* Sorry for the long delay. Had a very hectic few weeks. Work had a major breech and everything had to be done old school till we got things back in order. Then I had to work overtime this week. I'm so exhausted. I'm trying to finish this book for all my readers. I think I have about 2 maybe 3 more chapters to go. Not sure yet. But hope you're enjoying it so far, and I really hope you'll like my new characters I've added in this chapter. Lots of love. ~Song~*

Amelia rests her head against Jim's chest as they rock back and forth in the back of the truck.  Murray keeps on driving on back to Yuri's so called Warehouse.  He claims he had a way out of here, to get them out of Russia and back to America, hopefully another plane.  She just wishes they were home already.  Her stomach grumbles as hunger was building again. Jim looks down at Amelia as she lies against his chest, safe in his arms where she belongs.  He worried over time about her.  Wondering where she was.  What she was doing.  Did she move on from him?  Did she move out of Hawkins? Things like that.  Seeing her here for him, that tells him that she still loves him.  His love for her never faded, but grew stronger over time.  Gave him hope for life.  To live.  For her.  There were times where he just wanted to give up, thinking she could do so much better than his pathetic self.  But...at night in his cell...he could almost hear her voice calling out to him.  Whispering him to come home to her. Keep going and find a way back to her. 

Finally, they made it back to the town and arrived near a warehouse next to the chapel.  Murray parks the truck right in front of it and, once Jim untied Yuri, he was the first one out of the truck with a grunt.  He guides them all towards the warehouse with a crooked grin.

"Heh, come on. This way." Yuri says as he walks towards the large doors, Enzo meets him with a glare.

"If I get a whiff of any funny business, smuggler...I will not hesitate to kill you.  In fact...I am just looking for a reason.  Understand?" Enzo grits his teeth as he speaks furiously in Russian.

Yuri turns and scoffs at Enzo, "Are you a parrot, cop? You keep repeating the same thing."  He snorts in Russian then turns towards Jim, "You were trapped in a cell with this dull man and you didn't take opportunity to smother him."  He tuts then turns towards the door and yelps in a high shriek when Norman stood in his way. 

Enzo and Jim both jump in alert as Enzo points his gun at him. Jim pushes Amelia behind him, protecting her from any harm.  Norman snorts as he looks at the new humans before him.

"Looks like he got you what you wanted.  Which one is your mate?"  He asks Amelia.

Jim and Enzo both frown in confusion then turns towards Amelia.

"Don't worry, he's on our side." Amelia says as she moves around Jim, "Norman, this is Jim.  He's the father." She says as she places her hand on Jim's chest and strokes her belly. 

Norman leans closer towards Jim and sniffs with a loud snort, "Hmm, he has a good heart.  Heart of a warrior." He nods and turns to look down at Amelia, "You have chosen wisely." He looks over towards Enzo. "And this one?  Friend or enemy, like the worm?"

Enzo frowns and looks at Amelia as she scoffs, "Still debating.  But he helped Jim so...he's good."  She says and chuckles at Enzo's breath of relief. 

"Very well." Norman says and glares down at Yuri.  "And the worm?" He growls softly and leans down closer, making Yuri whimper. 

"Uh...if I may...um, Norman, was it?" Murray stutters as he holds a hand up.

Norman turns and looks at the human with a nod, "Yes."

"Uh..." Murray stutters in fear, "Well, the worm as you call him, he's sadly our only way out of this place.  So...I understand how badly you wish to eat him, but...we don't belong here...."

"And...we just really want to go home.  I don't like him either, but if he can get us back to our families...." Joyce sighs with a defeated look.

A rumbling growl vibrates in Norman's chest as he gives Yuri an annoyed look.  He reaches and grabs him by his shirt, yanking him closer till he was nose to nose with Norman.  Yuri yelps as he looks at Norman with wide eyes. 

"You better get them all home or you will be a feast for my family...in the Underworld." Norman growls lowly.  "Got it?"

Yuri nods, "You have my word." He gives Norman an innocent smile. 

Norman scoffs and drops him, making him yelp again as he thuds to the ground, "He smells like shit."

Amelia scoffs, "Well, we did track through the sewers to get out of the prison."

Yuri grunts as he gets to his feet and moves away from Norman with caution as he unlocks the door and leads them inside with a proud smile as he presents them....a helicopter?

Yuri walks towards the helicopter and vocalizes, "Beautiful, yes?" He grins as he turns towards them all when the door slams shut.

Everyone looks at him in disbelief, "Please tell me this is another poor joke." Murray begs.

Joyce storms up to him, "You said you had a plane. A plane!" She slaps his arm.

"I'm this close to allowing Norman to eat you, Yuri." Amelia glares as she pinches her fingers together.

"No, no, no. I... I told you I could fly you home. And Katinka can fly you home, little bird. She was named Katinka after my first lover." Yuri laughs as he gestures at the helicopter. "Katinka also had very beautiful, very round buttocks. Uh, mu... much like this." He turns and hugs the helicopter while he laughs wheezing at the nasty memories he has with his past lover.

Everyone glares at Yuri, especially Enzo, "This cannot fly us to America."

Yuri frowns as he lets go of the helicopter and faces Enzo, "Why not? As long as winds are not too strong and your military friends do not shoot us out of sky, we can make it to the coast. There, while we refuel, we skin dip in ice-cold water and wash off this muck. Then we fly her rest of the way. Happy ending." He grins.

Norman was about to take a step forward, but Amelia holds her hand up, "Not yet, Norm. Not yet." She scoffs and sighs as she begins to feel very uncomfortable.

"Okay, what is the furthest Katinka has ever flown?" Joyce asks.

"For me, she is still a virgin." Yuri grins and chuckles while everyone looks at him in disbelief, "Uh, not real Katinka. Goodness, no." He laughs wheezily, "That Katinka, no. But this Katinka, pretty much unspoiled. But I'm sure she will soar when given a chance. She just need little tune-up." He says as he pats the tool box.

Murray scoffs and shrugs at Jim, "I did warn you, Jim."

"Shall we let Norman eat him now?" Enzo asks and Norman growls in affirmation.

"Tempting, but..." Amelia sighs and rubs her belly while turning towards Jim, "What about Owens? He... He's gotta have contacts or spies here that could help us."

Jim frowns in curiosity and turns towards Enzo, "Can we do that? Can we make a call to the States?"

Enzo thinks about this, and shrugs unsurely, "Well, depends but...we can try. Where is your phone?" He asks Yuri.

Yuri guides them into the chapel and Enzo goes to the red phone to make a call. Speaking in Russian to the person on the line. After chattering for a few minutes, he looks over towards Jim, "The number?"

"It's 775-305-3450." Jim says, keeping that number memorized in his head.

Enzo translates the number, "Da. Spasibo." Enzo hangs up the phone and turns towards them while Jim, Amelia, and Joyce all frown at him in confusion.

"What are you doing?" Joyce asks.

Enzo scoffs, "How exactly do you think this works? They will make the call for us, and then they will call us back." He explains.

Amelia sighs and sits on a crate, her ankles were hurting again, "How long's that gonna take?"

Enzo shrugs, "Five minutes. Five hours. Five days. Who knows? And when we do get the call, assume the KGB will be on the other line, listening to everything you say. So, I suggest talking in code. Say the wrong thing and they will be on us like flies on sh¡t. Welcome to the Soviet Union."

Jim sighs and rubs his head. One complication to another. He moves and sits next to Amelia and begins to rub her back as he sees she was becoming uncomfortable.

"I'm hungry." Murray mutters.

"Me, too." Joyce sighs.

"We're all hungry. But doubt we can survive with just peanut butter." Enzo scoffs as he brushes past a crate full of jars of peanut butter.

Amelia grunts as she picks up her bag, "Who says we just got peanut butter?" She snorts and begins to dig through her bag.

"Amelia, I seriously lo..." Murray stutters as he sees Jim's glare. "I mean, I like you. I like her." He corrects himself.

Amelia giggles and pats Jim's hand, "Calm down, Grizzly."

Jim scoffs and chuckles at his old nickname. He missed that. Just as much as he missed her. Amelia sighs as she pulls out a white box and hands it to Murray. Murray happily takes it and sighs at the warmth. Amelia hands Joyce a box. Then she gives Jim one. He sniffs and moans at the scent.

"Oh, my god. Is that your roast beef stew?" He was drooling already.

Amelia smiles at him, "Your favorite. Plus, I don't know what it was like in that place and...I don't if I wanna know, but I have a feeling you might not be used to solid foods yet.  So...take it easy till you get your strength back.  Okay?"

Jim smiles down at her, she's always so caring and kind.  One of the things he loves about her.

Amelia reaches to grab another box to hand it to Enzo. Enzo frowns at her as she holds it out for him, "Go ahead. It's food." She says.

Enzo carefully takes it and opens it. He sniffs the familiar aroma, "Is that...it's..." He exclaims in Russian as he opens the box. "It is. It's Solyanka. How..."Jim gives him a knowing look and chuckles as Enzo laughs, "You have warned me of the surprises she carries, American. I never believed you...till now."

Amelia laughs and smiles, but her smile falls as she looks over to Yuri, who leans over to see if there was something for him. Despite how he betrayed them, she couldn't let him starve, and he needed strength t0 work on the helicopter. She scoffs and grunts as she gets to her feet and walks towards him.

"You gotta be kidding! You're seriously going to give him food?" Murray exclaims.

Amelia holds a box and begins to hand it him, but yanks it back with a warning finger, "Try anything and Norman will eat you. This isn't a gesture, this is to give you strength so you can work on the helicopter and get us home. Okay?"

Yuri nods and holds his hands out like an eager boy waiting for his gift. Amelia scoffs and places the box in his hands, "Thank you, little bird." He grins and wheezes in laughter as he opens the box. He frowns at the sight, "What is this?"

"It's Borscht. With cow's tongue." Amelia gives him an innocent smile and pats his arm, "Bon appetite."

Murray and Enzo both burst into laughter as Yuri gives her a displeased look. Joyce grimaces but enjoys her meal. Jim was gobbling down all the food from him box, nearly in tears. God, her cooking was better than he remembered. He stifles sobs as he savors the flavor. Amelia pulls out her own box and a thermos.

"I have hot tea, as well." She says and pulls out several mugs for everyone.

Yuri begins to eat his meal, grimacing as the spoon gets closer and closer to his mouth. He grunts as he takes a bite of the Borscht and...his eyes widen in surprise. It was delicious! He happily eats his meal, making yummy sounds.

"Little bird!" He exclaims in Russian, "American, you are one lucky son of a bitch to have such a woman who can cook like this!"

"For once, I agree with the smuggler. Your love...is a wonderful cook." Enzo says and exclaims as he enjoys his meal. "This bread tastes like you pulled it out of the oven!" He moans.

Jim grins and looks over towards Amelia as she eats, "Yeah, I'm pretty lucky."

Amelia looks over towards him and gives him a small smile, happy that he was safe with her. And they'll be home soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, they made it to 'The War Zone'...and everyone looks around in shock. The place was crowded with people buying guns, ammo, weapons left and right. Arming themselves to the teeth.

"Better stay down, dude." Theo warns Eddie.

Eddie moves and hides far in a corner.

"So much for avoiding angry hicks."

"Let's be... fast." Nancy says.

"Yep." "Definitely."

Theo grabs Dustin before he could jump out, "Hang on a minute. Dustin, Max, Lucas. You stay in the RV. If this is all for Eddie, this is for you guys, too. Remember, Jason is looking for you both." He says in a warning tone.

Dustin scoffs, but sighs as he slumps back into his seat with Lucas.

"Protect your woman." Theo says softly to Lucas and pats his arm.

Max frowns and scoffs at him, giving Lucas a glare to say something, but he remains quiet. Earning an awkward look from Dustin.

Nancy, Steve, Robin, Erica, and Theo all walk into the store and head towards the carts. The group spread out and begins to shop through the crowds. Theo and Erica took the shelves of ammo. Theo basically knocked almost all off the shelf and into the cart. Erica frowns when she watches him grab a knife.

"Why the knife?" She asks. "I seriously doubt a little knife is going to do anything good against something like Vecna or an army of bats." She snorts.

Theo scoffs, "Oh, this? No, no, no, this isn't for fighting. Think of it as a phone."

Erica frowns, "A phone?"

Theo turns towards her and holds his hand up, "Only way to summon a demon, a small sacrifice." He says as he drags the plastic over his palm.

Erica winces, "Ouch, no, thank you."

Steve and Robin were gathering as much supplies as they could grab. Anything that could be potentially deadly towards an otherworldly being.

"How many of these do you think we need?"

"Five or six."

Robin turns and freezes when she sees a familiar face in the store. It was Vicki, scanning through several mace cans. Robin sighs in admiration. So close, yet so far away from her. She couldn't breathe when she looked at her. Her heart was pounding and her face was heating up. She wanted to go to her so badly, but her feet wouldn't work and her fear overpowered her. 'What if' was all she could think.

"What are you gonna do? Stand and gawk?" Steve scoffs and elbows her to go.

He was right. Why was she just standing there? What has she got to lose? They were on the verge of saving the world and it's possible that some of them may not survive. She takes a deep breath and begins to walk towards Vickie, but freezes as she watches a guy grab Vickie from behind, making her shriek and laugh. Her heart shatters at the sight of Vickie smiling lovingly at the guy.

"Jesus, you scared me." Vickie laughs.

"Whoa. You gonna mace me with that?" The guy scoffs at her.

"If it keeps you in line, yeah." Vickie teases and smiles as the guy leans down and kisses her.

That was the last straw, the kiss. The sight has officially shattered Robin's soul. It was official. Either Vickie was hiding in the closet like most...or she was truly into men and Robin was wrong about her.

"See? Not so scary." The guy smiles at Vickie as the kiss breaks.

Vickie laughs and looks over, catching Robin's heart broken look. Robin turns fast and rushes away. She just had to get away. She vaguely hears Steve trying to stop her.

"Robin. Robin!" Steve sighs, feeling bad for Robin.

Theo grunts when Robin comes rushing towards him, shoving into his shoulder, "What's wrong?" He calls out and frowns at Steve. "What's going on?" He asks.

Steve sighs and shows him, "That's Vickie." He discreetly points. "With her boyfriend."

"Oh." Theo shrugs, not seeing the problem, but it suddenly hits him. "Oh!" He winces. "Ohhhhh." "Ohhhhh" They both say.

"Yeah. That, my friend Theo, is what humans call...'Heartbreak'." Steve sighs in sympathy.

"Oh, boy." Theo sighs and shakes his head, "I'll never understand humans and their denial." He mutters.

Vickie frowns as she watches Robin run away. The guy she came with look over with her, watching the scene with a frown, "Who's that?"

Vickie simply shrugs it off, "Someone from band." She hides her guilt with a smile as she looks up at her boyfriend.

Nancy was checking out the shotguns and picks one up, cocking it as the salesman stands behind the counter, "How much is this?" She asks.

"$120.99, but I'll throw in 20 rounds of buckshot for ya." The salesman says.

Suddenly, Nancy freezes as she sees from the corner of her eye as Jason walks up to the counter, "Hey, can I see this real pretty .357, please?"

The salesman looks over and walks to Jason to open the counter, "Sure thing. Here you go, son."

"Thank you." Jason sighs and looks over to see a familiar face.

Nancy tries to hide herself, but she was caught as she hears Jason say her name.

"Nancy Wheeler. Wouldn't expect to find you here." Jason says in surprise as he walks over towards her.

Nancy grips on to the shotgun tightly as she turns towards him, keeping a straight face, "Yeah, well, it's just... scary times." She says.

Robin and Steve were checking out with their pile. Steve freezes as he sees Jason near Nancy. Theo was walking around grabbing random things that looked like that could cause damage. He looks up as he hears a whistle. Steve was calling him, snapping his fingers to get his attention. Theo frowns and sees Steve and Robin both pointing over. Theo follows where they were pointing at and sees Jason. Erica was pushing their cart around and freezes when she sees Jason's teammates. She tries to go another way, but more were there. She gasps as hands grab her shoulders, but sighs when it was just Theo.

"Count to 30 and go out the back. Don't worry about paying." He whispers.

"Are you crazy? We can't steal." She whispers furiously.

"You wanna deal with them again?" He asks as he points at the Basketball Team.

Erica sighs, "1, 2, 3..."

Theo moves away as she heads towards the back of the store, counting down. He had his eyes on Jason.

"I'm... sorry about Chrissy." Nancy stutters.

Jason sighs and sniffles, nodding as he accepts her sympathy, "Want my advice? Shotguns are not good for much of anything past killing small birds. I mean, they got power, sure, but not much range. And that's just gonna force you into close-range combat, then someone can just grab that barrel like this...and redirect it." He says as he moves too close for her liking. He frowns down at her, "Well, you look nervous." He begins to sense something with her. 

"Like I said, scary times." Nancy says, gulping silently. 

"Now, your brother, he, uh... is he here with you, by chance?" Jason asks. 

Nancy frowns, "Mike?"

Jason nods as he moves closer, "Mike."

Nancy shakes her head, "No." She tries to move around, but Jason stands in her way.

"I only ask because he's... he's in Hellfire, isn't he?" Jason asks.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Nancy shakes her head and tries to move away, but Jason roughly grabs her.

"What about his friends? They here with you?" He asks.

"Would you let go?" Nancy glares at him, but he tightens his grip and speaks more forcefully,"Let go."

Theo snaps his fingers as Erica reaches to '30' and rushes out the back door without drawing any attention or raising any alarms. Theo snatches his hand out and grabs Jason's wrist, tightening it till Jason was wincing in pain.

"I believe the lady said 'let go'." He glares at Jason, shoving his hand away.

Jason clutches his wrist and grunts, "Quite a grip you got there, pal. Friend of yours, Wheeler?" Jason asks.

"I ain't your pal, dickweed." Theo sneers.

"I'm okay, Theo. Let's go." Nancy says as she grabs his arm and drags him behind her while he was giving Jason a death glare. "Thanks." She sighs as they both head towards check-out.

"You're lucky I came. I can smell a lot of rage coming off of him. And paranoia. He's determined to find anyone, anyone who is part of Hellfire to bring Eddie down. Even if it means harming your brother...Dustin...even Lucas."

Nancy swallows nervously at his words, knowing that he was telling the truth. She was glad that Mike was far away from this madness but what will happen when he comes back home? That worries her.

After paying for everything in their carts, they all rush around the store towards the RV while everyone was waiting impatiently for them to come back.

"What the hell is taking so long?" Dustin scoffs.

Lucas and Max perk up in alert as they watch the gang rush towards the RV, "Something's wrong." Max says as she rushes to open the RV door.

"What happened?" Eddie frowns.

"Gotta go. Your old friends are here." Steve rushes inside as he glares past Lucas.

"Shit!" Lucas exclaims.

Everyone basically tosses all the bags and everything that Erica stole into the RV.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Dustin urges Steve to get into the driver's seat.

"I'm going! I'm going! Sit down!" Steve shouts as he starts up the RV.

Theo grabs the last bag and shoves the cart away, hopping into the RV, "Let's go, Hair-boy!" He shouts and grunts as he's thrown to the floor by the impact.

"Hang on." Steve laughs, seeing Theo's face slam on to the floor with a thud.

Steve drives through the parking lot, not missing Jason's face as he stands by and watches them drive away. Luckily, he didn't see the ones he wanted, but he saw Steve driving and Nancy was in the passenger's side. It wasn't enough to raise alarms, but...he had a gut feeling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steve managed to find an empty field, far from town for them to prepare and set up their weapons. Nancy was sawing the shotgun's pistol, taking Jason's advice. Shortening the distance.

"Is this legal?"

"Actually, I think it's a felony." Nancy scoffs as she continues to saw.

"Right." Robin sighs.

"But it guarantees one thing. I won't miss." Nancy states strongly as the metal is finally chopped off. Hitting the ground with a loud clink and thud.

Theo was flipping through Amelia's book, muttering to himself as he measures the meadow he stood upon with everyone as they prepare for the battle. He held a large stick in his hand and stabs it into the grass and dirt, drawing Druid symbols.

Eddie and Dustin were setting up their own weapons of choice. Eddie held a spiked trash can lid. He thrusts it up into the air, testing it's durability.

"How's she feeling?" Dustin asks.

"Light. But durable. Deadly. But reliable." Eddie grins.

Dustin chuckles as Eddie moves and stands like a knight with a dramatic voice, "Hear me now. There will be no more retreating..." He sighs as he drops the drama, "...from Eddie the Banished."

Dustin grins, "Hey, you're really ready for bat-tle." He chortles, "You get it? 'Bat-tle'. B-A-T. No?" He groans when Eddie wasn't laughing, "I thought I had a good one." He sighs in disappointment but frowns when Eddie begins to stalk him. "What are you doing?" Suddenly, Eddie charges at him and the two of them wrestle, "You son of a bitch!" He laughs but shouts when he believes Eddie was reaching for his pants, "No wedgies! No wedgies!"

Both of them were laughing, Eddie sighs and holds Dustin's face, "Never change, Dustin Henderson. Promise me?" He asks.

Dustin grins, "I wasn't planning on it."

Eddie grins back, "Good. Good. Good." He laughs and shoves him away playfully. Thankful he had a friend like Dustin helping him out, but he never expected to be in this situation. Fighting for a world that hates his guts.

Theo sighs and tosses the stick away as he sees the symbols ready. He looks up and sees Eddie and Dustin laughing while they fix more weapons. Lucas and Erica were working on spears. He could hear them chatter from where he stood. Erica teases him like always, but he could see right through them both. They held great care for one another. And he could see that Lucas was seeing it as he catches the fact that Erica has been to every game he's ever been to except the night when he scored the winning basket. But she was always there for him. Even though she denies it.

Theo looks over and sees Steve and Robin chattering about seeing Vickie with her boyfriend at 'The War Zone'. He had to admit, he felt bad for the human female. She was his friend and he didn't like it when his friends were hurt. Physically and emotionally. Steve was trying to figure it out. He and Robin were so sure that Vickie liked girls due to the fact about 'Fast Times'. But Robin was trying to wave it all off because the world could be ending and there were more important things to worry about than bumming about a girl. Soon, they had the Molotov cocktails ready. Now...time to summon some demons.

"Hey." Theo looks up and sees Eddie walking towards him, "So, we're got everything ready." Eddie sighs. "You about to make a few calls?" He asks.

"Yep. Just about."

"Um, can I...can I watch?" Eddie asks.

Theo reaches and grabs the book, making sure he had everything set up, "Yeah, sure. It's cool. Doubt you'll miss it anyway." He scoffs and flips a few pages. "Okay...let's see..." He mutters and angles his eyesight, making sure everything was aligned. He bends down and tilts his head, "Okay, that looks even." He does the same for every corner.

"What exactly are you doing?" Eddie asks as he follows Theo around the symbols.

"You see these symbols?" Theo points as he continues to eye another corner.

Eddie looks down, "You mean the chicken scratches?"

Theo scoffs, "It's Druid for the watchtowers of the four corners of the Earth. When a witch casts spells, he or she much use the watchtowers of the four corners to strengthen the magic of the Goddess. We can't just say, 'Hey, you, demon! C'mere'!" He snorts as Eddie chuckles. "Think of this like a big bullhorn with search lights. I'm guiding them to me."

"Do you think your friends will be willing to fight with us?" Eddie asks, feeling a little unsure about calling in more monsters.

"Well, one way to find out." Theo sighs and straightens up. "Okay, here we go. Normally, it's best to do this at night, but...we don't have time to wait for it to get dark." He takes a deep breath as he holds his book up. Muttering to himself, "Oh, almost forgot." He scoffs and puts the book down and picks up the knife he bought at 'The War Zone'. "Can't do this without blood."

Eddie groans and looks away until Theo chuckles.

"Dude, I can't use my blood. It's gotta be from a human."

"Oh, no! You're not cutting me, dude!" Eddie exclaims.

"No, no, it's gotta be from an innocent." Theo scoffs. "You know, a virgin. Or a child. Or a witch, but since none of us are witches...gotta go with either a virgin or a child."

Eddie begins to have an idea and looks over his shoulder, "Hey, Dustin!"

Suddenly, Dustin was shouting and struggling as Steve and Eddie holds him still, "You assholes! Son of a bitch!" Dustin continues to call them every name he knew.

"Sorry, it requires innocent blood to summon demons. And I'm not cutting Erica." Theo states.

"Thank you, Theo." Erica smirks.

"It won't hurt. Stop being a baby." Theo scoffs.

"Easy for you to say, dick!" Dustin shouts.

Theo rolls his eyes and grabs his hand, holding it still to cut Dustin's finger.

"OW! Son of a bitch!"

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Theo laughs and grabs a bowl to squeeze more blood out.

"Ow! Kiss my ass, Theo."

"Too much ass to kiss." Theo snorts and let's go of his hand, "Okay, I'm good. Let him go."

When Eddie and Steve lets go of Dustin, Dustin punches Steve's arm and tries to swipe at Eddie, but he grabs him in a headlock, "Not cool!" Dustin grunts.

"Just a small sacrifice in saving the world, Henderson." Eddie grins and grunts as he lets him go.

Dustin grumbles and sighs as he straightens his hat to watch with everyone. Theo mixes Dustin's blood with several herbs and oils from his bag. He swirls the bowl around, mixing everything as evenly as he could. He scoops up a handful of the mixture and drips it on every corner as he walks around to every symbol.

"Ancients of the North, Guards of the Earth, hear my call.
"Ancients of the East, Guards of the Wind, hear my call.
"Ancients of the South, Guards of the Fire, hear my call.
"Ancients of the West, Guards of the Water, hear my call."

Placing the bowl down, Theo moves and stands in the middle of the corners and spreads his arms out, calming his breathing as he welcomes the ancients to his alter.

"Mother Goddess, holy divine,
Open the doors of space and time
I summon the darkness
I summon the shadows
Draw down the moon and open the doors..."

Suddenly, the Earth begins to rumble under everyone's feet, making them stumble where they stood.  Eddie shouts as Nancy and Steve grabbed each other out of instinct.  Robin shouts and falls backwards with Erica and Lucas. 

"Crawl from the deep, let out your mighty roar..." Theo's voice echoes eerily as he moves away from the corners as the ground begins to crack open. 

The Earth begins to collapse in the middle of the Druid symbols that Theo drew, opening a gate before them all.  Robin, Lucas, and Erica watch with wide eyes as they hear growling.

"Rise from the depths of the cold ground and help us defeat the evil of Upside Down.  ARISE!"

Groaning loudly, a dark blue clawed hand thrusts out from the gate and slaps over the grass.  Growling, a tall, figure crawls out of the gate.  It was obvious to see it was a male.  He stood over 6 feet, hunched over a little.  His long black hair brushed past his pointed ears.  His nose was long and pointed as well.  His eyes were icy gray.  Dustin yelps when another hand bursts from the gate, but this one was thicker.  A large, plump demon that carried red skin.  His belly jiggled as he moved.  He was pudgier that the skinny one.  His nose was round, his eyes were black as night.  He seemed to carry a more...brawn than brains vibe.

The two demons stood before everyone and scans around their surroundings.  Grunting softly in confusion.  The big red one scratches his curly black hair as he frowns. 

Theo chuckles and shakes his head as he moves to stand before them both, "Psy!" He shouts in happiness.

"Tamish!" The tall, blue demon exclaims, recognizing that scent, and they both rush and hug each other. "You sneaky, son of a bitch! So, you're the one who's calling us so damn early?" He pats Theo's back.

Theo laughs and let's go, "Yeah, sorry about that.  And it's Theo now.  I'm dropping the identity of Tamish." He scoffs.

Snorting in loud laughter, the red demon throws his head back as he chortles at Theo.  Psy laughs as well, "I agree with Thud. Can't believe you...of all demons in the Underworld...is turning towards the good side." Psy snorts and exclaims as he sees Theo's new look, "And you've become human?"

"By choice.  I have to admit...it's not that bad.  I do kick ass though in my true form.  I'm so glad you guys heard my call though." Theo sighs.

Psy pats Theo's chest, "Who can resist? Please tell me we did hear that right...you're looking for a fight?"

Theo sighs and nods, "A great evil is taking over the Underworld in this town, my new home.  And he's got his eyes on Amelia, my companion."

Psy stiffens and Thud growls lowly, that told everyone that they both knew Amelia well and were friends to her, "Amelia?  This evil wants her?  Why?" Psy asks.

Theo points at his head, "Look into my memories, you'll see."

Psy reaches out, but so does Thud. Psy slaps his hand away and glares at him, "Thud! You don't even know how to read minds."

Thud grumbles and stomps away, pouting as he crosses his arms. He looks over his shoulder and sticks his black tongue out. Psy sighs and raises his hand over Theo's head. His eyes roll back as he searches through his memories. He could see it all. How Theo and Amelia arrived in Hawkins, the friends they made. Psy frowns as he sees Amelia with a human male. She found love, a mate. The he could see the creatures from Upside Down. Demogorgons and Demo-Dogs. Mind Flayer. Vecna. He frowns as the image of the Vecna comes to his mind. This was a being he never ran into before.

Psy lowers his hand and frowns at Theo, "You're right. Very evil. So, you're calling this...being...Vecna?"

Dustin holds a hand up, "Uh, yeah's that's correct."

Suddenly, all three demons snap their eyes towards the voice. Psy and Thud were both surprised to see several humans around them. Dustin gulps loudly with wide eyes. Everyone watches the demons with caution and fear.

Thud grunts and growls as he turns towards them. Theo holds his hand up, stopping him.

"Easy, big guy. These are my friends." Theo says. "Everyone. This is Psy." Theo pats his shoulder and pats Thud's, "And Thud."

Everyone gives the demons a meekly wave while Psy nods at them all, "What's up?"

Thud simply grunts, making them flinch, but Theo laughs it off, "Don't worry about Thud. He's a good guy. A little slow, but once he's in the battlefield, he's a hell of a fighter."

"Like the Hulk." Dustin snorts.

Max and Lucas both roll their eyes at him while Erica sighs in disbelief, "Nerd." She mutters softly.

Thud chortles, "Hulk smash." His deep voice vibrates around them, making them tremble in fear. But Dustin exclaims in shock, pointing at Thud with wide eyes.

"He knows comics?!"

Psy snorts at the little human who looked at his friend in excitement, "I read them to him. When a 'path' opens, he likes to steal books. Especially the ones with a lot of pictures. Comics have become his favorite."

Thud grunts excitedly and punches his fist, making soft booms, "Hulk smash!" He chortles.

"Easy, Big guy." Psy pats Thud's back. "He's a big Hulk fan."

Dustin grins, "Me too. I also like Spider-Man. And X-Men."

Thud grunts excitedly, "Thud likes human." He walks over towards Dustin, making him flinch. He snorts loudly.

"Uh, what is he doing?" Dustin frowns as he holds on to his hat tightly as he feels it trying to fly off his head at every sniff Thud was giving.

"It's how Demons memorize people and others. Our scent. He's memorizing you." Theo explains.

Thud grunts as he moves back and looks down at Dustin, "Pancakes."

Dustin frowns and sniffs his shirt. Psy and Theo laughs at his reaction. Thud snorts in laughter and pats Dustin's back, but accidentally sends him to the ground with a painful grunt.

"Ow!"

"Easy, Thud. They're fragile. Gentle. Okay?" Psy states and moves towards the others. Sniffing them one by one. "Hi, nice to meet you." Sniff...sniff... "Hey." Sniff...sniff... "Hi." Psy stops in front of Nancy and studies her, "Hmm..." He looks into her eyes. "This one...has really been affected. I can see the fear in your eyes. Not fear of me...but of that." He points out into the distance. "That Vecna...right?" He asks.

Nancy looks at him in surprise but tries to hide it. She nods, "Yes. He..." She swallows roughly, "He showed me..."

Psy lifts his hand, "Let me see."

Nancy flinches, watching the demon's clawed hand hover over her head and gasps as she feels him invade her mind. Flashbacks of Vecna holding her trapped in the chair rushes in her mind. Psy's eyes roll back as he looks through memories.

"NANCY!!!"

"Tell Eleven..."

"NO!!!"

Psy frowns at the voices echo everywhere in his mind as he watches the memories. He flinches as he watches a whole town come apart as a giant gate opens. Creatures and monsters spilling out. Killing humans everywhere. He could feel the girl's sadness when he could see a family...dead. This must be her family. Vecna was threatening to kill her family. He slowly drops his hand and looks down at the girl as tears form in her eyes.

"Now, I see...why you carry fear...and guilt." Psy nods and turns towards Theo, "This Vecna is seriously badass. Powerful as well." He walks over towards them.

Nancy sighs and sniffles as she wipes away her tears.

"Extremely. But it takes everything he's got to kick a demon out of his realm. He won't be powerful enough to take on three of us. In fact, I believe he won't see it coming." Theo says with a grin.

"Honestly, it's been quite a while since we've had a good fight. We're definitely in. Right, Thud?" Psy looks over to his friend.

"Battle. Fight." Thud grunts excitedly.

"It's been a very long time since we've kicked ass together." Theo grins. "Bash Brothers are back." He holds his hand out.

"The meanest." Psy places his hand on top of his.

"The baddest." "The baddest." Theo and Psy both say as Thud places his hand on both hands.

"Yeah!" Thud grins and grabs the back of their heads, head-butting them with a loud thud.

Theo and Psy both stumble but laugh as they grip their heads.

Steve watches in disbelief with them all, "Well, guess we got them on our side. Time to come up with the battle plan." He sighs as they watch the three demons excitedly shove each other, cheering that the trio was back together again.

Now, the gang had three demons on their side. They just hope it'll be enough to bring Vecna down. They had the firepower, they had demonic power, and Eleven was on the way home. Now...it's time to figure out a plan.