Chapter Text
“We will do great things together William.” Will woke up with a cold sweat down his neck. He started to reach his hand to the back of his neck but as he did the basement door opened. Someone was coming downstairs. Will retreated his hand back to his side.
The Byers had been living with the Wheelers for a few months by now. Jonathan and Will were both packed into the basement, even though Jonathan rarely actually ever slept down there.
“Will you awake?” Jonathan slowly closed the door behind him before making his way down the stairs.
“Yeah I’m awake Jonathan,” Will said rubbing his eyes, still half-asleep. This wasn't the first night Will had a dream like that. No, he had been having "dreams" of Vecna for weeks. First it started with Vecna staring at him. Then the dreams transformed into something else entirely different.
“They have a Crawl scheduled for today are you wanting to head up to the Squawk with me?” Jonathan said hanging on the stair railing.
“Right now?” Will replied.
“Yeah right now. Nancy and Mike are already up there with Steve and Robin,” Jonathan now whispered trying to keep quiet so the rest of the Wheelers don’t wake up.
“Uhm I’ll pass for today,” Will smiled back to Jonathan.
“Okay yeah that's fine bud, just don’t do anything reckless while I’m gone okay?” Jonathan replied.
“Okay,” Will whispered back to Jonathan.
Jonathan grabbed a walkie off the table and made his way to the Squack, leaving Will by himself.
Will got up a few minutes after Jonathan left and threw on a shirt and a pair of shorts. He planned to go out today. Will was hoping to help with some of the damage done from the Upside Down. After taking a sip of water Will started making his way up the stairs. The lights were off. Mrs. and Mr. Wheeler must still be sleeping. Holly as well, knowing this Will quietly made his way outside the house without causing a disturbance. This also meant Will hadn’t ate breakfast.
Will was hungry. He had made his way halfway to the town of foot. Seemingly forgetting his bicycle at home, he decided to go to the towns diner in hopes of finding food to eat. Thats when Will felt it. There was a tingle on his neck again. Just like what he felt when he woke up. Like Will felt many times before. He felt a pull.
Normally he would feel a tingle and it would go away. This time Will felt like a magnet being teased. A magnet that is so close to an iron surface it can't resist but to touch it. Will looked to where he felt the pull coming from. It was the woods. The same woods he had gone missing in when all this first started.
Will tried to think about it for a moment but the pull was to strong. He followed the sensation and made his way into the forest. He walked for over 40 minutes, not making a single detour. He felt it, the sensation was getting stronger which meant he was getting closer to finding something important, something that could help the rest of the party, something that could possibly help defeat Vecna.
Eventually the sensation stopped. Then Will saw it, a clock. Right in the middle of a tree.
“What?” Will said loud enough to where if he was by other people who would get a few side eyes.
‘I remember that they said Max saw a clock when she got mindflayered, is this the same type of clock? Why is the tree so curvy?’
Will took a step forward to get a better look at the tree. The arms of the clock got faster the more Will approached. Will reached up to touch the clock but right when he was about to touch it the clock struck twelve and Will fell down.
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“There was nothing?” Nancy asked inquisitively.
“Nope there wasn’t even a Demogorgon.” Mike replied taking off his gear.
“We’ve gone down what over 10 times and yet we still haven’t seen anything? Are we sure they all didn’t just die when the rift opened or something?” Steve complained taking off his own gas mask.
“Its weird they didn’t come over when the rift opened. Though I doubt all the demogorgons just died.” Dustin mumbled with food in his mouth.
Robin nodded her head agreeing with what Dustin said. Almost the whole party had showed up to the Squawk for the raid. All split into seperate groups with their own roles.
“Wheres Will?” Mike asked directed towards Jonathan who had just entered the room again after using the restroom.
“Will wanted to stay home today, he looked like he needed it so I let him.” Jonathan told Mike before sitting down near Nancy.
Mike furrowed his brows, “but todays the day we get to see Eleven.”
Jonathans eyes widen, “Shit I forgot that was today. Will’s not gonna be happy if he misses seeing her.”
Mike got up from where he was sitting and grabbed Jonathans Walkie off the table. “Will do you copy.”
…
No one answered.
“Will? I said do you copy.” Mike said this time more urgently.
….
Still no answer. Jonathan took the walkie from Mike and radioed in, “Will buddy do you copy?” No answer.
“Maybe he just went out.” Nancy said trying to calm Jonathan down. Who was now pacing around the room chewing at his nails.
“I told him to not do anything reckless. He knows to keep his walkie on him. Fuck, I’m gonna go check on him.” Jonathan said putting the walkie into his pocket.
“I’ll come with you.” Mike stated as quickly as Jonathan finished his sentence.
“Don’t you want to see Eleven?” Nancy asked Mike.
“We radioed the other day its fine.” Mike replied. He had wanted to see Eleven but he wanted Will to be there too. Everytime they had met up it had been the three of them. It felt more natural that way. If Will wasn't there then things would probably become awkward again.
“Okay sure you can come with me just don’t do anything weird.” Jonathan told Mike before he started walking out of the door.
“What the hell does that mean?” Mike asked turning his body to face towards Jonathan.
“Just forget it Mike are you coming or not?” Jonathan said while walking out the front door.
“Yeah I’m coming.” Mike grabbed his jacket on the way out.
They both sat in the car. Jonathan in the front seat and Mike in the back. Mike had tried to sit in the passenger but some reason Jonathan wouldn't let him. Once they had made there way back to the Wheelers both of them went straight for the basement.
“Will?” Jonathan yelled. The Wheeler's were out at this point of the day. Whether talking to neighbors or out in the town nobody knows even their own kids. Since they weren't home Jonathan felt no need to be quiet.
“Will?” Mike also tried calling his name. There was no reply. They looked around a bit more in the basement, even checking the bathroom.
“He’s not here.” Mike said.
Jonathan went back up the stairs of the basement making his way outside. Mike followed right behind him.
“What are you two doing?” Holly asked from behind them on their way out.
“Have you seen Will?” Jonathan asked Holly.
“He snook out the house this morning before mom and dad woke up. I saw him from the stairs when he was on his way out." Holly said crossing her arms, "he didn’t even eat breakfast before he left.”
“Then maybe he went to the diner.” Mike told Jonathan.
“Right. Yeah he probably just went to eat food.” Jonathan said with a bit of relief in his voice. He still wasn't entirely sure if thats true yet.
Both Jonathan and Mike nodded to eachother and got into the car. Going into the direction of the diner.
When they entered the door their eyes wandered all around the diner. This gained them weird looks from the workers.
“He’s not here.” Jonathan said starting to get visibly more anxious.
Nancy radioed in from the Squawk, “have you two found him yet?”
Jonathan and Mike look at each other before Mike radioed back.
“Will… Will’s missing.” Mike replied.
This time Dustin radioed in. “Will’s missing?!”
In the background Mike could hear Eleven, Robin, and Lucas talking.
“We can’t find him and his walkie isn’t responding,” Jonathan responded to Dustin.
…
“You think he's in the Upside Down again?” Lucas asked through the walkie.
“I dont know.” Jonathan replied grabbing onto his jacket a little to tightly.
“Shit.” Dustin said into the walkie.
“Shit.” Mike replied.
Nancy spoke this time. “How about you guys come back up here and we can make a plan.”
“Okay yeah I’ll be there in 10.” Jonathan told Nancy.
Jonathan started walking to the car before noticing Mike wasn't following him. “You coming Mike?”
“Actually I think I’m gonna keep looking in this area.” Mike replied to Jonathan.
“Sure just make sure to keep your walkie on you. We don't need two people with unknown whereabouts.” Jonathan told Mike.
Mike nodded back to Jonathan before they both went their seperate ways.
Mike had a feeling that they were on the right path. Will couldn't have just disappeared in thin air. Mike decided to walk back towards the direction of his home hoping that he’d be able to spot something. Thats when it hit him. The forest he is walking by is the same one Will went missing in. That of course could have meant nothing. It was just a normal forest after all. But that wasn't all that had made Mike look that way. The date. The date was November 6th. The same day Will went missing into those woods. Mike looked at the road, then he looked back to the trees, then looked back at the road again. After making sure there were no cars nearby to see him Mike ran into the woods. He wasn’t sure what direction he was runnig in all he knew was that Will could be in serious danger right now and if he was then Mike was the only one who would be able to help.
Mike was running. He didn’t know how long he had been running all he knew is that his legs were killing him. It must've been at least an hour. Well maybe thats a bit overkill. He really hated running.
“Will?” Mike yelled. “Will?!” Mike yelled again before tripping over something. He catched himself using a tree before he had completely fallen over.
When he looked down to see what he tripped on that's when he saw it. Will, it was Will. Mike had tripped on his bestfriend. Who was now covered in vines and dirt.
“Will?” Mike bent down ripping the vines off Wills body, luckily they weren’t stuck on him to tightly.
“Will are you okay—“ Mike felt Will’s skin. He’s cold. Too cold. Mike looked at Will's eyes. White. Will's eyes were fully white, his pupils rolled back.
“Will?” Mike put his head to Will’s heart checking for a heartbeat.
It's stopped. Wills heart isn’t beating. It hadn't been beating for fuck who knows how long.
“Mike eyes started to water. He didn't want them too water but he couldn't stop it. “W-Will? No, no, no, no, no, I can’t— I,” Mike grabbed Will’s body and brought it up to him positioning Will's head neck to his neck.
“No you can’t die I can’t deal with this again, please Will.” Mike felt for Will’s pulse again. Still nothing.
Will’s gone. He's dead. And Mike wasn't there to save him.
Mike tried to pick up Will’s body but he was too weak. Will died alone.
“Mike? Have you found any clues in town?”
It was Lucas.
“No. Th-theres nothing here.” Mike said trying to control the turmoil in his voice.
… “You okay man you sound a bit raspy or something dude.” Lucas asked Mike.
“Yeah all good here- just ran a lot.” Mike said staring right at Will’s body. Should he just tell them?
“If you haven’t found anything you think you could make your way backup here?”
… “Sorry I got something I have to do.” Mike said before standing up and brushing the dirt off of his pants.
“What but Mike—“
Mike turned off the walkie. He bent down next to Will. His eyes started to water again, and once they started he couldn’t stop. He stayed there for who knows how long, he didn't want to leave. He couldn't just leave Will's body.
“Will…” Mike rubbed his eyes. “I’m so sorry Will, I couldn’t protect you like I was supposed to. You were fine this morning, Jonathan said that you were just tired. So why… why are you dead?”
Mike wasn’t sure what to do. So he decided after he had calmed down to radio back in and tell them to meet him by the forest. He wasn't sure what he was going to tell them once he saw them but he knew he couldn't just keep it a secret. Nancy had answered his radio and they decided to meet up in 40 minutes. He made his way back out of the woods to meet up with Nancy this time not running. Which took him twice the amount of time to get out but he just couldn't. He didn't have the energy to run.
“Mike did you find him?” Nancy asked stepping outside of her car.
“I-“ Mike was about to her what happened when suddenly the radio turned on Nancy's walkie.
“I found Will. He is with me and Joyce.” El said into the walkie.
Huh? El found Will? But thats impossible Mike had just seen... Mike had seen it right?
Nancy radioed back, “Alright we’ll make our way over to where you guys are, is Will okay?”
“Will is fine, no injuries. Just quieter,” El said in a slightly concerned voice.
Nancy turned her attention back to Mike once they finished their conversation over the radio. “Mike did you find anything important?”
“Oh uh— no… I just needed a ride.” Mike said grinning to Nancy. His eyes still red.
Nancy scurrowed her eyebrows but decided not to question him. “Okay just get in.”
They made their way to the cabin which is where Will, El, Joyce, and Hopper were. The rest of the party already left. Lucas to the hospital to visit Max. Dustin, Steve, and Robin had made plans the other day so after making sure Will was okay they had decided to stick to them.
Mike and Nancy entered the cabin. The door had been left open probably because Hopper went out for a smoke. They could hear Jonathan and Will talking in the distance.
“You scared the crap out of me Will,” Jonathan said holding Will's hand. Both of them were sitting on the edge of the couch.
“I know Jonathan I didn’t mean too.” Will's voice answered Jonathan. He was safe. Mike relaxed at hearing Will's voice.
“As long as your safe thats all that matters right now.” Jonathan squeezed Will's hand before getting up and walking out the door. Giving Mike a chance to go in.
Mike looked into the room, it was Will. it was Will’s brown hair, his smile and his bunny-like teeth. Will turned his head his eyes catching Mikes.
“Ah Michael.” Will beamed smiling to Mike.
Michael? Will always calls him Mike, not Michael. Thats when Mike noticed it. Wills eyes weren't hazel, they were brown.
“Sorry if I worried you guys I just forgot the walkie at home, an old lady down the street needed help packing up her things.” “Will” said with a bright smile on his face.
Mike just stared.
———————————
Mike never told anyone what he had saw.
What if he imagined Will’s eyes being darker? It could have just been the lighting. Except it wasn’t. No, the next day, and the next day after that, Will’s eyes were still darker. Not Green, not hazel, brown. Dark brown. Possibly even darker than the first time he noticed.
… It had been over a week since the day Will helped the "old lady". Now both Mike and Will sat outside of the Squawk.
“And thats when I told El that I hadn’t ever heard of Dory Previn I mean I hadn’t even heard of the artist 'til she brought it up—“
“Hey Will?” Mike said pressing his hands tightly together. His hands felt sweaty. Mike and Will had been talking well over an hour by themselves at this point. Well more like Will was talking, but that doesn’t matter.
“Yeah Michael?” He replied.
Mike gulped, looking straight at Will’s eyes. “Your not the real Will are you?”
…..
“How… How did you know?” The fake “Wills” eyes turned completely black. The “Will” leaned forward towards Mike before wrapping his arms around him.
“Please don’t tell anyone—" What? Its not going to just kill Mike? “Will” squeezed Mike harder. “I don’t want to have to kill him,” Giving Mike a half-assed hug.
Mike froze. Oh. This entity had Will. Will was alive. Will was alive and this thing had him.
The “Will” had tears falling from his face.
“Where is he?” Mike asked.
“Hes safe... Just in my world now.” The thing answered him.
‘His world?’
“Are you Vecna?” Mike asked the entity.
“Vecna?” It asked back.
Right Vecna is a DnD term. “Henry, 001?,”
“Ahh me and Henry in a way are one but I am not him. You could consider him me if you wanted.” The entity inhibiting Will told Mike. … “So your the Mind Flayer.”
“I am what ever I desire to be,” the creature said smiling just like how Will smiles. How Will smiled.
Mike slowly attempts to scoot away from the creature pushing it off him. “Where is Will?”
The Mindflayer looked at Mike tilting its head ever so slightly. “William is safe for now just… resting.”
...
“You won’t touch him if I don’t tell anyone?” Mike asked it.
“I won’t kill William if you don’t tell anyone.”
Mike was about to retort back but then someone opened the door of the Squawk. Robin had interrupted their converstion.
“Hey little Byers can I borrow you for a minute?” Robin asked before dragging “Will” with her.
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