Chapter Text
It’s cold, dark, and there’s something slimy wrapped around him. He struggles for a moment trying to break free from whatever is holding him, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. He starts to recognize his surroundings. He’s in the upside down, vines wrapped around him. This feels oddly familiar. A memory, he’s 12, trapped in the exact same place. He sees a figure emerging from the shadows, Vecna. He struggles some more, desperate to get away. Not again, this can’t be happening again. He won’t let it, he has to get out.
Vecna keeps moving closer, “do you remember this, William?” He steps right up to Will, “you were so small, fragile, easily broken” he stretches out a hand and caresses Wills cheek. “I will break you again, William, just like last time” his hand moves to hover over his face “you are going to tell me everything.”
Suddenly Will is being pulled into his memories. Vecna’s looking for something, he can’t let him find it. He remembers something El said about Max holding off Vecna by hiding in happy memories, maybe if he does that too he can fight him off, stop him finding whatever it is he’s after.
He concentrates and thinks of happy memories, the same ones he used to unlock his powers. Building castle Byers with Jonathan. His mom, ever enthusiastic about his drawings. Mike, on the swings in kindergarten… Mike, who he loves… Mike, who will never love him back… Mike, who would be disgusted if he knew… no that’s not right.
Thoughts flash through his mind, bad thoughts, his worst nightmares. Vecna. No. He’s showing him what would happen if everyone knew. He tries to fight it, it’s not real, it’s not. But their faces flash through his mind, pity, worry, disgust. He sees his mom, worried for his future. Jonothan, supportive but with pity in his eyes. His friends, saying they support him but eventually drifting away. Mike, disgusted to find out that his friend had these hidden feelings for him. That’s what does it, that’s what lets Vecna break through and get what he wants.
Max, he’s looking for Max. He finds her. Will leads him directly to her.
Then he’s gone. Leaving Wills mind. The exhaustion hits and he fades out of consciousness.
~
Will’s lying on the couch, unconscious. Joyce is sitting next to him, looking worried. Mike takes a seat opposite her. He should say something, he thinks.
“The others have gone to the hospital to be with Max” he starts, usure of what else to say. She nods, the only indication that she heard him. Mike feels bad for her. He gets it, he really does. He’s worried too. But he knows Will is strong, he’ll come back to them. He has too. Mike can’t lose him. Not again.
He tries to offer some comfort to Joyce “he’ll wake up, I’m sure of it.”
“I know, he’s stronger than he seems. I just” she sighs “it was my idea, for him to go in there. And now he’s stuck. I just feel like it’s my fault in a way.”
Mike can see the tears starting to well in her eyes “it’s not your fault. It was his choice. He chose to go through with the plan. And I know it means a lot to him that you trusted him to do that.” He hopes his words can offer her even a small amount of comfort.
“Thank you, Mike” she reaches over the gap to take his hand. “What about you though? How are you holding up?”
Her hand in his is comforting, grounding. “Alright, I just keep telling myself that he’s going to wake up. I mean he has to, right? He can’t stay in this trance forever.”
“Hopefully when El gets back she can find him and help bring him back.”
“I hope so.”
They settle into silence that's only slightly uncomfortable. Thas is until the sound of a car pulling up outside draws their attention. They both get up to see who it is. As they walk outside they see El and Hopper getting out of the car. Joyce immediately runs to Hopper for a hug. They head back inside and as they pass Mike can hear snippets of their conversation, Joyce catching Hopper up on what he missed. Mike makes eye contact with El. He knows she picks up on his worry right away. They head inside together so Mike can catch her up as well.
Once both of them are caught up to speed they start devising a plan. “I can do it” El announces, “I can find him. But I am going to need the tub.”
Hoppers the first to get up “well, let’s go then”
They all follow him out to the car and head for the cabin.
~
He’s falling, falling forward, the vines are gone and now he’s falling. His knees hit the floor, he’s going to fall flat on his face but then he feels hands on his arms holding him up. He opens his eyes slowly, his surroundings coming into focus. He’s still in Vecna’s memory but now there’s someone else here.
He looks up and sees El in front of him holding onto him. “Will!” she exclaims “you’re alright!” She pulls him into a hug, he melts into it. Her embrace is comforting.
His memories start coming back to him, the awful things Vecna showed him and Max, he found “Max!” he pulls back from the hug abruptly, El looks at him in confusion. “He knows where Max is, he’s going after her, you have to warn the others” he quickly explains, his breathing rapid, the panic setting in.
“Okay, Will, calm down okay, deep breaths, yeah?” she takes a few deep breaths, he follows her lead. “Okay, when I leave, I will warn the others about Max. But you have to wake up, okay? Do you know how to do that?” Will shakes his head. “you’re stuck in Vecna’s trance, in a memory, one that he has of you. You just need to escape the memory and find a way back to the real world. I’ll get them to play some music, hopefully that will help. It will guide you. You’ve got this.”
“Okay, thanks El” he pulls her into another hug.
“Always” she whispers.
They pull away from each other. He nods to her, determined “let’s do this.”
~
He’s pacing in front of the tub, he can see Will lying on the bed in the other room through the open door. El suddenly emerges from the tub. Mike goes to help her out, speaking rapidly as he does “did you find him? Is he okay? Is he going to wake up?”
El puts a calming had on his shoulder “yes, but I need to get to the hospital, to Max. You need to play music for Will it will provide him guidance to get out of there, got it?”
He nods quickly “okay, yeah, got it.” He rushes to find the old tape player, searching through the tapes they have in the cabin until he finds one that would work for Will. He’s so focused on Will that he doesn’t barely notices Hopper and El leave to get to Max.
He rushes into the room pushing the tape into the player and pressing play as he crouches down next to Will. A moment passes. Then another. And another. Mike starts to worry. He places a hand on Will’s arm, “please, Will. Please wake up. Please.”
He feels Will shift under his hand, “Will?” He sees Wills eyes flutter open as he comes back into himself. Joyce is pulling Will into a hug, relieved to have her son back. As soon as Joyce pulls back from the hug Mike is replacing her, pulling Will into a crushing hug of his own.
They pull apart reluctantly, Will looking between him and Joyce worry etched into his face. “Max, Vecna’s going after her. We need to warn” Mike cuts him off “it’s okay, El’s handling it. She’ll be alright.”
The three of them sit there, together, relieved to have a moment of quiet, to have a moment to just be.