---------------------------------------------

"MY BATTERIES LOW, BUT..." SEB LOOKED TO HIS SISTER. They sat with Hopper, everyone saying their goodbyes. "it will recharge." El looked between the two men. "I know it will, Kid." Seb smiled lightly, gripping El's hand tighter. "I can fight. Just like Seb." El spoke, Hopper nodding. "You two are better than all of us combined. But right now, me and Seb both need you safe." Hopper spoke, the boy nodding. El sighed a little, looking forward. "This thing is after you. Both you and your brother. Not me." Hopper assured, Seb nodding. "I'm pretty sure you can fight it off anyway. For me?" Seb spoke, El looking to him. The two made eye contact, El suddenly hugging Seb.

The boy just smiled lightly, laying his cheek on top of the girl's head. Hopper stared at the two, a small smile on his face. "Stay safe, please." El whispered as a beg, Seb nodding. "You too. Be in one piece when I come back." Seb smiled, feeling El nod. "Hey..." The three looked to Mike, him stood with Max. "We should probably go." Mike spoke, Seb nodding. Hopper just sighed, wrapping his arm around the two twins. The three shared a large hug, Seb's slight squeak making El snicker. The three shared a smile before Mike helped El up. Max smiled to Seb, both him and Hopper watching the three leave. "Mike?" Hopper called, Seb looking to the man confused. "Be careful." Hopper smiled lightly, Mike nodding and leaving with the others.

Seb watched with Hopper as everyone left except Joyce and Murray, Hopper looking to the teen. "Are you sure you're coming with us?" Hopper asked, Seb turning to see Joyce next to the man. "Yes." He stood up.

––––––☆––––––

"THREE MAN OPERATION. THREE!" MURRAY SPOKE AS SEB LED THE FOUR DOWN A HALLWAY. "Well, change of plans." Joyce shot back, Hopper sighing. "Change of plans?" Hopper spoke, Joyce huffing. "Yeah. Will you explain it to him, please?" Joyce asked Murray, Seb looking back to them for a moment. "We have two options here, Jim. We can turn the machine off, or we can explode it." Hopper cocked his gun. "Oh yeah, says who?" He challenged, Seb rolling his eyes. "Says that man who built it!" Murray reminded sharply, Joyce agreeing. "Yeah, and we wanna explode it!" She spoke, Seb nodding. "Or else our heroic efforts will be for naught!" Murray spoke, Seb humming. "This will end up being a four man operation, Jim, not three." Seb opened the door, everyone walking through.

"Yeah, four." Joyce agreed with Murray again, Seb nodding. "We may need someone extra." He let out, Murray pointing the papers to him.

"See, Jim! Four people!"

☆

SEB HAD LED THE GROUP BACK TO THE ELEVATOR, EVERYONE STOOD STILL AS IT WENT DOWN. "So then I yank those cables like I'm pulling weeds." Murray explained the plan, Joyce stood next to Seb. "And then I set off the alarm-" "According to Alexei, may his soul rest in peace." Murray interrupted, Seb confused. "Alexei?" He asked, Murray shrugging. "A very kind Russian scientist that your dad found." Murray filled him in, Seb looking to Hopper quickly. "The alarm should give you two an opening to retrieve the keys from the vault." Murray moved on, Seb nodding. "This kid can just fill in any dangers we run into." Hopper sighed, Seb humming. "Sure." He shrugged, Joyce ignoring them. "And then we just follow the map to the observation room, turn the key-"

"Kaboom, we blow this sucker sky-high." Murray looked to Hopper, him staring at Seb. "Yeah. And then, once the rift is closed, we escape back through the vents." Joyce continued, Hopper considering his option. Should he have let Seb come along? Sure, he was more than capable of going in on his own, but Hopper didn't want to put him through danger. The man considered this teen his son. Even though he was strong, Hopper doesn't want him hurt. "Right under their commie noses." Murray pointed to Seb's nose, Hopper not zoning out anymore. "Then home free." Joyce watched as Hopper cringed a little. "Oh, God, just because it wasn't your plan doesn't mean it was a bad plan." Joyce let out, Hopper staring at her. "I never said it was a bad plan." The man shot back, Joyce rolling her eyes.

"You made a noise." Joyce huffed, Hopper tilting his head. "I did not make a noise." Seb just looked between the two, confused. They weren't usually like this. They weren't usually talking that much at all, were they? "You did too." Joyce argued, the two's voices raising. Seb's eyes widened, him looking to Murray. The man just shrugged, Hopper scoffing. "What is it with you and noises?!-" "Children! Children!" Murray raised his voice, Seb awkwardly raising his hand. "It is a good plan, I think." He let out quietly, Joyce nodding. "A solid B, which is laudable, given the situation and time constraints. Dare I say, if it all goes right..." Murray continued from Seb, the elevator thudding to a stop. "they'll never even know we were here-" The door opened, Russian guards pointing their guns at the four.

The three adults surrendered, Seb watching them. A sudden rush of anger was felt at their uniform, Hopper looking to the teen. "Stop right there!" One of the Russians yelled, Murray rushing forward. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" He yelled, Joyce's eyes widening when a gun was pointed at Seb. "Subject Seven!" He yelled, Murray looking back to the teen. Nodding, Seb surrendered lightly. "Yes, we brought him back! We have important documents for the lieutenant-Comrade!" Murray held up the planning papers. "He called us last minute and we just found him too!" Murray made up, shrugging. "Pardon our sloppy appearance, Subject Seven put up a fight." Murray smiled lightly. "Lieutenant? What Lieutenant?" Seb looked to Murray, him stuttering. "Lieutenant... Molotov?" He asked, Seb's head tilting.

The soldiers murmured. There was no such 'Lieutenant Molotov.' Seb flinched once Hopper suddenly jumped forward, shooting all four soldiers dead. Joyce held onto Seb, the two falling back as Murray jumped out of the way. "Oh, shit. Jim." Murray spoke, Joyce pulling Seb up gently. "This is crazy." Murray continued, Seb moving forward. Pushing Jim's back harshly, the man grunted and almost tripped. "Move." The boy spoke, checking one soldier for his keycard. "I had this under control." Murray spoke, in a daze after what he just saw. "Got it." Seb spoke, watching Hopper put a Russian hat on. "Why were they so obsessed with you?" Murray pointed to Seb, the boy shrugging. "They want me and El because we escaped the lab." Seb spoke lightly, Hopper looking to him quickly. "What?" He asked, Seb standing up.

"Why didn't you say this before?" Hopper's voice raised, Seb shrugging. "Because then you wouldn't let me come with you." Seb spoke, Hopper nodding sarcastically. "Yeah, I would not-" "Jim!" Joyce let out, stressed. "What are you planning?" She asked, Hopper shrugging.

"Improvising."

☆

"CAN I HELP?" A RUSSIAN SOLDIER ASKED MURRAY AND HOPPER, THE TWO IN THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. Joyce and Seb were in the back, everyone trading uniforms with the soldiers. "Picking up." Murray smiled, Seb pulling on the collar of his uniform. He hated wearing it but this was the only thing that made him unrecognisable. Kind of. "Do I know you?" The Russian asked, Hopper staring forward with his gun in hand. "New arrivals. Landed last night." Murray spoke quickly, both men smiling to the Russian. "Say goodbye to sunlight." He spoke, Murray shrugging. "Who needs sunlight when we have one another, comrade?" Murray chuckled, Hopper and Seb relieved when the Russian chuckled too. "Indeed, Comrade!" Murray leaned forward.

"And a bottle of Stolichnaya." The two laughed, Murray hitting Hopper's shoulder as the man fake laughed. He had no clue what they were laughing about. The Russian laughed, going to open the door. The men continued laughing until the door closed, Murray opening the back. "Why are you talking so much?" Joyce asked, Hopper staring into the vehicle as Seb climbed out. "He was nice." Murray shot back, Seb nodding to say to Hopper he was okay. "Yeah, I mean, we should invite him over after all of this." Murray walked away, the three following. "Yeah, I can make him a casserole." Joyce added on, Murray fed up as Seb's face scrunched up. "Casserole?" He asked, Joyce holding his shoulder fondly.

He still didn't know some things. "Get a six-pack, share some laughs." Hopper continued the sarcasm, Murray ignoring them both. He opened the vent, huffing once he saw the inside. "Anyone wanna trade jobs?" He asked, Seb shaking his head. "No thanks." He smiled, the radio making noise. "Bald eagle, do you copy?" Dustin asked, Seb looking to the radio. "Bald eagle, I repeat, this is part of the Scoops Troop, do you copy?" Dustin repeated, Joyce looking to Seb. "Scoops Troop?" She asked, Seb shrugging. "Yes, I copy." Murray seethed out, not liking the code name they had given him. The group on the hill let out a relieved chuckle, Dustin clearing his throat. "Call sign?" He asked, Seb looking to Murray. "Bald Eagle." He let out, Seb smiling at Dustin's voice.

"Please repeat." Dustin asked, Murray fed up. "Bald Eagle. This is Bald Eagle!" Murray hurried out, Dustin nodding. "Copy that. Good to hear your voice, Bald Eagle. What's your 20?" Dustin asked, Seb's head tilting. "We reached the vent. I'll contact you when I need you. Until then, silence." Murray ordered, Dustin nodding. "Roger that, Bald Eagle. This is part of Scoops Troop, going radio silent after this question." Dustin spoke, Murray rolling his eyes. "What?" He asked, Dustin smiling. "Is Sebastian okay?" He asked, Hopper looking to the teen. Moving towards Murray's shoulder, Seb smiled brightly. "I'm alright, Dustin." The boy let out, Murray pinching the bridge of his nose. "Hey, Seb!" Seb heard Robin call, Seb humming. "Hey, Rob." Joyce smiled at Seb, Hopper staring at the woman's warm smile.

"Okay, Okay, silence." Murray reminded, Dustin nodding. "Alright, going radio silent, 10-10, over." Dustin spoke, Seb hearing the radio click. "I hate children." Murray spoke, Seb looking to him. "I don't." Seb smiled, Murray sighing. "I know you don't." The man climbed into the vent looking back at the three. "Remember, if anyone says anything, just-" "Smile and nod." Joyce spoke, Seb and Hopper nodding. "Good luck." Hopper spoke, Seb humming. "You're fun. I like you." He spoke, Murray looking to him. "Thanks..." He trailed off awkwardly, climbing through the vent as Hopper closed it on him.

☆

EL STARED AT A COKE CAN SHE HAD SET UP, TRYING TO GET HER POWERS BACK. It had been an unusually long time for them to be gone. Focusing, El remembered when Brenner had her crunch one up at the lab. "El." Mike called, the girl feeling blood fall down as she stared at the can. "Are you okay?" Mike continued, Will feeling the back of his neck. Max heard a distant rumbling, Mike focused on El. Looking up, footsteps pounded as the Mind Flayer walked over the glass ceiling. "Mike." Max called shakily, the boy looking up and gasping. The Mind Flayer stopped atop of the mall, Johnathan finally getting the car part he needed. "Nancy!" Mike yelled before grabbing El's hand and running. Max followed as Nancy, Johnathan and Will ran the opposite direction.

Glass shattered as the Mind Flayer forced it's way down into the centre of the mall.

Roaring.

––––––☆––––––

THE RUSSIAN MAN THAT WAS ON HOPPER'S TAIL FOUND THE DEAD SOLDIERS, MEN SURROUNDING HIM. "We just found them like this." A soldier spoke, the man walking forward.

"The American."

☆

SEB JUST SLID DOWN IN HIS SEAT AS THE TWO ADULTS ARGUED... AGAIN. They were arguing about El's safety and then it turned into the subject of one another. Seb knew El was safe. There was no reason for her not to be. "I think, despite everything, I mean, despite the arguing, I think we make a pretty good team." Hopper looked down as he spoke, Joyce looking to Seb. Seeing the boy shrug tiredly, she clicked her tongue. "Well, we made it this far, didn't we?" She asked, Seb nodding. Joyce sat next to Seb on the stairs, Hopper humming. "We did." He agreed, Joyce shrugging. "So, uh, did I get the job or what?" Joyce smiled lightly, Hopper shrugging. Seb looked to Hopper, intrigued. "Ah, come on. Detective Byers." Joyce spoke proudly.

Hopper watched as the other two smiled to one another, Seb nodding. "It sounds cool." He complimented, looking to Hopper. Moving to lean on the stair railing, Hopper smiled lightly. "It's kinda hard to serve in a town where you don't live, Detective." Hopper stated, Joyce sighing. Seb looked to the two, confused. Joyce lived in Hawkins? "You're still moving outta here. I mean, that is the plan, right?" Hopper confirmed, Joyce shrugging. "Eh, we'll see how it goes." She spoke, Seb shaking his head. "You're leaving?" He asked softly, Joyce looking to him quickly. "No, no!" Joyce assured, Seb looking to Hopper. "I'm not leaving forever!" Joyce rushed her reassurances, cupping Seb's jaw. "I'll visit you still." She spoke, Hopper huffing. "See how what goes?" He asked, Joyce looking to him.

"You know, if we make it out of here, we deserve to celebrate, right?" Joyce asked, Hopper nodding. "Absolutely." He spoke, sitting next to Joyce on the stairs. "I hear Enzo's is pretty good." Joyce suggested, Seb leaning forward. "Enzo's?" He asked, Hopper looking to Joyce quickly. "What do you say, Friday, eight o'clock. We'll bring some home for Sebastian?" She asked, Seb nodding slowly.

They were arranging a date.

This was awkward. "We both watch Miami Vice with El on Fridays." Seb spoke, Hopper nodding slowly. "It starts at 10:00 so... I can't be out late on a Friday." Hopper spoke nervously, Seb nodding.

"We know what happens when he's late."

---------------------------------------------

And that's part two done!

A lot more parts to come...

[2359 words!]

Hope you enjoyed!!!

Byeee!