Chapter Text
Mike stares in awe as Will wipes the blood from his nose. Stumbling over the demogorgon corpse, Mike hurries to his side. Will is leaning over, his bloodied hands on the ground. Mike drops to his knees and grabs Will's shoulder with his uninjured arm, trying not to jostle him.
“Will, holy shit.” Mike leans down to look at Will’s face, a slight grin matching Mike’s elated one. “You saved my life. Holy shit! Will—you have powers!” A manic laugh escapes him.
Will meets Mike's eyes, suddenly leaning on him for support as he gives way to exhaustion. “You were right, Mike,” Will coughs out. “I am just like Vecna—hell bent on destroying the world.” A garbled giggle escapes him. Mike finds himself laughing as he pulls Will up to his feet.
“Will!” Joyce calls out, stumbling towards them now. “Are you alright?” She grabs Will’s shirt, eyes roving up and down his form, looking for injuries.
“I’m okay,” Will half-hugs her, still leaning on Mike for support. “But we need to get out of here,” Will says, his words slurring slightly. Joyce put her arm around his waist. Both Joyce and Mike keep Will on his feet.
“There!” Mike points to a Humvee, the driver's side door still open. They start ambling toward the truck, and there is a skittering sound behind them. The trio startles, but Erica appears in the distance.
“Oh, thank god.” Joyce lets out a sigh of relief.
Will is still conscious enough to get into the Humvee with Mike pushing him in. Joyce and Erica clamber into the front. Mike buckles Will in as his eyes roll back in his head, and he passes out. Mike lets out a gasp. “Will!” He grabs Will’s jaw, examining his face. Will’s eyelids are fluttering, his entire face is wet with sweat, and his hair is still damp from that leaky pipe. Experimentally, Mike runs his thumb over Will’s cheekbone; he doesn’t startle, only leans further into the touch, unconscious of what's occurring.
“Is he alright!” Joyce says with a breathless air.
Joyce’s abrupt tone shocks Mike out of the moment. “Yeah, asleep.” He pulls his gaze from Will to look at Joyce, “I think he’s exhausted. The same thing used to happen to El.”
“Right,” Joyce starts the car, and they leave the MAC-Z, dust flying up in their trail.
---
The group makes it back to The Squawk with Will still unconscious and leaning his head on Mike's shoulder. The car has barely pulled to a stop, and Lucas, Robin, and Murray are running out of the station.
Mike opens the Humvee door, “Lucas! Come help.” Lucas starts running
Mike and Lucas deposit Will on the scant little couch in The Squawks' basement. Will hasn’t woken since he passed out in the back of the Humvee. Mike takes a seat on the floor, leaning his back against the couch.
What’s left of their party: Joyce, Murray, Erica, Robin, and Lucas all gather around. Looking at Will with a wide-eyed, unknowing look.
With a trembling lip, Lucas lets out that the kids he was with were taken. He closes his eyes, “I almost died, but the demogorgons they… that was Will, wasn’t it?”
Erica responds, “Hell-yeah, it was insane.” She rants about how she saw the whole scene from the bell tower, about to explain it all.
Joyce gently interrupts, “It's late. I think we all need some rest. I’m sure there are some spare blankets around here.” She walks over to Will and brushes his hair out of his eyes. “I’m going to stay here with Will tonight, and we can figure out the next move tomorrow.” She withdraws her shaking hand from Will’s hair and goes off, presumably to look for blankets. Murray follows close behind her.
With Joyce and Murray gone, the kids crowd Mike. Robin scoots close to Will, taking his hand, and Mike shuffles a little further away from her, but keeps himself close to Will.
Robin starts, “Is Lucas right? That sounds like exactly what happened to me.” She tucks her hair behind her ear, “I thought I was a gonner! The truck just fell over on its side, and the metal roof was ripped to shreds. The kids just disappeared into thin air.” Robin holds Will’s hand tighter, looking off into the distance. “Then a demogorgon was just there. I could smell that strange, cloying rotten scent they give off as it growled at me. I thought: you had a good run, Robin, but say your prayers. And then it was dead at my feet.”
“How did this happen?” Lucas is looking at Will, but Mike answers.
“I told Will that he might have some control over these visions. And—”
Erica interjects, “He sure as hell has control over something.”
“Erica! Let him finish.” Lucas gestures animatedly with his hands.
Mike sits up, angling toward Will. “I was about to die, too. Seconds away from nothingness, and Will is there behind this demogorgon, lifting it into the air, his eyes were white. He killed all of those demogorgons at the same time.” Mike looks back at the group. “Somehow Will used his connection to the hive mind and saved us all.” Mike pauses, “I’ve never seen El do that.”
Joyce comes back with a single pillow and a few blankets. They end up sleeping on the floor, all crowded together.
---
When Mike wakes up, his back is incredibly sore. He groans as he rolls over onto his side. Eyes peaking open, and the couch is empty. Will is gone. He darts up. Tired eyes roving around the room. Mike steps over his sleeping friends and heads upstairs. “Will!” Mike whisper-shouts. He turns the corner into the main studio and runs into something. It’s Will!
Mike grabs Will’s arm, “There you are.” He lets out a breath. “What were you doing up?”
“Um, going to the bathroom.” Will points his thumb behind him, where the bathroom door is peaking open.
“Right, sorry.” Mike pats his arm awkwardly and then takes a step back, suddenly realizing they had been just a few inches apart. “How’re you feeling?” Mike looks into Will’s eyes, and they’re his normal honey brown.
Will chuckles a little, “I actually feel okay, I can hardly believe we’re alive.”
“Yeah! It was a close call for a minute there! That is, until you tapped into your desire to destroy all of mankind.” Mike tries to joke.
Will gives him a goofy, half-smile, “You have no idea how long I’ve been holding that back.” And then Mike laughs, a little too loud given that everyone else is trying to sleep. It’s an infectious laugh that has them both clutching their stomachs and wheezing.
Mike grabs Will’s forearm for support, and Will looks down at his watch, “It’s six in the morning.”
Mike sighs. “We need to make a plan.”