Chapter Text
It was November 6th, 1987. Officially four years after Will Byers had gone missing and the Upside Down had snuck its way into their world. Three years after they had gotten the Mind Flayer out of him. Two years after the Battle of Starcourt. One year after Vecna revealed himself to them.
Vecna was gone. For good this time.
But that didn’t mean it was over.
The military was still pissed at them for meddling in their affairs, but thankfully Dr. Owens was handling them. “You kids have done enough,” he had said, and he was right. Hopper had forbid them from meddling with the military, and instead assigned them to searching the base to make sure all instances of the Upside Down were destroyed.
Which is what led Dustin to where he was now, cleaning out Dr. Kays office. Steve and Suzie both had insisted on coming with him, but Dustin had gotten them away by saying he needed some alone time. It wasn’t a lie, he would like some alone time to process the fact that it wasn’t actually over, but the real reason he wanted to be alone was due to a curiosity door he had yet to open.
Quite literally.
When they had first raided the place, he had noticed a door off the side of the office, locked by a keycard. He had no time to try and unlock it then, but now he had both time and the doctor’s keycard.
Dustin hesitated right as he was about to swipe the card. A part of him was terrified what he could find. Another gateway to the Upside Down? A pack of Demodogs? An actually-not-dead Vecna? He shook himself out of his thoughts, not allowing himself to stop a moment longer before sliding the card.
The door unlocked, and he grabbed the handle with a tight grip. He allowed himself one moment to breathe, before tugging the door open and stepping in. His eyes were subconsciously slammed shut, still scared of what he would see if he opened them, but he forced himself look and see-
…Two bassinets?
Dustin blinked a few times, wondering if it was an illustration. There was no way he was seeing this right. He carefully crept forward, moving to peek inside, and his heart almost stopped. They weren’t empty. There was a baby inside both of them. With shaking hands, he tugged his walkie out of his trench-coat, pressing down on it and whispering words he could barely force out.
“Hey, guys,” He started, his eyes carefully examining the babies for any injuries. “I found something you’re gonna wanna see, over.”
Immediately, the walkie crackled to life, and Mike’s voice rang through. “Dustin, what did you find? Over.”
“Is it Upside Down related? Over,” Will’s voice came out next, laced with anxiety. Dustin could practically hear him fidgeting with whatever was in his hands.
“Should I get Hopper?” Jane’s voice was a relief to his ears, a subtle reminder to himself that she wasn’t dead after the stunt she tried to pull. “Over,” She quickly added.
“I don’t think we need Hopper, and I’m about 90% sure it’s not Upside Down related,” He started cautiously, bending down to pick up one of the babies in a one-arm carry. “I’m in Dr Kays office,” He let out a shaky breath, gently rocking the child. “And I found two babies.”
Silence rang out over the walkie, and Dustin was terrified they had lost signal at the worst time, before Lucas’ voice reached his ears.
“I’m two hallways down. I’ll be right there.”
Dustin felt sure enough that help was coming to set the walkie down and fully look at the baby in his arms. The babies eyes were closed, and Dustin had no way of telling if it was a boy or a girl. The only thing he knew was what he could see, which was that the baby in his hands had darker skin and the baby in the bassinet was lighter.
He heard footsteps behind him and turned around to see Lucas standing in shock. “Holy shit, you weren’t kidding,” He muttered, rushing in to gently pick up the other baby. Dustin shook his head, going back to looking over the baby in his arms.
They were both dressed in white garments, which made Dustin suspicious. It reminded him too much of what they had first found Jane wearing. With a hunch he hoped to prove wrong, he gently looked on the baby’s left wrist and almost lost it.
“Lucas,” He turned to look at the other boy, showing him the tattoo he had found. ‘019’. Lucas’ eye’s widened, but he got the message and turned over the other baby’s wrist, revealing a ‘020’ tattoo.
Dustin quickly grabbed the walkie again, not able to keep the panic out of his voice. “Guys, Code Red! The babies are subjects, I repeat, the babies are subjects!”
“Subjects?!” Max shouted through the walkie. She was still at the radio tower with Vickie and Suzie, but she had been hooked up with a long distance walkie.
“We found tattoos on their wrists. 019 and 020.” Dustin looked twice, thrice, to make sure it was actually there. “Get Ms Byers, or Jonathan, or Nancy, or anyone who knows what to do with babies!” He glanced over at his friend, who held the baby against his chest. They shared a look, before leaving the room as quickly as they could without disturbing the babies in their arms.