Chapter Text
“I'm so tired, Chester”
He faintly mumbled as his breathing seems like it was running out of time.
Will was found extremely panting and already struggling to walk while following his dog, Chester. He was carrying all his things with his loaded gun hanging around his shoulder bag.
The surrounding was still cold as before, the gloomy cast of blue never faded after the rumbling red madness of the Mind flayer behind the clouds. It was odd that the silence remained after Chester showed up outside the Police station. The shrieking cries of monsters hadn't showed up even if Chester's red collar with a sleigh bell hanging on it kept releasing its playful sounds around.
Will wanted to rest yet Chester felt like a person he knew needs help, a help for someone somewhere around the Hawkins. He kept gently dragging him inside the Police station because of the potential danger outside that might eat him, yet Chester kept whimpering—so broken that Will can't refuse anymore ’cause it felt like he was hurting him, he doesn't want to hurt him.
“Where...” Will paused and stopped walking as he glanced above the sky, “Where are we even going?” he faintly asked.
I need water, I'm literally dying here.
He thought to himself while gasping for air even if it was toxic. He gulped and looked at Chester who was already far away from him, he noticed that his tail was still wagging around. Will tenderly smiled while looking at his dog, he knew that he was happy and so he was happy too.
Chester's whitish-blondee fur was covered with dirt and—blood. Will didn't mind to hug him tightly when he showed up, it didn't mattered to him, the unexpected presence of his dog mattered to him more than the blood. He looks healthy and cheerfully happy despite the danger that surrounds them, so clueless that it could kill him.
Will doesn't know how Chester ended up being in the Upside down with him. For what he remembered, he became missing and everyone thought of him as already deceased during his owner's first disappearance. It seems like he experienced a lot of adventure as well while Will was missing. It turns out he was in the Upside down too. Will came back while Chester remained clueless about the door to home.
Until one of his home suddenly returned—Will.
Will rushingly went to Chester and followed him again. Fortunately, the vines that was gripping the ground were already dead. He decided to look around and noticed that they are amidst the Mirkwood already. They both stopped as they found the abandoned eerie laboratory with those electrical bars around it.
Why are we here?
Is someone need help... inside?
No, no, this is too dangerous.
Will trembled as he began slowly stepping back until he looked at Chester and his eyes widened from disbelief.
“Chester!”
Chester fiercely climbed over the bars with his claws intensely clinging into the holes while climbing up.
Will’s jaw dropped and found speechless as he found him waiting patiently behind the bars with his tail still wagging around and his tongue was outside—panting.
It didn't... hurt him.
He hardly sighed and swallowed a lump through his throat as he realized that there were no electricity around for he was still inside the Upside down. Whether he like it or not, he decided to slowly stepped forward to the bars until he finally reached it.
He took a deep breath and glanced at Chester who was still waiting patiently for his owner to climb over the bars and take another adventure inside the lab. His fingers started wrapping itself around the holes and his right foot leaned over the bars and started climbing. He was struggling to raise himself as his body was carrying a lot of bags and carried a lot of things inside, yet he still managed to climb down.
Until he suddenly fell on the ground because of the heaviness of his backpack.
Will roughly grunted ’cause his ass felt the hardness of the ground while his backpack was thankfully covering his back that prevented him from breaking his spine, even though the bars aren't that even high.
Will winced as he touched his ass and still grunted because of the pain. Chester went over him and suddenly licked his face. The wincing Will faded quickly and changed into a faint smile and giggled.
“Stop...” Will said while gently brushing his fur with his hands, he started sniffing and wrinkled his nose, “Stop... you're breath stink!”
It smells like a... rotten meat.
Nevermind.
Chester stopped licking and joyfully ran away from him and stopped as he waited for Will. He grunted as he sat and looked at Chester ’till a smile showed up on his face, so sweet as his eyes suddenly started tearing up. A spark of hope grew abruptly inside his heart ever since Chester showed up.
He wasn't expecting his pet to show up, he was wishing for another home—a friend, maybe more than that.
Mike.
But Chester was already enough.
More safe.
More better.
And a real friend.
But one thing that keeps his mind wondering about him—his presence, his bark, his... everything.
Is this all real?
I threw the capsule already, those hallucinations had surely disappeared before this thing happened.
These might be... real. Everything.
It should be.
If not, then how is his tongue felt real on my face? I... I don't really know anymore.
I just—
Chester suddenly barked at him while far away from him, Will was found still sitting on the ground and staring at his pet. He sighed and struggled as he stood up because his ass still hurts. He took a deep breath and began walking forward at Chester. His pet noticed him walking behind him and so he started walking too.
Until Chester suddenly ran that made Will paused and roll his eyes because of exhaustion while his sweats were already dripping around his hair even though the cold surrounds them.
He cleared his throat and fixed his bags, “Chester! Be careful!” Will took another step and started running too to follow his pet.
They both turned the corner and kept running. Will was heavily panting already for the past two hours from walking with no breaks and just complaining about walking for miles to his pet that can't even talk.
“C-Chester...” Will faintly said to Chester who he was still following. They both stopped when they finally reached the main entrance of the abandoned laboratory.
“Finally...” Will dropped himself on the ground as he thought they would now rest and sat, “Can we now rest?” he asked while his breathing was so rapid that it could literally kill him from exhaustion.
Obviously Chester won't answer back, he just found him staring at the entrance as if he was waiting for something to happen. Will sighed and gulped and took the chance of taking a break even if it would be for the meantime only.
The silence surrounds them again as Will and Chester’s loud panting can be heard around.
Will pressed his eyebrows while looking at the entrance in front of Chester, it was a bit weird for him.
Why is he just staring over it?
Why did he stop?
Is he already tired?
What is he waiting for—
A vine suddenly rose up beside the door and so Will's eyes widened with his lips parted while looking at the rising vine.
“C-Chester...” Will's voice trembled and swallowed a lump down through his throat while his hands were shaking from anxiety.
The vine suddenly wrapped itself around the door's handle that made Will flinched from the loud bang.
The doubled doors suddenly opened and the vine slowly widened them as if they were welcoming Will and Chester to go through inside the laboratory.
Will's heart was beating rapidly from what he just saw in front of him and his eyes felt like they were about to jump off while staring at Chester. The unbothered pet went inside the laboratory while Will was still amazed by what his dog just did.
Chester have... superpowers?
A-Abilities like Eleven?
“N-no way...” Will struggled as he stood up and decided to walk inside the laboratory. Will noticed that Chester was already far away from him, so he started running away too and followed him.
“Did... did you really do that?” Will asked with glimmers inside his eyes and a faint smile because of disbelief.
Will received silence from Chester while they were both still walking around the laboratory.
“I... I don't know but” Will continued, “But... I might be just hallucinating because I'm too... tired?”
Will roughly sighed because he couldn't comprehend what was happening. He didn't mind his exhaustion anymore, it changed into amusement instead for his pet.
“But everything is so real” he continued despite the silence he was receiving, “I don't really know where we are going but...”
“That was amazing!” he said while swiftly looking at him while walking, he didn't notice that they were already in a dark hallway—too focused about Chester's ability.
“You're like a second El!”
His voice was found already echoing around the hallway, “I might sound crazy right now but what am I supposed to do then?” he said as he faintly shrugged his shoulders and sarcastically smiled.
“You just unexpectedly showed up in front of me and then... boom!” he cheerfully continued, “You opened the two doors with your mind! Aren't you amazed by what you did?”
“Because I am! I'm so amazed about what you did” he let out a rough air from his nose and faintly smiled, “And I'm sure you are too, it's just that... you're an animal not like me”
“You're different...”
His voice suddenly decreases and shows a sad face while glancing at Chester, “But I promise you that you'd be amazed by your own ability soon when I give you treats!”
“I'd give you treats once we come back home... I promise” he smiled as his eyes were now filled with hope and happiness for both of them, “Oh, don't worry! I'm not gonna treat you as my slave or whatever...”
“You’re part of me, my home. You’ve been my protector ever since from... Dad”
He continued while continually walking around the long hallway with Chester, “I mean, we're gonna protect each other, right?”
He asked as if Chester would answer him, “I don't want that one of us will die here in this... strange place” he continued.
“Let's go home together, okay?”
Chester suddenly turned his head at his owner with his tongue still out and a wagging tail behind him. Will looked back at him and smiled as Chester barked at him.
“Yeah, right, home...” Will murmured at him and gently patted his head, “We're going home... soon—”
Will paused when he noticed Chester stopped walking that made him stopped too.
“Why? What's wrong?” he asked as he pressed his eyebrows from curiosity. He noticed too that Chester's joy faded quickly around his face as he closed his mouth and deeply stared at something.
He decided to look where was Chester was looking and gained a wrinkle on his forehead as he found a red single door at the end of the hallway.
It was covered with vines as well as the floor around the hallway.
The tone of red was so scarlet, there are carved whimsy things around it too as if it was for royal purposes, while the door knob was black as the void.
A single door?
We walked all around this hallway for a single weird door?
How quiet odd for a door to be painted as red.
Red.
Code red.
A life or death situation and decision.
Will slowly turned his head at Chester and found him still faintly whimpering, as if somebody hurt him. Chester dropped his head down while still keeping himself sat on the floor. Will couldn't understand why he was randomly whimpering, they're not even that close at the door yet.
“Hey, what's wrong?” Will asked and kneeled down to look at Chester's face yet it was too low that the only thing he can do was to gently brushed his back to comfort him, not knowing the reason but... he knew something was wrong behind that door.
Will looked at the door again and decided to stand up. He began stepping forward, so light that the silence surrounds them again as if he was investigating. He swallowed another lump down into the very deep of his throat as he finally reached the questionable door in front of them.
He looked down at the doorknob and slightly tilted his head with his furrowed brows and began squinting his eyes at it.
He saw a carved icon of a heart on the face of the doorknob with a rectangular portrait hole for the key. Will faintly raised his hand to wrapped itself around the knob to open it.
Until it suddenly opened by itself.
Slightly.
So little that the only thing you can ever do is to peek over it.
Will looked behind him to look over for Chester—expecting him to stare at the door to maintain his focus, yet he only found him still quietly whimpering with his head still low.
How?
Will couldn't comprehend what was happening and it's making his brain hurts.
How did he open the door without staring at it?
He's still crying and not focusing at all... not like Eleven who always stare at something whenever she's gonna use her powers.
He wonders...
Did Chester really opened the doors earlier?
Or...
Somebody just opened it for us?
Will slowly turned his head back at the red door in front of him.
Did somebody opened those doors for us behind this... red door?
Will swallowed a lump down into his throat again and his heart began beating rapidly because of these weird things that was happening right in front of his eyes.
He decided to come closer to the door and peek over it. He wanted to make sure.
Yet he only found darkness and silence behind it. Part of him wanted to stepped backwards and ran away from this laboratory with Chester, but he was also feeling something behind this door.
A presence.
Someone that connects him.
Something that questionably hurts him.
He doesn't know what was happening inside him but in the very deep of his soul—something was forcing him to go inside the door, something that was slowly pulling him inside.
A home.
It feels like home.
But why it hurts?
Why it's making my... whole existence crumble as a rock?
I don't—
“Will”
“Will”
Max pressed her eyebrows as she heard something behind her. She swiftly turned her head and found Mike still sleeping, yet she noticed that his sweats were still dripping and incredibly panting.
“Why?” Lucas asked at Max and glanced at Mike and turned at her again, “What's wrong?”
Max looked back at him and fixed her sitting, “N-nothing... just heard something”
“P-probably just a mosquito or whatever...” she continued, yet part of her knew Mike mumbled something that she didn't hear. It's just that— she might be just randomly hearing things.
“You sure?” Lucas softly asked and came closer to her.
“Y-Yeah, don't worry...” Max responded whereas Nancy suddenly stopped driving and looked at the interior rearview mirror in the car to look for the party behind her.
“We're here” she said at them.
Everyone hurriedly went outside and Jonathan carefully carried Mike behind the car.
“Will”
A familiar voice suddenly came in behind the door that made Will froze.
It's sweet, but sour at the same time.
It hurts... that I couldn't figure out why.
But that voice... it feels like the voice of someone I grew up with.
“Mike?”
Will asked as his voice stammered, yet he received nothing while still peeking inside.
He rushingly wrapped his hand around the doorknob while they were still shaking and swiftly opened it widely.
“Mi—”
He found someone else instead.
No Mike.
No home.
Will froze as he saw an unknown kid resting on an electric treatment bed with both of his hands cuffed on the armrest. The kid seems like a male kid, he was wearing a patient white gown. He turned his head behind him to check for Chester and a spark of sadness came in again in his eyes.
He's been crying because of this poor kid?
What an emphatic gentleman...
He looked back at the kid again behind the red door. He began slowly stepping inside towards the kid and his heart began racing. The kid's face was becoming clearer in his eyes and it was becoming familiar too.
He went right beside him and froze completely with his eyes widened from disbelief. His hands began incredibly shaking and his breathing was heavily panting because of this occurrence.
The two Will Byers.
One is awake, one is asleep.
One is free, one is trapped.
One is clean, one is covered with dirts.
One is a teenager, one is a kid.
But aren't they just the same?
Will was sleeping, so beautiful yet clueless about what was happening to him. Will was widely awake, so beautiful yet so scared about what he was seeing in front of him.
Will looked down with his lips still parted and couldn't believe that he was seeing his old self—even though nothing changed about him. He found his little hands were cuffed on the armrests, until he found something on his little right wrist.
001
001...?
“Zero, zero, one?”
He mumbled while pressing his eyebrows from curiosity as he read the numbers who were written on his wrist.
One?
What does it mean?
He asked to himself knowing he can't answer it too for himself.
He decided to look around the room and began slowly walking away to glance this questionable room. He noticed that there aren't any vines on the tiled floor, the wall was purely covered with white, and the only thing he found beside the electric treatment bed was a wooden office table with a wooden chair too behind it that was perfectly facing him well.
He came closer and found some scattered messy papers on the table, his curiosity grew larger even more when he saw a picture of a male kid who was clipped in a paper that seems like a documentation about him.
He slowly grabbed the paper and wonder why he was grabbing it, he was just curious, and something was telling him to grab it. It might be just his mind. He stared at the picture of the kid and noticed his features. His hair seems like it was combed neatly and parted to the side, his eyes—they were cold as his blank expression.
It felt like he just committed a crime.
His eyes, so cold as this place.
Who is he?
Will looked beside his picture and found some informations about the kid such as his name, gender, age, and his... Test Subject Numbers...?
“Henry... Creel” Will mumbled as he was reading the kid's informations, "Male, 12 years old, and...”
His eyes widened and found his eyebrows furrowing towards his number.
“Zero, zero... one?” Will was found in disbelief for what he just read, “H-how? I, I don't understand”
“I, I thought...” Will swiftly dropped the document and his head began hurting as the silence surrounds him inside the room while his mind was completely wondering.
If he is the One, t-then why I'm there?
I don't understand.
A-am I going crazy?
“I-I thought I'm the One—”
Will paused and his eyes got widened again as sticky vines started showing up out of nowhere and starts gripping the table, chair, and wall. He looked down and found some vines already gripping the floor as if it was already there the whole time, fortunately, he was standing on a space—preventing him from getting abducted by a vine again.
Chester suddenly started barking outside the room that made Will swiftly turned himself for him. His foot suddenly touched something that made it went underneath the table. Will didn't got the chance to look what was in front of him and looked what was beside his foot instead.
He slowly kneeled down and peeked under the wooden table. He gulped and a spark of another hope suddenly grew inside his eyes as he found something crucial.
A walkie talkie.
Will quickly grabbed and stood up. He checked it and noticed that the outer plastic shell was cracked.
Another loud barked from Chester made Will quickly turned his head at him again, even though he was already barking at him before Will even looked at him again. He decided to drop the walkie talkie inside his shoulder bag with his loaded gun. He swallowed another lump and took a step in every spaces he found between these gripping vines on the floor.
Until he reached the electric treatment bed where his little self was resting.
Will's sweat can be found extremely dripping on his entire body that you can literally see it in a naked eye. His hair was already soaking in sweats, his heart was racing as well as his hands who were shaking.
He wanted to check it but was so scared of finding another person instead. Yet in his peripheral vision, someone was still resting on it. His little self who was wearing a patient white gown with his well-combed bowl cut.
He was just right beside him yet he refused to look for more again at his small face, instead he looked down at his wrist again.
The tattooed number was still there.
001.
B-but how?
How am I the One when Henry's number was One too?
“Who was really the One—”
Until a black smoke suddenly wrapped itself around the wrist of the little Will that made the teenager Will quickly looked at the resting little Will. His eyes widened that made him slowly stepped back from the electric treatment bed because of what he just found.
The little body of Will was completely wrapped with black smokes that made Will remembered something horrifying—the Mind Flayer.
So completely wrapped with black smokes that made the little Will look like a humanoid shadow, like the Shadow Monster—one thing that he doesn't want to be.
He wanted to be a perfect and authentic Artist, not a copy of Monster who once brought him to hell.
The small humanoid shadow of Will suddenly rose up from the electric treatment bed and sat on it. The little Will just stared at the terrified teenager of himself in front of him. So little yet so terrifying. His face was empty for every bit of him was covered with shadows.
Will's heart was extremely racing that it was the only thing he could ever hear aside the barking Chester outside the room.
His mind suddenly became empty because of what he was seeing, yet there was no time for him to panic—even if his entire body was slowly crumbling from the horror he was experiencing. Will quickly pulled up his loaded gun from his shoulder bag and slowly pointed it out towards the little shadow of his little self in front of him.
The shadow suddenly stood up that made Will step backwards as he swiftly glanced behind him to look for spaces. His knees were found shaking like his hands who were both holding his rifle.
“W-Who are you?” his voice was found trembling as he asked this, “W-What are you?”
The shadows slowly got taller than Will that made his mouth dropped and his rapid breathing became more noticeable.
“D-Don’t come n-near me” Will said as his throat was already tightening while he was getting closer to the wall already, “Or I will k-kill you by this—”
“Can you?”
The shadow suddenly spoke. His voice was found deep and so cold like this place—the Upside Down.
Will gulped when the tall shadow suddenly walked forward him that made him walked backwards as well.
“A-Are you Henry?” he asked while still pointing the rifle towards the shadow in front of him, “Henry Creel?”
“The One—”
“We... are the One, Will”
The shadow swiftly answered at him, still walking towards him—unbothered by him pointing his rifle that won't even kill him because he lacks physical body like Will.
“W-What do you mean?” Will anxiously asked whereas he unfortunately reached the wall already that made him stopped walking backwards away from the unknownable creature in front of him.
“I am you and you are me”
Will couldn't understand what the thing was talking about. No matter how scared he was already, he still fixed his rifle even if his hands were already sweating. He checked the bullet pockets and found that they were fortunately full.
“I... I don't understand” he asked while slowly pulling the trigger as the creature kept walking towards him. His sweats were dripping all around his entire body as well as his hands who were extremely trembling.
“I am the speaker” the unknownable creature gravelly answered as he was getting closer at Will, “And you will be my voice”
“We will make a beautiful...” the humanoid shadow continued, “Very beautiful world together...”
His voice wasn't that endearing for him, it was more horrifying and it felt like the rhythm of death. Will was found still confused and terrified for his life.
Without a thought.
He suddenly pulled the trigger of his rifle out of the aghast he was feeling because of this horror.
Yet the bullet just casually passed through the whirling black shadows of the creature and it hit the wall instead behind it. Will couldn't accept it and so he repeatedly pulled another trigger for he was already still desperate for life.
“Will, you will understand it soon“ the shadow continued until he finally reached Will, so close yet the only thing that parted them away was Will's rifle who was still pointing ’till it passed through the creature.
Until the bullet pockets became now empty.
“The pain will go away...” the humanoid shadow slowly raised its arms and gently touched Will's reddish cheeks, whereas Will's face and entire body quivered—trying to shove it away from him. Will's eyes started to teared up and it swiftly dropped onto his chest.
“Trust me, Will” he continued as he doesn't care about what Will was feeling towards him, “Every bad things will go away once you agree to be with me”
Will was already refusing before he even asked that question, yet he couldn't talk. He couldn't release a single “no”. It felt like his voice box was locked up and there was no key to possibly open it. His entire body was shaking and shivering, but the only thing he could do was to release tears from his eyes. His mind was still empty, yet in the very deep of his soul—he was screaming for help, for home, for more life.
But that one uncomfortable touch of the unknownable and disgusting creature made Will whole body froze. All of this happenings only for him to think about someone who was surely far away from him.
Mike.
Where are you?
“He won't help you, Will” the creature suddenly said as if he just heard Will's thought, he then slowly lifted his chin and came closer to him, “No one would”
“We are only two yet One here, except your stupid pet outside” he roughly continued while deeply staring at him even though its face was covered with black smokes, “Be thankful I didn't kill him when he came with you here firstly in this place, but... what about now?”
No, no, no, please don't.
The creature slowly looked at Chester outside who was still barking and looked back at Will again.
I-I just met him, please don't kill him.
I'm begging you.
Will's tears continually flowed down out of his warm and exhausted eyes. He just promised at him that he will give him treats once they find a gate. He doesn't want that one of them will die, it is not worthy enough to be found alive.
I love him, so dearly.
P-Please, I'm begging you.
If... If coming with you would make both of us alive.
Then I will.
I will come with you.
Clueless he might be, he still accepted the agreement The unknownable creature suddenly let out a rough air that made it seems like he was smiling, “Good, good” he said as he slowly put his hand away from his chin.
“Just follow my will” he said and slowly put his hand into Will's mouth that made Will slowly began losing control of himself, “Every pain of yours will fade away soon”
“Everything will happen soon”
Until the humanoid shadow completely went inside Will's weakened body whereas he suddenly fell on the floor. The vines who were alive on the floor began wrapping themselves around the unconscious Will and carefully carried him away from the laboratory.
Chester devastatingly followed them for he knew what happened to his owner, he was almost beaten to death from refusing to help this monster to bring Will to him. Thankfully, Will didn't notice his bruises around his vanilla coated body.
Chester was found still whimpering while following them. Every part of him shattered as he saw his unconscious owner while the vines were still carrying him somewhere. He doesn't know what to do, he couldn't changed what already happened, and so the only thing he could ever do was to protect him while asleep.