Chapter Text
Steve was… somewhere. He knew where he was, and he knew what he was doing, but he still felt detached from the thing completing those actions. Foreign anger and panic filled the space where his own thoughts should go. The weight of Eddie was the only thing tethering him to the present, and Dustin’s frantic chatter crowded the air when nothing else would. They were in a nest of vipers, and Steve couldn’t stitch together enough neurons to do more than walk and listen.
They’d wound their way through the hallways, ducking between the sound of footsteps and muffled Russian conversation, and Steve had long lost track of where they were in the facility. Everything looked the same, and the words were starting to sound more like buzzing flies than actual conversation, and he couldn’t-
“Steve.” Eddie’s voice broke through. “Hey, Stevie, you with us?” A hand pat along the curve of his jaw.
It snapped him back into a state of being, so sudden it had him feeling every pin and needle prickling under the spot Eddie was leaning on. Steve cleared his throat. “Yeah. I’m here. I’m alright.” He blinked, trying to figure out both where he’d gone, and why they needed his attention all of a sudden. A cursory glance around told him they’d made it to the base of the steps outside without him even noticing. It didn’t bode well. It boded even worse when he remembered the same sensation curling up around his heart right before suddenly ‘recalling’ which button they needed to push.
Steve stared up the steps. “I’m fine.” They needed him present. He couldn’t space out again. He couldn’t…
A shadow stretched strangely from the top platform, long and rectangular. When Steve blinked, however, it was gone. Based on how Dustin and Eddie were staring, he wasn’t being super convincing.
“You’ve been out of it for a while, are you sure you’re-“
“I’m fine, Eddie.” Steve bristled. He knew he wasn’t. He knew something wasn’t right, and maybe the stress was finally making him lose his mind. But they didn’t have time when they were so close to the exit. So close to the end. “Come on.” He picked Eddie up bridal style as to not agitate his leg and started up the steps.
“We still don’t know what’s up there!” Dustin hissed after him.
“How do you think we’re going to figure out?” Steve trudged onward. After two flights, all three of them could hear what Jack had been talking about. Something was battering against the door, dampened screeching and howling piercing the metal.
Eddie and Steve passed a look between them. “Didn’t you kids say something about animals?” He leaned around Steve’s arms.
“Oh, fuck.” Dustin breathed. They hustled quickly up the rest of the steps.
Steve lowered Eddie onto the platform and let him lean up against the railing. There was no imminent panic from Kali on the other side, just the same burning fire that razed the ground around it. He crept up to the door just as something bumped into it, inching the knob down and cracking it open just as barely as he could.
It was chaos.
Despite the narrow degree of vision, the flashes of fur and feathers were unmistakable. Blots of red and purple cut between the fray. A beak slipped through the crack, and Steve shouldered the door shut again. “Okay, can’t get you outside.” He scanned over Eddie’s leg. “But I think the closest place to safely put you would be…”
“We could put him in the movie theater.” Dustin piped up. “The vent system there is separate to help with noise reduction. And there should be plenty of tools to use as weapons.” He pushed his hat up enough to swipe at his brow. “I think we could all hunker down in there, since they’re going to try and send the rest of the base after us, and they have guns. The Mind Flayer will probably be more concerned with bullets.”
They all jumped again as a heavy weight pounded against the door, shifting Steve back a step or two. It sounded like rock hitting metal. “Okay, theater it is.” He conceded, scooping Eddie back up. “For the love of God, do as I say and stick close to me.”
“You don’t have to keep telling us that, we understand.” Dustin’s expression remained pinched though, shoulders drawn up near his ears. He hovered by the door as Steve positioned himself to start running again.
“Given the past few hours, I’m not sure if either of you really do.” Steve grumbled. “Are you ready?” Dustin nodded, and he kicked open the door without further input.
The full scope of the chaos came into view. An entire forest had moved into the mall, though there was little coordination between them. It didn’t appear that the Mind Flayer exerted any control over them beyond keeping them inside. Animals in their immediate vicinity snapped their attention to them, gnashing and eager. A piece of living muscle launched their way, but Steve shot out of its path. The thin summer wear did little to protect against the rest of the claws and teeth, but Steve could weather it. He was more concerned with the bob of hair sprinting in front of him or the bundle of limbs in his arms; he wasn’t going to watch any of them die in front of him again.
Somewhere among all the screaming animals, he could see Kali standing tall. Her face was slick with blood, but her hands were raised, and her eyes were sharp. The kids crowded around her, grasping bottle rocket fireworks and pop-its, or, in the case of Jane, also holding her hands up.
“Steve!” She called, hurtling a deer to the side that had been charging in the group’s direction. It’s hooves slid along the ground before it collapsed into the tile with a shudder.
“Come on!” Steve yelled over. Jane charged after without further prompting and he could hear Mike shouting after her, then they were lost in the storm. Panic filled the space they’d just been. The fog tried to creep in again, but Steve shoved it off. No matter. He trusted Kali to get them over safely. He had to.
Noise fell away the minute they stepped into the theater. It was like it all got peeled back, leaving a stark difference between the rest of the mall. Steve tucked Eddie back behind the concession counters then wiped at the blood still weeping down his brow line. Several cuts and gouges were littering Steve’s body. “Guess I couldn’t have been scar-free forever.” He snatched a paper towel rolls from the counter next to the popcorn machine and dabbed at his arms and face.
Eddie groaned as he stretched his leg out. “Lucky for you, scars are hot.” He flashed him a cocky grin, then hissed as he tried to reposition himself. “Hope you think the same.”
“Of course I do.”
“Gross.” Dustin sniffed as he watched the other kids file in, with Kali bringing up the rear. Jane quickly threw anything she could grab in front of the doors, then raced over to the two of them. The others weren’t far behind.
Overlapping chatter filled the space as each tried to get their own check up on Eddie, while Jane silently scanned over the wrap on his leg. “Guys- guys, he’s okay. Give him some space, we still have to worry about all the shit outside.” Steve pushed them back as best he could.
“Why’d you bring us in here then?” Mike said back, arms tightly folded over his chest.
“So none of you get shot!”
As if on cue, the first gunshots sounded out behind the blockade. Angry, confused shouts came after, and the cry of several animals followed that. It was a lot of noise. Steve felt the shift in atmosphere; it wasn’t upbeat, but there was an energy to it as they swirled around them, that gave them persistence. As the peppering shots beat against the wall, everyone sobered. They grew still and they listened, some clasping hands. Steve snatched up Eddie’s and ducked down by the counter. Robin had done it, and now he prayed to anything that would listen for her and Jack to stay safe
Eddie leaned his head up against Steve’s shoulder as the shouts reached a crescendo, and things started to burst wetly outside. A line of tension ran up his body that he couldn’t quite smooth away, and Steve could see the way he kept opening his mouth to say something before shutting it again. “…what is it?” He eventually mumbled.
“You said you were fine,” Eddie grumbled, “so I won’t butt in. But, hypothetically, if something was going on, what would it be?”
“Eddie.” Steve sighed, then ducked as a fresh bullet hole opened on the front wall. “We don’t have time for this.”
“I beg to differ.” He countered hotly. “If this is going to come up again when we’re in the middle of things-“
“It’s not.” Steve snapped in return. He didn’t like it, but he was starting to fray, and if Eddie kept picking, he was worried he’d completely unravel. Then, he would be practically useless. It was best to just keep it down for now. There was always later. “It’s not going to cause a problem; we can talk about this later.”
Eddie stared. There wasn’t a trace of belief in his eyes, and Steve wouldn’t go around saying he was doing a good job of being convincing. He was grasping onto whatever sanity he had left with the edges of his nails, and it was getting increasingly difficult. Steve thunked his head back against the wood as the shooting started to get a bit sparser. Not by much, but enough for him to notice. They’d really fed those guys to the Flayer like it was a meat grinder.
Steve wondered how scared they were. He wondered if they had families. He wondered if they’d ever be told the truth. Probably not.
Finally, he turned to examine the other people sharing the counterspace. Kali looked dazed but still focused on the pile of items they were using as a blockade. Her face shined slick with blood that Jane was trying to clean up despite her own sullied cheeks. Max and Lucas clung to each other; it was a stark difference from the atmosphere in the bathroom. Mike curled up next to Dustin, head between his knees, while the other boy rubbed at his back.
“I’m tired.” Steve said suddenly. “I’m just really… really tired.” He lowered his head. “I don’t remember the last time I’ve felt rested, or calm, or anything that wasn’t on edge. And even when we get rid of this thing, it won’t be over. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel like I’m done.” Steve closed his eyes. He knew it wasn’t the whole truth, but it eased the pressure in his lungs.
Eddie twined their fingers slowly as the gunfire continued to dampen. The Flayer was effective when it wanted to be. Or maybe it just had so many targets that it couldn’t miss. “You’re sure that’s it?”
He nodded, despite himself. “Do you need me to do anything with your ankle?” Steve pushed on, desperate to leave the subject behind. “We’ve got a bit of time.”
Eddie cracked a smile. “Didn’t know you were into that, big boy.” He bumped his elbow against Steve’s sternum, sending a gentle flush up against his cheeks.
“Oh, shut up.” He grumbled, but the tension dissolved from between his shoulders and he found himself smiling back.
“There he is.” Eddie squeezed his hand. “It’s okay, I promise.”
They nestled back into silence, and Steve looked over to see Max and Lucas now turned towards each other, whispering in the quiet. They’d broken apart, and based on how Max was avoiding eye contact, she’d been the one to back up.
“You’re mad at me.” Lucas’s voice carried over, soft, reticent.
Max shifted slightly.
“Is it because of Will?”
“No.” Max’s voice was lower, defensive. “Just thinking with my emotions, instead of logic.”
Steve watched Lucas gape. “How did you-“ He turned to Jane, visibly frustrated, while Steve fixed his eyes to the wall across from him. It felt intrusive, but the gunfire could only cover so much. Based on the sound, there either weren’t that many left, they’d stopped spilling out into the mall at large or they’d started moving in a formation.
Max stared at the floor, undisturbed. “Yeah. Real nice.”
“You shouldn’t be spying on us.” Lucas spoke with gravity. To her continued silence, he sighed. “Seriously. Don’t do that. I’m nervous enough about the weird government stuff; I don’t need to be wondering if I’m being spied on by someone I care about.”
There was another beat of quiet, only covered by another louder bang, then Max deflated. “Sorry. But if that’s how you really think…” The words trailed off. Implication hung heavy.
“I don’t.” Lucas ushered. “I mean- we all do. And even then maybe it’s a good thing sometimes. Look at where logical thinking got us.”
Steve did his best to tune them out now and allowed his head to tip gently into Eddie’s. He wished Hopper would hurry up.
--
Hopper was hurrying, as fast as he could.
It wasn’t easy; they’d hit rush hour traffic and were wedged between a beat up old Suburban and some flashy sports car with a high schooler behind the wheel.
Murray being in the backseat made things infinitely harder than they had to be.
“Sure, hit the horn, everyone in front of you likes hearing it.” He drawled behind his head, twirling his fingers lazily. “It’s really what they needed. A little classical conditioning to get them motivated. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the several other cars in front of them.”
“Do you ever stop talking?” Hopper hissed through his teeth. He couldn’t even use the police siren because there was nowhere for people to get out of the way. He hated being stuck.
A hand graced the headrest, and a stringy black beard made its way into his peripheral. “Watching you work is just…” Murray took a deep breath, “it’s textbook, really.”
“Murray.” It wasn’t Joyce warning him off this time, surprisingly. It was Bob.
“Any little thing to give you some semblance of control. Cause that’s what you want, right? Control? Does it have something to do with that big sad heartbreak or-“
Hopper cracked. His hand flew to the console and pried out the holster before he could think it through. Joyce, Bob and their Russian friend cried out as the barrel of his service weapon angled at Murray’s chest. The bastard looked rattled, sure, but his eyes dared to twinkle in delight. “You’re just proving my point, chief.”
“Jim, calm the hell down!” Joyce’s hand closed around his wrist. “Jesus Christ!”
Bob’s throat clicked with a small swallow. “Seriously, don’t- that’s a really bad idea.”
“Shut. Up.”
Murray laughed through the warble in his voice. “Please. You’ve made your point.” He watched as Hopper, reluctantly, replaced the weapon. Jim was pretty sure Murray knew he’d never even clicked off the safety. “But, while we’re on the subject, and, clearly, we’re not going anywhere any time soon…”
Joyce scoffed loudly. “Do you really expect us to talk about that? Here? Now? Our kids are in danger and-“
“And there’s nothing you can do right now unless you plan to go on foot.”
The car descended into silence. No. Because Hopper didn’t need to think about any of it. It was a certifiable fact that he loved Joyce, and he wasn’t about to lose sleep over being called out for it. But that other thing…
Hopper’s eyes flicked up, catching Bob’s in the backseat. Both turned away as fast as they could. Those feelings weren’t for him. They weren’t real, either. Because he wasn’t like that. And Bob wasn’t either. Not that he cared one way or another, but Hopper knew whatever the case that he wouldn’t stray from Joyce like that. Bob was a good guy.
Someone cleared their throat. “…I… wouldn’t mind.”
Hopper whipped his head around to stare at Bob.
Okay. Maybe that was the fastest he’d been proven wrong in his life. Joyce’s eyes bugged out to his left, while Murray just hooted. “Wow, big guy here is braver than I thought.”
“Bob…” She practically breathed his name.
“That’s it. I just wouldn’t mind.” He stuttered out, refusing to look them in the eye.
No one dared speak after that, besides a much more enthused Murray, talking fast in Russian to keep his little buddy informed. Hopper tried to bore a hole through the license plate in front of him, half demanding half begging it to move so he didn’t have to think about the implications of those two little utterances.
Wouldn’t mind what?
The car ahead of him lurched but only rolled a few feet before the brake lights lit up again. Hopper bit down a groan of frustration. He wasn’t going to think about this.
Wouldn’t mind your hands on him?
He smacked his palm against the horn again, with far more force than necessary. Jim wasn’t going to think about this. He wasn’t.
Wouldn’t mind lazy mornings? Wouldn’t mind sleepless nights?
A tiny sliver of emotion knotted up through his chest, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. Murray had planted the seed, and now Bob had gone and given it something to grow for.
Wouldn’t mind your worst? Wouldn’t mind your best? Wouldn’t mind you?
How could you ever want that?
The thing was–
The thing was that Hopper always had a private bank of fantasies in his head with Joyce. Sappy domestic stuff that he refused to share with anyone. It was easy to imagine her, tucked up near a rainy window with a cup of coffee, and him delicately tracing a strand of hair behind her ear while they debated going to get groceries in this weather. Recent additions included El and Will around the house, helping cook or playing in the snow. Those were private and always tinged with a bit of guilt because something cold would always sneak in and say you can’t have that.
So, since they were just for him, in the safety of his own mind, Hopper also let himself be brave.
Taking a transparent sheet and overlaying Bob into Joyce’s place didn’t feel quite right. Because Bob wouldn’t argue that they could make do with what they had in the pantry or worry about Hopper crashing somewhere because ‘god knows, you drive like you have a death wish’. No, Bob would agree to it and gently remind him to take an umbrella with that shy little smile he reserved only for those choice few people he has a fondness for. He also seemed like the kind of guy to give a peck on the cheek as a goodbye, even for a simple grocery run because he… he…
Oh.
Oh… no.
The car in front of him lurched again, just enough for him to squeeze through onto the shoulder. Hopper flicked on his siren despite himself and patently refused to let himself be any braver today.
The siren did seem to get people moving a bit faster, though not by much. A pinch had occurred somewhere on the way to the mall, and several people were running past on foot. It was about there that Hopper stopped caring about road rules and drove up along the sidewalk. They made it in time to see something rising up between battered cars, and the forms of at least five or six of their kids – because no matter what, and no matter how much he wanted it, they’d all ended up being their kids – huddled behind some cover.
More shapes moved beyond the glass and inside the mall. The sound of gunshots reached them as he pulled to car to a stop close to the others. It was mostly people he only half recognized, a little girl, Holland, Hargrove, and, surprisingly enough, Harington’s buddies from before. Hagan’s hands were tightly bandaged, and he looked pale and deathly while Perkins held a familiar bat hammered with nails. Further up towards the door, he could make out Nancy and Jonathan huddled behind a truck, though the door was open. Jonathan fiddled around inside while Nancy brandished a gun at anything that got close.
The Russian in the back seat gaped at the swirling mass of meat in front of them. Hopper wasted no time getting his gun back out, and making sure that this time, the safety was off. They had some kids to save.
--
The flicker of fear cut through with sudden burgeoning hope pried Steve’s eyes back open and emerging from the fog again. He felt around to confirm where it came from, and found Annie out beyond the wall, buzzing with renewed energy. “They’re here.” He knocked his head back.
The assault hadn’t let up. The cracks of gunfire were frequent enough to keep him tense, but things had started to batter their barricade. Its attention could be split now, which didn’t feel like such a good thing.
Jane stood expectantly by the pile, still doing her best to keep it in place when something pushed just a bit too far. “How do we get out? How do they get in?” She asked anxiously, then came to her own conclusion. “We have to help them!”
“I know, I know.” Steve went to stand up, but Eddie’s hand snagged around his wrist. “What?” There was a look in Eddie’s eyes that he really didn’t like. It was hauntingly similar to the one, still brazen behind his eyes, that followed the ‘don’t be a hero’ talk. “No, you’re not going. You’re staying here; it’s safer than out there.”
A flurry of excitement slapped him in the back of the skull, and it caused Steve to miss whatever Eddie said. “I- I’m sorry, repeat that?”
“I said you better be careful, or I’ll travel back in time to kick your ass.”
The excitement grew, only tempered by Jack’s sudden apprehension and his own confusion.
A cacophony of sounds rattled the barrier. Crash, then screech, followed by a thud-thud-thud that shook the room and had everyone clinging to each other. It ended in a thump, hiss. Jane was quick to toss away the things in front of the door while most of the kids tried to squint between the pieces.
“Holy shit!” Dustin crowed after a second. “Someone crashed a car into the mall!”
“Is anyone-“ Mike yelped and snagged Jane’s arm as she tried to run out. “Hey! There’s still people with guns out there!”
Lucas peered between two thrown benches. “I don’t see anyone inside.” Steve got there just in time to watch the half-brainless animal zombies descend upon the vehicle, biting and clawing and tearing into it even as fire started to curl upward from the frame. Large half-formed beasts, similar to what Nancy had described at the hospital, littered the hall now too, and a few intact corpses lay sprawled close by. A large hulking shadow trailed after, a familiar shape that hunched down through the ceiling and growled with three too many mouths.
Popping sounds followed after it. The remaining Russians had quieted down and appeared to be moving more in a formation rather than firing randomly. Despite the panic, they were still going at it. Some of them didn’t look older than 25, and when they realized bullets didn’t work as well on the Mind Flayer as it did the Flayed.
Tracing the path the truck took back to the front of the mall, Steve could just make out a few figures ducking and weaving chaotically through the swarm, looking around for some sort of sign.
Jane finally ripped away from Mike’s hold. “They do not care about them; let me help!” She hissed, then wriggled through the opening she’d created. Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Max all yelled after her, but it was Kali who took off after her with Steve quickly behind.
There they were. The adults. Barb, Nancy, Carol, his sister, and, fuck- and Tommy. It worked. Chrissy stood alongside them, clearly out of place, but Steve only partially heeded her. A cloak of safety settled over his shoulders, and finally he felt like he could breathe again. Even with the towering form of the Mind Flayer there, shrieking up a storm, it finally felt like it was all possible again. The fog and disorientation fled back.
They could do this. They could really kill this thing, and after that, they could take on Vecna. Then it would be over.
It was the presence of Joyce and Hopper that really did it. They had an air of safety around them that soothed the aching wound of his chest, and Steve wondered briefly if that was how kids were supposed to react to adults. Did the Party feel the same way when someone older stepped in?
Brenner had never been like that. The adults around the lab had never given him anything other than pressure and a need to perform. The Harringtons hadn’t done that, not exactly, but there had been a reluctance to rely that he’d never grown out of. Steve figured them leaving didn’t help heal the damage Brenner had caused. He wasn’t going to let Jane suffer those same wounds either, not this time around.
Steve helped carve a path through the creatures along with Kali, while Jane charged ahead with her own determination. He pushed his all into holding back the colossus while the smaller monsters crawled up to join it, jamming his body through the sliver of opening so none of the kids could leave and nothing could make its way in. There was a fourth guy in their little group. Steve had never seen him before but based on the way he seemed more terrified of the gunman than the monster charging after them, he would wager that was their previously-dead Russian help.
Somehow, without trying much, Steve got him to survive this long. Go figure.
A line of people came barreling up to the theater now that they had an opening. Nancy made it first, eyes blown wide and cheeks flushed. She let him yank her through the opening without much of a fight. They lost sight of Jane and the adults, but Steve could live with that for now. “Is everyone okay? How’s-“
Others followed after. “-where’s Robin?-”
“-is Will okay?-“
“-Jesus christ, Harrington, you could have mentioned it would look like that-“
“-you didn’t even grab your bat, you idiot-“
But one voice stood out above the rest.
“…Steve?” Tommy spoke softest, but Steve heard it loud and clear. His arms were slack as he traced between his hand and his bloody nose. And despite the chaos, Steve’s vision narrowed. Just them, standing, staring, one somber and the other choked with so many emotions that it defaulted to anger. But Steve knew him too well.
He’d never told Tommy. He’d wanted to, plenty of times, and yet somehow he’d always talked himself out of it because that meant trying to patch up their three-year chasm that they’d agreed, silently, to leave alone. That meant facing down the worst of himself and what he’d thought for a time had been the best of it too.
Carol had been different. She’d fought for him, and Steve had let her win because for her the nastiness was never personal. It was a means of survival and control more than anything else. But Tommy always held things to a personal level. He’d been the first of the three to call someone a faggot. Not that any of them could shirk the blame for the horrible shadow they’d cast over the school for years, but Steve liked to hope there was some give. If there really wasn’t, then how did he explain the Party, or Robin, or Eddie? In his head, talking to Tommy felt like taking a step back.
But now… Tommy stood there, surrounded by things from their worst nightmares, and he looked at Steve like he didn’t know him anymore. Like his hopes had been suddenly quashed. And Steve realized that maybe that hadn’t been such a mutual agreement. Maybe Tommy had honestly, earnestly hoped to patch it up. And the thought lingered that maybe if he had, Tommy wouldn’t have been taken by the Mind Flayer as easily.
“…hey, Tommy-boy.” Steve cracked a grin around his blood-stained upper lip. His eyes tracked down to the bandages around his fingers, just as blood soaked. It was a tentative thing, a hand reaching out over three years of silence and dirty looks.
Tommy’s face remained blank as he stepped forward, giving no indication anything was amiss until his fist cracked against Steve’s already bloody nose. Before he could even begin to recover, shaking arms wrapped around his torso to keep him from going too far. “Hey, Steve.” Tommy’s voice was wet and tasted like desperation, and his fingers didn’t make contact, but he squeezed like his life depended on it.
Worry traced jagged fingers up along his spine, and Steve realized they were about to fall over the cusp of finality. Helplessness mixed with the awful floaty feeling from before. Sensations dulled. If only he had a moment to just-
Just-
Stop.
Some insane notion washed over him that if he reached out, if he gripped tight enough, time would stop for everything once again. Not just them, but the thing outside, the strange pustule on the world that was currently ravaging a few hapless Russians. Just like it had before. The thought tingled with wrongness, wrapped his senses up in something that didn’t feel like it belonged to him, but Steve was too exhausted to pass by a chance to take a breather.
Over the din of voices upset about the whole punch-to-the-face thing, Steve stretched out and clamped until time slotted easily into place. Almost too easily. A more poetic person would say that Time might just be on his side for this one, but the taste of ash on his tongue made him hesitate in that assessment.
Still, it was a breather. He wouldn’t be using this power much later if he could help it. Steve exhaled slowly, then leaned back and took Tommy’s wrists in his hands. “What happened?”
“It-“ He turned his head sharply to examine the frozen faces. “What the hell-“
“Oh, yeah. It’s been a while, so I never got to tell you.” Steve grinned, tears stinging the edges of his eyes. “I’m magic. And a time traveler. And a bunch of other things, but mostly that.”
Tommy flooded with more than a little shock before shaking his head fondly, a light grin rising to match Steve’s. “And let me guess- I’m the last to know?”
“Well, Chrissy doesn’t know.”
“Oh, Chrissy doesn’t- shut the hell up, dickhead.”
Steve laughed before clearing his throat. “Look- I can’t hold this long, but I just want you to know, before everything goes to hell- before- before we’re fighting again and everything gets really, really hectic… I missed you.” Steve blundered out before he could think better of it. His head started to pound slightly, but he couldn’t hear anything moving outside so he must be doing something right.
Tommy shook his head. “I already knew that, asshole.” He sniffled, trying and failing to hide his own tears. “I missed you too.” Then he glanced around. “God, this is weird as hell. And you’ve just been able to do this?”
“Yeah. Apparently.” Steve laughed weakly. “Also was a hell of an amnesic. Now, what happened to your hands?”
“…that thing tried to melt me. Or whatever.” He mumbled, a haunted look flashing through his eyes. “Started with my fingers. So I guess… I guess this is kinda it for me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at me, Steve. We all knew that out of anyone, I was going to be the one who got left behind-“
“-hey-“
“-because Care was always going to do something cool; she- she was too smart not to,” Tommy spoke quickly now, realizing how thin their time in the timeless was, “and you- after that fall, you got your shit together. I never did, and I’m not smart or witty like Care, and now I don’t even have my hands so I can’t- I can’t-“
Steve silently prayed for a little more time. If the pressure lifting just a bit after that meant anything, he didn’t know. “Breathe, Tommy.” He instructed as the tears finally slipped.
“Guys like me don’t change, Steve.” Tommy mumbled as Steve dabbed away the tears. He remembered that – those words – from a different mouth almost a lifetime ago. “I fucking punched you when I saw you. I’m…”
Steve shook his head. “You can. If you let yourself. You’ve got Carol, remember?”
“She was always too good for me.”
“And yet she still loves you more than life itself.” He steamrolled past Tommy. “Her first and only concern was saving you, this whole time. And me, but that’s just because she’s Carol.” Steve trapped his face between his hands. “Come on, dude. Whatever happens, you’ve got her, and you’ve got me.” He waited until Tommy smiled. It was tremulous, barely glimpsing his eyes, but it was there. “Now, the two of us have to go keep a monster distracted while the wounded keep themselves safe. And you’re not allowed to be mean to Eddie.”
At that, Tommy’s smile stretched up to his eyes. “Are you kidding? You’re dumb as hell if you think you’re leaving me behind. Besides, out of the two of us, I was always the better decoy.”
--
Alexei had seen a lot in his time.
He’d seen his mother in the window of their Kommunalka, watching as he ran off on his first day of being a Pioneer. He’d seen winters cold enough to drive even the dead from their graves. He’d seen the first man he’d ever kissed bleed out in the street. He’d seen America, in glory and in waste, and wondered if freedom just meant ‘not seeing’. He’d seen the very pits of a place that was never supposed to be, torn open in part by his hands. He’d seen his supervisor, a man he trusted more than himself, killed by the very person who sent him here.
Alexei had seen so much, and yet it had done nothing to prepare him for the eye watering reality of the creature that stood before him.
Whatever god had crafted this world, whatever being or deity had thought up the Earth and all its inhabitants, should there be one, never ever accounted for the wretched thing staining the pavement. Alexei cowered near the only American here he trusted, as bizarre as it felt to put those two words so close together. They spoke fast, too fast for him to parse out the words, and there were too many animals, and too many people screaming for help or backup or muttering in prayers that they’d never been allowed to say and this was so unlike the zarnitsa he’d participate in back home.
“Hey.”
The American, Murray, was watching him closely. They’d shunted themselves up behind a concrete barrier of sorts, and his hands wound tightly around his. A small girl, tinged with blood, was speaking quickly to the one with the mustache. “Hey, don’t focus on them, alright? Take a deep breath. Tell us where we need to go.”
Alexei tried to do as asked, sucking down a deep gasp of air while birds and other animals swooped around them. Gunfire knocked it back out, and he ducked his head. One of his comrades screamed. “We need to get there.” Alexei muttered shamefully, pointing to the black door all the way across the mall from them. More importantly, they needed to get away from that thing and away from this. Away from Alexei’s own failures.
Murray’s expression set in a small frown, but he nodded and turned, shouting to the others who snapped their heads over. They all looked at Murray with differing shades of annoyance, and Alexei tried to figure out why. He was by far the smartest of the four, and he treated Alexei like he was more than the key to the Key, though the rounder American – Bob – seemed to be trying with soft smiles and offering him a few of his peanuts on the ride over. He didn’t mind Bob all that much.
They got loud again. They were always getting loud. Rambo especially. He watched the girl tug at the man’s sleeves, getting louder and pointing to one of the store fronts. Only when the creature burst through the base’s façade did they stop yelling and start moving. Murray’s hand closed around his and guided him towards the door that led down into the heart of the base. The girl came with them, although Alexei couldn’t fathom why. Rambo seemed pretty upset at this development. He kept trying to motion her away, even as the creature chased after them.
Alexei found his footing and shot past Murray, past Bob, past the rest. All those years of track finally paid off. His mother had chastised him gently when he’d brought it up the first time. ‘Always running away,’ she’d said, ‘never towards. Learn to run towards, Alyosha.’ He tried to imagine he was running towards something now. The door. The Key. The ability to fix whatever wrong they’d awoken by making it.
Several things happened in quick succession as Alexei’s hand closed around the knob.
First, the sound of bodies hitting the ground. Alexei wheeled around to see most of the animals dropping from their positions and spasming until they’re nothing but viscera and nightmares. The blobs pulled together into a long serpentine form, separate from the other thing-that-shouldn’t-be though just as horrible. Then other people – a large group of teenagers and kids he’d never seen before – came running out of a barricaded alcove, all screams and raised fists and weapons. Two of them had bloody faces, several were wrapped in bandages, and yet they stood with the determination of an army.
Finally, that car they’d sent flying into the building exploded, just as intended but far too late. It rattled the foundation around him, and Alexei knew he let out some pathetic little noise. He could feel the heat all the way from over here. “Fuck.” He whispered, since only Murray knew what it meant.
The girl yelled out over her shoulder, and one of the bloody-faced kids shouted back “okay!” along with another line of words he couldn’t identify. They crowded quickly into the elevator. He refused to breathe a sigh of relief just yet; instead, Alexei went fumbling for his keycard. He couldn’t focus on the people yelling at him in words he didn’t understand, or the screams of children he didn’t know, or the hand around his that lingered far longer than it needed to; Alexei ripped out his pass and swiped it frantically through the reader.
He cried with relief when the green light blinked back at him. Someone had forgotten to lock down the elevator. Alexei slammed his fist against the down button. He needed to fix what he’d done. He needed to deal with Grigori. And then…
And then…
Alexei turned his head sharply as a shadow rose over them. The serpent hissed as it barreled forward, angling directly for the doors. People were screaming again, and this time Alexei joined in, pleading “close faster, close faster, close faster!” to the doors. Flesh slapped against metal. The girl that had followed them stretched her hand out, and the tendrils of gore retracted, almost as if burned. He watched in amazement as she flung her hand just as the elevator doors thumped closed. Lights blinked rapidly above them.
Everyone let out a collective sigh.
English mumbled between them, and hands searched bodies. Alexei didn’t need to know what they were saying to understand. He pressed back against the far wall and watched the group reassure themselves that the others were still just fine.
Murray – comfortable, easy, familiar Murray was the one to check on him. “How are you holding up?”
“Fine.” Alexei made sure to push his glasses up; sweat had them slipping down his nose. “I don’t think this is going to work, and we’re going to die, but other than that, I’m okay.” He saw the child watching them, her eyes big and round, searching for something he couldn’t identify. “Hello.” Alexei held up his hand in greeting.
The girl didn’t seem at all ashamed to be caught out staring. Instead, she cleared her throat. “Hel…luo…” The syllables were clumsy on her tongue, in the way that Slavic always sounded from the inexperienced. Murray turned and launched into a quick speech, punctuated by syllables Alexei could understand, with the girl repeating them back. They were doing a language exercise. For his benefit.
After repeating the phrases with a bit more confidence, the girl met his eyes again with more determination. “Hello. My name is Jane.”
Alexei would never admit just how pleased that small act made him feel.
The elevator descended in relative silence after that. It allowed him space to realize every point of failure due to their lack of planning. Even if the base had been told to evacuate, they never did it all at once. They had an order. People hung back, turning things off, setting up barriers, remaining calm. If the guards and scientists knew what was happening outside, then they’d stop coming out, which left who knew how many people still wandering the halls. Alexei twisted his fingers around the hem of his shirt.
At least he didn’t seem to be the only one worrying. Rambo and his… not wife? And not friend? Murray hadn’t explained their relationship, besides them never having sex. They all looked anxious. Jane’s expression was hard to read. Only Murray looked confident, though he wondered how genuine that was. He smiled at Alexei as he watched him out of the corner of his eyes. “So, what are you going to do once we’re done?”
Alexei’s hands stopped. And then never had anything after it when he thought about it. His plan ended about as soon as the keys turned. He couldn’t go home. Grigori probably already branded him a traitor – because he was – and even if he hadn’t, people knew about his year deadline. If he failed, what was he really going back to? “I don’t… I don’t know.” Alexei fretted with his glasses. “I can’t go home. But I don’t know where I would go.”
“You could stay here.” Murray said, blasé.
“I do not trust your government to keep me.” Alexei saw the other’s shooting them suspicious looks. He wished for once they’d be allowed a moment alone.
“I don’t trust your government to keep you, either.” Murray pushed, not unkindly. “I know how to handle mine. I wouldn’t let them do anything to you.” He paused, and his confidence dimmed enough to show the cracks. “-If you wanted to stay.”
Alexei stared at him. Murray wanted him to stay, and he’d be lying if it didn’t sound at least a little enticing. It was selfish; all of it was. To crave something like status, it fed into those class structures they’d fought so hard to abolish. Alexei would be around those that distrusted their neighbor rather than welcomed them. But Alexei found something of a kinship with Murray; his house was packed to the brim in a way he knew, and he chased down his past with vodka, and he let his hand glance past Alexei’s more often than he needed to. Alexei’s fingers twitched once more, before he sneakily peered past Murray. The others were making a point to pretend they weren’t watching, but even if they couldn’t understand them, that didn’t make it safe to properly reach out. He couldn’t watch another Kion. Alexei thought maybe it would be okay though, if Murray was telling the truth.
But in the next breath, he thought of home again, of his Kommunalka, of his mother, of his father’s ashes, of the factories and smog of Podolsk. Alexei felt the ache of homesickness in his breastbone just as fresh as it had been his first night in America. It hurt worse knowing that home would forever remain out of reach now.
The elevator rattled, and the doors opened too soon for him to announce any sort of decision.
Jane took the lead. None of the adults argued with this. Rambo, with his shitty little gun, Ellen Ripley and Bob all shared a pointed look, but didn’t say anything. Alexei assumed he would be the one giving directions, but then again, he couldn’t move things with his mind. The corridors were oddly silent when compared to the chaos up above. How many had died? How many were left?
A sound curled up after them. A soft schlk-schlk that echoed off the walls and made his stomach twist into knots. Alexei watched the girl still, eyes tracking the empty hall. He found Murray’s hand through some mutual instinct. “What is it? What are we doing?” His voice felt like thunder in the silence.
“One or more of those things is down here with us.” Murray mumbled. “And I really have no clue where we’re going. They don’t fill me in on these things.” Someone shushed them as Rambo lifted his gun.
“I don’t think a gun is going to work against that thing.” Alexei hissed, back against the wall as they inched down at the American’s pace. He’d watched his comrade’s fire upon it, and those hadn’t worked. Why would a significantly shittier weapon do anything?
Rambo stopped, tossing a glare over his shoulder. He spoke, and it had no form to Alexei, but he was starting to get a sense of his tone. The words were sharp – Alexei would know the sound of a command in any language – but underneath everything lay a string of fear, plucked and reverberating with each syllable. His eyes were wide with it, though they kept the flame of confidence Alexei had remarked on a few hours ago.
Probably a command to stay silent, and given the guy’s attitude, not a very nice one either. Alexei deigned to listen. They continued once the gunslinger was satisfied, but still at a snail’s pace. Whatever invisible thread tugged Jane along didn’t warn her of dead ends, as Alexei had to direct them off a few, but once they reached a familiar hallway the answer became clear.
They’d been headed for the security room. Well, if someone had just told him, Alexei could have gotten them there in half the time.
Jane shouted something as soon as she opened the door. It sounded like a name, “Jack!” and he could hear someone inside respond in kind, shouting her name as she bustled into the room and the adults, sans Murray, made pinched expressions. When they entered, the operator Alexei expected to see wasn’t there. In his place stood a young woman, straw colored hair hanging near her shoulders and blue eyes wide and wet. She sported a starched white and blue uniform that clearly didn’t fit American Navy standards, smudged and stained with dirt and grime, and more than a few specks of blood. Her eyes slipped past the others and landed on him, only for a moment, before her voice went high and panicky.
Another child, short and bespeckled, hunched close to Jane, speaking low and frantic. No one felt the need to let him in on anything, not even Murray. How had they gotten in here? How had they broached such a heavily armed fortress? It didn’t make sense.
Alexei silently cursed whoever decided it was a good idea to send him over without checking if he actually understood the fundamentals of English. Sure, they’d studied it in school, but he, for all his academic acumen, had deprioritized the lessons. When would little Alexei ever be near people who could speak the tongue? A few commands, a stilted introduction, and the names of a few colors were all that remained. Even now, he’d never been expected to come into contact with any American, stuffed underground and surrounded only by his countrymen, but surely someone, somewhere, would have thought that maybe they should understand some of the basics. It was such a glaring logistical oversight.
Though it was also this exact oversight that had him focusing elsewhere instead of the conversations Alexei couldn’t understand. It was this oversight that let him catch the cluster of pixels moving through the security cameras in the harsh bubbled monitors. It was this oversight that allowed him to draw in a short breath, and announce loudly to the only person who understood, “the bastard is here.”
Murray’s hands clenched at his sides. The other’s fell silent as he crossed the room to stand next to Alexei. “So he did.” He sighed, then turned to address the crowd. Rambo glared down the monitor as the Murray relayed the new problem. Alexei knew he had a similar stormy expression.
The nicest thing Alexei could say about Grigori was that he cared about his assignments, but he’d made it no secret that he did it out of duty rather than care. The scientists were a steppingstone to whatever asset they believed rested beyond that gate, and Grigori cared more about proving himself rather than the implications of what they were doing. Not understanding the science led to impossible deadlines, and when the lab technicians tried to explain the how and the why, Grigori called them excuses. He made this whole excursion far more stressful than it needed to be.
Alexei heard people leaving. The two people who’d been in the room before appeared in one of the monitors, but that wasn’t where his eye tracked. He watched the Key through the grainy monitor. The portal stood steady, firm and horrible in a way it hadn’t in Russia.
Murray sidled up to his left. “What’re you looking at?”
He tapped his finger against the monitor. “I’m trying to figure out how bad it’s going to be when this closes. When the unstable ones closed, there was a shift in pressure. It was never a problem before because the holes weren’t big, but this one…” Alexei tugged at his sleeve. “It will likely cause an implosion. We will need to be careful.”
His companion stared at the monitor thoughtfully before speaking over his shoulder. The dialogue faded to the background for Alexei, buzzing uselessly in his ear before Murray’s hand rested on his shoulder and he turned him towards the rest of the group. “We’re going.”
Dread and uncertainly twined like snakes through his lungs, but Alexei nodded. “Let’s roll out.” It eased only slightly when Murray laughed.
--
If he were forced to sit down and critically analyze everything going on around him, Steve would say that this whole final-guns-blazing-monster-madness thing was actually worse than he’d remembered it being.
Better, sure, than it had been moments ago where they’d been forced to contend with the immediate ecosystem of Hawkins, but far, far worse than fighting one monster and one flayed Billy.
Instead of that, they now had two huge fuck-off monsters, about a dozen extra people to keep track of, and too many injuries to count. Steve watched Jane run off with the promise that she’d stay safe because at the moment he couldn’t properly form a counter argument to ‘I’m going with them to make sure they stay safe!’. Fuck it. He just had to hope, and keep an eye – or a thought – turned toward her.
The large column of Flayer crashed down after Billy, hissing and spitting as he jeered. He ducked by Steve, brow sweat-stained and eyes lit with a life they hadn’t had since high school. “How much longer do we have to do this?!” He yelled over the shouts of the others and the real crackling fire. Mixtures of blood and bits stained every inch of the mall that wasn’t currently on fire.
“I don’t fucking know!” He snapped, black stained bat clenched tight in his hands. Steve’s ears had started to bleed by now and his head was killing him. “Till it’s dead!”
“Real damn helpful!” Billy spat back, then shoved him roughly out of the way of the incoming runner. Over the last fifteen minutes, they’d been reduced to a terrifying game of chicken; when the monsters got too close to a group of people, someone else got its attention so it tried to snap at them instead, repeat ad infinitum. Fireworks were used sparingly now that they were down to their last few, and Kali could no longer conjure as much as she wished any more. It became a game of endurance to see who would drop first, and Steve hated how close they felt to the losing end.
Jack’s thread, having been pretty weak since they’d gotten out of the basement, suddenly started to grow strong again. Terror tugged down his collar as his only warning before yhe door to the stairwell burst open. It swung hard enough to crack against the wall, drawing the attention of the Flayer Snake, or whatever they’d dubbed it. Robin screeched at the sight, only enticing it further as it slithered across the tile towards her and Jack.
There was too much ground to cover, but Steve started running. Annie too. Carol beat him to it. She popped out from behind a plant with one of their remaining rocket fireworks already lit. “Hey! Slimy!” She angled the tip towards the monster. The resulting explosion was deafening, accompanied by shiny purple sparks, and over it soared the creature’s howls. Robin and Jack successfully used the distraction to converge behind the fountain with Steve.
Annie dove for her brother with tears stinging the edges of her eyes. Even from here, he could hear her. “You’re okay! You’re okay, you’re okay!”
“How close are they?” He pressed his back into the concrete, shoulder to shoulder with Robin.
Robin rolled her eyes. “Hello to you too.” She gripped his hand tight, despite her annoyance.
“Hi,” Steve snorted to hide the wetness of his voice, “glad you’re both alive.”
Jack lifted his head from where it was tucked into Annie’s shoulder. “They’re very close to the sound, but I can’t really tell if they’re with it or not. The ground muffles things.” The Flayer Beast had rounded again, tendrils rippling out of its back as it tried to steady itself. “If it helps, I don’t think that guy they saw knows they’re aware of him.”
Steve didn’t get to ask what guy he could possibly be talking about, as the long column of flesh came rolling around again, splitting the group in two. Robin clutched his hand as they ran while Jack disappeared somewhere on the other side. “When this is over, I’m sleeping for thirty hours straight.” She bemoaned, nails dug into his wrist.
“You and me both.” He choked up on the grip of his bat. “I swore this was easier last time.” They tossed themselves behind one of the escalators, pressing back under the slope as Tommy flew past with a handful of pop-its and a battle cry. Steve sought out Jane again, still alive and not overly scared on the other end of their connection. “Where are the-“
Someone screamed his name; it sounded like Max.
“Go.” Robin shoved his shoulder.
The main walker had pinned them down in one of the corners. Will held tight to Mike who clung to Dustin, and Lucas shielded all of them, aiming his wrist rocket like his life depended on it. Max stood on the other side, searching for him.
Steve yelled, a jeer in an attempt to get its attention, but the beast didn’t turn. It didn’t even acknowledge him. Their tactic no longer worked. He didn’t know what exactly possessed him in that moment, but they were right by the smoldering remains of the truck, and his bat was wooden, so
You know what hurts these things
it was an easy answer. The flames caught after a few heart pounding seconds, and Steve chucked it with all his might, praying that his aim was just as true as it had always been.
The bat wedged easily into the mushy folds along its back. The Mind Flayer reared with a shriek that had him slapping his palms over his ears, but he finally had its attention. Steve saw its head thrash around along with several tendrils that he remembered very vividly digging into a previous Hargrove. They were aimed at him now.
Somewhere behind him, another catastrophe was happening as Chrissy screamed bloody murder, but he could really only take this one crisis at a time.
Steve jumped back as the first limb dove, only to slam back first into another that snaked around with his movement. Sticky muscle coiled around his chest and started to wriggle deeper, reaching for his heart as acid ate away the fabric and skin. It tore him from the ground in frustration, leaving him without purchase. Steve had so carelessly thrown his only weapon away. He remembered how it had eaten away at his friends in one of the loops, so using his hands was out of the question. The best – the only, really – thing that he could do was put his effort into stilling the parts of the mass that touched him. It couldn’t crush him and it couldn’t dissolve him, but that also meant it couldn’t drop him either.
Steve only got smudges of what was happening around him. He saw that the kids were no longer in the corner. In one violent swing, he could make out the large snake-like creature bandying about, and Billy and Tommy running alongside each other, making erratic gestures. His stomach felt like soup and his body sung with nausea as the Mind Flayer whipped him around again and again, throwing on a few more tendrils as if he wouldn’t just lock those away too until his head felt on the verge of bursting. Steve was locked in a coffin of ligaments and fat, muscle and ground up bone. He wished he could throw up.
Jane panicked somewhere deep below the earth, but it wasn’t directed at him. It mixed with the rest of his slurry of thoughts, quickly growing in weight and ferocity until panic was all Steve could feel. Then anger. Anger swirled around, but she was alive, and the lack of sorrow or grief kept him hopeful.
“Steve! Let it go!” Someone cried, drawing him back into a body composed more of pain rather than person. Was that Tommy? Eddie? Nancy?
Whoever,
Let it go.
it didn’t matter. Steve squeezed his eyes shut and allowed the Flayer to bite back into him.
He saw a blurry bulk slam into the Flayer through the gaps of the limbs holding him. It rocked back like it had been hit by a train, and the tendrils went slack, sending Steve toppling to the floor. Pain cracked up his hip, but hands were on him before he could process beyond the spinning and the nausea. Wild curls and shining glasses hovered over him, and Steve heard himself mumble what sounded like “I thought I told you to stay safe” while Eddie just laughed.
“And I told you to be careful, but you didn’t listen to me either.” Rings cut into his skin, grounding Steve as he was pulled back from the shifting, twisting form above him, Barb doing most of the work. Billy and Tommy came running around the stumbling trunk legs that were trying to keep it standing. Though it made his head spin, Steve tried to look around to see where everyone else had landed. Groups of people were spread around the lower half of the wing; Nancy clinging to her shotgun, supporting a bleeding Chrissy, Max holding onto Lucas who held onto Mike, Will, Dustin all in one long chain, Carol securing Tommy to her hip, Jonathan hoisting a bloody fire extinguisher by his side, Annie and Jack so close they might as well have been one unit, Robin hopping over a row of ripped up plants to get to them, Kali surrounded by her gang. Even some of the remaining Russians were creeping out, harried and confused as they were. Jane no longer felt frantic; she’d cracked into buoyant joy that felt at odds to the sight before him.
The Mind Flayer had finally finished distributing the sudden excess weight, climbing towards the ceiling in its new complete state. Crackling firelight bounced off every twitching muscle, every tooth and bulging bloodshot eye as they rearranged through viscera and fat. Steve wobbled unsteadily to his feet now that Barb was back to supporting Eddie. He didn’t have anything to fight with. A little magic and a lot of hope, but nothing else, and he’d be damned if he let it get any closer.
It opened a circular mouth to hiss at them.
The lights around them sputtered to life like lightning, kicking with a ghost of life that they shouldn’t have, and a feeling twined its way up from the base of Steve’s spine to the top of his head. It screamed wrong wrong wrong and if he hadn’t been staring it down so intently, Steve didn’t think he would notice the Mind Flayer take a half step backward.
Meat began to peel off its shoulders. There was no other word for the action taking place in front of him as gobs of the thing spattered against the tile. The Mind Flayer reared back with a growl, but as it tried to charge, its legs locked up and melted into useless puddles. What remained behind was a phantom, black smoke that kept its form but made little impact.
“What’s happening to it?” Barb watched with wide eyes. The muscle that hit the ground was no different than the muscle of a corpse, unresponsive and festering.
“The portal.” Relief flooded up his throat even as the remaining creature twisted and fought to keep itself together. That’s where Jane’s joy came from. “I think- I think they got it.” The Mind Flayer, the real thing, not the body it constructed, drifted back and forth at a frenetic pace. It was like Steve could feel its panic clouding the air as its body collapsed. Or, wait…
Something screamed, high and horrid, and deeply wounded. That was… the Flayer. Screaming, like a person. Now it was just smoke. Holes burned through its form, and then…
And then, nothing.
Just a bunch of stinking rotted meat that would never move again.
Steve let out a shaky disbelieving breath. The mall shook ominously, and through a film of cellophane he remembered an explosion and collapse, but right now he was so high on victory that he didn’t care. “We… we did it.” Steve laughed, throwing his remaining energy into it. Battered, bruised, but alive for the third time in a row. Seven times, really, if Steve was counting fairly. “We did it! It’s over!” Not completely, but just this, just this, and that was enough. “Guys-“ He turned, grin practically splitting his face.
There was no one behind him. Only the fire flickering merrily, and the glass ceiling that showed a pale moon.
His smile dimmed. Wrong, wrong, wrong wrong wrong-
The first clock chime tolled through the empty mall.
It’s been a long time, Seven.