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"SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT." Mike shook his head, pacing quickly around his basement while Lucas and Will sat on the couch in front of him.
"Hopper's hiking with Will's mom to Illinois, and Dustin's MIA too? I mean, this can't be a coincidence." Mike had stopped pacing, putting his hands out in front of him, waving them around as if it would help justify their situation.
"What does it matter?" Lucas asked, annoyance lacing his words, "The bottom line is, they're not here. It's up to us."
Lucas waved a finger between the three of them as Mike threw his hands up in the air, irritated.
"Up to us to do what exactly?" Mike asked.
"Find Billy and stop him." Lucas shrugged, his tone making the idea sound simple.
"Okay, yeah, that's a really nice sentiment, but even if El could find him again," Mike motioned towards the closed bathroom door where the three girls were helping Eleven get cleaned up, "and that's a pretty big if, then what?"
"We burn the shit out of him and make sure he doesn't escape this time."
Mike nodded. "Okay, then what?"
"Then we win."
"No, see, that's the problem. We don't. We don't win. We got the Mind Flayer out of Will before and he just came right back. We don't just have to stop Billy, we have to stop the Mind Flayer."
Lucas shrugged his shoulders. "How in the hell do we do that?"
"I don't know." Mike muttered, putting his hands on his hips as he tried to think of ways they could carry their plan out.
"Maybe El does." Will butted in, his eyebrows raised as he looked between his two friends.
Mike looked at Will, then turned around to stare at the bathroom door, stopping in his tracks as he wondered if it would ever open. "What are they still doing in there?"
Lucas stood up from the couch, grabbing a handful out of the Cocoa Puffs box he was holding as he walked over to Mike, standing beside him, Will copying his actions.
"I don't know. Girls just like hanging out in bathrooms."
Shrugging, Lucas moved the Cocoa Puffs box in Mike's direction, offering him some, only to have Mike push the box away from him.
"Why?" Mike asked, his tone annoyed.
"I mean, I don't know." Lucas chewed loudly on the cereal, his eyes trained on the door.
Mike nodded knowingly. "They're conspiring against me."
Will turned to Mike quickly, making his voice into a whisper-yell. "That's what you're concerned about right now?"
