Chapter Text
Ragged breathing echoes in the subterranean caverns.
Long shadows draw in closer.
A panicked voice, “Stay back!”
A violent, metallic bang echoes in the enclosed space.
“My name is Henry Creel, I just want to help.”
A second shot is heard distantly, but the first sense is the icy hot rush of nerves, flesh, bone being hit.
Blood, so much blood.
Whispers, shadows, power… then the deafening sound of silence.
Exterior Field in Hawkins, March 29, 1986
Will’s world view tilts sideways, swaying at the images that flood through his head. The warm press of Mike’s hand on his shoulder steadies him.
He blinks to refocus his vision on the large shadow of the Mind Flayer looming over Hawkins, his voice sounds far away even to his own ears, “Do you see that?”
“Yeah, we’re seeing that.” It is Nancy who answers.
“Will, are you okay? Is it Vecna?” Mike’s hand is still firmly on Will.
With a shaky exhale, Will tears his gaze from the shadow to Mike, “He’s still alive, he’s hurt, but I can still feel him.”
Hopper asks, “Who the hell is Vecna?”
“Dudes, are you seeing this giant shadow monster?” Argyle appears at the tree line, holding up some of his foraged mushrooms.
“Vecna is a dark wizard,” Mike begins. “He’s connected to the mind flayer-”
“The Upside Down,” Will adds.
“And the fall of Hawkins, I don’t know how he’s still alive. Steve, Robin and I - we saw him fall. They set him on fire, I shot him several times…”
“What the hell?”
“I can stop him,” El says.
“No. No way,” Hopper says, a bit too rough. “If they couldn’t take him down, what makes you think-”
“I stopped him before, Dr. Owens and Brenner showed me in Nevada. I sent him away once, I can do it again.”
“No-”
“El,” Mike interrupts. “If our Vecna is anything like DnD Vecna, you can’t do this alone. He is a lich - they are these undead powerful spellcasters. And the only way that I know of to kill them for sure is through their phylachtery. That is-” (Pronounced: Phil - act - tory)
“Their heart, the thing they tie their soul to,” Will exhales in realization. “And it would be incredibly difficult to get to.”
“Well do we know what this phil-archery for Vecna is?” Hopper asks.
“Phylachtery and well… no.”
“I can see if I can reach him, in his mind then. If I can figure out what he has attached himself to, he is weak, I can do it.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea.”
“Uh, hey guys, is snow supposed to melt flowers?” Argyle holds what was once a wild flower, the bud completely wilted and black.
The dust particles over Hawkins, similar to the ones that once were contained to the Upside Down, are coming down in sheets. The particles disappear when they touch plants, that wilt and decay, a haze makes seeing any farther than 30 feet ahead difficult.
“Let’s move indoors, plan our next steps,” Joyce says. “If what the kids are saying is right - we should strike while Vecna is weak.”
Interior Cabin
“So we agree on the plan?” Mike asks as he pauses from his pacing in front of the group..
Hopper, Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy are crammed on to the couch they flipped back into an upright position. Will is leaning on the back of the couch behind Joyce and Jonathan.
The distant static of a radio can be heard from the other room where Eleven has been searching in the mind.
The plan was shit. But to be fair, there were not a whole lot of better options. Everyone in town thought Hopper was dead. The military is actively searching to capture Eleven. The Byers had no way to get back to California at the present, and even if they could, Hawkins was in imminent danger. And-
“I can not find him,” There is an edge to Eleven’s voice.
“Okay, so Hopper, you and Argyle head back to Nevada. Hopper will see if he can track Owens, and Argyle can get back to California.
“But first, if you take us to the school shelter. Will, El and I can get Steve and Dustin, Steve can drive us around town to round up the others to meet up in my basement .
“Nancy and Jonathan you can drive Ms. Byers over to my house. Help with getting everyone’s parents out of danger, and keep an eye on things. Then we’ll meet you two downstairs.
“Thoughts? Suggestions?”
“Let’s end this.”
Interior Hawkins General Hospital
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Lucas did his best to resist the call of sleep, to just rest his eyes for a moment, with the steady beeping of the heart monitor and the clock in Max’s hospital room. He is positive he is awake as he is jolted upright by the piercing beep of a flatline.
Once, twice, three times he frantically pushed the nurse call button.
“Help, Erica! Someone help!” He could feel the sweat on the back of his neck. His blood runs cold as he reluctantly steps away from Max into the hallway. Medical staff rush in his direction, even voices giving directions are heard, but none of the words seem to make any sense to Lucas.
Erica returns from the vending machine down the hall, finding Lucas sitting with his back against the wall, knees up to his chest outside of Max’s door.
“Maxine isn’t gone. She’s with me in here,” A voice that did not belong to Erica came from her mouth. “She was the fourth and final sacrifice. Hawkins is now mine, and soon everyone will be too, Lucas.”
Lucas blinks, and finds himself sitting in the hallway. A wetness tickles the top of his lip, he wipes it with the back of his sleeve which becomes stained red. Shakily, he pulls himself up to stand, only to find the room that was occupied by Max is now empty.
“Lucas!”
He turns his head too fast, his vision tilts, but Lucas catches himself on the doorframe.
“Woah, hey, Lucas! Man, are you alright?” He recognizes these voices, Will and Mike.
“Max,” he chokes out.
“Erica said the doctors told her that Max is… in the ICU. Erica is in the car with Steve and Dustin, we have to go.”
“I can’t leave her here.”
“Lucas, Vecna is still out there. We need to get him while he is weak if we stand any chance of getting Max back. And we will, I believe that we’ll come up with a plan that will save Max, save Hawkins.”
Exterior Hawkins
At dusk, the town of Hawkins - which should be bathed in darkness - is still very much alight. The orange glow of the rifts slashing the town in 4 have stabilized enough for the small military presence to create temporary ramps for vehicles.
The static buzz of radio communication can be heard across town. Rumors of a larger military presence. The idea of a townwide evacuation is dismissed. They are setting up plans for a quarantine.
A military vehicle is driving around the town blaring a recorded message from Mayor Kline, “Townwide curfew is in effect starting from 6pm tonight until 6am tomorrow morning. Lock your doors. Stay inside.”
The particles and smoke have created a thick haze around the town.
Steve’s packed bimmer pulls into the Wheeler’s driveway, the house lights are on. The Party hurries into the Wheeler house, shirts up to their noses to avoid the hazy air as they bunker down for the night.
Interior Basement
Sleeping bags, blankets and pillows are strewn over the carpeted floor. Though Mike does not anticipate much sleep actually happening tonight when they have nearly everyone here, in one place, ready to put an end to Vecna’s curse.
Funny, how just one week prior, Mike had been down here with Dustin and Lucas working on their character sheets for Eddie’s final campaign. Eddie Munson. Mike recalls the missing posters, and gives a long sideways glance to Dustin who is uncharacteristically quiet. How much has changed in just one week?
Scanning the room, Mike belatedly realizes that everyone is waiting for something. Oh, right, they’re waiting for some grand plan. The idea he promised - some dream idea that would get them out of this mess.
Erica huffs looking down at her watch, “So do you nerds actually have a plan? Or are we in deep shit?”
Dustin mumbles something that vaguely sounds like, What’s the point? We were wrong, Vecna won. Lucas nods along with him.
Only Will, El, and the older teens are looking at Mike like he holds all the answers.
He sighs, “I have a theory.”
“A theory, Mike,” Lucas scrubs a hand over his face. “You do realize people are dying? Max could be-”
“Do you have any bright ideas, Sinclair?” Steve speaks up. “Because we lost Eddie, the military can’t do shit, and, once again, it is up to us to figure this shit out on our own.”
Mike feels the burning gaze of everyone in the room. And he launches into his plan, “El, you couldn’t find Vecna, One, Henry - whatever we want to call - him before, right?”
“He’s still here though,” Will interrupts. “I have a direct connection to him, I don’t know why or how, but maybe…”
“I can look in Will’s mind,” El nods. “I couldn’t find him alone, but maybe I can follow the connection from Will to Henry.”
“Okay, so step one is to find Henry. There we can learn what his weakness - his phylachtery - is and work from there. In the meantime, we should be ready to defend ourselves-”
“How do we do that if Kate Bush couldn’t even protect Max?”
“Max wasn’t listening to music when Vecna got her, so we need to get access to music. We need to be ready just in case Vecna tries to go after us.”
“What if he is already inside our heads?” Lucas asks.
The room feels like it drops 10 degrees as everyone nervously looks around.
“But, we would know, right?” Jonathan says. “Isn’t it kind of obvious when someone is in a trance?”
“Not exactly,” Nancy shakes her head. “When I went under, it was just for a moment and it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn’t. But I’ve been fine since… I remember Fred was acting a bit strange before Vecna got him.”
Another uncomfortable silence.
“He’s weak, the chances that we’re in his mind are-”
“Not zero,” Dustin grumbles.
“Not helping,” Steve chides.
“Guys,” The group refocuses on Mike. “We need to come together if we want to stand any chance at ending Vecna and saving the town. Now for attacking Vecna once we learn what his weakness is, it will take everyone’s help. We have some time, but we need to get access to weapons. Any ideas?”
Interior Basement Bathroom
Behind the thin wooden door separating the Wheeler basement to the half bath, El and Will sit shoulder to shoulder with their eyes covered by long sleeve shirts from the clean laundry pile. The running water from the sink faucet blends into the static from the radio. The occasional murmur from the other side of the door bleeds through, though, El maintains her focus.
In the black void, she searches for Will.
Will tries to keep his breathing even, but the pounding of his heart beat feels unnaturally loud. Focus on a memory, that is what El told him to do. Creasing his brows together in concentration, Will falls.
Then he feels the rush of wind, freezing air with the stinging kiss of tree branches as he falls in the Upside Down. He hits the ground, only he is physically fine, it’s his younger self that lays on the ground unconscious.
Will approaches the scene with caution, despite the fact that El told him these memories can’t physically hurt him, he is afraid.
A demogorgon lands on the group near his unconscious form, hauling him through the Upside Down. Transfixed, Will follows, hoping El will reach him soon. In the dilapidated library, Will’s unconscious body is tossed on the ground as the demogorgon retreats. A grotesque figure with reddish purple flesh and scarred, emerges and lifts up his body. Vecna, his mind supplies an answer, as he watches the pulsating vines wrap around his younger self.
“Will!”
“El, thank god, you’re here.”
She is looking at the tall, gross figure that is now attaching a fleshy mask to Will. The real Will averts his gaze, gagging at the sight.
“He needed you.”
“We burned the particles out of me, but it feels like a part of him never left.”
“Do you see anything here that feels like… like that part of him?”
Will looks around, avoiding the area where his child form is held to the wall by Vecna’s vines. There is not much in the room that isn’t touched by the gross squelching vines. His gaze lands on the ceiling, where several vines dangle, a chandelier hangs lights flickering. Will nods to El.
They both extend their hands and upon contact they are no longer in the run down Upside Down library. A long dining table separates Will and El. It’s daytime.
“Henry! Henry, stop!”
El follows the sound, Will not far behind her as they see two blond children in the foyer. A girl halfway down the staircase as the boy, Henry, is looking up at her with tears in his eyes, “Alice, let me go.”
“You don’t want that, I know that’s a lie.”
“What choice do I have?”
“This town, it’s a fresh start,” She argues. “Let’s go down to Melvald's to grab a milkshake. We can make the choice to-”
“I can’t stay here. Don’t you see? I’m hurting you by staying!”
“You’ll hurt me more if you leave!”
“Alice,” he whispers, closing his eyes. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
The girl doesn’t make a sound as her eyes turn white.
“This girl, his sister, is important to him,” El looks between the pair.
“But didn’t Nancy say that Henry killed his whole family? How can she be what he bonded his soul to?”
“I don’t think it happened here. We need another memory of Henry’s.”
2 Days Ago, Exterior Upside Down
The facade of the Creel house is run down and dark.
A low growl, an exhale came from a scarred form, weakened, but not dead at the front steps of the house.
A shadowy mist transports him away. Leaving the dying embers of fire in his wake. The three teens are able to escape, for now.
A temporary set back that the connection to the vines, and demo-creatures is severed. Vecna feels some strength draw back to him as the world shakes, with the final rift open in Hawkins, there is hope for a better world. Tonight the work can begin.