Chapter Text
Eleven sat on one of the splintered pews, hands in her lap, staring at the giant ’T’ that had presumably fallen off the wall. How odd. This broken T had a man on it as well. How odd that this is what people came here to listen to and look at. It never made much sense to her. Rather, not much of what people did made sense to her.
Tilting her head, her eyes narrowed on the broken figure. She noticed that her knee was rapidly bouncing up and down. That usually happened when her heart rate increased. It’s not like this was the first time it’s ever happened. Will had tried to explain it to her, but it only confused her further. She still had plenty to learn about the world.
Beside her, Kali sat down, the bench creaking. Kali’s eyes flicked from Eleven’s to what she was looking at. Her lips twisted into a puzzled look.
“What are you looking at, Jane?” She asked, now fully staring at the broken T. Eleven’s gaze never wavered.
“That T.” Eleven hummed.
“Sorry. Why are you looking at the broken cross?” Kali clarified, raising an eyebrow. Eleven shrugged.
“It is confusing and just there. I wonder why we put our faith into something we are not sure exists…I apologize. I should be asking you the questions. Have I mentioned it is very nice to see you again?” El explained, a gentle smile tugging on her lips before turning on the pew to face her sister.
Kali flashed her a weak smile, hugging Eleven from around the shoulders. She then composed herself, looking down at her shoes, then glancing to stare at the broken cross once more.
Patiently, both of El’s feet began to bounce slightly on the falling planked floor. She looked at her sister, prepared for the story. Instead, Kali took a deep breath and wiped some blood from her nose. Before Eleven had the chance to ask, Kali dismissed her and began to recall her tale.
“After you left Chicago, Dr. Kay showed up, a-and killed all my friends but me. She took me to a lab and began to take blood samples from me. With my blood, she tried to make more of me, but it failed. It didn’t work. The women in the program all died mysteriously. Perhaps it—never mind. Kay realized that if my blood didn’t work…yours might. She had Papa’s notes and, well, was determined to find you.
“So, she hooked me up to that machine you saw in the lab. She commanded me to search for you, day and night. I’m not as strong as you, Jane. I couldn’t do it. All I could do was confirm you were in Hawkins and when you were in the Upside Down. I didn’t want to do it, Jane. I was forced. Please understand.” Kali explained, seizing one of Eleven’s hands during her story. Eleven blinked owlishly, then hugged her sister tightly.
“Of course I understand. You had no choice,” She crooned, feeling nothing but remorse and sympathy for Kali. “I do have a question, though,” Kali nodded. “Why my blood?”
For a split second, Kali’s eyes widened, but she quickly composed herself, putting on her sorrow mask. Tossing a sidelong glance toward one of the gaping holes in the church, she replied.
“I have no idea. You’re the only one alive aside from Henry and I. Do you have any other ideas?” Kali answered, staring deep into Eleven’s eyes. Shifting her gaze back down to her folded hands, Eleven shrugged sluggishly.
“No.” Her tone was clipped. Something inside of her told her that Kali wasn’t saying everything. She chose to ignore it. Friends don’t lie. Sisters don’t lie. Right?
—
Hopper continued to yell into the walkie-talkie. No voices had replied, which seemed to make him only angrier. Eleven wasn’t really sure what walkie-talkies did aside from being similar to a telephone if it were portable.
It did worry her that their friends had not responded. She felt that strange feeling again. The one where her stomach felt like there were little bugs crawling around. Will had told her it meant she was nervous. The feeling occurred at the same time her leg bounced, usually.
Will had tried to explain a lot of that stuff to her. She didn’t understand the majority of what he did, rather said.
Looking back up from the same spot she had been sitting in for the past hour, she was transfixed with the broken T. Or Cross as Kali had informed her. For some reason, it was stuck in her mind. Everything about it.
How people put their trust in a deity. One that they weren’t sure existed, yet they put all their trust in it. Was that what Henry was doing? Making himself a deity to the children, forcing them to put their trust in him?
The idea of it made something twist inside of her. Perhaps, ick? That was the phrase she heard Max say occasionally. Max. El wishes there was something she could do for her best friend, but she’d tried. Repeatedly.
Max was stuck in a coma. Who knew if she was even able to come back? Eleven still struggled to reach her through her head. It made her feel so weak, unable to do anything. Losing her powers was one of the worst times in her life.
Yes, being bullied hurt. Losing Hop was soul-crushing. But her powers really made Eleven her. They were a part of her. Despite always being known as “the girl with powers”, she truly was. It was pretty fun too. To ‘kick ass’.
So when there was an absence of her powers, she felt as though a part of her was missing. There was a part of her that she couldn’t find. She felt weak. A feeling she hated more than anything. More than Henry. More than Papa.
It wasn’t in a power-hungry way either. She was always mocked for her inabilities, her inability to comprehend, and being less than everyone else. All those emotions would flood back and remind her that she was meaningless and nothing. But when she had her abilities, she felt like herself. That she could prove them wrong, that she was just as good as them.
Henry was like that once. He just took the wrong approach to it. The murderous approach. He took it out on others, not himself…
Breaking her out of her trance was Hopper accidentally breaking one of the doors to the chapel. Eleven whipped her head around, eyes wide. He rubbed the back of his neck and set the door down. He waved both girls over.
“I’m tired of waiting. Let’s go find these idiots.” He announced, pinching the bridge of his nose. Kali looked hesitant; she bit her lip but followed Hopper out. Eleven was quick to follow her, carefully avoiding the holes in the floor.
“What about finding Henry? Or going back to Mike, Will, Max?” She asked, eyebrows drawing together. Hopper sighed and shook his head.
“Jane has a point.” Kali agreed, nodding her head and sending Eleven a smile of reassurance. A flicker of anger crossed Hopper’s face, but he evidently conceded. Back to the Right Side up, or the real world.
However, as they began to leave, Eleven realized something. When she and Kali initially discussed what had happened over the past months, Eleven had never mentioned Henry beforehand...