Chapter Text
Fall 1987
“El!” Will screams, almost collapsing with relief. His thoughts were going at a 1000 miles per hour because Vecna got Mike. The boy he loved is in literal he’ll because he refused to join Vecna.
Beside El was a dark skinned stranger in hospital clothes, her head shaved. Under literally any circumstance where someone he loves isn't in immediate danger, he would’ve asked for about her. Right now though, his thoughts were focused on only Mike and that he’s in danger.
“Vecna got Mike and-“ Will pauses, a sense of dread growing in his chest, “where’s Hopper?”
El had clearly been crying, dried tear tracks staining her face, “we got seperated- Veca got Mike?”
A mix of relief and despair washes over him. So far everyone in the party is alive, but they’re all in danger as well. He needs to end this. If his theory is right, then he’s the only one who can.
Regardless, he grabs his sister’s arm and pulls her along. All three of them run to the place where Will had last seen Mike. The bad news is that he’s still hovering in the air, though the good news is that all his limbs seem to be intact.
For now.
“Me and my sister will help,” El says with a determined glare, pulling her red blindfold over her eyes.
Beside her the girl- Kali, El told Will about her. Beside her, Kali does the same, intertwining El’s hand in hers.
“ITS NOT FUCKING WORKING!” Lucas screams, grabbing Will's attention.
“What?”
“The music! We've tried multiple times, different volumes, it’s not working!”
Mike’s survived this long without any music? That’s good, he’s holding up against Vecna.
Or Vecna’s taking extra long torturing him to get back at Will.
Will refuses to pay any attention to that thought. Jogging up to where the radio was playing. He frowns at the tape of ‘Every breath you take’ playing.
“You’ve been playing that one tape on repeat “ Will joked once, while they were cleaning up the Wheeler basement. They weren’t alone, Jonathan and Lucas were also helping.
“It’s my new favorite,” Mike grinned, playfully shrugging his shoulders.
“That’s not his favorite anymore- it’s Small-town Boy, by- crap, I don’t know,” Will says, panic gripping his heart like a vice. Such a song he isnt sure if Lucas would have.
“I have that,” Robin says, eyes wide. She takes her own backpack off, quickly searching through it, “I mean, I just really like the beats. I don’t even listen to the lyrics. I’m more of a ‘pay attention to the music’ than the ‘pay attention to the lyrics’ girl you know, and-“
Will cuts her off by snatching the tape from her hand, feeling only slightly bad as he puts the cassette into the headphone holder
Lucas cuts in, “wait dude, how will we put the headphones on Mike? He’s floating like 30 feet up-“
Will floats the headphones onto Mike, being extra gentle with him.
“OH, forgot you could do that.”
Will slightly rolls his eyes, though there’s no real malice behind his eyes. A part of him wishes he could go into Mike’s memory and be there for him. But he knows he has to trust El and Mike to be able to fight their own battles.
He looks at the white truck, making up his mind. He has his own battles to fight. One that no one else can help him with.
He slips out amidst the chaos, getting in the truck that luckily still has its keys in the cup holder. He silently thanks Jonathan for teaching him how to illegally drive as he wheels out the church entrance.
If his theory is right, then if they kill the Hivemind, he dies too. It makes sense, all things considered. There’s also the fact that if her simply kills himself and the Hivemind doesn’t die, then his death would be for nothing.
No, he needs to eradicate the upside down Finish it off completely.
He enters the military zone, the bodies no longer present. Soldiers riddled the area, and not a second later, gun shots began firing at him.
He ducks down to the best of his abilities, eyes on the road as he launches full speed into the gate. He screams as the truck begins to tip sideways, using his powers in a panic to steady it.
He makes it through the gate.
A chill runs down his spine almost instantly. He’s back in hell.
He grips the steering wheel till his knuckles turn white, forcing his breathing to be steady. He doesn’t know where he’s going, hell he doesn’t even have a walkie-talkie to communicate with anyone.
Focus. He needs to get to Hopper and the rest of the squad. Then he needs to get to the 12 kids Vecna took.
And then he needs to get to Vecna.
He decides to trust his gut and speeds up.
~~~~
“Gah! It’s no use,” Hopper exclaims, watching as the vine regrows to wrap around Holly’s unconscious body. They’d found the kids, thanks to Dustin but they were all stuck in vines just like Will was when they’d found him 5 years ago.
Only this time, the vines seemed to refuse to let go of their host. Hopper has a gun but he can’t shoot the vines the risk of hitting the kids. Hopper was lucky to be able to reunite with the kids when he was. Atleast now they had strength in numbers.
As it stands, they’re utterly fucked. There’s no food or water, they’re incredibly far from the gates, and Jonathan’s injured. Not in a deadly way but he definitely tore his achilles heel when him and Nancy were running from the demogorgan.
All in all, they’re in a shitty position.
A snarl grabs everyone’s attention, they turn around just in time to see a demogorgan approaching.
“EVERYONE GET BACK!” Hopper yells, grabbing his pistol and aiming for the things mouth. He doesn’t know what’s happened but in the past 2 years, the demogorgans… they’ve evolved. Their skin is tougher to break down, they’ve grown taller, and more agile.
They’ve grown into becoming a bigger pain in the ass.
Regardless, Hopper aims his gun at the demogorgan and shoots multiple rounds, but it doesn’t seem deterred at all. Instead, it gets down on all 4 fours, clearly about to lunge. Hopper pushes everyone back up, the furthest they can get.
They all scream as the demogorgan jumps, claws aimed at their heads.
The blow doesn’t land. Hopper pants, hesitantly opening his eyes to see it floating in mid air. On cue, its bones begin to snap one by one, just like with Vecna. Then it drops to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
Hopper calls out to the only person who could’ve done that, “Jane?”
There’s no response, so he hesitantly takes a step forward, stepping over the corpse on the floor and peaking his head out. No, not Jane, there stood Will Byers, his hand outstretched.
“WILL?” Dustin yells, pushing past Hopper to get to his friend. Will collapses the moment Dustin’s in reach, panting heavily.
“Yo, dude, you ok?”
Will blearily nods, “hurts.”
“Henderson, get him in here,” Steve yells, making arm motions. Dustin complies, looping his arms underneath Will’s and dragging him.
“Dude, what was tha-“
“Are those the kids?” Will interrupts, staring pointedly at the unconscious bodies of the kids they’d failed to protect. This time they all nod
“I got a truck- it’s outside,” Will heaves, forcing himself to sit up. He wordlessly tosses the key towards Hopper, the message clear. Hopper frowns, “look kids, it’s great that you got a truck but the issue is that we can’t get the kids out of the vines. Let’s regroup and-“
Will raises his hand, and the vines around Holly seem to forcefully be unwrapping themselves.
Is this some sort of mind trick? Did he get possessed by Vecna? Because how in the ever living hell, does Joyce’s kid have powers. He looks around and yeah- everyone’s looks as shocked as he feels.
Holly’s body dropping to the floor with a loud thud snaps everyone out of trance. Nancy—not so gently—puts Jonathan down and rushes towards her sister. She gathers Holly up in her arms, letting out a choked sob while whispering something no one could catch.
Hopper jogs towards the truck, hearing Dustin excitedly asking Will question after question on how he got powers, mixed with some levels of excitement.
And yeah- Hopper’s a bit more on the confused side, but he’s glad none the less. Now Jane won’t have to fight Vecna alone, she has her sister and now, she has Will.
Her brother.
Hopper backs the truck as close to the kids as he can, mind racing with a million thoughts at once, trying to come up with some sort of plan on the spot. He walks out to see Will and Jonathan hugging, both with a few tear tracks down their face. Nancy’s on her knee’s, with Holly pressed against her chest. Quietly running her hand through her hair.
“Alright,” Will says, detangling himself from the hug, “each of you, besides Jonathan, get close to catch all the kids. First let’s detangle them, then we can put them in the van.”
Nobody objects, positioning themselves against three kids. It’s a tedious process, but eventually all 12 kids are lying down unconscious on the floor. By then everyone’s heaving, Dustin shaking his head frantically. Muttering something under his beath.
Will collapses, Jonathan catching his brother at the expense of putting pressure on his own injured leg. The kid’s probably tired from using his powers too much, like Jane does when she over exerts herself.
“You and Jonathan go rest in the van,” he offers. Will nods, hesitantly standing up. Jonathan leans on Will to avoid adding pressure on his feet while Will leans on Jonathan to keep himself on his feet.
“That was crazy,” Jonathan heaves. Will offers a nervous smile, trying to act normal. Jonathan can always tell when something’s wrong with him. Will needs to execute this plan perfectly. He can’t afford Jonathan figuring out his plan.
“Hey,” Jonathan whispers, putting a hand on his head, “you alright.”
Crap.
Will forces himself to not break down on the spot, a few tears slipping down his cheeks. He helps Jonathan sit in the passenger seat, not the back of the van. He needs enough time to get away from the group after what he’s about to do.
Once Jonathan’s properly sat, Will joins him in the front seat, wrapping both his arms around his older brother’s neck. He buries his face into his neck, shuddering.
He needs to stay strong. He tries, he really does. But the fact, the undeniable fact that this is most likely the last time he’ll ever see his brother- hell, any of his friends, it hurts. He doesn’t want to die. He really, really, doesn’t.
But he’s seen Max.
He saw Mike being attacked by the demogorgan.
His brother’s still hurt.
Hell, there are 12 kids right in front of him going through the exact same thing he did. And Henry’s not going to stop. He’ll keep hurting people. Keep trying to end the world.
Will saw Karen in the hospital, the broken look on Mike’s face as his entire family aside from Holy got plunged headfirst into a fight they weren’t supposed to be in.
Will can’t let Vecna tear apart and hurt more families.
If the price of peace for everyone is his life, then so be it.
“It’s alright,” Jonathan whispers in that kind tone he used when Will was a child. Hell, with how his emotions are all of over the place, he feels like a child. Will needs to stop this. He needs to get away before his resolve is shattered.
“I love you,” he whispers, leaning back, “I-I’m sorry.”
He lays his palm flat, and hits Jonathan between his ear and neck. Jonathan crumples like a ragdoll, eyes rolling back. Will catches him before his head hits the headboard, gently leaning his head backwards. He hugs Jonathan one last time before grabbing the radio he’d been carrying.
He grabs a pencil from the cupholder and writes a message three times on the dashboard, making sure they couldn’t miss it.
Then he books it, running as fast as he can into the woods.
~~~~
“Alright, all the kids are in, let’s go,” Hopper yells. Beside him, Steve frowns when Jonathan doesn’t answer.
“Hey bro, maybe you should sit in the back if your injury’s that bad-“ His eyes widen when he see’s the older unconscious. He whips back at the other’s and shit, where’s the younger brother?
“Where’s Will?” He asks, trying to keep his voice steady. Hopper’s heart almost stops. He looks around like a mad man, spotting a disappearing figure at the far right.
“Start the truck, be ready to flee at any time,” Hopper yells, hastily throwing the key towards Nancy. He doesn’t look back to make sure she catches it, running after Will.
He’ll give it to the kid, he’s speedy. Hopper barely manages to catch up to him, it takes a good 5 minutes. Was the kid pretending to be tired from using his powers so that it’d be easier for him to escape unnoticed?
“WILL!” He yells, just a few feet awa from him. Will turns around, tears freely running down his face.
“Please. I need to go,” he whispers. Almost desperate.
Hopper opens his mouth to respond when movement catches his eyes. He barely has time to even move when a white claw’s lunging for his face. Hopper blocks his face, reflexively clenching his muscle. Waiting for the final blow.
It never comes, instead the demogorgan is hovering in the air, claw an inch away from his neck. Hopper staggers back, eyes widening in disbelief.
He turns around to see Will’s hand outreached, exactly like Jane’s. Blood’s trickling down his nose and pupils barely visible.
The demogorgan then levitates a few feet away from Hopper. It seems like it can’t even move a muscle when Will’s holding it above the air.
Will looks back at Hopper, teeth gritted, “I have to go.”
Hopper shakes his head, desperate, “no you don’t. Is Vecna threatening you? Because I promise whatever he’s told you it’s-“
“Please,” he croaks, a lone tear slipping down his cheeks, “don’t stop me. Just promise you’ll take care of them.”
This is beginning to sound like-
“Tell them I love them.”
This is exactly what happened not even a few hours ago.
“I love you Jane.”
No. No, this can’t-
This is Joyce’s son. Joyce. The woman who made the entire town think she’s crazy. The woman who went against the government multiple times to save Will. The woman who fought interdimensional monster and went into another world to save him.
There’s no way Will’s consciously going to put her through living through the death of her child. The child who she sacrificed everything for. He prays to a God he doesn’t believe in that this is some sort of misunderstanding.
But the look on Will’s face tells him all he needs to know.
Fuck.
“Kid-No. Don’t do this. Whatever you’re planning to do- Don’t you fucking dare even think about it.”
Will shakes his head, “it’s the only way.”
“No, it isn’t-“
“Yes it is! Please just promise me that you’ll take care of everyone-“
Two broken parents sobbing in pain as the machine flatlines.
A mom begging her son to breathe while his ribs crack underneath the force of the compressions.
Not again- Fuck, not again.
“I’m not leaving without you kid,” Hopper insists, “if your plan needs someone to die, tell me. I-I’ll volunteer.”
He remembers the promise he made to Jane to stay alive. But right now, it’s him or a literal kid. The choice is obvious. He’s not going to have another grieving mother, mourning her child. Not again. Never again.
He ignores that he’s leaving Jane alone again.
“You can’t,” Will says. And fuck, his voice sounds so resigned, “if you won’t leave… I’ll have to make you. I’m sorry. Please tell them I love them, and take care of them. Please Hopper, I’m begging you.”
Hopper doesn’t have time to respond before he’s flung across the room. Not fast, but it’s like an invisible force is carrying him backwards. He tries to resist with no success. Hopper groans as he’s abruptly dropped on the gravel road. It scrapes his elbows, badly.
Damn the kid and his powers.
Hopper stands up to chase after him when a snarl cuts him off. It’s coming from the exact same direction Hopper emerged from. Blood-He’s bleeding. The one thing demogorgans are attracted to.
Fuck.
There’s no choice- going towards the demogorgans, especially these evolved type is a death sentence. He can use his vest to blow up the demogorgan but what’s the point? His death won’t magically convince Will to stop whatever fucked up plan he has.
Cursing under his breath, he turns around and runs with all his might. Not looking back once until the van comes back in his sight. Nancy in the driver seat.
“Open the back door of the van! Nancy, drive!” He yells, between heaves. Fuck he really needs to work on his own cardio.
The van starts, setting of to a slow start to let Hopper get in. Steve’s hand is outstretched towards him, and if this was a different scenario, Hopper would’ve laughed because as much as he liked Steve, the kid would never be able to support Hopper’s weight.
Instead, Hopper runs close enough to hold the side handle on the truck, and hauls himself up. He groans, falling chest first onto the van. Steve closes the door, while Dustin turns around, “NANCY! DRIVE! FULL SPEED!”
The van lurches as it picks up speed, barely dodging the demogorgan as it’s left behind in the dust. Hopper pants, forcing himself to sit up. No time for rest, he needs to come up with a plan. Any plan to stop Will.
He’s not going to let the woman he’s in love with go through the same pain again.
Dustin frowns, “whe-where’s Will?”
Hopper shakes his head, trying to keep calm. No good if everyone’s panicking right now.
“Doing something. Don’t worry, he’s got powers, maybe even stronger than Jane’s.”
Dusin’s clearly not happy with that answer but doesn’t push. Hopper takes a look at the 12 kids on the van’s floor, some on top of each other, but alive. He should feel satisfied. But all he can think about Will, about to do something stupid.
“Hey guys, can someone look at the headboard? There’s something written on there but I can’t see it while driving,” Nancy calls out.
Dustin wordlessly gets up, stepping over the kid’s in order to peak through the little window showing the driver’s side. Hopper’s heart thrums, trying to wonder what’s Will’s final message could possibly be.
“Channel 7.”