“You doing okay?” Steve crouched beside you, taking your hand in his as the van rolled to a stop. You nodded to him, “By my side, the whole time, okay?” he reminded you.
“All right lab rats…” Murray got El, Hopper and Kali of the truck. Steve took his place at the steering wheel, you sitting beside him as he drove to the radio station.
“This plan is gonna work, right? Like I came up with a good plan?” he asked you, shifting his place on the seat. You reached your hand over and gave his thigh a squeeze. He took your hand, kissing your knuckles. “You sure you’ll be okay climbing the ladders? It’s a hell of a way up.”
You lifted your broken arm, Vicki had redone the splint, so there was more support around the wrist. You tapped it on the dashboard. Steve laughed. At the station, you heard Robin talking to Vicki on her walkie as every one climbed out of the truck. You looked up at the radio tower.
“No sign of an evil moving planet.” Lucas announced, looking through a pair of binoculars.
“Well, that’s good cause this is gonna take some time.” Johnathan said, “All right we should split up. Use both ladders, Don’t rush. Pace yourselves. There are platforms along the way, so use them to rest.” He told you all.
Without much chatter everyone quietly split between the two ladders, Will climbed in front of you so he could at each platform and Steve went behind you. Climbing wasn’t easy, you had to fold your broken arm over the rung each time to help keep your grip. Up and up you went, your brother helping on to each platform. Whenever Joyce got close she would ask if you were okay, to which you’d nod and keep going. Close to the top, you stopped, looking out across the upside down version of Hawkins. It was strange to see it this way, the dark and sad version. Not too far away you could see the Demobats circling above the tree line. Sure you saw an extra large wing amongst them.
“Hey, you good?” Steve asked, wrapping his hand around your waist. You leaned back against his chest.
“Steve,” You forced his name out through a whisper, twisting your neck to press a chaste kiss to his jaw line.
“Save the kissing for when we’ve won.” Nancy joked, continuing up the ladder.
You followed up behind her, finally arriving at the top of the tower. Above you all the convergence of the two worlds had begun large rock faces had begun to descend from the sky. The weight of this plan came down on your shoulders.
“Guys, guys, it’s not lining up.” Lucas said.
“What do you mean?” Steve moved about trying to get a better line of sight to the rifts above you all.
“Look. The tower needle, it’s not lining up with the rift.” Lucas explained.
“Shit.” Steve huffed.
“If the Abyss hits the needle…” Will worried.
“This tower’s going down.” Mike finished his friends thought.
Dustin grabbed up his walkie, “Hey chief, we’re gonna need El to stop this planet.” He yelled, “On the sooner side, please.”
“How soon?” Hopper answered.
“Thirty seconds.” Dustin suggested.
Steve found your hand as you both watched the sky moving. Thick clouds giving way to Rocky terrain and glowing red rifts into the Abyss.
“Chief, talk to me. What’s going on there?” Dustin shouted.
“I don’t know I can’t talk to her. I gave her the signal.” Hop answered.
“Well, nothing’s happening over here, and we’re about to be squashed by a moving planet. So give it again!” Dustin panicked into the walkie.
The planet made contact with the needle and the metal cracked and bended. The whole tower began to shake. The needle snapped.
“Look out, look out, look out!” Steve shouted, he pushed you into Johanthan’s arms as the needle came down, shifting the platform just enough that he couldn’t find his footing and he fell. Your heart stopped the moment he went over the edge. His fingers unable to hold on, Steve plunged into the clouds below.
At that same moment a flurry of Demobats came flying around you all. You buried your head into your brother’s chest.
“You guys know this is really unsafe right?” Eddie asked. You all turned to look at the man, he was holding Steve by the hand, his wings spread out and flapping gently to keep him in place. Eddie put Steve back on the platform and you grabbed for him, pulling him against you.
“I’m okay, I’m okay.” He said against your head.
“Eddie?” Dustin took a step forward.
“Hey buddy.” Eddie smiled.
“What the hell?” Dustin asked.
“See, funny story. I had powers, I was in the lab and when I died, your buddy Vecna tried to turn me, make me his puppet but You know me, Fuck the man.” Eddie smiled wide.
Lucas grabbed up his walkie, “The Abyss stopped. El got him! I repeat EL got the bastard,” he celebrated.
From below you heard the screeching of the Demogorgons.
“Okay, kiddos, you go kill that bastard, I’ll fight down here and keep them away from you." Eddie told you all. You didn’t want to leave him down here all alone but you knew you had.
Nancy was the first to climb up through the rift, she looked around at the desert before her. Tall rock formations rose up all around, yet unlike any desert you’d known this one was cold. Freezing like a night had taken any heat from the sand. One by one you all climbed up into the Abyss, into Dimension x. An even colder wind blew your hair around your face.
A pull at your arm caught your breath and you knew it still wasn’t over. Vecna was fighting El. You closed your eyes and allowed yourself to fall into their minds.
Vecna was lifting his sleeve as his henry façade faded away.
“No.” you growled. In here you could talk, you moved forward to where he was reading El’s mind, taking up one of the iron fireplace tools and smacked it across Henry’s back, knocking him to the ground, El falling beside him.
You opened your eyes and you were in the Abyss again, Steve in front of you.
“You okay?” he asked. You nodded. Lifting your arm you pointed.
“That way?” Nancy asked you, “above the Lab, right?”
You nodded again and started walking in that direction. You didn’t listen to any of the conversations.
Johnathan had slowed to walk alongside Steve.
“Hey, so I don’t know if Nance told you but I was gonna propose to her.” He said.
“Oh, okay.” Steve wasn’t sure why he was telling him this.
“Things have been off for a while, when y/n and I were away in California, you and Nancy were there for each other and I thought that, that was why, why things were off with me and Nancy. Truth is our problems had nothing to do with you.”
“No, man. Me and Nance we, we never….”
“I know, you’re with my sister and that’s a big deal. You two are a big deal. Not Nancy and me, we, we’re better off as friends.” Johnathan explained.
“Oh, I didn’t, sorry man.”
“No, it’s cool, I just thought and if you’d rather buy your own one it’s fine but I think this deserves a happy home.” Johnathan held out the gold ring.
Steve took in a long breath, and took the ring.
“Even I can see you love y/n, I don’t like you but she does. So, as long as you make her happy then I can be nice.” Your brother joked.
Steve looked at the ring, his head slowly nodding, “I definitely do not deserve her.”
“You don’t, but she’s insane, so.” They laughed together and Steve slid the ring into a secure pocket in his jacket.
“Hey love birds, you’re gonna want to come see this.” Robin yelled back to them. Everyone was standing at the top of hillside, below in a valley of sand they stared at a structure. It looked almost real, animal like..
“That’s it, that’s what I saw in my vision.” Will announced, “The kids are in there.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Nancy asked, moving forward.
Your held your broken hand to your arm where the scars where, feeling the ice inside it. In a way this felt easy, like the part of Henry’s DNA inside you was home.
****************
Below them in the upside down Eddie fought with the Demogorgons, his bats attacking them in formations. The battle seemed almost too easy. Like the monsters were hardly putting up a fight. Flying into the sky Eddie could see all of the upside down, several military vehicles and a helicopter were speeding toward the Lab.
Using a series of whistles Eddie sent several Demobats in their direction.
****************
The closer you all got to where the children were the more you felt the power inside you building, like you were becoming more affected. You could feel the fear in all your friends and in your brother you felt something else. You turned back to see he has stopped walking. Noticing your lack of movements your mother followed your eyeline.
“Will?” She, and Mike were the first to get to him.
“Its Henry, he’s alive.” Will panted. Your voice rang through their minds and they all turned to you.
“Y/n?” Steve reached out for you.
Will screamed out and fell to his knees.
“We are to close to the hive mind.” You projected into their minds.
“What’s going on what do you see?” Joyce asked Will.
“It’s Henry, he’s made it into the cave.” He answered.
“Wait are you two like, getting stronger?” Robin asked, eyes darting between you and Will.
“It’s like a mothership right?” Dustin asked.
“Are you seeing what he sees?” Steve asked you.
“He’s found them. he’s found Holly and the kids.” Will said.
“What about El?” Mike asked, “Do you see El, or Kali or Max?”
“They’re all alone.”
“They were pulled out.” You added.
“Could you stop him? With your powers?” Robin asked.
“I can try. Just keep going.” Will told you all.
“I’ll stay with him. try and make contact with Holly.” You said, kneeling beside your brother.
Joyce shooed the others away, ready to protect the two of you. You took Will’s hand and allowed yourself to burst through his sight, to use him as a doorway into Vecna’s mind and to Holly.
“Holly? Holly, it’s y/n Byers,”
Holly stood still, looking around herself,
“It’s okay, keep running, I know hearing my voice in your head is strange, but I’m right here with you and we are doing out best to stop him, just keep going.”
She nodded and continued to run, getting the kids into the mining tunnel.
“All right listen. Anything you see in here is not real, it can’t hurt you. Just keep your eyes on me, okay?” Holly told the other children.
“That’s it, Holly, keep them all calm. You’re doing so well.” You told her.
You watched as she led the others to last door, then Holly caught sight of the iron poker she’d used earlier with Max. She picked it up.
“Holly? Holly!” Henry’s voice called through the mine shaft.
Holly appeared behind him and hit him with the poker. Henry was too strong and he threw Holly against the wall. There was nothing you could do to help, the moment Holly hit the wall you were flung out of their minds.
“Mom?”
“Go help them, I’ll stay here with Will.” Joyce urged you.
With a nod you stood and turned, running in the direction of the others. All around the ground began to shake as the structure began to move. The long spindling towers bending and cracking into legs that lifted the body into the air. The Mind Flayer, in it’s real perfect glory rose up in front of you all, giant and frightening.
Just as the others were about to taken a rock flew into the mind flayers face and you all turned to see Eleven. She ran, jumped and forced her way into the mind flayer.
“Hello boys and girls.” Eddie smiled as he placed Kali on the ground.
“Eddie, get us inside.” You ran up to him taking his hand and Kali took his other one. He flew back into he sky and corkscrewed into the mind flayer.
Eleven ripped Vecna from his overhanging tendrils.
“You think you are strong enough.” He scolded her.
“I am not alone.” She smiled as the three of you stepped up behind her.
There was a mess of fighting. Each of you using powers to keep him from getting to close to anyone.
Outside the others agreed on a plan, whilst you fought inside they would fight out. They pulled the mind flayer’s attention using all the fire power they brought to attack it. You and Eleven stood side by side, your arms out in front of you, lifting Vecna up and pushing his body toward one of the large teeth. With each fiery attack outside, his powers were growing weaker, whilst yours grew stronger. Eddie and Kali stood with you, their hands out with yours.
Vecna flung out his tendril arm to Eleven’s face but he was stopped from touching her by Will. Using what little power he had left he tore Vecna’s arm from his body, giving you all the chance to finally impale him on the tooth. The Mind Flayer screamed in pain and dropped to the ground. The others came running in to you, Nancy going straight for Holly and Steve coming to your side, before helping with the other children.
You heard it first, the screeching of terrified animals. Demogorgons came springing into the Abyss, each one trying to get back to the Mind flayer before dropping down dead.
Vecna struggled for breath, his black blood spurting out of his mouth. Turning his head he looked at Joyce.
“I tried to…I wanted to save your children, Joyce.” He spat out.
She took the axe from her shoulder, “That isn’t saving, you fucked with the wrong family.” Eleven times she brought the axe down on his neck until his head fell to the ground. In that moment you felt a finality of everything. All the people that had been lost to him. slowly everyone began to filter out of the creature’s belly and you stepped over to the head. Bending down you held it in your hands.
With his death the cold in your arm was gone. Steve came over to you and pulled you up to standing.
“Hey, it’s over now.” He said.
You shook your head, “There is still more.” You spoke directly into his mind so only he could hear you. “Army.”
Steve took your hand and led you away towards the others. The others climbed down the radio but Eddie flew you down because oof your arm.
At the bottom everyone climbed into the Murray’s truck and it really felt like you had won. Vecna was dead, the kids were saved.
Eddie stood with you and Dustin.
“Man, people are gonna be shook when you come back” Dustin beamed.
“I’m not coming back.” Eddie said, “Dude, look at me, I can’t walk around Hawkins with wings. I don’t belong up there anymore.”
“But, I just got you back.” Dustin began to tear up.
“Hey, you aren’t losing me, I’ll be around whenever you play D&D I’ll be lurking over your shoulder.” Eddie clapped the younger teen on his shoulders, pulling him into a hug. Steve walked up.
“Hey, hero, thanks for the help, man.” He reached out his hand and Eddie shook it.
“Thanks. Ah I don’t like goodbyes. Get going before I change my mind and keep you all here.” He laughed.
Steve took Dustin to the van and Eddie looked at you with a sad smile.
“Go on, princess. I’m okay, I’ve got my bats.”
You smiled at him as brightly as you could and walked back to the truck, Steve lifting you inside.
There was an almost celebratory atmosphere inside. One that you thought couldn’t be broken until the moment you drove through the gate. The military had laid out spikes on the ground that blew the tires. They forced open the trucks door and began yanking you each out. A large man pinned you against the side of the truck.
“Hey, hey let go of her she’s hurt.” You heard Steve shouting. Hopper noticed the speakers around the MAC-Z designed to supress El and Kali’s powers. There was too much chaos all around you. Dr Kay was searching for El and Kali when everyone at the same moment noticed them standing at the gate. There was barely any time left before the C4 would be detonated. There was only one thing left for you do. Closing your eyes you sent out vibrations form your body that shook the suppressing speakers until they each exploded in turn. You used your powers to send the man holding you backward and you moved into the gap between Dr Kay, Eleven and Kali.
Tilting your head to one side you smiled.
“This is what is going to happen, you’re going to leave, leave Hawkins and destroy any information you have on the upside down, Eleven, Kali and Henry.” Your voice sounded in her mind.
“They’ll die and take their powers and the moment that gate is gone, I will be normal again. You will have nothing anyway.”
A soldier came a little to close and you looked at him, his neck turned too far and he dropped to the ground.
“Okay, okay, we’ll go.” Dr Kay said, holding a hand toward you.
“No records, you’ll put this town back to how it was and you’ll destroy any record of what happened here.”
Inside the upside the C4 detonated and the explosion took out the exotic matter.
“We’ll make it like there was nothing here.”
Everyone stood with their breaths held as the upside down began to fall. At the very last moment, just before the gate closed, the form of a man with bat like wings appeared behind the girls and shoved them back through. El and Kali landed on their knees, turning back just in time to see Eddie and the gate disappear.
You slowly approached Dr Kay.
“If you ever go back on your word, if you even think about coming after any of us, I’ll kill you, and I can do it with my mind.”
“I understand. You can all go.” She waved her hand and the military men released everyone. Mike ran to Eleven and hugged her to him.
18 months later.
“Hi there, strangers. It’s been a while. I wonder…I mean… do you guys…even remember me? Okay, maybe I’m being to modest. I mean, let’s be honest, who could forget this soothing voice with a trace of a Debra Winger rasp?” that’s right, it’s me Robin Buckley, AKA Rockin’ Robin. Jimmy fast hands was kind enough to let me back into the booth for a guest stint, but you’re gonna have to cut me some slack because I’m feeling a little rusty. I mean, what do I even talk about? You know? My go to subjects are as out of date as well, my friends bowl cut. I mean there’s no soldiers, no fences, no big brother cameras and the only big mac I can find is maccy D’s every one is smiling” Robin lent over to use a sound effect but pressed the wrong one. “Sorry about that. My partner in crime ditched me, but well, as far as excuses go, he had a pretty good one.” She mused.
You looked over at Steve as he drove you back from the hospital, your first real check up, he reached over and rubbed your leg with his hand as you listened to Robin on the radio.
“You told her didn’t you?” You asked, raising your eyebrows.
“She our best friend, how could I not? Also she knew the moment she saw you.” He laughed.
“How I’m not even showing.”
“but you are glowing.” He grinned. Your husband looked at you so much affection you thought you might burst. He had been perfect, stayed with you through out your recovery, helped you learn to talk again. The moment he heard your voice coming out of your mouth he had bent down on one knee and proposed to you using the ring Johnathan had given him.
He drove you to the graduation ceremony where you sat between him and Robin. Each student in turn walked across the stage to get their diplomas, Will, Dustin, Lucas, Max Mike and Jane.
Then Dustin got up to say his valid dictorian speech. You loved every word of it, especially when he ripped open his gown to show the new hellfire t-shirt and flipped off the principle to a flurry of confetti. You laughed along with the others cheering for him, not caring for the principle’s anger.
When the ceremony finished you went back to the radio station with Robin, Steve, Nancy and Johnathan, going up on the roof.
“I’m just saying, I think you guys would really dig New York.” Johnathan said.
“How much is rent there?” Steve asked.
“Thinking about moving?” Robin laughed.
“You serious? I mean, look at this place, the sunset, the view.” Steve waved his hands around in his brown suit, “You guys ar4e seriously telling me you don’t miss any of this?”
“No.” they all answered, you stayed quiet, sipping from your bottle of water.
“You couldn’t get me back here, even if you paid me a million bucks.” Johnathan laughed.
“You wouldn’t need even that much. Housing prices are way down.” Steve explained.
“Even more when you buy a murder house.” You added.
“You didn’t?” Robin gawked, “The Creel house for real?”
“Well it’s the Harrington’s house now.” You smiled up at your husband.
“That’s mad.” Nancy mused.
“It was gonna be torn down, if we hadn’t bought it, so we did and we fixed it up. We’ll move in, in a month or so, plenty of time before…” Steve cut himself off.
“Before?” Johnathan eyed the two of you.
“y/n why are you drinking water when we all have beer?” Nancy eyed you.
Steve took your hand,.
“Wait, nugget one?” Nancy smiled.
“Oh god at last, I’ve been dying to talk about it.” Robin released a breath, making everyone laugh.
“Yeah, we had a check up this morning.” Steve announced.
“Oh my god! I’m going to be an uncle.” Johnathan jumped up and pulled you into a hug, “Does mom and Dad know about this?” he asked.
“No I haven’t told them yet.” You replied.
“God look at you two, you’re like real adults.” Nancy joked.
There really wasn’t much else to tell about Hawkins, Joyce and Hopper and gotten engage about two months before you and married shortly after. You, Johnathan and Will had all started calling Jim dad the moment the certificate was signed. Dr Kay had managed to arrange paperwork for Kali that stated Jim as her biological father and so your family of four had become a family seven over night. They lived at Hop’s cabin in the woods that had slowly grown bigger.
Nancy had dropped out of Emerson to pursue a carrier in a newspaper. Robin and Viki had gone to college together and Johnathan was working on his debut move about anti capitalism. Your younger brother was getting ready to go to new York for college. Mike and Eleven were planning a trip to Iceland and Kali had finally found her tribe in the new mall. You, El and Kali all still had your powers though you rarely used them. the bond as sisters had grown stronger and stronger until it felt like you had always been together.
There were times when you felt like it had been too easy, to quick, too simple. Nights when you would wake screaming and Steve would have to hold you as you cried. Still, life was good, it was simple and free of monsters. The city had even resurrected the park across from your new home and people were no longer frightened to play there. Once a year you would pile into the campervan, collect Dustin from college and go on a road trip.
You thought there was nothing more special, than your life, nothing more blessed then the memory of Hawkins, nothing more right, than the friendships you’d made through hardships.
The end.
Thank you everyone for reading! I've loved writing this story.
Using a fire extinguisher Steve started breaking through the thin wall to the room. You had lead him and Dustin to the exact place. You could all hear Nancy and your brother trying to get out. Steve’s face looked through the hole he created, smiling.
“Sorry we’re late.” He joked. Nancy came out first, and Dustin hugged her to him whilst Steve pulled Johnathan out.
“Was that weird? I’m sorry. That was weird, I didn’t…we just…we both thought…”
“We were goners. Yeah we did too.” Nancy laughed.
“Y/n?” Johnathan pushed past Steve to get to you as you leaned against the opposite wall. “What the hell happened? How are you here?” he pulled at your bandage to see your wounds. Unable to reply you used your one good arm to hold him back.
“We don’t know, she found us, downstairs.” Steve explained.
“She can’t use her mind thing either.” Dustin pointed out.
Johnathan turned your broken arm round so he could check the splint. “Turns out that shield generator of yours-” he began.
“Isn’t really a shield generator. Yeah, we know.” Steve finished the thought.
“Well, you’d think that would have been good information to share.” Nancy scoffed.
“Well we tried, and we were also trying to keep y/n alive.” Steve tossed his walkie over to Dustin, who held it up, showing the taped antenna.
“Okay, so what exactly did I shoot?” Nancy, changed the course of the conversation.
“Exotic matter.” Dustin revealed. He pulled Dr Brenner’s book out of his bag and started showing everyone what was inside. They all gathered around him, Steve coming to hold onto you so Johnathan could see the pages. You leaned in him, the fatigue of your wounds becoming worse. When from above you all heard it, Holly screaming.
Nancy ran, Steve helped to pull you along with him as fast as you could go, following the others to the rooftop. Above the ball of exotic matter, which had returned to earlier translucent status. Holly hovered, like she was being held up by a string. You pushed away from Steve and held out your arm, forcing your body to work. Clenching your teeth together you pulled at her. Holly started to slowly come closer to you, inching bit by bit but every few seconds she would rise up again.
“Holly.”
“Holly’s not at the house. We found her, we found Holly.” Dustin shouted into his crackling Walkie.
You heard their voice’s behind you. Pulling even harder you felt the ping of something in your mind and a drop of blood came spilling out of your nose. More blood renewed the drying stains on the bandage around your neck. Every part of your body shook as you tried to keep hold of her. yet, there was nothing more you could do. The child’s tearful screams echoed in your mind as you fell back, Steve barely catching you before he fell to the ground. There was nothing your broken body could do but watch as Holly was pulled away from you.
You tried again, throwing your hand up in to the air, but Steve pulled you back
“No, on y/n you can’t,” He held you tightly to him, though you struggled.
“Y/n, Stop.” Johnathan tried to help by holding you against Steve, “You’ll kill yourself if you carry on.”
“We have to get out. The others are coming for us.” Dustin called from somewhere behind your brother.
Still shaking with blood dripping from your nose and ears you had to be lifted by Steve, he hauled you into his arms. Johnathan had to pull Nancy along with you all.
The journey down the stairs was much harder then the one up. Steve slipped on a bubbled melty mound so you were held between him and Johnathan, an arm around each of their shoulders. Still heartbroken by what had happened Nancy had to be pulled along by Dustin.
“Steve!” You heard Hopper’s voice when you got outside the lab. The beams of their flashlights finally came into view and Dustin went running forward hugging Mike. No one had any words when they realised that Holly wasn’t with you.
“Y/n?” El ran forward to you, “Vecna.”
Hopper came over and pulled you out of the boys hold, lifting you up into his arms. Like a father carrying his child to bed after they had fell asleep on the couch, he took you with him back to the right side up. So comforted by his large, warm embrace you drifted into sleep.
“Do you know what happened to her?” El asked Steve.
“No, we didn’t know she was here and then she appeared in the lab. She was bleeding a lot.”
“Helped with Holly?” she asked.
“She did her best, but she was no match for him, not the way she is.” Nancy admitted.
“Vecna? He took Holly back?” Will asked, his sister nodded, holding her arms around her body in a protective gesture.
Once topside you were placed in the back of the SWQK van alongside Max and Steve climbed in to hold you. The rumble of the van woke you and you tried to adjust your position, Steve helping you, so you were more sat up against his body. You looked up at Max who smiled down at you.
“It’s really good to see you.” She said. You smiled up at her.
At the radio station You stayed in the back of the van whilst they got Max out and into her wheel chair. Will came running over to her hugging his friend. Then they saw you, your brother and mother saw you.
Joyce ran to you, “Oh sweetheart, I’m sorry I left you here. I shouldn’t have.” She cried. You pulled her arms away from you and patted her hand in an attempt to reassure her.
“Let’s get everyone inside.” Hopper suggested. He again lifted you, much to Steve’s annoyance, and took you inside.
It wasn’t long before you had gotten changed into clean clothes, a SWQK t-shirt and had your bandages changes and the blood cleaned off your body, with your mom’s help. She walked you to the couch and you sat down beside Will, everyone getting ready to listen to Dustin. He stood at the clear windows to the studio, with a black marker in his hand.
“Okay, so this is Hawkins, and this is the upside down.” He drew out the places, “We’ve always assumed the upside down was another dimension opened by Brenner, but it turns out it’s actually a bridge. More specifically, an interdimensional bridge that rips through space-time. It’s wildly unstable, but held together by exotic matter, which we found dead centre right above the lab. In theoretical physics they call this type of bridge a-”
“Wormhole.” Eric and Mr Clark said in unison.
“And this wormhole connects Hawkins to here, another world that I’ve coined the Abyss.”
“Any particular reason?” Robin asked.
“A realm of pure chaos and evil.” Mr Clark revealed.
“I’m sorry?” Robin narrowed her eyes on the teacher.
“D&D.” He, Eric, Mike, Lucas and Will all said together.
You laughed when Hopper’s annoyance at the game. You leaned forward, awkwardly and tapped the Dr Brenner’s book. In bold cursive writing the words Dimension X had been scrawled along the page.
“Ah, great.” Hopper huffed.
“I believe the Abyss in the true home of the Demogorgons,” Dustin continued, “the vines, the mind Flayer, all the nasty shit we found in the upside down. It’s where all those years ago you banished Henry.” He looked at Eleven. “He was lost for years and he would have stayed lost of it wasn’t for Brenner.”
“He had me find Henry,” El said.
“And when you made remote contact with the Abyss, the bridge formed. Ever since, Henry and his army of monsters have been using it to cross right back into Hawkins. We kicked Vecna’s ass last year, but he just fled across this bridge back to the Abyss to lick his wounds. I think that’s why El and y/n couldn’t find him.”
“So all this time, Vecna’s been hiding in the sky?” Joyce asked.
“It explains why every crawl led to a dead end.” Nancy added.
“And why Holly fell from the damn sky.” Johnthan said.
“Yeah but why is he taking kids up there?” Hopper asked.
“For the same reason he took me.” Will began, “the minds of children are weaker, right? More easily moulded and controlled. So he channelled his thoughts and powers through me to amplify his abilities and he’s gonna do the same with those kids.”
You sat forward, tried to talk and coughed. With your hand in a cast you couldn’t hold a pen to write anything so you had to use people to show it. You pulled your brother to the front and pointed to him.
“This isn’t the time for Charades,” Murray moaned.
“No, wait, y/n knows more than us.” Eleven stated.
You pointed to Will, standing alone at the front, then grabbed El and her sister Kali making them stand beside him. Then you pointed to yourself on his other side. You pointed to the others and drew a line across your neck.
“He will kill everyone but us?” Kali asked you, you nodded.
“The kids? He wants to keep the kids?” Max said, “It makes sense, Henry was alone in most of his memories, the only time he really had people was when he was in the lab.”
“And now he has twelve kids.” Will added.
“He wants to keep the four of you as well?” Erica asked.
“Over my dead body.” Hopper scoffed.
“So he just wants us dead?” Viki asked.
“No, he’s amplifying his abilities.” Mike reiterated Will’s point.
“To do what?” Hop asked.
“Move worlds.” Max said, “Holly, she said that Henry told the kids that they would help him draw the two worlds together. I didn’t understand what that meant at the time, but…”
“He want to move the Abyss, crash it in to Hawkins.” Mike stated.
“Not crash, merge.” Will twisted so he could draw on the window, “Henry wasn’t licking his wounds in the Abyss, he was making rifts, weakening the Abyss, just like he weakened Hawkins. So, when the Abyss and Hawkins collide…”
“They become one.” Dustin finished.
“He’s remaking the world.” El breathed out.
“How long do we think this takes? To move worlds?” Steve asked, “Are we talking like,” He clapped his hands together, “Or is this gonna take some time?”
“We better hope we have some time, because if this is all correct, we have to get two thousand feet in the air, find our way into the Abyss, free Holly and the kids, and kill Vecna all before our worlds merge.” Mike announced.
“And if my theory’s right, he’s going to move worlds tonight.” Lucas said.
Hopper moved further into the middle of the room, “At least we know what we are up against and what we need to do. We just need a plan.”
The room fell quiet, everyone trying to wrack through their minds to find the right answer. You went back to the couch, sinking into the old cushions. You didn’t care what the plan was, only that you were staying at Steve’s side no matter what. Of course you wanted to tell them about Eddie, but every time you tried you would get a sharp pain in your temple.
Hopper started talking about using a helicopter to get into the Abyss but it only caused more arguments. Something he said caught Steve’s ears and an idea formed in his mind.
“We don’t need a magic bean!” He shouted above the arguing, making everyone silence. And turn to him, “Sorry, just…we don’t…we don’t need it magic bean. We’ve got a beanstalk right here.” He made everyone follow him to the table in the back and grabbed a few things to help him explain. Steve slammed a flashlight down so it was standing up.
“Okay, this flashlight is Squawk tower, and this slinky is the bridge,” He put it over and then held the slinky up, “We’ll never reach the Abyss from the tower, but Max said Vecna is drawing our worlds together. So, we let him, and we wait and wait as he draws it closer and closer. When It’s close enough, and the radio tower is poking through one of the rifts, Bam! El makes her move. She does her meditation thingy, enters Vecna’s sick mind and ambushes him. in your face dickhead, and then halting the spell and stopping the world from ending.” He dropped the slinky, “Wham, Voila. We have a beanstalk. It’s perfect.” He leaned on the table and looked around at everyone, waiting for their replies, “All we have to do is climb up it into the Abyss.”
“I Like it.” Eric nodded.
“It’s not totally insane.” Mike agreed, “But there’s a problem, a bi big one.”
“I can’t reach Vecna’s min he’s too far away.” El sighed,
They searched for answer, it was Nancy who gave it.
“We get you close, the upside down lab is under his lair, and it’s still frozen in time, which means everything should be there from Brenner’s experiments, including…”
“The bath,” El finished her thought.
“If you do make it into his mind, I can walk through it, guide you.” Max suggested, “I know his sick mind inside and out.”
“I should be there too,” Kali said, “This plan hinges on stopping Henry, and right now, Jane is fighting him alone. It doesn’t need to be that way. I can follow her into his mind. We can end our brother, together.” She took hold of El’s wrist, right above the number tattoo.
Your eyes flicked side to side as you thought about the plan, how were you going to help when you could barely move?
“I dig it.” Steve said, “sisters kil their brother, we rescue the kiddos, come home heroes. And if Lucas is right, we don’t have a lot of time, so we have to move fast.”
“One final thing.” Dustin picked up the egg timer and went to Steve’s side, “Cherry on top, on the way out, we drop a bomb near the exotic matter. Set a timer, escape the upside down, the bridge collapses and with it the Abyss, the Demos, the mind flayer all of it gone. Game. Set. Match.”
The plan was agreed. At first your brother wanted you stay in the radio station with Vicki and Max but Joyce insisted that there was nothing that cold make her allow you to do that. You agreed with your mother.
“You stay by my side, okay? At all times, do you hear me?” Steve said to you as he pulled a thick leather jacket over your shoulders so you could slip your arms inside it. You nodded to him. “When this is over, we’re gonna come back here and we’ll buy ourselves a nice little house and…” You reached up and laid a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. Steve gulped and pulled you into him by your waist and kissed you. He pulled back and placed his forehead on yours, “Do you have any idea how much I love you, y/n?”
Capturing your lip between your teeth you nodded with a smile.
“Listen, I know that you know more than you’re telling us and I get it, Whatever Vecna did to you is stopping you from telling us. It’s okay. No one is going to blame you for anything but do you think you could give me a hint?” he said.
You looked around yourself, spotting Dustin’s now discarded, Hellfire shirt. You walked over to it and held it up.
“Hell fire? Wait, do you mean,” He lowered his voice, “Eddie?”
Ignoring the pain in your temple you nodded.
“Okay, okay good guy?”
Another nod and tear dropped down your face.
“Okay, that’s good. I’m gonna go get weapons okay.” Steve walked away and you let out your breath before following him out. The radio station was filled with people, all with their own jobs. You felt like a spare part, Joyce stood beside you holding your hand as you watched the others load the van. Will walked up behind you both.
“Mom, Earlier today when you asked me what happened in Vecna’s mind, I didn’t tell you everything.” He asked the two of you to come and talk with him.
“When Vecna attacks, he weakens you y turning your own mind against you, by bringing out everything inside you that hurts. So, I fought back by focusing on happy memories, memories from when I was a kid, and when I wasn’t scared and when I felt most happy. That’s how I took control in the MAC-Z and how I killed those Demogorgons, and I thought the same would work on Vecna too, but he found a way past. He showed me things, Mom. He showed me the most awful things.”
You thought back to what he had shown Nancy.
“No, listen, whatever he showed you, it’s not real. He plays tricks he lies.” Joyce said.
“No, he doesn’t what he showed me…it didn’t come from him. It came from me. He sees everything, he sees my thoughts, he sees my memories, and he sees my secrets; but Max, she told me he’s also afraid, which proves I can beat him. For me to do that, you need to know…I think you need to know the truth.”
Mike walked in at that exact moment, he felt the tension in the room.
“Uh, sorry, we just heard from Hop, He’s fifteen minutes out. So we should probably leave in five.” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder.
“I think you need to hear this two, every one does.”
“Mike went out and called everyone inside, where they once more sat around the room. You had moved a little back so you were with Robin, Steve standing behind you both.
Your brother began to talk, his nerves showing through with each rambling mention of a memory. In honesty you probably all had known from the start that Will was different, not one of you ever cared about that. He was just Will. Beside you, you could feel the way Robin’s emotions were getting the better of her. Even after all this time she had not yet told her parents about Viki.
“I don’t like girls.” Will announced, tearfully, “I mean I do, just not like you guys do and I had this crush on someone even though I know they’re not like me and I realised they were just my Tammy.”
You grabbed Robin’s hand as Steve’s squeezed her shoulder.
“I mean it was never about him, it was about me and I thought I was finally okay with myself, but then today, today Vecna showed me what would happen if I did this, if I told you guys the truth. He showed me a future, and in this future, some of you are just...are just worried for me. Worried that things will be harder for me and it just makes me feel like something’s wrong with me, so I push you away; and for the rest of us we just drift apart more and more until I’m alone. I know none of that has happened and Vecna can’t see into the future, but he can see into our minds and he knows things and felt so real.” He sobbed.
“Will listen to me, That will never ever happen, you will never lose me.” Joyce squeezed his hand.
Still unable to speak you stood, at the same moment Johnathan did, “And you’ll never lose us.” He spoke for you as the two of you moved to hug your brother. Will held the two of you tightly as his friends started coming up, each agreeing and holding him.
“Guess you didn’t need truth serum, huh?” Robin joked, making Will laugh.
“Sorry this suck but you’re gonna have to hug me.” Max said from her wheelchair. Eighteen months in a hospital bed had left her basically paralysed. Will rushed to her, bending at his waist to hug her.
“El,” He stood to face her, “I know you’re strong enough to defeat Vecna, but he can retreat to the physical world, and we need to be ready to fight him there too we have bullets and fire but none of that helped the soldiers, I need to be there and I’m ready. I need to show him that I am not afraid of him.”
“It’s time.” Joyce announced and you all made your way out to Murray’s van. You were hauled up inside it by your brother’s. this was it the beginning of the end, however it ended the world would be different.
With everyone at their posts Murray drove full force toward the MAC-Z, from Mr Clark’s remote controlled device he opened the gates. Hopper already in place to take out any soldiers that tried to stop them. Nancy too rose from the Demo hole in the top of the Van to fire her weapon as Hop got into the Van. There was nothing Dr Kay could do but watch as you drove directly into the Upside down.
A bittersweet moment that bolstered and frightened you all.
“We got Demobats!” Murray called from the cab. Nancy went to go back through the hole but you held her leg, shaking your head.
“Y/n.”
“Wait, is it him?” Steve asked you and you nodded. “Leave them, they’re on our side.”
One chapter left - Thank you for reading this fic! I hope you've enjoyed it!
Above your head you heard the shot of gun, a moment of silence and then a blast, a wave of energy so hard it shook your stomach and made you retch. Holding your broken arm to your chest you used the intact one to pull at the ground, inching your body forward. The blood from the wounds on your neck had begun to soak into your shirt, sticking it to your chest.
The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs halted your movements. To frightened of what it could be you stilled your body, tried to hold your breath.
“Y/n?” Dustin saw you first, he ran to you and dropped to his knees. Closely followed by Steve who pulled you up into his lap.
“Y/n? y/n hey, hey look at me.” He was panicking. Steve tilted your head so he could get a better look at your neck.
“Bandages, do you have bandages?”
Dustin rummaged in his bag and pulled out an old first aid kit. The two men rushing to cover your wounds.
“Who did this to you?” Steve asked. You tried to speak, tried to do anything but gargle your own blood.
“Steve, her hand.” Dustin gulped down the lump in his throat. Your hand was limp and your forearm ben t the wrong way.
“Vecna.” They agreed.
Steve held you against him, his head pressed into the top of yours.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I never should have left you.” He didn’t want to cry. You tapped his at his chest as Dustin tied two pieces of wood to your arm. You pointed upward, asking a silent question.
“Yeah, we need to get up there to help Nancy and Johnathan. They might have shot cosmic matter.” Dustin frowned.
They started filling you in what happened, Dustin pulled out the book he had found in the secret room.
“Any clue in there about how long it takes a wormhole to collapse?” Steve asked.
“I thought it’d be instantaneous. Clearly not.” Dustin huffed.
“There are two distinct possibilities, either this is the afterlife and we’re spirits.” You shuddered at the thought, “or Nancy didn’t completely destroy the exotic matter, because if she did the walls of the wormhole would have collapsed and we would have been sucked into oblivion.” Dustin explained, leafing through the book.
Without any strength left in your limbs you forced yourself to sit up.
“No, no you shouldn’t move.” Steve tried to pull you back down but you shook him of. You took a few steps toward the stair well. Turned back and tapped Steve’s walkie.
“Yeah, you’re right we shouldn’t waste time.” He agreed with you. Steve took as much of your weight as he could as the three of you began the long trudge to the roof. He held the walkie in front of him, trying it every so often.
Dustin continued to moan about how you could die at any moment because of the matter being affected but you both ignored him until above you the red ball of angry cosmic matter swirled. The white noise it created was like cotton wool in your ears and you pressed your head into Steve’s chest.
“Come on we can’t waste time.” He held you closer, keeping your body from falling. The stairs felt they were going up forever, each one getting higher than the last.
You pushed Steve back slightly and slumped against the wall. You pointed to Steve and Dustin and then up the steps.
“We aren’t going to leave you here, y/n.” Steve said .
“There isn’t time to argue, Steve. Y/n we are not leaving you alone again, carry her or stay here with her but I need to keep going.” Dustin groaned, “Wait…What was that?” the sound heavy glooping came from above. Both Steve and Dustin lunged forward to pull you out of the way as the stairs above you melted and the thick gloop fell to where you have been sitting.
“Shit.” Steve breathed out.
“There’s no way we’ll make it up there now.” Dustin groaned.
Steve looked around himself, there had to be someway of getting up there. He stabilised you against the wall and darted off. Dustin reached up and checked your bandages.
Steve barging back through with a metal ladder.
“That’s never going to work.” Dustin scoffed, Steve ignored him, forcing the ladder on to the stair case, “Steve stop I’m serious. It’s not safe. You’re gonna fall, its’ unstable.”
“I got it already, Okay?” Steve snapped at him, then went to climb onto the ladder. Dustin grabbed him pulling him back.
“No don’t stop being an asshole.”
“I’m not being an asshole. I’m trying to get to our friends.” Steve pushed the younger boy back.
“You’re always trying to get yourself killed and I can’t let it happen again,” Dustin’s voice cracked, “Stop being so selfish, please. If you go on there, you’re gonna die and I can’t deal with it again. You can’t die, cause I can’t deal with it again. Don’t let it happen again. You can’t leave y/n. Please. Please don’t let it happen again.” Dustin cried harder with ever word until his body collapsed into Steve, “I’m sorry.”
“No, no, no,” Steve hugged his friend to him, meeting your eyes as he did. The realisation of why Dustin had been so distant and angry dawning on him. Behind them the ladder dropped as more of the steps collapsed into liquid. The two of them stood there, allowing their nerves to lesson.
“Y/n can you reach them? With your mind?” Steve asked, still hugging Dustin to him.
You took a few breaths and closed your eyes. Your mind started to wonder, fist to Dustin, to Steve then up, then with your head smacking against the wall behind you, you were back in your own mind. Again and again you tried with the same result. You shook your head. There was no way for you to get into their minds but with your last attempt to searched the building.
Back in your own mind you pulled yourself up, Steve darting to help you. With his help you led the two of them out of the stairwell to the back of the building.
“The back stairwell. You ’re a Genius, y/n.” Dustin laughed.
As the three of you ascended the stairs the melting solidified making everything a lot easier for you. On the floor below the roof you left the stairwell.
“Where are you going we have to go up?” Steve asked.
Your energy was running low and you had no patience for their questions. Turning your back tot hem you pushed forward. It only took a few moments for them to follow you into the corridor.
“You hear that?” Dustin hit the back of his hand to Steve’s chest. The sound of Johnathan and Nancy celebrating came from somewhere in that corridor. They followed you moving as fast as your muscles would allow.
*********************
In the right-side up, things were looking just as bleak. Lucas carried Max’s body in his arms as Demodogs attacked the hospital. Three of them stalked through the hospital, ripping through the military personal. Robin and Vicki met Lucas in the basement and somewhere above them, Karen Wheeler, tapped into her beast mode.
Crouching behind the large industrial laundry stands Robin leaned toward Lucas.
“You have to turn it off.” She referred to the cassette player he was holding in one hand, Max cradled in his lap.
“We can’t. We can’t no, no, Max is coming back.” He insisted, the low melody of Kate Bush’s voice playing backed his words. There was no where else for them to go, every door locked as the three Demodogs came closer every second. Breathing down their necks, the three of them were sure they were done for.
Buuuuuzzzzzzzzzz.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Thunk.
The Demodogs moved to the sound, an oxygen canister bouncing inside a clothes dryer. Their curiosity would be their downfall as the cannister exploded, sending flames and shards of the dryer out in every direction destroying the Demodogs.
From smoke aftermath, Karen Fucking Wheeler came stepping into view.
The teens stood from their hiding place thanking their friends mother over and over. She could hardly speak with the pain in her throat from the Demogorgon attack.
Lucas laid Max on one of the tables, and turned up the cassette player.
“How do you know she’s waking up, Lucas?” Robin asked.
“Her hand is warm. For eighteen months I’ve held her hand and this is the first time, it’s felt warm. It doesn’t make any sense and I know that, but you have to trust me, Max is coming back.”
They looked at him, sadness and understanding in his eyes. Karen smiled at him, and turned to the red-haired girl on the table.
Will knelt on the metal ground of the MAC-Z Vecna’s words running through his mind. Joyce grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him up.
“I don’t understand what happened? How did you…?”
“He’s a sorcerer. A real-life, honest to God sorcerer.” Mike threw his arms around his friend. “You did it, you really did it.”
“The kids, Vecna, he’s got the kids.” Will explained to them. All of the twelve children had been taken. “I felt her mom, I felt y/n, she was in my head.”
“You did. Oh, Will.” Joyce hugged him. Above them the sky lit up with searchlights from three helicopters.
“The Tunnels, radio shack.” Mike and Will helped Joyce to get across to the building.
*********************
You tried to get back to the lab, to Steve and Johnathan, the trail was not that easy.
The Demobats dropped you, scattering like they were scared and your blood ran cold. You hade felt this before, the way your arm screamed at you, like the scars would peel back reopen at any moment.
“I was planning on going straight back to the children, but how could I give up this opportunity?” his voice was like ice running through your vanes, “ I told you, y/n, you were always going to come back to me.” Vecna walked up to you, not bothering to hide behind the Henry façade. Your feet were rooted to the ground.
“You’re not going to win this, Henry.” You growled, taking a few steps backward. Vecna’s hand flicked and held you in place.
“I don’t need to win, I just need to make sure you’re all dead.” He crowded you, face almost too close to yours.
“Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to kill every one?” You asked, figuring you would at least be biding everyone else time to find the children.
“For fun.”
“Henry, you knew my mother, you went to school with her, didn’t you?” you asked.
“Joyce, she was nice. You remind me of her.” he told you, his hand coming up to brush down your face. A flicker of something that wasn’t Vecna, an innocence that he couldn’t hide behind his eyes.
“I am nothing like my mother.” You stated, hoping it would keep the conversation going. You needed him to stay with you, to give the others time to find Holly and the other children.
“How little you know. You, y/n, are more, your family is so helpful. Maybe I should make it a hattrick and take Johnathan as well.” He laughed and your stomach churned. “I know, if I let you go, you’ll go running back to your friends, tell them all our little secrets, how about we put a hold on that?” Vecna’s hand clamped around your throat.
You couldn’t breath, you couldn’t think, all that was in your mind was his fingers digging into your flesh, small sprigs of blood jumping out around the tips of his pointed nails. You clawed at his hand as your body lifted off the ground. Vecna watched your eyes, as if you were an experiment. One of his eyes narrowed on you, and slowly against your struggles your arm raised up at your side, the bones snapping and breaking in turn.
“Play around down here, all you like, y/n, I’ll come collect you and Ten in due course.” He turned his back to you and walked away.
Your body collapsed you to the ground with a thud, you were barely able to catch your breath. You laid in the dirt, broken arm trapped below your body. Demobats hopped about you. One nudged it’s face into yours, keeping you from falling asleep.
Telling yourself to stand you pushed against the dirt with your good arm. Your knees wobbled with the effort of supporting you. You tried to speak, tried to call out for your boyfriend or your brother, nut no noise would come out.
The Demobat that had nudged your face wrapped it’s tail around your wrist and pulled up your arm. In it’s own way the creature was leading you toward the lab. You walked in a haze of pain and fear. You weren’t sure if you’d be able to even talk inside your friend’s minds once you found them.
Each step felt like your feet were getting heavier. At the gate to the lab grounds you slumped into the fencing, still trying to catch your breath. Every inhale brought new knives to the already sliced throat. You could see several lights in the building. Flashlights. Two close on the rooftop and two further down, moving quickly.
You tried to push yourself further when found yourself no longer in the lab grounds but in the Wheeler home, in front of you Holly stood pinned to the wall in her fear as Vecna choked Max. There was nothing you could do, you were hardly able to move and then you felt it. Your brother’s presence.
“Max if you can hear me, you need to run. RUN” his voice came through Vecna’s mouth and you understood what was happening.
Vecna, remade his broken leg, rose up and into the Henry form where he closed his eyes.
“Get out.” He forcibly threw Will back out his mind and you dropped to the ground outside the lab. The jumps between people’s mind was getting too much, no longer voluntary but forced.
You pushed open the doors of the lab open falling to the floor inside, smacking your broken wrist at the same time. From somewhere close by you could hear Dustin yelling, he was rushed and panicked, telling Johnathan something about dying. You wanted to help, wanted to get up and fight but your body was too weak. You stayed there, on the ground. Cold, broken and alone.
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Waiting was harder than fighting. You sat there, curled against the door of the radio station, an axe clutched in your hands. You had been pushed out of Johnathan’s mind with no way to get back to anyone. With nothing to do you and no way of knowing is Vecna would come back for you, you had hidden in the only place you knew. The doorway.
There was nothing for a long time until you felt it, like somebody had hit you across the back and your eyes burst into Will’s mind. He was on the ground, screaming in pain as the Demogorgon ran through the upside down.
When the monster was too far away, Will gasped for air and Joyce grabbed him.
“Will, where is Steve?” You asked through your mind.
“He, he went through the gate, with Dustin, Nancy and Johnathan.” Your brother answered.
The shock of the answer caught in your chest and you collapsed back against the hard concrete wall.
**********************
Steve drove as fast as he could through the upside down as they tracked the Demogorgon. As Steve argued with Dustin, he didn’t see the flesh wall coming closer until they had crashed into it.
**********************
“Johnathan, its mom. Answer me, please. Over.” Joyce spoke into the Van’s walkie. Her panicked voice calling out to anyone that would answer her.
“Hey,” Robin walked up to her, “Any Luck?” Joyce shook her head, “On the plus side, I guess that means they made it through. DO you wanna see where they’re headed?”
Joyce followed Robin back to the barn where Will was frantically painting the wall with thick red paint. Just like when he returned from the upside down, he was drawing his “now memories” What he had seen through the Demogorgon’s eyes.
“What is it?” Joyce asked.
“I don’t know, but I could feel it’s important to him.”
“To Mr Whatsit?” Derek asked.
“His real name is Henry,” Will told him.
“AKA Vecna.” Robin added.
“AKA One.” Erica finished the string of names.
“That’s too many names.” Derek moaned.
“I had this feeling he didn’t want me there. I wasn’t supposed to see it.” Will explained.
“You’ve never been this close to the hive mind before. I mean, that thing was, like, feet away. Sometimes at the Squawk, when a signal comes in too strong, it overloads the whole system. I think that’s what this was, an overload. You said you had y/n in your head too, you didn’t just tap into the hive mind, you jacked right in to the goddamn control centre.” Robin told him.
“And Holly? Where was holly?” Joyce asked.
“Holly? Holly she was…” Will went back to the wall, paint brush in hand as he started adapting the picture, “…she was attached to this…this spire and she became a part of it somehow, like it was doing something to her and there were others. Three others,” He painted them,”
“I thought Vecna was just coming for dipshit.” Erica said.
“So did I, but I only knew about Derek because he walked right past me.” Will admitted.
“Serendipitous timing.” Robin mused. “I am really not loving all these extra spires. I mean, night one, Vecna kidnaps Holly, night two, he takes three more.”
“He’s escalating, and he’s coming for more.” Will added.
“Yeah, eight more, if this is accurate which brings him a total of twelve.” Robin panicked.
“What does he want with them?” Joyce asked, her face screwed up in confusion.
“I don’t know, but we have to stop him, before he takes any more.” Will announced, “and buy Dustin and the others time to find Holly.”
“If we can pinpoint his exact targets, we could get them out of Hawkins.” Robin suggested.
“And out of Vecna’s reach.”
Behind them, Mike and Lucas came rushing in on their bikes. They discarded the cycles and ran over, explaining that they had seen the military picking up all the children around the age of eleven and twelve. They had been taken to the MAC-Z.
**********************
As you laid on the ground you felt the dark shadow coming up the steps toward you. All around the Demobats screeched. A dark shadow came closer to you, crouching beside you.
“How did you get here?” the shadow asked. He lifted you up from the ground in his arms like he was cradling a baby.
Your eyes flickered open for a moment, long enough to register this new person holding you, but you felt no fear. In fact you felt the opposite, from the leather clad chest you felt warmth and familiarity.
“Eddie?” his name slipped from your mouth.
“Hey, Princess. Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” He whispered as two large bat-like wings spread out behind him and he lifted into the air. The Demobats following him.
**********************
When Joyce, Will, Robin and the others returned to the Radio station they saw the marking on the wall. A distinct sign of a gate being there. Like soot had been rubbed into the wall in a crack like line.
“y/n!” your Mom and brother went darting inside.
“You guys stay in the car, protect Derek.” Robin shouted, running in behind them.
The radio station was empty of people, only the three of them rushing about.
“Any sign of her?” Robin asked.
“None.” Will sighed, throwing his hands in the air.
“She’s gone, he took her.” Joyce announced eyes wide with fear for her daughter. “Vecna, he took her, she’ll be put in one of those spires.”
“Mom.” Will stepped up to her.
“No, I didn’t protect her. I did the same thing I did to you. I left her alone. We left her here, by herself. No protection and now she’s gone. Why didn’t you see it, Will? You said she was in your head, why didn’t you know?” Joyce was spiralling.
“She left mum, I thought she was trying to get to Steve. y/n can connect with people in the upside down, I thought, I thought…” Will’s tears spilled.
“Hey, this is no ones fault. We all left her here. Now isn’t the time to fall apart. Lets get the others in here and make a plan.” Robin yelled, hands flapping around her as she spoke.
Joyce nodded, and Will ran back out to call the others in.
“She’s gone?” Lucas asked as they descended to the basement.
Joyce put on the over-head.
“Tunnels.” She said to Will who added the layout of the mind flayer tunnels. Joyce walked to the wall to get a better look at it.
“See the north tunnel of the MAC-Z runs right underneath the barracks.” She explained.
“We’re gunna need a lot more luck if we want this plan to work.”
Very quickly between Robin and the others devised a plan to get the children by taking them the tunnels. They would use Derek to get into the base and find which children had been contacted by Mr Whatsit.
“What do we do about y/n?” Joyce asked.
The boys glanced at each other.
“Johnathan,” Will offered, “They’re twins right, he’ll get some sort of twin bond thing.”
“They haven’t done anything like that for a long time.” Joyce sighed.
“Then, we’ll keep trying to make contact with them and Hop. Someone will be able to find her.” Lucas suggested.
“And, and if Vecna did take her then all we have to do is let Johnathan and Steve know and then when they follow the Demogorgon to it’s lair they’ll find her, right?” Robin said.
**********************
“Okay Princess, time to wake up.” Eddie tapped your shoulder, your eyes blinked open.
“Eddie?” he hovered over you, he looked the same yet so different. His skin was pale, almost see through, his hair had grown longer, thick curls falling over his shoulders and in his mouth his teeth had become sharp points. To anyone else his appearance may have been terrifying, to you it was just different.
“What happened to you?” you asked, as he helped you to sit up, “Where are we?”
“That’s two very different questions, princess.” Eddie chuckled,” I died, man. Like actually died but this place, I don’t know what happened I was being carried, like I was floating in the air and he was there. That Vecna dude, he is seriously in need of some body lotion, dude.”
You laughed with him.
“He got inside in my head, the bites from the bats they were, venomous or something. I dunno. But he used it, ripped open those suckers and like poured their blood in the bites. It messed with my head, man. I was, like, his, I did what ever he told me, blindly. Till like a few days ago. I heard you, heard you talking in that guys head.”
“Hopper.” You offered up.
“Yeah, and it was like I woke up. I understood who I was and I ran. Like I always do I ran away and hid, Except these guys just keep following me.” He waved his hand around and you saw the Demobats surrounding you both.
“His?”
“No, man, Mine. They do whatever I tell ‘em. I’m like their God.” Eddie held his arms out at his sides and the Demobats flapped their wings, and screeched.
“As for where we are, we’re in the only place that seems untouchable in this place. Your old house.” Eddie explained.
The home you had grown up in didn’t look like it did before. The roof had been almost completely ripped away and the walls had been layered in material.
“Yeah, we did a bit of redecorating. Listen, I don’t really know how you got down here, but I heard you. Your mind was like screaming, I have no idea if Vecna heard you too but I got you as soon as I could.” Eddie told you.
“Holly? Do you know where he’s keeping Holly?” you asked.
“The little girl? No, he goes some place he won’t let me see.”
“I need to find Steve.” You said.
“He’s here, I can get to you him, but…” Eddie knelt on one knee in front of you., “Vecna, he showed me every thing he did to you when you were….I don’t wanna take you somewhere that’s gunna hurt you.” His long bat-like wings laid across the floor.
“The lab?” you breathed out.
“Yeah, Steve is at the lab, I have a couple of bats watching them. It’s different over there. The changes in this place, it comes from there.” He told you.
“Have to help them, my brother is there.” You said.
Eddie nodded, “Okay, but we can’t just go running in. The moment we leave this house, he’s gonna know where you are.”
“What do we do?”
“You’re not gonna like, but it’s just for a little while, okay?” Eddie got back to his feet, his wings slapped and spread wide behind him. The Demobats swarmed, flying in a tornado of wings and snapping teeth. Eddie, gestured his hands and twenty of the Demobats came flying down to you, they wrapped their long snake-like tails around your arms, your legs and body until you were covered in them. One landed on the back of your head, it’s tail around your neck, not tight enough to strangle you, and it’s wings circled your head.
“It’s uncomfortable, but they’ll shield you.”
“Wait…” you felt the wave of clarity in the shield of the Bats, “Will…” You were seeing through his eyes as your brother dropped to his knees.
“They’re here.”
The metal ground below them rumbled and Demogorgons ripped through the ground. Pure chaos ensuing as the military men fired their useless weapons at the monsters. Joyce held her son to her chest as Mike tried his best to get Derek and other children to a safe place. They only needed to cross the MAC-Z and get into the old radio shake building and they would be able to escape into the tunnels.
“We have to help them.” You called out.
“But he’ll go there.” Eddie replied, fear of Vecna obvious in his wide eyes.
“They’re going to die.” You began to tear up.
“Okay, listen, I’ll go. You go to the lab. I will send Bats through to help, okay?” Eddie suggested.
“Okay.”
“Wait here for a little while, when I know Vecna is distracted you can go to the lab. They’ll take you there.” He was gone faster than a breath and you stayed in place, watching the scene in your mind. You watched your brother barely able to move as Vecna, the man you all feared stepped through the Library gate. The military was unable to vend him off. In the right side up, Vecna’s powers seemed limitless. He slammed Mike and the kids to the round and when there was no one left in his way, Vecna raised the Demogorgons, freeing them of their wounds and burns.
He spotted Will on the ground and began to approach him. Joyce, who had still been crouched bedside her son, stood.
“Stay away from him.” She shouted.
Vecna tilted his head to one side.
“Joyce, it’s good to see you again.” He smiled.
“Henry Creel, we always knew what you were. Stay away form my children.” She scolded him, finding a bravery and strength only a mother could find.
“Don’t you understand, I chose him, because of you, Joyce. I chose your children because of who you were.” He didn’t wait for her reply, but used his hand to fling Joyce away. She hit the ground and was knocked out.
Vecna lifted Will with his powers and brought him to face him.
“Can you see them, William? Can you see the children? Do you know why? Why I chose them to reshape the world? It was because they are weak, weak in body and mind. Easily broken easily shaped, controlled, the perfect vessels and you Will, you were the first and you broke so easily. You showed me what was possible, what I could achieve some minds it turns out, simply do not belong in this world. They belong in mine. You and your sister, are mine.”
Before he could say anymore a flurry of Demobats came bursting through the gate, divebombing Vecna. They bit at him, tore from his mangled flesh. He flailed his arms around trying to keep them off him with his powers. Vecna growled and in a moment every demobat fell to the ground. He huffed his shoulders, “TEN.” Vecna turned on his heel and stomped back to the gate, disappearing. The Demogorgons he had left turned, one towered above Robin as she cowered against Murray’s van, one above Lucas in the tunnels and one over Mike.
Just as they were about make their killing strikes you felt something change inside Will. You heard Robin’s voice echo in his memories,
“I was looking for the answers in somebody else, but…I had all the answers.”
His eyes glazed with white and the Demogorgons stilled.
You were shoved out of his mind and back into place.
Steve pulled the van up the main entrance of WSQK radio station. Both he and Johnathan helped you out of the front seats. It had been over a year since you had last independently moved your body, so you needed the support. With each of them taking one of your arms you all looked down at the black car racing up the road.
“Looks like Robin sent out the bat signal.” Dustin joked. His injuries looked much worse in the light of day.
Nancy, Mike and Lucas got out of Nancy’s car. Johnathan put more of your weight on Steve and rushed to his girlfriend.
“Hey, I’m so sorry.” He hugged her to him.
Mike walked straight to Dustin, bending a little to get a good look at his face.
“Holy shit.”
“Yep, bike crash. Flew headfirst into a light post.” He lied, “Look I’m sorry about missing the crawl, about everything.”
“It’s not your fault, don’t beat yourself up.” Mike shrugged.
“Y/n, are you awake? Like really?” Lucas gawked at you with wide eyes, the others all turning to look at you.
“Yeah” You replied.
“Well, kinda.” Steve corrected them. Nancy walked over and took your hand.
“I’m really glad you’re back.” She smiled.
“Hey, this isn’t a social call, kiddos, Let’s go!” Robin shouted from the door. Steve pulled you up into his arms and followed the others inside, where he placed you on the couch.
Joyce made a fuss over you, hugging you over and over when she felt you putting your arms around her. she even let out a tear or two. Your younger brother Will gave you an affectionate shoulder squeeze and offered you a drink.
Between him and Robin they filled you in what they had discovered and how they believed that Derek Turnbow would be the next victim.
“As in the Turnbow family ?Like Turnbow Realty?” Steve asked, he had perched himself on the arm of the couch beside you.
“The one and only.” Robin announced.
“Whole family’s a menace.” Lucas scoffed.
“How can you be sure?” Nancy asked, “Sure that Derek’s the next target?”
“Because I saw. I’ve learned that when I’m close enough to the hive mind, I can tap into it, into Vecna’s mind. I can see who he’s targeting. The first time it happened, I saw through Holly’s eyes. The same day she was taken, and this morning it happened again. Only this time I wasn’t Holly, I was someone else. I was Derek Turnbow, I’m positive.” Will explained.
“So you’re like y/n?” Mike asked.
“No” you and Will spoke at the same time.
“No, with y/n it’s a constant connection to upside down and to us but for me it’s just Vecna, the Demogorgons and the mind flayer.” Will corrected him.
“Hold on, I’m a little lost,” Steve began, “Were you seeing through the eyes of Vecna or Derek?”
“Both. I…I was Vecna, but inside Derek’s mind.” Will said.
“Vecna’s like a psychic serial killer. He stalks his victims but he does it by invading their minds, that’s what he did with Chrissy and Max.” Robin continued.
“Yeah but the way he’s doing it this time is different. We did some digging at the hospital. It turns out that before he took Holly, Vecna stalked her, but he didn’t appear as Vecna. He appeared as Henry.” Nancy’s words made your back stiffen, you knew how he would have looked to Holly, how easily it would have been to trust him. That brown suit and neat hair, the kind smile. Bile rumbled in your stomach as you tried not to vomit.
“We think he was trying to earn her trust. Now why he went to all that trouble, we don’t know, but I highly doubt his long-term goal is friendship.” Mike added.
“What if it is?” you said. Every eye turned to you, “He does experiments. I was one, Will was one. What if he is doing something to them. He came from the lab with Jane, what if he wants to try it again?” you glanced at each person in turn, Steve put his hand on your shoulder.
“What ever it is, whatever he’s planning, we have to stop him and we have to save Derek.” Will announced.
Your boyfriend and brother’s helped you down the stairs to the basement, with Joyce fussing about getting you a good enough seat down there. Will turned on the over-head projector and started explaining the logistics and plan they had come with to save Derek. There was an argument about if the kidnapping of a child was moral or not. Dustin had just one point, he walked to the front and leaned on the wooden desk.
“If I may, though I’m not morally opposed to any of this, there are a few holes.”
“Yeah. Like what if Derek falls asleep before the Demogorgon attacks him?” Lucas agreed.
“That’s one.”
“Or what if Derek wakes up before we grab him and alerts his family?” Nancy added.
“There’s another.” Dustin waved his hand in Nancy’s direction, “But the third and most gaping hole is even if by some miracle this plan works, Holly is still missing. Hop and El, still MIA. This doesn’t bring us any closer to finding Vecna. This plans just buys us and Derek some time.” Dustin pointed out.
“Not necessarily.” Mike, grabbed his D&D figure bag, tipping out on the table.
“This is Derek and this is the rest of the Turnbow family. We’re gonna need to recruit someone that the family trusts. Someone that can gain entrance to the house, this person will knock the family out. Then we’ll extract the family from the house.”
“Knock them out?” Joyce asked.
“Well, safely. With sleeping pills or something” Mike added.
“I might know where we could get some benzos.” Robin said, “Those things could knock an elephant off its ass.”
“Perfect, that way if Vecna spies, he’ll just assume Derek fell asleep in bed.” Mike clarified, “He’ll send his demos to find him, only he wont find Derek he’ll find us.”
As they talked you found yourself starting to drift from the conversation. It suddenly felt like you hadn’t slept in days. Your eyelids began to fall and then you felt it, the hand heavy on the back of your neck, long fingers curving around your throat.
“Oh, I’ve missed you, y/n. Did you enjoy your time out of my grasp? Don’t get too used to it, I’ll get you back. When it’s time, you’ll come back to me, you’ll beg me to take you.” Henry bent down to your ear as he spoke.
“Never.” Your voice shook.
“Oh, Don’t pretend like you’re brave, y/n. I heard your cries. I listened to you for months as you wept in fear, surrounded by your family yet unable to warn them. Even now, when you try to tell them what you’ve seen, I keep the words from leaving you. I have control of you. You are mine, y/n, just like Will is my puppet you are my favourite toy.” Henry laughed, a sound so sickening your throat burned.
“What did you do to Eddie?” you asked, holding back tears.
“Ten? Oh, he has been so much fun, I twisted his mind, reshaped him. You’ll adore him, y/n.” Henry paused, walking round to face you in the darkness of your mind, “I don’t know how you managed to get out of my prison, or how you’re keeping me from seeing where you are, but understand, y/n, I’m going to get you back.”
“No.” you pushed him away and your eyes shot open. All you could see was the dirty ceiling of the basement.
“Y/n? y/n are you okay?” Steve appeared above you.
“Is she awake?” Joyce came running up to you.
“Yeah, I’m here.” You replied as they helped you to sit up. They had laid you out on the couch.
“What happened?” Steve asked.
“It was him, I saw Vecna , he…” You couldn’t find the right words.
“Did he see? Did he see what we planned?” Your mom asked. You shook your head. “okay, okay, that’s good. Steve look after her, I’ll go tell the others you’re awake”
You and Steve watched your mom go up that stairs, then gripped Steve’s shirt.
“Steve, I need to tell you something.”
“Wait, you’re really serious, what’s going on?” he asked, Steve sat next to you on the couch and you moved your body round to face him.
“Steve, I always knew that you were looking after me. I helped the only way I could.” You said.
“Hey, I know. I knew you were here, that’s why I kept you here, with me. I wanted you to know, how I felt. I never said anything before, cause I was keeping it for when you came back but we haven’t really had a chance.” Steve fumbled over his words, trying to find the best ones.
“Steve, I-”
“No, let me say this first then you can tell me what ever you want, okay?” he searched your eyes.
“Okay.”
Steve took a deep breath, his tongue came out to wet his lips and he looked directly into your eyes. He took your hands in his.
“Y/n, I was an idiot. I should have known, no I did know when we were kids that you were endgame. You are my endgame. I love you.” He allowed himself to breath again. You raised your hand up to his face, your thumb stroking his jawline.
“I love you too, Steve.” You smiled.
Not allowing any hesitation, Steve pulled you into him and kissed you. He kissed you hard. Every time he had planted his lips on you during your sickness it had been on your head or hand and always soft. This kiss was not soft, it was hard and desperate, like he had been longing for it deep inside his body. You were just as desperate, holding onto him as if letting go would make him disappear. For the two of you there was only this moment and where your lips connected.
With hand on the back of your head, Steve slowly laid you back on the couch, his body hovering over yours. His hand squeezed your waist as his hips bucked into you.
The door to the basement slamming open made you both freeze.
“Hey love birds, Murray’s here.” Dustin called down the stairs.
Steve pulled back from you, looking into your eyes, he chuckled.
“Rain check?” he whispered, as he sat back. He had to take a few breaths before he could help you to climb the stairs.
Outside the radio station, Murray started handing out the things the group had asked him to bring. You stood beside Steve, your long hair blowing in the gentle breeze. You were completely unaware of what it was all for as you had not been part of the last conversation.
Steve took you over to the WSQK van and started ripping things out of it. You sat on the floor of the van, not really helping. Dustin walked over.
“Hey, what are you doing?” he asked.
“You gonna help me or just stand there?” Steve scoffed.
“Yeah I’d rather not herniate a disk over a lost cause.” Dustin replied.
“Yeah, that’s the attitude.” You rolled your eyes.
“This van once stalled out chugging up Pickett Road, like it was the little engine that couldn’t. It’s not fast enough to keep up with a Demo without serious modifications.” Dustin growled at you both.
“What the hell do you think I’m doing?” Steve argued back. “Modifying. A lighter van is faster van.” He yanked a set of speakers out and tossed them from the van. “If we’re just tracking we don’t need half the crap that’s in here.”
Dustin’s eyes turned away from the van and you saw the idea forming in his mind. He grabbed the power saw and marched off. Steve scrambled to follow him and you pulled yourself ut of the van just in time to see Dustin making a whole in the roof of Steve’s BMW. Your boyfriend freaked out watching his priced car get ruined. You understood why, but you kind of agreed with Dustin, using the car would be much faster than going in the van.
**********************
In the Upside down, Hopper had tied up a soldier. He was trying to get information from him as Eleven sat not too far away, with a blindfold over her eyes. Through steady breaths she moved through the soldier’s mind. Searching for the answers she wanted. Where is Dr Kay? What do they know about the wall?
“There is a base in the upside down.” El said into her walkie. Hopper heard it through the hands free head set he wore.
“Gable Ridge road base.” Hopper repeated the words in his ear.
“What the hell is she doing to me?” the soldier asked. It felt like a wire searching through his brain and collecting his thoughts.
“I don’t know exactly how it works. But I know it’s probably not a good idea, to have her rooting around there for too long. What was the meeting about with you and the good doctor?” Hopper asked.
“The freak. She wants the freak. That’s her mission. That’s all I know.” He gritted his teeth as another memory was pulled to the front. El walked through it.
In a tree not too far away from them, a Demobat perched on a branch. It’s long tail wrapped around the wood as it watched, head tilting side to side, listening to El’s words.
**********************
No one would let you go to the Turnbow house. Joyce and Steve agreed that even able to move you weren’t nearly recovered enough to take part in fighting a Demogorgon. You sat in the radio station, alone, your knees curled up to your chest on the couch. The television remote clutched in your hand as you flicked through the few channels.
You tried to keep your thoughts off the earlier kiss with Steve, but the more you tried the more it replayed in your mind. So much so you didn’t notice when a cold breeze blew your hair, you didn’t notice the shadow that fell over you until the hand grabbed you. Pinning you to the couch with his hand around your neck, Henry stood above you. The smile he had once worn in this form was gone, to show anger in his eyes.
“What did you do?” he heaved out the words.
You couldn’t answer the fingers around your neck were too tight.
“I hope you understand that when everyone else is dead, I’m going to take your little boyfriend and make it last for hours. You’ll watch as the light slowly drains from eyes, you’ll see the moment he becomes one of mine.” Henry growled at you. “You think you are my only backdoor into your world? I already know where the child is. Your friends will never stop me.”
You clutched at his hand trying to pull him away from you, trying to catch your breath. You thumped at his chest, bewildered by how real he felt. Sure you were about to die you tried to fight.
A screech ripped through the night sky, pulling Henry’s attention. Demobats crashed through the window, attacking Henry. In the chaos of wings and teeth he released you and you feel to the floor, gasping for air.
The moment your hands hit the rug Henry was gone. The Bats were gone. You were alone again.
You held your hand to your neck, the feeling of him holding you still lingering. You pushed yourself off the floor and moved through the radio station to the main doors. Determined to leave when your mind was thrown into a vision. You watched the scene like a bug on the wall you watched your friends fight the Demogorgon. You saw the moment it ripped a gate in the wall and dove into the upside down. A Demobat followed, unnoticed by the others.
You jumped and you were sitting in the back of Steve’s car; seeing through your bother’s eyes.
“Johnathan?” you spoke into his mind. His hand flew to his left temple.
season 5 chapter 2 - The vanishing of Holly Wheeler
AN: this one is kinda short.
As you watched Hopper making his way through the upside down, an other vision caught your mind and everything shifted. You saw the moment the Demogorgon took Holly. Then you returned to Hopper.
“You back, Kid?” he said to you.
“Yeah. Hopper, be careful.” You whispered to him.
“Every time, kid.”
“No, I have to go.” You said.
In the right side up, Steve sat in the driver’s seat when your whole body urged forward, held back by the seat belt.
“Whoa, y/n.”
“I can’t.” you turned your head to your boyfriend and he gawked at you. A year of not moving and now you were pushing your body up.
“Can’t what?” he asked. From the back of the van you felt Jonathan coming closer to you.
“I felt him. He sent me back.” You reached your hand out toward Steve, trying to pull him closer to you.
“Vecna? He’s alive?” Johnathan asked.
“Holly?”
“Yeah, we don’t know where she is, the Wheelers have been taken to the hospital. You know what happened?” Johnathan asked. You nodded, eyes heavy
“Hey, lean back, get some rest. You’ve got to be shitting me.” Over your shoulder Steve saw Dustin walking his bike toward the van. Johnathan and Steve rushed out to help him, getting his bike into the back. He got up and sat in the second front passenger seat, bringing you closer to Steve. Dustin’s face was covered in dried blood, his shirt ripped I several places. Steve was notably more uptight now Dustin was back.
On the drive back to the radio station they began to talk. Steve explaining what happened during the crawl.
“Which brings us to you, arriving looking like Rocky Belboa, so basically of all the crawls, this was, like, the one to miss. So well done, Henderson. Really, really, like, well done.” You put your hand on Steve’s leg, and Dustin pressed his head against the window. “Speechless, that’s new.” Steve scoffed.
“I’m still processing, Steve. It’s a lot. As if seeing y/n actually moving her own body all of a sudden there is everything else. Holly? Why Holly?” Dustin said.
The two men started to argue the sound of their raised voices starting to tense through your muscles. All of a sudden everything stopped when your brother’s voice bellowed from the back. You flinched, the fingers on Steve’s leg, tightening; he put his arm around your shoulders.
“I don’t wanna to talk to you anymore.” He directed his words to Dustin.
“Well, I don’t wanna talk to you either.” The younger teen huffed, tissues stuffed into his nostrils to soak up the blood.
“Do we have Hopper?” Steve asked. He glanced at you, but you dropped your eyes to the dash board. You had no idea if you could still tap into Hopper’s mind, what you did know was that you didn’t want to go back into the upside down.
“Okay, I’m gonna turn on Irwin. One more loop around the zone?” Steve offered to Johnathan behind you.
“Yeah, go ahead.” He answered back, “No wait. Scratch that. I think I got something.”
“Seriously?” Steve began to slow the van.
“Is it Hop?” Dustin asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not getting a hit on the decoder, but I can hear something.” Johnathan explained.
You closed your eyes, reluctant to tune in to the sound, Dustin climbed over the seat to listen in on what Johnanthan was hearing. Instead of the ex police chief you could her the distinct noise of creatures in the upside down. The sound of flapping, leathery wings.
“Bats” You said only loud enough for Steve to hear. Using the arm around your shoulders he stroked your hair.
“You okay?” he asked. His voice hardly came through as you listened to the sound of wings. Somewhere amongst the flapping you were suer you had heard a voice. Someone calling out to you, as if the bats knew you were there. A face flashed behind your eyes, but you couldn’t be sure if it was real or your imagination. Then as if you had been sent there you were stood in the hospital beside Mrs Wheeler’s bed. Nancy and Mike, walking in. You bent down, so your mouth hovered above her ear.
“Wake up.” You whispered to her.
When Karen’s eye opened you were forced somewhere else, Robin and Will were in the woods, running toward the middle school. Will span the merry-go-round. He knew more than he realised.
Again you were transported somewhere else, the upside down, Hopper and El stood aside a large wall, made of flesh, like it was alive.
You were flung back not your body, lurching forward as a vision of the Creel house echoed in your mind.
At some point the sun had started to rise above Hawkins.
November 3rdth 1987 - You listened to Steve waking up beside you. The same as every morning for the last few months. The rest of you family were living at the Wheeler’s house whilst you stayed with Steve and Robin at the Squawk radio station. Slowly over time you regained some movement in your body, you could turn your head, blink and if you concentrated hard enough you could twitch your fingers.
Once Steve was dressed he came over and help you out of the bed, lifting you over to the bathroom and helped you wash up for the day. It was Robin, though who would help you dress in the outfits Steve would choose. Steve would go to the kitchen and get your supplement shake ready. It was difficult but with another person’s help you could sip through a straw.
“Okay, Sweetheart, you’re looking beautiful today. Lets go to work.” He kissed your forehead and wheeled you into the Radio’s studio. Robin was already sitting in the DJ chair and they began.
“Good morning, Hawkins! The WSQK, The Squawk! It’s looking like a regular day in Hawkins. Fifty-five degrees, low chance of rain, medium chance of arrest, high chance of helicopters; ut general banality aside, its an exciting day for me, your friend, entertainer and DJ, Robin Buckley, AKA Rockin’ Robin. And why you might ask, well it’s my 500th broadcast. Yeah you heard that right folks, five-double-o!”
Steve used the sound affects cassettes to add applause to her words.
“Which means it’s been even longer since you’ve heard the sultry voice of Jimmy “fast hands” Lee, but while Jimmy was fleeing Hawkins, even faster than he moves those hands, yours truly was watching slack jawed as the earth split open beneath her feet and coughed up that tsunami of mysterious dandruff and now, I’m stuck here with you my fellow quarantine compatriots and if I can be brutally honest, I couldn’t be happier; because when you really think about it, why would you want to live anywhere else? I mean, what town on Earth can match our very impressive military-to-civilian ratio? And those free mandatory medical checkups? I mean, very cool, cause after we inhaled those springtime snowflakes. I mean, who knows what’s wrong with us? Maybe we’re fine, maybe not. No one really knows for sure. After all, this was a “natural phenomenon never before seen my man.” A phenomenon now covered up by a giant metal Band-Aid. Quite the eyesore, but hey, great for sledding.” She laughed.
Your disapproving sigh caught Steve’s attention and he leaned over to squeeze your hand.
“ Though seriously kids, stop sledding on the giant steel Band-Aid. You are going to kill yourselves. Also, the men with guns they don’t like it, not one bit. While we’re on the subject on things not to do, please steer clear of the military access control Zone, aka the MAC_Z, or as I like to call it, the Big Mac.”
With the mention of the MAC-Z your mind wondered away to the tow square. Where the library once stood the four gates had converged into one. You could see it in your mind, like a photograph sitting on the mantal you could never fully look away from it. Your chest began to tighten and your heart raced in your chest.
“Whoa. What’s going on? What the hell?” Robin leapt up from the desk as she and Steve rushed around trying to fix whatever it was that was affecting the broadcast.
“I told you to stop thumbing your nose at the military!” Steve scolded Robin.
“I was reiterating their goddamn rules. Encouraging compliance.”
“Right, no Sarcasm there.” He rolled his eyes.
“Said the dingus with the rubber chicken.” She hit back.
“Wait, you said MAC-Z.” Steve span and darted back to you, crouching in front of you with his hands on your knees, “Y/n? Y/n hey, hey, look at me. You’re right here, you’re at squawk, with me.”
You blinked, eyes coming down to meet his.
“Hey yeah, there you are.” He took your hand and held it to his face. You could feel the stubble of his facial hair under your fingers, “You’re safe, sweetheart, you’re right here with me and Robin.” your fingers flexed against his face.
Behind him the sparks of the dying radio system died away and Robin sighed in relief.
“Hey, yeah, there we go. Robin can you fix it?” he called over his shoulder.
Robing threw her hands in the air, “I don’t think so.”
Keeping hold of your hand, Steve reached over to grab his radio, “Henderson, do you copy? Henderson?”
“Yeah, I copy.” Dustin’s voice came back. God, you sound swell. Leet me take a wild guess. You’re not calling to wish me a good morning.”
“Well, it’s not exactly a good morning. We’ve got a situation at the Squawk. The signal, it’s gone all wonky. Either Robin finally pissed ‘em off or y/n had a moment.” Steve explained.
“The remote radio head’s the more likely culprit, even if it was y/n’s surge. Just read the manual, Steve.”
“Come on man, it might as well be in Greek.” Steve huffed.
“Then learn Greek, I can’t always be there to solve your problems for you, Steve.” The radio went quiet
“Learn Greek? You hear that tone? You heard that right?” He looked credulously between you and Robin. “I guess we go find the manual.” He huffed, wheeling you to the records room. Moments later Nancy and Johnathan appeared at the door.
“We thought you might need some help.” She said, “what are we looking for?
“The manual,” Steve and Robin said at the same time.
Then came an hour of frantic pulling around through the stored food and paperwork. Piles of old books scattered around the rooms.
“I swear to god this stupid thing does not exist.” Robin shouted, as she stomped by you.
“Can someone try Dustin again?” Johnathan asked.
“He turned off his walkie.” Robin replied.
“What’s up with him lately?” Nancy looked between everyone.
“Don’t even get me started.” Steve Scoffed.
You’d had enough, the manual was sitting right in front of you, each of them had walked past it several times. You sighed as loud as you could, catching Steve and Nancy’s attention. They stepped toward you. Doing your best to focus on the manual you felt the vibrations around it beginning to shake and the book toppled off the table. Nancy reached out to catch it and Steve got your side.
“Guys, y/n found it.” Nancy chuckled.
“Good job, sweetheart.” Steve kissed the top of your head. Without even having to look at your face he took a tissue from the box on the table and wiped away the drip of blood from your nose.
The other three crowded around the manual and found the right page. They would need to climb to the top of the radio tower. You were taken out with the others where they stretched back their necks to look up. For a moment the two boys argued about who should be going up ut Nancy reminded Steve that you probably wouldn’t be too happy if he fell and died. To which Johnathan asked if Nancy would be happy if he did. They all laughed. In the near distance you heard Murray’s truck coming closer.
He had a delivery of weapons, ammo, Gatorade for El and food for Steve. He also handed Johnathan a cassette of smooth Jazz and he awkwardly snatched it away.
“And for the station manager; the reason for my premature delivery.” Murray handed a large brown envelope over to Nancy who pulled out the contents.
“A burn? Tonight?” she looked up at him.
Without being told why, you were wheeled back inside with Robin.
Steve pulled up a chair in front of you and took in a long breath, as Robin clicked the radio back into life.
“Hey there, friends, this is Rockin’ Robin. Sorry about the abrupt departure. I hope you survived without me we had some annoying technical difficulties, but to make it up to you we have a special treat that’s sure to turn your world upside down.” Robin announced through the microphone.
Your body visibly tensed.
“It’s okay, You’re okay. You’ll be with me the whole time, come on.” He lifted you up out of the chair, folding one of your arms around his shoulders as if you were holding him and walking behind Nancy, you all went to the station’s basement. Steve placed you on the couch and sat next to you as Nancy went through the plan for the crawl. Hopper would be going into the upside down for two hours. It was his job to find Vecna. In the SWQK van Steve, you and Dustin would follow his movements in the Right side up.
“Do we even think he’s not actually dead?” Steve asked, “I mean, we’ve done over thirty crawls now, Eleven can’t find him in her bath, Will hasn’t had his goosies since the wake and bake.”
“Have you forgotten what he showed Nancy and Y/n?” Johnathan said.
“He was just trying to scar you.”
“Yeah well I am scared/ do you really think y/n would still be like this, that Max would still be in the hospital if he was dead?” Nancy asked.
“Steve.” For the first time since the Creel house your voice sounded, catching them all off guard. Your boyfriend turned to you.
“Y/n? What is it? I’m here you can talk to me.” He was panicking and you could feel it, but worse you could feel your brother. Some where in the woods, Will felt the prickling on the back of his neck.
“Steve, fight.” You forced the words out. Steve nodded.
“Okay, sweetheart, Okay.” He would agree to anything it meant you would talk again. Steve was ready to savour the sound of your voice forever. The others stood staring at you, like a beast had just burst through the top of your head.
“y/n? Have you seen anything else?” Nancy asked.
“Nance.” Johnathan lowered his voice in a warning.
“What? If she has information to help-”
“No, she’s my sister, a human not some manual you can syphon information out of when ever you want.” He scolded his girlfriend.
“Johnathan.”
“Seriously? Nancy, she finally speaks after months and you think it’s okay to pump her.” Robin face was pulled into a mix of disgust and awe.
“Guys, I wasn’t…I’m sorry.” Nancy backed down.
Steve stood to his full height, lifting you up with him and marched back up to the main part of the radio station back to the bedroom. He placed you on the bed so you were sitting up on the headboard.
“You know there is no pressure, I’m going to take care of you forever even if you never talk to me again, y/n but hearing your voice was really good.” He admitted, sitting as close to you as he could. The corner of your lips twitched as if a smile was fighting to break through.
Not long after your mom arrived with Hopper and El. She came straight to you and pulled you into her for a hug.
“Hi, sweetie. I missed you.” She spoke into your hair.
“Uh, she spoke today.” Steve told her.
“She did? You did? That’s great. I’m sad I missed it.” Joyce stroked back your hair in her overly motherly way.
Soon the sun went down and the radio station became a hub of activity. Will and Eleven helped to get a coat, gloves and a hat onto you, then got you into the van. Dustin still hadn’t arrived and with Joyce to nervous to let Will go with you it was down to Johnathan to use the scanner in the back. Hopper went off to use the tunnels to get inside the MAC-Z. Every one had their jobs and yours was to be beside Steve.
As the van moved you felt it, the cold burn in your arm. Though the piece of Vecna was no longer inside you, the memory of it still remained. Your mind began to wonder not to anyone in the party, not to Hopper, or El or Will but to another place. The woods, running too fast. A Demogorgon. Then a room, bright colours splashed around the walls.
“Hold,” Your brother’s voice echoed in the back of your mind. “Go.” The car jolted you out of the vision as it sprang to life. Your body hitting against the seatbelt.
“Hopper,” You felt the smacking of car against car.
“STOP!” Johnathan shouted.
“Hopper do you copy?” Joyce spoke over the radio.
“Yeah, yeah I’m here.”
“What happened?”
“We slammed into something.”
“Why would they stop?” Robin asked from inside the radio station.
“The soldiers, they know he’s there.” El said.
“Demo.” You whispered, enough for Steve to hear you.
“ Y/n? Can you see it?” he asked.
Johnathan fought to keep the tracker on Hopper connected to his scanner and Steve didn’t what to panic about. Your head slammed back against the headrest and your eyes glazed over. Inside the radio station, Will dropped to his knees, sweat pouring down him, his connection to the hive mind taking him into the Demogorgon’s eyes. In the upside down the monster attacked.
The Demogorgons ripped through the soldiers, Killing without thought or care.
Hopper called into his walkie, “Joyce, Anyone?” he got no reply from the party, not across the radios but in his mind he heard you.
“Run, Hopper, they don’t see you.” You ordered him, “Run.” Taking your order without question Hopper ran. It was the real reason you were always with Steve in the van. The only time you could communicate with was when Hopper was in the upside down. The conversations you would have inside his mind were meaningful and informative.
“Everything okay up there?” he asked, hiding behind a tree. Steve heard the question over the Walkie and understood that he was talking to you. It eased his mind every time he asked the question, a previously agreed moment for every crawl.
“I don’t know. I think Will connected.” You answered him.
“To the hive mind?”
“Yes. Stop talking and hide.”
A.n: we are going a little off s riot, adding things, removing/changing bits from here on our. Let me know your thoughts and thank you for reading 😍
Tag list - comment to be added. (Also if I see you read all the chapters I'll add you ☺️)
“Okay let’s run through it one more time.” Nancy said, “Phase one.”
“We meet Eric at the playground.” Robin said, “She’ll signal Max and Lucas when we’re ready.”
“Phase two.”
“Max baits Vecna. He’ll go after her. which’ll put him in his trance.” Steve stated.
“Phase three?”
“Me and Eddie draw the bats away.” Dustin said.
“Four.”
“We head into Vecna’s hopefully newly bat-free lair, and…Flambe.” Robin finished.
“No body moves onto the next phase until we’ve all copied.” Nancy said, “Nobody deviates from the plan no matter what.” She looked down at you.
Everyone agreed and you headed out, walking straight to Eddie’s Trailor. It was your guaranteed gate into the upside down. Steve went first and then grabbed a mattress for the rest of you to land on. He caught you before you fell through.
Nancy led the way out g the Trailor. Steve stopped and turned back to Eddie and Dustin.
“Hey guys, listen. If things start to go south, I mean, at all you abort. Okay? Drawn the attention of the bats, keep ‘em busy for a minute or two. We’ll take care of Vecna. Don’t try to be cute or be a hero, or something, Okay?” You guys are just-”
“Decoys. Don’t worry you can be the hero, Steve.” Dustin said.
You stepped up to Eddie.
“He knows who are, I couldn’t hide it form him, so be careful.” You told him. Eddie nodded to you.
“Don’t worry, princess, I’ll scoot the moment it gets hairy.” He promised you.
Steve took your hand, starting to leave with Eddie called him back.
“Make him pay.” He said.
Steve gave him a single nod and with you, Robin and Nancy walked away from the Trailor.
“You sure you’re okay being here again?” Steve asked you.
“No, I hate it. I want to curl into a ball and cry but doing that won’t stop him.” you say.
Steve looks at you, a heavy breath leaving his lips and his grip on your hand tightened.
“Just stay close to one of us at all times okay.” He said to you.
“Don’t worry, we’ll all keep her safe, Steve but without El, Y/n is the best weapon we have.” Nancy said stepping back to walk beside you.
“I know, I just, I know how he can get in your heads, in all our heads if we let him.” Steve explained.
“Come on Steve, We’re a four man army!” Robin laughed.
“Yeah, a one man army against a million monsters and Bats and demodogs, as well as an actual demon. Easy peasy.” Steve scoffed.
“Uh, I don’t mean to freak anyone out, but I swear we’ve seen this tree before.” Robin was failing to hide the panic in her voice.
“That’s impossible.” Nancy said.
“That would suck, right? If Vecna destroyed the world because we got lost in the woods?” Robin said.
“We’re not lost Robin.” Nancy called after your friend.
Robin ran forward ahead of you all.
“Robin, hey. Watch out for the vines.” Nancy shouted.
“I’ll go keep an eye on her.” You rushed off after Robin, leaving Nancy and Steve alone.
“uh, don’t worry about her, she’s just stressed, you know, scared.” Steve made excuses for her, over the last two years he and Robin had become as close as you were to her.
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Nancy sighed, “Its just…”
“She’s a super klutz.” Steve joked.
“She did tell me that it took her longer to walk than most babies, so…”
“I really shouldn’t laugh, when I was a baby I actually crawled backwards.” Steve announced.
“Backwards?”
“You know, I’d push with my hands like. Beep. Beep.” Steve gestured the movements with hands, “Always in reverse.”
“Have you told y/n this? It might give her pause on having kids with you in the future.” Nancy giggled.
You stopped walking, and stood still. The others coming up to your sides.
“What is it, y/n?” Steve asked.
“El, she’s…earlier I thought I saw her, she knows our plan.” You said. Inside your chest you could feel her, feel the worry Eleven had as she looked into water, “She’s coming.”
“Coming? Like here?” Robin asked.
“No, not us, Max.” you said, a fog of confusion was making your head heavy.
“Don’t say any more,” Steve demanded, “The more we know, the more he could find out.” He reminded you all.
“Let’s go, we don’t have much time.” Nancy said.
Agreeing, the four of you pushed on through the woods to the Creel house. From the protection of the woods you watched as Vecna walked into the house; a swarm of bats around the attic. Your hand lifted to your arm, the ice cold burning coming back to you skin. You shifted your position, knocking Steve slightly.
“y/n, you can stay here. You don’t have to come in with us.” He whispered to you.
“She isn’t made of glass, Steve.” Nancy reminded him.
“I’ll be okay. If I need to, if anything goes wrong, I’ll bug out. I promise.” You tried to reassure him.
“Yeah, you promise?” he asked, you nod.
“I promise.”
“Okay, time for phase one.” Nancy said.
You follow the others to the dilapidated playground where the shining lights from Erica had appeared.
“Max is moving into phase two: distracting Vecna.” Erica spoke through the void of the lights.
“So far, so smooth.” Robin observed.
“Yeah, we’re not even at the hard part yet.” Steve said. Nancy stepped slightly away from the rest of you as she watched the Bats.
“Take the bait you son of a bitch.” She whispered.
As you waited you felt your mind connecting to Vecna, you saw through his eyes as he walked through the rooms up into the attic where the vines attached themselves to his back and lifted him up. His mind swirled with colours and then he was with Max. You waited, watching him watch her sitting in the exact place he was but in the right side up.
“He’s in her mind.” You said, feeling their eyes on you.
When you didn’t reply to them, Stee took hold of your hand, pulling you out of Vecna’s mind. Nancy radioed through to Dustin and Eddie who started playing the electric guitar to call the bats away. You, Steve, Nancy and Robin ran up to the house. At the door you took out the knife you had chosen as a weapon and followed the others inside. You placed your hand on the door frame feeling the coldness of it. Something about the wood, about the way your feet felt heavy against the floorboards brought a finality to your chest.
The vines that covered all of the upside had grown even thicker inside the Creel house. Traversing the staircase without touching them had become a feat far greater than any of you had realised it would be. Getting to the Attic took twice the amount of time it should have. At the top, the upside down was plagued with another earthquake. Barely able to keep your footing you didn’t notice the vine that wrapped itself around Robin’s ankle. It whisked her away and pinned her against the wall. You froze, unable to move when Nancy and Steve swung their weapons to help her. you couldn’t stop Nancy from being flung into the opposite wall and nor could you stop Steve from being lifted away from you.
“Y/n help.” They called to you.
The vines didn’t take you, they appeared to be avoiding you as much as they could. Anger bubbled in you when your eyes met with Steve’s. The cold heat in your arm seemed to burn straight to your heart and you held out your hand.
“No.” you said.
The vines hold Steve fought against you, struggling to keep hold of him until they each in turn sprang away. The one wrapped around his neck snapped away and he dropped to the ground.
“I can feel them dying.” You heard Vecna’s voice echo in your mind as he spoke to Max.
“No.” You span and the vines released Robin, her knee smacking to the ground as she landed. With your other hand you twisted the vines away from Nancy and she to fell out of their grasp. The vines retracted away from you as if you were a flame. Steve, Robin and Nancy clambered to their feet and ran to you.
“Much braver then your brother.” Vecna spoke to Max.
You closed your eyes as you felt Eleven’s powers enter Max’s mind.
“She’s here.” You said aloud.
“Eleven?” Steve asked.
“You all have to leave.” You said.
“What? No. We’re not leaving you?” Steve said.
“We have a job to do.” Nancy stated.
“Eddie is dying.” This time you turned your mind to him, as he cycled across the upside down, bats at his back, “You are Ten. You have powers. Use them.”
Eddie stood still, your voice and Dustin’s playing in his head. He took up his shield and spear, turning back to the bats as they came flying down to him in a barrage of wings and teeth. Eddie held up his shield and a scream left his mouth. A flame engulfed his shield and the bats began to drop around him.
“Time is running out.” You said aloud to your friends.
“Now?” Nancy said. You held up your hand to keep them all in place.
“Eleve is fighting him.” you say, turning your inner eye back to Eddie.
He was no longer running, but fighting. Bolstered by you and Dustin he was proving that he was hero. Though the bats would occasionally reach him and take bites from his flesh, Eddie was beating them back.
You felt a vine around your wrist but realised it wasn’t yours it was Eleven’s. using her eyes, you watched Vecna bring Max into his broken home and lift her into the system of vines.
“Papa is dead.” Eleven shouted. “I know what he did to you, you were different, like me and he hurt you, he made you into this. He is the monster Henry, not you.”
Vecna walked slowly up to her.
“You’re right, you and I, we are different. Papa did hurt me, but he was no monster, he was just a man. An ordinary, mediocre man that is why he sort greatness on others, in you, in me, but in the end he could not control us. He could not shape he could not change us he could not see eleven. He did not make me into this, you did.”
As you watched you saw everything that happened to him. How Eleven had thrown him into the this world, how his body had become burned and disfigured. You saw how he found the mind flayer, how he joined with it.
The memories came through so strong you collapsed to your knees, eyes dripping with blood. You had known it from the start, he was always the one controlling it all. He took Will, he took you and he was the one who formed the monster in the Mall.
“No.”
In the back of your mind you could hear your friends trying to move you and reach you. Your breath caught in your throat as Eddie was strangled by a bat. You saw your mother and Hopper fighting Demogorgons. In the right side up you could see Lucas fighting with Jason.
“No.” he pushed out the word.
“There was time I had hoped to have you and y/n by my side.” Vecna spoke to Eleven, his hand holding her chin, “But now I just want you to watch.” He walked away from her, moving back to Max. There was nothing you could do.
Stuck inside the visions in your mind you couldn’t move, you couldn’t do anything when your friends were pulled back by the vines. Too many people were filling your mind. Vecna’s hand went over Max’s face and you knew what was happening.
“Henry.” You called out to him, “Henry stop.” Though his hand remand on Max, his face turned to you.
“Stop this. Please, Henry.” Somehow you were standing between him and Eleven, though you could feel your body still in the upside down.
“I’m glad you’re here, y/n.” there was a chuckle in his voice.
“Stop. Henry.” You walked toward him, your hand, shakily, coming out to hold his, “I’m here, Henry. Let them all go.”
“Did you think this would work? Was this your grand plan? It’s too late, y/n. Even if I wanted to, the shadow has it’s own plans, plans that I cannot change. Plans I do not want to change.”
“But I can hep you.” You almost beg him.
“No, enjoy being in your own min, y/n you’ll never get out.” He pushed you back, your hand flinging from his and you felt it, like a rip through your brain. A scar forming that would never fully heal. Your body slumped to the ground, unable to move. All you could was listen, and watch through their eyes.
Eleven broke through the fear of her own mind and forced Vecna to release Max from his grasp, I the right side up her body dropped, mangled and broken. Eleven’s scream echoed through your ears as Vecna flew into an abyss of darkness.
Your mother killed the Demogorgon.
Eddie lay amongst the bodies of the bats he had flayed as he took his last breaths, Dustin beside him.
Behind you the vines grip on your friends loosened and they again fell to the ground.
“I don’t believe in divine intervention, but that was a miracle.” Robin said, coughing against the pain in her throat.
Steve tried to wake you. You could feel his hands on you and his voice calling to you, but nothing could change your state. Eyes wide open, staring into their faces, yet unable to speak or move. He lifted you into his arms, cradling your body to his.
“Time to go.” Nancy said, “Phase four.” She nodded to Steve and Robin.
“You stay here, we’ll do this.” Robin told him.
She and Nancy walked into the attic where Vecna was still suspended in air. They both lit their Molotov’s and threw up into his body. Again and again they threw them. Nancy fired her shotgun into him.
The sound of Kate Bush filled your ears with the roar of fire and Steve held you against him as he watched from the door.
“We got him. he’s in the yard we should make sure he is dead.” Nancy said, reloading the shotgun as they ran out.
Vecna was not in the yard. The broken wood and burnt grass showing where he fell but no body.
“I didn’t run away this time right?” Eddie said. It was like you were standing beside him and Dustin. “I think it’s finally my year. Love you man.”
“I love you too.” Dustin cried.
Eddie turned his head and with his last breath he saw you.
Lucas held Max in his arms.
“Lucas, I can’t see anything. I can’t feel anything.”
“It’s okay, Max we’re going to get help.” Lucas cried.
Through her mind, Eleven stayed with her. her powers keeping Max alive as best she could.
“What do we do?” Eleven looked up at you. “Her mind?” she asked.
“It’s the only way.” You replied through your mind.
A clock rang inside the Creel house and you were back in your body, watching the sky as Steve ran. The four gates to the upside down had been created and now they were splitting Hawkins apart. In four directions they destroyed everything until they came together in the town square.
A drop of blood spilled from your lips and you knew that Eleven had finally awoken.
Nancy helped to pull you out of the upside down.
**************
Two days later
You sat in a wheelchair, eyes wide open but unmoving as Steve helped Nancy to pack up old clothes and toys into their cars. A yellow pizza van drove up to the edge of the driveway and Eleven, Mike, Will, Johnathan and Argyle got out.
Will ran straight to you.
“This is what you meant?” he looked at Eleven. She nodded.
“Wait, you know?” Steve asked.
“I saw her. She is still in there, in her mind. Vecna did something to her, he locked her inside her mind.” Eleven explained.
“So she’s still there, she can hear us?” he asked, tears pricking at her eyes.
“Yes.”
You were desperate to run to him, to hug your brothers. To do anything but stare. Screaming in your mind to make contact.
Will looked around himself and realised that Lucas wasn’t there.
For a long while there was a lot of chatter as things were explained between the two groups. Whilst the younger teens went to see Max in the hospital, Steve, Robin and Dustin went to the school gym where the disaster relief was in full swing and Johnathan stayed with you.
“y/n, I’m sorry I wasn’t paying more attention to you.” He admitted once you had a moment alone, “I should have…if I had, then maybe, maybe none of this would have been, maybe I could have helped more.” Your twin brother took your hand, warming the cold ends your fingers.
“I’m sorry.”
You looked at him, one small tear falling from your eye as you tried so hard to speak to him.
Argyle returned with the teens and you were helped into the van so they could take Eleven back to her cabin in the woods. It was still in disarray from the mind flayer attack. Nancy got everyone to work putting the place back together. You watched from your wheelchair. Johnathan and Nancy were putting up a board on the outside of the building as they talked.
“I’m glad you were here, too, otherwise who would’ve been in charge, Steve?” he joked.
“He’s actually grown up quite a bit.” Nancy told him. Johnathan looked at her, a hint of fear and jealousy flashing in his eyes, “I mean, they way he took care of y/n. They’re a couple now, you know. He was like a real parent to the others as well.” She explained.
“Wow, no wait, he’s dating my sister?” Johnathan laughed.
An approaching car caught everyone’s attention and you held your breath. Three people got out. Murray who stretched and breathed in the fresh air. Your mother, who instantly hugged her sons to her and then ran to you. Panicked, Johnathan had to explain it all. The last was Hopper, a Man thought dead, returned. He marched straight into the house to Eleven and pulled her into him. A father reunited his daughter.
Though Joyce was saddened by your predicament, she was glad to be back with her three children.
For a moment it felt like there could be peace. Like Vecna would leave you alone for a short time, but nothing is forever, and time stops for no one.
You and Will felt it at the same time, the freezing of your arm and the prickling of his neck. Like an alarm system telling you that life was about to get far worse going off. From the sky, a strange grey dust began to fall. The same dust that filled the upside down; and in your fear the hand your mother held, tightened.
Every one was panicking when you sat up, Nancy and Steve were still stood in the upside down. You stood up from the couch and raised your hand, slowly Nancy began to lift off the ground. Steve tried to stop her but you used your other hand to also lift Steve. As they came through the gate you twisted their bodies so they were the right way up.
“Y/n?” Steve looked at you like he was seeing you for the first time. Once Nancy was placed on the mattress you stepped up to her and crouched down to touch your fingers to her forehead. Nancy gasped awake and you dropped backwards.
“A knife.” You said, chest panting with heavy breaths.
“Y/n, what the hell?” Steve ran over to you.
“Get me a knife, Steve.” You pushed him back from you, pulling at your clothing. Nancy helped you, ripping away your sleeve away from your shirt.
“How do we get it out?” She asked you.
“What the hell is going on?” Steve asked.
“Here.” Erica heled the knife between the two of you. Nancy took it.
“Hold her arm, Steve.” She said. Confused Steve took hold of your arm, sitting as close to you as he could. Nancy held the knife to your arm, below the middle scar she began to cut into your skin. The heat from Erica burning the blade sizzled your flesh, boiling the thick, dark blood that dripped around your arm.
“What the fuck, Nance!” Steve growled.
Your cry of pain grabbed Steve’s attention and he renewed the strength of his grip. Nancy pushed the knife down harder and sliced open your arm.
“Just grab it.” You said through gritted teeth. Robin knelt on your other side and took your hand. Nancy caught her bottom lip between her teeth and plunged her fingers below your skin. You could feel her moving inside you.
“I can’t get it.” She growled, pulling her fingers out of you.
“I’ll do it.” Steve twisted so he could get a better angle on you, “What am I looking for?” He asked.
“Flesh, like a lump of meat that isn’t hers.” Nancy explained.
“What the hell?” Robin asked.
“Just do it.” You shouted. Steve shoved his index and middle fingers into your arm and fished about until he grabbed something. Pulling it out he threw the blackened flesh onto the floor.
“Eddie, burn it.” Nancy ordered.
You fell back against Steve, your body shaking.
“Is any one going to tell us what the hell is happening?” Your boyfriend asked, his bloody hand clamped over your new wound.
“We don’t really have time right now.” Nancy said. She and Steve Hauled you up to your feet and you all rushed to Max’s Trailor next door.
“Is somebody going to tell us what happened?” Eddie asked as he helped Max to clean and dress your and Steve’s wounds. Max grabbed a clean shirt for you to change into. Lucas stood close by to her, Max by his side. Dustin was helping Steve to pull a clean T-shirt.
“It’s one of Billy’s, Sorry, I don’t have anything else.” Max said, hugging herself.
“It’s great, thank you.” Steve replied.
“He showed me things that have happened yet. The most awful things. I saw a dark cloud spreading over Hawkins, downtown on fire. Dead soldiers and this giant creature with a gaping mouth.” Nancy explained, she had sat down on one of the arm chairs, “There were so many monsters. An army and they were coming into Hawkins, into our neighbourhoods. Our homes and then he showed me my mom and Holly, Mike and they, they were all…” his tears took over.
“Okay, but…he’s just trying to scare you, Nance.” Steve said, “I mean, it’s not real.”
“Not yet.” You added.
Nancy looked at you.
“He showed me, y/n, what he did to her. He put part of himself into her.” she explained.
“Wait, that thing I pulled out of you was Vecna?” Steve asked.
“Yeah. I don’t know if the connection is broken now but yeah it was him.” you said.
“So, the powers you used to pull us out of the upside down…?”
“They came form him. I might have always had them, I don’t know.” You admitted. You felt ashamed of it.
“There was something else. He showed me the gates. Four gates spreading across Hawkins and these gates, they looked like the one outside of Eddie’s Trailor, but they didn’t stop growing and this wasn’t the upside down Hawkins this was our Hawkins, our home.” Nancy said. Noone really knew what to say.
“Four chimes. Vecna’s clock it always chimes four times. Four exactly.” Max said.
“I heard them two.” Nancy agreed.
“He’s been telling us his plan this whole time.” Max announced.
“Four kills,” Lucas added, “Four gates end of the world.”
“If that’s true, he’s only one kill away.” Dustin pointed out.
“Oh Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ.” Eddie dropped his head into his hands.
“Try ‘em again. Try ‘em again.” Steve told Max, she darted to the phone and dialled Mike’s number.
As they continued to talk you felt a coldness around your feet, like you were standing in water.
“Eleven.” You whispered,
“We have to go back in there, back in the upside down.” Nancy’s suggestion pulled you out of your thoughts, no one agreed with her.
“No.” you didn’t know where to look, your breath began to speed up, sweat made your palms clammy. Steve saw immediately and came over to you, pulling you against him.
“Let’s think this through.” He said.
“What is there to think through?” Nancy argued back.
“No, I don’t…Steve, she’s right.” You spoke through staggered breathing.
“We barely made it out of there in one piece.” Steve stated.
“Yeah, because we weren’t prepared.” She fought back.
“I was almost killed and y/n…and you-”
“Because we were unprepared,” She cut him off, “We’ll get weapons and protection. We’ll go through the gate, we’ll find his lair and we’ll kill him.”
“Or he’ll kill us.” Steve corrected her.
“He’ll kills us if we don’t.” You added.
“The only reason the two of you survived was because he wanted you to, He’s not scared of us.” Steve reminded you and Nancy.
“And for good reason.” Robin got up from the floor, “We were wrong about Vecna, Henry, One, Sorry what are we calling him now?”
“One?” Dustin asked.
Eddie stood from the couch, “Wait,” He looked at you.
“You didn’t know?” you asked, stepping out of Steve’s grasp, Eddie shook his head.
“Do you remember Henry from the lab? It’s him.”
“But he…tried to kill us.” Eddie breathed out.
“He did, he almost did, but Eleven stopped him and then you got away.” You finished.
“Got away?” Lucas asked.
“You’re like El? You’re one of the kids?” Erica gasped.
Eddie looked round at everyone and very slowly lifted his shirt sleeve, unwrapping the bandana from his wrist. There tattooed into his skin was 010.
“I didn’t know about Eleven. We all thought she was…” he said.
“You have powers?” Dustin asked.
Eddie shook his head, “I did kinda, but nothing like Eleven, I haven’t used them since I left, I don’t think I even could now.” He explained.
“Okay so we have three numbers and Vecna slash Henry slash one is one of them. except he’s a sick, evil, child-murdering monster with really bad skin, but my point is, he’s super powerful. He could turn us inside out with a snap of his fingers. It’s not a fair fight. Even with y/n’s new powers and Eddie potentially being able to use his.” Robin rambled in a her panic.
“They why fight fair?” Dustin asked. “You’re right. He’s like Eleven but that gives us an upper hand, we know Eleven’s strengths and weaknesses.”
“Weaknesses?” Erica scoffed.
“When El remote travels, she goes into the trance-like state, I bet the same is true of Vecna.” Dustin explained.
“That would explain what he was doing in the attic.” Lucas observed.
“Exactly, when he attacks his next victim, I’ll bet you he’s back in the attic, physical body defenceless; not to mention we have a personal alarm that tells us when he’s doing it.” Dustin looked directly at you.
“You want to use my girlfriend as your alarm?” Steve growled, pulling you back to him, “What about the army of bats?” He asked.
“true, we’ll have to find a way to pass them.”
As they all talked you turned to the space behind Max. the corridor to the bedrooms in her Trailor. In a shimmering breath like shadow you could see her, standing there, listening to every word you all said. Eleven was with you, even though she wasn’t. she looked over at you.
Max explained how she was the next victim it would be easy enough for them to bait Vecna into coming for her. A plan was made between them, whilst you stayed silent. Not one of you wanted Max to put herself up in that way.
Eddie showed you all a store that sells weapons and grenades and everything you could all possibly need to fight Vecna. Somehow he also persuaded you all to steal a camper van from one of he neighbours. Within the next twenty minuets you were all inside and waiting for Eddie to hotwire the vehicle. .
“Eddie, I’m not sure I love the idea of you driving.” Robin said, leaning over Steve’s back.
“Oh I’m just starting the sucker, Harrington’s got her. Don’t ya, big boy.” Eddie joked.
During the drive you in the back next to Robin, her arm slung around your shoulders.
“Do you have any idea why Johnathan isn’t picking up the phone?” she asked you.
“No, they were all fine when I left.” You said.
“Hey, do you, do you still have powers, now the bit of Vecna is gone?” Lucas asked the question he had been waiting to ask. You shrugged.
Drawing in a long breath you closed your eyes and held out your hand, the kettle that had fallen to the floor wobbled. You felt the vibrations of the air around it and slowly the kettle began to lift up. Unable to lift it any more than a few inches the kettle dropped as you to slumped back into Robin. You quickly slipped into sleep.
Nancy sat in the front passenger seat beside Steve.
“How does it handle?” she asked him.
“Not bad, considering that this is a house.” Steve joked, “Yeah it’s silly…but I…I’ve actually I always had this dream that I’d have this really…really big family. I’m talking like a full brood of Harringtons, like, five, six kids.”
“Six?”
“Yeah. Six little nuggets. Three girls, three boys, and every summer, I figured all of us Harringtons we would pack into something like this and…just see the country. You know the Rockies, Grand Canyon, maybe Yellowstone. End up in some beachside town California, spend the week parked in the sand. Learn how to surf or something.” Steve mused.
“That sounds nice.” Nancy said, “Does y/n now about this?” she giggled.
Steve briefly looked back at you sleeping, “The surfing bit was her idea.”
“The six kids?”
“It doesn’t matter what I want, I’d have as many as she wants, even if y/n days she never wants one that’s fine too.” Steve admitted.
“Wow, who knew Steve Harrington was a family man.” Nancy laughed, “You should know, when I was in that trance, Vecna showed so much stuff but he also let me see what he was saying to y/n. Yon don’t ever have to question how she feels about you. She was…y/n loves you a lot.” Nancy explained.
“Yeah? That’s good, you know I, uh, I’ve been in love with her for a long time.” He said, a small pinching the corners of his mouth.
Robin woke you as Steve pulled into he parking lot and you followed them all into the army surplus store. You stayed with Robin whilst Steve grabbed a leather jacket and clean jeans from the clothing racks. He walked back and placed knitted cardigan over your shoulders. Robin had fallen still, her eyes locked into something across the store. Steve followed her gaze to see a red haired woman in a straw hat. He looked at you confused.
“Vicki,” you said.
“What are you gonna do Robin, just stand here and gawk at her?” Steve asked.
“Shut up.” Robin found her courage and took step forward, but was instantly stopped when a teen with a letterman jacket jumped at Vicki, kissing her. Robin turned and ran.
You wanted to rush after her, but Steve told you to give her some space. Looking around yourself you spotted Nancy at the gun counter, Jason standing far too close to her.
“Steve, get the others out.” You said. It took a moment for him to agree with you before he ran off to find Erica and Max. You stepped up behind Jason, Nancy spotting you over his shoulder.
“She told you to let go.” You said. No idea where this confidence had sprung form. Jason turned round to face you.
“Oh weirdo, I thought you’d done us all a favour and moved away from Hawkins.” He scoffed at you.
“What do you mean? I’m not in Hawkins, you’ve gone mad, Jason. Seeing things. Feeling things that aren’t there.” You said. Nancy shifting away carefully.
Jason looked at you confused, the pistol in his hand moved to point at your chest.
“Jason, you should get that checked, imagine if it got out that you wet yourself.” You shot out a breathy laugh and turned away from him. Jason reached out to grab you but his body stopped him. The beige trousers he wore darkened with the warm urine that sprang out of him. He had no control over it and no idea how it happened. Nancy tried to hold in her laughter as the two of you tried to slink quickly out of the store, joining back with the group and running to the camper van.
“Y/n what the hell?” Nancy asked, between her and Erica they filled the others in on what had happened.
“Whoa, so you used your powers?” Lucas asked.
“I guess.” You replied not really wanting to talk about it. If you were honest you just wanted to curl in Steve’s arms and sleep. Using the powers took a toll on your mind, though your nose didn’t bleed like Eleven’s it felt like your brain split apart.
Steve pulled the camper into the field’s close to Dustin’s Cerebro. It was well hidden from the road y high trees. The rest set about getting their weapons ready for the plan that had been set out. Everyone had a job to do except you. You had been told to stay inside the van and rest. You chose to sit in the doorway next to Steve and Robin who were making Molotov’s.
“I mean it just doesn’t make sense.”
“What doesn’t?” Robin poured the gasoline into the bottle.
“That was Dan Shelter. He graduated like, two years ago.” Steve explained,
“So?”
“So he’s in college, which means he was visiting for spring break. Fast times was returned like, I don’t know, a week ago? Unless, she’s got some horn dog brother we don’t know about; which is possible, or she’s just really into Judge Reinhold?”
“Steve, I don’t care and in the light of everything that’s going on, I don’t understand why you do. You and y/n are a beautiful story but that isn’t what I get, not when the world is about to end.” Robin huffed.
“Yeah, I get you, but I still have hope.” He grinned.
“Not everything has a happy ending like you two.” She reminded him.
“Yeah, I know.” His eyes shot to you, sitting stoically behind Robin, your eyes were open but he knew you weren’t looking at anything in particular. Robin glanced at you.
“It’s not about failed romance, I just have this gnawing feeling it might not work out for us this time.” She admitted.
“You think we shouldn’t be doing this?” he asked her.
“I think we’re mad fools the lot of us, but if we don’t stop him who will?” she asks looking out at the others. “We have to try, right?”
“Yeah,” Steve held up the glass bottle, “To killing Vecna.”
“Slash Henry,” She lifted another bottle.
“Slash One.” You said from behind them. They chuckled at your words. There was quiet between you all for some time until you stood.
“It’s time.” You said. Inside your body, you could feel the way Henry’s power was calling out to you. Steve called the others over and they all got into the camper van. He walked up behind you, rubbing his hands up and down your arms.
“You good?” he asked.
“Steve, I need to ask you something.” You turned to him.
“Sure,”
“If anything happens to me, I need you to promise you won’t try to save me.” You said.
“I can’t promise that.”
“You have to. I need…I need you to. Please.” Tears built in your eyes. Steve tried to keep his own tears from falling,
“Okay, I promise.” He nodded, then walked with you back to the van and went to the driver’s seat.
You looked around the camper, the feeling of impending doom filled it. You hated the plan. Max, Erica and Lucas got out at the Creel’s house and your breathing sped up. Everything was about to change and there was nothing you could do to change it.
“Steve!” You ran to him, paying no attention to what would happen to you and you started pulling at one of the bat like creatures. Steve screamed in fear. You were able to pull the bat off of Steve and at the same moment Nancy smacked one away with one of the boat oars. Robin stamped on the one strangling Steve and Eddie was batting away others that were coming in. As the others fight of the bats you stare into the face of the one in your hands. Their mouths were just like the Demogorgons. There was a strange feeling inside you and very slowly you started to pull the bat’s wings apart until it ripped down the middle.
You could hear the others talking, Nancy turning Steve round to look at his wounds.
“Are you okay?” she asked him. You stood from your place, discarding the now two halves of the bat to the ground and walked over to your boyfriend. He fell against you in a moment of fatigue.
“Well they took a pound of flesh.” Steve attempted a joke. You removed the sweater you had been wearing and used your teeth to split it apart and wrap the material around his waist, covering two of the bite wounds. Robin started babbling about Rabies as you tied of the makeshift bandage, Steve’s arm round your shoulder.
“How did you do that?” he asked you in a half whisper. You looked up at him but said nothing,
The sky lit up with red lightening and the screaming cry of more bats. They flew down and landed not too far in front of you all.
“Alright, there’s not that many.” Steve said, everyone standing behind him, but the bats weren’t attacking. They tilted their heads side to side as if trying to determine who you all were. More bats filled the sky.
“The woods, come on.” Nancy called and started running. The rest of you followed her, your feet moving faster than your brain. You couldn’t worry about being in the upside down, if you did your mind would break. You ran with Steve’s hand in yours, his blood dripping between your palms. With the upside down being just like Hawkins you all made it Skull rock fairly quickly and hid below. The bats flying around in a mob.
Steve slumped against the rock and you had to catch him so he would fall to the ground.
“You’ll be okay.” You said to him, “You can stay here and rest and we’ll deal with Vecna.”
Steve held your shoulder, and pulled you into him.
“You think I’m going to let you go anywhere near him without me? I’m good, I’m good.” You could tell he was trying to hide his pain.
“So this place is like Hawkins, but with monsters and nasty shit?” Eddie asked. The bats had gone, as if they had been called away.
“Pretty much.” Nancy replied, coming over to help you pull Steve up.
She grabbed his arm but he lifted it away, “I got it.” You grinned at her. Nancy flattened her lips and sighed before stomping away. Robin leaned into her.
“You won’t get between them, you know.”
Eddie went to move, his foot almost touching one of the vines. You looked up at him.
“Be careful of the vines.” You called to him.
“It’s a hivemind.” Nancy added.
“All the creepy crawlies around here, dude, they’re like one or something.” Steve continued, “You step on a vine, you’re stepping on a bat, you’re stepping on Vecna.”
Eddie nodded, “Shit.” He tried his best to step without touching anything.
“But everything from our world is still here, right? Except people?” Robin asked.
“Yeah, as far as I understand it.” Nancy answered.
“From what I’ve seen of it.” You say, reminding everyone that you were the experienced person here, “It’s all here, but the cars don’t run, there’s no water, no food.”
Steve screwed up his face at the way you spoke, he wanted to cry hearing how your voice broke. He tightened his grip on you, pulling more into his chest.
“So theoretically we can go to the police station and steal gins and grenades and whatever we need to blow up those bad thing that are guarding the gate.” Robin suggested.
“I highly doubt the Hawkings PD has grenades, Robin.” Steve scoffed.
“We don’t have to go all the way down town for guns.” Nancy said, bolstering her hold on being “in Charge”, “I have guns in my bedroom.”
“You, Nancy Wheeler, have guns in your bedroom, you mean plural?” Eddie laughed.
“Full of surprises, isn’t she?” Robin giggled nervously.
“A Russian Makarov and a revolver.” Nancy stated as if they were the most obvious things to have in a bedroom.
“Yeah, you almost shot me with that one.” Steve chuckled.
Eddie removed his denim cut off jacket and passed it to Steve, “For your modesty.” He raised his eyebrows, playfully. With your help Steve was able to pull the jacket on.
“Hold on to something.” You told everyone, dragging Steve to the rock wall and bracing him against it with your body. The others looked around confused, when below you all the ground rumbled like an earthquake. The screams, growls and cries of monsters echoed through out the woods.
Eddie looked round himself, he had Robin held against him as they pressed themselves into a tree.
“Guns are looking like a good idea right now.” He said.
“I agree.” Robin chuckled.
“So what are we waiting for?” Steve, grabbed your hand and started walking. The other three followed behind.
Robin caught up with Nancy and leaned into her.
“What’s up with you? Is this about Johnathan?” she asked.
“I don’t what you mean?” Nancy scowled.
“The flirting with Steve, trying to get close to him. You have a boyfriend and he has a girlfriend.” Robin elaborated.
“Robin, I’m not doing anything. Johnathan and I are fine, we’re fine.” She stomped away leaving Robin with Eddie.
“What is that about?” He asked, “I feel like I need more context.”
“Okay, foot notes; Steve and y/n were friends as kids. Steve dated Nancy, Nancy left Steve for Jonathan. y/n’s brother. Y/n ended up here. Her and her brother were saved. Y/n stopped talking to everyone but Steve. Everyone thought they would end up together, but then the mind flayer attacked and burned down the Mall, Y/n moved to Lenora with Johnathan and their family. Steve mopped and dated around. Y/n came back. Y/n and Steve finally got together. Nancy is confused about Johnathan.” Sha said.
“Ahh, I see.” Eddie nodded along with her.
The walk seemed to go on forever, every step was making you more nervous. You were trying to hide the way you wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.
“Couldn’t we have tried a road, or something just a slightly less creepy?” Robin huffed.
“I think we’re getting close. We’re almost out of her. Don’t worry.” Nancy explained.
“Hey Eddie, hey man, I uh,” Steve called Eddie back to him, “I just wanted to say thanks, for saving my ass back there.”
“Shit, you saved your own ass, man.” Eddie laughed, “I mean that was a real Ozzy move you pulled back there.”
“Ozzy?” Steve asked.
“You bit a bat?” You looked up at him.
Eddie laughed, high fiving you, “Yes, girl!” he laughed.
“You two are weird.” Steve rolled his eyes.
“It’s very metal, what you did. That’s all I’m saying.” Eddie clarified.
“Thanks, man.”
“Henderson told me you were a badass. Insisted on the matter, in fact.” Eddie told him.
“Henderson said that?”
“Oh yeah. Shit, kid worships you, dude, like, you have no idea. Its kinda annoying, to be honest.” Eddie laughed, “I don’t know why I care what that little shrimp thinks, but, uh, guess I got a little jealous, Steve. I couldn’t accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually a good dude.” He admitted.
“He’s a really good dude,” you added, smiling at the two men.
“Rich parents, popular, gorgeous girlfriend, not a douche? No way, man. No way. That, like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe and my own personal Munson doctrine. Still super jealous as hell by the way. Which is why I would never have jumped in that lake to save your ass. Not under any, uh…normal circumstances.”
A branch cracked in the distance and your whole body froze, Steve moved you so you were between him and Eddie.
“Outside of D&D, I am no hero. I see danger and I just turn heel and run, or at least that’s what I’ve learned about myself this week.” Eddie went on.
“Give yourself a break, man.” Steve said.
Eddie stopped you both, “The only reason I came in here, is because these three ladies came in straight after you. Now, I was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind, but this one,” he held the back of your neck, “She didn’t waste a second. She just dove right in. Then those two, followed like you were the most important person in the world. If that isn’t true love, I don’t know what is.” He explained.
Steve looked down at you, smiling. He felt the moment your body stiffened and your eyes widened. A second earthquake rocked the ground, toppling you all over. Steve did his best to hold onto you, ignoring the pain it caused him. Eddie, held his hand over the back of you both, giving himself an anchor whilst holding you still.
“Nancy!” You heard Robin call after her and caught sight of Nancy pushing against the high wind and shaking ground. Through the trees her house had come into view and you all followed along behind her.
“Are you sure you’re okay, y/n?” Steve asked you.
“Honestly? No. Steve I didn’t think I would ever be back here. It’s different.” You said.
“Different? The upside down?”
“No, how it feels. I should be frightened, I can feel it inside me but it isn’t strong. There’s something else.” You glanced at him. “I just feel different, now.” You admitted, not really understand what you were admitting to.
The front door to the Wheeler house opened with the squeak of an old haunted house. You had tried hiding here once before when you were running from the Demogorgons. There was a large hole in the kitchen wall to show it. Flashes of those moments kept popping up in your mind.
“Might be time to get a maid, Wheeler?” Robin joked.
“Come on. I don’t want to stay here longer than we have to.” Nancy said, running up the stairs to her room. When the others began to follow her you were stood still, eyes looking through to the kitchen. Steve stopped and looked at you, his ears tuning into what you could hear. Dustin’s voice. Steve rushed into the kitchen and started trying to call his younger friend.
For a moment, he reminded you of your mother when Joyce went missing. His yelling called the other three back downstairs.
“He’s here, he’s in the walls or something.” Steve tried to explain.
“Like Will.” You said.
“Through the lights!” Nancy greed with you.
“Wait, what?” Eddie asked.
“When Will went missing, when he was here, he was able to use Christmas lights to talk to Joyce.” Nancy explained as she tried the lamps.
“Guys you seeing this?” Steve asked. You had moved to the middle of the room, climbing up on to the kitchen island. The chandelier above you was shimmering as if glitter floated around it. You lifted your hand up into the glitter and felt the surge of energy. Nancy came up beside you and added her hand. Then slowly the other three copied.
“It tickles.” Eddie said.
“It kinda feels good,” Robin mused.
“Does anyone know morse code?” Nancy asked.
“Does SOS count? Is that good?” Eddie asked.
Steve pulled you backward so Eddie could get up closer to the light. He started tapping the SOS code onto the bulbs.
“I think it’s working.” Robin observed, her big eyes full of wonder.
“Y/n, you gotta tell me if anything changes, okay?” Steve said to you, the worry in his eyes made your heart ache for him. There was much more going on inside you that you couldn’t tell him.
“Okay.” You forced out the word.
“No, I’m serious, Eddie and Max aren’t the only people we’re worried about. If I had it my way, there would be nothing in this world that would make me bring you here. I hate that you are. I also know that something is different with you. The way you killed that bat,” He sighed, “It’s okay, y/n, whatever it is, we’ll deal with it, together.”
You didn’t want to cry but there was no stopping the tear that fell down your face. You fell into Steve, hugging him. You knew the truth, so much of this was your fault.
The others pulled you up into Nancy’s room. Dustin had come up with a plan to use a light board to talk between them. It was easier to talk this way as you could all hear them.
“There is a gate at every murder sight.” Dustin called through.
“My Trailor.” Eddie said.
It was only moments later that you were all on bikes, riding the seven miles toward Eddie’s Trailor at the park. According to Dustin’s plan, a gate would be open at every place someone had been killed by Vecna. You would all convene there and use that gate to get out of the upside down. As you went, sat on the back of Steve’s bike, holding onto his waist, you could feel the bats watching. Feel the way their eyes followed you. You tried to ignore it, tried to keep your eyes closed but you couldn’t stop it. As if a string was tying you to them you looked up, straight into the eyes of a bat. It screeched loudly, it’s leathery wings flapping and the distance you felt him.
You hadn’t realised the path they were using until you saw the Creel’s house coming ito view. The scars on your arm burned in the way only ice can burn flesh. Falling into another place your body slumped against Steve’s back.
“Hey, you okay back there? Y/n?” he tied to look over his shoulder to see you.
“Steve? What’s going on?” Robin called back.
“Y/n? I can’t, is she awake?” He was beginning to panic.
“It doesn’t look like it.” Eddie answered from the other side of Steve.
“Shit.” Steve, started peddling faster, “We need to get out of here, now!” he shouted at the others.
Just as Dustin had expected a gate had ripped through the roof of Eddie’s Trailor.
“This is where Chrissy died, like right were she died.” Eddie announced looking up at the glowing red gate.
“There’s something in there.” Robin remarked.
The four of them watched, you cradled in Steve’s arms as the gate pulsed, it almost beat in rhythm until a wooden pole came crashing through it; ripping the gate wide open. Tentatively, Nancy stepped forward to look up into the gate in a sort of above and yet below them stood, Dustin, Lucas, Eric and Max.
Everyone started cheering with glee when they saw each other, every one but Max who looked at you.
“What happened?” she asked.
“We don’t know, but we need to get out of here, fast.” Steve announced.
Dustin jumped into action grabbing any sheets from the beds he could find and tying them together. Max and Lucas grabbed a mattress and laid it below the gate.
“I’m not to sure how the physics of this is gunna work, but here we go.” Dustin threw the sheets up into the gat and the fell through, the space in the gate holding both side in place as if it had been tied.
Robin pulled on it to see if it would hold and it worked perfectly. She climbed up pulling herself through the ceiling until she was falling back in to the right side up. Next they used Steve, Eddie, Lucas and Dustin to move you, lifting you up as best they could and ensuring you dropped to the other side with hurting yourself. When Lucas had pulled you aside, it was Nancy’s turn. To Steve’s annoyance and sheer panic, Nancy didn’t move she stood still in place, her eyes white.
Inside your you were not sleeping but standing below Vecna, he was suspended above you in the attic of the Creel house. He was speaking to someone. You couldn’t move your body.
“What? Let me go.” You tried to move.
The scene in front of you shifted, the frightening state of the house in the upside down faded away leaving you stood in the once bright house. A man with neat blonde hair and brown suit stepped in front of you.
“My parent’s attic is hardly the place for a meeting.” He smiled at you.
“Who are you?” you asked.
“I can show you.” The man held out his hand to you, and without any control of your own body you lifted your hand to his. He led you down into the main part of the house.
“You hear that singing? That’s my mother. She was beautiful.” He said.
“You’re Henry?” you asked.
“Yes, you know, I’ve been watching you for a while. I knew your mother.” He went on.
“My mother?”
“We went to school together.” He led you into his childhood bedroom, “I thought Joyce was beautiful, she wasn’t my Patty though.” he told you.
“Patty, Patty Newby?” you whispered her name, she had almost been your aunt. Your almost step father Bob was Patty’s adopted brother.
“You do catch on quickly, don’t you?” Henry laughed.
“What do you want with me? What did you do to me?” you asked, wishing you could run away from him.
Henry smiled, a smile that was too big, his eyes narrowing as he looked through his eyebrows at you.
“I always thought Eleven was the one who would come with me, but when you came here the first time I saw it in you. The conflict, I had felt that conflict once. Being human and yet feeling like something else. Then I found it, the mind flayer and I just wanted to give you what it gave me.” He stepped closer to you, your bodies almost touching, “It’s fun you know, talking to you here whilst I torture your friends.” He added.
“What have you done? Let them go.” You pleaded with him.
“But, showing my plans to Nancy Wheeler is so much fun. You should see the way she runs around.” He leaned his head down.
“Just tell me what you did to me.” You speak through a clenched jaw, tears pricking at your eyes.
Henry lifted his hand, showing two scars, he pointed to the one that reached to his wrist.
“You were already open to me, I hardly had to do anything at all. Cutting off a small part of my and giving it to you was easy. The hard part was establishing the connection. Now you’re here again you can feel it can’t you. Your strength is greater than before.”
“You put your skin in my arm?” you asked, disgusted with yourself. Henry laughed.
Y/n, it feels so good to be inside you. It’s like we are one. I feel what you feel, when that boy touches you, when he kissed you, aaahh the euphoria.” Henry span round one hand on his chest and the other held out behind him like he was dancing, “Let me show you what Nancy is seeing,” he grabbed your forehead in his left hand and you were out of the Creel house. You were standing in Steve’s swimming pool. Black liquid spilling over the edge and filling it as Nancy tried to escape.
“Nancy!” You tried to shout out to her, but your voice wouldn’t break through.
“Stop it.” You cried.
Henry showed both you and Nancy the moment he arrived at the Creel house. Happy Alice running to find her new room and him, stood behind, lost in his own thoughts.
You turned away form the scene, tears openly falling down your face.
“You don’t want to be alone? Henry, I can stay. If you stop hurting people, stop sending monsters to Hawkins, I can stay.” You said, hoping it would change the inevitable. Henry appeared in front of you. No longer in his smart suit, but in a white shirt and trousers.
“You think you can control me? I Will never be controlled, never again.” His hand came crashing into your chest and you woke up.
Steve wanted you to stay somewhere safe. He hated that you were putting yourself in danger.
“There is nowhere safe, Steve.” Robin pointed out.
“It doesn’t matter where we go, Vecna can find us.” Max pointed out.
“No to be a whimp but can I sit in the car for this visit?” Robin asked Nancy in the driving seat, “Cause this is gunna totally and royally suck.”
“It’ll be fine,” She answered.
“I can’t stand to see those doe eyes of Eddie’s break again. I really, really can’t.”
“At least he can drink himself into feeling better.” Steve joked.
“That’s what my mom does.” Max quipped from beside you.
Robin went on a full crash out on how Eddie was utterly screwed because none of you had a way to get to Vecna and stop him. Her panicked rant getting faster with each word.
“Oh shit.” Nancy stopped her, slowing the car right down. A series of police cars, ambulances, news vans and a crowd of public surrounded Reefer Rick’s house. You all went to the side of the news van and listened to sheriff reading out what happened. It wasn’t Eddie that had been hurt, but another boy from high school, Patrick Mckinney. He had been on the basketball team with Lucas.
“This is not good, this is really not good.” Steve said.
“Dustin can you hear me?” Dustin’s radio sounded with Eddie’s voice.
He sounded tired and broken as he told you where he was hiding.
A new destination for your band of adventures began, to skull rock. You all climbed back into Nancy’s car, you and Steve in the trunk.
“How are you doing?” he asked you, keeping his voice low. “Did you see anything?”
“I don’t really understand it.” You replied, pulling your knees up to your chest and fiddled with your sneakers.
“Can you try and tell me? I’m just worried about you, y/n. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s happening.” He said. Steve’s fingers reached over to stroke yours.
“I saw children, I think they were the ones that were killed.”
“The Creels?” he asked.
“Yeah, the boy he was playing with spiders and then he touched me. I thought I was seeing a memory but he knew I was there. He stood up and touched my arm,” You held the part of your arm where the scars are. Steve stayed quiet as you talked. Everyone in the car had stopped their conversations to listen to you. For so long you had said so little and now, your voice felt heavy with the words you spoke. “He knew me, knew my name. He said we’re connected.” Finally you looked up at him, a tear dropped down your face. “I shouldn’t have come back here.”
Steve pulled you into him, wrapping his arms around you.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” He said into your hair.
“Steve, there is a lot I don’t understand, I used to think he was hallucination, when I hit my head in the upside down, but now….I saw him, he spoke to me.” You explained.
“It’s okay, it’s gonna be okay. We’ll stop him and then you’ll never have to think about him again.” Steve reassured you.
“We’re here.” Nancy pulled up along the side of the road, the fast expanse of threes rolling out in front of you. The party walked, following Dustin’s compass to the right place. The bickering between Dustin and Steve made you giggle.
“Doesn’t make sense.” Dustin stopped suddenly, looking around himself.
“Yeah, yeah, even with it staring you in the face you can’t admire it.” Steve mocked, “You can’t admit it, you can’t admit that you’re wrong but head.” Steve had been able to find the rock easily without the help of the compass. You were letting his comments about making it known as a make out place wash over you.
Behind the three of you something heavy dropped to the ground.
“I concur.” Eddie said, “You Dustin Henderson are a But head.”
“Jesus we thought you were a goner.” Dustin threw his arms around his friend.
“Yeah me to, man. Me too.” He replied, hugging him back.
“It’s good to see you.” You told him.
“It’s good to see you guys as well.” He sighed, Eddie looked at you, his eyes series, “You’re good now?” he asked.
You nodded. Steve stepped up beside you and slid his hand into yours. A clear stamp of his dominance. Wanting to reassure him, you wrapped your other hand around his arm and leaned into him.
Nancy handed over the bag of food and drink to Eddie. Grateful, he crouched down below the large rock formation and started explaining what happened the night before.
“When I got to shore, I tried to call you guys but uh, my walkie was busted, man, drenched. So I did the that I do now apparently, I ran.” He chuckled.
“do you know what time this was, the attack?” Nancy asked.
“Yeah, no, I..I know exactly what time it was,” Eddie took off his digital watch and tossed it to her.
“nine twenty seven.” She announced the time on the screen.
“The same time our flashlights went kablooey.” Robin added.
“When y/n felt him.” Max gave.
“Which means what exactly?” Steve asked.
“That that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick. It means y/n is seeing this stuff in real time.” Nancy announced.
“Well, we’re one step closer.” Robin said, “We know how Vecna attacks.”
“And where he attacks from.” Lucas said.
“So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the upside down and drive a stake through his heart.” Your hands tightened around Steve’s arm at Max’s words.
“if he even has a heart.” Robin questioned.
There was a lot of chatter from different people that you couldn’t hear threw the fuzzy noise in your ears.
“Everything was way easier. We had this girl, she had superpowers.” Steve said.
“Superpowers, yeah, y/n told me about her.” Eddie said, making it clear to you that he didn’t want you tell anyone who he was.
“BOOM!” Dustin yelled, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Bada...Bada…Boom. I was right. Skull rock was north.” He said.
“Seriously?” Steve asked him.
“Mm-hmm, think about it, we both knew where skull rock was, North, but my compass didn’t point north.” Dustin explained, he looked to you with excitement in his eyes.
“You weren’t wrong. The compass is wrong.” You said.
Dustin held up his compass. “It worked perfectly when we left the Wheelers, it was correct when got in the car on Kerley, but it started to slip the further east we went. Now it’s way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn’t wrong, the compass was.”
“Electromagnetic field,” Lucas said.
“I’m sorry I must have skipped that class.” Robin looked between the three of you.
“In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power. So either there’s some super big magnet around her, or…”
“There’s a gate.” Lucas finished Dustin’s explanation.
“but we’re no where near the lab.” Nancy said.
“A different gate, a new one.” You answered.
“We have a way to Vecna, a shot at saving Max from this curse and maybe breaking whatever connection he has with y/n.” Dustin turned on his hill and started striding away from the group.
“Hey, hey. Hey, Eddie is still a wanted man. We can’t just go hike in the woods.” Steve pointed out.
“This little steal capsule might be the key to saving Max, Eddie and y/n. What say you Eddie the banished?” Dustin said.
You all looked round at Eddie, he looked up to him and then to you.
“I’d say you’re asking me to follow you into Morder, which, if I’m totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea, but uh, the shire is burning.” He spoke with a wistful tone, behind you Dustin was jumping up and down on the spot. Letting go of Steve you walked over to Eddie and held his hand to pull him to stand.
“Frodo, you have my sword.” You said to him, with a sight grin, making the boy laugh.
“So Mordor it is.” Eddie, held up your hand close to his face but didn’t kiss it, he bowed his head a little, then bounced over to Dustin.
Every one followed Eddie and Dustin into the woods. Steve took your hand again, pulling you a little closer to him.
“What was that?” he whispered.
“Lord of the rings, it’s a book, Steve. You should try reading them one day.” You laughed.
“I prefer movies.” He sighed.
“There isn’t one.”
Darkness had fallen over Hawkins during your search, bringing you back to lover’s lake.
“You gotta be shitting me.” Steve said.
“There’s a gate in lover’s lake?” Max asked.
“Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening, maybe Vecna is the same way.” Nancy suggested,
“Yeah, only one way to find out.” Steve said. Eddie took you all to where he had hidden the rowboat earlier and he and Steve dragged it back into the lake. Robin got on first, then Nancy and Steve with you behind him. Dustin and Lucas were to stay on the shore with Max. Rowing out into the lake was slow.
“Slow down guys.” Nancy said, holding the compass in her hand. The dial was going crazy, spinning too fast.
“Uh, Dustin, your compass has gone from wonkey to wonkey with a capital “aah!”” Robin spoke into the radio.
Beside you, Steve started to remove his socks and shoes.
“What are you doing?” you asked.
“Somebody’s gotta go down and check this out. Unless one of you can top being a Hawkins high swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then it’s gotta be me.” He turned to you, “No complaints, all right?” he gave you a quick kiss then stood up, taking his sweater and shirt off.
Eddie quickly wrapped his flashlight in a plastic bag so he would be able to use it under the water and handed it to him.
“Hey, good luck.” He said.
“Be careful.” You told him before he jumped into the water.
You held onto the side of the boat, wishing the water was clearer. Every second he was under the water you felt yourself starting to panic. Over on the shore you caught sight of several lights flashing about.
“Shit.” You grabbed the other’s attention, bot not for long as Steve burst back to the surface.
“I found it.” He said.
“You found it?”
“It’s pretty damn bi-” Steve was pulled back under the water.
“No.” Without a zero ounce of thought you leaped into the water and swam down after him. Guided only by the glowing red light of the gate you swam downwards. Your heart beating like a drum in your ears as you tried to hold your breath long enough to get to Steve. When you finally pulled yourself into the upside down you saw him, several bat like creatures tearing into him.
