Chapter Text
Will sat tensely while Joyce, Mike, Lucas, Robin, Erica, and Murray were around him.
“So you have special powers,” Robin said, resting her head on Will’s shoulder while pressing an ice pack to her cheek.
Will leaned back slightly, adjusting so Robin could lie more comfortably. Joyce had already grown used to how natural this closeness between the two of them felt. Erica didn’t care. Murray acted like nothing was out of the ordinary.
But Mike had his eyebrows furrowed.
“So now we know another way to stop the Demogorgons,” he said.
Lucas clutched his chest as Erica watched him anxiously.
“I don’t know how to do it,” Will murmured. “It just… happened.”
He felt Robin’s support and tightened his grip around the hand resting over his. Joyce’s voice made him tense.
“We can figure it out. Will, we should try some of the techniques we used with El—maybe they’ll work for you too.”
Will stiffened.
“Mom, I don’t know if I can do that. This feels… different from El’s powers.”
Erica jumped in.
“We have to try. I have an idea. If you can take over a Demo’s vision in the Upside Down, maybe we can find where the kids are.”
Mike froze.
“That means we’d have to be in the Upside Down,” he muttered.
Lucas tried to stand.
“I can’t go. Max—” He sat back down with a sharp breath, looking at the wound on his chest. “I have to stay with Max.”
Robin nodded.
“Okay. Then let’s do this instead. Lucas, you and I go to the hospital and get Max. We move her somewhere safe. The hospital is the most vulnerable place right now.”
Her voice dropped near the end. Will understood her worry and gently pulled Robin back against his shoulder.
“So… when did you two get this close?” Mike suddenly snapped.
Everyone turned to him in surprise.
“Jesus,” Robin muttered, glancing at Will.
Will looked straight at Mike.
“We already talked about this.”
Mike shook his head.
“Yeah, we talked—but this—” he gestured at the two of them, “I didn’t know you were this close.”
Joyce looked at her son and Robin. She knew there was something she didn’t understand yet—but this wasn’t the moment to ask.
“Mike,” Lucas said firmly.
Mike turned to him.
“We need to get to the hospital. This isn’t about Will and Robin being close.”
Mike took a deep breath.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Will turned to Lucas.
“I’m coming with you.”
“What?!” Mike and Joyce shouted at the same time.
Robin hid her face behind Will’s shoulder. Will could feel her trying not to laugh—and if he heard it, he’d laugh too. He knew he’d have to get used to these ridiculous reactions.
“You said it yourself—the hospital is defenseless. If Demogorgons attack, someone has to be there to stop them.”
Joyce and Murray exchanged a look.
“Okay—” Joyce began.
“Mrs. Byers?” Mike said sharply. “Do you realize how dangerous—”
“Mike,” Lucas snapped. “Every move we make from now on is dangerous. You stay near the hospital and protect Will. And don’t forget—Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler are there too. They’re vulnerable.”
Mike exhaled slowly.
“Fine. When do we leave?”
Lucas stood up with Erica’s help.
“Now.”
The hospital was too calm.
Too clean. Too bright.
Military trucks lined the entrance, soldiers standing stiff with rifles in hand. Joyce noticed them immediately—but no one stopped the group from entering. That made it worse.
“This is bad,” Erica muttered.
Robin’s eyes scanned the lobby until they landed on a familiar face behind the reception desk.
“Vickie.”
She didn’t wait for permission. She crossed the room quickly, leaning in close, lowering her voice.
“Listen to me,” Robin said. “This is an emergency. You need to be ready to evacuate. No questions. Just—be ready.”
Vickie frowned. “Robin, what are you talking about—”
“Trust me,” Robin cut in, softer now. “Please.”
Vickie hesitated… then nodded.
Lucas moved without telling anyone.
He slipped down the hallway, his heart pounding louder with every step, until he reached Max’s room. No guards. No nurses. Just the steady beep of the machines.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered.
Carefully, painfully, he lifted Max into his arms.
And then—
The lights went out.
Every sound died at once.
Lucas froze.
“Shit,” he breathed.
A few blocks away, Mike and Will stood near the hospital’s perimeter, half-hidden in the shadows.
It was too quiet.
Mike glanced at Will. “Do you feel anything? Any Demogorgons?”
Will frowned, pressing a hand to the back of his neck.
“I don’t know. It’s… empty but not empty. I can’t tell. Like something’s holding its breath.”
That’s when the ground split.
Red cracks tore open the air itself—portals blooming like wounds. One. Two. Five. More.
Demogorgons poured out.
Way more than they’d expected.
Mike staggered back. “There’s too many.”
A sound echoed through the night—low, distorted, wrong. Like something speaking through broken metal.
Then—
BOOM.
An explosion shook the street.
Mike grabbed Will’s arm.
The radio crackled to life.
“Guys—” Dustin’s voice, panicked, breathless. “Guys, we screwed up. The Upside Down and our world— they’re connecting. Like—everywhere.”
Will’s breath hitched.
His eyes rolled back.
White.
Completely white.
Mike shouted his name. “Will!”
Will didn’t answer.
He just stood there, trembling, as the red light from the portals reflected off his blank stare.
And somewhere deep inside him—
Something recognized him.
The generator kicked in.
Lights flickered violently before stabilizing into a harsh, yellow glow. The hum of power returned—too loud, too sudden.
Lucas burst through the hospital doors, Max clutched tightly in his arms.
“ROBIN!” he shouted.
Robin’s head snapped up instantly. No hesitation. She grabbed Vickie’s wrist.
“Run.”
“What—Robin, what’s happening—”
Soldiers flooded the corridor before Vickie could finish the sentence, boots pounding, weapons raised.
Then the Demogorgons came.
They didn’t look at the soldiers.
Didn’t react to the shouting.
Didn’t slow down.
Every single one of them turned toward Max.
“They’re ignoring us,” Robin yelled.
Robin’s blood ran cold.
“They’re after her.”
Outside, Will felt it before he saw it.
His breath caught, his hands shaking as something snapped into place inside his chest.
“Mike,” he said sharply. “They’re not hunting randomly.”
Red light flared in his vision.
“They’re locked onto Max.”
The Demogorgons lunged forward.
Will stepped out without thinking.
He threw his hands forward—
And the creatures stopped.
Not frozen.
Held.
Like something invisible had wrapped around them and pulled tight.
Lucas ran.
Pain tore through his body as he bolted toward the elevator. Blood soaked through his shirt, but he didn’t slow down.
Will screamed.
Mike spun around. “Will, what’s happening?!”
Joyce ran toward them, horror flooding her face.
“RUN!” Will shouted. “RUUUUN!”
Joyce grabbed Mike’s arm and yanked him back.
“I’m not leaving him!” Mike shouted, fighting her grip.
A few Demogorgons snapped free.
They turned.
Gunfire erupted.
Nancy came running out of the red portal, a rifle in her hands, firing without stopping.
“Go! We need to get out—”
She stopped cold. “Will?”
“There’s no time!” Mike shouted. “Nancy, just—trust me!”
“Jonathan!” Joyce screamed. “Get your brother!”
Jonathan grabbed Will’s arm.
“What’s happening to him?!” he shouted in panic.
Will’s knees buckled.
Blood streamed from both his nostrils, dark and fast.
His scream tore through the air as the remaining Demogorgons strained against his hold—snarling, thrashing, screaming back.
Inside the hospital—
Lucas stumbled down the stairwell, breath ragged, vision tunneling.
“Almost there,” he whispered to Max. “Just—just stay with me.”
Robin burst through the emergency doors, skidding down the steps.
“Lucas!” she shouted. “This way!”
She took the lead instantly, pointing, pulling doors open, blocking off hallways.
“They’re not following anyone else,” she said breathlessly. “They only care about her.”
Lucas nodded once and followed.
Behind them—
The hospital shook.
And above them—
Will Byers held back hell with shaking hands and a breaking body.
Lucas’s legs were burning.
Every step down the stairwell felt like knives digging into his chest, but he didn’t slow. He couldn’t. Max’s weight in his arms was the only thing keeping him upright.
“Lucas—left!” Robin shouted.
He turned just as something slammed into the wall behind them. Plaster exploded outward. A Demogorgon’s claws tore through the doorway, shrieking—furious, focused.
“Don’t look at it!” Robin yelled. “Just run!”
They burst through the emergency exit into the cold night air.
The ambulance bay was chaos—sirens wailing, red lights flashing, soldiers shouting over each other.
And then Lucas saw him.
“Murray!”
Murray stood beside a van with the engine already running, back door wide open, gun clutched awkwardly in his hands.
“Took you long enough,” Murray shouted. “Get her in! NOW!”
The ground shook.
Robin glanced back and froze.
“They’re still coming. All of them.”
The Demogorgons lunged forward—
And suddenly—
They jerked mid-stride.
Snarling. Screaming. Pulled back by something none of them could see.
Lucas’s breath hitched.
“Will…” he whispered.
“MOVE!” Robin screamed.
Lucas ran.
He nearly collapsed as he shoved Max into Murray’s arms.
“I’ve got her,” Murray said, surprisingly steady. “I’ve got her.”
Robin slammed the van door shut just as a Demogorgon slammed into the pavement behind them, claws scraping metal.
“GO!” Robin yelled.
Murray jumped into the driver’s seat and floored it.
The van lurched forward, tires screaming as they tore away from the hospital.
Behind them, the Demogorgon roared—furious, denied.
Inside the van, Lucas dropped to his knees, gasping, his hands shaking violently.
Max lay still.
“Max?” His voice broke. “Hey—hey, I’m here. You’re safe. You’re with me.”
Murray glanced back through the mirror, jaw tight.
“We’re clear. For now.”
Robin sank down beside Lucas, her shoulder pressing into his—grounding, solid.
“We made it,” she said softly. “Because of Will.”
Lucas nodded, swallowing hard.
Outside, the hospital trembled again.
And somewhere back there—
Will Byers was still holding hell back with nothing but his mind and a breaking body.
Will’s hands were shaking.
He could feel it slipping.
The Demogorgons screamed as they tore free—one by one, the invisible force around them snapping like overstretched wire. They turned back toward him, enraged now, aware.
Mike shouted his name, but the sound felt distant. Drowned.
Will’s vision darkened at the edges.
Then—
Everything went quiet.
No screams.
No alarms.
No gunfire.
Just a voice.
Low. Calm. Intimate.
“Well done,” Vecna said, his words echoing inside Will’s skull.
“That’s exactly what I’d expect from someone like you.”
Will’s breath hitched. His knees buckled, but he didn’t fall yet.
“You never disappoint me,” Vecna continued, almost pleased.
“Not once.”
The Demogorgons stopped moving.
They waited.
Will’s lips trembled. “Get out of my head,” he whispered, though he knew it was useless.
A sound like a chuckle filled his mind.
“I think,” Vecna said slowly, deliberately,
“it’s time I take you back… before anyone else does.”
Pain exploded behind Will’s eyes.
White light flooded his vision as blood poured freely from his nose, dripping down his chin, staining his collar.
“WILL!” Mike screamed.
Will tried to breathe. Tried to fight.
But his strength vanished all at once.
His body gave out.
He collapsed forward, consciousness slipping away as the world folded in on itself.
The last thing he heard—
Vecna’s voice, soft and certain:
“You were always mine.”
Will Byers hit the ground and went completely still.