Hawkins – Midnight
The wind howled across the treetops.
Will and Lena stood just beyond the treeline, their breath visible in the strange, unnatural chill. Hawkins' power grid continued to flicker in the distance—entire neighborhoods going dark, one block at a time.
It felt like the calm before a war.
Or the eye of a storm that hadn't finished forming yet.
Lena gripped Will's hand tightly.
"We need help," she said.
Will nodded. "Mike, Dustin, maybe even Max. They'll believe us."
But deep inside, they both knew…
This wasn't something the old crew had ever faced.
This wasn't just the Upside Down.
This was something older.
Something smarter.
Something that learned from every version of them in every broken mirror.
---
Later That Morning — Wheeler's Basement
Dustin's eyes widened as Will and Lena finished their story.
"Echoverse?" he repeated, trying to process it. "You're telling me you two fell into a glass-dimension made of alternate realities where a kid with black eyes is trying to possess Will?"
"Yes," Will said simply.
Mike paced. "That… sounds like sci-fi."
"It's not," Lena cut in. "And it's happening now. We brought back a piece of it." She reached into her coat and placed the mirror shard on the table.
At first, it looked normal.
Then the image shimmered.
Will flinched. "That's… me. But older. I'm floating. Screaming."
Mike paled.
Max leaned forward. "He looks possessed."
"I told you," Lena said. "He's the Key. And I'm the Lock."
Dustin frowned. "What does that mean exactly?"
Will shook his head. "We don't fully know yet. But when we touched the shard together, we were pulled into the Echoverse. That means our connection… opens it."
Max crossed her arms. "So you're saying if someone—like, say—evil mirror Will figures out how to force you two to connect again…"
Lena finished grimly: "He opens the gateway. Permanently."
---
Elsewhere — Abandoned Echoverse Lab
Subject V—the black-eyed boy—stood before a cracked pod.
Inside it floated a half-formed being. Not quite Will. Not quite Lena.
Both.
A fusion.
A being forged from glass, shadow, and light.
> "Soon," he whispered. "The original Will is weakening. The Lock trembles. The timeline will shatter."
Behind him, dozens of mirror-children stirred inside frozen capsules. Each one was a failed Lena. A failed Will.
But one had opened their eyes.
She looked exactly like Lena.
Except… she smiled like a blade.
---
Hawkins Library — 3 PM
Dustin and Max were flipping through old files from Dr. Owens' records that had been left in the library basement—mostly debris after the Hawkins Lab shutdown.
Will and Lena sat in a corner, hands occasionally brushing as they passed notes.
"I think I'm scared," Lena admitted softly.
Will looked over. "You've been through worse."
"Maybe. But this time… it's not just monsters. It's us."
He nodded slowly. "I keep thinking about that mirror. If I lose control… if I turn into him…"
"I won't let you," she said firmly.
Will glanced down at her hand in his.
Their fingers intertwined naturally.
"You believe in me too much."
"No," she said. "I believe in who you choose to be."
For a moment, everything was still.
And then the lights buzzed.
The building went dark.
The air chilled.
And every reflective surface in the library—every window, screen, metal lamp—shimmered.
Dustin's voice cracked. "Is this a test?"
"No," Lena said. "It's a breach."
---
In the reflection…
A figure emerged.
Mirror Lena.
Her hair floated upward unnaturally, like underwater silk. Her eyes glowed silver.
She smiled cruelly. "Found you."
Will stepped in front of real Lena. "Get away from her."
But Mirror Lena was fast.
She phased out of the mirror—half-corporeal, ghost-like—and sliced through a metal bookstand without touching it.
Max screamed. Dustin grabbed a flashlight and aimed it.
"Shine it on her!"
The light passed through the figure, making her hiss and retreat slightly—but not vanish.
"She's not like Vecna," Lena whispered. "She's me. But reprogrammed. Rewritten."
Will stared her down. "Then how do we fight her?"
"You don't," Mirror Lena said. "You merge."
She reached toward Will.
Her hand passed through his chest.
He gasped—eyes flickering black for just a second.
Lena screamed and grabbed his hand, grounding him.
The connection between them pushed Mirror Lena back.
"No!" she hissed. "He's already marked! You can't protect him forever!"
And with a final screech, she phased back into the glass.
All the mirrors shattered at once.
Then the lights came back on.
---
Dustin exhaled loudly. "Okay. I believe you now."
Mike, arriving late with Nancy's old axe, blinked. "What the hell just happened?"
Will was shaking. Lena held his hand like a lifeline.
"We need to stop this," he whispered. "Now."
---
Later — Lena's Bedroom
She had a notebook full of drawings. Memories. Dreams. Warnings.
Will sat on her bed, flipping through it.
"Look at this one," he said, showing her a sketch she didn't even remember making.
It was both of them—back to back—surrounded by shattered glass.
And in the distance, the gate.
Lena stared at it.
"I think… I drew the future."
Will looked up. "We're running out of time."
She leaned her head against his shoulder.
"I'm scared, Will. What if we're not enough?"
He gently took her face in his hands.
"Then we fall together."
He kissed her—longer this time, deeper.
No static.
Only warmth.
---
In the ruins of the Echoverse Lab, Subject V smiled as he felt the surge.
"They're aligning."
Behind him, Mirror Lena stepped out of the shadows.
"They'll come willingly," she said.
"No," he corrected. "They'll come because they have to."
And from the shadows, a mirror cracked open—
Revealing Hawkins.
---
End of Chapter 6