Chapter Text
El crushed the dying flower in her hands and glared at the dark shadows polluting the sky. She turned to Hopper, "we need to stop this."
"And we will." Hopper nodded, staring dumbfounded at his surroundings. He knew something went down in Hawkins from the news, but he didn't think it would be this bad. He turned to Jonathan and Mike, "call everyone and tell them to come to the cabin."
The pair nodded and ran to find the nearest phone and walkie talkie.
A bolt of blood-red lightning illuminated a shadow-like figure within the dark clouds. Will shuddered as he saw it. His body frozen and mind tormented with memories of when he was taken by the Mind Flayer. His breath quickened and Joyce looked at him worriedly.
"Let's get inside."
The others followed Joyce into the cabin. They stood around the kitchen in silence; fear consuming their thoughts. It wasn't until Mike and Jonathan returned 'til they started talking.
"Steve's going to stop at the hospital to get Lucas and Erica," Jonathan stated before leaning against a broken table.
Everyone looked at each other gloomily: the atmosphere in the room turning bleak.
Nancy looked outside the window and frowned at the white spores filling the air.
El stepped away from the wall.
"I will not be able to close the gate this time," she feared, "it's too big. We will have to destroy One. It is the only way."
"But how?" Mike sighed, "he's probably angrier at us now and he won't stop."
Will stared at his hands, "I can feel him, he's hurt. But Mike's right, he's even more determined. He won't stop."
Jonathan rested his hand gently on Nancy's shoulder. "He's already won, right? So what else could he possibly want?"
"The world." Nancy answered hopelessly.
"I have a question," Hopper spoke up with a baffled expression.
Joyce nodded, "yeah, who's Vecna?"
_________
Steve made his way through the hospital. His eyes scanning every sign and number on the wall. Hospitals always freaked him out. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because lately his friends always seemed to end up there. Dustin and Robin wanted to join him, but he convinced them to wait in the car. He wanted to visit Max anyway so it was only a matter of time.
He ran his hands through his hair nervously before knocking on the hospital door.
"Come in," a voice replied.
He pushed open the door slowly and closed it behind him before walking towards the bed, where Max lay unconscious.
Lucas looked up from his book, "hey."
"Hey," He smiled as he noticed Erica reading a DnD manual next to her brother.
"I, er... brought this," Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic car. He placed it on the table and sighed, "she didn't deserve what happened to her."
"No, she didn't," Lucas agreed. He looked at Max sorrowfully. "I just need her to wake up. I need her to be okay." He took a deep breath as Erica held his hand in reassurance. Lucas looked at her gratefully.
"She'll wake up," Erica nodded with confidence. "It's Max."
"I... I read the letter she wrote for me," Steve sighed.
Lucas held Max's hand, "what did it say?"
"Um, she... she said 'thank you for being the brother I never had.' Among other stuff..." Steve cleared his throat. "Did you see outside?"
Lucas wiped his eyes as they started to water. He turned his head to Steve, "the gate."
"Yeah... Jonathan called. There's a team meeting, or something, at Hopper's cabin." He informed them.
"When?" Erica asked, placing her book down on the table beside her.
Steve grimaced, "er, now..."
"I can't leave Max," Lucas shook his head.
Steve frowned at his friend. He was worried about him. From the way his voice wavered, he could tell Lucas hadn't slept. In fact, Steve hadn't seen him leave the hospital at all. Erica's concerned expression for her brother told Steve all he needed to know. He wished none of this had ever happened. The kids were too young for all this heartbreak, he thought regretfully.
"I saw her mom outside," Steve spoke softly, "she won't be alone."
"I... I don't want to leave her," he muttered dolefully.
"Okay," Steve sighed, "but you know we could find a way to help her. She's here because of Vecna. Maybe if we destroy him, she'll wake. There has to be a way. I'm not sure what, but there has to be something."
Lucas still didn't look sure, so Erica turned to him. "Lucas, seriously? We may have a chance to help our friend. So would you rather stay here and read or go out and do something that could save her?"
"But what if she wakes up and I'm not there?" He reasoned. "I don't want her to be alone."
Erica sighed before speaking to her brother with an apologetic expression. "She's not going to wake up, Lucas. Not without our help."
He frowned and looked at Steve. "Do you really think there's a way?"
"There has to be."
Lucas began thinking of everything that could go wrong. Max could die. They could all die and it would all be for nothing. They could just make everything worse. Vecna could take over the world. There was endless possibilities. But when he looked at Max. He knew he had to try. He had to at least do that. For her.
He nodded to Steve before returning his gaze to Max. He smiled softly, his eyes sad and afraid. He squeezed her fingers gently, "I'll be back, Max. I promise."
And with that, he grabbed his coat and followed his sister and Steve out the room, turning around to glance at her before closing the door.
________
Steve, Lucas, Robin, Erica and Dustin clambered out of Steve's car and walked towards the cabin. They opened the door and walked inside only to be face to face with a man that they knew to be dead.
"No way," Dustin chuckled as he saw Hopper.
Lucas shook his head in disbelief, "you're alive."
"Hey," Hopper grinned, "it's good to see you."
"Likewise," Dustin smiled warmly.
Jim laughed internally at the kid's expressions, before turning to a teenager he didn't recognise.
"Hi, I'm Robin. I've heard so much about you. You're like a hero and everything," she held out her hand excitedly and an amused Hopper shook it.
Steve nodded to Hopper with a smile.
"How are you alive?" Erica asked in bewilderment.
"That's a... hah... that's a long story." Hopper smirked, looking at Joyce.
El walked into the room and smiled at everyone that just entered. She immediately went to Lucas. Her eyebrows drawn in concern. "How is Max?"
He grimaced, "the same. We're going to find a way to help her."
"Wait. What happened to Max?" Joyce questioned with furrowed eyebrows.
She and Hopper had been completely out of the loop since they got back to Hawkins. They did not think they would miss so much. In fact, they thought their little adventure was the biggest event of recent days. They were very wrong.
"Vecna happened," Steve grumbled.
"He killed her, but somehow she came alive again. She's in a coma at the hospital. The doctors don't think she'll wake," Lucas explained as he fiddled with his hands.
"Oh, Lucas." Joyce gasped softly, "I'm so sorry, I don't know what to say."
Hopper looked at El's saddened expression and frowned. He remembered the many sleepovers Max had with his daughter. How she helped El find herself. They were clearly very close and he was not about to let his daughter lose her closest friend.
"Yeah," Lucas smiled sadly, "but we're going to save her."
"How?" Mike asked.
"I don't know yet." Lucas sighed and leaned against the wall.
Robin swayed backwards and forwards on her feet before grimacing, trying to maintain the dying conversation, "so... Vecna/Henry/001. He sucks, right?"
"Wait!" Argyle clicked his fingers with a wide grin, staring at Hopper. "You're the dude from El's diorama!"
He had been trying to figure out why Hopper felt so familar to him. There was something distinct about his appearance that he just couldn't put his finger on. That was until he placed his hands on his hips and everything clicked.
Hopper raised his eyebrows in confusion and El chuckled. "I will explain later."
Silence overcame them once more: everyone staring at the floor dismally. Jonathan looked around and scratched his neck. Silence was always uncomfortable for him. Especially when everyone was upset. He stepped forward.
"We may not have a plan yet," he stated before looking around at the mess in the cabin, "but we can still do something while we think. We should sort out the cabin. El is still hiding from the government, so we need a safe place to stay."
"We started to fix a few windows this morning, but there's still a lot to do," Nancy added, thankful for Jonathan stepping forward.
Everyone agreed begrudgingly and got started. Sweeping the floor, fixing furniture and mending the walls into the darkness of the night.
A few hours past midnight, Will ended up beside Mike, helping him fix a table. He held it carefully as the other boy started to screw a nail into the wood.
Will watched as his hair hung over his eyes and how he stuck out his tongue in concentration. He looked back down at the table, his face growing warm.
"Okay and done!" Mike beamed.
He levelled the table and smiled proudly at their work. He high fived Will before standing up to find something else to do.
"Hey, um, Mike," Will fiddled with his hands nervously as he stood up. "I kind of want to talk to you about something."
"What is it? Is it about the Upside Down? Vecna? Do you feel anything?" Mike asked stressfully, his eye's wide with anxiety.
"No! Oh my, God, no! It's not that!" Will reassured him. He took a deep sigh, "it's, er... it's.. something else..."
"Do you have to tell me right now?" Mike asked as he gestured to his surroundings. "Sorry, it's just that this cabin is kind of a piece of shit right now and we need to fix that first."
"Oh... right, yeah," Will hid his disappointment and smiled, "you're right. It's not... it's not that... important..."
"Okay," Mike smiled and pat Will on the shoulder. "I'm going to find Nancy, see if she needs any help."
"Right..." Will watched at Mike walked away and frowned, frustrated with himself.
Robin, who had heard the conversation from the other side of the room, looked at Will curiously. She had noticed how he looked at Mike and she couldn't help but think she should talk to him. The only thing stopping her so far was that she didn't know him very well. Almost dismissing the idea, Robin saw Will's heart-broken stare and made the decision to speak with him.
"Hey, Will?" She called with a warm smile. She lifted a piece of wood and a hammer. "Do you mind helping me with this? I'm useless."
"Yeah, sure," he smiled kindly, however his eyes still shimmered with sadness.
They lifted the wood over the hole in the wall and held it in place before hammering nails into it. Robin glanced at Will before speaking. "So we haven't spoken before, I don't think. Which is weird because you seem cool and I know I'm pretty cool too so..."
"Hah, yeah. You're friends with Steve, right?" Will asked as he lifted another piece of wood to the wall.
"Yeah," Robin smirked, "Dingus is all right." She looked around the room and saw that it was just her and Will. "You know, he's currently helping me get with my crush."
"Oh," Will nodded as he reached for a box of nails.
"Yeah, he's quite the matchmaker," Robin chuckled.
Will smiled, "so, who's your crush? Would I know him?"
Robin glanced around the room again just in case before hammering the second piece of wood against the wall. Her heart began beating as she replied. "I don't know, actually. Her name's Vickie."
Will stopped what he was doing and turned to Robin. His eye's widened. For a moment he thought he must've heard wrong, but Robin's expression told him otherwise. She was staring at the wall and biting her lip anxiously.
"Your crush is a girl?" Will asked, his brain filling with questions.
Robin smiled kindly, "yeah. I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with her this morning. Or... yesterday morning," she chuckled, looking at her watch. "She talks a lot and I could listen to her for hours. She's really funny too and her eyes and freckles are just so pretty."
Will's expression brightened, a large smile growing on his face. "That's great. That's really great."
"Yeah," Robin agreed, "it is."
A silence overcame them for a moment while they fixed the wall. Will's smile disappeared, only to be replaced by a frown.
"Is... is it... scary? Being... different?" He asked, trying to sound casual.
Robin thought for a moment. She didn't want to mess this up so she thought carefully about what she wanted to say before speaking.
"Yeah," she sighed, "it is quite scary. I get scared of people finding out and reacting badly. I get scared that my crush won't like girls too. But you know what?"
"What?"
"I have support from a friend and that is the best thing. The best feeling. And anyway, being different is good. Who wants to be the same as everyone else? That's boring. The world would be as tedious as Steve's current lovelife. If you're different, it makes you special. And that is what makes you remembered in this life." She smiled.
Will beamed at Robin, his eye's watering slightly. "Hey, Robin?"
"Yes, Will?"
He took a deep breath and clenched his fists as the main thought in his head came rolling out of his mouth before he could change his mind. "I don't like girls. I like boys."
Robin smiled at her new friend. "Awesome!" Her grin softened as Will began to cry. "Thanks for telling me, Will. If you need any bad dating advice, I'm here. If you need literally anything. I'm here for you-"
She was interrupted by Will engulfing her in a hug. She hugged him back warmly.
After a minute of so, Robin smirked, "Hey, we could start a club."
Will chuckled and pulled away, wiping his eyes.
"You're a cool kid, Will," Robin complimented. "I'm really happy we talked."
Will smiled softly, "me too."
"You play DnD right?" She asked after a moment. "It would be cool if you could teach me one day?"
"I would love to!"
Will felt his cheeks rise as a large smile formed on his features. He had been wanting to play the game for a while now but had no one to play it with. He'd mostly been drawing characters and reading manuals to pass the time.
Robin held out her fist and they fist bumped.
Will looked up at Robin happily. He didn't expect this conversation to happen, but he was so happy it did. He had someone to talk to; someone who would understand. He wasn't alone.
"Hey, you fixed the wall? Nice." Steve noticed when walking through the door.
"Yeah," Will nodded.
"I had to come in, the guys outside are talking about DnD and it's hurting my head. Like, what's a d20 anyway?" He sighed as he grabbed a broom and started to sweep the floor.
Robin and Will chuckled at Steve as he cleaned the floor with a confused expression.
Meanwhile, Nancy and Mike were chopping wood for the cabin. They mostly worked in silence with an occasional word, however Nancy's brain was whirring with things to say.
"Hey, I'm glad you got home okay," she smiled before slicing a piece of wood in half.
"Oh, yeah," Mike nodded, "I'm glad you're okay too."
Nancy stopped cutting the wood and sighed. "I have to tell you something... When you were gone, something happened and I was shown a vision by Henry."
"What?" Mike lowered his axe and looked at his sister.
"In that vision... you, mom and Holly.... you were all... gone," she took a shaky breath, "and I was scared- I am scared that it's going to come true."
Mike wasn't sure what to say. He only looked at Nancy as she continued.
"When all of this started, we promised we would tell each other everything and... we haven't. So that's why I'm telling you. You may be an ass but... I love you, Mike. I don't want anything to happen to my annoying little brother that steals my money." She sniffled before lifting the axe and swinging it against a piece of wood.
Mike stared at her in surprise. He dropped his axe and walked towards his sister, hugging her awkwardly, "I love you too."
The siblings used to be close. Nancy used to join in with DnD and Mike used to show her his favourite comics and movies. But the past few years, they had grown apart; even through everything that had happened. Despite that, they always knew that they had each others back. No matter what.
On the other side of the cabin, Eleven and Hopper were lifting heavy furniture into it's right place.
"So Joyce tells me you went to school?" Hopper smiled while pushing up a book shelf.
"Yes. I enjoy-" El stopped herself as she thought of Will's disappointed frown. "I did not enjoy it."
"Yeah, it isn't the greatest," he nodded sympathetically before poking her in the arm, "but hey, look at the bright side, you don't have to go back."
"Really?" She smiled.
"Yeah, Joyce and I... talked. We were thinking of getting a home together. Me, you, Joyce, Jonathan and Will. What do you think?"
El couldn't think of anything better. She loved her brothers and Joyce was an amazing mother. Whenever she felt alone in California, she knew she could talk to someone. Joyce would sit her down and tell her stories. Will would teach her how to paint or draw (which El had grown very fond of doing when she was upset). And Jonathan showed El his music collection and let her have her favourites to listen to whenever she wanted.
"I think that sounds really good," she beamed, while piling books onto the shelf. She paused for a moment before asking, "if we kill 001, can we live here? With our friends?"
"I don't see why not," Hop chuckled, "we'll talk to Joyce and the boys together."
"Okay." El nodded before looking up at her dad. "Where were you all this time? How did Joyce find you?"
Hopper turned to El. He was dreading her asking. The last thing he wanted to do was worry her, but he couldn't lie either. He decided instead to just state the main points.
"I was in a prison in Russia," he sighed before mirroring what his daughter said, "I did not enjoy it."
"Oh."
"Yeah. I got a friend out of it though. His name's Enzo. He sent a message to Joyce from me. Saying that I was alive." He explained.
"Thank you, Enzo," El smiled and Hopper chuckled.
"What else have you been up to?" He asked, wanting to change the subject. He huffed as he pushed up a heavy armchair.
"I saw Papa." She answered.
Hopper dropped the chair and stared at her with wide eyes.
"He and Dr Owens got my powers back. But he went too far and Dr Owens got mad. Papa beat up Dr Owens and would not let me leave. But I had to leave to save Max. Papa was angry. The military came and killed him. I watched him die."
Jim's heart raced with anxiety at hearing this. He couldn't believe Brenner was alive and hiding for all that time.
He shook his head, "I can't believe Owens would take you to him."
"He just wanted to save Hawkins. He was on my side," El said.
"How did you escape if the military was there?" Hop asked, upset that his daughter went through such an ordeal.
"Jonathan, Will, Mike and Argyle got there just in time."
"Thank God," Hopper sighed.
Jim couldn't understand why anyone would want to harm his daughter. She was kind, selfless and funny. She was not dangerous. She wasn't a monster. None of her situation was her fault, yet she always got the blame.
"I... have something else I have to tell you," El stated.
"Shoot."
"I was in Max's mind when she died. And she did... she did die. And I did not want her to go. So I... I brought her back." El crossed her arms and looked into Hopper's confused eyes. "I put my hand over her heart and thought of memories with her. I did not know I saved her until Dustin told me."
El still couldn't believe that happened. She was so sure that her best friend had died. She literally saw it happen. She was so confused about this new ability. Could it work again? Does it only work on friends? What does it mean? How did she do it?
She didn't want to tell anyone about what happened until she saw Hop. She knew immediately that she needed to tell him.
Hopper shook his head in disbelief and smiled, "woah. That's pretty cool, kid. Amazing, actually."
"Yeah? You don't seem surprised."
"I've learned not to assume anything when it comes to my amazing daughter, who, by the way, I'm very proud of, " he smiled as Eleven hugged him. He noticed her anxious expression. "I know it's scary, but you did a good thing. You saved your friend." He smirked before adding, "which is pretty bitchin'."
El chuckled before taking a deep breath as she pulled away from the hug. "I am worried about closing the gate. It will be my fault if 001 wins and I don't know what to do."
"You're not gonna be on your own, kid, alright? You have a whole team of people to help you close this gate. I know we don't have superpowers like you, but we can do this. We're gonna figure it out, together."
El smiled. She really did miss Hop. However, the mention of 'superpowers' brought an idea into her mind. She couldn't believe she didn't think of it before. Her expression must have shown this as Jim looked at her curiously.
"I know another person with powers," she stated without explanation.
"What?" Hopper's eyes grew wide. "Who?"
El grimaced, "She is my sister."
"WHAT!?"