"Jesus!" Eddie shouted as the group enters the shed. He had thought someone had found him.

"Delivery service," Dustin said while a wide smile. Everyone else waved awkwardly.

***

"So we got, uh, some good news and some bad news," Dustin told Eddie as the group sat around, watching him munch down on handfuls of dry cereal. "How do you prefer it?"

"Bad news first, always," Eddie replied, washing his cereal down with Yoohoo -- a drink Ivy had despised. She had bad memories with it from drinking far too much as a child.

"All right. Bad news. We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, and they're definitely looking for you."

"Also they're pretty convinced you, uh, killed Chrissy," Ivy added, a sympatheic smile on her face.

"Like, 100% kind of convinced," Max said.

"And the good news?" Eddie asked.

"Your name hasn't gone public yet," Robin told him. "But if we found out about you, it's a matter of time before others do. And once that gets out, everyone and their shallow minded mother is gonna be gunning for you."

"Hunt the freak, right?" Eddie said, staring at a spot on the floor in front of him.

"Exactly," Ivy said.

"So, before that happens, we find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence," Dustin said, quickly.

"That's all, Dustin? That's all?" Eddie sarcastically asked.

"Yeah, no, that's pretty much it."

"Listen, Eddie, I know everything Dustin is saying sounds totally delusional, but we've actually been through this before," Ivy told the man in front of her. "A few times, actually. Robin only once, though."

"Yeah, mine was more human-flesh based, theirs was more smoke-related, but bottom line is, collectively, I really feel we got this," Robin explained, adding far more detail than needed, but that's just how Robin is.

"We usually rely on this girl who has super powers," Steve said, speaking for the first time since they had gotten there. "But, uh, those went bye-bye, so..."

"So we're technically in more of the--"

"Kinda..."

"Brainstorming phase," Max finished.

"There...There's nothing to worry about," Dustin spluttered. Eddie just raises his eyebrows at him.

Everyone turns when they hear the sound of sirens coming their way. Eddie hides himself under the tarp while the other five rushed to the window. They watched as police cars and ambulances rush past the house they were hiding in the shed of. Someone else was dead.

***

Everyone stepped out quickly when Steves car came to a stop outside the crime scene. There they saw Nancy being interviewed by police. She gave them a small smile and a tiny, barely noticable, wave.

***

They all sat around a bench in the trailer park, telling Nancy all they had learned about the deaths of both Chrissy and now Fred. Ivy sat next to Robin, her hand held tightly in the latters.

"You're saying that this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy, it's from the upside down?" Nancy asked.

"If the shoe fits," Steve said.

"Our working theory is that he attacks with a spell or a curse," Dustin told her. "Now, whether or not he's doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer or just loves killing teens, we don't know."

"All we know is this is something different," Max added.

"Doesn't make sense," Nancy sighed.

"It's only a theory," Ivy spoke up.

"No, Fred and Chrissy don't make sense. I mean, why them?"

"Maybe they were just in the wrong place," Dustin suggested. "They were both at the game."

"And near the trailer park," Max said.

"We're at the trailer park," Steve said, a slight worried tone in his voice. "Uh, should we maybe not be here?"

"There is something about this place," Ivy said. "I always feel weird when I'm here visting Max."

"Fred started acting weird the second we got here," Nancy added.

"Acting weird as in...?" Robin asked.

"Scared, on edge, upset."

"Max said Chrissy was upset too."

Ivy wakes from a nightmare, the voices still echoing in her head. A muffled sob escapes her lips. She tries to shake the image of the creature in her dream, but she can't. She remembers his skin the most. It reminded her of the vines from the upside down.

"Yeah, but not here," Max said, snapping Ivy back to the present. "She was crying in the bathroom at school."

"Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right?" Robin asked, making the nervous knot in Ivy's stomach tighten. "So, maybe Fred and Chrissy saw this Vecman--"

"Vecna," Dustin corrected.

"Dunno bout you, but if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone," Steve said, observing his sisters anxious behavior.

"Maybe they did," Max told him. "I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelleys office. If you saw a monster, you wouldn't go to the police. They'd never believe you. But you might go to your--"

"Your shrink," Ivy mumbled. Max nodded at her.

***

"Whoa, whoa, Nance. Nance!" Steve called when everyone was going to Steves car except Nancy. "Where you going?"

"Oh, there's just something I wanna check on first," Nancy told him.

"Something you wanna share with us?" Dustin asked.

"I don't wanna waste your time. It's a real shot in the dark."

"Yeah, okay. Are you out of your mind?" Steve asked her. "Flying solo with Vecna on the loose? No, it's too dangerous. You need someone to...Here. I'll stick with Nance. Take the car, check out the shrink."

"Don't think you want me driving your car," Robin told him, catching the keys he threw her way.

"Why?"

"I don't have a license."

"Why?"

"I'm poor," Robin shrugged.

"Ivy?" Steve asked.

"Never got mine. You're always driving so I never bothered," Ivy admitted.

"I can drive," Max volunteered.

"No, never again!" Steve shouted. "Anybody but you."

"Okay, this is stupid," Robin said. She took a walkie from Dustins bag and grabbed Ivy's hand. "Us ladies will stick together. Unless you think we need you to protect us." Robin smirked before picking her girlfriend up with a laugh and practically dragging her to Nancy's car.

"Robin!" Ivy squealed with a laugh, for once that entire year feeling happy.

***

"Help me get this straight. Eddie's uncle, Wayne, thinks that Victor Creel escaped from Pennhurst Asylum and that he's the one running around commiting these murders?" Robin recapped as the three women walked up to the public library.

"Pretty much," Nancy told her with a tight lipped smile.

"But Victor commited the eyeball murders, like, way back in the '50s," Ivy said.

"Well, '59," Nancy said as they entered the library.

"So that means these murders predate Eleven in the Upside Down by about 30 years?" Robin added, confused on how it added up. "Which makes spooky Victor Creel like 70 years old."

"Yep," Nancy sighed, ringing the service bell.

"So, he's a grandpa murderer who can turn invisible and lift people into the air," Ivy smiled at Robin as she leaned against the counter. Some people found her rambling annoying but Ivy adored it. She would argue it was the best part of her day.

"It doesn't make sense, I know," Nancy said, feeling slightly embarassed of even suggesting the theory. "That's why I said it was a shot in the dark."

"It is a shot in the dark, but, logically thinking, the Upside Down and any weird monsters inside could very well predate Eleven. Who are we to say she's the cause of them 'awakening,'" Ivy suggested.

"Hi. Sorry, we're in a bit of a rush," Nancy said when the librarian walked out to the front. "Could we get the keys to the basement archives?"

"Of course. Give me one sec."

"Did I come off mean or condescening?" Robin suddenly asked Nancy.

"No," Nancy told her, heading shaking.

"Right. Sorry. It's just, you seem annoyed. You don't know me well. I don't really have a filter or a strong grasp of social cues. If I say something that upsets you, just know that I know it's a flaw. Believe me, my mother reminds me daily."

"Got it."

"All right, ladies. Here you go. Have fun," The librarian smiled, handing the keys over to Nancy.

"Yep. We'll try."

***

"Anything...juicy over there?" Robin asked as she read old articles on the microfiche machine, Ivy reading over her shoulder.

"Nothing new," Nancy said, exaserpated.

"Same here," Ivy shrugged. "Victor seemed like a normal guy."

"Dead family, missing eyes, took a plea deal, sent to Pennhurst. Blah, blah, blah," Robin droned on. Her and Ivy leaned to the side to look at Nancy, Scooby-Doo style. " What are we looking for exactly?"

"Nance?" Ivy called lightly when Nancy didn't move to look at them. Robin reached over and knocked on the machine. Nancy leaned to the side to look at them, an annoyed look on her face. "Any mentions of dark wizards or alternate dimensions? Things in that vein?"

"I don't know. Okay?" Nancy snapped. "It's starting to seem like this was just a big waste of time. You're both obviously bored." She turned to Robin. "Why don't you call Steve? I'm sure he'll pick you up. And I mean, I'm not really in danger here, so..."

"She's going in the wrong direction with that assumption," Ivy whispered to her girlfriend.

***

"You do know that Steve and I are, like, totally not a thing, right?" Robin asked Nancy.

"What?" Nancy asked, looking over to the two girls on the basement stairs.

"So, I figure you and Jonathan are still going strong cause you guys are going to college together. You're one of those unstoppable power couples, but I...I just...I wanted to make sure you knew that Steve and I are just friends."

"Platonic with a capital P," Ivy added, reciting the sentence her brother and girlfriend had to spout out once a week.

"Just in case that's adding any tension between us," Robin said.

"It wasn't," Nancy said.

"Holy shit. The Weekly Watcher. I can't believe they have this."

"Don't they write conspiracy theory shit?" Ivy asked. "Like Bigfoot and UFOs."

"First, UFOs are absolutely real. Bigfoot I'm still on the fence about," Robin admitted. "But may I remind you two that we are looking for information on dark wizards? If someone's gonna write about that, it's gonna be these weirdos."

***

"Ah. Elivs cloned by aliens," Nancy read off as the three looked at the articles on the microfiche.

"You never know," Robin told her. Nancy rolled her eyes and walked a few steps away. "Victor Creel claims vengeful demon killed family. The murder that shocked a small community."

"Ha, ha. That's very funny."

"She's not kidding," Ivy grinned. "'According to several insiders, Victor belived his house was haunted by an ancient demon.'"

"'Victor allegedly hired a priest to exorcise the demon from his home,'" Robin read. "Pretty novel for the 50s. Exorcist wasn't out yet."

"Keep going," Nancy urged.

"Ok, so Victor claimed this exorcism failed, but it angered this demon, which then murdered his family, removing their eyes. Victor believed he was spared as a punishment."

"That's pretty convenient for Victor."

"Yeah, or super inconvenient," Ivy said, reading Robin's thoughts. "Victor was declared legally insane by the court, right? What if this is why? It sounds insane. Just didn't go public because--"

"The plea bargin," Nancy finished. "The records were sealed."

"What if a demon did invade Victors home?" Robin asked. "It's just, this demon wasn't any old demon."

"It was Vecna."

***

"Dustin, do you copy?" Ivy asked into the radio as they rushed out of the library.

"Yeah, I copy," Dustin responded.

"So, Nancy's a genius. Vecna's first victims date back all the way to 1959. Her shot in the dark was a bulls-eye."

"Okay, that's totally bonkers, but I can't really talk right now."

"What are you doing?"

"Breaking and entering school to retrieve confidential and extremely personal files."

"Can you repeat that?" Ivy asked.

"Just get your ass over here, stat. We'll explain everything."

"Thought they were talking to Ms. Kelley," Nancy said.

"We leave them alone for two hours," Robin responded with a shake of her head.

this was highkey exhausting to write.