Chapter Text
♪♫♪
Once upon a time, there was a railroad line…
Now this railroad line didn’t lead to just anywhere,
It led all the way down, to the upside down.
Now it was hard times in the land of Hawkins. People often took what they could get, some had more, than some had zip, but no matter how many times it happened it ended the same.
They would disappear, and it was their fate to never return.
Only one person ever traveled between words, and her name was Patty.
When she would arrive every six months; stepping off the train, warmth and positivity would shine. Everything and everyone in Hawkins would light up.
It was always the most beautiful time of the year.
And if you rode the train back down, where coldness and negativity thrived, you meet the man that goes by many names. Some called him One, as in the first one to venture down the tracks. Others who knew him before called him Henry.
But everyone knew him as Vecna.
Now this story isn’t only about them, it’s about another pair.
There was a poor Paladin.
“La, la-la,la,la,la,”
And he was working on a song.
Now this Paladin was gifted. He had great power, because his songs combined with his spells, he could bring life back to them.
But he was orphaned at a young age, so he was taken under a wing. And there he stayed. Until one day, a boy came along, a Cleric.
A boy coming on in from the cold.
“Does anybody have a match?"
And thus begins the tale of The Cleric and the Paladin.
.⚘.𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘.
William the Cleric came from nothing. He blew where the wind would take him, his whole life on his back. He knew what his fate was; he knew what followed him. So he did what he could to survive, and so he traveled alone, hungry, and aching.
Michael the Paladin was abandoned from a young age. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and often was told how naive he was, but he had a way with words and spells. Everyone told him he had a rhythm and melody that only the gods could make. So he combined his gifts for the good of others.
Then one day he saw him.
“Michael…”
“Yes!” He responded eagerly, stopping in his tracks. His shoes squeaked against the building's hardwood floors.
“Don’t come on too strong.”
He nodded, making his way to the boy sitting down at the old table, folding a piece of paper to make a flower as he walked. The boy turned to him, and Michael spoke. “Come home with me.” He stretched out his arm, presenting the paper flower.
The boy in the purple star cloak raised his eyebrows. “Um, who are you?”
“The man who’s gonna take care of you.” He sang. “I’m Mike.”
The boy gave questioning looks to those around. “Is he always like this?” He asked, and they responded with, “Yes.”
“I’m Will.” He said.
“That’s a beautiful name.” Mike sighed, in a melody.
“Do you always sing?” He asked; leaning an elbow on the table.
“I also play the lyre it’s—”
“Oh you’re a liar okay—”
“No no, not like that, it’s a guitar.”
“Mmm.” Will hummed. “What else do you do?”
“I write songs that cast spells, I’m working on one now. It's not done yet— but when it is, the warmth will come again.” Mike said excitedly.
“Come again?” he asked.
“The warmth and light will come back.”
“When? ‘Cause I haven’t felt it warm here in… I actually can’t remember.”
“That’s why I’m writing this, to fix everything again. To take all that is broken here and make it new. Bringing back the flowers, the sun, so everything can bloom, once you become mine.”
Will sat there, eyes wide. “Oh, you’re crazy.”
“We could be crazy together.” Mike smiled, kneeling down to him.
“Now why would I do that?”
“Because, he’ll make you feel alive.” A voice answered.
“Hmm, alive?”
Mike nodded.
“That would be worth a lot.” Will said standing up. “Now tell me, Mike.”
“Yes?” Mike stood up with stars in his eyes.
He’d never seen someone so handsome in his life. The way he spoke with a confidence he’d never seen, the way his brown hair ruffled in the wind, and the way his eyes glowed like green gems when he gazed into them.
He looked somehow familiar to him.
“How would you afford to take care of me? Hmm?" He spoke walking a few feet away. “Time’s are hard here in Hawkins, how do you plan on doing anything?”
Will doubted this Paladin could help him. Nobody else in his life had been able to make him feel secure. What did he have that others didn’t? What was so special about this one?
“My song. Once I finish it I could give you the life you deserve.”
“Oh, Mike. This world does not work that way. You can’t just sing a song, and make everything okay.” He scoffed.
“But I can.” Mike responded, stepping towards him again.
“Okay.” Will said, passing Mike and stepping to the higher level of the floor. “So when you sing your song— the one you’ve been working on, everything will be better.”
“Yes!” Mike said, chasing after him again like a lost puppy.
“Then sing it.”
“It’s not done yet—”
“Sing it.” Will turned to face him. “You wanna take me home, don’t you?” He spoke in a low voice, sitting down and looking up at Mike through his lashes.
The Paladin's face turned a bright shade of red. “Yes.”
“Then sing it.” Will asked again.
Mike reluctantly grabbed his guitar from the corner of the room, and sat on the stool next to it— clearing his throat to sing.
“La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-” He sang, his voice catching the attention of everyone around, including Will’s. “La-la-la-la-la-la”
His voice was like butter, the way the tune slipped out naturally.
Then things around them started to change. The lights above them flickered— getting brighter, the air around them grew hotter, and the dead vines around them grew alive.
Then a small green carnation grew from his guitar as he played.
This Paladin did have a gift.
“How did you— how did you do that?” Will shot up from the floor, staring at Mike. He’d never seen a Paladin have that much power.
“I don’t know, but the song still isn’t finished; I still have to work the spells into it for it to work properly.” He answered
“But even un-finished you can do this.” He said looking around. The vines were slowly blooming flower buds, and the lights were bright, and the air was still warm.
“You have to finish this song.”
The doubt that once lingered in Will’s mind disappeared. Mike had just proven something he hadn’t thought was possible; he made him believe. “I’ll be yours.”
“You will?” Mike said, standing up leaving the guitar, walking towards the Cleric again.
“Yes.”
Mike swept Will up into a hug, and that’s all it took.
All it took for Will to have hope that maybe his fate would change. That just maybe there was good in the world, and someone would be able to save him. That perhaps this was the person he had been waiting for this whole time.
Pulling back from the hug, he looked into Mike’s eyes. This boy knew no pain; he didn’t look aware of how the world was— how cruel it could be. His heart looked like it never even knew the cold; only the warmth. So Will gave him his, trusting that his warm heart would hold his.
Will brought his hands up to Mike’s face and pulled him down, sealing their love with a kiss. Even his kiss felt the way his words did, warm, passionate, and magical.
.⚘.𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘
“Michael.” The voice asked.
“Yes?”
“Where did you hear that tune you sang?”
Mike thought about where he’d heard it, but he couldn’t remember. It’s as if the tune was always there— always in the back of his mind. “Oh, I don’t know, it just came to me one day.”
“Do you remember the story I told you?”
“Which one?” Mike asked, sitting down on a chair next to his guitar.
“The one about Ve— Henry and Patty, how it used to be their love that made Hawkins as beautiful as it used to be.”
“Yeah,” he responded. “But that was long ago,”
“So tell it again.”
And so he did, he re-told the story of Henry and Patty’s love. How it was them– together, that brought light around Hawkins.
During their time everyone was happy, there was no upside down. There was just the world above it. Henry Creel had come to Hawkins from far away when he was a young boy, and there during school is where he met her, Patty Newby.
The pair started off as strangers, as all love stories do.
But then bad things started to happen. Henry did things that scared people, so everyone backed away. Everyone but Patty even when her brother warned her, so he found shelter in her. He trusted her with his heart, and she cared for it.
Then Patty got hurt, and it destroyed Henry. It was all an accident, something he didn’t have full control over. They were never the same after that, He rarely let her out of his site because of what he almost did.
That incident is what caused Henry to go down the railroad line, a path he wouldn’t come back from. Patty stayed by his side for most of it, but she still returned. She returned every six months to give them light and hope, then once her energy was spent she’d go back down.
Back down below.
In the present day, Patty was returning again. The air outside shifted as her train pulled into town. The warm seasons started to bloom as she made her way back to the rightside up. Everyone gathered to the main building to greet her.
“I’m back!” Patty cheered stepin’ off the train, in her old fashioned blue dress.
The celebration then began. Everything was right in the world once again. The birds were chirping, the frogs were croaking, and the people were singing. It’s as if everything regained the will to live.
“See I told you.” Mike said, his arms wrapped around Will. “I told you things would get better again, you just had to believe.”
Mike was right, maybe he did have to just believe.“I see that.” Will responded. “I just never thought I’d see the world light up like this, I’ve only ever dreamed of it.”
“Well then,” Mike grabbed glasses of drinks for them to celebrate. “A toast.” Mike spoke, getting the attention of everyone around them as he handed a glass to his Cleric.
“To what?” A red head in the crowd asked.
“To the sunshine and the fruit on the vine, and to the world we dream about, be the one we live in now” He said, clanking his glass with Will’s.
It was rare when Hawkins came together like this. Accept and celebrate everyone, no matter their differences. It wasn’t a usual sight you would see in this town, because normally it was full of hatred.
And most people knew that– in fact everyone knew that, but the Paladin wasn’t like most people.
He could make anyone believe that the world could be better, despite the way things were. It was something about the way he saw things— he saw an opportunity where others would see a road block. He knew things could be different if he tried enough to change it, he believed if he showed he cared that others would follow too.
And the Cleric, he knew how the world was. He had lived long enough to see the hatred that surrounded them. He had witnessed enough to know better, but still, he fell in love. He fell in spite of what he knew and believed in.
He fell in love with the Paladin.
Will never realized what he was missing until now. All he’s ever known was being alone, and for so long he didn’t know what it was like to have someone there. To feel protected, cared for, and loved, because there was never someone to hold him close.
When he was with Mike, everything felt right in the world— like nothing could ruin what they had. Will never knew someone like him could exist, because most Paladins he had met were rougher around the edge. They weren’t anywhere near as carefree as Mike was. It amazed him how he saw the world, he wanted to live in the one he envisioned.
He never wanted this feeling to end— to go back to being alone. He finally had someone who cared about him and someone whom he could care for; it’s all he could ever ask for. It’s all he has ever wanted.
Mike considers himself the luckiest Paladin in the world.
He poured all his love and devotion into what he loves, Will now being a part of that.
He thinks back to the first day he met him. There was something different about Will when he saw him. It wasn’t love at first sight; it felt like something else entirely. It felt like he knew him already— like seeing an old friend you hadn’t seen since you were a child. He felt like he knew what his favorite color was, or what his favorite season could be. It felt like he had always known him.
.⚘.𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.
Way down, way down, way down to the upside down
Way down under the ground
Way down to the other way around
And just like that Patty was gone, and the cold came back.
The happiness that once filled the air was now gone.
He took her too soon.
The weather would only get worse from here. The people would grow cruel and mean under these conditions again, and the once ripe fruit would go rotten leaving people hungry. What used to be warm and beautiful would soon dwindle into nothing once again.
Mike paced back and forth in their dining room, scribbling out words on his paper. The stress of finishing his song started to take over. He was supposed to finish it before this happened.
He thought he had more time.
“Mike, please sit down, you're making me dizzy.” The Cleric said, sitting at their table.
“I have to finish this first.”
“I know, but you need to relax, maybe go out and get food. We haven’t got any left, and the firewood is running low as well,” Will looks up to see Mike not paying attention to him. “Michael? Did you hear me?”
The Paladin spun around leaving the room.
“Where are you going?” He called after him, getting up to follow. “There's a storm coming in, we have to be prepared.”
The sound of a door slamming echoed in the house.
“Fine, I’ll do it myself.”
The Paladin locked himself away, rehearsing, re-writing, and trying his best to fix the spell into the song. He only had the capability for so much magic, but for some reason, it wasn’t working. Something was missing— something he couldn’t figure out. He needed to do this, to bring back all that was good, for everyone.
He sang the spell over and over again. He couldn’t find the tune, or the rhythm to match his words.
Look up!
Something had to be wrong with the spell, had he written it down wrong? Was there something he didn’t know?
Tree branches smacked the window outside as the Paladin tried to focus.
Maybe his guitar was out of tune. He twisted the strings, strumming each time he changed it.
Outside the wind blew angrily.
Will held his cloak close to him, the wind biting his skin harshly.
The storm had arrived.
Branches in the woods snapped underneath his feet, along with the crunch of the autumn leaves. He tried to collect what he could, but they kept blowing away, deeper and deeper into the darkness. The wind made it hard to see; it caused his eyes to keep watering. He didn't see the tree that had fallen in front of him. He tripped over it— falling onto the ground, and letting go of his cloak.
The wind picked up again, blowing the leaves away, his star covered cloak along with it. The cold was too much to handle, and in the darkness of the forest around him, he had no idea where he was.
“Mike!” He called out, hoping he would hear him. “Mike!”
But there was no answer.
His heart ached in his chest, and tears began to well in his eyes. He stumbled as he got up, and continued walking in the direction he thought he came from, but that’s when he heard it— he heard someone.
“Hello, little sorcerer.” The man's voice echoed.
Will turn towards the voice. “Hello?”
“You seem lost.”
“I am, please, can you tell me the way back to town.” Will plead. “I need to get back home.”
“It’s always the young and innocent ones that end up here.”
Will stood there in the dark, trying to refocus his eyes. The man was wearing a brown tailored outfit, along with a hat. It wasn't something people from around here worn— at least not anymore.
Taking a closer look he realized who he was speaking with— but that couldn’t be true. He never came up to this side of the world. “You’re not real.” He said, squeezing his eyes shut.
“I can give you everything you need. Shelter, food, a better life, and more. Just take my hand little one.”
“No no, go away, you’re not real.”
“You have nothing to lose young Cleric, I can help you. Open your eyes, and take my hand.”
Where is Michael when you need him? Why isn’t he here? It was supposed to be the two of them always. Weren’t they going to go crazy together, like he said?
“He isn’t coming.”
“What?” Will let out a gasp.
“Your knight in shining armor isn’t going to find you, he’s too busy to take care of you. Only I can help you now, so take this.”
Will felt something be placed in his hand, but he refused to open his eyes.. “What is it?” he asked.
“Your ticket.”
Will stood in the raging cold, thinking maybe this was it, this was his fate. His gut growled in the night, and his heart ached. His love for Mike would never change no matter what, but right now, it was dark and he was lost, and he was hungry.
There was only one thing he could do now.
The Cleric was given a ticket, a ticket to the world below, to the upside down.
And he used it.
.⚘.𖤣.𖥧.𖡼
“Will!” Mike shouted out in their home, but there was no answer. It was cold and empty. He ran out into the hallway. “I finished the song, my love. Where are you?”
It wasn't like Will to run off like this.
Then the panic set in.
He ran out the door, ignoring the cold as he sprinted. He ran down the pebble road into the town, where maybe someone knew where he’d gone. Someone had to know something, so he ran straight into the main building, throwing the doors open with force. “William! Are you here!” He called out.
“Hey, there's the brave Paladin! How's that thing you're working on going?”
“Where’s William?” He asked, searching the faces in the room.
“Pfft, Why do you care? You’ll find another Cleric somewhere.”
“Where is he?”
“Why do you wanna know?”
“Wherever he goes is where I’ll go.” Mike still scanned the room, hoping that he would appear.
“And what if I said he was down below?”
Mike felt his blood run cold. “What?”
“He called your name, did you not hear?
“No, I didn't," he admitted.
“It’s too late now, he’s gone down below, deep in the upside down.”
“No, that can’t be.” He felt the room start to spin. That couldn’t be true, not his Cleric, not his Will. “I’ll get him back.”
“And how will you do that? You haven’t got a ticket.”
“I’ll find a way. I would go to the end of time— to the end of the earth to bring him home. I would do anything.”
“Well I can help.”
“How?”
How to get to the upside down
You’ll have to take the long way down
Through the path of Mirkwood, dark at night
Laying low, out of the monsters sight
There ain’t no compass, and there ain’t no map
Just the old lights wrapped around the railroad track
You have to keep walking, and not look back
‘Til you get to the end of the vine covered tracks
So that’s what the Paladin did, he walked the road. Whispering for his love to wait for him, humming a tune he finally perfected. All to bring him back.