Chapter Text
Will saw everything in slow motion.
One moment, he and Mike were getting ready to strike the core of Vecna's power, both of their hands grasping the handle of the spear Eddie had gotten them from God-knows-where.
The next...they were shoved to the side with a shout of their names.
Will landed on the harsh, cold stone ground of the Upside Down. His arm started to bleed almost instantly, while Mike had hit his head on a rock and fell unconsious next to him. The boy turned to shake him awake, only for his eyes to catch something horrific happening before his very eyes.
Jonathan had been the one to push them down.
He was now standing above them. In front of the core.
A vine going straight through his back and chest.
Will couldn't understand what was happening at first. He simply stared with wide, horror-filled eyes as Jonathan was lifted in the air by the vine, coming from a wall right behind where he and Mike had been.
Jonathan's face was twisted into a look of pain and shock; his mouth agape, his eyes saucers, and his face paler than Will believed he'd been when he'd been possessed by the Mind Flayer.
As if to taunt Will, the vine lifted higher, bringing his brother with it. And with a simple flick, Jonathan was thrown off and into another chasm beneath the room. It was at that point that Will finally comprehended everything that had just happened.
Still, everything moved slowly.
Even sound seemed to freeze into a turtle-like motion. His own terrified scream played in his ears, but echoed like he was far away from himself. His hurried movements were things he almost couldn't feel. He almost didn't even feel or see himself jumping to his feet and running over to the cave his older brother had been abandoned to.
It wasn't until he found himself in front of Jonathan's limp, bloody body that everything sped back up. He suddenly realized where he was, what had happened, and the scene right in front of him.
Blood.
So much blood.
Red, grusome liquid soaked through Jonathan's sweatshirt, came from the huge hole now torn in it. Jonathan's eyes were barely opened, his breathing losing its fight every second. Will lifted his hands to do something, anything, but didn't know what he could do.
Jonathan was dying right in front of him and he didn't know what to do!
"J-J-Jonathan, hey, hey...Jonathan?"
He finally decided on cupping his cheek. His skin was cold.
Just how HE likes it.
The little bit of eyes that were opened looked at Will. A small, weak smile formed on the boy's lips.
"H-Hey, bro..."
He was still high. This bastard is still fucking high!
"Jonathan. J-Jonathan, hey, st-stay with me, alright? You're gonna be fine. I-I'm gonna get you out of here, I'll find you a hospital a-and it'll all be okay. It's going to be fine. It's going to be okay..."
Will vaguely noticed but didn't pay any mind to Mike limping into the cave, followed by a half-consious and injured Eddie, Dustin, and Steve.
Will's hands came down to start pushing on Jonathan's wound. There was a gruesome squish as he felt the liquid paint his palms in oily crimson. Just like his face, it was ice cold. Abdnormally so. Uncomfortably so.
Will noticed Jonathan's eyes starting to close.
"No...No, no, no, Jonathan. J-Jonathan, stay awake. Stay away for me. I-It's all going to be okay. Just stay awake, please!"
Jonathan lifted a shaky hand to squeeze Will's shoulder.
"I love you, Will. L-Love you..."
Will was too focused on his big brother to notice Steve's eyes narrow in anger and determination. He didn't notice him run back out of the cave and grab the neglected spear. He didn't hear the angry battle cry that rang out through the dilapidated house. He only noticed the after-effects of Steve stabbing the spear through Vecna's core.
He noticed the sudden breeze. He noticed the dark, deep voiced cry of pain.
He noticed the house begin to fall apart.
Steve returned, limping, but stable.
"Guys, we-we have to get out," he warned. "This place is coming down."
No. No. No. No. No.
"Wait, we-we have to take Jonathan!"
But suddenly, the grip on Will's shoulder disappeared. Will turned and saw Jonathan's hand fall. He saw the light in his brother's eyes leave, but stayed partly open. He saw the last puff of air leave his lips.
No.
"No."
He couldn't believe it.
Jonathan was fine. He was going to be fine! They needed to get him out!
"J-Jonathan, wake up! Wake up, man! Come on!" Will turned back to everyone. "G-Guys, we have to help him! We have to get him out!"
Mike gave him a broken choke. His eyes, still visible even in the dark of the cave, were swimming with tears.
"W-Will...Will, he's...he's gone."
"No, he's not. Guys, he's not gone, we have to help him!"
"Will-"
"No! No! No! We need to get him out!"
The house was falling apart. Shaking. Crumbling. Decaying.
Someone pulled on Will's waist, but he wouldn't let go of Jonathan.
"No! No, guys, we can still help him! We can still help him! Wait, stop!"
But Steve pulled him away, forcing him through the house and away from Jonathan. Away from his brother.
"Let go of me!" Will struggled, but Steve's grip wouldn't break. "Steve! M-Mike! Dustin! Guys, please! We can still help him! No! Jonathan!"
The last thing he managed to scream before being thrown back through the portal was his brother's name.
{}{}{}{}{}
The house, both in the other dimension and in the real world, collapsed. Nothing was left but broken rubble and a pile of wood.
And Will could only sit there and watch.
Everyone was out there in front of the old residence.
Him, Mike, Steve, Eddie, Dustin, Lucas, Erica, Nancy, Robin, Eleven...everyone.
Everyone but Jonathan.
Nobody even noticed in their cries of celebration. Their jumping, their screaming, their cheering. Nobody noticed as Will collapsed to his knees, Steve finally releasing him from his arms. Nobody noticed.
Until...
"Wait...where's Jonathan?"
Silence broke. It had been Nancy who'd asked -- because of course it was, who else would've noticed other than the ones who'd witnessed his...his...
Everyone's eyes landed on Will.
"Will?"
He couldn't speak. Couldn't move.
"I Love you, Will. L-Love you."
"Hey, wanna build a fort out in the woods?"
"Should I stay or should I go!"
Jonathan. The one who'd always been there for him, even in his darkest, worst moments.
"Jonathan, I-I have to tell you something. I'm...I'm gay."
"I'm proud of you. I'm so proud of you, Will. Come here."
His brother, his protector, his guardian angel.
His fucking role-model...
Jonathan was gone.
Jonathan is dead.
That's when he lost it.
He cried. He sobbed. He fucking bawled.
Because he never imagined that losing someone could feel so horrible, so cold and burning at the same time. Even Bob's death hadn't hurt him the way Jonathan's was. It was just...it hurt, so, so much!
His body was bent over his knees, the heels of his hands pressing into his leaking eyes, as if they'd plug them up. They didn't.
Soon, there were arms around him.
"I'm so sorry, Will. I'm so sorry."
Mike.
Another pair.
And another.
And more arms wrapped around him, until he was pulled into an enormous group hug of arms and hands and tears.
Everyone was crying.
How couldn't they?
Jonathan was gone.
Vecna was gone.
The biggest threat of them all was gone.
They won, but at what cost?