Because at the far end of the room…
was the thing they'd been desperate to find—
their doorway back home.
All of them felt a wave of relief wash over them as they finally saw the gate.
But Nancy quickly snapped back to focus. "We have to contact El and Hopper. They must be in trouble too."
Dustin nodded. "Yeah, I'll come with you. And I still need to clear up some of my doubts about that weird wall."
Hearing this, Jonathan and Steve stepped forward at the same time and said, in perfect unison, "I'll accompany you."
They exchanged a look filled with silent competitive tension.
Before either of them could say anything else, Nancy raised her hand. "Both of you, stop. Anyone can come."
Then she grabbed Jonathan's hand without hesitation.
"But Nancy—" Steve began.
Nancy cut him off before he could finish. "We need someone to keep an eye on her. You aren't scared that we're leaving you alone with her here… are you?"
Steve forced a confident smile. "Yeah, I'm not scared. You can take the easily scared one with you."
Jonathan, Nancy, and Dustin headed toward the gate while Steve watched them go, trying to hide the mix of irritation and worry on his face.
After the others left, Raven sat near the door and said casually, "You like her, don't you?"
Steve turned to her, caught between confusion and shock. "Well… it's not like that. I just want her to be safe and… fine, yes, I like her. But how did you even know?"
Raven shrugged. "I can practically feel the tension between you three. The only thing I don't get is why she chose that quiet one."
"Yeah, he's a loser," Steve muttered, before settling down beside her.
For a moment, he stared at the floor. "Sometimes I don't know what to say to her… or what to do. I keep telling myself I should just forget about her. But when I try… I just can't."
Raven nodded knowingly. "That's how love is. Weird. Messy. Confusing."
Steve glanced at her. "Have you ever been in love?"
"Well," she said, thinking for a moment, "I don't know much about love, but yeah… I've dated many. It was always perfect at first, but the moment they learned what I did, or the kind of people connected to me, they all ran."
Steve sighed. "Sad… but honestly, understandable."
"Yeah," Raven admitted softly. "But there was one person. One man who… I think he's the only one who fit the description of real love."
Steve leaned forward, genuinely curious. "We've got time. You can tell me about him."
Raven looked ahead, her voice turning distant.
"Well… he was in the military. And of course he knew everything about what I did. But he still loved me. He was honest, brave—he joined the military because he truly wanted to protect his nation. He knew my strength, yet treated me like a lady. He wasn't scared of me… he admired me.
We even made a pact: when I turned twenty, he would stop taking dangerous missions, and I would leave behind the dirty work and start serving my country the right way."
Steve frowned. "Then why are you still doing this?"
Raven's eyes darkened, and her voice dropped to a whisper.
"It was a month before my twentieth birthday. I had just completed what was supposed to be my second-last major mission. And when I came back…"
She paused, swallowing heavily.
"I learned that he'd been killed during one of his missions. Just like that—before we could change our lives, before we could even try. Everything we planned… ended."
Steve was stunned. "Oh… I'm really sorry to hear that. It must have been hard."
But instead of tears, he heard Raven laugh softly.
"Don't worry," she said. "It wasn't as tragic as it sounds. He was the kind of man who wouldn't be sad about dying for his country."
She smirked a little. "And let's just say… I took care of the people responsible for his death. Immediately."
Steve's eyes widened, but Raven continued calmly.
"After that day, I realized I should never wait. If I want to do something, I do it. If I feel something, I say it. That's how I became… unpopular in the military. I stopped following orders . Started doing things like helping you guys."
She glanced at him.
"What I'm trying to say is—true love doesn't hold you back. It makes you happier, stronger. The love he gave me was enough. I won't disrespect it by clinging to it forever."
Steve didn't know what to say. But slowly, he began to understand her—piece by piece.
Then a transmission crackled through Raven's walkie-talkie, making Steve jump. Raven, however, lifted it calmly.
A voice on the other end said, "Red Soldier, where are you? We have a situation at the base. Can you come?"
Raven pressed the button. "Copy that. I'm with a really handsome boy right now, and you're ruining our moment. I cannot come."
And with that, the line went dead.
Raven turned to Steve. "I have a gate at my house. So I come here whenever I want. It's basically my playground."
Steve blinked. "Do they… actually call you 'Red Soldier'?"
Raven chuckled. "Yeah. After missions, they always found me covered in blood. That's how I got the name."
A small shiver ran down Steve's spine. "Wow. Someone as strong as you still has to lie about your whereabouts?"
Raven raised an eyebrow. "Lie? When did I lie? I told him the truth."
Steve immediately covered his face with his hands, embarrassed.