally snapped out of his trance when Dustin shook his shoulders, shouting his name.

"Lev, we gotta go, okay? We have to go. Can you do that?" Dustin said softly, holding onto the boy's shoulders.

Levi nodded numbly as Five and Dustin lead them out of the school with Mike and Lucas, strolling a weak El on a rolling cart.

•••

"What was Will saying? Like home...like home." Mike mumbled from his seat next to El who was lying on the couch, "But dark?"

"And empty." Lucas sighed, from his seat on the stairs, with his head in his hands.

"Empty and cold. Wait, did he say cold?" Dustin asked from his seat on the ground by Levi's feet as Twelve lied his head on Five's lap who was leaning against the couch.

"I don't know. The stupid radio kept going in and out." Lucas said in frustration.

Dustin threw his head back, "It's like riddles in the dark."

Levi looked up at Five, who was running his fingers through Twelve hair. "Riddles?" Levi whispered to the other boy, who chuckled smiling softly at the boy.

"Don't worry about it, T." Five mumbled while Levi smiled at the nickname Five gave him back at the lab.

"Like home. Like his house?" Mike questioned, standing up from his spot to pace around.

"Or maybe like Hawkins." Lucas' eyes widened in realization.

"Upside Down," Eleven said almost a whisper, Twelve and Five's necks snapped towards the girl as they look at her with wide eyes.

They all knew what the upside-down had in store, they knew if Mike, Lucas, and Dustin tried to find Will by going they were doomed.

"What's she say?" Lucas questioned, looking at his two friends in confusion.

"Upside down..." Mike breathed out.

"What?"

"Upside down."

Mike walked over to the table sitting down with his hands were on the board that was still flipped upside down from last time.

"When El showed us where Will was, she flipped the board over remember? Upside down. Dark. Empty."

"Do you understand what he's talking about?" Lucas turned to Dustin who shrugged shaking his head and getting up from his position to sit next to Mike.

Five and Levi ignore the conversation going on and Five looked down at the boy, running his fingers through Levi's messy curls as Levi played with Ben and Klaus.

"How's Ben?" Five mumbled to the boy, who looked up at him beaming.

"He's good!" Levi whispers excitedly, he just realized how much he missed Five, the only person that really understands him.

Is he good...is he really?

Shut it. Levi scowled.

"What's with the mad face?" Five chuckled, poking Twelve cheek.

"Conversation," Levi explained as Five nodded in understanding.

He knew about the voice, Four, Three, Eleven all knew of the voice talking to Levi in his head. They knew who was talking to him, who was protecting him from most of the bad memories that plague Twelve's head like a curse. And they were happy with the kind of job they were doing.

"Like the Vale of Shadows," Dustin stated as Levi and Five tunes back into the conversation.

Dustin got up from his seat, running and grabbing the DnD rulebook before sitting back down and opening it to the right page.

"The Vale of Shadows is a dimension that is a dark reflection or echo of our world. It is a place of decay and death. A plane out of phase. A place of monsters. It is right next to you and you don't even see it." Dustin read.

"An alternate dimension." Mike breathed out, breaking the tense silence.

"But...how...how do we get there?" Lucas questioned, his face showing fear.

"You cast shadow walk," Dustin stated.

"In real life, dummy." Lucas rolled his eyes.

"We can't shadow walk, but...maybe they can," Dustin said as they all turn to look at the three by the couch.

Five, Twelve, and Eleven share a glance.

"Do you know how we get there? To the Upside Down?"

Eleven and Twelve shook their heads as Five muttered, "Hell no."

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Oh, my god!"

•••

A/N) *blushing madly* jksksjn! This book hit 1k reads and I'm so happy, lol. Thank you!! I love you!!