Robin knew, even before the demodogs burst through the door of Hopper's run-down shack, that their luck was going to run out. After all, they could only hope to survive for so long without Nancy.
And now their time seems to be up. They've retreated into one of the back rooms, Jonathan and Steve standing between the kids and the door. Steve gives his bat a nervous swing. Jonathan aims the revolver at the door, ready to shoot at whatever comes through, but it looks too small in his hand, awkward and ineffective.
And utterly useless, of course, when the door opens and Nancy is the one to walk in.
"Nance," he whispers. She scowls at him, her black eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Where is Eleven?" Nancy's voice has changed since Vecna took her. It pitches lower, deep and heavy in a way it only ever got when she was tired or angry and willing to let her guard down. It reminds Robin of late nights, of quiet moments with just the two of them. It reminds her of everything she's lost just because Vecna realized he could take their strongest soldier for his own.
Jonathan adjusts his grip on the gun. "Come on, Nance, snap out of it."
Nancy's eyes flash. Robin sees her shoulders tense, sees her feet shift, sees her make up her mind a split second before anyone else.
She moves at the same time Nancy does, running forward and shoving her before she can draw and aim her pistol. They crash hard to the floor, tangled together for a moment until Nancy manages to flip them. Robin's head smacks against the wood flooring. When she looks up, everything is blurred except for the look of fury on Nancy's face.
Nancy presses the gun to her chest. Robin hears the others cry out, hears Steve running forward. She holds her hand out, waving them off as best as she can.
"Nance," she breathes. She looks up at her, out of breath and helpless. Nancy's eyes are black, staring unfeelingly back at her.
But she doesn't fire. That has to mean something.
It has to.
"Nancy," Robin tries again. Nancy's mouth twitches. She presses the gun harder to her chest. "This isn't you."
Nancy's mouth twists into a snarl. Her free hand comes up to tangle in Robin's hair, pulling until Robin has to bite back a cry of pain. She leans in close and growls, "You don't know me."
"I do," Robin whispers. She can feel tears stinging her eyes, though she isn't sure if it's from pain or fear or the sheer desperation of her words. "I do, Nance, and you know me."
"Enough--"
"Nancy, please, look at me. Just look at me." Nancy hesitates, and Robin reaches up to clutch her wrist--not pulling or pushing, just holding, just clinging to her for dear life. "See me, the way only you can."
Nancy's grip on her hair loosens. Robin can feel her shaking on top of her.
"Because I see you," Robin whispers. "I see you. Not him."
"Robin." Her name is silent on Nancy's lips, but it's there. Robin rubs her thumb along Nancy's wrist, watching tears pool in her eyes. "Robin, I--"
She jerks, pulling the gun back and throwing it across the room. Everyone starts moving, chaos filling the room again. Steve runs forward and grabs Nancy's arms, yanking them behind her back. Max runs in with a syringe, and Jonathan takes it and carefully steps up behind Nancy.
And all the while, she just stares at Robin, tears falling silently down her face now.
"I'm sorry," she whispers. "Robin. I never--I don't want--"
Robin reaches up and cradles her face. "Look at me, Nance."
Nancy does, blinking away tears to see her clearly. Robin keeps holding on, keeping her steady as Jonathan sinks the needle into her neck. Nancy doesn't even wince.
"It's okay," she breathes. "We've got you, Nance. You're going to be okay."
I'm actually working on a piece of art for it, though my Dead Dove has taken over the brain space I was using.
I always like to imagine Robin following a similar timeline of being initially Flayed in s1, so the concept of her being flayed in s5 got me thinking.
One thing I've thought about are the little spores of Vecna in the air of the upside down, and after being there for a certain amount of time, you don't have a choice on whether or not you've been maybe just a little flayed.
There is a fic that someone posted in the Ronance tag that was, honestly, one of my favs that I've read that kind of plays with this concept, the only one I've seen like it so far. It's been hidden in a collection, unfortunately.
Essentially the exposure to the upside down starts changing the teens on a physical level, starting with their indifference to cold temperatures, followed by a lack of need for food, and completed with a kind of slowly spreading awareness/telepathy of the minds and thoughts of the people around them. In the fic, Nancy could know what anyone was thinking/could experience what they were feeling within 100 mile radius of herself which is double what it had been the previous month.
I really like the idea of them being infected by the underground, and how it might be changing their DNA, how the 'hive mind' translates over to the human world. A different version of being flayed entirely while retaining some of the core elements. It would be interesting to see, then, how they responded to Vecna when he came back for his final shot. Maybe the way they were effected by the Upside down created something new, something similar to the monsters of the upside down, but not subservient to their creator. I imagine the three surviving teens would be the first to experience these changes and maybe Jonathan and Dustin experience it on some level, even if they weren't exposed for very long.
One of the vague AU concepts I think about sometimes but hasn't completely placed itself into my 'hyperfixation' slot.
wild, unhinged, enraged, cheeks smudged with dirt and blood and hands constantly itching for a gun--Vecna wants to point it at the others, she wants to point it at herself
....but to be completely honest, i don't really think flayed!nancy could work. it ties into my theory that nancy is one of the characters least likely to die in s5. they need her too much. if nancy dies i'm not sure the group will be able to win, y'know? she's always been in the heart of the fight, and while she was doing her own thing in s1 and s2, she's the clear leader in s3 and especially s4. she's arguably the most powerful character that doesn't have superpowers--the only other contender is hopper, who almost always has more resources at his disposal than nancy.
anyway the point is that, despite what the antis think, nancy is fundamental to the group's chances of success. not only is she insanely smart, ruthlessly determined, and good with any weapon you put in her hands, but she's also a central (albeit unappreciated) pillar to the group. she's mike's sister. the boys have all known her forever. el at least lowkey admires her and max clearly trusts her and thinks to turn to her in a crisis. steve and jonathan have feelings for her. she and robin are friends, as in, officially. she's even one of hopper's earliest partners, the one he trusts to toss a gun to, and she was murray's tie into the truth of what was happening. if nancy is compromised, everyone is devastated, and personally i don't think it's something they can recover from
basically tl;dr unless it's a last minute sacrifice play (which is honestly more likely to happen to el or steve imo) i don't think you can take nancy out of the picture and still have the group realistically win
