0 0 1 ━ [ 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 ]

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟺𝟻: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚒𝚊𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕

"I'm getting real fucking sick of this place," One muttered to herself as she crossed the threshold of the portal into the Upside Down.

One was greeted with screams and roars on either side of her but she didn't have time to worry about them, she had to find Eleven. If she was even here. When One had opened a portal beneath James she hadn't really been thinking of a specific place in the Upside Down, rather just getting James out of Hawkins. One couldn't even say for certain where she was, given how notorious her portals were for opening wherever they damn well pleased. She just had to hope they were in the same place.

As One trekked along the barren, black wasteland of the Upside Down, it became more apparent to her that she was in Snikwah. She came across the arcade, with its flickering neon lights that sprayed multi-colored sparks at her as she passed by. Next was the movie theatre, which was missing enough letters on the marquee that the only ones left conveniently spelled "death". She could see the hospital looming in the distance, which seemed like a cruel joke since it wouldn't be able to save anyone.

Next One came upon the police station where her father worked in another world. She hoped he was okay and that Steve was able to get him out. She also hoped that she'd be able to see him again, but she had to push that worry aside when a loud crack echoed through the abandoned town.

"This place is wonderful, isn't it?" James' disembodied voice echoed around her. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Agree to disagree," One called back as she turned in slow circles looking for him.

"But don't you feel the untapped power here?" James asked, his voice almost like a whisper in her right ear. One turned sharply to the right but she still didn't see him. "It's surging all around us. You just have to focus."

"No thanks," One answered absentmindedly. Her primary focus was finding James so that she could get Eleven back. Where the hell was he?

"I'm glad you followed me here."

"You didn't really give me a choice," One growled. "Now where is my sister?"

"Don't worry, we'll get to that," James answered calmly. Too calmly, like he was discussing washing the dishes instead of the abduction of her sister. "First we need to have a chat."