Chapter Text
Robin Buckley couldn’t remember the last time any of them had been alone.
Not really alone.
It was always pairs—like some unspoken rule.
Nancy and Jonathan.
El and Mike.
Will and Dustin.
Hopper and Joyce.
And her… and Steve.
Except Lucas. Lucas practically lived at the hospital now, barely leaving Max’s side.
The rest of them were crammed into Joyce’s living room, the TV flickering with some terrible sitcom rerun. The laugh track echoed too loudly in the small space, fake and hollow.
No one was really watching.
They hadn’t been sleeping much. None of them.
Robin shifted slightly, her hand tightening around Steve’s. She didn’t even think about it anymore—it just happened. Grounding.
Steve squeezed back without looking at her.
That helped.
God, she didn’t know what she’d do without him.
If all of this—Upside Down, monsters, near-death trauma bonding—had never happened? She probably would’ve still hated him.
Now he was… everything.
Her best friend.
Her safe place.
The only person who knew.
A sharp pain suddenly split through her head.
Robin flinched, sucking in a breath as she yanked her hand away, pressing it to her temple.
“Hey—” Steve turned immediately. “You okay?”
Nancy leaned forward. “Robin?”
“Yeah,” Robin said quickly, too quickly. “Just—uh—just thirsty.”
She stood, a little unsteady. The room tilted for half a second.
“Do you want me to come with you, honey?” Joyce asked softly.
“I’m fine,” Robin said, forcing a smile. “Promise.”
She made it to the kitchen, gripping the counter as another wave of pain hit. It pulsed behind her eyes, deep and wrong.
Something’s not right.
She grabbed a glass, filled it, drank fast. The cold water didn’t help.
Nothing did.
When she walked back in, everyone was looking at her.
Not normal looking.
Staring.
She sat down slowly next to Steve again.
The sitcom laugh track cut out.
Silence.
“Was that PTSD or something?” Jonathan said.
Robin blinked. “…What?”
His tone felt off. Flat. Almost… amused.
“We know,” Dustin said.
Her stomach dropped.
“We know your secret.”
Robin’s breath caught. Her eyes snapped to Steve.
He didn’t look at her.
Didn’t react.
Didn’t defend her.
“You wouldn’t,” she whispered.
Nothing.
“Do you seriously not trust us?” Joyce said, her voice stretching unnaturally, like a warped tape. “After everything we’ve done for you?”
Robin’s chest tightened.
“I—I don’t—what secret?” she tried, weakly.
“Oh, come on,” Will said. His voice was cold. Wrong. “Your parents.”
The word hit like a punch.
Robin froze.
She had only told Steve.
Only Steve.
Her vision flickered.
The room… shifted.
Faces twisted—subtly at first, then too much. Smiles stretching too wide. Eyes too dark.
Oh no.
No no no—
The headache.
The voices.
She knew this.
“STEVE!” Robin screamed.
The world cracked.
The living room shattered into darkness.
Vines.
Ash.
The air thick and choking.
“Steve—please!” Her voice broke.
Nothing answered.
A slow, wet sound echoed behind her.
“You still call for them.”
Robin turned.
Vecna stepped forward from the shadows, limbs dragging, eyes hollow and endless.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
“They can’t hear you,” he said calmly.
Robin shook her head, backing up. “No. No, that’s not—this isn’t real.”
Vecna tilted his head.
“Isn’t it?”
The ground trembled.
Invisible force slammed into her, throwing her back against a crumbling wall. The impact knocked the air from her lungs.
She choked, feet lifting off the ground.
“Poor Robin,” Vecna continued, moving closer. “A life of hiding. Of pain. Of pretending you’re not alone.”
“I’m not,” she gasped. “I’m not alone.”
His voice dropped lower.
“You were before them. You will be again.”
“NO!” she cried.
Pressure tightened around her throat.
“An outsider,” Vecna said. “A replacement. Temporary.”
Robin’s vision blurred with tears.
“Steve wouldn’t—he wouldn’t—”
The moment the doubt slipped in—
The pressure doubled.
Pain exploded through her body.
Vecna was right in front of her now.
“Even now,” he whispered, “you question him.”
Robin shook her head desperately. “Please—”
His hand rose.
Claws hovering inches from her face.
“Please don’t,” she sobbed.
Then—
Agony.
White-hot, unbearable, ripping through her mind, her memories—
Everything.
She screamed.
Her life fractured into pieces—moments flashing—
Steve laughing.
Scoops Ahoy.
Late-night talks.
The first time she told him the truth.
I should’ve told him—
“I’m sorry—” she tried to say.
Suddenly—
A force slammed into Vecna.
He was ripped away.
Robin dropped, collapsing to the ground, gasping.
Through blurred vision, she saw a small figure—
A girl.
Hand outstretched.
Eleven.
Then everything went black.