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"Will! Will, wake up! You're graduating today!"
El shook Will awake, a wide grin on her face as he groggily opened his eyes and groaned. While El had always been an early riser, Will was the complete opposite, wanting to stay in bed and sleeping through alarms. She had their alarm on the clock set to the highest possible volume and he still did not move until she started shaking him. At this point, if Will would not cooperate, El was ready to put on the orange cap and gown herself and go in Will's place to accept the diploma. Maybe no one would notice her in disguise, she was good at blending in after years of being on the run.
"Five more minutes," Will grumbled, grabbing his pillow and rolling over to his side.
"I gave you five more minutes," El replied, now picking up her pillow. She began to hit him with it repeatedly, laughing to herself when Will would grunt at the impact. "Come on, we have to get ready! Jonathan wants to take photos!"
"Alright, alright, I'm up!" Will finally began to sit up, rubbing his eyes. He blinked a couple of times as he focused his vision, staring at El in surprise. "How are you already dressed? You said it's only been five minutes."
El shrugged, looking down at her blue and purple floral dress and white heeled shoes. Her hair was styled down past her shoulders in waves. "Five minutes is plenty of time," she told him. "Now you go get ready!"
Will stood up and left his shared bedroom with El to go to the bathroom. El giggled to herself and sat back down on her bed, fidgeting in excitement as she thought of today's ceremony. Part of her was upset that she could not stand with the rest of the party as they received their diplomas, but the thoughts of what high school was like in Lenora made her somewhat relieved that she never went back to school. At this point, it was easier to be homeschooled by Joyce and Hopper to work towards taking her GED test. She also watched her friends do their homework and they taught her a few things to help her catch up. It was much easier to catch up now that she was surrounded by her friends who understood her rather than bullies who never even tried.
El was so relieved that after months of trying to contact Dr. Owens while Hawkins was under quarantine, he finally answered and came to Hawkins right on time. Dr. Kay had them surrounded and El had just gone invisible from Kali's illusions when he arrived on a helicopter. From there, a deal was struck, which took convincing until Dr. Kay's research was lost when the Upside Down was destroyed, leaving her with nothing of her horrid experiments. El could finally live a normal life without any monsters breathing down her back. Dr. Owens was able to clear Jane Hopper's name from any supposed crimes she committed, Eleven was completely wiped from the government files, and Dr. Kay and her men were imprisoned for life for murdering several pregnant women. El wished that Kali had enough faith that this would happen to be here to live a normal life too, but she stayed behind.
El was brought out of her thoughts when Will came back into the room, dressed in a suit and tie. He grabbed his cap and gown and put it on, proudly showing it off to El, who was grinning in excitement for him. "I can't believe I'm actually graduating," Will smiled to himself. "Not that my grades were suffering or anything, just... I don't know. After the amount of shit we went through, this felt almost impossible."
"You deserve it, Will," El told him, putting a hand on her brother's shoulder. "You all do."
A knock on the door and Jonathan came into the room, dressed nicely for today's celebration. "Hey, you guys ready?" he said as he opened the door. He then smiled when he saw his younger brother in his cap and gown, grabbing his shoulders in excitement. "There he is! You ready to finally get out of here?"
"More than ready," Will replied, smiling back.
El followed them out of the bedroom and into the living room, where Joyce and Hopper were waiting. Joyce gasped when she saw Will and immediately hugged him. "Oh, look at you!" she exclaimed. "You're so grown up!"
"Ow, Mom, you're squeezing me too tight," Will said, wincing at her grasp.
"Sorry, sorry," Joyce apologized as she let go.
"We want to see him get his diploma, not pass out before that happens," Hopper remarked, patting Will's shoulder.
"Alright, camera's ready. Get in front!" Jonathan ordered.
A long photo session took place in the cabin's living room due to Jonathan's filmmaker brain wanting the perfect shots. Will took some solo photos, then El came into frame and took photos with him, including a few with hugs. Then Joyce and Hopper took photos with just Will on either side of him. El came in after that and joined her brother and parents, going on Hopper's side and smiling for the camera. Jonathan kept fussing over the lighting, adjusting the curtains and turning the lights on and off, which made the photo session go on longer. El decided to help by using her powers to hold the curtain in place as Jonathan got his photos.
El then took the camera so Will and Jonathan could get photos together, then she joined them as Joyce took pictures of her kids. Jonathan took the camera back and set a timer, wanting a photo of all five of them. El could not wait to see all of the photos once they got printed, hoping to save some for herself.
The phone rang right after they finished, which was good timing, and Joyce went to answer it. Her smile faded when she listened to whoever was on the other end, looking concerned. El furrowed her eyebrows, nervous as to what was going on.
"It's Karen. She can't find Mike," Joyce told everyone.
El felt her heart beat fast, wondering where he was. She closed her eyes, focused for a moment, and searched through the familiar black void of her mind to find her boyfriend. Once she saw him, she opened her eyes and went to the door. "I'll go get him," she announced.
"You need a ride?" Hopper asked, also looking concerned.
El paused at the open door, looking back towards her dad. "No, you go ahead to the school," she told him. "It should just be me and him."
She then left the cabin in search of her boyfriend on the day of graduation.
...
El climbed up to the roof of the WSQK station and saw Mike sitting right by the edge, where they would usually sit together right before a crawl took place. She took her usual spot next to him, a small smile on her face as she looked at the boy she fell in love with. He seemed to sense that she was there, like he always did, and he took her hand as he gazed out at the horizon. She did so as well, enjoying the comfortable silence. The sun shone above them, the opposite of the beautiful sunsets they would watch together before the crawls.
Despite the beauty, El would always be upset that she could not go while Mike would be nervous that he and Lucas would get caught from their vantage point, though he hid that well. To comfort the other, they would talk about their plans after they found Vecna and the military left. This included places they would visit, whether it was in Hawkins or around the country, dates they would be free to go on, and all sorts of experiences Mike wanted El to have. It always made her smile, even after her frustrations with training that day or her fears that the military would capture her. It kept her going as she would listen in on the crawls, waiting for Hopper to come back safely after another failed attempt of finding Vecna since they were unaware that he was hiding in the sky.
Now that they were here in the morning after two great years of normalcy, El wondered what brought Mike here when he should be getting ready for graduation. He was not dressed in his suit, only in a striped shirt and jeans, and he did not tell his mother where he was going. Something was bothering him and El was determined to help him through whatever the problem was that was preventing him from receiving his diploma today.
"Last time we sat here, we made plans," El spoke up after a few moments, which made Mike finally look her way. "We would leave the local village and find a new and peaceful land. One with three waterfalls."
Mike smiled at that, looking down at their joined hands. "Yeah, we did," he replied, squeezing her hand. "And now we're almost there."
El smiled back, but she raised an eyebrow, reading his eyes rather than his smile. "Then what's wrong?" she asked him.
Mike's smile fell and he looked back out at the bright blue sky. "I don't know," he said with a shrug. "I'm excited, I want to leave, I want to see what else is out there. I guess I just... now that it's actually happening... I feel scared. I've really only known Hawkins my whole life. So much shit happened here, but it is still home. It's terrifying to leave and not know where we'll end up eventually. My mom is already upset that I never applied to college and I haven't told her about our plans yet. Leaving is the future I want, it's just the uncertainty of where we'll stay that is scary. Now I see why my parents stayed in Hawkins. It's comfortable here, even with the bullshit."
Hearing his words made El realize that she was feeling the same thing, her excitement of the future covering any sort of fears that still lingered. She lifted a hand and cupped Mike's cheek, rubbing her thumb against his skin. He immediately relaxed in her hold, smiling again. El thought back to their conversation in the cabin after she found out about Dr. Kay's plans and was scared of what would happen to her and what she would have to do. Mike was there though, refusing to leave her alone until she told him about it so they were on the same page. He then encouraged her, reminding her that their future plans were still possible. That their story was their own and they got to decide what would happen. El had still been unsure until the deal was made to leave her alone, and now here they were, Mike now being the unsure one.
"I want to move on, I do," Mike kept talking, and El could tell he was nervous for her reaction to what he was saying. "I really do. Just... what if we can't? What if we're stuck here and we can never move forward? I keep thinking that something is going to stop me from getting my diploma or getting past the leaving Hawkins sign. And what if we don't like what's beyond it if we do make it?"
"It's okay, I'm scared too," El reassured him. "But you said it before, this is our story. It's up to us what happens. When we leave, we can go to many different places around the world, see everything that is offered to us. Then, when we know it's right, we can settle down somewhere. A place where we will be safe, where we will live and breathe, and where there's maybe at least one waterfall. Hawkins will still be home, we can come back here from time to time and visit, like Nancy and Jonathan do. It'll be no different from Max, Lucas, Dustin, and Will going to college. We're just... doing things our way. I like our way."
"Yeah, I like our way too," Mike nodded, reaching a hand up to clasp it against the back of El's hand on his cheek. "I'm sorry, I don't know why my thoughts are like this."
"Thoughts are like that sometimes," El said, rubbing her thumb against his face. "We always overthink things that we want more than anything because we don't want to hurt others. When you tell your mom, she'll be happy for us. Nervous, but overall happy. But right now, the only thing keeping us from leaving is you not going to graduation. She will definitely ground you, she doesn't care that you're technically an adult now."
Mike looked into her eyes for a moment, then leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers. "You're right. We'll be okay, we can do this. I mean, three waterfalls have to exist somewhere, right? Likely somewhere in Europe. If you want, we can go there first?"
El giggled at him. "I'd love to, but you said we would go to New York City first," she replied. "Then DC, then DisneyWorld, then Los Angeles, then-"
"Okay okay, we can still do those," Mike agreed with a laugh. "As long as we're together, right?"
"As long as we're together," El nodded. "I love you."
"I love you too."
The couple leaned in and shared a kiss, both now feeling more secure than ever that their future was going to be okay. No one in the military was after them, no monsters were lurking in the dark, and nothing was holding them back anymore. They were free to do whatever they wanted, whenever and however they would do so. And neither of them could wait until they could finally get started on seeing the world.
For now though, they had to live in the present.
"Let's go get your diploma now," El said after she pulled away, already missing the taste of his lips. "You don't want them to run out or forget you. We're already going to be late."
"You think my mom is going to kill me for disappearing on her?" Mike asked as they both stood up and headed towards the ladder.
"Yes," El replied bluntly, climbing down back to the ground below. "But she might kill you less if you show up in your suit, cap, and gown."
"Alright, we'll stop at my house, I'll change, then we can head over," Mike climbed down after her. They went over to his bike that he left against the building, though Mike paused for a moment, looking around. "Wait, you walked from the cabin all the way here?"
"The tunnels still work," El shrugged.
Mike lifted up his bike and sat down, El immediately taking her spot behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist. "How come you never asked Hopper or Joyce for your own bike?" Mike asked her out of curiosity.
"I like my spot here," El simple replied. It was her way of being closer to Mike and it was something they shared when they were twelve. Just because they were older now, that did not mean she had to stop this habit that she loved. "It's our bike."
Mike smiled at her and she smiled back, clutching his waist tighter. He then pedaled off in the direction of his house, finally ready to graduate.
...
After quickly changing into a suit and tie and throwing on his orange cap and gown, Mike was ready to go and he and El biked to the school. Of course, when they got there, it had already started, the band music blaring loud. The ceremony was being held on the field, a stage set up for the faculty and anyone giving a speech, including Dustin as valedictorian, and rows of chairs were set up for the graduating class of 1989. When they got closer, El could see Will in the second row, Max in the middle, and Lucas right behind her, all seated alphabetically rather than all together. An empty seat was in the back, where Mike was assigned to sit.
Behind the students' seats were bleachers of the families and friends that were invited to cheer on the graduates. El saw Steve and Robin sitting together, Steve in a nice suit and Robin in a sweater and overalls. Hopper and Joyce were sitting together too, the two of them smiling when they made eye contact with her and Mike arriving. Jonathan was standing by his camera, ready to film the ceremony's important parts. Mrs. Henderson and Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair were there too, looking proud of their kids. No sign of Erica, but El knew that she and Dustin were plotting something for the ceremony, which she was excited to see. The Wheelers all sat together, an anxious Holly wearing a pink dress, a nervous Nancy in a professional journalist outfit, a worried Karen in a floral dress, and a bored Ted in a suit. Holly noticed them first, getting her mother's attention and pointing at them. Karen turned and saw Mike and El entering, sighing out of relief as she got up and ran over to them.
"Oh thank god you're okay!" Karen exclaimed, throwing her arms around her son. "Where did you go?"
"He... needed a moment," El answered for him, shooting a knowing smile at her boyfriend.
"Thank you for finding him, sweetie," Karen said to her, a grateful smile on her face.
El nodded and then went to go sit with her family on the bleachers, taking a seat next to Hopper. Mike, meanwhile, remained in his mother's arms, not caring if anyone saw him getting emotional with her. He was likely never seeing any of these people again after today, so it did not matter. "I'm sorry, Mom. I panicked," Mike apologized. "See, El and I... we- we want to... after this, we want to..."
"You don't have to explain. I had a feeling this was going to happen. Call it mother's intuition," Karen assured him, pulling out of the hug to admire her son with tears in her eyes, cupping his face with her hands. "Look at you... you're all grown up. I'm so proud of you. I'm so... so proud."
Mike felt tears of his own entering his eyes, pulling her into another hug. "I love you, Mom," he told her.
Karen sniffled, holding him tighter. "I love you, baby," she replied.
El watched from her seat, smiling as she saw Mike and Karen together. A few moments later, Mike went to take his seat in the rows of students. El kept her eyes on him, Max, Will, and Lucas in the crowd, feeling nothing but joy in her heart as she got to see them shine. The principal then introduced Dustin to the stand, El, Mike, Max, Will, Lucas, and Steve being the ones to give him a standing ovation while Mrs. Henderson got emotional. After learning what a valedictorian was, El saw no better fit than Dustin to take the title. He was smart, brilliant, and a good friend to her and the rest of the party, even with their ups and downs over the years.
"I just wanted a normal childhood, but that childhood was stolen from me," Dustin spoke. "Just stolen from us. And this past year, if you want to know the truth, I've been pretty pissed off about it, but then I thought back to the past six years and I realized that even though there was a lot of bad, there was so much good too."
El could not agree more, a tear slipping out of her eye as she listened to her friend speak. There was so much bad that they all had to face, with monsters stealing children, covered up murders and deaths, inhumane experiments on innocent children, and even a moment where El thought she would have to die to end the horrific cycle. Even with all of that, so much good entered her life when she escaped the lab. She created friendships that would last a lifetime, she gained a father and a mother, she got two brothers, and she found the love of her life.
Smiling to herself, El thought back to the Snowball dance with her friends, shopping with Max at the mall, kissing Mike in her cabin bedroom, eating pizza with Will and Jonathan, surprising Dustin when he came home from camp, helping Lucas practice basketball, watching Miami Vice and playing board games with Hopper, getting her hair done by Joyce, getting makeup lessons from Nancy, and more moments that kept her going. Without those precious moments, El may not have survived the whole ordeal with Vecna, the Upside Down, and Dr. Kay. They made her stronger, not just with her powers, but as a person.
"There's this game I like to play. It's called Dungeons and Dragons," Dustin continued, which made Will and Lucas cheer in acknowledgment while Hopper cursed under his breath, El elbowing him to shut him up. Out of the corner of her eye, El saw Erica pulling up with a confetti contraption of sorts and she had to hold back a laugh. "And in this game, there are two types of chaos classes: chaotic good and chaotic bad. Now, bad chaos brings anarchy, destruction, and war, but good chaos can bring innovation, change. And this school, frankly, it needed to change because we were so divided into the jocks, the nerds, freaks, and in the chaos, all those walls broke down. And I made new friends. I made friends who were never even supposed to be my friends. And this wasn't just me, I saw this happen with so many others."
El noticed Steve getting emotional, Robin shoulder bumping him with a knowing look. Holly and Derek exchanged smiles too and Hopper put his arm around Joyce. As someone who was never supposed to have friends at all, instead staying isolated her whole life, El nodded at Dustin and let out a wet laugh.
"When you get to know people who are different from you, you begin to learn more about yourself. You change, you grow. I'm a better person now. I'm a better person because of them, because of my friends."
El wanted to clap, but she had to hold herself back. Instead, she leaned her head on her father's shoulder, and Hopper wrapped an arm around her too.
"So, I'm not pissed off anymore," Dustin's tone changing slightly from serious to more comedic, making everyone in the party laugh to themselves. "But I am worried. Worried because now that the chaos is over, Principal Higgins and every square like him is gonna do their damndest to put everything back in order."
Gasps and laughs were heard simultaneously at that, El sitting back up in curiosity. She knew Dustin had been planning something, but he had been so secretive about it. "And I don't want order, which is why it's pretty hypocritical that I'm even wearing this thing," Dustin said, lifting up the valedictorian drape around him. "I mean, we look ridiculous. What is this? We look like Roman senators." Everyone nodded in agreement, their laughs being in acknowledgment to what Dustin was saying rather than teasing him. The only one not in agreement was the principal, who looked like he was fuming. "I mean, it's not who I am. I don't think it's who any of us are."
Dustin then unzipped his gown and pulled it off. "So, honestly, just screw it," he proclaimed, revealing a Hellfire Lives shirt underneath.
Everyone gasped again and then immediately started cheering, El being one of them even though she was not a graduating student. "Screw the school," Dustin continued, despite the principal now standing up to stop him, calling his name. Instead, he just grabbed the microphone and stood in front of the stand rather than behind it. "Screw the system! Screw conformity! Screw everyone and everything trying to hold you back and tear us apart because this is our year!"
More cheers could be heard as more and more students gave a standing ovation, the loudest cheers being from El, Mike, Will, Max, and Lucas respectively. Erica pressed a button on her contraption and released confetti onto the ceremony. Steve hollered, Robin cheered his name, Joyce laughed, and Mrs. Henderson was clapping with the proudest look on her face. Dustin dropped the microphone, grabbed the diploma out of the principal's hands, and smugly flipped him off. Everyone cheered louder at that.
Once order was restored, everyone else received their diplomas from the angered principal, though some decided to be rebellious too and flipped him off as well. El giggled every time. She never knew Eddie Munson, but she knew how much Dustin admired him and missed him after he sacrificed himself. She was sure that he would be so proud of him in this moment if he were here.
When the ceremony ended, El got up from her seat and ran into the crowd, looking for her friends. The first person she saw was Max, standing alone while watching other family members come around to hug their kids. El immediately ran up to her and hugged her, not wanting her to feel alone today. Her mother may not be here due to unfortunate circumstances from the earthquake, but there were still people who loved Max and El wanted to make sure that her best friend knew that.
"Congratulations, Max!" El exclaimed, squeezing Max tight. "You did it!"
"Thank you, El! Thank god the school let me off easy for being in a coma for two years," Max commented, laughing to herself. The girls pulled away from the hug and Max patted El on the shoulder. "And you'll be considered a graduate soon too! When are you taking your GED test?"
"Next week," El replied, playing with her hands as some nerves came up when thinking about her upcoming exam. "I hope I do okay. I'm good with math and science now because of you guys, but I still struggle with English in some parts. And history has so much information, how do you keep up with those dates?!"
Max chuckled and shook her head. "Look, if I'm able to graduate on time, you will do great on your test," she reassured her. "And I'll help you study whenever you want. Or you could get Dustin to sit in for you like how he did all of my homework when I was still relearning how to use my limbs."
"Dustin wants to start college already, not keep doing high school work," El joked. "It's okay, I can do this. You did it."
"I wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for you," Max said, her smile growing softer as some tears welled in her eyes. "You saved my life, and I could never repay you for that. Just... thank you so much."
El felt tears in her eyes as she pulled Max into another hug, holding her tight. "You already did," she assured her. "You are by living." She was so proud of her best friend, especially today. Max had been through so much pain and almost lost her life several times because of that pain, but she persevered and was now proudly wearing her cap and gown as a symbol of her survival and stubbornness to never give up. If it were not for people like Max inspiring her, El may have given up and stayed inside the Upside Down that night.
The two girls pulled away after a few moments, wiping their eyes and walking around the field to find the rest of their friends, hand in hand. They finally saw Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will grouped together, awkwardly talking to Stacey Albright, the same girl that rejected Dustin at the Snowball. El happily got payback for her friend by blowing up Stacey's drink in her face. She narrowed her eyes when she saw the girl, exchanging a look with Max. She hoped that Stacey was not trying to cause any issues with her friends. As they approached, Stacey was walking away from the boys and back to her friend group, the girls making eye contact with her as they passed her by.
"What was that about?" Max asked, folding her arms as she braced herself for possibly having to punch Stacey in the face. "What did she want?"
"She was inviting us to a party she's having tonight," Dustin said with a smug shrug and a smirk. "Guess my speech impressed her so much, she realized that being popular means nothing after high school."
"Well, should we go?" Will asked, looking blown away that their conversation with Stacey even happened in the first place.
"Is that rhetorical?" Lucas questioned, an eyebrow raised with an eager grin. That earned him an elbow to the ribs from Max.
Mike, however, shook his head. "No," he answered. "Screw that. I have a better idea. Way better."
He looked over at El with a knowing smile, and she immediately began to grin. She went to his side and leaned her head on his shoulder, taking his hand. "Screw conformity," she quoted Dustin's speech in agreement.
It was time for one last adventure with the party.
...
The game was not doing very well, at least on the players' end.
Max was up, smashing and kicking things in the back, Dustin, Lucas, and Will were moping, and Mike was rubbing it in, putting vampire teeth in his mouth to pretend to be the vampire character that is beating them. He laughed at Max especially, which made El giggle to herself at how dorky he was. She felt bad that they were losing this battle, but she had been out for a while now after her mage character was killed in a previous encounter. There was not much she could contribute right now instead of some commentary meant to encourage the others to beat Strahd von Zarovich, or Strahd von Douchebag as Max so lovingly called him. Will was the only one left in the game, and there was a suppression stone that prevented him from doing much to attack, which El knew all too well.
Mike turned to Will, the one still left in the game. "Time to join your friends, Sorcerer," he taunted him in the same vampire accent he used to taunt Max.
"Just get it over with and roll," Lucas told Will, frustrated. "I don't want to hear his shit anymore."
Will agreed begrudgingly, knowing that it was a lost cause no matter what he did. He started rolling the die in his hands, but suddenly, Dustin grabbed his arm before he could throw the die onto the table. "The Mage!" Dustin reminded him with wide eyes. "From the Abbey of St. Markovia. She said we could summon her to help our Mage!"
Lucas's eyes widened too, also grabbing his friends' hands. "When at our lowest depth!" he realized.
Everyone stared at each other in shock and surprise, and El eagerly smiled and exchanged a knowing look with Mike. They all started frantically looking for the incantation spell, knowing that this was their last hope in winning the game. Will found it and everyone gathered around him. "Oh Mage! Arise and end our fall! From dark and past and secrets deep, come forth and help your promised keep!" Will said in a deep voice.
Silence on both ends. El, Will, Max, Lucas, and Dustin stared at Mike, who just started back at them. "Nothing happens," Mike dropped the news, much to the frustration of everyone else. Lucas threw his hands to the table, Will and Dustin complained aloud, and Max looked ready to flip the table. El just watched her boyfriend, knowing what he was planning already. "Wait, wait..." Mike then said, looking at the table as if something suddenly showed up. Everyone then looked at him in anticipation while El started to smile. "A purple light begins to shine through the mist. Growing brighter and brighter... it's a portal! And out of this portal steps..."
Mike then grabbed a figurine and slammed it onto the table. "The Mage of St. Markovia!" he happily announced.
Everyone cheered in excitement and El clapped. They all pounded the table with their hands, jumped around, and began to dance. Mike stood up too, shining a flashlight now for dramatic effect. "The Mage holds out her hands and SHOOM!" Mike shouted above the rest of the cheers, waving the flashlight around at all of his friends. "She aims a beam of light at the fallen Mage in our party and revives her!" El then stood up and grabbed the die from Will, making a perfect roll needed to end the game. "Success! A beam of powerful light shoots forward! They both work together and they aim it directly at Strahd!"
Mike got away from his seat, ready to act it all out as El held her hands to his face, pretending to shoot the beam of light. "Strahd lets out an AHHHHHH," he screeched and he began to fall to the ground. "And his body shrivels, burns, and turns to ash!" he said with one last collapse to the floor. El kept her hands up for a moment longer, then she lifted her fist into the air in victory as everyone else in the party celebrated. El finally joined them in celebration and they all cheered for her specifically because she came back for them in the end. Will, Max, Lucas, and Dustin took her hands and shook them in the air as they shouted loud for all in Hawkins to hear.
"That's our Mage!" Max cheered.
"Thank you, oh glorious Mage!" Will praised her, pretending to bow down.
"I would never want to leave you guys behind!" El reassured them, meaning it both in a campaign and a literal sense.
Everyone settled down and sat back in their seats, ready to hear the Dungeon Master wrap up the game. "The mysty gloom that traps the village of Barovia evaporate, and you are all met with cheers from the townsfolk," Mike said, which made Will whoop and Max clap. "In honor of your courage and bravery, they give you medals and you are all awarded one thousand pieces of gold each." Mike placed a treasure chest onto the board and some gold pieces, which everyone happily took. "Flushed with wealth and honor, you live out the rest of your lives in comfort and in happiness."
El, Lucas, Max, Will, and Dustin held out their gold pieces together in the center of the board, doing a chant to relish in their victory. "The end!" Mike announced, leaning back in his seat.
"Great campaign!" The boys and El all agreed, clapping for their Storyteller.
Max, however, looked confused. "Wait wait wait, hold on," she interrupted the clapping. "That's it? Comfort and happiness? Could you be more trite? I thought you were some sort of Dungeon Master or something."
Now the boys looked at Mike with surprised looks, but they all seemed to agree with Max. El looked at Mike too, seeing his mood shift from playful happiness to a more thoughtful and peaceful way as he took it with consideration. She had a feeling where this was going to go, so she put her hand on top of Mike's to reassure him. What she said on the rooftop earlier today was the truth, and they were both ready to take the next step. Not just them either, but the rest of the party. This was it. Mike gave her a soft smile as thanks, squeezing her hand as he turned to the rest of their friends.
"Well, it is true," Mike finally answered. "The comfort and happiness part. But happiness can be found in many places."
The mood in the entire basement shifted, everyone's focus on Mike while his went to Lucas and Max sitting together on his and El's left. "The Knight and the Zoomer... they retire from battle and they settle down in a small village. With each passing day, their love grows stronger," he told them.
El decided to add to the storytelling at hand, creating a vision in the basement for them to look at, inspired by her lost sister's abilities. She showed them Max and Lucas sitting together in a movie theater, holdings hands. They turned to each other and leaned in for a kiss, as if they suddenly remembered just how much the other means to them. The vision of Max then leaned her head against Lucas, cuddling together, their focus less on whatever movie they were watching and more on each other's presence. As the illusion faded away, the real Max and Lucas held hands, tears coming into their eyes.
Mike turned to Dustin. "The Bard, craving knowledge, makes his way to the Mage's Guild of Enclave, where he spends his days in their vast library. Though deeply devoted to his studies, he still makes time for the occasional adventure," he recounted.
El cast her next illusion, showing a future Dustin leaving what looked to be a college library at MIT, running over to a car attached to a motorhome. Steve stood outside of the motorhome and Dustin ran to hug him, both of them laughing as they went into the car to go on a trip together. The real Dustin smiled at the vision that slowly went away, trying to hide how emotional he was getting at the idea of it all.
Now it was Will's turn, and he was already getting emotional before Mike's attention was on him. "As for Will the Wise, he travels far and long to the bustling city of Vallaki. It's overwhelming at first, so very different from the village where he spent his youth. But it isn't long before he finds his place there, and with that, deep happiness and acceptance," he conveyed
El, now teary-eyed herself, smiled at Will as she created a third illusion for her brother, casting the image of a future Will sitting in a crowded bar in New York City. He looked to be alone at first, but then a boy his age approached him and sat down next to him, Will taking his hand with a smile brighter than anyone else's. The vision went away, but the real Will was crying at the mere idea of finally finding someone who loved him back, everyone else letting their tears fall with him.
"And the Paladin and the Mage?" Will then asked, his voice wobbly from his tears. "What about them?"
Now the attention was on Mike and El, who both looked at each other, still holding hands. "The Paladin... he retires from that title, choosing to instead become the Storyteller," Mike started. "He tells stories inspired by his friends. One day, he hopes their tales of adventure spread far and wide across the land, so all can know of their bravery."
"But the Mage cannot stay in the village," El added. "Even though the Order of the Black Hand has left her alone, there could still be someone else who wants to steal her powers. She overcame the suppression stone with the help of her sister to cast sunbeam, but she needs to make sure that sacrifice won't be in vain."
"And the Storyteller loves her so much. He can't let her live a lonely life," Mike continued, his eyes only on El. "They leave the village together in search of a new home. The Mage has not seen much of the world, so they decide to see it together. See how beautiful it can be without any danger lurking in the shadows. After a couple of years of seeing the world, they finally decide to settle down in a beautiful land, somewhere far away. They find a small town to call home, safe from anyone left of the Black Hand. And it is there where we find true happiness. We finally find peace."
El then created one last illusion, creating a field of grass and flowers in the basement. A future Mike and El were walking together, hand in hand, backpacks slung over their shoulders as they climbed up a hill. They stopped suddenly, taking in a beautiful view of three waterfalls, side by side. Just ahead was a quaint village beyond the waterfalls, hidden away from the rest of the world. The perfect place to settle down and start their lives over again. The vision of Mike and El gazed at the village and the waterfalls in wonder, then they looked at each other with nothing but love in their eyes as the illusion faded away, the real Mike and El being no different with their expressions.
"That... all sounds perfect," Max sniffled, a smile on her face through her tears.
"Are we sure that it can all happen?" Will asked. "How do we get this story to come true?"
Mike's eyes were now filling with tears of his own, but he held them in. "Because after everything we've been through, we all deserve this," he told them all. "We deserve to live. This is all just general, but I know you guys. I know you will get these futures to happen. El and I... we're leaving Hawkins in a few days. We're going to see the world. That's going to happen. So I see no reason why your futures can't happen too. Stories are as real as we want them to be."
"You guys will come back though, right?" Lucas asked, staring at the table rather than making eye contact with anyone.
"Of course we will," El reassured her friends, keeping a smile. "We will always be friends. Hawkins will always be home. This isn't a forever goodbye. It's a see you later."
The party was silent now, the six of them taking each other's hands in support as they took in this moment. It would likely be a long time from now until they were all reunited, as they all had their own separate journeys to go on now that high school was over and they would all be leaving Hawkins when the time comes. Even though their time in Hawkins had its tragedies, heartache, and danger, it had its good moments too, such as bringing all of them together. The campaign was over and they could finally rest, knowing that their friendships would bring them all back someday.
The moment was interrupted by the sound of the basement door opening. "Guys, what's going on down there? Lasagna's getting cold!" Karen called down.
Mike turned to the staircase, blinking a few times as he tried to compose himself. "Yeah, we- we just finished!" he called back up. "Be right up!"
It was over. Everyone took deep breaths, gathered their things, and stood up one by one towards the bookcase. Max put hers away first, then Lucas, then Dustin, then Will, each going up the stairs as they wiped their eyes. Mike grabbed his book and slowly put it on the shelf, finally letting his tears escape his eyes and started to quietly sob. Though he was looking forward to leaving Hawkins in a few days and seeing the rest of the world, it was still overwhelming to say goodbye to his friends and his entire childhood. And soon, he would be saying goodbye to his family. Sure, he would be back at some point, but it would definitely be a while until he did.
Any feeling of anxiety went away when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Mike turned to El, who also had tears streaming down her cheeks. She put her book away next to his, and they both looked at the shelf together, seeing the whole party's D&D books together. They themselves would be apart for a while, but at least their character sheets would still be a full party, waiting for them to come back for another game in a few years or so.
El took Mike's hand and they slowly headed up the stairs. Suddenly, Holly and her friends rushed past them, Mike exclaiming as his little sister practically pushed him out of the way to get to the table. She, Derek, Debbie, Mary, and Josh sat down at the table, Holly taking the D&D manual and opening it up to find a campaign to play. Her friends were all laughing excitedly, bantering together. Mike watched them, seeing his twelve year old self sitting there with Dustin, Will, and Lucas so long ago before any Demogorgons or Mind Flayers attacked. Then he saw the campaign that they just had, now including El and Max, their presences completing the party. Holly and her friends were just like that, and soon they would find more to join their party until the time came to retire and pass it on.
Holly the Heroic was now in Mike the Brave's spot as the new Dungeon Master, and Mike could only hope that her childhood was still intact despite what she had gone through.
El nudged Mike, bringing him out of his thoughts. "You okay?" she asked him.
Mike took a deep breath, focusing his full attention on the love of his life. "I'm okay," he responded, a watery smile on his face. "I promise."
El smiled back, taking a glance at Holly and her friends. "You taught her well," she said in acknowledgment. "Come on, Storyteller. Let's eat and then find our happy ending."
"I can't imagine anything better than that," Mike grinned. There was no point in dwelling on the past now that his future was right in front of him. El was all he ever needed in his life, and as long as she was there, anything was possible.
Mike followed El up the stairs and closed the basement door behind him.
Over and out.