Dustin's always known he was different. When he was younger, it was his cleidocranial dysplasia and frizzy, wild hair his mother could never get ahold of. As he grew older, it was Dungeons and Dragons, a persistent lisp, and the audio-visual club at school. Bullies liked to single him out, a small, nerdy kid who talked funny and couldn't keep his mouth shut. Bullies he could handle, especially when Mike, Lucas, and Will were by his side.

There were worse things in this world than bullies.

Hawkins Indiana discovered this the hard way when Will was dragged to the upside-down, taking their families on a wild ride of life or death experiences punctuated by nerdy science and new friends. Their group added Eleven and Max and Steve and Nancy and Johnathan and even some adults like Mrs. Byers and Hopper. A small group of highly trained geeks, ready to take down the upside-down with D&D references and homemade weaponry.

Even after they'd closed the gate, the group was understandably jumpy, double checking closets and dark corners. Hell, even Dustin did that. Strange things had been awakened in Hawkins twice now, and there was no longer such a thing as "too safe". Especially when your seemingly harmless alien pet had eaten your mom's favorite cat in your closet just a few months ago.

But Dustin's life had been, well, upside down, before he even knew what a demogorgon was.

The first memory he had wasn't playing with toys, or his mother's voice, or learning to ride a bike. His first memory was of a strange dog following him on his trike when he and his mom would go for rides. She never saw it, but it found Dustin one evening when his mom was at work. His mom returned to find him crying in a smoking pile of black ash, a nearly melted toy shovel in his chubby hand.

His mother took him inside, drew a bath, and created a clever wind-up toy out of brightly colored string, a battery, and extra screws. She gently cleaned him off as she serenaded him with stories of a man who hired her, a woman, in his auto shop. He could make anything, could get any car running, even if all it had to its name was a body and four wheels. Dustin asked what happened to this magic man. He knew it wasn't his Dad. All he did was read the newspaper, make work calls, and yell at his mom. She looked sad when he asked that, and simply said he disappeared, and she settled down at the nice administrative job she had now. Much less messy and far more proper.

The hellhound hadn't been the last monster to haunt Dustin, though he didn't know what they were at the time. He took to always carrying bits of building material with him, just in case something found him at school or on the road home. He discovered that he was a bit of a MacGyver himself, always able to create a hand-held machine that scared away whatever nightmares haunted him. By the age of 12, homemade gadgets were his specialty. And if he didn't have one of his inventions handy, well, his bike always made a good monster-smashing club in a pinch.

When he first saw the demogorgon, he thought it was just another monster. He quickly realized that this was something else entirely when the rest of his friends were just as terrified. His penchant for creating helpful bits and bobs was crucial in turning back the horrors that the darkness had unearthed. Okay, maybe not crucial, but they certainly helped. The one bright spot in this whole mess was that no other monsters bothered him after they discovered the upside-down. Maybe the monsters he'd been seeing for all these years were actually demogorgons. Maybe he wasn't any crazier than the rest of his friends.

When summer of 1985 came, Mr. Clarke gave him an application for a summer science and technology camp, something to help him further "open his creativity door". His mom instantly approved, glad for the chance to have a calmer summer with her precious Dusty off learning. Dustin jumped on the opportunity to explore the country a bit more. He was 14 after all and he'd never been outside of Hawkins. A summer camp in New York sounded like the perfect thing.

The application process was surprisingly rigorous, requiring parent information, school testing scores and behavior reports, and translation of documents that were written in some sort of code language that was ridiculously easy for Dustin to translate. Finally, a man with a wild afro in a wheelchair came for an in-person interview, during which Dustin could hardly stand still, showing off as many of his gadgets and science projects as he could. The man seemed bemused, but in the end he left Dustin with an orientation date, packing list, and guidelines for the camp.

The day after school ended, Dustin stood by the car with two packed bags and a nervous smile on his face. He joked with Will and Mike and Lucas, teasing them about their boring summer plans and promising to meet back up with them for the 4th of July. His mom drove him the whole distance, alternating between laughing at his antics and crying. He almost felt bad about leaving her, but whenever he said that she would dry her tears and tell him not to be silly. By the end of the day, Dustin stood at the bottom of a hill on Long Island with the groovy wheelchair dude. He hoisted his bags, ready for a month of science and innovation.

Well, he got innovation at least.

Upon entering the campgrounds, he could immediately tell this wasn't the camp he'd signed up for. The climbing wall was covered in flowing lava, the cabins were created in old-Greek style, and campers were sword fighting on the grounds.

"What the hell?" He'd muttered, glancing back and forth for other nerds like him. "Not that this isn't awesome, Mr. Chiron, but I think you've taken me to the wrong camp".

Chiron merely chuckled, stepped out of his wheelchair, and Dustin had almost fainted. The guy was a horse-man. A centaur.

"Son of a bitch" he'd whispered, barely daring to breathe. "Armor class 12, 45 hit points..."

Chiron just looked confused, "What are you muttering about? I'm not wearing any armor".

"But you're a D&D character! I've only been a centaur in two campaigns but they're not too bad. Wait, is this because of the demogorgons? Is everything from the game real? Because then we are all freaking screwed".

Chiron pursed his lips and frowned, "I am not familiar with this D&D you speak of, or demogorgons. However, monsters are very much real. Perhaps we should discuss this at the Big House, over some refreshments?"

After watching the orientation video and telling the centaur about the upside-down, Dustin wasn't sure who was more concerned: him or Chiron. But the old centaur assured him he was safe here, and was welcome to tour the place under the guidance of the Hermes cabin counselor.

Dustin quickly grew used to the camp and surprisingly wasn't disappointed. He learned how to fight off monsters, though unfortunately he wasn't any good at spears or bows or swords. He found that hammers, axes, and clubs suited him well, and he grew more skilled, he thought, than even Steve.

He also spent a lot of time in Cabin 9's forges. Even though he hadn't officially been claimed, Chiron was certain enough of his parentage to allow him access. With the help of a beautiful and charming Apollo camper, Dustin created the Forever Clock and the Slammer.

The girl, Suzie ("Suzie, not Susan, I'm not my mother") was out of place in the Apollo cabin, preferring books and pursuit of knowledge to music or archery or healing. She was a constant presence in the forges with him, only interrupting her reading to correct his formulas and give suggestions. She was a year-round camper, preferring to stay in the safety of camp and continue learning than tackle the real-world. She regaled him with stories of prophecies, quests for missing relics, and gossip on who was dating who.

At the end of June, four days before his time at "Camp Know Where" was supposed to end, his father claimed him, nearly setting his head on fire at dinner one night as Dustin unveiled Cerebro to Suzie. Cabin 9 welcomed him in for the last couple days of his time at Camp Half-Blood, teaching him more than he'd ever learned through all his years of school. He and Suzie also became the subject of much gossip, as he timidly held her hand during campfire one night. She gripped his hand back enthusiastically, singing louder than the rest of her siblings with a cheesy smile on her face.

Later, sitting by the canoe lake, she pleaded with him to stay. "Think of all the things we could build, Dusty-bun" She whispered, hand squeezing his so tightly he was afraid he'd lose all circulation. "We could finally begin that flying table you dreamt about".

Dustin was tempted. But he'd made a promise. He'd be home for the fourth of July. "I can't. I have to go home. Who knows what the hell they've managed to uncover while I was gone".

"It's not safe out there, especially in Hawkins".

"The upside-down keeps the normal monsters away. And I'm more equipped than ever to fight them. I've got this, Suzie". Dustin smiled, showing off his gap-toothed grin. "Plus, how else will I tell them I've got the smartest and prettiest girlfriend in the world?"

Suzie smiled shyly, tucking a piece of her wayward hair behind her ear and pushing up her glasses. "Alright. But you'll use Cerebro?"

"Every night" Dustin promised, a genuine smile coming easily to his lips. It wasn't going to be easy leaving Camp Half-Blood or Suzie. He'd finally found someplace he belonged, someplace where he had nerdy siblings and monster-killing classes and Suzie, but he knew he wasn't cut out to be a year-round camper. Not even a full-summer camper. He'd been facing monsters since he was a toddler, monsters more horrifying than any even these campers had seen. His shield-brothers needed him. And he needed them. Plus, no one even played Dungeons & Dragons or knew anything about Star Wars here.

The next morning, Chiron and Suzie watched sadly from the base of Half-Blood Hill as his mother doted on him, embarrassing the hell out of him by pinching his cheeks and saying how much he'd grown. It's as if he had been gone for years, not a month. Dustin left Camp Half-Blood in good spirits, armed with t shirts advertising the fake "Camp Know Where" and a celestial bronze club. He'd miss Camp, but he had to get back home. Who knows how much trouble they'd gotten into without him.

And trouble certainly found them, just not in the way Dustin had expected. He'd anticipated a demogorgon or two, perhaps even a Cyclops, but instead he got Russians and whatever the hell that mound of melted flesh was.

As Dustin hid behind the ice cream parlor counter with Steve and Erica and Robin (who he was pretty sure was related to Hermes somehow), he fingered the club hidden in his jacket, furious with himself for assuming he could solve any problem with his wits and a celestial bronze club. He had nothing to deal with Russian bdelyros. To make matters worse, his three best friend were so caught up in their own issues that they were ignoring him. They didn't even believe he had a girlfriend. Please, he was a lady killer. At least Steve was happy to see him, though after discovering the Russians, Dustin kinda wished he'd stayed at Camp Half Blood.

And then El came to save the day once again, but before long he was in an unfamiliar car careening up the hill to Cerebro. He could hear the roars of the Mind Flayer in the mall, even from the hill he'd dubbed Weathertop. He knew that if he couldn't get this to work, his friends would be dead. And he'd be following close behind.

Dustin couldn't help but think he'd been trained for the very thing his friends were facing now. He was supposed to be the one who fought ancient mythological monsters while they hung out at the mall and lived their naive mortal lives in oblivious peace. But when had that ever been the case?

"This is Suzie. I copy"

Dustin pulled his thoughts back from their wandering and focused on the project at hand. He was a child of Hephaestus, he could do this. "Suzie!"

"Dusty-bun! Where have you been?" Dustin could hear her relief even over their tenuous radio connection. He winced, imagining she thought he'd run into a monster on the way home or worse, thought he'd forgotten about her.

"I'm so, so, sorry. I've been really busy...trying to save the world from Russians and monsters".

Suzie giggled, bringing a smile to Dustin's face. "Of course you have".

Then Erica prodded him, harshly whispering about the number. Planck's constant. The reason for this call. Dustin had her change frequencies to keep any listening monsters off her tail until they could finish their conversation. He was sure she was in the bronze-lined "phone booth" they'd created with the counterpart to Cerebro. It'd been dangerous, complicated work, but Dustin had been able to perfect a method of communication between the outside world and camp. Of course, if it'd taken him this long to make contact, it probably wasn't perfect. Damn demigod reactions to technology.

He rushed to ask her about Planck's constant. If anyone knew, it'd be the daughter of the god of knowledge. Of course that god was also the deity of music and let's be honest, Dustin knew she was upset. So he dutifully sang the song, their song, the one the Apollo campers had serenaded them with at the campfire when they first held hands. He knew the others were listening and knew he'd never hear the end of it but it was worth it. Worth it to hear her voice, to gain that connection to his heritage back even if only a moment, and worth it to get Plank's constant out of his stubborn girlfriend.

Hopper and Joyce were in, and Dustin? Well, he wanted to go down there more than anything. Not that he had a death wish, he liked all his limbs intact and his mind un-flayed thank you very much. But he had a celestial bronze bat he was itching to try on one of these upside-down bastards and was trained for this sort of thing. But he was trapped on a hill miles away from the mall without a car. He'd never reach them in time,so he did what he did best: he was the man with a plan. He might not be able to shut the portal himself, but he could support those who were doing it. Even if that meant putting up with Erica for a little bit longer.

By the time the Battle of Starcout mall was over, nearly all of his friends were loaded into the back of ambulances and bruised and battered. No one would be the same after this summer, for one reason or another.

In the blink of an eye, it was three months later and the Byers were leaving Hawkins. Dustin didn't blame them, this town was full of dark memories and literal monsters. He just wished it was Lucas and Max who were leaving, so they would stop mockingly singing Suzie's song.

El was having troubles with her abilities, which Dustin hoped meant that the upside-down was shut for good. He knew better than to expect his life to be easy though. He was a demigod from Hawkins, Indiana. His life was about as dangerous as it could get.

Their party was separating. They'd meet up for holidays and birthdays and summers, but it wouldn't be the same. They couldn't turn back the clock. Dustin might be young, but he understood by now that life kept moving, and you couldn't go back. But that didn't mean it had to be a bad thing. They all had a lot of life ahead of them, plenty of time to complete whatever quests they needed to undertake. As long as they stayed true to each other, Dustin knew they'd be just fine.

24 years later, nearly an eternity in demigod years, Dustin sat on the front porch of the Big House with Chiron, looking out over Camp Half Blood. So much had changed, but this place didn't seem to have aged a day. Sure, there were more cabins now after the Titan War, but the campers were still training, climbing the lava wall, starting prank wars. The first snow was dusting the ground, and the Hermes campers were forming snowballs and lobbing them at the Aphrodite cabin. However nostalgic and picturesque it was, there was an undeniable tension in the air. When Dustin had arrived last night, he found three new, fairly powerful demigods and the camp's leader missing.

"How's Suzie?" Chrion broke the silence, laying down a card and picking up another.

"She's great" Dustin grinned with a relatively straight smile. "She wanted to come, but Marty has to finish his science fair project and Ellie has piano lessons. I told her I'd bring new t-shirts for the whole family".

Chiron waved his hand, "Take what you want from the camp store".

Dustin frowed, looking carefully at his old friend and mentor, "I've known you for a long time Chiron. Even during the Titan War. I've never seen you this...unsettled".

Chiron leaned back in his chair, and Dustin didn't think he'd get an answer. The old centaur was cagey at the best of times. With Dustin and his family in the mortal world, Chiron tried to keep them out of camp business. He didn't even know about the Titan War until Typhoon swirled through the town 50 miles south of them. By the time he'd settled his family in their safe house and sent an Iris message to Chiron, the battle was already over.

They were lucky. Two demigods out in the mortal world with kids of their own was a dangerous thing. Unheard of even. But whatever happened to cause the upside-down to rise in Hawkins had caused the monsters to give the place a wide berth. Not that he didn't see monsters every once in a while, but there was a reason they never took that trip to Disney World his kids were begging him for. Someday, he'd tell them the truth. He already suspected Ellie had the sight, but he didn't want to bring them into this too early. They'd learn how to defend themselves, but they'd get a childhood first. Just like he did.

"There are things stirring that haven't moved in a millenium" Chiron's voice startled him out of his thoughts. "And things I'm not allowed to speak of, barriers, one might say, that are breaking before our very eyes".

Dustin grunted, playing a card in a mediocre move that he knew would lose him the game and taking the opportunity to look at Chiron over his cards, "Breaking barriers isn't necessarily a bad thing. I take it this has to do with the boy in the purple shirt?"

Chiron looked at him in surprise, "Yes. How did you know?"

Dustin shrugged, "You'd be surprised how many demigods make their way through Hawkins. Not all of them are from Camp Half-Blood". He put down his cards, no longer interested in the game, "But you're right. Of all people, I know that some doors should stay shut".

Chiron sighed and stretched, stepping out of his wheelchair and onto the front lawn, "I shouldn't keep you. I believe you have an old friend to visit on your way back?"

Dustin grinned, thinking of all the toys Steve would send back with him for his "niece and nephew". "Yeah, I should get going soon".

"And you're sure you can't help with our dragon problem?"

Dustin grimaced, "I know I worked on him a bit during my time here, but he was never this out of control. I'm sorry Chiron. If he was captured it'd be one thing, but without the fire gift I wouldn't even get close. I've gotten a bit old, I'm afraid".

Chiron chuckled and patted him on the back, "You'll always be a child to me, Dustin. Please give Suzie my well wishes".

"Of course". Dustin grabbed his backpack and headed toward the camp store with Chiron, intent on grabbing a few t-shirts. That's when he felt it. A whisper in the air, like a breath was exhaled from the hills themselves.

"Chiron" he said, his voice sounding as if he was underwater. "I think your life is about to get a bit more interesting".

"What is it?" The centaur was on high alert in seconds.

"Renewed shall be blade that was broken" Dustin murmured, a smile spreading across his face. "Someone found the bunker. I think that means your second Great Prophecy is here".

Chiron pranced nervously, fingers grazing his bow. "How do you know?"

Dustin threw an insulted glare at the centaur, "I sealed the thing Chiron. Believe me, I know". He looked across the familiar hills, admiring Apollo's handiwork as the sun set in spectacular fashion. He tightened his backpack straps and smiled, "Well, have fun with that. I'm too old for questing parties and I have places to be. And if you need a vacation, you always know where to find me".

"Hawkins, Indiana" Chiron muttered, glancing around the anxious camp, "That doesn't sound too bad right about now".

"Yeah, well" Dustin said, thinking of his family and friends waiting for him, "It might be the strangest town in America, but it's home".