"Sullivan should have killed you when he had the chance," Dr. Kay said.

Dr. Owens looked at her scornfully. "He knew what you obviously don't."

"Oh, I know all about your precious immunity," she said spitefully. "How you supposedly have two Congressmen-"

"Three, actually."

"-ready to release damning material to the media and launch investigations upon your death." She narrowed her eyes. "I'm saying Sullivan should have blown your brains out, anyway. Taken one for the team."

Dr. Owens smirked. They stared each other down for a moment, alone in her office, standing by the window. On the other side of the closed blinds, the sun was shouldering its way over the horizon, ready for one more haul across the sky. It promised to be a beautiful day. Probably.

"I'll ask again nicely," Dr Owens said. "Let. Them. Go."

"These people are wanted terrorists. We have mountains of evidence proving they acted against the federal government. James Hopper and Nancy Wheeler killed seven of my men between them, and this entire group killed dozens more when they destroyed the nether dimension. That's enough to send all of them to the chair many times over."

"Terrorists who rescued a dozen children, all of whom are telling everyone who will listen how those people saved them. Wow. And this." Dr. Owens picked up some papers from her desk. "The plans you found at the radio station." He made a big show of thumbing through them and finding them interesting. "This is a helluva plan. It describes in detail just how they intended to save the world. Save, Dr. Kay. Now, I know a brilliant scientist like yourself has a brain, so why don't you turn it on and look at the facts."

"You're still holding onto this delusion that some other creature was the cause, and the girl was actually fighting this creature!"

"You're still holding onto the delusion that the girl was the enemy. The same delusion which led Sullivan to massacre 23 good, wonderful people in Nevada."

"Sullivan executed 23 traitors to America."

Dr. Owens clenched his fist, but let nothing else show. He'd mentally prepared for this conversation. He'd known outrages like that were coming.

"Fine," he said. "Debrief the rescued children. Separately. Conduct your investigation." He held the papers up. "Analyze all the evidence. Give every one of your supposed terrorists a lie detector test." He dropped the papers back onto her desk. "You're smart enough to see it now. You know what you'll find. You're just clinging to the final shreds of belief, desperate to not be wrong."

Dr. Kay was silent, the first signs of doubt on her face. Her beliefs, and her very human need to be right no matter what, were powerful. But Dr. Kay also had a PhD; she knew perfectly well that logic, science, and facts overruled emotion every time, and that facts should not be twisted just to make a person feel good or to save their ego. And Dr. Owens was betting everything that the scientist within her would win.

Finally, she said, "Even if you're right – and I'm not saying you are – they killed dozens of my men."

"No they didn't. You killed those men, when you ordered them to stop the only people who could save us all. And you can't plead ignorance, because I, and all those traitors in Nevada, told you and Sullivan the truth long ago. And if I'll never get justice for the massacre of my friends, I'll be damned if you ever get your fake justice for the good soldiers you used and condemned to their needless deaths!"

Dr. Kay fumed, but said nothing. Dr. Owens wasn't the only one who could absorb a piercing statement and keep a lid on it.

"Now, here's what's going to happen," Dr. Owens continued. "You're going to let every one of those people go. You're going to lick your wounds, take your men, leave Hawkins, and never bother this town, or any of those people or their families, ever again, in any way, shape, or form."

Dr. Kay was back to smirking. "Or what? You'll tell your Congress friends to reveal everything?"

"Yes."

"You'd be dead within 48 hours. I'll pull the trigger myself."

"Worth it, if my threat restores those people their lives."

They stared at each other for a long moment.

"Fine," Dr. Kay finally said. "But on one condition. We will conduct our investigation before we leave, with polygraphs. And if I find a single scrap of information, even the tiniest piece of data, which even hints that I was right all along, this deal is off and you can go to hell."

"Fine," Dr. Owens agreed. "But I'm an equal partner in the investigation. I need to know what happened, too. Also, release them immediately, or at least put them somewhere comfortable. You know they're not going anywhere." He held out his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

"No release, yet. I can't take the chance on them coordinating their stories before I talk to them. But I'll make sure they're comfortable. We'll interview the rescued children first, then our captives."

Dr. Owens nodded.

Dr. Kay glanced at his hand, then shook it. She said, "In fifty years of service, this isn't the dirtiest thing I've done, but it comes damn close."

"Likewise."

"You'll have an investigator ID badge before noon. Don't abuse it. And you don't get to interview any of those people alone. I, or one of my people, get to hear every word you do."

"I have no problem with that."

"Good. Now get the hell out of my office."

 

Erica. Mr. Clarke. Max, in her wheelchair. Lucas. Vickie. Robin. Steve. Jonathan. Nancy. Holly. Mike. Dustin. Derek. Will. Joyce. Jim. Murray.

In a rough circle, they dejectedly sat or lay on bunks in one of the barracks (not the one with the tunnel, though). They were dirty, sweaty, exhausted. Some held each other, some held hands, some wept. No one spoke. Even if the dozen armed soldiers surrounding them hadn't been there, glaring murder at them, they wouldn't have had the energy to speak.

Holly was with them because her parents were still in the hospital, and she had raised such an almighty fuss that the army allowed her to stay with her siblings.

Derek was with them partially because his family was also still in the hospital, and his house had been demolished from the inside and was a crime scene, so he had nowhere to go. But also partially because he had found the hard way that seven was the number of times you could scream "Suck my fat one!" at U. S. soldiers before they finally had enough and threw you in prison with the terrorists.

The door opened. In walked Dr. Owens and a captain.

The captives, except for Hopper, sat up, hope in their eyes.

The captain gave a jerk of his head, motioning the soldiers to exit. The soldiers gave each other quizzical looks, but did as they were told. They filed out, and the door closed behind them.

The captain remained, however. He stood at ease beside the door, a clear sign that Dr. Kay wasn't leaving Dr. Owens alone with her captives. But the captain stood respectfully, silent and at a distance, indicating that he wasn't there to intrude on their conversation if he didn't have to.

"Wow, are we glad to see you!" Joyce said to Dr. Owens.

"I'm not," Hopper said, and barely looked up at Dr. Owens with a suspicious glare. "It's just a visit from the good cop."

"Did Jane tell you what happened in Nevada?" Dr. Owens asked.

Hopper gave a tiny nod.

Dr. Owens looked at him with accusation and bitterness. "Then do you honestly believe I would join forces with the people who massacred my friends?"

Hopper held his gaze for just a moment, then looked down. An apology.

Dr. Owens walked to Hopper and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry to hear about Eleven. I cared for her, too." Dr. Owens looked around at all of them. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"How did you know to come here?" Joyce asked.

"I still have my sources and friends," Dr. Owens said. He took a slow, deep breath and looked around the room. "For those who don't know me, I'm Dr. Sam Owens. I became director of Hawkins National Laboratory to clean up Dr. Brenner's mess, and I arranged the paperwork for Jim to adopt Eleven and to keep her safe. I also rescued Eleven from the army's attack in California, an act which got many of my colleagues murdered. I was Eleven's friend, or at least an ally, and I'd like to be one, still. And despite everything, I still have some power.

"Dr. Kay and I have reached an agreement. And before you bitch about it, understand that the people outside that door are powerful. An agreement is the best you're gonna get, and you're damned lucky to get it. They want to debrief you. They want to know everything. Tell them. Tell them the entire truth. There's no reason to hide anything now. Tell them, and let them stew in their guilt as they realize how wrong they were.

"Then, for the rest of your lives, you and your families keep your mouths shut, and they leave you alone. If you violate that agreement, your lives are theirs. If they violate the agreement, you shout everything you know to the heavens and expose them."

Hopper let out a tiny snort. "Mutually assured destruction?"

"Exactly," Dr. Owens said.

Nancy said, "If they drag us from our homes in a coordinated attack, we'll never get the chance to reveal anything." She glanced nervously at the captain, whose neutral gaze was fixed straight in front.

Dr. Owens nodded. "It would be best if all of you arranged a dead man's switch with an attorney or three."

Holly's eyes grew wide. "What's a dead man's switch?"

"It's a way of protecting yourself," Hopper explained. "You write down all the juicy details, and assemble all the evidence, that someone doesn't want the world to know, and you give that information to a third party, like an attorney. Then, if something happens to you, that third party reveals the information, and the people who kidnapped you or killed you go down with you. And because they know that will happen, they don't touch you."

"I have a few dead man switches of my own, in very powerful places," Dr. Owens said. "It's the only reason I'm standing here."

"It can't be that easy," Nancy said quietly. "We killed some of their people."

"And they killed many of mine," Dr. Owens said. "Neither side has the power to punish the other, so we're calling it a draw."

"So El dies, but they get away with everything they did?!" Mike asked.

Dr. Owens faced him. "Hey, if you have the power to march out that door and bring them to justice, go for it. Come back and let us know how it goes."

Mike fumed, desperately searching for an answer.

"Mike," Hopper said gently, quietly. "This isn't a D&D campaign. This is the real world. And one of the things you learn quickly is that the world is chock full of bad guys who never face justice. I'm sorry, but it's just the truth."

Mike's face worked with emotion, desperately wanting Hopper's words to be untrue. Nancy squeezed his arm.

Dr. Owens said softly, "If it helps any, know that you also hurt them. Badly. They go away getting nothing they wanted."

Dr. Owens looked around at everyone. "I don't know how long the debriefing will take. I'm guessing a week to ten days since there's so many of you, and they won't even start right away because they want to debrief the rescued children, first. But no matter how much you hate them, no matter how angry you are, don't raise your voice. Don't give them that satisfaction. Just give them your words, plain and simple, and those words alone will condemn them, more than bullets or shouting ever will. I'll be with you during the debriefing, because I want to know what happened, too.

"The army will make an effort to provide more comfortable accommodation. I don't know how, or what that will look like. If any of you require medicine or have any special dietary requirements, give me a list, and they'll provide it.

"One last thing." Dr. Owens carefully looked each of them in the eye. "Once I walk out that door, you will be separated, and you won't see any friends or family until after your debriefing."

Their faces fell in despair and disbelief. A few cried out, "What?!" Joyce looked at Will in terror. He caught her eye and understood her concern instantly.

Dr. Owens held up his hands placatingly. "Dr. Kay wants to make sure you don't coordinate your stories! She made it clear this is non-negotiable; I can't stop it. But again, once your interview is over, you'll be free. I'll make sure the young lady in the wheelchair is first, as I'm sure she needs to get out of here most urgently." He looked at Max, bafflement on his face. "I'm not even sure how a person in a wheelchair ends up here."

"It's been a helluva day," Max said.

"Actually, let me go first," Lucas said. "That way I can be there to take care of Max after they let her go."

"Actually, let me go first, for the same reason," Vickie said. "I'm a candy striper, so I'm best equipped to help Max. My interview will be the shortest, so they can get to Max as soon as possible, and we can get her out of here that much faster."

"Guys, I'm not fragile," Max said.

"No, but you are in the worst condition, so it still makes sense," Hopper said.

"And tell the truth, as Dr. Owens says," Will said. "Even about me." Joyce looked at him, terrified, but Will continued. "Anything special I experienced came from a man who's now dead, and that was only because he was trying to control me and use me. With him gone, I'm just an ordinary person. I have nothing to fear."

"You have everything to fear," Hopper said, very quietly.

"But with no time to coordinate stories, it's all we can do," Will said, and he was perfectly calm. "I mean, obviously, don't tell them about my love life or anything stupid like that!" He rolled his eyes and snorted a laugh as if that had been joke to lighten the mood, but everyone got the hint. "But they must realize that if I did have powers, I wouldn't just be sitting here, would I? So just tell the entire truth. I'm not afraid."

"I can't lose another friend," Mike whispered.

Will just smiled, still entirely serene. "Don't worry. You won't."

But then Mike caught the very subtle, very quick glance Will gave Dr. Owens. A glance which said, If they take me away to a lab, rescue me?

Dr. Owens gave a tiny nod, a silent promise to do his best.

 

The rescued children were the trickiest to handle.

Dr. Kay wrote off Derek and Holly as subjects too much influenced by the terrorists, and considered them captives rather than rescuees.

Dr. Kay and Dr. Owens put smiles on their faces and debriefed each remaining child separately. Each child told exactly the same story about Holly, Max, Henry, Kali...and El. And their narratives did not match Dr. Kay's beliefs.

The doctors then repeatedly reassured the children that they had been subjected to an experimental Soviet drug which gave people mass shared hallucinations, and every one of them had actually been unconscious for three days in the base's makeshift hospital. In fact, this experimental drug attack had been precisely the reason the military had collected them for safekeeping in the first place, and wasn't it a good thing they had? The doctors then reassured the children and their families that there were no after-effects or other complications from the Soviet drug, their children were well, and they could go home.

It took two days to interview the children, during which time the captives – each in solitary confinement – were sick with worry. Some handled this better than others.

After the military finished debriefing the children, Dr. Owens deliberately refrained from any I-told-you-sos. He didn't have to; he could tell Dr. Kay was getting frustrated at the writing on the wall.

 

On day three, they began with Vickie. Strapped to a polygraph, with wired thimbles on the fingertips of one hand, she told her brief story, beginning with the demogorgon attack on Max at the hospital. Dr. Owens let Dr. Kay ask most of the questions, and he continued this practice through all the interviews.

Max was next. Her interview took six hours, breaking in the middle for lunch. For the first time, Dr. Kay heard about most of the events which threatened Hawkins in the previous four years, and she was especially fascinated with Will's acquisition of psychic power.

"Will doesn't have superpowers," Max repeated for what felt to her like the millionth time. "He was connected to Vecna because Vecna chose him, and he was borrowing Vecna's powers. That's all. The moment Vecna died, so did Will's powers. Will's just a regular person. The end."

Dr. Kay kept watching the lie detector, waiting for it to betray Max. Wanting it to betray Max. But it never did.

True to her word, Dr. Kay released Max. She arranged a ride to take her and Vickie to the hospital.

At Dr. Owens's request, they debriefed Lucas next so he could be with Max. The doctors heard the entire story, from the moment Will Byers disappeared November 6, 1983, to the present, and that took almost the rest of the day.

At one point during Lucas's interview, Dr. Kay pursued a detail which she felt was too bizarre to be true. "You're telling me that when everyone was in danger, Dustin and his girlfriend took time to sing a duet over the radio."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did my lie detector stutter?" Lucas asked. "Like I told you, they needed a special number to get into the Russians' safe, and Dustin was trying to get his girlfriend to tell us the number. She didn't know anything about what we were doing. It was either sing or spend three hours telling her about the upside-down. You make the call."

Dr. Kay had scowled but let it go, intending to hear what the others said.

Like Max, Lucas repeatedly insisted that Will had no powers, and that with Vecna dead, he would never have any again. And just like Max, his lie detector backed him up. To Dr. Kay's growing frustration, this remained true through each and every interview.

After Lucas, they just had time remaining in the day to debrief Mr. Clarke, whose interview they knew would be short, which it was. And that wrapped day three.

Dr. Kay was already surprised at some of the things she'd heard. Not the cold facts, figures, and dates, which were interesting and surprising enough. That was the data she sought, after all.

No. Over the first four interviews, she had learned extra data she wasn't expecting.

She spent some time that night pondering it.

 

Dr. Kay began day four with Derek. As an excitable child, perhaps he would be most likely to slip up if all these stories were fabricated. Also, not even Dr. Kay wanted to keep a child captive longer than she had to. He was quickly followed by Erica, then Holly, for the same reasons. But their stories continued to match, down to the finest detail.

They kept Holly and Derek on site the rest of the day, and spent that time debriefing Nancy and Mike so they could be released as soon as possible to take care of Holly and Derek.

Mike conducted his interview with a completely stone face (or so he thought). His eyes bored into Dr. Kay's every moment, letting her know there would never be any forgiveness.

Nancy also gazed at Dr. Kay evenly through much of her interview. Privately, Dr. Kay had to admit that Nancy comported herself like someone who had faced a mind flayer with an automatic rifle and feared little else life could possibly throw at her.

As on the previous day, Dr. Kay learned extra data which she, in no way, had ever seen coming. She continued to consider it carefully.

 

On day five, they debriefed Dustin (who confirmed his duet with Suzie), then Steve, then Robin.

Dustin's interview was somewhat interesting, as it quickly became clear to Dr. Kay that he grasped advanced scientific concepts far better than the others. She was especially intrigued by his discovery of Dr. Brenner's journal, his ability to understand it, and the bombshell it contained. Dustin had found the truth of the upside-down when her own scientists had never been able to figure it out. By the time she was finished with him, she was convinced that he had played the most crucial role in the fight against Vecna (assuming it was all true), for without his knowledge and deductions, the others wouldn't have known what to do.

Robin's interview was the most excruciating, and not just because she constantly forgot the fingertip readers and kept trying to gesticulate with her hands. Within five minutes, Dr. Kay regretted ever stepping foot into the same room as this woman, whose mouth was a river rapid cascading over rocks which could flip an inflatable raft.

"Have you ever gone four days with no one to talk to?" Robin babbled. "I mean, I was even asking all your guards if they watched Miami Vice. Not that I watched – whoops, sorry!"

"Please stop moving your hands around," Dr. Kay said.

"Yeah, sorry, sorry," Robin said, as a medic reattached her finger sensors. "But anyway, not that I watched Miami Vice in the beginning, I didn't think it'd be my kind of show-"

"Ms. Buckley."

"-but it sort of grew on me in later seasons, and not to stereotype – because I don't do that, I swear, I mean, me of all people – but I still think it's the kind of show your guys would watch-"

"Ms. Buckley, please."

"but no one but Private Larson would speak to me about it, but it turns out he's a superfan, and yesterday when he brought me lunch, he went on and on and on about and Crockett and Tubbs, and he says that synthesizer theme song is the best song in the world, and-"

"Ms. Buckley!"

"Oh, sorry. You need to tell me if I ramble. Sometimes people tell me I do that. Sometimes."

"Yes, very well," Dr. Kay said through gritted teeth, clearly having doubts that the woman sitting across from her had helped save the world. "Now-"

"But I mean, do you watch Miami Vice?"

Dr. Kay's fists clenched.

Ten minutes later, they tied Robin's right arm down to keep it still. "Sorry, I'm so sorry," she said.

Despite the way Robin grated her every nerve, Dr. Kay continued to learn extra data she had never expected. Not just from her, but from Dustin and Steve, as well. And she couldn't help pondering it deeply.

 

Day six began with Joyce, who was beyond livid.

"I want to see my sons!" she screamed. It took a lot of placating both from Dr. Owens and from Dr. Kay to get her to calm down, which she had to do on her own because sedatives would have interfered with the polygraph. She finally sat quietly, but fumed throughout the interview.

On the subject of Will having powers, Joyce became extremely agitated. "Will doesn't have any powers at all! Vecna's dead, and that's all there is to it! And I swear, if you bastards come after my son like you came after El-"

Dr. Owens held up his hand. "No! There will be no threats, no unpleasantness, in either direction! No one's coming after Will. Just relax, and let the truth be your weapon. Let the truth do your work for you. Just take a deep breath, and let the truth do the heavy lifting, okay?"

After Joyce came Hopper, and those two interviews took the entire day. Not only did they both have much to say about events in Hawkins, but Dr. Kay spent a lot of time going over their experiences in Russia, in great detail. She insisted they each draw a map of the prison in Kamchatka.

And Dr. Kay continued to learn extra data which, by now, she had finally come to expect.

 

On day seven, it was Murray's turn, and Dr. Kay found his interview deeply fascinating. She quickly realized what kind of person he was and that he probably knew a shit ton of secrets about a shit ton of things. She kept asking him questions about other matters beyond Hawkins and Russia, but Murray patiently repeated, "That has nothing to do with these events and I'm not answering that question. Stay on topic." He reluctantly told them where he lived, knowing they would search his residence. But he had made many precautions over the years, and knew they wouldn't discover much.

Like Hopper and Joyce, Murray had to talk a long time, and in great detail, about his experience in Russia. In fact, Murray's interview was so long and so detailed, it took the entire day.

Dr. Kay was surprised to learn extra data even from Murray. Like the other extra data, she filed it away for consideration.

 

Dr. Kay started day eight with Jonathan. She was purposefully keeping Will for last, and she kept Jonathan second-to-last because he was Will's brother, and after going stir-crazy for a week, he might give something away.

He didn't. Jonathan was amazingly calm. Simply by speaking the complete truth, he gave Dr. Kay nothing to work with.

At noon, Dr. Kay finally debriefed the one person she wanted to talk to more than any other: Will Byers. The one who had developed superpowers.

If anything, Will was even calmer than his brother. He actually smiled and was completely amiable throughout the interview. He must have repeated at least thirty times that he didn't really have superpowers, that they came from Vecna through his connection to him, and that Vecna was dead so he would never have superpowers again. Never once did Will lose his patience. Never once did the polygraph indicate a lie.

His interview finally came to an end. Dr. Kay didn't have to provide him a ride anywhere, as Joyce, Jonathan, and Mike were waiting just outside the gate to give him a gigantic hug.

 

From a distance, with no expression on her face, Dr. Kay spent a few moments watching the Byers family holding one another in an outpouring of relief, support, and love. Then she strolled to her office, shut the door, and sank into her chair.

She'd told Dr. Owens she needed to be alone to write her report, but that wasn't the real reason. The report could wait. She sat for a long time in the silence, letting the coffee in her hand get cold, pondering all the extra data she had gleaned from the interviews. Data which didn't exactly fit into a report, or into a worldview.

She'd gotten the facts she wanted from Max Mayfield. She hadn't expected to watch Max fight back sudden tears while describing Billy's tragic fate, and his heroic stand in his final moment.

She'd gotten the facts she wanted from Lucas Sinclair. She hadn't expected him to get choked up talking about Vecna almost killing Max in the attic of the Creel house, and waiting beside her every day for almost two years.

She'd gotten the facts she wanted from Nancy Wheeler. She hadn't expected the woman's lip to tremble while describing Barbara Holland's murder. And despite Nancy's best efforts, her guilt had clearly shown through the cracks.

She'd gotten the facts she wanted from Dustin Henderson. She hadn't expected him to zone out for half a minute with tears running down his face after describing Eddie Munson's sacrifice. Like Nancy, he had tried to hide the guilt. Like Nancy, the cracks showing that guilt had split wide open.

She'd gotten the facts she wanted from Mike Wheeler. She hadn't expected the hitch in his voice and the way his body shook (which he tried so hard to cover) when speaking about Will's disappearance, El's first disappearance, his parents in the hospital, Holly's disappearance, and El's death.

She'd gotten the facts she wanted from Robin Buckley. She hadn't expected the quiet tears as Robin described Joyce Byers screaming and killing Vecna with an ax, releasing a rage and a fear each of them had felt for so long.

Dr. Kay had gotten the facts she wanted from all of them. She hadn't expected that many of them would speak about El so tenderly, relating how she alone had saved them from a pack of demogorgons at the Byers's house; how she had saved the world by closing the gate; how she had saved the group again months later in Hopper's cabin; how she had saved the world yet again by battling Vecna in the abyss.

Dr. Kay had gotten the facts she wanted from James Hopper...but she'd gotten nothing else from him. He had conducted his entire interview absolutely stone cold. And that, alone, she fully expected.

In short, Dr. Kay had expected to interview a bunch of terrorists. But in addition to the plain, hard facts, she'd also heard about a mother going to the ends of the earth and beyond – literally – for her son.

She'd heard about a group of people – including a ten-year-old! – uncovering a secret Soviet base on U. S. soil. Just some hourly wage mall workers and a couple of children! She'd known about the base because she'd read the report, but she'd never known how it had been discovered, or its true purpose, until now. And she was floored.

She'd heard about good people risking everything to break a friend out of a Soviet prison.

She'd heard about a special group of people – kids! – who had each other's backs. Who battled monsters with fireworks to save their town, and to save each other. Who dove without hesitation into lakes in pitch darkness, and through interdimensional gates, to save a friend.

She'd heard about a group of people who braved the MAC-Z, a dimensional wormhole, and two enjoined monsters, and who climbed a radio tower and punched through to another planet, to save the Earth. And because the only other people in the world who could have believed them were the ones actively trying to stop them...

They had done it alone.

Kids!

She had expected facts, figures, and dates.

She had not expected, at all, to hear about a family. Much less a family who had saved the world several times over.

Dr. Kay thought long and hard about all this extra, unexpected data.

It was a while before she finally threw away that coffee and sent for Dr. Owens.

 

Exhausted, Dr. Owens slowly lowered himself into a chair across from Dr. Kay.

To her credit, Dr. Kay began. "I freely admit that every single account – from the rescued children and from the captives – matched perfectly and passed all polygraphs. However...if William Byers has psychic powers, he could have arranged all that through telepathy. Eight could have done the same."

"You've had seven psychic dampeners pointed at this compound from the moment they returned from the nether dimension," Dr. Owens said.

"Byers could be immune in some way."

"In which case, he would have used his powers to escape instead of cooling his heels in solitary for a week."

"Or he could play the long game and arrange what we just witnessed to get everyone to leave him alone."

"That's all a deep stretch and you know it. You know perfectly well that everyone told you the truth. The plans you found at the Squawk match the stories we just heard perfectly, and you found those plans while Byers wasn't even on this planet! Did he make you hallucinate those plans from two dimensions away? If he had that kind of power, he would have prevented you from finding the secret room with Vickie and Max in the first place! And don't forget, their stories match what Dr. Brenner and I both said for years. And I despised Brenner!"

Dr. Kay nodded. "I understand that at this point, there's a 99.9% chance that I've been wrong and this Vecna creature was the real threat all along. But you have to understand my position: if I found that William Byers has psychic abilities, my duty would be to study them to protect ourselves from the Soviets. And I trust, Dr. Owens, that I need not remind you how dangerous and how evil they are."

"No, you don't need to remind me about the Reds. If they had psychic powers, they'd use them and we'd be fucked. I get that, I really do. I'm just saying that it's crystal clear Will's not your answer, and never will be. And so far, your and Brenner's track record of protecting us from the Soviets is so dismal, and has been so deadly, we don't even need them to attack us. You've done their job pretty goddamned well all by yourselves."

Dr. Kay stood and walked to the window. She raised the shades, leaned on the sill, and stared at a twilit world. Sunset came early in November. Dr. Owens waited patiently.

Finally, she let out a deep, deep sigh. "Very well," she said quietly. "I will honor my agreement. I'll leave them alone."

"That includes not spying on them," Dr. Owens said. "Alone means completely alone. You've got what you need from them."

She turned around and nodded. "Completely alone."

She slowly walked back to her desk and sat. "We'll stay here long enough to establish the final cover story and to fill in the tunnels. Without Vecna to sustain them, they're a danger to the town."

"Agreed."

"Can we also agree that you have no more business here?"

"We can."

"Good. Please show yourself out. It hasn't been a pleasure."

"Likewise."

Dr. Owens stood and walked out, but paused at the door, looking back over his shoulder. He hesitated, then said, "A lot of people died because of all this bullshit. A lot. Many of them completely innocent. So if you, or anyone else, feel like playing with exotic matter again and creating another wormhole..."

He looked her in the eyes, and his face was hard.

"Don't."

He shut the door behind him.

 

They assembled at the Squawk, as he requested. He brought tons of pizza and sodas, as he promised.

As Dr. Owens got out of his car, he did a full three-sixty, scanning the landscape for danger. Mostly to make himself feel better, not because he actually expected to see anything other than a radio station, fields, and forests. Nor did he. It was a cold, beautiful evening. Winter was around the corner.

Feeling his age but still determined to take everything in one trip, he struggled to gather all the pizzas in his arms. Even with the bags of soda hanging from his fingers, he managed to get through the front door unaided.

Steve and Robin were the first to see him, and they immediately helped him carry everything into the common room.

Other than a series of hellos, the first thing Dr. Owens did was catch Murray's eye from across the room.

"Good?" Dr. Owens asked.

"All clean," Murray said with a grin and a nod.

Dr. Owens nodded. If Murray said the Squawk wasn't bugged, it wasn't bugged.

They sat, talked, and ate pizza. They were a little tense because it had only been a couple of days since Will walked out of the MAC-Z and the army hadn't left yet, but they were more relaxed than they'd been in almost two years.

Max was no longer in a wheelchair. She was back to walking, and could actually jog a few paces. Fortunately, she was young enough that she was regaining her muscle mass pretty quickly.

Karen and Ted Wheeler were there, mostly recovered from their injuries. Karen had seen and heard – and done – way too much to be fooled by any cover story. She had insisted that her husband be told, also, because there was no way she could keep such a huge secret in her marriage. It would burn far too much.

However, they hadn't told Ted the details. Above all, they hadn't told him that his daughter and Hopper had killed U. S. soldiers; no matter the situation, he wouldn't have taken that well at all. But he didn't seem to need details. He just understood that a bizarre danger had threatened his town and his family for the previous four years, and all three of his children had bravely had a role in defeating it. As fantastic as it was, he believed it because Chief Hopper and Mr. Clarke said so.

Ted still didn't know quite what to make of it, though, and was largely silent at the party. It was painfully obvious that he really wanted to be at a country club talking business, not at a gathering of mostly teenagers talking about demons from other dimensions. Sensing this, Mr. Clarke made a point to sit next to him and keep him company.

Mike was emotionally present and engaged, but didn't smile or talk a lot. Nancy had told her mother what El meant to all of them, and to Mike in particular, so they both sat close to him throughout the evening.

Dr. Owens told them what he could. Overwhelmed with evidence, Dr. Kay had grudgingly acknowledged that this unlikely group of civilians – many of them children – had repeatedly saved the entire world from an evil they could barely comprehend, and that El had never been the enemy. The rifts had closed upon the upside-down's destruction, so after removing the steel plates and filling the tunnels, she and her troops would be gone.

"You mean she's not gonna swing by and say thank you?" Dustin asked.

"Would you want her to?" Dr. Owens asked.

Dustin snorted softly. "Hell no."

"Yeah, she also kinda gets that it'd be pointless," Dr. Owens said.

"Oh, I don't know," Robin said, laying her head back and staring at the ceiling. "It'd be nice to have a Congressional Medal of Honor or something."

"That's only for military personnel," Hopper said. "You'd have gotten the Congressional Gold Medal."

"Oh, wow, that sounds even better," Robin said.

"Best I can do is pizza," Dr. Owens said.

"And that sounds even better!" Derek said, munching away happily.

"Actually, there are a few more good things I can tell you," Dr. Owens said. "The U. S. government will pay for certain repairs, such as damage to the Turnbow's house, the Wheeler's house, and Hopper's cabin. The abduction of the Turnbows has been explained as part of the Soviet hallucinatory drug and they've accepted that explanation, because the idea of Joyce Byers holding them hostage in a barn is patently absurd. The damage to the Turnbow house was the result of rowdy teenagers, also suffering from the Soviet drug, breaking in and having a wild party. All related medical bills, especially Max's, will be taken care of, and your medical insurance unaffected. And..." He turned to Joyce. "I've been authorized to give you financial assistance in buying a new home here in Hawkins, or wherever you would like to go, and to put your family up in a hotel until then."

Joyce's mouth dropped, then she smiled.

"I take it back," Robin said, grinning. "That's much better than a Congressional whatsit medal."

"Hear, hear!" said Steve.

Even Mike smiled, a little bit, at hearing this good news for his friends and family.

Then, like a knife through his brain, a sudden thought occurred to him.

He tilted his head to one side, analyzing this new thought, wondering why he hadn't realized it before. He didn't notice that the room had gone quiet.

"Uh, guys..." he said hesitantly. "I have a funny question." He looked around the room, and everyone's faces seemed to be as puzzled as his own. "If the army had psychic dampeners running from the moment we returned to the MAC-Z-"

"Then why wasn't El on the ground screaming?!" Dustin asked. "I had that same exact thought, just now!"

"So did I!" Lucas said. "I was suddenly thinking that same thing!"

"Me too," Max said, looking around the room with growing apprehension.

"Me three," Steve said quietly.

"Me fourteen, or whatever we're up to, now," Robin said.

"Yeah," Jonathan said. "Before Mike said a word, I suddenly wondered how El could get from the truck to the gate without anyone seeing her, especially when the army had all those psychic dampeners pointing right at her. I mean...she was right there, next to us, as they pulled us out of the truck!"

"I suddenly thought about that, too!" Will said. "Also before Mike said anything!" He slowly looked around the room, awe on his face. "So...we all had this thought at the same time?!"

Everyone looked at each other in horror, except Ted Wheeler, who had no clue what they were talking about.

"What's going on?" Max asked quietly, completely spooked.

"It can't be coincidence..." Mike said, thinking quickly, daring to grasp at hope. "It's mind-related...and who do we know has powers related to the mind?"

Everyone looked at each other in growing amazement and realization.

Everyone heard the front door open.

Everyone heard the approaching steps.

Everyone saw El walk into the room with a smile on her face.

"Sorry for the deception," she said. "But you couldn't have passed the army's lie detectors if I hadn't suppressed your ability to figure it out."

They erupted and rushed forward. The hugs lasted forever. So did the kiss Mike gave her. He felt he would never let go.

It was ages before they all calmed down enough to let El settle on the couch next to Mike. Amid the celebration, Ted quietly asked his wife, "Who is this?" Karen just patted his hand and said, "I'll explain later."

It was another few ages before they were calm enough to hear El's explanation. She and Mike gripped each other's hands.

"It was Kali's idea, and I enhanced it a little," El said.

"Wait, so Kali's alive, too?" Murray asked.

"No," El said sadly. "She knew she wasn't going to make it. And honestly...she really didn't want to."

"We could have found a good home for her, too!" Joyce said, the devastation plain on her face.

"She wouldn't have wanted it," El said. "She would never have given up her crusade for vengeance. She wanted revenge or death. There was no third door for her. Even more so after the government killed her friends. She made that crystal clear when we shared thoughts.

"But she knew I wanted to live. She knew I wanted a peaceful and happy life, here, with all of you." She looked at Mike, and they shared a smile. "So she gave me one last gift. After she was shot, she created the illusion that her wound was a little worse than it was, then the illusion that she was dead. Only I knew the truth. She held on for a few more hours, all the way to the explosion. We linked our minds, and we kept that link open until the moment she died. She was with me as I fought Vecna.

"Kali didn't have the ability to see other places, and I didn't have the ability to alter people's perceptions. But together, we could do what neither of us could do alone.

"When we drove out of the gate, she saw the situation through my eyes, so she altered the perceptions of everyone there. You all saw me appear in the gate and die, but in reality, I ran to Radio Shack. The fake me disappeared from your perception the moment Kali died, but by then, I was in the tunnel."

"But psychic dampeners affected you so badly you couldn't even move!" Mike said.

"No, I couldn't think," El said. "And without thinking, you can't move, or do anything else. But Kali was linked to my mind, and she was unaffected by the dampeners! My link with her kept me partially unaffected, enough that I could run. I made it to the forest and scavenged like I used to.

"I used my power to watch everything that happened inside the MAC-Z." She turned to Dr. Owens. "I saw your conversations with Dr. Kay. I saw her plan to question everyone with lie detectors." She looked around the room. "But all of you are very smart. I was suddenly afraid that any one of you would figure out that what you saw didn't make sense, and if you figured that out, you wouldn't be able to pass a lie detector saying I died!

"But then I made an incredible discovery. I found that because Kali and I were linked at the moment of her death, her power had passed to me! I can now also alter people's perceptions! Not nearly as much as she could; it's like I got a small portion of her power. But it was enough. I planted a command to keep each of you, and everyone in the army, from analyzing the facts of my death too closely. And that command is such a mild misperception, it will last a long time, maybe even forever, unless I remove it.

"I watched your interviews with the army, and I watched this party you were holding tonight. I watched all of you, and all of them, until I knew absolutely that all the danger was past. Then I started walking here. I removed your mental blocks and came in to join you!" She stuck one arm in the air as if to say, Tada!

"Oh...my...gosh," Robin said. "That is amazing!"

El looked at Hopper. "And I'm so sorry I couldn't contact you earlier." She looked at Mike. "Please understand why I had to leave you believing I was dead, at least for a while."

"I understand," Mike said.

"Absolutely, kiddo," Hopper said, smiling. "But I really wish you would have waited longer. Like, until after the army actually leaves."

"I know, but I couldn't resist," El said. "This party was the perfect time to reappear and tell all of you the truth, without further complications. Plus..." She disengaged her hand from Mike's and leaned forward to grab some pizza. "This is the first real food I've had in ten days, so sue me."

They laughed.

"I am so happy you're here!" Holly squealed.

"We all are!" Will said, grinning.

"I'm happy I'm here, too," El said, covering her mouth because she was chewing at the same time.

"But now what do we do with you?" Joyce asked. "We still have to hide you, and the army knows all our hiding places now."

"Then we'll find new ones," Dustin said. Steve nodded.

"Or I can just continue hanging out in the woods," El said. "It's worked so far."

"Nah, we're not havin' that," Erica said. "Girl, you're not an animal. You need a roof over your head."

"You okay living in a trailer park?" Max asked.

"I'm not living with any of you," El said between bites. "I'm not putting someone else in danger. That's non-negotiable, so don't even try to change my mind about that." She swept the room with a stern look.

"Yeah, that's kinda what I figured you'd say," Max said. "Which is why I was actually thinking of the abandoned trailer three lots down from ours."

El gave her a puzzled look. "Abandoned?"

"Well, not really abandoned," Max said. "The guy who owns it is in the state pen for dealing meth. Second offense, so he's in the big house for another ten years. He might get out in four with good behavior. But he owns the trailer and the lot, free and clear. As long as he pays his property taxes, which apparently he does, the trailer's just sitting there. As far as I know, no one comes to check on it. It's at the very end of the lane, with nothing but forest on the other side. And you'll be near me, so you'll have contact with the group." Max shrugged, and looked her with an expectant smile.

El sat back. "Hmm. I think I can make that work."

"One of us will have to pay the electric and water bills in cash, in person at the utility offices," Hopper said. "El can't be seen paying." He looked at El. "And you'll have to be extremely careful not to be seen in the trailer. Heavy curtains. No lights or TV after dark. You would be stunned to know how many things neighbors notice."

"I can live with that," El said. "Lying low before was a nightmare because I never knew if it would end. Now I know it's temporary, and I have a future eventually, once the army leaves."

"You'll need a new identity," Murray said. "You can never again be Jane Hopper. She's dead."

"I have friends who can take care of that," Dr. Owens said.

"But how do we know Kay will honor her promise not to spy on us?" Nancy asked. "All it takes is one spy to report El, and this shit happens all over again."

"Languaaaaage!" Ted said.

"Believe it or not, I can't really see Dr. Kay sending a spy," Dr. Owens said. "She truly believes El's dead. And Sullivan would never do anything without her approval."

"I've seen inside Dr. Kay's mind, and you're right," El said. "But even more than that, I check in on her mind at least once a day, as unpleasant as it is, and will do for the rest of my life. If she ever sends a spy to Hawkins, I'll know."

Dustin pumped his fists. "Yes! Our El is back, and we can live our lives!" He and Steve high fived.

"Our sorcerer!" Lucas said, beaming at El.

"No, she's our mage!" Will said. "I'm your sorcerer! Get it right!"

Erica rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Karen patted her husband's hand. "Are you all right, honey? I know this is a lot to take in."

Mike and Nancy shared a look. It had been a long, long time since either of their parents called the other honey.

Ted looked puzzled. "I think so. As best as I understand it...the Byers are moving out and we can have our house back?"

Karen nodded. "Yes, that's right. That's what this entire party has been all about."

"Oh," Ted said. He gave a relieved smile and nodded, feeling he finally had a grasp on things.