Ariana sprinted down every available hallway, only to find herself repeatedly returning to the same point. "Help!" she cried out desperately. "Steve!"

One hallway led her to a gruesome sight, with dead guards and blood-smeared walls. "Please, anyone!"

Back in the trailer, Steve was frantically attempting to rescue Ariana, while the others scrambled to find some music.

"Ariana, just stay with me. Stay with me, okay? Please! Whatever you guys are doing, hurry up!" Steve pleaded.

"Steve says you need to hurry!" Erica burst into Eddie's room, where the others were searching for music.

"Yeah? No kidding!" Dustin yelled.

"We're trying, but we can't find anything!" Juliette informed them. "Seriously, what's with all this stuff?" Stephanie questioned.

"What are you even looking for?" Eddie asked.

"Madonna, Blondie, Bowie, Beatles? Music! We need music!" Robin exclaimed.

Eddie grabbed a cassette tape. "This is music!"

Meanwhile, Ariana continued her desperate flight, running down endless hallways in an attempt to escape Vecna.

She came upon a door barricaded with boards and struggled to remove them. Even with her powers, it proved challenging.

"Son of a bitch!" she yelled, finally managing to remove one of the boards.

"Ariana," she heard, freezing in place. Slowly turning, she saw Vecna approaching her.

"What are you doing? It's not your time to leave," he uttered. She worked frantically to remove the remaining boards.

"Now that you know what I've been through, I'd very much like to show you...where I'm going," Vecna stated. "Fuck off!" she yelled.

With the last board removed, she rushed into the room and found Dr. Brenner standing there.

"Take a seat, Ariana," he said, and as the lights flickered off and on, she was suddenly strapped to a chair, her restraints composed of vine-like tendrils.

Despite her struggles, she couldn't break free. Vecna reappeared, advancing toward her.

"You shouldn't keep secrets, Ariana. Maybe you wouldn't be here if you had just told everyone," he said.

Vecna drew near and whispered, "I want you to tell Eleven. I want you to tell her everything you see."

He extended his hand, exposing her to the most horrific images. "Stop!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face. "No!"

"I want you to tell her...everything," Vecna insisted. "No!"

Suddenly, Ariana awoke, tumbling to the floor, but Steve caught her just in time. "Oh my God, Ariana!" He held her in his arms as she wept.

"Steve?" She looked up at him.

"Yes," he confirmed, tears welling in his eyes. "It's me." He kissed her forehead and held her close.

"It's okay, I'm right here," he assured her, his voice cracking.
___

Ariana woke up to find Steve right next to her. She had passed out on Max's couch after the events of the previous night. They had decided to stay at Max's because Eddie's trailer had a gate, and her mom was at work.

She was wrapped up in a blanket, her eyes still red from crying herself to sleep; didn't even know how she managed to sleep.

"Hey, good morning, beautiful," Steve greeted her with a smile.

She didn't respond but simply sat up. Robin brought her a glass of water, which she accepted.

Everyone gathered around her. "What happened last night?" Nancy asked.

Ariana stayed silent for a moment, then Steve gently took her hand, and she sighed.

"He showed me things that haven't happened yet, the most awful things. I saw a dark cloud spreading over Hawkins, downtown on fire, dead soldiers, and this...giant creature....with a gaping mouth. This creature, it wasn't alone; there were so many monsters, an army. They were all coming into Hawkins, into neighbor-hoods, our homes," Ariana explained, her hand tightening its grip on Steve's.

"And he showed me...my mom, Dustin, Steve, all of you, and everyone else. And you were all..." Tears began to stream down Ariana's face.

"But, he's just trying to scare you, Ari, right? I mean...it's not real," Steve reassured her.

"Not yet," Ariana replied.

"But there...there was something else. He showed me gates, four gates spreading across Hawkins. These gates looked like the ones outside Eddie's trailer, but they didn't stop growing. This wasn't the Upside Down Hawkins; it was our Hawkins, our home," Ariana explained.

"Four chimes," Max chimed in. "Vecna's clock, it always chimes four times, exactly."

"I heard them too," Ariana added. "He's been telling us his plan the whole time," Max said.

"Four kills," Juliette stated. "Four gates," she turned to Max. "End of the world."

"If that's true, he's only one kill away," Dustin pointed out. "Try them again," Steve told Juliette.

Juliette had been attempting to call her family, but they weren't answering. She hung up the phone.

"Anything?" Dustin asked.

"No. Just the same busy signal," Juliette replied.

"Maybe you punched it wrong; try again," Steve suggested.

"I didn't punch it wrong. I think I would have my own phone number memorized," Juliette said.

"I'm just saying you could have typed it wrong," Lucas added.

Juliette tried again, but there was still no answer. "Same thing, Steve," she said.

"How is that possible?" Max asked.

"I told you. Joyce is a telemarketer; she's always on the phone," Juliette said.

"Well, yeah, but this phone has been busy for, what, three days now? That's not Joyce. Something's wrong," Max said.

"She's right. It can't just be a coincidence. Whatever's happening in Lenora is connected to all of this. I'm sure of it. But Vecna can't hurt them, not if he's dead," Ariana declared.

"We have to go back in there, back to the Upside Down," she insisted.

"Whoa, no, no, no. What? Let's think about this," Steve suggested.

"What is there to think about?" Ariana asked.

"You barely made it out of there alive. You're not going back in." Steve said.

"Yeah, 'cause I wasn't prepared, none of us were. But this time, we will be. We'll get weapons and protection," Ariana insisted.

"No, you're not going back in there. End of discussion," Steve firmly stated.

"Why the hell not?" Ariana asked.

"Because you almost died!" Steve replied. "I'll be prepared," Ariana reassured him.

"No," Steve shook his head.

"Why are you pushing this, Steve?" Ariana asked.

"Because I want the love of my life to be safe," Steve explained.

"And I will be! You need to start trusting me in these th-"

"Goddammit, Ariana, you are not going into that war zone with our baby in your belly," he cut her off.

A stunned silence fell over the room. Steve had mentioned their baby, but Ariana hadn't told him yet. Everyone's eyes were on her.

"H-How do you know about the baby?" Ariana asked.

"When I was emptying the garbage can in the bathroom, I saw two positive pregnancy tests. It was only you and me in the house. That's why you've been acting so weird these past couple of days. You're pregnant," Steve said.

"You're pregnant?" half of the room asked. Ariana sighed. "Can we talk about this later?"

Steve shook his head. "No, I want to know why the hell you decided to keep this from me, the father of your child."

"I was going to tell you, but the timing was wrong. When I found out, it was around the same time this Vecna shit happened," Ariana explained.

"Still, you could have told me, or any of us," Steve said.

"I was scared, okay? I was scared of how you would react. We're only 19, Steve. I was scared you wouldn't want a kid this young," Ariana admitted.

Steve stayed silent. "We're going into the Upside Down, sneaking into his lair, and killing him. I'm helping, whether you like it or not, Steve," Ariana declared.

"He could have killed me if he wanted to, but he didn't," she argued.

"Yeah, because he wanted you to tell us all of this. He's not scared of us," Steve replied.

"Yeah, and for good reason. We were wrong about Vecna. Henry. One. I'm sorry, what are we calling him now?" Robin asked, receiving different answers from everyone.

"Right. We learned something new about Vecna/Henry/One. He's a number like Ariana and Eleven, only a sick, evil, male, child-murdering version of them with really bad skin. But my point is, he's super powerful. He could turn us inside out with a snap of his fingers. It's not a fair fight," Robin explained.

"Then why fight fair?" Everyone turned to Dustin. "You're right. He's just like Eleven and Ariana. But that gives us the upper hand. We have Ariana, and we know her strengths and weaknesses. We know Eleven's strengths and weaknesses."

"Weaknesses?" Erica asked.

"When Eleven remote-travels, she goes into this trance-like state. I bet Vecna does the same," Dustin suggested.

"That would explain what he was doing in that attic," Stephanie added.

"Exactly. When he attacks his next victim, I'll bet you he's back in that attic, physical body defenseless," Dustin continued.

"Defenseless? What about the army of bats?" Steve pointed to his neck.

"True. We'll have to find a way to distract them somehow," Dustin acknowledged. "How do we do that, exactly?" Eddie asked.

"No idea, but once they're gone, he doesn't stand a chance. It'll be like slaying Dracula in his coffin," Dustin reassured.

"That all sounds good in theory, but there's no pattern to Vecna's killings, not one that I can decipher. We don't know when he's going to attack next. We don't even know who he's gonna attack," Nancy pointed out.

"Yes, we do," Max chimed in. "I can still feel him. I'm still marked, cursed. If I ditch Kate Bush, I draw his focus back to me."

"Max, you can't," Juliette argued. "He'll kill you."

"I survived before. I can survive again. I just need to keep him busy long enough so that you guys can get into that attic. Then you can chop his head off, stab him in the heart, blow him up with some explosive Dustin cooks up. I honestly don't care how you put this asshole in his grave. Just...whatever it is...try not to miss," Max declared.

Ariana sighed. "I need some fresh air," she opened the door to step outside, taking a seat on the porch steps.

As she tried to steady her shaky breath, she realized that her stress was getting worse, and it couldn't be good for the baby, which only increased her anxiety.

Suddenly, the door behind her opened, but she didn't need to see to know who it was. Steve settled beside her.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Ariana shook her head. "No," she admitted with a small chuckle.

"I'm worried about everything and everyone I care about - Max, you, Nancy, the baby. I can't even help them," she sighed.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked. "I'm useless, Steve. I don't know how to use my powers. I can't do the things Eleven does. I've tried. I can't help anyone. I can't save anyone," she confessed, her leg bouncing nervously.

"You're not useless. I make you feel useless. I should trust you more. I know you are capable of looking after yourself. I'm just worried that I'll lose you...and then the baby," Steve reassured her, placing his hand on her bouncing knee to help calm her down.

"You don't make me feel useless. I just want you to trust me more. I can handle myself, Steve. I just need you to see that," she nodded.

"I do. I'm just scared," Steve admitted as Ariana rested her head on his shoulder.

"I am too, more than ever, but we're gonna get through this. I'm gonna use my powers the best I can and make sure I keep you, Max, and everyone else safe," Ariana said.

"I love you, and this baby, whatever it is," Ariana's face lit up with a smile. "So, you want to keep it?" Steve nodded.

"I want to start a family with you, Ariana, more than anything. I want to marry you one day. I want to see our kids take their first steps. I want-" Steve's words were interrupted when Ariana suddenly kissed him, tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks.

For the first time in these past few days, they were tears of joy.
___

Everyone gathered around the table, and Eddie flipped to a page in the phone book.

"The War Zone. I've been there once. It's huge. They have everything you need for, uh...well, killing things, basically," Eddie explained.

"Do you think Fake Rambo has enough guns there?" Danny asked. "

Is that a grenade? I mean, how is any of this legal?" Alex asked.

"Well, lucky for us, it is, so...This place is just far enough outside of Hawkins. As long as we steer clear of the main roads, we'll be able to avoid cops and, uh, angry hicks," Eddie reassured.

"If we're trying to avoid angry hicks, maybe we shouldn't go to some store called the War Zone," Erica said.

"Normally, I'd agree, but we need the weapons, so I think it's worth the risk," Ariana chimed in.

"But is it worth the time? It'll take all day to bike there and back," Dustin said.

"Who said anything about bikes?" Eddie smirked.

"What? You got some secret car we don't know about?" Danny asked. "Not exactly a car, my beloved sister, and it's not exactly mine, but, uh...it'll do."

"Well, you can't go out looking like that. You need a disguise," Ariana said, turning to Max. "Red, do you have a ski mask or a bandana or something that could cover Eddie's face?"

Max pondered for a moment, then went into her room and returned with a Michael Myers mask, handing it to Eddie.

"A Halloween mask?" Eddie asked. "I guess that'll do," he said as he put the mask on. Danny couldn't help but laugh, "You look great."

"Is that the same mask you wore on our first Halloween?" Juliette asked. Max blushed and smiled, "Yeah, I mean, it was our first Halloween together, of course, I kept it."

The gang walked outside, and Eddie led them to a mobile trailer. He climbed through the window while the owners were outside, and everyone followed.

Eddie locked the door and made his way to the driver's seat. Steve helped Ariana get settled on the couch to keep her from bouncing around too much.

Ariana saw Steve talking to Eddie in the driver's seat and leaned over his shoulder. "Um, Eddie, I'm not sure I love the idea of you driving, especially with the state I'm in."

"Oh, I'm just starting this sucker. Harrington's got her." Eddie started the RV, and the engine and music roared to life.

They could hear the owners yelling from outside, trying to open the door and banging on the vehicle.

Panicked, Steve jumped into the driver's seat, and Ariana sat next to him. "Everybody, hang on to something!" Steve yelled.

"Drive, Steve! Drive!" Ariana urged.

The kids in the back kept yelling for Steve to drive faster. "They look pissed," Stephanie observed.

"Well, it's not every day you lose your house and car in one fell swoop," Juliette said.

As Steve sped away, they found themselves on the main road. Steve began to drive more normally, and Ariana's breath returned to normal.

Watching Steve drive, Ariana smiled, her mind replaying, "I want to start a family with you."

Steve Harrington wanted to start a family with her, the man she had fallen in love with in junior year.

She gazed out of the window and whispered to herself, "Ariana Harrington. That's got a nice ring to it."

END OF CHAPTER